* Dubbed a "city of the future," Xiong'an New Area marks its sixth anniversary on Saturday. * On April 1, 2017, China announced plans to establish Xiong'an New Area, located about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The aim was to build a green city on an area of 1,770 square kilometers, featuring innovation and providing a national model of high-quality development. * Comparing pictures of Xiong'an nowadays with those taken six years ago, the difference is immense, with the new site featuring a complex road network, new buildings and rapid growth in enterprises. SHIJIAZHUANG, April 1 (Xinhua) -- In the Xiong'an New Area of north China's Hebei Province, red-and-silver driverless buses criss-cross on the new asphalt roads. Confronted with such a futuristic scene, it is hard to believe that, just six years ago, this whole area was farmland. Among the fans of this new reality is 25-year-old Xie Ying, who works for Yuexiang Xiong'an Science and Technology Co., Ltd., a company behind the driverless buses. "As Xiong'an develops, it may become an example for China's future cities," said Xie proudly. An intelligent connected bus is seen in a trial operation on a street in Rongdong area of Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Dubbed a "city of the future," Xiong'an New Area marks its sixth anniversary on Saturday. On April 1, 2017, China announced plans to establish Xiong'an New Area, located about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The aim was to build a green city on an area of 1,770 square kilometers, featuring innovation and providing a national model of high-quality development. Xie is from Xiongxian County, one of the three counties incorporated into Xiong'an. She told Xinhua that during the past six years, she has witnessed great improvement in people's lives. The driverless bus, which is currently undergoing trials, is one example. "It has improved the efficiency of the transportation network here," she said. "The vehicles equipped with fridges and screens have given passengers a better experience." According to Zhang Jing, project manager for the driverless buses with Yuexiang Xiong'an, the vehicles can not only recognize traffic lights and road signs, but also reduce speed or stop in case of obstacles. A staff member shows the "digital roads" operation system of the Rongdong area at an industrial park in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, March 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Like the buses, the "digital roads" are also smart. Xiong'an is now home to 153 km of "digital roads," where sensors on the lamp poles can monitor the number and speed of vehicles, so as to reduce traffic jams. Supporting facilities, such as electricity, communications, heat, gas, and water supply, are all installed in underground channels measuring 47.6 km long, so as to avoid the cable network above ground and eliminate road blocks due to construction work. "Xiong'an, which started from scratch, has an unparalleled advantage," said Weng Mengyong, chairman of the China Highway and Transportation Society. "The construction of the smart city ... has set an example for the planning and management of future cities." The construction of Xiong'an has proceeded at full throttle over the past six years. Comparing pictures of Xiong'an nowadays with those taken six years ago, the difference is immense, with the new site featuring a complex road network, new buildings and rapid growth in enterprises. At the end of last year, the Xiong'an business service center -- the new area's first landmark urban complex -- was put into use. With a total floor area of 900,000 square meters, the business service center was still an empty plot of land three years ago. Now it is home to more than 40 companies, accelerating the development of industrial clusters involving finance, modern services and the digital economy. This aerial photo taken on March 31, 2023 shows the business service center in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) Qi-Anxin Technology Group, a leading company in the cybersecurity industry, was among the first batch of companies to settle in the center. "Captivated by its innovative environment and a steadfast focus on high-quality development, we find that opportunities are everywhere," said Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Qi-Anxin, who is helping to turn the blueprint of the new area into a tangible reality. Since China announced plans to establish the city in 2017, the Xiong'an New Area has completed more than 510 billion yuan (about 74 billion U.S. dollars) of investment, with a total development area covering 120 square kilometers and 3,500-plus buildings towering above the land. Over the past six years, China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises have set up more than 140 subsidiaries and branches in Xiong'an. They have focused on industries such as information technology, modern life sciences and biotechnology, and new materials, among others. Attracting talents is the next step. A job seeker (L) talks with a recruiter at a job fair in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province, Feb. 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong) Zhao Can with the Hebei Xiong'an Urban Construction Co., Ltd., under the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, has received a Xiongcai Card. Xiongcai literally means "talents for Xiong'an," and the card entitles him to benefit from a series of favorable policies. "The card will be helpful for me to find my kid a good school here and facilitate the household registration," he said. Zhao has previously worked in Beijing and Baoding in Hebei, but now he has decided to settle down in Xiong'an along with his wife, because "Xiong'an is a young city with great potential." To date, the first batch of 3,774 people have received their Xiongcai Cards. "Green" is another buzzword in Xiong'an's grand development plan, as it aspires to become a green city with harmonious human-environment interaction. The building of Xiong'an New Area was advanced according to high standards and quality requirements, according to this year's government work report. Since late 2017, Xiong'an has added more than 470,000 mu (about 31,333 hectares) of trees, raising its forest coverage from 11 percent to 34 percent. This aerial photo taken on Sept. 7, 2022 shows the tourist dock of Baiyangdian Lake in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao) Efforts have also been mounted to restore the ecological environment of Baiyangdian Lake, an important wetland in the region. The water quality of the lake has improved from Class V, the worst level in China's water quality grading system, to Class III. There are now 252 species of wild birds, 46 species more than before the establishment of Xiong'an. "The fundamental significance of Xiong'an is to create a replicable urban model in a non-coastal and non-border region of China. Relying on innovation-driven development, we will forge a new path," said Wu Hequan, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It is the wish of Xie Ying that the idea of innovation and high-quality development will be promoted elsewhere in China. "I hope that in the future, we will see more driverless buses in other cities," she said.
Before we can understand who Papa Legba is, we need to understand the Haitian practice of Vodou (also referred to as Vodoun or Vodun). "Vodou" is the commonly used spelling for the religion in official Haitian Creole and among scholars in general. The once-common spelling "Voodoo" is no longer used to avoid confusion with Louisiana Voodoo, which is a related but distinct set of religious practices, and to separate the tradition from any negative connotations that the term Voodoo has picked up over the years.

Papa Legba has his origins in the historic West African kingdom of Dahomey  a country known today as Benin. Enslaved people brought indigenous spiritual traditions with them from Dahomey to the Americas and the Caribbean, including knowledge of lwas like Papa Legba.

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The Yoruba people in Nigeria also worship a spirit, known as Esu or Elegba, who is similar to Papa Legba and such spirits can also be found in the cultures of Brazil and Cuba. "In Yoruba traditions, Esu takes on a similar role [to Legba] as mediator between worlds," Daniels says.

But in Haiti, slaves transformed lwa like Papa Legba into the basis for the religion of Vodou, which centers around lwa and patron saints. Historically, Vodou served as both a spiritual practice and as a means for slaves to resist French colonialism. Today, Vodou also plays an important role in mental health and healing in Haiti.

"Vodou has been historically maligned because it is a liberatory tradition that empowered Haitians to gain their independence from the French," Daniels says.

" " A young Vodou initiate in Benin draws strength from embracing the fetish of the divine messenger Legba, who wears a straw skirt like the dancers. Henning Christoph /ullstein bild/Getty Images

Raphael Hoermann is a lecturer in English literature at England's University of Central Lancashire who studies the Haitian Revolution and North and Black Atlantic narratives of slavery. He says, "Often Vodun ceremonies were outlawed under the slave regime" though he also adds that the exact impact of Vodou in the Haitian Revolution is somewhat disputed.

As the Haitian diaspora expanded across the globe, so, too, did Vodou among the Black diaspora in the U.S.

"In Haiti, Vodou is everywhere you go. In the U.S., it tends to be concentrated only in places where Haitians live in diaspora, such as Miami, New York City and Boston," Tamara L. Siuda says in an email interview. Siuda, also known as Mambo Chita Tann, is a priestess or "mambo" of Haitian Vodou and author of the booklet "Legba."

The practice of Vodou in Louisiana also has its origins in Haitian Vodou. As West African slaves and free Black individuals fled revolution in the French Caribbean, Vodou became integrated into local Catholicism in Louisiana.
" " The Senate parliamentarian is charged with providing expert insight and guidance on questions relating to the meaning and application of the Senate's rules, precedents and practices. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Once again, the Senate parliamentarian, a little understood, nonpartisan, nonelected government official, has made a decision affecting millions of lives.

A Sept. 19, 2021, ruling by Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senates nonpartisan interpreter of its sometimes enigmatic rules, blocked a plan to use the $3.5 trillion spending bill as a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants. Under the rejected plan, that was proposed by Democrats, millions of green cards would have been provided for several groups of immigrants including young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children (typically called "Dreamers"); those under temporary potected status (refugees of natural disasters or armed conflict); essential workers and farm workers.

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Instead, the parliamentarian decided that the immigration provisions cannot be included in the enormous funding bill that is protected from GOP filibusters. Without filibuster protection, the immigration provisions have no chance of passing in a deadlocked, 50-50 Senate  which is what we've got now.

We know. You've got questions. Like, what's a Senate parliamentarian? How'd she get that job? And all that power?
" " The post office in Seaside, Florida, might be quite possibly the prettiest post office in the U.S. Dean Fikar/Getty Images

The United States Postal Service (USPS) needs help, stat. Plunging mail volume has beleaguered the USPS for years, along with a rising debt load. Don't believe us? Check out these operational statistics from 2010 to September 2019, most of which paint a dismal picture for this beloved American institution [source: USPS]:

Total mail volume decreased from 170.9 billion units to 142.6 billion.

Roughly 87,000 career employees were lost.

Retail customer visits dropped from 1 billion to 812 million, while total retail revenue dropped from $17.5 billion to $12.7 billion.

Annual operating revenue increased, but only slightly, from $67.1 billion to $71.1 billion.

Shipping/package volume doubled, from 3.1 billion to 6.2 billion units, one bright spot.

What's going on? The USPS exists as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the U.S. government. It receives no tax dollars for its operations. Instead, its revenue comes from the sale of stamps and other service fees. But it's not the decline in mail volume that is crippling the Postal Service, for it actually generates enough revenue to cover its operating costs. The main issue is its employees. Or, more specifically, its future retirees.

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In 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act became law. Part of this law required the USPS to prepay its employees' future pension and health benefit costs, a huge financial burden. To wit: In fiscal year 2019, the USPS lost $8.8 billion, 83 percent of which was due to these prepayments. Just as notable, almost no other governmental entity is mandated to do the same [source: Katz].

Back in 2006, the requirement didn't seem as onerous as it would become. The George W. Bush White House insisted on adding this requirement assuming that the Postal Service would be making billions in profit and it didn't want the Treasury Dept. to be on the hook for making the pension payments, reported the Washington Post. A bipartisan Congress went along with it to get the bill (which was initially about streamlining postal rate increases) passed. This was just a couple of years before the Great Recession and the widespread availability of the smartphone, both of which helped mail volume to sprial down.

The USPS has tried marketing campaigns, selling merchandise and expanded Sunday package delivery, among other measures, to combat these steep costs. But financial problems persist. Can anything help? Let's find out how the United States Postal Service works in much more depth.
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:

In this photo provided by Sacred Way Sanctuary, He Stalks One spends time with a horse in Alabama in 2021. These horses are the descendants of those that accompanied the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee, Chickasaw and Seminole Peoples on forced removals, referred to as the "Trail of Tears. In a study published Thursday, March 30, 2023, in the journalScience, 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, an earlier date than many written histories suggest. Credit: Sacred Way Sanctuary via AP

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-authorsincluding 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.

This photo provided by researcher William T. Taylor shows a three-dimensional model of horse skull in Boulder, Colo., in 2023, outfitted with a replica rawhide rope bridle, similar to those used by many Plains horse riders. In a study published Thursday, March 30, 2023, in the journalScience, 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, an earlier date than many written histories suggest. Credit: William T. Taylor via AP

"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 1680when 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.

In this photo provided by the University of Colorado-Boulder, Lakota archaeologist Chance Ward examines horse reference collections in the Archaeozoology Laboratory at the University of Colorado-Boulder in October 2020. In a study published Thursday, March 30, 2023, in the journalScience, 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, an earlier date than many written histories suggest. Credit: Samantha Eads/University of Colorado-Boulder via AP

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.

This photo provided by Sacred Way Sanctuary shows Anasazi Sun, left, and his mares in Florence, Ala. in 2019. These Lakota-line horses were born in HeSapa (The Black Hills), an area held sacred by the Lakota Peoples and many other tribal nations. In a study published Thursday, March 30, 2023, in the journalScience, 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, an earlier date than many written histories suggest. Credit: Sacred Way Sanctuary via AP

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990which established a process for museums and other institutions that receive federal funds to collaborate with tribes in returning stolen sacred objectswas 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.

More information: William Timothy Treal Taylor et al, Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adc9691. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adc9691 Journal information: Science

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

In this Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, technicians prepare to weigh a container carrying moon samples retrieved by China's Chang'e 5 lunar lander in Beijing. In a report published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, March 27, 0223, scientists announced they have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in the lunar samples. Water was embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur. Credit: Jin Liwang/Xinhua via AP, File

Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples from a Chinese mission.

Water was embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur. These shiny, multicolored glass beads were in samples returned from the moon by China in 2020.

The beads range in size from the width of one hair to several hairs; the water content was just a miniscule fraction of that, said Hejiu Hui of Nanjing University, who took part in the study.

Since there are billions if not trillions of these impact beads, that could amount to substantial amounts of water, but mining it would be tough, according to the team.

"Yes, it will require lots and lots of glass beads," Hui said in an email. "On the other hand, there are lots and lots of beads on the moon."

These beads could continually yield water thanks to the constant bombardment by hydrogen in the solar wind. The findings, published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, are based on 32 glass beads randomly selected from lunar dirt returned from the Chang'e 5 moon mission.

More samples will be studied, Hui said.

These impact beads are everywhere, the result of the cooling of melted material ejected by incoming space rocks. Water could be extracted by heating the beads, possibly by future robotic missions. More studies are needed to determine whether this would be feasible and, if so, whether the water would be safe to drink.

This shows "water can be recharged on the moon's surface ... a new water reservoir on the moon," Hui said.

Previous studies found water in glass beads formed by lunar volcanic activity, based on samples returned by the Apollo moonwalkers more than a half-century ago. These, too, could provide water not only for use by future crews, but for rocket fuel.

NASA aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025. They'll aim for the south pole where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be packed with frozen water.

More information: A solar wind-derived water reservoir on the Moon hosted by impact glass beads, Nature Geoscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01159-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01159-6 Journal information: Nature Geoscience

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, on March 24 was an original co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to provide a new option to pay for home care for the elderly.

Tonko co-sponsored legislation Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, introduced to allow paying for home care services such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation and other tasks from health savings accounts.

Seniors and their family caregivers should have the power to utilize their health savings accounts in a manner that meets their care needs, Smith said in a news release.

The legislation, HR 1795, had 10 cosponsors, as of Wednesday  six Republicans and four Democrats.

In other regional political news:

Dangerous drug

State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, on March 24, introduced legislation to crack down on the sale of heroin and fentanyl laced with a veterinary drug not intended for human use.

The legislation, A05914, would classify Xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance.

Xylazine is a veterinary sedative used on horses during procedures such as castration and dental work.

The drug can cause serious health conditions in humans and has no antidote, according to the legislation.

Heroin and fentanyl dealers have been illegally using the drug to enhance their products.

Credit monitoring

U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and Andy Kim, D-N.J., on March 3 introduced bipartisan legislation to extend to National Guard members and reservists free credit monitoring services that are provided to active-duty military personnel.

The legislation, HR 1521, had four co-sponsors  two Republicans and two Democrats  as of Wednesday.

As they answer the call to duty, they deserve to do so with the peace of mind that their finances will be securely monitored, Stefanik said in a news release.

Bipartisan sponsorship

As of March 22, 23 of the 72 bills and resolutions that U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, sponsored or co-sponsored, or 32%, had bipartisan sponsorship, according to a Post-Star analysis.

Fifty of 85 bills and resolutions that Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, sponsored or co-sponsored, or 59 percent, had bipartisan sponsorship.

Midnight oil

State Sen. James Tedisco, R-Glenville, on Wednesday held a press conference in Albany to protest the tradition of the Legislature burning the midnight oil, particularly at state budget time.

Tedisco promoted legislation he introduced to begin the process of a constitutional amendment to prohibit legislative proceeding between midnight and 8 a.m.

If an agreement hatched in the dark of night at 3 a.m. is so good for our state then it will still be a good one to be debated and voted on at 3 p.m., Tedisco said in a news release.

The legislation, S48, had two co-sponsors, as of Wednesday, both Republicans.

Stec reads

Need a bedtime story to share with your children or grandchildren?

State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, is featured in a video reading the childrens book Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi to celebrate Cornell Cooperative Extension Agricultural Literacy Week.

The video can be viewed at Stecs Senate office Facebook page.

Honoring Rugge

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, on March 14 spoke on the House floor to honor Dr. John Rugge, founder and longtime former chief executive officer of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, on receiving the annual Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce J. Walter Juckett Award for community service.

Dr. Rugges dedication to his community and passion for providing accessible medical care have made him a pillar of upstate New York, Stefanik said.

Climate change

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Schuylerville is an original co-sponsor of a House resolution Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., introduced Tuesday in support of teaching about climate change in schools.

The legislation, HRES 262, had 14 cosponsors, as of Wednesday  all Democrats.

Honoring labor leader

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, on March 17, introduced a House resolution to honor Kate Mullany of Troy, who in 1864 founded the Collar Laundry Union, the first all-female union in the nation.

The resolution, HRES 218, had no co-sponsors, as of Wednesday.
Masks now optional at hospital

The hospital announced in a statement on its website that the face coverings are no longer required because the CDC has determined that for two weeks in a row, the regional community COVID transmission rate has been moderate. If transmission rates increase, masking will again be required.
ATLANTIC CITY  Authorities arrested four city residents Thursday in a bid to address drug activity and quality-of-life issues around Renaissance Plaza, police said.

City police detectives, working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Atlantic City Resident Office and the Liberty Mid-Atlantic DEA Atlantic County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, conducted a surveillance operation in the 1500 to 1700 blocks of Atlantic Avenue. In addition to the arrests, authorities seized suspected heroin and distribution amounts of suspected cocaine, as well as U.S. currency, police said Saturday in a news release.

Two of the arrested individuals were found to have active warrants for their arrest.

Jacque Randall, 54, was charged with loitering to purchase drugs and contempt of court.

Local officials share ideas to improve their communities in Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY  Saturdays rain didnt stop a group of mayors and local officials from gathe

Sean Williams, 55, was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute and contempt of court.

Bryant Gilliam, 51, was charged with two counts of possession of CDS.

Zyshon Baker-Lane, 24, was charged with possession of CDS and possession with intent to distribute.

Randall and Williams were issued summonses but were sent to the Atlantic County jail due to their active warrants. Gilliam and Baker-Lane were released on summonses pending court.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Pilgrim Academy Technical High School unveiled plans for a new centralized vocational education building late last month.

With students, faculty and administrators from the school assembled, the ceremony exemplified how a family of Christian schools has fashioned itself into a destination for alternative education in Atlantic County.

Pilgrim Academy Technical High School, or PATHS, is a vocational school and the sister school of Pilgrim Academy, which provides a traditional liberal arts education. At PATHS, there are two separate vocational disciplines: construction trades and automotive repairs. Both programs offer on-the-ground experience and are meant to prepare students for a potential vocational career.

PATHS Director Fred Schwenger, who is also the PATHS automotive instructor, said the school provides students a much needed alternative education program in the modern education and economic landscape. He cited the growing cost of higher education and frustration with what some students perceive as the low return on investment of some undergraduate degrees.

This pairs with a growing demand among businesses for a new stock of workers with vocational skillsets. Schwenger said PATHS has been able to place each student who wants to pursue a career in the trades into a job or position in a trade school.

People are turning to the trades, said Schwenger, who is the co-owner of Superior Automotive on the White Horse Pike. And theres a deep, deep need in the trades for skilled tradespeople, especially young people.

The PATHS automotive and construction programs currently operate on the Bethel Campus of Pilgrim Academy off North Genoa Avenue, within a building already used for traditional educational purposes.

The planned addition, which would span about 35 by 80 square feet, would provide a new, dedicated space for vocational projects from which both construction and automotive students could work.

Fishing tournament benefits Pilgrim Academy The second New Jersey Surf Angler Tournament & Festival brought dozens of fishing fans t

School organizers said the consolidated space would allow students and instructors to explore new projects, while allowing for more collaboration between classes and disciplines. Schwenger said the addition would allow him to double the space allotted to his automotive class.

Were (currently) using space thats already inside of a school building, which is not conducive, especially for construction, Schwenger said. Its going to give us our own, conducive space thats going to allow us to do different kinds of projects in there.

PATHS construction instructor George Kupp, who is the owner of Kupp Builders in Egg Harbor Township, also spoke about the need to involve young people in the trades. Citing his five decades of experience, Kupp said South Jersey has a strong history of craftsmen in a range of fields, including metalwork, stonework and carpentry, but said it is a history that is slowly coming to an end.

This area has produced quite a few really talented craftsmen, Kupp said. And when I talk to other people in the trades what were seeing is were all approaching retirement and not a lot of people coming behind us with the skillset that some of the fellas that I work with (have).

Kupp said he wanted to help connect young people who are interested in carrying on the regions vocational legacy with opportunities that could help prepare them for a career in the trades.

My desire to get involved was that it would be great if we had a way to utilize some of those skills and at least expose some of the young people to that, Kupp said. I think thats part of what were trying to develop, a way that the skills that are out there can be passed onto the next generation.

All students enrolled at Pilgrim Academy are eligible to attend PATHS, but admission is also open to all school-age students. Schwenger said there are a number of home-school students who join Pilgrim Academy enrollees during his classes.

For the vast majority of people, automotive and construction trades are not something their parents are going to be able to teach them, Schwenger said. And so, they got their core curriculum at home, but then theyre going to get their technical trade with us.

Girls find the dress of their dreams at Project Prom AC giveaway in Northfield NORTHFIELD  Prom is one of the most memorable days in a teenage girls life, which is why h

Schwenger said the expanded facility will help PATHS further develop what he considers its unique curriculum. Distinguishing it from other vocational schools in the area, Schwenger said PATHS offers its students opportunities to work directly on projects for cars and buildings of actual people and organizations, benefiting students and the broader community.

PATHS automotive curriculum gives students similar direct experience. Schwenger said students work on cars of their families and faculty, as well as for people in need. He recalled how students were able to work on a car that had been donated to them and give it to the late Pilgrim Academy sixth-grade teacher Harry Sear, who was in need of transportation to school.

Everything we do, we try to have a tangible benefit for the community, and everything we do, not only is it hands-on, but its real life, Schwenger said. So in a (typical) technical school, youre going to get someone to take apart an engine thats been taken apart 300 times and that engines going to fall apart, but were taking apart an engine thats old, its rust. It has a real-world effect.

The PATHS construction curriculum currently has students working on projects to maintain the Bethel Campus itself, which was built in the 1970s. Kupp said this year students were placing special emphasis on doing foundation and concrete work and framing on the campus, with students pouring concrete pads around the facility and work on a retaining wall. The PATHS construction students are currently renovating part of the Bethel Campus gym into a theater for Sojourn Community Church, which congregates on the campus. The project involves creating an elevated theater section of the gym, which in turn requires framing and drywall work. Kupp said the students worked with an architect to develop the plan.

Pilgrim Academy was founded in 1971, largely through the work of the parishioners of Emanuel Church. It enrolls about 400 students from pre-k to 12th grade and operates as a Christian school providing a religious and liberal arts education. Schwenger is a 1998 graduate of Pilgrim Academy.

PATHS was founded in 2017. Schwenger worked with several of his fellow Pilgrim alumni to establish the school after he closed a car shop business in Hammonton.

I would have killed to have a program like this back then, Schwenger said. I felt a need to do something to give back and to start teaching.

According to its website, PATHS is designed to give each of its students a strong vocational education within the context of a Christian world and life view. Schwenger said the schools religious focus complements its mission to do real vocational work in the community.

Galloway man arrested after Pilgrim Academy shots-fired call released MAYS LANDING  A Galloway Township man who was arrested after allegedly firing a shotgun at 

Everything we do is from a Christian worldview and perspective, Schwenger said. I think for all of those reasons, were producing a student that is going to be a benefit to the workplace and the community.

The building marks an important recovery for Pilgrim Academy after a difficult three years for the school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The public-health shutdowns ordered by Gov. Phil Murphy limited when and where students could gather for class  something that was a particularly heavy burden for vocational students, for whom in-person instruction is particularly important.

Schwenger said the pandemic has increased interest in religious education. He said there was a backlash to public-school curricula during the pandemic and people have increasingly looked toward other education routes.

The pandemic has also had a steeper cost for the Pilgrim community. Sear died around December 2020 from COVID. He was 65 and had been teaching at Pilgrim Academy for 20 years, according to his obituary.

Schwenger reflected on the impact his school was able to make on Sears life and family.

His wife is still able to drive that car, Schwenger said of the car students gifted Sear. As far as one project that stands out to me, thats meaningful.

GALLERY: Pilgrim Academy focuses on vocational education
ATLANTIC CITY  Saturdays rain didnt stop a group of mayors and local officials from gathering at Atlantic Cape Community Colleges city campus to share their thoughts on how to better serve the community during the United NJ Leaders Listening Tour.

This was the seventh stop on the statewide tour hosted by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Since last year, Baraka has been going county to county facilitating conversations between local leaders to share ideas and solutions on regional issues.

Were doing this listening tour because I think its necessary around the state of New Jersey, Baraka said.

Baraka said oftentimes people elect officials to mitigate issues that are important to them, so they get upset with officials when they feel like nothing is being done to address their concerns.

Nine panelists joined Saturdays listening tour to better understand community wants, needs, problems and how to respond to those problems.

Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick offered ways to mitigate drug addiction and mental health issues in the area. Christian Ragland, assistant vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for AtlantiCare, talked about health equity for underserved communities.

Artist's sculpture highlights weekend rally over humpback whale deaths VENTNOR  In January, John Gowdy came to town asking why there were so many dead humpback wh

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. shared some of the main issues in the city, including homelessness, educational disparities, housing conditions, mental health and addiction, crime and economic development. His solutions included getting other municipalities to stop sending their homeless, mentally ill or drug-addicted residents to Atlantic City, getting stores on Atlantic Avenue to close at 10 p.m. to stop people from hanging out or selling drugs in front of stores late at night, and eliminating homeless encampments under the Boardwalk.

Thats not just an Atlantic City issue, but a nationwide issue, Small said.

Pleasantville Mayor Judy Ward said economic development, especially in the citys Main Street business district, and low housing stocks were her main concerns.

The mayors agreed that public safety was also a priority.

Atlantic City police Chief James Sarkos said the department was doing its best to meet public safety needs by reducing the number of complaints and creating more outreach programs and partnerships, such as the ones they have with AtlantiCare.

Public safety isnt just a police responsibility, its everyones responsibility, Sarkos said.

Report by feds, anglers cites offshore wind impacts on fish A joint study by two federal government scientific agencies and the commercial fishing industry documents numerous impacts that offshore wind power projects have on fish and marine mammals. They include noise, vibration, electromagnetic fields and heat transfer that could alter the marine environment. The report comes as the offshore wind industry is poised to grow rapidly on the U.S. East Coast. It is facing growing opposition from those who blame it for killing whales. Numerous scientific agencies say that is not true. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance wrote the study.

Small said the city was working on getting more cameras installed throughout the city for surveillance and creating more anti-violence programs.

Health equity, diversity and inclusion was another issue for the panelists. Small said the city was addressing that through its multicultural and LGBTQ services.

Giving nonprofits and religious groups a seat at the table was also considered necessary to address diversity and inclusivity challenges.

Imam Amin Muhammad of the Atlantic Citys Masjid Muhammad mosque; Huan Le, an Atlantic City police officer and representative for the citys Vietnamese community; and attorney John Diego voiced their communities concerns for more diversity and inclusion.

Le said he wanted the city to work more with the Vietnamese community and offer them more roles in City Hall.

Diego wanted to see more Latinos in government and public safety positions. Having more bilingual and multilingual employees would make people feel more comfortable when it comes to using available resources, he said.
Sarpanch of Shirgaon village of Pune district and NCP leader Pravin Gopale (47) was murdered by two unidentified bike-borne men. The incident took place on Saturday evening near Prati Shirdi temple. Gopale was brutally attacked by the accused and could not survive.

According to the police, two bike-borne men attacked Gopale with sharp-edged weapons when he reached Prati Shirdi temple last night. He was injured and tried to escape from the spot but the accused followed him and attacked again after which he died. The Pimpri Chinchwad police have launched a search in the matter.

Pravin Gopale was elected sarpanch in the recent election held a few months ago. Police suspect it to be a case of old property dispute and they are checking CCTV footage of the area to trace the accused men.
PMC assures better civic amenities to Aundh Road residents after listening to their plaints related to footpath, water & garbage

A plethora of issues has plagued the lives of thousands of Aundh Road residents. They made several complaints to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and finally, the civic officials recently visited the area and assured them of action at the earliest.

Senior officials from the water supply, road, drainage and solid waste management of PMC made a site visit to chronic spots on Chikkhalwadi road in Aundh Road and have assured quick resolution of the multiple issues faced by nearly 4,500 residents.

The stretch of the 18-metre road with a newly-constructed footpath on both sides has a school, church, petrol pump, housing societies, railway quarters. Owing to this, the road witnesses heavy vehicular movement and pedestrian footfall. However, using the footpath is a risky affair for pedestrians since they are either encroached by 24X7 water supply pipeline material or piles of garbage leaving very less space on the pavements. The residents have also requested the PMC officials to construct a few speed breakers on the stretch.

Shanmugam Mudliyar, secretary of the Montvert Pristine society which has over 600 flats, said that the water supply line had been nonfunctional at the end of the road stretch due to which phase- 2 of the society has not been receiving water for years. We have to fill the tanks of phase-1 and get the water to phase- 2 from there or else get it supplied by tankers. After the construction of the new CC road, the water supply line has been choked or is non-functional. We are assured that a new line will be put through the 24/7 water supply project but the two tanks that were supposed to be built have got an objection from the defense unit nearby. Hence, we reached out to the PMC, Mudliyar said.

The residents even complained about illegal garbage dumping on the footpaths, which are sometimes even burnt.

Another resident Nitish Pandit pointed out that since the garbage is not lifted it piles up to which some people resort to setting it ablaze. Footpaths are either encroached by pipes or garbage has been piled up. The road which is so beautifully made cannot be put to use by the citizens due to the obstructions. Even the streetlight needs to be made functional due to which the citizens feel unsafe at night after the nearby petrol pump is shut. If the garbage is lifted on time and there is no littering on the footpaths, children and senior citizens can utilise the space for their morning and evening walks, Pandit said.

Executive engineer of PMCs road department Dinkar Gojare said that the issues raised by the residents were noted down and instructions would be passed on to the department concerned. The empty spaces beside the footpath where the garbage is being thrown and burnt could be developed into small parks or open gyms which could be used by the residents. Encroachments would be removed and a regular cleanliness drive would be conducted in the area. We will also need cooperation from the residents to keep the area clean. We will be conducting team visits like these in other areas too to understand the civic issues being faced by the residents there, Gojare said.

Aundh-Baner ward officer and assistant municipal commissioner Sandip Khalate, who heard the citizens complaints, said that the encroachment and garbage issue would be resolved on priority. We will instruct the staff to not keep the dried leaves waste piled up on the footpath and keep a designated area where it could be kept. Citizens can reach out to us on the helpline number to report any garbage burning incident, Khalate said.
A Davenport man already charged with providing marijuana to a 14-year-old is facing allegations he sexually abused the teen.

Joshua Craig Dvorak, 43, was arrested Friday and is charged in Scott County District Court with one count of third-degree sexual abuse. The charge is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 10 years.

According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Police Detective AJ Poirier, on Feb. 20, Davenport Police began an investigation into the possible sexual assault and distribution of drugs to a child.

Dvorak was arrested for providing marijuana to a 14-year-old. In interviews with police, Dvorak made admissions to providing marijuana to the teen and admitted to officers that marijuana and drug paraphernalia could be found inside his home.

After obtaining a search warrant, officers located and seized 4 grams marijuana in Dvoraks home, as well as paraphernalia consistent with marijuana use.

Dvorak was arrested that day and is charged that case with one count of drug distribution violation to a person under the age of 18. The charge is a Class B felony that carries a prison sentence of 25 years.

He also is charged in that case with possession of a controlled substance-marijuana-first offense, a serious misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year.

Further investigation indicated Dvorak sexually abused the 14-year-old, according to Poiriers affidavit.

Dvorak is scheduled to be arraigned on the drug charges April 6 in Scott County District Court.

During first appearance on the sex abuse charge Saturday in District Court, Magistrate Catherine Cartee scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 11.

Dvorak was being held Monday in the Scott County Jail on a cash-only bond of $25,000.
A Clinton man on parole from the Iowa DOC and who is a registered sex offender on lifetime supervised release will have to serve 27 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

Timothy Craig Geerts, 49, was sentenced March 28 in U.S. District Court, Davenport.

Federal authorities arrested Geerts on April 20, 2022, on four counts of production of child pornography and one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

According to the federal grand jury indictment handed down April 13, 2022, on Sept. 16, 2018, and Sept. 22, 2018, Geerts coerced three minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct on separate occasions so he could produce child pornography.

On Dec. 27, 2018, Geerts possessed child pornography that had been shipped via interstate commerce including by cell phone.

The indictment also accused Geerts of possessing a Marlin .22-caliber rifle, a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun and a Mossburg 12-gauge shotgun.

On Nov. 17, 2022, Geerts pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, production of child pornography, and Count 5, prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

During a sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose sentenced Geerts to 324 months, or 27 years, in prison on the production of child pornography charge, and a concurrent term of 120 months, or 10 years, on the weapons charge.

Geerts also must serve five years on supervised release after he complete his prison sentence. He will receive credit for the time he has served in custody while awaiting trial and sentencing.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

Geerts is currently on parole in Iowa until July 20 of this year.

On Jan. 3, 2019, Clinton Police arrested Geerts on a charge of second-degree sexual abuse for making a video involving a 10-year-old girl. The charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Clinton Police Detective Kristopher Blount, the video had a time stamp of Sept. 22, 2018.

On March 22, 2019, Geerts pleaded guilty to an amended charge of third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 years.

On April 18, 2019, Clinton County District Judge Joel Barrows sentenced Geerts to 10 years in prison with credit for time served in the Clinton County Jail awaiting trial.

According to Iowa Department of Corrections electronic records, Geerts was released from prison on Dec. 28, 2021. He is on lifetime supervised release in Iowa.
A day after tornado-producing storms rolled through eastern Iowa and northern Illinois, meteorologists with the National Weather Service, Davenport, were still trying to count how many tornadoes touched down and survey the damage.

Andy Ervin said he spent the day surveying damage that occurred north of the Quad-City metropolitan area.

We would need a hundred people to get all of the surveys done in a day, Ervin said Saturday. We got some significant tornadoes in the area. We dont have a number yet, but it was one of the most significant tornado outbreaks that weve had in this region.

Ervin said the tornado that struck Charlotte was an EF2, packing estimated winds of 121 mph and cut a path 350 yards wide and 17.48 miles long. That tornado developed over Grand Mound, where it collapsed a house, trapping three people. One of those people was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

The damage included snapped utility poles, as well as damage to barns and outbuildings. That tornado ended in Goose Lake.

The tornado that struck the Moon River Cabins and Riverview RV Park in Bellevue in Jackson County was an EF1 with estimated speeds of 104 mph, Ervin said. The path of the tornado was about 100 yard wide and 5.46 miles in length.

Bellevue Police Chief Dennis Schroeder said in a news release on Friday that the tornado struck about 6:20 p.m. The twister uprooted many trees and flipped over campers. Cabins were destroyed, with some being flipped over and thrown into the river. Three people were taken to area hospitals.

Ervin said that tornado ended about 2 miles southeast of Rice in Jo Daviess County in Illinois.

An EF2 tornado packing an estimated 122 mph winds touched down 3 miles southeast of Rochester in Cedar County and ended 2 miles northwest of Big Rock in Clinton County. That twister measured 200 yards wide and covered 19.63 miles.

Ervin said that tornado snapped utility poles and large trees and caused significant damage to two houses southwest of Bennett, Iowa, as well as a couple of concrete-block silos south of Bennett.

Chance Kness, the emergency management coordinator for Clinton County said Saturday that everything is stabilized.

Theres a lot of recovery to be done, but in terms of life and safety and incident stabilization, all things are in good shape, Kness said.

There could be a few people still without power, but most of it is back on, he added. We had a few families displaced because their homes were destroyed. Were helping them move toward their new future home. Theyre also working with their insurance companies on that.

Ervin said he was unsure if Scott County had a tornado, or if it was a funnel cloud.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a Disaster Proclamation for 12 eastern Iowa counties on Saturday after storms that produced tornados damaged property and injured several people.

Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Grundy, Johnson, Keokuk, Linn, Mahaska, Wapello and Washington counties were named in the proclamation.

Also activated by the proclamation is Iowas Individual Assistance Grant Program for qualifying residents, along with the Disaster Case Management Program for the counties.

The grant program provides up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level. The grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of food and clothing, and temporary housing expenses. The application is available at https://dhs.iowa.gov/disaster-assistance-programs.

No damage was reported in Rock Island County other than some tree damage and power lines being felled, but MidAmerican Energy reported no power outages Saturday.

In Mercer County, Sheriff Dusty Terrill said there were a lot of trees and power lines down and a couple of barns collapsed. A number of businesses and residents were still without power, he added.

No damage to houses has been reported, Terrill said, and there were no reports of injuries.

Ervin said Saturday that meteorologists were keeping an eye on a storm system moving along the Pacific coast from Alaska that, if it comes together just right, could produce severe storms that could impact the Quad-City region and eastern Iowa on Tuesday afternoon into the evening hours.

That system will begin moving toward the Midwest after it reaches the four corners of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

That system could produce another severe weather event along a similar path that Fridays storms took, Ervin said. Itll take a few days to get here, but if it comes together right we could see some more severe weather.
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By 2007, when the United Nations designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, Bruno Bettelheim had been knocked off his pedestal in the field of child psychiatry. But three decades earlier, he was a popular-culture hero.

Famously known as Dr. B., he made a cameo appearance in Woody Allens movie Zelig. His book Dialogues With Mothers rivaled in influence those written by the parenting guru Dr. Spock.

But upon on his death in 1990, it became apparent that Bettelheim had pulled off a monumental scientific fraud.

He wasnt who he claimed to be. He hadnt rescued children from autisms grip with compassion. Instead, he had bullied into submission his patients at the Orthogenic School, a residential treatment center at the University of Chicago for emotionally disturbed children, where he was director from 1944 to 1973.

In a 1990 issue of Commentary magazine, Ronald Angres recalled his 12 years in Dr. Bs Orthogenic School:

Though Bettelheim routinely proclaimed in print and speech that no one should ever use corporal punishment on children, Angres wrote, I lived for years in terror of his beatings, in terror of his footsteps in the dorms  in abject, animal terror.

In the limited contact that patients were allowed with their parents, Angres begged to come home. But his father, a psychiatrist, refused to hear his complaints.

I experienced the blinding power of Bettelheims deception. After the Orthogenic School, Angres enrolled in Lake Forest College, where I was a professor.

Do you know Dr. B hit the children? Angres asked at our first meeting.

I said I couldnt believe it. As a student at the University of Chicago, I had hung on every word of a Bettelheim lecture. I was transfixed by his book on fairy tales, The Uses of Enchantment. It was obvious he had a gruff, domineering side. But could he have faked his resume and led autism research up a blind alley?

Born in Vienna in 1903, Bettelheim belonged to an affluent Jewish family. His university studies were interrupted by his fathers death, which forced him to take over the familys lumber business. Some who knew him thought him less a scholar than a rich mans son.

He was a playboy riding around Vienna in a red roadster, Bertram Cohler, who worked with Bettelheim and briefly headed the Orthopedic School, told the Tribune in 1990.

His University of Vienna transcript suggested Bettelheims Ph.D. was in art history and philosophy, but it was never clear. He only took a few psychology courses, but the dean who hired him at the University of Chicago assumed Bettelheim had a second Ph.D. in psychology, until informed to the contrary by a Tribune reporter.

A wealthy American couple came to Vienna seeking help for their apparently autistic daughter. Not finding a psychiatrist willing to take the case, the girl was left in the care of Bettelheims wife, Gina. She had worked with Freuds daughter Anna, who applied her fathers theories to children.

Ginas experience  which Bettelheim later passed on as his own  became the source of Bettelheims interest in milieu therapy, treating patients in a strictly controlled environment.

Gina also induced him to go to a psychiatrist, perhaps because their marriage was failing. The experience was brief, but Bettelheim later suggested that hed undergone in-depth analysis, the prerequisite for certification as a psychoanalyst.

When Hitler annexed Austria in 1938, Bettelheim was deported to the Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. He found his lifes work behind barbed wire.

He covertly studied his own and other prisoners reaction to the beatings, which he later presented in a psychologically insightful paper. In Individual and Mass Behavior In Extreme Situations, Bettelheim observed that the concentration camp was the blueprint for Nazi-occupied Europe.

It is the Gestapos laboratory where it develops methods for changing free and upright citizens not only into grumbling slaves, but into serfs who in many respects accept their masters values.

Bettelheim got to the University of Chicago with help from the Rockefeller Foundation, which found places for refugee scholars. He was assigned to assist Ralph Tyler, who was evaluating high school art programs.

Then Bettelheim was sent to teach art history at Rockford College. The school also needed someone to teach psychology, so Bettelheim volunteered for that post.

Tyler had administrative responsibility for the Orthogenic School, and needed to find a new director. Parents were upset with the incumbent, and Bettelheim somehow convinced Tyler to appoint him head of one of the few psychiatric facilities for young people. Richard Pollak, the author of The Creation of Dr. B, a biography of Bettelheim, believed Bettelheim was driven by a desperate need to be somebody, and that the school provided an outlet for his ambitions.

There was always a peculiar tradition on the American frontier, that when you were frustrated with your life, you simply pushed on farther West and reinvented yourself, Pollak wrote.

Pollaks brother, an Orthogenic School patient, was killed in a car accident. By Bettelheims analysis the boys death was a thinly disguised form of suicide in which his parents participated in because of their own inadequacies, Pollak told the Tribune in 1997.

Bettelheim had borrowed a concept from Leo Kanner, who in the 1940s first described autism as an inability to empathize with others. Kanner, a child psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, considered the condition was due to inadequate mothering.

Kanner eventually rejected his own theory, but guilt-tripping refrigerator mothers was a hallmark of Bettelheims career. He rejected the possibility of autisms origin being organic.

Freudianism was sacred scripture at the Orthogenic School. Counselors had to regularly lie down on Bettelheims analytic couch and express their most intimate feelings. Surrendering secrets is the prerequisite to emotional growth, Bettelheim taught. But he didnt reciprocate.

Sometimes Dr. B talked about growing up in Vienna, but only to illustrate some concept he was trying to teach you, recalled Jacquelyn Sanders, one of his successors at the Orthogenic School. Over the years, he would recount the same incident differently.

The reason was obvious once Angres and other alums blew the whistle on the grim reality of life in the Orthogenic Schools dormitories. Dr. B was making up his biography, one draft after another. Once that breach was made, verifiable facts replaced the fairy tales he told about himself.

His claims of notable success in treating autism were undercut by Sanders revelation of Dr. Bs gatekeeping. The most seriously disturbed children werent admitted. In retrospect she wondered how many of those taken in were truly autistic.

By the time Bettelheim retired in 1973, child psychiatry was being realigned with science. Drugs were being developed that reduced attention deficits and hyperactivity. The disorder was renamed the Autism spectrum, in recognition of its various manifestations and severity.

School boards created special-education departments where autistic children got therapy without giving up the family life that Dr B.s approach denied them.

In his final years, Bettelheim was isolated, increasingly forgotten by the profession of which he was the architect. He was estranged from the daughter who had provided him emotional support. Declining health forced him into a nursing home. The depression he intermittently suffered became chronic. He obsessed over how he would be remembered.

On March 13, 1990, he died after swallowing a batch of barbiturates and tying a plastic bag over his head.

Among the revelations that triggered was Roberta Redfords letter to the editor of Commentary. Orthogenic School counselors had silently witnessed Bettelheim beating her, she wrote.

I was at a loss to understand this until a friend of mine, a mental-health professional herself, made an important point, namely, that professionals today are required to report to authorities even the slightest suspicion of child abuse, let alone anything as blatant as what Bettelheim committed.

Photos: Tornado collapses northern Illinois theater roof
CHICAGO  The ComEd Four trial recordings have given jurors  and the public  the ultimate insider glimpse into how the famously reclusive former House Speaker Michael Madigan conducted his business.

The more than 100 secretly recorded phone calls and meetings, which were gleaned from wiretaps and confidential informants over the course of more than a year, form the backbone of the case, one of the most highly watched political trials in Illinois for years.

The recordings played in court so far show how closely Madigan worked with longtime confidant Michael McClain, a former ComEd contract lobbyist on everything from political strategy to major legislation important to the speaker.

They also portrayed in colorful relief Madigan and McClain playing hardball, plotting the forced resignation of a longtime ally and talking about delivering body blows to Madigans counterpart in the Senate over a perceived political slight.

Along with McClain, 75, the other members of the ComEd Four are former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, 64; ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, 73, and Jay Doherty, 69, a lobbyist and consultant who formerly led the City Club of Chicago. McClain and Madigan are charged in a separate corruption case that is tied to the ComEd scandal.

The indictment alleged the ComEd Four schemed to shower Madigan allies with jobs, contracts, internships and legal work to woo the now-indicted ex-speaker into looking favorably at ComEds Springfield agenda.

The defendants attorneys contend that the so-called scheme was nothing more than legal lobbying, part of the states high-stakes, often-messy politics where myriad interest groups and stakeholders compete for access to lawmakers.

Despite nearly four decades at the helm of Illinois politics, ex-House Speaker Michael Madigans voice was rarely heard publicly, outside of an occasional news conference or speech on the House floor.

But Madigans voice echoed through a Chicago federal courtroom on March 16 as prosecutors played a series of undercover recordings showing how the then-powerful speaker muscled out one of his longtime allies, Lou Lang, to stave off a potentially new sexual harassment scandal.

Former Illinois Senate President John Cullertons name surfaced in recorded conversations between former House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain, talking about a 2018 political dispute that had brewed largely out of the public eye.

Madigan complained about a political ad critical of him and tied to Senate Democrats that Cullerton led in 2018, saying that the attacks should be aimed at President Donald Trump and other Republicans rather than the speaker, who doubled as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

In a secretly recorded telephone call in July 2018, McClain opened by saying bluntly, Sorry about that stupid Cullerton move. After Madigan asked, Whats your take on what I should do? McClain suggested letting him and other allies of the speaker hammer Cullerton with body blows.

McClain told Madigan on the recording that the longtime lobbyist had sent Cullerton a text expressing displeasure and that sooner or later Cullerton had to be told it is (expletive) inappropriate.

Prosecutors also played a wiretapped call between Will Cousineau, a lobbyist and longtime political director on Madigans Democratic staff, and Michael McClain, a ComEd contract lobbyist and one of Madigans longtime confidants, from 2018, shortly after Cousineau had left the speakers office for his role in lobbying, which included working on ComEd issues.

Hows the dark side? McClain asked on the call.

Its stressful in a different way, Cousineau replied.

As long as we remember who our real client is, McClain said, its not easy but it mollifies it.

Prosecutors played a May 2018 recording between retired lobbyist Michael McClain and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore. in which he informed her the speaker wanted her to keep pressing to get former McPier boss Juan Ochoa appointed to the ComEd board and Mike Zalewski on a contract.

OK got it. I will keep pressing, Pramaggiore said.

McClain told Pramaggiore on the call that when he talked to Madigan about Ochoas potential financial problems, the speakers response was that Harry Truman filed for bankruptcy too.

Pramaggiore laughed. It is classic him! I love it. And he would know that, you know? she said.

Shortly after being confronted by FBI agents in 2019 and deciding to cooperate in an ongoing bribery probe, then-ComEd Senior Vice President Fidel Marquez secretly videotaped a lunch meeting in Springfield with one of House Speaker Michael Madigans most trusted confidants.

The FBI had instructed Marquez to ask Madigans associate, Michael McClain, what he should tell ComEds new CEO about their scheme to funnel payments to a roster of Madigan-approved allies through a consulting company owned by Jay Doherty, a longtime ComEd contract lobbyist.

Other potentially damaging videos played in court included a conversation where Doherty acknowledged to Marquez that the Madigan guys hed been paying as subcontractors did nothing for him on a day-to-day basis but keep their mouth shut.

Another video played in court showed a meeting at Marquezs ComEd office on Feb. 13, 2019, where Doherty explained the origins of the scheme to slip the cadre of Madigan-backed subcontractors onto his own lobbying contract with ComEd.

Jurors also listened to a recorded call between Marquez and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore from Feb. 16, 2019, that contained candid conversation after she left ComEd to become CEO of Exelon Utilities, including how she wanted Marquez to avoid seeing the subcontractor issue blow up while ComEd still had legislation pending in Springfield.

Prosecutors played a recording where then-House Speaker Michael Madigans longtime confidant, Michael McClain quizzed former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore about finding a job for Tim Mapes.

Madigan dumped Mapes from his three roles as chief of staff, House clerk and executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois in June 2018 when a clerk working for Mapes accused him of sexual harassment, bullying and creating an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Marquez and Pramaggiore were later captured in another recording discussing whether Mapes was employable at ComEd or Exelon.

I keep thinking about how we can be helpful to (Mapes), Pramaggiore said. Its hard to do anything directly.

Timeline: Looking back at the career of Mike Madigan Early career State office Chairman position Blagojevich rift Income tax rate Rift with Rauner #MeToo movement Firing aide FBI raid Kifowit runs against Madigan
JOLIET  A suburban Chicago teen accused of fatally shooting his 17-year-old girlfriend, a 9-year-old girl and the child's 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 west of Chicago.

Police have said Shelton-Tillman and Montgomery dated.

Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term
BELVIDERE  Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere on Sunday to survey damage caused by the Friday tornado that killed one man and injured over 40 adults during a metal concert.

Arriving in Belvidere, Pritzker gave a short news conference. He confirmed that one person had died, 48 others were treated in hospitals and five remained in critical condition following the collapse.

Pritzker also praised the quick work of residents and first responders who helped pull people out of the rubble after the tornado touched down Friday evening. He said their actions saved lives.

The people of Illinois know when others are hurting, he said. Neighbors show up for each other to help alleviate the suffering, and as your governor, I really couldnt be more proud of everyone.

The news conference took place at 104 N. State Street, Belvidere, the site in central Boone County where an EF-1 twister caused the theaters roof to collapse onto the crowd.

It was one of 12 tornadoes that tore through Illinois on Friday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed.

Pritzker issued an emergency disaster proclamation Saturday evening for Boone, Crawford, DuPage, Marion and Sangamon counties to unlock immediate assistance and public safety support for communities affected by the storms.

Dan Zaccard, director of Boone County emergency management, told the Tribune that 50-year-old Frederick Forest Livingston, Jr. died in the collapse. By Saturday, Zaccard said that some of the over 40 wounded had already gone home. Those still hospitalized had mostly suffered head trauma and soft tissue injuries, he said. None of the injured were children.

Zaccard also confirmed that a tornado caused the accident. Characterized as an EF-1, the storm had wind speeds between 90 and 100 miles per hour, he said.

The weather service did their survey and found the tornado had a 28-mile track that started in Ogle County and ended in North Boone County, Zaccard said.

During the Belvidere news conference, Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau also expressed gratitude for those who were on the scene Friday night.

If it wasnt for the fast and coordinated efforts on Friday night, we would have seen a more tragic outcome from the events, Tate-Nadeau said. I really want to tell you what a great job your fire and police have done for you in being able to respond to this incident. If it wasnt for their actions, there would have been many more lost lives.

Pritzker also said the Illinois Emergency Management Agency is working alongside local officials to assess other storm impacts throughout the state. He said by the end of the day, power would be restored to the remaining 4,400 customers experiencing outages.

Later Sunday, Pritzker was scheduled to travel to Robinson and give a news conference on the storm damage in Crawford County, on the Indiana border in Southern Illinois.

At least three people died in there due to Friday storms, state Rep. Adam Niemerg said Saturday. Their names were not immediately released.

Photos: Tornado collapses northern Illinois theater roof
When I sat down last Wednesday to write this column, my intention was to follow an old tradition, but the news intruded.

Since seminary days I have spent part of Holy Week  which starts with todays Palm Sunday - reading at least one book about some aspect of religion. There were no set standards. It could be devotional or heretical, fact or fiction; analytical or speculative.

That process yielded some interesting ideas and not a few Sunday columns. This year I sent my sights of a provocative new work by Francesca Stavrakopoulou, God: An Anatomy and a 1996 Pulitzer prize-winner, God: a Fictional Biography by James Wicks.

But that was before the news came that Pope Francis had been hospitalized and the latest issue of the National Catholic Reporter landed in my mailbox. That juxtaposition brought into focus the fragility of all that Francis has tried to accomplish.

The announcement that Francis is suffering from a respiratory infection is worrying. He had a potion of his right lung removed after a bout of pneumonia when he was 21, just before he entered the seminary. Given that and his age (86) he is in a vulnerable condition.

Add to that news the page one headline in the current issue of National Catholic Reporter. It makes plain why this latest illness has many Catholics edgy. Among the many articles celebrating his 10 years as pope, the lead story asserted that, if he lives two more years, he will have had time to appoint about two-thirds of American bishops and archbishops, tipping the balance between episcopal hard-liners and the pastoral prelates he prefers.

Thats enough to bring Catholics to their knees; most praying for his recovery; while a fair proportion will earnestly entreat God to grant Francis his eternal reward, without much caring what it might be. You can count a dedicated minority of Americas Catholic hierarchy in the latter group.

Catholics in the United States are divided. Some are retreating into a small enclave of rigid conservatism, controlled by bishops wedded to the past and funded by wealthy hard-liners who see religion as a useful political tool. They have gained majority control of the Supreme Court and are working, in cooperation with Christian fundamentalists, to turn our democracy into a Christian authoritative state. That may sound extreme, but thats because you dont watch Eternal Word TV.

Others see in Francis a return to something more akin to the very beginnings of Christianity, when it consisted of gatherings of people who were trying to practice Jesus teachings of radical equality. Its not surprising that women and slaves, living under male domination, were drawn to the prospect of such a world.

The Popes newest project to that end is synodality, bringing laity into equal exchanges with clergy to determine the future of Catholicism. It is viewed by some as a threat to the monarchical structure of the church, but Francis admirers see it as a loosening of the Holy Spirit into the world, welcoming all, excluding none. It is a revival of the ideals first proposed in the Second Vatican Council, called by Pope John XXIII in 1962.

The process is underway, embraced by some, resisted by others. It will be interesting to see how it comes together in Rome this coming October, with a second meeting a year later. The culmination of the project is another reason to hope the Pope makes a complete recovery. His presence will give the unwieldy undertaking coherence.

As the world continues to fragment into differences: political, religious, ethnic, racial, etc., its major religion, Christianity, appears to be faltering in the west, especially in the United States. The mainline Protestant denominations have seen church attendance dropping steadily. Some megachurches continue to draw crowds, but even the fundamentalists are losing adherents.

Sex scandals have dogged all religions through the years, but nothing has been so dramatic and debilitating to Catholicism as the revelation of widespread pedophilia among a supposedly celibate clergy and the routine cover-up of offenses by Catholic bishops. It destroyed Catholicisms control of Ireland and has weakened its authority everywhere.

Francis stepped into his pontificate with the burden of dealing with the problem and he has made some headway, but the wound is deep and will take a long time to heal. While many of the hierarchy went into a defensive crouch, Francis moved toward openness and healing. It has worked to a degree, but much remans to be done.

It has been difficult to get clergy and laity to focus on even more pressing problems, such as climate change and the resulting mass immigration it has caused. The hope is that synodality will provide the means to focus attention on this and other problems roiling the world.

Francis expressed his frustration a while back when he fretted to an Italian Jesuit magazine that the church was too fixated on homosexuality, abortion, and birth control. There are weightier problems to deal with and he has tried to use his position in the church and the world to bring us all together to address them.

He cant get the job done from a hospital bed. A lot is riding on his recovery.
Featuring nearly 50 "Made in Montana" artisans, Bitter Root Arts Guild is hosting the "Spring in the Bitterroot" show this month.

The BRAG show, set for Saturday, April 8, will include food items, personal care products, candles, paintings, jewelry, woodworking, leather crafts, needlework/sewn products, glasswork, metalwork and pottery for sale at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds Event Center.

BRAG organizer Melody Lindsay said there will be beautifully crafted products.

Well also have a wholesale market available for wholesale buyers to visit booths, view products, talk to vendors and make purchases from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Lindsay said. The public is invited to come see the amazing offerings from our local artists and craftsmen from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year's BRAG show is sponsored by K&S Greenhouse in Corvallis and includes a floral competition.

BRAG members as well as members of the public are encouraged to participate and enter their floral products in three categories: silk floral, live floral arrangements and a general category for all other floral artistic creations, Lindsay said.

Entries will be accepted at the event center (the Farmers State Bank building) from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 7.

A BRAG member is creating hand-thrown vases to be awarded in each category. There's also a Peoples Choice category that the public votes for.

Winners (besides People's Choice) will be chosen by a three-person panel of judges selected from local businesses, Lindsay said. So far we have Gale Price with K&S Greenhouse in Corvallis and Dawn Newkirk with The Bitterroot Flower and Gift Co. in Darby, and we are seeking a third judge.

Lindsay said artwork by Shirley Anderson Sylvester, a long-time BRAG member, is a great example of the quality and superior craftsmanship available at the show.

Shirley was born and raised in the Bitterroot Valley, Lindsay said. Shirley began her art career in 1985 painting in oils and later in 1995 began her work in watercolors. A signature Montana Watercolor Society member, her works reflect the Montana life, often including old homesteads and barns which have greatly influenced her artwork."

The BRAG event will have food available for purchase from Moose Creek BBQ and wine by the glass from Blodgett Canyon Cellars.

Other BRAG shows include Art in the Park, which takes place the second Saturday in July, and the Holiday Christmas Extravaganza Show, on the first Friday and Saturday in November at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds Event Center.
A truly remarkable discovery was recently made near St. Mary's Peak. A survey team, composed of Dr. Pope, Henry Wood, Will Rummell, William Bourne, Lyman Blodgett, Colonel Fowler, noted scientist Col. E. P. Dolan, and attorney R. A. O'Hara, was attempting to locate the source of a stream that feeds several irrigation ditches when they come upon a monster ship in a gully about 100 hundred feet from the peak. After a careful measurement, it was determined the vessel was 4,643 feet long and 220 feet wide. The discoverers concluded it couldn't be anything but Noah's ark (but at almost a mile long, it would be nearly nine times longer than its stated length in the Bible). They speculated that, after Noah and his family had left the ark, the giant ship had drifted out to sea where it had been commandeered by pirates who sailed through the Bearing Strait where they soon abandoned the great ship (no word on how these pirates "materialized"). From there, it drifted to its current location near the top of St. Mary's. Its nearly perfect condition was attributed to the fresh, clean air of Montana (even acknowledging the lack of significant pollution during the last several thousand years, a nearly 5,000 year old wooden ship would likely have deteriorated quite a bit).

Upon further inspection, they discovered several petrified animals including three elephants, four horses, and numerous cows, lions, tigers, and bears. There was also a beautiful petrified white dove with a petrified olive branch in its mouth. Apparently, Noah had brought extra animals onboard the ark just in case some perished during the long voyage. In addition to animals, petrified people were found, some sitting upright, others reclining on petrified beds. The team speculated that the ark had encountered a race of hostile people who entered the ark after Noah and his family had earlier exited on Mt. Ararat. After consuming the meager provisions within the ship, these people perished and were petrified in place (unfortunately, things like twigs and beds cannot undergo petrification).

Dolan, Bourne, and Pope are of the opinion that, without doubt, this ship is the original ark. Through supernatural powers, Noah and his subjects along with all of the animals, were spirited from the ark to Mt. Ararat. The men averred that their discovery is worthy of further attention and investigation by the entirety of the scientific world. Great excitement permeates the entire Bitter Root Valley over this remarkable and historic discovery. The exact location of the ark remains a closely guarded secret among the men of the survey team so as to preserve the giant ship until a proper scientific investigation can be done. Shortly, they will be contacting the appropriate scientists for them to properly examine the great ship and then make a proper assessment.

The above is based on a story from a late March of 1892 edition of the Bitter Root Bugle. It is obviously a spoof due to it being published so near April Fools Day. Even so, one wonders how many people at that time believed it was a real account of finding the historic ark of the Bible.
Its been over nine months since historic flooding devastated Red Lodge, but the town continues to heal as the spring season begins.

Resulting from a unique combination of seasonal factors, floodwaters ripped through the small tourist community, leaving behind washed-out roads and bridges, homes swept away, and tons of debris.

With the event approaching its one-year mark, reconstruction of the retaining wall against Rock Creek continues, hollowed-out homes still stand vacant and various Caterpillar machinery can be seen in neighborhoods along the creek.

When Red Lodge resident Amanda Cox returned home just east of Rock Creek on Sunday night June 12, she found her sun deck gone and the water level rising. At 2:15 (a.m.) we were getting a pound on our door telling us we have limited time to pack our stuff and get out because it was flooding pretty bad at that point, she said.

For the next three nights, she slept in her car with her husband and two dogs in the Red Lodge Airport parking lot before they could return home.

Her deck and a portion of her back yard were lost. But, it was worse for neighbors, some whose basements filled with mud and others who lost their homes entirely.

The terrible flood came a year after a devastating fire blackened nearby mountainsides and nearly roared right into town. And there have been floods and fires before that.

Now, theres talk about another fire, another flood, another fire and a flood, Cox said. So, were a little worried, but well see what happens,

A toolbox for disasters

The June flash flooding has been described as a 500-year flood, caused by warm weather and heavy rains washing the late-season snowpack out of the mountains all at once.

This particular group of conditions has also been called an atmospheric river  heavily concentrated moisture in the lower levels of atmosphere  which are most common along the Pacific Coast. California has suffered 13 atmospheric rivers this winter, which have produced record rain and snow in parts of the state and caused billions in damage. But, those moist airstreams usually blow themselves out before they get to Montana.

So its rare for that much moisture to make it into our area and a flood of that nature is very rare, said NWS Billings meteorologist Julie Arthur.

Many of the washed-out structures in Red Lodge remain almost a year later, although the same cant be said of residents. With a population of 2,257 reported by the 2020 census, its been estimated that about 100 people permanently left Red Lodge due to a combination of property damages, a lack of sufficient relief and lingering trauma.

In total, about 100 homes in Red Lodge were affected, along with dozens of businesses and buildings, several washed out public and private bridges, tangled power and water lines, and partially destroyed roads.

Following an emergency declaration, some frustrated residents claimed state and federal aid was going more quickly to economic interests like reopening the Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone National Park than to local housing.

Following the flood, the total number of National Flood Insurance Plans with FEMA in Red Lodge was 18. Elsewhere, Cox said residents who had applied for flood relief were told by FEMA reps they were eligible for $6,000 to replace $100,000 due to their location on the local floodplain.

That might amount to a couple of things here and there but compared to the emotional damage thats been done, that replaces nothing, she said.

Cox added that the most significant aid to date has come from local volunteers and organizations. She recalled seeing pallets of water donated by Amazon Prime along with food donations brought in from Billings the very next day.

According to the Red Lodge Area Community Foundations annual report, more than $1.3 million had been donated to the Carbon County Disaster Relief Fund. It was distributed through four phases of grants to households, property owners, agricultural producers and disaster recovery navigators throughout Carbon County, according to executive director Tracy Timmons. The number of volunteers has decreased since the floods, but are now more specialized for home remediation work rather than removing muck.

More relief money available

Timmons noted there are still hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding yet to be distributed. Since renters are one demographic that have yet to benefit, she said they were looking there for its next phase of grants.

If theres anything to take away from all this, its all the sectors, all sides of the county coming together that really reinforce the human spirit, she said.

Coming off a significant wildfire season from the prior year, which was preceded by a year of COVID-19 challenges, Red Lodge was looking forward to a normal year of tourists and summer events. Despite the devastation that followed, Red Lodge mayor Kirsten Cogswell said that none of their annual events were canceled but rather new ones like the Red Lodge Summer Fest have begun as a result of various fundraising events last year.

That was started to specifically to help the merchants recover from some of the losses from a lack of tourism and I think its going to be a quite lovely annual event now, she said.

Most residents have remained pragmatic and are now better equipped for the unexpected. Since the floods, an improved system of communication has developed with local city and county officials and disaster coordinators holding weekly meetings along with regular public updates on any developments.

Timmons explained during the beginning of the flooding, volunteers would agree to certain mitigation, communication and other roles using their personal resources and contact information which exposed their accessibility to hundreds  if not thousands  of people. Learning from this, they have since implemented centralized software for volunteer management.

Now we have a toolbox for disasters, she said.

In addition to a more prepared and organized response, there could also be more accurate forecasts ahead of similar events going forward. Arthur explained that part of the reason the flood came as such a surprise is because there was no data on record comparable to those specific conditions.

If its not in our climatological records, then our signals are not going to really pick up on that, so it makes it more difficult to forecast, she said. Although now that weve had one and if there were to be another one, we might have more data in our models that would lead us down the right path with that.

Working diligently

As far as public infrastructure is concerned, most flood remediation to date has focused primarily on road and bridge repairs though this focus may soon shift.

In conjunction with the Montana Department of Transportation, contractors Wadsworth Brothers and Wilson & Company began repairs in January on the retaining wall along Broadway Avenue where some of the most severe damage took place. Total repair costs have been estimated to be between $20-24 million with the intention of getting completed before the spring runoff begins.

In a February press release, FEMA announced that $1.5 million in public assistance funding had been approved for Red Lodge to date with future funding likely to be approved because of ongoing repairs that are needed and accrued volunteer hours recorded and submitted. Total hours recorded by the Red Lodge Area Foundation one month following the flood  which were subsequently submitted to FEMA  amounted to over 9,300.

Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced new funding for low-income residents in Carbon, Flathead, Park, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Treasure, and Yellowstone counties through the Rural Disaster Home Repair Program where qualifying residents can receive as much as $40,675 to assist with your flood recovery costs.

Still cleaning up

Arguably the next biggest issue that has gone largely unaddressed is the vegetative debris resulting from the flooding. Red Lodge residents have reported uprooted trees caught and unattended south of the Rock Creek Resort north of town.

In February, Montana Disaster and Emergency Services announced 34 debris removal sites in Yellowstone, Park, Carbon and Stillwater counties had been selected and would soon begin through a collaboration between them, FEMA, selected contractors and various state and county agencies.

In an online update, DES Recovery Program Manager Allison Taylor said they hope to begin removal in early April and finish by May with a hard deadline of June 16. Rock and sediment removal is a separate process and river data from before and after the flood must be collected before funding can be granted.

Due to the scope of this project, it does take a lot of work and it takes a lot of time, but were working diligently and were going as fast as we can, Taylor said in the update.

As far as Rock Creeks retaining wall is concerned, there may not be a hard deadline in place but its work carries on as if there is one. Repairs are expected to be completed by sometime in April or May, despite weather challenges like a recent storm leaving over three feet of snow in town.

Cox and other locals have noticed crews out working on repairs at least six days a week in recent months regardless of the conditions. Shes even seen them plowing snow out of their worksite when necessary.

I said to them one day, you guys are really hauling ass, she recalled. And they said back to me, yeah, its because we want to get this done by May.

Photos: A look back six months after the historic June 2022 flood Mike Kinsey house Flooding aerial Clark Fork of the Yellowstone flooding Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Flooding aerial Flooding aerial scenes on Thursday Glacier Lake Road Park City resident left with no answers 4 months after losing home in historic flood Fromberg still grappling with the effects of historic June flood Flooded Fromberg residents search for answers after historic flood Flooding damages homes in Fromberg, devastates residents as the Clarks Fork River sees historic flooding Flooding damages homes in Fromberg, devastates residents as the Clarks Fork River sees historic flooding Park City resident devastated as flooding destroys long-time resident's home Park City resident devastated as flooding destroys long-time resident's home Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge

Photos: Red Lodge surveys flood damage

Photos: Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge and surrounding region Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge Historic flooding devastates Red Lodge

Photos: Extreme flooding devastates Red Lodge and the surrounding region Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge Severe flooding devastates Red Lodge
ROME, April 2: A jovial Pope Francis joked with well-wishers on Saturday as he left hospital after a three-night stay for bronchitis, and headed back to the Vatican to prepare for Christianity's most important week.

The 86-year-old pontiff, who was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday with breathing difficulties, got out of the car transporting him and smiled and joked with the crowd.

Asked by someone how he felt, he quipped twice with a big smile "I am still alive!"





Francis will now begin preparations for Holy Week and Easter, the most important week in the Christian calendar.





The pontiff felt unwell Wednesday after a general audience in St Peter's Square, but his condition improved after he was given antibiotics.





On Friday, the pope visited the children's cancer ward at the hospital, handing out chocolate Easter eggs and baptising a weeks-old baby boy.





As he left on Saturday, he reached out to bless sick people, and stopped to hug and pray with distraught parents whose young daughter had just died.





The Argentine pope confirmed on Saturday he will preside over Palm Sunday mass in St Peter's Square, the start of a busy week of events leading up to Easter.





- 'Not scared' -





Francis' hospitalisation was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli.





His increasing health issues over the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life.





Pressed by journalists Saturday as to whether he had been scared by his latest illness, he shook his head and said "no".





He is set to dive back into work at the Vatican, with a meeting with a top cardinal on the agenda for later Saturday.





His predecessor, Benedict XVI, quit in 2013, in a radical step not seen since the Middle Ages.





Visitors to St Peter's Square on Friday expressed relief over his recovery.





"I was afraid for the pope," said one 56-year-old Italian tourist who gave his name as Davide.





"But I'm happy he's better, that he's returning. For believers and the Catholic community, it's important," he added.





Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church earlier this month.





He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.





- Presiding over mass -





He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down were his health to fail him -- but said last month that for now, he has no plans to quit.





During Palm Sunday mass, Francis is expected to remain seated while another cleric -- probably a senior cardinal -- conducts the ceremony at the altar.





The Vatican, citing medical staff, said on Thursday that Francis had been diagnosed with "infectious bronchitis" requiring antibiotics, and that the treatment had brought about a "marked improvement in his state of health".





The Gemelli hospital is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed "Vatican 3" by pope John Paul II, who was treated nine times at Gemelli and spent a total of 153 days there.





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 a walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer that he had 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.





Francis' earlier stay at Gemelli in July 2021 lasted 10 days. He was admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine, that required surgery.




At Virginia Commonwealth University, where cars and pedestrians are densely packed, traffic violations are constant.

On a recent Wednesday morning, VCU police pulled over a silver Honda on North Belvidere Street, a busy thoroughfare near the campuss edge. At the same moment about 50 feet away, on West Main Street, a state trooper had initiated a traffic stop with another silver Honda.

Since a student pedestrian was struck and killed while crossing Main in January, VCU police have increased their enforcement of speeding, disregarding street signs and other infractions on the urban campus. In a six-week period from February to March, VCU police issued more traffic summonses than they did in all of 2022.

Traffic is at the forefront of what were doing right now, said Lt. Edgar Greer of the VCU Police Department.

As part of a campaign to address road safety, VCU police have repositioned officers, dressed them up as referees and blasted social media with messages of traffic safety.

Their challenge is a significant one  to protect a population of students and employees who every day must cross major roads where most cars exceed the speed limit. And they do so at a time when car crash deaths in Richmond are rising.

But there are facets outside of VCUs control, including the speed limits and the sometimes flawed design of intersections. And the department has faced criticism alleging that the referee costumes place the blame on pedestrians and strike the wrong tone.

Corey Byers, a spokesperson for VCU police, said the point was not to blame any one group  it is to bring awareness to the issue  and, from that standpoint, Byers said the experiment is working.

This responsibility is not strictly on any one person, she said. The responsibility is on all of us  pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, the city, VCU  all of us.

518 summonses in six weeks

VCUs campaign began after the death of Mahrokh Khan, a 22-year-old VCU senior, on Jan. 27. She was hit by a car at the intersection of West Main and Laurel streets, near the Altria Theater, shortly before 9 a.m.

The driver remained on the scene and was not charged. The investigation is ongoing, a spokesperson for the Richmond Police Department said.

Greer, the VCU lieutenant, spends most of his workday in an office, overseeing the day shift. But each day, for an hour or two, he gets in his cruiser and patrols the streets.

On a weekday, VCU has about 25 of its 85 officers patrolling the two campuses, focused on traffic. The department has not deployed more officers to patrol since the campaign began, but it has reassigned them to the most crowded intersections.

Minutes after his patrol began, Greer noticed a white Volkswagen convertible violate the no-left-turn sign at North Harrison and West Grace streets. Greer turned the cruiser 180 degrees, stepped on the accelerator and flashed the blue lights. On the steering wheel, he filled out the $81 ticket.

When Greer issues a ticket, he tries to educate the driver as to what makes the violation unsafe. The no-left-turn signs were installed because pedestrian volume is high, and traffic backs up when one car waits to make a left-hand turn.

Minutes later, Greer caught a black Chevrolet Cruze committing the same violation. He has written this ticket so many times, he knows the code section by heart  46.2-830, disregarding a highway sign.

VCU officers have the latitude to choose when to write a ticket and when to let the driver off with a warning. But they are generally directed to write summonses when the infraction impacts safety.

Greers two tickets were among the hundreds written by VCU police this year. During the first six weeks of the campaign, VCU officers issued 518 traffic summonses, compared to only 466 in all of 2022. (VCU made fewer traffic stops during the pandemic, in an effort not to transmit the virus, Byers said. In 2022, the department made more traffic stops than it did in 2021, but still did not return to its pre-pandemic volume.)

The Richmond Police Department says it has stepped up traffic enforcement, too. Between December and March, the department devoted more officers to traffic patrol and issued 17% more summonses for speeding, seat belt violations and other infractions than it did during the same period a year earlier.

Pedestrian deaths are rising

The reason police are cracking down on traffic violations is that roads are getting more dangerous. There were 32 fatal car crashes in Richmond, the most in at least eight years, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Eleven of those crashes involved a pedestrian.

At VCUs Monroe Park Campus, the most dangerous roads for pedestrians are around its perimeter  North Harrison, West Broad, Belvidere and West Main streets.

On some VCU roads, the average driver does not obey the speed limit. On the 700 block of West Main, where Khan was killed and where the limit is 25 mph, the average driver goes 28 mph, according to VCU speed boxes that captured data during a two-week span this winter.

Two Richmond residents found the same result when they conducted a speed test at West Main and Laurel streets for more than an hour on a clear Thursday morning in March. The average driver went 28 mph, and two went as high as 40. The test was conducted by Sharon Shaw and Christian Schick, with support from Strong Towns, a nonprofit that opposes highway expansion and Americans dependency on cars.

On a recent Wednesday, four VCU officers and two state troopers issued 45 traffic summonses on or near VCU, including 11 for speeding and 11 for disregarding a highway sign.

The number of summonses written each day can fluctuate based on the calls of services and how long they occupy officers time, Byers said. The department does not strive to issue a certain number, and a state law prohibits departments from setting ticket quotas for their officers.

Officers are policing with a purpose, Byers said. The goal is to change driver behaviors.

In an effort to reach the public, VCU officers dressed as referees and stationed themselves at a busy crosswalk on campus. When a pedestrian walked against the light or outside the crosswalk, they blew whistles and dropped yellow flags. Virginia law does not allow a police officer to stop a pedestrian who jaywalks.

Instead, the department has handed out fliers and posted on Instagram to get peoples attention. One post showed a picture of a ticket for a driver going 57 mph in a 25-mph zone. VCU police also sent geofenced text messages that arrive on students phones when they approach certain intersections. The department says it has engaged more than 8,000 residents in a campaign that will conclude May 1.

The act of dressing as referees received some criticism, as some claimed the costumes struck an incorrect one and missed a vital point: the fact that intersections need structural changes to slow down cars.

The idea was to bring education and awareness to everyone, Greer said. People are talking about it, he said. Its eye-catching.

Factors outside VCUs control

VCU cannot control every facet of traffic safety. It cannot lower speed limits or redesign intersections, which are owned by the city. It can, however, make requests to the city, and the university is in the process of hiring a transportation engineering consultant to conduct a traffic safety survey and make recommendations.

The intersection where Khan was killed, Main and Laurel streets, could be more safely designed, said Jennifer Griffin, an urban designer who analyzed Khans death for Strong Towns. The broad lanes and wide turning radius from Main to Laurel allow cars to drive dangerously fast, she said.

If the curbs featured bump outs, narrowing the road, cars would drive slower, and pedestrians would have a shorter distance to cross. Main Street should no longer be considered a direct thoroughfare, given how it cuts through campus, she added. That is what the Downtown Expressway is for.

Other suggestions include lowering the 25-mph speed limit, removing turning lanes, raising the intersection and placing a crossing guard similar to the one outside the student center.

But Main and Laurel is not the only problematic intersection. West Broad and Belvidere streets have been the site of the most pedestrian wrecks, and there are a number of other packed intersections where police spend their time, including West Franklin and Shafer streets and West Main and North Linden streets.

As part of its master plan, VCU wants West Grace Street to become the main thoroughfare of campus. It is narrower, and cars generally move slower there.

During his Wednesday morning patrol, Greer approached the black Chevrolet Cruze that had made an illegal left turn and asked for the drivers license. After radioing in the womans name, Greer learned there was a warrant for her arrest. She had failed to appear in court on a charge of petit larceny, and her drivers license had been suspended.

The arrest would have to wait. She complained of chest pains, so Greer called an ambulance, which took her to VCU Medical Center.

Greer suspected a problem the moment the woman handed him a state-issued identification card and not a drivers license. Virginia residents cannot hold both cards simultaneously.

I knew it as soon as I pulled her over, Greer said. I knew there were some issues.
A South Richmond man has died a day after he allegedly killed his wife and then was shot by police.

Richmond Police said Saturday that James Talbert III, 63, had died of wounds in a shooting by officers who were trying to arrest him for the fatal shooting of his wife, Peace Talbert, 55, at their home on Evergreen Avenue in South Side.

Police spokesman James Mercante said officers went to the home in the 1100 block of Evergreen Avenue on Friday at 10:39 a.m. in response to a report that a person had been shot inside the home. Mercante said they found Peace Talbert unresponsive, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

She died from her injuries at a local hospital.

A half-hour later, two officers in the citys Fourth Precinct encountered James Talbert outside of his vehicle in the 4200 block of North Avenue in North Side. Mercante said the officers fired their weapons and struck Talbert. They were not injured, but rendered aid at the scene, Mercante said. Talbert died on Friday night in a local hospital.

Police said the officers recovered a firearm at the scene of the shooting.

The homicide is under investigation and, as with all officer-involved shooting incidents, the department is conducting a thorough investigation of the officer-involved shooting incident, Mercante said on Saturday.

Police asked anyone with information about the incidents to contact Major Crimes Detective M. Young at (804) 646-3926 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. They also may use the P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones to report information anonymously.

PHOTOS: Celebration of life for Irvo Otieno
Woman wanted in connection to triple Cancun murder captured in Mexico City

Cancun, Q.R.  A woman wanted in connection with a triple murder in Cancun has been arrested in Mexico City. Over the weekend, Concepcion M was captured in the countrys capital and returned to Quintana Roo.

She is believed related to a triple murder that took place in Cancun in March of 2019. According to the FGE, Concepcion M was taken into custody on an outstanding arrest warrant.

She is believed involved in the shooting deaths of three men who were killed on Bonampak Avenue. She is reported to be related to one of the shooting victims.

According to authorities, the three victims were traveling in a vehicle with another person who stopped on Bonampak Avenue. There, the three males were shot to death by another person from a second vehicle that was following them.

Concepcion M is the second person arrested in relation to the 2019 triple murder.

In January of this year, Apolinar O was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murders.
A new poll reveals the disquieting extent of young Americans support for Marxism. However, it also divulges the reasons behind the popularity of collectivism and the seeds of its destruction.

The number of young Americans who have a favorable view of Marxism has increased five-fold in just one year. According to the new survey, nearly one-third of the members of Gen Z  Americans between the ages of 16 and 23  deem Marxism worthy of support. The terms favorability has skyrocketed to 30% among Gen Z respondents, up from 6% in 2019.

Gen Zs approval of socialism also crept up nine points since last year (49% favorable in 2020, compared to 40% in 2019). The results come from the newest edition of the Report on U.S. Attitudes Toward Socialism, Communism, and Collectivism  which is commissioned annually by the Victims of Communism Memorial (VOC) and conducted by YouGov.

But the latest VOC poll, which was released Wednesday, contains an internal contradiction:

Americans increasingly distrust the government to take care of their interests, with 87% saying they trust themselves over the government and their community (a 7% increase from 2019). This is especially the case in younger generations, with only 6% of Gen Z and 5% of Millennials trusting the government to take care of their interests, down 8% and 11% from 2019, respectively.

How can young Americans distrust the government to look after their interests yet endorse socialism, which entrusts the government with the power to redistribute wealth, direct all economic activity, and control their access to such necessities as healthcare?

The polls results highlight two simple answers: ignorance of socialism and a jaundiced view of the United States induced by critical theory.

Americans suffer a two-pronged ignorance of socialism: what it is and what is has done. As Simon van Zuylen-Wood explained in New York magazine last March, the word [socialism] had lost its meaning by the time it got hot again. Thus, 31% of VOC respondents say they believe that socialism [m]eans a free market economy with private property in which the government provides ample social welfare benefits, as in many Scandinavian and Western European countries. In reality, Scandinavian countries have tried for years to inform Americans in general (and Bernie Sanders, in particular) that they are not socialist, and that democratic socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fundamentally misunderstand the Scandinavian model. The Nordic countries jettisoned policies like the ones AOC proposes after their economies crashed during the 1980s.

Researchers have found that socialisms popularity grew in tandem with public confusion about the economic system. Only 20% of registered voters in the U.S. associated socialism with government ownership of some (13%) or all (7%) of the economy in a Hill-HarrisX survey taken last May. One in three said socialism meant the government would end poverty and provide basic things. The same is true for Americans as a whole. A Gallup poll from October 2018 found that less than one in five U.S. citizens said socialism means abolishing private property, while 23% said socialism stands for equality  equal standing for everybody, all equal in rights, equal in distribution.

Americans also have no grasp of Marxisms bloody past  and present. The VOC finds that 32% of Americans think that Donald Trump is responsible for the deaths of more people than North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Twice as many Americans (64%) say they are unaware that the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for more deaths than Nazi Germany.

However, young Americans are aware of one nations failings: their own. Gen Z is almost twice as likely to believe America is a racist nation with a long history of discrimination (51%) as to say that America is a leading defender of freedom around the world (27%). Only 44% of Gen Z thinks that the American flag most accurately represents freedom, the poll finds. Hence, Americans are more likely to advocate toppling statues depicting Robert E. Lee (30%) or Christopher Columbus (26%) than Marxist mass murderer Che Guevara (24%). Gen Z even believes U.S. President Trump did more to spread COVID-19 than Chinas Xi Jinping.

It shocks the conscience that four-in-ten Americans believe that their country is a racist nation, says VOC Executive Director Marion Smith. Smith attributes these views to a total failure of our education system, as well as the basic dishonesty in our media and popular culture.

When one-in-four Americans want to eliminate capitalism and embrace socialism, we know that we have failed to educate about the historical and moral failings of these ideologies, he says.

Or perhaps the educational establishment has indoctrinated American students too well. By the time the Pulitzer-Prize-winning 1619 Project backtracked on its central claim that the introduction of slavery represented Americas true founding, public schools had already taught its curriculum to tens of thousands of students in all 50 states  at your expense. Academia has long inculcated the neo-Marxist view of America as a patchwork of competing victim groups (racial, sexual, and gender minorities) and oppressors (straight, white, cisgender males). Discrediting the U.S. Constitution, with its checks on mob rule and embrace of a free-market economic system, as systemically racist represents the high-water mark of Italian Communist Antonio Gramscis long march through history  an effort to form a Marxist consciousness in society.

Identity politics succeeded where Das Kapital fell flat. Americans who see themselves as members of impermeable and warring tribes require the government to mediate their differences  and to assure that resources are evenly distributed between groups, according to a viral speech from Thomas Klingenstein, who is president of the Claremont Institute. But, he warns, achieving this proportional representation requires a never-ending redistribution of wealth and power by the federal government. Such a massive redistribution can only be achieved by a tyrannical government where dissenters are silenced. Such a government could traditionally be labeled socialist or Marxist.

To succeed, socialists must get us to believe we are bad. In reality, America has brought more freedom and more prosperity to more people than any country in the history of mankind. To further that understanding, he has unveiled a petition to declare every election day  when Americans celebrate their right of self-determination  as America is Good Day. The petition has been signed by such notable figures as former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, former Sen. Jim DeMint, and Hilldale College President Larry Arnn.

In the Cold War, the struggle against Marxism was geostrategic. Today, it takes place within societies and hearts. Halting socialisms ascendancy in the United States demands that we educate young people about socialisms history of poverty and oppression  and replace the masochism masquerading as history with an appreciation of Western civilization.
Sugar and Flour bakery in downtown Pearisburg, Virginia recently celebrated an important milestone: one year in business.

Owner and operator Samantha McCroskey, 33, opened the one-stop coffee and bakery establishment on her own birthday, Jan. 6 last year and has continued moving forward.

A confluence of COVID pandemic-era events caused McCroskey to turn her home-based baking business up a notch and open a brick-and-mortar establishment that serves light breakfast and lunch fare in addition to baked goods. Her own milestone birthday was looming in 2020. Her free time was abundant due to a work-from-home schedule. She harbored nagging thoughts about what she considered the ideal building in downtown Pearisburg to house her coffee, baking and event-planning business. All combined to push her to a now-or-never precipice.

Thats just kind of how it happened, really just overnight, McCroskey said. On Sugar and Flours soft-opening day, she told her husband that she thought she would only be a couple of hours at the shop. Ill be lucky if 30 people come in, she remembers thinking. They were wrapped around the building and the sidewalk for hours. My mind was blown, said added.

From home baker to entrepreneur

McCroskeys sugar-sanded path to sweets and coffee beverages first gained traction upon her sons first birthday (hes 13 now). She orchestrated every aspect of the boys celebration, and she found she really liked all of the party planning. She used that momentum to delve into crafting treats with her preferred ingredients: butter, flour, and sugar. And baking became her creative outlet.

Locals and tourists alike comprise her steady customer stream. McCroskey likes to host events and create family-friendly spaces such as Toddler Tuesdays, when tinier customers can come and engage in story time with their parents. But she also caters to out-of-town visitors.

In the springtime its so cool to see the diversity [of customer] that comes off the Appalachian trail, said, McCroskey. They share their stories and Ive had a lot of them say, I had no idea this was in Pearisburg. Are you sure Im in Pearisburg? Thats really flattering when someone comes in and says that, she said.

Her leap into entrepreneurship indicates national trends that showed small business applications spiking exponentially during the pandemic. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, small businesses grew 24.6%. In July 2020 there was an initial surge, and in May 2021 new applications for likely employers skyrocketed to almost 500,000 more than the previous period of March 2018 through May 2019.

Rising momentum

Bakery and coffee shops like McCroskeys are high on tourism and economic development boards wish lists that tout such outdoor recreation activities as those in Giles County, where Pearisburg lies. The Appalachian Trail runs right through the town, home to stunning views from atop Angels Rest, and it houses several launch points onto the New River for tubing, kayaking and canoeing.

Tourism is a piece of what makes these communities wonderful to live in, said Cora Gnegy, the countys tourism director and economic planning coordinator. We know in Giles, we have excellent outdoor recreation amenities and assets, certainly the New River. Tourism is the piece that allows not only residents to enjoy those [assets], but also the folks coming in from out of town.

Tourism generates about $30 million in expenditures from taxes, payroll, and small businesses, according to Gnegy.

A diverse cross section

The clientele at Sugar and Flour is diverse. Youre just as likely to see a teenager in overalls and cowboy boots ready to muck out a stall as you are a mom with a toddler in tow or a customer with an entire tattoo sleeve.

Pembroke resident Maggie Turner is a regular, popping in during the week to interface with the community while shes working. On a recent Saturday she used the coffee shop as a launch pad to strategize running weekend errands with her 8-year-old son, Nolan.

We love it here, Turner said. Before Samantha was here, there wasnt really a place to hang out with friends and have a coffee or grab some breakfast before heading to work.

For the record, Turners go-to breakfast is the banana bread with chocolate chips. Nolan is partial to the Swiss and Ham wraps. As it turns out, the entrepreneurship culture is strong in Giles County. Nolan also has a fledgling summer lemonade business. At his lemonade stand, customers can choose from three flavors: regular, strawberry and mint. Hes got his own packaging with a logo.

Turner is an artist and entrepreneur and has showcased her paintings along with other local artisans at the bakery, where McCroskey regularly holds events to showcase local goods.

Finding a sweet spot for success

McCroskey makes owning a business in a rural downtown area seem like a cakewalk.

But opening a business in a rural downtown, let alone achieving a one-year anniversary, is no small feat. Since the rise of big-box stores beginning in early 1962, rural downtowns have struggled against retail flight that has left shop windows barren and commercial centers decaying.

Downtowns in general, particularly rural areas, they all need to make a transition. When big boxes happened and proliferated it really changed peoples habits and the way people consumed goods, said Kevin Byrd, executive director of the New River Valley Regional Commission.

The reality is that major challenges exist for aspiring entrepreneurs who may find it paralyzing to navigate a seemingly never-ending maze of relationship building, loan applications and permit approvals.

Frequently, the right combination of community interest, established planning goals driven by municipal desires and capital-rich property owners/developers have to exist in the right combination for rural-town businesses to even get off the ground.

Often you have to have the stars align of property owners, local government support, state or federal government investment that were able to bring to the table, and then small business owners. They are the key to all that, they have to be the ones in that space that are activating it and making it really work, said Byrd.

The NRV Regional Commission helps business owners engage local communities with revolving loan funds allocated for small, area entrepreneurs. The loans run the gamut from $5,000 to $50,000, and the organization partners with financial institutions to distribute them.

But McCroskey and her husband bootstrapped Sugar and Flours financing themselves, so her challenges lay more in the administrative camp.

It was incredibly hard to find resources to make it easier to find out laws and regulations, McCroskey said. With different things with county and town, the resources arent all bundled together. I didnt want to do something and have the town come knocking and say, actually youre not supposed to do that.

McCroskey turned to other business for helpful advice. She cited the Palisades collectively and the owner of Simply Charming, a boutique across the street from her, as being invaluable support systems for trying to understand local regulations.

Another source of encouragement was the developer who renovated the building where her business is housed. The company, Eartha Developers, is committed to revitalization efforts in the downtown and shares McCroskeys mission to once again make the downtown a thriving commercial center.

Having that support really outweighed the lack of resources and other opportunities, she said. When you have a group thats invested in you and your community, that means the world.

Thriving downtowns provide a combination of gathering space and passive recreation opportunities, Byrd said, and McCroskey has provided these ingredients at Sugar and Flour, along with arts and crafts events.

Gathering spaces like hers also help layer an experience for locals and visitors. Visitors to downtown might pop into a coffee shop, then go to the farmers market, to the park, stroll around the block, but theres more than one purpose. Retail is often not the first focus until you have some of the goods that are there, like bakeries and coffee shops, to help other retail outlets proliferate in the area, Byrd said.

Though challenges exist to developing rural economies, the small business ecosystem appears to be vital to economic growth in rural regions. According to statistics at the NRVRC, 430 of Giles Countys 525 employers have fewer than 10 workers. That figure also holds true for the larger New River Valley region.

Building community one coffee cup at a time

McCroskey has made it a part of her business plan to give back to the community that has supported her so well. Shes already established a $750 annual scholarship for students at both Narrows and Giles High Schools. Yet her focus isnt limited to the New River Valley. When a recent devastating flood happened in Kentucky, McCroskey spearheaded gathering donations for one of her customers who hailed from the disaster-stricken region. The customer ultimately needed two trucks to take the donations that McCroskey had helped accrue.

Shes built her business on smaller acts of kindness, as well. Numerous customers cite little things she has done to make their days a little brighter. One of McCroskeys regular customers, Maggie Turner, speaks of a time when she was pregnant with her daughter and her grandmother passed away. In order to cheer her up, McCroskey baked an homage to one of Turners favorite films, Hocus Pocus, the trio of witches wrought in dough and impeccably illustrated in icing, complete with The Spell Book.

If Sugar and Flour represents the entrepreneurial spirit thriving in rural downtowns across the New River Valley, then the economic future appears bright for the next generation of business leaders there. McCroskey and other retailers have bet on economic viability in Pearisburg, and a community that craves such amenities has backed their play.

The community support and backing that Ive gotten has been immeasurable, she said.
A spark of entrepreneurial inspiration can become a full-fledged business, with just a little incubation, according to plans several colleges in the region are pursuing.

Helping the aspiring entrepreneurs in the Roanoke and New River valleys is the idea behind business incubators.

In Radford, university and city leaders partnered in February to announce plans for a business incubator opening by mid-year, called The Hub.

The Hub will serve as an economic development support system and help businesses thrive in Radford and across the New River Valley, the announcement said.

The Hub will also house workforce training opportunities.

"This partnership will set a course for a future of economic growth," said Radford University President Bret Danilowicz.

Once it opens at the former SunTrust bank location on East Main Street, Radfords business incubator will join in a similar mission as entrepreneur help centers at Roanoke College and Virginia Tech.

They arent new endeavors, but they churn out newly equipped, budding business owners every semester. At Roanoke College, the Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation has operated since 2003.

Through college courses, intensive learning experiences, independent studies, internships, job shadowing and exposure to professional subject matter experts across a wide range of disciplines, students are encouraged to pursue their interests through entrepreneurial expression, a Roanoke College webpage said. Underpinning all these educational experiences is a solid foundation in leadership principles ranging from business ethics to team dynamics.

Meanwhile at Virginia Tech, the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs is open to any student of any major from any year, a university webpage said. Offerings include a business incubator program.

The Startup Hokies Incubator is designed to meet you wherever you are in your entrepreneurship journey and support student-led startups with access to space, mentorships and funding, a webpage said. The Incubator program operates on a rolling admissions basis during the fall and spring semesters.

In the past year at Virginia Techs Apex Center, more than 5,500 students engaged in entrepreneurship courses and programs across campus, and the center funded more than $21,000 to various ventures, according to an annual report.

They say it takes a village to raise a startup, the website said. And the Apex Center is no different.
You might recall a contentious kerfuffle earlier this year involving cable news and satellite TV. During that, certain politicians had televised conniption fits. One was Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, who represents the Roanoke and Shenandoah valleys.

Not coincidentally, the outrage bloomed at the end of a contract between DirecTV, a satellite service owned by telecommunications giant AT&T, and Newsmax, a low-rated conservative cable news channel accused of spreading election misinformation.

DirecTV has broadcast Newsmax to its subscribers since the cable channels 2014 inception. And Newsmax really took off in the wake of the 2020 election. It attracted viewers by broadcasting election-fraud conspiracies so crackpot, even Fox News wouldnt touch them.

But as of Jan. 25, Newsmaxs signal was no longer on DirecTVs channel lineup.

Some conservative politicians billed the breakup as a stunning blow to free speech. Some went further, characterizing it as a politically biased action by liberal Big Telecom to stifle conservative news. They termed it the deplatforming of conservative information.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called it very concerning. Chairs of House committees threatened congressional inquiries. Some Republican governors issued threats, too. And lower-profile members of Congress, such as Cline, appeared on Newsmax to gush at the unfairness.

People who were paying attention understood the whole shebang was a scam. DirecTV didnt silence any channel. The satellite provider explicitly said it was willing to continue carrying Newsmax under the same terms it did in 2022, 2021 and before.

Newsmax sparked the dispute. At the end of a three-year contract, it demanded DirecTV begin paying Newsmax a $1 annual fee for each DirecTV subscriber in the U.S. At the end of 2022, those numbered about 13.5 million.

Previously, DirecTV paid zip. Such carriage fees would have cost the company and/or its subscribers more than $13 million annually.

DirecTV countered with, No thanks. It characterized the demand as unreasonable because Newsmax already distributes the same content on its website at no charge. Similar carriage disputes have occurred involving Roanoke-based TV stations.

As a result, Newsmax pulled the plug on DirecTV, then tried to blame the whole thing on AT&T, claiming political bias, and that it was a victim of censorship.

Cline: My constituents are furious

Some Republican members of Congress, including Cline, went along with the censorship fiction. On Feb. 2, Cline appeared on Newsmax, which headlined the episode AT&T DIRECTV CENSORS NEWSMAX at the bottom of the screen.

Heres what Cline said in that appearance, which he also promoted on his taxpayer-supported congressional website:

My constituents are furious because they rely on Newsmax for information that cuts through all the woke rhetoric of lots of different channels, to actually provide people in the Shenandoah and Roanoke valleys with the facts and the news, and not the spin in a liberal direction. So, theyre so upset at losing Newsmax, theyve been calling my office.

The clip is posted on the Congressman Ben Cline YouTube channel, under the title, Rep. Ben Cline Discusses Censorship on Newsmax.

Cline returned to Newsmax Feb. 10 and ratcheted up the rhetoric. On that occasion, he decried the woke really woke and communist news networks broadcast by DirecTV. Newsmax labeled that screen AT&Ts DIRECTV CANCELS NEWSMAX IN CENSORSHIP MOVE.

Heres what Cline said in the Feb. 10 appearance:

Im surprised and angry, and my constituents are angry that Newsmax and conservative voices are being shut out as a result of these business decisions.

These are bad decisions for the public, these are apparently decisions being made with a political bias. And so, my consumers  my constituents  are furious and are definitely letting me know, and are definitely letting the carrier know that they want Newsmax and they want their unbiased news.

They dont want the woke CNN, MSNBC-type shows, Cline continued. They want the straight news that Newsmax gives them. And theyre letting me know and theyre letting the carriers know as well.

The anchor asked, What are they telling you?

They are mad, they are emailing saying, we want Newsmax back. And they want unbiased news. They dont have it across the spectrum of shows carried by DirecTV, Cline replied.

They have a lot of woke, really woke and communist news networks, but they dont have that unbiased news that they had with Newsmax, so they want it back. Theyre speaking loudly and clearly and their dollars are speaking loudly and clearly as they move elsewhere.

The clip concludes with Newsmaxs anchor gushing thanks to Cline for heaping praise on Newsmax. (That appearance gets no mention on Clines congressional website or official YouTube channel, but the clip remains on Newsmax.com.)

And it leaves many unanswered questions, such as: How many 6th District constituents actually contacted Cline with complaints they could no longer watch Newsmax? How many wrote emails saying, We want Newsmax back? And what the heck did Cline mean with the reference to communist news networks?

In emails March 24 and March 29, I posed those queries to Charlotte Law, Clines press secretary. Friday, I texted and called her cellphone and left a voicemail, too. She has yet to respond.

Newsmax sued for $1.6 billion

In reality, theres no shortage of reasons to believe Newsmax is biased and that it trafficks in misinformation.

Just for starters, the channel is owned by Christopher Ruddy, who made a name for himself in the 1990s by trafficking conspiracies about Bill and Hillary Clinton. Newsmaxs headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, is just a short hop across the Inland Waterway from Mar-a-Lago.

In a November 2020 Q & A-style interview with The New Yorker  when Trump was still in the White House  Ruddy told the magazine, We have an editorial policy of being supportive of the President and his policies. In that same interview, Ruddy said of Trump, Were friends. Hes called me twice in the past five days. The headline over the article is Why Newsmax supports Trumps false voter-fraud claims.

One Newsmax host, Sean Spicer, served as Trumps first White House press secretary. Most of the channels other anchors are experienced Trump bootlickers who ably served the Big Lie after the 2020 election.

Thats why Dominion Voting Systems is currently suing Newsmax for $1.6 billion. After the 2020 election, Newsmax broadcast even more biased and untruthful information than did Fox News  which Dominion is also suing for $1.6 billion. Both defamation lawsuits appear headed to trial.

Ironically, theres a Newsmax connection to Dominions lawsuit against Fox News. That turned up internal emails and texts suggesting Fox executives and hosts were aware Fox was broadcasting election-fraud lies, but kept airing them anyway because it was losing viewers to Newsmax, which was airing even crazier misinformation.

And that brings us to March 22. On that date, the ballyhooed censorship campaign against Newsmax suddenly evaporated in a poof. Newsmax is back on DirecTV, after the two parties came to a carriage agreement.

Both sides issued statements trumpeting the deal. And those revealed all the hot air about political bias and censorship were phony as Donald Trumps tan.

Heres Bill Morrow, CEO of DirecTV: This resolution with Newsmax, resolving an all-too-common carriage dispute, underscores our dedication to delivering a wide array of programming and perspectives to our customers.

Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, implicitly acknowledged the censorship campaign was a farce. He also lauded DirecTV for helping launch Newsmax in 2014.

Newsmax recognizes and appreciates that DirecTV clearly supports diverse voices, including conservative ones, Ruddy said in a statement about the deal. (In fact, DirecTV picked up an alternative conservative news channel, The First, as soon as Newsmax pulled its plug from DirecTV.)

Specifics of the deal werent announced, but DirecTV announced it wouldnt cost its subscribers a penny. And Newsmax is still streaming online at no charge.

The fact is, nobody censored anybody. It was a business dispute about money. When DirecTV declined to pay, Newsmax pulled itself off DirecTV, and as a result lost viewers, which cost Newsmax advertising dollars. It sought that revenue back, after efforts to portray itself as a victim of cancel culture flopped.

The congressman from the Roanoke and Shenandoah valleys played a significant role in that con game. The chief remaining question is, was Cline a knowing actor or an unwitting dupe?

Newsmax gained gravitas by showcasing the 6th District congressman endorsing how straight and unbiased Newsmax is, despite the reality. And Cline  a politician who gets precious little time on major news outlets because hes more a shrinking violet than a lightning rod  gained national exposure.

They each benefited by running a scam to pimp Newsmax in the 6th Congressional District and beyond.

Is that the kind of thing you expect from your congressman?
At any day at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, the large, glassed building on Slayton Avenue in Danville, will be full of people  teenagers attending Governors School, people and organizations meeting for a conference in the large conference room, scientists working on plants and controlled environment agriculture, older students honing their precision machining skills and people enjoying lunch in the small cafe.

IALR was founded in 2002 as a higher education center. It was funded by state and local sources, as well as the tobacco settlement funds disbursed by the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. Established to diversify, transform and grow the economy of Southern Virginia, IALR engages the resources of Virginia Tech, Danville Community College, Averett University and other partners, according to its website.

IALRs current campus began with the 2002 groundbreaking of the 90,000-square-foot main building. The building became fully operational in 2005. The campus now includes five existing buildings.

IALRs goal has always been to drive the economic transformation of the region through applied research, advanced learning, economic development, advanced manufacturing and conference services.

IALR accomplishes this through a variety of programs, partnerships and collaborations.

We are one of five higher education centers in Virginia and the president reports to the Virginia Secretary of Education, said Julie Brown, vice president of advanced learning. We dont confer degrees because we are fortunate to live in a place with place-based higher education institutions  Averett University and Danville Community College. We dont supplant what they offer but augment and fill any gaps.

Brown leads a team that focuses on the talent pipeline in the region, making sure that local employers now and in the future have the educated and trained workforce they need.

The advanced learning department provides educational and talent development initiatives whose goal is to meet the needs of the regions employers. This is done through collaborations and partnerships across the region and beyond.

We work in all areas from pre-K to gray, she said. We build STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] opportunities, and if they need a degree, we direct them to the appropriate place.

GO TEC

An example of preparing a pipeline full of educated and trained employees is the program GO TEC, or Great Opportunities in Technology.

This is a talent pipeline starting at middle school with hands-on training to make sure workers are exposed to their career opportunities and are academically prepared, Brown said.

Todd Yeatts is the executive vice president for manufacturing advancement at the Institute.

He heads the manufacturing advancement training programs, as well as the operation and strategic direction of the new Center for Manufacturing Advancement on the Institute campus.

He declared GO TEC a success.

A GO TEC state-of-the-art training lab opened at the Institutes main facility in October 2020. The renovated lab provides training opportunities in skillsets within five areas: precision machining; welding; IT/cybersecurity; robotics, automation and mechatronics; and advanced materials.

The lab also provides training and support to middle school teachers on the same equipment they use in their classrooms.

GO TEC develops a pipeline on present jobs and those jobs that are coming in the future, focusing on both academic and skilled positions, Brown said. The program provides employment engagement and exposure.

Brown said the manufacturing base in the region has diversified from what used to be only the mill and Goodyear. She estimated there are now 50 different manufacturing businesses looking for workers to fill their jobs.

We have a lot of explaining to do to these kids that there is a job here for them in Southern Virginia. There are also internships and apprenticeships. We have done a ton of things to help employers connect to talent, such as funding, workshops, research and seminars, she explained. We address connection and exposure and rely on our partners to provide education.

Yeatts said that most people think of manufacturing jobs as hot and work clothes.

But if you see the Center for Manufacturing Advancement, it is spotless, and people are sometimes in lab coats, he said. We are also not talking minimum-wage jobs, but six-figure salaries.

ATDM program

An example of another Institute training program that translates into workforce development is the ATDM, or Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing, which the IALR describes as a prototype training platform for rapidly training skilled workers in key trades such as CNC machining and welding for employment in the defense industry.

CNC machining, or computer numerical control, is a method of automating control of machines through software embedded in a microcomputer attached to the tool.

The multi-year pilot project will test and evaluate ATDM as a training platform for regional training centers that support the defense industrial base, according to atdm.org.

Yeatts explained it is a 16-week federally funded program in partnership with the Navy where students train to work in advanced manufacturing jobs, such as in submarines and military supply chain. It targets transitioning military, industry and other pools of mature leaders.

Partnership with DCC

Still another example of the link between education and workforce training is the optional third-year integrated machining and technology program offered at IALR after students finish the two-year machining technology program at Danville Community College.

IALR finances and houses the program that is set up like a real-life manufacturing plant, and DCC provides the instruction, said Allison Moore, director of public relations and communications.

Yeatts said that every single person at IALR is involved in workforce training.

There are so many good things happening at IALR that its a good place to be, he said.

He noted that even the conferences held at IALR bring in business to the city, requiring hotel rooms and restaurants.

We are now at the point where this Institute is truly a catalyst for transformation, Yeatts said. The challenges now are supply and demand. We have new manufacturers, and we are adding jobs to the old ones. We need more people.

For information on the many other workforce education and development opportunities offered at IALR, visit ialr.org.
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. It's 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.

We're 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 that's what we're 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.

It's the food that we eat. It's the products that we buy and they don't 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, CVCC's 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.

We're 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 it 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 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 academy's 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 we've gone to employers. Higher education has been superimposed on workforce development ... We're really accomplishing both goals at the same time. We're educating students at the same time that we're preparing them for employment, Capps said.
Shirley Contreras wrote for the Santa Maria Times from 1991 to 2022. Her book, The Good Years, a selection of stories is on sale at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society, 616 S. Broadway.
Authorities say a 34-year-old man could face a murder charge in connection with a weekend shooting outside a Los Angeles shopping center that killed on person and wounded three others
" " Modern elevators have mechanisms in place to prevent elevators from falling to the ground if the cable breaks. Entienou/Getty Images

In November 2018, six people boarded an elevator at the former John Hancock Center in Chicago for the ride down from the Signature Room bar on the 95th floor to the lobby. But the long ride got a lot worse when one of the cables snapped and the elevator plunged 84 floors to the 11th floor.

"At the beginning I believed we were going to die," one of the passengers told CBS Chicago. "We were going down and then I felt that we were falling down and then I heard a noise  clack clack clack clack clack clack."

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Amazingly, none of the passengers had to be hospitalized and there no serious injuries. The passengers thought they had only fallen a few floors. However, they did have to wait three hours to be rescued by firefighters because there were no openings between the floors [sources: CBS Chicago, Leone and Sobol].

So, how was it possible that one of the worst things that can happen to people in an elevator occurred and everyone survived? Action movies often show the hero getting in an elevator after the evil villain has cut the cables  and disaster ensues.

Fortunately, elevators in the real world have so many safety features that this kind of stuff usually never happens. Here's the breakdown:

Snapping Cables

In a cable elevator system, steel cables bolted to the car loop over a sheave. A sheave is a pulley with a grooved rim surface, at the top of the elevator shaft. The sheave's grooves grip the steel cables. So when an electric motor rotates the sheave, the cables move, too. The cables that lift the car are also connected to a counterweight, which hangs down on the other side of the sheave. The car and the counterweight both ride along on steel rails.

Each elevator cable is made from several lengths of steel material wound around one another. These cables very rarely snap, and inspectors regularly look at them for wear and tear. But even a steel cable can break. So what happens then?

" " Steel cables are bolted to the car loop over a sheave. HowStuffWorks

Almost all pulley elevators have multiple cables -- between four and eight total. Even if one cable snapped, the remaining cables would hold the elevator car up. In fact, just one cable is usually enough.

Safeties and Governor

But let's say all the cables did snap. Then the elevator's safeties would kick in. Safeties are braking systems on the elevator car that grab onto the rails running up and down the elevator shaft. Some safeties clamp the rails, while others drive a wedge into notches in the rails. Typically, safeties are activated by a mechanical speed governor.

" " If one or more cables did snap, the elevator's safeties would kick in. HowStuffWorks

The governor is a pulley that rotates when the elevator moves. When the governor spins too fast, the centrifugal force activates the braking system.

At the Bottom

If the safeties failed, you would be plummeting rapidly, but you wouldn't quite be in a free fall. Friction from the rails along the shaft and pressure from the air underneath the car would slow the car down considerably (you would feel lighter than normal though). On impact, the car would stop and you would keep going, slamming you into the floor.

" " A built-in shock absorber at the bottom of the shaft would cushion the blow. HowStuffWorks

But two things would cushion the blow. First, the elevator car would compress the air at the bottom of the shaft as it fell, just as a piston compresses air in a bicycle pump. The air pressure would slow the elevator car down. Second, most cable elevators have a built-in shock absorber at the bottom of the shaft  typically a piston in an oil-filled cylinder. That would cushion the impact too. With all these features in place, you would have an excellent chance of surviving any elevator mishap.

In the case of the Chicago elevator incident, once the firefighters figured out where the passengers were, the crew put up struts to make sure the elevator did not drop any further. Then they broke a wall, forced the elevator door open and put a ladder into the elevator to help people up and out.

"We don't like to have to go through walls unless it's absolutely necessary," Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told the Chicago Tribune. "The only other way to get to the elevator would have been ropes from the 97th floor, and that would not be safe. We don't come down like Batman so we must go through the wall."

Don't Bother Jumping You sometimes hear that you should jump immediately before the elevator crashes, so you would be "floating" at the second of impact. Would it work? Nah. Even if you could perfectly time such a leap, it wouldn't help. Let's say you and the elevator are falling at 100 mph (161 kph). When you jump up in the elevator, you would still be going about 100 mph. You would hit the ground at 100 mph, just like the elevator. Ouch! Your best bet would be to lie flat on the floor. This would stabilize you and spread out the force of the impact so that no single part of your body would take the brunt of the blow. But, it's still gonna hurt!
SIOUX CITY  In February, David Gleiser attended a Missouri River Historical Development scholarship grant ceremony.

He met a woman there who'd received a scholarship of the sort that are underwritten by MRHD funds. It was, he said, a moving experience.

"(She) was saying how her scholarship allowed her to realize her dream of becoming a business owner. And other students were there talking about being the first in their family to go to college, and how the grant dollars really positively impacted them," Gleiser said. "And I'm like, 'That's payday right there.' Nothing better than that."

About a month and a half later, on March 29, Gleiser, who has led a career largely devoted to public service during the last 16 years, stepped into the role of MRHD's executive director.

Gleiser, 42, replaces Katie Colling, who was named MRHD executive director at the end of 2019 and has now retired. Colling followed in the footsteps of Mark Monson, who had been with MRHD for decades.

"Katie Colling has done extremely well as director over the last three years, and she's built up the back-side of MRHD very strong, in terms of policies, practices, precedent," Gleiser said.

"I feel like I'm hopping on the train at a great time," he added.

Proudest accomplishments

Gleiser was born in South Korea while his father was stationed there in the Air Force. He was raised in Sioux City and lives here with wife Lydia and their three children.

In 2006, Gleiser received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota; he studied mass communications, psychology and leadership. Later, in 2013, he received a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

His first job after his undergraduate studies was with the Siouxland Human Investment Partnership, beginning in 2007. He would remain with the nonprofit, also known by the acronym SHIP, until 2014.

"There, I oversaw two major public-policy reform initiatives. One was juvenile justice, and one was a child-welfare, public education reform project," Gleiser said.

In the 2000s, Gleiser said, the state of Iowa's juvenile justice system dealt with a population that was disproportionately juveniles of color.

"Kids of color represent, you know, 20 percent of the general population in the community -- but why do they represent 80 percent of the population incarcerated?" Gleiser said. "So I worked on that; we were very successful with that project."

Meanwhile, Gleiser found the state's foster-care system in need of reform, particularly in the manner in which the foster-care system interacted with the school system.

Because foster children tended to be moved around somewhat frequently, a new school district would at times refuse academic credits from the previous school district. It was not a recipe for academic success.

The Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, passed in 1974, at that time acted as a roadblock to districts sharing information on students; this contributed to the foster kids' academic struggles, Gleiser said.

He wanted to address these deficiencies.

"These kids never had anybody to advocate for them like a normal parent would, and they often would lose those credits, get discouraged, drop out of school," Gleiser said. "In Iowa, at that time, 50 percent of all kids in foster care were becoming homeless after aging out of the system. And I was pretty proud to say that that project -- I worked with Sens. Grassley and Harkin -- and we actually got an amendment made to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act. And, you know, for me that was probably one of my biggest achievements in my public-policy career, is getting an amendment to federal legislation."

In 2014, Woodbury County was seeking a community and economic development director. Gleiser had by then developed a relationship with the county board of supervisors and was hired. He held the role until 2021.

"I got lucky and they gave me a chance," Gleiser said.

In his first year, the department doubled the amount of business done by its revolving-loan fund; throughout his tenure, Gleiser said, he worked on policies to facilitate economic development in the rural parts of the county.

Several major economic development projects took place in the county during his tenure, including Gelita's $22 million investment in its new collagen peptide facility at the Port Neal industrial complex and two multi-million dollar Ag Processing Inc. projects in 2014 and 2015 totaling about $128 million between them.

In 2019, Gleiser was appointed to the local workforce development board of Iowa Workforce Development, Region 12. The following year he helped secure federal CARES Act funding for the county.

"It was honestly one of the best jobs I've ever had," he said of his time as Woodbury County community and economic development director.

In 2015, he was elected to the Sioux City School board and served a four-year term.

Last year, Gleiser was briefly the chief executive officer of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska; he was put in charge of all aspects of the tribe's government, which spans 15 counties. "I gave tribal government a shot," as he put it.

That same year he was also appointed to a six-year term with the Sioux City Examining Board.

By then, Gleiser had started his own small business, called MOG Enterprises, operating as Bright Idea Signs and Hawkeye Delivery, a delivery and courier service in Sioux City. He decided to pivot and focus on his business.

"Being an economic development professional for basically the last 10 years, I felt like I had a lot of experience helping other people develop business plans and accumulate wealth and be successful," Gleiser said. "And I thought, 'You know what, you should do that for yourself!'"

It was through his small business that he learned of an opening with MRHD.

"I had actually heard it from one of my delivery drivers," he said.

Filling the funding gaps

Gleiser was a longtime admirer, from the outside, of the work MRHD does. He expressed no desire to make major changes to the organization or to its philanthropic work.

MRHD was founded in 1989 when Woodbury County voters approved riverboat gaming. The nonprofit group holds the state license for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and disburses a share of the casino's revenues to local charities, organizations and governmental entities.

Many millions of dollars have been distributed by MRHD in the years since the Hard Rock came to town.

"I've always appreciated the work that they do in sort of filling the gaps for funding different types of entities or programs or initiatives in the community that really need those dollars," he said. "So, I thought, 'Wow that would be a really interesting job!'"

Recent MRHD grants have included, among many others, $30,000 to pay off all of the Sioux City Community School District's unpaid lunch balances; $15,000 to the historic Akron Opera house for a facade rehabilitation; $25,000 to Hope Street of Siouxland to help them purchase a second van; and $10,000 to Lutheran Services in Iowa for immigrant and refugee community services to offer Afghan resettlement support and housing assistance.

Gleiser praised MRHD's board of directors for the thoughtful, thorough manner in which they handle grants and grant requests.

"I feel really excited about it, and I think the board has a lot of good energy. I think the folks that are around the table, who are volunteering their personal time to be on the MRHD board, are there for the right reasons and they seem to be a really, really good, strong working group, and I've been really impressed by their level of attention to detail," he said.

Competition can be a good thing

The community's relationship with the Hard Rock, which he described as "a good corporate citizen," is a fruitful one, Gleiser said.

"It's been, I think, a really good thing for our community in terms of, quality-of-life attraction amenities, but then also all of the support that local gaming revenues have had supporting our nonprofits and our local governments," he said. "They really fill the void, financially, that really needed to be filled. And so I think we're really lucky to have a partner like Hard Rock, to have a gaming license."

Gleiser said he wasn't worried the Hard Rock's revenues will take a hit from new casinos under development in Nebraska by WarHorse Gaming, the casino arm of Ho-Chunk, Inc. He pointed out that other casinos have operated in the area, south of Sioux City in communities along Interstate 29 and in Council Bluffs, for a number of years.

Ho-Chunk has long planned to build a casino in South Sioux City, across the Missouri River from the Hard Rock.

"I think competition will be a good thing in the end. I think that's why, you know, McDonald's builds right next to Burger King," Gleiser said.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Three people were killed and three others were wounded in a weekend shooting involving several biker gangs inside an Oklahoma City bar, police said Sunday.

One person was in critical condition and two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting that took place about 9 p.m. Saturday, said Lt. Jeff Cooper, a spokesperson with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

The three killed were pronounced dead at the scene, the Whiskey Barrel Saloon in the city's southwest, Cooper added. Authorities did not immediately identify the dead and wounded.

Oklahoma City Police Master Sgt. Gary Knight said in an email that preliminary information indicates this was a shoot-out between several rival biker gangs.

Police have not made any arrests in the shooting.

Cooper said investigators did not yet have any information on a suspect, adding, as of now, we dont have anything.
SIOUX CITY  As motorists navigate the traffic cones and lane closures on U.S. Highway 20 east of Sioux City this summer, they'll no doubt be grumbling behind their steering wheels about the inconvenience.

City officials, however, look beyond the temporary hassle and see the brighter side of a two-year Iowa Department of Transportation project that will rebuild the two miles of U.S. 20 east of the city and reconfigure the interchange with U.S. Highway 75.

Though it will cause some short-term frustration during construction, the project is expected to assist long-term development plans for the city's east side and improve access to growing housing developments that currently have no direct access to U.S. 20.

"It will be a positive. You'll get that extra access into Whispering Creek," said Chris Madsen, a senior planner in the city's Planning Division. "Our future land use plan calls for development in that area."

Highway 20 trees Trees that were cut down in advance of a U.S. Highway 20 reconstruction project lie in the ditch along the eastbound lanes east of Sioux City.

Work on the $32.6 million project began in the past two weeks with tree removal on the south side of the highway. Workers have begun removing a raised median on Gordon Drive just east of Menards so traffic can cross over to the other side of the divided four-lane highway while either side is closed.

By the end of April, the eastbound lanes will be closed, and traffic will be switched to a head-to-head pattern in the westbound lanes.

The IDOT plans to reconstruct two miles of the highway from the U.S.20/Gordon Drive and U.S. 75 interchange east to Carroll Avenue to even the elevation between the eastbound and westbound sides. Decks on bridges over Little Whiskey Creek just east of Carroll Avenue will be replaced.

The eastbound lanes will be rebuilt this year, and construction is expected to be completed in late fall. The westbound lanes will be reconstructed in 2024.

Work also will begin this spring on the reconfiguration of the U.S. 20/U.S. 75 interchange. The interchange's current traffic loops and cloverleaf design will be replaced with a diamond-shaped interchange and the addition of traffic signals to control traffic. Work this year includes construction of new ramps on the south side of the interchange and closure of the high-speed ramp off of northbound U.S. 75 onto eastbound U.S. 20.

The new design is more amenable to an urban setting than the current interchange, which was designed in the 1970s, long before the bypass that extends north from U.S. 20 to link with U.S. 75 on the city's north side was finished in 2001, said Dakin Schultz, IDOT District 3 transportation planner.

"This was seen as an opportunity to address a lot of future concerns. Instead of waiting for the problem, we are being a little more proactive," he said. "It's recognizing what's occurring east of Sioux City. That's a growing area."

Once construction is finished, U.S. 20 will be safer and also mesh better with future development, Schultz said.

Schultz said driver sight distances will be improved once the U.S. 20 lanes are on an even elevation. Elimination of the high-speed ramp makes room for the future extension of Glen Ellen Road to the north, where it will intersect with U.S. 20.

Linking Glen Ellen Road with U.S. 20 has been in city planners' sights for a long time. The street turns south off of U.S. 20, providing access to Cornerstone World Outreach church and one home before ending. It resumes farther to the south in the Whispering Creek housing development and continues south to Old Highway 141 southeast of the city.

Water and sewer lines already are in place along the planned street route, city public works director Dave Carney said. A Glen Ellen Road/U.S. 20 intersection would provide a north entrance to the Whispering Creek area, adding convenience for residents to enter and exit the developing area. A through street also makes the area more appealing for other developers.

"Streets are like water mains, the more we can loop them, it gives us more options," Carney said.

Glen Ellen Road construction is currently not in the city's capital improvement budget, and the area would need to be annexed into city limits, Madsen said. It'll likely occur as development continues in the area.

With a rebuilt U.S. 20, Glen Ellen Road improvements could happen sooner rather than later. The city's future land use plan shows commercial development along the highway and residential development to continue to the south. The reconstruction of U.S. 20 could encourage developers to speed up their plans.

"It does allow for the connection for Glen Ellen to be made and opens up that area for development," Madsen said of the U.S. 20 reconstruction project.
WASHINGTON  Last August, Daysia Holiday decided to try one more time to join the Army.

Shed taken the academic test and failed three times. So, when she was offered a slot in a new Army prep course to help improve her scores and qualify for basic training, she jumped at the chance.

Seven months later, Pvt. 2nd Class Holiday is a proud graduate of Army basic training, and is finishing her advanced instruction at Fort Lee, Virginia, to become a power generation specialist who will maintain engines and other equipment for the service.

Holiday is an early beneficiary of the new program, which gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards. In place for only eight months, it is already making a difference for both the Army and those who want to serve in it.

So far, 5,400 soldiers have made it through the prep course since it started in August at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Thats an important boost since the Army fell dramatically short of its recruiting goals last year, due to low unemployment and general wariness about military service. And at least one other military service, the Navy, took notice and is setting up a similar course.

For those who make it through the program, it can be life-changing. Holiday, 23, said many of her peers in her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, didnt make it out of high school, with some dead or in jail. Sitting outside the class building in her Army fatigues last summer, she talked about trying to pass the academic test for two years with no success.

She said she wanted to set an example, especially for her younger siblings. The prep course gave her a second chance. She raised her academic score by more than 20 points.

The course, she said, was like basic training without the yelling. It also allowed her to bond with fellow students. We helped each other out throughout basic training, so it was easy, she said. All of us actually passed, so it was a good experience. And we all keep in touch.

Army leaders say the program  it involves classroom instruction and training ranging from how to wear the uniform and properly make a bed to fitness and discipline  gives recruits like Holiday an advantage.

I think an interesting thing weve seen is that the kids coming out of that course, who go into basic, actually seem to have a little bit of a leg up, said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. During basic training, certain young individuals who show a little bit more leadership skills than others get selected to have leadership positions. And what were seeing is the kids coming out of the prep course are often the ones who are being chosen for that.

As of March 17, nearly 8,400 people had been admitted to the prep course and more than 5,400 had graduated and gone on to basic training. Army Lt. Col. Randy Ready, spokesman for the Army Center for Initial Military Training, said about 6% of those recruits dont make it through basic and advanced individual training, about the same attrition rate as for those who dont go through the prep course.

Ready said almost 4,000 of the graduates were in the academic track and about 1,400 were in the fitness track. Students in the academic program increased their test scores by an average of 19 points, he said.

It has been largely very, very successful, said Maj. Gen. Johnny Davis, head of Army Recruiting Command, adding that students who go through the prep course come out more prepared. It instills a level of positively and confidence in those future soldiers.

Gen. James McConville, Army chief of staff, told a House committee on Tuesday that students in the program are improving their academic scores and losing 4% to 6% of their body fat.

Were really giving them discipline, he said. Theyre getting in shape. Were giving them a head start. So when going into initial military training, where they were at the lowest category, theyre actually excelling and in some ways exceeding the standards  becoming the student leaders.

Once in the program, recruits are tested every week. And every three weeks they can move into basic training if they pass the militarys academic test  the Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery  or if they meet the physical standards. If they don't pass or meet the standards after the first three weeks, they can stay on and keep testing for up to 90 days, but they have to leave the Army if they haven't succeeded by then.

Army leaders initially thought they might open as many as four locations for the prep course, but they haven't seen the need. Instead, they doubled the capacity at Fort Jackson and created a smaller, similar program at Fort Benning, Georgia, which gives young soldiers a chance to raise their academic scores if they want to qualify for higher-skilled jobs or bonuses.

The program got the Navy's attention. Late last November, Navy Capt. Frank Brown and several others visited Fort Jackson, and as a result will open a new sailor fitness prep course next month. Brown said recruits who are 6% above the body composition requirements will take a three-week fitness course, and can repeat it for up to 90 days to meet the standards and go on to boot camp.

Brown, the director of operations for training at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, said 60 to 80 recruits will start the course on April 10. He said the Navy is also planning a pilot program for an academic course, likely this summer, to allow lower-scoring recruits to improve so they can qualify for higher-skilled jobs.

States with the most active-duty military members Intro #51. West Virginia #50. Vermont #49. Maine #48. Iowa #47. Minnesota #46. Wisconsin #45. Oregon #44. Michigan #43. Indiana #42. New Hampshire #41. Massachusetts #40. Pennsylvania #39. Tennessee #38. Wyoming #37. Rhode Island #36. Montana #35. South Dakota #34. Idaho #33. Delaware #32. Arkansas #31. Utah #30. Nebraska #29. Connecticut #28. New Jersey #27. Ohio #26. North Dakota #25. Alabama #24. District of Columbia #23. Mississippi #22. Nevada #21. New Mexico #20. Louisiana #19. Missouri #18. Alaska #17. Arizona #16. New York #15. Oklahoma #14. Illinois #13. Kansas #12. Maryland #11. Kentucky #10. South Carolina #9. Colorado #8. Hawaii #7. Washington #6. Florida #5. Georgia #4. North Carolina #3. Texas #2. Virginia #1. California
BURLINGTON, Vt.  "Welcome to the USA," says a note attached to a hand-crocheted blanket of purple, white and gray stripes.

Hollie Shaner-McRae, of Burlington, who made the blanket as a gift for a refugee, wrote of her great-grandparents coming to the United States from Ukraine, Russia and Poland.

One great-grandfather was a tailor and the other was a barrel maker, she wrote. Both were so brave and came to America as teenagers," Shaner-McRae wrote to whomever would receive the blanket. I hope you make friends and feel safe here. Vermont is blessed to have new families arrive and enrich our world.

The quilt was one of at least 86 artistic blankets that crafters sewed, crocheted and knitted as gifts for refugees and immigrants to make them feel welcomed in their new community in Vermont. The handmade creations were on display at the Heritage Mill Museum in Winooski, Vermont, before they were given away to refugees.

The effort is part of the national Welcome Blanket project, which describes itself as a crowd-sourced artistic action supporting refugees settling in the U.S. Los Angeles activist Jayna Zweiman started Welcome Blanket in 2017 in opposition to Donald Trumps candidacy speeches about building a wall between the United State and Mexico.

As a grandchild of refugees, she grew up with family stories of her grandfather seeing the Statue of Liberty. That monument decades later still made him feel welcomed, she said.

Just as the Statue of Liberty was seen as an inviting symbol for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zweiman thought at the time: What can we do in the 21st century as people are coming through these different ports to welcome them?"

To date, thousands of blankets and notes have been created around the country for exhibits including in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Winooski, Vermont. The blankets, accompanied with the personal notes from their creators, were then gifted to refugees at events, in welcome boxes, at their new housing or through charity groups.

The project is geared toward refugees  people forced to leave their home or country to escape war, persecution or natural disaster  including Ukrainians who escaped the Russian invasion of their home country. But the blankets have also gone to immigrants.

In Vermont, Aisha Bitini, who is originally from Congo, said that she loves the blanket she chose  a soft, crocheted piece made up of large squares of gold, maroon, off-white and gray.

Im so blessed to have one of them, she said, draping it over her shoulder. She picked it out at the blanket giveaway held last week at the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, or AALV.

The note that came with the blanket feels so special, Bitini said, adding that she thanks the person who made this beautiful blanket and that she will "cherish it forever."

Kalyan Adhikari, who's originally from Nepal, said the Vermont project was such a kind and warm initiative. He said it makes refugees feel welcome and little bit more like they're home.

This makes my heart warm. I can't thank them enough, he said of the blanket-makers.

The immigrant-refugee story resonated with Sonia Savoulian, of Los Angeles, when in 2017 then-President Donald Trump imposed a ban on travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries. Her ancestry is Armenian, and her family includes refugees and immigrants. She herself is an immigrant  and she also happens to make things with yarn.

The Welcome Blanket project combines a creative outlet with a product that would help newcomers to the U.S. feel an embrace, a welcome and an aspiration, she said. Since making her first Welcome Blankets for an exhibit in Atlanta in 2018, she has made a total of about 50 such blankets.

Zweiman said she hopes the blanket-making for refugees will become an American tradition.

I want this happening 50 years from now, she said. And I want a kid who took part in this, ... when the next wave of xenophobia comes, to remember that he had actually physically made something for someone who was coming.

Photos: Tearful reunion after mom saw photo of daughter at US border
JOHANNESBURG  From Zimbabwe, where many must work at night because it's the only time there is power, to Nigeria where collapses of the grid are frequent, a reliable supply of electricity remains elusive across Africa.

The electricity shortages that plague many of Africa's 54 countries are a serious drain on the continents economic growth, energy experts warn.

In recent years South Africa's power generation has become so inadequate that the continent's most developed economy must cope with rolling power blackouts of eight to 10 hours per day.

Africa's sprawling cities have erratic supplies of electricity but large swaths of the continent's rural areas have no power at all. In 2021, 43% of Africans  about 600 million people  lacked access to electricity with 590 million of them in subSaharan Africa, according to the International Energy Agency.

Investments of nearly $20 billion are required annually to achieve universal electrification across sub-Saharan Africa, according to World Bank estimates. Of that figure nearly $10 billion is needed annually bring power and keep it on in West and Central Africa.

There are many reasons for Africa's dire delivery of electricity including aging infrastructure, lack of government oversight and a shortage of skills to maintain the national grids, according to Andrew Lawrence, an energy expert at the Witwatersrand University Business School in Johannesburg.

A historical problem is that many colonial regimes built electrical systems largely reserved for the minority white population and which excluded large parts of the Black population.

Today many African countries rely on state-owned power utilities.

Much attention has focused in the past two years on the Western-funded Just Energy Transition, in which France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union are offering funds to help poorer countries move from highly polluting coal-fired power generation to renewable, environmentally-friendly sources of power. Africa as a region should be among the major beneficiaries in order to expand electricity access on the continent and improve the struggling power grids, said Lawrence.

The transition should target rural access and place at the forefront the electrification of the continent as a whole. This is something that is technically possible, he said.

The Western powers vowed to make $8.5 billion available to help South Africa move away from its coal-fired power plants, which produce 80% of the country's power.

As a result of its dependence upon coal, South Africa is among the top 20 highest emitters of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the world and accounts for nearly a third of all of Africas emissions, according to experts.

South Africa's plan to move away from coal, however, is hampered by its pressing need to produce as much power as possible each day.

The East African nation of Uganda for years has also grappled with power cuts despite massive investment in electricity generation.

Nigeria, Africas most populous country, has grappled with an inadequate power supply for many years, generating just 4,000 megawatts though the population of more than 210 million people needs 30,000 megawatts, say experts. The oil-rich but energy-poor West African nation has ramped up investments in the power sector but endemic corruption and mismanagement have resulted in little gains.

In Zimbabwe, electricity shortages that have plagued the country for years have worsened as the state authority that manages Kariba, the countrys biggest dam, has limited power generation due to low water levels.

Successive droughts have reduced Lake Kariba's level so much that the Kariba South Hydro Power Station, which provides Zimbabwe with about 70% of its electricity, is currently producing just 300 megawatts, far less than its capacity of 1,050 megawatts.

Zimbabwe's coal-fired power stations that also provide some electricity have become unreliable due to aging infrastructure marked by frequent breakdowns. The countrys solar potential is yet to be fully developed to meaningfully augment supply.

This means that Harare barber Omar Chienda never knows when he'll have the power needed to run his electric clippers.

What can we do? We just have to wait until electricity is back but most of the time it comes back at night," said Chienda, a 39-year-old father of three. "That means I cant work, my family goes hungry.

In Nigerias capital city of Abuja, restaurant owner Favour Ben, 29, said she spends a large part of her monthly budget on electricity bills and on petrol for her generator, but adds that she gets only an average of 7 hours of power daily.

It has been very difficult, especially after paying your electricity bill and they dont give you light," said Ben. "Most times, I prepare customers orders but if there is no light (power for a refrigerator), it turns bad the next day (and) I have lost money for that.

Businesses in Nigeria suffer an annual loss of $29 billion as a result of unreliable electricity, the World Bank said, with providers of essential services often struggling to keep their operations afloat on generators.

As delegates gathered in Cape Town recently to discuss Africas energy challenges, there was a resounding sentiment that drawn-out power shortages on the continent had to be addressed urgently. There was some hope that the Western-funded Just Energy Transition would create some opportunities, but many remained skeptical.

Who actually invented the lightbulband the illuminating history of modern lighting Who actually invented the lightbulband the illuminating history of modern lighting 1830s: Inventors create early, short-lived incandescent bulbs 1850s: Arc lights capitalize on advances in electricity 1880s: First incandescent lightbulbs made commercially 1900s: Peter Cooper Hewitt creates early fluorescent lamp 1960s: Nick Holonyak Jr. invents first LED light 2014: Three scientists receive Nobel Prize in physics for inventing "efficient blue light-emitting diodes"
If Twitter is good for anything, its stirring the pot.

During the past week, posts painted pictures of everything from Donald Trumps indictment to Gwyneth Paltrows ski drama in solid black and white.

There wasnt any gray to the commentary, which suggests this isnt a forum for discussion but a place for hardcore opinion holders  left and right  to double down. Forget the facts, theyll toss out anything and act like its gospel. Woe to ye who dares to disagree.

Whats also evident is how subtlety, nuance and irony have gone out the window. Commenters cant make a joke without someone taking it at face value. That means our ability to communicate is being restrained  in ways that arent healthy.

Many Twitter posters dont bother to check the source of their information. They hear something, toss it out there and see how quickly they can amass views. By the time the truth has emerged, the online mob has bared its teeth on something else.

When a school shooting occurred in Tennessee last week, tweeters werent using the platform to express sympathy to the victims families. They were parsing every aspect of the case to see if it could bolster their view of the transgender community, gun control, police protection and school vouchers. The only thing that didnt seem to be namechecked was Hunter Bidens laptop.

The grand jury meeting about Trumps payments to Stormy Daniels were definitely supposed to: 1.) absolve him; 2.) throw the book at him; 3.) reveal other deep, dark secrets. 4.) expose George Soros as the mastermind behind everything connected to the case. The site became a conspiracy theorists breeding ground.

When critics complain about Russian bots on Twitter, its easy to see what theyre saying. Some of the comments are so wild they either have to come from artificial intelligence or people who arent remotely connected to our society.

Twitter isnt the great forum where opposing sides can debate an issue. Its a safe haven for discontent, narrowmindedness and, often, hate.

Rather than hide behind a made-up name, those tweeters need to engage in face-to-face discussions at public forums, at cafe tables and across backyard fences.

Anonymously poking at others merely serves to divide us.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Stephen Moore is filling in for Pat Buchanan today.

Since the early days of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America's industrial might.

But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south -- in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state's political machine. That's when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American "Rust Belt." Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.

From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area's crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.

If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.

But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a "right to work" state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council's "Rich States, Poor States" report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines. Prosperity returned.

Now the shine is off the engine. The Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal "right to work" -- a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions.

"Right to work" is the law of the land in 26 states. These laws do not prohibit unions. There are many unions in these states. "Right to work" simply means that workers cannot be compelled to join a union.

Democrats are falsely advertising this as a restoration of workers' rights. That's a bald-faced lie. Now, to keep your job in Michigan, you must join the union, and you must pay dues to the union bosses. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued with corruption, including massive pay packages to the union leaders.

This bill will not only take away the right to choose from Michigan workers, but it will also do great damage to the state's economy. States that have "right to work" laws create jobs at almost twice the pace of states with forced union policies.

Many businesses won't even consider locating a new factory or blue-collar operation in a forced union state. The auto jobs in America will now accelerate their move to the Southern states, which happen to be "right to work."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), a stooge of the unions, will sign the bill into law. And Michigan is about to see a return to the Rust Belt era.

Here is what's really telling. The Communist Party of America put out a press release celebrating the demise of "right to work" in Michigan. They note correctly that Michigan is now the first state in more than half a century to turn back the clock and force union chains on workers. Most states have been moving in the opposite direction.

What is sadly ironic about this endorsement is that throughout the 20th century, the unions in America were staunchly anti-communist. It was Lech Walesa, the Polish union organizer, who stood up to the evil communist government that tried to outlaw unions. He and President Ronald Reagan and the AFL-CIO helped defeat the evil empire.

Now the communists in America cheer on the unions as they sow the seeds of their own demise -- as well as the demise of a once-mighty state.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. His latest book is "Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy."
Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Dear Care and Feeding,

I dont like the age or stage of my kids right now.

I mean, I love them as humans, but I miss when they were little. And I dont think its a problem that I prefer younger children (everyone is different, and this is just part of who I am!). The problem I need help with is how to get people to stop telling me how easy it is for me now that theyre growing up a bit? Its not. I hate it. Every day is a drag. Did you know tweens are awake until 9 p.m., so you get no time to yourself? And how much do you want to talk about Roblox or Mr. Beast or how awful it is that youve cut off access to Roblox and Mr. Beast? Oh, and did they do their homework? (Why does the school make me sign their planners? Shouldnt the kids just do the work and face the consequencesbad gradesif they dont?) Theyre unpleasant and annoying and not mature enough for interesting conversations.

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I would, to be clear, die for them. But the cultural narrative seems to say that babies and toddlers are cute but awful, but then the age 6-12 phase is the BESTand then when theyre teenagers theyre awful again. I disagree! I loved having babies and toddlers. I loved how cute they were, and how snugly, and how funny. I miss this every day. I look at photo albums from the first two years of each of their lives regularly. I havent given away any of their adorable little clothes or toys. And I like teenagers too. My nieces and nephews are teenagers, and we do fun things together and have interesting conversations. I know parenting teenagers will at times be tough and stressfulI have no illusions about thatbut I also know it will be wonderful to see how my smart and funny kids tackle the problems of the world, and I cant wait to talk to them about the books and movies and friendship dynamics they will encounter as teens. And of course they will be more independent, able to make their own plans, less reliant on me for snacks and rides.

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So what do I say to people when they say, Oh, you must be loving this phase! when I hate hate hate it?

It Doesnt Get Better

Dear IDGB,

Let me get this straight. The problem, as you see it, is that youre miserable about something people think youre thrilled about, and you dont like the assumption theyre making (in fact, this assumption seems to make you feel even worse). Of course, this happens a lot over a wide range of matters (for example: Someone loses weight because theyve been severely depressed, and people say, You look fantastic! You must be so proud of yourself!). Its absurd, obviously, for people to make assumptions about anyone elses state of mind (and in the example I just gave, theres an extra layer of cruelty atop the cluelessness), but human nature being what it is, many people will make such assumptions. Sometimes this arises from their own experience and a complacent, self-centered vision of the world, and sometimes its less a dopey assumption than an attempt to make conversation when they cant think of anything else to say. There are two ways to respond. Answer honestly and give yourself a chance to vent. Or, if you just wish people would shut up and mind their own business, all you have to do is nod and change the subject. An easy problem to solve.

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If what youre really asking for is a change in what you believe is the cultural narrative about whats fun and whats not when it comes to childrearing, youre out of luck. For one thing, I dont think there is a single narrative (Ive heard the one you report, but Ive also heard that babies are wonderful, toddlers are hard; babies are boring and toddlers are fun; and every stage is awful/great in its own special way). For another, this is out of my jurisdiction.

But if I may: It seems to me youre focusing on the wrong problem.

The problem I see is the misery you feel, and your overwhelming nostalgia for who and what your children used to be. Those days are gone. If your sadness about that loss is robbing you of taking any pleasure in whats right in front of you, you may need help sorting this and making peace with it. And since it takes quite a while for kids to get through the years between toddlerhood and their teens, you might make an effort to see if you can find anything to enjoy about this period. If you truly cant find anything to appreciate about your kids right now, I guess you can take heart in the knowledge that itll eventually end, that youll get through this and on toward the next thing, which I hope you enjoy as much as you think you will.

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Submit your questions about parenting and family life here. Its anonymous! (Questions may be edited for publication.)

Dear Care and Feeding,

My son (first and only child) is 16 months old. I love him to pieces, but, as hes getting more and more interactive, I find myself not looking forward to the next couple of yearsbut not for the reasons youd think (terrible twos, tantrums, potty training, etc.). Heres my issue: Ive interacted with lots of children in my life, and while I love watching little children grow and learn new skills and enjoy their silliness and innocence, I cant enjoy the mindless interactive play that comes between about 18 months and age 3. For instance, a few weeks ago, I was visiting my sister, playing with my 2-year-old nephew. We were playing with toy food, and when I made a piece of corn talk, he erupted in laughter. At first, it was adorable, and I loved his joy. But of course, this led to again! again! My own joy wore off, and I found myself just getting irritated. I finally got him distracted by moving on to another toy, but 45 minutes later, as Im having a glass of wine and chatting with my sister, he ran up to me with the corn and tried to get me to make it talk again. Its this sort of play that Im dreading with my own son. Ive tried telling myself that Ill feel differently because hes mine, but I get anxious just thinking about it. I know I probably sound like a monster (or at least a tad dramatic), but Id really appreciate any tips on how to handle that balancing act of giving my child the attention hell need while also keeping my own sanity!

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No, Not Again

Dear NNA,

Maybe you should talk to It Doesnt Get Better about the joys of the toddler years.

But in all seriousness: I have a few things I can tell you, though I wouldnt consider any of them tips. First, you may in fact find playing with your own child a very different experience than playing with others, even those you love very much.

Second, if it does turn out that toddler-style playing is anathema to you even with your son, you dont have to do it. Really. You can give him other kinds of attention. There are lots of ways to interact with a small child, including reading to him, building things with him, taking nature walks that will inspire his questions, playground-play (not an inclusive list!) besides mindless conversations. If your child becomes accustomed to your lack of interest in making his toys talk, he wont expect it from you. Hell do it by himself and with otherssitters, friends of yours who do enjoy it, family members.

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Third: These interactions arent mindless. Im not saying this to shame youI just want you to think about the bigger picture. That is: You dont have to engage in this sort of play if its intolerable to you, but it may be helpful (at least a little?) to see it for what it is, which is an engagement with the childs imagination.

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And my fourth thought: Even if you do bow out of some forms of toddler-play, you will of course have to endure again! again! It is the bane of every parent of a toddler, even those of us who thoroughly enjoy this phase.

Look for the joys where you can find them even in the parts of childrearing you may not like so much. And remember that this too shall passbecause it all does, every bit of it. Some of it much too quickly and some of it too slowly. But then its gone, and youre on to something else.

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Dear Care and Feeding,

I have an all-too-common relationship with my mother-in-law. She is too involved in her childrens (my husband and his sister) and now granddaughters life. She continuously crosses boundaries. (Here are some examples: She buys baby food when Ive told her I will be making all my daughters food. Shes thrown away milk I have pumped. She once bought tickets for an out-of-town concert for herself and my husband on OUR anniversary.) My husband has talked to her several times about boundaries, but sometimes she is able to wear him down, and if not, well, she just continues to ignore them. He is a recovered mommas boy, much to her frustration.

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Right now we live in different states, and the distance helps. But my husband will be going to law school next year. Hes been accepted to several schools but the one that makes the most financial sense is in his hometown. The current plan is to move in with my in-laws. We will save over $100,000 in debt by doing this, but I am DREADING it. I am worried about being able to maintain boundaries with MIL, that she will be too involved in my marriage and raising my daughter, and I cant even imagine what else. However, it just doesnt make any financial sense to not live with them. I would love to be able to improve my relationship with my MIL, and I believe that there is still time, as my husband and I have only been together four years and married for two. How can we set up appropriate boundaries before we move in and get her to respect them? Could living together lead to an improved relationship or will it further deteriorate? Will putting up with it for three years be worth $100,000 and the stress of the situation? (Oh, FYImy FIL is phenomenal!)

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State Lines Help Keep Healthy Boundaries

Dea5r SLHKHB,

You want the short answer? No. Its not worth it.

I dont see any way for you to set boundaries your MIL will accede to in her own home if she wont or cant when shes in your home or when youre visiting hers briefly. Moving in with her is tantamount to giving up the battle.

It seems to me that no amount of money is worth what the next three years will bring on. Living together will not lead to an improved relationship unless you cave and do things her wayand that will be an improvement only for her, of course; it seems obvious to me that your relationship will deteriorate if you two keep butting heads, no matter how nice your FIL is. Also: I feel obliged to note that your husband is clearly not a recovered mommas boy if he gives up on setting boundaries when she wears him down and if he thinks its a good idea to move in with her despite her unwillingness to abide by his and your decisions when it comes to parenting your child. It seems to me that if the two of you are so determined to avoid that 100k in debt that youre willing to go through with this plan (and by the way: who exactly made the plan?), youre making a decision to sign on for three years of bitter fighting or three years of giving up on your agency. Are either of these outcomes appealing to you?

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Catch Up on Care and Feeding

 If you missed Fridays column, read it here.

 Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group!

Dear Care and Feeding,

My younger daughter is six. Shes very strong-willed. Shes currently going through a phase where shes obsessed with scars. She has a scar on her face from an incident when she was a toddler, and it sounds like shes brought her obsession with it into her classroom, talking to kids and teachers about it.

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Ive told her she should stick to talking about scars with people who want to talk about them, but no matter how Ive talked about it, she doesnt get it. The college-aged workers at the afterschool program also seem uncomfortable when shes asked them about their scars. Ive had conversations with her about how scars are pretty personal, and she should ask people to talk about this only if theyre comfortable, and that if they seem uncomfortable she should back off. I understand that there are a number of reasons why people might be uncomfortable sharing their stories, especially given that scars can be linked to traumatic events. Her teacher is trying her best to squash this in the classroom, but she is young nothing she has tried is working. What else can we do? My husband thinks this will blow over eventually, and I suppose it will, but I dont think that means we shouldnt try to address it.

Scarred

Dear Scarred,

Obviously, I dont know what the teacher has tried, but Im sorry to say that your own efforts were doomed to fail. A 6-year-old cannot be counted on to assess whether someone is comfortable or not with a given subject, and your counsel that she talk about scars only with those who want to is a confusing message. Asking someone if theyd be comfortable talking about a scar on their body is just as intrusive as going ahead and saying, Where youd get that scar?

The lesson to impart to your child is a simple, straightforward one. We do not comment upon or ask about other peoples bodies. Period. Not their scars, not their size, not their gait, not anything. Ever. It is always rude. The only acceptable things to say about someones appearanceif you want toare, You look so nice today! or I love your shoes/shirt/necklace/etc. And you might let the teacher in on this secret too.

If your daughter asks why, tell her that peoples bodies are nobodys business but their own. Because thats the truth.

Michelle

More Advice From Slate

My husband and I are parents to an amazing 20-month-old boy. Before I became pregnant, my husband and I went out weekly with co-workers after work. My husband still attends these and ends up getting sloshed. I love staying home, and Im over these get-togethers, but my husband insists I need to get out more and should come along. What should I do?
The F-35 stealth fighter can send data to older MiG-29s via network and age of the systems.

MiG-29s will do the heavy work, so that the tandem would be useful for air superiority missions.

Both systems will have an impact on Ukraine when the time comes.

A combination of old and new is the F-35 stealth fighter and the MiG-29s, wherein the US plane can send data. The impact of Ukraine is that networking is done to enable it would be beneficial.

F-35 Stealth Fighter and MiG-29s Exchange Data

A joint exercise in Europe demonstrated that the two planes would work well together to improve the critical situation in the air. Adapting the data link for a 5th gen and 4th gen fighter that lets the Lightning II be the point man in the skies of Eastern Europe, reported Bulgarian Military.

Several days ago, an exercise under NATO was held in Poland that had MiG-29 Fulcrums, noted Mig Flug. F-35 Joint Strike Fighters of the Netherlands Air Force flew and operated in pairs, mentioned Military. The exercise was for Air Policing, which is usual in war and peace, with F-16s and Rafales participating in the air drills.

One unexpected outcome is that both planes had linked up well as the MiG and stealth jet flew from Air Base in Poland. Both aerial units shared data on an imaginary target and interdicted the targets in the digital realm. The objective is to defend two Polish cargo planes in the exercise.

F-35 Can Send Data Of Actions in Ukraine

Experts see a combo of east and west as unique in how the tandem would integrate. It represents a window for the allies and Ukrainian Air Force to see how far the advantage will go.

Read Also: Baykar Says Turkish Kizilelma Supersonic Drone Outstrips US F-35 Stealth Fighter in Performance

Vijainder K. Thakur, an Indian Air Force veteran and military expert, gave his take on the unusual pairing. He stressed that data could be shared by the stealth jet to the Fulcrum to guide it. One outcome is that the older radar of the Fulcrum will be boosted by the 5th gen jet is more capable. The JSF, similar to a drone, shows where to shoot, or it fires at the Fulcrum but is not on the Russian jet's radar.

Another option is to have the Fulcrum in front and the stealth fighter behind to direct weapons fire. It works by having the 5th gen jet in Polish airspace, instructing where to direct the missile shot.

It would keep the US fighter in safe airspace and show a Su-35 detect it stays out of harm's way. For all intents, it will sense all targets in range to give the UAF a heads-up. Despite having different tech, both could work as a pair. NATO is looking for ways it can solve problems in the conflict.

Dutch F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

These two generations are very different in approaches, and their roles are not the same. One is for getting up close for the kill (Fulcrum), and the F-35 JSF is a jack of all trades. Training to fly the US jet will be challenging for a Fulcrum pilot.

About eight of the advanced jets of the Royal Netherlands Air Force [RNLAF] are based in Poland. If there is an escalation, they will be the first in Ukraine and up training the UAF.

The F-35 stealth fighter and MiG-29s are in drills, and they send data to help the older jet that will be over Ukraine.

Related Article: US Threatened To Lose Neutrality in NATO Over F-35 Sale to Greece
Over the past few decades, the Chicago Teachers Union has become a powerful force within city politics, growing a vast network of supporters and developing relationships with Illinois lawmakers. It has used that power to wage the same fight with nearly every Chicago mayor since the 1990s: give teachers more control over their classrooms and their contracts.

Now one of its own, CTU staff organizer and former Chicago Public Schools teacher Brandon Johnson, is running for mayorand hell be facing off in the runoff election Tuesday against Paul Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. CTU has contributed over $1 million to Johnsons campaign, and its role in city politics has been thrust into the spotlight as a result of the race.

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The stakes of this runoff are high for CTU because the next mayor of Chicago will play a big role as the union enters a new chapter: Beginning in 2024, CTU will be allowed to collectively bargain over issues like school staffing levels, class sizes, layoffs, length of the school year, and health and safety standards for the first time. Theyll also phase into having an elected school board instead of a mayor-appointed one. These changes came after Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law handing teachers the rights that the union had been asking for for the last 25 years.

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If Johnson wins Tuesdays election, CTU will have an ally in the mayors office when it starts to negotiate its contract and influence CPS. But if Vallas wins, theyre facing a former CPS executive who championed charter schools, expanded standardized testing, diverted funds from teachers pension funds, and meted out harsh punishments for underperforming schools.

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Each candidate has a very different proposal for CPS if they win the race. Vallas, who became CPSs first mayor-appointed CEO in 1995, wants to bring back more standardized testing, give more power to principals and local leaders, and make it easier for charter schools to open. We should be running districts of schools, not school districts, Vallas said during a March debate with Johnson. I really believe in radical decentralization.

On the flip side, Johnson wants to end the model of per-pupil funding in favor of guaranteeing schools a baseline of resources that includes librarians and social workers. Johnson believes this approach would ensure schools have the necessary staffing, regardless of student enrollment, and would work toward balancing out resource inequities between schools across Chicago. We need to overhaul the CPS funding formula so that were fully funding every single public school, said Johnson during the debate. Thats the norm, thats the baseline. Our people deserve that.

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CTU president Stacy Davis Gates said the union supports Johnson because he brings a much-needed voice for CPS to city hall. A middle-school teacher is at the top, and he is speaking life into the city and saying you can be safe, have a well-paying job, and your kids can go to well-resourced schools, she told me in an interview. Hes building a multi-generational and multi-racial movement that provides everyone a seat at the table. Thats the only thing the residents of this city desire.

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The race has certainly tightened with Vallas holding a 5-point lead over Johnsonwhen just weeks ago, during the first round of the mayoral election, Vallas held a 12 percent lead over Johnson.

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The outsized role that CTU is playing in this years runoff shouldnt be all that surprisingafter all, Chicago is the beating heart of the organized labor movement across the country, said Tom Bowen, co-founder of political consulting firm New Chicago. The Chicago Federation of Labor says there are 300 affiliated unions that represent half a million workers throughout the city.

For decades, CTU has grown a grassroots community of local advocates, parents, teachers, and students across Chicago. Its turn to political activism was prompted by a consequential law passed in 1995 called the Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act. It singled out CPS by replacing the districts superintendent with a CEO, giving the Chicago mayor power to appoint school board members, and limiting the issues CTU could bargain over.

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It was an attempt to revamp CPS at a time when the district was performing terribly: A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago revealed that in 1985 less than two-thirds of all newly admitted ninth graders would graduate from high school, and in 1987 Chicago high schools ranked in the lowest 5 percent of the country. This bold, innovative approach should bring more accountability, better fiscal management and a higher quality of education to a system that desperately needs an overhaul, former Republican Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar said at the time.

Illinois was joining a national trend. The Center for American Progress found that, over the past 30 years, almost 20 urban school systems across the country have moved to mayoral governance of schools, including Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York.

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But CTU has maintained for decades that the law did more harm than good. Dave Stieber, a social studies teacher with CPS, wrote in a 2019 op-ed for South Side Weekly that the Amendatory Act forbid teachers from striking over class size or teacher appointments, essentially reducing the terms of negotiations to pay and benefits. Stieber also argued that the law ignored the conditions and lack of resources of CPS schools, creating inequities for students so devastating that many politicians and officials in Chicago dont even send their own children to CPS schools.

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While the Amendatory Act restricted Chicago teachers ability to advocate for their classrooms, the contrast in resources CPS received was growing more stark compared to schools in neighboring Evanston, Cicero, and Oak Park. Our school communities were starved. They were underresourced, Gates said.

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The union realized it needed to get involved in city and state politics to bring those same types of resources to CPS, said Kirk Hilgendorf, legislative and political director of CTU. The union was able to gradually chip away at the Amendatory Act in small ways. Hilgendorf explained that in 2003, the union was able to change the bills language around collective bargaining so that certain issues became fair game. That pushed the mayors office to give teachers more leverage. Our members at CTU have fought tooth and nail to make sure that they are respected as stakeholders in this city, Gates said.

In 2008, CTU established the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators to force Illinois lawmakers to pay attention to the issues CPS was facing. They wanted to show how the citys approach to education reform was a very top-down process controlled by wealthy elites in the community who had no interest in minority students, explained Robert Bruno, a labor education professor at the University of Illinois and author of A Fight For the Soul of Public Education.

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By 2012, CTU had elected a new set of union leaders, including Karen Lewis, a chemistry teacher who became president of CTU. She led the charge in catapulting the union into political activism, even while fighting brain cancer, and became a national figure in the labor and education movements before her death in 2021. She said we had to change the political landscape in the city of Chicago to be able to get the schools Chicago students deserve, said Hilgendorf.

In 2012, Lewis organized the first teachers strike Chicago had experienced in a quarter century. It lasted eight days, with over 25,000 teachers walking off the joband CTU members won a 17.6 percent raise over four years.

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That success empowered the union to lean further into politics. When you reach out to the community in a collective bargaining struggle and you energize them, educate them and give them a voice, thats acting politically in the best sense of the term, said Bruno.

A few years later, CTU began endorsing candidates in local and statewide races who it believed would prioritize public education. From 2018 to 2019, the union spent $1.5 million on lobbying and other political activity. Then in 2019, the union went on strike again. It lasted 11 days and resulted in the mayors office agreeing to spend millions on reducing class sizes, paying for more social workers, nurses, and librarians, and increasing teacher salaries 16 percent over the next five years.

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Gates, the CTU president, is confident the unions influence is unmatched. There is not another union in this city whose members have the numbers we have, that are as tied to the success of this city as my members are.

But there is another union playing a role in this mayoral race: the Fraternal Order of Police. The FOP has endorsed Vallas; in an interview with the New York Times, FOP president John Catanzara threatened that if Johnson were to be elected, anywhere from 800 to 1,000 Chicago police officers would leave the force. Johnson has expressed support for efforts to defund police in the past, a stance he has since walked back, insisting that the safest cities in America tend to invest in people.

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Vallas, on the other hand, has campaigned on a pro-police platform, including increasing police presence at train stations and hiring 2,300 new officers.

The mayoral hopeful has ties to the FOP that date beyond the current mayoral racein 2020 Vallas served as a consultant to the union while it was in contract discussions with city hall. He also received heat for accepting a $5,000 campaign contribution from a retired Chicago police detective, which he said he was unaware of. Later, Vallas said his campaign donated the money, plus an additional $5,000, to Parents for Peace and Justice, a Chicago group for mothers of children killed by gun violence.

As the race has tightened, Vallas has tried to distance himself from the FOP, telling the Times, Im not beholden to anybody.

Tuesdays race is a test of both CTUs and FOPs political influence, but Bowen told me one thing is certain: In a Democratic stronghold like Chicago, CTU is a force you want with you, as opposed to against you.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/bombshell-report-debunks-icc-warrant-for-putin-and-mainstream-media-sidesteps-it-1109039795.html

Bombshell Report Debunks ICC Warrant for Putin, and Mainstream Media Sidesteps It

Bombshell Report Debunks ICC Warrant for Putin, and Mainstream Media Sidesteps It

"The allegation by the ICC that Russia is running a network of camps that are holding children as hostages and committing a war crime by illegally deporting Ukrainian children."

2023-04-02T02:40+0000

2023-04-02T02:40+0000

2023-04-02T02:42+0000

vladimir putin

sputnik explains

icc

mainstream media

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human rights

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A stunning new report has debunked the narrative that camps in Russia for children from the Donbass constitute crimes against humanity, completely undermining the allegations that serve as the basis for the International Criminal Courts arrest warrant for Russian President Vladmir Putin.In late March, the Prosecutor General for the ICC claimed that President Putin had personally committed a "war crime," citing what it insisted was the "unlawful deportation" and "unlawful transfer" of children from the regions of the Donbass that the Kiev regime claims as its own.State Department spokesman Ned Price seized on that report, which his employer funded, to condemn what he called "Russia's system of forced relocation, re-education and adoption of Ukraine's children," an allegation which was later echoed by the ICC.But "according to the Yale Lab," Grayzone journalist Jeremy Loffredo explained in a new video report, the outrageous allegations of war crimes on the part of the Russian President were based on simple Google searches, involved "zero interviews with actual victims [and] the researchers didnt even attempt to see any of the camps in person."Now the Grayzone has unveiled never-before-seen footage, captured by Jeremy Loffredo in Russia last year, showing the alleged "re-education" camps  and theyre nothing like what the State Department claims.Although the Yale researchers and the International Criminal Court "are probably under the impression that no Western journalist has been to these so-called re-education camps," Loffredo explains in a new video report, "that assumption would be wrong." Indeed, the journalist says, "I visited one of these camps four months ago  unaware that it would be so important to future war propaganda."Rather than a re-education camp, Loffredo explains with his co-author, Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal, he found "a hotel full of happy campers receiving free classical music lessons in their native Russian language from first-class instructors."In a subsequent interview with the Grayzone, HRLs executive director admitted the camps were actually less Third Reich and more "teddy bear." In other words, the lead author of the report used to justify an ICC arrest warrant for the Russian president seemed to acknowledge that the kids arent being stolen, but are merely being given respite from the trauma of life in a conflict zone.Detailing his findings in comments given to Sputnik News, Blumenthal says their report "completely demolishes the entire case" against the Russian President and "exposes it as a public relations stunt that is driven by a hyper-politicized [ICC] prosecutor captured by the US and a State Department-funded report."Between Loffredos trip to one of the camps in question, the original text of the report at the center of the allegations, and the Grayzones interview with the director of the group which authored it, Blumenthal says the "three layers of journalistic inquiry" totally debunk "the allegation by the ICC that Russia is running a network of camps that are holding children as hostages and committing a war crime by illegally deporting Ukrainian children."But despite the groundbreaking nature of their findings, Blumenthal says not a single mainstream media has reached out to him in the 24 hours since publishing the report: "Western media is doing all it can to ignore this devastating debunking of the Yale HRL report that inspired the ICC arrest warrant," he noted.Ironically, concludes Blumenthal, its clear the ICC warrant and the US government-sponsored report its based on were both "designed to obstruct diplomacy with the Russian government in order to prolong the war, and therefore to increase the level of human rights abuses that have been taking place."

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/china-to-legally-resolve-case-of-japanese-citizen-suspected-of-espionage-foreign-minister-1109049243.html

China to Legally Resolve Case of Japanese Citizen Suspected of Espionage: Foreign Minister

China to Legally Resolve Case of Japanese Citizen Suspected of Espionage: Foreign Minister

China will deal with the Japanese national, detained on suspicion of espionage, in accordance with the law, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Sunday during talks with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Beijing

2023-04-02T11:56+0000

2023-04-02T11:56+0000

2023-04-06T12:15+0000

asia

espionage

china

japan

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"Regarding the case of a Japanese citizen who was engaged in espionage in China, [Minister] Qin stressed that the Chinese side will deal with him in accordance with the law," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Japanese foreign minister embarked on a two-day state visit to Beijing on Saturday to mark the 45th anniversary of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty. This is the first trip by a head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry to China since December 2019.Japanese Kyodo news agency reported earlier in the day that Hayashi lodged a strong protest over China's detention of a senior employee of Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma in Beijing last week, and called for his quick release.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/finlands-centre-right-leader-claims-victory-in-general-election-1109059044.html

Finland's Centre-Right Leader Claims Victory in General Election

Finland's Centre-Right Leader Claims Victory in General Election

"This was a great victory," said the 53-year-old head of the conservative National Coalition Party to his supporters. "On the basis of this election result... we will start negotiating a government in Finland."

2023-04-02T21:00+0000

2023-04-02T21:00+0000

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Petteri Orpo, the leader of Finland's conservative National Coalition Party claimed victory on Sunday in Finland's general election. The country's far-right Finns Party came in second place, while Prime Minister Sanna Marin's party, the Social Democrats, came in third. Riikka Purra, the head of the far-right party, thanked her supporters for their "best election result ever". Orpo has held several positions in Finland's government in the past, including the minister of agriculture and forestry from 2014 to 2015, and interior minister from 2015 to 2016, as well as finance minister from 2016 to 2019. Thus far, Orpo's legacy falls on his praised actions as interior minister when he handled the 2015 migration crisis in Europe, during a time which Finland saw a tenfold increase in refugee arrivals. While building his government, the fiscal conservative has promised to cut spending on unemployment benefits and other welfare programs, as well as cut taxes in order to reportedly "boost economic growth" for the country.

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petteri orpo, finland, national coalition party, conservative party, election, finnish election
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/five-syrian-soldiers-injured-in-israeli-attack-in-homs-province-1109039540.html

Five Syrian Soldiers Injured in Israeli Attack in Homs Province

Five Syrian Soldiers Injured in Israeli Attack in Homs Province

Five Syrian service members were injured as a result of the Israeli air attack in Syrias Homs Governorate, the Syrian Defense Ministry informs.

2023-04-02T00:30+0000

2023-04-02T00:30+0000

2023-04-02T00:30+0000

world

syria

homs

syrian defense ministry

israel

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Late on Saturday night, Syrian state broadcaster Al-Ikhbariyah (Alikhbaria TV) said that Syrian air defense systems were repelling an Israeli attack in the province of Homs and that some of the missiles were shot down. Earlier, Syrian radio Sham FM said that at least four Syrian service members were injured as a result of the missile attack. The missile attack is the third Israeli attack on Syria since Thursday.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/iran-swats-away-us-spy-plane-off-territorial-waters-1109051885.html

Iran Swats Away US Spy Plane Off Territorial Waters

Iran Swats Away US Spy Plane Off Territorial Waters

Well over two years into the Biden administration, the hoped-for drop in tensions between Tehran and Washington has failed to materialize, with the US ramping up sanctions, practicing mock bombing runs against the Islamic Republic with Israel, and continuing the illegal occupation of wide swathes of Syria a key Iranian ally.

2023-04-02T13:25+0000

2023-04-02T13:25+0000

2023-04-02T13:28+0000

world

spy plane

reconnaissance flight

reconnaissance aircraft

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Irans military shooed away a US Navy EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft on Sunday after it entered airspace over the Islamic Republics territorial waters.The Navys public relations department indicated that the alertness of its forces blocked the unauthorized entry of the terrorist plane into Irans airspace, with the US aircraft said to have heeded the warning and returned to international waters.The Pentagon has yet to comment on the incident.Sundays incident isnt the first of its kind, with Irans military regularly picking up EP-3E spy planes skimming provocatively close to Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to maximize intelligence collection.The Islamic Republic has not shied away from making clear to Washington that it will target American aircraft straying into its airspace. In June 2019, Revolutionary Guards air defense troops shot down a US RQ-4 Global Hawk drone in the Strait of Hormuz using a cutting-edge domestically-made surface-to-air missile system, bringing the two countries to the brink of war. Iran later revealed that its forces had refrained from firing on a manned Boeing P-8 Poseidon with dozens of airmen onboard which was operating near the Global Hawk to prevent a further escalation. Iran then collected the wreckage of the US drone, put it back together and put it on display in Tehran.Irans military has warned that it will not tolerate US aircraft, whether they be manned or unmanned spy craft of nuclear-capable bombers, from intruding on its airspace. In 2020, a senior Iranian air defense commander warned that the countrys airspace was one of Irans red lines, and that as enemies have experienced in the pastthe smallest violation will be met with the air defense forces crushing and fiery response.Iran has one of the most capable air defense networks in the Middle East, with a dense system of ground and sea-based SAM missiles complemented by sophisticated detection capabilities, including 3D phased-array radars, large early warning radars with ranges of between 400 and 800 km, and an active space surveillance program.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/russia-china-iran-naval-drills-make-positive-contribution-to-maritime-security-beijing-says-1108945961.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230303/top-israeli-pentagon-officials-agree-on-need-to-prevent-iran-from-gaining-a-nuclear-weapon-1107992834.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/italian-government-proposes-fine-of-up-to-100000-euros-for-use-of-english-words-1109050739.html

Italian Government Proposes Fine of Up to 100,000 Euros for Use of English Words

Italian Government Proposes Fine of Up to 100,000 Euros for Use of English Words

Fratelli d'Italia, which is known for its nationalist stance and anti-immigration policies, has been pushing for measures to protect the Italian language

2023-04-02T14:26+0000

2023-04-02T14:26+0000

2023-04-02T14:26+0000

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italian parliament

language policy

brothers of italy

italy

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The Italian government is considering imposing fines of up to 100,000 euros for the use of English words in daily conversations and official documents. The proposal has been put forward by a legislator from the governing Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party in an effort to protect the Italian identity.The draft stipulates that individuals and companies caught using English words in official statements and documents would face hefty fines. The move is aimed at preserving the Italian language, with the government providing citizens with a list of approved Italian alternatives to replace English words.It remains to be seen how effective the new bill will be, given that English words have been widely used in the Italian language for decades.This initiative follows an example set by France, since the French Academy - the official body supervising matters related to the French language - has also been promoting linguistic purity.In May 2022, France introduced a new law that bans the use of English-language gaming and tech jargon in official communications, advertisements, and public documents. The law aims to preserve the purity of the French language by limiting the use of foreign words and promoting the use of French alternatives

https://sputnikglobe.com/20191002/leader-of-fratelli-ditalia-party-every-time-leftists-rule-number-of-migrants-grows-1076944757.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230311/an-injustice--disgrace-outrage-surges-over-shameful-corsican-language-ban-on-french-island-1108285611.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/media-orgs-request-ny-judge-unseal-trump-indictment-allow-audio--visual-access-in-court-1109052034.html

Media Orgs Request NY Judge Unseal Trump Indictment, Allow Audio & Visual Access in Court

Media Orgs Request NY Judge Unseal Trump Indictment, Allow Audio & Visual Access in Court

News organizations have requested that NY judge unseal Trump Indictment, allow cameras in the courtroom during arraignment.

2023-04-02T14:11+0000

2023-04-02T14:11+0000

2023-04-02T14:11+0000

americas

us

donald trump

donald trump's indictment

stormy daniels

george soros

2024 us presidential elections

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https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/04/02/1109048585_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_e14f600d3ef43c172619d6f5d707c4e8.jpg

As Donald Trump is expected to be arraigned in the criminal courthouse on Centre Street, Lower Manhattan, New York, on April 4, media organizations have demanded state judge Juan Merchan immediately unseal the indictment. They also insisted that cameras be allowed in the courtroom.The media coalition reportedly also petitioned Merchan to allow audio and visual access to the arraignment.Judge Juan Merchan, set to preside over the arraignment, would be likely to oversee a potential subsequent trial.In an unprecedented move, Donald Trump became the first former US president to be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30 over his alleged involvement in hush money payments made to adult star Stormy Daniels in 2016 ahead of that year's presidential election. According to media reports, citing insiders, the 45th US president is facing over 30 charges in the state related to document fraud connected to hush money.Trump, who in November 2022 announced his campaign for a non-consecutive second presidential term in 2024, has vehemently denied wrongdoing and slammed the questionable legal accusations against him. He released a statement in response to the indictment, stressing that it was Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden, Donald Trump added. He has also rejected allegations of having had an affair with Daniels.Many supporters have rallied around Trump, slamming what they denounced as a political indictment pushed by a prosecutor whose own election campaign was sponsored by George Soros.Thus, former Vice President Mike Pence derided the indictment over a campaign finance issue as an outrage and a political prosecution. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered a likely rival to Trump for the GOP nomination, launched a broadside at Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg, arguing that he had "weaponized" the law for "political purposes."Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has also declared her 2024 candidacy, ripped the indictment as more about revenge than it is about justice. According to ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, DA Bragg was undermining Americas confidence in our legal system. Furthermore, alleged hush money payments are not illegal. A probe by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) into allegations that Trump had ordered his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to make a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels were dropped on May 2021. Earlier, a Justice Department investigation led to Cohens prosecution for his role in the $130,000 payment scheme.Ever since Democrat Joe Biden came to power, his team at the White House has been unabashedly going after his political opponent, with Trump facing an array of probes. One DOJ investigation, led by Special counsel Jack Smith, is looking into Trump's role in the events at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The now defunct Democratic-led January 6 House Committee had earlier hounded the ex-president and his supporters over the unrest at the US Capitol for months, with the nothingburger probe submitting its final report in late 2022. Trump decried the "sham" probe from the outset, slamming it as a "witch hunt." Another investigation centers on classified documents Trump took with him to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida when he left office. Trumps attorneys have insisted he was still serving as president when the documents were delivered to Mar-a-Lago, and "his decision to retain certain records as personal is entitled to deference, and the records in question are thus presumptively personal.Amid the plethora of challenges, Donald Trump said at a recent CPAC event that he would not quit the 2024 presidential race even if he were indicted on criminal charges.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/trumps-lawyers-may-seek-to-move-ny-criminal-case-to-staten-island-in-hopes-of-less-biased-jury-1109041352.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230401/did-soros-pull-the-strings-to-get-trump-indicted-1109022350.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/moscow-blinken-has-called-lavrov-1109053706.html

Moscow: Blinken Has Called Lavrov to Discuss WSJ Reporter's Arrest

Moscow: Blinken Has Called Lavrov to Discuss WSJ Reporter's Arrest

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday.

2023-04-02T14:19+0000

2023-04-02T14:19+0000

2023-04-02T14:47+0000

world

russia

us

sergey lavrov

antony blinken

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday. The ministry has stated that the top diplomats discussed the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia earlier this week on espionage charges.During the phone call, Lavrov told Blinken that the WSJ journalist attempted to gather information classified as a state secret. As Blinken called for Gershkovich to be "immediately released," the Russian foreign minister stressed the need to respect the decisions made by the Russian authorities, adding that the reporter's fate will be decided by court.On March 30, WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russias Federal Security Service in Yekaterinburg while trying to obtain classified information for the US, with a Moscow court ordering him to be detained for two months on espionage charges.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has repeatedly stated that Moscow will provide consular access to the arrested journalist in accordance with internal procedures.Following the arrest of Gershkovich, the WSJ has called on the US authorities to consider retaliatory measures, such as the expulsion of the Russian ambassador and all Russian journalists working in the United States. For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that all journalists who have valid accreditation in Russia can and will continue their journalistic activities in the country, noting that they do not face any restrictions.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/what-is-known-about-wsj-journalists-detention-in-russia-1108960804.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/moscow-on-vladlen-tatarskys-death-intl-organizations-ignore-kievs-threats-to-russian-journalists-1109057360.html

Moscow on Vladlen Tatarsky's Death: Int'l Organizations Ignore Kiev's Threats to Russian Journalists

Moscow on Vladlen Tatarsky's Death: Int'l Organizations Ignore Kiev's Threats to Russian Journalists

Kiev continues to threaten Russian journalists with reprisals while international organizations turn a blind eye to the situation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated just hours after war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an explosion in St. Petersburg.

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Kiev continues to threaten Russian journalists with reprisals while international organizations turn a blind eye to the situation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated just hours after war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an explosion in St. Petersburg.Zakharova stressed that Russian journalists are being intimidated by Kiev and its Western sponsors, "literally marked with special labels" on US social media platforms, and subjected to a witch hunt in Western media. According to the diplomat, the fact that relevant international organizations ignore this can easily be interpreted as tacit approval if not complicity.The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Western countries have not investigated any case of violent death of a Russian journalist that was "assessed by the Kiev regime and its thugs as a 'success'."Not a single case of the violent death of a Russian journalist, assessed by the Kiev regime and its thugs as a success has been investigated, or even treated with elementary human sympathy by Western countries, international organizations or foreign professional communities.The spokeswoman added that it is thanks to the Russian war correspondents that the world sees the truth and learns information about what is happening in Ukraine. "The professional activities of Vladlen Tatarsky, his service to the Fatherland caused hatred with the Kiev regime. He was dangerous for them, but courageously went all the way, fulfilling his duty," the diplomat added, expressing condolences to Tatarsky's family.The 40-year-old Donetsk-born blogger, journalist and war correspondent, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg on Sunday, April 2. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into the explosion to establish the circumstances of the blast. Twenty-five people were injured in the explosion. Authorities are yet to determine as to who was behind the blast.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/one-dead-six-injured-in-blast-at-st-petersburg-cafe-emergency-services-say-1109055835.html

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In her first remarks since the Manhattan District Attorney's office disclosed Donald Trump's indictment, Stormy Daniels, whose hush money payment prompted the probe, reacts on the matter, calling it "vindicating."

Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump paid the woman $130,000 via his attorney to be silent before the 2016 election, even though he denies the alleged affair.

Charges may be brought since the money was submitted incorrectly and qualify as a campaign cost, according to a popular viewpoint.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford, remarked that Donald Trump, despite his social status, must be held responsible for his words and deeds, according to The Hill.

In an interview with the Times of London, Stormy Daniels said, "Trump is no longer untouchable. A person in power is not exempt from the law."

While the former president is facing unspecified charges, which is a first, he is anticipated to surrender to Manhattan police this week. He may be apprehended and transported to New York if he doesn't cooperate.

"It's vindication," Daniels noted. However, she also calls the matter "bittersweet" as Donald Trump committed acts "so much worse" than what he was previously punished for.

Stormy Daniels said she understood the absurdity of her being a porn actress. "But it's also poetic; this pussy grabbed back."

Donald Trump Allegedly Nervous About the Indictment

On Friday, Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, canceled weekend festivities as the former president huddled with his counsel after being surprised by the grand jury indictment for paying porn actress Stormy Daniels.

The Republican leader is meeting with advisors, who are allegedly to be "shaken" by the Donald Trump indictment announcement of several criminal charges connected to a $130,000 payment made to Daniels, according to a report from The Guardian.

Additionally, a source told the publication that although Trump had first shown "a little nervousness and somberness" in response to the indictment, he has since turned more optimistic and feels popular sentiment is in his favor and that "this will help him win the election."

Read Also: Nashville Shooting: 911 Calls Shed More Light

The ex-POTUS was officially informed of the allegations, which have not yet been made public and are the result of a grand jury that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg appointed. The indictment was confirmed on Thursday.

Donald Trump To Face the Court, To Enter Not Guilty Plea

Donald Trump is scheduled to make a plea bargain in the case at a hearing in New York on Tuesday afternoon. The allegations were brought against him days after they were filed. Trump is anticipated to enter a not-guilty plea.

This coming week, Donald Trump will go before a judge to be charged in a New York courthouse. This will be the first time an ex-president of the United States has done so.

According to Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime fixer and a crucial witness in the case who was sentenced to prison for the payments, Donald Trump never thought that "he would ever be confronted with" such a matter, as reported by AP News.

Protests are anticipated to be widespread as a consequence of Donald Trump impending arrest, notably in New York. Every New York Police Department instructs its officers to report in uniform.

Related Article: Can Donald Trump Still Run for President in 2024?

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/oil-exports-from-iraqi-kurdistan-could-resume-on-tuesday-1109040428.html

Oil Exports From Iraqi Kurdistan Could Resume on Tuesday

Oil Exports From Iraqi Kurdistan Could Resume on Tuesday

Oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan may resume on April 4, the federal government of Iraq and the authorities of the autonomous region are close to concluding a relevant agreement.

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Negotiations between the government and the autonomous authorities are ongoing, and the agreement itself could be announced early next week, according to an informed source. The agreement will allow both sides to jointly manage oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan. The oil exports could resume as early as Tuesday, April 4, Rudaw said on Saturday. The proceeds from the sale of oil will be kept in an account that will be managed by the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan under the supervision of Baghdad.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/one-dead-six-injured-in-blast-at-st-petersburg-cafe-emergency-services-say-1109055835.html

Russian War Correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky Killed in Blast at St. Petersburg Cafe

Russian War Correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky Killed in Blast at St. Petersburg Cafe

The veteran Donetsk-born blogger, journalist, and war correspondent was 40 years old. 02.04.2023, Sputnik International

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2023-04-03T09:24+0000

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Russian war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg on Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed. The circumstances of the blast are being established.Earlier, a source told Sputnik that the blast was thought to have been caused by an explosive device brought into the cafe by a female patron.The emergency services told Sputnik that one person was killed and 19 injured in the explosion. Authorities said the blast was not followed by fire. The explosion caused extensive damage to the cafe.Tatarsky, 40, was a well-known former military commander and a war correspondent with hundreds of thousands of subscribers on Russian social media. Born in Makeevka, Donetsk region to a family of coal miners in April 1982, Tatarsky, real name Maxim Fomin, took the pseudonym from a novel by popular Russian author Viktor Pelevin.Tatarksy joined the Donbass People's Militia in the wake of the Maidan coup and attempts by the new authorities in Kiev to crush independence-seeking forces in Donetsk and Lugansk by force. He served in the DPR's Vityaz Regiment, in the reconnaissance company of the LPR's Fourth Brigade, and in the DPR's Vostok Battalion. He left the military in 2019, settling in Moscow. He returned to Donbass in February 2022 after Russia began its special military operation, making a series of reports from the front. Before the conflict began in 2014, Tatarsky worked for several years as a coal miner, eventually going into business as a furniture salesman. He got into trouble with the law after getting into debt with the bank, and a 2011 bank robbery landed him in prison. He escaped from jail and joined the militias in late summer of 2014, receiving a pardon from the late DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko. He later published a series of books, including "Running," an autobiography.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230331/zelensky-must-negotiate-with-russia-not-beg-west-for-more-arms-academic-says-1108990752.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230329/fractured-ukraine-poisoned-by-depleted-uranium-win-scenario-for-pentagon-says-ex-dod-official-1108935140.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/palm-sunday-celebrations-angelus-recited-in-vatican-1109041897.html

Palm Sunday Celebrations, Angelus Recited in Vatican

Palm Sunday Celebrations, Angelus Recited in Vatican

Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week leading to Easter Sunday, and commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

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Sputnik comes live from the Palm Sunday Mass followed by the traditional Sunday blessing at St Peter's Square in Vatican City.The annual event is expected to attract several thousand people from all over the world. Whether Pope Francis takes part is still unclear, since the pontiff has recently been in hospital with a respiratory infection, according to the Vatican Press Office. However, the 86-year-old head of the Catholic Church was discharged on Saturday, hinting that he would preside over the Sunday ceremony.Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/putin-congratulated-lukashenko-on-unity-day-of-russia-and-belarus-kremlin-1109042878.html

Putin Congratulated Lukashenko on Unity Day of Russia and Belarus: Kremlin

Putin Congratulated Lukashenko on Unity Day of Russia and Belarus: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, congratulations on the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus, noting that despite the sanctions pressure, Russia and Belarus are effectively coordinating efforts in the international arena.

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"Dear Alexander Grigoryevich, accept our warmest congratulations on the occasion of the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus ... Despite the unprecedented sanctions pressure from outside, we are effectively coordinating efforts in the international arena, in the sphere of defense and security, and successfully implementing programs aimed at strengthening financial and economic, and scientific and technological sovereignty," Putin said in the statement. The Russian leader also noted that Russia and Belarus were systematically expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, vigorously improving the mechanisms of the Union State. Besides, Putin said that he was confident the partnership between the fraternal peoples would only grow in the future. The Russian president also wished Lukashenko good health and success, and the citizens of Belarus happiness and prosperity.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/russian-forces-repel-combined-strike-of-ukrainian-troops-mod-1109040854.html

Russian Forces Repel Combined Strike of Ukrainian Troops: MoD

Russian Forces Repel Combined Strike of Ukrainian Troops: MoD

Russian forces have repelled a combined strike of multiple launch rocket systems of Ukrainian troops in the south Donetsk direction and have destroyed two Ukrainian reconnaissance groups, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

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According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian forces have also shot down three Ukrainian drones. In the south Donetsk direction, Russian troops have thwarted "two attempts by the enemy to carry out reconnaissance by force," "a reconnaissance group was destroyed, and up to 20 militants were eliminated," the defense ministry spokesperson told Sputnik. In addition, in the Zaporozhye direction, an attempt by Ukrainian forces to send a sabotage and reconnaissance group to the rear of Russian troops was thwarted and five militants were killed, the spokesperson said. Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, after the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russias operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia. Western countries have significantly increased their economic and military support for Kiev, which now includes air defense and multiple rocket launching systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, anti-aircraft guns, armored vehicles and various types of ammunition. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in January that arms supplies to Ukraine by Western countries testify to their direct and growing involvement in the conflict.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230329/watch-russian-ka-52-helicopter-firing-missiles-at-ukrainian-forces-positions-1108904426.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/russian-foreign-ministry-says-seizure-of-kiev-pechersk-lavra-illegitimate-immoral-1109059693.html

Russian Foreign Ministry Says Seizure of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Illegitimate, Immoral

Russian Foreign Ministry Says Seizure of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Illegitimate, Immoral

The situation with the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is the Kiev authorities illegitimate act from the legal point of view and an immoral act from the spiritual point of view, the Russian Foreign Ministry says.

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russia

kiev region

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The ministry stressed that the regime of President Volodymyr Zelensky is not independent in its anti-clerical policy, the split of Orthodoxy is a goal being pursued by Washington. "At many levels, ecclesiastical and secular authorities drew the attention of the worlds ecclesiastical and international communities to the current new round of violations of the civil rights of believers ... The lack of a decisive reaction on the part of addressees from among the leaders of international organizations is very significant," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, referring to appeals made by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to several ecclesiastical leaders and representatives of international organizations, including the United Nations, not to allow monks to get evicted from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Tensions between Kiev and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) escalated after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. On March 10, 2023, UOC monks were ordered to leave the monastery of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, (jurisdiction over which was divided between a Ukrainian cultural organization and the UOC) by March 29 for violating the terms of an agreement on the use of state property. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the monks could stay in the Lavra if they joined the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), a decision that may be "stimulated through the joint work of specialists and law enforcement officers." On Saturday, a court in Kiev put Metropolitan Bishop Pavel, vicegerent of the contested Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, under house arrest for 60 days and barred him from communicating with believers. Ukrainian authorities conducted searches in his house.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230401/vicegerent-of-kiev-pechersk-lavra-placed-under-round-the-clock-house-arrest-1109038959.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/uk-govt-in-negotiations-over-three-britons-held-by-taliban-in-afghanistan-home-secretary-says-1109046033.html

UK Gov't 'in Negotiations' Over Three Britons Held by Taliban in Afghanistan, Home Secretary Says

UK Gov't 'in Negotiations' Over Three Britons Held by Taliban in Afghanistan, Home Secretary Says

UK government is in negotiations over three Britons detained by Taliban in Afghanistan, Britain's Home Secretary stated.

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The government of the United Kingdom is "in negotiations" regarding the fate of three Britons held in custody by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Home Secretary Suella Braverman stated on Sunday.She added that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has in such cases "worked actively to ensure people are safe."Britain does not have an embassy or consulate in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August of 2021, triggering the collapse of the Western-backed puppet government. The US and NATO ended a speedy and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, culminating in a massive airlift of foreigners and Afghans eligible for evacuation from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The Taliban has since governed the country.Earlier, humanitarian organization the Presidium Network revealed to UK media that the three British men include Kevin Cornwell, 53, a British medic for the charity Iqarus, detained by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence in Kabul since January 11, an unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul, and so-called "danger tourist" Miles Routledge. All three are believed to have been held since January, detained in separate incidents.Cornwell was reportedly arrested in a raid at the Darya Village Hotel, with Taliban agents accusing him of having an illegal firearm in the safe. Also detained in the raid on the hotel was purportedly its British manager, whose family has requested that he not be named in the media.Scott Richards, a negotiator working with the Presidium Network, was cited as saying:Adding that the two detainees have not been given access to consular officials or international observers, Richards urged the Taliban to show "compassion" and release the men during the ongoing religious month of Ramadan.The third detainee, Routledge, 23, is a former physics student at Loughborough University. The so-called "danger tourist" boasts a vast following on social media, but has ostensibly been a no-show online since late February. The young man was earlier extracted from Afghanistan in August 2021, but has since embarked upon several trips to the country in the past year. In one video posted online, he was seen shooting automatic rifles with Taliban fighters. He previously boasted of having visited Ukraine amid the ongoing conflagration there, as well as strife-riddled Sudan.*The Taliban is an organization under UN sanctions for terrorism.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220815/how-taliban-stormed-across-afghanistan-smashing-nato-trained-army-in-ten-days-1099556063.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220831/taliban-marks-anniversary-of-us-exit-from-afghanistan-with-parades-fireworks-and-flaming-hoops-1100221668.html

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uk government, in negotiations, fate of three britons held in custody by the taliban in afghanistan, home secretary suella braverman stated on sunday. kevin cornwell, british medic, charity iqarus, detained by the taliban, general directorate of intelligence, kabul danger tourist, miles routledge, taliban took power in afghanistan, collapse of western-backed puppet government, us and nato chaotic withdrawal, massive evacuation,
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230402/who-was-war-correspondent-vladlen-tatarsky-1109057744.html

Who Was War Correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky?

Who Was War Correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky?

The Donbass fighter-turned-war correspondent was killed in an explosion at a St. Petersburg cafe on Sunday. Russias Investigative Committee has opened a... 02.04.2023, Sputnik International

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2023-04-03T09:24+0000

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Vladlen Tatarsky was a military blogger and front line correspondent, with over 563,000 subscribers on Telegram, and 21,000+ followers on VKontakte, a Russian social media site.Vladlen Tatarsky was his pseudonym  picked in honor of Vavilen Tatarsky - the hero from Russian writer Viktor Pelevins allegorical post-modernist novel Generation P. Tatarskys real name was Maxim Yurievich Fomin.Fomin was born on April 25, 1982 in the city of Makeevka, a major metallurgy and coal-mining center in Donetsk region, into a family of coal miners. Graduating from high school in 1999, he briefly followed in his father and grandfathers footsteps, getting a job in a mine, before deciding to go his own way and going into business for himself as the owner of a furniture company. The venture went sour, with his stores going bust. In late 2011, wracked with debt, Fomin and several of his friends made the foolhardy decision to rob a commercial bank. They were quickly caught, and Fomin was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence in a penal colony in the northeastern Donetsk region city of Gorlovka.In the spring of 2014, Ukrainian forces launched a full-blown offensive into the Donbass in an attempt to crush a nascent pro-independence rebellion by local residents and militias. By the summer, fighting approached right up to the prison where Fomin was doing his time, with shells, mortar rounds and bullets hitting the detention center and killing and wounding several inmates. Fomin managed to escape in the chaos, and soon joined up with militiamen fighting off Ukrainian forces.Between late 2014 to 2019, Fomin served in several Donbass militia units, including the Vityaz Regiment, the LPRs Fourth Brigade, and the Vostok Battalion. Fomin was briefly arrested by militiamen in 2014 after they learned of his criminal record, but received a pardon from late DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko in recognition of his service.Fomin began covering events in the Donbass as a journalist in 2019 after retiring from military service.His audience on social media ballooned after February 2022 with his front line coverage of Russias military operation, where he combined his job as a correspondent with service as a military drone operator. Fomin's videos spread like wildfire across the internet, reaching not only Russian-language users, but foreigners as well.Fomin received popularity  and occasional notoriety, for his brusque and to-the-point reporting style, and for his no-holds barred critical coverage, including discussion of some of the problems faced by Russian forces in the conflict.Big LossBoris Rozhin, a military expert with the Center for Military-Political Journalism, called Fomin's death a "big loss," saying his reports constituted an honest appraisal of the real situation on the front. "He did not hesitate to reveal the problematic points which needed to be fixed. And in some areas, progress really began to be made after that."Russian lawmaker and Russian Liberal Democratic Party fraction chief Leonid Slutsky said that while he would trust investigators in the case to figure out what happen there is every reason to talk about a Ukrainian trace in the attack on Fomin, as in the case of the murder of Daria Dugina.""It has the same handwriting. This crime was committed by those who hate Russia, who are ready to kill Russian patriots, Slutsky wrote in his Telegram page on Sunday evening.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that Russian journalists are under constant threat of reprisal attacks by the Kiev regime and its patrons.Zakharova blasted Kievs undisguised delight in the wake Fomin's death and said the lack of reaction in the White House, Downing Street and Elysee Palace speaks for itself in light of the lip service they typically pay to the "well-being of journalists and freedom of journalism."

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Longtime harness racing industry participant Edward Eugene 'Ed' Telle of Orlando, Florida passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, March 17, 2023 at the age of 76.

Ed was born on March 1, 1947 in the Panama Canal Zone to his late parents Louis and Katherine Telle. He proudly served his country as a member of the United States Marine Corps before being honourably discharged from active service in 1971. On April 4, 1991, he married Suzie Dupler.

He graduated from Petersburg High School and Old Dominion University, both in Virginia.

Ed and his wife are the owners of Main Street Terrace Care Center in Lancaster, Ohio. He was also the previous owner of Arcadia Acres Nursing Home, Woodstock Care Center and Willowood Care Center.

Ed loved and was passionate about horse racing. He was an owner and trainer of Standardbreds and in the past owned thoroughbreds. He enjoyed success on a national scale with 2011 Little Brown Jug winner Big Bad John.

Besides his wife of 31 years, Suzie, Ed leaves to cherish his memories his three sons, Daniel Telle of Columbus, Oh., Ethin Telle of Orlando, Fl., and Steven Telle; and his bestest little buddy, Speedy.

Missing him terribly are his brothers and sisters in law, Thomas Robert & Sherry Telle, and Theodore Edward & Susan Telle; his father in law, Jerry Dupler and Joan Irwin; brother in law, Randy Dupler; sister and brother in law, Kristy & John Owen; his niece and nephews, Kathy, Stanley, Marshall and Michael; great nieces and nephew, Stephanie, Jennifer, Tray, Ben, Brian, Sam, Beth, Rachel, Landon, Mason, and Carter; as well as his great-great nieces and nephews.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, a brother and sister in law, Robert Lee & Shirley Telle; his mother in law; Neva Dupler; and his best friends, Bill and Donna Dudley, Dan Reynolds and Gary Junk.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Buckeye Cruise for Cancer or to New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program.

Guests are welcome to join Ed's family and friends for an evening of music, food, laughter and sharing memories in celebration of a life well lived. "One Hell of a Party - Celebrating the Life of Ed Telle" will take place Friday, April 21, 2023 from 4 - 7 p.m. at The Ag Center, Delaware County Fairgrounds, 236 Pennsylvania Avenue, Delaware, Ohio 43015.

Inurnment with military honours will take place in the future at Arlington National Cemetery.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Ed Telle.
It can be tricky being a parent, a teacher or other professional who works with children and teens.

Officials with the Region 1 Behavioral Health Authority have seen that firsthand. Kym Fries, Region I prevention coordinator, and Heather Brown, prevention specialist, work with local underage drinking and drug prevention coalitions that cover the Panhandle.

Youd be amazed what is out there, Fries said. Its scary.

For example, Fries said, a recent survey showed that vaping had increased by nearly 45% among teens within the last three years. The Nebraska Risk and Protective Factor Student Survey, done every two years and surveying students in eighth, 10th and 12th grades, also showed that about 20% of eighth graders responding to the survey had used electronic cigarettes or vaping products during their lifetimes, which dramatically increased to more than 53% by the time they were seniors.

In eighth grade, only 7.4% of respondents said they had ever used marijuana, but that climbed to more than 34% by 12th grade. Students in all three grades reported having used marijuana, LSD, synthetic drugs, inhalants and prescription drugs within the 30-day period prior to taking the survey.

That is why Region 1 Behavioral Health Authority is bringing in a nationally-recognized trainer, Officer Jermaine Galloway, known as The Tall Cop. One of Galloways mottos, You cant stop what you dont know, will resonate with parents and others who work with children and teenagers. The training, High in Plain Sight: Current Drug Trends, will be held on Thursday, April 20, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Gering Civic Center.

Galloway, a former law enforcement officer, has more than 24 years of experience in alcohol and drug education, enforcement and prevention. He is a full-time trainer, and has dedicated thousands of hours to community scans, which Fries explained are assessments that include research and identification of substance abuse trends and other identified problems in communities. He has been recognized nationally and internationally for his work, according to a biography.

Fries and Brown told the Star-Herald that staff at Region I had seen Galloway speak at different engagements. Fries and Brown saw him in October during a conference in a presentation on emerging drug trends in the nation.

He was phenomenal, and he was very informative, Fries said, saying that his visual aids and his experience as a law enforcement officer added to his presentation. He just keeps your attention the whole time.

Parents, school administrators and staff, law enforcement and corrections officers and others will learn a lot about drug activity going on in communities like Scottsbluff, Gering, regionally and nationally.

This is his first time here, Brown said, saying that some of the items discussed in his presentation will surprise people, particularly as he discusses drug and alcohol trends. However, he gets beyond just talking about the numbers, Brown and Fries said, discussing synthetic marijuana, marijuana and even things like clothing designed to hide drugs and stash compartments that parents, teachers and others might not recognize for being used to conceal drugs, if they are not aware.

Funding for the training is provided by grant funding made available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Grants help provide funding for prevention activities like education and training, all part of the effort to reduce underage drinking and drug use among children, teens and young adults.

Providing opportunities to educate people about drugs and prevention is just one of the pieces of the work done by Region I, they explained. Region 1 covers the 11 counties of the Panhandle.

We work alongside and collaborate with three of our coalitions that we have here in the Panhandle  that is Morrill County Coalition, Monument Prevention Coalition and Panhandle Prevention Coalition, Fries said. We try and get education and awareness out there. We also work alongside with them to try to make policy changes.

Tickets for The Tall Cop presentation are now available on the Panhandle Partnership website, https://bit.ly/3zrhb4C. The cost to attend is $30.

For more information about Galloway, The Tall Cop, visit his website, tallcopsaysstop.com.
The 38 North North Korea monitoring organization in Washington, DC, reported finding signs of progress on an Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) at the Yongbyon facility, based on photos taken on March 3 and March 17.

According to the report, the photos confirmed that a 5-megawatt reactor was still active at Yongbyon and that work had begun on a support structure surrounding the ELWR, per a CNA report.

In addition, leaks in the reactor's cooling system have been spotted and there were new works seen in the area surrounding the uranium enrichment plant at Yongbyon. These suggest that the facility will be upgraded soon.

The report elaborated, referring to North Korea's leader, such advancements appear to mirror Kim Jong Un bomb fuel order to accelerate "the country's fissile material production to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal."

North Korea Steadfast in Nuclear Weapons Development

Small nuclear warheads, which North Korea claims may be mounted on medium- and short-range missiles, have been made public.

For a long time, Pyongyang has insisted that it has nuclear weapons that are both tactical and capable of reaching South Korean targets.

On Tuesday, Pyongyang published proof of North Korea's nuclear weapons in its official media.

It is hard to tell whether or not they are genuine, though. We can only speculate until North Korea conducts a test of one of these weapons.

Pyongyang has spent the previous two weeks practicing nuclear strikes on Seoul while launching a volley of what it claims are nuclear-capable missiles, according to the BBC.

The results of individual tests may not grab as much attention as they formerly did, but taking a comprehensive look at them reveals important trends and insights.

Read Also: Stormy Daniels Comments on Donald Trump Indictment

The United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises, practicing how to overcome North Korea in the event of an assault. Pyongyang claims it the allies are retaliating.

Ellen Kim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies sees the current North Korea nuclear situation as "equivalent of a fashion show, which also worried her and fellow analysts about the lack of cohesion in the North Korea nuclear weapons collections shown so far.

Kim Jong Un Sister Blasts Ukraine Call To Host Nukes

Meanwhile, Kim Yo Jong, the strong sister of leader Kim Jong Un, has accused Ukraine of pushing for nuclear weapons, official broadcaster KCNA claimed on Saturday.

She based her accusation on an online petition in Ukraine that has garnered less than 1,000 signatures thus far,

Kim Yo Jung said, without providing proof, that this kind of petition may be a political scheme by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's administration, Reuters reported.

On Thursday, a petition was posted to the website of the Ukrainian presidential office, demanding that the country either host nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory or be armed with its nuclear weapons in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to position tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which he announced last week.

The petition only had 611 signatures as of Saturday afternoon, much below the 25,000 threshold necessary to get a reaction from Zelenskiy. Kyiv authorities have not responded to the petition as of present writing.

Notwithstanding their isolation, Pyongyang and the Kremlin are developing closer ties. North Korea backed Moscow's position in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Related Article: Emmanuel Macron To Visit China

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The satirical novel, Catch-22, was published in 1961. I first heard of the book when I was a student at UNC Charlotte in the late 1960s.

I had overheard students talking about Joseph Hellers (1923-1999) anti-war book and had seen students (many of them veterans) carrying paperback copies on several occasions. It seemed to be a book that would qualify as unofficially required reading and I set about to get a copy and read it.

Let me be honest here: I started reading it at least half a dozen times, then stopped, put it down and wondered what all the fuss was about. I remember talking to another student, probably an English major, about Catch-22.

He stopped me before I had spoken hardly a sentence. Yeah, I know what you mean, he said. I had to start reading it at least that many times, too. But just stay with it, Stonestreet. I know it doesnt make any sense at first, but it will. Trust me; hang in there, or words to that effect.

And so, I turned to Page 1 and started the book again, perhaps for the seventh time, determined to get far enough into the hefty book for it to begin to make sense. Once I start a book, I like to finish it.

You may be pleased to learn that eventually it did begin to make sense and I was glad I had persevered.

One has to recall that in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the war in Vietnam was getting a lot of attention (and a lot of young college-aged American men). I remember receiving a greeting from the Department of Defense informing me that should my college grade point average fall below a certain number, I would be on the bus to an Army boot camp before I could whistle Leaving on a Jet Plane.

The absurdity of war was the theme of the novel. Joseph Heller, was himself stationed in Italy during the Second World War, like the fictional Capt. Yossarian, and flew 60 combat missions in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bombardier on a B-25 Mitchell bomber.

Some readers may recall the 1970 movie of the same name, starring Alan Arkin, Art Garfunkel, Bob Newhart, John Voight, Orson Wells and others. The movie had some really fine scenes, but made no sense if you had not read the book. I think many people left the cinema muttering something like, What was that about? I didnt get it. It made no sense. Judy, who went to see the movie with me, may have suggested that I try to get our price of admission back at the ticket booth.

The protagonist of the novel, John Yossarian, is a member of an American bomber crew stationed in Italy in World War II. He realizes that his chances of living through the war are not favorable and that his odds of surviving are decreasing with each mission flown.

However, he learns that he can get out of flying more missions by simply requesting it and claiming to be crazy and acting like it.

As one critic has pointed out, Yossarian is furious because thousands of people he has never met  those whom he is dropping bombs on  are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy  it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service.

However, and here comes the catch, by requesting to get out of flying more missions, the request proves that you are not crazy, so you have to keep flying missions.

As Yossarian states in the book, Thats some catch, that Catch-22. The term, Catch-22, has since entered our language.

Im going to get a copy of the movie, and possibly, reread the book. Being 50 years older now and having served in the U.S. military since I read the book the first time, I suspect Catch-22 will have deeper levels of meaning for me. Funny how some books improve with age.
Judge Mike Fleenor refused to throw out a search warrant questioned by Radford attorney Richard W. Davis Jr. regarding the honesty of Floyd deputies.

The rejection clears the way for a jury trial of Mandy Kate Overstreet of Floyd on felony charges of possessing the ammunition by a convicted felon.

In a letter to Davis and Commonwealths Attorney Eric Branscom, the judge said he had not received any additional authority or argument from Davis or his client to support a claim that sheriffs deputies either deliberately lied of showed a reckless disregard for the truth in the material they included in the affidavit to support a search warrant.

In overruling the motion to suppress and dismiss the charges, Fleenor said the search warrant was still valid at the time of the execution, despite Davis claim to the contrary.

A day-long jury trial is scheduled for May 30.

The sheriffs office did its job in a proper and professional manner, Branscom said. There was no reason to claim they lied or, in any way, suggest their actions cut corners or were dishonest.
A convicted rapists attempt at appearing remorseful at his sentencing hearing on Thursday backfired and ended with him being dragged from the Smyth County Circuit Courtroom as he cursed at the judge.

Marcus Evan Contraths outburst came after Judge Deanis Simmons handed him two life sentences plus 90 years in prison. In December, Conrath pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sodomy of a teenage family member.

Before Simmons pronounced his sentence, Conrath addressed his victim and the family, saying that his actions tormented him.

Im sorry, guys, for all that Ive done and I pray one day you can forgive me and not let bitterness hold you back, he said.

Simmons took issue with Conraths reference to bitterness, saying Conrath made it sound as if bitterness was inappropriate in this regard for you.

His words to the teen, Simmons said, were, very telling.

The judge said the teen had every right to feel bitter. Conrath, she said, was supposed to protect her, but he instead committed an extreme betrayal.

Conraths arrest came in February 2022 after the teen told police of the abuse. In an interview with Smyth County Investigator Tony McCormick, Conrath admitted to the offenses.

While delivering his sentence, Simmons reiterated her view again, saying that she did not believe that Conrath felt remorse for his actions.

I hope that at some point, you recognize the severity of what youve done, she said, to which Conrath replied, Im sorry you feel that way.

When Simmons told him there was no need for him to respond, Conrath said, I dont give a shit. I got life. Fuck you.

As bailiffs removed Conrath from the courtroom and led him toward the holding cells, he repeated his statement several more times, directing it once at the family as one of them began to speak up during his outburst.

Prior to the disruption, the court heard from the teen and her mother.

The girl told her abuser that he had damaged her and taken away her innocence.

You took a part of me that I can never get back, she said, adding with conviction that she would not allow him to take anything else from her.

The girls mother said she thought before that she was protective of her children. That protective nature has since skyrocketed. She said she and her children now suffer from depression and anxiety. Her daughter, she said, often experiences flashbacks from which she has to be calmed.

The mother told Conrath, I hope what you have done eats you up inside for the rest of your life.

During arguments seeking each sides desired outcome, Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Brendan Roche asked the court to impose severe punishment.

Defense Attorney Joseph Stiltner asked the judge for leniency and pushed for rehabilitation, saying that a psychosexual evaluation performed following his conviction suggested that Conrath had only a moderate risk to re-offend and a high potential for rehabilitation.

The defense attorney pointed to his clients past and the availability of treatment. Conrath, he said, had come from a broken home, had himself been sexually abused at a young age, and had struggled with alcohol abuse and porn addiction.

Stiltner said his client understood that the court has to punish, but encouraged Simmons to also consider the resources for rehabilitation that are now available.

Roche countered that while the commonwealth recognized Conraths struggles, that doesnt lessen the impact of this crime.

Rehabilitation can take place, but we think it should take place after he serves his time in prison, he added.

Stiltner said Conrath accepted responsibility for his actions and felt remorse. He pointed to the fact that he had been cooperative with police during the investigation and that he had pleaded guilty to the charges in court.

Roche, however, contended, I would point out that there was no remorse until he got caught.

Simmons said she was sorry that Conrath had experienced traumas in his life, but that people make choices.

They may choose to continue the cycle, or they may choose to break away from it, she said.

The judge also took issue with a portion of Conraths psychosexual evaluation, which noted that Conrath said that he solicited the teen and did not force or intimidate her to have sex with him.

To Simmons, that was just semantics, she said, adding that she believed the abuse was the result of intimidation as it began when the girl was only 11 years old.

Praising the teens intelligence and strength, Simmons told the girl she was proud of her.

Simmons said, I want you to know that not everyone is like that and that you can lead a happy and healthy life and that none of this is your fault.

Following Conraths outburst and abrupt departure from the courtroom, a stunned Stiltner requested a copy of the hearing transcript in case they were needed for appeal. Though a conviction stemming from a guilty plea is highly unlikely to be granted an appeal, sentences deemed harsh can be reviewed separately.
Mekdad's visit falls within the framework of the Arab-Syrian rapprochement, Athr Press says.

On Saturday, the Foreign Minister, Faisal al-Mekdad, made his first visit to Syria since the beginning of the war. This visit comes about a month after the visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, to Damascus.

Press reports have leaked that during the visit, Mekdad and Shukri held a closed meeting that could lead to positive developments. These include a potential meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as well as Syrias reinstatement in the Arab League, among other possibilities.

In general, this visit falls within the framework of the Arab-Syrian rapprochement and the change in the policies of Arab countries towards Syria.

Dr. Tarek Fahmy, a political science professor at Cairo University, emphasized the significance of Faisal Mekdads visit to Cairo in an interview with Athar. He stated that the visit is a crucial development that builds upon the recent efforts made by Egypt and Syria, including President Sisis communication with President Assad and the visit of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to Damascus.

Dr. Tarek Fahmy noted that the American side had expressed reservations regarding the Arab movement towards Syria, including that of Egypt. He anticipates potential disagreements in this regard, but he also believes that Egypt will adjust its position following recent developments and its efforts to engage with Turkey and expand its influence in the Mediterranean region. Despite US reservations, Dr. Fahmy suggests that Russian support could help improve relations between Syria and Egypt.

It is worth noting that although the war in Syria was ongoing, the relations between Syria and Egypt remained intact, and the two countries embassies were never closed. However, Cairo maintained a relatively neutral stance toward the conflict. Official meetings and contacts resumed in 2021 when the Syrian and Egyptian foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Wall Street Journal reported that unnamed sources have confirmed that Syria and Egypt are discussing restoring diplomatic relations. The article suggests that President Bashar al-Assad may meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, before the end of this month. However, the date and location of the meeting have not yet been confirmed.

According to the Emirati newspaper, Al-Bayan, an unnamed Egyptian security source stated that the purpose of the visit is to initiate steps toward Syrias return to the Arab League with the mediation of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The source noted that several important regional powers, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have recently sent messages indicating greater openness towards Damascus.

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.
Luna al-Shibl launched accusations of corruption for both former ministers of industry and internal trade in the regime's government, according to Baladi News.

Advisor to the head of the Syrian regime, Luna al-Shibl, launched accusations of corruption for both former ministers of industry and internal trade in the regimes government, stressing that they will be held accountable.

According to Shibls posts on its Telegram channel, Industry Minister Ziad Sabbagh was dismissed from his post due to his involvement in corruption cases, as revealed by the final results of the investigations conducted by the Central Authority for Control and Inspection.

Shibl referred to a publication released in February, which exposed the embezzlement of public funds in Homs cotton gins, amounting to nine billion Syrian pounds. This resulted in the arrest of several individuals, and the investigation subsequently expanded to include multiple managers in the Ministry of Industry at the time. Eventually, it was discovered that the Minister of Industry was also involved in the corruption.

Shibl has stated that former Minister of Internal Trade in the regime government, Amr Salem, and his associates were found to have been involved in suspicious deals with the salaries of the Republican Guard Bassel Shabani. As a result, the decision to dismiss Salem was accompanied by a directive to hold him accountable for his actions.

In previous meetings, Shibl had hinted at the existence of corruption cases that would be revealed. However, despite these claims, no corruption case was publicly addressed or resulted in the arrest and accountability of those responsible.

On Wednesday, March 29th, Bashar al-Assad issued a decree for a partial cabinet reshuffle within his government, which included the appointment of 5 new ministers. Firas Hassan Kaddour was appointed as the new Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, replacing Bassam Tohme. Mohsen Abdel Karim Ali was appointed as the new Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, replacing Amr Salem. Abdul Qader Jokhadar was appointed as the new Minister of Industry, replacing Ziad Sabbagh. Louay Imad Al-Din Al-Munajjid was appointed as the new Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, replacing Muhammad Saif Al-Din. Additionally, Muhammad Fayez Al-Barsha was named as the new Minister of State, while Ahmed Postehchi was appointed to replace him. This information was reported by SANA.

Even before assuming his duties, the new Minister of Internal Trade, Mohsen Abdul Karim Ali, faced accusations of being involved in the black market for state cement as its official sponsor. Ali, who is the brother of the former regimes ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul Karim Ali, was alleged to have a monthly share of one billion Syrian pounds from the illegal activities. These accusations have made him the richest government official, considering he had previously held several positions in the state before becoming a minister.

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.
Israel has been conducting attacks for several years against targets it claims are linked to Iran in Syria, according to al-Modon.

The semi-official Iranian news agency, Mehr, reported on Sunday that Mekdad Mehqani, a military adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was killed in an Israeli attack on Syria. Iranian websites had previously reported that Mehqani had been injured in an Israeli attack a few days prior and had succumbed to his injuries at dawn on Sunday.

The death of Mekdad Mehqani brings the total number of Iranian casualties from the Friday airstrikes on Syria to two. On Sunday, Israel launched new attacks targeting the central region, as well as the city of Homs and its surrounding areas. As a result, five Syrian soldiers were injured.

Mehqani is the second officer from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to have been killed in the Israeli attack that took place on Friday. Earlier, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had confirmed the death of one of its members in the Israeli bombardment on the outskirts of Damascus.

According to a statement carried out by Irans official news agency, IRNA, the slain member was identified as Milad Heidari, who was a military adviser and guard officer.

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed that Tehran would undoubtedly respond to this crime, the statement said.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes targeting military centers and sites in Jabal al-Mana and Jabal al-Madaa, as well as missile depots 714 in the village of Harjleh, and a military point belonging to the First Division in the Kiswah area, located west of the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Israel has been conducting attacks for several years against targets it claims are linked to Iran in Syria, where Tehrans influence has increased since it started supporting President Bashar al-Assad after the uprising against him in 2011.

Iran maintains that its officers are providing advisory support to Syria at the invitation of Damascus. However, numerous members of the Revolutionary Guards, including senior officers, have been killed in Syria during the ongoing conflict.

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.

Five Syrian soldiers were wounded in an Israeli air strike near the western city of Homs early Sunday, Syrian regime news agency SANA has reported.

The strike was Israels third in Syria in recent days after Damascus was targeted on the nights of March 30 and 31, according to the agency.

Today at around 00:35 (2135 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an air assault from northeast of Beirut targeting positions in the city of Homs and its province, SANA reported on Sunday, citing a military source.

Syrias air defence intercepted several missiles, but five soldiers were wounded and some material damage was reported, the source added.

Second Iranian dies in the strike

A military adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) died of his injuries after an Israeli air strike near Syrias capital Damascus, Iranian semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday.

The news agency added that the officer was identified as Meqdad Meqdani.

The air strike that injured and subsequently killed the Revolutionary Guard was carried out early on Friday, and formed the second round of aerial attacks in less than 24 hours.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani vehemently condemned on Friday the attacks that the aggressive Zionist regime has conducted against a number of sites in Damascus, Tasnim News Agency reported.

Meqdani is now the second officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to be killed following the Israeli attack, as the IRGC announced the death of one of its members earlier.

The Guards official website IRNA, named the member as Milad Heidari, who was a military advisor and guard officer.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed Heidaris death.

Additionally, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards vowed that Tehran will undoubtedly respond to this crime, according to the statement.

During more than a decade of war, Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, as well as affiliates of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, where Tehrans influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assads regime in the civil war that began in 2011.

Satellite images show damage

Satellite images published by an Israeli intelligence and imagery firm show damage purportedly caused to the Syrian military airport at al-Dabaa near Homs in an alleged Israeli airstrike overnight.

According to The Times of Israel, the airstrike late last night likely targeted Iranian-backed Hezbollah drone activity, destroying an aircraft shed, a UAV communication station and a communication vehicle.

Western intelligence sources told Reuters the strikes hit a series of air bases in central Syria where Iranian personnel are based.

Syrian foreign minister visits Egypt for first time in over a decade

Syrias foreign minister met his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday in the first such visit in more than a decade.

Faisal Mekdad held a meeting with Egypts Sameh Shoukry at the foreign ministry in the capital, in the first official visit since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.

The visit will help put in place steps to return Syria to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi Arabian mediation, an Egyptian security source told Reuters.

Syria was suspended from the Arab League 12 years ago following the governments violent crackdown on mass protests against Bashar al-Assads rule, with many Arab states demanding the presidents removal.

But in recent years, as Assad  with significant Russian assistance  has defeated his enemies across much of Syria, regional states have taken steps to end the isolation of Damascus, with the United Arab Emirates at the forefront of Arab rapprochement.

Arab engagement with Assad may fall short

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is getting some heat from critics for not doing enough to stop the normalization of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assads government by Arab countries, Al-Monitor reports.

A bipartisan Syria policy letter, addressed to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, signed by approximately 40 former senior officials and experts, calls for a second look at Syria policy, as Elizabeth Hagedorn reports.

The catalyst for the letter has been the accelerated trend toward normalization of the Assad government by Arab states since the earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February.

The letter calls on the Biden Administration to oppose normalization in both deed and word; make more expansive use of sanctions; employ a strategic approach to aid; and expand entry points and paths for humanitarian assistance, including outside of both Syrian government control and the UN system.

The letter is an understandable expression of frustration and a worthy attempt to kick up a discussion; less so a workable blueprint. Syria is a tragedy, and its people definitely deserve a reprieve and a chance at a better future. But its hard to envision, at this stage, the US rallying to jump-start a political process coopted in recent years by the so-called Astana group of Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

AANES receives French Senate, Parliament delegation

A delegation from the French Parliament and Senate discussed economic and development projects and enhancing cooperation with the General Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), North Press reported.

The Foreign Relations Department affiliated with the AANES announced on Sunday that a French delegation consisting of Laurence Cohen and Pierre Laurent, members of the Senate representing the Communist Party, Marie Pochon, a member in the French Parliament from the Green and Environment Party, and Khaled Issa, AANES representative in France, visited the General Councils office on Saturday.

The two sides discussed the necessity of elevating the level of cooperation and exchange of expertise between the AANES General Council and the French Parliament in the service of administrative and institutional work and to consolidate the political and partisan freedom in north and east Syria.

The French delegation praised the role of the AANES and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the mission to fight ISIS and stressed its support in all areas, according to the AANES website.

Russia protests provocative actions by U.S. forces in Syria

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 was quoted by Reuters as saying 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 exerts full control. Russia  which together with Turkey is carrying out joint patrols in northern Syria  has agreed to 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 Hassakeh province  the Russian side protested 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-Assads favour. Moscow has since expanded its military facilities in the country with a permanent air base and also has a naval base.

Syrian delegation heads to Moscow to participate in Assistant Foreign Ministers Quadripartite Meeting

SANA reports that a delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic, headed by Dr. Ayman Sousan, Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister, departed Damascus on Sunday morning, heading to Moscow to participate in the quadripartite meeting of the assistant foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Answering a question by the delegate of the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Dr. Sousan noted that the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic will hold bilateral consultations with the Russian and Iranian sides on April 3rd, and on the next day, April 4th , it will participate in the quadripartite meeting.

Sousan added that the delegation will focus specifically on ending the Turkish military presence on Syrian territory, combating terrorism, and non-interference in Syrian internal affairs.

The Biden administration barely pretends to care about Syria anymore

Columnist Josh Rogin wrote for The Washington Post that the Biden administration seems to have forgotten about Syria these days. The only moves it has made recently were responses to Februarys devastating earthquake or a recent attack on U.S. troops by an apparent Iranian drone. The administration has abdicated diplomatic leadership to Moscow and is turning a blind eye as Gulf states welcome the Assad regime back into the diplomatic fold. Privately, many Biden officials tell me they just dont see any good U.S. policy options.

Rogin adds, None of the issues that caused the Syria conflict have been resolved, most notably Assad regime atrocities and inability, or refusal to reform, the letter states. Many of the conflicts symptoms are worsening, from human suffering, industrial-scale drug trafficking, refugee flows, terrorism, geopolitical conflict and ethnic and sectarian hostilities.

In other words, Washington is sorely mistaken if it thinks that allowing regional players to re-establish diplomatic and economic ties with Bashar al-Assad will lead to greater stability. As the authors write: Syrias crisis is complex, but unconditional regime normalization is not inevitable.

The administration claims that its policy of opposing Assads normalization remains unchanged. But Syrians are not buying it. They say that recent statements by Biden officials amount to tacit approval to supposed U.S. partners who are warming to the Syrian dictator. For example, the State Departments top Middle East official, Barbara Leaf, said on March 9, Our basic message has been [that] if youre going to engage with the regime, get something for that.

Syrias state capture: the rising influence of Mrs. Assad

The Financial Times has published an exclusive story explaining how Syrias First Lady, Asma al-Assad, has a leading role in a regime that is plundering the wealth of its people.

When Bashar al-Assad visited Abu Dhabi on March 19th, the trip was especially noteworthy as he was accompanied by his wife, Asma al-Assad. Dressed head to toe in white, Syrias enigmatic first lady stood out on her first known trip abroad since the outbreak of war over a decade ago.

Asmas presence underscored something little understood outside Syria: how a woman initially sidelined as an obstinate young newly-wed with lofty western ideals has since risen to become one of the most powerful people in the country, at the apex of the countrys ruthless ruling family.

In public, she styles herself as the Mother of the Nation, but privately, Asma has manoeuvred herself into a position of remarkable power, according to interviews with 18 people familiar with the regimes operations, including heads of business, aid workers and former government officials. She now controls some of the key levers in Syrias battered economy, both as policymaker and profiteer, helping consolidate the familys grip over a country in bloodied ruin.

As early as 2020, it had become clear that Asma was becoming a central funnel of economic power in Syria, says Joel Rayburn, who served as special envoy for Syria at the state department under President Trump.

Her fingerprints can be detected across multiple sectors of Syrias economy, including real estate, banking and telecommunications  albeit obscured by shell companies, free zones and offshore accounts owned by close associates.

Asmas circle

These systematic asset seizures are said to have been thought up during meetings of the presidential palaces secretive economic council that Asma chairs, Syrian experts and sources with insights into the regimes thinking say.

Unlike the governments formal economic committee, this one is little-known outside the palace gates and implements the regimes more clandestine asset seizures.

It is unclear how involved Bashar is with the council, despite being known as a micromanager. Some people think the first couple act in tandem on the economy, his carefully calibrated distance giving him cover. But others say it is Asmas pet project, given her background in finance. Shes very influential [on him] says a veteran Syrian businessman who knows the Akhras family.

The highest-profile victim of the shakedowns so far is Bashars maternal cousin Rami Makhlouf. Once known as the pariah regimes banker, he was thought to control more than half of Syrias economy before the war, worth billions. In 2019, authorities ransacked his sprawling empire and forced him to hand over his major assets inside the country.

This included Syrias largest company, Cham Holding, and Makhloufs crown jewel, SyriaTel, the countrys largest mobile network. In doing so, the Assads brought one of their main economic rivals under their control. Asma now controls Makhloufs charity and its vast Alawite patronage network, expanding her control over the aid sector.
Washington lawmakers could soon adopt a bill requiring cities to allow dense housing development around transit stations. But key details are still in flux.

Broadly, proponents say transit-oriented development can increase the benefit of transit investments, help people who can't or don't drive, combat pollution related to driving and help ease the state's housing crunch.

Foes say cities should retain the ability to regulate development in their communities and to consider their own infrastructure needs, rather than being told what to do by the state. Some local leaders and advocates have raised concerns about housing affordability and current residents being displaced by development.

Already passed by the Senate and originally backed by Gov. Jay Inslee, Senate Bill 5466 is one of multiple proposals this legislative session aimed at reducing barriers to housing construction. Other bills would trim restrictions on accessory dwelling units, authorize more lot splitting and legalize "middle housing" like duplexes and town houses in most neighborhoods.

The state Department of Commerce estimates Washington needs to build an additional 1 million homes by 2044 to keep pace with population growth, with more than half of the new homes affordable to households with incomes at or below 50% of the area median income.

Current version

The current version of SB 5466, as amended by the House's housing committee Tuesday and slated for a vote in the capital budget committee Friday, would require cities to allow multifamily housing at certain densities within a half-mile of commuter- and light-rail stations and within a quarter-mile of bus-rapid transit stations, as measured by walking distance.

There's no definition of bus-rapid transit in SB 5466 or elsewhere in Washington state law. Rep. Julia Reed, D-Seattle, who's taken the lead on the bill in the House, said the bill is meant to apply to bus routes like the RapidRide lines operated by King County Metro, the Swift lines operated by Snohomish County's Community Transit and the Stride lines planned by Sound Transit. What about Sound Transit express buses? Reed isn't sure yet.

Density would be defined in terms of a project's floor area ratio, or FAR, which measures the size of a project compared to a lot's buildable space. For example, a two-story, 2,000-square-foot home on 4,000 square feet of buildable space has an FAR of 0.5, a 16,000-square-foot town house cluster on 8,000 square feet has an FAR of 2.0 and a six-story, 36,000-square-foot apartment building on 12,000 feet has an FAR of 3.0.

With some exceptions related to environmentally critical areas, historic districts and areas at risk for displacement, SB 5466 would require cities to allow housing projects with 3.0 FAR within a half-mile of rail stations and 2.5 FAR within a quarter-mile of bus-rapid transit stations (or achieve those density levels on average, across a station area).

In certain cases, cities that have already zoned for similar levels of density near transit stations would be able to secure state approval for their existing regulations, rather than comply with the exact regulations in SB 5466.

Except in areas that already allow SB 5466's required density, at least 20% of the units in each project built near transit stations would need to be priced as affordable to households at or below 60% of the area median income. The bill would also give bonus density for all-affordable projects and would set up a grant program for such projects.

With some exceptions, SB 5466 would prohibit cities from requiring housing projects in the relevant areas to include off-street parking.

Details debated

Earlier versions of SB 5466 would have required cities to allow multifamily housing at certain densities not only near rail stations and bus-rapid transit stations but also near regular bus stops with relatively frequent service; that meant the bill would have affected many more blocks in the Seattle area. Also, earlier versions of the bill had no 20% affordability mandate.

The recent amendments have caused Inslee and pro-development groups like the Washington Realtors to withdraw their wholehearted support. Some urbanists have also objected, arguing the affordability mandate would be an added cost that would inhibit housing development altogether.

"We've got some more work to do on the affordability piece," Noha Mahgoub, a senior policy adviser for Inslee, said during a public hearing Thursday.

Meanwhile, the amendments have caused some stakeholders, like Mercer Island Mayor Salim Nice and the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, to back the bill, describing the affordability mandate as crucial.

"Thanks for amending" the bill "to address the state's affordable housing needs," Michele Thomas, director of policy and advocacy at the alliance, told lawmakers Thursday.

Some cities that already have affordability mandates in certain areas, like Seattle, allow developers to pay fees in lieu of building low-priced units.

Carl Schroeder, lobbyist for the Association of Washington Cities, said the group is more amenable to density around light rail than bus-rapid transit. Reed said bus-rapid transit stations are important, because many light-rail station areas are already zoned for dense development.

Developers generally want lower affordability requirements and higher density requirements, while many local leaders want the inverse, because they care about affordability and/or because they want to discourage development, Reed said. Seeking a "middle ground," Reed wants to promote dense housing while capturing "some public benefit" from the zoning changes and while protecting vulnerable people from development-related displacement, she said.

"I campaigned as an urbanist ... But I'm also cognizant, as a person of color, that a lot of these areas near transit corridors" are currently home to at-risk communities, Reed said, suggesting SB 5466 could see more tweaks.

Despite being "strafed on Twitter" for adjusting the bill, Reed wants to "find a compromise that allows us to meet our policy goals without totally screwing over low-income people and people of color," she said.
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An aeroplane fueled by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) taking off at Brussels Airport earlier this year.

Scaffolding and green pipes envelop a refinery in the port of Rotterdam where Finnish giant Neste is preparing to significantly boost production of sustainable aviation fuel.

Switching to non-fossil aviation fuels that produce less net greenhouse gas emissions is key to plans to decarbonise air transport, a significant contributor to global warming.

Neste, the largest global producer of SAF, uses cooking oil and animal fat at this Dutch refinery.

Sustainable aviation fuels are being made from different sources such as municipal waste, leftovers from the agricultural and forestry industry, crops and plants, and even hydrogen.

These technologies are still developing and the end product is more expensive.

But these fuels will help airlines reduce CO 2 emissions by up to 80 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Global output of SAF was 250,000 metric tons last year, less than 0.1 percent of the more than 300 million tons of aviation fuel used during that period.

"It's a drop in the ocean but a significant drop," said Matti Lehmus, CEO of Neste.

"We'll be growing drastically our production from 100,000 tons to 1.5 million tons next year," he added.

There clearly is demand.

The European Union plans to impose the use of a minimum amount of sustainable aviation fuel by airlines, rising from two percent in 2025 to six percent in 2030 and at least 63 percent in 2050.

Neste has another site for SAF in Singapore which will start production in April.

"With the production facilities of Neste in Rotterdam and Singapore, we can meet the mandate for EU in 2025," said Jonathan Wood, the company's vice president for renewable aviation.

Vincent Etchebehere, director for sustainable development at Air France, said that "between now and 2030, there will be more demand than supply of SAF".

'Need to mature technologies'

Air France-KLM has reached a deal with Neste for the supply of one million tons of sustainable aviation fuel between 2023 and 2030.

It has also lined up 10 year-agreements with US firm DG Fuels for 600,000 tons and with TotalEnergies for 800,000 tons.

At the Rotterdam site, two giant storage tanks of 15,000 cubic meters are yet to be painted.

They lie near a quay where the fuel will be transported by boat to feed Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and airports in Paris.

The Franco-Dutch group has already taken steps to cut its carbon footprint, using 15 percent of the global SAF output last yearor 0.6 percent of its fuel needs.

Neste's Lehmus said there was a great need to "mature the technologies" to make sustainable aviation fuel from diverse sources such as algae, nitrocellulose and synthetic fuels.

Air France CEO Anne Rigail said the prices of sustainable aviation fuel were as important as their production.

Sustainable fuel costs 3,500 euros ($3,800) a ton globally but only $2,000 in the United States thanks to government subsidies. In France, it costs 5,000 euros a ton.

"We need backing and we really think the EU can do more," said Rigail.

 2023 AFP
World News Weekly Roundup: Donald Trump Indictment, Pope Francis Health Condition, Nashville School Shooting Tragedy, and More

This week's headlines were topped by stories on Donald Trump's indictment concerning his hush-money case, together with the tragic shooting that killed six people in a private Christian School in Nashville. Moreover, Pope Francis' hospitalization due to a lung infection was a hot topic.

Here's a rundown of this week's stories you should not miss:

Pope Francis was hospitalized on Wednesday due to difficulty in breathing. He was diagnosed with bronchitis.

On Friday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis would be discharged from the hospital in Rome on Saturday after the religious leader responded well to treatment. The pontiff is expected to attend public ceremonies initiating the Roman Catholic Church's observation of Holy Week.

Analysts recently stated that a military warlord has made suggestions that he wants to depose Vladimir Putin.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group and a well-known figure, has conducted interviews with Russian reporters amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

The US think tank Institute for the Study of War noted that Prigozhin seemed to imitate or mock Vladimir and concluded Prigozhin's recent actions are spreading a notion in Russian society that Prigozhin has wider political aspirations in Russia, whatever its objective may be.

Three grade school students and three employees at a private school in Nashville, Tennessee, were shot dead by a 28-year-old transgender attacker, who was a former student of the school.

The crime happened at Covenant School, a Presbyterian school that enrolls around 200 kids, where the attacker, Aubrey Hale, was a former student.

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Hale, who was reported to have an emotional problem, legally purchased seven weapons from local merchants.

Russian intelligence officials detained a Wall Street Journal journalist on suspicion of espionage.

Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen, was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg on Thursday.

Russia's Federal Security Service said Evan Gershkovich, "was operating on US directions" to collect confidential state information.

President Joe Biden urged Russia to release jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich. "Let him go," he told White House reporters on Friday in response to the matter.

The Biden administration is assisting the jailed journalist to get consular access and cautioned Americans in Russia to leave the nation immediately, and discouraged travelers from going there.

Read Also: How Wealthy Is US President Joe Biden?

Former US President Donald Trump was indicted in Manhattan on Thursday for paying hush money of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a porn actress, to keep silent about their alleged affair.

Donald Trump, who will run for the 2024 presidential elections, will become the first US president to face criminal charges as a result of this historic Donald Trump indictment issue.

New York District attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecutors would probably ask for Trump's surrender and arraignment next week. The specific charges will be made public when Donald Trump gets arraigned.

Violent demonstrations over French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform erupted in France on Tuesday.

An escalation in violence on the outskirts of last week's generally peaceful marches has raised tensions between Macron and the majority of opposition parties, labor unions, and over two-thirds of the French public, who reject hiking the age of retirement.

Before Tuesday's rallies, authorities deployed 13,000 police nationally, including almost 5,000 in Paris.

The violent French protests also prompted King Charles III to postpone his scheduled state visit and instead went to Germany.

President Emmanuel Macron will make a rare trip to China next week amid protests.

Related Article: Interesting Info You May Not Know About Emmanuel Macron

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
With a new member turnaround this year among the College Station City Council, city staff worked with the council to make updates to its Strategic Plan, which works to maintain and enhance the citys high quality of life and unique community character.

During a meeting last week, the council voted 5-1, with councilwoman Linda Harvell absent and councilman Bob Yancy against, to approve updates to the plan.

The councils Strategic Plan covers a variety of topics, including good governance, financial sustainability, core services and infrastructure, neighborhood integrity, diverse and growing economy, improving mobility and sustainable city.

The College Station City Council works closely with residents and the citys experienced management team to plan for current and future needs, the plan states. The Strategic Plan identifies shared priorities and goals, and provides a cohesive framework for the annual budget process. The Strategic Plans seven initiatives include specific objectives and actions designed to meet the initiatives goals. The plan also outlines performance measures to mark each initiatives progress and the plans overall success.

Assistant City Manager Ross Brady introduced the plan during the March 23 meeting, and said it originated from feedback by the council during its strategic planning retreat in February. He said during the retreat, city staff collected input regarding four topics councilors had updates from.

Under good governance, Brady said the councilors added that the city will ensure all agreements with external entities are fair and beneficial to the citizens of College Station.

For neighborhood integrity, Brady said two points were added: that the city strives to ensure citizens are satisfied with the quality of life in their neighborhoods, and that the city will strive to have proactive code enforcement.

For the category of diverse and growing economy, Brady said the council added that the city will foster a culture of entrepreneurship.

Additionally, there were points added to their 2024 Fiscal Year strategies, including that they explore options for a community recreation center, convention center, or a combination of the two; provide options for affordable, dense, housing options in Northgate, Wolf Pen Creek and other targeted areas to relieve housing pressure in existing neighborhoods; work with contractors to ensure multimodal infrastructure is included in project design; develop new relationship with Brazos Transit, based on federal direction, including the need for local representation.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Cunha said she felt the council already maintains a relationship with Brazos Transit and that the word new was not as accurate as broaden or deepen the relationship.

Mayor John Nichols suggested a compromise and have the wording be new, broader relationship with Brazos Transit, which the councilors agreed with.

Regarding code enforcement in town, City Manager Bryan Woods said during the meeting that he wanted to highlight that the city will strive to have proactive code enforcement.

I would just like to make a point that the council, as far as I know, has not issued any amnesties related to enforcement, nor have they repealed any form of enforcement recently, he told the council. I just thought I would make that clear as far as your strategic planning.

Yancy explained his reasoning for voting against the motion to approve of the plan:

I just want to reiterate again my belief that this document needs to be better represented relative to the issue of public safety, which I brought up twice at the [retreat/meeting] and I have gone through and I have looked at some of the focus we have here, he said. It is a good document, I dont want the perfect to be the enemy of the good, but I sure would like to see a specific call out section dedicated to public safety. But I imagine that ship has sailed.  I want to point out that second goal under neighborhood integrity section, as it relates to some of the comments we heard tonight.

During the portion of the meeting open to hearing citizens, many spoke to what they believe neighborhood integrity is and how it should be preserved in Bryan-College Station.

In detail, the plan states under good governance, that the goal is the city is governed in a transparent, efficient, accountable and responsive manner on behalf of its citizens that actively promotes citizen involvement.

The city and council will annually review and implement the Strategic Plan, ensure all agreements with external entities are fair and beneficial to the citizens, conduct regular citizen surveys about city services and priorities, conduct regular internal audits of city services, practices and programs and report the results to the public, televise, livestream and record council meetings, the plan states.

Critical governance information such as plans, budgets, ordinances, expenditures, etc., will be available on the citys website and in city offices. Additionally, the city and council will ensure its funding partners remain wise stewards of tax funds, adopt and adhere to a series of practices for conducting its meetings, ensure notices are posted and readily available to the public, share information and communicate with citizens about city issues through owned, earned and paid media, implement strategies to safely and effectively engage with the public.

Under neighborhood integrity, and what it means for citizens, the plan states that the city has diverse housing choices, and property values are stable or increasing.

The city strives to ensure citizens are satisfied with the quality of life in their neighborhoods and strives to mitigate the negative impacts of neglected properties. Citizens have numerous opportunities to actively engage in decisions that affect their neighborhoods, the plan states. The city will strive to have proactive code enforcement. Federal and state funds will be used to help provide workforce housing and address community development needs and opportunities.

It also states that the city will use a geographic-based approach to deliver police services, and that the police departments Community Enhancement Unit will provide proactive neighborhood support.

The city will continue to invest in the maintenance and rehabilitation of neighborhood infrastructure and facilities, continue its partnerships with Texas A&M University to educate renters, the plan states. The city will expand mobile-ready technologies to inform citizens and engage them on city issues and concerns, plan with neighborhood residents to address concerns and capitalize on opportunities, support and partner with homeowner and neighborhood associations to proactively address their priorities and interests.
No American is above the law  not even former presidents. After a monthslong investigation, a New York grand jury indicted former president Donald J. Trump on charges related to hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

The grand jury, consisting of typical Americans across race, background and political party, weighed the evidence and decided to bring charges. Other indictments of the former president may be forthcoming for his mishandling of classified documents and for his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The charges out of New York stem from a January 2018 Wall Street Journal story breaking the news of the hush-money payments made to Daniels to keep her from going public in 2016 about an affair with Trump.

Recognizing a series of apparent campaign finance violations, Common Cause quickly drafted and filed complaints with the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission.

Trumps former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty and served jail time for his role in the violations. Still, until now, the former president was only an unindicted co-conspirator.

Campaign finance violations are a threat to democracy that must be taken seriously. History has shown time and again that abuses will proliferate without checks on influence-buying and enforcement of campaign finance laws, and our democracy will end up on the auction block to the highest bidders.

Campaign finance violations played a key role in the Watergate crisis that ultimately led to the resignation of former President Richard Nixon. Americans deserve to know who is trying to influence their voices and votes, and Common Cause has a long history of holding presidents accountable. In 1972, we sued then-President Nixons campaign for failing to disclose its donors, and we won.

At the height of the Watergate crisis, the Department of Justice determined that the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting president would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions. That policy has not changed, but that is not the policy for candidates for the nations highest office. Running for president cannot and must not serve as a shield to allow criminal conduct to go unpunished.

Investigations of Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election may well draw additional indictments. As the January 6 Committee investigation revealed, Trump was fully aware that he had lost a free and fair election when he knowingly and willfully incited an armed mob of insurrectionists to attack the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Scores were injured that day while for hours  with the lives of his vice president, members of Congress, staff and law enforcement in danger  Trump refused to call off the mob he had unleashed.

Multiple investigations of various aspects of the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election continue, and the former president remains under local, state and federal investigations. Prosecutors must be given the time and opportunity to do their jobs and weigh whether to indict individuals for criminal conduct. Partisan political interference with these decisions by members of Congress or any elected official is inappropriate and completely unacceptable.

Unfortunately, MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives have already attempted to interfere with the grand jurys work and intimidate Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In the act of knee-jerk partisan fealty, no fewer than three House Republican committee chairs demanded that Bragg testify in Washington and turn over documents related to the investigation of Trumps hush-money payments.

This blatant abuse of power came after Trump complained on social media about a coming indictment in New York and, notably, before the grand jury had even voted to indict the former president. This bullying attempt to interfere with a law enforcement investigation by Trump accomplices in Congress was surely noted by other prosecutors weighing their indictments against the former president.

Americans expect the truth, and we deserve justice. Donald Trumps indictment in New York is a step in the right direction to achieve both. But ultimately, our democracy will not be safe until all those responsible for Jan. 6 and the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election are held accountable.
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,680,000 shares, an increase of 25.8% from the February 28th total of 6,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 976,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 12th.

Get Home Bancshares Inc. (Conway AR) alerts:

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOMB. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 21.4% during the second quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 399,614 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $8,300,000 after purchasing an additional 70,325 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 15.5% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,919,754 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $60,643,000 after purchasing an additional 391,325 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank acquired a new position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the third quarter worth $1,377,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 1.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 305,913 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,886,000 after purchasing an additional 4,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 4.4% during the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,382 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.36% of the companys stock.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $21.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,171,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,796. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.18. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.83 and a twelve month high of $26.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.22 and a 200-day moving average of $23.64.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $272.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.70 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a net margin of 29.01% and a return on equity of 11.03%. Research analysts predict that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. This is a boost from Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)s dividend payout ratio is 45.57%.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Company Profile

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Home Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in providing commercial and retail banking and related financial services. It offers its services to businesses, real estate developers and investors, individuals, and municipalities. The company was founded by John W. Allison and Robert H.

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Mitsubishi Chemical Group Co. (OTCMKTS:MTLHY  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 7,400 shares, a drop of 17.8% from the February 28th total of 9,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group Trading Up 4.0 %

Mitsubishi Chemical Group stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.97. The stock had a trading volume of 406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,212. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $28.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.40. Mitsubishi Chemical Group has a twelve month low of $21.93 and a twelve month high of $34.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 0.48.

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Mitsubishi Chemical Group (OTCMKTS:MTLHY  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported ($1.36) EPS for the quarter. Mitsubishi Chemical Group had a net margin of 1.83% and a return on equity of 4.07%. The company had revenue of $8.06 billion during the quarter.

About Mitsubishi Chemical Group

Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp. engages in the management of its group companies. It operates through the following segments: Functional Products, Chemicals, Industrial Gas, and Healthcare. The Functional Products segment sells electronics, displays, films, environment and life solutions, molding materials, polymers, chemicals, and new energy to domestic and overseas customers.

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Banco de Sabadell, S.A. (OTCMKTS:BNDSY  Get Rating) declared a dividend on Friday, March 31st, investing.com reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.0307 per share on Monday, April 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 31st.

Banco de Sabadell Trading Up 2.1 %

BNDSY opened at $2.01 on Friday. Banco de Sabadell has a one year low of $1.24 and a one year high of $2.88. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $2.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.94.

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About Banco de Sabadell

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Banco de Sabadell SA engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking in Spain, Asset Transformation, Banking Business in the United Kingdom, and Banking Business in America. The Business Banking in Spain segment encompasses covers commercial banking, corporate banking, and markets and private banking.

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Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE  Get Rating) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,377 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LPs holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. IMA Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 173.9% in the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 315 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 87.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 81,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $8,511,644.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,203,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at $125,146,878.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.80, for a total value of $167,680.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,481 shares in the company, valued at $2,251,208.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 81,827 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $8,511,644.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,146,878.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $104.29 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $103.62 and its 200 day moving average is $101.28. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.60 and a 1 year high of $136.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 15.01% and a return on equity of 13.11%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Intercontinental Exchanges previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Intercontinental Exchanges dividend payout ratio is currently 65.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICE has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet raised Intercontinental Exchange from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $110.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $129.91.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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Intercontinental Exchange, Inc engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services and technology solutions. It operates through the following segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The Exchanges segment includes trading and listing revenue from the global futures network, the New York Stock Exchange and other registered securities exchanges.

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Freehold Royalties (TSE:FRU  Get Rating) had its price target decreased by Canaccord Genuity Group from C$21.00 to C$20.75 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Freehold Royalties from C$18.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Monday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$20.11.

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Freehold Royalties Stock Up 0.5 %

FRU opened at C$14.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.48. Freehold Royalties has a 1-year low of C$11.66 and a 1-year high of C$17.78. The company has a market capitalization of C$2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 2.10. The firms 50 day simple moving average is C$15.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$15.69.

Freehold Royalties Announces Dividend

Freehold Royalties Company Profile

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.43%. Freehold Royaltiess payout ratio is 77.70%.

(Get Rating)

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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Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lowered its position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,978 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLCs holdings in EOG Resources were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in EOG Resources by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 233 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in EOG Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.40% of the companys stock.

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EOG Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:EOG opened at $114.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.52. The stocks fifty day moving average is $119.39 and its 200 day moving average is $126.22. EOG Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.16 and a fifty-two week high of $150.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.90.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

EOG Resources ( NYSE:EOG Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). EOG Resources had a net margin of 30.19% and a return on equity of 34.95%. The firm 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 company posted $3.09 EPS. The companys revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Johnson Rice cut shares of EOG Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price target for the company from $177.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on EOG Resources from $160.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $158.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $150.68.

Insider Transactions at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, Director Michael T. Kerr bought 20,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $130.49 per share, for a total transaction of $2,609,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 170,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,183,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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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HNP Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO  Get Rating) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,612 shares of the medical research companys stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific comprises about 1.3% of HNP Capital LLCs holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. HNP Capital LLCs holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $4,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,166,910 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $16,314,735,000 after acquiring an additional 406,844 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,689,762 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $15,565,540,000 after buying an additional 256,512 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% in 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 buying an additional 135,437 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,199,500 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,115,564,000 after buying an additional 153,451 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,045,569 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,208,216,000 after buying an additional 32,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.92% of the companys stock.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $576.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52-week low of $475.77 and a 52-week high of $618.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $561.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $545.20. The company has a market capitalization of $222.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.79.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

Thermo Fisher Scientific ( NYSE:TMO Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The medical research company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $11.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.41 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 15.47%. The businesss revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.54 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 23.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientifics previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientifics dividend payout ratio is 7.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on TMO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $525.00 to $505.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. They set an outperform rating and a $661.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $647.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jim P. Manzi sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,655,579.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.18, for a total transaction of $11,383,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 128,705 shares in the company, valued at $73,256,311.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jim P. Manzi sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.56, for a total value of $584,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,807 shares in the company, valued at $8,655,579.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,100 shares of company stock worth $16,966,971. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company 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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FB Financial Co. (NYSE:FBK  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 800,200 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the February 28th total of 746,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 141,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 2.3% of the companys shares are sold short.

FB Financial Price Performance

Shares of FBK stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.08. The stock had a trading volume of 288,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,703. FB Financial has a fifty-two week low of $29.46 and a fifty-two week high of $45.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.04. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $35.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.08.

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FB Financial (NYSE:FBK  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.04. FB Financial had a net margin of 20.90% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company had revenue of $127.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $134.53 million. On average, analysts expect that FB Financial will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

FB Financial Increases Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 7th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from FB Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. FB Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of FB Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday. Hovde Group downgraded shares of FB Financial from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Stephens downgraded shares of FB Financial from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of FB Financial from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of FB Financial from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $42.86.

Insider Transactions at FB Financial

In other FB Financial news, Director Raja J. Jubran bought 6,150 shares of FB Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.39 per share, for a total transaction of $199,198.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 29,039 shares in the company, valued at $940,573.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of FB Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 9.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 94,767 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,210,000 after purchasing an additional 8,263 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 20.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,955 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 7,283 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 16.3% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 31,613 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 57.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,187 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of FB Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,950 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.98% of the companys stock.

About FB Financial

(Get Rating)

FB Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which provides commercial and consumer banking services to clients in select markets primarily in Tennessee, North Alabama, and North Georgia through its subsidiary. It operates through the Banking and Mortgage segments. The Banking segments deals with interest on loans and investments, loan-related fees, originations in banking footprint, investment services, and deposit-related fees.

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Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV  Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,710,000 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 10,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,193,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,536,355. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $50.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.96.

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Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.35). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.26% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Southwest Airliness quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Southwest Airliness payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $68.00 to $63.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Redburn Partners lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $47.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 13,336 shares of the airlines stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $403,000. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 6,335 shares of the airlines stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 12,187 shares of the airlines stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 40,189 shares of the airlines stock worth $1,841,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the period. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Airlines

(Get Rating)

Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.

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TD Securities cut shares of Vermilion Energy (TSE:VET  Get Rating) (NYSE:VET) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has C$21.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of C$29.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VET. Raymond James cut their price objective on Vermilion Energy from C$38.00 to C$31.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 16th. CIBC dropped their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$36.00 to C$26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$40.00 to C$32.00 in a research report on Monday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vermilion Energy from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$23.00 to C$22.00 in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Four 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 currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$31.36.

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Vermilion Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Vermilion Energy stock opened at C$17.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of C$2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.21, a PEG ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 2.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$18.64 and a 200-day moving average price of C$23.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.88. Vermilion Energy has a twelve month low of C$16.41 and a twelve month high of C$39.21.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from Vermilion Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Vermilion Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.03%.

In other Vermilion Energy news, Senior Officer Lars William Glemser sold 19,379 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.60, for a total value of C$340,973.51. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vermilion Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Vermilion Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company owns 81% working interest in 636,714 net acres of developed land and 85% working interest in 301,026 net acres of undeveloped land in Canada; 130,715 net acres of land in the Powder River basin in the United States; 96% working interest in 248,873 net acres of developed land and 86% working interest in 134,160 net acres of undeveloped land in the Aquitaine and Paris Basins in France; 53% working interest in 901,791 net acres of land in the Netherlands; 54,625 net developed acres and 920,723 net undeveloped acres in Germany; 975,375 net acres land in Croatia; 946,666 net acres land in Hungary; and 48,954 net acres land in Slovakia.

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Instead of pulling pranks, some people would rather wake up early and run for a cause.

Around 1,400 people participated in the Race for GRACE on Saturday next to Liederkranz at First and Walnut. The racers set off on their runs or walks a little after 9 a.m.

The race is hosted by the GRACE Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization that financially assists cancer patients near Grand Island.

The foundation was formed in 2008 by Julie Pfeifer and Lisa Willman, two cancer survivors.

GRACE Cancer Foundation was originally started by two cancer patients that were friends, said Sherri Probasco, program coordinator for the GRACE Cancer Foundation. And they wanted to give back to the community that had given them so much.

According to Probasco, the Race for GRACE was started as a fundraising event so they could continue to help cancer patients in the community. This is the 13th year for the event,

Just as a fun way to gather together and support cancer patients, Probasco said. Remember people that weve lost and to honor ones that are fighting currently.

People were able to join and race live or virtually this year. However, participants needed to register for the event, whether they sign-up online or in-person the morning of the race.

Overall, there were around 1,400 total participants in the race, with 1,200 in-person and 200 virtual, according to Board and Race Chair Kathey Eihusen and Events Coordinator Courtney Schwab.

I think its amazing people are willing to get up early on a Saturday morning and go out and walk and run, Probasco said. Its just incredible to see the community wrap around this foundation.

Racers had to choose between the two-mile or the 10k course when registering.

There were many who came out to join the Race for GRACE and support the foundation. There were even people who had received support from the GRACE Cancer Foundation participating in the race.

There was Heather Tjaden, who was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2021. Tjaden and her group were wearing her fundraising hoodies themed around The Little Mermaid animated film by Disney with the phrase #heatheristougherthancancer.

I got diagnosed (with cancer) in December 2021, Tjaden said. This is my fundraiser shirt because Im a big Little Mermaid fan.

There was also Lindsy Robert and her friends, known as the Lindsys Breast Friends team. Robert was diagnosed with breast cancer in June of 2022 and gets treatments at Nebraska Cancer Specialists.

The GRACE Foundation gave me grants to help with my treatment, Robert said. So I decided to give back to them as thanks for all theyve done for me.
Mirae Asset Financial Group's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset Financial Group





By Lee Min-hyung







Global X Japan  a joint venture co-established by Mirae Asset Global Investments and Daiwa Securities  has attained assets under management (AUM) worth 100 billion yen (1 trillion won) in almost two years since releasing its first product there.







The joint venture is Japan's sole asset manager focusing on exchange-traded funds (ETF). Global X, Mirae Asset's U.S. ETF subsidiary, joined hands with Japan's Daiwa in September 2019 for the establishment of the company.







"Even if sales of thematic or other forms of specially designed ETF products are still in their infancy in the Japanese market, local retail investors, as well as some Korean institutional investors such as big insurers, are paying growing attention to the investment area there," a spokesperson at Global X Japan said. "Given the scale of the Japanese economy, the market is forecast to achieve sustainable growth down the road. We are going to tighten our presence in Japan, and diversify our ETF product lineups for investors to narrow their investment options."







Global X Japan has focused on launching thematic or income ETFs after opening its business there. The company released a total of 27 ETF products in the Japanese market after listing its Global X MSCI SuperDividend Japan ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in August 2020. The company has since launched other overseas-themed ETFs, investing in the U.S. market, to diversify its revenue streams there.







Global X was established in 2008 under the catchphrase Beyond Ordinary ETFs, and is considered a rising star in the U.S. The world's largest economy accounts for more than 70 percent of the global ETF market.







As of the end of 2022, Global X secured AUM worth a total of $41.5 billion in the global market, including in the U.S., Hong Kong, Europe, Japan, Australia and Brazil.







Mirae Asset acquired Global X for $480 million in February 2018.


For the first time in the awards 16-year history, two physicians received the annual Physician Excellence Award at CHI Health St. Francis.

Neurologist Dr. Adeolu Morawo, MBChB, with St. Francis Specialty Clinic and Nephrologist Dr. Swathi Lavudi, MBBS, with Prairie Center Internal Medicine and Nephrology were honored Thursday  a date that also marked the celebration of National Doctors Day.

Excellence of care, dedication to patients and staff and always going above and beyond was reflected in both physicians nominations written by staff, patients and their families:

 Dr. Morawo displays our core values in every interaction. He very quickly earns the trust and respect of his patients. He spends time with them explaining their diagnosis whether he is rounding or responding to a stroke alert. If a patient wants a family member present while he is visiting with them, he will adjust his rounding to make sure he makes that happen.

 Dr. Morawos kind and calm manner was very reassuring. He gave a thorough explanation of the findings from my wifes test. He explained the results in a way that we could understand and this was reassuring to us as well. His kindness, caring, and concern were apparent during the visit and we left confident in the path forward we were on. Dr. Morawo is truly an asset to St. Francis and to our community and he deserves a Physician Excellence Award.

 Dr. Lavudi deeply cares for her patients and strives to make them as successful as possible. She takes the time to talk with her patients and families to make sure they fully understand their options and what their plan of car is. She exemplifies all of our core values of compassion, inclusion, integrity, excellence and collaboration.

 The commitment to the well-being of our patient which Dr. Lavudi demonstrates is second to none and is key to our ability to carry out the mission of the hospital as we serve the community. She goes above and beyond in making herself available much more than she is required to do and she always does so with human kindness. She is kind to her patients and she is respectful and collegial in her interaction with the healthcare team at all hours of the day. We are extremely blessed to be able to work with Dr. Lavudi.

Other nominees for this years award included Dr. Shane Burr; Dr. Douglas Clark; Dr. Erich Fruehling; Dr. Joshua Gortemaker; Dr. Abel Luksan; Mark Mitchell, doctor of osteopathic medicine; Dr. Traci Rauch; and Dr. Rebecca Steinke.

The first observance of Doctors Day was March 30, 1933, in Winder, Georgia. In 1991, National Doctors Day was proclaimed by President George Bush.
KEARNEY  Future health care professionals from communities across the state will attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney this fall as part of the largest-ever class to enter the Kearney Health Opportunities Program

A total of 56 high school seniors were recently accepted into KHOP, a pipeline program designed to grow the states health care workforce by recruiting and educating students from rural Nebraska who are committed to practicing in these areas after professional school. Participants are awarded full-tuition scholarships to attend UNK and guaranteed admission to the University of Nebraska Medical Center if all requirements are met.

Were very excited to be welcoming this historic freshman class into the KHOP program, said Peggy Abels, director of UNK Health Sciences. It is encouraging to have such a highly talented group of students dedicated to practicing health care in rural Nebraska. We look forward to working with them to help alleviate the workforce shortages in our state.

Launched in 2010, KHOP addresses an urgent need for health care professionals in rural Nebraska by providing top-notch training for students from these communities. Program participants can study in the fields of dental hygiene, dentistry, medical laboratory science, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant and radiography.

In addition to the full-tuition scholarship, members receive a $2,000 room waiver through the KHOP Learning Community. A requirement for freshmen, the one-year residential learning community gives students a chance to explore various health care careers while receiving support and guidance as they transition to college. KHOP members also meet with health care providers and tour medical facilities in the Kearney area, better preparing them for professional school.

For more information on the program, visit unk.edu/khop, call 308-865-8260 or email abelsp@unk.edu.

Students from Central Nebraska who will start the Kearney Health Opportunities Program this fall include:

ALBION: Harrison Kuta, medicine; and Ashlyn Krohn, physical therapy

CENTRAL CITY: Derek Pfeifer, dentistry; and Dylan Pfeifer, physician assistant

DANNEBROG: Alexys Hurt, radiography

FARWELL: Olivia Koperski, radiography

GIBBON: Skyler Summers, medicineGrand Island  Ayonya Birthi, medicine

GRAND ISLAND: Ben Alberts, medicine; Audrianna Wiseman, medical laboratory science; Owen Bjerke, nursing; Gracie Woods, physician assistant; Jacob Stegman, physical therapy; and Michael Sambula-Monzalvo, dentistry

HASTINGS: Karol Redinger, physician assistant

KEARNEY: Carter Cochran, medicine; Emily Korb, medicine; and Ella Amato, radiography

KENESAW: Madeline Pulver, nursing

MARQUETTE: Jacob Nokelby, medicine

MERNA: Carlee Bartak, pharmacy

SPALDING: Emma Rankin, physician assistant

ST. LIBORY: John Placke, medicine

ST. PAUL: Jenna Jakubowski, nursing; Samuel Kramer, pharmacy; and Paytyn Larsen, radiography
Believe it or not, photographer Iain Macmillan only took

six frames with his Hasselblad to get this shot

A little fun diversion for a Sunday. This might seem kinda ageist at this point, but not really; a lot of younger people engage with the Beatles, who belong to everybody. The band's greatest hits album Beatles 1 was one of the top-selling albums of the early 2000s, and the 50th Anniversary reissue of Abbey Road (there's a cooking version and a super deluxe version) hit number three in the U.S. and topped the charts in the U.K. in 2019.

My faves counting backwards:

17. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

16. In My Life

15. Baby It's You

14. Cry Baby Cry

13. Glass Onion

12. I'm So Tired

11. I'm Only Sleeping

10. Tomorrow Never Knows

9. Don't Let Me Down

8. Old Brown Shoe

7. Hey Bulldog

6. The Ballad of John and Yoko

5. It's All Too Much

4. A Day in the Life

3. Rain

2. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

1. I Am the Walrus

Actually, you could shuffle around the top seven any old which way and I could live with it. Can't believe I left off "Rock and Roll Music" (written by Chuck Berry, and one of Lennon's great vocals), "Ticket to Ride," "Come Together," "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Revolution." Gotta stop somewhere.

Number 15 isn't even a Beatles songit was written by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Luther Dixon and Mack David. But I love it. Bacharach, who died not even two months ago at 94, was the guy who wrote "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" from that bizarre and incongruous quintessential late-'sixties interlude in the middle of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, along with bushels of other hits for many different artists.

It would be very interesting to compare this list to my brother Charlie's list, were he to make one. Apart from "A Day in the Life," widely considered one of the very greatest songs of the entire rock era, there might not be a lot of overlap. The Beatles were interesting that waythey had something for everyone. My friend Dan's list would be interesting too. My friend Kim hates lists and the very idea of lists, so there's another party heard from.

Which Beatle

I think there are only two George songs on this list ("Old Brown Shoe" and "It's All Too Much"), and the rest (apart from "Baby It's You") are all or mostly John Lennon songs. Paul wrote the middle eight on "A Day in the Life," the part that starts, "Woke up / Fell out of bed / Dragged a comb across my head"Paul lyrics if ever there were. Paul also played virtually every instrument other than guitar on "The Ballad of John and Yoko," including drums, and contributed those gorgeous harmonies. Kenneth Womack in The Beatles Encyclopedia reports this exchange from the session:

Lennon (on guitar): "Go a bit faster, Ringo."

McCartney (on drums): "OK, George!"

For his part, George said, "I didn't mind not being on the record, because it was none of my business," adding wryly, "if it had been 'The Ballad of John, George and Yoko,' then I would have been on it." It was the band's last number one hit in the U.K.

I almost included Paul's song "The Long and Winding Road"the band's last number one in the U.S.which hit me hard at age 13 when I was homesick during the first week of wilderness camp in Montana. (I recovered and had a blast for the remaining weeks.) But I hate everything about that reprehensible lizard Phil Spector, including his production of that song. Paul, famously, hated it too, naming Spector's troweled-on embellishments among his top six reasons why the Beatles should be disbanded. The version from Let It Be... Naked is better, but still too syrupy for me. I hate to say Spector was right, but it's almost like the song needs some bombast, like Neil Young's over-the-top "A Man Needs a Maid," which features backing by the London Symphony Orchestra no less. Both sound like movie music to me. Couldn't you see "The Long and Winding Road" as the theme music for, say, a movie about a rekindled later-life love affair between old friends?

The right to be wrong

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that not everyone reading this will agree 100% with the order these are in. A few of you might even have other opinions as to which songs belong on such a list. Have a go.

I hope you have a nice, relaxing, pleasant Sunday, wherever in the world you are. A little music never hurts.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2023 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Albert Smith: "I went to London with my girlfriend and tried to get the Abbey Road crosswalk photo with me in the frame...I know, me and a million others.

"What they don't tell you is that you take your life in your hands because it is an active road with local drivers who are no doubt tired of us 'bloody tourists' blocking their pathway to their destination. Add to that the fact that the road behind the photographer's position curves a bit before coming upon the crossing, and your warning of oncoming traffic is reduced, making your time to set up, compose and shoot very rushed.

"I got several nice shots of my non-photographer girlfriend crossing, but she was not so nimble with my Leica M6, so the pictures of me have slanted angles and are horribly timed, with no separation in my footsteps. This was one time that digital would have been great, since I was gone back to the States when I got the film developed and no reshoot could be done.

"I got on a big George Harrison bend, so my favorite songs, and the ones that I play on my guitar, are George's. On the day George died in 2001, I played 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' over and over. If I only have 10 minutes to fool around on my guitar, that is the one song that I always play."

Craig: "Your choices are interesting and thoughtful. I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that their favorite Beatles song was "I Am the Walrus", but I've always liked it. (I think I rate the whole "Magical Mystery Tour" album higher than most people do.) Your top 4 songs are definitely among the greatest Beatles tracks, and I think highly of most of the other songs on your list too. "Tomorrow Never Knows" is a masterpiece (and one of relatively few Beatles songs that was mixed better in stereo than in mono).

"I can't agree about 'It's All Too Much,' though. The new songs on Yellow Submarine are, to me, the weakest set of new songs on any Beatles record. Only 'Hey Bulldog' even rises to the level of being enjoyable, and it's not one of John's best, just a fun throwaway with a cute guitar riff."

Alan: "'Hey Bulldog.' When I was 13 I was only interested in the poppy, syrupy stuff. Now Im pretty sure its the greatest tune ever. One day Ill get around to learning that bass line."

Joe: "I'm glad to see 'Hey Bulldog' on your listso good. For some reason I'll never understand, my all-time favorite Beatles tune might be 'Hello Goodbye.'"

Mike replies: That one's extremely catchy. I've read that "Bulldog" is one of the most downloaded Beatles songs by young people. I might have read it 20 years ago, though.

Randall Teasley: "I remember vividly when my twelve-year-old daughter told me that she had discovered a new group called the Beatles. She's forty now and still a fan. A friend of mine says that every generation discovers the Beatles anew."

Mike replies: My son (born '93) did. He went through a phase of listening to all my CDs of the early records when he was 10 or 12. He didn't remain a fan, though.

JTK: "These are the only four Beatles songs I sing to myself occasionally. 'In My Life'absolutely #1 to me. 'I Am the Walrus,' 'Strawberry Fields,' and 'Paperback Writer' (the one Beatles song I wish I wrote). I Saw them live at The Astoria, Finsbury Park, London, in, I think, 1963. Girls screaming non-stop meant we couldn't hear much. My buddy first clapped eyes on his future wife that night and they are still married. That has to be a 'record'(sorry ;-) )."

Tom Burke: "I was exactly the right age to be a Beatles fan. Born in 1950, I was a young adolescent when they rose to fame. I was 13 when 'She Loves You' was released, for example, and I thought that was the most exciting thing I'd ever heard. As I proceeded through my teens and started looking for something more, they obliged.

"The white album was the one that divided me and my friends most. We all reckoned that there was a really stunning single album in there, struggling to be heard, but weighed down by all the dross that made up the double album. The interesting thing was that there was huge disagreement among us as to which were the great tracks; everybody's selection for that single album was different. But as I recall, one song that was on almost everybody's list was 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' I still listen to that one.

"In fact, I think you've shortchanged George in that selection. No 'Something'? No 'Taxman'?; and above all, no 'Here Comes the Sun'?? Fun fact: George's 'Something' and Eric Clapton's 'Layla' and 'Wonderful Tonight' were all written for/about Patti Boyd/Harrison/Clapton, who was married to both of them."

Dave_lumb: "Most over-hyped boy band ever."

Thomas Mc Cann: "Since the advent of Spotify I have revisited old Beatles songs only to find they have all been 'remastered' so do not coincide with my memories of the originals. Very disappointing."

Peter Jeffrey Croft: "I have too many favourites to list, but being born in 1947 I was 16 in 1963 when The Beatles exploded onto our radios. Therefore I think my favourites date from the early years, when they were so new and so harmonious.

"I especially remember, in the days before stereo and before I had access to a record player, and LP records cost AUD$5.25, more than I could afford, that every track on Beatles records was good. Not like other groups where there might be one or two tracks and the rest were fillers.

"We could only listen on the radio then, big brown leather encased multiband monsters from Singapore and Aden, when my farmer fellow school boarders' well-off parents stopped off on cruises. We had reception of about four or five stations (in a large country town), and we'd finish one Beatles song, then tune down the band and there would be another one playing, and so on, wall to wall Beatles all day and night. Especially Party Time Saturday Night when we sent messages to our sweeties on the radio. Whoo hoo.

"So I grew up with the Beatles and what a privilege it's been. What a great period I've lived through, '60s, '70s, '80sBeatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, Bee Gees...I have to hand it to the Brits, the talent they came up with is amazing. I'm afraid I don't hear it now.

"Not to mention the first space flights, the first moon landing, my first trip to the UK in 1974. Wow, so many great memories. I'm writing it down as fast as I can before it fades. Luckily my memory is as strong as ever. I have a book in me."
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The Orangeburg County School District announced that four OCSD students are South Carolina Junior Scholars.

Developed by the State Department of Education in 1985, the South Carolina Junior Scholars Program identifies eighth-grade students with exceptional academic talent and develops strategies for inclusion into special programs.

To qualify as a Junior Scholar, a student must score 550 or higher on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section or 530 or higher on the Math section of the PSAT/NMSQT.

Also, Duke TIP participants identified and recognized at either the Grand Recognition Ceremony or the State Recognition Ceremony during their 7th-grade year automatically qualify to become S.C. Junior Scholars.

The OCSD South Carolina Junior Scholars are Bella Fox, Jefrin Stephen, Patrick Hubbard Jr. and Kelis King, all attending William J. Clark Middle School.

As superintendent, it makes me proud to know that our students are achieving academically and being recognized by state leaders for excelling at a high level in the classroom, OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said.

Students who qualify for this special recognition will be recognized at local award ceremonies, including being recognized by the OCSD Board of Trustees on April 18.

They will also receive an Award of Merit certificate from the State Department of Education and an invitation to attend summer opportunities at participating South Carolina colleges and universities.
Calhoun County Council is tweaking and "fine tuning" its ordinance governing rules and procedures, specifically relating to the public comment periods during meetings.

Those wanting to make public comments have received an extension of the time allotted to five minutes from the previously allowed three minutes.

The changes are being made to better comply with County Council's Rules of Procedure in the county's Code of Ordinances.

In the appendix of the current code, it notes "any person or group may speak to the Council with permission of the Chair and shall address the Chair; each person, after stating his/her name and address, may make comments which are relevant to the subject matter at hand and which are limited to five minutes per person, or ten minutes per group, unless additional time is granted in advance by the Council."

"I don't like exactly how some of the stuff is reading in there and I don't really understand it myself," Councilman James Haigler said. "We are going to try to get it right."

"I implemented that (public comments) because I want to hear from the citizens," Haigler said. "People think we don't sometimes, I may not like what I hear, but I want to hear from you."

Haigler said the matter will be submitted to the council's administration committee and will be brought back to council for a final decision on what the roles and duties are of the public and the roles and duties of Council.

Councilman Cecil Thornton reminded individuals that during the public comment period there is no dialogue with members of council.

Those wanting dialogue with council members on their concerns need to be on the agenda. To get on the agenda, the public needs to contact Clerk to Council Shayla Jenkins by noon on Thursday.

In other matters, council unanimously passed first reading to amend the composition, responsibilities and duties of the governing boards for the Calhoun County Rural Fire District and the Sandy Run Fire District and to provide that these fire districts be operated as an administrative division of the county.

Council was proceeding with the reading process in recent months but halted the process when Sandy Run Fire Commission officials requested more time to review the ordinance and its impact on the commission. There was no public discussion of the ordinance prior to first reading.

The ordinance combines the Sandy Run Fire District and the Rural Fire District boards into the County Fire District Commission. The existing fire service areas and all departments and locations are unchanged.

The ordinance updates and clarifies the duties and responsibilities of the existing fire coordinator position and provides for the future addition of other paid personnel as needed

Under the ordinance, the fire services coordinator would be responsible for centralized purchasing of all materials, supplies and equipment for the fire districts in accordance with the county's procurement codes.

The fire services coordinator would be responsible for implementing a districtwide standardization of all rolling stock and equipment and a uniform maintenance schedule as adopted by the commission.

The coordinator will assist the commission with the annual submission of a budget request to council.

The change is designed to ensure the county and volunteer departments will continue to be able to handle demand and growth.

The existing board members, operations and volunteers will remain in place, according to county officials.

County administration said the change would enable the county's existing financing and procurement departments to better track the funds and expenditures of departments, plus the commission being able to standardize equipment and gear, with hopes of reducing costs and increasing opportunities for grants for equipment, gear and trucks.

The ordinance does not affect either the existing fire fee in the Rural District area or the millage in the Sandy Run area. The county will be working in the next year to determine the best way to fund the operations moving forward whether that is a fee or millage.

Under the ordinance, the fire commission would be responsible for:

The development of standard operating procedures/guidelines, training standards, fire inspection programs and fire-prevention programs.

The assessment of buildings, equipment and manpower and developing a strategic plan to deliver fire and rescue services in the fire district.

Operational aspects between Calhoun County and the fire departments within the fire district.

The change includes the dissolution of the County Fire Commission, which was replaced by the Calhoun County Rural Fire District in 2014. At that time, an ordinance to repeal the commission was never passed.

Councilman Ken Westbury thanked firefighters for helping to craft the ordinance.

LSCOG Calhoun County services

Lower Savannah Council of Governments Executive Director Dr. William Molnar gave an overview of the services the body has provided to Calhoun County over the past year.

These include:

Service to 756 seniors in the county through the county's council on aging.

About 1,200 hours of homecare services for seniors.

Assistance for 46 families in the county with respite funding to enable them to find care to watch their loved ones.

Help for 64 seniors at local residential care facilities to ensure they are being treated well at the facilities.

Technical assistance to the Town of Cameron for zoning and storm water issues.

Work with the Town of St. Matthews to find community development block grants for town improvements as well as American Rescue Plan Act monies for infrastructure improvements.

Work with Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College to provide tuition assistance for those going becoming emergency medical technicians and patient care technicians.

In other business:

A countywide litter pickup is scheduled for Thursday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Attendees can pick up bags and supplies at the courthouse annex in St. Mathews.

The Purple Martin Festival is scheduled for Friday, April 21 and April 22.

Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the South Carolina American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission and recognizing and approving of the Calhoun County 250 Committee.

Council also unanimously approved acting as a fiscal agent for the Calhoun County 250 Committee.

By supporting the SCARSC, the county will be eligible to receive state grant monies to help commemorate and celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026. There are no local county monies as part of the project. The county will serve as a pass-through agent for the state monies received.

According to the South Carolina 250 website, each county can receive a $3,000, non-competitive grant toward the implementation of the committee. There is no local grant match.

Council gave unanimous third and final reading to an ordinance amending county ordinances related to the Calhoun County Historical Commission.

The ordinance stipulates that the commission will operate as a department of the county and report to County Council and not to the county administrator.

There were no public comments prior to the vote.

Satidra Rivers of Houser Woods Subdivision spoke on behalf of an individual in the subdivision who had cleared property for building a new home without properly being informed of the restricted easements or covenants by the county.

The woman said the individual has been told to halt construction of the home and that he would not be able to locate on the property.

Rivers said covenants and restrictions were put in place in 1991 but have not been enforced over the years. She noted her house as well as seven other houses cleared land and were not made aware of the restrictions preventing them from doing so.

Council said it would look into the matter.

The subdivision is located about 2.7 miles outside of St. Matthews off S.C. Highway 6, U.S. Highway 176.

Calhoun County resident Ron Chestnut questioned council about how the vacancy of Calhoun County's deputy treasurer was filled.

He noted the position needs to be appointed by the governor or by a special election. He asked if the county contacted the governor's office about the matter and, if not, who gave the authority to circumvent the governor's office in the matter.

Haigler encouraged him to contact county administration for clarification on what transpired.

Alicia Scott introduced herself as the countys new deputy treasurer at council's March 13 meeting. Former County Treasurer Rebecca Furtick passed away Jan. 24 at the age of 64.

Haigler requested a moment of silence for the school shooting that occurred in Tennessee.
As continued incidents of gun violence cast doubt on campus safety, staying safe is at the forefront in students' minds.

A 2022 BestColleges survey of 1,000 current and prospective undergraduate and graduate students found that more than half (56%) said they worry about campus safety. And 65% say that school shootings in particular make them concerned for their safety on campus.

A majority (60%) also said that campus safety is a factor they considered when choosing their college.

With colleges and universities busily recruiting students back to campus following the COVID-19 shutdowns, ensuring student safety is a priority.

Just this past week, South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers announced a number of safety measures being instituted in the wake of gun incidents on the Orangeburg campus.

The steps should instill more confidence in students (and parents) about safety on campus. But SC State is leaving room for doubt by creating an information vacuum.

The Times and Democrat has requested under provisions of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act that police incident reports on two gun-related incidents be provided to the newspaper and public.

The Post and Courier of Charleston has also requested the incident report on one incident.

Both publications have been denied access to the reports, with SC State legal counsel Pete M. Balthazor stating:

I have consulted with Chief (Tim) Taylor, and while an incident report has been prepared, the university asserts that it is exempt from disclosure at this time on the grounds that its disclosure would compromise the integrity of an ongoing investigation and interfere with a law enforcement proceeding.

At this time, public safety and the integrity of the investigation outweigh the disclosure of any incident report. We will revisit this determination if an arrest is made or if other circumstances change with the investigation."

As a publicly funded police agency the same as the county sheriff or city police, the SC State Campus Police Department is required to file "reports which disclose the nature, substance, and location of any crime or alleged crime reported as having been committed."

These reports are to be made available to the public per the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

Law enforcement can delete certain information from the report, but an incident report cannot be withheld from the public. There is no legal exemption for the incident being under investigation nor for no arrest having been made.

SC State should promptly make the incident reports available. And it's not only a matter of law. Students, parents and the entire community need to know details of what happened, particularly in light of the arrest of a 19-year-old SC State student after campus police allegedly found a gun and seven loaded ammunition magazines in his dorm room on Monday.

While an incident report was made available by SC State on the arrest, the reports from a March 3 shooting in which a person was injured and a March 25 incident in which shots were fired on campus remain out of public view.

By withholding the reports, the university makes it appear to the public there is something to hide or the institution is trying to keep details away from the public.
This photo provided by Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) shows Martin Henkelmann, president and CEO of KGCCI, speaking at the KGCCI office in Yongsan, central Seoul, March 30. Yonhap



Green regulations in force or being pushed for by the European Union (EU), including the legislation on reshoring critical minerals, are "reasonable and necessary" given the decarbonization trend, and they offer Korea a chance to deepen economic ties with the bloc, the head of a Seoul-based German business lobby has said.



Martin Henkelmann, president and CEO of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI), also called for Seoul and Brussels to launch the renegotiation process for the Korea-EU free trade agreement (FTA) to reflect changes in the market landscape, as it will help further move the economic relationship forward.



"More control on the supply chain is reasonable and very necessary," Henkelmann said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday. "I think in many countries, consumers and customers demand this also and the market requires that we know what is in our supply chain."



The EU laid out a proposal on March 16 (local time) designed to ensure the production of strategic raw materials, such as copper and nickel  key components for electric vehicle batteries  is maintained in the region.



The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) draft calls for at least 40 percent of the critical minerals the EU needs each year to be processed within the region by 2030. At least 10 percent of them will have to be extracted locally, and 15 percent has to be recycled in the region.



It also states that no more than 65 percent of the minerals should come from a single third country, apparently referring to China, a dominant global supplier of critical raw materials.



The proposed CRMA is among a raft of regulatory revamps the EU has been pushing for in efforts to meet emissions goals. It is also seen as designed to strengthen its clean tech markets, primarily the supply chains.



"We think it's very important that these criteria are defined and aligned with value-based nations," Henkelmann said.



"They lead to this aspect of not only near-shoring but also friend-shoring. That we don't only look to get investment in our country, but we're open to sourcing it (from) a friend," he said.



Henkelmann stressed that the EU regulations are not there to cause difficulties for foreign companies and the revamps can actually be opportunities Korea can seize on to expand its presence in the region.



"A country, which has so many high tech products and is so strong at scaling up the technology, like Korea, I think it has a good chance to show with their products that they can be compatible and participate in this high level production in decarbonizing the economy," he said.



"Companies need to stay agile, to continuously adapt to what comes up in this field," he added.





KGCCI President & CEO Martin Henkelmann speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the KGCCI's office in central Seoul, Aug. 4. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
(TBTCO) - Hiep hoi Bao hiem Viet Nam a lam viec voi tung bo phan va kenh phan phoi cua cac cong ty bao hiem nhan tho va at uoc su thong nhat quan trong trong viec nang cao chat luong tu van, dich vu cham soc khach hang e cung co niem tin cua khach hang va nguoi dan.
Unlike under Stalin, the state these days oppresses indigenous people in the name of private-sector capital. From Novaya Gazeta.

One hundred and sixteen international organizations and dozens of individuals have signed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, demanding that they call off repressive measures against those who defend indigenous peoples. The letter was prompted by the recent detention in Murmansk Oblast of Andrei Danilov, director of the Sami Heritage and Development Fund. His case is not unique. On the contrary, pressure is growing on indigenous activists from Russias north, Siberia, and far east, even though the groups are almost totally uninvolved in politics in the literal sense. Their concerns are more down-to-earth: the survival of their small populations, with their pressing problems.

Against a background of repression of political activists, persecution of the independent press, and the search for extremists among students and selfie enthusiasts, it seems completely absurd to be exerting pressure on indigenous people. What was the real reason for the Yamal polices claim that a get-together of reindeer-herders in the tundra constituted a rally (which was the charge in the case of activist Eiko Serotetto)? Eventually, it was not deemed a rally, but soon afterwards Eiko was charged with assault, a fight he did not start, and he was sentenced to three months of restricted movement.

And what was the harm or hindrance to the government done by Yana Tannagasheva, a native of the Kuzbas [southwestern Siberia], fighting to preserve the Shor peoples ancient settlement of Kazas? Her fathers house was burned down and she herself has been forced into exile. The settlement of Kazas is no more.

Or perhaps there is some threat to the country from Andrei Danilov, whose entire activity comes down to one simple proposition  that the laws passed in Russia must be upheld. The Constitutional Court itself has apparently acknowledged his right, in confirming that the activist seeks the application of the laws of the Russian Federation. However, shortly afterwards, he was detained and held in a cell, where he received a visit from a man in civilian dress, who told the Sami man how hard things could be for anyone close to such overly active citizens 

Then the Monchegorsk city court sentenced Danilov to five days detention for refusing a search without witnesses. In the decision, the judge cited a law which allows police to carry out searches of individuals belongings at public gatherings, although when the police officer was questioned, [his explanation was] completely in line with Danilovs testimony.

When Arsenty Nikolaev of the Evenk, a member of the Yakutsk parliament and head of a village association, recently died after a year of house arrest, the news was announced by officials from the gold-mining company which had built a road through the communitys land. Nikolaev had allegedly pressured the company to use the services of Evenk transport companies. Although arbitration found that the mining company had acted voluntarily, the criminal case against Nikolaev was not dropped.

Stepan Petrov from Yakutia is a foreign agent twice over, having been entered into the register of mass-media organizations carrying out the role of foreign agents. [Russian communications and internet regulator] Roskomnadzor also charged Petrov with not displaying the foreign agent tag on 14 Facebook posts. In desperation, Petrov appealed to Mark Zuckerberg to help Russias foreign agents by writing an algorithm to automatically tag their publications.

Second Wave

This is the second wave of repression against indigenous peoples in our history. The first happened during the years of industrialization, when the Soviets colonized the Arctic and Siberia, subordinating them to the needs of the country. Cut off at the knees, reindeer herders were simply resettled in reservations, while those who rebelled were sent to the Levashovo Wasteland [now a memorial site]. This was how it happened in Murmansk Oblast, where the map of Sami cemeteries shows that the native people were squeezed into the center of the Kola peninsula.

At the time of the Great Terror, 125 of the 2,000 Kola Sami were arrested and the majority of them shot; 55 were sent to the Gulag. Only five survived. Those arrested included almost all of the Sami intelligentsia and the creator of the first Sami primer. Few in number, the Sami submitted meekly.

Meanwhile, the Nenets people of the Yamal peninsula rose up, in a movement they called the Mandalada, outright refusing to surrender their reindeer to the state. Being left in the tundra without reindeer is equivalent to death. A 10-year sentence in a prison camp was meted out on the same day as the trial, without any investigation. Interestingly, the first Mandalada was relatively successful, and its leaders even held direct talks with the government. They issued an ultimatum: re-establish the rights of the shamans, equality between kulaks and the poor, abolition of food-supply restrictions, and almost total elimination of Soviet power in the Yamal. As a result, the Mandalada itself was liquidated, without bloodshed. The second uprising, in the 1940s, was savagely repressed.

The Dolgan people [in the north of the present-day Krasnoyarsk region] also revolted against the division between kulaks and the poor.

Acknowledging Soviet power as the power of the working people, and in no way striving to overthrow it, we, the natives of the Taimyr national district, from the very foundation of [the Soviet state] began to experience the burden of taxes and unprecedented pressure by the local authorities. The reconstruction of our economy on socialist lines began at the speed of central parts of the Union, without any consideration of the specific conditions of the north. The imposition of taxes, payments, strict fur quotas exceeding our real ability, incorrect definition of class structure, patrols by armed [ethnic] Russians, and the local authorities exceeding national policy in various ways among the local population, have led to complete fury.

[extract from a letter by the leaders of the Taimyr uprising]

An uprising on the Taimyr peninsula was swept away by rifle fire from a detachment of the NKVD.

Reading about the colonization of the north in the 1930s, it is impossible not to draw parallels with today. Simple and completely reasonable requests  not even demands, in the beginning  from the indigenous inhabitants were repulsed with disproportionate brutality. Meanwhile, decisions taken by the authorities bore the stamp of vicious ignorance  almost illiteracy  about the local lands and peoples. It was they who pushed the northern tribes to the edge of survival, and it was they who sparked protest.

Almost a hundred years later, we are again colonizing the Arctic. It is never off the agenda of the news agencies; it is a constant refrain in official speeches. For 21st century Russia, the Arctic has become the same cherished goal as space was for the Soviet Union  though without the romantic flair. The Arctic is oil  gas  platinum! The Arctic is a weapon. It is power. Colonization is proceeding at full speed, and no less brutally than a century ago.

There is, however, a difference. If the first colonization of the Arctic was carried out in the interests of the state, then the current colonization, with all its geopolitical considerations, promises colossal riches for private-sector corporations. The Arctic is money. This time, the state machine does not serve the idea of universal happiness; it serves private-sector interests.

It is the Arctic agenda which Rodion Sulyandziga thinks underlies this wave of repression against indigenous peoples. He used to head the largest non-profit organization focused on the problems of the Arctic, the Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (CSIPN), until it was shut down by the Moscow city court on a formality. The organization had previously succeeded in removing itself from the register of foreign agents, but final victory went to the machinery of repression. Rodion is convinced that the persecution of indigenous people is connected with Arctic issues.

For Russia, the Arctic is a matter of development, balancing the budget, gaining access to resources. Native peoples are in no way opposed to the countrys economic development. But a balance is needed between the interests of business and the rights of indigenous peoples. Business requires colossal territory  but land is [also] required by reindeer-herders, for example. The state should be the guarantor of that balance, and the guarantor of rule of law in this sphere. Yet instead the state simply gives business the green light. Anyone who opposes it comes under pressure from the authorities, he said.

Being deemed a foreign agent, or mad, or a criminal  this is what awaits an activist in Russia, is Andrei Danilovs gloomy summing up, as he prepares for a fresh court battle with local officials who are unwilling to accept the Constitutional Courts ruling without a fight. On the same day, he will again be on trial for disobeying the police as he attempts to appeal in the oblast court against his already-served detention. His Facebook status reads: We must speak even when there is no hope, a quotation from a film about the Samis anti-colonial uprising in Norway. The uprising was brutally put down. However, the Sami achieved equal rights  after 200 years. And now no one can set foot in the Norwegian Arctic without their permission.

The Sami of Russia also consider themselves the guardians of the north. They have never had property rights in their lands. Securing a portion of the tundra or of a lake for a family did not mean a right of use, but an obligation to protect and enhance this small piece of the Arctic. And it would not be a bad idea for us to learn from them.

Tatiana Britskaya is the Arctic correspondent for Novaya Gazeta, where this article first appeared. Translated in partnership with the Russian Language News Exchange.

Translation by Victoria Roberts.
Wyomings never had an election cycle like the one in 2022.

Voters turned out in record numbers to cast their ballots in the most-watched U.S. House race in the states history between Liz Cheney and now-Rep. Harriet Hageman. Some competitions drew the attention and endorsements of national figures like former president Donald Trump. Candidates swarmed to the once-sleepy state superintendent and local school board races. National and even international journalists traveled to Wyoming to cover it all.

But even in 2022, many elections were still largely overlooked on these bigger stages.

Take precinct committee races  the low-hanging fruit that forms the basis of party politics. These races barely register for many voters in Wyoming, as evidenced by the number of people who skip over them when filling out their ballots.

Yet, the hyper-local precinct committee elections have powerful rippling effects on the tenor of politics in the state. Precinct committee seats are where everything in party politics begins  members in those seats elect county party leadership, and county leadership in turn elects state party leadership, and so on. Whether or not those seats are filled through primary elections can have a huge impact on the composition of county parties since county GOP leadership has the power to appoint members for vacant spots. These seats are the most basic building block that shapes the policy thrust and priorities of a political party.

Although voters often pass over these races at the ballot box, it appears that more people are starting to pay attention to the importance of precinct committee seats, particularly in relation to how they shape the Wyoming Republican Party.

Like other races across the state, many of those for Republican precinct seats drew more candidates during the 2022 election cycle than they have in the past. In some cases, the outcomes of those races drastically changed the composition of county Republican parties in favor of more traditional governing bodies. For the Wyoming GOP, precinct committee races have become another crucible in the tug-of-war of influence between traditional and hard-line elements of the party, the latter of which have increased in power over the past several years.

In a state thats overwhelmingly dominated by Republican politics, the outcome of that fight could have major impacts on how Wyoming spends its money, prepares for the future and legislates on hot-button issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.

I think the races for precinct people are going to be intensely heated, as those that are currently in power will do anything they can to keep the majority, Gail Symons, a long-time politico and owner of the nonpartisan blog Civics307, said.

Traditional takeover

All 23 county Republican parties in Wyoming undertook leadership elections in March. Some county GOPs saw drastic changes in leadership following those elections.

In Lincoln and Uinta counties, Wyoming Right to Life President Marti Halverson and former Wyoming Secretary of State Karl Allred  among the most prominent hard-line leaders in the state Republican Party  were booted from their posts.

The Lincoln, Uinta and Johnson county GOPs saw a complete turnover in the chairman, state committeewoman and state committeeman posts  the three delegates from each county that make decisions for the Republican Party at the state level.

In Lincoln County, Wade Hirschi ousted Halverson from the chairman position. Kay Lynn Nield and Brandon Taylor took over from Christine Riker and Mike Lundgren as state committeewoman and state committeeman. In Uinta County, former Evanston Mayor Joy Bell replaced Elizabeth Jackson as chairman. Patty and Ron Micheli replaced Jana Williams and Allred as state committeewoman and state committeeman. Former lawmaker Mike Madden took over as chairman in the Johnson County GOP, with Kristen Crago and Nathan Williams becoming the new state committeewoman and committeeman.

The Fremont County GOP saw significant turnover in leadership too. Ginger Bennett, a hard-line Republican and former chairman of the Fremont County GOP, was ousted in favor of a traditional candidate  former Fremont County Treasurer Scott Harnsberger. (Bennett became the county partys vice chair, but that seat doesnt take part in state GOP elections and decision making.) A similar change occurred for the state committeewoman post, with Liz Philp taking over from Cynthia Donovan-Ragan. The former state committeeman, Doug Thompson, remained in that post.

These changes shifted the counties away from a hard-line brand of Republican politics and toward more traditional conservative leadership. Micheli, the Uinta County GOP state committeeman and a former gubernatorial candidate, described the upheaval in county GOP leadership as a movement in the party to bring people together and be more inclusive.

These counties had something in common during the 2022 elections: high participation in their precinct committee races, which determine the composition of their governing central committees and have far-reaching repercussions throughout the party. During the 2020 election cycle in Lincoln County, 72% of the precinct races had no candidate at all. In 2022, that number dropped to roughly 6%. All of the Republican precinct races in Uinta County had candidates in 2022. Fremont and Johnson counties also saw high participation in precinct races.

The participation rates stand out even more given that there were more precincts to fill in 2022 than in the last election cycle because of redistricting. (The number of Republican precincts in redistricting years is based on the number of registered Republican voters in each precinct rather than the number of Republicans who vote in the congressional race.)

Growing participation

What spurred the high participation in precinct races?

At least for the last election cycle, some say that the publicity of two recent statewide interim appointees may have alerted people to the significant power of the state GOP central committee, which is made up of chairmen, state committeewomen and state committeemen from each county.

When there are vacancies for some statewide and federal elected posts held by Republicans, the 72 members of the GOP state central committee get to elect three candidates to forward to the governor, who then appoints one of those candidates to fill that position. Some of Wyomings most powerful officials, like Gov. Mark Gordon and Wyomings Sen. John Barrasso, first came to statewide power through this process  Gordon was appointed to serve as state treasurer in 2012 after the death of then-treasurer Joseph Meyer, and Barrasso became one of the states senators in 2007 after the death of then-Sen. Craig Thomas.

Last year saw two appointees  Brian Schroeder, the former head of a private Christian school in Cody, and Allred, the former Uinta County GOP state committeeman  rise to power through the state GOP central committee.

Gordon tapped Schroeder to be interim state superintendent of public instruction after former state superintendent Jillian Ballow left to take a similar job in Virginia. Schroeder later ran for the position and lost in the primary to current state superintendent Megan Degenfelder.

Allred filled in as secretary of state shortly before the 2022 general elections after former secretary Ed Buchanan took a job as a judge in his hometown.

The controversial figures made headlines during their short stints in office  Schroeder for his crusade against gender ideology in schools and Allred for echoing the call of Secretary of State Chuck Gray by asking county clerks to get rid of ballot drop boxes, which many hard-line Republicans have pinned, without sufficient evidence, as sources of voter fraud.

The publicity of controversial actions by people within the Wyoming Republican Party may have also spurred more participation in precinct committee races, some said.

Back in 2021, for instance, former Park County Republican Mens Club secretary Troy Bray sent an email to Cheyenne Republican Sen. Tara Nethercott criticizing the senator for her handling of a COVID-19 vaccine bill that died in her committee.

If I were as despicable a person as you, I would kill myself to rid the world of myself, the email said. You sicken me. Thank you for ensuring that the people of Wyoming are subjected to tyranny once again. F*** YOU C***.

Cody Mayor Matt Hall, a Park County GOP committeeman, said he thinks the incident, which was publicized in news outlets across the state, may have prompted some people to run for precinct seats again or for the first time in an effort to change a little bit how the party was behaving.

I think that event with that one precinct committeeman sending that email to Senator Nethercott really kind of prompted a lot of people who in the past have been involved to reengage, he said.

Theres also been a flurry of resolutions and censures within the party in recent years  something that had been a rarity in the past. Madden, the new Johnson County GOP chairman, said the party has been overly fond of passing resolutions of condemnation and commendation, and that he hopes to change this with the new body.

Some of the increased participation in precinct committee races also stems from recruitment. Symons, for instance, has been involved in an effort since 2018 to get more people to run for the precinct committee seats in her county.

The whole thing was really more about getting a more balanced view, like less of the my way or the highway approach to it and more like a Reagan, Big Tent thing, Symons, who ran this year against incumbent Sheridan County GOP Chairman Bryan Miller and lost, said.

Big tent Republicanism has defined the party for more than half a century. The current Wyoming Republican Party Chairman Frank Eathorne, however, indicated on Fox News last year that this isnt necessarily his approach. In Wyoming, we dont necessarily embrace the idea of a big tent, he said.

Micheli, the new Uinta County GOP state committeeman, was also involved in recruiting more precinct candidates ahead of the 2022 elections.

The precinct committeemen and committeewomen are the grassroots of the political party elected within their precinct, and very few people even know those officers exist, he said.

Traditionally, theyve gone unfilled, and we did recruit last May and were able to ... encourage people to file. We would hope that this would be something that people would be more interested in, in the future around the state, he said.

These recruitment efforts havent always been welcomed. Allred, the former secretary of state and Uinta County GOP state committeeman, described the takeover of his county critically as a concerted effort by Frontier Republicans and Liz Cheney supporters.

(Allred and other former leaders of the Uinta County GOP are on the other side of an ongoing lawsuit brought by Micheli, the new Uinta County GOP state committeeman, and others. The lawsuit stems from a 2021 Uinta County GOP election that Micheli and the other plaintiffs allege was conducted illegally.)

Mixed results

Greater participation in precinct races didnt translate to a shift toward more traditional leadership across the board.

In Campbell County, for instance, 203 people filed for precinct committee seats, a number that County Clerk Susan Saunders said was the highest number of precinct candidates she had seen in her more than 40 years working in local elections, the Gillette News Record reported.

Yet, with former lawmaker Scott Clem replacing Heather Herr as chairman of the county party, the one leadership change in the countys GOP tended more toward hard-line Republicanism.

Clems history in Wyoming politics is emblematic of the hard-right turn the state Republican Party has taken in recent years. In 2020, to illustrate, he organized a protest against Gov. Mark Gordons COVID-19 public health orders. Upon announcing his departure from the Wyoming Legislature in 2020 after serving four terms, Clem endorsed Rep. John Bear  who currently chairs the disruptor Wyoming Freedom Caucus  as his successor.

The Sheridan and Park County GOPs  two counties with hard-line Republican leadership  also saw little change in their leadership despite high participation in those counties precinct committee races.

During the 2020 election cycle, nearly half the Republican precinct committee seat races in Sheridan County were uncontested, and more than 11% had no candidate. By contrast, even though there were more precinct seats to fill because of redistricting, only about a third of precinct races were uncontested in 2022, while about 4% had no candidate. In Park County, roughly three quarters of the Republican precinct committee races didnt have any candidate in 2020, while only a quarter of these races had no candidate in 2022.

So while some, like Micheli, might describe the changes that occurred in county GOP leadership this year as a movement, Bill Cubin, a Republican political strategist, described them more as an evolution in the partys struggle to figure out its identity, particularly following the surprising nationwide results of the 2022 elections.

Republicans lost a bunch of races that they should have won, but some conservatives won, and I think its just a real mixed bag that people are trying to figure out, he said.

And the changes in county GOP leadership toward more traditional Republicans didnt reflect the outcomes for other races across the state. In the Legislature, for instance, the hard-line faction of the Wyoming Republican Party made significant gains in the 2022 election cycle, notably in the House, where the Wyoming Freedom Caucus added several members and allies this year. Gray and Hageman, both of whom Trump endorsed, won their primary elections against candidates who dont adhere to their hard-line brand of Republicanism.

Part of that could be because voters dont usually think about the function of parties when they cast their ballot, Cubin said. But thats a little different when it comes to precinct committee seats and the people voting in these often-overlooked races.

When you have precinct committee people, they are much more involved. They know more of the people in the county who are activists. And so I think they have a better idea of what they think the party apparatus should actually do, Cubin said.

Changes in state leadership?

With the mixed results that occurred during the March county GOP leadership elections, its hard to tell at this point what direction the state Republican Party is headed.

The chairmen, state committeemen and state committeewomen of each county will take part next month in state GOP leadership elections in Jackson. Eathorne  the state Republican Partys current chairman  has indicated that he plans to run for a third term. Other state leadership hopefuls have yet to announce their candidacy, likely waiting for the end of the county GOP elections to throw their hats in the ring.

Some in the Wyoming Republican Party say Eathorne  who is close with Trump  is the best thing thats happened to the state GOP. Yet others describe the controversial chairman as the worst leader the party has had in Wyomings recent history, pointing to his leadership as a primary source of the fractures that have plagued the Wyoming GOP in recent years. Part of the question that hangs in the balance with the changes in county parties is whether or not the Wyoming GOP will remain the party of Trump, or will return to a big tent brand of Republicanism.

Though there were significant changes in county GOP leadership, it may not be enough to change the philosophical bent of the Wyoming GOP at the state level.

I currently dont know what those numbers are, Symons, the Sheridan politico, said.

Its going to be interesting to see to what degree theres strength in the traditional numbers and also the degree to which there are counties that will swing. Maybe theyre the same people, but they may have just been going along to get along. I dont know that either. I think were just gonna see however it turns out in Jackson.
JACKSON  Hannah Garland finds it oddly comforting that she knows which moose trampled her Friday morning.

Had it been a rogue moose, I wouldve been constantly living on edge, like Are you the one? Are you the one? said Garland, 27, who lives in Teton Village, where moose are constant features on the landscape.

But knowing that it was Yellow 72, a collared, suburban moose known for her mangy look, hair loss and springtime tick infestation, allows Garland a bit more certainty in where she directs her fear  and ire.

This b****. 72, Garland said. You swamp donkey.

Before dawn Friday morning, Yellow 72 trampled Garland while she was letting her dog Richard, a 2-year-old mix of border collie, bulldog and boxer, go to the bathroom. The moose knocked Garland to the ground and stomped on her, cracking each of her 24 ribs, fully breaking two, concussing her and leaving her projectile vomiting.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is not, however, planning to kill or relocate the moose.

Garland is OK with that, calling what happened a freak accident.

That is the opposite of what I want, she said. They deserve to be here just as much as we all do.

Moose attacks, while rare, tend to happen at least annually in Jackson Hole. In 2021 a moose knocked a man to the ground on the bike path northeast of Wilson Elementary School, hospitalizing him. In 2022 a moose knocked 89-year-old Ed Opler to the ground, breaking his scapula. He recovered at home.

Moose, like most wildlife, can be defensive when threatened, particularly when people get too close.

But Game and Fish spokesman Mark Gocke drew a common thread between the three incidents.

In each case, people were walking their dogs.

Dogs just tend to elevate the situation, Gocke said.

Im a dog owner, too, and know that they can be unpredictable in their own right, but these dogs are considered a predator and these moose are prey, and theyre going to defend themselves, he said.

Gocke said he wasnt trying to place blame and, in Opler and Garlands cases, it didnt sound like anyone did anything particularly wrong. But both people were blindsided by the charging moose, and both accidents happened when dogs were there. Gocke called on dog owners to use leashes when moose might be around.

As dog owners, we need to have a higher level of awareness and control of our animals, he said.

Richard, Garlands dog, was off the leash Friday when the duo left the house to let him do his business.

It was shortly after 5 a.m., dark and much earlier than the duo usually go for a walk.

They were in the parking lot outside of Garlands Teton Village condo, and Richard was off somewhere in the dark. She started to call for him, and then heard a commotion to her right. The moose was charging her.

She head butted me in the back of the head, got me on my back and stomped on my ribs, Garland said.

Garland doesnt know exactly how many times the moose stomped on her.

A lot of things happened really quick at that moment, she said. But she described the tramping as a pitter pattering.

If she would have fully stomped, my organs would have exploded, Garland said.

She started screaming and, when the moose backed off, grabbed Richard, who she thinks had been hiding underneath a nearby car during the commotion. She turned around and ran back to her apartment, where she woke up a friend sleeping on their couch and her roommate. Shortly after, she started vomiting.

It was just adrenaline mom strength, Garland said. It wasnt until I got inside that I collapsed.

Garland has a concussion and a softball-sized knot on the back of her head. All of her ribs are cracked, and two are fully broken. Her elbow, which slammed on the ice when she fell, is KT taped to relieve pain.

It should take about six weeks for her to fully heal, Garland said.

In the meantime, shes bedridden, having a hard time walking inside, and asking friends to take Richard for his daily jaunts.

Garland is not, however, allowing anyone to walk him after dark, particularly since Yellow 72 is still around.

The moose was collared last winter in the Teton Village area. Since then shes developed a reputation for her shaggy condition. Last spring she was one of the moose Troy Koser, a Montana State University Ph.D. ecology student, followed to study the effect of winter ticks on moose in Jackson Hole. Yellow 72 winters in Teton Village and summers farther up on the ski hill. But she doesnt really leave that area.

Until Friday she also hadnt had any run-ins with the law.

It doesnt have a history of aggressive behavior or anything like that, Gocke said.

For now, Gocke said, the department is monitoring Yellow 72 to see what she does.

Though Garland said shes talked with some Game and Fish officials about the possibility of relocation, Gocke said the department isnt planning to take any action for the time being.

We deemed it to be normal defensive behavior that was probably elevated by the dog being present, he said.

I certainly dont fault Hannah, Gocke said. She was just letting her dog out in the morning, like most of us do, and it can be darn tough to see a moose when its dark. It was just bad circumstances.

Garland said the neighborhood remains on alert. The day before she was trampled, Garland said, two other women were walking their dogs and cornered by the same moose. Now people are keeping dogs leashed.

Garland is encouraging people to be careful walking around at night, and carry bear spray, which she said Game and Fish has been handing out in the area. She worries about partying college students staying up late and other Teton Village visitors getting up early to go to the airport and having a similar run-in.

Shes looking forward to walking around comfortably and getting back outside with little Richard, though Garland thinks shell be on edge for a while walking her dog around her home. She wont be doing that in the dark.

But, as a 17-year valley resident who just found secure housing in Teton Village, shes not leaving.

Ill take a moose beating for secure housing any day, Garland said.

22 animals to look for in Yellowstone (and your odds of spotting them) Rocky Mountain elk Northwestern gray wolf American bison Grizzly bear Black bear Bighorn sheep Bobcat Canada lynx Coyote Shiras Moose Mountain lion Red fox North American beaver Snowshoe hare White-tailed jackrabbit Jackalope North American porcupine Bald Eagle Golden eagle Great horned owl Trumpeter swan Sandhill Crane
Those were the three words calypso icon David Rudder used to summate his feelings over his illustrious 40-year music career.

Sensing the room of journalists wanting more from him he almost reluctantly continued.
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Cranes unload containers from carriers at Busan Port in the port city of Busan, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul, April 2. Yonhap



Korean exporting companies saved 6.6 trillion won ($5 billion) due to lower tariffs in 2021 thanks to the country's free trade agreements (FTAs) with six major economies, including the United States and the European Union, government data showed Sunday.



According to the trade data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea exported $446.9 billion worth of products to the U.S., the EU, China, India, Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2021, and saved a combined $5.8 billion from lower tariffs.



They are among the 21 countries and economic communities that South Korea has concluded FTAs with.



Korean exporters saved $1.68 billion from trade with U.S. companies, while FTAs with the EU, China and India eliminated $1.55 billion, $910 million and $690 million in tariffs, respectively.



Machinery exports had tariff exemptions of $1.94 billion from the FTAs, followed by steel and metal products with $1.21 billion and plastics with $360 million.



The Korean government earlier announced plans to clinch FTAs with more than 10 nations this year in an effort to boost growth momentum and diversify its trade portfolio. (Yonhap)


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.
The Pima County School Superintendents Office appointed Anthony Tony Bruno to serve as a member on the Sahuarita Unified School District governing board. Bruno replaces Nicole Werner, who resigned from the board in February.

Bruno had previously served on the board for eight years in the early 2000s, the County School Superintendents Office noted in an email.

I am excited to get back on the board, Bruno said. I am here to support all students and be a team player. Above all else, board members need to remember to respect each other for the job we each do and to thank each other for doing this work.

Bruno was sworn in on March 27 and his position will be up for election in November 2024. He is eligible to participate in his first governing board meeting on April 12.

To learn more about the Sahuarita Unified School District governing board, visit susd30.us/governing-board.

Tanque Verde Unified Art Show

Community members are invited to attend the inaugural Tanque Verde Unified Art Show, which will represent art programs throughout the school district.

The event will take place at the new Emily Gray Junior High School Fine and Performing Arts building, located at 11150 E. Tanque Verde Rd., on April 19 from 5-7 p.m. Admission is free, and attendees can find additional parking at the Lew Sorensen Resource Center on 2300 N. Tanque Verde Loop Rd.

The exhibits will include artwork from TVUSD students in grades K-8 and TV Community Preschool student art representing a vision of their ideal playground. The event will also include open studios hosted by the Lew Sorensen Adult Community Resource Center Program, and PaperPie Learning will have art books, activity books and art kits available for purchase as a fundraiser for the schools.

Art and theater students from Tanque Verde High School will be serving as guides and actors in the art show. The Emily Gray Junior High School Orchestra will also be performing at the event.

For more information, email event coordinator Alicia Marrano at amarrano@tanq.org.

Teacher Excellence Award

Kobe Henke, a seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher at The Academy of Tucson Middle School, was presented with Tucson Values Teachers Teacher Excellence Award for the month of March.

Henke, a native Tucsonan, began teaching at The Academy of Tucson Middle School five years ago after completing her undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University. She serves as the schools STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) coordinator and coordinates field trips to Disneyland for students to participate in behind-the-scenes, real-world STEM experiences.

She was nominated by parent Joanna Bradley, who said Henke makes learning fun for students.

Mrs. Henkes energy is contagious, her dedication is amazing, and her drive to help every child she can is exemplary, Bradley wrote in the nomination statement. She may look like a student herself, but this powerhouse goes above and beyond teaching math and leading the Middle School STEM program.

Tucson Values Teachers spotlights quality Southern Arizona educators every month. For more information about the Teacher Excellence Awards or to submit a nomination, visit tucsonvaluesteachers.org.
PHOENIX  Republican state lawmakers are moving on multiple fronts to head off a possible voter initiative that would implement ranked choice voting in Arizona, a system designed to ensure that more moderate candidates can win elections.

The efforts come even as the groups considering a measure for the 2024 ballot remain in the early stages of their effort and concede it may not even move ahead.

Last week the Republican-controlled Legislature placed their own measure on the ballot precluding the non-traditional election format they contend disenfranchises some primary elections.

The proposal, HCR2033, would preempt any effort to change primary election laws to advance more than one person per political party to the general election.

We need this because its just clarifying what our direct primary election is, freshman Rep. Austin Smith, R-Wittman, said during a Senate hearing. Some people try to challenge that.

And two much more direct measures are also advancing that would flat-out ban anything other than traditional vote-tallies where the top candidates advance from the primary election and face off head-to-head in the general election, with whoever gets the most votes prevailing.

Two states and more than 50 localities across the nation have enacted ranked choice voting in recent years, according to an October report by the Congressional Research Service. The goal of all the efforts is to eliminate the current system where partisan primary voters tend to pick non-moderate candidates, who then have little incentive to move to the middle and back consensus legislation.

Thats actually not what the voters want, according to Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin.

Most voters are not centrist, Kolodin said during Wednesdays meeting of the House committee where he advocated for the constitutional amendment that would ban ranked choice voting.

Most voters are left or most voters are right, he said. And so by structuring a system where all we can get out of it is moderates, nobody gets their first choice.

He doubled down on those comments in a later interview, explaining his opposition by calling the process a black box that is inconsistent state to state, appears arbitrary, can be gamed and is not transparent to voters.

And most importantly, in my mind, it denies voters a real choice, right? the freshman Scottsdale lawmaker and election law attorney said.

Ranked choice voting essentially ensures youre always going to get moderates, he said. Most voters, or at least a big chunk of voters, they arent moderates. Theres a lot of people who are conservatives, a lot of people who are liberals.

Thats flat-out wrong, said Chuck Coughlin, a longtime Republican political operative and consultant now working to get ranked choice voting on the ballot as a member of the group Save Democracy Arizona.

Its patently untrue, said Coughlin, who worked on the late Sen. John McCain campaign in the 1980s and was a close advisor to Republican former Gov. Jan Brewer. I mean, look at the voter registration file: the largest part of voter registration file now is unaffiliated.

Coughlin said most voters want public officials who solve problems, and most are not ideologically defined.

He said they realize instead that the nation is where it is because leaders did things like Brewer did that were unpopular with her own partys right wing, such as pushing for Medicaid expansion and temporarily raising taxes to get Arizona through the Great Recession.

Leadership is rewarded by voters, but its punished by primary voters, Coughlin said.

Save Democracy Arizona is working with another group called Voter Choice Arizona on a potential initiative for the 2024 ballot. Leadership of both groups is bipartisan and packed with well-known Republicans, Democrats and independents.

The potential ballot measure would use a form of ranked choice voting where the top five candidates in first-round vote advance to the general election. Voters would then rank their picks in order.

If no candidate gets more than 50%, the lowest voter-getter would be eliminated and their voters second choice would be moved up, as often as necessary, until a winner emerges.

The ballot measure is not yet a sure-thing, Coughlin said. The final legal language has to be written, messaging nailed down and tested with focus groups and polling done before a decision is made.

If I cant get language that is going to go on top of the petition, that is going to be something I can test and point to, I cant do this, he said. Im not going to go raise $20 million, or try and beg $10 million from somebody, if I cant win.

Coughlin said his group is well-financed for their current efforts but will need to raise about $10 million to collect enough signatures and get the measure on the ballot, plus $10 million for the actual campaign. For a constitutional amendment, nearly 385,000 valid signatures plus a big cushion are needed.

The measures making their way through the Legislature to block ranked choice voting are being pushed by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a conservative group that lobbies for low taxes and small government.

It builds upon our plurality voting system that protects one-person one-vote, and ensures Arizonans have an election system that guarantees lawfully cast votes are represented in the final tally of a contest, testified the organizations Amy Yentes this past week in support of one of the measures to preclude ranked choice voting. This is an unassailable principle of an election system that upholds the 14th Amendments Equal Protection clause  that someones legally cast vote is guaranteed to be counted in the final tally.

Thats one of the messages of opponents: Someone could have their vote cast aside because their chosen candidate didnt make the cut in a ranked choice tally.

Coughlin had a different take, saying it ensures voters can still weigh in on the final results even if their first choice is eliminated because their second, third or forth choice could emerge victorious.

State Sen. Anthony Kern. R-Glendale, is sponsoring a Senate measure. He said having lawmakers refer a measure to change the constitution is preferable to an initiative, which he expects to be backed by out-of-state donors.

You have outside groups putting money into Arizona to push an initiative that really hasnt worked well in other states, he said, pointing to the New York mayors race where it took five tabulations to get an eventual winner.

Lets take me running for instance, Kern said.

If Im like the fourth-place candidate, under most people on most peoples ballots I could, through circumstances, make it to the top and win the election, just like the current New York City mayor did, he said. And I think that if you didnt get over 50% of the votes the first time around, you shouldnt win an election.

But Coughlin pointed to the current system where a small turnout primary election decides most races.

The problem is 80% of people get elected in a primary where 14% of the people participate, he said.

And thats a problem because youre then beholden to that constituency, Couglin continued. And so what the net effect of what were doing is forcing everybody to be competitive in a general election, where everybody shows up, where the vast majority of voters vote.

Coughlin said the decision of whether to ask voters to implement ranked choice voting is not dependent on what Republicans put on the ballot.

I dont really care what they do, Couglin said.

Id prefer it not to be there just as a complicating factor, he said of the GOP ballot proposal. But it doesnt really affect our thinking.
For decades, Wildcat families have been warning the University of Arizona that its students were being targeted by a campus church that seemed like a cult.

Many say they received the same reply: They were told the UA only investigates complaints from current students.

But a current student and a recent dropout both say that when they tried to complain about Tucson Faith Christian Church Inc., their emails went unanswered or their phone calls were misdirected to campus agencies that couldnt help.

UA Dean of Students Kendal Washington White is ultimately responsible for handling student complaints on campus. She did agree to a March interview about Faith Christian but did not respond to the Stars emailed questions about specific complaints the Star discovered.

In a March 10 email, UA spokeswoman Pam Scott said the university has no jurisdiction over Faith Christian Church, only its on-campus clubs. She said the office has not received any recent complaints about the churchs three affiliated clubs.

Yet the Star found the UA received at least one complaint alleging chronic violations of student-club bylaws by one of the church clubs, Wildcats For Christ.

Under UA rules, campus clubs can be affiliated with a church but must be student-controlled and must operate free of discrimination. Wildcats for Christ routinely ignores those requirements, the complaint said.

The complaint was submitted last year by UA alum Ryan Tucker, an ex-president and ex-treasurer of Wildcats for Christ. His account is backed up by a former club advisor, four other former club presidents interviewed by the Star and by emails Tucker received from church officials during his time as president in 2019.

Dean of Students Washington White did not respond to the Stars query about how many complaints her office has received about the church itself.

The university has not yet responded to the Stars March 8 public records request seeking any new complaints related to the church since 2015, when the Star first reported on former members' claims that the church was like a cult. The church did not challenge any of that reporting.

Dozens of UA alumni who joined the church but ultimately left have described Faith Christian as a cult that tightly controls members finances and activities, discriminates against women and promotes corporal punishment of children starting in infancy.

Church leaders have not responded to multiple requests for comment.

'Anybody can be on campus'

In a March interview Washington White said that as a public university, the UA cant close the campus to anyone unless theyve committed a crime, such as stalking or physical assault, or a violation of the university code of conduct.

Anybody can be on our campus, said Washington White, who has been Dean of Students since 2014 and worked in the office since 2009. We cant tell them to leave unless they are hurting someone.

While the UA has no authority over outside groups like Faith Christian Church, it can restrict the activities of student groups on campus if theyre not following the schools code of conduct.

Of the dozens of complaints filed against the church over the years, most have come from UA alumni who realize after graduation that their time with the church was unhealthy and, in some cases, traumatic.

Thats what usually happens over the years  that they do come to us but at that point, when theyre not at the university, we cant really do anything about it, Washington White said.

Reports of aggressive recruitment tactics are most effective in the moment, she said. If a (current) student can tell us exactly, This person is out there on the mall and theyre outside right now, thats really helpful. Then we can go out to the mall and have a conversation with the people from this church.

Scott said the deans office recently expressed concern to Faith Christian leaders about the churchs level of engagement in pursuing students. A pastor responded that any behaviors of concern would be addressed and corrected, Scott said in the March 10 email.

Parents should prepare UA students to use discretion when joining campus groups, and its up to students to report any problems they encounter to the administration, Washington White said.

The university cant do everything, Washington White said. Campus counselors are available for students who are having a negative experience with any on-campus group, she said.

But former UA freshman Josephine Robideau  who left the UA in January after repeatedly trying, and failing, to file a complaint about Faith Christian  said the UA doesnt make it easy for students to lodge complaints.

Four calls in January

Robideau, 17, dropped all her classes at the UA in January and returned to New York, in part due to her experience with Faith Christian and the lack of response from the dean of students office, she told the Star.

Before leaving, Robideau said she tried twice to report her concerns about the church to the Dean of Students.

The first time she called, the person who answered directed her to the University Religious Council, a volunteer group of campus faith leaders that revoked Faith Christians membership in 2015 over concerns about its practices.

The URC, which confirmed Robideaus account to the Star, couldnt understand why the deans office referred her because the deans office is the correct place to file a complaint.

When Robideau called the deans office back she was redirected again, this time to the campus police department, she said.

Campus police Sgt. Andrew Valenzuela confirmed Robideaus account to the Star. He said he told her he couldnt make a report because her concerns werent a criminal matter.

After those four phone calls, Robideau gave up. A few days later, she left the UA for good.

Maybe I just talked to the wrong person at the wrong time in the dean of students' office, she said. But if thats their department, theres absolutely no reason they shouldn't have that awareness on the very first day working in that position.

Dean of Students Washington White did not respond to the Stars questions about Robideaus experience.

'We're your family now'

Robideau said she was drawn to the friendliness of Faith Christians campus ministers, church employees paid to linger in high-traffic campus areas to find new recruits.

Before long, she said, church members were pressuring her to start making money so she could donate 10% of her income  gross income, not net, they emphasized  to the church.

They were just pushing that I get a job, said Robideau, who at the time was a triple major in Arabic, law and foreign affairs. I had no time for a job. If anything, I needed to drop a class or two because it was too hectic.

She said a campus minister also encouraged her to cut ties with her family after Robideau confided in her about some family problems.

She recalled the minister saying, Were your sisters now. Were your family now. The whole church loves you.

Robideau said she started to distance herself after finding the Stars 2015 news coverage of alumni complaints about the church.

Robideaus last few weeks on campus were stressful, she said. Faith Christian campus ministers seemed to be around every corner, cajoling her to come to church events, she said.

Just knowing Id have to be worried walking from place to place around campus, it just made more sense to leave, she said. Because, I mean, what are you really getting out of an education there if you cant focus everything you have on it?

Two emails, no response

UA senior Ethan Snapp, 22, said the dean of students office didnt respond to his first two email complaints about Faith Christian in 2019.

Snapp, then a freshman, said he felt unsafe living at the UAs newly-opened Honors Village  the priciest student housing available on campus  because Faith Christian ministers were using it as a recruiting hub.

Non-residents arent allowed in any UA dorm unless accompanied by a resident. But the campus ministers would slip in unaccompanied, hang out in dining and study areas and try to strike up Bible conversations with new students, he said.

Frustrated by the dean of students lack of action, Snapp said he contacted the University Religious Council.

I've become increasingly concerned with (campus ministers) tactics and feel unsafe with them being allowed in my dorm, Snapp wrote in an email to the URC. He asked if there are any rules against these 40-year-old men being in my residence hall recruiting malleable freshmen.

A council member responded immediately and contacted the deans office on his behalf, he said. From then on, the dean of students office was responsive, he told the Star.

A few days later, the campus ministers cleared out of the Honors Village.

'Please ban them'

Washington White did not respond to the Stars questions about Snapps experience.

She also didnt respond to a question about an anonymous complaint sent to the deans office, and multiple other UA departments, in December 2021 that referred to Faith Christian as a cult.

I am aware of the freedom of speech and freedom of them to be there, the writer said in the complaint, which the Star reviewed. But they shouldnt be allowed to linger in areas, specifically in front of dorms where the freshmen are to try and target them.

It is very abusive, they basically break you down, verbally abuse you and tell you you dont love god if you don't fully obey them, the complaint said. Please ban them from campus for the sake of all freshmen.

In response to the Stars query, UA spokeswoman Scott said the office would look into the complaints.

Student clubs 'a sham'

Former campus ministers said UA officials dont seem to realize they are dealing with an entity thats manipulative, deceptive and willing to bend campus rules to the breaking point to achieve its goals.

For example, they said, Faith Christian has for years had total control over three campus clubs that are supposed to run by students. The setup allows the churchs entire congregation to meet on campus every Saturday night in a 300-seat auditorium the UA provides  free of charge.

Student clubs book the meeting space for free by saying its for club events, and no one checks up to see what the space actually is used for, the former members said.

A 300-seat auditorium on campus rents for $190 an hour to outside organizations, according to the UA student union's event planning department. At that rate, Faith Christian would have to pay more than $30,000 a year to rent the type of space its student clubs book for free for four hours nearly every Saturday night.

Five former club presidents and a former club advisor who worked at the university until last year said Faith Christian makes all the decisions for the three campus clubs: Wildcats for Christ, Providence Club and Native Nations in Christ.

The whole thing is a sham, said Ryan Tucker, 26, ex-president of Wildcats for Christ in 2019 who graduated the UA that year with a degree in English literature. He said he joined the church as a freshman and quit in 2021.

Church employees controlled every aspect of Wildcats for Christ, Tucker said, including hand-picking the clubs officers and creating election ballots with only one candidates name  the churchs pick  shown for each officer position.

Emails Tucker provided to the Star show he took orders as president from associate pastors Tyler Wachenfeld and Geoff Scara and church administrator Keith Jenkins. Each of them sent instructions to his Gmail address, not his UA email address.

Wachenfeld, Scara and Jenkins did not respond to requests for comment from the Star.

No women leaders

Tucker and other former members said the churchs picks for club presidents are always men in alignment with its teachings that single women are not fit for leadership roles.

In 30 years, I dont think there has ever been a woman president of any of the churchs clubs, said Amanda Cheromiah, an ex-church member and former UA employee who directed a program for Native American students.

Cheromiah, 38, holds three UA degrees including a PhD in higher education and higher education administration. While working for the UA she served as an employee advisor for Native Nations in Christ, one of the churchs other campus clubs.

She, too, recalled church staffers rigging the clubs officer elections to ensure their chosen candidates won.

Saturday night prayer meetings on campus were strictly church events, Cheromiah said. In the 14 years she attended, I never once saw a student member lead the meeting, she said.

Often, the only club member onsite during supposed club events was the president, whose only role was to introduce the pastor, the former presidents said.

Tucker said he complained to the dean of students office in August 2022. He never got a response.

Even if they said, We cant do anything because its a freedom of speech issue and its a public campus, I would be fine with that, he said. But the fact that Ive been continually ghosted by these people doesnt make any sense.

Scott said in a March 10 email that the deans office hadnt received any complaints about Faith Christians on-campus clubs since 2015.

When asked why Tuckers complaint wasnt mentioned, Scott said the Star should wait for the public-records office response to the Stars records request. Only complaints rooted in actionable violations of the student code of conduct are made into a record, she said.

Who the Star sought out for comment The Star sought comment from nine church officials for this story, but none responded to multiple email requests or follow-up phone calls. Those who did not respond include four pastors  church founder Stephen M. Hall; Ian A. Laks, Halls second-in-command; Halls son-in-law Tyler M. Wachenfeld, and Geoffrey L. Scara, an associate pastor. Hall is the churchs president, Wachenfeld its vice president and Laks its secretary, public records show. All three also are members of the churchs board of directors. Four Faith Christian elders on the board also did not respond: Dr. Merlin Channing Chan Lowe, Jr., who teaches pediatrics at the UA medical school and joined the board in 2017; former Amphitheater High School principal Jonathan J. Lansa, who joined the church board in 2010 and now works for Tucson Unified School District; Dr. Jeffrey S. Lambert, an internist who practices at Tucson Medical Center and joined the board in 2021; and Christian T. Williamson, a board member since 2005 who earned a PhD in hydrology at the UA in 1998 and held senior positions at a firm that designs and manufactures large-scale water treatment systems.

'Concerning' behavior

Tucker also didnt get a response when he sent his complaint about the student clubs to the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, or ASUA, in January 2022. Student clubs must be recognized by ASUA to operate on campus.

The issues in Tuckers complaint are concerning, said Carol Barnette, advisor over ASUA clubs since February 2022, in response to the Stars query about the complaint.

Barnette said she doesnt know if her predecessor took any action, but Barnette has initiated talks with the clubs to see if she can confirm Tuckers account with current members and advisors, she said.

The current faculty advisor of Wildcats for Christ is Dr. Merlin Channing Chan Lowe, Jr., who teaches pediatrics at the UA medical school.

Former Faith Christian campus ministers Jeff and Lisa Phillips worked on the UA campus for the Tucson church, then founded  planted in church parlance  two Faith Christian satellite churches on campuses in Florida and New Zealand between 1995 and 2008.

When each new church was set up, the first thing wed do is recruit five or six students to form a student club so we could get free space on campus, Lisa Phillips said.

A bowl, a towel, a bar of soap

Faith Christian leaders had a number of strategies for deflecting criticism and tamping down controversy on campus, Lisa Phillips said.

She recalled a tumultuous meeting of the UA religious council in the late 1990s to which Hall, the church founder, came prepared with a large bowl, a small towel and a fresh bar of bath soap still in its wrapper.

The meeting had been called by leaders of other UA campus ministries to confront Hall over student complaints about Faith Christians aggressive recruiting methods, Lisa Phillips said. The list of examples, from which council members read aloud, was a couple pages long, she said, though she couldnt remember specifics.

After being lambasted for more than an hour, Hall reached under his chair, pulled out his supplies, got down on one knee and asked the leader of the meeting if hed mind taking off his socks and shoes to let Hall wash his feet as a sign of humility.

The leader seemed astonished, then annoyed, Lisa Phillips recalled.

I remember it was a hard no. A definite no, she said.

Posters warn students about the church

UAs University Religious Council has been warning students about Faith Christians practices for years.

After the Stars initial 2015 investigation into the church, the council revoked Faith Christians membership and began publicizing a list of red flag warning signs of religious practices gone awry, said Randi Kisiel, former URC secretary and current council member.

The posters, displayed in all UA dorms, single-out Faith Christian and its affiliated student clubs with the warning: Membership revoked for integrity issues.

Faith Christian leaders are well-practiced at staying under the radar, she said. When bad publicity bubbles up, the church lays low until the attention fades, Kisiel said.

They know exactly what to say, exactly what not to do, she said.

Keeping Faith Christians damaging practices in the public eye is crucial to ensuring new UA students are aware of the risks, Kisiel said.

As a mother, I think they are dangerous, Kisiel said of Faith Christian. As secretary of the religious council, I was the one who got all of the calls from frantic parents saying, Somethings happened to our child, they wont return our calls. I wouldn't want my kids entangled with them.

Documented harm

Kathy Sullivan saw radical changes in her son Sean after he got involved with Faith Christian as a UA freshman in 2013.

After making a complaint with Washington White, the Dean of Students, Sullivan said she was told the First Amendment limits the UAs options for dealing with religious groups, Sullivan recounted.

Sullivan said shes now less sympathetic to that argument, after seeing her son get lost in the church for six years before he left.

A universitys first obligation is to its students and their welfare, she said. Having a group like this on campus that is known to have such a detrimental effect  its been documented  it makes me feel both sad and upset that they either cant, or they wont, do more.
The University of Arizona and community partners created a public archive with stories of undocumented migrants who were incarcerated in Arizona.

Detained: Voices from the Migrant Incarceration System project is a collaboration between the UA, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, which provides free legal and social services to individuals in immigration detention in Arizona, and Salvavision, a Tucson-based non-profit that provides aid and support to migrants.

The online archive, which went live in February, contains interviews with a dozen former detainees of the detention centers in Florence and Eloy, as well as art and memorabilia. One goal of the project is to allow formerly incarcerated migrants to tell their stories in their own words.

We all approach this knowing that none of us are the experts; the experts are the people who are telling their stories, says Susan Briante, UA English professor who worked on the project and has authored work around immigration. The focus is on making sure that theyre allowed to tell the stories how they want to tell them and that theyre telling the stories in a way that is safe for them.

The Florence Project helped establish guidelines for the project to ensure nothing in the archives would cause any harm to the participants. Everyone who took part in the interviewing also did a session on trauma-informed interviewing techniques.

Many of the interviewees names in the project are pseudonyms to protect their privacy, as some of their immigration cases are ongoing, and some still have concerns for their safety from experiences that caused them to migrate in the first place.

All the people interviewed spent time in immigration detention while waiting for immigration proceedings. Some of them were detained for years.

All of the people who we spoke to have experienced some really horrific traumas, said Greer Millard, spokesperson for the Florence Project. They have shared with us and trusted us with some of the worst things that they have experienced in their lives. And we wanted to make sure that this was a safe experience for them. And for many people, that meant taking measures to conceal their identities.

The oral histories in the archive span different immigration experiences, Millard said.

One woman interviewed was a Canadian national who had been living undocumented in the United States. While her experience was difficult, she had advantages because she is white and speaks English fluently, says David Taylor, photographer and professor of art who worked on the project.

Her experience in detention was, while difficult and in line with the difficulty that everyone in that circumstance experiences, still privileged, said Taylor, who has been focusing on the borderlands for decades and whose work inspired the project. She was able to navigate the system and, in fact, help other people navigate the system.

An Iranian immigrant, identified in the series as Afshin, who literally got profiled at every turn for being Iranian, Taylor said. He was fleeing persecution in Iran only to be profiled as a terrorist upon crossing the border.

Taylor said that Afshin ultimately prevailed in his asylum case because he could demonstrate that he was persecuted in Iran.

Some interviewees talk about being in detention during the height of COVID, and others recount the child separation policy that made headlines during the Trump administration.

As their detention experiences varied, so did participants experiences after detention. Some were deported, and others were able to begin the asylum process in the U.S.

Besides the interviews, another component of the project is Salvavision Director Dora Rodriguezs notebooks containing her correspondence with migrants in detention, many of whom she arranged bonds for or connected with sponsors.

Rodriguez has boxes and boxes of these notebooks, Taylor says, and he continues to make redactions of identifying information and put them into the archive.

As archives operate, this is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger, and so the notion is that this becomes a destination for understanding the breadth, the human impact of this phenomenon of incarcerating people who are seeking refuge, he said.

Detained was established with a nearly $60,000 Digital Borderlands Grant, part of a $750,000 grant the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded to the University of Arizona Libraries for projects that support the integration of library services into data-intensive, humanities-focused research on the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.

Other people who worked on the project include author and translator Francisco Cantu, School of Information graduate student Aems Emswiler, College of Law alumnus David Blanco, former UA associate professor and current Arizona State University faculty Anita Huizar Hernandez and staff from the Florence Project.

The team hopes to continue adding more peoples experiences to the archive.

The archive launched with an event at the Blacklidge Community Collective that included stations where people could listen to interviews and digital projections of the art and memorabilia.

Detained: Voices from the Migrant Incarceration System can be found at detained.digitalscholarship.library.arizona.edu.

Another archive launch event will be held in Phoenix on May 4, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the ASU Tempe Campus in the Design North Building, Room 60. More event details, including information about parking and possible virtual attendance, will be available on the Detained website closer to the event.

My goal in all of this is to ensure that peoples experiences do not disappear, Taylor said. These are people who dont get to write history. They dont usually have their say.
A simulated nuclear warhead on a ground-to-ground tactical ballistic missile is detonated over the target islet off the city of Kim Chaek, North Hamgyong Province, March 27, after being launched from Ryokpo District in Pyongyang, as a missile unit of North Korea conducted a demonstration firing drill with a nuclear air explosion striking mode by two ground-to-ground tactical ballistic missiles, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap



North Korea is not making "empty talk" about its nuclear capabilities, Pyongyang's state media said Sunday, adding that the United States and South Korea are engaging in "wrong behavior of bringing themselves to a grave danger."



In a commentary, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) strongly criticized the allies' ongoing joint military drills and their scheme to hold a massive live-fire exercise in June.



"The warmongers' desperate acts are going to the extremes," it said in the English-language commentary. It cited the 11-day Freedom Shield exercise held in March.



"Their war hysteria is running up to the climax along with the start of Ssangyong, a joint landing drill," it added.



The Ssangyong (double dragon) training began March 20, the allies' first major combined amphibious landing exercise in five years. It is set to end Monday.



The KCNA also took issue with the two sides' plan to stage their largest-ever "combined joint firepower annihilation drill" in June to mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance.



"This reminds the people and army of the DPRK of June 1950 when they had to be subject to war calamity, and further arousing their high vigilance," the KCNA said. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.



It stressed, "The U.S. and its followers should never forget the fact that their rival state has possessed the nuclear attack capability in practice as well as the characteristics of the people and army of the DPRK which do not make empty talk." (Yonhap)


The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

The late Sen. Walter Dee Huddleston was a popular Kentucky politician until his leaky attendance record was brought to light in 1984 by a rookie opponent named Mitch McConnell. McConnell is now serving his seventh term in our senior legislative body, in no small part due to his mastery of the election process. In order to beat Huddleston, he leashed up his dogs, rented a television crew and set out on a hunt to find the Senator. They checked out his office, his committee rooms, Senate Dining room, you name it, and they never got a sniff. McConnells ads pounded the senator unmercifully with mockery until he became the political joke of the year.

This years candidate for best political humor is the Republican budget. Where is it? Far-right MAGA-Republican House members call a press conference to announce that America is bankrupt and must make painful cuts in entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader, immediately calls his own media briefing and promptly rebuts every single cut his ridiculously parsimonious right wing has just endorsed. I find myself wondering if McCarthy would have fought so hard for the job of House Speaker had he known the lift would be this heavy.

The whack-a-do wing of the House GOP has come up with a unique economic theory which can be roughly summarized as: Dont pay your bills! In order to embarrass President Biden and paint him as a big spender as he faces a tough reelection, they are counseling colleagues to vote against the new debt limit which is rising like a boil on the congressional calendar. Approving the new debt limit is a functionally ceremonial duty of Congress, and the U.S. has never failed to do so. The U.S. defaulting on its fiscal obligations would have a shattering effect on the global economy and badly weaken Americas standing in crucial ways. That the Republican Congress would even consider playing chicken with this issue is a bald demonstration of how little they know, or apparently care, about governing.

The GOP seems also to be settling into two camps on foreign policy, a new chapter in an old intra-party conflict that last became intense in the aftermath of the Second World War: America First vs. Internationalism. Going into the 1950 Republican Convention, GOP conservatives candidate was their Senate Leader, Robert Taft of Ohio, who sang the praises of America First. After five years of war, he preached that America needed to focus its investments on the homefront, local products and local jobs. Tafts opponent in politics and policy became Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower who with his years in Europe had developed a sophisticated understanding of the continents importance to the U.S.s future. He worried that Stalin might be even worse than Hitler.

Eisenhower believed that Europe, including Germany, must be rebuilt and that strong alliances must be formed to keep the peace: the famous Marshall Plan, created by Gen. George Marshall. That policy combined Americas strong defense with economic internationalism, and it has prevented a World War for three-quarters of a century. Not even this success is sacred with the MAGA crowd. Amid a proxy war with Russia, as we spend perhaps 5% of our defense budget to destroy their land forces without reportedly losing a single American life, the GOPs Trump-addled non-interventionist wing whines about the non-existent strain on our military budget.

Contrast the GOPs squeamish, history-illiterate, half-measures with the robust and rational budget proposed recently by President Biden and the Democrats. Biden has proudly drafted a budget that could be a campaign brochure and immediately let its main features be known to the press and public: minimal cuts, entitlement protections, new taxes for those making over $400,000 a year, renewed efforts in space exploration, cancer research and almost a trillion new dollars for the military.

Besieged by the witless self-styled rebels in the far-right wing of his caucus, Speaker McCarthy has responded by saying nothing. As deadlines loom, and Republicans continue their fractious internal negotiations, there has been precious little transparency and no guarantees that the House members from Crazy Town are not steering our ship of state into an iceberg. Wouldnt you like to know what lurks in the GOPs missing budget? I sure would. Maybe its time to employ Mitch McConnells bloodhounds again.
Spring has become my favorite season since moving to Tucson. Spring is basically the summer of the Southwest, with its warm breezes and clear (not yet penetrating) sunshine. The wildflowers are in bloom; and new restaurants are taking root.

Here are the restaurants that have opened, or opened a new location, in Tucson recently.

Comida Park

Comida Park isnt a restaurant in and of itself; the food park became home to a spread of food trucks, both old and new. While you can find fan favorites like Banhdicted and Homemade Mediterranean at Comida Park, its also the proving grounds for new spots like Pupuseria Rositas and Ol Pot Hole.

Location: Tanque Verde Swap Meet, 4100 S. Palo Verde Road

For more information, check out their website or read our story.

Dandelion Cafe

El Presidio Museum just got a new cafe, courtesy of the family behind LaCo, Noodies and Ceres. The counter offers pastries baked that morning, espresso drinks, hot breakfast burritos and cold sandwiches to-go. Theres no kitchen on-site, so items can sell out by the end of the day.

Location: Presidio San Agustin del Tucson Museum, 200 N. Court Ave.

For more information, check out their Instagram.

El Antojo Poblano

The beloved west-side food truck has finally expanded into a brick-and-mortar. El Antojo Poblano specializes in Pueblo-style Mexican food, such as the cemita sandwich and the corn dumpling dish molotes ceibenos.

Location: 1108 W. St. Marys Road

For more information, check out their website.

Fatboy Sandos

The popular food truck, specializing in aesthetic Japanese-style sandwiches, now has a brick-and-mortar venue inside of American Eat Co.

Location: American Eat Company, 1439 S. Fourth Ave.

For more information, check out their Instagram or read our story.

Kava Den

Kava is a drug from the South Pacific that induces similar feelings as alcohol: muscle relaxation, sensations of well-being. (Learn more about it here.) Kava Den is the second, downtown location of the Kava Bar on Speedway,

Location: 67 E. Pennington St.

For more information, check out their website.

Mr. Patron

While there are lots of Mexican sushi food trucks in Tucson, Mr. Patron is the first sit-down restaurant slinging the deep-fried rolls. It even has a patio.

Location: 5754 E. 22nd St.

For more information, check out their Instagram.

Newton Pho

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This Vietnamese restaurant is bringing a comprehensive menu to Marana. The interior is decorated to an Isaac Newton theme.

Location: 5730 W. Cortaro Farms Road

For more information, check out their website.

The Pasta Shop

The concept is similar to midtown's Noodies: choose your shape of pasta and match with a selection of their in-house sauces.

Location: 3951 W. Ina Road

For more information, check out their website.

Revive Fresh Bowls and Creamery

This restaurant is centered on the bowl: health-conscious, you can find both savory bowls made with salads and grains, and sweet bowls made with acai, pitaya, mango, coconut or passionfruit sorbet bases. They also make ice cream in-house!

Location: 6890 E. Sunrise Dr.

For more information, check out their website.

Turkish Grill House

Turkish food is hard to find in Tucson. There used to be only a few pop-up vendors and one sit-down restaurant. Now we have two! The Turkish Grill House is based out of Old Times Kafe, offering a menu of borek, Turkish-style salads (the base is cucumbers and tomatoes instead of leafy greens) and a central selection of meat entrees.

Location: Old Times Kafe, 1485 W. Prince Road

For more information, check out their website.

Zyka Twist

Indian Twist now has a location on Fourth Avenue. Find all your favorites on this curated menu, including their kormas.

Location: 621 N. Fourth Ave.

For more information, check out their Facebook or read our story.

Coming soon:

Our Eat + Drink coverage is supported by:

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What does "supported by" mean? Click here to learn more.
PHOENIX  Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane wants to intervene in the state Supreme Court battle over abortion laws because he wants to start enforcing a territorial-era law that outlaws virtually all abortions.

In pleadings to the high court, attorneys for McGrane said he disagrees with the decision by the state Court of Appeals that a 2022 law permitting doctors to perform the procedure through the 15th week of pregnancy trumps the older statute.

But his ability to prosecute doctors for violating the old law depends on whether the states high court sees things his way. And he fears that is in danger because no government attorney is making that argument now that newly elected Attorney General Kris Mayes has decided that position, taken by her predecessor Mark Brnovich, is legally indefensible.

In fact, his pleadings note, the only government lawyer involved in the case is Pima County Attorney Laura Conover.

She is there because Pima County was involved when the case first went to court in 1971. And, like Mayes, she, too, has decided that the Court of Appeals is correct and the old law which outlaws abortion except to save the life of the mother is no longer enforceable.

That old law is not going undefended. The court has allowed Dr. Eric Hazelrigg, medical director of Crisis Pregnancy Center, to intervene.

But Jacob Warner with Alliance Defending Freedom  the same legal team representing Hazelrigg  told the justices that Hazelrigg was appointed to represent the interests of unborn children.

What McGrane wants, Warner said, is to represent the interests of all people in his jurisdiction. And what that means, he said, is to fully enforce the territorial-era law.

This interest sits in grave jeopardy now, Warner told the justices.

Hanging in the balance is whether abortions will remain legal in Arizona.

Planned Parenthood unsuccessfully challenged the territorial-era law in 1971. But that ruling was rescinded after the historic 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade which said women have a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy at least until the point of fetal viability, considered somewhere between 22 and 24 weeks.

Based on that, Arizona judges enjoined the state from enforcing that law.

Last year, however, the nations high court overruled Roe, returning the issue of abortion to the states.

That brought back the original lawsuit. And a trial judge dissolved the injunction and again made most abortions illegal, noting that legislators had never repealed the territorial-era law.

Only thing is, state lawmakers, anticipating the U.S. Supreme Court would only rule that abortions are illegal after 15 weeks, had previously enacted a similar law here. And the state Court of Appeals said there was a way to harmonize the two laws, with the new one applying to doctors and the old one to everyone else.

That, for the moment, means abortions by doctors remain legal through 15 weeks.

What it also did is send the case to the state Supreme Court.

Warner told the justices that McGrane is entitled to argue that the appellate court ruling was wrong and he should be entitled to prosecute doctors  or anyone  who violates the territorial-era law.

No state official will defend the law, Warner said, referring to the decision by Mayes not to appeal that appellate court ruling.

The county attorney risks being bound by a judgment enjoining a valid state law just because the attorney general chooses not to defend it, Warner said. Thats not just.

Those arguments drew derision from Conovers office.

The Yavapai County Attorney asserts a purported interest grounded in his belief that he has a right to enforce the law as he would like it to be as opposed to a duty to enforce the law as passed by the Legislature and as interpreted by the courts, wrote Samuel Brown, Pimas chief civil deputy county attorney. But he provides no support for his repeated assertion that such a right exists.

He also said that the attorney general and Pima county attorney, by virtue of being named as defendants in the original 1971 litigation, all have an interest in ensuring that the law is clear, unambiguous, and applied fairly. Brown said the election of a new attorney general does not change that.

Andy Gaona, representing Planned Parenthood, agreed.

He said that, legally speaking, McGranes interest in the outcome of the case has nothing to do with his personal feelings about whether the territorial law is the one that should be enforced. Instead, Gaona said, McGrane has the same interest as any other county attorney.

They need to be clear as to what constitutes criminal action under Arizonas laws ... and is therefore subject to prosecution, he said.

If County Attorney McGrane contends that his interest diverges from County Attorney Conovers and AG Mayes, it is only because he confuses his his purported desire to fully enforce this particular law according to his interpretation of it with his statutory obligation to know what constitutes criminal action and enforce the law accordingly, Gaona said. His enthusiasm for enforcing as written is not a legitimate interest.

And theres something else.

Gaona pointed out that Hazelrigg, through his own petition to the Supreme Court, is arguing the justices should clarify that the old law forbids all people, including doctors, from performing abortions except to save the mothers life, and that the 2022 law does not override that. And McGrane is not only represented by the same attorneys at Hazelrigg but even said he wont file any additional arguments.

Simply adding more voices arguing essentially the same position isnt enough to warrant intervention, Gaona said.

The justices are not set to take up the issue until at least May.
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.

Im inviting you to join Speaker Kevin McCarthy and me in Las Cruces as we launch a new campaign to restore our values and flip this district, Herrell wrote on her campaign Facebook page this week.

Paul Smith, a spokesperson for Herrell, confirmed to the newspaper a campaign announcement will take place but offered no other details.

The Republican from Alamogordo, who represented the 2nd Congressional District since 2021, lost re-election last year to Democrat Gabe Vasquez by 1,350 votes.

She filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission just two weeks after the loss. The filing would permit her to raise funds in the 2024 election cycle.

A representative for Vasquez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the newspaper.

The 2nd Congressional District includes the states eastern border with Texas to its western border with Arizona and from southern Albuquerque down to communities along the U.S.-Mexican border.
PHOENIX (AP)  A man from Mexico has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for the importation of methamphetamine into Arizona, according to authorities.

Officials with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Arizona said Friday that Sergio Caballero of Nogales, Sonora received a 63-month prison term after pleading guilty to the drug charge.

They said Caballero entered Arizona from the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales on Sept. 1, 2021.

During an inspection of the vehicle Caballero was driving, Customs and Border Protection officials said officers noticed irregularities with the gas tank.

They reported finding 90 packages in the gas tank that contained more than 43 kilograms of methamphetamine and Caballero was arrested.
Tulsa filmmaker John Swabs new release is One Day as a Lion, and it begins one day at a restaurant in Vinita.

Jackie Powers (Scott Caan) has good intentions  he wants to rescue his son from incarceration  but that goal puts him in a predicament where he is tasked with being a hitman.

Powers parks his vehicle outside Clantons Cafe in Vinita to await his prey, Walter Boggs (J.K. Simmons). The amateur assassin fouls up the assignment and takes a waitress (Marianne Rendon) hostage. Powers learns the waitress has problems of her own, including a dying mother (Virginia Madsen).

Thanks to the botched hit, Powers becomes a target, but he remains focused on trying to find a way to lawyer up and help his son.

One Day as a Lion, shot in communities across northeastern Oklahoma, will be available in select theaters Tuesday, April 4. Among them: Circle Cinema, where Swab will be joined by producer Jeremy Rosen for questions following a 7 p.m. opening night screening. The film will be available on demand and digitally beginning Friday, April 7.

According to promotional material for the film, the crime comedy is a witty homage to Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers. Swab took part in a Q&A session with the Tulsa World in advance of the release.

This is the first film youve directed that you didnt write. Scott Caan wrote the screenplay. That had to be a different experience for you.

It was a little bit of a departure for me, but, overall, enjoyable, and Im proud of the end result.

How did this come about with Scott Caan?

Scotts agent is a friend of Jeremys. They go back a bit. He reached out to Jeremy with the script I think in hopes that Jeremy would want to produce it. I was not involved at that point. I dont think I had been brought up at all. Jeremy read the script. He liked it. He met with Scott. They got along. And somewhere in their discussion about making this potentially together, I came up. Scott then watched Ida Red, which he enjoyed, and from there I was brought in and read the script and got to do it with Scott and decided lets give this thing a go.

Obviously the script appealed to you or you wouldnt have done it.

The script has a lot of influences and themes and things that I grew up liking in movies myself, so it seemed like a natural fit.

One Day As A Lion has a little different tone than your previous films. You still hit some of your sweet spots, but its more comedic.

It is definitely more broad comedy. Its lighter fare. It was different in that respect, and Scott is known for being a good comedic actor. It was all good.

This is not your first time to work with people to have gained an Academy Award nomination or won an Oscar. You worked with Melissa Leo twice previously. Virginia Madsen was nominated for an Academy Award for Sideways. J.K. Simmons won an Oscar for Whiplash. How was your experience working with Virginia Madsen and J.K. Simmons?

It was great. They are both supremely talented actors. Any time you get to work with somebody who has that kind of prestige, its a learning experience and its special. Im very grateful they came down and gave us their time.

John Ford, the legendary director, had a stock company of actors he used repeatedly in his films. Youve sort of got a John Swab stock company. Frank Grillo, George Carroll, Billy Blair, Dash Melrose, Bruce Davis, Brett Swab, Bruce Roach and Danny OConnor are in this film, and they appeared in some of your past films.

These movies are hard enough to make. It makes it even harder when you have to do it with people you are not necessarily friendly with or dont get along with, so any opportunity we have to weave in some of our familiar faces and friends, we take the opportunity to do so because it just makes it more special for us and for them. We love the familial vibe that it brings to projects.

I think boxer Allan Green may be making his acting debut in this film. How did you wind up with Allan in the film?

Allan Ghost Dog Green. Local legend. I work out at the gym Allan is at every day and got to know him there. Also, Terrance Reed, who is an amateur Golden Gloves fighter, he also has a role in the movie. Terrance and Allan are both good friends of mine. They are super talented fighters, and they both did a great job in the movie. Terrance is the guy who kind of kicks Dash off the phone in the prison, and Allan obviously has the big monologue in the beginning where he is walking back and forth talking crap to the kids. I am super proud of both of those dudes. I look forward to the opportunity of weaving them into future projects.

I spotted an Easter egg. When Danny OConnors corrections officer character gives a candy bar to Dash, the name on the candy bar package is Candy Land, which was the title of one of your films.

Theres also another one where, at the end, J.K. is watching Candy Land on the TV. (Easter eggs) are all over the place. Jeremy and, its not really for anybody but ourselves and anybody else who catches that kind of stuff.

Tulsa, Stigler, Barnsdall, Sand Springs, Vinita and Bristow were shooting locations. You needed some rural locales?

Thats right. The new Oklahoma Film Incentive (program), there are uplifts to going outside the bigger city areas and into what are called rural county uplifts. The script called for it as well, but it was great to explore different parts of the state  Stigler in particular and the Haskell County Jail. Sheriff Turner down there was a real gentleman. I dont know if you have had a chance to talk to that guy, but he is a real character. We are proud of incorporating all those elements into this.

The film is dedicated to the memory of Magic Mark Ward, who some Tulsans will know, and James Caan, Scotts father, who passed away last year.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Scotts father, but he obviously had an enormous impact on Hollywood and anybody who knows and loves movies. And then Magic Mark is a legend here in town. Its so fitting for Mark. For him to have an in memory of card shared with James Caan, I dont think he would believe that was the case. But we loved Mark. He was a mascot for us  kind of like our spirit animal, I guess, on these movies. He is dearly missed. Its so sad that happened, and also that James Caan passed away as well.

How do you feel about the film?

People like it. People really enjoy this movie. I dont take that for granted because I have had movies that people dont like. I happen to love them all. I have a sweet spot and a love for every one of them for different reasons, but when people in the numbers they do like something like they do this, (including) Lionsgate, specifically, which is putting it in 51 screens, 51 theaters. Thats a big commitment to something. Its very flattering. I dont take it for granted. Its a dream come true to work for a company like that. Its validating. You are doing something right, I guess, if that is happening.

Im sure there is a compliment in here for you when I bring this up, but when I see actors in your films I am not very familiar with, it makes me want to see more of them.

The thing I like about the script is the characters are so rich. When its like that, its fun casting and its fun creating an ensemble because you want everybody you meet along this journey to be as equally vibrant and exciting and, in a way, be able to take over the movie on their own. Scott wrote some good characters, and we put together a great cast. I take that as a compliment because if you want more, then you liked what you saw.

Counting Candy Land and Little Dixie, this is your third film to come out since January. Youre either really efficient or the schedule just happened to line up where they all were released near each other.

I would say its somewhere between the two. Jeremy and I didnt plan on the releases. Thats out of our control. Thats more of a happenstance thing. That was not our doing. But at the rate and clip which we are making films, we are both super-driven guys who are aligned in the fact that we want to make things that we want to see, and we also want to keep getting better at it and keep getting bigger opportunities.

We only have so much time on this Earth. There is no end goal for me, but I want to keep growing and getting better at making movies, and I know he does, too. As long as we are working together on these things, we are going to continue to try to improve and get bigger opportunities as they come. We have built an efficient machine, and Tulsa is a big part of that.

Im sure youre working on more right now?

We are gearing up to shoot something here in June, and we are super excited about that.

Anything you want to say that you werent asked about?

I think I said it all. Im happy people are liking it. Its a movie that is meant to be enjoyed, so the fact that people are enjoying it is all I could have asked for.
The eighth season of Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People will debut on the website osiyo.tv, followed by its broadcast premiere on area public TV networks Sunday, April 9.

The Emmy Award-winning series, hosted by executive producer Jennifer Loren, will feature stories that will take viewers from opera houses in London to the battlefields of the Vietnam War, and profile Cherokee Nation citizens ranging from rodeo queens to Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

The Cherokee Nations story is important, complex and, above all, inspiring to us and others, said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. Its an honor to see our tribes story of strength, survival and resilience, as well as our language and vibrant culture, being preserved and shared with people around the world through this impactful series.

OsiyoTV is available statewide on PBS in Oklahoma and Arkansas, regionally within Tulsa on RSU-TV, in Joplin on NBC and ABC, as well as on FNX, an all-Native programming network in 25 national markets. The series, which ranks among the most awarded Indigenous-run series in the industry, is funded and produced by Cherokee Nation Businesses.

For more information: osiyo.tv.
An appellate opinion handed down in a Tulsa County case has shaken trust in the justice system for the parents of a deceased teen motorcyclist but leaves the Sheriffs Office with hope for a second chance.

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals last week reversed and remanded a 2021 decision in Tyner v. Regalado, as well as the Tulsa County jurys judgment in excess of $1.6 million.

The jury recommended that the sum be awarded in damages to the family of Cobie Tyner, who was 18 when he was killed in a May 2017 head-on motorcycle crash near Chandler Park.

Tulsa County Sheriffs Deputy Andrew Titsworth made a U-turn on Avery Drive to pursue a motorcyclist who had, according to his radar, been going east at more than twice the legal speed limit of 50 mph.

Tyner, who was following that motorcyclist in excess of 50 mph, swerved to avoid the deputys car, which his family argued caused him to cross into oncoming traffic and crash into a Ford Fusion. He died at the scene.

In the lawsuit, the Tyner family alleged that Titsworth failed to look for oncoming traffic and made the U-turn in an area with a curve that makes it difficult to see other vehicles, giving Tyner inadequate time to avoid the collision.

Jurors found that negligence by Titsworth made for a 60% contribution to the crash, and the $1.65 million award was reduced to account for Tyners contributory negligence of 40%. It was later capped at $175,000 pursuant to the states governmental tort limits.

The Tulsa County Sheriffs Office appealed the jurys finding, and the appeals court found that District Judge Kelly Greenough, who presided over the trial, made the wrong decision when she reversed an earlier granting of partial summary judgment from former District Judge Jefferson Sellers, who retired before the trial.

Sellers had agreed with the Sheriffs Office that for trial, by law, the standard of care to be applied was reckless disregard for the safety of others, but Greenough did not instruct jurors in line with that ruling, saying testimony was markedly different by trial time.

The Tulsa County Sheriffs Office looks forward to re-presenting the facts of this tragic case to a Tulsa County jury, with the jury being instructed on the proper standard of review, TCSO General Council Tim Harris said. We respect the Appeals Court decision to remand the case for a new jury trial. We seek only truth and justice.

Smolen & Roytman, the law firm representing Tyners estate through his parents, Derek and Mona Tyner, said they are extremely disappointed with the appeals courts opinion and are considering all avenues of recourse, including asking the the Oklahoma Supreme Court to hear the case.

We believe the unpublished Opinion is erroneous and lacks sound reasoning, the firm said in a statement. The Court has unjustly reversed the Tyners hard-fought verdict and judgment.

The jurys verdict provided the Tyners with some sense of justice and vindication for the tragic and preventable death of their beloved son, Cobie. The Court of Civil Appeals opinion has reopened their wounds and shaken their trust in our system of justice. But they will not be deterred.

Make no mistake. We will not stop fighting for the Tyner family  and Cobies memory  until final justice is achieved.

The opinion had hinged on whether under law Titsworth was considered to be in pursuit when he pulled out after the first motorcyclist that sped by as part of the group with which Tyner was riding.

Oklahoma drivers are not to execute a U-turn unless and until it can be made safely without interfering with other traffic and not near a curve or the crest of a hill where their vehicle cant be seen within 500 feet from either direction.

A law enforcement officer in pursuit is exempted from such restrictions but still required to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons and may still be held liable for the consequences of reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Titsworths testimony elicited some confusion about whether the definition of pursuit was being derived from state statute or Sheriffs Office policy.

Titsworth testified that, despite activating his emergency lights and pulling out after the first motorcycle in an attempt to stop it, he did not view himself to be in pursuit that day, ultimately explaining that he did not have a chance to decide whether the end result would be a traffic stop or if the driver of the first motorcycle would elude him.

Given Titsworths testimony, Greenough decided that pursuit was a fact question for the jury to determine, but the appeals court ruled that Titsworths opinion was irrelevant because he was operating within the exemptions of what state law clearly defines as pursuit.
Authorities have issued a missing person alert for a 19-year-old last seen in Tulsa, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Police are searching for Jordan Serkland, who was last seen Tuesday in downtown Tulsa. Serkland is described as 5' 8" and 175 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday said a company had applied for a nearly $700 million economic development package lawmakers put together earlier this year.

The state is attempting to lure a major manufacturing plant to the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor.

During a press availability event, Stitt was asked if Panasonic was coming to Oklahoma.

We are not using company names, but Project Ocean, there was a company that applied for the LEAD Act, Stitt said. We are still in talks with them.

The deadline to apply for incentives in the Large-scale Economic Activity and Development Act, dubbed LEAD, is April 15.

The funds would be returned to the states general revenue fund if a business doesnt make a commitment by April 15.

Officials have used the code name Project Ocean for Panasonic, which earlier chose to build its $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto, Kansas.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen, which also was considering Oklahoma, chose to build its battery plant in Canada.

The governor said a company is looking at the site and development costs.

The great news is Oklahoma is the right spot to be, Stitt said. People are recognizing that. We are really close to making another couple of good announcements.

The company would have to create 3,500 jobs within four years among other things to be eligible for the LEAD Act incentives.
Police investigate a site near Daecheong Dam on the outskirts of Daejeon, Friday, where a woman's body was dumped the previous day. Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



A local court will decide on Monday on whether to issue arrest warrants for three men who allegedly kidnapped and murdered a woman in her 40s, according to police and the prosecution, Sunday.



The Seoul Central District Court will review the prosecution's request to issue the warrants for the three men in their 30s at 11 a.m. Monday on charges of murder and abandonment of a body.



The three men were suspected of forcing the woman into a vehicle in front of an apartment complex in Yeoksam-dong in Seoul's Gangnam District at 11:46 p.m. on Wednesday.



According to police, the suspects confessed to murdering her the following day in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, and dumping her body on a mountain near Daecheong Dam on the outskirts of Daejeon.



As a surveillance camera caught the abduction, police pursued the suspects and caught two of them on Friday in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Another man was caught in southern Seoul's Nonhyeon-dong on the same day.



Police located the victim's body on Friday evening after questioning the suspects.



The initial autopsy results indicated that the victim may have died from suffocation, as no particular external injuries were found, police said, adding that a final decision will be made after the results of further toxicology tests come out.



Investigators at the Seoul Suseo Police Station tentatively concluded that the trio had committed the crime to steal the victim's property.



"One of the suspects testified that they had committed the crime to steal cryptocurrency owned by the victim," a police officer of the police station told a media briefing, Saturday.



"We are checking the scale of cryptocurrency owned by the victim and whether the suspects had actually stolen it."



The officer noted that police will further investigate the exact motives of the crime after the court grants the arrest warrants.



According to police, the three had planned out the crime meticulously beforehand, as they testified they had been preparing for two to three months by, for example, tailing the victim and purchasing tools.



Police are not ruling out the possibility of murder by contract, considering that two of the three suspects were not personally acquainted with the victim.



"We are investigating the possibility of murder by contract as well," the officer said. "As we are well aware of the seriousness of the case, we will be supported professional investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to enhance our investigation team."




56 years ago today was the dedication of Tulsa's Oral Roberts University.

Evangelist Billy Graham, speaking at the dedication, told his audience of 20,000 that "America was founded on a religious concept and the early American colleges were founded by churches and religious individuals."

American religious institutions have gotten clear away from the concepts of their founders, Graham said. I dont believe the fathers of this country ever meant to write into the Constitution total separation from God.

Graham paid tribute to ORU founder Oral Roberts "for giving Tulsa and America a university and an institution for tomorrow."

Take a look back at ORU through the years here:
A local dentist mailed an angry letter to Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1967, when federal officials were about to have the final say on whether Tulsa would receive funding to renovate the old Moton Memorial Hospital.

If federal officials ever responded, theres no record of it. But a copy of the dentists letter wound up in the hands of Dr. Cecil Jacobs, the director of the Tulsa City-County Health Department at the time, who read it out loud at the next meeting of the health board.

Jacobs seemed as angry as the letter itself, according to the archives of the Tulsa World. It accused the health board, and by extension Jacobs himself, of making plans for the future of the Moton facility without consulting the residents of north Tulsa, who would be most affected by the changes.

We do not feel that the clinic can possibly succeed in its attempt to improve the health and welfare of our people, the letter said, without utilizing the resources of the community.

Moton was built in1931-32 to serve Tulsas Black population. But desegregation made the hospital unnecessary and it was set to close in July 1967, leaving health officials debating what to do with the building.

The dentist was not the first to criticize the decision-making process, with several north Tulsa leaders wanting to have more input. And a significant contingent hoped to keep Moton open as a hospital.

The controversy simmered for months, according to the Worlds coverage, and the pot boiled over when the angry letter appeared.

Jacobs reminded the health board that the recommendation to turn Moton into a health clinic had come from the North Tulsa Advisory Health Committee. And he threatened to kill the project if no public outpouring of support is shown within two weeks.

In response, the clinic proposal received public endorsements from 20 north Tulsa churches and a petition collected more than 1,000 signatures in support of it.

The $1.5 million project included an expansion that more than doubled the buildings size and consolidated health services that had previously been spread across four different locations.

Originally just named Municipal Hospital, the facility became Moton Memorial in 1941 to honor Robert Russa Moton, who had served as president of Tuskegee Institute from 1890-1915.

The name changed again in 1983 to become Morton Comprehensive Health Service in honor of Dr. W.A. Morton, a local physician who had worked at Moton Memorial. But the force of habit made a lot of Tulsans forget the R and continue calling it Moton.

The original building has remained vacant since 2006, when Morton moved into a new 60,000-square-foot facility funded by the Vision 2025 tax package.

Now the old Moton name is coming back with a $2.5 million plan to convert the old hospital into a Greenwood Entrepreneurship Incubator that will be known as @Moton.

The Tulsa Development Authority recently approved a schematic design that would also restore the historic buildings original appearance, razing a Brutalist expansion from the early 70s to bring back a neo-Georgian front elevation.

@Moton could open as soon as next spring, officials said.
Energized: Oklahomas House delegation was, not unexpectedly, effusive in its support of H.R. 1, the Republican majoritys sprawling energy bill the Senate is unlikely to consider.

Called the Lower Energy Costs Act, it is primarily an oil and gas industry wish list that includes a severe pruning of the permitting process, relicensing of the Keystone XL pipeline, forcing more oil and gas leases on federal land, reducing offshore drilling fees and limiting the chief executives control of cross-border pipeline projects.

Proponents say it will lower consumer costs, but critics say they doubt it will, especially in the long run, and claim its mainly a sweetheart deal for fossil fuels.

House Republicans know the Democrat-led Senate wont hear H.R. 1 but are hoping to score messaging points and gain leverage in negotiations that will lead to viable legislation.

We gave this bill number one because it is our top priority  its also just the first step, said 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern, whose successful amendment registered disapproval of proposed administration tax increases for oil and gas companies. We will continue to push policies that empower domestic energy producers.

Second District Congressman Josh Brecheen said the bill will increase our domestic energy production, reverse President Bidens woke climate policies, and lower costs for American families.

The Biden administration has logjammed American energy projects in government regulatory purgatory and enacted policies that have led to the dependence of energy from foreign adversaries  all leading to higher prices for Americas families and communities, said 3rd District Congressman Frank Lucas.

Fifth District Congresswoman Stephanie Bice was responsible for some of the bills language dealing with Bureau of Land Management leasing.

Endangered: Senate Republicans put a Biden administration rule dealing with endangered species on their own endangered list.

Oklahomas U.S. Sen. James Lankford and Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming filed a Congressional Review Act resolution to narrow the definition of habitat to one adopted during the final year of the Trump administration.

The Critical Habitat rule gives the Biden Administration free rein to interpret any geographic area across the country  not just the one a listed species currently occupies  as a critical habitat in need of federal protection, said Lankford in a joint press release. This  potentially impacts landowners, a variety of industries crucial to Oklahoma, jobs, and existing wildlife recovery efforts nationwide.

Enraged: U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin and and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bernie Sanders got into it during a hearing on union-busting by Starbucks.

Mullin used his time to defend Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, whose company recently was found guilty of egregious and widespread misconduct in trying to prevent unionization of employees in Buffalo, New York, and to attack Sanders as a hypocrite.

I take offense to the chairman pointing out that all CEOs are corrupt because theyre millionaires  (when Sanders and his) wife have a wealth of over $8 million, Mullin, who according to Senate documents is worth as much as $75 million, told Sanders.

Youve made more misstatements in a shorter period of time than I have ever heard, said an agitated Sanders. If Im worth $8 million, thats good news to me. Im not aware of it. Thats a lie.

Sanders also denied calling all millionaires corrupt and said the purpose of the hearing was illegal labor practices, not anyones wealth.

Forbes estimated Sanders net worth at $2.5 million four years ago, mostly from book sales. Since then hes published the bestseller Its Okay to be Angry About Capitalism. His most recent Senate financial report, filed almost a year ago, lists assets of up to $1.4 million but does not include homes or other property or publishing royalties.

Since joining the HELP Committee in January, Mullin has established himself as a critic of labor unions and defender of management and what Republicans like to call job creators.

Engaged: Hern, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, downplayed the possibility of the federal governments defaulting on payments because Congress will not raise the debt limit.

Were going to pay our debts, Hern told The Hill. I think its obvious that when you are the currency of the world, you cannot not pay your debt holders. That would be a prescription for disaster.

Dots and dashes: Mullin and Lankford voted against repeal of authorizations of use of military force adopted in 1990 and 2003.  Lankford was also involved in a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the administrations student loan forgiveness plan.  Brecheen complained that too many able bodied Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program (food stamps) recipients do not work.  Lankford was among Republican senators moving to restore full expensing of business equipment, a provision that was included in the 2017 tax bill but is due to sunset.  Mullin backed efforts to create an exemption to the federal tort claim caps for military personnel victimized by medical malpractice.  Offshore bookmaker Betonline is giving 7-1 odds that former President Donald Trump moves to Russia before 2025.

 Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World
If you have looked at recent rainfall maps, there is one trend that is hard to miss  the stark difference in accumulations between the western half of the state and the eastern half.

This led to a question from a reader:

The 90-day rainfall amounts are so different from the western half to the eastern half of the state. Is there a reason why our weather patterns continue to bring showers to the same area?

 Chris, Tulsa

The 90-day rainfall accumulation map from the Oklahoma Mesonet site shows this data very clearly.

There seems to be a distinct line differentiating the rainfall amounts. It starts in northern Washington County and moves through Osage, Pawnee, Payne, Lincoln, Oklahoma, Grady and Comanche counties. On one side of the line, accumulations over the past three months average under an inch as you reach the far fringes of the panhandle, to (at most) around 3.5 inches as you near the dividing line, with around 1.5 inches in between.

However, eastern Oklahoma has some totals over 2 feet as you head toward McCurtain County, with closer to 13 inches near Bixby.

When it comes to official totals recorded to Tulsa at the airport site, we have seen 7.97 inches since the start of 2023, which puts us at about our normal value for this time of year at 6.23 inches.

And for March we closed out at almost 3.5 inches, which is above the normal value of around 3 inches for the month.

These rainfall totals are reflected in this weeks past drought monitor, as well, with drought conditions lifted in the areas where rain has been abundant. However, in the north-central and western areas of Oklahoma, we still sit at exceptional drought level on the drought intensity monitor.

So why do we keep seeing rain in the same areas? It has to do with the weather pattern.

There has been a persistent large-scale upper-level weather pattern with a trough in the west and a ridge in the east, said Nicole McGavock, meteorologist with the Tulsa National Weather Service. This means that eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas through the Mississippi and Ohio valleys have been in the primary storm track between the trough and ridge over the last few months.

McGavock says this results in a large difference in rainfall from the northwest to the southeast across the state of Oklahoma.

The start of our upcoming work week looks dry, but more rain is forecasted for Tulsa by the end of the week, adding to our already higher-than-average precipitation totals for the year.

Video: April 2 forecast with Kirsten Lang
The giant skeletons of burnt and dismantled gold dredgers litter the rivers of northwest Colombia, where the government is waging a full-out war on illegal mining. Nicknamed "dragons" by locals, the massive machines used to suck gold from riverbeds are blamed for destroying the environment and financing organized crime. But their dismantling in a massive army operation has been met with hostility by communities who depend on mining for their daily survival. Around El Bagre in the gold-rich Bajo Cauca region, a protest by miners that started early this month has been marked by acts of vandalism the government blamed on the Gulf Clan drug cartel for instigating. But Luis Manuel Campo, 32, one of the miners, insisted to AFP that "we have nothing to do with criminal groups." Campo co-owns a dredger with three other people. "We are not hiding. We just want the persecution to stop," he said. "We want to be formally recognized as miners so that we can work in peace, without stigma." New gold rush The names of the villages in this region such as Zaragoza and Caceres serve as a reminder of the Spanish colonizers who were already extracting gold in Bajo Cauca in the 17th century. It became a bastion of rightwing paramilitary fighters in the 1990s, and is now a stronghold of the Gulf Clan, Colombia's most powerful cartel. President Gustavo Petro this month called off a ceasefire with the Clan, accusing it of being behind attacks on civilians committed by protesting miners. Criminal groups in Colombia make almost as much money from illegal mining as they do from trafficking cocaine, authorities say. With a recent rise in gold prices, Bajo Cauca has been gripped by a new type of gold rush, with poor communities scouring the gravelly river beds with shovels, bulldozers and dredging machines. "Apart from gold, there is nothing here," said Campo. Locals say about 350 dredging machines are active in the region -- big and small -- on top of those operated legally by the Mineros Aluvial multinational. 'Profitable' The illegal dredgers range from simple machines with makeshift conveyer belts to larger mechanical contraptions that require several divers to guide a massive vacuum pipe under the dark water. Then there are the "dragons" -- three-storey, 20-meter (66-foot) long boats with massive engines. There are about two dozen of these in the Bajo Cauca region. One "dragon" costs about half a million dollars, their owners tell AFP. "At the current (gold) price, it is profitable," said Alex Cossio, 41, who runs one of these monsters. One "dragon" can extract up to two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of gold per day -- worth more than $50,000, according to a police official who did not want to be named. AFP visited a number of these beasts, including one named "Native" that has been operational for only two months in a branch of the Nechi river. "The (army) helicopters fly over us every day, we are afraid," said Cossio, who insisted there was no link to organized crime. "Diesel, food, logistics... We buy everything in the neighborhood, a large number of families live from our activity," he added. AFP observed at least six "dragons" lying mutilated and burnt by the riverside, some already being repaired by their owners. There is no official data on how many dredgers have been destroyed. "We tried to stop them, it was terrible," said Julia Tatis, who owns a small eatery, of a raid this month on three of the machines in Nueva Esperanza, a poor hamlet on the water's edge. "The military just arrived saying we are the Gulf Clan. And they burned everything," added dredge owner Juan Manuel Carcamo. Damage 'already done' Campo insists the dredges are working river beds "that were already exploited by Mineros 40 years ago... The damage has already been done." Lawyer Francisco Arrieta Franco is an advocate for the miners who he describes as victims. "It is false to say the dredges belong to the Clan," he told AFP. "It's complicated and expensive to operate a dredger. Criminals are more interested in extortion, which is everywhere in this region." Locals say the miners are subject to Gulf extortion rather than perpetrators of it. In a gold shop in El Bagre, an employee warned of trouble if the government continues to "harass" the miners. "We need these dredgers to work and to eat," shouted the employee, who did not want to be named. "They serve the whole community!" Added a miner, also on condition of anonymity: "It is when you have an empty stomach that you are forced to do illegal things."

The giant skeletons of burnt and dismantled gold dredgers litter the rivers of northwest Colombia, where the government is waging a full-out war on illegal mining.

Nicknamed "dragons" by locals, the massive machines used to suck gold from riverbeds are blamed for destroying the environment and financing organized crime.

But their dismantling in a massive army operation has been met with hostility by communities who depend on mining for their daily survival.

Around El Bagre in the gold-rich Bajo Cauca region, a protest by miners that started early this month has been marked by acts of vandalism the government blamed on the Gulf Clan drug cartel for instigating.

But Luis Manuel Campo, 32, one of the miners, insisted to AFP that "we have nothing to do with criminal groups."

Campo co-owns a dredger with three other people.

"We are not hiding. We just want the persecution to stop," he said.

"We want to be formally recognized as miners so that we can work in peace, without stigma."

New gold rush

The names of the villages in this region such as Zaragoza and Caceres serve as a reminder of the Spanish colonizers who were already extracting gold in Bajo Cauca in the 17th century.

It became a bastion of rightwing paramilitary fighters in the 1990s, and is now a stronghold of the Gulf Clan, Colombia's most powerful cartel.

President Gustavo Petro this month called off a ceasefire with the Clan, accusing it of being behind attacks on civilians committed by protesting miners.

Criminal groups in Colombia make almost as much money from illegal mining as they do from trafficking cocaine, authorities say.

With a recent rise in gold prices, Bajo Cauca has been gripped by a new type of gold rush, with poor communities scouring the gravelly river beds with shovels, bulldozers and dredging machines.

"Apart from gold, there is nothing here," said Campo.

Locals say about 350 dredging machines are active in the region -- big and small -- on top of those operated legally by the Mineros Aluvial multinational.

'Profitable'

The illegal dredgers range from simple machines with makeshift conveyer belts to larger mechanical contraptions that require several divers to guide a massive vacuum pipe under the dark water.

Then there are the "dragons" -- three-storey, 20-meter (66-foot) long boats with massive engines.

There are about two dozen of these in the Bajo Cauca region.

One "dragon" costs about half a million dollars, their owners tell AFP.

"At the current (gold) price, it is profitable," said Alex Cossio, 41, who runs one of these monsters.

One "dragon" can extract up to two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of gold per day -- worth more than $50,000, according to a police official who did not want to be named.

AFP visited a number of these beasts, including one named "Native" that has been operational for only two months in a branch of the Nechi river.

"The (army) helicopters fly over us every day, we are afraid," said Cossio, who insisted there was no link to organized crime.

"Diesel, food, logistics... We buy everything in the neighborhood, a large number of families live from our activity," he added.

AFP observed at least six "dragons" lying mutilated and burnt by the riverside, some already being repaired by their owners.

There is no official data on how many dredgers have been destroyed.

"We tried to stop them, it was terrible," said Julia Tatis, who owns a small eatery, of a raid this month on three of the machines in Nueva Esperanza, a poor hamlet on the water's edge.

"The military just arrived saying we are the Gulf Clan. And they burned everything," added dredge owner Juan Manuel Carcamo.

Damage 'already done'

Campo insists the dredges are working river beds "that were already exploited by Mineros 40 years ago... The damage has already been done."

Lawyer Francisco Arrieta Franco is an advocate for the miners who he describes as victims.

"It is false to say the dredges belong to the Clan," he told AFP.

"It's complicated and expensive to operate a dredger. Criminals are more interested in extortion, which is everywhere in this region."

Locals say the miners are subject to Gulf extortion rather than perpetrators of it.

In a gold shop in El Bagre, an employee warned of trouble if the government continues to "harass" the miners.

"We need these dredgers to work and to eat," shouted the employee, who did not want to be named. "They serve the whole community!"

Added a miner, also on condition of anonymity: "It is when you have an empty stomach that you are forced to do illegal things."
Ecuador on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the nation's major port and other areas reeling from drug-related crime. The decree permits security forces to set up checkpoints and conduct warrantless searches of people and property. Speaking in a televised address to the nation, President Guillermo Lasso said he had declared a state of emergency in the port of Guayaquil and the neighboring districts of Duran and Samborondon, as well as in Santa Elena and Los Rios provinces. Lasso added that the state of emergency included a nightly curfew from 1 am to 5 am in the affected areas. Last year, Lasso declared similar temporary states of emergency three times for Guayaquil, which has faced a sharp spike in organized-crime-related killings. Lasso did not say how long the current state of emergency would last. "We have a common enemy: delinquency, drug trafficking and organized crime," said Lasso, a right-wing former banker who took office nearly two years ago. Ecuador, which is sandwiched between major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, has been hit by a wave of violent crime that authorities blame on turf battles between drug gangs. The nation has become a major drug distribution center for narcotics bound for the United States and Europe.

Ecuador on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the nation's major port and other areas reeling from drug-related crime.

The decree permits security forces to set up checkpoints and conduct warrantless searches of people and property.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation, President Guillermo Lasso said he had declared a state of emergency in the port of Guayaquil and the neighboring districts of Duran and Samborondon, as well as in Santa Elena and Los Rios provinces.

Lasso added that the state of emergency included a nightly curfew from 1 am to 5 am in the affected areas.

Last year, Lasso declared similar temporary states of emergency three times for Guayaquil, which has faced a sharp spike in organized-crime-related killings.

Lasso did not say how long the current state of emergency would last.

"We have a common enemy: delinquency, drug trafficking and organized crime," said Lasso, a right-wing former banker who took office nearly two years ago.

Ecuador, which is sandwiched between major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, has been hit by a wave of violent crime that authorities blame on turf battles between drug gangs.

The nation has become a major drug distribution center for narcotics bound for the United States and Europe.
Check out the news you should not miss today in Vietnam: Society -- The Vietnamese government has sent the lawmaking National Assembly a statement proposing some policies on the immigration and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, including issuing e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories and extending the visitor e-visa validity to three months from one month. -- Due to the positive hotel room and tour bookings, travel firms in Da Nang expect the number of tourists to the central city in the forthcoming holiday to celebrate Vietnams Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers' Day (May 1) will be equivalent to the figure in the same period in 2019 when COVID-19 had yet to hit Vietnam. -- A 35-year-old man from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has been prosecuted for breaking into a spa, raping its owner, who is his ex-lover, three times and asking her to give him VND300 million (US$12,790). He later reduced the amount to VND10 million ($426). -- An 80-meter road section along a canal in Sa Dec City, Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam sank into the canal on Saturday, bringing down a house and disrupting the travel of 10 other households in the area. -- Vietnams first pharmaceutical - biological industrial park project, which is designed to cover 300 hectares of land and requires an estimated investment of $150-200 million, will be developed in Thai Binh Province, northern Vietnam. The industrial park, once completed, is expected to attract a total registered investment of $800 million in 2024-27 and $2 billion in 2028-30. -- A man in Le Chan District of northern Hai Phong City was killed on Friday following a violent confrontation over loud music, the district police informed on Saturday. Business -- The Italian-flagged cruise ship MSC Poesia with 2,145 European travelers on board made a stop at Nha Trang Port in the namesake city of the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on Saturday. This is the fifth large cruise ship to arrive in Nha Trang this year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Check out the news you should not miss today in Vietnam:

Society

-- The Vietnamese government has sent the lawmaking National Assembly a statement proposing some policies on the immigration and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, including issuing e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories and extending the visitor e-visa validity to three months from one month.

-- Due to the positive hotel room and tour bookings, travel firms in Da Nang expect the number of tourists to the central city in the forthcoming holiday to celebrate Vietnams Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers' Day (May 1) will be equivalent to the figure in the same period in 2019 when COVID-19 had yet to hit Vietnam.

-- A 35-year-old man from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has been prosecuted for breaking into a spa, raping its owner, who is his ex-lover, three times and asking her to give him VND300 million (US$12,790). He later reduced the amount to VND10 million ($426).

-- An 80-meter road section along a canal in Sa Dec City, Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam sank into the canal on Saturday, bringing down a house and disrupting the travel of 10 other households in the area.

-- Vietnams first pharmaceutical - biological industrial park project, which is designed to cover 300 hectares of land and requires an estimated investment of $150-200 million, will be developed in Thai Binh Province, northern Vietnam. The industrial park, once completed, is expected to attract a total registered investment of $800 million in 2024-27 and $2 billion in 2028-30.

-- A man in Le Chan District of northern Hai Phong City was killed on Friday following a violent confrontation over loud music, the district police informed on Saturday.

Business

-- The Italian-flagged cruise ship MSC Poesia with 2,145 European travelers on board made a stop at Nha Trang Port in the namesake city of the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on Saturday. This is the fifth large cruise ship to arrive in Nha Trang this year.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Hundreds of households in an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City have voiced their outcry over dirty, yellow, and foul-smelling tap water for the past few days. The problem at the The Mansion apartment building in Phong Phu Commune, Binh Chanh District remains unfixed despite residents repeated complaints. Stinky water deters residents from bathing The tap water in the apartment building has turned yellow and contained sediment over this past year, fearing households there. The water flowing into the building comes out yellow and contains sediment every two or three months. However, over this past week, many households have detected the quality of water worsening. The water is putrid and has much sediment. Removing a homemade water filter out of the faucet, Le Cuong, a resident living on the 14th floor of the apartment building, expressed his shock at the dirty water. The pieces of fabric used to filter the water came out yellow. We buy clean water, but we have been using dirty water for a long time, Cuong said. Due to fears over a serious health risk for my family members, we have used bottled water to cook and drink over this past year. The tap water is only used for washing and bathing. But we have refrained from using it as it gets smellier. Many households in the building are resorting to pieces of fabric and white silk cotton to create filters, noticing that the pieces of fabric and white silk cotton turned yellow, brown, crusted with sediment, and oily after a short time, he added. Many residents worried that the dirty water would ruin their health. The tap water is yellow and stinky, forcing me to double the volume of fabric softener, but the unpleasant smell of the water remains in the clothes, said Tuyet Hong, a resident of the building. The life of residents here has been turned upside down by dirty water. A filter turns yellow at the The Mansion apartment building in Phong Phu Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Luu Duyen / Tuoi Tre Many families in the building have either bought water filters or made ones by themselves to partially reduce the dirt of the water for temporary use. Water remains dirty, though water tank is cleaned A representative of the The Mansion apartment management board said that the water tank and pipes were cleaned on March 23 after residents had made complaints about the problem. After working with the water supplier, the management board concluded that the buildings water tank is connected with the water supply system for fire protection, leading to the disgusting smell of the tap water. The old water of this system leaked and flowed into the water tank, which deteriorated, thereby absorbing the dirty water easily. The management board has pumped the water out of the tank to address the problem, apart from replacing valves for the water supply system for fire fighting and prevention to prevent leakage. Some residents in the building told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday that the quality of water has improved, but the water remains smelly and has sediment. The management board is considering installing a makeshift tank that can contain 30-40 cubic meters of water to supply to residents. A representative of the water supplier in Ho Chi Minh City said that the tap water of the The Mansion apartment building turned yellow and foul-smelling since the water tank of the building was dirty. The representative explained that the dirty water resulted from the pipes crusted with sediment. After checking the tank and testing the quality of the water, the firm asked the management board to rinse the tank and repair it. The representative affirmed that the water supplied to resident from the water supply plant is clean and safe. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Hundreds of households in an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City have voiced their outcry over dirty, yellow, and foul-smelling tap water for the past few days.

The problem at the The Mansion apartment building in Phong Phu Commune, Binh Chanh District remains unfixed despite residents repeated complaints.

Stinky water deters residents from bathing

The tap water in the apartment building has turned yellow and contained sediment over this past year, fearing households there.

The water flowing into the building comes out yellow and contains sediment every two or three months.

However, over this past week, many households have detected the quality of water worsening.

The water is putrid and has much sediment.

Removing a homemade water filter out of the faucet, Le Cuong, a resident living on the 14th floor of the apartment building, expressed his shock at the dirty water.

The pieces of fabric used to filter the water came out yellow.

We buy clean water, but we have been using dirty water for a long time, Cuong said.

Due to fears over a serious health risk for my family members, we have used bottled water to cook and drink over this past year.

The tap water is only used for washing and bathing.

But we have refrained from using it as it gets smellier.

Many households in the building are resorting to pieces of fabric and white silk cotton to create filters, noticing that the pieces of fabric and white silk cotton turned yellow, brown, crusted with sediment, and oily after a short time, he added.

Many residents worried that the dirty water would ruin their health.

The tap water is yellow and stinky, forcing me to double the volume of fabric softener, but the unpleasant smell of the water remains in the clothes, said Tuyet Hong, a resident of the building.

The life of residents here has been turned upside down by dirty water.

A filter turns yellow at the The Mansion apartment building in Phong Phu Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Luu Duyen / Tuoi Tre

Many families in the building have either bought water filters or made ones by themselves to partially reduce the dirt of the water for temporary use.

Water remains dirty, though water tank is cleaned

A representative of the The Mansion apartment management board said that the water tank and pipes were cleaned on March 23 after residents had made complaints about the problem.

After working with the water supplier, the management board concluded that the buildings water tank is connected with the water supply system for fire protection, leading to the disgusting smell of the tap water.

The old water of this system leaked and flowed into the water tank, which deteriorated, thereby absorbing the dirty water easily.

The management board has pumped the water out of the tank to address the problem, apart from replacing valves for the water supply system for fire fighting and prevention to prevent leakage.

Some residents in the building told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday that the quality of water has improved, but the water remains smelly and has sediment.

The management board is considering installing a makeshift tank that can contain 30-40 cubic meters of water to supply to residents.

A representative of the water supplier in Ho Chi Minh City said that the tap water of the The Mansion apartment building turned yellow and foul-smelling since the water tank of the building was dirty.

The representative explained that the dirty water resulted from the pipes crusted with sediment.

After checking the tank and testing the quality of the water, the firm asked the management board to rinse the tank and repair it.

The representative affirmed that the water supplied to resident from the water supply plant is clean and safe.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The Italian-flagged cruise ship MSC Poesia with 2,145 European passengers onboard arrived in Nha Trang City on Saturday morning, making it the fifth large cruise vessel to have visited this popular beach destination in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam in the year to date. The vessel departed from Hong Kong, then sailed to Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Ho Chi Minh City, according to the provincial tourism authority. Nguyen Quang Thang, director of Tictours International Travel Company, said his firm had arranged multiple 45-seater buses to serve these cruise tourists. European visitors will join different tours after arriving at the Nha Trang seaport. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre The bus owners and drivers were informed of the itineraries and regulations for serving cruise passengers and were present at the Nha Trang seaport at least one hour prior to the arrival of the vessel, Thang added. The company also arranged for tour guides and interpreters to serve the European guests of various nationalities, such as British, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The guests will visit some tourist attractions in the coastal city, including Long Son pagoda and Truong Son traditional craft village, take a boat tour along the Cai Nha Trang River, and learn how to cook local food at Memento, a tourist destination in Dien Khanh District, among others, Thang elaborated. Due to its huge size, the MSC Poesia cruise ship had to dock at the Nha Trang Bay, instead of the Nha Trang seaport, while cruise guests were taken to the seaport on small boats. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre In related news, 1,900 international visitors will arrive in Nha Trang next Thursday, April 6, on the Bermudian-flagged cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II, according to Bui Minh Thang, director of Phuong Thang Travel Services Trading Company. Around 600 of them registered to embark on various tours to tourist hotspots in the province. Khanh Hoa has received five international cruise vessels in the year to date, with close to 2,000 of the guests booking tours to explore the province. The province is set to welcome two more ships this month. Nha Trang is expected to welcome some 27 more cruise ships from now till the end of the year. International cruise visitors take a 'xich lo' (pedicab) tour in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam on March 24, 2023. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre International cruise visitors learn how to make 'cha ram,' a local spring roll, in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre International cruise guests join a bike tour to explore the countryside in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

The Italian-flagged cruise ship MSC Poesia with 2,145 European passengers onboard arrived in Nha Trang City on Saturday morning, making it the fifth large cruise vessel to have visited this popular beach destination in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam in the year to date.

The vessel departed from Hong Kong, then sailed to Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Ho Chi Minh City, according to the provincial tourism authority.

Nguyen Quang Thang, director of Tictours International Travel Company, said his firm had arranged multiple 45-seater buses to serve these cruise tourists.

European visitors will join different tours after arriving at the Nha Trang seaport. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre

The bus owners and drivers were informed of the itineraries and regulations for serving cruise passengers and were present at the Nha Trang seaport at least one hour prior to the arrival of the vessel, Thang added.

The company also arranged for tour guides and interpreters to serve the European guests of various nationalities, such as British, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

The guests will visit some tourist attractions in the coastal city, including Long Son pagoda and Truong Son traditional craft village, take a boat tour along the Cai Nha Trang River, and learn how to cook local food at Memento, a tourist destination in Dien Khanh District, among others, Thang elaborated.

Due to its huge size, the MSC Poesia cruise ship had to dock at the Nha Trang Bay, instead of the Nha Trang seaport, while cruise guests were taken to the seaport on small boats. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre

In related news, 1,900 international visitors will arrive in Nha Trang next Thursday, April 6, on the Bermudian-flagged cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II, according to Bui Minh Thang, director of Phuong Thang Travel Services Trading Company.

Around 600 of them registered to embark on various tours to tourist hotspots in the province.

Khanh Hoa has received five international cruise vessels in the year to date, with close to 2,000 of the guests booking tours to explore the province.

The province is set to welcome two more ships this month.

Nha Trang is expected to welcome some 27 more cruise ships from now till the end of the year.

International cruise visitors take a 'xich lo' (pedicab) tour in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam on March 24, 2023. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre

International cruise visitors learn how to make 'cha ram,' a local spring roll, in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre

International cruise guests join a bike tour to explore the countryside in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Thuc Nghi / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
No foolin this time, check the date April 2!

Much loved comedy improvisation series Thank God Youre Here is being revived by Network 10.

10 has teased its return with a mysterious door during on air promotions during the Australian Grand Prix, designed to ignite an audience guessing game.

TV Tonight can confirm that tease is indeed for the show frequently requested by fans to return.

Casting has been underway recently for actors with improvisation skills, as the show opens a new door with a new host, Celia Pacquola.

The Working Dog series ran for three seasons on 10 from 2006  2007 before being poached by Seven for a final season in 2009.

Host Shane Bourne famously welcomed performers such as Tony Martin, Hamish Blake, Rebel Wilson, Julia Zemiro, Anh Do, Stephen Curry, Shaun Micallef, Glenn Robbins, Frank Woodley, Adam Hills, to enter a door where actors greeted them with the catch-cry, Thank God Youre Here.

The guest performer would then stumble their way through an improvised scene without quite grasping the scenario or the challenge at hand. Tom Gleisner judged performances, choosing a weekly winner.

It drew bumper ratings for both networks and spawned international editions including in the USA, UK, Russia, China, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Mongolia, Vietnam, Sweden, Turkey, Israel, Indonesia and more.

Daniel Monaghan, Senior Vice President Content & Programming, Paramount ANZ said, The much-loved comedy program is walking back through that door and onto our screens later this year.

Thank God Youre Here holds a special place in our hearts at Network 10. It was one of the most talked about shows on Australian television and was responsible for launching and celebrating a wealth of intelligent, lively and hilarious Australian talent.

The shows fast-paced and quick-witted format resonates, captivates and engages viewers. Were so excited for the shows return to our screens and we cant wait to see what were about to walk into next! To put it bluntly thank God its back!

Michael Hirsh, Working Dog said, Thank God a new generation is here! We loved making Thank God Youre Here a few years ago, and feel the time is right for a new bunch of comedians to go through the blue door. We have brought the show back for 2023 and beyond with a new host, the wonderful, multi-talented and funny Celia Pacquola along with new judges, new ensemble, and new guests. We cant wait to see this new crop of funny people bullshit their way out of sticky situations.

Celia Pacquola sai, Im so excited Thank God Youre Here is coming back, and Im thrilled to host because that means Ill be in the best position to watch it. I cant wait to send comedians through the big blue door and not have to go through it myself.

In 2014, co-creator Rob Sitch told TV Tonight, It took us a couple of years to work out the difference between (the show) and improv. Its actually about bullshit and we worked out that bullshit is really funny. I guess its an arm of improv, but a very specific one and maybe Australians are particularly amusing when they do it.

9 years ago Sitch also indicated the show would be best suited to a revival when there were a new wave of young comedians to incorporate.

you could almost do it again now because there are a lot of new people that are available, he said.

Its taken until 2023 for that time to arrive, with Have You Been Paying Attention? and The Cheap Seats proving there are more than a few fresh comedians at the top of their game, finding new audiences.

And for the record, nope this is not a belated April Fools gag.
Kim Man-bae, the owner of the asset management company Hwacheon Daeyu, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court to attend a court review on his arrest warrant over a massive realty development corruption scandal, in this file photo taken Feb. 17. Korea Times file



A Seoul court is poised to kick off its trial of Kim Man-bae, the owner of an asset management firm at the center of a high-profile development corruption scandal, this week, legal sources said Sunday.



The Seoul Central District Court plans to hold its first hearing of Kim, who has been additionally indicted on charges of concealing criminal proceeds from the lucrative urban development project, on Wednesday afternoon, they said.



The case has grabbed keen public attention for months, especially as Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is potentially involved in it.



The development project was launched in 2015 while he was the mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.



Prosecutors earlier indicted Kim, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, with detention on charges of stashing a combined 39 billion won ($30 million) of illegal proceeds from the development project from October 2021 to November last year.



The former journalist was also charged with having criminal evidence destroyed in 2021 in connection with investigations into the scandal and violating the Farmland Act by falsifying his agricultural career for speculation purposes.



Kim is currently standing trial on breach of duty and other charges related to the scandal that centers on allegations that his firm and its affiliates were chosen as private partners for an apartment development project in the Daejang-dong district of the city of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, in 2015 and reaped huge investment profits. (Yonhap)


Arbab Ali| TwoCircles.net

Amir Hussain Siddique had barely slept after eating the pre-dawn meal when he was woken up by a frantic call from Yusuf Beg at 9 am on April 1, the ninth day of Ramadan.

Beg, a caretaker at the dargah of Syed Abdullah urf Bhure Shah, informed Siddique that a bulldozer had arrived at the shrine. A half-asleep, fasting Siddique got out of his bed, grabbed his grinder-cutter and cycled from his home in Zakir Nagar to the dargah, located 6.5 km away on a plot near the Sabz Burj, a 16th-century monument in Nizamuddin area of south Delhi. When I arrived, the entire area was filled with men dressed in chitkabra (camouflage uniform). It felt like there was a curfew, Siddique, a devotee who regularly visits the shrine, told TCN.

In addition to hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel, bulldozers, and officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) were present at the site. PWD is the premier agency of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi engaged in the planning and maintenance of government assets.

Siddique wired up his grinder-cutter to an electricity board and got to work.

I cut the poles that supported the tin sheds over the graves, but the officials said that wouldnt be enough and that theyd remove everything, Siddique, who works as a repairman, said.

PWD demolishes a portion of the dargah; Muslims allege disrespect to their religion.

The demolition lasted an hour and ended around 11 a.m, bringing down the dargahs 75-foot-long wall, the metallic canopy atop the graves, the ibadat khana, and four rooms. According to the dargah committee, the PWD and district authorities also asked that the graves be removed or shifted. TCN attempted to contact PWD but got no response.

There are seven graves near the roadside, including that of Baba Bhure Shah. Now, the graves have all become exposed as the metallic canopy has been removed.

I used my grinder to cut the metallic canopy so that there would be no beadbi (disrespect) to our religion. However, they loaded it into a bulldozer bucket and dumped it 50 meters away at an unclean spot, said Siddique.

TCN went to the location and discovered the mangled metallic canopy that once stood over Syed Abdullah urf Bhure Shahs grave. It carried ayats (verses) from the Quran.

Dargah authorities earlier removed parts of dargah under pressure.

According to dargah committee member Mohammad Tufail Khan, they have been in talks with district administration officials for a month. District Magistrate Isha Khosla told us that we encroached on the pavement, but we said the dargah dates back centuries, and was built much before the pavement, Khan explained.

The dargah committee, however, complied with their demands under pressure. Officials came to take measurements, and we removed the wall lining the pavement on March 15, Khan said. They built another wall, away from the pavement, so as not to encroach on it but that too was taken down on April 1.

On March 23, Beg claimed to have received a phone call from the DM ordering him to remove the gate and the mihrab (a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah). They said if we didnt remove these structures, theyd file a case against us, so we complied, he said.

The DM did not respond to TCN for a response to the allegations.

No notice; Dargah authorities alleged AAP councilor didnt answer calls

Several people on the ground told TCN that no notice was given to them. We will take this to court, Beg said. The dargah committee has hired a lawyer to contest the demolition.

A person who requested anonymity told TCN that they phoned Sarika Choudhary, the Aam Aadmi Party councilor from the area, seven times but she did not answer.

TCN reached out to Choudhary over a phone call. I dont know a lot about the matter. What I know is that they encroached on the pavement the masjid or something [sic] was built illegally, which is why it was demolished, she said.

When asked why the demolition took place without prior notice, Choudhary stated, PWD does not demolish without a court order. The Delhi High Court, in an order on March 14, 2022, said the government was duty bound to remove all unauthorised constructions on public land.

Choudhary denied receiving phone calls from dargah officials.

TCN contacted Praveen Kumar, the local Aam Aadmi Party legislator. Asif Ansari, a member of his office, answered the phone and informed us that he is only available on call from Monday to Friday. We also attempted to contact Kumar via WhatsApp text but did not receive a response. This story will be updated when and if we receive a response.

Demolitions were communally motivated: Locals

We spent todays fast running from pole to post trying to stop the demolition. They shouldnt have done this (demolition) during Ramadan. This is the same as what is happening elsewhere with Muslims in India, Beg explained to TCN. Many persons on the ground alleged that the demolitions were communally motivated.

At 6:41 p.m., the dargah members broke their fast under a tarpaulin as it rained heavily outside.

Arbab is a SEED fellow at TCN
By Jay Ereno and Peter Blaza

ANTIPOLO, Philippines (Reuters) - Thousands of Filipino Catholics attending church on Palm Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week with prayers for the health of Pope Francis as they presented palm fronds to be blessed.

At a church in Antipolo City about 20 km (12.4 miles) east of Manila, hundreds of devotees attended morning mass and waved palm fronds as a sign of discipleship and remembrance of Jesus Christ.

Once blessed, the palms are placed outside worshippers' homes in the belief they will ward off evil spirits.

Demilyn Mendoza, 34, has been attending Palm Sunday celebrations for years and hopes her daughter will continue the tradition.

"It is important for me to attend the Palm Sunday service because this has been a tradition for us Catholics, and this shows our devotion to Jesus," she said. Filipino Catholics this year offered prayers for Pope Francis, who was hospitalised on Wednesday after complaining of difficulty breathing.

The pope was discharged from hospital on Saturday after successful treatment for a severe bout of bronchitis and attended a Palm Sunday service in St Peter's Square.

"I prayed for his safety," Mendoza said. "I hope he has a longer life and is able to get over his condition."

While the Vatican has looked to play down worries over the pope's health, his sudden hospitalisation highlighted the 86-year-old pontiff's increasing frailty.

"We should all continue praying for our Pope Francis this Lenten season. Let us include him in our prayers, as we pray for our loved ones who are sick," parish priest Reynante Tolentino said.

Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday, marks the last week of Lent, when Christians are called on to fast, pray and give alms to the needy. About 80% of the Philippines' more than 110 million people are Roman Catholics.

(Reporting by Jay Ereno and Peter Blaza; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
A NANG  The central city of a Nang has been calling for stronger and deeper investment from Japanese businesses in seaport, infrastructure, hi-tech industry, education, healthcare, supportive industries, information and technology during a four-day investment promotion event in Kisarazu, Yokohama, Osaka, Chiba and Kanagawa, in Japan.

Japanese investors have poured US$1.04 billion into 228 projects in a Nang to rank first in the list of 40 foreign direct investment (FDI) sources in the city.

The citys party secretary Nguyen Van Quang also urged Sumitomo Group to foster investment plans in a Nang after Sumitomo Corporation Viet Nam and local partner BRG Group began implementing pre-feasibility surveys on infrastructure development of seaports, airports and industrial parks.

During the investment promotion tour in Japan last week, local Thanh at Group inked Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Japanese partner Magos company (under Metran Group), Heisei medical welfare Group, and Minatomirai Group in launching healthcare for elderly and rehabilitation and beauty care service in a Nang.

Nakagawa Tetsuyuki, general director of Aeon Mall Viet Nam, said the group has built six trading centres in HCM City, Binh Duong, Hai Phong, Ha Noi and Thua Thien-Hue, and a Nang would be the next destination for a new trading centre.

A Japanese technology company, Pasona Tech Viet Nam, has been building an Information Technology (IT) LAB in a Nang for training human resources in digital transformation needs, and the LAB would open in the second quarter of this year.

Earlier, Pasona had set up its Awaji a Nang centre in Awaji, Japan in boosting IT manpower education and training.

Mikazuki Hotel Group of Japan was seen as one of the successful investment projects in a Nang in 2022-23 when it officially opened the VN3.9 trillion ($168.16 million) a Nang Mikazuki Resort&Spa after overcoming difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fujikin International Incorporated from Japan also introduced an R&D centre at a Nang High-Tech Park at a cost of US$35 million.

Tokyo Keiki Precision Technology Inc and Niwa Foundry from Japan had already operated factories at a Nang hi-tech park.

Japanese Daiwa Viet Nam company began building its third factory in the citys Hoa Khanh Industrial Zone with an investment of $40 million, bringing its investment in a Nang to $90 million in 2005-20.

a Nang had inked friendships and cooperation deals with Kisarazu, Kawasaki, Sakai and Yokohama, and the city has hosted the annual Viet Nam-Japan cultural Exchange Day since 2014.

Vietnam Airlines has resumed its direct air route from Narita, Tokyo and a Nang, boosting tourism and investment from Japan to central Viet Nam.

Japan promoted its Consulate Office in a Nang City to General Consulate just a year after it was founded to boost ties between Japan and the central city.

The first Japanese language studies and culture research faculty in the central and Central Highlands region was set up at the citys ong A University.

Eight cities in Japan including Yokohama, Maebashi, Chiba, Fukuoka, Shizuoka and Nagasaki and more than 80 businesses from Japan have inked agreements on the recruitment of students from central Viet Nam to work and study in Japan.

The citys party secretary, Quang said successful investment projects from Japan would mark the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic ties, boosting friendly diplomatic ties between the two nations as well as a Nang and cities of Japan.

The investment promotion tour in Japan followed the citys events seeking investment opportunities organised in the United Arabia of Emirates and Qatar last month.  VNS
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) hold a rally, March 30, denouncing the Korean government's response to Japan's planned release of radioactive wastewater from Fukushima's nuclear power plant into the ocean. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-gwon



By Lee Hyo-jin



Some lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are planning to travel to Fukushima Prefecture later this week, as part of efforts to deter Japan's planned release of radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.



During their three-day visit, starting Thursday, the lawmakers will seek meetings with officials from Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), residents, fishers and lawmakers in the northeastern region of Japan. They will also conduct on-site inspections near the crippled power plant. The DPK members are also planning to visit the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday, to lodge complaints.



The move comes in protest of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's lack of response on the issue. The DPK has been criticizing the government for not taking sufficient measures against Japan's planned release of contaminated radioactive water in its push to reconcile with Tokyo.



The opposition lawmakers have demanded the launch of a parliamentary investigation on the March 16 summit between Yoon and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, suspecting that Yoon may have made concessions concerning the agenda.



An earlier report by Japan's Kyodo News claimed that Yoon had vowed to seek public consent from Koreans over the dumping of the irradiated water. The Korean presidential office denied the report, saying the safety and health of the people remain its top priority in the matter.



The ruling People Power Party (PPP), for its part, denounced the DPK's planned visit to Fukushima, calling it an attempt to stoke public fear by spreading groundless rumors about the treated wastewater.



The Japanese government is seeking to discharge the irradiated water, which is currently stored at the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima, into the Pacific Ocean as early as this summer.



Tokyo claims that the filtered water has been tested for concentration levels of radioactive nuclides. But Korea, along with China and other Pacific Rim countries, has been demanding the plan's withdrawal.


A NANG  An exhibition of 28 images depicting a photographers 4,200km journey along the Mekong River will go on display in a Nang.

French-Vietnamese photographer Lam uc Hien's display will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between France and Viet Nam.

It will also mark the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership of the two countries as well as promoting a series of cultural and tourism activities in central Viet Nam.

A hauteur d hommes (Life stories on Mekong River banks) runs at the central citys Fine Arts Museum from April 3 to 15.

Hien, whose father was Vietnamese and mother Laotian, was born in 1966 on the Mekong River side at the Pakse section in Laos. He then moved to live in France in 1977 after spending two years at a refugee camp in Thailand.

The photographer travelled from the source in Tibet taking pictures documenting the life stories among communities living on both sides of the river.

The collection features portraits and personal memories of people he met on the journey. The river marks as borders of territories and cultural links of lands and people.

Hien, who is a member of Agence VU (Agency of photographers found in 1986), had photographed conflicts and incidents in Romania, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Iraq.

Throughout his career, he has won many awards including Leica prizes and the Great European Award presented to him in Vevey, Switzerland.

The exhibition, which is a collaboration between the museum, the Institute of France in a Nang and the Embassy of France in Viet Nam.

It will be open at 5pm at the museum on April 3. The photographer will take part in an exchange with visitors at 4pm on April 14.  VNS
WASHINGTON D.C  The 12th Viet Nam-US Political, Security and Defence Dialogue was held in Washington D.C on March 30 under the co-chair of Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis.

The two countries expressed their delight at the extensive and practical development of their relations in the bilateral, regional and international aspects based on the principle of respecting independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and political institutions of each other.

Ngoc affirmed that Viet Nam always considered the US as one of its most important partners, while Lewis reaffirmed their consistent support for a strong, independent and prosperous Viet Nam.

The two sides emphasised the importance of bilateral meetings, consultations and delegation exchanges for the process of building trust and mutual understanding, and promoting cooperation and intertwined interests between Viet Nam and the US. They also affirmed that they will maintain frank, constructive and regular dialogues on controversial issues.

The officials recognised the progress of bilateral cooperation in the fields of defence and security, law enforcement and settlement of post-war consequences; while agreeing to continue developing bilateral defence ties at a stable pace, in line with the interests, conditions and policies of each country, and to expand cooperation in cyber-security, fighting trans-national crimes, and participation in UN peace-keeping missions.

They shared their determination to maintain cooperation in clearing mines and explosives, decontaminating dioxin, supporting war-affected people in Viet Nam, and searching the two countries soldiers missing in the war. Representatives of the US side reaffirmed their commitments to continue assisting Viet Nam in improving its maritime capacity, law enforcement and identification of remains of Vietnamese soldiers through training and equipment transfer.

The two discussed several international and regional issues of mutual concern, and stressed the importance of ensuring the rule of law, freedom and safety of navigation and aviation, and peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international law, without the threat or use of force. The US side affirmed its backing for ASEAN's consensus and central role in the regional security architecture.

The two sides agreed on the need to implement creative and practical measures to promote the Mekong-US Partnership in the coming time.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, Ngoc had discussions with leaders of the US Department of State, Department of Defense, and National Security Council, and some parliamentarians and advisers of the Congress, and representatives of US enterprises.

These meetings contributed to the implementation of the outcomes of the high-level phone talks on March 29 between Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Joe Biden, and promotion of the bilateral agenda this year as the two countries are celebrating the 10th founding anniversary of the Viet Nam - US Comprehensive Partnership (2013-2023). VNS
ROME  A ceremony to launch the Viet Nam-Italy Year 2023 was held in Rome on March 31 evening in celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations (March 23, 1973-2023), and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said that over half a century, Viet Nam and Italy had become more and more important partners of each other in all fields, from politics - diplomacy, trade and investment to culture, tourism, and education and training, in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

Italy is currently one of Viet Nam's leading economic partners in Europe, while Viet Nam has become Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, according to Hang.

Meanwhile, Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Maria Tripodi affirmed that for Italy, Viet Nam is an important interlocutor and an essential partner for balance and sustainable economic development in the Indo-Pacific region.

She expressed her belief that the friendship and solidarity would continue forming a firm foundation for the two countries future.

This year, a wide range of activities will be held to mark the anniversaries, including the Vietnamese Film Day at the Asian Film Festival, a fashion show in Bologna/Napoli, a workshop on Viet Nams situation and prospects in Milan, and a photo exhibition featuring the two nations solidarity and relations.  VNS
ROME  The Viet Nam - Holy See Joint Working Group held the 10th-round meeting in the Vatican on March 31 under the co-chair of Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, Under-Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States.

In the spirit of friendship, mutual understanding, and respect, the two discussed the Viet Nam - Holy See relations and issues related to the Viet Nam Catholic Church.

Hang affirmed Viet Nams consistent policy of respecting and ensuring peoples freedom of belief and religion, and that administrations at all levels have always paid attention to and created favourable conditions for activities of religions, including Catholicism.

She proposed the Holy See pay attention to and guide the Catholic community of Viet Nam to stay attached to and stand side-by-side with the State and people, contribute to the countrys development, and bring into play the fine cultural and ethical values of Catholicism, thereby helping to promote the Viet Nam - Holy See ties.

Wachowski noted that the Holy See always hopes that the Viet Nam Catholic Church operates in line with the country's law and actively contributes to the countrys development in conformity with the Churchs teachings of living the gospel amidst the nation and that a good Catholic must be a good citizen.

At the meeting, the two sides shared the view that the relations between Viet Nam and the Holy See have recorded much progress in the recent past as seen in the regular meetings and consultations, high-level delegation exchanges, and frequent pastoral visits by Archbishop Marek Zalewski, Non-Resident Pontifical Representative and Special Envoy of the Holy See, to Viet Nam.

They also discussed and basically agreed on the working regulations for the Holy Sees Resident Representative and Resident Representative Office in Viet Nam.

On this occasion, Hang had a meeting with Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher. VNS
by Nguyen My Ha

Tourism in Viet Nam is back and running at full speed both in the private sector and on a national level. Meanwhile, national conferences bring local tourism experts and international heads of cultural establishments together to map out pathways for cultural and heritage tourism to soar in a country that has 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Inbound trips have started to flourish again, with meetings industry trips, or exploration and trekking tours to signature and newly discovered spots in the provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Nam, in addition to the beautiful mountain rides among the northwestern and northeastern slopes with Ha Giang being the much-desired destination for both local and international visitors.

Cultural tourism

This year, the Viet Nam Tourism Association has chosen "Cultural Tourism" as the theme for the Viet Nam International Travel Mart, to be held in Ha Noi from April 13-16.

"We hope that this event shall be the opening of a new wave in tourism for cultural travel to develop, honour and celebrate the cultural and historical traditions of Viet Nam," said Vu The Binh, chairman of the Viet Nam Tourism Association.

"Currently, cultural tours have not been categorised as a trend or a section of the larger tourism industry. If we look at current tourist products, we can see the cultural aspects of cultural tourism such as tours to visit religious destinations, cultural festivals or food tours, are part of ongoing tours."

He said that more work needed to be done to define this particular segment of the tourism industry, where the needs of tourists, as well as the cultural agenda, must be factored into an itinerary or established tours.

For a long time, Viet Nam was known as a country ravaged by wars, and it has become known recently as one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, but eventually, it can leave its impact on the world travel map for its cultural traits and history.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the "Viet Nam Culture Outline", penned in 1943 even before the August Revolution succeeded in 1945, which declared that Viet Nam was an independent republic and ended the rule of French colonialism and the Nguyen Dynasty.

"Culture shall be the common ultimate destination, we as a country leave an impact on the world scene," Binh said. "Viet Nam's cultural and historical heritage will be the alluring aspects that bring international visitors to the country."

The International Conference Promoting the Role of World Cultural and Natural Heritages in Sustainable Development for Viet Nam, held on March 24 in Ha Noi, heard local authorities voicing their concerns in managing heritage and cultural sites.

At the conference, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Lazare Eloundou Assomo told the audience that Viet Nam was a role model in managing, preserving and promoting the values of heritage, and hoped that it would share its experience with others.

This year Viet Nam marks its 35th anniversary of when it ratified the 1972 World Convention on Cultural Heritage, and a series of cultural activities, tourism conferences and travel marts have been organised.

But the preservation of cultural and natural sites must rest heavily on the shoulders of the community, where heritage sites are located.

Having visited three heritage sites -- Thang Long Citadel, Trang An and Ha Long Bay -- Director Assomo said: "If there is something that I can keep in mind from the trip, it is the understanding of how this heritage is so important to people."

Citing Thang Long Citadel as essential not only for Hanoians, but for the whole of Viet Nam, as symbol of the nation, he said that he was also moved by the fact that heritage sites in Viet Nam were also a source for socio-economic development.

"Trang An, for instance, contributes to the livelihood of the community and the empowerment of women," he added.

Development challenges

Phan Ho, director of the My Son Sanctuary management board, told the conference: "It is key to ensure that the thousand-year-old relics of My Son Sanctuary are not intervened with, renewed, or be affected to the level they lose their authenticity, value or status. Over a short period of time, wars had wrecked havoc on the 70 relics found by the French, only 20 survive today."

"When we need researchers to uncover the myths of construction at My Son to better preserve them, we also need the local economy to grow to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty in the neighbourhood, providing local people with support to keep protecting the ruins from further decay."

Since My Son Sanctuary was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, the local government has found it easier to draw tourists to the region.

My Son could have learnt a lesson or two from its neighbouring Hoi An.

The director of Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, Pham Phu Ngoc, said that the challenges for Hoi An was that people made a living from the heritage, thus Hoi An can be dubbed a "Living Heritage" site.

Hoi An must be regulated not only by heritage laws, but also abide by other administrative regulations of a well-functioning urban centre, like other cities and towns of similar sizes and population.

A preservation process need not only to follow construction rules, but also strictly follow cultural heritage rules, where the daily comfort of the people must also be giving into preservation requirements. The benefit of each family, each individual living in the common heritage site, must be in harmony with the larger requirement of preserving the heritage of the whole city and community.

Having been threatened by the development challenges like My Son and Hoi An, the tourism authorities in Ha Long Bay found their way of enduring stability, by slowly establishing alternatives to the floating fishing village, where fishermen used to live and making their ends meet at sea.

It is possible for a heritage site to change and adapt but stick true to its routes and continue to attract tourists.

Le Minh Tan, deputy head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, said that Quang Ninh authorities had to come up with a checklist of usable eco-friendly materials, making sure to protect the natural landscape, geological significance, as well as historical and cultural aspects.

The Ha Long Bay Management Board has managed to retain part of the old fishing village after resettling a majority of fishermen on shore, keeping only a limited number of boats for visitors to have a glimpse of what life on a boat was like.

Elderly people and children were resettled on shore for better healthcare and education. Before, teachers used to have to go in a boat to teach children of the fishermen.

Heritage site managers present at the above-mentioned conference shared the same notes that all the world cultural and natural heritage sites link their preservation with tourism, which provides financial means to maintain regular 'check up' and preserve the sites.

Sustainable tourism arrived as the best possible method to both provide locals with a means of living, and lower any negative impacts on the environment and cultural heritages. Sustainable tourism is geared towards sharing tourism benefits, raising the community's common responsibilities and creating jobs for local people to raise not only their awareness to protect their source of income, but also safeguard common heritage.

The director of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, Pham Hong Thai, confirmed that natural heritage must maintain its identity, but its values must be put to good use to benefit the local community's well-being. All impacts from tourism must be kept under close check.

As far as making good use of the cultural assets is concerned, Pham Van Thuy, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism, suggested that it is necessary to classify nearly 8,000 festivals across the country that tell stories about thousands of cultural and historical heritage.

"We need to tell the stories of our cultural assets as authentic resources for tourism, bringing our history and culture out to the world. As we know, culture crosses geological and administrative borders. When our culture travels, we bring our values to the world. As a result, everyone can be a cultural representative as we integrate into the rest of the world," he said.

Cultural values transform boundaries and can actually bring people closer together or further apart. Tangible and intangible cultural values, as well as other values of Vietnamese tradition, can travel for miles while staying here in Viet Nam. VNS
by Nguyen My Ha

Thung Nai, or the Deer Valley of Hoa Binh Province is renowned for its spectacular landscape. It's the perfect weekend destination if you want to dive into the chill waters of a large lake, stay in a cottage, or try local food marinated in wild peppers and local herbs.

It's still the second month of the lunar calendar this year as we have a double second month, so it's still the spiritually sacred time to visit pagodas and temples to honour our ancestors.

We opted to go to Thac Bo with a cluster of temples to pay tribute to the Thac Bo Goddess who was a Lady Saint in traditional culture. Born inh Thi Van, a Muong ethnic woman, her story intertwines with the Cat Han Pass Battle by Le Loi, founding King of the Le Dynasty.

We took a boat from Thung Nai, you can hire a large boat for yourself at VN4 million for a full trip, or share with other groups to lower the cost. We were three different groups from Ha Noi, Bac Ninh and Lai Chau, which was both less costly and more joyful as we made new companions.

The boat set out to the emerald water of the a River Reservoir. The a, or Black, River before Hoa Binh Dam was once the strongest, most powerful and mysterious river, but after the Hoa Binh hydro-power plant tamed the gushing monster, it has become peaceful and gentle.

After about an hour, the boat docked at the en Trinh, or Presentation Temple. We lit incense as a tribute. A brief climb of about 100 steps took us to the temple, where religious chanting was underway, and a chau van ritual singing was unfolding. The singing was too good to miss, and some of us stayed on to listen for a song or two.

inh Thi Van grew up in Kim Boi Commune of Hoa Binh Province. When the Chinese Ming invaded ai Viet in 1407 and ruled for the next 20 years, Le Loi got his troops together to fight back and chased the invaders out, with Van and a Dao ethnic woman whose name was not clear, calling on the people to donate food to feed Le Loi's troops. Legend has it that she organised boat troops to fight the enemies in the Northwest.

When Le Loi came back victorious, Madame Van hosted a feast to treat his troops and encouraged people to make bamboo rafts to take the troops back to Thang Long citadel. During this time, Le Loi used his sword to inscribe on a stone a poem to compliment the bravery of the local soldiers and people. The stone has been preserved at Hoa Binh Cultural House.

To acknowledge her contribution, the Le Court assigned her to be the Lady Chief of the Muong land in Hoa Binh, where she helped people settle, taught them to plant rice on the hills, and catch fish in the a River. During her leisure time, she would row her tree trunk boat along the river.

We also followed her path, contemplating the beautiful misty morning on the lake, which was still cold from the new front that swept through the North. From inside the cabin, the landscape looks even more blurred on a day without the sun, but the water retained its emerald colour.

After she died, King Le Thai To ordered to build a temple bearing her name, and awarded her the Goddess title. A shrine and a temple were built to worship her in Hao Trang Commune, a Bac District. After Hoa Binh Dam was built villagers moved the shrine to Thung Nai Commune, Cao Phong District, and the temple was moved to a Bac, further up the mountains, and known to be Hang Mieng.

Locals believed that Thac Bo Goddess helped people pass the then notorious Bo Waterfalls back when there was no dam on river. The Goddess watches over those who travel on the boats. In 2009, Thac Bo Temple in a Bac was recognised as a National Landscape Heritage.

At around 10am, we arrived at the Thac Bo Grotto, which is a beautiful cave turned into a Buddhist shrine.

Before we entered the grotto, the boat rider advised that we go to the restaurant and order lunch. By the time we finished praying, our lunch was already on the boat, rather early for a normal lunch but since we got up at 4.30am, we all felt hungry and needed an energy recharge.

We met a lovely nice couple from Lai Chau, who drove all the way to Hoa Binh to go on this trip and invited them to join us for lunch.

A hot pot of lang fish, grown by the fish farms along the Black River, that provide fish for Ha Noi's famed grilled fish restaurants. It set us back at VN700,000, with a spring small fish as a crispy appetiser (VN100,000).

It was just a hot pot, but set against a beautiful landscape and having a chat with our friends and the amicable new couple, it was just perfect, a really wonderful boat ride.

It took us two hours to finish the hot pot, before we got to the final destination, the furthest and most important stop. Resting its back against the mountain facing the infinite beautiful landscape through giant bushes of large bamboo, it was a scene worth trying to get a glimpse of.

As we lit our incense, we prayed to the Goddess of the Waterway, guarding those passing over the rivers and lakes, for our own safety, for our family and our loved ones. VNS

Phuong Nam Restaurant

The restaurant can cater to diners having the meals on the spot, or prepare full food trays to be consumed while you take your boat ride further into the temple at the top of the a River.

Full meal from VN130,000 - 150,000 / pax with a la carte menu

How to get there: From Ha Noi, take a bus at My inh Station for Hoa Binh city. From Hoa Binh, you can rent a motorbike or taxi to Thung Nai wharf, where you can get on a boat heading to Thac Bo Shrine

Call the boathouse for a boat ride: 098 483 61 61 to all the temples and restaurant included
At the event (Photo source: Antara)

Jakarta - As part of the first ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting (AFMGM) held from March 28-31 in Bali, the host country Indonesia organised AFMGMs with the ASEAN-US Business Council (ASEAN-US ABC), the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU ABC), and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN ABAC) on March 29.



Under the co-chairmanship of Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Central Bank Governor Perry Warjiyo, the meetings discussed a range of important issues related to the ASEAN region, including digital economy and digital finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), payment systems and their connectivity, sustainable finance, ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, food security and ASEAN health fund.



Governor Perry affirmed the important role of ASEAN in the global economy, saying that along with the development of information technology, ASEAN is carrying out digital transformation to continue to encourage economic growth, which is in line with the digitalisation pillar of Indonesia's Chairmanship in ASEAN.



Perry also introduced the ASEAN region's initiative on payment system connectivity, which is a follow-up of the joint agreement of five ASEAN central banks in November 2022 within the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) framework.



For her part, Finance Minister Indrawati stressed that apart from digital transformation, economic growth must be inclusive and sustainable. In an effort to achieve a low-carbon economy, ASEAN has launched the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance version 2, which is the first taxonomy in the world that has accommodated the energy transition based on the activity categories which are channeled to eligibility for funding.

She also conveyed the need to strengthen collaboration in the health and financial sectors by all parties in ASEAN, both for government and private sector, as an effort to deal with potential health crises in the future.



On the occasion, ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors welcomed the promotion of cooperation between ASEAN countries and the US ABC, EU ABC, and ASEAN ABAC to support trade, investment, and strengthen the ASEAN economic structure to be the epicentrum of growth for the world.

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).

ASEAN looks towards net zero emissions 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.
The workshop is held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and the Vietnamese Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU) in Berlin on March 31. (Photo: VNA)

Berlin - A German official has voiced the countrys readiness to become a trustworthy and capable partner helping with energy transition in Vietnam.

Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, made the remark while attending a workshop in Berlin on March 31.The event, held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and the Vietnamese Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU), discussed the enhancement of cooperation under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) framework towards net zero emissions in Vietnam by 2050. It was part of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Week 2023.Expressing his impression of renewable energy development in Vietnam as he saw during a visit last September, Flasbarth held that with advantages for wind and solar energy, Vietnam will become a pioneer in energy transition in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese Government has also proved its ambitious targets about mitigating climate change and reducing the dependence on thermal power plants to prepare for a clean energy system in the future.However, the energy transition process is successful only when it is carried out in a just manner and generates chances for domestic industries and sustainable job opportunities for local people. Besides, targets of the JETP should be quickly turned into concrete policy measures and policies, he recommended.Flasbarth added that existing solutions of the EU, including Germany, can be transferred to Vietnam via investment and trade activities.In his speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh said that at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, Vietnam made ambitious commitments, including becoming a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, only five years later than Germany. This is a very challenging target in terms of not only technology, economy, or finance but also social aspects connected with this major transition, including the rights and interests of all ethnic groups and the parties concerned, he said.Therefore, Vietnam needs international partners cooperation and support to achieve this target, Minh noted, adding that its Ministry of Industry and Trade is also exerting efforts to complete the national electricity development planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, that will gradually reduce the countrys dependence on fossil fuel sources and develop renewables such as hydropower, wind power, solar power, and biomass power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.

Talking via teleconferencing, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An said the energy transition process in Vietnam is being accelerated in the spirit of bringing into play internal strength and enhancing cooperation with international partners along with bilateral and multilateral financial institutions.

He underlined the role of partners in helping the country achieve net zero emissions by 2050.



Representing Vietnamese experts, intellectuals, scientists, and entrepreneurs in Europe, VINEU Vice Chairman Cao The Anh also pledged to make contributions to the sustainable development of the homeland and the world via innovation, science - technology, and technology transfer.



Some participants at the workshop suggested a joint working group gathering relevant ministries of Vietnam and Germany be established to implement JETP-related initiatives early.

Billion-dollar challenge begins to establish a greener Vietnam To follow suit with its previous net-zero carbon commitments and accelerate the energy transition towards green and sustainable sources, Vietnam is now making long-term planning to use public and private finance for the energy transition.

$15.5 billion in financing for green energy from Just Energy Transition Partnership 2023 could be an interesting year for Vietnams energy sector, as $15.5 billion of financing is set to be mobilised for Vietnams green energy transition through a recent energy partnership.

Displaying readiness for the energy transition in Vietnam Vietnams current development highlights the urgent need to accelerate the global energy transition. John Rockhold, head of the Power and Energy Working Group under the Vietnam Business Forum, looks at how events have demonstrated the cost to the global economy of a centralised energy system dependent on fossil fuels.
Nasty green smoke filled the Waco Oriental Rug Company on Feb. 24, 1993, as a young Don Yeager and his fellow Waco firefighters entered the building, unaware of the peril that awaited them.

With two years of experience, Yeager arrived with the first crew and paired with his captain to carry a hose into the building at 1101 Austin Ave. Another rookie firefighter teamed with an experienced firefighter to carry a second hose in.

My captain told me, Dont let go of the hose, Yeager said.

We heard a crack overhead, as we pulled the hoses farther into the building, Yeager said. Then came a boom as the ceiling fell in a V-shaped collapse.

Along with other firefighters that day, Yeager dodged fate and lived to tell the tale. Now a retired battalion chief, he will join other former and current Waco firefighters and the public to celebrate 150 years of Waco Fire Department history, from horse-drawn to high-tech.

The celebration runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Fire Station No. 1, 100 Peach St. Refreshments will include hotdogs, snow cones and cake, Executive Deputy Fire Chief Robbie Bergerson said.

The Waco Fire Department traces its history back to the Waco Fire Brigade, formed Apr. 3, 1873 in response to a devastating fire that destroyed a number of businesses and professional offices 11 days earlier. The fire brigade was a volunteer fire department and its firetrucks were drawn by horses.

Around the 1920s, the fire department switched from horse-drawn firetrucks to trucks powered by internal combustion engines in a sea change for fire response.

Since then, it has grown to a professional department with 210 sworn firefighters, a $34.4 million budget and a top rating from the Insurance Services Office.

Its mission has grown far beyond responding to home and building fires.

Today, the fire department is either in charge of or second in line supporting in hazardous materials incidents, swift water rescue, mass casualty incidents, medical emergencies, and numerous other types of incidents, Yeager said.

Yeager and several other retired firefighters gathered Friday with Bergerson at the historic old Columbus Avenue firehouse to reflect on the departments history in advance of the Monday event.

Yeager told the story of the Oriental Rug Co. fire, which occurred in a time of less advanced firefighting equipment and techniques.

He said the four firefighters took a few moments to reorient themselves after having a ceiling fall on them. They then began to follow their hoses, hoping they would find their way out of the building.

This was before the days of infrared scopes to see the way out, so we did like we trained to do, picked up the hoses and followed them, Yeager said. When we could see flashing shafts of red lights through the smoke, we knew were going the right direction.

The captain had a significant cut on his face, Yeager said. But Yeager and the other senior firefighter made it out safely. He didnt see the rookie, Toby, and he worried he might have died.

With more trucks, more firefighters and more equipment on the scene Yeager made his way back into the Oriental Rug Company to continue fighting the fire. He said Toby still held on to his nozzle, directing water.

Despite the efforts of firefighters, the building was gutted, court records from an appeal in an arson case show. The appeals court affirmed Kevin Wayne Williams arson conviction for the Oriental Rug Co. fire, records show. His sentence was 60 years.

Yeager said Friday that two other retired firefighters, Joe Cook, with 40 years, and John Linda, with 42 years, probably saw as much change in their years of service as anyone in recent memory.

Cook said Friday that he took the civil service exam for firefighters in 1974 and completed his initial training soon after. He said they were issued clothes and trained to carry hoses up a training tower and taught control the flow of water through nozzles.

In the mid-1970s, Cook said the department primarily responded to fires and some medical emergencies, such as drownings. The only tool for breaking through walls and ceilings used in the department was the fire ax, he said.

The department now has chainsaws and circular saws for making entry into burning buildings, said Billy Eary, an active firefighter with 30 years service.

Linda, who began a few years after Cook, said that the city council had bought firetrucks and firefighting apparatus that were more modern during his time with the department.

Cook said his class of firefighter trainees received some basic first aid training and lifesaving for drowning and CPR.

Linda said his trainee class received medical certification as emergency care attendants. One of Earys shoulder patches shows that his certifications include the second level of Emergency Medical Technician. And the fire service rolls to nearly every call that gets an ambulance.

Waco firefighters even gladly respond to calls from isolated and homebound people who call in during thunderstorms and say they smell smoke, Bergerson said.

This job is 100% about helping people 100% of the time, Bergerson said.


Share all facts and make fresh start



President Yoon Suk Yeol visited an outdoor market in Daegu, the "heart of conservatism," Saturday.



Yoon goes to his "political hometown" whenever he wants his spirits raised. It was the fifth time he dropped by the southeastern city since he jumped into politics less than two years ago.



Yoon now needs the warm embrace of Daegu citizens more than ever. His approval rating plunged to 30 percent the previous day, the lowest in four months. That contrasts starkly with the nearly 50 percent support rate enjoyed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.



Their March 16 summit has proven to be a key reason for their respective popularity ratings diverging, described as a "crushing defeat" in Seoul and "complete victory" in Tokyo. Even before the Tokyo summit, diplomacy had been the Achilles heel of the Yoon administration. Koreans watch nervously whenever their leader goes abroad, fearing some gaffes or other diplomatic blunders.



Yoon's replacement last week of his national security adviser, Kim Sung-han, epitomized the current mess in security and diplomatic affairs. But the reshuffle came less than a month before Yoon's state visit to the U.S. As Yoon named the new Korean ambassador to the U.S. as Kim's successor, the Korean Embassy in Washington is without a head  depending on if he will be approved in time. And all this is set to occur during the South Korean leader's first state visit to the U.S. in 12 years.



True, someone had to take responsibility. However, few Koreans know why it had to be Kim or why now, not a few months later. There has been no word from the president or his office, as there were no official explanations about the summit to the people or even to some opposition leaders in closed meetings. We understand the government cannot reveal everything in diplomatic and national security affairs. However, replacing a Cabinet ministerial-level official requires at least an ostensible reason.



In offering to resign, Kim merely said that it was a "controversy caused by me."



Speculation is rampant. One unconfirmed report had it that it was due to Kim's bungling of a joint concert of the K-pop girl group BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga, as proposed by U.S. first lady Jill Biden. However, these superstars might not want to be blamed for causing a top official to resign. Even if it is true, this somewhat trivial reason must be the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back. Observers attribute Kim's exit as a clear example of the disharmony between the National Security Office (NSO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or rather a power struggle within the NSO between its chief and vice chief.



As is well known, Kim puts the Korea-U.S. relationship ahead of all else. Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, is focused on cementing the country's relationship with Japan. Hence Yoon's "keep calm and carry on" policy on the trilateral alliance. The Yoon-Kishida meeting was reportedly pretty much the work of Deputy Director Kim. The accumulated discord between the two erupted after the unpopular summit. The winner was the Japanese expert who read their boss' mind better, the speculative reports went on. If so, this reaffirms our concerns about a future dominated by hard-liners.



Given the U.S.' enthusiastic response to the Korea-Japan summit, Yoon's Washington visit will likely be a success, at least outwardly. The problem will be the bill after the party. There is no free lunch in diplomacy. More so for a full-course meal at the White House. That will be a costly dinner for Korea's economic and security balance. In this era of the new Cold War between the U.S. and China, each country seeks the best point between the two. It is inevitable for Seoul to side with Washington. But standing too close to the U.S. risks estranging the giant next door. North Korea too is a problem, but Seoul must find a better way to live with Pyongyang, as it did under left-of-center leaders.



This is no time for Yoon to mingle with supporters in the outdoor markets of Daegu. He must stay indoors, reading the history books and better grasping the world's situation.


Like Hitler and Goebbels, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene preemptively disavows violence before her protest. Mark Twain has been credited with the observation that History may not repeat itself, but it sure rhymes.

Adolph Hitler and the Minister of Propaganda Goebbels routinely preemptively disavowed violence at approaching protests in the early 1930s during their rise to power in Germany. They phrased the fear of violence breaking out in such a way that it was clearly a fascist threat of violence.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) preemptively disavowed violence that may occur at her upcoming protest against the indictment of former President Donald Trump in New York City this coming Tuesday. When violence would ultimately break out, Hitler and Goebbels would scurry to safety and let their brown shirts assault and murder.

In a tweet on Sunday, Greene defended her right to participate in the "Rally for Trump" on Tuesday, saying, "Protesting is a constitutional right, and I am going to NY on Tuesday to protest this unprecedented abuse of our justice system and election interference."

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Greene hinted that violence was possible at the event but rejected any responsibility for it. As a native New Yorker, I can attest to the amazing 55,000-member police force in New York City. They wont allow Greene to incite violence and walk away as if she isnt the catalyst. She will get an extensive tour of Rikers Island if she sets off or conspires to set up any violence in New York.

Shes a gun nut that will likely carry a gun with her to the peaceful protest, which may well be illegal in New York City.
WATERLOO  A Louisiana artist who survived two historic natural disasters was dealt another blow last week when he lost a downtown Waterloo building he planned to turn into an arts center.

Its like a horrible movie, a horrible end to something, Richard C. Thomas said upon learning of the court ruling that will turn over the dilapidated historic building at 217 W. Fifth St. to the city of Waterloo.

The Courier reached Thomas, 69, by phone Friday in New Orleans where he had been teaching a class.

Most people know Thomas from Keki Me Si Metose Neniwa  We the People, the 20-by-72-foot printed vinyl mural that stretches over Lafayette Street on the East Park Avenue parking ramp.

An established artist in The Big Easy, Thomas had visited Iowa and exhibited his work in Waterloo, where he has relatives, in the late 1990s.

Then in 2005, he, his wife and their baby were uprooted, literally plucked from a bridge by a rescue helicopter during Hurricane Katrina and flown to an evacuation center.

They relocated to Waterloo, and his art took part in the citys downtown renaissance.

Thomas briefly returned to New Orleans, recruited by city officials to use his talents to encourage rebuilding and revitalizing the devastated city. He made money selling posters for the effort and used the profits to purchase 217 W. Fifth.

Built in 1912, the property had been known as the Central Battery Building, named after the company that occupied it from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Thomas thought of it as a way of giving back to Waterloo and planned to renovate the rundown storefront into an arts center geared toward teaching and encouraging youths plus studio space with living quarters on the upper level.

In the meantime, he chased out pigeons who had taken up roost, replaced the windows and used the building for prep work for We the People, which was unveiled during the My Waterloo Days festival in 2007.

Thomas Waterloo dreams began crashing down about a year later.

Record flooding in 2008 inundated the southern downtown  including his building  with Cedar River water.

If theres a devil of disaster, he was hell bent on getting me, Thomas said. It took me two weeks to pump all that water out from the flooding.

Thomas said he didnt receive any government compensation for his flooding losses. And there wasnt any financial backing or support to kick the arts center plans into high gear.

It felt like you can have my art, but you dont want me, Thomas said.

Life continued. He moved back to New Orleans. There was a divorce, which meant he had to pay his ex-wife for her portion of the Waterloo building, which meant he didnt have funds to renovate.

I could barely pay taxes on the property, Thomas said.

The pigeons moved back in.

In 2019, the nonprofit Preservation Iowa named Central Battery to its most endangered historic properties list.

That same year, Thomas entertained an offer to sell the building. He returned to Waterloo to talk over the deal, and he fell in love with the city again and became reinvigorated about his art center dream.

In May 2022, the city of Waterloo petitioned the court to seize the building under a provision known as 657A, which allows governments to claim vacant and dilapidated properties.

The case went to a bench trial in February 2023. Thomas didnt get an attorney and represented himself. He said he didnt understand the finality of the hearing and was ill-prepared, not bringing plans and quotes he could have used as exhibits.

He asked for more time to fix up Central Battery.

The judges decision, which was filed Monday, noted the deterioration and the fact it doesnt meet fire or occupancy codes.

There are broken windows and holes going through the entirety of the brick and concrete structure. Concrete window sills precariously hang over a public alleyway from windows on the second and third floors. Pigeons have destroyed much of the third floor from their occupancy and defecation, Judge Kellyann Lekar wrote in the ruling. Most concerning is the missing and crumbling bricks on the outside of the building.

Photo exhibits submitted by the city showed missing windows and a small landslide of bricks gathering on the edge of the alley. Records showed $11,488 in unpaid taxes.

She said minimal, if any, improvements have been made to the building since 2008.

Unfortunately, Thomas intentions are too late and too indefinite to prevent or delay this action, the ruling states, which awarded title to the property to the city.

Thomas has a right to appeal the decision. He said he would like to fight but acknowledges hes getting old.

There are no immediate plans for the building.

Anytime the city of Waterloo acquires a property under 657A, it solicits proposals to renovate and restore, said Noel Anderson, the citys community development and planning director. Short of that, properties are demolished.

Photos: Central Battery Building 033123jr-central-battery-1 033123jr-central-battery-2 033123jr-central-battery-3 013119bp-217-221-west-5th-building July 10-CV50-Thomas mural-2 July 10-CV50-Thomas mural-1
WATERLOO  The attorney for a Waterloo man who was shot and wounded by police in 2021 while carrying a BB gun has refiled a lawsuit against the city.

Marcelino Alvarez-Victorianos lawsuit had been dismissed by a district court judge in February 2022, but the Iowa Supreme Court allowed it to be reinstated in a ruling handed down in January.

The new suit, which includes additional details, was filed against the city of Waterloo and Officer C.J. Nichols on March 16 in Black Hawk County District Court.

Alvarezs attorney, Molly Hamilton, said Nichols anticipated a gunfight before he arrived, and he shot without surveying the scene. She said officers were close enough to realize Alvarezs weapon wasnt a real gun.

Attorneys for the department havent filed a formal response.

According to court records, Black Hawk County sheriffs deputies responded to a report of a man carrying what appeared to be a long gun walking down the street at 12:50 a.m. April 7, 2021.

When one deputy encountered Alvarez near the foot of the Sixth Street Bridge, Alvarez allegedly picked up the weapon and walked toward him.

A second deputy who pulled up unsuccessfully attempted to hit Alvarez with his squad car. Nichols was third to arrive and shot Alvarez through his squad car windshield.

It was only after the shooting that officers realized the weapon was only an air gun.

Alvarez was paralyzed from the waist down. A review by the Black Hawk County Attorneys Office ruled Nichols acted reasonably and stated no reasonable officer could have determined Alvarez was armed with a BB gun.

In the newly filed suit, Hamilton noted that the original 911 caller didnt claim Alvarez was committing a felony or about to engage in a crime.

She also noted that the two deputies who first encountered Alvarez didnt fire their weapons and attempted to use de-escalation techniques.

Alvarezs attorney also said his back was facing all of the officers involved when he was shot, making it impossible for him to point his air gun at them.

Since the shooting, Alvarez has suffered ulcers and infections, court records state.

The suit alleges excessive force, negligence and depravation of rights and is seeking compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and loss of bodily function as well as punitive damages.

Stills images from officer-involved shooting April 7, 2021 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-11 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-22 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-33 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-44 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-55 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-66 101521ho- Alvarez-shooting-77
Grundy County property owners are eligible for state disaster relief funds to assist with damage caused by Friday evenings severe weather.

Grundy, along with 11 other counties, was part of an emergency declaration announced by Gov. Kim Reynolds office over the weekend.

At least 30 people were reported dead across the South and Midwest as storms ravaged a large section of the nation Friday. No deaths were reported in Iowa.

Other Iowa counties included in the governors declaration were Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Johnson, Keokuk, Linn, Mahaska, Wapello, and Washington counties.

Grundy County Emergency Management Coordinator Chase Babcock said hes received approximately 15 to 20 reports of damage mostly north of Wellsburg. Reports ranged from damage to roofs, doors and siding to grain bins and smaller outbuildings.

He was not aware of any injuries as a result of the weather, with the exception of a driver of a semi-truck that rolled on U.S. Highway 20 who was transported for medical attention by a private vehicle.

The proclamation activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Case Management Program.

The Individual Assistance Grant Program allows households with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level to apply for up to $5,000 for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and temporary housing expenses.

Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for expenses related to storm recovery. The application can be accessed at: www.dhs.iowa.gov/disaster-assistance-programs. You have 45 days from Saturday to submit a claim.

The Disaster Case Management Program addresses serious needs related to disaster-related hardship, injury, or adverse conditions. Disaster case managers work with any clients, as no income eligibility requires exist, to create a disaster recovery plan and provide guidance, advice, and a referral to obtain a service or resource.

The program closes 180 days from Saturday, and more information can be obtained by contacting a local community action association or visiting www.iowacommunityaction.org.

The National Weather Service reported winds upwards of 40 miles per hour in the Cedar Valley on Friday night. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area avoided any significant damage. Residents were made aware of possible tornados and other extreme weather from about 4 until 8 p.m.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes reported in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in a tornados path.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Donald Trump was shown on a video being arrested March 23, fighting and yelling with police, then running. He resisted apprehension until falling, his hair flying.

But the perp walk wasnt real. It was a deepfake uploaded to Twitter by British journalist Eliot Higgins that enraged many of Trumps followers.

Computer-altered videos mimicking an individuals appearance and voice in seemingly real-life situations are no longer just futuristic.

The second season of The Capture, a BBC/Peacock drama, indicates how nefarious it can be.

A British cabinet minister gives a live interview about his decision to deny a Chinese company a contract for nationwide facial surveillance, but viewers instead see a deepfake of him approving the deal.

In the first season, hackers uploaded a deepfake of a woman being assaulted onto the CCTV system for political reasons.

Britain has 4 million closed-circuit TV cameras in public areas. Civil servants monitor the CCTV videos for possible criminal perpetrators using facial surveillance. (The Iowa Department of Public Safety and FBI can gain access to your drivers license photo for facial recognition searches.)

The plots arent far-fetched. The Kremlin hacked into a live Ukrainian news broadcast with a deepfake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky volunteering to surrender, while urging his people to give up their fight.

It failed, in part, due to Putins puppets pathetic production values. Zelenskys face pixelated and his voice was wrong. Its not that the Kremlin hadnt practiced. It previously botched hacking into a Ukrainian live broadcast with fake election results.

The Kremlin also uses deepfakes to discredit domestic dissidents, including a sexualized deepfake of a female foe.

Socialist Venezuela tried its hand on a YouTube channel, House of News, with purported American anchors Daren and Noah  both deepfakes  waxing about the wonders of its repressive government and bashing opponents until it was outed.

Venezuela has exported the technology elsewhere in South America to foment unrest.

Graphika, which detects disinformation campaigns, last year warned about Spamouflage, a pro-Chinese influence operation using AI-generated videos with fictitious people.

It has happened here.

In 2020, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) shared a doctored video of Joe Bidens position on defunding the police, while Trumps White House spread a fake video of Biden asleep during a TV interview.

Its not just political. A Philadelphia-area woman created deepfake videos to discredit her daughters cheerleading rivals for allegedly posing nude, drinking and smoking.

Its easy. Washington Post columnist Geoffrey Fowler wrote, Ive made George Washington sing disco and Marilyn Monroe blow me a kiss. With just a photo and an iPhone app, I can create a video of any face saying, or singing, whatever I want. And now so can you.  Its simple, fun  and also troubling.

Because technology companies like Facebook and Twitter either are overwhelmed by posts or dont have the resources to monitor deepfakes  purported policies aside  it requires a discerning public to differentiate real from fake.

Given the gullibility associated with QAnon-style fakery, thats a daunting task.

Photos: Amid ChatGPT outcry, some teachers are inviting AI to class
Kids understand active shooter drills, lockdown drills and know where to run to escape danger. Have you seen kids running for safety on the evening news?

Legislators offer thoughts and prayers.

Iowa legislators regulate bathroom usage in schools, interfere with family health decisions and target LGBTQ students. Which kids do we value?

Young parents cant find safe, reliable, available and affordable child care in Iowa. Is this on Iowa legislators agenda?

Legislators ban books, divert money away from public schools and make decisions on what should be taught in schools. Are Iowa legislators trained educators?

The recent settlement involving the University of Iowa and a group of athletes stipulated the individual to be in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Iowa Legislature wants the regents universities to halt any plans for expanding DEI. Really?

Iowa wants to limit SNAP benefits to families who need it the most. Food banks fill backpacks for kids to take home on weekends. How about students in grades K-12 eating lunch at no cost to their families?

The majority of Iowans see the injustice in all of the above. Where are Governor Reynolds and her Republican legislators?

Julie Rokes, Dike
No amount of money, arms or personnel sent to Ukraine will alter that wars outcome -- a bloody stalemate, leaving a devastated land and people. The winners? Arms manufacturers and undertakers. Oh, and China.

Who seriously believes the current propaganda that this a war to preserve democracy? Ukraine has never seriously known democracy, either as a Soviet appendage or as an independent nation state. It has long been known for its abysmally corrupt governments, and as being the money laundering capital of Eurasia, where funds go to disappear only to reappear as bribery money to underwrite dark interests around the globe. While Putin is no Mr. Rogers, Ukraines Zelensky is certainly no George Washington.

Peoples of both Russia and Ukraine worked generations to recover from Hitlers attempt to obliterate them. Military assistance came too late to prevent this conflict. Our pretend Monopoly dollars are merely extending a senseless, unwinnable war of attrition. Carthaginians once said of the Romans: They make a desert, and call it peace. Lets not behave like the ancients. This proxy war has come to resemble a grotesque, barbaric cock fight, while we bystanders cheer it on. America has no dog in this hunt. Count me out.

Steve Kapler, Waterloo
WYNNE, Ark. (AP)  Storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes killed at least 26 people in small towns and big cities across the South and Midwest, tearing a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage's scope.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in a tornado's path.

Residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school's roof shredded and its windows blown out. Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses.

Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead. A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm, she said.

Recovery was already underway, with workers using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the area and utility crews restoring power.

Nine people died in Tennessee's McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

The majority of the damage has been done to homes and residential areas, said David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville.

Gov. Bill Lee drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the worst week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife, Maria, attended earlier in the day.

Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state, Lee said. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her 2-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming.

She kept asking me, What do I do, daddy?" Day said, tearing up. "I didnt know what to say.

After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and over barbed wire and drove to nearby family. On Saturday evening, baby clothes were still strewn about the site.

In Memphis, police spokesman Christopher Williams said via email late Saturday that there were three deaths believed to be weather-related: two children and an adult who died when a tree fell on a house.

Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions from Friday night are expected to return Tuesday.

In Belvidere, Illinois, part of the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble.

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," concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV.

The man was dead by the time emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 others were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries.

Crews cleaned up around the Apollo on Saturday, with forklifts pulling away loose bricks. Business owners picked up glass shards and covered shattered windows.

In Crawford County, Illinois, three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron, said Bill Burke, the county board chair.

Sheriff Bill Rutan said 60 to 100 families were displaced.

Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indiana's Sullivan County, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 is essentially unrecognizable right now" and several people were rescued overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said.

Im really, really shocked there isnt more as far as human issues, he said, adding that recovery is going to be a very long process.

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than 50 were hurt, some critically.

The National Weather Service said that tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165 mph (265 kph) and a path as long as 25 miles (40 kilometers).

Masoud Shahed-Ghaznavi was lunching at home when it roared through his neighborhood, causing him to hide in the laundry room as sheetrock fell and windows shattered. When he emerged, the house was mostly rubble.

Everything around me is sky," Shahed-Ghaznavi recalled Saturday. He barely slept Friday night.

When I closed my eyes, I couldnt sleep, imagined I was here, he said Saturday outside his home.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. On Saturday, Sanders requested a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden to support recovery efforts with federal resources.

Another suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabamas Madison County, officials said, and in northern Mississippi's Pontotoc County, authorities confirmed one death and four injuries.

Tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa and broke windows northeast of Peoria, Illinois.

The storms struck just hours after Biden visited Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes from the latest event, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.

Thats a quite active day," he said. But thats not unprecedented.

More than 530,000 homes and businesses were without power as of midday Saturday, over 200,000 of them in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.

The sprawling storm system also brought wildfires to the southern Plains, with authorities in Oklahoma reporting nearly 100 of them Friday. At least 32 people were said to be injured, and more than 40 homes destroyed.

The storms also caused blizzard conditions in the Upper Midwest.

A threat of tornadoes and hail remained for the Northeast including in parts of Pennsylvania and New York.

DeMillo reported from Little Rock. Associated Press writers around the country contributed to this report, including Kimberlee Kruesi in Adamsville, Tennessee, Harm Venhuizen in Belvidere, Illinois, and Corey Williams in Detroit.
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Manan Bridge and its stele house in February 2023 Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



In the late 19th century, there were not that many permanent bridges outside of Seoul and its immediate vicinity. Most of the larger rivers and streams were either crossed by small ferries or by temporary bridges  the smaller bridges were made from pine branches and earth while the larger bridges were made from timber, trunks and branches from trees.



During the rainy seasons, residents in the area would often dismantle the bridges to prevent them from being swept away by floods. James S. Gale, a missionary from Canada, explained that during "the 6th moon (of the lunar year) the (temporary bridges were) pulled up by official order, and (were) only replaced at about the beginning of the 9th moon."



Once the bridges were pulled up, travel in the interior became much more difficult as the travelers and their ponies were forced to wade through the water, which often resulted in an unwanted bath due to a misplaced step or slippery rock.





Pedestrians and bicyclists share the single lane passing under the bridge in February. Robert Neff Collection



Even if the bridge was present, travelers sometimes elected to cross the stream or river. Isabella Bird Bishop, an intrepid travel writer, claimed "the bridges are specially (sic) infamous; in fact, they were so rotten that the 'mapu' (horse grooms), would not trust their ponies upon them, and we forded all the steams."



Somewhat surprisingly, there are accounts of missionaries and travelers crossing rivers upon the shoulders of their Korean servants and bearers. Apparently, they trusted their servant's footing more than their own or they were reluctant to get wet  ironic considering many of these early travelers wrongfully stereotyped Korean laborers as being afraid of water, especially when it had soap in it.





The stele-house and the bridge in February. Pedestrians and bicyclists still use the bridge to cross the stream. Robert Neff Collection



While it may be true that there were not many permanent bridges outside of Seoul, they did exist. One beautiful stone bridge still in use in Anyang is known as Manan Bridge.





A single pedestrian/bicycle lane passes beneath the bridge, February. Robert Neff Collection

This bridge, completed in 1789, was originally made from wood and built to facilitate King Jeongjo and his entourage's travel to Suwon so that the monarch could visit the tomb of his father  Crown Prince Sado  which had been removed to that city.



Considering April 5 is Arbor Day, it seems fitting to note this anecdote. According to Homer Hulbert, it was about this time that King Jeongjo had an enormous tree in Hamhung protected with a wall. This tree was "so large that ten men holding each other's hands could but just encircle it. The shadow which it cast was 'a hundred furrows wide.'" However, it was not the size of the tree that caused the king to protect it  it was the tree's history. It was beneath its great boughs that King Taejo (the first king of the Joseon Dynasty) had practiced his archery.



As to the bridge, in 1793, when King Jeongjo and his great party traveled to Suwon, they found the bridge to be rather inconvenient so it was rebuilt using stone in 1795  a feat that took only three months.





The bridge, over two centuries old, is surrounded by modern apartment buildings but on the smaller streets around the stream are small restaurants that remind one of Korea a couple of decades ago. Robert Neff Collection



For centuries, the bridge stood but even stone cannot defy Mother Nature and the course of the stream changed. By the early part of the 20th century, the bridge fell into disuse and was partially buried. In 1980 it was recovered and reconstructed.



It continues to serve its community as a convenient means of crossing the stream and as a popular place for cyclists to stop and take selfies.





Despite being surrounded by high-rise apartments and a nearby train station, the area is tranquil and thriving with waterfowl and pedestrians. Robert Neff Collection
Melody Groves was not born in the Old West, but its fair to say it lives inside her.

The earliest memories of the Las Cruces native are infused with the history, excitement, the color, smell and terrain of the West. She has pursued its past with the passion of a posse hell-bent on justice, or something similar.

Id go into the desert and places like Hatch and Rincon with my mom and dad, she said. Id ride horses and visit ghost towns. My dad liked to listen to Western music, and my parents had a friend who would come by on a horse that was 18 hands high. This friend was the neatest guy. I remember he had a big hat. That, to me, was the West.

It seems only natural that after a career teaching high school and middle school in Albuquerque, Groves would turn to writing about the West. She has 13 books, fiction and nonfiction, to her credit. One of the most recent, Before Billy the Kid: The Boy Behind the Legendary Outlaw, has been awarded the Western Writers of America Spur Award for biography.

The book explores the earliest days in the life of a gunhand and horse thief who died young, a youth Groves describes as polite, educated and popular, someone who spoke Spanish fluently and liked to sing and dance.

Billy was fun, Groves said. I would have liked to have known him.

Connecting dots

The WWA, founded in 1953, is a national organization made up of more than 700 professional writers. The organization presents the Spur Awards for excellence in writing about the West in 19 categories. In addition to Groves, New Mexico Spur winners this year include Bob Rosebrough, Gallup, for contemporary nonfiction book; Larry D. Thomas, Las Cruces, for poem; and Randy Huston, Rociada, for song. Several New Mexicans were also Spur finalists. Winners and finalists will be honored during WWAs convention June 21-24 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Groves, 70, lives in Albuquerque and continues to explore the West  from Missouri to Nevada, Texas to Saskatchewan and all over New Mexico  with her husband, Myke, 70, a retired filmmaker and a photographer whose photos have appeared in his wifes books and magazine articles.

She remembers vividly the first time she saw Andrew Grzelachowskis old mercantile store in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico. Thats where the Kid, then a prisoner on his way to jail in Las Vegas, New Mexico, ate his last Christmas dinner in 1880.

There was this big, old store and the threshold was all worn down, Groves recalled during a recent interview in her Northeast Heights home. There was this old man there, 110 years if he was a day. He said his dad remembered Billy the Kid coming to dances at the store.

Not far from where Groves is sitting in her living room, theres a mahogany drum table that once belonged to Pat Garrett, the Lincoln County sheriff who shot and killed Billy on July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

Groves doesnt put any stock in stories that the man Garrett killed was not Billy and that the Kid lived on, lying low in Mexico or elsewhere.

He was so popular, he would have resurfaced (if he were still alive), she said.

It is likely more has been written about Billy the Kid than any other Old West character. Why was Groves moved to add another book to that massive pile of print?

I have about 30 books about Billy and they are all by men, she said. Im female and see things from a different point of view.

One thing she brings to her book are new ideas about what motivated Catherine McCarty, the Kids mother.

I just kind of connected the dots, she said.

Guns and bruises

Groves is not afraid to go to extremes to experience the more authentic aspects of the West she loves. When she was 48, she went to bullriding school in Denver.

I was the only woman in the class, she said. The rest were men and the oldest of them was 36.

Her first bull was named Smiley, maybe because he knew how attempts to ride him would turn out.

I got out of the chute and into the arena before I came off, in about 2 seconds, she said. I came off on my back and then my head. I literally saw stars. I got a concussion.

Two years later, now 50, she returned to the school. Maybe she had forgotten how her first go-round there turned out. That can happen with concussions.

She got on a total of five bulls during her two stints at the school, but did not stay on any of them for the 8 seconds required to score.

Eight seconds doesnt seem like a lot of time, but when you are on a back of that bull it feels like forever, she said. The last bull I went on, it was my fault I got hurt because I didnt warm up enough. I ripped my shoulder muscles. I went about 3.5 seconds.

For 10 years, starting in the 90s, she was a member of the New Mexico Gunfighters Association, which staged gunfights in Albuquerques Old Town and other places around the city and the state.

We reenacted the shooting of Billy in Fort Sumner, right where the house he was killed in had been, she said. Summer storm clouds, purple clouds were building up. Just as Billy got shot, there was this lightning. It was amazing.

Groves said that even though the bullets were blanks, taking part in those gunfights gave her an adrenalin rush that helped her sense what the real thing might have been like.

I played a harpy wife, a dumb deputy and the bad guy, she said of her leather-slapping days. And I got to shoot a gun.

Favors fiction

Groves first book, published in 2006, was Ropes, Reins, and Rawhide: All About Rodeo, in which she examines the history of the sport and explains its inner workings.

Since then she has written nonfiction about the Butterfield stage line, historic bars of the Southwest and Western lawmen who were also outlaws. Her fiction includes six novels in the Colton Brothers Saga, about the adventures of four siblings in the West of the 1860s, and two novels about Maud Overstreet, a woman who becomes sheriff in a California community in the 1870s. Now, she is mulling over a new fiction series about a man who wants to be an outlaw.

I like fiction, she said. Its not quite so frustrating as nonfiction. Just organizing and cataloging sources (for nonfiction) can be a trial.

But its different with fiction. The Colton Brothers books came alive in her head while she was still teaching school.

The characters would come sit by my shoulder and talk to me, she said.
One great thing about New Mexico is that is offers artists a vast landscape to capture, and that opportunity stretches across a variety of mediums, including writing.

Many authors have used the Land of Enchantment as a mysterious, inspiring backdrop. Rudolfo Anaya, Willa Cather, Tony Hillerman, Paul Horgan, Dorothy B. Hughes and John Nichols are among other fantastic writers who have placed the state in their stories.

On April 6, the fifth annual New Mexico Writers dinner will once again celebrate the immense talent, established and aspiring, that reside in the states writing community.

In addition, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently issued a proclamation making April 6, 2023, New Mexico Literary Day.

The keynote address at the dinner will be delivered by acclaimed poet, author and literary advocate Pat Mora. The Santa Fe-based writer understands how enchanting the Southwest can be for artists.

New Mexico writers can have a certain intensity about their writing, she said. Perhaps one is we have a lot of wonderful space, and sometimes I think, physical space can allow us to take more risks.

Not all of Moras work has been crafted in New Mexico. She was born in El Paso and partially attributes unearthing her talent to her teachers from her youth.

My eighth grade teacher would hand the class a poem on Monday, and Friday, you wrote it from memory, and they were not short, she reminisced. I think that, even though Im sure I grumbled at the time, I think she gave us, and certainly me, a great gift because once you sort of fall in love with poetry, then eventually youre usually going to say, well, I think Im gonna try it.

Moras writing and career has been recognized numerous times. She has received over 50 literary awards and honors, including two honorary doctorates from North Carolina State University and State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo.

Mora has the uncanny ability to write for different demographics, gearing work toward children, teenagers and adults alike, and there are similarities to the creative process for each.

When I decide Im going to explore writing something, whether Im writing for children, or teens or adults, Im going to start by scribbling a bit on a piece of paper, she said. I like to give myself room to explore  Im always trying to find something new to try.

This is also her approach to her keynote speech at the dinner as she ponders the possibilities.

I would say maybe one theme I feel pretty sure that Im going to address is sort of the pleasure of writing, she shared.

New Mexico Writers aims to support a diverse group of writers in the state. The nonprofit organization, which was founded in 2016, provides grants, networking and career development opportunities.

The goal of the dinner is to raise proceeds that go toward public outreach and activities, helping address cultural, financial and professional barriers. Funds are also dedicated to the organizations grantmaking programs, which support writers in a variety of literary fields.

During the event, the 2023 grant recipients will be honored. This years 15 grantees include Jason Asenap, Shawn Patrick Boyd, Victoriano Cardenas, Jaima Chevalier, Jesse A. Colvin, Quintina Deschenie, Susan Melinda Dunlap, Chris Eboch, Cynthia Grady, Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, George R. Matthews, Sylvia Rains Dennis, Santana Shorty, Deborah Taffa and Sage Vogel.

The event, which is being held in the Lumpkins Ballroom at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, will include a reception, dinner, raffle, paddle call and Moras keynote address.

Sometimes youre sitting with writers, sometimes youre sitting with readers, Mora said about the New Mexico Writers dinner. Ive just found it a very pleasant and interesting event.
The 14th annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show brims in a collage of wildlife and landscapes laced with the unexpected and the sublime.

The show runs through April 18, in the Fine Arts Building at Expo New Mexico with work by 92 artists and 188 images by New Mexico photographers.

Photographer Ken Duckert lives in Corrales, where his neighbors offer buckets of dried corn for the migrating sandhill cranes. He spent about an hour one morning photographing the birds soaring above the snow-frosted Sandia Mountains.

I just set up a tripod in my driveway, he said. When the cranes are here, they fly in every direction all day.

We have a lot of drama over the Sandias, he added. The cloud variants are so spectacular.

A retired elementary and middle school teacher, Duckert began learning about photography from a college friend. He worked for three Detroit-area newspapers, shooting weddings and portfolios to pay for his classes.

I kept photography as an avocation, he said.

Duckert moved to Corrales from the Bay Area to be near his daughter. He joined the Enchanted Lens Camera Club, taking workshops and classes.

My learning curve just went vertical, he said.

My whole family are all farmers, he said. I spent all my free time walking through fields and fishing, so I had a real connection with the outdoors. Photography helped me keep those connections with nature alive.

Albuquerque photographer Seddi Razani picked up a camera when she retired from working as a research scientist at Sandia National Lab and the University of New Mexico. When she was working, she photographed tissue samples.

That imaging turned into photography, she said.

Razanis Rufous in the Rain shows a rufous hummingbird perched atop a curling wisteria vine.

I just love birds, she said. It is in my back yard. The hummingbirds come in the beginning of spring and the rufous come later.

I like it when it is raining a little bit and a little cloudy because the colors come out better, she added. It is just like a soft light in the studio.

She set up a tripod in her living room with a zoom lens on her camera.

When I see something beautiful, I just snap a shot, she said.

Taking some photography classes online and at UNM furthered her development, as did joining the Enchanted Lens Camera Club with its monthly speakers.

Today Razani photographs landscapes, cats and butterflies, as well as birds. She also penned a book called Magnificent Wings: My Adventure with Dragonflies around her portraits of the insect. She hopes to do the same with her hummingbird prints.

I love nature, she said. I dont do people because one needs to get permission. With natural things, I dont need to get permission.

Spontaneity alchemizes the magic that fuels Albuquerque photographer Dallas Pottingers photographic passion. He titled his portrait of a green snake slithering atop a branch Is That a Smile.

That is a snake at the zoo, he said. I had a long lens and I saw the snake on the branch and I liked the texture  being able to get sharp detail.

Pottinger used a 300 mm lens, standing seven or eight feet from the snake in its terrarium.

I still dont know how I managed to hold still, he added. I try for something funny in the titles. I dont like art titles.

Pottinger works in real estate, but manages to keep up with photography through the New Mexico Photographic Art Show.

Im very grateful that this great show exists, he said. These people are dedicated to photography.
Andrew Nemethy grew up in the Dover Sun House in Massachusetts designed by Maria Telkes, living there from 1948 to 1963.

I was 3 years old when I moved in, he says. I remember it being sunny and I could play all around it when I was little. As a journalist, I realized that this part of my life was an amazing story.

Nemethy is featured in the documentary, The Sun Queen, which chronicles Telkes life. It airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1, and is broadcast under the American Experience series. It also streams on the PBS app.

The documentary focuses on Telkes, a chemical engineer and inventor who applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun.

She, along with architect Eleanor Raymond, designed and built the worlds first successfully solar-heated modern residence. Telkes identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues  all men  at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy.

Nemethy lived in the house until he was 18, when he moved away for college. His parents owned the house until they died, he says.

Completed in 1948, the Dover Sun House was unlike earlier Telkes prototypes and designed to be lived in by a family.

The Nemethys, a Hungarian emigre family, moved in around Christmas 1948.

It was soon one of the most famous houses in the country, and Telkes became a media celebrity.

I remember my parents giving tours of the home to people who came to visit, Nemethy says. They would open the home up for tours because people wanted to see it.

Telkes continued to innovate and created a solar-powered oven that is still in use and continued to push her vision of solar housing for the masses.

But by the mid-1950s, the Dover Sun House began to fall into disrepair. Materials corroded and systems failed. Undeterred, she refused to see the experiment as a failure and continued to work on refinements.

But the quest for solar solutions was sidelined by the much-publicized failure of the Dover Sun House and an American economy fueled by cheap and abundant petroleum. The age of fossil fuels had arrived.

Scholar Olivia Meikle is featured in the documentary and speaks about Telkes.

What really is the tragedy here is what she could have accomplished, Meikle says. We wont ever be able to know what she could have done. Maybe she could have made these huge leaps. Maybe we could have been a decade or two ahead on solar power from where we are now.

Nemethy says he had a chance to buy the house after his fathers death in 1984, but didnt.

I was living in Vermont and the home had fallen into disrepair, he says. There was some sadness that it had to be torn down. I love that the whole house is being revisited in this documentary. It was ahead of its time and pure fun for me as a child growing up.

ON TV

The documentary, The Sun Queen, which chronicles Maria Telkes life, airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It also streams on the PBS app.
The Lost Archive: Stories by Lynn C. Miller is a rewarding read. Rewarding for a number of reasons.

Miller, a Los Ranchos de Albuquerque resident, is a storyteller who knows how to hold the interest of the reader.

These 22 short stories, some previously published, demonstrates writing that is crisp, smart, accessible and engaging.

They arent linked thematically. Each story is sturdy enough to stand on its own.

Three of the literary styles in the collection include the realistic, the historical and the speculative; yet they mesh without being off-putting.

Here are examples of two of the realistic stories I especially enjoy.

The first, a mere 3 pages in length, is Duluth. Jackie is a young woman weary of Minnesota winters. She yearns to move to southern California, where shes from. Her beau, George, grew up on the shores of Lake Superior, some little town in some little inlet. He wants to remain in Duluth. Under questioning from Jackie, George declares he doesnt have a new love. Its something else. No spoiler here.

The other example is Davids Harvest. Its set on a farm in North Dakota and zeros in on a young girl named Kath, her brother David and their wildly aggressive, hard-drinking teen-age cousin, Eddie. The harvest of the storys title carries a double meaning. Miller grew up in rural North Dakota.

Two stories in the collection are clearly historical.

One is The Last Usher, which Miller said is a modern retelling of Edgar Allan Poes Gothic story The Fall of the House of Usher.

The other is Words Shimmer. Its about the Saturday evening salons Gertrude Stein famously hosted for artists and writers at her Parisian apartment on the Left Bank in the early decades of the 20th century. Such artists as Pablo Picasso and writers such as Ernest Hemingway dropped by.

The story focuses on Steins growing dispute with her rigid brother Leo over which contemporary artists works to collect and her new-found love and soon-to-be partner, Alice B. Toklas.

Miller is quite familiar with Gertrude Stein. Miller spent 20 years giving one-person stage performances with monologues she wrote about her. Stein, an American ex-patriot, was also a poet, novelist and playwright.

And what of the speculative? A number of the stories in the collection fit neatly into this category. Two that I favor are Pale Blue and Curiosities.

Pale Blue tells about a 10-year-old girl who divides up the incoming mail at home. One day she sees her father slip a letter into a coat pocket. The letter is in a blue envelope with a childs block printing. Not hers. She asks her dad who it is from. His slippery reply is Just someone. Someone I used to know. The girl desperately wants to find out who that unknown person is and why her dad disappears for days.

The story Curiosities opens with a woman, Sophie, walking on a dark downtown street of the fictional town of Smithfield. Its almost midnight. She hears footsteps behind her. She fearfully quickens her pace and enters an unlocked shop of curiosities. The following footsteps, as it turns out, belong to her ex. The story is really about Sophies and the shop owners remembrances of her proud, beautiful mother, Gabe.

The books title was informed by Millers thoughts about the possibility that archives could refer to peoples lives and, except for the stories about Gertrude Stein and Poe, the collection is about ordinary people who in some cases are lost, as in Where is my life going?

Miller is cohost of a monthly Apple podcast The Unruly Muse. The other cohost is John Modaff, a former student of Millers who is a musician and sound engineer.

Their podcasts feature songs, poems and stories. Miller said the March episode includes an excerpt from her story The Last Usher.

Miller has written four novels, one of which, The Day After Death, was named a 2017 Lambda Literary Award finalist. She is a retired college professor and co-publisher of Bosque Press. Her website is lynncmiller.com.

If you go

Lynn C. Miller will read from and discuss The Lost Archive with poet-editor Hilda Raz at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at Books on the Bosque, 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane NW, Suite A-2.  On Friday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m. Miller will be at Books on the Bosque with authors Cynthia Newberry Martin (Love Like This) and Cynthia Sylvester (The Half-White Album).  At 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, Miller and author Michael Parker (I Am the Light of This World) will read from and discuss their recent books at Bookworks, 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW with editor/writer Laura Furman.
Dirt is being turned over at Winrock Town Center. Behind Dillards, cranes roll up and down hills, developing Winrocks new 2.5 acre park, which is expected to open in the coming months.

But a new park isnt all thats in the works for the town center at 2100 Louisiana NE. Long known as a retail hub, the amount of office space in the center is minimal. But over the next 2 1/2 years, the amount of office space is expected to skyrocket to almost 100,000 square feet as Winrock developer Goodman Realty embarks on two new office developments  one of which will include a new food hall.

It really feels like were at a tipping point, said Darin Sand, senior vice president of Goodman Realty Group, the developer behind Winrock.

First on the agenda is the Portland building, a three-story, mixed-use office building. The company requested construction bids on March 21, and the overall cost is yet to be determined. Goodman Realty hopes to start construction in May and finish the project by spring 2024.

The Albuquerque metro area has long suffered a shortage of office spaces, particularly Class A office spaces  which are located in prime areas and offer the most amenities to tenants.

I dont know when the last time a new office building was built here, Sand said.

At the end of 2022, office vacancy in the city hit a record low of 10.7%, according to a Jan. 25 report by real estate company CBRE, rounding out seven years of declining vacancies. According to the report, there has been no new office construction since 2018.

The 30,000-square-foot building includes a strip of retail on the bottom that could house up to six tenants. The remaining 20,000 square feet will be earmarked as office space and would be able to house between three and four companies.

The building will neighbor the former Montgomery Ward building, which now houses New Mexico Orthopaedics and will be filled with additional retailers.

The Portland building will look a bit different from the other buildings around Winrock. In fact, it will look different from New Mexican architecture in general. The design is based off of Pacific Northwest design architecture with wood elements  hence, the name Portland. Sand said the design was inspired by Goodman Realty CEO Gary Goodmans love of Oregon.

Thats really where it comes from, Garys love for the Northwest, Sand said. We dont have anything like that here that I know of, architecture-wise.

About a year after the Portland building is completed, Sand said, Goodman Realty expects to open a second, larger office space which will include a food hall on the bottom floor.

This is just the start of the office at Winrock, Sand said.

The second building, which has yet to be named, will include three stories of office space, totaling about 64,000 square feet. The food hall will host about 20 restaurants, and include a mezzanine and outdoor beer patio, facing the planned amphitheater in the park.

The Portland building and the second office building will straddle the parking garage, bridged together by the patio.

Picture: While youre typing, looking out big windows, then coming downstairs for a meeting or two at the food hall, or meeting people in the park, Sand said.

The food hall will be kitty-corner to Park Square Market, the Uptown new food hall announced last week by Sawmill Market developer Heritage Hotels & Resorts. The two new projects would join a growing portfolio of food halls in the Albuquerque metro area, including Green Jeans Farmery, Tin Can Alley and Central 505 Food Hall.

Winrock Town Center opened in 1961. By the early 2000s, the shopping center was nearly vacant, with the notable exception of anchor tenant Dillards, which has remained open since the Winrock location opened in 1992. Goodman Realty bought the property in 2007 from the longtime owner PruWinrock LLC.

Sand says Goodman hopes the new focus on office space, as well as other amenities, will draw in large out-of-state corporations.

With the central location, tremendous access right off of I40  and all the amenities here, if theyre seeking a place where their employees would really desire to come to work and attract them, Sand said, I dont know where else you would want to go.
CATCHES OF THE WEEK

Val Armijo of Albuquerque caught a 20-inch brown trout on the Rio Chama using a Panther Martin spinner below Abiquiu Lake on March 23.

At Cochiti Lake, Ensley Aguilar of Kewa Pueblo caught a 31-inch pike using an 8-inch swimbait March 21.  Nathaniel Sierra of Albuquerque caught and released eight catfish up to 30 inches long using cut carp bait March 19.

Brandon Hawkins of Las Cruces caught a 4-pound smallmouth bass at Elephant Butte Lake using a shad-pattern jerkbait March 25.

Nikolai LaVolpa, 6, of Albuquerque caught his limit of rainbow trout at Estancia Park Lake using PowerBait on March 21.

Ricky Torres, 7, of Santa Teresa caught his first fish and a total of four rainbow trout at Grindstone Reservoir using garlic PowerBait on March 19.

Vincenzo Padilla of Albuquerque caught a 15-inch rainbow trout at Morphy Lake using pink lemonade PowerBait on March 24.

Trevor Stevenson of Lubbock, Texas, caught a 27-inch rainbow trout on the Pecos River using a worm March 18.

Mario Martinez of Taos caught a 24-inch pike on the Rio Grande using a brown trout-pattern lure March 24.

Antonio Lente, 8, of Los Lunas caught a 14-inch and 17-inch rainbow trout at Tingley Beach using rainbow PowerBait in the kids pond March 19.

Korey Beckner won the Hereford Bass Club Tournament at Ute Lake with a total weight of 11.64 pounds using a spring craw-pattern Berkley Frittside Crankbait on March 26.

Frank Rittel and Brian Rittel of El Paso, Texas, caught their limits of trout at Young Pond using corn March 24.

If you have a catch of the week story, send it to funfishingnm@gmail.com.

NOTES FROM GAME & FISH

Northeast fishing report

Cabresto Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Charette Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the Cimarron River near Cimarron on Monday morning was 4 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Fishing for trout at Clayton Lake good using worms and PowerBait. Fishing for walleye was fair using curly-tail grubs and crankbaits.

Conchas Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

At Costilla Creek, the Valle Vidal is closed to fishing until July.

Cowles Ponds had no reports from anglers this week.

Coyote Creek had no reports from anglers this week.

The Eagle Nest Lake surface is closed to all activities due to deteriorating ice conditions. For updated lake conditions, visit the parks webpage or call the park office at 575-377-1594.

Eagle Rock Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

National Forest closures have been in place restricting fishing access on the Gallinas River. Visit the Santa Fe National Forest webpage or call the Santa Fe National Forest office at 505-438-5300 for the latest closure information.

Hopewell Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Alice is closed due to unsafe ice conditions.

Lake Maloya had no reports from anglers this week.

Los Pinos River had no reports from anglers this week.

Maxwell Lake 13 had no reports from anglers this week.

Monastery Lake has been freshly stocked with trout and reopened for fishing. The Benedictine Monastery Lake is part of the Departments Open Gate Program. Please visit our website for more information about this property.

Fishing for trout at Morphy Lake was good using pink lemonade PowerBait and Thomas spoons.

Streamflow on the Pecos River near Pecos on Monday morning was 40 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using perdigon flies and worms.

Streamflow on the Red River below the Red River Hatchery on Monday morning was 42 cfs.

Streamflow on the Rio Grande below the Taos Junction Bridge on Monday morning was 536 cfs. Fishing for trout was fair using Panther Martin spinners and nightcrawler worms. Fishing for pike was slow to fair using brown trout pattern lures and Woolly Bugger flies south of Pilar.

Streamflow on the Rio Hondo near Valdez on Monday morning was 14 cfs.

Streamflow on the Rio Mora near Terrero on Monday morning was not measured due to ice.

Streamflow on the Rio Pueblo near Penasco on Monday morning was not measured due to ice. Fishing for trout was good using pink and purple nymph flies.

Fishing for trout at the Santa Cruz Reservoir was very good using bright-yellow PowerBait.

Shuree Ponds is closed to fishing until July.

Springer Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Storrie Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Stubblefield Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for walleye at Ute Lake was good using jigs with live minnows or Berkley Gulp minnows and bottom bouncers with live minnows. Fishing for white bass was fair to good swimbaits and deep-diving crankbaits. Fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass was good using spring craw-pattern Berkley Frittside crankbaits. Fishing for crappie was fair to good using live minnows in 15-20 feet of water. The main lake water surface temperature was in the low 50s, and the water was clear.

Northwest fishing report

Abiquiu Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the Animas River below Aztec on Monday morning was 310 cfs.

Fishing for trout at the Albuquerque Area Drains was fair to good using white egg pattern flies and orange PowerBait.

Fishing for all species was slow at Bluewater Lake.

Brazos River had no reports from anglers this week.

Canjilon Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for pike at Cochiti Lake was good using 8-inch swimbaits. Fishing for smallmouth bass was fair using chartreuse and orange swimbaits. Fishing for catfish was good using cut carp bait.

El Vado Lake is closed due to dam construction project. For more information, visit El Vado Lake State Parks webpage or call 575-588-7247.

Due to deteriorating and dangerous ice conditions, Fenton Lake is now closed for ice fishing. Going onto the ice or throwing objects onto the ice is strictly prohibited. The park will remain open for day use and camping. For updated lake conditions, visit the parks webpage or call the park office at 575-829-3630.

The city is in the final stages of repairs at Grants Riverwalk Pond and stocking will resume soon.

Heron Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

At the Jemez Waters, streamflow near Jemez on Monday morning was 70 cfs. Fishing for trout above Fenton Lake was fair using pink Trout Magnet lures. Due to the rising popularity of fishing in Valles Caldera National Preserve, the National Park Service will begin charging a fee for its fishing permits starting April 1, 2023 to support the management of its fishing program. The new fee schedule will be $20 for an annual pass ($10 for youth 12-17) and $5 for a 7-day pass ($3 for youth 12-17). A state of New Mexico fishing license is also required to fish within Valles Caldera. For more information visit nps.gov/vall.

Laguna del Campo had no reports from anglers this week.

Lagunitas Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Lake Farmington had no reports from anglers this week.

Stocking efforts at McGaffey Lake have been suspended due to extremely low water levels and unstable ground conditions. Lake conditions will be monitored and stocking will resume once conditions improve.

Fishing for pike at Navajo Lake was fair using large streamer flies and jerkbaits.

Streamflow on the Rio Chama below El Vado Lake on Monday morning was 213 cfs; streamflow below Abiquiu Lake Monday morning was 247 cfs. Anglers reported the water clarity below El Vado Lake was murky. Fishing for trout below Abiquiu Lake was good using Panther Martin spinners. Please remember, from the river-crossing bridge on U.S. Highway 84 at Abiquiu upstream 7 miles to the base of Abiquiu Dam is special trout waters with a bag limit of two trout only.

Rio Grande had no reports from anglers this week.

Riverside Park Pond (Aztec Pond #1) had no reports from anglers this week.

San Gregorio Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the San Juan River near Archuleta on Monday morning was 289 cfs. Fishing for trout in the quality waters was slow to fair using San Juan worm flies and red annelid flies.

Seven Springs Brood Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Tiger Park Reservoir had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Tingley Beach was good using rainbow PowerBait. Fishing for trout in the catch-and-release pond was good using midge pattern flies.

Trout Lakes had no reports from anglers this week.

Southwest fishing report

Fishing for trout at Alumni Pond was good using double-hackle Pistol Pete spinner flies. Fishing for bass was fair to good using largemouth bass pattern streamer flies, and large gold, gray and green streamer flies.

Bear Canyon Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

The department is conducting a boater and angler improvement project at Bill Evans Lake from February to April. Improvements include the installation of a new concrete boat ramp and dock; improvements to the existing boat ramp; the installation of rock, fishing jetties; road improvements; and re-grading the north camping access area. Anglers should expect road and lake closures during construction. For current conditions, contact the departments Fisheries Management Division at 505-476-8055. Anglers are encouraged to visit surrounding lakes such as Bear Canyon Lake, Lake Roberts and Trees Lake for alternate fishing locations.

Fishing for catfish at Caballo Lake was good using cut bait.

Fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass at Elephant Butte Lake was good using shad-pattern jerkbaits, square-billed crankbaits and silver-and-blue Rapala lures. Fishing for white bass was fair to good using small, chartreuse jig heads with soft plastic baits. Fishing for crappie was good using small, dark-colored jigs and live minnows. Fishing for catfish was good using live minnows and cut bait.

Fishing for trout at Escondida Lake was good using salmon-peach PowerBait.

Fishing for trout at Estancia Park Lake was good using PowerBait.

Streamflow on the Gila River near Gila on Monday morning was 539 cfs.

Fishing for trout at Glenwood Pond was good using salmon eggs and orange PowerBait.

Fishing for trout at Lake Roberts was good using rainbow-pattern spoons, yellow-and-black Panther Martin spinners, crawdad-pattern lures and nymph flies from a boat. Fishing for trout was fair to good using cheese PowerBait from the shore.

Percha Dam had no reports from anglers this week.

Quemado Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for all species was slow at Rancho Grande Ponds.

Streamflow on the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte Dam on Monday morning was 0 cfs. Fishing for walleye was fair to good using cut bait near Elephant Butte Lake.

Snow Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Trees Lake was good using PowerBait and worms.

Fishing for trout at Young Pond was good using salmon eggs, corn, cheese PowerBait and garlic PowerBait.

Southeast fishing report

Fishing for trout at Alto Lake was good using PowerBait.

Bataan Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Please visit the Open Gate webpage for more information on Berrendo Creek.

Streamflow on the Black River at Malaga on Monday morning was 3 cfs.

Blue Hole Park Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Bonito Lake is closed until further notice by the City of Alamogordo due to fire damage.

Bosque Redondo Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Bottomless Lakes was fair to good using green PowerBait.

Brantley Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Carlsbad Municipal Lake was fair to good using lime-green PowerBait.

Chaparral Park Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Corona Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Eunice Lake was fair to good using corn-flavored PowerBait.

Fishing for trout at Green Meadow Lake was good using worms fished beneath a bobber.

Greene Acres Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Fishing for trout at Grindstone Reservoir was good using garlic PowerBait and salmon-peach PowerBait.

Fishing for trout at Harry McAdams Park Pond was good using homemade dough bait. Fishing for bass was fair to good using purple, plastic worms and creature baits.

Fishing for trout at Lake Van was good using PowerBait.

Fishing for trout at Ned Houk Ponds was good using salmon-peach PowerBait.

Fishing for trout at Oasis Park Lake was good using PowerBait.

Streamflow on the Pecos River below Sumner Lake on Monday morning was 55 cfs.

Perch Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Rio Bonito had no reports from anglers this week.

Streamflow on the Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood on Monday morning was 33 cfs.

Rock Lake Hatchery Kids Pond had no reports from anglers this week.

Santa Rosa Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Sumner Lake had no reports from anglers this week.

Timberon Ponds had no reports from anglers this week.
As a proud member of the Zuni Pueblo and a senior at Zuni High School, I fully supported Senate Bill 9, the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund. I have seen firsthand how outdoor programs can change the lives of young people in New Mexico, and I believe the Legacy Fund will help ensure these programs can continue to make a difference for generations to come.

In the summer of 2022 I was lucky enough to participate in an outdoor program through the Zuni Youth Enrichment Program (ZYEP), which is funded in part by the Outdoor Equity Fund. It was a trip to Chaco Canyon with a group of other Zuni youth, and it was truly transformative. Before that trip, I had always enjoyed spending time outside, but I had never really thought about the deeper meaning of our relationship with nature.

Chaco Canyon was a turning point for me. Seeing the incredible architecture of our ancestors, and learning about how they lived in balance with nature, really opened my eyes. I realized my ancestors had a much deeper connection to the land than I ever imagined. And I also realized it is up to my generation to continue that legacy.

That trip to Chaco Canyon gave me a new perspective on my role as a steward of the environment. It also inspired me to pursue a career in firefighting. Both my grandfather and my father were hotshots from Zuni, and I have always looked up to them as role models. But after visiting Chaco Canyon, I knew firefighting was more than just a family tradition  it was a way to protect the air, land and water that are so important to my community and my culture.

Thats why I am so passionate about the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund. This fund will provide a permanent source of funding for outdoor programs in New Mexico, including the Outdoor Equity Fund. This means more young people like me will have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of the outdoors.

The Legacy Fund will also help to create jobs in outdoor recreation and conservation. As someone who is just starting to think about my own career, I know this is an important issue for many young people in New Mexico. The outdoor industry is a major economic driver in our state, and the Legacy Fund will help ensure it continues to grow in a sustainable and equitable way.

But most importantly, the fund is about investing in the future of our state. New Mexico is home to some of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in the world, and we have a responsibility to protect them for generations to come. The fund will help ensure our natural resources are managed in a way that is sustainable and equitable, so that everyone can benefit from them.

I thank all legislators who supported passage of SB 9 and the governor for signing it into law. This is a historic opportunity to create a better future for all New Mexicans. Because by investing in outdoor programs and conservation, we can ensure our state remains a land of enchantment for generations to come.
In Hearing Examiner Defends Process that Rejected Merger, March 19 Journal, Ashley Schannauer challenges comments I recently made to the Journal about irregularities in the process leading to denial of the PNM-Avangrid merger by the former Public Regulation Commission in December 2021. It is presumptuous to think that, in the rarefied field of utility regulation, any one of us gets it exactly right all the time. That includes the commission, hearing examiners amongst whom Schannauer has an outstanding record, and myself. However, I stand by my observations. This case was handled in ways I hadnt seen before in my 27 years working at or before the PRC.

For starters, Schannauer admits he provided Spanish court records to commissioners, not available for viewing by intervenors, outside the routine protective order process for confidential information that is afforded by commission rule. And yes, Schannauer admitted into evidence the pre-filed testimony of all witnesses. But his 284-page recommended decision does not even mention testimony describing merger benefits by 10 expert witnesses representing Western Resource Advocates, Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, the union of electrical workers IBEW Local 611, Interwest Energy Alliance and tribal and community groups from the Four Corners region.

I did not suggest Schannauers conclusions about potential self-dealing were improper  just surprising. It is common for investor-owned utilities to have parent companies and competitive affiliates. The commissions affiliate transaction rule, Rule 450, has been in place for decades to protect ratepayers from the risk of an adverse effect on utility rates and service. Rule 450 and federal rules regarding fair competition are strong tools that discipline the dealings between affiliates and a utility, especially one that is a balancing authority like PNM. Schannauer refers to these rules in a conclusory and dismissive fashion, stating theyre insufficient to oversee the dealings between PNM and Avangrids renewable affiliate.

It is also an oversimplification to state that none of the parties in the case wanted it reopened to consider additional merger benefits. On the last day of the hearing, PRC vice chair Joseph Maestas encouraged Avangrids CEO to continue to negotiate with commission staff regarding the $15 million in economic development Avangrid had committed to. Commission staff and Avangrid reached an agreement increasing funding to $25 million and setting reliability standards with automatic penalties. They filed a joint motion describing those agreements on Aug. 23 and proposed a limited reopening of the record if necessary. However, Schannauer denied that joint motion on Aug. 27, saying it was new evidence and, without an opportunity to cross-examine, would violate the due process rights of New Energy Economy and another objecting party. When no such follow-up motion was filed, Schannauer declined to include those benefits among what was being offered to the state and issued an order striking those portions of Avangrid and PNMs brief that described them, using inclusion in their brief as an example of Avangrid flouting commission orders.

For Schannauer to express indignation on behalf of his own integrity and the former commission is unnecessary. I am honored to have worked alongside him and the other brilliant dedicated public servants at the commission. I am not questioning anyones integrity, only the process. And too much is at stake here to fight over who is right. New Mexico deserves a fresh look at the merger.

Cydney Beadles worked at the Public Regulation Commission from 1996-2019 representing staff experts in utility proceedings.
Getty Images



By Baek Byung-yeul



Open Net, a nonprofit organization leading the opposition against Korean internet service providers that make major tech companies pay network usage fees, is being questioned over its credibility as the organization received research funding from Netflix, according to an industry source, Friday.



"Open Net recently received tens of millions of won from Netflix Korea in the name of research funding related to network usage fees, according to data from the National Tax Service," the industry source said.



"The industry view is that most of the research funds Open Net received were likely used to represent the positions of Big Tech companies such as Netflix and Google, which are pushing against sharing the burden of network usage fees," the source added.



The source also said Netflix provided financial support for research of Open Net due to concerns that the discussion of network usage fees would not be in favor of content providers at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event, which was held in Barcelona from Feb. 27 to March 2.



According to the source, one of Open Net's directors wrote an opinion piece for a local newspaper recently, stating that there was significant opposition at the MWC to forcing content providers to pay network usage fees.



Open Net received a donation of 300 million won ($229,626) from Google Korea at the time of its establishment in 2013. As of 2021, the organization had received a total of 1.36 billion won from Google Korea.



"Open Net was sponsored solely by Google Korea when it was established in 2013. As the debate over the network usage fee bill intensified in Korea, Google has been actively opposing the bill along with Open Net," the source said.



The source also claimed that the organization has been operated by funding from Big Tech companies such as Google and Kakao.



"According to Open Net's donation expenditures reported in 2021, it spent about 180 million won on various entities including a law firm for public interest litigation. There is no issue with Open Net spending donations on public interest lawsuits. But the problem is that Korea University's law school professor Park Kyung-shin, who also serves as a director of the organization, works as an adviser of the law firm," the source said. "The Corporate Tax Act says that a non-profit organization must use donations for public interest purposes, not for the benefit of members."


The images and quantities are ever-staggering. Plastics bags filled with hundreds of thousands of baby-blue tablets. Rubber band-bound stacks of $100 bills. Enough guns for an amphibious landing.

Just in the last month, authorities in Albuquerque seized 330,000 fentanyl pills in two separate investigations, along with $142,000 in cash, three semi-automatic rifles, eight handguns and a gold-plated money counter Al Capone would have been proud of.

Yet thats just a fraction of the fentanyl on the streets in Albuquerque.

Theres little debate almost all the fentanyl consumed in the U.S. is produced and processed in Mexico.

And much of it is headed through or to New Mexico.

An attempted State Police traffic stop near the Big I in February led to the seizure of 230,000 fentanyl pills weighing 50 pounds and about $130,000 in cash. SUV driver Edward E. Vallez, 42, is an alleged member of the Surenos gang and has a lengthy criminal history in New Mexico. He crashed his SUV allegedly fleeing State Police and then tried to escape on foot.

FBI searches in late March at the Albuquerque homes of two alleged TCK gang members netted around 100,000 fentanyl pills, $12,000 in cash, three semi-automatic rifles, eight handguns, two bulletproof vests, a grenade fragment vest and the gold-plated money counter.

Prosecutors say Jerry J. Bezie, 34, had an incredible amount of drugs at his Southeast Albuquerque home and Julian A. Leyba, 37, was selling large quantities of fentanyl pills, meth and guns to motel tenants near Coors and Iliff.

Prior to 2016, fentanyl was most often seen in overdose deaths involving prescription opioids, according to the New Mexico Department of Health. Fentanyl is now found in other illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine, and only a small amount of the powerful synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin can cause an overdose.

Two of the four in-custody deaths at the Metropolitan Detention Center last year were fentanyl-related. Fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49 and is the root cause of many crimes.

A record 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with more than 70,000 of those tied to fentanyl. More than 1,215 New Mexicans have died from a fentanyl overdose in the state since 2019.

Officials in the Biden administration say theyve mounted the most successful campaign ever against fentanyl traffickers, citing record seizure amounts and recent arrests. Republicans blame Bidens immigration policies for the increase in fentanyl smuggling and overdose deaths, saying U.S. agents and officers are so overwhelmed and distracted by a record level of illegal migration that theyre too busy to stop illegal drugs from entering the country.

Its becoming clear Mexico cant be counted on for help. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said last month his country does not produce or consume fentanyl, despite enormous evidence to the contrary that fentanyl is produced at labs in Mexico using precursor chemicals imported from China.

Customs and Border Protection seized nearly 15,000 pounds of fentanyl during fiscal year 2022, the highest amount ever, and seizures this year are on track to nearly double. More than 90% of the fentanyl stopped by CBP is detected at ports of entry along the Mexican border.

Lopez Obrador says the U.S. fentanyl problem is a result of social decay and that we should use family values to fight drug addiction.

Fortunately, societal views are changing, seeing drug abuse not as a moral shortcoming, but as the behavioral health disease that it is.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a Senate panel recently the record number of Americans dying of fentanyl overdoses is now the single greatest challenge we face as a country.

At least theyre waking up.

Some members of Congress are calling on the Biden administration to consider designating Mexican traffickers as foreign terrorist organizations, and several Republican lawmakers have been calling for U.S. military strikes in Mexico against criminal groups and traffickers.

A far better option is Operation Blue Lotus, which DHS has intensified to stop fentanyl trafficking across the countrys southern border. The campaign uses new scanning technology, more drug-sniffing dogs and other detection tools to ramp up interdiction efforts and build criminal cases.

State collaboration is vital for interior enforcement, because fentanyl is easy to conceal and can be very difficult to detect. And its low manufacturing cost allows traffickers to make a profit even when some giant loads are seized.

Local, state and federal agencies concluded a 90-day operation last June specifically targeting fentanyl traffickers. Operation Blue Crush resulted in 310 arrests mostly in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and southeastern cities such as Carlsbad, 60% of which were related to fentanyl. Of 130 kilograms of drugs seized, 54 were fentanyl, with a street value of $5.4 million.

We need more coordinated efforts like Operation Blue Crush given the shocking quantities of fentanyl being seized and the numbers of lives being ruined.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, we must fight fentanyl on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the fields and in the streets and in the hills, and we shall never surrender.

Complacency isnt an option.

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.
There was a Glock .45, serial number BRGY817, used in a drive-by shooting that left a 13-year-old girl with a bullet in her hip. It was also fired during an alleged gang squabble at a party that left two men injured.

And an FN pistol, serial number 38639282, found by police in Phoenix, Arizona, when they searched the home of a man who sold drugs to undercover officers.

Also a CZ Scorpion AR-pistol, serial number E049277, found during a bust on a 17-year-old who sold fentanyl to undercover agents  the gun was later tied to several shootings.

According to police, those are just three of nine guns legally purchased by Adin Kellner at Albuquerque gun shops between October 2019 and December 2021.

Most of those guns have since been traced to drive-by shootings, drug trafficking and indiscriminate gunfire around the city. Kellner, 25, and his younger brother Riley Kellner, 20, faced charges in some of those incidents, but in other cases its unclear how his weapons ended up in the hands of others.

Both brothers are currently charged with shooting at or from a motor vehicle and conspiracy in a Jan. 31 drive-by that left Adins ex-girlfriends car riddled with bullets.

A judge denied a pretrial detention motion for Adin Kellner, who has no criminal history according to online court records. He was released on pretrial conditions including an ankle monitor.

Riley Kellner and an accomplice, Jimmy Ward, 22, are also charged in a Feb. 25 incident where they fired a gun and danced on a car, waving guns around, in Downtown Albuquerque. A judge granted a motion to keep Riley Kellner behind bars until trial.

Attorneys for the brothers did not return calls for comment.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said there is a larger investigation ongoing into the matter and that more charges are expected.

This is an important arrest that is part of a larger investigation that should result in local and federal charges, he said. Chief (Harold) Medina made this investigation a top priority when he became chief because it involved groups engaging in gun violence throughout the city.

A criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court lays out how the guns purchased by Adin Kellner were connected to various crimes, including separate shootings that left several people injured.

Here are the guns Kellner purchased and where each ended up, according to the complaint:

Adin Kellner bought a Glock 9mm, serial number BKWS514, in October 2019 from Sportsmans Warehouse. The gun was recovered in February 2020, when police found a 17-year-old boy hiding the gun in his sweater, according to the complaint. That gun was connected to bullet casings found in the Ridgecrest area days after it was bought by Kellner.

Adin Kellner bought an Omni Arms AR-pistol, serial number NS233245, in December 2019 from BMC Tactical, but police said that gun has not been recovered.

Adin Kellner bought a Glock 9mm, serial number BKSS262, in March 2020 from Ponderosa firearms. It was recovered by police in November 2020 after a person found it in the stairwell of a Ramada Plaza hotel. Nine days later, a friend of Kellner falsely reported the gun stolen from his car. The gun was fired by another man at two women outside a Halloween party in 2021.

Adin Kellner bought a SCCY 9mm, serial number 881894, in May 2020 from Sportsmans Warehouse. It was recovered by police in July 2020 when Adin Kellner fired the gun while intoxicated with his brother outside their home. He was cited for negligent use of a firearm.

Adin Kellner bought two FN pistols in June 2020 from Ponderosa Firearms. One pistol, serial number 38639282, was recovered in May 2021 by the Phoenix Police Department when they busted a man who sold drugs to undercover officers over social media.

Adin Kellner bought a Glock .45, serial number BRGY817, in November 2020 from Omni Arms. It was recovered in April 2022 when police found it under the drivers seat of Jimmy Ward, 22, during a DWI arrest. The gun matched bullet casings from seven different shootings between July 2021 and January 2022. There were no injuries reported in three of the shootings, including at a birthday party where two men fired at the home after being kicked out. But in the other four incidents, someone was hit. Among those shootings, the gun was used in a September 2021 shootout between alleged gang members that left two men shot; was used in two shootings in January 2022, a drive-by where a 13-year-old girl was shot; and an incident where Riley Kellner barged into his ex-girlfriends home with a gun and then went outside, fired it and injured a 21-year-old. Riley Kellner was charged with multiple felonies in the last incident, but the charges were dismissed when his ex-girlfriend refused to cooperate.

Adin Kellner bought a Glock 9mm, serial number BRGY817, on Dec. 19, 2020, from Omni Arms. It was recovered February 2021 when police found the gun on Riley Kellner after he sold marijuana to an undercover officer. Riley Kellner was charged but the case was dropped, according to court records, due to the limited availability of adequate laboratory testing and in order to make efficient use of resources after New Mexico decriminalized marijuana in April 2021.

Adin Kellner bought a CZ Scorpion AR-pistol, serial number E049277, on Dec. 26, 2020, from BMC Tactical. It was recovered in October 2022 when police found it at the home of a 17-year-old who sold fentanyl to undercover detectives. The gun matched bullet casings from seven different shootings, including the birthday party, the drive-by and the incident at Kellners ex-girlfriends home where the Glock .45 was also used.

Adin Kellner bought a tan Glock 19x 9mm, serial number BURN135, in December 2021 from BMC Tactical. The gun was used in four separate shootings, including gunfire that pierced a mans window in July 2022 and a drive-by that injured a man in November 2022. The gun was also used to shoot up Adin Kellners ex girlfriends SUV.

On Jan. 31, police responded around 12:30 a.m. to reported gunfire at the Union 505 Apartments near the Big I. The ex-girlfriend told police her SUV was shot up after she blocked Adin Kellner on Instagram and she saw his Jeep fleeing the area.

Adin Kellner was interviewed on Feb. 7 but not arrested.

Then, on Feb. 25, police responded to gunfire near Third and Central and a Chrysler 300 was seen leaving the area. Police then watched as two men, later identified as Ward and Riley Kellner, took turns dancing on the car and waving guns as a woman recorded it on her cellphone.

Police said, at one point, Kellner fired a gun from the back seat of the car.

Hours later, Bernalillo County deputies found a reportedly intoxicated Ward in his wrecked car surrounded by Modelo beer cans and an empty bottle of Peach Crown Royal.

On March 7, police searched the Kellner brothers social media and found posts about dealing fentanyl and photos of the pair firing guns at city parks and on the mesa. Police arrested Riley Kellner at a Blakes Lotaburger and Adin Kellner on East Central.

Officers searched their home and found three guns, miscellaneous ammunition and extended magazines.

A detective asked Adin Kellner about the drive-by shooting outside his ex-girlfriends apartment. He told police he was upset after she talked about shooting up his home on social media and shared his address.

Adin Kellner told police he wanted to get them first and the two brothers made a plan, according to the complaint. Adin Kellner said, once at the complex, he handed Riley his Glock 19x and the brother fired multiple times at the ex-girlfriends vehicle.
EL MACHO  Even after they unlock it, Irene Romero and her sister, Lucille Quintana, have trouble opening the front door of the old mission church in this canyon community nine miles north of Pecos.

Thats because the door has not been used a lot since COVID-19 shut down the world three years ago. The threat of COVID retreated, but severe cracking discovered in the churchs south wall in 2021 prevented its reopening and is jeopardizing its future.

The two women, and their two other sisters, Emily Ortiz and Mary Helen Biles, are the mayordomos or caretakers of this 19th-century place of worship and are spearheading a drive to raise the $100,000-plus needed to repair the church and make it safe.

Its a recent weekday morning, just days before Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. When they get the door open, Romero and Quintana pause as they look up the aisle toward the altar. A latticework of timbers braces the deteriorating south side of the building. Pews from that side have been moved to the north side and Stations of the Cross have been taken down from the damaged wall.

The churchs interior might look dusty and in disarray to those whose hearts and heritage are not embedded here. But for these women, this place is not so much about what they see as what they feel.

Its so very, very spiritual, Quintana, 64, said.

Holy History: A look at five church buildings of New Mexico With guidance from State Historian Rob Martinez, the list gives "a nod to the many

Almost surreal

For more than 165 years, the mission church has been a reassuring presence in Pecos Canyon, a steadfast and physical reminder of sacrifices endured by ancestors and of those peoples unflinching Catholic faith. As you drive N.M. 63 through mountains and trees and along the Pecos River, it appears suddenly, like a vision.

Its almost surreal, said Brian Sandoval, 54, who grew up in Pecos and owns Frankies restaurant there. It takes you back in time when you go in there. Its a mud church on a hillside. You feel very connected and centered and grounded to the earth.

The church, which can accommodate about 100 people, is made of adobe and has a ribbed, metal panel roof. A sacristy constructed in 1962 to replace the original sacristy is the only part of the church made from non-traditional materials. The building has no water or electricity. It is lighted by candles and lanterns and warmed by a wood-burning stove. A low stone wall, built in 1916, surrounds the church, and graves are scattered throughout its yard.

It is common these days to refer to this venerable building as El Macho Mission Church due to its location in a place named for a male mule. But according to the archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, the church was christened Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, Our Lady of Guadalupe, when it was built about 1857.

I think about my ancestors, who were very poor people but somehow erected this church, Romero, 67, said. That was their priority. That church had to be built. Even when they did not have food, they had to honor God and keep our faith going. Thats the most important thing about preserving it. This is my heritage. I have to continue my familys journey.

Faith and tradition

The old church in El Macho is administered by San Antonio de Padua, or St. Anthonys Church, in Pecos. Over the years, services at the mission church have varied. There would be regular Sunday Masses during the summertime, or a Saturday Mass once a month during the summer. Occasionally there were weddings and baptisms or rosary services for the recently deceased.

What most people associate with the church is Las Posadas, a Catholic devotion practiced during the Christmas season, that recreates Mary and Josephs search for lodging in Bethlehem. There is singing and prayers and food. Up until COVID intruded, Romero said Las Posadas was celebrated at Our Lady of Guadalupe for decades, drawing 50 to 100 people to the church.

Wed have candles and lanterns inside and luminarias and farolitos outside, she said. Wed use a generator for Christmas lights.

Sandoval, owner of Frankies, provided food and farolitos for Las Posadas.

We set up the farolitos and the Christmas tree, getting up early and taking our oil lamps, in the middle of December before Christmas, he said. Some of these older guys would go and help set up. I realized that was their Christmas. They would help set up, but they would usually stay outside during Posadas.

Children play the roles of Mary and Joseph, shepherds and angels.

Irenes daughter, Sabrina Romero, now 46, portrayed the part of Mary when she was a child.

There was no electricity. You had to hold a candle, she said. I dont know how to say it, but it felt like you were someplace else. A very special place.

Emily Ortiz, 59, recalled the near-magical experience of stepping outside the church during Posadas and soaking up the silence of a winter night that was broken only by the murmur of the Pecos River.

Sandoval said Las Posadas at Our Lady of Guadalupe keeps him connected to and involved with the traditions of his Catholic faith.

Few things are as truly northern New Mexico as Posadas in that little church, he said.

Paying respect

Moisture and erosion are apparently the culprits that have caused the structural damage to the church. Needed repairs are extensive and were originally estimated at about $93,000. Irene Romero said revised estimates, which include making the church accessible to the elderly and disabled, put the cost at well over $100,000.

Both Rev. Chike Uba, former pastor of St. Anthonys Church, and Rev. Christopher C. Nnonyelu, the present pastor, have supported renovation plans and a grass-roots, door-to-door fundraising effort. Irene said $72,778 has been raised so far. Donations have come mostly from the Pecos/El Macho area, but also from throughout the state and out of state.

A lot of people know the church from camping, hiking and fishing near there, she said.

Dolores Baca, 67, lives in Pecos and is a cousin of Irene and her sisters. Their fathers lived in El Macho and grew up right across from the church. She said preserving it is like paying respect to her ancestors.

We would spend a lot of time there at that church when we were growing up, she said. I knew by the stories my father told me that the original cemetery is not the cemetery around the church. It was up on the mountain. My father and his family saw lights up there in the 20s and 30s, back when the mines were going full blast at Tererro. People burying people up there. We went up there some years back and there is really nothing left.

There used to be a school beside the church. Thats where my dad went to school. The church was very active when my dad was young.

She has fond memories of riding horseback to the mission church from the ranch she grew up on, approaching it from above on a mountain trail.

Wed stop and just gaze at it, she said. It stood out. When the wind was right, even when we were four or five miles up the hill, we could hear the bells. The church is part of my fathers history, my grandparents history, my great-grandparents history. Its part of me. It is sacred ground. It is blessed.

A healing place

Frank Herrera, 76, lives across the highway from the church and once served as its mayordomo. He still tends to the church cemetery. His late wife is buried there. He and she celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in the mission church just months before she died.

For me (the church) is a very spiritual thing, a monument left there by our ancestors, he said. I put it right in the same category as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire. Both are very peaceful.

Sandoval took his grief to the mission church 27 years ago when his brother Frankie, for whom Sandovals restaurant is named, died.

I did a lot of healing up there, he said. I found a lot of solace there. I still do, and I want to preserve it.
Instagram Celebrity

The 'Legally Blonde' actress confirms a prenuptial agreement and cites irreconcilable differences in the legal documents she submitted with court to officially end Jim Toth marriage.

Apr 2, 2023

AceShowbiz - Reese Witherspoon has officially lodged documents to divorce her husband Jim Toth. The 47-year-old actress confirmed the end of the couple's 11-year marriage last week and has cited irreconcilable differences as the reason behind the spilt in court documents that have been obtained by TMZ.

Filed in Nashville - where the pair live with their 10-year-old son Tennessee, the documents reveal that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement in March 2011. Reese had suggested that the agreement is valid and will provide "adequate and sufficient provisions" for their assets and debts.

As the split was filed in Davidson County and involves a child, Reese and Jim are required to take parenting classes and have 60 days to present a certificate of completion to the court.

An insider had claimed that Reese's marriage woes had been "brewing for a long time" but the 'Legally Blonde' star did not want to call time on her union with Jim. The source told UsWeekly, "Reese never wanted her marriage to end, but it's not a secret that this has been brewing for some time."

"She really does adore Jim. [She] couldn't have asked for a better stepdad and father to their son, Tennessee. They had a very healthy relationship and a lot of great times together but like a lot of couples, they grew apart."

Reese - who also has children Ava, 23, and Deacon, 19 with first husband Ryan Phillippe - announced her split with Jim in a statement that was posted on Instagram. The statement read, "We have some personal news to share... It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce."

"We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together. Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter. These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyone's respect for our family's privacy at this time."

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The head of Catholic Church jokingly assures public that he's 'still alive' after he was released from a hospital in Rome following a treatment for a respiratory infection.

Apr 2, 2023

AceShowbiz - Pope Francis quipped that he's "still alive" after being released from hospital. The 86-year-old pontiff was released from Rome's Gemeli Hospital on Saturday, April 1 after being admitted earlier this week for treatment for a respiratory infection.

While at the hospital, the pope hugged a couple whose daughter had passed away and signed a boy's cast before leaving on Saturday morning. "I wasn't frightened, I'm still alive," he told reporters.

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will be at St Peter's Square for Palm Sunday mass that marks the start of Holy Week and will preside over the Easter celebrations.

The pontiff - who had part of one lung removed as a younger man - had complained of breathing difficulties before he was admitted to hospital for tests on Wednesday, March 29. A statement about his health said, "The tests showed a respiratory infection (COVID-19 infection excluded) that will require some days of medical therapy. Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayers."

The pope has had other health issues and had part of his colon removed in 2021 due to diverculitis. He said earlier this year that the condition had returned and blamed it for his weight gain, although he was not overly alarmed.

Pope Francis has also been using a wheelchair for over a year due to strained knee ligaments and a small fracture but has been seen walking with a cane more frequently in recent times. The pope declined to have surgery on his knee because he didn't respond well to general anaesthetic when having his colon operation.

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The One Direction member was spotted sharing an umbrella with his Asian former flame as they went home together, only hours after he locked lips with the 'Gone Girls' star.

Apr 2, 2023

AceShowbiz - Harry Styles was seen with former flame Kiko Mizuhara, just hours after sharing a steamy snog with Emily Ratajkowski. Late last month, Harry, 29, was caugh on camera kissing Emily, 31, after a concert in Tokyo but, later that night, Harry was seen heading home with his ex Kiko, 32, after a party.

"Harry and Kiko go back a long way and he can totally be himself around her. She also understands that he is known everywhere he goes, so it was a chance for the pair of them to catch up away from the prying eyes of fans. Harry loves Tokyo, and it is a really special place for the two of them," a source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper's Biz on Sunday column.

Harry and Kiko's 5 AM stroll through the deserted party district of Shinjuku together was picked up on a live-streaming webcam. He was seen wearing a pair of angel wings that Kiko had been sporting earlier at a party and, at one stage, they sheltered together under her clear plastic umbrella.

Harry and Kiko, 32, reportedly dated briefly in 2019 and the popstar flew to Tokyo several times to meet up with her. She is now believed to be dating American pianist John Carroll Kirby.

Meanwhile, the stroll came just hours after Harry was spotted making out with model Emily, a pal of his most recent ex Olivia Wilde's. Harry and Olivia split in November 2022 after nearly two years together.

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When the Morgan Freeman-Luke Hemsworth film Gunner hits the screen, Alabama viewers may recognize some Birmingham-area locations.

Filming has been taking place at WaterMark Place in Bessemer, and director Dimitri Logothetis recently told WVTM-13 that he plans to stage a big action sequence at Sloss Furnaces. This is an older town, Logothetis said of Bessemer in a WVTM report. And so an older town gives you a lot of texture.

Collider.com reported in January that Hemsworth, known for his work in the TV series Westworld, plays the hero of the film. According to Collider, Hemsworth will play Lee Gunner, a Special Forces veteran on a camping trip with his kids. However, the family vacation becomes a nightmare when the kids accidentally find a fentanyl lab in the woods and get kidnaped by drug runners. Gunner must put all his deadly training to the test as he faces off against not only the cartel but the FBI and local law enforcement to get his kids back safe and sound.

In a more recent update, Collider reported that Morgan plays criminal kingpin Kendrick Ryker, whose son sets things in motion by kidnapping the kids.

Logothetis has been sharing images on his Facebook page. Several days ago he posted a shot of himself with the two leading men and the caption, Day 1. The wild ride with Luke and Morgan.

Its not a long trip for Freeman to work in Birmingham: The actor has a home in Gulf Shores and its not unusual for him to be sighted in the area. He even serves on a panel that screens police recruits.

Logothetis credits include Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxer: Retaliation. Once this project is over, the director told WVTM, he may not be done with Alabama.

This whole film is scheduled to be shot here, he said. In the future were looking down in Mobile for another film.
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Foreign tourists shop for cosmetic products at a CJ Olive Young store in Seoul, on March 22. Courtesy of CJ Olive Young



By Kim Jae-heun



Local retailers are busy preparing for foreign tourists who are expected to visit in large numbers this April as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and travelers return around the globe.



This month, in particular, will see several big holidays such as "Songkran," the Thai New Year in Thailand and Good Friday in the Philippines, thereby offering travelers from Southeast Asia the opportunity to visit Korea.



Shinsegae Department Store will be handing out welcome gifts such as eye mask packs and beverage coupons to tourists who get new mileage cards issued in-store. Shinsegae Duty Free plans to deploy helpers who can speak Thai and Vietnamese in its stores. They will work from Saturday to Monday during peak time, and help with interpretation.



Lotte Department Store is also running a promotion to provide gift cards worth 5 percent to 7 percent for purchases made by foreign customers this month. Lotte Duty Free held a briefing session for 50 local travel agencies to attract tourists from Southeast Asia, Japan and China too.





Shoppers walk on the popular street of Myeong-dong shopping district in Seoul, on March 22. Korea Times file
Its Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy Week, leading up to the celebration of Easter next Sunday, April 9.

Millions of Christians worldwide carry palm leaves in processions today to recall Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem for Passover week nearly 2,000 years ago, when cheering crowds waved palms, hailing what they expected to be a political savior.

Jesus was later crucified by the Romans with crowds shouting approval, according to Gospel accounts.

Commemorating Palm Sunday with palm branches goes back to the early Christian church. It remains a favorite among parishioners, who are handed palm branches or palm crosses as they enter the church at many services.
Alabama state lawmakers return to Montgomery this week following their spring break and Nashville will loom large over gun-related matters expected to surface this week.

The nations latest deadly shooting on Monday occurred at a private religious grade school, prompting lawmakers nationwide to revisit the seemingly never-ending debate over gun control.

Related content:

The two political parties remain split over gun rights and gun control, and those divides are playing out in Alabama. Democratic lawmakers are pitching for tighter gun restrictions at or near schools, but gun rights groups like Bama Carry are expressing concerns.

And in a Legislature with a Republican supermajority, those bills and others face uphill climbs.

Certainly, I have concerns about any bill that seeks to control firearms or erode the Second Amendment, no matter how mundane or trivial it seems, said state Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City. A little erosion here, a little erosion there, and before you know it, youre buried under an avalanche.

Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, who is sponsoring a bill that could limit gun possessions on school properties that could spark the most passionate debate in Montgomery next week, said frustrations are likely to be expressed in the coming weeks.

It gets to the point of when is enough, enough? he said. How much bloodshed is necessary to do the obvious things to stop this situation?

Gun bills

The newest gun bills before the Legislature are surfacing less than a year after Republican lawmakers approved Alabama becoming the 25th state to have permitless carry  sometimes referred to as constitutional carry -- despite concerns expressed by many law enforcement officers including sheriffs who are typically a strong GOP ally.

The Alabama Legislature spoke loudly about its stand on the Second Amendment when it passed constitutional carry legislation last year, so any lawmaker who attempts to weaken our gun rights will quickly discover that dog wont hunt, said Republican Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth who, five years ago while serving in the Legislature, sponsored legislation that would allow teachers and administrators to be armed while at school if they had undergone appropriate firearms training.

A wild card could exist in the coming weeks in the form of a gun-related package set to be pushed out by the Alabama District Attorneys Association.

The group of state prosecutors announced they are pushing for harsher penalties against convicted felons from possessing guns. And there is also a push from the organization to have enhanced penalties against any criminal who uses a gun to perpetrate their crime.

I dont think this is the climate right now to bring any soft-on-crime legislation, said Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey, president of the statewide district attorneys association.

Said Ainsworth, Felons who are in possession of guns after their rights revoked must be punished harshly and without mercy.

Legislation is also expected to surface to help sheriffs recoup lost revenues from the elimination of a pistol permit requirement. The Mobile County Sheriffs Department, for instance, lost around $800,000 in permit revenues during the second half of last year.

The Association of County Commissions of Alabama is working to draft legislation that would supplement the lost permit funding to sheriffs departments.

A few of the gun-related bills to have surfaced include:

Alabama State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa.

HB28 , sponsored by England, removes a new section of Alabama law that exempts pistol permit owners from being allowed to carry firearms on school property. A hearing is scheduled on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, and England calls the timing of the hearing occurring about one week after the Nashville shooting a coincidence but adds that the likelihood that you introduce legislation that coincides with another school shooting, just kinds of points out that it happens too often here in America.

HB12 , also sponsored by England, makes it a misdemeanor if, during a traffic stop, a person in possession of a firearm fails to inform a law enforcement officer that he or she has a concealed gun. Said England, its about restoring balance to law enforcement and having them try to maintain public safety.

HB64 , sponsored by Rep. Ron Bolton, R-Northport, makes it a Class C felony for an undocumented immigrant who is residing in the U.S. illegally, to be in possession of a firearm. Bolton, a former police captain, said the legislation would mirror federal law, but would allow prosecutors to pursue charges via state courts. If we had it under state law, wed handle it that way and not through federal court that makes it more cumbersome, Bolton said. The legislation has support gun rights groups like Bama Carry.

HB123 , sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, assesses criminal penalties against parents or guardians who do not secure their weapons that are discovered in possession of their child on school property. The legislation, if adopted, makes it a Class C felony against a parent or guardian if their child takes their firearm to school if that weapon is not reasonably secured at home.

HB181 , sponsored by Butler, establishes the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, and prohibits a financial institution from disclosing a customers payment card records related to firearm transactions  with certain exceptions  and from engaging in discriminatory conduct toward a merchant or customer engaged in the transactions. Butler said the legislation is a simple matter of privacy, and that a gun owner should not have to worry about their financial records being demanded by the government in retaliation.

SB126 , sponsored by Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, establishes the Gun Violence Protective Order Act. It would require gun owners who have been issued a court-imposed gun violence protective order to relinquish their firearms for at least one year. The legislation is surfacing at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a request from the Justice Department to make it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to own firearms.

HB191 , sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Birmingham, would impose harsh sentences on someone who possesses or uses a firearm during a crime that benefits a gang. Treadaway is a former assistant police chief in Birmingham, and his bill would impose a prison term of not less than 5 years if a gang member is found in possession of a gun. If the firearm is a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun, the prison term would be at least 10 years. If its a machine gun, or is equipped with a silencer, the prison term is at least 30 years.

School safety

Children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site at the Woodmont Baptist Church after a deadly shooting at their school on Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jonathan Mattise)AP

Democratic leaders feel the state should have a robust discussion over guns on school properties in the aftermath of the deadly shooting in Nashville.

The shooting led to hundreds of school children, parents and teens marching on the Tennessee Capitol Thursday calling on a Republican-dominated legislature to push forward gun reform.

Often times we talk about (school shootings) not happening in our community, but its 90 miles from my home to where this happened in Nashville, said State Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, the Minority Leader in the Alabama House. We shouldve started working on a path forward after Columbine (school shooting in 1999). No, you wont eliminate (school shootings). But you can do things to make parents, families and communities feel safer.

Statistics show that Alabama is battling an alarming rise in gun-related violence. The state ranks No. 5 in the U.S.  behind Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming, and Missouri -- for the most shooting deaths per capita, at 23.6 gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents. From 2011-2020, gun-related deaths increased by 47% in Alabama, according to data by Everytown for Gun Safety.

Weve seen so many tragedies and its almost like we are becoming desensitized to it, said England. When I was growing up, wed have tornado drills. Wed sit in the hallways and put our head between our legs to prepare ourselves for natural disasters. Now our kids go to school to do drills to deal with someone who brings an AR-15 to campus to kill them. Its that stark reality that if it isnt enough to motivate us to do something different, then I dont know if its possible.

England said he is hopeful HB28 will stir a wider conversation next week about guns, adding that at some point, people got to be more important than guns. People also have to be more important than your ability to possess something like an AR-15 which has no other purpose than to kill.

Englands proposal could have support from law enforcement. Earlier this year, Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine urged lawmakers to clear up the permitless carry law on whether guns should be allowed on school campuses.

I would be an advocate of not allowing firearms on school property, he said. The fact were having this discussion today simply tells you there is a lot that is misunderstood (about the new law) and there is no clarity.

Paul Arnold, vice-president of Bama Carry, said Englands legislation has the potential to criminalize law-abiding gun owners who drive too close to schools.

There are only two reasons that someone would get a gun permit now, and one is to be within 1,000 feet of a school and the other is reciprocating (with other states), Arnold said. If you swing by to pick up a kid at school and you have your permit in your vehicle, youre not a criminal. But (England) will make a lot of people criminals from just picking their kids up from school.

Parental accountability

State Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, provides an update on Alabama House Democratic initiatives during a news conference on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at the State House in Montgomery, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Arnold also said he has a problem with Drummonds legislation, saying that it could be problematic to prove a parent allowed their child access to their guns if they were properly stored.

Kids being kids, somehow they will know the combination lock, he said.

Drummond said HB123 is aimed at assuring children are protected at school.

The bill was introduced before the Nashville tragedy occurred. In the approximately quarter-century since Columbine, there have been 376 school shootings in the U.S.

We have a Second Amendment right and those students have a right to be safe on school campuses, she said. I look at it as a responsibility and accountability deal for parents and guardians to do the right thing and secure your weapons from children.

The legislation might have some support from prosecutors. Bailey, the president of the DA association, said in certain situations, parents should be held accountable and should be accountable.

He added, If they give their child a firearm to carry and the child knowingly carries them to school, (the parents) should be prosecuted.

Criminal crackdown

Bailey also believes the timing is right to crack down on criminals and gun possession given a rise of gun violence in Alabamas largest cities since the onset of the pandemic.

He said the goal is to prevent violent felons  those who commit murder, sexual assault, or robbery  from possessing weapons.

Were finding out that not much is happening to these individuals once police arrest them, Bailey said. They come out and recommit violent crimes.

He said, as proposed, the legislation will issue a five-year enhancement penalty for violent felons who possess a gun.

Another enhancement under consideration is a 10-year prison sentence issued against anyone who commits a felony and is in possession of a gun at the time of the offense, Bailey said.

Arnold said that Bama Carry is concerned with the District Attorneys draft legislation, which he said has language that redefines what constitutes an automatic firearm. He said the organization will refrain from further commenting until legislation is introduced.

Arnold said the general gun-related legislations pitched in Montgomery are a knee jerk reaction following the latest high-profile shooting.

If the crime of murder doesnt make anyone think twice, I dont think these feel-good laws will have any effect, said Arnold. But they want to say, we are doing something. The problem is that its not a gun problem. People lose compassion (for others), are taking God out of schools and are being raised in single-parent households. When I was going to school in the 70s, everyone had a rifle in the back of their vehicles.

He added, Something has changed, and its not the guns.

Freedoms or restrictions

England, though, said its troubling when gun rights advocates are more concerned about their freedoms to carry weapons over the public health and safety of children.

Polling shows a divide among the political parties over their views about the role firearms play in Americans public health concerns. An Axios-Ipsos poll released on Feb. 23, shows that 35% of Democrats surveyed feel that guns and firearms access are the No. 1 health threat facing Americans, compared to only 4% of Republicans.

Firearms recently became the No. 1 cause of death for children and teens in the U.S., surpassing motor vehicle deaths and those cause by other injuries, according to an analysis by Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit providing health policy analysis and journalism.

At some point, people got to be more important than guns, said England, an assistant city attorney in Tuscaloosa. People also have to be more important than your ability to possess something like an AR-15 that has no other purpose than to kill.
The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles is moving back to its old location in downtown Montgomery.

The bureau moved to the Capitol Commerce Center off Interstate 85 in east Montgomery in 2019. The Retirement Systems of Alabama is renovating the bureaus former offices at the RSA Criminal Justice Center on Ripley Street, two blocks from the State Capitol.

Bureau Director Cam Ward said the bureau plans to move by January 1, when the lease at the Capitol Commerce Center expires. Ward said there are 183 employees in the bureaus state headquarters. Another 35 employees who work in a separate information technology office on Perry Hill Road will also move to the renovated Criminal Justice Center.

The bureaus monthly rent will increase from $115,000 to $122,000. But Ward said the renovated Criminal Justice Center offices will be a better fit. The Criminal Justice Center also houses offices for the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The Commerce Center was the headquarters for Colonial Bank until the banks demise in 2009.

Its a bank building, Ward said. Thats what it was designed for. It was really not designed for us. We have more business we conduct downtown. I deal with DOC, ALEA, the Legislature. Everybody will be under one ceiling. Which makes it better for us. Its more conducive for what we do.

Statewide, the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles has about 780 employees, including probation officers and support staff, and 62 field offices, according to the bureaus annual report. Officers supervised about 22,000 active offenders. Those include about 77 percent who are on probation and 18 percent on parole.

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, the three-member board that decides whether to grant paroles and pardons, will also move back to the RSA Criminal Justice Center, along with its support staff. The board has held its hearings at the Commerce Center for the last couple of years. Ward said it will be beneficial to return parole hearings to the larger and renovated hearing room at the Criminal Justice Center. He said the building will be set up better and allow separate entrances for opposing parties who attend parole hearings -- crime victims and their advocates, and family members and advocates for inmates seeking parole.

The inmates families come in from one side, into the hearing room, Ward said. Then the victims, victims rights advocates, come in from another side. All come through secure locations. They come into a room, then they leave and park in different places. You dont want to mix that population together. Thats asking for problems.

The move to the Commerce Center came under former Bureau Director Charlie Graddick, who resigned in November 2020 after 14 months on the job. Gov. Kay Ivey picked Ward to replace Graddick. At the time, Ward was serving his third term as a Republican state senator from Shelby County. He was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and active in criminal justice reforms in the Legislature.

Read more: New Alabama paroles director: Bureau part of fix for broken criminal justice system

Along with moving offices, the Pardons and Paroles Bureau has been through other changes in the last three years. The Legislature passed a bill in 2019 making the director an appointee of the governor. Ward is Iveys second appointee, following Graddick.

Before the change in the law, the director was appointed by the parole board. Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall pushed for the change. It came after a parolee, Jimmy ONeal Spencer, was charged with killing two women and a child in Guntersville in 2018, six months after he was released. A Marshall County jury convicted Spencer last year and he was sentenced to death.

The rate of paroles granted dropped sharply after Spencer was charged in the slayings and has continued to fall. The rate was 53 percent in fiscal year 2018 but only 10 percent in fiscal year 2022. Inmates families, advocacy groups, and some lawmakers say the board is denying parole for inmates who are good candidates and are not a threat to public safety. They say the low rate is making problems worse in Alabamas overcrowded, understaffed prisons, which face a lawsuit from the Department of Justice alleging that conditions violate the constitution in mens prisons. Victims advocates and others have defended the board, saying Alabamas prison population has a higher proportion of violent offenders than it did before criminal justice reforms in 2015 began sending fewer nonviolent offenders to prison.

As bureau director, Ward is not directly involved in the parole decisions, which are made by the three board members. He has advocated for programs that he believes will help those on probation and parole gain stability and avoid more crimes. Those include the new Perry County Probation and Parole Reentry Program at a former private prison in Uniontown, and about a dozen day reporting centers where people on probation and parole can receive help for drug addiction, mental health problems, and other conditions that contribute to crime. Ward said expanding those programs and making them more widely available is a key to reducing recidivism, the revolving door in and out of the system for some offenders.

Ward said he has talked to the Department of Corrections about possibly converting some of the states older prisons to reentry facilities. The state is planning to build two 4,000-bed prisons for men and plans to close some of the older prisons.

I would love to see us work with DOC for Pardons and Paroles to get some of those long-term, Ward said. I think the more of these we can do, the data shows it works. Mental health, drug treatment, job placement, job training, its a win-win. Its shown to reduce recidivism dramatically.
Alabama Media Group, which publishes AL.com, plans to relocate its headquarters in Birmingham to the Denham Building in the citys Parkside District this summer.

Were excited to be moving to the Denham, said Tom Bates, president of Alabama Media Group. Its a great space and well-suited to how our teams work today  where we come to the office to meet and collaborate, rather than just report for duty.

The Denham Building, at 12th Street and First Avenue South, is a short distance on the other side of the railroad tracks from AMGs previous office at the Young & Vann building on First Avenue North.

We also wanted to stay in the city, Bates said. Supporting Birmingham is important to us. And we are pleased with the new location.

The Denham Building is named after its original architects, Denham, Van Keuren & Denham. It originally opened in 1927 as the Merchants and Manufacturers Terminal Building. It was built on the site of the Alice Furnaces iron rolling mill, which began operating in 1880.

The leased space will be adapted to the Alabama Media Groups team needs and the staff will move in by late summer. Alabama Media Group has more than 100 Alabama-based journalists located throughout the state.

Besides AL.com, the states largest digital news site, it also includes the Lede, This is Alabama, People of Alabama and the Alabama Education Lab. Its a Southern Thing and Reckon also will be based here. Alabama Media Group also has offices in Huntsville, Mobile, and Jackson, Mississippi.
Pashun Jeffery, the 20-year-old Florida mother found dead on her bathroom floor Thursday, had been stabbed more than 100 times after hosting a birthday party for her sons father, according to arrest records released late Saturday night.

The records provide the latest details in the arrest of Thomas Mosley in connection with the deaths of Jeffery and their 2-year-old son, Taylen Mosley, whose body was later found in the mouth of an alligator.

Family gathered in Jefferys St. Petersburg apartment Wednesday afternoon to celebrate Thomas Mosleys 21st birthday, records show. Jeffery had been living there about a month and Mosley had been staying for a few weeks.

Guests left around 5:15 p.m., leaving the toddler and his parents in the home. A few hours later, a neighbor heard a noise from the apartment, but police said the sound wasnt notable and it was not reported.

Thomas Mosley left the apartment around 8:42 p.m. that evening and traveled to the Lake Maggiore area, south of downtown St. Petersburg, according to newly released arrest records.

He arrived at his mothers St. Petersburg house  which is about 10 blocks from the lake  just past 9 p.m. with severe lacerations to his hands and arms. He was later admitted to St. Anthonys Hospital.

The wounds were consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack, according to the records.

Meanwhile, Jefferys family grew worried when she couldnt be reached for a daily FaceTime call on Thursday morning.

They arrived at the Lincoln Shores apartment and found blood on the sidewalk outside the apartment, according to the arrest affidavit. They called management, police said, who unlocked the door and found a very violent crime scene.

Jeffery was found dead in the apartment, but her son was not there.

Also at the crime scene was a bloody cleaning bottle under a bed, according to arrest records.

The fingerprint on the bottle was later identified as Mosleys. There was also a bloody shoe print with a Gucci emblem on the bathroom floor, according to arrest documents.

Police issued an Amber Alert for Taylen and deployed drones and a helicopter in the search for the toddler.

A bloodhound from the Manatee County Sheriffs Office K-9 unit was brought to the scene. A flatbed truck took an apartment complex trash dumpster to be examined for possible evidence.

The investigation led police Friday to search for Taylen at Dell Holmes Park, a sprawling city park with trails, a fishing pier and putting green on the northwest side of Lake Maggiore.

When someone reported seeing something in an alligators mouth, police shot the animal to retrieve Taylens body.

Thomas Mosley was charged with two counts of murder and booked at the Pinellas County Jail Friday without bond. At the time, Mosley was neither employed nor in school and he showed indications of mental health issues, according to arrest records.

Jeffery, a native of St. Petersburg, attended Benito Middle School, Boca Ciega High School and Northeast High, where she was an honor student, her family said on a GoFundMe page.

On the page, Jeffery is pictured in a graduation gown, beaming as she held Taylen in one hand and her diploma in the other.

She knew being a single mom would be challenging, but she was determined to provide for her son, her mother, Lakita Denson, and aunt Theo Brickhouse wrote. She worked at a St. Petersburg CVS, her mother and aunt said, often FaceTiming her son during shift breaks to soak up as much time with him as possible.

We will miss her smile, joyous laughter, and commentary on life, the family wrote. Taylen was a sweet and happy toddler and loved his mom. Theyd originally set up the GoFundMe page to raise money for search efforts but said they will now use the money for memorial expenses.

To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing, the family wrote.

2023 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Gadsden Police Department says it has apprehended a suspect in a bank robbery that occurred Friday.

The police department posted on its Facebook page Friday that tellers at The Exchange Bank, located at 1321 Noccalula Rd, had been robbed at gunpoint by a suspect wearing a red jacket with tattered jeans and driving a white mini-van. Police said the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.

The incident occurred around 3:50 p.m. Friday, the Department said.

Saturday afternoon, Gadsden police said they had a suspect in custody.

Almost 19 hours of freedom. Almost, the department said on Facebook. Suspect and his van are in the care and custody of the Gadsden Police Department.

Gadsden police asked for the publics help Friday in finding an armed and dangerous suspect who held up a bank at gunpoint Friday afternoon. The department shared photos of the suspect and his vehicle.
WrestleMania isnt all about the WWE.

Sure, its the big show in town, but WrestleMania weekend provides a platform for a host of smaller shows and conventions  not affiliated with Vince McMahons brand  to set up shop and make some dough.

WrestleCon was one of the events set up in own, and as you might have guessed by its name, it was an event filled with vendors and opportunities for fans to meet, greet and maybe get a photo with or autograph from wrestling stars and legends.

But one WWE Hall of Famer  Rick Steiner - is facing some disturbing allegations coming out of the event.

Those allegations?

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 21: Gisele Shaw attends Fandom Party at SDCC 2022 presented by Paramount+ at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 21, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Fandom)Getty Images for Fandom

Well, IMPACT Wrestlings Gisele Shaw, who was also attending the event, claims that the legendary former wrestler hurled a series of transphobic remarks in her direction at the event.

I have been bullied all my life and have never stood up for myself because Im scared that I would get beat up physically, mentally, or emotionally, Shaw, who revealed last summer that she is transgender, wrote on Twitter. The bullies in my life have always silenced me, but that ends today!

Then Shaw detailed her allegations against Steiner.

It saddens me to have to write this but I feel it must be shared. #InternationalTransgenderDayofVisibility pic.twitter.com/XMrDMJTgGv    (@GiseleShaw08) April 1, 2023

I was at an autograph signing event today at WrestleCon and while I was walking to my table, I hear someone yelling, Youre a man, youre a dude, youre a piece of trash, you are filth, get the (expletive) away from here.

Shaw said she kept her head down because she did not want to acknowledge that hate, but that when she got to her table she told another IMPACT wrestler about it and said it wasnt sitting well with her. That is when she said she decided she wanted to know who was saying those things to her because it was unacceptable.

So, I decided to talk a walk in that area, and I hear that same person saying the same derogatory comments, she wrote. I looked up and it was Rick Steiner saying those statements. I was shocked and could not believe this was happening. To have someone saying these comments who a lot of people look up to and consider their hero was quite shocking and disheartening.

Shaw says she was in disbelief, so she said to Steiner, excuse me?

He kept repeating those hateful phrases and started yelling at me in a public setting, Shaw wrote. It was inexcusable and unacceptable!

Shaw said that she was also disappointed because other wrestling legends witnessed it but turned their heads away, and did not want to get involved.

Shaw said that she was not writing her account for sympathy but because it was International Transgender Day of Visibility and that she was standing up for herself and others like her.

I want everyone to know what kind of deplorable person Rick Steiner is and that this cannot be tolerated, she added.

IMPACT Wrestling tweeted a statement saying it stands in full support of Shaw and was saddened by the incident Friday afternoon.

IMPACT Wrestling stands in full support of @GiseleShaw08 and the LGBTQ+ community. We are saddened by the incident Friday afternoon at Wrestlecon in Los Angeles and hope everyone can learn and be better from it.  IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) April 1, 2023

Steiner was a standout wrestler in college at Michigan before moving into the professional wrestling ranks in 1983. Along with his brother, Scott, he formed the popular, Steiner Brothers, tag team who were multi-time world champions and starred in the WCW and WWE.

WrestleCon regrets the events that took place at yesterdays convention and apologizes to Gisele Shaw. We aim to promote a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQAI+ members of the wrestling community. The issue has been addressed and we hope the remainder of the convention  WrestleCon - LA March 30-April 2 2023 (@wrestlecon) April 1, 2023

While there was no response from him reported regarding Shaws allegations, WrestleCon tweeted about the incident.

WrestleCon regrets the events that took place at yesterdays convention and apologizes to Gisele Shaw, it tweeted Saturday. We aim to promote a safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQAI+ members of the wrestling community. The issues has been addressed and we hope the remainder of the convention can be a positive experience for all.
The Jefferson County School System said it was the victim of a ransomware computer attack during Spring Break.

The school system said in a news release that its technology team took immediate steps to stop the attack and notified state and local authorities.

According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, ransomware is a form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption.

Attackers sometimes also threaten to release sensitive data unless a ransom is paid.

The school system said preliminary investigations have not revealed any evidence of a breach of sensitive personally identifiable information.

We will continue to investigate any possibility of compromised data and notify stakeholders accordingly if discovered, the news release stated. We have engaged outside cybersecurity experts and law enforcement officials to assist.

The district said it uses multiple security protocols including filtering, firewalls, and antivirus systems, which allowed them to catch the attack early.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken all network systems down to investigate thoroughly, the system said. These networks will be reconnected as we take steps to ensure all traces of malware are gone.
An investigation is underway after a 17-year-old boy was shot to death in east Birmingham.

The shooting happened about 4:19 p.m. Saturday at Magnolia Court apartments. East Precinct officers responded to #3 Westchester Court.

They arrived to find the teen who had sustained critical injuries on the ground outside of a vehicle. He was rushed to a nearby hospital with plans to transfer him to UAB Hospital or Childrens of Alabama but he died before that transfer could happen, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald.

Sadly, he did not make it,' Fitzgerald said.

It appears the teen, whose name has not yet been released, was in the vehicle when the unknown shooter walked up to the vehicle and began firing. Fitzgerald said it appeared the victim was targeted.

He is the third teen fatally shot in Birmingham in six days. Two Birmingham City Schools students were killed over spring break.

Caleb Witt, 17, was slain on Sunday and Jada White, 16, died Wednesday. Both were among nine homicides in the city in nine days.

Fitzgerald said Saturdays victim is believed to be a student, but not in Birmingham City Schools. He said police believe the shooter also is young.

Were just dealing with a generation that is desensitized to violence,' Fitzgerald said Thats their first go-to, grabbing a gun.

Weve got to go to the drawing board before summertime because too many kids have died just over spring break,' he said. I can only imagine what would happen in the summertime if we dont as a community come up with a game plan.

This makes three kids that left the classroom and wont return,' he said.

Fitzgerald said the shooting took place in a populated area. Investigators believe there are witnesses that could help with the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Authorities have released the name of a teen gunned down Saturday at an east Birmingham apartment.

Police identified the victim as Kamaree Shondale Phillips. He was 17 attended Clay-Chalkville High School, where he was in the 10th grade.

He is one of three high school students slain in Birmingham during spring break and one of five teens fatally shot so far this year in the city.

Were just dealing with a generation that is desensitized to violence, said Birmingham police Officer Truman Fitzgerald. Thats their first go-to, grabbing a gun.

The shooting happened about 4:19 p.m. Saturday at Magnolia Court apartments. East Precinct officers responded to #3 Westchester Court.

They arrived to find Phillips, who had sustained critical injuries, on the ground outside of a vehicle. He was rushed to St. Vincents East with plans to transfer him to UAB Hospital or Childrens of Alabama, but he died before that transfer could happen, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald.

Phillips, police said, was in a vehicle when the unknown shooter walked up to the vehicle and began firing. Fitzgerald said it appeared the victim was targeted, and that the shooter may also have been young.

A 17-year-old was shot to death April 1, 2023, on Westchester Court at Magnolia Court apartments. (Carol Robinson)

Dr. Walter B. Gonsoulin, the Jefferson County Schools Superintendent, released a statement on the teens death.The loss of any student is felt throughout our district. I wish to express condolences to Kamarees loved ones, his friends, and his teachers. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We will have grief counselors at Clay-Chalkville High School Monday for any student or staff member who needs assistance.

Clay-Chalkville High School Principal Dr. Eugene Dallas echoed Gonsoulin. It is tragic to have one of our students leave for spring break and then not return because of an act of violence. As I shared with our school community, there really are no words for a time like this. Our school mourns with Kamarees family. We stand with them. They are in our prayers.

Phillips is the third teen fatally shot in Birmingham in six days. Two Birmingham City Schools students were also killed over spring break.

Caleb Witt, 17, was slain on Sunday and Jada White, 16, died Wednesday. Both were among nine homicides in the city in nine days.

In January, 17-year-old Ryan Marable was killed. He was found dead behind an Inglenook home.

Jaylen Clark, a 17-year-old Parker High School senior, was shot to death Jan. 29.

Weve got to go to the drawing board before summertime because too many kids have died just over spring break, Fitzgerald said. I can only imagine what would happen in the summertime if we dont as a community come up with a game plan.

Fitzgerald said the shooting took place in a populated area. Investigators believe there are witnesses that could help with the investigation.

Phillips is Birminghams 27th homicide this year. Of those, two have been ruled justifiable and therefore arent deemed criminal.

In all of Jefferson County, there have 33 homicides, including the 27 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Workers install a large banner supporting Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 on the wall of the National Assembly's main building, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap



9 hours of presentations, cultural events to enthrall delegation



By Lee Kyung-min



An eight-member delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), an intergovernmental organization in charge of overseeing and regulating World Expos, will meet with Korea's top policymakers, lawmakers, business leaders and citizens to see how prepared and enthusiastic they are about Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030, according to the industry ministry, Sunday.



Apart from event organization capabilities illustrated by Korea's high-ranking government officials and business executives, the BIE Enquiry Mission will be able to experience the country's hospitality through cultural events, prepared to enhance their understanding of how Korea can stay distinctive while integrating different cultures seamlessly.





Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Administration and Budget Committee President Patrick Specht, third from left, poses with BIE delegation member Manuel Salchli of Switzerland, third from right, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, second from right, Korea's Expo bid committee Secretary-General Yoon Sang-jik, second from left, and other officials at the Incheon International Airport, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy



The delegation is led by BIE Administration and Budget Committee President Patrick Specht. The others include BIE Secretary-General Dimitri S. Kerkentzes; Kevin Isaac, high commissioner of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Kingdom; Manuel Salchli of Switzerland; and Ferdinand Nagy of Romania.



The eight-member delegation will stay in Korea for six days to assess whether Korea is ready and able to host the high-profile six-month international event. Also under review will be citizens' level of enthusiasm for the event.





Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Administration and Budget Committee President Patrick Specht, second from right, talks with BIE delegation member Manuel Salchli of Switzerland, second from left, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, third from left, Korea's Expo bid committee Secretary-General Yoon Sang-jik, left, and other officials at the Incheon International Airport,. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy



The delegation will prepare a report for 171 BIE members, a comprehensive assessment of whether Korea outmatches its competitors  Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Italy's Rome and Ukraine's Odesa. Russia had also been among the list of contenders but withdrew its bid last May.



A previous mission to Saudi Arabia was completed in the first week of March, and Ukraine gave a presentation in Paris in lieu of a site visit in the fourth week of March. The Italy inspection is scheduled for the third week of this month.





Members of the ruling People Power Party's Busan branch hold banners supporting Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 in front of Busan Station, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



On Monday, the delegation will have meetings with officials of the Korean government and the Expo bid committee at The Shilla Seoul. They will meet Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang early in the morning, followed by the first presentation about Korea's Expo plans by the Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan and a Q&A session for two and a half hours.



Four presentations and Q&A sessions of nine hours in total are scheduled during their stay. Among the officials to respond to BIE inquiries at the presentations will be the committee Secretary-General Yoon Sang-jik, Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon. The presentations will also have sub-themes  "political unity," "theme," "site" and "people and money."



Later in the day, the delegation will join a business luncheon at the hotel hosted by Chey Tae-won, chairman of both the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and SK Group.



The eight members then will meet with Foreign Minister Park Jin at the ministry building in central Seoul, before meeting National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.



Later that day, they will visit Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, where a weeklong event is being held to express Korean citizens' hopes for Busan to host the 2030 event.



On Tuesday, the delegation will leave Seoul for Busan, the proposed venue for the international event. At Busan Station, an event welcoming the delegation is scheduled before a luncheon at Eulsukdo Island Ecology Park.



In the afternoon, the committee will give its second presentation, which will be followed by a guided tour of the park for 45 minutes. The delegation will have dinner with Mayor Park.





Over 1,500 drones create letters and images celebrating the Bureau International des Expositions Enquiry Mission's visit to Korea in the night sky over Gwangalli Beach in Busan, Saturday. Yonhap
Decatur police said they have found the remains of a man who was killed after a high-speed chase following a robbery.

The Decatur Police Department said it received a call on Saturday afternoon reporting a body in Flint Creek.

Members of the Decatur Police Department, the Morgan County Rescue Squad, as well as Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn responded to the scene. The body was identified as that of Michael Tremaine Forde-Clark, 18, of Huntsville, who had been missing since Monday.

Police said the man was the passenger in a vehicle that went into the creek after a high-speed chase after an armed robbery Monday.

Investigators on Tuesday charged the driver, 21-year-old Ismael Tariq Smith of Huntsville with capital murder.

Police said someone called 911 to report a robbery at Mexican restaurant Casa Santiago just before 1 p.m. Monday.

Court documents say a man told police he went to the restaurant to trade an AK-47 for a Playstation 5, as arranged via Facebook Marketplace. That exchange led to a reported robbery and high-speed chase.

Police said during the pursuit, the driver reached speeds over 100 mph before crossing the median on U.S. 31 and crashing into Flint Creek near Bowles Bridge Road.

One of the vehicles occupants swam across the creek to shore and was detained there.

A second person was last seen struggling to stay afloat downstream and went under before those on the scene could render aid.

The body was removed from the scene and transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Huntsville for autopsy.
A plume of black smoke visible far and wide on Mobile Bay Sunday afternoon originated with a small boat fire.

According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the marine-related incident occurred at about 3:10 p.m. Sunday, April 2, and involved a sailboat that had caught on fire.

The smoke could be seen from USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, though the vessel itself was so far south that it couldnt be seen from that distance.

The ALEA release did not specify where on the bay the vessel was located. ALEA said that troopers with the Marine Patrol Division were investigating along with the United States Coast Guard and that the Mobile Fire Department also was responding to the incident.
Sign up for Roy S. Johnsons newsletter: Enter your email to subscribe to Roys weekly newsletter, The Barbershop:

This is an opinion column.

No one wants the job anymore, it seems. Or very few. Too few.

Too few want to be a police officer. Not just here in Alabama. Everywhere.

Too few desire to serve and protect.

To do so was once a calling for many. A proud calling typically inspired by the service of a family member or loved one. Or the officer who visited your school. Or waved as you played in the front yard while they drove by.

Not so much anymore.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond would love to hire more officers for the departments narcotics division, which is increasingly strained by the growing plague of fentanyl deathsand further combat the scourge of violence that continues to claim lives. Were just not able to at this time, he told me recently.

BPD has more than 800 unfilled allotments, it says. Only four new officers were sworn in at the citys police academy graduation last December. We started an academy class in February, said Thurmond. We had about twenty-four come that we were going to hire but thirteen couldnt pass the polygraph and the psychological so that disqualified them. "

In Mobile, the department is budgeted this year for 488 officers, yet is down about 70, counts Chief Paul Prine. Last year, 83 officers left the department; 61 (73%) resigned, 16 retired and six were fired. Already in 2023, 19 officers have left: 16 resigned, two retired, one was terminated.

Im confident in saying that most of those officers leave to go to other jobs, Prine told AL.coms John Sharp. They are jobs that have more desirable working conditions.

There are 24 recruits in Mobiles current academy. Still, like in Birmingham and other major cities, there arent enough graduates to match the gone. The maths just not mathin.

We struggle to recruit and retain, Prine said.

Were getting a little more coming to the table, added Thurmond. But its not quite the group that we need to be law enforcement.

The lure of the badge began to lose luster decades ago for myriad reasons. Corruption began to outshine courage in many departments. The abuse of stop-and-frisk, the policy allowing police to stop and search anyone deemed reasonably suspicious, body slammed protect and serve as an inordinate percentage of Blacks were regularly stopped, often unreasonably.

Officers, then too, began moving away from the communities and neighborhoods that were their beat, particularly low-income, predominantly Black communities, and neighborhoods. They beat it, moving to working- and middle-class enclaves, predominantly white.

Then there are the killings of Black men and women.

I lived in New York in 1999 when four plainclothes police officers fired 41 bullets into Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old unarmed Guinean immigrant, outside his apartment building just before midnight. He was mistaken for a suspect, they later claimed, and after being told to show his hands, Diallo reached towards his pocket for his wallet. Within moments, he lay dead; 19 of the bullets penetrated his body.

A year later, a jury in Albany, N.Y., declared the four involved officers not guilty of reckless endangerment and second-degree murder.

Twenty-one years later, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man who died crying for his mother and screaming, I cant breathe as Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

In between, the spate of killings of Black men and women by white police nationwide, and the rise since of an ugly, dark pit in police culture that terrorizes irrespective of the officers race (see: Memphis) all but transformed police into pariahs.

Into something no one wants to be.

Activists demanded that police budgets be slashed, unleashing a divisive narrative that lingers over policing like an unyielding stench.

It has hurt us, Prine said. Its a nationwide problem. We are seeing the end result.

No one wants the job anymore, it seems. Or very few. Too few.

Nashville might change that. Huntsville, too. Even if just a smidgen.

Related: Face it, America, we love our guns more than our children

Bodycam footage of the Nashville officers unhesitatingly storming into and through Covenant School last Monday, then felling a shooter whod killed sixthree nine-year-old students, three adultswas heart-thumping haunting. It was the starkest contrast to what we saw last May in Uvalde, Texas, where law enforcement cowered in hallways of the Robb Elementary school for an eternity of minutes as a shooter killed 19 children and two adults before being felled.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake: We will never wait to make entry and to go in and to stop a threat, especially when it deals with our children.

A friend who is a retired New York City officer said: You could tell they took their training seriously and were ready for action.

Huntsville officers Garrett Crumby and Albert Morin were trained and dutifully prepared, too, as they responded to a call about a shooting at an apartment complex. A shooting amid the sort of domestic violence dispute officers engage routinely now. Too much so.

Not long after arriving Crumby and Morning were ambushed, police say, by Juan Robert Laws, the 24-year-old involved in the dispute. Both officers were shot. Crumby died; Morin is still fighting to survive. Laws is in a Huntsville cell charged with capital murder of a law enforcement officer.

Heroism can take many formssome visible, some less so. Though no less heroic. No less dangerous.

Policing endured a deserved scrutiny it direly needed. Scrutiny about why officers measure I felt in danger for my life differently when looking at someone Black versus someone white. About a culture so entrenched Black officers are inculcated, too, such that they brazenly beat an unarmed Black man to death on a dark Memphis street corner (beneath, thankfully, an all-seeing camera, whose footage was heart-thumping harrowing, too).

About so much that had been overlooked and ignored for far too long. So much that was hidden behind a thick blue curtain. So much that had to change.

Some of it hasjuries now put people like Chauvin in prison, and officials now more often charge officers for their crimes instead of allowing them to shrink behind a fading, pale blue line.

Much still must change.

Courageous and accountable can co-existshould co-exist. Seeming diametrically opposing ideas can both be embracedshould be embraced.

Nashville and Huntsville just may help rekindle a profession that was once a calling, a noble and necessary one that once inspired so many.

And may yet begin inspiring more.

John Sharp contributed to this column.

More columns by Roy S. Johnson

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Woke is the far rights sky is falling; it fell on them

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Gov. Iveys legacy: Prisons? Medicaid? Her choice

Alabama Republicans parents rights bill smells like states rights; Im holding my nose

Early release of the 369 is the most compassionate, smartest thing Alabama prisons have ever done.

Roy S. Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for commentary and winner of the Edward R. Murrow prize for podcasts: Unjustifiable, co-hosted with John Archibald. His column appears in AL.com, as well as the Lede. Subscribe to his free weekly newsletter, The Barbershop, here. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com, follow him at twitter.com/roysj, or on Instagram @roysj
During the first Cold War, sub-Saharan Africa was red hot with proxy wars. With China and Russia continuing to increase their footprints in the region, Cold War II looks like a sequel, perhaps with a different ending.

Given the consequences of losing Africa to despotic nations, it makes sense that the United States is strengthening alliances there. This past week, Kamala promised $139 million in direct assistance to Ghana and $100 million to help counter armed Islamic militants in the region.

Presently, Ghana is experiencing an armed inter-tribal conflict between the non-Muslim Kusasi and the Muslim Mamprusi, who have attracted Al Qaeda. Inter-tribal and inter-religious conflicts have played an outsized role in Africas history, and it seems like a good strategy to strengthen relationships by helping Africans address racism and terrorism.

Image: Kamala Harris in Africa. YouTube screen grab.

The problem is that, despite the promised money, dont expect America to make a difference in whats happening in Africa. Instead, Americas help will once again exacerbate racism and terrorism and do little to endear Africans to racist America.

Unlike Central America, Kamala cant get to work tackling the root causes of this conflict in Ghana because the conflicts origins arise from racism in the forms of tribalism and religionism. This is probably hard for Kamala to process.

Like Kelisa Wing, the recently demoted DOD DEI Education chief, Kamala probably sees blacks as incapable of racism. She would be bewildered by a statement such as this one:

The good news according to Salifu Bashru, an elder of the Mamprusi people, is that if al Qaeda militants attack theyll probably kill his rivals from the Kusasi community first.

That she is doling out millions that wont end racial terrorism but will, instead, stoke them, may be impossible for her to grasp. If she knew history, she made take note of the fact that American aid money during Cold War I had the same negative outcome.

American foreign aid landed in the pockets of the tribal supporters of our African allies, stoking armed conflict with the members of opposing tribes. During Cold War I, the outcomes of foreign aid were abysmal. Per capita incomes in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s were much the same as in the 1960s before those nations became independent. Its likely the same will occur in Cold War II because longstanding ethnic-tribal and religious conflicts in Africa havent really changed.

Throughout the Cold War, African nations were hosting, officially or unofficially, internal national leadership competitions. A candidate from one tribal-ethnic group aligned with the First World and another tribal-ethnic group with the Second World. This was a recipe for deadly and damaging civil wars that doubled as First- and Second-World proxy wars.

There were more than 100 African civil wars during Cold War I. In the end, there was little gain for either communism or democracy. National tribal-ethnic leaders professing to be communist, anti-communist, or democratic were virtually all dictators. First and Second world powers condoned despotism, corruption, terrorism, and racism because speaking out risked alienating an alleged ideological ally.

The first decade of the post-Cold War period permitted first-world democracies to secure commitments to a multi-party democracy that would provide an opportunity to address racism in exchange for foreign aid. However, in the early 2000s, China became an alternative source of foreign aid with no conditions on governing or racism. China doesnt care about despotism or racism in Africa; it cares about access to its natural resources.

Saudi Arabia also began dispensing foreign aid to those interested in adopting Islamism, and it, too, does not care about racism or despotism. The Saudi timing was not arbitrary. More than half of African countries have healthy Islamic minorities (>10 percent) or true Islamic majorities. Many Africans have been receptive to Islamism as a solution for their divide-and-conquer racist rule. Foreign aid from western and non-western sources was again motivating racism and terrorism that was increasingly driven by Islamic militancy.

Kamala had a chance to address racism and terrorism in Africa publicly but, instead, she gave a speech to young people about innovation, and then addressed racism in the United States. Thus, she told young people in nations devastated by racism and slavery about the brutality of slavery and the African diaspora, where enslaved Africans were once loaded on ships bound for the Americas.

In fact, very few slaves from the infamous Castle were transported to the United States. Almost all went to the Caribbean or Latin America. When Kamala exhorted Ghanaians to learn difficult history, she was apparently telling them to learn American history. Americans, however, dont need any more lessons on difficult history; theyre inundated with it.

Kamala, therefore, squandered an opportunity to help Ghanaians remember their roles in the Atlantic, intra-African, and Arab slave trades. She would have been on firm ground if shed said Africans find value in remembering the history of the white oppressors in the Atlantic trade but would find more value if theyd address their own difficult history, which implicates Africans and their Muslim brothers in behaviors that continue today.

Then again, as noted, Kamalas probably inability to recognize that blacks can be racist will prevent her from addressing the root cause of Africas political and economic woes. So, once again, America will exacerbate problems in Africa.

Nana Akufo-Addo, the president of Ghana, is fully aware of Cold War II. He said to Harris:

It raises the very real possibility that once again our continent is going to become the playground for a great power conflict.

Kamala, talking about the evils of racism and terrorism, is doling out Americas cash in a playground where both evils will only grow, contributing to Africas economic stagnation without any benefit to America. Why is this administration repeating the errors of Americas past mistakes? And more importantly, why does the government seem determined to hand victory in Cold War II to China and Russia?
Nancy Pelosi has been locking horns with San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. The good archbishop forbade that Holy Communion be administered to Nancy Pelosi within his diocese wherein is her residence. He requires that the sacrament of penance be observed for the "serious sins" of supporting abortion and homosexual behavior, including same-sex "marriage." Besides these, Pelosi runs afoul of Catholicism for advocating that women enter the priesthood.

What is penance? The Catholic Church observes seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist or Holy Communion, marriage, confession or penance, ordination or holy orders, and extreme unction. Most Protestants recognize only the two sacraments in which Jesus participated: baptism (although it was his disciples and not himself who baptized) and Holy Communion. Rather than confession to a Catholic priest and submission performing penitential acts prescribed by the priest, Protestants practice confession to the Lord and repentance. Repentance means turning away from evil.

Is the Bible ambiguous about abortion? Science has confirmed the Catholic teaching that life begins at conception. Fascinatingly, the Bible tells of God knowing us even earlier. Besides speaking to life, these verses contraindicate transgenderism, unless God makes mistakes. Speaking to the prophet Jeremiah, God said, "I chose you before I formed you in the womb[.]" Similarly, the prophet Isaiah recorded, "The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother's womb." And one of the psalms proclaims, "For it was You who created my inward parts, You knit me together in my mother's womb[.] ... Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began." These verses indicate that the Decalogue commandment "do not murder" certainly applies to unborn babies.

Is the Bible ambiguous about marriage? It teaches that the institution of marriage is as old as mankind, in which a man and woman unite to oneness. Jesus emphasized that marriage is a permanent unity of man and woman, the two becoming one. Proscriptions against homosexual behavior are well known (see here, here, here), so homosexuals calling themselves married is profanation.

Christians aren't homophobic (i.e., afraid of homosexuality). Rather, Christians are homoabdico, aligning with the Lord in disapproving of homosexual behavior. Similarly, Christians aren't transphobic (i.e., afraid of transsexuality). Rather, Christians are transabdico, disapproving of transgender transitions, associated with irreversible reproductive system damage, surgical mutilations, and bodily damage done pharmacologically. After this lucrative medical malpractice, every natural cell in the body testifies to an unchanged biological sex. And fully "transitioned" victims have rates of suicide 20x higher (i.e., a 2,000% increase) than otherwise.

Why is the archbishop being mean to Pelosi? No person or church is Christian who celebrates sin. Although all believers sin, believers are called always to repent and turn away from evil. This is the basis for the archbishop's discipline of Pelosi. She is celebrating sin of two types and must turn away from such sins before she's eligible to receive the Eucharist again.

What's with this thing about women as priests? The answer lies in the derivation of authority. The Catholic Church maintains that authority comes from both formalized Church traditions and Holy Scripture. The two Lateran councils established priestly celibacy. Protestant churches maintain that authority derives sola scriptura  i.e., only what is written in the Bible. There being no proscription in the Holy Scriptures, Protestant churches permit clergy to marry and have families.

Regarding ordination, it seems significant that Jesus chose twelve men as apostles and, at one time, sent 72 others out to preach repentance and that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Most translations use "others," but in the autographa, the word is masculine, meaning that 72 men were sent out. The sum would be 84 men selected and no women. In any case, no command was given by Jesus against women's ordination. But the apostle Paul made a distinct statement that women are not to teach in the church and discussed women's other roles.

What is an apostle? An apostle is one who has been sent with full authority. Pelosi has observed that the real power in Catholicism lies in conveyance of the sacraments. Therefore, she thinks women should not be subordinated in the church. Chances are nil that the Catholic Church will make such a reform.

Major Protestant denominations have gone into schism over the last decade or two. Schisms have centered on ordination of women into the priesthood and celebration of LGBT sexual deviancy. Whether Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, or Anglican/Episcopal, the believing set of churches hold to the inerrant, infallible Scriptures for all verses, while apostate churches embrace preferred biblical verses. Correlation isn't causality, but all apostate churches have ordained women as priests or pastors. So Pelosi's advocacy of female ordination is highly charged.

How is Pelosi's declaration of devout Catholicism reconciled with her celebration of sin? It appears there is willful ignorance or else a fundamental misunderstanding of theology. Instead of orthodox views, Pelosi substitutes her own thoughts. An insight into Pelosi's theology comes from her retort that the archbishop was erroneous in denying her right to partake in Holy Communion because of her free will. "We have a free will. God has given us a free will, and we have a moral responsibility to live up to that free will and what it gives us."

What is free will? The Protestant view of free will is that all men are free to choose to act or to act otherwise, to choose or to choose otherwise. The great American theologian Jonathan Edwards postulated that men always choose what they desire most at that time. But men won't desire goodness or righteousness unless God has changed their hearts. Martin Luther taught that unless a man is born again of the Spirit, he is in bondage to sin and cannot free himself.

Free will is the means by which God makes individuals accountable. The Bible teaches, "No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account."

What is Pelosi's misunderstanding? She seems to think free will equates to free choice or license. The moral code doesn't apply because it is superseded by individual choices. A person is free to do whatever she wills. If this interpretation is correct, then it goes a long way toward explaining Pelosi's moral relativism. It would be a shame if theological error were the root cause of decades of morally bankrupt progressive legislating and politicking.

Assuming Pelosi sincerely desires to be a devout Catholic, she would benefit greatly from theological instruction. Otherwise, it is most likely that Archbishop Cordileone will remain adamant on the prerequisites for Pelosi's return to receiving the Eucharist.

Pelosi has options. She can feign compliance, change to a residence outside Cordileone's diocese, receive Holy Communion at churches that turn a blind eye to recurring and unrepentant sinfulness, or repent. Believers would do well to pray that Pelosi's heart is changed and her eyes are opened, so she comes to true repentance, wherein lies forgiveness. We all need redemption.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The assault on traditional Christians by the pope, of all leaders, and lately by the FBI, of all agencies, calls for an honest explanation.

Why is the pope turning his back on his own Church? Why is the FBI violating the guaranteed right of Americans to religious freedom?

Since I witnessed Catholic worship long before the church was changed in the 1960s, I can offer some insight into the what and the why of this issue, from eye-witness information recorded in my autobiography. (This is from the perspective of a resident of New York City.)

Before proceeding, I need to remind that the church I speak of is the Church founded by Jesus Christ [ref. Matthew 16:18].

I begin with a view through the eyes of a child. Entering the Church, it was understood that you entered as a child of God, regardless of age. It was a relation connecting you with a power greater than every self and greater than everything in the world  a power that inspired stained glass windows, great architecture, organs, beautiful music, stunning paintings and sculptures . . . the power behind all good things in life. In my childlike way I understood that the prayers and rituals, the echoing altar incantations in Latin  the global language of the Mass  the celestial music from the choir loft, all formed part of the human way of being in the presence of God.

During Lent, a time to reflect on the passion and crucifixion of Christ, when worship was muted and purple cloth shrouded iconic statuary, a sense of mystery wrapped everyone in a sense of anticipation that grew to an almost unbearable intensity. Then, on Easter morning, the pent-up energy burst forth in glorious music, in flowers, in joyous singing and celebration over Christs victory of life over death.

It was a triumph from God who, though almighty, entered the lives of the faithful to sustain them, guide them, and assure justice in a wicked world  not just in talk and symbols and tones but in comm-union with God.

In the glory of the Mass  in the tonal richness of a pipe organ, in the air scented with incense, in the resonant chanting of the priest at the altar  in singing from a trained choir that lifted you outside of yourself  the choir sometimes drowned by the people singing with all their hearts the Tantum Ergo Sacramentum  I felt at home.

After many years since that time and many reasons to doubt the faith along the way, my mind has not changed regarding the validity and the power of that faith. For it is where you, Creator, heritage, past, present, and future merge and focus  an integration with ones ground of being as essential to life as breathing.

During the well-known phase of adolescence when you think you know more than everybody else, including all who came before you, I wandered from the church. When I finally admitted my mistake and was ready to return, a Second Vatican Council (1962-65) had turned the church on its head and driven many away. The priest now stood at a table, facing the people, where before, and for centuries, he faced God at the altar. The sanctity that once prevailed in church was gone. In homilies the Gospel became less the Word of God and more the word of the times. Sin was no longer mentioned or even an issue because Gods forgiveness was unconditional, meaning automatic. These are some of the improvements to the Church that I was expected to embrace, in the belief that Christ had changed his mind about his Church.

But among the reasons why I could not fall-in with the new church is that during my time-out from church I learned that progress in America had been redefined to mean turning to the political left. The smell of it was strong after 1960, particularly in the mass media. But what had politics  whether of the left, the right, or the muddle  to do with a church that, against all previous attempts at subversion, stood its ground for 2,000 years?

During my time in limbo after Vatican II, I took advantage of my musical training and experience to fill the position of organist in some Protestant churches. I was acquainted with Protestant services, something easy to be in New York City, where friends of different denominations invited each other to weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc. I was even at the wedding of a Jewish friend, where I wore a yarmulke.

As organist in a Protestant church, I witnessed changes to Christian doctrine that were clearly at variance with the Gospel and with my earlier experiences with Protestant worship. (I will keep a long story short.)

It began with guest speakers coming to announce that changes were coming to the church and it was necessary for the congregation to be prepared for it. Soon hymnals were purged of pronouns referring to God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Talk on social justice sounded more like it came from Marxist liberation theology than from the Gospel. Masculinity was smeared with toxicity in church literature. Feminist and Marxist principles had obviously found their way into the service.

In the basement where Sunday school was held and where the choir assembled before the service began, I could overhear the children being told that Jesus was an especially nice person, like you and me, with not a word about his divinity or relationship to God.

Such improvements to Christian doctrine were for me red-flag alerts that Christians were being turned away from their faith and in time away from their best interests. This fed my resolve to join a brewing culture war.

So, again I ask, why should people faithful to Christ and to biblical teaching be under attack by the pope, and lately by the FBI, and by globalists hell-bent on resetting the world? Why the rush to a global mega-dictatorship that, as in communist China, calls for turning Christians into enemies of the state?

Is it because Thou shall have no other gods before me [Exodus 20:1-3] is a commandment that requires loyalty to a higher authority than all others? Is that an existential threat to the power of todays Herods, currently identifying as Masters of the Universe? Are the attacks against the faithful driven by fear that the Great Reset might become the Great Reject? Is Christianity so great an obstacle to world progress that it was necessary to update it, improve it, make it ready to support, not impede, the establishment of a Godless world order?

Sanity of mind and heart instructs that there is no better type of world order than one based on loving care of human life. This is a given of Christian doctrine. It is why Jesus Christ established a Church for the spiritual nourishment of people, informing all that I am the way, the truth, and the life [John 14:6]. This divine heritage will never be surrendered by faithful Christians.

Anthony J. DeBlasi is a veteran of the Korea War and the Culture War.

Image: Christophe117, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0
Citizens take a look at lighting installation at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul, Thursday, with hopes for Busan to host the World Expo 2030. Yonhap



Wishes for Busan's successful bid for global fair



Kim Jin-pyo, speaker of the National Assembly





Kim Jin-pyo

The World Expo 2030 must be held in Busan. I have met with parliamentary leaders from countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia and confirmed their sympathy and support. There has also been a response from the international community. It perceived positively that the Busan World Expo will not simply be a one-time event but can serve to promote continuous development.



Busan is the world's second-largest transshipment port and a smart city. It has rich experience in hosting major international events, including the 2005 APEC Summit. If Busan hosts the World Expo, it will be an opportunity for us to share our development knowhow with the world. Everyone in Korea is uniting efforts in preparation for the World Expo in Busan. I wish with all my heart for the World Expo 2030 to be held in Busan.



Chey Tae-won, co-chair of World Expo 2030 Busan Bid Committee and chairman of Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry





Chey Tae-won

Korea believes that it is necessary to transform the Expo into a "Solution Platform" that will find solutions for the problems humanity is facing such as climate change, famine, bi-polarization, digital divide and so on.



To this regard, Korea is to embrace the hosting of the World Expo 2030 in Busan, and bring together the citizens of the globe to discuss how to solve the problems over the next seven years. Korea has already begun its Expo journey with the "WAVE," a newly launched online platform that will enable participation all over the world. Any country, organization, institution or even individual will be able to take part and make changes for Planet Earth and humanity.



Please join us on our journey for a better future, and let's make it happen!



Park Jin, minister of foreign affairs





Park Jin

There are various advantages to the Republic of Korea hosting the World Expo 2030 in Busan.



First, Korea's public and private sectors are working together as the "Korea One Team" to host the Expo. Leading Korean companies have voluntarily come forward on the nation's behalf to negotiate for candidacy.



Second, as a vibrant democracy, Korea advocates universal values such as democracy and human rights. Korea co-hosted the Summit for Democracy 2023 on March 29-30 with the United States, the Netherlands, the Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of Zambia. It will also host the third Summit next year.



Third, Korea is well-placed to meet the needs of both developing and developed countries, given that it has gone through both the developing and developed phases. Its GNI per capita was only $67 in 1953, but after 70 years, it has increased more than 500 times to reach more than $35,000.



Fourth, the Expo serves as a venue to introduce new technologies. Korea plays a leading role in environmental technologies, hydrogen cars and electric vehicle batteries. With these keys to overcoming climate change, Busan will realize a carbon-neutral Expo.



Finally, the Korean people have a fervent desire and will to host the Expo. Korea also attracts global attention for its K-pop, K-dramas, K-food and K-culture. Now, prominent icons representing Korean culture are serving as honorary ambassadors for the World Expo 2030, such as K-Pop group BTS and star soprano Sumi Jo.



Here's to hosting World Expo 2030 in Busan!



Lee Chang-yang, minister of trade, industry and energy





Lee Chang-yang

The competition to host the World Expo 2030 is heating up. As half of the BIE members have yet to determine whom they will endorse, the Korean government will do its utmost to garner support before the final decision is made in November.



In particular, the BIE Enquiry Mission will visit Korea this week to assess Korea's capabilities and preparations for the World Expo. Over the last six months, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy together with other relevant ministries, Busan Metropolitan City and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has undertaken thorough preparations to demonstrate our competitiveness over other candidate countries.



By hosting the World Expo 2030 in Busan, Korea will take the lead in addressing global key agendas such as climate change and the digital transformation while sharing our unique developmental experiences with the international community. In addition, the World Expo 2030 Busan will serve as an opportunity for Korea to expand its economic diplomacy and elevate its status as a global pivotal state.



Over the remaining eight months, I hope that each and every one of you will join our efforts to successfully host the World Expo 2030 in Busan.



Park Heong-joon, mayor of Busan





Park Heong-joon
The two big stories this week illustrate the corruption of the legal system and of the Democrat party, which controls key portions of it. As well, they illustrate the medias continuing effort to deny us the truth we see with our own eyes.

The Indictment of President Trump

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. has indicted former President Trump. Arraignment is scheduled on Tuesday. Sometime before then we are likely to see the charges against him, which reportedly -- as is the normal order of weak cases -- run to over 20 counts. Charging so many counts is a prosecutorial trick based on experience: Some jurors may think the more counts there are the greater the likelihood of a pony hiding in the manure pile; others may just want to get out of the deliberations and agree to one or two to get out of there. Almost universal criticism of this move, by even the editors of the Washington Post, suggests there is ample reason to believe this is a meritless, politically motivated prosecution.

Quick polls suggest that this view has purchase:

"Republicans (93  5 percent) and independents (70  26 percent) think the Manhattan District Attorneys case is mainly motivated by politics, while Democrats (66  29 percent) think the case is mainly motivated by the law, Quinnipiac announced in a press release. Per Quinnipiac, that means that 62% of all Americans think the Manhattan District Attorneys case involving former President Donald Trump is mainly motivated by politics, while 32 percent think the case is mainly motivated by the law.

Braggs office (a New York state operation) received federal funds to investigate Trump, and if you think Attorney General Merrick Garland was not in some way involved in this matter, you and I are in disagreement.

Within 24 hours of the announcement of the indictment, supporters donated $4 million dollars to Trump. In the meantime, the Secret Service is working with law enforcement in New York to coordinate the arraignment choreography. Of course, given the prejudice against him in New York among jurists and likely jurors, the case is not without danger to him, but I wonder how many Secret Service personnel would be tasked to serving in jail with him?

Apart from the absurdity of charging him on matters long dismissed by even Bragg himself, the first thing that comes to my mind is that this is once again evidence of the two-tiered justice system. Vivek Ramaswamy, a very brilliant candidate for president, shares this belief, tweeting:

America now has a two-tiered justice system: -- Trump is indicted while Clinton pays a small fine -- Antifa & BLM rioters roam free while Jan 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail -- Douglass Mackey faces 10 years for the same joking memes that Kristina Wong posts with impunity

You could throw a dart at a chart of recent prosecution efforts and hit more examples than Vivek cites. Just this week the FBI counterterrorism unit (apparently on a break from spying on school-board meetings) arrested a Virginia grandma. Her purported crime? She accompanied her elderly mother on a peaceful 15-minute walk in the Capitol on January 6.

On the other hand, ample evidence exists supporting Michael Walshs observation: Think of the Democratic Party as it really is: a criminal organization masquerading as a political party. And there seem to be no consequences for their criminal behavior. The Biden family corruption has received government and media censorship for years and gone unpunished. It increasingly becomes plain to see with still absolutely no consequences. Don Surber notes the most recent evidence of it:

ITEM 10%: Breitbart reported, A bank founded by Chinese-Americans that facilitated many Biden family transactions voluntarily provided Republican investigators with Biden family bank records, a stark difference from the current practices of U.S. banks, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) revealed Sunday. Cathay Bank, which has offices in the U.S. and communist China, voluntarily provided Johnsons investigation with 200 bank records from 2017 and 2018 showing how the Biden family moved money through a complicated web of entities. The specific records revealed transactions between Hunter Biden-linked business entities and Chinese energy firm CEFC, whose top company lieutenant was the spy chief of China, according to Hunter Biden. Red China is saying, we own him: what are you gonna do about it?

James OKeefe has uncovered what appears to be a huge multi-million dollar campaign money laundering scheme using the left-wing ActBlue as a conduit: ActBlue reports thousands of dollars from thousands of unemployed persons to Democrat candidates. On a door-to-door survey purported donors denied to OKeefe and those working with him that they made such donations, and from all appearances they were never in a financial position to do so.

The highly suspicious nature of these ActBlue donations has been out in the open for a long time and yet nobody has done anything about it. Now James OKeefe, a modern-day Elliot Ness of sorts, has burst in and exposed the looks-like-money-laundering pattern going on with the Democrats preferred fundraising platform. And the fact nobody in the federal government does anything about it, if in fact they dont, is its own indictment.

The Transgender Shooting

On Monday, March 27, Audrey Hale, who was being treated for an emotional disorder and who self-identified as a transgendered male named Aiden, smashed through a door at Covenant school, a Christian elementary school in Nashville, and shot and killed three nine-year-old students and three faculty members before two police officers shot and killed her. The President decided this was a good time to proclaim Thursday, March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility saying transgendered people shape our nations soul. Those transgender activists who shape our nations soul renamed March 31 a Day of Vengeance.

The media largely treated the shooter as a victim and transgendered persons in general as crime victims, a tactic likely to encourage more mentally disturbed people to believe they are being targeted -- even by nine-year-old elementary students who must be eradicated.

If transgendered people are more victimized than others, it is not that normal people want to harm them because they are transgendered or think they are, it is because they often engage in such risky behaviors as prostitution. Male, female, and transgendered people engaging in prostitution are always exposing themselves to violence. Those who have surveyed this connection usually blame bias in hiring and such for forcing transgenders into sex work. Id like to see how often mental disorders are really causative. Even when not engaged in prostitution, because they are disordered, they may have difficulty finding non-violent partners and I imagine they are more likely to engage in other risky practices, like drug use. In any event, the medias rush to sympathize with perpetrators over victims is infuriating. Equally absurd is the media adopting language like the sex assigned at birth and gender affirming care, as if medical personnel just pick the babys sex out of the ether instead of acknowledging the observed genitalia of newborns, and as if castration of boys and breast removal of girls, is somehow care of adolescents too young to have firm sexual identities.

Image: Michael Ramirez
Providentiallymore spiritual than coincidentallytwo holy seasons of two different faiths coincide on the calendar this year. April 2 through April 13 marks both Christianitys and Judaisms holy and sacred times of the year, with each recognizing Gods divine intervention in history. Those two events also relate to His miraculous deliverances. Jews and Christians are set to celebrate Easter and then Passover.

April 2-9 is Holy Week for Christians celebration of Jesus Christs last Passover supper, crucifixion death, and resurrection. April 5-13 is the week of Jews celebration of Passover (Seder), the commemoration of Gods liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and the Festival of Freedom.

Easter and Passover represent what both faiths consider divine rescues and deliverances from bondage by the mutual God they both worship. The first historical divine intervention and deliverance were from physical bondagea peoples slavery to another people, followed by the deliverance of Mosaic law. The second historical intervention and deliverance were from spiritual bondagehumankinds bondage to rebellion against God called sin.

For both, it is a time of deep reflection on Gods great compassion and deliverance. For Jews, the Passover celebrates freedom from bondage as slaves in Egypt and Gods miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians through the Red Sea. For Christians, Easter and Holy Week celebrate Jesus Christs substitutionary death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Gods miraculous deliverance from human bondage to sin and eternal death to those who accept and believe in his divinity and sacrifice on their behalf.

Image: Jesus Christs last supper, a Passover celebration, by Dieric Bouts.

Both Jews and Christians have experienced frequent historical persecutions aimed at them specifically. The Holocaust is a reminder of a not-to-distant horrific persecution of Jews. Today, statistics tell us that, around the world, Christians are the most persecuted people in the world, especially across Africa and Asia.

This is an opportune time for sensitivity and respect for both groups and their faiths. As a Christian, I join all Christians who believe God divinely rescued the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Iand I trust wecontinue to sympathize with them and the many antisemitic persecutions they have experienced and continue to experience. The Holocaust was just one of the several horrific attempted genocides and enslavements they experienced. God miraculously delivered them once, and many of us also believe returned their homeland to them.

As a Christian, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was Jewish. This is what we believe. Christmas represented God incarnate coming clothed in human flesh as a baby to grow into manhood to sacrifice himself on behalf of those who would believe him to be the perfect sinless sacrifice in atonement for redemption from sin. He was raised from the dead and seen by many who testified. We believe He ascended into heaven and now sits on the right hand of God, the Father.

For the rest of us, as Americans, many of the laws upon which our nation was founded relate to and are commonly referred to as Judeo/Christian principles. Both Judaism and Christianity, in essence, have contributed positively to America.

This is just a brief description of Christianitys and Judaisms sacred celebrations today. They share a common spiritual heritage. They both deserve our respect for their remembrances of Gods faithfulness to them in their respective celebrations.
I was elected to public office as a Democrat, and it saddens me to see what has become of the Nebraska Democrat party.

My friend, the late Mike Dugan, was an example of how the Democrats used to think and vote. He served as the NDP chairman. Dugan was of the group I call the FDR/JFK Democrats. But today's Nebraska Democrat party has been captured by a group of radical extremists who are completely disconnected from Nebraska voters and values. I call them the Nebraska Jacobins.

During the French Revolution, the Jacobins were the most radical and extreme members of the French Assembly. The Jacobins set up two religions: the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being. Today's Jacobins have set up the Cult of Net Zero Carbon and the Cult of Transgenderism. Both are divorced from reality.

The longtime chairwoman of the NDP is Jane Kleeb. Mrs. Kleeb is best known for her opposition to the Keystone Pipeline. If it had been built, many rural Nebraska counties would have received millions in property tax money. More importantly, the U.S. would have lower oil prices and energy security. The primary beneficiaries of stopping the Keystone pipeline are OPEC and Russia. Those people are not our friends. When gasoline was over $4.00 per gallon last summer, Nebraskans certainly could have used a break.

I knew that the Nebraska Dems were off the rails when the party approved a motion calling Don Kleine, another friend and the Douglas County attorney, a white supremacist. Mr. Kleine has served all of Douglas County with great distinction. He quit the Democrat party after that disgraceful and dishonest action.

The main Jacobin leaders in the Unicameral (that is, Nebraska's Legislature) are Senators Machaela Cavanaugh, Megan Hunt, and Danielle Conrad.

Senator M. Cavanaugh has received much national media attention for opposing Senator Kathleen Kauth's L.B. 574, the Let Them Grow Act. Cavanaugh's mantra has been "don't legislate hate." Since L.B. 574 passed the first round of voting, the Nebraska Jacobins are filibustering every single bill. They filed 742 motions on the remaining bills in the Unicameral. Important legislative business has ground to a halt.

Senator Hunt said, "We are blowing up this session. The session is over. ... Hating trans kids in Nebraska was more important to you than the rest of the session." That's the talk of a vengeful radical.

Is L.B. 574 about hate? What would the bill do, exactly? It would prevent children, their parents, and unethical doctors from pretending to alter the sex of minors via surgery and powerful drugs.

Part of the reason Senator Hunt is willing to burn this legislative session to the ground is because her daughter is now her trans "son." Nebraska Medicaid has refused four times to pay for the medical services to accomplish the transition.

Senator Machaela Cavanaugh said on the floor of the Unicameral that L.B. 574 is "genocide." That's off-the-rails talk. When the average person hears the word "genocide," he most likely thinks of the Holocaust, Rwanda, or Cambodia. During the Holocaust, six million Jews, Catholics, Roma, and the developmentally disabled were intentionally murdered by the National Socialist Party of Germany. The word "genocide" comes from the Latin cide, which means killing. By passing L.B. 574, the State of Nebraska would not be killing anyone.

Jews were the primary victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Every Nebraska Jew should be insulted by Cavanaugh's wildly inappropriate and wrong comparison of the Shoah to this proposed law.

So there you have it. A small cadre of Democrat state senators are opposing the will of the vast majority of Nebraska voters. These radical few Jacobins have gone so far as to filibuster every single bill to possibly stop a bill that would protect children. That's undemocratic. Today's Democrats want to sacrifice the health and future of kids on the altar of political dogma. That's what the Cult of Transgenderism is all about.

Dave Begley is an Omaha lawyer who practices elder law, estate planning, and litigation. He was educated by the Society of Jesus at Creighton University.

Image via Max Pixel.
As inevitably happens after a few years of drought in California, the rain comes with fury, landing on rock-hard, dried-out soil, without enough beneficial reservoirs to catch it. Flooding is inevitable. Equally inevitable is that the government steps in to help; after all, thats one of the things for which we pay taxes. But do we pay taxes for the government to fund illegal aliens who got caught in the storms? Thats what the illegal aliens think is owed themand, under todays Uniparty rule, they have a point.

Aldo Toledo, of the Bay Area News Group, reports on demands from people who have no legal right to be in America (emphasis mine):

Dozens of angry flood victims marched down Salinas Road on Thursday to demand respect and dignity for the storm-ravaged towns about 3,000 inhabitants, raising alarms about alleged government discrimination  based on immigration status  against people seeking aid, and demanding that all those suffering be treated equally. Since torrents of water and contaminated mud decimated the town of primarily agricultural and blue-collar workers, flood victims have been able to return to their homes and begin the arduous journey of rebuilding. But for many who showed up Thursday, the current means-tested aid available only to some  with others being turned away at shelters and aid lines, or filling out endless forms applying for assistance that hasnt come  highlights systemic discrimination against undocumented residents of the agricultural community.

I dont blame those illegal aliens demanding their cut of the government pie. In the next paragraph, Toledo interviews a guy named Jose, who speaks no English and has two anchor children born after he arrived illegally 14 years ago. That is, for 14 years, our failure to enforce our immigration laws has left him feeling that he has a stake in things. As he says (in Spanish), I still pay my taxes. And hes got a point.

Image: Flooding from the Pajara River. YouTube screen grab.

Others make the same argument: They live here unmolested despite their illegal residential status, and they pay taxesalthough I wonder if theyre talking about sales taxes or income taxes and, if the latter, I wonder how much they get back from the government in benefits. Still, they function exactly like legal residents, so why shouldnt they get their cut?

The problem, of course, is the lawlessness on the governments end. Biden has made it exponentially worse by effectively erasing the border (something for which he should be impeached and then imprisoned), but this is a problem going back decades to all our presidents but for Trump.

A nation is not a nation without a border. Its just a land mass. But our nation does have a border, and it has laws regarding that border.

It used to be that, if one disliked laws, one persuaded the American people to vote for representatives who promised to, and then did, change the laws. However, the modern D.C. Uniparty (again, except for Trump) has opted for lawlessness. Why persuade Americans to accept new immigration policies when you can just let everyone in, and then destroy the only president who tried to apply the law as written?

Trumps fatal error wasnt sleeping with bimbos. We all knew he did that. What set him up for destruction was that he tried to represent the American peopleand they dislike open borders, welfare for illegal aliens, and foreign wars that dont benefit America. Unfortunately for Trump, the Uniparty, having effectively been lawless for decades now, is doubling down on that strategy with a coming slew of wrongful indictments for acts that werent illegal.

What were seeing is the inevitable effect of the fish rotting from the head down. Given how corrupt and lawless our government is, why shouldnt illegal aliens feel entitled to their cut of emergency funds? Theyre just doing what theyve been taught works in America.
Are Democrats trying to drive Guatemala away from America and into China's arms?

How's this for a coming "Who lost Guatemala" set-up?

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and SFRC Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) were joined by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Peter Welch (D-VT), in urging the State Department to hold Guatemalan officials accountable for corruption and encouraging the Department of State to review and update its approach in Guatemala to better align longstanding U.S. values and interests. The letter specifically asks the Administration to deny visas to and freeze economic assets and holdings in the U.S. of Guatemalan officials and private citizens who have engaged in acts of corruption, human rights violations, or acts that have undermined democratic processes or institutions. The continuing deterioration of democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala is deeply concerning. Efforts by President Giammattei and his government to harass and persecute government officials, members of the press, and civil society organizations represent an alarming pattern of targeting individuals seeking to root out Guatemalas rampant corruption the administrations overall response to these attacks against democracy and the rule of law as a whole have been insufficient in pushing back on the harm caused by the Guatemalan governments actions, wrote the senators in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We urge you to make clear that the U.S.-Guatemala relationship must remain grounded in a mutual and unwavering commitment to protecting democracy and democratic institutions  without exception, the senators continued.

See, Guatemala is the bad guy, among a slew of countries in the region just like them, somehow the pariah state, and pay no attention to the truly horrible doings in Nicaragua, the far left swing in Honduras, and the oddly dictator-like doings in El Salvador. Single Guatemala out for their scruffy judicial system, sanction them, hold them up for global scorn, and give them the Iran, Russia, or North Korea treatment.

Which is obviously some kind of overkill, and very bad diplomatic management from the U.S.

These allies of Joe Biden are likely singling the little country out because it is the only country in the region that has not swung to the far left, with all the consequences that brings for the U.S., including big waves of illegal immigration and a sudden interest in cutting ties with Taiwan in favor of China. Should the latter happen, it's bad news for the U.S. as it may be forced into a position to rally allies in Taiwan's defense.

The Guatemalan government is conservative. The characters mentioned in the congressional letter as kicked out of the country pretty well needed to be kicked out given their far-left ties and power overreach, but even if they didn't -- what business is this of ours? Guatemala is a sovereign state and can make its own decisions about whom it wants in. The country is not perfect, but it's no pariah state according to the Heritage Foundation, which noted:

According to The Heritage Foundations annual Index of Economic Freedom, which tracks and ranks economic policy environments of 177 countries around the world, Guatemalas economic freedom score is 63.2, making its economy the 69th-freest in the 2022 index. Guatemala is ranked 15th among 32 countries in the Americas region, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages.

The letter went over badly in Guatemala, as anyone might expect:

estos 8 senores en Whashington DC creen que somos colonia y mandan carta al anodino Secretario de estado blinken, THIS IS NOT YOUR COUNTRY, WE ARE A SOVEREING PEOPLE AND WE DONT WANT NOR NEED YOU HELP OR MINGLING IN OUR ELECTIONS OR INTERNAL AFFAIRS !!! @StateDept @SecBlinken pic.twitter.com/KfdIBm0QCB  giovanni fratti (@frattigiovanni) March 15, 2023

Why does this matter? Well, because just a few days ago, Honduras decided to cut ties to Taiwan, in favor of recognition of China, likely to stick a thumb in Uncle Sam's eye, of course, but also to avail themselves of China's pro-offered tray of infrastructure investments through its One Belt, One Road initiative. Like the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang child-catcher's paddy wagon, that Chinese initiative is figuratively gussied up with candy and goodies to draw the kiddies in before the door slams down on them, leaving them in a debt trap they can't get out of. It's also to drive U.S. influence from the region.

Now the pressure is on Guatemala to do the same, following Honduras down China road:

Guatemala in fact is now under intense pressure to join the China train and cut ties with Taiwan, leaving it more friendless than ever.

Look at the creepy tone of China in the last couple days, stepping up its pressure on Guatemala to abandon Taiwan and move over into the China column:

We hope Guatemala will make the right choice as early as possible. pic.twitter.com/igK5vA00wb  Spokesperson (@MFA_China) March 31, 2023

According to a op-ed by an apparently pro-China analyst at Asia Times, which appears to be true enough, the pressure is high:

On this trip, [Taiwanese Prime Minister] Tsai is struggling to maintain what little diplomatic support she still has in the region. Recently, Nicaragua (December 2021) and El Salvador (December 2022) also broke off relations with Taiwan. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei enjoys the support of Trumpism, the evangelical churches, and Israel. last year, he announced that he would organize a summit of countries that held relations with Taiwan, but backed out. His insistence on maintaining such relations may be causing economic damage to his country. Taiwan only invested US$22.87 million in Guatemala between 1952 and 2019. In contrast, countries in the region that have resumed diplomatic ties with China have received significant investments. These are the cases of El Salvador  which received $500 million in 2021 for tourism-related infrastructure projects  and Panama, which since 2017 has received billions of dollars in investments linked to its canal. Guatemalas accession to the Belt and Road Initiative could bring significant investment to the country.

The Heritage Foundation analysis by index of economic freedom editor Anthony B. Kim noted this:

Regrettably, since May 2016, Taiwan has lost eight diplomatic allies to China: Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Kiribati, Nicaragua, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Solomon Islands. Half of Taiwans allies are located in the Latin American region. As one of the remaining democracies in Latin America, Guatemala is in a critical position to advance mutual values and interests in the region. From its recognition of Taiwan to its cooperation on trade, migration, and security, Guatemala is a critical U.S. partner in Latin America and, more specifically, in the crucial Northern Triangle region.

So now's the time to hassle Guatemala about its judicial system and meddle in its political affairs? What do they think that will do to Guatemala's disposition to stick with Taiwan and ignore the prooffered goodies of China?

Way to manage those diplomatic relations, boys.

Guatemala, thus far, has stayed loyal to Taiwan and insists it always will:

Its notable that at a public event in December hosted by The Heritage Foundation, Giammattei said, We consider ourselves an ally and friend [of the United States], although some officials in this government dont understand this in its true dimension.

But with Congress harping on them, and China offering the goodies, who knows?

There's no strategy here, just raw naked leftist hankerings to meddle on behalf of angry NGOs into a small country's internal affairs and watch the U.S. lose the support abroad that Taiwan has, making it easier and easier for China to invade that island.

I checked if this string of senators were China'd up, and based on their past statements, it appears they are not. So the harass-Guatemala campaign of theirs is just stupidity.

Where's border czar Kamala Harris, whose portfolio includes Guatemala?

We don't need to ask -- wherever it is, she's not on it.

Image: Josue Goge via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
Beginning in the early 1960s, D.C. Comics introduced the idea of Bizarro World, a place in which everything on earth is in reverse. Most significantly, in Bizarro World, criminals are the good guys and those who try to fight crime are the bad guys. Or, as Bizarro Worlds deliberately stupid denizens say, Us do opposite of all Earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World! Manhattan under D.A. Alvin Bragg is Bizarro World. Its not just that this out-of-control politician indicted Donald Trump for a non-crime; its also that hes making self-defense illegal for ordinary citizens.

Last July in Manhattan, a video captured a thug brutally stabbing assaulting Jose Alba, a Manhattan bodega clerk. Alba, defending himself, proved to be the more effective fighter, leaving the thug dead. It was a textbook case of self-defense, so Alvin Bragg and his team charged Alba with murder and sent him to Rikers Island. Only a public outcry saved Alba from the maw of Braggs criminal injustice system.

Image made using man with gun by h9images.

The same story is apparently playing out again in Manhattan, this time against Moussa Diarra, a 57-year-old parking attendant who, according to current news reports, successfully defended himself against an attempted murderer:

A New York City parking garage attendant was hit with an attempted murder charge after confronting an armed thief and wrestling the gun away before opening fire on the suspect. Moussa Diarra, 57, is also charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the incident that occurred at around 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The attendant had observed a man looking into cars on the second floor of the West 31st Street garage in Manhattan, police said, according to the New York Post. Diarra suspected the man was stealing, so he brought him outside and questioned him about what was inside his bag. The man then pulled a gun on Diarra, who attempted to grab the firearm. The gun was fired, leaving Diarra with a shot to the stomach and grazed in the ear by a bullet. Diarra proceeded to turn the firearm on the potential thief and shot him in the chest.

If that is indeed what happened, its only by recognizing Braggs Bizarro World mindset that you can understand how a man who successfully disabled someone intent upon killing him winds up charged with murder. Heres how the logic works:

The Bizarro World people have embraced the principle that, as the NRA says, If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have gunsand theyve taken it one step further. Because New York City has effectively outlawed legal guns, their syllogism says that anyone using a gun must be an outlaweven if that person was innocent of criminal intent and, instead, successfully turned the tables on a would-be murderer by seizing the criminals gun and using it against him, thereby saving his (the intended victims) life. Thats bad.

Whats worse is that, because Bragg is in Bizarro World, that foul syllogism has a sub-syllogism: The outlaws who are intentional criminals are victims of systemic something or other, be it racism, sexism, trans-ism, poverty-ism, etc. As victims, they can never be guilty, even if they possess an illegal weapon and use it in the commission of a crime. Given the criminals automatic victim status, their targets must somehow be morally culpable so, when the victims fight back, the victims are the real criminals.

This very faulty syllogism is so powerful that it applies even when the intended victim is himself an immigrant (i.e., someone normally in the lefts protected class silo), as was the case with Alba and may well be with Diarra, who, even if he was born in America, is not the lefts hated white male. Having a job and being a good citizen are inherently suspect in Manhattans Bizarro World.

While Bizarro World may function as a comic book construct in the D.C. Universe, its not a viable model in the real world. Handing the city over to criminals, with innocent people told that they must take the pain or find themselves booked into Rikers Island, is a recipe for vigilantism and other very bad things that mark the end of a civilized society and its nosedive into anarchy.
The United States and other supposedly advanced and intelligent countries are working as fast as they can to destroy companies that produce oil, coal, natural gas and all the products derived from them. They are doing it because of the predictions that these products cause temperatures to rise and massive climate damage.

What the media and other pushers of radical green energy policies never show is scientific data that show a direct link between our consumption of these products and warming temperatures. Because there is none.

The U.S and other countries are trying to stop allowing us to buy reasonably priced, efficient, and reliable cars and trucks and force us to buy inefficient, expensive, and impractical vehicles powered by the highly flammable pollutant Lithium.

In 1850, there were no vehicles powered by gas combustion engines and today there are around 1.5 billion of them.

If you want to know how many cars are there on Earth here you go: There are about 1.446 billion vehicles on Earth in 2022. About 19% of those vehicles are in the United States. (source)

In 1850, countries used almost zero crude oil and today World consumption is around 100 billion barrels per year.

If humans' use of coal, oil, natural gas, CO2, methane and all the derivative products that we are told cause temperatures to rise, we would not have had fluctuating temperatures the last 170 years with a total temperature rise of one to two degrees. This is especially true since an over-400-year little ice age ended around 1850. It is normal for temperatures to rise after an ice age ends. People pretending to be journalists do not have to be scientists to understand that, but they clearly dont care.

The globe also would not have had a thirty-five-year cooling period from 1940-1975, so significant that a dire ice age where billions would die from starvation was predicted if all the things we are told cause warming actually did. Again, it does not take any intelligence to understand that.

Government policies should be based on factual data, not predictions especially since the dire predictions from the last 100 years have been completely wrong.

When government policies are based on an agenda instead of facts, a lot of dangerous and idiotic stuff happens.

We get regulators of financial institutions that are focused on climate predictions instead of worrying about safety and soundness. When the regulators don't do their job, they falsely claim it is because they don't have enough regulations.

Good morning, everyone. And thank you very much for having me today. This inaugural meeting of the Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee, or CFRAC, is an important milestone in our efforts to understand and mitigate the risks that climate change poses to U.S. financial stability. Americas top Navy official declared that fighting climate change is a top priority for the U.S. Navy. (source)

We get the military focused on climate change instead of protecting us from enemies like Russia, China, and Iran.

In a stunning, but not altogether surprising statement, Americas top Navy official declared that fighting climate change is a top priority for the U.S. Navy

We get major polluters selling worthless pieces of paper carbon credits. We get rich people like John Kerry and Bill Gates lecturing us about our carbon footprint while flying in private jets and living in multiple mansions. They claim their massive carbon use is OK because they buy worthless carbon credits. They are just so special.

Some of Europes largest polluters are earning windfalls from the sale of carbon credits. Their profits are an unintended consequence of generous subsidies that make up a crucial element of the regions carbon market.

A lot of people are getting rich pushing the radical green agenda, but the poor and middle class are struggling while their way of life and jobs are being destroyed.

The media are supposed to ask questions and do research. Sadly, they have become Democrat campaign workers pushing the radical leftist agenda. They have as much evidence that our use of oil causes temperatures to rise as they did that Trump colluded with Russia. Facts havent mattered for a long time.

Image credit: Alexandropov86 Pixabay license
The indictment and pending arraignment of Donald Trump signals a new era for the Republican Party. The move by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, not coincidentally timed to push aside discussion of documentary proof of bribes funneled by China to Biden family members, has clarified the nature of the actual political system we live under today. A Twitter thread from an account identified as Big Serge explains. (Hat tip: Mark Wauck)

One of the key fissures in American politics is that you have one party that entertains fantasies about the "Rule of Law", and another that understands that it's far more important to rule *by* law. Idealism vs instrumentalism. Rule of law aims to eradicate arbitrary political exercise of power by imposing equitable and universal accountability to neutral laws. Rule by law simply means imposing rule and exercising political power through juridical or procedural means. Must know the difference. When you complain about double standards and inequitable treatment, all youre doing is showing that the other side understands power and you dont. Loser talk. Hey, theyre punishing their enemies and rewarding their friends! Thats not fair! Yes, this is called ruling and is the basic motivating animus of all political action. You should try it sometime.

The morning after news of the indictment was feloniously leaked (almost certainly from Braggs office), Timothy Jankowski wrote on these pages:

The indictment of President Trump by the Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg will determine once and for all whether the Republican party is willing to fight to preserve our country, or will tell their friends to hold them back as they pretend to throw punches at a much bigger foe.

The Swamp wing of the party, strongest among DC-based politicians, particularly the Senate, will be bypassed and rendered irrelevant if it does not follow the lead of predominantly state and local officials, who are well-positioned to utilize the tool that Democrats have now legitimized.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board magisterially decried what it saw coming on the day of the indictment:

The danger for America is the precedent this prosecution sets. Mr. Bragg is busting a political norm that has stood for 230 years. 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. Mr. Bragg, the provincial progressive, is unleashing forces that all of us may come to regret.

But there is no going back now to the pre-banana republic days when the norms of American politics made it unthinkable to trump up highly questionable charges to take the leader of the opposition out of contention in the next election. That reticence might suit the likes of Mitch McConnell, understandably anxious for the national conversation to avoid the topic of Chinese money-buying influence, but the GOP base and many of the politicians -- especially state and local office holders -- the base elects have no such sensitivity.

Either the GOP contests the rule of Democrats by using all the tools that they use, or else the GOP loses viability by sticking with the rule of law norm that is nothing but an illusion at this moment. In what conceivable universe do the Democrats say, You know, youre right. Well counsel Bragg (and all those other prosecutors salivating at the prospect of their own indictments) to drop the charges?

One of the first people to see the issue as fight or die was Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch, an organization that does more (with fewer resources) to fight political corruption than anyone else I can think of.

All bets are off. You can expect grand jury indictments of leftist politicians like Biden, Pelosi and Schumer as surely as night follows day, said Tom Fitton, president @JudicialWatch . You can be sure there are prosecutors across Florida and Texas right now who are looking for a state law hook into the Biden family. And if theyre not, theyre not doing their jobs. https://nypost.com/2023/03/31/gop-calls-for-biden-charges-after-trump-indictment/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons via @nypost

All bets are off. You can expect grand jury indictments of leftist politicians like Biden, Pelosi and Schumer as surely as night follows day, said Tom Fitton, president @JudicialWatch.

You can be sure there are prosecutors across Florida and Texas right now who are looking  Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) March 31, 2023

John Hinderaker of Powerline sees many more possible local sources of indictments:

Most of Americas district attorneys, those that have a political affiliation, are no doubt Republicans. Likewise, most attorneys general are Republicans. They all should think about Democrats who can be charged in their jurisdictions. The Biden crime family is an obvious target. The evidence on Hunter Bidens laptop shows that he spends (or spent) most of his time communicating with pimps and drug dealers to arrange purchases of prostitutes and illegal drugs. He did this across the country, and his activities are already documented. There are many counties in which criminal charges could be brought against him. Then we have the other Bidens, including Jim and Hallie. As I understand it, criminal charges against Joe cant be pursued until he is out of office, but all of the other members of the crime family are exposed. But thats not all. Many Democratic senators mysteriously become rich in office. How do they do it? Possible answers include outright bribes and sweetheart deals which they are offered by business or organized crime groups seeking political influence. This should be looked into. Has Chuck Schumer engaged in shady financial dealings? Lets find out. We know that Nancy Pelosi was vastly enriched during her term as Speaker of the House. How did that happen? What other Democrats have shown extraordinary increases in net worth while working for public employee salaries? Lets investigate them.

Timothy Jankowski, cited above, points out:

[T]he Attorney General of Virginia is a Republican. This means that thousands of federal employees and retirees live under his jurisdiction. Under Braggs theory that federal crimes can be prosecuted at the state level, that provides a cornucopia of opportunities to investigate crimes that take place on Virginia soil by Virginia residents that affect Virginia taxpayers. The Pentagon, located in Arlington, VA cant account for billions of dollars in any of the audits? Thats now an open invitation for the state to investigate individuals who live in its borders for any possible wrongdoings.

Stephen L. Miller of the Spectator sees Bragg as opening Pandoras Box for the corrupt Dems:

Thanks to New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg, a former president Joe Biden is likely to live out his remaining years watching his only living son go to federal prison. He might even find himself charged as a co-conspirator in one of Hunter Bidens several financial entanglements for which he currently finds himself under DoJ investigation. Sure, when that day comes, the media will scream about political prosecutions and the authoritarian streak of President Ron DeSantis and his attorney general. They will write headlines about the United States becoming a banana republic and MSNBC will have to clean graphite off its roof. None of that will matter, thanks to Alvin Bragg. Nancy Pelosi might be 137 years old, but that probably wont stop a Republican AG or DA from indicting her for possible insider trading. Martha Stewart went to prison for less. Perhaps a prosecutor will start combing through the financials of the Clinton family. Hillary and Bill might be getting a bit too long in the tooth to be tried for any crimes, but their daughter isnt. Several members of the Squad have faced financial ethics complaints about campaign funds, including Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Are they next?

What would or could Mitch McConnell or any other swamp-dwelling DC Republican do to stop a red state AG or a local DA from indicting Hunter Biden or Nancy Pelosi?

Dont get me wrong. I think the loss of the norms on politicizing indictments is a tragedy. We are less of a country  and less legitimate in the eyes of the world  now that Bragg has used a thermonuclear option. But just as when Senate Democrats discarded the use of the filibuster in confirming judges (which was the original thermonuclear option metaphor in partisan politics), Republicans have the means at hand to make them regret it. And must do so.

Caricature by Donkey Hotey CC BY 2.0 license
A Ukrainian serviceman checks a machine gun in front of a destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 "Mriya", the largest cargo aircraft in the world, at an aerodrome in in Hostomel, during a donation ceremony of some ten off-road vehicles mounted with machine guns, from volunteers project HEROCAR for mobile fire groups of air defense to resist drones attacks, on April 1, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP-Yonhap



Ukraine on Saturday branded Russia's presidency of the U.N. Security Council for the month of April "a slap in the face", joining a chorus of outrage from Western countries.



Moscow assumes the presidency as part of its monthly rotation between the Security Council's 15 member states, with ties with the West at their lowest point since the Cold War over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia's tenure of the body's rotating presidency was "a slap in the face to the international community".



"I urge the current UNSC members to thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency," he said on Twitter, calling Russia "an outlaw on the UNSC".



Moscow last chaired the council in February 2022  the same month it invaded Ukraine.



Russia would hold little influence on decisions but would be in charge of the agenda.



Moscow has said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is planning to chair a U.N. Security Council meeting later this month on "effective multilateralism".



Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also said that Lavrov will lead a debate on the Middle East on April 25.



Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from the Security Council.





Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to media at a joint press conference with Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Moldova's President Maia Sandu, Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob, Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic during Bucha Summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 31. AP-Yonhap



'Insecurity Council'



The United States has also criticized Russia's membership of the Security Council and its status as a permanent member.



"A country that flagrantly violates the U.N. Charter and invades its neighbor has no place on the U.N. Security Council," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier.



"Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality," she added, calling the presidency "a largely ceremonial position."



The Baltic states also expressed their concern on Saturday.



Estonia's permanent mission to the U.N. said in a statement on Twitter that it was "shameful humiliating" for the U.N. Security Council that Russia should be its president.



Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis mockingly congratulated Russia on assuming the presidency.



"Looking forward to some energetic discussions on Ukraine's proposal for the destination of your warships," he wrote.



The strategic communications division of the Lithuanian foreign ministry tweeted that "this presidency is a #BadRussianJoke", saying it was fitting that Moscow assume the role on "April Fool's Day".



"Russia, waging a brutal war against Ukraine, can only lead #InsecurityCouncil," it said.



In an interview with AFP on Thursday, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she expected 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. (AFP)





Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine, Feb. 6, at United Nations headquarters. AP-Yonhap
The families of two British men who are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan have been able to speak to them in an emotional call.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, from Middlesbrough, and a second unnamed man.

A third man, Miles Routledge, the British holidaymaker who received widespread attention and criticism on social media in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Talibans gains in the nation, has also been detained.

Earlier, the Home Secretary suggested the Government is in negotiations regarding the three men.

The two men being assisted by Presidium were detained by Taliban secret police on January 11.

It is unclear how long Mr Routledge has been held for.

Speaking about the call, Mr Cornwell and the unnamed man had with their families, Scott Richards, co-founder of the Presidium Network, said on Twitter: We can confirm the men have spoken with the family, the conversation was unscripted, and that they are being treated fairly.

The family was able to speak for one minute to one minute and a half and to speak freely, clearly what is an important and emotional call.

Mr Richards said the call represents tremendous progress in the situation, adding: The details of that call are private but we understand a great relief to the family.

The relief Kevins family expressed after hearing his voice for the first time in three months not knowing if he was well brought a sense of peace and gave them hope that this situation will be resolved soon.

Miles Routledge has been named as one of three British men being held in Taliban custody (Miles Routledge/PA)

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution.

If they are going to do that they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice.

If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK Government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe.

And the Government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

Pressed on whether negotiations are currently happening, Ms Braverman replied: If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad then the FCDO will be working actively to ensure people are safe.

Mr Richards told the PA news agency: The FCDO would be fully anticipated to be using its available resources to support the negotiations and understand the circumstances facing the detainees.

We are not privileged with any information pertaining to their actions and, should we become aware of them, we would be unable to discuss.

We certainly welcome their assistance and would be pleased to co-operate alongside, as we have done in the past.

Mr Richards said the men are being held in a general directorate of intelligence facility for foreigners.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesman said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.

The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks, including detention.
An osprey which became an online star during the first lockdown has returned to his nest ahead of schedule this year.

Louis touched down on his nest at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest in Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands at 12.26pm on Sunday, with his return captured on a livestream camera.

For the last two years, he has arrived back from migration on April 11, with April 4 his earliest appearance until today.

Woodland Trust Scotland has been operating a live nest camera following the ospreys at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest since 2017, with support from players of Peoples Postcode Lottery.

The livestream became a hit during the first lockdown, clocking up 400,000 views worldwide in 2020.

Fans are now hoping that Louis will soon be joined by his mate Dorcha.

Laura Chow, head of charities at Peoples Postcode Lottery, said: What a thrill to see an osprey back at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest.

Heres hoping for another glorious summer of action from the nest.

We are delighted that support from our players allows people far and wide to enjoy this wild slice of highland forest life for so many years.

The Loch Arkaig livestream can be viewed at a dedicated page on the Woodland Trust website https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

Woodland Trust Scotland and Arkaig Community Forest bought the woodland site in 2016 from Forest Enterprise Scotland under the National Forest Land Scheme.

Their aim is to restore native woodland habitats, reconnect local people with the management and stewardship of the site and use the woods to underpin sustainable rural development in the nearby communities of Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes.
A man has been arrested after police were called to a report of someone acting suspiciously near the official residence of Scotlands First Minister.

Police Scotland said they were called to the Charlotte Square area of Edinburgh, where Bute House is situated, at about 7.40pm on Saturday.

The force said that a 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Bute House is the official residence of First Minister Humza Yousaf, who took on the role this week after winning the SNP leadership contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon.

Humza Yousaf at Bute House ahead of his first cabinet meeting as First Minister (Andrew Milligan/PA)

A Police Scotland spokesman said: We were called at around 7.40pm on Saturday April 1 to a report of a man acting suspiciously in the Charlotte Square area of Edinburgh.

Officers attended and a 28-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident.

There was no threat to the wider public and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.

A Scottish Government spokesman said they are aware of the situation but will not be commenting and said that it is a police matter.
Suella Braverman has declined to say when flights to Rwanda could take off, as she appeared to downplay suggestions that the stalled policy of deporting asylum seekers could begin this summer.

The Home Secretary also insisted that ministers were looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels to house asylum seekers in the UK, but refused to say whether the Government was close to signing a deal on a procuring a barge.

Touring broadcast studios on Sunday, Ms Braverman faced questions about the Governments record on illegal migration.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ms Braverman have said that stopping the boats across the Channel is a crucial priority, but campaigners have condemned much of the Governments response, with the controversial Illegal Migration Bill described as an effective asylum ban.

Ministers sparked further controversy earlier this week after unveiling plans to house asylum seekers in disused military bases to accommodate their essential living needs and nothing more, with ferries and barges also being explored as options.

Ms Braverman on Sunday could not say when flights to Rwanda would take off, telling Sky Newss Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme instead: We are making very steady progress.

I am not going to give a deadline as to when flights will take off.

The Governments plan to forcibly remove migrants to the African nation is currently grounded by the courts. It was deemed lawful by the High Court, but legal challenges continue.

Later on the BBC, Ms Braverman declined to confirm a Sun On Sunday report that ministers are close to signing a contract with Portland Port Authority over floating accommodation for asylum seekers.

She told the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that ministers were looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels for migrant accommodation.

She said: Were talking to a lot of operators. A lot of owners of lots of different kinds of property around the country. Weve announced sites earlier this week.

Those are sites where we have a level of confidence were able to be public about those sites.

Were aiming to roll out these sites very quickly and start making them fit for accommodation purposes and relocate people onto those sites for asylum purposes.

But were looking at all options. Were looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels and were in negotiations with a high number of operators around the country.

The Home Secretary also insisted that Rwanda is a safe country to send asylums seekers, insisting that High Court judges had sided with the Government over United Nations concerns about the safety of asylum seekers there.

Rwanda is a safe country. It is appropriate for our purposes to work in partnership, she said.

Ms Braverman also refused to repeat her previous hope that net migration could fall to tens of thousands.

Suella Braverman on a visit to Rwanda last month (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The clear answer I can give you is that I support our manifesto commitment to get overall migration numbers down, including legal migration, she told the BBC.

But Labour said that the Rwanda plan was not even real, with shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy suggesting that her party would have nothing to reverse if it wins the next general election.

On the same programme, she said: I dont think were ever going to be in the situation where we have to dismantle this because I dont think its real, just like the barges that the Home Secretary promised this week that it turns out didnt exist.

This is just yet another way of distracting from the fact that theyre only processing 1% of the asylum claims of people who arrived last year.

The Liberal Democrats said that Ms Bravermans comments showed that the Rwanda plan was on hold.

Suella Bravermans admission that her botched Rwanda scheme is on hold shows just how unworkable it is, home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said.
The Prime Minister has pledged that political correctness will not get in the way of a crackdown on grooming gangs, as ministers promised tougher sentences and new support for local forces to protect children from abuse.

Rishi Sunak will travel to northern England on Monday to announce a new set of measures the Government says will protect young women and girls from sexual abuse, which will also see ethnicity data used to support police investigations.

Part of the plan will see specialist officers assist local police forces to solve child sexual exploitation investigations as part of a new grooming gangs taskforce, as Mr Sunak warned that for too long political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women.

He vowed: We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs.

The new taskforce, the Government said, would be led by police and supported by the National Crime Agency, with membership made up of officers with extensive experience of undertaking investigations into grooming gangs.

The plan will also see ethnicity data used to assist the police in investigating grooming gangs, something ministers will argue is necessary to ensure cultural sensitivities are not used to prevent criminals being caught.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Sunday singled out British Pakistani men over concerns about grooming gangs as she accused authorities of turning a blind eye to signs of abuse over fears of being labelled racist or bigoted.

It came as she announced plans for a consultation on introducing a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse.

Mr Sunak will also say that grooming gang members and leaders will receive the toughest sentences possible, with the introduction of new legislation that would make membership an aggravated factor in sentencing.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: Grooming gangs are a scourge on our society and I want to send a clear message to anyone who exploits vulnerable children that they will face the full weight of the law.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman plans to place a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse (Yui Mok/PA)

This builds on the extensive action this Government has already taken to introduce tougher sentencing, and the reforms introduced last week in the Victims and Prisoners Bill to keep the most dangerous offenders behind bars, while making sure victims get the support they need at all times.

The announcements come after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last year described sexual abuse of children as an epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake.

The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.

Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the inquiry, welcomed the announcements.

The commitment to mandatory reporting is very encouraging, and I look forward to working with the Government to ensure that the full package of the inquirys recommendations in its final report is taken forward to better protect children from sexual abuse in the future.

Ministers have said they will also provide extra support for the NSPCCs whistleblowing helpline.

Labour said it had long called for mandatory reporting, labelling the Government response hopelessly inadequate.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: Ministers have known about the role of organised gangs in child exploitation for years  yet when Labour called for mandatory reporting and expanded police specialist teams nearly a decade ago, they failed to act and have dragged their heels ever since.

Only 11% of child sexual abuse cases ends with a charge  down from 32% seven years ago, and the court delays have got far worse with victims waiting years for justice.

Short term headlines arent enough. We need a comprehensive plan that listens to survivors and victims and properly tackles child exploitation and abuse, including online, to keep children safe.

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, welcomed the Governments announcement, but added that perpetrators do not just come from one background.

He also said that the plan had to be backed up with funding for services to help child victims recover and support for a justice system that is struggling to cope.

He added: Sexual predators will target the most vulnerable and accessible children in society and there must be a focus on more than just race so we do not create new blindspots that prevent victims from being identified.

Better data collection by law enforcement as part of the package of measures announced today would help ensure all those working to protect children have a clearer, evidence-based understanding of child sexual abuse and exploitation so it can be tackled more effectively.

Childrens Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza also welcomed the plans, but urged the Government to extend this same focus to children arriving in the UK who often face similar dangers.

She said: Any measures designed to make children safer, no matter their background or circumstances, are a positive step, so Im pleased to see the commitment to taking forward recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

This must go hand in hand with reforms to childrens social care, putting childrens experiences and voices at the heart of the system and ensuring they feel able to confide in the adults they trust to protect them, who in turn will be supported to keep them safe. I look forward to seeing the full details of these proposals.
Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi meets Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China in this photo taken by Kyodo on April 2. Reuters-Yonhap



Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Japanese counterpart on Sunday that Tokyo's new export controls on semiconductor equipment will only further drive Beijing's quest "to become self-reliant".



Yoshimasa Hayashi's visit to China is the first by a Japanese foreign minister since December 2019, ending a gap of over three years during which bilateral ties have sharply deteriorated.



The ministers' Beijing meeting comes just days after Japan unveiled planned export controls on 23 items used to make semiconductors, following US pressure for countries to restrict China's access to the technology.



"The United States used bullying tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating its old tricks against China," Qin told his counterpart, according to a readout of the meeting.



He also accused Japan of being Washington's "minion".



"The blockade will only further stimulate China's determination to become self-reliant," he said.



Japan's controls were preceded by similar restrictions imposed last month by the Netherlands, where authorities cited "international and national security".



In comments to reporters, Hayashi defended the new restrictions on Sunday as "consistent with international rules", adding that they were "not aimed at a specific country".



Semiconductors have become a major flashpoint in the souring ties between China and Japan  the world's second and third-largest economies.



The foreign ministers also discussed China's recent detention of a Japanese national working in Beijing for Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company Astellas under allegations of espionage.



Hayashi told reporters after the meeting that Japan had "protested" the detainment, and called for "the immediate release of that individual".



Qin said Sunday that "China would deal with him according to the law", without offering further details on the case.



The two sides also discussed a disputed group of islands that Japan calls the Senkakus and Beijing the Diaoyus.



"We reiterated my serious concerns about the East China Sea, including the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands, as well as China's increased military activities in and around our country, including cooperation with Russia," said Hayashi.



Beijing's growing regional assertiveness will likely be among the key topics discussed at this year's G7 meeting, which Japan is scheduled to host. (AFP)


Three British men are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting two of the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man.

Presidium confirmed that the third man is Miles Routledge, the British holidaymaker who received widespread attention and criticism on social media in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Talibans gains in the nation.

The two men being assisted by Presidium were detained by Taliban secret police on January 11.

It is unclear how long Mr Routledge has been held for.

Scott Richards, co-founder of the Presidium Network, who initially spoke to the Mail on Sunday, told the PA news agency on Saturday: I am told that those men are in good health and being treated well.

I have no reason to believe they have been subject to any poor treatment whatsoever.

Mr Richards said the men are being held in a general directorate of intelligence facility for foreigners.

He said there has been no contact with the men.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesman said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.

The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks, including detention.
The Conservatives are reportedly set to urge Scots to vote tactically in the next general election in a bid to lock out the SNP.

According to the Sunday Times, the party north of the border will invite unionist rivals to engage in a tactical voting campaign that will see Labour benefit in urban areas, while the Tories focus on rural parts of the country.

The Tories have not sought to knock down the report, with senior MSP Stephen Kerr saying: I think it would be wrong to underestimate the sophistication of the Scottish electorate.

I think they know exactly what they want, they know exactly how to vote.

Mr Kerr rejected claims his party is trying to manipulate the vote, but added: What I think we will find is that people can see this is a continuity SNP Government with a continuity First Minister and it just wont cut it.

The report claims the Tories and Labour may work together to push out the SNP (Rui Vieira/PA)

What this is about is the priorities of the people of Scotland, the people of Scotland have their priorities, the Conservative Party is committed to delivering those priorities.

When it comes to voting, I think theyll know how to vote to get rid of this nationalist Government.

Any tactical voting pact would need to be signed off by Labour, to avoid the Tories ceding seats in Scotland and getting nothing in return.

Mr Kerr said he is unaware if any discussions have taken place with Anas Sarwars party, adding that the Tories will always put the country first.

Asked what Rishi Sunak thinks of the plan, Mr Kerr admitted he is unsure if the Prime Minister is aware of it, but he said the Tory leader is committed to the idea that we put our country first.

With the spectre of a by-election in Hamilton West and Rutherglen as former SNP-turned-independent MP Margaret Ferrier potentially faces a recall petition, Mr Kerr said he has not been involved in discussions around the strategy for any future campaign and is unaware if the Tories will decide not to stand a candidate in the seat to bolster the Labour vote.

Asked about the reports, a spokeswoman for the party said: We will always urge voters to back the Scottish Conservatives in each and every election.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn condemned the idea (House of Commons/PA)

However, the electorate is sophisticated and aware of the dynamics in individual constituencies.

In a host of seats, particularly in rural areas, the Scottish Conservatives are the only party who can defeat the SNP and we are confident that voters, for whom the union is the priority, understand that.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the reports represent the dreadful Better Together band announcing their reunion, referring to the pro-union campaign in the lead up to the 2014 independence referendum.

The disastrous duo have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder in councils and in Holyrood ever since but, be in no doubt, people will not be fooled by this latest effort, he said.

Neither of the Westminster parties are even pretending to care about Scotlands interests anymore.

Quite frankly, its a struggle to spot the difference between the Tories and Labour  the pro-Brexit, pro-cuts, anti-Scottish democracy Labour Party is a pale imitation of the right-wing Tories.

Scotland deserves far better than either of the Westminster parties contempt of ignoring our interests at every turn  the SNP will always champion Scotlands voice and seek to build a fairer, more prosperous future as an independent country, free from Westminster control for good.
Plastic windows designed by a Cambridge PhD student are transforming uninhabitable houses in war-torn parts of Ukraine into liveable homes, local residents have said.

Engineer Harry Blakiston Houston created the Insulate Ukraine project to replace bullet and bomb-damaged windows with plastic ones of his own design, pausing his studies to concentrate on the initiative.

According to the United Nations, millions of people in Ukraine are living in damaged homes or in buildings ill-suited to provide sufficient protection, particularly in the winter when temperatures can plummet to -20C.

Mr Houston said there was a woman in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, who had been sleeping in her bathtub for two months because it was the warmest place in her house before the plastic windows were installed.

He added: We were able to get her back to some kind of normality after the windows went in. The house was immediately warmer and lighter  she was able to rearrange everything and actually live in her home again.

Plastic windows are replacing bullet and bomb-damaged glass on homes in liberated parts of Ukraine (Insulate Ukraine/PA)

Fedor Tikva, of Izyum, eastern Ukraine, told the PA news agency that the Insulate Ukraine replacement windows have made his house liveable after his original windows were destroyed by nearby bombing.

The 64-year-old said: After the workers built windows and now it is possible to live in that house.

Before that it was impossible to live in that house because there were no windows and it was very damp and cold there. There was no heating, the heating was also destroyed.

All windows there were broken, even the frames partly were damaged, he said. The walls also were a little bit damaged with parts of bombs.

The pensioner added: This is a very great help, I am very satisfied with these windows and I am happy now because after the installation of all the windows the house became more cosy and warmer and lighter.

Before the installation it was too dark and cold inside.

He continued: We were the same happy after the installation of the windows as we were happy when the light and gas came back into our houses after the occupation.

Plastic windows being installed on a damaged home in Ukraine (Insulate Ukraine/PA)

So we are cheering and saying hooray.

Mr Tikva shares the house with his sister, whose flat on the other side of the city burned down during the Russian occupation.

He told the PA news agency he has two houses and that he had been staying in a different home which suffered less damage until the installation of the new windows.

Izyum was occupied by Russian soldiers between March 1 and September 11 last year, according to Mr Tikva.

Insulate Ukraine staff member Helen Demchenko, who translated for the 64-year-old, told PA that new windows have been provided to more than 200 customers in Izyum.

She said residents are either given materials to build the windows themselves or staff and volunteers will install them if customers are vulnerable.

The project is operating across the liberated areas of Ukraine that have suffered the most at Russias hands.

The product is being used to replace bullet-damaged windows (Insulate Ukraine/PA)

The concept uses triple-glazed polyethylene to protect against the cold, costs around 12 per square metre of window, and can be built at home in 15 minutes from basic materials.

Mr Houston said: The level of destruction the Russians left in their wake is astounding. Theres hardly a house in Izyum without bullet holes in it. In peacetime the city was home to 50,000 people, now there are 10,000.

Its just the most extraordinary image of destruction everywhere but now its safe.

Part of Putins war is about trying to make people in Ukraine cold and miserable. Its about breaking their resolve to actually continue defending themselves.

Weve come up with a solution that makes a real difference.

The PhD student came up with the idea while queueing to see the late Queen lying in state last year.
When a North Carolina lender agreed last weekend to assume $60 billion in loans from the failed Silicon Valley Bank, it struck a deal that provides it with protection if some of those assets go bad.

How much protection? The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will reimburse First Citizens Bank (FCNCA) for 50% of all commercial loan losses  if the losses of those loans made by Silicon Valley Bank are above $5 billion.

And this is not the first time the FDIC agreed to provide First Citizens with such a cushion.

The agency has done so nine previous times, on more than $8 billion in other loans First Citizens assumed from failed institutions ranging from First Regional Bank in Los Angeles to Williamsburg First National Bank in Kingstree, S.C. The FDIC ultimately paid $675 million, according to a 2020 First Citizens filing, or roughly 56% of the total losses on those loans.

First Citizens isnt the only U.S. lender that benefited from these sweeteners.

Loss-share agreements, which first surfaced in the early 1990s during the savings-and-loan crisis, became a fixture following the 2008 financial crisis as regulators took down hundreds of banks and scrambled to find buyers willing to take on a mountain of troubled mortgages.

From 2008 to 2013, the FDIC struck 590 loss-sharing agreements. The pacts applied to $216 billion in assets seized from 304 failed banks.

'We appreciate the confidence'

Nine of those agreements went to First Citizens, based in Raleigh, N.C., as it scooped up FDIC-seized banks from California to Florida.

By 2014 the company estimated the FDIC would have to provide it with more than $1 billion to cover the regulator's share of future losses on all those loans, according to a filing from the company. But the actual federal payout dropped to roughly $675 million as of 2020, when nearly all of the loss-sharing agreements had expired.

The nine deals, along with other government-assisted acquisitions, helped First Citizens amass a sizable regional banking footprint.

With the new assets assumed last week from Silicon Valley Bank, it is now one of the countrys 20 largest lenders. Its shares jumped 50% on the day the deal was announced.

The bank couldnt be reached for comment.

CEO Frank Holding said in a news release on March 27 that "we have partnered with the FDIC to successfully complete more FDIC-assisted transactions since 2009 than any other bank, and we appreciate the confidence the FDIC has placed in us once again."

Who wins

These deals are good for bankers because they reduce their risk. Are they good for the FDIC?

The FDIC has historically said yes, contending that it would cost more to simply liquidate the assets of these failed institutions. The regulator states on its web site that it saved itself more than $41 billion by striking those 590 agreements during the last crisis.

"The longer the FDIC holds bank assets, generally the lower the assets value," said John Popeo, an attorney who previously worked for the FDIC helping sell failed banks.

Proponents of shared-loss arrangements also argue the deals allow loans to stay in the private sector, with bankers who know local markets. "Thats going to save the FDIC a lot of work because a bank in a local community is probably going to be better situated to collect on and service those loans," said former FDIC Chair Bill Issac, who ran the agency from 1981 to 1985.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seal is shown outside its headquarters. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Taxpayers are not on the hook for the losses, if the FDIC is forced to pay. They come out of the FDICs $128 billion Deposit Insurance Fund, which is funded by all U.S. banks and typically used to backstop bank depositors up to $250,000 per account. If the deposit-insurance fund runs out, the FDIC does have the ability to impose higher fees on banks.

The FDIC has said total costs of resolving the Silicon Valley Bank failure are expected to be $20 billion, without providing a breakdown of expenses.

Fluctuating losses

How much has the FDIC paid to share loan losses with banks over the decades?

A current total couldnt be determined, but estimates and cumulative counts have surfaced in the past. In 2012, according to a report from the FDICs Office of the Inspector General, the FDIC expected it would have to pay $43 billion to cover its share of all future losses from the 2008 era.

That estimate dropped to $32 billion by 2015, according to a report from the Inspector General, which acts as a watchdog over the agency. The actual losses FDIC had paid for through April of that year amounted to $28 billion. That count rose to $29 billion by September 2016, according to another report.

When we originally did the estimates it was in the middle of the crisis, a FDIC resolution official told Yahoo Finance. As a country, we were lucky because we came out of that [crisis] pretty fast into a good economy and that helped keep the losses from being so high.

A First Citizens Bank branch sign. Credit: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX

One Florida bank received a sizable loss-sharing payment during that time, according to the Inspector General. The FDIC ultimately paid $1.6 billion to the new owners of BankUnited, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based institution that went down in 2009 with $12.8 billion in assets. It was one of the largest failures of that era.

The investment group that took the bank from the FDIC in 2009 negotiated a loss-sharing agreement on a pool of more than 46,000 loans. The FDIC agreed to reimburse BankUnited for 80% of losses up to a threshold of $4 billion and 95% of losses above $4 billion.

As of June 30, 2011, BankUnited had claimed losses of slightly more than $2 billion, according to an Inspector General report. The FDIC paid 80% of that amount.

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Elena Rybakina is playing with house money after saving a match point in her third-round victory over Spains Paula Badosa in the Miami Open Masters 1000 tournament.

Dont bet against this rising star with the booming serve, who kept the arduous Sunshine Double sweep alive in a multiple rain-delayed 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 semifinal victory over No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the top-ranked American from Boca Raton, late Thursday evening.

Twice Pegula served for the first set but was broken, and then 3-0 in the second set, only to see her lead evaporate under Rybakinas pinpoint groundstrokes.

Its really difficult because of different conditions in these two weeks and by the matches you could see that its much more difficult for me here than Indian Wells, said Rybakina, 23, ranked seventh but seeded 10th, who avenged a loss to Pegula in a Round-of-32 match in Miami last year.

Its just the finals, still close, but at the same time far. The Sunshine Double [Indian Wells Masters 1000 and Miami], I try my best and, hopefully, I can make it.

If so, Rybakina would be the fifth woman to accomplish the difficult double, joining Steffi Graf (1994, 96), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Iga Swiatek (2022).

Rybakina didnt find out who her opponent in Saturdays 3 p.m. final (mens doubles final at 12:30 p.m.) would be until late Friday afternoon when future Hall of Famer and 16th-seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic outlasted unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4 in a rain-postponed semifinal between 30-somethings longtime rivals.

The final will pit two of the WTAs most powerful servers, with Rybakina leading all women with 212 aces in 2023. During this fortnight, Rybakina has slammed 10 or more aces in all five matches, a feat last achieved by Serena Williams, arguably the greatest server of all time, when she did it at the 2016 Wimbledon.

Rybakina and Kvitova are 1-1 in two meetings, with the Czech winning 6-3, 7-5 in Adelaide, an Australian Open tuneup in January, but Rybakina did beat the fellow 6-footer in Ostrava on Kvitovas home turf last year.

Both [Cirstea and Kvitova] are hitting hard, aggressive, and have very good shots, said Rybakina, who has won four titles, including the 2022 Wimbledon and Indian Wells. Against Petra, I played in the beginning of the year and she played really well, but it was much faster courts there. I think its going to be different.

Kvitova, 33, who won 13 of her 14 service games in her quarterfinal victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, has won 29 titles, including eight WTA 1000s.

Shes a big hitter, a big server as well; Im the same, so it depends on how we handle the pressure from the opponent, Kvitova said.

Cirstea, 32, was up 5-2, 0-30 on Kvitovas serve, and then 5-4, 40-15 in the first set when maybe she realized it had been 10 years since she was in a similar position in the Toronto 1000 final. She allowed the more experienced big-match Kvitova reel off 10 consecutive points and seven games straight to put a stranglehold on the match.

She came up with some very good returns on those points, said Cirstea, who finished a resurgent month with a quarterfinal berth at Indian Wells and the semis here. That was the moment that changed the momentum of the match. From there she went more for her shots, starting swinging freely and I started to be more careful.

Im sad about today because I had my chances, but Im leaving with a smile on my face.

The 74th-ranked Cirstea, once ranked 21st in 2014, was the fifth lowest-ranked player to reach Miami semis.

The powerful left-handed Kvitova broke immediately to start the second set and didnt allow a break point all set, before punctuating her first trip to a Miami final in 13 appearances with an unreturnable serve.

She missed a little bit, said Kvitova, whose return game was the difference, winning 65 percent of Cirsteas soft second serves. After that I kept the momentum on my side and served better.

Rybakina, a Russian native who began playing for Kazakhstan in 2018 for their federations financial support, has won 13 matches in a row, that discounts a walkover loss to Coco Gauff in the Dubai 500 last month due to lower back pain. She has admitted being mentally and physically drained from her monthlong, amazing run, but always seems to play better when shes down.
Satellite images have revealed intense activity at North Koreas main nuclear site, according to a US think tank.

The Washington-based 38 North monitoring project said that satellite images from 3 March and 17 March at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center indicated that an Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) was nearing completion and transition to operational status.

The images showed that a 5 megawatt reactor at Yongbyon continued to operate and that construction had started on a support building around the ELWR, the report said.

It added that water discharges have been detected that could be associated with testing of the ELWRs cooling system.

A new construction also appears to have started around the Uranium Enrichment Plant (UEP) area, likely intended to expand the uranium conversion capabilities.

Together, these developments seem to reflect Kim Jong-uns recent directive to increase the countrys fissile material production to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal, the report stated.

On 24 March, North Korea said it had tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone that can set off a super-scale radioactive tsunami to decimate naval fleets and ports of the enemy.

North Koreas state news agency KCNA said that the objective of the secret weapon is to infiltrate enemy waters and create an underwater explosion that will trigger tsunami waves.

Also last month, North Koreas leader Mr Kim led two days of military drills simulating a nuclear counter-attack on South Korea, according to KCNA.

The US and South Korea have resumed and expanded joint exercises in the region after North Korea conducted more than 70 missile tests in 2022 and adopted an increasingly aggressive nuclear doctrine.

According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) last year, North Korea has assembled up to 20 nuclear warheads, and probably possessed sufficient fissile material for approximately 4555 nuclear devices.

Additional reporting by agencies
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to consider Ukraine's proposal to end the Russian invasion of its country.

Sanchez said at a Beijing press conference on Friday that he notified Xi that Spain supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposals to end the war. The recent demands included a request for Russia to restore Ukrainian territory that was taken during and after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

"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," Sanchez said.

"I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," the prime minister added, saying that he encouraged Xi to talk with Zelenskyy one-on-one.

FOX NEWS POLL: HALF SAY US SHOULD SUPPORT UKRAINE AS LONG AS IT TAKES

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 15, 2022.

Sanchez's comments come after Beijing released its own take on an ideal political solution to the war in Ukraine. However, China's position paper did not acknowledge that Russia was the aggressor.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Sanchez did commend that China's paper respected territorial integrity and "its complete and categorical rejection of not only the use but even the threat to use nuclear weapons."

Xi recently expressed a desire to end the "Cold War mentality" in geopolitics and "extreme" sanctions, but did not call out Russia.

PRESIDENT BIDEN MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO KYIV, UKRAINE, MEETS WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY

"We hope that all parties concerned will build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and consultation," Xi said, according to CCTV.

Last week, Biden said that Russia and China's economic relationship is vastly exaggerated[d]' in response to Xi and Putin's meeting in March to discuss their economic partnership.

"We hope that the strategic partnership between China and Russia will on the one hand uphold international fairness and justice, and on the other hand promote the common prosperity and development of our countries," Xi said during a joint press conference.

Reuters contributed to this report.
People march around the Nebraska state Capitol during a Transgender Day of Visibility rally, Friday, March 31, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. (Larry Robinson/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)

Anti-transgender rhetoric and disinformation in the days following the shooting at a Nashville Christian school that killed six people have heightened the fears of a community already on edge amid a historic push for more restrictions on trans people's rights this year.

Authorities haven't shared any evidence linking Audrey Hale's gender identity to the motive for the attack, which killed three children and three adults at The Covenant School last week.

Yet right-wing commentators, politicians and other figures have cited the shooting as they've shared false claims of a rise in transgender mass shooters and suggested that the fight for trans rights is radicalizing people.

Advocates worry the comments are further jeopardizing transgender people by turning them into scapegoats, at a time when they're speaking out against a wave of bills focused on trans people in statehouses across the country.

Weve certainly seen the uptick in transphobic rhetoric in the past week, even directed towards our own public platforms, and there have absolutely been community members that are wearier of being in the public eye, the Trans Empowerment Project, an advocacy and support group based in Tennessee, said in a statement.

The rhetoric has come even from members of Congress, with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene questioning whether the shooter was on hormone replacement therapy or medications to treat mental illness.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president's son, suggested the FBI and Justice Department monitor violent factions within the trans community." In Idaho, the head of the state Republican Party invoked the shooting as she called for the governor to sign legislation banning gender affirming medical care for minors.

For hours Monday, police identified the shooter as a woman. Later in the day, the police chief said Hale was transgender. In an email Tuesday, a police spokesperson said Hale was assigned female at birth but used masculine pronouns on a social media profile.

Police have said Hale was under a doctors care for an undisclosed emotional disorder and was not on the radar of police before the attack. Hale was fatally shot by police at the school Monday.

The disinformation surrounding the shooting doesn't surprise Imara Jones, a transgender woman and creator of "The Anti-Trans Hate Machine," a podcast that focuses on the spread of disinformation about transgender people.

Jones noted how quickly false posts spread online falsely identifying a transgender woman as the shooter who killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas last year.

This disinformation, one of the things that it is doing is further isolating, stigmatizing and demonizing trans people, allowing us to be targeted by all forms of violence, both from the state and from individuals, Jones said. Thats what the disinformation is doing.

Several hundred bills restricting transgender people's rights have been introduced in statehouses this year, including a resurgence of bathroom bills and bans on gender affirming care for minors. Transgender people have also faced increasingly hostile rhetoric from lawmakers who are considering these proposals.

Some of the most stringent measures have been enacted in Tennessee, where the Republican governor has signed into law restrictions on drag show performances and a ban on gender affirming care for minors. A federal judge on Friday blocked the drag show ban from taking effect.

Many of the restrictions are being advanced by Republican lawmakers who say they're protecting children.

A large number of transgender people say they regularly face verbal and physical abuse. A Washington Post-KFF survey of transgender adults conducted late last year showed that 64% of trans adults say they have been verbally attacked because of their gender identity, gender expression or sexual identity, and 25% say they have been physically attacked.

There is a vocal minority of people who try to stoke fear of what they dont understand, who label trans people as other and tell us we dont belong, the National Center for Transgender Equality said in a statement. Because of this, trans people, especially trans women of color, face very real threats and violence.

The climate has already been fraught for trans people like Jessica Disney, who's appeared regularly at Arkansas' Capitol to testify against anti-transgender measures.

Anytime theres a spike in the rhetoric for whatever thing that is latched onto, it is immediately more taxing and truly terrifying about living here in the South, living here in Arkansas and what has already happened to me and other people being encouraged to act out, Disney said.

Advocates say the disinformation and focus on the shooter's gender are distracting from needed discussions about how to prevent mass shootings.

Extremist politicians and pundits are focusing on speculations about the shooter and fear-mongering about transgender people because they have no interest or willpower to offer real commonsense solutions to Americas gun problem, Jay Brown, the Human Rights Campaign's senior vice president for programs, research and training, said in a statement.

Despite the fear, the Trans Empowerment Project said it's seen an amazing push to act on addressing gun violence and building allies with the community.

More than anything, were amazed by the resilience of our community, the group said.

Sami Morris, a nonbinary resident of Durham, North Carolina, said the anti-trans finger pointing that followed the shooting in their home state of Tennessee made them feel more unwelcome in the South than they did already. They criticized North Carolina Republicans Wednesday for overriding the Democratic governors veto of legislation loosening gun access just two days after the Nashville shooting.

The anti-trans rhetoric has become so pronounced thats its drowning out mourning the victims," Morris said. "Its drowning out necessary calls for gun control and important conversations about what might actually make schools safer."

The anti-trans rhetoric was on display as Dylan Michael Turner, 27, stood at a Transgender Day of Visibility event Friday outside the South Carolina State House.

Terrorist attack! a passenger in a car passing by yelled at Turner, a transgender man from Columbia, holding a sign that said TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.

Turner said he had received six or seven such comments, but said the supportive messages he got far outweighed the hateful ones.

I wish that (cisgender heterosexual) people would have a chance to get to know trans people and that would sway their view of things," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Hannah Schoenbaum in Raleigh, North Carolina and James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.
Ukrainian soldiers take part in a military exercise March 24 at a training camp in an undisclosed location in England. (Kin Cheung / Associated Press)

After a winter of punishing but indecisive battles, Ukraine is preparing a long-promised spring offensive that officials hope will change the course of the war against Russia.

The goal is to break Russias hold on southern and eastern Ukraine and convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that his war has become a losing proposition.

U.S. officials say that if Ukraine succeeds, Putin could eventually agree to peace talks on terms acceptable to Ukraine. But if Ukraine fails, the conflict is likely to devolve into a long war of attrition  and Putin has declared that in that scenario, time is on Russias side.

The war also has a Western front in the domestic politics of the United States and its European allies, which have given Ukraine the military and economic aid it needs to survive.

If Ukraine succeeds, its Western supporters will feel vindicated. If it falls short, political support in the West will erode.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky isnt the only leader racing against a clock; President Biden is too.

From a military standpoint, the longer you wait to [launch the offensive], the harder it will be, Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the Center for Naval Analyses, said last month. The more time is spent, the more Russian units will be able to entrench.

From a political standpoint, time is not on Bidens side either. Public opinion in the United States and Europe has broadly backed Ukraine, but support has weakened as the war has become longer and more expensive.

Biden has frequently promised that the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia. But thats a promise he may not be able to keep  and not if he loses his expected reelection bid next year.

Experts say Ukraines military offensive may still be weeks away. Much of the country is mired in spring thaw, which turns fields and rural roads into a sea of mud  tough terrain even for armored vehicles.

Bolstered by new tanks and armored troop carriers supplied by the West, Ukraine will try to dislodge Russian forces from the southern and eastern parts of the country.

One likely target will be the Russian-occupied southeastern coast, a land bridge that connects Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin seized from Ukraine in 2014. Severing the bridge "would have a dramatic impact on Russian morale and motivation," said Douglas Lute, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Some of the Western equipment Ukraine is counting on is arriving only now: heavy tanks from Germany and Britain, along with armored combat vehicles from the U.S. and half a dozen other countries.

The U.S. and the European Union are sending thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition from newly mobilized munitions plants. And the U.S. is providing a new ground-to-ground missile, the awkwardly named Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb, with a range of about 90 miles  longer than the missiles Ukraine has now but still only half the reach of another the country has requested.

Thats not enough, critics complain.

"Were providing the systems they needed six months ago, Lute said. "War is not a mathematical equation. You need to overprovide.

"Now is the time to give Ukraine what they need in order to avoid the political calendar next year, he added.

In fact, the U.S. political calendar has already begun.

Former President Trump has complained that American taxpayers are giving Ukraine too much aid and suggested that he would end the war in 24 hours by allowing Putin to take over something.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chimed in, saying it was not in our interest to become further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia.

A poll sponsored by the Associated Press found that the share of Americans who support military aid to Ukraine dropped to 48% in February from 60% last May. Responses reflected a partisan divide, with Republicans increasingly opposed to Bidens policy.

The outcome of the spring offensive is likely to further affect public opinion.

If this becomes a grinding war with no end in sight, it becomes a lot harder to maintain Western support, noted Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Putins calculation is that he can outlast both Ukraine and the West  that the longer the war continues, the more Ukraine will suffer, and the more fatigued Western voters will be.

That's why its vital that the U.S. and its allies give Ukraine as much help as they can now, when its most useful.

Yes, the war has been costly  far more for Ukrainians, who have lost lives and homes, than for American taxpayers.

But the best chance of bringing it to an early end  and avoiding a long and more punishing stalemate  is to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to convince Putin he cannot win.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A view of Glendale. Anti-Armenian fliers were found near an Armenian church in the city on Friday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Fliers containing anti-Armenian sentiments were found Friday morning posted near an Armenian church in Glendale. City Mayor Ardy Kassakhian called the postings "unconscionable and intolerable."

The fliers, found taped to light poles near St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church, contained messages that denied the Armenian genocide but claimed that Israel "fully supports" its completion. They referenced the ongoing blockade of the Nagorno-Karabakh region by Azerbaijan, which has become a humanitarian crisis.

The region is populated primarily by ethnic Armenians but lies within Azerbaijan; critics say the nation's blockade has cut off access to food and medicine.

Anti-Armenian fliers were found near St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale. (Glendale Public Information Office)

"[We] continue to witness the efforts by hate groups today which continue to promote the atrocious act of genocide right here in the city of Glendale, home to one of the largest Armenian communities in the United States," Kassakhian said in a statement.

Kassakhian contended that those responsible for posting the signs were "undoubtedly emboldened" by Turkey's continued denial of the Armenian genocide and by the blockade in Azerbaijan.

California Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) called the posters "vile."

"Lets be clear that we will not allow these hateful racists to create discord between the Jewish & Armenian communities," Friedman said on Twitter.

The Armenian genocide resulted in the deaths of between an estimated 700,000 to 1.2 million Armenians living in the Ottoman empire in 1915.

It was not recognized by the United States until 2021 under President Biden.

The Glendale Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime against the Armenian church and community, the agency said in a statement.

The incident comes several months after anti-Armenian fliers were found taped to poles in Beverly Hills, KTLA reported.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An onslaught of common childhood viruses may have been behind the mysterious outbreak of cases of severe liver damage in children that began popping up in late 2021, as lockdowns were relaxed and schools reopened.

Severe acute hepatitis and liver failure are extremely rare in otherwise healthy children, and the cases puzzled experts. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has investigated 390 cases in 46 states since the fall of 2021. Twenty-two children needed a liver transplant, and 13 have died. Worldwide, there have been about 1,000 cases, according to the World Health Organization.

Research published Thursday in the journal Nature homes in on a possible culprit: adeno-associated virus 2, or AAV2, a virus not previously known to cause illness. In 93% of the cases investigated, the researchers detected AAV2.

But importantly, the researchers found that AAV2 didnt appear to be acting alone. It needed helper viruses  other infections  to get into liver cells.

The study focused on 16 U.S. children with severe hepatitis, analyzing samples of blood, stool and liver biopsies. In a majority of the cases, patients were infected with three or four common viruses at the same time.

Multiple co-infections was an unexpected finding, said senior study author Dr. Charles Chiu, director of the University of California-San Franciscos Clinical Microbiology Laboratory.

In 75% of the cases, researchers found evidence of infection with at least three viruses at the same time. In about a third of the cases, there was evidence of four viruses.

A range of viruses was detected. One was adenovirus type 41, which had previously been identified as a potential suspect in the illnesses. That virus usually causes an upset stomach. Researchers also found a herpes virus, an enterovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, which can cause mononucleosis.

The findings do not prove that co-infections directly caused the severe hepatitis, but give important clues.

The results were compared to 113 pediatric patients who were either healthy or had liver problems in which the cause was known. There was no evidence of multiple viruses in this control group.

Two other studies first released as preprints last summer also detected AAV2 in severe pediatric hepatitis cases in the United Kingdom.

Similar findings by three independent studies give strong credibility to the results, Thomas Baumert, head of the Inserm Research Institute for Viral and Liver Diseases and the University of Strasbourg in France said in a statement to the media. Baumert was not part of the new research.

It is not uncommon to see children with several viruses at the same time, usually without dire outcomes, said Dr. Ibukun Kalu, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. You might have a toddler that has a sniffly nose for a month, even though we would expect a standard viral infection to last about two weeks.

What concerns Kalu, however, is the potential that historically nonpathogenic viruses are now becoming pathogenic when they combine with or are present with some other virus.

What about COVID?

There was no indication that COVID or the COVID vaccines were related to these clusters of cases. But the cases are likely a consequence of the pandemic, Chiu said.

When schools were closed, children were not exposed to the common viruses that usually circulate. Once restrictions began to lift, kids were suddenly exposed to multiple viruses at once.

Globally, cases have been in young children, ages 10 or younger. This is precisely the time period in which immune systems are being formed, Chiu said. What I suspect has happened is that for this certain population of children at this critical age, their immune development was simply disrupted over two years.

One of the unintended consequences of the COVID pandemic may have been that we now have a population of children who have altered immunity, Chiu said. We need to be alert for the possibility that we may be seeing unusual disease manifestations such as hepatitis in the future.

While cases linked to the recent outbreak appear to be waning, Dr. Amy Feldman, the pediatric liver transplant medical director at Childrens Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs, said she sees about a handful of unexplained liver failure cases each year.

Her team has now added adenovirus screening for her pediatric patients with liver inflammation. Understanding potential causes of such cases can help doctors better understand how to prevent and how to treat them, Feldman said.

Stopping the spread of germs is important, Feldman said. The more that you can wash your hands, the better.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The leader of an extremist religious group thats renting the Raleigh Convention Center this weekend countered claims his organization is a hate group.

The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge, or ISUPK, is a nonprofit that has chapters across the United States including in North Carolina. The group, using a third-party, rented the Raleigh Convention Center on Saturday for a Passover celebration.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said there will be more police downtown than normal this weekend because of several events, including the Dreamville music festival happening in nearby Dorothea Dix Park.

There will be added security just not because of that group, but because of everything we have going on, she said Friday.

ISUPK is considered one of the extremist sects within the Black Hebrew Israelite Movement, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks and fights antisemitism. The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, calls the ISUPK a hate group and one of the most prominent sects within the Radical Hebrew Israelites group.

The group governs using military titles, with Commanding General Yahanna Israel as the head of the organization.

The SPLC calls us a racist because we decide were Jews? Yahanna said in an interview with The News & Observer. Were in America in 2023 where if you want to identify as a cat, a dog, a they, a them or whatever you want to identify with its acceptable. But Im a hate group, because I say Blacks in America are the descendants of the original biblical Jews?

The group has already spent several days in the Triangle, including visiting Black Wall Street in Durham and the Stagville Plantation. They plan to hold their Passover Celebration on Saturday night at the convention center downtown.

I grew up in New York City in the Bronx, and I never heard of a 50-square-mile plantation called Stagville, Yahanna said. I was blown away. Ive heard of Black Wall Street in Oklahoma and Tulsa. But I never knew that there was a Black Wall Street in Durham, North Carolina, that was systematically destroyed as well. So its history like this that gives us a better clarity on why we have suffered and continue to suffer at the racism that America seems to never abate.

Yahanna said he couldnt say how many people are members of their organization or how many people will be in the Triangle, because God said not to number the people, so we dont number them.

The Passover event, with multiple days of activities planned, is meant to bring people back to their identity and to educate people about their history, Yahanna said.

The Raleigh Convention Center is photographed on Friday, March 31, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C.

How Convention Center contract happened

ISUPK used a third-party, New York-based company TGF Solution, to book the convention center. The contract required a $1,500 deposit and for the group to spend at least $27,000 on food and beverages.

In a statement Friday, Assistant City Manager Evan Raleigh said the Raleigh Convention Center staff followed standard business and operational procedures with respect to the evaluation and booking of an event.

This process typically involves confirming the event type and determining if the event meets booking priorities and timelines for RCC, he said in an email. In the event it does, further inquiries are made regarding the details of the event and payment and insurance requirements are reviewed with the prospective client. Research is also conducted on the sponsoring organization, which can include reference checks if determined appropriate based on the nature of the event.

Renting the convention center through a third-party is common, he said.

At no point before, during or after the booking process did TGF indicate that it was acting on behalf of another organization nor was there any documentation presented which would have suggested that there was any relationship between TGF and the group in question, Raleigh said. The association between the two entities came to light only after a recent posting on social media suggested that the group in question might actually be the group hosting and organizing the event.

ISUPK never misrepresent ourselves, Yahanna said, but he said he was not familiar with the conversations that led up to the group renting the convention center. He also said they havent had problems at other venues at past events across the nation.

The city did not respond to follow-up questions including what triggers additional research of a group, whether the city asked who TGF was representing or if the city could have denied the rental.

Some Raleigh City Council members, including Baldwin, said denying the groups rental would raise a First Amendment issue.

People have First Amendment rights, she said. And we also have to balance whether were discriminating against certain groups or not. And so thats something I think the (city) attorneys office would have to advise us on. But it is a gray area.

Mayor Pro Tem Corey Branch said he may not like a group, but that doesnt mean barring them from using city facilities.

Its one of those free speech issues, he said. I dont want to see any terrorist, racist group coming in and using our facilities, but we have to be measured in how we approach that because of First Amendment rights.

The Raleigh Convention Center is photographed on Friday, March 31, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C.

They publicly harassed people

But Rabbi Lucy Dinner of Temple Beth Or in Raleigh thinks the City of Raleigh needs to immediately review its policies.

This group has been identified nationally as a hate group and has publicly made antisemitic statements, anti-LGBTQ statements and statements that clearly are meant to incite violence and hate, she said. I dont think that our public institutions should open themselves to any group that is to incite violence and hatred.

She and temple members have been targeted by this group when downtown, Dinner said.

I personally have been harassed by members of this particular group when I was walking downtown and had Jewish garb on, she said. And then I feel like they publicly harassed people. And Ive had my own members mention how uncomfortable that they are downtown, when this group is down there shouting out hateful messages.

The City of Raleigh is considering a new ordinance that would make harassment a criminal misdemeanor.

Yahanna praised the city for its clear ordinance and said his organization has strict rules about harassment.

If you walk past us on the street, while were teaching, we will not engage you at all, unless you engage us, he said. And every time we end up in a heated and aggressive engagement with somebody, it is not because we decided that we were going to harass them. It is because they decided they didnt like what we were saying.

Baldwin said staff is reviewing policies to see if there are ways of improving the process for using the convention center

Are there lessons learned? And are there ways that we could improve our onboarding process when were taking reservations? she said. And I dont know that there is. But I think that the staff is saying well at least take a look at this.
Modi said that amid the conspiracy to batter his image, he focused on development of the country

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express, at Rani Kamlapati Station, in Bhopal, Saturday, April 1, 2023. (PTI)

Bhopal: In an apparent reference to the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday alleged that some people wanted to dig Modis grave. Flagging off the Vande Bharat Express here, Modi said a resolution to tarnish his image was made after he became PM in 2014.

People inside the country and outside were hired to taint my image at any cost. They could not succeed as people of India have become my suraksha kavach (protective shield). Hence, these people are now frustrated and made a resolution to dig my grave, he said.

Modi said that amid the conspiracy to batter his image, he focused on development of the country and Vande Bharat Express project was a part of his determination to ensure progress of the nation. Describing Vande Bharat Express as a symbol of modernisation of railways, he said the sector was neglected by the previous governments since 1947.

India inherited a huge railway network after Independence. However, there was hardly any attempt to develop the railways. The North East region was totally neglected in railway networks after Independence, Modi said.

The PM said he focused on the development of the railways in the northeast as soon as took change in 2014.

He recalled how railway stations in India used to be unclean and how people had to bear with trains running late and how railway tickets were sold in black at railway stations frequently. People had given up hope on railways, he added.

The railway sector has now transformed and in the last nine years, efforts were made to modernise railways to make it one of the best in the world, he said.

He said 11 states including Madhya Pradesh achieved 100 per cent electrification of railway networks and unmanned railway gates were now a thing of the past.

Modi said railway modernisation has created jobs for people and generated income for artisans. Under the one station one product project, 600 outlets were opened at railway stations to sell products of artisans like designer garments, handicrafts, paintings and other artworks.

Over 1 lakh passengers bought the products of artisans from these outlets so far. He said the introduction of Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat Express will promote tourism to Bhim Bhetka, Sanchi Stupa and Udayagiri caves, generating employment.

The 21st century India has a new approach and new mindset, he added.
There is no reason to believe that BJP governments, including that of Mr Modi, have been free of the taint of corruption.

There is no statement more apt to describe the state of affairs when it comes to election financing in India than the saying: iss hamaam mein sab nangey hain. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently described the coming together of several political parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party as a gathering of the corrupt on one stage. There is no reason to believe that BJP governments, including that of Mr Modi, have been free of the taint of corruption. Indeed, the raising of funds from companies, individuals and households and by siphoning off a percentage of government funds allocated for public spending, using political and administrative power at the disposal of a ruling party, is common to almost all governments and political parties.

The truly anti-corruption movement and moment in contemporary political history was the India Against Corruption campaign of 2012-14. But once that popular movement morphed into a political party, the unpardoning logic of campaign finance took hold. It is in the nature of a democratic system, with periodic elections, that aspiring candidates seeking public office seek election campaign finance. This happens in all democracies around the world.

The question is not whether one or another political party does or does not seek and spend money during a campaign. The question is whether this is done transparently and whether funds are sought using the power of public office or not.

The fact is that there is little transparency in the way in which political funding is mobilised and, worse, more often than not such funds are procured through the dispensation of either favours or threats.

In 2003, the Atal Behari Vajpayee government amended election and tax laws to bring in an element of transparency and fair play into political party funding. Introducing the Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment Bill) 2003, the then minister for law and justice, Arun Jaitley, gracefully acknowledged the contribution of both Indrajit Gupta, a Communist Party member of Parliament, and Dr Manmohan Singh, then leader of the Congress Party in the Rajya Sabha, in making the case for transparent funding of political parties. Jaitley was perhaps the last consensual, gentleman politician of the BJP and so was able to secure wide political support for this initiative.

Jaitley told the Lok Sabha: The need for this amendment bill which seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, the Income-Tax Act as also some provisions of the Companies Act, has arisen on account of the fact that there has been a larger consensus both in the democratic polity of India as also amongst the various political parties that 56 years after Independence, we have still not been able to establish a transparent mechanism by which politics, political activities and political parties in the country are to be funded. The committee headed by late Shri Indrajit Gupta had submitted a report in 1999 where it had given some very valuable suggestions in relation to the State funding of elections I do recollect that about a year and a half ago the Congress Party also had set up an internal committee headed by Dr Manmohan Singh. The committee had made several suggestions in regard to the streamlining of this entire process. Therefore, this (Amendment) Bill is really intended to develop this transparent system. Just as he gave Opposition political parties their due credit for the legislation of the Goods and Services Tax, on this occasion too Jaitley cared to credit both Gupta and Dr Singh for this initiative.

As with so many high-minded laws, this one too was good in theory and, as so often, badly implemented in practice. The real flaw in the system, as it has proved to be two decades later, is that a political party in power is still able to mobilise all the governmental power at its command to ensure that it gets an overwhelming share of funds transparently donated. The pattern is clear. Financial contributions to political parties are overwhelmingly in favour of the party in power -- in the Union government and in the states.

Since most of such contributions come from the wealthy and the big firms, especially in rent-generating sectors like real estate, most of it goes to parties that are seen as favouring the rich and powerful. The Communist parties, for example, rarely get any funding and the political parties of the under-privileged and marginalised sections of society managed to get some funding if and when they find themselves in public office. Once they are out, the funds dry up.

Not surprisingly, therefore, Dr Manmohan Singh reminded the country on the occasion of Indrajit Guptas birth centenary in 2019 that as much as 90 per cent of electoral funding had found its way into the coffers of the BJP. It was also reported that of the Rs 9,208 crores mobilised by all political parties in 2018-22 through electoral bonds, a whopping 57 per cent had gone to the BJP. Political parties in power in state governments were able to mop up the rest of the amount, with the Trinamul Congress in West Bengal topping the list.

The corporate sector has accounted for a bulk of the electoral bonds and if anyone imagines that all these funds were voluntarily contributed by it, then they need a reality check. Many companies get a phone call from party functionaries, even Union ministers, exerting political pressure to ensure that they pay up. The person making the call has been adequately briefed by party functionaries on the concerned companys balance sheet and has an idea of what can be reasonably demanded. An amount is often specified and the company has to cough up.

No dictionary or law defines this as corruption since there is no transparent rent-seeking. The donations are voluntary, through a legal window. The phone calls, the fear of a tax enquiry, an invitation to meet some government agency or another or just a rude phone call from a loudmouth minister can do the trick. Nothing illegal about it. It is, however, corruption by other means. Everyone wears a raincoat in the shower or a fig leaf in the hamaam.
Archbishop from 1968 to 1998, a "friend of the poor and the marginalized," he was a key figure in the growth of the Korean Church and the defense of human rights. With him to the altars were also the first Bishop Bruguiere and Fr. Bang, who by starting the first local religious congregations gave a strong impetus to inculturation.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - The Archdiocese of Seoul has officially opened the cause for the beatification of Card. Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009), its archbishop for 30 years and a key figure in the recent history of the Church of South Korea.

Along with him, a diocesan commission formally established March 23 will also instruct the causes of Msgr. Barthelemy Bruguiere (1792-1835), a French Mep missionary who was Korea's first vicar apostolic (although he actually died in China without being able to reach the country because of persecution) and religious Fr. Leo Bang Yu-Ryong (Mu-A Andrew) (1900-1986).

The opening of the causes for the beatification of Card. Kim and Fr. Bang represents an important sign for the Korean Church: the examination of heroic virtues this time will not, in fact, concern figures from the era of persecution, who in martyrdom gave their lives for the Gospel, but a bishop and a priest whom many still remember and whose pastoral action led to the extraordinary growth of the Catholic community in the last decades of the 20th century.

"Card. Kim," reads the statement from the Seoul Archdiocese on the formal opening of the cause of beatification, "was loved and respected by many for his personal example of virtue, his contribution to the growth and esteem for the Korean Church, and his commitment to the affirmation of human rights and democracy.

In particular, as a 'friend of the poor and marginalized,' he treated the humblest as if they were another Christ, based on a fundamental compassion for man, which is the foundation of Christian thought, thus representing a perfect example of Christian love."

The beatification cause of Card. Kim is also an important message to Korean society today. Indeed, many in the country well remember his courageous work in defense of freedom in the years following General Chun Doo-hwan's coup.

During the June 1987 riots, in particular, many students demonstrating in Seoul against the regime sought refuge in Myeongdong Cathedral. Soldiers wanted to enter the church to arrest them, but Card. Kim made them stop in front of the door, "If you want to take the students, you must first put me down.

After me you must put down the priests, and after the priests there will be nuns. Only then can you take the students." Faced with this gesture, the soldiers retreated without entering the church.

The profile of Fr. Bang, another of the three figures in the Seoul archdiocese for whom the cause for beatification has been opened is also very significant about the contribution to the spread of Catholicism is in Korea.

He grew up in the early 1900s in a Korean Catholic family, at the same time he was educated as a Confucian scholar by his grandfather, who was a famous scholar at the time. This quite unique path, once he became a priest at the age of 30, helped him accept the special call to found a Korean religious community that would live an ascetic life in the Eastern style.

At that time Korea's culture, identity, economy and very independence were threatened by Japanese imperialism. But the Church itself, then ruled by foreign missionaries, struggled to value Korean identity in the name of a supposed superiority of Western spirituality.

On the contrary, Fr. Bang realized that the most effective way to propagate the faith in Korea was through the Korean way of speaking and thinking.

This insight came to fruition in 1946 with the founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs in the Gae Seong Catholic Church in present-day North Korea. The women's branch was later joined by the priestly Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs, in which he himself was the first to profess vows.

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Google Maps is the worlds leading navigation app, yet the little features it comes with are at least as important as route guidance . They help refine the overall experience with the app, and this is precisely the purpose of this new tool.When you use Google Maps to search for a location, Google Maps automatically adds a pin on the map to show where it is. Additionally, users can also add their own pins to mark certain locations when exploring the map.Exploring the map and no longer keeping the pin in focus sometimes makes it pretty difficult to find its location again. Panning around is something most users do in Google Maps anyway, especially when exploring a certain region, so Google knew it had to come up with a way to find the pin more conveniently.The latest versions of Google Maps are getting an indicator thats displayed on either side of the map when the pin is no longer on the screen. As such, you can go as far as you want from the original location of the pin because youll always see this indicator.In the current versions of Google Maps, the indicator looks like a small arrow that points precisely to the pin location. Its position on the screen is dynamic, so it moves as you get closer to the pin. Google Maps doesnt currently offer an option to re-center the screen and highlight the pin similar to how you can center on the current position while driving.The new pin indicator is now rolling out to users, but the process seems to take place in stages. It should eventually show up on both iPhone and Android, though Google hasnt shared any specifics on its release.More big Google Maps features are currently in the works, including the highly anticipated immersive view. Thanks to this update, Google Maps users can explore a specific region using a mix of aerial views, Street View imagery, and 3D models. Immersive view supports both daytime and night views, as well as different weather conditions.The rollout of immersive view also started quietly a couple of weeks ago , though its availability continues to be fairly limited. Google did not officially announce the release of the immersive view, but the feature should start showing up in select locations later this year. More information is expected to be shared in a few weeks at Googles I/O, when the company is also likely to reveal additional information on the upcoming Google Maps updates. This year, Google I/O kicks off on May 10.
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Gearheads and auto enthusiasts alike might be inclined to agree with our humble assessment that, over the past few days, the automotive industry has been the true generalist that it was always intended, at least as far as new model announcements are concerned. It is also true that in my weekly review of novelties, I always select a true hero, or at least an antihero and maybe even a villain. So, let us get down to business, shall we?Naturally, with such a tremendous influx of interesting additions throughout different sectors of the auto realm, we need to keep things tidy and in order of importance. So, the lesser  regional  news concerns stuff like Jeep debuting a trio of Renegade and Compass limited editions, aka the 4xe plug-in hybrid Uplands and High Altitude e-hybrid , which are only coming out on the Old Continent. Concurrently, the facelifted Mazda2 is gearing up for its market launch in Australia, where it will hit the dealerships sometime during the summer.Hey, no worries, we also have stuff from back home in North America. Over in the United States, the new 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Last Call special edition order banks have opened , and good luck finding an allocation without a dealer trying to rip you off  aka gain enough greenbacks for a nice retirement purse somewhere in the Caribbeans. I know its not E85 with 1,025 horsepower and a sub-nine-second quarter-mile ET, but the 2024 Ford Mustang configurator also (finally) went live, and the $31k threshold is the lowest for the EcoBoost while the Dark Horse costs almost $60k.As far as truly international novelties are concerned, there is a pair of interesting South Koreans to discuss. One of them is the affordable 2024 Hyundai Sonata , which has been revealed and properly detailed for its first public apparition at the Seoul Mobility Show, in Korea, running between March 30 and April 9. Its just a facelift, but the changes are tremendous, indeed. Plus, Kia has also spilled most of the beans regarding the EV9 crossover  the mid-sizewith swiveling middle seats and up to 380 hp plus 99.8long-range battery and 600 or 700 Nm (443 or 516 lb-ft), depending on whether or not you want to pay for a software upgrade.Oh, speaking of America, the Blue Oval company keeps rubbing the all-new T6.2 Ford Ranger in our faces with Australias Wildtrak X or Europes Wildtrak X and Tremor (!), but it seems that even Toyota will wrap up the fourth-gen Tacoma teaser campaign and the Detroit automaker still wont release its mid-size contender into the pickup truck fray. Frustrating, right? Anyway, the Old Continent also got to see the first images of the sixth iteration of Renault Espace, which used to be a pioneer of the minivan sector, but now is just respectfully trying to align to the crossover SUV lifestyle in hopes of surviving for at least another generation.Meanwhile, Porsche doesnt care about tradition all that much, anymore, at least not when it comes to its crossover SUVs, so the 2024 Cayenne was presented from the inside to signal its new concept of the Porsche Driver (and passenger) Experience. Its not revolutionary  just trendy and in line with our new love for streaming capabilities being featured everywhere. Now, finally, I can talk about the two reveals that most impressed me  both positively and negatively  this past week.The good one has to do with the 57th Easter Jeep Safari participation of the American brand, which includes no less than seven  threeand four electrified  concepts. I especially fell in love with the 1978 Jeep Cherokee 4xe restomod concept, perhaps because Im currently at that age when a potential middle-age crisis is brewing, and I would love to pack my bags in that prototype and spend a week in Moab, Utah, howling like coyotes at the thought that I may be getting older, and fast. Anyway, I always loved the Cherokee, and the restomod ethos seems spot-on for this off-road-oriented SUV, as an alternate line of thought.Now, the bad one. With a heavy heart, I must say that I do not like the Lamborghini Revuelto anymore. That was fast, right? Well, at first, I was quickly smitten by the evolutionary yet modern design, the interesting nameplate - dubbed after a Spanish (raging) bull of the 1880s or the technical specifications. The latter are pretty crazy, indeed, considering that just a decade and a half ago, the world was taken by storm by the Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4, which imposed the new quad-turbo W16 hypercar standard at no less than 1,001 ps (987 hp).Now, the electrified (three electric motors, wink, wink) V12 flagship has not only 13 driving modes (includingEV) but especially a bonkers combined rating for a simple supercar: 1,015 ps, which finally and truly equates to 1,001 horsepower! And, according to Lambo, it can zip from zero to 62 mph (100 kph) in 2.5 seconds and narrowly trump its diehard rival, aka the Ferrari SF90 Stradale and Spider, which only has 1,000 ps or 986 horsepower!But, as always, there is a fine print to it all. In reality, I fell out of love with the Revuelto the moment I found out about its intended EV range rating. Not only the Lambo is limited to 180 ponies (as opposed to 217) in electric mode, but also it can only go for 10 km (6.2 miles!) with zero emissions. Meanwhile, the SF90s achieve a guaranteedeDrive range of 25 kilometers, which is over 15 miles, probably also according to
Full Self-Driving

Photo: Comma AI

NHTSA

ACC

FSD

Photo: Comma AI

Autonomous driving is not doing great, with companies disappearing or scaling back operations. Driving autonomously is promising but requires huge amounts of resources invested in computing power and data mining and analyzing capabilities. Right now, autonomous-driving efforts don't seem to pay off, despite some bold statements from people involved. Autonomous cars make mistakes and crash, and many wonder if it's indeed possible to have cars that drive themselves.Elon Musk was certain in 2020 that full autonomy was possible in "two years," although he loves deadlines that contain the "2" number. Tesla'ssoftware has made progress since then, but not enough for Tesla to assume responsibility for its decisions, thus deeming it Level 3+ autonomous software. Instead, Tesla officially calls it a Level 2 driver assist system, which would be humiliating if the software were self-aware. But is it possible that other companies are further ahead on the way to autonomy than Tesla?Comma AI is the company that wants to beat Tesla at its own game with a vision-based self-driving solution. Its founder, George Hotz, is a renowned software hacker who became famous for jailbreaking the iPhone 4 and later Android phones, not mentioning a brawl with Sony after hacking the PlayStation 3 console. Hotz and Musk have a long history, and in 2015 they almost stroke a deal to develop the Autopilot together. Musk eventually kept Mobileye as a supplier, only to lose it one year later, following Autopilot's first deadly crash.George Hotz (or geohot, as he was known in his early days) went on with his company Comma AI, which later developed the openpilot software. The first version of the software, installed on a 2016 Acura ILX via a hardware device called comma one, provoked the ire of California DMV, which issued a cease and desist letter. Six months later, theinformed Hotz that his product was legally required to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The agency wanted Hotz to provide documents that confirmed the compliance. Instead, Hotz panicked and announced from Shenzhen that the comma one was canceled One good thing that emerged from this brawl was that Comma Ai open-sourced its self-driving software as openpilot in November 2016. This allowed the development to continue as a research project. George Hotz returned in 2018 as the head of the research team, one of his many returns, actually, as Hotz couldn't make up his mind about it. The most important milestone was set on January 2020, when Comm Ai debuted the $999 comma two driver-assist system at CES in Las Vegas.The current version of the comma hardware was released in 2021 as the comma three. It already comes with the latest version of the openpilot software (0.9.1 currently), and it plugs into the car's CAN bus to perform its magic. The device features two fish-eye cameras oriented to the front and a long-distance camera oriented to the rear to scan the surroundings. This sounds like a joke compared to Tesla's eight cameras, but it can prove a very competent driver assistant.The device taps into the car's existing driver-assist technology and can control steering, accelerator, and brakes. They are a prerequisite for the Comma AI openpilot to work with a specific vehicle . Rest assured, any car that offers adaptive cruise control () and lane keep assist/lane centering assist (LKAS/LCA) should work. The features you get depend on the particular car model the comma three device is installed on. Most would be augmented with automated lane centering that works at all speeds and adaptive cruise control that can automatically resume from a stop. The experimental mode can also add traffic light and stop sign handling, akin to theBeta in Tesla cars. Like FSD Beta , openpilot uses machine learning to plot the best path for the car within the lane, hence the improved lane centering function. Note that this might not work on tight curves on older car models because of the limitations of the steering assist system. Openpilot can also maintain a safe distance from the vehicles in front, in stop-and-go traffic, with no user intervention.Openpilot has a very effective driver monitoring system. When it sees that the driver is distracted, it issues a warning. If the driver doesn't react, after six seconds, openpilot can slow the car to a stop. Of course, it can also make lane changes while checking the blind spot monitor system. If another vehicle is detected, it blocks the lane change.One of the best features is its growing community of developers. Thanks to it, certain brands and models can benefit from a deeper integration of the comm three and openpilot. This can open a new world of features, such as experimental stop-light detection. Openpilot is still not integrated with the navigation system, so it doesn't follow your route, but it will surely do that in the future.The comma three is available for $1,499, but it would probably set you back a little more because you would also need a compatible wiring harness to connect it to the car's information infrastructure. The device is compatible with over 200 vehicles but works especially well with late-model Hyundai and Toyota vehicles, as Comma AI says on its website.
2 April 2023 17:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Fuad Muxtarli; Aytac Seyhunqizi

Since 2020, the Azerbaijan army has been accomplishing a historic mission, which has not been fully completed yet. In view of Armenias torpedoing a peace deal to end a 30-year-long confrontation and tension in the region, the Azerbaijani army is undertaking urgent measures and the March 30 military operation was from the same sequence.

In regard to the commissioning of the new Lachin road, several high grounds between Jaghazur and Zabux villages of Lachin District, main and auxiliary roads, as well as large areas along the border were taken under the control of units of the Azerbaijani Army, the ministry said on March 30.

Proceeding from a variety of strategic tasks and operational situations, the Azerbaijani army is constantly taking measures to regain positions under Armenias control. The latest military operation was a necessity because the separatists were secretly using the 5-km-long dirt road joining the Lachin corridor for smuggling weapons, ammunition, mines and manpower.

Even though Azerbaijan signaled the Russian peacekeepers to this end, there was no reaction, on the contrary, several video clips made by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry proved peacekeepers were accompanying Armenian military vehicles to the separatist region. Therefore, units of the Azerbaijan army have taken additional measures to establish control over the roads leading to the region.

The objective of the Azerbaijani army is to prevent the separatists from smuggling weapons and personnel to the region via dirt roads from Armenia. On the other hand, reports about the number of separatists ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 is a bad omen and a wake-up call for Azerbaijan that the separatists are plotting fresh provocations.

First, the Azerbaijani army in the region has to prevent the separatists fresh provocations and oblige both the political wing and armed groups of the separatists to realize systematically their hopelessness and desperation and embrace Bakus proposals and conditions.

The national army has been taking all necessary steps in the region and the nation with all power-wielding agencies must always be alerted to developments since Armenia will never revoke aggressive and occupational policies. The control of each height on the border with Armenia stands for reliable dominance over a vast area and expands the control possibilities. Units of the Azerbaijan army analyze the situation and take preventive measures. Controlling road networks means preventing any provocation in the future and this will always be so as we have properly learned our lesson from our nearly two centuries of defeats.

As for anti-terrorist operations, they are always on the agenda as there are still illegal bandit groups in Azerbaijani territories. As international laws state, armed groups that do not obey a state are called terrorists and are to be rendered neutral and the national army does and will do so until no armed group is left on Azerbaijani soil.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
2 April 2023 09:59 (UTC+04:00)

Fuad Muxtar-Aqbabali Read more

For several decades already, Irans theocratic regime has been in the grip of profound domestic chaos and economic poverty, coupled with man-made hardships, military failures, and diplomatic scandals with neighbors in a bid to terrorize secular nations under the gun of Shiite fanaticism.

Since 1979, the regime has been under biting economic sanctions and has only succeeded in multiplying the number of enemies despite channeling billions of petro-dollars in proxy wars around the globe in the hope to destabilize whole regions by installing pro-regime forces in power.

Luckily, the Tehran mullahcracy has so far failed on many fronts, and billions of petro-dollars channeled into the regimes adventures came back to pockets of jingoistic, prideful, and vainglorious bearded generals Iran designated to spearhead chimerical, hallucinatory and nebulous agitprops, brainwashing, disinformation and hypes designed to advance the regime's global influence.

For nearly 30 years, Azerbaijan has been severely hit by Irans never-ending plots, treacherous policies, poisoning brains of thousands of young Azerbaijanis at religious schools modeled to advance religious schism and harm Azerbaijans determination to cement foundations of own independent state viewed by millions of Southern Azerbaijanis as ideal to become united again following perfidious division into south and north by the Persians and tsarist Russia in early XIX century.

Irans obvious hostile position and policies against Azerbaijan's interests have not ceased for a second throughout the 30-year independence period. Even when the Soviet Union demised, the Tehran regime hesitated for a long time whether or not to recognize Azerbaijans independence and finally did so as there were no arguments to act differently.

On March 29, Azerbaijan opened its first-ever embassy in Israel and one of the major reasons that Baku has not opened its embassy in Tel Aviv up to now was to avoid Irans unfounded and hostile attitude towards itself with nearly 20 percent of lands under Armenian occupation. With the opening of Bakus embassy, Tehran renewed a series of unsound, spurious, and false accusations.

Irans accusation about the presence of foreign forces on the territory of Azerbaijan as always is groundless and completely unacceptable. Azerbaijan as an honest actor and active political player has always ruled out harboring criminal elements on its soil to be used against a third country and this was repeatedly voiced by the countrys leadership.

The latest slanderous, defamatory, and calumnious remarks by the commander of the army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kiyumars Heydari, were an integral part of the regimes accusations deprived of any evidence and reasoning.

In his nonsense remarks, K. Heydari claims that there are supposedly "Zionist" forces in Azerbaijan and that Azerbaijan used ISIS terrorists brought from Syria during the 44-day war, and that they are still in the country. At the same time, he repeats the regimes old claims about changes in borders.

What are the real goals of Iran's fabrication of "Zionist military forces in Azerbaijan?"

Heydaris opinions are not only an interference in the internal affairs of another state, but also a clear example of political shamelessness and overstepping.

The remarks of generals representing Irans theocratic regime, engaged in terrorism, are unacceptable for the secular state and the threatening language will definitely hit back since its menaces go beyond all limits.

Official Tehran should know that Azerbaijan, as an independent state, is not accountable to any state/s, and its foreign policy priorities are dictated by the national interests and will be so for ever.

If the Tehran regime considers Israel to be its enemy or the "Zionist force", it is its own business. However, the attempt to speak with Azerbaijan in the language of diktat may cost it dearly at some point. Today, Azerbaijan is developing its relations not only with Israel, but also with other countries, and no other country has the right or authority to protest against it.

Actually, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry properly reacted to Irans misguided, gratuitous, and misinformed accusations.

Today Iran, which supports Armenia, also backs terrorism in parallel and thus indirectly proves that it is also a terrorist state. In other words, no matter what country it is, if an obvious hostile position is displayed against Azerbaijan's interests and regional policy, it will be properly responded to.

Iran openly and outrightly backs Armenia, which serves to create instability in the region.

Is it only Armenia? Of course, not. Today, IRGC terrorists are in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and so on, where they run terrorist camps and threaten the world order, and now they are trying to target Azerbaijan. Iran has also deployed thousands of SEPAH militias to train Armenian forces in terrorizing Azerbaijani civilians, who are now being relocated back to their homes in the formerly occupied districts.

However, official Baku is not going to turn a blind eye to Irans terror network to expand and take root across Azerbaijan and in the South Caucasus and will resolutely water down Tehrans plots to turn the region into another Lebanon.

Instead of making arrogant statements and occasionally making anti-Azerbaijani threatening video clips, slob and scrimshanker IRGC generals would better deal with Irans domestic problems and investigate the reasons for the mass protests that have taken place in the country for nearly a year that threaten to destroy the pillars of the theocratic regime.

Now that the Israeli embassy has been operating in Azerbaijan for over 25 years, Azerbaijan has just inaugurated its embassy in Tel Aviv and the representative office in Palestine. Just this fact and the call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem indicate Bakus sincere attitude to the issue, unlike Iran's saber-rattling and plots to further destabilize the Middle East.

Azerbaijan for reasons understandable delayed the opening of the embassy in Israel but now when the Karabakh resolution is nearing its logical end, Baku had no reason to further postpone the matter and did not do so despite Irans threats, the armed attack on the nation's Tehran embassy, the killing of the embassy security officer, attempted assassination of parliamentarian Fazil Qazanfar, the killing of public figures in the past as well as continuous efforts to smuggle tons of narcotics into the country.

Azerbaijan is a sovereign nation and is not obliged to ask Irans permission though the regime in Tehran would want it very much and does not give up hopes to compel Baku with terror and other means to that end but in vain.

Azerbaijan did not ask Tehran why it opened the embassy in Yerevan or the consulate general in Kapan several months ago. Azerbaijan has been asking the regime to collaborate in the investigation of the attack on the embassy though Tehran is avoiding Bakus rightful demand. The regime did not respond to the betrayal and martyrdom of the Azerbaijani service members in Zangilan during the 44-day war.

Tehrans "red lines" intimidatory remark is not worth a penny and claims that it will not allow the violation of its historical borders stands for nothing for Azerbaijan as the latter is obliged to restore historic justice and regain lands still under Armenias occupation and further to reunite the divided south and north under unified Azerbaijan to rectify 200-year-long tragedy and accomplish the mission of leading, secular nation.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
2 April 2023 10:34 (UTC+04:00)

Seven years have passed since Azerbaijan's triumphant military success in the 2016 April battles or the four-day war.

On April 2, 2016, intensive artillery shelling of Azerbaijani frontline positions and settlements by the Armenian armed forces resulted in the killing of six civilians, including two children under the age of 16. Numerous public and private facilities, including civil infrastructure, were severely damaged as a result of the attack.

Thus, the counter-offensive became necessary.

As a result of four-day battles, the Azerbaijani army liberated several strategically important heights and restored control over 2,000 hectares of land. The positions in the direction of Tartar District's Talish village and Sugovushan settlement, Jabrayil District's Lalatapa height and Jojug Marjanli village, as well as Goranboy District's Gulustan village, were cleared of enemy forces. Some 30 Armenian tanks, up to 15 artillery installations and engineering fortifications were subjected to destruction, 320 Armenian soldiers were killed and over 500 enemy soldiers were wounded.

Military operations along the line of contact between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces ceased on April 5, by agreement of the parties.

The Azerbaijani armys victories in the April battles laid the foundation of Azerbaijani lands' liberation from Armenia's occupation in the 44-day war lasting from late September to early November 2020.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
2 April 2023 08:39 (UTC+04:00)

By News Centre

With the return of increasing outbound flight services from Beijing after China reopened, Chinese carriers are also ramping up inbound flights to the capital city from global destinations with anticipated returns. One notable return was flag carrier Air China resuming flight services from London's Gatwick Airport to Beijing after a three-year hiatus.

Welcoming Air China back from London to Beijing

Air China did restart non-stop flight services between Beijing and London last August, becoming the first Chinese carrier to resume international flight service following a hiatus due to the pandemic. However, the flights between China and the UK were only one-way outbound flights, as the then-closure of China made inbound flights quite impossible.

With the country having fully reopened since January, Air China can now resume inbound flights back from London Gatwick Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport. The reinstatement began on April 1st and was certainly not an April Fool's joke, as the flag carrier is starting off with four flights per week.

These flights currently happen on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. But with demand for air travel soaring between these two destinations, Air China will progressively be increasing to five flights per week up to daily flight services from April 24th. The flight schedule is as follows:

Flight number Departure time Arrival time CA 851 (PEK - LGW) 02:35 06:55 CA 852 (LGW - PEK) 12:55 05:15 + 1

All flight services will utilize the airline's Airbus A330-300s, configured for 301 passengers in a three-class cabin layout. And once Air China begins serving daily flights, the Star Alliance member will transport at least 2,107 passengers from Beijing to London weekly.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Robert Price is an Emmy-winning reporter for KGET-TV. His column appears here Sundays; the views expressed are his own. Reach him at rprice661@gmail.com or via Twitter: @stubblebuzz.
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Catalytic Converter thefts

The Bakersfield Police Department provided revised statistics showing the number of catalytic converter thefts reported for January through March during each of the last four years:

2019: 17

2020: 144

2021: 462

2022: 480

2023: 255
Sunday could be last day for Onyx Store, which has outlived its owners since the 1800s
https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/lures-catch-bass.html

Bass Fishing For Beginners

Image Missouri guide Casey Scanlon selects three lures for his inexperienced clients to catch bass: a swimbait, crankbait, and stickworm.

When Casey Scanlon prepares for a guide trip, he makes sure the lures he selects match the skill levels of his clients.

The Missouri guide estimates that 50 percent of his clients are novices. "A lot of them are fishing for the first time or have minimal experience, so I am often teaching them how to use spinning tackle, Scanlon says. In addition, he takes out some experienced anglers who know how to use baitcast tackle and tries to teach some novices how to use baitcast gear.

Scanlon bases his lure selection for beginners on the following criteria: seasonal patterns, versatility, simplicity, and sensitivity. "Usually, you want to use something that the lure has quite a bit of action in itself, something that is easy to work and something that they can feel the bite on, Scanlon says. "Many times, some baits like a jig get a lot of bites, but it is tough to detect those bottom bites a lot of times, so you want a bait that is easy to hook the fish and get it in the boat and something they dont have to impart a ton of action into it.

Scanlon recommends three lures for beginners to catch bass based on his guide trips.

Stickworm

A stickworm is an effective lure for novices because it produces nearly year-round and is easy for bass to trap. "It is something that you can throw most of the year and catch bass on any body of water, whether it is Lake of the Ozarks, a small pond, or in Florida," Scanlon says.

The stickworm is also versatile and virtually snag-free. You can rig it various ways, Scanlon says. We do a lot of Texas rigs, Ned rigs, wacky rigs, and drop shots with some kind of a small worm bass that can hang onto a long time.

The Lake of the Ozarks guide recommends that beginners opt for a 5- or 6-inch stickworm. That seems to be a good general size for bass of all sizes, anything from a 10-pounder to a 12-ouncer, Scanlon says.

The tournament pro claims the lure produces both numbers of bass and trophy bass. I have caught 10-pounders in Florida. The biggest bass (13 pounds) I have ever caught has been on a stickworm in Florida, Scanlon says.

Although the lure mimics a variety of bass forage ranging from dying shad to bluegill, Scanlon picks basic stickworm colors for his clients. He stresses to beginners to "not get psyched out about all the available colors." Scanlon recommends that novices choose stickworm colors in green pumpkin, black/blue, and watermelon most of the time and some purple shades in the summer.

Scanlon advises beginners to use a basic retrieve of the slower, the better when presenting a stickworm to bass. Throw it out there and don't impart much action to it, he says. Most of the time, drag it slow if you are fishing it on the bottom. If you are fishing it weightless, let it sink to the bottom, move it slightly, and make another cast. It is a bait you dont have to do a ton with and can catch fish from zero to 20 feet.

The Bassmaster Opens competitor recommends beginners choose a 6-foot, 6-inch, or 7-foot medium action spinning rod and 2000 or 3000 spinning reel spooled with a main line of 10- to 15-pound Bass Pro Shops braided line and a 15-foot leader of 10-pound Bass Pros Shops fluorocarbon for stickworm fishing. Novice anglers proficient with baitcast tackle can use a 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod and 7.1:1 gear ratio reel filled with 12- to 20-pound fluorocarbon.

Crankbait

Image A medium-diving crankbait is an ideal choice for beginners to catch bass throughout the year.

Crankbaits trigger strikes from bass throughout the year. "It is a bait that is easy to hook bass on if you use the right combination of rod, reel, and line (7-foot medium to medium-heavy action spinning or casting rod, low gear ratio reel, and 12- to 15-pound monofilament or fluorocarbon line)," Scanlon says. You can get crankbaits in various sizes and running depths, which are relatively easy to fish.

Scanlon notes crankbaits with 6 to 8 feet diving depths are ideal for beginners. He also suggests beginners try squarebill crankbaits, which are ideal for running shallow when fishing ponds or fishing from the bank.

Crankbaits imitate anything that swims, so Scanlon bases his color choices on what bass are foraging on during each season. He selects shad pattern crankbaits during the warmer months and favors crawfish patterns in the spring. His choice for cranking in dirty water is a crankbait tinted with some chartreuse.

A steady retrieve at a medium pace is the standard presentation for crankbaits. "Throw it out there, reel it in, try to feel what your bait is doing, and try to make contact with objects in the water, Scanlon says.

The crankbait triggers reaction strikes from big bass and can also produce numbers of bass because it can cover a lot of water, which puts it in front of more fish throughout the day.

Swimbait

A swimbait replicates whatever bass are eating, and you can throw it in various sizes," Scanlon says. It is easy to fish. In most cases, you can throw a swimbait out and reel it back to the boat, and the fish will almost hook themselves on it."

Scanlon claims a swimbait is fairly snag resistant because you can fish it high in the water column in either open water or over the top of the cover. The lure is productive in all seasons and at various depth ranges. Scanlon suggests a swimbait mimics a shad, blueback herring, shiner, or other baitfish swimming in your home waters.

The guide usually sets up his clients with a Tackle HD 3.5-inch Swimmer swimbait rigged on a 1/4-ounce jighead. A swimbait can also be impaled on an Alabama rig or belly-weighted hook, or you can buy a pre-rigged one.

Scanlon picks natural colors for his clients swimbaits. He opts for white hues on cloud days or fishing in dirty water and picks translucent natural shades such as iridescent blue for clear water and calm conditions.

The swimbait retrieve depends on the depth he wants his clients to fish. If they are throwing to the bank, Scanlon advises them to start retrieving instantly after the lure hits the water. On the other hand, if fishing 20 feet deep on a point, Scanlon has his clients count the lure down so it sinks 2 to 3 feet and then retrieve it at a steady pace.

Beginners should throw the swimbait on a 7-foot medium or medium-heavy action spinning rod and 2000 or 3000 spinning reel filled with a main line of 10-pound braid and a 15-foot leader of 10-pound fluorocarbon.

Swimbaits are big bass lures when attached to an Alabama rig and produce good numbers when hooked on a jighead.
This years harmonised elections will be held between July 26 and August 26, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has revealed.

President Mnangagwa is expected to proclaim the election date soon.

Preparations for the polls are, however, at an advanced stage.

The preparatory work for holding this years harmonised general election is at an advanced stage, Minister Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail.

The next step that awaits the electorate is the announcement of the election date, through a proclamation by His Excellency, President Mnangagwa.

It is anticipated that the elections will be held between July 26 and August 26.

This is in line with Section 158 (1) of the Constitution, which provides that a general election must be held so that polling takes place not more than 30 days before the expiry of the five-year period upon swearing in of the President and/or Parliament.

Consequently, this will result in the dissolution of Parliament at midnight on the day before the first polling day.

The last harmonised elections were held on July 30, 2018, with President Mnangagwa being sworn into office on August 26.

Treasury, Minister Ziyambi said, was presently mobilising additional resources for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), which has tabled a $130 billion budget.

As you are aware, the Government has budgeted $76 billion for the 2023 harmonised elections, to which $53 billion is earmarked for the elections, he added.

We urge ZEC to utilise the available resources set aside for it in order to ease the burden on the taxpayer. With that said, Treasury will try its best to mobilise adequate resources for the process.

The Government, he said, was fast-tracking the enactment of the Electoral Amendment Bill before dissolution of Parliament.

The Bill sets out to, among other things, stop the use of drivers licences as proof of identity for purposes of voting.

It also provides for the election of 10 youths into the National Assembly, in line with Section 124(1)(c) of the Constitution, as amended in 2021.

Further, the Bill seeks to extend the womens quota in the National Assembly, under a party-list system, while also providing for the election of women on a party list to provincial councils and local authorities, in terms of Section 277(4) of the Constitution.

Currently, the Bill is at the second reading stage in the National Assembly.

After passing through the National Assembly, it will be transmitted to the Senate for debate.

It is my hope that the Senate stage shall be swift but thorough, said Minister Ziyambi.

After completion of all parliamentary processes, the Bill will be placed before the President for his assent.

The Electoral Amendment Bill, as a Bill of paramount significance in light of the upcoming harmonised election, is receiving the due urgency it deserves.

Minister Ziyambi said Government was satisfied with the electoral reforms since the last polls.

It is believed that platforms such as the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), which brings together all political parties that participated in the 2018 elections, have enhanced participation of a cross-section of stakeholders in the reform process.

Furthermore, citizens have also been accorded a voice through parliamentary consultations, despite the fact that their elected officials debate constantly the electoral reforms that affect their political rights, he added.

In addition, there has been a lot of civic society contributions that have also been taken on board.

Dialogue has been held among POLAD, ZESN (Zimbabwe Election Support Network), ERC (Election Resource Centre) and ZLHR (Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights) on a possible laymens bill on elections.

Government, he added, has also engaged the European Union in a political dialogue that has had issues around electoral reforms considered.

Zimbabwes ratification of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance testifies to the strengthening of our electoral process beyond domestic standards of a truly democratic electoral process, said Minister Ziyambi.

Government will be guided by the Electoral Act when inviting and accrediting election observer missions.

In particular, Section 40I (1) of the Act provides that an application for accreditation as an observer must be made no later than the fourth day before the first day of polling for the election of the President, constituency members of the National Assembly or councillors.

Our law does not really require invitation and places no limitations to this end; rather, it opens up the electoral space to all.

Last week, ZEC concluded the final national biometric voter registration. Sunday Mail
With a growing population and need for more infrastructure, N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler urged more state investment in three department areas during a joint House and Senate Agriculture Committee meeting last week in Raleigh: department staff, farmland preservation, and agriculture research.Troxler told lawmakers that while he is not opposed to growth and development, the influx of companies and people to North Carolina over the last several years necessitate the investments. He questioned whether the existing infrastructure can support such rapid development while continuing to support the existing agriculture and agribusiness base.He touched on the rolling blackouts that many North Carolinians experienced over the Christmas holidays and the current issues with the power grid in the state. With increased population and business growth and the push to transition to electric vehicles, he asked if there would be enough power generation or power infrastructure in place to handle continued growth.Troxler also talked about the infrastructure of roads, with traffic increasing every day across the state, and where water supplies will come from if there is another drought, like the one Raleigh experienced in 2011.He turned to the first need of his department, more investment in his staff, by requesting $7 million to help increase pay across his 2,033-person agency. He said he made a request last year to raise pay levels in the department, but the need has intensified.There are currently 278 vacancies, with a turnover rate including transfers of 19%. When the department finds a qualified candidate they would like to hire, they decline over salary.Troxler said not only are their salaries not competitive with the private sector, but they are also not competitive with other state agencies, school systems, or with county governments.He cited an open Med Lab Supervisor position, which has been vacant for 2.5 years, in which a doctorate degree is required, which was declined by two candidates due to the $70,000 salary.Troxler cited that 70% of the department's employees are below the midpoint in their pay ranges, and not just new employees with minimal experience. Other troubling statistics include that 9% of employees could retire right now with full benefits, 11.5% could retire with full benefits in the next year, and 25% within the next five years.Interest in open positions has also dropped steadily, from 22,338 applications in 2019 to 13,574 in 2022.All of these issues could create a ripple effect.Troxler said the workload continues to expand for many department areas, and people are being asked to do more and more. And when positions are not filled, or qualified people leave for another position, things like inspections are not happening, and testing samples and program services are delayed.NC LEADS IN POTENTIAL FARMLAND LOSS BY 2040Troxler next focused on farmland preservation, which has been a priority of his since he first took office. He asked the General Assembly for $15 million in recurring funding for Farmland Preservation.Currently, there are 8.3 million acres of farmland across the state, and in 2022, the department topped 30,000 acres protected through the Ag Development and Farm Preservation Trust Fund since its beginning.In the department's most recent farmland preservation funding cycle, they received 84 applications, 67 of which were for perpetual easements, totaling $20.2 million.Farmland preservation may be at risk despite those numbers due to economic progress and clean energy initiatives.Troxler said that a recent article noted that North Carolina is in the running for 18 major economic projects that would attract manufacturing facilities.Projects include VinFast, an electric vehicle manufacturer planning to build a Chatham County plant on nearly 2,000 acres. It was reported last week that those plans may be in jeopardy as the company said it will hold off producing vehicles at the proposed plant until 2025.Work is also underway for a $1.3 billion 1900-acre Toyota electric vehicle battery plant in Randolph County. A total of 280 acres were purchased in the Research Triangle Park for the planned Apple campus. And in Johnston County, a planned multi-use waterfront development at Flowers Plantation that at completion would include 1,000 new condos, townhomes, and apartments would add to the already existing development in this area, with the entire site being 3,000 acres.Troxler said those are just a few examples that underscore the urgency of preserving farmland for future agricultural and forestry production.He reported that in July, the American Farmland Trust's reportnoted that North Carolina ranks second in the country in potential farmland loss by 2040. It also projected that 1.1 million acres of North Carolina farmland would be converted from agricultural use or 13.25%. The figure was based on current development numbers, but the land loss could increase to 1.6 million if development increases or over 19.2%.Those numbers don't include the amount of farm and forest land that has been lost to solar development, which Troxler estimates is over 45,000 acres.He said a key buzzword we hear about today is climate change, and ironically, agriculture and forest lands already sequester 26 % of carbon emissions.he said.The final request he had for investment was in agricultural research. He stated the global population is growing and will need more food, with the United Nations predicting the need for 75% more by 2050. He said the research will help meet the demand.Troxler said the economic impact of agriculture and agribusiness in North Carolina is $92.9 billion, and it may have hit $100 billion in 2022. It is an industry that accounts for one-sixth of the state's income and employment, again stressing the need for more investment at such a critical time in its history.
ECU Health statement on passage of Medicaid expansion

Press Release:



Greenville, N.C. ECU Health is grateful to elected officials for making Medicaid expansion a reality for more than 600,000 people in the state, including more than 100,000 people here in eastern North Carolina. ECU Health is also grateful to see Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP) funding included in the bill, providing much-needed relief to rural hospitals across the state.



"This is a historic day for health care in our state and especially here in eastern North Carolina," said Dr. Michael Waldrum, CEO, ECU Health. "ECU Health has advocated for Medicaid expansion for more than six years as we witness first-hand the challenges uninsured and underinsured patients face. With expanded coverage, more patients can receive the care they need to keep them well. We appreciate lawmakers recognizing the importance of providing coverage for our vulnerable community members and this landmark moment is a major accomplishment that will improve the lives of many families across the state. While Medicaid expansion and HASP funding will not solve all the challenges facing rural health care, ECU Health is grateful to see this important legislation become law."



Note: ECU Health will accommodate interviews at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28. Please RSVP for details.





Contact: Ashlin Elliott

ECU Health Public Relations

Phone: 252-412-9436

Email: Ashlin.Elliott@VidantHealth.com


Hypocrite Joe Biden has been falsely accusing Republicans of wanting to cut Medicare, but he is the one doing it in fact. The Biden regime has just finalized the cuts in Medicare Part D which they had first trotted out several months ago. Half of Medicare recipients use the optional Part D, which is also called Medicaid Advantage. It impacts Medicare users all over the country and in US territories. The governor of Puerto Rico has denounced Biden's action as the biggest cut to medical care in Puerto Rican history. It probably would be the biggest cut in medical care in most if not all states.

This is just part of the Democrat scheme to force us onto a single payer system. The RINO move in the NC General Assembly to cave in to Roy Cooper's demand to impose the Obamacare Medicaid expansion is another example of this movement.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2023/04/01/hypocritical-biden-goes-through-with-cut-to-medicare-advantage-2024-rate-n725020

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/02/joe-biden-moves-cut-medicare-advantage/

Medicare is the program that people pay for during their working lives with a payroll tax and use for their healthcare after they retire. Medicaid is a welfare giveaway program.
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Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest answers to find.

Last month as the South Texas State Fair got underway, we in The Beaumont Enterprise newsroom asked a simple question -- why is our fair called the "South Texas State Fair?"

Nine times out of 10, when referring to South Texas, this region is not what comes to mind, but rather counties more to the west and obviously much more south.

Over the century-plus history of our regional state fair, it has many a time been incorrectly referred to as the "Southeast Texas State Fair" (even by us on occasion). Is it a Mandela Effect? Or does it just seemingly make more sense for it to be called that?

Well, we tried to find out.

RELATED: South Texas State Fair 2001-2006

It started with a visit to the Young Men's Business League website -- maybe the answer was right there.

It wasn't.

The website, while helpful in laying the foundation of history for what we today know as the South Texas State Fair, couldn't answer our question, but it did give us our first piece of the puzzle.

According to ymbl.org, the fair was previously known as the "Southeast Texas Fair," but it's name was officially changed to its current title in 1921. The fair moved to its longtime location on Gulf Street the following year, and the rest was history.

But we still didn't have our answer.

Next stop was The Beaumont Enterprise and Beaumont Journal archives. With a date, maybe we could find a corresponding story.

RELATED: South Texas State Fair 1990-1994

No such luck -- at first. It seems that a lot of people were confused as to what the actual name was, we found references of "Southeast Texas Fair;" "Southeast Texas State Fair;" "Southern Texas State Fair," and so on. The results were inconclusive.

Now it was time to seek out someone who really knew their stuff about Jefferson County. So, we reached out to Paul Prosperie with the Jefferson County Historical Commission.

He, with the work of fellow commission member Kate Hambright, pointed us in the right direction. Hambright clarified that that name was actually changed to South Texas State Fair years earlier than previously thought. In fact, it happened in 1915

Then the lightbulb went off.

With a more accurate date and terms to search, I went back to the archives. A couple clicks later, I knew I was close to the answer.

I felt this quest so deep in my heart that I called my editor, Kaitlin Bain, and read the article that would answer this long sought-after question to her, figuring out as I went why the name had been chosen.

RELATED: Photos: Saturday at the Fair

And here it is.

According to an Enterprise article dated June 12, 1915, the South Texas State Fair was created on June 11, following the dissolution of the previous Southeast Texas Fair association, which was first organized in 1906.

Along with the creation of a new fair association and charter came a new name, one committee members hoped would be more representative of a fair that was the second-largest in the entire state, behind the eponymous state fair in Dallas.

"The prime purpose in organizing a new association was to make the fair mutual, and not a private corporation with capital stock, as was the old Southeast Texas Fair association," the article reads. "The new organization has no capital stock, and belongs to, in the true sense of the word, to the people of Beaumont and Jefferson County."

The previous Southeast Texas Fair association was unincorporated until 1912, when it received a charter and had a capital stock of $10,000, slated for use of holding annual fairs.

However, under that 1912 charter, had the corporation been disbanded, the profits would have gone to the incorporating officers. Under the new fair name, the funds would not revert to private control and instead would be given back to the city of Beaumont, who operated the fair at that point.

RELATED: Rodeo is YMBL's new 'My Fair Lady'

As for the reason why South Texas as opposed to Southeast Texas? It turns out, Jefferson County knew in 1915 what a draw it had with the fair and it didn't want to confine itself.

"The new name was chosen as being more representative of the institution than the former restricted term, Southeast Texas Fair association," the article states."The Beaumont fair has grown far beyond a county or section fair...It is felt on account of the immense size of Texas, because of her varied and innumerable resources in business, agricultural and horticultural, that two state fairs may be supported in the state."

In the eyes of the then-new fair directors, the Texas State Fair represented the northern half of the state while Beaumont's represented the southern half, of which it played an "important" role.

Today, Texas boasts four state fairs -- the aforementioned eponymous fair; our fair; the East Texas State Fair in Tyler; and the North Texas State Fair in Denton.

So, there you have it. From now on, if anyone asks you why it's called the South Texas State Fair, send them this.
Nowadays, it seems most people will do anything to be a global hit on the internet. But when it happened to Lindsay Rothschild-Cross in 2018, she said she was embarrassed at first. Cross became a viral sensation when a video showing the high school American Sign Language teacher interpreting a death metal concert garnered millions of views.

In our interpreting community we are supposed to be a fly on the wall, she said. You are to be seen and not heard, unless the deaf person signs and obviously you for them, but it's not about us. And I felt that the attention was put on me.

However, after talking to her mentors, Cross realized that she could use the recognition to educate people about the need to include the Deaf community in performances.

I talked about the research we put into the music, she said. I talked about the research that we put into the signs that we incorporate, and the Deaf people that have helped me get to where I'm at. We really are providing a service for them to equally be involved and have accessibility at concerts. I realized, OK, it's not about you going viral, or people knowing your name. It's about how you handle that information.

Cross said that while ASL interpreters had been used at rap concerts, the video let people know interpreting can be applied to other types of events as well.

We do raves. We do fashion shows. We can do it all, she said. That's how you know we're doing our job right because we're just emerging from this world that you didn't know we were in here. It opened up more opportunities for Deaf to be involved with rock venues.

Aside from the interpreting itself, Cross works to educate venues as to the best way for the Deaf community to have the best experience. She said that venues often put Deaf people at the back of the arena, which affects how the sound is perceived and makes it difficult for the interpreters to sync with the music.

They like to look at the interpreter, and they can see the artists and their emotions and facial grammar, and, also, they can feel the music more, she said. So, we really advocate to put the Deaf in the front section.

People (say) that this is because you want to go on stage. No, it's because it's the right thing to do.

Cross said some venues try to charge VIP prices for front sections, which discriminates against the Deaf concertgoers.

But that means you're charging them more for their deafness, she said.

Last year, Cross founded Cross Communication Interpreting, with a focus on providing resources for theater and concerts, as well as public events.

There is a lot of research that goes into signing for a performance, Cross said. She researches the bands, checking out setlists, listening to music. She also likes to get a feel for the lyrics to make sure she is hearing them correctly. If she is doing a play, she visits a read-through and highlights words or phrases, like idioms, so she can match the figurative language in ASL

If the actor is using alliteration, I'm going to use the same handshape on my hands to adapt to that alliteration in ASL as much as possible, she said. It does take skill and preparation.

Cross said most people have stories about becoming an interpreter because a family member or friend was Deaf. Her story is charmingly different.

I was in Austin in high school and there's a Deaf boy in my class and I thought he was just so cute, she said. I thought he was the cutest thing. So, I asked his interpreter, Hey, can you tell him that he's cute? And she looked at me and said, Tell him yourself, and taught me how to sign. My first sign I learned was, You cute. We didn't work out, obviously, but that sparked (and) I've been signing since I was 14.

Cross said she learned casually at first from Deaf people in Austin, in stores and at events. Eventually, her parents moved to a school district that had ASL classes because she had such a passion for it. When it came time to look for a college, a Deaf friend suggested Lamar University. At first, she was not enthusiastic about going to Beaumont.

I looked it up and I was like, OK, we're not gonna stick around there, but I'll go, she said. I got here, and I fell in love with the culture. It's a slower pace, the people are sweet, and the program was just phenomenal at Lamar.

I fell in love with a guy, and I stuck around, and I'm so glad I did because then I realized my other passion is advocacy, helping people, educating people. The Deaf people in this area are great, and they deserve to have equal opportunities just like the Deaf in Austin, just like the Deaf in New York or California.

Cross said companies do not always think about making interpreters available, and Deaf people do not always know it is an option. She said that businesses need only say they offer interpreting upon request.

That way you don't spend the money, because I know the budget, she said. However, if a deaf person contacts them, and says, Yes, I'm interested in attending this conference or your event. then they can say, OK, Cross Communications, let's work something out.

Companies can also apply for grants, Cross said, but that involves planning ahead of time.

That is the issue we come across with businesses is they don't have a budget for that because it's such a new ordeal that people don't think about, she said.

There is clearly a need for these services and Cross said the business has grown quickly.

This first year has gone rapidly, faster than I actually wanted it to, because I was wanting to take small bites at a time before I just scarfed down the whole sandwich, she said. But I ate my sandwich and my chips in one sitting.

When Cross got her LLC in April 2022, she said she told one Deaf friend. The next day she got a request. The next week she was contacted by a Houston business.

That's why we have really incorporated Deaf involvement, because the Deaf community is small, but they are so tight knit and they will let you know if they like you or not, she said. When one Deaf person asks another Deaf person, Who's your preferred agency, who's your preferred interpreter? If they go, Oh, Cross Communications, then whether or not they've used me or know me at all, they'll go off of what that Deaf person says. So, word of mouth is big.

Cross Communications has a complete Deaf approach to things from the ground up, Cross said, from the logo to the website.

I think that's why we have grown so quickly, because they are involved and have a say-so and I appreciate their feedback on things, she said.

Cross passion for her work is palpable. The ability to expand the experience of the Deaf community into all facets of performance is exciting, she said.

My all-time favorite part while I'm there on stage is when the Deaf people are jamming along, and when they start popping our signs because they are singing, she said, pulling up her sleeve and rubbing her arm. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

For information on Cross Communications, visit the Facebook page or call 512-912-6961.
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NOGALUS PRAIRIE  By day, Joan Ragland helps teachers and students at the local school district get the electronic devices they need: iPads, computers and projectors.

But at the end of the day, when she drives home, shes never quite sure if her own electronic devices will work. Before evening Zoom meetings, Ragland, 76, tells the other attendees: I will be in attendance  if I have service.

Its a reality that Ragland, who serves as instructional technology specialist for Hudson Independent School District, has learned to live with in Nogalus Prairie, an unincorporated community deep in the Piney Woods where broadband access is shaky.

RELATED: With billions for broadband on the line, Texas asks federal government for more time to improve access maps

Ragland is hopeful that will change soon.

She and thousands of other East Texans are part of a petition challenging the accuracy of the Texas Broadband Development Map that shows internet availability and speeds across the state. The map will help determine where billions of dollars earmarked for high-speed internet will be distributed.

More than 2.8 million Texas households and 7 million Texans lack broadband, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A disproportionate number of those are in rural areas such as Deep East Texas, where a low population density makes it less profitable for companies to establish broadband infrastructure. Companies that do enter rural areas charge customers higher-than-average rates for slower-than-average speeds.

RELATED: Jasper broadband drama intensifies

According to the state map, the vast majority of Texans already have access to broadband  defined as high-speed internet that delivers download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second, or Mbps, and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps.

But in East Texas, the petitioners say, broadband access is unreliable.

Were not a third-rate country, but we do have areas out here where we just dont have internet, Ragland said. You look at the map, and it looks like everybody is covered. But everybody is not covered.

RELATED: Newton County broadband project underway

Congress allocated a historic $65 billion to expand high-speed internet through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; $42.5 billion of it will be available to states and territories through grants, and Texas is expected to receive billions of dollars. State lawmakers are also considering House Bill 9, which would let voters decide whether to spend $5 billion in state money to expand internet availability. It would be the largest state investment in broadband to date.

How much of the federal and state funding Texas  and specifically East Texas  receives is largely determined by two maps: the Texas Broadband Development Map and a federal map first released last November. The Deep East Texas Council of Governments has challenged both maps, which show that about 98% of locations in East Texas have broadband.

Two East Texas lawmakers have filed bills that also would expand who is eligible to receive grant funding from the states broadband development office. If passed, much of East Texas could qualify for funding.

RELATED: New maps show broadband coverage in each Texas county

In their petition to the state broadband development office, which is tasked with expanding broadband access to underserved areas of the state, the council said their 11-county region, which includes about 350,000 residents, is chronically unserved when it comes to broadband.

Many residents in our region receive substandard service or no service at all, Lonnie Hunt, the councils executive director, wrote in the petition. The lack of service, he said, makes it impossible for East Texas communities to reduce unemployment and improve residents quality of life.

Under current state law, an area is designated as eligible if less than 80% of addresses in that area have access to internet at speeds of at least 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. Eligible areas are prioritized for broadband grant funding.

The council collected internet speed data from more than 3,000 residents in Deep East Texas and identified 54 census blocks where most residents internet speeds are below that threshold. Hunt said the number is probably higher, but they didnt receive enough responses from most census blocks.

Survey respondents spanning from Newton County on the Louisiana border to more than 100 miles west in Houston County said they and their neighbors struggle to get online. Some said they could not even complete a speed test because their connection was so slow.

We have no internet, so we cant test the system, one respondent wrote.

State map doesnt match reality, East Texas residents say

Texas lawmakers prioritized expanding broadband throughout Texas after the COVID-19 pandemic amplified the need for reliable, high-speed internet. In 2021, the Legislature created the Texas Broadband Development Office to figure out how to expand access to affordable, high-speed broadband.



The office created the broadband development map by collecting data from internet service providers. That data does not match what East Texans say they have experienced.

Many East Texas residents who responded to the councils survey said their internet is chronically slow. Ragland, who lives in Trinity County, opted to buy two different internet services to try to maximize her coverage. For the two services, she pays more than $100 per month, according to recent bills. Speed tests indicate her internet is too slow to meet the definition of broadband.

For important Zoom meetings, Ragland drives 25 miles into Lufkin where she knows she can get reliable internet at a coffee shop or at her sisters home. For less critical meetings, she has grown accustomed to telling the other participants: If Im not here, its not because I dont want to be, its because I cant get on.

What Ragland is most worried about is safety. She said she often sees television advertisements for medical alert systems targeted toward elderly people. In rural East Texas, those devices may not have the connectivity they need to activate the emergency response system.

Out in the middle of a hay field, we need coverage so we can get help when we need it, Ragland said.

Nancy Shanafelt, Trinity Countys tax assessor-collector who lives in Groveton, said she needs a stable internet connection to manage her diabetes.

Shanafelt, 39, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a baby. She wears a sensor that constantly monitors her glucose level. An insulin pump automatically delivers insulin if the sensor shows her glucose levels are high.

Shanafelts husband and mother also can check Shanafelts glucose levels using an app  but only if their internet is working.

If Im exhausted and I go to sleep, I know that if my glucose drops below a certain number, my husbands phone will start alarming and also my mothers will start alarming, Shanafelt said. But if we have a glitch in our internet or its super slow, that could cause an error."

Some of the most rural parts of East Texas rely on satellite broadband technology, a wireless system that sends and receives signals from orbiting satellites. Dense cloud cover, heavy forest or rain make access intermittent. And the service can be cost prohibitive, customers said.

Jonathan Adams, who lives in Nacogdoches County and works in law enforcement, recently purchased Starlink, the new satellite internet service owned by Elon Musks SpaceX. Internet speeds are faster than what he had before, but the costs are higher: Adams pays $110 per month for service, and he said his rate will go up to $120 next month. Up-front costs to purchase and ship the equipment are about $600. Adams installed the equipment himself to save money.

In the area where Im at, thats going to be cost prohibitive for a lot of people, Adams said. A lot of people either dont have the physical ability or the skill to mount the equipment, and then theyre going to be forced to hire somebody.

East Texans said that satellite internet should not qualify as broadband service. Satellite services often have data caps, and speeds can slow down as more customers sign up for it.

Texas is challenging a federal broadband map

Two East Texas lawmakers, Sen. Robert Nichols and Rep. Trent Ashby, have proposed a pair of bills  Senate Bill 1238 and House Bill 2662  that could increase the amount of broadband funding East Texas receives.

Those bills would, among other changes, redefine broadband service to include a standard for latency, which is how long in milliseconds it takes for a device to send and receive data. A longer latency means longer lag times. Ashby said lawmakers are also considering redefining broadband service to a higher-speed threshold. Broadband speed measures how much data can be uploaded or downloaded at a time.

While a lot of the mapmaking process will be driven by federal guidelines, raising the threshold for broadband service within House Bill 2662 will have a positive effect on the mapping of rural Texas, Ashby said in an email. By raising the speed threshold, some of those who are currently considered served will no longer be considered served, but rather unserved or underserved under the new definition and will be prioritized, as is required under state and federal program guidelines.

SB 1238 was first heard in committee last week. The House State Affairs Committee is scheduled to hear House Bill 2662 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission may change its definition of broadband in the near future: Last year, the agencys chair proposed raising minimum broadband speeds to 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads. That proposal has not yet been voted on.

This year, Texas will receive at least $100 million through the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, established through the federal infrastructure bill. How much more federal money the state receives will be announced by June 30 and is determined by the FCCs national broadband map.

That map shows household-level information about who lacks access to reliable, high-speed internet.

The state broadband development office challenged that map in February after identifying 176,000 businesses or residences that are not on the map, according to an agency spokesperson. Serviceable locations, such as individual homes or office buildings, must be physically on the map in order to be eligible for funding.

The Deep East Texas Council of Governments also submitted their own challenge to the FCC after finding that 27% of East Texans the council interviewed could not find their home on the federal map. An FCC spokesperson said the maps are continually being updated.

For right now, Ragland is content knowing that in her community of fewer than 100 people  where she says shes related to everyone in town  she can always find help if she needs to.

We may not have internet, Ragland said, but if we get outside and we honk the horn or we run down the road, we can find somebody that can come help us if we need it.
Ascension is restructuring the leadership team for its Wisconsin market and parting ways with several top leaders, the St. Louis-based system said March 21.

Bernie Sherry, senior vice president of Ascension's Wisconsin market, will leave his role later this spring. The health system is currently conducting a search for his replacement.

Four other leaders are also exiting Ascension Wisconsin:

Monica Hilt, chief operating officer

Marcia Lysaght, DNP, RN, chief nursing officer

Beth O'Laire, market chief human resources executive

Caryn Kaufman, director of communications

According to a memo to staff members obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the four leaders will leave their positions this week.

Ascension has also split leadership responsibilities at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital's campuses in Milwaukee and Mequon, Wis. The hospitals will now have separate CEOs "to best enable greater operational and clinical focus at two critical sites of care," the system said.

John Joyce will remain the president of Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Mequon, while Daniel Jackson was named interim president and CEO of the Milwaukee campus. Mr. Jackson most recently served as CEO of Detroit Medical Center's Sinai-Grace Hospital.

Ascension also named Duke Walker as interim COO of the Milwaukee campus. Mr. Walker comes to the hospital from Lafayette, La.-based Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, where he served as vice president of operations.

A search is still underway for the hospital's new chief nursing officer. Marlly Cadavid, PhD, RN, remains the CNO of Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Mequon.

The restructuring comes after investigative reports from the Journal Sentinel and Milwaukee Magazine alleged that staffing issues have significantly disrupted care at the Milwaukee campus, leading to delayed surgeries, long wait times and unattended patients.

State health officials investigated Columbia St. Mary's in October 2022 and cited the hospital for not having enough staff members to properly care for four patients whose cases were reviewed. In August, the hospital was also at risk of losing its accreditation through The Joint Commission, though it has since been reaccredited.

Ascension said the restructuring will "concentrate leadership resources at the facility-level, within key sites of care, to enable increased focus on clinical quality, appropriate staffing, and support of caregivers and associates.
The dust is settling on the national nursing degree scheme, but many questions still linger, with the most pressing being: Who are these nurses, and where are they practicing? As investigations continue and disciplinary actions are taken, another intriguing question has emerged: How were so many nurses able to pass the National Council Licensure Examination?

Through the scheme, aspiring nurses allegedly paid between $10,000 and $15,000 for fake nursing degrees and transcripts, which allowed them to qualify for the NCLEX without completing the necessary coursework and training required to sit for the test.

About 2,800 people  or 37 percent of those who bought fake documents  passed the test, according to Omar Perez Aybar, special agent in charge for the Miami region of HHS' Office of Inspector General. A "significant number" went on to gain licensure and secure employment at U.S. healthcare facilities, he told The New York Times in January.

"It is a bit of a surprise," Felicia Sadler, MJ, BSN, RN, vice president of quality at Relias, an approved provider of continuing education for U.S. licensing boards, told Becker's. "In the world of academia, we go through a very rigorous process from an academic standpoint, as well as our clinicals, when we work towards those diplomas and degrees."

Many individuals who purchased fake nursing degrees had prior experience working in healthcare as certified nursing assistants or other positions, federal officials said, which may help explain the high pass rate. Test-takers may also have been internationally trained or educated nurses, according to David Benton, PhD, RN, CEO of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

"The NCLEX fundamentally assesses the level of a person's nursing knowledge, skills and abilities. It is a gold standard testing methodology that has been proven to be effective and reliable based on decades of data," Dr. Benton said in a statement to Becker's. "The NCLEX is designed to focus on public safety by measuring nursing ability currently required to practice competently at the entry level. It does not measure or assess whether an individual completed an education program or retained particular knowledge from their education program."

In April, the NCSBN is slated to release its next-generation NCLEX designed to better measure test-takers' clinical judgment and decision-making. The organization is also looking into higher-end technologies to improve exam and nursing regulatory body practices, Dr. Benton said.
Sir Billy Connolly has hailed Janey Godley as a great comedian as he announced her as the winner of the inaugural Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award.

She was presented with the award at the 2023 Glasgow International Comedy Festival, just minutes after she closed the show at the official Closing Gala at the Kings Theatre in the city.

An independent panel of judges met on Wednesday to consider the nominations and passed their recommendations on to Sir Billy, who made the final decision ahead of the announcement on Sunday.

The others on the shortlist for the award were Scott Agnew, Paul Black, Craig Hill, Kieran Hodgson, and Susie McCabe.

Sir Billy Connolly announced the winner of the award (Matt Crossick/PA)   Matt Crossick

Sir Billy appeared on screen to announce Godley, who has been battling cancer, as the winner of the award, saying: Hello, I am Billy Connolly and I am here to congratulate the winners of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

Glasgow deserves to have a comedy festival  an international comedy festival. Its the funniest town in the world bar none and it deserves to be at the top of the league.

The winner of the award  the Billy Connolly Award believe it or not  is Janey Godley. A worthy winner.

A worthy comedian. Shes been a pal of mine for about five or six years. We met in New Zealand when she was performing at a festival, and I took her to see my show  almost killing her on the way. I have a weird way of crossing the road.

It took her a while to get used to it. Shes a great girl, a great comedian and an extraordinary life story to dwell on. Im very proud to be part of the International Festival and Im very proud that my drawing has been part of the trophy. Its lovely.

The Spirit of Glasgow award was defined by five criteria  humour, resilience, openness, depth and being unapologetic.

The award, featuring a self-portrait of Sir Billy etched in glass, was presented to Godley by festival director Krista MacDonald alongside Two Doors Down star and judge, Elaine C Smith.

Godley said: I cant believe Ive won this If I couldnt joke I wouldnt be me.

I have won an award from a man that Ive admired since I was a child.

Godley was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2021, and has undergone chemotherapy treatment.

She was given the all clear last year, but announced in December that a recent scan showed signs of the disease in her abdomen.
A 33-year-old man lost US$41 000 to suspected robbers who had offered him a lift to Borrowdale, in Harare this Friday.

In a statement released by the Zimbabwe Republic Police this Saturday, the suspected robbers pounced on their victim after they had offered him a lift near 6th Avenue and Borrowdale Road.

It is said the victims commuter omnibus broke down before he hitch-hiked and falling prey to the robbers.

The robbers allegedly raided him of US$41 000 before they dumped their victim near Mukuvisi Woodlands in Rhodesville, Harare.

Elsewhere the ZRP has arrested Member Nyathi aged 62 and Bruce Ngwenya aged 22 on allegations of murder.

According to the police the duo fatally attacked Robert Maphosa accusing him of having a marital affair with Nyathis wife.

It is alleged that the suspect attacked the victim all over the body.

The ZRP has also arrested Stanley Moyo on allegations of robbery which occurred at Masasa Business Centre in Zvishavane on Friday.

It is also alleged that the suspect attacked the victim before robbing him his belongings.

Meanwhile the ZRP is investigating a case in which a 9-year-old child died at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals after being attacked by pit bulls in Whitcliffe suburb, Harare last week.

The child s death comes after a 68-year-old security guard was found dead on Sunday with multiple injuries after he was mauled by four pit bull dogs at a business premises in Waterfalls, Harare. ZBC
Paul Mescal hopes his Olivier Award for best actor helps keep his unwell mothers spirits high, as well as his father who is looking after her.

The 27-year-old scooped the top acting prize at the Royal Albert Hall ceremony on Sunday for his turn as Stanley Kowalski in the new stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire.

During his speech, Mescal thanked his mother, who is receiving treatment for cancer, adding: I hope you get better.

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In the winners room, he told the PA news agency: My mum and dad are at home. My mums unwell at the moment, so hopefully itll give her a little bit of a lift and dad as well who is looking after.

It kind of feels maybe narcissistic or egotistical to assume that that will help anything, but I hope that it does.

A shocked Mescal said what is happening while holding his award.

Speaking about his success from starring in Normal People to an Oscar nomination for his role in Aftersun, he told PA: Its silly. I feel like I hear people say it all the time, but it doesnt feel real. This doesnt feel at all real.

But its kind of happening at such a rate that there is no time to stop and think, this is a phenomenal feeling.

But were on stage tomorrow at 7.30pm and I cant wait. Its the best play, its the best group of people to go to work with.

Paul Mescal attending the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

The Irish actor also described working in theatre as a thrill.

He said: Theatre is where I learned how to be an actor. Its where I started. I did five or six plays in Dublin, thats where I want to end up.

Its feels odd for me to not be in and around a stage or be planning to do theatre. I dont want to be far away for too long.

Meanwhile, Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer, who won best actress for her role as Tessa in Prima Facie, spoke about the meaning behind her inspirational acceptance speech where she encouraged young actors to believe it is possible.

In the winners room, she told PA: When the (Prima Facie) script got sent to me, it was in the first lockdown and I was blown away by it.

But I was like, I dont know why Ive been sent this because I havent done a lot of theatre, I was confused by that.

Jodie Comer in the press room after winning the Best Actress award for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

I guess Ive always been told no a lot in theatre auditions, which I think were always right and meant for me, but there was always this constant feedback of We like you but its too big a task or Youre just not trained or educated enough in this.

So that was something that kind of lingered with me. I think it might be that the stars need to align and you have to meet kind people, the right people and time and place, but it is actually possible, so hopefully that can be an example of that.

Comer, 30, added that she definitely wants to pursue more theatre productions in the future.

She told PA: Its tricky though because after this its going to have to be something really special for me to want to delve into it again.

But I would love to do more theatre. I understand it now when actors told me before that its kind of incomparable in that way, now I understand that.

Sir Derek Jacobi in the press room after being presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

Similarly, Sir Derek Jacobi has described receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to theatre as magical.

In the winners room, he told PA about working with the late actor Laurence Olivier  in which the ceremony is named after.

Its not just an award to me, I worked with him for over seven years, hes part of my life and I owe him so very, very much, he said.

When I was young, he gave me the opportunities to work with him as an actor, to work with him as a producer, and to become his friend.

As I said in the speech, he once called me his other son. So I am in love with this man, and I have been all my career and without him, there would have been no lifetime achievement award.

Beverley Knight in the press room after winning the Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical award for Sylvia at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall (Jordan Pettitt/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

Beverley Knight, who secured best actress in a supporting role in a musical for her performance as Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia at The Old Vic, said she was knocked sideways.

She told PA: If my late best friend was still alive, he would say You couldve knocked me for seven. Thats how I feel. I am so so chuffed. There are no words.

The emotional 50-year-old also spoke about dedicating her speech to Wolverhampton youth theatre, saying she will never forget her roots.

She told PA: So many people from Wolverhampton youth theatre have gone on to have glorious careers in theatre, film and TV.

I just want kids to know that they can do this, even at my big age as people say, you can do this and you can you can have a career in this.

Arthur Darvill in the press room after winning the Best Actor in a Musical award for Rodgers & Hammersteins Oklahoma! (Jordan Pettitt/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

Meanwhile Arthur Darvill, who won best actor in a musical for Rodgers & Hammersteins Oklahoma! said he dedicated the award to his supportive family, friends and school drama teacher.

He told PA: Im from Birmingham and I had a really supportive family. My mums a puppeteer and actress and my dads a musician so I came from a very artsy family and people who really got it.

I had this amazing drama teacher, Mike Perry, who was really inspiring and taught me loads.

I think those people are really important in all of our lives. Those teachers who see you, encourage you. Teachers are really important and I owe so much to so many people whove supported me throughout my life.

The Olivier Awards 2023 will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX from 10.15pm to 12.20am.
Co Down man brews a special lager to celebrate the coronation in May

Co Down expat Andrew Power has launched his third beer in Australia.

The Co Down expat behind a limited edition lager celebrating the centenary of Northern Ireland in Australia, has brewed up his latest creation to mark King Charles coronation.

Andrew Power (48) launched his first ale in 2021  Six Counties Craft Beer  and it was voted in the top 50 of the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS) hottest new brews last year.

Following that success, Andrew, who moved Down Under from Bangor in 2005 and lives in Brisbane, launched another salute to home with his Sandy Row Session Ale.

The beer was a toast to his family and friends who live in south Belfasts Sandy Row, and his late father Billy, who passed away in 2021 and was originally from the area.

Now, Andrews latest thirst-quenching creation, Celebration Ale, is a toast to King Charles coronation on Saturday, May 6.

The 3.5% beer brewed by Sydneys Sauce Brewing, is described as a clean, crisp and tropical hazy pale ale  perfect for the current hot weather there.

Co Down expat Andrew Power has launched his third beer in Australia.

Made with Australian hops, Celebration Ale provides a stunning tropical fruit aroma, with a slight citrus palate.

Its been labelled as an approachable pale ale thats perfect for celebrating the crowning of our new king.

Celebration Ale will launch Australia-wide this week and is already available on tap in two pubs Down Under in tribute to King Charles coronation.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Andrew said Celebration Ale is a way for both Australians and the large British ex-pat community to toast the new king.

Its a really exciting time, he said. The coronation will be celebrated here as it will be across the Commonwealth so its good to have a beer that everyone can enjoy.

Celebration Ale will also be available on Australias largest liquor retailer, Dan Murphys Marketplace, meaning it will be the first of Andrews three beers that will be available across the country.

Andrew is also booked in for a tasting session at the Royal Hotel Bottle shop in Toowoomba, Queensland, on Thursday, May 4.

Its going to be released this week Australia-wide and weve already got a multitude of venues in Queensland that are on board with it, explained Andrew, who owns Ulster Distributions.

It will actually be on Dan Murphys Marketplace, which is fantastic, so people Australia-wide will be able to order it, which is a first for one of our beers. Its pretty exciting.

Weve got some good venues on board and weve got an ex-services club here in Brisbane who are going to put it on tap in April and May.

Theres a British pub on the Gold Coast. They have a London bus and a British phone box outside their pub, and they have statue of King Charles too.

They have it on tap at the moment and when the cans are ready next week, theyre good to go with the cans as well.

Unfortunately, Celebration Ale is not available in Northern Ireland but there is some stock of Six Counties that can be purchased from Fermanagh Beer Company.
The Secretary of State is being urged to follow up on a promise of his predecessor by taking steps to introduce compulsory relationship and sexual education (RSE) in schools across Northern Ireland.

Previous Secretary Shailesh Vara, had said he was considering introducing compulsory RSE if the Department of Education did not act but to date no progress has been made.

Now SDLP Children and Young People spokesperson Cara Hunter, has requested a meeting with Chris Heaton-Harris to discuss the matter.

Ms Hunter is currently campaigning for standardised, modern RSE to be implemented in schools and said he should now commit to introducing compulsory, uniform RSE for young people across Northern Ireland.

If the Stormont institutions were up and running I would legislate for these changes myself, but in the absence of power-sharing and any movement from the Department of Education I believe the NI Secretary has a duty to act, she said.

Mr Heaton-Harris predecessor Shailesh Vara said he would introduce RSE in the absence of progress. He rightly pointed to the legal duty to introduce robust and modern RSE in the North following a report from the United Nations.

I believe that Mr Heaton-Harris must now give us a similar commitment to ensure that young people here are being education properly when it comes to relationships, giving them the tools to navigate the challenges that will come their way throughout their lives.

"Comprehensive education could also help address societal issues around sexual and violent crime towards women and girls.

Any reform has to be standardised, age-appropriate, and focus on teaching students about consent, healthy relationships, domestic violence, where to find support and more. Thats the message I hope to put to Mr Heaton-Harris in our meeting and I look forward to receiving his response.

In July last year, Mr Vara said he had a legal duty to act on the recommendations of a United Nations (UN) committee report on RSE which teaching said should be compulsory and comprehensive.

It said it should cover topics such as access to abortion and prevention of early pregnancy.

At that time the department said the Education Minister Michelle McIlveen had written to the Northern Ireland secretary inviting him to meet her to discuss the issue.

The Department had added that: RSE in schools in Northern Ireland already provides opportunities for young people to learn about the implications of sexual maturation and the emotional, social and moral implications of early sexual activity.

Each school in Northern Ireland is currently required by the department to develop its own policy.

However, what is actually taught to pupils about RSE is a matter for each school to decide based on their school ethos.
The incident has been linked to an ongoing feud between drugs gangs in the area.

Police investigating a disturbance at a shopping centre in the Circular Road area of Newtownards yesterday, Friday March 31, have charged four men to court.

The men, aged 38, 36, 29 and 24, were charged with affray and disorderly behaviour. The 38, 29 and 24-year-old men were also charged with common assault.

Police had received reports that a man had been assaulted by a number of masked men in the shopping centre in the Circular Road area at around 3.30pm. It was also reported that they then left the area in a BMW vehicle.

Superintendent Johnston McDowell said: "Within five minutes of receiving the initial report, officers were in pursuit and located the car and four occupants in the Kemp Stones Road area just after 3.35pm.

The men are due to appear at Downpatrick Magistrates Court on Monday, April 3. As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

It comes after detectives from the PSNIs Paramilitary Crime Task Force investigating a series of attacks linked to a feud between drugs gangs in North Down have conducted a search at a property in Comber on Saturday.

Detective Inspector Corrigan said: Officers conducted a search of a property in the Comber area under the Terrorism Act. A small quantity of suspected Class B Controlled drugs and a mobile device were recovered and have taken away for further forensic examination.

Police continue to maintain a highly visible policing presence across North Down and we would appeal to anyone with any information in relation to the ongoing feud between drug gangs in the area, to contact police on 101.

"Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Joan Wilson, who lost her daughter in the IRAs Remembrance Day massacre, loved and protected her family, mourners were told at her funeral on Sunday.

The 91-year-old passed away on Friday 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.

Mrs Wilson was pre-deceased by her husband and daughter, and son Peter. She is survived by her daughter Julie-Anne and the wider family circle.

Warm tributes were paid to Mrs Wilson at her funeral at Enniskillen Methodist Church.

In the years following one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles, Mr and Mrs Wilson devoted themselves to peace making.

Read more Joan Wilson obituary: A beacon of light during the darkness of Troubles

During yesterdays thanksgiving service, teacher Katie Hassard described the devotion her grandmother had for all her family, including her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She really was one of a kind, she told the congregation. Life threw a lot at her, and I think that because of that, she loved and protected the family she had left so incredibly deeply.

We all loved her for that. She has always been an inspiration for us, with her musical talent, her love of teaching, her Godliness, sharp mind, kindness and generosity.

Granny loved to rhyme off the achievements of her grandchildren and great grandchildren to anyone who would listen as she talked about Eloise, Judith, Scott, Tim, and me, as well as her great grandchildren Wilson, Florence, Charlotte, Julia, Jessica and Edward.

She celebrated our successes long after we ourselves had forgotten them, sitting in the hall at home and ringing round on the phone to share her delight at news of our engagements, marriages, births and exam results. We all knew that she was very proud of her role as Granny, and we were blessed to have her as ours.

During the Service, journalist and author Alf McCreary, who was a close friend of Mrs Wilson and the family, also paid tribute.

He praised her courage in facing up to so many challenges and becoming a beacon of light in the darkness.

Joan was a saintly person in an often savage world, and she also had so many lovely qualities as a humble human being, he said.

The Enniskillen bomb tore her life apart, with the death of Marie, the serious injury to Gordon and the trauma for the rest of the family.

Even today, it is hard for us to imagine how awful it must have been. In recent times she had a long, troubling illness but she is now at peace, and free from all suffering.

During the service, which was conducted by Reverend Lorna Dreaning, Mrs Wilsons son-in-law John Hassard read the poem Thou Shalt.

Mrs Wilson was a former music teacher, and a long -term organist and choir-mistress at Enniskillen Methodist Church where in past years the funeral services also took place for her daughter Marie, son Peter and husband Gordon.

There was a wide representation at the service as a tribute to Mrs Wilson, who was widely respected across the entire Enniskillen and Fermanagh community, and much further afield.

Among the congregation was the Reverend Harold Good, a former Methodist President who was a friend of Joan Wilson and her family.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: "Joan was a very special person who helped to bring peace to many people in troubled times, and now she is at peace herself. That says it all."
A VEHICLE seized in connection with a loyalist feud in north Down has been set alight outside Dundonald PSNI station.

The BMW X5 jeep was seized by officers on Friday after police arrested four men following a disturbance at a shopping centre in Newtownards.

Images of the burnt out vehicle show damage caused to the BMWs rear wheel and windows, which were smashed. Fire damage can also be seen around the petrol tank.

The damaged vehicle was parked just yards from the main entrance gates to the PSNI station when it was set on fire.

A spokesperson for the PSNI said officers attended a report of a car which had received damage to a rear wheel around 4.50am on Sunday along the Upper Newtownards Road area of Dundonald.

Enquiries are continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, which is being treated as arson, added the PSNI, who appealed for anyone with information to call 101..

A senior police source said the fire damage was contained to the outside and under the car thanks to the quick actions of police staff, adding that the only thing inside car is various items of clothing and broken glass.

The source declined to comment on why the car was not being stored in a secure location or about evidence, but insisted there is no fire damage to the interior.

On Friday, police received reports that a man had been assaulted by a number of masked men in the shopping centre in the Circular Road area of Newtownards at around 3.30pm. It was also reported that they then left the area in a BMW vehicle.

After receiving the report, officers pursued the vehicle and located the car and four occupants in the Kemp Stones Road area just after 3.35pm.

Four men aged in their 20s and 30s, were arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, including assault and public order offences. They are expected to appear in court today.

Read more Kids screamed as rival gang attacked feud victim in busy shopping centre

A burnt BMW X5 outside Dundonald Police Station on Sunday. Photo by Kevin Scott.   Kevin Scott

Speaking to the Sunday Life, the young man set upon by the loyalist gang at the shopping centre said he was targeted by members of the self-style Real UFF.

The man, who admitted he is a convicted criminal and insisted he was not a member of any paramilitary organisation, described the incident.

They [the men] started with their lip, so I told them to come outside and went to walk to the exit, he said.

They both stood and didnt know what to do, and my girlfriend pulled my arm and said, Come on, they arent worth it.

They then went to the shopping centre door where they put their hoods and scarves up and used the phone to ring for more men.

When the men arrived, we were nearly at the other exit, and they all ran right towards me. I went the opposite direction to try and get out the door and away from all the women and children.

They got me and I grabbed one by the throat, [then] the other two came from the side and I was hit with one punch.

Kids and a woman with a pram were in the middle of it. The kids were screaming.

We stayed after they ran off to see if everyone was alright.

Im not bothered about what happened to me, just the fact that they will have traumatised these innocent women and children. Would these men like this round their children?

The incident outside Dundonald Police Station is the latest in a number of attacks that have happened in Newtownards and north Down over the last fortnight, which are linked to an ongoing loyalist drug gangs feud.
The fallout from Brexit is intensifying the conversation on Irish unity, Sinn Fein MP John Finucane has said.

Mr Finucane said conversations were taking place now about increasing prosperity and this was woven through the discussion about a united Ireland.

There are those that I talk to that still feel aggrieved that their full European rights and citizenship have been stripped from them in a very undemocratic way because of Brexit and we know that the pathway back to full European reintegration is within the model of constitutional change, he told RTE.

So people are having this conversation and what I find interesting about it is that it very rarely comes down to identity politics, Ill finish with this.

People are asking about how we can have a better health system on the one island, how we can have a better education system, how we can increase and build prosperity, and all of that weaves through the conversation on Irish Unity.

And I do think that will be a significant change that we will see in the years to come.

Meanwhile, DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly has said the Stormont institutions can only be restored on the right terms, while UUP leader Doug Beattie has predicted the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

Stormont is currently suspended due to the DUPs ongoing protest against post-Brexit trading agreements.

Doug Beattie (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Mr Finucane said the aftermath of Brexit was playing a role in intensifying the conversation on unity.

People are asking about how we can have a better health system on the one island, how we can have a better education system, how we can increase and build prosperity, and all of that weaves through the conversation on Irish unity, he told RTE.

And I do think that will be a significant change that we will see in the years to come.

Ms Little-Pengelly said the DUP would only return to Stormont on the right terms.

The reality is a house built on sand cannot stand, it will be weakened, and therefore we have to get this right, she said.

Of course, we want devolution to be restored, it has to be on the right terms.

It has to be on terms and foundations thats going to work because we do have a huge piece of work to do.

Emma Little-Pengelly (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Mr Beattie said that the Windsor Framework could be changed while the executive is operational.

I suppose this is where me and Emma disagree, he said.

Mr Beattie added: I think were both strong unionists and we want Northern Ireland to work as part of the United Kingdom, I think were absolutely on the ground with that.

He added: We believe, however, that the only way to achieve this, that is to challenge the issues around the Windsor framework which do not work and also to realise the opportunities of the Windsor Windsor framework is to be in the devolved government.

Mr Beattie also said he believed the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

What I think is they will go back in because I think they realise that its good for unionists to be in and have a voice and be able to challenge the government, he said.

Ms Little-Pengelly responded: People do want stable government here. I suppose what we disagree on is the balance of that and how that can be done.

Mr Beattie reiterated that having a stable government would help to diminish conversations on constitutional change.

If we focus on the economy, an economy which will give us good health service, good infrastructure, give us homes, give us jobs for our young people, he said.

If we can create that for the people here in Northern Ireland, then nobody will vote for change.

So thats what I want to focus on, but to be able to do that we need to have government.

Fine Gael Minister Simon Coveney was speaking on the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement and said trust between all parties had to be rebuilt.

In many ways thats been the hugely frustrating thing of the last number of years, that much of that trust has been unravelled and we need to put it back together, he said.

My generation of politician has a responsibility to ensure that this piece survives and is, when necessary, rebuilt.

Mr Coveney also commended the representatives from the unionist parties for their expressed desire to reinstate Stormont.

He said: Im encouraged to hear people like Doug Beattie and Emma Pengelly speak the way they have, wanting to see the role of government functioning again in Northern Ireland, and we need to work with them and John Finucane and all the different parties in Northern Ireland to make that happen in the weeks ahead.
Polling stations have opened in Finland, where three parties are expected to be in a tight race as Prime Minister Sanna Marins Social Democrats fight to secure a second term running the government.

More than 2,400 candidates from 22 parties are vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic countrys parliament, the Eduskunta.

Ms Marin, who at 37 is one of Europes youngest leaders, has received praise for her cabinets handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and for her prominent role, along with President Sauli Niinisto, in advocating for Finlands successful application to join Nato.

Election posters in the capital Helsinki as Finns go to the polls (Sergei Grits/AP)   Sergei Grits

Her vocal support of Ukraine in the last year has increased her international visibility.

While campaigning on Saturday ahead of the vote, she said: Of course we hope that the Social Democrats will win this election Its so important because we want to stay an open society. We also want to work together internationally. We want to build a better, green, sustainable future where people have the same opportunities in life.

Ms Marin remains popular at home but her partys views on the Finnish economy, which emerged as the main campaign theme, were being challenged by two main opponents: the centre-right National Coalition Party led by Petteri Orpo and the right-wing populist The Finns party, which is led by Riikka Purra.

Also campaigning on Saturday, Mr Orpo said: The most important thing in the next government is to fix our economy, push economic growth, balance public economy. And the second very important issue is to build up Nato-Finland.

A man casts his ballot at a polling station in Turku, Finland (Sergei Grits/AP)   Sergei Grits

Ms Purra stressed that The Finns would focus on shaping Finlands migration, climate, criminal and energy policies if the populist party becomes a partner in the next government.

We also want to tighten up our attitude towards the European Union, she said ahead of the vote.

Recent polls have indicated each of the three parties could take about 20% of the vote. 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 on forming a governing coalition.

Finland, which is expected to join Nato in the coming weeks, is a European Union member with a population of 5.5 million.

Polls close at 5pm local time, with initial results expected by midnight.
Early projections of election results at Montenegros presidential run-off vote have suggested that economy expert and political novice Jakov Milatovic has won, defeating the pro-Western incumbent in the small Nato member nation located on Europes Balkan peninsula.

Mr Milatovic won around 60% while Milo Djukanovic won around 40%, according to predictions released by the usually reliable Centre for Monitoring and Research and based on partial vote sample. Official results are not expected before Monday.

Analysts said the results could change slightly as the vote count progresses, but that the gap between the two is too wide for major changes.

This result is an indicator that the final result wont be substantially different, said the group analyst Ana Nenezic.

Mr Milatovics victory is believed to reflect voter fatigue with Mr Djukanovic and disillusionment with established politicians. Mr Milatovic, 36, first entered politics in 2020 after earning his education in Britain and the United States.

Pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic (Risto Bozovic/AP)   Risto Bozovic

Mr Djukanovic is credited with leading his country to independence from Serbia in 2006 and defying Russia to steer Montenegro into Nato in 2017.

But critics say Mr Djukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists have let crime and corruption engulf society.

The DPS was ousted from power in a 2020 parliamentary vote but Mr Djukanovic has remained in office until his five-year mandate finished.

His defeat on Sunday means that both he and his party will be in opposition for the first time since late 1980s.

Sundays run-off vote was scheduled after none of the contenders won a majority in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Some 540,000 people were eligible to vote.

Montenegro has a population of 620,000 and borders Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and the Adriatic Sea.

The outcome of Sundays election is likely to reflect on an early parliamentary election set for June 11. That vote was scheduled because of a months-long government deadlock that stalled Montenegros pending European Union membership and alarmed the West as war rages in Ukraine.

Though Mr Milatovics Europe Now group is formally not part of the ruling coalition, his presidential candidacy won backing from the shaky alliance that includes parties that advocate closer ties with neighbouring Serbia and Russia.

Mr Milatovic has said that Montenegros EU integration remains a priority for him and his party. He has denied Mr Djukanovics allegations that the governing coalition was pushing Montenegro back under Serbias influence.

With Mr Milatovics triumph, his Europe Now movement could also find itself in a position to dominate the next government after Junes parliamentary election.

Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary election collapsed.

As the economy minister in that government, Mr Milatovic gained popularity by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not as an outcome of reform.
Former BBC journalist and co-writer reflect on how Troubles skewed our sense of normality

Blue Lights writer Adam Patterson has told how his prison officer father kept a gun under a pillow on the couch in case he was ever targeted during the Troubles.

He said his dad also placed the weapon beside his bed before sleeping.

Adam (41) penned the hit BBC One crime drama alongside Declan Lawn. The duo have built a stellar reputation following their other critically-acclaimed shows, The Salisbury Poisonings and Rogue Agent.

He said: I can see the gun now: its on a brown corduroy couch under the pillow my dad lay on. At night it was beside his bed.

In a case of art imitating life, Adams childhood experiences have influenced his writing, revealing that his family home also had bulletproof glass and his father was exempt from wearing a seatbelt in the event he was attacked while driving and had to react.

All of these tiny things I thought were the normal way to grow up just werent the case, he explained.

Sian Brooke as Grace in Blue Lights

Adam and Declan met in 2009 while making documentaries for Panorama before swapping their careers as journalists reporting on stories to scripted thrillers.

He continued: We learnt a lot about the world at a young age and a lot of it was subconscious.

I dont think its accidental that Dec and I found our vocations because we felt the need to further interrogate the world through journalism and now through drama.

Blue Lights centres on three new PSNI recruits  Grace (Sian Brooke), Tommy (Nathan Braniff) and Annie (Katherine Devlin)  getting to grips with the frontline danger that officers face on a daily basis.

Katherine Devlin, Sian Brooke and Nathan Braniff in Blue Lights   BBC/Gallagher Films/Two Cities T

Meanwhile, Declan (46) told Radio Times about his upbringing with a Catholic, nationalist background in Derry.

He said: My parents worked in a bank and would sometimes be home late at night because of a bomb scare. When I was nine or 10, I became conscious every time my parents went to work there was a chance they might not come home.

What Adam and I share, even though we are from different sides of the political divide, is that everything seemed normal.

You think that (their journalism background) would make you cynical, but actually it made us quite optimistic about human nature.

The vast majority of the people that weve met at home and around the world were decent.

Blue Lights lives in darkness, but theres an optimism in the middle of it all.

As part of their research, the pair interviewed more than 30 former police officers, as well as spooks, and accompanied on-duty officers during ride-alongs.

But Declan said that building such a rapport with so many who served in the force meant that the recent attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell by dissidents stunned everyone who worked on the show.

He said: The shooting was deeply shocking for all of us, because wed been immersed in the world of the police for three years.

Wed spoken to so many cops, wed become friends with them.

To us it felt weirdly personal, because weve been living in this world.
A wealthy South African businessman who once stood trial in Mauritius for the murder of his girlfriend, but who was acquitted of all charges, has won a case against his insurers, who have been ordered to pay him more than R25m for incapacity.

Johannesburg high court judge Stuart Wilson said the man had proved his case that he was totally and permanently unable to work as a stockbroker anymore.

While the death of his South African girlfriend, who was found dead in the pool of his luxury villa in Mauritius, and the subsequent trial were reported on widely, the judgment handed down this week in his favour only refers to him as PR.

However, it gives details of the drowning, his subsequent arrest and detention, and the trial, which PRs doctors said were deeply traumatic events which had led to him having a breakdown and being diagnosed with various mental disorders.

Wilson said while there was no serious dispute that over eight years after the triggering event, PR was not able to work as a stockbroker, and there was no sign that he would be able to do so in the foreseeable future, Discovery had repudiated his claim.

It did so on the basis the insurance cover had expired on November 30 2015 and there was no evidence that on that date he was permanently incapable of working.

And even if there was such evidence, it was submitted that it could not be concluded that Discovery had acted unreasonably in rejecting his claim.

Wilson said it was common cause that PR was a very successful stockbroker - evidenced by the policy he took with Discovery, which had premiums of R20,000 a month for a potential incapacity payout of R25m.

He said PRs job was demanding, required a resilient personality and fine judgment. It was high-pressure and high-stakes.

He had made enough money to purchase the villa in Mauritius. In December 2014, he was on holiday there with his girlfriend when she drowned in the swimming pool. He found her and tried to resuscitate her.

Wilson said PR then fell under suspicion of murdering her and was arrested. He was charged and detained pending trial.

Soon afterwards he suffered some sort of a breakdown and was seen by local psychiatrists, who noted evidence of depressive illness. By March 2015, he had lost 20kg and looked mentally and physically exhausted.

Nine months later, his legal team appointed Dr Larissa Panieri-Peter to assess him to see if he was fit to stand trial.

By then he had lost 30kg. He was agitated, tearful and at times incoherent. He described being held in a dark airless room, in filthy conditions. He broke down when speaking of his girlfriends death but also spoke of the death of his former self.

Panieri-Peter was not called to give evidence, because his lawyers decided not to pursue the point that he was unfit to stand trial.

After his acquittal on the charges in March 2016, he returned to SA and was hospitalised in Pietermaritzburg, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression.

Later that year, he contacted Panieri-Peter, informing her that he had been told she had visited him in prison but he could not remember these visits. She then became his treating psychiatrist and, in his case against Discovery, supported his diagnosis, although at one stage she said he also had unspecified bipolar disorder.

In her evidence, she said he was angry, self-destructive and travelled constantly to avoid confronting the trauma.

She said his condition had a significant and lasting impact on his daily life. He cannot drive, cannot make bookings online, is estranged from his family and struggles to sustain lengthy conversation.

Panieri-Peter said he had lost who he was and there was no likelihood of any improvement.

Wilson said it had been established that PR suffered from various conditions which rendered him totally and permanently unable to resume his occupation as a stockbroker.

He also found on a balance of probabilities that he was incapacitated as at November 30 2015 (when the policy lapsed) and that Discoverys liability under the policy was triggered at the point that PRs inability to work became permanent.

It follows that Discovery became liable under the policy and it had a duty to pay out.

Wilson said the fact that Discovery had closed the door on him before him going to therapy and receiving treatment, which could take months or years to assess whether he was permanently incapacitated, was plainly unreasonable.

He ordered Discovery to pay PR the sum of R25,086,456 plus interest and PRs legal costs.

TimesLIVE
Well keep fighting for truth and justice, vow slain teens brothers

The new memorial stone in Aughnacloy dedicated to Marian Beattie

Family and friends gather for the unveiling of a new memorial stone in Aughnacloy for Marian Beattie

Marian Beatties brothers Feargal, Isadore and Gerard speak to the Sunday Lifes John Toner after the unveiling of the memorial stone

Marian Beatties brothers Feargal, Isadore and Gerard after the unveiling of a new memorial (Picture by Peter Morrison)

The family of murdered teenager Marian Beattie worry her killer may have gone on to strike again as they continue the search for justice 50 years on.

Marians badly beaten body was found at the bottom of an 80ft quarry just outside Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone on March 31, 1973, but no one has ever been brought to justice.

A memorial to the 18-year-old was unveiled for the anniversary at the quarry yesterday by the Beattie family alongside a crowd of around 100 supporters.

Marians brothers, Isadore, Feargal and Gerard, sat down with Sunday Life afterwards to discuss their decades-long quest for justice.

Marian Beattie

Isadore said the family was concerned the killer may have gone on to harm others after escaping justice.

He added: After the sadistic way that Marian was killed you wonder, Was this his first one? Second one? Hes running around, so has he done it again?

Thats a big issue because sane people dont do that.

It was a sadistic murder and were afraid there are other peoples daughters out there who might have been hurt.

You dont know what hes done. Its sad to think about him running about all this time and what he might have done.

Hopefully not, pray to God, but if he did it once, Im sorry, but there is a good chance he did it again or could do it again.

On the night of her murder, Marian had been at a barn dance just outside Aughnacloy watching a band called Tuxedo Junction.

The band was managed by Isadore, who was at the gig and saw her leave with a young man. She was never seen alive again.

Isadore said the familys heartache had been exacerbated by police failings, particularly after they were initially told the case would be solved within a matter of days. He continued: One of the most frustrating things was when I went to the police station the next day.

An officer told me there was only 250 people at the dance and said, Well have this thing sorted in three or four days.

I had to tell them after four weeks to stop telling my mother lies because they were making it worse by not being clear with us.

Then the evidence went missing.

How does evidence go missing out of a police station  and just half of it, not all?

Marian Beatties brothers Feargal, Isadore and Gerard speak to the Sunday Lifes John Toner after the unveiling of the memorial stone

Matches and cigarette butts which were found in the quarry and are believed to have belonged to the killer went missing. They could have contained vital DNA evidence.

Last year the Murder in the Badlands TV documentary revealed a serving police officer was in the company of the man who is believed to have killed Marian in 1973.

The Police Ombudsman said on Friday that a report which found failings in the original police investigation was now in its final stages.

The ombudsman hopes to meet with Marians family in the coming weeks to communicate her findings, a spokesman added.

The family is also hoping to meet with PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne in the near future to discuss the status of the case.

Family and friends gather for the unveiling of a new memorial stone in Aughnacloy for Marian Beattie

Asked if he had a message for Marians killer, Gerard said: Just go into a police station and give yourself up, tell the truth.

If this happened to somebody who belonged to him and he was in our situation, how would he feel?

To me, he has no conscience, and the people with him that night have no conscience either because theyre hiding him.

Theyre as bad as he is for what he did to my sister Marian.

They know what he did and theyre hiding him.

Were not going to stop until we get justice for her.

We have a rough idea that he is still walking about the streets, but its very hard to get people to talk, and you cant force people to say anything.

Were hoping and praying that today will maybe help someone see sense and come forward.
The self-styled North Down UDA and the Real UFF arent names that jumped out of nowhere as a result of this feud.

Now cut off from the clout of the larger organisations from which they were once members, both still play on their links to the most infamous loyalist terror groups.

A senior security source said: We have always had factions.

They dont have the support of the big mothership organisations, but they still present a threat.

Theyve been put out of massive drug gangs and theyre competing for turf in north Down and Ards.

The North Down UDA is led by Dickie Barry who was once the leader of the UDAs D company in west Belfast.

His now arch-rival in Ards, Adrian Price, heads the breakaway gang calling themselves the Real UFF.

Its a name that dates back 16 years, its emergence first revealed by Sunday Life in April 2007. Back then, it was another splinter group which had broken away from the mainstream UDA over the direction of travel in the peace process.

A threat against Adrian Price and his son

A Real UFF member gave Sunday Life photographs of a C company show of strength, claiming to demonstrate the groups military capacity.

We have had enough of people telling us what to do, if the opportunity arises we will take out the entire UDA leadership because they are selling us out, Sunday Life was told at the time.

Protestant areas are still awash with drugs and we are not going to stand by while so-called loyalists line their pockets.

The groups hitlist not only included the UDA leadership, but top loyalists Johnny Adair, Mo Courtney and Jim Spence. The dissident leadership of the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA were also targets.

But Frankie Gallagher of the UDA-aligned UPRG branded it a stunt carried out by a rump of criminal elements.

Between 2009 and 2013, the Real UFF was responsible for around 24 attacks.

In February 2010, they issued a death threat against Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly. Weeks later, party president Gerry Adams received a death threat from the gangs C company.

There were also a number of pipe bombings in Co Antrim.

Former DUP council candidate John Smyth, from Connor near Ballymena, was later jailed for his involvement in a 2011 sectarian attack on the home of a Polish family in Antrim. A group calling itself the South East Antrim Real UFF admitted responsibility.

Down the years, the Real UFF had been the go-to cover name for small groups of disgruntled loyalists, but in recent times it had all but disappeared.

One senior loyalist said the name and those operating under it have always been viewed as a laughing stock.

It was a bunch of lunatics in Antrim around 2007 with replica firearms and a fancy new flag, our source told us.

The adoption of this name by a heroin dealing drug gang is a source of amusement in loyalism.

It is an effort to attribute some kind of political or loyalist legitimacy on the dregs of society.

Its like the final days of Johnny Adair when his men were bunkered into the lower Shankill.

The only difference is that Adairs men, had they got out, would have had the capability to do serious damage.
Twenty20

A value or ethic is a principle or standard about what is important in ones life. Therefore, Christian values are the principles that a follower of Jesus Christ holds as necessary, the principles of life that Jesus taught.

Christian values dont change over time. They are consistent from generation to generation since their foundation is found in Gods Word, the Bible.

Worldly values include wealth, power, pleasure, revenge, fame, vanity, and status. These are the most important things to people who perceive no power or purpose beyond themselves

Worldly values promote jealousies, resentments, and conflicts among people following the objectives of Satan.

The Christian values taught in the Bible are often the opposite of worldly values: kindness and respect for all people instead of power; humility instead of status; honesty and generosity instead of wealth; self-control instead of self-indulgence; forgiveness instead of revenge.

Christian values promote peace and goodwill among people following the purposes of God. We will never achieve perfection in this life, but those who strive to obey God often find a sense of joy and peace that no worldly rewards can match. Heres a list of Christian values emphasized in the Bible.

Worship God.

One day, a religious leader asked Jesus which commandments were most important. Jesus replied in Mark 12:28-30 by saying, The most important one is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

The Hebrews of Old Testament times tended to lapse into worship of pagan deities and statues of animals or other objects. Still, anything that takes the place of our devotion to God becomes an idol or false god.

That idolatry is forbidden by the first of the Ten Commandments. Jesus particularly singled out the love of wealth as a false god, and other Bible passages mention greed, covetousness, arrogance, gluttony, and pride as equivalent to idolatry.

In todays world, many things compete against God for our devotion. These are some things that are not necessarily bad in moderation but can become modern-day idolatry if we let them become too important to us, like attention to material possessions, the pursuit of wealth, and excessive devotion to self.

If you need ideas on how to worship God, here are 18 ways to worship God.

Be kind to everyone.

After saying Love the Lord your God is the most important of the commandments, Jesus continued, The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these, as seen in Mark 12:31.

The English word love has many different meanings, but the Greek word agape, used in the New Testament, is commonly known as Christian love. It means respect, affection, benevolence, goodwill, and concern for the welfare of the one loved.

Jesus Golden Rule is, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

We should not say or do anything unless we can answer Yes to the question, Would I want that said or done to me? Neither should we fail to do the good things we would expect of others.

Be humble.

Humility or being humble is a quality of being courteously respectful of others. It is the opposite of aggressiveness, arrogance, boastfulness, and vanity.

Acting with humility does not in any way deny our self-worth. Instead, it affirms the inherent worth of all persons.

Humility is needed to live in peace and harmony with all persons. It dissipates anger and heals old wounds, and allows us to see the dignity and worth of all Gods people. Humility distinguishes the wise leader from the arrogant power-seeker.

Be honest.

Honesty and integrity are held as fundamental values throughout the Bible. Any deception to gain an advantage or harm someone else is prohibited by the Ten Commandments and other Bible passages.

Deception may be by lies, cheating, innuendo, or failing to tell the whole truth. It is all too common in advertising, business, politics, and everyday life.

We must strongly resist the temptation to engage in any form of theft, cheating, deception, innuendo, slander, or gossip.

Rationalization is a form of self-deception. We convince ourselves that sinful actions are justified to achieve a good result, but this is another form of dishonesty.

Holiness is living by the commandments, not reaching an outcome. In Biblical teaching, the ends do not justify the means.

Live a moral life.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Jesus gave a list of actions that constitute immoral uses of the body: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, arrogance, and foolishness.

The apostle Paul gave similar lists. We often think of morality in terms of sexual sins, but according to Jesus, slander, greed, covetousness, deceit, and arrogance are equally immoral.

Be generous with time and money.

The Bible tells us to share generously with those in need, and good things will come to us in turn. Each of us has something to offer to someone in need.

We can give our money and our time to charity, be a friend to someone sick or lonely, do volunteer work or choose a service-oriented occupation. We may give unselfishly of our time to our spouse, children, or parents.

This idea doesnt mean we are obligated to share our time or money with people who are not in need but want to use or abuse us, as described in 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.

Dont be a hypocrite.

If there was any group of people that Jesus couldnt stand, it was hypocrites.

The Pharisees of Jesus time were a religious and political party that insisted on the rigorous observance of Biblical laws on tithing, ritual purity, and other matters. At the same time, many of the Pharisees forgot the true spirit and intent of the law and became self-indulgent, self-righteous, snobbish, and greedy.

That led Jesus to tell the Pharisees that they appeared righteous on the outside, but they were full of hypocrisy.

It is not the things we say that truly matter. It is the things that we do. If we claim to be Christians but do not let Jesus teachings guide our lives, we are nothing but hypocrites.

Dont be self-righteous.

No one is perfect; we are all sinners in one way.

Living a moral life means taking responsibility for controlling our behavior. If we say or even think we are better than people we consider to be sinners, we are guilty of the sin of self-righteousness.

It is not our right to look down on, criticize, judge, condemn, or try to control other people. Judgment is to be left to God.

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus said, Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.

This value does not deny the right of governments to maintain law and order and collect taxes. Jesus and other New Testament leaders supported the authority of civil governments.

Dont retaliate.

Jesus said there is no place for hatred, holding a grudge, revenge, retaliation, or getting even in the life of a Christian, described in Matthew 5:38-40 and Matthew 5:43-45.

Holding grudges and seeking revenge are never appropriate responses to a perceived wrong. Resentment destroys the grudge-holder with bitterness, and revenge only escalates hostilities.

Jesus told us we must reconcile with our adversaries, forgive their transgressions, and let go of the anger that may tempt us to commit an act of revenge.

Forgive others.

Matthew 6:14-15 tells us, If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

God is merciful and forgives our sins and failings. In the same way, we must be compassionate and forgive other people who sin against us or do us harm.

Romans 12:9-10 tells us, Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

God is evident in His Word how to apply each of the Christian values He holds dear. Christians can tell if they hold to the values God holds dear by how they treat others.

As we read Gods Word, we know God better and understand His purpose for us in the world. We learn the values He holds dear, and we also grow to love those values. The Holy Spirit works through us to spread Gods love through good works, leading others to eternal life through Jesus Christ.
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Small steps can lead to significant changes. When we focus on a goal, we understand that we have to do little things repeatedly to help us succeed. Its action steps that propel us forward, but what if our actions dont align with our purpose? Like children, adults are typically susceptible to looking away from God and rebellion.

Everyone has opposed authority either inwardly or outwardly. We know the right path, but our selfishness compels us to walk closely to the edge. They say we should swing for the fences, but sometimes that swing gets too high that it goes over the fence. In difficult times, we try to dig ourselves out of pity but fall to the other side. We pushed the swing too many times and too far over the edge.

We dont want to sin, but it misleads us into thinking that small steps dont matter. The Bible warns us to be careful about how we live, and we should understand Gods will for our lives. God instructed us to follow His way, so little steps matter.

For example, think about following crochet patterns. Your blanket could start as a square, but if you miss a stitch, your blanket could turn into a triangle. Missing a stitch may not seem like a big deal, but it can throw off the shape you envisioned. Knowing that we want to stay as far away from sin as possible, here are some small steps that lead us to sin.

Taking our eyes off Jesus.

When we stop praying, we take our eyes off Jesus. Prayer is one of the most effective tools in our collection to protect us from the devils attacks. He knows were at our weakest point when were not praying. Our daily talks with God give us strength. When we pray, God hears our trusting, sincere hearts. His will is that we listen as our shepherd moves us away from sinful paths and thoughts. Without the Holy Spirits guidance, were vulnerable to the urge to sin.

James 1:13 reminds us that God would never tempt us to sin; He cant be tempted by evil and wont lead anyone toward darkness. Instead, Hell point us to the light. However, the devil is always ready to entice us and knows how. He uses the appropriate ammunition every chance he gets. However, if we focus on Jesus, we wont notice his minions trying to get our attention. Were secure at the cross instead of distracted by shouts, shenanigans, and motions. Prayer keeps us motivated.

A faithful and active prayer life keeps us ingrained in the Bible. In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul reminds us to be changed by renewing our minds. A spiritual mind is restored in the Bible, where our minds and hearts are prepared. We discover the truth and prepare ourselves for battle when the devil tempts us.

Thinking about our self-centered wants and needs.

Its challenging to think about ourselves when imagining Jesus. Once weve wandered from the Bible and stopped pursuing Him, the devil will plant bait to keep us focused inward. He urges us to keep looking, attempting to fulfill our wants and needs. However, in Philippians 2:3, God warns us not to do anything for selfish ambition.

We arent listening to these truths when we stop reading the Bible and praying. Instead, we entertain a barrage of sounds, enticements, and images through social media, our communities, and television. The more were absorbed in our worlds, the more likely we move from Gods path.

We may not be sinning yet, but the temptation is there. We understand that we should turn to the cross, but the devil is constantly flirting with our ego, and we wont stop him. He tells us that were important and beautiful, and no one cares for us better than ourselves. Inching closer and closer, we start believing it, thinking that a few steps wont matter. However, God gives us a way out.

Compromising.

We typically act on this step to comfort ourselves. Everyone is tempted by something. There are numerous ways that were tempted to walk toward sin. Sometimes, it looks like something good for us but doesnt align with Gods vision for our life. We may be enticed by pride or flattery, but it starts in our thoughts. When we start thinking about ourselves and stop thinking about God, our ideas battle in our heads. We talk about it and imagine it. It becomes second nature. Our desire is so robust that were lured away without thinking about the consequences we could face. Like sheep being led to the slaughter, we surrender. We go somewhere we have no business being, rationalizing why its okay.

We bargain by trading moral behaviors for immoral ones. However, the Bible clearly states that those who belong with Jesus have been crucified in the flesh. If we live by the Spirit, we must keep up with the Spirit. The moment we compromise, its already too late. The Bible clearly says that temptation leads us to deception. Harmful desires can lead us to destruction and ruin.

Believing desires lies.

Everyone has bought into the lies. These lies tell us we arent good enough unless we have certain things or achievements. Once we start focusing on ourselves and cant do something we think define us, we stand in sins crosswalk. Consider the Ten Commandments detailed in Exodus 20:3-17. Each commandment deals with an evil that starts with selfishness. A whole army of gods is ready for us to bow to when we take our eyes away from God. As we become more important, others become less important. No matter what we desire, it might not feel right, but we practice the lie. We want to think that our desires are good and God gave them to us. Otherwise, why would we want it so badly?

It could be something minor, but when we think about it, we recognize that this step led us down a horrible road. However, if the desire doesnt align with the Bible, it doesnt come from God. Romans 1:25 reminds us that were exchanging Gods truth for a lie when we sin. We serve and worship created things instead of God.

We may not realize it, but small steps can add up, leading us down a deadly path to sin. Fortunately, God gave us the perfect instructions to avoid sin. If we keep our eyes on Him, we wont be distracted by the devil and his antics.
SMALL to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Gweru have turned night into day as they are now working from 10PM when power is restored by the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to 5AM when it is disconnected under the new load shedding schedule.

The SMEs said they have been crippled by the electricity power cuts that last about 18 hours a day  a negative development that affects their operations. Many of the SMEs have been trying to make ends meet through offering services such as typing, printing, photocopying and scanning.

Others are into welding, upholstery, small grinding mills and hair salons which have all been affected by load shedding.

The ZETDC says the market should expect a steady supply of electricity in the second-half of the year when the Hwange Thermal Power Station units 7 and 8 would have been commissioned to inject a combined 600 megawatts into the national grid. Amid improved water inflows into Lake Kariba, which have started impacting positively on hydroelectricity output, the period to the year 2024 is forecast to be a safe zone in terms of power supply.

By the end of next year, Hwange stage 1 and 2 life extension is projected to add a further 400 megawatts to the national grid. This comes as the industry continues to call for guaranteed or predictable energy supply to ensure proper planning of their operations to minimise the negative impact of unexpected or unscheduled power outages on business.

However, the new load shedding schedule has seen suburbs such as Mkoba, Mtapa, Ascot, Senga and Mambo where most of the SMEs are located, being the most affected. The SMEs are popular for making steel products such as sliding gates, door and window frames, beds as well as TV stands among other things. There are also those who are into sewing and those who sell chickens to eke a living.

Mrs Shelia Moyo (28) who operates a sewing business from Mkoba 10 shopping centre said she now comes to work at 10PM and works on her orders until 5AM. She said she was forced to rethink her business working hours and confine herself to the hours when electricity will be available at night.

I open the shop around 1PM to 4PM where I will be cutting and designing using a pair of scissors before I go back home. Around 9.30PM, I come back to the shop and start sewing from 10PM when power is restored until 5AM when power is cut. Thats how I am able to make some money but its different because the number of clients has dwindled, said Mrs Moyo, who is a mother of two children.

Mr Samuel Mutsekiwa (40) who specialises in welding at Mkoba 6 shopping centre said he once tried using a generator to power his machines but realised that it wasnt viable.

I tried using a generator to operate my welding machine and grinder but the cost of fuel which was too much for me made me abandon that idea, he said.

Mr Mutsekiwa said he is now working at night when there is power.

I started working in the evening like other SMEs because we have no resources to power the generators. This shopping centre used to be a hive of activity during the day but that is now changing to the evening when we have power, he said.

Mr Tarisai Sipambi (34) who runs butcheries in Mkoba suburb said he lost a lot of money as the meat was rotting in fridges due to power shortages.

The rate at which the power cuts are occurring is too much. In our trade, we need a constant supply of electricity. If there is no electricity, there is no backup plan. I lost a lot of revenue when meat went bad in the fridges. As you know, the meat is supposed to be kept under cool temperatures and when there is no power there is nothing we can do but count our losses, he said.

Mr Sipambi said he is also forced to come at night to cut and grade meat for sale to clients.

The moment we get electricity back, I have to rush and open for the butcher to cut and grade the meat. Because of these power outages, we have since changed our way of life, he said.

Mr Sipambi said he is hoping that there is increased power generation in the country so that the ZETDC does away with load shedding. The relentless power cuts are not only affecting how businesses operate but they are also affecting residents.

We are forced to wake up at 10PM and do ironing of school uniforms and other clothes, failure to which the children will wear un-ironed uniforms, said Ms Tariro Shoko (28) from Mkoba 3 suburb.

She said she also bakes scones and cakes in the evening when there is power. Ms Ayanda Solani (20) a second-year Accounting student at the Midlands State University (MSU) said the power crisis, which has seen Senga suburb where she rents a room plunged into darkness, has affected her studies.

Some of us want to study around 4AM after resting a bit. But before we get into the groove, we experience load shedding. Normally when there is load shedding, network connectivity is affected and without network, we cant research online, she said.

Mr Tafadzwa Mazorodze from the Zimbabwe Chamber of SMEs said the country has been facing extensive power cuts which have adversely affected business operations. Sunday News
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Citizens' Climate Lobby is hosting a free panel event, "Climate Incentives for All," at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the Berkshire Innovation Center.
The Pittsfield Police Department is asking for the public's help locating 16-year-old Markis Williams.
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Incarcerated vice chairman of the opposition CCC Job Sikhala has dropped a bombshell, accusing the leadership of his party of painful betrayal and conniving with the system to keep me here (in prison).

The outspoken popular Zengeza West legislator spoke in bitterness and anger about what he called "the great betrayal by his colleagues within the high echelons of the opposition party.

He said the betrayal was revealed to him by some of the CCC inner circle during visits to him at Chikurubi.

He told The Standard They connived to keep me here at all cost. Apparently I'm suffering for my perceived popularity which some people feel threatened by. But honestly, you do not betray a struggle comrade in this manner, just because you are afraid of his shadow.

My incarceration has caused untold suffering to my children, my wife, the huge league of friends in Zimbabwe and abroad and of course to myself. Being locked up in these cold concrete and steel walls 24/7 for months on end is no joke.

But I will come out. Wait and see what will happen when I do. Ndinotunga munhu nenyanga yeNyati (I'll gore somebody with a rhino horn). Betrayal is, by its very nature, very painful.

I will come out and we will face each other," said Sikhala who was seething with anger as he spoke from behind a small window barricaded by thick steel bars inside Zimbabwes maximum security prison.

Sikhala was arrested on several charges including obstruction of justice and was thrown inside Chikurubi Maximum prison from where he has been applying for bail unsuccessfully. He has been in jail since June 2022.

Trial on some of the charges commenced a few weeks ago. Ordinarily, accused persons that have not been granted bail are detained at the remand prison until trial. Standard
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Von: Timo Lokoschat

This photo shows how much Artificial Intelligence is now capable of influencing public opinion and sending political messages.

For the past two days, a purported photograph of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, 51, has been circulating on the Internet. It shows the activist imprisoned in Britain with a swollen face and closed eyes. He is sitting in a tiled room, looking exhausted and wearing a kind of bib that shows the stains of leftover food.

Reactions to the photo were swift and fierce. Many users expressed dismay that Assange was being held in such conditions, including journalists and politicians. Individual tweets were viewed by over three million users.

One striking feature of the photo is that it bears a watermark with the words Photo Property of E, indicating the author. This is a person who calls himself The Errant Friend or E on the Internet and already had a similar photo of Assange created by AI two weeks ago. The account has also posted artificially generated images of former U.S. President Donald Trump (76). Trump even spread them on his social media account.

Few users point out the possibility of artificial intelligence and abnormalities in the photo. Tools that are able to identify AI in images give clear indications of a fake.

Julian Assange's wife Stella (40), a Swedish-Spanish lawyer, says when asked by BILD that the photo is a fake produced with the help of AI. The largest French TV station TF1 also classifies it as fake.

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On Saturday evening The Errant Friend answered BILD and confirmed: Yes, the photo was produced by him. His explanation: My intention was to create an image based on the documented happenings around julian. After his arrest, he was basically barred from public appearance, including at his own trials. This means the public is unable to witness what has been done to him, but there is evidence of his decline mentally and physically. I sought, through this image, to create something that put people into a moral quandary. What does the public do when they can actively see that state of being? If we were to unerase his face.

The Errant Friend tells BILD he used the program MidJourney to produce the photo. It was designed to evoke a visceral response and to accurately represent what the public could not otherwise bear witness to. I felt it important to give Julians plight a more human face, the face the Intelligence Community has worked overtime to erase.

In the meantime, however, criticism has also been voiced about the action. It is not helpful to spread falsifications about Assange's condition, not even for Assange himself.

Julian Assange is currently being held in London's Belmarsh prison. He is to be extradited to the U.S., where he is charged with espionage and the publication of hundreds of thousands of secret documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange is seen by his supporters as a hero who has enlightened the public about war crimes. Critics accuse him of recklessly endangering the lives of countless people by disclosing stolen information, including whistleblowers living in repressive regimes who have had to rely on their identities remaining protected. His closeness to Russia has also been criticized: In 2016, Assange had disseminated material about U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that likely came from Russian intelligence.

If convicted, Assange faces 175 years in prison.
Even the New York Times cant hide reality about the mRNA jabs forever.

Last week, the Times published an article headlined, Should You Get Another Covid Booster?

The articles subheadline noted Britain and Canada have authorized another round of booster shots, implying the United States has somehow been negligent in not doing so.

And the piece was written by Apoorva Mandavilli, among the worst Covid reporters. So I assumed the article would be filled with the usual nonsense, especially since the first person Mandavilli quoted was Dr. Celine Gounder, who has loudly pushed mRNA jabs.



After Gounders husband died of an aortic aneurysm, she lashed out in January at mRNA skeptics (including me) who questioned if the shots might be linked to his death - even though doctors have repeatedly reported cases of post-jab aneurysms.

In her January piece, Gounder even complained Congresss repeal of the armed forces Covid vaccine mandate threatens military readiness. (Nonsense, of course. Frontline soldiers and Marines are young, fit, and healthy, putting them at far higher risk from mRNA-related myocarditis than Covid itself.)



So I was stunned that Gounder offered the most tepid possible recommendation for further mRNA doses to Mandavilli.

Most people should not have boosters, even once a year, she said. She endorsed regular shots only for immunocompromised people and people in nursing homes.

The real tell there is nursing homes.

In mentioning them, Gounder was not suggesting that everyone over 65 - or even 85 - should get more shots. Nursing homes are effectively hospices for most residents. About one-third of their residents die each year, a 2018 study found; a 2010 study had even grimmer findings, reporting a median survival of five months after admission.

What Gounder was saying that only the very frail - who likely have little risk or benefit from the shots (or, in reality, any medical intervention) - should still receive them regularly.

In contrast, in October, Gounder offered very different advice, recommending boosters for everyone over age 50 as soon as possible.

(Celine Gounder sees the light.)



Gounders rejection of annual boosters is particularly stunning because she and other public health specialists happily promote annual flu jabs despite their demonstrated uselessness. The theory seems to be that flu shots get old folks out of the house, or boost Walgreens profits, or something. Anyway they probably dont do any harm even if they dont do any good, so why not?

Yet Gounder is no longer applying the same logic to the mRNAs. I do not think that annual boosters for everyone makes sense.

Which implies either Covid is now even less dangerous than the flu (possible but unlikely), or the shots are even more useless (which would imply negative efficacy), or else theyre actually more dangerous than inactivated virus flu jabs.

Which they are.



But Gounder was not the only vaccine advocate quoted in the Times piece. Mandavilli also talked to Dr. Paul Offit. No one will ever confuse Offit with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - he is director of the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

In April 2021, Offit had this to say about the mRNA jabs:

Certainly, no one would have predicted that these mRNA vaccines would have worked as well or been as safe as they are I dont think you could have devised a vaccine that appears to be more perfect.

Less than two years later, Offit rejected more doses of those perfect vaccines.

For everyone. Even the immunocompromised.

But even more stunning than Offits rejection were the words he used:

Given the lack of data, I dont think its fair to say to people, Inject yourself with a biological agent, said Dr. Paul Offit.

(Perfection no more)



Vaccine advocates strenuously avoid this kind of language, for obvious reasons.

Inject yourself with a biological agent? Yeah, Ill pass.

But the failure of the mRNAs is now so obvious that Offit and his fellow vaccine advocates have no choice but to try to ring-fence it if they want to save other jabs.
As Turner Wright reports at CoinTelegraph.com, a March 31 filing with U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York regarding the sentencing of James Zhong stated U.S. government authorities had begun liquidating roughly 51,352 BTC seized in the Ulbricht case.

According to the filing, officials sold roughly 9,861 BTC for more than $215 million on March 14, leaving roughly 41,491 BTC.

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.

In November, Zhong pled guilty to wire fraud charges related to executing a scheme to steal Bitcoin from Silk Road in 2012. U.S. authorities seized more than 50,000 BTC - worth more than $3 billion at the time - from his Georgia home in November 2021. It was one of the largest crypto seizures by the government until the February 2022 recovery of roughly $3.6 billion connected to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

The Silk Road marketplace, which has been defunct for 10 years, originally allowed users to buy and sell illicit goods, including weapons and stolen credit card information.

However, the marketplace also drew the attention of U.S. authorities, who arrested Ulbricht in 2013. He is currently serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

I was arrested at the age of 29 and today I turn 39. Ive lost my 30s to prison.



During that time, Ive done my best to learn from my mistakes, better myself, and help others do the same.



I hope someday I can make amends as a free man as well.  Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) March 27, 2023

The price of BTC has had a volatile month, dipping below $20,000 on March 10 and moving above $29,000 on March 29. At the time of publication, BTCs price was above $28,000.

While the government has been selling bitcoin, other institutions like MicroStrategy have been acquiring it.
The US and its NATO partners are conducting military drills in a region of Romania that borders Ukraine. Thousands of soldiers will gather to simulate repelling an invasion on the Black Sea coastline.

Dubbed Sea Shield 23, the war games kicked off on March 20 and will run until April 2. The US and 11 other NATO countries are participating in the Romanian-led military exercises. Nearly 3,500 soldiers, 30 naval ships, 14 aircraft and 15 other fast intervention boats are participating in the live-fire operations, which will occur in the Black Sea and Romanias Danube Delta. Troops taking part in the Sea Shield drills will come within 20 miles of the Ukrainian border.

The multinational exercise Sea Shield 2023 is the most complex training event, planned and conducted by the Romanian Naval Forces, through the Naval Component Command, in the 2023 training year, the Romanian Navy said in a press release.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US has conducted several rounds of war games in Eastern Europe to simulate a similar conflict and develop strategies for Kiev. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported that last summer, the Joe Biden administration used the cover of war games in the Baltic Sea to plant explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines. In September, those explosives were detonated destroying the natural gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany.

Over the past year, the North Atlantic alliance has increased its force posture in what it regards as its eastern flank, which is made up of eight countries that stretch from the Baltics to the Black Sea, including Romania. NATO is concurrently conducting the Crystal Arrow 23 war games in Latvia, which will see Danish soldiers train Rigas Mechanized Infantry Brigade.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to a network of camps inside Russia. The warrant was based on a report by the Yale HRL center, which is funded by the US State Department.

US journalist Jeremy Loffredo visited one of Russian government-sponsored camps in question. At The Donbas Express, located just outside of Moscow, Loffredo met youth from war-torn regions who were flourishing thanks to free music instruction, and grateful to be in a secure environment. This article features his exclusive video report.

A Grayzone review of the Yale HRL report found the papers content contradicted many claims contained in the ICC warrant. It also undercut incendiary statements its director, Nathaniel Raymond, issued during media appearances.

In an interview with Loffredo, Yale HRLs Raymond further contradicted allegations he made in a CNN interview about a massive hostage situation underway in Russia, acknowledging that most of the camps he researched were teddy bear-like cultural programs. He also disclosed his collaboration with US intelligence.

On March 17, the Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, introduced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Childrens Rights, Maria Llova-Belova. The warrant, which accused Putin and Lolva-Belova of conducting the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to a network of camps across the Russian Federation, inspired a wave of incendiary commentary in the West.

US Sen. Lindsey Graham, perhaps the most aggressive cheerleader in Congress for war with Russia, proclaimed: The ICC has an arrest warrant for Putin because he has organized the kidnapping of at least 16,000 Ukrainian children from their families and sent them to Russia. It is exactly what Hitler did in World War II.

CNNs Fareed Zakaria echoed Graham, declaring the ICC warrant revealed that Putin is in fact following parts of Hitlers playbook.

The ICC prosecutor appeared to have based his arrest warrant on research produced by Yale Universitys Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL). Yale HRLs work was funded and guided by the State Departments Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, an entity the Biden administration established in May 2022 to advance the prosecution of Russian officials.

During an interview with CNNs Anderson Cooper, Yale HRLs executive director, Nathaniel Raymond, claimed his report provided proof that thousands of children are in a hostage situation. Invoking the Holocaust, Raymond asserted, We are dealing with the largest network of children camps seen in the 21st century.

Yet in an interview with Jeremy Loffredo, the co-author of this report, and in his own paper for Yale HRL, Raymond contradicted many of the bombastic claims he made to the media about child hostages. During a phone conversation with Loffredo, Raymond acknowledged that a large amount of the camps his team investigated were primarily cultural education  like, I would say, teddy bear.

Yale HRLs report similarly acknowledges that most of the camps it profiled provided free recreational programs for disadvantaged youth whose parents sought to protect their children from ongoing fighting and ensure they had nutritious food of the sort unavailable where they live. Nearly all of the campers returned home in a timely manner after attending with the consent of their parents, according to the paper. The State Department-funded report further concedes that it found no documentation of child mistreatment.

Yale HRL based its research entirely on Maxar satellite data, Telegram postings, and Russian media reports, relying on Google translate to interpret them and at times misrepresented the articles in its citations. The State Department-funded unit conceded that it performed no field research for its paper, stating that it does not conduct ground-level investigations and therefore did not request access to the camps.

Unlike the Yale investigators who inspired the ICCs arrest warrant, Loffredo gained unfettered access to a Russian government camp in Moscow that houses youth from the war-torn Donbas region. Though it is precisely the kind of center that Yale HRL  and by extension, the ICC  have portrayed as a re-education camp for Ukrainian child hostages, he found a hotel full of happy campers receiving free classical music lessons in their native Russian language from first-class instructors  a teddy bear, as Raymond called it.

At The Donbas Express music camp located just outside of Moscow, youth told Loffredo they were grateful to have found refuge from the Ukrainian armys years-long campaign of shelling and besiegement of their homeland. By fleeing the war in Donbas, these children had escaped a nightmarish military conflict for which Yale HRL and the ICC have demonstrated little to no concern.

Free music lessons, spiritual enrichment, safety from war, and US condemnation: a visit to the Donbas Express

When I, Jeremy Loffredo, visited a youth music camp in Russia in November 2022, I was unaware that the US government would soon exploit altruistic programs such as the one I witnessed to advance political warfare.

At the time, I was in Moscow on assignment for Rebel News, my former employer, to conduct man-on-the-street interviews with average people around the city.

After meeting someone whose wife was influential in the Russian music scene, I was invited 45 miles southwest of Moscow to visit the kind of program that was described by State Department-funded researchers as a re-education camp. It was there, at a Soviet-era hotel in the town of Pokrovskoye, that I entered one of the so-called facilities now at the center of the ICCs arrest warrant for Putin.

By the time of my visit, the Russian government had transformed the hotel into a makeshift sleep-away camp for children native to the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The center I visited, dubbed The Donbas Express, was focused on providing classical training to children interested in musical arts. Parents who wished to keep their families protected from the conflict back home had enrolled their children in the program.

Peter Lundstrem, a professional violinist and teacher at the Donbas Express, explained to me, Thanks to the support of the State Presidential Fund, we were able to bring 80 children from Donetsk and Lugansk regions. They are talented young musicians and theyre here for 12 days. They live here and take lessons from outstanding music teachers. They put together concerts. They receive education.

Despite its glaring flaws and failure to seek on-the-ground corroboration, the State Department-funded Yale HRL report got one thing right about the experience of children enrolled in the Donbas Express: they are likely to keep their involvement in the program secret. In the eyes of Ukrainian authorities, the simple act traveling to Russia  even for free music lessons  is tantamount to collaborating with the enemy.

As the report says, Many families in Ukraine do not want to publicly share their [camp or school] experiences because they fear they will be seen [by Ukraine] as collaborators with Russia.

Of the students involved in Donbas Express, Lundstrem said, So that you understand what is done to children like these in Ukraine children who receive any kind of help from Russian people or the Russian state they would be simply killed.

For much of their lives, these youths lived with the threat of death on a daily basis. For the eight years leading up to Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the ethnically Russian population of Donbas endured regular shelling at the hands of the US-backed, nationalist government in Kiev. Even before February 2022, that civil conflict had left thousands of civilians, including children like the ones I met at the Donbas Express, dead.

Of course many of [the young people enrolled in Donbas Express] were greatly affected by this conflict, Lundstrem said. Many of them lost houses. Some of them lost their relatives and friends. In the conflict zone, they in fact cannot continue their professional music studies. In Donetsk, philharmonic and general education institutions are not functioning.

Although the State Department-funded Yale report would have Americans believe that Russias move to open camps such as the Donbas Express amounted to war crimes, the students I met there did not want to leave.

Of course they all want this program to continue. They want to stay and for it to go on and on. But we can do these small things only. We will do this again in the future maybe, Lundstrem told me.

I spoke with two Donbas Express students on camera. Each expressed effusive gratitude for the program.

I am here on invitation, on generous invitation, said one from Donetsk. I never thought I would get to come to Moscow. Ive been helping to perform in concerts, which is helpful for spiritual enrichment and soul purification. And Im here to develop my musical performing skills.

Here, we continue our musical studies despite what has been going on around us because it gives us relief, another kid from the Donbas told me.

Like all other students in the program, these aspiring musicians grew up in a region in open rebellion against a Ukrainian government that has banned their Russian Orthodox religious denomination, sought to outlaw the Russian language, and violently attacked the ethnic Russian population of the country.

Most, if not all, of the students enrolled in the Donbas Express identify with the Russian nation, according to their instructor. They have this [patriotic] song, My Homeland Is Coming Back,' Lundstrem commented. All of these 80 kids were screaming it. Simply screaming this song.

But the teacher emphasized, We are not organizing [the Donbas Express] for political reasons. Were not here to say, Russia forever! for example. Were here to help these children. But of course, were Russians.

The political sympathies and Russian ethnic background of the children who traveled from eastern Ukraine to programs like the Donbas Express is referenced only in passing by Yale HRLs State Department-funded report.

Content of Yale HRL report contradicts ICC arrest warrant

Nathaniel Raymond, the executive director of the State Department-sponsored Yale HRL, appeared on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360 on February 16, 2023 to announce what he called an Amber Alert for Ukraines children.

Alluding to the Holocaust, Raymond claimed he and his team had uncovered the largest number of camps seen in the 21st century, a finding that constituted possible evidence of genocide.

Theyre trying to make them into Russians, Raymond said, asserting that Russian authorities had forcibly removed the Ukrainian children from their families and subjected to coercive military training.

Thousands of children are in a hostage situation, the State Department-backed Yale researcher proclaimed.

With an indignant scowl on his face, CNNs Cooper muttered, This is truly sickening. This is sick.

However, the actual content of the February 14 2023 investigation Raymond directed on behalf of the State Department conflicts with his claims of a hostage situation.

Raymonds apparent cluelessness about the situation inside many of the youth camps may stem from the fact that neither he nor any of his colleagues sought to visit them. Nor did they attempt to contact any children who attended the camps, their parents, or staff members.

As his report states, Yale HRL does not conduct interviews with witnesses or victims; only the specific information available in open source is collected. When analysts are unable to identify public information about whether a child has returned home, it can be difficult to ascertain the current status of the child. Similarly, Yale HRL does not conduct ground-level investigations and therefore did not request access to the camps.

In other words, the researchers that informed the ICCs arrest warrant for Putin conducted no field research, and admit they failed to obtain concrete information regarding the childrens status.

The paper acknowledges that, in fact, Many of the children who have attended these camps appear to return to their families when scheduled.

Also buried in the report is the following disclosure: Many children taken to camps are sent with the consent of their parents for an agreed duration of days or weeks and returned to their parents as originally scheduled.

Many of these parents are low-income and wanted to take advantage of a free trip for their child, the Yale HRL/State Department paper continues. Some hoped to protect their children from ongoing fighting, to send them somewhere with intact sanitation, or to ensure they had nutritious food of the sort unavailable where they live. Other parents simply wanted their child to be able to have a vacation.

So if the children voluntarily attended the camps and were mostly returned on time, while most parents provided meaningful consent and were grateful that their children could be in a safe place with healthy food, where was the evidence of genocide that Raymond alleged during his CNN appearance?

According to the Yale HRL/State Departments paper, There is no documentation of child mistreatment, including sexual or physical violence, among the camps referenced in this report.

The reports citations contain a link to a RIA Novosti article about a two-week summer camp in the Russian town of Magadan. Polina Tsvetkova, a child quoted in the article, provided an unequivocally positive review that mirrored those offered by enrollees of the Donbas Express:

While we were driving from the airport, we were very impressed with the local landscapes. I like to walk in the fields, pick flowers. It is very interesting to see nature. All kinds of beautiful views. When we were driving, I saw small rivers flowing from the mountains. Very beautiful, the views are simply gorgeous.

The Yale HRL/State Department paper omits the testimony of joyful summer camp attendees featured in the RIA Novosti article it cited. Instead, it deploys the article in order to claim: Children have been transported [to camps] by bus, train, commercial aircraft, and, in at least one case, by Russias Aerospace Forces.

As he did during his CNN appearance, Raymonds State Department-sponsored report glossed over a single fact that exploded his entire assertion that thousands of [Ukrainian] children are in a hostage situation. That is: nearly all of the children referenced in the Yale HRL/State Department report are ethnic Russians from families and communities that have sided with Russia in its conflict with the nationalist government in Kiev.

The youth who attended the camp referenced in the RIA Novosti article were from Zhdanovka, a town in the Donetsk Republic that separated from Ukraine in 2014, and formally declared its independence in 2022. Yet the ICC and all other official Western sources referred to these youth simply as Ukrainian, as though they were forcibly extracted from pro-Kiev communities occupied by Russian forces and subjected to brainwashing inside Russian internment camps.

The Yale HRL/State Department refers to the political and ethnic background of the youth campers only in passing, noting at one point, Many families in Ukraine do not want to publicly share their experiences [at camp] because they fear they will be seen as collaborators with Russia.

Not only have the Yale HRL/State Department papers authors demonstrated zero concern for the safety of these families, they have inspired calls for their immediate return to a conflict zone where they could be tortured or killed by the Ukrainian government.

Referring to the evacuation of 500 orphans from Donetsk in February 2022 just as Ukrainian forces escalated their attacks on the separatist republics, the authors write, The reason given publicly by Russias government at the time was the supposed threat of an offensive by the Ukrainian armed forces against the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) and Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR).

The citation provided to support this claim is a report by Donbas Insider detailing how the Ukrainian army had intensified its shelling of civilian areas in Donetsk on February 19, 2022, destroying a house, a poultry farm, and an electricity substation, leaving 800 residents without electricity. It was the 43rd Ukrainian violation of a ceasefire in the Donetsk Peoples Republic. Five days later, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, announcing a mission to demilitarize the country.

So does extricating orphans from the Donetsk war zone to safer ground inside the Russian Federation constitute the crime of kidnapping, as Raymond alleged?

The Yale HRL/State Department researcher apparently upholds an extremely loose definition of the term. Back in 2020, Raymond approvingly tweeted a Washington Post editorial denouncing the Trump administrations policy (continued by the Biden administration) of separating minors from migrant parents: Lets not mince words. The Trump administration kidnapped children.

Teddy bear camps: in interview, Yale HRL director contradicts hostage situation claims, discloses US intel ties

Nathaniel Raymond is a technologist who has worked at various international NGOs and universities, from Oxfam to Harvards Signal Project, and claims he served on the ICCs tech advisory team. Before securing his post as a lecturer at the Yale School of Public Health, he worked for George Clooney, the Hollywood celebrity who helped make the plight of the Darfur region of Sudan a cause celebre. Clooney, for his part, campaigned alongside the pro-Israel groups and President George W. Bush, who threatened to send US troops to Darfur.

I count tanks from space for George Clooney, Raymond quipped to the Guardian in 2012, referring to his pioneering use of Maxar satellite technology to document alleged human rights abuses.

When I, Jeremy Loffredo, learned that Raymonds Yale HRL had issued a report on Russia government youth programs like the Donbas Express, I emailed him to inform him that I had been to one of these camps back in November 2022. I told him I was open to sharing my experience with him. He agreed to speak to me by phone.

Raymond explained to me that when he arrived at Yale HRL in 2021, he was directing a State Department-sponsored project documenting the Afghan governments alleged abuses against the countrys Hazara minority. But as US intelligence began warning of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, the mission quickly shifted.

Our initial concept of operations was actually on Afghanistan, Raymond said. And we got rerouted to Ukraine. We were going to be watching the Hazara. And, and then we got, we got pulled in on this. And two weeks before the invasion happened, we were told to standby and form a squad, and then by Spring, we knew the good stuff was happening.

Raymond added that the US National Intelligence Council applied a lot of pressure on his team at Yale HRL to document the Russian governments operations to move citizens from eastern Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

We were like, Okay, how are we going to do this?' he recalled. And so we spent the Summer into the early Fall, trying to figure out our operational concept. And it wasnt until October [2022], that we really realize how to do it. And the trick was, when we broke it open, it was getting inside Russian VPN networks looking like Russian citizens looking at local mayoral VK [Russian social media] accounts.

Raymond said his team relied on the Pentagons US Indo-Pacific Command to expand our satellite access in the Pacific Command to get the Siberian and eastern camps.

When asked why his research team did not attempt to visit any programs inside Russia like the Donbas Express, Raymond said, Were persona non grata. Were considered extensions of US intelligence by the Russians.

Though he acknowledged working closely with US intelligence and the State Department, Raymond denied that Yale HRLs focus on alleged Russian atrocities at the exclusion of those committed by Ukraine was driven by US government funding. The Ukrainian alleged Ukrainian abuses, we probably cant see through our means, he insisted. Because theyre small unit stuff with POWs mostly. Like, they shot a bunch of guys in the knees allegedly.

Raymond pointed to his units documentation of a Russian strike on a Ukrainian grain silo as a typical example of Ukrainian bullshit. What we think [the Ukrainians] were doing, he said, is they were running an ammonium phosphate lab, underneath that silo, to build munitions.

Though he said that the only thing that could have made that [blast] hole is basically a bomb factory, Raymond claimed it was impossible to confirm his suspicion.

He used a metaphor about traffic violations to explain why Yale HRL was focused exclusively on nailing the Russian government: We got a parking violation in terms of the laws of armed conflict, like the Ukrainians are double parked in a moving zone, right? At a bus stop. And the Russians, meanwhile, are doing the DUI in the 16-wheeler through a shopping mall.

While minimizing the Ukrainian militarys documented shooting of defenseless prisoners and use of civilian infrastructure to conceal military installations, Raymond homed in on Russias policy of bringing ethnically Russian children to cultural programs, accusing Moscow of a criminal process of Russification.

When asked about the fact that most of the children involved in the programs Yale HRL investigated already consider themselves Russian, and come from separatist, ethnic Russian regions that have been targeted with violence by Ukraines US-backed government, and that some have no home to return to because they were destroyed in the conflict, Raymond was dismissive.

Even if that was true, its a war crime, Raymond insisted. Under the Geneva Convention, one state party to an armed conflict cannot adopt or transfer children from the other state party under any circumstances.

While Raymond would not consider the ethnic and political backgrounds of the children while determining whether their rights had been violated, he freely acknowledged that the vast majority of camps his team at Yale HRL investigated were, like the Donbas Express, primarily cultural education, like I would say, teddy bear.
THE Government says it will introduce a Work-for-Fees programme in all technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions to alleviate the plight of students from vulnerable backgrounds.

This will be coupled with the establishment of hybrid companies that will commercialise TVET innovation products and services.

This was revealed by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Professor Amon Murwira, as Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Human Capital Development, Skills Audit and Employment Creation, on the Zimbabwe National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy to Cabinet.

In her post-Cabinet briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Cabinet approved the all-encompassing policy which will harmonise and standardise the coordination of TVET across line Ministries.

Presently, the coordination of TVET is fragmented throughout 10 Ministries. As the nation may recall, the Second Republic is on a trajectory to transform the education system from the traditional Education 3.0 model which prioritised Teaching, Research and Community Service to one that puts emphasis on Teaching, Research, Community Service, Innovation and Industrialisation and is termed Heritage-Based Education 5.0.

This model is grounded on production of goods and services, thereby creating entrepreneurs for the industrialisation and modernisation of Zimbabwe. The policy seeks to align education and skills training in order to promote wealth creation and entrepreneurship opportunities, said the Minister.

She said the thrust of the Second Republic was that all learning in tertiary institutions shall be for the purpose of advancing national development.

Minister Mutsvangwa said the TVET Policy was anchored on reconfiguring and strengthening programme infrastructure, strengthening human capital infrastructure, developing and maintaining physical and digital infrastructure.

As well as strengthening the legal infrastructure and facilitating the deployment of innovative financing infrastructure.

The Minister added: It is envisaged that the implementation of the National TVET Policy will culminate in the realisation of a centrally coordinated and regulated TVET qualifications system, harmonised and standardized qualifications, in line with the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 Model.

She said its benefits also include guaranteed horizontal portability and vertical articulation of qualifications across line Ministries and improved quality of TVET across Ministries, in line with the countrys Vision 2030.

Of key will also be economies of scale and scope in production of TVET graduates and enhanced industrial productivity and competitiveness of the graduates, in line with Vision 2030.

Minister Mutsvangwa said: The national is further being informed that the Technical Vocational Education Training Policy will apply to all Government-owned or private institutions which offer technical and vocational education. The operations of these institutions are regulated by the Manpower Planning and Development Act. Government appreciates the role being played by the private sector towards provision of technical and vocational education through financial contributions to the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF).

She said Government will come up with an inclusive and sustainable financing model on grants and loans to TVET institutions by Government itself, Banks, Pension Funds and the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund.

The Minister said manuals for various trades will be developed, including in all the national languages, in order to enhance opportunities for training for students from diverse backgrounds. Sunday News
The Transhuman quest for genetic modification in order to change the human condition will end in total disaster. Hacking the human body is a myth perpetuated by academics like Yuval Noah Harari and Klaus Schwab with his Fourth Industrial Revolution narrative. Globally, however, biodefense spending is in the trillions and shows no signs of restraint.  TN Editor

Yuval Noah Harari is a leading ideologue of the wannabe one-world government criminal cartel and the WEFs favorite mouthpiece. His main message seems to be that humans can be technologically captured, controlled, and hacked or manipulated and thus enslaved to serve the WEF/WHO controlling uber-class.

I was alerted to this video by a reader. In this TED talk from 2015 Harari postulates that humans, as opposed to animals, are unique in their capacity to believe fictional stories, and thus can be controlled via the narrative, via fiction, as long as everyone believes the same story. According to him, the idea of humans having a soul and free will is over. Therefore via this method you can make people cooperate with their own demise (even in lining up to be injected with poison) via mass brainwashing and narrative control.

Humans do fall for nonsense, and in fact, we seem to crave it. We love good stories, imaginative, aspirational ones, hero journeys, romances, whodunit (the genre of this Substack), or the sci-fi stories of technological advances. The sci-fi fantasies are highly popular. They are indeed so popular that for the most part, the general public and most of the professionals cannot distinguish legitimate science from the imaginary sci-fi narratives anymore, and this became plainly obvious during the current fake global pandemic years.

We also love scary stories! Looming prospects of fake invisible catastrophes seem to be perennially in vogue. Here is a great book I recommend on this topic by Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace. To quote:

A while back it dawned on me that the great majority of scare stories about the present and future state of the planet, and humanity as a whole, are based on subjects that are either invisible, extremely remote, or both. Thus, the vast majority of people have no way of observing and verifying for themselves the truth of these claims predicting these alleged catastrophes and devastating threats. Instead, they must rely on the activists, the media, the politicians, and the scientists  all of whom have a very large financial and/or political stake in the subject  to tell them the truth. This welcomes the opportunity to simply invent narratives such as the claim that CO 2 emissions from burning fossil fuels are causing a climate emergency.

No one can actually see, or in any way sense, what CO 2 might actually be doing because it is invisible, odorless, tasteless, silent and cannot be felt by the sense of touch. Therefore, it is difficult to refute such claims because there is nothing to point to and tangibly expose the falsity of these claims.

There is a bit of a problem with overused narratives. Climate change narrative is becoming harder to maintain as Greta Thunberg is now past the expiration date for a child actor, polar bears refuse to cooperate and keep multiplying, and the glaciers are not melting away like Al Gore promised. UFOs and aliens can only get us so far.

New fear narratives must be established: the narrative of emerging novel viruses has been in the works for years. Scary invisible viruses that can pounce out of a jungle any minute and are just a plane ride away from infecting half the planet with a lethal new pathogen! Even more exciting is the prospect of evil scientists making new deadly and super-spreading viruses in labs that can leak.

The Government mafia (HHS, NIH, DOD, DARPA, BARDA, DTRA, etc, etc,) and their vassals in academia, the biopharma industry, and media have all been feeding at the biodefense money trough for decades. What can be better than an invisible threat to justify printing and spending truckloads of money for mega-defense/research contracts, while flying to the global champagne-caviar events and giving each other diverse-inclusive-sustainable science awards?

Debbie Lerman, a journalist, in her recent article for Brownstone, points out the time and money spent by the military-industrial cartels scam of biodefense and pandemic preparedness. There are some eye-watering dollar amounts described in a Lancet paper she referenced Biodefense Research Two Decades Later: Worth the Investment?

Prior to 2001, annual US biodefense funding totaled an estimated $700,000,000. Following the incidents of 2001, the worldwide surge in biodefense-related funding was largely spurred by the realization that many countries were not prepared for bioterrorism attacks. The 2001 US Amerithrax attack revealed shortcomings in medical countermeasure availability through the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the laboratory response network system, public health infrastructure, and communication.

Many of the funding programs were associated with the US federal government. A $1,000,000,000 program was implemented in the US in 2002 in the form of bioterrorism preparedness grants, biodefense research funding, and medical countermeasure stockpiling within the Department of Health and Human Services. Additional notable post-2001 US biodefense funding efforts include the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) Biowatch Program (2001), The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) preparedness program, the DHSs Project Bioshield (2004), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA; 2006), and the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (2014).

These programs typically address matters outside of biodefense, such as public health, national and international security, and healthcare issues, adding to their broader impact. Total US biodefense funding dramatically increased from ~$700,000,000 in 2001 to ~$4,000,000,000 spent in 2002; the peak of funding in 2005 was worth nearly $8,000,000,000 and continued with steady average spending around $5,000,000,000.

In 2019, the global biodefense market was valued at $12,200,000,000 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% from 20202027, resulting in a projected market value of $19,800,000,000 in 2027. Factors such as sustained government and private funding resources driven by the looming threat of bioterrorism and the recent occurrence of natural outbreaks of bioterror-related pathogens including Coxiella burnetii, Ebola virus (EBOV), SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and Lassa virus are likely major contributors to the ever-expanding global biodefense market.

And what were those billions devoted to? In a 2003 abstract entitled Expanded Biodefense Role for the National Institutes of Health Dr. Anthony Fauci articulates his biodefense vision: the goal within the next 20 years is to have bug to drug within 24 hours. This would meet the challenge of genetically engineered bioagents.

Many events have been capitalized on by the growing behemoth of the government-industry cartel over time. Policymaking in the past 20 years increasingly aimed to set up regulations to maximize the ruling powers of authorities by simultaneously eradicating existing laws and constitutional checks to set them free of any responsibilities and install de-facto martial law. Each policy was installed after so-called events which were used to introduce new Acts.

It is legitimate to have the possibility in mind that it may have been also the other way around  they installed the events to justify new Acts  after each attack a new more authoritarian legislation was shaped and put in place to fit the totalitarian agenda.

The narrative of biodefense/biosecurity articulated by Fauci is totally bogus of course. Viral pandemics do not happen in reality, despite decades of very busy and crowded international traffic (have you experienced Ryan Air?).

Ok, maybe scary viruses wont jump naturally from the jungle, but surely they will one day emerge from a Dr. Evils laboratory? Here is Ralph Baric predicting in 2016 that Wuhan Virus 1 SARS-Co-V was prepped and ready to emerge from his lab at UNC Chapel Hill. Our Congress is still searching for a leak in Wuhan. Hello! Congress!

Giant amounts of money, investors, resources, projects, studies, research grants, conferences, round tables, TED talks, policy committees, Congressional acts, lots of lawyering and lobbying, tabletop simulations  an entire $19 billion/year industry is awaiting THE BIG ONE someday. Thousands of adults participating in this make-believe play eventually must start to fully believe it in order to cope with a massive soul-destroying cognitive dissonance.

The ones that cant stomach this due to a functioning moral compass, quit and go to work elsewhere. What starts as a B-movie script (Dustin Hoffman chasing an escaped monkey with tanks and helicopters), through the alignment of individual economic incentives and narratives, grows into an ideology and subsequently into a full-fledged religion. Thus, a dangerous cult is born  The Cult of Waiting for Pandemic of the Church of Biodefense.

The numerous state, military and private investors who backed the biodefense narrative, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation among hundreds of private, sovereign, and non-profit funds that plowed all that cash into the biodefense are waiting for the returns!

From the same Lancet paper:

Fifteen years later, with no such fantastical platform in sight, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) published an updated medical countermeasure plan in 2017 entitled Removing the Viral Threat: Two Months to Stop Pandemic X from Taking Hold. Instead of Faucis 24 hours from bug to drug, this plan tells us DARPA aims to develop an integrated end-to-end platform that uses nucleic acid sequences to halt the spread of viral infections in sixty days or less.

If the Big One doesnt show up, the cult is going to try to assist it.

Many attempts were made at starting pandemics from local outbreaks: SARS1, MERS, zika, ebola  but nothing spread. Characters like Michael Callahan, a swashbuckling Indiana Jones-type epidemiologist and reported CIA agent, always first on the scene of exotic outbreaks, chasing Ebola patients through the jungle with vaccines seems to be not enough to produce a pandemic. Even fear porn propaganda in the media fizzles out. They play with soups of chimeric viruses in petri dishes funded by billions in NIH grants, fund many contract biolabs in China, Ukraine, and the Middle East, but nothing simultaneously dangerous and highly transmissible results. Why?

You may believe in billions of years of evolution, but my preferred explanation is that Gods cannot be improved upon. All life forms, from humans to microorganisms, are in the state of perfect dynamic equilibrium for this moment in time, as dictated by physical laws. Biological pathogens are already fully optimized for this state, too, by billions of years of work or by Gods genius design, whatever you want to believe.

They are either contagious (a fuzzy term as there are vague and conflicting explanations of contagion mechanisms in science), or they are deadly, in which case they dont spread much. Artificially making a biological pathogen more deadly and more transmissible is impossible, because, if it were possible, it would have happened already in nature, and then we would not be around to discuss this on the internet.

If it were possible with lab techniques, it would have already been successfully deployed by a state or non-state actor since 1969 when biological pathogen research really took off.

There are 1,000+ biodefense labs in the world today, many in third-world countries with lax or nonexistent safety standards, or even war-torn places like Ukraine  yet nothing of note leaks anywhere. Certainly nothing leaked and went global until the WHO decided that covid should.

Lab-emerging pathogens seem to need a lot of help to emerge, i.e. get synthesized, manufactured at scale and deployed, and even then they are not particularly dangerous (except with very large exposure), and are treatable. Biological toxins are known to be unstable, denature quickly, are somewhat more persistent indoors but they do not pose mass lethal danger.

Just like any chemical toxin, they pose individual/localized danger. These substances are not alive and replicating particles any more than the poison oak is  yes you can get it from your dog and give it to your family members, and the bugger will stay on your clothes and is hard to get rid of! But poison of poison oak is not an infectious virus that jumps from dogs to humans; its a biological toxin in plant oils.

In my opinion, the Ohio train explosion is much more dangerous to a lot more people over a larger area and longer period of time than any bioweapon lab leak.

All natural biological pathogens are already perfectly optimized and balanced and cannot be modified, despite the sci-fi narratives of hackable software of life and gene splicing. No complex life form can be genetically modified and continue as a viable life form, because that modification will interfere with its living balance, and deviate it from the perfect current state of equilibrium. In multicellular organisms, you have to modify all cells (not possible with single injection), and keep modifying all of them in perpetuity.

Once injected with gene-modifying juice, the body frantically tries to figure out WTF just happened (FDA calls it immunogenicity), tries to undo the assault by eliminating the damaged cells (FDA calls it reactogenicity), and if the assault was large enough or with multiple injections  the body will destroy itself (CDC calls it misinformation).

These gene modification narratives are simply stupid talk. All that can result from any such attempts is either the organism defeats and clears the assault from foreign material inside the cells, or local/systemic damage results, leading to injury or death. Thats why all mRNA/DNA technologies failed despite 20+ years of attempts and gazillions plowed in by the biodefense cult of doomsday.

People promoting the gene modification narratives reduce the human body to a bucket of sequenced genes but cannot even begin to explain how it functions normally as a living being. They exclude the possibility of human soul, spirit and free will, but cannot explain nor define the normal state of life.

Yet, they claim they can control and modify it! They do not understand what humans are, and thats a massive point of failure when they attempt to capture, control and subjugate humans, whether by brute force as in previous centuries of warfare, or by the Hararis fictional narrative control of the 5th generation one.

Dont fall for doom cults and their false narratives. When we are not afraid to seek the truth, we cannot be captured, controlled or enslaved. Once you understand this, you see Harari as not a powerful technocrat, but what he really is  a clown with a whiny voice, spinning idiotic narratives for his masters. They already failed anyway because the truth is coming out day by day. They had a good run of it but their plans utterly flopped and left devastation in their wake.

Author

Sasha Latypova is a former pharmaceutical R&D executive. She worked in the industry for 25 years, and ultimately owned and managed several contract research organizations working on clinical trials for 60+pharma companies, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, J&J, GSK, Novartis and many others. She worked many years in cardiovascular safety assessments and interacted with the FDA and other regulatory agencies on these matters on behalf of her clients and as part of the FDA Cardiovascular Safety Research Consortium.

Read full story here
Specifically, Landry, notes the problem of lack of consequences for government officials caught using their positions to suppress free speech.

Louisiana along with other red states are currently engaged in a lawsuit against the federal government in an effort to remove the veil obscuring vast operations to silence alternative information in favor of official narratives and propaganda.

Attorney General @JeffLandry's opening statement on Missouri v. Biden and the US Government's censorship industrial complex:



"The White House pressured YouTube to reduce watch time of 'borderline' content by 70%, the FBI boasted a 50% success rate in getting platforms to censor pic.twitter.com/sHzNms7ceA  kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 30, 2023

Democrats have been increasingly hostile towards those investigating Big Tech censorship, including journalist Matt Taibbi, a former Democrat now helping Elon Musk release the Twitter Files. The general argument on the political left is that private companies "have a right to censor" whoever they want. In other words, they are no longer denying that the censorship exists, rather, they are defending it as legal.

The problem is that they are oversimplifying the issue.

Government collusion with corporations to censor Americans is in fact illegal according to the US Constitution. Just because they use Big Tech as the middle-man does not mean the law is not being broken.

The dangers inherent in mass censorship cannot be understated, and while civil litigation might be an option for those people censored by the government there also needs to be criminal investigations and consequences for the same activities. Otherwise, there is no incentive for the censorship to stop - It will go on forever.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) are reportedly working towards developing a unified digital currency.

Russia, China, and India developing digital new currency, diplomat says

According to the Indian outlet The Cradle, Russian diplomat Alexander Babokov said the plan will be discussed at the upcoming BRICS summit in August.

Babokov, the Deputy Chairman of Russian State Duma, said the countries want a currency less reliant on the US dollar.

The transition to settlements in national currencies is the first step. The next one is to provide the circulation of digital or any other form of a fundamentally new currency in the nearest future, Babokov said.

I think that at the BRICS [leaders summit], the readiness to realize this project will be announced, such works are underway, he added.

Babokov further said the new currency could be a single currency among the BRICS nations and that it would be tied to gold and other rare earth elements.

The Cradle reports that the BRICS is positioned as an alternative to G7 countries  and that several other nations have expressed interest in joining the group.

Earlier this month, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor revealed that global interest in BRICS is huge, adding that she had 12 letters from interested countries on her desk, including the UAE, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico, and Nigeria, the outlet reports.

In fact, Iran applied to join BRICS last year.

Last week, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in person where Xi was overheard telling Putin that big changes were coming.

President Xi tells President Putin:



Change that hasnt happened in 100 years is coming and we are driving this change together.



Are they planning the end of US dominance? pic.twitter.com/InSJhCPjoF  Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 22, 2023

Change is coming that hasnt happened in 100 years, Xis translator can be heard saying to Putin.

And we are driving this change together.

I agree, Putin said.

Last year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed G7 countries to adopt Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
If you're tired of censorship, cancel culture, and the erosion of privacy and civil liberties subscribe to Reclaim The Net.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has called on several Big Tech companies to disclose information about their interactions with federal agencies.

We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.

Cruz argues that these interactions may have violated First Amendment rights.

His office sent letters to Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Medium, Reddit, Microsoft, Pinterest, and Wikipedia, requesting details about their coordination and communication with federal agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in relation to misinformation.

These inquiries follow the Twitter Files, a series of reports on internal Twitter communications that revealed the platform's collaboration with the FBI on misinformation issues.

Cruz has requested information about communications with 23 federal agencies, such as the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and others. He also wants to know if the tech companies sent lists of users to federal agencies for review or if they received requests to monitor accounts.

Furthermore, Cruz is seeking details about the companies' interactions with specific government officials, including FBI agent Elvis Chan, former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs, and former Department of Defense General Counsel William Castle.
The moment of an explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg. Propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky held an event there. He is reportedly killed and six others were wounded. pic.twitter.com/lWijn522qN  NOEL   (@NOELreports) April 2, 2023

While the cause of the blast is still being investigated, initial reports point to an improvised explosive device having been planted inside the cafe.

Tatarsky was holding some kind of public event there, and given he's a controversial figure, he appears to have been the target of the bombing. According to details in RT News:

A military correspondent and blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maksim Fomin), was allegedly killed in the incident, RIA Novosti reported, citing emergency services. Tatarsky joined the Donbass militias back in 2014 in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev. He has since become known in Russia as a blogger and a correspondent reporting on the situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics. Tatarsky also authored several books. According to Readovka news outlet, the man was holding a recital at the cafe that was rocked by the blast.

Vladlen Tatarsky/Twitter

Further the state media report confirms that "An improvised explosive device was blown up near the stage in the cafe, emergency services report."

Russia: Explosion reported in cafe in St. Petersburg. 1 person killed, at least 6 more wounded https://t.co/ejKSxdghwC pic.twitter.com/k3pQFOW7JY  Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) April 2, 2023

The rare attack in the heart of Russia's second largest city has the hallmarks of a political assassination, akin to the car-bomb killing of Darya Dugina last August, in an attack which may have been meant for her father Alexander Dugin.

The Sunday cafe blast could be another covert operation deep inside Russia by Ukrainian partisans, after a series of bolder and bolder cross-border terror incidents, which the Kremlin as well as President Vladimir Putin have condemned, promising to escalate the war in response.

Still frame of video purportedly taken at the even inside the cafe moments before the blast.

Unverified reports say a bomb may have been hidden inside a gift that Tatarsky was handed.

Video showing the moment Tatarsky is handed a figurine which the Russians claim was packed with explosives. pic.twitter.com/zQaUv1QFn8  doge (@IntelDoge) April 2, 2023

In the coming days Kremlin officials are likely to address the assassination of the journalist and controversial political commentator directly.
The fallout from Brexit is intensifying the conversation on Irish unity, Sinn Fein MP John Finucane has said.

Mr Finucane said conversations were taking place now about increasing prosperity and this was woven through the discussion about a united Ireland.

Meanwhile, DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly has said the Stormont institutions can only be restored on the right terms, while UUP leader Doug Beattie has predicted the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

Meanwhile, UUP leader Doug Beattie has predicted the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

Stormont is currently suspended due to the DUPs ongoing protest against post-Brexit trading agreements.

Mr Finucane told RTE that ongoing political instability may be contributing to a desire for constitutional change.

People are asking about how we can have a better health system on the one island, how we can have a better education system, how we can increase and build prosperity, and all of that weaves through the conversation on Irish Unity, he told RTE's The Week in Politics.

And I do think that will be a significant change that we will see in the years to come.

Meanwhile, Mr Beattie and Ms Little-Pengelly clashed on whether returning to Stormont or opposing the Windsor Framework is the best course of action.

Ms Little-Pengelly said the DUP was taking its time in restoring devolution to strengthen the executive.

The reality is a house built on sand cannot stand, it will be weakened, and therefore we have to get this right, she said.

Of course, we want devolution to be restored, it has to be on the right terms.

It has to be on terms and foundations thats going to work because we do have a huge piece of work to do.

Emma Little-Pengelly (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Beattie contested Ms Little-Pengellys assertion and argued that the Windsor Framework could be changed while the executive is operational.

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I suppose this is where me and Emma disagree, he said.

Mr Beattie added: I think were both strong unionists and we want Northern Ireland to work as part of the United Kingdom, I think were absolutely on the ground with that.

He went on to state the UUP position, saying: We believe, however, that the only way to achieve this, that is to challenge the issues around the Windsor framework which do not work and also to realise the opportunities of the Windsor framework is to be in the devolved government.

Mr Beattie also said he believed the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

What I think is they will go back in because I think they realise that its good for unionists to be in and have a voice and be able to challenge the government, he said.

Ms Little-Pengelly responded: People do want stable government here. I suppose what we disagree on is the balance of that and how that can be done.

Mr Beattie reiterated that having a stable government would help to diminish conversations on constitutional change.

If we focus on the economy, an economy which will give us good health service, good infrastructure, give us homes, give us jobs for our young people, he said.

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If we can create that for the people here in Northern Ireland, then nobody will vote for change.

So thats what I want to focus on, but to be able to do that we need to have government.

Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney was speaking on the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement and said trust between all parties had to be rebuilt.

In many ways thats been the hugely frustrating thing of the last number of years, that much of that trust has been unravelled and we need to put it back together, he said.

Ireland United Ireland will need support of convincing maj... Read More

My generation of politician has a responsibility to ensure that this piece survives and is, when necessary, rebuilt.

Mr Coveney also commended the representatives from the unionist parties for their expressed desire to reinstate Stormont.

He said: Im encouraged to hear people like Doug Beattie and Emma Pengelly speak the way they have, wanting to see the role of government functioning again in Northern Ireland, and we need to work with them and John Finucane and all the different parties in Northern Ireland to make that happen in the weeks ahead.
Confirmed details of US president Joe Biden's visit to Ireland are unlikely to be known until about 24 hours before his arrival, according to sources.

Mr Biden is set to visit Ireland between April 12th and 15th, first visiting Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

There has been much speculation about what his trip will involve. However, sources told BreakingNews.ie that security issues are still being considered, and that any public address could take place in Dublin, Mayo or Louth.

The US president will be based in Dublin, possibly at the US Ambassador's residence in the Phoenix Park.

He is likely to make day trips to Ballina, Co Mayo, and Carlingford, Co Louth, where his family ancestry is linked with.

Sources said security concerns are very different to 2016, when Mr Biden visited as vice president, with the Secret Service assessing all factors before making final decisions on Mr Biden's itinerary.

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Security assessments are ongoing ahead of US president Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Ireland. Photo: Getty Images

Security is the main priority for the White House, and Secret Service agents and administration officials have been in Ireland in recent days to make checks on potential locations for Mr Biden's visit.

Some locations in Dublin city centre are seen as high risk.

US authorities are also keeping a close eye on the health of former president Jimmy Carter.

The 98-year-old has been receiving end-of-life care at home in his native Georgia, and Mr Biden's visit to Ireland would be cancelled in the event of Mr Carter passing away.

Speaking at the White House on St Patrick's Day, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland would "roll out the red carpet" for Mr Biden. He also thanked the US president for his support concerning Brexit.

He said Mr Biden had "made a real difference", adding that he showed "understanding" of issues related to Northern Ireland.
Storms that led to possibly dozens of tornadoes have killed at least 27 people in small towns and big cities across the US South and Midwest.

The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, ripped the roof off a packed concert venue in Illinois, and caused widespread damage throughout the region.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, tore up trees, and lay waste to neighbourhoods across a broad swathe of the country.





At least nine people were killed in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in one tornados path.

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In Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, the high schools roof was torn off overnight and its windows blown out, while huge trees lay on the ground and dozens of homes were decimated.



The path of a tornado is seen through a building on James Street in Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City Press-Citizen/AP/PA)

Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pick-up truck with its windows shattered.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.

A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm, she said.

Recovery is already under way, with workers using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the area and utility crews restoring power.



Family and neighbours scour the debris after a tornado tore through a farm in Wellman, Iowa (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)/The Gazette/AP/PA)

Nine people died in Tennessees McNairy County, east of Memphis along the Mississippi border.

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Governor Bill Lee drove to the county on Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the worst week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife attended earlier in the day.

He said: Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

In Memphis, police spokesman Christopher Williams said three deaths are believed to be weather-related  two children and an adult who died when a tree fell on a house.



An entire neighbourhood was flattened in Sullivan, Indiana (Doug McSchooler/AP/PA)

Tennessee officials have warned that the same weather conditions are expected to return on Tuesday.

In Belvidere, Illinois, part of the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble.

Concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV: I sat with him and I held his hand and I was (telling him), Its going to be okay. I didnt really know much else what to do.

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The man was dead by the time emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 others were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries.



Two people stand in front of a destroyed business in Wynne, Arkansas (AP)

In Crawford County, Illinois, three people were killed and eight others injured after a tornado hit around New Hebron.

Sheriff Bill Rutan said 60 to 100 families were displaced. Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, he said.

That was not far from where three people were killed in Indianas Sullivan County.

Sullivan mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 is essentially unrecognisable right now, and several people were rescued overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said.



The gym of Crestview Elementary School, Tennessee (Daily Memphian/AP)

Quite frankly, Im really, really shocked there isnt more as far as human issues, he said, adding that recovery is going to be a very long process.

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, authorities said. Mayor Frank Scott said that 2,100 homes and businesses were in the tornados path, but that no assessment had been done on how many were damaged.

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The National Weather Service said the tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165mph and a path as long as 25 miles.



Motorists pass by a destroyed SUV that was thrown into a ditch along South Gloster in Tupelo, Mississippi (The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal/AP/PA)

Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and activated the US National Guard to help local responders.

A suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabamas Madison County, said county official Mac McCutcheon. And in northern Mississippis Pontotoc County, officials confirmed one death and four injuries.

The storms struck just hours after US President Joe Biden visited the Mississippi community of Rolling Fork, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Centre. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.
Bulgarians are casting their ballots in a general election  the fifth in two years  which they hope will end political instability and help overcome the economic woes fuelled by the war in Ukraine.

Polling stations opened at 7am local time on Sunday, and preliminary results are expected on Monday.

Turnout is expected to be low due to voters apathy and disillusionment with politicians, who have been repeatedly unable to cobble together a viable coalition government.



A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Bankya, on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

In addition, in the last days before the vote, a wave of bomb threats targeted schools that are hosting polling stations. Cybersecurity experts attributed the threats to hacker groups engaged in hybrid attacks most likely linked to Russia and aimed at creating fear and reducing voter turnout.

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Many Bulgarians traditionally share pro-Russia sentiments, which provides fertile soil for aggressive Kremlin propaganda in the poorest European Union member country.

The latest opinion polls suggest the chances for an immediate end to the political stalemate are low. Up to seven groups could muster the 4% threshold to enter a fragmented parliament where populist and pro-Russia parties are likely to increase their representation and promote radical and anti-EU politics.



Turnout is expected to be low, amid voter apathy and security concerns (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Most pollsters found three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borissovs centre-right GERB party is neck-and-neck at around 26% with its main rival, Kiril Petkovs liberal We Continue The Change party, which recently formed a coalition with the right-wing Democratic Bulgaria.

The situation is complex because a stable government could be formed only by the two main political groups in a coalition, as they share similar pro-Nato and pro-EU positions.

But Mr Petkovs party, which regards Mr Borissov as a divisive figure, accusing him of corrupt policies, will reject any coalition deal with GERB if Mr Borissov remains at its helm.

Still, both parties are trying to soften their mutual aggressive rhetoric to find an alternative to the policy of President Rumen Radevs consecutive caretaker governments in the last few years that have been quietly shifting the countrys orientation to the East.
Montenegrins are casting ballots in a run-off presidential election that is a battle between a long-serving pro-Western incumbent and a newcomer promising change in the small Nato member state in Europe that has been locked in political turmoil.

Observers say President Milo Djukanovic, who is credited with leading Montenegro to independence and into Nato, could be facing defeat from the economist Jakov Milatovic, the candidate backed by governing parties advocating closer ties with Serbia.

The run-off vote on Sunday is being held after none of the contenders won majority support in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Some 540,000 people are eligible to vote in Montenegro, a country of 620,000 located in the Balkan peninsula and by the Adriatic Sea.



People wait in line at a polling station in Montenegros capital Podgorica (Risto Bozovic/AP)

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The winner of Sundays vote could also reflect on the upcoming early parliamentary election on June 11. That vote was scheduled because of months-long government deadlock that stalled European Union integration and alarmed the West as war rages in Ukraine.

Mr Djukanovic, 61, first became prime minister at 29 and has stayed in power for the past 32 years  longer than his Democratic Party of Socialists, which was ousted in a 2020 parliamentary election.

He has been a key Western ally in countering Russian influence and keeping the Balkans stable. He has insisted that the struggle is not over despite Montenegros Nato membership because of Serbias alleged expansionist policies and Russias influence.



Jakov Milatovic is the challenger in the presidential run-off vote (Risto Bozovic/AP)

Mr Milatovic, who is 36 and was educated in Britain and the United States, has appealed to voters disillusioned with established politicians like Mr Djukanovic. He has insisted that he wants Montenegro to join the EU, although some of the parties that backed his candidacy are pro-Russian.

If Mr Milatovic wins, his Europe Now movement could find itself in a position to dominate the next government after the snap vote in June. Mr Djukanovic has hoped that his re-election for another five-year term would pave the way for his DPS to also return to power in June.

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Mr Milatovics Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary elections collapsed. As the economy minister in that government, he gained popularity by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not as an outcome of reform.
An economy expert and political novice won Sundays presidential runoff in Montenegro, rallying voters fed up with more than three decades of political dominance by incumbent Milo Djukanovic.

Early projections of election results suggested that Jakov Milatovic has won, defeating the pro-Western incumbent in the small Nato member nation located on Europes Balkan peninsula.

Mr Milatovic won around 60 per cent while Mr Djukanovic won around 40 per cent, according to predictions released by the usually reliable Centre for Monitoring and Research and based on partial vote sample. Official results are not expected before Monday.

Analysts said the results could change slightly as the vote count progresses, but that the gap between the two is too wide for major changes.

This result is an indicator that the final result wont be substantially different, said the group analyst Ana Nenezic.

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Mr Milatovics victory is believed to reflect voter fatigue with Mr Djukanovic and disillusionment with established politicians. Mr Milatovic, 36, first entered politics in 2020 after earning his education in Britain and the United States.

Pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic (Risto Bozovic/AP)

Mr Djukanovic is credited with leading his country to independence from Serbia in 2006 and defying Russia to steer Montenegro into Nato in 2017.

But critics say Mr Djukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists have let crime and corruption engulf society.

The DPS was ousted from power in a 2020 parliamentary vote but Mr Djukanovic has remained in office until his five-year mandate finished.

His defeat on Sunday means that both he and his party will be in opposition for the first time since late 1980s.

Sundays run-off vote was scheduled after none of the contenders won a majority in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Some 540,000 people were eligible to vote.

Montenegro has a population of 620,000 and borders Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and the Adriatic Sea.

The outcome of Sundays election is likely to reflect on an early parliamentary election set for June 11. That vote was scheduled because of a months-long government deadlock that stalled Montenegros pending European Union membership and alarmed the West as war rages in Ukraine.

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Though Mr Milatovics Europe Now group is formally not part of the ruling coalition, his presidential candidacy won backing from the shaky alliance that includes parties that advocate closer ties with neighbouring Serbia and Russia.

Mr Milatovic has said that Montenegros EU integration remains a priority for him and his party. He has denied Mr Djukanovics allegations that the governing coalition was pushing Montenegro back under Serbias influence.

With Mr Milatovics triumph, his Europe Now movement could also find itself in a position to dominate the next government after Junes parliamentary election.

Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary election collapsed.

As the economy minister in that government, Mr Milatovic gained popularity by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not as an outcome of reform.
Suella Braverman has declined to say when flights to Rwanda could take off, as she appeared to downplay suggestions that the stalled policy of deporting asylum seekers could begin this summer.

The British home secretary also insisted that ministers were looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels to house asylum seekers in the UK, but refused to say whether the UK government was close to signing a deal on a procuring a barge.

Touring broadcast studios on Sunday, Ms Braverman faced questions about the UK governments record on illegal migration.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and Ms Braverman have said that stopping the boats across the Channel is a crucial priority, but campaigners have condemned much of the UK governments response, with the controversial Illegal Migration Bill described as an effective asylum ban.

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Suella Braverman on a visit to Rwanda last month (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

UK ministers sparked further controversy earlier this week after unveiling plans to house asylum seekers in disused military bases to accommodate their essential living needs and nothing more, with ferries and barges also being explored as options.

Ms Braverman on Sunday could not say when flights to Rwanda would take off, telling Sky Newss Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme instead: We are making very steady progress.

I am not going to give a deadline as to when flights will take off.

The UK governments plan to forcibly remove migrants to the African nation is currently grounded by the courts. It was deemed lawful by the High Court, but legal challenges continue.

Later on the BBC, Ms Braverman declined to confirm a Sun On Sunday report that ministers are close to signing a contract with Portland Port Authority over floating accommodation for asylum seekers.

She told the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that ministers were looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels for migrant accommodation.

She said: Were talking to a lot of operators. A lot of owners of lots of different kinds of property around the country. Weve announced sites earlier this week.

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Those are sites where we have a level of confidence were able to be public about those sites.

Were aiming to roll out these sites very quickly and start making them fit for accommodation purposes and relocate people onto those sites for asylum purposes.

But were looking at all options. Were looking at all sorts of land and sites and vessels and were in negotiations with a high number of operators around the country.

The UK home secretary also insisted that Rwanda is a safe country to send asylums seekers, insisting that High Court judges had sided with the British government over United Nations concerns about the safety of asylum seekers there.

Rwanda is a safe country. It is appropriate for our purposes to work in partnership, she said.

Ms Braverman also refused to repeat her previous hope that net migration could fall to tens of thousands.

The clear answer I can give you is that I support our manifesto commitment to get overall migration numbers down, including legal migration, she told the BBC.

But Labour said that the Rwanda plan was not even real, with shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy suggesting that her party would have nothing to reverse if it wins the next general election.

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On the same programme, she said: I dont think were ever going to be in the situation where we have to dismantle this because I dont think its real, just like the barges that the Home Secretary promised this week that it turns out didnt exist.

This is just yet another way of distracting from the fact that theyre only processing 1% of the asylum claims of people who arrived last year.

The Liberal Democrats said that Ms Bravermans comments showed that the Rwanda plan was on hold.

Suella Bravermans admission that her botched Rwanda scheme is on hold shows just how unworkable it is, home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said.
An international arrest warrant for Russia president Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of the man whose country invaded Ukraine facing justice, but it complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks.

Both justice and peace appear to be only remote possibilities today, and the conflicting relationship between the two is a quandary at the heart of a decision on March 17th by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek the Russian leaders arrest.

Judges in The Hague found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights were responsible for war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

As unlikely as Mr Putin sitting in a Hague courtroom seems now, other leaders have faced justice in international courts.

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Former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a driving force behind the Balkan wars of the 1990s, went on trial for war crimes, including genocide, at a United Nations tribunal in The Hague after he lost power. He died in his cell in 2006 before a verdict could be reached.

Serbia, which wants European Union membership but has maintained close ties to Russia, is one of the countries that has criticised the ICCs action. The warrants will have bad political consequences and create a great reluctance to talk about peace (and) about truce in Ukraine, populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

A building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Kupiansk, Ukraine (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Others see consequences for Mr Putin, and for anyone judged guilty of war crimes, as the primary desired outcome of international action.

There will be no escape for the perpetrator and his henchmen, European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday in a speech to mark the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the Ukraine town that saw some of the worst atrocities in the war.

War criminals will be held accountable for their deeds, she added.

Hungary did not join the other 26 EU members in signing a resolution in support of the ICC warrant for Mr Putin. The governments chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said Hungarian authorities would not arrest the Russian leader if he were to enter the country.

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Mr Gulyas called the warrants not the most fortunate because they lead toward escalation and not toward peace.

Mr Putin appears to have a strong grip on power, and some analysts suspect the warrant hanging over him could provide an incentive to prolong the fighting.

The arrest warrant for Putin might undermine efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine,

Daniel Krcmaric, an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, said: The arrest warrant for Putin might undermine efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine.

A 10-year-old girl cries next to the body of her brother, who was killed in a rocket attack by Mr Putins forces in February in Lyman (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

One potential way of easing the way to peace talks could be for the United Nations Security Council to call on the International Criminal Court to suspend the Ukraine investigation for a year, which is allowed under Article 16 of the Rome Statute treaty that created the court.

But that appears unlikely, said Mr Krcmaric, whose book The Justice Dilemma deals with the tension between seeking justice and pursuing a negotiated end to conflicts.

The Western democracies would have to worry about public opinion costs if they made the morally questionable decision to trade justice for peace in such an explicit fashion, he said, adding that Ukraine is also unlikely to support such a move.

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Russia immediately rejected the warrants. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not recognise the ICC and considers its decisions legally void. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias Security Council, which is chaired by Mr Putin, suggested the ICC headquarters on the Netherlands coastline could become a target for a Russian missile strike.

Alexander Baunov, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment, observed in a commentary that the arrest warrant for Mr Putin amounted to an invitation to the Russian elite to abandon Putin that could erode his support.

While welcoming the warrants for Mr Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights, rights groups also urged the international community not to forget the pursuit of justice in other conflicts.

The ICC warrant for Putin reflects an evolving and multifaceted justice effort that is needed elsewhere in the world, Human Rights Watch associate international justice director Balkees Jarrah said in a statement.

Similar justice initiatives are needed elsewhere to ensure that the rights of victims globally  whether in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, or Palestine  are respected.
The value of Australias coal and gas exports could be halved in just five years as new forecasts warn booming commodity prices have likely passed their peaks and key trading partners across Asia are increasing efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal government trade data, to be released on Monday, reveals earnings from Australias minerals and energy exports are set to reach unseen highs of $464 billion in 2022-23 after Russias invasion of Ukraine worsened a global energy crisis and boosted fossil fuel prices for a second straight year.

Prices for cargoes of thermal coal at the Port of Newcastle more than tripled in the past 12 months. Credit: Nic Walker

Record income from sales of Australian thermal coal  the type of coal burned in power stations  and metallurgical coal used in steel-making furnaces are expected to be $128 billion for the financial year, overtaking iron ore as the countrys most lucrative export.

Australias exports of liquified natural gas (LNG), meanwhile, are forecast to hit $91 billion in 202223, three times higher than in 202021, on the back of record-high prices as northern hemisphere nations scrambled to secure alternative supplies to Russian gas.
Celebrity and privacy have always been uncomfortable bedfellows. When a person attains one, the other soon becomes a casualty.

For Prince Harry, celebrity was something he was born into through no fault or choice of his own. And, as he has known since he was old enough to remember, any hopes of real privacy in his life have mostly been doomed to failure and disappointment.

Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, in London last week. Credit: PA

Weve seen him barefoot and naked, partying in jacuzzis with the lads and every romantic dalliance  no matter how fleeting  photographed, documented and dished up to the masses for public consumption.

In more recent years he and his wife Meghan have harnessed their celebrity, turning it into a multimillion-dollar money spinner, with podcasts, tell-all memoirs, childrens books, paid for television interviews and the most recent Netflix documentary series, which further dissected the most intimate details of their very un-private lives. It drew record audiences on the platform.
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto has denied the furore that engulfed controversial Liberal MP Moira Deeming and the Victorian Liberal Party contributed to the partys loss in the federal seat of Aston.

Earlier this week, Deeming was suspended from the state party room for attending an anti-transgender rights protest in Melbourne that was crashed by neo-Nazis.

Moira Deeming and John Pesutto before the pairs relationship turned sour. Credit: Facebook

Pesutto had initially insisted there wasnt any option but to expel the MP, before backflipping during a party room meeting and suspending her for nine months.

At a press conference this afternoon, Pesutto denied the saga had affected yesterdays byelection, asserting that voters cast their ballot on federal issues.

Its clear to me, based on the comments of candidates and people on the ground, that it simply wasnt an issue ... In essence, it was about cost of living. It was a federal byelection with some local issues in it, he said.

None of the issues surrounding the Victorian parliamentary [Liberal Party] were being raised with people on pre-poll or yesterday.

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I know the last two weeks were tough, but there was a purpose  it was to say to the Victorian people that I will fight for these principles, I will fight for these values.

After losing his seat of Hawthorn in the 2018 state election, Pesutto said he was keenly aware that the Liberal Party needs to reform if its to be a winning force again.

If we are to restore our standing with the Victorian people and the Australian people, we have to take actions that demonstrate to the people that we are committed to being that inclusive, welcoming and engaging party, he said.

I feel for Roshena Campbell, shes a good candidate and I hope that we can see her in the parliament one day, and Ill do everything I can to support her in that effort.
Specialist police involved in the shooting death of Aboriginal man Aubrey Donahue were not wearing body-worn video because successful technology trials had not yet been rolled out.

Donahue was shot by police in the town of Mareeba, west of Cairns, on March 25. Police alleged he had threatened the life of a young woman and advanced on officers of the Special Emergency Response Team [SERT] with a knife.

The 27-year-olds family and supporters, disputing elements of the story and questioning whether police could have used non-lethal force, called for the release of footage but were told the SERT officers were not wearing cameras.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Police Service said the audiovisual equipment worn by frontline officers was not suitable for the type of critical incidents faced by the SERT, mainly because of the technologys size, noise, light and positioning on complex tactical equipment.
Michelle Burnett has a chronic health condition but has given up on seeing a local GP.

The retail worker, who has rheumatoid arthritis, phoned seven local clinics when she moved to the City of Melton, in Melbournes west, two years ago. They all told her they werent taking new patients. Shes phoned again and again, and received the same response.

What am I supposed to do? Where do I go? she asks.

Michelle Burnett has given up on getting an appointment at a GP in Melton. Credit: Jason South

To get a health check and the medication that enables her to get out of bed, the 50-year-old now takes a day off work and drives an hour and half to visit her former GP in Carrum Downs, in the citys south-east.
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 Melbournes CBD is bursting at the seams. Here is where its next cities could be See all 6 stories . Its a bustling business centre for 94,000 jobs and a hub for the growing health, technology and science sectors, but theres not a CBD-style high-rise in sight. As the states second biggest employment centre, the jobs precinct surrounding Monash University in Clayton, 18 kilometres from the city, is a sprawling landscape of lower-density buildings, wide arterial roads and gum trees. Walking end to end could take you an hour  double the time needed to walk from Parliament House to Southern Cross Station. But despite challenges with its spread-out footprint, as well as limited transport options and slow residential development, its shaping up as Melbournes greatest hope for a second CBD.

In the Second CBD series, The Age is exploring three of metropolitan Melbournes best options for secondary CBDs  Clayton, Box Hill and Sunshine  decades after planners started plotting how to decentralise the city. Selected in consultation with experts, these locations are middle suburbs accessible to populous outer and inner parts of Melbourne, and sites of major transport infrastructure projects. They show promising signs of development and have been previously identified for their growth potential. No island of skyscrapers Plans for setting up other second cities, in suburbs such as Dandenong and Werribee, have come and gone, in part because of waning interest from changing governments. But Claytons secret weapon may be that its greatest advocate, Monash University, isnt going anywhere, and continues to thrive as more than an education hub.

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The growth of the Monash employment precinct is exposing something of a divide in the suburb, where the northern ends reinvention is unrecognisable to the south. Monash University vice chancellor Margaret Gardner says the academic institution started to seriously pitch its wider precinct as a potential second city to government about 10 years ago. Monash University vice chancellor Margaret Gardner outside the Victorian Heart Hospital in Clayton. Credit:Eddie Jim In its determination to be at the centre of a successful city, the university is leasing land to major businesses and promising start-ups, and its investing up to $250 million a year on infrastructure. Organisations including the CSIRO, Moderna, the new Victorian Heart Hospital, the Australian Synchrotron, Monash Health, Woodside Energy, Telstra and Lockheed Martin earlier in March formed the Monash Precinct Network to foster its growth. Its been building, and its now getting an accelerating momentum, Gardner says.

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We cant expect government has to think up everything. It behoves us as an institution to work with others and talk about the possibilities that are here  We are there for the long haul. She says high-rise buildings are not the only way to configure a CBD. This city wont look like an island of skyscrapers, Gardner says. It may be that its slightly lower density, it may feel greener, and it may feel you have more space around you. Not every city should look the same. The point about a city is: how do you bring together the series of services to allow you to do most of what you want to do in a relatively contained radius? Transport upgrades Monash Council Mayor Tina Samardzija believes Clayton is already playing the role of a second city.

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A lot of other suburbs have tried. It might be the university was the spark of the match that led to all this happening, she says. Clayton falls short on public transport options, with workers and students either forced to drive, use unreliable buses, navigate gnarly roads by bike or on foot, or travel via Claytons train station which is two kilometres from the boundary of Monash University. Many commuters are forced to use the unreliable bus network to reach the Monash employment precinct. Credit:Eddie Jim But after decades of lobbying for greater rail access, things are set to shift. Two stations on the Victorian governments Suburban Rail Loop, which could eventually cover 90 kilometres from Cheltenham to Werribee, will be in Clayton: one next to the existing station to create a super-hub, and one within the Monash precinct. Early works on the eastern part of the loop have begun, with trains expected to start running on this section from 2035. The SRL is really important because it creates a link between multiple train lines  so you can arrive from multiple points in the compass, Gardner says. Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jacinta Allan says the rail loop would give a crucial boost to the university and jobs precinct. Monash has great potential because of the land thats available there to support businesses, she says. Monash Council Mayor Tina Samardzija in Glen Waverley, which has been the site of far more development than central Clayton. Credit:Eddie Jim

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A trackless tram route, which would connect Caulfield to Rowville and wind through the Monash employment precinct, has also been promised with federal government funding. Claytons residential population of 22,300 lags behind some key suburbs in the south-east. Unlike in nearby Glen Waverley, Claytons main strip near the station is devoid of apartment towers. On the Princes Highway, M-City has been a major development, bringing more than 600 apartments and a new shopping centre, but most residential areas remain extremely suburban, made up largely of post-war homes and townhouses. Its in its infancy, says Samardzija. M-City is a rare high-rise apartment development in Clayton, however it is on the Princes Highway away from the main activity centres. Credit:Eddie Jim Samardzija grew up in the City of Monash and has watched the area transform from a place of outer suburbia with predominantly industrial jobs. Weve got world-class health facilities, education facilities and such massive employment opportunities here that we dont need the CBD any more, she says. The idea of Melbourne being centred around one CBD is just the past.

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If a critical dam could no longer be used due to contamination, a replacement could cost billions of dollars, which would be additional to the spending on water treatment facilities. Loading If water treatment facilities or more storage were required, they would take years to build, and meanwhile, not all people would be equally affected. About 250,000 Water Corporation customers can only be supplied directly from dams due to the system of pipelines in place. People served by those 250,000 connections would likely have to boil drinking water if the dams were contaminated with soil or switch to bottled water if excessive amounts of hydrocarbons or PFAS were washed into the dams, according to a water industry expert who did not wish to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The briefing note gives more detail of the threat from Alcoas mining to water supply in the south-west of WA, first revealed by this masthead in February. An Alcoa spokeswoman said the company remained committed to being a sustainable miner and constantly worked to improve its environmental management. While potential long-term risks are proposed, it is important to note that Alcoa has been mining in drinking water supply catchment areas for six decades and has never negatively impacted on public drinking water supply, she said. Alcoa has its own mining rules Water Corporation places the blame for the risks it now has to manage on the unique regulatory arrangements Alcoa enjoys.

Previous mining operations have not been effectively regulated, primarily due to limitations associated with the outdated management framework associated with the relevant State Agreements, the note said. Most mining in WA is governed by the independent Environmental Protection Authority and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. However, Alcoas mining is governed by a committee of bureaucrats led by the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation and its minister  Deputy Premier Roger Cook  has the final say. Each year Alcoa submits a rolling five-year mine management plan to the committee  the Mine Management Plan and Liaison Group  and does not have to seek permission to clear native vegetation under the Environmental Protection Act under an exemption granted in 2004.

According to the briefing note, the committee MMPLG has identified increased risks from Alcoas mining in recent years that led to protracted negotiations before the last two mining plans were approved. The miner was working closer to dams, in steeper areas more at risk of excessive runoff after a storm, clearing a greater portion of creek valleys feeding the dams, and digging into areas with shallow groundwater. Plans by Alcoa to go back to areas it previously mined to extract lower grade ore it had left in the past would create a second wave of disturbance. According to the note, Alcoa has cleared more than 220 square kilometres of jarrah forest in the catchment areas of nine Water Corporation dams. More than 50 square kilometres are currently open with no rehabilitation efforts started. The open area was a key indicator of risk for the Water Corporation as this is where water runoff with soil, oil and PFAS is most likely to occur. The area has increased 10-fold in the past 20 years while Alcoa cleared 30 per cent more land than it revegetated.

In the five years to 2022 Alcoa each year on average reported 140 oil spills with a total volume of more than 18,000 litres and 13 spills of PFAS or the less concerning P3 chemical it has used in the past two years. Failures of drainage works designed to stop water running off the open mine areas were reported an average 42 times a year and turbidity exceedances when sediment made water too cloudy were reported an average of 30 times a year. Since 2020 Alcoa has been restricted to mining areas with less than a nine-degree or (16 per cent) slope no closer than two metres to groundwater, and clear no more than 30 per cent of a creek valley, or sub-catchment, leading to a reduction in the overall risk profile to the Water Corporation. Cook said the Mining Management Plan Liaison Group process allowed relevant experts within the state government to apply the same level of regulatory rigour to Alcoas proposed activities that other companies were subject to.

The state government has made it clear to the company that protecting Perths drinking water remains paramount, he said. Alcoas current approval to mine is subject to strict criteria that precludes mining in areas of high risk to Perths drinking water. Cook said a review of the Water Corporations monitoring of its dams from mid-2019 to mid-2022 found the water quality was very good. In February, the WA Forest Alliance asked the WA Environmental Protection Authority to review Alcoas approved 2022-26 mining plan as well as the 2023-27 plan now under consideration. The EPA is expected to decide in about a month whether to accept the referral that would subject Alcoas mining plans to unprecedented scrutiny and transparency.
And nobody should be the least bit surprised. This organ is where the original conflict of rights occurs. Pregnancy termination is the quintessential conflict between a woman, another being, and society.

Growing up, in what I then thought was a post-feminist world, I never dreamt that a body part would continue to be the battleground of this generation. And yet, this week legal abortion was again the subject of protests as anti-abortion activists gathered outside St Marys cathedral in Sydney, in what they called the Day of the Unborn Child. The week before in Melbourne confusion reigned as protesters gathered in a three-way pro-woman, pro-trans and anti-trans melee , crashed by neo-Nazis. After decades of womens liberation, the womb remains at the centre of societys hottest disputes.

Another battle is raging over womens bodies. Throughout history, the womb has been ground zero for wars between countries and peoples. When wars are fought over land, women are often the ancillary spoils: they are raped, impregnated, and kidnapped. Soldiers dont just seize land, they seize the reproductive capability of a territory. Genocidal regimes force sterilisation, take children away from their mothers, or both.

If she is lucky, and lives in a relatively enlightened time and place, a woman has autonomy. Until her body is colonised by a nascent life, that is, at which point a conflict can arise. In societies where abortion is legal, society steps in to negotiate between the parties. Some anti-abortion advocates believe that as soon as there is fertilisation, the womans body becomes a vessel and is not just her own. On the other side, pro-choice advocates sometimes argue to extend the point at which a termination can take place, up to, or even past, the stage at which the baby is viable (24 weeks). Ethicists have, in some cases more seriously than in others, contemplated whether women have a right to abortion right up to, or even just after, birth.

Anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, or Posie Parker, outside Parliament House in Canberra. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

In the US, the landmark (now overturned) Supreme Court ruling known as Roe v Wade implemented a legal fiction  a trimester model to arbitrate between the two parties. It conceded rights to the woman up to the end of the first trimester; to the state in the second trimester in a regulated model of abortion with approved special reason; and in the third trimester gave the right to live (still inhabiting the womans body) to the child.

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The bureaucratic tidiness of this model created an illusion of scientific certainty. For decades now we have pretended that the new life is somehow not human until the first trimester has ended. The life is often referred to in pro-choice circles as a clump of cells, a zygote, etc. In doing so, we kid ourselves into thinking that we were making a clinical judgement, instead of acknowledging what it is were actually doing, which is negotiating a balance between the conflicting rights of two people.
In the end, the only remarkable thing about the NSW election was how unremarkable it was.

A government long in office, carrying the accumulated baggage that long incumbency inevitably brings, lost to an opposition with an appealing new leader and an apparently competent front bench, at a time when the electorate was in a mood for change. As usual, the ever-sensible John Howard summed things up perfectly when he observed on election night that this was an orthodox outcome. The only real surprise would have been if, given the circumstances, Labor had not won.

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

So this was not a devastating defeat for the Coalition; it was an expected one. Nor was the size of Labors win massive: notwithstanding the predictions on election night (including by the usually cautious Antony Green), the new government does not even have a majority. No landslide there.

The perception that the Coalition had suffered a catastrophic loss was reinforced by the dramatic imagery of the map of Australia, red from coast to coast, with only little Tasmania bobbing like a Liberal lifeboat offshore. Yet just a decade ago, Tasmania was the Labor lifeboat, with all mainland jurisdictions bar South Australia and the ACT in Liberal hands. The only certainty is that the next turn of the political cycle will see the red turn blue again. Dejected Liberals can take comfort from the words of the Percy Bysshe Shelley: If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
In the year 1988, called by white Australians the Bicentenary, then-prime minister Bob Hawke travelled to a big Indigenous festival of dance, music and sport at a place in the bush, 80 kilometres south of Katherine in the Northern Territory, called Barunga.

And there by a campfire, seated on the ground, Hawke found himself blindsided by a powerful leader of northern Australias Aboriginal people, a man we call, now he is deceased, simply Yunupingu.

Yunupingu with former prime minister Bob Hawke in 2014. As chair of the Northern Land Council, Yunupingu handed the Barunga Statement to Hawke in 1988. Credit: Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation

Leader of the Gumatj clan of Arnhem Land and at the time chairman of the Northern Land Council, Yunupingu, along with the chairman of the Central Land Council, Wenten Rubuntja, and other Indigenous leaders  all of them in full ceremonial paint that spoke of vastly more than the 200 years since the First Fleet had arrived  approached the prime minister with a bark painting that bore a written message.

It stated, in a few short paragraphs, the aspirations of the Indigenous owners and occupiers of Australia.
Juvenile offender numbers have been falling in large council areas held up as flash points in Queenslands supposedly deepening youth crime crisis.

The new data, revealed in an answer to a question on notice from KAP MP Robbie Katter, shows authorities recorded about 3500 distinct youth offenders across Queensland in the year to September 2022.

This was down 26 per cent from more than 4700 offenders in the corresponding period in 2019.

In the Brisbane local government area, the number of individual offenders aged 10-17 dropped from 599 in 2019 to 472 last year.
Kyiv: Russia, whose leader is accused of war crimes, has assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council causing fury in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it an absurd and destructive move.

The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Credit: AP

Unfortunately, we ... have some obviously absurd and destructive news, Zelensky said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a five-month-old boy on Friday.

And at the same time Russia is chairing the UN Security Council. Its hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions, he said.
New York: Former President Donald Trump will deliver remarks on Tuesday night in Florida after his scheduled arraignment in New York on charges related to hush money payments, his campaign has announced.

Trump will hold the event at his Mar-a-Lago club after returning from Manhattan, where he is expected to voluntarily turn himself in. He is expected to be joined in Florida by supporters as he tries to project an image of strength and defiance and turn the charges into a political asset to boost his 2024 presidential campaign.

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2019. Credit: AP

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury last week, two people familiar with the matter have told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that is not yet public because the indictment remains under seal.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has blasted the investigation as part of a years-long witch hunt aimed at damaging his candidacy.




MEGANETS: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities Author: David B Auerbach By Alexandra Jacobs

Publisher: PublicAffairs Pages: 339 PublicAffairs

Price: $30

Also Read India vs Australia Tests: David Warner scared for future of Test cricket From Meta to Zomato, how new online review rules will impact industry Mainland China reports 250 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases When journalistic standards drop, many stop following news: David Kenny India's tryst with parliamentary democracy Inside Narasimha Rao's PMO An indictment of terror trials Party time in China An incomplete history of the CIA Everything, everywhere in one big book



Twenty-five years later a puckish French horn player warned me, a literature major who didnt yet have an email address, that the future lay in something called hyperlinks.

Just one word. Are you listening? Mr. Maguire said to Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967). Plastics.



About the competing concept of the metaverse, the vision of an imminent, investable digital world that has been on everyone but especially Mark Zuckerbergs lips, Auerbach is a little hand-wavy, calling it terribly vague. And moreover nothing so new. Dont we already socialize, play and work in an all-too-immersive online world? he writes. That world may not be The Matrix, but all the connecting tissue is already there.

Now here comes David B Auerbach with a new piece of argot, and a book, for our fast-changing times: Meganets. Its a muscular-sounding term that a few companies, including a communications provider and sprinkler system, have already claimed. (I found this out, naturally, on Google, which along with Microsoft once employed Auerbach as a software engineer.) But his definition of meganet is in essence a big blob of mortal and computing power, a human-machine behemoth controlled by no one. If the internet is the fictional doctor and scientist Bruce Banner, furtive and a little troubled but basically benign, meganets are Incredible Hulks, snarling and uncontainable.



When my tiny, private Instagram account was hacked last year by an enterprising bitcoin entrepreneur in a faraway land, I went into full-blown panic  especially after a nameless entity at Insta requested and then rejected a series of slow-mo video selfies, tilting head to the ceiling even, to verify my account.

Along with all the literature about unplugging Meganets made me feel deeply queasy about the amount of time I spend on Instagram, Reddit, TikTok and Twitter. Not Facebook, never Facebook  a fount of misinformation, as Auerbach calls it, a petri dish in which false facts and crazy theories grow, mutate and metastasize  except for the burner account I use occasionally to see what exes are up to.



A Gen Xer might well feel at sea too in Auerbachs extensive chapter about cryptocurrency. Reality bites, we naively thought, but here reality forks, with blockchain doubling back on itself like a caterpillar.

Was this the experience of a validation addict going through withdrawal? No, lets reframe: I was trapped in a meganet (especially now that Facebooks parent company, Meta, owns Insta): a middle-aged mermaid thrashing about in the great online ocean as data floated around me, multiplying like plankton.



According to his previous, memoirish book, Bitwise, Auerbach first gave America the ability to type smiley faces in chat. This is a deeply interesting book, but for the average user, which is what the meganets have made of readers and writers, a sometimes hard to access one. It was fascinating to be reminded of the failed experiment of Google+ (remember?), the search indexs answer to Facebook, and more about Aadhaar, Indias national identification program: A unified, government-sanctioned meganet, Auerbach writes. A Data Abundance chart that shows how many messages are sent and photos shared on various platforms each minute renders lifes new entwinement with unsettling precision.

Auerbach is as at home with literature and philosophy as in the engine room, quoting Kenneth Burke, George Trow and Shakespeare. I have waited more than five years for Amazon to notify me of an available copy of Grigol Robakidzes novel The Snakes Skin, he writes, supposedly published in 2015  this would be a reissue of a 1928 Georgian modernist classic that does sound fascinating  but I will never get that notification because the books Amazon page is in reality a tombstone for a book that never existed.

to solve CAPTCHAs with different kinds of obscure motor vehicles. (Why never flowers?)

But trying to follow along as Auerbach described a virtual pandemic called Corrupted Blood that spread through the video game World of Warcraft in 2005, arguing that the distance between Corrupted Blood and a global financial meltdown is smaller than you think, this user felt trapped in a dark rec room with a hoodie pulled over my face. It was like attempting



We search for where the power really lies, when it does not lie anywhere  or else it lies everywhere at once, which is no more helpful.

Cloud is a term Auerbach finds as nebulous as the metaverse, and yet his own text is pretty densely fogged  though worth the trip for the occasional breaks through to see the horizon; the lightning bolts of his own philosophical insight.



And, in a Biblical-sounding proposal to mitigate this Orwellian hell: If Big Brother cant be stopped, we should focus on throwing sand in his eyes rather than futilely trying to kill him.

If you do not give people what they want, what do you give them? (What they never knew they wanted, Diana Vreeland would retort.)

Take my Wi-Fi  please!

2023 The New York Times News Service
In this section

Our financial dependence on broking is now far lower: ICICI Securities CEO

Real estate growth depends on job security of people: Gera Developments MD

Assets should ideally be churned within five yrs: Arcil's Pallav Mohapatra

We should be allowed to charge for UPI: Worldline India's Ramesh Narasimhan

All our innovations have a bit of India in them: Siemens Healthineers CTO

World in turmoil, domestic pharma firms target India for healthy growth

Lupin Pharma launches Lurasidone Hydrochloride Tablets in US

Budget 2023 a balancing act with focus on prosperity and inclusiveness

We thrive on products that have limited competition: Top Sun Pharma execs

Brokerages downgrade Lupin post weak Q3; see up to 17% downside

Lupins Managing Directorshares his thoughts about the new ventures his firm has forayed into. In conversation with, Gupta elaborates on how the Indian market is becoming lucrative for drug firms.Edited excerpts:

I dont like to call it diversification. Rather it is multiplying our offerings in India. India has very high potential. We are still small in India, at around No. 6 in the domestic pharmaceutical (pharma) market.

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A new lawsuit has been filed against Google seeking 3.4 billion pounds ($4.2 billion) in compensation for publishers for lost revenue.

According to the claim, made by ex-Guardian technology editor Charles Arthur, Google illegally used its dominant position in online advertising to reduce publishers' profits, the BBC reported.

Google stated that it would vigorously oppose the "speculative and opportunistic" action.

In the lawsuit, Arthur claimed that because of Google's abuse of its position, ad-tech services were inflated, and publishers' ad sales revenues were unlawfully reduced, the report said.

"The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating Google's anti-competitive conduct in ad-tech, 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," Arthur was quoted as saying.

It is the second such lawsuit, following a similar one filed in November last year.

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The claim was brought by former UK's communications regulator Ofcom director Claudio Pollack, who is seeking damages of up to 13.6 billion pounds from Google, the report mentioned.

Meanwhile, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has said that Google will have to pay the fine of Rs 1,337.76 crore, imposed on it by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The CCI had, on October 30, 2022, imposed a fine of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices.

--IANS

shs/pgh
Consumer durables firm Haier India aims for a 33 per cent growth in turnover to Rs 8,000 crore in 2023, helped by the expansion of its product portfolio and sales network and premiumisation, said its President Satish NS.

Haier India is investing Rs 1,500 crore in the second phase of expansion at its Greater Noida facility, mostly on the backward integration and is expected to complete by 2025, which will in turn help it increase the localisation of the components.

This investment is part of Haier India's earlier commitment to invest around Rs 3,100 crore. At the Greater Noida facility, Haier India manufactures refrigerators and washing machines, and in the next phase, it would have an injection moulding facility and a PCB plant. It is also mulling a compressor plant in JV for its cooling products business here. "From here we cater to domestic and export to neighbouring markets such as Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Going forward, the idea is to build it a hub for the domestic market and exports," Satish told PTI.

Haier has the capacity to roll out one million units of residential air condition units, at present and its plans to double the capacity. Similarly, it has a capacity of 1.5 million units for washing machines, which will be expanded further.

"As a company, last year we closed at Rs 6,000 crore and this year we plan to look at Rs 8,000 crore," he added.

When asked about the growth drivers, Satish said this will be led by its AC business, which is a major growth engine for Haier India, flat panels, refrigerators, washing machines etc.

Also Read Textile players likely to witness healthy turnover in FY23: Report NeuWorld Spirits aims Rs 100 cr turnover by FY24; to expand its portfolio HUL board approves hiking royalty to parent from 2.65% to 3.45% of turnover Appliances, consumer electronics sector aim for double-digit growth in 2023 Refrigerator prices may rise up to 5% as BEE labelling norms kick in Global Pharma recalls 50,000 tubes of contaminated eye drops in US: USFDA Indigo announces flight services to Dubai from Bhubaneswar from May 15 Hero MotoCorp records increase of 15% in March sales to 519,342 units Google announces new cost-cutting measures to focus on key matters: Report Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors report best-ever wholesales in FY23

"We also have a huge tailwind from expanding of channels and are exploring the various channel opportunities," he said adding "premiumisation will also help" as it increases the average product price.

Besides appliances, Haier India is also looking at the allied segments such as cold chain solutions, medical freezers and commercial airconditioning.

"We see that well aligned with our product strength. Commercial air conditioning is an area that we are now looking at aggressively. We see a future in cold chain solution and commercial airconditioning, where we have good technology with backward integration and manufacturing," he said.

He further said, "We would focus on the segment, category or industry, where we have our own manufacturing capability and R&D because that's where you will be able to address in a long way rather than trading only, which has no future."



The company is working to increase the localisation of the products by investing in the component manufacturing ecosystem. This would also help to increase efficiency and have better quality control, Satish added.

Haier India is also investing in R&D, which in turn helps it innovate India-specific products from its stable.

Presently, the local value addition is around 75 to 80 per cent and after the completion of the second phase, it would go to 90 to 95 per cent, he added.

The company is also strengthening its after-sales service support and is investing in that aspect. According to Satish around 75 per cent of sales service support is provided by the company itself. Besides, the company is also working in tandem with upgrades in technology and other aspects such as the hiring of fresh young people, giving a fresh idea for the business.

Haier India has also got a tailwind from the bankruptcy of the leading domestic brand Videocon, operating in the space. The Dhoot family-led firm was among the top five brands in the consumer durables space five-six years before.

It is a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Shandong, China-based Haier group. Besides Greater Noida, it also operates a factory in Ranjangaon, Pune.
Higher yields on bonds, lack of new launches, limited availability and awareness among investors have made emerging investment instruments REITs and InvITs less attractive with fundraising hitting an all-time low at Rs 1,166 crore in 2022-23.

Going forward, a change in the tax rule on distributions classified as repayment could lead to a substantial increase in tax liability as it will be taxed as 'other income' in the hands of the investor, making the instruments less attractive, Manavi Prabhu, Head Fixed Income, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, said.

These assets will have to either generate better underlying yields or will have to reduce the price to ensure that they are more attractive than existing fixed-income investment options, he added.

According to data compiled by Prime Database.com, a total of Rs 1,166 crore was mobilised by real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) together in 2022-23.

In comparison, Rs 13,841 crore was raised in 2021-22 through these avenues. Before that, Rs 33,515 crore was mobilized in 2020-21. Besides, Rs 2,306 crore was collected in 2019-20, Rs 8,847 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 7,283 crore in 2017-18, Prime Database.com noted.

Apart from listed investment instruments, funds were also raised by unlisted ones and according to Sebi data, a total of Rs 3,764 was raised by unlisted InvITs during April-February 2022-23 and no fund was garnered by listed and unlisted REITs during the period under review.

Also Read No plans to launch REIT public offer in next 12 months, says DLF CEO Real estate sector gets $32 bn equity capital in 2018-2022, says CBRE Post pandemic pent-up demand surge, realty space may face global headwinds Treasury yield curve inverts: What it means and what does it signal? Real estate PE investment up 40% in Apr-Sep driven by foreign fund inflows ATM cassette-swaps to start in June as cash refills go contactless UPI processes 8.7 bln transactions in March, highest ever since inception Finance ministry to launch three-month campaign to boost micro-insurance Benchmark G-sec yields close lower at FY23 end vis-a-vis Dec 2022 Govt hikes interest rates on most small savings schemes by up to 70 bps

The capital garnered by InvITs includes funds raised through public issues, private placement, preferential issues, institutional placement and rights issues, as per Sebi data.

REITs and InvITs are relatively new investment instruments in the Indian context but are extremely popular in global markets for passive income investors due to attractive yields and capital appreciation.

While a REIT comprises a portfolio of commercial real assets, a major portion of which is already leased out, InvITs consist of a portfolio of infrastructure assets such as highways, and power transmission assets.

These instruments provide returns to investors in the form of dividends, and given that they are listed, the units also trade on stock exchanges, providing liquidity. So the return on these assets is the dividend yield generated from the underlying assets.

Gopal Kavalireddi, Head of Research at FYERS, attributed the decline in fund mobilisation through REITs and InvITs to lack of new launches, volatility in stock markets, and limited availability and awareness among investors.

In addition, higher bond yields pushed by a series of rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were also a dampener for these instruments.

"Given the series of rate hikes, currently sovereign yields are at around 7-7.5 per cent depending on tenor and 'AAA' rated bonds are also offering 7.5-8 per cent. REITs and InvITs have become less attractive given the higher yields on debt. Existing listed REITs and InvITs are yielding lower than the sovereign risk-free rate," Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers' Prabhu said.

InvITs and REITs help infrastructure developers monetize their assets and redeploy the capital into upcoming projects. However, these instruments are comparatively new to Indian investors with only seven InvITs and three REITs are listed on the stock exchanges.

The Government and the capital markets regulator Sebi have actively played an active role in popularizing and promoting REITs and InvITs in India.

FYERS' Kavalireddi believes that in light of the heavy infrastructure requirements across various sectors in India, additional initiatives will be required for increased investor participation, address challenges and realize their full potential.

Moreover, fundraising outlook for REITs and InvITs could be subdued at the present juncture and could improve as the market stabilizes and new opportunities emerge, he added.
Amid all the gloomy predictions of the 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the Maharashtra coastal areas are also on the caution list for possible disasters with global warming leading to rising sea-levels, experts warned.

The western Indian state has a straight coastline of 720 km from Palghar (bordering Gujarat) to Sindhudurg (bordering Goa), and with a likely increase of 1.1 metres (3.7-feet) in the Arabian Sea levels, coastal communities will be gravely threatened, warns Dr. Anjal Prakash, Research Director of Indian School of Business.

He, along with other experts was the Coordinating Lead Author and Lead Author of two of the six reports of IPCC-2023 in the 6th Assessment Cycle synthesised.

Dr. Prakash cautioned that important cities and hundreds of villages dotting the coastal districts of Palghar, Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and other infrastructure dotting the seashores, could be at higher risk of floods, coastal erosion and other onslaughts by the turn of the century as the Earth warms.

"Maharashtra will witness higher temperatures with more heat waves leading to major health problems, severe water scarcity for agriculture, industries and homes as the state depends largely on the monsoon. Flooding will be a common occurrence, agriculture could be hit in many ways with serious implications for crop yields and food security owing to changing temperature-rainfall patterns," said Dr. Prakash.

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He said that the IPCC-2023's Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate has looked at two interconnected systems - the oceans and the cryosphere (frozen zones of the world and glacier systems).

"Due to global warming, we are seeing that oceans have warmed up to a level of 0.8 degrees Celsius in the past around 175 years, or since the pre-industrial era (1850). Due to this ocean warming, it has given rise to an active water cycle leading to an increased frequency and severity of cyclones," he explained.

Here he cited a recent study of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, which has documented and indicated that there has been "a substantial rise in the number of cyclones and associated extreme weather events along coastal areas as compared to previous years".

Though this is very recent phenomenon - like the Cyclone Tauktae (2021), Cyclone Nisarga (2020) - they have caused havoc and will continue to have a devastating impact on Maharashtra, especially the Konkan coast including Mumbai, the creeks estuaries, nearby islands, big and small ports, forts and other monuments, with more like a nuclear power plant and a petrochemicals complex in the offing.

These extreme weather conditions along with more pre-and-post monsoon cyclones in the Arabian Sea will hit the state's coastal populations more severely in the coming decades, and impact over 40 crore (400 million) Indians, said other experts of Association for Scientific & Academic Research (ASAR).

"For instance, the IPCC's global statistics show that there has been a decline in fish production due to the effects of climate change, and the consequences for coastal communities are significant and must be considered," Prakash pointed out.

On the possible steps to counter the impending calamities, the expert offers certain short-term and other long-term measures.

"The short-term measures include a Climate Adaptation Plan to address problems at the sub-district level, meaning we need to comprehend the impacts of climate change within Maharashtra's districts, downscale the climate scenarios for each district and sub-districts, and then determine what interventions are needed. It must be a bottom-up strategy in which we assess adaptation and mitigation plans after analysing the effect of climate change on people's livelihoods," Dr. Prakash said.

On the long-term measures, he feels it must include a top-down strategy in which climate scenarios and predictions at the global scale are brought down to the local level, at the very least to the sub-district level.

"An overall comprehensive plan is needed as a long-term measure, with the next 15 years in mind at least, to consolidate short, medium, and long-term planning in order to guarantee climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts," Dr. Prakash added.

ASAR experts said the recent bouts of unprecedented unseasonal rain in different parts of India, was predicted by IPCC reports and climate models, and point out how massive rains just before crop harvesting was "never expected".

This has resulted in huge crop losses for farmers who need to be compensated and such extreme weather events play havoc with the lives and livelihood of people dependent on climate-related agriculture or similar jobs.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS

qn/pgh
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and former union minister Jairam Ramesh sparred on Saturday over the government's move to send the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 to a select committee of the two Houses with the Congress leader stating that it should have been sent to the Standing Committee on Environment for scrutiny.

In response to Jairam Ramesh's earlier remarks, Bhupender Yadav tweeted a list of the bills sent by Congress governments in the past to the select committees.

"Jairam Ramesh says referring the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill to a Joint Committee is "devaluation and denigration" of processes. Will serve him well to take a hard look at how many Bills introduced in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha were sent by Cong govts to the Joint Committee," Yadav said.

Jairam Ramesh, a Congress general secretary, responded by stating that Standing Committees came into existence only in 1993 and the minister should have done "better homework"

"Standing Committees came into existence only on March 31 1993. Better homework was expected of you Mantriji," he said in a tweet.

Bhupender Yadav hit back saying that "truth won't change just because Congress turns a blind eye to it".

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"The detailed list is a result of thorough homework, Jairam ji. If you make the effort to look closely, you'd know Congress kept referring Bills to Joint Committees even post-1993. The good thing about truth is, it won't change just because you or Cong turn a blind eye to it," Yadav said.

"Due Parliamentary process was followed in the case of the said Bill. Positive participation in this process is incumbent upon the Opposition. Criticism for the sake of criticism from the Opposition is not healthy for democracy," he added.

Jairam Ramesh, who addressed a press conference on 50th anniversary of Project Tiger, said that the government introduced a bill to amend the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 in Lok Sabha on Wednesday and it was referred to the Select Committee instead of the Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forest as he is its Chairman.

He also gave the example of amendments to the National Biodiversity Act last year and said it too didn't come to Standing Committee on Environment and Forests and went to the Select Committee.

Jairam Ramesh said that the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had written a four-page letter to the Environment & Forest Minister in September last year.

The Congress leader said the chairam of the commission had stated that "amendments in rules are not in the interest of tribals who live in forests, they go against the Forest Rights Act passed in 2006 and snatch away the Constitutional and legal rights of the tribals".

Jairam Ramesh, a former union Environment Minister. alleged that whatever has been achieved in the last 50 years in the field of forest conservation and wildlife protection "is under threat today".

He said that the purpose of Project Tiger, started by former PM Indira Gandhi, was not only the protection of Tigers but also the conservation of forests.

Terming Project Tiger very successful, he said that the number of tiger reserves has increased from nine at the time of launch to 53 today and they constitute one-third of the area of total dense forests in India.

He said that Wildlife Protection Act, of 1972 was amended some months ago, which was opposed by the Congress party.

The Congress leader alleged that the amendments have opened the doors for trade in elephants.

"While we applaud when our documentary on elephants wins Oscar but in reality, the government is working against the welfare of elephants. Elephant was declared as National Heritage Animal in 2010 but it is in danger today due to amendment in the law," he said.

Jairam Ramesh credited Indira Gandhi for making laws for the environment and forest conservation.

Terming these laws as milestones, he said the Environment Ministry and related institutions were formed at the Centre and state levels and the environment became a central point in Congress government's policies and its economic viewpoint.

He said Indira Gandhi believed that there must be a balance between development and environment and alleged "this balance is being destroyed today".

Jairam Ramesh said that climate change is a big challenge before the whole world today. "We would be able to deal with it only if the environment and forest laws are implemented strictly without showing any leniency and the institutions are strengthened."

He alleged that the Modi government and some industrialists think that environment laws were against "'ease of doing business".

"As per the Forest Rights Act, the rights of the tribals living in forest areas have to be fulfilled first before starting a project in such places".

He alleged that the government thinks of the environmental laws "as regulatory burdens and doesn't look upon these as societal obligations".

Responding to a query, Jairam Ramesh said that the government "pushed" Competition (Amendment) Bill and Finance Bill and is likely to pass a couple of more bills on Monday but the Opposition is going to continue with its demand of JPC enquiry into Adani issue.

He added that 19 Opposition parties are united in this demand and there is no middle path as far as this is concerned.

He stated that no attempt has been made by the ruling party to break the logjam in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha since the start of the second part of the budget session.


The BJP released the first episode of Congress Files, in which it alleged, as a title in a video message, Congress means corruption. In a blistering riposte to the Congresss stream of questions on relations between business houses, including those between the Adani group and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party has hit back, accusing the Congress of massive corruption in the years it has been in power.



In the first episode of Congress Files, watch how corruption and scams happened one after the other in the Congress rule  the introduction by a professional narrator says. The video runs for about 185 minutes and promises more revelations. The Congress has looted Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 (nearly Rs 5 trillion) from the public in 70 years of its rule. That money could have been utilised for so many useful areas of security and development, the party has alleged.



Referring to the last 10 years of the Congress governments, the BJP accused the AgustaWestland chief executive officer of giving a bribe of Rs 350 crore in the VVIP helicopter purchase. The party listed the scams under Congress rule, most of which have been laid at the door of the United Progressive Alliance, led by Manmohan Singh, whom the party refers to as Mauni baba, who was like Nero who merrily watched while peopled siphoned off money. The video repeats charges of corruption and the money involved: Coal scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, 2G Spectrum scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, MNREGA scam of Rs 10 lakh crore, Commonwealth scam of Rs 70,000 crore, a bribe of Rs 362 crore in the helicopter deal with Italy, Rs 12 crore bribe for the chairman of railway board it lists. The video monetises the corruption in terms of possible savings and equipment acquisition for Indias defence and national security, charging that the money that found its way into peoples pockets could have procured 24 INS Vikrant, 300 Rafale jets, and 1,000 Mangal Missions, adding that because the country had to bear the cost of the Congress corruption, it lagged behind in the race for progress.

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An advance of the upcoming episode suggests the next one will be about Priyanka Gandhis sale of an MF Husain painting to YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his allegation that he was forced to buy it. In a charge sheet filed recently at a court in Mumbai in connection with a money-laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said Kapoor told the agency that the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of then Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New York. The family has not denied the sale. Rather than calling it loot, one should term it dacoity, the video message says. The narrator goes on to call the Congresss 10-year tenure in power from 2004 to 2014 a lost decade. In the introduction it says many development schemes fell by the wayside as the result of money siphoned off from the government. But it does not list any development schemes, and mentions only national security equipment that could have been bought.

At the end of the video message, the BJP says: This is only the jhanki (trailer) of Congress corruption, the movie is still not over.
Telangana BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday demanded that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao come out with a white paper on what his government has done for tribal people in the past nine years.

Addressing BJP booth committee members at Mulugu, Sanjay Kumar said that before the Assembly elections, KCR had promised to implement 12 per cent reservations for Scheduled Tribes, but deliberately not done it by linking it to the reservations for Muslims, a release from Telangana BJP said.

"It was a conspiracy to hoodwink the tribal people. If the Chief Minister is sincere, he should promulgate a special ordinance and implement 12 per cent quota for the STs. Does he have the commitment to do so?" Sanjay Kumar asked.

He accused KCR of "cheating" the tribals once again by dodging on providing title deeds for 'Podu' lands (shifting cultivation). Even for establishment of a Tribal University at Mulugu, the Chief Minister had not allotted lands for years, he claimed.

Alleging that the Chief Minister and his family had amassed huge wealth, the Telangana BJP president claimed that KCR had made Telangana a bankrupt state by resorting to borrowings of over Rs 5 lakh crore.

He also claimed that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had been ruling Telangana on the lines of West Bengal, and accused it of terrorising opposition leaders who questioned the KCR government.

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Stating that the BJP would fly the saffron flag in all the areas where there were green flags, Sanjay asked the people whether they wanted the BJP which celebrated the victories of India or the "BRS which celebrated the victory of Pakistan".

Kumar also reiterated that the BJP would not forge an alliance with any party, the release added.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh of doing injustice with the people and claimed that the party will lose in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

During his visit to Kanpur, Yadav, while slamming the BJP, also said "people are sad, a big change will be seen in Lok Sabha and the BJP will lose in Uttar Pradesh."



Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, however, refuted Yadav's claims and said the BJP will return to power at the Centre with a thumping majority.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) president told reporters that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is doing injustice to the people and a woman and her daughter lost their lives in Kanpur Dehat due to a bulldozer.

According to a statement issued by the SP here, Yadav warned that "when there will be a change in the state, action will be taken against corrupt officials of the BJP". "Everything is being taken note of," he said



Rebutting Yadav's remarks, Deputy Chief Minister Pathak in Hardoi's Sandila said the SP leader wants to come back to power but "the people of Uttar Pradesh have removed the Samajwadi Party from Uttar Pradesh".

The BJP will return to power at the Centre with a thumping majority in the 2024 elections, he said.

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Welcoming the recent "wave of Opposition unity", Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Congress will "de facto" be the fulcrum around which other parties converge, but asserted that if he were in the party leadership, he would not "crow about it" and encourage one of the smaller outfits to play the role of convenor of an alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election.

In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- united we stand, divided we fall.

The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections.

Asked about Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's 'thank you Germany' tweet after that country took note of Gandhi's disqualification, Tharoor said he would have advised his senior party colleague not to say what he did.

"The international attention - and the negative press for India - should not surprise Mr (Narendra) Modi and his government. Doubts about the democratic credentials of this government have been growing for some years, as is evident from the global media," he said.

"Still, I would have advised my highly respected senior colleague and friend not to say what he did. It has always been an article of faith for the Congress party that we do not require or accept any foreign tutelage after 200 years of subjection to colonial rule," Tharoor stressed.

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That pride is deeply ingrained in every Indian, he said, asserting that we are perfectly capable of solving our own problems.

"I am confident the people of India will vote for democracy and the right to determine who rules them," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

On Gandhi's disqualification and the ensuing display of Opposition unity, Tharoor said the judgment has generated a "surprising and welcome wave of Opposition unity", as regional parties traditionally opposed to the Congress in their states - AAP in Delhi, TMC in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, CPIM in Kerala - have come out in his support.

"Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage 'united we stand, divided we fall'; if they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a 'vengeful' government," he said.

If the Surat court verdict gives India a more united Opposition, it could be bad news for a ruling party that won the 2019 elections with just 37 per cent of the vote but more than 60 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats, he contended.

"The rest of the votes went to 35 victorious parties, all represented in the current Parliament; if most of them have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in 2024," Tharoor asserted.

Asked if the Congress would be the fulcrum around which an Opposition alliance can be built to take on the BJP in 2024, he said, "Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP."



All other Opposition parties are essentially strong in one state and have a presence in just one or two more, he said, adding that in the circumstances "we will de facto be the fulcrum around which the Opposition converges to offer a credible alternative."



"But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor asserted.

Everyone knows what the Congress represents and it doesn't need to insist on that being recognised, he said.

In fact a modicum of humility will go a long way towards winning over the other parties, said Tharoor, who had contested for the post of Congress president last year but had lost the internal party election to Mallikarjun Kharge.

Asked if he sees a parallel in Rahul Gandhi's disqualification with that of his grandmother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, Tharoor said there is little doubt that public sympathy is with Rahul Gandhi after this "reprehensible disqualification and jail sentence".

People realise it is not good for democracy that the principal leader of the major Opposition party is sentenced to jail and denied a voice in Parliament, he said.

"When put that way, even several BJP voters tend to say that it's deeply damaging to democracy," he claimed.

The issue is no longer just about one man or one party - it's about safeguarding our democracy by granting every participant in it a level playing field, Tharoor said.

"As for what happened in the late 1970s, I am always wary of facile analogies simply because times are different and historical political circumstances are different. But we certainly hope and expect that this public sympathy translates into tangible support at the elections," the Congress leader said.

On the BJP's persistent attack on Gandhi, Tharoor said that it seems to him that the BJP is rattled and has been alarmed by the positive energy the Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra has generated among Congress workers.

"Once Rahul Gandhi commanded the nation's attention with his expunged speech in the Lok Sabha, a decision appears to have been taken to silence him politically," he alleged.

After years of trying to caricature Rahul Gandhi, they realise he is a "serious threat", Tharoor claimed and said that explains much of the BJP's approach in recent weeks.

Gandhi 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.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit out at the Bihar and West Bengal governments, over the communal clashes in the states during the Ram Navami festivities.

The Union Minister has spoken at the JITO Ahimsa Run at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here in the national capital.

Attacking the Bihar government over violence, Thakur alleged that "Jungleraj" has returned in the state.

Talking to ANI, he said, "I would only say that the way the law and order situation in Bihar has worsened, and 'Jungleraj' has come. It is very unfortunate that the Jungleraj that was there during the Lalu regime, has returned again under Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar".

He also said that the violence during Ram Navami festivities in West Bengal and other parts of the country is also very unfortunate.

Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government, Anurag Thakur said, "Mamata Didi is sleeping. She is providing security to one section. On the incidents of stone pelting, arson and violence during the 'Shobha Yatra' of the Hindu community, she kept on taking a selective stand. It is very unfortunate that Hindus are attacked under the protection of a Chief Minister, and she only plays the role of an audience".

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"What is the point of being a Chief Minister, that when you are elected, violence happens, and now again violence has taken place during the Ram Navami," he added.

In West Bengal, two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations on March 30. Several vehicles were set on fire, and public and private properties were vandalised during the clashes.

The West Bengal police on Saturday said that a total of 38 people have been arrested, two cases have been registered and section 144 has been imposed in some areas.

In Bihar, clashes were reported on March 31, in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit.

Bihar Police on Sunday said the situation in Sasaram and in Biharsharif in Nalanda district is "completely normal and under control". It said that 27 persons have been arrested in Nalanda and 18 in Sasaram in connection with the incident after identifying anti-social elements, and prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in force in Nalanda.
Nepal is keen to sign a 25-year agreement with India on selling its surplus power to the neighbouring country during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's expected visit to New Delhi.

Though the official date of Prachanda's visit to India is yet to be announced, the Kathmandu Post newspaper, quoting Nepali officials, reported on Sunday that the prime minister is likely to travel to New Delhi after the second week of April.

However, the two sides have yet to announce the dates, it said.

We are preparing a proposal for the Indian side on the 25-year agreement. But a lot also depends on whether the Indian side agrees to include our proposal in the agenda, the report quoted a senior official at the energy ministry as saying.

Dinesh Ghimire, secretary at the ministry, said the issue of the long-term inter-governmental agreement was under discussion at the ministry but was yet to be forwarded to Nepal's foreign ministry to make it an agenda item ahead of the prime minister's trip.

He said such an agreement can be signed only if the Indian side gives its nod at the bureaucratic level before Prachanda reaches New Delhi, the report said.

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Nepal proposed such a deal during the 10th secretary-level meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) on Energy Cooperation in India in late February.

During the meeting, it was decided that Nepal would make a proposal which India would examine, said Prabal Adhikari, power trade director at the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), who was also in the Nepali delegation.

At the JSC meeting in Mount Abu, Rajasthan in February, Nepal and India inked an agreement to increase the power import and export capacity through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line from 600 megawatts to 800 megawatts.

An agreement to import and export 70 to 80 MW of electricity from Tanakpur-Mahendranagar 132 KV (kilovolt) power transmission was also signed between the two sides.

They agreed to set up the necessary mechanisms to export power from Nepal to Bihar during the rainy season through the existing 132 KV transmission line.

Currently, Nepal is allowed to sell 452.6 MW of electricity generated by 10 hydropower projects in the Indian power markets. The Himalayan nation awaits approval for more projects from Indian authorities to export electricity.

Adhikari said an inter-government agreement could also pave the way for selling power to India irrespective of whether a third country has invested or is involved in a particular project.

Currently, India has been refusing to buy electricity from projects that involve Chinese investors or contractors, the report said.

Nepal produces surplus energy during the wet (summer) season while it has to buy electricity from India during the dry (winter) season.

NEA Managing Director Kul Man Ghising believes the country will be self-sufficient in hydropower even during the dry season by 2026.
After clashes between two groups during the Ram Navami celebrations in parts of Bihar, the state police on Sunday said the situation in Nalanda's Biharsharif was completely normal.

The state police also advised people not to believe in rumours.

Clashes were reported on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif ane Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit.

The Superintendent of Police of Nalanda, Ashok Mishra, urged locals to maintain peace and not to be swayed by rumours or misleading reports.

"The situation in Nalanda's Biharsharif is completely normal. We would like to urge the general public not to believe in rumours. Stringent action will be taken against those spreading rumours," stated Bihar Police in a tweet.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Biharsharif Sadar, Abhishek Palasi, said prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in force in Nalanda.

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"The law and order situation in Biharsharif is back to normal. I appeal to people not to buy into rumours or misleading reports that may be floating around. Those found indulging in rumuour mongering will be taken to task," the SDM added.

Nalanda DM Shashank Shubhankar echoed the refrain while reiterating that those found spreading rumours will be face stringent police action.

"Ignore the rumours. Strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours," said Shashank Shubhankar in a tweet.

Earlier on Saturday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the incidents are not "natural" and somebody might have done something "unnatural deliberately" to disturb law and order.

Denying any law and order problem in the state, the chief minister also weighed in on Amit Shah's cancellation of his scheduled visit to Sasaram following the clashes, saying that it was the BJP's decision.

Speaking to the media, Nitish Kumar said he instructed officials to investigate the incidents and pinpoint those behind the clashes.

The CM said he suspected an external hand in the clashes stating that such incidents are not "natural" in Bihar.

"It is unfortunate. The situation was controlled in Sasaram immediately. Last evening, around 6 pm, I got to know about the Biharsharif incident. The situation has been controlled there also. But I have instructed the officials to ascertain who is at fault and investigate the matter because incidents like these never used to take place. Why have such incidents taken place this time?" Kumar said.

"The police will take action against those who are indulged. It isn't 'natural', definitely, somebody might have done something 'unnatural' deliberately," he added.

Bihar Police said the situation in Sasaram and in Biharsharif in Nalanda district is "completely normal and under control."

Police said that 27 persons have been arrested in Nalanda and 18 in Sasaram in connection with the incident after identifying anti-social elements.

"The situation in Biharsharif of Nalanda and Sasaram of Rohtas is completely normal and under control. Two FIRs have been registered in Nalanda and Rohtas and 27 and 18 people have been arrested respectively identifying anti-social elements," Bihar Police tweeted.

The police said adequate security was deployed in the districts in the wake of the clashes and the senior officials have also been camping in the violence-hit area.

"Ram Navami processions have been completed in Bihar Sharif and Sasaram. An adequate number of force has been deployed at both places. Senior officials are camping at the spot," the Bihar police posted on its Twitter handle.

Social media is also being monitored to prevent any spread of provocative or false news.
Online registrations for the second phase of Yuva Sangam started on Saturday through an online portal for the participation of 1,000 youth from 23 states and UTs, the Ministry of Education said.

Interested youth in the age group of 18-30 years may register on the portal exclusively developed for the purpose at https://ebsb.aicte-india.org/.

"It envisages participation of 1,000 youngsters from 23 states and UTs of India," the ministry said.

As per the Ministry of Education under this initiative, the exposure tours will be conducted in the months of April and May 2023.

"They will travel in a group of 45 to 50 to the paired State. It will provide an immersive, multidimensional experience of various facets under five broad areas of Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development), Prodyogik (Technology)and Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect)," the ministry said.

Through the course of the program, students will interact with each other in the areas of language, literature, cuisine, festivals, cultural events and tourism.

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"In short, they will get a first-hand experience of living in a completely different geographical and cultural scenario," the Ministry said.

The first round of Yuva Sangam was recently concluded with an overwhelming participation of approximately 1200 youngsters visiting 22 States of India through 29 tours with a main focus on the North Eastern Region during February-March 2023.

The participants have had an enriching experience which brought out the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat in its true sense.

An initiative of 'Yuva Sangam' under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat has been conceptualized as a collaborative effort of various ministries with an aim to strengthen people-to-people connections and build empathy among youth across the nation.

The initiative is inculcating the common spirit of understanding among thousands of youth participating in the program, which shall resonate throughout the country and contribute immensely towards building a truly Shreshtha Bharat.
Higher education of the country is set to take a giant leap as for the first time, foreign universities will be able to set up their campuses in India.

Higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) has made rules to allow foreign universities to enter the country.

According to the Union Education Ministry, these regulations will be implemented within the next one month.

The Education Ministry will take advice from the Reserve Bank of India on these regulations and legal opinion will also be taken on several important aspects before implementing the guidelines for foreign universities.

Universities in some countries like the US, England, France, Australia, Italy, Malaysia Canada have shown a 'keen interest' in setting up campuses in India.

These universities will have the freedom to devise their own admission process and fee structure.

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There will be no interference in academic and other day-to-day activities in the campuses of foreign universities.

However, the Indian regulatory bodies will ensure that the foreign universities function within the stipulated norms.

UGC Chairperson M. Jagadesh Kumar said: "The draft related to setting up and operation of campuses of foreign universities in India will be implemented in the beginning of May.

Kumar said the draft has received positive feedbacks from several foreign universities and embassies and the UGC is in the final stage of consolidating these suggestions.

He said that the UGC will consult the Reserve Bank of India in this regard and will also take legal opinion before announcing the guidelines.

Till date, 49 foreign higher education institutions are collaborating with Indian higher education institutions.

UGC has also contacted ambassadors and heads of missions of about 66 countries whose universities are eligible for collaboration. These include the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, etc.

Meetings were organised with select American universities in collaboration with the Indian Mission and German universities in collaboration with The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

According to the UGC, many of the suggestions received so far are from universities in Europe and North America.

Several embassies have also approached us with their queries and suggestions, UGC Chairperson said.

According to the UGC, these rules are based on the National Education Policy for Internationalisation of Higher Education in India.

The draft states that the move is intended to promote academic collaboration between Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and foreign HEIs.

According to the UGC, this important step will help Indian students to develop collaborative research and educational activities with foreign students.

There are several Indian academicians in foreign universities. They can come to India to teach in the universities and this will improve the overall standard of higher education in the country.

The UGC will reach out to the embassies and foreign universities with the revised draft before any final announcement.

The draft prepared by UGC states that no foreign university will be able to set up its campus in India without UGC's approval and the universities that are placed in the top 500 global rankings can apply to enter India.

The universities of the US, England, France, Australia and Italy have expressed their interest to open campuses in the country. It is expected that once the provision is in place, foreign universities with global rankings will come forward with applications to set up campuses.

The new move will allow Indian students to acquire foreign qualifications at affordable cost and make the country an attractive global study destination.

--IANS

gcb/prw/uk/
The security of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been tightened after a voice message issuing threat to him was received by a number of Assamese journalists based in Delhi and Assam on Sunday from a person identifying himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannu from the banned Sikhs for Justice.

Officials in the know claimed that the voice in the message was that of Pannu, who has been designated as a terrorist under the stringent anti-terror law -- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act -- by the Union Home Ministry. He is at present in the United States.

The caller claimed that Sikhs were being "tortured" in Assam jail and asked Sarma to desist from it.

After the March 18 crackdown on pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government had shifted seven of his close aides to Assam's Dibrugarh jail after slapping them with the National Security Act.

The voice message, which was received twice by some of the journalists in the afternoon, came from masked Indian phone numbers.

Acting promptly, the Assam Police said it has taken the threat to Sarma seriously and his security has been "adequately sensitized to the emerging threat" and a case has been registered.

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Director General of Assam Police G P Singh tweeted: "Reference audio clip threatening Hon CM Assam by a person called Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a designated individual terrorist under Indian law and heading an unlawful association called Sikhs for Justice: A case under appropriate sections of IPC and UAP Act has been registered at STF Police Station of Assam; the security component of Hon CM has been adequately sensitized to the emerging threat."



"In view of global events, the threat is being taken very seriously by Assam Police. The central agencies have been kept in the loop on the issue," the DGP tweeted.
Uttar Pradesh Cane Development and Sugar Mills' Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary on Sunday said the state government is gradually inching towards ensuring the payment of sugarcane farmers by sugar mills within a week.

"At present, sugarcane farmers are getting their payment within 10 days in 105 sugar mills of the state. We are making efforts to bring this to a week (from giving sugarcane crop to sugar mills)," Chaudhary told reporters here.

He said during previous governments, ensuring early payment to sugarcane farmers was considered a herculean task. However, a payment of over Rs 2.04 lakh crore to farmers for their sugarcane produce has been made within a span of six years.

Against the crushing of 930 crore tonne sugarcane this season, Rs 21,620 crore have been paid to farmers till March 31, the minister said.

At present, 96 sugar mills (located in areas where sugarcane production is high) are running and instructions have been issued to run the mills till all the sugarcane of the farmers is crushed, he stated.

According to the minister, the state is at the top of ethanol production in the country and efforts are on to pave the way for running the tractor of the farmer with ethanol.

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Chaudhary also said sugarcane farming is the only way for doubling the income of farmers since at present sugarcane farmers are paid more than combined payment made to farmers through MSP for wheat and paddy.

He added that in the post-independence period, owing to early closure of mills, the sugarcane crop of farmers remained uncrushed on several occasions. However, sugar mills continued to run even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UP cabinet minister also said that now the focus is on natural farming of sugarcane, since it is not only zero budget farming but the market of natural farming is also gaining momentum.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 3.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, the Chief Minister will leave for Delhi on Sunday for the meeting with the Prime Minister.

Earlier on March 31, CM Dhami said that Rs 23.28 crore has been sanctioned to Uttarakhand under the Agriculture Development Scheme and Rs 34.66 crore as a financial incentive under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by the Central Government.

The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government for this. In December 2022, CM Dhami met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the National Capital and discussed development-related issues.

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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced on Sunday said the auction of condemned and other vehicles by the police department would be done online.

Addressing a "Jan Samvad" programme in Kharak Kalan village in Bhiwani, the chief minister said an order for it will be issued soon, according to an official statement issued here.

During the programme, a villager requested the chief minister to initiate online auction of vehicles by the police department. The chief minister accepted the request and made the announcement.

Speaking on the occasion, Khattar said that to prevent migration of people from villages to cities, all facilities that are available in cities in terms of education, health, transport, etc, would be provided in villages and colonies as well.

He said the state government has approved the demand of the villagers for a community centre in the village.

The chief minister announced a financial assistance of Rs 50,000 from his personal fund for medical treatment of a farmer named Ajit.

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Khattar said that in the last eight years, about one lakh government jobs have been given to the youth. He said that more than 10,000 jobs have been provided in Bhiwani district and more than 40 jobs have been given to the youth in Kharak Kalan village itself.

During the programme, a citizen demanded the construction of a railway station in Kharak Kalan village. The chief minister informed that the area MP has already written a letter to the Ministry of Railways in this regard and that he too will write to the ministry for it.

The chief minister called upon farmers to cultivate crops other than paddy and adopt micro-irrigation.

He said that the ground water level is continuously depleting in Haryana and the first priority of the government is to meet the need of drinking water and after that water is made available for irrigation.

Later, addressing villagers in Kalinga village in Bhiwani, Khattar announced that a digital library will be set up there.

On the request of a woman to tackle the drug menace in the village, Khattar called upon ex-servicemen to form a task force at their level to root out this problem.

He asked them to make the villagers aware and save the youth from the grip of drugs.

The chief minister said drug menace is a social evil. The government is taking stringent steps to end drug menace. Rehabilitation centres will have to be set up for the youth who have fallen prey to drug addiction, he said.

He said that khap panchayats, NGOs and people will also have to work together with the government to tackle the problem.

He said the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" campaign became successful with the cooperation of the society.

Haryana had a sex ratio of 871 girls per 1,000 boys earlier and today there are 923 girls per 1000 boys, he added.
Union of the old-school giants

SES SA and Intelsat SA , if merged, would create Europes largest satellite company



The two were in advanced talks for a deal that would value the combined company at more than $10 billion, including debt



More recently, SES and Intelsats business models have been challenged by new technologies, including a wave of low-earth orbit satellites which whiz only 310 miles above our heads and provide low-latency broadband internet



With Musk and other newcomers like OneWeb threatening their market share, the two old-school giants had to do more to compete: Experts

After decades of competing against each other, two Luxembourg-based satellite rivals are weighing a merger to take on a space industry upstart  billionaire Elon Musk.Should the union succeed, SES SA and Intelsat SA would create Europes largest satellite company. Theyre both domiciled in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, one of the worlds smallest countries.SES, headquartered in the Duchys Betzdorf Castle, confirmed on Wednesday that a merger was under discussion after Bloomberg reported that the two were in advanced talks for a deal that would value the combined company at more than $10 billion including debt.Both companies use geostationary satellites  large spacecraft that orbit 22,370 miles from Earth. These satellites have brought in billions broadcasting TV from space. But more recently, SES and Intelsats business models have been challenged by new technologies, including a wave of low-earth orbit  or LEO satellites  which whiz only 310 miles above our heads and provide low-latency broadband internet.The biggest LEO system by far is Musks Starlink, run through Space Exploration Technologies  SpaceX for short. SES has shifted operations closer to Earth, too, with a batch of satellites that fly 4,970 miles up in whats known as medium Earth orbit.But with Musk and other newcomers like London-based OneWeb threatening their market share, the two old-school giants had to do more to compete, said Societe Generale analyst Alexander Peterc. Joining forces wont be easy: any deal will face significant regulatory, financial and technological challenges.As online streaming began to erode the TV satellite broadcasting business, SES and Intelsat pivoted into a new area: connecting remote government and business clients to satellite internet. That revenue stream is now also being challenged. The price of transmitting data is falling, and the Luxembourg companies are under pressure to fend off Starlink and OneWeb, which have already launched thousands of LEO satellites, and Amazon.com, which is about to join in.Its a pivotal moment for the companies finances. After years of watching revenues stagnate  Intelsat emerged from bankruptcy last year with $7 billion in debt  both are now expecting an imminent windfall, having given up valuable airwave rights to US phone companies rolling out 5G.That deal, which resulted in an acrimonious legal battle between the companies, put them in a position to pay down their debts and forge a path to a merger. Once the final details from the airwave sales are resolved, SES is in line to pocket $4 billion and Intelsat almost $5 billion.SES and Intelsat are merely the latest satellite giants to join a merry-go-round of consolidation.As the industrys economics have been upended by cheaper launches and deep-pocketed investors like Musk, other major players have already moved to pool investments and risk. California-based Viasat Inc. is buying Britains Inmarsat Holdings Ltd for $4 billion, and Frances Eutelsat SA is buying OneWeb in a deal valued at $3.4 billion.If SES and Intelsat move ahead with a deal, it would kick off a long and complicated oversight process.Regulators would pounce, as the new company would collectively make up about 40% of the global fixed satellite services market and 90% of US broadcasting, according to estimates from Bryan Garnier analyst Thomas Coudry.That would create its own set of problems, as antitrust investigations might last anywhere between one and two years, Peterc observed  a timeframe in which SpaceX and Amazon are due to launch hundreds, or possibly thousands, more satellites.They will lose time if they want to do anything on the LEO front, so that is definitely an issue, Peterc said of SES and Intelsats predicament.Moreover, mandated antitrust remedies could undermine the benefits of a deal, Bryan Gardniers Coudry said in a note to clients on Thursday.There is also no clear precedent for how regulatory probes might play out: Viasat is still awaiting approval for the Inmarsat acquisition it announced 16 months ago, and Eutelsats OneWeb deal  signed last July  has also yet to close.Finally, as the Luxembourg government is SESs dominant shareholder, it would also need the states blessing to complete the merger.SES has more than 70 satellites in orbit, and Intelsat has 52. Combining them will be tricky, as the fleets run on multiple kinds of spectrum, subject to arcane global regulations.While analysts reckon that unifying operations could generate billions in benefits, to return to growth the new company might need to invest similarly large sums in a constellation to rival OneWeb, SpaceX and Amazon.Although Musk has said that his Starlink fleet may require investments of between $20 billion and $30 billion to stay competitive  hes even discussed the prospect that it could go bankrupt  the changes he and others have set off have already transformed the industry.This puts SES and Intelsat in a complicated position moving forward. If they go now into LEO, theyll be behind: they will be last in line for LEO spectrum and orbital rights, said Peterc, explaining that theyd be at the bottom of the pecking order behind SpaceX, OneWeb and Amazon.But luckily, as SES and Intelsat negotiate the fiendish complexities of extra-terrestrial asset and regulatory sprawl there is one thing that could make talks easier: their Luxembourg offices are only a 25-minute drive apart.
An explosion in Afghanistan's Southern Zabul province left a child killed and three others injured, according to Khaama Press citing local sources.

An Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) exploded in the Shah Joi district of Zabul province on Friday evening, the provincial police spokesman said.

It is reported that a group of children were playing next to a tractor in the field when the bomb went off and killing the children and leaving 3 injured.

A similar incident took place on Tuesday when a blast claimed the lives of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province according to local sources.

In recent days, the incidents caused by the explosions of unexploded devices have increased in some parts of the country, resulting in the death injury of men, women and children, reported Khaama Press.

Earlier, a blast took place outside Taliban-led Afghan Foreign Ministry which killed 6 people and injured many others.

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Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, ToloNews reported.

The blast occurred near a security checkpoint in Malik Azghar Square in Kabul, a spokesman for the Kabul security department, Khalid Zadran said.

Monday's incident took place around lunchtime when the city is especially crowded as government office staff leave early for the day during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan. According to the Khaama Press, the blast happened when the Ministry of foreign affairs employees left their offices.

Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, also denounced the act as being against both religious and human values, according to ToloNews.

Afghanistan reportedly is one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. Dozens of people, mostly children, are killed and maimed every month due to blasts of unexploded ordnances left over from the past four decades of wars and internal conflicts, as per the report in Khaama Press.

Despite the efforts of the United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS) in direct collaboration with UNAMA and other relevant government bodies, the presence of land mines and unexploded devices poses major threats to the lives of ordinary people.

Since November 2022, Afghanistan's international partners have generously contributed to support demining in the country. These countries include Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday said Russia's tenure of the body's rotating presidency was "a slap in the face to the international community," reported Kyiv Independent.

"I urge the current UNSC members to thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency," he said on Twitter, calling Russia "an outlaw on the UNSC".

Moscow assumes the presidency as part of its monthly rotation between the Security Council's 15 member states, with ties with the West at their lowest point since the Cold War over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow last chaired the council in February 2022 -- the same month it invaded Ukraine. The presidency of the United Nations Security Council rotates monthly between 15 member states.

Meanwhile, Moscow has said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is planning to chair a UN Security Council meeting later this month on "effective multilateralism".

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also said that Lavrov will lead a debate on the Middle East on April 25.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the UN General Assembly that Russia had "no choice" but to invade Ukraine, UN News reported in September 2022.

"I am convinced that any sovereign, self-respecting state would do the same in our stead, which understands its responsibility to its own people," Lavrov claimed, denying Ukrainian sovereignty on an international platform.

Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from the Security Council.

The United States has also criticised Russia's membership of the Security Council and its status as a permanent member.

"A country that flagrantly violates the UN Charter and invades its neighbour has no place on the UN Security Council," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier.

"Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality," she added, calling the presidency "a largely ceremonial position."

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."

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.

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 on Friday, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in a tweet wrote, "April Fool's Day is TOMORROW.


UBS Group AG will cut its workforce by between 20% and 30% after completing its takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG, slashing as many as 36,000 jobs worldwide, SonntagsZeitung reported, citing a senior manager at UBS.

By Bastian Benrath



That number of predicted layoffs dwarfs the 9,000 job cuts that Credit Suisse announced before its rescue by UBS last month.



It had been expected that final total of layoffs would reach a multiple of that number given sizable overlap between the two former rivals.

As many as 11,000 employees will be laid off in Switzerland, the Swiss newspaper said. The two lenders together employed almost 125,000 people at the end of 2022, with about 30% of the total in Switzerland.



Publicly, UBS has said it will give clarity on job cuts as soon as it can. While it was clear that major layoffs were coming, the lender sees retention of talent as a significant part of the takeovers execution risk.

UBS didnt immediately respond to a call outside of normal business hours seeking comment.

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The emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by its larger Swiss competitor in a $3.3 billion deal was announced by the Swiss government on March 19 after five days of talks brokered by officials.

Firms such as Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are gearing up to recruit some of the investment bankers and wealth managers likely to be let go. Already, headhunters saw themselves swarmed by Credit Suisse bankers seeking new jobs, as people from more than a dozen firms told Bloomberg last month.



The government resorted to emergency law to push through the deal without having to seek shareholder approval. So while the annual general meetings of the two lenders  coming up this week  are expected to hear many angry voices, shareholder impact will be limited.

Years of scandals at Credit Suisse culminated in massive deposit outflows which would have seen it collapse the following Monday had action not been taken, according to Switzerlands finance minister.



Separately, the Financial Times reported on Saturday that UBS has a short list of four management consultants to advise on integrating Credit Suisse.

Important shareholder Norges Bank Investment Management, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, has announced it will vote against the reelection of several Credit Suisse directors, including chair Axel Lehmann.



Its expected to be one of the most lucrative contracts in years for dispensing financial services advice due to the complex, years-long process needed to meld the banks, according to the report.

The bank is soon to decide between Bain & Company, the Boston Consulting Group Inc., McKinsey & Co Inc and Oliver Wyman Inc, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the process who werent identified.





Crisis 2.0

The takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse took place on March 19 to prevent a global financial meltdown UBS, Bain, BCG, McKinsey and Oliver Wyman didnt immediately respond to requests for comment outside of ordinary office hours.



Up to 11,000 jobs could be cut in Switzerland alone Before the merger, UBS and Credit Suisse had employed more than 72,000 and 50,000 people, respectively

UBS chairman Colm Kelleher said last week: There's a huge amount of risk in integrating these businesses
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) annual Public Forum 2023 will focus on how trade can contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.

The Forum will examine, in particular, how the services sector, digitalisation and inclusive trade policies can support global environmental goals and help combat the climate crisis.

Titled 'It is Time for Action', the Public Forum, to be held from September 12 to 15, will cover three main topics -- the role of the services sector in sustainable trade, inclusive policies for the advancement of green trade, and digitalisation as a tool for the greening of supply chains.

Sessions at the public forum will be organised by representatives from civil society, academia, business, government and international organisations. A call for proposals and registration is due to open in early May 2023.

The forum is the WTO's largest outreach event, providing a unique platform for interested stakeholders from around the world to discuss the latest developments in global trade and propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system.

The event attracts over 2,000 representatives each year from civil society, academia, business, government, international organisations and the media.

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Attending university abroad may be an experiential journey, allowing the chance to gain knowledge in a fresh cultural setting, connect with peers from all over the globe, and obtain essential life qualities. Overseas has numerous attractions to draw the inquisitiveness of packs of international students worldwide, particularly those who want to continue their education abroad after the 12th grade.

From giving numerous UG and PG study abroad options to streamlining the overseas study approach beyond class 12, the globe herein responds to all pupil's desires. Picking an assessment and completing it isn't a simple or easy challenge, but with careful planning, anyone could pass the tests and travel overseas.

There are numerous benefits to going overseas beyond the 12th grade, including advanced training, exposure, foreign language, cultural comprehension, employment chances, and so on. There is a new bunch of tendency in attending university among Indian students. This site answers questions regarding accessible programs, how else to study abroad after graduating from high school, subsidies, destinations, and assessments to take.

Why do Indian Students Choose to Study Abroad?

According to RedSeer research, quite so many as 1.8 million Indians are expected to spend $ 85 billion on studying abroad by 2024. Enrolling in overseas studies is a prominent and quite well path for several Indian students, and its popularity has grown over age. The numerous advantages of completing an academic exposure lead to a rise in student enrollment daily.

Though India has the world's biggest young people population, the number of premier institutions offering excellent educational opportunities throughout the nation is limited, and local candidates can encounter tough opposition. On the contrary, foreign countries with smaller demographics and a wide range of education opportunities enable these pupils to opt for their desired education abroad. Individuals who return to India following going overseas have higher employment prospects.

A 2-year university degree overseas or a 4-year undergrad degree enables folks to begin their profession after 4-8 years of labor in an occupation outside of independent learning. Their profession will advance at a breakneck pace. The majority of Indian students study abroad because they desire to live outside of India. Governments such as the United States and Canada are now embracing a greater number of immigrants into their respective nations by offering them attractive employment opportunities.

According to a study conducted, after finishing their higher education, 80% of Asian students decided to continue living outside their home nations. Often these Indians regard studying abroad as a wonderful opportunity. The main motivation learners opt to study overseas is to broaden their life stories.

Students who educate in another country are acquainted with different countries, personalities, and concepts, which could also lead to a more comprehensive perspective. Furthermore, many students believe that learning in an international culture is more productive. The application process for students moving overseas to study is straightforward too. Everything we are obligated to do is submit your certificates and other necessary paperwork to the academic institutions. Going abroad could additionally give a fantastic chance to go on adventures and discover the diverse culture. This could serve as an attractive solution to expand your perspectives and discover something about different societies.

Top Countries Indian Students Opt for Educational Prospects

The finest overseas study destinations are those that will lead to creating high-quality work chances, as well as multicultural knowledge that will assist you to shape your curriculum and personality. This is a compilation of the finest locations for learning overseas in 2023.

The United Kingdom (UK)

The United Kingdom has surpassed Australia as the #1 Location in the World to Study Overseas in 2023. Although having housed a few of the world's most prominent colleges, there is so much more to explore along with excellent learning. Outside of classes, the undulating landscapes of the United Kingdom and Wales, the rugged mountains of Ireland, and the natural treasures of the Uk will fascinate you.

Australia

Australia is unquestionably one of the top places in the world for overseas students. Coastlines beach resorts, the coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, surfboard experiences, and some of the top student-centric cities in the world, including Queensland, Sydney, and Melbourne, are all accessible. A study abroad programme in Australia will give you the greatest of both worlds!

Canada

Canada is recognized for its excellent workforce participation and collaborations with some of the greatest recruiters in the world, and it is home to various student-friendly cities such as Quebec, Ontario, and Vancouver. Canada is unquestionably the finest location for Indian learners to pursue higher education overseas in terms of both professional and recreational opportunities.

New Zealand

Academics in New Zealand are highly advanced, making it one of the top places for Indian students to study in. New Zealand welcomes you with its gorgeous beaches, lush rainforests, and mountains, as well as a multicultural student body. New Zealand, a cosmopolitan nation, is also intellectually rich and is going to provide you with out-of-the-world experiences.

Germany

Germany's attractiveness has also benefited from the high quality of its educational institutions. German institutions are frequently nominated for scholarships and teaching honors, which means that students can expect a stimulating learning environment.

China

China is creeping in on the United Kingdom. Chinese institutions are rapidly rising in the significant advantage, giving you a superior learning environment at a far lower cost. China's economy is rising, and it is on track to surpass the United States shortly. You will have excellent career opportunities if you study at the core of this economic powerhouse.

Italy

Italy is a popular study location for Indian students due to its simplicity and affordability. Concerning many other nations, students are going to experience lower university fees, but also cheaper personal expenses.

Singapore

Singapore's education system is regarded as international not only in Asia but globally. It attracts intellectual brilliance from every corner of the globe. The nation is additionally home to institutions that are accepted worldwide for their outstanding academic programmes and cutting-edge research institutes.

Top Courses Indian Students Choose to Study Abroad

Engineering

Engineering courses are indeed popular among Indian students because of the substantial employment opportunities and growing market. Bioengineering, Internet Technology, and Computer Programming Architecture are a few disciplines that have a strong international industry while providing students with improved chances and attractive incomes.

Healthcare

With the arrival of novel technologies, the healthcare sector is expanding. Despite continued research on life-threatening illnesses and pharmaceutical trials, there is a severe shortage of healthcare experts. Nursing, Medicine, and Healthcare Management programmes are becoming increasingly popular among Indian learners.

MBA

MBA Business & Management is a subject that is never beyond its profundity. Each business and organization requires workers with these degrees. Getting an MBA abroad will indeed enhance your CV.

Mass Communication

Mass communication and media studies should be on your shortlist of study-abroad options. These are just a few of the greatest international schools in cinematography, video production, reporting, and commercials. Computer Graphics, Cartoon and Graphics, Screenwriting, Marketing Services, and Cultural Studies are some of the popular courses to Work Overseas in this sector.

Agriculture and Food Technology

Agricultural production becomes a significant concern as the world's population grows tremendously and people leave agricultural jobs. Studying these programs can assist those in the market for cuisine that can be made fast and conveniently in a way that keeps up with the world's tempo. And the significance is just being recognised, and some states have suggested that individuals studying agribusiness will have more employment chances day after day.

Biotechnology

Studying biological sciences has always piqued my interest, and it is also a lucrative professional path. With an appealing walk, you can expect a reasonable income. With additional education, you can become a professional researcher or a postdoctoral researcher. Finishing this course will lead to a brighter tomorrow.

International Relations

International relations is the study of foreign affairs and diplomacy between nations. Because it concentrated on politics and the merging of components of economics and law, students who study it will have a well-rounded understanding of world affairs.

Computer Science

All sectors are employed or are influenced by digital technology. Computer science deals with computing and technology, while information technology is concerned with network monitoring and data integration. As a result, this program will assist you in finding work as a technical writer, engineering support officer, IT expert, or device designer.
Blockchain technology, which is rapidly getting momentum, is one of the hot topics that organisations must remain vigilant on to maintain their competitiveness. Everyone is interested in learning more about this new trend because it is bringing about substantial breakthroughs and opening up new chances in every area, including finance, medical, information assurance, branding, and economics. The demand for Blockchain experts is increasing. Because of its broad application spectrum, it seeks to hire individuals with the necessary skill set to handle this modern technology.

Let us see some of the popular career choices in Blockchain Technology

Career Prospects in Blockchain Technology

Analyst Relations Manager

A relations manager's objective is to establish the business's reputation and increase awareness about its emerging markets. The outer presentation may appear in the form of contacts with journalists, media relations, newscasting, and so on.

Blockchain Developer

The much more different blockchain career path right now is that of blockchain developers. The development of smart contract development on public blockchains provided developers with multiple chances. Blockchain developers are essentially programmers who work on developing applications using blockchain technology.

Blockchain Specialist

The ultimate inclusion to the many blockchain career opportunities is a blockchain specialist role. Blockchain specialists have the chance to hone their blockchain abilities while also expanding their understanding of practically every blockchain idea.

Blockchain Architect

Blockchain solution architects are active in decentralised platform architectural framework development, implementation, and deployment. In other words, blockchain architects are responsible for building protection and data designs for a blockchain platform.

Blockchain Application Developer

Blockchain application developers build software apps based on blockchain technologies and architecture. These Blockchain-based programs are also known as drops or distributed apps.

Blockchain Quality Assurance Engineer

Quality control is essential in Blockchain development, just as it is in any other expansion period. As a result, a Blockchain quality engineer is in charge of developing quality assurance (QA) procedures and test automation standards, as well as test automation methodologies.
Seven-seaters are all about practicality. For the Filipino family, it has to be safe, reliable, but most of all, offers comfort and joy with...
A man who said he was on a mission trip from Miami and was volunteering at the homeless shelter at Chatt Foundation, 727 E 11th St., told police that sometime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. someone entered his vehicle and damaged the head unit and interior roof on the passenger side. No suspect information at this time.



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An anonymous caller requested for police to check on a white Chrysler 300 that had been parked in the cul-de-sac at 2400 Long St., reportedly for two weeks. Police made contact with the vehicle, which had no tag displayed, and the VIN was obscured. The vehicle was parked improperly, facing the wrong direction. The vehicle was stickered. Police will follow up after the 48 hour mark.

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A woman told police she was enjoying the park with her friend, when her friend started to get notices on her phone that her bank suspected fraud on her debit card. She said they returned to their vehicles and she found her driver's side front door lock had been gouged out. The vandals did not gain access to the woman's vehicle. Her friend said she had items stolen from her vehicle.

* * *

Police stopped a vehicle at 727 E. 11th St. The driver had an open container in the vehicle. Officers had the man perform standardized field sobriety tests while on scene. Officers determined the man was not intoxicated and had him pour out his open beer.

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A man on Jocelyn Drive told police that his neighbor informed him that a matte black car pulled up to his residence and a bald white male with several tattoos on his arms exited the driver's side of the vehicle and approached the man's house. The neighbor said that the man went up to the man's truck under the carport, opened the unlocked door and grabbed a black bag that was full of Snap-On hand tools. Then the man went back to his car and drove away. The man is waiting for his other neighbor to get home to see if they potentially have video footage of the incident.

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Officers were notified of a wallet in the roadway at Texas Roadhouse, 5362 Highway 153. Police located the wallet, but were unable to make contact with the owner of the wallet. Police did reach out to one of her credit card companies. They said they would attempt to notify the woman that her wallet will be submitted to CPD Property for safekeeping.

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An employee at Boost Mobile, 4816 Hixson Pike, called police to report a customer being very aggressive. The customer told police he was attempting to make a payment on his cell phone bill and became frustrated. Police waited while the man paid his bill, which he did without incident. I then observed the man until he left the store without incident.

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A woman told police she was checking the building where she works at 3900 Rossville Blvd. She said she noticed a burgundy Crown Vic with two black males sitting in the vehicle. She said these two men sit in different vehicles in the parking lot to the building. She said she just wants officers to check the area.

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While working as a courtesy officer for Hamilton Pointe Apartments, 6574 E. Brainerd Road, an officer was notified of a vandalism that occurred. A staff member said someone had damaged the door that separates the laundry room from the fitness center, which prevented it from being secured completely. It is unclear at this time the exact time this happened and there is no suspect information.

* * *

A woman on E. Manning St. called police about an obstruction in the road. She pointed police to a large concrete spill in the middle of the street. Public works arrived on scene with a backhoe and picked up the majority of the damp concrete. Barricades were called to prevent cars from driving through the rest until a street sweeper could clean the rest.
In March 2022, the music world was devastated when Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died suddenly in a hotel in Colombia. Hawkins death ended the bands tour and sent his closest friends and biggest fans into deep mourning. The band has not toured since but has appeared at a few tribute events. Thats about to change. The Foo Fighters new tour dates are fast approaching, but one question remains. Who will be behind the drum kit? While fans and experts have theories, the band is staying extra quiet.

Foo Fighters fans continue to speculate about the bands replacement drummer

When the Foo Fighters announced that theyd be moving forward with new shows following Hawkins death, fans rejoiced. Since that January announcement, chatter about a replacement drummer has only intensified. Fans have taken to social media to debate the merits of several world-class drummers, but are any of them the replacement?

The Foo Fighters | David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Some of the names thrown around feel plausible, like Matt Cameron, Omar Hakim, or Atom Willard. Other suggestions seem less likely. Rufus Taylor, for example, already has a lot going on. Shane Hawkins, the son of the late Taylor Hawkins, has also been suggested by a couple of fans as a potential replacement. Shane is 17 years old, so the suggestion seems absurd.

Matt Cameron responds to recent rumors

In late March 2023, Foo Fighters fans thought the wait was finally over. Several media outlets reported that Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam would join the Foos on tour and take over as the bands drummer. There was plenty of reason to speculate about Cameron taking on the responsibility.

Matt Cameron | Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Cameron was one of several drummers to get behind the kit in September 2022 for a tribute to Taylor Hawkins. He has connections to the band and has paid tribute to Hawkins more than once on his Instagram page. In fact, he did so one day before reports named him as the new Foo Fighters drummer. Apparently, Cameron had also been spotted hanging out around the bands rehearsal space recently.

According to Billboard, despite reports and speculation, Matt Cameron will not be joining the band. The publication reported that Cameron took to Instagram to dispel the rumors, writing simply that he had not joined the Foos in a story. The story has since expired.

Why is the band staying so quiet about the replacement?

Fans continue to speculate about who will be behind the drumkit come May when the band plays its first show in New Hampshire. The members of the Foo Fighters are staying ridiculously quiet about it, though. The band is opting to hold out on any big announcements. There could be a couple of reasons why.

Taylor Hawkins | Scott Legato/Getty Images

By this point, it seems probable that the band has worked out how theyll deal with drumming duties going into the upcoming tour. After all, the first tour date is fast approaching. The band may opt not to share any announcements because they havent made a final long-term decision, though we are sure they already have a drummer set for May 2023. Its also possible that Foo Fighters will just keep things under wrap until we get closer to the official tour date. It is their right. For now, fans will continue to speculate. Well be keeping our eyes peeled, though.
One of the stars of Seeking Brother Husband is shedding more light on her familys unique dynamic. Kenya, who appears on the TLC reality series with her husbands Carl and Tiger, recently explained that Carl has another partner, even though that relationship isnt featured on the show.

Kenya, Carl, and Tiger star in Seeking Brother Husband

Carl, Kenya, and Tiger of Seeking Brother Husband | TLC via YouTube

TLC viewers met Kenya and her partners on the series premiere of Seeking Brother Husband, which explores the lives of women who have multiple husbands. Kenya and her legal husband Carl have been together for 26 years, while Kenya and Tiger have been in a relationship for 10 years.

Kenya and Carl had been married for 12 years when they decided that she would date other men. It wasnt a decision that Carl was immediately on board with, he admitted.

We discussed it for a number of years, Carl explained in the premiere. I finally came into the knowledge and understanding of, you know, feminine expression and realized you have to allow women to be free and express themselves. And as a man, I need to support her in doing that.

Im super multi-faceted, Kenya said. It feels like Carl fits one part of who I am  philosophical, and spiritual, and we have these deep conversations. And then the other part is like thrill-seeking, excitement, traveling, and thats who Tiger fits. But Im both of those people.

The Seeking Brother Husband cast member explains the dynamic of her marriages

On Seeking Brother Husband, it looks like Kenya is the only woman in both Tiger and Carls lives. But thats not the case, she explained in an Instagram post. Carl has another wife, while Tiger continues to co-parent with his ex-wife. She also clarified that she, Carl, and Tiger have a dynamic called a Poly V  that entails one person in the center connected, individually to two partners  each situated at the top of the V. This is different from a #triad  which is more a triangle where three people are connected in one relationship.

The Seeking Brother Husband cast members shed more light on their relationship and how they make everything work during an appearance on the Isiah Factor Uncensored (via YouTube). Keeping everyones schedules straight is key, Kenya said.

We have a Google calendar, she explained. Because they both have other partners  theyre in town off and on and then I have other partners as well. So they have to have a calendar.

Kenya of Seeking Brother Husband said if her husband was going to have multiple partners, she should be able to do the same

Making room for more husbandslet the house hunting begin! #SeekingBrotherHusband is all new Sunday at 10/9c. pic.twitter.com/8mhf5bwo01  TLC Network (@TLC) March 30, 2023

Kenya also opened up to host Isiah Carey about her and Carls initial journey to polyamory. She explained that he had told her early in their marriage that he was interested in an open relationship.

He wanted to have other women, the Seeking Brother Husband star said. He had said that when we first got married. So I knew that was one of his goals. And when it started to happen at year 12 of our marriage I said, Well, I would like to get in on that too. Because I just think, fair is fair.

Though Carl had already expressed interest in pursuing other partners for himself, he admitted that he wasnt initially receptive to the idea of Kenya doing the same.

At first I was closed to [the idea of her dating other men], he said. Because I had never really heard of a married woman dating multiple men. But he and Kenya talked it out and came to an arrangement that worked for them.

We just talked about everything, he said. When she had feelings for someone else, she brought that to me.

Seeking Brother Husband airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.

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Tosoh Bioscience is an acknowledged global leader in the field of liquid chromatography with a focus on bioseparations. For more than 25 years, Tosoh Bioscience is providing cutting-edge solutions for customers developing and producing biologics, biosimilars or biobetters. The product portfolio encompasses SEC instruments and a comprehensive line of media and prepacked UHPLC, HPLC and method development columns. These products are used in R & D, process development, production, and quality control. Typical applications comprise the purification of therapeutic proteins in lab, pilot, and commercial scale, as well as their characterization or quality control by (U)HPLC. Headquartered in Griesheim, Germany, Tosoh Bioscience's European operations offer extensive technical support like application development, on-site training and workshops. Tosoh Bioscience is part of the Tosoh Group, a Japanese chemical and specialty products and materials group that comprises over 100 companies worldwide and a workforce of more than 11,500 people.
Moving far away from family members is one of the hardest parts of getting older and becoming an adult.

One woman is struggling with her brother and sister-in-law after they havent been able to visit with them since her sister-in-law became a resident physician.

Growing up, she and her brother were very close. At one point, they were even roommates and shared an apartment. For most of their lives, they never lived more than 30 minutes away from each other.

Now, theyre both married adults. She recently became a working mom and has a one-year-old daughter. He married his wife, who is a physician. They had to move seven hours away once her sister-in-law began her residency, which happened fairly soon after her daughter was born.

Now, she and her brother hardly get to see each other.

It was devastating for me as I had always pictured us being close and him really involved as an uncle, she said.

The main reason behind their lack of visits is her sister-in-laws hectic schedule. As a resident, she often works 60-80 hours a week and typically works at least one day each weekend. Her sister-in-law does get three weeks of vacation time, but it never falls around the holidays like Christmas and New Years.

The way they choose to spend her sister-in-laws time off has been really bothering her. When her sister-in-law does have a full weekend off, they usually spend it at home or with her side of the family, who they live much closer to.

When her sister-in-law planned her three weeks of vacation, she chose to spend one week in Hawaii, one in Cancun, and one with her family. They havent driven the seven hours to see her and her daughter more than once or twice a year.

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Two young boys have been deemed heroes of their community after launching a school club aimed at providing food for the homeless in the downtown San Jose area.

16-year-old Ayaan Vaswani and 17-year-old Josh Isaac are students at an all-boys private school named Bellarmine College Preparatory, where the Lunch Bag Initiative began.

The Lunch Bag Initiative is a club where students gather together every Wednesday morning before school to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give to the homeless community.

They are able to prepare 100 meals per week that are delivered to multiple shelters, churches, and charities.

Seeing the smiles on their faces when we handed out the sandwichessomething so little can make someone smile. Its just really meaningful, said Ayaan.

Ayaan and Josh have known each other since they were in preschool. They have always had a passion for helping the underprivileged and were inspired by childhood memories of their mothers kind acts of service to form the Lunch Bag Initiative.

When Ayaan and Josh were growing up, their mothers would often visit each others houses to make sandwiches together for those experiencing homelessness in the surrounding San Jose area.

Now, as high schoolers, they have been motivated to follow in their mothers footsteps and give back to their community as well.

To help keep the club on its feet, Ayaan and Josh have started a fundraiser for sandwich supplies. The donated money will be used to purchase bread, peanut butter, jelly, granola bars, fruits, bags, and sanitary items.

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Pexels/ RODNAE Productions

More than 60 members of a Chinese Christian congregation in self-imposed exile arrested in Thailand for overstaying their visas paid penalties on Friday, Mar. 31. But, their legal status remains unknown, and they continue to fear being deported against their will to a nation where they may face persecution.

Christian Church Members Detention

A report from the Atchison Globe stated that the members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, commonly known as the Mayflower Church, fled to Thailand in 2022 and sought refuge in Thailand. The present standing of their request could not be determined from the available information. They left China in 2019, claiming that government security officials were persecuting them, and they initially settled on the island of Jeju, which is located in South Korea. They departed South Korea for Thailand after it became evident from conversations with local and U.S. officials that the prospects for finding sanctuary there could have been better.

As mentioned, Deana Brown said that the chief executive officer of Freedom Seekers International, a Texas-based organization whose mission is to rescue "the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries," when the group inquired about renewing their visas, they were informed that there was a new requirement that all Chinese citizens renewing a visa in Thailand must first report to the Chinese Embassy. The visas have expired for months.

Members of the church reportedly told the media upon their arrival in Thailand in 2022 that they had been harassed, stalked, and received threatening calls and messages even while in South Korea. They also claimed that relatives in China had been called in for questioning and intimidation. At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry declared that the issue was "not a diplomatic topic." They declined to speak further on the situation.

The Star reported that according to Colonel Tawee Kutthalaeng, the chief of the Nong Prue police station in the Pattaya area, 32 of the group's members, regarded as adults, have been charged with overstaying their visas. He indicated that two American citizens who were a part of the group and were temporarily detained did not end up being arrested.

Deana Brown, one of the two American supporters who accompanied them, claimed that the church members had anticipated being released after paying the fine to return to the location in the region where they had been residing. Brown stated that efforts had been made to relocate the church members to Tyler, Texas, where her organization is headquartered.

Also Read:Chinese Christians Launch Prayer Drive Amid Crackdown by Authorities

China's Religion Crackdown

As per the UCA News, Chinese authorities have accelerated their crackdown on both permitted and illegal religious groups, resulting in significant human rights breaches, according to reports from two organizations that monitor freedom and religious liberty in the communist nation. On Mar. 31, 2022, the bipartisan and bicameral US Congressional-Executive Committee on China released its annual report outlining "the horrors the Chinese government and Communist Party inflict against the Chinese people."

Moreover, in China, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the situation of all religious groups, both authorized and unauthorized, deteriorated. The Chinese government has increased surveillance on all forms of dissent, including "illegal" religions, using the Covid-19 outbreak as justification. The five approved religions, which include Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Catholicism, and Protestantism, have been persecuted, adding that the 2018 Vatican-China agreement on bishop appointments did not benefit Catholics.

The paper also addressed the destruction of Muslim Turkic identity in Xinjiang, Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, Mongolian essence in Inner Mongolia, and the destruction of democracy and human rights in Hong Kong. The persecution of Hui Muslims, racially separate from the Han Chinese majority, increased significantly.

Related Article:Chinese Christian Refugees Seek Shelter in Thailand
Unsplash/Scott Graham

Father RB Dionysius is the principal of a church-affiliated school in Madhya Pradesh. Government agents inspected the school facility where he was staying, and he was subsequently taken into custody due to multiple charges. The court granted him bail a few days later, and he was released afterwards.

Charges on Father RB Dionysius

After being detained on several charges, including disturbance of peace and using criminal force against a public servant on duty, Father R. B. Dionysius, the principal of St. Mary's School in the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, which is ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was released on Friday, Mar. 28.

UCA News reported that on Tuesday, Mar. 25, Dionysius was arrested after government officials led by a member of the state's commission for the protection of child rights, Nivedita Sharma, conducted a surprise raid on his residence on the school campus. Following the operation, Sharma said that the group had successfully seized bottles of alcoholic beverages, condoms, and religious items.

As mentioned, this action was reportedly taken as part of a well-planned strategy to smear the reputation of the priest and the school, which has a solid standing in the community.

Those familiar with the situation asserted that the priest was falsely accused of destroying the reputation of the Catholic school in the Diocese of Gwalior, a state with a population of 72 million, of which only 0.29 percent are Christians.

According to a colleague from the diocese who requested anonymity, Father Dionysius is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "We are now helping him to recover," the priest added.

Moreover, the priest asserted that there are about 1,800 pupils enrolled at St. Mary's School, and not a single parent or student has lodged a complaint against the institution. The diocesan priest indicated that the state child rights panel and district officials were only going after Christian schools in the city of Gwalior, which has a population of 6,098,000 people and is home to a population of formerly untouchable people known as Dalits.

Around 21.1 percent of Madhya Pradesh's population comes from a tribal background, contributing to the state's reputation for being economically backward and having a literacy rate of only 64.11 percent.

A diocesan official indicated that Dionysius was the target of the attack because he had cancelled a contract awarded to a right-wing Hindu leader linked with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Also Read:Travis Avenue Baptist Church's Lead Teaching Pastor, Drew Erickson Resigned Following Arrest Due to Driving While Intoxicated With A Kid Under 15, Unlicensed Weapon

About St. Mary's School

According to Sagada.org, in 1904, Rev. Father John Staunton, an American missionary, established St. Mary's School in Sagada. By 1907, there were 17 students, and in 1912, the construction of the first school building at the Mission of St. Mary the Virgin in Sagada was finally finished. It was a two-and-a-half-story building that measured 36 by 90 feet and had pine shingles for both the siding and the roof.

St.School Mary's gives quality education to all children to improve their lives, regardless of caste, race, tribe, or religion. The school's eco-warrior and innovative teachers make learning more effective and fun. Teachers attend seminars to enhance the way they teach, which helps students become better citizens.

Furthermore, instruction is provided in English as the primary language. Hindi, which serves as the national and regional language, is one of the languages students must learn as their second language. Sanskrit, an ancient language that dates back to our homeland, is also taught to students starting in the sixth grade and up. Thus, since people live in the age of computers, students begin learning about computer science in elementary school.

Related Article:Mozambique Court Denied Bail for Detained Mission Aviation Fellowship's Pilot, Ryan Kohler, and 2 Other Volunteers
Christian groups deploy relief teams to states hit by tornadoes as death toll grows

Christian groups, including Samaritans Purse and Convoy of Hope, have deployed disaster relief teams to help survivors after a violent storm system spawning as many as 60 tornadoes tore across the United States from Friday to Saturday, resulting in at least 26 deaths.

Although the Mississippi River Valley bore the brunt of the extreme weather, the two-day storm left a trail of destruction from Wisconsin to Delaware, according to media reports, which said Little Rock, Arkansas, suffered significant damage on Friday.

Samaritans Purse said Saturday it had deployed staff members to the area, and a Disaster Relief Unit from their Southwest Ministry Center in Texas is also en route. The unit is transporting one of their tractor-trailers filled with vital supplies and equipment, scheduled to arrive early Sunday.

Tornadoes, either confirmed or suspected, wreaked havoc in at least eight states, demolishing homes and businesses, shattering trees, and devastating neighborhoods across a vast region of the nation, The Associated Press reported, putting the death toll at 26.

The fatalities included at least nine in a single Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois, the newswire said, adding that more fatalities resulting from the storms were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.

Near Little Rock, Arkansas, one death was reported, with city officials stating that over 2,600 buildings were in the path of a tornado.

Ashley Macmillan, a resident of Wynne, recounted how she, her husband, their children and their dogs took shelter in a small bathroom while a tornado passed by, praying and bidding farewell to one another as they believed they wouldnt survive. Although a falling tree caused significant damage to their home, the family remained unharmed.

We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm, Macmillan told The Associated Press.

In a Facebook post, Samaritans Purse President Franklin Graham shared photos from staff members on the ground in Little Rock and asked for prayers for those who had lost homes, businesses and loved ones.

Martin McAvoy, a resident of the Kingwood neighborhood in west Little Rock, shared his harrowing experience during the storm.

Speaking to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he recalled, My wife had just looked out the window and she said, Oh, my God. She then quickly moved across the bed and pushed me down into the closet. I pulled the door shut, and everything just ... burst. Windows burst out. It was a vacuum; I had to hold the closet doors shut.

The storm damaged the roof of their house, he said. We were standing at my wifes closet door, in her closet when the bedroom windows blew out, and ... yeah. It knocked down the largest tree in Pine Valley, in my backyard, and uprooted every other tree as far as I can see.

Starting Monday, volunteer teams in Arkansas will begin work, tarping roofs, cutting downed trees and searching through debris to help homeowners find salvageable items, the Evangelical relief agency said, adding that while working, they will offer encouragement and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with First Baptist Church of Sherwood as the host church.

Samaritans Purse said it is also evaluating the needs of other storm-hit areas in the South and Midwest.

Currently, the group said, they are operating from two locations in Mississippi, Amory in the east and Rolling Fork/Silver City in the west, where deadly tornadoes struck the previous weekend. The eastern U.S. has experienced two consecutive weekends of lethal weather.

Another Christian organization, Convoy of Hope, has also dispatched teams to multiple locations in Arkansas.

Team members are on the ground in the greater Little Rock area, and another team is being deployed to Wynne, Arkansas, the group said, adding that trucks carrying food, water and relief supplies are also on their way to various locations throughout the state, with distribution set to begin upon arrival.

As of Saturday evening, 81,000 people in Arkansas were without power, Convoy of Hope said, adding that it remains on standby to respond as severe weather threats persist across the Midwest.

At a news conference Saturday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said they had been in touch with President Joe Biden, who offered federal resources. Gov. Huckabee Sanders had declared a state of emergency Friday, ensuring access to statewide assistance, including the National Guard.

Mayor Scott urged patience as officials work to respond as swiftly as possible. He made the statement outside a fire station that had been severely damaged by the tornado.
Hillsdale cuts ties with charter school after parents liken Michelangelos David to porn

A renowned private Christian college in Michigan has severed its ties with a Florida charter school after the principal was forced to resign when parents complained that students were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art that included Michelangelos "David" statue.

The Tallahassee Classical School had a license to use Hillsdale College's K-12 curricular materials, but it has since been revoked and will expire at the end of the school year.

Hillsdale College, which was founded in 1844, has earned a national reputation for its classical liberal arts core curriculum. While the college provides this curriculum with multiple schools across the country, it does not offer educators or school officials training on how to teach it.

In response to a request for comment from The Christian Post, a spokesperson for Hillsdale College provided its public statement from spokeswoman Emily Stack Davis saying its partnerships with schools are "founded upon a mutual understanding about the aims of education."

Education is a cooperative endeavor between students, parents, and teachers, Davis wrote in a statement. Discretion, good judgment, and prudence are essential for that endeavor to be successful.

She added: To set the record straight: This drama around teaching Michelangelos David sculpture, one of the most important works of art in existence, has become a distraction from, and a parody of, the actual aims of classical education. Of course, Hillsdales K-12 art curriculum includes Michelangelos 'David' and other works of art that depict the human form.

The Tallahassee Classical School did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.

As CP reported Monday, Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Tallahassee Classical School, said she was forced to resign after parents complained about a sixth-grade lesson on Renaissance art.

However, the schools board chair said that other issues had arisen with the principal throughout the past year and that Carrasquillas forced resignation had more to do with the failure to notify parents than with the lesson itself.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the art lesson included Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" and Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" paintings, as well as the artists sculpture of "David."

One of the parents felt that the artwork exposed children to pornographic material. Both paintings feature nudity, as does the sculpture of "David," which shows the Old Testament figure without any clothes.

Some parents complained they were not given advanced notice about the lesson. A rule required that parents be notified two weeks ahead about curriculum that could be potentially controversial, according to the Democrat.

Carrasquilla said that a communication breakdown prevented the school from notifying parents about the lesson beforehand.

As CNN reported on March 25, the school's Board Chair Barney Bishop gave the former principal a choice to resign or be fired. The board member stated that Carrasquilla wasn't let go because of the art lesson. The former principal said in an interview with the cable news outlet that her board has not been pleased with her, admitting that she does not follow every policy and procedure.

"Our school is two-and-a-half years old. Every year we show that picture in the Renaissance art class taught to our sixth graders," Bishop said.

"We aren't trying to ban the picture," he added. "We think it's beautiful, but we are going to make sure the concept of parental rights is supreme in Florida and at our charter school."

The issue of parental involvement in schools and what parents believe their children should be exposed to has arisen in multiple schools throughout the country, including students potential exposure to pornography.

During a Fairfax County Public School board meeting last year in Virginia, a mother raised concerns about the books available in high school libraries depicting illegal, sexually explicit material, including pedophilia and other graphic sex acts. The titles, Maia Kobabes Gender Queer and Jonathan Evisons Lawn Boy, contain graphic sexual content, with one book describing a fourth-grade boy performing fellatio on an adult man, which is a felony sexual assault of a child.

Last August, another group of parents voiced objections during a Carmel Clay School Board meeting in Indiana to the school allowing books containing sex scenes and transgenderism available to students.
Travel: Postcard from Malta

If Malta is known, its known for what used to be called Christendom.

Located in the Mediterranean Sea about 100 miles from Italys Sicily, the island-republic has been at the tumultuous crossroads of civilizations and conquests for several thousand years. Of all that history, the Christian history and heritage are what stand out the most.

The Maltese have long claimed that none other than St. Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked here on his way back to Rome to stand trial in the year 60.

Once ashore, Paul did what he did best: Propagate the faith. The inhabitants, along with the Roman imperial official (and later St.) Publius, are said to have converted to Christianity, making Malta one of the worlds oldest Christian countries.

This isnt without an asterisk, as some say Paul was actually shipwrecked on an island off the coast of present-day Croatia. That controversy aside, generations of tradition combined with some circumstantial evidence, including four Roman-era anchors found in a place that fits the Bibles description of where Paul shipwrecked, seem to support the Maltese claim.

While the Pauline tradition is deeply ingrained given Roman Catholicisms status as the state religion, later chapters of history are what actually put Malta on the map. Quite literally.

The Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta was given the islands in 1530 by Emperor Charles V after periods of Muslim, Norman and Spanish rule. They turned the Maltese archipelago into a monastic state or, as we might say today, a theocratic monarchy.

Better known as the Knights Hospitaller, the order was drawn from the ranks of nobles and aristocrats across Europe, including the British Isles, before the Reformation. It elected a prince-grand master, who ruled with temporal and spiritual powers.

Christian control of Malta was put to the test in 1565 when a few thousand knights successfully defended their possession during a siege of over three months by the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. Had they not succeeded, the history of Europe  given Maltas proximity to the continent, particularly the Italian Peninsula  might have been different.

By 1798, however, the power of the once-mighty knights had waned to the point where Napoleon easily took control during a stopover on his Egyptian campaign.

Within two years, the British liberated Malta from French rule. They would remain until Malta gained independence, like so many other British colonies, in the two decades after World War II.

The tradition of the knights is maintained today by the Sovereign Order of Malta.

The Rome-based lay order within the Roman Catholic hierarchy issues its own passports and has a degree of international recognition akin to that of a micro-state. While now based in Rome, its embassy within the old walls that surround Maltas baroque capital of Valletta is a visible reminder of the past.

If you go

Many of the baroque edifices in the capital date to the period immediately after the 1565 siege. Baroque also dominates the small-town cityscape of the so-called Three Cities directly across the Grand Harbor from Valletta, the ex-capital of Mdina and the old citadel on Gozo, an island that feels a little like a red-headed stepchild when compared to the countrys main and eponymous island.

In Valletta, must-visits include the conventual church-turned-St. Johns Co-Cathedral, a masterpiece thats best viewed during an exclusive after-hours tour, and the National Museum of Archaeology. Be sure to also visit the Inquisitors Palace in Birgu (one of the Three Cities), St. Pauls Cathedral in Mdina and the nearby St. Pauls catacombs in Rabat.

Getting to Malta requires one or two connections as there arent flights between the United States and Canada. This required me to fly to Londons Heathrow Airport and then catch a connecting flight on flag-carrier Air Malta.

Flying the flag-carrier is a great way to get introduced to a country. While my business-class ticket was affordable and the overall service was very good, Air Malta cant seem to figure out whether its an ambassador for Malta or a low-cost carrier competing with the European equivalents of low-cost airlines Frontier and Spirit.

I stayed at the Rosselli AX Privilege, an upscale hotel housed within a period building at the heart of Valletta. If I had to do it over again, I would have booked a room at The Phoenicia as the location is considerably quieter at night. Another option is Casa Rocca Piccola, a 16th century palace belonging to a Maltese noble family, with five rooms that are rented out on a bed-and-breakfast basis.

Getting around Malta is easy and doesnt require a rental car. Everything in Valletta is within walking distance. Anything beyond the capital is easily reached by ferry, taxi or an Uber ride. A good hotel can also arrange a private driver for the day.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.
Biden visits flood-ravaged Kentucky as Christian charities step up to help survivors

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to flood-ravaged Kentucky Monday to visit families affected by the recent devastating floods that killed at least 37 people and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses as Christian charities are on the ground to meet the needs of the victims.

According to the White House, the Bidens visited "families affected by the devastation from recent flooding and survey recovery efforts" at one of the region's Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery centers.

The flooding, which began July 28 and lasted for about a week, damaged hundreds of homes and displaced thousands in Knott County, Breathitt County, Perry County, Clay County and Letcher County, among others.

The Bidens landed in Lexington just after 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Chavies, Kentucky, just after 11:30 a.m. They were greeted by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and transported by SUV to the FEMA center at Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School in Lost Creek.

"It's unfortunate. It's my second visit to Kentucky for a crisis," Biden said, according to a pool report.

"I promise you  as long as it takes, we're going to be here. We [the federal government] are committed. There's absolute 100% coverage of cost for the next few months."



"People don't realize those piles of heavy debris, it takes a lot of time, a lot of money to take it away," Biden added.

The president said he was saddened to see cars and buses washed into creeks as he flew over the state.

Beshear called the flooding "the most devastating and deadly flooding event certainly in my lifetime, unlike anything we've ever seen."

The governor said thousands of people are staying with friends and relatives, "but it's going to take us some time to stabilize people with needs for housing." He added that the National Guard airlifted 1,300 people while other agencies rescued thousands more.

"We've got power to everybody but about 200 homes. That is incredible. Water to more people than we ever thought was possible in this period of time," Beshear said. "Today is beautiful but the weather has not helped us out. It has either been raining or altogether too hot."

The Bidens departed the school at around 2 p.m. and stopped about three minutes later at Doran J. Hostetler Memorial Bridge. He spoke with locals recovering from the storm.

On the ground helping those impacted by the storm is the international Evangelical humanitarian organization Samaritan's Purse.

"I can't imagine what you all have gone through. We're praying for you," Edward Graham, vice president of operations at Samaritan's Purse, told a community during his visit to affected areas last week. "I'm so sorry for your loss. We're here, so please let us know if we can help."

Samaritan's Purse volunteer teams are working in Floyd and Breathitt Counties in eastern Kentucky, helping homeowners mud out their homes, remove debris and otherwise clean up properties.

The organization deployed volunteer teams after last year's flooding in the region and had only recently concluded its long-term rebuild effort. The teams had to return.

"Everywhere we go, there are people hurting. We want to come along and meet people's needs," Luther Harrison, vice president of North American ministries with Samaritan's Purse, said. "This is heartbreaking to see. We were here before. We just left two weeks ago and now to see that it's worse. This is a Christian commitment. We're back to help these people to get back dried out and to go forward again."

During the visit, Edward Graham was joined by Will Graham, vice president and associate evangelist with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The Christian humanitarian and disaster relief organization Convoy of Hope is also responding to the floods in eastern Kentucky, sending supplies worth more than 300,000 pounds.

"This historic flooding was catastrophic for so many families," said Ethan Forhetz, national spokesperson for Convoy of Hope, in a statement. "In just moments, their lives were turned upside down. Convoy of Hope is working to bring relief and hope to people who are beginning to recover and is in daily communication about the needs of the area."

The group is working with a school system to get food and supplies to people who haven't yet been able to evacuate.
ISIS supporter convicted of war crimes, posting photos on Facebook of severed heads impaled on spikes

A Swedish court has convicted a 35-year-old woman, Fatosh Ibrahim, of war crimes for posting photos on Facebook of herself posing with severed heads in Raqqa, Syria  a known supporter of the Islamic State terrorist group. Ibrahim has been sentenced to three months in prison.

Ibrahim published photos on two separate occasions in 2014, which depicted severed heads impaled on a fence in Raqqa by ISIS militants, according to Swedens Goteborg District Court, the Mirror reported, adding that she used her cell phone to take the photos in Raqqas Naim Square, where the militants had displayed hanged bodies and heads.

The court ruling stated that Ibrahim had made disparaging comments about the people in the photos and expressed that they deserved what they were subjected to on Facebook.

The court ruled that Ibrahim had clearly expressed her sympathy with the actions of the Islamic State group and that her actions were connected to the armed conflict in the area at the time.

In her testimony, Ibrahim admitted to posting the pictures on Facebook but claimed she didn't know what she was thinking at the time. I was war wounded. It was very common to see dead bodies in Raqqa, she was quoted as saying.

She is among three siblings from Gothenburg who all joined ISIS and subsequently returned to their homeland, as reported by the newspaper, which said her brother, Hassan Al-Mandlawi, was sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorist activities, while her younger sister died after returning to Sweden with her daughter, who had sustained shrapnel injuries.

The sisters 3-year-old son lost his life when he inadvertently set off a hand grenade while playing with it.

Ibrahim told the court she initially traveled to Syria in December 2012 to visit her brother, not to join ISIS. She also claimed she was forced to stay and was unable to return home.

According to Swedish media, Ibrahims first husband was British-Pakistani militant Ibrahim Almazwagi, a 21-year-old graduate of Hertfordshire University, who died in 2013. Her current husband is serving time in an Australian prison.

During the trial, Ibrahim claimed she visited Syria because her husband was buried there, but was later forcibly taken to Raqqa.

In addition to the war crime conviction, Ibrahim was also found guilty of threatening and defaming social workers in Sweden after they removed her children from her care.

ISIS captured large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014, establishing hardline Islamic Sharia law in areas under the group's control. The group drew international attention by producing gruesome execution videos that were shared online. The Islamic State killed and enslaved thousands. Several affiliate groups across Africa and Asia have aligned with the terrorist group.

In 2017, Sally Jones, a British jihadi who recruited online for ISIS, was killed in Syria by a U.S. drone along with her 12-year-old son, Reuters reported at the time.

A convert to Islam from southern England, Jones was nicknamed the "White Widow" by the British press after her jihadi husband, Junaid Hussain, also an ISIS militant, was killed by a drone in 2015.

Last August, a federal grand jury in the United States indicted a New Mexico man for attempting to provide material support to the terrorist organization and establish an Islamic State Center in his state.

A United Nations report released in 2016, as ISIS controlled a large amount of territory in the Middle East at the time, revealed that 18,800 people had lost their lives and more than 3.2 million people had become refugees due to the unrest in the region caused by the terrorist groups rise.
What is the right way forward for the Church of England after General Synod?

According to a press release from the Church of England, on 23 March the Church of England's College of Bishops (i.e. its serving diocesan and suffragan bishops) met "to continue considering next steps for the Church of England following the recent debate at General Synod on identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage".

The press release goes on to describe the next steps decided by the bishops at this meeting. It declares that they agreed to set up three working groups and a steering group to oversee and coordinate their work, each to be made up of bishops assisted by a group of advisers drawn from across the Church, both lay and ordained.

The working groups will focus on:

Pastoral Guidance  with responsibility for drafting new Pastoral Guidance.

Prayers of Love and Faith  to further refine the texts in the light of feedback from General Synod

Pastoral Reassurance  to examine what will be required to ensure freedom of conscience for clergy.

It is anticipated that the steering group will be chaired by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and will include the chairs of the three working groups.

The final membership of the working groups will be confirmed and published in due course.

In my view there are two major problems with what the bishops have decided to do.

The first problem concerns timing. It is generally accepted that partly because of the death of the late Queen in September last year, the bishops did not have enough time to fully prepare the material that they brought to General Synod in February. The reason, for instance, that the Bishop of London was repeatedly unable to answer questions from Synod members about the details of what the bishops were proposing was that the necessary work on the details had simply not been done.

General Synod meets again in York on 7-11 July. This means that for material from the bishops to be available for Synod members to look at in advance of Synod it will need to be ready to be agreed by the bishops in the middle of June at the latest. Given that the press release makes clear that the membership of the working groups they propose has not yet been decided, given the pressure on bishops' diaries, and given that between now and June there is Easter, the Easter holidays and holidays and events associated with the Coronation in May, that timetable looks completely unworkable.

There simply is not the time for the relevant bishops and their advisers to do any meaningful work in the areas outlined in the press release and for this work to be considered and signed off by the bishops as a whole.

READ MORE: What's wrong with the House of Bishops' proposed same-sex prayers?

The responsible thing for the bishops to do would be to say now that they are not going to bring anything further to Synod on the follow up to Living in Love and Faith before the Synod meetings in February, or preferably July 2024. That would allow time for serious and considered work to be done and for widespread consultations to take place with interested parties across the Church.

The second and more fundamental problem is that even if the bishops do allow themselves more time, it is far from clear how the bishops could take the Church of England forward in the three areas on which the press release says work will take place.

The reason for this is that the motion passed by Synod, and by which the bishops' further work needs to be governed, states in clause g that:

... this Synod... endorse the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England.

The Church of England's doctrine of marriage as set out in the marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer, Canon B.30, and various other documents based on them, can be summarised as follows:

Marriage and singleness are two ways of life, neither of which is necessarily more holy than the other.

Marriage is a state of life ordained by God himself at creation and as such it is a way of life that applies to all people at all times and everywhere. Any state of life that does not accord with the form of marriage ordained by God is not marriage.

It is a serious vocation to which some, but not all, human beings are called by God. Those who are called to enter into it, must do so with due thought and reverence for its God given character.

It is a sexually exclusive relationship entered into for life between one man and one woman, who are not married to anyone else, and who are not close blood relatives.

It is a relationship of 'perpetual, friendly fellowship' that is not a dominical sacrament in the same way as Baptism or the Lord's Supper but is a sign pointing to the loving union that exists between Christ and his Church and a means of grace through which a husband and wife can grow as the people God created them to be.

It is a relationship that provides the sole proper context for sexual intercourse, and which has as one of its key purposes the procreation and nurturing of children to be the next generation of God's people.

Clergy are free to be either married or single depending on the particular vocation to which God calls them, but they must live in a godly way in either vocation.

It is difficult to see how the bishops can change the current pastoral guidance as contained in Issues in Human Sexuality and the pastoral statements on Civil Partnerships and same-sex marriage issued by the bishops in 2005, 2014 and 2019 since this reflects the doctrine just summarised.

In particular, the guidance that the clergy cannot enter into same-sex marriages or be in same-sex sexual relationships has to stay in place. This is because the Church's doctrine of marriage means that the only marriage which clergy can rightly enter into is one with a member of the other sex. As marriage is the sole proper setting for sexual intercourse it follows that single clergy must be sexually abstinent.

It is also difficult to see how the bishops can simply 'refine' the prayers contained in Prayers of Love and Faith. The problem with these prayers is not just that they are a little rough around the edges. The problem is that the very concept on which they are based, namely the unreserved and joyful liturgical welcome, affirmation and celebration of same-sex relationships, is incompatible with the Church's doctrine of marriage.

This is because this doctrine teaches by necessary implication that same-sex marriages, and all forms of sexual relationship outside marriage (including same-sex sexual relationships) are contrary to the will of God and as such cannot be welcomed, affirmed or celebrated.

This being the case the prayers don't simply need to be refined. They need to be withdrawn because as they stand, they do not meet the test that they should not 'be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England.'

Finally, if it is the case that the Prayers of Love and Faith need to be withdrawn, it follows that pastoral reassurance simply will not be needed. As the press release makes clear, the reassurance in question is the reassurance that clergy will not be forced to use the prayers when this would go against their conscience. If the prayers are withdrawn this issue will not arise.

In summary, the bishops don't seem to have given themselves time to do the tasks they have set themselves and the tasks themselves seem to be either impossible or unnecessary.

However, if the bishops don't move forward in the direction of revising the Church of England's discipline and liturgy to allow clergy to be in same-sex relationships (including same-sex marriages) and to allow the blessing of same-sex marriages and other same-sex relationships, this will provoke extreme anger among those in the Church of England who want the Church to move in this direction and among their allies in Parliament who may well be tempted to try to force the Church to go in this direction.

In the face of this reality the bishops should reconsider their whole direction of travel. As the Church of England Evangelical Council has argued, trying to find some form of fudge will in the end please nobody. The only hope for a lasting peaceful solution is for the bishops to broker an agreement to move to a new settlement in the Church of England which would allow conservatives and liberals to each have their own province (or provinces) within which they could either maintain or alter the current doctrine of the Church of England on marriage and the disciplines that go with it. The bishops need to have the wisdom and courage to lead the Church of England down this path.

Martin Davie is a lay Anglican theologian and Associate Tutor in Doctrine at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
NORWALK, Conn. (AP)  Connecticut police have charged two people with cutting more than 2,000 fiber optic cables, leaving over 40,000 homes and businesses without internet service in the southwestern part of the state.

Norwalk police said they arrested Asheville, North Carolina, residents Jillian Persons and Austin Geddings on Saturday during a surveillance operation. Both were charged with larceny and criminal mischief crimes, as well as interfering with police. Persons also was accused of giving a false statement to police.
Donald Trump is not the only candidate who won the presidency while allegedly paying for a former sexual partner to stay quiet.

Warren G. Harding became the nation's 29th president in 1921 while paying not one, but two women to keep affairs he had with them secret.

Harding's situation was exponentially more complicated than the alleged affair that Trump had with Stormy Daniels years before running for president - an entanglement that probably led to his indictment by a New York grand jury on Thursday.

One of Harding's paramours was a woman who had been followed during World War I as a likely German spy. The other, a much younger woman, had given birth to Harding's child in 1919 while he was serving as a U.S. senator from Ohio.

Harding's payments to these women probably did not violate the campaign finance laws of the time, but certainly had these affairs been exposed to the public, he would not have obtained the Republican nomination for president in the summer of 1920, nor could he have survived a revelation during the campaign that fall. So secrecy was paramount.

One of them, with his neighbor Carrie Phillips, lasted 15 years.

It started in 1905 in Marion, Ohio, when Harding was the editor of the local newspaper, the Marion Star, and Carrie was married to his friend Jim Phillips, who ran a dry goods store. It continued as Harding campaigned for and served as a U.S. senator and, eventually, ran for president. Through it all, Harding wrote love letters to Carrie, long missives filled with moony sentiment, erotic longing and sometimes despair.

Five years into the affair, Carrie began collecting the letters, some of them 40 pages long and some written on U.S. Senate stationery. The 900 pages in her trove revealed a torrid affair but also tracked tumultuous and tragic world events as the European powers drifted toward war.

Because of an intense whispering campaign in Marion, Carrie took her only child, a daughter named Isabelle, to Berlin in September 1911 for schooling. Twice during her stay in Berlin, she traveled back to the United States to meet secretly with Harding. In 1911, the couple made their way to Montreal for several days of reverie until Carrie returned to Germany. They repeated a transatlantic rendezvous at the end of 1912, this time Carrie traveling on the RMS Mauretania, a sister ship of the famous Lusitania.

By 1913, the relationship was in crisis. Carrie let it be known she was seeing another man in Europe, and Harding concluded he had lost her for good. He decided to run for the Senate in 1914.

When war broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, Carrie and Isabelle fled Berlin and returned to Marion. That fall, Harding won the election by a handsome margin and was instantly talked about as a leading candidate for president, in large part because he was from Ohio, the birthplace of so many presidents following the Civil War.

Teddy Roosevelt, however, seemed like the prohibitive favorite for the Republican nomination after he made amends within the party following his damaging split to form the Bull Moose Party. And then TR died unexpectedly in January 1919. Suddenly, Harding had a real chance to win the presidency.

By this time, Harding had two major problems. Carrie and Isabelle had returned from Berlin smitten with all things German, and they sided with Germany in the war. It did not take long for agents of the Bureau of Investigation and members of the citizen-police organization known as the American Protective League to begin following Carrie and Isabelle as suspected German spies.

The two women showed up just outside a major training camp on Long Island in the late summer of 1917, when the United States finally entered the war and began training its army. Isabelle was engaged to an officer whose family included a baroness who was arrested for espionage in Chattanooga, Tenn., while surveilling a training camp there.

The postmaster in Marion noticed the letters from Isabelle's fiance and investigators concluded Carrie and Isabelle were part of a German spy ring run out of New York City.

Carrie had pressured Harding to vote against the war with Germany, but the senator balked, believing it was his duty to vote for war to defend America. During the resulting frigid period in the relationship, a young woman named Nan Britton, also from Marion, sought out Harding for assistance in finding a job after high school. The two became lovers. Then Nan became pregnant.

Carrie and Harding reconnected at times, but everything came to a head in February 1920 when he had to decide whether to run for president. Carrie, who may have been on the German payroll during the war, began to blackmail Harding with his letters.

On Feb. 2, 1920, Harding penned a desperate letter to Carrie. He described the pressure he had been under to declare for the presidency.

"I drifted in unwillingly," he wrote, "and then found myself pleased to be well esteemed."

Carrie, thinking Harding would leave politics, divorce and marry her, was furious.

Harding was despondent over the tension, writing that at times he "wished the final end for myself." But, he went on, "normal beings can not command it," and "we must make the best amends we can."

Harding decided to put it to Carrie: She could decide his fate. "To avoid disgrace in the public eye," he wrote, "to escape ruin in the eyes of those who have trusted me in public life - where I have never betrayed - I will, if you demand it as the price - retire at the end of my term, and never come back to M[arion] to reside. I will avoid any elevation but retire completely to obscurity."

On the other hand, if Carrie believed he could "be more helpful by having a public position and influence . . . I will pay you $5000 per year in March each year, so long as I am in public service."

"I will, I must abide by your decision," he concluded. "If neither appeals to you, I await the tragic revealment," he wrote in resignation. "I am helpless to hinder."

Carrie did not reveal the relationship or publish the letters. Harding paid her as agreed, and the Republican National Committee probably paid for Carrie and Jim to travel to the Far East during the campaign.

Nan Britton, with her 1-year-old, Elizabeth Ann, also was in need of support. In the weeks after Harding's election, Nan's sister Elizabeth visited Harding in Marion to discuss what to do about Nan's situation. Elizabeth and her husband had agreed to adopt the baby, but Elizabeth would need money. Harding offered her $300 per month. Nan was resistant to the adoption, but it was finally arranged.

Just before Harding left for his final trip in the summer of 1923 - a cross-country excursion through the West and into Alaska - Elizabeth came to the White House. According to a document Elizabeth dictated to her mother, Harding gave her $3,000.

With Harding's sudden death on Aug. 2, 1923, Nan Britton found herself without money to raise her daughter. After unsuccessfully seeking money from the Harding family, an embittered Nan wrote the book "The President's Daughter," which became a bestseller in 1927. Harding's reputation, already being battered by the Teapot Dome scandal, never recovered.

- - -

James David Robenalt is a lawyer and the author of four nonfiction books, including "The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War."
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NASHVILLE - As the citywide vigil for victims of Monday's school shooting wound down, a woman approached Mary Sposito. She could "feel the presence of the Lord" in her, she said. Could she pray on her?

As the stranger wrapped her arms around Sposito and whispered a prayer in her ear, Sposito's eyes grew watery. "That's normal here," Sposito, 23, said afterward. "I did not grow up a big devout Christian, but moving here, you can feel it. Its undeniable."

Nashville is known as the "buckle of the Bible Belt," a city with a church on every corner. The Southern Baptist Convention is based here, along with a slew of religious publications. Country musicians, with their strong ties to Christian culture, consider Nashville their unofficial capital. After a mass shooter killed six people Monday at Covenant School, a small Christian academy, the community faced a controversial question: What's the Christian thing to do about guns?

Some Christian leaders in the city have argued that massacres like this one require prayers, not politics. But others say their religion is being twisted to distract from calls for mental health checks and other gun restrictions. Sometimes, they say, the call for prayer is used as a silencer.

"In Nashville, White, Christian culture and gun culture are practically synonymous," said David Dark, professor of religion at Nashville's Belmont University, who says he is an "aspiring follower of Jesus Christ."

"Marketed Christianity is everywhere," he added. "And not everything that is successfully marketed as Christianity is moral. Not everything that is marketed as Christianity reaches basic standards of public safety."

- - -

'All we can do is pray'

After the tragedy, mourners huddled in prayer circles around makeshift memorials. Audience members and local leaders called out to God at the citywide vigil. And residents rushed to impromptu church services for comfort from the pain, lighting candles in victims' memories.

Tennessee is listed as the third-most-religious state in the nation after Alabama and Mississippi, according to a Pew Research survey, which takes into account frequency of prayer, church attendance and belief in God. More than half of the state's respondents said they attend church weekly - the second-highest rate in the country - and 78 percent said they "believe in God with absolute certainty."

Tennessee is 81 percent Christian, the majority of them (52 percent) evangelical Protestant, which includes evangelical Presbyterians, according to Pew.

"Nashville churches are the hub of the Bible Belt. They tend to share a lot of members, ministries," said David Cassidy, who was a pastor in the Presbyterian church circuit in Nashville for over two decades. "I know from talking to pastors everywhere, [tragedy] is just a wrecking ball."

Faith has also been one of the most helpful tools for coping, Cassidy and others said.

"The culture here, it all points back to Christianity and the Lord. And I do think Nashville is an amazing city because the presence of the Lord is so strong here," said Sposito. "That's why I think it's incredibly difficult to see that this happened to a Christian school. But know that it is a strong faith community and we will get through this because our faith is so strong."

Faith was the first thing Amy Weiland turned to when she visited the Covenant memorial this week, huddling in prayer with her husband and two others to "try to give up our hurt to God."

She said the fact that the shooting was at a Christian school "makes it even more scary.  You hope the people around here have the faith not to do something like that, that they cope better."

In the aftermath of the violence, some public leaders have also urged prayer rather than debate. In an address Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee (R) blamed the tragedy on "evil," saying it was not the time for political debate.

"This is not a time for hate or rage. That will not resolve or heal," said Lee, whose children attended a sister school to Covenant and whose wife was close friends with two of the women killed. "The battle is not against flesh and blood, it's not against people. The struggle is against evil itself.  We must work to find ways to protect against evil."

Kerry Osborn, a friend of Sposito's, put it bluntly: "We're being forced to turn a tragedy into a political agenda." Osborn said if it hadn't been a gun, the suspect probably would have used another weapon.

Emily Ryan said she came to the school's memorial with her children to model the correct way to be part of a community faced with a tragedy.

"We believe deeply in sin. We believe deeply in evil forces that we can't see. All we can do is pray. Taking away guns is not the answer. You can't legislate morality," she said.

"We adore this church. There is a reason it happened here," she added, almost whispering. "The Lord does beautiful work here and Satan wants to stop it."

- - -

'Now we need to act'

But not all Christians here think that prayer is the answer - or at least, the only one.

At a rally at the Capitol where hundreds of people showed up demanding stricter gun laws, a young man stood out: the son of Matthew Sullivan, the chaplain at Covenant School, whose family was enmeshed in Nashville's Presbyterian community. He was spotted carrying a sign reading "This Has to Stop."

Tennessee allows people to own semiautomatic and automatic weapons, although automatic weapons are harder to buy and require a license from the federal government. The state does not ban high-capacity magazines, and it doesn't require people obtain a permit to carry a loaded handgun.

Dillon Estes, a law student, went to the Capitol on Tuesday to rally for stronger gun-control laws. Estes said he believes in God but doesn't identify as a Christian.

The day of the shooting, he said, "was sad. It was a time for crying and reflection. But today is a time for anger. There has been too much complacency. Now we need to act."

Some visiting the school memorials expressed similar viewpoints. Lisa Spain and her niece Haley Dyer visited it last week and said they have relied on their faith to get through the tragedy, but more than prayer is needed.

"When stuff like this happens, it makes me question" Tennessee law, Dyer said. "They should definitely do mental checks," a proposed regulation known as a red-flag law that prevents someone who has a mental illness from purchasing a gun.

Anna Caudill, a special education advocate, agrees. She worked for years at Christ Presbyterian Academy, sister of Covenant School, and attended services at its church until a few years ago when she and her husband decided to move to a church that they thought was more inclusive. Caudill said she felt like the governor was using Christianity to abdicate responsibility - and engaged in an example of what she calls "prayer theater."

"I don't know that I'm willing to play along with [Gov. Lee's] desire to posit himself as a pastoral figure for a grieving state, which neatly pushes the responsibility off on God for the decisions that he has made," Caudill said.

Cassidy also expressed concern over Lee's words: "The problem for the governor is his language is appropriate in a prayer meeting. If something is demonic, what's a governor to do? There is this line of hypocrisy. It's dangerous for elected official to dismiss to the realm of the spiritual what he's been elected to deal with civilly."

- - -

Michelle Boorstein in Washington, D.C., and Kim Mueller in Nashville contributed to this report.
MORIARTY, N.M. (AP)  Residents in the small community of Echo Ridge were told to evacuate Sunday due to a grass fire south of Moriarty in central New Mexico.

Torrance County Sheriffs officials said the fire was mostly contained by afternoon, but a size estimate wasnt immediately available.
Former senator Joe Lieberman knows better than most the impact third-party bids can have on presidential elections. His 2000 Democratic campaign for vice president fell just 537 Florida votes short of victory, in a state where Ralph Nader, the liberal activist and Green Party nominee, won more than 97,000 votes.

But that didn't stop the Connecticut Democrat turned independent from joining a meeting Thursday in support of plans by the centrist group No Labels to get presidential ballot lines in all 50 states for 2024. The group calls its effort an "insurance policy" against the major parties nominating two "unacceptable" candidates next year.

Asked if President Biden, his former Senate colleague, would be unacceptable, Lieberman said the answer was uncertain.

"No decision has been made on any of that. But we're putting ourselves in a position," Lieberman said. "You know, it might be that we will take our common-sense, moderate, independent platform to him and the Republican candidate and see which one of them is willing to commit to it. And that could lead to, in my opinion, a No Labels endorsement."

Uncertainty over the $70 million No Labels ballot effort has set off major alarm bells in Democratic circles and raised concerns among Republican strategists, who have launched their own research projects to figure out the potential impacts. As Lieberman spoke, the Arizona Democratic Party filed a lawsuit to block No Labels from ballot access in that state on procedural grounds. Matt Bennett of the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way has argued that the plot is "going to reelect Trump," and Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee has accused No Labels of wanting "to play the role of spoiler."

"The only way you can justify this is if you really believe that it doesn't really matter if it is Joe Biden or Donald Trump," said Stuart Stevens, a former presidential campaign strategist for George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney, who now works with the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. "So it is sort of a test. If you live in a world where it doesn't matter, this is kind of harmless. If you live in a world where it does matter, it is dangerous."

Splits have also emerged inside the organization. William Galston, a Brookings Institution policy scholar, said this week that he would separate himself from No Labels, which he helped found, over its 2024 planning for a third-party campaign to challenge Biden and Trump.

"I am proud of No Labels' record of bipartisan legislation, and I know its leaders want what is best for the country. But I cannot support the organization's preparation for a possible independent presidential candidacy," he said in a statement. "There is no equivalence between President Biden and a former president who threatens the survival of our constitutional order. And most important, in today's closely divided politics, any division of the anti-Trump vote would open the door to his reelection."

No Labels chief executive Nancy Jacobson said Galston had added a lot to the No Labels cause. "We're sad to see him go," she said in a statement.

Among the group's advisers is former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, a Republican who just lost a Senate bid in the face of Trump opposition; former director of national intelligence Dennis Blair; and Benjamin Chavis Jr., a former executive director of the NAACP.

"I just wanted to emphasize on the spoiler question: I would not be involved if I thought in any account that we would do something to spoil the election in favor of Donald Trump," Chavis said at the meeting, which was attended in person or via Zoom by 16 No Labels staff and supporters, including Blair and McCrory. "That's just not going to happen."

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who has not declared whether he will run for reelection next year, and former Maryland governor Larry Hogan (R) are also supporters of the effort, and both said they have not ruled out participating in a No Labels presidential ticket, if it happens.

"If enough Americans believe there is an option and the option is a threat to the extreme left and extreme right, it will be the greatest contribution to democracy, I believe," Manchin said in an interview. When asked whether he would participate in a No Labels ticket, he said, "I don't rule myself in and I don't rule myself out."

"I think it is really important to have that option. Because we have never been at the point we are today in America," Hogan added. "The vast majority of people in America are not happy with the direction of the country and they don't want to see either Joe Biden or Donald Trump as president."

The group has already gained ballot access in Arizona, Colorado, Alaska and Oregon, with signature-gathering efforts underway in many other states. Jacobson, a former Democratic fundraiser, said the organization has until March 2024 to make a decision on whether to field a presidential ticket. It would pick one Republican and one Democrat as presidential and vice-presidential nominees, she said, with an announcement of their identities coming no later than April 15 of that year, when a No Labels convention is planned in Dallas.

Jacobson has not revealed the identities of the donors funding the effort, saying she is shielding them from public attacks, and will not discuss possible names of potential candidates. The group, which helped to found the House Problem Solvers Caucus, was founded in 2010 as a policy antidote to rising polarization. It later established political fundraising efforts to support candidates that backed its agenda.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, distanced himself from No Labels 2024 planning. "This is not an effort I'm personally involved with or supportive of," he said in a statement.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the other co-chair, said he supports more voices in U.S. politics. "If our 247-year-old American experiment is to survive, there must be a centrist voice at the table in this conversation," he said.

Jacobson has left open the possibility that No Labels could use its ballot lines to field third-party candidates for Senate or House races, a potential nightmare scenario for some Democrats given the recent decision of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) to leave the party.

"It could happen, but no plans at this time," she said. "It is one ticket, one time. We are not a political party."

The group plans to roll out a "common sense policy agenda" this summer to rally the country around bipartisan solutions to the nation's problems, such as pairing more border security with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.

"Americans like choices," said Ryan Clancy, a No Labels senior adviser. "We are heading down a road where both parties could be looking at the public and saying, 'Yeah, two-thirds of you don't want this choice but too bad. It's your only choice and you'll like it.' We think we can do better."

At the center of its strategy is a controversial reading of opinion polls, including extensive surveys that No Labels has commissioned from HarrisX, a company whose corporate parent is overseen by Jacobson's husband, Mark Penn, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton who has distanced himself from the Democratic Party. Clancy said Penn is not involved with No Labels.

In a slide deck presented at the meeting Thursday, the leaders of No Labels argued that high levels of economic concern, growing independent voter identification and the conviction among many people that the country is on the wrong track all set the stage for a third-party bid to be more successful than at any time in recent history.

The group also cites clear majorities of voters who say they do not want either Biden or Trump to be the respective nominees. The group's polling concludes that about 6 in 10 voters are open to considering an unnamed "moderate, independent" candidate if Trump and Biden run.

Dritan Nesho, the chief executive of HarrisX, said that national modeling of those voters reveals that a No Labels ticket would need to win 61 percent of the 6 in 10 voters open to considering a moderate alternative to win the electoral college - or about 37 percent of the popular vote. The group has produced a hypothetical electoral college map that shows the states No Labels would win under that scenario, including Republican states like Texas, Nebraska and Florida, Democratic states like Virginia, Illinois and Washington, and swing states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Nesho acknowledged that the polling might change once No Labels announces the people who will be running on the ticket. The group's leadership said they would test the named candidates in polling before launching a bid.

"We don't know the name that is going to be on this ticket if there is going to be a ticket," Nesho said. "But what we do know is that there's such dissatisfaction in the electorate that there's a clear opening."

Third-party bids for president are common in U.S. politics, with little track record of success. In the 2020 election, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz explored an independent bid based on similar research, noting in a "60 Minutes" segment that 40 percent of Americans identify as independents. A poll in early 2019 by CNN found that two-thirds of voters said they were unlikely to support him, facing greater resistance than potential Democratic contenders such as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) or former congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-Tex.). He ultimately decided against running, in part because of health reasons.

Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who has previously worked with No Labels, said the reason has to do with how independents behave at the ballot box. A 2019 study by Pew Research Center found that although 38 percent of the electorate identified as independent, only 7 percent identified as independent without leaning toward one of the two major political parties.

"What we know is that people who say they are independent but lean to the Democrats or Republicans behave just like Democrats or Republicans," Ornstein said. "There is a zero, or near zero, chance that an independent candidate is going to win enough support to win the presidency."

It is more likely that a robust third-party campaign could win some share of the electorate, as the Green Party did in 2000 and 2016, or a minority of the electoral votes, as Alabama Gov. George Wallace did in 1968. If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral votes, because of a three-way result, the U.S. House in 2025 will be tasked with voting for a new president, with each state delegation in the next Congress casting a single ballot. Currently, 26 states have a majority of Republicans in their delegation.

Clancy said the group had begun to prepare for such an outcome, in part by exploring state laws around the unbinding of electors, which would allow parties to broker for a majority of electoral votes before a vote in the House. He said No Labels believes that a generic No Labels ticket, without named candidates, would pull evenly from Trump and Biden.

Cross tabs of a June 2022 HarrisX poll show Democrats, liberals and urban voters to be more open to a moderate independent candidate than Republicans, conservatives or rural voters. Nesho said that in a larger poll after the midterm elections, the spreads narrowed.

A No Labels ticket would only run to win, Clancy added, unlike the protest campaign of Nader in 2000, which had a goal of earning a single-digit percentage of votes to qualify for matching funds.

"We have very tight guardrails around this effort," he said.

In the meantime, the group continues to be critical of Biden and Trump. A memo prepared by No Labels argues that Biden, who has said he intends to run for reelection, is a weakened candidate, despite the nearly unified support of his party.

"Behind closed doors and the safety of anonymous quotes, most of Washington knows 2024 is a disaster waiting to happen," it reads. "Democratic leaders are privately wringing their hands about Biden and a few Republican leaders still hope to stop Trump."

McCrory, who describes himself as a "strong Republican," declined to answer a question about whether he was concerned the No Labels effort could help elect Trump to a second term.

"I want to let the process work and see what the American people have to say, because I think there's a there's a voice that's not being heard among the American people," he said.

Mark McKinnon, a Republican strategist for Bush and McCain who now hosts "The Circus" on Showtime, was also part of the early group that helped found No Labels. He said he trusts the group's current leadership.

"I believe them at their word when they say it is a 'break glass in case of emergency' strategy," McKinnon said. "I have faith in the end that they will do the right thing."
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Anti-transgender rhetoric and disinformation in the days following the shooting at a Nashville Christian school that killed six people have heightened the fears of a community already on edge amid a historic push for more restrictions on trans people's rights this year.

Authorities haven't shared any evidence linking Audrey Hale's gender identity to the motive for the attack, which killed three children and three adults at The Covenant School last week.

Yet right-wing commentators, politicians and other figures have cited the shooting as they've shared false claims of a rise in transgender mass shooters and suggested that the fight for trans rights is radicalizing people.

Advocates worry the comments are further jeopardizing transgender people by turning them into scapegoats, at a time when they're speaking out against a wave of bills focused on trans people in statehouses across the country.

Weve certainly seen the uptick in transphobic rhetoric in the past week, even directed towards our own public platforms, and there have absolutely been community members that are wearier of being in the public eye, the Trans Empowerment Project, an advocacy and support group based in Tennessee, said in a statement.

The rhetoric has come even from members of Congress, with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene questioning whether the shooter was on hormone replacement therapy or medications to treat mental illness.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president's son, suggested the FBI and Justice Department monitor violent factions within the trans community." In Idaho, the head of the state Republican Party invoked the shooting as she called for the governor to sign legislation banning gender affirming medical care for minors.

For hours Monday, police identified the shooter as a woman. Later in the day, the police chief said Hale was transgender. In an email Tuesday, a police spokesperson said Hale was assigned female at birth but used masculine pronouns on a social media profile.

Police have said Hale was under a doctors care for an undisclosed emotional disorder and was not on the radar of police before the attack. Hale was fatally shot by police at the school Monday.

The disinformation surrounding the shooting doesn't surprise Imara Jones, a transgender woman and creator of "The Anti-Trans Hate Machine," a podcast that focuses on the spread of disinformation about transgender people.

Jones noted how quickly false posts spread online falsely identifying a transgender woman as the shooter who killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas last year.

This disinformation, one of the things that it is doing is further isolating, stigmatizing and demonizing trans people, allowing us to be targeted by all forms of violence, both from the state and from individuals, Jones said. Thats what the disinformation is doing.

Several hundred bills restricting transgender people's rights have been introduced in statehouses this year, including a resurgence of bathroom bills and bans on gender affirming care for minors. Transgender people have also faced increasingly hostile rhetoric from lawmakers who are considering these proposals.

Some of the most stringent measures have been enacted in Tennessee, where the Republican governor has signed into law restrictions on drag show performances and a ban on gender affirming care for minors. A federal judge on Friday blocked the drag show ban from taking effect.

Many of the restrictions are being advanced by Republican lawmakers who say they're protecting children.

A large number of transgender people say they regularly face verbal and physical abuse. A Washington Post-KFF survey of transgender adults conducted late last year showed that 64% of trans adults say they have been verbally attacked because of their gender identity, gender expression or sexual identity, and 25% say they have been physically attacked.

There is a vocal minority of people who try to stoke fear of what they dont understand, who label trans people as other and tell us we dont belong, the National Center for Transgender Equality said in a statement. Because of this, trans people, especially trans women of color, face very real threats and violence.

The climate has already been fraught for trans people like Jessica Disney, who's appeared regularly at Arkansas' Capitol to testify against anti-transgender measures.

Anytime theres a spike in the rhetoric for whatever thing that is latched onto, it is immediately more taxing and truly terrifying about living here in the South, living here in Arkansas and what has already happened to me and other people being encouraged to act out, Disney said.

Advocates say the disinformation and focus on the shooter's gender are distracting from needed discussions about how to prevent mass shootings.

Extremist politicians and pundits are focusing on speculations about the shooter and fear-mongering about transgender people because they have no interest or willpower to offer real commonsense solutions to Americas gun problem, Jay Brown, the Human Rights Campaign's senior vice president for programs, research and training, said in a statement.

Despite the fear, the Trans Empowerment Project said it's seen an amazing push to act on addressing gun violence and building allies with the community.

More than anything, were amazed by the resilience of our community, the group said.

Sami Morris, a nonbinary resident of Durham, North Carolina, said the anti-trans finger pointing that followed the shooting in their home state of Tennessee made them feel more unwelcome in the South than they did already. They criticized North Carolina Republicans Wednesday for overriding the Democratic governors veto of legislation loosening gun access just two days after the Nashville shooting.

The anti-trans rhetoric has become so pronounced that its drowning out mourning the victims," Morris said. "Its drowning out necessary calls for gun control and important conversations about what might actually make schools safer."

The anti-trans rhetoric was on display as Dylan Michael Turner, 27, stood at a Transgender Day of Visibility event Friday outside the South Carolina State House.

Terrorist attack! a passenger in a car passing by yelled at Turner, a transgender man from Columbia, holding a sign that said TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.

Turner said he had received six or seven such comments, but said the supportive messages he got far outweighed the hateful ones.

I wish that (cisgender heterosexual) people would have a chance to get to know trans people and that would sway their view of things," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Hannah Schoenbaum in Raleigh, North Carolina and James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.
Brian Stelter has long relied on the little blue check marks as key to reporting when news breaks.

The former CNN anchor would scan Twitter for accurate information from verified accounts about a developing tragedy or natural disaster or big event, then send them along to his producers for further follow up.

"That doesn't mean you rush right to air with it necessarily, but it made a huge difference," said the former host of "Reliable Sources." He said that Twitter verification gained a cultural meaning, indicating who the messenger of the information was.

"It became shorthand for 'we know the identity of that source," he added.

On Saturday, that all changes. Twitter said last week it will begin removing legacy badges, instead reserving the blue check marks for paying customers.

"On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified check marks," the company tweeted.

Those paying roughly $8 a month for Twitter Blue, which includes a handful of other features, will also be among the small subset of accounts boosted starting April 15 to Twitter's main timeline, the "For You" page. Twitter now requires a valid phone number and payment to attain the blue check, betting that spammers will not shell out large amounts of cash to flood the site with scams.

It was not clear whether all accounts will lose their verification or if some may be grandfathered in. Twitter could also delay the timeline for the rollout. News organizations including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post said Thursday they won't pay for verification for their organizations or reporters, although the New York Times said there may be some rare exceptions.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.

Musk said on a Twitter Spaces Friday that he aims to make Twitter "the most trusted place on the internet."

The massive changes to Twitter's verification system risk disrupting the site, according to two former employees, who spoke with The Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Twitter has repeatedly incurred outages after making tweaks to its code, including this month, something that has prompted Musk to refer to the site as "brittle."

Meanwhile, the company has had only a loose handle on the interplay between old and new check marks. After a surge in impersonation accounts in November, when the company began awarding check marks to those willing to pay $8, Twitter employees were not immediately able to distinguish legacy verified check marks from those newly awarded, The Post reported.

The removal of verification badges at such a wide scale has the potential to disrupt systems across Twitter's website, including its recommendation algorithms, spam filters and help center requests. Twitter has previously relied on the badges as an important signal affecting all of those areas - for example, using verification to decide to boost a public figure's tweet into a user's timeline.

Removal of verification badges is a largely manual process powered by a system prone to breaking, which draws on a large internal database - similar to an Excel spreadsheet - in which verification data is stored, according to the former employees. Sometimes, an employee would try to remove a badge but the change wouldn't take, one of the former employees said, prompting workers to explore workarounds. In the past, there was no way to reliably remove badges at a bulk scale - prompting workers tackling spam, for example, to have to remove check marks one-by-one.

"It was all held together with duct tape," the former employee added.

Musk has already struggled with an increased number of outages since his $44 billion takeover last year, troubles that have been compounded by his cutting more than two-thirds of the staff. And earlier attempts to roll out a paid verification system went awry.

The change expected Saturday could fundamentally change how Twitter is used and how it is trusted, users and experts say. If the fears are borne out, it will no longer be possible to quickly ascertain whether a public figure's account is legitimately associated with that person, or the potential work of a sly impersonator. The perceived hand-wringing among the elite over the loss of the blue check - and its associated prestige - is a separate matter.

"I go onto Twitter and I interact with the blue check, and in my head I still assume they were verified out of some sort of process," said Robyn Caplan, a senior researcher at the Data & Society Research Institute who is studying verified badge systems across social media companies. "There's going to be a period of adjustment, and I think it's going to be a much longer period than we think."

The blue check mark on Twitter was first launched in 2009 as a way for the company to cut down on impersonation accounts, especially for celebrities. It grew over time to include thousands of verified accounts, ranging from government agencies to CEOs to athletes and movie stars to members of the media. The check mark has at times been decried as just another status symbol, a way for people to earn clout. But it's also been used to confirm that account holders are indeed who they say they are.

Actor William Shatner has openly criticized Twitter for the decision, tweeting at Musk, "Now you're telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free?"

"It's more about treating everyone equally," Musk responded. "There shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities imo."

In an interview, Shatner said he is concerned about possible impersonators that could pop up and use his name, paying for a blue check mark to make themselves look real.

"I want to stay on it but I want to be sure that it's my voice, and my thoughts that people are hearing and reading, and not somebody who  wants to harm me in some way," he said. Shatner will stay on Twitter without a check mark until he sees what "guardrails" the company introduces, he said.

Twitter initially launched the paid blue check mark in November, shortly after Musk took over the company, and had to quickly roll back the feature after impersonation accounts popped up all over the site, causing confusion. One account, purporting to belong to drugmaker Eli Lilly, tweeted that insulin would now be free. (It was not Eli Lilly, and insulin is not free.)

When Twitter relaunched the service in December, it put in rules banning impersonation and requiring a valid phone number before users could get a blue check mark. But a Post columnist showed that it was possible to get around Twitter's defenses, obtaining a check mark for an account impersonating a U.S. senator. And some experts say that verification does not go far enough to confirm identities - prompting a reckoning for the future of the site.

"For the past decade Twitter was the watering hole where world's most interesting people could huddle together and rub shoulders," said Matt Pearce, an internet culture reporter for the Los Angeles Times. "But now the place is collapsing slowly, it's like dying in front of our eyes."

He said he won't pay to subscribe.

Twitter has introduced different check mark colors for different accounts - including gold checks for organizations and gray checks for government officials.

On Thursday, the company outlined its process for verifying organizations - such as government agencies and businesses - linking to a sign-up form. Twitter said the organizations will be vetted to ensure they are legitimate, and once approved, those entities will be responsible for verifying affiliated accounts. Those verified under the process would receive a badge showing the organization's logo, Twitter said.

"Rather than relying on Twitter to be the sole arbiter of truth for which accounts should be verified, vetted organizations that sign up for Verified Organizations are in full control of vetting and verifying accounts they're affiliated with," the company said in a tweet.

"Important to establish whether someone actually belongs to an organization or not so as to avoid impersonation," Musk said in a tweet.

Twitter has been in a state of upheaval since Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, purchased the site he uses to communicate with his roughly 133 million followers on the site. The self-described "free speech absolutist" has said he wants to promote "free speech" and further Twitter's role as a public town square.

When Musk first introduced the paid check mark, he positioned it as a way to make a more egalitarian site.

"Twitter's current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn't have a blue check mark is b------t," he wrote. "Power to the people! Blue for $8/month."

Musk announced Twitter had released its source code for recommendations on Friday, the computer code that generates tweets for its "For You" page. In his Twitter Spaces live audio chat, Musk said the decision was aimed at building trust.

"The goal with open sourcing the Twitter algorithm is to build trust and transparency with users," he said. "We're trying to make Twitter the most trusted place on the internet  to make it the least gameable system on the internet is our goal."

Musk said that while the release of the code could prove "embarrassing" at first, his efforts were geared toward achieving the maximum amount of "unregretted user minutes" on the site.

But the rollbacks of legacy verification and other guardrails have some concerned. A Washington Post analysis this week found that Twitter is amplifying hate speech in its "For You" feed, based on which users accounts follow.

The changes are prompting concern among some who rely on the site, but don't want to pay for it.

Emma Grae, a Scottish author with more than 13,000 followers on the site, said she expects her account will stop growing when she loses her verification check.

"It's so frustrating too, as the old verification system has given me a lot opportunities with my writing - such as being asked to do talks about the Scots language - and I fear that I won't get those chances now that I can't prove I am who I say I am," she said in a Twitter message.

Grae does not plan to pay for a check mark, saying that it seems like a way for Musk to recoup some of his investment and "in the process, he's turning check marks into a bit of a joke," she said.

For Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the conversation he sees online about whether to give Musk money is a kind of "virtue signaling," he said.

"It's a service like any other and we pay for subscriptions, we pay all these companies and they do things we object to," he said. He said he'll evaluate how useful Twitter Blue seems to be before deciding whether to subscribe.

Others are still undecided. Author and YouTuber Hank Green, who has 1.5 million followers on the site, says he's not worried about "the little blue tick going away," but he wants his tweets about his charity to continue to reach the highest number of people they can. If it means boosting that reach significantly, it might be worth it to pay.

"But there are people for whom they would like to be part of the conversation, but can't just willy-nilly add another $100 a year subscription to their budget," he said.

Some account holders are taking the news of losing their blue check mark with a sense of levity.

"Rumor has it, we'll lose our legacy blue check tomorrow," the Seattle Public Library tweeted Friday evening. "That means there will be nothing left to stop you from impersonating us and aggressively telling your followers to get a Library card."
MIAMI (AP)  A U.S. citizen who moved his family to Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist group has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Emraan Ali, 55, a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad and Tobago, was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court records, Ali moved his family from Trinidad and Tobago to Brazil, and then to Turkey and eventually Syria in March 2015. He falsely told his children that they were going on vacation but actually intended to join IS, prosecutors said.

After arriving in Syria, IS registered Ali and his family, and Ali underwent IS religious and military training with other English speakers, officials said. The training included instruction on the operation of various automatic weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifle and PKC machine gun.

Ali was eventually discharged from combat duty and worked in residential construction for IS in the group's then-de facto capital of Raqqa, investigators said. Ali also became a merchant and began buying and selling livestock, cars, weapons, weapons accessories and telephones to and from other IS members. Ali also provided money remitting services to other Trinidadian IS fighters in Syria and donated his own money to IS members to support the IS cause.

Ali and his family relocated within Syria several times over the years, officials said. Ali and his son, 22-year-old Jihad Ali, surrendered to Syrian Democratic Forces near Baghuz in March 2019, during the last sustained Islamic State group battles to maintain territory in Syria, officials said. They were later transferred to FBI custody and returned to the U.S. The son, who was born in New York and began IS military and religious training at 15 years old, was previously sentenced to five years in prison.

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.
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KYIV, Ukraine - A Ukrainian court has placed the head of Kyiv's most prominent monastery under house arrest on charges of justifying Russia's armed aggression, the latest escalation in a long-simmering conflict between Ukrainian officials and a local branch of the Orthodox Church they say has ties to Moscow.

Metropolitan Pavlo, the head of the Lavra monastery, appeared before a judge Saturday and denied the charges. "I didn't do anything, I was never on the side of aggression and never will be," he said, according to a video clip of his court appearance released by the Ukrainian Pravda news site.

Ukraine's security services also searched Pavlo's residences Saturday, according to a statement detailing the charges against him.

"A robe is not always a guarantee of pure intentions," the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, Ukraine's main law enforcement agency, said in the statement. "Today the enemy is trying to use the church environment to promote its propaganda and divide Ukrainian society."

The move by Ukraine to detain a prominent cleric showed the extent to which the war has exacerbated religious tensions and deepened rifts within the Orthodox Church.

Orthodox Christianity is one of the largest Christian communions in the world - after Catholicism and the Protestant church. Most of its roughly 260 million adherents are concentrated in Europe, Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. It is the dominant faith in both Russia and Ukraine.

Pavlo - a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate - recognizes the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has strong ties to the Kremlin and endorsed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukraine-based leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate insists that it is autonomous from the Russian Orthodox Church. But Ukrainian prosecutors have charged dozens of members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with directly aiding Moscow, including through espionage, while accusing others of spreading pro-Russian rhetoric.

"The Russian Orthodox Church created - in this sacred place [the Lavra Monastery] - the nest of spreading Russian ideology," said Yevstratii Zoria, a spokesman for the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was founded four years ago.

"We know that [the] Lavra is used by the Russian Orthodox Church as a tool of their aggressive policy," Zoria said. "We have the right to protect ourselves from interference."

Many Ukrainians echo Zoria's belief that the church loyal to Moscow promotes an ideology that justifies Russia's expansionist policies.

In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Pavlo denied the allegations.

"These are all fake charges," he said. "I have served at the Lavra for over 30 years and I have never had a political agenda. We pray for our country, our government and our army."

For days, Ukrainian officials were locked in a standoff after Pavlo and other monks living at the Lavra - the nearly 1,000-year-old complex known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Cave - ignored an eviction notice and parishioners barred government officials from entering the site. The Ukrainian government owns the site, a portion of which is leased by the church.

The monastery, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, is also an important destination for Christian pilgrims and the resting place of a number of revered Orthodox figures.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that expelling the priests and monks from the site was necessary for the country to achieve spiritual independence. Many Ukrainians, including prominent Orthodox priests, have left the Moscow-aligned church over the past year to join the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

But Ukrainians opposed to the eviction have accused the government of using the war as a pretext to deny them freedom of religion.

"It's not going to end well for the people doing this," said Larisa, a parishioner attending a recent service at the Lavra. The 58-year-old declined to provide her last name out of concern for her safety. "But even if we are forced from this place, we will stay true to our faith."

"This is religious discrimination," said Volodymyr Kantsevych, a 23-year-old university student and member of the Orthodox Church linked to Russia.

"We see clear support from the ruling government for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine," he said referring to the independent branch. "It's because of the war. We are being denied our freedoms and the country is becoming authoritarian."

Pavlo, in the interview last week, said he planned to fight the eviction as long as possible. But he had also started packing his belongings.

Inside his apartment on the monastery grounds, he pointed to walls once covered in icons, now dotted with just bare nails.

"You shouldn't do to people what you don't want them to do to you," he said when asked about the long-term implications of the eviction. "The sin is always punished."

- - -

The Washington Post's David L. Stern contributed to this report.
DANBURY  To address Connecticuts shortage of nurses, Western Connecticut State University will receive $1.6 million over the next three years that will be allocated in four different areas of its nursing program.

It is one of 20 colleges and universities in the state scheduled to receive a share of CT Health Horizons, a three-year $30.5 million initiative seeking to improve the critical statewide workforce shortage in nursing and social work. Funds are allocated to partner colleges and universities to expand faculty, provide tuition support for students and create strategic partnerships.

WestConn stated it plans to use $810,000 to hire faculty for its bachelor of science in nursing and psychiatric nurse practitioner programs. Another $200,000 will be used for scholarships for the bachelor of science in nursing program, and $250,000 will be used in scholarships for the psychiatric nurse practitioner program.

The university is preparing to start an accelerated nursing program in 2024 once all approvals have been received. There will be $400,000 in scholarships for students with a completed degree in an applicable science who have completed the prerequisites for the nursing program to add one year of studies in order to receive a bachelor of science in nursing.

The funds from this grant will enable us to hire more staff, said Joan Palladino, interim dean of WCSUs School of Professional Studies, which houses the Nursing Department. This includes a clinical coordinator to assist with clinical placements and Psych NP (nurse practitioner) faculty for next year.

CT Health Horizons was created in a partnership between the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, the states Office of Workforce Strategy, the University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, multiple state agencies and the Connecticut Hospital Association.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced the launch of CT Health Horizons last August when it was approved as part of the state budget bill he signed into law. It is funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act money.

According to the states website, the Office of Workforce Strategy and CSCU serve in a strategic oversight role to connect the efforts of this initiative to Lamonts overall workforce development strategy.

CSCU serves as the general program manager and recipient of funds and works in tandem with UConn and Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges to carry out the program.

We have a significant nursing shortage in Connecticut, and yet our colleges and universities do not currently have capacity to increase the number of qualified nursing students they serve, Lamont said in a statement on the states website. By making this investment, we are taking a critical step toward expanding the number of nursing seats at our public and private institutions of higher education.

We also know that the need for mental health services has only increased during the pandemic. This collaborative approach will help promote a highly educated behavioral health workforce.

The 20 CT Health Horizons partner institutions representing nursing and social work programs statewide include Albertus Magnus College; Central Connecticut State University; Charter Oak State College; CT State Community College; Eastern Connecticut State University; Fairfield University; Goodwin University; Quinnipiac University; Sacred Heart University; Southern Connecticut State University; University of Bridgeport; University of Hartford; University of St. Joseph; Western Connecticut State University; Yale University; University of Connecticut, Storrs; UConn's Avery Point, Stamford and Waterbury campuses; and UConn School of Social Work.

CCIC institutions will receive a total of $15,9 million, CSCU will receive a combined $8.5 million, and UConns multiple campuses will receive a total of $6.14 million.

Statewide, the CT Health Horizons' focus is to provide funding for hiring nursing faculty at 17 schools as nursing programs can only accept one quarter of qualified students due to lack of faculty and clinical placement.

Funding will also help nursing tuition support at 16 schools, with a priority on accelerated bachelor of science in nursing degree programs, master of social work tuition support at six schools and hiring of faculty at five schools.

Licensed clinical social workers are the most needed positions in the behavioral health workforce. Funding will also be used to support innovative nursing programs at seven schools, and innovative social work programs at four schools with a 50 percent match from employer partner or in-kind support.

More than 45 faculty are expected to be hired by year three of the CT Health Horizons initiative and an additional 1,000 students provided with tuition support.
WINNIPEG - Connor McClennon scored two power-play goals and Zack Ostapchuk added a goal and assist as the Winnipeg ICE defeated the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 5-2 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action.

Thanks to a 5-3 victory on Friday, the ICE now lead the first-round, best-of-seven series 2-0.

Briley Wood and Matthew Savoie also scored for the ICE, who led 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 after 40 minutes.

Andrew Basha and Dallon Melin scored for the Tigers.

For the second consecutive game, the ICE won the special teams battle going 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Tigers went 1-for-4.

Elsewhere in the WHL:

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WINTERHAWKS 4 SILVERTIPS 0

Portland leads best-of-seven series 2-0

PORTLAND, Ore.  Marcus Nguyen scored twice and goaltender Jan Spunar made 23 saves as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the visiting Everett Silvertips 4-0.

Jack O'Brien also scored twice for the Winterhawks, who grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Winterhawks won Game 1 on Friday 4-3.

The Winterhawks outshot the Silvertips 32-23.

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WARRIORS 5 HURRICANES 1

Moose Jaw leads best-of-seven series 2-0

MOOSE JAW, Sask.  Lucas Brenton scored twice as the Moose Jaw Warriors defeated the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-1 to grab a 2-0 lead in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series.

Ryder Korczak, Atley Calvert and Denton Mateychuk also scored for the Warriors, who won Game 1 on Friday 2-1 in double overtime.

Anton Astashevich scored for the Hurricanes, who were outshot 34-22.

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THUNDERBIRDS 4 ROCKETS 1

Seattle leads best-of-seven series 2-0

SEATTLE, Wash.  Jared Davidson scored once and added two assists as the Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the visiting Kelowna Rockets 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.

Dylan Guenther, Lucas Ciona and Nolan Allan also scored for the Thunderbirds, who won Game 1 on Friday 3-2.

Dylan Wightman scored for the Rockets, who were outshot 48-26.

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COUGARS 2 AMERICANS 1 (OT)

Best-of-seven series tied 1-1

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C.  Jaxsen Wiebe scored at 4:52 of overtime as the Prince George Cougars edged the visiting Tri-City Americans 2-1 to even up their best-of-seven playoff series at a game apiece.

The Americans won Game 1 on Friday 6-4.

Cole Dubinsky, who assisted on the winning goal, also scored for the Cougars Saturday.

Adam Mechura scored for the Americans, who were outshot 38-18.

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HITMEN 2 REBELS 1 (OT)

Best-of-seven series tied 1-1

RED DEER, Alta.  David Adaszynski scored at 16:42 of overtime to give the visiting Calgary Hitmen a 2-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels.

Sean Tschigerl also scored for the Hitmen, who tied the first-round, best-of-seven playoff series 1-1. The Rebels won Game 1 on Friday 3-0. Carter MacAdams chipped in with two assists.

Christoffer Sedoff scored for the Rebels, who outshot the Hitmen 39-38.

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BLAZERS 6 GIANTS 1

Kamloops leads best-of-seven series 2-0

KAMLOOPS, B.C.  Olen Zelleger scored once and added two assists as the Kamloops Blazers defeated the visiting Vancouver Giants 6-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series.

Ryan Hofer, Caedan Bankier, Daylan Kuefler, Dylan Sydor and Emmitt Finnie also scored for the Blazers, who won Game 1 on Friday 8-0.

Logan Stankoven chipped in with three assists. The Blazers outshot the Giants 55-26.

Samuel Honzek scored a third-period power-play goal for the Giants to break the shutout bid.

* This roundup was generated automatically with a CP-developed application.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2023.
Michael Wyke/Contributor

Although the Harris County Sheriff's seat isn't up for grabs until 2024, Houston City Councilmember Mike Knox is already throwing his hat in the ring. Knox announced this week that he plans to challenge incumbent Democrat Ed Gonzalez in the 2024 election.

Knox, a Republican, shared on Facebook that he will be hosting a campaign kickoff event on Tuesday, April 25, at Pappasito's Cantina in Memorial City. He'll be joined by an "honorary host committee" that includes former U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, and Pappas Restaurants CEO Chris Pappas, among other Houston area public figures.
When Beverly Morris moved six of her grandchildren into her apartment, it was cramped quarters on every front.

The two-bedroom unit sat off of a highway in Austin. The three girls  ages 8, 14 and 15  slept in one room. The three boys  ages 7, 10 and 12  slept in the other. The living room sofa became Morris bed for a year.

Morris took permanent custody of five of her six grandkids after Child Protective Services removed them from their home after finding evidence of medical neglect and parental substance use.

Morris hadnt planned to parent again at 63 years old. But she stepped in to prevent her grandchildren from entering Texas troubled foster care system and being separated from each other. She also informally took in the sixth grandchild, after one of their parents stopped caring for them. The state pays Morris to care for the five grandchildren for whom she has permanent custody, but she gets a fraction of the amount that a stranger who stepped in as a foster parent would get.

Thats something some Texas lawmakers are trying to change this year.

The costs piled up for Morris, seemingly all at once: The kids needed summer clothes. The car kept breaking down on the way to school. Morris felt like the world was closing in on her.

I would just cry every night. I cried and I was like, God, Im not doing this, I dont want to do it, said Morris, who quit her job to take care of the children. Im living as a single person. And then to take in six kids? It was hard.

Morris offers what is known as kinship care, when a relative takes in children who have been removed from their homes by Child Protective Services. More than 8,000 kids, or 41.5% of children in the states care, were placed with kin or relatives as of February, according to recent state data.

As a relative caregiver, Morris gets about $2,000 in assistance from the state each month to support the cost of caring for the kids. She puts it toward rent. At the very least, she reminds herself, the kids will have a roof over their heads.

Studies show children in the care of relatives experience less trauma and better behavioral health outcomes than those in the care of foster families. Relative caregivers are also more likely to be single, unemployed, older and live in poorer households.

In addition to receiving far less compensation than foster parents, relative caregivers also often face the typical barriers lower-income Texans experience in getting public benefits like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The state pays Morris to care for the five grandchildren for whom she has permanent custody, but she gets a fraction of the amount that a stranger who stepped in as a foster parent would get. Thats something some Texas lawmakers are trying to change this year. Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune

Red tape

When relatives take in children who have interacted with the Texas child welfare system, the state provides some financial assistance, depending on family circumstances.

If the child has an open case with Child Protective Services, relatives can receive $12.67 per day, per child for up to 12 months through the Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Program. To qualify, residents must earn a total household income that is below 300% of the federal poverty limit. For a family of four, that would be less than $90,000.

The payments to relative caregivers are often 50% of what a foster parent receives. A foster parent receives at least $27.07 per day, but can get paid more if a child has more complex needs. Foster parents have to complete training and get licensed before they take in a child, unlike relative caregivers.

A relative caregiver can choose to complete the training foster parents do and get verified by the state. That would allow them to get paid the same as foster parents. But Mercedes Bristol, a grandparent of five, said families have to go through a lot of red tape to get verified. For example, the relatives home must pass a state assessment. Some grandparents have been asked to make costly home repairs or find a house with more square footage to meet the home assessment, Bristol said. For aging relatives on fixed incomes, such fixes are cost prohibitive.

Theyre not doing it for the money. Theyre not doing it for the income, said Bristol, who is also the executive director of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Theyre doing it just to be able to afford to keep these children but yet they have so many barriers to get to that stipend.

One grandparent raising three grandchildren in Cibolo, Denise Smith, said she looked into getting verified. But to complete the training, she would have needed to find and pay for child care.

Smith needed the extra money from the state. After she took in grandkids, she walked a tightrope with her finances for years. She was always falling behind. Overdue bills stuffed her mailbox.

She would dial utility assistance companies. The operators would mimic each other, saying they could help with the last $50 of your bill. It was never enough.

To say to a family that youll pay the last $50 or the last $100 when you have a $500 utility bill, Smith said. That means you still gotta keep looking for whos going to help you. There were a lot of times when we had to do that.

Smith would forget to eat. She developed high blood pressure. Research shows high blood pressure, among other poor health outcomes, is a condition of poverty.

I remember the doctor telling me, well, you have to get rid of the stress. But I cant tell you to do that because that means youd have to get rid of kids, Smith said. So all we can do is give you medication.

She recounts this now, but she doesnt know how she lived through it. Sometimes, it feels more like a fever dream than her real life.

If a Child Protective Services case is closed and a kinship caregiver gets legal custody of a child, relatives can seek assistance through the permanency care assistance program. Monthly payments are between $400 to $545 per month for each child, depending upon the childs needs.

Kinship caregivers can look to public benefits for another source of assistance. SNAP food benefits, known as food stamps, cover the cost of groceries. Relatives can also get a one-time $1,000 payment through the TANF program.

But both SNAP and TANF are entangled with red tape, too. The value of families cars is factored into how much SNAP and TANF aid they are entitled to, kicking some caregivers off the programs entirely.

I needed a car to take them to school, to doctors appointments, to day care, said Bristol, with Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. I needed a car to keep my job, but yet they counted my car and therefore I wasnt eligible for one-time $1,000 TANF [payment].

Morris offers what is known as kinship care, when a relative takes in children who have been removed from their homes by Child Protective Services. The Texas Legislature last increased payments for relative caregivers in 2017. Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune

Legislative efforts

Some Texas lawmakers want to pay relatives like Smith more money to care for kids.

In the Senate, Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, is proposing Senate Bill 908, which would remove the eligibility requirements to getting verified. In the lower chamber, Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, has authored the identical House Bill 2613. Neither bill has yet to be scheduled for a committee hearing, an early step in the legislative process thats vital if theyre going to move forward.

Rep. Terry Meza, D-Irving, filed House Bill 1431, which would remove the eligibility requirements for the relative and other designated caregiver program. But her bill has also not yet been scheduled for a debate.

In the past, the state of Texas has felt like if grandma takes in her grandson, she should be willing to do that without any payment, Meza told The Texas Tribune. But grandma is on a fixed income, maybe, probably, likely. And taking on her grandson, even though shes willing to, may present a financial burden on her.

The Texas Legislature last increased payments for relative caregivers in 2017. That legislations sponsor, Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, at the time said the payments would mean fewer children would end up in the foster care system.

Five years after the passing of that 2017 bill, a panel of child welfare experts said the Department of Family and Protective Services was still underutilizing kinship care and failing to provide adequate support for relative caregivers. That included the disparity in what relatives caring for kids get paid compared to strangers. The panel was authorized by a federal judge in a long-running lawsuit to make a list of recommendations for the state agency. The panel said that in addition to paying kinship caregivers more to provide for kids, Texas could also better support relatives by helping them navigate the foster care system and connect them with more resources.

Kinship caregivers are a backbone of child welfare systems, the 2022 report said. There is compelling evidence that children placed with kin experience increased stability, improved well-being and behavioral health outcomes, and high levels of permanency than children placed with strangers.

Lingering at the Capitol

On a recent Sunday, Morris readied all six of her grandchildren for church.

They had just celebrated a birthday; the oldest has just turned 15. Morris was planning to keep the balloons up. With six children under one roof, the next birthday is never too far away.

But the youngest had other plans. With one swoop, he popped the balloons inside their apartment at breakfast.

Go brush your teeth. Go, go, she told him, in one strong, unwavering command. She still reminds herself she has to be a parent first, and a grandparent second.

She had 45 minutes to pack the six kids in her car. And she still needed to wake up her 14-year-old granddaughter.

Her thoughts were also on the future. Morris isnt sure how shell make ends meet three years down the road, when the oldest turns 18 and her assistance from the state gets cut.

How come a kinship cant get the same amount of money? Im doing the same amount of work, Morris said, who will be 74 years old when the youngest turns 18. Why is there such a big ol gap between if youre kinship and if youre a foster parent?

Morris and her grandkids had just celebrated the oldests 15th birthday. She was planning to keep the balloons up  with six children under one roof, the next birthday is never too far away. Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune

As bills that could help Morris and other kinship caregivers linger, Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, said many lawmakers dont see how hard it can be for caregivers, clawing their way out of poverty, to put food on the table or pay for baby formula.

Theyre so far removed from what it would be like to have a financial struggle, Menendez said. Some people literally dont have the extra money. They dont, they dont, they dont. Its hard for (legislators) to understand that.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/30/texas-foster-care-kinship-legislature/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
A San Antonio man is not expected to face charges after his car was stolen and a confrontation with the suspected thief ended in fatal gunfire on Wednesday, March 29, police said.

The man's vehicle was stolen from his Northside home on Wednesday afternoon, police said. But by using an Apple AirTag, he was able to track his truck down to a shopping center on the Southeast Side in the 3200 block of Southeast Military Drive.

SAPD spokesperson Nick Soliz said the man called police to report his vehicle as stolen, but did not wait for police to arrive before attempting to confront the suspected car thief around 4 p.m.

Police said the man saw his truck in the parking lot, walked up to the stolen vehicle in an attempt to confront the person inside, and some sort of disagreement ensued. Soliz said he could not confirm if the man and the suspected thief argued, but said the car theft victim told police he believed the suspected thief pulled out a gun which prompted "a firefight."

Police said that, at this time, they believe the car thief victim is the only person to have fired shots and could not confirm if there was more than one weapon found at the crime scene.

The suspected thief, another man, was shot and pronounced dead, Soliz said. His identity has not been released. The car theft victim reportedly stayed at the scene of the shooting, complied with police, and was taken into custody for questioning. The shooter is not expected to face charges, Soliz said, but noted an investigation is ongoing.

"... I urge the public to wait for police in this matter," Soliz said in a news conference. "Let us go with you. We have training."

Here are this week's other top stories:

Donald Trump was indicted on federal charges on Thursday, March 30, and Texas leaders have spoken up about the historical moment.

USAA announced almost 500 jobs will be cut from the company, citing an economic downturn as the cause.

An Arkansas man was found on a Texas beach more than a year after his family reported him missing.

Iconic Texas brand Shiner Beer announced the opening of its first barbecue restaurant.

Two San Antonio-area chefs have been tapped as finalists for the James Beard awards, which is often billed as the 'Oscars of food.'
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP)  Thousands of people took to the streets in Kosovo on Sunday holding signs and chanting slogans in support of former guerilla leaders on trial for their alleged roles in atrocities during the 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia.

Filling the main squares of the capital Pristina, demonstrators held photos of Hashim Thaci, who resigned as Kosovos president in 2020 to face war crimes and other charges including murder, torture and persecution  charges he denies.

Thaci's trial begins Monday in the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which is based in the Netherlands but is part of Kosovo's legal system.

An international prosecutor indicted Thaci and three other ex-guerilla leaders on 10 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for their leadership role in the Kosovo Liberation Army. The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Thaci and the others served in the Kosovo Liberation Army before rising to political prominence in the conflicts aftermath.

All of Kosovo's political parties endorsed Sunday's rallies. Demonstrators carried banners that read We march for justice, and Freedom has a name, as well as chanting in support of the KLA.

Many Kosovars consider the Netherlands-based court an injustice and view it as an attempt to rewrite their history, saying it's trying to equalize Serbias genocide to their suffering.

Most of the 13,000 people who died in the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo were ethnic Albanians. A 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian troops ended the fighting, after about 1 million Albanian Kosovars were driven from their homes.

In December, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers handed down its first war crimes conviction, sentencing former guerilla commander Salih Mustafa to 26 years in prison for arbitrarily detaining and torturing prisoners perceived as supporters of Serbia, and murdering one.

Earlier this year, the court gave prison sentences to two leaders of a Kosovo war veterans association for witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.

The Kosovo court was created separately from the United Nations criminal tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia, also located in The Hague, which mainly prosecuted Serbian officials for war crimes. Former President Slobodan Milosevic was charged with fomenting crimes in the Balkan wars but died in his cell before judges could deliver verdicts.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The United States and most of the West recognize the declaration, but Serbia  supported by allies Russia and China  does not.

Kosovo-Serbia relations remain tense despite stepped-up efforts from Washington and the European Union, with a recent Western plan envisaging normalization of their relations.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  A court in Algiers on Sunday sentenced a prominent journalist in the North African country to five years in prison with two years suspended and ordered his website and a radio station shut down based on the accusation that they threaten state security.

Ihsane El-Kadi was detained Dec. 23 at his home in the capital, Algiers. He was accused of receiving foreign funding for his outlets. He has remained in custody since his arrest and appeared in court on Sunday for the verdict, along with a collective of lawyers, defending him, journalists and family members.
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VATICAN CITY (AP)  Bundled in a long, white coat and battling a hoarse voice, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter's Square before tens of thousands of faithful on Palm Sunday, a day after he left a Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis.

The sun broke through the clouds during the Mass, one of the longest services on the Church's calendar, as Francis, red vestments placed over his coat, sat in a chair under a canopy erected in the square.

He took his place there after standing and clutching a braided palm branch in a popemobile that drove at the tail end of a long, solemn procession of cardinals, other prelates and rank-and-file Catholics. Participants carried palm fronds or olive tree branches.

Francis, 86, received antibiotics administered intravenously during his three-day stay. He last previous appearance in St. Peter's Square saw him conduct his his regular Wednesday public audience. He was taken to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic that same day after feeling ill.

His voice sounded strong as he opened the Mass, but quickly turned strained. Despite the hoarseness, Francis read a 15-minute-long homily, occasionally adding off-the-cuff remarks for emphasis or gesturing with a hand.

The homily focused on moments when people feel extreme pain, love that fails, or is rejected or betrayed.'' Francis cited children who are rejected or aborted, as well as broken marriages, "forms of social exclusion, injustice and oppression, (and) the solitude of sickness."

Deviating from his prepared speech, Francis spoke about a homeless German man who recently died, alone, abandoned, under the colonnade circling St. Peter's Square, where homeless persons often sleep.

"I, too, need Jesus to caress me and be near to me,'' Francis said.

Concern over abandonment threaded through his homily. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers; prisoners are disowned, people written off as problems, Francis said.

The pope also referred to young people who feel a great emptiness inside without anyone really listening to their cry of pain, and who find no other path but that of suicide.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday.

At the end of Mass, Francis greeted the Romans, tourists and pilgrims who had flocked to the square, noting that many in the crowd of 60,000 had come from afar.

I thank you for your participation and prayers, that in the last days you intensified,'' the pontiff said, a reference to the many wishes he received for a quick recovery during his hospitalization. Thanks!"

Francis appearance on Sunday opened a heavy schedule of Holy Week appointments, including a Holy Thursday Mass at a juvenile prison in Rome. Holy Week culminates on April 9 with Easter Sunday Mass, which recalls the Christian belief in Jesus resurrection.

Francis said Holy Week will see more intense prayer for the "martyred Ukrainian people.'' In a reference Russia's war in Ukraine, he noted that the olive branches Catholics wave on Palm Sunday are symbols of Jesus' peace.

Then, the cardinals greeted Francis greeted one by one, some shaking his hand or chatting briefly with him as he sat in the wheelchair he uses to cope with a chronic knee problem. At least one prelate gave him a kiss on each cheek.

Finally, Francis went back aboard the open-topped popemobile to loop around and through the square, as he smiled and waved to the faithful, many of whom held aloft national flags. At one point during the nearly 20-minute jaunt over the cobblestones, he was driven down a stretch of the boulevard lined with cafes and souvenir shops that leads to St. Peter's Square.
LONDON (AP)  The U.K. government is seeking to make contact with three British nationals detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, authorities said Sunday.

The three men include a charity worker, a thrill-seeking tourist and a third person whose family has asked that he not be identified, according to the Presidium Network, a British charity that works in conflict zones and is representing the families of two of the detainees. The Mail on Sunday newspaper first reported the story.

We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan, and we are supporting families, Britains Foreign Office said in a statement.

The British government warns against all travel to Afghanistan, saying that there is a heightened risk of terrorism, kidnapping and detention by government authorities. Britains ability to provide consular support for detainees is extremely limited as the country has no consular officials in the country, according to travel advice updated on March 22.

The Taliban did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Presidium is working on behalf of charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and a British man who manages a hotel for aid workers in the capital, Kabul, said Scott Richards, one of the groups co-founders. Both men have been detained by the Talibans intelligence service since early January, but Presidium believes they are in good health and being well treated, Richards said.

Afghan security services, possibly acting on a tip, accused Cornwell of having an illegal firearm, Richards said.

But Presidium said the Ministry of Interior had issued a license for the weapon, which was stored in a safe and intended only for emergency use, Richards said.

We call it a misunderstanding, he said.

In the course of their work, Presidium officials became aware that a third Briton, the so-called danger tourist Miles Routledge, 23, had also been detained. The group does not represent Routledge and has no detailed information about his case, Richards said.

Routledge boasts to his followers online that he travels to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun. His last tweet was posted on Feb. 27.

The Foreign Office didnt confirm the identities of the detainees.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman suggested Sunday that the government was in negotiations regarding the three men, though she offered little detail.

If there are risks to peoples safety, if there are British citizens abroad then the U.K. government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe, she said in an interview with Sky News. The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

___

Associated Press writer Riazat Butt in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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ORANGE, Ohio

Theft: Park Avenue

Police were called to Eye Candy Optical in Pinecrest just after 5 p.m. March 21 after two males came into the store acting strangely, one wearing a facemask and the other with a hoodie tied around his face. An employee let the guy in the facemask try on a pair of Diamond Cartier eyeglass frames, valued at $8,000. He was told that in order to purchase them, he needed a credit card and proper identification to process the payment.

He said OK, then left the store and soon returned, trying on the frames again. Then both males ran out of the store, with the employee chasing them out to a Jeep Grand Cherokee with no visible plates, last seen heading west on Harvard Road.

Lost property: Park Avenue

A Shaker Heights woman came to the police station at 10:30 p.m. March 24 to report that shed lost her Michael Kors wallet at the Silverspot Cinema earlier in the evening.

She recalled shifting the wallet while in her theater seat during the show, and then being credited afterward through Apple Pay for food she never received.

After she left the theater, she realized she did not have her wallet and returned to the Silverspot about 9:30 p.m., asking management if anyone had turned it in. She was told that housekeeping cleaned the theater after the movie, but denied finding the wallet.

The owner told police the envelope-sized wallet contained three credit cards, an American Automobile Association (AAA) membership card, Sams Club and BJs member cards, as well as $100 cash and requested a report for documentation.

Mutual aid given, disturbance-unwanted guest, weapons offense: East Brainard Road

Woodmere police requested backup at the Executive Club Apartments around 3 a.m. March 25 on a report of an unwanted man with felony warrants for assault and disrupting public services who was now making threats with a handgun.

The suspect, a Bedford Heights man, 19, answered the door and was taken into custody without incident, as a handgun was recovered from behind a couch.

Damage to property: Harvard Road

Police were called to the Coopers Hawk Winery shortly after 7 p.m. March 25, after a Macedonia woman reported that she returned to her 2019 Alfa Romeo after parking it outside around 3:45 p.m. and found the rear windshield had been broken. Nothing inside the car appeared to have been taken.

Traffic offense, stolen vehicle (recovered): Harvard Road, Orange Place

Patrol officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle driving in the area around 2:30 p.m. March 25 and quickly stopped the northbound 2019 Nissan Altima.

The driver, a Richmond Heights woman, 46, had an active warrant with Cleveland Heights, where the car was listed as stolen. However, police there asked that she be advised then released and the vehicle be towed.

When Orange police offered to transport her to Cleveland Heights, they still wanted to let her go, but agreed to send their own tow truck to get the stolen car.

Expired plates, driving under suspension (no financial responsibility compliance), warrants: Brainard Road

After a patrol officer stopped a 2018 Mazda CX-9 with registration that expired in May 2022, the driver, a Cleveland woman, 29, did not have a drivers license. instead providing an American State Credentials I.D. card.

She argued she was not driving for hire and therefore did not need a drivers license. It turned out hers was suspended because she did not feel she needed drivers insurance either.

Police also found warrants from Aurora and Mayfield Heights, to which she responded she was traveling freely and she needed to see the paperwork.

After refusing to get out of her car, she was placed in a cruiser and taken to Mayfield Heights, where officers may have had the opportunity to print out a copy of her warrant from them.

Suspicion, impaired driving, driving under suspension (previous OVI), drug paraphernalia: Miles and Brainard roads

A sergeant on road patrol at 4:30 a.m. March 25 noticed a pickup truck running with its headlights on in the Village Diner parking lot.

A Solon man, 38, was sleeping in the drivers seat with one of his shoes off and a quarter-ounce bag of suspected marijuana sitting on the center console.

Awakened, he had the date right, but thought he was in Garfield Heights and it was 1 a.m. Police smelled alcohol on his breath and he refused a Breathalyzer after not faring well on the field sobriety tests.

He was placed in a detox cell at the Solon jail and immediately fell asleep, with three digital scales also taken into evidence.

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Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Go ahead, enjoy yourself. Its allowed at Abattoir Gallery in Cleveland.

The gallerys name, which means slaughterhouse in French, is a nod to its location at a one-time meatpacking plant in a two-room suite in the Hildebrandt Building at 3619 Walton Avenue.

Despite any unpleasant associations with offal or meat hanging on hooks that might be caused by its name and location, Abattoirs mission is to dish up highly palatable art.

Launched in 2020 by veteran independent, Cleveland-based curators Lisa Kurzner and Rose Burlingham, the small, for-profit gallery has in part filled a niche once occupied by gallerist William Busta, who made it his mission to show the best work by the best artists in Northeast Ohio. (Busta is still conducting projects out of an office on Waterloo Road in Collinwood.) Abattoirs purview, though, is national in scope.

The current exhibition, titled, Headspace: A Painting Show, on view through April 15, offers a glimpse of works by six mid-career painters from Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut who are thriving largely outside the New York City art ecology.

Participants include Eleanor Conover, an assistant professor of art and art history at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA; Georgia Elrod, who works in Brooklyn and in Hudson, a small city along the Hudson River in Columbia County, NY; and Fox Hysen, who lives in Norfolk, Conn., and runs an artists collective and residency program called Greenwoods, 2058. Also in the show are works by Emil Robinson, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati; Matthew Kolodziej, a professor of art at the University of Akron; and Scott Olson, who lives in Kent, OH.

What also unites all of them is that theyre focused on making abstract or representational works whose primary goal is to provide visual pleasure, not to critique systemic power imbalances in contemporary society.

Theres certainly a place for art that strives for justice and afflicts the comfortable. But there should also be room for art that simply rewards attention with fresh investigations of beauty, however defined.

Liberating consciousness to experience pleasure in itself, free of any other justification, could itself be a revolutionary act in a capitalist world, and Abattoirs current show appears to be in line with that kind of thinking.

The one possible exception to the shows apolitical mood could be Robinsons 2021 painting Arrangement with T Square, which depicts a cross-like drafting tool hanging on a panel draped with meticulously depicted rectangles of yellow and blue fabric that clearly bring to mind the Ukrainian flag whether or not the artist intended it.

So is the painting about the crucifixion of Ukraine? When asked, Kurzner said no. Certainly, the painting seems to be less about current events than Robinsons desire to combine near-abstract imagery with subtle references to religion, such as the imagery of the T square. But the Ukrainian national colors are also there, and anyone is free to see them, regardless of the artists intentions.

Robinson does appear interested in religious symbolism, as indicated by the title of his 2020 painting, Study for Lazarus. Roughly a quarter of the size of his T-square painting, it depicts two autumn leaves, one big, one small, pressed flat against the picture plane in the bottom half of the painting, with a misty landscape visible in the upper half. The beautiful imagery, painted in a style reminiscent of Georgia OKeeffes paintings of autumn leaves at Lake George in the 1920s, is open-ended enough to enable a variety of interpretations, along with the enjoyment of Robinsons paint handling and subtle palette.

The rest of the painters in the show are abstractionists bent on exploring and adapting traditions deeply rooted in 20th-century modernism.

Olson, for example, is represented by a single abstraction painted in 2023 in oil on panel that expands on early 20th-century Cubism, a movement launched by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Olsons painting describes folded and curved planes organized roughly in a grid. The work leads the eye on a journey across visually shallow spaces that could also be deep and distant. Painted in somber hues with luminous, jewel-toned accents, it blurs distinctions between landscape and still life. Its a geometric world that could be both close-up and far away.

Although his paintings are abstract, Kolodziej also revels in the idea of exploiting tensions between nearby and faraway spaces in his paintings. His colorful paintings contrast areas of airbrushed curlicue marks that seem distant, misty and blurred, with up-close areas of color applied with tools that create crisp, sharp, and dry textures that seem to sit right up on top of the picture plane. The eye toggles pleasurably back and forth between marks that appear to ride on top of the surface and those that recede.

Conovers mission is to expand on the language of Color Field abstraction from the late 1950s and 60s, a style pioneered by artists such as Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis, who poured liquid paint directly on their canvases. Using canvases shaped like windsurfing sails, Conover creates areas of softly blooming color that appear to reference rural landscapes.

Elrods small, elegant abstractions hint at vignettes of the human body framed by shallow, stage-like spaces in a visual language somewhat reminiscent of early 20th-century American abstract painter Arthur Dove. Elrods sensibility is playful and mystical. Shes also highly skilled at making brush marks that neatly and wittily match the shapes of the forms shes describing. Curved shapes are defined by curved strokes, for example. The result is a sense of well-organized whimsy.

Hysens paintings describe grids and stripes with roughly applied paint, expanding on motifs explored by a broad cross-section of artists from Jasper Johns to Sean Scully and Gerhard Richter. What distinguishes her work is a luminous sense of color, tending toward the blue end of the spectrum, leavened by tones of gray and rose. She also has a uniquely brusque way of handling paint that creates incidents on her rich surfaces that catch the eye.

Like so many other shows mounted by Abattoir over the past few years, Headspace' is dreamy, thoughtful, compelling, and fun. The quality is high, and the selections are sharp and knowledgeable. In other words, its worth anyones time to go and have a look.

Note: An earlier version of this story misstated Fox Hysens gender.

REVIEW

Whats up: Headspace  A Painting Show.

Venue: Abattoir Gallery

Where: 3619 Walton Ave., Suite C 102, Cleveland

When: Through Saturday, April 15.

Admission: Free. Call 216-820-1260 or 646-229-0998, or go to abattoirgallery.com.





Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin attends a joint news conference on Finland's security policy decisions at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, May 15, 2022.

Finland's main conservative party claimed victory in a parliamentary election Sunday in an extremely tight three-way race in which right-wing populists took second place, leaving Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party in third, dashing her hopes for reelection.

The center-right National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory Sunday evening with all of the votes counted, coming out on top at 20.8%. They were followed by right-wing populist party The Finns with 20.1%, while the Social Democrats garnered 19.9%.

With the top three parties each getting around 20% of the vote, no party is in position to form a government alone. Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties were vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic country's parliament.

"Based on this result, talks over forming a new government to Finland will be initiated under the leadership of the National Coalition Party," said the party's elated leader Petteri Orpo, as he claimed victory surrounded by supporters gathered in a restaurant in the capital, Helsinki.

Marin, who at age 37 is one of Europe's youngest leaders, has received international praise for her vocal support of Ukraine and her prominent role, along with President Sauli Niinisto, in advocating for Finland's successful application to join NATO.

The 53-year-old Orpo, Finland's former finance minister and likely new prime minister, assured that the Nordic country's solidarity with Kyiv would remain strong during his tenure.

"First to Ukraine: we stand by you, with you," Orpo told the Associated Press at NCP's victory event. "We cannot accept this terrible war. And we will do all that is needed to help Ukraine, Ukrainian people because they fight for us. This is clear."

"And the message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is: go away from Ukraine because you will lose," Orpo said.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, cleared the last hurdles of becoming a NATO member earlier in the week as alliance members Turkey and Hungary signed off the country's membership bid.

NCP's share of votes translates into 48 seats in the Eduskunta, Finland's Parliament, while The Finns, a nationalist party running largely on an anti-immigration and anti-European Union agenda, is to get 46 seats and Marin's Social Democrats 43 seats respectively.

Observers say the result means a power shift in Finland's political scene as the nation is now likely to get a new center-right government with nationalist tones. The government will replace the center-left Cabinet by Marin, a highly popular prime minister at home and abroad since 2019.

Government formation talks led by the NCP are expected to start in the coming days with goal of putting together a Cabinet enjoying a majority at the Parliament.

"I trust the Finnish tradition of negotiating with all parties, and trying to find the best possible majority government for Finland," Orpo told the AP.

"And you know what is important for us? It's that we are an active member of the European Union. We build up NATO-Finland, and we fix our economy. We boost our economic growth and create new jobs. These are the crucial, main, important issues we have to write into the government program," he said.

The positions of Marin's party on the Finnish economy emerged as a main campaign theme and were challenged by conservatives, who remain critical of the Social Democrats' economic policies and are unlikely to partner with them.

Orpo had hammered on Finland's growing government debt and the need to make budget cuts throughout the election. NCP is open to cooperation with The Finns as the two parties largely share view on developing Finland's economy though have differences in climate policies and EU issues.

While Russia's 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 emerged as major campaign issues as there was a large consensus on the membership among parties complete with high public support.

Finland, which is expected to join NATO in the coming weeks, is a European Union member with a population of 5.5 million.

The initial voter turnout in the election was 71.9%, slightly down from the 2019 election.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, he announced Sunday.

"I hear people talk about the leadership of our country, and I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts," he told ABC's "This Week."

Hutchinson said he thinks his experience, messaging and hope for the future will resonate with Americans. He plans to campaign and "be everywhere" once he makes the formal announcement about his presidential bid later this month, he said.

Former President Donald Trump is also vying for the presidency in 2024. A New York grand jury voted Thursday to indict Trump in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, and Hutchinson said he thinks the indictment is cause for Trump to drop out of the race.

Trump's indictment marked a "sad day for America," Hutchinson said, but it is also a "great distraction." He said it is important to maintain the integrity of public office, so Trump should concentrate on his due process.

"I do believe if we're looking at the presidency and the future of our country, then we don't need that distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on the legal issues that he faces," he said.

Hutchinson served as governor of Arkansas since 2015, and he has been positioning himself as an alternative to Trump. His successor, Trump's former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was sworn in on Jan. 10, which freed him up to pursue a shot at the presidency.

Since Trump's indictment Thursday, Hutchinson has been firm about his calls for Trump to drop out of the primary. Hutchinson shared a statement on Twitter that said Trump "should not be the next president," and he echoed that sentiment in an interview with NPR Saturday before reiterating it again on ABC's "This Week" Sunday.

Hutchinson has also acted as undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security and director of the Drug Enforcement Administration. He was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.
This photograph taken on March 24, 2023 in Geneva, shows a sign of Credit Suisse bank.

Switzerland's Federal Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS , the office of the attorney general said on Sunday.

The prosecutor, based in the Swiss capital Bern, is looking into potential breaches of the country's criminal law by government officials, regulators and executives at the two banks, which agreed on an emergency merger last month to avoid a meltdown in the country's financial system.

There were "numerous aspects of events around Credit Suisse" that warranted investigation and which needed to be analysed to "identify any criminal offences that could fall within the competence of the", it said in a statement.

"The Office of the Attorney General wants to proactively fulfil its mandate and responsibility to contribute to a clean Swiss financial centre and has set up a monitoring system so that it can take action immediately on any issues that fall within its area of responsibility," it added.

It gave no indication of any specific aspects of the merger agreement it might look into or how long the investigation might last.

Both UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
Tesla Superchargers are seen at a charging station on March 17, 2023 in Beijing, China.

Tesla on Sunday posted its first-quarter vehicle production and delivery report for 2023.

Here are the key numbers from the electric vehicle maker:

Total deliveries Q1 2023: 422,875

Total production Q1 2023: 440,808

Deliveries are the closest approximation of sales disclosed by Tesla and are not broken out by individual model or region.

The first quarter numbers represent a 36% increase in deliveries compared to the 310,048 reported during the same period a year earlier, and 4% growth in deliveries sequentially compared to the 405,278 they company reported in the last quarter of 2022.

The company reported deliveries of 10,695 of its higher-priced Model S and X vehicles, about 2% of deliveries in the quarter.

Tesla reported deliveries of 412,180 of its lower priced Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover during the quarter.

The company did not include production and delivery numbers for its heavy-duty Semi trucks.

Tesla said it produced 19,437 Model S and X vehicles, and 421,371 of its Model 3 and Y vehicles for the period ending March 31, 2023.

"We continued to transition towards a more even regional mix of vehicle builds," the company wrote in a statement Sunday.

Tesla now sells four models which are produced at two vehicle assembly plants in the US, one in Shanghai and another outside of Berlin. In March, CEO Elon Musk announced the company plans to build a new factory in Monterrey, Mexico, a day's drive from its factory in Austin, Texas.

The company also produces a heavy-duty truck, the Semi, at its battery plant in Sparks, Nevada. The company began deliveries of the Semi in December 2022.

According to a mean of estimates, compiled by FactSet as of Friday, Wall Street was expecting Tesla to report deliveries around 432,000 vehicles for the quarter. Estimates included in the FactSet analysis ranged from 410,000 to 451,000 deliveries expected.

The independent researcher who publishes under the handle TroyTeslike was expecting deliveries of 427,000 and production totaling 445,920 vehicles.

The first quarter of 2023 was marked by repeated price cuts by Tesla including in the U.S., Europe and China.

Tesla's moves sparked a so-called "price war" in EVs, and posed a challenge to competitors including Ford and General Motors who are trying to gain marketshare in the fully electric vehicle segment domestically.

Tesla shares rose more than 60% in the first quarter to close at $207.46 on Friday ahead of the production and deliveries report. (They closed at $123.18 on December 30th, the last day of trading in 2022.)
The best place to live in the U.S. isn't a major metropolis such as New York City or Los Angeles, but a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to Niche's 2023 ranking. The list ranked 17,932 towns and neighborhoods using data from the U.S. Census, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and CDC in combination with millions of reviews from residents. The best places to live were decided based on the following factors: Affordability

Local housing market

Neighborhood diversity

Area public schools

Walkability

Top 10 best places to live in the U.S. 2023

Chesterbrook, Philadelphia, Pa. Colonial Village, Arlington, Va. Ardmore, Philadelphia, Pa. Hyde ParkSpanishtown Creek, Tampa, Fla. Penn Wynne, Philadelphia, Pa. City Center, Santa Monica, Calif. Cambridgeport, Mass. North Quarter, Orlando, Fla. Devon, Philadelphia, Pa. Great Neck Gardens, Long Island, N.Y. Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, is the No. 1 best place to live in America for the fourth year in a row. The Philadelphia suburb is known for its high-ranking education system. The local Tredyffrin-Easttown School District placed No. 2 in the state and No. 27 in the country on Niche's ranking this year, Cortland Reed, data analyst at Niche, told CNBC Make It. The suburb is also near several colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, Haverford College and Villanova University. Though Chesterbrook has high scores in education, housing and in its reviews from residents, it scored low in affordability and weather. The median listing home price in Chesterbrook is $434,750, according to Realtor.com.
Russia assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday causing fury in Ukraine.

Russia, whose leader is accused of war crimes, assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday causing fury in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling it an absurd and destructive move.

The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Unfortunately, we... have some obviously absurd and destructive news," Zelenskyy said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a five-month-old boy on Friday.

"And at the same time Russia is chairing the UN Security Council. It's hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions," he said.

The presidency rotates alphabetically each month among the 15 members. Although it is largely procedural, the Kremlin and other Russian officials vowed to "exercise all its rights" in the role.

The United States on Thursday urged Russia to "conduct itself professionally" when it assumes the role, saying there was no means to block Moscow from the post.

In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) - an international justice body not associated with the UN - issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia's presidency of the Security Council a "slap in the face to the international community." Zelenskyy said it was time for a general overhaul of global institutions, including the Security Council.

"Reform is obviously necessary to prevent a terrorist state - and any other state that wants to be a terrorist - from destroying the peace," he said.

Some 400 days into the war, which has killed thousands, destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of civilians to flight, Russia continues to take over parts of the country, pressing on with its assault in the east.

Earlier, Zelenskyy advisor Andriy Yermak also hit out at Iran, which Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms. Tehran denies it is giving weapons to Russia.

"It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state  Iran - another terror state  Russia  begins to preside over the U.N. Security Council," Yermak wrote on Twitter, referring to Iran's Islamic Republic Day holiday.
Press Release

March 31, 2023 Zubiri: Want nurses to stay, then increase their salaries Following President Bongbong Marcos's order for the Commission on Higher Education to address the mass exodus of Filipino nurses to explore employment opportunities abroad, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has doubled down on his stance that Filipino workers, nurses included, are leaving the country due to insufficient wages. "Small private hospitals here pay nurses as low as fifteen to twenty thousand pesos a month," Zubiri stressed. "And they are likely overworked, looking after more than their fair share of patients as more and more of their colleagues leave for better pastures abroad." "Who can blame them for leaving? Overseas, they earn somewhere around P150,000 to P200,000 a month. Our salaries and benefits offer no competition." According to the Department of Health, the country is presently dealing with a shortage of 350,000 nurses. "If we want nurses to stay in the country, we need to increase their salaries. That's really the long and short of the diaspora problem that we're having. "I have no doubt that our nurses want to stay here. They want to be with their families, and they want to help our people. But they need to make a decent living as well, and they need to be paid in wages and benefits that are commensurate to the work that they render. If they don't get this, then they have no other choice but to leave."
Rep. Regina English hasnt seen two of her grandchildren in over six years.

English, D-Colorado Springs, said these two of her 10 grandchildren live in Colorado, only a drive away, but a custody dispute between their parents has left English without any access for visitation. Grandparents can petition a court for visitation rights, but the location and language of current state law makes it difficult for grandparents to win these cases, she said.

Now, English is sponsoring House Bill 1026 to try to strengthen grandparents legal cases in these situations.

Theres not a day that ever goes by that I dont think about my grandkids," English said through tears. There has been a lot of time lost because of parental disagreements. Its not fair when grandparents are pulled into those things.  All were asking for the judge to do is be more inclusive when its in the best interest of the grandchildren.

If passed into law, the bill would allow courts to appoint an attorney to represent the child in these proceedings and would explicitly tie the courts decision to what is in the best interest for the child, in cases when grandparents or great-grandparents seek visitation rights for their grandchild when the childs parents have divorced, died, or lost or given up custody.

Carrying on from current law, if the childs parent or parents oppose the visitation, grandparents must clearly and convincingly prove to the court that it would be in the childs best interest to spend time with their grandparents.

HB 1026 passed its first committee vote last week, receiving 12-1 approval from the House Judiciary Committee. It is scheduled to face the full House for consideration on Monday.

Only Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose, voted against the bill. Luck said she wants more time to look further into some of the details of the bills text, but I strongly support what youre trying to do in terms of strengthening families through this mechanism.

We think that weve written it in a way where we can manage and respect parents rights, but also say if this is a relationship that is positive, loving and caring, it does help kids and its worth talking about, said Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, who voted in support of the bill. Im glad that we could protect, we could learn, and we could also support.

The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Office of the Child's Representative and AARP are backing the bill, in addition to a handful of grandparents who testified in support of the bill in committee.

Violence Free Colorado, the only group registered in opposition to the bill, changed its position to neutral after lawmakers adjusted the bill to clarify that the grandparent visitation would not give parents who lost custody access to their child.

HB 1026 is one of Englishs top priorities of her first legislative session, she told Colorado Politics at the beginning of the year.

"I've met so many other grandparents on this campaign trail who are going through the same exact thing, English said in January. I believe that's why I was put in this space. God put me in this space to change this narrative for grandparents. I'm honored to be in a position of power and to use it in a meaningful way."

If passed by the House next week, the bill will be sent to the Senate for further consideration. It would take effect in August.
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I've been a reporter and editor at Missouri community newspapers for 35 years and joined the Columbia Missourian in 2003. My emphasis at the Missourian is on local government and elections. You can reach me at swaffords@missouri.edu or at 573-884-5366.

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Then things took a different turn altogether, starting in the 1980s, the two countries set out on an ambitious path of nuclear cooperation. In the process, they imposed new restraints on their nuclear programs and rewrote national security doctrines to eliminate the possibility of war. To everyones surprise, they also built a mechanism of mutual nuclear inspections that was unprecedented anywhere.

In 1994, Argentina and Brazil joined the Tlatelolco Treaty that established Latin America and the Caribbean as a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. Shortly thereafter, they both joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, definitively establishing themselves as non-nuclear actors -- and, above all, peaceful neighbours. But how did this happen?

In November 1983, under the military government rule, when the Argentine government announced its mastery of the technology to enrich uranium, it caught Brazilian authorities by surprise, and they doubled down on their effort to develop their uranium-enrichment capacity. A month after, civilian rule returned to Argentina and the new president understood the risk of Brazil and Argentina becoming ensnared in a nuclear arms race and when civilian rule also returned to Brazil in 1985, the two democratically elected leaders began working quickly to build trust. Additional gestures of trust were made by the Argentine leader by inviting the Brazilian President to the Argentine nuclear facility. The spirit of reciprocity required the same courtesy to be extended vice-versa, which was indeed done when the Argentine president visited Brazilian nuclear facility in 1986. Working on this Gandhian principle of negotiation and persuasion, Argentine and Brazilian officials were able to establish a high degree of empathy and trust at the highest levels. They could have led to a serious deterioration in the relationship, but ended up leading to greater nuclear cooperation instead. In a recent interview, Jose Sarney, the then president of Brazil took pride in how the relationship he achieved with Alfonsin -- the then president of Argentina -- helped avert a bigger crisis and establish a trusting relationship.

In a recent interview, Jose Sarney, the then president of Brazil took pride in how the relationship he achieved with Alfonsin -- the then president of Argentina -- helped avert a bigger crisis and establish a trusting relationship.

If Brazil and Argentina can establish themselves as non-nuclear actors, why can't India and Pakistan?

The India-Pakistan conflict is a long-standing issue with deep-rooted historical, political, and cultural differences. While there is no easy solution to this complex issue, a Gandhian approach can provide some insights into how the conflict can be resolved Gandhi believed in the power of dialogue and negotiation to resolve conflicts.

India and Pakistan need to engage in sustained and sincere dialogue to resolve their differences. This dialogue should involve not just political leaders, but also civil society groups, academics, and other stakeholders. The pertinent question is when Brazil and Argentina can do it, why can India and Pakistan not do it?

The earlier the two countries realize the futility of being engaged in a nuclear arms race, the better it would be for the common citizens of both countries as well as entire South Asia. In fact, India and Pakistan should take the initiative to create a South Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone just as one was created in Latin America and Caribbean.

Another Gandhian principle is the power of non-violent resistance (ahimsa) as a means to bring about change. Both India and Pakistan should avoid any kind of violence or aggression towards each other and focus on peaceful means to resolve their issues.

Gandhi emphasized the importance of empathy and understanding towards those with whom we have a conflict. India and Pakistan need to understand each other's perspectives and concerns, and show empathy towards each other's struggles.

India and Pakistan need to take steps to build mutual trust, such as cultural exchanges, people-to-people contacts, and economic cooperation.

The conflicts can be resolved when both sides identify their common goals and work together towards that. India and Pakistan should identify common goals, such as regional stability, economic development, and peace, and work towards achieving them together.

This application could be seen in the Panchsheel, or the five principles of peaceful co-existence, first formally enunciated in the agreement on trade and intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India on April 29, 1954 -- which consists of mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each others internal affairs, equality and co-operation for mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence, which is considered to be an example of the Gandhian principles in international relations.

---

*3rd year BA-LLB student at NALSAR, Hyderabad

In a world defined by competition over cooperation, and the acquisition of arms prioritised over the pursuit of diplomacy, the threat of a nuclear weapon being used is higher than it has been in generations. Promising national security, the modern state has come to regard nuclear weapons as an irresistible force for peace strategic stability and a more tranquil future.They are regarded as the most powerful and destructive weapons held in the arsenals of modern state capable of inflicting a remarkable degree of overkill. It is in this context that various forms of less militant response, including the methods of conflict resolution adopted by India's nationalist leader, Mohandas Gandhi, deserves a second look.While Gandhi did not directly address the issue of nuclear weapons, his philosophy of non-violence is cited as a model for achieving disarmament and peaceful conflict resolution. He believed that violence only begets more violence, and that the only way to break the cycle of aggression was to refuse to engage in it.During the 1970s and 1980s, Argentina and Brazil, which happen to be neighbours, engaged in a nuclear arms race, as both countries sought to establish themselves as regional powers in Latin America. The development of nuclear weapons was seen as a way to demonstrate military superiority and deter potential threats.With a long-standing diplomatic rivalry, they were now bent upon developing sensitive nuclear technology, including enriching and reprocessing uranium, and building ballistic missiles. Making matters worse, military regimes governed both countries at the time, and this work took place with no civilian scrutiny. National security doctrines in both countries identified each other as a major potential security threat, with the armed forces having contingency plans in place in the event of war.
Lindsay Diaz came home one day to find that her life was ruined by the kookiest of mishaps. Her house had been completely demolished by Billy L. Nabors Demolition, whose slogan is "We could wreck the world -- Jesus saves," which is the demolition man's version of "Kill 'em all and let God sort them out." When confronted, the company insisted that they had been contracted to tear down 7601 Cousteau Drive. The only problem was that Diaz's address was 7601 Calypso Drive, which for Google Maps somehow counted as "close enough."

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A spokesperson for Google admitted, "Both addresses were shown as being in the same location on Google Maps," adding that "the issue was fixed as soon as it was brought to our attention." Thank goodness they corrected that glitch after the demolition. That solves everything! At least now the pizza delivery guy won't get lost when he's bringing an order to the pile of rubble.

Afterwards, the demolition company issued this heartfelt statement to a very angry Diaz: "It's not a big deal." Sure, who among us has not accidentally unleashed a brigade of steel machines to rip apart a woman's life, then looked over, saw the street sign, and went "Whoopsie daisy"? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone at the glass house, Ms. Diaz. Well, she doesn't have a house anymore, so she can throw all the stones she likes.
There are countless greats in stand-up history, but youre in rarefied air when someone can drop your name as the possible GOAT and be met with responses of, Yeah, good call. Thats the level that Richard Pryor achieved. But with those highest of highs also came the lowest of lows.

There is a litany of reasons why a Pryor biopic has been lingering in development hell for decades. For one, his life was so full of tragedy that theyd never be able to fit it all in. Hell, in 1986, Pryor wrote, directed and starred in one himself, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, and that barely scratched the surface.

Play

For another, theres no way to dramatize these stories that will be able to hold a candle to how Pryors stand-up performances unleashed the magical touch needed to turn the darkest stories into comedic gold...

10 On Nuclear War The motherfuckers say, Hey, man, if they had a nuclear war, they wouldnt have to drop no bombs. All they have to do is tell us theyre going to. Then theyll announce to us, Find the fallout shelters. But aint a motherfucker here that knows where one is at: Right! Oh, shit Eh, wait a minute, I knew where it was in high school. Wait a minute They say well have a half an hour warning. That aint enough time. I want at least nine or 10 months. Play

8 On Manly Heartbreak Men here, have you ever had your heart broke? Women get their heart broke, and they cry. Men dont do that shit. Men hold that shit in like, It dont hurt, but walkin around and getting hit by trucks. Didnt he see that truck? Motherfucker, he wouldnt have seen a 747 cause his heart was broken. Play

7 The Gunslinger, The Richard Pryor Show This cowboy sketch gives us a slow burn but a worthwhile payoff. Bonus points for the brief glimpse into an alternate world where Pryor actually got to star in Blazing Saddles. Play Advertisement Advertisement

6 On Drinking I stopped drinking cause I got tired of waking up in my car, driving 90.

5 On Africa I went to Zimbabwe. Its a new country. Its about three years old now. It used to be Rhodesia before they killed all them white motherfuckers. Its the only country Ive been to where Black people kicked ass over there. Seven years, they killed motherfuckers, Jack. They happy too. You walk down the street, and theyre just smiling: Hello. Oh, they dont fuck with us no more, no. I was over there with some American brothers. I met an American brother. He came over there on vacation. He called home and said, Bitch, sell all the shit. I aint never coming back to that mother. Sell my motorcycle and my shirt. Bring your ass on. Advertisement Advertisement

4 Egypt, The Richard Pryor Show In which a discovery rewrites (white) history forever. Play

3 On Living Around White People in the Country I live in Hawaii. I wanted to go to a place where there was no people. And I found the place. Theres 500 people where I live. And theyre brown. I like that because you can sleep at night. Cause you live around white people in the country, anything can happen. Not that I dont trust white people. Its just in the night, something happens to white people when you start drinking. When you hear one of them motherfuckers go, Yee-haw!, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Cause I know whats next. That yee-haw means get a rope and get a Black motherfucker. Advertisement Advertisement

2 Rebuttal, Idi Amin Dada, The Richard Pryor Show Having this sketch end with one of the most brutal dictators in modern history shooting up the NBC newsroom may have been one of the reasons that The Richard Pryor Show was canceled after only four episodes. Play
Theft of opioids from patients in long-term care facilities is a widespread and preventable problem, according to a UConn researcher.

Eilon Caspi is a gerontologist at UConn, studying ways of improving understanding of various forms of elder mistreatment in long-term care homes.

When Caspi was living and conducting research in Minnesota, he came across a data set of 107 investigation reports, all substantiated by the Minnesota Department of Health, dealing with what the department euphemistically called drug diversion in long-term care homes for older people.

Caspi doesnt like the term drug diversion, saying it devalues and dismisses the experience of the people to whom the pain medications belong, and it's a very institution-centered term.

OK, the medications were diverted from point A to point B. It doesn't even take into consideration the person to whom the medication belongs, let alone leaving them, in some cases, in pain that is avoidable, he said.

Caspi prefers to call it theft of opioids.

It's very easily dismissed as, Oh, no, these are just isolated cases, this nurse here and that nurse aide there, and were taking care of it, it's fine, Caspi said. But what we found is very concerning.

While Caspis data set was from Minnesota, theft of pain medication is not a Minnesota-specific problem, he said. A search through Medicare data shows many similar cases in Connecticut.

Medication diversion is an issue throughout the healthcare industry and across all provider types, state Department of Public Health spokesman Chris Boyle said.

For example, an investigation into an incident in July of last year showed that a long-term care resident at Beechwood in New London did not receive his scheduled dose of medication for nine days. The file states, The report also identified that resident #1 did not receive medication due to diversion of shipped medication.

In response to a request for comment, Beechwood issued the following statement by email: "Beechwood has been family owned and operated for almost 70 years. We are proud to have always given the best quality care, including not a single death from COVID. We are not perfect though. When something doesn't meet our expectations, we learn, we double our efforts, and we move forward. This matter was an isolated incident involving an isolated employee who is no longer employed by the facility. The facility was placed back in regulatory compliance after a plan of correction was submitted, received and validated by the Connecticut Department of Public Health."

Officials in Connecticut have identified 21 instances where an extended care facility reported a loss of controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV and V that resulted in an investigation between January 2022 and March 16, 2023, according to state Department of Consumer Protection spokesperson Kaitlyn Krasselt.

How many of those were thefts of opioids, however, is not known: We do not differentiate the types of controlled substances in the files, Krasselt said.

Sen. Jan Hochadel, D-Meriden, co-chair of the legislature's Aging Committee, said she was appalled to learn how common opioid theft is. Her father, she said, spent his last days in hospice. Caspis study, she said, was released one day after her father died.

I'm really actually surprised, she said. He was in a lot of pain, which is why this hit me really hard. If somebody had been taking his pain medications, that would have just been unbearable.

Though she said her committee had not yet considered opioid theft, Hochadel said that immediately after receiving media requests for comment, she spoke with her committee co-chair, Rep. Jane Garibay, D-Windsor, and told her we need to get a meeting with the commissioner of aging and see if it's on their radar, and see if this is a bill that we have to do for accountability purposes next year.

Caspi said his team found several trends in the data: The first one was many issues with policies and procedures, whether there was a lack of policies or procedures or inadequate policies or procedures or they had policies or procedures that were not followed internally within the setting.

The second trend was opioid pain medications being left unsecured. There were many, many examples of when it's brought from the pharmacy, its placed on a nurse's desk and sits there for hours, he said. All you need is someone to come in and just pick it up and leave.

The thefts, Caspi said, are almost all preventable.

I believe that the vast majority of them are preventable. I want to say all of them, he said. Many times, it came down to not doing basic, basic things such as not reconciling medication, so not comparing what has been logged out and what has been used and no cross-references, not doing a controlled substance count during shift change. I'm talking about really basic, basic things.
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An explosion tore through a cafe in Russias second-largest city Sunday, killing a well-known military blogger and strident supporter of the war in Ukraine. Some reports said a bomb was embedded in a bust of the blogger that was given to him as a gift.

Russian officials said Vladlen Tatarsky was killed as he was leading a discussion at the cafe on the bank of the Neva River in the historic heart of St. Petersburg. Some 30 people were wounded in the blast, Russia's Health Ministry reported.

Russian media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public when a woman presented him with a box containing a bust of him that apparently blew up. A patriotic Russian group that organized the event said it had taken security precautions but acknowledged that those measures proved insufficient.

In remarks recorded on video, a witness said that a woman who identified herself as Nastya asked questions and exchanged remarks with Tatarsky during the discussion.

The witness, Alisa Smotrova, quoted Nastya as saying she had made a bust of the blogger but that guards asked her to leave it at the door, suspecting it could be a bomb. Nastya and Tatarsky joked and laughed. She then went to the door, grabbed the bust and presented it to Tatarsky.

He reportedly put the bust on a nearby table, and the explosion followed. Smotrova described people running in panic, some hurt by shattered glass and covered in blood.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported that a St. Petersburg woman, Darya Tryopova, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the bombing. It said that she had been previously detained for taking part in anti-war rallies.

A video posted on Russian messaging app channels showed the cafe after the explosion. Tables and chairs were broken and stained by blood, and shards of glass littered the floor.

Russian media said investigators were looking at the bust as the possible source of the blast but have not ruled out the possibility that an explosive device was planted in the cafe before the event.

Russias Investigative Committee, the state's top criminal investigation agency, opened a probe on charges of murder.

No one publicly claimed responsibility, but military bloggers and patriotic commentators immediately pointed a finger at Ukraine and compared the bombing to the killing last August of Darya Dugina, a nationalist TV commentator. She was killed when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow.

Russian authorities blamed Ukraines military intelligence for Duginas death, but Kyiv denied involvement.

Reacting to the latest incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tatarskys activities have won him the hatred of the Kyiv regime and noted that he and other Russian military bloggers long have faced Ukrainian threats.

Dugina's father, Alexander Dugin, a nationalist philosopher and political theorist who strongly supports the invasion of Ukraine, hailed Tatarsky as an "immortal" hero who died to save the Russian people.

There must be no talks with the terrorists other than about their unconditional surrender, Dugin said. A victory parade must take place in Kyiv.

Since the fighting in Ukraine began Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainian authorities have refrained from claiming responsibility for various fires, explosions and apparent assassinations in Russia. At the same time, officials in Kyiv have jubilantly greeted such events and insisted on Ukraines right to launch attacks in Russia.

A top Ukrainian government official cast the explosion that killed Tatarsky as part of internal turmoil.

Spiders are eating each other in a jar, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote in English on Twitter. Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time.

Tatarsky, who had filed regular reports from Ukraine, was the pen name for Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel.

Born in the Donbas, Ukraines industrial heartland, Tatarsky worked as a coal miner before starting a furniture business. When he ran into financial difficulties, he robbed a bank and was sentenced to prison. He fled from custody after a Russia-backed separatist rebellion engulfed the Donbas in 2014, weeks after Moscows annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Then he joined separatist rebels and fought on the front line before turning to blogging.

Tatarsky was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

After the Kremlin's annexation of four regions of Ukraine last year that most of the world rejected as illegal, Tatarsky posted a video in which he vowed: Thats it. Well defeat everybody, kill everybody, rob everybody we need to. It will all be the way we like it. God be with you.

Military bloggers have played an increasingly prominent and influential role in the flow of information about Russias invasion of Ukraine. They have almost universally championed the goals of the campaign but at times criticize Russian military strategy and tactical decisions.

At the same time, the Kremlin has squelched alternative voices opposing the war by shutting down news outlets, limiting the publics access to information and jailing critics.
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PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP)  Economy expert and political novice Jakov Milatovic won the presidential runoff election in Montenegro on Sunday, defeating the pro-Western incumbent who has been in power for more than three decades in the small NATO member nation in Europe, the candidates and polls said.

Milatovic, who is backed by Montenegro's governing majority, won around 60% in the vote Sunday while Milo Djukanovic won around 40%, according to predictions released by the usually reliable Center for Monitoring and Research and based on vote sample.

In a victory speech, Milatovic described the moment as historic" and promised to help lead Montenegro into the European Union during his five-year term in office.

Tonight is the night that we waited for the past 30 years, said Milatovic, blasting Djukanovic as the last dictator in Europe.

We want to deal with issues that are of vital importance: the rule of law, economy and European integration, said Milatovic. We are leaving the past behind and making a decisive step into the future. This is a historic day for us."

Djukanovic conceded defeat and congratulated Milatovic on his victory. He said he was proud of the result he has achieved after such a long period in power.

Montenegro has chosen and I respect that choice, said Djukanovic. "Elections are sometimes won - we won for a very long time - sometimes you lose. I wish the new president that he be worthy of the trust he received.

The state election authorities on Sunday evening only announced that the turnout was at nearly 70%.

Analysts said the results could change slightly as the vote count progresses but that the gap between the two is too wide for major changes.

This result is an indicator that the final result won't be substantially different, said the group analyst Ana Nenezic.

Milatovics victory is believed to reflect voter fatigue with Djukanovic, who has served multiple times as both president and prime minister in the past decades, and disillusionment with established politicians. Milatovic, 36, first entered politics in 2020 after earning his education in Britain and the United States.

Djukanovic is credited with leading his country to independence from Serbia in 2006 and defying Russia to steer Montenegro into NATO in 2017. But critics say Djukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists have let crime and corruption engulf society.

The DPS was ousted from power in a 2020 parliamentary vote but Djukanovic has remained in office until his five-year mandate finished. His defeat on Sunday means that both he and his party will be in opposition for the first time since late 1980s.

Milatovic's supporters took to the streets of Montenegrin cities as the outcome became clear, staging fireworks, honking car horns as they drove around the streets. Hundreds gathered outside the main church in Podgorica, reflecting ruling coalition's close ties with the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbia.

The Serbian Orthodox Church played an important role in a protest movement that eventually resulted in the DPS removal from power in 2020. Many Montenegrins declare themselves as Serbs and they support improving relations with the much larger neighbor.

Sundays runoff vote was scheduled after none of the contenders won a majority in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Some 540,000 people were eligible to vote. Montenegro has a population of 620,000 and borders Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and the Adriatic Sea.

The outcome of Sundays election is likely to reflect on an early parliamentary election set for June 11. That vote was scheduled because of a months-long government deadlock that stalled Montenegros pending European Union membership and alarmed the West as war rages in Ukraine.

Though Milatovics Europe Now group is formally not part of the ruling coalition, his presidential candidacy won backing from the shaky alliance that includes parties that advocate closer ties with neighboring Serbia and Russia.

Milatovic has denied Djukanovics allegations that the governing coalition was pushing Montenegro back under Serbias influence.

With Milatovics triumph, his Europe Now movement could also find itself in a position to dominate the next government after Junes parliamentary election.

Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary election collapsed. As the economy minister in that government, Milatovic gained popularity by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not as an outcome of reform.
BEIRUT (AP)  Authorities in Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region said Sunday they have reached a preliminary deal with the central government in Baghdad that will allow oil exports from the northern Kurdish region by way of Turkey to resume.

The central government's Ministry of Oil said in a statement that while a final agreement has not been reached yet, it hopes to reach an agreement to resume oil exports soon.

The ministry statement said that Baghdad is keen to expedite the resumption of exports of the regions oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan."

Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish government, have long been at odds over oil revenues, a dispute that has been exacerbated by the lack of a federal law detailing the sharing of funds from oil and gas exports.

The announcement comes after an arbitration process by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) last sided with Iraq over a long-standing dispute over the independent export of oil by the Kurdish regional government.

Exports via a pipeline that goes through Iraqs Fish Khabur border crossing to Turkeys Ceyhan port will resume this week, according to Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish regional government.

Iraq filed for arbitration against Turkey in 2014 after the Kurdish region began exporting the resource without the consent of Baghdad through the neighboring country. Iraq argued that a 1973 agreement with Turkey requires all oil exports to go through Iraqs state-owned oil marketing company, SOMO.

Iraqi officials announced on March 25 that the arbitration tribunal had ruled in its favor. Turkeys Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said in a statement that the arbitration ruling had thrown out four of Iraqs five claims and upheld one.

In any case, the ruling halted oil exports from the Kurdish region by way of Ceyhan, which previously amounted to about half a million barrels per day. The stoppage, if prolonged, would have been a significant blow both to global oil supplies and to the Kurdish regions budget.

Already in recent years the Kurdish government has frequently been late in paying public sector salaries, in part due to the ongoing dispute over oil and gas revenues, which has led to the central government withholding budget transfers to Irbil.

Ghafuri said Sunday that after several meetings between officials from Irbil and Baghdad, an initial agreement had been reached allowing exports to resume. The agreement will remain in effect until the long-delayed oil and gas law is passed by the Iraqi Parliament, he said.

Under the deal, oil will be exported jointly by SOMO and the Kurdish regions Ministry of Natural Resources, with the revenues going to a financial account managed by the Kurdish government and monitored by the central government.

The central governments Ministry of Oil said in its statement that technical issues remain to be resolved between Baghdad and Irbil.

The head of the parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, Haibet al-Halbousi, said Sunday in a statement that there is a quasi-political consensus to speed up passage of an oil and gas law and that the committee will be meeting with the heads of the various political blocs to reach a consensus. The oil and gas law serves all Iraqis and not a specific party, because oil and mineral investments belong to all the people, Halbousi said.

In a statement on the arbitration decision, Turkeys Energy and Natural Resources Ministry on Tuesday stressed Ankaras support for Iraqs territorial integrity, the political and economic stability of both Iraq and the region and its efforts to support global oil markets.

As always, Turkey is ready to fulfill the requirements of international law and to provide all types of contributions to the permanent settlement between the main parties to the dispute, the statement added.

-

Associated Press writer Andrew Wilks in Istanbul contributed to this report.
(Yes, I too am wondering why it now takes me so much longer to write editorials.)

In those pre-internet days, research came from the six weeks worth of Time, Newsweek, Business Week and U.S. News & World Report we lugged around. Pop culture was rarely an option, which made this rounds challenge on one of my three slips of paper all the more memorable.

Is Brooke Shields detrimental to America's youth?

I opted for something more traditional, like an assessment of what we might expect from that actor who just became president or how to anticipate Irans next chess moves. But as a 17-year-old, my strongest opinion was that some adult had written an offensive question about a 15-year-old.

Sure, Shields had just been on the cover of Time, but that piece didnt mirror the prurient nature of the query (though it did contain other bone-headed lines. Shields portrayal of a 12-year-old prostitute in the 1978 film Pretty Baby is pondered as possibly inspiring the campy fad of very young models).

I hadnt seen Pretty Baby or 1980s Blue Lagoon (and still havent), but that wasnt necessary to recognize that if Shields was being objectified, blaming her for it was just another layer of exploitation.

Four years later, I was working as a news reporter and photographer in New Jersey when I got an unusual assignment. The society editor, Elaine De Micco, asked me to photograph a fashion show in Paramus that would launch Shields new line of sportswear. She seemed to think I would enjoy getting to photograph Shields during their pre-show interview.

Yes, I would, as a matter of fact.

I even managed to catch Brooke Shields eye  for all the wrong reasons.

Elaine and Brooke sat across from each other in facing chairs in a large and otherwise empty room. It was not ideal for being a stealth shutterbug, but at least there were no other photographers in the room to navigate.

What could go wrong?

Having neglected to just leave my camera bag on the floor, I lugged it over one shoulder, with the camera strap also around my neck. Somehow, they tangled and wrapped around my right arm, the one I was hoping to take pictures with. It was like they were leashes and the dogs were chasing each other around me.

Basically, just imagine how Kramer might have handled the gig on Seinfeld.

It just kept getting worse, like I was performing improv for an audience of two. The Human Knot  with a dangling camera. Eventually, the audience members noticed. Shields motioned toward me with her hands expressing the universal sign language for What is happening?

If only I could have gotten my hands on the camera in time to take that pic.

Fortunately, I found a way out of my own trap, and discovered that despite my best efforts, it was impossible to take a bad photo of 20-year-old Brooke Shields.

During the subsequent runway show featuring Shields and some of her Princeton classmates, I also discovered that I am no fashion photographer. If models look like theyre moving slowly, youre not watching them through a lens. Serendipitously, the next stop on her tour was in Stamford, where she hosted another show at Saks Fifth Avenue and signed copies of her book On Your Own at Waldenbooks.

The next time I saw Shields, she was the one holding the camera. I was covering the final of the 1994 U.S. Open and her boyfriend, Andre Agassi, had just won the title.

Agassi was still doing TV interviews while the scrum of sportswriters were getting impatient in the press room.

Brooke, Brooke, Brooke, a few chanted.

After some nudging, she cautiously stepped into the spotlight and filled Agassis seat until he arrived. Again came the What is happening? hand signals. This time she was the fish out of water. But Brooke Shields was a lot more adept at handling sportswriters than I was at photographing models.

Shes back in the news these days in the documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields airing on Hulu. It tells her story as a survivor, as well as a larger one. Has anything really changed in how girls are treated 40 years later?

My wife and I teach a class about journalism on film at UConn and repeatedly find inspiration in how the students reject outdated norms that surface in old films. They recognize racism, sexism and abuse. They would know the answer to Is Brooke Shields detrimental to America's youth? and redirect the focus to the accuser.

But then, so did I when I was a teenager. Then, as now, its the adults who aim to exploit children who are detrimental to America.
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BRIDGEPORT  Five years after it closed, local education officials donned protective suits, masks and gloves and toured the inside of the shuttered Harding High School.

What they found was eye-popping.

"It's very sad. It's very disappointing. Made me angry," Albert Benejan Grajales, a school board member, said after touring of the closed site.

Board Chair Bobbi Brown in an emailed statement wrote she was "overwhelmed with the conditions the building was left in."

The tour took place March 30, two weeks after Steve Ronin, who produces and posts videos of "the world's abandoned places" online, released 30-minutes of footage of a recent illicit visit he and his crew made to the nearly 100-year-old Harding. The building on Central Avenue was de-activated in 2018 and the staff and students moved to a new, state-of-the-art structure a few blocks away.

Ronin's mini-documentary revealed a former educational facility left filled with furniture, equipment and supplies, raising questions about why neither its original owners, the public schools, nor Mayor Joe Ganim's administration, which assumed responsibility for the property in 2020, emptied it.

"The library had so much books," Grajales said. "They got so many things there."

And, as previously reported, Interim Schools Superintendent Alyshia Perrin, who was appointed to that position last November, said there were few records detailing what, if anything of value might have been re-purposed in Bridgeport's typically cash-strapped school district.

Brown said "certain items" were previously moved to the new Harding High, and "broken tables, chairs and un-used materials were left."

Another school board member who participated in the walk-through, Joseph Sokolovic, in his own written comments, said, "After seeing the conditions of the building, it was much worse than I thought. The building was rife with broken walls, shattered glass, ripped out pipes and insulation everywhere."

"It is apparent that it would be cost prohibitive to try to salvage anything at this point," he wrote.

Sokolovic was a board member in 2018 when the new Harding opened and has previously accepted some of the blame for not realizing the condition in which it was left. Brown and Grajales were elected in late 2019. In January 2020 then-Superintendent Michael Testani, who succeeded Aresta Johnson in mid-2019, announced that plans for the district to potentially re-use Harding had been dropped and the building would be turned over to the city.

Ganim's office has had little comment on the revelations about Harding, but the administration is in the middle of trying to sell the site for re-development. The economic development department earlier in March received two proposals. One of them was from neighbor Bridgeport Hospital.

Grajales and Brown said they at minimum hope to preserve some historic artifacts and artwork they found Thursday.

He was particularly impressed by a large painting still hanging in the library.

"I said, 'Wow, why cannot they bring this to the new Harding High School?" Garajales said.

Brown, who graduated from Harding in 2008, wrote she was "amazed at the newspaper clippings we found" from local publications and also from the school paper she once worked for.

"My hope is to see them cleaned and placed in the new Harding for safe keeping on display," Brown said. "I believe current students should have a chance to read about the school pride that the building has brought over the years."

Brown continued, "I wrote for the school paper when I was a student, and nothing brought me more excitement then to write about my friend's accomplishments and the teachers that made up our Harding High School community."

Perrin said besides herself and some of the school board members, personnel from the facilities and building construction offices joined the group.

"We observed the relics of a building that once bustled with learning, laughter and a rich history in the lives of many Bridgeport residents," Perrin wrote. "It was evident that the building had been left untouched since it was vacated in the summer of 2018 and has become a place that is only reminiscent of the original 'blue and gold' pride (the school's colors)."

She and school board members following the release of Ronin's video had stated their intent to improve the protocols governing building closures. Perrin reiterated that goal Friday.

"Members of the board of education were shocked to find that the building had not been properly managed, and are determined to correct the mistakes of the past by instituting a policy which thoroughly outlines the transition process," she said. "We will spend the needed time to flush out a transparent plan for future moves that will crystallize expectations for staff and delineate responsibilities to specified parties, all while memorializing the historic moments of past generations."

Grajales noted that as the city moves ahead with building a new Bassick High School on the South End to replace the aged West End location, he will help ensure the latter does not end up another Harding.

"It's not gonna happen," Garjales said. "A lot of things (existing property) will go to the new Bassick, I promise that 100 percent."
A bill to increase spending at Connecticut schools should be an easy sell. Everyone supports schools, in theory, and the state has plenty of money. In practice, there turn out to be a few questions.

The General Assemblys Education Committee unanimously approved a bill recently that would speed up the states phase-in of new funding metrics, which sounds fine, especially in a time of surplus. It would also apply Education Cost Sharing grants to charter schools, an aspect that has gone a bit under the radar.

Charter schools have long been controversial because funding that goes to them does not go to the regular public school system, which serves the vast majority of students. Charters also have a way of acting like public schools when its convenient, even as they are privately run and exempt from some rules that govern other schools. There hasnt been much growth in charter enrollment in the state in recent years, but that could change with the funding and other bills moving forward.

Charter schools, unlike regular public schools, dont take everyone who simply shows up, and the ability not to serve everyone means their metrics should be viewed skeptically. A number of lawmakers, apparently ignorant of all this, have voiced loud support for charters this session, which should give pause to supporters of public education.

Schools are just one part of a larger question of what to do with all this money the state finds itself with. Its possible no one in Hartford knows quite how to handle a surplus. Connecticut had so many years of endless deficits that everyone is still waiting for the situation to revert to its former self.

That dread doesnt apply to tax cuts, which is another story.

Its smart to be cautious. But this is also an opportunity not to be wasted. The state has real needs, the kind that can only be rectified with major funding increases. If not now, when?

In terms of education, everyone knows what the problems are. Money from local schools comes mostly from property taxes, which means towns that take in the most money from that source have the most to spend. Spending money means higher test scores, better-paid teachers, and more amenities and services.

It doesnt mean cities dont have good schools, because many people do very well in Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford. Theres nothing more poisonous than extolling the failure of city schools. But those schools are underfunded.

A coalition of school leaders has formed to seek more funding from the state in the form of Education Cost Sharing, which aims to make up the difference between what property taxes provide and what schools need. But even with all those dollars sitting in our state bank account, it is no sure thing it will come to pass.

The sticking point, advocates say, may be the governors office. The argument is that we shouldnt overcommit  we may have money now, but we need to be ready in case of recession.

Its not easy to find a better use of increased funding than K-12 schools. People who get a good education are less likely to require other kinds of spending in later years.

The governors office has said school enrollment statewide is down, which is true. But enrollment is falling in suburbs and, most acutely, rural areas; its not falling in the cities, where the needs are greatest. And even as statewide enrollment is down, the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and English-language learners is up.

The school solution we need is desegregation and regionalization, separating the direct link between property taxes and school funding. That is not going to happen in the near term. A halfhearted attempt by the Lamont administration in 2019 to regionalize back-office functions across districts, which was a cost-saving move rather than a bid for educational equity, led to such a firestorm from the suburbs that it was quickly abandoned.

Going back to that plan and moving further, by combining city and suburban classrooms, is a nonstarter at least as long as the current governor is in office, and likely much longer.

So we need intermediate steps. Speeding up ECS funding is a way to get there.

But if were going to be cautious about spending, as the governors office clearly is, why is there no similar caution about tax cuts?

A recently floated legislative idea to sunset planned tax cuts went over poorly, likely because everyone realizes that a sunsetting tax cut is the same as a delayed tax increase, and would thus hurt everyone politically. But it doesnt answer the question of why its OK to cut revenue in the long run but not to increase spending. They both have the same effect on the budget.

Its taken as a given that tax cuts are always good. Maybe they are. But if were serious about fixing what ails the state, in education and beyond, that type of thinking isnt going to work.

Hugh Bailey is editorial page editor of the Connecticut Post and New Haven Register. He can be reached at hbailey@hearstmediact.com.
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BRIDGEPORT  A city man was arrested early Saturday on a charge of driving under the influence after he was caught speeding recklessly on a local highway, state police said.

Luis Santiago, 31, was taken into custody shortly after 1 a.m. after troopers stopped his silver Kia Optima near Exit 5 on the northbound lanes of Route 8, according to a news release from the Connecticut State Police.
In a sign of how fast the news moves these days, what would have in other times been a dominant story for weeks has now already been pushed to the back burner. On March 27, six people, including three children, were killed in a mass shooting in Nashville, Tenn., and yet it took only days for the nations attention to move on.

The legal issues of a certain former president played a role in that, but its an indication that weve become, as a nation, almost numb to the crisis of mass shootings.

That cant be allowed to happen. What occurred in Nashville demands a national response, especially in the wake of school shootings in Uvalde, Texas; Parkland, Fla.; and, of course, Sandy Hook, Conn., a little more than a decade ago, among many others. We cant normalize a world where school shootings are simply a fact of life.

Not everyone agrees. The Tennessee congressman who represents the district said as much in the wake of the shooting. If you think Washington is going to fix this problem, youre wrong. Theyre not going to fix this problem, said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. One could ask why he bothered running for Congress at all.

The truth is, hes wrong. Its a fact that there are millions of guns in circulation in the United States, and no action is going to change that. But states have a patchwork of different laws, and statistics show that states with tougher gun laws have lower rates of gun violence.

That doesnt mean mass shootings dont happen in states with tough laws. California, for instance, has been the site of the San Bernardino mass shooting and others. Porous state lines and other factors, including online sales, continue to be a problem. But the patterns are clear  shootings are more common in states with lax gun laws.

Connecticut is on the far end of the spectrum in terms of gun safety, a consequence of the Sandy Hook killings that stand as the worst day in the history of the state. As anyone who follows the news also knows, that does not mean we are free of gun violence, which remains a scourge in our cities.

The state is moving the shore up those weaknesses in our laws. The General Assemblys Judiciary Committee voted recently to approve a comprehensive proposal introduced by Gov. Ned Lamont that seeks to prevent acts of gun violence, including mass shootings, with an additional focus on community violence, domestic violence, suicides and accidental shootings.

Its a worthy step. But it wont stop the killings. As long as guns are in circulation and other states allow easy sales, their availability will not go away. Still, it does make it harder for people to acquire weapons who are intent on causing harm, and as the statistics show, tougher gun laws lead to better public safety.

What is needed is national action. Connecticut can only do so much. Today, its the attitude of that Tennessee congressman that holds sway, much to everyones misfortune. Connecticut can and should take action, but safety ultimately is in the hands of our national leaders, who must do better.
When the Russian winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, Dmitry Muratov, in an interview with the BBC, warns of the imminent use of nuclear weapons by his country, many in the West will feel at least a twinge of terror  followed by the thought: let's not provoke Vladimir Putin too much with further military aid to Ukraine.

That is exactly what the Russian President would like us to think  although Muratov is anything but a Putin supporter: the independent newspaper he founded and edited, Novaya Gazeta, has been shut down by the Kremlin.

Muratov told the BBC's Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg: 'Two generations have lived without the threat of nuclear war. But this period is over. Will Putin press the nuclear button, or won't he? Who knows? No one knows this.'

He went on to point out how Russian 'state propaganda is preparing people to think that nuclear war isn't a bad thing. On TV channels here, nuclear war and nuclear weapons are promoted as if they're advertising pet food . . . so that people here are ready.'

It's true that Russian TV programmes about the war in Ukraine are full of pundits almost salivating about the prospect of 'destroying' Britain with nuclear strikes in retaliation for our steadfast military support for the Ukrainians  against a studio backdrop of mushroom clouds over London.

Vladimir Putin wants people in the West to worry about whether supplying Ukraine with more military aid will provoke him to use nuclear weapons

Muratov told the BBC's Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg: 'Two generations have lived without the threat of nuclear war. But this period is over. Will Putin press the nuclear button, or won't he? Who knows? No one knows this.' Pictured: October 2022 Russian Yars missile launch

SURVIVAL

Then, last week, Putin announced that Russia would build a facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, accompanied by a warning from that allied country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, that if Russia felt its survival was threatened by the way the West had been funnelling arms to Ukraine, Moscow could 'use the most terrible weapon'.

That these statements followed on from Putin's warning that Russia would 'respond accordingly' after the UK announced it would be supplying Kyiv with Challenger 2 tank shells containing depleted uranium has led some to suggest that London is provoking a dangerous nuclear escalation.

In fact, as Putin knows, such munitions are also used by Russia and have nothing whatever to do with nuclear warfare.

And in a later statement, the Russian president pointed out that the moving of nuclear weapons to Belarus was part of an existing plan 'outside the context' of the UK's supply of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.

More pertinently still, the facilities that Putin says will be constructed in Belarus take years to build  and there is no sign of any start to them.

In other words, while Putin has repeatedly attempted to use the threat of nuclear war as a deterrent against the West, while our governments consider how to respond to Ukraine's request for the weapons they need, our media must be careful not to amplify the Kremlin's threats, or exaggerate their significance.

This point is well made in a paper published by the Chatham House think-tank last week, entitled 'Russian Nuclear Intimidation: How Russia Uses Nuclear Threats To Shape Western Responses To Aggression'.

The author, Keir Giles, who worked in Russia for many years, observes: 'Russia has achieved substantial success in constraining Western support for Ukraine through use of threatening language around the possible use of nuclear weapons. Western leaders have explicitly justified reluctance to provide essential military assistance to Ukraine by reference to Russian narratives of uncontrollable escalation.

'This represents a striking success for Russian information campaigns . . . It is essential for responses to Russia's intimidatory rhetoric to be guided by a realistic assessment of its basis in reality, rather than by fear-induced paralysis.'

The truth is that whenever the West  which in this context principally means the U.S. government  has overcome its nervousness about supplying certain categories of weaponry to Ukraine, the Kremlin's response has not been to escalate, whatever its previous threats.

So, at the outset of the war, Putin warned the West that if it interfered at all, 'Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history'  and added, for the benefit of any who did not get this crudest of hints, that Russia is 'one of the most powerful nuclear states'.

Dmitry Muratov, the Russian winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, has warned of the imminent use of nuclear weapons by his country

INVASION

But the West began to intervene with the supply of weapons to Kyiv on a hitherto unimaginable scale: and Putin made no move whatsoever against Washington or London, still less on a nuclear scale.

President Biden did, however, for months refuse to supply Ukraine with the HIMARS long-range artillery system, probably because of Putin's ominous threat that Russia would 'strike new targets' if the U.S. did so.

But when Washington changed policy and said that it would send these devastatingly accurate weapons systems to Kyiv, Putin gave a sort of verbal shrug, to the effect that such weaponry 'doesn't change anything'.

Now, the weapons system that Ukraine has been begging for is the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of almost 200 miles and which would allow Kyiv to strike the main Russian supply routes in occupied southern Ukraine, greatly aiding the campaign to recapture the vital Black Sea port of Mariupol, where many thousands of the Kremlin's troops are massed.

Yet Washington has so far refused to supply ATACMS. It claims there are problems with availability, but it's clear the main reason is concern about how Putin would respond, in terms of 'escalation'.

The same rationale applied to the delays on the part of the West, notably Germany, to give a positive answer to Ukraine's longstanding request for tanks: there was a fear that this would cross some sort of line, and even provoke nuclear retaliation by the Kremlin.

Again, however, when the supposed red line was crossed, there was no 'escalation' from Russia  just yet more hysterical threats of nuclear strikes against Berlin from the increasingly desperate-sounding pseudo-military shock jocks on state broadcasting channels.

The fundamental point is this: if Western governments truly want Ukraine to force Russia out of the sovereign Ukrainian territory it has seized since its invasion just over a year ago, it makes no sense to refuse Kyiv any of the weapons that would make such an outcome more likely  and thereby help bring the Russians to the negotiating table in a position of the greatest military disadvantage.

Asked by a Western interviewer if Putin would 'go nuclear', author Mikhail Shishkin replied that while he was sure that the Russian president would be prepared to 'press the red button', 'nobody will fulfil his order to destroy the Earth. Nobody...'

BLUSTER

There are some cynics who say Washington's aim is to keep the war going as long as possible, and that it doesn't truly want Ukraine to 'win', just for the Russians not to be the victor.

But economically as much as militarily, it is not at all in the West's interests that this war should drag on for many years. Nor is it in our interests to augment the deterrent force of Putin's nuclear bluster.

Obviously, it is not impossible that he might use a tactical nuclear weapon, if only in a demonstrative way, in Ukraine. I have spoken to someone previously closely involved, at the highest level, with our own nuclear war-gaming, and he thought it very feasible that Putin would do something like that.

But he added that he saw 'no prospect of a nuclear war as traditionally understood'  the spectre which Vladimir Putin and his propagandists want us to fear he might unleash.

Apart from anything else, it is not Putin who physically or autonomously could 'press the button': such a decision goes through a chain of command. And even if a despairing Putin were to make such an order, would his general staff obey it?

Last week, much less publicised than Dmitry Muratov's warning of nuclear war, came a very different analysis from Russia's most celebrated author, Mikhail Shishkin, marking the publication of his book My Russia: War Or Peace?

Asked by a Western interviewer if Putin would 'go nuclear', Shishkin replied that while he was sure that the Russian president would be prepared to 'press the red button', 'nobody will fulfil his order to destroy the Earth. Nobody...'

Shishkin continued: 'Putin's generals told him they would take Kyiv in three days, and he miscalculated. He failed. And now he is a false tsar. Nobody will fulfil [such] an order from a false tsar.'
Wednesday.

A knock on the door. The collies go nuts. What now?

I have complex PTSD. A knock is triggering. Ooh. A package. I open it. I had thought it might be the Vax floor-cleaning fluid. But no.

It is a small blue Tiffany box, tied with a cream ribbon. There is a card. It says: 'A gift for no reason, and many. But mainly to make you smile. With love David X'

I'm pretty sure this isn't from David 2.0 who by the time you read this I will have met for dinner (Gracie's diarrhoea notwithstanding). He doesn't know my address. It can only be from David 1.0. The original David. The love of my life.

It is a small blue Tiffany box, tied with a cream ribbon. There is a card. It says: 'A gift for no reason, and many. But mainly to make you smile. With love David X'

I unfurl the ribbon and open the box. It's a pearl necklace.

Hmm. The last pearl necklace I was given was for my 18th birthday, from my dad. Years later I tried to pawn it at a place in Angel, Islington, only to be told the pearls were plastic.

And so, like any normal woman, I visit the Tiffany website. I find it. Bingo!

'Ziegfeld Collection Pearl Necklace with a Silver Clasp. Freshwater cultured pearls. 650.'

Why is he spending all this money on me? We are no longer together

Why? Why is he spending all this money on me? We are no longer together. This from a man who spent 21.99 on an engagement ring with a claw setting (eww!), which he presented to me while we were staying at the Plaza Athenee hotel in Paris, at my expense, and where an espresso cost 30 euros (and even then, he complained the coffee wasn't hot enough).

I then browse, rather furtively, all the other enticing items of jewellery on the site. The platinum. The diamonds. Everything is nicer than the necklace. It's like that scene in Sex and the City when Carrie tells the girls about the engagement ring to be presented to her by Aidan, which she spotted in his holdall.

'Well, and that's the other thing. The ring was not good. It was a pear-shaped diamond' Ewww! 'With a gold band' Ewww! Miranda: 'You wear gold jewellery.' 'Yeah, like ghetto gold, for fun. But this is my engagement ring.'

Jones Moans... What Liz loathes this week I bought a carpet cleaner from Vax a week ago. In the days since, they've sent me 19 emails. I spoke too soon  21

The Press Awards. Robbed!

I read about a freelance writer's second home in the Lake District, sleeps 12. He's not award-winning or nearly as popular as me. And I'm thinking, 'Nepo baby? Rich wife?' Then a woman, proud to have raised money for charity, writing about ignoring dog meat on her gap year in Vietnam. Thank God I'm not rich and comfortable: the blinkers, the arrogance, the ignorance Advertisement

I come across a pair of Elsa Peretti diamond and silver stud earrings in a bezel setting, 745. Now these I love. I wonder if I can change the gift without him knowing. I call the store.

They say it will be fine and that 'it happens all the time'.

I send David 1.0 an email. 'Thank you for the beautiful necklace. I don't want you spending money on me. Does it mean anything or are you just being nice? Liz x'

I have a very large robin's egg-blue Tiffany box in my wardrobe, from a pair of candlesticks given to me by my friend Sue Needleman. In it I keep all the cards and notes David has sent me over the years. (Also my framed wedding photos, which were propped around my cottage until my ex-husband wrote that I'm a racist in The Daily Telegraph. I've scribbled on his face.)

The earliest artefact is a postcard from Portugal stamped with the date 12 July 1983, which David sent to my rented home in London, in Chantrey Road, SW9 (my dad, on learning I was moving to Brixton, sent me a letter telling me it was 'the most dangerous street in Britain!').

I have read the postcard many times over the decades, with its romantic, loaded sentiment of, 'See you at the party!' (That was the occasion he got off with my friend Wilma.) When we started dating 30 years later, I showed him the treasured memento. 'Oh, I remember that!' he said, turning it over in his hands. The photo on the front is a pottery chicken. 'I sent you a picture of a giant cock!' I was so innocent  still am  that I never got the reference*.

I just thought he was sweet.

*I've just had a thought about this latest gift. No, no  surely not. Earrings it is!
Brace yourself... these are some of the world's most death-defying stunts

Standing on the edge of the world, a bend of blue horizon is all that separates the rock below from the great beyond.

At 114,829ft above the earth, daredevil Felix Baumgartner is about to make history - whether he survives the leap or not.

The countdown stops. Silence. He drops.

Tearing through the atmosphere at speeds reaching 843.6mph, the ground screaming closer, the world holds its breath....

Strap yourself in, and prepare for a nerve-shredding ride. These are some of the world's deadliest stunts.

Felix Baumgartner's Stratos Jump

On October 13, 2012, Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped 114,829ft (35,000 metres) from the edge of space, armed only with a pressure suit, a parachute and nerves of steel.

He free fell to Earth for more than four minutes, during which time he reached dizzying speeds of 843.6mph and broke the sound barrier, before opening his parachute and safely gliding down to land in New Mexico.

Born in April 1963, the now 53-year-old skydiver hails from Salzburg 'dreamed' of flying, with one of his childhood drawings aged 5 showing a man skydiving above a family who appear to be having a picnic on the ground below.

In 1999 he became a world record holder for completing the highest parachute jump from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which are 452 metres (1482 feet) tall.

On October 13, 2012, Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped 114,829ft (35,000 metres) from the edge of space, armed only with a pressure suit, a parachute and nerves of steel

He free fell to Earth for more than four minutes, during which time he reached dizzying speeds of 843.6mph and broke the sound barrier, before opening his parachute and safely gliding down to land in New Mexico

Mr Baumgartner was an accomplished skydiver who had completed thousands of jumps before setting his sights on space.

At 9:28 MDT, Mr Baumgartner boarded the Red Bull Stratos capsule wearing a pressurised suit, before soaring up to the edge of space, guided by a helium balloon.

Once the capsule reached an altitude of 127,852.4ft (38,969.4 metres), Mr Baumgarnter stepped off.

His freefall back to Earth lasted 4 minutes 30 seconds, and saw him reach dizzying speeds of 843.6mph (357.6 kph).

Once at 8,421.3ft (2,566.8 metres) above sea level, he pulled his chute and parachuted down to the ground.

His inspiration was Captain Joe Kittinger, a retired fighter pilot who had jumped to Earth from 102,800ft back in 1960.

Born in April 1963, the now 53-year-old skydiver hails from Salzburg 'dreamed' of flying, with one of his childhood drawings aged 5 showing a man skydiving above a family who appear to be having a picnic on the ground below

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary since the record-breaking dive, Mr Baumgartner spoke to MailOnline. He said: 'As a skydiver, you always want to push the envelope.

'What Joe accomplished in the 1960s after only 33 skydives  this is what I call a true pioneer.

'And I had a couple thousand skydives under my belt.

'You're always thinking, what more can I do? Go faster? Go higher? It's always floating out there.'

Mr Baumgartner had previously worked with Red Bull on base jumps, and reached out to them once again with the idea of jumping from space.

'Because of all the trust I'd built with Red Bull with base jumps, we took on that challenge trying to find the right people,' he explained.

This included his inspiration, Joe Kittinger, who agreed to help him.

'Joe made it very clear the first time I met him  I'm interested but I'm only going to support you if you take it seriously. You can't go from zero to hero. We have to do it the right way.'

The two years that followed involved rigorous planning and testing, which wasn't always smooth sailing.

'A lot of people didn't believe in us, so it took us a while to convince people to come on board,' Mr Baumgartner said. 'We had to be really patient.'

At 9:28 MDT, Mr Baumgartner boarded the Red Bull Stratos capsule wearing a pressurised suit, before soaring up to the edge of space, guided by a helium balloon

Mr Baumgartner had previously worked with Red Bull on base jumps, and reached out to them once again with the idea of jumping from space

His freefall back to Earth lasted 4 minutes 30 seconds, and saw him reach dizzying speeds of 843.6mph (357.6 kph). Once at 8,421.3ft (2,566.8 metres) above sea level, he pulled his chute and parachuted down to the ground

The plan was simple - Mr Baumgartner would board the Red Bull Stratos capsule wearing a pressurised suit, before soaring up to the edge of space, guided by a helium balloon.

Once he reached an altitude of 114,829ft (35,000 metres), Mr Baumgartner would open the capsule door and jump, freefalling for four minutes before opening his parachute and gliding to the ground.

While the entire mission would take less than three hours, Mr Baumgartner knew there were several things that could go wrong.

'It's a very hostile environment up there. If the suit fails, your blood would start to boil and you'd die in 15 seconds,' he said.'The parachute could malfunction or you could flat spin, which pushes all your blood into your skull. If that happens, at a certain RPM your blood only has one way out  through your eyeballs.'

Evel Knievel's Caesar's Palace Jump

Robert Craig Knievel, known professionally as Evel Knievel, was an American stunt performer, born in 1938 who died of pulmonary disease aged 69 in 2007.

He was a massive star in the 1970s and 1980s and always wore red, white and blue jumpsuits for his motorcycle stunts, for which throughout his career he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp jumps.

Montana native Evel, whose birth name was Robert Craig Knievel, was an American stunt performer and entertainer who was known for his red-white-and-blue jumpsuits, which his son Robbie also adopted for his career.

Robert Craig Knievel, known professionally as Evel Knievel, was an American stunt performer, born in 1938 and died of pulmonary disease aged 69 in 2007

Knievel's website says that Evel chose his nickname after spending a night in jail in 1956 after being arrested for reckless driving. He went with the Evel spelling rather than Evil as he did not want to be associated with the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang.

His most famous stunt was on New Year's Eve 1967, when he jumped 43 metres (141 feet) over the Caesar's Palace fountains, which subsequently made him more famous than ever.

Knievel made up a fake company called Evel Knievel Enterprises and three fake lawyers to be able to meet with Caesar's Palace casino CEO Jay Sarno to get him to agree to the jump.

In order to get national viewership of the occasion, he also contacted broadcaster ABC to request to air the event live on their popular TV programme at the time, Wide World of Sports.

They declined but said they may take footage of it following the jump if it was as 'spectacular' as promised.

Aged just 29 at the time, he prepared for the jump by employing John Derek, an actor-director, to produce a film of the jump, and he even got his then-wife Linda Evans to be one of the camera operators.

On the morning of December 31, Knievel went into the casino to place a bet with his last $100 on the blackjack table - which he lost. He also stopped at the bar to have a shot of Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey.

His most famous stunt was on New Year's Eve 1967, when he jumped 43 metres (141 feet) over the Caesar's Palace fountains, which subsequently made him more famous than ever. He broke more than 40 bones in his body from the stunt

Knievel did a couple of warm-up approaches on the ramp before the real thing, but when he first hit the take-off ramp he said the motorcycle decelerated unexpectedly.

This made him come up short and land on the safety ramp, causing him to fall over the handlebars and onto the pavement before skidding into the neighbouring Dunes Hotel car park.

He famously told Esquire magazine, 'Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.'

In the 1970s he became so famous he landed an acting role on The Bionic Woman with Lindsay Wagner, appeared on The Donnie And Marie Show as well as The Sonny And Cher Show, and he also became a regular guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Knievel retired in 1981 after breaking more than 40 bones in his body, including his back seven times, and suffered many concussions. He was also inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.

Philippe Petit's Twin Towers Tightrope Walk

Frenchman Philippe Petit was just 24 years old when he walked a high wire strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in Lower Manhattan, New York City, 400metres (1,312 feet) above the ground.

The daring feat which took six years of planning from its fearless creator were the subject of the 2008 Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire.

Petit, who made his living as a magician on the streets of Paris, was inspired to attempt the high-wire walk when he saw a photo of the Twin Towers in a magazine at a dentist's office.

He was born in August 1949 in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne, and by the age of 17 he had taught himself all the things there were to do on a tightrope wire within just a year of taking his first steps on one.

Frenchman Philippe Petit was just 24 years old when he walked a high wire strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in Lower Manhattan, New York City, 400metres (1,312 feet) above the ground

The daring feat which took six years of planning from its fearless creator were the subject of the 2008 Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire

He has also performed death-defying walks at Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral and Sydney's Harbour Bridge.

Petit gathered a rag-tag group of friends and admirers around him and began to plan the wire walk, which would see him tiptoeing along a piece of wire 130-feet long, 110 stories in the air.

He and his group rented a helicopter to be able to take aerial shots of the buildings which supported the planning process.

The magician also had to learn to accommodate issues like the wire swaying, how to rig a steel cable across the gap, which was 42metres (138 feet) wide, how to gain entry into the building with his group with all their heavy equipment in tow, and how to stage it all for the people below.

Petit and his companions managed to gain entry into the towers numerous times prior to the walk to be able to study any security issues that may arise, and using these observations as well as the aerial photographs, he made a scale model of the towers.

They used fake identification cards for each collaborator of Petit's based on the ID of an American member of staff, and claimed that they were 'contractors' who were 'installing an electrified fence' on the roof of the towers.

The night before the infamous walk, Petit and the group managed to get into the lift up to the 104th floor with all their equipment. They went up to make it just 19 steps below the roof where they stored it.

Petit also had to learn to accommodate issues like the wire swaying, how to rig a steel cable across the gap, which was 42metres (138 feet) wide, how to gain entry into the building with his group with all their heavy equipment in tow, and how to stage it all for the people below

The 24-year-old took to the wire over the Twin Towers, which were still under construction, for 40 minutes on August 7, 1974, for 45 minutes walking, dancing, laying down and saluting people watching below from a kneeled position

They managed to attach the cable to the other side of the void by using a bow and arrow attached to a rope.

The 24-year-old took to the wire over the Twin Towers, which were still under construction, for 40 minutes on August 7, 1974, for 45 minutes walking, dancing, laying down and saluting people watching below from a kneeled position.

Those watching in disbelief from beneath him included office workers, policemen and construction people.

Finally, he was apprehended and jailed by eluding police officers who waited for him at either end of the rope before being forced to undergo a psychological evaluation.

A patrolman named Charles Daniels described Petit: '(He was) a tightrope dancer  you couldnt call him a walker... He was bouncing up and down  his feet were actually leaving the wire.' The city eventually dropped formal charges against him.

He first became known around New York for doing tightrope performances around the city's parks, notably Washington Square Park.

Harry Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell

Hungarian born illusionist Houdini became a global star for his daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes and handcuffs.

Born in Budapest in March 1874 as Eric Weisz, Houdini's pseudonym was a reference to his 'spiritual master', a French magician Robert Houdin, who died three years before he was born.

He began gaining notoriety in the theatrical genre of vaudeville in the US before becoming Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini while touring around Europe.

During that time in his native Europe he challenged police forces to lock him up in order for him to get out.

Hungarian born illusionist Houdini became a global star for his daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes and handcuffs. He first introduced the Chinese Water Torture Cell (pictured) to his range of tricks while at the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany, on September 21, 1912

This practice allowed him to extend his repertoire to also include chains, sling ropes over skyscrapers, tied up in straitjackets under water and even being within a sealed milk can with water in it and having to hold his breath before escaping.

He first introduced the Chinese Water Torture Cell to his range of tricks while at the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany, on September 21, 1912.

It is a difficult escape illusion which consists of three parts, with the first being that the magician's feet are locked in stocks, then he is suspended in mid-air from his ankles with a restraint brace attached, and then lowered into a glass tank which is overflowing with water.

The top of the cell is where the restraint holds the magician, in this case Houdini.

The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his ankles with a restraint brace; finally, he is lowered into a glass tank overflowing with water and the restraint is locked to the top of the cell.

Hanging upside-down in the glass and steel cabinet, he held his breath for over three minutes.

Houdini continued to performed this escape trick for the rest of his life, until his death in 1926 - but his demise was not caused by the performance.

Tom Cruise's Burj Khalifa Climb in the movie Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise went to new heights both literally and figuratively in November 2010 when he climbed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai while filming for a scene for Million Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

The Hollywood legend, now 60, proudly performs his own stunts after establishing himself as an action star in action films and sci-fi blockbusters.

In 2018 the actor spoke candidly about his injuries during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, but he claimed while his stunts can be 'nerve-wracking' he also finds them 'so exhilarating'.

Tom Cruise went to new heights both literally and figuratively in November 2010 when he climbed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai while filming for a scene for Million Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The Hollywood legend, now 60, proudly performs his own stunts after establishing himself as an action star in action films and sci-fi blockbusters

Reflecting on his career, Tom said: 'I am a very physical actor and I love doing them. I study and train and take a lot of time figuring it all out. I have broken a lot of bones!

'The first time of any stunt is nerve wracking but it also exhilarating. I have been told a few times during shooting a stunt to stop smiling!'

Tom has done many death-defying stunts over the years, while filming Mission Impossible 7 in August he leapt from a speeding motorbike as it hurtled off a ramp 500ft in the air.

But one hugely notable stunt was when he took to the tallest building on the planet, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for one of his Mission Impossible films.

In the scene, Tom is seen jumping out of the window and swinging from a rope, and in some takes he runs across a the windows of the building horizontally below the tower's Observation Deck, 124 floors above the ground during a chase scene.

Fearless Cruise also used his hands and feet to do a quick climbing dash up the skyscraper, which stands at 828 metres (2,717 feet).

He had to be harnessed up to specific points on the building to film the scene, with the studio having to reportedly gain special permits on the floors and walls and to 'break around 26 windows'.

The harness itself quickly cut off circulation because it was so tight, which meant that the shoot had to be filmed as quickly as Cruise could.

But one hugely notable stunt was when he took to the tallest building on the planet, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for one of his Mission Impossible films

In the scene, Tom is seen jumping out of the window and swinging from a rope, and in some takes he runs across a the windows of the building horizontally below the tower's Observation Deck, 124 floors above the ground during a chase scene

He had to be harnessed up to specific points on the building to film the scene, with the studio having to reportedly gain special permits on the floors and walls and to 'break around 26 windows'

In his training, Tom climbed up and down a wall of glass to simulate the outside of the real building, to get himself used to the uncomfortable harness and the difficulty of the stunt.

At a press conference prior to filming, Cruise informed attendees that he would be 'spending many days [and] many hours on the side of this building. I can't give details, but I will be up there.'

The actor's spokeswoman said: 'Tom has been preparing for the stunt for some time. He believes if he performs the stunts himself, the audience believes more in his character.'

A helicopter hovered just ten feet away from the building as crew inside filmed the scene for the movie.

David Blaine's High Voltage

llusionist and endurance artist David Blaine stepped out onto a 20ft pillar at Pier 54 on New York City's west side on October 5, 2012 to stand amidst a million volts of electric current for three days and three nights.

The now 49-year-old daredevil and illusionist, then 39, committed himself to 72 hours inside electric currents streamed by seven metallic orbs called 'Tesla coils' that surrounded the pillar.

Elevated onto a tiny platform, he sported a chain mail bodysuit, a wire helmet and visor to act as a barrier for the electric currents.

Speaking ahead of the stunt, Blaine said: 'Seventy-two hours or more in an electromagnetic field can do... anything to the brain,' he said. 'There are a lot of unknowns here.

llusionist and endurance artist David Blaine stepped out onto a 20ft pillar at Pier 54 on New York City's west side on October 5, 2012 to stand amidst a million volts of electric current for three days and three nights

The now 49-year-old daredevil and illusionist, then 39, committed himself to 72 hours inside electric currents streamed by seven metallic orbs called 'Tesla coils' that surrounded the pillar

'I don't know how I could ever top this. This is an overly-ambitious idea, and I'm literally shocked that it came together.'

And when asked recently by Wired.com what it felt like to be electrified by tesla coil, he described the sensation as: 'Like somebody is punching you as hard as they can at the back of your head.'

When asked what it felt like to be electrified by tesla coil, he described the sensation as: 'Like somebody is punching you as hard as they can at the back of your head.'

The star's stunt, called Electrified: One Million Volts Always On, was open to the public, and it was streamed live on YouTube.

Over the course of the three days, spectators and members of the public were also able to type messages to Blaine, control the electricity around him and help keep him alert.

He did not eat or sleep for the entirety of the endurance stunt while the coils directed currents at him. Blaine had a tube to drink water through his open helmet and another tube for water out.

To protect the electrical current from going through his body, Blaine wore 15kg (34lbs) of protective gear including a chainmail Faraday suit.

His suit weighed a hefty 27 pounds and is designed to allow the fierce currents to dance over his body, without ever touching his skin.

Throughout the night Blaine was seen shivering uncontrollably from the cold and wet weather.

The magician, who practised at home by giving himself constant mild shocks, added: The chain metal suit brings all the electricity around, not through, so this protects me from feeling any pain.

'I do feel this strange static electricity, as if your hands were standing on edge.

Elevated onto a tiny platform, he sported a chain mail bodysuit, a wire helmet and visor to act as a barrier for the electric currents. Speaking ahead of the stunt, Blaine said: 'Seventy-two hours or more in an electromagnetic field can do... anything to the brain,' he said. 'There are a lot of unknowns here'

The star's stunt, called Electrified: One Million Volts Always On, was open to the public, and it was streamed live on YouTube. Over the course of the three days, spectators and members of the public were also able to type messages to Blaine, control the electricity around him and help keep him alert

His suit weighed a hefty 27 pounds and is designed to allow the fierce currents to dance over his body, without ever touching his skin. Throughout the night Blaine was seen shivering uncontrollably from the cold and wet weather

'It feels kind of intense but its amazing, not painful. The painful part is obviously standing up for three days and three nights while wearing 27 pounds of chainmail and not sleeping and not eating.

'The not eating I've done in the UK, I like to push it a little bit further. I want to make this something kids can come and see.

Along with his chainmail suit, Blaine also wore iron soled boots, and his wire helmet will be left open so that he can drink water through a tube, but a security team watched carefully that he never poked one of his chainmail-clad fingers onto his face.

Having already fasted for the past week and a half, he admitted: 'If I start to hallucinate, which I will... if I go to itch my face, that's it - it's getting zapped by a lot of electricity.'

His stunt ended on October 8, 2012 at 8.44pm when he was taken to hospital for a medical check. He was able to walk away with some assisance.

Jay Cochrane's Niagara Falls Tightrope Walk

Jay Cochrane was titled 'Prince of the Air' after treading a two-inch wire between the Skylon Tower and Hilton Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Canada.

In May 2002, aged 58, Mr Cochrane began a decade of 'Skywalks' that went higher above Niagara Falls than anyone has ever attempted.

It was the first walk of his long list of 81 death-defying walks, including the building-to-building skywalk between two forty-story buildings on opposite sides of the Love River in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a distance of 667 metres (2,190 feet), in one hour and one minutes.

But the main event was of course Niagara, which saw the 58-year-old arrive for a 30 minute walk across the 396 metre (1,300 feet) tightrope.

Jay Cochrane was titled 'Prince of the Air' after treading a two-inch wire between the Skylon Tower and Hilton Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Canada

In May 2002, aged 58, Mr Cochrane began a decade of 'Skywalks' that went higher above Niagara Falls than anyone has ever attempted

It was the first walk of his long list of 81 death-defying walks, including the building-to-building skywalk between two forty-story buildings on opposite sides of the Love River in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a distance of 667 metres (2,190 feet), in one hour and one minutes

He continued this walk through until the summer of 2012, which saw him walk the wire every day for 11 weeks.

But the main event was of course Niagara, which saw the 58-year-old arrive for a 30 minute walk across the 396 metre (1,300 feet) tightrope

'Yes, it was difficult but if it was easy everyone would do it, Cochrane laughed after he arrived safely at the hotel tower.

A big crowd gathered below to watch Cochrane walk nearly 600ft up in the air whilst he performed the longest and highest building-to-building wire-walk in North American history.

Unlike most tightrope walkers the 68-year-old dare-devil will not be wearing any tethers or use any safety nets below.

This world record is only the latest one Canadas 'Prince of the Air' can add to a long list  seven including this one.

In 1981 he broke the record for living on a wire when he spent 21 days suspended in the air in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Despite the world records Cochrane is lucky to be able to walk on solid ground, let alone wires in the air.

He continued this walk through until the summer of 2012, which saw him walk the wire every day for 11 weeks. But the main event was of course Niagara, which saw the 58-year-old arrive for a 30 minute walk across the 396 metre (1,300 feet) tightrope

Unlike most tightrope walkers the 68-year-old dare-devil will not be wearing any tethers or use any safety nets below. This world record is only the latest one Canadas 'Prince of the Air' can add to a long list  seven including this one

In 1965 he was hospitalised after a tower collapsed during a performance and he fell 90ft and landed on a concrete floor.

Doctors did not predict he would ever walk again and told him that the best he could hope for was walking with two canes for the rest of his life.

He spent four years in hospital but nothing could keep him from the wires.

The 81 skywalks will profit Tender Wishes foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Niagara Falls.
King Charles has launched a new range of Sandringham-branded biscuits and confectionery in packaging adorned with his own artwork.

The boxes and tubs costing 4.99 to 7.99 are all decorated with the King's own watercolour picture of Sandringham House.

It means that people can now own a piece of the monarch's art for just a few pounds, compared to the 6,000 cost of buying a limited edition print of the same painting.

The range of snacks and treats is being sold in the gift shop at the visitor centre on the 20,000 acre Royal estate in north Norfolk.

They are on shelves alongside stacks of 8.99 copies of the childrens' book The Old Man of Lochnagar, written by the King when he was Prince Charles in 1980.

King Charles has launched a new range of Sandringham-branded biscuits and confectionery in packaging adorned with his artwork

Charles painted his picture of Sandringham House at least 32-years-ago as it appears in a compilation book of his paintings. Pictured: King Charles III at Berlin Central Station in Berlin, Germany, March 31

The range of snacks and treats is being sold in the gift shop at the visitor centre on the 20,000 acre Royal estate in north Norfolk. Pictured: A view of Sandringham House

The 7.99 biscuit selection box includes mini chocolate and gingerbread cookies while boxes of toffees or clotted cream fudge are priced at 4.99.

Chocolate chip biscuits, costing 4.99, are described on the Sandringham website as being 'the perfect buttery biscuits to accompany Sandringham's Christmas Blend of Hot Chocolate'.

Tubs of barley sugars, sherbert lemons and mint humbugs are also available for 4.99, alongside 3.99 bars of milk chocolate, all emblazoned with the King's picture.

The packaging for the chocolate bars states that they are 'handmade in the UK using natural ingredients and sustainably grown cocoa, and are free from Palm Oil'.

The range was apparently designed before the Queen died, as the packaging says the picture of Sandringham House is being used 'by kind permission of HRH The Prince of Wales'.

A message on the back of all the products, states: 'Sandringham has been the much-loved country retreat and private home of British monarchs since 1862.'

The King has long described himself as an 'enthusiastic amateur' painter, although he never sells his original pictures.

In a TV documentary called Royal Paintbox in 2000, he spoke of his love for painting, saying it 'transports me into another dimension which refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can't reach'.

The King has long described himself as an 'enthusiastic amateur' painter, although he never sells his original pictures

As Monarch, he personally owns Sandringham, meaning that he potentially profits from gift shop sales

A message on the back of all the products, states: 'Sandringham has been the much-loved country retreat and private home of British monarchs since 1862'

A limited number of signed and framed prints of the King's Sandringham House painting are currently on sale in up-market London galleries for 6,000 each.

Other prints of the King's pictures, featuring views of Windsor Castle, Highgrove and Balmoral as well as Greek island landscapes and the Swiss ski resort Klosters can also be bought for thousands of pounds.

It was revealed in 2016 that sales of his prints, costing up to 15,000 each, had raised more than 6 million.

He has not personally profited from the sale of any of his prints, as all the money has gone to his charitable foundation.

But as Monarch, he personally owns Sandringham, meaning that he potentially profits from gift shop sales, although proceeds are believed to be ploughed back into the running of the estate.

Charles painted his picture of Sandringham House at least 32-years-ago as it appears in a compilation book of his paintings, entitled HRH The Prince of Wales Watercolours, and published in 1991.

The book quotes Charles as describing the difficulty of painting the house where the Royal family gather at Christmas.

The 7.99 biscuit selection box includes mini chocolate and gingerbread cookies while boxes of toffees or clotted cream fudge are priced at 4.99

People can now own a piece of the monarch's art for just a few pounds, compared to the 6,000 cost of buying a limited edition print of the same painting

Tubs of barley sugars, sherbert lemons and mint humbugs are also available for 4.99, alongside 3.99 bars of milk chocolate, all emblazoned with the King's picture

He says in the book: 'Until I tried to paint Sandringham I thought Balmoral was difficult enoughBut Sandringham is in a league of its own, as I discovered the moment I started to draw the house.

'It is a veritable minefield of gables, bow windows, parapets, balustrades, towers, cupolas and gigantic chimneys.

'Trying to get the perspective right was an intriguing challenge in itselfI made life more difficult for myself by selecting a pretty impossible angle from which to do the painting, but I thought it would be more interesting than most others.'
READ MORE: How to beat the bullies WITHOUT hitting them

I thought about this last week when I read about Paddy McGuinness, who said he didnt realise he had depression until it was pointed out to him

One of the strange things about depression is that, sometimes, the sufferer is the last person to know they have it.

For some people, it hits them like a lorry: bam, they cant get out of bed, dont feel life is worth living, feel hopeless and helpless. For others, it creeps up so slowly, they are grimly unaware of it.

This second type of depression can be the most debilitating  and dangerous  because those who have it often battle on for years, never seeking help. They get so used to living under a cloud that it becomes normalised.

I thought about this last week when I read about TV presenter Paddy McGuinness, who said he didnt realise he had depression until his ex-wife, Christine, pointed it out to him.

The 49-year-old admitted to symptoms like losing his temper more quickly but didnt realise they were markers of a mood disorder. He started to resent his job, making crowds of people laugh but then going home feeling miserable himself  and yet he wasnt aware of how low he had become.

Paddy admitted to symptoms like losing his temper more quickly but didnt realise they were markers of a mood disorder

This is why partners, friends and family can be so helpful in spotting the signs.

Not that recognising depression in others is easy. While some well-known symptoms like sadness or hopelessness are obvious pointers, its sometimes hard to put your finger on exactly whats wrong.

When people lose motivation or appear disinterested or even withdraw from life, its often assumed theyre just grumpy or bad-tempered. Those close to them might notice more subtle changes  that they arent quite themselves  but arent sure what it means.

If you have concerns that someone you know may be struggling, heres my list of signs that suggest the person might be depressed

TV presenter Paddy McGuinness said he didnt realise he had depression until his ex-wife, Christine, pointed it out to him

Dr MAX PEMBERTON reveals the signs that someone might be suffering the most debilitating  and dangerous  types of the disease

Changes to sleep

Theres a strong connection between sleep and mood. Someone with depression might find themselves very tired all the time and struggling to keep awake during the day. Or they might experience insomnia and either find it harder than normal to get to sleep at night or wake very early.

Lack of energy

People with depression may describe feeling like they have no energy at all. Even the smallest task, such as making the bed or replying to an email, feels overwhelming. The term for this is anergia and, again, its a key sign. They might also struggle to get motivated to do anything  a symptom called avolition.

Changes to appetite

going off food can be a sign of depression. Have you noticed their clothes looking looser? Alternatively, sometimes people with depression can find comfort in food and eat more than usual.

Losing concentration

We term this cognitive dysfunction and its a common, but often overlooked, symptom of depression.

People struggle to follow discussions or trail off in the middle of a conversation. They appear to withdraw and come across as aloof or detached. They also struggle to follow storylines on TV or in books.

This is common in older people and is often mistaken for an early sign of dementia, when in fact its a symptom of depression.

Low sex drive

Of course, there can be lots of reasons for a dip in libido but it is also a well-known symptom of depression. It affects both men and women in equal measure and can affect sexual function, desire or satisfaction.

Lack of interest

People stopping hobbies or no longer enjoying things they used to is another tell-tale sign. This lack of enjoyment of life is termed anhedonia and can be one of the first symptoms of depression.

Negative talk

People with depression often start exhibiting negative talk.

They may become very self-critical, have a low sense of self-worth and feel that the world is bleak.

They come across as pessimistic and defeated.

Pains and ill health

Of course, theres a cross-over between physical and mental health. People with depression can start to complain about physical aches and pains more.

They might talk about vague, nondescript problems like headaches, digestive problems or backache. Or become very preoccupied or worried about their physical health.

Personality changes

depression affects people in different ways. Loved ones often find theyve changed in some way. Rather than appearing sad, they might be more irritable, or easily angry or frustrated. Or they might appear withdrawn or quieter than usual.

Increased alcohol use

Some people with depression start to try to self-medicate with alcohol. This might give them temporary relief but alcohol is a depressant so it makes their condition worse. If youve noticed someone drinking more than usual, it can be a sign that their mood is low.

If youre worried a loved one might have depression, encourage them to see their GP. It might take a few conversations before they agree to go, but persevere. Be gentle with them and offer to go with them for support.

Drews brave TV hot flush

Drew, 48, was mid-chat when she was suddenly overcome with heat. Rather than trying to hide it, she took the opposite approach

Women of a certain age up and down the country will sympathise with Drew Barrymore who, last week, had her first hot flush during an interview with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler promoting their new film, Murder Mystery 2.

Drew, 48, was mid-chat when she was suddenly overcome with heat. Rather than trying to hide it, she took the opposite approach, exclaiming: I am so hot, I think Im having my first perimenopause hot flush, before taking off her blazer and fanning herself.

The trouble with hot flushes is that when one starts, women often feel embarrassed or anxious, which itself causes the body to release more hormones. That, in turn, increases the flushing and further alters the bodys temperature, causing a vicious cycle  the more you worry about it, the more hot and flustered you become.

So well done, Drew, for doing exactly the right thing  making light of it and carrying on.

Were told its always important to say sorry  and its true that an apology can have a profound psychological impact. But I was shocked to hear that 1,000 sex offenders avoided jail just by apologising to their victims, according to recent statistics. This included cases of child rape. What utter madness.

A poll of 4,000 smokers last week by independent quit-smoking initiative Riot Rehab and YouGov, found that 80 per cent of them were desperate to give up. Ive often heard from doctors that smokers dont want to quit but this result shows otherwise.

I think part of the problem is that many smokers are put off by what they view as judgemental and finger-wagging doctors, scolding them for their habit.

Ive been working with Riot Rehab to try to reach smokers in another way. We began in Milton Keynes giving free haircuts to smokers. In this relaxed environment, we started low-key conversations about how people could quit.

The aim is to make Milton Keynes smoke-free by 2025  and, if this is a success, the plan is to roll out the model across the country.

The Governments Smokefree 2030 is an ambitious target but, as a former smoker myself, its one I really want the country to achieve.

Dr Max prescribes... A free health check

In a bid to ease the pressure on the NHS, Boots has announced that it is going to give free health checks to over-40s

In a bid to ease the pressure on the NHS, Boots has announced that it is going to give free health checks to over-40s.

They can be booked in more than 1,000 stores around the UK. The health checks include blood pressure and any problems identified will be passed on to the persons GP. They also include advice on lifestyle changes.
A busy mum-of-four has told of the life-changing moment her partner ended up permanently paralysed after blowing his nose and fainting on the bathroom floor.

On January 2 last year, Kirsty Bronner, 34, and her family were home when she heard a 'loud bang coming from their bathroom'.

'I rushed in and found my partner lying unconscious on the floor. He had hit his neck and dislocated it causing a C6/7 spinal cord injury,' Kirsty, from Sydney, told FEMAIL.

'He had blown his nose and fainted, hitting his neck on the bathroom bench.'

Prior to the terrifying ordeal, on New Year's Day her partner, who doesn't want to be named, 'had a feeling that something bad was going to happen'.

'I will never forget him saying he felt like something bad was on the way. I look back now and it gives me chills,' Kirsty recalled.

The accident occurred the very next day.

At the time due to Covid restrictions, Kirsty wasn't allowed into the hospital and had to wait a gruelling eight hours for an update as her partner, 43, underwent a six-hour surgery.

'I was so sick with worry. Eventually they rang and said he had a neck dislocation from hitting the bench which had caused a spinal cord injury and wouldn't know the extent of the injuries until they had done surgery and done tests,' she said.

Meanwhile, Kirsty's business The Booty Co - known for selling skincare products which women reduces their cellulite in a matter of weeks - was being neglected and she spent months feeling depressed.

Kirsty launched The Booty Co in November 2020 after three years of developing the perfect acne and wrinkle-fighting formulation

The impact on Kirsty and her family was immense, and they all struggled to adjust to the new routine.

Kirsty was juggling mothering four children - Lucas, 16, Valentina, 7, Viktoria, 5, and Vitalia, 18 months - while her partner spent the next six months in the hospital and rehabilitation.

'The emotional and mental stresses caused was so severe that I could not tend to the business at all,' Kirsty said.

'We had a third-party warehouse to send out but everything else was completely halted.'

Her sister Felicity, who is the brand's Creative Director, was also unable to work as she helped out with the kids.

'I was so mentally strained I struggled to tend to my kids as best I could so Felicity would come and do a lot of house work and help with the kids, leaving her unable to do her part in the business as well,' Kirsty said.

Today her partner has not recovered from the accident and is paralysed from the T1 level down - corresponding to nerves affect muscles, upper chest, mid-back and abdominal muscles. He previously ran 10km a day but now he can't even stand.

The couple have been told a full recovery is highly unlikely. This means Kirsty has to choose what comes first everyday, but her kids, partner and business are always a priority.

'I don't really have down time for myself anymore at all. I put every spare minute into the business,' she said.

'I try and do things that make it a little easier such as order most things online like groceries, make sure I'm organised for the days the night before and get help where needed.'

Kirsty described the experience as the 'toughest time' of her life.

She has been able to start working on The Booty Co again in March this year the brand finally reached $1.2million in sales, which Kirsty was thrilled about.

Kirsty and The Booty Co will donate $5 of every sale made off the website to Neura Australia.

Donations go towards spinal cord stimulator research with the hope of restoring movement in people with spinal cord injury.

Every year spinal cord injury costs $3.7billion in Australia.
A mum's new beauty business is off to a flying start after she sold thousands of bottles of her designer dupe perfumes and made $100,000 in revenue in just six weeks.

Shereen Huber sells perfume oils inspired by well-known designer fragrances that cost hundreds of dollars for just $35 under her brand Nostalgia.

The 38-year-old was an avid perfume collector but was frustrated by many high-end brands' price points, lack of natural ingredients and high alcohol content.

She decided to take matters into her own hands and started a company offering perfume-lovers luxe fragrances that last all day without the expensive price tag.

Nostalgia has a catalogue of more than 30 alcohol-free scents that Shereen developed herself through months of trial and error.

Shereen Huber (pictured), 38, started her own business selling perfume oils that smell just like designer fragrances and made $100,000 in six weeks

The Perth mum started up her own company, Nostalgia, offering perfume-lovers luxe fragrances that last all day without the expensive price tag

'I love that scents can trigger an emotional reaction and evoke memories which is why I thought the name Nostalgia for the brand was so fitting,' Shereen told FEMAIL.

'I have always loved collecting perfumes, especially French fragrances. However, the price point of most of the perfumes I love and collected were very high.'

After spending a lot of time visiting perfumeries in France's Grasse region, Shereen had dreamed of one day developing her own fragrances but she said had 'no idea' how to start.

Shereen was overwhelmed by the response from customers following Nostalgia's launch and she sold more than 3,000 bottles

'I have also always been passionate about using natural ingredients as much as I can,' she said.

'I try to use natural skincare but could never find natural perfumes that had a nice fragrance or were long lasting and so I thought there surely must be a way to marry those two objectives.'

The businesswoman started researching the industry to identify gaps in the market and find local Australian manufacturers.

'After nearly twelve months of research and development, trial and error, the brand came to life,' she said.

Thankfully there were no legal complications around duping big-brand perfumes.

'Not only is our branding divergent and unique to us, our scents only take inspiration from the aroma of well-known existing fragrances and are different in every way,' Shereen said.

'They are our very own, unique formulations and made up of totally different ingredients to designer scents.'

All of Nostalgia's perfume oils are alcohol free meaning they last longer on the skin.

All of Nostalgia's perfume oils are alcohol free meaning they last longer on the skin: 'Alcohol-free perfumes have a slower evaporation rate, whilst also being a lot gentler on the skin'

'People don't realise that alcohol-based perfumes evaporate quickly, which means those scents don't last long,' Shereen explained.

'Alcohol-free perfumes have a slower evaporation rate, which means their scent last a lot longer whilst also being a lot gentler on the skin.'

The lack of alcohol in Nostalgia's scents have made them very popular in some Asian and Middle Eastern countries where many people avoid the substance in their beauty products for religious reasons.

Shereen was overwhelmed by the response from customers following Nostalgia's launch.

She sold more than 3,000 bottles and made a turnover of $100,000 in the first six weeks of business.

'I had no idea it would grow so quickly, sales have exceeded beyond my expectations,' she said.

One of her most popular scents is Icon (left) which takes inspiration from Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille (right) that can retail up for $535

10 tips to make perfume last all day 1. Apply on your pulse points - The skin is the thinnest at those points, which means it's closer to your blood and body heat. As the fragrance warms, the aroma process begins 2. Don't rub your wrists together - The rubbing together is considered a big perfume no-no. It just makes the top notes burn off a little quicker. Try tapping your wrists together instead of creating friction. 3. Spray your heart - If you have fragrance at your heart, you can smell it a lot. The fragrance will travel up; your heart will act as a diffuser. 4. Spritz after a shower - Spritz on a perfume right after a shower, as the steam helps open up the aroma. Plus, your skin is clean and free from sweat and excess oil, which can buffer the fragrance. 5. Keep your skin hydrated - Hydrated, moisturized skin is really going to hold fragrance a lot longer. A body oil, body lotion or balm to hydrate will also help hold the fragrance longer as well. 6. Layer your fragrances - If you have a scented body oil and/or lotion, layering it under your perfume can enhance the fragrance which inherently makes both aromas last longer. You can also layer your perfumes. 7. Spray on clothes - It will hold longer on the fabric than it will on your skin as your sweat and natural oils can accumulate throughout the day and make the scent wear off. 8. Use perfume oil - Roll-on perfume oils, generally, are more concentrated, as you apply them directly onto the pulse points. It's much more reactive to the heat of your natural body temperature. 9. Check the base notes - All of your base notes are going to last longer. Vanillas, wood notes, sandalwood, cedarwood, anything like that will last longer on the skin. 10. Know when your perfume expires - If a bottle is past its prime, most of the fragrance has evaporated and it won't last as long on your skin. You can get the most out of your fragrance by storing it in a cool area away from sunlight. Source: mindbodygreen.com Advertisement

'I think post-covid everyone is a bit more health conscious and more cognisant of what they are putting on their body or in their body and offering a 'clean' and affordable alternative to scents people love and are already familiar with has been a winning formula.'

One of Nostalgia's most popular scents is Icon which takes inspiration from Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille that can retail up for $535.

Shoppers are also loving Boujee which takes inspiration from Le Labo's ultra-popular $354 Santal 33 and BFF which is a dupe of the $388 Baccarat Rouge by Maison Francis Kurkdjian.

Despite each formula taking six to eight months to perfect, Shereen plans to have 100 different scents, dupes and originals, available at Nostalgia at the end of the year.

Despite each formula taking six to eight months to perfect, Shereen plans to have 100 different scents, dupes and originals, available at Nostalgia at the end of the year

Nostalgia perfume oils are free of silicones, parabens, sulphates petrolatum and palm oil and are made in Australia with 70 per cent Australian-made ingredients

Shereen brought Touche, her brand which makes range of sheets and pillowcases made out of eucalyptus, to market in early February 2020, just before coronavirus hit Australia

Nostalgia perfume oils are free of silicones, parabens, sulphates petrolatum and palm oil and are made in Australia with 70 per cent Australian-made ingredients.

This isn't the first time Shereen's had a business idea take off.

She brought Touche, her brand which makes range of sheets and pillowcases made out of eucalyptus, to market in early February 2020, just before coronavirus hit Australian shores.

With millions of people working from home and government policy insisting everyone 'stay home', she had accidentally created a lifeline - and made $30,000 in the first six weeks.

'The idea was born out of wanting to help people with trouble sleeping as well as finding a fabric that was sustainable and environmentally friendly,' Shereen previously told FEMAIL.

Shereen felt like sleep was getting 'neglected', despite it lifting our overall mood, helping maintain our metabolism and skin health, so she developed sheets ($249.95) and pillowcases ($69.95) made out of eucalyptus

'In this day and age, we are all so time-poor juggling numerous commitments and careers which inevitably put a massive strain on our physical and mental wellbeing.'

Shereen felt like sleep was getting 'neglected', despite it lifting our overall mood, helping maintain our metabolism and skin health, so she developed sheets ($249.95) and pillowcases ($69.95) made out of eucalyptus.

Usually only associated with koalas in Australia, eucalyptus doesn't require the use of chemicals or pesticides to produce, unlike most cottons.

The fabric is also compostable, biodegradable and vegan friendly - unlike silk.

It is more durable and naturally antibacterial, meaning it will maintain the condition of your skin and hair as well.

Touche has already sold out of its pillowcases three times since launching, proving its popularity with the public

Touche has already sold out of its pillowcases three times since launching, proving its popularity with the public.

'Our most popular product is our pillowcase. Our customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with people coming back to buy more for family and friends,' Shereen said.

Ultimately Shereen would like to expand the bedding range with the introduction of an anti-ageing 'sleep serum'.

'The serum aims to aid in anti-ageing and collagen production while at the same time preparing the body and mind for rest and relaxation, easing tension and anxiety,' Shereen said.
Peter Simon  net worth 480 million, according to rich lists  is pointing to a fairground ride. It's a life-size mirrored carousel with 24 suspended seats, created by the artist Carsten Holler. 'It will light up soon,' he says delightedly, like a child with a toy. I'm no art critic, but it's not a stretch to interpret it as a metaphor for Simon's life: a merry-go-round of luck, shrewdness, innovation, glamour and tragedy.

Now 73, Simon got rich off the rag trade, in the days when you could build a fashion empire by selling 'hippie coats on Portobello Road'. He'd been living in a nudist commune in Ibiza, but had become bored. 'I looked around and thought, 'They're all losers  and I'm one of them.' So I came back to London.'

After he had left school with one A-level, there was little to suggest that Simon would become one of the richest men in Britain, but a brief stint as a salesman for Birds Eye frozen foods kindled some entrepreneurial spirit. In the early 70s, he started selling 'these really cool-looking Afghan coats' at Portobello Market. Business was brisk and he expanded his range to include colourful clothes hand-printed in Jaipur. Business became brisker.

In 1973 he spotted a site in Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, and the first Monsoon was born. Which makes it all sound easy, but in the 70s, you really could parlay a tiny market stall into a fancy fashion boutique on one of the most illustrious streets in Britain.

If fashion changes every season, nobody told Simon. While his competitors ran around chasing trends, he stuck to the original Monsoon look. Everything has changed since 1973 (e-commerce, the demise of traditional high-street retail, a strong international presence) yet in some ways, nothing has. Monsoon still sells the same colourful clothes, hand-printed in India.

Peter Simon opens up about the highs and lows of his fashion empire, Monsoon. The businessman, 73, says the brand's longevity can be traced to its authenticity

The label has stayed true to the aesthetic Simon fell for on his India travels  despite his wealth, he is still a hippie at heart. He explains his brand's longevity: 'We have something very authentic, unlike a lot of people in the business. I was turned on by handblock printing. It was anti-establishment, anti-mechanisation and all about craft.'

Nothing crystallises Monsoon more succinctly than Bottari Truck, created in 1997 by the Korean artist Kimsooja. The two-ton Hyundai appears both contemporary and nostalgic, piled with bottari (bright fabric bundles). It is one of 300 international artworks displayed at the company's HQ, a slick 500,000 sq ft space in West London, which doubles as a gallery  viewings by appointment  for the paintings, sculptures, textiles, photographs and installations Simon has collected since 2000.

In harmony with the brand's history of ethical trading with craftspeople in Afghanistan and India, many works explore themes of cultural exchange. Alongside established names  Jeff Koons, Bridget Riley, David Hockney  is a series of photographs by Khadija Saye, a Gambian-British artist who perished in the Grenfell fire in 2017, aged 24. 'Grenfell is just over there,' says Simon, pointing north. 'We were here on that day. The staff were going backwards and forwards with water and clothes.'

As well as helping to fund a West London food bank and school, in 1994 he launched The Monsoon Accessorize Trust, which supports a series of charity initiatives in India.

He can afford to. Business is booming, both at Monsoon and Accessorize, the chain he launched in 1984 (he also owns East and has invested in the e-commerce platform Collagerie).

'Monsoon is doing very well and if you want some figures, they just gave us some,' he says. 'Sales of 260 million, up 43 per cent to August 2022. We've got 570 stores [internationally and in the UK]. We've got a strong balance sheet, no debt, 22 million cash; 19 new UK stores in the past 12 months, and we're planning more. Very strong digital growth, too.'

It's all a far cry from June 2020, when Monsoon Accessorize, as the company is known, went into administration, a casualty of Covid. Overnight Simon bought it back via a holding company, Adena Brands, injecting 15 million, negotiating with landlords for rent reductions on stores and revamping websites to better serve the fact that customers could only shop online. Post-Covid, he says, they shop differently. 'Weirdly, they've come back to stores more now than they did six months ago. The stores are doing much better, but you'll never be back to the same percentages as before Covid.'

We have something very authentic. It's all about craft

Previously 70 per cent of Monsoon's business came from stores and 30 per cent online, but the figures have now reversed. 'It's a big flip. We've got fewer stores, but we're trying to go back to our origins: boutiques, like the one we first had in Beachamp Place.'

New collections mark Monsoon's 50 years. Pictured: hippie chic from 'The Originals'. Previously 70 per cent of Monsoon's business came from stores and 30 per cent online, but the figures have now reversed

This year, Monsoon will mark its 50th anniversary by opening a new boutique on Portobello Road, back where it all began, selling vintage Monsoon from the past five decades alongside three new collections, one a collaboration with fashion students from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in New Delhi. He hopes it will attract younger and more established customers alike.

'We used to be very mother and daughter  there are many 50-plus women today who were brought into Monsoon by their mothers to get their party dresses,' he notes. 'The power-dressing era wasn't easy for us, but we stayed our course.'

Is he surprised by the brands that didn't, such as Arcadia? 'No. Philip Green was a trader  he didn't create one of those brands. He bought and sold and didn't have soul.'

Which rivals does he admire today?

'I hold Zara in high respect. They don't have the fundamental authenticity of Monsoon but they're good at getting the right looks. There's a lot of greenwashing [on the high street]. Too many clothes are being made, the quality isn't good and you know where they're ending up.'

Little is known about Simon's early life.

He was born in Sri Lanka in 1949 during a rainstorm, hence Monsoon. A follow-up request for further information about his parents is politely declined by his PA.

Vibrant input from students at NIFT, New Delhi. This year, Monsoon will mark its 50th anniversary by opening a new boutique on Portobello Road, back where it all began

'Peter is a private individual and does not talk about this,' comes the reply. He is similarly self-effacing about his wealth. Other than his art, which he lends out to galleries (he's a trustee of the Tate Foundation), he doesn't confess to any extravagances.

It's hard to reconcile his modest demeanour with the man who once caused a furore by trying to knock five Chelsea properties into one. In 2015, he was given council approval for a pool, gym, sauna, whirlpool tub, massage room, wine cellar, billiards room and two self-contained flats for his staff, but dropped the plans to preserve the neighbours' sanity.

He also has two properties in his beloved Ibiza, one with an olive grove producing organic oil.

It was in Ibiza, in 2017, that Simon found out his son George, 32, had died, crashing his Porsche in West Sussex  he was one of four children Simon shared with ex-wife Kate (they were married from 1977 to 2000).

'George had worked with me for about seven years, then started his own property business,' he says. 'He'd made some money and bought a fast car. Unfortunately he made a tragic mistake.'

More tragic is that there was some bad feeling between them at the time of his death.

'When he was in Hong Kong, he wanted me to make him a director of this company. And I said, 'Sorry, George, I think it's wrong, because you won't be respected. You haven't earned it. I can't justify it.' He was very angry. That's why he came back from Hong Kong but didn't come here. The good thing was that he started something else and made a success of it. Tragically, it didn't have a good ending.'

Tie-dye inspiration from London College of Fashion. Business is booming, both at Monsoon and Accessorize

With hindsight, he acknowledges that his eldest daughters Jessica and Zara, now in their 40s, didn't benefit from his former nepotistic largesse.

'I do think I've made a mistake  and my two oldest children know this  by spoiling them when they were younger. They both went to [London fashion college] Central Saint Martins, left and wanted to start their own businesses, one in jewellery, one in fashion, and I bankrolled them. And of course, it was a disaster. No, Zara's actually wasn't such a disaster  she became a [jewellery] consultant. But I should have just made them work.'

In the early noughties, Jessica and Zara Simon were papped on the Ibiza and London party circuits, and were by all accounts a hoot (in 2012, Jessica was rumoured to be dating Prince Harry).

It sounds as if his two younger children will lead very different lives: he declines to name their mother, and seems intent on raising them far from the spotlight.

'I have a ten-year-old and a 16-year-old,' he says. 'They're being brought up in a completely different way. I'm much stricter. I remember having a row with my eldest daughter about something, and I said to her, 'You're a spoilt brat.' She said, 'Well, you spoilt me.' And that was true.'

He gestures at the open-plan office where his staff are working. 'This is my deal. This is what turned me on. They've got to find something that turns them on for their own self-esteem. You can never give them enough love, but you shouldn't give them the money.'

On the future of Monsoon, Simon is bullish. 'Today's world is totally digital. No one's doing things with their hands. And here we are, supporting craft communities in India. We're doing lots of different projects with different people. The brand is on a roll.'
She wants to live to see her son grow up

The nurse received the bad news before her 30th party

A young mum has revealed her desperate fight to see her 10-year-old son grow up after being diagnosed with cervical cancer for the third time in three years.

Elissa Blake has pushed to undergo an expensive treatment worth tens of thousands of dollars after doctors told her the cancer had come back again, and was now considered incurable.

The Brisbane-based nurse, who was forced to put her 30th birthday celebrations on hold due to her diagnosis, assumed something was wrong when mere months after treating the cancer for the second time she was 'taken out' by crippling pain.

'I kept going to the doctors but they just gave me pain killers and sent me home,' she told FEMAIL.

'I knew something was wrong, it wasn't normal for someone to be in that much pain.'

Elissa Blake, pictured with her ten-year-old son Chase, was diagnosed with cervical cancer for the third time weeks before her 30th birthday

The mum thought she had finally beaten the disease six months ago after going through grueling treatments

The mum said she would spend days in bed, her ten year old checking in on her with heat packs and cuddles.

'I lost 15kilos because I lost my appetite completely,' she said.

Elissa has decided to try immunotherapy in a last ditch attempt to watch Chase, 10, grow up.

Her aunt Shondi told FEMAIL the family had to push for the treatment, which costs $7,000-a-pop to a maximum of $63,000.

'Doctors never offered it, we only knew about it because some friends told us to look into it. Doctors have admitted it is Elissa's best chance to become cancer free.

'The fact it isn't free for her cancer, but is for others, is the hardest pill to swallow. That's why they don't tell people about it, but they need to give families that option,' she added.

She is pictured here with her son and partner Travis before she was diagnosed the first time, in December 2019

Elissa's cancer nightmare started with extreme spotting between periods and a few 'rogue cells' on a pap smear in 2019.

Doctors said the cells, which were stage two pre-cancerous cells would 'resolve themselves' as the body would fight them off.

But that didn't happen and a follow-up pap smear six months later revealed they had evolved into stage four pre-cancer cells.

'They told me not to worry because those cells take ten to 15 years to turn into cancer,' she said.

Then three days before Christmas in 2019 she got a random call from her doctor's surgery asking her to come in.

The cancer came back 12 months after her initial surgery, then again six months after the second round of treatment

'I was told I was part of the two percent of women who skip the ten-15-year wait for their cells to turn into cancer.'

The cancer was in her cervix and doctors scheduled her in for surgery, which she had in March, 2020.

'At this point I thought we were all done and dusted, we had got it,' she said.

But 12 months later she knew something was wrong when she was bleeding more often than not.

'A scan revealed the cancer had come back,' she said.

This time the cancer had moved too far up her cervix, and required chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat.

The nurse knew something was wrong before the cancer came back the third time, she lost a lot of weight and was in crippling pain

'Doctors were shocked, especially because I am fully vaccinated for cervical cancer, which makes getting it even rarer,' she said.

Chemotherapy was brutal, Elissa had to rely on the help of her now ten-year-old and lean on her support network more than ever.

'Sometimes I cry when I look back at how sick chemo made me,' she said. 'But everyone has just been a message away and I couldn't be more grateful for it.'

Once chemo was finished Elissa was told once again that she was in the clear. Then the back pain started.

'The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before, it is so hard to explain, I would just be in bed for days or in a ball screaming in pain,' she said.

Doctors kept sending her home with strong pain killers and told her to rest - despite her previous cancer history.

She lost weight, almost 15 kilos in total, and was tired all the time.

'I had to wait until the six-month mark to have a PET scan - and wasn't surprised when they said it was back,' she said.

This time the cancer had seeped into nearby tissue including her ovaries (which have now been removed) and lymph nodes. Doctors told her there would be no chance of a cure.

But she refuses to let the cancer win and dreams of a time where she can plan holidays with her partner and son again

But the nurse has no plans to leave her friends, family and especially her ten-year-old son behind.

She is hopeful the immunotherapy will make all the difference and help her beat the disease once and for all.

Her aunt even made a Go Fund Me to help take the pressure off family who have scrambled to come up with the cash.

The cancer came back weeks before Elissa's 30th birthday.

'I had planned to celebrate getting through cancer, turning 30 and having a second chance at life,' she said.

The nurse has spent three years on-and-off on the other side of the health care system and can't wait to go back to being there for others

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF CERVICAL CANCER? Precancerous changes in cervical cells rarely cause symptoms. The only way to know if there are abnormal cells that may develop into cancer is to have a cervical screening test. If early cell changes develop into cervical cancer, the most common signs include: vaginal bleeding between periods menstrual bleeding that is longer or heavier than usual pain during intercourse bleeding after intercourse pelvic pain a change in your vaginal discharge such as more discharge or it may have a strong or unusual colour or smell vaginal bleeding after menopause Source: Cancer Council Advertisement

'So the plan is to push that back to 31.'

Elissa's sister Alison has described seeing her in so much pain as 'unbearable'.

She is also in the health care sector but seeing it from a patient's family's point of view has been eye opening.

'It's almost like we need a foreman to get all the messages from all of the teams and feed it back to us. It is so confusing, especially when you ask someone something and they tell you that's no their job,' she added.

Elissa has been living 'day-to-day' but looks forward to being able to plan a holiday with her partner Travis and fun things with her son once she's better.
Advertisement

A top interior designer has offered a peek into her stunningly renovated coastal cottage and revealed her top tips and tricks for styling any space.

Interior designer and lead interior stylist at Aussie homeware brand Miss Amara, Shaye Ford, transformed an old, rundown cottage on New South Wales Central Coast into the home of her dreams.

Shaye was attracted to the home for its 'good bones and workable floorplan' and had already started putting together her styling vision before her offer was even accepted by the previous owners.

The stunning light-filled home blends English cottage style with design notes from American bungalows and has a touch of Australian flair.

Speaking with FEMAIL, Shaye revealed some of her best styling secrets from what is worth splashing cash on to her tips for elevating any space on a budget.

Using her know-how, interior designer and lead interior stylist at Aussie homeware brand Miss Amara, Shaye Ford (pictured) transformed an old, rundown cottage on New South Wales Central Coast into the home of her dreams

Speaking with FEMAIL, Shaye revealed some of her best styling secrets from what is worth splashing cash on to her tips for elevating any space on a budget

Shaye was attracted to the home for its 'good bones and workable floorplan' and had already started putting together her styling vision before her offer was even expected by the previous owners

When coming up with a concept for your home Shaye recommended putting together a mood board and creating a look that isn't too coordinated. 'Nothing better than being able to see everything together before spending the money for all of it!'

Shaye's passion for interior design started when she was just a child and would flick through her builder dad's house drawings in his office.

'I found them mesmerising. I would spend hours sketching floor plans as well hours moving my room around until I found the right balance,' she said.

'I think I may have been the only ten-year-old I knew saving their pocket money for home magazines.'

She was able to turn her childhood fantasy into reality when she came across an 'old but livable' coastal home she said had a 'gorgeous east facing triangular cathedral style windows' and ideal location near the beach and a lake.

Before Shaye had even signed the papers, she had already come up with a design concept for the ultra-chic house.

'I have always been inspired by English cottages and American bungalows and tried to mesh the two together in an Australian way to create a fusion,' she said.

Shaye's golden styling rule is not never stick to one aesthetic with the most well-designed homes is a mesh of at least two or three different styles. 'When shopping for items don't think about them as a stand alone piece,' she said

Built-in shelves frame the cosy fireplace and are filled with decor and trinkets Shaye found at thrift shops and homewares stores while soft Miss Amara rugs, throws and cushions provides extra texture and warmth to the space

Interior designer Shaye Ford's top tips for elevating your home's style that won't break the bank When looking for furniture, think about easy changes on more budget options that could elevate the piece. Get crafty with decor pieces such of art - everyone has an inner artist and the saying is true 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' Thrift shops are your best friend - go often, have a little idea of what you're looking for but keep your mind open A home isn't a home without pieces that show who lives there - so small inexpensive touches like a family photo in a frame can add so much warmth! Scent is so so important, so a gorgeous smelling candle or incense can instantly elevate a space! Advertisement

When coming up with a concept for your own home Shaye recommended putting together a mood board and creating a look that isn't too coordinated.

'Creating a mood board really helps pull together your look especially when you want to create a cohesive nothing-too-coordinated look,' she said.

'Nothing better than being able to visually see everything together before spending the money for all of it!'

Shaye's golden styling rule is to never stick to one aesthetic as the most well-designed homes are a mesh of at least two or three different styles.

'When shopping for items don't think about them as a stand alone piece,' she said.

'Always think about what is going to be placed near the item, how it speaks to the rest of the room - whether it's a hero object, an accent or a base item that highlights a hero piece you already have.'

In her living room, Shaye heroed the natural light that pours into the space 'all day long' with large windows covered with sheer curtains and a clean white palette.

Built-in shelves frame the cosy fireplace and are filled with decor and trinkets Shaye found at thrift shops and homewares stores while soft Miss Amara rugs as well as throws and cushions provide extra texture and warmth to the space.

'In the lounge room, I love good quality cushions that have dense feather filled inserts - they make all the difference,' Shaye said.

Off the living room, the kitchen has a dark-wood island bench contrasts the white stone benchtops and cabinets while vintage-style sconces and stove adds a rustic-chic feel.

Shaye said kitchen cupboard and draw handles are like 'jewellery for the kitchen' and are always worth splurging on in any home renovation as they are on of the most used items in the house.

Her dining room lies just off the country-style kitchen and Shaye has a solid light wood table with rattan dining chairs. A retro sideboard offers a chic storage solution while black-framed sliding doors open the room out to the deck alfresco seating area

Shaye said kitchen handles are like 'jewellery for the kitchen' and are always worth splurging on in any home renovation as they are on of the most used items in the house. Another item Shaye said is worth spending on is a quality dining room table

How to style your home like a pro according to Shaye Creating a mood board helps pull together a look especially when you want to create a cohesive, nothing-too-coordinated look

Never skimp on the handles in the kitchen, they get so much wear and tear so good quality solid handles are worth spending the money on

There are some great companies out there producing budget furniture that you can tweak to make it look more expensive and luxe looking

Check out your local vintage or thrift stores to fill your shelves

Invest in a solid timber table, they look, feel and wear so much better and will last decades

It's also worth splurging on fabric. Whether it be your lounge, cushions, curtains, good quality fabric always sits, looks and feels better

When shopping for items don't think about them as a stand alone piece. Always think about what is going to be placed near the item, how it speaks to the rest of the room - whether it's a hero object, an accent or a base item that highlights a hero piece you already have Advertisement

'Never skimp on the handles in the kitchen, they get so much wear and tear so good quality solid handles are worth spending the money on,' she said.

Another item Shaye said is worth spending on is a quality dining room table saying: 'a solid timber table looks, feels and wears so much better than a veneer table and will last decades'.

Her dining room lies just off the country-style kitchen and Shaye has a solid light wood table with rattan dining chairs.

A retro sideboard offers a chic storage solution while black-framed sliding doors open the room out to the deck alfresco seating area.

For the other rooms in the house she recommends investing in good fabrics as well as quality linen for the bedroom.

'Whether it be your lounge, cushions, curtains, good quality fabric always sits, looks and feels better. You can truly see the difference,' Shaye explained.

'In the bedroom it's the bed linen for me, we spend or should spend eight hours sleeping - luxurious beautiful linen is a must.'

However, for those on a tighter budget, Shaye said there are budget retailers making affordable homewares and furniture that can be adjusted to look more expensive while op shops can hide some stylish finds.

'There are some great companies out there producing budget furniture that you can tweak to make it look more expensive and luxe looking and also decor pieces likes vases and trinkets,' she said.

'Check out you local vintage or thrift stores to fill your shelves...I love the thrill of the find.'

GET THE LOOK FOR LESS

Styling a home to make it look like it belongs on the pages of a high-end magazine doesn't have to cost and arm and a leg.

Shaye's boho English cottage aesthetic can be replicated without breaking the bank thanks to a number of budget retailer's offering stylish homewares and furnishings.

In the living room, Shaye's shelves and tables are filled with trinkets similar to Kmart's ribbed vase for just $15 and $12 disco ball as well as Target's $25 Hallie vase.

In the living room, Shaye's shelves and tables are filled with trinkets similar to Kmart's ribbed vase (left) for just $15 and $12 disco ball (centre) as well as Target's $25 Hallie vase (right)

Designer dupes: To create Shaye's English cottage look for less go for the Rugs Online Saffrom 22 white rug (left) from just $149.95, Gigi & Tom's $90 boucle stool (centre) and Target's range of natural woven baskets from $25 (right)

While the stylist used the Miss Amara Misha Tribal wool shag rug $2,265, you can get a similar one from Rugs Online like the Saffrom 22 white rug from just $149.95 to add texture to a room.

Kmart sells a grey couch just like Shaye's for less than $500

Home DIY guru Geneva Vanderzeil has a simple hack for replicating travertine stone tables for just $58 like the one seen in Shaye's lounge.

To make an on-trend side table, she used three pieces of travertine natural stove pavers and Selleys construction adhesive glue.

Gigi and Tom's $90 boucle stool will add a trendy statement while Kmart's $449 Harrison three-seat soft is much like Shaye's grey couch.

In the kitchen, Shaye uses straw baskets as a stylish storage solution and Target sells a range of natural woven baskets from $25 each.
A teenager needed a cork pulled out of her vagina after it had left her incontinent.

The 19-year-old, from Serbia, sought help after suddenly finding herself not able to control her bladder.

She confessed to medics that she had shoved the cork, apparently from a bottle of hairspray, in three-and-half-years ago during 'a state of impaired judgement' while having sex.

But the woman, who wasn't named, was so scared of medics reactions she did not seek help out of 'shame and fear of judgement'.

The woman, of Belgrade, also tried removing the cork herself but was unsuccessful.

The 19-year-old from Belgrade, Serbia, confessed to medics she had shoved the cork from a bottle of hairspray in during sex 'in a state of impaired judgement'. But she was so scared of medics reactions she did not seek medical help out of 'shame and fear of judgement'

A 2021 study by The Royal College of Surgeons of England, found the incidence of objects having to be removed from rectums by the NHS is on the rise. Cases were growing particularly quickly among men

Writing in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, medics said the woman was still experiencing regular periods.

Upon examination, doctors found swollen tissue around the cork lodged inside her vagina.

The date of the incident was not revealed in the case report by medics at University Hospital Center Dr Dragisa Misovic in Belgrade.

The cork was extracted using standard gynecological tools.

But medics then amputated her urethra  the tube through which urine leaves the body  after discovering another complication.

The woman had developed a hole between her bladder and the wall of the vagina  medically known as a vesicovaginal fistula  which was causing urine to leak out of her vagina.

According to the NHS, the opening can form due to difficulties during childbirth, certain kinds of surgery or following radiotherapy.

Some people may also be born with a fistula.

It is unclear whether the hairspray cork was behind the opening.

However, foreign bodies have been known to cause the fistula.

Doctors in Belgrade treated the fistula by catheterizing the woman, before referring her to the urology department for further diagnosis and treatment.

As well as corks, other objects reportedly recovered from vaginas by medics over the years include plastic aerosol caps, a plastic cup and even a childs toy.

There are also hundreds of reports of medics retrieving objects stuck in the rectum - with the first case logged in medical literature back in the 16th century.

NHS doctors are no stranger to dealing with similar incidents, with data analysis last year finding about 400 'foreign' objects are pulled from English anuses each year.

This was estimated to cost the taxpayer roughly 340,000 a year for things like drugs for performing procedures, and the manpower of NHS staff.

But the insertion of objects into a rectum, also known as anal play, carries a number of risks.

As well as getting stuck objects, they can also potentially perforate the bowel which can be deadly as material from the digestive tract can spill into other parts of the body, causing an infection.
Migraines are more than just headaches, as any regular sufferer will attest.

The throbbing, pulsating pain starts deep in the brain and typically remains centered on one part of the head for a long time, usually worsening over time.

An estimated 40 million people in the US and roughly six million in the UK deal with migraines, with most suffering an attack one to two times per month.

Neurologists are still attempting to pinpoint the causes of migraine - which has been linked to constriction and dilation of blood vessels as well as dysfunction in the nervous system.

DailyMail.com spoke with neurologists who specialize in treating headaches to break down some common yet surprising triggers:

Perfume

Many people associate the fruity or floral notes of perfume with fun nights out with friends or romantic dates  but for migraine sufferers it is a major trigger.

Perfume is by and far the leading odor trigger for migraine sufferers, according to 2016 research by the American Headache Society.

The chemicals in perfumes, cleaning supplies, and cigarette smoke that activate the smell signals in our brain known as odorants can sometimes irritate the sinuses, leading to severe headaches.

This intolerance for smell is called osmophobia, which not only exacerbates existing migraine attacks but also can spur new ones.

Increased sensitivity is cited as a trigger for a huge proportion of migraine sufferers, though different studies have produced varied results.

Dr Niushen Zhang, neurologist and Chief of the Headache Division at Stanford Medicine told DailyMail.com: 'I think most people have some degree of sensitivity to smell... for some people, even a whiff of hand sanitizer will set things off for them.

Perfume is by and far the leading odor trigger for migraine sufferers, according to 2016 research by the American Headache Society

'It's a sensory integration disorder. It's all about that hypersensitivity to smell, to light, to sound.'

The American Headache Society has estimated that 95 percent of migraine sufferers reported an intolerance to strong smells.

Meanwhile, a 2014 study of 200 migraine patients and 200 tension-type headache patients found that 70 percent of those who got migraines also had symptoms of osmophobia, compared to none in the tension headache group. Of that 70 percent who were triggered by odors, over three-quarters blamed perfumes.

It is not entirely clear why some people are more sensitive to noxious smells, but research suggests that it could be linked to the size of the receptor in the brain that processes input of odors called the olfactory bulb.

People who experience frequent migraines appear to have a smaller olfactory bulb than people without migraines. Whats more, people who have both migraines and osmophobia have an even smaller olfactory bulb volume.

Household cleaners and astringents, paints, and gasoline are also common olfactory offenders. Among the 70 percent of migraine sufferers in the 2014 study who were triggered by smells, paint fumes were the trigger about 42 percent of the time, gasoline was the offender 28 percent of the time, and bleach, 27 percent of the time.

Being too RELAXED

A post-stress comedown could trigger a migraine, research suggests

As counterintuitive as it may seem, migraine attacks at the end of a long day or week when the stress has subsided are not uncommon.

Neurologists posit that these let-down migraines are a result of fluctuating levels of the hormone cortisol, which rises in times of stress and falls during periods of relaxation, contributing to the onset of an attack.

Researchers at the Montefiore Headache Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University probed the link between post-stress relaxation and the onset of migraines in a 2014 study.

They found that people prone to migraines who have a drastic decrease in stress levels are at a higher risk of getting a migraine the next day.

Lead author Dr Richard Lipton said that the risk of a migraine attack was almost five times higher during the first six hours of a decline in stress than at other times.

And in the 12 to 24 hours following a mood shift from sad or nervous to happy or relaxed, the likelihood of a migraine attack increases by 20 percent.

There are other features of a post-stress comedown that could trigger a migraine, separate from fluctuating levels of cortisol, such as sleep hygiene.

Dr Anne Yacoub, a neurologist who specializes in headaches at Johns Hopkins Medicine said: A really classic thing is people will sleep in on a Saturday and then immediately wake up with a migraine, so we know that like regular sleep and wake times are really important for migraine brain.

And Dr Zhang told DailyMail.com that the body could react adversely to any change, not just to sleep patterns, resulting in migraine.

She said: That migraine brain doesn't like change. So in a way, it's sort of trying to tell us, hey, there's something not quite right going on. But sometimes it misinterprets those changes as dangerous or unhelpful. And so when it misinterprets those things, it can trigger these symptoms that can be quite bothersome for people.

Anecdotally, sex has been deemed a migraine trigger. Strenuous, high-intensity physical activity - running, weight-lifting, rowing, and yes, sex - has been known precede migraine.

Dr Ali Zandieh, a neurologist with expertise in headache at the University of Wisconsin told DailyMail.com: 'Aerobic exercise, we usually recommend it for anybody actually, essentially, it's good for health and is probably good for the headaches. But paradoxically, certain type of exercises actually can cause headaches.'

At the same time, many people believe sex can alleviate their migraine symptoms. The release of endorphins, or mood-boosting hormones produced during an orgasm, can help block pain perception in the body.

Weather

Human sinuses are filled with air and when the barometric pressure drops as a storm rolls in

About a third of migraine sufferers say that when storm clouds roll in, the sky darkens, and the wind picks up, their symptoms worsen.

This is believed to be caused by changes in barometric pressure, which refers to the pressure in the air or the amount of force that is being applied to your body from the air.

Human sinuses are filled with air and when the barometric pressure drops as a storm rolls in, it creates a difference between the pressure in the outside air and the air in your sinuses, resulting in pain.

An international team of scientists from Canada, New Zealand, and Italy concluded as much in a 2017 study published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation: Patients with masticatory muscle pain and patients with migraine present typical temporal pain patterns that are influenced in a different way by weather changes.

Even minor decreases in atmospheric pressure that inevitably come with weather can lead to a debilitating headache.

A group of 34 migraine patients in Japan was asked to keep a diary in which to jot down atmospheric pressure when they felt a migraine coming on. The standard barometric pressure at sea level is about 1013 hectopascal (hPa).

It was discovered among migraine sufferers' diary entries that the atmospheric pressure when the patients developed a migraine was within 1003 to 1007 hPa and the patients developed a migraine when the atmospheric pressure decreased by six to 10 hPa.

Anger

High levels of anger have been linked to heightened muscle tension and susceptibility to more intense physical pain - including migraines

Remember something that made you angry. Maybe it was an unfair grade in school or a stranger stole your coffee from the Starbucks bar. Maybe someone cut you off on the highway during your commute, or youve just told a friend you deal with migraines and they suggested essential oils. Youll notice your shoulder muscles contract and your neck tense up.

High levels of anger have been linked to heightened muscle tension and susceptibility to more intense physical pain.

Muscle tension is a reflex to external stressors such as events that make one angry. Its the bodys way of protecting against pain. This visceral response to anger and frustration can lead to a migraine attack.

She added: We definitely know that tension in the neck and shoulders can be a migraine trigger and we know that there are conditions like cervicogenic migraine where pathology in the neck seems to be really important in triggering migraine. So theres really an intimate relationship between migraine and the neck.

The link between anger and physical muscle tension is still being examined, but some studies have shown that most people who deal with chronic pain also have issues processing and controlling their anger.

Physical symptoms of anger are wide-reaching, from muscle tightness and insomnia to increased blood pressure, all of which have shown ties to migraine attacks.

Its hard to tell sometimes whether the tightness and tension in your muscles is a trigger for a migraine or a manifestation of one. It could be a cause but it could also be a symptom and neurologists say it differs by person.

Migraine triggers are subjective and, according to Dr Yacoub, can be a very different experience for different individuals.

She said: We often have patients who will describe either tightness in the neck and shoulders with their migraine or leading up to a migraine and they're not people who typically have that problem. And so it may be that that tension is a manifestation of the migraine itself.

One of the challenges in migraine is that everyone's migraines can manifest differently.

Teeth-grinding

Nearly 10 percent of people grind their teeth, a condition called bruxism, while sleeping or doing busy work around the house.

Teeth grinding is a subconscious habit millions of Americans do without realizing - is it a leading cause of migraines?

Many people who do it do not realize it when they are because it often occurs during sleeping hours, but wake up with intense pain that reverberates from their jaw to other areas of the skull.

Continuous and involuntary grinding of the teeth wears on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), a sort of sliding hinge that connects the skull to the jaw. It is surrounded my muscles that release and contract to control the jaw.

The muscles that surround the TMJ are also connected to the cheeks and under the chin, so when someone clenches their teeth and wears on that joint, the painful effects echo around the mouth and throughout the whole head.

Dr Yacoub said: That jaw pain can definitely be a migraine trigger or be an independent source of headache.

In a susceptible individual, so someone who is perhaps genetically susceptible to migraines, they may be more sensitive to these other triggers generating a migraine, like jaw pain or TMJ. The teeth grinding independently causes all kinds of headaches related to the temporomandibular joints.

Aged cheeses

Tyramine is strongly linked to headaches. The substance forms as different proteins inside cheese break down gradually, so the longer a cheese has aged, the more tyramine it will contain

Yes, really. Many kinds of cheese  Camamber, gorgonzola, aged cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan among others  contain a compound called tyramine.

Tyramine is a substance that forms as different proteins inside cheese break down gradually, so the longer a cheese has aged, the more tyramine it will contain. It is also an amino acid found naturally in the body that helps regulate blood pressure.

The exact mechanism that connects tyramine and migraine is still under investigation. But scientists are eyeing an enzyme in the body that breaks down monoamines like tyramine called monoamine oxidase (MAO). People deficient in MAO are more prone to headaches after eating tyramine-rich foods.

Tyramine also causes blood vessels in the brain to constrict and then widen, processes known as vasoconstriction and vasodilation. Scientists used to coalesce around the theory that migraine was a vascular disorder, meaning mechanical changes in blood vessels were the drivers of the throbbing, pulsating quality of the headache.

The field of neuroscience has shifted away from the belief over the past 20 years that migraines are a function of blood vessel changes to instead point out that nerve-related changes in the brain likely have a stronger bearing on whether a person will experience chronic or occasional (episodic) migraines.

Dr Zandieh said: 'We don't think that the onset of the pain of the migraine process is from the vessels anymore. We think it's more neurological, related to the nerves and neurons rather than the vessels.'

People with migraines have hypersensitive nervous systems. When neurons misfire they can create what is called neurogenic inflammation, which is what causes the pain. What causes that type of neuronal misfiring in the first place is unclear, but signs point to genetics.

Dr Zandieh added: 'Many patients have some sort of hereditary or they're predisposed to have a lower pain threshold and to get migraine, so even a small asstress can activate these pathways in their brain and can cause migraine.'

Still, scientists maintain that blood vessels have a part to play in the triggering and continuation of a migraine attack. A 2016 report by neurologists at the University of Texas said: While vasodilation itself may not contribute to migraine, it remains possible that vessels play a role in migraine pathophysiology in the absence of vasodilation.

Dr Yacoub said: Tyramine may result in like selective vasoconstriction and then rebound vasodilation. That's what we used to think triggered migraine, is people had vasoconstriction and then they had this compensatory vasodilation that led to a migraine.
For the past year and a half, the advice on energy bills has been clear: don't switch suppliers. It goes against all we had been told for the previous 20 years  when regularly swapping providers was the only way to make sure we didn't pay over the odds.

Sky-rocketing wholesale gas prices meant suppliers such as British Gas, Octopus and Ovo could no longer offer cut-price deals to attract new customers. Instead, the price cap meant that so-called standard tariffs, which anybody who has not switched in the past year ends up on, were actually cheapest for the first time ever.

And while it seemed that bills would never come down again, now the feeling is not if they will come down, but how quickly.

Last week, Ovo launched the first tariff priced below the Government's cap since the energy industry meltdown of winter 2021. So what does this news mean for hard-pressed Britons? And has the time finally come to consider a switch?

For the past year and a half, the advice on energy bills has been clear: don't switch suppliers

What was the deal before the energy crisis?

Suppliers such as British Gas, E.ON and EDF offered the best deals to attract new customers. The profit margins on these were small, but after a year the tariff would move to a standard tariff that was dearer. It is a common business model also used by broadband suppliers and insurers  attract customers with a bargain deal and hope they stay when prices rise. Most agree it is not fair on loyal customers. But it meant that savvy Brits who were willing to swap providers could get the most competitive prices for gas and electricity.

What happened to alert the situation?

That all changed at the start of winter 2021. Soaring wholesale prices  up six-fold that year, after demand soared post-lockdown  prompted retail suppliers to stop offering cheap deals to attract new customers.

It was too risky for providers to do so in a volatile market, where prices could double in a week. In a few months, 28 suppliers went bust.

Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine made the market more volatile. A cut in supply after the surge in demand the year before pushed wholesale prices even higher.

Against previous advice, consumer experts such as Martin Lewis and Citizens Advice told families not to switch suppliers. That was because standard tariffs  prices of which are governed by the energy price cap  were, for the first time ever, cheaper than any new deals offered.

In October 2021, the cap was 1,277, at the time the highest for ten years. The best new deals were about 1,600, and most around 2,000. Experts said these companies were pricing themselves out of the market since they didn't want to take on new customers. Tariffs spiked after that, to just under 2,000 in April 2022 and then 2,500 from October (although they would have been much more without the Government setting this limit).

What's changed just recently?

Last week Ovo launched a tariff that is cheaper than the Government's cap on household bills. It is for its existing customers only, but it is expected to open it up, and other suppliers are tipped to follow suit. Ovo is offering a one-year fixed tariff of 2,275 to existing customers, undercutting the Government's energy price guarantee (EPG).

Sky-rocketing wholesale gas prices meant suppliers such as British Gas, Octopus and Ovo could no longer offer cut-price deals to attract new customers

Hold on a minute... what's the EPG?

The EPG was introduced to keep bills below the much higher levels they would ordinarily be under Ofgem's price cap. It is a short-term measure, just while wholesale prices are high. In simple terms, it ensures that a typical family will pay no more than 2,500 a year.

I'm confused. What is the Ofgem price gap?

Ofgem's price cap was superseded by the EPG. The cap sets tariffs based on the market rate, which means that, due to record high wholesale prices, it is, from yesterday, 3,280 a year for typical users. For the previous three months it was 4,279  the highest ever.

The EPG shielded customers from these historic highs and kept bills at 2,500. Once the price cap falls below the EPG  it's tipped to go to about 2,000 from July  customers will pay whatever is lowest.

What do the experts say we should do?

Martin Lewis, founder of finance website Money Saving Expert, said: 'People need to be very careful not to just jump on a fix because it costs less than they're paying right now. If you're on a standard tariff, the rates you pay are governed by a cap. That cap is currently set by the Energy Price Guarantee, and will stay roughly stable until the end of June.

'After that, because wholesale rates  the rates energy firms pay  have dropped, it's likely the cap will drop, and on current predictions that means you'll start paying 20 per cent lower rates than now.'

He said the price is predicted to 'stay around that point' until the end of the year and into 2024.

Will other suppliers follow Ovo's lead?

Uswitch energy expert Ben Gallizzi said: 'The deal offered by Ovo Energy is a great first step towards the resumption of a competitive energy market.

'We believe other suppliers should start to follow suit, with most initially offering fixed deals to existing customers.

'We hope this will encourage the industry to start offering competitive tariffs to all households over the coming weeks in a swift return to full-scale switching.

'The price of these fixed deals will initially be higher than what people are used to historically, but the first signs of a return to a competitive energy market are encouraging news and should eventually lead to costs coming back down.

'Our analysis suggests that suppliers could currently offer fixed deals costing between 2,200 and 2,500 a year for the average household. However, with energy prices forecast to fall in July, some suppliers may offer better rates to attract new customers as we edge towards summer.'

Now the feeling is not if energy bills will come down, but how quickly?

Can we expect prices to fall further, then?

Experts have been predicting household bills will fall this summer as suppliers strike new long-term deals to buy cheaper gas.

At that point the Government's EPG, which is being held at current levels until the end of June, will no longer be needed.

Last month, analysts at Cornwall Insight forecasted that Ofgem's energy price cap will fall to 2,153 a year from July.

And last week, analysts at financial firm Investec said the cap could go as low as 1,981 a year from July  although this would still be significantly higher than it was before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

So, in conclusion

Wait until July's price cap is announced. The cap could be down to about 2,000, and if suppliers think wholesale prices will keep falling, then they will offer one-year fixed deals for under that.
A young Aussie worn out by the monotony of corporate life decided he would work ten different jobs in just four months in order to figure out his next career move.

Jesse Hare, 27, from Melbourne, went on the traditional path of graduating high school and heading straight to university, before landing a job in marketing.

But he quickly grew weary of spending each day in front of a computer and felt it was time to make a change.

He decided he needed some life experience and through the help of friends in other industries, he lined up a job in ten different fields where he'd spend one week in each.

His jobs included farm work, construction, hospitality, personal training and even working as a hotel valet.

He began his adventure in November and worked his final shift at his last job at the hotel this month.

'I was feeling a bit disgruntled in my workplace and was pretty miserable when I realised I was doing something that I was good at but wasn't actually passionate about,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I wanted some life experience after the Covid lockdowns and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone.

'I just realised I needed to figure out what the next step was and try the process of elimination and work different jobs.'

Jesse Hare, 27, from Melbourne, worked ten different jobs in four months after realising corporate life wasn't for him

Dairy farm

Mr Hare's first job was working on a dairy farm in Cobram, near the Victoria and NSW border.

His days started with a 3.30am wake-up milking and feeding the cows and moving the herds.

Mr Hare said the cows were milked twice a day everyday, which meant the farmers would finish at 9pm if they wanted to work both the morning and evening shifts.

But a work day could end as early as 11am if staff wanted to knock off after the first round of milking.

Mr Hare's first job was working on a dairy farm in Cobram, near the Victoria and NSW border

A day on the dairy farm started as early as 4am, with the cows milked both in the morning and evenings

JESSE HARE'S 10 JOBS IN FOUR MONTHS Dairy farmer - $26.73 p/h Tomato greenhouse worker - $26.73 p/h Sheep farmer - $28.00 p/h Grain farmer - $25.00 p/h Landscaper - $25.00 p/h Construction labourer - $34.00 p/h + $20 daily travel allowance Fitness trainer - unpaid Waiter - unpaid Hotel porter - $28.46 p/h base + tips & penalty rates on Sat & Sun Music festival volunteer - unpaid Advertisement

'It was probably the earliest alarm I've ever had to set, I felt like a zombie some days and there was always more work to do,' Mr Hare said.

'It was very intense and very eye-opening.'

An afternoon nap became a necessity for Mr Hare to get through the work, with the 27-year-old adding that while he felt isolated from his friends during his time at the farm, he left with a new perspective on life.

'I met some amazing people and learnt a new perspective of how food gets to your table,' he said.

'There's lot of hours available with split shifts and competitive wages.'

But the downsides?

'You have to deal with a lot of cow s**t, and s**t attracts flies,' he said.

Mr Hare has been sharing videos of each of his job experiences to TikTok.

Tomato greenhouse

His second job was at a greenhouse picking tomatoes in Carisbrook, about two hours north-west of Melbourne.

While the job in the greenhouse was at a slower pace than the dairy farm, the conditions were gruelling.

It was extremely humid inside the greenhouse at 28C and Mr Hare said it felt as hot as 40C.

His work consisted of deleafing, picking the tomatoes, pollinating using a leaf blower, and then packing them to be sent to supermarkets.

Mr Hare worked at a greenhouse picking tomatoes in Carisbrook, about two hours north-west of Melbourne

Mr Hare spent his days picking tomatoes before they were ripe enough to be packaged and sent to supermarkets

A day of picking tomatoes ended by 2.30pm and because the work was independent, he could choose his own shifts and listen to music or podcasts all day.

A British backpacker was also working with Mr Hare at the time in order to complete his mandatory agricultural work for his visa.

Sheep and grain farms

Mr Hare spent two more stints working on farms, one week dealing with sheep in Dunluce, in regional Victoria, and the other on a grain farm about an hour north in Donald.

'What I realised the most is how highly specialised each job is, like you can't come in and think you know what's going on,' he said.

'For the most part the other workers are pretty welcoming, they were keen to show what they do but I had some moments when I was being a bit of a battler.'

For Mr Hare, his week on the sheep farm was his favourite job throughout the entire experience.

'I felt really connected to the land and nature. I felt like I had some autonomy over the job there and doing things I never thought I'd do like handling sheep,' he said.

'I just thought ''wow, this what it's like to be a real farmer''.'

Working at a sheep farm in Dunluce, in regional Victoria, was Mr Hare's favourite job out of the ten different industries he tried

Cafe work

Heading back into the hustle and bustle of Melbourne, Mr Hare started working weekends at a cafe in Carlton North.

While it was initially a struggle to deal with the fast-paced environment, having spent weeks doing farm work, Mr Hare said he enjoyed the social aspect.

'It was a complete change from the farm, I was constantly having to talk to people and be on,' he said.

'You also get to see the real difference between people from the country and those from the city, they're always on a schedule.'

Mr Hare worked at the cafe on his weekends off from the farm work and said he felt self conscious at times because he still had dirt under his fingernails.

'I found it fun but I don't think it was for me - the best part was the free coffees and the great people I worked with,' he said.

'But the worst part is if you get a customer's order wrong they'll be sure to let you know.'

Mr Hare started working weekends at a cafe in Carlton North in between his farm work

Volunteering at a music festival

His next role was volunteering at Beyond The Valley music festival, scanning wristbands and handing out environmentally-friendly rubbish bags.

Mr Hare worked three five hour shifts over the four-day festival in exchange for a free ticket.

'I did get some fomo (fear of missing out) when my shift was clashing with an act I wanted to see and your friends are all having drinks and I've got to put my high-vis vest on,' he said.

'But the upside was it was a lot more satisfying knowing everyone else had to pay for their ticket.'

Tickets can cost up to $500 for the entire event.

At one stage during the festival Mr Hare had to console a woman whose boyfriend was experiencing a drug-induced psychotic episode.

'He had a full change in personality and started trying to fight the people around him,' he said.

Mr Hare volunteered at Beyond The Valley music festival, scanning wristbands and handing out environmentally-friendly rubbish bags

Landscaping

Mr Hare tried his hand at landscaping for a week, and said while it was nice working outdoors, the experience was physically taxing.

Having no real experience in any trade, the 27-year-old said it was encouraging to see the bond his fellow landscapers had with each other.

'There's definitely that mateship and element of teamwork,' he said.

'There's also the satisfaction of seeing your work each day. I was used to sending emails and just doing the same thing.'

Another job Mr Hare tried his hand in was landscaping. 'There's the satisfaction of seeing your work each day. I was used to sending emails and just doing the same thing,' he said

Construction labourer

Mr Hare's next role was working in construction at a site in Chullora in Sydney's west, where he was mainly drilling holes with a hammer-drill.

Raking in $34 an hour, Mr Hare had to obtain a white card, which was done through a one-day course which costs around $120.

'I was extremely nervous before I started and one of the guys asked me if I'd ever used a hammer drill before and I said ''yeah, totally'', but I was freaking out,' he said.

'But once you get on site they show you what to do and I was pretty happy with how it all went.'

A major downside of the job was the state of the site toilets, which Mr Hare said were 'pretty grim'.

Other cons were the never-ending dust that 'went everywhere', the danger of the job and the physical toll the role took on his body

'The job was probably my least favourite because I thought I can't do this for the rest of my life - it breaks your body,' he said.

'You can't do anything after a day on the site, and I reckon the others felt like that too.

'They must just have to go home and go straight to bed.'

Mr Hare worked as a construction labourer and used a hammer-drill at a site in Chullora, Sydney

Fitness trainer

Towards the end of his mission to work ten different jobs, Mr Hare took up the role of a trainer in a crossfit gym in Kellyville, in Sydney's north-west.

The gym, BaiFit, is ran by Mr Hare's sister's boyfriend, and because it's for crossfit trainers, the exercises are often more complicated.

'I helped take a few classes and it was a bit awkward because I was kind of standing there thinking what's going on,' Mr Hare admitted.

But he learnt how to pick up some of the movements himself and enjoyed how social the gym was.

'There weren't too many lows but they'd have to be the early mornings, starting at 5am was tough,' he added.

Towards the end of his mission to work ten different jobs, Mr Hare took up the role of a trainer in a CrossFit gym in Kellyville, in Sydney's north-west

Hotel valet

For his tenth and final gig, Mr Hare worked as a porter at the QT Hotel in Sydney, acting as a valet and bringing guests' luggage up to their rooms.

Donning an outfit straight out of Peaky Blinders, Mr Hare said being a valet was something he never thought he'd do 'in a million years'.

'But trying out new things has given me confidence and knowledge that I didn't know I needed,' he said.

As for his future, Mr Hare said he's interested in becoming a certified CrossFit trainer, and would like to try out a few more trades such as carpentry and plumbing.

'I'm still figuring out what career path I'll go down but I've hugely enjoyed this time away from the desk and computer,' he said.

'One day I think I'll end up living regionally but for the time being I think I'm going to try new things and see where that takes me.'
Residents are heartbroken after learning of plans to demolish one of Sydney's few remaining beach houses to make way for a luxury apartment complex.

The property on Ocean Avenue, just a couple streets away from Newport Beach on Sydney's northern beaches, is one of three neighbouring houses set to be knocked down by luxury apartment developer, IPM.

The apartment complex, named 'Oceans', will have nine units with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two car parks, each costing about $3.4million each.

The classic Sydney beach house, often made from weatherboard and fibro (fibrous cement sheet) would have a big front yards, wide veranda and a flat or skillion roof.

The design of the house represents an era of Australian architecture that was popular from post-WW2 up until the 1970s, and for many just conjures up memories of coastal getaways and the easy-going coastal lifestyle.

While the houses were once everywhere on Australia's east coast, the value of land near the water has seen them replaced with apartment blocks or sub-divided into smaller houses or town houses.

One of the few classically designed Australian beach houses left in Newport (pictured), on Sydney's northern Beaches, is to be demolished to make way for a luxury apartment complex

One local who has been living in Newport for 34 years, Toni, was upset by demolition plans for not just the Ocean Avenue beach house but many others in the area.

'I have always loved it [the soon-to-be demolished house]. It is pretty original, from the light at the front porch to the timber, the amazing trees in the backyard, the quaintness, the atmosphere and the calmness of the property,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'We love the bush and history of the northern beaches, but regrettably it is being erased by development.

'We had some amazing mid-century and older beach houses in Newport, Palm Beach and Avalon right down to Manly.

'They suit the beach lifestyle, the weatherboard dwellings of soft hues, timber and wide verandas and patios.

'Now we are surrounded by uninteresting bunker-style dwellings.'

Reminiscing on what the beach-side suburb used to be, Toni said that the classic beach houses were the foundation of memories about the area.

'It's Newport, the beach houses, towels over the fence, kids running in the front yard with neighbours.

'It's what poetry is written about. It had a great feeling about it.'

The beach house was purchased alongside two neighbouring properties, all of which are set to be demolished, and has been boarded up and unkempt while it awaits its fate

She claimed the area was being developed by outsiders who didn't respect its heritage.

'I feel people move to the northern beaches for the feel of the area, the beaches, the bushland and the trees but don't value it when it comes to their piece of paradise,' Toni said.

'They want to demolish it, rebuild it or develop it. Remove what they first loved about the area.

'We really feel more should be done to preserve older-style houses in the northern beaches because when it's gone, it's gone.'

The Northern Beaches Council, taking in Newport, has placed a series of beach houses in Currawong on their heritage list. The houses have been kept in working order since their construction in the 1950s.

A photo of the Ocean Avenue house was posted to a Facebook Group by Toni with the caption: 'The last of the original beach houses going under demolition.'

The photo shows the house unkempt in the year since its sale, with its windows boarded up and the grass in the front yard overgrown.

'I'm saddened each day I drive by this home,' the local wrote.

Numerous others voiced their displeasure with the plan underneath the post.

'So sad, beautiful old beach house with character!' one user wrote.

'So bloody sad,' a second user wrote.

'[I] lived in an original beach shack and so many were pulled down including the one I lived in. Hardly any left.'

'Should have been bought as a community centre and heritage listed,' a third wrote.

'Council continues to be committed to heritage management and protection and our dedicated heritage team continues to undertake thorough reviews and heritage studies,' Louise Kerr, Northern Beaches Council Interim CEO, told Daily Mail Australia.

'Any built or natural item included on Councils heritage list are protected. Council has an obligation to follow state planning legislation when assessing development applications.

'If a building is not heritage listed, it cannot be protected from demolition.'

Photos of the house were posted to a local's Facebook Group (pictured), prompting displeasure from others who were upset a piece of the area's history was being demolished

The proposed complex, named 'Oceans' (pictured), is expected to comprise nine apartments with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, costing a minimum of $3.4million

A deferred commencement approval was approved by Council on September 8, 2022 after 21 issues with the buildings plans were raised.

These included building height, privacy, engineering, landscape, and waste.

All but one of the issues raised, stormwater drainage easement, have been addressed by IPM with amended construction plans and additional information.

Construction can begin once all issues raised by council have been amended.

The proposed apartment complex will be the latest addition to IPM's portfolio of luxury housing.

'IPMs vision is simple: to create high quality, design-led apartments in premium locations,' its website reads.

'The results are exceptional residences that stand the test of time.'

The company have paid particular interest to Sydney's northern beaches, having completed projects in nearby Mosman, Manly and Mona Vale.
Over eight decades later, the wall's presence continues to divide campaigners

The wall was built as part of 'redlining' policy, to provide funding for white developers under racist laws

Located in the notorious Eight Mile neighborhood of Detroit, a stark symbol of racism still stands today.

Often dubbed the city's own 'Berlin Wall', a half-mile stretch of concrete was erected over eight decades ago in 1941. Originally built to capitalize on discriminatory federal housing policies, it has served as a constant reminder of the area's divisions.

Unlike its German parallel, the six-foot wall was not installed to physically separate, but rather to meet a Federal Housing Association policy called 'redlining', which explicitly denied funds to black neighborhoods.

When white developers planned to build in the region in 1941, they were denied loans because it would be 'too close' to the black neighborhood - inspiring the idea to construct a looming wall to appease the FHA's regulations.

Fast forward 80 years, and the structure remains in place, albeit under renewed status as a historic landmark now adorned with colorful murals. Its presence has seemingly divided the Michigan community in more ways than one, as campaigners on either side grapple with demolishing the controversial symbol or keeping it as a reminder of a grim past.

 Slide me  In 2006, the wall was decorated by a Detroit resident, and stands as a reminder of a grim past

The notion of 'redlining' originated from color-coded maps used by federal development lenders, where 'safe' neighborhoods were shaded blue or green while 'hazardous' communities were red.

According to a sign installed by the wall after it became a historical marker in 2022, the FHA saw artificial barriers as a way of protecting the value of white neighborhoods from 'adverse influences' such as 'inharmonious racial groups'.

Despite the policy being dismantled by the Fair Housing Act 27 years after the wall was built, the structure remained, and the surrounding population's sharp race divides saw the north side become majority white and the south side majority black.

Even as many white residents crossed Eight Mile Road in the following decades, away from the eyesore stretch of concrete and towards the suburbs, the wall persisted.

'Because whites (were) getting guaranteed home loans by the FHA, within a couple of decades we would have a wealth gap,' said Detroit historian Jamon Jordan, speaking to BridgeDetroit after the wall was given historical landmark status.

He noted the rapid rise of African Americans in Detroit after they fled Jim Crow laws in the south around the turn of the century. But, despite newfound employment opportunities, many were financially left behind by FHA policies, even though they made 'the same amount of money' as their white counterparts, Jordan added.

'There will be people who will not believe you if you told them there was a segregation wall built in the United States, in the north, in the City of Detroit in 1941.

'This wall is evidence of it. Thats why the wall is still important, and I would argue, ought not be destroyed.'

The wall's place in Detroit's 'Eight Mile' neighborhood more recently shot to prominence after it was the location of the 2002 hit film by the same name, where rapper Eminem grappled with racial divisions as he attempts to launch a rap career.

The wall's Eight Mile region shot to prominence after it was the location of the 2002 film starring Eminem by the same name

The six-foot wall was built to appease discriminatory FHA laws that would allow white developers to receive funding to build through black neighborhoods

Despite the wall's racist past, many - including the grandson of its founder - now argue that it should remain standing

The divisive wall has since been covered in colorful murals, including depictions of significant moments in black history

According to NBC News, the idea of a wall was originally put forward by James T McMillan, who at the time was the patriarch of one of Detroit's most notable families.

His grandfather, James McMillan, was a US Senator from Michigan from 1890 until his death in 1902, beginning a dynasty of government officials and community leaders that has endured as long as their wall.

When he was confronted with his family's connection to the divisive structure, the mogul's grandson Sandy McMillan told the outlet it was 'difficult to hear'.

'With history, you learn from the good and the not so good things, and you don't hide either of them,' he said. 'I see that this is an important story that needs to be told.'

When the wall was first introduced, however, the reason behind it was hardly a secret - The Michigan Chronicle ran a front-page headline at the time reading: 'Charge Wall Built To Separate Races.'

However, despite the fact that some are appalled such a symbol of hate remains standing, others are now glad the mural-adorned wall is still in place.

'It is really important to remember this history of discrimination in this city. It still casts its shadow today,' said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, after granting it historic designation last year.

'The federal government very intentionally discriminated against African Americans.'

The front page of The Michigan Chronicle after the wall was installed described the structure as being 'built to separate races'

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said it was 'important to remember this history of discrimination in this city' after granting the wall historical landmark status

Detroit historian Jamon Jordan has argued for keeping the wall standing despite its racist history

A sign was installed after the wall was designated as a historical marker in 2022, noting that it was seen as protecting value from 'adverse influences'

'History lost is history that can be repeated, so every time we are educating we are making sure that current and future generations are prepared,' added Detroit Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship official Rochelle Riley.

The structure, also often referred to in the neighborhood as the 'Birwood Wall' or the 'Eight Mile Wall', has seen some notable recent attempts to beautify its dark history.

Across its 2,200-foot stretch, the blank concrete was painted by Detroit artist Chazz Miller in 2006, who recruited area residents to help cover it with colorful designs.

In stark contrast to its divisive past, the wall is now adorned with scenes from black history, including images of Sojourner Truth helping children through the Underground Railroad, and Rosa Parks boarding a bus.
Neighbours are set to walk down a beauty spot footpath for the first time in almost 20 years - after previously being blocked by a landowner.

Ellen Salton, 56, sparked a row over the path when she put up 'private property' signs attempting to stop people walking to 'beautiful' bluebell woods.

The signs were put up as far back as 2004 along the walkway in Tredomen, near Hengoed, South Wales, and fencing now blocks off its entrance.

But neighbours campaigned for the path to be reopened - and planning inspectors have backed their case with an interim ruling.

The decision, which is pending further objections, means walkers could soon step foot on the beauty spot path for the first time in almost two decades.

Former council worker Brian Elliot, 67, said: 'The path links from where I live in Tredomen through to past what we call Bluebell Wood to a registered footpath at the other end of the wood.

Path through paradise: Brian Elliot's commute from his home through the Bluebell woods to the train station, before the 'private property' signs were put in place. Circles top right is the home of landowner Ellen Salton. Circled mid-left is the railway station.

Since 2004, 'private property' signs have made clear locals are not welcome in bluebell woods

'The bluebells would be coming out around now too. It's just such a shame.'

Brian said he commuted using the path for almost 30 years until signs went up and the path was blocked by landowner Ellen Salter.

'I used to use it every morning as it joined through to Ystrad Mynach station and on my way home. It was a beautiful walk.

'It stopped when the lady who bought the farm decided she wanted to stop public access through the wood.

'She tried to barricade the fence to stop people using it.

'It is a great pity because we had been able to use it for quite a long time and it was beautiful through there.

'It was so lovely and it is such a shame we couldn't come to an agreement amicably.'

Mr Elliot said he didn't know Ms Salter personally but had seen her at various meetings regarding the path and its access.

He said accusations that there was a 'conspiracy' against her were 'ridiculous.'

Caerphilly County Borough Council declared it a new public right of way in 2019 - but Ms Salton appealed the decision and a planning inquiry was held earlier this year by Welsh Government organisation Planning and Environment Decisions Wales.

An interim decision was made to grant public access to the path after an investigating by planning inspector Janine Townsley.

Ms Townsley said the path had been used without 'force, secrecy, or permission' for more than 20 years and decided on the balance of probabilities in order to grant the right of way.

Brian Elliot may once again be able to walk from his home through the bluebell woods to the railway station - his commute before the 'private property' signs banned locals from footpath

However the decision is subject to consultation, and therefore the public do not have the right to use it until the order is confirmed.

Neighbour Susan Smith, 74, applied to the council for the footpath to be declared a public right of way after using it since she was just a girl.

She said: 'To get anywhere now we have to go all round the houses and streets when we were able to use the path.

'We just want to have the path back that we have always had. It's beautiful down there it's really very lovely.'

Another resident, who asked not to be named said: 'I'm in my eighties now and I fear if I live to 100 I may never walk down that path again.

This means war: Locals have fought for their right to roam for nearly two decades

'Children used to pick huge bunches of bluebells down there and take them home for their parents but I don't know if they're even still there.

Fellow neighbour Diana Tura previously told officials the bluebell woods along the path were her 'sanctuary'.

She said: 'All the people in Tredomen just want to keep what we have, nothing more.'

Miss Salton claims there is a 'conspiracy' against her and says there is not a clear path that has ever been used by residents.

Andy Dunlop, representing Ms Salton, said a 'proper investigation' had not been carried out before the 2019 decision.

He said: 'This order should not have been made if proper investigation had occurred.'

Planning inspector Janine Townsley must now decide if the path was used for at least 20 years before 2002 without 'force, secrecy or permission'.

Ms Townsley said points C-F on a map of the planned path should be granted as public right of way - but that A-C need not be included because the land is already council owned.

Paradise lost: A snap of the the bluebell woods... before access was barred by landowner

The local council declared the path a new public right of way in 2019 under Section 53 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Points D-F on the map run through Miss Salton's land.

An application for a right of way was originally made in 2005 before it was re-submitted in 2017.

Caerphilly Council blamed a 'backlog' for the 14 year delay in making its decision.

A spokesperson said: 'Given our limited resources, and other statutory duties carried out by officers of the public rights of way department, these matters can take a considerable time to resolve.'

The path has remained closed for four years while the appeals process takes place.

Miss Salton was approached to comment.
Almost 600 secondary schools across England were rated outstanding by Ofsted inspectors according to newly-released data.

MailOnline has produced a fully interactive map, which will show you the number of the top rated schools in your area.

The figures show that there are a heavy concentration of impressive schools in London and the south East, with further major clusters around Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

The new data includes schools which were inspected between September and December 2022.

Schools are graded on a four point scale which determines whether they are Outstanding; Good; Requires Improvement and Inadequate.

According to Ofsted's statistics, of the 3,332 secondary schools inspected by its officials, some 557 were outstanding with a further 2,122 rated as good.

Around one in five secondary schools were classified as either requiring improvement or inadequate.

This week's release comes amid anger among teaching unions after it emerged a head teacher took her own life following an Ofsted inspection, which was set to downgrade her school's rating.

The new figures show that the percentage of outstanding schools has fallen from 21 per cent in August 2021to 17 per cent during the most recent inspection period.

How many outstanding schools are near YOU? To use our intercative map, click on the 'play' icon to begin scrolling around. The arrow tab to the right of the map will pull out a list of all schools, and a search bar allowing you to find your local school.

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Among the schools to receive top marks in the most recent Ofsted reports was St Angela's Ursuline School in Upton Park, east London

Newport Girls' High School Academy on the Welsh/English border was also rated Outstanding

The percentage of schools rated good has increased from 55 to 64 per cent, while the percentage of secondary schools requiring improvement has fallen from 17 per cent to 13. Those with the lowest rating, inadequate, have fallen from seven per cent by a single point.

Headteachers have complained about the pressure placed upon them by the inspection regime, with some being forced to take sick leave because of the stress.

According to Ofsted: 'Since 2019, the proportion of schools judged outstanding at their most recent inspection has decreased from 20 per cent to 17 per cent, whereas the percentage judged good has increased from 66 to 72 per cent.

'The gradual shift from outstanding to good is likely to be due to a combination of the education inspection framework raising the bar for outstanding schools.'

In total, 88 per cent of all school at primary and secondary level achieved a good or outstanding rating from Ofsted.

St Michael's Catholic Grammar School in North Finchley also received top marks

Aylesbury Grammar School was also praised by Ofsted following its inspection in late 2022

However, the education watchdog has faced significant criticism following the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry.

Teaching unions have called for a suspension of further inspections after Ms Perry, headteacher of Caversham Primary School in Reading, took her own life in January after her school received an inadequate rating.

Inspectors visited the school between November 15 and 16 2022, 13 years after issuing an 'outstanding' grade.

Ofsted officials described the leadership and management at the school as 'inadequate'.

An Ofsted inspection of Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, which found leadership and management at the previously outstanding school as inadequate. Following the report, the school's head teacher, Ruth Perry, took her own life

They heavily criticised the 'safeguarding' arrangements at the school, which show a lack of 'leadership or oversight' posing 'potential risks to pupils'.

Ofsted's chief inspector Amanda Spielman has acknowledged the desire to reform the system. However, she warned halting inspections would not be in the best interests of children.

Ms Spielman described Ms Perry's death as 'a tragedy'.

She said: 'The sad news about Ruth has led to an understandable outpouring of grief and anger from many people in education. There have been suggestions about refusing to co-operate with inspections, and union calls to halt them entirely.

'I dont believe that stopping or preventing inspections would be in childrens best interests. Our aim is to raise standards so that all children get a great education. It is an aim we share with every teacher in every school.

'Inspection plays an important part. Among other things, it looks at what children are being taught, assesses how well behaviour is being taught and managed, and checks that teachers know what to do if children are being abused or harmed.

'We help parents understand how their childs school is doing and we help schools understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Its important for that work to continue.'

Ms Spielman defended the use of the graded assessment scale as 'a simple and accessible summary of a school's strengths and weaknesses'.

She said any changes would require the agreement of both parents and the government.

The National Association of Head Teachers described the decision to continue with testing school capabilities as a 'terrible mistake'.

As of December 31, 2022, Ofsted inspectors had rated 21,721 education establishment. Of them, 3,651 were rated 'outstanding', 15,548 'good', while 1,855 'require improvement', a further 667 were rated as 'inadequate'.
From Tropic Thunder to Pirates of the Caribbean, many classics made the list

Movie buffs can be quick to judge - but how often do you go into a film with low expectations only to stumble upon a new favorite?

After one film lover posed this very question on popular thread 'Ask Reddit', thousands chimed in to offer suggestions of flicks they thought would be a snooze-fest only to end up loving them.

From the controversial comedy Tropic Thunder to Hot Tub Time Machine and Edge of Tomorrow, many classics were far from beloved when they first hit the big screen.

And following in the footsteps of iconic children's films like Shrek and Toy Story, parents added that several new animations they'd dreaded being dragged to turned out to be poignant, even funny hidden gems.

So which often overlooked flicks made the list of Reddit movie fans' favorites?

Controversial comedy Tropic Thunder divided some audiences, but many now insist the flick is a hilarious classic

Despite some feeling Hot Tub Time Machine had a 'ridiculous premise', fans claim it is now often overlooked as a comedy hit

Los Angeles-based film reviewer Ryan Coleman told DailyMail.com that when it comes to unexpected fan-favorites, 'it can be difficult to nail down what it is that people are drawn to'.

'It might just be the emotional attachment. But theater is a totalizing medium, it can even be a mystical, immersive experience,' he added.

The critic said that for films that fall flat after their releases, they tend to follow two paths: 'They either stay in the bargain bin, or they can enjoy a slow renaissance'.

One Reddit commenter recalls that they had to be 'dragged' to controversial comedy Tropic Thunder before it became one of their favorites.

'Tom Cruise nails his character,' added another, noting the actor's hilarious Golden Globe nominated performance that shocked audiences.

'I was expecting nothing and was legit crying laughing after that opening scene.'

'Tropic thunder is in my top 10 movies all time,' said a third. 'There's just something about it, so quotable. Every person in that movie has at least a couple great quotes.'

As every comedy film fan knows, quotability is key. And who did it better than Captain Jack Sparrow in 2003 smash hit Pirates of the Caribbean?

When the film was first rolled out, many had low expectations after realizing the flick was based upon a Disneyland family rollercoaster that dated back to 1967.

One reviewer admitted that going into the film they thought it would be little more than a 'lame Disney kids cash grab', before quickly changing their mind and opining that it is 'outstanding'.

'The soundtrack alone is legendary,' added another fan.

Tom Cruise, left, won a Golden Globe for his striking performance in 2008 feature Tropic Thunder

Johnny Depp's turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean won over audiences who had low expectations for the roller-coaster inspired blockbuster

It is no secret that blockbusters can rely on big name actors to attract a crowd, and even Coleman admitted that even as a critic who 'actively seeks out new films', he can still be drawn in by a fan favorite.

'It can be like going to a restaurant - sometimes you don't want to branch out and you feel like having something you know you'll like,' he added.

Although Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest names in Hollywood for decades, many claim he's a divisive character who can split audiences down the middle.

The actor's 2014 sci-fi hit Edge of Tomorrow eventually became a fan favorite, currently boasting an impressive 91% approval rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

'I dislike (Cruise)', conceded one fan. 'But I gave that movie a chance and had a great time watching it.'

'Love the Edge of Tomorrow. Its an excellent movie. Modern groundhog day film,' agreed another.

Others pointed to Hot Tub Time Machine, a zany, appropriately named sci-fi comedy about a hot tub that transports a group of friends back to 1986, as one to give a chance.

Despite depicting 'the most ridiculous premise' that undoubtedly put some potential audiences off, reviewers insist it was 'hilariously done' and boasted a 'great cast'.

'It's not trying to pretend it's a serious movie, it's ridiculous from the start to the end, completely self-aware... probably one of the best time travel movies out there,' added a fan.

Other notable additions to the list included 2001 medieval adventure A Knight's Tale, starring the late Heath Ledger, and time travel flick About Time, which won over fans despite expectations to be merely a standard rom com.

Sci-fi comedy flick Hot Tub Time Machine's wacky premise may have dissuaded some movie goers, but fans insisted it is one to watch

Starring the late Heath Ledger, 2001 medieval action comedy A Knight's Tale won over audiences in the years after its release

Children's animation Zootopia was given several shout-outs by those who recommend it to parents looking for a fun film they can enjoy alongside their youngsters

The animated sequel to the Puss in Boots franchise was described as an unpredictably 'awesome film'

When it comes to new releases, 2022 Netflix action-comedy Bullet Train surprised many who predicted a standard, cookie-cutter feature.

'Didn't expect much, just another action movie,' said a Reddit critic. 'But it was way better.'

'I was incredibly surprised,' continued others. 'I was pleasantly shocked at how much I enjoyed the movie.'

The same could be said of animations aimed at children, with many parents admitting their youngsters hauled them into a cinema only for them to love the film too.

Classics kids' movies such as Elf and Toy Story won over fans after their releases in decades past, followed by more recent hits like Wall-E and Inside Out - which were praised for bringing a deeper meaning or fun plot enjoyed by all ages.

Zootopia was cited by several parents as one to watch, with one saying: 'I thought it was a cheesy movie for kids, but it had some deep morals about discrimination and some decent adult humor.'

'Zootopia is a movie that I like to think has no wasted moments in it. Like it is cut to perfection, and its a compelling story and fun to watch,' added another.

'Its a movie that stays on for me even if my kids leave the room.'

Another surprising entry to the list was 'Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish', with some fans admitting the animated sequel was a feature they would easily have passed on had they not stumbled onto it.

'The Last Wish had absolutely no right to be as good as it was,' said one, with another describing it as an unexpectedly 'awesome film'.

'Im not a big movie goer, let alone an animated film I presumed was targeted towards kids, but Ill be damned if I didnt absolutely love the movie,' said another reviewer, who admitted they even 'ended up buying it so we could watch it again!'

Robert Downey Jr, right, caused controversy in his satirical role as an actor using blackface, but many have since come to enjoy the raunchy comedy

Sci-fi film The Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt was cited by several reviewers as a film audiences should return to almost a decade after its release

When it comes to giving a forgotten dud a second chance, film critic Ryan Coleman said an often overlooked factor can be the writer of the film.

'In terms of young people especially, they come back from work and pick a movie based on certain criteria they already know,' he said.

'But a lot of people don't question who wrote the movie - streaming services can leave out the writer credit, and with a bit of digging people would discover all kinds of new films they may end up enjoying'.
These are the disturbing images that reveal the squalid conditions Royal guards have to endure at one of Britains most prestigious army barracks.

The graphic photographs of piles of litter, blocked, filthy toilets and leaky appliances were taken inside the iconic Wellington Barracks, which is just 300 yards from Buckingham Palace and is home to five of the armys most high-profile regiments: The Coldstream, Grenadier, Irish, Scots, and Welsh Guards.

The soldiers have had the duty of protecting the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces from 1660 to the present day, their soldiers photographed by millions of tourists from around the world as they stand on guard outside Buckingham Palace and St Jamess Palace dressed in full military regalia.

But it is a world away from their daily living conditions which some soldiers have described as vile and worse than a prison.

'Prisoners have better living conditions than we do': The shocking state of military accommodation at Wellington Barracks, in London, has today been revealed - with litter left strewn in rooms

The military base is home to five of the armys most high-profile regiments: The Coldstream, Grenadier, Irish, Scots, and Welsh Guards. But inside, soldiers say they are forced to live in squalid conditions, with mould and filth caked on fridges (pictured)

Toilets are regularly not cleaned, with vomit and faeces left to fester inside, one former Coldstream Guard told MailOnline

One former Coldstream Guard, who did not want to be named, told MailOnline: Its a disgusting way to treat soldiers who are doing a very important job. Prisoners in Britain have better living conditions than we do.

Wellington Barracks is absolutely filthy but from the outside they look great. Tourists stand at the gates to take pictures, but they wouldnt believe what life is like for soldiers inside.

The soldier revealed that he recently quit the Coldstream Guards because of the living conditions.

He added: The rats would die in the bins, and wed have to clean them out when doing block jobs in the morning. There are piles of rubbish inside the accommodation areas and the stench from the toilets is unbearable. All the problems are in the blocks where the privates live.

I can promise you this would not happen in the officers block. I couldnt take it anymore, it was worse than living in a filthy squat. I put up with it for several years, but nothing changed. The British public need to know how soldiers in this country are treated.

The squalid conditions at Wellington Barracks are particularly embarrassing because of the pivotal role it played as the nerve centre of Operation London Bridge  the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II.

Hundreds of soldiers who marched in the Queens funeral procession last September lived at the site, while the eight pallbearers from the Queens Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who were hailed for their extraordinary composure, also stayed there the night before.

Referring to living conditions, one soldier said: If you said something to a senior officer, they would either ignore you or tell you to f**k off, so we just stopped complaining. The whole thing is a joke. Were guarding some of the most famous people and buildings in the world then return to a filthy hell hole once our days work is done.

Hundreds of soldiers who marched in the Queens funeral procession last September lived at the site, while the eight pallbearers from the Queens Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who were hailed for their extraordinary composure, also stayed there the night before. Pictured are troops outside Wellington Barracks

Inside, a dead bird is left to rot on a stairwell (left). And a room is swamped by rubbish as soldiers stay in filthy barracks (right)

Another sickening photo shows a blocked toilet almost full to the brim with urine. A source has claimed the horrific stench from the toilets was 'unbearable'. 'It was worse than living in a filthy squat,' said the former guardsman

What civvies see when were on duty and what our reality is are two very different things. There are people in this country who havent made a positive contribution to this country who are living better than us.

He fumed: Were just bottom of the food chain and treated like scum.

One of the soldiers revealed that he received a salary of 22,000 per year and now makes more than double that working in the security industry.

He claimed that 32 privates live on each floor and have to share six toilets and two bathrooms between them.

Wellington Barracks was originally designed in the 1830s and is now believed to house around 500 soldiers from the five regiments.

Piles of rubbish litter the barracks, which played a pivotal role supporting troops taking part in the Queen's funeral in September. One soldier claimed that the base was so filthy, rats would be found dead in bins and have to be cleared out by soldiers

And in the lift, urine is regularly seen all over the floor - which is left to fester and isn't cleaned

The conditions inside are just part of the wider problems with accommodation for British soldiers.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Amey, a Ministry of Defence maintenance contractor, missed 10,535 urgent repair appointments since April 2022, with fellow contractor Vivo missing 4,041 urgent appointments.

Further data revealed that more than 44,000 Armed Forces personnel were housed in Grade 4 properties in 2021  the lowest rating given by the Ministry of Defence.

It said in a statement: The provision of good quality, secure accommodation for Service Personnel is a key priority. While 95 per cent of this type of accommodation meets the Decent Homes Standard, we are spending more than 1.6 billion over the next decade to make improvements and build new living quarters.
Serial killer BTK claims he's innocent in 1976 Oklahoma cold case disappearance of 16-year-old Cyndi Kinney, as police have a 'complete lack of solid evidence', and she vanished a decade before he visited Oklahoma.

BTK, whose legal name is Dennis Rader, is known for 'binding, torturing, and killing' his 10 victims in Wichita, Kansas, from 1974 to 1991.

Kinney, a 16-year-old cheerleader, went missing on June 23, 1976. Authorities questioned if Rader, who had killed five people by that time, was involved, but they never released why they thought the murderer was involved.

Rader, who confessed to killing 10, has denied any involvement in Kinney's case and told Fox News the 'sheriff has what I call complete lack of solid evidence' and that the young girl disappeared before he came to Oklahoma.

Investigators who questioned Rader, who waived his Miranda Rights, said he disputed several claims they threw at him and claimed to have an alibi to prove it.

BTK, whose legal name is Dennis Rader (pictured in 2005), is known for 'binding, torturing, and killing' his 10 victims in Wichita, Kansas, from 1974 to 1991

Cyndi Kinney, a 16-year-old cheerleader, went missing on June 23, 1976. Rader, who confessed to killing 10, has denied any involvement in Kinney's case and said the 'sheriff has what I call complete lack of solid evidence'

Rader, who worked at ADT - a security services company - at the time, said that ADT had no involvement in the area that Kinney worked.

'Bank prewire [was] being installed close by, but no work by ADT in Oklahoma from the Wichita Office,' he told Fox News.

In addition, he said he didn't start working in Oklahoma until the 1980s, where he helped with Boy Scout camping trips and worked for the Census Bureau in the 1990s.

'Give me a break,' he said. 'I drove down there on a whim to Osage County, from Wichita, when I'd never been there before. I helped on 1990 Census in Oklahoma, but the timeframe doesn't match anything I did.'

His daughter, Kerri Rawson, also doesn't believe Kinney's disappearance matches her father's typical style - stalking, keeping trophies, and home invasion attacks.

'While it is my hope and prayer this missing person cold case gets solved for the family and friends of Kinney, in no way do I believe my father is connected,' she told Fox News. 'And, in fact, I believe hes telling the truth on this, as he has done since 2005 on the 10 he did commit.'

She also doesn't believe her father had any reason to be in Oklahoma in 1976.

Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden said the investigation is too early to give specifics but said they 'won't leave anything uninvestigated.'

He claimed Kinney (pictured) disappeared a decade before he went to Oklahoma, where he worked with the Boy Scouts in the 1980s and the Census Bureau in the 1990s

'I can't tell you whether we're going to come up with anything or whether were not,' he told Fox News. 'We hope we come up with something for closure and justice for victims. But an investigation is an investigation; sometimes they go places. There may be some things that we felt like we need to look into, and we're following up on those.'

Rader murdered 10 people, including two children, in Wichita, Kansas over a 17-year stretch. He was arrested in 2005 and is currently serving 10 consecutive life sentences at a Kansas prison.

He claimed there was a 'demon' inside of him that 'entered me when I was young' and 'basically controlled me,' he claimed in a 2018 documentary.

When asked if he had any feelings for his 10 victims, Rader replied: 'Yes, I do'.

'I mean, I have a lot of feelings for them,' he said. 'I guess it's more of an achievement for this object in the hunt. Or sort of more of a high, I guess.'

Rader, who was a former church leader and hid his killings from his wife and two children, also revealed in the interview that he started noticing his dark side back in the eighth grade.

He has previously said that lust and a desire for fame and power drove him to murder.

Rader murdered 10 people, including two children, in Wichita, Kansas over a 17-year stretch. He was arrested in 2005 and is currently serving 10 consecutive life sentences at a Kansas prison

Rader evaded authorities for three decades but continuously taunted police about the killings, which eventually led to his downfall.

He started communicating with Wichita police detectives via a floppy disk that authorities ended up tracing back to his church.

Rader killed Joseph Otero, Julie Otero, Joseph Otero ll, and Josephine Otero on January 15,1974. He killed Kathryn Bright on April 4, 1974; Shirley Vian on March 17, 1977; Nancy Fox on December 8, 1977; Marine Hedge on April 27, 1985; Vicki Wegerle on September 16, 1987; and Dolores Davis on January 18, 1991.

Rader recently said he sympathizes with Idaho murders suspect Brian Kohberger.

Kohberger, 28, studied under the same psychologist who wrote the book on Rader, Dr. Katherine Ramsland.

The murderer said that he sympathizes with Kohberger, who has been in solitary confinement awaiting his trial.

His daughter, Kerri Rawson, told Fox News.com that her father said: 'Since I spent from Feb. 2005 to April 2005 in a cell by myself, I know how he feels  very lonely.'

Rader killed Joseph Otero (left), Julie Otero (second left), Joseph Otero ll (second right), and Josephine Otero (right) on January 15,1974

He killed Kathryn Bright (left) on April 4, 1974; Shirley Vian (second left) on March 17, 1977; Nancy Fox (second right) on December 8, 1977; Marine Hedge (right) on April 27, 1985

He killed Vicki Wegerle (left) on September 16, 1987; and Dolores Davis (right) on January 18, 1991

Rader added that he spent time with his defense attorney and found ways to pass the time and wanted to go through 'everything' prosecutors had on him  despite confessing on the day of his arrest.

Rawson revealed that her dad was 'going back and forth' between whether he should plead guilty or not, adding: 'One difference is dad confessed and seemed relieved while Kohberger has to feel very alone.'

She added that she has seen 'fan mail' sent to Kohberger which is very similar to that which was sent to her father  explaining that women 'are in love' with them.

BTK's daughter previously said that Kohberger could have been in contact with her father after discovering that he had been taught by Dr. Katherine Ramsland while at DeSales University.

It is something that he has since denied, with the pair having a 'close relationship' while writing the 'Mind of a Murderer' book.
Neighbours have recalled the horrifying moment they heard a mother scream before rushing to her house and finding her cradling her dead six-month-old baby.

The mother was heard screaming from a house at Nerang Mews Road in Merriwa, in Perth's north, at 8am on Saturday.

A neighbour said they immediately rushed over to find the woman cradling her lifeless baby.

Forensic officer attend the Merriwa house in Perth's northern suburbs where a baby was found dead by paramedics

He immediately sprang into action and tried to perform CPR until emergency services arrived on scene.

The baby was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.

Local resident Sean Kavanagh said the woman's screams were heard all through the street.

'I've never heard anyone scream like that,' he told 9 News.

'You could hear her going out and back just screaming 'no'. The whole street was in chaos.'

Another neighbour Shontelle Pilton said the situation was shattering.

'It's a devastating situation that has happened,' he said.

'I am a mum of three myself. If that was your child how would that leave you feeling?

She said she would be 'praying' for the family following the tragic incident.

Western Australia Police said an investigation has been launched.

'Upon arrival a six-month-old baby was located deceased,' a spokeswoman said.

'Inquiries into the circumstances leading up to the child's death are being undertaken.

'No further information is available at this stage.'
The Queen's Green Canopy project began in March 2021 with Elizabeth II planting a tree with her son. Two years on, it has ended with Charles III planting one with his.

The scheme, in which thousands of volunteers planted more than three million saplings, was designed to mark the 2022 Platinum Jubilee.

Following the Queen's death, however, it was extended so more trees could be planted in Her late Majesty's memory.

Last night, the King  who often referred to his mother as 'darling mama'  released a message of thanks, along with a picture of him and William planting a maple at Sandringham.

He said: 'As the second planting season draws to a close, I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped to create an enduring legacy in Queen Elizabeth's name.'

Following the Queen's death, however, it was extended so more trees could be planted in Her late Majesty's memory

The scheme, in which thousands of volunteers planted more than three million saplings, was designed to mark the 2022 Platinum Jubilee

He added: 'This project has shown how simple, practical and positive gestures can make a big difference, and I can think of no more fitting tribute to her late Majesty's seventy-year reign.'

Footage of the late Queen planting trees is shown in a short film narrated by Dame Judi Dench.

During her seven decades-long reign, the Queen planted more than 1,500 trees around the world.

The Queen's Green Canopy project saw thousands of volunteers  including scores of celebrities  planting trees across Britain.

A dedicated network of 70 ancient woodlands and 70 ancient trees have been named to celebrate the late Queen's 70 years on the Throne.
A new ITV drama about Raoul Moat's shooting spree has been slammed by the sister of one of his victims who claimed it 'should be left in the past'.

Sister of victim Samantha Stobbart, Kelly Stobbart, 40, said broadcaster ITV 'doesn't understand the impact' its new three-part series The Hunt for Raoul Moat will have on people involved.

Moat shotgunned his then ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, her new boyfriend and a police officer before turning the gun on himself after a manhunt in 2010.

Miss Stobbart told the Daily Mirror: 'We're lucky our Sam survived. ITV don't realise the impact this will have on the people involved. It still gives me nightmares and I suffer PTSD.

'I'm so sick of hearing Raoul's name and I'm so sick of him being on TV. I hate seeing his face on social media and then having to read all the comments people make about Sam. My whole family and I all feel that it should be left in the past.'

Sister of victim Samantha Stobbart, Kelly Stobbart (pictured), 40, said broadcaster ITV 'doesn't understand the impact' its new three-part series The Hunt for Raoul Moat will have on people involved

Moat (pictured) gunned down his then ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, her new boyfriend and a police officer  eventually shooting himself after Britain's biggest manhunt in 2010

The victim's other sister Claire, who lives in Tenerife, also criticised the ITV drama on social media.

She said: 'It's always the same, every year they're trying to make a few quid. Dramas, documentaries. By 2030, it'll be a film.'

Samantha Stobbart was left critically injured after she was shot in the stomach by Moat and only survived because her arm had partially blocked the shot.

Moat, 37, went on a shotgun spree in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, two days after leaving HMP Durham where he had served an 18-week sentence for assaulting a nine-year-old.

He killed Miss Stobbart's new partner Chris Brown and then shot her before going on the run for six days.

Moat then shot police officer David Rathband in the face and blinded him, before killing himself near Rothbury, Northumberland.

Mr Rathband was found hanging at his home in Blyth, Northumberland, in February 2012, 20 months after he was shot by Moat.

ITV told the Daily Mirror: 'World Productions reached out to all families affected by Moat's crimes'.

Samantha Stobbart (pictured) was left critically injured after she was shot in the stomach by Moat and only survived because her arm had partially blocked the shot
A deadly shooting in front of a southern California Trader Joe's in which 'multiple suspects produced firearms' and opened fire may have stemmed from a possible 'gang-related' dispute during a parking lot drug deal.

One person was killed and three others hospitalized - with police now saying at least one person injured has been taken into custody, along with a man who fled the scene and a female getaway driver.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting near Fallbrook Avenue and Bowen Street at about 3:45pm on Saturday afternoon with footage uploaded to Citizen showing a large police presence and emergency responders in the parking lot.

The person killed is a 45-year-old man. The three other victims were a 35-year-old woman, a 35-year-old man and a 45-year-old man.

At least one person has died and three others hospitalized after a shooting broke out in a busy West Hills shopping center in southern California, with a man and woman in police custody

Businesses were also seen cordoned off near the scene outside a Trader Joe's, a Chili's restaurant and Bob's Discount Furniture store

According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), during the dispute, 'multiple suspects produced firearms and fired at each other' in the parking lot.

'We believe that all of the people involved in this dispute have been identified and we believe we have them in custody or we have them where we can provide them medical care,' said LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton.

Hamilton said after the shooting, one of the suspects fled in a vehicle and an LAPD helicopter was able to help track the suspect and noticed the vehicle had its windows shot out.

'That suspect became involved in a hit-and-run traffic collision where he injured someone else and continued fleeing the area,' said Hamilton.

'He subsequently switched vehicles and the air units saw him switch vehicles.'

Earlier, there were reports that the man swapped into a 'red Corolla being driven by a woman' after he ditched his own car and 'called a friend while hidden behind a tree.'

Its believed the man called the woman after fleeing the scene, ditching his car and hiding under a tree until she came to pick him up

The suspects then led police on a brief pursuit before finally surrendering near Owensmouth Avenue and Saticoy Street.

Hamilton said a female driver and the man were both taken into custody. The person injured in the hit-and-run was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, two firearms were also recovered, but police did not confirm where they were found. Hamilton said investigators believe the incident may be gang-related.

Aerial footage of the arrest shows a man lying on the ground of a road nearby the car and a woman stepping out of the vehicle with her arms raised before the pair were taken into police custody.

Businesses were also seen cordoned off near the scene outside a Trader Joe's, a Chili's restaurant and Bob's Discount Furniture store.

One person is dead and two others are in a critical condition after a gunman opened fire at a Trader Joe's in southern California

Footage from the parking lot - uploaded to Twitter by CaliforniaNewsWatch - showed emergency services treating at least one victim for a gunshot wound to the chest and performing CPR.

Adam Strickland who was coming out of a movie theatre told KTLA that he didn't even realize he was walking out onto a crime scene.

'I heard a couple of pops and it didn't even occur to me that they were gunshots until I saw people running down the parking lot, 'said Strickland.

'Behind me, I saw a couple people panicking and the guy who got shot just slowly fell to the ground and the people who were with him started panicking. A guy came in and started putting pressure on the guy's wound.'
Labour-supporting businesses are being asked to sign up to a new 15,000 party membership package as Sir Keir Starmer ramps up his preparations for the next Election.

In return for the sum, members of the Labour Business Network are being offered a 'Tier 1' collection of perks, which includes passes to the annual conference and a table at the party's annual Business Dinner.

It also gives access to 'a full-time member of the team whose role it will be to answer any queries you may have and to ensure you maximise your membership of the network'.

The move, which highlights the extent to which Sir Keir and his Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves are determined to woo the business community, comes as a new poll suggests Labour could gain 18 seats in Scotland in the next Election.

The Savanta survey showed Labour on 33 per cent of votes, six points behind the SNP, on 39 per cent.

Sir Keir Starmer is ramping up his preparations for the next Election by asking labour-supporting businesses to sign up to a new 15,000 party membership package

Pictured is Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is determined to woo the business community

The poll for The Scotsman newspaper  the first taken after Humza Yousaf was elected First Minister and SNP leader  will trouble the bitterly divided Scottish National Party.

But it will cheer Labour strategists, who believe they are poised to capitalise more than the Tories over Nicola Sturgeon's departure from the helm of the SNP.

In an email to potential business backers, Labour says that '2023 is expected to be the last full year before the General Election and so we are tailoring our Network membership offer.

'This will enable us to deliver a much more bespoke package of events, but also to help us manage the immense demand.'

It adds: 'We have created an exclusive membership structure which will be capped at 50 members. There will be 15 slots available at Tier 1 and 35 available at Tier 2. Each tier will come with a set of benefits which are exclusive to network membership With only 50 slots available, we expect them to sell very quickly, and once they're gone, they're gone.'

Tier 2 membership, at 8,000 per year, includes one commercial pass to the annual conference, two tickets to the Business Dinner and 'a minimum of eight events which are exclusive to network members  this is in addition to the existing calendar of events throughout the year to which network members will be invited'.

The email adds, for backers who are concerned about publicity: 'The above packages are commercial transactions and subject to VAT, they are therefore not classified as political donations.'
Murder and rapist Met Police officer Wayne Couzens could still receive his force pension after it was discovered that the pot from his previous job at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary is still viable.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has reportedly written to members of the cabinet to get reassurance that Sarah Everard's murderer will forfeit his pension as 'the public would rightly expect'.

Simon Chesterman, the chief constable of the CNC where Couzens worked for seven and a half years, has back Mr Khan's demand.

His time working for the police force which protects the UK's nuclear industry entitles him to a pension worth around 4,000 per year from the age of 60, plus a lump sum as high as 12,000.

Couzens, who was handed a whole-life order for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, in March 2021, could even potentially start drawing his pension at a lower rate from the age of 55.

Murder and rapist Met Police officer Wayne Couzens (pictured) could still receive his force pension after it was discovered that the pot from his previous job at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary is still viable

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (pictured) has reportedly written to members of the cabinet to get reassurance that Sarah Everard's murderer will forfeit his pension

Current laws state that police officers forfeit their pension of they are found guilty of a crime linked to their work as an officer and their crime will 'lead to a serious loss of confidence in the public service', The Sunday Times reports.

This requires a 'certificate of forfeiture' from the Home Secretary for Met Police officers, as well as most other forces. Mr Khan, who is also police and crime commissioner for London, applied for the certificate last year after Couzens' sentencing - but he had not worked at the Met for long enough to be on their pension scheme.

Therefore, his pension pot was still with the CNC, where he started working in 2011. However, unlike most other forces, their pensions are controlled by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), not the Home Office.

Because of this, the Mayor of London has had to write to Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, as he is responsible for the UKAEA.

The, which was also sent to Home Secretary Suella Braverman Khan reportedly says: 'I am sure that you shared my horror at the disturbing facts of the heinous crime committed by a serving police officer.

the Mayor of London has had to write to Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, as he is responsible for the UKAEA to get Couzens' pension forfeited

'While I understand the pension forfeiture arrangements are not straightforward, I seek your assurance that you will take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension. This is what the public would rightly expect.'

Mr Shapps has aid he fully supports the recommendation of the CNC that Couzens be 'stripped of his pension so he does not benefit from his years serving' adding that he is 'seeking an urgent update on the matter from the pension administrator'.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, is expected to provide an update regarding a review into the more than 1,000 police officers who have been accused of sexual assault or domestic abuse.
Two rescued after flash flooding in Sydney

Two people have been rescued from flash flooding as heavy rain batters the east coast with the wild conditions set to continue for the next four days.

Emergency services saved the people after they became stranded in their cars along Botany Road in Waterloo and Alexandria, in Sydney's inner south suburbs, on Sunday.

The rescue effort came as heavy downpours battered the east coast with the wild conditions extending from NSW into Queensland.

Two people have been rescued from flash flooding as heavy rain batters the east coast with the wild conditions set to continue for the next four days

The east coast of Australia up and down NSW and into Queensland is set for a drenching over the next four days

Sydney train passengers have also had a rough start with flooding on the tracks disrupting services from Sydenham to Lidcombe.

Commuters have also been told to avoid the inner west Lewisham station with flooding in its subway.

Motorists in Sydney have been warned to take extreme care due to wet roads and poor visibility.

The NSW SES says with the heavy rain moving north residents should not travel through floodwaters as well as keeping clear of creeks and storm drains.

They also advise people stay indoors away from the windows with children and pets kept inside.

Temperatures in Sydney dropped to a cool 16C on Sunday morning as the heavy rain hammered the NSW capital with more expected over the next four days.

'Showers up and down the NSW coast and pushing into southeastern parts of QLD on Sunday,' Sky News meteorologist Rob Sharpe said.

He said the showers while moderate, 'may feel heavy if you're out in it'.

'It's going to be a daily event as well, up and down the east coast from Monday to Wednesday,' he said.

The rescue effort came as heavy downpours battered the east coast with the wild conditions extending from NSW into Queensland

Motorists in Sydney have been warned to take extreme care due to wet roads and poor visibility

'The NSW north-coast and down to Sydney is probably where the bulk of that weather will be.'

A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for the Central Coast with fears for flash flooding in the coming hours.

Heavy rainfall is forecast for Gosford, The Entrance and Woy Woy.

More than 60mm was recorded at Kincumber Mountain Reservoir in a one hour period this morning.

Brisbane was also being pummelled by heavy rain on Sunday with light winds expected to become southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the middle of the day.

Showers are expected in the city until it clears slightly on Wednesday, however, forecasters predict rain will return by Friday.

And while Melbourne is slightly cloudy on Sunday, the sun is expected to be out in force at the start of the week with a high of 26C on Tuesday.

Some rain is expected later in the week.

Summer temperatures remain in Adelaide with a high of 28C predicted for the city on Tuesday.

However, some showers are expected from Wednesday.

Those in Perth will likely be hitting the beach on Sunday as the mercury is expected to reach a high of 27C.

Temperatures in Sydney dropped to a cool 16C on Sunday morning as the heavy rain hammered the NSW capital with more expected over the next four days
The row over the Partygate investigator who has been in negotiations to be Sir Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff deepened last night over claims that she has made visits to Gordon Brown's home over the past two years.

Sources told The Mail on Sunday that Sue Gray had been in 'detailed discussions' with the former Prime Minister over his review of the constitution on behalf of Sir Keir.

The review led to the leader's announcement in January that if Labour formed the next Government, he would move more power out of London to Scotland and the regions.

Sue Gray pictured in January 2022. Sources said Gray visited former Labour PM Gordon Brown at least twice between 2021 and 2022

However, a Labour source said that the purpose of Ms Gray's visits had been strictly in the capacity of her role as a senior civil servant, working on behalf of the Government in the full knowledge of Ministers and not to do with the review.

A Labour spokesman said that Ms Gray had sought clearance from Whitehall before seeing Mr Brown in Scotland, saying: 'All meetings with the former Prime Minister were done with the full knowledge and support of Ministers.'

A senior Government official said Ms Gray had visited Mr Brown at home at least twice between 2021 and 2022.

The official added: 'It is staggering that a senior Government official was having these talks.'

The revelation comes a week after this newspaper revealed claims that Ms Gray, who conducted an inquiry into Boris Johnson's behaviour in Downing Street in the pandemic, had been in negotiations with Labour for a year.

The report, denied by Labour, followed an outcry over news that the career civil servant would be switching to a party political role with Labour as Chief of Staff, which led officials to speculate that she had been leaking Government information to Labour.

Her friends categorically deny this.

Sir Keir has been urged by some senior Labour figures to do a U-turn on appointing Ms Gray seeing it as an unnecessary distraction.

Mr Johnson's supporters have argued that her appointment would prove that her probe into his behaviour in Downing Street was a 'cynical stitch-up' by his political opponents.

Sir Keir's spokesman categorically denied Ms Gray had been in talks with the party for an extended period, saying: 'As is well documented, and Keir has said, the Chief of Staff vacancy only arose in autumn 2022.'

A Labour source said that the purpose of Gray's visits to see Brown (pictured) had been strictly in the capacity of her role as a senior civil servant

Mr Brown's 40-point plan included replacing the House of Lords with an elected second chamber and giving newly-devolved regions in England powers over skills, transport, planning and culture.

It also recommended 288 'new economic clusters' capable of creating thousands of high-paid jobs.

A Government source confirmed that the Brown meetings had been signed off, but added: 'If Sue Gray did know what the rules were, why didn't she declare all the other meetings she had with Labour while she was still a supposedly 'impartial' civil servant working for the Government?'
Former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan has been handed a $500,000 payout after he was acquitted of his assault charges.

McLachlan, 57, was charged with assault and indecent assault over complaints from female co-stars in a stage production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Melbourne in 2014, during which he played the role of Frank-N-Furter.

He strongly denied the allegations against him.

Magistrate Belinda Wallington found him not guilty of 13 charges following a four-week contested hearing in the Victorian Melbourne Magistrates Court in December 2020.

In her 105-page judgement, the magistrate said she found the incidents to have happened - but that McLachlan believed he had consent.

She said it was his 'egotistical self entitled sense of humour' that led him to believe others would either not mind or find his behaviour funny, and ordered Victoria Police to cover his legal fees.

Craig McLachlan was charged with assault and indecent assault over complaints from female co-stars in a 2014 stage production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (pictured)

McLachlan is pictured with his partner, Vanessa Scammell, outside the Supreme Court of NSW in May

McLachlan was represented by top criminal lawyer Stuart Littlemore, KC and his legal fees were estimated to hit at least $1million, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The amount he was seeking is not known, nor is the amount police offered to cough up, but the three-time Logie winner launched a case in the Supreme Court in June last year because police failed to pay.

In January, the Supreme Court heard the parties had failed to reach an agreement during mediation last year.

The actor's lawyer told the court his client was prepared to continue with mediation, but police said its position would not change.

He was tried under old consent laws because the alleged crimes occurred before they were changed.

Victorian laws were updated in 2015 to make a defendant guilty of sexual or indecent assault if their incorrect belief they had consent was 'unreasonable'.

McLachlan by contrast had to prove he believed he had consent, regardless of whether his belief was unreasonable.

Magistrate Wallington said in her judgement: 'I can not dismiss the reasonable possibility that in his egocentric state of mind, amongst some amount of adulation from sections of the cast and management, in combination with a lack of checks and balances on his lewd behaviour, that he was not aware of [the complainant's] lack of consent.'

Of another charge she said: 'I am unable to exclude the possibility that an egotistical, self-entitled sense of humour led the accused to genuinely think that [the complainant] was consenting to his actions.'

Magistrate Wallington on several occasions said she found the complainants to be 'credible' and that she 'accepted [their] evidence in full'.

She also pointed out that her judgement would likely be different had the case been tried under the post-2015 laws.

Referring to a claim that McLachlan 'vampire kissed' a co-star on the neck on stage without consent, she said: 'An objective view of his conduct would give rise to a strong inference that he did not reasonably believe that [the complainant] was consenting.

'It seems counterintuitive to find an accused not criminally liable for such sexual harassment and, as I said, this is no longer the law.'

Magistrate Wallington criticised the old law for 'rewarding the sex offender for their self-absorption' and 'deluded honesty'.

Christie Whelan Browne, one of the four women who accused him of indecent assault, alleged she 'felt a finger trace about 2cm down her labia' during a scene when she was partially hidden by a sheet.

The sex scene involved McLachlan's character Dr Frank-N-Furter disappearing under a bedsheet to simulate sex acts on Janet, whose bottom half was also under the sheet.

McLachlan, pictured outside court in May, had not had an acting gig since the allegations first came to light in 2018

'One night when he was down in the bed he traced the outline of my vagina with his finger and I slapped his hand away,' Whelan told the 7.30 report in 2018.

'The scene stopped when he went down and the rest was up to me to perform. That wasn't a character choice, that was him just being completely inappropriate.'

Magistrate Wallington said it couldn't be proven beyond reasonable doubt that McLachlan believed he had consent until his hand was slapped away.

McLachlan sued Whelan for defamation, along with several media outlets, after his acquittal, but dropped the $3 million lawsuit last year.

He dropped the defamation suit in May this year on the day the first of 11 women were due to give evidence, citing the toll it had taken on his mental health and family as the reason.

Whelan said she was so terrified by rape and death threats after she went public that she moved house and slept with a knife under her bed.

During the case, McLachlan endured months of scrutiny which saw him and his partner Vanessa Scammell forced to make their way through media packs outside of a Melbourne court.

McLachlan had not had an acting gig since the allegations first came to light in 2018, but last week it was announced he would appear on SAS Australia - where celebrities are put through grueling tests by ex-special forces.

His co-stars will include Anthony Mundine, Peter Bol, Stephanie Rice and 'Cocaine Cassie' Sainsbury.
This is the shocking moment a man poured yoghurt over the heads of two Iranian women who dared to enter a shop without covering themselves in veils.

The two women have since been arrested for flouting Iran's strict dress code following the assault in a shop near the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Footage from the shop in Iran's second-largest city shows the moment a man confronts a mother and her daughter over their dress.

After talking for a few moments, the man picks up a pot of yoghurt from a shelf and pours it over the women.

The women were subject to arrest warrants after the attack for flouting Iran's dress code and 'committing a forbidden act', according to state media.

After engaging in brief conversation, the man was spotted lifting a pot of yoghurt from the shelf

He then hurled the yoghurt on top of the uncovered heads of the two women, who have since been arrested for breaching Iran's strict dress code

The BBC reported today that both women and the man had been arrested.

In the video, the man is seen pouring the liquid over the women until the shopkeeper intervenes and pushes him out of the shop.

The attacker was later arrested for disturbing the public order, according to Iran's judiciary.

The shopkeeper was issued a notice to ensure compliance with the law.

Authorities added that the owner of the dairy shop, who confronted the attacker, had been warned.

Reports on social media showed his shop had been shut, although he was quoted by a local news agency as saying he had been allowed to reopen and was due to 'give explanations' to a court.

The shopkeeper intervened and threw the attacker out, only to receive a warning himself for allowing the unveiled women to be in his store

The viral video prompted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to say that the hijab is a 'legal matter' today.

He said: 'If some people say they don't believe [in the hijab]... it's good to use persuasion.

'But the important point is that there is a legal requirement.'

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei earlier threatened to prosecute 'without mercy' women who appear in public unveiled, Iranian media reported.

An Interior Ministry statement on Thursday said there would be no 'retreat or tolerance' on the issue, describing the veil as 'one of the civilizational foundations of the Iranian nation' and 'one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic.'

The statement urged citizens to confront unveiled women.

Iran International, a Persian language news TV channel based in Washington, reported that the man was a member of the Basij militia.

The volunteer Basij militia was established in 1979 under the orders of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and was later incorporated into the influential Revolutionary Guard.

The Revolutionary Guard have increasingly clashed with political protestors in recent months as momentum turns against the hardline Iranian regime.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi today said the hijab was a legal matter in response to the video

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei pictured at the Iranian parliament, 21 August 2005. He earlier threatened to prosecute 'without mercy' women who appear in public unveiled

While many women choose to wear or nor to wear the hijab across the Muslim world, it has been a legal requirement to wear the veil in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Women who do not may be imprisoned from ten days up to two months, and in some cases fined.

Penalties have become more disproportionate and sickening as the state and its supporters clash with anti-regime protestors.

Amnesty International this month released a report alleging that children as young as 12 are being 'raped, flogged and given electric shocks' for taking part in protests.

Basij agents reportedly forced several boys to stand with their legs apart in a line alongside adult detainees and administered electric shocks to their genital area with stun guns.

Demonstrations have been ongoing in Iran for years, in the past prompted by rigged elections to oust moderate candidates.

But the clashes were brought to a head by the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in September 2022.

22-year-old Amini was detained by police for improper wearing of a headscarf.

Protestors take part in an anti-Iran demonstration on December 24, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey, as part of an ongoing political response to the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody

The Iranian protests have been heard worldwide, attracting a diverse community of supporters outraged and upset by the brutal repression of Iran's people

She fell into a coma after her arrest and died in suspicious circumstances in hospital in Tehran on 16 September 2022.

The Islamic Republic's officials told media that Amini suffered a heart attack while detained by 'morality police', denying reports she had been beaten.

Leaked medical scans and assertions of police brutality led observers to believe she had died at the hands of the police.

Iran International moved from its London headquarters last year after the Iranian government threatened its UK-based journalists.

The channel, with ties to the Saudi royal family, has repeatedly held the Iranian regime to account for human rights abuses.

Iran experiences much censorship with social media channels blocked and media largely controlled by the state.

The state has leveraged its power in the past to shut off internet access almost entirely during protests to calm dissent.

The Revolutionary Guard also owns part of the Iranian press, TV stations and social media outlets.
Allies of Donald Trump are remaining bullish that his indictment has increased his popularity as their research shows he is winning the Republican leadership race.

A poll by Trump's campaign team found that 51 percent of Republicans see him as their preferred 2024 candidate - putting him ahead of his biggest threat Ron DeSantis who scored 21 percent.

A separate survey by YouGov and Yahoo news similarly found 57 percent of Republicans would vote for Trump while only 31 percent back DeSantis.

It comes after Trump's team yesterday claimed more than $4 million was donated to his presidential campaign in the 24 hours after he was indicted.

The former president is facing 34 charges connected to an alleged $130,000 'hush money' payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Allies of Donald Trump are remaining bullish that his popularity has only increased following his indictment over a $130,000 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels

A poll from the Trump team claims he has 51 percent of the Republican vote

Trump's team conducted a full-field ballot test of 14 potential Republican candidates over Friday and Saturday - two days after his indictment.

While Trump and DeSantis came out on top of the latest poll, former Vice President Mike Pence was in third place with six percent of the vote.

Nikki Haley was fourth with four percent as all other candidates received two percent or less each.

A general election ballot test also put Trump ahead of Biden 47-43 - a figure that has changed little since his team's previous survey in March.

Meanwhile 47 percent of those polled said he would not get a fair trial in Manhattan.

Trump has repeatedly voiced concerns about being tried in the Democratic state.

Yesterday the 76-year-old politician said his indictment had inspired $4million to his presidential campaign.

A quarter of the money came from new donors and payments could be traced to all 50 states, according to a fundraising email sent out by Trump on Friday night.

In the message, Trump wrote: 'This is the battle I willingly signed up for when I decided to take on the entire Washington Machine as a political outsider 8 years ago, and be YOUR voice.'

There is no way to confirm the numbers until the campaign files its first quarter report by April 15.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been accused of pursuing a political 'witch hunt' against Trump

Trump's biggest leadership rival DeSantis has been forced to walk a political tightrope as he discussed the indictment

Trump was sensationally indicted Thursday following a years-long investigation into the money paid to Daniels.

He is set to be arrested on Tuesday and faces up to four years in jail if convicted.

It marked a victory for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who reheated the probe and doggedly pursued the case.

But Trump and his family members have repeatedly accused Bragg of a politically-charged 'witch hunt' which will only make voters more sympathetic to the former President.

On Saturday Trump's biggest leadership rival DeSantis has been forced to walk a political tightrope as he discussed the indictment.

The Florida Governor - who has not officially launched his leadership bid - accused the Manhattan district attorney of weaponizing the law against Trump.

However he avoided using the former president's name in a one-hour campaign-like speech on Saturday.

It illustrated how likely candidates for the 2024 Republican nomination have been put in the awkward position of having to fall into line behind the frontrunner.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who was detained by Russian authorities on Thursday on accusations that he was an American spy, knew the dangers of working in the country.

In what reads as a now eerie prediction of his own fate, Gershkovich tweeted last July how 'Reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years.'

In the days since his capture, the WSJ has denied that Gershkovich was spying for the U.S.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria 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' as a court remanded him in pre-trial detention for two months.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia on allegations of being an American spy, knew of the risks of working in the country

Gershkovich tweeted in July how 'Reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years.'

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court to a van

Wearing a yellow hooded jacket, the journalist was seen being taken from the back of a blacked-out Russian police vehicle before being walked into the court on Thursday.

He was later seen piling back into the law enforcement van, keeping his head down.

The court ruled that he should be held in pre-trial custody, with his next hearing due on May 29.

It is the most serious public move against a foreign journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine. It's also the first time a U.S. correspondent has been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War.

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' in their reports to describe the conflict.

There was concern for Gershkovich when he failed to make contact with his editorial office

Moscow has been accused in the past of arresting foreigners - especially Americans - to use in barter exchanges for Russians detained in the US

Dmitry Kolezev, an independent Russian Journalist, told NBC news that Gershkovich understood the risks 'very well' before working on the assignment

Yekaterinburg, where Gershkovich was detained, is a city in the Sverdlovsk oblast region, in west-central Russia

Some news organizations pulled their journalists out as a result, while some returned later when it became clear the restrictions were aimed mostly at Russians. Hundreds of Russian journalists have since left the country.

Gershkovich worked as reporter based in the Russian capital for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website, until 2020.

'He loved Russia and he wanted to report from here,' said Pjotr Sauer, a Moscow Times colleague who now works at The Guardian, told the Wall Street Journal.

He then took up a position as a reporter at the AFP wire service in Moscow before joining the Journal in January 2022 as their reporter in the Russian capital.

Just one month later, Russia invaded Ukraine and Gershkovich was dispatched to the Belarus-Ukraine border.

He was the only American reporter able to see wounded Russian forces being brought back home.

The Bukowski Grill, where Gershkovich is reported to have been taken away by plain-clothed officers

Gershkovich at a restaurant. 'While trying to obtain secret information, an American was detained in Yekaterinburg,' said the FSB which provided no evidence for its accusations

Russia has seldom made allegations of espionage against Western correspondents.

However, many accredited correspondents from Western media outlets left the country when the war started 13 months ago amid concerns it was unsafe to remain.

Gershkovich, 31, was working in Yekaterinburg investigating the Wagner mercenary group when he was arrested.

His final dispatch before his arrest was about Russia's economy, and how 'investment is down, labor is scarce, and the budget is squeezed.'

It was not uncommon for Gershkovich to be followed by Russian security officers, some of whom would record his movements with a camera and pressure sources not to not talk to him. He would assume his phone was monitored.

On one trip, he knew that he had been followed and filmed by unidentified men.

He also had a GPS app on his phone that allowed his colleagues back at base to track his movements for his own safety.

Evan Gershkovich is seen in a posting from February 2021 at a Moscow restaurant celebrating the new COVID vaccine in Russia

Some of the last retweets made by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at the very end of March 2023 before he was seized by Russia for allegedly being a spy

Reports suggest Gershkovich was apprehended at the Bukowski Grill restaurant and led by plain-clothed officers to a waiting vehicle with a sweater pulled over his head.

Russian reports also suggest he had gone to Yekaterinburg to write about the attitude of people to the war unleashed by Putin in Ukraine, and the recruitment of locals for the Wagner private military company.

Evan Gershkovich, 31, The Wall Street Journal's correspondent in Russia

There was concern for Gershkovich when he failed to make contact with his editorial office.

Local sources said Gershkovich had made a trip to the city several weeks ago and had returned this past week.

Colleagues of Gershkovich claim that he was aware that he might be followed by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) because of the sensitive subject matter.

Dmitry Kolezev, an independent Russian Journalist, told NBC News that he understood the risks 'very well' before working on the assignment.

It marks the first time since the Cold War that a US correspondent has been detained on spying charges. Evan Gershkovich is pictured second from right

Gershkovh ended up working as reporter based in the Russian capital for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website, until 2020

Gershkovich is pictured on assignment preparing to interview a dignitary

Kolezev said: 'He sounded pretty sure that they wouldn't touch him because he was an American journalist working for a famous newspaper.

'He understood this well, but he was sure that since he was not doing anything illegal, everything would be limited to ordinary surveillance and, perhaps, some kind of intimidation. It turned out much worse.'

He insisted: 'Evan is a very brave guy, a good journalist, not a spy at all.'

The FSB said that 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'.

He was 'acting on instructions' from the US government, it was alleged.

'While trying to obtain secret information, an American was detained in Yekaterinburg,' said the FSB which provided no evidence for its accusations.

The FSB is a domestic security and counterintelligence agency that is the top successor agency to the Soviet era KGB.

Putin's spokesman did not elaborate on what he believed Gershkovich was allegedly caught 'red-handed' for.

Putin's spokesman did not elaborate on what he believed Gershkovich was allegedly caught 'red-handed' for.

Gershkovich, who was based in the UK, would travel to Russia for two to three weeks at a time on assignments.

But his confidence that he would be left alone was misplaced, and he was arrested in Yekaterinburg on Tuesday on suspicion of 'espionage in the interests of the American government.'

In a statement the FSB accused him of collecting 'information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.'

His 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.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken released a statement denouncing Gershkovich's capture
A devastated woman whose two young children died less than a year apart while under the care of their grandmother has called for her to be jailed.

Kaila Schock tearfully requested her mother Tracey Nix, 65, be sent to prison over the deaths of Ezra, 16 months, and Uriel, seven months.

Ezra died from drowning on Nix's property in Wauchula, Florida, while the grandmother slept in December 2021.

Uriel died less than a year later in November 2022 after being left in a hot car while her grandmother was practicing the piano inside.

'If Im objective - she needs to go to prison. As her daughter, it kills me to say it. As their mother, I demand it,' she told WSVN in an emotional interview.

Nix has been charged with manslaughter and she faces up to 30 years in prison for Uriel's death.

Police had previously attempted to charge her for Ezra's death, but the State Attorney's Office declined it.

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Kaila Schock (left, with husband Drew) has tearfully requested her own mother go to prison over the death of her children Ezra, 16 months, and Uriel, seven months, in December 2021 and November 2022, respectfully

Tracey Nix, 65, had two grandchildren die under her watch. Seen here in her mugshot

Ezra died in December 2021 on Nix's property after wandering into a pond and drowning while his grandmother slept just three days before Christmas.

While her husband, Nun Ney Nix, was out running errands, Nix fell asleep and little Ezra managed to open the door and climb under the fence and head toward the pond.

Nun Ney called Kaila's husband, Drew Schock, after returning home and told him: 'Something happened to Ezra.'

Kaila, who had an older son named Asher and was six months pregnant with Uriel at the time, rushed to her parent's home, driving 85mph and getting in a head-on collision on her way as she watched a helicopter head toward their address.

'I could see the helicopter landing,' she recalled to WSVN. 'I didnt look when there was a stop sign.

'All of my airbags went off, I dont remember how I got out, but I got out and started running to my parents house and at this point, I dont have shoes. Im just running.

'That was my desperation to get to my son.'

When she arrived at the home, Ezra was dead.

Kaila was advised to forego being on the frontlines of the investigation in order to protect the pregnancy of her soon-to-be daughter.

Nix, of Florida, has been charged with manslaughter and she faces up to 30 years in prison for Uriel's death

'They withheld information from me, per my request, per my doctors advice, that any information that would work me up or make me emotionally distressful would be harmful to my unborn child,' she told WSVN.

Police had attempted to file charges against Nix at the time, but the Florida Attorney's Office 'stated that a one-time lapse of judgment would not establish culpable negligence of the caretaker.'

Kalia and Drew had no idea about the attempted charge until after their daughter's death.

The couple said they did not allow their first-born son, Asher, to be alone with Nix after Ezra's passing because they didnt trust the grandmother 'at all.'

Months after losing Ezra, the grieving mother gave birth to her third child, Uriel.

'There wasnt a moment to get a grip of the death of my son before there was the life of my daughter. And how beautiful is that,' she said.

'She came out so small, she was beautiful and just radiant.'

In November 2022, Kaila left Uriel in her mother's care while going to get her hair done.

Ezra died in December 2021 after drowning in a pool on his grandmother Tracey Nix's property while she slept

Uriel died nearly a year later after Nix 'just forgot' the children in the back of her vehicle on a 90-degree day

She knew her mother had lunch plans with friends and said she trusted them, as she rarely allowed her daughter to be unsupervised with Nix.

'Uri was at a restaurant with other people that I knew and trusted, they were in the friend group and were keeping her safe, and I had supervised many, many, many interactions at this point at my house,' she told WSVN.

Uriel died after being left in Nix's car in 90-degree heat. Nix said she 'just forgot' her granddaughter in her car after returning home from lunch with her friends.

She was practicing the piano when she 'all of a sudden' remembered the toddler.

Nun Ney ran out and began CPR on the child but was unsuccessful.

Drew told Fox 13: 'When I pulled up to the house, Im coming to pick up my little girl, and there are ambulances there, and Im thinking: "What the is going on?" I was having flashbacks, because when I pulled back with Ezra there, it was the same exact scene.'

Police showed up at Kaila's door to share the heart-wrenching news, but the mother was confused.

'I said: "Im sorry, what? I know Ezras dead. Why are you here, like what  what is this?"' Kalia recalled. '[He said:] "No Kaila, your baby is dead."'

'You couldnt fathom it happening twice,' Drew said. 'Somebody has to answer for that.

'I want justice for my son. I want justice because he didnt get that. And now I got to sit here and expose this. That way, I dont let what happened to my son happen with my daughter. And just get off scot-free because I couldnt live with that as a parent.'

Drew with their son Asher and late son Ezra at an unknown time

Kalia and Drew want their children to know that they are 'sorry' and that their lives were 'taken by someone that we believed was worthy of trust'

Nix's lawyer, William Fletcher, argued that the deaths were 'obviously an accident.'

'The question was - is it culpable negligence?' he told WSVN. 'Tracey loves her daughter and her son-in-law and all of her children and her grandchildren.

'I got a couple grandkids and you feel the same way about your grandkids, so the parents are hurting, but the grandparents are hurting too. So theres no winners here.'

As for the jury, Fletcher wants them to look at the facts of the case and nothing else to determine if Nix was negligence or not, as he worries Nix won't receive a fair trial.

'Looking at what really happened, as far as Uriel, the baby girl,' Fletcher said. 'And deciding, is this culpable negligence?

'Everybody is just seeing this one narrative: "Shes responsible. Shes responsible," and Im here to say as much as I ethically can, its not true.'

As for Kalia and Drew, they want their late children to know that they are 'sorry' and that their lives were 'taken by someone that we believed was worthy of trust.'
A British anti-trans activist has called New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins a 'gutless coward' and vowed to return to the country where 'he will apologise' to her.

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull fled New Zealand last Sunday after she had tomato juice and eggs thrown at her during a rally in Auckland as part of her 'Let Women Speak' tour.

Addressing her fans in a money raising video on YouTube on Saturday, she said she would return to the country for an apology.

Ms Keen-Minshull also broke her silence on the neo-Nazis who had gatecrashed one of her rallies in Australia when she visited Melbourne on March 18.

British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (pictured) has called New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins a 'gutless coward' and vowed to return to the country where 'he will apologise' to her

'We're gonna win this war, women, and then I will come back at the invitation of the Prime Minister, who wants to make an all-out apology to everyone,' she said.

'He will apologise, and if it's not him, it will be the next prime minister because he's not gonna last. He's a gutless coward.'

Ms Keen-Minshull was taken to the airport by police a day after the disastrous rally at Auckland on March 25.

Before flying out, she tweeted that NZ was 'the worst country for women I have visited in a long time'.

A planned event in the capital Wellington was cancelled.

Mr Hipkins condemned the violence at the Auckland rally, but said most of the protestors - who outnumbered Ms Keen-Minshull's supporters - were respectful.

'I don't believe people should throw things at a protest, whether what they're throwing is a soup or a brick,' he said.

'Ultimately, the right to free speech does not extend to the right to physical violence.'

Ms Keen-Minshull said she had not felt safe in New Zealand and that she was better protected by police in Australia.

She described arriving at Albert Park, where she was due to speak, as 'not welcoming.

'The sound was a mob ... an aggressive, male mob,' she said.

She claimed the incident had left her fearing for her life before she appeared to walk back on her comments in her latest YouTube video.

Ms Keen-Minshull said having tomato juice thrown at her made her more determined to speak up for women.

'I was in this mob and this bloke threw tomato juice at me. I think I was supposed to feel humiliated and not want to go on ... but in that moment I genuinely thought "f*** you," that's not going to stop me speaking,' she said.

'That's supposed to make me feel like I look awful and stupid. But people haven't come here to see if my hair is curled or my makeup is on well,' she said.

Keen-Minshull (pictured) fled New Zealand last weekend after she had tomato juice and eggs thrown at her during a rally in Auckland as part of her 'Let Women Speak' tour

'In that moment I thought "I'm going to show the world what this is." So I carried on filming. I wanted nobody to deny the aggressive misogyny of trans activism.'

Ms Keen-Minshull said she felt she was in danger when protesters broke through barriers.

'They are frenzied, they are an organism of hate,' she said. 'It's like pack animals, it's insane,' she said.

At that moment, she said she thought 'This is what it's like to die. I just thought "I'm going to be crushed to death".'

Flying from Auckland to London she transited in Dubai, where she said she 'felt safer as a woman than in NZ'.

On her broadcast, Ms Keen-Minshull also spoke out about the neo-Nazis who attended her rally in Melbourne during her tour in Australia in March.

Anti-trans protestors had gatecrashed the rally and performed the Nazi salutes on the steps of the Victorian Parliament.

'There was something really dodgy and orchestrated about the arrival of men who like to wave their hands in the air,' she said.

'There's something really interesting about the fact that those men could have stood anywhere, could have done their little kind of salute anywhere, but they choose not to do it near women, who could have showed their distaste and upset.

'No, no, no, they did it near the TRAs (trans rights activists) and what they did is they looked like they were standing on the side of women.'

She added: 'There's something hilarious about the rabid, particular strand of left wing socialist feminists that I've really enjoyed it.

'That's kept me amused, even in my darkest hour.'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a dig at Liberal leader Peter Dutton following his party's shock defeat at the Aston by-election.

In a historic win, Labor's Mary Doyle snatched the once blue-ribbon seat in Melbourne's eastern suburbs from Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell on Saturday.

The loss of a former Liberal stronghold is a devastating blow to the party which is reeling from a string of defeats having been recently turned out of office in NSW following the state election last Saturday.

It represents the first by-election win by a federal government in over a century.

Mr Albanese celebrated the surprise win with Ms Doyle in Melbourne on Sunday but managed to take a moment to blame Mr Dutton for the upset.

The Opposition leader has since broken his silence and revealed his plans for the party's future as speculation swirled he would step down as leader.

It was all smiles for Labor after the Aston by-election Mary Doyle (pictured left) claimed the seat securing a historic win for the government of Anthony Albanese (pictured right)

'After ten years of being part of the problem, Peter Dutton now fails to be a part of the solution,' Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese said that he agreed with the comments made by Mr Dutton during a press conference following the by-election upset on Saturday night.

'I thought it was a moment of honesty from Peter Dutton when he said out loud what we have seen played out over the one year since he became leader of the Liberal party,' he said.

'He said his priority was just keeping the Liberal party together.

'Well Australians don't want any major party that is only focused on themselves.

'What they want is a government and an internal government that's focused on their needs and their issues.'

Mr Dutton told ABC program Insiders on Sunday morning that he had no intention of stepping down as leader despite many pundits saying the by-election was a gauge of his performance.

'We have a lot of work to do, I accept responsibility as I'm the leader of the party,' the coalition chief said.

'Now, the question is how we rebuild from here, the policies that we have, the brand rebuilding that we need to do in Victoria.

'I can tell you it makes me more determined to rebuild this party and be in a winning position by 2025.'

Mr Dutton said the Liberals' fundamental values would not change despite conceding the Liberal brand had 'suffered terribly' in Victoria over a long period of time and the party had failed the test set by voters in Aston.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton (pictured right) is set to have his leadership come under question after Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell (pictured left) was defeated in the Aston by-election

'I think in recent years the Liberal Party has allowed itself to be defined by our opponents and I think it's time for us to take that back,' he said.

'To stand up for what we believe in, whether it's trendy or not, and some of that, I believe, is what the Australian public demand, particularly in our seats in outer metro areas and regional areas.'

Mr Dutton said Australians with conservative views about gender should be allowed to debate transgender rights because he said the issue was important to many people in the outer suburbs and regional areas.

During the Aston campaign, the Liberal Party suspended Victorian state MP Moira Deeming for attending an anti-transgender rights protest in Melbourne that neo-Nazis attended.

Although Ms Deeming and the rally's organisers said the neo-Nazis gatecrashed the event and condemned their actions, Mr Dutton told the federal Coalition party room last the saga would damage the Liberals' chances in the by-election.

Mr Dutton wouldn't be directly drawn on Ms Deeming's participation in the rally on Sunday, saying: 'I don't believe that our MPs should be going to anti-anything rallies to be honest.'

But he said the debate on transgender rights issues should be allowed to go 'two ways'.

'There are very strong views within many parts of Australian society,' he said.

'Maybe not right here in the inner city areas of our country, but in the outer metropolitan areas this is an issue in terms of women's rights and the gender issue that has parents and others very worked up.'

On climate change, Mr Dutton said he would accept the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest report warning the world is in a 'last chance decade' to stop destructive global warming.

Former union official and breast cancer survivor Ms Doyle (pictured left with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles) won the seat previously held by Liberal Cabinet minister Alan Tudge is a dramatic swing to Labor

'I'm happy to accept it,' Mr Dutton said.

'But we need to be realist why about what we can do as a country and driving businesses off shore will only increase emissions into the global environment and it will lose Australian jobs and lose productivity.'

Mr Dutton suggested the Liberal Party had itself down in the eyes of voters by not publicly celebrating the strong environmental record he said the party had achieved.

'We have been the worst salespeople in terms of what we've done for the environment,' he said.

'The claims made by the Prime Minister today about the amount of solar, the amount of hydro, the battery investment in our country, all happened under a Liberal government.

'The problem is we never prosecuted the argument. We were never successful in getting out there telling people what we had done.'

Mr Dutton said some of the Liberal Party's attributes were 'frankly timeless' and 'worth re-prosecuting' and said the party would release any policies it planned to take to the next federal election 'in due course'.

'We stand for aspiration. We stand for entrepreneurialism, so small businesses, we stand for national security obviously, and we always stand for cleaning up a Labor mess when we get back into government so that people can make their own choices,' he said.

'It's all is about timing in this business and now is not the time to be putting out costed policies and changes to taxation policy or social policy or otherwise.'

Mr Dutton he had no intention of standing aside as leader and vowed to rebuild the party to put it in a winning position at the next federal election.

The Aston by-election, triggered by the resignation of sitting MP and former Liberal cabinet minister Alan Tudge, was widely viewed as a test of both Mr Dutton's leadership and the Albanese government's performance in its first 10 months in office.

Labor's victory was the first time the government has won a seat of the opposition at a by-election in more than a century.
An ex-Liberal staffer who was sacked over a series of 'racist' social media posts has been spotted smiling alongside key figures in the party at two different elections.

Barclay McGain, 23, was fired from his role as an electorate officer for former Federal MP Andrew Laming in 2020 after a social media post came to light showing him grinning with a racially offensive figurine.

He returned to work for Mr Laming six months later, but was publicly blasted the following year when he dressed up as acquitted US shooter Kyle Rittenhouse for a Halloween party - with the hashtag #NotGuilty.

Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two, with an AR-15 during Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020 after a white police officer shot a black man.

The Prime Minister's office condemned the costume at the time as 'completely inappropriate'.

Despite the backlash, Mr McGain has managed to retain his position within the Coalition and has flown interstate twice within the past two weeks to support the Liberal Party in two elections, both of which were lost to Labor.

He was pictured alongside former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet last week, and holding a drink beside federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton on Saturday.

Barclay McGain is pictured holding a beer while standing next to federal opposition leader Peter Dutton, centre, at a Liberal Party by-election function in Melbourne on Saturday

Barclay McGain is pictured centre, watching a fellow Liberal campaigner shake hands with former NSW premier Dominic Perrotter, who lost the state election last weekend

Mr McGain was photographed handing out how to vote cards in Riverstone before the Liberals lost the seat in the NSW state election on March 25.

He was also seen greeting Mr Perrottet in the hours before the then-premier was forced to concede to Labor's Chris Minns.

The controversial former staffer then travelled to Melbourne to support the Liberal party in the Aston by-election on Saturday, and was pictured handing out flyers.

According to a Facebook post, he was trying to 'save the quiet Australians of Aston from Anthony Albanese's brand of rabid socialism'.

Hours later, the Liberal Party suffered a historic defeat. It was the first time in more than 100 years that an opposition party has lost a seat to the government in a by-election.

Later that evening, he was pictured standing alongside federal opposition leader Peter Dutton at a Liberal function in Melbourne - sporting a blue campaign shirt and holding a drink.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Perrottet and Mr Dutton are closely affiliated with Mr McGain in any way, or that they share his views.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr McGain and the Liberal Party for comment.

Barclay McGain (pictured) dressed as US shooter Kyle Rittenhouse for a Halloween party

Kyle Rittenhouse is pictured minutes before he shot three people, killing two, during Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. city of Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020

Mr McGain first made headlines during Schoolies in 2019 when he uploaded a video in which he interviewed school leavers on the Gold Coast about whether the Australian flag and the national anthem should be kept or altered to better recognise First Nations people.

He laughed when one person responded: 'We've got to stop celebrating a culture that couldn't even invent the bloody wheel... We've got to start enjoying and living in western culture'.

He was then fired in June 2020 when two offensive social media posts were unearthed.

One was a Snapchat which he sent to friends and family showing him holding a money box featuring a picture of an Indigenous person with exaggerated features.

The other was a Facebook post in which he called suspended student Drew Pavlou 'Mein Fuhrer' - German for my leader - alongside an altered video of a scene showing Adolf Hitler in the movie Downfall.

Mr Laming's office confirmed they had rehired him in March 2021.

'(His) impressive knowledge and young networks is something very important for politicians to have,' Mr Laming told Sky News at the time.

In November of 2021 he was slammed for dressing up as acquitted US shooter, Kyle Rittenhouse.

Barclay McGain is still involved with the Liberal Party. He is pictured handing out 'how to vote' cards in Melbourne on the weekend

Barclay McGain is pictured second from the left, in Sydney for the NSW state election - which the Liberal party lost

Rittenhouse armed himself with an AR-15 style rifle and roamed the streets as part of a 'militia' who claimed they were protecting businesses after far-right groups called on people to break curfew and take to the streets.

He shot Joseph Rosenbaum who had earlier been filmed taunting armed men.

A crowd of a dozen people then gave chase and after tripping and falling to the ground he shot and killed Anthony Huber and shot and wounded Gaige Grosskreautz who were pursuing him.

A jury found he acted in self-defence when he shot the protesters in a verdict which has deeply divided America. He was acquitted of five felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide.

At the time, Mr McGain said he was 'not particularly worried' that the costume would affect his employment because it was outside of work hours, on a private balcony, and Rittenhouse had been found not guilty.

'I thought it was topical. He had just been found not guilty, and you know, like any Halloween costume, I guess you're trying to excite people, entertain people,' he said.

The costume was 'not necessarily an endorsement or condemnation,' the former political staffer added.
A Wisconsin man was arrested at a Boston airport with a one-way ticket to Guatemala a year after fire-bombing an anti-abortion group.

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, was taken into custody at Boston Logan International Airport on Tuesday by the US Attorney's Office in Madison after DNA from a half-eaten burrito connected him to the crime.

He was charged with one count of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive. He made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Tuesday.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison.

Federal agents have been searching for him for almost a year for tossing a pair of Molotov cocktails into the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison on May 6, 2022. One of the firebombs failed to ignite, the other set a bookcase on fire.

The message 'if abortions aren't safe then you aren't either' was spray-painted on the building's exterior.

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Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, was taken into custody at Boston Logan International Airport on Tuesday by the US Attorney's Office in Madison. He was charged with one count of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive

Federal agents have been searching for him for almost a year for tossing a pair of Molotov cocktails into the Wisconsin Family Action office in Madison on May 6, 2022 (pictured). One of the firebombs failed to ignite; the other set a bookcase on fire

This past January, police assigned to protect the state Capitol building in Madison reviewed surveillance video of a protest against police brutality. The footage showed several people spray-painting graffiti on Capitol grounds that resembled the graffiti at the Wisconsin Family Action office.

The footage showed two people leaving the area in a white pickup truck, which investigators tracked to Roychowdhury's residence in Madison, according to the complaint. Police then began following him.

On March 1, investigators watched the suspect pull into a Madison park-and-ride and throw away a bag of fast food. After he left, police pulled the contents of the bag, including a partially eaten burrito wrapped in waxed paper, from the trash.

Seventeen days later, DNA found on the burrito was found to match the DNA taken from the Wisconsin Family Action office, according to the complaint.

The message: 'If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either' was spray-painted on the building's exterior.

An Antifa symbol was also spray painted on the building (pictured)

According to the criminal complaint against Roychowdury, investigators pulled DNA samples from three individuals from evidence at the scene of the Wisconsin attack. But the samples didn't match any profiles in the US Department of Justice's DNA database.

The first swab of DNA - identified as Male 1 - was found on the jar of the cocktail, the lighter inside, and the cloth. But since it was not in the national database, it caused federal and local authorities to spend months searching for Roychowdury.

Investigators have been unable to match the other two DNA profiles from the scene to anyone, the complaint said.

The US Attorney's Office said in a statement that Roychowdhury traveled from Madison this month to Portland, Maine. He had a one-way ticket for a flight from Boston to Guatemala City, Guatemala, that was scheduled to depart Tuesday morning when he was arrested, the office said.

Roychowdhury was a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but quit after the attack

The attack came about a week after a draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion, was leaked.

The release sparked abortion rights supporters to mount protests across the country. Two Catholic churches in Colorado were vandalized in the days leading up to the Madison firebombing. And someone threw Molotov cocktails into an anti-abortion organization's office in a suburb of Salem, Oregon, several days later.

The court officially overturned Roe v. Wade in June, putting Wisconsin's 1849 ban on abortion back into play.

The damage was discovered on Mother's Day morning when a passerby called police and reported seeing smoke coming from the headquarters of the anti-abortion group.

The Antifa symbol - a capital 'A' inside a circle - was also scrawled on the wall, as well as the numbers 1312 - a code for the letters ACAB, which stand for 'All Cops Are Bastards.'

The damage was discovered on Mother's Day morning when a passerby called police and reported seeing smoke coming from the headquarters of the anti-abortion group (pictured)

Julaine Appling, Wisconsin Family Action president, told the Wisconsin State Journal at the time that a window was broken, books were burned, and there was graffiti on the walls.

'What you're going to see here is a direct threat against us,' Appling told the paper at the time. 'Imagine if somebody had been in the office when this happened. They would have been hurt.'

As time went on, Appling offered a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. She accused Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes of being more interested in empathizing with abortion rights activists than bringing any suspects to justice.

Appling had no comment Tuesday on Roychowdhury's arrest.

'I'm very proud of the tireless and determined efforts the combined federal, state and local team put in to identify and arrest this individual,' said William McCrary, the special agent in charge of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives' St. Paul Field Division, which handles crimes in Wisconsin. 'It is very satisfying to me to see that this alleged perpetrator has been placed in custody.'
Indigenous TV journalist Stan Grant says he was racially abused by a passer-by while standing outside ABC headquarters.

The Q&A host made the shocking disclosure while speaking at the national summit on Aboriginal child safety in Adelaide this week.

'I was standing outside the ABC filming  and a young man and his girlfriend walked past me and, as they got close to me, he yelled the N-word loudly at me, right at me,' Grant said.

Q+A host Stan Grant told an audience that a man had called him a racist slur once while filming outside ABC's studio

'So what if I'm on television, so what if I stayed in the White House with Barack Obama - so what if I can phone the Prime Minister [Anthony Albanese] and he'll pick up the phone. In that moment, that's what I was to that person.'

Grant said the despicable comment from the stranger had been completely random.

'We don't know when someone's going to say that,' he said.

'No matter how successful you are, someone can always cut you down... racism can touch us anywhere.'

The national summit was held between March 29-31 and focused on Aboriginal child safety.

The event was organised by South Australian group KWY.

The group works with more than 1,000 children and parents every year who experience either violence or the threat of losing their children to child protection services across Adelaide and regional centres.

The South Australia government has an annual budget of more than $500m but only allocates around $69m of that to support services for new families.

SA's Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard has previously said the Malinauskas government plans to commit $3.2m to create a new committee which aims to improve outcomes for Aboriginal people.

She says the government has also committed to increasing the overall budget for services to new families by $13.4m.

'We know that the current system is not working for Aboriginal families and children,' she said.

'Listening to the wisdom and experience of Aboriginal people is utterly fundamental to building a better approach.

The Q&A host made the shocking admission while speaking at the national summit on Aboriginal child safety in Adelaide this week (pictured, Stan Grant with partner Tracey Holmes)

'This includes our government acknowledging how that legacy of colonisation and experiences of intergenerational trauma and racism influence the issues Aboriginal people face.'

Aboriginal Children's Commissioner April Lawrie also made an appearance at the summit.

She used her time onstage to say the government's child removal policy was flawed and failed to address the issue of why families were in need in the first place.

'We're removing [children] but we're not supporting [families],' Ms Lawrie said.

'That speaks more than what you see in data.

'That is the compelling story about what is going on in our Aboriginal communities, what is the relationship of the state with our Aboriginal families.'

This issue is not only present in South Australia, with 952 Aboriginal children across NSW removed from their families in 2019-20, according to The Guardian.

This was a 2.6 per cent increase on the year prior and brought the total up to 6,688 Aboriginal children in foster care at the time  about 41 per cent of the total number of children in the system.

This was despite only 6 per cent of children under-18 being Indigenous in Australia.
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The mother of a murdered toddler has made an impassioned plea to authorities to keep her daughter's killer behind bars.

John William Bennett is serving a life sentence for killing three-year-old Kelly Anne Jones just days before her fourth birthday on September 24, 1989.

The child's body has never been found despite extensive searches involving hundreds of volunteers.

The 71-year-old convicted killer is seeking parole on medical grounds and asked the Queensland Parole Board to waive the 'no body, no parole' clause.

Kelly's mother Caroline Jones says Bennett's bid to be let out of jail should be denied.

Caroline Jones has made an anguished plea to authorities not to cut short the time her three-year-old daughter's killer will spend behind bars

'I was having nightmares at night-time lying there thinking what he done to her,' Ms Jones told Channel Seven on Saturday.

'They never ever found any trace of my daughter. I might have a plaque but I don't have a body.'

Bennett, a family friend, was meant to take Kelly back to her mum in the southeast Queensland inland city of Ipswich from an aunt's house in the nearby city of Toowoomba where the toddler had enjoyed a flower show.

However, Kelly never arrived home and was last seen in the back of Bennett's car before he confessed to police that he killed the girl.

Ordinarily under Queensland's no-body, no-parole sentencing Bennett would not be eligible to be let out of jail.

The wheelchair-bound prisoner had asked a parole board hearing on Friday for a medical exemption because of his failing health.

'Don't let him out,' Ms Jones said.

'People like this should never be released. An eye for an eye, a life for a life.'

State police minister Mark Ryan also called Bennett, who was jailed in June 1990, 'a disgraceful, disgusting human being'.

'I think the hearts of all Queenslanders break for that family.'

To be granted release Bennett must satisfy the parole board he has made sufficient efforts to direct police to the body.

Three-year-old Kelly Anne Jones was last seen in back of the car of her killer, John William Bennett

Bennett claimed in 2020 that he had dreams of where he left the toddler's body but they did not lead to a discovery

After his original confession he told police in 1989 he had left the body at a rubbish dump.

No body was found despite a search by hundreds of volunteers at a rubbish dump north of Toowoomba.

Detective Inspector Chris Knight told the Brisbane's Magistrates Court on Friday Bennett had dreams in 2020 about where he might have dumped the body.

Bennett told police he thought the body might be at Ma Ma Creek, about 100km from the areas searched in 1989.

Knight said Bennett gave an area on the creek where the body might be found and added new details that the toddler was left in a container and wrapped in a blanket.

However, his descriptions were too vague to mount a search.

The parole board will make its decision in six weeks after reviewing submissions.

Ms Jones said she hope authorities will keep searching for her daughter.

'I hope they don't give up,' Ms Jones said.

'It's the not knowing that's hard to go through.'
Mark Latham has labelled Chris Minns 'a fool' after the NSW premier warned he would not work with the One Nation leader following his homophobic tweet.

Mr Minns called the tweet 'vile' and said on Sunday he would try to block Mr Latham from chairing any committees in the NSW Parliament's Upper House.

He is the latest person to condemn Mr Latham after the One Nation NSW leader fired off an offensive tweet about Sydney MP Alex Greenwich on Thursday.

Mr Latham was called a 'disgusting human being' by Mr Greenwich for attending a rally where Christians clashed with LGBTQI activists on March 21, prompting him to respond on Twitter.

'Disgusting? How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke's a*** and covering it with s***?' he wrote.

The One Nation NSW leader hit back at Mr Minns and told Daily Mail Australia he was 'not running for any' committee chair positions and that Mr Minns is 'a fool'.

One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham (pictured) has called the state's newly elected Labor Premier Chris Minns 'a fool' amid a war of words over a homophobic tweet about a gay MP

'But if that's what a new premier thinks about, he's just showing people how vacuous he is,' he said.

The former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet resigned as Liberal party leader after losing last weekend's state election, but Mr Minns said he would seek an agreement with the party's next leader about trying to sideline Mr Latham.

'I'm not sure who's going to lead the Liberal Party in the next few months, but I'd call on their organisation to make a similar commitment,' he said.

'The commentary that he made in relation to the independent member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, were vile and obviously hugely disrespectful.'

Mr Minns said Mr Latham was 'trying  to import a US-style, (Donald) Trump-style approach to politics in NSW, but without anywhere near the political success.'

'We're not going to work with One Nation,' he said.

'(Mr Latham's) commentary, his approach to politics in NSW (are) clearly somebody that's approaching politics in a spiteful way.

'I don't think that it's conducive to  good politics in this state, to have him elevated in his status as a member of the NSW upper house,' Mr Minns told Sky News.

On Saturday, Mr Latham continued with his refusal to apologise for his now-deleted tweet about Mr Greenwich.

'Sometimes in public life when you throw out insults they come back at you harder and truer  So boo-hoo Alex Greenwich,' he said.

Mr Latham said that when Mr Greenwich 'calls someone a disgusting human being for attending a meeting in a church hall, maybe attention will turn to some of his habits.'

'Greenwich goes into schools talking to kids about being gay,' he said.

'I didn't want to be accused of anything similar, leaving that kind of content on my socials.'

Mr Latham's comments this week led to One Nation's founder and national leader Pauline Hanson to demand he apologise.

She made the demand in a video as she revealed she had been unable to get in contact with Mr Latham.

Mr Latham had refused to apologise on Friday and instead made another tweet.

'Never apologise, never explain,' it read.

Mr Minns called him a 'bigot' saying the comments were 'vile and shameful'.

NSW Premier Chis Minns (pictured) called Mr Latham's tweet 'vile' and said his government would try to block him from chairing any committees in the NSW Parliament's upper house

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich (pictured) has refused to call for Mr Latham to apologise or resign

Mr Minns said that Mr Greenwich was an 'extraordinarily effective' politician who 'manages to elevate the conversation and make major changes in the state ...

'One of the things that can't be forgotten is that comments like this, even though in and of themselves they're terrible, they unleash ghouls on people like Alex.

'It's not what we need in public life. There should be an unambiguous and universal condemnation of these comments,' he said.

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe also joined the pile-on saying Mr Latham's tweet was 'completely unacceptable'.

But she revealed that the parliament is unable to discipline the One Nation leader as he used a loophole in the upper house system allowing him to resign as an MP before the state election and recontest his seat.

This has meant One Nation will be able to fill his previous, now vacant seat with another politician, which is most likely to be Tania Mihailuk who, like Mr Latham, is a former Labor MP.

The homophobic attack on him briefly brought Mr Greenwich to tears on Thursday, he said.

'This has obviously been hurtful for me. I had a bit of a cry late yesterday at the end of the day,' he told reporters on Friday.

'After being in this gig for a decade and getting re-elected, I didn't think I'd still be subjected to homophobic abuse.'

However, Mr Greenwich refused to call for Mr Latham to apologise or resign.

'I don't want to give him another soapbox for him to pretend to be a victim when he seeks to victimise people.'
Powerful tornadoes that ripped through America's Midwest and South tore a deadly path killing at least 26 people and leaving hundreds-and-thousands without power.

The ferocious twisters destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swathe of the country in at least eight states.

The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in a tornado's path.

Debbie Lowdermilk was seen holding photographs as she surveyed the destroyed school she owns the day after a tornado hit Sullivan, Indiana

A missing roof exposed a home's bedroom in the aftermath of a tornado, after a monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest

Mylie, a one-week old newborn who survived the storm, was seen crying while being held a day after a tornado hit Sullivan, Indiana

Steve Headley, 51, crawled through the wreckage of his tenants' home to help retrieve their belongings in Wynne, Arkansas

Residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school's roof shredded and its windows blown out.

Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses.

Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, 'praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.' A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

'We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm,' she said.

Recovery was already underway, with workers using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the area and utility crews restoring power.

Nine people died in Tennessee's McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

'The majority of the damage has been done to homes and residential areas,' said David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville.

Gov. Bill Lee drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents.

The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois. Pictured is a destroyed home in Sullivan

Ashley Macmillan (pictured) said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed

People embraced outside the Apollo Theatre following a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois where a man was killed and more than two dozen injured after the roof collapsed

Masoud Shahed-Ghaznavi was lunching at home when it roared through his neighborhood, causing him to hide in the laundry room when he emerged the home was rubble

He said the storm capped the 'worst' week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife, Maria, attended earlier in the day.

'It's terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state,' Lee said. 'But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.'

Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her 2-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming.

'She kept asking me, 'What do I do, daddy?' Day said, tearing up. 'I didn't know what to say.'

After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and over barbed wire and drove to nearby family. On Saturday evening, baby clothes were still strewn about the site.

In Memphis, police spokesman Christopher Williams said via email late Saturday that there were three deaths believed to be weather-related: two children and an adult who died when a tree fell on a house.

Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions from Friday night are expected to return Tuesday.

In Belvidere, Illinois, part of the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble.

Gov. Bill Lee (left) drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents, he was joined by U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, of Tennessee (right) and was seen talking with Adamsville resident Jeffrey Day

Adamsville Mayor David Leckner (center) and U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (second from right) were seen assisting residents hit by a tornado in Adamsville

Savannah Bernard and Shakiya Wilson, 16, walked through the rubble next to the destroyed gym at Crestview Elementary School in Covington, Tennessee

'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,' concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV.

The man was dead by the time emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 others were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries.

Crews cleaned up around the Apollo on Saturday, with forklifts pulling away loose bricks. Business owners picked up glass shards and covered shattered windows.

In Crawford County, Illinois, three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron, said Bill Burke, the county board chair.

Sheriff Bill Rutan said 60 to 100 families were displaced.

'We've had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to,' Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indiana's Sullivan County, about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 'is essentially unrecognizable right now' and several people were rescued overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said.

'I'm really, really shocked there isn't more as far as human issues,' he said, adding that recovery 'is going to be a very long process.'

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than 50 were hurt, some critically.

Volunteers combed a heavily damage area in Sullivan as search-and-rescue efforts continue in the wake of the deadly storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes

People walked through damage from a late-night tornado in Sullivan pouring through the scattered debris for their belongings

Misty Grimes, a resident of Sullivan, was seen searching through debris scattered throughout her yard left from a late-night tornado in Sullivan

Workers cut fallen trees along a road leading to Wynne as the scope of the devastation continues to be assessed

The National Weather Service said that tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165 mph and a path as long as 25 miles.

Masoud Shahed-Ghaznavi was lunching at home when it roared through his neighborhood, causing him to hide in the laundry room as sheetrock fell and windows shattered. When he emerged, the house was mostly rubble.

'Everything around me is sky,' Shahed-Ghaznavi recalled Saturday. He barely slept Friday night.

'When I closed my eyes, I couldn't sleep, imagined I was here,' he said Saturday outside his home.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. On Saturday, Sanders requested a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden to support recovery efforts with federal resources.

Another suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabama's Madison County, officials said, and in northern Mississippi's Pontotoc County, authorities confirmed one death and four injuries.

Tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa and broke windows northeast of Peoria, Illinois.

The storms struck just hours after Biden visited Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes from the latest event, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.

'That's a quite active day,' he said. 'But that's not unprecedented.'

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than 50 were hurt, some critically

The National Weather Service said that tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165 mph and a path as long as 25 miles. A family were seen evacuating on Friday from the city

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) surveyed the damage in Little Rock Arkansas as residents clean up after the powerful tornado that hit the city

More than 530,000 homes and businesses were without power as of midday Saturday, over 200,000 of them in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.

This number dropped - however more than 420,000 people across Pennsylvania (170,815), Ohio (90,429), Virginia (81,040), West Virginia (48,768) and Maryland (37,842) remained without power as of 1:15 am EST.

The sprawling storm system also brought wildfires to the southern Plains, with authorities in Oklahoma reporting nearly 100 of them Friday.

At least 32 people were said to be injured, and more than 40 homes destroyed.

The storms also caused blizzard conditions in the Upper Midwest.

Despite a severe weather warning earlier, things are quieting down across Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, however winds of up to 20-30 mph are expected through Sunday predicted to end at about 2am.

A prediction of a quiet and mild to warm start to the week is expected for the area with chances of rain arriving mid-week.

Earlier there were several tornado warnings issued across the region for Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

The National Weather Service also issued a tornado watch for parts of Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware on Saturday. These have all ended.
Two federal judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, both appointed by former President Donald Trump, have announced that they will no longer hire law clerks from Stanford Law School.

The boycott is in response to the mistreatment of a fellow judge during a recent visit to the California school.

Judges James Ho and Elizabeth Branch had previously announced a similar boycott of Yale Law School last year, after a series of free speech incidents in which they complained about the school's approach to 'cancel culture.'

The boycotts will only apply to future students and not those currently enrolled as law students at the school.

'We will not hire any student who chooses to attend Stanford Law School in the future,' Ho said during a speech to the Texas Review of Law and Politics.

Yale and Stanford Law Schools are some of the most prestigious law schools in the country, having produced numerous prominent leaders, including Presidents Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford, at least five current US senators, and four current Supreme Court Justices.

US Circuit Judge James Ho has announced that he will no longer hire law clerks from Stanford Law School and Yale Law School

Ho's boycott of Stanford and Yale has been joined by fellow Donald Trump-appointed Judge J Elizabeth Branch

Ho called the treatment of Fifth Circuit appellate judge Stuart Kyle Duncan 'intellectual terrorism.'

Duncan was shouted down by hundreds of students and berated by Stanford Diversity Dean Tirien Steinbach during his visit to the law school last month.

Students called him 'scum,' asked why he couldn't 'find the c***,' and screamed, 'We hope your daughters get raped.'

Steinbach is currently on leave and Stanford has ruled out disciplining the hecklers, who by the school's own admission violated its free speech policy.

Duncan was greeted with posters along the walls of the prestigious university - saying he had committed crimes against women, gays, blacks and 'trans people' in reference to a case.

He was asked to give a speech at the famous law school earlier in March about the circuit's Court of Appeals by the student chapter of the conservative Federalist Society but was met with abuse.

Fifth Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, 51, who was also appointed by Donald Trump, was asked to give a speech at Stanford Law School last month but was met with abuse

Fifth Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan eventually asked for an administrator when the heckling wouldn't stop and in stepped the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Tirien Steinbach

Associate Dean Steinbach stepped in during the screaming, but instead of calming the students down, she started lecturing Judge Duncan for six minutes using prepared notes

The Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Tirien Steinbach, is now currently on leave from the prestigious university

Associate Dean Steinbach stepped in during the screaming, but instead of calming the students down, she started piously lecturing Judge Duncan for six minutes using pre-prepared notes.

Law School Dean, Jenny Martinez, and Stanford President, Marc Tessier-Lavinge, have since 'formally apologized, confirming that protesters and administrators had violated Stanford policy' days later.

In his speech, Ho argued that the treatment of Duncan reflected 'rampant' viewpoint discrimination at elite law schools, some of which do not employ a single center-right professor.

'Rules aren't rules without consequences,' Ho said. 'And students who practice intolerance don't belong in the legal profession.'

He implied that a more politically diverse faculty and less ideologically uniform administration would go a long way towards lifting the boycott.

'How do we know everyone's views will be protected, if everyone's views aren't represented?', Ho asked.

'What some law schools tolerate and even encourage today is not intellectual explorationbut intellectual terrorism,' Ho suggested.

'Students dont try to engage and learn from one another. They engage in disruption, intimidation, and public shaming. They try to terrorize people into submission and self-censorship, in a deliberate campaign to eradicate certain viewpoints from the public discourse,' he added.

'Law schools like to say that theyre training the next generation of leaders. But schools arent even teaching students how to be good citizenslet alone good lawyers. Were not teaching the basic terms of our democracy.'

Ho's announcement is the latest and most dramatic effort to hold Stanford accountable for its treatment of Duncan, and he hopes his colleagues will follow suit.

In a subsequent interview following the Standford incident, Judge Duncan said the entire debacle was an embarrassment that made him fear for the country's future.

Judge Ho has previously railed against the woke culture at Yale University and is now targeting Stanford

Ho has urged his fellow judges to likewise boycott the Ivy League institutions, which have produced several Supreme Court Justices

'This is one of the best law schools in the world. The students are the cream of the crop. The future judges, senators, presidents, leaders of industry.

'And yet here is a mob of the best and brightest, shouting down a federal judge whos been invited to campus, and thereby demonstrating that they dont have the foggiest grasp of the basic concept of legal discourse: you have to meet reason with reason. Instead, their operating principle is: If I dont like what you say or think, I will silence you.

'Unless those students undergo a radical change in their whole approach to argument and disagreement, they are unfit to be members of any bar,' Duncan said.

He said he sympathized with the other students who had gathered to hear him speak, but who missed out on the chance.

'The attack was intimately personal and, frankly, disgusting. If I talked to a dog the way those students talked to me, Id feel ashamed.'

Since announcing the boycott of Yale Law School, Ho and Branch are two of 14 federal judges who are boycotting the school due to a series of high-profile free speech scandals.

The boycott appears to be having an impact, with students and faculty urging Ho not to let up and citing an improved campus climate.

'Imagine that every judge who says they're opposed to discrimination at Yale and Stanford takes the same path,' Ho said. 'Imagine they decide that, until the discrimination stops, they will no longer hire from those schools in the future. How quickly do we think those schools would stop discriminating then?'

The judges hope that their boycotts will persuade their colleagues to follow suit, and that schools like Yale and Stanford will address their problems with discrimination in order to regain their prestige and reputations as top law schools.
WA premier will let journalists join his trip

Daniel Andrews has defended his decision to not invite journalists to China as he faces intense backlash over his secret trade trip.

The Victorian premier returned to Melbourne on Saturday after spending the week meeting with senior officials in Beijing and the Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces.

He was criticised for not taking a press pack, with many raising concerns over transparency and press freedom.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) returned to Melbourne on Saturday from an official trip to China

But the premier on Sunday maintained he acted appropriately, noting journalists would not have been able to interview any of the officials he met.

'Let's be really clear about this - this trip was not about me and with the greatest of respect, it was not about you,' Mr Andrews said.

'It was about the success of Victoria and we stand by what was a full program and important program, one where we got a very warm reception.'

The Victorian premier said it was common for him to travel overseas without media.

'I've travelled to China before without media,' Mr Andrews said on Sunday.

'In fact the last trip back in 2019 to China and Vietnam and there were no media with me.

'I travelled to India without media. It's not always true that the media travels with us.'

Mr Andrews said he had fruitful discussions about trade and international students, with a working group established between Victoria and the Chinese Ministry of Education.

The group will work towards attracting more Chinese students to Melbourne, with a focus on increasing student exchanges.

A standing working group has also been established with the Sichuan region to build on existing trade ties, while a task force has been set up with the Jiangsu Province.

'Our relationship has always been strong because both sides have worked hard to deliver that,' Mr Andrews said.

Andrews did not allow journalists to join him, saying there was no time for interviews (pictured Chinese President Xi Jinping)

'But after three and a half years, it's important to get back there and say - we are open, we value your students, we value your partnerships with us.'

Mr Andrews said he did not discuss his state's infrastructure projects or matters of foreign policy.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto has accused the premier of keeping secrets.

He said the coalition would push for an inquiry into the trip.

'If the premier isn't forthcoming with the full truth, then we can't know how this trip will benefit Victorians,' Mr Pesutto told reporters on Sunday.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan on Sunday announced his own trip to China and confirmed he would take media.

The five-day trip will start on April 17 and feature high-level trade meetings.
A bikie member who used his autistic son as 'bait' to lure his ex-girlfriend to a patrol station before violently bashing her has been jailed.

Michael James Aris denies he struck the woman over the head with a hard object, choked or hit her when she arrived at a Perth petrol station in September, 2020.

The jury, following a four-day trial, found the ex-Mongols member guilty of beating and then holding the woman captive in his car as she desperately tried to escape.

His victim told the WA District Court she had feared for her life when Aris pushed a hard object into her abdomen and said: 'I've got a gun and it's loaded'.

She had arrived at the petrol station on Thomas Road in Bertram, in south Perth, to collect Aris' nine-year-old son from the bikie's friend Kyle Smith.

Michael James Aris (pictured second from left) denies that he struck the woman over the head with a hard object, choked or hit her when she arrived at a Perth petrol station in late 2020

The jury, following a four-day trial, found the ex-Mongols member (pictured) was guilty of beating and then holding the woman captive as she tried to escape

The jury was told that despite she and Aris ending their hot-and-cold relationship eight months prior she still looked after his child.

The woman said she had been caught off guard when Aris jumped out of the shadows and began to punch her, knocking out her two front teeth.

She told the court he had tried to kiss her before forcing her into his car.

She told Aris she needed to pee and pretended to squat beside the car as her former partner warned: 'I'll shoot you if you run, I'll shoot you'.

The woman threw her car keys into a nearby bush before running for her life towards the petrol station where she intended to find help.

She told the court she heard 'a real loud bang' which she had assumed was a gun.

The woman had her two front teeth knocked out in the attack and was left with several bruises and abrasions.

In her victim impact statement, she told the court she 'lost her independence' following the brutal attack and lived in constant fear and anxiety.

The woman testified she had arrived at the petrol station on Thomas Road in Bertram, in south Perth, (pictured) to collect Aris' nine-year-old son seconds before she was attacked by Aris

The woman said she had been caught off guard when Aris (pictured left) jumped out of the shadows and began to punch her, knocking out her two front teeth

She continues to experience problems with her teeth as well as panic attacks.

Judge Michael Bowden said he accepted there was a level of pre-meditation in the attack as he had lured the woman to the petrol station before attacking her.

He described the assault as a 'sustained and ferocious assault'.

'She was vulnerable in the sense that clearly, you're more powerful, much stronger than her. It was unprovoked, and it occurred in the public place,' he said.

Judge Bowden sentenced Aris to four years behind bars, with his sentence backdated to when he was charged in September 12, 2020.
The NT suffered another night of terror on Saturday after a spate of carjackings, break-ins and ram raids.

Police said several incidents took place between 10:30pm Saturday and 5am on Sunday in Palmerston and in the Darwin area.

In one, a man, 39, carjacked a family car at a petrol station, kicking them out before fleeing with their car.

He allegedly drove in the wrong direction and collided with another car before eventually getting caught by cops.

Meanwhile, five to eight people are said to have been involved in incidents, allegedly stealing three vehicles.

They are also accused of five break-ins and one attempted break-in.

In one, a man, 39, carjacked a family car at a petrol station, kicking them out before fleeing with their car

Businesses targeted included petrol stations, licensed venues and commercial premises.

They group, all believed to be young adults, are currently hunted by cops.

One of the businesses targeted was a supermarket. A vehicle crashed into the building in a ram raid.

Extra officers have been sent to Darwin to support their investigation.

NT Police Commander Daniel Bacon said it had been a particularly bad night for property crime.

'This is quite disgusting and selfish behaviour, by the individuals committing these crimes,' he told ABC.

Police in the state say several incidents took place between 10:30pm Saturday and 5am on Sunday in Palmerston and in the Darwin area

'The behaviour of these particular individuals is not only putting their own lives at risk, but also the lives of other road users across the Northern Territory as well.'

Earlier this month, NT police revealed a drop in domestic violence calls, property offences and alcohol-related violence after the introduction of stricter alcohol laws in the territory.

However, a 20-year-old worker was stabbed to death at a Darwin bottle shop last month, prompting more calls for action to tackle crime in the NT.

In January nationwide coverage of the crime wave led to Mr Albanese visiting the territory.

He pledged funding to tackle crime, including $25 million for community services, $2 million for the Tangentyere Women's Council, $2 million for high visibility police operations and $2 million for extra lighting and street lamps for the area.
Lewisham council has reversed 55,000 in LTN fines after major floods forced motorists to take a diversion through closed streets.

When a burst water main caused traffic chaos in the London borough, the council said they would not fine anyone who had to take the controversial alternative route.

According to The Telegraph, however, a local resident has forced Lewisham Council to accept it broke its promise after it issued 421 penalty charge notices (PCNs) worth 54,730 that day.

Annie Kirby, 51, made the Labour-run council cancel the fines and refund more than 18,000 in payments it had already received - setting a new record for successful appeals.

The mother-of-three explained a water main had burst in the early hours of January 6, causing the roads to become gridlocked.

When a burst water main caused traffic chaos in Lewisham, southeast London, council bosses said they would not fine anyone who had to take a diversion through a controversial low traffic neighbourhood

However, the council broke its promise when it issued 421 penalty charge notices (PCNs) worth 54,730 that day, after people drove through the roads it had closed

'Streets within the LTN were pretty much the only ones motorists could use,' she said.

'But, whoever drove down them faced a fine because of automatic number plate recognition cameras the council installed to enforce its road closures.'

The council posted on social media at 11am that 'PCNs will not be issued to anybody' because the flooding cornered motorists into using the closed streets.

Ms Kirby said she took a screenshot of the tweet to be safe.

However, the mother soon heard that people had still been fined - with many paying the 65 reduced rate to escape the full 130 penalty, unaware of the council's promise.

A water main burst in the early hours of January 6, causing roads to become gridlocked

School children had to be rescued in dinghies by firefighters after the ruptured water main caused flooding in southeast London

Last week bosses at Lewisham apologised and agreed to cancel all the fines - nearly three months after the main pipe burst

'It simply wasn't fair,' said Ms Kirby. 'The council was in the wrong by saying one thing and doing another.'

After the dementia support worker pursued the council, civil servants eventually admitted they had issued 421 tickets and gathered 18,785 in payments.

READ MORE: School children are rescued in dinghies by firefighters as roads turn to rivers in south east London after a main burst left homes cut off by six-foot deep water Advertisement

'Lewisham Council didn't seem to care how these fines upset people,' said Ms Kirby.

Last week, bosses at Lewisham apologised and agreed to cancel all the PCNs - nearly three months after the main pipe burst.

Around 70 firefighters were called to six feet of flooding on Meadowcourt Road and Eltham Road after the pipe burst, with the road turning to a river.

A Lewisham Council spokesperson told MailOnline: 'On 6 January 2023, a burst water main on Eltham Road resulted in flooding and significant traffic disruption.

'In response to this, the Council took the decision not to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to anybody who had to travel through camera-enforced restrictions in the Lee Green area on 6 January, including School Streets and the Lewisham and Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

'This was communicated through social media channels and on the Councils website. Enforcement of these restrictions resumed the following day.

'As a result of an internal miscommunication, a number of PCNs were issued in error on 6 January. As soon as this was brought to our attention, we undertook a review to understand what had happened and took immediate steps to correct the situation.'

They added: 'We have cancelled any outstanding PCNs issued on this date and are refunding anybody who has already paid a PCN issued in error on this date. We have written to anybody who was issued with a PCN in error to update them on this.

'We apologise for any confusion in relation to this issue and any inconvenience caused as a result.'
Southern classic Gone With The Wind is to come with a trigger warning amid concerns over its depiction of 19th Century slavery.

Margaret Mitchell's novel set in Georgia during the American Civil War has been a favourite for generations of book lovers since its publication in 1936.

It was memorably brought to the silver screen in 1939 starring Vivien Leigh as the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as her paramour Rhett Butler.

But publisher Pan Macmillan has now decided that readers could find 'racist' aspects of the era 'hurtful or indeed harmful', The Telegraph reports.

The novel follows the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, as the confederate south went to war with the abolitionist north.

Irrepressibly spoilt but equally determined, the story follows Scarlett as she learns to survive and eventually falls for the charms of Captain Butler.

Vivien Leigh (left) as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind (1939), with Hattie McDaniel (right) playing her slave Mammy. Both actresses won Oscars for their performances

But Pan Macmillan's latest version warns the novel has not been edited to remove objectionable content, unlike recent Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming books, while adding that this does not mean 'an endorsement' of the book.

The warning over the latest edition describes the book containing 'shocking elements', including the 'romanticisation of a shocking era in our history'.

It adds: 'The novel includes the representation of unacceptable practices, racist and stereotypical depictions and troubling themes, characterisation, language and imagery.

'The text of this book remains true to the original in every way and is reflective of the language and period in which it was originally written.

'We want to alert readers that there may be hurtful or indeed harmful phrases and terminology that were prevalent at the time this novel was written and which are true to the context of the historical setting of this novel.'

In addition, historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory was commissioned to write a new foreword in the latest version, laying out the 'white supremacist' aspects of the book.

Clarke Gable (left) as Captain Rhett Butler, the rake who woos Scarlett (right) played by Vivien Leigh

Gregory writes that the novel 'tells us, unequivocally, that African people are not of the same species as white people', adding: 'This is the lie that spoils the novel.'

Pan Macmillan explained that Gregory was chosen, as a white writer, to pen the essay in order to avoid inflicting 'emotional labour' on a minority writer.

Pan Macmillan has been approached for comment.

Last month, it was reported how a newly-discovered script from Gone With The Wind revealed the bitter fallout over the presentation of slavery in the controversial 1939 blockbuster.

The documents shed fresh light on the arguments between production staff and writers over how it covered race before it was filmed. It includes lost scenes as well as correspondence between workers on set - who raised issues throughout every step of its production.

The script has now been bought at auction by historian David Vincent Kimel for $15,000, who estimated it was one of a half-dozen of its kind, according to The Ankler.

It is one of the legendary 'Rainbow Scripts' from the movie's production, so named for the different colored pages the film's obsessive producer David O. Selznick demanded different sections of the script be printed on.

After production, Selznick demanded all copies of the script be destroyed. Kimel - a self-proclaimed Gone with the Wind obsessive - said the few that remain reveal the many changes the four-hour film underwent, but that the copy he acquired revealed a trove of previously unknown insights about how crew grappled with its portrayal of slavery and race relations.

Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind

The newly discovered Gone with the Wind Script. There are said to be about six left

Clarke Gable and Vivien Leigh portray Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind

Racist names and descriptions in the recently uncovered Gone with the Wind Script

According to Kimel, the script revealed the many ways in which Selznick and his writers quarreled about whether to portray slavery in brutal, honest terms, or to lean into sympathetic narratives and portray a romantic pre-war southern landscape.

The Rainbow Script he got his hands on tended to show racism in a more brutal setting, with scenes of Scarlett O'Hara being cruel to her slaves.

In one scene from the script, the protagonist threated the slave-girl Prissy with a whipping, and threatened to sell her so she would never see her family again.

'I'll sell you down the river. You'll never see your mother again or anybody you know and I'll sell you for a field hand too,' the script reads, according to Ankler.

Although the line was cut from the final film, Scarlett does offer similar threats - and even slaps Prissy - yet the harshness of the interaction was greatly reduced, according to the historian.
Suella Braverman today insisted Rwanda is a 'safe' place to send migrants - although she admitted she wasn't aware refugees had previously been shot at by the country's police.

The Home Secretary defended the Government's plans to send those who come to Britain illegally on a one-way ticket to the African nation despite being challenged over a 2018 incident.

In an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Mrs Braverman was grilled about United Nations allegations that a protest by a group of refugees five years ago was responded to by the firing of live rounds.

The refugees' demonstration over food rations ended in the killing of 12 people, the Home Secretary heard, as she was shown footage of the aftermath of the 2018 case.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has previously condemned violence at the Kiziba refugee camp in western Rwanda, which houses thousands of people from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mrs Braverman conceded she was 'not familiar' with the incident having earlier said she was 'convinced it is safe to send refugees to Rwanda'.

The Home Secretary vowed to press ahead with the Rwanda policy, following the striking of a 120million agreement with Kigali last April.

Suella Braverman admitted she wasn't aware refugees had previously been shot at by police in Rwanda

The Home Secretary was shown footage of the aftermath of the 2018 incident in the African country

Mrs Braverman was grilled about United Nations allegations that a protest by a group of refugees five years ago was responded to by the firing of live rounds

'That might be 2018, we're looking at 2023 and beyond,' Mrs Braverman said.

'The High Court - senior expert judges - have looked into the detail of our arrangements with Rwanda and found it to be a safe country and found our arrangements to be lawful.

'Rwanda, from where I have just returned, takes 100,000 refugees and resettles them.

'I met some of them in Rwanda, on my recent visit, from countries in the region.

'They had nothing but gratitude and thanks for Rwanda for the resettlement scheme that Rwanda has put on, for over 100,000 people who are fleeing persecution, fleeing conflict.

'They have a track record of successfully resettling and integrating people who are refugees or asylum seekers.

'I think we are on strong ground to say Rwanda is a safe country, it is the right for solution for us grappling with our small boats problem.

'And I believe it will strike the right balance of providing a humanitarian package of support for people who are refugees, at the same time as being a deterrent to those seeking a life in the UK.'

The Home Secretary acknowledged there was a provision for asylum seekers to challenge having been sent to Rwanda under her plans should 'extreme circumstances' occur.

She also failed to rule out Britain accepting refugees from Rwanda under the terms of the arrangement with Kigali - although Mrs Braverman insisted the 'balance and the reality' of the deal would be 'Rwanda taking people from the UK'.

Despite the asylum deal with Rwanda being struck almost a year ago, no migrants have yet been sent to the African country from Britain.

The Rwanda agreement is part of ministers' efforts to stem the number migrants coming to Britain across the Channel, following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to 'stop the boats'.

Mrs Braverman this morning refused to commit to migrant flights to Rwanda beginning by this summer, despite previous suggestions that's when they could start.

'We are making very steady progress. I am not going to give a deadline as to when flights will take off,' she told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday show in an earlier TV interview.

Mrs Braverman also refused to confirm reports that ministers are close to signing a contract with Portland Port Authority over 'floating accommodation' for asylum seekers.

The Home Secretary defended herself amid criticism of the Government's proposed new laws to reduce Channel migrant crossings.

'I see my role as Home Secretary as getting results, ultimately; taking action for the British people,' she said.

'I see myself as telling the truth for the British people to the British people.

'I see myself as being a voice for the law-abiding, patriotic often silent majority.

'I see myself being heavily informed by the people in my constituency in Fareham who just want us to stop the boats, who want to see common-sense policing, who want to keep the British people safe.

'That's my objective as Home Secretary and if the BBC or various celebrities are offended, then so be it.'

Labour's shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy dismissed the idea of her party keeping the Government's Rwanda scheme as she suggested it would never become reality.

She told the BBC: 'I dont think were ever going to be in the situation where we have to dismantle this because I dont think its real, just like the barges that the Home Secretary promised this week that it turns out didnt exist.

'This is just yet another way of distracting from the fact that theyre only processing 1 per cent of the asylum claims of people who arrived last year.

'The reason that our hotels are full is because they havent got a grip on the asylum system, they arent processing claims and they havent got a returns agreement with France.

'Thats what we would do. Wed set up a cell to tackle the criminal gangs working across borders. Wed process our asylum claims swiftly and wed get a grip on the asylum system.'

Ms Nandy claimed the Home Secretary should be 'ashamed of herself for touring the TV studios making more and more bold claims when she cant even do the basics of her own job'.
The UK Government is 'in negotiations' with the Taliban over three British nationals who are being held hostage, the Home Secretary confirmed.

Suella Braverman told Sophy Ridge on Sky News that the UK government would do 'whatever it takes' to ensure the safety of British nationals abroad.

Charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and another British national who manages a hotel for aid workers in the capital Kabul have been detained by the Taliban's secret police since early January.

The other Briton being held is notorious 'danger tourist' Miles Routledge, 23, who boasts to his thousands of followers online that he travels 'to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun'.

He had recently returned to Afghanistan, filming videos shooting guns with Taliban troops, despite having to be evacuated from a 'holiday' in the country in 2021 when the Islamists seized back power.

Suella Braverman told Sophy Ridge on Sky News that the UK government would do 'whatever it takes' to ensure the safety of British nationals abroad

Miles Routledge, 23, first grabbed headlines during the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan last year when he went on 'holiday' to the country and had to be evacuated from Kabul

Kevin Cornwell, 53, a British medic for charity Iqarus, who has been detained by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence in Kabul, Afghanistan, since January 11

The Home Secretary said: 'Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution.

'If they are going to do that, they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice.

'If there are risks to people's safety, if they're a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they're safe.

'The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld.'

The UK does not have an embassy or any consulates in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting two of the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man.

Mr Cornwell, a married father from Middlesbrough, was arrested in a raid at his hotel by officers from the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on January 11.

Taliban agents accused him of having an illegal firearm in the safe in his room at the Darya Village Hotel, which is popular with Western humanitarian staff.

Mr Cornwell's family said he had been granted a licence for the handgun by the Taliban government.

He had been in Afghanistan for 11 months working as a medic for Iqarus International, which provides free health care to local people. Also detained in the raid was the hotel's British manager, whom this newspaper has agreed not to name at the request of his family.

He and Mr Cornwell have been held ever since in a secure unit for foreign nationals run by the GDI. No charges have been brought and they have not been granted legal representation.

The two men's families are being supported by Scott Richards, an experienced negotiator with Presidium Network, a British non-profit organisation that works in conflict zones.

Mr Richards said: 'Having spoken with multiple witnesses to the events, it could be that we may be looking at a misunderstanding with GDI who may have been reacting to a tip.

'The weapon in Kevin's room was stored with the licence issued by the Taliban's ministry of interior and was apparently kept inside its holster.

'The weapon never left the safe, it had never been carried. So the GDI could have been following a tip, and then they find themselves with two British nationals in detention.'

Mr Routledge (right) had recently returned to Afghanistan, filming videos shooting guns with Taliban troops, despite having to be evacuated from a 'holiday' in the country in 2021

Routledge, a former physics student at Loughborough University, has posted videos of himself firing weapons with Taliban fighters

He said he understood that the men were being well treated and are in good health, though there were concerns around Mr Cornwell because he needs medication.

Mr Richards said: 'The clear concern here is that the detainees have not been permitted access to consular officials or international observers. There is no clarity as to the legal process in Afghanistan such as the right to representation.

'There is no clarity on the charges. Kevin is a humanitarian worker, liaising with the United Nations, Unicef and the World Food Programme.

'To have people involved in such work with the incredible needs of Afghanistan at the moment, and to be potentially arbitrarily detained, will make it difficult to assure the safety of other aid workers.'

Last night, he urged the Taliban to show 'compassion' and release the men during the important religious month of Ramadan.

Routledge, a former physics student at Loughborough University, who has tens of thousands of social-media followers, has been unusually silent online since the end of February.

The 'professional explorer' says in the description of one YouTube video, 'I do the most heinous stuff on the planet' and claims to be 'no longer welcome' in Kenya.

He was branded an 'idiot' in August 2021 when he had to be evacuated during the Taliban takeover. His extraction was funded by British taxpayers.

He even wrote a book of his experience, titled Lord Miles In Afghanistan, a 'first-hand account of his first and most infamous trip' to the country.

The blurb states: 'Miles experiences a fascinating kaleidoscope of natural beauty, war-torn desolation, poverty, humanity, courage, and generosity.

'He finds himself in many places off the beaten path and meets a colorful range of characters. Throughout it all, his eternal optimism and indomitable faith ensure an invigorating narration for this unique journey.'

Foreign Office advice is not to travel to the 'extremely volatile' country, which has been plunged into crisis after the chaotic withdrawal of American forces following two decades of war.

But Routledge has made several return trips to Afghanistan in the past year and released a video in which he claimed he was travelling on forged documents.

Other clips showed him blasting automatic rifles with a Taliban fighter and visiting a weapons market in the city of Jalalabad, a stronghold for terrorists affiliated to Islamic State.

Routledge previously said he believed he would be safe in Afghanistan because of a 15 joke purchase that gives him the right to use the title 'Lord', but a security source said his Taliban captors may think he is genuinely a member of the English aristocracy.

Routledge also visited Ukraine as Russian forces invaded last year and took a trip to war-torn Sudan.

It was unclear where he was being held last night. His mother Susan said she had not heard from him.

Miles Routledge, from Birmingham, boasts to his thousands of followers online that he travels 'to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun'

Mr Cornwell was arrested at the Darya Village Hotel and Business Park in Kabul

Security experts said it was likely that the Taliban would demand a prisoner swap in return for the release of Western men held.

Another possibility is that the Islamists, who do not have diplomatic recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, will demand the release of billions of dollars frozen by sanctions.

Many of the senior leaders of the Taliban are listed as terrorists by the UN Security Council.

Their return to power triggered sanctions preventing any financial transactions with them or any institutions under their authority.

Last year, the Taliban released former US marine Mark Frerichs, who was working as an engineer with a non-government organisation, after holding him for more than two years.

He was swapped for Taliban financier Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a life sentence in a US prison for drug-trafficking.
Lawyers for a partially blind woman who was jailed for waving a cyclist into the path of a car have slammed her trial judge for imprisoning her just three days after she was convicted.

Auriol Grey was sentenced to three years in prison last month after being found guilty of the manslaughter of Celia Ward, 77, in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in 2020.

The 49-year-old had shouted 'Get off the f*****g pavement' to Ward as she came towards her, causing the cyclist to fall into the road, at which point she was hit by a car and fatally injured.

Grey, who also has cerebral palsy and 'cognitive difficulties' after being starved of oxygen at birth, was jailed by Judge Sean Enright who dismissed any learning or mental disabilities as a factor in the incident.

Now the defendant's lawyers, who are understood to be appealing the decision, have slammed the judge for putting her behind bars without waiting for expert reports that could have led to a difference sentence being passed.

Auriol Grey, pictured here outside Peterborough Crown court in March, was jailed for three years after being convicted of the manslaughter of Celia Ward

Her barrister, Miranda Moore KC, said Judge Enright should have waited longer before passing sentence to allow for a fuller picture of her mental and physical wellbeing to be drawn up.

READ MORE HERE: Neighbours reveal how 'childlike' disabled woman jailed for waving cyclist into path of car had just one friend, was estranged from her mother and lost her only sister Advertisement

Grey, who told her legal team she had no living relatives, has only one friend and concerns have been raised about how she will cope in prison by her legal team and her local MP.

These have been shared by her brother-in-law, Alisdair Luxmoore, who was married to her late sister Genny, who died from ovarian cancer at the age of 53, who has suggested she might also be autistic.

Her legal team said they were not aware of Mr Luxmoore's existence, and had they been given longer they would have asked for a report into these suspicions.

Ms Moore told the Times: 'If we had had longer then I would have known about her brother-in-law.

'We would have then known that her behaviour could be down to the long-standing suspicion within the family that she was autistic, therefore we would have asked for a report into autism.

'The judge found no mental element to the offence and no mental element to mitigate sentence, but autism affects many important things - for instance, if people show remorse, which the judge picked up upon.'

The court had heard that until pre-sentencing the defendant had expressed 'no remorse' for her actions and had walked off before emergency services arrived at the scene.

She admitted to police she had heard sirens coming, but said she wasn't aware she had to stay and had instead continued to do her shopping.

Grey, pictured here in her police mugshot, has cerebral palsy and learning difficulties after being starved of oxygen during birth

Celia Ward, pictured here with her husband David, died after falling into the road and being hit by a car

Grey's family claim she has only one friend and could have autism, while her lawyer has hit out at the short length of time between her conviction and sentencing

Is it illegal to cycle on a pavement? Section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 prohibits 'wilfully riding' on footpaths, which refers to the path at the side of a carriageway. The original law from 1835 doesn't refer to bicycles or cyclists (as bicycles weren't in such common use in England as they are today) and it doesn't mention pavements - as this is a modern word. However, the interpretation is clear - it is not legal for a cyclist to ride their bike on the pavement. The Highway Code also states: 'You must not cycle on a pavement.' The offence of riding a bike on the pavement is punishable by an on-the-spot fine, a fixed penalty notice of 30. This is charged under Schedule 3 and Section 51 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. Shared paths However, some pavements are accessible to cyclists if they are labelled as shared paths. A shared path is designed for all types of users including pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists. Some shared paths may be identified by signs showing a white bicycle and pedestrians on a blue background. Source: Slater Gordon law Advertisement

In his sentencing remarks Judge Enright cited the fact Grey had gone to a 'mainstream school' when dismissing learning difficulties as potential influences. Tests have shown she had an IQ of 84 - the average is 100.

He said her actions were 'not explained by disability', and added: 'I am sure you knew cyclists used that path and you were not taken by surprise or in fear for your safety.'

Mr Luxmoore last week said the judge had 'effectively ignored' Grey's vulnerabilities and she had been 'treated as if she was able-bodied'.

He said that while he and the family were 'horrified' by Ms Ward's death, he questioned: 'How can you put a disabled person in a place like that?'

Her family's concerns have prompted her MP Jonathan Djanogly, to write to the prisons minister Damian Hinds.

Mr Djanogly wrote that 'it looked as though the judge in this instance did not take full note of her mental condition'.

He added that this, and an alleged misunderstanding about the status of the path - which prosecutors said was 'shared cycle and pedestrian access' but police could not 'categorically' confirm this - meant there was scope for 'further investigation'.

The Ministry of Justice told the Times: 'Sentences are determined by independent judges based on the full facts of the case.'

In a statement released after Grey was sentenced, Ms Ward's husband, David, said her last moments would 'haunt me forever'.

He said: 'After 53 years of happy marriage, Celia was taken from me in a most horrific way, leaving me with only my memories. She was kind, calm, careful, cheerful and competent in all that she did.

'Her death has caused me great suffering. We relied on each other, shared the same sense of humour and outlook on life, and enjoyed each other's company. I miss her terribly.'
His plan to murder victim was foiled by cellmate

A Sydney rapist who attempted to have his teen victim killed by a hitman will be kept on a tight leash following his release from prison after the state successfully applied to have him subject to a control order.

Kevin Bou-Antoun was released on parole in June 2021 after spending 18 years in jail for the repeated rape of a 16-year-old and an attempt to evade justice by having her murdered by a contract killer.

He was arrested in 2003 after he and another man repeatedly raped a 16-year-old girl at North Bondi.

While in jail, he attempted to hire a hitman but his cellmate alerted police to his plot and he was subsequently caught in a police sting.

Pictured is the laneway where Kevin Bou-Antoun and another man are believed to have raped a 16-year-old girl in North Bondi, Sydney's eastern suburbs, in 2003

After taking her mobile phone, Bou-Antoun told her: 'If she says anything to the police we'll kill her because you can get less years for killing her than for rape' and threatened to dump her body in a river.

Bou-Antoun slapped the girl before he and the other man repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl, despite her protests to stop.

The victim reported the attack to police and Bou-Antoun and his accomplice were identified and arrested using his car's registration and mobile phone records.

They were also caught on a police tap discussing the incident.

While in jail on remand, Bou-Antoun gave the girl's details to his cellmate, which he wanted to be passed onto a hitman.

However his cellmate instead gave the information to police.

A listening device that was planted in his cell caught him planning to pay $23,000, including a $3000 down payment, to have the girl killed.

'I just want to kill that b****, I want to kill her,' he said to his cellmate.

He was caught on the same listening device talking to an undercover cop about the plot and that he wanted him to 'pop her in the stomach' and 'I want her to feel lots of pain'.

'Tell her it's from, it's from Michael,' he said in reference to the fake name he told the girl.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault and solicit to murder before being sentenced to 19 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 14 years.

Bou-Antoun was being held at Silverwater Correctional Complex in Sydney's west (pictured) when he attempted to hire a hitman to murder his teen victim

The state applied to the NSW Supreme Court for orders which would allow them to keep a close tabs on him amid fears he could offend again.

During a year-long legal process, the state applied for him to be subject to a three-year extended supervision order under the High Risk Offenders Act.

Lawyers acted for Bou-Antoun argued he should only be subject to control orders for two years.

But in orders handed down by Justice Peter Garling on Friday, the Supreme Court granted the state a three-year supervision order, due to expire in July 2025.

The conditions include that he wear an electronic monitoring device until June this year and he not possess a prohibited weapon.

Justice Garling also declined to make further orders proposed by the state including that Bou-Antoun provide information about his financial affairs and that he not associate with anyone who has consumed alcohol.
Shocking footage shows the moment a chairwoman of an owner's corporation allegedly bit a worker on his hand and arm during a bizarre office confrontation.

Hun-Jing Tiong was axed from the committee of the corporation that owns residential skyscraper Aurora Melbourne Central, the fifth largest building in Australia.

She then visited the skyscraper and was filmed allegedly attempting to put keys in her bag.

When a staff member tried to intervene and escort her from the building, she is alleged to have lunged at the worker before sinking her teeth into his wrist and arm.

Blood was allegedly drawn and bite marks were visible on the alleged victim, who was treated at the scene and given a tetanus jab as a precaution.

Hun-Jing Tiong was axed from the committee of the corporation that owns residential skyscraper Aurora Melbourne Central

The incident is believed to have taken place just days after Jing was sacked from the corporation's committee.

According to the Herald Sun, a dispute erupted over the management of the building shortly after she took control of the committee in January 2021.

Two of the main sticking points centre around her access to an owner's levy and accusations she moved to cancel multimillion dollar service contracts.

More than 200 owners held a special meeting last week and voted to remove Ling and her team.

Jing has been asked to attend Melbourne East Police Station over the biting incident.

When a staff member tried to intervene and escort her from the building, she is alleged to have lunged at the worker sinking her teeth into his wrist

A spokesman for Victoria Police said: 'Police are investigating reports of an assault in Melbourne on Thursday 9 March.

'Investigators have been told that an incident occurred between a male and female in Latrobe Street at about 1pm.

'The exact circumstances surround the incident are yet to be determined and the investigation remains ongoing.'
Pope Francis has opened the celebration Mass in St Peter's Square as millions of Christians mark Palm Sunday, presiding at his first ceremony after the pontiff's hospital stay for bronchitis.

On a cloudy morning, Francis wore a long, ivory-coloured coat as he was driven into the square aboard a Pope mobile. Ahead of him, scores of prelates and priests and tens of thousands of rank-and-file faithful clutching palm fronds or olive branches filled the square.

Francis, 86, received antibiotics administered intravenously during his three-day hospital stay. He last previous appearance on St Peter's Square was for his regular Wednesday public audience. He was taken to Rome's Gemelli Policlinic that same day after feeling ill.

Palm Sunday, a feast celebrating Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem ahead of his death and resurrection. opens a heavy schedule of Holy Week appointments for the Pope.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury led a procession through the streets of Canterbury to mark the occasion. The clergy and congregation of Canterbury Cathedral joined the parade through the Kent city for the celebration of the first day of Holy Week and the last Sunday of Lent.

Pope Francis celebrates the Palm Sunday's mass in St. Peter's Square this morning

Pope Francis blesses the olive branches as he leads the Palm Sunday mass

The clergy carried palm branches to represent those which were scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem, while palms woven into cross-shapes were handed out to the congregation.

Also taking part in the parade were two donkeys to represent the pack animal said to have carried Jesus.

The Church of England procession included a blessing of the palms followed by a eucharist service at the cathedral.

Earlier, Francis took his place in a chair before the towering obelisk as a procession of cardinals in bright-red vestments and other faithful moved through the square.

His voice sounded strong as he opened the ceremony, which observed Jesus's entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians mark on Good Friday.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims participated in Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem at the start of the Holy Week.

Worshippers carried palm fronds and olive branches and marched from the top of the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's historic Old City, home to holy sites of the three Abrahamic monotheistic faiths.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa and other Catholic clergy took part in the traditional procession, and handed out palm fronds to believers before leading them in a procession inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where tradition holds that Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and is the start of the church's most solemn week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus' crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter.

Palm bearers arrive in a procession at the start of the Palm Sunday's mass in St Peter's Square at The Vatican

Palm branches are distributed before the start of the Palm Sunday's mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square

Pal m Sunday sees the Roman Catholic Church enters Holy Week, retracing the story of the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection three days later on Easter Sunday

The 86-year-old pontiff presided over this morning's ceremony despite a recent health scare

In Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby leads the Palm Sunday celebration in Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury (right) led a Palm Sunday procession through Canterbury in Kent ahead of the Palm Sunday Eucharist in Canterbury Cathedral

The Church of England procession included a blessing of the palms followed by a eucharist service at Canterbury Cathedral (pictured)

Masked penitents take part during Palm Sunday in Zaragoza, northern Spain

Devotees prepare before taking part during Palm Sunday in Zaragoza, northern Spain

Penitents of La Paz brotherhood take part in the Palm Sunday procession in Seville on April 2, 2023

Pakistani Christians attend Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Thomas Church in Hyderabad

Pakistani Christians attend Palm Sunday Mass at Saint Thomas Church in Hyderabad, in southern Sindh province, Pakistan

Faithful Catholic attend the Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican earlier today

Hundreds attended the traditional procession on the Mount of Olives with palm fronds and olive branches that celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem at the start of Holy Week.

'In Easter, we celebrate the feast of love and life. My wish to all is that love and life can determine our life more than the violence we are living,' the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said after mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.

The past year has seen a marked increase in tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank with a tough Israeli crackdown imposed following a spate of deadly attacks by Palestinians in Israel.

Christians in Jerusalem have also complained of increasing violence in recent months, particularly since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist-religious government at the start of the year, seeing it as part of a wider threat to their place in Jerusalem.

Israel has said it maintains the status quo of holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, where some of the holiest sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims sit virtually side by side, but Christian leaders have voiced growing alarm.

'What we are seeing is that what we call the status quo, the balance between the different communities of Jews, Muslims, Christians' is not respected anymore,' Pizzaballa told reporters in Jerusalem last week.

'That aspect is problematic for me, that they consider Christians as guests. We are not guests. We are part of the identity of the city.'

The Vatican on Saturday said Francis would preside at the Holy Week ceremonies, which culminate with Easter Sunday Mass in the square on April 9.

Thousands of supporters of the late pope John Paul II carry banners and pray during the white march honoring his legacy today

Christians hold up palm branches during the Palm Sunday procession at Mount of Olives, backdropped by Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Catholic worshippers march down a road, overlooking the Dome of the Rock mosque at the al-Aqsa mosque complex, during the traditional Palm Sunday procession

Patriarch of Jerusalem, attends a march during the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's old city earlier today

Yesterday, Pope Francis joked 'I'm still alive' as he cheerfully left hospital.

To the relief of practicing Catholics across the world, the 86-year-old pontiff was finally discharged from the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome where he was admitted after experiencing breathing difficulties on Wednesday.

Before leaving, Francis stopped to say hello to well-wishers and smiled at the crowd, joking 'I'm still alive' when asked how he felt.

He was also seen to hug a woman in despair after her daughter had died just last night, according to the Vatican.

Then, as the crowds clapped, Francis headed off in the front seat of a white Fiat 500, ready to begin preparations for Holy Week and Easter - the most important week in the Christian calendar.

Pope Francis left Gemelli Polyclinic leaving hospital yesterday morning following a three-day stay

The 86-year-old pontiff hugged a couple whose daughter had died on Friday at the hospital

Francis has now been admitted to hospital twice in three years, having being taken to Gemelli for 10 days in 2021 after suffering a type of diverticulitis.

Visitors to St Peter's Square on Friday expressed relief over his recovery.

'I was afraid for the pope,' said one 56-year-old Italian tourist who gave his name as Davide.

'But I'm happy he's better, that he's returning. For believers and the Catholic community, it's important,' he added.

On the eve of his release, the pope visited the hospital's cancer ward for children, handing out chocolate Easter eggs and even baptising a weeks-old baby boy, according to a video published by the Vatican.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis had been working earlier on Friday in the hospital's private papal suite on the 10th floor and catching up on newspapers. On Thursday night, he ate pizza with some hospital staff.

Francis previously said he would step down from presiding over mass if his health failed, but there are no plans of this, confirming today that he will be there on Palm Sunday.

During the mass at St Peter's Square, he is expected to remain seated while another cleric - probably a senior cardinal - conducts the ceremony at the altar.

The 86-year-old pontiff was admitted after experiencing breathing difficulties on Wednesday

Pope Francis joked 'I'm still alive' as he cheerfully left hospital this morning

Pope Francis embraced the woman and waved at the crowd before leaving in his car

His increasing health issues during the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life.

Francis' earlier stay at Gemelli in July 2021 lasted 10 days. He was admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine, that required surgery.

His predecessor, Benedict XVI, quit in 2013, in a radical step not seen since the Middle Ages.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

Francis sat in the front seat of a white Fiat 500 car that drove him away from Gemelli Polyclinic

Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church earlier this month.

He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.

The Vatican, citing medical staff, said on Thursday that Francis had been diagnosed with 'infectious bronchitis' requiring antibiotics, and that the treatment had brought about a 'marked improvement in his state of health'.

The Gemelli hospital is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed 'Vatican 3' by pope John Paul II, who was treated nine times at Gemelli and spent a total of 153 days there.

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 a walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer that he had 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.
Police have issued an urgent appeal to help track down a 12-year-old girl who went missing in south west London.

Lola Floyd is missing from Kingston Upon Thames, London, and is feared to have travelled to Bradford, specifically around Shipley.

She has been described as a white female with blonde hair.

West Yorkshire Police posted a photograph of Lola on Twitter with a caption that reads: 'Lola Floyd, 12 yrs, is missing from Kingston Upon Thames, London. Lola is believed to be in the Bradford area, specifically around Shipley/BD18.

Lola Floyd, 12, is missing from Kingston Upon Thames, London, and is feared to have travelled to Bradford, specifically around Shipley

'Lola is a white female with blonde hair. No further details are known.

'Any information or sightings, please ring 101 and quote log 228.'

According to the charity Missing People, somebody is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK, equating to a total of 170,000 people.
An 11-month-old baby has been rushed to hospital with a severe meningococcal infection as health authorities identify the child's close contacts.

The toddler is being treated for an invasive case of the contagious disease at a hospital in rural South Australia after testing positive over the weekend.

The baby remains in a stable condition, with health authorities confirming that those who came into contact with the child have all been contacted.

SA Health said the strain had been identified as serotype B.

The toddler is being treated for an invasive case of the contagious disease at a hospital in rural South Australia after testing positive over the weekend (stock image)

Health authorities have confirmed that those who came into contact with the child have been contacted (pictured is a different baby suffering from meningococcal disease)

Health authorities have directed four people to take clearance antibiotics and have urged the community to get vaccinated for the disease to avoid getting sick.

Vaccines are covered under national and state-funded projects and are available to infants at six weeks, four months, 12 months and students in Year 10.

There have been three cases of invasive meningococcal disease across SA so far this year, up from two cases during the same time in 2021.

All three cases were identified as the serotype B strain.

There were 14 cases of the contagious disease across the state last year.

SA Health has warned those who are already vaccinated to remain alert, as the vaccine does not protect against all strains.
His mother, Penny, fears for her son's safety at the school

Connor Sullivan was allegedly beaten by bullies at school

A mother has expressed fears about her autistic son going back to primary school after he was allegedly beaten by a group of bullies who have relentlessly targeted him.

Connor Sullivan says he was tripped and kicked in the head by a student at Villawood East Public School in Sydney's south west on Thursday.

The incident left the young boy with bloody cuts, scrapes and bruises across his face.

Connor's mother, Penny Sullivan, was shocked and in tears upon seeing the confronting wounds on her son.

'I was horrified, I was absolutely horrified. I was crying as soon as I (had) seen him,' Ms Sullivan told 7News.

School boy Connor Sullivan (left) was allegedly tripped and kicked by a bully. His mother, Penny (right), was left horrified by the injuries her son sustained across his face

'I was quite angry. No parent wants to pick their child up from school like this.'

Connor was supposed to be watched over by a support teacher at the time but the teacher was absent from the school for the day.

Connor claims the boy who allegedly tripped and kicked him is part of a group of students who regularly bully him at the school.

He now stays at home and fears going back to school - a feeling his mother also shares.

'I'm scared to send him again (to school), I really am, regardless of how much they try to reassure me,' Penny said.

She added that it was not the school she was concerned about but the other kids.

Villawood East Public School (pictured) is investigating the alleged assault and has assured Penny that her son is safe at the school

Villawood East Public School said it was investigating the alleged assault.

The principal said such behaviour is not a regular occurrence at Villawood East Public School.

The principal also assured Penny that Connor was safe going to the school if he returned.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Villawood East Public School for comment.
Two peregrine falcon eggs have been laid at Leicester Cathedral after three years of 'heartbreak', it has been reported.

The bird of prey laid the first egg in a man-made nest box on Tuesday and a second egg has since been spotted, according to the BBC.

The peregrine falcon is large, powerful and has long, broad pointed wings with a relatively short tail. In the 1960s they reached a low point in the UK due to human persecution and the impact of pesticides in the food chain.

The revelation comes as part of the Leicester Peregrine Project, which has monitored the habits and activities of the bird in Leicester city centre since 2014.

The nest box and platform was installed on the cathedral bell tower in 2016 to encourage safe nesting and breeding.

The resident male and female peregrine falcons have both been incubating the first egg of 2023 in the bell of Leicester Cathedral

The Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS) said there has been three years of 'heartbreak'

The Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS), which runs the project, said it was hopeful this year would be a successful one.

Jim Graham, the president of the LROS, said the failed hatchings in 2020 and 2021 were 'heart-breaking' on top of the avian flu outbreak last year and a male resident falcon being found fatally hurt.

However, this year he said he is hopeful four eggs will be laid 'within the next seven to eight days to complete a clutch and we look forward to them hatching late in April or early May'.

He added: 'We are praying that this year is incident-free and successful.'

The LROS hope four eggs will be laid within the next seven to eight days to 'complete a clutch'
Labour's Lisa Nandy today told Home Secretary Suella Braverman to 'get real' as she stressed that child sexual exploitation was happening 'across all cultures'.

The shadow levelling up, housing and communities secretary warned that 'singling out' a 'particular group' risked missing abuse happening 'in plain sight'.

Ms Nandy hit out after Mrs Braverman had earlier spoken of 'vulnerable white English girls' being harmed by 'gangs of British Pakistani men'.

The Home Secretary is unveiling plans to put people working with children in England under a new legal duty to report 'signs or suspicions' of sexual abuse.

It comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last year described sexual abuse of children as an 'epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake'.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke of 'vulnerable white English girls' being harmed by 'gangs of British Pakistani men

Labour's Lisa Nandy warned that 'singling out' a 'particular group' risked missing abuse happening 'in plain sight'

The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.

Mrs Braverman this morning described a 'systematic and institutional failure' to protect children from sexual abuse as 'one of the biggest scandals in recent years in our history'.

The Home Secretary revealed a consultation on the plans would ensure ministers 'get the legal duty right' without 'unintended consequences'.

'What we've seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who have worked in child abuse rings or networks,' she told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday show.

'We have seen institutions and state agencies, whether it is social workers, teachers, the police, turn a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racist, out of fear of being called bigoted.'

Mrs Braverman was challenged about a Home Office study published in 2020 that found child sexual abuse gangs are most commonly made up of white men.

But the Home Secretary pointed to other reports, including into the Rotherham abuse scandal, as being 'unflinching in their assessment of the problem'.

'There have been several reports since about the predominance of certain ethnic groups  and I say British Pakistani males  who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values.

'Who see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way and who pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave.

'We've got to stamp that out with criminal law and proper safeguarding and we are only going to do that if, as a society, we face up to the facts and the truth of what's actually going on.'

Ms Nandy later told the Home Secretary to 'get real' about the problem of child sexual exploitation.

'We're failing young people in this country online, on our streets and in their homes because the Government is simply just not taking it seriously,' the Labour frontbencher told the same programme.

'Here we are after 13 years of Tory government and finally the Home Secretary has just woken up and said "let's do something about it" and all we've got is a consultation. That is not the mark of a serious Government.'

Ms Nandy stressed that child abuse happens 'across all cultures' as she pointed to her previous work for the Children's Society before becoming an MP.

'When I was working with children and young people there were particular issues with Kurdish and Pakistani gangs in some parts of the country,' she said.

'There were also huge issues with white men grooming young girls online and there were also problems with boys as well; let's not forget that boys don't escape from these problems, it's just that often what happens is that they go even more unreported and unrecognised than girls.

'I think the problem with what the Home Secretary is trying to do is she is trying to single out one particular profile and one particular group.

'The risk is, if you do that, you miss the fact that there is child abuse going on in plain sight in homes, on the streets and online and we ought to surely be aiming to keep all young people safe from the harm that is created and not just singling out some young people and highlighting those forms of abuse and discrimination.'
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg over the weekend, as former President Trump continued to soar past him in the polls.

In his second speech to a New York City-area audience in six weeks, DeSantis said Bragg was 'all about politics' and labeled him a 'menace to society.'

DeSantis, speaking in Nassau County hours after a speech at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, lambasted the progressive DA for working to keep criminals out of jail and downgrading felonies to misdemeanors.

However, despite DeSantis' visits to the north, a new Yahoo News survey shows that former President Donald Trump is now polling 26 points ahead of DeSantis, more than tripling his previous lead over the Florida leader since his indictment last week.

A post-indictment poll showed Trump surging ahead of DeSantis

Over the weekend, Ron DeSantis lambasted the progressive DA for working to keep criminals out of jail and downgrading felonies to misdemeanors

However, despite DeSantis' visits to the north, a new Yahoo News survey shows that former President Donald Trump is now polling 26 points ahead of DeSantis

During his most recent speech, DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, did not mention Trump by name, but instead called out Bragg for bringing 'a flimsy indictment against a former president of the United States.'

'All these legal gymnastics to act like this is a felony - when almost every other time, he's trying to take the felonies and downgrade them,' he continued.

'This guy is doing politics! He has an agenda - that is not the rule of law,' said the governor, earning a standing ovation from his audience.

The governor did plenty of agenda boosting himself, as he spoke of his record in Florida during the past four years.

'We don't have leaks, we don't have palace intrigues,' he said, making possible reference to the often messy affairs of the Trump administration.

'We just execute the agenda.'

Instead of focusing on Trump, a subject he will need to find a way of navigating should he ever officially announce his presidential candidacy, he spent most of his time hammering President Joe Biden.

He labeled Biden 'weak' and 'floundering,' and said he's been 'controlled by the leftist elements of the Democratic Party.'

Dozens of Trump supporters lined the street outside of DeSantis' speaking engagement, many of them waving 'Trump 2024' signs and a few showing off 'DeSantis 2028' posters.

'I think that [the indictment] is totally fake. They just want to slow [Trump] down,' said 60-year-old Rose Mui, adding 'I don't really care about DeSantis.'

Gov. Ron DeSantis slams Soros-backed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for flimsy indictment: "This guy is doing politics. He has an agenda. That is not the rule of law!"



Once again, he doesnt say Trumps name. pic.twitter.com/lhBUH3xrtU  The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 2, 2023

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been accused of pursuing a political 'witch hunt' against Trump

During his most recent speech, DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, did not mention Trump by name, but instead called out Bragg for bringing 'a flimsy indictment against a former president of the United States'

Regardless of Trump's significant lead over DeSantis, according to the Yahoo survey, the same poll shows that voters are largely not in favor of Trump assuming a second term if his indictment leads to a conviction.

When asked: 'If Donald Trump is convicted of a crime in this case, do you think he should be allowed to serve as president again in the future?' 52 percent said he should not.

Thirty-one percent of respondents said he should still serve another term. That divide among Republicans was 56 percent believed he should be president again, 24 percent believed he should not, and 20 percent were unsure.

Allies of Donald Trump are remaining bullish that his indictment has increased his popularity as their research shows he is winning the Republican leadership race.

A poll by Trump's campaign team found that 51 percent of Republicans see him as their preferred 2024 candidate - putting him ahead of his biggest threat Ron DeSantis who scored 21 percent.

The claim comes after Trump's team yesterday claimed more than $4 million was donated to his presidential campaign in the 24 hours after he was indicted.

The former President is facing 34 charges connected to an alleged $130,000 'hush money' payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Trump's team conducted a full-field ballot test of 14 potential Republican candidates over Friday and Saturday - two days after his indictment.

While Trump and DeSantis came out on top of the latest poll, former Vice President Mike Pence was in third place with six percent of the vote.

Nikki Haley was fourth with four percent as all other candidates received two percent or less each.

A general election ballot test also put Trump ahead of Biden 47-43 - a figure that has changed little since his team's previous survey in March.

Meanwhile 47 percent of those polled said he would not get a fair trial in Manhattan.

Trump has repeatedly voiced concerns about being tried in the Democratic state.

Trump was sensationally indicted Thursday following a years-long investigation into the money paid to Daniels

Trump was sensationally indicted Thursday following a years-long investigation into the money paid to Daniels.

He is set to be arrested on Tuesday and faces up to four years in jail if convicted.

It marked a victory for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who reheated the probe and doggedly pursued the case.

But Trump and his family members have repeatedly accused Bragg of a politically-charged 'witch hunt' which will only make voters more sympathetic to the former President.
Police have said they will 'robustly' defend the Grand National from militant vegans and animal rights campaigners who are planning to storm the racecourse.

An undercover investigation by the Mail on Sunday has found more than 100 Animal Rebellion members want to stop the supremely popular horse race, which is taking place at Aintree on April 15.

The paper revealed the activists plan to use ladders and bolt cutters to get through security fences, before forming a barrier on the course by gluing themselves together.

Merseyside Police has been given a dossier of evidence obtained by an undercover reporter posing as a member of the group, which wants to 'ruin' an event watched by 600 million around the world and tens of thousands of people at the course.

The force has said it has a 'robust policing plan in place' to scupper the designs of demonstrators, adding that unlawful protest 'will not be tolerated'.

Jim Edwards (pictured), the former founding editor of the UK website of Business Insider, is involved with militant Animal Rebellion

Rose Patterson (pictured) who has been arrested at previous Animal Rebellion stunts, was also involved in planning the protest

A secret plot by more than 100 eco-activists to sabotage the Grand National has been exposed by an undercover Mail on Sunday investigation

Merseyside Police has vowed to deal 'robustly' with any protesters. Pictured: Armed officers at the entrance of Aintree Racecourse at last year's Grand National

The event is one of the most watched horse races in the world. Pictured: Horses clear one of the fences in the 2022 edition of the world-famous steeplechase race

Our journalist filmed as the activists, who include a former top financial journalist and a nurse, simulated charging at security guards and boasting they would 'ruin' this year's event during a secret meeting in east London in preparation for the event.

Any delay or cancellation of this year's Grand National would provoke an international outcry and cost the horse racing and betting industries millions of pounds.

The plot echoes the so-called 'Race that Never Was' in 1993, when 15 animal rights protesters stormed the course near the first fence and delayed the start by eight minutes. It was then declared void after two false starts. Four years later, the race was postponed for two days after an IRA bomb threat led to the course being evacuated.

Alarmingly, those behind the latest plot claim it will 'kick-start' further protests at prestigious horse races this summer  raising the prospect that the first Royal Ascot of King Charles's reign could be targeted in June.

However, Merseyside Police vowed to crackdown should the animal activists attempt to carry out their threats.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: 'Merseyside Police has a robust policing plan in place for Aintree, as it does for any major public event, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved.

'We have been working with our partners, including The Jockey Club, for a number of months in the build up to this year's festival to ensure that any necessary plans and processes are in place to deal with any incidents that may arise and to prevent any significant or ongoing disruption to racegoers and local residents and businesses.

'We respect the right to peaceful protest and expression of views, but public order or criminal offences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.'

Jim Edwards, pictured here with Sadiq Khan in 2018, advises Animal Rebellion on its media strategy

The conspiracy  revealed just two weeks before the race meeting  was uncovered by an MoS reporter posing as a member of the Animal Rebellion campaign group

Edwards, pictured here in 2021, phoned our reporter asking her to join in the group's 'biggest spectacular' protest yet

An offshoot of militant environmental group Extinction Rebellion, Animal Rebellion has carried out high profile protests since it was founded in 2019.

The group, which is calling for an end to all animal farming and fishing, first made waves by dumping milk in supermarkets, including Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.

The protesters, who have also called for a ban on horse racing - which they brand 'animal abuse' - have recently conducted sit-ins at high-end restaurants.

Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and his wife were caught up in a protest last month after its members targeted seafood restaurant Scott's in Mayfair, London.

The Mail on Sunday first infiltrated the group in November last year and quickly realised a major plot was brewing.

For weeks Animal Rebellion's leaders have been careful to keep the conspiracy under wraps, but earlier this month an activist who called himself 'Jim' phoned our reporter with a startling announcement.

Describing a forthcoming protest as 'our biggest spectacular one to date', he asked: 'Have you heard of the Grand National?

'That will not be happening this year,' he added. 'We're hoping to gather 300 activists to occupy that course and stop it.'

The MoS can today reveal that 'Jim' is in fact award-winning business journalist Jim Edwards, the former founding editor of the UK edition of financial news website Business Insider.

In 2018 he was pictured alongside London Mayor Sadiq Khan at a reception organised by the website. He quit last year and now advises Animal Rebellion on its media strategy.

Outlining the conspiracy, he said: '...The thing we're recruiting for is to get as many people as possible to Liverpool on April 15... We will be booking a bunch of houses so all the activists can stay together.'

Horses set off at the start of the 2022 Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool on April 9, last year

Punters watch on in their best gear during 'Ladies day' at the Grand National in 2022

Last week our reporter joined ten others at a training day in an office in Dalston, a trendy enclave of East London, to prepare for the protest.

One of the plot ringleaders, Rose Patterson, boasted that the Grand National stunt would have worldwide impact.

The 33-year-old was arrested in February after she and four others blocked Westminster Bridge. She was also one of several activists carried out of Scott's last month.

READ MORE HERE: The business guru turned eco-activist plotting to wreck the Grand National Advertisement

Stressing the information was 'secret', she said: 'Basically the kick-off action for this whole campaign is going to be at the Grand National.

'The biggest horse race in the world We have 600 million people viewing this horse race worldwide, we've got 300 million of bets on the horse race and we're just going to ruin it.'

After clearing away the office chairs, the group were instructed to sit on the wooden floor with their eyes closed and link arms.

Ms Patterson then began reading from a script in an exercise designed to prepare the protesters for the intensity of holding a hugely disruptive protest in front of a hostile crowd.

As she described how the Aintree protest would unfold, a soundtrack of rowdy spectators was played in the background.

'You feel the nerves in your stomach and feel butterflies and anxious and sick as the minibus is driving to the final location,' Ms Patterson said.

'After about an hour  it's time to get out of the bus. You put on your pink animal-rising T-shirt and all your fellow [protesters] get out of the truck.'

She then revealed how some of the demonstrators would use ladders to scale Aintree's perimeter fence, while others would use bolt cutters to cut a hole in the fence to crawl through.

'There are like 100 of you now at the fence. You get the ladders out. Put them against the fence and you're the first one over,' she said.

'You start climbing that fence and you see security on the other side. You don't care. You know you're doing the right thing. And others cutting through the fence and climbing through.'

The activists were told that once on the course they would glue their hands together before sitting down to form a human barrier.

As Ms Patterson continued her description, loud jeering and booing erupted on the crowd noise recording.

Jockey Rachael Blackmore stands on horse Minella Times as they cross the line to win the Grand National Handicap Chase in 2022

'You're all on to the track now and you start gluing your hands to each other and walking towards the crowd and you can see 50,000 people screaming and shouting at you and they're getting quite mad and security [are] running towards you,' she added.

'You keep walking and you feel fearless and powerful and then you sit down and you're all in line together. You feel so excited and proud to stand alongside individuals making history.'

READ MORE HERE: Mystery US donor bankrolls Animal Rebellion militants' wave of protests by paying for housing and living expenses for activists who volunteer full-time Advertisement

Ms Patterson revealed how Animal Rebellion's leaders had previously planned to sneak on to the course the night before the race and dig up the turf.

That plan, however, was ditched because it was decided it would be 'way more powerful' for hundreds of people to storm on to the course.

Ms Patterson also disclosed that the plot ringleaders have already visited Aintree twice to identify weak spots, adding: 'We walked round the perimeter and on the track as well.' She added that some stretches of the fence are only 5ft 5in high.

'The track is huge, so security focus on where the spectators are but we are not going to go over there  it'll be further down.'

The group will do a final reconnaissance mission once the three-day race meeting has started to identify exactly where security guards and police officers have been positioned.

Activists involved in the protest will be split into small teams known as 'pods' and managed by one team leader, known as 'the stem', who will be issued with a so-called 'burner phone'  a mobile phone bought for a specific use that can be discarded.

One of the activists, who has taken part in a string of Animal Rebellion stunts, said that the protesters should remain on the course until they are either arrested or dragged away.

'The aim is to stop the event from happening and so we wouldn't want to give them the visual of us standing up and walking away at any point,' she said.

Those who wanted to take part in the action were asked to join a group on the encrypted app Signal entitled 'The Race'. Last night it had 120 members.

The final exercise of the training day involved the activists simulating trying to force their way through a line of security guards. 'This is private property, call the police,' shouted one of the ringleaders as he pretended to be a security guard.

Some of those at the training voiced their reservations about breaking the law, with one activist named Liam saying he was 'not thrilled about getting arrested'.

Last night Tory MP Damian Green, acting chairman of the Commons Culture Select Committee, condemned the 'appalling' plot.

He said: 'I'm glad this has been exposed by The Mail on Sunday. Millions of people love the Grand National and love horses as well. I can't think of a worse way of advertising your campaign, if you claim to love horses.'

Tory MP Alicia Kearns said: 'Using these sorts of tactics to impose their militant opposition to meat-eating will only backfire. At least hopefully less police time will be wasted thanks to the Mail on Sunday's investigation.'

The Jockey Club, which owns Aintree racecourse, declined to comment last night.
A top psychotherapist has warned parents they are risking their children's wellbeing by raising them as gender neutral 'theybies'.

A new 60 Minutes segment looked at Australian parents who are refusing to treat their kids as boys or girls and referring to them as 'they'.

Instead, parents are letting their children pick their own pronouns and gender when they get older.

However, British psychotherapist Mark Vahrmeyer, who works with children and parents on gender issues, has warned that raising kids without a gender could be setting them up for a difficult time at school and in society.

'By raising a child perhaps in this way, where they're not assigned a gender at all, they are different,' he said. 'By definition, they are standing out no matter how we look at it.

'It does create that sense of difference and it is ultimately still an experiment.'

Aussie parents Amy and Danny revealed how they didn't tell anyone Bertie's gender because they didn't want their child to be stereotyped (pictured together)

He also questioned whether children should be raised gender neutral, or if parents should leave it up to the child to decide whether they are gender neutral later in their lives.

'I think it's healthy, positive. But there's a fine line perhaps between how far this is taken and how does a child orientate themselves in a world where they are told 'you're gender neutral, it's up to you whether you're a boy or a girl'.

'There's a very different discussion if a child comes to their parents and at some point in their life says, 'well, actually, I'm questioning this and maybe I am a them'.

'That's driven by the child.'

Aussie parents Amy and Danny revealed how they didn't tell anyone their child Bertie's gender because they didn't want their child to be stereotyped.

The couple were unhappy that their daughter Evie, now 9, was subjected to stereotypes, prompting their decision for Bertie.

'The experience of having raised Evie and what we saw happen to Evie in the assumptions that were put on Evie as a girl, were things that we weren't that comfortable with,' Danny said.

They withheld Bertie's gender from family and friends to ensure she wasn't 'influenced' by gender norms.

Though people were confused at first, the parents said they quickly stopped asking.

Social scientist and gender creative expert Dr Kyl Myers (pictured with child Zoomer) and her Australian partner Brent are raising their children without gender

British psychotherapist Mark Vahrmeyer (pictured), who works with children and parents on gender issues, has warned of potential issues with raising children gender neutral

The parents admit they can't manage people influencing Bertie the older the child gets but rejected the idea that they are making their life more difficult.

'I don't think Bertie is confused at all. I think what we're trying to do is not limit Bertie. So if Bertie gravitates towards anything, we're trying not to say, 'No, you can't do that', but, 'OK, sure, go and explore that thing',' Danny said.

Social scientist and gender creative expert Dr Kyl Myers and her Australian partner Brent are raising their children without gender.

Their child named Zoomer was raised gender neutral, before coming home at the age of four and revealing he was a boy.

'He said, 'I love he/him pronouns' and, you know, and I was like, 'that's fantastic',' she said.

She also rejected claims that being raised gender neutral was 'confusing' for children'

Zoomer (pictured) was raised gender neutral, before coming home at the age of four and revealing he was a boy

'I think it's actually more confusing to make people, make children think that, what, the 8 billion people on the planet all neatly fit into one of two boxes?'

However, developmental experts have warned the parenting trend could backfire once children are exposed to the wider community.

And 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.'
A Texas man allegedly shot and killed a suspected thief after he used an Apple AirTag device to track his stolen truck nearly 20 miles away.

San Antonio Police said the truck owner called 911 after discovering that his Chevy Silverado was missing from his northside residence, but took matters into his own hands.

The owner, whose name was not released, along with two family members, tracked the truck using the gadget to the parking lot of a shopping center where they approached a man inside the truck which allegedly led to a confrontation, police said.

Andrew John Herrera, 44, died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner, KSAT reported. His death is being ruled as a homicide. Officials are determining if the suspect who fired the gun will be charged.

The incident comes as Apple has faced criticism over the use of AirTag, most often used to track things like luggage and wallets, but have also been used for harm, like stalking former partners and public figures.

Andrew John Herrera, 44, died from a gunshot wound to the head, after the truck he allegedly stole was tracked by the owner nearly 20 miles away on Wednesday in San Antonio, Texas

The owner, along with two family members, tracked the truck using the gadget to the parking lot of a shopping center where they approached a man inside the truck

The incident comes as Apple has faced criticism and lawsuits over the use of AirTag, most often used to track things like luggage and wallets, to instead use for harm, like stalking

Officer Nick Soliz told reporters at a press conference the man confronted Herrera inside the truck claims he saw a weapon before shooting his own gun into the truck.

Soliz encouraged people to wait for police, and to not take it into your own hands.

'If you are to get your vehicle stolen, please do not take matters into your own hands like this,' Soliz said. 'It's never safe as you can see by this incident.

When police arrived on the scene in the 3200 block of Southeast Military Drive, they found bullet casings and two cars with their windows shot out.

Investigators have not confirmed whether they found a weapon in Herrera's possession. It is legal to carry a gun in the state of Texas and it is legal for Texans to use deadly force to defend themselves from apparent and imminent danger.

When police arrived on the scene, they found bullet casings and two cars with their windows shot out. Officials are determining if the suspect will be charged.

Two vehicles, including the stolen truck, had their windows shot out, police said

The tracking led the truck owner to a shopping center in the 3200 block of Southeast Military Drive, nearly 20 miles from his residence

AirTags were launched in April 2021 as a new means of helping users keep track of personal items such as keys, wallets and bags by attaching an AirTag to them and locating them if lost through the Find My app.

AirTags and other cellphone linked tracking devices like Tile Trackers sell for between $30 and $50.

The tags work by pinging off iPhones near them and sending a signal to the owner's phone to show where they are.

The tracking devices have been used to help people find countless missing items, including one woman from the UK who recently used one to track down her stolen car.

Zoe Pettit and her friends managed to track down her Ford Fiesta after it was stolen in February.

Like Reid, they found the car using the AirTag app and called police to help them recover it from the thief.

AirTags were launched in April 2021 as a new means of helping users keep track of personal items such as keys, wallets and bags by attaching an AirTag to them and locating them if lost through the Find My app

And in January, a California woman was able to find her beloved dog which had been swept away in a flood thanks to the AirTag she'd attached to his collar.

But the small metal disks have also been discovered being used by stalkers who discretely place them on people they want to follow.

Last year a young mother in Texas said she found an AirTag taped inside her duffel bag as she traveled from Texas to Maine.

'I think they definitely would have hurt me. I don't think you do that for no reason,' she told Inside Edition. 'It took almost 14 hours to let me know this was happening,' she said.
She is believed to have suffered a broken arm after jumping from the balloon

Their daughter Regina Itzan is in hospital with burns but is expected to survive

A married couple died and their daughter was injured after a hot air balloon they were riding in caught fire - moments after they posed for a final family photo in front of the aircraft.

The accident took place in Mexico City Saturday, and claimed the lives of two victims, Jose Nolasco, 50, and wife Viridiana Becerril, 38, Mexican authorities have confirmed. The pair were from nearby Caujimalpa de Morelos, a city 12 miles away.

Video posted to social media by horrified onlookers shows the balloon descending rapidly as it bursts into flames. The chilling footage also shows occupants appearing to either fall or jump from the craft, all to onlookers' dismay.

The pair's daughter, identified as Regina Itzani, was also on the balloon, cops said, but is expected to survive. She is thought to have jumped from the balloon, sustaining a broken arm and second-degree burns in the process.

Reports concerning her age have so far been conflicted, with some indicating she was 13 and others saying she was 23. A pilot also may have been on the balloon - which had been flying over a pre-Hispanic pyramid site - but has yet to be located.

Scroll down for video:

The accident took place in Mexico City Saturday, and claimed the lives of two victims, Jose Nolasco, 50, and his wife Viridiana Becerril, 39. The pair's daughter, Regina Itzani (seen ehre), was also on the balloon, but is expected to survive

Video posted to social media by horrified onlookers shows the balloon descending rapidly as it burst into flames. It shows occupants appearing to either fall or jump from the craft

Her age was not listed by local police. The incident took place over the pre-Hispanic ruin site of Teotihuacan, just north of the city - a popular site for both locals and tourists to participate in balloon rides.

Best known for its twin Temples of the Sun and Moon, was once a large city that housed over 100,000 pre-Aztec peoples and encompassed roughly 8 square miles.

The ancient city was one of the largest in the world at its height between 100 B.C. and 750 AD, before it was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 1300s.

Footage of taken at the historic site shows the hot air balloon deflating as flames quickly engulf the basket below, where the Mexican family had been enjoying their ride.

An onlooker can be overheard saying, in Spanish: 'My God, people are falling' as a person plummets to the ground - with another seen jumping soon after.

The craft also appears to be tethered to the ground, though cops have yet to confirm why, or whether a pilot had been present when the basket went ablaze.

It was not immediately clear if that person was Regina, or the aforementioned pilot.

Police would not confirm Sunday whether the second person seen jumping in the footage was the pilot. His whereabouts, if applicable, are still unknown.

Mexican police were seen at the site of where the balloon came down Saturday, covering what is presumed to be the couples' bodies with a tarp.

Local officials confirmed the family hailed from Caujimalpa de Morelos, a community just west of Mexico City.

The cause of the accident is currently under investigation, police in Mexico City said Sunday.

Mexican police were seen at the site of where the balloon came down Saturday, covering what is presumed to be the couples' bodies with a tarp

The cause of the accident is currently under investigation, police in Mexico City said Sunday

The incident took place over the pre-Hispanic ruin site of Teotihuacan, just north of the city - a historic site known for its Pre-Aztec pyramids

A pilot of the hot air balloon who is said to have also been on the aircraft has yet to be found as of Sunday, cops said

Police would not confirm who the second person seen jumping out of the basket was when asked over the weekend

Footage shows the hot air balloon deflating as flames quickly engulf the basket below, where the Mexican family had been enjoying their ride

An onlooker can be overheard saying, in Spanish: 'My God, people are falling' as a person plummets to the ground - with another seen jumping soon after

Esto es una tragedia, Teotihuacan nuevamente resaltando pero no por cosas buenas, globo aerostatico se incendia y provoca esto. pic.twitter.com/IMFn4JTihl  Yeik Morales no sabe que poner. (@yeikmorales) April 1, 2023

Yesterday, a photo of the family taken moments before the hot air balloon burst into flames surfaced on social media. Subsequent reports would later suggest the ride was a surprise birthday present organized by Regina and her dad, for her mother.

Reyna Gloria Sarmiento, Regina's grandmother, told local reporters that her granddaughter had yet to be told her parents had died.

She said: 'It was the birthday of my daughter Viridiana, Regina's mom, and they had prepared this ride as as a surprise for her.'

Adding that her granddaughter was 'conscious' and stable in hospital, she also tearfully revealed she shared on final hug with her parents shortly before jumping out of the then-ablaze balloon.

An investigation into the tragedy is underway, with some initial local reports indicating the sudden blaze could be linked to a fault in the balloon's fuel storage system.

Town hall officials in Cuajimalpa de Morelos, meanwhile, where the family comes from, expressed their sorrow over the incident in a statement.

'We send our condolences to the family, friends and acquaintances of Jose Nolasco and Viridiana Becerril who died in the hot air balloon tragedy in Teotihuacan,' they shared Sunday.

'Our solidarity and prayers are with Regina and we wish her a speedy recovery.'

Best known for its twin Temples of the Sun and Moon, was once a large city that housed over 100,000 pre-Aztec peoples and encompassed roughly 8 square miles

The ancient city was one of the largest in the world at its height between 100 B.C. and 750 AD, before it was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 1300s. It is a popular site for both locals and tourists to engage in balloon rides

The incident comes just over a week after another filmed balloon crash, where a plane packed with tourists crashed into a lake in Anshun, Guizhou Province, in China, before starting to sink.

In the footage - shared later on Douyin, China's version of TikTok - horrified witnesses were seen screaming as the balloon is dragged through the water by the winds.

At one point, the balloon's basket nearly disappears underwater completely, but the pilot used the gas burner to keep the balloon inflated and stop it from sinking.

Rescuers eventually arrive and pull the passengers - including one child - ashore.

Local media outlets reported that no one was injured in the crash.

Globally, there are approximately 3,000 hot air balloon accidents per year - though fatalities are somewhat rare.

From 2000 through mid-2016, only 21 fatalities were recorded in the United States.

The incident comes just over a week after another filmed balloon crash, where a plane packed with tourists crashed into a lake in Anshun, Guizhou Province, in China, before starting to sink

That said, similar accidents involving hot air balloons happened all over the world last year, like an incident in Egypt, where a hot air balloon carrying 28 Western tourists plummeted from 200ft before crash landing blowing off course reportedly hitting another balloon mid-air.

Two passengers were 'lightly injured' in the crash in July 2022 and required medical treatment in a nearby hospital.
The distraught mother of a 'danger tourist' who is being held prisoner by the Taliban has said she is desperate to know if he is safe.

Susan Routledge's son, Miles, who goes by 'Lord Miles' online, was reportedly arrested on March 2 alongside Polish nationals Adrian Wojcik, 22, and Roman Bilski, 24, and is being held for questioning.

The other two British men taken prisoner by the Taliban in Afghanistan have today been allowed to make their first emotional phone calls home to loved ones, MailOnline can exclusively reveal.

The families of charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and a British hotel manager told of their 'great relief' at hearing their voices for the first time since they were arrested almost three months ago.

The unscripted phone calls, which lasted just under two minutes, came after The Mail on Sunday broke the story that three Britons are being held by the Taliban's feared secret police.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said this morning that the government is 'in negotiations' with the Taliban for the release of the Britons.

Miles Routledge, 23, first grabbed headlines during the Taliban take-over of Afghanistan last year when he went on 'holiday' to the country and had to be evacuated from Kabul. It is believed that he was detained by the Taliban on March 2

Kevin Cornwell, 53, a British medic for charity Iqarus, who has been detained by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence in Kabul, Afghanistan, since January 11

'Danger tourist' Miles Routledge, 23, had returned to Afghanistan despite having previously having been branded an 'idiot' for needing to be evacuated by the British Army when the country fell back under Taliban rule in 2021.

His mother fought back tears on Sunday as she told how she was desperate for news.

Mrs Routledge, 64, from Birmingham, told the Daily Mail she usually kept up to date with her son's travels on social media, but he does not appear to have posted online since March 16.

Mrs Routledge said: 'I'm distraught. It is so worrying. I just want help to find out what has happened to him and make sure he is OK.

'If he is being treated well that is good to hear, as long as he is being well treated. If I can get a message to those who are holding him, I just want to ask them to tell him he has my love and support.'

Mrs Routledge said she had not been contacted by anyone from the Foreign Office.

'I am just desperate to know that he is safe,' she added. 'I don't know who is holding him or where he is'.

His mother said it was his love of travelling that saw him return to Afghanistan despite the criticism.

'He keeps travelling because he loves it, he's only young and he's just finding himself after finishing university. I just want him to keep safe,' she said.

A Taliban security officer said the group of three men were taking part in 'suspicious activities'.

Scott Richards, a negotiator from the Presidium Network group, which is assisting the relatives of Mr Cornwell and the hotel manager, told the Mail: 'We can confirm that the men have spoken with family, that the conversation was unscripted, and that they are being treated fairly.

'The families were able to speak to them for around two minutes and they could speak freely. It was clearly an important and emotional call and represents tremendous progress in the situation. The details of those calls are private but we understand a great relief to the families.

'The relief Kevin's family expressed after hearing his voice for the first time in three months, not knowing if he was well, brought a sense of peace and gave them hope that this situation will be resolved soon.'

Mr Richards told Sky News that his organisation had not negotiated for the phone calls directly with the Taliban.

We didn't negotiate that phone call directly. We believe that the came out of negotiation with counterparts to create that circumstance. we believe we were influential in that outcome.'

He confirmed that his organisation Presidium is directly involved in negotiations for the hostage's release.

The UK does not have an embassy or any consulates in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover and the Foreign Office is working to secure consular contact with the three men, believed to be held in a secure unit for foreign detainees in capital Kabul.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed on Sunday morning that the UK government is 'in negotiations' with the Taliban for the release of the three hostages.

Suella Braverman told Sophy Ridge on Sky News that the UK government would do 'whatever it takes' to ensure the safety of British nationals abroad.

Suella Braverman told Sophy Ridge on Sky News that the UK government would do 'whatever it takes' to ensure the safety of British nationals abroad

The Home Secretary said: 'Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution.

'If they are going to do that, they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice.

'If there are risks to people's safety, if they're a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they're safe.

'The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld.'

Mr Cornwell, a married father from Middlesbrough, was arrested in a raid at his hotel by officers from the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on January 11.

Taliban agents accused him of having an illegal firearm in the safe in his room at the Darya Village Hotel, which is popular with Western humanitarian staff.

Mr Cornwell's family told The Mail on Sunday that he had been granted a licence for the handgun by the Taliban government.

He had been in Afghanistan for 11 months working as a medic for Iqarus International, which provides free health care to local people. Also detained in the raid was the hotel's British manager, 52, whom this newspaper has agreed not to name at the request of his family.

He and Mr Cornwell have been held ever since. No charges have been brought and they have not been granted legal representation.

Mr Cornwell was arrested in his room at the Darya Village Hotel and Business Park in Kabul

Previously, Mr Richards told The Mail on Sunday that the case could be a 'simple misunderstanding' and urged the Taliban to pardon and release the men, who are understood to be jailed in a secure unit for foreign detainees run by the GDI in Kabul.

He said: 'The weapon in Kevin's room was stored with the licence issued by the Taliban's ministry of interior and was apparently kept inside its holster. The weapon never left the safe, it had never been carried. So the GDI could have been following a tip, and then they find themselves with two British nationals in detention.'

There were concerns around Mr Cornwell's health because he needs medication.

Mr Richards added: 'The clear concern here is that the detainees have not been permitted access to consular officials or international observers. There is no clarity as to the legal process in Afghanistan such as the right to representation. There is no clarity on the charges. Kevin is a humanitarian worker, liaising with the United Nations, Unicef and the World Food Programme.

'To have people involved in such work with the incredible needs of Afghanistan at the moment, and to be potentially arbitrarily detained, will make it difficult to assure the safety of other aid workers.'

He urged the Taliban to show 'compassion' and release the men during the important religious month of Ramadan.

Mr Routledge, a former physics student from Birmingham, who has tens of thousands of social-media followers, has been unusually silent online since the end of February.

He was branded an 'idiot' in August 2021 when he had to be evacuated during the Taliban takeover at a cost of thousands of pounds to UK taxpayers.

Foreign Office advice is not to travel to the 'extremely volatile' country, which has been plunged into crisis after the chaotic withdrawal of American forces following two decades of war.

But Mr Routledge has made several trips to Afghanistan in the past year and released a video in which he claimed he was travelling on forged documents.

Other clips showed him blasting automatic rifles with a Taliban fighter and visiting a weapons market in the city of Jalalabad, a stronghold for terrorists affiliated to Islamic State.

Videos on Mr Routledge's channel show him attempting to sneak into the US from Mexico and spending 48 hours homeless in New York City.

The 'professional explorer' says in the description of one YouTube video, 'I do the most heinous stuff on the planet' and claims to be 'no longer welcome' in Kenya.

He even wrote a book of his experience, titled Lord Miles In Afghanistan, a 'first-hand account of his first and most infamous trip' to the country.

The blurb states: 'Miles experiences a fascinating kaleidoscope of natural beauty, war-torn desolation, poverty, humanity, courage, and generosity.

'He finds himself in many places off the beaten path and meets a colorful range of characters. Throughout it all, his eternal optimism and indomitable faith ensure an invigorating narration for this unique journey.'

Mr Routledge previously said he believed he would be safe in Afghanistan because of a 15 joke purchase that gives him the right to use the title 'Lord', but a security source said his Taliban captors may think he is genuinely a member of the English aristocracy.

Mr Routledge (right) had recently returned to Afghanistan, filming videos shooting guns with Taliban troops, despite having to be evacuated from a 'holiday' in the country in 2021

Routledge, a former physics student at Loughborough University, has posted videos of himself firing weapons with Taliban fighters

Miles Routledge, from Birmingham, boasts to his thousands of followers online that he travels 'to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun'

Mr Routledge also visited Ukraine as Russian forces invaded last year and took a trip to war-torn Sudan.

Security experts said it was likely that the Taliban would demand a prisoner swap in return for the release of Western men held.

Another possibility is that the Islamists, who do not have diplomatic recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, will demand the release of billions of dollars frozen by sanctions.

Many of the senior leaders of the Taliban are listed as terrorists by the UN Security Council. Their return to power triggered sanctions preventing any financial transactions with them or any institutions under their authority.

The Taliban takeover has seen the country plunge into a humanitarian crisis. The UN says that 20 million people - half the population - is close to starvation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed last month that 'several Americans' remain detained in Afghanistan.

The Taliban released former US marine Mark Frerichs, who was working as an engineer with a non-government organisation last year, after holding him for more than two years.

He was swapped for Taliban financier Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a life sentence in a US prison for drug-trafficking.

Five British nationals held by the Taliban for about six months including the former BBC cameraman and Afghanistan expert Peter Jouvenal were released last June.

It is understood that the five had been seized separately and British government sources at the time said nothing was given in return for their release except an apology by them.
Rishi Sunak is under pressure to change or ditch 'draconian' new laws amid fears they could see shop workers and bar staff suing their employers if a customer offends them.

Proposed legislation, which is currently being considered by the House of Lords, aims to amend existing equality laws to make businesses liable for their employees being harassed by 'third parties'.

It also seeks to place a legal responsibility on employers to 'take all reasonable steps' to prevent harassment of their staff.

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill was introduced as a Private Member's Bill from the back benches of the House of Commons and is sponsored by two Liberal Democrats.

The Government has given its 'strong' support for the legislation as a means of clamping down on sexual harassment in workplaces.

It has also insisted that measures have been taken to ensure freedom of speech is protected.

But ministers are facing a backlash from Tory critics and business groups over the 'unforeseen consequences' of the bill.

Rishi Sunak is under pressure to change or ditch 'draconian' new laws amid fears they could see shop workers and bar staff suing their employers if a customer offends them

It has been suggested that bar staff could be allowed to sue pub landlords if they are insulted by customers

Lord Strathcarron suggested, if the 'mad' bill becomes law, bookshops could be put off inviting authors such as JK Rowling to give talks

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, told the Telegraph that establishments that 'serve the public can expect to run a police state in their business'.

Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs, warned the bill had 'sinister implications'.

Another Conservative MP, Craig Mackinlay, said he believed the change was 'draconian'.

The newspaper reported that Tory peers in the Lords were preparing to put forward a list of amendments to the bill.

Lord Strathcarron suggested political 'chaos' had led to ministers 'taking their eye off the ball' over the legislation.

The bill received its first reading in the Commons in June, shortly after Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote among Tory MPs and less than a month before his premiership eventually collapsed.

The bill's second reading in the Commons came a day after Liz Truss announced her resignation as prime minister.

Lord Strathcarron warned, if the 'mad' bill becomes law, bookshops could be put off inviting authors such as JK Rowling to give talks.

He said this was amid concerns they could be sued by employees for 'hurt feelings' should people attend wearing T-shirts in support of Rowling's stance on transgender issues.

The Tory peer also suggested that bar staff could sue pub landlords if they are insulted by customers, while mechanics could sue if garage owners if criticised by a customers whose car fails its MOT.

Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, also warned about the possible impact on firms.

She said: 'We have been raising concerns about the scope of this bill - and it's unforeseen consequences.

'While we support measures to address sexual harassment and protect teams, the widening of scope - with very limited consultation and scrutiny - is concerning.'

But Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse, co-sponsor of the bill, defended the proposed legislation.

'One person's banter is another person's harassment,' she told the newspaper.

'My bill aims to create workplaces where employers ensure that their employees get a proper hearing if they feel they are being harassed, rather than being ignored or dismissed.

'This bill is not about stopping respectful discussion of controversial issues.'

A spokesman for the Government's Equalities Office, said: 'Those that seek to harass people will not be tolerated, which is why this legislation will ensure that employers are legally liable if they fail to protect their employees.

'However, trivial upset is not a matter for legislation, and that is why we have amended the bill to ensure freedom of speech is protected.

'The bill will provide the necessary protections for workers, whilst ensuring no one is silenced for simply expressing their legitimately held opinions.'
Joe Manchin said he won't make a decision on running for president in 2024 until 'the end of the year.'

The West Virginia Democrat said whoever ends up in the White House next, he would work with as a U.S. senator  even if that is now-indicted former President Donald Trump.

Manchin threw a curveball into his party identification, refusing to commit on whether he would run as a Democrat, Republican or third-party if he does make a bid for the White House.

'My filing date is January 15 in 2024 and I will make my decision maybe a little bit before that, but not until the end of the year, I can assure you,' Manchhin told NBC's Meet the Press host Chuck Todd on Sunday morning.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (right) said he won't make a decision on running for president in 2024 until 'the end of the year'

WATCH: @Sen_JoeManchin (https://t.co/A9qEVDhA58.) says he won't decide whether to run for president until "the end of the year."@chucktodd: "Do you know for sure whether you'll be running as a Democrat?"



"The party identification is not going to change me." pic.twitter.com/7GNAPY4DeJ  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 2, 2023

'As a Democrat or as something else?' Todd questioned.

'Well, the party identification is not going to change me. Democrat, Republican. I mean, having a D or R should not change you as a person. I'm going to still fight for the things I do,' Machin assured.

'Can't I be a moderate centrist with whatever identification or no identification? I would think. I'm not going to be changing as a person,' the West Virginia senator continued. 'I've been doing this for a long time.'

Usually there are very few challenges from same-party members, if any, when there is an incumbent in the White House.

President Joe Biden, however, has not yet formally announced whether he is going to be running for a second term  although he has indicated he has every intention to do so with current Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate again.

New polling shows that 44 percent of Democratic voters do not want to see Biden run for reelection in 2024, with only one-quarter of respondents saying they want to see another run and 30 percent showing indifference.

WATCH: Whether the president is "Donald Trump or whether it's Joe Biden," @Sen_JoeManchin (https://t.co/A9qEVDhA58.) says he will "do everything to make them successful."



"But I've got to speak truth to power when I know that we can do better." pic.twitter.com/DK54OJIW63  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 2, 2023

'Would you like to see him run again or not?' Todd asked of Manchin.

'No matter who my president is  whether it's a Democrat or Republican, whether it's someone I voted for or not, whether it's in the same political party or not  it doesn't make a difference. Once the people of America speak and that's our president, then I'm going to do everything I can to make them successful,' Manchin said.

He added: 'Whether it's Donald Trump or whether it's Joe Biden.'

'But I've got to speak truth to power when I know that we can do better.'
A Manhattan parking garage attendant who was shot twice while confronting an alleged thief at his business was charged with murder after wrestling away the weapon and using it to fire at the suspect.

The nightside worker, Moussa Diarra, 57, was slapped with assault and criminal possession of a weapons charges in the Saturday incident, which occurred at around 5.30am.

The attendant saw a man peering into the car windows on the second floor of the West 31st Street garage, reported the New York Post.

Thinking that the man was stealing, the attendant brought the suspect outside and asked what was inside his bag.

Instead of idling or cooperating, however, the man then pulled out a weapon.

The incident unfolded at a midtown parking garage on West 31st Street in Manhattan

Both men, including the one acting in self defense, have been charged with attempted murder

Diarra lunged for the gun and it went off, leaving him with a stomach wound and an ear graze before he was able to turn the firearms on the alleged thief and shoot him in the chest.

The culprit, Charles Rhodie, 59, was also charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, in addition to burglary, according to police.

The charges against Diarra have left many confused and livid, as they are reminiscent of the case against Manhattan bodega clerk Jose Alba, who was charged with murder following a fatal confrontation on July 1 with an angry customer who accosted him.

A family friend of Diarra's was irate: 'That's self-defense. The guy tried to rob his business. Why DA want to charge him with attempted murder?' said Mariame Diarra, of no relation to the attendant.

'He's there for security. That's literally his job, to defend his business ... He takes his job seriously ... Attempted murder charge has no place there,' she continued. 'He [the robber] came to find him at his job with his gun, he [the attendant] has to defend himself.'

An individual who works at another garage near the Moynihan Train Station was also shocked and disturbed by the charges:

'You are kidding. That's an April fool day joke, right?' asked the person. 'How can a hardworking man get arrested for defending himself?'

Last July, it was six days before Alba was let out of jail on Rikers Island and Alvin Bragg dropped the murder charge following a public pressure campaign to do so.

The post reported that one police officer who was told about the attempted murder charge said: 'People like Alvin Bragg have made this city unsafe and this worker is a victim defending himself.'

Another officer joked that the thief would have been better off is he were caught stealing because Bragg would likely not have pressed any sort of lasting charge.

'The ironic thing is if he would have just robbed the garage and got caught, Bragg would have let him go, but now he wants to charge both of them,' he said.

Both the attendant and suspected robber live in Manhattan and were transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition following the incident.

The statistics paint a bleak picture of the city's efforts to address crime that's rocketed since the pandemic

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been accused of being soft on crime and failing to prosecute criminals who are driving the crime stats up in New York City

One officer who found out about the charges against Diarra said: 'People like Alvin Bragg have made this city unsafe and this worker is a victim defending himself'

Last week, Manhattan DA Bragg oversaw the indictment of former President Donald Trump, an action that many have called spectacular political overreach from an office that frequently seeks to tamp down charges, not amplify them.

Bragg's complacency when it comes to street criminals is part of the reason New York City's crime rate continues to skyrocket despite repeated promises from City Hall that the Adams administration is working to get the issue under control.

Crime statistics released in January paint a bleak picture of the city's efforts to address crime that's rocketed since the pandemic.

The data shows that rapes, robberies, and assaults are all up from last year, since hitting highs not seen in decades in both 2020 and 2021.

Rape - which rocketed in 2020 when streets were empty and unemployment rife due to unrest caused by the coronavirus - rose by 7 percent, with more than 120 occurring this year than last.

Robberies, meanwhile, rose a shocking 20 percent, despite recent measures taken by Adams, 62, to increase police presence throughout the city.

Assaults and theft throughout the city, meanwhile, show a similarly pronounced rise, with felony assaults up 12 percent - 26,039 incidents this year compared to 22,835 seen last year - and burglaries up an alarming 25 percent.

All other crime categories - including grand larceny and motor vehicle theft - showed similar rises except for murders, despite the outset of the pandemic coming now nearly three years ago.
The infant died in hospital on March 23

She allegedly attempted to drown him days before

A mother has been accused of suffocating her baby boy less than 36 hours after allegedly attempting to drown the infant in a friend's swimming pool.

The Sydney woman, 30, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, with one of the counts expected to be upgraded to murder, after the infant died on March 23.

The 11-month-old boy was first found in distress at a home in Westleigh, in the city's north, on March 19.

He was rushed to hospital, after the child's mother and another woman performed CPR.

His condition recovered, but the next morning, police discovered the mother had allegedly left The Children's Hospital at Westmead at about 4am with her son. He had not been discharged by doctors.

The woman allegedly tried to drown the baby in a pool (stock image)

A Sydney mother has been accused of suffocating her baby boy less than 36 hours after allegedly attempting to drown the infant in a swimming pool (stock image)

Police allege the baby was then suffocated at Berowra Heights on March 21.

His mother called triple-zero and allegedly told the operator the 11-month-old was unresponsive at about 12.30pm that day.

Paramedics rushed the baby to the hospital in a critical condition, with the child requiring life support for two days.

On March 22, detectives from the NSW Police Child Abuse Squad arrested the baby's mother and charged her with two counts of attempted murder.

The baby had been rushed to The Children's Hospital at Westmead (pictured) after paramedics were called to a home in northern Sydney on March 19

The woman spent a night in custody before fronting Hornsby Local Court on March 23, the same day her son passed away.

The mother was refused bail with police expecting her charges to be upgraded to one count of attempted murder and one count of murder.

'Police will allege in court that the woman attempted to drown the boy at a home in Westleigh on Sunday 19 March 2023,' NSW Police said in a statement.

'It will be further alleged the woman restricted the boy's breathing at the home on Tuesday 21 March, 2023.'

The woman is scheduled to next appear in court on May 18.
Press Release

April 1, 2023 CHIZ: NEW MAHARLIKA BILL VERSION HAS BETTER CHANCES OF GETTING SENATE NOD Sen. Chiz Escudero said on Saturday that the latest version of the proposal seeking to create the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) has better chances of passing in the Senate after key changes to the measure meant to raise funds for the government. According to Escudero, he already signed the committee report reflecting the major amendments to the previous version of the MIF bill, which many of his Senate colleagues deemed unacceptable. "As I stated from the beginning when we started to review the original bill filed by Senator Villar, we will provide a better version. I said then that the Senate counterpart will not be in the same shape, size, color or form because, as it was passed in the House (of Representatives), it clearly will not pass the Senate," Escudero recalled. This early, the veteran legislator has expressed his intention to be among the interpellators of the committee report prepared by the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies which will now be known as Senate Bill 2020. "I want to make sure that the bill from Senate will have the necessary safeguards and more importantly, puts the interest of the Filipino people first," Escudero said. He further described the updated version as "totally unrecognizable" from its original form. "If you will compare SB 1670 and SB 2020, ang layo. It is now totally unrecognizable," Escudero said. One of the major improvements introduced to the measure via SB 2020 is to allow the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) to issue bonds. It is accompanied by provisions detailing the authorized and subscribed capital stocks to be created. SB 2020 provides for a P500-billion authorized capital stocks to be comprised of the following: P375 billion worth of common stocks to be subscribed by the National Government (NG); and

P125 billion worth of preferred stocks to be subscribed by the NG and reputable private financial institutions and corporations "subject to certain conditions." The bill further prescribes that of the initial P125 billion worth of MIC common stocks to be subscribed by the national government, P75 billion shall be fully paid by the following: P50 billion by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP); and

P25 billion by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). "We will further introduce more improvements once the Senate opens it for interpellation," Escudero said, adding that he recently met with the Marcos administration's economic team that included Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno. In that meeting, the Bicolano senator and the economic managers discussed ways and strategies to further improve the provisions of the MIF bill. Among the matters highlighted in the meeting were the sources for the fund and institutional arrangements of its managing corporation to ensure its integrity and sustainability.
Donald Trump's lawyer claimed that if the former president wasn't running for another White House term, a case would never be brought against him involving the hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Joe Tacopina, who is representing Trump in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against him, said Americans worried about maintaining justice should be concerned.

The defense from Tacopina comes after Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday  more than a week after the ex-president warned he was going to be arrested and told his supporters to 'protest, protest, protest.'

Meanwhile, Trump's motorcade was pictured arriving at his Mar-a-Lago golf club on Sunday as security ramped up at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend.

Donald Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina said the only reason there was ever a case against his client is because he is running for president again in 2024

Trump's motorcade pictured arriving at the former president's West Palm Breach, Florida golf club Sunday morning

If youre an American and youre concerned about rule of law, there should be no scenario where you want this to happen.



Trump attorney Joe Tacopina tells @GStephanopoulos that the case wouldn't have been brought if Trump wasnt running for reelection. https://t.co/Gk43TheOAb pic.twitter.com/5i8AssDhvK  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 2, 2023

'If you're an American and you're concerned about rule of law, there should be no scenario where you want this to happen,' Tacopina told ABC's This Week on Sunday morning.

'If you're intellectually honest, we all know that had Donald Trump not been Donald Trump and it was John Smith this case would have never been brought. If he was not running for reelection, there is no way this case would have been brought,' he added.

'This case is not even legally sufficient  factually, it's a joke.'

Tacopina said that the statutes of limitations are up for the case and said that DA Bragg is trying to bring unrelated matters into the case to bolster the charges against Trump.

'We do all know that it has to do with a confidential settlement agreement  a completely legal confidential settlement agreement with Stormy Daniels, her attorney. Michael Cohen and her attorney signed that together, Donald Trump did not,' Tacopina said. 'We do know it has to do with that. So that's what this is about.'

'And the entries into the ledgers would be misdemeanors, and they're not even false  but they would be misdemeanors and way past the statutes of limitations,' he continued in his legal defense of the former president.

'So you had to cobble some misdemeanors together to show that it was done with intent to cover up another crime and that crime would be a violation of federal campaign law, which the FEC said did not happen, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York said did not happen.'

Secret Service presence surrounding Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and club noticeably increased over the weekend. Pictured: Agents patrol Trump's property in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, April 2 following the grand jury indictment

Despite the indictment just days before, Trump was all smiles Saturday, April 1 as he left his bMar-a-Lago golf club in is signature white polo and red 'Make America Great Again' cap

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives at his offices in New York on Thursday  the day the grand jury moved to indict Trump in the case regarding the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels

Trump paid Cohen, his once longtime 'fixer' and personal attorney, $130,000 for legal fees that were in turn used to pay Daniels in 2016.

The allegations claim Trump was aware the payment was going to Daniels and was a so-called hush money payment to keep her quiet during his first presidential campaign about their affair years earlier.

Tacopina, however, insists that the former president did not know about the settlement reached by Cohen and Daniels' attorney in 2016 and Trump repeated as early as last week that he never had a sexual relationship with Daniels.
Sir Keir Starmer's hopes of entering Downing Street depend on Labour being able to win over a group of voters known as 'Stevenage Woman', according to a think tank.

Labour Together have found the 'previously unidentified voter group' is key to Sir Keir's chances of success at the next general election.

Based on an in-depth profiling of British voters since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, the think tank's research is aimed at showing how Labour can win power.

They described 'Stevenage Woman' as typically a mother in her early 40s who is in full-time work but struggling with stagnant wages and the cost-of-living crisis.

'Although disengaged from the maelstrom of daily politics, she holds the balance of power in her hands,' read their new report, titled 'Red Shift'.

Sir Keir Starmer's hopes of entering Downing Street depend on Labour being able to win over a group of voters known as 'Stevenage Woman', according to a think tank

The Hertfordshire seat of Stevenage has backed the governing party at every election since the constituency was created

The think tank also found that another group of voter 'critical to Labour's success', known as 'Workington Man', were abandoning the Tories 'in droves'

According to the think tank, 'Stevenage Woman' and voters like her make up almost a quarter (22 per cent) of the UK electorate and live in suburbs and towns across the country - particularly in the Midlands, South and East of England.

They also found that another group of voter 'critical to Labour's success', known as 'Workington Man', were abandoning the Tories 'in droves'.

Battles over what party strategists identify as key demographics have often been a feature of general election contests, with 'Worcester Woman' and 'Mondeo Man' supposedly influential in the results of the 1992 and 1997 elections, respectively.

The new report from Labour Together, a think tank which is supportive of Sir Keir's leadership, found that the two key voter groups ahead of the next election were socially conservative but feeling the pain of soaring costs.

According to their research, 'Stevenage Woman' was the largest voter group in 88 of the top 100 Conservative/Labour marginal seats.

'Stevenage Woman leans a little towards social conservatism and a little to the left on the economy,' the report said.

'At the last election, she backed the Conservatives (44 per cent) over Labour (35 per cent).

'Now, shes two-times more likely to back Labour (51 per cent) than the Tories (23 per cent).

'She is proof that the old bellwether constituencies, like Stevenage (which has backed the governing party at every election since the constituency was created), are back in play  and Labour is winning them.'

The think tank also found that 'Workington Man' was a voter group that would be key to Labour's chances of winning back 'Red Wall' seats it lost to the Tories under Sir Keir's predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, at the 2019 general election.

'Male, older and economically insecure, these "Red Wall" voters had backed Labour for generations,' their report added.

'Economically interventionist but firm social conservatives, they backed Brexit three-to-one and abandoned Labour in 2019, with half (49 per cent) voting for Boris Johnson.

'Now, theyre abandoning the Tories in droves: the Conservative vote has collapsed to 15 per cent and Labour is winning over half (56 per cent).

'On this trajectory, Labour Togethers analysis shows that Labour will win back every one of its lost Red Wall seats at the next election.'

Josh Simons, director of Labour Together, said: 'Workington Man held his nose at the last election and voted Conservative, because above all else, he hated everything Jeremy Corbyn stood for.

'Now, he's been let down by the Tories and he's deserted them. Support in Red Wall seats like Workington is flooding back to Labour.

But for Labour to get a strong, working majority, it needs to win another voter too. We call her Stevenage Woman. She's younger, struggling to get by, and wary of the incredulous promises that many politicians make.

'In 2019, the Tories and Labour were neck-and-neck with her. Now, she's voting Labour two-to-one.

'If Labour can keep, engage and mobilise her, they're on track for a large majority. The battle for the next election is the battle for Stevenage Woman.'

Labour MP Shabana Mahmood, the party's national campaign coordinator, said the think tank's report was 'a welcome reminder of the progress we have made as a party and how far we still have to go'.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced he's running for president in 2024, saying he is ready to turn the party away from Donald Trump, just days after he said the former president should withdraw from the race after being indicted.

The former governor of Arkansas is the fourth Republican to enter what is expected to be a crowded field of vying for the nomination.

Hutchinson enters after former President Donald Trump, his one-time ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and biotech multi-millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy have already announced they are running in 2024.

'I'm running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future,' he said.

Former Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson, 72, says he's running for president in 2024, offering himself as an alternative for Republicans ready to turn the party away from Donald Trump

Hutchinson enters after former President Trump announced his own run months ago. Pictured: Trump meets with Hutchinson and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly in 2020

Hutchinson's presidential run announcement comes just days after he said Trump should withdraw from the race after being indicted

Hutchinson is pictured with actor David Arquette (center) and and his wife Christina Arquette in 2019 for a meeting to discuss judicial reform during the 'Day of Empathy' in Little Rock

'I have made a decision, and my decision is I'm going to run for President of the United States,' Hutchinson told ABC News' This Week during an interview Sunday morning.

'While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville, I want to make it clear to you I am going to be running.'

'And the reason is, I've traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts,' he concluded with a veiled swipe at Trump.

The announcement comes just days after the ex-president was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in the case involving a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump will deliver remarks Tuesday, the same day he is expected to be arraigned in New York. An announcement from his 2024 campaign notes that Trump will speak from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida on April 4 at 8:15 p.m.

Meanwhile, Trump's motorcade was pictured arriving at his Mar-a-Lago golf club on Sunday as security ramped up at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend.

The announcement comes just days after the ex-president was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in the case involving a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels

Meanwhile, Trump's motorcade was pictured arriving at his Mar-a-Lago golf club on Sunday as security ramped up at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida over the weekend

A poll from the Trump team claims he has 51 percent of the Republican vote

A poll from the Trump team claims he has 51 percent of the Republican vote.

Trump's team conducted a full-field ballot test of 14 potential Republican candidates over Friday and Saturday - two days after his indictment.

While Trump and DeSantis came out on top of the latest poll, former Vice President Mike Pence was in third place with six percent of the vote.

Nikki Haley was fourth with four percent as all other candidates received two percent or less each.

Former US Ambassador to the UN and Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley reacts at the Vision 2024 National Conservative Forum at the Charleston Area Convention Center

Earlier this month, presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy called on his fellow candidates  potential an announced  to denounce the impending indictment against Donald Trump

Hutchinson, who left office in January after eight years as governor, has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the 'worst scenario' for Republicans and saying it likely benefit President Joe Biden's chances in 2024.

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush's head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

He also served as a house manager in the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton.

As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the state's budget surpluses grew. He also led efforts to crack down on illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine.

He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Hutchinson, however, has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush's head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Pictured: In March 2002, Hutchinson announces the arrest of drug trafficker Benjamin Arellano Felix

US Rep. and impeachment manager Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) briefs reporters outside the US Senate after the fifth day in the Senate impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton

Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he vetoed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for children.

Arkansas' majority-Republican Legislature overrode Hutchinson's veto and enacted the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

Trump called Hutchinson a 'RINO' - a Republican In Name Only - for the veto. Hutchinson's successor, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has said she would have signed the legislation.

Hutchinson, who signed other restrictions on transgender youth into law, said the Arkansas ban went too far and that he would have signed the measure if it had focused only on surgery.

Although he has supported Trump's policies, Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former president's rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election. He said Trump's call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a U.S. attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AK) speaks at the Vision '24 National Conservative Forum March 18, 2023, which is intended to provide conservative politicians an opportunity to outline their vision for the United States ahead of the 2024 election

Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he vetoed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for children

An opponent of the federal health care law, Hutchinson after taking office supported keeping Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion. But he championed a work requirement for the law that was blocked by a federal judge.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson tried to push back against misinformation about the virus with daily news conferences and a series of town halls he held around the state aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated.

Hutchinson infuriated death penalty opponents in 2017 when he ordered eight executions over a two-week period, scheduling them before one of the state's lethal injection drugs was set to expire. The state ultimately carried out four of the executions.

The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning.
Donald Trump will deliver remarks Tuesday in his first speech since being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury  and the same day he is expected to be arraigned in New York.

An announcement from his 2024 campaign notes that Trump will speak from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida on April 4 at 8:15 p.m.

This indicates that the ex-president believes that he will be back at his estate in Florida by Tuesday evening despite an arraignment in his former home city earlier in the day where he will be charged, have his mugshot taken and be fingerprinted.

A Manhattan grand jury on Thursday moved to indict former President Trump after District Attorney Alvin Bragg convinced the panel of wrongdoing regarding the $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Donald Trump announced he will be marking remarks from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday evening  just hours after being arraigned in New York City. Pictured: Trump goes golfing at his Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Breach on Sunday, April 2

A motorcade carrying Trump arrived at the ex-president's golf club Sunday morning

Pro-Trump demonstrators set up on lawn chairs near Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, April 2 with wielding signs, flags and bullhorns

While Trump is arraigned on Tuesday in New York City, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a stalwart supporter of the ex-president, will be in the Big Apple rallying with the New York Young Republicans at a park near the courts.

'Join Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and us in peaceful protest of Alvin Bragg's heinous attack on President Donald J. Trump!' an announcement of the demonstration advertises.

Trump became on Thursday the first ever former president to be indicted.

The last time Trump spoke publicly was last Saturday, March 25 during a rally in Waco, Texas amid reports he would be indicted by the Manhattan grand jury hearing the DA's case alleging wrongdoing by Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Now Trump is preparing to address his supporters  and his haters  after being handed an indictment on Thursday and following his arrest in New York where he is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Bragg claimed that Trump was aware of a payment made to Daniels to keep her quiet during the campaign about their alleged affair a decade earlier.

Trump insists he has never had a sexual relationship with Daniels and says he was unaware of his lawyer-at-the-time Michael Cohen making the settlement with the porn star and her attorney.

Many claim that the indictment against Trump has only bolstered his support in his 2024 bid for president and energized his already enthusiastic base. Trump has even made this claim, saying that the indictment is only helping his chances of being elected for another White House term.

Trump was seen cruising around his West Palm Beach course in a golf cart on Sunday, April 2 just three days after he was levied an indictment and two days before needing to appear in court in New York

Press set up a text near the Manhattan criminal court on Sunday

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured on March 30, 2023) has come under fire from Republican critics for politicizing his position and using it to go after a leader of the opposing party

Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina claimed that if the former president wasn't running for another White House term, a case would never be brought against him involving the hush-money payment.

Tacopina, who is representing Trump in Bragg's case against him, said Americans worried about maintaining justice should be concerned about the politicization of the judicial system.

Trump predicted that he would be arrested last month, but the grand jury still needed to hear from at least one more witness before it could levy a decision.

Pending an imminent indictment, Trump encouraged his supporters to take to the streets and 'protest, protest, protest,' and in a Truth Social post a few days later warned of 'death & destruction' if he were indicted.

Since news of a potential indictment circulated last month, supporters of the former president have been posted on the street leading to his Mar-a-Lago estate with flags and signs rallying around Trump and slamming the Democrat DA.
She said she had received death threats and threats towards her young children

A senior Tory MP has revealed she has panic buttons installed in every room of her home due to fears countries such as China want to 'hurt' her.

Alicia Kearns, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, claims she was advised to install them after receiving death threats herself and threats towards her children - both under four years of age.

In an interview with GB News set to be broadcast today, Ms Kearns will reinforce her position that China, which she describes as a 'hostile state', poses a 'threat' to the UK.

'The reality is that we are under attack from authoritarian states every single day,' she claimed.

Ms Kearns was elected chairman of the committee in October and has opened up about the protection measures MPs are forced to undertake.

Alicia Kearns (pictured), chairman of the foreign affairs committee, claims she was advised to install them after receiving death threats herself and threats towards her children - both under four years of age

Ms Kearns was elected chairman of the committee in October and has opened up about the protection measures MPs are forced to undertake

'There are MPs whose children are taken to school by the police every morning,' she said.

'There are colleagues who are told that they need police protection at all times in their own constituencies, who have stalkers, who have people outside their offices in balaclavas.'

She said that she was given advice by security experts to install panic buttons for the safety of her family.

Ms Kearns, the MP for Rutland and Melton, claims Covid was 'the authoritarian regime's dream' as people had to download traceable apps on their phones.

Discussing the supposed 'threat' China poses to the UK, she said: 'Exfiltrating our data is their priority alongside techno authoritarianism, which is essentially the insertion of technologies into our lives where we become dependent and reliant on them.

READ MORE: MP said to be at the heart of Pork Pie 'conspiracy' against Boris Johnson takes her baby and nanny on a Commons trip to Ukraine Advertisement

'Because the more dependent we are as a country on China, the more castrated we are on the world stage.

'You cannot stand up to China if you are reliant on them for technologies, if they have your data, and if they've weaponised resources around the world. And so TikTok is a good example.'

During the interview, Ms Kearns, who was involved in a successful bid for TikTok to be banned from government phones, discussed last year's 'Pork Pie Plot'.

The 'Pork Pie Plot' was an attempted Conservative MP coup to unseat Boris Johnson.

Ms Kearns admitted to being involve in discussion between Tory MPs about whether the former Prime Minister had 'let down the people of this country'.

However the only people to be briefed out to the media regarding the coup were herself and Dehenna Davison - the only two women in the room.

However the only people to be briefed out to the media regarding the coup were herself and Dehenna Davison (pictured with Boris Johnson) - the only two women in the room

Ms Kearns blasted this, saying that 'without question' the treatment was sexist.

'They briefed out about her love life, which was shameful, and they briefed out against me, the Whips' office, that I was a bad mother because I'd taken my daughter with me to Ukraine,' she added.

'It was perfectly safe to take my daughter to Ukraine at that time. But the fact that they did that and that was the best they could find on me.

'I think there's some serious questions to be asked there about who made those decisions and why they thought that was at all appropriate.'

On the TikTok ban, Ms Kearns said users should get rid of the app as she suggested the video-sharing platform is linked to China's efforts to build a 'tech totalitarian state'.

There have long been concerns around TikTok over its links to China because its parent company, ByteDance, was founded in the country, and critics have raised fears data could be passed to the Chinese state.

In December, TikTok executive Liz Kanter insisted the platform has not been asked for UK user data by the Chinese government and would not provide it if it was.

'The fact is, now this isn't just me saying 'I'm worried, delete it', we have evidence that TikTok has been used to track down sources for journalists,' she added.

'Everyone should be concerned about that.'
A customer who left a negative review for a tea shop in San Francisco's Bay Area was outed by video that showed him dropping lint into his own drink before sharing his one-star rating.

The incident happened at The Tea Hut in Millbrae, California, where a man identified as 'Nat. A' wrote a Yelp review stating the health department needs to 'check on' the shop.

Included in his 'fake' and 'sabotaging' review, the man added a photo of the drink which appeared to have lint in it.

The shop's owner, Aaron Qian, in response to the review released the footage of the man dropping foreign objects into his drink on Instagram.

Qian told KRON that as a small business, food safety is their top priority and that they take situations like this very seriously.

A man was seen dropping lint into his own drink at the Tea Hut in Millbrae, California

This is the Tea Hut in Millbrae, California where a customer dropped lint into his own drink

The situation first began with a negative review left several weeks ago for the Tea Hut's Millbrae location, including the pics of the tea and the store.

'Health department NEEEDS to check on this,' the man wrote in his review.

The Tea Hut owner posted the video and the one-star review.

'This guy left two reviews at two different locations. Luckily our camera caught what he did to this drink,' the Tea Hut posted on Instagram.

At the start of the video, the man is seen sitting at a table inside the cafe before reaching into his pocket and dropping the items into his cup of tea.

He takes several sips before he puts the items in via the cup's lid.

The unidentified man is then seen photographing the cup's surface.

Qian reported the reviews to Yelp, which later took down the negative review which included the photos of the lint.

'One of the fake sabotaging reviews got removed! Thank you so much for having our back and reporting this person,' Tea Hut said in a post. 'We are so touched by the overwhelming support of the community!'

At the start of the video, the man is seen sitting at a table inside the cafe before reaching into his pocket and dropping the items into his cup of tea

Before slipping the lint in, the man is spotted sipping his tea

The unidentified man is then seen photographing the cup after dropping the lint in

This is the negative review the man left which included photos of his drink and the shop

Qian reported the reviews to Yelp, which later took down the negative review

'As a small food business owner, food safety is our top priority,' Aaron Qian, Tea Hut owner, wrote in a statement to KRON 4

In a statement to KRON, Qian wrote that he is thankful for the support and Yelp for removing the review.

'As a small food business owner, food safety is our top priority,' Qian wrote.

'There's no way that we would serve a product that doesn't meet our standard. Not just me, even the tiniest restaurant will greatly pay attention to food safety,' he said.

'This is the basis of survival when it comes to operating a food facility,' Qian wrote.

Overall, the Tea Hut has a 4.0 star rating from dozens of reviews.

Several other reviewers and followers have said the shop has 'good quality tea,' with drinks 'made to perfection,' and 'best service and great coffee tea.'
The mother of Baby P has made friends with a killer mother who smothered her young daughter, following their release from prison.

Tracey Connolly, 41, who earned the loathing of a nation after details emerged of the cruelty she inflicted on her toddler son Peter before his death in 2007, was recently pictured out shopping while wearing headphones.

Now living in a halfway house, Connolly has reportedly grown close to fellow resident Helen Caudwell, 54, who throttled her three-year-old daughter Bethany with a pyjama case in October 2009, The Mirror reports.

Caudwell, who tried to kill herself after her crime, is now living with Connolly at an unnamed hostel in the north of England.

A source described the pair as 'mates' and said 'they're always talking to each other'.

Tracey Connolly, 41, who earned the loathing of a nation after details emerged of the cruelty she inflicted on her toddler son Peter before his death in 2007, was recently pictured out shopping while wearing headphones

Connolly has reportedly made friends with Helen Caudwell, who smothered her three-year-old daughter Bethany in 2006

They added: 'Tracey very rarely leaves the building. A couple of girls have been warned not to bully her. They're told not to judge each other's crimes.

'They hate what she did but they just have to live with it. If they say anything, they're threatened with being recalled to prison.

'There are normal girls in there along with child killers. They just have to accept it. If Tracey does go out, she wears a mask or puts her hood up. She's on a tag. But she just spends most of her time lounging around.'

Other residents in the halfway house have reportedly been told to 'be nice' to Connolly.

Connolly was given parole last year despite a last-ditch bid by Deputy PM Dominic Raab.

She was given an indefinite term with a minimum of five years in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter in Tottenham, North London, in August 2007.

Baby P, was tortured to death in 2007 by Connelly's lover Steven Barker (left) and his brother Jason Owen (right) at their home in Tottenham, north London

Baby P: A timeline of the tragedy that shocked Britain March 1, 2006: Peter Connelly (Baby P) is born August 3, 2007: 17-month-old Baby P is found dead in cot November 11, 2008: Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, boyfriend Steven Barker and brother Jason Owen are convicted of causing his death November 13, 2008: Ed Balls orders an inquiry into the role of the council, health authority and police December 1, 2008: An independent review declares Haringey's child protection services 'inadequate' December 8, 2008: Haringey Children's Services boss Sharon Shoesmith is sacked with immediate effect May 22, 2009: Connelly is jailed indefinitely, Barker gets a life term and Owen is given an indeterminate sentence for public protection October 7, 2009: Shoesmith launches a High Court case against Balls to seek compensation for her dismissal September 15, 2010: Shoesmith tells MPs she is sorry about what happened but refuses to accept any blame, saying she had no involvement in the care of Baby P May 27, 2011: The Court of Appeal rules in favour of Shoesmith, saying her dismissal was 'tainted by unfairness' October 8, 2013: Connelly is recommended for release by the Parole Board February 14, 2015: Connelly is back behind bars after sending nude pictures to male fans December 29, 2015: The Parole Board rejects Connelly's first bid for freedom November 28, 2017: The Parole Board rejects Connelly's second bid for freedom January 6, 2019: The Parole Board rejects Connelly's third bid for freedom March 30, 2022: Connelly is recommended for release by the Parole Board Advertisement

The child suffered 50 injuries at the hands of his mum, stepdad, Steven Barker and Barkers brother Jason Owen, with mistakes by social workers meaning medics missed vital warning signs.

David Spencer, director of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: 'It is appalling to see this woman free to walk the streets again.

Few people would disagree her horrendous crimes deserved far longer behind bars. I am pleased that Dominic Raab agrees and did his utmost to keep her in jail.

'Lets hope he now delivers long-overdue and meaningful reform to the parole system.'

Connellys parole bid was the fourth after losing appeals in 2015, 2017 and 2019  with officials finding she still posed a threat to the public.

She finally won in March despite Mr Raab going to court only for a judge to rule in her favour. Connelly was pictured for the first time on Friday, straining with shopping bags from Aldi and Bodycare.

Her own mother, Mary OConnor, slammed her release, telling The Sun: 'Look at her  look at the state of her. Shes got so fat. She looks disgusting.

She is wearing the mask because she doesnt want anyone to recognise her. It makes me feel sick looking at these photos. I dont know how she can live her life like normal.

Connolly is subject 20 licence conditions, including wearing a tag and having to declare any relationships she now forms.

Any breach could see her sent back to jail immediately.

She was previously released in 2013 but was recalled to prison in 2015 for selling naked photos of herself and breaching her licence conditions by 'developing intimate personal relationships' online.

Early last year, Mr Raab had asked the board, which is independent of the Government, to re-examine the decision under the so-called reconsideration mechanism.

His application was 'refused'.

A Parole Board spokesman had said in a statement: 'Following the reconsideration application from the Secretary of State, a judge has ruled that the decision made by independent Parole Board members to release was not irrational, as stated in the reconsideration application, and the original decision is upheld.'

Known publicly as Baby P, Peter had suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers and health professionals over eight months.

Connelly's lover Steven Barker was jailed in 2009 for a minimum of 32 years for torturing the 17-month-old to death while his brother, Jason Owen, received a six year jail sentence for allowing the toddler to die.

A series of reviews identified missed opportunities for officials to save the toddler's life had they reacted properly to warning signs.

Three of the children, including Peter, were on Haringey's Child Protection Register because of fears they were being neglected.

Connelly, who covered up the abuse of her son, was jailed in 2009 for a minimum of five years after admitting causing or allowing the death of her son Peter.
A gang rapist who was dragged off a deportation flight after passengers mutinied to prevent take off has received nearly 80,000 in legal aid.

Somalian Yaqub Ahmed, 34, was convicted for a sex attack on a 16-year-old teenage girl in central London in 2007.

After being jailed for nine years in 2008 alongside three accomplices, he was served with deportation papers.

He was hauled off a deportation flight to Turkey in 2018 after bleeding heart passengers at Heathrow caused a hold-up.

And figures from the Home Office show that the taxpayer has paid 77,795 for his legal aid.

Yaqub Ahmed, 34, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2008 for his part in a gang rape in central London

Nigel Mills MP said the gang rapist had 'no right' to be in the country and that a 'huge amount' had been spent on his defence

The lawyers' bill includes thousands for suing the police over his treatment.

The convicted rapist claimed his human rights were breaches and that he was falsely imprisoned.

Conservative MP Nigel Mills told The Sun it was a 'huge' amount of taxpayers' money to spend on someone convicted of a 'horrific crime'.

'He has no right to be in this country'

It was revealed in February that Ahmed was due to be deported but the Home Office will not confirm if he remains in the country.

He had been due to be deported in 2018 but do-gooder plane passengers who were unaware of his history prevented the flight taking off.

A video of their action trended at the time and in it holiday-makers on the plane bound for Turkey can be heard chanting 'Take him off the plane.'
A father has been accused of stabbing his child's mother more than 100 times before putting his two-year-old son in a lake only for him to be found inside an alligator's mouth.

Thomas Mosley, 21, was charged with two counts of first degree murder for the deaths of Pashun Jeffrey, 20, and the couple's son, Taylen Mosley, 2 in St. Petersburg, Florida. He allegedly killed the pair after his family threw him a birthday party.

Last Thursday, Jeffrey was found inside her apartment stabbed to death with blood all over the scene and outside the home, and Taylen was found dead hours later inside an alligator about 10 miles from his mother's home.

Law enforcement recovered the toddler's body after euthanizing the gator, and Thomas Mosley is currently in Pinellas County Jail after being treated for cuts on his hands and arms.

Thomas Mosley, 21, was charged with two counts of first degree murder following the deaths of his two-year-old son and the child's mother

Pashun Jeffrey, 20, was mother to two-year-old Taylen Mosley. She was known as a loving and devoted single mother striving to provide a better life for her son

The elder Mosley had been at Jeffrey's home in the late afternoon with the victim's family to celebrate the young father's birthday.

Several hours later, Mosley arrived at his mother's house with 'severe lacerations to both of his hands and arms consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack.'

Prior to arriving at his mother's house, Mosley travelled to the Lake Maggiore area and, in a premeditated fashion, threw his son into the body of water, an action police classified as first degree murder.

Mosley then arrived at his mother's house at around 9pm and from there went to the hospital to be treated for his wounds before being arrested. He was reportedly not cooperative with authorities.

A GoFundMe established by the mourning family that has now raised north of $20,000, described Jeffrey as 'dedicated' to making life better for her son.

Taylen was described as a 'sweet and happy toddler' who would 'grab anyone's phone and pretend to call his mom' while she was at work.

'To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing. We will remember their love and will keep them in our hearts,' it reads.

Family members last saw Jeffrey and Taylen on Wednesday March 29 around 5.30pm. They called for a welfare check on the young mother the next day when they were unable to contact her.

Neighbors said they overheard a loud commotion near the apartment at around 8.30 on Wednesday night, but police were not called.

The next morning, Jeffrey's mother called the apartment manager for a welfare check after her daughter missed their daily FaceTime call.

Law enforcement and family members initially hoped to find Taylen alive when his body was spotted being carried by an alligator in the nearby lake

Family members of Pashun said that she was a 'dedicated' single mother, who adored her son

Taylen had just celebrated his second birthday 19 days before being found dead

An employee found Jeffrey's body in the bathroom, which was described as a 'very violent' scene, which included a bloody fingerprint on a cleaning bottle that had been 'intentionally placed under a bed,' according to an affidavit.

There was also a bloody shoe print with the 'Gucci' emblem on the bathroom floor where the victim was found.

Law enforcement and family members initially hoped to find Taylen alive when his body was spotted being carried by an alligator in the nearby lake.

An officer shot the reptile in order to retrieve the body.

'We are sorry it has had to end this way,' St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said at a press conference on Friday night.

Sniffer dogs, drones and search teams had been dispatched to find the missing toddler.

He had celebrated his second birthday just 19 days prior to his murder.
A Russian war propagandist who called for the destruction of Ukraine was killed in a bomb attack in St Petersburg.

Video shows the moment pro-Putin cheerleader Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was handed a statuette of himself by an unnamed woman that was believed to have contained the explosive just minutes before he was blown to bits at the political event in the cafe.

Around 100 people were at the event, with at least 25 injured by the blast and four in a critical condition.

No group came forward to claim responsibility for the death, which could be the second political assassination of a pro-Putin Russian on Russian soil since the war started. Analysts in the country speculated that the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian secret service.

It is not known if the woman who handed him the statue, which Russian media said was a gold-coloured likeness of Tatarskiy and contained 200g of TNT, was aware of its contents.

Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky (pictured) was killed in a bomb blast in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday

The moment of the explosion that killed Kremlin top war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and wounded more dozens of people

This is the moment Tatarsky was handed a statuette that is believed to have been hiding the bomb that exploded at Street Food Bar No. 1

Putin zealot Alexander Dugin, posted a picture of his daughter Darya Dugina (left) with Tatarsky (right) and wrote: 'This is how the history of real Russian saints is created. Real. Not fictitious. Not sucked from the finger. Beating from the heart. If it is not holiness, then there is no holiness'.

In remarks recorded on video, a witness said that a woman who identified herself as Nastya asked questions and exchanged remarks with Tatarsky during the discussion.

The witness, Alisa Smotrova, quoted Nastya as saying she had made a bust of the blogger but that guards asked her to leave it at the door, suspecting it could be a bomb. Nastya and Tatarsky joked and laughed. She then went to the door, grabbed the bust and presented it to Tatarsky.

He reportedly put the bust on a nearby table, and the explosion followed. Smotrova described people running in panic, some hurt by shattered glass and covered in blood.

A video posted on Russian messaging app channels showed the cafe after the explosion. Tables and chairs were broken and stained by blood, and shards of glass littered the floor.

Russian media said investigators were looking at the bust as the possible source of the blast but have not ruled out the possibility that an explosive device was planted in the cafe before the event.

Russia's Investigative Committee, the state's top criminal investigation agency, opened a probe on charges of murder.

No one publicly claimed responsibility, but military bloggers and patriotic commentators immediately pointed a finger at Ukraine and compared the bombing to the killing last August of Darya Dugina, a nationalist TV commentator. She was killed when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow.

Tatarsky was killed in a blast at Street Food Bar No. 1, located in the St Petersburg city centre, on Sunday

It is understood that the blast was 'caused by an improvised explosive device hidden inside a statue given to Tatarsky as a gift'. Russian media has shared a photo of a young woman (pictured) suspected to have given Tatarsky the figurine

Before the blast on Sunday, Tatarsky (pictured) spoke to a party in front of projection of an image of him

Russian authorities blamed Ukraine's military intelligence for Dugina's death, but Kyiv denied involvement.

Her father, Alexander Dugin, a nationalist philosopher and political theorist who strongly supports the invasion of Ukraine, hailed Tatarsky as an 'immortal' hero who died to save the Russian people.

'There must be no talks with the terrorists other than about their unconditional surrender,' Dugin said. 'A victory parade must take place in Kyiv.'

Since the fighting in Ukraine began Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainian authorities have refrained from claiming responsibility for various fires and explosions and apparent assassinations in Russia. At the same time, officials in Kyiv have jubilantly greeted such events and insisted on Ukraine's right to launch attacks in Russia.

A top Ukrainian government official cast the explosion that killed Tatarsky as part of internal turmoil.

'Spiders are eating each other in a jar,' Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote in English on Twitter. 'Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time.'

Tatarsky, who had filed regular reports from Ukraine, was the pen name for Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel.

Born in the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland, Tatarsky worked as a coal miner before starting a furniture business. When he ran into financial difficulties, he robbed a bank and was sentenced to prison. He fled from custody after a Russia-backed separatist rebellion engulfed the Donbas in 2014, weeks after Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Then he joined separatist rebels and fought on the front line before turning to blogging.

Tatarsky was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

After the Kremlin's annexation of four regions of Ukraine last year that most of the world rejected as illegal, Tatarsky posted a video in which he vowed: 'That's it. We'll defeat everybody, kill everybody, rob everybody we need to. It will all be the way we like it. God be with you.'

Military bloggers have played an increasingly prominent and influential role in the flow of information about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They have almost universally championed the goals of the campaign but at times criticize Russian military strategy and tactical decisions.

At the same time, the Kremlin has squelched alternative voices opposing the war by shutting down news outlets, limiting the public's access to information and jailing critics.

The restaurant once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

A group called Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself on social media as 'Russia's information troops', said it had hired out the cafe for the evening. The building's facade was reportedly damaged in the blast.

'There was a terrorist attack. We took certain security measures but unfortunately they were not enough,' the group said on Telegram.

'Condolences to everyone who knew the excellent war correspondent and our friend Vladlen Tatarsky,' it said.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the part of Ukraine's Donetsk province that is occupied by Russia, suggested publicly that Ukraine was to blame.

'He was killed vilely. Terrorists cannot do otherwise. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime. It needs to be destroyed, there's no other way to stop it,' he said.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said 'domestic terrorism' was breaking out in Russia.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, wrote on Twitter that it had only been a matter of time - 'like the bursting of a ripe abscess' - before Russia would be consumed by what he called domestic terrorism.

'The spiders are eating each other in a jar,' he said.

The explosion had a power of 200 grams of TNT, law enforcement officials said. Pictured: The damaged exterior of Street Food Bar No. 1 in St Petersburg following Sunday's explosion

A group called Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself as 'Russia's information troops', said it had hired out the cafe for the evening. Pictured: The interior of the cafe after the blast

The restaurant once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Pictured: An interior view of the cafe after the bombing

Pictured: Medics care for the wounded outside of Street Food Bar No. 1 in St Petersburg following Sunday's explosion

War 'reporter' Tatarsky was one of the biggest cheerleaders for Putin's war and the destruction of Ukraine as a separate nation.

His Telegram channel had more than 560,000 followers and he was recognised as one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers to have provided an often critical running commentary on the war.

Russia's foreign ministry on Sunday paid tribute to a prominent military blogger killed by a bomb at a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, lashing out at Western governments for failing to react to the attack.

Bloggers like Vladlen Tatarsky 'are defenders of the truth', ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram, adding that the lack of reaction from Western governments 'despite their concerns for the welfare of journalists and the free press speaks for itself'.

'Russian journalists constantly feel the threat of reprisals from the Kyiv regime,' she said.

'It is thanks to Russian war correspondents that the world sees true, operational images and finds out what is happening in Ukraine,' she said.

Tatarsky was 'dangerous' for Ukraine 'but bravely went on until the end, fulfilling his duty', she added.

War 'reporter' Tatarsky (pictured) was one of the biggest cheerleaders for Putin's war and the destruction of Ukraine as a separate nation

Pictured: Firefighters work at the scene of an explosion at Street Food Bar No. 1 in St Petersburg on Sunday night

Pictured: A law enforcement officer stands guard Sunday night as investigators probe the scene of an explosion that killed blogger Vladlen Tatarsky

Pictured: Investigators are at Street Food Bar No. 1 in St Petersburg on Sunday night after an explosion damaged the building and apparently blew out its windows

Several hours before the explosion, Tatarsky had praised advertising hoardings in Moscow seeking recruits for Wagner fighters.

'It's nice to see such outdoor advertising,' he said.

Before becoming a propagandist, he had been a fighter in the battles in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

He was among hundreds of attendees at a lavish Kremlin ceremony last September to proclaim Russia's annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine, a move that most countries at the UN condemned as illegal.

'We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it,' he was shown saying in a video clip on that occasion.

Born in Soviet Ukraine, Tatarsky said after a Putin speech in December: 'We will conquer everyone, we'll kill everyone.

'We'll loot whoever we need to, and everything will be just as we like it.'

Earlier in October a video shows him declaring: 'What are Ukrainians?

'I suddenly understood it. 'A Ukrainian is a Russian who got mentally sick.

'A Ukrainian is a Russian spiritual transvestite who is trying to squeeze into another skin.

'I was always interested - when was this moment when they shifted from a healthy Russian personinto total schizophrenia?

'The future of Ukraine, those people who live there, is that they are Russian people and they will return to their normal state.

'When we win in Ukraine, the future of these people is that they are Russian people who recovered from their craziness, their spiritual transvestism, and returned to their normal state.'

The explosion took place at the Street Bar cafe in Russia's second largest city, killing Tatarsky and leaving more than a dozen injured. Pictured: Officials with the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry working the scene

Officials say the 'causes and circumstances of the incident are being established,' according to Russian Telegram messages reviewed by MailOnline. Investigators are pictured at the scene

Investigators from Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, local police and paramedics are working the scene

Investigators and members of emergency services work at the site of an explosion in a cafe in Saint Petersburg

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg on Sunday. The restaurant is believed to have once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine

In June when Russian troops were forced to leave Snake Island by Ukraine, he praised the 'heroic fight' of Putin's fighters.

Like other Putin war cheerleaders he had criticised the Russian army for failing to fight even more ruthlessly in Ukraine.

In December when Ukraine attacked an airbase in Ryazan with a drone, he said sarcastically: 'Who can say which academy teaches that airfields must be guarded during a war?

'Or is it a secret sacred knowledge that is transmitted only to the chosen few?'

Tatarsky's death followed the killing last August of Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, in a car bomb attack near Moscow.

Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services of carrying out that attack, which Putin called 'evil'. Ukraine denied involvement.

Dugin posted a picture of Dugina with Tatarsky and wrote: 'This is how the history of real Russian saints is created.

'Real. Not fictitious. Not sucked from the finger. Beating from the heart. If it is not holiness, then there is no holiness'.

Russia's war bloggers, an assortment of military correspondents and freelance commentators with army backgrounds, have enjoyed broad freedom from the Kremlin to publish hard-hitting views on the war, now in its 14th month.

Putin even made one of them a member of his human rights council last year.

They reacted with shock to the news of Tatarsky's death.

Pictured: Russian forces take security measures on Sunday night at the explosion site in which prominent Russian military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky died in Saint Petersburg

Pictured: People lay flowers outside the cafe where prominent Russian military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky died on Sunday in a bombing

Pictured: Russian police investigators inspect a damaged cafe following an explosion in St Petersburg on Sunday

'He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a Petersburg cafe,' said Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo.

Alexander Khodakovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: 'Max, if you were a nobody, you'd have died of 'vodka and headcolds'. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother.'

Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov commented on the death of Tatarsky [Fomin], saying: 'Fomin is a former citizen of Ukraine, sentenced in 2011 to 12 years in prison for an armed robbery of a bank in the Donbas.

'He was released from the zone in 2014 by Russian troops, under the obligation to fight against Ukraine.

'Fomin did not sit long in the trenches and became a blogger and one of the symbols of the Russian occupation.

'Fomin was invited on December 22 to Putin's speech in the Kremlin among the representatives of the Russian elite.

'His liquidation is a serious blow to Russian propaganda.'

Investigators work at the site of an explosion in a cafe in Saint Petersburg

It is understood that the blast was 'caused by an improvised explosive device hidden inside a statue given to Tatarsky as a gift'

Investigators work at the site of an explosion in a cafe in Saint Petersburg on Sunday

TV presenter and media manager Tina Kandelaki demanded: 'When will the country begin to respond? The terrorists [in Ukraine] have electricity, water, railways, restaurants, and the Internet all working.

'The leaders of the killers travel around the country with television cameras.'

If Tatarsky was deliberately targeted, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a high-profile figure associated with the war in Ukraine.

Various fires and explosions have occurred in Russia since the fighting in Ukraine began on February 24 2022, without any clear indication of a connection to the conflict.
A race car driver was rushed to the hospital after he was rammed by two vehicles during NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The horrific Texas Motor Speedway footage captured the moment driver Dean Thompson slammed into the wall on Saturday while racing in his No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota.

The 21-year-old from Anaheim, California then spun out of control and was hit twice by oncoming drivers while others quickly swerved off the raceway and onto the turf.

He was seen in a stretcher being taken away from the Fort Worth speedway by paramedics.

Dean Thompson, 21, was rushed to the hospital after crashing during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in Texas on Saturday

Thompson was seen in a stretcher being taken away from the Fort Worth speedway by paramedics

According to NASCAR, Thompson's truck became 'loose' during the final stage of the Texas event.

Despite being hit three times following the malfunction, he remained conscious as he received treatment at the race track before he was transferred to a local hospital.

Thompson remained alert hours later and broke his social media 'detox' to provide an update to his fans.

'Hey yall, I actually deleted Twitter to do a detox for about a month but Im back lol,' Thompson wrote on Twitter. 'Just to update yall Im doing good, just getting some scans done then Im gonna go have a beer when I get home!'

He added: 'Also thank you to everyone for all the love and support. Especially the infield care center nurses and staff. Truly blessed to be able to do what I do.'

Thompson has an upcoming race at Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend but will only be allowed to participate with medical clearance, according to NASCAR.

Despite being hit three times following the malfunction, Thompson (above) remained conscious as he received treatment at the race track before he was transferred to a local hospital

The horrific Texas Motor Speedway footage captured the moment driver Dean Thompson slammed into the wall on Saturday while racing in his No. 5 TRICON Garage Toyota

The 21-year-old from Anaheim, California then spun out of control and was hit twice by oncoming drivers while others quickly swerved off the raceway and onto the turf

His truck was seen damaged on the Texas raceway on Saturday after first responders pulled him out

Thompson remained alert hours later and broke his social media 'detox' to provide an update to his fans

Thompson has an upcoming race at Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend but will only be allowed to participate with medical clearance, according to NASCAR. Pictured: his truck before the accident

The race car driver announced on Sunday that he was back home and attached a photo of the truck he used in the face.

'Thank you everyone for your love and support. It was truly a surreal experience to see the NASCAR community come together like that for me. I cant express how blessed I am to be okay and back home, God is so so good,' he wrote.

'Theres got to be some luck for us somewhere down the line, well just keep fighting til we get it. Thank you again to all the amazing track personnel from the safety team to the infield care center, you guys are truly heroes.'

The final results of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in Texas marked Thompson in place 28 out of 34.
A four-year-old girl has been rushed to hospital after she plunged from the window of a home.

The child fell out of the window of a property on Gordon Avenue in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire at around 4.55pm yesterday.

An ambulance took the girl to the Royal Infirmary in Aberdeen, where she is in a stable condition, Police Scotland said.

A Scottish air ambulance was also at the scene of the accident, but the girl was taken to hospital by road.

They added that there was 'no criminality' found.

The girl fell out of the window of a property on Gordon Avenue in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, around 4.55pm yesterday

A Scottish air ambulance was also at the scene of the accident, but the girl was taken to hospital by road

Police said they would be taking no further action over the incident.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: 'Medical staff describe her condition as stable.

'No criminality has been established and there will be no further police action.'
Federal data on overall healthiness was compared with life expectancy by state

The ten best and worst states in the US for a combination of both a long and healthy life have been revealed and California was not among the top five.

Hawaii was rated the highest overall for those seeking a healthy lifestyle and high life expectancy, followed by Minnesota, Vermont, Washington and New Hampshire.

Similarly, states with the lowest life expectancy tended to be the states with the least healthy lifestyles and were mainly in the southeast. West Virginia was ranked last overall, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Kentucky.

Notably, California did not even make the top five most healthy states, ranking 14 for healthy lifestyle, but it tied fifth with Massachusetts and New Hampshire for life expectancy.

'Life expectancy' is determined by a number of factors, including healthcare and murder rates, but a study carried out by biomedical research and longevity society, Life Extension, suggests general healthiness plays a major role too.

States like Hawaii, Minnesota, Vermont, Washington and New Hampshire had both healthy lifestyles and higher life expectancies, according to a new study by biomedical research and longevity society Life Extension

Hawaii was the only state with a life expectancy greater than 80 and was also the fourth most healthy, according to federal data. Pictured is the famous Waikiki Beach in Honolulu

The study analyzed federal data of eight measures of healthiness to determine which states have the healthiest lifestyles, and compared that to their actual life expectancies.

The overall healthy lifestyle ranking was informed by federal data measuring the following: amounts of exercise, proximity to parks and schools, fruit and vegetable consumption, hours of sleep, body weight, number of single people, anxiety levels and state expenditure on outdoor recreation.

Although it found there was a strong correlation between healthy lifestyles and life expectancy, there were also some exceptions.

Outliers include DC and Montana, where life expectancies were low despite the fact they appeared to have healthy lifestyles.

In general, DC's low life expectancy was explained by racial disparities and a high incidence of heart disease, cancer and homicide, according to the Life Extension study. DC is also a city and not a state, so it often appears off when considering state-wide data.

Minnesota ranked second highest for living a long and healthy life. Its life expectancy was among the highest at 79 years and a month. Pictured is the Minnesota State Capitol building

West Virginia ranked last for combined life expectancy and general healthiness. Pictured is its capital city Charleston

States in which more money was directed towards outdoor recreational activities tended to have higher life expectancies

On the other hand states with inactive populations, mainly centered around the southeast, had the lowest life expectancies

States with worst life expectancy Mississippi : 71 years and 11 months West Virginia : 72 years and 10 months Louisiana : 73 years and a month Alabama : 73 years and two months Kentucky : 73 years and six months Tennessee, Arkansas : 73 years and 10 months Oklahoma : 74 years and a month New Mexico : 74 years and six months South Carolina : 74 years and 10 months Indiana : 75 years Advertisement

States with best life expectancy Hawaii : 80 years, and eight months Washington : 79 years and two months Minnesota : 79 years and a month California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire : 79 years Oregon, Vermont : 78 years and nine months Utah : 78 years and seven months Connecticut, Idaho : 78 years and five months Colorado : 78 years and four months Rhode Island : 78 years and three months Maine : 77 years and nine months Advertisement

The above graph shows life expectancy in the US by year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates plateaued in the mid-2010s but dropped off after the Covid pandemic - which led to many people dying prematurely. Experts say the surging opioid epidemic is also to blame for the fall

On the other hand, Connecticut and New York had higher life expectancies given the relatively unhealthy lifestyles of their inhabitants.

Montana, Alaska and North Carolina had generally good health habits but only average life expectancies.

Lower life expectancy in poorer states has also been blamed on worse healthcare systems and more residents without health insurance.

However, those states also have higher rates of chronic diseases - such as obesity - raising the risk of a myriad of other conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure later in life.

America's life expectancy was 79 years and a month in 2020, according to data from the National Vital Statistics System.

Last year marked second year on record that it had declined, and an almost two-year downturn from 2019. Every single state registered a decline in life expectancy between 2019 and 2020.

New York - which was hit especially bad during the first year of Covid - saw the largest decline, falling almost three years.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens should be stripped of his pension from his Civil Nuclear Constabulary job before he joined the Met Police.

After it was reported that murderer and rapist Wayne Couzens would still receive his Met Police pension, Mr Khan successfully applied to the Home Office to deny him of it.

However, Couzens could still get the pension he accumulated at his previous job at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), the police force that protects the UK's nuclear facilities, between 2011 and 2018.

Mr Khan has written to Energy Secretary Grand Shapps to get reassurance that Sarah Everard's murderer will forfeit his seven years' of the deferred pension, according to Sky News, as 'the public would rightly expect'.

Simon Chesterman, the chief constable of the CNC where Couzens worked for seven and a half years, has backed Mr Khan's demand.

After it was reported that murderer and rapist Wayne Couzens (pictured) would still receive his Met Police pension, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan successfully applied to the Home Office to deny him of it

Mr Khan (pictured) has written to Energy Secretary Grand Shapps to get reassurance that Sarah Everard 's murderer will forfeit his seven years' of the deferred pension, according to Sky News , as 'the public would rightly expect'

Couzens, who was handed a whole-life order for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard (pictured), 33, in March 2021, could even potentially start drawing his pension at a lower rate from the age of 55

Couzens' time working for the CNC entitles him to a pension worth around 4,000 per year from the age of 60, plus a lump sum as high as 12,000.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan told Sky News: 'It will be totally unacceptable if Couzens remains entitled to a single penny of his pension - it would be very difficult for his victims and the wider public to comprehend.'

They added that the rules would need to be tightened to ensure that anyone who commits crimes like Couzens would have their publicy-funded pension removed 'swiftly and in full'.

Couzens, who was handed a whole-life order for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, in March 2021, could even potentially start drawing his pension at a lower rate from the age of 55.

Current laws state that police officers forfeit their pension of they are found guilty of a crime linked to their work as an officer and their crime will 'lead to a serious loss of confidence in the public service', The Sunday Times reports.

This requires a 'certificate of forfeiture' from the Home Secretary for Met Police officers, as well as most other forces. Mr Khan, who is also police and crime commissioner for London, applied for the certificate last year after Couzens' sentencing - but he had not worked at the Met for long enough to be on their pension scheme.

Therefore, his pension pot was still with the CNC, where he started working in 2011. However, unlike most other forces, their pensions are controlled by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), not the Home Office.

the Mayor of London has had to write to Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, as he is responsible for the UKAEA to get Couzens' pension forfeited

Because of this, the Mayor of London has had to write to Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, as he is responsible for the UKAEA.

The letter, which was also sent to Home Secretary Suella Braverman Khan reportedly says: 'I am sure that you shared my horror at the disturbing facts of the heinous crime committed by a serving police officer.

'While I understand the pension forfeiture arrangements are not straightforward, I seek your assurance that you will take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension. This is what the public would rightly expect.'

Mr Shapps has said he fully supports the recommendation of the CNC that Couzens be 'stripped of his pension so he does not benefit from his years serving' adding that he is 'seeking an urgent update on the matter from the pension administrator'.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, is expected to provide an update regarding a review into the more than 1,000 police officers who have been accused of sexual assault or domestic abuse.
Suella Braverman will not break up the Metropolitan Police despite a scathing report accusing the force of institutional racism, homophobia and misogyny.

The Home Secretary said the findings of Baroness Louise Casey's report last week were 'totally unacceptable', but added that Sir Mark Rowley is the 'right' person to lead the force.

The 363-page dossier, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard's murder by then serving officer Wayne Couzens, revealed that the force is 'failing women and children' and is 'institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic'.

It laid bare a slew of other troubling incidents, too, amid warnings there may be more officers like Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick.

The Baroness, who sits in Britain's upper house of Parliament, found 'severe' failings across the Met that it said will need 'radical reform'.

Baroness Louise Casey penned the 363-page dossier, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard's murder by then serving officer Wayne Couzens

Couzens (pictured) is serving a whole life order for the kidnap, rape and murder of Ms Everard in March 2021

Rowley, the Met Commissioner, also faced questions about use of the phrase 'institutional' to describe the failings in the force.

He accepted the diagnosis of racism, misogyny and homophobia in the Met, but would not use the term institutional because it has become politicised and is ambiguous.

But Ms Braverman, speaking on Sky News on Sunday, indicated that she did not believe a break-up of the Met was required.

Such a solution was floated in the aftermath of Baroness Casey's report by some, as well as the possibility of a new name, following the example of the Royal Ulster Constabulary becoming the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The Home Secretary told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that 'no one's shying away from the big challenges that the Met face'.

The report laid bare a slew of other troubling incidents, too, amid warnings there may be more officers like Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick (pictured)

Ms Braverman, pictured during an appearance on Sky News on Sunday, indicated she does not believe a break-up of the Met was required

Calling Sir Mark Rowley the 'right' person to lead the force, she said Baroness Casey also found that 'the vast majority of serving police officers in the Met are decent, law-abiding and uphold the highest standard'.

'The findings that Louise Casey makes of the instances of misogyny, racism, homophobia are all totally unacceptable and no one's denying that.'

But pressed on whether she could consider breaking up the Met, she said: "Even Louise Casey doesn't recommend breaking up the Met.

'I am personally not at that point.'

Baroness Casey's report was the most damning report in the Met's near 200-year history.

It made 16 recommendations that it said would constitute a 'complete overhaul' of the Met.

Baroness Casey, who spent a year examining the Yard's culture and practices, declared today that the Met is 'unable to police itself from the very worst wrongdoing'.

She slammed the force's decision to 'downgrade the public protection of women and children,' noting the 'irony' that the force had apparently harboured serial rapist David Carrick.

She also acknowledged the validity of concerns black Londoners, alleging there is institutional racism within the force.

Baroness Casey questioned whether a black man, gay man or woman would 'receive the same or worse treatment' in or from the Met than a 'straight white man'.

She also urged the force to 'take action', alleging the 'future of policing, and the public's permission to police them, depends on it'.
Risk of spread of the grisly Ebola-like virus in parts of central Africa is high

The infectious disease has high fatality rates and has epidemic potential

The CDC is warning travelers about a Marburg outbreak in Guinea and Tanzania

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning to people traveling to two African countries over a deadly Marburg outbreak after it announced it is sending personnel to monitor the disease.

The CDC announced this week it will send the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases to respond to the outbreaks in Guinea and Tanzania.

The virus, according to the World Health Organization, has a death rate ranging from around 25 to 90 percent, has recently spread from rural districts in Equatorial Guinea to more densely populated areas and main transport hubs.

CDC officials have recommended travelers heading to Africa avoid contact with sick individuals and healthcare facilities and monitor any potential symptoms.

Symptoms of the virus - which is a cousin to Ebola - can include fever, sore throat, rash, stomach pain, bloody nose or gums, random bruising and, in severe cases, the patient will often start bleeding from different orifices including their eyes.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning anyone traveling to parts of Africa as they send personnel to monitor the outbreak of the Marburg virus

The illness is also spread through contact with contaminated objects - things like clothing, needles, and medical equipment - or by contact with animals such as bats

Multiple African nations are on high alert over the spread of the Marburg virus

An outbreak first occurred in Equatorial Guinea in February.

In the weeks since, the country has reported nine cases with an additional 20 probable cases, according to WHO. All of the additional probable cases have died.

In Tanzania, there have been eight cases, five of whom are confirmed to have died.

Health officials have contacted at least 161 people believed to have had contact with the infected in Tanzania. The cases there are in the northern city of Bukoba, Kagera province, which is home to 120,000 people.

In Gabon and Cameroon - both countries bordering Equatorial Guinea - are currently on high alert over the virus.

The African nations have put in place certain travel restrictions as the virus continues to spread.

According to the CDC, the virus is spread through 'blood or body fluids of a person infected with or who has died from Marburg.'

The illness is also spread through contact with contaminated objects - things like clothing, needles, and medical equipment - or by contact with animals such as bats.

The serious virus causes patients to take on a sunken, almost ghost-like appearance with drawn features, lethargy, and deep.

Like Ebola, its a hemorrhagic fever, meaning they cause bleeding from multiple organs within the body. In the later stages of the disease, the patient will often start bleeding from different orifices.

In the weeks since the first case in February, Equatorial Guinea has reported nine cases with an additional 20 probable cases, according to WHO

The Marburg virus has an incubation period of up to 21 days. The virus attacks the kidney and spleen and causes clotting and inflammation around the body. Symptoms can be pretty severe, such as rashes, bleeding from the eyes and delirium.

A large portion of cases result in death, and even survivors suffer permanent damage

CDC scientists, gathered 20 bats that reside in Maramagambo Forest as part of a research project to determine flight patterns and how they transmit Marburg virus to humans

This is the province in Equatorial Guinea where an outbreak of Marburg virus has occurred

In Tanzania, there have been eight cases, five of whom are confirmed dead. Health officials have contacted at least 161 people believed to have had contact with the infected. The cases there are in the northern city of Bukoba, Kagera province, which is home to 120,000 people

At this time, the WHO has stated that the 'risk at the global level is assessed to be low,' but the situation is still being taken very seriously.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said last week they are tracking the spread and monitoring it closely.

'The confirmation of these new cases is a critical signal to scale up response efforts to quickly stop the chain of transmission and avert a potential large-scale outbreak and loss of life,' Dr. Moeti stated.

The global health body maintains that at the global level, the risk is believed to be low.

The virus is endemic to areas of central Africa, however, including Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has also previously cropped up in Kenya.

Kenyan officials have taken steps to increase surveillance and bolster testing infrastructure along the borders with Uganda and Tanzania.

In Uganda, just north of Tanzania, officials have ordered screening and testing to take place at Kasensero and Mutukula border points.
A teenager left in the ICU covered in vomit and soaked in urine after he was humiliated in a brutal hazing incident spoke out for the first time to warn 'justice will be served' - as police still haven't announced any arrests.

Trent Lehrkamp, 19, was allegedly attacked at a house party at Saint Simon's Island off the coast of Georgia on March 21 by a group of his 'wealthy friends', according to a police report obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

A gruesome Snapchat photo of Lehrkamp and his four alleged torturers showed the victim sitting unconsciously slumped over in a recliner while covered in red spray paint and other unidentified items.

Lehrkamp broke his silence weeks after the attack that left him on a ventilator after his breathing dropped to a rate of just six breaths a minute from 'drinking vodka and antidepressants.' He was also allegedly forced to take mushrooms.

I'm alive and doing well and I'm recovering,' Lehrkamp told WSAV. 'Just know, it's going to be a long time for me to get over this - through the trauma. But one day, hopefully within the next few months or so, I might be back. But justice will be served.'

Snapchat image of Trent Lehrkamp allegedly being victimized by a group of teenage boys in Georgia on March 21

Lehrkamp broke his silence weeks after the attack that left him soaked in urine and on a ventilator after his breathing dropped to a rate of just six breaths a minute from 'drinking vodka and antidepressants.' Pictured: Lehrkamp hugging his dad

EXCLUSIVE: A message from Trent Lehrkamp himself as he continues his recovery, now at an out of state facility. Justice will be served. @wsav #TrentLehrkamp #JusticeForTrent pic.twitter.com/ehD6IXAjT3  Brett Buffington (@BrettWSAV) April 2, 2023

Trent Lehrkamp, 19, was allegedly attacked at a house party at Saint Simon's Island off the coast of Georgia

Authorities were notified by staff at Southeast Georgia Health Center after Lehrkamp was dropped off at the ER by three of his alleged attackers, whom DailyMail.com is not naming as they are minors.

According to the police incident report, Trent's father Mark, 44, told the responding officer that he had seen his son around 4:52pm on March 21 and that he was 'perfectly fine' when he went to his friend's house on wealthy St Simon's Island, Georgia.

The dad later received a phone call informing him that his son 'might be at the hospital.' He called the hospital straight away and was told that he needed to get there 'immediately.'

The report reveals Trent's younger sister also received a Snapchat at 8:39pm stating, 'N**** Omg I know you're sick of hearing it but like I wasn't there but like Trent is f***ing dying apparently.'

When she asked where her brother was the messenger responded, 'Take a guess [redacted's] Motherf***ing [redacted]basement.'

At six breaths a minute, Trent's breathing was so shallow he could not breathe independently. By the time his father saw him he had already been placed on a ventilator.

According to the report, Trent was soaked in urine. He had spray paint all over his body and hair and a small bruise on his left shoulder.

Horrifying pictures posted to, and now removed from, one of the alleged assailant's Snapchats appear to show Trent slumped unconscious, covered in detritus, and tied to a chair.

Shockingly, Trent's father went on to tell police, this was not an isolated incident but a repeated pattern of behavior.

He told the responding officer it was not the first time that his son had gone to this particular house, where he thought he was attending a Spring Break party and returned home hurt. He told officers, 'He never returns home normal.'

Trent has since been taken off the ventilator and is receiving additional treatment out of state.

Lehrkamp said it might be a few months until he can get back on his feet but reassured justice would be served

Authorities were notified by staff at Southeast Georgia Health Center after Lehrkamp was dropped off at the ER by three of his alleged attackers, whom DailyMail.com is not naming as they are minors

An image shows Trent hooked up to a ventilator in the intensive care unit following his traumatic outing. He has since been taken off the ventilator and is being treated at an out-of-state facility

A video posted on Facebook shows a separate alleged hazing video, during which Trent was aggressively sprayed with water by a group who taunt him

The police report, exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com says that on March 17, Trent came home 'covered in 'WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk and spray paint'

On Friday March 17, he revealed: 'Trenton came home [from this address] covered in WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint.'

In addition, the report reads, 'Mark stated that Trenton seemed high or drunk and two weeks prior Mark had to take Trenton to the emergency room because he came home with a severe laceration above his left eye that required stitches.'

According to his father, Trent, who is not on the autism spectrum as has been reported, believes his alleged attackers to be his friends and that he goes over there because 'he has no other friends.'

The police report states, 'When Trenton is at [that] house, he is accepted and with people he thinks care for him. Mark also believes that since they are younger than Trenton, he might think they look up to him [and] would not fight or defend himself [because] they are minors and if he hurts them, he will get in serious trouble.'

Meanwhile in an email obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, Glynn Academy High School, from which Trent is a recent graduate and where the alleged perpetrators are students, informed parents, 'We are aware of the allegations of an off-campus incident that involved several of our former and current students.'

According to Georgia Department of Education law, the email states, students can be disciplined for conduct off-campus, 'which could result in the student being criminally charged and which makes the student's continued presence at the school a potential dangeror disrupts the educational process.'
A man was run over and killed by his car while he was working on it in his driveway, police said.

The 41-year-old died after his black car 'moved' while he was working on it his driveway in Stevenage, Hertfordshire on Saturday.

Police have appealed for any motorists driving past to check dashcam footage for any evidence of what happened.

A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said: 'It is believed that a 41-year-old man had been working on a black car on a driveway when, for reasons not yet known, the vehicle moved, seriously injuring the man. The man's injuries sadly proved fatal.

The 41-year-old died from his injuries after his black car 'moved' while he was working on it his driveway in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on Saturday

'Officers are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage following a serious incident in Stevenage which resulted in the death of a man.

Investigating officer Sergeant David McIlwhan added: 'We are investigating the circumstances of this incident.

'If you were passing when or just before the incident happened or have dashcam footage that could help us understand what happened, we would like to speak to you.'

Those who wish to make an anonymous report can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
At least 32 people are dead after powerful tornadoes ripped through parts of the Midwest and South over the weekend.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods on Friday night. It could take days to make a count of all the tornadoes from recent days.

Among the five dead in Indiana are Brett Kincaid, 53, and Wendy Kincaid, 47, from Rossville, Indiana, whose bodies were found at the McCormick's Creek State Park campground, where they had been camping, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Thirteen deaths were reported in Tennessee, where an EF-2 tornado tore through several counties, according to the National Weather field office in Nashville.

The dead also included at least nine in one Tennessee county and four in Illinois. Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.

Destroyed aircrafts, hangar pieces, and other debris lay at Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after a tornado hit Palestine, Illinois

There was severe damage in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard where at least five people were killed

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday traveled to Belvidere to visit the Apollo Theatre, which partially collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble; he later died.

The governor said 48 others were treated in hospitals, with five in critical condition.

WTHR reported that Brett and Wendy Kincaid, who were killed in their camper Friday night when the storm hit McCormick's Creek State Park campground in Owen County, had been avid campers.

Their bodies were found on Saturday, according to Indiana conservation officers who said the storms devastated the area, specifically the campground, which remains closed.

Gov. Pritzker planned to travel later to Crawford County, about 230 miles south of Chicago, where three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron.

Men inspect a tornado damaged car in Adamsville, Tennessee on Sunday, April 2, 2023

Pieces of a hangar are seen wrapped around a tree at Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after a tornado hit Palestine, Illinois

Regan Millmeyer sits in front of her tornado damaged home in Adamsville, Tennessee

Tennessee, one of the hardest-hit states since the storms began Friday, initially had seven weather-related fatalities. But this rose to 12 after police reported three new deaths Sunday, saying two children and an adult were killed Saturday when a tree fell on a house in Memphis

Mike Garcia looks over his tornado damaged house with a friend in Adamsville, Tenn. on Saturday, April 1, 2023

'We've had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to,' Sheriff Bill Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indiana's Sullivan County, about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Several people were rescued overnight, with reports of as many as 12 people injured.

'I'm really, really shocked there isnt more as far as human issues,' said Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb, adding that recovery 'is going to be a very long process.'

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado was responsible for storm damage near Bridgeville, Delaware, where severe weather prompted warnings and damaged numerous homes and shut down roads.

One person was found dead inside a house heavily damaged by the storm Saturday night, Delaware State Police reported.

A car drives by destroyed aircrafts, hangar pieces, and debris at Robinson Municipal Airport

Tornadoes flattened parts of Illinois, including Robinson Municipal Airport

Earlier storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage's scope.

'That means that there is now assistance from the federal government to support the incredible efforts that are already underway from the state and the local communities,' FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in Little Rock, Arkansas, after visiting some of the hardest hit areas.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. At least five people were killed in her state.

One wild video posted to Twitter shows a woman in Little Rock, Arkansas recording the incoming tornado as a man attempts to shut the door.

Just as they pull it shut, the tornado blasts in and pummels the building they're in while the phone camera keeps rolling.

One wild video posted to Twitter shows a woman in Little Rock, Arkansas recording the incoming tornado as a man attempts to shut the door

Just as they pull it shut, the tornado blasts in and pummels the building they're in while the phone camera keeps rolling

People search for salvageable parts near destroyed aircraft, hangar pieces, and other debris as they lay at Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after a tornado hit Palestine, Illinois, U.S

Tennessee, one of the hardest-hit states since the storms began Friday, initially had seven weather-related fatalities.

But this rose to 12 after police reported three new deaths Sunday, saying two children and an adult were killed Saturday when a tree fell on a house in Memphis.

Scenes of devastation were left in the path of the Tennessee tornado, which twisted trees, flattened homes into piles of wooden boards and ripped walls from still-standing structures.

'The whole house, you can feel it shaking,' said Janice Pieterick, whose house doors and glass windows blew out when the tornado swept through Lewis County.

'We just all hunkered down.'

Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions from Friday night are expected to return Tuesday.

The storms struck just hours after Biden visited Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

In a statement Sunday President Joe Biden said: 'We are working closely with the state of Indiana and other impacted states as they assess damages, and stand ready to respond to any additional requests for Federal assistance.'
A man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman whose body was discovered in a marina has been released - as detectives continue to probe the 'unexplained' death.

Emergency services rushed to a body of water at the Thames and Kennet Marina in Caversham, Reading, after the discovery was made shortly after 10.30am on Saturday.

A 61-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder as Thames Valley Police urged the public 'not to speculate' on the circumstances of the woman's death.

But the force said this evening that no further action would be taken against the man, from Caversham.

Meanwhile, detectives are treating the case as an unexplained death.

Officers were called just after 10.30am on Saturday to reports of a body in the water at the Thames and Kennet Marina (pictured) in Caversham, Reading

A 61-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, but has now been released with no further action to be taken

A police spokesman said: 'A man was arrested in connection with the investigation but he has now been released with no further action to be taken.

'We would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding while we investigate the circumstances.

'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the woman who has died.'
The Manhattan DA's office run buy Alvin Bragg U-turned on Sunday by saying it would not charge a garage security guard who shot a suspected thief on Saturday.

Garage attendant Moussa Diarra, 57, was himself shot twice by alleged thief Charles Rhodie, 59, early on Saturday before tussling for the same gun and firing back.

Both were charged with attempted murder, assault and firearms charges before the DA's office changed its position, telling the New York Post it will not charge Diarra.

Bragg's office said it would dismiss the case 'pending further investigation'.

'By this morning, people understood exactly what had happened, what a hero and victim my client was. Obviously not the perpetrator,' Diarra's lawyer, Charles Clayman, told The Post. 'All's well that ends well.'

The Manhattan DA's office run buy Alvin Bragg (pictured) U-turned on Sunday by saying it would not charge a garage security guard who shot a suspected thief on Saturday

The incident unfolded at a midtown parking garage on West 31st Street in Manhattan at around 5.30am on Saturday

'We are more than pleased with the result,' Clayman added. 'I think what they wanted to do was sort things out, and both men had been shot.'

At around 5.30am on Saturday the attendant saw a man peering into car windows on the second floor of the West 31st Street garage, reported the Post.

Thinking that the man was stealing, the attendant brought the suspect outside and asked what was inside his bag.

Instead of idling or cooperating, however, the man then pulled out a weapon. Diarra lunged for the gun and it went off, leaving him with a stomach wound and an ear graze before he was able to turn the gun on the alleged thief and shoot him in the chest.

They were both initially charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, but Rhodie was also charged with burglary, according to police. Rhodie's charges remain.

A family friend of Diarra's was irate: 'That's self-defense. The guy tried to rob his business. Why DA want to charge him with attempted murder?' said Mariame Diarra, of no relation to the attendant.

'He's there for security. That's literally his job, to defend his business ... He takes his job seriously ... Attempted murder charge has no place there,' she continued. 'He [the robber] came to find him at his job with his gun, he [the attendant] has to defend himself.'

An individual who works at another garage near the Moynihan Train Station was also shocked and disturbed by the charges:

'You are kidding. That's an April fool day joke, right?' asked the person. 'How can a hardworking man get arrested for defending himself?'

Both men, including the one acting in self defense, have been charged with attempted murder

Jose Alba, 62, was released from Rikers Island on Thursday evening and returned to his home accompanied by one of his sons after his bail was lowered from $250,000 to $50,000

The DA's change of heart is reminiscent of the case against Manhattan bodega clerk Jose Alba, who was charged with murder following a fatal confrontation on July 1 with an angry customer who accosted him.

Last July, it was six days before Alba was let out of jail on Rikers Island and Alvin Bragg dropped the murder charge following a public pressure campaign to do so.

The Post reported that one police officer who was told about the attempted murder charge said: 'People like Alvin Bragg have made this city unsafe and this worker is a victim defending himself.'

Another officer joked that the thief would have been better off is he were caught stealing because Bragg would likely not have pressed any sort of lasting charge.

'The ironic thing is if he would have just robbed the garage and got caught, Bragg would have let him go, but now he wants to charge both of them,' he said.

Both the attendant and suspected robber live in Manhattan and were transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition following the incident.

Last week, Manhattan DA Bragg oversaw the indictment of former President Donald Trump, an action that many have called spectacular political overreach from an office that frequently seeks to tamp down charges, not amplify them.

Bragg's complacency when it comes to street criminals is part of the reason New York City's crime rate continues to skyrocket despite repeated promises from City Hall that the Adams administration is working to get the issue under control.

One officer who found out about the charges against Diarra said: 'People like Alvin Bragg have made this city unsafe and this worker is a victim defending himself'

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been accused of being soft on crime and failing to prosecute criminals who are driving the crime stats up in New York City

The statistics paint a bleak picture of the city's efforts to address crime that's rocketed since the pandemic

Crime statistics released in January paint a bleak picture of the city's efforts to address crime that's rocketed since the pandemic.

The data shows that rapes, robberies, and assaults are all up from last year, since hitting highs not seen in decades in both 2020 and 2021.

Rape - which rose in 2020 when streets were empty and unemployment was rife due to unrest caused by Covid-19 - rose by 7 percent, with more than 120 reported cases this year than last.

Robberies, meanwhile, rose 20 percent, despite recent measures taken by Adams, 62, to increase police presence throughout the city.

Assaults and theft throughout the city, meanwhile, show a similarly pronounced rise, with felony assaults up 12 percent - 26,039 incidents this year compared to 22,835 seen last year - and burglaries up an alarming 25 percent.

All other crimes - including grand larceny and motor vehicle theft - showed similar rises except for murders.
At least 25 cars on a train traveling through Montana derailed Sunday morning, spilling out contents into the area and a local body of water.

The derailment occurred around 9am in Sanders County, a rural area located roughly 250 miles northwest of Butte.

First responders reported to the scene immediately and told local outlets there was no threat to the public, however, it's unknown what the cars were carrying.

The latest incident comes after recent train derailments in Minnesota, Ohio, and South Dakota, each carrying hazardous materials that have caused safety concerns.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were some 1,164 train derailments in 2022. On average, the country experiences roughly three derailments per day.

At least 25 cars on a train traveling through Montana derailed Sunday morning, spilling out contents into the area and a local body of water.

Smoke and fire appear after a BNSF train derailed in Raymond, Minnesota on March 30, 2023

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed the night before in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 4, 2023

According to local outlets, calls first came in to the Sanders County Sheriff's Office around 9.20am.

Fire department officials quickly reported to the scene and have been working to clean up the mess since.

Sheriff's representatives have stated there is no immediate threat to the public.

It's unclear if anyone was on board at the time of the derailment.

No injuries have been reported at this time.

Photos from the scene show the extent of the damage as cars are seen off the tracks and dipping into the water.

Montana Rail Link, which owns the railroad, is aware of the situation, according to NBC Montana.

The company whose train derailed has not been identified yet.

This comes amid a series of devastating crashes involving hazardous materials that have sparked safety concerns in Minnesota, Ohio, and South Dakota.

Calls first came in to the Sanders County Sheriff's Office around 9.20am

Photos from the scene show the extent of the damage as cars are seen off the tracks and dipping into the water

Montana Rail Link, which owns the railroad, is aware of the situation, according to NBC Montana

Sunday's derailment happened in Sanders County, located in the northwest corner of the state

The latest crash occurred in Raymond, Minnesota where some 40 cars derailed and several caught fire.

The city has been left looking like a warzone with the cars on fire and the huge spill.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated after the 40-car freight train carrying hazardous substances careered off the tracks at around 1am on Thursday.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe train was carrying ethanol and corn syrup on around 14 of the carriages, which is what sparked the fire.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg confirmed he was watching the situation 'closely' and spoke out about the incident after being accused of not addressing a similar incident in Ohio.

In February, a Norfolk Southern railroad company train derailed and spilled massive levels of toxic materials in East Palestine.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would be suing Norfolk Southern over polluting waterways in the Ohio city.

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.

Residents were evacuated after the 40-car freight train carrying hazardous substances careered off the tracks at around 1am on Thursday morning

Raymond locals were warned not to travel to the site as officials continue to battle the blaze

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

Another train derailed and crashed in North Dakota on Sunday, March 26

The Montana crash also comes less than one week after 31 cars on a 70-car train derailed in North Dakota.

That crash occurred when a Canadian Pacific train derailed Sunday about a mile southeast of Wyndmere in Richland County.

No injuries were reported at the time but several of the cars were carrying hazardous materials.

Officials have stated the cleanup will take more roughly seven to 10 days.

Derailments have made major headlines throughout 2023 so far and even at the end of 2022 as railway officials recorded more than 1,100 incidents.

Most derailments, according to Federal Railroad Administration officials are not disastrous or dangerous.

'Yet we're not hearing left and right about derailments in various places around the country, and the main reason for that is they are not really a major event,' Mehdi Ahmadian, a professor of mechanical engineering told NPR in March.
The messages from junior doctors on the social media site Reddit are unambiguous.

'F*** this s*** and more than anything, f*** the NHS,' reads one. For good measure, it throws in a callous reference to record patient waiting times that may have cost a shocking number of lives: 'Don't guilt-trip me with your cancers anymore ... I sincerely deeply hope the whole damn thing collapses.'

Another Reddit user joins in, saying: 'The NHS is drowning, and I would happily hold its head under water until the bubbles stop.' One more replies: 'One could say it's the kinder thing to do.'

It may not be the most representative sample. But the thread of messages on the media site, which is used by militant young members of the British Medical Association, gives a graphic insight into the mindset of some junior doctors as they plan a 96-hour walk-out in England following the Easter bank holiday.

Health leaders have described the planned stoppage, which follows the rejection of doctors' demands for a 35 per cent pay rise, as by far the most disruptive in a wave of industrial action by NHS workers that began in December.

The messages from junior doctors on the social media site Reddit are unambiguous. Pictured: Co-chairs of the BMA's junior doctors' committee Vivek Trivedi (left) and Rob Laurenson (right)

The thread of messages on the media site, which is used by militant young members of the British Medical Association, gives a graphic insight into the mindset of some junior doctors as they plan a 96-hour walk-out in England following the Easter bank holiday. Pictured: Junior Doctors from the BMA trade union on their picket line at St Thomas' Hospital, London

The 35 per cent rise is essential say the doctors, who claim they have had 15 years of real-term pay cuts. But such an absurd increase will never be met. The fact the doctors have cynically chosen their moment, just after a lengthy bank holiday, means that demand for treatment will be sky high before the strike even begins. And it follows a 72-hour strike last month that resulted in the cancellation of 175,000 appointments and operations.

Yet judging by the Reddit messages, certain junior doctors  and particularly those with influence in the BMA  are determined for the suffering to continue. 'We need to cause serious disruption across the service' to punish people, asserts one. Another adds: 'I'm a doctor and I hate the NHS.'

And a further message exclaims: 'REMEMBER  THE DISRUPTION IS THE AIM. This is not just a protest like the nurses strike, we need to cause serious disruption across the service.'

Forget patients' lives, this is part of a nakedly political campaign. Elected officials of the BMA talk openly of their hatred of the Tories and turning the strike into an assault on the Government. Two of the most prominent are Rob Laurenson, 28, a privately educated trainee GP from Kent, and Vivek Trivedi, 30, a trainee anaesthetist.

Both are co-chairmen of the BMA junior doctors committee, both were involved in negotiations with health minister Steve Barclay, both have appeared on TV as spokesmen for the cause and, when asked on Reddit about the strike, both replied in unison: 'Our preference is giving employers the legally required notice of days of action and nothing more. Our preference is a full walkout.'

Intriguingly, Laurenson and Trivedi have a crab symbol as part of their Twitter profiles and reportedly wore crab badges during the negotiations. This was almost certainly to express their solidarity with hard-Left doctors  although some have used crabs on social media as an anti-capitalist symbol.

Daniel Zahedi, a BMA East of England official, told a Stop the War conference in January: 'With talk of a general strike growing louder and louder by the day, I implore co-workers and colleagues to come together, from nurses, midwives, physios, OTEs, paramedics, pharmacists, porters and domestics, to our posties, our firefighters, our railworkers, bus drivers, teachers, university lecturers, dockworkers and everyone in between.

'It's more than about pay, it's about justice.'

It is true that the BMA, the oldest trade union in Britain, has a long history of political unrest. Aneurin Bevan, the Labour architect of the NHS, called the organisation 'politically poisoned' and was fulminating about them just four months before the health service's launch, which the union feared would undermine the role and influence of doctors.

'There has been ...misrepresentation, sustained by a campaign of personal abuse, from a small body of spokesmen who have consistently misled the great profession to which they are supposed to belong,' he said.

'I make a distinction ... between the hard-working doctors who have little or no time to give to these matters, and the small body of raucous-voiced people who are alleged to represent the profession.'

But 75 years on from that Bevan speech, it's clear that sections of the BMA are more militant than ever, having been hijacked by the hard Left.

And the manner in which this has happened is as shocking as it is cynical, with echoes of the way Marxist supporters of Jeremy Corbyn engineered his surprise victory in the 2015 Labour leadership contest and then saw off all attempts to unseat him.

Indeed, many of these entryists into the BMA were members of Momentum, the shadowy political group that was set up to defend Corbyn's leadership.

It was in 2020 that a group of mainly 20-something doctors formed an organisation called Broad Left  the name stems from a Communist Party strategy to 'unite to capture positions within a union' and move it Left to win 'concessions from capitalism and the state'. The outfit's logo is a stethoscope arranged to look like the hammer and sickle and it set to work on the BMA, hand in hand with a larger group called Doctor's Vote, a body dedicated to securing the astronomical pay rise.

Key to their modus operandi was the fact that internal BMA elections have very low turn-outs and Doctor's Vote used this to ensure their preferred candidates had the best chance of being elected. 'Persuading current voters ... shouldn't be a big focus,' noted one of their internal directives.

Another said: 'We must elect representatives who will not sell out, who will not falter under media and government pressure.'

The result has been a resounding success for the hard Left.

The Doctor's Vote/Broad Left caucus now has 59 of the 60 regional junior doctor representatives and accounts for 26 of the 55 voting members on the BMA council.

As the activists say in another internal document: 'Never in the history of the BMA has such a large-scale, co-ordinated effort been made.' They boast they have 'pushed through ... by far the most significant change in BMA industrial strategy for a decade'.

The strategy has been accompanied by advertising. Last month the BMA took out an advertisement claiming newly qualified medics were paid only 14.09 an hour, while baristas at Pret a Manger are paid 14.10.

The figure has been disputed, however. FullFact, an independent checking service, pointed out that the BMA numbers represent the basic pay of the lowest-ranked doctors  just 11 per cent of their 48,000 junior-doctor members. And such rates would apply only to doctors who receive no higher pay for night or weekend work.

'In practice, it's likely that very few junior doctors, if any at all, are paid 14.09 for each hour of work that they are required to do,' says FullFact.

Junior doctors who are members of the NHS Pension Scheme also, of course, receive pension contributions worth 20 per cent of their salary. But these are mere details to those leading the fight at the BMA. Laurenson and Trivedi are not alone in heading the intensely political campaign.

Others include Emma Runswick, deputy chairman of the BMA council who is just 28 and a woman with a formidable record of hard-Left activism. A member of Broad Left, she is known as 'Red Runswick' and works in community health in Manchester as well as two days a week for the BMA.

Before the 2017 election, when Corbyn was Labour leader, she signed an open letter urging all the Left to unite to fight to make him prime minister.

Runswick has also defended prostitution for medical students as 'flexible, well-paying work with limited hours'. She wrote: 'Support your members at ARM [BMA conference], folks  at least some of them will be sex workers.'

She says that organising doctors in strike action is an 'opening for socialist politics'.

On the Broad Left website she proclaims her battlegrounds: 'For a fighting union. For pay and pension restoration. Unashamedly Socialist.' She was also on the steering committee of the UK Zero Covid Campaign, which demanded a full UK-wide lockdown 'until new cases in the community have been reduced close to zero'.

If the committee's demand had been met, we might still be in lockdown.

Runswick comes from a family of hard-Left campaigners. Her mother Kathy was a Momentum supporter and Labour Party constituency chairman in Wallasey in Merseyside. Her father Alan, a trade unionist, was also in Momentum.

Another far from moderate member of the BMA council is Rebecca Acres, 31, a junior doctor from Warwickshire who describes herself as 'neurodivergent'  someone who differs 'in mental or neurological functions from what is considered typical'.

A Christian who 'thinks Jesus would have been Left-wing by modern standards', she is a founder of Broad Left and was elected to the BMA council last year.

She describes Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party, luridly, as full of 'proto-fascist red Tories'.

She says the Conservatives are 'almost genocidal' and insists that 'the extremists (and fascists) are trying to wrest control of our institutions from the artists, liberals and leftists; they must be resisted'. Meanwhile, hardliner Jo Sutton-Klein, 28, a casualty doctor in Manchester who was also elected last year to the BMA Council, has no compunction about boasting on her Twitter handle that she's 'organising strikes'.

The doctors' dispute should be used to challenge Tory trade union laws, she says.

'Nationally co-ordinated, disruptive, wide-scale industrial action with extremely ambitious demands would seriously disrupt government ... it will mark a significant step in the reversal of the defeats that trade unions have faced since the 1980s,' she adds.

'We should anticipate inordinate and aggressive resistance from the Government, political class, the media.'

The organiser of the strikes also has form. Matt Waddup, director of member relations at the BMA, is not a doctor, but learnt his craft at the militant train union the RMT.

He later moved to the University and College Union and organised the walkout of 42,000 staff at 64 universities in 2018. He told academics that industrial action should escalate gradually until 'real damage is done'. Millions of students were not told whether lectures would take place, with academics silent until the last minute to cause the maximum chaos.

Waddup has a clear strategy about strikes: 'We start this action small and we work our way upwards.

'We give the employers every single opportunity  even ones they don't deserve  to come back to the table before real damage is done, before real disruption happens in the sector.

'The fight of our lives doesn't mean that we put our heads down and charge straight at the enemy. That's the sure way to be defeated.'

The rampant politicisation of parts of the BMA has alarmed Conservative MPs such as Ben Spencer, a former NHS psychiatrist. He said: 'The BMA cares more about politics than patients. We know the impact the last strike had  appointments cancelled, patient care affected and more pressure on NHS staff.

'Yet the BMA seem more interested in becoming the medical branch of Momentum.'
The looming junior doctors' strike means more than half a million operations and appointments will have been halted by walkouts, NHS chiefs warned last night.

The impact of the doctors' action this month will see around 250,000 procedures cancelled, according to 'conservative' estimates.

Added to about 300,000 cancellations since NHS industrial action started in December, more than 550,000 procedures and appointments will have been put on hold.

Many patients will be called today to be told their operations are being cancelled. The backlog awaiting procedures is a record 7.2million.

The four-day strike, starting next Tuesday, is the longest yet, with the Easter weekend adding to the pressure on the NHS. Junior doctors also walked out last month.

The impact of the doctors' action this month will see around 250,000 procedures cancelled, according to 'conservative' estimates

Many patients will be called today to be told their operations are being cancelled. The backlog awaiting procedures is a record 7.2million

Writing in The Times, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, said: 'The threatened doctors' strike will endanger patients and be a hammer blow to the NHS's attempts to tackle treatment backlogs.'

The British Medical Association has been criticised for advising members not to tell NHS bosses if they were going on strike.

Hospitals are drawing up plans to provide care during the walkout, but not knowing which doctors plan to strike makes this harder.

A guide for strikers on the BMA website states: 'You should not tell your trust if you are striking.'

Tory MP Paul Bristow, who sits on the Commons health committee, said it was 'morally reprehensible', adding: 'For the BMA's leaders, this is no longer about trying to get the best deal for members, it's about bringing down the Government.'

Mr Taylor said many consultants who would normally fill the gaps will be away over Easter.

Those who pitch in will expect to be paid the BMA's going rate to cover, putting further pressure on NHS budgets.

Added to that is an NHS under strain due to 124,000 vacant posts.

More than 60,000 junior doctors are expected to strike as they demand a pay rise of 35 per cent.

The basic salary for a foundation-year junior doctor is 29,384, but those with specialist training earn 40,257 to 53,398.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has successfully led pay negotiations with the Royal College of Nursing, which has now put a 4billion pay deal to its members in a ballot due to end on April 17.

A BMA spokesman said: 'In England, there is no legal obligation for an employee to tell their employer if or when they are taking industrial action. The BMA has provided NHS Trusts with all the industrial action information required by law.'
A taskforce to tackle grooming gangs is being launched by Rishi Sunak today to protect women and girls from sexual abuse by 'evil' men.

The Prime Minister pledges to 'stamp them out'  and condemns the political correctness that let them proliferate.

Experienced specialist police and members of the National Crime Agency will help local investigations, and new laws will give judges the power to pass tougher sentences on the leaders of child abuse rings.

Experts will track suspects down using 'cutting-edge intelligence', including their ethnicity details, Downing Street said, to make sure they cannot 'evade justice because of cultural sensitivities'.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has highlighted the racial backgrounds of those involved in some grooming gangs.

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) pledges to 'stamp them out'  and condemns the political correctness that let them proliferate

She said: 'What we've seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who have worked in child abuse rings or networks.'

Safety of women and girls is paramount

The crackdown follows scandals in which the organised sexual exploitation of thousands of children in towns including Rotherham, Telford and Rochdale went unchecked because officials feared being branded racist or fuelling the far Right.

The PM, who was due to meet members of the taskforce as well as survivors of grooming gangs in Leeds and Greater Manchester today, said last night: 'The safety of women and girls is paramount.

'For too long, political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women. We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs.'

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Mrs Braverman, who has pledged to introduce mandatory reporting of suspected abuse for professionals working with children, said thousands of youngsters had been robbed of their childhoods because state agencies including 'social workers, teachers, the police' had turned 'a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racist'.

She told the BBC: 'Some of these councillors, senior politicians in Labour-run areas, over a period of years, absolutely failed to take action because of cultural sensitivities.'

Labour's Levelling-Up spokesman Lisa Nandy said: 'When I was working with children and young people there were particular issues with Kurdish and Pakistani gangs in some parts of the country.

'There were also huge issues with white men grooming young girls online.'

But asked if Labour councils had turned a blind eye to abuse, she admitted: 'In the cases of Rochdale and Rotherham, the reports were clear there were politicians and officers who didn't report, sometimes for fear of political correctness.'

As Director of Public Prosecutions in 2012, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: 'In a number of cases, particularly in cases involving groups, there's clearly an issue of ethnicity that has to be understood and addressed.'
Paris has become the first city in the world to vote to ban self-hire electric scooters after a series of fatal crashes across Europe.

In a move set to be studied with interest in the UK, the French capital rejected the controversial scooters by a 90 per cent majority in a referendum on Sunday.

It comes after a number of crashes involving the vehicles in recent years, with Paris and other European cities including London also complaining about dumping.

In 2019, a rider was hit by a van and killed, becoming the first e-scooter fatality in Paris.

There are around 15,000 e-scooters in Paris that can be picked up using a mobile app and then left anywhere, including in the River Seine.

In a move likely to be studies with huge interest in the UK, the French capital rejected the controversial scooters by a 90 per cent majority

Following widespread opposition, City Hall organised the poll asking the question: 'Do we or don't we continue with free-floating rental scooters?'

But shortly after 10pm on Sunday, a Ville de Paris spokesman said 'the no vote won with 90 per cent of the vote'.

Three companies  Lime, Tier and Dott  run scooter services in Paris, but they will now have to stop business.

They had advertised the vehicles as an effective, non-polluting alternative to public transport.

According to a study commissioned by City Hall in May, 71 per cent of regular users of the scooters are under the age of 35 and nearly a third are students.

Few bothered with helmets or insurance, and many of the accidents they were involved in went unreported.

The scooters' maximum speed was reduced to about 12mph and specific parking spaces were created.

Paris also introduced a equivalent fine of around 110 for riders who used pavements, or who illegally carried a passenger.

Tier and Lime electric scooters are parked on the pavement in Paris last week shortly before the referendum

Despite this, in 2022 police reported more than 400 accidents, with 459 people badly injured.

This was in a year when Paris recorded about 20million trips on the scooters - making it one of the largest markets in the world.

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, said she favoured a ban but wanted the people of the city to decide.

Lime had even offered ten-minute free rides to clients who registered to vote in the referendum.

This led to deputy mayor David Belliard accusing Lime of trying to 'buy voters, which is frankly not nice.'

In turn, Lime said it was not a political vote and not subject to normal election rules.

Despite a very low turnout on Sunday - less than 5 per cent cast a vote - the result is now binding.
Brisbane Airport has been thrown into chaos following a technical issue with baggage check-in.

Passengers have been warned to brace for slower check-in times and delays.

The IT issue is currently affecting the systems used by Jetstar, Rex, Link Airways and Aerlink in the Domestic Terminal.

Brisbane Airport has been thrown into chaos following a technical issue with baggage check-in (stock image)

Brisbane Airport Corporation spokesman Stephen Beckett said technicians were working to quickly resolve the IT issue.

'We've called in extra people, and stood up our CARE Team in the terminal,' he said.

'While we are still able to manually accept checked-in baggage, check-in will be a slower than usual this morning.'

Travellers have been advised to regularly check their airline's website for any updates.

'We are working hard to resolve this IT issue so that we can keep any flight delays to a minimum,' he said.

The major delays come after the school holidays began in Queensland on Saturday.

Thousands of commuters are expected to pass through the airport as they travel overseas or interstate to celebrate the Easter holidays.

Frustrated passengers vented their anger online over the untimely delays.

'Need better quality baggage handlers is what they mean,' one wrote.

'Too money hungry to employ more staff and expect usual staff to cope.'
A major search is underway after a plane with a couple onboard failed to arrive at an airport in rural Queensland.

The aircraft departed cattle station Natal Downs, south of Charters Towers, on Sunday afternoon.

It was reported missing after failing to arrive at Lakeside Airpark, in Proserpine, by 6.30pm.

The plane is a white and green Piper Cherokee, a light aircraft that was designed for flight training, air taxi or personal use.

Maree and Rhiley Kuhrt are understood to be the couple onboard the missing plane.

Mr Kuhrt is the son of a Mackay district police senior sergeant and head stockman and pilot at Nerrigundah station while his partner Maree is pregnant.

RACQ CQ Rescue has been called to help search for a plane that is overdue at Bloomsbury

Maree and Rhiley Kuhrt are understood to be the couple onboard the missing plane

A desperate search has been launched with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre leading the effort.

Two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft failed to find any trace of the missing aircraft last night.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Ricus Lombard said search teams had to contend with poor and wet conditions.

'It's easing  (but the) potential with showers and storms. There is a fair bit of cloud as well,' Mr Lombard said.

'There's a weak trough just to the north so there is some shower and storm in the area.'

RACQ CQ took to social media to say the search would continue on Monday.

'CQRescue searched the area last night after the aircraft, with a man and a woman on board, didn't arrive at Lakeside Airfield,' the post read.

'Concerned family members reported the plane missing and an aerial search by the Mackay and Townsville helicopters last night failed to find any sign of the aircraft.'

Mr Kuhrt is an avid flyer who has posted about his love for air travel on social media.

One photo shows him posing in front of a light chopper while another video shows him laughing in a small aircraft with several dogs sitting in the backseat.

The search comes almost two months after a couple of Australians were killed when their light plane crashed near a volcano in the Philippines on February 18.

Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, both from South Australia, were on board a Cessna RPC340 that crashed after leaving Bicol International Airport in Albay.

It's understood the six-seater Cessna 340 aircraft was bound for the capital Manila following the engineers' site visit at Bac-Man Geothermal Power Plant.

An aerial search around Bloomsbury for a reported missing plane

However, communication with the aircraft's pilot was lost three minutes after the plane's departure.

The aircraft was last seen five minutes after leaving the airport before it was reported missing.

Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong shared her condolences following the crash.

'On behalf of the Australian Government, I'd like to extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the two men, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, both from Adelaide, my home town, as well as the Filipino nationals involved,' she said.

Pilot Rufino James Crisostomo Jr and mechanic Joel Martin were also on board.

The wreckage was located near a 'permanent danger site' and a determined 'no-fly zone' around the volcano.
Motorists are facing a nightmare commute to work after a serious four car crash on one of Australia's busiest freeways which has left at least one person fighting for life.

Emergency services remain at the scene of the crash on the Pacific Motorway at Eight Mile Plains on Brisbane's outskirts.

The crash which occurred in a left hand lane just before Underwood Road around 6.30am on Monday has sparked massive delays for northbound traffic of at least 40 minutes.

At least four people have been assessed by paramedics, including one in a critical condition.

Brisbane motorists heading to work face massive delays northbound on the Pacific Motorway

'It was nasty, looked really bad,' one passing motorist said.

Queensland Ambulance has since confirmed four patients were taken to hospital.

Two were rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital, one in a critical condition.

The other two were taken to Logan Hospital in stable conditions.

The Forensic Crash Unit is en route to the scene.

Queensland Police urged motorists to avoid the area if possible and follow traffic directions.

Emergency services remain at the crash scene on the freeway at crash at Eight Mile Plains

Paramedics were later called to a separate two vehicle crash on the Ipswich Motorway at Oxley in Brisbane's south-west.

Two people were taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in stable conditions.

Police urge all motorists to take care on the road with the Easter school holidays now underway.
He was also a chairman of the Northern Land Council

Visionary land rights pioneer Yunupingu is being remembered by his people as 'a giant of the nation' as they mourn his death in northeast Arnhem Land.

Surrounded by his family and ceremonial adornments, Yunupingu, 75, died peacefully at his home in northeast Arnhem Land on Monday morning, the Youth Yindi Foundation confirmed.

'A giant of the nation whose contribution to public life spanned seven decades, he was first and foremost a leader of his people, whose welfare was his most pressing concern and responsibility,' the Youth Yindi Foundation, he chaired, said in a statement.

Yunupingu was born on June 30, 1948, in Gunyangara, on the northern tip of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory.

A pioneer for land rights throughout Australia, in 1963 he assisted in the drafting of the first Yirrkala bark petition presented to the Australian parliament.

Aboriginal land rights leader Yunupingu died peacefully at his home in Arnhem Land aged 74 (pictured)

Yunupingu met former Prime Minister Robert Menzies in the 1960s and dealt personally with every serving prime minister of Australia since Gough Whitlam.

'Many promises were made, none were delivered in full. As a sovereign man of his clan nation he was left disappointed by them all,' the foundation said.

In 1999, he founded Garma Festival with his brother.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced details of the Indigenous voice to parliament at the festival last year.

He shook hands with Yunupingu who asked if his commitment was serious.

'He was told it was. This promise has been kept,' the foundation said.

After attending the Methodist Bible College in Brisbane, Yunupingu acted as a court interpreter for his father in the first native title litigation in Australia, the Gove Land Rights case.

From 1973 to 1974 he gave advice towards the Whitlam Government's Royal Commission into Land Rights in the NT, and worked with the Fraser Government on the enactment of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

During this time, together with other Yolngu leaders he also led the revival of the homelands movement.

Yunupingu held political sway with multiple prime ministers and was a pioneer for land rights across Australia (pictured, Yunupingu with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese)

A strong advocate for local employment and self determination, Yunupingu set up a local cattle station, a timber mill and a nursery in Arnhem Land, and established the first Aboriginal-owned and operated mine in the country, the Gumatj-owned Gulkula Bauxite Mine.

'He guided this company to its present state, building on the wealth of his people's land, their knowledge of the land and their willingness to work for a future that is theirs,' the board of Gumatj Aboriginal Corporation said in a statement.

Yunupingu was also a revered master of the ceremonies and a keeper of the songlines of the Yolngu people.

His totems were fire, rock and baru (saltwater crocodile).

His daughter Binmila Yunupingu said the family was mourning with 'deep love and great sadness ... the holder of our sacred fire, the leader of our clan and the path-maker to our future.'

'The loss to our family and community is profound. We are hurting, but we honour him and remember with love everything he has done for us,' she said in a statement.

'We remember him for his fierce leadership, and total strength for Yolngu and for Aboriginal people throughout Australia. He lived by our laws always.'

Ceremonies to return Yunupingu 'to his land and to his fathers' would eventually be held in north-east Arnhem Land.

Yunupingu (pictured) was a former long-term chairman of the Northern Land Council and advocated for local employment and self determination

'Our father was driven by a vision for the future of this nation, his people's place in the nation and the rightful place for Aboriginal people everywhere,' she added.

'In leaving us, we know that Dad's loss will be felt in many hearts and minds.

'We ask you to mourn his passing in your own way, but we as a family encourage you to rejoice in the gift of his life and leadership.

'There will never be another like him.'
Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the moon in Greek mythology.

NASA has chosen her to personify its path back to the moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2025 - including the first woman and the next man.

Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars.

Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASAs deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond.

During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.

It will travel 280,000 miles (450,600 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the moon over the course of about a three-week mission.

Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars. This graphic explains the various stages of the mission

Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

With this first exploration mission, NASA is leading the next steps of human exploration into deep space where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems near the moon needed for lunar surface missions and exploration to other destinations farther from Earth, including Mars.

The will take crew on a different trajectory and test Orions critical systems with humans aboard.

Together, Orion, SLS and the ground systems at Kennedy will be able to meet the most challenging crew and cargo mission needs in deep space.

Eventually NASA seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2028 as a result of the Artemis mission.

The space agency hopes this colony will uncover new scientific discoveries, demonstrate new technological advancements and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.

Who is Victor Glover? The man set to become NASA's first black astronaut to orbit the moon

Victor Glover (pictured) was selected as an astronaut in 2013 and became the first African American ISS expedition crewmember to live on the ISS seven years later

NASA is set to send the first-ever black astronaut to the moon.

Victor Glover, 46, was selected to take part in the space agency's Artemis II mission  the US' first lunar mission in a half-century.

The Pomona, California, native will be the first person of color to travel into deep space, hundreds of thousands of miles beyond the low-Earth orbiting International Space Station (ISS).

NASA officials say the diverse crew assignments signify the cultural shifts that have taken place since the original Apollo missions, which ended in 1972, at a time when white men dominated space exploration.

Glover was also the first black man to ever live on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020 and is among 15 African Americans to be selected as an astronaut.

In his esteemed career since being selected as an astronaut in 2013, Mr Glover has logged over 3,000 flight hours in 40 different aircraft.

Artemis II - which will launch in November 2024 - will see the four-man crew orbit the moon in the Orion spacecraft but not land.

Their goal is to test new technology, including heat shields that protects Orion as it travels 24,500 mph in 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit on its way back.

If successful, NASA plans to launch an expedition to land on the moon titled Artemis III. Another success would spell out a trip to Mars for NASA.

I wanna thank God for this Amazing opportunity, Mr Glover said during a new conference Monday.

This is a big day. We have a lot to celebrate. Its so much more than the four names that have been announced. We need to celebrate this moment in human history.

'Artermis II is more than a mission to the Moon and back. Its more than a mission that has to happen before we send people to the surface of the moon. It is the next step on the journey that gets humanity to Mars.

This crew will never forget that.

Mr Glover was born in 1976 in Pomona, around 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

The city is far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, known for its high poverty rate and relatively high crime.

Mr Glover grew up in Ponoma, CA, 30 miles east of Los Angeles

He said his parents and teachers served as mentors as him growing up.

'Early on in life it had to be my parents; they encouraged me and challenged me and held me to high standards. Outside of home, I had teachers that did the same,' he told USA Today in 2017.

'They all challenged me, and they encouraged me.'

Mr Glover continued that his teachers and parents urged him to go the engineering school and eventually become a test pilot  leading to him becoming an astronaut.

He graduated from Southern California's Ontario High School in 1994, and went on to attend California Polytechnic State University, before completing his graduate education at Air University and the US Naval Academy.

'Im the first person in my family to graduate from college, and being at graduation with my mom and my dad and my stepdad and my little brothers and my grandparents,' he said to USA Today.

'That was unreal, that was cool and it was special for me.'

In 1999 he was commissioned as part of the US Navy. After completing flight training in Corpus Christy, Texas, he was 'given his wings' and awarded the title of pilot in 2001.

He then moved to San Diego to learn to fly the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, known as one of the Navy's more versatile aircraft.

After spending the next two years training in Florida and Virginia, he was deployed to Iraq in 2004 for six months.

Mr Glover was working in the office of the late Sen John McCain as a legislative fellow when he was selected by NASA to become an astronaut in 2013.

NASA only selects a handful of the thousands of people that apply to be a member of the nation's astronaut corps each year. Only 15 black astronauts have ever been selected out of 348.

A vast majority of the 41 current astronauts have a military background, like Mr Glover.

He completed his astronaut training in 2015. Three years later, he was selected to be a part of the first ever operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, a reusable aircraft designed by the firm Elon Musk found in 2002.

As part of that mission, he would live on the ISS from November 17, 2020 to May 2, 2021.

The nearly six-month-long stay on the station makes him the first black astronaut to inhabit it.

Jeanette Epps, 52, who was selected to be an astronaut in 2009 is set to become the second African American, and first black woman, to live on the ISS after the launch of Boeing Starliner-1 in 2024 or later.

In 2020, Mr Glover said it was an honor to be the first black person selected to the ISS.

'It is something to be celebrated once we accomplish it, and I am honored to be in this position and to be a part of this great and experienced crew,' he said during a news conference.

'I look forward to getting up there and doing my best to make sure, you know, we are worthy of all the work that's been put into setting us up for this mission.'

In an interview with The Christian Chronicle later that year, he said there were qualified black astronauts that should have earned the honor before him.

'I've had some amazing colleagues before me that really could have done it, and there are some amazing folks that will go behind me,' he said.

'I wish it would have already been done, but I try not to draw too much attention to it.'

Who is Christina Koch? The first female NASA astronaut set to orbit the moon

Christina Koch is set to become the first woman to go around the moon when NASA's Artemis II mission takes off next year.

Christina Koch, 44, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is set to become the first woman to go around the moon

The Grand Rapids, Michigan native, 44, is already the record-holder for the longest amount of time a woman has spent in space, 328 days, and for taking part in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019.

Selected to become an astronaut in 2013, Ms Koch said she has not followed a 'checklist' in order to become an astronaut  but instead chased her passions whether this be rock climbing, sailing or even learning to surf in her 40s.

She said in 2020: 'I really don't remember a time when I didn't want to be an astronaut.

'For me, I learned that if I was going to be an astronaut, it was because my passions had turned me into someone that could contribute the most as someone contributing to human space flight.'

While she's exploring space, her husband Robert will be left taking care of housework and the couple's puppy, LBD. It is not believed that they have children.

'Am I excited? Absolutely!' she said at a news conference at the crew's announcement Monday.

The one thing I'm most excited about is that we will carry your excitement,your aspirations, your dreams, on this mission.

She also said: We are going to launch from Kennedy space center, we are going to here the words go for launch on top of the most powerful rocket NASAs ever made.

NASA has sent a total of 355 people to space so far, of which some 55 have been women  or 15 percent. It has also sent 24 people to orbit the moon and 12 to walk on the lunar surface who were all men.

Russian Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to ever leave the earth's atmosphere  setting off in 1937. American women did not get sent to space until 1983.

Ms Koch, however, will make history on the Artemis II mission when she completes her long-awaited trip around the moon.

She revealed her love of space in a video when she was announced as a member of the Artemis I team in 2020.

The astronaut said: 'I am someone who has loved exploration on the frontier since I was little.

'I used to be inspired by the night sky and throughout my career, it's been this balance between engineering for space science missions and doing science in really remote places all over the world.

'I loved things that made me feel small, things that made me ponder the size of the universe, my place in it and everything that was out there to explore.'

She added: 'I didn't necessarily live my life following check boxes of how you could become an astronaut.

'But I followed those passions and one day I looked at what I had become and the skills I had gathered and I asked "could I sit across from a table and present myself as someone who could do this well?". And I thought, I'm going to give this a shot.'

She went to North Carolina State University in Raleigh to get a bachelor's and a master's in Electrical Engineering.

She then became an Electrical Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, before becoming a research associate for the United States Antarctic Program  living an entire year in the Arctic.

Ms Koch was one of eight selected as part of NASA's 21st class of astronauts in 2013. After two years of training, she became a full-fledged astronaut.

Her first space flight came in 2019 when she was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to work as a flight engineer.

She stayed up there for 328 days, taking the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. The previous record holder, Peggy Whitson, was in space for 288 days.

While in space she also took the record for the first all-women space walk  when an astronaut gets out of a vehicle while in space  with Jessica Meir.

The pair spent seven hours and 17 minutes on the side of the ISS as they worked to replace a power controller. The walk also included a brief call with President Trump.

Upon her return to Earth in 2020, Ms Koch said she felt 'like a baby' who was two weeks old and working hard to hold up its head.

Back on Earth, she lives in Galveston, Texas, just outside of the Houston area.

Among her interests are backpacking, running, yoga, photography and travel.

Now she will be a part of a groundbreaking mission in NASA's goal towards putting a man on Mars.

The Artemis II mission marks NASA's first trip to the moon in half a century. It says it will be performed to help test kit in preparation for getting humans onto Mars.

The agency sent an empty Orion capsule around the moon last year before it returned to Earth in a long-awaited dress rehearsal.

If this latest mission goes well, then another flight to land people on the moon will be sent in 2025  as part of tests ahead of getting people onto Mars.
Scientists have set a new record for the deepest fish ever observed at more than 27,000ft below sea level.

A juvenile type of snailfish was filmed swimming at 27,349ft - nearly the same height as Mount Everest - in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan.

Lead scientist Professor Alan Jamieson said the snailfish could be at the maximum depth any fish can survive and probably did so because of trench's warm waters.

Although the snailfish was not caught to fully identify its species type, similar snailfish were captured higher up at a depth of 26,319ft which set the record for the deepest fish ever caught.

Professor Jamieson told BBC News: 'If this record is broken, it would only be by minute increments, potentially by just a few meters.'

Although the snailfish was not caught to fully identify its species type, similar snailfish (pictured) were captured slightly higher up at a depth of 26,319ft which set the record for the deepest fish ever caught

A juvenile snailfish (pictured, left) was filmed swimming at 27,349ft below sea level - nearly the same height as Mount Everest - in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan

He added: 'We predicted the deepest fish would be there and we predicted it would be a snailfish.

'I get frustrated when people tell me we know nothing about the deep sea. We do. Things are changing really fast.'

The previous deepest fish observation was made at 26,830ft further south in the Pacific in the Mariana Trench.

Snailfish are found in oceans across the world with more than 300 different species currently known.

Lead scientist Professor Alan Jamieson (pictured) said the snailfish could be at the maximum depth any fish can survive and probably did so because of trench's warm waters

Footage from higher up showed the same snailfish species but adults and in larger numbers

They are described as being tadpole-like in shape, with larger heads and slender bodies.

The species adapted to living in deeper waters can withstand the huge deep-sea pressure with the help of their gelatinous bodies.

Prof Jamieson, who was born in Scotland, is credited with discovering not just the deepest fish in our oceans but also the deepest octopus, jellyfish and squid.
Travel can take its toll when it comes to keeping up appearances, from dehydrated skin to swollen ankles.

But in a bid to keep beauty regimes in check, a stream of seasoned travelers have served up their top tried and tested tricks.

Here DailyMail.com rounds up some of the most useful pieces of advice so you can arrive at your destination feeling glowy instead of groggy.

Fly on down for some inspiration for your travel beauty bag.

Sun protection! Invest in an SPF spray

TikToker Isabelle Lux, who specializes in skincare tips says her essential travel item is an SPF. She recommends a spray or mineral powder to protect against UV rays

TikToker Isabelle Lux, who specializes in skincare tips, says her essential travel item is an SPF.

She tells viewers in a clip: 'I bet you know that when you're in the sky the UV rays are 90 per cent stronger that they are on earth.'

While she says people say it's good to apply an SPF cream as you go, Isabelle says the thought of rubbing her 'dirty airplane fingers' on her face isn't appealing.

Instead she recommends traveling with a spray SPF and applying 'two spritzes' or a mineral SPF can be used as an alternative.

Supporting Isabelle's claims, a 2015 study by the University of California found that crew members who spent 56 minutes in the cockpit of a plane at 30,000 feet received the same amount of ultraviolet radiation as spending 20 minutes on a tanning bed.

Dr. Lavanya Krishnan, a dermatologist at Arya Derm in San Francisco, also told sfgate.com airline passengers face the threat of increased UV ray exposure and it is therefore wise to apply an SPF.

The specialist explained: 'A good rule of thumb is that if you can see rays of sunlight entering through a window, whether it be a window in your home or car or an airplane window  you are at risk of UV ray penetration into your skin.

'Moreover, airplane travel is at much higher altitudes and is associated with reflection of the UV rays off of surrounding clouds.'

Swell time! Compression socks to boost circulation and reduce swelling

TikToker Isabelle says she thought compression socks 'were going to be for grandmas but trust me they work so well'

TikToker Isabelle also recommends taking a pair of compression socks on every flight over three hours long.

She says: 'I literally though that these were going to be for grandmas but trust me they work so well.

'They help with circulation and you're going to feel so much better when you land.'

The travel pro says you can get 'thin ones' and 'thick ones' and she owns a 'whole bunch.'

There have also been numerous medical studies around compression stockings preventing deep vein thrombosis but many have been inconclusive.

Heathline.com says that the socks can have various benefits for plane passengers with the main ones being improved circulation and reduced swelling.

It highlights that travelers can invest in medical grade or non-medical support hosiery and it advises to give them a test run before travel.

The health site says: 'Practice putting them on a few times before your flight. Getting them on your feet, especially in the tight confines of an airplane, can take some getting used to.

'The best time to put them on might be right before you board, while youre waiting at your gate.'

Clean and clear: A cleansing stick

Beauty guru Bobbi Brown revealed in a TikTok that one of her secret travel hacks is the cleansing stick from her own Jones Road line, paired with an oil stick

Beauty guru Bobbi Brown reveals in a TikTok that one of her secret travel hacks is the cleansing stick from her own Jones Road line.

The 65-year-old entrepreneur explains in a clip: 'Lately I've been traveling a lot I've been taking the cleansing stick with me and it's so great because it does not spill. '

'It's easy to take your make-up off it just is portable.'

Bobbi says she uses the cleansing stick in combination with her oil stick.

She continues, while showcasing both of the products: 'I'll throw it in with my oil stick and the oil stick has really saved my skin when I'm a little dry. I put this on last.

'I also put this on after I wash my face at night. So these are a good little pair.'

The Jones Road cleansing stick, which retails for $34 and is made from 'a trifecta of vitamin-rich plant-based oils', is described on the website as a 'travel-friendly solid oil cleanser that effectively dissolves makeup and removes impurities without stripping the skin of essential oils.'

It has a 4.7/5 rating based on 375 reviews. Meanwhile the oil stick, which sells for $24, is described as a 'shortcut to instantly supple skin' which glides on to moisturize.

Ingredients include 'coconut alkanes and a quartet of high-performance oils; apricot, jojoba, rosehip and sunflower.'

Capsule collection: The tiny travel-friendly containers (or try contact lens containers if you're on a budget)

A product doing the rounds on TikTok are Cadence capsules. Explaining why she loves the containers so much, TikToker Sarah Palmyra says: 'They're leak proof, they're also magnetic'

A travel product doing the rounds on TikTok are Cadence capsules.

The mini hexagonal containers are designed to hold toiletries while traveling.

They can also be used to store small jewelry items such as rings or earrings.

Explaining why she loves the small containers so much, TikToker Sarah Palmyra says: 'Instead of packing full size opt for these travel containers.

'I love them because they're leak proof they're also magnetic and the names are totally customizable.'

An individual capsule from Cadence costs $14 while a set of six comes in at $76. They come in eight colorways, including 'lavender' and 'petal.'

For those on a budget, one Reddit user suggests using contact lens containers to store miniature servings of products such as face creams or hair gels.

They reveal: 'For short trips, contacts cases are so good for skincare, foundations, loose powders [etc].

'You dont have to worry about leaks or glass breaking.'

Saving face: Slap on a sheetmask to hydrate

Colorado-based dermatologist Dr Scott Walker says he always applies a sheet mask when flying, and globetrotting TikToker Lindsay Silberman is also a huge fan of them

Another popular beauty item among the travel community are sheet masks.

In one TikTok, Colorado-based dermatologist Dr Scott Walker reveals that this is one of his must-have items as part of his in-flight skincare routine.

As he embarks on a ten-hour flight, he can be seen applying a moisturizing face mask.

The expert explains that this is because the air is 'totes dry.' He follows on by applying extra moisturizer and eye serum.

Lindsay Silberman, who has been to more than 63 countries, also swears by sheet masks.

She explains in a TikTok while applying one mid-flight: 'I prefer not to look like a haggard worm when I land after a long haul flight so I always use a nice sheet mask.'

The globetrotter says she applies a sheet mask whether she is sat in business or economy as she 'doesn't care' about what onlookers think.

For the ultimate in-air DIY facial, she recommends using a leave-on lip mask too.

Stuck on you: Use a beauty magnet

TikToker Sarah Palmyra says she always packs her Beauty Magnet when she's on the go as she doesn't want to lose things 'like my tweezers or jade rollers'

To prevent small beauty tools from getting lost inside your hand luggage or checked bag, many travelers swear by the 'Beauty Magnet'.

TikToker Sarah Palmyra says she always packs her Beauty Magnet when she's on the go as she doesn't want to lose things 'like my tweezers or jade rollers' and the gadget enables all of her tools to stack together.

Elizabeth Kennedy, who invented the patented tool, reveals in a TikTok what inspired her to develop it.

She says: 'It's my five favorite skincare tools as an aesthetician magnetized.

'So you're not going to lose your skincare tools anymore. It's all in one place. It's super chic.'

Currently the Beauty Magnet retails for $125, with the travel-sized kit including a derma roller, a rose quartz face roller, a de-puffing eye roller, a comedone extractor, tweezers, and a sanitizing spray bottle.

One Reddit user also suggests using a magnetic make-up palette to store products on, so they are all in one place.

Au naturel! Never wear make-up during the flight - or keep it simple

TikToker @brooke_ashleighh reveals her simple flight beauty routine in a clip

The general consensus among the travel community is to never wear make-up during a flight.

One flight attendant on a Reddit thread suggests wearing light make-up if needed but wiping it off when it's time to sleep.

She adds: 'Then [you can] reapply before landing. Id suggest heading to the bathroom an hour and a half to two hours before landing if possible, we start preparing the cabin for landing pretty soon after and then everyone else starts going to the restroom.

'I usually just put on on my skincare at home so I dont have to do it on the plane.'

TikToker @brooke_ashleighh reveals her au naturel flight beauty routine in a clip.

She says before travel, she simply applies a tinted moisturizer, a brow pencil, brow gel, and shimmer free highlighter balm, and lip balm.

Many redditors also advise travelling with eye drops to keep eyes looking fresh and lubricated while in the air.

Sleeping beauty: Always pack a silk pillow case

Creator @joannaleachen tells viewers three reasons why silk pillow cases should be a top travel accessory

Many travelers swear by silk pillow cases.

These can be used on the plane or at hotels, with the provided pillows stuffed inside.

Creator @joannaleachen tells viewers three reasons why silk pillow cases should be a top travel accessory.

She explains in a TikTok: 'The first reason why is cos I am a side sleeper... it creates little things called sleep creases which will eventually lead to wrinkles.

'Sleeping on silk instead of something like cotton or linen really helps prevent those sleep creases from forming in the first place.

'Number two is that there are less germs with a silk pillowcase this is because silk absorbs less moisture than other fabrics making this a cleaner surface for your skin.'

Thirdly, the travel pro says silk pillow cases help achieve shiner, smoother hair.

She continues: 'Silk is softer and doesn't absorb moisture as much as other fabrics which creates less friction on your hair when you're sleeping.

'I've definitely noticed a significant improvement in both my skin and my hair after sleeping on a silk pillow case.'

Joanna also highlights the importance of washing the pillow case frequently and she says she washes hers twice a week.
They showcase voyages such as the Australian Antarctic Expedition, which took place from 1911 to 1914

The National Archives of Australia and the Australian Antarctic Division have newly digitised archival images

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Explore the Antarctica of 100 years ago, courtesy of these rare vintage photographs.

The pictures are astonishing archival photographs from early 20th-century Antarctic expeditions that have been newly digitised by the National Archives of Australia and the Australian Antarctic Division.

The collection is comprised of hundreds of black-and-white photographs and glass plate negatives that document the harsh conditions, unusual wildlife and day-to-day life of epic voyages such as the Australian Antarctic Expedition and the British Antarctic Expedition, both of which took place in the 1910s.

The Director-General of the National Archives of Australia, Simon Froude, said: Im delighted this collection will be preserved within the National Archives for future generations to access. These photographs complement other national collections documenting Australias exploration and research in Antarctica.

The images provide a unique glimpse of the difficult conditions the explorers faced. There are fabulous photos of the unique wildlife, as well as photos depicting the science and technology of the time.

While the Assistant Director-General for Collection Management, Steven Fox, said: This collection is rare and fragile. Acquiring, conserving, digitising and preserving it means it will be accessible now and for future generations. The public can digitally access a range of records from very early Antarctic exploration through to later expeditions. Scroll down to embark on a trip through time

This captivating photograph shows a royal penguin rookery at Nuggets Beach, Macquarie Island, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It was taken during the Australian Antarctic Expedition, an expedition from 1911 to 1914 that was led by the Australian explorer Douglas Mawson

This picture from the Australian Antarctic Expedition shows the Aurora exploration vessel coated in a layer of ice. The ship was later purchased by Ernest Shackleton. It's not certain who captured this picture, but it's thought that it could be the work of the Australian photographer and adventurer Frank Hurley

A giant iceberg is captured in this shot, snared during the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), which took place between 1929 and 1931

LEFT: This picture of a bull southern elephant seal was captured during the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition. RIGHT: This close-up of an apparently startled Adelie penguin was taken during the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott between 1910 and 1913

In this picture from the British Antarctic Expedition, unidentified men can be seen sewing and cutting rope

An unidentified man stands in a hole that had been dug into the ice. This photo was captured during the British Antarctic Expedition

The polar expedition ship Terra Nova is seen held up in pack ice in this glass plate negative from the British Antarctic Expedition of the 1910s

LEFT: Two seals are pictured near an ice cliff in this glass plate negative from the British Antarctic Expedition. RIGHT: This photograph from the British Antarctic Expedition shows husky dogs sitting on ice

This photograph from the British Antarctic Expedition shows the English artist George Edward Marston reading a book with a candle resting on his head for light. Marston also joined Ernest Shackleton on two separate expeditions to Antarctica

In this scene from the British Antarctic Expedition, an unidentified man is seen taking a bath

This photograph from the British Antarctic Expedition shows an unidentified man taking Greenland husky dogs out for exercise

It's not known which Antarctic expedition this was captured during. The identity of the man who is staring up at large icebergs in the picture is also unknown
The 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards are set to take place on Sunday April 2, with the best and brightest in the West End coming together to see who will scoop the coveted honours.

And while plenty of veteran performers make the jump to the stage after an illustrious on-screen career, there are a slew of household names who kicked off their success in the world of theatre.

Stars including Idina Menzel, Benedict Cumberbatch and Maggie Smith first found prominence through their theatre, with some going onto to win Olivier and Tony Awards for their performances.

Others have forever returned to the stage for various parts after their on-screen recognition, to much praise from critics and audiences.

So, as theatre fans count down the ears to West End's biggest night, MailOnline takes a look-back at stars who began their rise to fame on the stage.

James Norton

Blast from the past: James Norton began his stage career in 2010, and earned critical acclaim for his performance in That Face in the same year

While one of James' earliest TV roles came in An Education in 2009, after attended the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art, he formed the original cast of the Royal Court Theatre's production of Posh in 2010.

That same year he landed the role of Henry, an teenage who has dropped out of school to care for his mentally disturbed and drug-dependent mother in That Face at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, with his performance praised by one critic as 'striking'.

In 2011, James starred as Captain Stanhope in the First World War drama Journey's End, which toured the UK before transferring to the Duke Of York Theatre.

He then starred as Geoffrey in The Lion in Winter at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, before kickstarting his on-screen career in 2012 with Cheerful Weather For The Wedding.

While James had various other TV roles, his big on-screen break came in 2014, when he starred as villain Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, and Sidney Chambers in Grantchester.

James has since appeared in a slew of other TV roles, although he returned to the West End in 2016 to star in Tracy Letts Bug in London's West End, and between December 2017 and February 2018 he appeared in Amy Herzogs Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse.

Idina Menzel

Praised: Idina Menzel began her theatre career as a member of the original cast of Rent, but in 2003, earned worldwide attention for her performance in Wicked

While Idina has had a slew of film and TV roles, she is best known for her incredible Broadway work, beginning with her performance as Maureen in the original cast in Rent in 1996.

For her performance, Idina landed a Tony nomination, but after departing the show, she failed to land mainstream success for many years, instead appearing in a slew of Off-Broadway productions.

In 2003, Idina then landed the lead role in the original Broadway cast of Wicked as the Wicked Witch Elphaba opposite Kristin Chenowith as Glinda, and earned widespread praise for the performance, and a Tony Award.

While she continued to star in the theatre, including a Tony-nominated role in If/Then in 2014, Idina has since branched out into television and film work.

She went onto land a recurring stint on Glee, and appear in the television film Beaches, and most famously voice Elsa in the Disney film Frozen.

Ariana Debose

Stellar: Ahead of her Oscar win for West Side Story in 2022, Ariana DeBose starred in Motown: The Musical (pictured far right)

Amazing: Her breakout Hollywood role came as Anita in Spielberg's adaptation of the famous musical, earning her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Ariana landed her breakout Hollywood role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story in 2021, which earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

But before that, the actress had starred in multiple Broadway productions, making her debut in 2011's Bring It On: The Musical.

She then went onto star in Motown: The Musical and Pippin, before originating the role of The Bullet in Lin Manuel-Miranda's musical Hamilton.

Ariana earned a Tony Award nomination in 2018 for playing Disco Donna in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, and in 2020, before landing her West Side Story role, she starred in the film adaptation of The Prom.

Ruthie Henshall

Iconic: Ruthie Henshall has been a fixture on the West End stage for decades, making her West End debut in Cats in 1987, before going onto star in Crazy For You

Ruthie has been a fixture on the West End stage for decades, having first performed in a touring production of A Chorus Line before making her debut in Cats in 1987.

Since then she has starred in shows such as Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Oliver! and She Loves Me, and has been nominated for a total of five Olivier Awards.

More recently she starred in Billy Elliot and Chicago, but has also branched out into TV acting with roles in Wizards vs Aliens, Doctors and Coronation Street.

Ruthie is next set to star in as Dorothy Brick at the Sadlers Wells Theatre this summer.

Lea Michele

Classic: Before her breakout role as Rachel Berry on Glee, Lea Michele appeared as a child star in several Broadway shows, before joining the original cast of Spring Awakening

Many fans will know Lea Michele for her role as the larger-than-life Broadway hopeful Rachel Berry on Glee, so it's no surprise that the actress herself began her career on the stage.

She made her debut at the age of just eight as Young Cosette in Les Miserables, and she followed up by starring as Little Girl in the 1998 original Broadway cast of Ragtime.

In 2004, Lea starred as Shprintze in the Broadway revival of the musical Fiddler On The Roof, and two years later her breakout stage role as Wendla Bergmann in the musical adaptation of Spring Awakening.

The show, where she starred alongside close friend Jonathan Groff, saw her play a 19th Century teenager coming to terms with her own sexual awakening, at a time when such topics were considered taboo.

While Lea went onto star in various other shows, in 2009 she landed the role of Rachel on Glee, kickstarting her TV and film career.

However, last year she took over the role of Fanny Bryce in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, and will stay with the show until it closes in September 2023.

Maggie Smith

Thespian: Maggie Smith began her decades-long career in the theatre, starring in a slew of Shakespeare productions including Othello

While she is now considered one of the UK's most critically-acclaimed film stars, Dame Maggie began her acting career in the theatre.

Throughout her career she has appeared in more than 70 plays, making her stage debut back in 1952 with Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse.

Other shows include As You Like It, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra and Richard III, and in 1969 she landed her breakout film role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which won her the Academy Award For Best Actress.

While she is now known for her biggest film appearances, including Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter and the acid-tongued Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey, Maggie has continued to perform in the theatre throughout her career.

Ian McKellen

Iconic: Sir Ian McKellen began his career as part of The Belgrade Theatre's repertory company in 1961, and made his West End debut in 1965

While now known for his blockbuster appearances in the X-Men and Lord Of The Rings films, Sir Ian began his career as part of The Belgrade Theatre's repertory company in 1961.

He then made his West End debut in 1965 at the Old Vic Theatre, and later joined the Prospect Theatre Company to appear in Shakespeare's Richard III.

Throughout the 1970s, Ian was a regular at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in 1981 he landed his first Tony nomination for Amadeus.

After decades in the theatre, Ian didn't kickstart his film career until the 1990s, and he gained worldwide attention for playing Magneto in the original X-Men film series.

He then took on the role of Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, earning him an Oscar nomination, and has since then become one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Last year, Ian returned to his theatre career with a bold new direction when he joined the cast of the pantomime Mother Goose at Theatre Royal Brighton.

Imelda Staunton

Legend: While she has been more recently known for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, Imelda began her illustrious career in repertory theatre in 1976

While she has been more recently known for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, Imelda began her illustrious career in repertory theatre in 1976.

She made her stage debut in Guys And Dolls in 1982, and has also starred in Into The Woods, Gypsy and even as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.

Imelda has also won four Olivier Awards, including three for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, and has been nominated for the coveted honour 13 times.

Her film career was kickstarted in the 1986 film Comrades, and has since starred in Much Ado About Nothing, Sense and Sensibility, Shakespeare In Love, Nanny McPhee, and the villainous Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix.

In 2012, Imelda returned to the theatre to star opposite Michael Ball in Sweeney Todd, and in 2015 she starred as Momma Rose in Gypsy.

In 2017, Imelda returned to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London West End in 2017 as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Michael Ball

Stage star: Kicking off his illustrious stage career, Michael Ball originated the role of Marius in the West End production of Les Miserables in 1985

Michael kickstarted his illustrious theatre career by originating the role of Marius in the West End production of Les Miserables in 1985.

Two years later he starred as Raoul in The Phantom Of The Opera, and then appeared in Aspects Of Love, with his recording of a song from the show reaching number two in the charts.

While Michael has branched out into recording and releasing his own music, he has continued to be a UK theatre fixture, originating the role of Edna Turnblad on the West End version of Hairspray in 2007, and reprising the role for a UK tour in 2021.

He has also won two Laurence Olivier Awards, one for Hairspray, and another for his performance opposite Imelda in Sweeney Todd.

Benedict Cumberbatch

So much stage work! Benedict Cumberbatch began his theatre career, with a slew of roles at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (pictured in As You Like It in 2002)

Now, Benedict is revered as one of the UK's top TV actors, following his breakout performacnce Sherlock in the BBC series based on the iconic detective.

However, he began his career with a slew of roles at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and in 2005, he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his role as George Tesman in Hedda Gabler which he performed at the Duke Of York Theatre.

In 2010, as he landed critical praise for his role in Sherlock, Benedict starred as in the revival of Sir Terence Rattigan's After the Dance at the Royal National Theatre.

In 2011, Benedict starred as Victor Frankenstein and his creature, opposite Jonny Lee Miller, in Danny Boyle's stage production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at the Royal National Theatre.

For his performance, he earned the coveted 'Triple Crown Of London Theatre' by scooping the Olivier Award, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award.

Following TV and film success, including an Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game, Benedict returned to the stage in 2015 to play Hamlet and London's Barbican Theatre in a limited run, earning his third Olivier Award nomination.
He has cultivated a onscreen persona as one of the most formidable action stars in Hollywood over the past few decades.

But behind-the-scenes, Keanu Reeves has a completely different reputation as the nicest guy in Hollywood thanks to countless gestures of goodwill.

From donating pricy Rolex watches to the John Wick stunt crew, to donating large sums to children's hospitals without even attaching his name, to respectfully posing with his female costars, Reeves, 58, has cemented himself as the ultimate good guy in the public's mind.

And despite his A-list position and incredible fame, the actor has managed to remain down to earth in his interviews and chats with fans.

As Reeves rides high on John Wick 4  which has received the best reviews and the strongest opening for the series to date  DailyMail.com looks back at his history as the ultimate nice guy.

Mr. Nice Guy: Keanu Reeves has quietly built up a reputation as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood thanks to below-the-radar charitable donations and courtesy to fans over the years. DailyMail.com looks back at his heartwarming history; pictured in April 2022 in Las Vegas

KEANU GIVES AWAY EXPENSIVE ROLEX WATCHES TO JOHN WICK'S STUNT PEOPLE

Action hero: To show his gratitude to his John Wick 4 (pictured) stunt people, Reeves reportedly gifted them each a $9,150 engraved Rolex Submariner

Need for speed: The actor also reportedly gifted 12 Harley Davidson motorcycles to the stunt team on The Matrix Reloaded; seen on screen in December 2021 in LA

Reeves has a habit of showing his thanks to crew members who worked on his films.

Ahead of the release of John Wick 4, Reeves showed his appreciation to the crackerjack stunt team on the blockbuster series by handing out expensive Rolex watches to all of them.

The luxury watches, tasteful Rolex Submariners, were reportedly worth around $9,150 each, for a total of $36,600.

The time pieces were even more valuable to the stunt crew, though, as Reeves had each one engraved to share his thanks.

'Thank you Keanu JW4 2021,' the watches said on the inside face, according to a stunt person who revealed the gifts.

Reeves has also shown incredible generosity to his stunt team on The Matrix Reloaded.

To show his gratitude for their flawless work, he reportedly gave each member of the 12-person team a Harley Davidson motorcycle after their work on screen with motorcycles.

KEANU TREATS FRIENDS AND COWORKERS TO FREE TRIP TO MATRIX RESURRECTIONS PREMIERE

Joining in the fun: Reeves showed his friends, longtime team members and coworkers how much they meant to him by flying them out to see the Matrix Resurrections premiere in San Francisco, according to The Hollywood Reporter Carrie-Anne Moss, 54, and director Lana Wachowski, 56

All inclusive: THR reported that the Point Break star extended invitations to all of his representatives including his agents, manager and publicist; still from The Matrix Resurrections

Helping hand: Keanu garnered praise for being a 'gem of a person' as a viral video of the actor helping crew carry equipment while filming John Wick 4 resurfaced online

Reeves showed his friends, longtime team members and coworkers how much they meant to him by flying them out to see the Matrix Resurrections premiere in San Francisco, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

'Yeah, it's great to be able to share our experiences and lives together,' he told the publication, modestly.

Chad Stahelski, who has direcred Reeves in the John Wick films, confirmed the act of generosity.

'He flew a bunch of us up here,' he said on the red carpet at the iconic Castro Theatre.

'He's incredibly generous. In the audience tonight will be so many people that helped him, from his martial art trainers to jiu-jitsu trainers to hair and makeup to his stunt crew.

'He makes sure that his friends and family are here. He's epic,' Stahelski added.

Keanu was looking out for his behind-the-scenes team, as he reportedly flew out all of his representatives, including his agents, manager and publicist.

Family, friends, crew members and insiders were also part of the party heading to San Francisco.

Reeves reportedly picked up the tab for the private jet travel, as well as hotel accommodations, the actual premiere tickets and even gifts for his guests.

More recently, a video shot in 2021 resurfaced, showing him giving his crew on John Wick 4 a helping hand.

The video showed Reeves helping to carry some boxes up a set of stairs. Normally, a star of his caliber on a production of that size wouldn't be enlisted to help the crew set up between takes, but Keanu showed that the film was a true team effort.

KEANU DELIGHTS FANS WITH HIS LOVING WORDS ABOUT HIS PARTNER ALEXANDRA GRANT

Hand in hand: Reeves, 58, warmed the hearts of his fans after gushing about his most recent blissful moment, when he was 'in bed' and 'connected' to his partner Alexandra Grant, 49; pictured in June 2022

Cut couple: 'We were smiling and laughing and giggling. Feeling great. It was just really nice to be together.' Fans have applauded him for dating an age-appropriate woman, and they have saluted the artist for rocking her natural gray hair

When Reeves was recently asked about what his most recent bliss-filled moment was by People, the actor didn't have any trouble thinking of something.

'A couple of days ago with my honey. We were in bed. We were connected,' he gushed about time with his partner Alexandra Grant.

'We were smiling and laughing and giggling. Feeling great. It was just really nice to be together.'

Reeves and Grant, a visual artist, were first introduced by mutual friends in 2009, though they didn't make their relationship public until 2019.

'I think every single person I knew called me in the first week of November, and that's fascinating,' she told British Vogue a few months after making her red carpet debut in November 2019 with her boyfriend.

Keanu's fans were over-the-moon after seeing the cute couple together, and many applauded the A-lister for finding love with an age-appropriate partner, while others saluted her for proudly showing off her natural gray hair.

THE ACTOR HAS REMAINED OPTIMISTIC DESPITE MULTIPLE PERSONAL TRAGEDIES

Tear jerker: Keanu left plenty of wet eyes in the audience in studio and at home during a 2019 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, when the host asked him what happens after we die

Remember his loved ones: He stunned Colbert when he replied, 'I know that the ones who love us will miss us.' Reeves lost his best friend River Phoenix to a drug overdose, his daughter with Jennifer Syme to a stillbirth in 1999, and Syme herself to a tragic car crash in 2001

Keanu left plenty of wet eyes in the audience in studio and at home during a 2019 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

After talking about mortality in regard to John Wick 3, Colbert asked the actor what he thought happens after we die.

After a moment of thought, Reeves replied, 'I know that the ones who love us will miss us.'

In 1993, he endured a personal tragedy when his best friend, the meteoric actor River Phoenix, died of a drug overdose at the age of 23.

In 1998, Reeves began dating the actress and executive Jennifer Syme. In late 1999, Syme went into labor a month early and delivered their stillborn child.

Although the couple broke up weeks after the tragedy, they had reportedly reconciled later, only for Syme to die after she crashed her car in 2001.

Reeves later told investigators that the two had had brunch just a day before her untimely death, according to People, and he later served as a pallbearer at her funeral.

Syme was buried next to the couple's stillborn daughter.

KEANU DELIGHTS NEWLYWEDS BY PHOTOBOMBING THEIR WEDDING

Making their day! Reeves celebrity has made him a prized addition to many social events, even weddings. In August of 2022, Reeves surprised a couple at their wedding in Northamptonshire (pictured). He previously photobombed other weddings in 2018

Reeves celebrity has made him a prized addition to many social events, even weddings.

In August of 2022, Reeves surprised a couple at their wedding in Northamptonshire.

He bumped into customer sales rep James Roadnight and his wife Nikki, who works with dogs, because he happened to be staying in the same four-star hotel as them.

Reeves had previously delighted two other couples in 2018 when he posed for joyous photos after their nuptials.

THE MATRIX STAR DONATES LAVISHLY TO CHARITIES, OFTEN ANONYMOUSLY

Giving back: Reeves has donated to children's hospitals and cancer charities, both privately and publicly, after his younger sister Kim battled leukemia; seen in July 2022 in San Diego

Reeves was reportedly inspired by his younger sister Kim Reeves' past battle with leukemia, and has since taken to donating significant amounts to children's hospitals and cancer research to give back.

However, unlike many stars who attach their famous names to their charitable work, he has apparently given away much of his money secretly.

'I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research. I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does,' he told Ladies Home Journal in 2009, via Snopes.

Reeves hasn't always kept his charity in secret, however. In 2020, the Point Break star auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom call with himself to raise funds for a children's cancer charity.

FANS MARVEL OF REEVES' RESPECT FOR HIS FEMALE COSTARS

Courteous: Fans noticed in 2019 that Reeves tends to keep his hands hovering behind his female costars when posing on the red carpet, rather than touching them

As more and more male stars' bad  and even criminal behavior  has been revealed over the years, Keanu has emerged as the gold standard.

Although he has cultivated great relationships with his female costars on set, his sterling behavior on the red carpet has also garnered him praise.

It's not uncommon for male stars to wrap their arms around their female costars while posing for the cameras, and many women in Hollywood wouldn't mind the display from their friends and colleagues, but Reeves appears to put his costars' comfort front and center.

In 2019, social media was awash in praise for him after fans noticed that he has a habit of letting his hand hover behind the women he poses with, rather than touching them.

The move was seen as a courtesy to his leading ladies and a sign that he didn't want to invade their personal space.

But Reeves' good behavior doesn't just extend to his costars, but even his fans.

In 2019, SBNation.com writer James Dator said that when he was a teenager, the actor noticed that he had been trying to get an autograph while working in a movie theater.

He said that Reeves returned to the concessions stand, bought an ice cream, then gave him the receipt with his signature added to the back, then threw away the ice cream, which he apparently bought just to delight Dator with the signature.
Skye Wheatley has put her $75,000 Mercedes on the market to help finance the renovation work on her luxurious Gold Coast mansion.

The former Big Brother star-turned-influencer, 29, shared a snap of her white Mercedes to Instagram on Saturday and asked interested buyers to message her.

'Selling white Mercedes. DM Me, xx,' she wrote next to a photo of the luxury vehicle parked in her garage.

She also posted a photo of the renovation work currently being undertaken on the garage loft of the Gold Coast property she purchased in 2019.

Celebrity watchdog account Influencer Updates AU shared the photos and told followers the blonde beauty was selling her 'spare car' as she continued renovating her property.

Skye Wheatley, 29, (pictured) has put her $75,000 Mercedes on the market to help finance the renovation work on her luxurious Gold Coast mansion

The former Big Brother star-turned-influencer shared a snap of her white Mercedes to Instagram on Saturday and asked interested buyers to message her

Many of their followers were quick to congratulate Skye on working hard towards her goal.

'It's going to look sensational when finished,' one fan gushed and another wrote 'good for her'.

Skye lives in Queensland with her partner Lachlan Waugh and their two sons, Forest, three, and Bear, one.

It comes after Skye revealed she's so famous she can't do her grocery shopping without being recognised by fans.

She also posted a photo of the renovation work currently being undertaken on the garage loft of the Gold Coast property she purchased in 2019

The stunner hosted a Q&A with her Instagram fans on Tuesday and was asked, 'do you get stopped in the streets?'

She told her followers that she's so well-known she is constantly being stopped by random fans when out in public.

'Babes, I'm so famous I can't even do my grocery shopping. I get stopped every two seconds. Love it though, that's why I'm here.' she said.

She also posted a video of her filming a segment for her YouTube channel out the front of a hotel, where she is seen waving and calling out to her fans.

Skye rose to fame back on Big Brother Australia in 2014 and is now a full-time influencer with 634,000 followers.

Skye lives in Queensland with her partner Lachlan Waugh and their two sons, Forest, three, and Bear, one. All pictured
Brooke Shields has been out on the promotional trail ahead of the release of her new documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.

The film, which will have the first of its two parts premiere on Hulu April 3, takes a look back at her journey to fame as a pre-teen, when she was sexualized and objectified, beginning with her role in the controversial drama movie Pretty Baby (1978).

While she didn't have to leave the comforts of her New York City home on Saturday, Shields continued on in promo mode, only this time she used her face and star power in an Instagram post where she donned glasses from Caddis Eye Appliances.

In the photo, the actress and model can be seen staring straight into the camera while wearing a gold face mask during one of her self-care days.

'Day after press self care!! @caddis_life progressive readers & a face mask!' she wrote in the caption.

Saleswoman: Brooke Shields, 57, continued in promo mode by wearing gold face mask on a self-care day, all while promoting eye glass wear, in new Instagram post

For the photo, Shields showed off her more playful side by puckering up her lips and opening her eyes wide from behind the gold mask.

Many of these type of skincare products typically offer anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-acne, and anti-aging benefits.

For the promotional side of the picture, Shields opted to wear a light red or pinkish framed glasses from the Caddis brand.

In keeping with her relaxed state of mind on a self-care day, the mother of two pulled her light brown tresses back off her face and into a ponytail, so her hair didn't mix in with the facial products.

In her latest promotional stop for the new documentary, Shields chatted with the ladies of The View on Friday about her experience making Pretty Baby and the controversy and backlash that followed in the media.

For the role, Shields played a 12-year-old prostitute that included her being nude in scenes alongside Keith Carradine, who was 29 at the time.

'There was so much that was creepy about how journalists choose to talk at me,' she said during her visit to The View. 'It was ironic that they didn't see that they were in fact doing the same thing that they were creating such an uproar over Pretty Baby. And then they just fed right into it and then blamed me for it.'

After having attended premieres and screenings of the doc, Shields has a newfound perspective of the whole experience now that she's in her 50s

Promo push: The actress and model has been out on the promotional trail for her new documentary PrettyBaby: Brooke Shields, which included a stop on The View on Friday

Controversy: Shields and the ladies of The View talked about the backlash to her 1978 film Pretty Baby, where critics discussed the sexualization and objectification of a 12-year-old Shields

'Her view now: 'There was so much that was creepy about how journalists choose to talk at me,' Shields said on The View. 'It was ironic that they didn't see that they were in fact doing the same thing that they were creating such an uproar over Pretty Baby. And then they just fed right into it and then blamed me for it'

New perspective: 'To bring it all back up again in this documentary has been interesting to witness the film and my life in its entirety. And to see the progression of it,' she added

Coming: The first part of the documentary will drop on Hulu April 3

'To bring it all back up again in this documentary has been interesting to witness the film and my life in its entirety. And to see the progression of it,' she told the co-hosts.

'I stand by the film and the honesty,' she explained, adding, 'I was not uncomfortable. I wasn't worried that I was going to turn into a prostitute, you know what I mean. It's funny, I said if I was playing a murderer would they say [I'd turn into a murderer]. But I understand the controversy around it.'

After the ladies of The View joined in the conversation, agreeing with her assertion of being sexualized and objectified at such a young age, the New York City native summed up her motivation as a pre-teen at the time.

As an 11-year-old I just wanted to be liked and I wanted to be a good girl, and I wanted them to tell me I did a good job,' she said matter of factly.

'Congratulations on #PrettyBaby, @brookeshields! See her new doc only on @hulu starting April 3! it read in the caption of an Instagram post by The View.

Set in 1917, Pretty Baby, the movie directed by Louis Malle, focuses on a young girl (Shields) being raised in a brothel in the Storyville red-light district of New Orleans by her prostitute mother.

While the film was met with all the controversy, it still garnered critical acclaim from journalists, for the most part, at the time.

Shields maintained in later years that she 'did not experience any distress or humiliation' while shooting her nude scenes in the film.

Child star: The new Pretty Baby documentary draws its name from the controversial film of the same title that starred Shields as a 12-year-old girl living in a brothel

Promo push: Shields attended the premiere of the new documentary on Wednesday in New York City in a red, black and purple ensemble

Family support: The former child star had the support of family at the premiere, including daughter Grier and husband Chris Henchy

Analyzing the controversy: The Hulu doc also focuses on her relationship with her own mother, and Louis Malle's controversial film, Pretty Baby (1978); Pictured with her daughter Grier

Along with Shields and Carradine, the cast also included Susan Sarandon, Frances Faye, Antonio Fargas, Matthew Anton, Diana Scarwid, Barbara Steele, Seret Scott, Cheryl Markowitz, Susan Manskey, Laura Zimmerman, Miz Mary, Gerrit Graham and Mae Mercer.

The Suddenly Susan star continued to work as a teenaged actress, appearing in several drama films in the 1980s with more naked scene in The Blue Lagoon (1980) and Endless Love (1981).

She would also appear as a 15-year-old in the controversial Calvin Klein advertisement campaign in which she was topless and uttered the infamous phrase, 'You want to know what comes in between me and my Calvins? Nothing.'
A non-binary model, fronting a campaign for one of Australia's most celebrated swimwear brands, has launched a Trans Lives Matter movement in Melbourne.

Deni Todorovic, 34, who was assigned male at birth but uses they/them pronouns and identifies as non-binary, announced on Saturday that tickets are now available to view a live-streamed gala to raise funds for trans organisations.

The event will feature appearances from the likes of pop star Samantha Jade, drag performer Aysha Buffet and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame.

'Australia. I'm inviting you to stay in tonight and support trans lives with our inaugural TRANS LIVES MATTER Fundraiser. Kick off is 7PM and tickets are $60AUD,' Deni began.

'This is a global live stream event. Watch it anywhere in the world compatible on all devices. Think lockdown vibes and you will also be able to watch it on demandand joining me are some seriously talented humans both from community and our allies.'

Non-binary activist Deni Todorovic, 34, (picured) who was hired to front Seafolly campaign, has launched a Trans Lives Matter movement

Deni explained the profits raised are going to '@transcend_australia, @aconnsw @transgendervic and @thorneharbour.'

'Trans people can't change the narrative alone. They need allies. This event will elevate and amplify trans people, stories and voices, and be supported by a superstar line-up of allies who want to shine their light toward this important cause.'

'The show will entertain, inform, compel, and stay true to its mission of making trans people visible, trans rights non negotiable and trans organisations better funded to support the community at a grassroots level.'

Deni, who was assigned male at birth but uses they/them pronouns and identifies as non-binary, announced the new campaign to Instagram on Saturday

The post comes after it was revealed Deni would be starring in a campaign for Seafolly which is known for its advertisements featuring the world's most famous female models including Miranda Kerr, Gigi Hadid, Shanina Shaik, Lara Worthington, Samantha Harris and Jesinta Franklin.

Deni has become an increasingly formidable name in Australian fashion over the last few years.

Deni's role at Seafolly was celebrated by a number of celebrities, including former brand ambassador Jesinta Franklin.

Many shoppers also left positive comments on Seafolly's official Instagram account to celebrate the label's commitment to diversity.

'As some one who hasn't shopped at Seafolly for years I'll be back now! Love seeing brands be inclusive and that is where I want my money to go,' one woman wrote.

'So amazing to see this, Seafolly. I love to see brands pioneering the celebration of pride and inclusion,' another added.

Deni recently starred in a campaign for Seafolly which is known for its advertisements featuring the world's most famous female models including Miranda Kerr, Gigi Hadid, Shanina Shaik, Lara Worthington, Samantha Harris and Jesinta Franklin

However, some consumers were less than impressed by Deni's role with the brand.

'This is a joke. We support diversity and individuals' decisions, but we don't want to see women's clothing that we want to purchase on a male body...' commented one.

'There are other ways to support pride and individuals' choices, but not this way. Sincerely, one of your long-time loyal customers.'

Another wrote: 'As a woman, this is not what I want to look like in a bikini.

'I won't be buying this product. People need to get back to reality. Stop making our world into a circus.'

While many praised the brand's effort in presenting a diverse campaign, others said they will boycott the brand due to the shoot

Deni is also one of the national ambassadors for Bonds underwear

Due to the negative comments, Seafolly was forced to put out a statement condemning the 'hateful language'.

'We are here to celebrate the Australian beach lifestyle and inspire one another to feel confident at the beach,' the brand said.

'In this community, we do not tolerate abusive, offensive, hateful language, trolling, deliberate disruption of discussion, or spam. Please be respectful of each others differences and remember to always be kind.'

The gender-bending socialite is also a national ambassador for Bonds underwear.

In 2021, Deni was criticised for turning Melbourne Fashion Week into a 'pride parade' while working on the event as a stylist and curator.

While Deni was hired to work backstage at the event, they shocked onlookers by storming the runway with a pride flag and a T-shirt with 'they/them' on the front, which overshadowed the models in the fashion show.
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It's been quite a week for Home And Away star Tammin Sursok.

The Australian actress, 39, lives in Nashville with her family and was left shaken on Monday after her eldest daughter's school went into lockdown during The Covenant school shooting.

Now, days later, Tammin has revealed her family has been put under a tornado watch, as severe storms rip through Tennessee.

Posting to Instagram Stories on Saturday, Tammin filmed herself sitting on the couch at night worrying about the tornado, while her husband Sean McEwen and their two daughters, Phoenix, nine, and Lennon, four, were asleep.

'So we're still under tornado watch, and my husband's asleep. My whole family is asleep. And I'm sitting here, just stressing,' she told her fans with a sardonic smile.

Tammin Sursok, 39, who lives in Nashville with husband Sean McEwen and their two daughters (all pictured) revealed on Saturday that her family has been put under a tornado watch as severe storms rip through Tennessee

'But you know what? I'm going to give myself grace that I probably should be stressing. This week has been a lot. And I'm very proud of myself that I have not completely unravelled. So I will be sitting here, waiting for tornado sirens,' she added.

An hour later the Pretty Little Liars star returned to Instagram with a video of her recently-awoken husband setting up a 'makeshift tornado shelter' in their guest bathroom.

Tammin filmed Sean as he gave a tour of the tiny space, which featured a mattress wedged across the ceiling.

Posting to Instagram Stories on Saturday, Tammin filmed herself sitting on the couch at night worrying about the tornado, while her family was asleep

An hour later the Pretty Little Liars star returned to Instagram with a video of her recently-awoken husband setting up a 'makeshift tornado shelter' in their guest bathroom

Tammin filmed Sean as he gave a tour of the tiny space, which featured a mattress wedged across the ceiling

'We have all our supplies in here and a radio, flashlight. But it's got no windows,' he explained.

Tammin earlier uploaded a screenshot of a weather warning report alongside the caption: 'What a week. Nashville beware.'

She also re-shared a clip of the tornado filmed by someone else, showing the swirling winds picking up pace on a rural highway.

Tammin earlier uploaded a screenshot of a weather warning report alongside the caption: 'What a week. Nashville beware'

She also re-shared a clip of the tornado filmed by someone else, showing the swirling winds picking up pace on a rural highway. 'This is the tornado they are worried about,' she captioned the terrifying footage

'This is the tornado they are worried about,' she captioned the terrifying footage.

It comes just days after Tammin's daughter Phoenix was caught up in The Covenant school shooting that left three children and three adults dead on Monday.

Phoenix attends a school school very close to The Covenant school, and it went into lockdown as a precaution.

It comes just days after Tammin's daughter Phoenix, nine, (left) caught up in The Covenant school shooting that left three children and three adults dead on Monday

Tammin posted to Instagram on the morning of the shooting and was incredibly distraught, telling fans: 'There's been an active shooter in one of the schools in Nashville... It's right next to my daughter's school. She's in lockdown, she's fine'

Tammin posted to Instagram on the morning of the shooting and was incredibly distraught, telling fans: 'There's been an active shooter in one of the schools in Nashville... It's right next to my daughter's school. She's in lockdown, she's fine.'

She described the ordeal as hitting 'too close to home' for many parents in America, where school shootings occur almost every year.

On Wednesday, the concerned mum revealed she'd purchased bulletproof backpacks for her two daughters.

A day later she attended an anti-gun rally outside the Tennessee State Capitol.
Married at First Sight's Melinda Willis and Layton Mills have been spotted walking hand-in-hand after filming the show's reunion dinner party - proving their relationship is alive and well despite the on-screen troubles they've faced.

Exclusive photos taken by Daily Mail Australia on December 15 reveal the duo make it out of the experiment loved-up as ever.

Melinda, 32, and Layton, 35, sweetly held hands as they returned to their Sydney CBD hotel after the intense filming.

The blonde was radiant in her sequinned gold dress, which featured a plunging neckline that left little to the imagination.

A series of cutouts at the waist perfectly showcased her enviable figure, while her cascading waves and gold hoop earrings completed the glamourous look.

Married At First Sight's Melinda Willis (left) and Layton Mills (right) were spotted walking hand-in-hand after the reunion dinner party wrapped filming in December, proving their love is alive and well despite the on-screen troubles they've faced

Exclusive photos taken by Daily Mail Australia on December 15 reveal the duo make it out of the experiment loved-up as ever

Layton, ever the dashing gentleman, complemented his lover's look with a matching brown suit jacket.

His ensemble was completed with a black V-neck shirt and crisp white trousers.

The Sydney-based businessman was spotted carrying Melinda's Louis Vuitton handbag as the couple returned to their accommodation hand-in-hand.

Melinda, 32, and Layton, 35, could hardly keep their hands off one another as they returned to their Sydney CBD hotel after the intense filming

The blonde was radiant in her sequinned gold dress, which featured a plunging neckline that left little to the imagination

A series of cutouts at the waist perfectly showcased her enviable figure, while her cascading waves and gold hoop earrings completed the glamourous look

During their time on the experiment, Melinda and Layton encountered their fair share of challenges, including trust issues, fiery arguments, and emotional breakdowns.

However, their undeniable chemistry and commitment to working through their problems proved to be the secret ingredient to their lasting love.

Fans of the reality show have been rooting for the couple, who have become a symbol of hope for those searching for true love in unconventional ways.

Tahnee Cook (left) and Ollie Skelton (right) also survived the experiment unscathed, and were spotted arriving at the reunion hand in hand

Tahnee wore a pink dress with matching full length gloves, while Ollie opted for a black T-shirt and grey trousers

Tahnee Cook and Ollie Skelton also survived the experiment unscathed, and were spotted arriving at the reunion hand in hand.

Cheating bride Claire Nomarhas looked delighted to attend the reunion, dazzling in a one-shouldered purple sequin mini dress.

She sported a bold red lip and accessorised with eye-catching heart earrings.

Cheating bride Claire Nomarhas (pictured) looked delighted to attend the reunion, dazzling in a one-shouldered purple sequin mini dress

She sported a bold red lip and accessorised with eye-catching heart earrings

Dental hygienist Sandy Jawanda made a sophisticated appearance in a dark green gown, complete with shoulder pads and a V-neckline.

She kept her accessories minimal, carrying a chic black handbag.

Bronte Schofield has been a controversial figure this season, with viewers puzzled by her decision to stay in a tumultuous relationship with Harrison Boon.

Dental hygienist Sandy Jawanda (pictured) made a sophisticated appearance in a dark green gown, complete with shoulder pads and a V-neckline

Arriving with determination, she wore an ultra-low-cut yellow halter dress adorned with sequins.

Harrison meanwhile donned a blue polo shirt with white trousers, grinning as he waited to make his entrance.

Evelyn Ellis, dubbed the 'hottest MAFS bride ever', went all out, donning a daring lilac gown that left little to the imagination.

Bronte Schofield (pictured) has been a controversial figure this season, with viewers puzzled by her decision to stay in a tumultuous relationship with Harrison Boon

Arriving with determination, she wore an ultra-low-cut yellow halter dress adorned with sequins

Harrison meanwhile donned a blue polo shirt with white trousers, grinning as he waited to make his entrance

She completed her look with sleek, slicked-back hair and a sultry smokey eye.

Janelle Han wore a cheongsam-inspired dress, with intricate floral patterns and a thigh-high split.

She completed her look wearing platform black heels.

Evelyn Ellis (pictured), dubbed the 'hottest MAFS bride ever', went all out, donning a daring lilac gown that left little to the imagination

Janelle Han wore a cheongsam-inspired dress, with intricate floral patterns and a thigh-high split

Intruder bride Tayla Winter arrived in a bold red dress, which featured a plunging neckline and alluring cut-outs that accentuated her figure.

Duncan James opted for a smart-casual look, pairing a plain white T-shirt with a shiny black suit jacket.

Perth based tradie Cam Woods, who was denied the chance to read his vows during his ceremony with Lyndall, looked relaxed as he arrived at the reunion.

Sporting his long hair tied back and dressed in a blue suit, fans are eager to see how their dynamic plays out during the reunion.

Intruder bride Tayla Winter (pictured) arrived in a bold red dress, which featured a plunging neckline and alluring cut-outs that accentuated her figure

Duncan James (pictured) opted for a smart-casual look, pairing a plain white T-shirt with a shiny black suit jacket

Once inside the hunky cyber security sales director was seen taking off his blazer

Perth based tradie Cam Woods (pictured), who was denied the chance to read his vows during his ceremony with Lyndall, looked relaxed as he arrived at the reunion
Sydney Sweeney looked almost ready for her wings as she modeled a sexy but sweet white bikini Saturday on social media.

'Angel-like' wrote the 25-year-old, who has been showing off her summer body in a series of sizzling suits from her collaboration with Frankies Bikinis.

In a sultry video also posted Saturday, the Euphoria star posed in front of and behind sheer white curtains embellished with lace.

'Feel the romance of Verona #sydneyxfrankies' she wrote, filling in her fans on the name of the lacy two piece.

Sydney was styled in natural looking makeup.

Bold: Sydney Sweeney, 25, boldly showcased her toned curves in a series of sultry poses for her collaboration with Frankies Bikinis Saturday on social media

Her golden locks had been changed to a warm dark shade of blonde and were styled in long, loose curls.

The model was costumed in a pair of clear high heel sling backs with a crystal buckle.

And while The handmaid's Tale actress seems very comfortable in her body now, that wasn't always the case.

In an November 2022 interview with British GQ, the Spokane, Washington native said she developed early and that made her feel out of place.

'I had boobs before other girls and I felt ostracized for it,' she admitted.

'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 versatile star said she compensated for her awkward feelings by working hard.

'So I did play every sport and I studied really hard and I did everything that people wouldnt think I would do, to show them that my body doesnt define who I am.'

Sydney will return to her role as Cassie Howard in the Emmy winning Euphoria for season three, but the new episodes are not expected to debut until 2024.

Stunner: Sydney modeled a sexy but sweet white lace bikini with ruffles Saturday on social media. 'Angel-like' wrote the actress in describing the look

Sheer delight: In a video also posted Saturday, the Euphoria star posed in front of and behind sheer white curtains embellished with lace

Warm: The versatile star's golden locks had been changed to a warm dark shade of blonde and were styled in long, loose curls

Sexy: Sydney looked sexy in a variety of poses. The model was costumed in a pair of clear high heel sling backs with a crystal buckle

Sydney has been in the land down under working on as-yet unnamed romantic comedy being directed by Will Gluck.

Glen Powell, 34, from Top Gun: Maverick is starring in the project as is Dermot Mulroney, 59.

The plot is being kept under wraps at this time.

She has also been signed to co-with Julianne Moore, in the thriller Echo Valley for Apple+ TV.
Jessica Alves turned up the heat as she stepped out with pals in London on Saturday night.

The television personality, 39, was celebrating her last weekend in the UK capital before heading back to her home country of Brazil.

She ensured all eyes were on her as she put on a very busty display in a black mini dress with a plunging neckline and semi-sheer detail to the front.

Jessica recently underwent her third boob job - her latest out of a jaw-dropping 1million spent on surgical procedures.

The garment was adorned with dazzling jewels which glistened in the light as she walked.

Out on the town: Jessica Alves, 39, turned up the heat in a skintight semi-sheer jewel encrusted mini dress as she stepped out with pals in London on Saturday night

Jet set: The television personality was celebrating her last weekend in the UK capital before heading back to her home country of Brazil

Former Celebrity Big Brother housemate Jessica showed off her womanly curves in her shaped dress which was cinched in at the waist.

She wore a pair of black heels to add a few inches to her height and opted for a glamorous look with her make-up, including a bold red lip.

Taking to Instagram before heading out for the evening, Jessica wrote on her Stories: 'This is my last weekend in London then travel season starts. Next stop is Sao Paulo in Brazil.'

Jessica showed off the results of her third boob job on her night out in London after spending 1million on her surgical procedures.

The TV star - who recently revealed she's made 2million from OnlyFans - has 2220cc implants and thinks spending 1million in over 100 operations is all worth it as it's an 'investment in my happiness'.

She told MailOnline: 'I love being a woman and I take pride in it. Growing up, in my mind I had long hair and a voluptuous body shape and today I am the woman of my dreams. And that is such a great feeling to be happy with my looks.

'It has been a long journey to be who I am today. With more than 100 operations and over 1million spent, I see that as an investment in my happiness and in my future - at least I will age as a happy woman.'

She continued: 'I understand that I dont fit into the normal or classic beauty standards and it was my personal choice, and people should just respect it and let it go. It is my life and it makes me happy to be who I am.

Fashion focus: She ensured all eyes were on her as she put on a very busty display in a black mini dress with a plunging neckline and semi-sheer detail to the front

Fashionista: The garment was adorned with dazzling jewels which glistened in the light as she got out the car

'I have just had a 3rd boob job in Brussels at BeClinic by doctor Frank Plovier.

'He removed my old 1500cc and replaced them with 2220cc implants and I couldnt be any happier.

'I hardly have any pain and the results are fantastic.'

Jessica went on to explain she doesn't let cruel online trolls and bullies deter her from being happy as she's finally the woman she's always wanted to be.

'We live in a free society when we are free to be who and how we want to be', she shared.

Pals: Former Celebrity Big Brother housemate Jessica, who was joined by friends on her night out, showed off her womanly curves in her shaped dress which was cinched in at the waist

'Sometimes I get funny looks from people, especially from women and on my Instagram often I get terrible comments from bullies. Also females tend to block and delete then but they keep coming back.

'It doesnt affect me whatsoever what those bullies have to say - I am a glamorous voluptuous woman and I love to be who I am!'

And despite being content within herself, Jessica admitted the one thing missing in her life is a boyfriend to settle down with, something she said she is struggling to find.

She said: 'I am still looking for my Prince Charming but it is a tough ask as most men just want fun and nothing too serious.'
Blac Chyna flashed the flesh in a string of saucy new glamour images she unveiled in an Instagram montage on Friday.

The 34-year-old reality star recently revealed that she had gotten her plastic surgery reversed after experiencing a religious awakening as a born-again Christian.

However her latest social media post allowed Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renee White, to put her still formidable cleavage on display.

Concealing her fresh-faced new look behind exaggerated makeup, she treated the camera to a smoldering come-hither stare.

In one of her incarnations, she appeared to be entirely topless except for a splash of gold body paint - but wrapped an arm around her front to preserve her modesty.

Turning up the heat: Blac Chyna flashed the flesh in a string of saucy new glamour images she unveiled in an Instagram montage on Friday

Aglow: The 34-year-old reality star recently revealed that she had gotten her plastic surgery reversed after experiencing a religious awakening as a born-again Christian

Another outfit included a plunging royal purple corset that served up a generous helping of decolletage and hinted at her trim midriff.

In still another look she was draped in a long fur tunic and modeled a sleek black hairdo that featured feathers tangled into the locks.

Her sizzling new images come after claimed she lost 10lbs after having all of the illegal silicone injections from her behind removed.

The eight-hour procedure was performed on March 9 by West Hollywood plastic surgeon Dr. David Matlock.

'You know how many CCs [cubic centimeters] I took out? 1,250 CCs,' the Washington, DC-born 34-year-old told Access on Monday.

'A two-liter Coke bottle all in my booty!'

Blac was only 19 years old when she had an unlicensed 'regular person' inject her rear end, which got 'super inflamed, really hard, and really hot.'

'It was very scary,' Chyna - who used to be 10-time Grammy nominee Nicki Minaj's body double - explained.

Sultry: Her latest social media post allowed Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renee White, to put her still formidable cleavage on display

Use it or lose it: One outfit included a plunging royal purple corset that served up a generous helping of decolletage and hinted at her trim midriff

Feathers: In still another look she was draped in a long fur tunic and modeled a sleek black hairdo that featured feathers tangled into the locks

That's a load off! Blac Chyna (L) claimed she lost 10lbs after having all of the illegal silicone injections from her behind removed on March 9 during an eight-hour procedure by West Hollywood plastic surgeon Dr. David Matlock (R)

The Washington, DC-born 34-year-old told Access on Monday: 'You know how many CCs [cubic centimeters] I took out? 1,250 CCs. A two-liter Coke bottle all in my booty!'

'They're giving whatever substance that they're doing and giving it to you. They're not gonna tell you, "Hey, you know, you could possibly die."'

Dr. Matlock told the outlet the 'physical dangers of getting illegal fillers are many' as patients 'can have infections, abscesses, sepsis - sepsis patients can die from that.'

The 59-year-old specialist in female genital cosmetic surgery also performed the Hearts Pure spokesmodel's fifth breast augmentation, which was a reduction.

Blac has embarked on an epic make-under 'healing journey' by having all of her face fillers removed, her long manicure removed, and a Baphomet tattoo lasered off her left hip.

Chyna - who's also had liposuction three times - has made a massive life transformation since her days peddling bleaching cream or working the pole as a stripper called 'Cream.'

The born-again Christian - who was baptized on May 11 - has even ditched her $19.99/month subscription OnlyFans account.

Blac legally changed her name back to Angela White despite none of her social media reflecting the name change.

Chyna continues to keep busy running her own clothing line BlacChynaCloset as well as her beauty company Lashed Cosmetics.

On the personal front, The Black Hamptons actress is mother to six-year-old daughter Dream Renee from her on/off 11-month relationship with ex-fiance - Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum Rob Kardashian - which ended in 2017.

Blac is also mother to 10-year-old son King Cairo Stevenson from her three-year relationship with ex-fiance - Grammy-nominated rapper Tyga - which ended in 2014.

'It was very scary!' Blac was only 19 years old when she had an unlicensed 'regular person' inject her rear end, which got 'super inflamed, really hard, and really hot' (pictured Monday in Atlanta)

Au natural: The Hearts Pure spokesmodel has embarked on an epic make-under 'healing journey' by having all of her face fillers removed (pictured March 15), her long manicure removed, and a Baphomet tattoo lasered off her left hip
It was previously reported he felt snubbed after being excluded from the judging panel of Channel Seven's Australian Idol reboot.

And Ian 'Dicko' Dickson, 60, has taken a brutal stab at the singing competition as he prepares to join a different reality show, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, this week.

The The English born music executive, who was was on the original Idol judging panel between 2003 and 2004, told News.com.au on Sunday that the recently-wrapped reboot failed to recreate the essence of what made the original show such a hit.

'It felt a bit creaky. Production values felt really poor and the voices did not inspire me. They should hold the contestants to a high standard and I don't think they did,' he said.

Dicko added that, after not starring on reality TV since his stint on Australia's Got Talent in 2016, it was the 'honesty' of I'm A Celebrity that convinced him to sign up.

Ian 'Dicko' Dickson, 60, (pictured) has taken a brutal stab at Seven's Australian Idol reboot as he prepares to join a different reality show, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, this week

Ian appeared as a judge on the first series of Australian Idol in 2003 alongside fellow judges Marcia Hines (centre) and Mark Holden (right)

'You really are in the camp. You really are covered in horrible bugs. And you really do have to get along with some f**king unknown fish-lipped influencer who might give you the sh**s,' he said.

Dicko was a judge on Australian Idol from 2003 to 2004 alongside Mark Holden and Marcia Hines, before he defected to rival Channel Seven from 2005 to 2006.

He went on to host Seven's Australian Celebrity Survivor and season two of My Kitchen Rules, as well as participated on Dancing with the Stars.

'It felt a bit creaky. Production values felt really poor and the voices did not inspire me. They should hold the contestants to a high standard and I don't think they did,' Dicko said. (Pictured is Australian Idol reboot judge Kyle Sandilands)

He then returned to the judging panel on Australian Idol in 2007 - with the addition of Kyle Sandilands on the panel - until the show's cancellation in 2009.

Idol was rebooted this year, with Kyle Sandilands, Amy Shark, Meghan Trainor and Harry Connick Jr. on the panel.

Dickson will be appearing on Channel 10's I'm A Celebrity alongside MAFS bride Domenica Calarco, 60, veteran actress Debra Lawrance, 66, and many other stars.

Dicko added that, after not starring on reality TV since his stint on Australia's Got Talent in 2016, it was the 'honesty' of I'm A Celebrity that convinced him to sign up. (Pictured on Australian Idol in 2003)

Channel 10 revealed the news on Sunday, sharing social media photos of the trio posing in safari attire.

Dicko, Domenica and Debra will join a bevy of celebrities including radio host Woody Whitelaw and comedian Matt Hey, best known by his stage name Alright Hey and a UK reality star.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! premieres Sunday, April 2 on Channel 10
Former Bachelor star Dr Matt Agnew has shut down rumours he's dating Kate Reid days after sharing what many fans believed to be a relationship announcement.

The astrophysicist, 35, shared a photo to Instagram on Saturday of himself and the Melbourne-based celebrity baker at the Formula 1 racing event in Melbourne.

Matt referred to Kate as his 'friend' in a caption, writing: 'Get yourself a friend who can explain F1 to you.'

Kate is a former Formula 1 engineer turned baker who owns famous Melbourne croissant shop Lune.

In the image, the reality TV star couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he posed next to Kate.

The Bachelor's Matt Agnew, 35, (right) has claimed he's just 'friends' with croissant bakery owner Kate Reid (left) days after sparking romance rumours

The post comes days after the pair sparked romance rumours after they stepped out at the Glamour on the Grid event in Melbourne on Wednesday night.

Matt looked dashing in a black suit while Kate, who is a former F1 engineer, stunned in a long glittery gown with a thigh split.

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.

The astrophysicist shared a photo to Instagram on Saturday of himself and Kate at the Formula 1 racing event, referring to her as his 'friend' in the caption

The speculation comes after the data scientist was rumoured to be dating former MasterChef star Khanh Ong.

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.

Matt said on the Feast podcast last month he and Khanh want to normalise platonic male affection.

The pair sparked romance rumours after they stepped out at the Glamour on the Grid event in Melbourne on Wednesday night (pictured)

'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.'

Matt went on to say he enjoyed cuddling Khanh when they were both single and in need of companionship.

Matt first rose to fame on The Bachelor Australia in 2019 and chose Chelsie McLeod as his winner.

But the pair split after just two months together.
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Heidi Klum turned heads as she arrived to film the 18th season of America's Got Talent in Pasadena, California, alongside fellow judges Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Simon Cowell on Saturday.

Klum - who recently graced the cover of Vogue Greece - showed off her model figure in a flattering top that exposed her taut abs and chest.

The 49-year-old mother-of-four appeared in high spirits as she flashed her mega-watt smile and greeted fans wearing a high-rise black pencil skirt with a matching button-up coat and oversized glasses.

The stunning blonde German-American beauty - who recently sparked plastic surgery rumors - turned the sidewalk into her own personal catwalk in $800 Aquazzura Fenix pumps and carried a black studded handbag.

She wore her tresses straight with layered bangs that framed her face.

Catwalk: Heidi Klum, 49, turned the sidewalk into her own personal runway as she arrived to film America's got talent alongside fellow judge Sofia Vergara, 50, who stunned in pink

Klum has been a judge on America's Got Talent since 2011 and has worked alongside Vergara, who joined as a judge in 2020 on season 15.

The 50-year-old Colombian-born bombshell looked fashionable in a $7365 bright pink Valentino wool coat with bow detail over a white top with distressed capri jeans and matching pink heels with rhinestone bow details.

The Modern Family alum carried a $3800 large Christian Dior Book Tote handbag, wore oversized sunglasses, and styled her voluminous locks in flowing waves with a center part.

Sofia has been a judge on AGT since season 15, which aired in 2020. Before that, she was booked and busy on her hit show Modern Family, which ended its 10-year run in 2020.

While Simon Cowell, Heidi, and Howie were judges on the first season of the spin-off, America's Got Talent: All-Stars, which premiered earlier this year to positive reviews, Vergara was notably absent.

However, she has made her grand return as a judge for the 18th season of the original competition series.

Heidi and Sofia's fellow judge Simon Cowell was also spotted as he arrived at the venue.

The 63-year-old English television personality looked fit in a navy T-shirt, grey pants, black Nike's, and dark sunglasses.

Natural beauty: Klum flashed her mega-watt smile and greeted fans wearing a high-rise black pencil skirt with a matching button-up coat and oversized glasses

Lovely: The beauty shared a friendly wave for the cameras

Looking great: The stunning blonde German-American beauty strutted her stuff in $800 Aquazzura Fenix pumps, carried a black studded handbag, and styled her highlighted tresses straight with layered bangs

Bold and bright: The 50-year-old Colombian-born bombshell rocked a $7365 Valentino bright pink wool coat with bow detail, distressed capri jeans, and pink heels with rhinestone bows

Fancy: The Modern Family alum carried a $3800 large Christian Dior Book Tote handbag, wore oversized sunglasses, and styled her voluminous locks in flowing waves with a center part

Slimmed down: Simon Cowell looked fit in a navy T-shirt, grey pants, black Nike's, and dark sunglasses

Dynamic duo: Heidi and Sofia's fellow judge Howie Mandel, 67, appeared in high spirits as he greeted fans and posed with the Tokyo Chicken wearing a Teddy Fresh 'Oil Spill' design shirt and shorts with white shoes

Simon donned well-groomed facial hair, styled his hair short and spiky, and carried a black Prada bag.

Simon has proudly showcased his slimmed-down figure since filming kicked off last month, after losing about 42 pounds (three stone) following a diet overhaul.

The TV personality candidly discussed his weight loss last year and confessed he'd sometimes indulge in a plate of beans of toast to avoid dining in restaurants.

Howie Mandel, 67, posed with the Tokyo Chicken as he arrived at the set wearing a Teddy Fresh shirt and short set with white shoes.

The comedian added a pair of small circular shades and flashed a quick wave as he arrived before filming began.

Klum, Vergara, and Mandel pranked their fans on Instagram earlier in the day.

Vergara shared a sweet image backstage with Heidi on her Instagram Story with a fake pregnancy announcement for April Fools'.

April fool's joke? The trio pranked their fans on Instagram earlier in the day. Sofia was pictured in a black robe and slippers with her hands on her knees, blowing a kiss near Klum's pregnant belly and inscribing the image, 'I'm going to be an aunt'

Funny guy: Mandel also appeared to be involved in the April fools pregnancy announcement as he pushed out his stomach with Heidi blowing kisses next to the inscriptions, 'From me to you congratulations,' and 'April Fools'

Selfie time: Last week, Sofia shared a selfie as she sat at the judges table before filming began in a plunging pink gown with glittering jewelry

Opening up: Heidi shared a selfie on her account earlier this week in a bright lime-green asymmetrical form-fitted dress as she sat at the AGT judge's panel

Sofia was pictured in a black robe and slippers with her hands on her knees, blowing a kiss near Klum's pregnant belly. She inscribed the image, 'I'm going to be an aunt.'

Mandel also appeared to be involved in the prank pregnancy announcement as he pushed out his stomach and had Heidi pose as if to kiss his pregnant belly with the inscription, 'From me to you congratulations,' before 'April Fools.'

America's Got Talent recently started taping the upcoming 18th season earlier on Thursday and will continue filming until later next month on April 12, per NBC.
Married at First Sight is one of the most controversial shows on TV.

From cheating accusations to explosive fights, Channel Nine's social experiment has had its fair share of scandals over the years.

Here are the most shocking moments from the past 10 seasons as the tenth season comes to an end.

Tayla and Cam's 'sexting scandal'

MAFS is gearing up for yet another cheating scandal this season, this time involving intruder bride Tayla Winter and Cam Woods.

The couple, who have both split from their respective TV spouses, apparently began flirting via text messages after filming wrapped last year.

From leaked voice memos, secret hook-ups, to partner swapping and 'white powder' videos - here are the most shocking moments in MAFS history. Pictured L-R are experts Alessandra Rampolla, Mel Schilling and John Aiken

The sexting scandal involving Cameron Woods (left) and Tayla Winter (right) is set to be exposed at the upcoming MAFS reunion

An insider told Daily Mail Australia that things eventually became sexually explicit when Cam exposed his penis during a video call with the Tasmania-based nurse.

'Cam FaceTimed her while at a night club and showed her his d**k. She just laughed off the incident, but she was impressed,' the source claimed.

Cam's TV wife Lyndall Grace reportedly got wind of the X-rated exchange, and confronted Cam and Taya during the reunion on Sunday night.

Bronte's leaked voice notes prove she knew who Harrison was on wedding day

A series of leaked voice notes reveal Bronte Schofield actually knew all about her groom's past weeks before filming began - and plotted with her friend to 'put on a show' for the cameras.

A month before her TV wedding, she exchanged voice notes with her pal Jessica Tomlinson - the same wedding guest who would later 'expose' Harrison at the reception - in which the two women discussed their plan of action.

The audio files show that not only did Bronte know Harrison was going to be one of the grooms on MAFS beforehand - although she didn't know for sure she would be matched with him - but also prove she knew details about his alleged 'girlfriend'.

Leaked voice memos between MAFS star Bronte Schofield (left) and her wedding guest Jessica (right) prove she knew about husband Harrison Boon's 'secret girlfriend' before their wedding

She used this intel to ramp up the drama on her wedding day by arranging for Jessica, 24, to 'break the news' of Harrison's other relationship to her at the couple's reception, then acting completely blindsided in front of the cameras.

In one voice note, Jess is heard warning Bronte about Harrison's '21-year-old girlfriend' - who has since been identified as Abby Miller - and Bronte responds by saying she is willing to 'play this up like crazy'.

'Butt dial' scandal set up by producers

Intruder groom Rupert Bugden sparked the drama after he accidentally 'called' his wife Evelyn Ellis while he and fellow grooms, including Dan Hunjas, were trash-talking their wives at a bar.

However damning screenshots, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, appear to prove the whole storyline was staged by the show's producers.

In the texts, Rupert, 26, admits the phone call his 'wife' Evelyn supposedly overheard when he pocket-dialed her on a boys' night out never actually happened.

Dan, 42, had allegedly told the other grooms his wife Sandy Jawanda wasn't his type and also bragged about his previous conquests.

Intruder groom Rupert Bugden (pictured) sparked the drama after he accidentally 'called' his wife Evelyn Ellis while he and fellow grooms, including Dan Hunjas, were trash-talking their wives at a bar

The damning screenshots appear to prove the whole storyline was staged by the show's producers. In the texts, Rupert Bugden admits the phone call his 'wife' Evelyn Ellis supposedly overheard when he pocket-dialed her on a boys' night out never actually happened

Claire and Adam's secret kiss

Claire Nomarhas admitted to kissing Janelle Han's husband Adam Seed on a boozy night out, despite being married to Jesse Burford.

The 31-year-old kindergarten assistant denied the hook up for days, before she eventually admitted to the kiss.

The admission caused drama for both couples, and ultimately both relationships ended shortly after.

Claire Nomarhas (left) admitted to kissing Janelle Han's husband Adam Seed (right) on a boozy night out, despite being married to Jesse Burford

The admission caused drama for both couples, and ultimately both relationships ended shortly after. Pictured with Jesse Burford

Olivia exposing Domenica's OnlyFans account

Olivia Frazer (pictured) infamously outed rival bride Domenica Calarco for having an OnlyFans account during a dinner party on last year's season

Olivia Frazer infamously outed rival bride Domenica Calarco for having an OnlyFans account during a dinner party on last year's season.

Domenica was humiliated to learn her co-stars knew about her racy side hustle and broke down in tears.

Olivia refused to apologise for sharing Dom's racy photos, which a friend of hers had discovered circulating on Twitter and Reddit.

While the distribution of the image was described by many viewers at the time as 'revenge porn', a police investigation into the matter has effectively been closed after Olivia refused to speak with officers.

Carolina and Daniel's affair

Carolina Santos (right) and Daniel Holmes (left) didn't hit it off with their respective 'spouses' last year, so decided to pursue a secret relationship with each other

Carolina Santos and Daniel Holmes didn't hit it off with their respective 'spouses' last year, so decided to pursue a secret relationship with each other.

They eventually came clean about their affair at a commitment ceremony and asked the experts if they could re-enter the experiment as a new couple, but their request was denied.

They lasted in the outside world for 10 months before announcing their split.

They eventually came clean about their affair at a commitment ceremony and asked the experts if they could re-enter the experiment as a new couple, but their request was denied

Coco and Cameron's shock romance

It seems there's nothing MAFS participants love more than a good fling.

During the 2021 season, Coco Stedman and Cameron Dunne were at the centre of an explosive cheating scandal that divided fans.

Coco, who was paired with Sam Carraro, sought comfort in Cameron after multiple clashes with her uninterested 'husband'.

During the 2021 season, Coco Stedman (right) and Cameron Dunne (left) were at the centre of an explosive cheating scandal that divided fans

It didn't take long for the two to hit it off, and the other brides and grooms weren't shy about discussing their budding romance.

But it turns out their relationship didn't last once the cameras stopped rolling.

Coco said at the reunion: 'Since leaving the experiment, Cam and I hung out a few times Cam and I got intimate.'

When asked if Cameron had 'hit it and quit it', Coco laughed it off by saying: 'He got his Coco Pops and left for the day [but] there's no ill feelings there.'

Martha and Cyrell's red wine moment

Martha Kalifatidis and Cyrell Paule had an explosive feud that almost turned physical during season six in 2019.

One of their arguments escalated to the point Cyrell grabbed Martha's dressing gown and a producer was forced to separate them.

Martha laughed as Cyrell walked away from the melee, then proceeded to smash a fruit bowl in anger.

Martha Kalifatidis (right) and Cyrell Paule (left) had an explosive feud that almost turned physical during season six in 2019. One of their arguments escalated to the point Cyrell grabbed Martha's dressing gown and a producer was forced to separate them

At the next dinner party, Martha was still simmering with rage and told fellow bride Ines Basic she was going to 'pour a drink on Cyrell' - and followed through with her threat.

She tipped a glass of red over her rival's head, causing total chaos.

Viewers were quick to condemn the brides' petty behaviour and the moment soon became one of the show's most memorable scandals.

At the next dinner party, Martha was still simmering with rage and told fellow bride Ines Basic she was going to 'pour her drink on Cyrell' - and followed through with her threat

Sam and Ines' affair

After weeks of secret text messages and flirty meet-ups, viewers were on the edge of their seats when Ines Basic and Sam Ball finally sealed the deal in the 2019 season.

With both of them 'married' to other people, their affair caused widespread outrage, with many fans furious that the experts didn't intervene and put a stop to it.

Sam's 'wife' Lizzie Sobinoff later said pair were 'disgusting' and 'belong with each other' - but their illicit romance didn't last outside the experiment.

After weeks of secret text messages and flirty meet-ups, viewers were on the edge of their seats when Ines Basic (left) and Sam Ball (right) finally sealed the deal in the 2019 season

Bronson Norrish calls his wife Ines a 'c**t'

After weeks of enduring verbal abuse from his 'wife' during the 2019 season, frustrated groom Bronson Norrish finally snapped at the first commitment ceremony.

He accused his unhinged bride Ines Basic of 'acting like a c**t', leaving the entire cast and trio of experts speechless.

Relationship guru Mel Schilling was particularly appalled, and told Bronson it was never acceptable to call a woman the C-word.

But many viewers disagreed, saying Bronson was right to call Ines a 'c**t' because of her awful behaviour on their honeymoon.

After weeks of enduring verbal abuse from his 'wife' Ines Basic (right) during the 2019 season, Bronson Norrish (left) finally snapped at the first commitment ceremony and called her a 'c**t'

Dean and Davina's affair

The most talked-about moment from season five was the affair between Dean Wells and Davina Rankin.

The pair betrayed their respective spouses by meeting up for a secret coffee date.

However, their brief tryst came to an end when Dean decided he was happier with his 'wife' Tracey Jewel, before kicking Davina to the curb.

The most talked-about moment from season five was the affair between Dean Wells (right) and Davina Rankin (left)

Telv's white powder regrets

Tradesman Telv Williams and beautician Sarah Roza were portrayed as the golden couple of Married At First Sight's fifth season in 2018.

But Telv's less-than-squeaky-clean past outside of the show was exposed when photos emerged of him snorting white powder from a stripper's backside.

Things went from bad to worse for the father of two when leaked emails obtained by Daily Mail Australia revealed he had called Sarah a 'crazy woman' and told a Channel Nine employee their 'relationship' was strictly for publicity purposes.

'Oh s**t!' Sean rejects Jo at the altar

Australia fell in love with bubbly single mother Jo McPharlin in 2018, but the same couldn't be said for her 'husband' Sean Donners.

The pub owner famously muttered 'oh s**t' under his breath when he saw his eager-beaver bride trotting down the altar.

He later voted to 'leave' her at the first commitment ceremony, resulting in a heartbroken Jo calling him a 'douchebag' in front of the other couples.

Ryan's 'Naked Dating' appearance

Ryan Gallagher was portrayed as a poor, broken-hearted groom when his 'wife' Davina Rankin cheated on him during the 2018 season.

But a very different side to his personality emerged when footage resurfaced from his X-rated appearance on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Ryan was a contestant on the program's infamous Naked Dating segment, stripping down in the studio in front of a giggling Jackie 'O' Henderson before admitting his dating style was 'KFC and a root'.
Supermodel Heidi Klum is coming under fire with some of her 10.7 million Instagram followers for elaborately faking a pregnancy on April Fools' Day.

After posing for several photos with her fellow America's Got Talent judges while wearing a prosthetic baby bump, the 49-year-old Making the Cut host was met with immediate backlash for her prank that was dubbed as 'tasteless' and insensitive.

On Saturday, the mom-of-four reposted an image, first shared by Sofia Vergara, who could be seen kissing her phony belly, with the caption: 'I'm going to be an aunt!!'

In the picture, the former Victoria's Secret Angel cradled her stomach in a dressing room as she wore a cropped black sweater, long skirt and a pair of tan UGG slippers.

Howie Mandel also attempted to fool his fans with the picture, which he captioned: 'Congratulations. @heidiklum Co-workers @sofiavergara and I are the first know.'

Sparking backlash: Supermodel Heidi Klum is coming under fire with some of her 10.7 million Instagram followers for elaborately faking a pregnancy on April Fools' Day

Hours later, Klum confirmed she was not actually pregnant by posting an image of Mandel, 67, wearing the prosthetic baby bump on his stomach.

'From me to you CONGRATULATIONS,' she joked.

The gag was panned by all their followers, with many commenting that 'being pregnant isn't a funny April Fools' joke' since 'so many women suffer from infertility.'

'I find this extremely distasteful and hurtful to those women still going through their infertility journey,' another wrote.

Dozens of others said the cast should be 'ashamed' of themselves for the trick.

Others predicted that Klum would have to 'apologize to everyone that's offended tomorrow.'

Klum's fake pregnancy announcement, however, seemed obvious to many that saw snaps of her in a midriff-baring gown to the iHeartRadio Music Awards last week.

The idea of her expecting is not so far-fetched, though, considering she recently spoke about possibly wanting to have a child with her husband, Tom Kaulitz.

In poor taste: After posing for several photos with her fellow America's Got Talent judges while wearing a prosthetic baby bump, the 49-year-old Making the Cut host was met with immediate backlash for her prank that was dubbed as 'tasteless' and insensitive

Not so funny: The gag was panned by all their followers, with many commenting that 'being pregnant isn't a funny April Fools' joke' since 'so many women suffer from infertility'

'I find this extremely distasteful and hurtful to those women still going through their infertility journey,' another wrote

Outdated: One Instagram user stated that this 'isn't funny for sooo many human beings'

'Pregnancy jokes for April Fools are really tasteless and heartless. You should all be ashamed,' a fourth interjected

Frustrated fans: Dozens of others said the cast should be 'ashamed' of themselves for the trick

'It depends what day it is, sometimes I'm here [for it], sometimes here [where I am not], you know?' the German beauty said on the Jennifer Hudson Show in February.

Heidi first became a mother in 2004 with the birth of her first daughter and went on to welcome three more children with ex-husband Seal.

'I mean it's a lot. I've done it four times. I breastfed eight months each time [with my four kids] and then I was pregnant again.'

She continued: 'Three times in a row. Again [my children are] 18, 17, 16, and then 13. Now I waited a long time, so maybe [yes].'

Tom, who is a musician in the band Tokio Hotel, is Heidi's third husband.

The guitarist was married once before to model Ria Sommerfeld from 2015-2018, but the pair had no children together.

Tom, who is a musician in the band Tokio Hotel, is Heidi's third husband.

The guitarist was married once before to model Ria Sommerfeld from 2015-2018, but the pair had no children together.

More to come? The idea of her expecting is not so far-fetched as she did recently speak about considering having another child, with her current husband, Tom Kaulitz

Kisses: Heidi and Tom tied the knot in 2019 after less than a year together

Celebrate: The America's Got Talent judge has been married twice before and Tom has been married once before; Heidi and Tom celebrating the New Year

Heidi had her first daughter, Leni, with Flavio Briatore, 72.

The America's Got Talent judge then went on to marry the musician Seal and have her other three kids with him. Seal adopted Leni in 2009.

The pair were married from 2005-2014 and co-parent their kids Henry, 17, Johan, 16, and Lou, 13.

In 2018, the star sparked romance rumors with Tom after they were spotted holding hands on multiple outings.

They got engaged later that year and secretly wed in February 2019.

In 2022 the star gushed to US Weekly about how quickly Tom blended with her family after getting married.

'[Tom's] amazing. I'm sure it's not easy to step into an immediate family, having all of a sudden four kids and teenagers.

'They were easier when they were younger, for sure. Every age comes with its challenges.  It's beautiful. It's fun. I mean, so far, so good.'

Blended: The beauty gushed to US Weekly in 2022 about how easily Tom blended with her big family
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte has landed a new movie role in upcoming romantic drama, Take My Hand.

The Australian actress, 47, will star in the film alongside Sex/Life actor Adam Demos, Radha Mitchell and Bart Edwards.

Former Big Brother contestant Xavier Molyneux will also make his acting debut in the film, Deadline revealed.

Take My Hand tells the story of young married Australian woman Laura, who has a successful banking career in London.

But her world is turned upside down when she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Natalie Bassingthwaighte, 47, (pictured) is set to star in new romantic drama Take My Hand with Sex/Life star Adam Demos

The man she thought had loved her 'showed his true colours' as her condition had been identified.

After returning to Australia, she is reunited with a past acquaintance Michael who had loved her since their high school days.

Their rekindled friendship turns more serious and they find themselves falling in love.

Take My Hand is the true story of writer and director John Raftopolous' romantic relationship with an old acquaintance.

The Australian actress will star in the film alongside Sex/Life star Adam Demos (pictured), Radha Mitchell and Bart Edwards

John has co-written the screenplay with Dave Petersen who both detailed the former's love affair with Claire Jensz.

However, their names have been changed to Laura and Michael for the film's storyline.

Natalie's character hasn't yet been revealed, but leading actress Radha Mitchell has been confirmed to portray Laura.

A release date has not yet been confirmed as pre-production unfolds.
Myleene Klass looked stylish on Saturday as she arrived at Smooth Radio wearing a flowing floral maxi dress with heeled boots.

The TV personality, 44, appeared in good spirits after her recent sun-soaked trip to South Africa, where she was promoting her latest collection for Next.

The former Hear'Say star put on a classy display in a blue and orange ankle-length dress, which flowed over her stunning frame, as she arrived at Global studios in London.

She wore statement white heeled boots to add inches to her frame and showcase her incredible sense of fashion.

Myleene wore several gold necklaces to accessorise, emphasising her slender neck, as well as white oval sunglasses to shade her eyes.

Stunning: Myleene Klass, 44, looked stylish on Saturday as she arrived at Smooth Radio in London wearing a floral maxi dress

Fashionable: She complemented the look with white heeled boots and oval sunglasses

She wore her brunette tresses straight and completed the look with just a hint of natural make-up.

Myleene appeared in great spirits as she has just returned from a trip to South Africa, where she was shooting for her new collection.

She showcased her sensational figure in a bright orange bikini on Instagram on Wednesday as she soaked up the sun on her travels abroad.

The radio presenter put on a busty display in the patterned two piece as she posed up a storm to promote her latest Next range in a sexy video.

Myleene added a long white sheer crochet beach cover up over the swimwear as she posed in an outdoor mirror in front of a lavish pool.

She accessorised by layering several gold necklaces and opted for a large pair of matching hoop earrings.

Myleene showed off her toned physique in the clips and styled her long brunette tresses in loose waves.

Sharing the clip from her photoshoot in South Africa, Myleene wrote: 'Today this launched...'

Beaming: The former Hear'Say star appeared in good spirits after her recent trip to South Africa

Gorgeous: The orange and blue ankle-length dress flowed over her incredible physique

It comes after Myleene gushed over her daughter Ava as she performed at her 'first official concert' with Martin Clunes on Monday evening.

The radio presenter took to Instagram to show off her oldest daughter, 15, jaw dropping piano skills as she performed with an orchestra.

The proud mum captured parts of the talented teens rehearsals and the show for the Royal Academy of Music which included the Doc Martin actor, 61.

Myleene said Ava 'absolutely smashed' her performance and 'forgets she is only 15' as the teenager took her Grade 8 piano exam when she was only 12 years old.

The presenter shares daughters Ava and 11-year old Hero with ex-husband Graham Quinn - and she is also mother to son Apollo, three, with fiance Simon Motson.
Proud Ulrika Jonsson shared snaps with daughter Bo on Saturday after she graduated from her university course to become a nanny.

The 55-year-old told how proud she was of her daughter - who was born with a congenital heart condition - for reaching the milestone after always struggling with academia.

Praising more 'practical' degrees and apprenticeships she said Bo was a 'grafter and a doer' as she shared snaps from the ceremony at prestigious Norland College - where the Prince and Princess of Wales's childminder learned her craft.

Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo - who looks after Prince William and Kate's three young children, George, Charlotte and Louis - is also a graduate of the prestigious Bath nanny school.

She told The Sun afterwards: 'She's no angel and she's no brain box but she has applied herself and worked extremely hard to gain a skill which will always be in demand, it just so happened that she managed to get a degree while doing so.

Amazing: Proud Ulrika Jonsson shared snaps with daughter Bo on Saturday after she graduated from her university course to become a nanny

Well done: The 55-year-old told how proud she was of her daughter - who was born with a congenital heart condition - for reaching the milestone after always struggling with academia

'She can be a proper pain in the behind but she's a grafter and a doer and I have the deepest respect for her for that.

'So if you ever need your children to be looked after by someone who likes assembling flat-pack furniture and has an unhealthy obsession with sorting books and CDs in alphabetical order, Bo is the girl for you!'

She said she was thrilled with how far she has pursued her education given that when Bo was growing up Ulrika had no idea 'how long this precious creature might live' due to her health issues.

Last November Ulrika paid tribute to her daughter admitting she doesn't know how she 'got this far in life'.

She shared a heartfelt birthday message to her daughter, alongside a sweet array of throwback snaps.

In a poignant caption, Ulrika said it is a 'miracle of hope and medicine' that Bo has gotten 'this far in life', describing her daughter as 'determined and willful'.

She emotionally admitted their time together 'becomes less and less' with every year before praising Bo for training to be a nanny.

Alongside her candid post, Ulrika shared a slideshow of pictures of Bo and her from over the years, which flashed on screen as hit track As It Was by Harry Styles played.

Yay! Praising more 'practical' degrees and apprenticeships she said Bo was a 'grafter and a doer' as she shared snaps from the ceremony at prestigious Norland College

Tough: She said she was thrilled with how far she has pursued her education given that when Bo was growing up Ulrika had no idea 'how long this precious creature might live' due to her health issues

She penned: 'My darling girl. 22 today! How you got this far in life remains a mystery but is definitely a miracle of hope and medicine.

'You're determined; willful; obstinate. You see your goals and you just go for them.

'Proud to smithereens that you've become a @norlandcollege @nannybojonsson - a vocation you were made for.

'With every year that passes, our time together becomes less and less. That's just how it is.

'But it's not As It Was. Harry knows that. Love you so very much. Mamma.'

Ulrika posted an array of selfies of her and her daughter, whose biological father is Markus Kempen, as well as a picture of her holding Bo as a baby.

Among the gallery of snaps were also pictures of her daughter over the years, including one picture of her posing as they visited a hospital for Bo's congenital heart defect.

Bo has been in and out of hospital over the years as a result of her condition. She was born with double inlet left ventricle defect, a congenital defect that affects the valves and chambers of the heart.

As a baby, Bo had to have life-saving surgery on her heart and Ulrika has previously spoken about her health condition, saying doctors told her they 'hoped' Bo would live to be a teenager.

In December 2021, Bo was reunited with her mother after spending time in A&E with medical issues amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The doting mother-of-four had revealed her heartache when Bo was hospitalised and she was unable to visit her amid the pandemic.

Ulrika is also a mother to Cameron, 25 - who she shares with John Turnbull - Martha, 14, whose father is Lance Gerrard-Wright, and Malcolm, 11, who she had with Brian Monet.

While Ulrika didn't specify what was wrong with her daughter at the time, she had admitted Bo was 'terrified' before lockdown and was taking risks by going to university.

The TV star's daughter has a compromised immune system and began her second year of university amid the pandemic.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Ulrika said: 'At the beginning of Lockdown, Bo was terrified and went into lockdown a week before the nation went into lockdown.

'As time went by I became increasingly concerned about her mental health because she was basically locked up in her room.

'She had contact with her friends on FaceTime but that social thing they thrive on became a concern for me.'

She said: 'After three months, she decided when she was allowed, to bubble with another family and her present situation is that the college is doing a mix of lectures and virtual.

'She also does a lot of placements and those are constantly under review. I think Bos approach now is, strangely, a lot more relaxed than she was initially.

'She feels like she's had a taste of normal life and is having to take some risks.'

Last year, Bo also told how she decided not to meet her biological father Markus Kempen after he reached out to her.

Ulrika had penned an article for the Sun about the anxiety she felt over a potential meeting between Bo and Markus, now that Bo is nannying in Corfu - which is where her biological dad is currently living.

Ulrika shared her heartache over her partner walking out shortly after their baby daughter Bo's life-saving heart operation during the emotional essay.

But Bo offered her own side of the story, detailing how she has never felt a longing to meet her father, after being adopted by Ulrika's husband, Brian Monet, who she felt a connection with and calls 'daddy'.

She said that she was left in 'floods of tears' after her mother's article, saying she's 'struggled to feel connected' to the idea of a relationship with her biological father.

She revealed she feels there is 'no space for Markus' in her life at the moment, but didn't rule out a future meeting for them when she feels ready.

Ulrika told Bo about her dad aged eight, however after already introducing her to her partners John and Lance, who acted as father figures, Bo admitted she struggled.

Sweet: Last November Ulrika paid tribute to her daughter admitting she doesn't know how she 'got this far in life'

Reflecting: The TV presenter took to Instagram to share a heartfelt birthday message to her daughter, alongside a sweet array of throwback snaps

Inspiring: In a poignant caption, Ulrika said it is a 'miracle of hope and medicine' that Bo has gotten 'this far in life', describing her daughter as 'determined and willful'

She said: 'I talk about having a 'biological' dad because it's just a genetic thing to me. I haven't been able to make a connection emotionally. I was a bit confused by Mum's explanation because of my age and I remember going off to play straight after as I didn't have anything to say.'

'How can you ever be prepared for being told you have a 'real' dad somewhere in the world, somewhere in your past or present?'

Bo said she draws comparison from children being told they are adopted, but it isn't something she ever spoke about with her friends.

The professional nanny puts this down to having a strong support network growing up, as she admitted to feeling very 'settled' in her home life.
Ken Bruce has revealed he is 'struggling' with how the hours of his workday will change after exiting the BBC.

The veteran Scottish radio presenter, 72, had the last day of his Radio 2 mid-morning slot - which aired from 9.30am to midday for more than 30 years - in March before moving to Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio on Monday.

His new show airs from 10am to 1pm and will feature PopMaster, which Bruce has brought over from the BBC due to him trademarking the long-standing segment, and hit songs from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The popular radio quiz is still airing at the same time from 10.30pm to 10.50pm.

When asked if there are adjustments he has to make since moving to Bauer, Bruce said: 'I'm struggling to work my day out.

New venture: Ken Bruce has revealed he is 'struggling' with how the hours of his workday will change after exiting the BBC

New show: The Scottish radio presenter, 72, had the last day of his Radio 2 slot - which aired from 9.30am to midday for more than 30 years - in March before moving to Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio on Monday (pictured in 2019)

'I think I'm going to be going to bed an hour later because I just have to squeeze everything into the remaining hours of the day.

'Once I get my body clock, right. I think I'll be all right, but I'm really enjoying having a half-hour extra in bed every morning.'

The radio DJ added that he will be 'looking for lunch' at 12.30pm when he is on-air and joked there will be a 'problem with the microphones' during this time.

He also said his new radio show after leaving the BBC will be 'much the same' and he is not looking to introduce 'massive great bells and whistles stuff' into the format.

Bruce added: 'It's just going to be nice things to keep people engaged, keep people listening, and taking part in the show, it'll just be much the same as it was before just in a different place.'

After joining BBC Radio Scotland in 1977 in his 30s, he went on to several other shows at the corporation.

When asked how he was feeling about the move from a workplace after more than 40 years, Bruce said: 'Well, I've got lots of friends still working at the BBC and who worked at the BBC for a long time, and still I'm very, very warm towards the BBC.

'I think it's a great organisation. It was just time for me to leave and now ... it's been quite a few weeks and really, I'm looking forward to doing a month or two, maybe a year or two, maybe a decade or two, on Greatest Hits Radio.'

Details: His new show airs from 10am to 1pm and will feature PopMaster, which Bruce has brought over from the BBC due to him trademarking the long-standing segment

Habits: The radio DJ added that he will be 'looking for lunch' at 12.30pm when he is on-air and joked there will be a 'problem with the microphones' during this time

Bruce said he also has 'plans' to branch out to other avenues before adding he is not as young as he 'used to be'.

The BBC announced Gary Davies, host of the station's Sounds Of The 80s will present the mid-morning show from March until TV presenter Vernon Kay takes over Bruce's Radio 2 slot at a date in the future.

Bruce said he was seen as 'the young pretender' when he first fronted the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, taking over from 'the great' Sir Terry Wogan in 1985.

He added: 'I did get a fair bit of criticism but you just have to ride that through and people are always comparing something they've listened to for a long time with something that's brand new they're not familiar with.'

Moving on: After joining BBC Radio Scotland in 1977 in his 30s, Bruce said of the BBC: 'I'm still very, very warm towards the BBC. I think it's a great organisation. It was just time for me to leave'

Bruce later moved to mid-mornings in 1986 and after a brief stint on late nights and early mornings, returned to mid-mornings in January 1992.

He added: 'I don't give advice to other broadcasters, (Sir Terry) refused to give me any advice....I asked him for it, he wouldn't do it.

'So, I don't think I should give advice, but this will pass is all I ever can say...if it's not going as well as you might like, it'll get better soon. Don't worry, keep at it.'

Bruce on Greatest Hits Radio airs weekdays from 10am to 1pm.
Gemma Owen put on a glamorous display as she posed up a storm in Italy for her latest shoot with PrettyLittleThing on Sunday.

The former Love Island star, 19, wowed in a white silk backless dress for the gorgeous look while working her best angles for the camera.

The incredible number featured a flattering halterneck design and clung to her toned figure in all the right places.

The beauty also showed off her legs as the party dress had a daring thigh split, while she boosted her height with huge nude heels.

Gemma sported her usual bronzed tan and accessorised with statement gold jewellery as she held a red rose for the shots.

Glowing: Gemma Owen put on a glamorous display as she posed up a storm in Italy for her latest shoot with PrettyLittleThing on Sunday

Stunning: The former Love Island star, 19, wowed in a white silk backless dress for the gorgeous look while working her best angles for the camera

She wore her brunette tresses pinned up with pretty tendrils around her face and opted for a glamorous makeup look.

It comes after earlier this week Gemma discussed the heartbreaking loss of her beloved horse Sirius in a candid chat on Wednesday.

The dressage rider said she 'will never get over it' in a YouTube video which came just days after a beauty queen tragically died at her family's stables.

On Tuesday, Jessica Whalley, 25, could not be revived by paramedics after she collapsed at Manor House Stables near Malpas in Cheshire, where she worked as a transport manager.

Speaking in the clip, Gemma update her fans about her life and how she was feeling after 'a challenging few months.'

The Love Island star began: 'The last month or two has been quite challenging - we've obviously lost my competition horse Sirius.'

She continued: 'After that, I'm not going to lie, I really really struggled. Just sort of with getting over losing him.

'It all happened so quickly, it was so shocking and then the sort of whole in my life and routine that it sort of left.

Pose: The incredible number featured a flattering halterneck design and clung to her toned figure in all the right places

'As you know I don't have a few different competition horses - he was my only horse I had for the last five years, I had such a good relationship with him.

'It had a knock on effect to everything, it took a massive knock to my confidence and sort of how I felt generally. I felt pretty low, obviously that's expected after losing an animal. It proper hit me.

'I'm in a better place now, I wouldn't say I've got over it because I don't think I'll ever properly get over it.

'It all happened so quickly, It's not like I had time to properly process it and I couldn't see it coming. It was overnight.

'I'm fine, I'm doing okay and I'm doing a lot better in myself. So that's how I am just getting on with it, feeling a lot better and just keeping busy.

'You feel sort of guilty, we've got Faye now - the new horse that I've got on lease until the end of the year.'

Gemma concluded: 'But I wanted something to do, not fill that void and him be replaced because he'd never be replaced. But I just needed the horses and that was sort of my safe space

Last month, following her horse's death, she explained: 'On Friday we lost my horse of a lifetime due to a sudden and severe illness. Words cant describe how much this horse meant to me and my family.

'He was truly one in a million everyone who met Siz will know how amazing and caring his temperament was. He was taken far too soon, he has left us all heartbroken and in complete shock.

'You taught me so much Siz and I will never be able to thank you enough, you brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and youll never be replaced. I love you endlessly.

Gemma's update came after a beauty queen who died at Michael Owen's stables fainted after falling from her horse, her heartbroken family claimed today.

Jessica Whalley, 25, could not be revived by paramedics after she collapsed at Manor House Stables near Malpas in Cheshire, where she worked as a transport manager.

Speaking to MailOnline on Wednesday, a relative said she understood that Miss Whalley 'fainted before she fell' from a horse. She added: 'What can I say? It's a terrible shock.'

Miss Whalley's friend Allison Samuel earlier claimed that the beauty queen died just days before her 26th birthday this Saturday, and also said that she died after falling from her horse.

But sources at the stable denied this, insisting it would be 'premature' to say so - and calling it 'an incident' not an 'accident'.

It comes as the Health and Safety Executive today confirmed that it would not be investigating the tragedy because the shock death was not believed to be 'work-related'.

Ms Samuel, who used to work with Miss Whalley in stables at Newmarket in Suffolk, told The Sun: 'I just couldn't believe it - we loved her dearly.

'She was such a lovely girl who really enjoyed her job. She was popular - everyone liked her and she was a lovely young woman. This is so unexpected, she was so fit and healthy.

'And beautiful too - she could have been a model. It's such a tragedy  it would have been her 26th birthday this Saturday. We have been told that it was a very sudden and [she] fell from her horse - so it has come as a terrible shock.'

Loss: It comes after earlier this week Gemma discussed the heartbreaking loss of her beloved horse Sirius in a candid chat on Wednesday

Tragic: Gemma's update came after a beauty queen who died at Michael Owen's stables fainted after falling from her horse, her heartbroken family claimed

The stables refused to comment further when approached by MailOnline about the claims regarding the horse.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: 'While we have been made aware of this incident, we are currently not investigating the circumstances as we don't believe it to be a work-related death.'

Owen and his staff were said to have been in floods of tears after Miss Whalley's death.

A spokesman for HM Coroner's Office for Cheshire confirmed to MailOnline this morning that the death was referred to its office yesterday but a decision on an inquest has not yet been taken, with the case still 'in its very early stages'.
Adam Cooney says that he wasn't so keen on starring on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Australia.

The AFL star, who played for the Western Bulldogs and Essendon, says his wife, Haylea, and their children 'bullied' him into taking the gig.

'I didn't say yes at first, I said no because why would I want to go and eat fish guts?' the Brownlow medallist told The Herald Sun on Sunday.

'I was bullied by my wife Haylea and our kids. She said it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and she loves the show.'

Adam says that he is dreading any challenges that involve gross food or great heights.

Adam Cooney (pictured) says he wasn't so keen on starring on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Australia

'I'll probably be vomiting because of the food and challenges,' the athlete admitted, adding that it would be a 'disgrace' if he was voted off first.

'The food and heights are my main two (fears) but I have been brave before and gone on a ferris wheel.'

The 37-year-old married his wife Haylea McCann in 2009 and they have two children, son Jaxon and daughter Ashlea.

The celebrities are competing for $100,000 to be donated to their chosen charity if they win.

'I was bullied by my wife Haylea and our kids. She said it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and she loves the show,' he said. The 37-year-old married his wife Haylea McCann in 2009 and they have two children, son Jaxon and daughter Ashlea. All pictured

The AFL star has played for the Western Bulldogs and Essendon and is a Brownlow medallist

Adam is playing for The Cerebral Palsy Support Network.

Among the stars battling it out in the jungle are veteran presenter Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Australian Idol judge Ian 'Dicko' Dickson, MAFS star Domenica Calarco and actress Debra Lawrance.

The Project's Peter Helliar, reality star Aesha Scott, radio host Woody Whitelaw and celebrity chef Anna Polyviou are also taking part.

As are reality star Nathan Henry, Olympian Harry Garside, TV presenter Bianca Hunt and netballer Liz Ellis.
Gordon Ramsay has broken his silence after his TV co-star Gino D'Acampo was reportedly caught with cannabis in his luggage by sniffer dogs as he flew into the UK.

Gino was allegedly given a warning as he arrived back in the UK with Gordon and Fred at Farnborough Airport, Hampshire on November 29.

They had been in Spain filming Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip, with a source telling The Sun: 'Fred and Gordon were pretty cross.'

It came just weeks before Gino quit the travel show, claiming it was due to a row over 'complicated contracts'.

Now Gordon, 56, has broken his silence on social media since the news broke on Friday.

Breaking his silence: Gordon Ramsey posted on social media for the first time since news broke that his co-star Gino D'Acampo was reportedly caught with cannabis

End of the show: Gino had quit Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip, which he claimed was over a contract row

Posting again to his Instagram story for the first time, Gordon showed he was leaving the drama far behind him as he stayed in Kailua-Kona on the west coast of Hawaii.

The Hell's Kitchen chef, 56, said: 'So good to be back in Kona! Many @ironmanti memories here!'

The chef appeared to be in good spirits as he wore his Iron Man triathlon T-Shirt and shorts, soaking up the sun in Hawaii.

He also gave fans a sneak peak of the delicious meals he has been enjoying, including poke and a quesadilla.

The source said: 'Gino and the gang had been filming in Spain, and flew back home on Gordon's private jet. When they landed, out of nowhere sniffer dogs suddenly started circling Gino.

'Gordon, Fred and Gino were all held for some time by Border Force, as Gino initially tried to laugh it off.

'Eventually, it was clear who the dogs were after, and Gino went away with uniformed police for questioning. It was Gino's bags that were stopped and searched, and a small box with some weed inside was found.

'Neither Fred nor Gordon, nor anyone else on the jet, had a single trace of anything suspicious.'

Holiday: The Hell's Kitchen chef, 56, is staying in Kailua-Kona on the west coast of Hawaii

Delicious: The chef has clearly left the drama behind him as he showed off the tasty meals he has been enjoying

Trouble: It comes after Gino was allegedly caught with cannabis by police sniffer dogs as he flew into the UK with Gordona nd Fred from Spain where they had been filming

The source added that Gino called Gordon and Fred the following day to explain he had been smoking it to help his bad back, and they added that he was released by police 'without issue'.

It is claimed Gordon and Fred were both angry about the situation, particularly as Gordon has always been vocal about his anti-drugs stance.

The TV star broke his silence amid the claims on Saturday as he shared a video to Instagram, but made no reference to the reported incident.

In the clip he shared to Instagram on Saturday, Gino filmed himself watching a raunchy workout clip someone had shared online.

In the video, a man picks up a woman in a suggestive way and begins bench pressing with her body.

Gino filmed himself commenting on the clip, saying: 'Ok, so he's working on his abs, very nice. Oh, oh oh! Alright! I'm going to guess that lady is his wife. Up and down his chest. Look at that smile you dirty - '

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Gino, Gordon and Fred, television production company Studio Ramsay, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary for comment at the time.

When contacted by MailOnline, a Farnborough Airport spokesperson commented: 'Farnborough Airport takes a zero tolerance approach to any illegal activity relating to flights arriving into or departing from the Airport.

'We work closely with UK Border Force, who are based on site at Farnborough Airport, to ensure we maintain the safety and welfare of all passengers, crew, visitors and staff at all times.'
TOWIE star Lydia Bright's sister Georgia was recently rushed to hospital after contracting sepsis.

Lydia and Georgia's mum Debbie revealed her daughter's health scare on Instagram and opened up on the scary ordeal.

She explained that Georgia was first diagnosed with tonsillitis before being struck down with the life-threatening illness, which claims the lives of 48,000 people a year in Britain.

She posted a slew of pictures of Georgia as a child and alongside wrote that she was opening up on the experience to raise awareness.

Debbie penned: 'Not sure how I start to write this but the aim of this post is to highlight the importance of a window of opportunity you may have.

Terrifying: TOWIE star Lydia Bright's sister Georgia (pictured left)was recently rushed to hospital after contracting sepsis

Candid: Lydia and Georgia's mum Debbie revealed her daughter's health scare on Instagram and opened up on the scary ordeal

Important: She posted a slew of pictures of Georgia as a child and alongside wrote that she was opening up on the experience to raise awareness

'All to often we take our health for granted, we believe our bodies are doing just fine, our health believe me is our wealth yet we fail most of the time to nurture ourselves with kindness, time and nourishment.

'Saying all of this it could be a tiny thing that turns out something so desperately serious we just dont see it coming.'

She went on: 'My daughter Georgia become ill a few weeks ago, anyone who knows Georgia knows shes a 100 miles an hour so when she takes to her bed it means shes unwell.

'I moved her back with me, nursed her day and night. A visit to the doctors diagnosed with tonsillitis. Things went from bad to worse. I rushed her to hospital where she was rushed through with SEPSIS.

'This week a documentary hit our screens 48,000 people die of sepsis every year'.

Sepsis, known as the silent killer, strikes when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.

Debbie then informed her followers about the warning signs to look out for.

She wrote: 'Please always look out for the following signs, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, rash, photophobia, abdo pain, blood in urine, confusion, jaundice, signs of stroke.'

She added: 'And remember you know your child better than anyone, you know when something is wrong. I love you @xgeorgiabrightx my little fighter'.

Georgia commented on the post, thanking her mother for all her support and calling her 'my complete rock'.

She wrote: 'I wouldnt have been able to get through these last 2 weeks without you. My complete rock. I couldnt possibly love you anymore'.

Her sister Lydia also commented on the post, writing a series of heart emojis.

Lethal: She explained that Georgia was first diagnosed with tonsillitis before being struck down with the life-threatening illness, which claims the lives of 48,000 people a year in Britain

Grateful: Georgia commented on the post, thanking her mother for all her support and calling her 'my complete rock'

Debbie also took to her Instagram Stories to promote the recent documentary, Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie, which sees actor Jason Watkins discuss his daughter Maude's sudden death aged two from sepsis.

She added: '"Other signs of sepsis and this was all through the week, unable to get her temperature down and a violent shivering. The shivering is when your whole body is taken over.

'This is when actions are vital... I was literally screaming she has sepsis.'

She concluded by saying: 'I would like to thank the @nhs for saving my daughters life. But doctors... nurses and consultants please listen to the mums... dads and cares. We know them best.'
Ryuichi Sakamoto, the acclaimed composer and former member of Yellow Magic Orchestra, has died at 71.

He leaves behind an expansive discography that includes early rock and synth-pop classics with his band Yellow Magic Orchestra  which also featured Haruomi Hosono and the late Yukihiro Takahasi  as well as numerous films scores for masterworks including Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, The Last Emperor and The Revenant.

Sakamoto died on Tuesday, March 28, though his death was not announced until Sunday on his website.

In 2021, the Japanese artist revealed that he had been diagnosed with rectal cancer and had undergone surgery to treat it.

'While undergoing treatment for cancer discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his home studio whenever his health would allow. He lived with music until the very end,' the statement read, before revealing that a funeral had already been held for his close family members.

Musical giant: Ryuichi Sakamoto, the legendary Japanese composer, electronic musician and occasional actor, died on March 28 of cancer, his website revealed on Sunday; seen in 2018 in Berlin

In front of the camera: Sakamoto established himself as a master of films scores for movies including The Last Emperor, The Revenant and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (pictured), which he also acted in (L) with his friend David Bowie (R)

He had previously been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, though he later shared that it had gone into remission even as a new cancer appeared.

His website's statement announcing his death ended with one of the artist's favorite quotations: 'Ars longa, vita brevis,' meaning, 'Art is long, life is short.'

Sakamoto had also acted in films, including playing a Japanese soldier in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, the classic Japanese film directed by Nagisa Oshima.

He played the commander of a POW camp located in Japanese-controlled Java, while David Bowie and Tom Conti played prisoners of the camp.

Sakamoto also composed the film's score, for which he was awarded a BAFTA.

The film cue Forbidden Colors, which was also released in a version featuring vocals by David Sylvian, became a hit for the composer and helped introduce him to a global audience.

Sakamoto later expressed regret that he never looked up his on-screen collaborator David Bowie after the film and prior to his death, even though the two were both living in New York for a time.

He was later honored with an Academy Award for his score to Bernardo Bertolucci's epic The Last Emperor, which he shared with Talking Heads' David Byrne and the Chinese composer Cong Su, both of whom also composed for the film. The trio also earned a Grammy for the score.

Jack of all trades: He played the commander of a POW camp located in Japanese-controlled Java, while David Bowie and Tom Conti played prisoners of the camp. Sakamoto also composed the film's score, for which he was awarded a BAFTA; seen with Bowie

The movie also won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

In addition to writing the music for the film, Sakamoto again had a supporting role in it.

During his university years, he studied the works of influential avant-garde composers, while also keeping an ear toward jazz and traditional Japanese folk music.

In 1978, he joined the trio Yellow Magic Orchestra with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahasi, who died in January.

The group's electronic and synth-pop experiments became massively popular in Japan, but its music also had an impressive footprint in the West with multiple hit singles.

Sakamoto went solo after the group broke up in 1983, right as he was set to appear in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

After his work scoring The Little Emperor, Sakamoto would reunite with Bertolucci on The Sheltering Sky and Little Buddha, and he later played a director filming a music video in the video for Madonna's single Rain.

Other major films he scored included Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes and Femme Fatale, Pedro Almodovar's High Heels and the 1992 Wuthering Heights, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.

Iconic group: In 1978, he joined the trio Yellow Magic Orchestra with Haruomi Hosono (L) and Yukihiro Takahasi (R), who died in January. Its electronic and synth-pop experiments became massively popular in Japan and led to hit singles in the US

Late triumph: In 2015, he scored Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's period survival drama The Revenant with Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner. It won Oscars for Best director and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio

Family; He is survived by his wife Norika Sora, and he also had several children, including the singer Miu Sakamoto from his marriage to the singer singer Akiko Yano; seen in 1996

In 2015, he scored Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's period survival drama The Revenant with the electronic musician Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner.

The film won Oscars for Best director and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.

Following the 2011 Daiichi nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Sakamoto also became an anti-nuclear power advocate.

He is survived by his wife Norika Sora, and he also had several children, including the singer Miu Sakamoto from his marriage to the singer singer Akiko Yano.
Neil Jones and Chyna Mills have announced they are engaged and expecting their first child together.

The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 40, and Love Island star, 24, who went official with their romance in August, shared their happy news on Sunday.

The couple revealed Chyna is currently 13 weeks pregnant and are set to welcome their newborn in the autumn.

She told Hello! magazine: 'It still doesn't feel real'.

Neil popped the question to the reality star as they enjoyed a romantic getaway in Bali recently.

Congrats! Neil Jones and Chyna Mills have announced they are engaged and expecting their first child together

Exciting: The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 40, and Love Island star, 24, who went official with their romance in August, shared their happy news on Sunday

He said: 'I'd already planned to ask Chyna to marry me before we knew she was pregnant. Then we found out and I was like, "Oh, this is brilliant, everything is coming together"'.

Chyna admitted it took her a moment to accept the proposal as she wasn't 100% sure if it was genuine.

She said: 'At first, I thought he was joking because we play jokes on each other all the time'.

The TV personality took to Instagram to share a sweet snap of the pair to announce their happy news.

She penned: 'I feel like I'm dreaming'.

Her former co-stars took to the comments to congratulate the couple on their exciting news.

Gemma Owen said: 'Congratulations'.

Deji Adeniyi added: 'NO WAY! Congratulations sis,' while Mollie Salmon wrote: 'Congratulations to you both , AHH so excited'.

'It still doesn't feel real': The couple revealed Chyna is currently 13 weeks pregnant and are set to welcome their newborn in the autumn

'I feel like I'm dreaming': Neil popped the question to the reality star as they enjoyed a romantic getaway in Bali recently

Danica Taylor penned: 'Stop it omg congratulations x2'.

Dami Hope said: 'Omg congratulations times x2  what a wholesome moment'.

Neil shared the same snap of the happy couple and penned: 'Excitement is an understatement'.

His Strictly co-stars sent their best wishes, including judge Oti Mabuse, she said: 'Best news!!!! Congratulations'

While Gorka Marquez and Nadiya Bychkova both wrote: 'Congratulations guys!!!'

Neil and Chyna took their relationship public in August last year when they enjoyed a romantic trip to Paris.

The reality star first caught Neil's eye when she appeared on ITV2's Love Island last summer.

The pair have since stepped out together at a number of red carpet events and share a number of loved-up posts to Instagram.

It comes two years after Neil's previous relationship with South American dancer Luisa Eusse came to an end.

Neil was previously married to his Strictly professional co-star Katya Jones, for six years before calling it quits in August 2019, following her kiss with her 2018 Strictly partner Seann Walsh.

Loved-up: He told Hello!: 'I'd already planned to ask Chyna to marry me before we knew she was pregnant. Then we found out and I was like, "Oh, this is brilliant, everything is coming together"'

'Congratulations x2': Her former co-stars including Gemma Owen, Dami Hope and Danice Taylor, took to her Instagram post to congratulate the couple on their exciting news

Neil shared the same snap of the happy couple and penned: 'Excitement is an understatement' prompting his Strictly co-stars to 'congratulate' the couple

Ex: Neil was previously married to his Strictly pro co-star Katya Jones, for six years before calling it quits in August 2019, following her kiss with her 2018 Strictly partner Seann Walsh (pictured in 2018)

The pair split in August 2019 and announced the sad news in a joint statement that read: 'Hi everyone. As our fans and loyal supporters, you are really important to us and so we wanted to let you know some news.

'After 11 years we have made the mutual decision to separate. We will always love each other, just in a different way as friends.

'This will never change what a great team we make and we are really proud of everything we have achieved together.

'Our shared love of dance means we will keep working and dancing together as well as exploring individual projects. No matter what we do we will always support and respect each other.

'We wish one another every happiness and we will remain the best of friends. We are really looking forward to getting back to the ballroom and can't wait to keep on dancing. Lots of love from us both xx.'
Mama June is putting in effort to help daughter Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell in the wake of her cancer diagnosis.

It was reported by TMZ that the 43-year-old mother-of-four is nurturing the bond with her 28-year-old daughter, although their relationship has been tense in recent years.

Insiders told the site that Mama June and Cardwell had begun mending their relationship about a year ago, but now they're a lot closer.

In 2021, Anna was candid about putting distance between herself and her mother when June began a romance with Mark McDaniel, who Anna said sexually assaulted her in adolescence.

Now the two are putting the past behind them as June is doing things like watching Anna's kids to help her cope with her new reality.

Coming through: Mama June is putting in effort to help daughter Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell in the wake of her cancer diagnosis

Stepping up: It was reported that the 43-year-old mother-of-four is nurturing the bond with her 28-year-old daughter, although their relationship has been tense in recent years

It was also noted that June has been accompanying Anna to her doctor's appointments as she 'wants her daughter to know she has a support system.'

Cardwell underwent her first chemotherapy session last month for stage 4 cancer in her liver, kidneys and lungs after being diagnosed in January with rare adrenal carcinoma.

Doctors are now monitoring her progress before making any decisions regarding further treatment.

The eldest daughter of Mama June Shannon reported experiencing stomach pains before testing and getting diagnosed.

In recent images, Anna appeared with her eldest daughter, Kaitlyn, 10, as the rest of the family support her and remain hopeful.

The TLC alum also took photos of herself in the middle of treatment at a hospital in Georgia.

On Thursday, her 17-year-old sister, Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson, took to Instagram to confirm the devastating diagnosis by sharing an article published by TMZ.

Thompson wrote alongside a screenshot of the post: 'This is what I mean when I say you never truly know what somebody is going through at home. No matter how famous they are.'

'Yes I'm very famous, but normal s*** happens to me and my family and y'all need to realize that ASAP,' she added.

According to the American Cancer Society, adrenocortical carcinoma  also known as adrenal cortical cancer  is a disease that affects an estimated 200 Americans per year.

Sources close to the family report that they are all 'very hopeful' Cardwell will pull through and overcome the rare disease.

Treatment: Anna underwent her first chemotherapy session last month; pictured with daughter, Kaitlyn, 10

Pushing forward: Anna first reported experiencing stomach aches before undergoing a series of tests that led to her diagnosis in January

Her family: Cardwell first appeared on TLC's 2009 series Toddlers and Tiaras alongside her now-teenaged sister  famously known as Honey Boo Boo  and their family

They also revealed that the family  as well as Anna's boyfriend Eldridge Toney  are all gathering together to take care of Anna and her two children  Kaitlyn and Kylee, 8.

Cardwell first appeared on TLC's 2009 series Toddlers and Tiaras alongside her now-teenaged sister Alana and their family.

In 2012, Alana received a spinoff series titled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which starred their entire family.

Cardwell welcomed daughter Kaitlyn in 2012 and married her then-boyfriend Michael Cardwell two years later. They called it quits in 2017.
Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer both won their first Olivier Award at the star-studded ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sunday.

While the Killing Eve star's one-woman show Prima Facie was awarded Best New Play, A Streetcar Named Desire in which Paul starred triumphed in the Best Revival category.

The Irish actor, 27, won for his powerful performance as Stanley Kowalski following a sell-out run at the Almeida Theatre.

In his his speech Paul thanked his beloved mother Dearbhla, who is receiving treatment for cancer, before adding: 'I hope you get better.'

Addressing the diagnosis herself on social media, his mum previously told her followers that she was starting to 'live with cancer', having been diagnosed with multiple myeloma which is a type of bone marrow cancer in July 2022.

Big win: Paul Mescal (left) and Jodie Comer (right) both won their first Olivier Awards at the star-studded ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall on Sunday

Celebrations! The duo posed together backstage following their big wins

Hold it tight! They proudly grasped their awards that feature the image of legendary actor Laurence Olivier

What a night! Irish actor Paul, 27, triumphed for his powerful perfomance as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire following a sell-out run at the Almeida Theatre

Love: During his speech he thanked his beloved mother Dearbhla, who is receiving treatment for cancer , before adding: 'I hope you get better' (pictured together at this year's BAFTAs)

Meanwhile Killing Eve star Jodie, 30, triumphed and was awarded Best Actress for her role in one woman play Prima Facie.

During her speech, she told the star-studded audience: 'I'm so overwhelmed. This play has changed my life. I am so grateful and I have so many people to thank'.

'To Suzie Miller for writing the most exquisite play I have ever had the pleasure of reading'.

'One thing I would like to say to any kids who haven't been to drama school, who can't afford to go to drama school, who has been rejected from drama school, don't let anyone tell you that it isn't possible.

'It might take the stars to align and you to be met with generous, kind, patient people but it is possible.

'Mum, Dad, I love you, and my Grandad is 82 today so happy birthday.'

The play which follows the story of a brilliant barrister who has progressed from her working class origins to the top of the profession before an unexpected event change her life.

After receiving critical acclaim for her performance at the Harold Pinter Theatre Jodie will be taking the play to Broadway later this month.

Ahead of the ceremony she told the PA news agency: 'It's incredible. I could never have dreamed of the response and reaction (to the play), it really does feel as though the audience has become so much a part of this as we are.

'It's so incredibly heart-warming to be in the theatre every night and feel the presence of everyone and the energy kind of shared so I'm so excited, I feel very lucky that I'm able to revisit it.'

Olivier Awards 2023: WINNERS AT A GLANCE Best Actor: Paul Mescal- A Streetcar Named Desire Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Will Keen - Patriots Best Actor in a Musical: Arthur Darvill - Oklahoma Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical: Zubin Varla - Tammy Faye Best New Play: Prima Facie Best New Musical: Standing at the Sky's Edge

Best Actress: Jodie Comer - Prima Facie Best Actress in a Musical: Katie Brayben - Tammy Faye Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Anjana Vasan - A Streetcar Named Desire Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical: Beverley Knight - Sylvia Best Revival: A Streetcar Named Desire Advertisement

On stage: Paul completed a sold-out run of the play at the Almeida Theatre in February and transferred to the Phoenix Theatre in the West End for a six-week run last month

Hold it high! Paul held his award in the sky triumphantly

All smiles: He couldn't wipe the big grin from his face

First timers: This marks the both star's first Olivier Award

Winner: Meanwhile Killing Eve star Jodie, 30, triumphed and was awarded Best Actress for her role in one woman play Prima Facie

Overwhelmed: During her speech she told the star-studded audience: 'I'm so overwhelmed. This play has changed my life. I am so grateful and I have so many people to thank'

When asked if she loved theatre as much as TV and film, Comer told PA: 'Yes, I've definitely got the bug now for sure'.

Next Paul's Streetcar co-star Anjana Vasan was awarded with The Best Supporting Actress gong for her impressive perfomance as Stella Kowalski.

While Best Support Actor was presented to Will Keen for Patriots a compelling study of Russian dissidence by The Crown's Peter Morgan.

Former Doctor Who actor Arthur Darvill scored Best Actor in A Musical for Oklahoma! alongside Katie Brayben as Best Actress for her role as televangelist Tammy Faye in the self titled show.

The musical was written score was written by Elton John and former Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears.

Daily Mail's Patrick Marmion wrote about the production: 'After nearly three hours spent bearing witness to the Elton John musical about American TV evangelist and gay icon Tammy Faye Messner, I said a little prayer'.

'I prayed that next time I see a musical about Tammy Faye where I might actually learn something about the woman behind the big hair and extra thick mascara.

'Sadly, the Almeida's new show is at best an ecstatic but otherwise unholy fusion of TV's Strictly and Songs Of Praise'.

Speaking out: 'One thing I would like to say to any kids who haven't been to drama school, who can't afford to go to drama school, who has been rejected from drama school, don't let anyone tell you that it isn't possible'

Kind words: Adding: 'It might take the stars to align and you to be met with generous, kind, patient people but it is possible'.

Tears: She appeared to choke back tears when giving her emotional speech

Drama: The actress put on a very leggy display in a crimson mini dress that boasted ruffles and a long dramatic train

Taking the world by storm: After receiving critical acclaim for her performance at the Harold Pinter Theatre Jodie will be taking the play to Broadway later this month

Talented: The critically acclaimed one-woman production also won Best new Play

While Beverley Knight found favour in the Best Supporting Actress In A Musical category for her role as Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia.

Emmeline became the leader of the women's suffrage movement in Britain, with her actions widely praised for helping women receive the right to vote in 1918.

Speaking about the play on the One Show, Beverley divulged: 'Most of the show is sung. Its at the Old Vic so people who go and see shows at the Old Vic would expect something a little more traditional.

'This is anything but. Im not rapping but I am speaking rhythmically as well as singing the way that people know me to sing.'

Success! Beverley Knight found favour in the Best Supporting Actress In A Musical category for her role as Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia

Hot stuff: She turned heads in a black PVC gown

Trophy: Former Doctor Who actor Arthur Darvill scored Best Actor in A Musical for Oklahoma

Best Director was awarded to Phelim McDermott for his adaptation of Studio Ghiblis 1988 animated film My Neighbour Totoro.

The show was also went on to snag the much sought after Best Entertainment or Comedy named after famed actor and writer Noel Coward.

The best Revival of A Musical went to Oklahoma which is a dark and saucy retelling of the 1943 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic.

MailOnline's Robert Gore Langton declaring the 'trail-blazing reboot is a must'.

Writing: 'To my mind, Rodgers and Hammersteins musical has always suffered from a teeth-itching wholesomeness'.

'This, however, laces the charm with acid. Its radicalised, sullen as a teenager and pretty right-on. In fact, its almost Woke-lahoma!

Yet Daniel Fishs production, imported from off-Broadway and here co-directed by Jordan Fein, really works'.

Expecting a win: Heavily pregnant Katie Brayben won Best Actress in A Musical for her role as televangelist Tammy Faye in the self titled show

In good company: Next Paul's Streetcar co-star Anjana Vasan was awarded with The Best Supporting Actress gong for her impressive perfomance as Stella Kowalski

Dancing to success: The best Revival of A Musical went to Oklahoma which is a dark and saucy retelling of the 1943 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic (pictured)

Meanwhile, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Dame Arlene Phillips said it is 'incredible' to receive this year's Special Award honouring her illustrious stage career.

The 79-year-old told PA: 'I know, ultimately, it means yes I'm getting old and I've done a lot of musicals but actually to come all together for a lifetime award is so so special.

'I never thought one of the things I would ever hold is an Olivier award, it's just amazing.

'My satisfaction is not about getting an award, it's just knowing the shows I do have the power to make people smile.

Honour: Meanwhile, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Dame Arlene Phillips said it is 'incredible' to receive this year's Special Award honouring her illustrious stage career

Pride: The 79-year-old told PA: 'I know, ultimately, it means yes I'm getting old and I've done a lot of musicals but actually to come all together for a lifetime award is so so special'

'That has been my treasure, my pleasure. But actually being awarded an Olivier because of the collectively of all those shows means everything.'

Dame Arlene, whose choreography will be seen in the new immersive version of Guys And Dolls, said the theatre is 'more important than ever'.

She added: 'To see people come in with whatever worries they're carrying - having just done Guys And Dolls, it's another show where people are literally shouting with joy at the end, you know they're going to take that with them and talk about it and come back if they can.'
Katya Jones has responded to the news that her ex-husband Neil and his fiancee Chyna Mills are expecting a baby together.

Strictly Come Dancing professional Neil, 40, and Love Island star Chyna, 24, who went official with their romance in August, shared their happy news on Sunday.

The couple revealed Chyna is currently 13 weeks pregnant and are set to welcome their newborn in the autumn.

Katya, 33, who still works alongside Neil as a professional on BBC ballroom dance contest Strictly, married Neil in 2013 before they split in 2019.

And she shared some kind words for her former flame and Chyna after they announced their happy news on Sunday.

Speaking out: Katya Jones, 33 (pictured), has responded to the news that her ex-husband Neil, 40, and his fiancee Chyna Mills, 24, are expecting a baby together

Television personality Chyna took to Instagram to share a sweet snap of the pair to reveal she was pregnant.

Neil popped the question to Chyna as they enjoyed a romantic getaway in Bali recently.

He told Hello!: 'I'd already planned to ask Chyna to marry me before we knew she was pregnant. Then we found out and I was like, "Oh, this is brilliant, everything is coming together".'

Chyna admitted it took her a moment to accept the proposal as she wasn't 100 per cent sure if it was genuine.

She said: 'At first, I thought he was joking because we play jokes on each other all the time.'

She wrote: 'I feel like I'm dreaming.'

Taking to the comments section, Katya wrote: 'So happy for these two!

'@mr_njonesoffiicial You deserve all the happiness.'

Loved-up: Strictly Come Dancing professional Neil and Love Island star Chyna, who went official with their romance in August, shared their happy news on Sunday

Baby on the way: The couple revealed Chyna is currently 13 weeks pregnant and are set to welcome their newborn in the autumn

Neil and Chyna took their relationship public in August last year when they enjoyed a romantic trip to Paris.

The reality star first caught Neil's eye when she appeared on ITV2's Love Island last summer.

The pair have since stepped out together at a number of red carpet events and share a number of loved-up posts to Instagram.

It comes two years after Neil's previous relationship with South American dancer Luisa Eusse came to an end.

Neil was previously married to his Strictly professional co-star Katya Jones, for six years before calling it quits in August 2019, following her kiss with her 2018 Strictly partner Seann Walsh.

It comes after Katya said she's planning a 'husband hunting holiday'.

The twinkle-toed star revealed she is in the market for a new spouse and is hoping a trip with a friend will help her find 'The One'.

She told The Sun on Sunday: 'We will be definitely going on a husband-hunting trip very soon.

Ex: Neil was previously married to his Strictly pro co-star Katya Jones for six years before calling it quits in August 2019 following her kiss with her 2018 Strictly partner Seann Walsh (pictured in 2018)

'I mean were constantly husband-hunting. Modern dating is very complicated, I dont always understand mens thinking, but Id like to think Im a good judge of character.'

However, Katya admitted she has had no luck with dating apps.

She said: 'They are rubbish. I am on Raya. Im looking for someone who can handle a self-sufficient woman and add value to my life.

'Someone who is caring and loving  all I want is unconditional love.'
He's set to wield his power over space and time as the new Doctor Who.

But Ncuti Gatwa has seemingly already conquered audiences closer to home  as he was surprisingly named the most powerful person on British TV.

The Sex Education star, 30, beat the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to top RadioTimes.com's annual TV 100 power list, which celebrates those responsible for 'landmark' TV moments.

Alice Oseman, the writer of bestselling LGBTQ graphic novel Heartstopper, came second while BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards, who announced the Queen's death last September, was named in third place.

White Lotus actress Jennifer Coolidge and House Of The Dragon star Emma D'Arcy came in at fourth and fifth place. Harry and Meghan were named 13th on the list after their controversial Netflix documentary.

Ncuti Gatwa (pictured) was surprisingly named the most powerful person on British TV

The Sex Education star, 30, beat the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured) to top RadioTimes.com's annual TV 100 power list

Alice Oseman (pictured), the writer of bestselling LGBTQ graphic novel Heartstopper, came second

Describing the recognition as 'lovely', Gatwa added: 'TV is on fire at the moment and so to top the list feels extra cool.

'The titans that have topped the list before me, people such as Russell T Davies [and] Olivia Colman, are all inspirations to me, and their work is something I aspire to.

'They're just really great story tellers above all else, and that's all I could want to do.'

The BBC's director of content Charlotte Moore praised Gatwa's 'incredible dynamism' and boundless energy.

Helen Daly, associate editor of RadioTimes.com, added: 'Our worthy winner this year is Ncuti Gatwa... a talent who will no doubt have a stellar 2023 as he takes over the Tardis in Doctor Who. Congratulations to everyone who made our list.'

BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards (pictured), who announced the Queen's death last September, was named in third place

White Lotus actress Jennifer Coolidge (pictured) came fourth on the list
The future looks grim for Studio 10 after hitting an all-time low in the ratings.

The embattled program has been hemorrhaging viewers by the tens of thousands following departure of host Sarah Harris this year, leading industry spies to question how long it will last on the air.

Last Monday, the show's ratings plummeted to the lowest in its decade-long history, reaching a shocking average of just 10,000 viewers in the five-city metro, The Australian reports.

However, a Network 10 spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that Studio 10 isn't going anywhere.

'Studio 10 is a staple in our daytime program schedule boasting fun, entertaining and engaging content led by a fantastic panel,' the spokesperson said.

The future looks grim for Studio 10 after hitting an all-time low in the ratings last week. (Pictured: Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs)

Studio 10's ratings low is the latest in a series of devastating blows for the morning show, which recently saw its running time slashed by an hour.

In December, it was announced Studio 10 would be cut from three-and-a-half hours to two hours, shifting its start time to 10am instead of 8.30am.

According to The Australian, the numbers are so low that 'few media pundits were overly surprised' when Studio 10's run time was cut down.

The embattled program has been hemorrhaging viewers by the tens of thousands following departure of host Sarah Harris this year, leading industry spies to question how long it will last on the air. (Pictured: Sarah Harris on The Project)

Studio 10's ratings crisis comes after its host Sarah Harris jumped ship to The Project, leaving her former co-host Tristan MacManus to helm the program alongside Angela Bishop, Narelda Jacobs and Daniel Doody.

This isn't the first time rumours have surfaced about the show's impending demise, however it remains to be seen how long Channel 10 can prop up Studio 10 as its audience continues to dwindle.

Studio 10 has become one of the lowest rating-daytime shows in Australian TV history, falling far behind rival programs on Seven, Nine and the ABC.

Studio 10 has taken a shift to the left politically since 2020

Network bosses are also facing the tough financial prospect of having to continue to pay Lisa Wilkinson - who recently stepped down from The Project but remains on a lucrative multi-year contract - until they find another role for her.

Once a thriving commercial operation, Channel 10 is now losing viewers hand over fist in response to the influx of left-leaning content.

Studio 10, which once had a loyal audience of over-50s who tuned in to watch the panel debate news events from a range of political perspectives, has also seen a shift towards more politically progressive content.

In September, American nonbinary activist, comedian and poet Alok Vaid-Menon appeared on the show to discuss gender nonconformity and the importance of comedy that doesn't offend marginalised groups. (Pictured: American nonbinary activist and poet Alok Vaid-Menon being interviewed on Studio 10 in September)

In September, American nonbinary activist, comedian and poet Alok Vaid-Menon appeared on the show to discuss gender nonconformity and the importance of comedy that doesn't offend marginalised groups.

Speaking to presenter Narelda Jacobs, Alok explained how 'most comedians have become ambassadors for the status quo' when they should be 'championing change'.

Jacobs, who is Indigenous and openly gay, praised Alok for championing social justice, saying: 'Alok, I love you so much, I can't get enough.'

Jacobs (pictured) who is openly gay, praised Alok for championing social justice, saying: 'Alok, I love you so much, I can't get enough'

Jacobs also sparked debate in September when she called for the monarchy to apologise for its colonisation of First Nations people following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

In a segment about the Queen's death on Studio 10, she described the British monarchy as a 'symbol of colonisation' and asked what had been done by the modern-day Royal Family to 'make up for that'.

Her request was met with support from some progressive Australians but also backlash from Britons who feel they do not owe Aboriginal people an apology for the actions of their ancestors more than 200 years ago.

Jacobs also sparked debate in September when she called for the monarchy to apologise for its colonisation of First Nations people following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Former Studio 10 star Kerri-Anna Kennerley has been a vocal critic of the show's shift towards the left.

In November, she told Woman's Day it was 'sad' to see Studio 10 become an insufferable woke-fest after she was sacked from the show two years ago.

Kennerley was given her marching orders in August 2020 as Network Ten desperately tried to cut costs during the Covid pandemic.

Former Studio 10 star Kerri-Anna Kennerley (pictured) has been a vocal critic of the show's shift towards the left

Her departure from the show coincided with Studio 10's content becoming more politically progressive, as well as a steep decline in ratings.

'I don't know what got into producers' minds. They all got scared. They've chickened out, in my view,' she said.

'When I was on Studio 10, I really felt like we were getting better and better each week.

'I think in the 18 months I was there, they got more traction and more press than they ever did in the previous five or six years.'

She continued: 'And if I'd produced it, I would have doubled down. I would have said, 'Okay, let's go further, let's go more controversial.''
Heidi Klum showcased her cool sense of style wearing a colorful fitted dress as she arrived at the America's Got Talent taping in Pasadena on Sunday.

The GermanAmerican supermodel, 49, who recently sparked backlash by faking a pregnancy for April Fools' Day, joined her other AGT judges to continue filming the show's 18th season.

The mother of four strutted towards the venue showing off her toned frame wearing a long-sleeved black dress with yellow and red stripes.

The star gave a glimpse of her long legs with two thigh-high slits on each side of the ensemble for a sultry flare.

The blonde beauty slipped into a pair of crocodile-embossed, black heeled boots that reached up towards her knees to coincide with the color scheme of her dress.

Fashionable: Heidi Klum showcased her cool sense of style wearing a colorful fitted dress as she arrived at the America's Got Talent taping in Pasadena on Sunday

Making a statement: The star gave a glimpse of her long legs with two thigh-high slits on each side of the ensemble for a sultry flare

The Making The Cut star easily carried a large black purse in her right hand to hold a few items she needed during her busy day of filming.

Her blonde locks were parted in the middle, and flowed down straight past her shoulders, allowing her bangs to gently fall onto her forehead.

She accessorized her ensemble by wearing a small pair of sparkling, silver rhinestone earrings.

Heidi, who has been a judge on America's Got Talent for a total of 10 years, threw on a pair of eye-catching, red-rimmed shades for a stylish flare and to protect her eyes from the bright California sunshine.

A light rosy pink tint was added to her lips while the rest of her makeup was partially concealed by her sunglasses.

The model is no stranger to making a statement while arriving to the AGT taping, and recently wowed wearing a black tweed two-piece ensemble upon arriving at the venue earlier Saturday.

Fellow judge Howie Mandel was also seen sporting a one-of-a-kind $85 Teddy Fresh black button-up that had the words 'Send Help' printed in white lettering on the upper portion of the shirt.

As he made his way into the building, he turned his back towards the cameras to show off additional writing which read, 'Blink twice if you need help.'

Sense of style: Heidi threw on a pair of red-rimmed shades for a stylish flare and to protect her eyes from the bright California sunshine

Unique: Fellow judge Howie Mandel was also seen sporting a one-of-a-kind $85 Teddy Fresh black button-up that had the words 'Send Help' printed in white lettering on the upper portion of the shirt

One-of-a-kind: As he made his way into the building, he turned his back towards the camera to show off additional writing which read, 'Blink twice if you need help'

The star added a black-and-white long-sleeved shirt underneath, and for a fashionable touch added a black bowler on his head. He also donned a pair of black pants that were simply cuffed at the hem.

Mandel slipped into a pair of black and white sneakers, and added circular shades to complete his overall ensemble.

Simon Cowell was soon spotted also arriving but kept his look on the casual side by sporting a plain short-sleeved T-shirt along with a classic pair of blue jeans.

Like his other AGT co-stars, he also threw on a pair of sleek sunglasses and juggled a black leather, Prada bag along with a thin laptop and a clear plastic bag in his hands to hold a few essential items he needed before filming commenced.

The British-born star slipped into a pair of stylish black ankle boots to complete his overall outfit.

The 18th season of America's Got Talent began filming earlier this month on March 23, and is slated to continue shooting through April 12.

Earlier this week, NBC officially announced that the anticipated season will premiere later on May 30 to kick off the summer season. Along with Heidi, Simon, and Howie, Sofia Vergara has also returned to the popular competition series as the fourth judge.

Having fun: The star added a black and white long-sleeved shirt underneath, and for a fashionable touch added a black bowler on top of his head

Keeping it casual: Simon Cowell was soon spotted arriving keeping his look on the casual side and sported a plain, short-sleeved T-shirt along with a classic pair of blue jeans

Ready for filming: Like his other AGT co-stars, he also threw on a pair of sleek sunglasses and juggled a black leather Prada bag along with balancing a thin laptop and a clear plastic bag in his hands

According to People, Cowell had lost his voice shortly after taping began, and Sofia had humorously asked, 'Who would have thought that season 18 would have left Simon literally speechless?' and later added, 'And of course Simon nominated me to give his reactions. He's passing notes to me like we are back in school.'

Klum also gushed about coming back as a judge, and told the outlet, 'I am beyond excited to be back with my AGT family and find some new, exceptional talent. I can't wait to see what the contestants are going to bring to the stage this year.'

Host Terry Crews has also made a grand return, and teased to the publication, 'Season 18 of America's Got Talent is all grown up!!! I'm so happy to be here for this milestone!'

Amid the taping, Heidi recently received backlash on Saturday when she faked a pregnancy by wearing a prosthetic baby bump and uploaded the photos on social media.

In one snap, she could be seen flashing the 'fake' baby bump as Sofia pretended to kiss her stomach. Howie uploaded the photo on his main Instagram page with the caption, 'Congratulations. @heidiklum Co-workers @sofiavergara and I are the first to know.'

The Modern Family alum then reposted the snap on her Instagram stories and penned her own caption of, 'Im going to be an aunt!!' followed by two heart emojis.

Recent backlash: Heidi recently received backlash on Saturday when she faked a pregnancy by wearing a prosthetic baby bumps and uploaded the photos on social media

April Fools Day joke: The supermodel then revealed to her fans and followers that the baby news was simply a joke for April Fools' Day by sharing a picture of Howie wearing the prosthetic baby bump

Response: Social media users soon slammed the joke, with one penning, 'excuse me, its 2023...this isnt funny for sooo many human beings...'

Not amused: Another expressed, 'Being pregnant isn't a funny April fools joke. So many women suffer from infertility. This is tone deaf!'

The supermodel then revealed to her fans and followers that the baby news was simply a joke for April Fools' Day by sharing a picture of Howie wearing the prosthetic baby bump.

'From me to you CONGRATULATIONS,' she typed out as she pretended to kiss the bump in the snap.

Social media users soon slammed the joke, with one penning, 'excuse me, its 2023...this isnt funny for sooo many human beings...'

Another expressed, 'Being pregnant isn't a funny April fools joke. So many women suffer from infertility. This is tone deaf!'
Sofia Vergara looked lovely as she arrived to film the 18th season of America's Got Talent in Pasadena on Sunday.

The 50-year-old Colombian-born bombshell  who came under the fire of internet trolls that claimed to be offended by her and Heidi Klum's fake pregnancy for April Fools' day  showed off her model figure in a floral dress from her own brand Sofia Jeans by Sofia Vergara.

The beauty appeared in high spirits as she flashed her supermodel smile and greeted fans wearing a beige trench coat with tan suede platform sandals.

The Modern Family alum carried a $3800 large Christian Dior Book Tote handbag, wore oversized sunglasses, and styled her voluminous locks in flowing waves with a center part.

The mother-of-one wore radiant makeup featuring rosy cheeks and a dark statement lip.

Shrugging off the backlash: Sofia Vergara looked lovely as she arrived to film the 18th season of America's Got Talent in Pasadena on Sunday

Entrepreneur: The 50-year-old Colombian-born bombshell showed off her model figure in a floral dress from her own brand Sofia Jeans by Sofia Vergara

Last week, she shared a photo of herself on her Instagram account posing at the judge's panel and wrote in her caption: 'So excited for another summer of [America's Got Talent]!' She then invited fans to audition for an opportunity to make their big break.

Sofia has been a judge on AGT since season 15, which aired in 2020.

Before that, she was booked and busy on her hit show Modern Family, which ended its 10-year run in 2020.

While Simon Cowell, Heidi, and Howie were judges on the first season of the spin-off, America's Got Talent: All-Stars, which premiered earlier this year to positive reviews, Vergara was notably absent.

However, she has made her grand return as a judge for the 18th season of the original competition series.

The Hot Pursuit star recently shared a post about her latest project - a spring clothing collection in collaboration with Walmart retailers.

She initially launched her clothing line Sofia Jeans, in February 2019.

Last November, she celebrated her seventh wedding anniversary to Magic Mike actor Joe Manganiello, 46.

Looking great: The The Modern Family alum flashed her supermodel smile and greeted fans wearing a creme trench coat with tan suede platform sandals. Sofia has been a judge on AGT since season 15, which aired in 2020

She's got the look: Vergara carried a $3800 large Christian Dior Book Tote handbag, wore oversized sunglasses, and styled her voluminous locks in flowing waves. The Hot Pursuit star recently launched a spring clothing collection in collaboration with Walmart retailers

Lovebirds: Last November, she celebrated her seventh wedding anniversary to Magic Mike actor Joe Manganiello, 46

The pair met in 2014 at the White House Correspondents Association dinner and got engaged seven months later.

The lovebirds tied the knot a year later at a resort wedding in Palm Beach, Florida.

In 2017, Vergara and the True Blood vet starred opposite each other in the drama film Bottom of the 9th.

The couple does not currently share any children, but Vergara has one son - Manolo, 31 - from her previous marriage to businessman Joe Gonzalez, 52.

On Saturday, Klum, Vergara, and Mandel pranked their fans on Instagram backstage before filming AGT.

Vergara shared a sweet image backstage with Heidi on her Instagram Story with a fake pregnancy announcement for April Fools'.

April fool's: The trio pranked their fans on Instagram earlier in the day. Sofia was pictured in a black robe and slippers with her hands on her knees, blowing a kiss near Klum's pregnant belly and inscribing the image, 'I'm going to be an aunt'

Funny guy: Mandel also played along with the light-hearted April fools joke as he pushed out his stomach with Heidi blowing kisses next to the inscriptions, 'From me to you congratulations,' and 'April Fools'

Selfie time: Last week, Sofia shared a selfie as she sat at the judges table before filming began in a plunging pink gown with glittering jewelry

Mother-son duo: Vergara has one son - Manolo, 31 - from her previous marriage to businessman Joe Gonzalez, 52 - pictured with her son

The beauty married her high school sweetheart in 1991 when she was just 18 years old.

Vergara and Gonzalez welcomed Manolo in 1992.

They then divorced a year later when she was 20 years old.

Their son Manolo is an actor and has worked in several films, including Vergara's 2015 comedy action titled Hot Pursuit.
Zendaya and her boyfriend Tom Holland were seen holding hands on Sunday, after attending the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre over the weekend.

Following an action-packed weekend in Mumbai, the Euphoria star and actor, both 26, put on an affectionate display as they made their way to a luxury black car.

While preparing to board a flight out of India together, the happy couple shared a lively conversation as they sat next to each other in the backseat.

On their latest sighting, the Disney Channel alum wore a white button-down under a yellow vest, glasses and a pair of dark-wash pants.

As fans crowded around their SUV to catch a glimpse of them, the two-time Emmy winner and Holland gave onlookers a friendly wave.

Going strong: Zendaya and her boyfriend Tom Holland were seen holding hands on Sunday, after attending the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre over the weekend

Happy couple: Following an action-packed weekend in Mumbai , the Euphoria star and actor, both 26, put on an affectionate display as they made their way to a luxury black car

On Saturday, the pair both attended a glitzy launch event at the Jio World Centre.

For the occasion, Zendaya turned heads as she showed off her incredible figure in a glamorous one-shouldered navy sari-style ensemble.

Her statement gown boasted a blue bra adorned with beaded gold birds and a dramatic sheer train and skirt featuring colorful floral designs around the hem.

She accessorized her bold outfit with sparkling silver bangles and silver earrings as she posed up a storm at the glitzy affair.

Meanwhile, Tom cut a suave figure in a black tuxedo and patent suit shoes, while he styled his brunette locks in a natural curled style.

Though she wasn't seen in pictures with Tom, Zendaya did pose for an array of photographs with her stylist Law Roach.

They met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, but they denied rumours of a relationship for a long time despite being hit by rumours in 2017.

Zendaya and Holland were then spotted sharing a kiss in Tom's car in July 2021 and have been going strong ever since but are very private about their romance.

Cozy: While preparing to board a flight out of India together, the happy couple shared a lively conversation as they sat next to each other in the backseat

Sweet: As fans crowded around their SUV to catch a glimpse of them, the two-time Emmy winner and Holland gave onlookers a friendly wave

But in a rare move, Tom recently gushed over Zendaya's look for the NAACP Image Awards, taking to her comment section and leaving three heart-eyed emoji's.

It comes after Us Weekly reported that the actress and her beau are in 'settling-down mode.'

A source also said the couple 'are absolutely planning for a real future together.'

Last year, Holland revealed in an interview with GQ that the 'downsides of' their fame 'is that privacy isnt really' in their 'control anymore.'

'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,' he explained.

Stunning: On Saturday, the pair both attended a glitzy launch event at the Jio World Centre
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The stars came out to celebrate the best in country music at the 2023 CMT Music Awards hosted at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

Carrie Underwood, 40, showed off her very toned legs in a pair of bedazzled silver shorts and a matching jacket. She teamed the look with a pair of pointed-toe silver heels and a matching sparkling clutch.

Shania Twain, 57, showed off her age-defying physique in a red and black bodysuit with a low-rise matching sarong, featuring a saucy leg slit.

The That Don't Impress Me Much hitmaker sported strawberry-toned tresses for the event, and added extra height to the look with black platform heels.

Kelsea Ballerini, 29 - who is one of the hosts for the night, along with Kane Brown - wowed in a baby blue corset-style gown with a flowing asymmetrical bottom.

Bringing the glam! Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain, and Kelsea Ballerini stunned at the 2023 CMT Music Awards hosted at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday

The Before He Cheats singer wore her blonde tresses parted in the middle and brushed into a chic ponytail.

She added more silver to the look with a pair of dangling earrings. In terms of glam, the entertainer wore a peachy shade of blush and nude lipgloss on her pout.

Meanwhile Shania opted for picture-perfect glam for the night, wearing black eyeliner, mascara, and pink lipstick.

She will be honored at the ceremony as the third-ever recipient of the CMT Equal Play Award.

The award is given to artists who use their platform to advocate for change and help those underrepresented in country music.

Brown and Ballerini previously co-hosted the show together in 2021 and 2022.

Ballerini wore her blonde tresses parted in the middle and in a straight style for the event.

She accessorized with delicate dangling silver earrings, and drew attention to her mesmerizing hazel eyes with a bronze shade of eyeshadow.

Toned! Carrie Underwood, 40, showed off her very toned legs in a pair of bedazzled silver shorts and a matching jacket

Blondie: The Before He Cheats singer - who could break her own record of 25 wins if she succeeds again Sunday night - wore her blonde tresses parted in the middle and brushed into a chic ponytail

Sparkling: The beauty proudly showed off her sparkling ensemble

Shimmery details: The country songstress had plenty of shimmering accents

Unique: Carrie's unique jacket was short in the front and featured a longer train in the back

Set to perform: The beauty is set to hit the stage later in the evening

Wow! Shania Twain , 57, showed off her age-defying physique in a red and black bodysuit with a low-rise matching sarong, featuring a saucy leg slit

Impressive! The That Don't Impress Me Much hitmaker sported strawberry-toned tresses for the event, and added extra height to the look with black platform heels

Thrilling: She will be honored at the ceremony as the third-ever recipient of the CMT Equal Play Award. The award is given to artists who use their platform to advocate for change and help those underrepresented in country music

Sensational: Kelsea Ballerini , 29 - who is one of the hosts for the night, along with Kane Brown - wowed in a baby blue corset-style gown with a flowing asymmetrical bottom

From the back: She showed off the elegant look from the back

All smiles: She was all smiles ahead of her hosting duties at the event

Sparkling details: She accessorized with a number of silver rings

Her beau: She was accompanied by her beau, Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes, 30

The look of love: The duo were seen tenderly gazing at each other as they took a break from posing for the shutterbugs

Can't keep my hands off of you! The young pair put on a loved-up display

Happy together: They posed up a storm of the red carpet

In great spirits: The couple were in great spirits

Close: Stokes held his other half close to him

New couple: The duo began seeing each other at the end of 2022 following, her divorce from Morgan Evans

The beauty was accompanied by her beau, Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes, 30.

Stokes showed off his effortlessly cool style in a short-sleeve navy button-up over a white tee, and a matching pair of navy pants, along with black boots.

The pair were seen tenderly gazing at each other as they took a break from posing for the shutterbugs, and were also seen having a blast as they laughed it up.

The duo began seeing each other at the end of 2022 following, her divorce from Morgan Evans.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 28, also opted for blue, and looked sensational in a form-hugging vivid high-neck gown with a side cut-out.

Megan accessorized her incredible ensemble with chunky white hoops. The Hot Girl Summer hitmaker wore her black tresses in tight bouncy curls.

LeAnn Rimes, 40, put her toned arms on display in a form-hugging semi-sheer silver gown with sparkling floral accents.

The How Do I Live crooner wore silver heels that showed off her red pedicure, and wore her blonde tresses in mermaid waves.

Alanis Morissette, 48 - who is set to perform at the award show - opted for a classy look in a long-sleeve black gown.

Head-turner: Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 28, also opted for blue, and looked sensational in a form-hugging vivid high-neck gown with a side cut-out

Details: Megan accessorized her incredible ensemble with chunky white hoops

Lovely: The Hot Girl Summer hitmaker wore her black tresses in tight bouncy curls

Kisses! She playfully blew a kiss for the cameras

Playing it up! Megan had fun posing for the cameras as she stuck her tongue out at one point

Magnificent: LeAnn Rimes, 40, put her toned arms on display in a form-hugging semi-sheer silver gown with sparkling floral accents

Mermaid: LeAnn wore her blonde tresses in mermaid waves

No Doubt about her style: Gwen Stefani, 53, put her trendy style on display as she mixed men's fashion with a touch of glitter and sparkle. The No Doubt star was business casual on top and wore a gold miniskirt and furry black boots on the bottom

Signature: Gwen sported her signature red lipstick and wore her platinum blonde tresses in a tight bun

Stylish pair: She was joined by husband Blake Shelton, 46, who also wore a black suit jacket, vest and tie, but paired the ensemble with blue jeans and brown cowboy boots

Cool pair: The two have been married since 2021

Elegant: Alanis Morissette, 48 - who is set to perform at the award show - opted for a classy look in a long-sleeve black gown

Classy in black: The You Oughta Know songstress wore her brunette tresses in light waves and accentuated her beauty with delicate makeup

The You Oughta Know songstress wore her brunette tresses in light waves and accentuated her beauty with delicate makeup.

Gwen Stefani, 53, put her trendy style on display as she mixed men's fashion with a touch of glitter and sparkle.

The No Doubt frontwoman wore a white shirt with a black tie and jacket with a shimmering gold miniskirt, fishnet tights and furry black boots.

Gwen sported her signature red lipstick and wore her platinum blonde tresses in a tight bun.

She was joined by husband Blake Shelton, 46, who also wore a black suit jacket, vest and tie, but paired the ensemble with blue jeans and brown cowboy boots.

Carly Pearce, 32, wowed in an iridescent black top and black skirt with a thigh-high slit. The What He Didnt Do hitmaker wore her brunette tresses styled in light locks. She teamed the outfit with sparkling silver four-leaf clover earrings.

Carly joined Gwen Stefani for an energetic performance of the No Doubt hit Just a Girl.

Country star Ingrid Andress, 31, wowed in a sheer graphic blue gown with thin spaghetti straps. She paired the look with black heels and wore her blonde tresses in a bun.

Taking the plunge! Lainey Wilson, 30 - who leads the nominations at this year's award show, with a total of four nods - was country cool in a a plunging blue and red bodysuit with a black studded belt

Sheer beauty: Country star Ingrid Andress, 31, wowed in a sheer graphic blue gown with thin spaghetti straps

Marvelous: She paired the look with black heels and wore her blonde tresses in a bun

From the back: Ingrid showed of her sizzling look from the back

Green vibes: Megan Morroney, 25, stunned in an iridescent green mini dress and wore her platinum tresses in light waves, while Ashley Cooke flashed a hint of her toned midriff in a neon green top and skirt

Leggy! She paired the look with high green platform heels

Pretty in pink: Kimberly Kelly and Madeline Edwards both sizzled in vivid pink ensembles

Dashing duo: She was accompanied by husband Brett Tyler, who sported a black suit and a denim shirt

Cute! Julie Williams, Jillian Cardarelli, and MacKenzie Porter showed all wore various shades of pink

70s vibes! Reality TV star Dixie D'Amelio, 21, opted for 70's disco vibes in a crushed silver long-sleeve gown and white boots

Megan Morroney, 25, stunned in an iridescent green mini dress and wore her platinum tresses in light waves.

Ashley Cooke flashed a hint of her toned midriff in a neon green top and skirt.

Lainey Wilson, 30, was country cool in a a plunging blue and red bodysuit with a black studded belt.

The Heart Like A Truck singer accessorized with a black fedora featuring a green feather. She also carried a black $250 Simitri clutch with a black panther motif.

Reality TV star Dixie D'Amelio, 21, opted for 70's disco vibes in a crushed silver long-sleeve gown and white boots. She wore dramatic black winged liner and pulled her blonde tresses into a slick bun.

Ashley McBryde, 39, put her numerous tattoos front and center in a classy sleeveless white bodysuit.

The Light On In The Kitchen singer accessorized with a silver bag and wore her black tresses in a sleek ponytail.

Wynonna Judd, 58, showed off her unique sense of style in a black velvet co-ord, with beaded details.

She was joined by husband Cactus Moser, 65, who sported a striped white jacket, black leather pants and white sneakers.

Wynonna also mingled with Carrie on the red carpet. The duo also posed with Senior VP of Music Strategy for CMT, Leslie Fram.

Glam gal: Carly Pearce, 32, wowed in an iridescent black top and black skirt with a thigh-high slit

Lucky! She teamed the outfit with sparkling silver four-leaf clover earrings

Tres chic! She wore a pair of bedazzled black heels to complete the look

Showing off her ink: Ashley McBryde, 39, put her numerous tattoos front and center in a classy sleeveless white bodysuit

Rocker country: McBryde wore her black tresses in a sleek ponytail

Distinctive style: Wynonna Judd, 58 - who is set to hit the stage with McBryde during the event - showed off her unique sense of style in a black velvet co-ord, with beaded details

History: Wynonna performed at the CMT Awards in 2022, which would end up being her last ever live performance with her mom Naomi Judd, who died on April 30, 2022, after committing suicide due to her ongoing battle with mental illness

Fiery beauty: Wynonna wore her fiery tresses in a straight style

Other half: She was joined by husband Cactus Moser, 65, who sported a striped white jacket, black leather pants and white sneakers

With Carrie: Wynonna mingled with Carrie on the red carpet

Trio: The duo also posed with Senior VP of Music Strategy for CMT, Leslie Fram

Wynonna is set to perform with Ashley McBryde at the event. She performed at the CMT Awards in 2022, which would end up being her last ever live performance with her mom Naomi Judd, who died on April 30, 2022, after committing suicide due to her ongoing battle with mental illness.

Wynonna was originally a part of the mother-daughter duo The Judds with her mom Naomi, who had a very successful music career.

At the 2022 CMT Awards, Wynonna and Naomi performed their song Love Can Build A Bridge during the ceremony.

Kimberly Kelly sizzled in a metallic pink gown with a side slit. She was accompanied by husband Brett Tyler, who sported a black suit and a denim shirt.

Madeline Edwards wore a form-hugging bright Barbie pink one-shoulder gown.

Austin-born musician Gary Clark Jr., 39, and his stunning Australian model wife Nicole Trunfio, 37, looked effortlessly cool. The duo have been married since 2016 and share three children together.

Trunfio showed off her incredible physique in a revealing black dress with a number of cut-outs. She styled her brunette tresses in loose waves and accessorized with strappy black heels.

Meanwhile Clark wore a very unique painted button-up shirt and matching trousers - both of which featured detailed portraits. The rocker sported a comfortable brown beanie and shades for the outing.

The cool pair: Austin-born musician Gary Clark Jr., 39, and his stunning Australian model wife Nicole Trunfio, 37, looked effortlessly cool

If you've got it! Trunfio showed off her incredible physique in a revealing black dress with a number of cut-outs

Wavy: She styled her brunette tresses in loose waves and accessorized with strappy black heels

Hip: Meanwhile Clark wore a very unique painted button-up shirt and matching trousers - both of which featured detailed portraits

Going strong! The duo have been married since 2016 and share three children together

Affectionate: The dynamic pair put on a loved-up display in front of photographers

Besos: Nicole cozied up to her beau

Tasteful: Outer Banks star Madison Bailey, 24, was the epitome of elegance in a lovely yellow gown with a side slit

Charming: The young star wore her hair halfway pinned up, with a few strands left to frame her face

Bright sight: Bailey showed off her outfit from a number of angles

Yellow vibes: The ladies of Chapel Hart also opted for yellow vibes

Vivid fashion statement: The group consists of sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart, and their cousin Trea Swindle; (L-R) Trea, Danica and Devynn Hart

Pose: The trio posed for a number of snaps

Lavender dream: Prana Supreme Diggs and Tekitha of O.N.E The Duo were both clad in stunning lavender gowns

Rocker chic: Primo the Alien rocked a studded top and black mini skirt, Jen Landon donned a black leather vest and pants along with a cowboy hat, while Pillbox Patti brought the drama in a theatrical black gown and floral boots

Cool gals: Primo was pictured with 'Queen of Austin Soul' Tameca Jones, who sported a colorful look

Denim: Reyna Roberts, 25, was country cool in a denim dress, black boots and a black cowboy hat

Outer Banks star Madison Bailey, 24, was the epitome of elegance in a lovely yellow gown with a side slit. The young star wore her hair halfway pinned up, with a few strands left to frame her face.

Julie Williams showed off her long legs in a vivid pink mimi dress and pink heels.

Jillian Cardarelli was ready for spring in a lovely floral dress and pink heels. MacKenzie Porter also opted for a hot pink look that displayed her toned legs.

Primo the Alien rocked a studded top and black mini skirt along with black fishnet stockings, while Pillbox Patti brought the drama in a theatrical black gown and floral boots.

Primo was pictured with 'Queen of Austin Soul' Tameca Jones, who sported a colorful look.

Jen Landon donned a black leather vest and pants along with a cowboy hat.

Cole Swindell, 39, was joined by girlfriend Courtney Little who put on a busty display in a baby blue dress adorned with silver stars.

Country crooner Cody Johnson, 35, was accompanied by wife Brandi Johnson who stunned in a silver gown.

Ballerini's co-host for the night, Kane Brown, 29, was joined by his wife Katelyn Brown, 30. The duo indulged in some PDA as they shared a sweet kiss.

The heartthrob looked stylish as ever in a monochrome blazer, and black boots, while Katelyn oozed glamour in a white gown, lilac stockings and pink heels with a silver bow accent.

Co-host: Ballerini's co-host for the night, Kane Brown, 29, was joined by his wife Katelyn Brown, 30

Kiss me! The duo indulged in some PDA as they shared a sweet kiss

Monochrome: The heartthrob looked stylish as ever in a monochrome blazer, and black boots

Dynamic duo: Cole Swindell, 39, was joined by girlfriend Courtney Little who put on a busty display in a baby blue dress adorned with silver stars

Expecting! Pregnant Rachel Scott was pictured sharing a kiss with beau Jake Scott as he placed a tender hand on her belly

Stylish pair: Country crooner Cody Johnson, 35, was accompanied by wife Brandi Johnson who stunned in a silver gown

Jelly and Bunny: Performer and songwriter Jelly Roll, 38, rocked a red letterman jacket and a backwards cap, and shared a smooch with his sizzling wife Bunnie Xo

Letting the sparks fly! HARDY and his wife Caleigh Ryan enjoyed a passionate smooch

Stylish together: Country singer Lily Rose and partner Daira Eamon made a dashing pair

Kisses: The couple shared a number of kisses on the red carpet

Passionate: The pair continued to show affection for each other

Casual cool: Rose sported a black cap, brown suede jacket, jeans and snakeskin boots

Legend: American blues rock guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, 72, looked cool as ever in all black and was joined by his stylish wife and Robin Vaughan

Gentlemen's fashion: Darius Rucker, 56, spruced up his classy look with a pair of grey snakeskin cowboy boots, while Reba star Steve Howey, 45, wore a deep black v-neck with a dark coat

Fashion statement: Angel White rocked a lavender shirt and pants under a floor-length white coat with a fringe, and a white cowboy hat

Western cool: Torrence Thomas and Thurman Thomas of The Bros Fresh showed off their Western-inspired looks

Country style: (L-R) Cynthia Kereluk, Paul Rodgers, Chuck Leavell, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes showed off their unique styles as they posed together

Prana Supreme Diggs and Tekitha of O.N.E The Duo were both clad in stunning lavender gowns.

American blues rock guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, 72, looked cool as ever in all black and was joined by his stylish wife and Robin Vaughan.

Darius Rucker, 56, spruced up his classy look with a pair of grey snakeskin cowboy boots.

Reba star Steve Howey, 45, wore a deep black v-neck with a dark coat. Angel White rocked a lavender shirt and pants under a floor-length white coat with a fringe, and a white cowboy hat.

The ladies of Chapel Hart opted for yellow vibes. The group consists of sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart, and their cousin Trea Swindle.

Performer and songwriter Jelly Roll, 38, rocked a red letterman jacket and a backwards cap, and shared a smooch with his sizzling wife Bunnie Xo.

Torrence Thomas and Thurman Thomas of The Bros Fresh showed off their Western-inspired looks.

Pregnant Rachel Scott was pictured sharing a kiss with beau Jake Scott as he placed a tender hand on her belly.

Smile! Underwood flashed a smile as she made her way into the event

Sweet: Underwood stopped to pose for selfies

Woman of the people: Shania happily posed with fans

The party's here! Shania made a splay entrance

Tender: Kelsea tenderly cupped her beau's face in her hands

Gold: Stokes sported a number of gold rings for the occasion

Electric blue: Megan had a helping hand with her gown while walking into the building

Accessories: Lainey carried a black $250 Simitri clutch with a black panther motif

A delight: Bailey accessorized her chic look with a silver clutch

Graceful: Bailey gracefully got out of her ride and onto the blue carpet

In good spirits: Wynonna and her husband laughed it up en route to the awards show

With the band! She also shared some good times with The Longhorn Band

Good times: Dixie held hands with the mascot

Unique styles: Primo the Alien and Temeca showed off their distinctive styles

Greetings! Carly Pearce greeted her fans

Arriving in style: Gary and Nicole posed outside of the event

Country singer Lily Rose and partner Daira Eamon made a dashing pair. The loved-up couple shared a number of kisses on the red carpet.

Rose sported a black cap, brown suede jacket, jeans and snakeskin boots.

HARDY and his wife Caleigh Ryan also enjoyed a passionate smooch in front of the cameras.

Cynthia Kereluk, Paul Rodgers, Chuck Leavell, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes showed off their unique styles as they posed together.

Reyna Roberts, 25, was country cool in a denim dress, black boots and a black cowboy hat.

Inside the event Megan was seen mingling with Shania. Shania changed out of her red carpet outfit and into a purple co-ord.

Meanwhile Carrie was seated next to football star Travis Kelce.

Twain delivered a rousing speech as she was named the winner in the CMT Equal Play category.

Inside! Inside the event Megan was seen mingling with Shania

Change of clothes: Shania changed out of her red carpet outfit and into a purple co-ord

Having a blest: The duo appeared to have a blast together

Her love: Twain was also joined by husband Frederic Thiebaud

Enjoying the show: Meanwhile Carrie was seated next to football star Travis Kelce

Hello! He appeared to introduce himself to the country sensation

Thrilling performance: Underwood hit the stage for a thrilling performance

Quick change! The beauty changed into a pale pink mini dress

And another one! She also performed in a second look, featuring plenty of fringe and sequin red hearts

Iconic: The beauty thrilled the audience with an exciting show

She's a firework! Fireworks erupted as she sang

Unforgettable: Carly Pearce joined forced with Gwen Stefani for an unforgettable rendition of No Doubt's 'Just A Girl'

Rocking out the crowd: The two were seen rocking out the crowd together

Vintage inspired: Ballerini hit the stage in a colorful vintage inspired look

Very colorful: She strummed on a pink guitar while wearing a green coat

Touching: McBryde and Wynonna teamed up for a mesmerizing duet

Let the sparks fly: Sparks flew during the incredible show

Rocker cool: Keith Urban also hit the stage to perform

In accepting the honors, she noted how she initially won the CMT Rising Star award 30 years ago, and looks to pay forward her good fortune in her career.

'CMT holds a very special place in my heart,' Twain said. 'And I promise I will continue to champion the many outstanding country artists who are not currently played. They are not streamed, tours signed or awarded at the level they deserve so I believe in an all-inclusive country music - we are a family.'

Twain added, 'My hope is that this opportunity and spotlight impresses you much - and lifts up the careers of these very talented people on their journey.

'I will continue to do my best as a trailblazer and together, let's ensure that all our fellow artists get equal play regardless of gender, age, or race. Thank you again for honoring me. Special thank you to all my I am truly touched by this moment - thank you.'

Lainey Wilson lead the nominations at this year's award show, with a total of four nods. HARDY and Lainey' wait in the truck was named Collaborative Video of the Year.

The duo was the first set of winners announced at the show, which aired on CBS live and streamed on Paramount+.

In the gender-separated categories for Breakthrough Video of the Year, Megan Moroney claimed the prize for females for Tennessee Orange (Winner), while Jelly Roll was named the winner for his track Son of a Sinner.

Carrie Underwood is also nominated, and holds the record for being the most nominated artist in the history of the show.

Carrie could break her own record of 25 wins if she succeeds again Sunday night.

The latest: Shania delivered a rousing speech as she was named the winner in the CMT Equal Play category

Winner: Lainey Wilson lead the nominations at this year's award show, with a total of four nods. HARDY and Lainey' wait in the truck was named Collaborative Video of the Year

Tennessee Orange: Megan Moroney won for Female Breakthrough Video of the Year for Tennessee Orange
Dame Emma Thompson rocked a casual look as she stepped out with her adopted son Tindyebwa Agaba Wise on Saturday.

The Nanny McPhee star, 63, appeared to be enjoying a morning stroll as she donned a black raincoat to bundle up against the chilly weather.

Dame Emma wore brown trainers and covered her head with a white beanie, while aa grey sweatshirt and chenille trousers rounded off the ensemble.

The celebrated actress also appeared to be carrying more than the essentials in a black backpack.

Tindy, 34 - a former Rwandan child soldier adopted by Dame Emma and husband Greg Wise in 2003 - wore denim and a red sweatshirt, teamed with a blue raincoat.

Stroll: Dame Emma Thompson rocked a casual look as she stepped out with her adopted son Tindyebwa Agaba Wise on Saturday

Cosy: The Nanny McPhee star, 63, appeared to be enjoying a morning stroll as she donned a black raincoat to bundle up against the chilly weather

The appearance comes after the star has revealed her real-life heartbreak which inspired her very emotional reaction in that famous Love Actually scene.

The actress, 63, portrayed Alan Rickman's on-screen wife in the romantic-comedy film and one famous scene sees her discover her husband is cheating on her.

In the heart-wrenching moment, Dame Emma's character Karen bursts into tears when she realises her husband Harry has bought a necklace for another woman.

She had earlier discovered the gorgeous necklace in her husband's jacket pocket but is then left devastated when he instead gives her a Joni Mitchell CD for Christmas.

Karen then excuses herself and breaks down in her bedroom before wiping her tears away and going back to join her husband and their two children smiling.

And Dame Emma has revealed that her own real-life heartbreak actually inspired her very emotional reaction in the 2003 Christmas classic.

She shared that while filming the moment, she channelled her feelings of betrayal after her very public break-up with her first husband Sir Kenneth Branagh.

Dame Emma and Sir Kenneth got married in 1989 and were the British acting scene's golden couple until Kenneth had an affair with Helena Bonham Carter while directing her in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Look: Dame Emma wore brown trainers and covered her head with a white beanie

Upset: The actress has revealed her real-life heartbreak with Sir Kenneth Branagh (pictured in 1994) which inspired her emotional reaction in that famous Love Actually scene

Emotional: Dame Emma portrayed Alan Rickman's on-screen wife in the romantic-comedy film and one famous scene sees her discover her husband is cheating on her

Speaking about her devastation, Dame Emma said she had her heart broken 'very badly' and that she understood what it was like to find 'the necklace that wasn't meant for me'.

'That scene where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it's something everyone's been through,' she said at a fundraiser event in 2018.

'I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn't meant for me.

'Well it wasn't exactly that, but we've all been through it.'

The former couple tied the knot just two years after they met, but his affair with Helena ended their six-year marriage in 1995.

Helena is believed to have started an affair with Kenneth in 1994 while she played his love interest in his version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. They went on to have a five-year relationship.

It is not the first time Dame Emma has spoken of her upset after learning of the affair as she previously admitted she felt 'unlovable' after the end of her first marriage.

Affair: Helena is believed to have started an affair with Sir Kenneth in 1994 while she played his love interest in his version of Frankenstein. They went on to have a five-year relationship

She told the New Yorker: 'I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set.

'What I learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself.'

'I was half alive. Any sense of being a lovable or worthy person had gone completely,' she added.

Two years before Helena met Kenneth and their affair began, she had worked with Emma on 1992 romance drama film Howard's End.

Since the affair, the pair have also worked together on the Harry Potter series, with Emma playing Professor Trelawney and Helena starring as Bellatrix Lestrange.

However, Dame Emma has previously admitted that she has long 'forgiven' Helena for the affair, saying in 2013 that they had 'made peace' years ago.

Revealing how she recovered from the devastation, the actress said it was her now husband of 27 years Greg Wise who 'picked up the pieces and put them back together'.

Reflecting on her marriage to Greg, she added: 'I've learned more from my second marriage just by being married. As my mother says, "The first twenty years are the hardest."

Dame Emma met Greg while filming Sense and Sensibility in 1995, which won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

However, the news of her and Sir Kenneth's break-up had not yet been made public at the time she was filming the period drama.

Dame Emma and Greg now share daughter Gaia, 23, and son Tindy. The couple adopted son Tindy, a former child soldier in Rwanda, in 2003 when he was 16 years old.
QUELIMANE, Mozambique (AP) - Weeks after massive Cyclone Freddy hit Mozambique for a second time, the still-flooded country is facing a spiraling cholera outbreak that threatens to add to the devastation.

There were over 19,000 confirmed cases of cholera across eight of Mozambiques provinces as of March 27, according to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a figure which had almost doubled in a week.

Freddy was likely the longest-lived cyclone ever, lasting over five weeks and hitting Mozambique twice. The tropical storm killed 165 people in Mozambique, 17 in Madagascar and 676 in Malawi. More than 530 people are still missing in Malawi two weeks later so that country's death toll could well exceed 1,200.

Freddy made its second landfall in Mozambique's Zambezia province, where scores of villages remain flooded and water supplies are still contaminated.

At a hospital in Quelimane, Zambezias provincial capital, National Institute of Health director general Eduardo Sam Gudo Jr reported there were 600 new confirmed cases a day in Quelimane district alone, but said that the real number may be as high as 1,000.

At least 31 died of cholera in Zambezia and over 3,200 were hospitalized between March 15 and 29, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

A mother prepares a meal for her family in a displacement camp on the bank of a flooded rice paddy near the village of Nicoadala, Zambezia province, Mozambique, Friday, March 24, 2023. Weeks after a massive cyclone hit Mozambique for a second time, the still-flooded country is facing a spiraling cholera outbreak which threatens to add to the devastation. (AP Photo/Tom Gould)

Cases are highest in the neighborhood of Icidua on the city outskirts, where most residents live in bamboo or adobe mud huts and fetch water in buckets from communal wells. Flooding brought by the cyclone has exposed many of these wells to water contaminated with sewage overflow and other sources of bacteria. Cholera spreads through feces, often when it gets into drinking water.

But until water pipelines ruptured in the floods are repaired, these wells are the only source of water for those in Icidua and communities like it. For now, temporary solutions offer the only hope of stemming the outbreak.

Volunteers go from house to house distributing bottles of Certeza, a local chlorine-based water purifier. Each bottle should last a family for a week, but supplies are running low as local production struggles to keep pace with demand. There are also not enough people to distribute the Certeza, even if greater supplies could be procured, Gudo said.

In the meantime, health workers are struggling to treat the infected with many clinics and hospitals badly damaged. "The cyclone destroyed the infrastructure here," said Jose da Costa Silva, the clinical director of the Icidua health center. "We are working in parts of the hospital that were not destroyed. Some colleagues are working outside in the open because theres not enough space available for everyone."

Eighty health centers in total were affected by Freddys two landfalls in Mozambique, according to INGD, the countrys disaster management agency.

Although cyclones do occur in southern Africa from December to May, human-caused climate change has made tropical cyclones wetter, more intense and more frequent. The now-dissipated natural La Nina event also worsened cyclone activity in the region. While Cyclone Freddy itself hasnt yet been attributed to climate change, researchers say it has all the right hallmarks of a warming-fueled weather event.

Formed in early February off Australia, the cyclone with exceptional longevity made an unprecedented crossing of more than 8000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from east to west across the Indian Ocean.

It followed a looping path rarely recorded by meteorologists, hitting Madagascar and Mozambique for the first time at the end of February, and then again in March before barrelling into Malawi.

Restoring normal water supplies in Mozambique will take time, as many damaged pipelines run through areas that are still inaccessible two weeks after the cyclones last impact.

"A cholera outbreak in a flooded flatland with a very high water table is `mission impossible to address," Myrta Kaulard, the UN resident coordinator in Mozambique, told Associated Press. "Sanitation is a huge problem and the flooding has affected key infrastructure, such as the water pipelines and the electricity supply ... Repairing that infrastructure in flooded areas is another `mission impossible."

Meanwhile, rural areas around Quelimane are facing other threats. Many villages and fields are still underwater, and the humidity has bred swarms of mosquitoes carrying malaria. In a makeshift displacement camp on the bank of a flooded rice paddy near the village of Nicoadala, 20 out of 290 residents are sick with malaria, according to Hilario Milisto Irawe, a local chief.

There were 444 reported cases of malaria in Quelimane district on 24 March alone, but the number is likely much higher as many, such as those in the camp outside Nicoadala, lack access to health facilities.

Compounding the public health crisis, the material livelihoods of hundreds of thousands are at risk as Freddy hit just before the main harvest. It also carried seawater inland, threatening the long term fertility of the soil in an area where malnutrition is already chronic.

"All our farms are flooded. Our rice farms are destroyed. All we can do is start over again, but we dont know how we will do that," said Irawe.

Clothes are hung out to dry on called electrical power lines caused by last week's heavy rains caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Phalombe, southern Malawi Saturday, March 18, 2023. Authorities are still getting to grips with destruction in Malawi and Mozambique with over 370 people confirmed dead and several hundreds still displaced or missing. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)
Research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NYSEAMERICAN:AMPE  Get Rating) in a report released on Friday. The firm set a sell rating on the specialty pharmaceutical companys stock.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of AMPE stock opened at $0.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 million, a PE ratio of -0.13 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.21. Ampio Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $0.20 and a 52-week high of $7.52.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ampio Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMPE. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 998.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,035,413 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical companys stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,138 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ampio Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,954,092 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical companys stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662,127 shares during the period. Shilanski & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Ampio Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ampio Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Ampio Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $168,000. 19.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ampio Pharmaceuticals

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc operates as a biopharmaceutical company. The firm engages in the development of therapies to treat prevalent inflammatory conditions. Its product pipeline includes new uses for approved drugs and new molecular entities for important therapeutic areas, including metabolic disease, eye disease, kidney disease, inflammation and sexual dysfunction and CNS disease.

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Surge Energy (TSE:SGY  Get Rating) had its price target trimmed by Canaccord Genuity Group from C$14.75 to C$13.75 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Stifel Firstegy restated a buy rating on shares of Surge Energy in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Surge Energy from C$10.25 to C$12.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Surge Energy from C$15.00 to C$14.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Surge Energy has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of C$14.04.

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Surge Energy Price Performance

Shares of SGY opened at C$8.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of C$864.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 2.79. Surge Energy has a fifty-two week low of C$7.15 and a fifty-two week high of C$13.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 41.50, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The businesss 50-day moving average is C$8.96 and its 200-day moving average is C$9.04.

Surge Energy Announces Dividend

Surge Energy Company Profile

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.46%. Surge Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.71%.

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Surge Energy Inc explores for, develops, and produces oil and gas in western Canada. The company holds interest in the Greater Sawn Lake assets located in Northern Alberta; Valhalla/Wembley property located in northwestern Alberta; Sparky assets located between Provost and Wainwright in eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan; and Shaunavon properties located to the southwest of Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

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Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the February 28th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Embraer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ERJ. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Embraer by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,556 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Embraer by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,406 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Embraer by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,106 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Embraer by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,832 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Embraer by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,139 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the period. 37.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Embraer Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ERJ stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $16.37. 1,912,296 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,060,109. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $13.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.16, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.24. Embraer has a twelve month low of $7.91 and a twelve month high of $16.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Embraer ( NYSE:ERJ Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.02 billion. Embraer had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 1.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Embraer will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ERJ. Citigroup raised their target price on Embraer from $11.75 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Embraer from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Embraer from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 13th. UBS Group started coverage on Embraer in a research report on Monday, January 9th. They set a buy rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Embraer from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Embraer currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $18.92.

About Embraer

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Embraer SA engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of aircraft and its parts for commercial, defense, and executive aviation sectors. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Aviation, Defense and Security, Executive Jet Business, Service & Support and Others. The Commercial Aviation segment is involved in the development, production, and sale of commercial jets; and the provision of support services to regional aviation and aircraft leasing.

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Summit Industrial Income REIT (OTCMKTS:SMMCF  Get Rating) and STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG  Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Summit Industrial Income REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of STAG Industrial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of STAG Industrial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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Profitability

This table compares Summit Industrial Income REIT and STAG Industrials net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Summit Industrial Income REIT N/A N/A N/A STAG Industrial 27.24% 5.16% 2.93%

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Summit Industrial Income REIT 0 2 1 0 2.33 STAG Industrial 0 2 4 0 2.67

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Summit Industrial Income REIT and STAG Industrial, as provided by MarketBeat.

Summit Industrial Income REIT currently has a consensus price target of $22.83, suggesting a potential upside of 32.25%. STAG Industrial has a consensus price target of $37.83, suggesting a potential upside of 11.87%. Given Summit Industrial Income REITs higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Summit Industrial Income REIT is more favorable than STAG Industrial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Summit Industrial Income REIT and STAG Industrials top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Summit Industrial Income REIT N/A N/A N/A $0.59 29.50 STAG Industrial $657.34 million 9.23 $178.33 million $1.00 33.82

STAG Industrial has higher revenue and earnings than Summit Industrial Income REIT. Summit Industrial Income REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than STAG Industrial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Summit Industrial Income REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. STAG Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Summit Industrial Income REIT pays out 35.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. STAG Industrial pays out 147.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. STAG Industrial has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. STAG Industrial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

STAG Industrial beats Summit Industrial Income REIT on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Summit Industrial Income REIT

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Summit Industrial Income REIT is an open-ended mutual fund trust, which engages in growing and managing a portfolio of light industrial properties. Its properties are located in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick. The company was founded on November 24, 1998 and is headquartered in Markham, Canada.

About STAG Industrial

(Get Rating)

STAG Industrial, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which focuses on acquisition, ownership and operation of single-tenant, industrial properties throughout the United States. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

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Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI  Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the February 28th total of 864,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 361,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $89.60.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 117,793 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $10,342,000 after purchasing an additional 16,957 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 6,633 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,962 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 27,261 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at $1,135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.74% of the companys stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of HLI traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.49. 763,286 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 530,116. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $94.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.81. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 0.78. Houlihan Lokey has a 12-month low of $74.18 and a 12-month high of $102.36.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $456.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $470.81 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 14.15%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 48.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 1st. Houlihan Lokeys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.23%.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Houlihan Lokey, Inc engages in the provision of investment banking services. It operates through the following segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring and Financial and Valuation Advisory. The Corporate Finance segment provides general financial advisory services in addition to advice on mergers and acquisitions and capital markets offering.

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Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited (NYSE:BEDU  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,600 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the February 28th total of 6,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Bright Scholar Education Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of BEDU stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.40. The companys stock had a trading volume of 824 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,508. Bright Scholar Education has a fifty-two week low of $2.04 and a fifty-two week high of $4.48. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $2.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.71.

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Institutional Trading of Bright Scholar Education

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Maven Securities LTD bought a new stake in shares of Bright Scholar Education during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Bright Scholar Education by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 337,700 shares of the companys stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 48,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Serenity Capital Management PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Bright Scholar Education during the 4th quarter worth $689,000. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bright Scholar Education

Bright Scholar Education Holdings Ltd. operates as a global premier education service company. The firm provides quality international education to global students and equips them with the critical academic foundation and skillsets necessary to succeed in the pursuit of higher education. It also complements its international offerings with Chinese government-mandated curriculum for students who wish to maintain the option of pursuing higher education in China.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,810,000 shares, a growth of 22.3% from the February 28th total of 17,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the companys shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 236,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,625,163.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 1st quarter valued at $332,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 111.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 53.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 165,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $12,075,000 after acquiring an additional 57,444 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 1st quarter valued at $1,997,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 338,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $24,725,000 after purchasing an additional 68,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.51% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of BMY traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.31. 8,953,242 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,381,778. The stock has a market cap of $145.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.46. The stocks 50-day moving average is $70.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.81. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $65.28 and a 12 month high of $81.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $11.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.20 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 51.60% and a net margin of 13.71%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs payout ratio is 77.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BMY shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a hold rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. They issued an overweight rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Atlantic Securities lifted their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price 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.

Further Reading

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The Korea Fund, Inc. (NYSE:KF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,200 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the February 28th total of 3,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

The Korea Fund Price Performance

NYSE KF traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.97. The stock had a trading volume of 3,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,041. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.64 and a 200 day moving average of $22.34. The Korea Fund has a 52-week low of $19.19 and a 52-week high of $31.11.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Korea Fund

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KF. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in The Korea Fund by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,142 shares of the companys stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563 shares in the last quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP purchased a new stake in The Korea Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $772,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Korea Fund by 251.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 15,378 shares of the companys stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 11,004 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of The Korea Fund by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 400,515 shares of the companys stock worth $8,343,000 after buying an additional 107,710 shares during the period. Finally, Matisse Capital acquired a new position in shares of The Korea Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.81% of the companys stock.

About The Korea Fund

The Korea Fund is designed to provide capital appreciation through investments in securities. Their firm screens stocks based on a broad range of variables, including price-to-earnings ratios, dividend yields and earnings-per-share growth.

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American Green, Inc. (OTCMKTS:ERBB  Get Rating) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 274,300 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the February 28th total of 291,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,732,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.0 days.

American Green Price Performance

ERBB remained flat at $0.00 during trading on Friday. The companys stock had a trading volume of 20,424,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,628,392. American Green has a 52 week low of $0.00 and a 52 week high of $0.00.

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American Green Company Profile

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American Green, Inc engages in the medical marijuana business. The firm specializes in cultivation, manufacturing, extraction, wholesale, and retail of medical marijuana. It also offers tracking inventory services for growers. The company was founded on December 10, 1998 and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

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Caliber Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,253 shares of the retailers stock, valued at approximately $1,879,000. Walmart makes up approximately 1.4% of Caliber Wealth Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,176,496 shares of the retailers stock valued at $16,883,890,000 after buying an additional 1,832,388 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 96,570,711 shares of the retailers stock valued at $12,525,224,000 after buying an additional 2,712,886 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,659,193 shares of the retailers stock valued at $7,867,497,000 after purchasing an additional 701,415 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,919,371 shares of the retailers stock valued at $2,908,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,320 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,685,848 shares of the retailers stock valued at $1,515,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,452 shares during the period. 31.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 706,197 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.07, for a total value of $100,329,407.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 266,135,223 shares of the companys stock, valued at $37,809,831,131.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.57, for a total value of $1,393,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,432,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at $205,666,178.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 706,197 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.07, for a total value of $100,329,407.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 266,135,223 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $37,809,831,131.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,053,710 shares of company stock valued at $2,982,527,217. 47.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.45. The stock had a trading volume of 6,955,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,913,710. The company has a market capitalization of $397.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.67. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.27 and a 1 year high of $160.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $164.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.67 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 1.91%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Walmarts dividend payout ratio is presently 53.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Tigress Financial raised Walmart from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $176.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $163.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Gordon Haskett raised Walmart from a hold rating to an accumulate rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Cowen increased their price objective on Walmart from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $163.06.

Walmart Profile

(Get Rating)

Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sams Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.

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Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Co. Limited (OTCMKTS:FSPKF  Get Rating) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 743,300 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the February 28th total of 788,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 929.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FSPKF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut shares of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. They set an underperform rating on the stock.

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Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Price Performance

OTCMKTS:FSPKF remained flat at $15.22 on Friday. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has a 1 year low of $10.24 and a 1 year high of $19.10. The firms fifty day moving average is $16.03 and its 200-day moving average is $13.87.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Company Profile

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp. Ltd. engages in the designing, manufacturing and marketing of medical device products and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. It operates through the following geographical segments: The New Zealand, North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Further Reading

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Genesco Inc. (NYSE:GCO  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 606,000 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the February 28th total of 643,000 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 178,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GCO. Balyasny Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Genesco by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 284,356 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,181,000 after buying an additional 114,053 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Genesco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,910,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Genesco by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 671,250 shares of the companys stock worth $30,891,000 after buying an additional 79,167 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Genesco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,722,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Genesco by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,082,743 shares of the companys stock worth $49,827,000 after buying an additional 40,591 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.27% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Genesco from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Genesco in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company.

Genesco Stock Performance

GCO stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.88. The company had a trading volume of 183,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,624. The firm has a market cap of $464.69 million, a PE ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.59. Genesco has a 12 month low of $33.54 and a 12 month high of $71.78. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $43.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.54.

Genesco (NYSE:GCO  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 9th. The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $725.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.43 million. Genesco had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Genesco will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genesco Company Profile

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Genesco, Inc engages in the retail and sale of footwear, apparel, and accessories. It operates through the following segments: Journeys Group, Schuh Group, Johnston & Murphy Group, and Licensed Brands. The Journeys Group segment contains the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys and Little Burgundy retail stores, catalog and e-commerce operations.

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George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF  Get Rating) and Seven & i (OTC:SVNDF  Get Rating) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares George Weston and Seven & is 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 George Weston $43.88 billion 0.42 $1.40 billion $9.42 13.85 Seven & i N/A N/A N/A 197.96 0.22

George Weston has higher revenue and earnings than Seven & i. Seven & i is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than George Weston, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

Analyst Ratings

0.0% of George Weston shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.6% of Seven & i shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.6% of George Weston shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for George Weston and Seven & i, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score George Weston 0 1 0 0 2.00 Seven & i 1 0 0 0 1.00

George Weston presently has a consensus target price of $193.60, suggesting a potential upside of 48.39%. Given George Westons stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe George Weston is more favorable than Seven & i.

Dividends

George Weston pays an annual dividend of $1.93 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Seven & i pays an annual dividend of 57.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 130.2%. George Weston pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Seven & i pays out 28.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Profitability

This table compares George Weston and Seven & is net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets George Weston 3.23% 10.95% 3.04% Seven & i N/A N/A N/A

Summary

George Weston beats Seven & i on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About George Weston

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George Weston Ltd. engages in the food processing and distribution of fresh and frozen baked goods. It operates through the following segments: Loblaw, Choice Properties, and Weston Foods. The Loblaw segment stands for Loblaw Companies Ltd., which engages in the retail of food and drugs and provision of financial services. The Choice Properties segment pertains to Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust. The Weston foods segment produces baked goods. The company was founded by George Weston in 1882 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Seven & i

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Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. engages in retail, food, financial, and IT businesses in Japan, North America, and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Domestic Convenience Store operations, Overseas Convenience Store Operations, Superstore Operations, Department Store Operations, Financial Services, Specialty Stores Operations, and Others. The company's Domestic Convenience Store Operations segment operates convenience stores comprising directly managed corporate stores and franchised stores. Its Overseas Convenience Store Operations segment engages in convenience store operation and gasoline retail businesses. The company's Superstore Operations segment operates retail business that provide daily life necessities, such as food and other daily necessities. Its Department Store Operations operates department stores that provide various merchandise products. The company's Financial Services segment offers banking, leasing, and credit card services. Its Specialty Store Operations segment operates specialty retail stores. The company's others segment engages in real estate and other businesses. It operates approximately 22,500 stores in Japan and 71,800 stores internationally. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI  Get Rating) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the February 28th total of 2,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 185,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.0 days. Approximately 16.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,500 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.67, for a total value of $344,505.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,355 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,067,242.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Darryl M. Burman sold 2,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.68, for a total transaction of $591,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,259 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,084,860.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.67, for a total transaction of $344,505.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,067,242.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,600 shares of company stock valued at $7,091,904 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,308,378 shares of the companys stock valued at $186,928,000 after purchasing an additional 12,792 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 621,455 shares of the companys stock valued at $104,299,000 after purchasing an additional 251,565 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 489,270 shares of the companys stock worth $88,250,000 after buying an additional 14,115 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 448,752 shares of the companys stock worth $76,198,000 after buying an additional 2,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 331,726 shares of the companys stock worth $47,394,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.71% of the companys stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

GPI traded up $4.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.42. 169,818 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,762. Group 1 Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $136.16 and a fifty-two week high of $242.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $219.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.82, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.48.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotives previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Group 1 Automotives payout ratio is currently 3.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $142.00 to $134.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $275.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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Group 1 Automotive, Inc engages in the automotive retailing industry. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: U.S, the UK, and Brazil. It also sells new and used cars and light trucks, arranges related vehicle financing, sells service contracts, provides automotive maintenance and repair services, and sells vehicle parts.

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BlackSky Technology (NYSE:BKSY  Get Rating) is one of 48 public companies in the Radio & t.v. communications equipment industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare BlackSky Technology to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares BlackSky Technology and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets BlackSky Technology -113.68% -53.03% -29.21% BlackSky Technology Competitors -245.24% -53.46% -5.06%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

13.6% of BlackSky Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of shares of all Radio & t.v. communications equipment companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of BlackSky Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.7% of shares of all Radio & t.v. communications equipment 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.

Earnings & Valuation

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio BlackSky Technology $65.35 million -$74.17 million -2.38 BlackSky Technology Competitors $4.42 billion $643.74 million 2.79

This table compares BlackSky Technology and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

BlackSky Technologys competitors have higher revenue and earnings than BlackSky Technology. BlackSky Technology 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 current ratings and target prices for BlackSky Technology and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score BlackSky Technology 0 0 3 0 3.00 BlackSky Technology Competitors 290 1538 2498 108 2.55

BlackSky Technology currently has a consensus target price of $3.33, suggesting a potential upside of 122.22%. As a group, Radio & t.v. communications equipment companies have a potential upside of 19.55%. Given BlackSky Technologys stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe BlackSky Technology is more favorable than its competitors.

Risk and Volatility

BlackSky Technology has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BlackSky Technologys competitors have a beta of -2.80, indicating that their average stock price is 380% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About BlackSky Technology

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BlackSky Technology Inc. provides geospatial intelligence, imagery and related data analytic products and services, and mission systems that include the development, integration, and operations of satellite and ground systems to commercial and government customers worldwide. The company processes a range of observations from its constellation, as well as various space, internet-of-things, and terrestrial based sensors and data feeds. Its products are used in government defense and intelligence; commercial, construction, and industrial; and catastrophe, climate, and environment applications. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

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Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hershey (NYSE:HSY  Get Rating) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $255.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $230.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on HSY. Mizuho raised their target price 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Hershey from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $251.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $249.73.

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Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $254.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $238.14 and a 200 day moving average of $231.84. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $201.42 and a fifty-two week high of $255.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Hershey Announces Dividend

Hershey ( NYSE:HSY Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.58 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 57.76%. Hersheys quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.036 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Hersheys payout ratio is 52.01%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 109 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.23, for a total transaction of $26,512.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $595,913.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.83, for a total value of $35,224.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,333.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 109 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.23, for a total transaction of $26,512.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,450 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $595,913.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,116 shares of company stock worth $12,126,247 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acrisure Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $682,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $722,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the companys stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 350,316 shares of the companys stock worth $81,123,000 after acquiring an additional 15,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IVPAF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,926,700 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the February 28th total of 13,964,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 263,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 56.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IVPAF shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Ivanhoe Mines from C$14.00 to C$15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ivanhoe Mines from C$14.50 to C$16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th.

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Ivanhoe Mines Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of IVPAF opened at $9.05 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $8.75 and its 200 day moving average is $8.05. Ivanhoe Mines has a 12-month low of $4.90 and a 12-month high of $9.80.

Ivanhoe Mines Company Profile

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. is a mining development company engaged in the exploration and development of mineral properties. Its projects include the Platreef Project, Kamao-Kakula Project, Western Foreland Exploration Project, and Kipushi Project. The company was founded by Robert Martin Friedland on April 29, 1993 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Get Rating) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,337 shares of the credit services providers stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 1,455 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in Mastercard by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 388 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 1,396 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Mastercard by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 166 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chemistry Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,725 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 74.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mastercard from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $395.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $370.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $406.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $427.00 to $414.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $413.41.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Performance

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total value of $2,406,856.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,314 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,701,385.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.05, for a total value of $2,406,856.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,314 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,701,385.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 258,821 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.69, for a total transaction of $95,942,356.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 101,598,379 shares of the companys stock, valued at $37,661,503,111.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 655,522 shares of company stock valued at $242,724,561 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock.

NYSE:MA opened at $363.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.33. The company has a market cap of $346.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $276.87 and a 52 week high of $390.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The credit services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.79 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.65% and a return on equity of 158.38%. The companys revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 7th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Mastercards dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.31%.

About Mastercard

(Get Rating)

Mastercard, Inc is a technology company, which engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial, and payment programs. The company was founded in November 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, NY.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Get Rating).

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Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA  Get Rating) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,738 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF were worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFA. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 102.6% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 7,805,067 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $487,739,000 after buying an additional 3,952,102 shares during the last quarter. Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 55.4% in the third quarter. Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University now owns 8,785,451 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $492,073,000 after buying an additional 3,132,027 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 6,542.8% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,804,140 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 2,761,927 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 2,717.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,358,345 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $132,064,000 after buying an additional 2,274,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 361.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,214,925 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $124,058,000 after buying an additional 1,735,125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the companys stock.

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iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA:EFA opened at $71.52 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $70.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.59. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a 12 month low of $54.61 and a 12 month high of $75.38.

About iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Funds investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, MSCI EAFE Index (the Index). The Index has been developed by MSCI Inc as an equity benchmark for its international stock performance.

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Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN  Get Rating) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,800 shares of the information technology services providers stock after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises 1.5% of Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc.s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 2,969 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 1.3% in the first quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,400 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $30,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Fund Management at Engine No. 1 LLC bought a new stake in Accenture in the first quarter worth $1,805,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.6% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,292 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Accenture by 104.8% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 441,451 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $148,871,000 after acquiring an additional 225,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.97% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Accenture from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Accenture from $311.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $314.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Accenture Price Performance

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total transaction of $155,974.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 42,991 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link . In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total value of $155,974.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 42,991 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . Also, COO Manish Sharma sold 3,448 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.32, for a total value of $966,543.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,253 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,752,840.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 36,475 shares of company stock valued at $10,225,149 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Shares of NYSE:ACN traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $285.81. The company had a trading volume of 3,009,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,138,003. Accenture plc has a twelve month low of $242.80 and a twelve month high of $345.30. The stock has a market cap of $180.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.25. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $271.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.88.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.59 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 11.00%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 11.55 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 12th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Accentures dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.25%.

Accenture Company 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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JAPAN POST BANK Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:JPSTF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,545,200 shares, a decline of 14.5% from the February 28th total of 9,992,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 85,452.0 days.

JAPAN POST BANK Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:JPSTF opened at $7.26 on Friday. JAPAN POST BANK has a 1 year low of $6.78 and a 1 year high of $8.13. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $7.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.17.

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About JAPAN POST BANK

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Further Reading

JAPAN POST BANK Co, Ltd. provides various banking products and services to retail and corporate clients in Japan and internationally. The company offers liquid deposits, including transfer deposits, savings deposits, ordinary deposits, etc.; fixed-term deposits, such as time deposits, TEIGAKU deposits, etc.; and other deposits, as well as negotiable certificates of deposit.

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Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, a growth of 17.2% from the February 28th total of 3,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 916,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 5.2% of the companys shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kennametal

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,247,088 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $78,125,000 after acquiring an additional 297,345 shares in the last quarter. Natixis grew its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 221.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 84,536 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 58,270 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,962 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kennametal in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,066,000.

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Kennametal Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE KMT traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $27.58. The company had a trading volume of 750,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,313. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 2.12. Kennametal has a 1-year low of $20.21 and a 1-year high of $30.60. The companys fifty day moving average is $27.94 and its 200-day moving average is $25.74.

Kennametal Dividend Announcement

Kennametal ( NYSE:KMT Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $497.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.88 million. Kennametal had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kennametal will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 14th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 13th. Kennametals payout ratio is 52.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Kennametal in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Kennametal from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kennametal from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kennametal from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given 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 $26.71.

About Kennametal

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Kennametal, Inc engages in the development and application of tungsten carbides, ceramics, and solutions used in metal cutting and extreme wear applications. It operates through the following segments: Metal Cutting and Infrastructure. The Metal Cutting segment develops and manufactures tooling and metal cutting products and services and offers an assortment of standard and custom metal cutting solutions to diverse end markets, including aerospace, general engineering, energy and transportation.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point downgraded shares of Argo Group International from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Argo Group International from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th.

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Argo Group International Stock Performance

Shares of ARGO stock opened at $29.29 on Thursday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $29.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -5.52 and a beta of 0.99. Argo Group International has a 12 month low of $19.00 and a 12 month high of $45.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Argo Group International

Argo Group International ( NYSE:ARGO Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The company reported ($2.69) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($1.62) by ($1.07). The business had revenue of $379.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.90 million. Argo Group International had a positive return on equity of 0.06% and a negative net margin of 9.98%. Equities research analysts expect that Argo Group International will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARGO. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Argo Group International by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 28,947 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 3,735 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Argo Group International by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,194,998 shares of the companys stock valued at $90,610,000 after buying an additional 21,380 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Argo Group International by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,237,969 shares of the companys stock worth $133,663,000 after buying an additional 28,602 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Argo Group International by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 45,888 shares of the companys stock worth $1,894,000 after buying an additional 16,602 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Argo Group International by 2.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 373,460 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,648 shares during the period. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Argo Group International Company Profile

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Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of underwriting property and casualty insurance and reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Operations, International Operations, and Run-off Lines. The U.S. Operations segment include distribution through retail, wholesale, and managing general brokers/agents in the specialty insurance market.

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Stonegate Investment Group LLC decreased its position in shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV  Get Rating) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,869 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 2,483 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLCs holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $3,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,877,932 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $3,351,699,000 after buying an additional 61,656 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.3% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,376,802 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,247,639,000 after buying an additional 370,993 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,195,030 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $489,535,000 after buying an additional 73,104 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 4.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,348,197 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $397,156,000 after buying an additional 97,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 4.5% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,869,119 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $286,349,000 after buying an additional 80,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.59% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TRV. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $182.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $190.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, January 19th. They issued an outperform rating and a $212.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $189.40.

Travelers Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

TRV traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $171.41. 1,865,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,818,001. The stock has a market cap of $39.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.61. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.65 and a twelve month high of $194.51. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $180.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.40. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.20 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 14.11 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Travelers Companiess dividend payout ratio is currently 31.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other Travelers Companies news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 9,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.42, for a total value of $1,722,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 251,605 shares in the company, valued at $48,162,229.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 9,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.42, for a total value of $1,722,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 251,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at $48,162,229.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 150,829 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total transaction of $28,435,791.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 196,914 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $37,124,196.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,163 shares of company stock worth $35,402,200 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.07% of the companys stock.

About Travelers Companies

(Get Rating)

The Travelers Cos., Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services. It operates through the following business segments: Business Insurance, Bond and Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment provides an array of property and casualty insurance, and insurance related services to its customers primarily in the U.S., as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and throughout other parts of the world as a corporate member of Lloyds.

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LONDON - England - Vote Leave has published its analysis of the false and misleading claims made in the Government's recently announced 9 million propaganda campaign.

Commenting, Vote Leave Chair Gisela Stuart MP said:

This is not the facts, it is a misleading government propaganda campaign paid for by hard-working taxpayers who would rather see their money spent on their priorities. The public want an honest debate conducted by two competing sides, not an attempt by the Prime Minister to buy the referendum result with the publics money. We already hand Brussels 350 million a week without having to pay more just to bail out David Camerons failed renegotiation and the floundering remain campaign.

The Governments 9.3 million document is propaganda and contains a number of false claims.

Thanks to those who signed the petition to STOP CAMERON spending British taxpayers money on Pro-EU Referendum leaflets, which has now surpassed 100,000 signatures by quite a margin.

False Claim 1: The UK has secured a special status in a reformed EU.

Despite the Governments claims to have secured a special status in the EU, this term is nowhere used in the Decision of the Heads of Government.

It does not bind the European Court, which will continue to treat the UK as it treats every other member state. In 1979, it stated that the equality of Member States before Community law was at the very root of the Community legal order.

The EU is fundamentally unchanged. Even if promised changes to the Treaties were made (and there is no guarantee of this), the Treaties would remain 99% the same as they were before the renegotiation.

False Claim 2: We will keep our own border controls.

Every EU citizen will retain the right to enter the UK, including serious criminals .

. The European Court is undermining what limited checks we can still carry out. In December 2014, it decided that the UK could not require third country nationals who are married to EU citizens to obtain a permit from UK authorities to be able to enter the UK. The British Government is instead obliged in principle to accept as valid permits issued by other EU countries. This is despite the fact that Mr Justice Haddon-Cave had found that forgery of such permits was systemic. This decision makes it easier for terrorists and criminals to enter the UK using forged documents.

EU law also prohibits the UK from automatically denying EU citizens who lack travel documents entry into the UK, and forbids the UK from checking on a systematic basis whether EU citizens are lawfully resident in the UK. EU law requires the UK to admit EU citizens who can produce an EU passport. Yet we have no control over the way other EU countries issue their passports. Some EU member states even sell passports to the highest bidder.

False Claim 3: The UK will not be part of further political integration.

Such claims have been made time and time again by successive British Governments. On every occasion, they have been proven to be false .

. In 1971, the Heath Government claimed that there is no question of any erosion of essential national sovereignty.

The Wilson Government claimed in 1975 that the UKs sovereignty would not be compromised because it is the Council of Ministers, and not the markets officials, who take the important decisions. These decisions can be taken only if all the members of the Council agree.

John Major even claimed that British sovereignty had been enhanced by the Maastricht Treaty, asserting that the very centralising tendency that many are so worried about was addressed and corrected at Maastricht.

False Claim 4: there will be tough new restrictions on access to our welfare system for new EU migrants.

The Government admitted after the European Council that these proposals may never come into force, stating: Details of the proposals for restricting in-work benefits for EU nationals will be subject to further negotiation and we cannot speculate on these.

and we cannot speculate on these. The 2015 Conservative Manifesto stated We will insist that EU migrants who want to claim tax credits and child benefit must live here and contribute to our country for a minimum of four years. This promise has been broken . The denial of non-contributory in-work benefits will be graduated, from an initial complete exclusion but gradually increasing access to such benefits to take account of the growing connection of the worker with the labour market of the host Member State. This makes clear EU migrants will be able to claim in-work benefits during their first four years in the UK .

. The denial of non-contributory in-work benefits will be graduated, from an initial complete exclusion but gradually increasing access to such benefits to take account of the growing connection of the worker with the labour market of the host Member State. This makes clear . Even if these proposals do come into force, they are far short of what the Prime Minister promised. The OBR has said they will have not much impact on migration.

The emergency brake can only be invoked during a period of 7 years. This means that the UK will not be able to use the emergency break after 2023 . The emergency brake can only be invoked on a proposal from the Commission by the EU Council. The Decision states that the Council could authorise the brake, not that it will. The UK has no right to activate the emergency brake by itself.

. The emergency brake can only be invoked on a proposal from the Commission by the EU Council. The Decision states that the Council could authorise the brake, not that it will. In November 2014, the Prime Minister rightly dismissed some arcane mechanism within the EU, which would probably be triggered by the European Commission and not by us some sort of EU led, EU determined brake, which would be determined and applied probably by the European Commission, I dont actually think that would be effective.

Since child benefit, unlike certain tax credits, is not a non-contributory in-work benefit, it would appear the emergency brake will not apply to it, contrary to the Conservative Manifesto.

False Claim 5: The EU is by far the UKs biggest trading partner. EU countries buy 44% of everything we sell abroad.

You do not have to be part of the EU to trade with the EU. As the Prime Minister has accepted:  If we were outside the EU altogether, wed still be trading with all these European countries , of course we would Of course the trading would go on. Sometimes  Theres a lot of scaremongering on all sides of this debate. Of course the trading would go on ( The Andrew Marr Show , 6 January 2013,).

, of course we would Of course the trading would go on. Sometimes  Theres a lot of scaremongering on all sides of this debate. Of course the trading would go on ( , 6 January 2013,). The UKs trade with the EU has been in decline over the last decade. It is down from 52% in 2005.

Switzerland sells more to the EU as a proportion of its exports than we do, but is not part of the EU.

False Claim 6: By contrast, leaving creates uncertainty and risk.

Even the Head of the IN campaign has admitted this claim is false. Lord Rose of Monewden has said that nothing is going to happen if we come out of Europe Its not going to be a step change or somebodys going to turn the lights out and were all suddenly going to find that we cant go to France, its going to be a gentle process.

False Claim 7: The Government cites industries it claims would be affected by a leave vote. In each sector, it is in the EUs interests to maintain access to the UKs markets or in the UKs interests to escape from EU red tape.

 Aerospace . The vast majority of British exports of aerospace are sold to countries outside the EU. The ONS notes: In 2013, non-EU exports accounted for around 74% of total aerospace exports, with EU exports making up the remaining 26%.

. The vast majority of British exports of aerospace are sold to countries outside the EU. The ONS notes: In 2013, non-EU exports accounted for around 74% of total aerospace exports, with EU exports making up the remaining 26%. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In 2014, the EU sold the UK 11.0 billion more in chemicals than the EU sold to the UK. In the same year, the EU sold the UK 4.7 billion more in medicinal and pharmaceutical products than the UK sold to the EU.

In 2014, the EU sold the UK 11.0 billion more in chemicals than the EU sold to the UK. In the same year, the EU sold the UK 4.7 billion more in medicinal and pharmaceutical products than the UK sold to the EU. Financial services. The Head of the IN campaign has admitted that: We are very good at what we do in terms of financial services. They cannot do without us. According to the Bank of England, in February 2015, 75 banks located in the European Economic Area passported their services into the UK, including ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale . According to the Bank of England, over 800 insurance firms in the EEA could passport their services into the UK as of September 2015. There is no prospect of EU firms choosing to cut off their access to the worlds greatest financial centre. Deutsche Bank alone employs 8,000 people in the UK and has chosen to base its largest investment banking operations in the City of London, a centre of global flows of trade and wealth.

The Head of the IN campaign has admitted that: We are very good at what we do in terms of financial services. They cannot do without us. According to the Bank of England, in February 2015, 75 banks located in the European Economic Area passported their services into the UK, including ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale . According to the Bank of England, over 800 insurance firms in the EEA could passport their services into the UK as of September 2015. There is no prospect of EU firms choosing to cut off their access to the worlds greatest financial centre. Deutsche Bank alone employs 8,000 people in the UK and has chosen to base its largest investment banking operations in the City of London, a centre of global flows of trade and wealth. Food manufacturing. In 2014, the EU sold the UK 14.6 billion more in food and live animals than the UK sold to EU.

In 2014, the EU sold the UK 14.6 billion more in food and live animals than the UK sold to EU. IT and telecoms. In 2014, the EU sold the UK 4.5 billion more in food and live animals than the UK sold to EU.

In 2014, the EU sold the UK 4.5 billion more in food and live animals than the UK sold to EU. Transport. In 2014, the EU sold the UK 46.5 billion more in machinery and transport equipment than the UK sold to the EU.

False Claim 8: The Single Market makes it easier and cheaper for UK companies to sell their products outside the UK, creating jobs as a result.

It is widely accepted that the costs of the single market outweigh the benefits. As the UK Government admitted in 2005, the single market could cost Europes consumers up to 7 per cent of EU GDP. In 2004, the incoming European Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson, admitted that the cost of EU regulation was as high as 4% of GDP, twice the estimated benefits of the single market.

The European Commission claims (in a document which says the single currency has boosted GDP by 3.6%) that the single market has raised GDP by 2.13%, without making any attempt to quantify the costs.

Just 6% of British businesses export to the EU.. Nonetheless, 100% of British business must comply with EU law.

EU legislation costs British businesses at least 33.3 billion per year, over 600 million per week.

at least 33.3 billion per year, over 600 million per week. There is no evidence that the single market has been of macro-economic benefit. Countries outside the single market have seen their exports to countries in the EU rise faster than those within the single market. As the pro-EU commentator Wolfgang Munchau has noted, The single market had no discernible impact on aggregate productivity.

False Claim 9: Being inside the EU also makes it more attractive for companies to invest in the UK, meaning more jobs. Over the last decade, foreign companies have invested 540 billion in the UK, equivalent to 148 million every day.

This is extremely misleading. The Government counts every single pound invested into the UK over the last decade from every country, regardless of whether the country is in the EU or not. It is ridiculous to link all investment into the UK to the UKs membership of the EU.

The Head of the IN campaign has admitted this argument is all a red herring and it is just scaremongering, stating: The reason that people want to come to this country is because we have a flexible workforce, because we have stability, because weve got a growing economy, because weve got strong IPR, because this is a place to do business. I think its ridiculous to suggest that everybody is going to suddenly go offshore, I dont believe that for one moment and to make sure that that doesnt happen we have to ensure that we continue to have the right environment, an environment which is invested in, i.e. lets invest in infrastructure. To make sure that weve got the right tax regime, to make sure that corporation tax is attractive to people who invest here. To make sure that we invest in the right number of people so that weve got these apprenticeships, weve got these people who are fit and ready to come into the workforce, that will dictate whether people want to have their businesses domiciled here so I think this is all a red herring and it is just scaremongering.

False Claim 10: Over 3 million UK jobs are linked to exports to the EU.

The Government deliberately conflates trade with countries in the EU with EU membership. It is not necessary to be part of a political union to trade freely with the EU. Many countries around the world have free trade agreements with the EU without accepting the supremacy of EU law or paying billions to the EU. We will strike a free trade deal.

The Executive Director of the IN Campaign, Will Straw, has admitted:  We have not and have never claimed that 3 million jobs would be lost if we left the EU .

. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has accepted trade would continue, meaning jobs would not be put at risk. He said: If we were outside the EU altogether, wed still be trading with all these European countries, of course we would  Of course the trading would go on  Theres a lot of scaremongering on all sides of this debate. Of course the trading would go on.

The 3 million jobs figure was invented by the pro-euro campaign group, Britain in Europe, in 2000, as part of their attempts to scrap the pound. The economist whose work they traduced, Dr Martin Weale, has dismissed the figure as pure Goebbels, stating that in many years of academic research, I cannot recall such a wilful distortion of the facts.

False Claim 11: If the UK voted to leave the EU the resulting economic shock would risk higher prices of some household goods.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Dr Mark Carney, refused to agree with the claim that leaving would lead to an economic shock, despite being asked his view several times during a recent Treasury Committee hearing.

The Governor confirmed that: the global risks, including from China are bigger than the domestic risk.

The pro-EU CBI released a report that states our model estimates suggest that total real UK GDP could be around 36-39% higher in 2030 than in 2015 in the two exit scenarios. The paper also admits that growth will continue in the short term and that, in the long term, economic growth will be stronge r outside the EU compared to remaining inside.

outside the EU compared to remaining inside. The independent House of Commons Library has concluded that EU membership actually increases the costs of consumer goods, stating that the EUs Common Agricultural Policy artificially inflates food prices and that consumer prices across a range of other goods imported from outside the EU are raised as a result of the common external tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade imposed by the EU. These include footwear (a 17% tariff), bicycles (15% tariff) and a range of clothing (12% tariff).

False Claim 12: There would be pressure on the value of the pound.

The UK recorded a current account deficit of 96.3 billion in 2015. This could be substantial reduced if we Vote Leave. In 2014 (the last year for which data are available), the UK recorded a 12.3 billion balance of payments deficit with the EU institutions. This means we could substantially cut the current account deficit if we Vote Leave.

In 2014 (the last year for which data are available), the UK recorded a 12.3 billion balance of payments deficit with the EU institutions. This means we could substantially cut the current account deficit if we Vote Leave. The EU-funded Oxford Economics group has concluded that if the UK voted to leave the EU, In most cases the UKs trade balance improves.

There is no evidence that the increased prospect of a leave vote is having a substantial effect on the currency or is driving movements in the foreign exchange markets. The pound has been strengthening against the US dollar over the last month from $1.3871 on 26 February to $1.4013 on 6 April. This is despite the fact that the polls have shown a consistent improvement in the leave campaigns position.

False Claim 13: A vote to leave could mean a decade or more of uncertainty.

Greenland left the EU in less than three years. It voted to leave the then European Economic Community on 23 February 1982 and the new Treaty was signed at Brussels on 13 March 1984. It entered into force on 1 February 1985 and provided for the abolition of tariffs, quotas and measures equivalent to quotas on Greenlands principal export, fish; Protocol (No 34) to the EU Treaties.

The US-Australia Free Trade Agreement was concluded in less than two years. Formal negotiations for a free trade agreement began in Canberra on 18 March 2003. The agreement came into effect on 1 January 2005. The US Government states that: as a result of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement, tariffs that averaged 4.3 percent were eliminated on more than 99% of the tariff lines for U.S. manufactured goods exports to Australia.

The Switzerland-China free trade agreement was negotiated in a little over two years. There were 9 rounds of negotiations between April 2011 and May 2013 which produced a deal praised by both sides for its quality and its breadth, covering goods, services, investment, and competition. The agreement entered into force on 1 July 2014.

False Claim 14: From next year, mobile phone roaming charges will be abolished across the EU, saving UK customers up to 38p per minute on calls.

The Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy, Ed Vaizey MP (who supports the IN campaign) has admitted that market access in telecommunications would continue if we Vote Leave. He has said that if we were to withdraw from the European Union, I still think that British consumers would benefit. It is dangerous for any government Minister to comment on what may or may not impact on peoples views when they vote in this referendum. As we experienced with the Scottish referendum, it may be that everything, including the kitchen sink, is thrown into the argument and that roaming charges become part of that debate, but my instinct is that, should the British public decide to leave the European Union, that will not impact on their roaming ability in Europe.

False Claim 15: Canadas deal with the EU will give limited access for services.

The Government has already admitted that: The EU will open its market in services significantly for Canadian firms.

The Canadian Government states that: CETA covers all aspects of our broad trading relationship with the EU, including goods, services, investment, government procurement and regulatory cooperation.

The deal includes services, financial services, mutual recognition of qualifications and procurement.

False Claim 16: Our EU membership magnifies the UKs ability to get its way on the issues we care about.

The UK has been outvoted every time it has voted against an EU measure  72 times in total. 40 of these defeats have taken place since David Cameron became Prime Minister. This costs the UK taxpayer 2.4 billion a year. We do not get our way on the issues we care about.

Since the UK joined the EU in 1973, it has lost 101 out of 131 cases before the European Court, a failure rate of 77.1%. Since David Cameron became Prime Minister in May 2010, the UK has been defeated on 16 occasions: a failure rate of 80%.

EU rules mean that we dont have the power to intervene to get our way at home. The Government has acknowledged that its scope to intervene in the steel crisis is limited by EU state aid rules. The Business Minister, Anna Soubry MP, has said We have to be very careful because we have to be compliant with state aid rules.

False Claim 17: EU cooperation makes it easier to keep criminals and terrorists out of the UK.

The EUs own Frontex Agency has recently concluded the EU makes us less safe. Frontex has said that: The Paris attacks in November 2015 clearly demonstrated that irregular migratory flows could be used by terrorists to enter the EU there is a risk that some persons representing a security threat to the EU may be taking advantage of this situation there is clearly a risk that persons representing a security threat maybe entering the EU.

Frontex has said that: The Paris attacks in November 2015 clearly demonstrated that irregular migratory flows could be used by terrorists to enter the EU there is a risk that some persons representing a security threat to the EU may be taking advantage of this situation there is clearly a risk that persons representing a security threat maybe entering the EU. EU law makes it much harder to remove suspected terrorists . Where the Home Secretary believes a suspected terrorist should be excluded from the UK, but believes disclosing the case to the suspect would damage national security, the European Court of Justice has ruled that: the person concerned must be informed, in any event, of the essence of the grounds on which a decision against him is taken. The Court of Appeal has since ruled that these rights under EU law cannot yield to the demands of national security. This means the Home Secretary either has to disclose information that might prejudice national security or allow suspected terrorists into the UK.

Where the Home Secretary believes a suspected terrorist should be excluded from the UK, but believes disclosing the case to the suspect would damage national security, the European Court of Justice has ruled that: the person concerned must be informed, in any event, of the essence of the grounds on which a decision against him is taken. The Court of Appeal has since ruled that these rights under EU law cannot yield to the demands of national security. This means the Home Secretary either has to disclose information that might prejudice national security or allow suspected terrorists into the UK. EU law prevents the UK from removing violent criminals. EU law prevents us from removing serious criminals, such as violent killer Theresa Rafacz, a Polish national who killed her husband, including by kicking him in the face with a shod foot while he lay on the ground defenceless and drunk. Mr Justice Hart ruled the offence involved gratuitous violence. She was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Nonetheless, Mr Justice Blake later ruled that EU law prevented her removal, stating that there was no basis which could justify her deportation on the grounds of public policy.

False Claim 18: Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 suspects have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited.

This deliberately conflates EU membership with the ability to have working extradition agreements. We have extradition agreements with many countries around the world, including the United States, without accepting the supremacy of US federal law.

Recently, we extradited a murder suspect from Ghana in just a few weeks.

The UK could continue to be part of the European Arrest Warrant if we Vote Leave . As the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, has confirmed, police and security cooperation would continue if we Vote Leave. Asked: But we could still have tools like the European Arrest Warrant and sharing of databases even if the UK left the EU?, David Anderson replied: I think thats very likely (BBC Daily Politics , 1 March 2016).

. As the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, has confirmed, police and security cooperation would continue if we Vote Leave. Asked: But we could still have tools like the European Arrest Warrant and sharing of databases even if the UK left the EU?, David Anderson replied: I think thats very likely , 1 March 2016). The European Court has just made it much harder to extradite suspects, ruling they cannot be removed to face trial because of prison conditions in another member state.

If we end the supremacy of EU law, we could also stop the European Arrest Warrant being abused by foreign prosecutors which is currently illegal under the EUs Charter of Fundamental Rights.

False Claim 19: [the EU] also guarantees many employment rights.

If the Government are claiming that employment rights are at risk, they are effectively claiming that the Prime Minister cannot be trusted to protect your rights at work if we Vote Leave.

The UK introduced employment rights before it joined the EU, for instance, the right to strike (1913), the right to paid holiday (1938) and the right to equal pay for equal work (1970).

Leave campaigners have been clear, employees rights will be protected after we Vote Leave.

False Claim 20: EU membership brings economic security, peace and stability.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Dr Mark Carney has said: we do think there are risks from remaining in the European Union and risks particularly related to the development of the euro area.

Leading historians, including the former head of history at Cambridge University, Professor David Abulafia, have dismissed the claim that the EU has brought peace to Europe. Instead historians have shown that it was NATO that was responsible for peace in Europe.

The Secretary of State for Defence during the Falklands War, Sir John Nott, has pointed out that: The only time the EU actually took charge of security was during the Bosnian War. Its mishandling of that crisis led to more than one million people being displaced and up to half a million being killed or wounded .

. The EU has handled the situation in the Ukraine extremely badly. Leaked telephone conversations have shown that US officials have taken to requesting that the EU is excluded from the whole process.
In todays internet era, there are too many voices, and everyone now has an opinion. The populace are now unmanageable. In days past, everyone knew their place, and everyone stayed in their place, but today this is not the case, and for the elite this is a sure sign that the end will be messy and troublesome.

The wealthy have already abandoned all hope of a future where the populace, formerly known as plebs, have a voice, and have a modicum of power. They are therefore preparing for either an engineered form of deconstruction or a sudden chaotic unravelling. They are already preparing for a post-consumerist future society ruled by scientific technocrats serviced by technological automation. The elite and wealthy have already exhausted the consumerist society and used consumers to become billionaires, however they know that this state of affairs cannot last.

Most certainly, the event will be an economic eviscerating maelstrom that will lead into anarchic catastrophe with gangs roaming, mass looting, and cataclysmic death to many who are unprepared.

You see, the wealthy, the elite, are prepared, they have already secured plots of land with shelters, some underground, some in very secluded spots, but these wealthy elite still have one problem, how to keep their security and manual workers loyal to them when the event happens. It will be all too easy for the security detail to band together and take over the wealthy in their luxurious bunkers. What do you do when paper money is worthless, and your security men surround you with the guns you gave them? How does one keep the loyalty of the servants during a cataclysmic event wiping out all of society economically?

There are certainly no easy solutions to such a debacle, but the only real solution is for these billionaires who have never done anything with their hands, or had a manual job, to actually hold a gun themselves. Many will not be able to and will perish.

The first thing that happens in a major economic disaster is that all the rich in every neighbourhood are quickly dispatched and their homes/businesses looted. The swarmiing poor are vast in numbers, and when there is no police to protect the wealthy, the rich are the first to go. When that source is depleted, the people turn on themselves.

Of course there are alternatives, but the technology for robots and automated guards controlled by sophisticated AI is still in its infancy. It will take another thirty to forty years to replicate humans in their entirety, but even then there will be major flaws.

The time line for such an event nears every day, simply because the populace are getting more and more uncontrollable every day. The economic system built on debt, is not built on a firm foundation, and sooner or later it will give away. The Illusion will be lost overnight, the illusion of democracy, the illusion of economic prosperity, and furthermore, the interlinked global economy will crumble in one fell swoop, purely because there are little or no ways to quarantine contagion.

Already, there are brief murmurs of such an event occurring, and you will know when it happens because you will not see any police in the streets any more, no medics, no social services, and there will be no way of getting your money out of the banks. All mobile phones will cease working in an instant, as well as electricity grids, and water processing centres. In effect, there will be silence. This silence will be the starting bell for carnage, anarchy and total chaos to reign over the crumbling old system, which will be cleansed over many years of nihilistic purges.

Even though this warning was written in full sight, many will not heed it, and they will carry on with their meaningless lives as slaves to their mortgages and tax slave jobs.

What do people do when there is no more food in the shops, when paper money is useless, and there is no authority? The answer is they do anything to survive. Anything.
SAN QUENTIN - USA - According to sources, the real president of the US, Donald J. Trump is getting ready for jail.

Sure, being constantly persecuted by the Dems purely for political reasons will only strengthen Trumps base for his possible 2024 presidency, the fact is, jail is jail and Trump may be put behind bars by his enemies.

You gotta prepare for these things. I mean, imagine no more gold taps, or gold toilet seats? I usually have a Melania relief treat at 3 pm and by 6 pm I order up a new girl. I gotta have a different one every day. In prison, I will no doubt have none of those things. Its frankly gonna be tough, Trump revealed on Sunday.

American jails are notorious for being hardcore places where if you do not assert yourself in the beginning, you will soon find yourself as someones bitch.

The Don thankfully is not worried about such things, as he can pay for his own security directly in jail.
Kamco Invest, a regional non-banking financial powerhouse with one of the largest AUMs in the region, has announced the appointment of Mohammed Hamad Al-Faris as Chief Executive Officer for its operations in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Faris joins Kamco Invest Saudi with extensive experience in the financial sector with focus on private banking and wealth management. He has previously held several executive positions in Saudi banks, including Bank Aljazira (BAJ), where he spent nearly a decade and rose to become the Head of the Private Banking & Wealth Management Group.

During his time at the bank, he played a key role in establishing the group and forming a team that manages a diverse and sizable portfolio of clients comprising of HNWIs, family offices, endowments, and corporate entities. During this period, he was collaborating closely with the banks investment arm to provide his clients with all types of investment solutions. Al-Faris holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from KFUPM and then earned an MBA in Finance from Kogod School of Business in the US. He also holds several qualification certificates in the field of Wealth Management and Investments.

Track record

Faisal M Sarkhou, Group CEO of Kamco Invest and Board Member of Kamco Invest Saudi, said: Al-Faris experience and track record will be an added value to lead the Saudi operation to further contribute towards the implementation of the groups growth strategy. Saudi is considered a core market for Kamco Invest, which has been operating in the Kingdom for more than ten years. In addition to the Saudi clients we serve, we have successfully attracted regional clients to invest in the Saudi equity market.

Al-Faris said: Kamco Invest is widely recognised in the local and regional markets as a prominent provider of non-banking financial services, and as one of the biggest asset managers in the Mena region. Im excited to collaborate with the skilled team both in Saudi and Kuwait to enhance our presence in the Saudi market. Well make sure we leverage Kamco Invest abundant resources, long experience and wide reach of its regional network to achieve this goal. Well also focus on providing our clients with unique Sharia compliant solutions and attract GCC investments to the local market, especially with the ample opportunities vision 2030 is creating in all economic sectors.

Kamco Invest manages an AUM of around $13.8 billion on behalf of its clients in various asset classes and jurisdictions, positioning it amongst the largest asset manager in the Mena region. It also holds a strong track record with investment banking credentials exceeding $34.7 billion since inception till December 31, 2022 in equity capital markets, debt capital markets and mergers & acquisitions.

Kamco Invest Saudi manages the Kamco Saudi Equity Fund with AUM more than SR800 million ($213 million), making it one of the largest funds managed by independent investment companies not affiliated with local banks.-- TradeArabia News Service
Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana. (File photo: ANI)

Vijayawada: Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana declared that Jagan Mohan Reddy government is committed to three capitals for AP. "YSRC will not go back from its resolve of decentralised development. We will go to polls on this slogan," he declared.

Addressing media on Saturday, Satyanarayana maintained that Visakhapatnam would have become the administrative capital by now if evil forces had not gone to court. "For the state to develop, a new way of thinking is required to ease administration. Having three capitals is a way of bringing in decentralised development. We will go to polls with the slogan of three capitals," the minister asserted.

He described Amaravati as a real estate venture. Under the garb of land pooling, real estate people have taken over the lands. "There are no real farmers remaining in Amaravati. Public money running into lakhs of crores cannot be poured into the silos of Amaravati," Satyanarayana underlined.

He saw nothing wrong in the Jagan government allotting lands to the poor and middle classes in Amaravati for building their houses. He pointed out that there is a shortage of land in cities like Vijayawada and Guntur. Hence, the government wants to allot house sites in Amaravati," he explained.

Satyanarayana admitted YSRCs failure in Graduates MLC elections. "YSRC will review the developments related to MLC elections. If there is a communication gap anywhere in the party, we will identify it and overcome such failures," he remarked

The minister denied the involvement of YSRC in the attack on BJP leader Y. Satyakumar. He said the allegation is an attempt to sling mud on the YSRC government.
"The Chinese have not fought any major battle after the Korean war, so Galwan has been a major thing for them," senior officials said. (File photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Indian security establishment expects no major escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China during summer as both sides are set to start patrolling after extreme cold weather on the contentious line.

The consensus in defence circles is that with Chinese President Xi Jingping having secured a third term, there was no reason to rake up patriotic feelings by escalating the situation at the border.

"From time to time, the Chinese may try to raise the issue of patriotism but no major escalation is anticipated. Recently, the Chinese held a contest in which the winners were supposed to be sent to Galwan. The Chinese have not fought any major battle after the Korean war, so Galwan has been a major thing for them," senior officials said.

For India, the focus will be on resolving issues at other stand-off points and restoring the status quo that prevailed before May 2020. "The next round of Corps Commanders meeting will be held soon. The dates have not been fixed yet," officials in the know said.

The 17th India-China Corps Commander meeting was held on December 20 at Chushul-Moldo.

Since the stand-off began in April, 2020 between the two nations in the Ladakh sector, forces on both sides have disengaged in Galwan, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Gogra-Hotsprings general area (Patrolling Point-15).

However, the stand-off still continues at two friction points  Demchock and Depsang plains  where PLA forces have blocked Indian troops from patrolling. This was the third consecutive winter when India and Chinese deployed forces in forward positions.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will on Monday file an appeal before a court in Surat in Gujarat against his conviction in a criminal defamation case. (AP file photo)

New Delhi: Putting an end to all speculation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in Surat on Monday to challenge his conviction and sentencing in the Surat sessions court. He will ask for the sessions court to set aside the magistrates order convicting him in the defamation case. He will also ask for an interim stay on the conviction till the matter is finally disposed of, his lawyer Kirit Panwala informed reporters.

Unless Mr Gandhis conviction is put on hold by a higher court, the Election Commission will announce a special election for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. He will also not be allowed to contest elections for the next eight years.

The court of chief judicial magistrate in Surat H.H. Varma on March 23 convicted Mr Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his remarks over the "Modi surname". It had held Mr Gandhi, 52, guilty under Indian Penal Code Sections 499 and 500.The court had also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days in order to enable him to appeal to a higher court. Mr Gandhi was present in the court when it pronounced the verdict in the case. A day later, the former Congress chief was on March 24 disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by the Surat court.

Mr Gandhis conviction and subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha has stirred up a political storm in the country. Taking to the streets, Congress workers claimed that Mr Gandhi was being treated harshly as he was asking tough questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Several legal experts, though respectfully, did not agree with the judgment of the Surat court.

The Congress is fighting the battle on two fronts -- politically as well as legally. The party has held satyagrahas in most state capitals. Almost all the Opposition parties had got together and supported Mr Gandhi. The issue was sought to be raised in both Houses of Parliament, but since the Houses did not function due to repeated adjournments it could not be raised. However, protests had continued both inside and outside Parliament.

Days after his disqualification, Mr Gandhi was served a notice to vacate his official bungalow in New Delhis Lutyens Zone as he was no longer entitled to it. The BJP has called the move lawful, and questioned if Mr Rahul Gandhi considered himself to be above the law. The ruling party has also attacked Mr Gandhi for his remark, terming it an intentional insult to the entire OBC community. It has launched a mega campaign, led by its OBC ministers, over Mr Gandhi's remark.
A stray dog roams on the premises of Government Primary and High School at Mudfort, Sikh Village, Secundrabad putting students at risk (Deepak Deshpande/DC)

Hyderabad: A GHMC committee that was constituted to control the dog menace after strays mauled a four-year-old child to death in Amberpet here last month, on Saturday submitted a report with 26 recommendations.

Setting out a two-year deadline, the committees recommendation was to increase personnel at all the 150 wards to work on stray dog issues, hiring a veterinary field assistant for every two wards, and filling 19 vacancies of veterinary officers.

The GHMC has 50 stray dog catching vehicles, and the committee said the corporation must hire 10 more along with staff to ensure that each of the 30 circles has two vehicles. The corporation must complete sterilisation of street dogs within the stipulated two years.

Submitting the report, the committee members suggested that veterinary, sanitation and health departments take up coordinated measures to control dog bites. Steps should be taken to increase the current number of sterilisations from 300 to 400 per day. Dog squad teams must work even at nights, it said.

The committee which visited the GHMC's animal care centres at Fathullaguda, Chudi Bazaar, Patelnagar, KPHB, and Mahadevpur from March 6 to March 18 said infrastructure must be increased to undertake more sterilisation of dogs.

Proper and quick garbage and meat waste disposal and vaccination were the other suggestions that the committee made. It suggested making corporators members of zonal level monitoring committees, checking illegal dog breeding establishments and encouraging adoption of stray puppies.

The committee said welfare organisations must be involved in awareness programmes in coordination with citizen groups and elected representatives. The people must be made aware that relocation of stray dogs is not permitted and ways to detect if a dog is sterilised or not, the need to providing water bowls and feeding bowls to reduce the street dogs' aggression. Short film video contests and film ads are to be taken up to create more awareness.

The committee comprised corporators C.N. Reddy (Rahmathnagar), V. Sravan (Malkajgiri), Rajasekhar Reddy J. (Vanasthalipuram), Syed Sohall Qadri (Patherghatti) and Mirza Mustafa Baig (Riyasathnagar), GHMC additional commissioner (health) Shruti Ojha, veterinary officer Abdul Vakil, joint commissioner (sanitation) Sandhya, The co-ordinator was Dr J.P. Wilson.

It held discussions with animal welfare organisations, NGOs, volunteers, feeders and dog lovers and took feedback from GHMC officials and drew up the recommendations which the committee said would rid the city of rabies within two years, by the end of 2025.

The committee submitted the report to city mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi who said some measures were already being taken up at the field level.

Vijayalakshmi directed officials to take joint measures for the control of stray dogs by veterinary, health and sanitation department. The joint commissioner was tasked with appointing a sanitation jawan to remove garbage from hotels, restaurants and function halls.

The mayor ordered the officials to arrange 60 vehicles, two per circle, to catch strays. She said that the government has taken all measures to conduct anti-birth control operations in the municipalities.
Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa. (Photo: ANI)

NEW DELHI: Going for a major overhaul, the BJP leadership is expected to deny tickets to at least 20 per cent of the sitting legislators in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. The blueprint for the election strategy and ticket distribution have reportedly been finalised. The BJP parliamentary board meeting anytime between April 6 and April 8 will finalise the first list, sources said.

It was learnt that both the Central and state leadership have conducted a thorough survey in all 224 Assembly constituencies and candidates will be selected as per the survey reports. Speaking to this newspaper, a senior party functionary said the tickets "will be decided on the basis of the survey reports and the winnability of the candidates."

Last week, Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting of the core committee to discuss election strategy and candidate selection. Another meeting of the core committee is expected to be held on Sunday.

To counter anti-incumbency, the party has taken detailed feedback from the grassroots workers and district-level office bearers. The party has decided to give the grassroots workers a "major say" in selecting the candidates, the functionary pointed out.

Earlier, to track the performance of the candidates, the BJP had deputed "in-charges" in all 224 Assembly berths. As the party MLAs wait anxiously for the first list, the Lingayat strongman B.S. Yediyurappa told the local media today that his son B.Y. Vijayendra "will contest from Shikaripura" Assembly constituency from which he had won seven times since 1983. The former chief minister, Yediyurappa apparently dismissed reports that his son will be pitted against the Congress heavyweight Siddaramaiah from the Varuna Assembly berth.

Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the caste-based ticket distribution in the BJP. Of the 124 candidates selected by the Congress in their first list, 28 are from the numerically strong Lingayat community. The second list of the Congress is expected during the first week of April.

Amid the hectic political activities, the state chief minister Basavaraja Bommai accused the Congress of "calling up the BJP legislators and offering them tickets".

The JD(S) has also announced its list of 93 candidates. While the JD(S) will attempt to defend the Vokkaliga-dominated old Mysur region, the BJP has been working hard to make inroads in the region in recent years. The BJP recently got a major boost with Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh announcing her support for the BJP. On Saturday, a JD(S) MLA A.T. Ramaswamy joined the BJP.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah. (PTI Photo)

AIZWAL: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday appealed to the remaining active militants of the Northeast to join the mainstream.

Addressing a rally in Aizawl after virtually inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for 11 projects worth Rs 2,414 crore, he asserted that the establishment of peace in Mizoram is an example of the victory of Indian democracy.

"I appeal to the few remaining active militant organisations in the Northeast to return to the mainstream, become a part of the democratic process and contribute to the development of the region and the country as a whole," he said.

"Peace has been established in Mizoram, which had faced insurgency. This is an unprecedented example of the victory of India's democracy," he said.

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga while welcoming Shah said his visit will help cement the state's relation with the Centre.

Shah paid a long-day visit to the Northeastern state on Saturday, during which he virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of 11 development projects worth Rs. 2,414 crore, including new Assam Rifles battalion headquarters.

Addressing a public meeting at Lammual here, Zoramthanga said that the state has been waiting for a long time for Shah to visit the state and inaugurate the Assam Rifles complex, Laldenga Cultural Centre and other development projects.

"Certainly, this will be a milestone ," Zoramthanga said while welcoming Shah.

He said that during the time of Laldenga, the state's first chief minister, the government had identified land for Assam Rifles camp.

The Union Home Ministry (MHA) sanctioned money for the construction of the new Assam Rifles headquarters complex and now it is in a position to be inaugurated, he said.

According to the chief minister, the proposed Laldenga Cultural Centre, which will be constructed in the area (Lammual) to be vacated by Assam Rifles, will have an auditorium to accommodate 5000-10,000 people, a conference hall and other amenities.

Speaking on the occasion after inaugurating Assam Rifles headquarters complex and other development projects, Shah said that the paramilitary force base would be shifted from the heart of Aizawl to Zokhawsang, about 15 east of Aizawl.

He also said that the construction of four new roads worth Rs 1,200 crore, when completed, will boost trade and business not just within Mizoram, but also with the state and neighbouring Myanmar.

The Union Minister lauded the Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by Zoramthanga citing it has performed very well in terms of development.

He said that the peace that is seen in Mizoram, which was once under unrest for decades, is an example of the victory of Indian democracy.

"At one time there was insurgency and violence in Mizoram. Bullets were fired and bombs exploded here. But today Zoramthanga is the chief minister of the state, and there is peace and harmony here. This is an unprecedented example of the success of India's democracy," Shah said.

Noting that the Centre is dedicated to the development of the Northeast, he said the Modi government has increased budget allocation for the region by 276 per cent.

"The Union government is working towards connecting the state capitals of all the eight states with rail, road and air connectivity by 2025 with a project outlay of Rs 1,76,000 crore," he said.

"Around 8,000 militants in the region have surrendered since 2014. We have signed a peace agreement with NLFT in Tripura in 2019, rehabilitated 37,000 Brus in Tripura, and brought peace in Assam by signing the Bodo Accord in 2020 and a peace agreement in Karbi Anglong in 2022. Also, there has been a 70 per cent reduction of areas under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958," he said.

Shah was shown black flags by Congress party workers during his visit to Mizoram's capital Aizawl to inaugurate development projects on Saturday.

The opposition party was protesting against the disqualification from Parliament of its national leader Rahul Gandhi recently after conviction in a defamation case.

Leaders of the state state congress and functionaries of various frontal organisations held peaceful demonstration to extend solidarity to Gandhi.

Noting that Mizoram's economy grew by 12.15 per cent in the last decade, especially under the leadership of Chief Minister Zoramthanga, Shah said the Centre will explore possibilities of investment in the tourism, bamboo and solar energy sectors in the state. He said the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project will connect Mizoram with Myanmar and bring about economic growth in the northeastern state.

Interestingly, Zoramthanga is the former leader of Mizo National Front (MNF), the erstwhile underground founded by Laldenga, which spearheaded a secessionist movement for two decades between 1966 and 1986.

The MNF signed a peace accord with India in 1986 and Mizoram became the 23rd state of the country in February 1987.
BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (By Arrangement)

Hyderabad: BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said that he had dedicated 50 years of his life to movements that have all been fruitful. Successful results can be achieved by anyone who strives hard, he said.

Rao was speaking after admitting many activists of Maharashtra Shetkar Sanghatan, led by prominent leader Sharad Joshi Praneet, into the BRS at Telangana Bhavan here on Saturday.

Talking about farmers' protests against the agriculture reforms bills in Delhi some months back, the Chief Minister got emotional when pointing out that around 750 farmers had sacrificed their lives in protest against the BJP-led NDA governments move.

"I extended support to the farmers. This forced the Union government to take a backseat and drop the decision to introduce the agriculture reforms bill. No Union government has changed the fate of farmers since independence," he said.

Asking the Maharashtra farmers to visit the Kaleshwaram project, Rao said that the Telangana government has provided a number of benefits to farmers, which has put an end to the spate of suicides. The BRS government has provided financial assistance and free power supply to farmers, he said.

"Farmers cultivate paddy in 94 lakh acres across the country. Towards this farmers from Telangana produce paddy on 56 lakh acres. It was possible only because of schemes and sops extended by our farmer-friendly government," Rao said.

The Chief Minister regretted that successive governments had failed to utilise the natural resources in the country for the benefit of farmers.
A family in Mehsana district in Gujarat believes the Indians who were among the eight who died while trying to cross into the United States of America from Canada recently are their kin.

Jasubhai Chaudhary, a resident of Manekpur village in Vijapur taluka here, on Sunday said his brother, sister-in-law and their two children had left for Canada two months ago on a visitors' visa, adding reports of eight persons, including some Indians, being found in a marsh there had vexed kin here.

Canadian police has said the deceased, who were found on the banks of St Lawrence River near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York State, are believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent and were crossing into USA. "Two months ago, my brother, his wife and two children went to Canada on a visitors' visa. Yesterday morning I learnt about the death of members of a family from India in Canada. I tried to contact my brother but was not able to do so. This caused suspicion that they were our family members," Chaudhary told reporters.

Also Read | Tornadoes kill at least 26 across US Midwest and South

A Mehsana district administration official said Malekpura village residents approached the collector with a request to make arrangements for the bodies of the four deceased to be brought back to their native village. "It is confirmed that four members of a family from Manekpur village in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana went to Canada on a visitor's visa and tried to cross the river. The villagers approached us seeking help to bring back their bodies, which we have reported to the state government," the official said.

Chaudhary said the family's suspicion was confirmed after they found that the names of the victims circulating on Whatsapp groups of his relatives settled in Canada were that of his brother, wife and two children. He identified the four who left for Canada Praveeni Chaudhary (50), his wife Diksha (45), son Meet (20), and daughter Vidhi (24). Former state home minister Vipul Chaudhary told reporters the government should make arrangements for the bodies of the victims to be brought back here, and termed it a very sad and shocking incident. If something untoward of this sort happens, then the government must ensure the bodies are brought back, the former minister added. On January 19 last year, four members of a family from Dingucha village in Gujarat's Gandhinagar froze to death while trying to illegally cross into USA from Canada.
Bhutans king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will arrive in New Delhi on Monday apparently to allay concerns in India about recent progress in negotiations to settle his countrys boundary dispute with China.

He will have meetings with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his three-day official visit. He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji and other senior officials. Wangchuck is visiting New Delhi when India is cautiously keeping tabs on Thimphu-Beijing talks to resolve their boundary disputes.

With the Indian Army still engaged in a stand-off with the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army in eastern Ladakh, New Delhi is keen to ensure that any deal between Thimphu and Beijing does not result in China gaining advantage against India, particularly in western Bhutan, sources told DH on Saturday.

In a recent interview published in Belgium, Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering made public that the talks between his country and China had reached an advanced stage.

He also said the Bhutanese delegation visited Beijing in February, while a technical team from China might arrive in Thimphu soon. Tshering went on to say that Bhutan and China might be able to demarcate the boundary after two or three more meetings.

His comments denying reports about Chinas intrusion into Bhutan and construction of villages inside Bhutan caused unease in New Delhi.

Thimphu and Beijing have been holding negotiations to settle the boundary dispute since 1984, the territorial row between the two nations was limited to 764 sq kms of areas  269 sq km in the west and 495 sq km in north-central Bhutan.

China, in 2020, also staked claim on the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan as part of its own territory. Bhutan rejected the claim made by China.

Bhutan and China had earlier held 24 rounds of boundary negotiations till August 2016. The negotiations, however, had remained stalled after the stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army in Doklam Plateau.

The Chinese and the Bhutanese officials, however, had a meeting in Kunming in the communist country in April 2021. The meeting led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on October 14, 2021, for a three-step roadmap to resolve the Bhutan-China boundary dispute.

New Delhi has reasons to be cautious as Beijing had earlier asked Thimphu to accept Chinas sovereignty on areas around Doklam in western Bhutan in exchange for China giving up its claim on areas in north-central Bhutan. If China gains control of the Doklam Plateau, it will make it easier for its PLA to conduct military manoeuvres aimed at blocking the Siliguri Corridor  the narrow stretch of land linking Indias North-East with the rest of the country.

Tshering, however, indicated in his interview that Thimphu was not trying to reach an agreement with Beijing on the Bhutan-India-China tri-junction boundary point near Doklam Plateau  the scene of the June-August 2017 stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA. His comment was in sync with the 2012 understanding between New Delhi and Beijing that all tri-junction boundary points among India, China and the third countries (like Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal) would be settled through trilateral negotiations.

A spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi stated on Saturday that the visit of the Bhutanese King to India would provide an opportunity to both the sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation.
A businessman and BJP leader was allegedly shot dead in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district on Saturday evening, police said.

Raju Jha, the Durgapur-based businessman, was on the way to Kolkata when he was attacked outside a sweet shop in Amra in Shaktigarh police station area, they said.

Two persons arrived in a car when Jha was waiting in his SUV outside the shop. While one of the accused broke the window glass of his car with a rod, the other one started firing at him, police said.

Also Read | NCPCR chief claims assault by cops during Kolkata visit

Several rounds were fired, killing Jha at the spot and injuring two other persons who were accompanying him, they said.

Jha, who was in the hotel business, had joined the BJP ahead of the last assembly elections. He was also arrested in a coal smuggling case.

Following the incident, the accused fled the spot. The injured persons were undergoing treatment at a hospital, police said.

Senior police officers visited the spot where the incident happened.

Police said an investigation was started.
A 20-year-old man allegedly murdered a minor girl, chopped her body into pieces and stuffed them in plastic bags here, police said on Sunday.

According to police, the possibility of the nine-year-old girl being raped before the murder has not been ruled out and accused Kamlesh, a school dropout, is being interrogated.

Also Read | Engineer murdered by colleagues over parking dispute in apartment in Bengaluru

The girl was missing since March 29. Her chopped body parts were found at an abandoned house in the Mavli area on Saturday night, they said.

Some local residents had complained of a foul smell emanating from the abandoned house, police said, adding that the victim lived in the same neighbourhood.

Superintendent of Police Vikas Sharma said the accused resided near the victim's house.
Authorities deployed hundreds of riot police and cut mobile internet services in parts of eastern India on Sunday after violent clashes erupted in at least eight states during Ram Navami celebrations.

Police said one person was shot dead in the Nalanda district of Bihar state on Saturday after majority Hindus and minority Muslims clashed in the town of Bihar Sharif.

This came a day after mobs fought running battles and set fire to homes and shops during at times frenzied public celebrations of Ram Navami.

Festivals like Ram Navami regularly feature hundreds of people -- sometimes brandishing swords, guns, and tridents -- provocatively marching through Muslim neighborhoods with religious music pulsating through powerful sound systems.

Read | 700 people injured while performing with swords, sticks on Ram Navami in Hazaribag

Bihar Sharif police chief Shibli Nomani said nearly 100 people have been detained over violence that erupted on Thursday when thousands of Hindus rallied on the streets and paraded through Muslim-dominated areas.

"The situation is under control. We are patrolling the area and ensuring no gatherings are allowed," he told AFP, adding that the unrest was being investigated.

Similar communal flare-ups were reported in two other cities in Bihar, where authorities shut mobile internet services in some areas and clamped down on public movement.

In Rohtas, another district hit by violence where police arrested dozens, six people were injured in an explosion inside a house where two men were allegedly making a bomb.

Bihar police tweeted that at first glance it did not appear that the blast was related to the recent unrest. Homemade explosives are sometimes used in mining in the area.

Sectarian violence also hit seven other states in recent days following the Hindu festival on Thursday, with dozens injured and hundreds arrested in at least 13 towns and cities.

This included Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and the Howrah region of the eastern state of West Bengal where mobs rampaged and torched vehicles and shops on Thursday.

Read | Communal tensions in two Bihar towns post-Ram Navami

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of orchestrating the violence. The BJP accused her of targeting Hindus.

Similar violence was reported in Modi's home state of Gujarat on Thursday in western India where clashes were reported in Vadodara along with Aurangabad in the western region of Maharashtra.

Critics say that hardline Hindu groups have been emboldened since Modi, who was Gujarat state chief minister during huge riots there in 2002, was elected prime minister in 2014.

Last year, similar clashes were reported across several cities on Ram Navami, including in New Delhi and in Jharkhand in eastern India where one person was killed.
A three-member gang posing as policemen robbed a man of $2,000 in Kammanahalli.

Zaid, a resident of 4th Cross, Kammanahalli, works in Yemen and came to India to meet relatives and friends.

Zaid was walking near Empire Hotel on Kammanahalli Main Road around 7.45 pm on March 29. He carried a bag. Three men came in a car and introduced themselves as policemen. They showed him their ID cards to make him believe they were policemen in mufti.

They asked Zaid to show his passport. Zaid gave them his passport. One of them forced him to show his bag. Zaid gave his bag to them. They took out $2,000 and returned his passport, and rode off.

Zaid later filed a complaint at the Banasawadi police station. Police have got some clues about the suspects and will arrest them soon, a senior officer said.
Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company specializing in developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide range of healthcare products. The company has its headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois and operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

The company was founded in 1888 by Dr. Wallace C. Abbott, and it has since grown to become one of the world's largest and most respected healthcare companies. Abbott Laboratories has a diverse portfolio of products, including medical devices, diagnostic tests, nutritional products, and branded generic pharmaceuticals. The company is committed to developing innovative products that improve the quality of life for people worldwide.

Robert B. Ford is the current President and CEO of the company. He was appointed to this position in 2020 after serving as the company's Chief Operating Officer. He has been with Abbott Laboratories since 1996 and has held various leadership positions.

Abbott Laboratories has delivered strong financial performance, declining as investors seek growth. The company's net earnings have been increasing steadily. Abbott Laboratories has a solid balance sheet with a low debt-to-equity ratio. The company has consistently delivered strong cash flow, allowing it to invest in research and development and return value to shareholders. Abbott Laboratories has a higher price-to-earnings ratio than the industry average, and the company's price-to-book ratio is also higher than the industry average. These metrics suggest that the market has a positive outlook on Abbott Laboratories and is willing to pay a premium for the company's shares. Over the past year, Abbott Laboratories' stock has declined as consumers seek to see what the company will do post-pandemic. The company's shares have experienced some volatility, but overall, they have outperformed the broader market.

Abbott Laboratories operates in the healthcare industry, which is highly regulated and complex. The industry is characterized by rapidly evolving technology, changing regulatory requirements, and shifting consumer preferences. Abbott Laboratories competes with other large healthcare companies such as Johnson & Johnson.

Abbott Laboratories' robust product pipeline is expected to drive growth in the coming years. The company is focused on developing innovative products that address unmet medical needs and improve patient outcomes. In addition to its core businesses, Abbott Laboratories is expanding into new markets and investing in digital health technologies.

Like any company, Abbott Laboratories faces a range of risks and challenges. One of the most significant risks facing the company is regulatory uncertainty. Changes in regulatory requirements could impact the company's ability to bring products to market and could also increase the cost of doing business. Another risk facing the company is the threat of competitive pressures. The healthcare industry is highly competitive, and Abbott Laboratories faces competition from established companies and new entrants. Changes in consumer preferences could also impact the company's performance, particularly in the nutritional products segment.

Additionally, Abbott Laboratories is exposed to geopolitical risks, such as changes in trade policies or political instability in key markets. The company's international operations also expose it to currency fluctuations, which could impact its financial performance.
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The United States Navy has delivered a budget request of approximately $255 billion, focusing on the acquisition of at least nine battle force ships. They hope one such ship will be its second Columbia-class submarine. The proposal... More of this article 
Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a publicly traded mining company that operates primarily in North and South America. The company is in the top ten of the world's largest producers of copper, gold and molybdenum, and its operations include mines, smelters and refineries.

Freeport-McMoRan was founded in 1988 when Freeport Minerals Corporation merged with McMoRan Oil & Gas Company. Both companies had a long history in the mining industry, with Freeport Minerals founded in 1912 and McMoRan Oil & Gas in 1969.

The merger of the two companies created a vertically integrated mining company that could control every aspect of the mining process. The union of the two companies allowed Freeport-McMoRan to become one of the world's largest producers of copper, gold and molybdenum.

Freeport-McMoRan's operations are primarily in North and South America, with mines in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Chile. The company also owns a 48.76% stake in the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, the largest gold mine in the world and the second-largest copper mining operation in the world.

The Grasberg mine is a significant source of revenue for Freeport-McMoRan, accounting for approximately 30% of the company's copper production and 40% of its gold production. The mine has operated since the 1970s and has significantly expanded recently.

Freeport-McMoRan's other major operation is the Cerro Verde mine in Peru, one of the world's largest copper mines. The mine was established as a joint venture between Freeport-McMoRan, Buenaventura and Sumitomo Corporation, with Freeport-McMoRan owning a 53.56% stake.

In addition to its mining operations, Freeport-McMoRan owns and operates smelters and refineries in the United States and South America. This allows the company to process the ore from its mines into finished products, such as copper cathodes and gold bars.

Freeport-McMoRan has a track record of financial performance. The company's revenues have steadily grown over the past decade, driven by increasing demand for copper and other essential metals.

Freeport-McMoRan's strong financial performance has allowed the company to invest in new projects and expand its operations. The company has recently focused on developing new mining projects in North and South America, including the Lone Star copper project in Arizona and the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 copper project in Chile.

Freeport-McMoRan has a solid commitment to sustainability and responsible mining practices. The company has implemented a comprehensive environmental management system designed to minimize its impact on the environment while supporting the communities in which it operates.

One of the critical components of Freeport-McMoRan's sustainability strategy is its focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company has set a target of reducing its carbon footprint by 10% by the end of 2023, compared to its 2018 baseline.

Freeport-McMoRan has also implemented a water management program, which aims to minimize the use of fresh water in its operations and promote water conservation. In addition, the company has invested in technologies that allow it to recycle and reuse water, and it has also partnered with local communities to implement water conservation projects.

In addition to its environmental initiatives, Freeport-McMoRan is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates. The company has implemented a social responsibility program, which includes initiatives to improve education, healthcare and economic development in the communities near its mining operations.

Freeport-McMoRan has also committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The company has established a DEI council and has implemented training programs to promote a more inclusive workplace. In addition, Freeport-McMoRan has set a target of achieving gender parity in its workforce by 2030.

The company is not without its risks. One of the main risks is the volatility of metal prices. Copper and gold prices can be highly cyclical and are influenced by various factors, including global economic conditions, geopolitical events and supply and demand dynamics. As a result, a significant decline in metal prices could harm Freeport-McMoRan's financial performance.

Another risk to consider is the regulatory environment. Mining companies are subject to various environmental and safety regulations, which can impact their operations and financial performance. As a result, changes in laws, or increased enforcement of existing regulations, could increase the cost of doing business for Freeport-McMoRan.
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Googles Nearby Share on Android and now available on Windows PCs in beta lets you seamlessly transfer files between the two platforms. You can send and receive images, videos, and documents using this feature. Heres how Nearby Share works.

Nearby Share between Windows and Android: Details

Nearby Share gets support for 64-bit x86 architecture-based Windows 10 and above versions.

The feature is not currently available in markets like Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Donbas, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Also, ensure, Bluetooth and WiFi are turned on both devices, preferably on the same network and channel. Nearby Share works within a 5-meter radius.

How to set up Nearby Share on Windows

1. Download Nearby Share for Windows from this link.

2. Install and set up the downloaded file. You can sign in using your Google Account. However, thats not mandatory. You can get by without an account too.

3. You will have to assign a name for your system, by which youll be visible to others.

4. You may untick the data-sharing checkbox at the bottom of this dialog box.

5. The app also lets you choose whom you want to send and from whom to receive. In the Device Visibility settings, you can enable

Everyone mode visible temporarily or all the time.

Contacts-only (Need to be signed in with your Google Account)

Your devices (Need to be signed in with your Google Account) or

No one

Either way, the files sent to the PC are saved on the PC only when the receiver approves the request.

Additionally, within the Nearby Share app, go to the Settings (the one with the cog icon) menu and you can change the location wherein the received files through Nearby Share are saved. By default, it will be set to the Downloads folder on the Windows File Explorer.

How Nearby Share works between Windows and Android

1. Nearby Share app stays in the system tray on the Windows taskbar. So, you can access it from there or open the app from the Start Menu. If you want to share something with the Android phone, you can either

Open the Nearby Share app and select files and folders from within it.

Or select all files from the Windows file explorer or desktop and share them via the Send with Nearby Share' option on the right-click context menu.

2. On the other hand, when you send from the phone, you do it via the Android share menu. Youll receive the request to accept it within the Nearby Share app. As already mentioned, you know where to access the app.

Well, thats about it. The transfer speeds have been quite fast. In my short time using it, it has worked without any issues.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Its World Autism Awareness Day and on this occasion, we have compiled a list of accessibility settings on major operating systems from Microsoft, Apple, and Google that could help autistic people. But, before we get into assistive tools, for the unversed, heres a brief description of what Autism means:

What is Autism?

As per National Center for Autism India, Autism or Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder which is lifelong and neurological. It includes a triad of impairments in the form of verbal or non-verbal communication, social interactions and activities involving imagination, play and leisure. People with autism may show restricted or repetitive behaviours or interests that may seem unusual or atypical.

Now, every major operating system that we interact with daily has built-in tools to assist autistic people. Lets have a look at them.

Assistive tools for people with autism

1. Focus Assist (Windows 11 and 10): Also called Quiet Hours in previous Windows versions, this feature lets you silence notifications when you dont want to be disturbed by them. For a person with autism, this should allow them to avoid sensory overload and focus better.

2. Immersive Reader (Microsoft Edge browser on Windows): With just a tap of a button, you get to change the font size, spacing, and colour contrast for a pleasing reading experience for not just people with autism but also regular people.

3. Read Aloud (Microsoft Edge browser on Windows): It reads aloud text on the screen, letting specially abled folks focus on whats written on the screen.

4. Guided Access (iOS) and Restricted user profile (Android): Both settings let you restrict the device access to only one app at a time. To access anything else, one must enter a password. So, you can help people with spectrum disorder focus on the task (or app) at hand.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Theres still time for its successor and so, if you want to own a cheap vanilla Android smartphone from Google, the Pixel 6a is your best bet and it is currently up for grabs at 30,999 (or lower) on Flipkart. Heres how.

Google Pixel 6a discount offers

The phone is currently retailing for 30,999 on Flipkart. Thats a 29-per cent discount from its MRP.

Now, you can also take benefit of the following bank offers to further lower the price:

- 1000 off on credit and debit card transactions using Axis, HDFC, ICICI, American Express, and SBI.

- 10% discount up to 750 on DBS Bank credit card transactions.

If you want to break down the price into smaller instalments, you can avail the No Cost EMI payment mode with select banks like HDFC, Axis, etc.

Then, there are partners offers like:

- A surprise cashback coupon (till November 2023), if you make a prompt purchase.

- Grab Flipkart Gift Card worth up to 500, if you use Flipkart Pay Later service.

If you have an old smartphone to exchange, you can gain discounts for that too.

Find the Pixel 6a deal on Flipkart.

As for what you get with the device, here are the details:

Google Pixel 6a specs and features

Google Pixel 6a comes with an FHD+ AMOLED display, Android 12 (but upgradeable to Android 13), a 5nm Tensor chipset, a 12.2MP+ 12MP dual rear camera setup, and a 4410mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
The news and rumours about whether Samsung Galaxy S23 FE will launch or not have been up in the air for quite some time now. Only recently, we heard the phone might have got cancelled but contradicting this, folks from Sammobile have come forward claiming the Galaxy S23 FE will debut in Q4, 2023. So, heres what we know so far about the device:

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE specs and features

Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup

The report reveals the phones model number as SM-S711x, which suggests a high-end but not flagship device from S-lineup. It further spills the following details:

1. Unlike its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is expected to release with an Exynos 2200 SoC in all markets. This will be a 2-year-old chip by Q4, 2023. If you recall, this one has got a 1+3+4 core structure based on a 4nm Samsung manufacturing process like a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and comes with an AMD RDNA2-based Xclipse 920 GPU.

2. The memory configuration could comprise 6/8GB RAM and 128/256GB storage.

3. Samsung could equip the Galaxy S23 FE with a 50MP main camera. This could be part of a triple-camera setup.

4. Under the hood, the phone could also carry a 4,500 mAh battery with support for 25W wired charging.

5. On the front of the phone, you could be getting a 120Hz AMOLED display with a punch-hole cutout.

Lets see if these speculations come true. Well, the jurys still out on the phones existence and launch. Stay tuned for updates on this topic.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
As the Russians began their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were unintended side effects. It suddenly became dangerous for merchant ships in ports along the Ukrainian coast to leave. Many of these ships had just taken on cargo that had to be delivered. The crews didnt want to be stuck in a port that was suddenly in a war zone. The companies that owned and operated those ships were also eager to get the ships and crews and cargoes out of the area. Companies that provide insurance for merchant ships were also eager to see the ship quickly and safely out of the area.

When the war began, nearly a hundred ships and over 2,000 officers and crew on those ships were stuck in Black Sea ports. A year later most of the crews and about a third of the ships have left the ports and the Black Sea. There are still 61 ships and 331 crewmen stuck in ports. So many ships are still stuck because the port managers or the companies who own the ships find it too risky to leave for the uncertain safety and troubled waters of the Black Sea. The crews could be evacuated by land or air and those still on the ships are usually getting bonus pay to stay there and maintain the ship as well as keeping in touch with the owners about the status of these major assets. In some cases, it is possible to send in replacements for stay-behind crewmen who want to finally leave.

Another curiosity is that many of the officers and crew on these ships are Russian or Ukrainian. This is one of the generally unrecognized side effects of the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe in around 1990. Since the end of the Cold War and Soviet Union in 1991 there has been a lot of unemployment in Russia, and becoming a crew member on a commercial ship paid well. With the Soviet Union gone, Russians were free to travel or work outside Russia. Many ended up as officers or sailors on merchant marine vessels flying a flag of convenience.

For Russian mariners, all was well for three decades until covid19 shutdowns came along in 2020. Then the Ukraine War followed with official Russian government restrictions on anyone, including Russian merchant marine mariners, leaving Russia, even on Russian ships with cargo delivery deadlines to meet. This stranded Russian mariners in Russia, where they were largely, but not entirely, exempted from the military mobilization programs. To make the situation more confusing, some mobilization officials would issue mariners exit permits while others would not, or didnt know how to and were not interested in learning how to do it for a small number of mariners in their area of responsibility. Some mariners found that they could leave the country by showing their mariner ID and a shipping company letter of employment. One hand of the Russian government wanted all these Russian mariners back on the job, because they earned foreign currency, and another hand of the Russian government insisted they stay because that was, well, Russian. Eventually they were all allowed to sail, though some were mobilized and sent to fight in the Ukraine anyway.

While that money was difficult to get back to families in Russia, it was not impossible. Then there were the mariners who did get military mobilization notices. Most of these were willing to return to Russia and serve in the military. Then there were those who did not want to get mobilized into the military and would leave their ship if it were headed for Russian port. Many mariners have served in the military, either as conscripts or officers and some served in the Russian navy or coast guard. Until recently, Russian mariners could be taken from their ships at Russian ports and not allowed to return to sea. The procedure has been modified but there is still the risk of being removed from your ship if your name is on some list of mariners needed for some other work in Russia.

Before 2022, many merchant ship mariners were laid off because of covid19. This virus led to international population movement restrictions. That caused some unexpected problems for sea transportation. At the start of the covid19 lockdowns in early 2020, there were 1.9 million qualified mariners and officers to operate the 75,000 ships of the international merchant fleet. Thats only 25 personnel, most of them men, per ship. The job pays well and even the largest ships rely on automated equipment to keep crew sizes small. This automation and small crew size had been around for decades as the merchant fleet grew larger and ships spent more time at sea.

Even before covid19 there was a shortage of qualified crew, especially officers. Typically, officers are 15-20 percent of the crew and skilled specialists another 15-20 percent. Most crew come from less affluent countries in South and East Asia as well as Africa and South America. For those sailors the pay and living conditions are very good but the time spent away from family is a major minus. This became catastrophic during covid19 because many ports would not allow a ship to enter unless the crew was certified free of covid19. This meant shipping companies could not replace the crews as often as usual and as many as 200,000 mariners and officers were literally stuck on their ships for months longer than usual. This made the officer shortage worse. Before covid19 there were about five percent fewer officers than needed. By 2021 this grew to nearly 20 percent because of all the problems involved with seemingly endless voyages caused by covid19 lockdowns and difficulty in getting the crews vaccinated. This led to calls for merchant sailors to get priority in receiving the vaccines. Most of the available vaccines required two doses, taken three to four weeks apart. This made it more difficult to get sailors vaccinated.

While there was some decline in work for merchant ships during the 18 months of lockdowns, once the lockdowns began to be lifted the demand for seaborne shipping rapidly grew and shortage of sailors and officers was one reason why there was a shortage of ships back in service for nearly a year. Operating these big ships with smaller crews just makes the job even more unattractive, while also causing potential problems with the insurance companies that compensate owners for damaged or lost ships because of the many risks encountered.

Raising wages is not as effective a solution as programs to recruit and train additional mariners and officers. There are also problems in some countries with dishonest brokers who match mariners with ships. In some countries shipping companies going bankrupt or committing fraud can abandon crews overseas.

While the hundreds of shipping companies can justify more money spent on wages and recruiting, a training program requires joint efforts to work, at least with those countries that supply the most crew personnel. This is one of those problems that cannot be ignored because the world economy depends on maritime transport. Most likely some nations that already supply most of the mariners and officers, like the Philippines and India, will seize the opportunity to train more mariners and officers to make life more bearable for these seagoing specialists and encourage more of them to stay in the job, at least part-time. In Russia, the economic situation is grim and likely to continue for years after the war ends. As a result, getting a job on a merchant ship will remain an attractive option.
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The Mill Enterprise Centre was buzzing on International Womens Day, Wednesday 8th March, when the members and guests of Network Louth gathered to celebrate the event and welcome two very interesting speakers who spoke on neurodiversity in the workplace. Fiona Ferris is Deputy DEO of AsIAm, Irelands National Autism Charity and Roann Byrne is a start-up entrepreneur and food academic from Drogheda.

The event was opened by President of Network Ireland Louth, Niamh Pentony, who thanked LEO Louth for their support of the event and ongoing support of Network Ireland Louth. Niamh spoke about the need for greater awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace and for work environments to look at it in a more positive light.

Fiona spoke about being diagnosed as autistic at 15, her experiences with school and then as an autistic person in the workforce. She highlighted the barriers that autistic people face when trying to access education and employment. In her role in AsIAM she delivers talks, both nationally and internationally, about autism, neurodiversity, and disability. Her aim is to give practical, relatable, knowledge and strategies to assist others in supporting the autistic community, to meet their own individual potential and fully participate in their community. Fionas expertise covers a broad range of issues including Autism and Women, Neurodiversity, Disability Rights, Employment, Accessibility and Education. Outside of work, Fiona is an artist and is also completing an Honours Degree in Law.

Roann was diagnosed with ADHD in 2022 and she spoke of her experience at school and college, prior to her diagnosis and how she has been able to harness her strengths to help her excel in her field. She founded a creative marketing agency - Danu specialising in Irish culinary heritage to innovate modern business. She is currently in a masters of Gastronomy and Food Studies, previous BSc in Baking and Pastry Management and a BA of Culinary Arts. She is passionate about women in Irish food, with her thesis being on the Influence of Women 1950-2000 Dublin City on Irish Cuisine and working within a non-profit organisation, Mna i mBia.

Both Fiona and Roann spoke about the strengths of having an neurodiverse workforce and of the supports and accommodations that can be made to facilitate the different ways of thinking, processing information and realising potential.

There was a great response from the audience and many shared stories of their own experience. The evening certainly opened up a new conversation on how a neurodiverse work environment is the workplace of the future.

Network Ireland Louth is a branch of Network Ireland, a Nationwide organisation supporting the professional, and personal, development of women. It provides support, learning and networking opportunities for women in business and enterprise, throughout Ireland, through the branch network.

Network Ireland is a non-profit, voluntary organisation, established in 1983 and now has 15 Branches Nationwide. Membership is made up of a diverse group of women, from budding entrepreneurs to SME owners, professionals, and leaders in Indigenous and multinational organisations, the Public Sector, the Arts, non-profit organisations, and charities.
To coincide with World Autism month, National Learning Network (NLN) training centres nationwide, including NLN at The Ramparts, Dundalk, will host an Open Day on Wednesday, April 5th at 11am focussing on autism support. People can visit NLN locations in every county to see the various learning options with pathways to further education, higher education, and jobs.

Specialist education body National Learning Network has supported almost 800 people with autism and Aspergers into employment or further education in the last five years.

National Learning Network is the education and training division of the Rehab Group. NLN provides inclusive education and training opportunities with specialist student supports to promote student success in personal, vocational, and occupational goals.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in increasing awareness and acceptance of autism. However, Autistic people still face discrimination and barriers to access and participation in all aspects of society, including education and work in Ireland. NLN has a large autistic community, with almost 40% of the student population identifying as autistic.



Lucianne Bird, Director of National Learning Network, says: NLN training centres adopt a neurodiversity affirmative approach in working with all students. Put simply this means we respect that students vary in how their brains take in, process, and respond to information.

"It's just what makes each of us unique  staff and students. And the difference between people in how we learn is natural. There is no one better way to learn or no correct way to be, all neuro-types are equally valued.



Autistic individuals have a wide range of abilities and needs, and NLN staff are skilled at providing the specific support required; of course, the type and level of support varies from person to person.

"In NLN, we often meet autistic people who have been masking personal traits in order to fit in with people around them. This can be exhausting and negatively impact on mental health and wellbeing. In all our training centres, we welcome and support people to be their true and authentic selves without pressure to conform to traditional social norms, said Ms Bird.



Jack Sheehy is currently a student on the Transition course at NLN Tullamore. Jack says: I learn different modules, like communications skills, application of numbers and career preparation. I was diagnosed with autism when I was around 4 years old.

"When I was younger, I couldn't handle being in secondary school and I had to leave. I had a hard time figuring out some things, like maths. I didn't do the Leaving Certificate. I tried some different courses after school but they didn't work out. It was a tough time for me. It was absolutely depressing because I couldn't really do anything.

I was recommended to try NLN by Tusla, who were looking after me at the time. When I went to NLN, I told the staff what I would like to achieve, and it was a good conversation. I was curious to see what they were going to teach me. I was really happy that I was able to get an education.

"It's been really good since. I am able to learn different subjects and I am able to take my time with them. I like that NLN focusses on me as an individual. I feel I am able to broaden my social skills in NLN.

With my behavioural and sensory issues, I am a lot better now than I was years ago. I can talk about it and get an understanding of what it is that I need.

"I am able to communicate a lot more than I was when I was a teenager. Back then, I was quite reclusive, and I didn't really have anyone I could talk to. It was very stressful for me but I have a lot less stress now. Whenever I feel a little down in myself, I always go to the therapist that works in NLN, I am able to talk to them.

I would like to become an animator. I also like doing creative writing. That's what I love most about NLN, it allows me to do my own creative writing as well as doing the modules. The instructors help me to get my work done, but they also give me some independence, so I feel that it's done in a positive way," added Jack.

Ms. Bird added: Autistic students are not just following their own paths. They are headed to different destinations, and NLN staff work in a student-centred way to help autistic students reach their chosen destinations. We also work with important stakeholders in the community, such as employers, to promote an understanding of neurodiversity in the workplace.



Edel McSorley, Operations Director of Mr. Price Branded Bargains, said: Our corporate partnership with NLN has supported our supervisors and hiring managers to have a greater understanding of neurodiversity in the workplace. In recognising that potential employees may take in, respond and process information differently, we adopted a much more flexible recruitment process.

"This year, we accepted a job application that included a work experience placement with a poem rather than a traditional CV. This student is now an employee. We will continue to work with autistic students in NLN who want to get a job and follow careers in the retail industry using job accommodations where needed to ensure equity of access to jobs and careers with Mr. Price Branded Bargains.



If you or a member of your family is autistic and looking for an autism-friendly route to pursue your career goals, drop into your nearest National Learning Network centre on April 5th at 11am, meet the staff and find out how NLN supports autistic students to gain qualifications, progress to further education, and pursue careers. Visit www.nln.ie for more information or email: dundalk@nln.ie
Fiat, remember them? Not too long-ago Fiats were everywhere in Ireland. Our roads were full at various times with Uno's, Punto's and Bravo's. But somewhere along the way Fiat lost direction. Dealers were lost, or could not be retained, with the influx of other brands competing for their turf.

The management of Fiat in Ireland was, to be kind, a bit haphazard and as a result sales slipped off a cliff. Now, Fiat in Ireland is handled by the Gowan Group and as a result I predict that we will see Fiat as a much more attractive offering than before.

There will be more places to buy and service your Fiat which is key to selling cars here in Ireland. Throughout the changes, upheavals and malaise the one thing that people forget was that Fiat actually make good cars.

I'll bore you again about my 97 Fiat Bravo which to this day is still my favourite car of all the cars I've owned. Especially with the TSW alloys I fitted from new.

Who does that any more getting non-manufacturer alloys fitted to their new car? It was right car, right time and I loved it. Never caused a single day of bother, was solid and rattle free.

Some of their cars were divisive like the Multipla but the Panda, "new" 500 and the revised Bravo were as good as anything offered by their competitors with one key difference. They were honest cars, offering value and specification at a keen price.

Where they dropped the ball was in service and servicing but I feel this is going to be addressed as a priority from here on.

Take the Tipo Cross I've just been driving. It's a 5-door hatchback/estate shape that looks modern if understated, is very competitively priced and equipped. I'll back that up.

It starts at 24,995 in uninspiringly named Base trim. For that you get as standard the likes of, speed assist and traffic sign recognition, lane support, cruise control, air-con, 6 airbags, 7-inch touchscreen, smartphone mirroring, emergency braking and all-around electric windows with the best audio controls that's on sale with the volume and station controls at the back of the steering wheel. Perfection.

That's a proper family car for 5 adults that can return 6.7l/100kms from its 3-cylinder, 100hp petrol engine. Perfect for a family in these mad, out of control, cost of living times.

It has generous cabin and boot space at 440l which beats the 392l in the latest Ford Focus with which is shares basically the same physical dimensions. But that starts at 32,865 and only gives you 25hp more. Is it ~8k better? Remember as well that this Tipo won a European Autobest award when it was first released back in 2016.

The car is fine to drive and zippy and feels a lot faster than the 12.2s quoted to get to 100km/h.

It doesn't have the same finessed driving dynamics of the Focus and you can see that the money went into specification rather than driving engineering.

That said I loved the back-to-basics manual driving it offered and I'd have no issue being behind the wheel of it all day. I took my elderly parents and sister up to the Sally Gap / Military Road in the Dublin mountains and the car's suspension took everything those unforgiving roads threw at it.

For a car starting at 25k there are of course some economies and sound insulation is one of them. Over 120km/h and you notice it in terms of wind and road noise. It's not a dealbreaker by any means but worth pointing out and seeing if it is for you.

The interior is spacious and it's usual to report in a car where the price is low and attractive that the quality of the materials used are sub-par. I'd say marginally sub-par compared to today's competitors but a world away from sub-par interiors of four or five years ago.

An atrocious interior just won't cut it anymore and if you balance the cost of the Tipo v the quality offered you'll conclude that it is a lot better than you'd have expected.

Fiat sold 357 cars in Ireland last year, less than half of one percent of the entire market. Some of the brands ahead of it could not hang onto Fiat's coat tail not too long ago. The forgotten Tipo only sold 38 cars last year and in an age where every euro counts this is a bit perplexing.

It can't be the cars, so it must be the lack of dealers and servicing facilities. Fiat have committed that from now on all cars will be electrified - be it hybrid or all electric. So, with the right powered cars and new impetus from Gowan, I'm convinced the Fiat brand will be rejuvenated and we will start to increasingly see more of them on our roads.
Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan T.D. was at Inchicore Railway Works yesterday for a preview of the next generation of DART travel, which will see the DART+ Coastal North project extend the DART service from Connolly Station in Dublin to Drogheda.

Iarnrod Eireann says that work is ongoing on the preferred option for the project with the public consultation number two expected this Spring.

A life-size sample prototype of a new DART+ fleet carriage has been developed by manufacturers Alstom as part of the final phase of the design process. In total, 185 of the new carriages have been ordered to date, with delivery commencing in 2024 and entering service from 2025.

Funded under the National Development Plan 2021 to 2030 by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority, the order for the DART+ Fleet is part of the DART+ Programme, an investment which will more than double the commuter capacity and treble the electrification of the Greater Dublin Area rail network.

DART+ will facilitate sustainable mobility and development to enhance quality of life in our capital and its surrounding counties, through a series of fleet and infrastructure projects. The number of people living within 1km of a DART station will increase hugely from about 250,000 at present to 600,000 in future.

ABOVE: DART + Fleet Sample interior

Up to 750 carriages will be ordered over the next decade under a framework contract with leading manufacturer Alstom. They are being constructed at the companys factory near Katowice in Poland.

The prototype is located in Inchicore Works for final engagements with a range of customer focus groups, who have reviewed proposals throughout the design phase. It is a composite sample carriage, demonstrating key features which will be throughout the new trains, including:

Prioritisation of independent access, with low-height doorway thresholds on all carriages equipped with an automatic retractable step and offering the potential for unassisted level access from suitable platforms, aligned with platform enhancements. In addition, improved dedicated wheelchair spaces will be provided.

Improved facilities for families and for cyclists, with dedicated family areas, and bike areas.

Enhanced customer information, with large, high-resolution onboard displays having the ability to provide real-time updates, including information from other public transport systems in the Transport for Ireland network, and other features designed for the needs of sensory impaired customers. The displays include features such as indicators for customers on busier areas of the train, advance notice of which side to exit the train.

Charging facilities throughout for connected customers on the move.

An advanced CCTV system with cameras throughout every carriage, to enhance safety and security for customers and employees.

Comfortable individual seating, reflecting longer distances which the DART+ fleet will operate, designed following customer focus group testing.

An ergonomic design for drivers, with driver focus groups also being a key part of the design process.

The initial 185 carriage DART+ fleet order comprises 30 electric and 155 battery-electric carriages, which have been ordered in two phases: 95 carriages (30 electric and 65 battery-electric) in December 2021 and a further 90 (all battery-electric) in December 2022. The carriages:

Consist of 5-carriage train sets (equivalent in length to the 4-carriage train sets in the current DART fleet) providing high capacity with wide gangways between carriages. This will allow customers to freely circulate throughout the full length of 5-carriage trains, creating a more open and spacious environment and enhancing security. A 10-carriage train, made up of two 5-carriage train sets joined, will be the longest train size operable by the new fleet on current infrastructure, and will have capacity for at least 1,100 customers

Are designed for reduced energy consumption, enhancing further rails advantage in sustainable mobility for land transport.

Deliver off-wire operation through the incorporation of battery-electric technology, enabling new services and new capacity to be provided in the Greater Dublin area in advance of electrification. Energy stored in the battery system will be replenished via fast charging stations at chosen terminus locations and by recovering braking energy while the new battery-electric trainsets are on the move. This will enable, for example, the new battery-electric fleet to deliver Dublin to Drogheda return services, with fast charging at Drogheda Statio

The initial 185-carriage orders will benefit a number of routes: Sixty-five new battery-electric carriages will be deployed first on Drogheda to Dublin Northern Commuter services New electric carriages will be deployed on existing Malahide/Howth to Bray/Greystones DART services, allowing all services to be operated at maximum length The further 90 battery-electric carriages ordered in December 2022 will facilitate the overall DART+ network, with potential to use them on other parts of the rail network in advance of wider electrification, subject to available funding for necessary infrastructure. Introduction of the new fleet will also free up existing carriages to increase capacity on other Commuter and Intercity services



In addition to the fleet, Alstom will provide a range of supports, including a Technical Support and Spares Supply agreement for the first 15 years of the fleets operation, and provision of three train simulators to support driver training.

Speaking at the fleet preview in Inchicore, Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan T.D. said It is great to see this preview of the new DART+ carriages today, which customers have helped design and which will be available in the coming years. The DART+ Programme will transform our commuter system, vastly increasing the number of passengers who will have access to a quality and reliable rail network.

"This new fleet will facilitate DART trips to and from Drogheda from 2025 and then beyond that to the West and South West. With dedicated wheelchair, family and bicycle areas, the new fleet will ensure accessiblity to a wide variety of passengers at different times of the day and week, providing comfort and independence for all users.

Chief Executive of the NTA, Anne Graham said: The framework for up to 750 electric/battery electric carriages, including 185 electric/battery electric carriages for DART, is a key part of the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy which we published recently.

"These new carriages will be transformative, offering potential for independent access for all passengers, improved facilities for families and cyclists across the Dublin Metropolitan Area. The developments in the DART+ programme will see a significant increase in the number of passengers living close to a DART station giving more people the option to use our expanding sustainable public transport network.

The use of the fleet prototype to facilitate early engagement on the design and key features of the new trains is welcomed, as it provides opportunities for members of the transport public to provide input into the design process by interacting with the key features of the new fleet.

Chief Executive of Iarnrod Eireann, Jim Meade said: Thanks to input from our customers and drivers, and the work of the Iarnrod Eireann and Alstom teams, we can now experience what the future of DART+ transport will be like.

"The sample carriage we see on display is modern, comfortable and customer centred and we look forward to having these carriages in use on our network serving new and existing communities for generations to come.
The Wolfshead and Millennium Indoor Open Archery Competition took place earlier this month in the National Indoor Arena, Dublin.

Competing for CuChulainn Archers were Adria Quinn, Amy McLoughlin, Alan Convery, Robert Hall, Neil Keeble and RoseAnne O'Donnell.

The competition consisted of 60 arrows at 25 metres and 60 arrows at 18 metres. There was quite an air of excitement at it, as this combination of distances is rarely shot, so there was a possibility of Irish records being set and/or broken on the day. And the club ended up setting a few of their own.

Robert Hall, in action in the Compound Men, came third, taking home a Bronze medal while Alan Convery secured 5th place. In the womens compound, Amy McLoughlin came third, taking home a bronze medal and Adria Quinn came fifth.

Neil Keeble came 1st in the Men's Barebow, taking home the Gold medal and two Irish Records, one for his 30 arrow score at 25 metres and the other for his 60 arrow score at 25 metre. A superb achievement, that will be tough to match by any archer.

Rose Anne O'Donnell, shooting in two age categories higher than her own, came 4th in the Senior Womens Barebow, with a score that broke four sets of Irish Records.

The records that fell were the 25 meters x30 arrows in the Junior Lady's Barebow, the 25metere x30 arrows in the Cadet Lady's Barebow, the 25meters x60 arrows in Junior Lady's Barebow and finally the 25meters x60 arrows in the Cadet Lady's Barebow. Another astonishing showing from a local archer.

This was the final competition in the Indoor Season - and what a competition it was for CuChulainn members who really exceled beyond expectations.

They finished the event with one Gold medal, two Bronze medals and a total of six Irish Records. All in the club are are now looking forward to the outdoor Season, and the challenges it brings. Could more Irish medals and record be on the way in the second half of the year?

Think you could be an Irish record holder? Want to get involved in an exciting sport, filled with opportunities to meet new people? CuChulainn Archers runs beginner courses throughout the year. All enquiries should be made out to cuchulainnarchers@hotmail.com.
FIREMAN Pa Berry suffered extensive injuries in the line of duty, which have left him without independence, out of work and looking towards a long and arduous road to recovery.

Baz Ashmawy are hoping to put a smile on his face in the next episode of DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland on RTE1 Sunday, March 2 at 6.30pm.

Pa and his partner Nicky, who have three children, had been patching their house in Athlone together bit by bit since they moved in seven years ago, so the DIY SOS team came along to finish it off for them, just in time for Pa to start his long road to recovery.
The proposed construction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities at the Port of Cork, a development that could create up to 100 jobs, has been criticised by more than 20 environmentalist groups from across Ireland.

The Port of Cork has signed a provisional contract with Texas-based company Pilot LNG in October 2022, to develop logistics infrastructure to import LNG, including the development of a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU).

More than 20 environmentalist groups in Ireland have issued a letter calling for the Port of Cork to reconsider its decision.

Among 20 or so signatories is the campaign group 'Not Here, Not Anywhere'.

Spokesperson for the group, UCC-based environmentalist, Niamh Guiry, said: In the past, the Port of Cork listened to the local community and climate movement in Cork and elsewhere and rejected LNG.

Every fraction of a degree of warming costs human lives and has devastating impacts on our biodiversity and natural environment.

"We urge you to lead by example and renew your commitment to a safe and liveable future for all.

Ms Guiry added that the "proposed project in Cork harbour goes against national policy, international climate obligations, climate science, and risks locking Ireland into dirty fossil fuel dependence for more than 30 years".

Cork harbour is a designated Special Protection Area (SPA) and an internationally important wetland that must be adequately protected from the risks associated with fossil fuel importation and exploitation.

"Generally, LNG is approximately 20 per cent more polluting than natural gas in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, making it about as bad as coal in terms of its global warming potential."

Ms Guiry stated chlorine pollution from the proposed FSRU presents an added risk, particularly for fishing communities in Cork, saying that "chlorine pollution can have negative impacts on biodiversity in coastal communities, particularly in marine ecosystems".

Port Response

Plans for a similar facility in the Shannon estuary were shelved last year after Environment Minister Eamon Ryan refused to grant a licence, following a campaign by environmental groups.

A spokesperson for Cork Port said: The establishment of such infrastructure will be dependent on the outcome of the Governments review of the responses received to its public consultation on the security of Irelands energy supply in quarter four of 2022.

Based on similar projects, it is anticipated that the proposed LNG FSRU facility in Cork could foster up to 100 jobs in the locality.

As one of Europes core ports, the Port of Cork Company sees significant opportunities for Cork harbour to become a hub for green energy, which will benefit the environment, local businesses and importantly support Irelands journey to net zero emissions.

PoCC is also committed to working with the Government and its stakeholders in delivering key measures to ensure that Ireland maintains its security of energy supply now and in the future," the spokesperson added.

If in line with Government policy, the supply of non-fracked LNG would, in the immediate term, act as a temporary, safe and immediate transitional fuel source, while also increasing Irelands capacity to store energy and play an important role in safeguarding the countrys energy supply.

Renewable energy will play a hugely significant role in helping Ireland reduce its carbon emissions and it is the PoCCs goal to utilise our facilities, working together with stakeholders to move towards the development of cleaner energy opportunities on our journey to net-zero, whilst also safeguarding Irelands energy supply in the near term."
Students at a West Cork secondary school are attempting to get their teachers goat up after enlisting the help of some unlikely caretakers.

Goats Billy, Ginger, Tuesday, Friday and the two kids were introduced to St Brogans Community College in Bandon this week as part of sustainability efforts at the facility.

Students Rachel Dineen and Millie Slyne with one of the goats, Billy, at St Brogan's College, Bandon.

The herd were hired to clear overgrowth in a portion of the school grounds to allow for the construction of an outdoor lunch area for students. It comes amid concerns that rapid expansion will significantly reduce outdoor space at the school.

It was initially thought the school would have to hire machinery to tackle the vast overgrowth. However, English and history teacher, Conor Enright, and school sustainability officer, Hugh Murphy, decided on an environmentally friendly alternative.

The four-legged caretakers are enjoying a new lease of life following their previous careers at Templebreedy cemetery in Crosshaven. They had been employed in the area to consume overgrowth obscuring headstones and boulders.

Student Eimear Curtin with one of the goats, Billy, and one of the goat kids at St Brogan's College.

The idea was the brainchild of Fianna Fail Councillor Audrey Buckley, who saw a similar initiative during a visit to Wales some years ago.

Conor Enright, who is from Crosshaven, came across the goats in the area towards the end of their tenure.

St Brogans is growing massively and we are in the process of building two extensions, he explained.

We were worried that the kids wouldnt have anywhere to go at lunchtime. There was a patch at the back of the school that was like no mans land.

Our plan was to get a machine to clear it, but I thought the goats would be more sustainable.

When I contacted their owner she was the most amiable person. I was trying to work out how much they would cost but she told us they were ours for free and we could have them for as long as we needed.

Students Eoghan Galgey (left) and Mark Slattery with one of the goats, Friday.

Students and staff are looking forward to enjoying the end result, Mr Enright explained.

We would love to make a lovely lunch area with benches where students can eat their lunch, he said.

The kids love having the goats here and there are streams of students every day coming over to see them.

They are getting selfies with the goats and are really enjoying having them here.

Mr Enright added that the goats all have their own unique personality traits.

Ginger is definitely the head honcho, he said. Shes the matriarch which helped when we were struggling to get them into the trailer.

As soon as she got in they all just followed her lead.

The school is now holding a competition to name the kids of the herd.

The owner of the goats said we can have a competition to name the kids, Mr Enright added.

Were asking the students to pick out the names they like because we like the idea of kids naming kids.

Some of the names in the running so far include Messi, Jordan and Ronaldo. Our plan is to announce the winner on Good Friday.

Students Rachel Dineen (left) and Ella Manning with the goats at St Brogan's College.

Mr Enright revealed that the goats are already working their way through much of the undergrowth on the school grounds.

Weve been watching them eating briars and wondering how their stomachs are coping, he said.

It would have been a lot more costly to get the machines down and we would have had to get rid of some trees in the process.

It was important to us that the trees were preserved, and this has allowed us to do that, he added, saying staff instantly warmed to the idea of introducing goats into the school.

Our principal Helen Cadogan and vice-principals Derry ODonovan and Teresa Vaughan loved the idea.

I asked them early on if they were okay with it but I didnt want to promise anything until I knew it was definitely happening.

The Goat Escape

In recent days one of the smaller goats escaped, Mr Enright revealed.

Hugh and I were trying to corner them. Ive no history in dealing with goats so I had no idea how to even lift him.

All the students were watching us chasing after them and Im sure they found it very entertaining.

Meanwhile, Cllr Audrey Buckley, who forms part of the Templebreedy SOS (Save Our Steeple) committee, said she is happy to see the goats move on to greener pastures.

The goats did so much while they were with us.

The graves here date back to the 1800s and there was one marking uncovered by the goats that hadnt been seen for 100 years, she added.

We were even able to find the grave of one little girl who was the ancestor of a family that had no idea they had that connection. That little girls grave dated back to 1840.

Hopefully, this will catch on in more areas, said Cllr Buckley.

It could also serve as a solution to all the gorse fires we are seeing of late, which have been devastating to wildlife locally.
CORK CITY COUNCIL has issued advice for tenants who are at risk of eviction as a result of the ending of the eviction ban on Friday.

Cork City Council said it is aware that households in the Cork City area may have received a notice of termination, which is also referred to as a notice to quit, from their landlord, and who may be worried or unsure of what to do.

Cork City Council would like to advise anyone affected of the services or options that are available to them in these circumstances, said a spokesperson.

As a first step we strongly encourage tenants who have been issued with a Notice of Termination, to contact Threshold, a service funded by Cork City Council to provide a Tenancy Protection Service for renters in the Cork area, including Cork City.

Threshold can confirm whether a Notice of Termination is valid or not. Threshold can be contacted directly on Freephone 1800 454454 or via their website www.threshold.ie or in person at 22 South Mall, Cork City.

Further to advice from Threshold, when tenants contact Cork City Council, staff in the housing department will take note of the termination date and advise them of their options.

The councils first response will be to try to prevent homelessness and to support households to find alternative accommodation.

This includes assessing the persons individual housing need, providing advice on applying for Choice-Based Lettings and advising the person on the level of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) they may be eligible to receive.

In appropriate cases, the council may acquire the dwelling where the tenants reside if it is available for purchase through the Tenant in Situ scheme.

While the Council will, in the context of current circumstances, adopt flexibility in dealing with potential acquisitions of properties through the Tenant in Situ scheme, any acquisition is subject to appropriate due diligence and checks before any commitment is made to acquire, including, for example, determining that a valid Notice of Termination is in place, the tenant has a social housing need, and the condition and valuation of the property, added the spokesperson.

EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION

Placement in emergency accommodation will be a last resort if no other alternative can be identified. For households in emergency accommodation there will be support to assist them to access more permanent social housing supports.

The Council is aware that the Government is examining options to allow tenants who are not eligible for social housing support to remain in their homes, including schemes to support the purchase of homes on a first refusal to purchase basis and through a cost rental tenant in-situ scheme. The Council awaits further details on the proposed schemes from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and will provide further updates when available.

A dedicated email address, tenantinsitu@corkcity.ie, should be used by tenants who have received a valid notice of termination or landlords who issue such notices to their tenants and who may wish to sell their property to the council.

Cork City Housing Department can be called, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, at 021 4924000.
Cork City South East Green Party Local Area Representative Honore Kamegni hosted a Get to Know Your Candidate event at Mahon Community Centre on Saturday.

The Get To Know Your Candidate event gave inhabitants of the Cork City South East constituency the opportunity to quiz Honore about his plans for the area if he gets elected next year.

Honore is originally from Cameroon and is acutely aware of the impact climate change has on the people in his homeland and other parts of the world.

I'm from Cameroon and I'm coming from a very warm part of the world. People living with over 40 degrees there and it's very hot.

The climate is vital for us that our planet is vital and we are we have to make sure that we leave a safe planet to our children. That's why I joined the Green Party to make sure I leave the best world for my children, Honore said.

The Green Party candidate highlighted that the current housing crisis is a major issue that needs a solution.

Honore Kamegni with his wife, Viviane. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

We need to deal with the concern that we will have now regarding the eviction ban. We have trust and faith in our leaders to guide us and come up with a reasonable concept plan or ideas to redress the situation.

I think the main objective is to, of course, build more houses for people to live in. The cost of rent is already very, very high and we need to help families, he added.

The government announced that the 20% reduction in transport fees and Young Adult Cards will continue until the end of 2023, which should put more money back into the pocket of the parents that may be used to pay rent for students.

Honore Kamegni (centre) with Corine Ngandeu, Campaign Communications Manager and Anthony John Walsh, Campaign Manager. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

[The government] has already brought down the fare of transport, bringing down the costs for families that are paying for the rent for the children as well and that means more money going back into the pocket of the parent that can be put into the cost of rent.

Over the next few years, we have to build more houses and more student accommodation, as is already on the way, Honore added.

According to Honore, The Green Party will continue to help ease the cost of living for Irish people during their tenure in government.

We need to make life easier for Irish people because they deserve that. We are aware and we know it's very hard out there. People are finding it very, very, very, very tough to deal with daily living cost of living," he added.
A YOUNG man who pointed an imitation gun at gardai in an early hours incident in Cork City told the sentencing judge that he was now much better, in terms of his mental health, but also said he was not taking medication that was prescribed for him.

Judge Olann Kelleher said he was concerned about the medication and would further adjourn sentencing for a medical report.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the mental health of John Doyle, aged 22, of 11 Mossgrove, Classes Lake, Ballincollig, County Cork, was much better now and he had engaged well with the probation service.

The young man is also working full time.

Judge Olann Kelleher said, Normally (in such a case), it would automatically result in custody. I am not going to do so.

The report from the probation service is very complimentary  it is excellent in fact.

The one cause for concern the judge had was the young man telling him that he was being prescribed medication, but was not taking it. The judge said John Doyle might be putting himself at risk.

He adjourned sentencing until June 7, for clarification on the matter.

I will need a report from experts (about the fact) that you are not taking medication, but you are putting yourself at risk, Judge Kelleher said.

Gardai from the armed support unit had to disarm and arrest the young man in the early hours of the morning, when he pointed a suspected gun at gardai at two different locations in Cork City.

John Doyle, aged 22, of 11 Mossgrove, Classes Lake, Ballincollig, County Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to a charge arising out of the incidents on June 23, 2021, namely possession of an imitation firearm, contrary to the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act.

Sergeant Pat Lyons said, At 2 a.m. gardai in Anglesea Street gave out a call of a male brandishing a firearm on Grand Parade. The suspect was being monitored by gardai using the CCTV system.

Garda Ann Marie Fitzgerald and Garda John Kerins of Gurranabraher garda station were the first members to observed the man. On observing him he pointed a suspected firearm at both members.

He then walked from Grand Parade towards Nano Nagle Bridge where Garda Paul Dromey and Garda Kevin Hayes were positioned. He again pointed the suspected firearm at these members.

The armed support unit arrived at the scene and disarmed, restrained and arrested him.
WHYTE'S Centra at Togher Cross has been forced to close temporarily after a fire on Saturday afternoon.

Two units from Cork city's fire service were attended to the blaze and no one was injured.

The fire was extinguished within an hour and a half.

The convenience shop posted an update on their Facebook page:

We can confirm that Whytes Centra in Togher is closed until further notice following the outbreak of a fire in the store overnight. Thankfully, nobody has been injured as a result of the incident and all colleagues are safe.

The fire has now been extinguished and we are very grateful to the emergency services for their swift response.

We are currently working with the relevant authorities as part of an investigation to identify the specific cause of the fire. We would like to express our gratitude to our colleagues and customers for their support. The post was bombarded with well wishes and support for the owners.
A CORK TD has described as unsustainable problems with a North Cork villages water supply following the lifting of a boil water notice after almost a year.

Uisce Eireann confirmed it lifted the boil water notice for the Killavullen public water supply, which it introduced on May 2, 2022, due to high levels of turbidity  cloudiness in water  in the borehole supply.

The water utility company said it had lifted the boil notice, which affected more than 800 people, on Monday, following almost a year of remedial measures to address the issue, and after consultation with the HSE. The company said all consumers on the Killavullen public water supply can now resume normal use of the water supply for drinking, food preparation, and brushing teeth.

Uisce Eireanns operations lead Pat Britton thanked those affected during the boil water notice period for their patience and apologised for the inconvenience caused to householders and businesses.

We are also working on a permanent solution to ensure a more reliable water supply, he said.

However, until then, additional boil water notices may need to be issued to protect public health.

Uisce Eireann said that to safeguard the water supply in the long term, it was working on plans to connect Killavullen to the Mallow supply scheme, replacing and decommissioning the local water supply to ensure a safer, and more reliable supply of drinking water. The company said a design and build contractor had been engaged to progress the design of that project, with the hope that construction could commence by June.

'ONLY A MATTER OF TIME'

Cork East TD Sean Sherlock said the situation regarding Killavullens water supply was entirely unsatisfactory.

These intermittent boil notices are unsustainable, the Labour Party TD said. There will be more notices until such time as Uisce Eireann gets to the bottom of this and fixes it permanently. Lauding the lifting of a boil water notice as a success is not really a success when we know that, like the next bus, it is only a matter of time before the next boil water notice comes around again.

Separately, a boil water notice has also been in effect on the Whitegate regional public water supply since October 29, affecting some 9,500 people in the Aghada, Ballinacurra, Ballycotton, Churchtown, Cloyne, Saleen, and Shanagarry areas.

On Whiddy Island, a do not consume notice has been in place since August 19, meaning the islands 25 or so residents have had to rely entirely on imported water.
The parents of a young Cork girl who died of invasive Group A Strep infection have claimed their daughter would still be alive if doctors had spotted the signs of the potentially fatal condition sooner.

Lilly and Dermot Murphy want greater awareness of the most serious form of Strep A infection among medical professionals following a verdict of medical misadventure into the death of their daughter, Vivienne.

Vivienne, aged 10, of Sycamore Drive in Millstreet, Cork died at Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin on March 1, 2019  just two weeks after first complaining of a sore throat, a high temperature, a rash as well as aches and pains.

A post-mortem on the Cloughoula National School pupil established she had died from Group A streptococcal septicaemia with necrotising fasciitis (known colloquially as flesh-eating disease).

In an emotional statement to the inquest, Ms Murphy said her family were devastated, traumatised, shocked and overwhelmed and in disbelief about Viviennes death after they were informed that it could have been avoided as Strep A is curable with an antibiotic.

We visited doctors three times with deteriorating symptoms and nothing was done to treat our daughter, she said.

Ms Murphy said Viviennes chance of survival would have been greater if her condition was diagnosed and treatment started earlier.

"The death of Vivienne has destroyed, devastated, traumatised and ripped our family to shreds and has left a hole in all our hearts that will be with us for the rest of our lives."

The inquest at Dublin District Coroners Court heard Vivienne first felt unwell on February 14, 2019. Ms Murphy said her daughter was screaming every time she moved her head and her chest was covered in a red rash.

She said a doctor at SouthDoc in Kanturk, Joyce Leader, said it was only a heat rash and assured them there was nothing to worry about as it was only a viral illness. However, Ms Murphy said Viviennes condition remained the same over the next two days.

Dr Leader told the inquest she believed the patient had a viral upper respiratory tract infection with a viral rash.

Ms Murphy contacted SouthDoc again on February 16. The rash had spread down her daughters thighs and over her upper body. She would only eat and drink when forced to do so. Another doctor, Katie Frost, gave them the same advice and to contact their own GP if she still had the same symptoms.

Ms Murphy said the family doctor, Christine Walsh-McCarthy, on February 18 also said it was just a viral rash". She said the doctor told her husband she was sure it was only a flu-like illness going around the town".

Dr Walsh-McCarthy told the inquest Viviennes presentation was quite common in other patients at that time. The GP said it seemed there was a viral infection circulating in the family.

Ms Murphy said her husband was dumbfounded when she informed him that Dr Walsh-McCarthy had prescribed medication for herself and Stephen but had done nothing to treat Vivienne.

When Ms Murphy contacted SouthDoc again the following day, she recalled Dr Leader said that the virus could take up to 10 days to clear.

MEDICAL NOTES

The inquest heard there were medical notes which showed Vivienne had suffered similar symptoms a few years earlier that had been identified as Strep A for which she had been given an antibiotic.

Despite the advice of the three doctors Ms Murphy said she and her husband felt there was something more seriously wrong and brought Vivienne to the emergency department at Cork University Hospital where she was diagnosed with signs of sepsis.

While in CUH, Ms Murphy said they became particularly concerned about a black mark that had appeared on Viviennes leg which started spreading.

She recalled all hell seemed to break loose after doctors got the result of blood tests and they were informed that Vivienne was critically ill.

Ms Murphy added: The last words we heard Vivienne say were: Im sorry for crying nurse, I know you are only trying to help me.

She told the coroner, Crona Gallagher, that they beseeched doctors at CUH to operate on her and amputate her leg if it was the only way of saving her but were informed that the decision had been taken to transfer her to Dublin because there was no paediatric intensive care unit in the hospital.

We never got to see Viviennes leg again until she was in Temple Street and it was cut away and lots more of her, as well as our worst fears, were confirmed, said Ms Murphy.

TRANSFER TIME

She also expressed concern at what appeared to be a delay in transferring their daughter to Dublin.

A paediatric consultant at CUH, Susanna Felsenstein said doctors felt Vivienne would not survive surgery performed in CUH.

By the time she and the rest of her family got to Temple Street, Ms Murphy said Vivienne was out of surgery but was critical as the infection had spread.

The inquest heard she suffered a cardiac arrest the following day in a scene which Ms Murphy said resembled a war zone with blood all over the bed and floor which will stick with us till the day we die".

They were told Vivienne needed an MRI scan to determine how much brain damage she had suffered following the cardiac arrest.

Ms Murphy said her family including Viviennes brother, Stephen and sister, Caroline spent the longest night and following day waiting for the results which provided the devastating news that our beautiful little girl was totally brain dead and had no hope of recovery".

After the decision to switch off Viviennes ventilator was taken, she said they would be scarred for all their lives by having to witness our beautiful little angel gulp and gasp for 40 minutes".

Counsel representing CUH, Temple Street and Dr Frost had urged the coroner to record a verdict of death by natural causes.

MEDICAL MISADVENTURE

Returning a verdict of medical misadventure, Dr Gallagher, said she needed to give further consideration about recommendations and to which bodies they should be directed given the totality of complexity of the case.

However, the coroner said they would include increasing awareness of signs of Strep A among medical professionals and highlighted how there is no paediatric ICU in Cork together with related transport issues.

Speaking after the inquest the familys solicitor, Rachael OShaughnessy of HOMS Assist, said they did not want any other family to live the nightmare that they have been living and with which they will have to live for the rest of their lives.

Ms OShaughnessy said the Murphy family welcomed the coroners findings but were also aware there was no assurance that Dr Gallaghers recommendations would be implemented.
Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Additional reporting by Vivienne Clarke.

The presence of Russian cargo vessels off the Irish coast was a cheap way to send a threat to Ireland, the EU and NATO, according to an Irish academic at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Eoin McNamara told RTE Radios Morning Ireland that while the vessels were commercial, all lines lead back to the Kremlin, as was the case with companies like the Wagner group and energy companies.

"They say they are cargo vessels, they can be all those things, but they are sending a signal that they know where the cables are and that they have the equipment to disrupt."

Ireland is not set up to properly monitor incidents like the Russian vessels, he said. The Defence Forces were dependent on intelligence from elsewhere and there was a gap in the capacity of the forces, he added.

Mr McNamara's comments comes as the Air Corps published the first photographs of the Russian-registered ships spotted off the coast of Ireland over the past week.

The Defence Forces confirmed on Sunday that said the ships have left Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (Irish Defence Forces/PA)

The three ships  the Umka, the Bakhtemir and the Fortuna  caused alarm among defence officials when they were spotted engaging in unusual manoeuvres off the Co Galway coast in the vicinity of a new subsea communications cable.

It is understood that the vessels were equipped with technology capable of interfering with subsea cables.

The Defence Forces deployed ships and aircraft to keep track of the vessels, which later turned south and appeared to resume their originally charted journey to the port of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea on the west coast of Africa.

A statement from the Defence Forces on Sunday confirmed the vessels have left the State's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It read: As part of their Maritime, Defence and Security Operations (MDSO), the Irish Air Corps Maritime Patrol Aircraft have observed Russian commercial vessels in international waters off the island of Ireland.

These vessels have now left Irelands EEZ.

The Irish Air Corps and the Irish Naval Service continue to monitor activity in Irish waters and to undertake Maritime Defence and Security Operations (MDSO) throughout Irelands maritime domain.
The March 29 has the potential to go down in history as a milestone in the global fight against the ever-more imminent climate crisis.  Miriam Kunzli / Ex-Press / Greenpeace

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard its first ever cases Wednesday related to the climate crisis.

The plaintiffs argue that the governments of Switzerland and France violated their human rights by not doing enough to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, which are primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels. The hearings mark a pivotal moment for the legal fight for more ambitious climate action, Center for International Environmental Law human rights and climate campaign manager Sebastien Duyck told Climate Home News.

They have the potential to set an influential legal precedent that would further confirm that states must take more adequate action against climate change as a matter of their human rights obligations, said Duyck.

Senior Women Unite

The first case heard in Strasbourg, France, Wednesdaymaking it the first climate case ever heard by the ECHRwas brought by a group of older women who are seeking to protect themselves from worsening heat waves. The 2,038 members of Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland (KlimaSeniorinnen), along with four individuals, argue that older people, especially women, are more at risk to die during periods of high heat and that Switzerland should do more to prevent this.

We have filed a lawsuit because Switzerland is doing far too little to contain the climate catastrophe, Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland Co-President Anne Mahrer said in a statement shared by Greenpeace, which is supporting the womens case. Rising temperatures are already having serious impacts on our physical and mental health. The big spike in heat waves is making us older women sick.

One of the womens lawyers, Cordelia Bahr, told Greenpeace that the special risk faced by the older women meant the Swiss government was obligated to protect their right to life, health and well-being as guaranteed by Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The group first brought their case before courts in Switzerland, which rejected it, arguing partly that everyone in Switzerland is impacted by climate change and that the womens rights were not sufficiently threatened to bring a case, according to a document shared by the plaintiffs. On Wednesday, the governments lawyers argued that Switzerland was doing as much as it could feasibly do to combat climate change, according to Climate Home News. But another lawyer for the plaintiffs, Jessica Simor, noted that Climate Action Tracker rated Switzerlands policies to be insufficient.

If every country followed Switzerlands lead, temperatures would rise by as much as three degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, the plaintiffs said, double the 1.5 degrees of warming that scientists say is essential for preventing ever more severe climate impacts. In particular, the plaintiffs want Switzerland to cut emissions by more than 60 percent by 2030 instead of 34 percent and work to reduce emissions abroad as well.

Mayor on a Mission

Wednesdays second case was brought by the former mayor of Grande-Synthe in northern France who is now a Member of European Parliament, according to The Guardian. Damien Careme argues that he is personally victimized by Frances insufficient climate policies because rising temperatures threaten his Calais home with flooding and even possible submersion by 2030. This, Careme contends, similarly violates his rights to life and private and family life under Articles 2 and 8 of the convention, Greenpeace explained.

A French court heard his case in 2021 and agreed that the government needed to take all necessary additional steps to meet climate goals but disagreed that Careme was personally harmed by inaction, according to The Guardian. In Strasbourg Wednesday, Frances legal team said the country had improved its strategy to curb emissions and that national courts were already monitoring the governments progress, according to Climate Home News.

The ECHR is unlikely to decide either case before next year. In the fall, it will hear a third climate liability case brought by six Portuguese young people between the ages of 11 and 23 who similarly argue that the insufficient climate action of 32 countries including all of the EU threatens life and the rights of young people in particular. If ECHR decides in favor of any of these plaintiffs, it could lead to a wave of similar lawsuits and a strengthening of EU emissions reduction plans.
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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.
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.
Rachel Toalson is well aware that the kinds of books she writes  novels aimed at kids ages 10 to 14 that tackle hot-button issues like puberty and menstruation, mental health, addiction, divorce and racial conflict  are just the targets political and social conservatives are gunning for these days.

At a time when a Hearst Newspapers investigation recently revealed that, in Texas, there were more than 2,000 content reviews of challenged school library books, when Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a search of public school libraries for books purported to contain pornography and when librarians are under threat of prosecution for making challenged books available, she concedes she feels the pressure.

Yes, I am scared, she said recently, just weeks before the May release of her newest novel, The First Magnificent Summer (Aladdin, $17.99). With the way things are in the country and here in Texas, there is a possibility that the book could be banned.

Said to be evocative of Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret, the book tells the story of 12-year-old Victoria Reeves, a child of divorce who hasnt seen her father in two years. When he arrives to take her and her two siblings on a camping vacation, she makes plans to win him over with her sparking wit and smarts; plans that go awry when she learns hes also brought his new family, whom she bitterly refers to as The Replacements.

Told as a series of journal entries and interstitial asides, the book chronicles indignities bestowed on Victoria both big and small: being relegated to a tent while The Replacements snooze in a comfortable recreational vehicle, having her first period and perhaps worst of all, realizing that her father discounts her worth because shes female.

But she leavens the book with plenty of gentle humor, too, such as the endless bologna sandwiches Victorias clueless father prepares and her No One Sees Me Naked method of surviving the campgrounds communal showers.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Toalson, 42, understands that in todays cultural climate, the book may get some pushback but said thats not going to stop her from writing about such tough subjects.

It would probably be easier if I were to be a little softer in the way I handle these kinds of things, she said. But kids deserve the truth; they deserve to know what its really like to be in the kinds of situations I write about.

She and her husband, Ben, a video content marketer for a software company, allow their six boys, ages 8 to 16, to watch or view whatever they want, as long as its geared to their age.

We may have to watch something together or have conversations about some of the things they read, she said. When one of my 10-year-old twins read a book with a trans character, we talked about it with him to explain what that meant.

She said she wants the boys to know that different lives exist and to feel like theres space for them if they have certain feelings.

Take mental health, she said. If one of the boys has feelings of depression or thoughts of suicide, we want them to have the vocabulary to talk about it with us. And books can help with that.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Her next book, The Second Magnificent Summer, which she hopes will mark the beginning of a series, is already slated for publication in 2024. It continues Victorias story of how she initially rejects, and eventually comes to accept, the man who becomes her stepdad.

Its all based on my own experience and how unkind I was to my stepdad, Toalson said.

That personal experience allows her to write movingly and honestly about themes that, in the hands of a less talented writer, might not ring true.

Another local author: Best-seller Kelly Irvins latest killer thriller takes place in La Villita

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

I was about five pages into the manuscript when I knew it was something special, said Kara Sargent, Toalsons editor at Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It was as if she was speaking to 12-year-old me and I felt like I would have loved to meet Victoria.

Toalson was 11 and living in Ganado near Victoria when her parents divorced.

It was the hardest thing I ever experienced as a kid, she said. I was right on the cusp of becoming an adult, going through puberty and all that when my dad left. We pretty much never heard from him after that.

Working two, sometimes three jobs to support Toalson and two other children, her mother would occasionally send her father information about the family.

My thoughts were, like, maybe this will be enough to have him call us, or come see us or come home, she said. I use those feelings in my stories because I know there are lots of other kids experiencing the same thing; kids who think they can never be good enough to earn the love of somebody whos important to them.

Toalson said shes reconciled with her father to some extent, and that, having learned about his childhood, she has a better perspective on why her childhood was the way it was.

But even though you understand those things, its still hard to move past the original hurt, she said. Which is why Im in continuous therapy.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Toalson said shes been writing for as long as she can remember, making up stories whole cloth while also serving as the family documentarian, writing about things that happened to her and her siblings. After majoring in English and taking journalism classes at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) she was hired as a reporter by the San Antonio Express-News in 2003, where she worked in the community section, the religion section and then the features department.

Even then, she was training herself to become a novelist.

I would come home from work and sit down at my computer and write, she said, adding with a laugh, Those early novels were really bad; Im not surprised they didnt get published. But in the back of my mind I knew this is what I wanted to do.

She also tucked away memories of people she interviewed, several of whom have gone on to reappear in her writing, albeit under different guises.

I remember doing a story about a guy who created these amazing chess sets, whittling pieces that looked like Disney characters or Looney Tunes characters, she said. I thought that was such a cool thing, I used him in a book, writing about a grandfather who make chess pieces that looked like people he loved.

About 10 years ago, after being laid off from her job as managing editor of The Witness, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church, she decided to pursue writing books full time.

I just had my sixth child and figured no employee would seriously consider me for a full-time position, she said.

With six boys to care for, Toalson had to be deliberate in carving out writing time.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Local book store: A peek inside Jenny Lawsons (The Bloggess) Nowhere Books in Alamo Heights

Im not a very happy person or a nice person if I dont get to write regularly, she said.

So she asked Ben to give her 15 uninterrupted minutes a night so she could sit and write.

And thats how I did it, in, like, 15-minute bursts, while Ben gave the boys baths and got them ready for bed, she said.

She also worked with photographer Helen Montoya Henrichs, a friend she met while both worked at the Express-News. Each week, Montoya Henrichs would send two new photos to Toalson, whod use them as the basis for a short story.

Eventually, that developed into the bones of what became 'The Colors of the Rain,' " her first book, said Montoya Henrichs, who today does marketing and communications for the Girl Scouts of Colorado. I knew back then that Rachel was talented and that shed eventually be publishing books.

Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Told completely in verse, The Colors of the Rain, is the story of young boy whose father is killed in a race-related crime and whose mother struggles with alcoholism and depression, all set against the backdrop of the desegregation battles of early 1970s Houston.

I studied poetry in college and had read a couple of verse novels, she said, explaining her decision. The story was a difficult one to tell, especially for kids. It has addiction in it, a mom leaving. So telling a story like that, you want a little more space so kids reading it can bring themselves into the story as well.

The book won a 2020 Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for New Voices Honor Award and her 2019 novel, The Woods, a fantasy story about a young orphan girl attracted to the supernatural woods, received a starred review from Booklist.

Today, with all six boys in school, she can spend several hours each day working.

I jokingly say I send them to school so I can write, she said, which is helpful because, in addition to her traditionally published books, shes self-published more than two dozen others, all under the pseudonym L.R. Patton. These include the 20-volume Fairendale middle grade fantasy series that explores and deconstructs familiar fairy tales, myths and legends. Ive always got four or five projects going at the same time.
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After spending two days in a Brooke Army Medical Center facility for former hostages and prisoners of war, Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina is home at last.

He arrived back at his San Antonio home Friday afternoon after his brief stay at BAMC.

Read more: Army facility in San Antonio helps POWs with horrors of captivity

He looks older and tired, but otherwise good and his personality and sense of humor are still in place, his courtesy and graciousness, Kathleen Tobin Krueger, widow of U.S. Sen. Bob Krueger and a friend of the family, said Saturday. Hes a very peaceful man and he still seems peaceful.

She shared a photo of Rusesabagina, Krueger and his wife, Taciana, on their back porch.

The arrival home closed the chapter on 2 1/2 years of captivity. Rusesabagina, who became famous after the release of the 2004 Hollywood film, Hotel Rwanda, was held prisoner after being abducted overseas in August 2020 and taken to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

He was handed a 25-year sentence on charges of terrorism, murder and arson in September 2021 that the European Union and United States alleged were trumped up. He was tortured for four days before his family knew he had been arrested. The European Union said the Rwandan court proceeding was marred by numerous violations of his fair-trial rights.

The State Department raised concerns over the reported lack of fair-trial guarantees that calls into question the fairness of the verdict.

Krueger and others with his family and friends say the real issue is bad blood going back to 1994 between Rusesabagina and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Rusesabagina, who was played by actor Don Cheadle in the Hollywood film, emerged as a vocal critic of Kagame's regime, accusing his government of corruption and human rights abuses.

Read more: Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina returning home to San Antonio

BAMC has said nothing about his stay at the facility, which dates to the end of the Vietnam War, when the U.S. military was faced with hundreds of returning POWs who needed help grappling with the horrors many of them had endured.

Family and friends have said that Rusesabagina, 68, is a survivor of colon cancer and was likely screened by physicians at BAMC to see if its reappeared. He also suffers from high blood pressure and during his imprisonment was denied medications he otherwise would have taken.

They asked doctors at BAMC to screen him to ensure he wasn't poisoned as he flew out of the country a week ago  a trademark of the regime.

I know nothing about the medical results and maybe they don't even have them yet, Krueger said. I feel like if they found out he was (poisoned) we would all be freaking out.
MBABANE  The tender for the construction of the strategic oil reserve facility at Phuzumoya may be thrown into disarray.

The Eswatini National Petroleum Company (ENPC) has issued an invitation for the procurement of consultancy services for the development of an emergency petroleum product supply plan. This will include operation modalities for the strategic oil reserve facility (RFP No.10 of 2022/2023). On the other hand, Kantey & Templer (K&T) Swaziland (Pty) Ltd has found another partner in Portugal that has agreed to undertake the project. The original tender was awarded to K&T. However, the agreement between this company and the Eswatini Government was terminated on the strength of a letter signed by former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, Winnie Stewart. At the time of locking gates on the project site by the officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy in October 2017, K&T had received formal undertaking from Vitol Group, that it would finance the project. Vitols representatives had visited the country to meet the local companys directors and government.

commodity

Vitol is a Dutch energy and commodity trading company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Vietor and Jacques Detiger. In its business profile, the company ships more than 350 million tonnes of crude oil per year and controls 250 supertankers and other vessels to move it around the world. Vitol has been operational for the past 55 years. Inyatsi Construction, subcontracted to K&T, had also done some work at a cost of E6.1 million. Inyatsi took K&T to court, demanding payment of the money. It must be said that K&T had accumulated a bill of over E10 million.The argument by the company was that how could it have not been working when Inyatsi completed some work there. K&T was engaged in 2014 to construct the facility, but its agreement with the Government of Eswatini was signed on April 5, 2017. In October 2017, the gates were locked. The agreement was to assist the company access finances for the project.

In a letter dated June 21, 2018, addressed to Stewart, K&T stated: We note with concern the unlawful conduct by the ministry, which is in fact a violation of the signed agreements particularly on dispute resolution mechanism to be invoked by the parties. Article 22.1 of the agreement provides that in the event of any dispute arising out of or relating to this contract or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, then any party may give written notice to other party to initiate certain processes. The agreement, which served as a contract, can be terminated by either party to initiate certain processes. In terms of Article 22.2, the parties shall first settle the dispute by mediation. Unresolved disputes are referred to the arbitrator in terms of the contract.

concern

Sources have raised concern that there was neither a mediator nor arbitrator that legitimised the termination of the contract by the ministry, on behalf of the Eswatini Government.

The parties may agree on the mediation procedure and on the mediator and failing agreement within five days of the notice referred to in Clause 22.1. The mediation shall take place in accordance with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Conciliation Rules and the mediator shall be appointed as agreed to by all parties, partly reads the contract that was terminated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy through a letter. K&T and government had agreed that the appointing authority was to be the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa). The number of mediators shall be one, and the number of arbitrators shall be one, further reads the agreement. The parties agreed that the place of mediation and the arbitration shall be Ezulwini, Eswatini.

It has been established that K&T has not stopped working on the project behind the scenes. This is regardless of the fact that K&T directors are unable to access the project site at Phuzumoya in Siphofaneni since gates were locked in 2017. Sources said the local company received correspondence dated February 9, 2023, from BMT Portugal LDA in which the European firm expressed an interest of entering into a joint venture with K&T.

strategic

The proposed joint venture agreement which K&T sought from BMT is for the design, engineering and construction of the strategic oil reserve facility of 90 million litres storage capacity. The foreign company pledged to secure the project funding against the sovereign guarantee of about E900 million issued by the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Regarding the ENPC, in its invitation for services, the depot will hold strategic fuel stocks of 40 million litres, the equivalent of 30 days of consumption. This will be accompanied by a component of commercial stocks to allow for refreshing of product. The ENPC stated that it would increase the capacity from time-to-time, depending on demand. Despite the reduction of the fuel capacity to 40 million litres, the estimated cost for the project has increased against the sovereign guarantee issued by the government (E900 million). The guarantee was for K&T, it has to be said.

The fuel storage completion costs are now estimated at E3.2 billion. Against the estimated E3.2 billion, K&T has no alternative but to stick to the E900 million mentioned in the sovereign guarantee. It has reportedly told its partners that the storage capacity would remain 90 million litres, the equivalent of three months of consumption. According to the ENPC, the 40 million litres of fuel will be an equal split of petrol and diesel.

commencement

It is stated in its invitation for services that the actual commencement of construction work at Phuzumoya is expected by mid-2023. To date a lot of work has been focussed on developing and optimising the designs of the SFRF (Strategic Fuel Reserve Facility) to ensure that it is a feasible project, reads the document. It is said that the energy sector plays a central role in the development of any country; hence it is critical for a State to have strategies to ensure security of supply. Since Eswatini is a landlocked country, the ENPC says it is even more important for the country to have concrete plans to ensure security of supply and mitigate fuel supply disruption to protect its economy. While the oil industry can resolve some minor petroleum supply disruptions, the company is of the view that there is a need for government to help facilitate and coordinate response to severe and major supply disruption in an effort to protect the countrys economy. It is stated in the document that Eswatini holds no known reserves of oil, but sources her petroleum products from the international markets through South Africa and Mozambique. Most of the products are distributed from the commercial storage facilities in Matsapha.

limited

Currently these commercial storage facilities are very limited in terms of security of supply with a volume corresponding to about 2-3 days consumption of petrol and diesel, reads the ENPCs document on the procurement of the consultancy services for the facility. The Petroleum Act of 2020 has put a 14-day stockholding obligation in terms of commercial stocks, to the oil companies. It must be said that a levy of 35 cents per litre is currently being imposed to the fuel price to finance the construction of the facility as well as for the purchase and storage of the strategic stocks. To ensure that the strategic fuel is always maintained in correct specifications, the ENPC has said it was critical for the government to clearly outline the operational modalities of the strategic facility. This may include specifying requirements to be imposed on the oil companies on the withdrawal of fuel from the facility while ensuring that adequate fuel reserves are always available. It is suggested that the private oil marketing companies may also be allowed to store their commercial fuel and be charged a storage fee as determined by the model under preparation. To enhance security of fuel supply, Section 78 of the Petroleum Act calls upon the government to develop an Emergency Petroleum Product Supply Plan, which will guide the emergency release of the strategic stocks and commercial fuel in cases of major supply disruptions in the country.

petroleum

Pertaining to the invitation for the consultancy work, the ENPC said it wants to develop an emergency petroleum product supply system. It said it wanted a system that would be appropriate for the domestic situation, so that the country is found to be ready to respond to severe petroleum supply disruptions affecting the local oil market. The plan should take into account the countrys oil market structure, petroleum legislation and regulations, political institutions, and the entire energy system. The consultant is expected to develop an operational modality of the strategic oil reserve facility at Phuzumoya. The modality shall set the minimum requirement for fuel to be drawn by the oil companies, while ensuring that adequate strategic fuel reserves are always kept for the country. The scope of work was expected to cover the following activities:

(a) Identify and calculate the days of net import cover the country has through stocks held locally or other countries for logistical and emergency purposes based on short-term lease contracts.

(b) Identify key players and their role in declaration of emergency status in the country in line with key legislations and regulations in the country.

(c) Develop a detailed emergency petroleum response plan, taking into account response programmes and strategies such as prioritisation of fuel, rationing of supply, fuel sharing, strategic supply points, etc.

Sikelela Khoza, the Communication Officer at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, said issues related to the fuel storage were being handled by the ENPC. The ENPCs Chief Executive Officer, Nhlanhla Dlamini, however, felt issues related to the old contractor should be addressed at ministerial level.
A poisoned pastry was the weapon of choice when a Houston doctor wanted to kill his wife so he could run away with his mistress.

That's the going theory, at least, but we might never know.

On March 19, 1969, Joan Robinson Hill was admitted to Sharpstown General Hospital with low blood pressure, infection and uncontrollable diarrhea. Soon after, witnesses said she sat up in bed, vomited blood and took her last breath, according to the New York Daily News.

After her death, her husband John Hill, came into the room screaming and making all kinds of noises befitting a grief-stricken husband, the 1976 book Blood and Money detailed. Doctors couldnt say what had killed Joan.

But despite Johns performance as the grief-ridden husband at the hospital, it was less than three months before he married again, to a woman named Ann Kurth. The sudden marriage quickly drew suspicion from Joans family and friends.

Joan Robinson Hill, who was 38 at the time of her death, was known for her beauty, talent and money. The adopted daughter of a Houston oil millionaire, the socialite had a passion for horses and was an extraordinary equestrian who wooed audiences with her competition performances, winning more than 500 trophies in her lifetime.

In 1957, when she married John, a millionaire who made his name as one of the top plastic surgeons in the Southwest, Joans picture-perfect life appeared to get even better.

But their marriage was a perfect example that everything isnt always what it seems.

Friends and family said that the marriage was extremely rocky and had long since soured by the time Joan died. The two would argue a lot. Apparently, their hobbies were often the subject of contention  John felt Joan spent too much time with her horses, and Joan didnt approve of her husbands hobbies of music and other women.

George Honeycutt : Chronicle file

Suspicions surrounding Joans death continued to grow after it was revealed that the Houston doctor had been acting strange at a dinner party the couple held just before Joans death. John was carefully handing out pastries after dinner, making sure Joan got the eclair. When she tried to switch the dessert for something else, her husband insisted that she take the pastry.

After hearing the story of the odd dinner party dessert, Joans father Ash Robinson was convinced John had something to do with her death and ordered her body to be exhumed and autopsied again. Despite another inconclusive result as to her cause of death, John was indicted on charge of murder by omission in February 1970.

The prosecutors in his case argued that Joan may have lived if John hadnt withheld medical care or had taken Joan to a decent hospital to be treated once her symptoms started, according to the Houston Chronicle.

By the time the case went to trial the following year, the prosecutor had a star witness: Johns latest ex-wife Ann Kurth.

Unknown/Houston Post

The two had only lasted about nine months after they were hitched in what was said to be another volatile relationship. Kurth reported that John had even tried to kill her one time by slamming the passenger side of their Cadillac into a concrete bridge, and when that didnt work, he came after her with what she believed to be a needle and syringe filled with poison.

On the stand, Kurth told the jury that John wanted to marry her, but Joan wouldnt let him go. She then testified that John admitted to her to killing Joan with a needle.

After her shocking statement, a judge declared a mistrial and scheduled a new trial for November 1972.

But John would never see the inside of a courtroom again.

Just two months before the new trial was to begin, on Sept. 24, 1972, John was gunned down in his mansion just moments after returning from Las Vegas with the latest Mrs. Hill.

While the shooting was staged to look like a robbery, many believe it was the work of Joans oil millionaire father, who decided murder-for-hire was better than waiting on the justice system.

Months later, Houstonite Bobby Wayne Vandiver was arrested for Johns death, but he was killed by police in an unrelated shootout before he made it to trial. Two other people, Vandivers girlfriend Marcia McKittrick and Lilla Paulus were convicted for arranging Johns death.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
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San Antonio artist Angel Rodriguez-Diaz, known for his cultural, political and social portrait-style artistry, died Friday afternoon. He was 67.

Angels portraits are uniquely transcendent, said Arturo Infante Almeida, art specialist and curator at University of Texas at San Antonio. He captured more than his subjects likeness. His portraits explored the world his subjects occupied and how that world informed their stories.

Rodriguez-Diaz used his portraits, many of himself, to address issues like homosexuality, U.S. colonialism, environmental pollution and the Iraq War. Through dramatized scenarios, he would comment on hard-pressing affairs while weaving himself into those narratives.

Art historian Ruben C. Cordova, who completed a retrospective on Rodriguez-Diazs work in 2017, said Rodriguez-Diaz was an artist who viewed portraits as the ultimate form of work.

A number of the artists that he admired the most were obsessive self-portrait makers, and that's a way of inscribing yourself into art history. I think he probably understood that, Cordova said.

Rodriguez-Diazs work has been featured in multiple galleries and museums around the country including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.; El Museo del Barrio in New York; the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago; and the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Courtesy of Ruben Cordova

He is perhaps best known by locals for the touches he left throughout the city via his public art projects for the city of San Antonio.

The Beacon, a 28-foot metal obelisk sculpture that stands at the roundabout at Blanco Road and Fulton Street in San Antonios Beacon Hill neighborhood, is one of his best-known public works.

He also built Crossroads of Enlightenment, a two-part installation at Blanco and Basse roads shaped like the smokestacks at the Quarry Market that was once part of the Alamo Cement company. The installation was meant to be a testament to the Mexican-American workers who once worked for the company and lived in the nearby neighborhood.

Rodriguez-Diaz told the Express-News in 2015 that he appreciated the opportunity to reach a wider audience outside the constraints of an art gallery.

Thats my main drive, to create something that everybody can enjoy because its out in the neighborhood, he said.

JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Rodriguez-Diaz was born in 1955 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He received a bachelors degree in printmaking from the University of Puerto Rico before moving to New York in 1978. He made a living working as a mannequin makeup artist for high-end department stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Lord & Taylor. He later earned a masters degree from Hunter College.

He felt as a Latino, as a Puerto Rican, as gay, that he was an outsider, and the experience of being an outsider was a driving force for his art, Cordova said.

Read more: S.A. artists Beacon Hill loft contains feast of art, ideas

While in New York, he met his longtime partner and fellow artist, Rolando Briseno. The two moved to San Antonio in 1995 and got married in 2014 at the Manhattan Municipal Building.

Eduardo Diaz, deputy director of the National Museum of the American Latino at the Smithsonian Institution, said Rodriguez-Diaz will be remembered as a integral part of San Antonios Latino art scene.

He brings to San Antonio a whole other cultural reality that is his essence, Diaz said. He represented that in his work, and I think that only added to the richness of the art scene in San Antonio.
The Texas Education Agency said it will move to appoint conservators to oversee the Austin Independent School District, citing the districts failings in serving students receiving special education.

More Education: Texas has thousands of schools without a Black teacher. Here's how San Antonio stacks up.

The TEA said in a statement it had been investigating the districts special education department and found that it had systemic issues.

The Agency has developed a rigorous plan for AISD to implement so it can return to state and federal compliance and begin appropriately serving students in need of special education services as quickly as possible, the statement said.

Austin ISDs board of trustees said in a statement Friday evening that conservators selected by the TEA would work with the district to provide special education services to students with disabilities. The board also said the district has a right to appeal the conservatorship, but did not state whether it would do so.

We are focused on our students, and we welcome collaboration with TEA to help us catch up on long-overdue evaluations. We are united in our focus to ensure that all students receive what they need, when they need it, the statement read.

The board plans to hold a public meeting to address the conservatorship and allow for public comment on Monday evening.

The TEA shared with the Texas Tribune the final report of its investigation into Austin ISD. In it, the agency said the district failed to evaluate students in need of special education services and to provide those services to eligible students. The district was placed on an improvement plan but did not make significant fixes, the report said.

The announcement comes two weeks after the TEA announced it would replace the Houston Independent School Districts current superintendent and the school board with its own board of managers in response to years of poor academic outcomes.

Houston ISD had a conservator in place before the TEA moved to take over the district. The agency said one of the reasons it took over the Houston school district was because it had a conservator in place for two school years.

Civil rights organizations on Friday launched a federal complaint against the agencys takeover of Houston ISD, saying the move takes away the rights of voters of color to choose their own school officials.

A conservator acts as a manager of the school district, ensuring that the school board and superintendent are taking the necessary steps to solve any issues flagged by the states education agency. According to the TEAs website, a conservator can direct the action of a campus principal, superintendent, or board of trustees.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, said in a news release that she is aware of Austin ISDs shortcomings regarding special education but believes the district is on the right track after electing four new board members and putting an interim superintendent in place this past November.

They have briefed me on their plans to turn around the special education department in AISD. I believe that we were finally on track to do right by our kids, she said. I am dismayed by (TEA Commissioner Mike) Moraths decision to install a conservatorship in our school district at this time.

Hinojosa said there is bipartisan anger at TEA over the way the agency has imposed itself on districts, adding that lawmakers could find ways to scale back the agencys authority.

This is a severe intervention, Hinojosa said. This is the first step taken against Austin ISD.

Austin ISD is currently facing a lawsuit over its special education practices. In the suit, Disability Rights Texas, an advocacy organization, alleges that the district had been behind on evaluating more than 800 students who might need special education services.

Texas schools have long been under the microscope when it comes to special education. A 2018 federal investigation found that the state had been effectively denying students with disabilities the tools and services they need in order to learn, in violation of federal law. In 2020, the federal government found that the TEA had not done enough to serve all special education students.

Its shocking  with both Houston and AISD  that the commissioner, who has failed in the area of special ed, would take over Austin ISD for special education reasons when he is greatly to blame, said David DeMatthews, an associate professor at the University of Texas Austins College of Education.

DeMatthews said the issues with special education arent unique to Austin, noting that the state doesnt have sufficient special education teachers, or related service providers, to meet the needs of Texas students.

We have a broken pipeline. There were 43,000 teachers who left last year, and were not doing a good job replacing those teachers, he said. And in special ed, its worse.

William Melhado contributed to this story.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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Re: Books foes target librarians, too, Front Page, March 26:

Book banning is a slippery slope quickly leading to the infringement of freedom of thought and speech. The supposed purpose is to protect our youth from exposure to lewdness and violence. If adopted and taken to its natural conclusion, it would mean the Bible and Quran would have to go, along with all the romance novels, war novels and most adventure stories.

Eventually any book that anyone finds offensive for the most frivolous of reasons would be removed. My biggest question to the person who is attacking books is, why arent they attacking the internet with the same fervor? This is where any youth with a smartphone can readily access the most graphic pornography and scenes of violence imaginable.

These are the same youths that rarely want a hardbound book anyway but prefer a virtual or audio version, which I am sure will give them access to every physical book that is banned at the library anyway.

Kevin Bryan

Librarys history books

I read with dismay how librarians in Texas are being treated. And then I thought of what I had read, that someone was worried about Texas turning into California. Really? At first I worried that Texas was becoming too much like Florida.

But then after Sundays front-page article I realized that Texas is turning more into Germany of the early 1930s. Go back to your history books and reread what happened then. Oops, I forgot, you cant go to the library and get history books. They have been pulled off the shelves, or will be soon. Yes, history can, and does, repeat itself.

Fred M. Vasquez

Keeping kids clueless

I cannot help but to applaud those on the right for wanting to ban undesirable books that display nudity and other forms of filth.

Imagine the shock opening a book and seeing Michelangelos David, or worse, Michelangelos Adam. How dare we expose our children to paintings of Paul Rubens nude women. Time to remove the impeccable works of the great masters of art.

We have to keep or kids pure and clueless.

Steven Ochoa

Mass shooting

Only one safe place

Another school shooting with the loss of young innocent lives.

To ensure the safety of all, we should permanently keep everybody in the womb. Although misguided, thats the only place where the majority of our legislators have taken steps to offer protection of human life.

Billy Tassos

Value life after birth

Yet another shooting of children and adults. Yet again, nothing from those supported by the National Rifle Association who are loath to say anything sane about banning assault-style rifles. At the same time, they are banning abortion and books, altering books to remove racism and banning abortion pills. How they care about the unborn, but not those born whom we have learned to love so dearly and deeply.

The Declaration of Independence states our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Second Amendment states, A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Which of the school shootings involved a well-regulated militia?

I believe unalienable rights came before the right of a person to own any gun, but more to the point, an assault weapon. Where are the rights of those innocent people murdered because the right of the shooter to own an assault weapon came first?

When will we learn life is valuable after birth?

Valerie Overstreet

Prioritize kids over guns

Americans have no more mental health problems than do citizens of other countries. What we do have is far easier access to guns, particularly assault-style weapons.

Gun manufacturers are making fortunes. Some of that money is then passed on to lawmakers to fund their campaigns. Surely its impossible for us to be any more tired and disgusted than we are now.

There might be a few Democrats in Congress that would not support an assault weapons ban, but it is certain that no Republican would support one. Call your lawmakers and tell them that they wont get your vote unless they prioritize children over gun money.

Deborah McNabb

Reducing gun violence

Another day, another mass shooting, and another response by Republicans offering thoughts and prayers but nothing more. Except for making it easier for anyone, including criminals and terrorists, to acquire and publicly carry weapons designed for military use.

We have by far the highest rate of gun violence of any developed country. This problem is solvable because everyone else has solved it.

The majority of Americans support meaningful steps to reduce gun violence even if our Republican leaders dont. But first we must vote out leaders who idolize guns, and elect people committed to actually reducing gun violence.

John Fehlauer

Thoughts and prayers, again

Re: Gutierrezs fight ignored by Senate Democrats, Metro, Wednesday:

Thanks Gilbert Garcia for the column on state Sen. Roland Gutierrez and the fight for some sanity about guns.

Every time I hear Robb Elementary it sends a chill through my body. I was the pastor of the Methodist Church in Hondo in the late 70s and early 80s. I cant tell you how many times I dropped my children off at the elementary school without any thought that they wouldnt be there when I came back at 3:30 p.m.

I doubt I could do that anymore. I doubt that fences, locks, armed guards would make me feel any more secure. As I realize how I feel 40 years later, its not hard to know the terror parents feel today.

Hearing the statement my thoughts and prayers after every shooting I thought was a bit more than trite. Now maybe thats all we have.

Rev. Bert Clayton, retired
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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.

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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.
Morocco's foreign minister Nasser Bourita and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn have pledged to strengthen their countries' trade ties, although current textile trade between them is negligible. Morocco is a significant garment market, while Cambodia is a prominent garment exporter, indicating significant opportunities in the textile sector for both countries. As a result, Cambodia can explore potential opportunities in the Moroccan market by deepening trade ties.

The foreign ministers recently had a discussion to improve bilateral relations. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting in Rabat, the two countries agreed to organise a forum in the near future in an effort to explore business opportunities and urged business communities from both sides to boost trade and investment.

Morocco and Cambodia have pledged to strengthen their trade ties. The two countries have agreed to organise a forum to explore business opportunities and urged their respective business communities to boost trade and investment. Cambodia exported apparel worth $5.055 million to Morocco, accounting for only 0.99 per cent of Morocco's total apparel imports.

In 2022, Morocco imported apparel worth $510.828 million, with only $5.055 million, or 0.99 per cent, coming from Cambodia, according to Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro.

Turkey, China, Portugal, Spain, and Bangladesh were Morocco's top five apparel suppliers, accounting for about 70 per cent of its imports last year.

Morocco's apparel imports increased from $4.348 million in 2021 to $5.055 million in 2022. However, the country's apparel imports declined sharply in 2020 due to the pandemic, dropping to $4.878 million. It has yet to recover fully even after two years. The imports were $8.634 million in 2019, $5.332 million in 2018 and $4.715 million in 2017 as per TexPro.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Germany will offer a 7-million grant to Bangladesh to ensure social protection of workers in the textile and leather sectors. An agreement was signed today in Dhaka regarding this.

Bangladesh's ministry of labour and employment (MoLE) is the partner, while the department of inspection for factories and establishments and the MoLE central fund are the executors of the project, titled 'Social Protection for Workers in the Textile and Leather Sector (SoSi).

Germany will offer a 7-million grant to Bangladesh to ensure social protection of workers in the textile and leather sectors. An agreement was signed today in Dhaka regarding this. Bangladesh's ministry of labour and employment (MoLE) is the partner. The department of inspection for factories and establishments and the MoLE central fund are the executors.

The project was proposed in the 'Technical Cooperation Agreement 2021' signed on January 11 last year between both countries, a news agency reported.

Sharifa Khan, secretary, economic relations division in Bangladesh's finance ministry and Andreas Kuck, country director at the Dhaka office of German development agency GIZ, signed the agreement.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Tom Holland and Zendaya landed in Mumbai on Friday. The pair is in India to attend the fashion gala at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). Recently, a picture of Zendaya and Tom from their trip to India was uploaded to Instagram.On Saturday, the luxury yacht charter company Blue Bay Marine posted a picture of Zendaya and Tom taken from one of their yachts. The organisation posted a picture of the actors posing with their crew on Instagram Stories along with the caption, "Hosted Tom and Zendaya on our yacht."Tom and Zendaya posed with their hosts while flashing their brightest smiles. Tom looked stylish in white T-shirt and denim trousers. Zendaya looked stunning in a flowing scarlet dress. They took pictures from the yacht while Mumbai's crystal-clear sea served as the backdrop.Speaking of the NMACC event, the inaugural night was nothing short of a star-studded event, with a number of Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities in attendance. On the red carpet, everyone stole the show, from Priyanka Chopra and Cara Delevingne to Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Nick Jonas, and Karan Johar. Several celebs, including Penelope Cruz, attended on the second day as well.
MAHLANYA  Motshane MP Robert Magongo yesterday pleaded with MP Marwick Khumalo to discard or ignore thoughts of retirement from politics.

Magongo also warned the Lobamba Lomdzala MP against entertaining ambitions of being a senator. He was speaking at Lobamba Lomdzala Inkhundla in Mahlanya yesterday, during a meeting to mark the official start of the constituency session for the 2023/2024 financial year. More than 500 people were in attendance, including Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini. The Motshane MP said Senate was a chamber where the lawmakers found space to sleep. Kuyalalwa e Senate  they sleep in Senate, he said, triggering an all round laughter. He urged him to consider the health effects of doing nothing in Senate. Theres no one like you in the House and we still need your contributions and experience in articulating issues, he said. He said Khumalos experience was still needed in the House of Assembly.

need of his services

He mentioned that the people from the communities under Lobamba Lomdzala were also in need of his services. He went on to say that the nation benefitted from contributions he was making in the elected House. Addressing the people, MP Khumalo said he had been approached by others from his former Inkhundla at Lobamba to return home to assist them develop the constituency. He asked the people who attended the meeting if he could take the offer from Lobamba and the people disapproved. There were some individuals from Lobamba who shouted in approval of Khumalos switch to his former Inkhundla. About 10 people who were given an opportunity to make submissions made it clear to their MP that there was no way he could either retire from politics or return to Lobamba. They said they would not allow him to go there. They were almost in tears begging him to stay put at Lobamba Lomdzala. The people here said Khumalo epitomised a rare political talent as he appealed to both the youth and elders.

Bhekiwe Bulunga said she obtained a Masters Degree in Water Management, Engineering and Sanitation because of MP Khumalos input. She told the gathering that she got a scholarship through the efforts of the MP. Bulunga said she also got a decent job through help from the legislator. Another one they referred to as LaHoward received full scholarship through help from Khumalo to study medicine at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits). Khumalo explained that there was a time when he met her during suspension of lectures at the Wits University during the #FeesMustFall national student-led protest that began on October 12, 2015, to stop increases in student fees and push for increase in government funding of universities. Due to her brilliance and dedication to her studies, the Lobamba Lomdzala MP explained that LaHoward was exempted from writing examinations.

very proud of her

I am very proud of her. She represents the inkhundla very well, MP Khumalo said. She is now a doctor at the Mbabane Government Hospital. He also mentioned that there was also a brilliant woman, Nondumiso Thwala, who is currently in Botswana studying forensic science, a sophisticated course of highest degree of innovation. He said Thwala did an internship at the Royal Eswatini Police Service, where her quality was noticed. Nondumiso is one of the people who can just use her skill to find someone who committed a crime and disappeared, he said. He introduced Sphe Hlatshwayo who only obtained B in two subjects (Religious Education and SiSwati) and got As in all the other subjects. MP Khumalo said Hlatshwayo has also asked to study in Botswana because of frequent disruption of lectures in the country. The Lobamba Lomdzala MP was also hailed for his consistent lobbying for E80 million to construct a canal that is now helping Eswatini farmers in the Malkerns corridor.

distributed countrywide

The representative of the entity involved in the canal construction said water in Malkerns helped to ensure that seeds were produced and distributed countrywide. He credited the MP for this project, which is now benefitting the whole country. Khumalo thanked MP Lutfo Dlamini for playing a part in getting a scholarship for one of the above-mentioned graduates. He helped in securing the scholarship when he was the Minister of Labour and Social Security. In an interview, Khumalo said the political system of the country ensured that no one should be sure about his return to Parliament. What if they dont nominate me yet I had said I would stand for the election? Let the will of the people be done, he said. MP Lutfo Dlamini praised the people from communities under Lobamba Lomdzala for electing a workaholic legislator in MP Khumalo. I want to praise you for electing Khumalo, he said. In another development, MP Khumalo reported back to his constituency that government was introducing scholarship loans to be processed by banks.

need of scholarship

He said emaSwati in need of scholarship would approach the banks for the loans, which could perhaps accrue an interest of five per cent if the debt is paid over a period of 20 years.

In case, the scholarship loan is settled within 10 years, he said the beneficiary could pay 80 per cent of the loan. Khumalo said government told them that it was being owed a lot of millions of Emalangeni in unpaid scholarship grants. He also talked about the deferment of the Marriages Bill. The MP said there were contentious clauses such as soliciting permission from the senior wife to establish a polygamous family. If the first wife says No, you cant have a second wife. We have deferred this Bill and we dont know when they will bring it back to Parliament, he said. He also talked about schools under his constituency, which received help from the inkhundla. He presented 300 dishes to the elderly people, 300 food hampers and clothes, mainly to the youth. Meanwhile, one senator, on condition of anonymity, said MP Magongos statement that they threw themselves into deep sleep in Senate was very unfortunate and should be withdrawn.
NMACC Gala: American supermodel Gigi Hadid was one of the invitees at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre launch event in Mumbai. Gigi shelled out major fashion goals on both days of the event. On the second day (April 1) of the gala night, the guests were in for a treat as a small concert was organized inside the premises of the grand Jio center.

There were some super electrifying performances from Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, and Priyanka Chopra, amongst several others. During one of the performances, Gigi joins Varun.

VARUN DHAWAN LIFTS GIGI HADID IN HIS ARMS

A video of the actor with Gigi is going viral on social media that shows Varun Dhawan lifting the supermodel in his arms, twirling her, and then planting a kiss on her cheek.

Netizens brutally slammed Varun Dhawan and called it embarrassing. Some of the trolls even compared the moment from NMACC to the infamous Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere incident.

Check out the video.

NETIZENS REACT TO VIRAL VIDEO

A User wrote, "it remains me of Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere." For the uninitiated,

Richard had planted two kisses on Shilpa Shetty's cheeks during an AIDS awareness campaign in Delhi in the year 2007, which was attended by thousands of truck drivers. The PDA was criticized, and a case was filed for obscenity.

VARUN DHAWAN HITS BACK AT TROLLS

Now the Bhediya star has reacted to trolls. Taking to his micro-blogging site, Varun wrote, "I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather then going out and doing something about things . Good morning."

DISCLAIMER: The particular article is a compilation of thoughts shared by social media users on the subject. Ideas expressed do not reflect the view of Filmibeat.
Indian model Cerena Ann Johnson works out of Dubai. She began her modelling career as an outcome of her passion for the fashion sector. Cerena competed in the International Glam Queen 19 competition and finished as the first runner-up. Cerena competed in the Miss Universe contest in the UAE in 2021 and placed in the Top 50.

She competed in the Miss Universe UAE 2021 competition in 2021. She gained notoriety in 2022 after winning the Miss Queen Kerala beauty contest and making it to the finals. Her title was Miss Photogenic. She participated in the competition and went on to appear in other modelling contracts.

Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 5

Cerena Ann Johnson is participating in the Malayalam reality show Bigg Boss Season 5, and the show starts on March 26, 2023.
Sumbul Touqeer Khan, who became a household name with her show Imlie, won millions of hearts when she participated in Bigg Boss 16. She was one of the most innocent, loved and talked about contestants on the popular reality show. And while it has been around two months since Bigg Boss 16 had ended, there have been endless speculations about Sumbul's upcoming projects. Of late, there have been reports about Sumbul entering Pyar Ke Saat Vachan Dharampatnii.

For the uninitiated, Pyar Ke Saat Vachan Dharampatnii features Sumbul's rumoured beau Fahmaan Khan in the lead along with Kritika Singh Yadav. The show has been winning hearts with its interesting storyline and Fahmaan's performance has been well appreciated. And while there have been reports about Sumbul entering Pyar Ke Saat Vachan Dharampatnii, the fans were quite excited about SuMaan's reunion. However, fans will have to wait a little longer as Sumbul has rubbished the news. Talking to India Forums, Sumbul stated, "I am not coming in Dharampatanii". Earlier, Fahmaan had also clarified that Sumbul will not be a part of his show and that these are mere rumours.

Meanwhile, Fahmaan and Sumbul have also been grabbing the eyeballs for their rumoured tiff regarding Tabish Pasha's new song. However, the Apna Time Bhi Aayega actor has clarified that it is important to support the right when the two friends are at loggerheads and that's what he did. Fahmaan even assured that he and Sumbul continues to be friends and these minor arguments won't affect their bond. He further emphasised that things will be fine between them very soon. "Humare beech sulah karne ke liye kuch hai hi nahi. Humare beech sab kuch thik hai. Chote mote gile shikve to hote rehte hain, dosti me agar jhagde na ho to kya hi fayda uska. That's how it is and that will be fine eventually," he added.
New Delhi: Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Sunday left for Australia on a four-day visit to explore ways to boost defence cooperation between the two countries.

Gen Pande will hold talks with top military brass of Australia on a range of issues relating to bilateral defence engagement.

Gen Manoj Pande, the Chief of the Army Staff, proceeded on a visit to Australia commencing from April 3, the Army said.

It said he will be meeting the senior military leadership of Australia with an aim of enhancing defence cooperation between the armed forces of the two nations.

Gen Pande will interact with a host of senior military dignitaries from different services of the Australian defence forces, the Army said in a statement.

Australia-India defence cooperation has been on an upward trajectory with a series of diverse engagements at different levels, in various domains.

These include bilateral visits by senior officers, reciprocal courses of instructions and training exercises, among others.

The ever-expanding defence cooperation engagements encompassing a broad spectrum of activities have established a strong bonhomie between the two Armed Forces, the Army said.

The visit of the Chief of Army Staff to Australia will further strengthen the bonds of trust and understanding between the two armies, it added.

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Banihal/Jammu: An Army vehicle suffered damage in shooting of stones from a hillock near the recently opened T-5 tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Sunday but no personnel were injured, officials said.

Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam took serious note of the matter and asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to get the vulnerable zone technically assessed so that immediate protection measures are taken to protect the lives of passengers travelling on the 270 km highway  the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country.

The 880-metre T-5 tunnel was thrown open for traffic on March 16, providing much needed relief to commuters as it bypassed the most vulnerable stretch of Panthyal which was infamous for the frequent shooting of stones from the hillock.

The officials said an Army convoy was moving through the tunnel when the rocks started coming down from the hillock, resulting in damage to one of the luxury vehicles. However, all its occupants escaped unhurt.

The shooting stones continued on both sides of the tunnel for quite some time, resulting in disruption of the traffic, they said, adding no one was injured in the incident.

In a communication to the NHAI, the Ramban deputy commissioner said the massive shooting stone activity near the mouth of South Portal of Tunnel T-5 (Tube 1) poses a grave risk to the commuters if no remedial measures are immediately taken.

You are advised to get the vulnerable zone technically assessed so that immediate protection measures are taken to protect the lives of passengers travelling on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (now NH-44) as well as Tunnel T-5, Islam said.

He said the Panthyal stretch on NH-44 has brought huge respite to the travellers and also helped in better regulation of traffic in absence of jams.

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Srinagar: A record 13 to 14 lakh birds from eastern Europe and Central Asia visited the wetlands of Kashmir this winter, a senior official of the Wildlife department said here.

The significant increase in the bird arrivals, which came to the fore during a census carried out by the wildlife department, was due to the efforts to restore and rejuvenate the wetlands, which form the winter home for these winged guests. We have seen a remarkable increase in the number of certain species of birds and the results are encouraging, especially with regard to the areas that used to be the primary habitats of these migratory birds, such as Hokersar, Hygam and Shallabugh, Chief Wildlife Warden Rashid Naqash told PTI.

He said an estimated 13 lakh to 14 lakh migratory birds visited the wetlands of Kashmir, including areas protected by the wildlife department as well as those falling outside its jurisdiction. If we compare this number to the previous years  the last three to four decades  this is the highest recorded number, Naqash added.

Most of the birds seen at the wetlands are ducks and other waders and water birds.

The officer said the Wullar Conservation Management Authority has done some good work in terms of improving the habitat by restoring the critically-silted areas, which has attracted a large number of migratory birds.

Wullar earlier used to be recognised as one of the biggest areas in terms of hosting a high number of migratory birds. But this time, we saw that the birds that used to arrive at these wetlands or the Wullar lake 30 to 40 years ago also made a comeback. Even some birds, such as long-tailed ducks and skimmers, were seen after decades, he added.

Asked if the Russia-Ukraine war had any correlation to the rise in the number of avian visitors, Naqash said there was no unusual pattern in the arrival or departure of the birds. Regarding the timing of their arrival or departure, it seems quite normal in our wetlands. Any theory on a good number of bird arrivals needs to be supported with solid scientific data, he added.

Sajid Farooq, who is a range officer (lakes), said the department has devised a five-year programme for the rejuvenation of the wetlands. In protected wetlands, we have taken different measures for rejuvenation, such as restoration of breaches etc., so that the migratory birds that visit the wetlands during the winter months get a conducive atmosphere, he said.

The work for the field staff starts in March for the maintenance of the wetlands, so that the habitat is ready before the arrival of the migratory birds.

Farooq said the department is taking action against poachers to ensure that the birds have a safe stay in the valley. Poaching has been banned since the Wildlife Act of India was enforced. Control rooms are established at every range. For augmentation, the forest protection force is also with us. Patrolling is carried out 247 in all our protected areas. In non-protected areas, our teams are always alert to nab poachers, he added.

Farooq said this year, the department has seized eight to 10 guns and registered an equal number of FIRs.

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As the situation of women continues to deteriorate in Afghanistan and Iran, a diverse group of female leaders, activists and legal practitioners in both the countries have launched a campaign calling on states to recognise gender apartheid as a crime under international as well as national law.

The campaign titledEnd Gender Apartheid Todaybegan on 8 March, on the International Womens Day to raise awareness and to address the reality of women and girls who live under the Islamic Republic of Iran and Taliban in Afghanistan, both extremist regimes that are constantly bringing out policies to dehumanise and downgrade the status of women within their societies.

The word apartheid has been derived from the Afrikaans word apart and was first used to describe the institutional racial discrimination of black people in South Africa during the second half of the 20th century. The Rome Statue therefore, defines apartheid as inhumane acts  committed in the context of an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.

The crime of apartheidunder the international lawhowever, only applies to racial hierarchies, excluding hierarchies that are based on gender. And while over the past recent years, the topic of gender apartheid has been receiving some attention, it has not yet been recognised as an international crime. But what is gender apartheid after all?

There exists no legal definition for the term gender apartheid but Karima Bennoune, the Lewis M. Simes Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School has described gender apartheid as a system of governance, based on laws and/or policies, which imposes systematic segregation of women and men and may also systematically exclude women from public spaces and spheres. Thus, to put it simply, gender apartheid is the social, economic or sexual discrimination of individuals based on their gender identities or sex.

Inferring from this, one can undoubtedly say that the on-going subjugation of women in Afghanistan and Iranwhich goes far beyond the components of discriminationwith the administrations constantly trying to perpetuate a more extreme, systematic and structural war against women, these cases tantamount to gender apartheid. Women in both these countries are in fact denied the right to life and liberty as well as basic human rights and freedoms, which are considered as the crime of apartheid as per Article II of the United Nations Apartheid Convention (1973).

For instance, in Afghanistan, the Talibandespite promising a more moderate rule that allows women to study and workturned around the clock shortly after re-establishing its power by banning women from education, prohibiting them from working outside their homes, forcing them to follow the prescribed dress code, preventing them to travel long distances without a male chaperone, etc; gradually erasing them from the public domain.

Similarly, in Iran, women are currently banned from various fields of study, sporting events as well as from obtaining a passport or travelling out of the country without the permission of their husbands. Meanwhile, in an attempt to shut down girls schools, reports of poisoning in Iranian schools continue to rise with more than 1000 students, mostly girls, falling ill over the past three months.

Systematic oppression and subjugation that make up apartheid are thus, very well present in Iran and Afghanistan today, necessitating the expansion of the legal definition of apartheid under international as well as national laws to include gender apartheid. And there exists multiple arguments in favour of this approach.

To begin with, the incorporation of apartheid within the international legal frameworks helped end racial discrimination and emerge as a catalyst of change in South Africa. Similarly, the adoption of the apartheid label to describe what is happening in Afghanistan and Iran can possibly prove to be a catalyst for bringing about a change in these countries, improve the situation of women and ultimately end the prevailing systems of gender apartheid.

In addition, there currently exists a major accountability gap at the global stage, which is allowing for the grave violations and abuses against women in Afghanistan and Iran. And thus, the expansion of the moral, political and legal tools through the inclusion of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity is the best possible way for mobilising and ensuring the legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness of the international legal response.

Besides, it can create pathways to justice and provide hope for a better future to the Afghan and Iranian women, upholding their rights to equality and freedom.

Gender apartheid is very real, it is deliberate and it is a systematic problem, which is crushing the aspirations and depriving millions of women of dreams, education, health, employment opportunities and freedom. It is an assault on human dignity. There is therefore, an urgent need to classify gender apartheid as a crime under international law, which would be more effective and radical in countering the rampant violations of womens rights in Afghanistan and Iran.

The writer is a Visiting Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation. Some of her works have appeared in South China Morning Post, The Hindu, Firstpost, Hindustan Times, The Diplomat, The Toronto Star, among several others. She tweets at @akankshakhullar. Views are personal.

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Kyiv: Russia, whose leader is accused of war crimes, assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday causing fury in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy calling it an absurd and destructive move.

The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Unfortunately, we  have some obviously absurd and destructive news, Zelenskiy said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a five-month-old boy on Friday.

And at the same time, Russia is chairing the UN Security Council. Its hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions, he said.

The presidency rotates alphabetically each month among the 15 members. Although it is largely procedural, the Kremlin and other Russian officials vowed to exercise all its rights in the role.

The United States on Thursday urged Russia to conduct itself professionally when it assumes the role, saying there were no means to block Moscow from the post.

In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC)  an international justice body not associated with the UN  issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russias presidency of the Security Council a slap in the face to the international community. Zelenskiy said it was time for a general overhaul of global institutions, including the Security Council.

Reform is obviously necessary to prevent a terrorist state  and any other state that wants to be a terrorist  from destroying the peace, he said.

Some 400 days into the war, which has killed thousands, destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of civilians to flight, Russia continues to take over parts of the country, pressing on with its assault in the east.

Earlier, Zelenskiy advisor Andriy Yermak also hit out at Iran, which Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms. Tehran denies it is giving weapons to Russia.

It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state  Iran  another terror state  Russia  begins to preside over the UN Security Council, Yermak wrote on Twitter, referring to Irans Islamic Republic Day holiday.

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Kumarakom: India will play a lead role during its G20 presidency in redefining and reshaping the world which is facing multiple challenges, Indian Sherpa Amitabh Kant said here on Sunday.

Talking about the trend in the past 10 years, Kant told PTI that the developed world would slow down and emerging markets would grow. Resources should therefore flow from the former to the latter so that emerging markets improve, he said.

The G20 members represent around 85 per cent of global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the worlds population.

Spelling out the challenges being faced by the world, Kant said this included slowdown affecting growth, 75 countries getting into global debt, millions of people becoming jobless and several millions falling below the poverty line. All these require very accelerated action by G20, and when G20 acts, the multilateral institutions act. Therefore, India will use this opportunity to redefine and reshape the world in many ways. And that is what we will try and do through the G20 presidency, Kant told PTI.

A day after the second meeting of the G20 Sherpas (personal representatives of heads of governments at international summits) under Indias presidency concluded here in this lakeside village, Kant said by the time of the third meeting at Hampi in Karnataka, we will draft out a leaders communique.

Noting that the G20 was a forum where major issues pertaining to economic growth, economic development, financial progress and developmental needs were addressed, Kant said, All these areas of growth  resilient and inclusive growth  a sustainable development goal, climate action and also digital transformation and women-led developmentwe will work out a complete communique, we will finally find a way through the leaders communique.

The Indian Sherpa said, All countries want us to be very ambitious, they want us to be very inclusive, they want us to be very decisive  and therefore we will be very ambitious in our leaders communique that we will prepare.

Kant said multilateral financial reforms were required as a lot of money available in the private sectors and institutional investors were not coming to emerging markets. He said the World Bank should have new instruments to allow such money to flow into emerging markets because in the future, all growth and all developments will happen in emerging markets.

According to him, the developed world would slow down and emerging markets would grow. He said that in the past 10 years, the share of emerging markets had grown a lot and that it would keep growing while the share of the developed world would come down. So you need resources to flow from the developed world to emerging markets so that the productivity of emerging markets will improve, Kant said.

Asked about the issues discussed, including the developed worlds commitment for a green development fund, he said in the 2009 Copenhagen Climate conference, in the name of climate justice, they had agreed to give USD 100 billion a year to developing countries. They have not lived up to it, Kant said.

During the four-day gathering of over 120 delegates from G20 members, 9 invitee countries, and various international and regional organisations, multilateral discussions on G20s economic and developmental priorities as well as on addressing contemporary global challenges were held.

The deliberations were focussed both on policy approaches and concrete implementation.

Stating that the the backwaters of Kerala provided a lot of peace and serenity to the Sherpas, he said the Kumarakom deliberations were very positive and very progressive.

Because of that we had done a sofa talk on the houseboat in the backwaters. For three-and-a-half hours all Sherpas were together and therefore everybody spoke his heart and mind out, Kant said.

He said it was a very open free discussion and the good thing was that everybody could give their view points. I think we broke all ice between G7 countries and emerging markets. Russia, China, everybody came together because of the Kerala backwaters, the Indian Sherpa 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 2023.

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.

Ongoing deliberations during Indias G20 Presidency include Green Development, Climate Finance & Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE); Accelerated, Inclusive & Resilient Growth; Accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Technological Transformation & Digital Public Infrastructure; Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century; and Women-led development.

The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union.

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Quito, Ecuador: Ecuador on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the nations major port and other areas reeling from drug-related crime.

The decree permits security forces to set up checkpoints and conduct warrantless searches of people and property.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation, President Guillermo Lasso said he had declared a state of emergency in the port of Guayaquil and the neighbouring districts of Duran and Samborondon, as well as in Santa Elena and Los Rios provinces.

Lasso added that the state of emergency included a nightly curfew from 1 am to 5 am in the affected areas.

Last year, Lasso declared similar temporary states of emergency three times for Guayaquil, which has faced a sharp spike in organized crime-related killings.

Lasso did not say how long the current state of emergency would last.

We have a common enemy: delinquency, drug trafficking and organized crime, said Lasso, a right-wing former banker who took office nearly two years ago.

Ecuador, which is sandwiched between major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, has been hit by a wave of violent crime that authorities blame on turf battles between drug gangs.

The nation has become a major drug distribution centre for narcotics bound for the United States and Europe.

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Bahrain has prepared the 2023-24 state budget taking into account certain principles and goals, the most important of which were maintaining financial stability and positive economic growth, creating more promising opportunities for citizens, and developing financial and economic support programmes aimed at efficiently directing subsidies to eligible citizens, said the kingdom's finance minister.

Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa was speaking while submitting the detailed data and information about the draft law endorsing the state's general budget for the two fiscal years 2023-2024, reported BNA.

The draft law was approved by the cabinet last week during his meeting with the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam, and Shura Council Chairman, Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, in the presence of Parliament Affairs Minister, Ghanim bin Fadhl Al Buainain.

The minister affirmed that the kingdoms development achievements are the fruitful outcome of the teamwork spirit adopted by Team Bahrain.

"Team Bahrain always gives top priority to the interests of the nation and the citizens while devising plans, initiatives and strategies, as the citizens are always the ultimate goal of the comprehensive development process, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister," he noted.

Shaikh Salman pointed out that the kingdom was committed to achieving the objectives of the Fiscal Balance Programme by striking a balance between revenues and expenditures while controlling public spending and diversifying sources of revenues and also enhancing the performance, quality and sustainability of government services, reported BNA.

"The Finance and National Economy Ministrys determination to enhance cooperation and joint work with the legislative branch to complete the draft general budget for the fiscal years 2023-2024, in a way that would contribute to accelerating economic development towards more progress and prosperity, highlights the importance of unifying national efforts and building on previous achievements to better serve the nation and the citizens.
MBABANE  The ENPF was not invited to be part of the team that appeared before the Senate Portfolio Committee on Labour and Social Security recently.

This has been revealed by the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) Chief Executive Officer Prince Lonkhokhela. The ENPF is a public enterprise that falls under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which had appeared before the portfolio committee for the annual performance report and 2023/2024 budget debate. Having noted the absence, senators suspected that there was bad blood between the ENPF and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The members of the portfolio committee raised these suspicions as they were asking about the status of the conversion on the ENPF into a national pension scheme. Almost all the senators who had questions about the conversion noted that the team from the ministrys departments and parastatals were not all represented as the ENPF team and the CEO Prince Lonkhokhela was not present during the debate. All other parastatals of the ministry were present, including the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC) was present.

The senators questioned if the ministry and the ENPFs relationship was in the right state. They said the reason they questioned if there was bad blood between the parastatal and its mother ministry was because the CEO with his team always attended all Parliament sittings except this one. One of the senators, who did not mince any words about the absence of the ENPF CEO, was Senator Tony Sibandze. I have been observing the presence of the ministrys departments during the sitting, they all show up. However, today I am noting that ENPF is not here. I understand we direct our questions to the minister not heads of department but my question is sebaphocene ngani because we always admired their unity, he wondered.

concern

Another senator who raised a similar concern was Princess Ntfombiyenkhosi. The senator said she was disappointed to note that the CEO and his team was not present during the debate while stating that since they came to Parliament, ENPF was not represented. She also stated that it was a pity because they had a number of questions regarding the conversion of ENPF.

The senators went on to note that they had been given one and the same answers regarding the status of the conversion Bill. The conversion will see workers who are beneficiaries of the ENPF receiving monthly salaries and a lump sum payout upon retirement. Under the current position, members can withdraw their contribution by the time they reach 45 years and above.

Senator Sylvia Mthethwa, who is also the chairperson of the portfolio committee echoed the senators sentiments. She asked the minister to clarify what led to ENPFs absence during the debate because it was the first-of-its kind. The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Phila Buthelezi, was represented by the Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko during the debate. In his response, Maseko told the senators that the ENPF was held up by other duties. The minister gave the responses after he had answered some questions that were posed by the senators. My apologies senators, it has completely slipped my mind, the ENPF team had other crucial commitments, so for that reason they could not be here, he said. He assured that the ministry and its parastatal had a smooth working relationship and there was nothing brewing behind closed doors that might have influenced them not to join the Senate debate.

However, the CEO denied that he and his team were held up by other commitments such that they missed the senate debate. The prince explained that the reason they were absent on the said day was because they never received an invite. Worth noting is that when a ministry is set to appear in Parliament it then sends a communique to its departments and parastatals to delegate representatives. I can confirm that indeed we did not receive communication inviting ENPF to the debate and only became aware at the tail of the session, he said. He said when they enquired, they were advised that it was an unintentional and regrettable mistake and they had accepted it as such. Had we received an invitation, attendance would have been our priority as we respect parliamentary matters as such matters always take precedent, he said.
Toronto: The identities of people of Indian descent whose bodies were found in marshland have not been released by the Canadian police, pending identification and notification of next of kin, a media report said on Sunday, as the circumstances of their deaths continued to be investigated.

Bodies of eight persons were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

Police say the deceased, believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent, was trying to cross into the US from Canada. Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.

Akwesasne officials have named two family members of Romanian descent, including a man holding his two childrens passports, who were among eight bodies recovered from the St. Lawrence River, near the Quebec-Ontario border, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

The identities of other people recovered of Indian descent have not been released, pending identification and notification of next of kin, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported.

The circumstances of their deaths continue to be investigated, the paper added.

On Saturday, police said that four Indian nationals, who they also believed were a family attempting to cross into the US, have not been identified, the CBC reported.

Police found the bodies of five adults and one infant in the marshland on Friday. Another infant and an adult woman were located later. One of the children was a Canadian citizen. The deceased is believed to be of Indian and Romanian descent.

Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin. They are also increasing surveillance on the river.

Valene Gray, the owner of the Three Feathers Cafe, said the community has been shaken by the tragedy.

In the past couple of days, its been very heavy, very emotional, customers coming in and theyre sad, Gray said on Saturday. You could tell they were upset, you could tell they were hurting.

Wanting to offer support to her community, Gray said it was an honour to be hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed. She said the cafe has provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and supper on Friday.

Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of 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.

In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border. In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

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Islamabad: In a significant move, Pakistan has managed to get the same discount on the import of Russian oil like other nations, including India.

This was stated by Pakistan Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik at a Geo News program.

According to reports, the minister said that Islamabad will be given same discount like its neighboring countries on the import of Russian crude. However, Malik did not share any details regarding the agreement between the two nations.

Malik went on to say that Pakistan and Russia have agreed on a lot of matters, adding that Islamabad will place its first order for the crude oil next month, while it may take around 26-27 days for the consignment to reach the cash-strapped country, The Express Tribune reported.

On rising petrol prices in Pakistan, Malik said that since Pakistan is not an oil producing country, we have to purchase oil from the international market and Pakistan has no control over the price of oil.

Malik claimed that the country is currently not considering importing oil from Iran as it may lead to the imposition of sanctions on Pakistan, however, Islamabad is on good terms with Tehran and is in contact with them over gas import.

Divide the population of Pakistan in two

Asked about the separate gas tariffs for the rich and poor, Malik said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif have strictly directed the concerned ministry to divide Pakistan for the rich and the poor. He added that the current governments policy is to stand with the the poor people of the country. We divided the population of Pakistan in two, the rich and the poor, he said.

He further noted that the same distinction is being followed in connection with the petroleum subsidy.

Malik, along with the petroleum secretary, visited Russia in November last year, and held talks on several issues, including oil and gas supplies.

Later on, a Russian delegation came to Pakistan earlier this year to discuss the purchase of petroleum products from Moscow at discounted rates.

Pakistan upsets Russia

On March 28, The Express Tribune reported that Russia was disappointed with the slow progress on the Pakistani side regarding import of crude oil from Moscow.

According to sources, Moscow expressed doubts over Pakistans plans and had even asked it to import one crude oil cargo first to show its seriousness.

After seeing Pakistans lackadaisical attitude, Russia was reportedly frustrated to learn that Islamabad, despite in urgent need of crude oil owing to the massive price rise and economic crisis situation, had not even started the process it committed to Moscow to start the first shipment of crude oil.

It was stated by the Pakistani side that it will set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) company that would be responsible for the import of Russian oil to Pakistani refineries, however, no progress was made in this regard.

Islamabad backstabs Moscow

Amid Russias ongoing invasion in Ukraine, Pakistan has time and again been accused of backstabbing Moscow by supplying arms and ammunition to Kyiv.

While on one side the Pakistani government is leaving no stone unturned to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release the bailout package, one the other hand the Shehbaz Sharif-led country has resorted to selling weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

Last month, a viral video showcased what was being claimed to be a tank crew of the Ukrainian Army using 122mm artillery shells supplied by Pakistan during combat against Russian forces.

Pakistan made 122mm shells spotted in Ukraine. Reportedly Pakistan ready to transfer 44 T-80UD tanks to Ukraine in exchange of western financial support. Meanwhile as per TG channel, Russia unhappy with Pakistan help to Ukraine, asks China to talk sense to its friend. pic.twitter.com/7v63g6JNav  Megh Updates  (@MeghUpdates) March 10, 2023

Back then, it was reported that Pakistan offered to give 44 T-80UD tanks to Ukraine in exchange for western financial support. Pakistan had bought these tanks from Ukraine between 1997 and 1999, reports said.

Ever since the war started between Russia and Ukraine in February last year, Pakistan has reportedly been trying to use both sides to its advantage.

Despite witnessing deadly floods last year, Pakistan is said to have been supplying consignments of ammunition for artillery and tanks to war-hit Ukraine through an air bridge created by the UK.

Not just that, Islamabad has even been using ports in Poland and Germany to help Kyivs war effort against Russia.

Despite all this, the Pakistani government has denied supplying ammunition to Ukraine and claimed to follow a policy of non- interference in foreign conflicts.

Recently, it was reported that the Russian government, led by President Vladimir Putin, was unhappy with Pakistan and even asked China to persuade Islamabad against joining the West in supporting Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies)

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An explosion tore through a cafe in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Sunday, and preliminary reports suggested a prominent military blogger was killed and more than a dozen people were injured.

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 15 people were hurt in the explosion at the Street Bar cafe in Russias second-largest city. The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility or provide details of what they called an explosive device carried by a cafe visitor.

Russia media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public and that a woman presented him with a statuette that apparently exploded.

The buildings facade was reportedly damaged.

Various fires and explosions have occurred in Russia since the fighting in Ukraine began Feb. 24, 2022, without any clear indication of a connection to the conflict.

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Balochistan: In the south-western province of Balochistan, four of the Pakistani armys border patrol personnel were allegedly killed by terrorists coming from Iran.

According to an army statement, officials were speaking with Iranian peers to avoid similar incidents in the future. The assault took place in the Kech neighbourhood.

The attack has not yet been assigned a perpetrator by any organisation.

For decades, separatists in Balochistan have battled the authorities. The provinces boundary is very open and long.

According to reports, the four deceased soldiers weapons were taken by the insurgents. Pictures of the foura corporal, a lance-corporal, and two privateswere included in the army statement.

In a suicide assault in Balochistan last month, nine Pakistani security personnel were killed and at least 13 others were injured.

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Tehran: A video of a man attacking two women with yoghurt for not wearing the mandatory hijab in Iran has gone viral on social media.

In the video, the two women entered a local shop following which a man engages in a verbal altercation with the women. The man can then be seen assaulting the two women by pouring in what appears to be yoghurt.

Later, the man is apprehended by the shopkeeper and pushed out of the store.

Watch the video here:

You may have seen this video of a man in a corner shop in Iran pouring yoghurt over the heads of two women who werent covering their hair. The man has been arrested for disturbing public order & the two women have been detained for showing their hair.pic.twitter.com/GX89hL6dZo  Kian Sharifi (@KianSharifi) April 1, 2023

Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of two women, the judiciary said Saturday, after a viral video appeared to show them being attacked by a man for not wearing the hijab.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant against the man on charges of committing an insulting act and disturbance of order, the judiciarys Mizan Online website reported.

But it added arrest warrants were also issued for the two women for committing a forbidden act by removing their headscarves.

Necessary notices have been issued to the owner of the shop where this happened in order to comply with legal and Sharia principles according to the regulations, it added.

It comes after the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in September sparked months of protests after the 22-year-olds arrest for an alleged breach of the strict dress code for women.

Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested in connection with what Iranian officials described as riots fomented by Israel and the West.

On Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated calls affirming that Iranian women should wear the hijab as a religious necessity.

Hijab is a legal matter and adherence to it is obligatory, he said.

In late March, the head of the judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said removing hijab amounts to enmity towards values and people who commit such abnormality will be punished.

With inputs from AFP

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MBABANE If the nation can decide to have a referendum after the 2023 elections, only people registered as voters can participate.

People not registered for the general election, but believe that the Tinkhundla System of Government should be replaced by the political party system, can be left out of the voting process.

In terms of the Constitution, Tinkhundla can only be removed by a three-quarter membership of both chambers of Parliament and a referendum vote. People eligible to cast votes in a referendum should have registered as voters in the most recent election. In terms of Section 246 (3) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Tinkhundla-based political system falls under specially entrenched provisions. A specially entrenched constitutional provision makes certain amendments either more difficult or somehow impossible to pass.

registered as a voter

Reads Section 246 (3) of the Constitution: Where a bill in terms of this section has been duly passed at a joint sitting that bill shall not be presented to the King for assent unless it is approved by a simple majority of all votes validly cast at a referendum in such manner as may be prescribed, at which every person who at the time of the referendum is registered as a voter for purposes of the elected members of the House shall be entitled to vote. Tinkhundla, as a political system, is protected by Section 79 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Reads the section: The system of government for Swaziland is a democratic, participatory, tinkhundla-based system which emphasises devolution of state power from central government to tinkhundla areas and individual merit as a basis for election or appointment to public office. It must be said that Section 79 falls under specially entrenched provisions of the Constitution. It has also been learnt that the process to amend Section 79 starts with a legislator, who introduces a Bill for the amendment. This is called a private members Bill. It is different from a motion.

A Bill is a proposed legislation under consideration by a Legislature. It does not become law until it is passed by the legislature as well as, in most cases, approved by the executive. In the case of Eswatini, it has to be approved (assented) by His Majesty the King. Before the referendum vote is sought, the Bill should have been passed at the joint sitting of Senate and House of Assembly. In its final reading, it should be supported by votes of not less than three-quarters of all the members of the two chambers. For the Bill to be passed in order to pave way for the referendum, 78 parliamentarians should be in favour of the amendment. There are 103 parliamentarians. The specially entrenched provisions in terms of Section 246 (2) are as follows:

(a) The Kingdom and its Constitution: Section 2;

(b) Monarchy: Section 4, 5, 7(2), 7(3), 8(2), 9, 10, 11;

(c) Protection and Promotion of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms Chapter III

(d) The Executive: Section 64, 65, 66(1), 69(1), 69(2);

(e) The Legislature: Section 79, 84, 93, 106, 108, 115, 119(1), 134;

(f) The Judicature: Section 138, 139, 140, 141, 146, 151, 153(1) 155, 158, 159 except 159(5);

(g) Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commission on Human Rights: Section 162(1), 162(4), 162(6);

(h) Public Finance: Section 207(1);

(i) Land, Minerals, etc: Section 210(1), 211(1), 213;

(j) Traditional Institutions: Section 227, 228, 229; 230; 231;

(k) Amendment of the Constitution: Chapter XVII;

(l) Miscellaneous: Chapter XVIII in its application to any of the provisions referred to in this section except section 251;

(m) The First Schedule in its application to any of the provisions referred to in this section.

Tinkhundla falls under legislature in the specially entrenched provisions. It may not be as easy as some may think, if the Constitution is not waived. However, if others insist on the application of the supreme law, the route to change starts with the joint sitting and ends with the referendum vote. It is stated that the Bill shall not be introduced unless it has been published in the gazette.

published in the Gazette

It shall be published in the gazette not less than 30 days before the introduction at the joint sitting. After it has been introduced in the joint sitting, it is provided in the law that no further proceedings shall be taken on the Bill in Parliament until the prescribed period has elapsed. If, after the prescribed period, it is passed at the joint sitting and or at a referendum with the requisite majority, it shall be submitted to the King for assent. That is how, in terms of the Constitution, Tinkhundla and other provisions can be amended to allow a new political system.

The Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has ordered its members not to register or vote under the Tinkhundla System of Government. Sive Siyinqaba National Movement and the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) have allowed their members to participate in the election, in order to change the political system from within. Inhlava whose chairman is former Minister of Health Mfomfo Nkhambule, will also allow its members to vote under the Tinkhundla System of Government.

worrying political divide

In August 2021, MP Macford Sibandze advised the country to solve the worrying political divide through a referendum, to determine what the people wanted at present. He said he had never seen such a divided nation. However, Thami Hlatshwayo, the Secretary General of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) is on record denouncing the logic behind the referendum. Hlatshwayo argued that his fundamental right to choice and freedom of association should not be subjected to a referendum vote. He said it was his right to have a political party of his choice representing him in the governance of the country.

In an interview yesterday, Sikelela Dlamini, the Secretary General of the Swaziland Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), said their non-participation in the general election was a statement of declaration that that there is something wrong with the Tinkhundla System of Government. He said while it might be true that registered voters could have the privilege to participate in the election, they did not want to declare that they would have deprived themselves of their right to make changes through the referendum.

global concern

Dlamini said the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini was a good document at comprehensively addressing issues of global concern, such as human rights, but lagged behind in the practical application of the supreme law. The secretary general said he was fully aware that those in authority would object to any plan to have the referendum. The former secretary general of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers said tradition practically superseded Roman-Dutch based common law system and the Constitution.
MBABANE  Gospel artist Mzwakhe Myeni is gunning for the Parliament position presently occupied by his elder brother and fellow musician Timothy Myeni.

Mzwakhe, who was in September last year expelled from the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO), where he was Lubombo District Chairperson, has exclusively revealed to the Times SUNDAY that he will contest for the MP position under Nkilongo Constituency. He has disclosed that he no longer believes in political parties, but is in full support of the Tinkhundla System of Government that is rooted on individual merit as a basis for election or appointment to public office. It is true that I would be participating in this years national elections under the portfolio of Member of Parliament.

develop

It is of pivotal importance to note that my constituency is one that is under-developed and I have taken the task to try and work around such in order to develop the constituency. Hence I will be participating in the Nkilongo Inkhundla, Mzwakhe said. The country is going to the much-anticipated polls this year after having experienced an unprecedented political unrest that has resulted in the death of over 50 people and also saw the destruction of infrastructure through arson attacks. Already, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is conducting a civic voter education exercise; with nominations expected to be held in July; primary elections are set for August; and secondary elections scheduled to be in September.

voted

As opposed to individuals who would be participating in the election with the intention of working to change the countrys system of government once elected, Mzwakhe said he would be working for and with government. He said people voted into Parliament should be those who will work with and for government. I will be participating in the elections as an individual as per the Constitution of Eswatini, which stipulates that only individuals are allowed to participate in elections, not political formations. Thus I will be participating as an individual since I respect the constitution and Im not belonging to any political party, Mzwakhe said. He stated that if there was one thing that he regretted, it had to be his decision to join the mass democratic movement (MDM) under SWALIMO. He was fired from SWALIMO after a disciplinary process that found him guilty of having brought the name of the organisation into disrepute.

mistakes

Being a member of SWALIMO was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made and I have to acknowledge that blunder. Im glad that after I came back to my senses, I quickly corrected such. I respect Their Majesties and all the institutions of the monarchy. And Im not opposing Tinkhundla under the leadership of His Majesty, but I fully support Their Majesties and His Majestys government, stated Mzwakhe. He said joining the MDM was an eye-opener for him because he got to realise that political parties did not know what they wanted. You cant want to change the country without any formula. You cant just wake up one morning and think you can lead a country just because you believe you have a following but you do not have even a single structure in place. If these political parties can take over, I tell you that within two months people would be calling for a return to Tinkhundla, he said. Mzwakhe observed that Eswatini is a small country with a population of around 1 million and an even lesser number of eligible voters, therefore he felt it did not make sense that there were around 15 political parties already in existence.

support

He opined that the political party that would win the election would not claim to have the support of a majority of emaSwati because spreading the number of citizens across the 15 organisations would give you an average of just above 50 000 members per entity. I believe that a political party should govern because its membership is a majority of the population. The people that you see on social media are not representative of the population of the country, he said. Mzwakhe said what this meant was that the monarchy still had numbers on the ground. According to him, every household in Eswatini had people who still trusted the King and believed in the system of the country. If you look at the attendance during the recent Buganu, Umhlanga and Incwala ceremonies, you can tell that the monarchy still has the numbers. All these people come from different homesteads, which should tell you where emaSwati are. That is why I say joining the MDM was the biggest mistake ever, which is something I should acknowledge and correct, he said. He said politics is about numbers and the King had shown that he still has the numbers to prove his legitimacy.

different

If you dont have numbers on the ground, nobody will know or recognise what you have done. Thats what I used to know while I was still with SWALIMO. We would ferry people to different destinations just so we could appear to have the numbers. You need to mobilise, Mzwakhe said. He rejected the school of thought that the Monarch can co-exist with political parties, as he said it was impossible to have two bulls in one kraal. Mzwakhe said he was fortunate enough to know that the intention of the MDM in calling for a dialogue was to have the Kings powers reduced significantly. If we have a King that is powerless, what would be the future of the country? Look at how Malema (EFF Leader Julius) changes tune. He once said that he would die an ANC member because he was being given the ANC-Youth League presidency; but suddenly, after he had been expelled from the ANC, he formed the EFF.

fighting

The same Malema who supported Cyril Ramaphosa in the ousting of Jacob Zuma, is now fighting against Ramaphosa and wants him removed. What then is this thing called democracy? This thing is nothing, he said. He said Eswatini has one of the best political systems in Tinkhundla and he was saying this from the privileged position of having had a stint within the political parties, which was where he got to realise and understand that emaSwati, for now, are not ready for political parties. We are fine with what we have. There are people who are currently fighting within the MDM, purely because of popularity contest; how much more would they fight if they were given an opportunity to run government? It would be a huge problem, Mzwakhe said. He declared that the Tinkhundla System is perfect and democratic; and in fact one of the most democratic systems in the world. He said there were other countries that were using the same system, the only difference was that Eswatini chose to name it Tinkhundla. Tinkhundla just needs to deliver. By joining the elections, I dont want to fight government but want to assist government to deliver to the people. This system was designed to be a bottom-up tactic, which is why I want to be at the bottom where the people are and work upwards. The top-down approach that we now see is not supposed to be there and that is what must be addressed, Mzwakhe said.

improve

He suggested that the only thing that needed to be done in Eswatini was to improve service delivery, such that the people at the grassroots level had their needs taken care of. He said the money from Central Government should reach the people on the ground. Mzwakhe said the Nkilongo Inkhundla should be one of the richest constituencies in Eswatini as it has all the resources, such as plenty sugar cane fields, the Big Bend Sugar Mill, the US Distillers company, Matata Group of Companies and the Crooks Plantation operation, but no one was utilising these to improve the peoples lives. Nkilongo is crowded with companies but I dont know why the people here are unemployed. It now needs people who are sound-minded and business minded, who will use the opportunities around them without looking at government.

opportunities

The people of Nkilongo should create their own job opportunities and not wait for people from outside to come here and open businesses. There is no MP who has done that. There is a lot we can do through the resources we have. Government can only play a supporting role, he emphasised. He said he was not yet aware whether his brother Timothy will also seek to contest the parliamentary elections, but even if that was case, his decision would stand. Noteworthy is that Timothy is one of the current crop of MPs who has aligned himself with the calls for political reforms in favour of a political party-based system. If he joins, I wont be necessarily competing against him but will be exercising my constitutional right. The good thing about Tinkhundla elections is that you dont compete against anyone but you just exercise your individual right. Once you go to the elections to compete against someone, then it becomes unconstitutional as it becomes personal, Mzwakhe continued to opine.

showdowns

He said Timothy has got his own lane and affairs; and he also has his own. He said he was not looking to fight anyone and wont descend to levels of verbal showdowns with anyone as his primary focus was to go to Parliament, aid government and bring development to Nkilongo. As I mentioned earlier, I am one person who respects the Constitution of the country and I will be participating under the Tinkhundla System of Government. Ill uphold all its values and I dont intend to do any fighting inside or outside Parliament, he reiterated. Mzwakhe said he was going into the elections with the full support of not only his wife and children but also that of his 11 brothers and two sisters.
Felipe Barreto didnt give much mind to the crooked branches casting shadows March 25 onto his South Corvallis neighborhood.

Hes an associate professor and biology researcher, but Barretos work is parsing the genes of sea life.

The team at his Oregon State University laboratory attempts to answer questions about climate at a genetic level, like why some starfish drown in warming oceans while others of the same species appear more robust.

So on a day off, walking bundled in layers to protect against the cold, Barreto didnt clock the dozens of mature ash trees planted in neat rows.

I dont really think about it, he said.

But he had heard of the pest, an iridescent forest-green insect first found in Oregon last year, threatening to kill vast swaths of the states ash populations.

Land managers and forest stewards said they were caught off guard when emerald ash borer appeared to jump three or more states west. Its now in at least 30 states and some estimate the pest costs an estimated $1.6 billion each year in damage.

In Oregon, the beetle is poised to kill trees critical to the survival of baby salmon making their way downstream from the lakes and river tributaries where they hatch to the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Pretty beetle, though, Barreto said.

The spread

Holly Purpura saw trees die back, then just die in a handful of years.

She was in charge of a nonprofit watershed steward in West Virginia in the 2000-teens, about the time emerald ash borer was found in the state.

It spread much faster than any of us could expect, Purpura said.

Ash borer can fly  an adult will travel up to 2 miles looking for an ash where the beetle can land in the upper branches, where the bark is thinnest, and lay eggs.

Frequently, they dont have to go that far. Sometimes the nearest ash tree is a dozen feet away.

Larvae chew at the layers of fiber under the bark that transport water and sugar from the roots to the leaves, effectively beheading the plant from its sunlight-gathering crown of green foliage.

By the time anyone notices, its probably because the larvae have hatched and moved on to the next tree. And it likely is already on its way to other parts of the state.

When it gets to that point of visibility, it is very present, Purpura said.

Leaves fall, bark sloughs from the ash. Entire stream systems in West Virginia lost much of their tree cover.

The beetle leaves behind an organism that took potentially dozens of years to grow  about 30 to reach maturity  and just a season or two to kill.

Its very easy to see if a dead tree is a former ash tree, Purpura said. You can see the maze-like pattern that they bore through the tree itself.

Fish creeks

Emerald ash borer likes ash trees, and ash trees overwhelmingly like water-saturated soils below 1,000 feet. Think flat, low-lying, and flooded in the winter or saturated with streams.

That describes the habitat of most humans in Oregon, where ash trees hover over Willamette Valley campgrounds, line city streets and are visible abutting streams and agricultural fields from heavily-trafficked highways and freeways.

Its also the part of the state where hundreds of miles of rivers and side channels collect dying Salmon, returning to the place of their birth to spawn out and start a new generation of fish.

Stewards, biologists, people who study how much wood a forest can yield in timber operations  they all know that interface of land and stream as the riparian. And in Oregon, a lot of that riparian is covered by ash.

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Populations of salmon that began bottoming out in the 1990s have been at the forefront of land management and restoration efforts on drainages throughout Oregon where human interaction directly affects the survivability of fish.

Salmon need cool, clear, running water to live. They need shelter to hide from predators.

To survive in the landscape, Purpura said. Theyre ducking up those channels looking for cold-water refuge.

Purpura is the executive director at Marys River Watershed, one of several stewards developing a response to ash borer.

That non-governmental organization is looking for funding to plant non-ash species along the waters it champions. Purpura said populations of Chinook salmon, cutthroat trout and steelhead would be most vulnerable to an ash die-off along the Marys and the streams feeding the river runoff from the Coast Range.

Oregon has a slight advantage over West Virginia  land stewards here at least know what to expect.

Our riparian corridors go from having ash throughout to dead ash trees in a matter of five years, Purpura said.

The beetle has taken hold in dozens of states. No one has eradicated it.

And helped along by humans, the beetles spread fast and far  from its discovery in Michigan in 2002 to both coasts. Now fewer states have no confirmed cases than those that do.

Purpura repeated a grim joke often heard from the people charged with preventing or trying to control the beetles spread: Emerald ash borer can fly a mile or two in a year.

But it can go hundreds in the back of a truck, she said.

Too late

By the time officials were seated and vetting the policies and procedures they could lay down on Oregons streamside and urban forests to stop its spread, emerald ash borer was beheading trees in the states northwest.

State departments of Agriculture and Forestry are studying the beetle in situ, tracking its direction and rate of spread from where it was discovered June 30, 2022, in Forest Grove.

Its the first time anyone has positively identified emerald ash borer on the West Coast.

New infestations were found in 2022 in Maine, Wisconsin and Texas among others. Already, the beetle has spread to new locations this year in Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas.

But the closest to Oregon anyone had recorded the beetle before 2023 was in Utah, north and west of Salt Lake City. Another earlier infestation spread north and west from Denver.

Emerald ash borer had to leap undetected over Idaho, Nevada and a vast swath of desert-like Eastern Oregon to get to the states northwest.

The beetle presumably could spread anywhere it finds ash trees. Yet its cars in the landscape from the Columbia to the McKenzie River in Springfield, from the Coast Range to the Cascades, that especially endanger Oregons fish-rearing streams.

Researchers measured how frequently and where vehicles travel into the state and how often that puts campers or cargo shippers in contact with ash trees.

The risk beetles pose to animals that rely on ash is color coded in a 2018 Department of Forestry map painting the Willamette Valley in shades of yellow to fiery red hues. Oregon already knows the regions prone to the beetle where canopy degradation will endanger vulnerable fish, flowers and a wild herb called Bradshaws desert parsley.

Benton County on that map appears almost entirely covered in deep crimson. Risk to critical species: Very high.

About half of Linn County, the portion that slopes wide and gently from the Willamette to the Cascade foothills, looks roughly the same.

State departments of Agriculture and Forestry published those findings along with their guidelines in March 2021, when the most successful way to eradicate ash borer from Oregon appeared to be never having to eradicate the beetle at all.

This plan will serve as a guide for the state of Oregon to actively prevent the introduction of EAB and to control and manage any EAB populations that could arrive in the future, its authors wrote.

Emerald ash borer was found in Forest Grove about 15 months later.

A city forest

Jennifer Killian said she cried when she heard about emerald ash borers arrival in the Pacific Northwest.

I actually wept because of my history and seeing what it does to communities. Knowing what is going to happen to Corvallis, Killian said.

The citys urban forester, Killian is in charge of knowing Corvallis trees and how to manage the urban canopy. More than 20,000 trees in public rights of way are managed by her department.

These are the relatively slow-growing, shade-providing plants that shade sidewalks, diffuse rain and snow and break up the lines of roofs and windows and doors that dominate urban neighborhoods.

The trees comprising a citys forest lower ambient temperatures and change the aesthetic of the neighborhoods where they hang over sidewalks or rise in the median between street lanes.

They make their human neighbors happier.

Corvallis estimates the city's forest adds more than $1.1 million of value, helping reduce power and water bills or acting as a sink on greenhouse gasses.

And ash accounts for a little more than one in 10 of the trees in the Corvallis canopy.

Which means about 11% of the Corvallis urban forest now potentially is threatened by emerald ash borer.

This beetle is devastating, Killian said.

Killian was on the team of researchers who found the beetle for the first time in Wisconsin in 2008. The states agriculture department was attempting to preempt emerald ash borers arrival after it had infested ash populations in the next state over, Illinois.

The midwestern state had their eyes open for it early on, she said.

As a graduate student at Oregon State University, Killian studied how the pest can decimate urban forests at a Chicago suburb where the pest showed a near 100% kill rate in city ash populations.

Killian likened what she saw to tornadoes she had experienced.

Immediately, the tornadoes were devastating. Over the long term, the emerald ash borer was much more damaging, Killian said.

Impossible to kill

Corvallis has a plan to deal with the beetle.

Because its presence is so novel and because the beetle has never been observed on Oregons indigenous ash forests, no one knows yet how quickly emerald ash borer will spread.

But emerald ash borer is very effective at killing and effectively impossible to kill. And it may go undetected for years before its been found to be widespread.

Oregon identified nine ash species from outside the region that people plant for shade or wood, not infrequently for decoration in cities.

The most common of those are green and white ash, both from the U.S. East. Green ash established a population in Oregon, just one of two species that grow in the wild.

European ash is up there on the list, as is narrow-leafed ash that comes from the myriad nations and biomes comprising the vast Eurasian physiographic region.

The creekside species found where forests have grown up over decades and centuries is Oregon ash, the widespread tree endemic to the state its named for. Oregon ash is found up and down the West Coast, which means ash borer can be vectored from California to Washington.

Oregon already was collecting the seeds of ash trees by 2013. The state appeared to learn from those jurisdictions that didnt have the banked gametes or plant starts to replace those trees killed by emerald ash borer.

Michigan shared that they regret not collecting seeds from their native ash and they have now lost native seed diversity as a result, authors said in the Oregon response plan.

Ash could die off in vast numbers, but at least land stewards and forest managers now know that, Killian said.

States dumped funding into powerful eradication programs when she lived in the Midwest, she said.

But she watched the description of one program change from beetle eradication to slowing the beetle as measures to trap bugs or make ash trees unpalatable with injections failed to halt the spread.

Its like flatten the curve, Killian said.

Corvallis removed ash from its approved planting list in 2017. The city also uses purple traps, sometimes called prism traps, to attract and capture potential tree predators.

Killian said the city has never caught an emerald ash borer in its traps.

Some trees will be fewer than 8 inches in diameter and have damaged roots, scalded leaves or other conditions that make the plant a candidate for taking out of the ground ahead of the beetle.

Fewer ash trees means fewer trees for the beetle to land in.

That tree will be removed ahead of the emerald ash borer, she said.

The city is updating a detailed census of its 20,000-plus trees that will show where neighborhoods are most susceptible to losing their tree cover.

Some trees will qualify for treatment with injections. But the city wont be able to inject every tree, and wont be able to remove every tree if they all die.

We cant afford to do that. We dont have the time to do that, Killian said.

A draft plan for managing ash borer in Corvallis is due out in April.

For now, land stewards in the mid-Willamette Valley are proceeding as though acting now, before its found here, is the only way to deal with the beetle.

Eradication is not possible with this beetle, Killian said.
The official end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency will mean major changes this month, including public health care coverage, masking requirements and cutbacks in pandemic data collection.

The Oregon Health Authority on Saturday began to winnow the ranks of the 1.5 million people covered by the Oregon Health Plan, the state's version of federal low-income Medicaid.

On Tuesday, a statewide masking requirement in healthcare settings will be lifted, with each facility or provider able to continue or end a requirement for face coverings.

OHA said Thursday it was streamlining COVID-19 data reports, with an end to updating whether newly infected cases were vaccinated or not.

President Joe Biden announced at the end of January that he planned on allowing the current COVID-19 state of emergency to lapse on May 11.

The moves come as COVID-19 has settled into a pattern of infection from highly-contagious but individually less virulent omicron subvariants.

The biggest impact of the COVID-19-related changes will be the reinstatement of income eligibility reviews to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan.

The federal Public Health Emergency officially ended Friday, including rules that gave each state wide latitude in deciding qualification for Medicaid programs.

OHA allowed anyone on the Oregon Health Plan to stay in the program indefinitely regardless of a change in their income. A spike in unemployment at the onset of the pandemic swelled the program and once enrolled, the state did not require proof of a change in income status even as employment swung back up.

Today, one out of three Oregonians is covered.

With the end of the federal emergency expected, OHA announced Feb. 13 that the pandemic pause on income verification would end on April 1.

OHA began sending notices on the change and will seek to retain as many residents in the low-cost program as possible.

We want to do everything we can to make sure Oregon Health Plan members stay covered as long as they are eligible, OHA Medicaid Director Dana Hittle said in a statement released Friday.

Oregon's plan going forward is to allow children to automatically stay on OHP until age six. All other recipients would receive up to two years of eligibility regardless of changes in income and without having to reapply. Hittle said no other state provides more than one year of guaranteed eligibility.

OHA will also allow individuals with incomes below about $29,000 to retain coverage. That's twice the federal poverty level.

Hittle said "most" residents on OHP continue to qualify, but changes to enrollment could begin by mid-April. All households of OHP recipients will receive notices over the next 10 months regarding their status and any actions necessary to remain in the program.

Those who do not respond to the notices risk losing their benefits. If deemed no longer eligible for OHP, recipients have 60 days to enroll in other insurance plans or find plans through the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, the program created under the federal Affordable Care Act. If they do not enroll in a plan, they will receive a second notice that they are being terminated from the OHP plan in 30 days.

OHA said the major work required to process redeterminations likely means slower response times on new enrollments and other OHP inquiries or requests.

OHP eligibility is just one of the new impacts of changes in the federal and state emergency status put in place over the past three years.

OHA announced last month that a requirement that face masks be worn in hospitals and other health care settings including urgent care facilities, school nurses' offices, and dentists' offices would end on Monday, April 3. The notice was given for health providers to decide whether they wanted to continue a mask requirement, which the state allows.

OHA has also announced Thursday it has ended updates to its COVID-19 Cases by Vaccination Status chart on the agency's "dashboard" of pandemic statistics. It was last updated in February.

Stating there was no significant difference in Oregon from national trends, the CDC's website would be the reference point in the future to judge what percentage of new infections are in people who are vaccinated or unvaccinated.

"These data paint a much more useful and accurate picture than Oregons data," OHA said in a statement. "As a result, we can actually learn more about Oregons COVID-19 disease and death rates by looking at national data than by looking at our own states data."

OHA spokesman Afiq Hisham said OHA plans to make more changes in the near future to "streamline" COVID-19 data reporting. In recent months, Oregon has followed the example of other states and cut back on the number and frequency or reports on COVID-19, saying resources were being reassigned to other public health issues.

The CDC reports that 16.5% of eligible Americans have been vaccinated and received the full bivalent booster course. In Oregon, 25.2% of eligible residents have been vaccinated and received boosters.

Canada and Britain have recently approved an additional bivalent booster, but U.S. officials have said they want to wait until autumn unless trends show a need for earlier intervention with another round of inoculations.

OHA's latest tally, released March 29, shows 986,791 infections and 9,470 deaths since the virus first appeared in the state in February 2020, two months after its discovery in Wuhan, China.

COVID-19 has claimed over 1.15 million lives in the U.S. since January 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the widespread availability of vaccines for those who want them, current CDC projections show a new spike in cases unlikely unless a variant of higher virulence appears.

The latest OHA report on COVID-19 showed 1,750 reported new infections and 25 deaths in Oregon over the previous week.

Hospitals reported 200 patients statewide who tested positive for COVID-19, though not all patients came to the hospital because of COVID-19 health-related complaints. There are 30 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital intensive care units around the state.

The most recent COVID-19 forecast from the Oregon Health & Science University projects that by late May, fewer than 100 people who have COVID-19 will be in Oregon hospitals.

For more information, go to OregonHealthCare.gov/GetHelp or call 1-800-699-9075.
New Delhi, Apr 2 (UNI) Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who arrives in New Delhi tomorrow on a three-day official visit, will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

The Bhutan King, who is visiting India on the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu, will arrive in the afternoon tomorrow. In the evening, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a call on him at Hotel Taj Palace.

On Tuesday, after a wreath-laying ceremony at Rajghat, the Bhutan King will meet Prime Minister Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg official-residence.

He will meet President Murmu the same evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and depart on Wednesday early morning.

The Bhutanese King will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji, and senior officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

The visit of the King of Bhutan is in keeping with the long-standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, an official statement said.

India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by understanding and mutual trust.

The visit would provide an opportunity to both the sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation, the statement said.

New Delhi, Apr 2 (UNI) Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who arrives in New Delhi tomorrow on a three-day official visit, will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.



The Bhutan King, who is visiting India on the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu, will arrive in the afternoon tomorrow. In the evening, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a call on him at Hotel Taj Palace.

On Tuesday, after a wreath-laying ceremony at Rajghat, the Bhutan King will meet Prime Minister Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg official-residence.

He will meet President Murmu the same evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and depart on Wednesday early morning.

The Bhutanese King will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji, and senior officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

The visit of the King of Bhutan is in keeping with the long-standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, an official statement said.

India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by understanding and mutual trust.

The visit would provide an opportunity to both the sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation, the statement said.

The visit of Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck comes weeks after officials from Bhutan and China met in Kunming in January and agreed to push forward boundary talks.

Their negotiations focused on two areas of dispute  Doklam and areas along the western borders of Bhutan and near the India-China-Bhutan trijunction, and the Jakarlung and Pasamlung valleys along Bhutans northern borders. A joint statement issued then said the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on implementing the MOU on the Three-Step Roadmap for Expediting the China-Bhutan Boundary Negotiations, and reached positive consensus.

The Bhutan-China border spans around 500 km, and has a lengthy history of territorial disputes.

The Bhutanese government contends that there exist four contested areas, while China argues that there are six disputes. Tensions surrounding the dispute over the Doklam region escalated into a standoff between Chinese and Indian forces in 2017. Doklam lies adjacent to Sikkim region, which is a crucial strategic area for the Indian military.

UNI RN
HADES modernizes aerial military intelligence

By Staff Sgt. Jacob Kohrs, Army News Service March 30, 2023

WASHINGTON -- During the Civil War, the Army used aerial technology, such as balloons, kites and pigeons, to gather intelligence and to survey the battlefield giving ground commanders the ability to make informed decisions on how to maneuver into advantageous positions.

Today, the Army's aerial-intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or A-ISR, community still has the same mission of providing timely, relevant, and accurate intelligence to tactical, operational, and strategic commanders, but it uses airplanes instead of balloons and birds. Yet, the current fleet of over 60 ISR aircraft are remnants of the Cold War.

Originally built for Cold War and Counter-terrorism threats, current and future multidomain operations, as well as geographical and geopolitical changes create challenges with the old fleet. Threats to assured communications are increasing, resulting in a need to design a concept and build material solutions for likely scenarios that do not rely on access to allied military installations to continue the mission.

The solution to these challenges is the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, or HADES.

"It will possess speed, range, endurance-at-range, and altitude to overcome the physical challenges, without sacrificing the unique quality and capability of collection that airborne ISR provides to Army and joint force commanders around the world," said Lt. Col. Matt Paladino, ISR Task Force aerial chief for the Army Military Intelligence Staff. "With exceptional payload capacity, it will offer convergence options that occur on or off-board the aircraft to cover assured, denied, or degraded communication environments."

To help bridge the gap between decommissioning the old fleet and commissioning the new fleet, the ISR Task Force is using Aerial Technology Demonstrators, or ATD. ATDs are aircraft that Army is contracting as a service to test which airframes will work best for the mission requirements.

The ISR Task Force started by looking at all joint, interagency and allies' ISR programs and compared them to the Army's priorities. When the Task Force was finished, they decided on a large-cab business jet. This gave the Army the ability to group all the sensors on one plane with the ability to upgrade and/or add to those systems without losing performance. The first ATD was the airborne reconnaissance and target exploitation multi-mission system or ARTEMIS in 2020, said Capt. Jonathan Magee, ISR Task Force aerial planner for the Army Military Intelligence Staff.

"ARTEMIS was our first attempt at putting sensors on a jet to see how that was employed, and we put it in the [Indo-Pacific Command's Area of Operation] to see what it could do," Magee said. "All of it was good at the end of the day. It's informing the HADES POR, program of record, for what we need in the end."

During the first ATD tests, the ISR Task Force learned that the jets had longer flight times then the turboprops, which only had a five-to-six-hour flight time. The ATDs had a faster deployment capability and could travel anywhere in the world within 24 hours. They also flew higher and faster while allowing deeper sensor penetration.

"When you sync all of those together, you then build a program that is now contributing to the joint fight rather than just the Army's fight," Magee said.

After ARTEMIS's success in the Pacific, it was moved to the U.S. Army Europe and Africa. Here ARTEMIS showed its value.

"ARTEMIS demonstrated both the operational and financial value of the Army's future ISR concept, providing cross-combatant command support for its relatively new four-star theater commander with responsibilities that span tremendous geography across two continents," Paladino said. "No longer will the Army require multiple bed-down locations to access regional hotspots. A single aircraft with the speed and range of HADES can provide thousands of miles of reach from a single bed-down site, forward deployed."

In 2022, an additional ATD, Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System or ARES, was deployed to the INDO-PACOM Area of Responsibility. This aircraft was larger and closer to the HADES project's long-term goals.

"ARES revolutionized the Army's contribution to a joint fight in that theater," Paladino said. "ARES provides the [U.S. Army Pacific Command] an organic deep sensing capability with relevant collection capability for the modern battlefield. Adding additional altitude and persistence over ARTEMIS, ARES is competing nearly every day with the nation's most advanced adversaries. Just like with ARTEMIS, Army Soldiers operating in concert with the defense industry are providing this support to both Army and joint force commanders today."

Outside of the physical aspects of the jets being able to fly faster, longer and higher, there has been some changes to the internal configurations the HADES project has built compared to the old turboprops.

"The one thing that I'm noticing is ... the ability to add different capabilities if necessary and being able to tailor them to whatever theaters we're in, which isn't really something we're able to do with the older platform," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Amber Cornelius, the ARES processing, exploitation and dissemination officer in charge with the 104th Military Intelligence Company; Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination Battalion, 116th Military Intelligence Brigade. "Some of the signals we are going after on an unclassified level in specific theaters, we weren't able to detect with the older platform. With these newer [platforms], just being able to go after those combatant commanders' top priorities has been one of the biggest game changers: especially going from a tactical focus to a more strategic focus."

With the diversity of the newer platforms, the PED Battalion had to change up their operations a little bit because going from a tactical focus to a strategic focus, the authority piece is different. Yet, it has allowed the Army to pick up the sensitive reconnaissance operations. Now the PED is not only supporting the direct combatant commanders on the ground, but they are gathering for other government agencies, like the National Security Agency, Cornelius said.

Overall, the new ATDs have added capabilities that have helped make Army intelligence even more accurate.

"With the ability to fly higher, farther and faster in the various target areas that we're looking at, we get vast amounts of data every mission that we fly. It is vastly different because we are able to stay in an area for a longer dwell time," said Sgt. Bryden Jones, a mission manager for ARES with the 104th Military Intelligence Company, PED Battalion, 116th Military Intelligence Brigade. "These capabilities allow us to provide things like pattern-of-life; it allows us to see up and down time locations, potential troop movement or anything else you can think of."

ARTEMIS and ARES have the ability to see these things and push the information out to commanders in real time. Having instant and relevant intelligence, he said.

"Being able to relay that information is mind-boggling to me," he said.

As for building this fleet after the demonstration phase:

The Army plans to make the first purchases in fiscal year 2024 and expects the first of the new aircraft to be delivered within 2027, Magee said. The plan is to have at least 14 aircrafts in as few geographic locations as possible to improve on training and force generation mission command, instead of the multiple locations where the turboprops are stationed now. By 2035, the PED unit will be fully equipped with Soldiers fully controlling operations.

As the Army builds the Army of 2030 by developing new equipment and adopting new concepts on how to fight the nation's wars, the HADES modernization efforts will take the Army into the new decade.

"This modernization effort, going from our legacy platforms to our current modern platforms, is absolutely a step in the right direction," Jones said. "We have stepped away from the counterterrorism operations and started looking at a bigger, wider, more strategic objectives in order to effectively provide intelligence to the people that need the information to win the nation's wars. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be a part of anything like this."

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VP Harris Praises Tanzania's President for Strengthening Democracy

By Charles Kombe March 31, 2023

Human rights activists are voicing appreciation for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's recognition of efforts by Tanzania's president to strengthen democracy in the country.

In Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Harris oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, covering a range of issues.

In a joint press briefing at Dar es Salaam State House, Harris hailed President Samia Hassan. "You have been a champion in terms of democratic reforms in this country and, in that way, have expanded our partnership," she said. "And so today, then, is part of the strengthening of the relationship between our two countries."

The U.S. and Tanzania signed a five-year agreement of assistance worth $1.1 billion aimed at improving good governance and development.

Since coming to power in 2021, Hassan has moved away from policies by her late predecessor, John Magufuli, that critics said suppressed the opposition and all forms of dissent.

Hassan has lifted restrictions on the media, ended a ban on political rallies and recently promised to restore competitive politics.

Speaking at the event, the president told the vice president that she was committed to strengthening democracy.

"Acceptable democratic space has been a major concern of my government," she said. "We have endeavored to build a democratic state that upholds transparency and respect of the rule of law."

Anna Henga, executive director of the Legal and Human Rights Center in Tanzania, said that "when we look at the current situation, there is some relief" with regard to human rights. "We cannot deny that we haven't yet reached where we want to be, but the world can see the moves that Tanzania is making toward democracy. Therefore, I was not surprised by Harris's remarks. As for the U.S. support, I believe it will continue and I'm hopeful that we'll reach our desired destination."

Bob Wangwe, head of the Tanzania Constitutional Forum, known in Swahili as Jukwaa la Katiba, said Tanzania needs constitutional reforms that will, among other things, allow presidential results to be challenged and independent candidates to run for office.

"I think that these engagements and the statement from Kamala will ultimately advance democracy in this country," he said, "and I am looking forward to the substantial steps the government has to undertake." Wangwe said those include "undertaking constitutional reforms to strengthen some institutions that will help the country in terms of accountability."

Harris left Tanzania on Friday for Zambia, the final stop on her tour of three African countries that began in Ghana.

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Mexico City, Apr 2 (UNI) Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juan Carlos Holguin has announced his resignation, for personal reasons.

"For personal reasons, I present my resignation from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility," Holguin said on Twitter on Saturday.

The minister said that, in his mandate, he had always acted fairly and in accordance with the law, in order to safeguard the interests of the state.

Ecuadors President Guillermo Lasso said that Minister of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition Gustavo Manrique Miranda will replace Holguin as the new foreign minister.

"I highlight the work carried out by Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin and I regret his resignation. On Monday, Gustavo Manrique will be appointed as responsible to assume this post," Lasso said on Twitter on Saturday.

Earlier this week, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador announced that it had approved impeachment proceedings against Guillermo Lasso, on charges of embezzlement.

UNI/SPUTNIK GNK
Sweden congratulates Finland on NATO membership

Government Offices of Sweden

01 April 2023

All NATO member countries have now ratified Finland's application, and Finland will thereby become a full member in the coming days.

"We're delighted for Finland. This is an important step forward for our sister country, and becoming members will strengthen the security of both Finland and Sweden. But just as Finland has stated, their membership is not complete until Sweden is also a member," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom.

The Government is continuing to work for Sweden to become a NATO member as well.

"The Government will now work tirelessly for Sweden to become a member as well, and our goal remains for Sweden to become a NATO member in connection with the Vilnius Summit," says Mr Billstrom.



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Jakov Milatovic, The Man Who Could Unseat Montenegro's Longtime Leader

By Andy Heil, RFE/RL's Balkan Service April 01, 2023

A few months ago, few people predicted that Montenegrin presidential challenger Jakov Milatovic was on track to unseat Europe's longest-serving democratically elected leader. In fact, the 36-year-old, Western-educated economist wasn't even his own party's choice for the job.

But he is now, thanks to his second-place finish right behind President Milo Djukanovic in the first round of voting on March 19.

And endorsements from other challengers and parties since that vote suggest the former economy minister could easily ride anti-Djukanovic sentiment to victory in the April 2 runoff, unless the 61-year-old incumbent can somehow redirect an avalanche of public distrust.

Djukanovic, the head of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), has effectively led Montenegro as president or prime minister since 1991, but his rule has been sullied by corruption allegations and accusations of involvement with organized crime.

A victory for Milatovic could also provide momentum for his 9-month-old Europe Now! party ahead of snap parliamentary elections already scheduled for June 11.

But just two and a half years after he gave up international banking to join an ill-fated cabinet led by pro-Serbian forces, Milatovic remains a mystery to many Montenegrins and most outsiders.

He was born in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, which was known at the time as Titograd, in December 1986. That was the same year that rising star Djukanovic joined the presidency of Yugoslavia's Socialist Youth League, an eventual springboard to presidential and prime ministerial stints in Montenegro's postcommunist and postindependence eras.

After finishing his studies in economics at the University of Podgorica, Milatovic spent one year as a scholar at Illinois State University in the United States and then had stints studying in Vienna and Rome. He went on to earn a master's degree in economics at Oxford.

Following his academic studies, he worked at a regional bank and then Deutsche Bank before joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as an economist in London and Podgorica.

Then, watershed elections in 2020 handed a one-seat majority in the Montenegrin parliament to an assemblage of pro-Serbian, pro-Serbian Orthodox, and other groupings to send Djukanovic's DPS into opposition for the first time since multiparty elections began in 1990.

Around one-third of Montenegro's residents identify as Serbian and around two-thirds worship under a local arm of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Tensions with Belgrade have broadly eased since Montenegro declared independence from a union with Serbia in 2006, but questions of Montenegrin national identity and shared culture remain sore spots.

Milatovic left his job abroad to become economy minister in the "technical" cabinet of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, one of the 12 "apostles" -- as Krivokapic famously called them -- in a government negotiated under the watchful eyes of the Serbian Orthodox Church at the Ostrog Monastery to assert the coalition's pro-Serbian, pro-church credentials.

In government, Milatovic soon joined forces with another well-traveled thirtysomething analyst: Finance Minister Milojko Spajic.

They quickly demonstrated a knack for populist simplicity.

Spajic and Milatovic were the architects of a stimulus-and-reform scheme that boosted wages in part by abolishing contributions to health care in the midst of a pandemic. Dubbed "Europe Now," the plan showed immediate results, contributing to more than doubling the monthly minimum wage -- from 222 euros ($242) to 450 euros ($491) -- and boosting average wages from 530 euros to 670 euros.

Critics say the moves effectively reneged on Milatovic's pledge that the government was "dedicated...to structural reforms," crippled the financial fitness of the health-care system, and left the country vulnerable to a "Greek scenario" of default. Milatovic has blamed reform failures on a lack of political will that he says has also hamstrung Montenegro's EU candidacy.

But the "Europe Now" initiative earned both men considerable popular support.

In a pointed critique of the Djukanovic era, Milatovic boasted that "this was the first significant increase in the standard of living [in Montenegro] in the past 30 years." He also suggested that the country could "reach an average [monthly] salary of 1,000 euros in a short period of time."

The Krivokapic government lost a no-confidence vote in February 2022 brought on by a crisis over denial of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide by a junior minister, although it stayed on in a caretaker capacity until April.

By June 2022, with Spajic as president and Milatovic as his deputy, the duo created a new political party with a stated centrist, pro-EU, anti-corruption agenda called Movement Europe Now! (Pokret Evropa Sad!).

In October 2022, with Milatovic heading the party list in Podgorica, home to nearly 1-in-3 Montenegro residents, Europe Now! won a stunning 21 percent of the vote on pledges of modernizing the workforce and delivering economic prosperity.

Spajic, a Serb, announced his plans to challenge Djukanovic in this month's presidential election, but his bid was derailed by his longtime official residency in Serbia and suspected dual citizenship.

In next-man-up fashion, Milatovic quickly stepped in to fill the void.

"Whether it's me or Spajic is really not so important at the moment," Milatovic said in January ahead of Spajic's withdrawal, describing himself as "a man who has never run from responsibility."

As a candidate, he has played up his economic experience and support for Montenegro's EU membership bid, which has slowed over reform failures and enlargement fatigue among the bloc's members.

He has also consistently argued for closer relations with Serbia.

Among the field of seven candidates on March 19, Djukanovic won nearly 36 percent of the vote to Milatovic's 29 percent. Since the first round, Djukanovic has sought to mobilize voters among non-Serbian national minorities like ethnic Albanians and Bosniaks, who have supported him in the past.

Djukanovic's nearly 36 percent tally reflects a drop-off of around one-third of his support from the 2018 election, when he won outright with around 54 percent of the vote.

Within hours of polls closing on March 19, several of the also-rans and other parties affiliated with the post-DPS governments were urging their voters to support Milatovic in the second round.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro-milatovic- election-profile-djukanovic-vote/32344969.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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Ugandan Troops Enter DR Congo as Part of East African Regional Force, Media Report

Sputnik News

20230401

Tamara Vakhromova

Earlier this week, the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) held a flag-off ceremony to mark the country's move to dispatch its troops as part of East African Community's (EAC) peacekeeping mission in the eastern DR Congo, where a significant number of militant groups pose a threat to the security of the area.

Some 1,000 Ugandan soldiers joined an East African regional military force on Friday as part of a mission in the eastern DR Congo, media report.

Ugandan troops entered the town of Bunagana in the DRC to secure safety in the region during the gradual withdrawal of M23 militants, said Kenyan commander General Jeff Nyagah as cited by media. According to him, a total of 2,000 Ugandan troops are expected to operate in the DRC.

Ahead of the flag-off ceremony, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni declared that the country's contingent in the DR Congo is deployed in order to "occupy some of the positions that the M23 has handed over to the East African force as a neutral force" rather than to fight rebels.

Earlier, Kenya and Burundi also deployed their troops to the country. South Sudan is expected to send 750 troops to the DRC.

M23 is a rebel group that operates in the east of the DRC alongside with more than 120 militant organizations. M23 emerged in 2012 and launched an offensive against the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in autumn of 2022 and occupied much of the nation's territory.

Last summer, in response to the threat posed to the government by rebels, the leaders of EAC member states agreed adopt a peacekeeping operation concept, the Status of Forces Agreement, and Rules of Engagement aimed at the facilitation of the realization of regional forces' operations in the DRC.

Instability in the DR Congo, mainly in the North Kivu province, has been a long-lasting issue. Since the late 1990s, the country has faced frequent conflicts between the government and militants. According to UN estimates, more than five million people were displaced due to insecurity in the DRC over the last two years.

 Sputnik

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Russo-Ukraine War - 01 April 2023 - Day 402

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

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 on 11 January 2023, Russian Chief of the General Staff (CGS) General Valery Gerasimov took personal command of the 'special military operation' in Ukraine.

Gerasimov's tenure has been characterised by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region. Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed.

On several axes across the Donbas front, Russian forces have made only marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties, largely squandering its temporary advantage in personnel gained from the autumn's 'partial mobilisation'.

After ten years as CGS, there is a realistic possibility that Gerasimov is pushing the limits of how far Russia's political leadership will tolerate failure.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, Russia launched 2x missile strikes, 25x air strikes and launched 6x attacks from MLRS.

Without the desired results on the battlefield, Russia continues to cynically wage war against peaceful citizens. Today, the russian Federation again launched missile attacks on civilian objects in the city of Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, and other populated areas of Ukraine, using ballistic missiles. There are wounded among the civilian population.

The probability of further missile and air strikes on the entire territory of Ukraine remains high.

Russia is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive actions on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mar'yinka axes. During this day, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled more than 50x Russian attacks. The battles for the districts of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mar'yinka remain the fiercest. Volyn', Polissya, Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: the operational situation has not changed significantly.

The top political leadership of the Republic of Belarus continues to support Russian aggression, provides airspace and territory to Russia.

The training of units of the territorial troops of the armed forces of the Russian Federation continues at the Belarusian training grounds. At the same time, no signs of the formation of Russian offensive groups were detected. During the day, Russian forces shelled the settlements of Oleksandrivka, Chernihiv Oblast; Baranivka, Volfine, Katerynivka, Kindrativka, Novomykolaivka, Popivka of the Sumy Oblast, as well as Veterinarne, Zybyne, Okhrimivka and Krasne Pershe settlements in the Kharkiv Oblast.

Kupyansk axis: Dvorichna, Kutkivka, Zapadne, Masyutivka, Kupyansk, Pishchane, Krokhmalne and Novoselivske of the Kharkiv Oblast were under Russian fire in the.

Lyman axis: during the day, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensives in the areas south of Kreminnaya and Verkhnokamyansk. Nevske, Kolodyazi, Dibrova, Belogorivka and Rozdolivka of the Luhansk Oblast were hit by artillery fire.

Bakhmut axis: Russia does not stop the assault on the city of Bakhmut. However, our defenders courageously hold the settlement. At the same time, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in Bohdanivka, Donetsk Oblast. During the day, Russian forces shelled the settlements of Vasyukivka, Orihovo-Vasylivka, Novomarkove, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Chasiv Yar, Kurdyumivka, Diliivka, New York and Druzhkivka.

Avdiivka and Mar'yinka axes: Russian forces unsuccessfully conducted offensive actions in the areas of Avdiivka, Severnoy, Pervomaisky and Mar'yinka. Fired at Avdiivka, Orlivka, Netaylovka, Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, and Mar'yinka.

Shakhtars'k axis: during the day, Russian forces actively used UAVs to adjust artillery fire, shelled the settlements of Pobyeda, Novomykhailivka, Vugledar, Velika Novosilka of the Donetsk Oblast.

Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axiss, Russian forces did not conduct active operations, improving defensive lines and positions. They carried out shelling of populated areas, which are next to the line of military confrontation. Among them are Vremivka of Donetsk Oblast; Burlatske, Zatyshsha, Gulyaipole, Zaliznychne, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Mali Shcherbaki, Kamianske of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as well as Dudchany, Kachkarivka, Zmiivka, Beryslav, Vesele, Mykolaivka, Burgunka, Kizomys of the Kherson Oblast and the city of Kherson.

The Russian occupiers continue the forced passporting of the population of the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In particular, in the city of Tokmak, Russian invaders are restricting the movement of Ukrainian citizens who have not received passports of the russian federation at checkpoints. The Russian occupiers purposefully and deliberately search vehicles without further opportunity to enter the city. In case of absence of a Russian passport, citizens of Ukraine are threatened with a ban on entering the city. In turn, FSB representatives, during house searches, threaten local citizens of Ukraine with job loss and employment problems without a Russian passport.

During the day, the Ukrainian Air Force carried out 8x strikes on the concentration areas of the Russian occupiers, and units of missile and artillery troops hit 3x areas of concentration of manpower, weapons and military equipment and 2x Russian ammunition depots.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that military expert Boris Rozhin said that the information that appeared in some media about the occupation of the PMC "Wagner" by the administration of Bakhmut (Artemovsk) is premature. On the morning of April 1, the distance from the advanced positions of the "Wagnerites" to the mentioned building was 200-250 meters. Progress is being made, but slowly due to the stubborn resistance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). However, in the late afternoon, new reports began to appear about the advance of the assault troops in the area, but they are still waiting for confirmation.

In addition, the hacking of enemy defenses in the southwestern quarters of the city continues. The situation near Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Ivanovsk and Khromov did not undergo significant changes.

Also today it became known about the elimination of nationalist Daniil Lyashuk near Bakhmut. After the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, he was involved in torture, kidnapping and other crimes in the Donbass. It is noteworthy that even the post-Maidan authorities considered the list of his offenses sufficient to imprison the militant, but released Lyashuk after the start of the special operation.

The situation on other sectors of the front

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, during the day, the Russian Armed Forces along the entire line of contact liquidated or wounded about 350 enemy soldiers, 16 vehicles, an armored personnel carrier, 9 armored vehicles, 3 D-30 howitzers, 1 D-20, 2 Akatsiya self-propelled guns and 1 Gvozdika ", towed gun "Hyacinth-B" and rocket launcher "Grad".

Artillery and aviation hit 86 enemy artillery positions and 92 places of accumulation of manpower and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. An ammunition depot of the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade was destroyed in Izbitsky.

Fighter aircraft shot down a MiG-29 of the Ukrainian Air Force over Koptev and an Mi-8 over Novovasilevka. Air defense systems intercepted nine shells from HIMARS and Smerch rocket systems, as well as five enemy drones.

Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at the border settlements of the Kursk region, namely Iskra, Kleven and Bogoslovka. There were no casualties, but there were problems with the power supply, which are now being resolved by the relevant services.





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HKSAR govt slams US 2023 HK policy act report as attempt to undermine stability

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Apr 01, 2023 02:52 PM

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government on Saturday expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the fact-twisting remarks and smears of the US State Department report that claims that the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL)'s effects "undercut Hong Kong freedoms."

The HKSAR Government strongly disapproves of and firmly rejects the slandering remarks and ill-intentioned attacks detailed within the US' so-called 2023 Hong Kong Policy Act Report against Hong Kong where the "One country, Two systems" principle has been successfully implemented, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said in a statement.

The US State Department on Friday issued the "2023 Hong Kong Policy Act Report," claiming "the US' interests in Hong Kong have been threatened." Since the implementation of the NSL in June 2020, the US has been maliciously slandering the NSL and attacking the HKSAR through the so-called annual reports and other means.

"The US once again made fact-twisting remarks, with politics overriding the rule of law related to Hong Kong and interfered in Hong Kong affairs which are China's internal affairs. The US' attempt to undermine the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will only expose its own weakness and faulty arguments and is doomed to fail," the spokesman said.

The HKSAR government safeguards national sovereignty, security and development interests, and upholds the authority of the NSL for HKSAR, and urges the US to immediately stop acts that do not comply with international laws and basic norms of international relations, and stop interfering in the HKSAR affairs, which are China's internal affairs, the spokesman said.

The US has also deliberately neglected the fact that the implementation of the NSL has enabled economic and social activities throughout the Hong Kong community at large to resume as normal and the business environment to be restored. Its bullying act and hypocrisy with double standards are despicable, the spokesman said.

Facts have convincingly proved that the enactment and implementation of the NSL is fully in line with HKSAR's reality, and it has played a decisive role in realizing its transformation from chaos to governance and toward strong governance and prosperity, said the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR in late January, urging the US to immediately stop its clumsy performance of interfering in China's domestic affairs.

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China calls on all nuclear weapon states to effectively reduce risk of nuclear war

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:05, April 01, 2023

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.

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Basic Law guarantees steady, sustained development of "one country, two systems" in SAR

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:07, April 01, 2023

MACAO, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Friday held a conference and a symposium to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, a milestone in the historical process of the "one country, two systems" cause.

The Basic Law of the Macao SAR, together with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, forms the constitutional foundation for the Macao SAR. The Macao SAR government and different circles of life have persisted in building Macao's governance system and capabilities under the framework of national governance.

They have also resolutely safeguarded national sovereignty, security and development interests, implemented the principle of "patriots administering Macao," made substantial progress in Macao's economic development, people's livelihood and social stability, and promoted the steady and sustained development of "one country, two systems" practices with Macao characteristics.

"PATRIOTS ADMINISTERING MACAO"

"The Basic Law of the Macao SAR was the outcome of legalizing and institutionalizing the 'one country, two systems' principle," said Tong Io Cheng, member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the Macao SAR under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

Since Macao's return, the Macao SAR has fully respected and safeguarded the central authorities' overall jurisdiction over Macao and correctly exercised the power of administering Macao with a high degree of autonomy, which serves as key to the success of "one country, two systems" practices in Macao.

In 2016, the Macao SAR amended its law on election of the Legislative Assembly, stipulating that candidates must not hold political posts in foreign countries and that they must uphold the Macao SAR Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Macao SAR.

During the election of the seventh Legislative Assembly of Macao in 2021, 21 candidates were disqualified for having not upheld the Macao SAR Basic Law, or not pledging allegiance to the Macao SAR.

SAFEGUARDING NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, SECURITY, DEVELOPMENT INTERESTS

"National security is the basic premise of the existence and development of the country. It is also a vital foundation for Macao to maintain long-term prosperity and stability," said Wang Yu, member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the Macao SAR under the NPC Standing Committee.

The Macao SAR government and various circles of life have always put safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests as a top priority, added Wang.

Since 2009, the Macao SAR has completed legislation on safeguarding national security as stipulated by Article 23 of the Macao SAR Basic Law and supporting laws. Macao is now progressing with amendment of the legislation on national security to further improve the legal system for safeguarding national security.

Since 2018, the Macao SAR government has also organized exhibitions each year to help increase Macao residents' awareness of national security.

GOVERNING MACAO IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW

Since Macao's return to the motherland, the SAR has enacted or amended 363 laws and 792 regulations, providing a strong legal guarantee for the development of various causes.

Currently, a legal system with the Constitution and the Basic Law as the core and five major codes as the mainstay has been formed in Macao, guaranteeing residents' basic rights such as the right to elect and be elected, freedom, and access to social welfare.

Macao has made notable progress in various social causes since 1999, continuously increasing its social welfare level. The average life expectancy of male and female residents reached 81.3 and 87.1 years respectively.

INTEGRATION INTO OVERALL NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

"The Basic Law provides a solid legal guarantee for Macao's economic development and improvement of people's livelihood," said Ip Kuai Peng, vice rector of the City University of Macao.

Guaranteed and guided by the Constitution and the Basic Law, the central authorities' favorable policies continuously assisted Macao to integrate into the overall national development and achieve leaping economic and social development, Ip said.

Over the years, the central authorities have facilitated the establishment of closer economic and trade relations between the mainland and Macao, offered new space for the development of Macao's higher education, promoted exchanges and trade in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and supported Macao's appropriate economic diversification by building the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, Macao's neighboring Zhuhai city.

In 2022, Macao revised its gaming laws.

From 1999 to 2021, Macao's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.5 percent annually in real terms on average. Meanwhile, per capita GDP grew from 15,000 U.S. dollars to 44,000 dollars. Foreign exchange reserves increased from 2.86 billion dollars to 26.66 billion dollars.

POPULARIZATION OF LAWS

The Macao SAR has also been dedicated to popularizing the Constitution and the Basic Law, with official and non-official groups focusing on publicizing the laws to students and the general public.

Founded in 2001, the Macao Basic Law Promotion Association is a major organization devoted to publicizing the Constitution and the Basic Law. Since 2012, the association has organized nine training sessions to Macao's young people.

"Education on the Constitution and the Basic Law has become core of Macao's patriotic education system," said Liu Chak Wan, president of the association.

Macao should continue learning and using the Basic Law to fully tap the advantages of the "one country, two systems" principle, find out deep-rooted problems in Macao's socio-economic development, and enrich practices of "one country, two systems," added Liu.

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JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT BETWEEN THEaPEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANaALL-ROUND HIGH-QUALITY FUTURE-ORIENTED PARTNERSHIP

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

2023-04-01 14:00

At the invitation of H.E. Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, H.E. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, made an Official Visit to China from 27 March to 1 April 2023.a

During the visit, H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, met with Prime Minister Lee. Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister Lee held a bilateral meeting. Prime Minister Lee also met with H.E. Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and H.E. Wang Huning, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Both sides agreed that relations between China and Singapore have continued to grow from strength to strength. Both countries have taken a long term and strategic perspective in charting the path for developing mutually beneficial bilateral relations. Under the "All-Round Cooperative Partnership Progressing with the Times" established by both countries during President Xi's State Visit to Singapore in 2015, bilateral relations have progressed well, in line with the two countries' unique strengths and development priorities. Both sides have established substantive and multi faceted cooperation in a wide range of areas, and jointly seized new opportunities in emerging fields.

Both sides have agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to an "All Round High Quality FutureA Oriented Partnership", reflecting both countries' desire to set the strategic direction and chart the development of bilateral relations going forward.

Singapore reaffirmed its support for China's pursuit of high-quality development and welcomed China's continued commitment to reform and opening up. China spoke highly of Singapore's longstanding participation in China's modernisation journey, which has laid a strong foundation for bilateral cooperation, and expressed support for Singapore's continued growth and prosperity.

Both sides took stock of the commendable progress of bilateral cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On the important occasion of the tenth anniversary of the BRI this year, both countries will take the opportunitya to broaden and deepen high-quality cooperation that benefits our peoples and region.

In line with the two countries' commitment towards collaboration that is of a high standard and quality, both sides welcomed the substantive conclusion of the China Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) Work Programme for Subsequent Negotiations, which was launched pursuant to the Protocol to Upgrade the CSFTA signed in 2018. This upgrade will allow the CSFTA to provide for more business-friendly, liberal, and transparent rules as well as improve the market access for our businesses to trade and invest in each other's markets. Both sides looked forward to the signing of the Protocol for the CSFTA Subsequent Negotiations as soon as possible this year.

Building on the "High-Quality" and "Future-Oriented" approach to bilateral cooperation, both sides looked forward to strengthening the comprehensive and innovative cooperation between China and Singapore in areas including trade and investment, green and digital economies, food security, financial sector, aviation, and people-to-people exchanges. Both sides will work together to harness synergies in new fields like digital transformation and unlock new growth opportunities geared to the future development. Both sides looked forward to pursuing new areas of cooperation, making full use of inter governmental mechanisms such as the existing annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, as well as the eight Provincial Business Councils in China.a

Both sides reaffirmed the continued strengthening of ASEAN China relations and cooperation under the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Singapore welcomes China's support for the importance of maintaining ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture. China and Singapore will work together for the effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), and advance preparations for the further enhancement of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA 3.0) to drive mutually beneficial economic growth.

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to multilateralism, support for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, adherence to international law, and would continue to maintain close communication and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral organisations.

China and Singapore will continue to work together to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), maintain an open and inclusive global economy, and ensure the stable and smooth operation of global supply chains, so as to jointly meet global challenges and make economic globalisation more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.

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KCNA Commentary on War Maniacs' Reckless Moves

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, April 2 (KCNA) -- The DPRK has already and clearly warned that the U.S. and south Korea's military bluff and temerity do not work on it at all and such moves are no more than a wrong behavior of bringing themselves closer to a grave danger.

But the warmongers' desperate acts are going to the extremes.

The U.S. and south Korea staged large-scale joint military exercises, Freedom Shield, simulating an all-out war against the DPRK for 11 days from March 13, the longest-ever period. Their war hysteria is running up to the climax along with the start of Ssangyong, a joint landing drill.

The U.S. staged an air-to-air live firing and air-to-surface bombing drill, aimed at raising the capability of precision strike at the DPRK's "core targets", in the West Sea of Korea with involvement of the south Korean puppet air force and the 51st combat air division of the 7th U.S. air force for five days from March 20 when the Ssangyong drill was launched. Then, it conducted a joint tactical drill for "occupying city" of the DPRK with involvement of the south Korean puppet armed forces for four days from June 26.

The Ssangyong drill, which involved dozens of warships and other vessels including the U.S. navy's amphibious assaulting ship Makin Island laden with scores of F-35B stealth fighters, various types of fighters and amphibious assaulting armored cars, the U.S. 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the U.S. nuclear carrier Nimitz, to be additionally dispatched first from the U.S. mainland in case of contingency on the Korean Peninsula, the special warfare units of its satellite countries and the south Korean puppet armed forces, went through a provocative phase called "decisive action".

The "decisive action" drill, allegedly core of the landing operation, was staged by the vast combined forces of the U.S. and the south Korean puppet military conducting under a large-scale firing support for landing target area, the landing, assault and occupation of targets by turns in the air and sea.

With the beginning of the drill, special warfare units of the U.S., south Korean puppet forces and satellite countries launched a "landing attack" by using C-130 transport planes and on the coast, marine shock forces on landing crafts "advanced" into an area simulating the territory of the DPRK by amphibious assaulting armored cars and LCACs.

In the "decisive action" drill, combined marines were to land in the relevant area under the fire support of fighters and warships of the U.S. and south Korean puppet forces and then move to the target area to capture and secure the beachhead and fulfill their mission. Finally, it was a war drill for aggression to occupy the DPRK's territory through preemptive attack from A to Z.

Meanwhile, two B-52H nuclear strategic bombers of the U.S. air force flew into the air of the Korean peninsula again on March 30 to openly pose a threat to the DPRK. At the same time, the chief of the carrier strike group and other warmongers told with bluff that they have various means and can mount attack in any sphere.

And stealth fighters from the U.S. Navy's amphibious assaulting ship Makin Island conducted a drill for striking ground targets in the sky above Kangwon Province of south Korea from March 30 to April 1.

The U.S. plans to stage another joint naval drill in the East Sea of Korea next week with the involvement of the U.S.-Japan-south Korea three-party naval forces, including U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Nimitz which entered into the Pusan operation base on March 28.

The U.S. and the south Korean puppet forces are openly crying out for the "occupation of Pyongyang" and "beheading operation", which they had secretly pushed forward in the past for fear, and getting hell-bent on the drill to carry them into practice. This shows that their hostile acts against the DPRK have reached the worst phase.

This being a hard fact, those of the defense and state departments of the U.S. have parroted that the military drills with south Korea are defensive and routine ones that have lasted for a long time. But, they can never conceal with such veils as "defensive" and "routine" their aggressive colors as provocateurs and the fact that the current exercises are a deliberate military action prompted by their sinister scheme and option to wreck peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region.

The U.S. and the south Korean puppets openly announced that they would lead the recent war exercises to the largest-ever "combined joint firepower annihilation drill" in forthcoming June with involvement of all the ground, naval and air combined forces and latest weapons. This reminds the people and army of the DPRK of June 1950 when they had to be subject to war calamity, and further arousing their high vigilance.

The U.S. and its followers should never forget the fact that their rival state has possessed the nuclear attack capability in practice as well as the characteristics of the people and army of the DPRK which do not make empty talk.

Now that the U.S. and the south Korean puppets have openly made a military provocation to the DPRK, the latter's option will be in conformity with it.

It will be quite clear how the DPRK's nukes will be used if the war deterrence does not work on those who are running amuck, not being afraid of nuclear weapons.

They should think twice to truly avoid unlucky catastrophe and should be mindful that they will have to pay dearly for their rash acts. -0-

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4th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India & Philippines held in New Delhi

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 31 MAR 2023 5:32PM by PIB Delhi

4th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India and the Philippines was held in New Delhi on March 31, 2023. The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence Shri Amitabh Prasad, while the Philippines delegation was headed by Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments and International Affairs, Department of National Defence Mr Pablo M Lorenzo.

iiiDuring the meeting, both sides reviewed the ongoing bilateral defence cooperation and discussed effective and practical initiatives to further expand the engagements. The co-chairs reaffirmed their commitment to implement 2006 agreement concerning defence cooperation, based on mutual trust and understanding, common interest and shared values of democracy and rule of law.iii

Both sides agreed to initiate measures to enhance cooperation in Defence Industry and Technology domain and look forward to greater synergy in effectively deepening bilateral cooperative engagements across the spectrum. They discussed cooperation in multilateral forums and noted complementarities in their approaches to the Indo-Pacific region and decided to hold regular consultations on issues of mutual interest. The interest and enthusiasm towards strengthening the bilateral relations across sectors were appreciated.

ABB/Savvy



(Release ID: 1912585)

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Islamabad, Apr 2 (UNI) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan threatened to launch countrywide protests if elections are not held in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) within 90 days after the dissolution of the provincial assemblies.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan threatened on Saturday.

In line with the direction of the PTI chairman, the Punjab and KP assemblies  where his party was in power  had been dissolved in January. But the Election Commission of Pakistan has pushed the polls to October 8, citing security threats and the inability of authorities to cooperate in elections.

During an interaction with journalists in Lahore, the former prime minister  who was ousted from the office via a no-confidence motion in April last year  said that the caretaker governments in the provinces should have played a "neutral" role but unfortunately, they were not fulfilling their responsibilities.

Responding to a question, the PTI chairman asked under which law they (the coalition govt) will restore the provincial assemblies in KP and Punjab  if the polls do not take place within the stipulated time.

Referring to the police raid at his residence in Zaman Park on March 18, Khan lashed out at the Mohsin Raza Naqvi-led interim Punjab government and remarked that there was no reason for the attack on his house in his absence, according to media reports.

The Punjab police had dismantled the main gate of Khans residence with the help of heavy machinery and broke into his house when he left for Islamabad to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case, Geo news reports.

Terming Punjabs interim CM Naqvi, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar, and CCPO Lahore Bilal Saddique Kamyana as criminals, Khan said that a case has been prepared in connection with the attack on his house, adding that it would be filed soon.

Talking about the current political situation, the deposed premier said that PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and PTI President Parvez Elahi have been given the task to restore contacts with the other political parties.

To another question, Khan said: Now, President Arif Alvi is not playing any role [for bridge-building] between us and the establishment.

Berating former chief of army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Khan revealed that he had put pressure on him as he wanted friendship with India.

Bajwa should be held accountable by the army, he asserted.



UNI XC GNK
Aatmanirbhar Bharat: MoD signs Rs 470 crore contract with Ultra Dimensions Pvt Ltd for modernisation of Naval Aircraft Yards at Goa & Kochi

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 31 MAR 2023 5:30PM by PIB Delhi

Ministry of Defence, on March 31, 2023, signed a contract with Ultra Dimensions Pvt. Ltd. (UDPL), Vishakhapatnam for modernisation of Naval Aircraft Yards (NAYs) at Goa & Kochi, at a cost of approx. Rs 470 crore. The NAYs undertake servicing/repairs of Naval Aircraft, Aero Engines, Rotables and Test Equipment at Goa and Kochi.

Induction of latest state-of-the-art aircraft into Indian Navy inventory requires modernisation of existing maintenance and repair facilities at Naval Aircraft Yards to bridge the technological and capability gap to meet the present and future aviation maintenance challenges. The modernisation includes repair facilities with state of 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

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'.

In addition, Ministry of Defence has inked a contract with Mecon Ltd, Ranchi as Project Monitoring Consultant, at a cost of Rs 24 crore.

ABB/Savvy



(Release ID: 1912584)

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi reviews operational readiness of the Armed Forces during Combined Commanders' Conference in Bhopal

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 01 APR 2023 6:28PM by PIB Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi reviewed the security situation and operational readiness of the Armed Forces during the valedictory session of Combined Commanders' Conference 2023 in Bhopal on April 01, 2023. The Prime Minister was briefed by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan about the various discussions conducted during this year's conference. Shri Narendra Modi complimented the Armed Forces for their role in Nation Building and providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) assistance to friendly countries.

The Prime Minister called upon the three Services to stay ready to deal with these new and emerging threats, emphasising that all steps are being taken to equip the Armed Forces with necessary weapons and technologies.

During the final day of the session, various topics including aspects of digitisation; cyber security; challenges of social media; Aatmanirbharta; absorption of Agniveers and jointness were discussed. In a significant development from the past, the scope of the conference was expanded this year, wherein, a few multi-layered and interactive sessions were conducted with participation of soldiers from every command of the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, including the Tri-Services Andaman and Nicobar Command.

This three-day conference of combined apex-level military leadership of the country commenced on March 30, 2023. The theme was 'Ready, Resurgent, Relevant'. During the conference, deliberations over a varied spectrum of issues were held, including on national security and evolving a Joint Military Vision for the future.

On March 31, 2023, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh interacted with the top military brass and reviewed the defence preparedness. He lauded the Armed Forces for their valuable contribution in protecting national interests and providing support to the Government in realising its vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

This year's conference was special, wherein, inputs from the field units were sought on contemporary issues like changes in TTP and way forward for greater integration among the three Services. These inputs were deliberated in detail by the Military Commanders.iii The conference also provided an opportunity for the Commanders to review the modernisation of the Armed Forces and the ongoing & concluded military operations, while also discussing ways to improve the country's defence capabilities.

*****

ABB/Savvy



(Release ID: 1912891)

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Aatmanirbharta on the rise: Defence exports reach an all-time high of approx. Rs 16,000 crore in Financial Year 2022-23; Over 10-times increase since 2016-17; India exporting to over 85 countries

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Prime Minister describes it as a clear manifestation of India's talent & enthusiasm towards 'Make in India'

Government will keep supporting efforts to make India a defence production hub, says Shri Narendra Modi

Defence exports will continue to grow exponentially under PM Modi's leadership: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh

Posted On: 01 APR 2023 6:06PM by PIB Delhi

Through consistent policy initiatives of the Government and tremendous contribution of the defence industry, India has achieved a remarkable milestone in defence exports in Financial Year 2022-23. The exports have reached an all-time high of approx. Rs 16,000 crore, almost Rs 3,000 crore more than the previous financial year. It a rise of over 10 times since 2016-17. Details are given below:

(Rs in crores)

Financial Year Total Export Value 2016-17 1,521 2017-18 4,682 2018-19 10,745 2019-20 9,115 2020-21 8,434 2021-22 12,814 2022-23 15,920

India is now exporting to over 85 countries. Indian industry has shown its capability of design and development to the world, with 100 firms exporting defence products at present. The rising defence exports and participation of 104 countries in Aero India 2023 are proof of India's growing defence manufacturing capabilities.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi described the achievement as a clear manifestation of India's talent and the enthusiasm towards 'Make in India'. "It also shows the reforms in this sector over the last few years are delivering good results. Our Government will keep supporting efforts to make India a defence production hub," he said.

Excellent! A clear manifestation of India's talent and the enthusiasm towards 'Make in India.' It also shows the reforms in this sector over the last few years are delivering good results. Our Government will keep supporting efforts to make India a defence production hub. https://t.co/AL3sLknFOL a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 1, 2023

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh termed record defence exports as a remarkable achievement of the country. "Under the inspiring leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the defence exports will continue to grow exponentially," he tweeted.

India's defence exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 15, 920 crore in FY 2022-2023. It is a remarkable achievement for the country.



Under the inspiring leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi, our defence exports will continue to grow exponentially. pic.twitter.com/rav4En4lAH a Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) April 1, 2023

Today, India, which was known as an importer about eight years back, exports major platforms like Dornier-228, 155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Guns (ATAGs), Brahmos Missiles, Akash Missile System, Radars, Simulators, Mine Protected Vehicles, Armoured Vehicles, PINAKA Rockets & Launchers, Ammunitions, Thermal Imagers, Body Armours, besides Systems, Line Replaceable Units and Parts & components of Avionics and Small Arms. There is growing global demand of LCA-Tejas, Light Combat Helicopters, Aircraft Carrier, MRO activities etc.

To give a push to defence exports, Government has taken a number of policy initiatives and brought reforms over the last 5-6 years. Export procedures have been simplified and made industry friendly with end-to-end online export authorisation curtailing delays and bringing Ease of Doing Business. Government has notified three Open General Export License (OGEL) for export of Parts and Components/Transfer of Technology/Major Platforms and Equipment. OGEL is one-time export license, which permits the industry to export specified items to specified destinations, enumerated in the OGEL, without seeking export authorisation during the validity of the OGEL.

Export leads received from various countries are disseminated to the registered Indian Defence Exporters through online portal on real time basis to enable them to respond to export opportunities. Regular reviews are held with Indian Missions abroad to promote Indian defence products and facilitate Indian Industry. More than 40 webinars organized with Friendly Foreign Countries (FFCs) with involvement of Industry Associations.

*****

ABB/Savvy

(Release ID: 1912885)

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Iran embassy protests Azerbaijani media's 'insulting' mischiefs

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 01 April 2023 7:24 PM

Iran's embassy in Baku has delivered a note of protest to Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry over "insulting and offensive" measures by the country's media against the Islamic Republic.

According to a Saturday statement by Iran's Foreign Ministry, the embassy warned against the negative and harmful consequences of the continuation of such media misbehavior on the future relations between the two countries.

It also urged Azerbaijan to put an end to such moves.

Azerbaijan's relations with Iran were strained in January following an attack on the Eurasian country's embassy in Tehran.

Azerbaijan closed its diplomatic mission following the incident and evacuated staff over what it called a "terrorist act," with President Ilham Aliyev blaming it on the "Iranian establishment."

This is while an initial investigation pointed to "personal and family-related problems" as the motive of the assailant.

Recent estimates show that Azerbaijan has become Israel's largest supplier of oil while Tel Aviv is now responsible for almost 70 percent of Baku's weapons.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kana'ani on Friday roundly condemned remarks by Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen regarding an agreement with Azerbaijan to establish a united front against Tehran.

The move is "another proof of hostile objectives of the Zionist regime to turn the soil of the Republic of Azerbaijan to a source of threat against the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Kana'ani said.

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Russia assumes presidency of UN Security Council

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 01 April 2023 2:40 PM

Russia has assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council in April, despite Ukraine calling on member states to block the move.

Presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically among its 15 member nations and Russia assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council on Saturday for a month.

The powerful body is controlled by its five permanent veto members, namely, the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom a collectively known as the P5.

Moscow's critics have objected to Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council, insisting that its permanent membership in the powerful body should be cancelled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month became the first head of state of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to be issued with an arrest warrant, over an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia.

Moscow has defended the move as a necessary measure for saving the children's lives while denying that the deportations were forced upon them.

US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield insisted on Thursday that Russia "should not be" a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

"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 in an interview from Costa Rica, where she was attending a democracy summit.

Thomas-Greenfield said she expected Russia to behave "professionally" during its presidency but also expressed doubts, saying Washington thought Moscow would "seek opportunities to advance their disinformation campaign against Ukraine, the United States, and all of our allies."

"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.

The UN charter, the foundation of the international body, does not make it easy to eliminate a permanent member of the Security Council. Russia's own veto can easily retain its permanent seat in the Council.

"A country that flagrantly violates the UN charter and invades their smaller neighbor has no place on the UN Security Council. Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Council and no international legal pathway exists to change that reality," a spokesperson for the US Mission to the UN told media.

The US has vowed to challenge what Russia says in the Security Council. "We continue to call out their lies and bring credible voices, data and facts on the ground," the US spokesperson said.

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'Empty Promises': Wives Of Russian Soldiers Fighting In Ukraine Say Pay Is Not What Was Promised

By Oleg Artyushenko April 01, 2023

Members of Russia's invading forces in Ukraine are receiving their pay in many cases either late, not in full, or not at all, the wives of several conscripted or mobilized soldiers have told RFE/RL.

Yekaterina, from Ivanovo, some 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow, told North.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Russian Service, that her husband, Aleksandr, was mobilized on October 21 but hasn't received any pay for the last two months.

"He asks about pay, but only receives empty promises. His commanders tell him he just needs to wait, but there's been no money coming in for two months now," Yekaterina complains, adding that taking care of an infant with no relatives to help only adds to her anxiety.

"You probably know yourself that it's not easy to raise a child on 20,000 to 30,000 rubles ($250-$380) a month, because you need diapers, food, and so on," she says.

It's not an isolated case. Across Russia, relatives of those fighting in Russia's invasion have said that pay is either being delayed or not being received at all, the independent Ukrainian media outlet Verstka reported, based on monitoring social media posts in 52 Russian regions as well as illegally annexed Crimea.

According to the report by Verstka, those impacted include professional soldiers and those who have recently enlisted in the army, as well as conscripts dragooned during Russia's "partial mobilization" drive.

The inability of Russia's military bureaucracy to cope with the swelling numbers of fresh Russian troops is likely the reason for the pay delays, Valentina Melnikova, who heads the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, told Verstka.

"We've never had so many people involved in conflicts before. Neither volunteers nor the mobilized have ever been [in the army before]. There is no experience of working with such personnel," Verstka quoted Melnikova as saying.

The "partial mobilization" of Russian citizens to fight in the country's invasion of Ukraine triggered not only protests but a mass exodus after it was announced last September. Tens of thousands fled the country by car across land border crossings or bought airline tickets out of the country.

In a bid to lure Russians to pick up a gun and participate in Russia's unprovoked aggression, the government of President Vladimir Putin -- recently indicted by the International Criminal Court for the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children - has promised hefty pay.

According to official information, the starting salary for a Russian soldier fighting in Ukraine is around 195,000 rubles ($2,535) a month -- nearly 14 times higher than the median salary in some regions of Russia.

Yelizaveta from the Vologda Oblast told North.Realities that her husband, Kirill, 25, saw his pay drastically cut recently, allegedly to punish him for returning late to his regiment after a visit home to see his newborn daughter.

"He was paid 6,000 rubles ($75) for February; the rest was cut. Our baby is only a month old and we have no money," she said, adding that commanders told her husband that it was unclear when his full pay would be reinstated, although she says that had been dipping in recent months as well.

"Previously, they paid 220,000 rubles a month, then less and less. For January, it was 195,000," she said.

Yulia, from Ust-Ilimsk in Irkutsk, in Russia's Siberia region, says her husband signed a contract to fight in Ukraine but has only been paid less than one-quarter of what he was promised.

"Only a salary of 30,000 rubles ($380) has been paid," said Yulia, who, like Yekaterina, futilely turned to Russian officials for help and answers.

"I wrote everywhere. But he is not alone. Everyone who left with him is not receiving [pay] as well," Yulia said.

She refused to point the finger of blame at the Kremlin, however.

"Well, there can be many reasons. We can only guess, be patient, and wait," she said. "The Russian people are patient."

Close to 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, The New York Times reported in late February.

The Russian military placed its death toll at under 6,000 in September, its most recent acknowledgment of its losses. Open source-based media tallies have verified more than twice that number of Russian deaths.

Ukraine, meanwhile, says it is investigating more than 76,000 alleged Russian war crimes, including killings, kidnappings, indiscriminate bombings, and sexual assaults.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian children's rights official, on the charge of illegally deporting thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia.

Besides not being remunerated, Russian soldiers are reportedly not being properly equipped for battle, in many cases. Men mobilized for deployment in Ukraine have been instructed to bring their own medical supplies due to dire shortages at the front.

With supplies low or nonexistent, families have been forced to buy their own equipment, including thermal underwear and body armor, for mobilized soldiers, The Guardian reported in October.

Yelizaveta from the city of Volzhsky, an industrial town in the Volgograd region, claims that her husband was not paid for his service in January or February.

"Before that, everything came fine: 195,000 [rubles] every month on the 12th [of the month]. I haven't asked anyone about it yet. My husband has been [deployed in the invasion] since September; he's a volunteer," she explains.

The pay problems come as the Kremlin is grappling with rising expenditures but shrinking revenues.

Russia's federal budget deficit rose to 2.58 trillion rubles ($34.19 billion) in the first two months of the year as government spending skyrocketed amid slumping revenue from oil and gas sales, the Russian Finance Ministry reported on March 6.

Moscow relies on income from oil and gas -- last year around 11.6 trillion rubles -- to fund its budget spending and has been forced to start selling international reserves to cover a deficit stretched by the cost of the Ukraine invasion, Reuters reported.

Putin told government officials in Moscow on March 29 that sanctions imposed by the West to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine could have a "negative impact" on the country's economy. It was a rare admission from the Russian leader, who just weeks earlier -- on March 14 -- had dismissed the impact of Western sanctions on Russia's economy, boasting that the country's "economic sovereignty" was stronger than ever.

Economist Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs calculates that Western sanctions alone have "basically shrunk Russia's economy by 10 percent," a larger impact than the 2008 financial crisis.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-soldiers-salaries- unpaid-ukraine-invasion/32345161.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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Russia Announces Ban On Dairy Imports From Armenia Amid Souring Of Relations

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service April 01, 2023

Russia has banned imports of dairy products from Armenia allegedly on health issues as relations between the two allied nations sour.

In a March 31 statement justifying its decision, Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's agricultural oversight agency, saying Armenian dairy companies use Iranian milk and other raw materials that are banned in Russia.

A spokeswoman for Armenia's Food Safety Inspectorate told RFE/RL's Armenian Service that the Iranian raw materials are safe for consumption. She said Rosselkhoznadzor inspected some Armenian dairy firms last week and did not detect "any problem threatening people's lives and health."

The agency's decision comes amid fraying relations between the two countries and just days after Armenia took steps toward ratifying the International Criminal Court's (ICC) founding treaty.

Russian-Armenian relations have been on a downward trajectory ever since fighting reignited between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's administration has criticized ally Russian for a lack of support. Armenia is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance consisting of several post-Soviet states.

Tension increased this week after the Constitutional Court of Armenia gave the green light for the country to join the ICC. Moscow immediately warned that recognition of The Hague tribunal's jurisdiction would have "extremely negative" consequences for Russian-Armenian relations.

The ICC last month issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin's arrest. Were Armenia to become a signatory to the ICC, it would be expected to detain Putin should he travel to the country.

Russia has for years used Rosselkhoznadzor as a blunt foreign policy instrument against former Soviet states whose actions Moscow dislikes. Russia has banned food and drinks from Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Belarus during periods of increasing bilateral tension. Those countries have described Moscow's actions as economic sanctions.

The milk ban won't hurt Armenia's economy as it accounts for a small portion of exports to Russia, but it could be a warning of what could come next should the country choose to become a signatory to the ICC.

Armenia exports a lot of fruit, vegetables, drinks, and alcohol to Russia and a ban on those items would have a greater impact.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-armenia-dairy- products-ban/32344893.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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Russia Increases Production of Conventional, High-Precision Arms Multiple Times

Sputnik News

20230401

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The production of conventional and high-precision weapons for the Russian troops, participating in the special military operation in Ukraine, has increased multiple times, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, he held a meeting at the Russian grouping's headquarters on issues of providing troops with ammunition, and also heard reports on the current situation, according to the ministry.

"Thanks to the expanded production capacities and increased labor productivity, the number of products to support the troops has increased multiple times. These are both conventional and high-precision types of weapons. All of the above allows to deliver the objectives set by Supreme Commander-in-Chief [President Vladimir Putin] in accordance with the plan for conducting the special military operation," Shoigu said.

The minister also noted that "the supply volumes of the most demanded ammunition has been determined, and the necessary measures are being taken to increase them."

A Sputnik

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Iranian military advisor martyred in Zionist attack in Syria

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Mar 31, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- An IRGC military advisor has been martyred in a Zionist attack in a Damascus suburb, according to an announcement by IRGC Public Relations.

The announcement said that Milad Heydari was martyred in "brutal attacks" of the Zionist regime early on Friday.

It condemned the silence and inaction of the effective international bodies in the face of the attacks and crimes perpetrated by the Zionist regime which violate the territorial integrity of a sovereign member of the United Nations.

"The false and criminal Zionist regime will undoubtedly receive an answer for this crime," IRGC said.

9341**9417

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Syrian foreign minister visits Egypt for first time in over a decade

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 01 April 2023 5:55 PM

Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has held a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart in the capital, Cairo, to discuss strengthening of bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments.

Mekdad met with Sameh Shoukry at the foreign ministry in Cairo on Saturday, in the first such visit since the Syrian conflict broke out more than a decade ago.

The Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement that the two ministers had a closed door meeting followed by discussions between the two countries' delegations.

The ministry said discussions were focused on "supporting the Syrian people to restore (the country's) unity and sovereignty over its whole territories."

"The ministers agreed to intensify channels of communication between the two countries at different levels during the coming phase," the statement said.

Egypt also reiterated its backing for a "comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis as soon as possible," it added.

The meeting comes amid efforts by certain countries to restore Syria's membership in the Arab League, more than a decade after it was suspended from the 22-member bloc.

An Egyptian security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the visit will help put in place steps to return Syria to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi Arabian mediation.

The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in November 2011, citing an alleged crackdown by Damascus on opposition protests. Syria has denounced the move as "illegal and a violation of the organization's charter."

Syria was one of the six founding members of the Arab League in 1945. In recent months, an increasing number of countries and political parties have called for the reversal of its suspension from the Arab League.

Back in February, Shoukry travelled to Syria, in a visit he described as "primarily humanitarian" following the devastating earthquake that hit the war-torn Arab country and neighboring Turkey.

The foreign ministry said at the time that Shoukry will visit Turkey and Syria - both hit hard by a deadly earthquake on February 6 - to "convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries."

The trip -- the first of its kind in more than a decade-- took place after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to express his country's solidarity with Syria.

Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy, leading to the emergence of Daesh and other terrorist groups in the Arab country.

In recent months, observers have noted, there has been a race among Arab countries to mend their ties with the Syrian government, more than ten years after the beginning of a conflict in Syria during which key Arab countries tried to oust Assad.

The new approach adopted by the UAE, which has proven to be much quicker than other Arab countries in making considerable foreign policy shifts to secure its interests, was welcomed by Assad as "realistic and correct."

Unlike other Arab governments, Cairo never fully severed ties with Damascus after the conflict, but relations were downgraded.

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New Delhi, Apr 2 (UNI) Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will go to Gujarat's Surat on Monday, and is likely to file an appeal before a court against his conviction in a defamation case recently.

"Rahul Gandhi ji will go to Surat on Monday. His petition against his conviction by the Surat court is ready and he is likely to present it on Monday," party sources said.

Sources said the former Congress chief will seek a stay on his conviction in the defamation case.

Last month, a Surat court convicted Gandhi in a defamation case for his "all thieves have Modi surname" remarks at a rally in Karnatakas Kolar in 2019.

Later, he was disqualified from Lok Sabha as a member following his conviction in the case.

UNI DS RKM
Militants Tried Twice to Enter Gov't-Controlled Area in Syria's Idlib

Sputnik News

20230401

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Gurinov noted that one Syrian soldier died as a result of sniper fire at government forces' positions in the area of Ajel village in Aleppo province.

Militants of the Turkistan Islamic Party (terrorist group, banned in Russia) made two attempts to break into the territory controlled by the Syrian government forces in Idlib province near the towns of Al-Dana and Jubas, Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria, said.

"In the province of Idlib, near the towns of Al-Dana and Jubas, militants of the terrorist group Turkistan Islamic Party made two attempts to break into the territory controlled by the government forces," Gurinov told a briefing, adding that one Syrian soldier was killed and another one was wounded as a result of the fighting.

Furthermore, militants of the Turkistan Islamic Party and the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (both banned in Russia) shelled Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone four times over the past 24 hours, twice in the province of Aleppo and twice in Idlib.

A Sputnik

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Egypt Hosts Syrian FM amid Talk of Resuming Diplomatic Relations

By Edward Yeranian April 01, 2023

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad arrived in Cairo Saturday in the first visit by a top Syrian official in more than 14 years to the Egyptian capital. Speculation is that both countries soon will re-establish diplomatic ties following a recent move by Saudi Arabia to renew relations with its longtime nemesis and ally of Syria, Iran.

The visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad to Cairo is yet another sign of impending normalization among many Arab governments and Damascus, despite hesitation to make any direct move that would anger the U.S.

Both Syria and Egypt have continued to cooperate on security matters in the years since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi came to power in 2014, although diplomatic ties have remained severed since 2011.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry underscored during the meeting with Miqdad that Egypt was doing what was in the best interest of both the Egyptian and Syrian peoples.

Shoukry said he welcomes the chance to resume dialogue between both sides and the importance of continuing coordination and consultations to move mutual relations forward and to work to preserve the unity of the Syrian state and to return it to its Arab neighborhood.

Syrian Foreign Minister Miqdad thanked Shoukri for making the first move in breaking the ice with Damascus by visiting Syria in the wake of the deadly earthquake that shook the region in February.

He said that Syria thanks Egypt for its direct relations with his country during the earthquake, and both the government and its people are grateful for the help provided during the quake, which affected several Syrian provinces.

Journalists were not allowed to ask questions, as is normally the case during diplomatic visits, and the absence of a press conference appeared to signal a reluctance to formally spell out the slow normalization of ties between both countries.

Egyptian member of parliament Mustafa Bakri also told Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV that official Egyptian sources informed him there is not likely to be a formal meeting between Egyptian President Sissi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "in the immediate future," despite media speculation to the contrary. He also insisted there was "no agreement to have Egyptian companies participate in rebuilding Syria, either."

Joshua Landis, who leads the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, tells VOA that "Syria is being slowly reintegrated back into the Arab world, but it isn't clear yet whether it will be returned to the Arab League by the May [Arab summit] in Saudi Arabia. Qatar, he notes, "has said that it will not support the return of Syria to the Arab League and will not forgive Assad for his brutal war."

"Egypt has been taking an important role in welcoming Syria back into the embrace of its fellow Arab countries," Landis noted. Arab governments, he emphasized, "are trying to negotiate some important concessions from the Assad regime, beginning with cracking down on the Captagon [drug smuggling] trade, limiting Iran's influence in Syria, and guaranteeing the safe return of Syrian refugees."

Egyptian political sociologist Said Sadek told VOA that "Egypt has always been close to Syria, and it doesn't want to escalate with the Syrian regime. The Miqdad visit Saturday, he said, "can be seen as part of new alliances emerging in the area," including cooperation with both Russia and China.

"Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not abandoning the U.S. but expanding relations with other countries and using their currencies in many of their dealings. China has recently canceled some of [the debt] Egypt owes it," said Sadek.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA he sees a limit to the extent of a rapprochement between Egypt and other Arab countries with Syria, over fears of U.S. potential economic sanctions.

He said that Dubai recently closed a Russian bank over U.S. sanctions concerns, and he asserted the UAE, Egypt and Saud Arabia are afraid of U.S. sanctions on any dealings with Syria and al-Assad. The U.S. obstacle, he adds, is "not a small obstacle and is most likely to be an insurmountable barrier."

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Five Syrian soldiers injured after new Israeli missile strike targets Homs province

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 02 April 2023 2:00 AM

The Israeli regime has carried out a fresh missile strike against Syria, targeting positions at several locations across the country's central Homs province.

According to a Syrian military source, the new attack hit targets both in the capital city of Homs and elsewhere on its suburbs early Sunday.

The unnamed military source added that Israeli missiles were fired from the direction of northeastern Lebanon.

The regime's new act of aggression against Syria injured five soldiers while causing some material damage, the source said, noting that the country's air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles and shot down some of them.

The missile strike marked the third time that the regime has attacked Syria during the past four days.

Two previous Israeli missile attacks targeted Syria's capital city of Damascus and its vicinity on Thursday and Friday.

The Friday strike led to the martyrdom of a member of the Iranian military advisory support team in Syria, which has been helping the country in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists and militants. The Iranian military advisor was identified by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as Milad Heidari.

"The fake and criminal Zionist regime will surely receive a response to this crime," the IRGC pledged in its statement.

The statement further slammed the silence and inaction of the international bodies over repeated Israeli attacks on Syria and continued violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent UN member state.

In a separate statement on Friday morning, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kan'ani, strongly condemned the fresh Israeli airstrikes. He also lamented the international community's failure to take appropriate and deterrent measures against the Tel Aviv regime's acts of aggression on Syria, which target civilian airports and even residential neighborhoods.

Kan'ani described the latest Israeli airstrike on Syria as a blatant and repeated violation of international law and principles, a move by the regime to divert attention from internal crises and deep divisions within its society, as well as a testament to Israel's dissatisfaction with growing stability in Syria and the recent rapprochement between the war-torn country and world countries.

The Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about its attacks on Syrian territory, which many view as a knee-jerk reaction to increasing success of the Syrian government and its allies' in confronting terrorism.

Reacting to Israeli strikes, Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the regime's offensives showed the sheer level of coordination between Tel Aviv and terrorist groups.

The ministry added that the "barbaric" acts of aggression were coordinated with terrorist groups that launched an attack against Syrian forces in Dana, Idlib province, on the same day.

The coordination proves beyond any doubt the deliberate intentions against Syria with the aim of prolonging the crisis and depleting the country's capabilities, the ministry said.

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Guatemalan president meets with Tsai, backs Taiwan as sovereign nation

ROC Central News Agency

04/01/2023 06:26 PM

Guatemala City, Guatemala, March 31 (CNA) After holding a meeting with visiting Republic of China (Taiwan) President Tsai Ing-wen (ee), Guatemalan President Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei on Friday (local time) voiced his support for Taiwan as a sovereign nation and the country's territorial integrity.

Giammattei said Guatemala and Taiwan have rock solid relations, like brothers, delivering a strong rebuttal to China's Foreign Ministry, which urged Guatemala to "recognize the trend and make a right choice as soon as possible" before Tsai arrived in Guatemala City following a stopover in New York City.

On the first day of Tsai's trip to the Central American ally, she received a warm welcome, with military honors at the National Palace of Culture.

The two presidents subsequently held a meeting and witnessed the signing of a Basic Cooperation Agreement by the two countries' foreign ministers, with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and promoting economic and social development.

Giammattei said Guatemala and Taiwan have maintained a solid friendship over six decades and that he and Tsai have become very good friends.

The visit by Tsai is very important to the two countries and allows Guatemala to reiterate its support for the ROC, he said.

At a time when the world faces chaos and conflict, the visit also signals a message to people around the world, the need for unity, cooperation and hope, Giammattei added.

He said Guatemala and Taiwan have become the best strategic partners and have implemented various cooperative projects to benefit their people.

As a country which pursues peace, Guatemala supports and respects Taiwan as a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity, he said, adding that the two allies have also shown mutual respect and share democratic values.

He stressed that he friendship between Guatemala and Taiwan is not a matter of empty words but is based on concrete, reciprocal actions.

The Guatemalan government has repeatedly demonstrated its support for Taiwan internationally, in particular in the World Health Organization, where Guatemala has cited Taiwan's contributions in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and to the development of gynecology and obstetrics, public health, health insurance and protection of water resources.

Tsai, who received la Orden de los Cinco Volcanes, Gran Cruz, placa de oro, an order to honor a country leader for contributions to regional integration, from Giammattei, expressed gratitude to Guatemala for speaking up for Taiwan, in particular when China launched a large-scale military exercises around the country last year.

Tsai said she believed cooperation between democratic partners like Taiwan and Guatemala, which share important values including freedom and human rights, will help to shore up the resilience of democracy, hoping the two allies can create a win-win situation.

Tsai said Guatemala is a strong diplomatic ally of Taiwan after years of cooperation in healthcare, economics, trade and infrastructure and the Basic Cooperation Agreement signed on Friday is expected to diversify bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the field of technology development.

Tsai said Guatemala has made significant progress under the leadership of Giammattei, citing a Fitch Ratings report that the country has enjoyed the fastest economic recovery among economies in Central America.

Meanwhile, Tsai also met with representatives from overseas Taiwanese circles in Guatemala, encouraging them to make a greater contribution to the Central American country and noting that their efforts also help Taiwan develop closer ties with the world.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tsai will stay in Guatemala until April 2 (local time), visit Belize from April 2-4 and then fly to Los Angeles on April 4.

(By Wen Kuei-hsiang and Frances Huang)

Enditem/AW

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Ex-President Ma mentions 'ROC' during ancestor worship in China (update)

ROC Central News Agency

04/01/2023 09:29 PM

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Former President Ma Ying-jeou () on Saturday referred to Taiwan by its official name, Republic of China (ROC), during an ancestor worship ritual in China, which does not recognize the ROC.

Speaking at the burial site of his ancestors in Hunan Province's Xiangtan city, Ma said he had been elected twice as "president of the ROC" -- in the years "Minguo 97" and "Minguo 101," referring to 2008 and 2012, respectively, on the solar calendar.

During his eight-year tenure, Ma said, he governed with integrity, diligence and care for the people, guided by his family's philosophy that the main purpose of education is to do good deeds for others.

Those eight years were the most peaceful and prosperous period in the 70 years of separate governance in Taiwan and China, he said.

This was achieved though his administration's policy of maintaining peace with mainland China, building closer ties with the United States, and enhancing friendship with Japan, Ma said, as he, his sisters and other family members burned incense and made offerings at their ancestors' grave site.

"This is the first time in my life that I've come to the mainland to worship my ancestors and visit my relatives," Ma said. "It is a very emotional feeling."

In the evening, Ma met with Shen Xiaoming (), secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's Hunan Provincial Committee, in Changsha City.

Giving an account of his visit earlier in the day, Ma said ancestor worship means a lot to him personally and he was also able to see the place where his parents and grandparents lived.

Although people in Taiwan and China have different lifestyles and values, they share the same blood, language, history and culture, Ma said, adding that mainstream Taiwanese society is supportive of peaceful and stable cross-strait relations.

Shen, meanwhile, said he would like to welcome Ma's homecoming on behalf of the Hunan provincial government and its people, calling Ma an "Internet celebrity" due to the widespread public attention being paid to his trip.

Shen also told the Taiwanese students in Ma's delegation that he hopes more young people will seek to develop their careers in Changsha, where Taiwanese business people are respected and looked after.

Hunan is the hometown of Ma's parents Ma Ho-ling () and Chin Hou-hsiu (), who moved permanently to Taiwan via Hong Kong after the Chinese civil war of 1945-1949.

Ma's historic 12-day trip to China, which started March 27, is the first by a former ROC president since 1949, when the ROC government relocated to Taiwan during the civil war.

Since his arrival in China, he has used the term ROC on several occasions, but those references have been edited out of the Chinese-language news reports by CCTV there, in both its print and TV coverage of his visit, presumably because Beijing does not recognize the ROC.

At an event in China on March 28, Ma wrote "112" in reference to the year when signing his calligraphy work. This refers to the 112th year since the establishment of the Republic of China, a term of reference still used on official documents in Taiwan.

However, Ma did not write the characters "Zhonghua Minguo" before the date which is how such dates are written in Taiwan. He has also used the shorthand term "Minguo" in lieu of "ROC" in some of his remarks. In both instances, he has been criticized by the Democratic Progressive Party and pro-Taiwan independence groups at home.

The term "Minguo" is short for "Zhonghua Minguo" () and serve as a Chinese phonetic abbreviation for the Republic of China.

(By Lu Chia-jung, Shih Hsiu-chuan and Lee Hsin-Yin)

Enditem/pc/AW

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Chinese FM spokesperson urges Guatemala to make right choice

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:47, April 01, 2023

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.

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Can Former Taiwan President Help Avoid War with China?

By Cindy Sui April 01, 2023

At almost every stop on former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's visit to mainland China this week, Chinese citizens line the streets and gather outside venues, waiting for a chance to see him.

Some greet him by calling out "Mr. Ma." Others wave excitedly and take videos or photos on their phone.

Ma embarked on the peacebuilding trip shortly after China reopened its borders. He and 30 Taiwanese students paid respects at the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, visited wartime historical sites and met with mainland officials and university students.

"I hope the two sides will work together to pursue peace, prevent war and revitalize the Chinese diaspora," Ma said during the trip.

"[We] welcome everyone to visit Taiwan," Ma said to one crowd.

Such scenes on this historic visit a the first by a current or former Taiwanese leader to the mainland since the 1949 end of the Chinese civil war that resulted in them being ruled separately a are juxtaposed with the tensions sparked in the same week by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's stopovers in the U.S. as part of her trip to the island's Central American allies.

Tsai's visit to the United States and expected meeting in Los Angeles with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in coming days are seen as important by her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, and Taiwanese people who want visits between Taiwanese and U.S. officials to be normalized.

"We're a sovereign nation and should have rights to do this," said Tso Chen-dong, director of National Taiwan University's Center for Cross-Strait Policy and Public Opinion.

With Taiwan's presidential election scheduled in January, the meeting could also provide political capital for the DPP, Tso noted.

Beijing, however, strongly opposes high-level interaction between Taipei and Washington, seeing it as a violation of the One China policy the U.S. has agreed to, under which it has diplomatic ties with China, not Taiwan. It also views the meeting as an attempt to change Washington's decades long avoidance of high-level contact with Taiwan. While Taiwanese presidents have made stopovers in the United States before, none have met with so senior a U.S. politician.

Beijing has threatened a strong response. Ten Chinese fighter jets on Friday crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait separating the two sides.

"I think if McCarthy meets with Tsai, we should not be surprised if Chinese planes fly across Taiwan," Victor Gao, vice president of the Chinese think tank Center for China and Globalization told VOA. "If the U.S. keeps provoking China, China will do more and more things short of firing."

What is at play is a cycle in which each side accuses the other of being provocative, and with every "provocative" action, the other side raises the ante - more military maneuvers from Beijing, more political and military support for Taiwan from Washington.

As tensions rise to the highest level in decades, some American officials have speculated Chinese President Xi Jinping may launch an attack on Taiwan to achieve unification by 2027, although the Biden administration has said it does not believe Xi is planning an imminent attack.

Gao said whether Beijing will attack depends on moves by the U.S. and Taiwan.

"Since the beginning of 1980s, China has proposed peaceful unification. Even today, China is not in a rush to launch a war to take over Taiwan," he said.

Tso agreed unification is not Beijing's top priority; boosting its economy is, but he warned against misjudging China.

"There are people in the DPP who hope the U.S. will believe China will do nothing. I think they are adventurists," Tso said. "However, those in the U.S. who hope to prevent a collision between the U.S. and China are still mainstream opinions in policy circles. That gives people hope that the two sides can prevent any risk-taking action from really causing a collision."

Some analysts say Ma's trip could make a difference.

"Grassroots exchanges seem to be a minimal thing compared to top-down competition and military tensions, but I think they should have a strong impact in the long run because after all, all the decisions should be based on the will of the public on both sides of the Strait," Tso said. "If his visit makes both sides have more interaction and increase mutual understanding, this will reduce tensions."

While Ma's visit is not political, it's symbolically significant, according to Gao.

"What it really shows is that both sides are brothers and sisters, nothing can separate them. Why should brothers and sisters fight a war with each other?" he said.

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The President at the Bucha Summit: We need to ensure accountability for the crime of aggression

President of the Republic of Lithuania

April 01, 2023

On Friday, President Gitanas NausAda participated in a virtual Bucha Summit. On the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from the Russian invaders, Ukraine hosted a forum of the European and world leaders and heads of international organizations on the issue of ensuring accountability for the grave crimes against international law committed and still being committed in Ukraine.

"One year ago, news about the tragic events in Bucha, Irpin, and other towns around Kyiv came out as a great shock. None of us, I believe, could have thought about such atrocities happening on European soil once again. And yet we were forced to witness the results of those four weeks of terror, bloodshed, and destruction," Gitanas NausAda spoke.

The Head of State underlined that brutal violence brought untold suffering to people, that many scars would never heal, and that those who survived, as well as those who perished, deserved to see justice done.

"It is our duty to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators, as well as responsible officials and military leaders, to justice. Therefore, Lithuania fully supports the investigation launched by the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor," President Gitanas NausAda stressed.

The President also pointed out that the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant against Putin was a clear signal that no one - no one - was beyond the reach of justice, and there would be no impunity. "Having in mind that the deportation of children is only one of Russia's many criminal actions in Ukraine, the international community needs to make another crucial step. To ensure that there is full accountability, we need the legal assessment of the crime of aggression against Ukraine. I therefore call on everyone to support the establishment of a Special International Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. I have no doubt that Russian leaders and their accomplices in this war will be held accountable," Gitanas NausAda said.

The Bucha Summit was attended by more than 50 heads of state and international organizations. The forum participants adopted the Bucha Summit Declaration.

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Zelenskiy Vows To Bring Russian 'Executioners And Murderers' To Justice Over Bucha Killings

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service April 01, 2023

Ukrainian forces repelled dozens of Russian attacks in the eastern region of Donetsk over the past day, the military said on April 1, as British intelligence suggested that Russia's monthslong winter offensive in the east is beginning to show signs of failure amid a high rate of attrition.

Besides the city of Bakhmut, the focal point of Moscow's offensive in the east for the past several months, the General staff of Ukraine's military said in its regular daily update that Russian forces have now widened their assault on the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka in the Donetsk region and on Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region.

A total of 70 attacks were recorded over the past 24 hours on the four locations, where heavy fighting has been under way, the military said.

Six Iranian-made Shahed drones were downed by Ukraine's air defenses, the military said.

Amid the protracted battle for Bakhmut, Britain's Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update on April 1 that 80 days into a renewed offensive in the east under the direct command of the Russia's chief of General Staff, Vasily Gerasimov, Moscow's effort to extend its control over the whole Donbas region has failed.

"On several axes across the Donbas front, Russian forces have made only marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties, largely squandering its temporary advantage in personnel gained from the autumn's 'partial mobilization,'" British intelligence said.

As Ukraine marked on March 31 one year since Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy used the anniversary to warn those Russian soldiers suspected of perpetrating the massacre of hundreds of civilians in the commuter town near Kyiv, where hundreds of bodies of murdered civilians were left on the streets, that they are going to be brought to justice eventually.

Ukrainian officials estimate that about 400 bodies of civilians were found in Bucha and a total of more than 1,000 throughout the region around Kyiv in what Ukraine has said amounted to a Russian war crime.

"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.

"Russian executioners and murderers will receive fair sentences. One hundred percent," Zelenskiy said.

He added that talks with international officials were aimed at speeding up the process of creating a tribunal on Russian aggression.

Ukrainian and international investigators have opened a probe into war crimes in Bucha, Irpin, and other locations in Ukraine where apparent massacres occurred.

Russia has denied committing the massacres and claimed that the deaths were "staged" by Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, 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 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."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc is assisting Ukraine to investigate crimes.

Meanwhile, three U.S. officials familiar with the issue told Reuters on March 31 that the United States could announce a new $2.6 billion military aid package for Ukraine next week that could include aerial surveillance radars, anti-tank missiles and fuel tankers.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bucha- ceremony-massacre-russia-war-crimes/32344866.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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Ukraine's SBU Security Service Searches Residence Of Metropolitan Pavlo, Issues Notice Of Suspicion

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, RFE/RL's Russian Service April 01, 2023

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on April 1 officially confirmed that it has served a notice of suspicion to Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), a former abbot at the famed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, and searched his residence.

The UOC is a branch of Ukraine's Orthodox Church that previously was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox patriarch in Moscow. It cut ties with Moscow in May over Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but it has been accused of maintaining links to Russia.

The SBU said in a message on Telegram that it had collected "reasonable evidence regarding the involvement of Pavlo, a former abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, in inciting religious enmity, justifying, and denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine."

"In particular, it was established that in his public speeches, [Pavlo] repeatedly insulted the religious feelings of Ukrainians, humiliated the views of believers of other faiths, and tried to instigate hostile attitudes towards them, as well as made statements that justified or denied the actions of the aggressor country," the message reads.

The SBU confirmed the notice of suspicion against Pavlo under two articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code -- inciting interreligious hatred, as well as justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine.

A notice -- or notification -- of suspicion is a legal tool in the criminal procedure law of Ukraine that serves to notify an individual that he or she is suspected of committing criminal offenses.

"Currently, investigations are being conducted at the places of residence and temporary stay of the person involved. Measures to expose the offense were carried out under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor-General's Office," the SBU reported.

The SBU did not provide information about the alleged summoning of Pavlo for questioning or about allegedly placing him under house arrest, as reported by some media.

The developments came as UOC members refused to leave the Pechersk Lavra monastery by March 29, as ordered by Ukrainian authorities.

Pavlo told worshippers on March 29 that the UOC would not leave the site pending the outcome of a lawsuit it filed last week to stop the eviction.

The 11th-century monastery and UNESCO World Heritage site, which is also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is owned by the Ukrainian government, and the agency overseeing the property notified the UOC earlier this month that it was terminating the lease as of March 29.

However, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said on March 29 that force will not be used to evict representatives of the UOC, despite the monks' refusal to leave the historic site.

However, Danilov, speaking on Ukrainian television, said while there will be no eviction, the monastery must be turned over to the Ukrainian government.

"If someone thinks that he has the right not to follow the laws of our country, then he is deeply mistaken.... The laws of Ukraine must be followed by everyone," Danilov said. He added that the monks are expected to leave quietly.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) is the country's main Orthodox church. A 2020 survey found that 34 percent of Ukrainians identified as members of the OCU, while 14 percent said they were members of the UOC.

With reporting by AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-metropolitan-pavlo-kyiv- pechersk-lavra-eviction-russia/32345071.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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Vincent Lloyd in Compact:

On the sunny first day of seminar, I sat at the end of a pair of picnic tables with nervous, excited 17-year-olds. Twelve high-school students had been chosen by the Telluride Association through a rigorous application processthe acceptance rate is reportedly around 3 percentto spend six weeks together taking a college-level course, all expenses paid.

The group reminded me of the heroes of the Mysterious Benedict Society books I was reading to my daughter: Each teenager, brought together for a common project, had some extraordinary ability and some quirk. One girl from California spoke and thought at machine-gun speed and started collecting pet snails during the pandemic; now she had more than 100. A girl from a provincial school in China had never traveled to the United States but had mastered un-accented English and was in love with E.M. Forster. In addition to the seminar, the students practiced democratic self-governance: They lived together and set their own rules. Those first few days, the students were exactly what you would expect, at turns bubbly and reserved, all of them curious, playful, figuring out how to relate to each other and to the seminar texts.

Four weeks later, I again sat in front of the gathered students. Now, their faces were cold, their eyes down. Since the first week, I had not spotted one smile. Their number was reduced by two: The previous week, they had voted two classmates out of the house. And I was next.

More here.
Ukraine Calls Russia's UN Security Council Presidency 'Slap In The Face'

By RFE/RL April 01, 2023

Ukraine expressed outrage as Russia assumed its month-long presidency of the UN Security Council on April 1.

Russia will have control of the Security Council's agenda for the month for the first time since February 2022, when it invaded Ukraine.

The presidency of the UN Security Council rotates among its 15 members on a monthly basis. Russia is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine violated the UN Charter, which requires states to refrain from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution days after the invasion began demanding that Russia immediately end its war in Ukraine. Russia blocked a similar resolution from passing in the Security Council.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia's assumption of the presidency "a slap in the face to the international community."

He urged other members of the UN Security Council to prevent Moscow from abusing its presidency.

Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to the UN headquarters in New York on April 24 to hold a discussion on a "new world order."

Lavrov will also hold a discussion on the Middle East on the following day.

Baltic nations joined Ukraine in expressing outrage over Russia's assumption of the presidency.

Estonia's UN envoy Rein Tammsaar, speaking also on behalf of Latvia and Lithuania, called it "shameful, humiliating and dangerous to the credibility and effective functioning of this body."

In an interview with AFP on March 30, US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said she expected Russia to behave "professionally" in the presidency but cautioned it would also seek to "advance their disinformation campaign against Ukraine, the United States and all of our allies."

With reporting by the AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-un- security-ukraine/32345266.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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Vicegerent of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Placed Under Round-the-Clock House Arrest

Sputnik News

20230401

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A court in Kiev put Metropolitan Bishop Pavel, vicegerent of the contested Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, under round-the-clock house arrest, including wearing an ankle monitor, Ukrainian media reported on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, some Ukrainian news outlets reported that metropolitan Pavel was put on a two months' house arrest, which was later disproved.

The court rejected the defense's request to let metropolitan Pavel attend services in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Strana news outlet reported. At the same time, he was allowed to record videos addressing the believers, which the prosecution sought to ban.

Metropolitan Pavel will stay under house arrest at his home in the Kiev region, the media said. Meanwhile, metropolitan Pavel said that his home in the Kiev region has no heating, water or electricity and described the court's decision as politically motivated.

"There are no grounds ... I didn't do anything. I know it's a political order, because I was threatened. The Security Service of Ukraine summoned me to the director of the museum, they said that they had to open a case against [me] ... I know who it is, but I won't look into it a it's not my way," metropolitan Pavel said in a video posted by Ukrainian media.

On Saturday morning, metropolitan Pavel was presented with official suspicions of "collaboration with Russia and inter-religious incitement" after Ukrainian authorities conducted searches in his house. He then said that the Ukrainian authorities had sent him under house arrest.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed his indictment under two articles of the criminal code, specifically "violation of citizens' equality based on their race, nationality or religious preferences" and "justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants."

Tensions between Kiev and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) escalated after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. On March 10, 2023, UOC monks were ordered to leave the monastery of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, jurisdiction over which was divided between a Ukrainian cultural organization and the UOC, by March 29 for violating the terms of an agreement on the use of state property.

Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the monks could stay in the Lavra if they joined the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), a decision that may be "stimulated through the joint work of specialists and law enforcement officers."

A Sputnik

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German Defense Minister Rules Out Deliveries of Additional Leopard Tanks to Ukraine

Sputnik News

20230401

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday that his country was not going to send additional Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

"I currently do not see [the possibility of] deliveries of additional Leopard tanks beyond those announced," Pistorius told German press.

Germany, like other countries, has a "limited supply" of weapons, the defense minister said, noting that he "cannot give everything away."

"Now, together with the Poles and other allies, we are supplying two battalions of Leopard 2, a little over 60 battle tanks. Up to four more battalions of Leopard 1 tanks will be added until next year. This is over 100 tanks. Our American and British allies will also hand over tanks," he added.

Pistorius noted that "unfortunately" NATO countries do not have spare battle tanks awaiting shipment, adding that nevertheless it is possible to cover Ukraine's needs in the mid-term.

On Monday, Ukraine received 18 German Leopard 2 Tanks and some 40 Marder armored infantry fighting vehicles.

In February, the Ukrainian government started negotiations with its allies on the supplies of longer-range missiles and jets, as well as additional ammunition to prepare for an counteroffensive this spring.

The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against continued arms supplies to Kiev and further escalation that could lead to the direct involvement of the United States and NATO in the conflict, adding that any Western military equipment in Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces.

A Sputnik

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Today, the terrorist state began to chair the UN Security Council, and yesterday the Russian army killed another Ukrainian child - address of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine

1 April 2023 - 20:02

Dear Ukrainians, I wish you health!

I signed two decrees on sanctions against those who work for Russian aggression.

These are officials of the aggressor state, its defense industry - hundreds of companies - and collaborators. It is about more than 650 newly sanctioned persons.

The NSDC will continue this work. And none of those who help terrorists, work for them, supply or manufacture weapons for terror - none will escape liability.

The blocking of accomplices of terror, the isolation of the terrorist state, its defeat, and trials are what await all those who started and are waging war against Ukraine and the international order.

By the way, this week Switzerland joined the tenth sanctions package of the European Union.

It is important when the states that are neutral in the military-political sense nevertheless take a clear moral position towards Russian terror, towards Russia's destruction of the global order based on rules.

Only in unity can we preserve peace as the basis of international relations, and I thank Switzerland for the relevant decisions.

I spoke today with President of France Emmanuel Macron. In detail, one hour. About the situation at the front, our political interaction, about how we are moving in implementing the Ukrainian Peace Formula. Thank you, France for your unwavering support.

In general, the week brought a number of positive news for Ukraine, for our defense, and for defending the regular life of all free nations.

Within the framework of the OSCE, work on the first separate international report, which will be dedicated to Russia's forced deportation of Ukrainian children and attempts to assimilate our children, began.

This crime committed by Russia is one of the most cynical and anti-human crimes of our time.

Russia commits it systematically and calculates it, at the state level. Accountability for it will be systemic too. Accountability of Russia as a state and everyone involved.

Thanks to Germany for the new steps in defense support that were taken this week.

Thanks to Croatia for another defense support package. Thanks to North Macedonia for the decision on helicopters. Thanks to Slovakia, Slovenia.

Thank you to Canada for the financial support, the funds have already arrived in the state budget of Ukraine.

Thanks to the IMF for the new programme for Ukraine. The programme is approved. The size is more than $15 billion. This will help us preserve social stability.

Unfortunately, we also have news that is obviously absurd and destructive. Today, the terrorist state began to chair the UN Security Council.

Yesterday, the Russian army killed another Ukrainian child - a five-month-old boy named Danylo. From Avdiyivka, in Donbas, together with his parents who were injured. Russian artillery... One of the hundreds of artillery strikes that the terrorist state launches every day.

And at the same time, Russia chairs the UN Security Council.

It is hard to imagine something evident that proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions...

There is no such form of terror that has not yet been committed by Russia. And there will be no such reason that will stop the reform of global institutions, in particular, the UN Security Council. The reform that is clearly overdue - so that a terrorist state and any other state that wants to be a terrorist cannot disrupt the peace.

Terrorists must lose, must be held accountable for terror, and not preside anywhere.

Glory to all who are now in battle!

I thank everyone who helps Ukraine. Who defends the international order based on rules! Thank you to everyone who saves and helps save our people after being injured by Russian shelling!

Eternal memory to all adults and children whose lives were taken by the terror of Russia!

Glory to Ukraine!

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NEW YORK, April 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds investors in BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIAs) between March 4, 2019 and November 28, 2022, inclusive (the Class Period), against Zac Prince, Flori Marquez, Amit Cheela, David Olsson, and Samia Bayou (together, Defendants), of the important May 1, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you invested in 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 firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the Defendants made false and misleading statements to promote 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 BlockFis exposure to FTX Trading, Ltd. (FTX) and Sam Bankman-Frieds trading firm Alameda Research (Alameda), both of which collapsed in the wake of revelations that FTX and Alameda were engaging in fraud on a massive scale. In the wake of the FTX collapse, the lawsuit alleges that BlockFi froze withdrawals in BIAs, harming BIA investors. Further, investors in BIAs were not aware of conflicts of interest and self-dealing between BlockFi and other entities, such as Gemini Trust LLC, controlled by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The Complaint further alleges BlockFi and the Individual Defendants engaged in the unlawful offer and sale of securities in violation of Sections 5, 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 by selling BIAs to investors. The lawsuit also alleges claims for violation of Section 10(b) and 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Massachusetts General Law Chapter 110A.

To join the BlockFi class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12656 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

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Joel Whitney at Public Books:

Our Latin American literature has always been a committed, a responsible literature, explained Guatemalan novelist Miguel Angel Asturias in 1973.

The great works of our countries have been written in response to a vital need, a need of the people, and therefore almost all our literature is committed. Only as an exception do some of our writers isolate themselves and become uninterested in what is happening around them; such writers are concerned with psychological or egocentric subjects and the problems of a personality out of contact with surrounding reality.

It is the bourgeois writers, he wants to say here, who ignore the looting of their resources by the rich behemoth to the north, which then turns around and redeploys those riches on death squads and dictators. It is no surprise, then, that Asturiass landmark novel, Mr. President, confronts its readers with similar frankness. Mr. President examines widespread corruption around a fictional Guatemalan dictator. But its 1946 debut reflected a delay of more than a decade by the countrys real dictators, who disrupted the novels genesis and sent its author into exile. And in this act of suppression, Asturiass censors and exilers were aided by the US, specifically the CIA.

Such suppression has long impaired Asturiass career, reputation, and recognition. Indeed, in a new introduction to Mr. Presidentout last summer in David Ungers lucid new translationliterary scholar Gerald Martin calls the novel the first page of the Boom. The Boom was the nickname for a clutch of new Latin American novels emerging in the 1960s, including those by future Nobel laureates Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.

More here.
Rio Tinto has published its 2022 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, detailing $10.8 billion of global taxes and royalties paid during the year.

This compares to $13.3 billion in 2021, during very strong commodity prices, and is the third-highest annual global taxes and royalties paid by Rio Tinto since it published its first annual Taxes Paid report, for 2010.

In Australia, which is home to almost half of the company's assets, $8.5 billion (A$12.3 billion) was paid in taxes and royalties in 2022, down from $11.1 billion (A$14.8 billion) in 2021. Rio Tinto also made significant tax and royalty payments in Canada ($718 million), Chile ($678 million), Mongolia ($294 million) and the United States ($135 million).

Rio Tinto Chief Financial Officer Peter Cunningham said "At Rio Tinto, we are finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs, and it is important that we do this responsibly and transparently, while contributing to the host countries and communities where we live and work.

"Taxes and royalties play a critical role in the economic and social development of the regions and communities we operate in. As temporary custodians of the land where we operate, we have a responsibility to extract value from the minerals and materials we produce in the safest and most sustainable way. This includes providing economic opportunities; safeguarding and promoting health, wellbeing, and human rights; combatting climate change; and being the best possible stewards of the natural resources entrusted to us."

In the past ten years, Rio Tinto has paid $74.9 billion in taxes and royalties globally, of which more than 78% was paid in Australia.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005315/en/

Contact

Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com

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Media Relations, Americas

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Rio Tinto Plc

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London SW1Y 4AD

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T +44 20 7781 2000

Registered in England

No. 719885

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Melbourne 3000

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T +61 3 9283 3333

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ABN 96 004 458 404

riotinto.com

Category - General
While George Russell is happy with his Mercedes, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton admits he has a fundamental problem with it.

With the pair qualifying just behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Melbourne, Fernando Alonso scoffed at Mercedes' claim that the car concept is a dud.

"They are always fast," said the Spaniard.

"Mercedes always say they want to throw the car away but the truth is that they are already fast. They hid and in the middle of the year they will surely be there to fight for or win races as they did with Russell in Brazil," the Aston Martin driver told DAZN.

Toto Wolff, however, is still playing things down, insisting that Mercedes cannot go "from depression to euphoria" after a single good qualifying session.

Red Bull top official Dr Helmut Marko agrees with that.

"I believe Alonso will be stronger over the race distance than the Mercedes drivers," he told Servus TV.

"But it came as a surprise to me how Mercedes came to Max. I think they did a very good job with the tyres, but if they warm up so well for one lap then it could be a disadvantage in the race."

Hamilton says the result gives Mercedes "a glimpse of hope", but he is not expecting to challenge Verstappen on Sunday.

"We have to assume Max will take a quarter of a second to half a second per lap again in the race and disappear on the horizon," he said.

In terms of the feeling, however, Russell - who out-qualified Hamilton for the third consecutive time in 2023 - is happy with the new black Mercedes.

"It's probably the best F1 car I've ever driven," he said on Saturday.

38-year-old Hamilton, however, tells a very different story.

"Our cockpit is so far forward," said the Briton. "It's one of the worst feelings you can have while driving.

"I listened to the team and that was the direction they said we should take, but if I had known this feeling beforehand, I wouldn't have allowed it."

(GMM)
Red Bull has contradicted Sergio Perez for the second time this weekend in Melbourne.

First, the Mexican driver suggested that Red Bull is not used to running "two cars" equally.

"Before I came, basically they were just going racing with two cars because they had to," he said.

Team boss Christian Horner hit back at that.

"Well, that's the first I've heard him saying that," he said. "We always have run two cars since we entered the sport in 2005."

And after beaching his Red Bull in the gravel in Q1 on Saturday, Perez suggested he had suffered a recurrence of the engine braking problem from the earlier practice sessions.

"I don't want to go into details," he said on Viaplay, "but we know what the problem is and we have to work as a team to fix it."

Dr Helmut Marko, however, denied that Perez's apparent braking mistake in qualifying was directly attributable to a "reliability" problem.

"Maybe it wasn't an optimal setting," he told Servus TV, "but Checo was unsure, impetuous, and it was slippery with cold tyres.

"We had a problem with engine braking in the third practice, but that was no longer there in qualifying. Unfortunately he just misjudged it.

"We are not talking about reliability issues but, rather, detailed settings for engine mapping. It has nothing to do with reliability."

The 79-year-old Austrian admits Perez will have difficulty emulating Max Verstappen's Jeddah feat with a searing run through the field in the race.

"Despite all the DRS, overtaking on this track is incredibly difficult," said Marko.

"We actually know how we will get Perez up front yet."

(GMM)
The Kaya Diplomat

Nii Addokwei Moffatt Opinion Apr - 01 - 2023 , 13:51

Author: Ambassador Kwame A. Tenkorang

Pages: 330

Publishers: Digi Books Ghana Limited

Distribution: University of Ghana Bookshop

Price: GH200

Reviewer: Nii Addokwei Moffatt

Ambassador Kwame A. Tenkorangs story is an account of events and episodes that he encountered in his 41 years as a Foreign Service Officer.

He explains that such a story coincides with the life and service of other high-ranking personalities who played a role or directed Foreign Policy of Ghana, as their lives crossed.

These interactions, he further states, play a major role in developments of his career, fashioning the Diplomat that he became.

In the Foreword to the The Kaya Diplomat, with the subtitle, Diary Notes of a Ghanaian Diplomat another Diplomat and Journalist, Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, points out that diplomats, by the nature of their work, become not only witnesses to history, but in many instances participants in the very knotty and complicated dynamics that define international affairs and the destiny of nations.

Ambassador Blay-Amihere makes it clear that those diplomats who worked in the higher echelons of the Foreign Service were privileged to have rich and rare perspectives of the workings of the service to share when they decided to write their memoirs.

Distinguished

Ambassador Tenkorang is one of such individuals who has had a long distinguished diplomatic life that saw him travel all over the world and in the course of his career, working closely with two Heads of State, Presidents Evans John Atta-Mills and John Dramani Mahama.

He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana as a young service officer in 1976, and by dint of hard work, he rose through the ranks from an A5 Foreign Service Officer to A1, the top as an Ambassador having served in many capacities within the Ghana Foreign Service, both at home and abroad, ending his career in the service as a Director of State Protocol.

There is no doubt that when you have a passion for an activity, you are likely to excel in that endeavour. Its no wonder, therefore, that we have this entertaining book by Amb. Tenkorang, who tells us that when he was a young man, he liked to tell stories and also write them.

He said Literature was his favourite subject in school, and he loved reading the assigned literature books; that love is seen as he chips in a quote here and there in the book, The Kaya Diplomat, where appropriate in his discussions.

According to him, he even tried his hands on what he considered poetry, but never got anywhere with it.

Ambassador Tenkorang had contemplated becoming a journalist, but as fate would have it, he ended up becoming a diplomat. I would not be the one to tell you the circumstances that led to that. He tells it his way and even lets us know why he chose the title The Kaya Diplomat.

Story

The story, written in a simple down-to-earth language, is captured in Seven Chapters under various topics beginning with The Kaya Diplomat in Chapter One, where he explains how he came by the title of this book.

For those of you who have heard the word Kaya and dont know what it means, this book gives you a detailed meaning of the word, including the very famous phrase Konongo Kaya, which has come to signify selfishness and the negative connotation of one who wants everything for himself and no one else. Even though the one cannot undertake the chore or activity, he/she would not allow any other person to attempt it. The origin of Konongo Kaya has been provided.

How the author came by the title of this book is quite hilarious and I would not want to spoil the fun by attempting to narrate it. In the same chapter and the next, he tells us about his career beginnings and one cannot help but smile as the story, beautifully woven, and stringed together in a simple style that carries the reader along, tells us about his national service days, Kilometre 101, student politics and so on.

Book of history

The Kaya Diplomat is a book of history and the happenings during the Acheampong, Rawlings era, and Presidents Limann, Kufour, Atta-Mills and Mahama eras all find a place in the book, and readers not too old at those times would find enough information to recollect.

Kalabule, the floggings and the subsequent preparations for constitutional rule are pieced together with Ambassador Tenkorangs juicy stories about his career as a foreign officer.

His opinion of Parliament, where he was seconded at one time, is quite interesting. According to him, Parliament was not a big deal. To some extent, it was almost theatrical at times, with more posturing than serious work apart from book keeping. For anyone listening to reports of proceedings in parliament, the impression was that of a serious institution doing serious work.

However, he says, his own assessment was completely different. It appeared to me that members were there principally to play to the gallery for the sake of fame, with an eye on the next election.

Student

You will find Amb. Tenkorangs time as a student in Nairobi and his Liberian friend, Gbarwous wicked cooking, the Okat, Abo and Monica triangle during the Rawlings era, among other things, also very interesting.

I am sure that if I was young, the authors experiences would have inspired me enough to want to work with the Foreign Service. Such rich experience is rare and not many people have had such experiences and enjoyed them to the maximum as has Ambassador Tenkorang.

You must pick a copy of this book (hard copy) and read about all the wonderful things in this work that I could not talk about for lack of space. I have not touched on things that happened in the Kufour era, such as Stray dogs, Roads and the Chinese, Eminent person about Rawlings and his visit to Botswana through Adis Ababa, and, of course, the betrayal of Joseph Attah.

Then there is the Atta-Mills and John Mahama era, with so much to be shared. But, alas, not enough space to say it the way reading it yourself would do. Interesting stuff.

Dear reader, pick a copy; for it is surely a must-read that would have you extremely fulfilled.
A friend in need: Thank you VP Kamala, USA

Vicky Wireko Reality Zone Apr - 01 - 2023 , 14:15

With a skim through global news these days, one depressing thread running through tends to be economic uncertainties mainly as a fall-out from the global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The harsh resultant impact of the economic turmoil has seen rising high cost of living around the world with heavy burden on families, businesses and job security, among others.

Governments are reeling, for even in the mighty Western countries, things are rough and tough.

So to get a foreign government working hard to bounce back its own economy and yet still finds space and time to look out for us and actually come over to Macedonia with help should be welcome news.

It points to one truth  that the relationship is deep, as one would say.

Positive light

No matter what the spin pundits will advance forward, one would like to view the US Vice President Madam Kamala Harriss three-day visit to Ghana in some positive light and with some sanguinity.

One would simply describe it as a good sign of enduring friendship with the US. A friend checking in at ones time of need is certainly, a friend indeed.

The great prospects that abound for us as a people and as Africans in general may be lost on us but for those outside and looking in, they glaringly see those abounding opportunities that we have today and the future.

One such prospect is what Vice President Kamala made a true reference to  the opportunity Africa has as a youthful continent going into the future.

Thus, while the West has an ageing population and eventual slowdown of growth in the future, Africa, as a youthful continent, is predicted to be the place for future growth.

The chances are there for untapped opportunities, innovation entrepreneurship, and many others for the continent and the world. That certainly is a key strategy for our governments to tap into.

What sounds readily assuring is the statement of the US Vice President at the Jubilee House, when she met with President Nana Akufo-Addo. She gave us a hint of the plans her country had for us even at a time of hardship for world economies, including her own.

Referring to our specific challenges with the economy, Vice President Kamala said her country recognised those challenges and welcomed, Ghanas commitment to reforming its economy in order to deliver sustainable growth.

She added, Ghana is already strong and we (US) are strengthening it even further.

That statement made one feel that we have not been forgotten by friends, such as, the US with the predicament facing us.

IMF

What one wanted to hear and did hear loud and clear was about the IMF bailout which Ghana is expectant of. Touching on Ghanas concern, therefore, made one feel that her country was keen on our discussions with the IMF just as a friend perhaps would.

Heartwarmingly, Vice President Kamala added that her country supported Ghanas engagement with the IMF and would push all bilateral creditors to help the case of debt burden for less endowed countries around the world. That was pretty reassuring to hear.

No wonder we laid out a beautiful well-planned reception deserving of a friend and ally, when the Vice President and her husband, the second gentleman of the US, touched our soil for the first time.

It was as if we pre-empted what good news was coming.

With a super warm akwaaba, therefore, we did not stop shy of our joy to see another high official of a US government visiting us and assuring us that they would still stand by us, support us and literally give us a shoulder to cry on.

Africa

Analysing the week-long visit to the three African countries, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, it struck me that the US Congress continued to value their relationship with us and the continent, no matter how many times we fell foul.

In her own words, it is critical for the US and the international community to build long-term economic growth and prosperity, as well as increase US investment and private sector investment on the continent.

It was not surprising, therefore, to hear her announce at the Jubilee House meeting with our President, a $100 million support towards security and stability in the sub region. The support, hopefully, will help tackle threats of violence and extremism in Ghana, Benin, Guinea, La Cote dIvoire and Togo.

She recognised US partnerships across African countries and saw them as Working with Africa and African partners on the continent.

She was certain that with African nations playing strategic roles and contributing to critical global issues, including climate change and food security, African voices were critical to global peace and security which included the defence of the UN Charter.

From Monday through to when our august visitor left us to complete the visit to Tanzania and Zambia, her engagements with young groups, artistes and some entrepreneurs, as well as her visit to Cape Coast, underlined the fact that a friend at a time of need, is a friend indeed.

It was great to have you in Ghana, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Larry Groff in Painting Perceptions:

Barbara Kassels evocative paintings explore the passage of time. From her loft in New York City, she paints interior and exterior views, creating a visual diary of daily life. Working with oil on panel, the smooth surfaces are meticulously rendered serene scenes. Warm reds and yellow embrace cooler blues and grays and invite the viewer into the large-scale works. Kassel describes the paintings in part biographical and instinctually narrative. Carefully exploring the world around her, she mixes observation and invention as she captures fleeting moments in time.

Larry Groff: Can you tell us something about your background? What lead you to become a painter?

Barbara Kassel: I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the valley, in Studio City. I remember always drawing, painting and working on various craft projects. My older brother would use a red pencil to mark when I went out of the coloring book lines! I took my first art classes outside of school at a little frame/art shop on Ventura Blvd called The Flemish Art Shop. I painted Dutch like still lives with copal varnish as the medium, still lifes with watermelons and flowers and many a bright eyed furry kitten. I think that I came to painting as it was the most natural and satisfying way for me to be in the world. I liked the way I could create something, something that expressed the visual world and in a way, even early on, my interior life. My father had a serious heart condition and died of his third heart attack when I was 16. That had a profound effect on my life and how it unfolded. Immersing myself in painting and drawing had and continues to have a calming effect on me and helps me to integrate different aspects of my life.

More here.
Russia runs the UN Security Council this month. Ukraine says its the worst April Fools joke

International News Apr - 02 - 2023 , 09:38

A country led by an accused war criminal is now in charge of the United Nations Security Council. Hard as it is to believe, its Russias turn to assume presidency of the powerful body  which is charged with maintaining global peace and security.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described Russia assuming the council presidency on April 1 as its brutal invasion of Ukraine stretches into a second year as the worlds worst April Fools joke.

The country which systematically violates all fundamental rules of international security is presiding over a body whose only mission is to safeguard and protect international security, Kuleba said.

Presidency of the security council rotates alphabetically among its 15 member nations. The body is controlled by its five permanent members, including the US and Russia.

The UN diplomatic corps is well aware of the public skepticism about Russia leading the council while its troops occupy parts of Ukraine, a fellow UN member country. Few remember that Russia was last president of the council in February 2022  during the run-up to its invasion of Ukraine.

A Security Council president is supposed to stay neutral. But in its new role, Russia can maneuver meetings on Ukraine and use the month to portray the US and other Western countries as making false accusations against Russia.
All Western Region hospital projects will be completed - Darko-Mensah assures

Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu Apr - 01 - 2023 , 15:29

The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, has assured the health sector that all hospital projects in the region will be completed for more comprehensive healthcare delivery.

He said considering the importance of healthcare, the government had kept faith with the people by initiating a number of much-needed health infrastructure and would mobilise resources to complete all the projects on time.

These ongoing projects include the Agenda 111 and other projects with the development partners meant to ensure the region gets its fair share of health facilities.

Speaking at the 2022 Annual Performance Review Meeting of the Western Regional Health Directorate in Takoradi, which was on the theme Accountability: A Key to Achieving Quality Healthcare, Mr Darko-Mensah said the region, for some time now, had seen the completion of many healthcare and residential facilities for health staff.

He said it was, therefore, imperative to encourage all health staff to play their respective roles by being accountable to any role or responsibility assigned to them, whether at the health sector hospitals or our offices/directorates, to pursue a common agenda.

Improved service

Mr Darko-Mensah said the call for accountability and improved service should not be limited to only the health sector. Instead, it is on the entire Ghanaian society; if we heed to answerability, either by helping in the creation of wealth or by reducing waste in the utilisation of our national resources.

Above all, we must, as concerned citizens, eschew corruption, favouritism and create transparency for accountability when the need be, in the phase of achieving quality health care, he said.

We have, so far, seen the completion of five polyclinics at Elubo, Wassa Dunkwa, Bogoso, Nsuaem and Mpohor, Ghana Health Service (GHS) staff housing unit at Takoradi hospital, an infectious disease centre for the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, which is the testament of governments commitment, he said.

Aside from that, he said work was progressing on the construction of a regional hospital at Apemanim, as well as the transformation of the Effia-Nkwanta Referral Regional Hospital to a teaching hospital in the shortest possible time.

He said the redevelopment of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital into a teaching hospital was in addition to other works on numerous Agenda 111 hospitals in the region, which are at various stages of completion.

Let me say, now, that these are clear indicators of the governments commitment to expanding access to all levels of healthcare to the people of the Western Region.

Health tourism

Mr Darko-Mensah emphasised that the government, through the Ministry of Health and partners, would continue to support the health sector with the necessary backing, not only to scale up the quality of health services, but also to position the country as a major destination for health tourism within the sub-region.

The minister urged health practitioners to lead in the crusade for quality healthcare services and improved service delivery as the health workers identifiable contribution to ensuring accountability.

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma- Aboagye, in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of the Health Administration and Support Services (HASS), Dr Ebo Hammond, said the performance reviews demonstrated the willingness of the service to hold itself accountable to its teeming stakeholders.

He said reviews enabled the service to measure its achievements against set targets defined under the strategic objectives of the Health Sector Medium Term Development Plan and the programme of work for the year under review.

Improved interactions

Over the years, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said, the review process had contributed towards improving interaction between the service and its stakeholders, thereby facilitating information sharing and providing its stakeholders with the opportunity to hear first-hand from budget management centres (BMC) their achievements and challenges.

Touching on the highlights of service delivery in 2022, he said the services performance had been significant and that we have seen decreases in institutional Infant Mortality, Neonatal mortality and under-5 mortality rates.

He said similarly, the institutional maternal mortality ratio decreased from 111 to 102 per 100,000 live births, reducing maternal deaths from 875 to 809. Again, family planning acceptor rate had increased, as haemoglobin check at registration or booking visit improved, he stated.

He said the sector had also seen consistent improvement in children under five years receiving Vitamin A, as well as babies benefitting from early initiation of breastfeeding, and commended the sector to ensure consolidation of the gains at the face of all challenges.

The Western Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Yaw Ofori Yeboah, commended workers for their commitment to duty leading to the success stories, saying there was the need for more.

Some workers who performed well, as well as those in the hard-to-reach areas and individuals who made significant contribution to the development and improvement of the health sectors, were awarded.
Axim: 4 arrested for attacking police

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Apr - 02 - 2023 , 11:38

Four people have been arrested for attacking police personnel in the Western Region.

An alleged case of extortion against the police has also been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau for investigation.

The four suspects said to have attacked the police have been named as Kojo Siah alias Mozey, Emmanuel Mensah alias Kofi Asamoah, Maxwell Cudjoe and Agyabu Haruna Dissawu.

They were arrested on March 28, 2023 for their suspected involvement in the attack on the police personnel in Axim in the Western Region.

The arrest was after three weeks of the incident.

According to the police on March 9, 2023, the Axim Divisional Police patrol team reported an attack on the team by a gang that seized the magazine of a Service rifle together with some mobile phones belonging to the police officers.

The suspects according to the police were arrested after about three weeks of the intelligence operation.

In a police statement issued by the Public Affairs Directorate on Sunday, April 2, 2023, the police said a search conducted at the residence of Kwame Ato Asare Ani, the prime suspect, who is still on the run, led to the retrieval of three pump-action shotguns.

Also, one pump-action shotgun, two machetes and eight BB rifle cartridges were retrieved from the suspect's unregistered Honda vehicle, in addition to other items, which according to the police were also retrieved from the suspect including two live BB cartridges and one unregistered motorbike.

The police explained that on April 1, 2023, while the investigations were ongoing to get the remaining suspects arrested, the attention of the police was drawn to a video footage in which the said police personnel, members of the Axim Patrol team, were shown pleading with members of the gang while the gang was alleging extortion by the police officers.

According to the police, the allegation of extortion against the officers has been referred to the Police Professional

Standards Bureau (PPSP) for investigation.

It said all the suspects in the reported attack on the patrol team, who had been arrested, have been put before court and remaining suspects arrested.
Education must emphasise nations interdependence - Kamala Harris emphasises at Cape Coast durbar

Shirley Asiedu-Addo Apr - 01 - 2023 , 15:16

The Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, has said the world must use education as a tool to emphasise the interconnectivity and interdependence of all nations.

Ms Harris said countries around the globe must recognise the greater good of education and use it to orient all everywhere to countries interdependence on one another.

She was speaking at a durbar of the chiefs and the people of the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast.

The welcome

The chiefs, led by Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, the Paramount Chief of the Oguaa Traditional Area, and queens, in all their splendour, clergymen and professors from academia in Cape Coast and some from the region and members of the Diaspora now resident in Ghana, sat to receive Vice-President Harris, her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and her entourage at the courtyard of the Emintsimadze Palace in Cape Coast.

The traditional dances from the Central Regional Centre for National Culture folkloric group were apt and energetic.

Ms Harris and her entourage arrived around 3:15 p.m.

The Emintsimadze palace has received a few high rank officials from the United Stated and without exception Ms Harris was welcomed with the warmth and grace of the people of the ancient city of Cape Coast.

The Ghanaian songstress, Irene Logan, gave a beautiful rendition of the Ghanaian and American National anthems after which Omankyeame Kwame Benya offered libation for the guidance of the ancestors for the start of the ceremony.

Ms Harris recognised Cape Coast as a citadel of quality education and the national and continental efforts made towards education and said that gave her a great sense of optimism.

She commended stakeholders who had worked to promote education in the area and the country saying the effort at prioritising education was laudable.

The work that you have done here in terms of prioritising and having such success in education is something that in my own country, the United States, and across the globe must be a greater priority for all of us, she stated, adding education must help people around the globe to understand the connections, the interconnections and the interdependence of all saying the USA and many other countries understood that it was essential to make a education a greater priority.

History and education

Speaking on history and education, Ms Kamala said it was important that the history of every group informed what was taught the next generation to impact its future and destiny.

I too believe that we must remember history for many reasons, especially in the face of, at times, people who would attempt to deny it, and we must teach it.

But teach it also with an understanding that it should teach us not only about our past but also about our destiny and our future, that we must learn from it in a way that we make the ancestors proud and understand the broad shoulders upon which we stand, she stated.

Central Regional Minister

The Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, said the region would appreciate partnerships that would promote education, tourism and leadership development.

She stressed that the impact of the governments free senior high school policy had provided access to many vulnerable youth saying she was optimistic that the proposed one million dollar investment in Africa by the USA would strengthen the continent and help it to prepare children for a highly technologically advanced future.

She said Ghanaian youth had excelled in robotics competitions, and prayed for support for youth development

Mrs Assan also called on her to work to support efforts to empower women to present themselves to be heard and to promote the interest of the marginalized in society.

She also called for constructive support of partnerships for mutual development for an accelerated transformative socio-economic standards of the people.

Osabarimba Kwesi Atta

Osabarimba Kwesi Atta called for support from Ms Harris for a slave museum as a legacy project in Cape Coast to further concretise the relationship between Cape Coast and the USA.

He suggested further talks to promote socio-economic benefits for the people of the area, particularly a reciprocal visit to the US to further cement relations.

Vice-President Harris and her husband were presented with beautiful Kente cloths.

They later took a tour of the Cape Coast Castle.
Tourism accommodation: ECOWAS experts work on standardisation

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Apr - 02 - 2023 , 06:55

The Private Sector Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission is organising a three  day technical meeting for tourism experts in the region from 3rd  5th April 2023.

The experts are expected to amend and validate the new regulatory texts for tourist accommodation establishments within ECOWAS region.

The ECOWAS Commission, as part of the implementation of its Revised Treaty, developed a Regional Tourism Policy accompanied by an ECOTOUR 19-29 Action Plan, with the collabora-tion of the Member States.

The analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the ECOWAS destination has thus highlighted the weakness of the regulatory system and the low level of tourism services as a major handicap for the development of this sector whose potential could serve as a driving force for our economies.

To this end, the ECOTOUR 19-29, was developed in its programme n5, which dictates the development of the regulatory framework, hotels classification criteria and control systems.

While sourcing inspiration from international standards applied to tourist accommodation infrastructures around the world, the ECOWAS Member States wish, in a harmonised and innovative way, to define a new regulation by:

- Affirming national cultural and architectural identities.

- Considering the environment and the climate.

- Creating labels and certificate that will be specific to the West African Region.

The updating of the regulations responds to the major issues facing the West African region, namely:

- Unfair competition of hotellike.

- New forms of tourist accommodation such as ecolodges, guest houses, etc.

- Security context which imposes the reinforcement of security and safety devices in the accommodation premises.

- Need for harmonized procedures for hotels classification.

- Inexistence of a control mechanism at regional level.

The drafting process was divided into 5 phases that started in 2019. Phases 1 & 2 have come to an end with the provision of a preliminary draft of texts, amended and validated at Expert level by the Member States, which was followed by phases 3 and 4, with a focus on the following points:

- Development of the Tourist accommodation establishments classification scoring table for each category.

- Elaboration of the harmonized grid of control and allocation of grades by categories

- Proposal of ECOWAS labels and signage for the different categories

- Proposal for a regional mechanism for dissemination and enforcement of regulations.

- Proposal of digitalization of the regional TAE ranking.

By adopting the regulations of tourist accommodation establishments in Lome, ECOWAS destination will now have a harmonised, standardised, qualitative and competitive accommodation offer composed of:

- Hotels

- Ecolodges

- Motels

- Aparthotels

- Hostels

- Guest houses

- Cruise-boat

- Camping/caravan

- Holiday village & Inn
BMW Motorrad is introducing BMW iFacea face recognition system that makes the previous ignition key superfluous and complements the existing Keyless Go technology.

BMW iFace was developed in cooperation with Professor Dr Gerhard Lesjoh, head of the institute for ophthalmology at the University of Munich. The system offers facial recognition of the riders face on the one hand and also an iris-cornea comparison of the eyes for definite identification on the other.

Face recognition uses the latest 3D technology integrated into the BMW Motorrad TFT display, which is not visible from the outside. This is carried out by means of stripe projection, a technology that has been used for many years for example in reverse engineering. With the helmet removed, the face is scanned three-dimensionally and biometrically.

This three-dimensional image is compared with a data record stored in the system. If the calibration is positive, the ignition, steering lock and other locking functions are released and the rider can start the motorcycle. Since the 3D scan works with infrared scanning, this type of face recognition also works in the dark.

Iris cornea matching for maximum authentication. BMW iFace operates as a dual system to achieve highest-level comfort and safety. For example, the rider can be authenticated either using face recognition (without helmet) or by iris-cornea scanning of the eyes. This type of authentication enables the system to identify the rider even with the helmet on, as only the iris and cornea are scanned and compared with the data stored in the system.

Here too, infrared technology ensures functional reliability even in absolute darkness. A special polarization filter enables the scanning process even through heavily tinted and even mirrored visors, different types of glasses and contact lenses. The rider enters the type of visor and visual aid he is currently using in the display prior to the scanning process using the corresponding menu functions.





In case of an attempted theft, BMW iFace communicates with the eCall electronic emergency service. Not only does the BMW Motorrad Call Center receive a corresponding message about the attempted theft via a special code, but the scan data (face or eye scan) and the current geographical position data are transmitted in parallel to the international central database of the German Federal Police authorities.

If corresponding data material is found there, the search for the person concerned can be initiated immediately. If no suitable data is available, the transmitted scan data will be stored in this database for possible use at a later date.

BMW iFace has been developed and tested in field trials over a period of more than three years.

Our special thanks go not only to the Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigation, but especially to Giovanni Haberle. Today a respected owner of a consulting firm for theft and burglary protection in the Stuttgart-Stammheim area, the Swabian was an invaluable help to us in developing this system thanks to his decades of expertise as a professional vehicle thief. Dr. Burkhard Hund, Head of Theft Protection at BMW Motorrad

BMW iFace will be presented at one of the autumn motorshows in 2023 and will initially be used on the BMW Motorrad Boxer models.
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has approved projects worth $403 million in its member countries such as Egypt, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to help boost the country's infrastructure.

The top among the go-aheads given by IsDB at its 350th board meeting held today (April 1) in the city of Jeddah, was the euro 318 million ($344.5 million) financing for Phase I of the Electric Express Train Project in Egypt.

The project was being implemented to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all by developing a 660km sustainable, green, and climate-resilient electric express railway system.

This project is expected to benefit 25 million people annually and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 250,000 tons of CO2 annually, it stated.

Chaired by IsDB President and Group Chairman Dr Muhammad Al Jasser, the meeting okayed funds for these projects that support socio-economic development and promote sustainability in member countries in key sectors such as energy, education, and transport.

In his remarks, Dr Al Jasser said: "These transformative projects will have a significant impact on improving transportation, education, and energy, as well as promoting regional economic integration and addressing emergency situations."

"The IsDB Group remains committed to supporting its member countries in their pursuit of prosperity and resilience, particularly during these challenging times," he stated.

The Board also approved an additional financing of $13 million for the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The bank had originally approved $50 million towards this project.

The project aims to meet the electricity demand in Afghanistan and Pakistan through the establishment of cross-border energy exchange among four IsDB member countries as part of the Banks regional economic integration strategy.

Once operational, the project will utilize efficient and environmentally friendly indigenous hydropower resources of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, creating conditions for sustainable electricity trade between Central and South Asia, said the statement from IsDB.

The third approved project is the National Education Development Strategy of Tajikistan being implemented in partnership with Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Opec Fund for International Development (OFID).

For this IsDB has approved financing worth $35 million and the contribution of ISFD is worth $10 million.

The project aims to improve the learning environment and facilitate system strengthening for the country's sustainable implementation of an inclusive, competency-based education system, it stated.

Additionally, the board members deliberated on an emergency grant funding from the IsDB to provide support to Turkiye, and Syria in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes that struck both countries.-TradeArabia News Service.
Rabat  A plenary meeting of the Africa Focus Group under the Global Coalition against Daesh, co-chaired by Morocco, the United States, Italy, and Niger, will be held on March 1 and 2, 2023 in Niamey, Niger, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates said Tuesday.

This meeting is held in a context characterized by the worrying evolution of the terrorist threat in Africa, the new epicenter of terrorist activity internationally and is an important step in the commitment and international coordination in the fight against Daesh, to provide concrete responses to cope with the rise of terrorism in our continent, said the Ministry in its statement.

This meeting, added the same source, follows the first plenary meeting of the Group on the African continent hosted by Marrakech last May, on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition against Daesh.

The Africa Focus Group brings together a select number of Coalition members committed to strengthening the fight against terrorism in Africa, and coordinating existing initiatives in countering the financing of Daesh terrorism, capacity building, and local community resilience, the same source added.

Morocco's co-chairmanship of this meeting confirms its leading role in the fight against terrorism, as a provider of peace and stability in Africa, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. It is also a recognition of the Kingdom's pioneering advocacy within the Coalition for an adequate handling of the evolving terrorist threat in Africa, the ministry said.

The Global Coalition against Daesh was established in September 2014. It is composed of 85 Member States and International Partner Organizations from different regions of the world.

The Global Coalition aims to coordinate the actions of its members to ensure a lasting defeat of Daesh, based on an inclusive and holistic approach aimed at curbing the expansionist aspirations of the terrorist group and dismantling its networks, the statement concluded.
The final week of March 2023 gave us yet another Redmi Note 12 variant, this time called Turbo, with Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 chipset, up to 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 1 TB UFS 3.1 storage. Sadly, the device is unlikely to launch on the international market.

Meizu, the smartphone company that is owned by the Geely alongside the likes of Volvo and Smart, is back with a full flagship lineip - three phoens with 50MP main cameras and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipsets.

Multiple reports from China and Europe suggested Oppo and OnePlus, two companies that are under the umbrella of BBK Electronics, are planning to leave key European markets. However the two companies denied the rumor and reiterated their commitment to these markets.

Everything Nokia does receives massive attention, and this is what happened after the companys announcement of Pure UI. The new design language is intended for all kinds of Nokia products and comes with new icons, illustrations, and a typeface. Sadly, none of this is getting to the HMD Global-made smartphones - it is a user interface for OEM-made products, from tiny wrist-worn displays to large wall-mounted displays.

Check out the full list of the most popular stories of the week below!



Nokia unveils Pure UI, a new user interface design language The goal is to use this across all Nokia products and offer a consistent, flexible and future-proof design.





Motorola Moto Edge 40 and 40 Pro detailed specs arrive The Pro is a Moto X40 for the global market. Both will have wireless charging.





Oppo reportedly pulls out of key European markets The likely reason behind the move is Oppo's legal battles with Nokia.





Motorola Edge 40 price leaks It will be a lot cheaper than the flagship Edge 40 Pro model.





OnePlus 11 Jupiter Rock Edition launching on March 29 The R&D process took one year and OnePlus had to set up a new self-developed production line for the special back material.





Tecno Spark 10 5G also detailed as sales open The phone brings a Dimensity 6020 chipset with 8GB of RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery.





Sony announces ZV-E1 vlogging camera with full-frame sensor Features the same basic sensor and quality as the A7S III and FX3 at a lower price.





Lenovo discontinues Legion gaming phone lineup The move is part of a business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation





Top 10 trending phones of week 12 It's another week of Samsung domination in our trending chart.


Sen. Thomas Fisher has filed an ethics complaint against Sen. William Parkinson, saying Parkinson failed to disclose his membership in a group involved in a legislative investigation.

Last week, senators voted to form an investigative committee to look into a forged document that was circulated online. The document, formatted to look like an amendment to an actual bill, was posted and then retracted by the group Progressive Democrats of Guam.

The forgery bore the initials of Sen. Chris Duenas.

The investigative committee is charged with looking into the origin of the document and the role of Progressive Democrats of Guam in circulating the document.

In a news release issued Sunday, Fisher said Parkinson, who voted against the resolution calling for the investigation, is an officer in the group.

He said Parkinson did not disclose his membership in the same political organization as (the) alleged perpetrator of criminal activity, and the nondisclosure is a violation of Guam law.

The news release included a social media post from 2016 that showed Parkinson pictured with Julian Janssen, the Progressive Democrats of Guam representative who shared, and then retracted, the fake amendment.

In a statement issued Sunday, Parkinson said, This is literally guilt by association.

I was once a member of Progressive Democrats of Guam. I have not been an active member for several years. I have not attended a meeting in years, and as fundraiser chair raised a grand total of zero dollars, Parkinson said.

He also said other members of the legislature who had an interest in the investigation also participated in the voting.

The alleged victim also did not recuse himself and neither did the central operations committee chair, Parkinson said. I think the hallmark of a witch hunt is that it starts to find witches everywhere.

On Monday, Fisher sent a letter to Speaker Therese Terlaje saying that as a member of the Ethics Committee, he would recuse himself from voting on the complaint that he filed.
Dave Lotz is a vocal advocate for protecting Guams unique heritage, a knowledgeable and long-time hiking enthusiast and environmental advocate, and critic of inept government. He has been a resident of Guam since 1970 and retired from the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, Andersen AFB Environmental Flight and the National Park Service.
Ai Now!

Yamashita: Throughout changes and hardships, faith keeps us strong
Nairobi  The Chinese Embassy in Kenya is now calling on the government to intervene and protect Chinese enterprises and Chinese citizens amid the unfolding controvesy around the China Square.

The Embassy issued a statement last evening in which it noted that a conducive environment would bolster China-Kenya for the benefit of both countries.

Chinese nationals conducting business in the country have been further urged to operate within Kenyan laws and regulations.

This comes a day after China's Director-General of the Department of African Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, Wu Peng, called for the creation of a non-arbitrary and non-discriminatory investment environmentenvironment between the two nations.

China Square's business model has been a matter of public discourse after Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria led small scale traders in Nairobi in claiming that Kenyan businesses are being forced to shut down due to unhealth competition.

The retail shop which located in UniCity Mall along Thika Superhighway has the most affordable items, according to Kenyans on social media; all you could want at cheaper prices.




Haiti - FLASH : Belize imposes an entry VISA for Haitian nationals





On Friday, March 31, 2023, following the adoption of new immigration policies, the Government of Belize announced measures regarding the entry requirements into the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country for nationals of Haiti (and of Jamaica).



Prime Minister John Briceno said that faced the increasing numbers of visitors from these two countries using Belize as a transit country to try to enter the United States illegally, the Cabinet decided to invoke Article 226 (a) of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which governs the 15-member regional integration movement of which both Jamaica and Haiti belong.



Article 226(a) of the treaty allows the Minister of Immigration to to immediately impose a visa requirement for Haitians wishing to visit Belize and to require Jamaican nationals to provide proof fully paid non-refundable hotel reservations prior to boarding flights to Belize.



In addition, a ministerial task force has been set up to combat the smuggling that results from this volume of entry. This group will be chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration and will include the Minister of Interior and New Growth Industries and the Minister of Tourism and Relations with the Diaspora.



S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Canada : PM Trudeau spoke on Haiti with the PM of Barbados and the President of the Dom. Republic





Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau spoke this week with Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados and Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic.



The two leaders expressed their concerns about the deterioration of security in Haiti and spoke of the need to provide support that will resolve the political, humanitarian and security crises in the country. They highlighted the important role that CARICOM plays in fostering the establishment of an inclusive political dialogue and recommitted themselves to working together to meet the urgent needs of the Haitian people.



Leaders also discussed their role as co-chairs of the UN Secretary-General's SDG Advocates Group and next steps to advance their priorities and ensure continued progress.



Thursday, March 30, the Canadian Prime Minister met with the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader.



The two men stressed the need to contribute to the resolution of the crisis in Haiti and expressed their concerns about the deterioration of security conditions in this country. They insisted on the need to hold accountable those who encourage violence, corruption and instability in Haiti.



Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated the importance of a Haitian-led solution to the crisis and indicated that Canada was committed to helping the National Police of Haiti (PNH) restore peace and security See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39184-haiti-canada-$10-million-to-strengthen-the-police-academy.html and https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39143-haiti-flash-crisis-in-haiti-trudeau-promises-money-and-biden-changes-direction.html .



The two leaders strongly expressed their wish for a return to stability in Haiti.



HSL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Customs : Record revenue

The General Administration of Customs (AGD) in March collected nearly 11.8 billion gourdes. This brings the 2 quarter of the 2022-2023 fiscal year to 29.3 billion gourdes, an increase of 63% compared to the first quarter.



Arrest of a member of the "Kraze Barye" gang

The police of the South-East department arrested Laguerre Harrison (29 years old) member of the "Kraze Barye" gang. He was hiding in the department to recive treatment after being shot during exchanges of fire with the police.



Access Haiti : Technical Difficulties

"We inform you that our LTE network is currently experiencing difficulties. Our technical teams are working tirelessly to solve the problem as soon as possible. We realize this may cause you inconvenience, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. We ask that you be patient and understanding as we work to restore service [...]" said Access Haiti on Saturday, April 1st, shortly before noon.



UNESCO : Cassava Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity ?

The cassava is the subject of an official application to UNESCO on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The candidacy, in addition to Haiti, was submitted jointly with four other countries : Cuba, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The file will be assessed in December 2024.



UN computer donation for the processing of prison information

On the funds of UN Peacebuilding, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UN Women Haiti, jointly proceeded to the official handover of a data center equipped with a server to improve the processing of prison information from 18 detention centers across the country. They made donations of materials and equipment to the National Coordination of Women's Affairs of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) to improve the functioning of the Coordination in the prevention and awareness of gender violence within the police institution.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Luanda  The Joint Report and Draft Resolution on the sending of an Angolan military contingent to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as part of the Peacekeeping Force, were approved on Wednesday by the National Assembly.

The documents were approved with 31 votes in favour, none against and no abstention by the MPs of the parliament commissions for Constitutional and Legal Affairs; Security, Internal Order, Former Combatants and Homeland Veterans; and Foreign Relations, International Cooperation and Angolan Communities Abroad.

The Request for Authorization to the President of the Republic on sending a Military Contingent from the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) of the Peacekeeping and Support Operations Component aims to ensure the process of cantonment of the M23 military forces in the east region of the DRC.

Speaking at the session of Parliament, the minister of State and Head of the Office for Military Affairs of the President of the Republic, Francisco Pereira Furtado, said that this need arises due from the fact that the DRC Armed Forces and M23 rebel movement are belligerent, as the mediation mechanism is responsible for the security and stability of the cantonment areas.

In general, the objective of the Angolan mission will be to adopt the general joint plan for the resolution of the crisis in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), speed up the effective implementation of the Luanda Roadmap in coordination with the Nairobi process to promote security in the DRC eastern region and to normalize the political and diplomatic relations with the Republic of Rwanda.

The Angolan contingent, which according to the work committees is due to remain in the neighbouring country for 12 months, will be made up of a FAA battalion and its components, as well as financial resources estimated at over 11 billion million kwanzas, which are to be reallocated within the framework of the Defence and Security sector budget.
Hungary has once again delayed a vote on the ratification of Sweden and Finlands NATO accession bids, further frustrating Western allies. Hungary is the only NATO member, aside from Turkey, that has not yet approved the two Nordic countries bids to join the alliance. The latest delay pushes the vote back by two weeks to the parliamentary session beginning March 20.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused the Swedish and Finnish governments of spreading blatant lies about Hungary, which have raised questions among lawmakers in his party on whether to approve the bids. However, Orban confirmed that Hungary would send a parliamentary delegation to Sweden and Finland to seek clarification on the issues before the ratification could come to a vote in parliament.

According to a statement from the Riksdag sent to The Associated Press, the Hungarian delegation is scheduled to meet with Swedish assembly Speaker Andreas Norlen and other lawmakers in Sweden's parliament, the Riksdag, on the upcoming Tuesday.



The delays have frustrated some members of the European Union, as well as members of Hungarys opposition parties. A liberal lawmaker and a former secretary of state in Hungarys Ministry of Defense, Agnes Vadai, criticized the governing Fidesz party for the numerous delays and accused them of deliberately dragging their feet on the vote.



Finland and Sweden applied last year to join NATO due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The countries have said they want to join NATO together, but Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO members to not yet have ratified the bids. The other 28 countries have approved the bids. Adding a new member requires unanimous agreement.



Turkey has pressed the two countries to crack down on exiled members of Kurdish and other groups it sees as terrorists to secure ratification. The country has signaled that it might vote for Finlands accession but not for Swedens. U.S. President Joe Biden wants both Finland and Sweden in NATO and is more focused on both countries joining rather than them doing so at the same time.



In regards to Finland's bid, the country's parliament "passed all the legislation necessary for joining NATO" on Wednesday in advance, with Hungary and Turkey still to ratify the bid. However, concerns remain about Finland's border with Russia, with some members of the Hungarian government expressing worries about adding a country that shares an 800-mile border with Russia. Finland began constructing a border fence on Tuesday, with most of its border currently protected by wooden fences to prevent livestock from crossing.

HT
Finland is holding parliamentary elections on today (April 2) as the country prepares to elect 200 members to its parliament. The election process in the Nordic country differs from other countries in the region, as it follows a proportional representation system and is unicameral, with no second house of parliament. Heres what you need to know about the ongoing elections:

Candidates and representation

Each political party in Finland can nominate representatives in the 13 electoral districts, and parties can also form electoral alliances. However, the maximum number of candidates that an alliance can nominate is the same as that of a single party. The number of representatives elected in each district is proportional to the number of Finnish citizens residing in the district six months before the elections, except in Aland, where only one representative is elected. This is different from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, where the number of representatives elected in each district is based on a complex system of proportional representation of Sainte-Lague method and its variations.

An example of how the proportional representation electoral system works is if a political party in Finland receives 25% of the total vote in the election, then they would be allocated roughly 25% of the seats in parliament. Similarly, in Sweden, a party might receive 25% of the total vote, but they would receive some seats based on individual constituency winners and the remaining seats based on their overall proportion of the national vote.

Election funding

Individual candidates are obliged to disclose their funding and the information is publicly available here. Each political party decides how they want to distribute the funds among its candidates. Some parties don't necessarily distribute the funds to individual candidates but invest the money in party-centered campaigning. Others support party leaders, Theodora Helimaki, Doctoral Researcher, Doctoral Programme for Political, Societal and Regional Changes, University of Helsinki told Helsinki Times.

Helimaki also noted that the position of the candidate within the party can play a role in funding allocation, with some party leaders receiving larger funds.

The parties will often reward loyal party members with more seniority whereas outsiders get less funding but there are no strict rules. This can sometimes cause some controversies when a candidate feels that others get more funding from the party, Henrik Serup Christensen, Senior Lecturer at Department of Political Science, Abo Akademi University told Helsinki Times.

However, Christensen explained that parties aim to ensure success in elections and it is in their best interest to back the most successful candidates. There is of course a risk that it is more difficult for new candidates to compete on equal terms, but it will only hurt the parties if they do not back the most successful candidates, Christensen added.

Advance disclosure of funding allocated for parliamentary elections 2023 by political parties according to Oversight of Election Campaign and Political Party Financing is listed here:

Parties Number of disclosures Total contributions () The Open Party 3 200,00 Animal Justice Party of Finland 12 150,00 Feminist Party 10 3 622,00 Christian Democrats 43 150 032,00 Centre Party 161 1 850 667,57 Finnish Reform Movement 2 00 National Coalition Party 41 506 260,34 Crystal Party 1 1 000,00 Liberal Party  Freedom to Choose 93 73 731,28 Movement Now 22 8 795,00 Pirate Party 37 3 000,00 Finns Party 43 112 468,05 Swedish Peoples Party of Finland 6 149 682,00 Social Democratic Party of Finland 91 1 130 437,08 Communist Party of Finland 2 2 100,00 Blue-and-Black Movement 13 00 Left Alliance 198 1 003 848,70 Green League 217 887 033,55 Power Belongs to the People 1 00 Vapauden liitto 3 00

Voting process

The advance voting period begins 11 days before election day, and voters can cast their votes at general advance polling stations or Finnish diplomatic missions and their offices designated by the local executive. Data from the Ministry of Justice indicate that a total of 1,719,424 votes were cast during the seven-day advance voting period that ended on March 28. This year saw voter turnout of 40.2 percent, an increase of roughly four percentage points from the closing of advance voting before the 2019 parliamentary elections.

On election day, polling stations will open at 9.00 and close at 20.00. Each municipality has at least one polling station where voters must cast their vote, as specified on their polling card or in their voting register.

Opinion polls

Although the National Coalition has held on to its pole position, its popularity fell by one point from the previous poll to 19.8 percent, opinion poll by YLE showed. 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.

Election Results

The DHondt method is used to determine election results, which involves several stages. Firstly, the total number of votes received by each group, including political parties, electoral alliances, joint lists, and constituency associations not in a joint list, are determined. Then candidates in each group are ranked based on the number of votes they received.

In the third stage, each candidate is assigned a comparative index, with the first-ranked candidate receiving the total number of votes for the party or alliance, the second candidate half of the number, the third candidate one-third of the number, the fourth candidate one quarter of the number, and so on. In the final stage, candidates names are listed in the order of their comparative indexes, and those with the highest number of votes are elected to parliament.

As Helimaki explained Helsinki Times, Seats are allocated according to comparative indexes which might not directly correspond to the personal votes earned and thus it can occur that a candidate with more personal votes than another candidate does not get a seat because the party as a whole, did not get enough votes.

This is especially common with smaller parties and in electoral districts with high effective electoral thresholds. This is a side effect of the list system, whereby votes are transferred to other candidates on the same list in order to maximize the number of MPs for a party. There was a famous example with Tarja Cronberg who in 2007 was not elected while getting almost 8,000 votes in Pohjois Karjala. The system has been reformed since then but is still happens that MPs are elected despite candidates from other parties or other districts get more votes, Christensen noted.

-Sonali Telang

-HT
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.

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.

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."

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.

HT

Source:ANI
With this, Italy became the first European country to block the advanced Artificial Intelligence software, which is capable of emulating and elaborate human conversations among other actions.

Authorities in Italy have blocked chatbot ChatGPT with immediate effect in the country.

Italian data protection authority on Friday (local time) has said that it is blocking the Microsoft backed chatbot developed by US start up OpenAI and will investigate whether it complied with the country's General Data Protection Regulation.

A data breach affecting ChatGPT users' conversations and information on payments by subscribers to the service had been reported on March 20, the Italian watchdog said.

Several countries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have blocked ChatGPT, which came into existence in November 2022.

The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) said it has opened an investigation against ChatGPT and the US Company OpenAI.

"No way for ChatGPT to continue processing data in breach of privacy laws. The Italian SA imposed an immediate temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users' data by OpenAI, the US-based company developing and managing the platform. An inquiry into the facts of the case was initiated as well," the Authority stated as per a release on its website.

The authority said that it noted 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 "train" the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform.

The Italian SA emphasizes in its order that the lack of whatever age verification mechanism exposes children to receiving responses that are absolutely inappropriate to their age and awareness, even though the service is allegedly addressed to users aged above 13 according to OpenAI's terms of service.

OpenAI is not established in the EU, however, it has designated a representative in the European Economic Area.

The Italian data protection authority said that OpenAI has to notigy within 20 days of the measures implemented to comply with the order, otherwise, a fine of up to EUR 20 million or 4 per cent of the total worldwide annual turnover may be imposed.

In its order, the Italian SA highlights that no information is provided to users and data subjects whose data are collected by Open AI; more importantly, there appears to be no legal basis underpinning the massive collection and processing of personal data in order to 'train' the algorithms on which the platform relies.

As confirmed by the tests carried out so far, the information made available by ChatGPT does not always match factual circumstances, so inaccurate personal data are processed, the Data Protection Authority of Italy said.

HT

Source: ANI
A MAN will attempt a 13,000ft skydive for charity on Tuesday.

Dave Williams, 66, is fund-

raising for Alzheimers Dementia Support in honour of his wife, Susan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease in her fifties and now lives at the Sanctuary Care Home in Watlington.

Mr Williams has had a passion for air travel since he was a boy. As a teenager, he was a cadet with the Air Training Corps.

He has flown in aircraft ranging from Spitfires to Mustangs and with pilots including Alan Cassidy, the four times British national aerobatic champion, who has endorsed his appeal.

He once skydived from 9,000ft in New Zealand but says this jump will be more meaningful.

Mr Williams, from Chinnor, said: It is such a personal and worthy cause.

The thing is, there is nothing you can do about Alzheimers except care for that person as best you can until the point you cant do it any more. Thats what happened with us a year and a half ago.

I could see things were going wrong with Sue and we ended up going to a hospital in High Wycombe for an initial diagnosis. Right away, they told us she had Alzheimers.

We had to go to the memory clinic for further tests and a review of her condition but nothing was getting easier or better.

I had given up work, which I fortunately could do, to become her full-time carer. I did this for quite a few years until some mishaps happened and she couldnt stay at home anymore. I got her to where I wanted her to be, in Watlington, and they do a sterling job at the home.

I visit her twice a week, which I am able to do because it is near me and I bring our barky border collie who also visits other patients. They all love to see her.

But it has been a bit of a tough fight.

Mr Williams decided to undertake his fundraising challenge after a chance meeting one lunchtime.

He said: I was at a pub in Thame and I saw a sponsorship form for a girl called Michelle who was doing a charity skydive to raise money for pancreatic cancer research, which her mum had. I asked the person behind the bar: Whos Michelle? and they responded: She has been serving you your lunch.

We had a conversation and I asked her if she wanted me to skydive with her. I decided I would do it for charity too and this one is very close to my heart.

The pair will jump out of the plane together at Hinton Airfield in Oxford.

Mr Williams said his flying experience would help him, adding: I just want to do it. It would scare the life out of many people but not me.

I have had so much support, which is amazing. I have to keep pinching myself.

To donate via JustGiving, visit https://bit.ly/40LAtNF
Soldiers of the Somali National Army (SNA) are silhouetted against the setting sun in the town of Jawahar in Middle Shabelle region, north of the Somali capital Mogadisu, December 10, 2010.

Somalia's federal and regional leaders have agreed to increase the number of armed forces and police officers to meet security demands as African Union forces leave the country by the end of next year.

The leaders have agreed the number of national armed forces to be at least 30,000 soldiers and at least 40,000 police personnel, according to the agreement obtained by VOA Somali.

According to the agreement known as the "National Security Architecture" signed by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and the leaders of federal member states last week, the new number of armed forces do not include the navy, air force and special commando units trained by the United States and Turkey.

The agreement revises a 2017 deal between Somali leaders, which specified the number of military and police to be at least 18,000 and 32,000 respectively. The earliest age to register for the army will be 18 and 62 is the new retirement age.

According to the new agreement, the country's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) will continue to have special armed agents until current security conditions end. Federal member states, which currently have their own intelligence agencies and armed agents, will no longer have these agencies once the country is stabilized.

The new agreement also allows the number of custodial corps to be 5,300 -- comprised of 4,500 federal and 800 prison guards.

Leaders of the Puntland semiautonomous region did not participate in the meeting held in the southwestern town of Baidoa between March 15 and 17. In January, Puntland leaders said they would govern their own affairs like an "independent government" until the federal constitution is completed.

Somali government officials said the new agreement is intended to prepare the country's forces to take over security responsibilities from AU forces.

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"The Somali government today is concentrating on transferring security responsibilities from ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) which have been in the country for not less than 15 years," Kamal Dahir Hassan Gutale, national security adviser to Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre told VOA Somali.

"The target is that on December 2024 the last AU soldier will leave the country. This is important for Somalia meeting its security responsibilities."

Gutale said paramilitary forces belonging to the regions will be used as stabilization and holding forces in areas captured from al-Shabab militants.

Immediately after the agreement was reached, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud flew to Uganda to attend the graduation of newly trained soldiers.

Somalia's national security adviser Hussein Sheikh-Ali confirmed to VOA in January that the government is training 3,000 soldiers in Uganda.

Ali also recently confirmed that troops from neighboring countries will participate in the next phase of military operations against al-Shabab.

Gutale told VOA that the new offensive will commence during Islam's holiest month, Ramadan, which starts this Wednesday.

"There is a rigorous preparation by the Somali national armed forces and all other forces for large operations during Ramadan," he said.

"God willing, we hope Somali forces will achieve [a] big victory."
A CEREMONY was held outside the Woodclyffe Hall in Wargrave on Monday to mark the installation of a new clock on the front of the building.

Dick Bush, chairman of Wargrave Parish Council, unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion and the late Queens platinum jubilee last year.

Also present were other members of the council and representatives of the Wargrave Heritage Trust, a village charity that supports public buildings of historical importance.

The clock cost about 5,000, including installation, and trust chairman Neill Pitcher presented a cheque to Mr Bush.

In a formal speech, Mr Bush said: I would like to say thank you for your patience, not only to those present but also to the whole village who have been waiting several months, or should I say years, to find the time of day in High Street.

The old clock had served us well over many years but its intricate and somewhat delicate internal works needed constant attention and the vernal equinox always posed a major problem to those good people charged with making the adjustments.

Then it stopped working altogether and various horologists threw their hands in the air and admitted defeat or declined to investigate because of the complicated nature of the beast.

When it stopped  all we could say was at least then it was accurate twice a day.

The parish council made the decision to find a replacement. That was the easy bit. Once we had committed to an order, getting delivery of the chosen timepiece was far more difficult.

Our order was beset with hocus pocus about confirmation of design and health and safety matters that had to be dealt with before installation could commence. It was eventually installed by a local contractor and our thanks go to him and his team for their invaluable input.

Through all this we were delighted to have the backing of the Heritage Trust.

The clock is the same as those installed at the Olympic Park in London in 2012. It was manufactured by Good Directions, a company which specialises in exterior clocks.

Mr Pitcher and Peter Halman, honorary secretary of the trust, visited the firms factory in Botley, Hampshire, to select a clock that they felt would fit the design of the Grade II listed building.

Mr Halman said: We looked at various designs and we liked this one. We recommended it to the parish council but of course it was their decision.

The old clock, which had a square face, was installed in 1970.

Mr Pitcher said: It was in contrast with a building from the arts and crafts movement. This is more sympathetic in terms of the shape and colour. Bruce Glasby, an electrician who lives in Wargrave, installed the clock in January using a powered platform.

He said: It was not difficult to bring the old one down and put the new one up.

Its just a wire straight through and we connected the new one.

The new clock has a mechanism to correct itself in the event of a power failure and will also automatically adjust twice a year for daylight savings for the next 20 years.

The Woodclyffe Hall is home to the Wargrave Theatre Workshop. It was built in 1900 on the site of an old malt house and over the years has been a village hall, theatre, polling station and a military hospital.

It underwent extensive refurbishment and renovation six years ago. Last year, tiles began to slip off the roof of the hall and temporary protective measures were put in place in November to make it safe.

Further renovation work is planned for August, when the hall will not be in use.
Luanda  The secretary of State for Trade, Amadeu Leitao Nunes, Monday in Luanda reiterated Angola's engagement in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA).

Speaking at the opening of the 9th Meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body of the ACFTA, he stressed that the process of its implementation is challenging, especially for those states with greater vulnerabilities in terms of internal structures.

Regarding the meeting, he stressed that the Protocol on Dispute Settlement, a mechanism established by Article 20 of the Framework Agreement, appears as a fundamental instrument to ensure the necessary legal security and predictability.

Amadeu Leitao Nunes added that these are essential aspects for the decision-making of economic operators and investors, in relation to the use of a given market.

The secretary of State said that there are completely progressive aspects regarding arbitration, giving the necessary appropriation and regional harmonization of the Arbitration Rules and Procedures, with jurisdiction to solve issues related to the application and interpretation of any legal instrument of the LCCA.

In his opinion, the harmonization of concepts, the introduction of innovative and conciliatory methods for the resolution of commercial disputes, between States, conciliation and mediation, or arbitration, consistent with the provisions and principles of the Agreement, allows an internal appropriation of the processes, favourable for the implementation of the obligations, both in the trade of goods and in the trade of services.

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Amadeu Leitao Nunes stressed that, in the specific case of Angola, voluntary arbitration is established, materializing the provisions of paragraph 4 of article 174 of the Constitution, which determines the existence of extrajudicial means of dispute resolution.

He assured that "ad hoc" and institutional arbitration are recognized in the country, and among the existing arbitration institutions, the Center for Extrajudicial Dispute Resolution stands out, as a public initiative center, belonging to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

He added that as for private centers, the country has only one, the Harmony Arbitration Center.

According to the Secretary of State, these institutions will allow a greater insertion of Angola in the continent's arbitration process.

The 9th Meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body of the African Continental Free Trade Area - CFTA takes place from March 20 to 24.

During the meeting, the 5 members of the Appellate Body will be sworn in by the African Union Conference of Heads of State and Government, something that the secretary of State considered a clear signal for the materialization of one of the most crucial instruments of the ACFTA, arbitration.
Mogadishu  The state Minister for Security Mohamed Ali Hagaa and the Somali Police Commander General Sulub Ahmed Firin participated in the event of the Italian Embassy handing over vehicles donated by the Italian government to the Police Forces.

Ministry of Internal Security (MoIS) and Somali Police Force (SPF) vehicles handed over. MoIS State Minister, HE. Mohamed Ali Hagaa, SPF-PC, Brig Gen. Sulub Ahmed Firin, has today handed over two Armoured Vehicles by Italia Embassy at Mogadishu with the intent of Supporting SPF.

Somali Police Commander General Sulub Ahmed Firin who spoke at the event thanked the Italian Government for its support to the Somali Police Force which is part of the Government Forces.

The Italian ambassador Roberto Vechi said that Italy supports the request of the President of the Republic to the leaders of Italy to help in the operations against Al-Shabaab, according to a statement from the meeting.

The Minister of State for Security of the Federal Government of Somalia, Mohamed Ali Hagaa, who spoke at the event, thanked the Italian government for its support and assistance to the Security Forces.
Union external affairs minister Jaishankar along with Bengaluru south MP Tejasvi Surya met young lads at Cubbon Park on Sunday morning. Both BJP leaders spent their time by taking questions from Bengalurus youth on topics ranging from Indias foreign policy, G20 summit and upcoming Karnataka assembly elections. EAM Jaishankar interacts with Bengaluru youth at Cubbon park.

Also Read - 'Next time I meet Mr. Anthony Blinken': EAM Jaishankar in Bengaluru

Tejasvi Surya took to social media and wrote, Bengalurus youth, started Sunday with a class on PM @narendramodis foreign policy at Cubbon Park. EAM Sri @DrSJaishankar was flooded with wide ranging questions on Indias foreign policy. Modis foreign policy is not distant & dry. Its a hot topic even at public parks.

The young MP also lauded the youths interest in discussing the countrys foreign policy. The enthusiasm among Bengalurus young to understand Indias standing in the world, our leadership role in G20 and PM Modis game changing foreign policy is impressive, Tejaswi Surya added. On Saturday, Union minister Jaishankar attended an event by the Entrepreneurs Organizations in Bengaluru and spoke about prospects in the Indian startup ecosystem. He will head to Hubballi and Belagavi to attend more events in the poll bound state.

Last week, Tejasvi Surya asked Jaishankar about not having an US Consulate in Bengaluru though the city has many US based tech gains operating. In a response to his question, the union minister replied, If I am a resident of Bengaluru, the question makes a lot of sense. It also makes sense if I am an official of the United States government. But the US Consulate in Bengaluru is a compelling ask and not having one in the city is a no-brainer. Next time when I meet Antony Blinken, I will hammer home the message.
After AT Ramaswamy, another MLA has quit Janata Dal(Secular) ahead of Karnataka assembly elections. Arasikere JD(S) MLA Shivalinge Gowda submitted his resignation on Sunday, and he is yet to join another party. Karnataka elections: Another MLA submits his resignation to JD(S)

Also Read - Karnataka Elections: Four time MLA from JD(S) AT Ramaswamy joins in BJP

Shivalinge Gowda submitted his resignation letter to Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde in Shirasi in the presence of other party members. More than 300 supporters were seen with Shivalinge Gowda during the submission of resignation. Shivalinge Gowda is the third MLA from JD(S) who quit the party. Earlier, Gubbi MLA S R Srinivashad resigned on March 27 and joined the Congress while MLA from Arkalgud AT Ramaswamy quit the party and joined BJP. Shivalinge Gowda is reportedly looking to join the Congress party.

On Saturday, AT Ramaswamy joined the BJP at the national capital in the presence of BJP national president JP Nadda. He said, BJP party and its leaders are the reason why India is being recognized globally. I am very happy to join this national party and I will continue serving the people of Karnataka and my Arkalgud. The BJP is yet to release the first list of candidates who will be contesting in the assembly elections. Congress is gearing up to release the second list of candidates in the next few days.

The Election Commission of India on Wednesday announced that assembly elections in the state will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13. The last date for filing nominations is April 20 and the last date to withdraw the nomination is April 24.
press release

African Union and development partners underline importance of financing nutrition as a pillar to accelerate and sustain socioeconomic development and prosperity

King Letsie III of Lesotho has urged African leaders to translate commitments into action to meet regional and international development targets.

The monarch addressed a high-level meeting on financing nutrition hosted by the African Union from 23-24 March. He stressed the urgency for adequate financing to end hunger and malnutrition in all its forms as a prerequisite for achieving Africa Union Agenda 2063 objectives and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

King Letsie, who is an African Union Nutrition Champion and also serves as an African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) Champion, said: "Failure to translate political commitment into action remains a primary reason for the low priority that food and nutrition interventions receive from national governments. Therefore, generating country-level political commitment, and translating those commitments into action, backed by adequate financial and human resources, will be critical in accelerating the progress we make towards achieving the 2025 targets."

The king commended the African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) initiative for providing heads of state the opportunity to "demonstrate and offer high-level political leadership in their respective countries," and for rolling out multi-sectoral nutrition programs coordinated directly by their offices.

"The African Leaders for Nutrition, which I am part of, is at the forefront of using the African year of nutrition declaration to create the necessary political momentum and legislative, policy, and budgetary mechanisms to address malnutrition in Africa. The ALN is also working closely with the African Union Commission to drive the development of a multi-sectoral policy framework and a nutrition financing target that can unlock resources for nutrition programming," he added.

Africa, the continent with the highest percentage of stunted children in the world, has struggled to make inroads into combatting malnutrition. Despite regional and national efforts to address malnutrition, almost 4 in 10 of the world's stunted children live in Africa, with the majority found in just 15 nations.

Studies show that for every $1 invested in nutrition, there is a $16 socioeconomic return, making investing in the nutrition of African people not only crucial to creating a healthy and productive society, but an economic imperative that should sit at the very center of Africa's transformation agenda.

"Family photo" of participants during the High-level Dialogue on Nutrition Financing held in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho; 24 March 2023

The African Development Bank's Feed Africa strategic priority has made eliminating hunger and malnutrition one of its four key goals. The strategy sees food and agriculture as a business and wealth-creating endeavor.

"Under the strategy, the Bank is supporting countries to improve productivity while investing in viable climate-smart, tech-enabled SMEs owned by youth and women along priority agriculture and food value chains," Dr. Martha Phiri Director, Human Capital Youth Skills and Development at the African Development Bank said.

"The food industry in Africa is projected to reach one trillion by 2030, and for countries that will position themselves well, this will create an opportunity for better nutrition, increased intra-Africa trade, jobs and wealth for youth and women, and increased fiscal revenues."

The meeting culminated in a call to action for increased investments in nutrition across health; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); education; food; and social protection systems, as well as for better food systems and nutrition governance and accountability.

Contact:

Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank, email: [email protected]
With the three pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen-generating plants at the civil hospital in Phase 6 lying defunct for the past four months, the hospital has been forced to buy 150 oxygen cylinders every day to ensure oxygen supply for patients. The cylinders are procured at an approximate cost of 300 per unit. The hospital caters to the entire Mohali sub-division and nearby villages, and gets around 1,000 patients every day. (HT Photo)

The hospital caters to the entire Mohali sub-division and nearby villages, and gets around 1,000 patients every day.

The PSA plants, with a capacity of 1,000 litres per plant, were installed by the district administration at the Dr BR Ambedkar Institute of Medical Science, located on the hospital premises, in wake of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2021.

Mohali civil surgeon Dr Adarshpal Kaur said, The plants come under the medical colleges purview and we have written to the college authorities and higher authorities for their repair, but nothing has been done.

Dr Bhavneet Bhatti, principal of the medical college, said, The Punjab Health System Corporation had installed the plants and we have already written to them for their repair. We are hopeful that it will be done soon.

Financial crunch adding to woes

As per the records, the daily revenue of the hospital is around 35,000, translating to a little over 9 lakh per month. However, the hospital spends 3 lakh per month for fuel of three ambulances. As the hospital is not on the electricity hotline, 1 lakh is spent on diesel for generators to ensure uninterrupted power supply. The salaries of 65 outsourced employees add another 7 lakh per month. All these expenses are paid from the hospital income.

Although the hospital has been upgraded from 170 beds to 450 beds due to the medical college on the premises, the medicine supply is also erratic. A senior doctor at the hospital said, We are not getting any support from the medical college. Though the hospital has been upgraded, the quota of medicine has not increased. We are facing a major financial crunch.

Dr Kaur informed that they were hopeful of getting a 50-lakh grant, pending with the National Health Mission for six months, soon.

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The ongoing crackdown on Khalistan supporters has brought to light a questionable delay in revoking arms licences granted to the armed guards of radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The ongoing crackdown on Khalistan supporters has brought to light a questionable delay in revoking arms licences granted to the armed guards of radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. (Representational image)

It appeared that the fugitive preachers two personal security officers who are retired from the Army -- Varinder Singh of the 19th Sikh Regiment and Talwinder Singh of the 23rd Armoured Punjab Regiment -- had their arms licences either renewed or freshly issued from districts in the neighbouring union territory.

Officials said that despite the additional director general of police (intelligence) of Punjab writing to the deputy commissioners concerned on January 12 -- almost six weeks before an altercation involving Amritpal Singhs supporters where the duo unabashedly exhibited their weapons -- the licences were not cancelled.

Under section 17 (3)(b) of the Arms Act, the licensing authority possesses the power to nullify or suspend a licence if they perceive it necessary for public safety. The arms licences of both Talwinder Singh of Kot Dharam Chand Klan in Amritsar district and Varinder Singh alias Fauji, who is currently incarcerated in Assam, were invalidated by the deputy commissioners of Ramban and Kishtwar districts respectively.

Varinder Singhs licence had not been renewed since July 24, 2017, according to the cancellation order of March 9 this year.

Cases of issuance of fake gun licences have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir from time to time, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the matter.

On October 16, 2018, the CBI lodged the first set of FIRs over alleged malpractices in granting 2.78 lakh arms licences in 22 districts of Jammu and Kashmir between 2012 and 2016.

In December 2019, the CBI conducted raids at a dozen locations in Srinagar, Jammu, Gurgaon, and Noida on the premises of the then district collectors and magistrates of Kupwara, Baramulla, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Shopian, Rajouri, Doda and Pulwama.

During investigation and scrutiny of documents, the role of certain gun dealers was found who in connivance with the public servants -- the then DM and ADM of the districts concerned -- had allegedly issued such illegal arms licences to the ineligible persons. It was also alleged that the persons who got these licences were not residents of the places from where the said arms licences were issued, CBI spokesperson RC Joshi had said in a statement.

It is alleged in the FIR that then public servants in cahoots with other accused issued arms licences to non-residents of Jammu and Kashmir in violation of rules and received illegal gratification.

The radical preacher has been on the run since the Punjab Police launched a crackdown on his Waris Punjab De outfit on March 18. Several of his associates have, however, been arrested by the police.

Officials stated that the recent revocations of arms licences would allow the CBI to interrogate some of the accused arrested by the Punjab Police under the National Security Act.

Amritpal Singh had been recruiting renegade ex-servicemen and drug addicts to establish an armed gang that could easily be transformed into a terrorist group, officials said.

Former army personnel were imparting arms training to the new recruits, they said. Talwinder Singh and Varinder Singh were identified as associates by Amritpal Singh even before his return from Dubai in August last year.

Reportedly, seven of his personal security officers were young people who had joined his drug de-addiction centre for rehabilitation, but were indoctrinated and trained to embrace the gun culture and follow in the footsteps of slain terrorist Dilawar Singh, who blew himself up and killed former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, said the officials.

Focusing on renegade ex-servicemen was beneficial for the pro-Khalistan preacher as they already possessed arms that could help his organisation evade the law, added the officials.

Security agencies became suspicious after intelligence inputs suggested that Amritpal Singh was using drug de-addiction centres and a gurdwara for hoarding weapons and preparing youngsters for suicide attacks, said the officials.

A dossier, with inputs from various security agencies, alleged that Amritpal Singh was primarily engaged in preparing youngsters to become Khadkoos (terrorists). During the investigation, arms and ammunition intended for the Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF), a creation of Amritpal Singh, were confiscated. Police also seized uniforms and jackets bearing the AKF markings from the preachers car.
With an eye on the 2024 parliamentary and assembly elections, Haryana chief minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday kicked off his Jan Samvad programme from Bhiwanis Kharak Kalan village to connect with rural voters. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar eats a meal in an earthen pot during a Jan Samvad programme, at Kharak Kalan village, in Bhiwani on Sunday. (ANI Pic Service)

While promising city-like facilities in villages and colonies, the CM, along with Hisar MP Brijendra Singh and Bawani Khera legislator Bishamber Singh Balmiki, tried to retain the traditional connect, insisting on sitting on charpoys (cots) and muddha (stool made of bamboo) during their interactions.

Speaking to public, Khattar said that migration is a big issue as people are shifting to cities in the hope of availing good education, health and transport facilities. He said his party will try to bring all the city-like facilities and colonies to the villages so that people dont have to migrate.

He said that during the last eight-and-a-half years, about one lakh government jobs have been given to youth. Over 10,000 jobs have been given in Bhiwani district while in Kharak Kalan village alone, more than 40 youths have been given jobs, the CM said. He stated that the state government has also provided 12 lakh new ration cards under the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP).

Speaking on the need for sustainable agriculture, he said, I urge farmer brothers to cultivate alternative crops instead of paddy, and also adopt micro-irrigation. Groundwater level is rapidly depleting in Haryana and the first priority of the government is to meet the need for drinking water, followed by irrigation.

CM Khattar will spend three days in Bhiwani to gauge the pulse of rural voters. A majority of the population in Bhiwani is dependent on agricultural activities and the CMs rural interaction is aimed at calming the tempers of the peasantry after the farm stir, a party functionary, requesting anonymity, said.

Before the Jan Samvad programme in Kharak Kalan, Khattar paid obeisance at the Dadi Sati Jaabde temple in the village and then visited a shrine associated with Baba Ranpat Maandhata.

Comment on judge draws flak

Meanwhile, Khattars comment on judge while replying to a police aspirant has drawn the opposition flak. While responding to a Haryana police aspirant, who is among the 2,000 youths whose joining was stayed by the Punjab and Haryana high court, CM Khattar said, There is one judge who has a problem in the head. We will rectify it soon. I am aware of the entire matter. We have already given joining letters to 3,000 youths and 2,087 youths will be given the job letters soon.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, Randeep Singh Surjewala said CM should tender an apology for commenting on the functioning of the judge. His statement is a direct threat and amount to meddling with the judiciarys work. I urge the chief justice of India to issue a contempt-of-court notice to Haryana chief minister Khattar. The CMs remarks show how much he and his party respect independent bodies. He must tender an apology, said Surjewala in a press statement.
The Himachal Pradesh government will collaborate with the Union government on the Aroma Mission, a lavender cultivation initiative that has proven to be a boon for farmers in Jammu and Kashmir. The Himachal Pradesh government will collaborate with the Union government on the Aroma Mission, a lavender cultivation initiative that has proven to be a boon for farmers in Jammu and Kashmir. (HT File Photo)

With the climatic conditions of several regions in Himachal Pradesh, including Chamba, being similar to those of Jammu and Kashmir, the state government aims at replicating the success of this initiative in Himachal Pradesh in a big way. This initiative will boost the economy of farmers as well as the state in a big way.

Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had a telephonic discussion with Union minister of state, science and technology and earth sciences Dr Jitendra Singh, who has assured the state of providing technical support to farmers for the project, during his recent meeting with the Union minister in New Delhi in January.

The chief minister said that the initiative has the potential to transform the lives of farmers and with the collaboration of the state and Union government, the Aroma Mission could prove to be a game-changer for the farming sector in the region.

Chief secretary Prabodh Saxena has been directed to take up this matter with the concerned ministry and expedite the process of implementing the project on the ground.

The state government is planning to adopt modern scientific methods of farming by replacing traditional practices. To accomplish this, the state government is seeking technical support from the Union government. The Union government would also organise orientation programmes, training camps and provide technical support to farmers and horticulturists of the state, enabling them to familiarise themselves with new innovative technologies in the farming sector, improve the quality of their produce and generate more income.

Lavender cultivation also known as the purple revolution could prove to be a lucrative option for the farmers of the state, thereby transforming their lives.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau would likely complete the probe into the paper leak scandal that rocked the state within next 15 days. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau would likely complete the probe into the HPSSC paper leak scandal that rocked the state within next 15 days. (Representational image)

The SIT has scrutinised the documents and other evidence in 19 out of 22 recruitment exams that were under scanner.

Director general of police (vigilance) G Siva Kumar, who heads the SIT, said that the consequent to the ongoing probe the bureau would soon register FIR into paper leak of three more recruitment exam conducted by now disbanded Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC), Hamirpur.

He said that papers of 30 examinations conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC) were leaked.

So far five FIRs have been registered and 15 people have been arrested in the scam, said Kumar, adding that the bureau will also seek permission from the government under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, to book top officials of the erstwhile HPSSC.

He said that the ex-secretary of HPSSC had been called several times for questioning and further inquiry was going on against him. Kumar said that the ex-secretary had a key role in the HPSSC as he was also the controller of examination.

The scam took place in his tenure and investigating officer would decide when to arrest him, he said.

A team from vigilance bureaus Hamirpur police station had unearthed the paper leak racket on December 23 last year when a candidate of junior office assistant exam filed a complaint that some people promised to provide him the solved question paper of the exam in lieu of money.

In the raid conducted after the complaint the vigilance bureau had arrested Uma Azad, a senior superintendent in the secrecy branch of the HPSSC, her two sons, a tout and two candidates.

The vigilance sleuths had also recovered question papers of two more exams from Azads house. After the scam came to fore, the vigilance bureau formed and SIT to probe the paper leak case while the state government first suspended the functioning of the HPSSC and dissolved it in February.

Meanwhile, Kumar said that the bureau was getting more complaints from private individuals alleging paper leak in many more cases and the bureau is investigating the matters diligently.

So far, the vigilance bureau has registered FIRs into the paper leak of exams for the posts of JOA (IT), junior auditor, computer operator, traffic inspector, and art (drawing) teacher.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday targeted Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart and party colleague Bhagwant Mann linking them to the alleged liquor scam in the national Capital. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala. (Twitter/BJP Delhi)

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that the scam does not stop at former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia but goes up to Kejriwal and Mann. His comment came after a special court on Friday denied bail to Sisodia stating that there was also nothing apparent on record to infer or show that Manish Sisodias arrest, in this case, was illegal or violative.

Why did the court refuse to give relief to Manish Sisodia, accused in the liquor scam? Manish Sisodia and company have received a bribe of 100 crore and this has been verified through the court, Poonawalla told reporters in Delhi. Manish Sisodia was not an honest person but a corruption planner, he said.

However, the Delhi liquor scam is not limited to Sisodia but the top members in the Delhi government are involved in it and this is what the court says. This means that this whole scam was activated after discussing with the highest person in the government beforehand. Because the decision taken by the GoM and the Cabinet cannot happen without the approval of the chief minister, and this is not a natural insinuation but a natural implication, he added.

Targeting Mann, he alleged that a liquor wholesaler was allegedly forced to surrender his license by using the Punjab excise department as the businessman had interest in that state also.

There was no immediate reaction from the AAP.

Sisodia was arrested by the Central Burau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the ongoing investigation of the case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, which has now been scrapped.

Dismissing his bail plea on Friday, Delhis Rouse Avenue Court said that the evidence collected so far by the CBI not only shows the applicants active participation in the above criminal conspiracy but also shows the prima facie commission of some substantive offences of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act by him.
The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a man seen cutting his birthday cake with a pistol, the video of which had gone viral on social media. According to police, the man was taken into custody from South Delhis Neb Sarai with a countrymade pistol & 2 live cartridges. A case has been filed under the Arms Act. In the video, the man is seen brandishing the pistol while firecrackers go off in the background. (Twitter/screengrab)

The official Twitter handle of the Delhi Police shared the now-viral video along with a visual of the man placed under arrest.In the video, the man is seen brandishing the pistol while firecrackers go off in the background and people sing happy birthday.

The account wrote, Taking cognizance of a viral video on social media wherein a young man was cutting cake with a pistol, #DelhiPolice identified the accused and arrested him from Neb Sarai along with .315 bore countrymade pistol & 2 live rounds. Case registered u/s 25 Arms Act.

Also read: On camera: Drunk men, brandishing rifles, dance on Ghaziabad road; booked

According to a report by news agency PTI, the accused has been identified as Aniket alias Anish, 21, a resident of Sangam Vihar. Aniket

Police said that Aniket had previously been involved in a case registered at Malviya Nagar station. The report quoted a senior officer, who said that the incident was reported Thursday after an informant alerted cops to a criminal roaming around in Sangam Vihar area with a weapon.

According to deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary, Aniket had recorded the video to gain social media fame, influence youngsters and establish his presence as a criminal.

Last month, police arrested five people after two videos showed several men consuming alcohol and flaunting guns on the Hindon elevated road in Ghaziabad. According to cops, the prime suspect, Raja Chaudhary, 27, operates two gyms in Ghaziabad, while the arms belonged to his two private security guards.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday came out with all guns blazing against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party over the liquor case days after a court dismissed a bail plea of incarcerated former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, claiming that the AAP leader is the mastermind" of the alleged scam. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla (ANI File)

Why did the court refuse to give relief to Manish Sisodia, accused in the liquor scam? Manish Sisodia and company have received a bribe of 100 crore and this has been verified through the court, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla at a press conference in New Delhi.

The court said that while reviewing the evidence presented, it can be said that Manish Sisodia is not honest but the mastermind of this corruption policy, Poonawalla added.

On Friday, a Delhi court, while dismissing the bail plea of Sisodia in the excise policy case lodged by the CBI, said prima facie the AAP leader is the architect of the criminal conspiracy in the matter.

Special judge MK Nagpal said his release may adversely impact the ongoing investigation and seriously hamper its progress.

"Thus, it is clear from the above discussion that the applicant had played the most important and vital role in the criminal conspiracy and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of objectives of the said conspiracy... Thus, as per allegations made by the prosecution and the evidence collected in support thereof so far, the applicant can prima facie be held to be the architect of the said criminal conspiracy," the judge said.

The BJP spokesperson claimed that it was already decided what decisions each unit of the government, the GoM and the cabinet were going to take. This means that this whole scam was activated after discussing with the highest person in the government beforehand. Because the decision taken by the GoM and the cabinet cannot happen without the approval of the chief minister, Poonawalla said in a direct attack on Kejriwal.

Sisodia had earlier sought bail saying he was neither a flight risk nor the CBI found anything incriminating against him in its probe into the alleged irregularities relating to the excise policy.

The BJP's fresh attack comes a day after Kejriwal stepped up the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his degree issue and further increased the suspicion over claims about his academic qualification.

The AAP chief's remarks came a day after the Gujarat high court quashed a seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) which had asked the Gujarat University to provide information on Modi's degree to him.

The BJP hit back at Kejriwal and said his remarks indicate that he is either on the verge of losing sanity or trying to create a ground for the future in view of the probe agencies gradually unearthing "proof" of corruption under his government.

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The criminal investigation department (CID) of the West Bengal police on Saturday began its probe into multiple incidents of violence during the Ram Navami celebrations at Shibpur in Howrah district. Paramilitary troops patrol violence-hit areas in Howrah on Friday (File Photo)

The CID probe started amid a 24-hour suspension of internet services not only in Howrah but also at the Asansol-Durgapur divisions in West Burdwan district and Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district.

The CID team, accompanied by forensic experts, collected security camera footage, took photographs of the place of occurrence and examined shops and vehicles ransacked by the miscreants.

The aim of the probe is to identify the culprits and also find out if there was laxity on the part of the policemen who escorted the rally. There are allegations that the procession route was changed, a police official said, echoing concerns aired by chief minister Mamata Banerjee after the violence.

Also Read: Anti-Hindu: Anurag Thakur slams Mamata Banerjee for Bengal violence

Following the clash, Internet services were suspended in specific areas of three districts on the orders of the state home department on Friday as a precautionary measure. Section 144 was also imposed in some areas of Howrah after several vehicles were set on fire.

Police said they have arrested as many as 38 people in Howrah till Saturday afternoon in connection with the stone-pelting and arson that took place on March 30 and 31, leaving 10, including two policemen, injured.

Large contingents of police personnel were seen patrolling the bylanes of the Shibpur and Kazipara areas of the district on Saturday. Prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 are still in place.

Howrah police commissioner Praveen Tripathi, who patrolled the trouble spots on Saturday said, Presence of policemen on the streets will instil confidence in local residents. The situation will become completely normal very soon. We have arrested 38 people so far.

The violence has led to an all-out political war between West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the CM accusing the BJP of hiring goons from outside Bengal to orchestrate communal riots.

Responding to the allegations, Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the Bengal assembly, said, The chief minister and the state administration are responsible for the violence. On Sunday, Union minister Anurag Thakur too accused West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of fanning tensions in the state.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) circulated photos of videos of youths brandishing firearms and swords and alleged that these were taken during the March 30 Ram Navami rally in Howrah, which was jointly held by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Anjani Putra Sena, a Hindu outfit.

HT saw a copy of the permission given to Indra Deo Dubey of VHP and Surendra Verma of the Anjani Putra Sena by the assistant commissioner of the police Central-1 division of Howrah to hold the rally.

Last year, a serious law and order problem occurred in your Ram Navami rally due to strict non-compliance with timeline. After analysing the causes and discussing the various factors to be taken into account to ensure peaceful observance of the rally this year, the following guidelines are being given for strict compliance by the organisers, the letter said.

Also Read: Mamata alleges goons hired for Ram Navami clashes in Howrah. BJP hits back

According to the letter, the organisers must ensure that nobody carries weapons, makes provocative remarks or changes the route of the rally.

VHPs Dubey alleged that the stone pelting was done from rooftops when the procession was being taken out in the area. We did not violate any condition. It was police who failed to stop those who started pelting stones at us.

The CID probe was ordered by the state after Union home minister Amit Shah talked to governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also moved the Calcutta high court seeking probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and deployment of central paramilitary personnel in the trouble-torn areas.
In Uttar Pradesh, photos of a heartwarming interaction between an IAS officer and a disabled elderly man have gone viral as people praised the officers gesture to look out for the elderly person, while assuring him of action. IAS Saumya Pandey seen interacting with the elderly man.(Twitter/@SrVipinShukla)

The incident occurred in Kanpur Dehat district when the man, identified as Dhaniram, a resident of Amraudha Nagar Panchayat, requested assistance to purchase an electric cycle under the state governments scheme, the official Twitter handle of Chief Development Officer, Kanpur Dehat said in a post. The Chief Development Officer @saumyapandey999 heard the pain of Divyang old Dhaniram, a resident of Amraudha Nagar Panchayat, who came to buy an electronic cycle and directed the Divyangjan Adhikari to provide all possible help so that the old people can get all the benefits of the government's schemes.

Also Read: Now, CMs Fellowship Scheme for 100 aspirational municipal bodies in UP

The photos of the incident  which happened outside the office building  were shared by the administration and have gone viral as the netizens praised IAS Pandey for rising above the VIP culture in bureaucracy and attending to the complainant while sitting on the ground, being out in the Sun.

New Uttar Pradesh of New India, no vip culture, public welfare nowIAS woman officer Mrs. Saumya Pandey (CDO Kanpur Dehat) reached with her complaint and listened to the disabled elderly sitting on the ground and understood her pain!, a Twitter user said, sharing the photos.

Similar praises were showered upon IAS Pandey for discharging her duty sincerely as people lauded her for the gesture.

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analysis

Abuja  In better-organised societies, intelligence nay security agencies, behave differently when the cooperative existence of the state is being threatened. In September 2022, based on credible intelligence, the German Police initiated a surveillance operation targeting initial 52 suspects identified as members of the Reich Citizens Movement engaged in a plot to topple the German government.

Reports said over 3,000 police officers were involved in the operation to arrest the conspirators.

In the end, 23 suspects were rounded up in a nationwide raid. Extradition requests for two suspects was sent out for their arrest after they fled to Italy and Austria respectively.

The operation became public knowledge only after arrested suspects appeared in court with persecutors giving out details of the plot.

This is most often than not, not the case in Nigeria. In what is fast becoming a norm rather than an exception, Nigeria's secret police, the Department of State Services, has again raised the alarm over what it described as a subversive plot by misguided political actors to derail democracy.

This time around, the Service announced that it had not only uncovered a specific plot to truncate the swearing in ceremony of the President-Elect, Ahmed Tinubu and foist an interim government, it had also identified some of the major players in the bizarre plot.

A statement signed by the Spokesperson of the Service, Dr. Peter Afunanya, on Wednesday read, "The Department of State Services (DSS) has identified some key players in the plot for an Interim Government in Nigeria.

"The Service considers the plot, being pursued by these entrenched interests, as not only an aberration but a mischievous way to set aside the constitution and undermine civil rule as well as plunge the country into an avoidable crisis.

"The illegality is totally unacceptable in a democracy and to the peace loving Nigerians. This is even more so that the machination is taking place after the peaceful conduct of the elections in most parts of the country.

"The planners, in their many meetings, have weighed various options, which include, among others, to sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency.

"Another is to obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative houses at the Federal and State levels.

"The DSS supports the President and Commander-in-Chief in his avowed commitment to a hitch-free handover and will assiduously work in this direction.

"It also supports the Presidential Transition Council and such other related bodies in the States. It will collaborate with them and sister security and law enforcement agencies to ensure seamless inaugurations come 29th May, 2023.

"Consequently, the Service strongly warns those organising to thwart democracy in the country to retract from their devious schemes and orchestrations.

"Stakeholders, notably judicial authorities, media and the Civil Society, are enjoined to be watchful and cautious to avoid being used as instruments to subvert peace and stability of the nation.

" While its monitoring continues, the DSS will not hesitate to take decisive and necessary legal steps against these misguided elements to frustrate their obnoxious intentions."

As is to be expected, the DSS alarm has elicited interest among political parties and Nigerians from different walks of life.

Chief Spokesperson for the Labour Party, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, in response noted that while the DSS deserves commendation for operating under difficult conditions, it needs to be even handed in dealing with issues of security.

He asked the DSS to go beyond raising alarm to taking action in line with its constitutional role as a security agency for all Nigerians not just a section of it or for individuals.

Tanko queried what he described as the "soft spot" the service has for members of the ruling All Progressives Congress in its attempt to appear pro-active on issues of national security.

He said, "Where was the DSS when Labour Party Supporters were being attacked, maimed and killed in Lagos?

"Where was the DSS when MC Oluomo openly threatened Nigerians and actually over saw the execution of his threats on fellow Nigerians who did not speak his language or share his political beliefs during the last elections in Lagos?

"The right to embark on peaceful protests and seek legal redress on electoral matters is guaranteed by our constitution.

"Only the courts have the powers to determine whether an order being sort is frivolous or not, it is not part of the duties of the DSS, with all due respect.

"For us in the Labour Party, we will continue to remain law abiding because our desire is to deepen democracy to enhance good governance. We do not subscribe to anti-democratic practices in any shape or form, we are democrats."

Speaking in a similar vein, a public policy expert and an ardent supporter of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, Prof. Usman Yusuf, expressed disappointment that the foremost international intelligence gathering agency would resort to scaremongering when it should be taking action to restore public confidence in the system.

Yusuf, who spoke in an interview on an Arise Television Morning Breakfast Show, noted that the statement issued by the agency was not tactful.

He said, "These are merely allegations they presented without evidence. We salute the DSS for their service to the nation. We are in very difficult times which require wisdom and I didn't see wisdom in that statement.

Yusuf argued that what was required at a time like this when millions of Nigerians are aggrieved following the outcome of the election, is for service to take actions that would calm nerves not increase tensions.

According to him, "What we want to hear is what you've done. The End SARs protest was basically a product of intelligence failure."

Also an Anchor on the breakfast Show, Rufai Usaini, also took issue with what appears to be the preferential treatment given to those who threaten the nation's corporate existence in word and deed as long as they belong to the ruling APC.

He said, "We want the DSS to act on it (the said plot), we want safety and security for our country. When threats were made in Lagos what did the DSS do about it? Because we we forget in a hurry what happened in Lagos. MC Oluomo made threats and those threats came to be.

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"The position that was taken by the (Lagos) police chief was that MC Oluomo made a video that he was just joking about mama Chukwudi. There was wide spread violence as was threatened hitherto.

"The question is, the DSS should be holistic and ought to look at other parties and not picking and choosing."

He also recalled that it was the same DSS which invited an APC Chieftain, Femi Fani Kayode for alleging that a coup plot was in the offing but had no evidence to substantiate his claim.

He noted that it was curious that the same security agency was now towing the same lane by raising an alarm of a plot.

However, a Bauchi State chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Dauda said it would be unfair for anyone to crucify the DSS for doing its job.

Dauda said, " We must not give political meaning to every action taken by agencies of government especially when the security of lives and property is involved.

"It is simple common sense that when you are notified that a thief is coming to your house you take deliberate steps to stop him or her. I believe what the DSS did was to alert the nation of the existence of a plot so that Nigerians who have additional information can make such available to assist in investigation.

"It also serves the purpose of warning those involved in such a plot to abandon it because they've been exposed.

"No matter our political or religious bias, we all agree that Nigeria is ours to build and we must not allow this democracy to collapse.

"We must all allow the court make a final pronouncement on the outcome of the election and not take the laws into our hands."
The UP Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (UPPTCL) will monetise its assets by selling out its prime property in various cities across the state even as the UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (UPRVUNL) has decided to lease out its schools running in several thermal power plant premises to a Delhi based institute for 10 years. UPPTCL to monetise assets, UPRVUNL to lease out its schools (pic for representation)

The UP Power Corporation and the UPRVUNLs board of directors has approved the proposal for leasing out schools while the UPPTCL will begin the exercise to identify its unused prime land with a view to disposing the same, a senior official said.

According to an order issued on March 31 by UPPTC director (operation), Piyush Garg, the chairman has directed the corporation to identify 400/220/120 kv substations that that are situated on the prime land in various cities and to see if the unused land there could be given for the purpose of building a commercial complex, bank, post-office etc

The list of substations situated on prime land cities with abundant unused land must be prepared and sent immediately as directed by the chairman, Garg said in his order to chief engineers (transmission), Lucknow, Meerut, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Agra and Jhansi.

Transmission substations are set up on a huge area of land, part of which is left unused for use in future when the capacity of a substation needs to be enhanced. There are more than 600 substations of 760/400/220/120 kv in U.P.

In a similar development, the UPRVUNL Borad of directors in its meeting on March 26, approved the proposal for handing over the schools situated within the premises of Obra, Anpara, Parichha, Panki and Harduaganj thermal plants ON an annual lease of 36000 for 10-years.

As per the office memorandum issued in this regard on March 31, the schools (meant for children of thermal plant employees) will be leased out to the DAV College, New Delhi.
BHU vice-chancellor Prof Sudhir Kumar Jain said that for any institution to strive and excel, developing a student centric approach is a must. BHU campus. (File photo)

On Saturday, he interacted with the teachers of Central Hindu Girls School  Kamachha. In a nearly two-hour long interaction, the vice-chancellor had a detailed discussion with teachers on the issues and challenges faced by them and the institution.

Calling for putting a greater focus on development of students, the VC said that we as teachers would be remembered for our dedication and commitment towards our students and the cause of the institution and not for any other reason.

He said that the image of an institution is directly linked to how its students are treated. He said that Banaras Hindu University has a glorious legacy and the Central Hindu School has a very important and memorable role in that legacy. Its our duty to take that legacy further and play our part honestly, said Prof Jain.

We want an all-around development of our teachers, be it their professional skills or interpersonal skills, the university is committed to provide them ample opportunities and platforms in their quest of obtaining brilliance, reiterated the VC.

On the issue of a creche on the school premises, Prof Jain assured that his administration would provide full support in order to operationalize it at the earliest.

On the issue of scholarship for students from underprivileged backgrounds, the VC assured that the university would look into the possibilities of doing the needful in this regard. He suggested that exchange programmes may be worked out to facilitate visits of BHUs school teachers to other reputed schools and institutions and vice-versa for the benefit of teachers and students.

He said that harmony and collegiality among the members of BHU fraternity hold the key to institutions growth, which in turn translate into individuals welfare.

He lauded the efforts and hard work of Prof Anjali Vajpayee as principal in smooth functioning of the school. Prof Vajpayee, a professor in the faculty of education, has been officiating as principal of Central Hindu Girls School for nearly two years. She apprised the VC about the activities, facilities, students and teachers strength and other key aspects of the school.

During the interaction, teachers raised a number of issues like greater use of technology in teaching the primary classes, enriching the library, improving sporting facilities and infrastructure for students, accommodation for girl students and shortage of staff. The vice-chancellor while seeking suggestions for addressing the challenges assured that the university will proactively look into it.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a closure report into the death of Finnish national Felix Dahl who was found dead along a lonely stretch of road at Canacona in South Goa. Finnish national Felix Dahl, 22, was found dead in Goa at Canacona in South Goa in 2015 (Facebook Photo)

Dahl was found dead with multiple skull fractures and brain haemorrhage on an interior road in Canacona, South Goa, on January 28, 2015.

A CBI official confirmed that the investigating agency was closing the case due to the lack of evidence.

The CBI has been probing the case since August 2018 and despite recreating the scene and interrogating possible suspects, the cause of Dahls death is likely to remain inconclusive.

Also Read: Goa minister condemns attack on Dutch tourist, praises hotel staffer who helped her

According to the police who were probing the case, Dahl was fond of acrobatics and fell after he lost balance while doing cartwheels resulting in accidental death.

The conclusion by Goa police prompted Dahls mother Minna Pirhonen to approach the high court of Bombay at Goa seeking that the investigation be handed over to CBI.

The high court while hearing a petition filed by Pirhonen ruled that the investigation conducted by the Goa Police was apparently faulty and prejudiced and meandering towards a predetermined end and ordered CBI to take over the case in 2018.

Over the last decade, 245 foreign tourists have lost their lives in Goa, some of which have taken place in mysterious circumstances leaving their families without a sense of closure.

In December, a 42-year-old British woman was allegedly raped and robbed in Goas Palolem beach village.

In March 2017, a young Irish tourist Danielle McLaughlin allegedly was raped and murdered in Palolem village in South Goa.

Also Read: Goa: Resort bartender arrested for attacking Dutch tourist, her rescuer

In March this year, two incidents of alleged attacks on foreign tourists were reported from different parts of Goa.

On March 30, 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 Goas Pernem town.

On March 24, a Russian tourist was allegedly assaulted in her hotel room in North Goa.

Earlier this month, a tourist family from Delhi was allegedly attacked by the staffers of a resort in Goas Anjuna over a scuffle.
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday alleged that Assam is being governed by the mafia and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma doesnt even understand the culture of Assamese people. Delhi chief minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal (ANI Photo)

The AAP chief reached Guwahati on Sunday and invited his counterpart for tea and lunch at his residence in the national capital.

People of Assam invite atithis (guests) to their house for tea and Sarma, for the past two days, is issuing threats against me. Surely, he doesnt understand the Assamese culture, Kejriwal said while attending a public meeting in Guwahati on Sunday.

Inviting the Assam chief minister for tea in his house in Delhi, Kejriwal said, If he wants, he can have lunch in my house, well welcome him with respect. Id love to take him to Delhi in my car. Well show him what development actually means.

Sarma had on Friday threatened to file a defamation case against Kejriwal if the AAP leader mentioned corruption cases against him (Himanta) outside the Delhi assembly.

Also Read: When you come to Delhi: Kejriwals invitation after Himanta Biswa Sarmas sue threat

Am I a terrorist, why Assam CM is so angry? 3.5 crore people of Assam invited me and I am here to meet them. I am happy to see the people in large numbers attending my event, Kejriwal said.

Accompanied by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal attended a party event where attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Assam chief minister, he said the Assam government is not even capable of conducting class-10 board examination properly as the question papers get leaked every time.

The question papers didnt have wings to fly, someone from the system leaked it, and the state government betrayed the students by not taking action against the culprits, he said.

Kejriwal said that the Assam government is dominated by smugglers who are running coal, areca nut and stone syndicates. The wife of the chief minister runs a lavish private school and they want to degrade the standard of government schools, he said.

These private schools charge huge money and the poor class cannot afford that, this is a big conspiracy. In Delhi, the results of government schools are beyond 99% and kids of rickshaw pullers are becoming doctors and engineers. Rich people are sending their kids to government schools because of the quality of education, he said.

He said that the people of Assam voted for Congress, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BJP in the past 75 years, but in return they only received betrayal.

We give free electricity, better education, health care and lakhs of youths are getting jobs in our governance, Kejriwal said.

Also Read: Does not stop at Sisodia: BJP targets Kejriwal, Mann over Delhi liquor scam

Taking further dig at the PM, he said that a country like India needs an educated PM who can understand the policies and their importance.

The Prime Minister himself admitted several times that he went to his village school. Due to his lack of education, people convinced him that note ban was a good decision, while on the actual ground, it took the Indian economy 10 years backwards. He was convinced that three proposed farmers bills were good and it took 750 lives before the PM changed his decision, he said.

He said even small private firms ask for education qualifications while appointing a manager, so why the manager of a nation like India does not have some education? asked Kejriwal and appealed to the people not to vote for andpadh (uneducated) leader in the future.

Mann also took a dig at the BJP while addressing the gathering in Guwahati on Sunday.

Calling the BJP a party of fake promises, he said, The Bharatiya Jumla Party is preparing new Jumlas (fake promises) for next years general election and they are testing the Jumlas in labs now.

He said that in Assam, development is taking place only for the family members of political leaders. If these leaders stand near the rivers, only their family will get drinking water, if they had control over clouds, there would have been rain only on their lands. This is how we describe them, Mann said.

The Delhi chief minister assured that he will keep visiting Assam. Ill be visiting Assam frequently with our aim to clean corruption. If the people of Assam elect us to power, well provide them free electricity, better health and education facilities, jobs and a society without corruption, Kejriwal said.
Eighteen students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Assams Silchar have been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly beating two juniors violently inside the campus, police said on Sunday. The NIT Silchar authorities have called it an unfortunate incident. (File Photo)

The incident happened on Friday when a fourth semester engineering student, Siddhant Paitya, was rushed to Silchar Medical College and Hospitals (SMCH) in critical condition. He lodged a first information report (FIR) against 18 seniors at Ghungoor Police Outpost on Saturday with the help of his family members.

Paitya said that a section of seniors had bullied him on the basis of his mother tongue and the area he comes from. On Tuesday night, he stayed at the NIT campus and parked his car in front of Hostel-6. The seniors damaged the car just to bully him, he said.

I have been facing racist comments since the day I joined here. They damaged my car on that day and when I asked them about it, they started hitting me. For almost an hour they continued the violence, he said.

They used racist slangs, slapped and kicked me, broken three glass bottles on my head and my back. My friend tried to save me and he was also beaten. At one point, I thought Id die, Paitya added.

His mother said that there are severe cuts and injuries on his body and he went through CT scan and other tests. It was a horrifying incident and authorities should look into this carefully before something bigger happens, she said.

In the FIR, Paitya has named Sparsh Munakhia, Yogesh Kakodiys, Biswajit Deb Nath, Yash Tripartite, Abhijeet Kalita, Dhritiman Das, Sourav Deka, Shohan Paul, Pratyush Rai, Prafful Chatham, Anas Ahmed, Prateek vij, Dixit Agarwal, Mehul Dewangam, Raj Parishad, Satyabrata Both, Suprateek Gogoi, Biki Das as prime accused. He said that some more seniors were also involved.

The superintendent of police (SP) of Cachar district Numal Mahatta said that they are registering a case based on the complaint received from the second year student. They are in discussion with the NIT Silchar authorities as well.

We have received the complaint and we are registering a case. This is an internal issue of NIT and we have to discuss with the authorities of the institute to proceed further, Mahatta said.

NIT Silchar authorities called it an unfortunate incident. A team headed by the dean of the Students Welfare Department is investigating the matter. Additionally, the authorities have dissolved the Gymkhana and cancelled the students election.

The director of NIT Silchar, professor Rajat Gupta, however, refused to comment on this issue. He suggested the media to talk to the dean instead.

Last year, nine final year students were booked for assaulting a junior inside the hostel and they were later removed from the campus. However, no further actions were taken.
A Delhi court on Saturday framed charges against six accused persons in relation to a case registered during the 2020 Northeast Delhi Riots. At least 53 people were killed and 400 injured in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. (Representative Image)

Additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala in his order said, I find accused persons namely 1. Mohd. Mukarram, 2. Nasir @ Arbaj, 3. Mohd. Naim, 4. Aman Abbas, 5. Gullu @Arshad Zaidi and 6. Shoaib, liable to be tried for offences punishable u/s. 147/148/307 IPC read with Section 149 IPC. I also find accused Nasir @ Arbaj liable to be tried for offence punishable under Section 27 Arms Act, for using fire arms during aforesaid incident.

A case was registered on the basis of a PCR call received regarding assembly of persons from Muslim community and indulging in acts of vandalism. When Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Karan, who was assigned the call, visited the place and attempted to contact the PCR caller. The caller expressed his inability to come before police but informed about the assembly of riotous mob, who were equipped with weapon and also firing.

During the course of investigation, when police recorded the statements of the witnesses, various witnesses stated that on the intervening night of February 24 and 25, a number of persons had assembled and were raising slogans and were equipped with weapons. It was also stated by the witnesses that the mob also vandalised the temple nearby. Police arrested all the accused based on the statements given by the public witnesses in the case and by identifying the accused persons through the CCTV clips and other video clips provided by the people with the help of the citizens of the area. After the investigation in the case was completed, a chargesheet was filed against the accused persons.

During the hearing it was argued before the court on behalf of the accused that on the day of the incident there were two mobs and two first information reports (FIRs) were filed and the persons accused in the other mob had been made the witness in this case. It was further added that the accused acted in order to safeguard their property against the other mob which was the aggressor mob. It was also argued that the other mob contained people from other places and their testimonies cannot be relied upon.

On the other hand, it was argued by the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) that there are evidence against all the accused to show that they were part of the mob, referring to the video clips and the testimonies of the witnesses.

After going through the arguments advanced by both the parties, the court observed, As far as arguments of defence that accused persons acted to safeguard their properties against mob of Hindus is concerned, it will be a matter of trial to assess such plea, because this is a plea taken in defence which requires to be established during trial. Just because the witnesses in this case are accused in other FIR, their testimony is not to be rejected altogether. If it was a case of attack by two rival mobs on each other, the members of each mob have to face consequences of the action of the respective mob.

The court also noted, On the basis of evidence and materials placed on the record, I find prima facie case against all the accused persons for being part of an unlawful assembly with common object to attack upon Hindus, temple and to kill the Hindus and acting accordingly, they attacked upon the gathering of Hindus, thereby pelting stones and firing gun shot on them resulting into gun shot injuries...

The court thus registered a case against the accused persons charging them under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Court also imposed Section 27 (punishment for using arms) of the Arms Act on one accused Nasir for using firearm during the incident.

In February 2020, a clash between groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in north-east Delhis Jafrabad snowballed into a full blown riot with violence spreading to several localities in the district in which at least 53 people were killed and 400 injured.
LUCKNOW Ahead of the crucial civic polls, the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a series of meetings on consecutive days, starting Monday, to finalise partys week-long drive to reach out to Dalit and OBC communities. The week-long outreach campaign is scheduled from April 6, which is the saffron partys foundation day. The week-long outreach campaign is scheduled from April 6, which is the saffron partys foundation day. (HT Photo)

The partys drive will continue till April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Dalit icon who is widely regarded as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. On his birth anniversary, BJP has planned state-wide events on the life and times of Ambedkar.

The state unit of BJP would also hold similar events on April 11 -- which is the birth anniversary of Dalit saint Jyotiba Phule. On other days, the drive would focus upon the governments initiatives for the welfare of OBCs and Dalits. The party has also planned community feasts, social harmony meets, and cleanliness campaigns.

The messaging will be done right down to the booth level with functionaries preparing for Prime Minister Narendra Modis address to the cadres on April 6. The party functionaries would raise party flags at all the booths in the state before the PMs address to which the cadres would be connected virtually, said U.P. BJP general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh on Sunday.

This will be followed by a social harmony community feast that will see party leaders having lunch with Dalits and OBC to signal the ruling partys focus on social equality and justice. The BJP cadres would also hold medical camps across the state on the occasion, added Singh.

On April 8, the party would hold district-wise meetings organised by the partys scheduled caste, scheduled tribe unit. During this, the party would also release the details showing growth in employment. We will present facts showing how employment scenario has improved, said a BJP leader. On April 9, partys farmers wing will organise a campaign on natural, organic farming and on promoting millet food that has been dubbed as Sri Anna. This would be followed by a campaign by women members of the partys SC wing to hold community feasts.

On April 11, the party has planned district-level meets on the birth anniversary of Dalit saint Jyotiba Phule. BJP would also underline PM Modis initiatives for Dalits and OBCs during the events. On April 12, the party would hold cleanliness campaigns at all municipal corporations and nagar panchayats.

Then, on April 13, the BJP would run campaigns to clean the area in and around water bodies. The party would also run a campaign to promote plantation followed by events on Dr Ambedkars birth anniversary.
In fresh violence in Bihars Nalanda district and Sasaram town in Rohtas district, at least 10 persons, including two cops, were injured late on Saturday evening. One of the injured said to be a minor died on the way to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Security personnel deployed in wake of a clash that broke out between two groups following a Ram Navami procession on March 31 in Nalanda on Saturday. (ANI)

Reports coming from Nalanda, a day after violence erupted during Sobha Yatra on the occasion of Ram Navami, some people came on the streets falling under Laheri police station area and indiscriminately fired causing injuries to four persons. The police immediately rushed to the spot and brought them to the Sadar hospital.

According to the police headquarters, one of the critical persons was referred to the PMCH. The police added that the clash began between two groups at Paharpura, Banaulia, Alinagar, Basar Bigha, Khasganj and Konasarai localities of the Biharsharief town. Both the community pelted stones and fired at each other. Two persons, including 16-year-old Gulshan Kumar and Prof Shakil Ahmad, were seriously injured.

In Sasaram, six people were injured in a bomb explosion. The incident took place at Shahjama locality of the Town police station when the bomb exploded. Four of them were seriously injured and have been referred to the BHU trauma centre, Varanasi.

The police headquarters said the bomb blast occurred in a hut. A scooty was recovered from the spot while a Forensic Science Laboratory team rushed to the spot to collect evidence from the site. Preliminary investigation suggested that six persons carrying a bomb when it was exploded around 9pm and got injured. The incident took place at an open place in a private building. Two persons have been arrested and police interrogating them.

On getting information, the district magistrate and superintendent of police reached the spot and launched a home search drive against the miscreants. The police arrested eight suspects said to be involved in the incident. An additional police force and senior police officers of the Shahabad zone were camping there to assist the local administration. The police held a flag march in the town requesting the people to maintain peace and calm.

Shahabad range DIG Navin Chandra Jha told HT that The FSL team recovered explosives and other materials from the spot. A bomb disposal and detection squad rushed to the spot.

ADG (headquarters) Jitendra Singh Gangwar said additional police forces, including STF SP, women battalion, and magistrates were deployed at the spot. The Patna range IG and divisional commissioner have been already stationed at Nalanda.

In Munger, a clash between two groups and vandalised police vehicles at Gadhirampur village. The incident took place during the immersion process of an idol.

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A 16-year-old boy was killed and three people, including two cops, were injured in Bihars Nalanda district while six others were injured in a bomb explosion in Sasaram town of Rohtas as fresh violence erupted in the state late on Saturday. At least 80 persons were arrested in the last three days in Bihars Nalanda and nine companies of para military forces have arrived in the district to control the situation. (ANI)

The development comes a day after communal clashes erupted during the Ram Navami processions in Nalanda and Rohtas on Friday, injuring several people, including six with bullet injuries. The Nalanda administration imposed a curfew in the district under Section 144 of CrPC while internet services have been suspended in both the districts. Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday spoke to governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stoke of the situation.

Police said the boy from Nalanda, identified as Gulshan Kumar, died on the way to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Nalanda superintendent of police (SP) Ashok Mishra said his body has been sent to Sadar hospital for autopsy.

The injured in Nalanda are currently under treatment at sadar hosptial while a critically injured person, identified as Prof Shakil Ahmad, was referred to PMCH.

Police said some people came on the street falling under Laheri police station area and indiscriminately fired causing injury of four persons. Both the communities pelted stones and fired at each other.

At least 80 persons were arrested in the last three days and nine companies of para military forces have arrived in the district to control the situation.

In Rohtas, police said the bomb explosion occurred in a hut near a mosque at Rauza locality of the Town police station around 9pm.

Sahabad range deputy inspector general (DIG), Navin Chandra Jha told HT that the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team has recovered explosives and other materials from the spot and detected a bomb manufacturing unit.

A bomb disposal and detection squad were rushed to the spot. A scooty was recovered from the spot.

The injured went to the Sadar hospital on their own and doctors informed police about the incident. Four seriously injured people were referred to BHU trauma centre, Varanasi.

According to police, a preliminary investigation has suggested that the six persons were carrying the bomb when it exploded. However, they claimed that some members of another community had hurled bomb on them when they were on the way to mosque for prayers. Two persons have been arrested and police are interrogating them.

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Police on Sunday rubbished the media reports claiming migration of Hindu residents from Sasaram town in Bihar's Rohtas district amid communal tension in the region in the aftermath of clashes during Ram Navami festivities. Calling the reports totally baseless and absurd, Rohtas Police appealed to not pay heed to any such rumour and insisted that the situation was peaceful and normal. (Also Read | 5 injured in Sasaram bomb blast as fresh violence hits Bihar) The police team, Special Task Force (STF), and Para Military forces conducted a flag march in Sasaram on Saturday. (ANI/representative)

A Twitter user posted a video clip of a news report that claimed Hindus residing in Muslim-dominated areas of Shahjalaal Peer and Kadirganj in Sasaram were leaving their house due to fear of violence.

This is totally baseless and absurd rumour. No one has left his/her locality. If you can provide name, then plz do so. We appeal to the general public not to pay attention to any such rumour. The situation is peaceful and normal in Sasaram, the police said.

Despite prohibitory orders in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif, the headquarters of Rohtas and Nalanda districts respectively, fresh violence erupted in Sasaram with five people getting injured in a bomb blast on Saturday evening, reported ANI. The injured people were taken to a hospital, and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was rushed to the spot to investigate the incident, officials said.

Sasaram DM Dharmendra Kumar said, There was a bomb blast in Sasaram. Injured people were referred to BHU hospital. We're investigating all the angles right now.

"The blast was reported at a shanty and a scooty has been recovered from the area. Prima facie it does not appear to be a communal incident," the police said.

Rohtas Police later said the blast occurred during the handling of illegal explosives at a private property and two persons have been arrested in the matter.

The police team, Special Task Force (STF), and Para Military forces conducted a flag march in Sasaram on Saturday.

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The Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Lagos, Fredrick Nwajagu, has been arrested by the Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged threat to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos to secure properties of Igbo people in the state.

Vanguard gathered that the Igbo leader was picked in the early hours of Saturday in a joint operation by the DSS and the police.

The force joint team, it was gathered, had traced Nwajagu to his palace before his eventual arrest.

According to reports, he was said to have been tracked to a hotel in Ejigbo, where he was apprehended.

Recall that Nwajagu, in a 49-second video, which has now gone viral in Twitter, had allegedly threatened to invite IPOB members to Lagos to protect some Igbo people and their properties in the state.

The Igbo leader said he stood by his words, insisting that his people must have a stand in Lagos.

In the viral video, he said, "IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. All of the IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilise for that. We have to do that. We must have our own security so that they will stop attacking us in the midnight, in the morning, in the afternoon.

"When they discover that we have our own security, before they will come, they will know that we have our own men there. I am not saying a single word to be hidden. I am not hiding my words, let my words go viral. Igbo must get their right and get stand in Lagos State."

Reacting to the video, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the command would resist IPOB presence in the state.

In a tweet via his verified Twitter handle, Hundeyin stated, "To start with, the ever-ready @LagosPoliceNG will never fold its arms and allow such within the state."
Data has become a valuable corporate asset. In an info-driven business environment, the success of any business, regardless of it being a startup or Fortune 500 company, depends on its ability to implement an effective data strategy that ensures the accuracy, availability, reusability, protection, and performance of its data. The Cloud has also become an essential component of modern businesses for building and managing storage and data strategies. However, the key is to capitalise on the Clouds potential to build a winning story. Amit Chaurasia, a seasoned storage professional with insights in data storage, virtualisation, and Cloud, identified this challenge before businesses and decided to address it. Amit Chaurasia (HT PHOTO)

In December 2019, Amit founded Dataneers, a data and Cloud engineering startup, which helps e-commerce, storage product startups and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprise) companies in crafting their data and Cloud strategies and workflow automation.

First generation entrepreneur

Son of a Central Railway employee, Amit moved to Ulhasnagar, Mumbai when he was just three years old and his father had got transferred to the business capital from Gwalior. Amit pursued his bachelors degree in mathematics and completed a postgraduate diploma in business analytics.

Amit said, Right after finishing my studies, I began working, and my career was advancing rapidly during that period. In October 2006, I joined Veritas in Pune, a product-based company and the stint there became a significant milestone in my career. They were the leaders in the storage industry and provided me with unmatched exposure to cutting-edge technologies. I learned a lot during my eight-year tenure at the firm. After Veritas, I moved to RedHat in Bengaluru, where I worked in their engineering team and played a vital role in developing a critical feature. After two years in Bengaluru, I returned to Pune and worked with a startup called PrimaryIO.

During my stint with PrimaryIO, I stumbled upon Googles GSuite, and after reading about it, I completed a certification course. However, I lacked the courage to leave my job and start my own venture as I did not have the investment to develop my own product. Instead, I signed up with Google as a GSuite partner, and fortunately, I began to get customers. In February 2019, my team was dissolved, and I was out of job. Although I had the option to look for another job, I discussed about it with my wife and decided to start my own venture. However, for the first two months, nothing significant happened. Despite my knowledge of allied technologies, I had little experience with Cloud computing and needed to learn more about it.

After the initial two months of studying and researching, I expanded my partnership as a GSuite partner. By December 2019, I felt confident enough in my business to register it formally, and I established my own company called Dataneers. It was a significant milestone in my journey as an entrepreneur. Since then, Dataneers has continued to grow, and I have been able to build a team and expand services, Amit said.

Data engineering

Even though Amit formally started Dataneers, he worked as consultant for a couple of companies to support the venture financially. And then Covid-19 pandemic struck. Fortunately, Dataneers managed to get business during the lockdown period also as everybody was working from home with more emphasis on data management and Cloud services.

Explaining the concept and what Dataneers does, Amit said, Dataneers specialises in data and Cloud engineering, with two main areas of focus: data and Cloud. In terms of data, Dataneers offers complete data management services, from storing data generated by end-point devices like desktops, laptops, ERP, or any other software. Many companies, especially MSME companies that are not IT or technology-focused, generate data but struggle to manage it effectively. In the wake of Covid-19, businesses have now become more aware of the critical value of data and the need to store it securely and cost-effectively for extended periods. Dataneers helps customers meet these challenges by providing data storage, protection, and security services, as well as Backup as a Service, in partnership with market-leading backup software provider Veeam.

As a managed service provider for Veeam, Dataneers can implement Veeams backup products and provide technical support to customers. Additionally, Dataneers offers data migration services to the Cloud and analytics services to extract insights and predictions from protected and migrated data. Dataneers can also build data pipelines to organise and filter scattered, unorganised database and facilitate analytics and insights generation, Amit said.

Infrastructure and application modernisation

Google Cloud is particularly advantageous for developers and startups building new products, thanks to its clean environment and superior ecosystem, claims Amit.

As authorised partners of Google Cloud, we can offer our customers significant cost advantages. For semiconductor design companies that require software simulations with heavy processing power, we offer cost-effective solutions to help them run operations. Another use case for our Cloud services is providing complete automation of the software development lifecycle for startups, Amit said.

For companies looking to modernise their infrastructure and applications, particularly those using in-house servers or applications, we provide hybrid solutions that allow them to leverage the Cloud without compromising their concerns about it. Some infrastructure can remain on-premises while the majority is on the Cloud. Our application modernisation solutions specialize in serverless deployment, which can reduce application running costs by up to 50 per cent by using managed services, Amit said.

Sharing customer experiences, Amit said, We are sector agnostic and our customer retention is almost 90 per cent. Any company using technology will either need data or Cloud services. A SaaS company based in the Middle East, concerned about their applications scalability, has now found peace of mind after migrating to the Cloud. Our services have enabled them to develop the complete backend of an Algorand based DAO application on AWS Lambda (serverless, event-driven compute service) and deploy all 3-tier applications with CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery/continuous deployment) on AWS.

Additionally, we have provided GKE (Google Kubernetes Engine) deployment of a customers development and production environment, archived 35TB of a customers data on the Cloud at a low cost, and set up a fully automated Cloud-based backup for a design company in Chennai.

MSMEs do not need ERP

Dataneers helps MSMEs in their digital transformation journey. Amit said, It is not necessary for MSMEs to have an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. Our approach is to assist them in automating their workflows, modules, and processes across business functions at a significantly lower cost than acquiring or developing an ERP. Through the utilisation of low code, minimal resources, and low maintenance, we aim to increase efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness.

We have implemented automation solutions for MSMEs using Google Workspace. These include creating a sales CRM (customer relationship management) for a glass vendor by extracting data from emails; developing a service ticketing system for a customer service company; establishing a location-based reporting system for field employees of a sales company and extracting data from images and PDF files and storing it in a database, Amit said.

Explaining how Dataneers deploys low code application development for the MSME companies, Amit said, Low code development refers to the process of creating software applications using minimal code, typically by using visual drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built components. It allows developers to automate workflows and create applications faster and with fewer resources than traditional software development methods. This approach is particularly useful for MSMEs who may have limited resources or budget for software development.

The benefits of low-code development are significant, and many businesses are starting to take notice. Low-code development platforms have the potential to make software development up to 10 times faster than traditional methods. This efficiency can help businesses achieve their digital transformation goals faster and at a lower cost. We have seen a growing interest in low-code development in the MSME sector. Our services have been successful in automating workflows for these companies while writing less code, resulting in faster development times and reduced costs. As a result, we are gaining traction and helping MSMEs to achieve their software development goals with minimal resources, he said.

Data privacy and security

On data privacy and best practices, Amit said, Data privacy refers to the protection of sensitive or personal information from unauthorised access, use, or disclosure. It is crucial to understand that all stakeholders have a role to play in maintaining the security of data and systems. Hence, Dataneers deploys a zero-trust policy which is a security model that assumes no user or device can be trusted by default, regardless of their location or access privileges. Every access request must be verified and authenticated before access is granted, and access is granted only to specific resources required to perform the task. This approach reduces the risk of unauthorised access or malicious activity, as it ensures that users and devices are only allowed to access what they need to do their job.

Next moves

Sharing his plans for future, Amit said, In the coming year, our company aims to become a premier partner with Google Cloud, with a team of 25 people. We plan to focus on the MSME market, which still has a huge chunk of on-premises data, and we aim to expand our services to reach this market. Currently, we have about 70 customers and 5TB of data managed by Dataneers and we aim to grow this to around 20x its current size, which is about 1PB (1024TB) 5TB, from a data perspective.

Additionally, we plan to launch a new offering - Network Attached Storage (NAS) - which is designed for companies that do not want to migrate their data to the Cloud and prefer to store their data on-premises, especially design companies. We plan to target the 20TB to 1PB segment for this product and provide all necessary enterprise support, including deployment and implementation. We can also deploy it on refurbished hardware to provide cost-effective solutions for our customers. We will be further evaluating the market demand to determine future growth plans. With our enterprise-level support and expertise, we believe this new product will appeal to many companies who want to keep their data on-premises, but still require reliable and scalable storage solutions, Amit said.
In the annals of terror jurisprudence in India, it is now commonplace for higher courts to reverse mechanical convictions pronounced by trial courts. Even by those standards, however, the acquittal of four people convicted for their role in the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts and the negligence of the police is egregious  enough for the court to ask the police leadership to initiate disciplinary proceedings against officers responsible for the probe. The State has decided to appeal the ruling. PREMIUM As the judges noted, this case was a classic example of institutional failure  and one that will continue until accountability is fixed and remedial measures taken. (HT File Photo)

The police said operatives from terror outfit Indian Mujahideen strapped nine ammonium nitrate bombs to bicycles that went off between 7.20pm and 7.45pm across Jaipur on May 13, 2008, and charged five Muslim men with the crime. In 2020, a trial court acquitted one man and sentenced the other four to death. But the division bench found two main flaws in the prosecutions argument  one, that there was very little evidence establishing the chain of events (and the other proof was found to have infirmities), and two, that there were procedural and logical gaps in the investigation. Justices Pankaj Bhandari and Sameer Jain said that the police and investigation agency failed to secure complete evidence in what was termed a shoddy investigation.

The acquittal raises questions about the veracity of the investigation, and the ability of the authorities in probing a terror case. It raises the possibility that people were wrongly incarcerated for over a decade. And if they were guilty, the poor investigation has meant the 79 people who died and 180-odd who were injured, have been denied justice. As the judges noted, this case was a classic example of institutional failure  and one that will continue until accountability is fixed and remedial measures taken.
If you're a fan of Naruto, you're not alone. This iconic anime has captured the hearts of fans around the world with its thrilling story, dynamic characters, and stunning animation. However, all good things must come to an end, and eventually, you'll reach the final episode of Naruto. It's no surprise that many fans are left wondering what to watch next after finishing the series. Fear not, as there are plenty of shows out there that can satisfy the Naruto-shaped hole in your heart. In this article, we'll dive into some of the best anime to watch if you loved Naruto. 8 anime to watch if you like Naruto.(MAPPA, Studio Perriot)

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations - The direct sequel you can't-miss

Let's start with the obvious choice  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. This anime is a direct sequel to Naruto, following the adventures of Naruto's son, Boruto, and his friends. If you loved Naruto's unique blend of action, comedy, and drama, you'll find plenty to love in Boruto. The anime has a similar tone and feel to its predecessor, but with a fresh new cast of characters and storylines to explore.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood  A timeless classic with stunning storytelling and visuals

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a timeless anime that has won the hearts of millions with its incredible storytelling and stunning visuals. The Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, are on a quest to find the Philosopher's Stone, but they soon discover that their journey is more than just a search for an ancient artifact. This anime explores the bonds of family, the consequences of seeking power, and the true meaning of sacrifice. With memorable characters and intense action scenes, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a masterpiece that deserves all the praise it receives.

Bleach  Another long-running shonen anime with unique mythology and impressive fight scenes

Bleach is another long-running shonen anime that should be on every Naruto fan's watchlist. The series follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who gains the powers of a Soul Reaper after encountering a spirit named Rukia. Bleach has a unique world and mythology, and its fight scenes are some of the best in anime. Plus, the show has a huge cast of characters with their own unique abilities and personalities, just like Naruto.

Black Clover - An anime with a plucky underdog protagonist

If you're looking for an anime with a plucky underdog protagonist, look no further than Black Clover. The series follows Asta, a young boy born without any magical abilities in a world where magic is everything. Asta dreams of becoming the Wizard King, and with the help of his friends, he just might achieve his goal. Black Clover has plenty of action, humour, and heart, and its world-building is just as impressive as Naruto's.

Vinland Saga  A more mature anime with intense battles and complex character development

On the other hand, Vinland Saga takes a different approach by transporting viewers to medieval Europe where they follow the story of Thorfinn, a young Viking seeking revenge against his father's killer. The anime explores themes of revenge, identity, and the value of life. With intense battles and complex character development, Vinland Saga is an anime that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Despite its more mature themes, the anime still has a strong emphasis on friendship and loyalty, making it a perfect recommendation for Naruto fans looking to expand their horizons.

Hunter X Hunter  An action-packed anime with unique power systems

Hunter X Hunter is another action-packed shonen anime that Naruto fans are sure to love. The series follows a young boy named Gon as he sets out to become a Hunter, an elite member of society with access to special privileges and abilities. Along the way, Gon makes new friends, faces powerful enemies and learns about the true nature of the world he lives in. Hunter X Hunter features complex characters, unique power systems, and thrilling battles, making it a must-watch for any anime fan.

Jujutsu Kaisen - A unique blend of horror and action with complex characters

Jujutsu Kaisen is an anime that has made waves in the anime community for its unique blend of horror and action. The show centres around Yuji Itadori, a high school student who swallows a cursed object to save his friends, and subsequently transforms into a Jujutsu Sorcerer. In a world where curses roam freely, Jujutsu Sorcerers are trained to exorcise these malevolent spirits to prevent them from harming humans. Jujutsu Kaisen is not afraid to tackle dark themes and has a complex cast of characters that are not just black and white. Like Naruto, the series highlights the importance of friendship and camaraderie, and it's inspiring to see how Yuji and his fellow sorcerers stand up against the forces of evil.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - A breathtaking anime with a perfect balance of action and drama

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba is another recent anime that has garnered a massive following. The story follows Tanjiro Kamado, a young man who becomes a demon slayer after his family is brutally murdered by demons, and his sister, Nezuko, is turned into one. With the goal of turning his sister back into a human and avenging his family, Tanjiro embarks on a dangerous journey to become the best demon slayer in the land. The animation in this series is breathtaking, and the fight scenes are some of the best in anime. The series has a perfect balance of action, drama, and comedy, and it's easy to get invested in the characters' journeys.
After working in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films, actor Vivek Oberoi is craving to work in a Marathi movie. Barring his friendly appearance in Teecha Baap Tyacha Baap, Oberoi hasnt done any work in Marathi cinema. Riteish (Deshmukh, actor-friend) and I keep discussing it once in a while. He would randomly call me and say, Lets do a Marathi film. I always reply, Cmon Bhau lets do it. But nothing really has converted, Oberoi shares. Vivek Oberoi wishes to do a Marathi movie: Riteish Deshmukh and I keep discussing it

Oberoi admits it would be interesting to reunite with his Masti co-star Deshmukh for a Marathi film. He adds, Im not averse to working in any language. Regional cinema is not even regional anymore. Its just good and bad films. You make a good film and it gets seen across the world. Look at Bhaus movie Ved and what it has done. Its done wonders and, you know, in such a sensitive movie, unlike what hes done before. Its such a sensitive movie that he has put his heart and soul into and its done phenomenal business.

The actor spoke about Marathi cinema as he was in the city for the launch of his store of lab grown diamonds, Solitario. The Dharavi Bank actor was in the city almost a month and half ago. I was here to visit our factory and meet up with the team. Its a nice work culture, which is very typical in Pune, he mentions.

For him Pune is all about fond memories, right from his Dad (actor Suresh Oberoi)s shooting to the five hour long family trips. Pune is full of memories. Pune was greener, much cooler and a lot less populated those days. We would spend the weekend here. Eat at Kayanis and pack bags full of Shrewsbury biscuits to take them back home. I even came back here as a college student competing against all the Puneris and it was a lot of fun here. So theres always a comfort zone, he recalls.

As he is in the city, he confesses that a lot has changed. Pune is different now. Its just a big city. Its not how it used to be. It used to be a city but a village at the same time, in terms of people, social relationships and it was a small community. You knew everybody, and everybody knew you. It has grown exponentially and its a good thing. The startup ecosystem and culture here in Pune is amazing. The industrial culture has always been great.The city is growing leaps and bounds. Its becoming a big city, he signs off.
Actor Priyanka Chopra was spotted exchanging hugs with filmmaker Karan Johar on the first day of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre gala. And on day 2, we spotted none other than Gauri Khan vibing to Priyanka's performance from Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) on stage. (Also read: Priyanka Chopra-Karan Johar 2012 feud is where it all started: Angry tweets, clarifications and more) Gauri Khan grooved in the pit as Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra performed on stage.

A video from the event, shared by journalist Derek Blasberg shows Priyanka dancing on the stage with Ranveer Singh to Gallan Goodiyaan and Gauri with her friends in the audience pit around the stage. She is flanked by her friends Bhavana Panday and Neelam Kothari Soni and is vibing to the performance, looking at Priyanka and Ranveer.

Watch the video here (8th slide in the post):

This comes shortly after a 2012 feud between Gauri-Priyanka-Karan resurfaced recently. In a new episode of Dax Shepherd's podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka said she was driven out of Bollywood as she was tired of politics and had beef with some people. While she did not name any names, fans (and actor Kangana Ranaut) assumed she was referring to her 2012 feud with Karan and Gauri.

Around 2012, there were rumours of Priyanka's affair with Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri's husband. One of Priyanka's friends even gave an interview about the actor being bullied by Gauri and her friends and Karan at parties. Karan hit back with a tweet about unnamed people using their friends to get news into tabloids. They later sorted out their differences. On Friday, Priyanka was also seen having a long chat and exchanging hugs with Karan.

Several Bollywood and Hollywood celebs on Saturday marked their presence at the second day of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai. Global icon Priyanka Chopra again turned heads with her look again in a multi-coloured thigh-high slit gown and was seen posing with her husband Nick Jonas, who wore a classic black suit.

Gauri wore a white saree and was spotted with son Aryan Khan and daughter Suhana Khan at the red carpet.

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Amid rumours of a wedding between Parineeti Chopra and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha, an old interview of Parineeti's has surfaced in which she shares that she will not marry any politician ever. During film promotions a few years ago, the actor revealed that a politician won't be her first choice for a husband. She also shared what she is looking for in an ideal partner. (Also read: Parineeti Chopra, Raghav Chadha make another appearance together at airport, blush as paparazzi ask them for photos) Parineeti Chopra also spoke about the qualities that she would like to see in her future partner.

On Instagram, an old interview with Parineeti and Sidharth Malhotra was shared for one of their films together. In the Rapid Fire section of the interview, the actor is asked about celebrities she would wed. After mentioning Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, she is asked about politicians. She replied, "The problem is I don't want to marry any politician. There are too many good options but I don't want to marry any politician ever."

In the comments section, one Instagram user shared, "Thats why they say, never say never!" Another shared, "Matlab wo zoot he engagement news.. (The engagement news is false). Furthermore, when she was asked about the three qualities of an ideal partner, Parineeti added, "He should be funny, he should smell really good and he should respect me."

She also spoke about things she should have in common with her future partner. Parineeti said, "My love for travel, love for water, the ocean, diving, whatever, and they should just be a self-made person. I love men who have self-worth, who have made their lives themselves."

Raghav and Parineeti were seen at Mumbai airport on Sunday as they arrived in the city. The actor was wearing a black T-shirt, black jacket and blue jeans, with white shoes. She also wore her spectacles. Raghav was wearing a khakhi shirt with jeans. While the pair acknowledged the paparazzi as they walked to the car, they did not say anything to them.

Parineeti's cousin, Priyanka Chopra is also in the city with her husband Nick Jonas. They brought their daughter Malti Marie Jonas to India for the first time. The couple recently attended the grand launch of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai on Friday and Saturday.

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Actor Tom Holland, who arrived on India last week with girlfriend-actor Zendaya, has thanked the Ambani family. Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Tom shared his pictures at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai on the second day of the event. (Also Read | Zendaya rocks a saree, Tom Holland looks handsome in a suit at NMACC event) Tom Holland with Mukesh Ambani at NMACC.

In the first photo, Tom posed for the paparazzi at the event. The actor looked away from the camera as he smiled in the next picture. For the event, Tom opted for a white shirt under a black suit and pants. He also added a bow tie.

Sharing the pictures, Tom captioned the post, "Thank you to the Ambani family for inviting us to celebrate the opening of the @nmacc.india. A truly wonderful experience that Ill never forget." Reacting to the post, a fan said, "Tom Holland here in India is literally Spider-Man: Far from Home."

Another person wrote, "Please bless us with a picture of said 'us' because yall (as in Z) matching is so damn cute." "Where's the picture with Zendaya???" asked another Instagram user. "Screaming, crying, throwing up," read a comment. In several pictures shared by the paparazzi and fans on Instagram, Zendaya was seen in a blue sequinned saree at the event.

Tom Holland shared pictures from the event.

Taking to his Instagram Stories, Tom shared a picture as he shook hands with Mukesh Ambani. While Tom seemingly was speaking, Mukesh smiled. The actor also shared another picture of himself from the event. He also posted a photo of a mannequin wearing a lehenga at the venue. Many fans expected Tom and Zendaya to appear on the red carpet of Friday's event as well but they didn't.

Tom and Zendaya arrived in Mumbai on Friday. Several pictures of the duo emerged online soon after they exited the Kalina Airport. Zendaya smiled as she exited the airport while Tom was seen walking towards his car.

Tom features as Spider-Man/Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home while Zendaya plays Mary Jane. Tom will next be seen in the Apple TV anthology series The Crowded Room. Zendaya's upcoming projects include Dune: Part Two and Luca Guadagnino's Challengers.

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Actor-couple Tom Holland and Zendaya flew down to Mumbai last week to attend Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) opening event. On the second day of the event, on Saturday, several videos and pictures of the duo emerged online. For the event, Zendaya wore a saree while Tom opted for a white shirt under a black blazer and pants. (Also Read | Tom Holland shakes hands with Mukesh Ambani at NMACC, thanks Ambani family for inviting us) Zendaya and Tom Holland waved and smiled at the paparazzi.

In a video shared by a paparazzi account on Instagram on Sunday, the duo exited the venue after the event. As Tom walked towards their car, he greeted a staff member, stationed at a gate, with folded hands. Zendaya also smiled at the person. Tom then waited for Zendaya and walked her to the car and smiled. He also posed for a brief moment for the paparazzi before getting inside the car.

The duo also smiled and waved at the paparazzi as they left the venue. Reacting to the videos, a fan wrote, "She was giving Desi vibes.... mostly Naina from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani." Another comment read, "Beyond pretty Zendaya." "Zendaya has her own persona and she is a great artist," said another fan.

In a picture, shared on Instagram, Zendaya and Tom posed with Gigi Hadid, Penelope Cruz, and stylist Law Roach. For the event, Gigi wore a golden and cream saree, Penelope opted for a peach dress and Law was seen in a black floral outfit. All of them smiled and posed for the paparazzi.

Zendaya and Tom posed with Gigi Hadid, Penelope Cruz, and stylist Law Roach.

Earlier, Tom shared a post on Instagram. Posting his photos, he wrote, "Thank you to the Ambani family for inviting us to celebrate the opening of the @nmacc.india. A truly wonderful experience that Ill never forget." On his Instagram Stories, Tom shared a picture as he shook hands with Mukesh Ambani.

Zendaya and Tom arrived in the city on Friday. Several pictures of the couple had surfaced on social media after they exited Mumbai's Kalina Airport. Zendaya smiled as she exited the airport while Tom was seen walking towards his car.

Tom features as Spider-Man/Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home while Zendaya plays Mary Jane. He will next be seen in the Apple TV anthology series The Crowded Room. Zendaya's upcoming projects include Dune: Part Two and Luca Guadagnino's Challengers.

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Get ready for more laughs and heartwarming moments as Abbott Elementary returns for its highly-anticipated second season. Since its debut in December 2021, Abbott Elementary has become one of the most buzzed-about television shows. Its unique storyline, which revolves around a group of Philadelphia teachers and their daily struggles, has struck a chord with viewers worldwide. The show's witty mockumentary style has been a hit with audiences, earning it a reputation as a feel-good sitcom that leaves viewers feeling uplifted and entertained. Abbott Elementary's highly-anticipated second season is back with more laughs and heartwarming moments.(Twitter/AbbottElemABC)

Taraji P. Henson joins the cast of Abbott Elementary in season 2

Now, as the show gears up for its second season, fans are eagerly anticipating what's next for their favourite characters. One exciting development is the addition of Taraji P. Henson, who will play Janine's estranged mother in season two. Henson's casting was announced at the sitcom's PaleyFest panel in Los Angeles, and fans can't wait to see what the talented actress brings to the show.

Creator and star Quinta Brunson promises fresh and exciting stories for season 2 of Abbott Elementary

As for what fans can expect from season two, creator and star Quinta Brunson has promised that the show will continue to tell the stories of its characters in a way that feels fresh and exciting. Brunson has also hinted that the show will venture outside of the school a bit more, which should give fans a chance to see more of the world in which Abbott Elementary is set in.

Abbott Elementary's dedicated online following: Why fans can't get enough

One of the key factors behind Abbott Elementary's success is its dedicated online following. Fans of the show have taken to social media to express their love and appreciation, with many describing it as a much-needed escape from the challenges of everyday life. Whether it's the relatable characters, the hilarious jokes, or the heartwarming moments, Abbott Elementary has quickly become a go-to destination for those in need of a good laugh.

Abbott Elementary: Balancing humour and thought-provoking content to tackle serious issues

In addition to its humour, Abbott Elementary has also been praised for its ability to tackle serious issues such as the school-to-prison pipeline in a way that feels authentic and not forced. This has helped the show become a hit among viewers who appreciate its balance of humour and thought-provoking content.

The show's cast members have also been vocal about their love for Abbott Elementary, with Lisa Ann Walter praising the show's ability to tell authentic stories without being ham-fisted. Tyler James Williams, who plays Gregory, has also expressed his excitement about the show's success, noting that the series has already left a mark on network TV through its storytelling.

All in all, Abbott Elementary has quickly become one of the most beloved sitcoms on television today. With its unique blend of humour and heart, the show has captured the hearts of audiences around the world, and fans are eagerly anticipating what's next for their favourite characters. Whether you're a long-time fan or a newcomer to the show, there's no denying that Abbott Elementary is a must-watch television series that is sure to entertain and inspire.

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Ocean advocates warned on Friday that the door may fly open for undersea mining in the near future in the absence of solid environmental rules that more and more nations demand. Greenpeace activists from New Zealand and Mexico confront the deep sea mining vessel Hidden Gem, commissioned by Canadian miner The Metals Company, as it returned to port from eight weeks of test mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Mexico and Hawaii, off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico November 16, 2022.(REUTERS)

As two weeks of negotiations concluded Friday over possible environmental rules restricting large-scale mining of the seabed, NGOs voiced fear that industry may soon be given the green light. (ALSO READ: Why the world needs a deal to protect its oceans?)

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 kilometres) from coastlines.

It has so far awarded seabed exploration contracts only to research centres 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, nongovernmental organizations and scientists have warned of the damage seabed mining could inflict on deep-sea ecosystems.

'Back from the brink'

Countries are increasingly echoing that concern: Canada, Australia and Belgium among others have insisted that international seabed mining cannot begin without strict rules.

"The conditions do not exist for the exploitation of the seabed to begin," insisted Marcelino Miranda, representative of Mexico, on Friday.

Other nations -- among them France, Germany, Chile and Vanuatu -- are pushing more explicitly for a "moratorium" or "pause" on exploitation.

"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," Vanuatu's representative, Sylvain Kalsakau, said during the negotiations.

"We encourage our fellow Pacific states who have expressed interest in deep-sea mining to step back from the brink."

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.

'Like sleepwalkers'

Nauru's ambassador Margo Deiye repeated on Friday that her country would wait for the conclusion of a July session before filing an application, hoping that the mining code could be adopted.

However, many observers and negotiators say this is unlikely.

"It is now clear that there is still a long way to go and that the two-week session in July will be largely insufficient to finalize the code," Belgian ambassador Hugo Verbist said Friday.

And the 36 members of ISA's executive body failed to agree at this session on the process for reviewing an application for an exploitation contract that would be filed in the absence of a mining code.

"Walking like sleepwalkers towards an uncertain legal situation beyond July 9 has become a reality," Verbist said, lamenting this "legal loophole" created by the lack of a decision.

"Governments are recklessly leaving the backdoor open for deep sea mining to sneak through and start operating later this year," said 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.

A few weeks after the historic adoption of a treaty to protect the high seas, "this deeply irresponsible outcome is a wasted opportunity to send a clear signal (...) that the era of ocean destruction is over," Casson added.
Sudanese leaders have postponed the signing of an agreement planned for Saturday. The deal was intended to pave the way for a return to democratic government, an official said, blaming the delay on continued disagreement between military factions.

Representatives have for weeks been negotiating an agreement, the final part in a two-phase political process launched last December and intended to set out the terms for reviving the transition to civilian-led rule and democratic elections following the 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir..

Instead of the long-awaited ceremony expected on Saturday, officials are to meet to "agree on a new date for signing the final political accord, which could not be signed" due to "the lack of consensus on certain issues", a spokesman said in a statement.

Reform of the security forces is a key point of contention in the talks, which envisage the departure of army generals from politics once a civilian government is installed.

Critics have decried as "vague" the December deal, agreed after near-weekly protests since a 2021 coup.

What future for Rapid Support Forces?

The proposed reforms include the integration into the regular army of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, second in command to the 2021 coup leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Created in 2013, the RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia that Bashir had unleashed a decade earlier in the western region of Darfur against non-Arab rebels. The militia has since been accused by rights groups of having committed war crimes.

While experts have pointed to worrying rivalries between Burhan and Daglo, the two men appeared side by side last week, speaking in the capital Khartoum to plead for a successful integration.

Talks have stalled since, according to observers, with persistent disputes over a timetable for the RSF's integration.
Rahul Gandhi likely to move Surat court tomorrow against jail sentence Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (File Photo)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP after being sentenced to two years in prison over a 2019 defamation case recently, is likely to challenge his conviction and sentencing in a sessions court in Gujarat's Surat on Monday, sources said. Read more

'Rahul Dravid said something to me but I couldn't understand a single word': Virat Kohli during Pakistan epic

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Actor-couple Tom Holland and Zendaya flew down to Mumbai last week to attend Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) opening event. On the second day of the event, on Saturday, several videos and pictures of the duo emerged online. Read more

NMACC: Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan-Saba Azad to Malaika Arora-Arjun Kapoor, couples who stole the show

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) has become the talk of the town as renowned national and international personalities attended the Gala. The Day 2 of the event saw a fashion exhibit, 'India in Fashion', performances by stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan, and Ranveer Singh, and stellar pink-carpet looks by celebrities. Read more

Amazing Places You Must Visit In Delhi. Read more

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Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to voters at a rally in Bihars Nawada to give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) all 40 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and elect the party to run the state in 2025 to end the cycle of violence and lawlessness once and for all, reiterating that the BJPs doors were permanently closed for chief minister Nitish Kumar even in a post-poll scenario. Union minister Amit Shah in Nawada on Sunday. (PTI)

Read here: Will straighten rioters after putting them...: Amit Shah in Bihar

During Shahs visit to Bihar, against the backdrop of communal tensions in the wake of clashes during Ram Navami processions, the Union home minister served a warning to all troublemakers.

All those involved in rioting, we will hang them upside down. Biharsharif and Sasaram are burning and innocent people are getting killed. I had to go to Sasaram to participate in a Samrat Ashok birth anniversary function, but I could not go. I will certainly go to Sasaram the next time. I pray to God that peace is restored in Bihar at the earliest, Shah said, asking people if the Narendra Modi government had done the right thing by abolishing Article 370 to end the politics of appeasement and constructing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya despite opposition from the likes of the Congress, Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and others.

Addressing a public meeting as part of his Lok Sabha Pravas programme at the Hisua inter-school ground in Nawada district amid tight security and an ongoing war of words between the BJP and the Grand Alliance (GA) leaders over his visit in the wake of communal clashes, Shah said the state government was incapable of quelling violence.

Shah has lately been focusing on the politically significant Bihar, which has been known for triangular political contexts revolving around the BJP, the RJD and the JD(U). Any two sides getting together has historically vanquished the third. Since Kumar broke away from the National Democratic Alliance and joined hands with the RJD, Shah has been frequently visiting the state to prepare the organisation for the challenge ahead of the 2024 general elections. Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats, of which the NDA bagged 39 in 2019 in alliance with the JD(U).

Shah said he had called up Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Sunday morning to take stock of the situation in the state, adding that he saw no point speaking to the local government.

Lalan Babu (JDU president Lalan Singh) felt bad. I am the home minister of the country and Bihar is a part of it. As the government here cannot control things, I have concerns. After all, how can a government running with the support of the pioneers of jungle raj ensure peace in society? The lust for power may have forced Nitish Kumar, who is adept at cheating everyone and hopping parties, to sit in the lap of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, but the BJP does not have any such compulsion. We will awaken the people, who want to see Narendra Modi as the PM for the third time, to uproot the GA, he said.

The reality is that there is no vacancy of the PMs post and that will keep Lalu Prasads son waiting. Nitish Kumar will never leave the chair and Lalu Prasad should know this. Bihars people have no misunderstanding about them. The people will ensure that lotus blooms in Nawada and on all the 40 seats. Even the MPs and MLAs of the GA oppose Nitish Kumar, as they cannot face the people, he added.

The home minister said the BJP had helped both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar come to power, but now it was time for the party to form the government on its own.

Read here: Bihar violence: CM holds high-level meet; announces 5L for kin of deceased

Nitish Kumar, who thrives on the poison of casteism, and Lalu Prasad, the pioneer of jungle raj cannot have any pact with the BJP. Tejashwi Prasad Yadav earlier called Nitish Kumar a snake, paltu chacha, dhokhebaz, arrogant and even chameleon, but all that was conveniently forgotten for the chair, he said.

Highlighting development initiatives of the Centre for the Nawada region, including railway lines, trains, highways and irrigation schemes, Shah said that all the panchayats of Bihar would have a cooperative dairy under a new scheme of the Centre.

Bihar has got more than double the funding under the Narendra Modi government compared to the UPA years. Besides, 4.25 lakh metric tonnes of ration has been given free of cost to Bihars poor under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, 85 lakh farmers get 6,000 every year, 1.10 crore women have got gas cylinders and there is construction of houses and toilets, he said.

Calling Shahs comments unfortunate, RJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said that as home minister of the country he (Shah) should be above partisan politics. Today, instead of using healing words, he resorted to politicking. He should have been a bit cautious in his choice of words, but I cannot expect him to act as per the mandate of the home minister. We have seen home ministers from the very first cabinet, but never seen anyone taking politics to this low, Jha said.

JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that the statement of the home minister was irresponsible and a bundle of lies to tarnish the image of Bihar. Shah went to Nawada which is the birthplace of former Bihar CM Shri Krishna Singh, but he did not make any reference to him. That shows his hatred for the great son of Bihar. Nitish Kumar gave 158 crore worth projects in Shri Krishna Singhs native place as a mark of respect. He said people are getting killed in Sasaram. He should give the names and details of the victims if he has the courage. Else, he should apologise, he said.

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Businessman Anand Mahindra, known for his witty tweets and avid social media presence, was on Sunday, impressed by a Maharashtra village for practising daily digital detox as he shared the fascinating story with his Twitter followers, while noting that he himself was experimenting with the idea of limiting his screen time. Businessman Anand Mahindra with his wife Anuradha.(AFP)

Taking to Twitter, the Mahindra Group chairman, shared a news report about a village located in Maharashtras Sangli district where people have imposed a self made societal sort of rule to observe a daily no screen period starting 7 pm in a bid to tackle online addiction. With a population of around 3,000 people, the village even has a patrolling team which carries routine checks to ensure that the rule is being followed in every house in a bid to enhance peoples productivity and engage their time in something more meaningful.

Also Read| Digital detox: Cant go a minute without being online? Here are some tips to try...

The billionaire business magnate shared the news report documented by iTV news - a British news organisation and asked his followers if any of them have tried the same. Fascinating. This could be a global trend-setter coming out of India. Do you think this could be sustained? Am in the process of experimenting with a daily detox window on a personal basis. Anyone tried it out? he asked.

Sangli districts Mohite Vadgaon villagers explaining their 90 minute daily detox practice, spoke to the news organisation about how the idea stemmed during the Covid-19 outbreak. The villagers here ring a siren sharp at 7o clock following which no one is allowed to use any electronic devices. While many studies have suggested that increased screen time during the pandemic induced lock downs have had a negative impact on peoples physical and mental health, the initiative has also inculcated a culture of spending quality time with the family members which the villagers really appreciate.

With Mahindras tweet, several people liked the idea, while some said they were already following the practice and have benefitted from it. In addition, some people also shared other possible versions of similar practices that could be followed. Among many replies, one read A similar detox window should be followed by road users too by not using vehicles at least once a week and walking that day instead!

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Amid a police crackdown against miscreants involved in communal clashes after Ram Navami in Sasaram and Nalanda, the state administration has called reports of people fleeing from Sasaram town as false and baseless. HT Image

These are all rumours and such reports are all false. We refute it, said Dharmendra Kumar, district magistrate of Rohtas, where Sasaram is located. There has been no such case of people leaving their homes out of fear in the Sasaram after the clashes in past two days, he said. Such reports are all fake.

Asked about a video showing people leaving homes, Kumar said the matter would be looked into . We will verify the video and take suitable action. Right now, our priority is to maintain law and order, he said.

Chief secretary Amir Subhani also said the state administration would look into the veracity of the video and take necessary action. Rohtas and Nalanda police have appealed to people not to be swayed by rumours.

On Sunday, chief minister Nitish Kumar held a meeting with top officials, including Subhani and Bihar police chief R S Bhatti, to take stock of the situation. The miscreants should be identified and brought to book, the chief minister directed, also asking the administration to keep strict vigilance on those spreading rumours.

Earlier in March, a video of migrant labourers allegedly being attacked by locals in two cities of Tamil Nadu had led to a face-off between the state government and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. The government sent a team of officials to Tamil Nadu and it described the video to be false. Complaints were lodged in Bihar and Tamil Nadu, following which the economic offences wing arrested a YouTuber named Manish Kashyap on charges of spreading rumours and sharing fake videos.

Reacting to the clashes between communities after the Ram Navami celebrations, the chief minister on Saturday had said such clashes were unnatural and claimed such violence was done deliberately by some people to disturb peace. Clashes during the Ram Navami celebrations were a conspiracy to defame Bihar, Chittaranjan Gagan, spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, had said.

The situation in Sasaram was far from normal, BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand claimed, asserting that reports of people from one community fleeing their homes were being shown in visuals on several media channels. Why hasnt the administration then lodged FIRs against the channels and media houses showing such visuals? he asked.

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Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar held a high-level meeting on Sunday and his administration extended shutdowns of internet services and educational institutes in two districts where communal violence took place in recent days, including one where a 16-year-old boy was killed on Saturday night in a fresh flare-up. A policeman (right) walks through a street following a violent clash in Sasaram in Bihar. (AFP)

The situation on Sunday was under control in the two districts  Sasaram and Nalanda  chief secretary Amir Subhani and police chief Rajwinder Singh Bhatti said on Sunday, but the calm appeared to be precarious and law enforcement beefed up arrangements.

The chief minister has directed to maintain the rule of law at any cost and ensure identification of culprits, Subhani said during a briefing after Kumars meeting. The government will not tolerate mischievous elements.

In Sasaram, a bomb exploded in a hut near a mosque, injuring six people. A 16-year-old boy was killed and three people, including two policemen, were injured in Nalanda district late on Saturday when clashes broke out.

The chief minister announced a compensation of 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.

At least 109 people have been arrested, said Bhatti, the director general of police. Ten companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to prevent further violence. There will be unbiased and evidence-based investigation into the incidents, Bhatti added.

The authorities had taken precautions ahead of the important festival a week earlier, Subhani said. Barring two districts, it passed off smoothly, the chief secretary said. In the two districts, the situation was promptly controlled and peace restored.

Antisocial elements wanted to disturb the peace, but police did not allow them to succeed in their design, the police chief said. The law will deal with them.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday spoke to Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation.

The boy from Nalanda, identified as Gulshan Kumar, died on the way to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Nalanda superintendent of police Ashok Mishra said his body has been sent to the district hospital for autopsy.

Clashes first took place on March 31 after Ram Navami processions took place. The situation remained tense the following day, Saturday, April 1, and appeared to deteriorate towards the evening.

Communal clashes took place in other parts of the country too. In Bengal, Howrahs Shibpur and Kazipara area witnessed clashes during a Ram Navami procession.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of 5 lakh for the family of the deceased in the recent violence in Sasaram and Biharsharif. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by the CM, reported news agency ANI. Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar. (HT File Photo)

Also read: Bihar clashes: CM hints at a plot, shrugs off Shahs scrapped visit to Sasaram

Kumar has also asked the police to be on alert and said that rumormongering must be prevented.

A day after a violent clash broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession near Gagan Diwan Mohalla under Laheri police station in Biharsharif, another clash broke out in Bihars Nalanda district and Sasaram town in Rohtas district on Saturday evening - in which one person died, and at least 10 were injured.

According to reports, the two groups in Biharsharif pelted stones and fired at each other - leading to injuries to two people. While in Sasaram, six people were injured in a bomb explosion.

Meanwhile, another incident of stone pelting during a Ram Navami procession was also reported from Gaya and Naugachhia.

Amid the violence in the state, internet services were suspended in several districts of Bihar for 48 hours. Section 144 (prohibitory orders) was also imposed in Nalanda and Sasaram.

Earlier on Saturday, CM Nitish Kumar blamed the communal clashes on some mischief. Communal tensions during Ram Navami festivities at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif are disturbing. Such incidents happened for the first time in the area. Its not naturalWe know some people are indulging in gadbad (mischief) and are trying to disrupt communal harmony in the state, the chief minister said.

(With inputs from agencies)
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The Congresss legal team will move an appeal at a sessions court in Gujarat on Monday seeking a stay on the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case, which has led to the partys former president to be disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi outside his residence in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)

Gandhi, along with many senior leaders of his party, will be present at the Surat sessions court during the appeal, the party said on Sunday.

The former MP from Wayanad was disqualified from Lok Sabha on March 24, a day after the Surat court order, which also handed him a suspended two-year prison term.

We are confident that the appeals court will appreciate blatant errors of trial court and do justice expeditiously, said Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Singhvi, who is supervising and advising the legal team on the appeal.

On behalf of Gandhi, senior counsel RS Cheema will appear in the court on Monday.

A senior Congress leader said that besides Singhvi and Cheema, former Union minister P Chidambarams advice has also been sought in this case. At a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, many MPs who have legal background started giving suggestions when it was announced that Singhvi will take all decisions and Chidambaram will also advise in this case, said a senior leader, asking not to be named.

The party leaders said the legal team took more than a week to file the appeal as they wanted a foolproof case. It took a lot of time to translate the Surat courts order from Gujarati to English. It was not a random translation. The legal document, especially the courts observations on certain provisions such as section 202 of the CrPC Act, will hold key to our argument, said a senior leader.

The Congress general secretary for communication Jairam Ramesh said, With more cases being filed against Gandhi in Patna or Ranchi, every word of our appeal to the sessions court assumes more significance. We need to be extra careful.

Along with Gandhi, some senior leaders, including general secretary KC Venugopal, will be present at Surat, the official cited above said.

The Congress indicated the appeal will focus on two-three key issues to contest the conviction as well as the Lok Sabha secretariats disqualification order.

One of the key arguments will be on the jurisdiction of the Surat court to pass order on a case that relates to Gandhis speech in Karnatakas Kolar in 2019. Last week, Singhvi quoted Section 202 of the CrPC (criminal procedure code) and said: If allegedly I commit a defamatory offence in place X and if somebody chooses to sue me in Gujarat or Bihar or as in this case, Surat, then the magistrate before whom a complaint is filed, is mandatorily, I repeat, mandatorily, obliged to conduct a preliminary inquiry as to whether he has jurisdiction to initiate the proceedings.

The Congresss legal team will maintain that as per Article 103 of the Constitution, the President of India, and not the Lok Sabha secretariat, can decide on the disqualification of an MP.

Article 103 laid down: If any question arises as to whether a member of either House of Parliament has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1) of Article 102, the question shall be referred for the decision of the President and his decision shall be final, and Before giving any decision on any such question, the President shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion.

The legal team is set to also point out the chain of events and the speed at which the case was decided. The original complaint was filed on April 16, 2019 but the complainant, Gujarat lawmaker Purnesh Modi, sought and got a stay on his own complaint from Gujarat High Court on March 7, 2022.

A Congress leader alleged that after Gandhis speech on the Adani-Hindenburg issue in Lok Sabha on February 7 this year, the complainant withdrew the stay from HC on February 16 and the Surat chief judicial magistrate resumed on arguments, with orders on March 23.

In a notification, the Lok Sabha secretariat said Gandhi had been disqualified from the day of the conviction under the Constitutions Article 102(1)(e), read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act.

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A 39-year-old cattle trader was allegedly killed and one of his associates was assaulted by a group of cow vigilantes who accused them of illegally transporting cattle in Karnatakas Ramanagara district, police said on Sunday. Police said local residents spotted Indreess body a few metres away from the police station.(istock)

The deceased, Indrees Pasha, was allegedly murdered by one Puneet Kerehalli and his associates. Indreess body was recovered the next morning. Several people, including Kerehalli, who is now absconding, have been booked on charges of murder in this regard, police said.

Read here: Cong pledges support citizens booked over protesting tree felling

According to police, Kerehalli runs an organisation named Rashtra Rakshana Pade (Nation Protection Army). In the past, he has organised campaigns against halal meat and sought a ban on Muslim traders at Hindu temple fairs.

The first information report (FIR) registered by the deceaseds family at Sathanur police station said the incident took place at around 11.45pm on Friday when Indrees and his associates, Irfan, Syed Zaheer, were transporting 16 cattle to Tamil Nadu. The vehicle was stopped by Kerehalli and his associates who accused the trio of illegally transporting cattle.

HT has seen a copy of the FIR.

Puneet Kerehalli (main accused) had demanded 2 lakh to let them go but since the money was spent on buying cattle, they could not pay him. Kerehalli abused them and asked them to go to Pakistan. When they began to attack, two of them ran away, the deceaseds brother, Yunus Pasha, said in the FIR.

Zaheer, who was driving the truck, said they were stopped by the vigilantes. Zaheer said that while Indrees and Irfan managed to escape, he was assaulted and taken to a nearby police station by Kerehalli and his associates.

Zaheer said that at the police station, he was booked under the The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act despite him producing all relevant documents to show that he and his associates had legally purchased the cattle. He was detained for further interrogation.

Zaheer said that on Saturday morning, he was shown Indreess photo and asked if he knew him. When I said yes, they said he was found dead, he said.

Police said local residents spotted Indreess body a few metres away from the police station at around 8am.

Ramanagara superintendent of police (SP) Karthik Reddy said police are yet to ascertain the cause of Indreess death. The post mortem was conducted on Saturday night and the report is expected any time. We can confirm the cause of the death only after the report is available, he said.

Asked about the documents produced by Zaheer to the police, he said the documents are being verified.

Police said the FIR was filed under sections 302 (murder), 323 (assault) 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of Indian Penal Code.

The deceaseds family held a protest outside the police station, demanding the accuseds arrest.

Read here: Karnataka elections: Another MLA submits his resignation to JD(S)

Opposition parties condemned the incident.

The murder of a young man in Sathanur is a testament for @BJP4Karnatakas (BJP Karnataka) goonda politics in the name of protecting religion. Incompetent Home Minister @JnanendraAraga is directly responsible for the death, leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Karnataka had never seen such an incompetent & careless Home Minister like @JnanendraAraga. People cannot expect safety and security under this incapable government. He should be first ousted from the cabinet Murders in the name of protecting cows do not seem like a mad act by random goons. It looks like an orchestrated act to light up communal flares & polarize the electorate ahead of the elections, he added.

While there was no immediate reaction available from the Karnataka home minister, BJP leaders refused to comment on the matter.
PM Modi beats Biden, Sunak to emerge as most popular world leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at the flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express, at Rani Kamlapati Station, in Bhopal on Saturday.(ANI/PIB)

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Saudi-based developer Jeddah Central Development Company (JCDC) has signed an agreement with Malta-based International Hotel Investments to set up its Corinthia brand of hotels within its beachfront lifestyle project in the Saudi city.

As per the deal, International Hotel Investments will be providing advisory services for the development and operation of these projects at Marina district located within the mega SR75-billion ($20 billion) Jeddah Central project.

A part of the Jeddah Central's 9.5-km waterfront on the Red Sea, the Marina District will feature a world-class marina equipped for local and international boats, yachts, and superyachts.

The marina will serve as a gateway to the city on the Red Sea coast, creating a thriving residential marine community, including recreational facilities, retail outlets, restaurants, and cafes.

JCDC, a subsidiary of Saudi sovereign wealth fund PFI (Public Investment Fund) and the master developer of the Jeddah Central development, said this comes as part of its strategic plan to create a local attraction and global destination in the heart of the Saudi port city.

Being implemented on a 5.7-million-sq-m area in the Saudi port city, Jeddah Central has a stunning waterfront location with a 2.1 km of sandy beaches.

On the strategic partnership, CEO Engineer Ahmed Al Sulaim, said: "We are pleased with this cooperation with Corinthia, and we look forward to working with them and our other partners and customers to develop Jeddah Central to the highest international standards in terms of design, innovation and environmental

sustainability."

The MoU establishes a framework for Corinthia Hotels and its sister company QPM Limited, to develop and operate assets within the Marina District at Corinthia standards.

The deal with International Hotel Investments is mainly aimed at exploring co-operation in developing and operating assets within Jeddah Marina district, stated Al Sulaim after signing the deal with Corinthia officials Chairman Alfred Pisani and CEO Simon Naudi as well as Reuben Xuereb, the Chief Executive at QPM.

Pisani said: "As a hotelier and real estate developer, the Corinthia Hotel group is delighted to be bringing its expertise, brand and innovation in creating uplifting environments that will sit at the nexus of global experience and local ambition."

According to JCDC, the development is being implemented in three phases. The first one will be completed by 2027 following which it will start receiving Jeddah residents and visitors. The second phase is set for completion by 2030 and the rest after 2030, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Khartoum  A meeting was held in the Republican Palace at 01:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 1st, which included the President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Gen. Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan, the Vice - President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, and the leaders of the civil forces that signed the framework agreement and the tripartite mechanism consisting of the African Union, the IGAD, and the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).

The meeting reviewed the progress in the discussions for reaching the final political agreement and defined the last remaining issues, which are the technical issues related to the stages of reform, integration and modernization in the security and military sector, which temporal scope and main issues were resolved in the paper of principles and foundations for reforming the security and military sector signed on March 15.

After extensive deliberation, the meeting decided by consensus of the military and civilian parties to increase efforts to overcome the remaining obstacle within a few days, in preparation for the signing of the final political agreement on April 6.
Fresh violence and arson erupted in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Sunday - two days after Howrah witnessed incidents of violence during Ram Navami celebrations. A ruckus and stone pelting were witnessed in Hooghly, as per a video shared by the news agency ANI. Violence erupts in West Bengal's Hooghly

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged that the incident was pre-planned by BJP. These people are trying to create unrest in the name of Ram Navami. We are taking the stock of the situation, he told ANI.

BJP is watching who can create more ruckus - Dilip Ghosh or Sukanta Majumdar, Ghosh added.

West Bengal Commerce and Industry Minister Shashi Panja also alleged that the incident was pre-planned by Dilip Ghosh.

Also read: 'Bangal mein BJP ayegi toh...': Babul Supriyo's tweet after Howrah violence

Violence and arson take place whenever BJP organises any rally. Today also the same thing happened during the BJP rally which was headed by Dilip Ghosh. This has become their tradition. Our party completely condemns this act of the BJP," she said, reported ANI.

Earlier on Friday, union home minister Amit Shah took stock of the situation following the violence in Howrah, and also spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose. claimed that the BJP and other right-wing organisations such as Bajrang Dal were "involved in violence with arms" in Howrah.

(With inputs from agencies)
In what can be called as the biggest data theft, the Cyberabad Police in Hyderabad has said it arrested a person who was allegedly involved in stealing, holding and selling personal and confidential data of 66.9 crore individuals and organisations belonging to 24 states and eight metropolitan cities. Vinay Bhardwaj, the police said, was found possessing data of students of edu-tech organisations such as Byjus and Vedantu.

Vinay Bhardwaj, the police said, was found possessing data of students of edu-tech organisations such as Byjus and Vedantu and also holds consumer/ customer data of major organisations like GST, road transport organisations of various states, major e-commerce portals, social media platforms and fintech companies.

The accused held customer data of major organisations like GST (Pan India), RTO (Pan India), Amazon, Netflix, Youtube, Paytm, Phonepe, Big Basket, BookMyShow, Instagram, Zomato, Policy Bazar, Upstox, etc.

"The accused who was arrested on Friday was found selling personal and confidential data of about 66.9 crore individuals and organisations maintained in 104 categories," Cyberabad Police said.

Some details of data theft

> Some of the important data held by the accused includes the data of defence personnel, government employees, PAN card holders, data of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 students, senior citizens.

> He also held data of Delhi electricity consumers, D-MAT account holders, mobile numbers of various individuals, NEET students, high net worth individuals, insurance holders, credit card and debit card holders among others, the release said.

> The accused was operating through a website 'InspireWebz' in Faridabad, Haryana, and selling database to clients through cloud drive links.

> The police seized two mobile phones and two laptops and data of 135 categories containing sensitive information of government, private organisations and individuals.

Statewise database held by the accused

Uttar Pradesh  21.39 crore accounts

Rajasthan  2 crore

Punjab  1.5 crore

Madhya Pradesh  4.50 crore

Jammu and Kashmir  2 crore

Madhya Pradesh  1.10 crore

Andhra Pradesh  2.10 crore

Bihar  1 crore

Kerala  1.57 crore

Delhi  2.70 crore

Haryana  1 crore

In a similar case, last month, the Cyberabad Police in Telangana had busted a gang involved in the data theft and sale of sensitive information of government and important organisations. The arrested seven members of the gang allegedly stole details of 2.55 lakh defence personnel and 16.8 crore citizens of India.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said if he were in the party leadership, then he would have encouraged smaller parties to take the role of the convener in an opposition alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress is the de facto fulcrum around which other parties converge but he, if in the leadership of the party, would not crow about it, Tharoor said in an interview with PTI. Commenting on the unity of the opposition parties over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi following the conviction in a 2019 defamation case. The opposition parties have found a new reason to come together and the BJP might find it harder to win a majority in 2024, Tharoor said. Read | 'Have to behave like big brother'? Mehbooba Mufti says 'yes', Cong says Shashi Tharoor said if he were in the leadership of the Congress, he would let regional parties to take the centrestage in the opposition alliance in the 2024 election. (PTI)

Terming the opposition unity as surprising and a welcome wave, Tharoor said, "Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage united we stand, divided we fall. If they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a vengeful government."

"Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP," Tharoor said.

"But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact, I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor added.

Tharoor's comments come as several parties including the AAP, Trinamool, Samajwadi Party, Bharath Rashtra Samithi, DMK, Uddhav Sena faction, have supported the Congress in its ongoing protest. However, there has been no discussion on the 2024 elections, the Congress said. Trinamool earlier said the Congress is not the big brother, while BRS chief and Telangana chief minister KCR has been pitching for a non-congress, non-BJP third front.

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Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray threw a challenge to the BJP in a rally in Aurangabad as he said the BJP should contest in Maharashtra using PM Modi's name. "And I will use my father's name. Let's see who wins," Uddhav said. Uddhav Thackeray addressing a rally on Sunday at Aurangabad.

Uddhav Thackeray was upset with the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's recent Savarkar remark. The Uddhav camp skipped a meeting of the opposition leaders convened by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on this account. However, after Sanjay Raut met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar intervened on the issue, the Congress agreed to tone down its attack on the Savarkar issue.

Savarkar did not fight for this independence, Uddhav Thackeray said at the Sambhajinagar rally. "I want to ask Savarkar's devotees in the BJP whether they approve of this Independence," Uddhav asked.

"Savarkar suffered rigorous imprisonment and hardships for the Independence of the country and not to make Modi the prime minister. Will you fulfil Savarkar's dream of 'akhand Bharat'?" Uddhav said.

"We helped the BJP in Maharashtra and now they have robbed us of our symbol, name and even my father. Now it is time to bring BJP down. I dare BJP to come to Maharashtra using Modi's name and I will counter you with my father's name. Let's see who wins," Uddhav added.

Shiv Sena was not born to carry the BJP; Shiv Sena was born to protect the bhoomiputras and the patriots, Uddhav said.

(With agency inputs)

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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has reportedly received a threat in the form of an audio message from the banned Khalistani outfit Sikhs for Justice. Assam Police is verifying the clip while all districts have been alerted. In the purported audio clip, the speaker claimed to be Gurpatwan Singh Pannun of Sikh for Justice. He said the Assam government is harassing the aides of Amritpal Singh in Assam jail. Assam police said they are verifying the audio clip that was released threatening Himanta Biswa Sarma

"This message is for Assam CM Himanta Sarma. Your government is harassing and torturing pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Assam. And also torturing those who are in jail. Listen carefully CM Sarma, the fight is between pro-Khalistan Sikhs and Indian regime. Sarma you do not pray fall to this violence. We are seeking liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation through a peaceful democratic process of Khalistan referendum. Sarma, if your government is going to torture and harass Sikhs, you will be held accountable," the purported message as reported by news agency ANi said.

The Punjab government launched a massive crackdown on Waris Punjab De and its chief Amritpal Singh on March 18. Since then Amritpal Singh remained absconding though he issued a few video statements for his followers. Some of the aides who were arrested in the crackdown were taken to Assam. There was speculation that Amritpal would surrender, but the Khalistani leader is still untraceable.

Assam DGP said a case has been registered after the audio clip threatening Assam CM surfaced. "The security component of Hon CM has been adequately sensitised to the emerging threat. In view of global events, the threat is being taken very seriously by Assam Police. The central agencies have been kept in the loop on the issue," Assam DGP GP Singh tweeted.

Gurpatwan Singh Pannun is one of the founders of US-based Sikhs for Justice, he was declared as an individual terrorist under the UAPA.

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The main orchestrator of the March 19 violence at the Indian High Commission in London, Avtar Singh Khanda, apparently leads a double life in Britain. There is evidence to suggest that Avtar Singh Khanda aka Azaad, the political asylum seeker in the UK, is none other than Ranjodh Singh, the self-styled chief of the designated terror outfit Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF). Khandas father Kulwant Singh Khukrana was also a KLF terrorist who was gunned down by security forces in 1991. File photo of March 19 Sikh extremist protest at Indian High Commission in London. The UK police was conspicuous by their inaction.

Khanda who led the March 19 protests as is named in Delhi Police FIR on the same incident involved the pulling down of the Indian National Flag hoisted at the High Commission premises by the extremists with the UK security establishment and police looking at the other way.

It now transpires that the Indian High Commission has informed the UK security services in writing about the protest with the MI-5 being personally briefed on the expected violence well before March 19. However, the UK establishment turned a blind eye to the entire protest and ensuing violence by radical Sikhs, forcing a retaliation from the Home Ministry in India by withdrawing barricades outside the UK High Commission in New Delhi.

Inputs from London and New Delhi suggest that under the nom-de-guerre Ranjodh Singh, it is the same Khanda who issues KLF press notes blaming the Indian government for atrocities against the Sikh community all over the world. The Hindustan Times attention was drawn to a press note issued on November 20, 2022, claiming that .the high-level meeting of KLFs top brass was held at a secret location. During the meeting, the KLF High Command appointed Bhai Ranjodh Singh as the new Jathedar of KLF. The note stated that Ranjodh Singh has served in Sikh armed struggle along with Shaheed Jathedar Harmeet Singh aka Happy PhD and was determined to follow the footsteps of Jathedar PhD and many other martyrs of Khalistan resistance. Harmeet Singh Happy was poisoned to death in a local drug war in Lahore in January 2020 and was the cats paw of the Pakistani intelligence in instigating violence and drug trafficking in Indian Punjab.

On March 20, 2023, Ranjodh Singh released another press note on the arrest of aides and extremist associates of Amritpal Singh, the so-called chief of the Waris Punjab De radical movement. The KLF predictably blamed the Indian security forces and the Punjab Police for the prevailing situation in Punjab. The note threatened both the security agencies and Punjab Police with dire consequences and reminded them of the murder of DIG Avtar Singh Atwal and SSP Gobind Ram during the Punjab militancy days.

There are intelligence inputs to suggest that Khanda, who maintains his Facebook profile under the name Avvtar Singh Azaad and Ranjodh Singh may soon start taking responsibility for terror attacks in India with Punjab as the main target. Khandas main aim is to radicalize youth in Punjab and in countries like the UK, Canada, the US, Germany, Australia against India and in support of the so-called Khalistan movement. Being the founder member of the Waris Punjab De movement, his main objective is to lead the separatist struggle under the aegis of KLF and exploit the softness of Anglo Saxon powers towards this extreme movement as a lever against India.

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The chemicals and fertiliser ministry is finalising a cabinet note to implement PM Pranam, a new central scheme that will provide cash incentives to states that cut consumption of chemical soil nutrients by switching to sustainable alternatives, said a person aware of the development. A farm labourer sprinkles fertilisers over paddy crops in Patiala. (HT Archive)

Read here: Key fertiliser maker slashes prices by 14%

The scheme, announced in the federal budget for 2023-24, is part of a broader push to limit fertilizer subsidies, secure supplies through long-term import deals to hedge against geopolitical risks and raise domestic production, apart from promoting natural and organic farming.

Food and fertiliser subsidies accounted for about one-eighth of Indias budget worth nearly 39 lakh crore in the year ended March 31. India, the worlds third-largest fertilizer buyer, relies on imports to meet domestic demand. Under the proposed scheme, 50% of fertilizer subsidy saved by a state will be given back to it as a grant, which they can put to any use, according to the draft cabinet proposal, the person said, seeking anonymity.

PM Program for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM PRANAM) will be launched to incentivise states and Union territories to promote alternative fertilisers and balanced use of chemical fertilisers, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her budget speech on February 1.

The countrys food security is closely linked to availability of crop nutrients, whose prices rocketed in 2022 due to the Ukraine conflict, stretching the governments estimated spending on fertiliser subsidies for 2022-23 to a record 2.25 lakh crore. Fertilisers are sold by manufacturers at a discount to millions of farmers, which are reimbursed by the Centre.

The incentive will be calculated at 50% of the subsidy savings by way of reduced consumption for a given year, based on a baseline average consumption of the past three years, according to the methodology fixed.

In other words, if a state saves 3,000 crore, it will get back 1500 crore, the person said. The cabinet proposal is likely to be moved soon after the current Parliament session concludes, the person added.

The scheme will consider alternative fertilisers as those based on natural, organic matter, nano urea and nano DAP. Both nano urea and nano DAP are indigenously made highly efficient versions of their conventional forms.

Read here: Eight key infra sectors output grows at 4-month high of 7.8% in Jan: Govt data

India has sufficient stocks of key fertilisers for the summer cropping season beginning next month and wont need to import at least two types of crop nutrients (urea and DAP) as they are aplenty, chemicals and fertiliser minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on March 22.

It appears to be an incentive scheme to states. It indirectly aims to balance the use of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) group of fertilisers, which sees the highest distortion and overuse. Some states, such as Gujarat, which has the largest area under natural farming, will be big gainers, said Abhishek Agrawal, an analyst with Comtrade, a commodity firm.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again emerged as the worlds most popular leader, leaving behind leaders including his United States counterpart Joe Biden. In a survey, released by Morning Consult  a global decision intelligence firm which works to map decisions of the modern leaders  PM Modi ranked number one with an approval rating of 76% while Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador grabbed the second spot. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a public rally in Madhya Pradesh.(PTI)

Here are the top 10 most popular world leaders:

Narendra Modi (India) 76% Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (Mexico) 61% Anthony Albanese (Australia) 55% Alain Berset (Switzerland) 53% Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Brazil) 49% Giorgia Meloni (Italy) 49% Joe Biden (United States) 41% Alexander De Croo (Belgium) 39% Justin Trudeau (Canada) 39% Pedro Sanchez (Spain) 38%

The latest approval ratings are based on data collected from March 22-28, 2023. Approval ratings are based on a seven-day moving average of adult residents in each country, with sample sizes varying by country, the website said. In its last survey, shared by the organisation on March 5, PM Modi had maintained his top position with an approval rating of 78%.

Also Read| Every Indian is my protective shield: PM Modi

Morning Consult released the list Sunday, which as per its website specialises in providing real-time polling data on political elections, elected officials and voting issues. The firm said it takes about 20,000 interviews globally daily. The global leader and country trajectory data is based on a seven-day moving average of all adults in a given countryIn the United States, the average sample size is around 45,000. In the other countries, the sample size ranges from roughly 500-5,000, it said.

These interviews collected online are done among representative samples of adults in a country. For India, the sample is representative of the literate population, Morning Consult explained.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP after being sentenced to two years in prison over a 2019 defamation case recently, is likely to challenge his conviction and sentencing in a sessions court in Gujarat's Surat on Monday, sources said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.(PTI File)

In his petition, Gandhi is expected to ask the sessions court to set aside the magistrate order convicting him in the 'Modi surname' case.

The court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court. A complaint was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?

The court of chief judicial magistrate HH Varma held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500.

The Bharatiya Janata has alleged that Rahul Gandhi's legal team did not show enough promptness to challenge the court order as the party was aiming to capitalise on this ahead of the Karnataka election. Questions were raised that there was immediate action when Congress leader Pawan Khera was arrested but not after Rahul Gandhi's conviction. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had earlier said the legal team was working on it.

Gandhi faces the risk of not being able to contest the next general election due in 2024 if his conviction is not suspended or overturned, or the sentence is not reduced by a higher court. The law also mandates that a convicted lawmaker cannot contest elections for six years after the end of their jail term.

Gandhi represented the Wayanad constituency in Kerala. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the party was confident the conviction would be suspended.

Union home minister Amit Shah was shown black flags by Congress workers during his visit to Mizoram's capital Aizawl to inaugurate development projects on Saturday.

The opposition party was protesting against the disqualification of Gandhi recently. Leaders of the state congress and functionaries of various frontal organisations held a peaceful demonstration to extend solidarity with Gandhi.

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Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.(PTI / File)

Day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that some people have given a "supari" (contract) to sully his image, Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal asked him to reveal the names saying it cannot be state secret.

PM Modi launched a veiled attack on Congress Saturday amid a slugfest between the grand old party and BJP over Germany taking note of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as Lok Sabha member. The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress of "inviting foreign powers" for interfering in India's internal matters.

Addressing a gathering at Rani Kamalapati railway station after flagging off the semi-high-speed Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat Express train, PM Modi said, there are some people in our country who have been determined since 2014, spoken publicly and declared their resolve that they will tarnish Modi's image.

For this, they have given 'supari' (contract) to various people. Some people are sitting inside the country to support these people and some are doing their work sitting outside the country, he added.

The prime minister asserted that every Indian has become his security cover making the said people furious and forcing them to adopt new tricks.

Reacting to the Modi's scathing remarks, Sibal, a former Congress leader, urged the BJP leader to reveal the names of the individuals, institutions or countries involved in the alleged contract.

This cannot be a state secret. Let us prosecute them, he added.

Sibal earlier alleged that communal violence was on the table for the BJP with the 2024 general elections approaching, and recent incidents in West Bengal and Gujarat were a "trailer."

Violence and arson was reported from several states during Ram Navami festivities.

In a tweet, Sibal said, As we approach 2024. For the BJP, on the table: 1) communal violence 2) hate speech 3) baiting minorities 4) target opposition by use of ED, CBI, election commission. Trailer: Burning of Bengal, stoking communal violence in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat.

Sibal quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. He recently floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting injustice.

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The Australia  Rwanda Trade and Investment Council (ARTIC), a new body formed during the Australian leadership retreat in Brisbane from March 24 to 25, aims to strengthen relations between Australia and Rwanda by building mutually beneficial links in business, education, and culture.The council which is composed of business and community leaders, plans to use Rwanda as a conduit to broader opportunities throughout Africa.

The Australian Davos Connection Forum (ADC Forum) announced the formation of the new entity. The ADC Forum, is a non-political and non-profit leadership organization based in Australia.

The think tank organized the Australian Leadership Retreat 2023 which was attended by officials from Rwanda. The organization brings together leaders from various sectors such as business, government, public sector, academia, and the broader community to improve their understanding of key issues affecting Australia.

According to Anton Roux, the chief executive of ADC Forum, ARTIC builds on the organization's past experience of promoting relations between Australia and Africa.

Roux praised Rwanda for being an inspirational exemple of a nation that moved on from a devastating ground zero, embracing a positive national vision, and a spirit of reconciliation.

Roux maintains that Rwanda is one of Africa's leaders, recognized as one of the easiest places to do business in Africa, the best place to be a woman, one of the top 10 most transparent governments in the world, and one of the safest countries in the world.

During her visit to Australia's major cities this week, the chief executive of Rwanda Development Board, Claire Akamanzi, made an exciting announcement for offshore investors.

She stated that Rwanda would provide a seven-year tax holiday along with a 50% tax deduction to those investors who showed interest in investing in Rwanda's priority sectors such as technology, infrastructure (including energy and water), tourism, mining, housing, and manufacturing.

The Australia-Rwanda Trade and Investment Council will continue to foster mutual opportunities in business, education, and culture, and provide learning opportunities to address the current challenges facing the world.

Initiatives planned for 2023 include an Australian trade and investment and cultural mission to Rwanda in June, a delegation of journalists to Rwanda, and tourism promotions.

The mission of the Council will be to broaden and deepen the relationship between Australia and Rwanda, advance trade, investment, and cultural exchange, increase awareness and understanding between the peoples of Australia and Rwanda, and strengthen ongoing links between Australia, Rwanda, and the East African region.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin will on Monday inaugurate the first national conference of the All India Federation for Social Justice, an initiative of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam that will see participation of leaders from 19 opposition parties. MK Stalin set to inaugurate first national conference of All India Federation for Social Justice on Monday. (HTPhoto)

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot of the Congress party, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashvi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference and Trinamool Congress MP Derek O Brien will speak at the event titled Taking Forward the Struggle for Social Justice and Joint National Programme for Social Justice Movement.

The conference will be conducted on a hybrid mode, in Delhi and on Zoom.

DMK president Stalin, who launched AIFSJ in February 2022, will deliver the presidential address from Chennai online. The idea is to provide a common platform for like-minded leaders, politicians, activists, organisations and the civil society to unite, a DMK leader said, declining to be named.

The conference also aims to be a platform for these members to create a road map to take forward principles of social justice in India and bring about a common minimum programme to be uniformly adopted by all states, he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated parliamentarian Sanjay Singh to address the conference. Bharatiya Rashtra Samitis K Keshava Rao will give a special address. DMKs allies will also speak.

Last month, non-Bharatiya Janata Party leaders had flown down to celebrate Stalins 70th birthday on March 1, where they collectively pitched for an opposition alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Stalin had said that everyone must ditch their ego to fight the BJP unitedly and talks of a third front is pointless. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashvi Yadav echoed the sentiments.

In February 2022, Stalin had written to 37 leaders, stating that they need to unite to fight the threat of bigotry and religious hegemony and asked each party to nominate a representative to the AIFSJ.
Chennai: Two police constables have been transferred in Tamil Nadus Tirunelveli district in connection with the case of custodial torture by the suspended IPS officer Balveer Singh, police said. Two Tamil Nadu police constables transferred in connection with custodial torture case. (Representational Image)

Constable Bogan from Vikramsinghapuram division and Rajkumar from Kallidaikurchi have been transferred to the armed reserve in Palayamkottai on the orders of Tirunelveli superintendent of police P Saravanan. The move comes amidst victims saying that police are pressuring them to turn hostile.

We have transferred them for enquiry purposes. If they remain in the same station, there will be conflict of interest, Saravanan said. Sub-inspector Vasudevan has also been suspended but in a different matter on charges of corruption.

Singh, a 2020-batch officer, in his first posting as assistant superintendent of police in Tirunelveli district, has been accused of pulling the teeth of several men and crushing testicles of two men inside the Ambasamudram police station.

Mohamed Shabbir Alam, sub-collector and sub-divisional magistrate of Cheranmahadevi, is recording the statements of the victims. During recording, one victim had turned hostile saying that he fell down and broke his tooth. Another victim Vetha Narayanan, an auto driver, had told HT earlier that constable Bogan approached him urging him to also give a statement that he fell down and broke his tooth, but Narayanan refused to budge.

Human rights organisations and political parties are demanding that an FIR be filed against IPS officer Singh. Henri Tiphagne, executive director, Peoples Watch, said that either the district collector or the superintendent of police should have obtained the CCTV footage of the police station.

According to the Police Reforms Act 2013, the district collector has the authority to conduct an investigation but instead he assigned it to the sub-collector under police standing orders. That is an outdated practice, Tiphagne said. Activist Jayaram Venkatesh said that if the senior police officials were serious about law and order, Singh must be arrested immediately. The CPI(M) protested in Tirunelveli on Sunday demanding justice for the victims.
Tripura will host a two-day science conclave on Clean Energy for a Green Future as part of G20 meetings for the first time from April 3, officials said on Saturday. The event will be held on April 3 and 4 at the International Fair Ground at Agartala (Twitter/@PIBAgartala)

The event will be held on April 3 and 4 at the International Fair Ground at Agartala, the state capital.

This will be a big opportunity for the state to showcase its wealth and resources before the global stage, chief minister Manik Shah said while speaking at a programme at Badharghat in West Tripura district on Saturday.

On Sunday, around 85 delegates from various countries will arrive in Agartala to take part in the event. Delegates from Bangladesh will also be attending the event as invitee members, industries and commerce special secretary Abhishek Chandra said speaking to the media persons on Saturday.

The two days event is expected to have at least eight sessions on various topics, Chandra said, adding the G20 delegates would be in Tripura from April 2 to April 5.

Also Read: Indias G20 presidency resulted in 99% agreement on substantive issues: Kant

During their stay in Agartala, the delegates would visit various tourist destinations such as Albert Ekka Park, Oxygen Park, Purbasha, Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary and Neermahal Palace, he said.

Agartala is one of the 65 shortlisted cities to organise the event.

Keeping the conclave at the forefront, the state administration has adopted several initiatives to make the event successful including the beautification of Albert Ekka Park, Ujjayanta Palace (current government museum) and Neermahal (second water palace of the country after Rajasthans Jal Mahal) etc.

On Saturday, the chief minister visited the Lake Palace and inaugurated the laser light and sound show.

Neermahal, one of the most important tourist locations in Tripura, is ready to welcome the #G20 delegates with a vibrant ambience, CM Shah wrote on Twitter.

The chief minister will meet the G20 delegates on Sunday and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing the states art, culture, heritage and business opportunities.

India assumed the Presidency of the G20 or Group of 20 for one year from December 1, 2022.

G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).

(with PTI inputs)
Replying to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's warning that he would sue Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kejriwal in Assam addressed a party meeting on Sunday and said he would like to extend an invitation to Himanta Biswa Sarma to his place when he comes to Delhi next. "For the past few days, the chief minister has been issuing threats that he will get me arrested. Why will you do so? Am I a terrorist? Himanta Ji, you have become the chief minister of Assam but have not adopted the culture of Assam," Kejriwal said. Kejriwal said Himanta Biswa Sarma has become the chief minister of Assam but did not adopt Assam's culture.

"People of Assam do not threaten their guests. They offer them tea. When you come to Delhi, please come to my house and have tea. If you have some time, have food with me. Then I will show you the entire Delhi," Kejriwal said.

On March 29, Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly said ED and CBI brought all the corrupt under one party. Naming Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kejriwal said, "They put a gun on Himanta Biswa Sarma and he said BJP manzoor hai".

Himanta Biswa hit back at Kejriwal and asked whether there is any case or FIR against him. "I wanted to file a defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal but like a coward, he spoke inside the Assembly. Let Kejriwal come on 2nd April and if he says a single word against me that I am corrupt, I will sue him," Himanta Biswa said earlier.

You (Arvind Kejriwal) should not speak against somebody in Delhi assembly where you know I am not there to defend. So what is the case against me? So somebody has misled all the people that there is some case against me. In entire India, there is no case against me, except for some cases filed by Congress people in various courts, Assam chief minister said.

The Assam chief minister had filed a defamation case against now jailed Manish Sisodia for bringing corruption allegations against him in connection with the supply of PPE kits during the first wave of the pandemic.

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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday again slammed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hours after Kejriwal addressed a party meeting in Assam and said Kejriwal is a coward. Replying to Kejriwal's tea invite, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Yes, I will come. But I will also go to Delhi's jhuggi-jhopdi which is like hell. I have campaigned in Delhi. I know. Assam is heaven in comparison with Delhi," Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Read | 'When you come to Delhi': Kejriwal's invitation after Himanta Biswa Sarma's sue threat Himanta Biswa Sarma replied to Kejriwal's tea invite after Arvind Kejrial addresed a party meet in Assam on Sunday.

"I told Kejriwal that whatever you said against me inside Delhi assembly, say ot outside. Then I will see you in the court. But as he is a coward, he did not say anything against me today. He said some nonsense and went. But he said that in the Assembly. Don't be a coward, mard jaisa baat kijiye..if you are a man, speak like a man; if you are a woman, speak like a woman; if you are a politician, speak like a politician. But he proved that his heroism is limited to Assembly only," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

"Kejriwal lied standing under the temple of Maa Kamakhya and said he gave 12 lakh jobs. We called an official of the Delhi government who told us that there are sanctioned posts of 1.5 lahk in Delhi government," Assam chief minister said in a press meet.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said he will write a letter to Kejriwal and ask for a break-up of 12 lakh jobs that he claimed. "He thought we are fools. But we are smarter than he thinks. We enquired and found out that there are only 1.5 lakh posts," Himanta Biswa said.

"I will go to your place. But after than we will go to other places also. Not only where he wants to take us. Why will Assam people want to go to Delhi. Here we have fresh air," Himanta Biswa said.

Kejriwal versus Himanta Biswa Sarma started after Kejriwal recently mentioned the Assam chief minister in his Assembly speech as he criticised the BJP government. Kejriwal accused Himanta Biswa of corruption. Asking whether there is any case against him, Himanta said if Kejriwal makes the same allegation outside the Assembly, he will be sued. In reply to this threat, Kejriwal on Sunday said Himanta Biswa did not adopt Assam's culture which respects its guests. "When you visit Delhi, please come to my place for tea. If you have some time, have food also. Then I will take you out on a tour across Delhi," Kejriwal said.

"No, we know hospitability. But when Aurangzeb came to Assam, Lachit stopped him. Now when you come to Assam to lie, why should we consider you guests? Still, I provided you with security, which you don't do. I tweeted several times during Covid, but you did not reply. Please leave us alone. We don't need to be aam aadmi, we will remain khaas aadmi," Himanta said.

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Kriti Sanon is an absolute fashionista. The actor keeps slaying fashion goals like a pro with snippets from her fashion diaries on her Instagram profile on a regular basis. From acing casual ensembles to showing us how to deck up in fusion ensembles, to slaying festive looks in stunning six yards of grace, Kritis fashion diaries are replete with inspo for today and every other day. The actor ensures to make fashion lovers scurry to take notes with every picture that she shares on her social media handles. Kriti's Instagram profile is referred to by fashion lovers to upgrade their own fashion game. Kriti Sanons gown gets a shoutout from Anushka Sharma(Instagram/@kritisanon)

ALSO READ: Kareena Kapoor, Suhana Khan, Kriti Sanon at NMACC Gala in chic hot red outfits

Kriti, a day back, shared a string of pictures of herself looking ravishing as ever in a stunning gown. However, the gown came with a twist  it is literally made out of a gorgeous black banarasi saree. The actor played muse to fashion designer Monisha Jaising and picked the stunning gown and draped it. Cut out of a banarasi saree, the gown featured one-shoulder detail with a cut-out at the torso. The gown further cascaded to flowy details with a thigh high slit. Kriti draped a cape around her shoulders made out of the same banarasi saree. Every Banarasi saree has a story specially when it ends up in a gown and cape, Kriti captioned her pictures.

In no time, Kritis pictures were flooded with likes and comments from her Instagram family. Reacting to the pictures, Anushka Sharma dropped by to comment with a fire emoticon. Kriti further accessorised her look for the day in statement golden earrings to add to the ethnic vibes of the attire. Styled by fashion stylist Sukriti Grover, Kriti wore her tresses into a clean braid with a middle part. The actor decked up in bright makeup look to complement her ensemble for the day. Kriti looked gorgeous in smokey eyeshadow, black eyeliner, black kohl, mascara-laden eyelashes, contoured cheeks and a shade of nude lipstick.

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NMACC Gala was a star-studded affair in Mumbai. The inauguration ceremony of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre took place in Mumbai and saw attendance from all the A-listers of film and fashion fraternity. From Shah Rukh Khan to Deepika Padukone to Priyanka Chopra, the biggest celebrities dropped by to celebrate the opening ceremony of the cultural space in Mumbai. Sharvari Wagh also attended the event and looked absolutely gorgeous while at it. The actor is an absolute fashionista, and she keeps slaying fashion goals on a regular basis with snippets from her fashion photoshoots on Instagram. Sharvari's sartorial sense of fashion is well reflected in the attire that she chooses for herself. NMACC Gala: Sharvari Wagh is a dream come true in white(Instagram/@sharvari)

ALSO READ: Sharvari Wagh ditches pants for hottest bikini, oversized blazer and skirt

Sharvari attended the NMACC Gala in style as she picked a stunning tulle saree for the ceremony. The actor shared a string of pictures of her look from the gala on her Instagram profile a day back and walked right into our hearts. Playing muse to fashion designer Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Sharvari picked up a sheer white tulle saree as she decked up in it. Sharvari added more oomph to her look with a heavily embellished white blouse with a dramatic sleeve, and pearls attached to the blouse throughout. Sharvari looked like a vision in white as she posed for the pictures and gave us major fashion goals to follow. The custom-made tulle saree hugged her shape and showed off her curves perfectly. Take a look at her ensemble here.

Sharvari further accessorised her look for the day in minimal jewellery. In minimal diamond ear studs, she brought more ethnic vibes to her look. Styled by fashion stylist Maneka Hari Singhani, Sharvari wore her tresses open in straight locks with a middle part as she posed for the cameras and looked right out of a fairytale. The actor, assisted by makeup artist Niccky Rajaani, decked up in nude eyeshadow, black eyeliner, mascara-laden eyelashes, contoured cheeks and a shade of nude lipstick.

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The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) opened this week, and last night, several national and international personalities graced the pink carpet as they attended India In Fashion exhibit. It is a one-of-a-kind showcase of over 140 stunning pieces of India-inspired costumes that tell the story of the country's impact on global fashion between the 18th and 21st centuries. The Ambani family, including Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani with Shloka Ambani, and Radhika Merchant with Anant Ambani, attended the star-studded affair. For the occasion, the Ambani women came dressed in elegant ensembles. Here's a look at who wore what to the Day 2 Gala. Nita Ambani, Radhika Merchant, Isha Ambani to mom-to-be Shloka Ambani attend NMACC Day 2 Gala. (Instagram)

(Also Read | NMACC Day 2: Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Zendaya, Gigi Hadid to Kriti Sanon, best-dressed at India In Fashion Gala)

What the Ambani women wore to the NMACC India In Fashion Gala:

Radhika Merchant

Anant Ambani's to-be-wife, Radhika Merchant, attended the NMACC India In Fashion Gala dressed in a gorgeous custom look created by master couturiers Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. She wore an ice-blue-coloured pre-draped saree embellished with sequins, shimmering beads, and an intricately designed patti border. A sleeveless sequinned blouse, matching belt, a choker necklace, diamond earrings, high heels, a sleek bun, smoky eye shadow, nude lips, darkened brows, and dewy blushed skin completed her traditional look.

Isha Ambani

Isha Ambani looked gorgeous in a stunning red gown on the pink red carpet at the NMACC Day 2 Gala. She wore a sleeveless plunging neckline gown featuring a tulle overlay, cinched waist, and a flowy silhouette. An intricately embroidered cape, a diamond necklace, matching earrings, high heels, open locks, nude lip shade, darkened brows, kohl-lined eyes, rouged cheekbones, and a dewy base completed the styling.

Nita Ambani

Nita Ambani chose a gold and beige embellished gown and a kaftan-style cape jacket to walk the pink carpet at the NMACC Day 2 event. She styled the ensemble with diamond earrings, a pearl necklace, a matching bracelet, subtle smoky eye shadow, on-fleek brows, kohl-lined eyes, nude lip shade, and a dewy base.

Shloka Ambani

Lastly, Shloka Ambani attended India In Fashion exhibit at the NMACC Gala with Akash Ambani. Shloka even posed on the pink carpet with Akash, Mukesh Ambani, Swati Piramal, and Ajay Piramal. She wore a floral-printed wrapover halter-neck cropped top, a white Chikankari lehenga skirt, and a matching cape jacket to the event. A diamond hair accessory, matching earrings, haath phool, open tresses, and minimal makeup rounded it off.
Good Friday holds significant importance for Christians as it marks the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This pivotal event serves as a cornerstone of the Christian faith and is a time of reflection and gratitude for the immeasurable sacrifice made for the salvation of humanity. The events of Good Friday highlight the profound love of God for humanity and the sacrifice made on behalf of mankind. As we approach Good Friday in 2023, it is crucial to recognize the significance of Holy Week that precedes this day. Holy Week is a time of great importance for Christians, as it commemorates the final week of Jesus Christ's life on earth.(freepik )

Holy Week is a time of great importance for Christians, as it commemorates the final week of Jesus Christ's life on earth. Each day of the holy week holds a special meaning for Christians and understanding the significance of each day in Holy Week can deepen our appreciation of the sacrifice made for our salvation. (Also read: Good Friday 2022: Date, history, significance of Christians' Easter Friday )

What are the 7 days of Holy Week?

Palm Sunday: The first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday. It marks Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem where he was welcomed by the people waving palm branches. The crowd shouted "Hosanna" as a sign of their devotion to him.

Holy Monday: On Holy Monday, Jesus drove the merchants and money changers out of the temple, cleansing it of impurities. He said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers."

Holy Tuesday: Holy Tuesday is also known as "Great and Holy Tuesday." On this day, Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse, in which he predicted the destruction of the temple and his second coming. He also taught his disciples about the importance of being prepared for the end times.

Holy Wednesday: Holy Wednesday is also known as "Spy Wednesday" because it is believed to be the day that Judas Iscariot agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus also had his feet anointed with expensive perfume by Mary of Bethany, who poured it on his feet and wiped them with her hair.

Maundy Thursday: Maundy Thursday is the day on which Jesus shared his last supper with his disciples. He washed their feet, emphasizing the importance of servant leadership. During this meal, Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, in which bread and wine represent his body and blood.

Good Friday: Good Friday is the day of Jesus' crucifixion and death. He was betrayed, arrested, and sentenced to death by the Roman authorities. He was then crucified and died on the cross, representing the ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. It is a day of solemn mourning and reflection for Christians.

Holy Saturday: Holy Saturday is the day that represents the time between Jesus' crucifixion and his resurrection, a time of mourning and reflection. It is also known as the Easter Vigil, during which believers prepare for the celebration of Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

These 7 days are considered significant in the Christian faith as they mark the final days leading up to the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
Mahavir Jayanti 2023: The special time of the year is here. Every year, Mahavir Jayanti is observed by people all across the world. Mahavir Jayanti is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir. The Jain community celebrates this day with a whole lot of pomp and grandeur. Jainism follows the teachings of Lord Mahavir. Born to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala, Lord Mahavir was earlier known as Vardhaman. However, his birth year is disputed between the two sects of Jainism  Swetambar sect and Digambar sect. Swetambar sect believes that lord Mahavir was born in 615 BC, while Digambar sect believes that he was born during 599 BC. Mahavir Jayanti: Know shubh muhurat, rituals and puja vidhi(Unsplash)

This year, Mahavir Jayanti will be celebrated on April 4. as we gear up to celebrate the special day, lets have a look at the shubh muhurat, the rituals to follow and the puja vidhi for Mahavir Jayanti.

ALSO READ: Mahavir Jayanti 2023: Date, history, significance, celebration of Jain festival

Shubh muhurat:

Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated in the month of Chaitra, on the thirteenth day of the waxing moon. This year, Trayodashi Tithi will begin at 06:24AM on April 3, and will end at 08:05AM on April 4.

Puja vidhi:

In the morning, the idol of Lord Mahavir is given a bath and then placed on a cradle and taken out for processions. Usually the procession ends at a temple or a shrine where people offer flowers, rice and sweets to the idol. Preachngs of Lord Mahavir are read out and people offer their prayers.

Rituals:

The day is observed by the Jain community by visiting a temple and praying to the idol of Lord Mahavir. People also engage in doing charity and donations on this day. Lord Mahavir, who attained Nirvana at the age of 72, advocated for the importance of non-violence and a peaceful life with love towards humanity. He denounced his throne at the age of 30 and lived as an ascetic for the rest of his life.

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press release

Citizens call for gender equality in hiring, land ownership, and political leadership.

Key findings

Educational achievement is gender-equal in Angola, according to survey results.

Women are less likely than men to have a bank account (47% vs. 55%), a radio (47% vs. 58%), a motor vehicle (16% vs. 31%), and a computer (15% vs. 21%) but match men in participation in household financial decisions.

A majority of citizens say women should have the same rights as men to get paying jobs (58%) and to own and inherit land (76%).

More than six in 10 citizens say women in fact enjoy equal opportunities in hiring (61%) and land ownership (68%).

Seven in 10 Angolans (70%) say women should have the same chance as men of being elected to public office.

But while 62% of citizens think a woman will gain standing in the community if she runs for office, 51% also consider it likely that she will be criticised or harassed by others in the community.

Like many other African countries, Angola has ratified major international instruments on women's rights and gender equality and is committed to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls (OHCHR, 2019).

Guided by its 2013 national gender equality policy, Angola has made significant gains in the representation of women in positions of political leadership (OHCHR, 2019). Almost four out of 10 seats in the National Assembly (38.1%) are held by women (Parlamento, 2023), and nine of the 23 ministries in President Joao Lourenco's administration are led by women.

However, the World Economic Forum's (2022) Global Gender Gap Index ranks Angola 125th out of 146 countries in gender parity, reflecting the many remaining challenges on the path to equal rights for women. Among them is gender-based violence: One in four Angolan women reported in 2018 that they had suffered physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of a current or former romantic partner during the previous year (UN Women, 2023). Sexual harassment is a leading barrier to women's effective participation in the labour market, according to a UN Women adviser (Africa News, 2021). Almost one-third (30.3%) of women aged 20-24 years were married or in union before their 18th birthdays (UN Women, 2023).

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This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) questionnaire to explore Africans' experiences and perceptions of gender equality in control over assets, hiring, land ownership, and political leadership. (For findings on gender-based violence, see Kitombe & Pacatolo, 2023.)

In Angola, women match men in educational attainment and participation in household financial decision making, though they trail men in ownership of key household assets. Majorities express support for women's right to equality in hiring, land ownership, and political leadership, but most also consider it likely that a woman will suffer criticism or harassment if she runs for elective office.

Overall, fewer than half of Angolans approve of the government's performance in promoting equal rights and opportunities for women.

Carlos Pacatolo Carlos Pacatolo is the national investigator for Angola.

David Boio David Boio is the co-national investigator for Angola.

Cecilia Kitombe Cecilia Kitombe is director of communication and social advocacy for ADRA - Accao para o Desenvolvimento Rural e Ambiente
According to a recent study, those who have epilepsy have a higher risk of dying young. The increased risk differs depending on the person's location, the number of medications they take, and any additional illnesses they may have. Risk of early death varies on different factors in epilepsy(Shutterstock)

The study was published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Our research found an increased risk even among those who do not have other health problems and are taking only one medication to control their seizures," said study author Seo-Young Lee, MD, PhD, of Kangwon National University in Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.

ALSO READ: Purple Day 2023: Top lifestyle changes for managing epilepsy

For the study, researchers used a national health database to identify 138,998 people who were newly treated for epilepsy. Then they examined the national death register and found of all study participants, 20,095 died during the 10-year study period. Participants had an average age of 49 at the start of the study.

Researchers documented causes of death for participants. They also documented factors such as age, sex, where a person lived and the number of medications they had been prescribed. They then calculated the overall mortality rates for study participants. Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a specific population. Mortality rates for study participants were compared to the mortality rates for the general population.

Among study participants, there were nearly 660,000 person-years, which represent both the number of people in the study and the amount of time each person spends in the study. For that number of person years, there were 20,095 deaths in study participants compared to an expected 8,929 deaths among the general population.

Using person-years to calculate risk, researchers found that people with epilepsy had more than twice the risk of death compared to the overall population. The increased risk was even higher in younger people in the study.

In addition, people with epilepsy living in rural areas had a 247 per cent increased risk of death compared to the general population while those living in urban areas had a 203% increased risk.

Study participants taking just one anti-seizure medication had a 156 per cent increased risk of death compared to the general population while people taking four or more anti-seizure medications had a nearly five times greater risk.

People with epilepsy who had no other diseases or health concerns had a 161% increased risk of death compared to the general population. However, people with epilepsy who had been hospitalized never or only once had no increased risk of premature death.

Among study participants who died, 19 per cent died of cerebrovascular disease, which was a 4.5 times greater risk of death than the general population, 16 per cent died of cancers outside of the central nervous system, a 137 per cent greater risk and 7 per cent died of cancers of the central nervous system, a 46 times greater risk. Lee notes that such cancers and cerebrovascular disease are mostly presumed to be underlying causes of epilepsy. In addition, 6 per cent died of pneumonia, 7 per cent died of external causes such as falls, accidents and drowning and 2 per cent died of suicide, all of which were a two times greater risk. Epilepsy and status epilepticus accounted for 2 per cent of overall deaths.

"Our study demonstrated a wide range of mortality risks in people with epilepsy, depending on age, disease duration, disease severity and other health conditions," said Lee. We also identified disparities for people living in rural areas and urge public health efforts to improve accessibility to care. Active control of seizures, education about injury prevention, monitoring for suicidal thoughts and efforts to improve accessibility to epilepsy care all contribute to reducing mortality.
For those flying in from German and Austrian hubs, the first sight of Albania is usually of the Dajti mountain brooding over Tirana. The shadow it casts across the capital perfectly matches the mystery that engulfs the country in most minds. Albania offers a dream landscape that hasn't been overrun by tourists. (Albina Caci)

After taking power during the Second World War, Enver Hoxha  whose authoritarian rule of Albania lasted from 1944 until his death in 1985  sealed off the country for four decades, outlawing travel and religion. Over 500,000 concrete bunkers sprang from his paranoia onto the country's beaches, mountains and plains, many remaining to this day.

This long and haunted isolation, allied to the vicious wars that stalked the western Balkans in the 1990s, has helped turn Albania into Europe's least known and most enigmatic country.

That means that for the uninitiated, the images that spring to mind stem from its grim communist past. But while corruption and criminality can be found, as in all European countries, Albania is still one of the last unspoiled corners of Europe.

The Accursed Mountains in the north offer one of the continent's last wildernesses to hikers and climbers. Golden sand beaches run down the Adriatic and Ionian coasts to the city of Saranda, which sits just across the Greek island of Corfu. Across this southern region runs the Vjosa, one of Europe's last wild rivers, soon to be protected within a national park.

(Also Read | Tourists swarm to view baby jumbo from Oscar-winning Elephant Whisperers)

Albania is now beckoning visitors to discover not only these stunning landscapes, but also the country's Mediterranean-Balkan hybrid cuisine  featuring specialties such as Tave Kosi or Fergese  which can be catered by over 250 ecotourism hosts, a sector the government is keen to promote.

A plethora of Greek, Roman and Ottoman ruins and archaeological sites also punctuate the country, such as the UNESCO-listed Butrint National Park, the Ottoman-era city of Berat, or the ancient city of Apollonia.

The bonus for visitors, says Gazi Haxhia, CEO of travel agency Landways who has been enthusiastically pushing his country's tourism potential for over two decades, is that all of these treasures can be enjoyed without struggling through crowds.

"Albania is still relatively undiscovered," Haxhia boasts. "We've not been overrun with mass tourism, so visitors can still enjoy unspoiled natural beauty, unique culture and authentic experiences."

Warm welcome

However, some are starting to wonder just how long that will remain the case, as tourist numbers start to rise.

The pandemic gave Albania a leg up. Neighbouring tourism stars were hard hit by COVID. Croatia, whose sparkling Adriatic coastline tends to dominate tourist flows heading into this south-eastern corner of Europe, saw visitor numbers drop by 68% in 2020, as restrictions crimped travel. Montenegro fared even worse, as tourist flows dropped by 83%.

Softer restrictions saw Albania trim the pullback to 59%, and numbers have quickly rebounded. A record 7.5 million arrived last year.

"The recovery has been quicker and stronger than expected," Haxhia says. Although developments regarding COVID restrictions in Asia, Russia's war in Ukraine, and the economic downturn in Europe make it hard to gauge, he says and hopes for another record in 2023.

On top of the country's natural and historical treasures, the hospitality of Albanians and their eagerness to share their culture and traditions are important selling points, he claims.

Tolerance and hospitality are the basis of a tradition called "Besa." One of Albania's proudest boasts is that the country  which is Muslim-majority  was the only one in Europe to have a larger Jewish population in 1945 than in 1939.

Haxhia notes that his clients, who largely hail from European states such as Germany, the UK and Italy, also appreciate the low costs of a trip to Albania. Increasingly, he adds, travellers from the US and Asia are starting to discover the tiny country sitting just across the Ionian Sea from the heel of the Italian boot.

'Tourism champion'

The potential of tourism is so significant that Prime Minister Edi Rama dreams of making the country the region's "tourist champion" by the end of the decade.

One of Europe's poorest countries, Albania's emerging economy depends heavily on agriculture and mining. But tourism is viewed as a key driver of modern economic development.

Pre-pandemic, the $2.3 billion or so the sector brought in annually constituted close to 16% of GDP. Rama hopes that a strong government push will help double that share.

Progress is clear to see. The rubbish piles that in past decades blighted towns and roadsides have been cleared. Transport infrastructure is being expanded and upgraded. Encouraged by tax breaks, hotels and resorts are rising.

"But there's still more to be done," Haxhia points out. "The quality of services and infrastructure remains a challenge, particularly in rural areas."

Indeed, although Albania's transport infrastructure has undergone significant improvement over the past two decades, crucial gaps remain.

While a second international airport opened in 2021 in the northern city of Kukes, with seasonal flights linking it to Germany, Austria and Turkey, getting to the Albanian Riviera in the south requires either a five-hour drive from Tirana or a flight to Corfu and then a ferry.

A third airport, being built near the city of Vlore should help. "Tourists have had a hard time getting to Albania in the past," Mirela Kumbaro, minister of tourism and environment minister tells DW, "but, all infrastructure investments are being made to serve tourism."

The government is also working with investors to build several giant resorts. Announcing a 2-billion deal with the UAE's Eagle Hills development company in January, Rama branded the project to transform the port city of Durres "a locomotive" to accelerate economic development and allow Albania to compete on the international tourism market.

Tread carefully

But at the same time, such schemes come mired in controversy. The sums of money rinsing through the system are seen as a corruption risk, and claims of sleaze and lax control are not uncommon.

The threat posed by regulators looking the other way as such behemoths advance on Albania's virgin territories are clear. Europe's Mediterranean coast is plagued by unsympathetic development, environmental damage, and over-tourism.

Although an enthusiastic proponent of the need for further development of the tourism sector, Haxhia recognizes the need to tread carefully.

"The government must enhance accessibility further, but should also promote sustainable tourism practices and training while it does," he suggests. "We need to preserve the country's natural and cultural assets for future generations."

And despite her government's rush to build motorways, airports and resorts, Kumbaro says that's exactly her remit. It's no coincidence, she insists, that her ministry is responsible for both tourism and the environment.

"Last year we had 7.5 million tourists," she declares. "But we don't plan increase the numbers. Instead, we target tourists who spend and who empower the development of sustainable tourism."
Japanese scientists have created a mice with two biological fathers, according to a report from The Guardian. This breakthrough could have significant implications for same-sex couples looking to have biological children. Additionally, the technique may also be useful in treating severe forms of infertility, including Turner's syndrome, a condition where one copy of the X chromosome is missing or partially missing, which was the primary motivation of the research, according to the scientists. The technique may also be useful in treating severe forms of infertility.(Representational Image)(AFP)

Also Read | Scientifically Speaking | Could drunk mice help people get sober quicker?

This is the first case of making robust mammal oocytes from male cells, said Katsuhiko Hayashi, who led the work at Kyushu University in Japan.

While scientists have previously used complex genetic engineering techniques to create mice with two biological fathers, a significant headway has now been achieved. For the first time, viable eggs have been successfully cultivated from male cells, making the process less complicated and more accessible.

Also Read | Babies' gut microbiome is not affected by vaginal microbiome: Study

Process of the birth

In order to produce viable eggs from male cells, the study required a series of complex procedures. The first step involved reprogramming male skin cells into a state similar to that of stem cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

The Y chromosome of these cells was then removed, and an X chromosome from another cell was inserted, resulting in iPS cells that possessed two identical X chromosomes. This technique allowed the researchers to create viable eggs with an XX chromosome combination, despite starting with male XY cells.

Also Read | Risk of early death varies on different factors in epilepsy: Study

The trick of this, the biggest trick, is the duplication of the X chromosome, said Hayashi. We really tried to establish a system to duplicate the X chromosome.

After undergoing the complex process of transforming male skin cells into viable eggs, the cells were grown in a specialized culture system called an ovary organoid. This system was designed to mimic the conditions present in a mouse ovary. When the eggs were fertilized with normal sperm, the researchers were able to obtain approximately 600 embryos, which were then implanted into surrogate mice.

This resulted in the successful birth of seven mouse pups. However, the efficiency of the process was found to be lower than that achieved using normal female-derived eggs, with only around 1% of the embryos resulting in a live birth compared to around 5% with traditional eggs.

Possible with humans?

The study noted that human cells require longer periods of cultivation to produce a mature egg, which can increase the risk of acquiring unwanted genetic changes. The translation of this technique to human cells would require a substantial leap in research, especially considering that scientists are still working to create lab-grown human eggs from female cells.

Professor Amander Clark of the University of California, Los Angeles, who works on lab-grown gametes, said that translating the work into human cells would be a "huge leap" because scientists have yet to create lab-grown human eggs from female cells.

Scientists have created human egg precursors, but the cells have stopped developing before meiosis, a critical step in cell division required for the development of mature eggs and sperm.Were poised at this bottleneck at the moment, Clark said

She stressed that the next steps are an engineering challenge and getting through that could be 10 years or 20 years.

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A Gurugram-based company has been allegedly duped of 35 lakh by cyber frauds who tampered with its online payment gateway system. In his complaint Ankit Rawat, the national head (operations) of Parviom Technologies Pvt Ltd. stated that his company uses the services of payment gateway provider Cashfree.



He alleged that the system was breached resulting in 35 UPI transactions following unauthorised access to the systems, PTI reported. Rawat alleged that a total of 35 lakh were transferred in different bank accounts. The police have registered FIR against unknown persons under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 66, 66-D of the IT act. The police said investigation is underway to nab the culprits.



Another incident of cyber fraud was reported from Gujarat's Jamnagar where a couple was duped of 1.12 crore after being lured into a work from home opportunity. The couple was promised of earning easy money where their job was to watch movies and rate them.



In Lucknow, a 70-year-old man was duped of 7.8 lakh by a cyber fraud posing as an Indonesian woman and asking help in withdrawing 152 crore from a bank. The victim KK Verma in his complaint alleged he received an email from a person introducing herself as an Indonesian national who wanted to withdraw 152 crore left for her by the deceased Indonesia king.

Hacker using laptop. Hacking the Internet.(Getty Images/ Representational photo)
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on Friday launched WhatsApp Banking Services in collaboration with Airtel, which will allow the IPPB customers to access banking services on their mobile phones. According to the Union ministry of communications, the move is aligned with the government's objective of promoting digital and financial inclusion among citizens in their language. The new IPPB WhatsApp Banking channel will allow IPPB customers to easily connect with the bank on WhatsApp. (Pic for representation)

Also Read | For added user privacy, WhatsApp to introduce feature to lock chats: Report

The Airtel-IPPB WhatsApp Banking solution aims to provide multi-language support, making it even easier for customers, especially those in rural areas. This move of accessing banking services in their preferred language will seamlessly connect IPPB customers with their banks on WhatsApp.

Gursharan Rai Bansal, CGM & CSMO  India Post Payments Bank said, We are delighted to work with Bharti Airtel as our partner in driving digital and financial inclusion in India. We believe that the financial services driven by technology have a great potential and can go a long way in ensuring that the best financial products reach the farthest corners of the country.

Also Read | WhatsApp says it banned nearly 46 lakh Indian accounts in February

Abhishek Biswal, the business head of Airtel IQ, has emphasized the advantages of the new WhatsApp Banking channel saying that Airtel IQ is a secure and intuitive cloud communication suite that already provides SMS and voice communication services to IPPB customers.

He also stated that the addition of WhatsApp messaging will provide customers with a two-way communication channel, enhancing their banking experience with IPPB.

The new IPPB WhatsApp Banking channel will allow IPPB customers to easily connect with the bank on WhatsApp and access a variety of banking services, such as requesting a doorstep service, locating the nearest Post Office, and much more.

Airtel has been collaborating with IPPB to deliver up to 250 million messages per month to the bank's customers, the majority of whom live in mofussil towns and tier 2,3 cities.

This initiative aligns with the government's Digital India mission, which seeks to enhance access to digital services across the country, including rural areas. By integrating WhatsApp messaging, customers will have greater accessibility to connect with the bank at their fingertips.

The IPPB and Airtel IQ are working to further integrate a LIVE interactive customer support agent into the WhatsApp solution, allowing customers to access support 24x7 and get quick resolutions to their queries.

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Social media platform Twitter ended legacy verified blue ticks on its accounts from April 1. As a result, popular news organisation New York Times lost its verification badge following Elon Musk's policy overhaul. The White House has already declared it won't pay for verifying its staff's accounts. The businesses have to pay $1,000 a month to verify their accounts.



But it seems that some organisations might not have to pay the monthly fees. The social media giant is giving free ticks to 500 advertisers who spend most on its platforms. Also, the top 10,000 organisations by followers count might get a free verification, New York Times reported.



According to The Verge, the social platform is offering a part of the package to advertisers in what is being called an olive branch to the community with which Musk has had a strained relationship. The microblogging platform's ad revenue has dipped since the billionaire took over the company. Several major advertising firms have warned their clients to be wary of Twitter. If the company is providing checkmarks for free, then the advertisers will not have to make the hard decision. Twitter CEO Elon Musk. (AFP)

But the paid subscription means that the new companies will find it tough to build an audience on Twitter as they have to compete with brands which are verified or shell out $1,000 a month to get the verified.

It has been found that impersonated accounts have been a major cause of concern for many brands on Twitter. The company has said that accounts changing profile picture, display name or @handle will temporarily lose the checkmark until the platform reviews your profile again.

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Italy banned ChatGPT on Friday, joining North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China in making the powerful generative AI tool inaccessible in their respective nations. The Italian watchdog gave OpenAI 20 days to resolve its various concerns, under a fine of up to $21.7 million, or 4% of yearly revenues. ChatGPT logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration(REUTERS)

What is Italy's concerns?

The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) has started an inquiry into ChatGPT parent OpenAI.

Applying an immediate interim restriction on the processing of Italian users' data, the authorities expressed concern about the legal basis used by OpenAI to justify the bulk gathering and storing of personal data for the purpose of "training" the algorithms. It charged ChatGPT's maker of failing to share information with users and all other parties whose data it collects.

The agency cited a March 20 episode in which the AI tool suffered a data breach potentially involving user chats and payment information. (ALSO READ: Bug may have exposed payment-related info, ChatGPT reveals Monday outage reason)

In its order, the Italian authority emphasised that there is an absence of an age verification system. (The app) exposes minors to absolutely unsuitable answers compared to their degree of development and awareness.

In its response, ChatGPT stated that it is committed to preserving people's privacy and that it is giving refunds to all users in Italy who bought a ChatGPT Plus subscription in March. We believe we offer ChatGPT in compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws. We will engage with the Garante with the goal of restoring your access as soon as possible.

Why is ChatGPT inaccessible in North Korea, Russia, China, Iran?

Foreign websites and applications, particularly those from the United States, are strictly prohibited in China. Beijing is concerned that the chatbot will assist the US government in spreading misinformation and manipulating global narratives for its own strategic interests. (ALSO READ: China to regulate AI use amid ChatGPT frenzy: Report)

Since launch in November, ChatGPT has also geofenced itself in Russia, preventing users from accessing its services from the country. Other nations from which the US-based AI firm has distanced itself, rendering it inaccessible, include North Korea and Iran.
An Algerian court on Sunday sentenced prominent journalist Ihsane El Kadi to three years in prison for "foreign financing of his business", the court in Algiers said. Journalist Ek Kadi. (@khaleddrareni/ Twitter)

El Kadi, one of the last independent media bosses in the North African nation as director of the Maghreb Emergent news website and Radio M, was handed a five year sentence, three years of which must be served in detention.
Amid the Chinese government's incentives to encourage young couples to have more children, two colleges are motivating their students to use extended spring vacations to feel the beauty of spring and love, a move that some see as an attempt to reverse the declining birth rate. On Chinese social media, the college announcement received a wide range of responses. (Representational photo)

Also Read| Explained: China's 30 days paid marriage leave plan to boost birth rate

Extending a one-day tomb sweeping national holiday to a full week, the Sichuan Southwest Vocational College of Civil Aviation in Chengdu informed all students and staff members about the decision through a notice titled Holiday Notice on Floating Spring,' reported Fox News. In the circular, people were encouraged to "leave the classroom, leave campus, enjoy the nature and feel the beauty of spring and love."

Taking a similar step, the University of Xiamen also granted its students a whole week off. According to the Sichuan Southwest Vocational College, the spring break will not shorten the students' class time as they are required to complete various homework assignments during their vacation. Liu Ping, deputy dean of the college said the holiday should be regarded as a way for students to practice the combination of life and studying, added the report.

Also Read| Marriages fell in this country to record low. Its birth rate is world's lowest

The news of the extended off drew a variety of reactions on Chinese social media. The majority of users said they were envious of the students and faculty at these two universities, while some expressed hope that this would become a national norm.

"I'm sure this is just another attempt to push people into having more babies," one person wrote on Weibo. Others criticised it being a cheap attempt to attract more students to enroll in vocational education.
Former President Donald Trumps legal team is considering asking to move his criminal case from Manhattan to the more conservative New York borough of Staten Island out of concern that he wont be able to get a fair trial, according to a person familiar with the matter. Former US President Donald Trump.(PTI)

Read here: Donald Trump upset and angry but not: What his lawyer said on indictment

The lawyers havent made a final decision and are waiting to see the charges in the indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions arent public.

The indictment will be unsealed Tuesday when Trump is expected to appear in court to be arraigned and enter a plea of not guilty to charges stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election. Trump denies wrongdoing and says the case is part of a politically motivated witch hunt.

Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor, said any attempt to move the venue is likely to fail because defendants arent entitled to seek out juries based on specific characteristics they find more favorable, including political views.

The only reason he would try to move venue to Staten Island is that he thinks  based on voter registration  that thats a friendlier potential jury pool for him, Rodgers said. Thats not going to fly.

While President Joe Biden overwhelmingly won Manhattan in the 2020 election, Trump took Staten Island with a 57% share of the vote. He entered the 2024 presidential race in November.

Trump, who has issued statements attacking Bragg and the judge overseeing the case, is at risk of alienating potential jurors through his own behavior, said New York criminal defense attorney Michael Bachner, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorneys office.

Stop Talking

Ive represented a bunch of celebrities and the hardest part of representing them is convincing them to just stop talking, Bachner said. Hell get a fair trial, but if you start saying things that are all of a sudden going to cause jurors to be concerned, and are prejudicial to the system, its problematic.

Read here: This p**** grabbed back: Porn star Stormy Daniels on Donald Trump indictment

Last month, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that Trumps history of inflammatory remarks about the judges and jurors in past cases warranted the use of a rare anonymous jury in the trial of civil sexual-assault claims brought against the former president by New York author E. Jean Carroll. That case is set for trial starting April 25.

Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade, now at the University of Michigans law school, said the usual reason for asking a judge to move a trial is evidence that its impossible to find 12 impartial jurors. But finding fair jurors is possible even in Manhattan, where Trump is less popular than in many other areas, she said.

Youd be surprised how many people out there pay little attention to the news and lack strong feelings about politics, she said. I am reasonably certain they can find 12 people to serve on a jury in this case.

Claire Finkelstein, a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, said the key for Trumps lawyers will be weeding out the most anti-Trump potential jurors during jury selection, when theyll be quizzed extensively about their views.

Trump has a right to a jury of his peers  that does not mean a jury of Trump supporters, she said. His lawyers have the right to strike anyone who appears to be unable to exercise independent judgment on the case based on the facts and the law presented.

Richard Serafini, a criminal defense lawyer in Florida who was previously a US Justice Department attorney, said a motion to change venue would assume that jurors would ignore their oaths as jurors, ignore jury instructions, ignore evidence and simply vote along political lines. That would be incorrect, he said.

Read here: US Republicans defend Trump, call criminal justice system as 'corrupt'

My experience in doing more than 40 years of trial work is that jurors take their oaths and responsibilities seriously, pay attention to jury instructions, and try to follow the trial evidence wherever it leads, Serafini said.
London / Montevideo  Brave protests against women's second-class status in Iran; the mass defence of economic rights in the face of a unilateral presidential decision in France; huge mobilisations to resist government plans to weaken the courts in Israel: all these have shown the willingness of people to take public action to stand up for human rights.

The world has seen a great wave of protests in 2022 and 2023, many of them sparked by soaring costs of living. But these and other actions are being met with a ferocious backlash. Meanwhile multiple conflicts and crises are intensifying threats to human rights.

Vast-scale human rights abuses are being committed in Ukraine, women's rights are being trampled on in Afghanistan and LGBTQI+ people's rights are under assault in Uganda, along with several other countries. Military rule is again being normalised in multiple countries, including Mali, Myanmar and Sudan, and democracy undermined by autocratic leaders in El Salvador, India and Tunisia, among others. Even supposedly democratic states such as Australia and the UK are undermining the vital right to protest.

But in the face of this onslaught civil society continues to strive to make a crucial difference to people's lives. It's the force behind a wave of breakthroughs on g abortion rights in Latin America, most recently in Colombia, and on LGBTQI+ rights in countries as diverse as Barbados, Mexico and Switzerland. Union organising has gained further momentum in big-brand companies such as Amazon and Starbucks. Progress on financing for the loss and damage caused by climate change came as a result of extensive civil society advocacy.

The latest State of Civil Society Report from CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, presents a global picture of these trends. We've engaged with civil society activists and experts from around the world to understand how civil society is responding to conflict and crisis, mobilising for economic justice, defending democracy, advancing women's and LGBTQI+ rights, calling for climate action and urging global governance reform. These are our key findings.

Civil society is playing a key role in responding to conflicts and humanitarian crises - and facing retaliation

Civil society is vital in conflict and crisis settings, where it provides essential services, helps and advocates for victims, monitors human rights and collects evidence of violations to hold those responsible to account. But for doing this, civil society is coming under attack.

Catastrophic global governance failures highlight the urgency of reform

Too often in the face of the conflicts and crises that have marked the world over the past year, platitudes are all international institutions have had to offer. Multilateral institutions have been left exposed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's time to take civil society's proposals to make the United Nations more democratic seriously.

People are mobilising in great numbers in response to economic shock - and exposing deeper problems in the process

As it drove a surge in fuel and food prices, Russia's war on Ukraine became a key driver of a global cost of living crisis. This triggered protests in at least 133 countries where people demanded economic justice. Civil society is putting forward progressive economic ideas, including on taxation, connecting with other struggles for rights, including for climate, gender, racial and social justice.

The right to protest is under attack - even in longstanding democracies

Many states, unwilling or unable to concede the deeper demands of protests, have responded with violence. The right to protest is under attack all over the world, particularly when people mobilise for economic justice, democracy, human rights and environmental rights. Civil society groups are striving to defend the right to protest.

Democracy is being eroded in multiple ways - including from within by democratically elected leaders

Economic strife and insecurity are providing fertile ground for the emergence of authoritarian leaders and the rise of far-right extremism, as well for the rejection of incumbency. In volatile conditions, civil society is working to resist regression and make the case for inclusive, pluralist and participatory democracy.

Disinformation is skewing public discourse, undermining democracy and fuelling hate

Disinformation is being mobilised, particularly in the context of conflicts, crises and elections, to sow polarisation, normalise extremism and attack rights. Powerful authoritarian states and far-right groups provide major sources, and social media companies are doing nothing to challenge a problem that's ultimately good for their business model. Civil society needs to forge a joined-up, multifaceted global effort to counter disinformation.

Movements for women's and LGBTQI+ rights are making gains against the odds

In the face of difficult odds, civil society continues to drive progress on women's and LGBTQI+ rights. But its breakthroughs are making civil society the target of a ferocious backlash. Civil society is working to resist attempts to reverse gains and build public support to ensure that legal changes are consolidated by shifts in attitudes.

Civil society is the major force behind the push for climate action

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Civil society continues to be the force sounding the alarm on the triple threat of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Civil society is urging action using every tactic available, from street protest and direct action to litigation and advocacy in national and global arenas. But the power of the fossil fuel lobby remains undimmed and restrictions on climate protests are burgeoning. Civil society is striving to find new ways to communicate the urgent need for action.

Civil society is reinventing itself to adapt to a changing world

In the context of pressures on civic space and huge global challenges, civil society is growing, diversifying and widening its repertoire of tactics. Much of civil society's radical energy is coming from small, informal groups, often formed and led by women, young people and Indigenous people. There is a need to support and nurture these.

We believe the events of the past year show that civil society - and the space for civil society to act - are needed more than ever. If they really want to tackle the many great problems of the world today, states and the international community need to take some important first steps: they need to protect the space for civil society and commit to working with us rather than against us.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief. Ines M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist. Both are co-directors and writers of CIVICUS Lens and co-authors of the State of Civil Society Report.
Donald Trump has made history so many times. The first president without government or military experience. The first to be impeached twice. The first to aggressively challenge the certification of his successor. Donald Trump(AP)

Now, he adds another: Even as he hopes to return to the White House in 2025, he is the first former president to be indicted.

Also read: US Republicans defend Trump, call criminal justice system as 'corrupt'

The latest line crossed by Trump challenges again the aura of the American presidency, nurtured in the infallibility of George Washington but made human over and over, through scandals born of greed and the abuse of power, corruption and naivete, sex and lies about sex.

Trump is hardly the first president, in or out of office, to face legal trouble.

In 1974, Richard Nixon may well have avoided criminal charges on obstruction of justice or bribery, related to the Watergate scandal, only because President Gerald Ford pardoned him just weeks after Nixon resigned the presidency. Bill Clinton's law license in his native Arkansas was suspended for five years after he reached a deal with prosecutors in 2001, at the end of his second term, over allegations that he lied under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Some historians wonder about President Warren Harding's fate had he not died in office, in 1923. Numerous officials around him would be implicated in various crimes, including Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, whose corrupt land dealings became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal.

The walls were closing in on him, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said of Harding.

Trump's indictment in New York reportedly is linked to how business records were mischaracterized in connection with paying porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016, shortly before Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton for the presidency, to keep Daniels from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with him years earlier. Trump denies having sex with her.

Trump also is being investigated for allegedly attempting to change the 2020 vote results in Georgia, a state he narrowly lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attempted to stop the congressional certification of Biden as president. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the New York investigation a witch hunt.

While in office, Trump adopted the view of a Justice Department legal opinion that a president could not be indicted. Once a president leaves office, though, that protection falls away.

Most ex-presidents of the past half-century have led relatively uneventful public lives  creating foundations, delivering lucrative speeches, or in the case of Jimmy Carter, doing abundant charitable works. Nixon's disgrace scarred him for years, though he eventually reemerged to talk about global affairs and counsel aspiring politicians and potential presidents, including Trump.

The immediate cause of Nixon's resignation was the discovery of the smoking gun  Oval Office tape recordings, initiated by Nixon himself, that revealed he had ordered a cover-up of the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington. By 1974, the scandal had expanded well beyond the initial crime. Many of Nixon's top aides had stepped down and were eventually imprisoned. Nixon himself was a possible target of the Watergate special counsel.

There were partisans in Congress and on the special counsels staff who would have liked to see Nixon indicted after the resignation  or at least believed that the pardon was premature, says John A. Farrell, author of Richard Nixon: The Life, a prize-winning biography published in 2017. But the special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, had consistently chosen to deal with Nixon via the constitutional, impeachment process.

Farrell notes that Ford's pardon happened so soon after Nixon stepped down that Jaworski's office didn't have time to fully consider charges against Nixon. Ford himself would say that an indictment, a trial, a conviction, and anything else that transpired would have distracted the country from more immediate problems.

Also read: Donald Trump bids to shift hush money case to Staten Island

This much can be said: Nixon himself was very worried about the possibility (of prosecution), to the point of ruining his health, Farrell said, referring to Nixon's battles with phlebitis, the inflammation of veins in the leg. He mused aloud about how some of the great political writing in history had been crafted in jail cells. His very worried family reached out to the White House, alerting Fords aides of the ex-presidents deteriorating condition.

The administrations of Nixon and Harding were among several defined by scandal, without the president being charged.

Ulysses Grant, the Union general and hero of the Civil War, was otherwise naive about those around him. Numerous members of his presidential administration were involved in financial wrongdoing, from extortion to market manipulation. Grant himself was caught for a more trivial offense. In 1872, during his first term, he was stopped twice for riding his carriage too fast.

The second time Grant had to pay a $20 fine, but never spent a night in jail, says historian Ron Chernow, whose Grant biography was published in 2017.

Tragedy may have spared one future president.

In the fall of 1963, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was out of favor in the Kennedy administration and in possible legal danger because his top aide, Bobby Baker, was under investigation for financial dealings and influence peddling. Johnson, with his own history of questionable finances, was denying any close ties to a man he had once claimed to love as a son.

By the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, Life magazine was planning a investigation and congressional hearings were just getting started. But within hours, Kennedy had been assassinated, Johnson sworn in as his successor and interest in the affairs of Baker had essentially ended.
Former US President Donald Trump is set to make public remarks in Florida on Tuesday after being arraigned in New York City on an indictment by a grand jury that heard evidence on hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election, while his lawyer said on Sunday he anticipates moving to dismiss the charges. Former US President Donald Trump.(AFP)

Trump, 76, is expected to be arraigned, fingerprinted and photographed at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday as he becomes the first former US president to face criminal charges.

Read here: Who is Michael Cohen  key witness in Donald Trumps criminal trial?

Joe Tacopina, a Trump lawyer, said he expects more details surrounding the arraignment to be resolved on Monday and noted that the Secret Service, which protects former presidents, also has a role to play on Tuesday.

"All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air, other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say, 'Not guilty,'" Tacopino told CNN's "State of the Union" program.

"Hopefully this will be as painless and classy as possible for a situation like this," Tacopino added, portraying the charges as politically motivated to harm Trump as he seeks to regain the presidency in 2024.

Tacopina said it was unlikely there will be a "perp walk," where an individual who has been charged is paraded in front of the news media, because of security concerns.

Before the indictment, the grand jury heard evidence about a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy 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. Trump has denied any such encounter.

Word of the indictment surfaced on Thursday though the specific charges against Trump arising from the investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, have not been made public.

"We're not doing anything at the arraignment because that would be showmanship and nothing more - because we haven't even seen the indictment," Tacopina said.

Tacopina added that Trump's lawyers will dissect the indictment once it is made public and will look at "every potential issue" to challenge.

"And of course I very much anticipate a motion to dismiss coming because there's no law that fits this," Tacopina added. A court official said the arraignment is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) on Tuesday. The official said the judge has asked both sides to submit their positions on whether cameras and video should be allowed in the courtroom.

Trump plans to deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday (0015 GMT on Wednesday), his office said on Sunday.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on what he will say. A source familiar with the matter said the Republican businessman-turned-politician is likely to focus on what he feels is his political persecution and the political weaponization of the justice system to manipulate an election.

A FAMILIAR JUDGE

Trump, who launched his 2024 candidacy in November, plans to fly to New York on Monday from Mar-a-Lago and spend the night at Trump Tower before his court appearance, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.

Trump is expected to appear before Justice Juan Merchan of the criminal court in Manhattan. Merchan also presided over a criminal trial last year in which Trump's real estate company was convicted of tax fraud, though Trump himself was not charged.

Trump on Friday lashed out at Merchan, saying the judge hates him and treated the Trump Organization "viciously."

On Sunday, Tacopina sidestepped questions about whether Trump's team will seek to have a new judge assigned.

"I have no issue with this judge whatsoever. He has a very good reputation," Tacopina said.

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced his candidacy on Sunday for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and called on Trump to drop out of the race.

Read here: Donald Trump is not 1st ex-Prez to face legal trouble in US. It was

"I think it's a sad day for America that we have a former president that's indicted," Hutchinson said on ABC's "This Week."

Asked whether Trump should step aside from the race, Hutchinson said, "Well, he should, but at the same time, we know he's not."

No other Republican candidate or potential candidate has made such a call. Prominent Republicans, including Trump's former and future presidential rivals, have joined him in portraying the charges as political.

"I do think this is politically motivated," Republican US Representative Mike Turner said of the indictment on CNN's "State of the Union." "It's one thing when you have a cancel culture. It's another when you have a cancel criminal justice system."

A handful of Trump supporters gathered on a bridge across from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, included a woman who drove 23 hours from Detroit.

"I'm here because I want to support my president - it's a simple concept," said Debbie Macchia, 58, who noted that she has slept in her car since Thursday.
Finland's centre-right leader claimed victory in Sunday's tight general election that saw the far-right post a record score to come in second, as Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats finished third. Supporters of the liberal-conservative National Coalition Party cheer during the party's parliamentary election party in Helsinki.(AFP)

"This was a great victory," the 53-year-old head of the conservative National Coalition Party, Petteri Orpo, told his cheering supporters.

Read here: Finland's membership will: What NATO chief said

"On the basis of this election result ... we will start negotiating a government in Finland," he said.

Orpo could choose to build a government either with the far-right Finns Party or the Social Democrats, though he is at odds with both on various issues.

With 99 percent of votes counted, the centre-right was credited with 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, the far-right with 46 and the Social Democrats with 43.

In terms of votes, the result was even closer with the centre-right winning 20.6 percent, the far-right 20.1 percent and the Social Democrats 19.9 percent.

The biggest party in parliament traditionally gets the first chance to build a government, and since the 1990s that party has always claimed the prime minister's office.

Orpo, whose comfortable lead in the polls shrank in the final stages of the campaign, has made the economy his top priority.

Finland's debt-to-GDP ratio has risen from 64 percent in 2019 to 73 percent, which his National Coalition wants to address by cutting spending by six billion euros ($6.5 billion).

Meanwhile, amid cheers of "Finland! Finland!", the 45-year-old head of the anti-immigration Finns Party, Riikka Purra, thanked her supporters for the party's "best election result ever".

The party, which first served in government in 2015, has seen its support surge since last summer with the cost of living crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Purra even managed to secure the highest number of direct votes in the election, with her 38,000 beating out the 35,000 cast for Marin, whom polls have ranked as Finland's most popular prime minister this century.

The eurosceptic Finns Party, which appeals overwhelmingly to male voters, wants a hard line on immigration.

Purra alleges that recent arrivals are behind a rise in street gangs and has pointed to neighbouring Sweden as a cautionary tale.

The Finns Party sees "Fixit" -- an exit from the European Union -- as a long-term goal and wants to postpone Finland's target of carbon neutrality for 2035.

Tough talks ahead

Marin, who became the world's youngest prime minister in 2019 at the age of 34, has struggled to convert her overwhelming personal popularity into support for her SDP.

"Congratulations to the National Coalition Party, congratulations to the Finns Party. Democracy has spoken," she said as she acknowledged defeat.

Negotiations to build a government are expected to be thorny and could last several weeks.

Orpo has said he will keep his options open, and could cooperate either with the left or the far-right, whom Marin has qualified as "openly racist".

Orpo's National Coalition is at odds with Marin's SDP on budget austerity, and clashes with the Finns Party on immigration, the EU and climate policy.

'Rock star's days are over'

Making headlines internationally for her hard line against Finland's eastern neighbour Russia, Marin has been a popular speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos in recent years and has been featured on the cover of Time Magazine and in Vogue.

Yet while some view her as a strong leader who deftly navigated the Covid-19 pandemic and the NATO membership process, others see the rising public debt on her watch and backlash over video clips of her partying as signs of inexperience.

Read here: Finland clears last hurdle to join NATO, flanked by Turkey

"I liked Marin... but I don't personally believe that her ideas about economic policy are something she and her government can actually achieve," 29-year-old Kasper Kylmala told AFP after casting his ballot.

Antti Piispanen, a 30 year-old salesman, put it more bluntly: "The 'rock star' Marin's time is over, she did nothing good."
Toronto: Four Indian nationals were among the eight victims of a human smuggling operation that led to a tragedy along the Canada-United States border on Friday. Police and firemen continue their search at the marshland in Akwesasne, Quebec, Canada, on Friday. (REUTERS)

Local law enforcement has not released the names of the four Indian citizens. In an update on Saturday, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said, 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.

They released the identities of two of the other victims, both Romanian nationals  28-year-old Florin Iordache and his wife Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, also 28. Florin Iordache had two Canadian passports in his possession. These were of two infants victims aged one and two.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths continue to be investigated, police said.

According to Canadian media reports, as yet unconfirmed, the Indian citizens may have been from Gujarat.

The news outlet Globe and Mail noted that Akwesasne straddles the Canada-US border, and has territory in Quebec, Ontario and New York State, and is known for being a transit point for human and contraband smuggling because of its location.

First responders, numbering nearly 40, continue to explore the marshy area where the bodies were recovered on Thursday and Friday.

Police are also searching for a person of interest, a local resident named Casey Oakes.

The tragedy occurred during the course of an attempt to cross the St Lawrence river, which borders Canada and the US. The region overlaps the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the American state of New York. An overturned vessel was also recovered.

Oakes was reported missing on Thursday. The vessel recovered by the police matched the description of that operated by him.

This isnt the first time this area has been used as a route by Indians trying to illegally enter the US. In April last year, another tragedy was averted when six Indian nationals were rescued from the freezing St Regis River in the region. 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 of 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. 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.

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Toronto: India has flagged the series of episodes of vandalism targeting statues of Mahatma Gandhi to the Canadian government. The bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Simon Fraser University campus in Burnaby, British Columbia that was garlanded on October 2 every year. (Supplied photo)

Indias High Commission in Ottawa has communicated this concern to Global Affairs Canada, the countrys foreign ministry, a senior Indian official said.

The latest such incident involved the decapitation of a Gandhi sculpture located on the campus of the Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. That incident occurred last Monday.

Four days earlier, on March 23, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located at the City Hall in the town of Hamilton in Ontario was defaced and anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti spray-painted near its base. That incident is being investigated by Hamilton Polices Hate Crime Unit.

In July last year, another statue, located at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, was also defaced. The 20-foot tall bronze statue was situated in the temples Peace Park.

Canadian police has set up a dedicated information line as it seeks cooperation of the public in its ongoing investigation into the decapitation of the bust in Burnaby.

In a statement on Thursday, the Burnaby unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said it had created a special phone information line in relation to a deliberate act of vandalism that damaged a statue at Simon Fraser University.

Burnaby RCMP launched an investigation into the vandalism on Tuesday. We are appealing for assistance from the public as we believe there are people that have information that could help our investigators, Burnaby RCMP Cpl Mike Kalanj said.

Investigators believe a power tool was likely used in decapitating the bust. In a release issued on Tuesday, Kalanj had noted that Burnaby RCMP was aware that Gandhi statues have been damaged in other areas of Canada in the past and are looking at all aspects of this incident, including the possible motivation.

The vandalism had drawn a sharp reaction from Indias consulate in Vancouver, as it tweeted, We strongly condemn the heinous crime of vandalising the statue of harbinger of peace Mahatma Gandhi.

The university also condemned the incident, as it said in a statement, We are deeply disappointed that someone would do such an act. Vandalism of any kind is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The bust has been a fixture at the campus since 1970, and was created at the Fine Arts Studio of the Wagh Brothers in Mumbai.

On October 2 every year, the university organises garlanding of the bust.

None of these incidents have so far resulted in arrests. While they have been linked by some to the so-called Punjab Referendum being organised by the secessionist group, Sikhs for Justice, Canadian law enforcement has yet to establish that connection.

Statues of the Mahatma have been targeted in North America even earlier. In February last year, one was discovered decapitated in New York, while in January 2021, another was vandalised in Davis, California.

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The Israeli government approved Sunday the formation of a national guard, which opponents warn would function as a "private militia" of firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who had pushed for the decision. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, April 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool(REUTERS)

A committee comprised of members of "Israel's security agencies" would propose within 90 days if the police "or another body" would be in charge of the new guard, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

"The national guard will deal with national emergency situations such as the disturbances that occurred" in Israeli cities during a May 2021 conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza, the statement added, while noting the committee would also be asked to define the new agency's responsibilities.

A statement from Ben-Gvir's office said the guard, which would operate under his ministry, would deal with "emergency scenarios, nationalistic crime, terror, and strengthening sovereignty".

The move was a condition set by Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Jewish Power party, to agree to freeze the government's controversial judicial reforms following months of protest and a crippling general strike on Monday.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called Sunday's government decision an "extremist fantasy of delusional people" and slammed a separate decision to cut budgets from other ministries "to fund Ben-Gvir's private militia".

Former public security minister Omer Bar-Lev, who had advanced the formation of a national guard in 2022 as part of the border police, said it was already that force's responsibility to be dealing with the issues Ben-Gvir was tasking the national guard with.

"The thought that a private militia would be formed by an embarrassing minister who lacks understanding and was convicted of support of a terror group and incitement to racism is shocking," Bar-Lev wrote of Ben-Gvir on Twitter.

Earlier on Sunday, Ben-Gvir spoke of the need to use the guard to combat "illegal arms, organised crime, and agricultural terror", the latter referring to damage to fields, produce and farming tools the minister blames Arabs for.

The force will be comprised of 1,800 members who will "bring back personal security" to Israelis, Ben-Gvir said in the statement relayed by his office.

Ben-Gvir had been charged more than 50 times in his youth with incitement to violence or hate speech. He was convicted in 2007 of supporting a terror group and inciting racism.

Tamir Hayman, director of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, called the idea of forming a national guard "positive" but said the text approved by the government "would weaken Israeli police".

In a tweet, Hayman noted his think-tank had supported such a move but only "as long as it would constitute part of the police force and operate under its authority".
United States President Joe Biden is likely to turn down the Buckingham Palace's invitation to attend the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charles III as he is too old to travel across the Atlantic twice in a month, the UK-based daily The Telegraph reported quoting sources. Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Northern Ireland later this month and Japan for the G7 summit next month. (AP)

The coronation event is scheduled on May 6, and Biden's close aides are keen to restrict him from his international movements as a measure for him to avoid being too tired to perform his domestic duties, the report said. However, his wife and First Lady Jill Biden may attend the ceremony in his place.

Also read: Donald Trump is not 1st ex-Prez to face legal trouble in US. It was

Among his upcoming travels, Biden is scheduled to visit Northern Ireland later this month and Japan for the G7 summit next month. He is also expected to meet UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on at least three ocassions in the next three months. According to the report, both Washington and London have indicated that the President has not formally decided on attending the coronation event.

British ambassador to the US Karen Pierce earlier had cordial and diplomatic talks with the White House about the event, however, Biden's aides said he had prior commitments.

Biden, who is 80 now, is the oldest to hold the top office in the US at the time he sworn in, followed by Donald Trump.

Also read: King Charles' 1st portrait released. See what's special: 'Terrifying honour'

Both Biden and his wife in September attended Queen Elizabeth II's funeral at the Westminster Abbey. However, the seating arrangement for the President in the royal church led to some controversy as he was seated behind European heads of state.

This would not be the first time a US President would possibly skip the coronation event. President Dwight Eisenhower had skipped the coronation of the late Queen in 1953 and sent a delegation of government instead.

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Newly elected Nepal's President Ramchandra Paudel has been admitted to Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu's Maharajgunj after he complained of stomach pain. Newly elected Nepalese President Ram Chandra Paudel. (Reuters)

According to the official statement from the hospital, Paudel complained about stomach ache, after which he was brought to the hospital.

"He was admitted to the hospital late on Saturday, and is under observation," the hospital authorities said.

Two weeks ago only, Senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel was sworn in as the President of Nepal.

Paudel secured 33,802 electoral votes while his rival Subash Chandra Nembwang secured 15,518 electoral votes, according to Nepal's Election Commission.

Further, according to Nepal's Election Commission, 313 members of the federal parliament took part in the voting while 518 members from the provincial assemblies also participated in the electoral process to pick the next president.

The voting took place at Nepal's Parliament building in New Baneshwar, Kathmandu. The Election Commission in the Himalayan nation had set up two separate polling stations for federal parliamentarians and the Province Assembly members at the Hall.

Lawmakers from all provinces arrived in Kathmandu for the election. A total of 884 members make up the Electoral College, including 275 members of the House of Representatives, 59 of the National Assembly and 550 of the seven provincial assemblies.

Paudel was supported by eight parties while Subash Chandra Nembang, the sole candidate from CPN-UML, was tipped to be backed by independent lawmakers.
New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that it will return 15 Indian sculptures after it learnt that the items were trafficked. The press release stated that all the works were sold by Subhash Kapoor, a convicted Indian-American antiquities smuggler. Kapoor was arrested by Interpol in Germany in 2011 and is currently imprisoned in India. The works range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE. ( Metropolitan Museum of Art)

From Madhya Pradeshs sandstone Celestial Dancer (Apsara) valued at more than $1 million to West Bengals Yakshi Terracotta from, the artifacts range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE, according to the Indian Express. The list, which includes terracotta, copper and stone, also features a ceramic pot from Chandraketugarh, a stone bust of Kamadeva, the God of Love, from the second half of the 8th century C.E, a Svetambara enthroned Jina.

In 2019, the disgraced art dealer was charged by prosecutors in Manhattan with stealing and possessing millions of dollars worth of artefacts over a period of 30 years. Kapoor was sentenced to 10 years jail time in November 2022 by a Tamil Nadu court.

Also read: US returns antiquities to India in stolen art investigation

"The Met contacted Homeland Security about its works from Kapoor in 2015 and is pleased to be acting on this matter today as a result of the criminal investigation into Subhash Kapoor by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office," the statement read.

The museum added that they will adhere to responsible purchase of antiquities and has set in place strict standards for new acquisitions and its existing collection. It is currently vetting the details of works acquired from suspicious dealers. Respecting its long association with the Indian government, the Met is pleased to take action in the incident, the note said.

In October 2022, the US restored 307 archaeological items, worth nearly 4 million dollars stolen by multiple trafficking rings, to India. The items were handed over during a repatriation ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York attended by India's Consul General Randhir Jaiswal.

Additionally, the Met has also now removed three Turkish pieces from its Greek and Roman galleries.

(With agency inputs)

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Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that he was forced by country's former Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa to make good ties with India in a bid to develop cordial relations between two countries, Pakistan's news channel Dunya News reported. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief also alleged that Bajwa was not a man of principles. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan(AP)

Also read: Imran Khans ex-wife Jemima says unidentified men broke into her London home

Khan further said that there would be no constitution left in the country if elections are not held in 90 days. It would lead him to take direct action, he added.

This comes in the backdrop of Pakistan denying of having any backchannel talks with New Delhi. "At this stage, there is no backchannel between Pakistan and India," foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch earlier said at a media briefing.

With regular cross-border terrorism, ceasefire violations, territorial disputes among others, India and Pakistan share complex ties. It went through a rough patch in 2019 after India's warplanes pounded a training camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan's Balakot as a response to the Pulwama terror attack that year. The relation had a further dent after the revoking of Article 370 and 35a from Jammu and Kashmir.

India has maintained its desire for a normal relations with the neighbouring country, however, insisted that the onus would be on Islamabad to create a terror and hostility free environment for such engagements.

According Reuters, there is a possibility of a potential breaktrough in the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan after both the countries held secret discussion in 2021. It reported that the Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire agreement was renewed in the same year.

(With agency inputs)

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opinion

Kathmandu  The ongoing discussions on an internationally treaty, described as a "legally binding instrument" on business and human rights, remains one of the most neglected issues that should instead command the attention of the public.

Such a legal tool would bind companies to uphold high standards and most importantly, it would entail mandatory guarantees for accessible and inclusive remedy and therefore, clear liabilities for victims of alleged abuses perpetrated by companies.

It all started in 2014 when two nations of the South, Ecuador and South Africa successfully pushed for a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council on the establishment of a so called "international legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights".

By reading the title of the resolution you can immediately realize that one of the conundrums being discussed is the overarching scope of such treaty especially in the reference of the nature of the companies being subject to it.

In practice, would only multinational or also national private corporations come under its jurisdiction?

Interestingly, at the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) created to draft the text of the treaty, many developing nations, for example, like Indonesia, were strongly advocating for only multinationals to be included.

This is a position of convenience that would exclude local major operators involved in the plantations business from coming under scrutiny of the treaty.

Other complex issues are centered on the liability especially in relation to instances where a corporation is "only" directly linked to the harm rather than cause.

As explained by Tara Van Ho, a lecturer at the University of Essex School of Law and Human Rights Centre, if "a business is only "directly linked to" the harm, it does not need to provide remedies but can instead use its "leverage" to affect change in its business partners."

The difference between causing or contributing to harm and instead being only liked to it can be subtle and remain an exclusive debate among scholars, but its repercussions could or could not ensure justice to millions of people victims of corporate abuses.

Another point of attrition is the complex issue of the statutes of limitations and the role of domestic jurisdiction over the future treaty.

With all these challenges, after 8 years of negotiations, the drafting is moving in slow motion amid a general disinterest among state parties, as explained by Elodie Aba for Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

An issue that should capture global attention has instead become a realm of technical discussions among governments, academicians and civil society members without generating mass awareness about it.

The need for a treaty related to abuses of corporations is almost self-evident, considering the gigantic proofs that have been emerging both in the North and South.

Despite nice words and token initiatives, the private sector has been more than often keen to close its eyes before abuses occurring through its direct actions or throughout its supply chains.

Amid weak legislations, especially in developing countries, the hard job of trying to keep companies accountable, until now, has depended on a set of non-binding, voluntary procedures formally known as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The Principles, prepared by late Harvard Professor John G. Ruggie in his capacity as UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, proved to be a useful but at the same time inadequate tool.

It has been useful because it was instrumental in raising the issue of human rights within the corporate sector, something that was for too long and till recently, a taboo.

In order to further mainstream it, for example, a UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights has been established as a special procedure within UN Human Rights.

Along the years, this independent group, composed by pro bono academicians, has carried out considerable work to strengthen both the understanding of and the adherence to the Principles.

There is no doubt that there have been attempts at going deeper, especially from the legal point of view on the Principles, especially on their articles related to right to remedy, the thorniest issue.

In this regard, the Accountability and Remedy Project have been providing a whole set of insights through multiple consultations and discussions, a process that still ongoing with the overall purpose of making a stronger cases on "the right to remedy, a core tenet of the international human rights system".

Yet principles, UN Global Compact, are toothless tool and showed considerable limitations, starting from the most obvious element, the fact that they are not binding.

In the meantime, in 2021 the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, on occasion of their 10th anniversary of the Principles, launched road map for the next 10 years.

It is actions, despite their intrinsic limitations due to the nature of the Principles, should be supported but more financial resources are indispensable. Yet finding the financial resources or better the political will to do so remains an issue.

A recommendation from late Prof. Ruggie to create a Voluntary Fund for Business and Human Rights did not go anywhere.

"The Fund would provide a mechanism for supporting projects developed at local and national levels that would increase the capacity of governments to fulfill their obligations in this area as well as strengthen efforts by business enterprises and associations, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and others seeking to advance implementation of the Guiding Principles".

Even more worrisome is the fact that till now a new Special Representative for Business and Human Rights has not been appointed yet.

Having an authoritative figure, especially a former head of state rather than an academician, could help bring more visibility to the ongoing "behind the curtain" discussions related to the need for a strong Treaty.

Such a political figure could not only command a stronger attention on the issue but also provide "cover" to the delicate work of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, complementing and strengthening its mandate.

Engagement with the education sector, law and business schools, as advocated by a report published by Business and Human Rights Asia, a UNDP Program, can be essential.

Together with a stronger media coverage, students and academicians can help elevate the issue of human rights and its linkages with the private sector.

We could imagine competitions among students at national and international levels on how the principles can be better implemented as a "bridge" tool towards a binding legal mechanism.

Students could also have a major say on the opaque drafting process of this treaty.

At the end of the day, there will be compromises and shortcomings, but with a bigger bottom-up approach, a strong Treaty could become a "global" Escazu', the first ever binding environment agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean.

UNDP with its Business and Human Rights Asia unit that recently organized in Kathmandu an excellent 4th UN South Asia Forum on Business and Human Rights. But it could also be bolder.

The forum did a great job at giving voice to indigenous people, one of the key stakeholders in the global negotiations for the treaty.

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A lot of discussions were rightly held on the impact of issues like climate change and migration and their links with businesses' attitudes and behaviors towards local populations.

Yet, there was no conversation nor on the treaty nor on the future evolution of the principles. It might certainly be an issue of a limited "mandate" but UNDP could, together with UN Human Rights, be a neutral enabler on a global discussion on the treaty and on how the Principles can further evolve while we wait for such a legal tool.

The Principles should also be better linked with the UN Compact, creating more synergies and coordination between the two.

The fact that nations like France, Germany and the Netherlands have been stepping up with new vigorous legislations in the field of business and human rights is extremely positive.

Equally important is the commitment of the EU to come up with Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) or the OECD to revise its Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct but the nations behind these initiatives must commit to the drafting process of the Treaty.

Otherwise, we run the risk that discussions will continue without anyone caring about them. Such an unfortunate situation must truly be "remedied' with the right smart mix, political will, starting from the Secretary General and a powerful alliance of progressive nations in the both South and North driving the process and involving other peer nations.

Ultimately civil society must also step up beyond their technical and legal recommendations and truly engage the people.

Simone Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE and of the Good Leadership, Good for You & Good for the Society.

Opinions expressed are personal.

IPS UN Bureau
Holy Week is an important time for Christians throughout the world. Holy Week, begins on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. It is a time when Catholics gather to remember and participate in the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Passion was the final period of Christ's life in Jerusalem. It covers the span from when He arrived in Jerusalem to when He was crucified. Penitents of La Paz brotherhood gather at the church prior to participating in the Palm Sunday procession, in Spain.(AFP)

The name Holy Week was used in the 4th century by St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and St. Epiphanius of Constantia. Originally, only Good Friday and Holy Saturday were observed as holy days. Later, Wednesday was added as the day on which Judas plotted to betray Jesus, and by the beginning of the 3rd century, the other days of the week had been added.

How Do Catholics Celebrate Holy Week?

Four special ceremonies commemorate the events of Christ's Passion from His entrance into Jerusalem, when palm branches were placed in His path, through His arrest on Holy Thursday and Crucifixion on Good Friday, to Holy Saturday, the day that Christ's body lay in the tomb.

Also Read| Good Friday 2023: All you need to know about the 7 days of Holy Week

1. Palm Sunday is the day when Christians commemorate Jesus going into Jerusalem on a donkey for the celebration of Passover. In the Bible, there were many people waiting for him to arrive, who spread out their cloaks in his path. Christian churches often celebrate Palm Sunday with a blessing and procession with palm leaves.

2. Maundy ThursdayMaundy Thursday marks the Last Supper, where Jesus ate with his disciples. It also commemorates a lesson Jesus taught that we should be humble and ready to wash each other's feet as a sign that we are all equal. Some churches celebrate with a foot-washing ceremony. On Maundy Thursday, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church washes the feet of 12 people to re-enact Jesus washing his disciples' feet at the Last Supper.

3. Good FridayAccording to the Bible, Good Friday is the day on which Jesus was put to death on the cross. Christians believe that he sacrificed his own life so that everyone could be forgiven for their sins. Some Christian or Catholic Easter week services are held on Good Friday, although some people mark the day by fasting. It is a day of sorrow, so church bells traditionally don't ring and altars are left undecorated.

4. Holy SaturdayThis is the day on which Lent traditionally ends. It marks the final day of Jesus' death, which he spent resting in his tomb.

5. Easter SundayYou might be familiar with Easter as a day of chocolate eggs, lambs and bunnies which celebrate the coming of spring. These are folk traditions, but the day also celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. According to the Bible, it marks the third day after Jesus was crucified when he rose from the dead.

Why is Palm Sunday important?

Palm Sunday is important to Christians because it is the beginning of Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was celebrated by a large crowd. They believed that he was the saviour and king of humankind. However, Palm Sunday was also the day that brought on the Crucifixion. Palm Sunday is important, therefore, because the celebration of the crowd encouraged the Romans to kill Jesus on Good Friday. Many Christians believe that Jesus knew that he would be killed on the cross by the end of the week, but that the Lord told him to go to Jerusalem to sacrifice himself anyway.

Christians remember Jesus' sacrifice on Palm Sunday. Many Christians celebrate with a special blessing and a procession of palm crosses. This is to remember the palm branches that the Bible says were spread in front of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem.
Two people died and a girl was injured after the hot air balloon they were riding in caught fire near Mexico City, authorities said Saturday. A still from the video of the accident when a hot air balloon caught fire in Mexico. (Twitter)

Officials in the state of Mexico, which borders the capital, said the girl suffered burns and a broken arm.

According to a video of the incident posted on social media, the occupants of the balloon appeared to have fallen or jumped from the craft.

The dead were listed as a male, 50, and a woman, 38.

The accident occurred near the pre-Hispanic ruin site of Teotihuacan, just north of Mexico City. The area is a popular location for balloon rides.

Also Read| 39 killed in fire at migration centre on Mexico-US border

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

Teotihuacan, best known for its twin Temples of the Sun and Moon, was once a large city that housed over 100,000 inhabitants and covered around 8 square miles (20 square kilometres).

The still-mysterious city was one of the largest in the world at its apex between 100 BC and AD 750. But it was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 14th century.
In addition to private investment totaling some $7 billion, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced that Washington would provide federal investment to boost access to climate information services.

US Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the private sector would be donating $7 billion to a fund designed to help Africa combat and adapt to climate change. The announcement came as her week-long trip to Africa comes to an end on Saturday.

"The United States is committed to these types of innovative solutions to support climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience," she said during a press conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday.

Harris added that the US would also provide more federal funding to improve access to climate information services.

The private funding will comprise investments by a mix of 27 companies and organizations. The funding is to be used for the promotion of climate-smart agriculture and to tackle the effects of climate change on Africa's food security.

Some of the funds will be used for projects in sustainability, clean energy and clean transportation.

Harris' trip marks the fifth high-level visit from the United States to the continent in a short span of a few months.

Climate politics in Africa

Numerous studies have established that even though African countries add relatively less towards the climate crisis, the repercussions faced in the continent are substantial.

African countries emit far less greenhouse gasses than developed countries like the United States.

At a press conference in Ghana, Harris was asked how the West could ask Africa to go green and stop using its natural resources. She was also questioned about the commitment of $100 billion in aid from wealthy nations to impoverished countries under the Paris climate accord.

Harris said it is "critically important that, as global leaders, we all speak truth about the disparities that exist in terms of cause and effect and that we address those disparities."

mf/sms (AP, dpa)
As his book The Peoples Hospital winds toward its conclusion, Dr. Ricardo Nuila tells the story of a patient named Geronimo. Geronimo, 36, arrived at Ben Taub Hospital with an ailing liver about to initiate a chain reaction of organ failures. His disability check just exceeded the threshold for Medicaid, so Geronimos medical team at Ben Taub reached out to local officials for help getting him to qualify for a transplant.

Nuila brilliantly sets up a high-stakes narrative of life and death in a dysfunctional national health care system. He presents a scene involving health care workers, a patient and his family, a low-income health insurance program and, adding a touch of absurdity, a congressman.

Obscured by all the action of diagnosis and negotiation is a medical procedure that has existed for 60 years: a human to human liver transplant. Here, the storyteller gently pumps the brakes to remind readers of the miraculous nature of an occurrence weve come to take for granted. Each time a liver is transplanted into a new host, Nuila writes, its the medical equivalent of a rocket breaking through the atmosphere.

An internal medicine physician, Nuila has written a first book with symphonic breadth and organization: Themes appear and reappear; he counters drama and grandness with quiet, contemplative and intricate moments. Parts of the book slip into the realm of memoir, as Nuila, a Houston native, is a child and grandchild of doctors and also the child of Salvadoran immigrants, which allows him to detail the ways practicing medicine has changed across generations and across borders. At times, his book is pointed and damning about a health care system, maddening for its complexities, inconsistencies and costs.

In February 2020, Nuila read from The Peoples Hospital at Inprint Houstons Poets and Writers Ball. Then, his book seemed imminent. Three years and one global pandemic later, The Peoples Hospital has finally found its way to bookstore shelves.

I felt so naive, Nuila says. Id tell people I was writing a book about health care and Ben Taub. Theyd ask when it would be done, and Id answer in six months. That was six years ago. But every moment, it felt like I was going to turn a corner there would be something else to do, something new to write about.

Part of the complicated process was determining the voice he wished to present in the book. Nuila originally envisioned a collection of narratives about a few particular patients hed treated in his time at Ben Taub. He gradually grew more comfortable inserting himself into the narrative. He ended up with a story that is reflective, descriptive and prescriptive.

Author appearance What: Ricardo Nuila discusses "The People's Hospital" When: 7:30 p.m. March 30 Where: Asia Society, 1370 Southmore Details: Free; register at asiasociety.org See More Collapse

There was this mental block where I didnt want it to be about me, he says. I feared it being labeled a medical memoir. I saw those books when I was coming up through medical school. That kind of narrative has been done before. I wanted to focus on the patients narratives. But thinking about my career and my dads, I could get into things like how the system has changed as well.

Is health care earned?

Nuila received a D on his first proper English essay as a freshman in high school.

It had no thesis, he says. But I dont think I knew what a thesis was at the time.

The summer before his sophomore year, Nuilas reading assignment was Cormac McCarthys Blood Meridian. He blitzed through it with the simple goal of completing the assignment.

I realized I didnt understand any of the book, Nuila says. So I tried again. I slowed down and went through each sentence.

That experience subtly permeates the pages of The Peoples Hospital, whose author  despite working in a field of frenetic activity  wields a degree of control over time. The patients presented in the book represent a small percentage of those Nuila has seen since he arrived at Ben Taub as an intern more than a decade ago. But the author creates a comfortable pace that courses through the processes at Houstons Level I public hospital, where patients have arrived, he writes, with hand-drawn maps, our hospital marked like treasure.

MORE FROM ANDREW DANSBY: The Jung Center seeks to assist with post-pandemic stress and burnout

The book finds a fulcrum in Roxana, a patient without private insurance who entered Ben Taub with signs of gangrene on her arms. Because her condition wasnt immediately life-threatening, she would have been viewed in many hospitals as stable and not admitted. Throughout his book, Nuila highlights a philosophical disparity: Is health care a right? Or is health care earned?

Nuila makes reference to The Hospital, which becomes something of a shadow text to The Peoples Hospital. The Hospital concerned Fourth Wards Jefferson Davis Hospital, whose conditions were so bad they prompted Dutch writer Jan de Hartog to write his 1964 book about the monument to misery.

The Peoples Hospital presents an institution that suggests progress over 60 years. But in a city renowned for its medical institutions, Ben Taub is an outsider.

A fork in the road

Given the density of his workdays, Nuila could easily have drawn his narrative strictly from the confines of his hospital. But part of his training as a physician served him well as a writer.

Theres this fundamental desire to get to know the people I see as a doctor and better understand their lives, he says.

He applied the same approach to the reporting and writing process. Nuila found several patients willing to meet and discuss their experiences in interviews conducted after their discharge.

I think going to their homes and speaking with them, it was crucial for their stories to be complete, he says. If theyre going to be in the book, you dont want them to be static. So it felt important to understand their lives.

Of course, that was a tough part of the process. It took a lot of time.

Nuila found a way to balance his two passions, but years ago he wondered if they were incompatible. While studying at Baylor College of Medicine, Nuila thought about abandoning his path in medicine. I loved my literature and English classes, he says. But I had a writing instructor who told me Id be crazy to leave medicine. He said I should learn all I could about creative writing, but medicine is where Id find the stories. And that stuck with me.

While working at Ben Taub, Nuila took writing workshops offered through Inprint.

I was attentive to these stories at the hospital, he says. But I was struggling trying to figure out how to be a writer. And I really wanted to write. I had an appreciation for what a good sentence required. But I was struggling with how to string them together and call them a form. So those workshops are where I learned the basic rules of writing. How to build a scene.

In talking about writing, Nuila could also be talking about medicine: I love the puzzles, figuring things out.

Part of the process

Nuila hasnt committed to a next project yet, but hes intrigued at pursuing some ideas in the realm of fiction. I feel myself drawn to fiction and beauty a bit right now, he says. Well see where it leads.

But its hard to imagine The Peoples Hospital wont prompt demand for further commentary on the health care system in the United States. The book publishes this week, and it already has drawn strong notices in the New York Times and on NPR.

The authors ability to braid such wide-ranging elements  reportage, critique, memoir  into a single narrative generates a strong pull.

At one point in The Peoples Hospital, Nuila plays the part of patient. Like many of us, he receives in the weeks following his discharge a confounding spate of medical bills, despite the fact that he was insured. Nuila knew the system well enough to competently protest certain charges. And he knows not every patient can navigate the system the same way.

Im lucky in that Ive not had much necessity for health care, he says. But we all need the system in some way at some time. And when we do, it often feels Kafkaesque.

He knows some of the issues raised in The Peoples Hospital will prompt strong reactions but says, my goal wasnt simply to preach to the choir. I try to avoid left/right characterizations.

He sees in Ben Taub a path for health care outside the exclusivity that emerged when health care became a business-first industry, where safety-net hospitals are prevalent rather than outliers. And because of his work, Nuila is able to do so without undercutting the value of the medicine itself  as when he informs readers in the book that surgeons call a liver transplant a Lazarus procedure for a reason.

After years of practicing medicine and years of writing, Nuila says, I almost see medicine and writing as one thing. Both train you to appreciate nuances. My mind has become less dogmatic because of writing. And its helped me as a doctor. Theyre both about searching. And early on with both, Id be task oriented. Now I dont see myself as being as task oriented. Its all part of a process.
Sharon Steinmann/Staff Photographer

A Houston hospital is asking for the publics help to identify a patient and locate his family.

The patient was admitted to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Friday, according to a Memorial Hermann news release. He is in his late 40s to early 50s, is 5 feet 6 inches and weighs about 150 pounds.
Nairobi  As conflict and crises escalate to create human emergencies that have displaced over 100 million people worldwide, civil society's vital role of advocating for victims and monitoring human rights cannot be over-emphasised.

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize award to activists and organisations in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine for working to uphold human rights in the thick of conflict underpins this role.

Yet this has not stopped gross violations of civic space as exposed by the State of Civil Society report from CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, which was officially launched on March 30, 2023.

"This year's report is the 12th in its annual published series, and it is a critical look back on 2022. Exploring 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," said Ines Pousadela from CIVICUS.

The report particularly highlights the many ways civil society comes under attack, caught in the crossfire and or deliberately targeted. For instance, the Russian award winner, the human rights organisation Memorial, was ordered to close in the run-up to the war. The laureate from Belarus, Ales Bialiatski, received a 10-year jail sentence.

Mandeep Tiwana stressed that the repression of civic voices and actions is far from unique. In Ethiopia, "activists have been detained by the state. In Mali, the ruling military junta has banned activities of CSOs that receive funding from France, hampering humanitarian support to those affected by conflict. In Italy, civil society groups face trial for rescuing migrants at sea."

Spanning over six chapters titled responding to conflict and crisis, mobilising for economic justice, defending democracy, advancing women's and LGBTQI+ rights, sounding the alarm on the climate emergency and urging global governance reform, the analysis presented by the report draws from an ongoing analysis initiative, CIVICUS Lens.

On responding to conflict and crisis, Oleksandra Matviichuk from the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine spoke about the Russian invasion and the subsequent "unprecedented levels of war crimes against civilians such as torture and rape. And, a lack of accountability despite documented evidence of crimes against civilians."

Bhavani Fonseka, from the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka, addressed the issue of mobilising for economic justice and how Sri Lanka captured the world's attention one year ago through protests that start small in neighbourhoods and ultimately led to the President fleeing the country.

Launched in January 2022, CIVICUS Lens is directly informed by the voices of civil society affected by and responding to the major issues and challenges of the day.

Through this lens, a civil society perspective of the world as it stands in early 2023 has emerged: one plagued by conflict and crises, including democratic values and institutions, but in which civil society continues to strive to make a crucial difference in people's lives.

On defending democracy, Amine Ghali of the Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center in Tunisia spoke about the challenge of removing authoritarian regimes, making significant progress in levels of democracy only for the country to regress to authoritarianism.

"It starts with the narrative that democracy is not delivering; let me have all the power so that I can deliver for you. But they do not deliver. All they do is consolidate power. A government with democratic legitimacy demolishing democracy is where we are in Tunisia," he said.

Erika Venadero from the National Network of Diverse Youth, Mexico, spoke about the country's journey that started in the 1960s towards egalitarian marriages. Today, same-sex marriages are provided for in the law.

On global governance reforms, Ben Donaldson from UNA-UK spoke about global governance institutional failure and the need to improve what is working and reform what is not, with a special focus on the UN Security Council.

"It is useful to talk about Ukraine and the shortcomings of the UN Security Council. A member of the UN State Council is unable to hold one of its members accountable. There are, therefore, tensions at the heart of the UN. The President of Ukraine and many others ask, what is the UN for if it cannot stop the Ukraine invasion?"

Baraka, a youthful climate activist and sustainability consultant in Uganda, spoke about ongoing efforts to stop a planned major pipeline project which will exacerbate the ongoing climate crisis, affecting lives and livelihoods.

His concerns and actions are in line with the report findings that "civil society continues to be the force sounding the alarm on the triple threat of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Urging action using every tactic available, from street protest and direct action to litigation and advocacy in national and global arenas."

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But in the context of pressures on civic space and huge challenges, the report further finds that "civil society is growing, diversifying and widening its repertoire of tactics."

Moving forward, the report highlights 10 ideas, including an urgent need for a broad-based campaign to win recognition of civil society's vital role in conflict and crisis response as well as greater emphasis by civil society and supportive states on protecting freedom of peaceful assembly.

Additionally, the need for civil society to work with supportive states to take forward plans for UN Security Council reform and proposals to open up the UN and other international institutions to much greater public participation and scrutiny.

In all, strengthening and enhancing the membership and reach of transnational civil society networks to enable the rapid deployment of solidarity and support when rights come under attack was also strongly encouraged.

IPS UN Bureau Report
Houston Chronicle

A man was found dead outside his Baytown home Sunday morning and authorities believe he may have been killed during a domestic dispute, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Around 6:30 a.m., sheriff's deputies responded to a reported shooting in the 1300 block of Wallflower Avenue, where they found a man lying dead outside, according to Gonzalez. Gonzalez said the alleged killer is believed to be the man's ex-wife, who still lived with him, despite the two being divorced for about two years. Investigators believe the former couple had been arguing inside the home when the woman shot her ex-husband, who ran and collapsed on the lawn outside, though the exact details of the shooting are still being investigated.
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A man was shot in west Houston early Sunday after talking to another man's girlfriend, according to Houston police.

Around 2 a.m., two men had been walking outside a hookah bar near 13900 Westheimer Road and began talking to a woman, Lt. Ignacio Izaguirre told OnScene TV reporters. The woman's boyfriend became upset and took out a gun, shooting at the two men multiple times. Officers recovered 14 or 15 shell casings from the scene, Izaguirre said. One of the men was shot in the leg and the back.
Almost two years ago, I implored federal energy regulators to start taking environmental justice considerations seriously, but since then the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission continues approving fossil fuel projects with little to no regard for systemic injustices.

Indeed, in early March when FERC unanimously approved four new gas projects, acting chair Willie Phillips explained his goal is to get methane gas projects like these built. The commission offers little more than pleasantries with regard to justice and equity as it races to approve more polluting facilities in Black, Indigenous, Latino and other communities of color across the country. Nothing has changed. Our communities are still being sacrificed.

Last year at this time, FERC proposed rules and guidance requiring the commission to consider new gas projects effects on climate change and environmental justice. The effort barely lasted a month, as FERC caved to the fossil fuel industry and withdrew both. FERCs quick retreat and silence since then speak volumes about its commitment to justice.

In its latest move, FERC hosted an Environmental Justice Roundtable last week to better incorporate environmental justice and equity considerations into its decisions. But the fact that the fossil fuel industry had almost as many participants as frontline communities told me all I needed to know about FERCs environmental justice charade.

FERC named the American Petroleum Institute and Cheniere Energy (one of the largest producers of methane gas in the world) to the roundtable. The fossil fuel industry has caused most of the environmental injustices in our country. True environmental justice would mean holding the industry accountable for treating our communities as sacrifice zones.

FERC refuses to acknowledge that our country is segregated and so is the fossil fuel industrys bootprint. Race and class are tied to fossil fuel pollution, unequal protection and vulnerability. Reducing environmental, health, economic and racial disparities must be a priority for all of us.

Instead FERCs failings over the last year and, indeed, its approach to the roundtable itself, reveal that environmental justice is not embedded in FERCs decision-making. It is an afterthought or worse, it is a performance aimed at giving the appearance that FERC is rectifying its decades-long exacerbation of systemic racism and economic disenfranchisement.

Communities of color and low-income communities have long felt the adverse impacts of the fossil fuel industry and the climate crisis it caused, but most of those communities didn't have a seat at the environmental justice roundtable. By way of example, roughly 20 new or expanded gas export terminals are slated to come online in communities across the Gulf Coast within the next decade.

Representatives from just two of those communities were invited to participate in the environmental justice roundtable, so it warrants learning what those two  the sister cities of Lake Charles, La., and Port Aurthur  reveal about FERCs environmental justice commitment. Here are the kinds of concerns they shared that are typical of communities across the Gulf Coast:

In Lake Charles, where roughly half of the 80,000 residents are Black, there is a large number of fossil fuel and petrochemical companies, including seven of Louisiana's worst polluters. The gas industry wants to build four new gas export terminals within miles of one another. And, true to form, late last year FERC commissioners unanimously approved one of those gas export terminals despite the adverse climate and environmental justice impacts.

Across the border, Port Arthur is the poorest city in Texas. The highest rate of cancer risk caused by industrial air pollution in Port Arthur is 190 times the Environmental Protection Agencys acceptable risk. The cancer mortality rate for Black people in the surrounding county is about 40 percent higher than the state rate, according to a 2017 report of the Environmental Integrity Project. Undaunted, the fossil fuel industry plans to make Port Arthur one of the nations largest gas export hubs in the country. Just last month, a gas company announced it had reached a final investment decision on one of the gas export terminals FERC approved.

Based on long-standing principles of environmental justice, FERC should have taken a dramatically different approach to the roundtable. Dozens of community leaders, climate and environmental justice advocates, and frontline organizers applied to participate and share their perspectives about FERCs opportunities to address environmental racism and systemic energy inequity, but they largely were rejected and ignored in favor of government, industry and wealthier interests.

If FERC was doing what was fair, just and equitable, we wouldn't need the charade of an environmental justice roundtable. If FERC was taking environmental justice seriously, it would stop approving export gas projects immediately, once and for all.

Simply put, were tired of FERCs performance of environmental justice. In the enduring words of Maya Angelou: "You don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking." Federal energy regulators are making decisions about the future of communities. Justice demands that they listen directly to, and learn from, those communities.

As part of the roundtable, members of the public and communities can provide written comments to FERC until May 15 to share their perspectives on how federal energy regulators should be incorporating environmental justice and equity into energy permitting processes.
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MassDOT Launches Billboard Design Contest

BOSTON  The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is launching a statewide billboard design contest to support the American Traffic Safety Services Association's (ATSSA) National Work Zone Awareness Week.

The contest is open to all students who are currently enrolled in colleges and universities in Massachusetts.

Applicants are asked to create and submit proposed billboard Public Service Announcements (PSA's) to encourage drivers to obey the rules of the road and exercise caution when travelling through work zones where crews are involved in active construction and maintenance projects.

"We hope this contest will raise awareness about steps drivers are required to take when they approach and travel through work zones on the highway," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Gina Fiandaca. "Injuries and deaths on our roads are preventable if drivers obey traffic laws, including laws around moving over for road crews and traveling at lower speeds in work zones. We want everyone traveling and everyone working on our highways to get home safe at the end of the day and that means drivers must obey speeds for work zones, must driver sober and hands free and should wear seat belts at all times."

National Work Zone Awareness Week is an annual event which brings attention to work zone safety and the theme for this year is, "You play a role in work zone safety. Work with us." Entries from college students for the MassDOT billboard contest must be submitted by 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 21. The winning designs will be selected based on creativity, impact, and relevance to this year's identified theme.

"Work zone safety awareness is an important message for MassDOT. Every year work zone safety crashes lead to unnecessary deaths on our roadways as well as traffic and project delays." said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. "We are excited to see the creative content and informational PSA's which will be submitted to help us communicate work zone safety on Massachusetts' roadways"

The top 3 designs will be displayed on a series of digital billboards along highways in Massachusetts throughout the 2023 construction season.

The submission selected for first place will be displayed on billboards for approximately three months.

The submission selected for second place will be displayed on billboards for approximately two months.

The submission selected for third place will be displayed on billboards for approximately one month.

The winning entries will be selected by a panel comprised of MassDOT senior managers. Entries will be judged on their visual appeal, adherence to the theme, quality of design, and ease of reproduction. The winners will be notified via email and announced during the 2023 MassDOT Transportation Innovation Conference which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 2, and on Wednesday, May 3. In addition, entries will be posted on the Mass.gov website and communicated through MassDOT social media accounts.
Williamstown Library Seeking ARPA Funds for Building Study

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Milne Public Library officials last week asked the Select Board to allocate American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for an architect's analysis of the Main Street facility.

The chairs of the library's Board of Trustees and Buildings and Grounds Committee each told the board that they want the town to follow through on what they saw as a commitment to share with the trustees the cost of a study by Bennington, Vt.'s, Centerline Architects.

The study already is underway, and the trustees have preliminary results outlining time-sensitive and long-term repairs that need to be made to the 52-year-old former school building.

MIssing from the preliminary report are cost estimates of the repairs, everything from emergency lighting in the library's bathroom to thermal upgrades to the uninsulated structure.

The full architect's analysis costs $29,775. On Monday, the library officials and town manager gave conflicting accounts of how the cost share was discussed when the study was ordered.

"The trustees accepted [Centerline's] proposal in expectation the town would share in paying for it," Trustee Charles Bonenti said. "The town manager and [Library Director Pat McLeod] signed it."

"It's something the trustees started in conversation with [Town Manager Robert Menicocci] as something the town could make a significant contribution to," Trustees Chair Bridget Spann said. "We were hoping to have [the study] done by now. And we're waiting to keep the process moving. So far, it's been paid from the Trustees' annual fund."

The library trustees, an elected body that makes "general operating and administrative policies" at the Milne, conduct an annual fund-raising campaign that generates money to supplement the taxpayer funds that fund the bulk of the operating budget. The library also has a Friends of the Library group that raises funds through a used book store on Spring Street and pays for programming, like the Summer Reading program, and professional development opportunities for library staff.

To date, the trustees have paid $8,000 toward the Centerline study, just more than a quarter of the contracted amount.

Menicocci said the architect's study was a challenge from a town financing perspective because it was undertaken after the fiscal year began with no money earmarked in the town's budget.

"The conversation [with the Trustees] was: We would scour the seat cushions [to find funding] in order to be good partners," Menicocci said. "The reality is at the end of the fiscal year, when we see where there is underspending, that would be a good place to go back and find the funds. It really is kind of a year-end exercise to see if there are remaining moneys.

"That was the commitment we made."

Select Board Chair Hugh Daley encouraged the Trustees to have patience with Menicocci as the June 30 end of the fiscal year approaches while continuing to pay for the study from money that has been donated to the library.

Spann said it was her understanding that ARPA funds could be used.

"As far as talking to Bob, we entered into a good faith agreement that we agreed on the value of doing this work," Spann said. "To say to Centerline, Now we have to figure out the funding,' that will take many months. We'll miss the opportunity to seek funding and plan how do the improvements.

"My understanding is that ARPA funds would be an appropriate place to request the money. I feel like it's been a conversation with the town manager all along on this."

Menicocci said he was clear from Day 1 that the ARPA funds are allocated by the Select Board, not his office.

"The commitment from my perspective is at the end of the year to look at where we could potentially help with this," Menicocci said. "My understanding is  you can cover the contract. It's the accounting on the back end, we can figure that out.

"To an extent, you guys have to shoulder the burden on the funding up front. When we see how our finances shake out, we can potentially make you whole."

Daley said since the Select Board did not have a discussion of ARPA funds on its agenda on Monday, it would be inappropriate to make any decisions about their allocation. In the past, the board has decided to set aside a portion of the federal COVID-relief grant money for unnamed infrastructure projects.

Spann asked to get the trustees' ARPA request on the board's agenda sometime in April.

In other business on Monday, the Select Board reviewed a couple of articles it is putting on the warrant for May's annual town meeting.

One would raise the income limit and lower the age limit for a property tax exemption program for seniors. Another would clarify what flags fly on the town-owned flag poles at Town Hall, Field Park, town cemeteries, the Police Department and the Department of Public Works building.

The proposed flag bylaw is, in part, a response to a recent court case out of Boston where a Supreme Court decision made it clear that municipalities should have some sort of official policy in place around flag poles.

The bylaw proposed in the board's article would limit the acceptable flags on those poles to the American flag, Commonwealth of Massachusetts flag and POW/MIA flag.

Monday it also was revealed that the town meeting warrant will have one article that was introduced by way of citizen's petition, an article that would amend the town's leash bylaw by requiring dogs to be leashed when not on the owner's property in the General Residence District and on the bike and pedestrian path that runs from Syndicate Road to the Spruces Park.

Currently, owners are "required to restrain their dogs physically by leash or by voice control when they are not on the owner's property."
blog

The current diplomatic constellation presents Africa with plenty of options; the region must choose well.

Since the conclusion of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit last December, the traffic from Washington to various African capitals has been unmistakably busy. Vice-President Kamala Harris, currently rounding up a nine-day trip to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, is the latest and, so far, most senior American official to jet into the region with a diplomatic pouch weighed down by goodwill, kisses, and felicitations.

The list of the VP's forerunners is not shabby. Since August last year, U.S. Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has visited Africa twice, the most recent trip back in January to Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Somalia, the latter for a first-hand assessment of the situation in the beleaguered east African country. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield had been preceded by Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, whose 10-day trip to Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa respectively in January was aimed at demonstrating that the Biden administration is "all in on Africa, and all in with Africa." First Lady Jill Biden's one-week visit to Namibia and Kenya back in February was her sixth visit to the continent overall, the first as First Lady.

A presidential visit to Africa later this year is all but certain following President Joe Biden's seeming assurance to that effect at the December summit where he called for the admission of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the Group of Twenty (G20) nations.

American officials have, as indicated, not been traveling empty-handed. Vice-President Harris kicked off her three-country visit with a promise of $100 million in new support for Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Togo to help them "address security, governance, and development issues in the region." During Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Niger last month, the first of such by a U.S. Secretary to the landlocked West African country, he too announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid to Africa's Sahel region. President Biden has announced an investment of $370 million in Africa by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to facilitate "access to clean energy for millions of people, supply farmers with critical fertilizers and help companies that bring clean water to communities." Overall, the United States is committing $55 billion to the continent over the next three years.

It goes without saying that this aggressive diplomatic courtship, allied with a newfangled determination to "bring resources to the table," is not taking place in a vacuum. For one thing, Washington, roused from its seeming complacency towards the African region, appears determined to curtail growing Chinese and Russian political, economic and military influence. For another, and with the end apparently not in sight for the Russia-Ukraine war, ensuring broad African solidarity with the Western alliance is of critical moment.

The United States is by no means alone in its recalibration. Other Western countries, including France and Germany, are rethinking their African diplomacy. The latter, which at one point had at least 5,500 soldiers deployed in Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania, has officially pulled the plug on its anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane in the African Sahel region. While some 3,000 troops will remain in Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, they will, significantly, "not act independently," but "in coordinated actions with national armies." For its part, Germany is floating a new Africa strategy broadly aimed at building "networks and partnerships that benefit both sides, not just one."

All in all, not only is there is no mistaking the new tone in Euro-American diplomatic circles, Western repentance of its accustomed peremptoriness is something to applaud. Nevertheless, while, when it comes to Africa, the West may have a lot to be penitent about, and while the United States should be especially commended for its apparent determination to put its money where its mouth is, it would be regrettable if the current moment were to be reduced to an exchange of monies and mea culpas. If anything, the current conjunction calls for moral clarity on the part of the United States and major Western nations as to Africa's critical needs, and what the western alliance can bring to the table in order to ensure that a new era of equal partnership helps promote African democratic and economic stability in the long run.

If that is the case, thinking beyond monetary handouts and infrastructure finance--the Beijing strategy--is a desideratum. That is not because these do not matter, but because figuring out why such investments invariably fizzle out (as they tend to do) and helping to create hospitable conditions for homegrown investment matters more. In the same vein, while relief for indebted African countries is definitely welcome, it would be a mistake to ignore the reality that what appears to be a debt problem in many African countries is in fact a governance problem, the inescapable manifestation of a multitude of political sins, not least of which is lack of transparency and financial recklessness. Hence, beyond helping beleaguered African countries pursue relief, Western countries should assist the continent's private sector in building strong economic institutions anchored on a foundation of free enterprise. The goal here is to kill three birds with one stone by simultaneously laying the foundation for public prosperity, strengthening private individuals against state encroachment, and taking a hard stand against the wishy washy and self-serving collectivism of some African leaders.

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For their part, African countries must look beyond their immediate economic and infrastructure needs to their moral destination and the kind of societies they want to build. Since no just society is possible without a foundation of respect for individual rights and civil liberties, African countries must rededicate themselves to these inalienable fundaments. The West has a role to play here, especially if it does not want to be mistaken with China and Russia, its two competitors for whom human rights are a dispensable irritant. It cannot afford to relent on its insistence that African leaders respect their citizens' human rights. There is nothing African about human rights abuse. On the contrary human rights (including sexual and reproductive rights) are the non-negotiable condition for human flourishing.

Lastly, the general omission of Nigeria from the itineraries of American officials is a strategic error. True, the country can't seem to get out of its own way, but it remains one of the foremost African states, one that the United States will have to cultivate as it seeks to turn a new page on the continent. It is too crucial an ally to ignore. Abuja must be a stop on President Biden's visit.

Reina Patel contributed to the research for this article.
Dr Mpho Phalatse has star power.

Anyone who watched her wrestle with the ANC bullies in the battle for control of the R87 billion Johannesburg metro would have seen her talent.

Despite countless attempts by the ANC to undermine her efforts, Phalatse managed to lead a fractious coalition of smaller parties that believed in her vision.

She developed a comprehensive plan to reduce the impact of load shedding on businesses in the country's economic hub.

The ANC caucus sabotaged her application for a R2 billion loan to stabilise the City's finances and drive economic recovery.

But the same ANC-led coalition immediately announced plans to approve a R2 billion loan after it removed Phalatse from office.

Just two months after her departure, the City introduced water shedding in many communities despite dams being filled to capacity.

New Mayor Taphelo Amad told a media briefing he had no idea whether Rand Water or Johannesburg Water was responsible for the cockup.

At least 28 water tankers are roving around the city supplying water to desperate ratepayers.

On Wednesday, the Department of Health announced a cholera outbreak in the city with 10 confirmed cases.

The over six million residents of Johannesburg lost out dearly when Phalatse's coalition was ousted by a coalition of the ANC and the EFF.

But she need not be lost to South Africa.

She is exactly what the DA will need as it makes its case to millions of black middle class voters ahead of the 2024 elections.

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Her future role in the party begins this weekend, when she takes on the party's blue-eyed boy, John Steenhuisen, in the contest for the position of DA federal leader.

Steenhuisen replaced Mmusi Maimane following the 2019 elections, where the party lost support for the very first time, declining from 22.23% to 20.7%.

But the Durban North boy is not nearly as charming as Phalatse is to a bigger mass of voters in what is expected to be the most important election since 1994.

The opposition has a real chance of reducing the ANC share of the vote to below 50% in provinces like Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The DA has chosen not to headline Phalatse in any of its campaigns and protests.

If they continue to sideline her, they might just lose her to the likes of ActionSA, which is desperate for someone of her stature and eloquence to ignite its election campaign.

If she left she would join a long list of prominent black leaders who have left the DA, including Lindiwe Mazibuko, Herman Mashaba, Mmusi Maimane, Phumzile van Damme, Mbali Ntuli, Makashule Gana and Bongani Baloyi.

But none of them was as badly missed as the doctor from Joburg will be if she vacates the party.
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Sarah Polley was left momentarily confused after receiving a letter asking her to return her recently won Oscar.

However, the writer-director, who shot to fame as an actor in the 1990s, swiftly realised the letter was written by the Academy, but by her 11-year-old child as part of an April Fools Day prank.

Sharing the letter on Twitter, Polley wrote: My eleven-year-old swung low for April Fools Day this year.

Polley won the Best Adapted Screenplay trophy for Women Talking last month, but the joke letter asked her to "mail it back to LA" so it can be given to "the rightful best adapted screenplay: All Quiet on the Western Front.

The letter began: We say this to you with the deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake.

Polleys child went on to joke that bosses knew of their error at the time, but wanted to avoid another Moonlight/La La Land blunder, which saw the latter incorrectly named as winner of Best Picture.

"We feel it is wrong you get this on 1 April as you will probably think it is a joke, and we feel that is wrong, so another letter will be sent assuring you that this is not a joke, the letter continued.

This is much too cruel to be a joke, ergo we deeply apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you.

Sarah Polleys child played a brilliant April Fools Day prank on the Women Talking director (Twitter)

Polleys Twitter replies were flooded with messages from followers praising her childs comedic talent.
Growing up on the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, Chen Yang-hus parents told him about the time a bomb from Chinas Peoples Liberation Army hit their family eatery, killing a soldier as he was tucking into a bowl of noodles. Recalling the story, Chen mimes how the projectile filled with propaganda leaflets ripped into the soldiers midsection so that his whole stomach came out.

These days Chen, now 49 and sporting closely cropped hair with just a hint of grey, is not worried about being disembowelled during lunch. He is one of eight local politicians lobbying for Kinmen to be turned into a permanent demilitarised zone as part of a broader plan to ease tensions and bolster trade between the island and China.

Why not let Kinmen be an experiment for peace? asks Chen, who is an independent councillor.
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Cassandra Peterson, famed for her role as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, has said her former home in Los Angeles was haunted and claimed to have seen spectres while living there.

The actor said she warned Brad Pitt about the paranormal activity before he purchased the 1.9-acre property from her 30 years ago, but instead of being scared, he loved it.

Pitt bought the mansion in 1994 for a reported US$1.7m and recently sold it for around US$40m. It comes as a number of Hollywood stars were rushing to sell their multi-million dollar properties before the citys new mansion tax comes into force.

Peterson, 71, said that during her early meetings with Pitt about the mansion, she would warn him about a lot of weird things [that] have been going on there in the house since we moved in.

He was very excited about that, she told People. He thought that was really cool.

The horror hostess detailed the ghostly encounters she and ex-husband Mark Pierson had while living there: Ive seen people walking around upstairs, for example, real people just walking.

One time, [a ghost was] sitting downstairs in front of the fireplace, once walking into my bedroom and back out.

Another time, she claimed she saw a person floating around at the bottom of the pool.

I know it sounds nutty. Im Elvira. I know you expect that from me, right? Peterson joked, adding: I dont have hallucinations, I wasnt high and I cant explain those things.

Cassandra Peterson better know as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, poses next to a mannequin wearing the original dress from Elviras Movie Macabre during the media preview of Juliens Auctions year end event Icons and Idols: Hollywood in Beverly Hills on November 29, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

She and Pierson had a priest come to perform an exorcism on the house, she told the publication.

I had all kinds of things because it was really getting to a point of like, I dont know if I can continue to live here, she continued.

But Pitt was unfazed by her experiences, she said. We were telling Brad all about that and he loved it. I mean, there are not many buyers who that would be a selling point for, but he was like, Oh, thats so awesome. I love that he appreciated the house so much.

The Babylon star and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie raised their six children in the LA mansion, after two years of marriage. They split in 2016, citing irreconcilable differences, and their divorce was finalised in 2019, but they are in ongoing negotiations over custody of their children and division of their financial assets.

(YouTube)

Peterson described the actor as wonderful and always kind and sweet when they met three times before he bought the house.

People reported on Wednesday (29 March) that Pitt had found a buyer for the estate, which is located in the Los Feliz neighbourhood  just ahead of the 1 April deadline when Los Angeles Measure ULA tax came into place.

The tax requires sellers of properties of more than US$5m and US$10m to pay a four and 5.5 per cent transfer tax respectively, with all funds raised going towards public housing.

Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D also reportedly found a buyer for her 12,565-square-foot home earlier this week. According to TMZ, she closed the sale of the house at US$7.75m, half of the original US$15m price tag.
 Close Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson explains why she won't attend King Charles coronation

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The classic song Im Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers has been removed from King Charles IIIs coronation playlist over the Scottish bands anti-monarchy views.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), who created the official playlist, removed the track after receiving complaints about Craig and Charlie Reids republican stance, it has been reported.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle has denied reports claiming that her decision not to attend her father-in-laws 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.

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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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Sunday gave preliminary approval for the creation of a national guard overseen by an ultranationalist Cabinet minister with a long record of anti-Arab rhetoric and stunts.

Netanyahu agreed to move ahead on the force last week after he postponed a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary as a way to keep National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from quitting the coalition.

Critics say the new force is effectively a personal militia for Ben-Gvir, a former far-right activist who has been convicted several times for incitement and support for a Jewish terror group. Ben-Gvir says the force is meant to fill in gaps in areas where police are spread thin, including in crime-ridden Arab communities, as well as dealing with Arab-Jewish violence and other issues.

The force is expected to enlist hundreds at first and cost millions of dollars. The recruits' precise duties and authorities were unclear.

Netanyahu's office said Sunday that his Cabinet approved the establishment of the force, but that a committee comprised of Israels existing security agencies would determine the guards authorities and whether it would be subordinate to the police, or take orders directly from Ben-Gvir, as he demands. The committee has 90 days to make its recommendations.

The idea of a national guard was already in the works, created by a previous government after Arab-Jewish violence broke out in mixed cities in May 2021 during a war with Hamas. But Ben-Gvir's desire to have it answer to him rather than to police is what has sparked criticism.

The force comes at a time of surging tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which has led to one of the deadliest periods in those territories in years.

Ben-Gvir, a hardline West Bank settler, has repeatedly carried out what the Palestinians view as provocations, like visiting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site, and the idea of a force loyal to him is seen by many as problematic.

It remains to be seen whether the plan will be implemented. The force requires a change in current legislation to become official, and Netanyahu has reneged on promises to his political partners in the past.

Israeli media reported that the current police chief, Kobi Shabtai, opposes the new guard.

In a letter to Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu, Shabtai said the force was needless and that it could cause greater harm than good because it would confuse citizens and officers, the reports said. Moshe Karadi, a former police chief, said Saturday it was dangerous to grant a politician such power, suggesting Ben-Gvir could use the force to stage a coup.

Other government ministers also reportedly objected to their budgets being cut to allocate funds for the new force.

Netanyahu's decision to grant the force to Ben-Gvir also revved up a robust anti-government protest movement, which has been demonstrating for nearly three months against the overhaul and which has pledged to stand against the new guard. Tens of thousands protested again on Saturday night, despite the overhaul having been paused.

Protesters on Saturday dressed up as mock recruits for Ben-Gvir's force, wearing black uniforms with their faces covered and chanting with blood, with fire, we'll protect the tyrant.

Tens of thousands of Israelis spilled into the streets last week in a spontaneous burst of anger and workers went on strike after Netanyahu fired his defense minister, who had urged the prime minister to put the overhaul on hold, citing concerns about the damage to the military. Netanyahu paused the overhaul in response to the protests.
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Having landed in Normandy on 12 June 1944 (D-Day plus six, in military parlance), 20-year-old 2nd lieutenant David Mylchreest fought through northern France, Belgium and Holland with the British armys 43rd Wessex Infantry Division and liberated the key French town of Vernon, which straddles the river Seine. He believed he and his crew were the first Allied soldiers to cross the river in the initial drive towards Berlin.

Attached to the 4th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry, he took part in some of the fiercest fighting of the Normandy campaign around the towns of Argentan, Caen and Falaise, as well as the weeks-long battle for the strategically-vital Hill 112 and Mont Pincon, both near Caen. His war ended at Elst, Holland, in September 1944 when he was badly wounded by an enemy shell during the bloody Battle of Arnhem, made famous by the book and film A Bridge Too Far.

After months of intensive medical care in England and rehab at Richmond Park, Surrey, and by then promoted to captain, he insisted on going back to the front lines and was on board a Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) in Dover harbour in April 1945, ready to return to the front, when the news came through that the Nazis had surrendered. Like all ships in the harbour, the war-bound MTB turned into a floating party boat, although many years later Mylchreest told the French media: I was quite furious at not being with my men.

Even though he had seen it only during the mud and gore of war, Mylchreest had fallen in love with the Normandy countryside and, in the 1970s, went back to spend the rest of his life there, settling in the small commune of Neaufles-Auvergny in northern France. Unlike some of his comrades, his return was not for the love of any French demoiselle, but for his love of horses.

A horseman and trail hunter since his childhood on his native Isle of Man and in Devon, his first post-war job in England had been as a groom at thoroughbred breeding and stud farms, as well as grooming some of the Queens racehorses for leading trainers including Cecil Boyd-Rochfort at Newmarket; in the 1970s, he returned to settle in Normandy to work on Frances oldest thoroughbred breeding and stud farm, the Haras du Pin, where he rose to become director until his retirement. Still one of the worlds leading breeding and stud farms for racehorses, the Haras du Pin was founded by king Louis XIV before 1715 and developed by his successor Louis XV. It was occupied by the Germans in 1940-41.

Mylchreest died in hospital in Lisieux, Normandy on 8 March 2023, aged 99, the British Normandy Memorial Trust announced from its headquarters at Ver-sur-Mer on the Normandy coast.

A young Mylchreest in military uniform (Le Reveil Normand)

Having learnt French fluently, but retaining an unmistakeable and quite posh English accent, he became a well-known figure in Normandy, notably for his work to maintain the memory of his fallen comrades, including a British Normandy Memorial Monument at Ver, on what the allies at the time called Gold Beach, and close to where he had first landed at Arromanches-les-Bains in June 1944 as a 20-year-old 2nd Lieutenant.

The French named Mylchreest a Knight of the Legion of Honour in May 2015 and on 6 June 2021, the 77th anniversary of D-Day, he represented the UK at the inauguration of the monument, a dramatic bronze sculpture by David Williams-Ellis showing three British soldiers storming across Gold Beach. At the same time, other Normandy veterans unable to travel attended a parallel memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Captain Mylchreest also represented the Queen in Normandy on the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 2015 and had met her at other memorial services over the years, when, he said, they shared their love of thoroughbreds and horse racing.

Michael David Mylchreest was born on the Isle of Man on 3 February 1924, to a protestant pastor who had served as a British army chaplain in Belgium during the First World War, where his job was to bury dead British soldiers and send letters to their families informing them of their loss.

Young Mylchreests uncle David had been killed in 1916, aged 18, during the Battle of the Somme and hence his parents gave him the middle name David, one which he preferred.

The veteran in Normandy at the site of the memorial (Getty)

When his father moved to England to become a vicar in Buckfastleigh, near Exeter, David boarded at a public school in the latter city. When he was 17, one of his best friends, Nigel, enrolled at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, inspiring David to think of a military career. The Luftwaffe bombings of Exeter in 1940 made up his mind. (David learned later that his friend Nigel was one of more than 1,400 men aboard HMS Hood who died after the Germans sank it during the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941.)

When David was 17, he skipped school and went to the local army recruitment bureau, convinced a Sergeant-Major he was 18 and officer material, and signed up. When he got back to school, he told his headmaster Im in the army now.

Well see about that, his master said, You lied about your age, Im calling your father. He did but Davids father replied: Tell my son congratulations and hung up the phone. The master gave David one hour to get out of the school, which he gladly did. When I arrived at Colchester for my training, I was still wearing my school blazer and we slept on straw in stables. My first day in the army, he told French author, journalist and war historian Clement Horvath in a 2021 interview.

Mylchreest said he had always refused to give interviews to the British media. Assigned to the 43rd Wessex Division, his first job was at Eastbourne, guarding the coast against a potential German invasion. But my ambition was, to [get to] Berlin, he said.

Mylchreest before the memorial ceremony in June 2021 (AFP/Getty)

In the podcast, he spoke about his claustrophobia, which he felt when he was sent down below on a Landing Craft Infantry between Newhaven and Normandy on D-Day plus six. Battling through Normandy, despite German shells and machine gun fire, he preferred to sleep outside his trench. And in later life, he hated getting into lifts in buildings.

As his division progressed through Normandy, he found himself in charge of 200 German prisoners. The British soldiers were good to them, he said. The ordinary German soldier was like us, but the average SS [Schutzstaffel] was despicable.

In the same interview, Horvath asked him: were you ever scared? Funnily enough, I never felt scared [but] I was always worried. How can I avoid killing somebody? I never expected to survive the war. I only hoped I would be killed, not maimed for life.

Talking of the assault on Mont Pincon, the highest peak in the Calvados region of Normandy and occupied by the Germans, he described how he and his men took the hill in the middle of the night because, during the day, every time you moved, you got fired at. But at night, We took it in Indian file. The Germans didnt know we were there. [But] it was an extraordinary battle.

After the battle, in mid-July 1944, I was the last to leave [Mont Pincon] with my batman. He was about 18 or 19 years old. After a German mortar or shell exploded between them, I ran to the left, he ran to the right. When I came to, he had lost both his arms. I didnt have a scratch on me. But he died in my arms. And that was horrible, he told Horvath.

A few weeks later, on 25 August 1944, his division crossed the Seine at Vernon to establish a first beachhead on the eastern bank of the river. They had planned to cross on Ducks (US-built DUKW amphibious vehicles) but the river banks were too steep. So Mylchreest and his men got into inflatable storm boats with engines he described as like lawnmowers.

My sergeant was 22. I was telling him to put a Bren gun here, a mortar bomb there, he told Horvath. And suddenly his head disappeared. Just disappeared. [There was] a sniper overlooking the Seine. I was probably the target since I was the officer. My sergeant just disappeared without a head. Hes buried in the cemetery at Vernon. I visit his grave every year.

The other storm boats didnt start  pfut pfut  but mine started with the first pull Vrrm, vrrm ... so I always claimed I was the first soldier to cross the Seine.

After the war, Mylchreest served with the Royal Sussex Regiment in Trieste, defending Tito against the [Soviets], he said, as well as in Malta, Egypt and the Dutch East Indies. Because of his love of horses, he was assigned to the 6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, on security duty in Palestine, and later to the 14th/20th Kings Hussars (Cavalry).

In later life, he refused to renew his British passport. Im Manx [from the Isle of Man], Im not British or English. Asked by Horvath about Brexit, he replied that he and his British comrades had fought not just for the King, but for Europe and democracy: Why did they die? Dont talk to me about Brexit, because that makes me ill ... Im disgusted  I have no intention to go back to England. England is kaput.
Loved and lost: Jeremy Gordin (1952 - 2023)

Jeremy Gordin came into Daily Sun as a caretaker editor-in-chief in 2012. He was assigned to hold the fort until somebody could be permanently appointed. He did nothing of the sort.

Jeremy was short and short tempered - and he was a fearless giant.

Jeremy was never going to be a caretaker. From the day he walked into the general office he immediately made it clear that he was there to run the newspaper. He was not going to hang around and be the token manager until things "got better".

For the people on the floor, he was an oasis in a desert. He injected passion, urgency, and a desire to be contributors to a great newspaper - emotions we had not felt for a long time.

Daily Sun, for many years, had the reputation of being different - and it was. It was a private place where the "inside members of the family" thrived and lived. But it had a downside.

Outsiders somehow never understood the culture of Daily Sun. People would try, and fail, to know what the newspaper was about.

Jeremy was different.

Not only did he understand the ethos of the publication, he embraced it. He loved it. He gave the people on the floor back the dignity that was slowly being eroded after the death of the founder Deon du Plessis.

And he was our champion of the newsroom.

He was certainly the boss man - but it was not because of any title. He had a presence that overrode everything. He took that presence with him to the Media24 boardroom in Cape Town - and he didn't always come back unscathed - but he never stopped fighting.

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In Yiddish terms, he was a mensch.

I sometimes met him in Melville or in Parkview where he took his blind and deaf staffie for walks.

The two of them looked somewhat the same, slowly waddling down Tyrone Avenue.

A man with strong opinions. He had the ability to be super critical, and publicly so, without insulting anybody. A fighter. No doubt a fighter till the end.

In the words of Barbara Ludman, who worked with him at Daily Sun: "He was very supportive of his reporters, cared deeply about journalism, and could tell a story better than anyone I knew."

That's how we will remember him.

Jeremy Gordin, was formerly deputy editor of The Sunday Independent and ran the Justice Project at the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Journalism. He was a regular contributor to Politicsweb.

He was born in Pretoria in 1952 and educated at Unisa and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He had been a journalist since 1976.

He was killed during a robbery at his home in Parkview on Friday night.

A friend who went to Gordin's home found that it had been ransacked, locked from the outside and his body had been covered - a mark of respect after a violent, disrespectful act.
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Masked gangs have broken into homes and sprayed victims with a corrosive substance in a string of attacks in London.

Five similar break-ins have been reported in the capitals northwest over the final three nights of March in what the Metropolitan Police believe are linked attacks.

Residents have been advised to be vigilant but not alarmed, keeping doors locked and windows closed overnight as detectives work around the clock to identify the group.

Police were first called just before 11.15pm on Wednesday to Highfield Avenue, near Brent Cross, where four men forced entry into a property before threatening the resident  a woman in her 40s  with a knife and throwing an unknown substance towards her.

Just over 25 minutes later, police were alerted to an incident in Flamsted, Harrow, in which four men broke into a home and stole jewellery. There were no reports of any injuries.

The following night, shortly before 11pm, another burglary was reported at a house on Lady Margaret Road in Southall, during which four men broke in armed with a knife and screwdriver.

They stole a safe containing cash and jewellery and sprayed a corrosive liquid into the face of a man in his 70s who was at the address. He was taken to hospital with facial injuries which were later assessed to be not life-threatening or life-changing, police said.

The fourth burglary took place the following night on Harrowdene Road at around 8.45pm, in which four men forced entry into the property and threatened its occupant with a liquid. Jewellery and other items were stolen before the group fled, and no one was injured.

View more

Some 25 minutes later, police were called to Greenford Road, where a group of men broke into a home and assaulted three women  two in their 20s and one in her 60s  with a corrosive substance, according to Scotland Yard.

The three women were hospitalised with injuries assessed not to be life-threatening or life-changing, the force said.

Local people have been rightly concerned following a number of incidents that have been reported online and on social media. We of course share that concern, said Detective Sergeant Huss Ahmed. We can confirm we are treating five incidents across Harrow and Ealing as linked.

We are advising local people to be vigilant but not alarmed  stay alert to your surroundings at night, keep doors locked and windows closed, and monitor any doorbell and security camera systems to check on any suspicious activity.

If you have information, video or images that you think could help us, it is vital that you report it to us immediately so that we can track down and arrest the people responsible.

The suspects have been described as being dressed in dark clothing and wearing balaclavas and gloves. They are believed to have fled in a dark-coloured vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC, ref CAD8586/30Mar, or to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Sarah Everards murderer Wayne Couzens must be stripped of his police pension, Londons mayor Sadiq Khan has warned.

Couzens, now 50, is serving a whole-life sentence after exploiting his role as a Metropolitan Police officer to abduct the 33-year-old marketing executive as she walked home in south London in March 2021. He then drove his victim to an area of woodland in Kent, where he raped and killed her.

A police officer may be stripped of their pension if convicted of a crime that is linked to their police role, and that the home secretary of the day judges is liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public services.

While the London mayor secured a certificate of forfeiture in relation to the case from home secretary Suella Braverman last autumn, it is understood that Couzens was not actually eligible for a Metropolitan Police pension, having only joined the force in 2018.

But Mr Khan has now warned that Couzens may be eligible to draw a sizeable pension earned during his seven years as a firearms officer with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), which guards the UKs nuclear sites.

Mr Khan has written to energy security minister Grant Shapps, who oversees the agency responsible for CNC pension arrangements, to seek assurances that you will take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension.

This is what the public would rightly expect, Mr Khan said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by The Independent. His letter has the backing of Chief Constable Simon Chesterman of the CNC.

Mr Shapps has agreed that Couzens should receive none of his pension after his horrendous crime shocked the nation, and said he would seek an urgent update on the situation from the pensions administrator, according to the BBC.

Wayne Couzens is serving a whole-life sentence (PA)

Couzens is eligible to receive around 4,000 a year when he turns 60, as well as a lump sum of up to 12,000  but could opt to start drawing his pension at a reduced rate in just five years time, The Sunday Times reported.

The mayor has also asked Mr Shapps to conduct a review of CNC pension arrangements so that it aligns the CNC position more closely with that of Home Office forces and the provisions for pension forfeiture.

A spokesperson for the London mayor said: It will be totally unacceptable if Couzens remains entitled to a single penny of his pension  it would be very difficult for his victims and the wider public to comprehend. The rules need to be tightened to ensure anyone who commits such abhorrent crimes can have their publicly funded pension removed swiftly and in full.
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Hundreds of Afghans who worked with British forces have been left stranded in Pakistan after the UK government stopped evacuation flights.

No flights have been chartered for Afghans by the British government since last November, despite the fact that more than 1,000 people  including 500 children  who have been accepted to come to the UK are awaiting relocation in Pakistans capital Islamabad.

Families have been told that if they can source their own accommodation in the UK, they will be booked seats on a commercial flight. If they are unable to afford to do so, they could face a wait of up to a year before they are relocated to safety.

Here, some of them tell their stories.

Describing his life in a British High Commission hotel in Islamabad, one Afghan former interpreter says he feels like he is going crazy.

The man, who was embedded with British troops in Helmand province, has been waiting for more than a year in Pakistans capital for relocation to the UK.

He says: I am a human. I need to work. I need a life. I need to enjoy my life. This is my sin, that I worked with British forces. I am like a prisoner, and we are not safe in Pakistan.

Speaking about the governments decision to pause flights to the UK, he says: They stopped the flights in December. For four months there have been no flights from Islamabad and they have said that there is an accommodation problem in the UK. They told families that if they can pay and get accommodation themselves, then they can be moved.

He explains that the uncertainty about when he will be able to relocate to the UK is weighing hard on him.

I dont know what I am doing, he says. I have got a mental case. I have anxiety. If they dont give me an answer in two months I will run away from this place. I will go illegally to European countries to get to safety.

We have been waiting for over a year. I dont know why the Home Office is this cruel. We are prisoners, but what can we do?

One former interpreter describes his year-long hotel stay as like being in jail (The Independent)

One son of a former interpreter has been in a hotel in Islamabad for 16 months. His father worked with British forces in Camp Bastion, and he is waiting for relocation to the UK to join his parents, who were evacuated shortly after the fall of Kabul.

The man, whose name is withheld to protect his relatives who remain in Afghanistan, says he was detained by the Taliban for two days because of his fathers work for the British. He managed to flee Afghanistan in November 2021.

His parents were granted eligibility under the ARAP scheme, but as he is over the age of 18 he did not qualify as an eligible family member. He hoped to be able to apply to join them, and that he would be swiftly relocated to the UK from Pakistan.

But the process of obtaining the correct documentation took more than a year, and when he was finally granted eligibility to go to the UK in December 2022, evacuation flights had been stopped.

The man, who is a qualified doctor, is now in the process of trying to source his own accommodation in the UK. He says he is at risk when he goes out because he doesnt have the correct documents.

An Afghan doctor is trying to join his parents in the UK (The Independent)

I have to evade the police here. A few days ago they caught me at night. I had to pay a bribe to be released. Im scared that they might return me back to Afghanistan next time, he says.

Im all day long in one room; you could say its like being in jail, but without any crime. I am a professional doctor. I want to work. I am young. England needs doctors, but unfortunately Im still here.

One father of five says he is worried about how he will find housing in the UK for himself and his family. The man, who worked for the British embassy, explains that his children are finding it hard to cope with life in the hotel.

My children are left without education. They are sitting all the time in one bedroom, doing nothing. It creates mental problems for us. We dont know how long we will be here.

The 41-year-old adds: Back at home I lost my property, I lost my brother, I lost everything. Weve been let down by the British. We worked together. I supported them when they arrived in Afghanistan. We did hard work. But now were in this very tough position in Islamabad.

He continues: Unfortunately I have no relatives in the UK. Its impossible for me to arrange accommodation there. But they havent given us any alternative.

A government spokesperson said: We owe a debt of gratitude to those interpreters and other staff eligible under the ARAP scheme who worked for, or with, UK forces in Afghanistan. The UK government has made a commitment to relocate eligible Afghans and their families to the UK under the ARAP scheme, and will honour this.

We continue to support the movement of eligible people out of Afghanistan by working with a variety of partners and countries in the region. To date, we have relocated over 12,200 individuals to the UK under ARAP.
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Bear Grylls has backed our campaign calling on the government not to deport an Afghan war hero who supported British forces to Rwanda, urging ministers to do right by those who have given so much to keep us safe.

Grylls, a former SAS soldier and now a survivalist and television adventurer, joins the former head of Nato, Labour leader Keir Starmer and army chiefs in calling on Rishi Sunak to support Afghan heroes who served alongside British forces.

The Afghan pilot is being threatened with deportation to Rwanda after arriving in Britain on a small boat because there was no safe and legal route to escape the Taliban.

He has told how during the chaos of the Kabul evacuation, he and other members of his squadron were left behind. But he said his wife begged him to flee to safety without her.

The Independent has launched a petition calling for the UK to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain.

In an opinion piece for this website, Grylls writes: Imagine braving the horrors of war to support the forces of a country that you dont even live in, only to find that when you travel to that country for genuine sanctuary from horror, torture and the many other dangers of your own country (braving even more hardships along the way), youre told that you arent acknowledged or wanted.

The presenter, famous for demonstrating survival tactics in dangerous environments, wrote: In the midst of the UKs often heated debates surrounding immigration, its easy to lose sight of the fact that so many people dont have that luxury of avoiding a catastrophe.

He added: Men like him put their lives on the line to help protect people like you and me.

(The Independent)

They deserve better than to be told that they arent welcome in a country where theyve performed an invaluable and brave service.

The Afghan pilot flew 30 combat missions against the Taliban, and was praised by his coalition forces supervisor as a patriot to his nation.

He says he spent months travelling by car, lorry and boat to get to Europe, paying 10,000 to a smuggler to get from Turkey to Italy, where the authorities threatened him with imprisonment.

He has now appealed directly to the prime minister to be granted permission to remain in the UK.

The backing of Afghan fighters was vital to the success of British missions in the countrys war.

It comes as we revealed that hundreds of Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK because they worked with the British forces have been abandoned in Pakistan after the government stopped charter flights to bring them to safety.

Lord Robertson, former secretary general of Nato and a former UK defence secretary, said: We owe a huge debt to people like him and in decency we should give him the respect and safety he deserves.

Sir Keir said: Its a disgrace that this brave pilot who fought alongside British troops is facing deportation at the hands of the governments unworkable gimmick.

Grylls writes: Not only do they deserve better; we stand united against any government that will happily abandon the brave ally soldiers who have served this country just because their passport isnt the right colour.

So please, join me in supporting The Independents petition.
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British men being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been in contact with their families, a spokesperson said on Sunday.

Charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man were detained by the Talibans intelligence agency, the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), on 11 January. The two men are being assisted by non-profit organisation the Presidium Network.

The third man is Miles Routledge, the British holidaymaker who received widespread criticism on social media in August 2021 after he travelled to Afghanistan in spite of the Taliban takeover.

It is not clear for how long Mr Routledge has been held by the Taliban.

Scott Richards, from Presidium Network, told Sky News: Were very pleased to announce that there has been contact between families and the detainees.

They were able to spend about 10 minutes this morning in an unscripted conversation, which is very important. This is a huge landmark movement for any negotiation with the Taliban, as we havent seen any detainees have this privilege before.

Were certainly taking this as a goodwill gesture, and an incredibly important step.

All three men are being held in a GDI facility for foreigners.

Earlier on Sunday, home secretary Suella Braverman said the government was in negotiations over the safety of the three British men.

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme on Sky News, Ms Braverman said: Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution. If they are going to do that, they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office.

If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe. And the government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

Pressed on whether negotiations are currently taking place, Ms Braverman replied: If there are problems, and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad, then the FCDO will be working actively to ensure people are safe.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.

The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks, which include detention.

Additional reporting by PA
Home secretary Suella Braverman has said the UK government is in negotiations over the three British men who are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting two of the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man.

Presidium confirmed that the third British man is Miles Routledge  the so-called danger tourist who received attention in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Talibans takeover.
Keir Starmer has said he had been ruthless to block former leader Jeremy Corbyn from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election expected next year.

It comes as the Labour leader was warned that winning over socially conservative suburban voters termed the Stevenage woman is vital to a Labour victory in 2024.

Starmer was accused by Momentums founder of behaving like a Putin of the Labour Party after his motion to block the ex-leader from running was backed by the National Executive Committee (NEC). However, he insisted the move would boost Labours chances.
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The former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has laughed off online rumours of an affair with a French female diplomat, but said the need to seek more privacy was part of the reason for her resignation.

Among the claims she dismissed in the podcast were that she was a secret lesbian and had an extramarital relationship with a French diplomat, with the pair buying a house from Andy Murrays mother, Judy, as a love nest.

Asked by BBCs Glenn Campbell: Which French diplomat are you having an affair with?, Ms Sturgeon laughed and responded: Ill tell you off camera which one it is supposed to be, but whichever one it is weve actually had a laugh about it.

The former minister has told a new BBC Scotland podcast that online gossip about her had been part of the reason behind the decision.

She said: Im not naive, Im not of the view that I will step down one day and be completely anonymous the next day, I understand the realities of what I have done and Ill still be in parliament, but I want to have a bit more privacy.

I want to have a bit more anonymity and I just want to protect some of what people take for granted in their lives that Ive forgotten to have.

Other rumours spread about Ms Sturgeon said she had a global property portfolio and had a super-injunction in place to hide the truth.

I read accounts of my life on social media and I think, You know, it is so much more glamorous sounding and so much more exciting, she said.

The former Scottish first minister surprisingly resigned as party leader in February, citing the funeral of independence activist Allan Angus as the moment that cemented her decision.

Replaced as first minister this week by Humza Yousaf, Ms Sturgeon said the contest had been somewhat fractious and the party was undergoing growing pains.

Mr Yousaf has had to defend his decision to include a minister for independence in his new government team  coming under fire for having a taxpayer-funded nationalist campaigner in the new ministerial role.

His nearest rival, Kate Forbes, refused to join his cabinet  rejecting a big demotion from finance secretary to rural affairs secretary.

And a former minister turned SNP rebel has called for the end of the powersharing agreement between the SNP and the Greens as he dubbed the left-wing party partners wine bar pseudo-intellectuals.

Fergus Ewing attacked the Scottish Greens after Mr Yousaf made the decision to continue the deal that put their co-leaders in government and solidified a pro-independence majority in Holyrood.

In politics you are judged by what you do or fail to do; but also judged by the alliances you make, he wrote in the Daily Mail on Saturday.

Weve allied ourselves to a small group of fringe extremists that want to dismantle our economy, put hundreds of thousands on the dole and basically close down rural Scotland.
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Suella Braverman remains committed to a new legal requirement necessitating professionals working with children to report signs or suspicions of sexual abuse.

The government is expected to formally lay out its plans in the coming days as part of a drive toward tackling grooming gangs and protecting children.

Ms Braverman confirmed that Rishi Sunak would outline further details on measures tackling gangs specifically on Monday.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) (PA Wire)

In October 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse described sexual abuse of children as an epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake.

The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, home secretary Suella Braverman said that the inquiry recommended that the government should introduce a mandatory duty for professionals with safeguarding responsibilities to report any signs or suspicions of such abuse.

Had this duty been in place already, countless children would have been better protected against grooming gangs and against sexual abusers more widely.

That is why I have committed to introduce mandatory reporting across the whole of England.

Sexual abuse amongst children creates a burning sense of injustice, Ms Braverman said, adding that a failure to protect vulnerable people questions the legitimacy of our democratic institutions.

Some crimes, if left unpunished, create such a burning sense of injustice among the public that they singe the fabric of our social contract.

When the most vulnerable people cannot rely on protection from those entrusted to safeguard them, cannot rely on the police to defend them, and cannot rely on the courts to deliver them justice, then the legitimacy of our democratic institutions is called into question.

Grooming gangs and child sexual abuse are examples of that phenomenon.

The seven-year enquiry conducted 15 investigations before the publication of its final report, probing areas including Westminster and the church.

A total of 725 witnesses gave evidence, including 94 victims, 21 bishops, four archbishops, two archdeacons, one cardinal, 43 senior police officers, 29 Lords and Ladies, eight former government ministers, the former Director General of MI5 and three ex-prime ministers.

As part of this probe, King Charles gave evidence through a written statement about his time as the Prince of Wales, describing his relationship with shamed clergyman Peter Ball as misguided.

Notably, one strand of the inquiry investigated reports of children being sexually abused by the late Labour grandee Lord Janner. In total, the inquiry made 20 recommendations.
Home secretary Suella Braverman has claimed Labour-run councillors failed to act on grooming gangs over fears they would be called racist.

It comes as Rishi Sunaks government revealed it will consult over a plan to make sure people working with children in England have a legal duty to report signs or suspicions of sexual abuse.

Weve seen institutions and state agencies  whether its social workers, teachers, the police  turn a blind eye to signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racists, the home secretary told Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
Dubais Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) today (April 2) opened two major bridges and a tunnel, running 2.32 km long, as part of the Falcon Interchange Improvement Project located between Al Khaleej Street, Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road, and Al Ghubaiba Road. It boasts a capacity of 27,200 vehicles per hour.

It is a key segment of the 13-km-long Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, one of the largest projects currently being undertaken by RTA at a total estimated cost of AED5.3 billion ($1.44 billion). It encompasses the construction of 15 junctions spanning 13 km in total.

Due to its massive scope, RTA said the project had been split into five phases. The corridor serves Deira and Bur Dubai in addition to several development projects such as Deira Islands, Dubai Seafront, Dubai Maritime City and Mina Rashid.

The two bridges are connected by the Infinity Bridge and Al Shindagha Tunnel from the Northern side and will eventually link up with the bridges that RTA is currently constructing at the junction of Sheikh Rashid Road and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street from the Southern side, it stated.

RTA Director-General and Chairman Mattar Al Tayer said the scope of work involved construction of two main bridges on Al Khaleej Street extending 1825 m long, each of them having six lanes with a total capacity of 12,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.

"The first bridge measures 750 m while the second bridge extends 1075 m in the Southern direction. These bridges are linked to the new Infinity Bridge and Al Shindagha Tunnel from Deira side as well as the improved junctions on Sheikh Rashid Road," he stated.

"Furthermore, a two-lane tunnel has been opened for left turns from Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road to Al Mina Street. This tunnel stretches 500 m and accommodates up to 3,200 vehicles per hour," he added.

According to him, RTA had recently awarded the first contract under Phase IV of Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project. Its scope covers Sheikh Rashid Road from its junction with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street to the Falcon Interchange on Al Mina Street, stretching 4.8 km.

Works under this phase include the construction of three bridges with a total length of 3.1 km and a capacity of 19,400 vehicles per hour for all lanes.

"The contractor is currently finalising the construction of the third bridge within the project which is a single-lane slope bridge for right turns from Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road to Al Khaleej Street. The bridge spans 250 m and accommodates up to 1,600 vehicles per hour," noted Al Tayer.

"Works in progress also include a signallised surface junction that connects Al Khaleej Street with Al Ghubaiba Road and Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road, in addition to pavements, lighting, traffic systems, rainwater drainage, and irrigation systems. It is anticipated that all works will be completed by July this year," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
press release

Young citizens aren't pushing for a seat at the decision-making table.

"We want youths of the country to have integrity and be patriotic. We do not want youths to be used only for political campaigns, we want them to be utilised positively in developing the nation." Those were the words of Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera as he launched the National Youth Service in July 2022 (Moyo, 2022).

Youth (aged 18-35) constituted 54% of registered voters in the 2019 election (Malawi Electoral Commission, 2019), making them highly attractive to candidates (Sangala, 2018). The Youth Decide Campaign (YDC), an initiative of civil society organisations in the run-up to the June 2020 fresh presidential election, argued that it was high time that young people were given a voice in the country's political decision making and compiled a Youth Manifesto that it asked presidential candidates to sign (Mtawali, 2020a).

But when Chakwera unveiled his cabinet in July 2020, youth leaders accused him of "violent and heartless exclusion of the youth" (Mtawali, 2020b) and questioned the government's commitment to addressing the needs and interests of young Malawians.

Findings of the most recent Afrobarometer survey do little to allay concerns about a lack of young voices in Malawi's policy discourse. Most Malawians, including the youth themselves, prioritise the "wisdom of the elders" over fresh ideas from young people. And levels of political participation by young people do not reflect an active quest for a place at the decision-making table.

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Key findings

Two-thirds (67%) of citizens believe that for the country to do well, Malawians should listen more to the wisdom of the elders rather than to fresh ideas from young people. Even among 18- to 35-year-old respondents, 61% prioritise the wisdom of the elders.

Young Malawians' priorities for increased government spending to help young people are business loans (33%), job creation (30%), job training (16%), and education (15%).

Like their elders, young citizens cite management of the economy as the most important problem the government should address.

One in four young respondents (25%) say they "frequently" discuss politics with family and friends.

Witness Tapani Alfonso Witness Tapani Alfonso is a junior research fellow at the Centre for Social Research at the University of Malawi in Zomba.

Joseph Chunga Joseph J. Chunga is the national investigator for Malawi.
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The Conservatives are said to be ready to urge Scots to vote tactically in the next general election in a bid to lock out the SNP.

The Scottish Tories will reportedly invite unionist rivals to engage in a tactical voting campaign that will see Labour benefit in urban areas, while the Tories focus on rural parts of the country.

Douglas Rosss party is set to invite rivals to co-operate in a vote smart strategy, with a source telling the Sunday Times there was clearly an opportunity to end nationalist dominance at next years general election.

Senior Tories have not sought to knock down the report  with senior MSP Stephen Kerr saying: I think it would be wrong to underestimate the sophistication of the Scottish electorate. I think they know exactly what they want, they know exactly how to vote.

But any formal or even informal tactical voting pact would need to be agreed with Labour to avoid the Tories ceding seats in Scotland and getting nothing in return.

And such an arrangement would put Rishi Sunak under pressure among Tory MPs south of the border, as they face an uphill struggle to hold off Keir Starmers Labour party at the election expected in 2024.

Mr Kerr rejected claims his party is trying to manipulate the vote, but added: What I think we will find is that people can see ... this is a continuity SNP government with a continuity first minister and it just wont cut it.

What this is about is the priorities of the people of Scotland, the people of Scotland have their priorities, the Conservative Party is committed to delivering those priorities. When it comes to voting, I think theyll know how to vote to get rid of this nationalist government.

Mr Kerr said he is unaware if any discussions have taken place with Anas Sarwars Scottish Labour party, adding that the Tories will always put the country first.

Asked what Mr Sunak thinks of the plan, Mr Kerr admitted he is unsure if the prime minister is aware of it, but he said the Tory leader is committed to the idea that we put our country first.

Polling guru Prof John Curtice said the latest Panelbase poll putting the SNP on 39 per cent - a four-point slump  suggests that Humza Yousafs party would return only 34 MPs, a loss of 14 seats.

With the spectre of a by-election in Hamilton West and Rutherglen as former SNP-turned-independent MP Margaret Ferrier potentially faces a recall petition, Mr Kerr said he has not been involved in discussions around the strategy for such urban central belt seats.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross (PA Wire)

Asked about the reports, a spokeswoman for the party said: We will always urge voters to back the Scottish Conservatives in each and every election. However, the electorate is sophisticated and aware of the dynamics in individual constituencies.

She added: In a host of seats, particularly in rural areas, the Scottish Conservatives are the only party who can defeat the SNP and we are confident that voters, for whom the union is the priority, understand that.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the reports represent the dreadful Better Together band announcing their reunion  referring to the pro-union campaign in the lead up to the 2014 independence referendum.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (PA Wire)

The disastrous duo have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder in councils and in Holyrood ever since but, be in no doubt, people will not be fooled by this latest effort, he said.

Mr Flynn added: Quite frankly, its a struggle to spot the difference between the Tories and Labour  the pro-Brexit, pro-cuts, anti-Scottish democracy Labour Party is a pale imitation of the right-wing Tories.

It come as a man was charged after police were called to a report of someone acting suspiciously near the official residence of Scotlands first minister, Mr Yousaf.

Police Scotland said it was called to the Charlotte Square area of Edinburgh, where Bute House is situated, on Saturday evening. The force said that a 28-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged breach of the peace.

Mr Yousaf has endured a tough first week in charged, forced to defend his decision to include a minister for Scottish independence in his new government team after coming under fire for having a taxpayer-funded nationalist campaigner.

His nearest rival, Kate Forbes, refused to join his cabinet  rejecting a big demotion from finance secretary to rural affairs secretary.

And former SNP minister Fergus Ewing has called for the end of the powersharing agreement between the SNP and the Greens as he dubbed the left-wing party partners wine bar pseudo-intellectuals.
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A woman who was at risk of being sent back to Afghanistan and feared for her life has spoken of her happiness and excitement at hearing she will be allowed to stay in the UK.

The Home Office had previously said Maryam Amiri, who lives in Glasgow and received her first UK visa in 2016, did not meet the criteria for a new spousal visa, and suggested she could safely return to Afghanistan.

But Maryam, a community activist who has spoken out against the Taliban and its approach to womens rights, said she felt threatened and scared of dying if she was forced to return.

She told the PA news agency she had begun the appeals process and had been expecting to challenge the Home Office through the courts, but has now been told she will receive another two-and-a-half-year visa in the coming weeks.

I feel very safe, but still my thoughts are with my family, who are still in Afghanistan and aren't secure Maryam Amiri

But she still fears for her family, who she said are facing persecution under the Taliban in Afghanistan, and said she now wants to do more to save them.

She said: I received a call from my lawyer when I was in college. My lawyer said that there is very good news  you will receive your visa in the next two weeks without going to court.

I cant express my feelings in that moment. I am very happy with the Home Offices fair decision, and I hope that they will make fair decisions in the future, not hastily and unfairly.

I am very excited to continue with my plans, to start university and continue my social activities.

I feel very safe, but still my thoughts are with my family, who are still in Afghanistan and arent secure.

I request that the Home Office makes fair decisions regarding my family as soon as possible.

Maryam said she had hoped for an indefinite visa, adding: But still, Im happy. Its better than sending me back to Afghanistan.

And she hopes she can now expand a community group which she runs called Maryam Empowering Futures, which she says is for Afghan women and focuses on education, health and skills. She hopes to turn the group into an official charity soon.

She said: Thank you to my powerful and lovely MP Alison Thewliss, my kindest lecturer Jane Horne, friends, group members, the media, and all those who have supported me throughout this difficult moment I faced.

Ms Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central, said: Im very relieved to hear that the Home Office have withdrawn the refusal of Maryams visa extension  it was an appalling decision. I hope that she will now have more certainty that her future is safe.

That said, I still have serious concerns about a Home Office decision-making process that ever thought it appropriate to send a woman educator and activist back to Taliban-run Afghanistan.

I hope that the processes which led to this dangerous refusal being issued will be reviewed, and that no other Afghans face a similar situation to Maryam Amiri.

Ms Thewliss had previously hit out at the Home Office decision notice which suggested Maryam and her husband could return to Afghanistan.

She said of the case: Her husband had supported the training of UK forces. Her husband has a British passport. Those would seem to me to be two very sensible reasons as to why he cant return.

A Home Office spokesperson said: All visa applications are decided on individual merits.

We dont routinely comment on individual cases.
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The families of two British men who are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan have been able to speak to them in an emotional call.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, from Middlesbrough, and a second unnamed man.

A third man, Miles Routledge, the British holidaymaker who received widespread attention and criticism on social media in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Talibans gains in the nation, has also been detained.

The relief Kevins family expressed after hearing his voice for the first time in 3 months not knowing if he was well brought a sense of peace and gave them hope that this situation will be resolved soon Scott Richards, Presidium Network

Earlier, the Home Secretary suggested the Government is in negotiations regarding the three men.

The two men being assisted by Presidium were detained by Taliban secret police on January 11.

It is unclear how long Mr Routledge has been held for.

Speaking about the call, Mr Cornwell and the unnamed man had with their families, Scott Richards, co-founder of the Presidium Network, said on Twitter: We can confirm the men have spoken with the family, the conversation was unscripted, and that they are being treated fairly.

The family was able to speak for one minute to one minute and a half and to speak freely, clearly what is an important and emotional call.

Mr Richards said the call represents tremendous progress in the situation, adding: The details of that call are private but we understand a great relief to the family.

The relief Kevins family expressed after hearing his voice for the first time in three months not knowing if he was well brought a sense of peace and gave them hope that this situation will be resolved soon.

If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK Government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe Suella Braverman

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution.

If they are going to do that they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice.

If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK Government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe.

And the Government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

Pressed on whether negotiations are currently happening, Ms Braverman replied: If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad then the FCDO will be working actively to ensure people are safe.

Mr Richards told the PA news agency: The FCDO would be fully anticipated to be using its available resources to support the negotiations and understand the circumstances facing the detainees.

We are not privileged with any information pertaining to their actions and, should we become aware of them, we would be unable to discuss.

We certainly welcome their assistance and would be pleased to co-operate alongside, as we have done in the past.

Mr Richards said the men are being held in a general directorate of intelligence facility for foreigners.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesman said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.

The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks, including detention.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded an end to the unacceptable detention of American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in call on Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Mr Gershkovich, 31, was taken into custody on espionage allegations by the Russian Federal Security Service on Wednesday while on assignment outside of Moscow.

Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States grave concern over Russias unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist, the State Department said in a statement to the Journal. Secretary Blinken further urged the Kremlin to immediately release wrongfully detained US citizen Paul Whelan. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work.

The State Department is requesting to perform a consular visit with the detained journalist.

The Journal has denied that the 31-year-old was a spy of any kind.

The Wall Street Journal demands the immediate release of our colleague, Evan Gershkovich, a distinguished journalist who was arrested while reporting in Russia, the Journal wrote in a statement. We know whats going on in the world because of the fearless reporting of journalists like Evan. Evans case is a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world. No reporter should ever be detained for simply doing their job.

Observers view the detention of Mr Gershkovich, the first Russian arrest of an American journalist since 1986, as a provocation designed to stifle critical reporting about Russia.

Its hard to avoid the conclusion that Gershkovichs arrest marks Russian authorities desire to keep foreign journalists away and stop their reporting on topics that are critical of the government or that unmask its abuses, Rachel Denber of Human Rights Watch wrote.

The Wall Street Journal reporter will be held in pretrial detention until 29 May.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was in Russian detention on drug charges for much of 2022 before a prisoner swap, also expressed her concern.

Every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all, she said in a statement on Saturday.
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A team of seven US government investigators fell ill while studying the health impacts of the February derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals through East Palestine, Ohio, according to the CDC.

The group, including members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, were going house-to-house surveying town residents near contaminated areas when they began feeling symptoms including sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea. The group spent a day working from their hotel, before their symptoms quickly resolved, the agency 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, a CDC spokesperson told the network.

The public health agency did not initially disclose the team getting sick to the public.

Two contractors working on the derailment for the EPA also reported health symptoms after working in an area with strong odors, CNN reported. The agency said that none of the other more than 100 EPA employees on the scene reported any issues.

More than half of the people in a state survey reported headaches, anxiety, couching, fatigue, and irritated skin after the derailment, according to research released Friday from the Ohio Department of Health.

Officials have said the water and air in East Palestine is safe to consume, despite rampant conspiracies online that following the crash and subsequent decision to conduct a controlled burn of some of the chemicals that were spilled.

On Friday, governor Mike DeWines office confirmed 1,900 feet of railroad track at the crash site will be removed to allow for the excavation and removal of contaminated soil, and said testing at 157 private wells showed no contaminated water.

As The Independent reported, public health experts say long-term testing is needed in East Palestine to monitor the potential health effects of exposure to the toxic materials transported by the train that derailed.
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A Florida orthodontist who seemed to go missing, leaving patients owing thousands on incomplete dental procedures, has turned up in a county jail.

Manuel Alejandro Gutierrez-Rodriguez was arrested on 24 March and sent to Pinellas County jail for violating the conditions of his probation related to a 2022 reckless driving conviction, WFLA reports.

Patients of Mr Gutierrez-Rodriguez say his sudden disappearance left them in the lurch. The doctors Tampa clinic was seen with mail piling up behind the front door, and its website is offline.

Traci Hillring was in the middle of a $5,000 procedure for teeth straightening when Mr Gutierrez-Rodriguez disappeared, forcing her to find another provider and pay an extra $2,500.

Its frustrating. I was hoping to be done with this, she told WFLA. Hoping to stop making payments toward [my treatment} and moving on without having to wear trays every day would be nice.

She said shes hoping the orthodontist can offer some sort of refund.

The Independent has contacted Mr Gutierrez-Rodriguezs lawyer for comment.

Another patient, Carlos Jimenez, told the Tampa Bay Times he paid $5,200 for custom teeth alignment.

When I called him, his assistants gave me excuses, he said. Sometimes they told me that they didnt have the proper materials or the distributors were late with the orders.

More than a dozen patients have gotten together on social media and are demanding a refund, the paper reports.
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A top leader in the San Jose, California, police union has been accused by federal officials of using her post at the organisation to mask years of international drug dealing.

Joanne Marian Segovia, 64, executive director of the San Jose Police Officers Association, is charged with importing the synthetic opioid valeryl fentanyl and could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.

Officials say the union official received numerous shipments from Hong Kong, Hungary, India, and Singapore, using innocuous descriptions like Wedding Party Favors, Gift Makeup, or Chocolate and Sweets on the manifests to hide their true contents.

When federal investigators intercepted some of the shipments, they found that they contained thousands of pills of controlled substances, including the synthetic opioids Tramadol and Tapentadol.

Certain parcels were valued at thousands of dollars worth of drugs, according to the DoJ.

She surrendered on Friday. The Independent has contacted Ms Segovias lawyer for comment.

Neighbours said they were shocked that Ms Segovia, known for her friendly, grandmotherly presence, was alleged to have participated in such conduct.

Shes more the kind of person you would imagine who would have chocolate chip cookies or something ready for the kids, like a typical grandma, neighbour Michael Galloway told The New York Post. This is a complete surprise. There was nothing unusual going on there. Its like Breaking Bad.  youre not expecting that at all! I mean, everyone is shocked.

Ms Segovia, who has worked for the union since 2003, allegedly used her work email and UPS account to facilitate her deals. She is currently on leave from the SJPOA.

I am just Im angry because its a huge, huge letdown. To all of the men and women that are a part of our organisation, union president Sean Pritchard told KRON. Its just so hard to comprehend. This person has been really been the grandma of the POA. Its not the person that weve known for well over a decade.

When interviewed by investigators in February, Ms Segovia told officials she had no idea about drug dealing and mentioned her work with the police. At another interview this month, she allegedly tried to blame her housekeeper for the drug shipments.

WhatsApp messages viewed by the government allegedly show her continuing to correspond with a contact in India after being contacted by authorities.
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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 U.S. 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 U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia, and for Americans in the country now to depart immediately.
UN Chief Urges M23 Rebels to Respect Latest DR Congo Ceasefire

UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres has urged leadersof the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to respect a ceasefire agreement that came into effect on March 7, 2023.

M23 rebels clashed with soldiers on two fronts in eastern DR Congo on the same day of the regional ceasefire signing, officials said.

Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel M23 force, which has been fighting a major campaign against government troops in recent months, supported by the UN mission there, known by its French acronym MONUSCO.

DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekdi has in recent months also accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels and called for sanctions against its neighbour.
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Montenegrins are casting ballots on Sunday in a runoff presidential election that is a battle between a long-serving pro-Western incumbent and a newcomer promising changes in the small NATO member state in Europe that has been locked in political turmoil.

Observers say that President Milo Djukanovic, who is credited with leading Montenegro to independence and into NATO, could be facing defeat from the economist Jakov Milatovic, the candidate backed by governing parties advocating closer ties with Serbia.

The runoff vote on Sunday is being held after none of the contenders won majority support in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Some 540,000 people are eligible to vote in Montenegro, a country of 620,000 located in the Balkan peninsula and by the Adriatic Sea.

The winner of Sunday's vote could also reflect on the upcoming early parliamentary election on June 11. That vote was scheduled because of months-long government deadlock that stalled European Union integration and alarmed the West as war rages in Ukraine.

Djukanovic, 61, first became prime minister at 29 and has stayed in power for the past 32 years  longer than his Democratic Party of Socialists, which was ousted in a 2020 parliamentary election.

Djukanovic has been a key Western ally in countering Russian influence and keeping the Balkans stable. He has insisted that the struggle is not over despite Montenegro's NATO membership because of Serbia's alleged expansionist policies and Russia's influence.

Milatovic, who is 36 and was educated in Britain and the United States, has appealed to voters disillusioned with established politicians like Djukanovic. Milatovic has insisted that he wants Montenegro to join the EU although some of the parties that backed his candidacy are pro-Russian.

If Milatovic wins, his Europe Now movement could find itself in a position to dominate the next government after the snap vote in June. Djukanovic has hoped that his re-election for another five-year term would pave the way for his DPS to also return to power in June.

Milatovics Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary elections collapsed. As the economy minister in that government, Milatovic gained popularity by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not as an outcome of reform.
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Former Arkansas Gov Asa Hutchinson has announced that he will seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

I have made a decision, and my decision is Im going to run for president of the United States, Mr Hutchinson told ABC News This Week on Sunday. And the reason is, Ive traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. Im convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.

Mr Hutchinson has argued that Donald Trump should drop out of the presidential race now that the former president is under criminal indictment. He stuck to that position during his Sunday appearance.

I mean, first of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think thats too much of a sideshow and distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence, Mr Hutchinson said.

Ive always said that people dont have to step aside from public office if theyre under investigation, but if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person. And so, theres some consistency there. And I do believe if were looking at the presidency and the future of our country, then we dont need that distraction, he added.

The former Arkansas governor faces long odds to win the GOP nomination next year. He has been a fixture of the Sunday morning political talk shows, where he often weighs in on policy debates. Mr Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have so far led the pack of prospective Republican presidential candidates, though the governor has not officially announced his bid. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley also recently jumped into the presidential race, and is polling in the single digits.

Perhaps indicating the steep climb ahead of him, his own state is now represented by former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is now more unlikely than ever to endorse her predecessors bid for national office. Ms Huckabee Sanders delivered the pro-Trump GOP response to the State of the Union address earlier this year.

Mr Trumps dominance over the GOP field has only grown since news emerged that he would face criminal prosecution. Republicans far and wide have rallied around the former president and decried the Manhattan indictment as a political witch hunt, despite the fact that no one has seen the actual charges filed against Mr Trump.

The former is scheduled to be arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, and plans to speak at a press conference from Mar-a-Lago later that evening.
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The former district attorney for Manhattan has finally shed some light on why Donald Trump is just now being charged over allegedly criminal activity which occurred as far back as 2016.

Cy Vance appeared on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday to discuss news of the criminal indictment against the former president, which a grand jury voted to approve a few days earlier. During the interview, he was asked why his office did not empanel a grand jury during the Trump presidency to hear evidence related to Mr Trumps hush payments to Stormy Daniels.

Mr Vance replied that the Department of Justice, which typically holds seniority when it comes to investigating crimes, had asked his office to stand down its investigation into numerous aspects of the former presidents activities, presumably including the hush payments to Ms Daniels. Mr Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen would end up going to prison as a result of those payments, which prosecutors argued were illegal campaign contributions for reasons of both their size and secrecy.

The exact charges Mr Trump now faces are set to be unveiled on Tuesday at his arraignment; it has been reported that he faces 32 counts in total.

Why didn't you charge the hush money case? asked host Chuck Todd. Why didn't you ever charge it in 2018, 2019, 2020?

[A]s I believe you know, I was asked by the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District to stand down on our investigation, which had commenced involving the Trump Organization, said Mr Vance. And as, you know, as someone who respects that office a great deal, and believing that they may have perhaps the best laws to investigate, I did so.

But Mr Vance went on to say that he was surprised by  and apparently disagreed with  the decision of federal prosecutors not to pursue criminal charges against Mr Trump over the matter at the time.

I was somewhat surprised after Mr Cohen pleaded guilty that the federal government did not proceed on the areas in which it asked me to stand down, said the former DA.

The comments were surprisingly candid for a former prosecutor. Statements about internal deliberations leading to the decisions behind prosecutorial discrection are rare, even for retired professionals in the field. Much of the news about such deliberations in the current Manhattan case being headed up by Alvin Bragg has come in the form of leaks from individuals connected to the probe, which has infuriated Mr Trumps legal team and led to more accusations of bias.

Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Mr Trump famously escaped any criminal charges stemming from the years-long investigation into his 2016 campaign; that probe famously ensnared a number of others connected to his first presidential bid, including his campaign chairman and first White House national security adviser. That decision enraged many Democrats who had been hoping the Justice Department would break its longstanding protocol and charge a sitting president with criminal offences.

The former president now faces a cascade of criminal and legal battles as he campaigns once again for the presidency, several of which stem from his actions taken to prevent Joe Bidens lawful victory in 2020.
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One of the Democratic Partys biggest headaches may just be getting started.

Senator Joe Manchin, architect of the downfall of President Joe Bidens Build Back Better Act, is now publicly stoking speculations about his 2024 ambitions, and is just one step away from outright threatening a third party bid for president.

It would be a stunning move from the West Virginia senator who is potentially facing a highly competitive bid for his seat from the GOP in his deep-red state, potentially in the form of the states Governor Jim Justice. And it could upend polling and throw the 2024 race into deeply uncharted territory were he to gain any steam.

Mr Manchin was asked about the issue during two media appearances on Sunday, on Fox News and NBC. On Fox, he deliberately dodged a question from Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream, who asked if this would be the day that he ruled out a third party bid for the presidency.

And on NBCs Meet the Press, he stated specifically that he would make a decision on running for president maybe a little bit before the 15 January 2024 deadline to announce ones candidacy. Pressed further, he would not commit one way or the other to running as a Democrat, regardless of which office he sought.

There hasnt been a serious third-party bid for the presidency since Ross Perot won nearly 20 per cent of the popular vote in the 1992 US presidential election. And even the unprecedented success of Mr Perots campaign illustrates the structural disadvantages facing independent candidates: He did not pick up a single Electoral College vote in that election, and succeeded mainly at delivering a landslide victory for Bill Clinton in that arena.

Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer, mounted an independent bid for the presidency in 2016 that was widely celebrated by the so-called Never Trump faction of the conservative media sphere; his campaign, however, failed to clear even 1 million votes in the general election that year.

Mr Manchin enjoys significantly higher name recognition (and fundraising capabilities) than does Mr McMullin, but its still hard to see how he would be able to compete financially with the juggernauts that are the Biden and Trump campaigns.

Donald Trump remains the heavy favourite to win the GOP presidential nomination, even as he looks to be facing dozens of criminal charges in New York. Joe Biden has likewise indicated that he will run for reelection in 2024, though he has not officially announced the beginning of his campaign.
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The findings of new polls conducted following the indictment of Donald Trump deliver both good and bad news for the former president.

In the latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll of 1,089 adults conducted over 30-31 March, Mr Trump dramatically widened his lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical Republican primary race face-off.

Mr Trump now leads Mr DeSantis 57 per cent to 31 per cent, up from a 47 per cent to 39 per cent edge last month. The Florida governor has not yet officially thrown his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination.

When other candidates were included in the polling, Mr Trump still garnered 52 per cent of the vote, while Mr DeSantis dropped to 21 per cent. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley got five per cent of the vote, while former Vice President Mike Pence scored three percent, and Chris Christie and Mike Pompeo both earned two per cent.

In a head-to-head presidential race against incumbent President Joe Biden, Mr Trump was still bested by the Democrat 45 per cent to 43 per cent in a repeat of his 2020 loss.

In Florida specifically, Mr Trump was found to be at a slight disadvantage to Mr DeSantis in a poll released Tuesday (4 April) - the same day as the former presidents arraignment on charges in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.

The Mason-Dixon poll of Florida Republican voters concluded: DeSantis is, by far, more popular than either Biden or Donald Trump. Statewide, 53% have a favorable opinion of DeSantis and 36% have an unfavorable view. Both Trump (39% favorable/50% unfavorable) and Biden (33% favorable/54% unfavorable) are underwater in the Florida.

Mr Trump trailing at the national level may be connected to the findings of another poll by ABC News/Ipsos which shows that a plurality of Americans (45 per cent) believe it correct for the former president to have been charged with a crime in connection to the Manhattan District Attorneys probe of his hush money payments.

In that poll of 593 respondents, taken between 30 March and 1 April, around half (49 per cent) of those polled also feel that Mr Trump should be charged with a crime for his actions related to the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, and (51 per cent) say he should for his efforts to change the 2020 election results in his favour.

Investigations into Mr Trumps actions regarding those events and others continue.

(Ipsos)

Approximately one-third of those polled by Ipsos say he should not be charged over the Daniels affair, and about 20 per cent remain undecided, demonstrating that public opinion may not yet be fully formed on the topic as Americans wait to see the details of the indictment.

Rick Klein, political director of ABC News, noted that it was striking how many people are reserving judgment  Republicans included.

In light of criminal charges being brought against him, 43 per cent believe Mr Trump should suspend his presidential campaign  as new 2024 Republican contender Asa Hutchinson said when announcing his candidacy  while 35 per cent say he should not.

There is also considerable divergence in party affiliation regarding whether the charges are politically motivated. In total 47 per cent believe they are and 32 per cent say they are not, with 20 per cent undecided.

Only 16 per cent of Democrats say they are politically motivated, but 79 per cent of Republicans believe they are.

Independents lean towards believing in the existence of political motivation to the indictment (48 per cent), but as many as 18 per cent of independent respondents are yet to make up their minds.

Full details of the charges against Mr Trump were expected slated to be revealed at his arraignment on Tuesday.
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Donald Trump is planning to deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago during prime time on Tuesday night, just hours after he is arraigned in Manhattan following his criminal indictment.

The former president will speak at 2015 local time [0115 GMT] from his Palm Beach estate in Florida after returning from New York, where he is scheduled to appear in front of a judge at 1415 to answer to the criminal charges brought against him.

A grand jury of 23 New Yorkers voted to indict Mr Trump on Thursday, shortly before the end of the court wrapped up business for the day, taking many  including Mr Trump and his team  by surprise.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after news of the indictment became public.

Full details will probably only become public at the arraignment unless the charges are revealed earlier by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.

The former president is understood to be planning to fly to New York on Monday and will stay at his penthouse at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

He will then present himself at the New York County Criminal Court in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday morning for processing  including fingerprinting and potentially a mug shot.

After lunch, he will appear before Judge Juan Merchan and will plead not guilty according to his lawyer Joe Tacopina.

As soon as court proceedings have concluded, Mr Trump will head back to LaGuardia Airport in Queens and return to Florida.

Security will be extremely tight around New Yorks courts that day, which are based around Centre Street, a short distance from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. A heavy police presence is planned and some roads will be blocked off.

Mr Trump has spent much of the time since the indictment, sequestered away at Mar-a-Lago angrily posting tirade after tirade against the indictment, Mr Bragg and Judge Merchan, as well as the radical left while complaining he cannot get a fair trial in New York.

Asked by MSNBCs Jen Psaki if what the former president was posting might constitute a crime, former Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance said: I think the presidents comments, tweets, writings and pictures are not just inappropriate. Theyre wrong ... If I were Mr Trumps lawyer, I would tell him to knock it off.

He added that from a legal perspective, there is a misdemeanour crime under New York law that Mr Trump may be falling foul of, and it certainly wouldnt help his case with the judge and a jury.

Nevertheless, the former presidents remarks on Tuesday are still expected to reflect his social media posts.

However, those same inflammatory posts could lead to a gag order being imposed by the judge (or at the request of Mr Bragg). This would not prohibit Mr Trump from speaking publicly, but it would prevent him from talking about the case.

In that case, CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman noted on Sundays Face the Nation that the former president might want to make those remarks before heading to court  perhaps from Trump Tower  before any conditions are imposed on him.

Also on Sunday morning, during an appearance on ABCs This Week, Mr Tacopina told George Stephanopoulos that the charges against the former president are politically motivated, and a direct result of his 2024 White House ambitions.

He argued that someone without public prominence would not be facing the same criminal charges and that all Americans should be outraged by the indictment.

The Trump legal team is reportedly going to request the trial be moved out of deep blue Democrat Manhattan to more conservative Staten Island across New York Harbour which Mr Trump won in 2020 with 57 per cent of the vote.
 Close Trump claims NYC courthouse staff were crying when he was arrested

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Donald Trump is set to publish a private letter from King Charles without Buckingham Palaces permission in his new $100 book, it has been revealed.

The letter was sent to Mr Trump in 1995 thanking him for giving him an honorary membership to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Flordia, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Trump plugged his new book Letters to Trump  a collection of private letters sent to him by world leaders and famous figures  during a Fox News interview on Sunday night.

In the interview, host Mark Levin fawned over the former president as the most impressive conversation Ive had.

This comes as Mr Trumps civil trial brought by columnist E Jean Carroll begins this week in New York.

Ms Carroll has claimed that Mr Trump raped her in the dressing toom of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the 1990s.

Jury selection begins on Tuesday in the case. Mr Trump is not expected to appear in person.
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Conservative Petteri Orpo claimed victory in a tight election, stopping prime minister Sanna Marin from securing a second term.

His center-right National Coalition Party claimed victory Sunday evening with around with 99.4 per cent of votes counted on Sunday, coming out on top to secure 20.7 per cent of the vote, with the populist, nation-first Finns party predicted to score 20.1 per cent. Marins SDP was forecast to collect 19.9 per cent.

Ms Marin congratulated the election winners during her concession speech, but hailed an improvement in both her partys vote share and its projected number of MPs.

National Coalition Chairman Petteri Orpo celebrates at the party's parliament election (Lehtikuva)

Its a really good achievement, even though I didnt finish first today, she told supporters in Helsinki.

But who is the new incoming prime minister?

Petteri Orpo has been a member of parliament since 2007 and became head of the National Coalition in 2016 after challenging his predecessor Alexander Stubb, a former prime minister, for the party leadership.

Born in 1969 in rural south-west Finland, the 53-year-old has a university degree in political science.

Considered a strong negotiator, Mr Orpo has held several government posts, including as minister of agriculture and forestry from 2014 to 2015, interior minister from 2015 to 2016 and finance minister from 2016 to 2019.

Prime minister Sanna Marin conceded defeat (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

He earned praise across most of Finland's political spectrum for his handling as interior minister of the 2015 migration crisis in Europe, when the Nordic nation saw a tenfold increase in refugee arrivals.

A self-styled fiscal conservative, he aims to cut spending on unemployment benefits and other welfare programmes to reduce the government's budget deficit and make room for tax cuts aimed at boosting economic growth.

Mr Orpo has been described as a strong negotiator (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Mr Orpo has kept his options open with regards to which parties he may govern with after the election, including his main rivals for the top job, outgoing prime minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats and nationalist Finns Party leader Riikka Purra.

Married and with two children, he is also a reserve officer in Finland's national defence force.

Negotiations to build a government are expected to be thorny and could last several weeks.

Mr Orpo has said he will keep his options open, and could cooperate either with the left or the far-right, whom Ms Marin has qualified as openly racist.

Orpo's National Coalition is at odds with Ms Marin's SDP on budget austerity, and clashes with the Finns Party on immigration, the EU and climate policy.
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A pro-Putin military blogger was killed and 30 others injured in an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported.

Vladlen Tatarsky died as he was leading a discussion at the cafe on the bank of the Neva River in the historic heart of the city. Some reports said a bomb was embedded in a bust of the blogger that was given to him as a gift.

Russias Interfax news agency reported that a St Petersburg woman, Darya Tryopova, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the bombing. It said that she had been previously detained for taking part in anti-war rallies.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Born in the Donbas, Ukraines industrial heartland, Tatarsky worked as a coal miner before starting a furniture business. When he ran into financial difficulties, he robbed a bank and was sentenced to prison. He fled from custody after a Russia-backed separatist rebellion engulfed the Donbas in 2014, weeks after Moscows annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Then he joined separatist rebels and fought on the front line before turning to blogging. Tatarsky was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

A well-known Russian military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky is reported to have been killed in a St Petersburg explosion (Reuters)

He was among hundreds of attendees at a lavish Kremlin ceremony last September to proclaim Russia's annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine, a move that most countries at the UN condemned as illegal.

We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it, he was shown saying in a video clip on that occasion.

A St Petersburg website said the explosion on Sunday took place at a cafe that had at one time belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine. There was no indication who was behind the blast.

If Tatarsky was deliberately targeted, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a high-profile figure associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia (AP)

Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services last August of killing Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow that President Vladimir Putin called evil.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the part of Ukraine's Donetsk province that is occupied by Russia, suggested publicly that Ukraine was to blame.

He was killed vilely. Terrorists cannot do otherwise. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime. It needs to be destroyed, there's no other way to stop it, he said. Ukraine denied involvement.

Retired Air Vice Marshall Sean Bell told Sky News there is not enough detail to suggest who was behind the incident, but feels it would be unlikely the Ukrainian government was involved.

Following the blast, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter that the spiders are eating each other in a jar, suggesting Russia is facing a troubled time because of its invasion.

Russia's war bloggers, an assortment of military correspondents and freelance commentators with army backgrounds, have enjoyed broad freedom from the Kremlin to publish hard-hitting views on the war, now in its 14th month. Mr Putin even made one of them a member of his human rights council last year.

He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a Petersburg cafe, said Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo.

Alexander Khodakovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: Max, if you were a nobody, you'd have died of 'vodka and headcolds'. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother.

It comes as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US secretary of state Antony Blinken it was unacceptable for Washington to politicise the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained and accused of spying in Russia.

Russian Emergency Situations Ministry stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia (AP)

Mr Blinken called for the immediate release of the US journalist during the telephone call with Mr Lavrov on Sunday, the US State Department said.

Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The secretary called for his immediate release, US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement that did not mention Mr Gershkovich by name.
 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.
Are African Govts Beating Anti-Gay Drum to Cloud Real Issues?

The continent's LGBTQI+ communities continue to face attacks on their basic human rights and their ability to access services such as healthcare by governments and religious groups.

Zambia's government has said it will not tolerate the promotion of LGBTQI+ rights, saying such rights are against the country's Christian values. The warning came a day after police arrested four activists from a feminist group for allegedly giving false information about a planned protest.

In Kenya, Catholic-allied MPs have vowed to mobilise to disband the NGO Board to preempt the imminent registration of a gay rights lobby group. This come after a Supreme Court judgment that LGBTQI+ community members have a right to association - even though the law considers same-sex marriage illegal - was met with opposition from clergy and legislators.

In Uganda, a new bill introduced to Parliament seeking to criminalise same-sex conduct and sexual and gender identity, if adopted, would violate multiple fundamental rights, according to Human Rights Watch. And in Burundi, prosecutors have charged 24 people with engaging in same-sex acts and inciting homosexuality in others, part of a crackdown on LGBTQI+ rights that has been criticised by the United Nations.

In southern Africa, Anglican bishops have agreed at a meeting to prepare formal prayers suitable for providing pastoral care to couples in same-sex civil unions.

But why does homosexuality incite such vehemence, asks Olivia Nalubwama in The Independent.

"Across the political spectrum, people who usually cannot see past their political colours, suddenly unite in sublime fervour against homosexuality."

"The politician frothing at the mouth about the threat of homosexuality in our schools deftly glides over the rampant sexual abuse of children in school and at home while sexually harassing the young women in his office for 'some'."

"Our convenient stand against homosexuality is a most inconvenient dilemma. But, it allows us a modicum of dignity; we can pretend that we are fighting for Uganda and future generations. Fighting homosexuality is much easier than fighting endemic corruption, electoral fraud, a flailing economy, and human rights abuses."
A video shared on social media shows the moment a well-known Russian blogger was handed a statue that reportedly killed him.

Military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, real name Maxim Fomin, was attending an event at the Street Bar cafe in St Petersburg when he was killed in an explosion that also injured 16 others.

According to Interior Ministry sources, quoted by Russian state media, a woman presented the blogger with a statue which contained a bomb.

Tatarsky had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was often running a commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

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The UK government is in negotiations over three Britons held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the home secretary says.

So-called danger tourist Miles Routledge and charity medic Kevin Cornwell are among the three believed to have been held by Taliban secret police since January in separate incidents.

Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution, Suella Braverman said this morning (Sunday).

If there are risks to peoples safety if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe.

The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

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Three British men are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan for what is believed to be a misunderstanding over a licensed weapon, which Taliban intelligence believed to be unlicensed.

Scott Richards, who works for the non-profit organisation Presidium Network, is assisting two of the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man.

Presidium confirmed that the third man is Miles Routledge, the famous British holidaymaker.

The two men being assisted by Presidium were detained by Taliban secret police on January 11.

We believe they are in good health and well treated, Mr Richards confirmed

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At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured as tornadoes swept across the Midwest and South on Friday.

Almost 60 twisters were spotted in seven different states in the last 24 hours, according to ABC News, with severe damages reported across Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

The most deaths were clustered in Arkansas, where tornadoes touched down in the cities of Wynne and North Little Rock, killing five.

Little Rock mayor Frank Scott told CNN the impact is devastating, with more than 30,000 without power.

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It is a cruel war. Blockades and sieges inflict untold harm on ordinary people. A majority struggle to meet the food needs of their families. At least half a million children under the age of five are suffering from extreme malnutrition. Breakouts of diseases like cholera are rampant. The fragile economy has long since collapsed.

Last Sunday marked the eighth anniversary of Yemens harrowing civil war  one of the worst armed conflicts in recent history, particularly for civilians. Hopes that the complicated conflict will peter out after so many years, so much misery, and at least 15,000 deaths, are at a high point.

Too high, in fact; and there is a grave danger that what has been described frequently as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis will continue, and that it will slide even further down an already crowded global agenda.
The fallout from Brexit is intensifying the conversation on Irish unity, Sinn Fein MP John Finucane has said.

Mr Finucane said conversations were taking place now about increasing prosperity and this was woven through the discussion about a united Ireland.

There are those that I talk to that still feel aggrieved that their full European rights and citizenship have been stripped from them in a very undemocratic way because of Brexit and we know that the pathway back to full European reintegration is within the model of constitutional change, he told RTE.

So people are having this conversation and what I find interesting about it is that it very rarely comes down to identity politics, Ill finish with this.

People are asking about how we can have a better health system on the one island, how we can have a better education system, how we can increase and build prosperity, and all of that weaves through the conversation on Irish Unity.

And I do think that will be a significant change that we will see in the years to come.

Meanwhile, DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly has said the Stormont institutions can only be restored on the right terms, while UUP leader Doug Beattie has predicted the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

Stormont is currently suspended due to the DUPs ongoing protest against post-Brexit trading agreements.

Mr Finucane said the aftermath of Brexit was playing a role in intensifying the conversation on unity.

People are asking about how we can have a better health system on the one island, how we can have a better education system, how we can increase and build prosperity, and all of that weaves through the conversation on Irish unity, he told RTE.

And I do think that will be a significant change that we will see in the years to come.

Ms Little-Pengelly said the DUP would only return to Stormont on the right terms.

The reality is a house built on sand cannot stand, it will be weakened, and therefore we have to get this right, she said.

Of course, we want devolution to be restored, it has to be on the right terms.

It has to be on terms and foundations thats going to work because we do have a huge piece of work to do.

Mr Beattie said that the Windsor Framework could be changed while the executive is operational.

I suppose this is where me and Emma disagree, he said.

Mr Beattie added: I think were both strong unionists and we want Northern Ireland to work as part of the United Kingdom, I think were absolutely on the ground with that.

He added: We believe, however, that the only way to achieve this, that is to challenge the issues around the Windsor framework which do not work and also to realise the opportunities of the Windsor Windsor framework is to be in the devolved government.

Mr Beattie also said he believed the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

What I think is they will go back in because I think they realise that its good for unionists to be in and have a voice and be able to challenge the government, he said.

Ms Little-Pengelly responded: People do want stable government here. I suppose what we disagree on is the balance of that and how that can be done.

Mr Beattie reiterated that having a stable government would help to diminish conversations on constitutional change.

If we focus on the economy, an economy which will give us good health service, good infrastructure, give us homes, give us jobs for our young people, he said.

If we can create that for the people here in Northern Ireland, then nobody will vote for change.

So thats what I want to focus on, but to be able to do that we need to have government.

Fine Gael Minister Simon Coveney was speaking on the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement and said trust between all parties had to be rebuilt.

In many ways thats been the hugely frustrating thing of the last number of years, that much of that trust has been unravelled and we need to put it back together, he said.

My generation of politician has a responsibility to ensure that this piece survives and is, when necessary, rebuilt.

Mr Coveney also commended the representatives from the unionist parties for their expressed desire to reinstate Stormont.

He said: Im encouraged to hear people like Doug Beattie and Emma Pengelly speak the way they have, wanting to see the role of government functioning again in Northern Ireland, and we need to work with them and John Finucane and all the different parties in Northern Ireland to make that happen in the weeks ahead.
When a housing minister is asked to address a conference for big US multinational employers, you know they have something on their mind  and it isnt corporate tax.

Housing Minister Darragh OBrien tried his best to re-assure the executives of firms employing 200,000 people here that housing matters were in hand.

Getting to grips with housing and catching up were phrases OBrien used at the American Chamber of Commerce event  and he certainty didnt fall into the trap of over-promising and under-delivering.

Interpreting the warnings and the upsides, it seems we are at the peak of an economic cycle

Surveys have found that housing is the number one challenge for companies wanting to invest or expand in Ireland. After all, they cant bring in the new jobs if there isnt anywhere affordable for employees to live.

The prospect of an economy with so much investment and job potential but not enough infrastructural capacity, including housing, also surfaced in an ESRI report this week.

The think-tank is worried that the Irish economy could overheat. This could happen on the back of very low unemployment which could go below 4pc, higher prices, wages and increased demand. Overheating tends to end miserably in relatively big downturns.

A different kind of warning was given by Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney and IDA Irelands Mary Buckley, speaking at the announcement of Eli Lillys 1bn pharma investment in Limerick.

Expand Close Mary Buckley of the IDA; Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, and Eli Lilly CEO and chairman David Rix / Facebook

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Buckley warned about not taking inward investment for granted and emphasised the threats and the economic uncertainty. Both cautioned about challenges following the downturn in tech sector jobs.

The whole pattern is a little confusing and looks like mixed messaging.

The ESRI suggests we could become victims of our own success with an overheated boom and then a bad downturn.

Coveney emphasises the danger of a downturn or drop off in inward investment caused by uncertainty.

Can they both be right?

Either way, we end up in a worse place than the economy is at now. Interpreting the warnings and the upsides, it seems we are at the peak of an economic cycle.

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We either see a downturn caused by external factors, or a foot-to-the-floor approach without the capacity in the economy

to match growth pressures  which may lead to a bigger shock.

The ESRI signalled the possible need for tax increases to slow spending. An overheating economy could also be made worse by excessive current spending by the Government to fix problems in health or housing.

Politicians selling tax increases is hard at any time. But trying to do it when the Exchequer is expected to show an 8bn surplus (as it does this year) seems completely impossible.

Listening to all the warnings and insights, it seems pretty clear that right now nobody has a clue what way the economy is going to go in the next two years.

But nobody is saying it will go up and up.

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Air fares take-off in a sign of airline recovery

Mixed messages were also the order of the day from Ryanairs Michael OLeary. The CEO warned last week that air fares could go up by 10pc to 15pc this year. Though he didnt see them going up by more than 20pc, as some airlines have warned.

This part was pretty straightforward  except that less than a year ago he was warning that air fares could go up by about 25pc over the next five years. Last summer he said the average Ryanair fare would rise from 40 in 2021 to 50 in five years.

He could still be right about that, but fare rises by the end of this year would be a pretty big chunk out of that estimate.

The other big difference was that his higher fares warning last summer came on the back of rising fuel prices. But fuel prices have been falling. It seems the big factor behind fare rises this year is customer demand.

Ryanair reported record after-tax profits of 211m for the three months to December 2022

Enough people are willing to pay more, so fares go up. It is a straight business proposition and airlines are in the business of making money.

In the UK Office of National Statistics figures showed that air-travel prices increased more than 44pc in December from a year earlier. This marked the biggest increase since 1989  but in fairness, the industry was trying to recover from the pandemic.

Ryanair is in expansion mode, and when things slow down it tends to slash fares to get people flying. When there is big demand for travel, fares can tick up again as they are doing now.

Earlier this year Ryanair reported record after-tax profits of 211m for the three months to December 2022 which were boosted by increased passenger numbers and more expensive flights.

The airlines growth trajectory since Covid has been impressive. OLeary warned last week about the impact that French industrial action is having on fly over traffic above France.

Given its key market positions in Ireland, the UK, Spain and Italy, French flyover prohibitions caused by air traffic disputes are understandably irking the long standing CEO.

The Westmeath straight shooter isnt known for going around.



ESG opportunities are not an item on CFOs horizon

Irish finance directors are pretty downbeat when it comes to the much-talked about investment in ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance).

Despite over half of those CFOs surveyed for the EY survey saying their role involves a greater focus on ESG, only 15pc claimed that building skills in non-financial or ESG reporting was a key priority.

CFOs see ESG as a cost. CEOs might see it as an opportunity

The survey shows how involved the CFOs in Irish companies are with ESG compliance, but just 2pc of those surveyed said this kind of reporting would be a key area of focus for them.

CFOs see ESG as a cost. CEOs might see it as an opportunity.

And the focus on it seems to be in decline among CFOs. Only 6pc said non-financial reporting was one of the top strategic areas of focus over the next five years, compared to 15pc in 2022.

This has become a common theme around sustainability especially since the Ukraine War with all of its uncertainty and a resurgence in fossil fuels around the world.

Few CFOs see opportunities in sustainability and decarbonisation as a driver of growth.

This may be because they are CFOs and not CEOs, who have to take a different perspective. But it doesnt augur well for securing the investment required within big organisations from the finance department to pursue sustainability opportunities.

Another problem is the confusion around green investing. Even asset managers are complaining about new EU rules which classify sustainable investments. A tightening of the criteria for the greenest category has prompted leading European investment managers to remove the label from 175bn of funds.

The rules try to avoid greenwashing  but perhaps many businesses just arent ready for that level of commitment. Move regulation quickly and everybody falls short. Move slowly and it all ends up being too late.

ESG still has a long way to go to secure real priority at the boardroom tables.
Pernod Ricard, which owns Irelands biggest-selling whiskey brand Jameson, has resumed supply of brands to the Russian market having previously suspended sales there in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, the Sunday Independent confirmed various Jameson products were available on a popular Russian alcohol website with stores in the countrys capital city, Moscow.

Jameson is produced in Midleton, Co Cork, by Pernod Ricard-owned Irish Distillers, which is also behind other well-known whiskey brands, including Powers and Redbreast.

In response to questions from the Sunday Independent on the availability of Jameson in Russia, a spokeswoman for the company said: Since the beginning of the war, our priority has always been the protection of our local employees in both Ukraine and Russia in strict compliance with all applicable regulations and sanctions.

Expand Close Before its invasion of Ukraine, Russia had emerged as a popular market for Irish whiskey / Facebook

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Initially, this was possible through the sale of pre-existing stocks which were held in the market and imported prior to the war starting.

These stocks have been depleted and therefore, in continued strict compliance with all applicable regulations, we are supplying stock to a level that permits us to ensure the welfare of our local team and the viability of the Pernod Ricard distribution subsidiary.

In March 2022, just weeks after Russias invasion, Pernod Ricard told the Sunday Independent it had suspended all sales in Russia until further notice.

Before its invasion, Russia had emerged as a popular market for Irish whiskey.

According to the Irish Whiskey Association, Russia was once Irelands second-largest whiskey export market behind the United States, with 534,000 cases sold there in 2020.

Irish Distillers reported Jameson had grown sales in Russia by 19pc in its results for 2021.

Its half-year results to December 2022 show Jameson had sales of 6.4 million cases globally, up 11pc on the previous year.
Both parties had agreed to end the case without prejudice and bear all their attorneys fees and costs

Irish dairy giant Ornua has resolved a trademark row in the US with New Zealands second-largest dairy company over its billion-euro-valued butter brand Kerrygold.

A joint stipulation for dismissal was filed in the US courts late last month and was signed by attorneys for Ornua and New Zealands Westland Dairy. The file showed that both parties had agreed to end the case without prejudice and bear all their attorneys fees and costs.

Last week, both Ornua and Westland Dairy said the litigation had been resolved on a confidential basis. Last month, the Sunday Independent reported the firms engaged in settlement talks.

The US court row kicked off in late December after Ornua alleged trademark infringement against Westlands butter brand Westgold. The group sought damages and a preliminary or permanent injunction in the US.

Westland denied the trademark was substantially similar and hit back when it filed an opposition and counterclaims.

In February, Ornua agreed to terminate part of the case that sought to stop the sale of Westgold temporarily.
Countries Must Work Together to Stop Cross-Border Tax Evasion

In 2021 alone, information on assets of nearly EUR 11 trillion held outside the taxpayers' place of residence was exchanged through the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information .

Since 2013, tax administrations collected over EUR 114 billion in tax, interest and penalties through voluntary disclosure programmes and other tax compliance initiatives.

Information exchanged on the Standard helps tax authorities track income so that it can be taxed and support domestic needs. It is therefore critical that African countries promote such cross border support in order to reduce tax evasion.

More African countries will be implementing this Standard in the coming years. Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Seychelles, have already implemented the Standard while Kenya, Rwanda, Tunisia and Uganda are already making advanced preparations to do so.

African countries will be deprived of much needed resources as long as we struggle to collect all taxes due to them. It is critical that we build local tax authority capacity and work together to support domestic income generation, write Thulani Shongwe and Melissa de Jong for allAfrica.
As a hiring strategy we dont come in and say we are going to get your best people, tell us who they are'. Stock image/Getty

Last year the company announced plans to recruit 200 new technologists as it set up a new base in Dublin to deliver cloud research and innovations. Stock image/Getty

Cloud software company VMware believes recent layoffs and changes in the tech sector will give it an opportunity to lure top talent to the companys new Dublin hub.

It is working with a number of Irish colleges and universities to support its efforts to fill 100 open roles, but believes global changes in the sector over the past 12 months will give the company a deeper pool to pull from.

Last year the company announced plans to recruit 200 new technologists as it set up a new base in Dublin to deliver cloud research and innovations.

It filled the first 100 of these positions last year, with the remaining roles due to be filled by 2025.

Further opportunities for expansion are also likely to be considered.

VMware had a sizable presence in Cork for the past decade with about 1,000 staff at its plant in Ballincollig, but the companys senior vice president for engineering Huseyin Dursun said plans to expand to Dublin has been a target for some time.

The expansion plans in the capital are being led by Andrei Grigoriev, VMwares vice president of engineering and site lead for Dublin.

Grigoriev was born in the former Soviet Union and grew up in Rostov-on-Don, not far from the Black Sea.

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Grigoriev came to Ireland in 2000 and moved from product management work into consumer-facing roles which saw him working in Chicago, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East, but he is settled in Dublin.

Since joining VMware last year, a significant part of his work has involved collaborating with local universities to build relationships.

This involves mentoring masters students on their final-year projects. The company initially aimed to mentor two such projects but found seven they decided to work on.

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Guest lectures were held at the University of Limerick and UCD, while the company said it had also engaged with officials or students at Trinity College, DCU and TU Dublin in recent months.

Dursun said this is an approach the company uses at sites in the US, Bulgaria and India  but he added it is not only about trying to attract graduates to the company.

As a hiring strategy we dont come in and say we are going to get your best people, tell us who they are. We would like to have a genuine relationship with them where we can also teach VMware technologies because what is being taught at colleges is not actually covering the type of products and technologies we are building and selling.

There is always a metaphorical war for talent in the technology industry

In some cases, they are too deep or too sophisticated, so it is critical to us to go and do guest lectures or propose [mentoring final-year] projects as Andrei has done. When you establish that relationship, that will organically bring talent.

The 100 positions filled in the past 12 months have been taken up by people already based in Ireland, but the company is looking at local and international talent to fill the remaining vacancies.

Competition for talent was more intense last year when the hiring phase of the expansion plans took hold but concerns in the tech sector and the layoffs announced globally by firms such as Meta and Amazon have changed the landscape somewhat.

There is always a metaphorical war for talent in the technology industry, Dursun said.

It is unclear what the impact of those layoffs has been on Dublin, and putting numbers out there is speculation, but I consider this situation as a global event. It creates a nervousness across the industry. That may help or impact your own attrition rates. If there are more people in the market pool and we are hiring, that is an advantage for us.

Further expansion is also possible, he added.

It depends on our success and projects expanding but we definitely can go beyond that [target of 200 new technologists by 2025].

He also said the company was not expecting to encounter some of the challenges seen elsewhere in the tech sector which has led to other companies laying off thousands of staff.

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Dursun, who visited Dublin from his base in Palo Alto as part of an event with IDA Ireland to launch the new hub said a proposed 60bn purchase of the company by US chipmaker Broadcom is unlikely to alter plans for its Irish operation.

Britain's competition regulator expressed concern the deal could make parts and software for servers more expensive, but Broadcom said it is confident such anxieties can be addressed.

VMware said it will respond to all regulatory enquiries and it expects the sale to be concluded in 2023, but according to Reuters, the EU is set to issue an antitrust warning about the deal.

Today we are two different companies, Dursun said.

What we are currently doing with Broadcom are discovery sessions. We tell them about our operations where we are present and they understand our operations.

VMware as a name is going to become the software arm of Broadcom, so the VMware name will be retained.

This means VMwares current plans will also be retained, he added.
On the southern side of the Russian capital, Moscow, sits a complex of industrial buildings, including what was once a manufacturing hub for one of Irelands biggest companies.

Paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa added the plant to its existing Russian operation in 2017  three years after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea  when it acquired the Russian corrugated packaging company Soyuz.

At the beginning of 2022, it had a few other operations in Russia near St Petersburg, with all the factories employing about 800 people.

All that was before February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine. Over 400 days have since passed, and the war rumbles on.

Expand Close Some claimed Putin believed the West, which continued to invest and do business in Russia after Crimea, wouldnt react strongly. That was not to be the case. Pictured, the Kremlin in Moscow. Photo: Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Some claimed Putin believed the West, which continued to invest and do business in Russia after Crimea, wouldnt react strongly. That was not to be the case. Pictured, the Kremlin in Moscow. Photo: Getty Images

Given the weak reaction to Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, some commentators have claimed that Putin believed western governments and companies, which continued to invest and do business in Russia, wouldnt react strongly.

That was not the case  with an intense wave of sanctions introduced against Russia, as companies  including many Irish  opted to leave the market.

In a short media statement last month, Smurfit Kappa announced it had completed its exit from the Russian market.

The company had already announced its intention to exit Russia in April 2022 and entered an agreement to sell its Russian operations to local management.

Enterprise Ireland said one of its most critical early interventions was concerning supply chains and alternative suppliers

Smurfit Kappa is not alone in the list of Irish companies and brands that exited the Russian market after Putins bloody invasion. Big players such as Kerry Group, CRH and Kingspan headed for the exit door.

A long list of new sanctions against Russia was introduced in the aftermath of the invasion.

A Department of Enterprise spokesman said the sanctions don't prohibit all trade, they targeted exports of goods that could contribute to Russias military and technological enhancement, or the development of its defence and security sector.

The sanctions also prohibit the import of goods from Russia to the EU that generate significant revenue for the Russian State, enabling its actions in Ukraine.

Despite those sanctions and several companies halting trade with Russia, Ireland still exported 549m worth of goods to Russia in 2022, importing 379m.

So, more than a year since the invasion, how have Irish companies coped with sanctions and lowering their trade with Russia?

Kenan Furlong, a partner in A&L Goodbodys disputes and investigations group, has been helping businesses get their heads around the sanctions.

Expand Close A&L Goodbody's Kenan Furlong said he believed the two sectors most affected by sanctions had been financial services and aviation. Stock image / Facebook

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Whatsapp A&L Goodbody's Kenan Furlong said he believed the two sectors most affected by sanctions had been financial services and aviation. Stock image

I think it is fair to say everyone has been learning on the job, businesses and lawyers included, he said. The intensity and change of sanctions have been unprecedented.

Businesses have been doing their best to adapt and respond accordingly, but it has been challenging.

Furlong says that as the sanctions have sometimes been passed in a hurry, there can be some interpretation issues across sectors and some grey areas.

I would say Irish businesses, in general, have taken a very responsible attitude toward it and have dealt with it pragmatically.

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"There have been what you might call some teething problems that have arisen as part of that, but the response has evolved as the year has gone on, and the sophistication is significantly greater than it was a year ago.

Most sanctions are related to what are known as asset freeze sanctions, which preclude companies from doing business with sanctioned entities or other firms that are controlled or owned by them.

While figuring out who is on the sanctions list is easy, as is who owns a company, the big challenge has been establishing who controls a firm.

There have been a number of occasions where businesses have had difficulty ascertaining this control question, and that then requires them to engage with the competent national authorities, be it the Central Bank or others, Furlong said.

Those arent easy issues for businesses or the authorities.

As soon as we did our due diligence, we had to say thanks, but no thanks

There can be time pressure on them, he added. They might be looking to be paid a large amount of money, and they might say, well, we dont believe we are sanctioned, so we think you should pay us, and the business is then dealing with the spectre that it is a criminal offence to breach sanctions. If you get it wrong, the consequences can be quite severe.

According to Furlong, these issues had led to companies becoming far more sophisticated around risk management in relation to Russian sanctions.

While Furlong said almost all sectors had been affected, he believed the two most affected by sanctions had been financial services and aviation.

Irelands significant aviation leasing sector has been hit with many aircraft becoming stranded in Russia due to the sanctions and high-value court battles looming with insurers. On March 24 last year, AerCap submitted a claim to its insurers seeking an indemnity of nearly $3.5bn.

Financial services companies have been having issues establishing who controls entities and if they can release funds legally.

With the well-flagged financial services and aviation issues, many other sectors were also expected to be battered by the sanctions against Russia and Belarus and lower trade when the war started.

Expand Close Big players such as Kerry Group, CRH and Kingspan headed for the exit door. Pictured, Albert Manifold, CRH CEO. Photo: Gary O'Neill / Facebook

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Whatsapp Big players such as Kerry Group, CRH and Kingspan headed for the exit door. Pictured, Albert Manifold, CRH CEO. Photo: Gary O'Neill

In the weeks and months after the war, headlines across Europe and Ireland warned of a potentially significant fertiliser shortage, imperilling food supply. Fertiliser from Russia had accounted for around 40pc of the Irish market.

Many sought clarity over whether fertiliser was included in the EU sanctions. Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue told the Farming Independent last October that EU sanctions do not apply to Russian fertiliser ahead of a shipment arriving in Ireland.

Managing director of Irish fertiliser distributor Grassland Agro, Liam Woulfe, said he had received a significant proportion of his products from Russia before the war, but opted to change his supply lines elsewhere.

He recognised some confusion over fertilisers and the status under sanctions, with some Russian companies potentially linked to sanctioned entities.

It has been confusing, and that is a bad reflection on the authorities, he said. They washed their hands out of the proper information flow. We were expected to make up our own minds.

The EI survey also found 13pc of businesses cited loss of sales as a significant concern

Woulfe added: Imposing sanctions was the guidance for the moral compass of Europe. We did that in full thrust and are still in the same position.

On the outlook for fertiliser in Ireland, Woulfe believes there is enough capacity to produce what is needed but that the weather, rather than the war, could create issues.

The legal industry in Ireland also faced challenges, having provided services to Russian companies.

Paul Egan of Mason Hayes & Curran said his law firm decided in the immediate aftermath of the invasion that it would not represent or act for anyone aligned with the Russian government or those who were either directly or indirectly supporting the war in Ukraine.

We dropped clients, he said. We are not alone in that  we were followed by all the large firms.

In the early days of the invasion, Egan said MHC and other law firms in Ireland were approached by people asking them to help restructure and reorganise the ownership of companies that Russians owned.

As soon as we did our due diligence, we had to say thanks, but no thanks.

Expand Close In a short media statement last month, Smurfit Kappa announced it had completed its exit from the Russian market. Pictured, CEO Anthony Smurfit / Facebook

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Whatsapp In a short media statement last month, Smurfit Kappa announced it had completed its exit from the Russian market. Pictured, CEO Anthony Smurfit

The message came back pretty quickly to those people. Some of the work that may have been offered might have been entirely respectful, but it was there pre-emptively of there being a tightening of the noose.

One of the areas that had been profitable for some law firms was providing services to the large volume of Russian special purpose vehicles operating in Ireland, which are legal companies formed to meet short-term investment objectives.

The Central Bank froze billions of euro worth of assets linked to these entities, some of which had close ties to Russian state-backed companies.

While Egan said MHC had not been involved in this space, he was aware of some that were. But, generally, he said there had been a greater reluctance to work with any Russia-linked company due to the high volume of due diligence now required.

Another sector that flagged worries was the hardware and construction materials space.

The authorities washed their hands out of the proper information flow. We were expected to make up our own minds

In March 2022, following the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Enterprise Ireland surveyed client companies likely to be most exposed to the economic results of Russias actions.

The survey showed the most cited inputs where costs or availability were expected to be an issue after the invasion included construction-related raw materials, such as metals. Others were food, agricultural products, energy and chemicals.

According to Martin Markey, CEO of the industry lobby group Hardware Association Ireland, the worst fears did not transpire. Instead, he said that companies quickly switched suppliers to other markets.

It was an issue over how to switch, but this is a very agile industry, he said. Since Covid, people are very agile in switching suppliers or countries. This is a global industry  if the Russians arent seen as the place to source something, they go elsewhere, and that is what they did.

Looking across sectors, Enterprise Ireland said one of the most critical early interventions it made was concerning supply chains and identifying alternative suppliers for goods sourced from the region that sanctions had impacted. It also helped companies in nearby markets.

Irish companies have retrenched from the Russian market since the invasion, and Enterprise Ireland is working with these companies to assist them enter new markets or expand in existing markets, using a range of existing advisory, market insight and financial supports.

Expand Close Before the war, fertiliser from Russia had accounted for around 40pc of the Irish market. Photo: Stock image/Getty / Facebook

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Whatsapp Before the war, fertiliser from Russia had accounted for around 40pc of the Irish market. Photo: Stock image/Getty

Looking to the 12 months ahead, A & L Goodbodys Furlong believes the issues with trading with Russia are set to remain a significant business issue.

Furlong expects there to be a shift on the sanctions front. He flagged the potential for sanction breaches to become an EU-wide crime, the recent appointment of Irishman David OSullivan to an EU envoy role for the implementation of sanctions and initial talks of an EU-wide sanctions enforcement agency being formed.

I think 2022 was the year of compliance, as it were, where everyone was getting to grips with the new laws and how they affect their business and scrambling to try and comply as responsibly as possible, he said. I think Irish business did react in a very responsible way by and large.

However, I do think 2023 will be more about enforcement. You are not going to see another ten waves of sanctions.

"Gardai have made it clear they are conducting investigations in relation to sanction breaches in Ireland.
According to Red Hat, Valtrus sent letters to its customers claiming that they were violating Valtruss patents by using Red Hats software. Image/Red Hat

An Irish patent holding company has settled a lawsuit taken against it by US technology firm Red Hat.

Red Hat, which is owned by IBM, launched legal proceedings in the California Northern District Court last year against Valtrus Innovations Ltd in retaliation to claims made by the Dublin patent firm that Red Hat was violating its patents.

The US company, which makes enterprise software, had claimed that Valtrus had made false claims of patent infringement against it and its clients.

Red Hat accused Valtrus of interference with its customers by sending letters to users claiming that by using its software they were violating Valtruss patents.

The Irish company moved to have the complaint by Red Hat dismissed, stating the court in California had no jurisdiction over the claims.

Since then, the parties have agreed to settle in principle with no further terms disclosed.

Valtrus declined to comment. Red Hat did not respond to requests for comment.
UBS will cut its workforce by between 20pc and 30pc after completing its takeover of Credit Suisse, slashing as many as 36,000 jobs worldwide, SonntagsZeitung reported, citing a senior manager at UBS.

As many as 11,000 employees will be laid off in Switzerland, the Swiss newspaper said. The two lenders together employed almost 125,000 people at the end of 2022, with about 30pc of the total in Switzerland.

That number of predicted layoffs dwarfs the 9,000 job cuts that Credit Suisse announced before its rescue by UBS last month. It had been expected that final total of layoffs would reach a multiple of that number given sizable overlap between the two former rivals.

UBS didn't immediately respond to a call outside of normal business hours seeking comment.

Publicly, UBS has said it will give clarity on job cuts as soon as it can. While it was clear that major layoffs were coming, the lender sees retention of talent as a significant part of the takeover's execution risk.

Firms such as Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are gearing up to recruit some of the investment bankers and wealth managers likely to be let go. Already, headhunters saw themselves swarmed by Credit Suisse bankers seeking new jobs, as people from more than a dozen firms told Bloomberg last month.

The emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by its larger Swiss competitor in a $3.3bn deal was announced by the Swiss government on March 19 after five days of talks brokered by officials.

Years of scandals at Credit Suisse culminated in massive deposit outflows which would have seen it collapse the following Monday had action not been taken, according to Switzerland's finance minister.

The government resorted to emergency law to push through the deal without having to seek shareholder approval. So, while the annual general meetings of the two lenders  coming up this week  are expected to hear many angry voices, shareholder impact will be limited.

Important shareholder Norges Bank Investment Management, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, has announced it will vote against the reelection of several Credit Suisse directors, including chair Axel Lehmann.

Separately, the Financial Times reported on Saturday that UBS has a short list of four management consultants to advise on integrating Credit Suisse.

The bank is soon to decide between Bain, the Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey and Oliver Wyman, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the process who weren't identified.

It's expected to be one of the most lucrative contracts in years for dispensing financial services advice due to the complex, years-long process needed to meld the banks, according to the report.

UBS, Bain, BCG, McKinsey and Oliver Wyman didn't immediately respond to requests for comment outside of ordinary office hours.
Paul Mescal hopes his Olivier Award for best actor helps keep his unwell mothers spirits high, as well as his father who is looking after her.

The 27-year-old scooped the top acting prize at the Royal Albert Hall ceremony on Sunday for his turn as Stanley Kowalski in the new stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire.

During his speech, Mescal thanked his mother, who is receiving treatment for cancer, adding: I hope you get better.

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In the winners room, he told the PA news agency: My mum and dad are at home. My mums unwell at the moment, so hopefully itll give her a little bit of a lift and dad as well who is looking after.

It kind of feels maybe narcissistic or egotistical to assume that that will help anything, but I hope that it does.

A shocked Mescal said what is happening while holding his award.

Speaking about his success from starring in Normal People to an Oscar nomination for his role in Aftersun, he told PA: Its silly. I feel like I hear people say it all the time, but it doesnt feel real. This doesnt feel at all real.

But its kind of happening at such a rate that there is no time to stop and think, this is a phenomenal feeling.

But were on stage tomorrow at 7.30pm and I cant wait. Its the best play, its the best group of people to go to work with.

Expand Close Paul Mescal attending the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Paul Mescal attending the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

The Irish actor also described working in theatre as a thrill.

He said: Theatre is where I learned how to be an actor. Its where I started. I did five or six plays in Dublin, thats where I want to end up.

Its feels odd for me to not be in and around a stage or be planning to do theatre. I dont want to be far away for too long.

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Meanwhile, Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer, who won best actress for her role as Tessa in Prima Facie, spoke about the meaning behind her inspirational acceptance speech where she encouraged young actors to believe it is possible.

In the winners room, she told PA: When the (Prima Facie) script got sent to me, it was in the first lockdown and I was blown away by it.

But I was like, I dont know why Ive been sent this because I havent done a lot of theatre, I was confused by that.

Expand Close Jodie Comer in the press room after winning the Best Actress award for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jodie Comer in the press room after winning the Best Actress award for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

I guess Ive always been told no a lot in theatre auditions, which I think were always right and meant for me, but there was always this constant feedback of We like you but its too big a task or Youre just not trained or educated enough in this.

So that was something that kind of lingered with me. I think it might be that the stars need to align and you have to meet kind people, the right people and time and place, but it is actually possible, so hopefully that can be an example of that.

Comer, 30, added that she definitely wants to pursue more theatre productions in the future.

She told PA: Its tricky though because after this its going to have to be something really special for me to want to delve into it again.

But I would love to do more theatre. I understand it now when actors told me before that its kind of incomparable in that way, now I understand that.

Expand Close Sir Derek Jacobi in the press room after being presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sir Derek Jacobi in the press room after being presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the Olivier Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Similarly, Sir Derek Jacobi has described receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to theatre as magical.

In the winners room, he told PA about working with the late actor Laurence Olivier  in which the ceremony is named after.

Its not just an award to me, I worked with him for over seven years, hes part of my life and I owe him so very, very much, he said.

When I was young, he gave me the opportunities to work with him as an actor, to work with him as a producer, and to become his friend.

As I said in the speech, he once called me his other son. So I am in love with this man, and I have been all my career and without him, there would have been no lifetime achievement award.

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Beverley Knight, who secured best actress in a supporting role in a musical for her performance as Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia at The Old Vic, said she was knocked sideways.

She told PA: If my late best friend was still alive, he would say You couldve knocked me for seven. Thats how I feel. I am so so chuffed. There are no words.

The emotional 50-year-old also spoke about dedicating her speech to Wolverhampton youth theatre, saying she will never forget her roots.

She told PA: So many people from Wolverhampton youth theatre have gone on to have glorious careers in theatre, film and TV.

I just want kids to know that they can do this, even at my big age as people say, you can do this and you can you can have a career in this.

Expand Close Arthur Darvill in the press room after winning the Best Actor in a Musical award for Rodgers and Hammersteins Oklahoma! (Jordan Pettitt/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Arthur Darvill in the press room after winning the Best Actor in a Musical award for Rodgers and Hammersteins Oklahoma! (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Meanwhile Arthur Darvill, who won best actor in a musical for Rodgers & Hammersteins Oklahoma! said he dedicated the award to his supportive family, friends and school drama teacher.

He told PA: Im from Birmingham and I had a really supportive family. My mums a puppeteer and actress and my dads a musician so I came from a very artsy family and people who really got it.

I had this amazing drama teacher, Mike Perry, who was really inspiring and taught me loads.

I think those people are really important in all of our lives. Those teachers who see you, encourage you. Teachers are really important and I owe so much to so many people whove supported me throughout my life.

The Olivier Awards 2023 will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX from 10.15pm to 12.20am.
True crime podcasts reign supreme, our fascination with dark deeds unrelenting.

Not all shows are created equal though. Here are three that tell stories with utmost conviction.

In December 2021 on a Covid ward in Glasgow, the Irish-born academic Arthur Knight awoke from a coma. His wife Miranda was by his side  as were the police who had arrived with an international arrest warrant, believing Arthur Knight was in fact Nicholas Rossi, a convicted US sex offender who had faked his own death and was now wanted in Utah for two rapes.

Investigative journalist Jane MacSorley, in I Am Not Nicholas (Acast, Apple, Audible, Spotify), unravels the extraordinary story of a man of many aliases who continues to protest his innocence while in jail in Edinburgh, awaiting his extradition hearing in June.

There was a lot about Arthurs story that didnt add up for me, said MacSorley. Im Irish and his story of a childhood in Irish orphanages was just incredibly vague. And his accent didnt strike me as authentic either. I thought from pretty early on that he was Nicholas Rossi. But I wasnt sure whether his wife Miranda was in on it or not. She seemed really genuine. Get all the twists and turns in nine episodes, with the expectation (hope?) that new ones will be added when hes back in court.

 A refreshing take on the investigative genre, Time with Mr Reed (Apple, Spotify) is hosted by the titular convicted criminal, and has input from his now-separated wife. Reed Domingo is a mixed race boarding-school educated Englishman turned San Diego bank robber, who stole more than $64,000 to pay off debts amassed from years of gruelling IVF treatment until their daughter was born.

He hit 12 banks over a 12-month period before being eventually arrested by the FBI. He pleaded guilty and served nearly three years in Terminal Island prison in Los Angeles before being extradited to the UK. Domingos candid first-person reconstruction  and mishaps such as exploding dye packs and forgetting to pack his gun while on one spree  is nothing less than riveting.

The Latin phrase Mens Rea (Apple, Spotify; mensreapod.com) means guilty mind and is the title of Sinead McHughs podcast, launched in 2017 with fortnightly episodes.

McHugh has described it as court-heavy true crime storytelling, with an Irish twist, offering plain-spoken summaries of cases that have gripped the nation over the years, such as the unresolved murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, the so-called Scissor Sisters, illegal abortionist Mamie Caden, Fr Niall Molloy, and Jill Meagher, who was snatched off the streets of Melbourne.
After reading it carefully, the Sunday Independent news editor handed back a draft report detailing a gigantic tax fraud at the countrys biggest bank. That reads like the Hitler Diaries, he said. Were going to need a hell of a lot more if were going to publish it.

Compiled for the directors of Allied Irish Bank ( AIB), the lengthy document looked like it had been typed at home, was unsigned and didnt have the banks logo. Maybe there was a good reason for that.

It had been compiled by AIBs internal auditor, Anthony Spollen, and detailed how AIB had raided its Widows and Orphans Pension Fund, illegally propped up a mining share called Dana Exploration and had an estimated 350,000 bogus non-resident accounts containing 600m, much of which was hot money, hidden from the taxman.

The Hitler Diaries, to which my boss, Willie Kealy, had alluded was a celebrated newspaper disaster. The Sunday Times had been duped by a forger into printing diaries allegedly written by Adolf Hitler and authenticated by the historian Hugh Trevor-Roper. It had badly tarnished the reputations of both.

Was I being duped? I knew I wasnt, but then I didnt know much about high, or in this case, low finance either.

For a start I didnt know what a bogus non-resident account was. But it would later emerge that a huge cross section of Irish society, ranging from prominent figures in business and politics to shopkeepers, the self-employed and professionals, certainly did.

Expand Close AIB's Lochlann Quinn, Tom Mulcahy, and Peter Sutherland arriving for the Dirt inquiry in 1999 / Facebook

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Whatsapp AIB's Lochlann Quinn, Tom Mulcahy, and Peter Sutherland arriving for the Dirt inquiry in 1999

Twelve years earlier John Bruton, as finance minister in a cash-strapped coalition government, had introduced a financial measure known as Deposit Interest Retention Tax (Dirt). It was basically a tax on savings in financial institutions. But it had a get-out clause to prevent what was called a flight of funds: If you were a non-resident the tax did not apply.

In the years that followed more than a million non-resident accounts were opened, with the banks customers required to fill in a Form F. In doing so an estimated 60pc lied about where they lived, giving addresses belonging to relatives in the UK and the US, or simply plucked them from the phone book. The most ludicrous example was Main Street, New York.

The banks knew their customers were telling lies, and conveniently gave them the option of having any correspondence sent to an Irish address. So, a bank manager or official walking down the main street of any town knew that the local shopkeeper or doctor they bumped into was living there and not at the foreign address supplied on official documentation.

No one, not politicians, journalists or campaigners had ever been able to breach the airtight security that surrounded the big financial institutions, and many had tried.

Now, in early April 1998, 25 years ago this week, I had in my hands irrefutable evidence of wholesale corruption at the heart of the Irish financial system. The difficulty was getting it into print.

The problem we believe is now reaching critical proportions, Tony Spollen wrote in his draft report for the banks audit committee, code-named Octopus. The exposure of the group is now substantial in financial terms It is suggested [to the investigation branch of the Revenue Commissioners] that a determined effort was made to eliminate non-resident accounts by April 1990. This was clearly not the case.

He then went on to refer to unwarranted interference with the banks internal audit function and attempts to silence him and his 80-strong department.

On a dreary April evening I trudged along OConnell Street, Dublin, to meet my contact to see if he could provide me with the definitive proof that the report he had given me was genuine. He suddenly appeared out of the gloom and took me down to a basement office which contained only a photocopier. He handed me a file and said: Im going back to the pub, when youre finished turn off the lights and lock the door behind you.

As the photocopier whirred, I soon realised I was looking at a sheaf of internal correspondence headed Private & Confidential and containing the AIB logo. Dated January and February 1991, they outlined how the chief executive of AIB, Gerry Scanlan, attempted to silence Spollen by shifting him from his role as internal auditor, because he had highlighted a scandal at the heart of AIBs banking operation.

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Although he appeared mild-mannered, Spollen had an ace up his sleeve. He was a longstanding friend of the banks influential chairman, Peter Sutherland, an eminent barrister and former attorney general in Garret FitzGeralds government. He told Sutherland that Scanlan was less than pleased about his refusal to accept a transfer and subordinate his personal preferences to the needs and priorities of AIB as an entity.

Faced with a corporate battle in the executive suite, Sutherland knew from his vast legal experience that if this crisis werent handled with extreme delicacy the bank would end up washing its dirty linen in public in the Four Courts. It was a disaster he had to avert at all costs.

At a critical meeting one Sunday night at Sutherlands home in Eglinton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin, where the two men had often socialised with their families, a deal was thrashed out face to face. Tony Spollen would leave the bank with a generous settlement and never speak of these matters again. The files would be buried in the banks vaults, far from prying eyes.

The two men, friends since childhood, parted late in the night and never reportedly spoke again.

But when Tony Spollens book Corporate Fraud was published in 1997 it contained one telling insight: Much corporate fraud is never heard about or published. What you read in the newspapers is the tip of the iceberg.

On April 5, 1998, armed with the documentation I had acquired, the Sunday Independent had the entire iceberg in its sights and splashed it across the front page under the heading: AIB had 600m in bogus accounts.

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Whatsapp The front page of the Sunday Independent from April 5, 1998.

By then Peter Sutherland had long departed to become chairman of the merchant bank, Goldman Sachs International, a director of the oil giant BP, and was well on his way to becoming the most eminent international Irish business executive of his generation.

No one had thought to warn the banks then chairman, businessman Lochlann Quinn, of the publication of this devastating breach of the banks internal security. When he went into his local shop in Roundstone, Co Galway, where he kept a holiday home, he gazed at the paper in amazement.

His first reaction was to have a stiff drink, but the pubs werent open. In the days that followed the phone lines hummed between AIB and senior figures in the Revenue Commissioners in Dublin Castle and various mandarins in the Department of Finance and the Central Bank of Ireland.

For the government it was deeply embarrassing that the banks had been colluding with customers in tax evasion at a time when hospital wards were being shut down because of lack of funding.

Then the story seemed to die a death.

Margaret Walsh, a partner in the accountancy firm of PWC and an external auditor of AIB, who was closely involved in advising the bank, concluded: After publication of the original story in the Sunday Independent they [AIB] had discussions with the Revenue and thought the matter had been satisfactorily resolved.

But the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, was already working away quietly to ascertain if there was a shortfall in the amounts of Dirt paid by the financial institutions and the reasons for and the circumstances of the shortfall.

When his report emerged in July 1999 it was a devastating critique, not just of AIB, but of every bank and financial institution in the State.

The result of this report and a Dail resolution was the appointment in September 1999 of a sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Jim Mitchell TD, to publicly interrogate a parade of bankers, revenue officials, civil servants, politicians and public figures.

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Whatsapp Jim Mitchell and fellow PAC members deliver the third and final report of the Dirt inquiry

Among the most perceptive inquisitors were Mitchell himself, the Labour TD Pat Rabbitte, and the former detective and justice minister, Sean Doherty.

Can you tell me exactly what it is you do? an exasperated Rabbitte asked the governor of the Central Bank.

The chief executive of AIB, Gerry Scanlan, insisted that senior executives of the bank and officials of the Revenue Commissioners had reached a deal back in 1990 to solve the problem that the Sunday Independent had exposed. AIB had a 15-page contemporaneous note of discussions that went on at the time, between its top tax man, Jimmy OMahony, and the Revenues investigator, Tony McCarthy, indicating that if the bank rooted out its bogus accounts Revenue would turn a blind eye and no financial penalties would be imposed on them.

McCarthy said he had no recollection of this conversation, if it ever took place at all.

Another interpretation of this situation is that it suited nobody to put it in writing, Jim Mitchell said.

Gerry Scanlan wasnt in the mood to apologise either.

Was Mr Spollen aggrieved by his treatment by the bank? Sean Doherty asked.

He was, Scanlan replied.

Was his calculation of 100m [tax] liability fiction?

It was, Scanlan said.

Was his behaviour childish? Doherty continued.

It was, Scanlan said, dismissing it as a back of beyond calculation.

Summing up the corporate struggle of 1991 he said: It was either his job or mine.

When it came to his turn in the witness box, Spollen confounded the stereotype of the unemotional banker.

I was simply trying to do my job in an ordinary, decent way. I suppose that I found the cheapest shot of all was to suggest that Tony Spollen felt there was some sort of conspiracy theory by all the management of the bank against him. Nothing could be further from the truth, he told the committee, before dealing with the scurrilous evidence of former colleagues, suggesting that everybody else is to blame.

Contrast that with my wife when she got her cancer at the beginning of last year. She didnt blame the environment, she didnt blame the doctor who came and gave her the bad news, she didnt blame the person who told her the awful treatment she was going to have to go through. She carried it with dignity and shes sitting at home, probably watching this [on TG4] now.

The PAC report, published on December 15, 1999, found: There was no deal, agreement or amnesty involving the writing off of tax. The fact that AIB was allowed to persuade themselves that they may have an understanding to this effect is due in part to the negligence of the Revenue Commissioners.

It went on to say: It is now absolutely clear that the reported problem at AIB was an industry-wide phenomenon, as indeed was stated by AIB at the time of the commencement of our investigations.

It noted that among the worst offenders was a state bank, ACC, and tax evasion was utterly pervasive, trickling down from the biggest to the smallest financial institution in the State.

In its final report, dated April 3, 2001, Mitchells committee concluded: This was not simply an exercise in the evasion of the Deposit Interest Retention Tax (Dirt), but in many cases the object was to hide from the Revenue income and wealth on which no tax had ever been paid.

The various banks paid out more than 173m in back taxes and fines. The penalties were paltry  in the case of AIB, just 388,000. But it was the customers who had opened bogus non-resident accounts who would bear the brunt.

There is no way to spoof your way out of it: you should come forward and pay, Gerard Howard of Revenue warned.

In an amnesty, 8,500 bank customers voluntarily handed back 227m. Follow-up investigations yielded another 400m, bringing the total to over 800m.

A spin-off investigation into offshore accounts inspired by Charlie Bird and George Lees investigations into National Irish Bank and the Sunday Independents Dirt story, produced another 852m.

But it had untold consequences for many of those who believed dodging tax was part of Irish life.

For some the pressure became too much, the Sunday Business Post reported.

One self-employed man from the south-west committed suicide last St Stephens Day. His wife said he couldnt bear to see himself named and shamed.

Many of the bankers involved in the scandal were promoted or went on to bigger and more lucrative careers. Nobody was ever prosecuted.

Twenty-five years on, many of the players in the drama are dead, but thankfully the man who really did the State some service by allowing me into his basement that wet and windy night in April 1998 is still to the good.
Alcohol could be banned entirely from all army barracks as part of the response to a damning report into the culture of the Defence Forces, the Sunday Independent has learned.

The Government is putting pressure on senior military figures to extend the ban on alcohol consumption during deployments to Lebanon to all barracks in the State as the Defence Forces finalises its own internal review.

No one is talking about the role of alcohol in all of this, said a government source this weekend. It was rightly banned in Lebanon and may well be banned in barracks as well.

The report of an Independent Review Group (IRG) published last week has rocked the Defence Forces. It found the military is not a safe working environment and at best barely tolerates female members, who have been subjected to verbal, physical and sexual abuse.

Among the IRGs findings were interviewees reporting predatory behaviour targeting females in situations where alcohol is present and regular incidents of drinks being spiked.

In response to the findings, Tanaiste Micheal Martin has committed to overhauling and modernising laws governing the Defence Forces, as well as setting up a judge-led statutory inquiry.

The Defence Forces is currently completing a review of its alcohol policy, and any decision will rest with Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy. However, the view of the Government, which sets regulations, is likely to play a key role in the final decision.

Mr Martin is understood to be specifically considering issuing an alcohol ban, with one government source expressing the view it should be banned entirely in barracks.

In December 2021, the small bar on the military base in south Lebanon was closed, and army personnel were banned from drinking alcohol while deployed to the country. It followed an alleged assault at the base of the peacekeeping mission.

The Defence Forces review of alcohol policy has been undertaken in the wake of the report by barrister Hugh Mohan into an illegal drinking party that took place at McKee Barracks in Dublin in June 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions were in place.

After the event, a female soldier was sexually assaulted and another was physically assaulted. There has been a conviction for a number of offences, including sexual assault, in the military court martial system.

The Mohan Report recommended the Defence Forces should have a policy that details the circumstances when, how and by whom alcohol can be consumed, but did not call for an outright ban.

Members of the Women of Honour group said successive defence ministers were furnished with protected disclosures outlining alleged sexual attacks, but failed to act.

It is imperative that these current and former politicians  including two-time defence minister Simon Coveney  be compelled to give evidence at the inquiry, the group said.

The department knew a lot about what was going on. They had several protected disclosures outlining criminality, but they did not intervene, according to Honor Murphy, a former naval officer in Cork who retired from the Defence Forces in 2021 after being passed over for promotion on the basis of her gender.

Some ministers, including Simon Coveney, should be called before the inquiry to answer questions.

Former Air Corps captain Yvonne ORourke, who suffered an alleged serious sexual attack that impacted her mental health, agreed the department and some ministers had questions to answer.

If you say you were sexually abused, surely there should be a procedure within the protected disclosures system that you are at least spoken to, she said.

If anyone met with me, I could have told them the truth, but we were just met with silence by the department.

It is understood that any former or serving members of the Defence Forces who are now coming forward to gardai over alleged sexual assaults in the military are having their cases handled by specialist gardai.

But gardai have no jurisdiction to investigate any alleged crimes that happened on overseas missions.

A Department of Defence spokesperson insisted it adequately dealt with all protected disclosures made to it detailing sexual abuse.

From our records, we can identify that since 2014, four protected disclosures allege sexual harassment or sexual assault, they said.

These are matters of a criminal nature and individuals would have been advised that to bring these matters to a conclusion, these issues would have to be referred to An Garda Siochana.
A bioarchitect whose unique 10,000-square-foot self-designed home in rural Co Laois was due be sold in an online auction last Thursday has blocked the sale by obtaining an injunction.

Michael Rice, who specialises in building structures based on the fractal patterns of nature, had, in 2016, partially completed Dreamfields, a family home designed to double as an architectural school, on an 11-acre site outside Mountrath.

The property was recently seized by Aiden Murphy, a receiver appointed by Mars Capital, a mortgage fund owned by a UK company, over an alleged 700,000 debt that included 312,000 of arrears. The initial 2009 AIB loan of 500,000, repayable over 28 years, had been secured on the property. Dreamfields was subject to recent coverage in The Irish Times property section ahead of a BidX1 auction last Thursday, and a number of interested bidders registered.

However, on Wednesday, circuit court judge Kenneth Connolly, sitting in Mullingar, granted Mr Rice an emergency injunction preventing the sale after hearing evidence that the receiver did not have the power of sale.

The order was granted on an ex parte basis, with no representation from Mars Capital. It is understood Mr Rice, who is in Portugal working on a project, had previous negotiations with Mars to try to secure a partial write-off of the 704,000 he and his ex-wife Heather owe, but those talks broke down.

The locks on the house were changed by the receiver shortly after his appointment in January. The house, which cost over 1.2m to build, was put up for sale with an asking price of 300,000. Mr Rice has claimed in legal letters that the receiver is trespassing on his property.

The Irish Times write-up said the partially finished Dreamfields could make a fabulous yoga centre or similar retreat  far from the madding crowd within a building designed with nature in mind. The house has a shamanic reception area and five reception rooms, an office, studios and nine bedrooms.

On Friday in the Four Courts, Judge Connolly was told by Mr Rices barrister Andrew Robinson that his client downloaded the contract-for-sale for Dreamfields from BidX1 and it showed the vendor was the receiver. He said the receiver had no power of sale as he was a rent-receiver, and this was accepted by Mars Capital.

The judge was told Mars is taking a possession case over Dreamfields, and that is due for hearing on April 14. Mr Rice is contesting it. He has separated from his wife and is travelling for work, but all his property is stored in Dreamfields, he said.

Mars Capitals barrister Barry Mansfield said his client would give an undertaking not to sell Dreamfields until the judge had ruled on the dispute.

He said a wrong contract for sale was uploaded to the BidX1 website. He said Mars is the mortgagee and entitled to sell the property. A new contract for sale has been drafted setting Mars as the vendor.

The 1881 Conveyancing Act allowed a mortgagee to sell a property if it took possession peacefully, and this was done, he said. He added that Mr Rices application was brought in very strange circumstances and Ms Rice was not notified.

Correspondence from February was opened in court and showed solicitors for Mars and the receiver had raised concerns with Mr Rice about the placement of a placard in Dreamfields from the Armagh & Down Land League outlining opposition to evictions. Mr Rice denies any connection with the placard.

The letter to his solicitor asked how the architect claimed Dreamfields was a family home when neither he nor Ms Rice lived there. It also asked how he intended to pay a liability of 704,000 when the propertys valuation was 200,000. The letter said if those and three other questions were answered satisfactorily, the receiver would undertake to provide him with the keys to the house.

Mr Robinson complained that his client only learned about the sale through The Irish Times feature published in mid-March. The judge suggested the worst that could be said of Mars Capital was that it was speaking out of both sides of its mouth in its correspondence with Mr Rice.

He fixed a hearing for April 17 and said he wanted the case heard as soon as possible given the seriousness of the application. He said Ms Rice should be notified of the proceedings as she may welcome the sale.

The judge said he expected Mr Rice to be in court for the application, and it was notable that he was not. The injunction would not continue as he had accepted the Mars undertaking not to sell Dreamfields until he had ruled in the case.
At said event, they announced the substantial conclusion of the aforementioned negotiations.

With the United Kingdom's accession, better access conditions will be obtained for Peruvian exports of goods and services, as well as for the temporary movement of Peruvian businesspeople and for e-commerce.

Likewise, with the cumulation of origin, Peruvian companies will be allowed to export and use inputs from other member countries, relying on more supply opportunities.

Grandes cosas se vienen para el comercio exterior del Peru! Se anuncia la conclusion sustancial de las negociaciones para la adhesion del Reino Unido al #CPTPP.?? ???????? pic.twitter.com/8SeKx5zbWl
When Michelle McDonagh had completed her debut novel, Theres Something I Have To Tell You, her husband went about seeking some publicity for it. Greg OGorman sent a text proposing a media interview with the author, a former journalist with the Connacht Tribune.

The novel, he said, was based on a narcissistic mother-in-law. Completely fictional of course.

McDonaghs own mother-in-law, Marian OGorman, the former chief executive of the Kilkenny Group, has been estranged from her son and his wife for a number of years. A reconciliation is not foreseeable, Greg told the Sunday Independent.

The rancour is part of the fallout from a legal dispute that played out in the courts and in the national headlines.

For 13 years, Greg OGorman worked as marketing director in the Kilkenny Group, which sells luxury goods, but in 2016 he was let go by his mother in a no-fault dismissal. After that, a bitter feud erupted.

He took legal action to stop his dismissal and to require his mother to honour a deal he claimed held the Kilkenny Group in trust for him and his siblings. He also claimed the situation had left him financially destitute. Despite earning 247,000 from the company in 2016, he said he was reliant on social welfare by the following year.

In his statement of claim, he described his mother as by nature a domineering, aggressive and belligerent person with a well-documented propensity for acrimonious dispute with close family members.

He was represented in the case by Rossa Fanning, the current Attorney-General.

In 2018, the case was finally settled to the satisfaction of all parties, but the stress took its toll on Michelle McDonagh, who had shared the emotions of her husband as he went through it.

Last week, in conversation with the Sunday Independent, McDonagh said the dispute had devastated her and OGorman.

It came completely out of the blue, she said. I will never forget the day the letter came in the door telling him he was fired. It was so shocking. And then there were years of absolute stress after that. I just found it very difficult, because Im from a very ordinary family, Im a stay-at-home mum, and I just couldnt get my head around it. I never will.

McDonaghs novel, to be published on April 13 by Hachette Ireland, has at its heart an emotionally distant, controlling businesswoman and matriarch named Ursula, the head of a family firm she rules with an iron fist.

Her daughter-in-law, Kate, and her son, Rob, work their arses off for her, but feel slighted and taken for granted. For Rob, discussing money issues with his mother is like banging his head against a brick wall, and Kate feels all her mother-in-law cares about are her margins.

She despairs that neither her father-in-law nor her husband will stand up to Ursula.

Resentments simmer and fester, and when Ursula eventually gets her comeuppance  a terrible death  Kate and Rob find themselves under suspicion.

The setting and certain plot points aside, surface parallels between the central character and real life have been noted.

Ursula is a renowned businesswoman, as is Marian OGorman, who was once named Image magazines Businesswoman of the Year. Ursula spends almost every waking hour working. In an interview, Marian OGorman once described herself as a former workaholic.

Greg OGormans issues with his mother date from his early life. He once told this newspaper he found it sad to look back on what could have been in my childhood.

As to whether any of the hurt that underscored his relationship with his mother inspired the character in McDonaghs novel, the author said: I dont think there are similarities  the book is set on a farm and its set somewhere totally different.

I mean, obviously, you will bring some of your own life experiences into your writing, but I suppose it is a fictional story at the end of the day.

I know you are very familiar with the story of what did happen to Greg, but most people arent aware of my link to Greg.

There have been concerns behind the scenes, however. It is understood Hachette was blindsided by the potential similarities between the characters in the novel and events in real life. The author said she had received advice from a person in the publishing world (outside Hachette Ireland) regarding potential legal concerns about the manuscript.

The person who gave her the advice ran it by the legals, McDonagh said, and she made changes as a result.

However, Hachette, which came to the project later, was apparently unaware those discussions had already taken place.

Greg OGorman said his wife was operating under advice not to mention any parallels between the characters in the book and his own story, which would be unfamiliar to the person on the street.

The novel is, he insisted, absolutely fiction. However, he said he has read only four chapters and had relied on a detailed synopsis of the rest.

McDonagh already has a draft of her second novel, which is also understood to deal with a family business. As to whether there are any similarities between her husband and the downtrodden son in the first novel, she is firm.

No, hes not like Greg at all, she said, because Greg did stand up to his mother.
All the directors of a crisis-hit consumer charity entirely funded by public money have resigned, except for one civil servant from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Last month the Sunday Independent revealed that senior managers in the European Consumer Centre Ireland (ECCI), which receives over 500,000 a year in public funds, had written to the department last November to raise allegations of mismanagement and governance breaches by directors.

The charity has been chaired by consumer advocate Dermott Jewell for over 20 years  even though the Charities Regulators code of governance recommends that board terms of office do not exceed nine years.

The ECCI is part of a chain of European Commission part-funded consumer organisations which assist consumers with cross-border complaints. While Ireland has a state-funded Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the ECCI is a separate organisation employing around 10 staff. It has its own board, which included appointees from the CCPC and the Department of Enterprise.

Among the allegations made by the senior managers of ECCI was that Jewell and his fellow directors had undermined and demoralised staff to such an extent that there was a 100pc staff turnover since 2017.

Jewell was accused of arranging for the ECCI to pay the Consumer Association of Ireland (CAI), a private charity where he is an unpaid consultant, 4,500 for the placement of an article in its subscriber-only Consumer Choice magazine. The 2021 transaction was alleged to have been highly unusual and not market-value.

Last week the ECCI filed returns to the Companies Registration Office which showed that Lisa Donnelly, deputy director of consumer protection and enforcement at the CCPC, had resigned as a director, effective from February 23. Donnelly had only joined the ECCIs board last September.

A further filing on March 29 showed that Jewell, accountant Brian Farrell, and Claire Lanigan, a financial services manager, had all resigned effective from March 16, the same day the ECCI board issued the Sunday Independent a statement defending the board against the allegations made by the senior managers of ECCI.

It is understood that both the European Commission and the Charities Regulator are investigating the complaints that include allegations staff were directed to insert false information into its 2021 annual report to the EU Commission which would put its future funding at risk.

Jewell was not paid for his role as ECCI chairman, but he is something of a quango king.

In 2021 he was paid a total of 30,645 from his directorships of three Irish public bodies. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority paid him 7,645; the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Commission paid him 12,600; and the Investor Compensation Company, which operates under the remit of the Central Bank, paid him 10,350.

The department has not funded the CAI since 2013, when there was controversy over his then salary and pension top-ups as CEO.

It also emerged in 2014 that the CAI social media accounts had attracted thousands of fake followers from Brazil and Turkey. At the time, Jewell said the CAI had reported the hack to gardai.

Jewell, who offers private mediation services, did not respond to an emailed request for comment last week.

The statement issued by ECCIs board on March 16 denied any wrongdoing.

The ECCIs board of directors web page was deleted from its website last week. ECCI sources said staff have not been told anything about the mass resignations of directors. The last remaining director is Paul Brennan, a civil servant from the Department of Enterprise, who is in his tenth year on the board.

The department said that on March 14 it was informed by Paul Brennan that three directors of the ECCI, including Dermott Jewell, had resigned.

The department was not informed prior to this of any prospect of resignations, it said. The directors, including its chair and company secretary, are appointed by an invitation from its board of directors. The department official serving on the board was invited to the board, due to their consumer policy role in the department.

"The department and the CCPC have sought reassurances from the ECCI regarding its services. Those reassurances have not been received to date.

It said the ECCIs drawdown of funds from it, the EU Commission and the CCPC was dependent on compliance with oversight arrangements.

An EU Commission source said it was investigating alleged breaches of certain aspects of the grant agreement with the ECCI.

The Sunday Independent has seen copies of anonymous surveys of current and recently departed staff sent to the department. One respondent said Jewell was not invested in the ECCIs success and this undermined its huge potential.

They said he told them after they were hired that this job was a stepping stone in our working lives and we were told we should not be staying long-term in the job.
Convicted fraudster Catriona Carey has taken issue with an early morning search carried out at her home in Kilkenny by detectives last year, according to informed sources

The former Ireland hockey player made a complaint to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) about the criminal investigation into claims she ran a mortgage scam.

Gardai armed with a warrant searched her residence in March last year, seeking financial documents and receipts. They removed boxes of records from the property.

The nature of the complaint is not clear, and Gsoc does not comment on individual cases.

In her only interview to date, Carey told the Sunday World: Gardai took receipts, my laptop, some personal jewellery. They took my purse and my passport and my childrens passports  because someone told them I was a flight risk.

She also said she was quite happy to be under investigation, because she had done nothing wrong.

I phoned gardai after they raided my home and said: Here is my number and my email. I am very happy to deal with you on anything you need. I will deal with you on everything. I gave them passwords to everything.

News of Careys complaint has emerged as the criminal investigation into allegations that she defrauded struggling mortgage holders out of 400,000 nears an end.

The alleged con was first exposed by an RTE Investigates documentary in February 14, 2022, when 18 people claimed Carey had conned them out of tens of thousands of euro by promising to refinance their loans for a fee.

Some clients said they handed over deposits of 5,000, while others paid her up to 60,000. The new loans never materialised and a number of people lost their homes as well as their deposits.

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The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau took over the investigation following the programme. Two weeks later, on March 1, gardai armed with a warrant moved to search Careys home.

Gardai made the first arrest in the case in February, when a man was arrested in Wexford and questioned about conspiracy to commit deception.

Garda sources said it was a significant arrest, though he was released without charge.

Two people who are suspected of being the organisers of the scam, are expected to be arrested within weeks.

There has been little sign that property owners who claim they have been defrauded will get their money back.

Property owners are alleged to have paid tens of thousands in deposits to Careys UK-registered company, Careysfort Asset Estates, over two years.

Carey also asked clients to transfer deposits to bank accounts in Germany and Belgium. Garda sources say the accounts were tracked down through international police authorities  but they contained little or no funds.

The money appears to have been frittered away. Leaked financial records seen by the Sunday Independent show tens of thousands were spent on foreign holidays. Another 50,000 was spent on a BMW car, and more money went on expensive clothes and furniture, as well as household shopping.

By January last year, just 488.10 remained in the company bank account.

The Central Bank issued a notice warning the public not to do business with Careysfort Asset Estates because the company was not authorised by the regulator.

Carey has claimed that she is the fall guy

Careys brother is the former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey, who made headlines earlier this year when it emerged AIB had given him an 80pc writedown of a 9.5m property-related debt.

Catriona Carey was arrested by the Corporate Enforcement Authority in February over alleged breaches of company law involving Careysfort Asset Estates. She was released without charge.

Carey has claimed that she was the fall guy and blamed the mortgage scam on an associate.

She has suffered numerous setbacks since the RTE Investigates documentary was broadcast. Last year she received a suspended prison sentence and a four-year driving ban for driving without a licence or insurance while disqualified from driving.

She is appealing the sentence.

She lost her family home after having defaulted on her mortgage payments for many years. The house was repossessed by Start mortgages and went on the market for 550,000.

Her 50,000 BMW was impounded by gardai.

Three years ago, she was given a suspended sentence for defrauding a salon owner client of 6,948 by forging her name on a cheque that he intended to use to pay the Revenue Commissioners.

Gsoc declined to comment on Careys complaint. A statement said: Gsoc does not comment on or confirm the existence of complaints. This is to protect complainants and those complained of.

Attempts by this newspaper to contact Carey were unsuccessful.
It was a dream come true when Yvonne ORourke was accepted into the Defence Forces as a cadet aged 17.

It was 1991. I was so happy when I found out I got in. I was young, full of vigour and energy. I knew I didnt want an office job, so joining the Defence Forces seemed perfect, because it was something different, says the former Air Corps captain.

But almost immediately after training began, ORourke realised life in the Defence Forces might not be all she imagined. For one thing, she was taken to the barber to get the back of her head shaved, as it was protocol at the time that womens hairline neatly matched their berets.

It was a culture shock, immediately. From the very beginning, there was bullying. But I just got on with it, she says.

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However, six years into her service, a crime was committed against the then 23-year-old. It upended her life and would ultimately lead her to attempting suicide.

She went to a nightclub with some of her fellow officers following an event at another barracks and the group was joined by one of their superiors. This man bought her drinks, and she felt she couldnt say no to the alcohol due to his position. She recalls calling him sir on the night out in question.

She later returned to her barracks, and recalls feeling hazy as she wasnt much of a drinker and the alcohol had taken its toll. She woke up the next day on the ground, having been sexually assaulted by her superior. She was in physical pain from the attack.

I woke up on the ground and I was in pain. That man was double my age. I felt such shame and guilt after it happened. I blamed myself. It was one of the worst times of my life.

Unable to cope with the trauma, ORourke went on sick leave not long after. She did not report the attack and didnt tell anyone about it for some time. Her mental health deteriorated quickly. The next couple of years were marred by depression and she developed bulimia. She also attempted suicide on more than one occasion.

It was the worst time of my life. The bulimia was very bad, I was getting sick up to eight times a day. I tried to end my life. At one stage, I did actually die but they managed to bring me back.

A trip to Medjugorje with a friend saved her life. I went to Medjugorje and had a healing. I walked with God. That trip saved my life. It was the beginning of my healing process.

When she felt mentally and physically stronger, ORourke decided she didnt want to give up on her career in the Air Corps, and returned to work. But the Defence Forces she returned to was still rife with gender discrimination and bullying.

To be female in the Defence Forces is to be considered an object rather than a human being, according to the damning independent review group (IRG) report published last week.

As her career progressed, she was repeatedly discriminated against for being a woman in her efforts to secure promotion. Much of this happened when she availed of statutory maternity leave.

She raised her concerns internally but nothing happened, so ORourke took a case to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). After a seven-year battle, she was awarded 117,814 in 2020. She also secured an apology from the Defence Forces. That piece of paper, that written acknowledgment that they had wronged me, that meant so much more to me than the money.

The landmark ruling by the WRC found the Defence Forces had treated two of ORourkes maternity leave absences as equivalent to the sick absence of a male officer, and consequently gave her a poor performance rating.

As soon as I raised a complaint, I had a target on my back. One of my colleagues was told, dont be seen with Yvonne ORourke if you want to go places. Eventually, I just had enough. Having my kids, that gave me the strength to realise that I just shouldnt put up with it anymore. So I eventually left. But I was forced out.

After she left, ORourke, who now works as a chaplain in Tipperary, began to come into contact with other former women members of the Irish military.

We all just found each other really, and we are still finding one another, she says. It all just happened naturally. We set up Women of Honour to try and help others who have been through similar experiences to us.

Another core member of Women of Honour, whose experiences mirror some of ORourkes, is 61-year-old Karina Molloy, who retired from the Army in 2012 after a distinguished 31-year career. Like ORourke, she too was sexually assaulted at age 23 in the Defence Forces.

During her Army training in 1984, Molloy was swimming in a pool in Rathmines when she felt an arm brush between her legs. She thought it was accidental. But when it happened a second time, she knew there was no mistaking it. The second time, his fingers grabbed my crotch. It was aggressive. I couldnt believe it, she recalls.

Shaken, Molloy told her boyfriend at the time, who was also in the Army. He advised her to report it, telling her the next thing that could happen was attempted rape.

She proceeded with a complaint, having initially been hesitant. Brought before four of her superiors, the young private was told her boyfriend had assaulted her alleged attacker  and if she proceeded with the complaint, he would make one against her boyfriend.

I found out later that wasnt true, my boyfriend had not laid a finger on him. But I didnt have time to check their story and then it was all over. I just had to suck it up and move on.

It was not the only sexual assault Molloy was subjected to; others are outlined in her memoir, A Woman In Defence, published in January.

In an incident in 1990, she was on an overseas mission when she was awoken at midnight to find someone banging and kicking on the door of her sleeping quarters. One of her colleagues, drunk and aggressive, was doing the kicking.

OK Molloy, Im having you now, he said, before pushing her on to the bed and attempting to open her dressing gown. She managed to get free and ran to the Irish camp, where she reported the incident to a senior officer. She was told to forget about it.

Molloys career in the Irish Defences Forces was packed full of firsts. She was the first woman to get promoted to Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) rank. She was the first to attempt the Army Ranger Wing selection course  the Irish equivalent of the UKs SAS course. She has also, to date, had the most overseas service as a female senior NCO.

But what has stuck with her most from her three decades in the Army is not her achievements. It is the sexual attacks, harassment and the culture of toxic masculinity that linger in her mind.

With the announcement of a statutory inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct, bullying and discrimination in the Defence Forces, does she think the culture will finally change?

It can be changed and it must be changed, she insists. I remember being in McKee Barracks guard room for the first time after women were allowed in. Someone had carved two graphic pictures of me into the wood.

One was of me, with another woman soldier. The second was of me giving a man a blowjob. They couldnt make up their minds if I was a lesbian, or a slut. It has always stayed with me.

The report found that women were treated as less than human. We lived that day after day, year after year.

One of the most troubling findings in the report is that the sexual abuse and harassment of women, and some men, is not a thing of the past.

That is probably the most bitter pill to swallow. We are not talking in the past tense. It is happening right now. This is about the victims, past and present. We are all suffering from military sexual trauma (MST).

Honor Murphy, a former Navy officer in Cork, joined the Defence Forces in more modern times. She often felt victimised over her gender and says

bullying and harassment was rampant. She retired with 21 years service in 2021, after being passed over for promotion because she was a woman.

I was sad to leave at age 42. Not to boast, but I think I was good at my job. But I had to choose between parenthood and my career. There is no choice.

On her first trip to sea, in 2000, Murphy said her eyes were opened to some of the blatant sexism and harassment towards women in the Navy.

When we would go out on the boats, our non-commissioning officer had a rule than two women couldnt be on the same boat. Because we would just sit around chatting and gossiping, rather than working, he said. And that wed get distracted by dolphins. It was so sexist and derogatory, but we just laughed it off.

One day another non-commissioned officer, who didnt know this unwritten rule, sent me and another woman out with others on a boat. When we got back, he shouted and roared at us. He was seen doing this and asked about it later. We didnt even make a complaint about him, but it was still our fault. He came to us afterwards and said: You might have won the battle but you havent won the war.

Would Murphy advise women to join the Defence Forces? Right now, no. The report says that as of this moment, it is not a safe working environment. There are definitely men who have been discriminated against and bullied also, its important to acknowledge them too.

The Women of Honour are clear about what they want from the statutory inquiry. It must be victim-led, held in public and the Department of Defence should be compelled to give evidence alongside members of the Defence Forces, past and present.

The Department of Defence knew a lot about what was going on. They had several protected disclosures outlining criminality, but they did not intervene. Some of the ministers, including Simon Coveney, should be called before the inquiry and be asked questions, says Murphy.

Any former or serving members of the Defence Forces who are now coming forward to gardai over alleged sexual assaults in the military are having their cases handled by specialist gardai attached to divisional Protective Service Units, it is understood. But gardai have no jurisdiction to investigate any alleged crimes on overseas missions.

The public inquiry must leave no stone unturned and could result in high-level military resignations, according to ORourke.

Protected disclosures were made to the Department of Defence, and ignored. Surely if someone is outlining sexual assault, there should be a procedure in place? But nothing was ever done, she says. What this inquiry must do is give a voice to the voiceless. It is about revealing the truth. The truth will set the Defence Forces free.
Laurita Blewitt can barely walk 20 yards down the streets of Ballina, Co Mayo, without someone stopping to ask her about her cousin, US President Joe Biden, who is due to visit Ireland after Easter.

Everyone in the county wants to know where hes going when he gets here. Will he be up the town? Thats classified, Blewitt says with a laugh.

Theres another question being fired at her these days: will her friend Tommy Tiernan bag The Late Late Show? Blewitt says she knows what it would take to convince him to do it: freedom.

Tommy has said if he was given The Late Late and told to do whatever he wants with it, he would be happy enough to do it. But I dont think that is the route of The Late Late Show, she says.

But Blewitt believes the show has never been the same since Gay Byrne did it.

The Late Late now is very predictable, the guests are the same, she says, Maybe they should change it up and if that is with Tommy, well, great, we would be delighted.

By we she means herself and TV star Hector O hEochagain, who along with Tiernan have achieved huge success with their THL podcast, amassing more than 20 million downloads in two years.

She describes Tiernan and O hEochagain as like my two older brothers whom I know I can talk to and they can talk to me.

Hector is a big softie and is really good-natured. He always makes sure everyone is looked after. There is a real sense of warmth. Tommy is kind, very genuine, very thoughtful towards other people and concerned about how they feel. I am lucky to have that friendship with the two lads.

Last week they recorded their final podcast until September; Tiernan is heading on a US stand-up tour and O hEochagain is filming his TG4 travel show. We struggled to stop recording the final one before our holiday; it was like a long goodbye. There was a bit of emotion in it, she says.

Two years on, she still cant bring herself to let her 86-year-old father Brendan listen due to some of the more colourful content. He asks me, How can I get your podcast? Erm, Im not sure, Dad.

Next week Blewitt will welcome her famous cousin to Mayo and says she can already feel the excitement.

On St Patricks Day last month, she and her husband, Joe Brolly, had an opportunity to speak privately to Biden at the White House about his trip. Hes really looking forward to it, she says.

On the criticism Biden receives, Blewitt finds descriptions such as Sleepy Joe, a Donald Trump-coined insult, really offensive.

I dont know him as a politician, I know him as a person and he is a genuinely good man.

Blewitt is the fundraiser for Mayo-Roscommon Hospice and has repeatedly been supported in her work by Biden who, she says, understands loss.

His first wife Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car crash just a few months after he was first elected to the US Senate, in 1972. His son Beau Biden died from brain cancer in 2015. He absolutely gets loss, he gets hospice. He gets suffering, and he understands it.

Biden showed an interest in the health of Blewitts mother Christina (known as Chris) when she was diagnosed with cancer. During a visit to the White House in 2017, Biden got out his pen and wrote her a message on a White House-branded card.

He sat down and wrote her the loveliest note about keeping the faith and how hard it was to deal with the adversity of cancer, how important it was to not let it overcome her. He took the time to do that; it had nothing to do with politics.

His staff were telling him, You have to take a flight, but he said, Wait, this is more important.

Blewitt thinks about her mother every day and is saddened about how she has missed so much:

She had so much life in her and to give, she had kindness all the time. I know she would have loved the Biden visit.

Kindness must run in the family. When a podcast listener told Blewitt she was dying of cervical cancer, Blewitt went and met her two weeks before she passed away.

Next week Blewitt and the most powerful man in the world are due to reflect on life and loss together. Joe Biden will not be here as the President, but as a member of our family, she says.
The killing of Chrissie Treacy has left a lasting mark on the small farming community where she lived, according to the solicitor who tried to protect her before she died.

Ms Treacy (76), who had lived with her brothers on the farm at Derryhiney, Portumna, Co Galway, died when her nephew Michael Scott (58) reversed a teleporter over her in the yard outside her home in April 2018.

Scott, who leased his aunts farm, went on trial for her murder in what the prosecution argued was a deliberate act of revenge in a dispute over land. Scott, who pleaded not guilty to murder, was found guilty by a jury of manslaughter in a verdict delivered last Thursday.

Brendan Hyland, a solicitor with a practice in Roscrea, said the evidence that emerged at the trial has resonated beyond the rural farming community where she lived.

It touches on loneliness, and a sense of helplessness that is hidden from view sometimes, and it touches on that whole thing about how land can drive people, he said.

Within the parish, her killing is a tragedy that has impacted the entire community.

In a sense its almost an attack on their own peaceful lifestyles, Mr Hyland said. It has affected the whole community very badly. There is a very strong community spirit there, centred around the local hall. If anyone got into trouble, families all support and help one another.

Mr Hyland, who testified for the prosecution at Michael Scotts trial, was the long-standing solicitor for Chrissie Treacys late brothers, Willie and Michael.

He got to know Ms Treacy in later years when she was experiencing difficulties.

And I did my best to try to help her, to protect her, to give her support, he said. She was a very fine and admirable lady. She never married and lived with her brothers. They were excellent farmers. They were known far and wide for the quality of their farming and they were ahead of their times. They worked to a very high standard and were very highly admired in the whole agricultural community in the area.

Not only that, they were regarded as very fine neighbours and friends to the entire community, and nobody had any bad word to say about them.

Chrissie Treacy had lived all her life on the farm at Derryhiney.

After the death of her brothers, in 2003 and 2009, she inherited half the 140-acre holding, and the other half was left to the children of her late sister Maureen, including Michael Scott.

Michael Scott came to an agreement with his siblings to take over their portions of land. He leased the other half from Ms Treacy. The court was told that for this, Ms Treacy received 6,000 a year.

According to her neighbour and long-time friend Regina Donohue, Ms Treacy was in a very poor situation financially.

In evidence heard in court, difficulties with Michael Scott intensified after Ms Treacy tried to lease her portion of the land out to another tenant to get a better return.

She contacted solicitor Mr Hyland, who gave evidence about his attempts to act on Ms Treacys instructions and about the subsequent harassment of his client.

The court heard how on four occasions Mr Hyland wrote to Michael Scotts solicitors, asking him to stop the threatening behaviour.

The behaviour ranged from damaging electric fencing on her land to interfering with her efforts to lease the land to another tenant. Scott denied the behaviour.

After one such letter, Mr Hyland testified that Scott phoned him in a rage before hanging up, and then phoned back within the hour to apologise. The trial also heard from carers, friends and professionals who were increasingly concerned about Ms Treacy.

The court was told the HSE had escalated to gardai their concerns for Ms Treacys welfare arising from her difficulties with Michael Scott.

Carer Susan Keane told the court she tried to encourage Ms Treacy to walk around outside her house to keep active. However, Ms Treacy did not want to in case Michael Scott was there.

Ms Keane noticed he had stopped taking Ms Treacys rubbish, as he used to do, and his wife stopped taking her to day care, the court heard.

Shortly before Ms Treacy died, Ms Keane told her employer she had concerns about the old womans welfare as a result of the ongoing difficulties with Michael Scott over land.

Caitriona Starr, another of Ms Treacys carers, noticed the tension between Michael Scott and his aunt in the year before her death.

About six months before Ms Treacy died, Ms Starr heard Scott arguing with her: I could hear his loud voice and I heard him banging on the table, she said.

One of the most devastating events for Ms Treacy was the disappearance of her dog, Bradley.

He was an 11-year-old Jack Russell, overweight and worshipped by Ms Treacy. The dog disappeared two months before her death.

Expand Close Chrissie Treacy with her beloved dog Bradley who disappeared two months before her death. Photo: Collins Courts / Facebook

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Whatsapp Chrissie Treacy with her beloved dog Bradley who disappeared two months before her death. Photo: Collins Courts

Ms Keane recalled that she last saw Ms Treacy at the kitchen table, and Bradley on a cushion at the bottom of the range. Ms Treacy was waiting for a bus to arrive to take her to the day care centre. When she got home that evening, the dog was gone.

Ms Starr told the court that when she spoke to Michael Scott about Bradley, he said the dog went out the window. But she said there was no way the dog went out the window. He was too fat and too lazy. He just wouldnt be able to get up to get out of the window.

Ms Starr was also at Ms Treacys home on the day she died  April 27, 2018. She told the court Ms Treacy was in good form, listening to music on Galway Bay FM and looking forward to shopping later that day with Ms Donohue.

Scott later told gardai he had gone to Derryhiney to move a drinking trough on the land with a teleporter. He reversed out of the shed. He hit something, and thought it was a trailer.

He saw Ms Treacy on the ground and at 3.26pm phoned his neighbour: Something terrible is after happening, he said.

Francis Hardiman, a neighbour and cousin of Ms Treacy, told the court that when he arrived at the farm, he saw Ms Treacy face down on the concrete yard.

He found Scott, hysterical in a shed. Scott took a shotgun from his jeep, saying: I cant deal with this. Mr Hardiman took the gun from him.

The court heard evidence of Ms Treacys injuries: her left forearm and hand were crushed, as well as her right leg. Tyre marks consistent with the teleporter were found over the back of her trousers. Her panic button was still around her neck.

The court also heard Scott went to check if she was all right. He told gardai he did not check her pulse, as he would not know how, and did not call emergency services because he did not know the number.

In closing arguments, the prosecution said Scott had deliberately reversed over his aunt in the yard that day, out of a sense of entitlement and for revenge.

The defence said Ms Treacy died in a tragic accident and argued that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defence asked the jury not to look at the case from the perspective that Scott was a monstrous person, but to consider the case coldly and without fear no favour.

The jury acquitted him of the murder of Ms Treacy. He will be sentenced for manslaughter on June 12.

Mr Hyland said this weekend: When she came to me, Chrissie was in a lot of difficulty. She was suffering from depression. She was harassed and threatened, and all of that evidence came out in court. I was in the eye of the storm in trying to protect her as best I could.

She had this wonderful dog, very intelligent, protected her, her best friend, really, apart from Regina Donohue.

When she lost the dog, she was at such a low ebb we were very concerned about her, and that was a guiding motive for us to do what we could to protect her.

The picture of the dog and Chrissie is representative of her and it is very sad. It represents her vulnerability, if you like  he protected her and he was a friend who was there with her all the time.
One man has been hospitalised following a brawl involving several people at a refugee centre in west Dublin.

Between 20 and 30 people are understood to have been involved in the incident at the convention centre in Citywest this evening.

Several garda units, including members of the Public Order Unit, were deployed to the Saggart facility shortly before 6pm.

Emergency services were alerted after a fight broke out amongst several men and objects, including tables, are also understood to have been thrown during the incident.

One person was later hospitalised with what have been described as minor injuries while no arrests have yet been made.

A garda spokesman told Independent.ie: "A number of Garda units responded to reports of a disturbance at a premises in Saggart, Co.Dublin, earlier this evening.

"The incident occurred at approximately 5.30pm. One male was taken to Tallaght University Hospital to receive treatment. Enquiries ongoing."

In January three people were hospitalised following a public order incident at the facility.

Video footage from inside the premises showed males fighting and a number of objects being thrown across a room.

At the time gardai confirmed they were alerted to the incident at the International Protection Accommodation.

Refugees from a number of different countries and ethnic backgrounds are currently being housed at the west Dublin facility.

Over 700 people are staying at the campus which has around 600 beds, with the facility closed to new arrivals since January.
The parents of a young girl who died of invasive Group A Strep infection have claimed their daughter would still be alive if doctors had spotted the signs of the potentially fatal condition sooner.

Lilly and Dermot Murphy have called for a greater awareness of the dangers of the most serious form of Strep A infection among medics following a verdict of medical misadventure into the death of their daughter, Vivienne, at an inquest in Dublin last week.

Vivienne (10) of Sycamore Drive, Tanyard Wood, Millstreet, Cork, died at Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin on March 1, 2019  just two weeks after first complaining of a sore throat, a high temperature, a rash as well as aches and pains.

A post-mortem on the body of the girl established she died from Group A streptococcal septicaemia with necrotising fasciitis.

In an emotional statement to the inquest, Ms Murphy said her family were devastated, traumatised, shocked and overwhelmed and in disbelief about Viviennes death after they were informed that it could have been avoided as Strep A is curable with an antibiotic.

We visited doctors three times with deteriorating symptoms and nothing was done to treat our daughter, she said.

Ms Murphy said Viviennes chance of survival would have been greater if her condition was diagnosed and treatment started earlier.

The death of Vivienne has destroyed, devastated, traumatised and ripped our family to shreds and has left a hole in all our hearts that will be with us for the rest of our lives, she said.

The inquest at Dublin District Coroners Court heard Vivienne first felt unwell on February 14, 2019.

Ms Murphy described how her daughter was screaming every time she moved her head and how alarmed they were at discovering her chest covered in a red rash.

She claimed a doctor at SouthDoc in Kanturk who examined Vivienne, Joyce Leader, said it was only a heat rash and assured them there was nothing to worry about as it was only a viral illness and to continue taking Nurofen and Calpol and use her inhalers.

However, Ms Murphy said Viviennes condition remained the same over the next two days.

Dr Leader told the inquest she believed the schoolgirl had a viral upper respiratory tract infection with a viral rash given her symptoms.

Ms Murphy said she contacted SouthDoc again on February 16 as the rash had spread and Vivienne would only eat and drink when forced.

She said they returned to the SouthDoc clinic later that day where another doctor, Katie Frost, gave them the same advice and to contact their own GP after the weekend if she still had the same symptoms. The inquest heard Dr Frost also formed the impression that Vivienne had a viral illness.

Ms Murphy said she had to carry her daughter in to see GP Christine Walsh-McCarthy at the Millstreet Medical Centre on February 18 as Vivienne was unable to walk with the pain in her legs but the GP had claimed it was just a viral rash.

She said when her husband returned later to the surgery with a urine sample from Vivienne he was told by the GP that she was sure it was only a flu-like illness that was going around the town.

Dr Walsh-McCarthy told the inquest that Viviennes presentation was quite common in other patients at that time. As both her mother and brother Stephen were also suffering similar symptoms, she said it seemed there was a viral infection circulating in the family.

Ms Murphy said her husband was dumbfounded when she told him that Dr Walsh-McCarthy had prescribed medication for herself and Stephen but had done nothing to treat Vivienne.

The Murphys felt there was something more seriously wrong and brought Vivienne to the emergency department of Cork University Hospital on February 20 where she was diagnosed with signs of sepsis.

Returning a verdict of medical misadventure, Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher said she needed to give further consideration to recommendations and to which bodies they should be directed given the totality of complexity of the case.




















Government ministers will not be allowed to use the university campus for soft photo-ops, the incoming president of Trinity College Dublin students union has promised, while warning he will be organising disruptive and radical anti-government protests at every event.

Laszlo Molnarfi will begin his one-year term of office on July 1 after winning nearly 57pc of the 1,882 votes in the election last month. He stood on a radical anti-government platform.

Mr Molnarfi (22) was among the protestors who disrupted Green Party leader Eamon Ryans talk as part of the universitys Green Week.

He shouted that the environment minister had blood on his hands over the Governments decision to end the ban on no-fault evictions.

Mr Molnarfi and other protesters held a rally last week outside an Irish Universities Association (IUA) event involving Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe. Using a loudspeaker, he claimed the Government was committing social murder through its policies on housing, education and health.

Originally from Hungary, Mr Molnarfi grew up in Belgium. He is in the third year of an undergraduate degree in politics, philosophy, sociology and economics and is chairman of Students4-Change, a group that tags itself as an alliance of Marxist and anarchist students.

He said his radical anti-government platform resonated with Trinitys students, and he believed there will be a resurgence in student radicalism across Irish colleges.

The choice was between me and more moderate candidates and it seems that radicalism is what is needed now, he said, citing the housing crisis, the dysfunctional funding of third-level education and the lack of trans-healthcare as three major issues facing students.

He said the protests against ministers are fair because Trinity authorities are not allowing unscreened questions to be put to them when they speak at events.

He also said Higher Education Minister Simon Harris had used the college for God knows how many photo-ops since taking the role in 2020, but this would not go unchallenged any more.

Its clear where their allegiances lie, Mr Molnarfi said. The only way to make our voices heard is through disruptive action, because our critical questions of ministers wouldnt be heard.

As president, I will not allow the college to use the union to promote the image of government ministers.

They invite ministers for photo-ops, and this is not to further the values of academia, debate and discussion, but actually to prop up the Government in the hope of getting political favours.

A Trinity spokeswoman said there is absolutely no policy of allowing only pre-screened questions at Trinity.

Trinity strongly believes that there is a need for politicians, and any speakers, to respond to hard questions, she said.

Sometimes the practice of pre-vetting questions is designed to ensure the hard questions are indeed asked.

The spokeswoman said spontaneous questions were invited from the audience and were answered by Mr Donohoe at the IUA event last week.

Trinity regards the right to peaceful protest as part of the student experience, she added.
The wife of one of Irelands greatest modern architects has left more than 13m in her will.

Nora Tallon was married to the late Ronnie Tallon, one of the most prolific architects in Irish history.

Mr Tallon, who died in 2014, co-founded the firm Scott Tallon Walker with Michael Scott, Patrick Scott and Robin Walker in 1959. It was responsible for such landmark buildings as the RTE headquarters in Donnybrook, the Abbey Theatre and the Aviva Stadium.

Ms Tallon, who died in 2017, left the majority of her estate, including the couples award-winning home, her husbands RIAI gold medals, papal knighthood and sword, five apartments, a wine cellar  and a treasure trove of art and jewellery  to the couples five children, Joan, Michael, Patricia, Yvonne and Deirdre, and 22 grandchildren.

In her will, Ms Tallon left the couples Foxrock home, as well as the gate lodge and two-acre grounds, to their children.

Ronnie Tallon won the 1971 RIAI housing medal for the design of the house. It was put on the market in 2021 with an asking price of 3.75m and was sold through private auction.

Ms Tallon also left 170 works of art to her children. Her husband originally wanted to be a painter, and his interest in art continued throughout his life, during which he amassed a valuable personal collection, including works by Louis Le Brocquy, William Scott, Sean Scully, Robert Ballagh, Cecil King and Andy Warhol.

Ms Tallons jewellery collection forms a central part of the estate. It features 25 unique pieces, including an emerald and diamond ring, a sapphire and diamond bracelet (with ring and earrings to match), a three-strand pearl choker, a Victorian diamond brooch, a diamond and sapphire ring, Tiffany-made gold and diamond chains, a Cartier diamond watch, a Patek Philippe watch and a black opal necklet and matching earrings.

She also left three apartments at Spencer Dock to her children Patricia, Deirdre and Michael, and a fourth apartment in Dun Laoghaire to her daughter Yvonne. She directed that a mortgage on an apartment on Clarion Quay, owned by her daughter Joan, be cleared in full.

She asked that two paintings  Peinture by Pierre Soulages and Berlin Blues 2 by William Scott  be donated to the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Ms Tallon also gave equal shares in her company, Secretarial and Consultancy Services Ltd, to her children, and left a trust fund for each of her grandchildren, which they will receive when they turn 24.

Ronnie Tallon was the son of a shopkeeper, from whom he inherited a fierce work ethic. He undertook his last major project at the age of 83 when co-designing the multi-award-winning Aviva Stadium. He also designed the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park, which loomed over a million people when Pope John Paul II visited Ireland.

Of his long career, Tallon said: Ive never looked on it as work. To me, its a way of life. Id be lost without it.
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS. On April 3-4, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to Romania.

Minister Mirzoyan will have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Bogdan Aurescu, which will be followed by a joint press conference.

Within the framework of the visit Ararat Mirzoyan will also have other high-level meetings, including with representatives of the legislative bodies of Romania.
Fianna Fails three-time election winner, Bertie Ahern, says his party should not rule out taking a junior coalition role with Sinn Fein after the next general election, likely in the second half of 2024.

Mr Ahern, who was Taoiseach from June 1997 until May 2008, and won three back-to-back general elections, has only recently been reconciled with the party he was obliged to quit in 2012 after an unfavourable tribunal report.

But he candidly says that Sinn Fein are set to be the largest party after the next general election with as much as five percentage points of a lead on their nearest rivals.

He acknowledges that the current three-party line-up of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Green Party, could put TD numbers together to return to power. But he argues that time moves on and the prospect of his party playing second fiddle to Sinn Fein in power must be considered.

Mr Aherns comments come in a wide-ranging article by Tommie Gorman, former Europe editor and Northern editor of RTE, in the online magazine, The Currency. Mr Gorman notes that Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar has vowed he would resign from the party rather than enter a coalition with Sinn Fein.

But Mr Ahern argues it is better to keep various coalition options open.

We have moved on. At the next election we will be 30 years since the 1994 ceasefirethats a long time, the former taoiseach told the magazine.

The man who put together three diverse, innovative, and durable coalitions, said he would not be put off by the option of entering a partnership with Sinn Fein as a junior partner.

Ireland is a small country. The budget has to be made. If anyone tries to do anything mad, they wont survive too long. The revolutionaries of today are usually the conservatives of tomorrow, Mr Ahern said.

Ive watched people come into the Dail over the years. They come in with all this ideology stuff. As soon as theyve taken the facts of life, they become normal people, he added.

The former Taoiseachs comments will hearten some Sinn Fein strategists. But his hard-headed assessment of the prospects for Irish unity will be less encouraging.

Mr Ahern reiterated his support for the concept of an agreed Ireland - but argued that achieving a practical, working model is light years away.

Mr Aherns work on peace in Northern Ireland did not cease with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Almost a decade later he helped broker the Democratic Unionist Party-Sinn Fein power-sharing deal between Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness which many would have deemed utterly impossible just years earlier.
Clannad and the Cross Border Youth choir perform at the Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures event in the Abbey Theatre. Photo: Julien Behal Photography

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meets Daphne Trimble widow of the late David Trimble at the Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures event in the Abbey Theatre. Photo: Julien Behal Photography

The Taoiseach, Tanaiste and former US president Bill Clinton have this evening addressed a Good Friday Agreement (GFA) 25th anniversary event, marking peace and a shared future on the island.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told an audience at the Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures event at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, he had been 19-years-old when the GFA was signed.

The Taoiseach recalled seeing how the Troubles had raged on his TV screen but then he watched as a sense of hope and liberation unfolded as the GFA was approved by a majority on the island.

Ive lived most of my life with the benefits of peace, Mr Varadkar said. Ive seen how it opened the door for prosperity On behalf of my generation, I want to thank the politicians that went before us.

He said the pathway since the agreement, had not always been smooth, but he believed as an island, the majority now stood together in hope and optimism about what can be achieved togetherto build prosperity for all our people.

He added: Let us go forward in hopeto forge a shared future, a shared peace, for all of us, on a shared island.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin told the audience how instrumental the GFA was in shaping the Northern Ireland and Ireland of today.

He said that 25 years ago, difficult choices and hard compromises combined with real leadership had created what some thought impossible, peace in Northern Ireland.

Today our island is in peacethat peace is imperfect but life on our island, in NI is better, Minister Martin added. This is worth celebrating.

The Foreign Affairs Minister told how his own political career had been greatly influenced by the GFA and Northern Ireland.

He said his generation had watched the Troubles worsen in the 60s and 70s on their TV screens, with bombs, bullets and beatings, massacres, murder and mayhem.

And above all, no sense of it ever ending, he said.

The Downing Street Declaration in 1993 had been, he added, akin to a miracle.

He said the GFA had hung in the balance. However, high politics, compromise, understanding where the other side was coming from combined with patience, perseverance, intelligence won through and manufactured a peace deal.

I often said it was Northern Ireland that drew me into politics. It shaped and reshaped my politics, said Mr Martin.

He told how he had met people from all backgrounds from Northern Ireland over the years and knew I had much to learn and things to unlearn.

I remember the decency, humour and good grace of people from all sidespeople trapped in historyyearning for a better future.

He had benefited from friendships that sustain me today, as well as establishing and growing professional relationships.

I remain in awe of the leadership, those who took chances for peace, he said. Not just politically but in churches and communities.

In particular women in Northern Ireland said enough is enough.

Mr Martin said the island was fortunate to have remarkable support from across the globe, including from political behemoths such as former US senator George Mitchell.

Former US president Bill Clinton addressed the theatre remotely from the US, quoting Seamus Heaneys The Cure at Troy. He read: So hope for a great sea-change. On the far side of revenge. Believe that a farther shore is reachable from here. Believe in miracles and cures and healing wells.

An array of artists performed during the event.

Performative pieces were interwoven with speeches from politicians and other representatives with knowledge of the GFA. Clannad closed the event, inviting participants on stage to mark the occasion.

The symbolism of the event has come at a time when devolved powersharing institutions in Northern Ireland are still in a state of flux.

The institutions collapsed last year, after a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair says changes to Good Friday Agreement need consent. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA

The Good Friday Agreement should only be changed with cross community consent in Northern Ireland, former prime minister Tony Blair has warned.

The ex-Labour leader, who played a pivotal role in negotiating the historic deal in 1998, said there was a case for reforming the devolved power-sharing structures at Stormont, given the regularity of governance collapses in the region in the 25 years since.

The arrangements incorporate a system based on mutual veto powers, enabling blocs of unionist and nationalist MLAs to stop moves that otherwise command majority support and, in extreme circumstances, pull down the institutions and prevent them operating.

The DUP is currently exercising its veto to blockade Stormont in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.

In 2017, Sinn Fein collapsed the ministerial executive amid a furore about a botched green energy scheme.

The current UK government has faced calls from some of the DUPs main rivals, particularly the cross community Alliance Party, to change the rules to allow the majority of MLAs to get back to work.

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However, in an interview to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday deal, Mr Blair cautioned against any move to alter the veto system to circumvent the DUP stance and reinstate powersharing, saying reform could only come if it was supported across the different traditions in Northern Ireland.

People often ask me whether theres a case for reviewing the Good Friday Agreement, the institutions, the way one party essentially can veto the process, and I always say to people that of course there is a case for reviewing it and, in time, maybe that review process will yield a change, he said.

But I dont think you can yield a change thats going to work unless it brings the communities together.

And one thing Ive learned about Northern Ireland is that theres a difference between the ideal answer and the realistic answer.

The ideal answer may be that you change the whole system, for example, by the way you choose ministers or have the executive up and running.

But the realistic truth is if you were to act, for example, in direct contravention of a large part of unionist opinion, it wouldnt work, it just wouldnt work.

So, yes, in an ideal world the politics of Northern Ireland would be historically different, but theyre not, youre in the real world and in the real world, of course, I think we should keep the agreement under review the whole time.

But I dont think its possible to change it unless you get the most important elements in Northern Ireland politics in agreement.

He said change could not just be top down and needed to involve an element of bottom up endorsement by grass roots communities.

The basic agreement in its essence, which is fair treatment for all parts of the community in return for the principle of consent (on Northern Irelands constitutional status), I think that that will always remain.

But how you adjust the way you manage institutions, the different strands, obviously that can change, can be adjusted in time, but it will have to be by agreement, he said.

Reflecting on the Good Friday negotiations, the former prime minister said the leaders of 1998 offered a lesson to the current generation.

It was agonising (the talks process), but its an interesting reflection on politics that it works best when leaders are prepared to say even to their own supporters things that are uncomfortable.

While the accord largely ended the violence in Northern Ireland, Mr Blair acknowledged there is more work to do to secure true reconciliation.

One of things I learned about the peace process is you can create an agreement, and you can create a legal framework, and you can do the reforms and pass the laws, but thats not the same as two communities trusting each other, he said.

And I think it just takes time, it takes quite a lot of time.

He added: I think theres still a lot of reconciliation to happen.

But at least if theres peace and, if we get back to some form of political stability, I think youve got the right circumstances for that reconciliation.
The generational divide is laid bare in todays Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks opinion poll across a range of issues  not just housing  and it is becoming of growing concern.

The notion of a generational divide is not new. People have worried about it for decades, notably in the 1960s.

And it always passed, as younger generations got married, started a family  and got a house.

In the past, the divide was more about mutual misunderstanding. Think short back and sides dad versus long-haired hippie son.

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In Ireland these days there is an element of that. We call it the culture wars: strait-laced dad versus gender-fluid son.

This time, though, the generational divide is less about mutual misunderstanding and more about a conflict of interests  and that is what makes it troubling.

I will come back later in this article to the issue of pensions, which was the subject of a stark warning to the Government last week.

However, housing (68pc) is the touchstone, significantly up by 13 points in a month as the matter of greatest concern to the public.

Todays poll reveals a nation deeply divided and, in my view, becoming even more entrenched according to self-interest.

Why are more people not concerned about the consequences of lifting the eviction ban, for example?

In party political terms, the generational divide can be broken down as follows: Sinn Fein (31pc) and the Social Democrats (7pc) representing agents for change versus Fine Gael (22pc) and Fianna Fail (16pc) as purveyors of the status quo.

Yes, that is 38pc for change and 38pc for no change, in terms of who runs the country.

That finding is remarkably similar across a range of issues in todays poll, most relevantly in relation to the lifting of the eviction ban: 40pc agree with the ban ending, 45pc disagree.

Let us break it down: 51pc who own their home outright agree with lifting the ban; 45pc who own a mortgaged home agree.

However, nearly two-thirds (63pc) who rent privately and just short of three-quarters (74pc) who live rent-free with parents disagree with lifting the ban.

It is somewhat troubling  is it not?  that half of those who own their home outright, mortgage paid off, agree with lifting the ban.

Indeed, of those who overall agree with lifting the ban, a fifth (19pc) profess themselves to strongly agree.

Call me naive, but I would have expected a stronger measure of opposition to lifting the ban, in the warned-about social circumstances.

Perhaps it is that the Government has made its case well, and people accept that to extend the ban would only store up greater difficulty in the future.

Further analysed, 32pc say the ban should be lifted now, 4pc say October and 6pc say next February  a combined 42pc.

But of that 42pc, only a quarter indicate some level of concern about the social consequences of an immediate lifting of the ban and want a temporary extension.

And yes, a polar opposite 44pc say the ban should be lifted only when the housing crisis is sufficiently resolved.

There is further evidence in the poll of the deep polarisation of the public.

In a forced choice, 41pc would prefer the current government and 42pc a Sinn Fein-led government, excluding Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

Asked about a general election, 46pc favour calling one immediately and 44pc are against.

Of those in favour, a majority of supporters of Sinn Fein (90pc), Solidarity-People Before Profit (88pc), Aontu (75pc), the Social Democrats (68pc) and Independents (56pc) want an election now.

Of those opposed, a majority of supporters of Fine Gael (88pc), Fianna Fail (82pc), Green Party (67pc) and Labour (59pc) are against an election now.

What is interesting here is that a significant majority of Labour supporters are opposed to an election  the outcome Taoiseach Leo Varadkar warned about last week when Labour tabled a no-confidence motion in the Government.

On this issue, it would seem, Labour is out of touch with its own supporters, who are in  or scrambling to get into  the status quo camp.

By the way, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns (45pc) is now the countrys most popular leader, leapfrogging Fianna Fails Micheal Martin (43pc) since last month, with Labours Ivana Bacik (32pc) well behind.

Now to pensions. Last week, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) urged the Government to take steps now to ensure state and public sector pensions were funded into the future.

Interestingly, this is an issue Sinn Fein highlighted to great advantage at the last election, when it strongly opposed raising the pension age to 68 from the current 66.

In its advice, the IFAC warned tensions will arise when a smaller, younger, working population have to pay more to fund a larger retired population.

In other words, millennials and Gen Zs, currently locked out of the boomers property market, will, in coming years, also have to pay the retirement pensions of said boomers. This is a recipe for unrest.

So, if you think the current generational divide is going to end any time soon, or even when housing to meet demand is eventually built, think again.

The proportion of retired people to the working age population is set to double by 2050. That is why the generational divide in Ireland is troubling, and likely to become more so. Eventually, something is going to have to give.

On todays figures, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, the Greens, Labour and/or Independents may well form the next government, whenever that election comes.

But would a Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Social Democrats government better help heal the generational divide?
The Defence Forces has confirmed that Russian vessels that it had been monitoring in recent days have now left Irish waters.

The vessels had last week been monitored both outside and inside Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

A Defence Forces spokesperson said: These vessels have now left Ireland's EEZ.

The Irish Air Corps and the Irish Naval Service continue to monitor activity in Irish waters and to undertake Maritime Defence and Security Operations (MDSO) throughout Ireland's maritime domain.

The Defence Forces had been monitoring the commercial ships off the west coast.

The Irish Air Corps Maritime Patrol Aircraft said it had observed the Russian commercial vessels in international waters off Ireland.

Two Russian flagged ships, named Unka and the Bakhtemir, were spotted off the Galway coast last week.

The area where the ships were first seen is where a newly opened subsea communications cable is located.

Russia is taking over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this weekend.

Earlier today, Cork South West TD Michael Collins, told Newstalk Russian Ambassador Yury Filatov must explain what the ships were doing in Irish waters.

Certainly, I think the Russian Ambassador should be called in to answer for these activities and to prove to Irish officials that this was just an issue of weather and them having no place to pull in for shelter, he said.

That is somewhat understandable but certainly what is not understandable is a non-proper explanation and what is not acceptable either is that Ireland cant properly protect itself.

Mr Collins said Ireland was vulnerable to Russian vessels  with no suitable aircraft to monitor them.

There had been concern regarding the two ships having capabilities to work on subsea cables and being a threat to the internet cables and pipelines off the Irish coast.

A Russian missile test exercise was due to take place off the coast of Ireland in February last year, shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The-then Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said at that time that the Russian military were not welcome. Russia later relocated the exercise.

In August 2022 a ship, dispatched by the UKs Royal Navy, observed two Russian warships conducting military exercises around 100 nautical miles south of Cork Harbour.

Since last April, Russian vessels have been barred from docking at EU ports, after sanctions were issued as a response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Rwandan refugee children in the Nineties plead with Zairian soldiers to let them cross a bridge to rejoin their mothers who had crossed moments before

For days the rain fell in sheets and every train we booked was cancelled  but on we trundled northwards towards Brussels with an old painting clad in protective cardboard bearing an aged sticker, reading Aer Lingus: Fragile.

Accompanied by my wife, I was taking an African artwork, if not back to Africa, then to a place where I felt it would be at home: the Royal Museum for Central Africa on the outskirts of the Belgian capital.

Id become convinced that the picture, which Id bought in the Congo a quarter of a century ago and which had been restored in Ireland, belonged not in our home near Bordeaux but with others of its kind.

Over the years, Id talked to Africana collectors and dealers and had even considered selling the picture at a flea market in Paris where, through a friend, Id met some African art traders.

But none of this had felt quite right. All the while, the painting  dismissed by family members as horrific  had languished in an attic in London and then in a storeroom in France.

Why I felt so determined to do the right thing by a battered old canvas of dubious origin and little monetary value perhaps needs explaining.

Help us to go out of the wood as we are very afraid of being killed

The year is 1997 and, newly recruited by the Times of London, Im in Kisangani  a decaying city on the banks of the Congo River, deep in the equatorial rainforest.

These are the closing days of the corrupt dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko, who has ruled the country  then known as Zaire  for more than three decades, and the place is in ferment. A force of rebel fighters has just taken the city and has its sights set on the capital, Kinshasa, more than 1,000km to the west.

Im among a band of foreign correspondents who, as well as reporting on the insurgency, are following the fate of tens of thousands of displaced Rwandans living without food or drinking water in the rainforest.

These ethnic Hutus  many of them perpetrators of the genocide that took place in Rwanda three years earlier  are considered fair game by both the rebels and local villagers.

Expand Close Rwandan refugee children in the Nineties plead with Zairian soldiers to let them cross a bridge to rejoin their mothers who had crossed moments before / Facebook

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Whatsapp Rwandan refugee children in the Nineties plead with Zairian soldiers to let them cross a bridge to rejoin their mothers who had crossed moments before

Bodies litter the forest and people with dreadful wounds hide among the trees. To reach their camp, we journalists ride pillion on motorbike taxis through the forest. One time, were chased by crazed men brandishing machetes.

Another day, a woman dashes up to me, pushing a note into my hand: Help us to go out of the wood as we are very afraid of being killed.

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One surreal memory of that accursed camp: semi-conscious people lying head down in a pit latrine. I pocket my notebook and start pulling them out of the filth so they can at least die in dignity. A South African cameraman yells at me that Im meant to be a reporter, not a doctor or an aid worker. For some reason, the half-naked bodies are stained head to toe in gentian violet.

I recall these events because they say something about my mental state at the time, and go some way towards explaining why, while waiting at the airstrip to leave Kisangani at the end of my assignment, I bought a painting of a massacre. Not a recent massacre, but one which had taken place decades before in 1964, in the early years of the Congos independence from Belgium.

As depicted on the canvas, the killing happened when Belgian paratroopers were airdropped by US military planes onto the airfield at Kisangani, then known as Stanleyville. Their mission was to rescue hundreds of Westerners whod been taken hostage by communist-backed rebels during the so-called Simba rebellion.

Inevitably, there was bloodshed. While most of the hostages were rescued, two dozen expatriates were killed, as were dozens of Simba rebels. Over the following days, 1,800 Americans and Europeans were evacuated, as well as around 400 Congolese, though nearly 200 foreigners and thousands of Congolese were executed by the rebels.

This then was the scene I chose to bring home as a souvenir of my Congo assignment in 1997.

That was the summer my son was born in London. On our visit to Ireland with the new-born, I also took the Congolese canvas, rolled up in my case. While in Dublin, I thought to show it to my cousin, Elizabeth Larkin, a picture restorer. She offered to clean it up. The next time I saw her around Christmas that year, she presented it to me, not only cleaned but mounted on a stretcher.

So it was that my African painting gained an Irish dimension, one which contributed to my attachment to it, for I was very fond of Elizabeth. I wrote about her in this newspapers magazine in November 2021  so I will not retell her story, except to recall that she and her husband, Patrick, enjoyed a wonderful life, travelling the world before settling in an artisan cottage in Dun Laoghaire where she had her studio.

In March 2020, she and Patrick, by now ailing and in their 80s, decided to end it all. They swallowed a dose of lethal drugs (hed been a pharmacist so knew how to go about it) and were found dead the next morning, having mailed messages about their intentions to relatives and neighbours.

It was for Elizabeth, as much as for myself, that I wanted to find a good home for the painting. Having largely hung up my own traveling boots and settled near Bordeaux a couple of years ago, I made the picture one of my projects.

It wasnt, however, until my research led me to Dr Bambi Ceuppens, a Belgian anthropologist at the Africa Museum in Tervuren, that I knew Id found the right answer.

Expand Close Dr Bambi Ceuppens examining the painting in her office at the Africa Museum / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dr Bambi Ceuppens examining the painting in her office at the Africa Museum

An email correspondence with her led to my decision to donate the painting to the museum which boasts one of the worlds most extraordinary collections of Congolese ethnographic and other objects.

I met Dr Ceuppens there in March and handed over the picture which, on the museums acquisition form, she named Parachutists jumping at Kisangani in 1964.

My museum visit was an opportunity to learn about Congolese art and the tradition to which the work belongs. It was probably painted in the 1970s or 1980s. Though signed  the signature seems to read Iyongo  the artist remains unknown, at least for the moment.

This style of painting began during the Belgian colonial era and peaked in the decades after independence in 1960, says Dr Ceuppens. The purpose of these images, often drawn from recent history, was to inspire conversation. People would display them in living rooms where theyd provoke discussion and debate.

Its wrong to think of it as naive art  thats a Western style of painting

For those whod lived through the Simba rebellion, Parachutists would have been a chance to exchange memories and exorcise the trauma of that time. And, for the younger generation, it would have served an educational purpose.

Since the advent of computers and mass media, such paintings are no longer so popular  though theyre still produced in the tourist centres of the country, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Such paintings dont have a huge monetary value and some people might say they dont have much artistic value either. But theyve real cultural significance.

"Congolese people look at these paintings in a very different way to Westerners. Its wrong to think of them as naive art, thats a Western style of painting which has nothing with this Congolese genre of popular, urban painting, she says.

The Africa Museum has assembled the largest collection of such paintings in the world, more than 2,000 of them, mostly acquired from a Canadian collector in 2013. Here they can be studied and, from time to time, exhibited. Bambi gives me the catalogue from the last show in 2016, pointing to a painting similar to the one I have gifted.

Shes keen to know more about Elizabeth who restored the picture (Its in very good condition, she says approvingly), so I give her a copy of my Life magazine article about my cousins, background material which will go on file in the museums archive.

On our way from her office to the museum building, we get to chatting about Congo-Irish links, including Roger Casement, the Irish diplomat and nationalist whose 1904 report on human rights abuses in the Congo was instrumental in King Leopold II of Belgium relinquishing his personal ownership of the Congo granted to him at a 19th century conference where the European powers carved up Africa.

Bambi mentions the Irish troops who participated in a UN peacekeeping operation in the Congo in the early 1960s (a dozen of them were killed) and Irish diplomat Conor Cruise OBrien, who gained global prominence over his role as UN special representative to the newly-independent country.

The debate on returning art focuses mainly on ritual objects, not on recent works

It transpires that not only has Bambi been to several academic conferences in Ireland but that one of her sisters is married to an Irishman.

A tour of the museum reveals some of the amazing objects on display: chains and handcuffs used to shackle Congolese slaves; a plaster statue of the Leopard Man, now widely regarded as a racist image and consigned to the basement; and a ritual statue used to identify thieves. Ironically this had been looted by a Belgian military officer in the late 19th century.

The bulk of the museums collection dates to the colonial era. Given that many artefacts were acquired by amateurs and adventurers under dubious circumstances, questions about ownership and provenance are now coming to the fore. And theyre being given added urgency by discussions about cultural appropriation and, ultimately, about restitution.

Its really up to the Congolese what they want returned, says Bambi. For the moment, the debate on restitution focuses mainly on ritual objects, not on recent works.

"So far, we havent received any official demands from the Congolese government. But that may change and then this and other museums would have to rethink their roles.

Once dubbed the last colonial museum in the world, the Africa Museum was, until a few decades ago, focused exclusively on the Belgian presence in the Congo. More recently, and particularly since its refurbishment in 2018, it has been reorganised to celebrate African perspectives on life and art.

Collections are being re-evaluated, labels rewritten and contemporary objects  including a massive talking traffic robot from Kinshasa  added. In short, the museum is very much a work in progress.

I hope that one day, my African painting (perhaps never really mine) will be included in an exhibition here.

If and when that day comes, I shall revisit the museum and enjoy it in its new setting.

I think my cousin Elizabeth would be pleased that it has come to rest in an appropriate place.
When it comes to interiors, the inveterate house doer-uppers keep discovering new ways to keep their homes interesting.

Youve heard of the the blackboard wall for the kids to draw on; the gallery wall  the one covered with photos and paintings; then theres the plate wall  yes, a wall covered in a variety of plates. Joanne Mooney has all three in her northside home. And shes added another wall hack to her decorating armour  the fifth wall where she decorates the ceiling either with wallpaper or paint. Im always on the move, always thinking of new things, she says, adding with a laugh, Nothing is safe.

Expand Close Instagrammer and artist Joanne Mooney in the kitchen of her four-bedroomed house on Dublins northside. The units are there since she moved in in 2005, but she added the island, with its oak worktop, and the leather high stools. The girls used to to cycle their bikes in here until I had the island installed, she laughs. The pendant lamps were cream but Joanne painted them herself. She also papered the interior of the open unit. And she created the blackboard wall herself. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Instagrammer and artist Joanne Mooney in the kitchen of her four-bedroomed house on Dublins northside. The units are there since she moved in in 2005, but she added the island, with its oak worktop, and the leather high stools. The girls used to to cycle their bikes in here until I had the island installed, she laughs. The pendant lamps were cream but Joanne painted them herself. She also papered the interior of the open unit. And she created the blackboard wall herself. Photo: Tony Gavin

Joanne is a successful Instagrammer, businesswoman and artist whose choice of artistic medium is punch-needle art  a textile art that can be used to decorate and alter objects, as well as to create landscapes and portraits. And, in addition to the exuberant pieces she creates, shes constantly doing things to her home and posting videos and photos of the vibrantly decorated rooms; she cant seem to stop inventing and reinventing the spaces. Its almost as if shes making up for the time when she wasnt involved in things creative because, hard and all as it is to believe, she only got into her area full-time 10 years ago, when she was already in her late 30s, although when she was young she had wanted to become an artist, and had even taken steps towards achieving that goal, before she got sidetracked.

And its interesting that Joannes artwork and home are so vibrant, given the loss she suffered as a child. The youngest of three children, Joanne was born in Belfast but lived in Dublin from babyhood onwards. Her mother was pregnant with Joanne when her father was killed in a terrorist attack during the Troubles and, as her mother was from Dublin, she decided to go back with her three kids.

My dad was 31, Mam was 30, only married four years when it happened. My brother was three, my sister was a toddler and I was a baby. We lived with my aunt and her family of four kids in Kilbarrack [on Dublins northside] for six months, then we got our own house and my mother is still there, Joanne recalls, adding that her mother, who remarried when Joanne was 13, is remarkable, full of joie de vivre and very can-do.

Mam used to paint and wallpaper the house, she sewed and knitted, she made matching dresses for me and my sister, she used to knit our socks with pompoms on the side. She does paintings. Shes a very positive person. My dad was completely innocent, but we didnt talk about it for years, Having been through what she endured, youd expect her to be bitter, yet theres no anger in her. Mum always said I was the reason she kept going.

Expand Close She had the attic converted and made the chequerboard bedhead with her punch-needle tufting gun. She finished it by painting a scalloped surround in deep pink. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp She had the attic converted and made the chequerboard bedhead with her punch-needle tufting gun. She finished it by painting a scalloped surround in deep pink. Photo: Tony Gavin

When it came to school, Joanne says she wasnt good, and was particularly useless at maths. Shes dyslexic but she was always very visual and always good at art. However, after doing her Leaving, she did a PLC in childcare and then went to the US as an au pair to the young sons of a gynaecologist and his wife. She spent 18 months with the family and got on really well with them, so much so that she decided to apply for a Green Card. I used to buy the Irish Echo while I was there to get the news of home, and when I saw an ad for the lottery for the Green Card, I entered and got it.

Armed with that, she applied to an art college in New Jersey and was successful in getting a place on a four-year degree course in fine art. It would have qualified me to teach art but I never finished it. I went home for the funeral of a friends mother and I never went back. Its a huge regret, she recalls, adding, I was working full-time as well as studying, I felt I was missing out. I realised I missed home, I missed my friends.

To figure out her next step, she worked in various jobs and also did a typing course, which led to a job as a receptionist in a dental clinic, followed by an unusual twist.

Expand Close Joanne had the sun room added to the kitchen/dining area. She created a plate wall around the doorway; its made up of plates that she picked up in junk shops and places like Penneys. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Joanne had the sun room added to the kitchen/dining area. She created a plate wall around the doorway; its made up of plates that she picked up in junk shops and places like Penneys. Photo: Tony Gavin

The dental nurse rang in sick that day and they threw me into the surgery and there was an extraction going on. There was blood everywhere and I loved it. And the dentist said, do you want me to train you in as a dental nurse? I said yes. It was great. Every day was different.

She stayed there for three years, then saw that the HSE was recruiting dental nurses and everyone encouraged her to apply as shed have all the perks of a permanent, pensionable job. She stayed there 15 years.

In the meantime, she married her husband Gary, whom she had known since they were teenagers. They were friends first, and when she went to the US, he went to Australia, and they wrote to each other regularly. They married 20 years ago and have two daughters Rachel (19) and Isabel (17). It was with the birth of Rachel that Joanne returned to art.

When I was pregnant with Rachel, I started doing personalised artwork for children; this was going back to when you couldnt get anything with a childs name on it. So Id do a train with the childs name on each carriage and the details of the childs birthday. I started doing them for friends. This was before social media, so I did them for markets. Then Facebook came along. It started to get very busy. I loved doing the art and I moved to part-time at the HSE but I dreaded going to work and the idea of working for myself at home was very appealing.

Expand Close The house is a four-bedroomed semi and since Joanne and her family moved in theyve added an extension and converted the attic. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp The house is a four-bedroomed semi and since Joanne and her family moved in theyve added an extension and converted the attic. Photo: Tony Gavin

She left the HSE, started her own website, tinythings.ie, and built up a successful business doing personalised art work for children, birthdays, weddings, new homes. The company still exists, however, there isnt as much demand nowadays as personalisation of products has become quite mass produced and Joanne has moved on to other things.

In 2018, she set up her Instagram interiors page and people responded to her pictures and her many interesting decorating ideas, as did many interiors companies. Shes done quite a lot of collaborations, including with DFS and Primark.

Now, theres her punch-needle art  she had discovered the medium in a textile workshop and became fascinated by it. Im always looking for things new to me. Its a very old craft, its looping wool into a fabric with a needle and you can make any image.

When she was asked to design a room for the Ideal Homes exhibition, she decided to furnish the room with two punch-needle portraits, including one of Frida Kahlo and, to her surprise, they were snapped up and she got further commissions.

Then lockdown came. While it put a stop to many artists careers, it helped to increase Joannes profile as a textile artist as well as giving her much-needed consolation. During lockdown, I found it very therapeutic, you are literally punching wool.

Expand Close Using the ceiling as a fifth wall, Joanne papered it the same as the other walls. She customised the floor tiles by sprinkling them with paint chippings and coating them with varnish. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Using the ceiling as a fifth wall, Joanne papered it the same as the other walls. She customised the floor tiles by sprinkling them with paint chippings and coating them with varnish. Photo: Tony Gavin

As it happened, she had bought loads of stock  punch needles, wool, the fabric and hoops necessary  five boxes arrived just before lockdown. She was planning to give workshops but lockdown meant she couldnt, so instead she got pizza boxes and created punch-needle kits and they were snapped up. I set up a YouTube channel to show people how to do it and in the pizza boxes  brown boxes without logos  there was everything you would need to do it. The girls and I had burns on our hands from making balls of wool to put in the boxes.

After lockdown, she started her workshops  around one per month  and they too have been a huge success. I put them online today and theyre gone by the next day. Ninety-nine per cent of the people who come are women; we have a great laugh and we talk about menopause and we give out about men, and they go home with the piece of art theyve made. Ive always wanted to teach art and now I am, Joanne notes with satisfaction,

Given that Joanne is a self-declared hyperactive type, she has made many examples of her work for the home she shares with Gary, Rachel and Isabel, including pictures, baskets and plant pot holders.

They moved to the house, their second home, in 2005; they had bought their first home before marriage but wanted something bigger and when they saw this new development, they went for it. Its a four-bedroomed semi

and since they moved in theyve added an extension and converted the attic. She also had an arch removed between the kitchen and dining area and made it one large room.

Expand Close Joanne added a feature wall to the front sitting room, creating a false chimney and alcoves, and adding an electric fire with a pretend flue. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Joanne added a feature wall to the front sitting room, creating a false chimney and alcoves, and adding an electric fire with a pretend flue. Photo: Tony Gavin

The kitchen units are among the few things that are the same, though she has painted them a different colour and added an island. In other changes, she added new floor tiles to the hall  luxury vinyl tiles. She added a feature wall to the front sitting room, creating a false chimney and alcoves, and adding an electric fire with a pretend flue.

Much of the work she did herself, including the rattan on the units in the alcoves and the tiling in the downstairs loo. The tiles were a different colour so I painted them white and sprinkled blue paint chippings on them. I let them dry and then applied a water-based varnish, she says, adding that she did the ceiling of the loo with the same Sanderson paper as the walls. And she punch-needled the monochrome headboard in her daughter Rachels room. The list goes on.

I wish I could sit on my hands at times. Its an affliction.

However, she laughs as she says this, so its obvious that shes thrilled with the home shes created and the career.

For details of workshops and other Joanne projects, see joannemooney.ie or Instagram: @joannemooney_
"Id be walking down the street in Galway and someone would say, Oh, theres Lynda! Theres Miss Ireland. God, I thought shed be prettier. I thought shed be taller. I thought shed be skinnier. Look what shes wearing! She looks terrible. Photo: Ray Ryan

"I would go from [binge-eating] to restricting my food. When I say restricting my food, when I was at my worst I was going about 14, 15 days without any food. Nobody knew that until last year. Because you hide it." Duffy as Miss Ireland at the Miss World 2002 competition in London. Picture by Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Back when Lynda Duffy won Miss Ireland in 2002, going on to represent our country at Miss World, nobody had an inkling that the sophisticated and confident young woman who held the crown was suffering.

I wasnt bulimic, I wasnt anorexic, she explains from her parents home near the Mayo border.

With binge-eating, you eat really quickly, so its not about spending the day having different foods, or what most people might consider a pig-out that you might do over a period of an evening or a period of the day. Binge-eating disorder is eating as much as you can as quickly as you can. And I would go from that to restricting my food. When I say restricting my food, when I was at my worst I was going about 14, 15 days without any food. Nobody knew that until last year. Because you hide it.

Long-term fasting such as Duffy describes is extremely dangerous and can compromise the immune system and put a strain on the heart.

Expand Close "Id be walking down the street in Galway and someone would say, Oh, theres Lynda! Theres Miss Ireland. God, I thought shed be prettier. I thought shed be taller. I thought shed be skinnier. Look what shes wearing! She looks terrible. Photo: Ray Ryan / Facebook

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Whatsapp "Id be walking down the street in Galway and someone would say, Oh, theres Lynda! Theres Miss Ireland. God, I thought shed be prettier. I thought shed be taller. I thought shed be skinnier. Look what shes wearing! She looks terrible. Photo: Ray Ryan

When I say no food, I mean no food. Nothing passed my lips except water and green tea.

Duffy has recently moved home from the Middle East, where she had lived for over a decade, and has founded a new business, Therapy with Lynda, using a technique which she says vanquished her own demons. Though she traces her eating disorder back to when she was in boarding school aged 16, the starvation part only began within the past five years.

During the worst of it, Duffy had a busy job recruiting for one of Saudi Arabias so-called mega projects, building a new smart city in the desert and along the Red Sea. Neom, a mega-city, will be 33 times bigger than New York, has a budget of $500bn and aims to be powered exclusively by renewable energy when completed in 2030.

I was managing the recruitment for seven sectors within the organisation, recruiting people from all over the globe, at every level from graduates to executive directors. How could she function in such a demanding role without eating for weeks at a time?

After about three or four days, you just get used to it. Obviously you get tired, you get irritable and restless. For me, it wasnt even about wanting to lose weight. I was at a point where I felt so out of control of my life.

I had to prove to myself that I was mentally strong, and that was the only way I could do it. It was ridiculous and its really bad for you and its stupid. But when youre in that mindset, you dont know how else to control stuff.

Before we get to the therapy that she says cured her eating disorder overnight  and which she now uses to treat others  Duffy speaks about how she binged to suppress the negative beliefs she had about herself from a young age.

Beliefs that were well established by the time her agent at her model agency suggested she enter a certain beauty pageant when she was 21.

Miss Ireland was a great experience and probably, at the time, I didnt appreciate it when I did win. I should have been really proud. I suppose I had the mindset of not giving myself credit for things.

Instead, she was comparing herself unfavourably to the other girls. There were definitely girls who were taller than me, who were skinnier than me, who were prettier than me. This is all in my own opinion and I kind of felt like, Well, why would I deserve to win? You expect Miss Ireland to have their hair and make-up done and everythings fabulous and I was never that person. I could turn on that switch when I needed to, but Im not the sort of person who puts on make-up or who is dressed up to the nines every day.

That year, the Miss World contest was held in Nigeria. It was a catastrophe. When a newspaper article suggested that Islams founding prophet Mohammed would have married a Miss World contestant, it ostensibly caused religiously motivated riots that left over 200 people dead.

I remember getting a call from The Gerry Ryan Show first thing in the morning and I didnt really actually know what was going on at that point.

After three days of unrest, Miss World organisers chartered a plane to London for their beauty queens.

I remember them saying to us, Dont turn on your phone on the bus in case we get shot at. Like, just crazy stuff. It was wild.

Duffy was already unhappy to be away from home for a month  she had wanted to leave after two weeks  partly because of catty contestants and constant rivalry.

I remember specifically two other Misses were like, God, look at the state of her hair. I just found it very hard to do the whole hair and make-up thing every day. It was just so unnatural for me that I really struggled.

At least the contests relocation to London meant Duffys family  she is the youngest of four  could join her.

Once back in Ireland, she had to attend events, launches and press calls as part of her Miss Ireland duties. Afterwards, she would go home, clean her face and change into her pyjamas. In her free time, she preferred to dress down.

I remember in the first two years after the win Id be walking down the street in Galway and someone would say, Oh, theres Lynda! Theres Miss Ireland. God, I thought shed be prettier. I thought shed be taller. I thought shed be skinnier. Look what shes wearing! She looks terrible.

Expand Close Lynda Duffy at the Miss World 2002 competition. Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lynda Duffy at the Miss World 2002 competition. Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

The criticism, understandably, stung. I would consider myself a strong person, I have good willpower. I would have been a confident person, but my self-esteem would have been really low. She differentiates between confidence and self-esteem by saying that while she believed she was a good model  because I just have to walk  she never felt good enough. How do I treat myself? Do I love myself by giving myself good food? No. Do I look in the mirror and say, Im beautiful? No. I look in the mirror and say, You have two different eyelids  one is bigger than the other. Your nose is slightly crooked. Your teeth are too small for your mouth. Your mouth needs to be wider.

These are all things I used to look in the mirror and say: Well, these arent right. So why would anybody love me? It was stupid.

Meanwhile, she had a supportive boyfriend, was in demand for photo shoots and working for a medical devices company. The following year she handed over her sash and crown to Rosanna Davison, who, to date, is the only Irish woman to win Miss World.

I remember that was in the Citywest Hotel. When she won Miss World, I remember saying, Oh great, the person after me has to go and win Miss World just to make me look even worse. Ive met Rosanna a few times and its amazing for her. Thats something that shell carry for her whole life and its a real honour.

In her late 20s, Duffy left her job, broke up with her boyfriend and entered her first period of being really unhappy.

She adds: I was like, What am I doing with my life? I was in a horrible place, feeling really worthless and thinking, I wish I didnt wake up today because I dont want to feel this pain.

Within two weeks she pulled herself out of this funk and met with a recruitment agent in Dublin for career advice.

They said, Would you consider a job in recruitment? And because I didnt know what else I wanted to do, I said, Why not? I joined them for about six months and then I moved to Dubai in September 2012. She was in a new relationship with someone who had already travelled to Dubai. Duffy would spend over eight years in the city and, initially, everything was great.

For the first time since I was 16, my eating habits stabilised. I was trying to figure out why that was. Is it because Im not in modelling? Is it because Im in a different environment?

But it wasnt long before the old destructive pattern reappeared.

I was in a relationship at the time and I think I kind of went into, Why does this person want to be with me? This person is going to leave me. Theyre going to find someone whos prettier, taller, smarter, funnier, has nicer clothes, looks better, doesnt wear glasses. Everything goes into overdrive and youre like, Well, I dont want to feel this way. So what do I do to stop myself feeling this way? I eat. But it doesnt stop you feeling that way. Its almost like an addiction. I got an instant relief from it. But it doesnt fix the thing. You just do it again and again and again.

Did her boyfriend know?

So my boyfriends throughout the years would have known I had a challenging relationship with food. Some of them would have seen me kind of binge, but none of them would have known the depths of the starvation part.

She would tell them she had breakfast at work, had a late lunch with colleagues, didnt feel like dinner, wasnt hungry.

You just come up with every kind of excuse. When I was in relationships and I would go for a binge, Id say, Im going to the shop to buy a magazine. And then Id go to the shop, buy five or six bars, crisps, doughnuts, whatever I could eat as quickly as possible, and Id have it done within 15 minutes. Id be back and they wouldnt know any different. Im just coming back with my magazine.

How did she not get sick?

There were times when I thought I would be sick, but it never happened. I would just get into bed and lie down because I used to have a phobia about getting sick as well. In one way that was probably good because if I didnt have the phobia I would have been bulimic, maybe. Id always eat to the point where I knew that if I ate one more thing, Id be sick, and that was my cut-off.

While her career continued to flourish in the Middle East, Duffy tried to tackle her eating disorder through talk therapy but wasnt receptive to it.

A turning point came when she left Dubai for Saudi Arabia and the Neom city project two years ago.

I was working and living in an extremely remote location, surrounded by the same people every day. We lived in cabins, so it wasnt like a normal compound structure. So in itself, it was a mentally challenging place. But it was also a place where all your food was provided. We had buffet food, breakfast, lunch and dinner. So for somebody like me, its happy days, but its also bad.

Every day was either a good day at the buffet  when she would eat nothing  or a bad day, when she would binge.

Im going to have 15 desserts and then Im going to stop at the shop on the way home and buy myself five bars. Im going to have dinner  have two dinners sometimes  and just overeat, overeat, overeat. So it was this constant struggle.

She no longer tried to conceal the problem.

I hid it for so long that, when I got to Saudi, I was so exhausted from hiding it I didnt care any more who knew. So Id be sitting having dinner and the lads  grown men  would be saying, How do you eat that much? And they werent joking. This wasnt a ha ha situation. I was like, I dont know. I guess my body is just so used to it.

And because Im not somebody who is overweight, people always presumed, well, how could she have an eating disorder because she is a normal weight? I wasnt underweight and I wasnt severely overweight because I balanced myself out.

Over time, her mood deteriorated and she went to the same odd place in her mind she had gone to 10 years earlier.

Not liking myself and just thinking, Why am I here? I was single at that point. Im still single, but I was like, Why would anybody want me? Whats the purpose of me? Nobody cares. All this negative, stupid stuff. Of course people care about you. And that overtook everything.

Did the escalation of her disease have anything to do with the tremendous pressure on women in their late 30s to settle down and start a family?

Perhaps a little, as the bingeing is triggered by rejection. I never internally felt pressure to settle down and have kids, but there is definitely an external perception. As in, a singleton, over 35, who is looking for a relationship, considered a good catch and is STILL single  then there must be something wrong with them! Overwhelmed, Duffy took an extended break home to Ireland in 2021.

I was staying with my parents and I switched off from everybody. I didnt speak to my parents, didnt speak to my friends.

My dog, who I love more than anything in the world, I didnt even interact with him, she says of Cooper, who has been by her side since she got him in Dubai in 2005.

Three weeks later, she talked herself out of the funk again, returned to Saudi and embarked on a self-development course that cost a fortune and was rubbish. When she rang her mentor looking for her money back  she didnt get it  he recommended she try Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) instead.

Id never heard of it but I thought it looked interesting. Its a mixture of CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy], psychotherapy and hypnosis.

RTT was founded by British woman Marisa Peer and it has a celebrity following.

Barack Obama and Ellen DeGeneres used it to stop smoking. Kate Middleton used it for hypnobirthing, Duffy claims.

Duffy met three RTT therapists before finding the one she wanted to share her story with. RTT involves an initial consultation for two hours to explore the root cause of a particular problem, after which you must listen to a personalised audio every day for 21 days. There are a couple of brief follow-up conversations with the counsellor in the following weeks.

It sounds so simple but its about understanding why I was doing it. Its about understanding trauma. Trauma can be anything from physical illness to something your parents said to you when you were young and it stuck with you for life. People have different things in life that they were privy to, not always in a positive way, she says, not wishing to go into the specifics of her own situation.

I remember after my session going down to the dining hall and looking at the desserts, and it was like looking at water. I felt nothing. I was, like, OK, weird. And the next day I went down again and I felt nothing. So it was just a case of overnight, it just stopped. That was December 12, 2021.

I tell Duffy that our readers might think such a quick fix is impossible. If I hadnt gone through this myself, Id be like, Yeah, whatever. Id be sceptical, she says. But for me, the binge-eating stopped overnight. That doesnt mean to say its going to be like that for everybody.

She had slower success tackling her self-esteem. The second session was about how to get over these feelings of not feeling good enough, not feeling worthy, not feeling lovable enough, not feeling these constant fears of rejection. That didnt happen for me overnight. It took me about three months to get to that point where I was like, No, I am worthy. I always have been and I always will be.

Now she says she is in a better place to meet someone. I know my worth, I dont accept disrespectful behaviour, I know that I am lovable no matter what. I know that I am good enough for someone, exactly as I am and how I look.

Such was her excitement at the effects of RTT, Duffy spent a year training to become a practitioner before taking on her first clients.

I love what I do. My original plan was to stay in Saudi for another year and do both. But my job there was so demanding, I couldnt have committed to it.

She moved home to Galway in December 2022 and has launched her business here instead. Her typical client has disordered eating habits, including one girl aged just 14. Anxiety is another big one. Fears and phobias is a big one. One of my clients has a phobia about vegetables.

As for her own fears, on a trip to Thailand, Duffy had a hankering for ice cream for the first time since her overnight aversion to junk food. I actually WhatsApped my therapist, and I said, I feel like ice cream. What do I do? She was like, If you feel like ice cream, have some ice cream. So I had a bowl of ice cream. That was it!

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Moving to Dublin towards the end of his teens, Jim Milligan discovered a deep connection with the Catholic faith. Raised under the Presbyterian banner on Scotlands Ayrshire coast, he found lodgings run by a devout Catholic landlady, who introduced her new charge to the local Mass.

Jim was taken with this alternative doctrine to the Christian faith and eventually, formally converted.

He still goes to Mass, every week, his daughter, investigative journalist Louise Milligan, tells me.

Expand Close I get sad. Ive waded through sadness for years now. What Ive been privy to over many years has had a traumatic impact on me and Ive had to cope best I can. Journalist Louise Milligan. Photo: Frank McGrath / Facebook

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Whatsapp I get sad. Ive waded through sadness for years now. What Ive been privy to over many years has had a traumatic impact on me and Ive had to cope best I can. Journalist Louise Milligan. Photo: Frank McGrath

Did her mum Mary, from Dublins Ringsend, add influence? Mum grew up with the Catholic Church and didnt know anything else. Dad was far more [devoted] than Mum.

We grew up with him attending prayer meetings, working on the parish finance committee. At Easter, we would go to all the Masses during Holy Week, even reconciliation Mass on Wednesday night.

Long after her own Catholic beliefs had waned, and working for Australian television network ABC, Milligan became the first journalist to report accounts of the alleged sexual assault of two choirboys at Melbournes St Patricks Cathedral by Cardinal George Pell, then the most senior member of Australias Catholic hierarchy.

The report sparked a febrile chapter in Australian current affairs and engulfed Milligan in a maelstrom. It would result in Cardinal Pell being convicted, and spending 404 days in prison. (In April 2020, the High Court upheld Pells appeal against conviction and acquitted him of five counts of historical child sex offences)

Expand Close "In April 2020, The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pells conviction for historical child sex offences. Pell was released after 404 days in prison." Austrailian Cardinal George Pell. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli / Facebook

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Whatsapp "In April 2020, The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pells conviction for historical child sex offences. Pell was released after 404 days in prison." Austrailian Cardinal George Pell. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli

The report aired on ABC current affairs programme, The 7.30 Report in July 2016. At the time, Jim knew nothing of his daughters role in this explosive inquiry.

Id been working on this and told my mum. And she said, Youre going to have to tell your dad. So I sat him down before the 7.30 story. He cried and said to me, This doesnt belong in the Church I love.

Before 2016, Pells publicised involvement with accusations of child sex abuse within the Church were largely of a reparatory nature. As Archbishop of Melbourne, capital city of the state of Victoria, he was the architect of the 1996 Melbourne Response, a protocol compensating victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by priests in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

More than 20 years later, Pells decades-long denial of any knowledge of clerical abuse as a priest in the Victorian diocese of Ballarat in the 1970s and 80s was under fire. Questioned during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses in Child Sex Abuse in 2016, his lack of awareness of paedophile priests being shielded by the Church was judged implausible.

Around the same time, a report in newspaper, Herald Sun, detailed allegations the Cardinal abused children while serving in senior positions within the Church.

Pell claimed the accusations were without foundation. Milligan was sceptical.

I didnt believe the story, she said. It wasnt sourced, there was no-one quoted. I came to it with an open mind.

Covering the Royal Commission since 2013, the journalist had reported horrific stories of sexual abuse by accused paedophile priests in Victorian dioceses including Peter Searson (he died in 2009 before facing any charges) and convicted offender Gerard Ridsdale. All the while, questions of how much Pell knew persisted.

A victim of Searsons, outraged by Pells response to the abuse during his cross-examination in the Royal Commission, agreed to speak publicly on The 7.30 Report in July 2016, accusing Pell of protecting the Church.

And significantly, the family of one of the choirboys (who had died of a heroin overdose) who Pell had allegedly abused, agreed to have their story heard on the same show.

In May 2017, Milligan released her full investigation into Pells sexual abuse allegations, detailing the accounts of the two choirboys in her book, Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell. That was the first time anyone had heard the story of the choirboys.

A month later, Victoria Police charged Pell with a series of sexual assault offences and Milligan was asked to give a witness statement on behalf of her sources, including Witness J, the choirboy still alive. In March 2018, Milligan gave evidence in a committal hearing determining whether Pell would stand trial.

An extraordinarily stressful experience, she says, where she was accused of flirting with a man whod disclosed his alleged abuse to me.

The journalist was no longer just the storyteller; she was part of the story.

Since then, Louise Milligan has cemented her divisive reputation in Australia.

Tormentor of the Catholic Church in Australia, praised the Australian Financial Review.

The ABCs slayer of sex abusers, real and imagined, spat Spectator magazine.

On Twitter, shes beatified by many as a superhero, vilified by others as a liar.

Among the trolling on social media, Milligans heritage has also been subject to attack. Louise Milligan is Irish and attacks the Church. But why attack Australia? read one tweet. Another post slammed, Her Irish ancestry and asked what is her gripe against Oz that she aims to bring down Church and State?

Milligan was born in Dublins National Maternity Hospital in the mid-1970s. She arrived in January, while brother Steve came the following December.

Irish twins, she laughs, referencing the term for two siblings born within the same year. It was four years before [youngest brother] Phil was born.

Settling in Tallaght, Jim worked in computers, while Mary stayed at home with the children. Mum left school at 14, she was third daughter of 11 kids, and they needed her to earn money. The nuns begged Nana to keep her in school because she was bright, but it wasnt an option.

The family emigrated to Australia in the early 1980s, to the Melbourne suburb of Wantirna. Only six, the young girl was a fish out of water. I never felt that Australian. My sense of Irish identity was very pronounced. At school, Milligan excelled. Highest marks in the school with a lot of expectation on myself. Rushing to set the world on fire.

After university, Milligan started as a reporter at The Australian newspaper, covering general news before moving onto law and courts.

I remember my boss saying it was human drama served up on a plate, with all the fascinating terrible things that happen in life. Life at its most extreme. Its where I started becoming an investigative journalist.

By 2013, Milligan had moved into broadcast journalism and was working at ABC as a reporter for The 7.30 Report. One of her first interviews was the husband of Jill Meagher, an Irish woman raped and murdered in Brunswick, an inner suburb of Melbourne, in September 2012.

I was the first journalist to interview Jills husband, Tom. The devastation that crime reaped on that family was a turning point in my career. It still stays with me.

Expand Close I was the first journalist to interview Jills husband, Tom. The devastation that crime reaped on that family was a turning point in my career. Jill Meagher, who was the victim of a violent murder in Melbourne in 2012 / Facebook

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Whatsapp I was the first journalist to interview Jills husband, Tom. The devastation that crime reaped on that family was a turning point in my career. Jill Meagher, who was the victim of a violent murder in Melbourne in 2012

I ask Milligan to expand. She cites similarities with Jill, like age and lifestyle. Jill worked at ABC [at the time of the murder]. I didnt know her, I started there a couple of months after she died. But her being Irish, I really identified with Jill.

The devastating interview saw a broken man, tormented by a crime perpetrated by a monster on parole for a previous violent offence.

I was conscious of not losing it, of maintaining composure but showing Tom that I cared. My heart was breaking. Ive always been a heart on my sleeve journalist. Theres this idea of journalism; dont get emotionally involved, dont feel. I cant be that person.

She adds: Ive done some shocking work that will never leave me. Ive had moments where Ive run into bathrooms and sobbed and sobbed from hearing so many accounts of abuse, death and violence.

Following the Pell trial, featuring the journalists experience giving evidence  chronicled in her 2020 book, Witness  and a blitz of derision from his supporters, Milligan describes a really dark time. I felt like I walked through a ring of fire. I was singed and got through to the other side, but itd been the toughest story Id ever done.

Then, in the early months of the pandemic, a call from woman in politics started the journalist towards another Herculean battle against the force of the Australian Federal Government. The woman, whose identity Milligan protects, advised the journalist to look into Attorney-General Christian Porter.

Id never turned my mind to him but I had this unbelievably fortuitous day in journalism. I started making calls, learning information. And one of those calls says to me, Theres a woman making this allegation against Porter. And shes got a lawyer.

Milligan found the lawyer and learned the woman, whose name she still didnt know, was happy to go on the record. Sadly however, timing would take a tragic turn.

Next morning, I get a call from a contact Id reached out to, and I told him why I was ringing, and he sounded like hed been punched in the stomach. He said, Im going to have to call you back. Which he does a few hours later and tells me she took her life.

The tragedy left Milligan bereft. I learned her time of death. The woman in politics who rang me [initially], rang me just a day later of the time of death. I missed this woman by a day.

After securing approval from the deceaseds estate, Milligan decided to follow up the claims. Discovering the womans name, age and that she lived in the Adelaide, Milligan reasoned because of their similar age and knowing many journalists from Adelaide, a mutual connection might be plausible.

Expand Close Louise Milligan is Irish and attacks the Church. But why attack Australia? read one tweet / Facebook

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I go onto Facebook; first person I find is one of my best friends. Ring him up and I say, have you had any bad news? And he just says her name. When I spoke to some more of her friends, all of them have said to me, If you wouldve got to her, we think she would still be here.

I ask Milligan if pursuing the story was her way of honouring the woman. She pauses and slowly nods. I wanted to know more.

In February 2021, ABC and Milligan published the story  crucially without identifying Porter  detailing how police had been notified of a dossier sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison of an alleged historical rape by a cabinet minister.

Twitter was ablaze. The type of event and location described, a university debate competition in Sydney in the late 1980s, and the age of the late accuser at the time, narrowed the guessing game. Within hours, Christian Porters name was trending.

In response, Porter addressed the spotlight in a frenzied press conference, denying the allegations. However, this allowed for ABC and Milligan to run with their full story, identifying Porter.

Days after, Porter launched defamation proceedings against ABC and Milligan over the initial article, which his counsel stated, while he was not named, the Attorney-General was easily identifiable to many Australians.

It was a confronting moment for Milligan. Thats the first person who sued me. Id been in journalism for 21 years at that point, never been sued, and I was doing really risky stuff.

Expand Close "The journalist had reported horrific stories of sexual abuse by accused paedophile priests in Victorian dioceses including Peter Searson (he died in 2009 before facing any charges) and convicted offender Gerard Ridsdale." Photo: Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp "The journalist had reported horrific stories of sexual abuse by accused paedophile priests in Victorian dioceses including Peter Searson (he died in 2009 before facing any charges) and convicted offender Gerard Ridsdale." Photo: Getty Images

Both sides endured trial by public opinion and, as proceedings developed, so did Milligans concern. I felt reasonably confident but at the same time, I was so stressed. I had two little kids  what was going to happen to me?

After jointly agreed mediation, Porter eventually discontinued the case in May 2021. According to a report in The Australian, Porter said it was a "humiliating backdown for the ABC, but the ABC denied expressing regret about the report. The article remains online today.

In September 2021, Porter was forced to resign from cabinet after declining to reveal anonymous benefactors whod helped fund his legal costs during the defamation proceedings. Reported at the time, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could not conclusively rule out a perceived conflict of interest.

By the time of the Federal Election in May 2022, Porter was no longer part of Australian politics, astonishing for a man once touted as a future prime minister. For Milligan, the outcome was conflicting. There were lives destroyed and families left to pick up the pieces. I just feel sad about it. Does the sadness from her work linger, I ask? I get sad. Ive waded through sadness for years now. What Ive been privy to over many years has had a traumatic impact on me and Ive had to cope best I can.

Serious threats are a common part of the job too. Not a secret Ive been subject of threats of violence and death. You have to take each one seriously. I was a court reporter for many years and saw how people could make very poor decisions.

Days before we speak, Milligan received a serious threat to her safety after her latest ABC investigation exposed schools connected to conservative Catholic organisation, Opus Dei, sharing misinformation about sexual health.

I filed my police statement this week. I dont know these people and how serious they are. And I want people to know, you cannot threaten women with violence in the public domain. Im just doing my job.

Her first upcoming fictional book, Pheasants Nest, indicates a vital divergence from sadness and threats related to her work.

I love fiction writing, its the only other thing that I would like to do.

Milligan describes the new book, which features an Irish-Australian journalist finding herself centre of a crime. So somewhat autobiographical?

Like me in some ways. Theres lots of reflection of her time in Ireland, really infused in the book, which borrows from my experiences, and experiences with Irish Catholicism.

We speak on a Thursday in February. Milligan is sitting at a computer screen in her parents house in Melbourne, close to the home she shares with her partner and two children. She needs the peace to think. The room is backlit by evening sun. Milligan is relaxed but often clenches and chooses her words with care. She frequently stalls the conversation, saying this is off the record, served with the murmurous tone of an informant. I chalk it down to an occupational tic.

Hours before our interview, George Pells funeral took place in Sydney, weeks after he had died from cardiac arrest.

In a combative eulogy, supporter and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott claimed Pell should never have been convicted of historic child sexual abuse offences that were subsequently overturned by the High Court in 2020.

Thats how the case against George Pell eventually played out. Enough evidence was gathered for Pell to potentially face two trials  one concerning the allegations of the choirboys, and a second regarding allegations of sexual assault in a Ballarat swimming pool in the late 1970s.

The latter case did not proceed following a ruling made by the County Court chief judge.

Pell was eventually convicted in December 2018 on five counts of child sexual abuse of two choirboys and in March 2019, was sentenced to six years in jail. His conviction was subsequently upheld in the Court of Appeal in August 2019.

In April 2020, The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pells conviction for historical child sex offences. Pell was released after 404 days in prison.

"On the day of Pells funeral, whats going through Milligans mind? I only think of the victims. I think of those who are no longer here. I think of their families. Thats who I think of today."

Jim Milligan has always unwaveringly stood by his daughter. Even when faced with intense criticism of her work. Every time he goes to Mass, they know hes Louise Milligans father and I know hes been confronted by people. I think its been difficult for him. But hes always supported me.

Her book Cardinal has a dedication to Jim. To my Dad. A fine man and a believer.
A farmer convicted of killing his 76-year-old aunt by reversing over her with a teleporter has insisted he meant her no harm, saying: People have made me out to be a monster.

In his first comments since being cleared of murder but convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of Chrissie Treacy, Michael Scott said people have not heard his side of the story.

Scott (58), who was released on bail to get his affairs on his farm in order prior to sentencing, said he doesnt think he will be sent to jail after being acquitted of murder.

Im not being rude or anything now, but its not over, he told the Sunday World when we called to his fathers house in Co. Galway.

As you know well, sure, (the sentencing is up on) the 12th.

But fair play to you, you were the first man to call, so if you leave your number well talk to you then  but it wont be for this weekend.

When it was pointed out to Scott, that he may well receive a jail sentence on June 12 and may not be in a position to speak afterwards, he replied: Well, I think, unless things go very wrong, I will be coming home again.

You cant be doing time for gross negligence, thats my opinion.

Details of the horrific circumstances of Chrissie Treacys death and allegations she had been intimidated and was living in fear of Scott prior to her death were detailed over a lengthy trial, which ended on Thursday.

The court heard allegations a toxic relationship had developed between Scott and his elderly aunt as a result of a dispute over 140 acres of farmland they shared at Derryhiney.

But, ruling the killing an act of gross negligence, the jury ultimately did not accept the prosecutions case that Scott had deliberately knocked down Chrissie 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.

When asked by this newspaper on Friday if he was sorry for causing the death of the pensioner, Scott replied: Oh Lord God, why wouldnt I be? My only aunt  without a doubt.

But Scott said he would have to speak with his solicitor before saying anything further.

I want to talk to my solicitor, he said. Hes after warning me there not to be talking to anyone over the weekend...

You can see my father there. We are genuine people. What went out [what people said] from day one was very, very wrong.

Its all very, very sad. People are saying horrible things and our side of the story hasnt been heard at all. But Id be afraid Id be interfering with the barristers or solicitors by saying anything now.

People have made me out to be a monster. Thats very tough, thats very hard to listen to.

Asked if he meant harm to his aunt, he said: Oh God, not at all, not at all, I didnt.

You have to remember that she was the last surviving member of the family on my mothers side.

This has had an awful impact on our whole family but our story is not being heard.

I was convicted of manslaughter through gross negligence, people are forgetting that.

From the moment of Chrissie Treacys death on April 27, 2018, and throughout a lengthy Garda investigation and the subsequent trial, Scott maintained that her death was a tragic accident.

At 3.26pm that day, Scott rang neighbour Francis Hardiman and told him that he had hit Chrissie with the teleporter.

On arriving at the farm, Hardiman found the pensioner lying face down on the concrete near her home.

She had been run over with the teleporter and suffered multiple traumatic crush injuries.

State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan said she would have died almost instantaneously.

Mr Hardiman told the court he found Scott in a shed crying and shouting.

And he said Scott had pulled a gun from his jeep and said: I cant deal with this.

Mr Hardiman managed to take the gun from him while Scott roared: I cant live with what happened to me.

The background to the case outlined to the jury was that Chrissie had formerly farmed 140 acres of land, described as the finest agricultural land, at Derryhiney in Portumna with her brothers.

After her brothers died, the property was divided between Chrissie and Scott, who farmed all of it and was described as having an almost childlike obsession with land.

By April 2018, the relationship between the pair had completely broken down. The court heard Chrissie intended to partition her land from the parcel owned by her nephew and that he was angry and resentful about this.

She had begun legal proceedings and a letter formally outlining her intentions in relation to the land was sent to Scott the day before her death.

The court also heard that neighbours and friends were worried for Chrissies welfare and Gardai had been notified of these concerns a month before she died.

Regina Donohue said she had encouraged Chrissie to move into a retirement home for her own safety, but Chrissie wanted to stay in her home.

The court also heard that the company who provided home care to Chrissie before her death sent their concerns to a HSE team leader, who contacted Gardai.

On one occasion, while discussing the leasing of the farm with an agricultural consultant, Scott said this will end badly.

Prosecuting lawyers told the jury that Scott reversed over his aunt in a deliberate act of murder out of a sense of entitlement and revenge.

They said Scotts claim that he did not see his aunt through the rear window of the teleporter was self-serving, dishonest nonsense.

Prosecution counsel Dean Kelly said the intensity and toxicity of the relationship between Chrissie and Scott was increasing with every passing week in the build up to her death.

He said there were incidents of general cruelty and unkindness, such as Scott refusing to bring her rubbish away and letting it pile up in her yard.

Mr Kelly reminded the jury of the deliberate turning off of Chrissies oil during very severe weather in early 2018. He said the only explanation was that Scott turned the oil off to torment his aunt.

He also noted the disappearance of Chrissies Jack Russell, Bradley, in February 2018.

The jury was not told, due to rules on hearsay, that Chrissie had blamed Scott for the animals disappearance.

After the jury found Scott not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs remanded him on bail until June 12 for sentencing.

The judge said as a consequence of the gross negligence manslaughter verdict, she would allow him bail to put his affairs in order. However, she said she did not want him to have any expectation of continuous liberty.
Stephen Lynch is optimistic that Cayuga County will have success attracting companies that will supply the planned Micron microchip fabrication plant in neighboring Onondaga County. But even if none directly tied to the massive project in Clay come to Cayuga County, he knows the work that local officials to prepare will pay off.

Lynch, Cayuga County's planning and economic development director, is heading a local Micron-focused subcommittee focused on site selection and development.

One of four subcommittees established by a broader coalition of city of Auburn and county officials and business leaders in response to the Micron announcement last fall, Lynch's group is gathering and mapping property data with an eye toward potential acquiring and developing sites that will have just about everything a chip fabrication plant supplier could need.

"This has really been a catalyst for amping up the level of focus and communication across the board," Lynch said.

Progress 2023 Today's story is the third part of a weekly series for Progress 2023, a special report examining the potential impact of the Micron microchip plant on the Cayuga County-area economy and how local officials and business leaders are preparing for it.

Micron in October announced plans to invest $100 billion over 20 years to build a chip plant in Onondaga County, with work expected to start in 2024. They have estimated creating 9,000 new jobs at the facility, along with about 40,000 more jobs in supporting industries.

The Cayuga County site selection/development subcommittee is focused in on what Lynch described as the "Micron corridors." That term refers to main roads that easily connect from the Micron site at the White Pine Commerce Park in Clay to Cayuga County. Those include state Route 370 that runs through the town of Cato, state Route 31 that comes into Brutus, the New York State Thruway, and then down state Route 34 from Weedsport to Auburn.

Along Route 34 and in the city of Auburn, Lynch said there are several sites that already have key infrastructure, such as water and sewer service that can accommodate large-scale commercial operations and broadband. He said the city of Auburn in particular is well-positioned because it has 9 to 10 parcels that could work well, and it owns several of them.

"The city staff really was the key in identifying those parcels," Lynch said.

The Auburn sites generally range from three or four to about 20 acres, which suits certain supply chain companies. But there's also a need for much larger sites, from 100 to 400 acres, and that's where the land on the corridors outside the city comes into play.

Lynch said the committee has been assessing parcels using mapping tools to overlay data on criteria such as public transportation and rail access, broadband service, water and sewer capacity, land use zoning, wetlands and soil types.

The areas along the Route 31 and Route 370 corridors do have challenges in those areas, Lynch said, but he's hopeful that the deep dive into the data and what can be done to get sites ready will pay off.

"I don't think there's an abundance of sites that collate all those factors together into perfect sites, but I think will be able to identify maybe one to five sites that are promising from analysis point of view," he said. "And then of course factored after that is, do we have willing sellers. And after that is the financing of such undertakings."

Because of the likely need for negotiations on land acquisitions and the nature of economic development discussions, the site selection subcommittee is small, at just six members, by design, Lynch said.

"It's kind of confidential work," he said.

The subcommittee got together for the first time late last year. It had four meetings in January and February, and another one last month. Lynch stressed that the meetings are taking place when the work discussed at previous sessions has been done, and there's a reason to meet again. "We're not meeting just to say we had a meeting," he said.

Some of the sessions have also includes officials from CenterState CEO, the central New York economic development agency, and Empire State Development Corp., the state's entity. Lynch has also had discussions with facility developers at Micron "to better understand what they look for in supply chain facilities."

Lynch is optimistic about what he's seen so far, and he's excited about the level of engagement the Micron opportunity has created among counties in central New York, and within the county among public and private sector leaders.

"That's one of the real assets that's coming from Micron," Lynch said. "Whether or not Micron comes and says 'We've got XYZ Company that's perfect for Cayuga County,' of course we would love for that to happen and we think it will happen, but even if it doesn't, the work that's being done in light of these opportunities is going to pay dividends for Cayuga County for a long time."
The focus this past week has rightly been on the abusive treatment of women in the Defence Forces, as documented in the report from the Independent Review Group. But the problem is not merely about gender or about abuse.

The following paragraph from the report contains no explicit references to either, yet as an indictment of a military in 2023 it is also shocking: So-called soft skills are not valued or considered relevant. Physical skills are considered the most important basis of assessment, with intellectual capabilities rated as much less important. Flexibility and alternative thinking is suspect. In training and continuing assessment, speed and an ability to carry heavy loads are the key measures of capability, irrespective of role. Difference or divergence from a perceived norm is not tolerated.

Compare that with this description of the threats faced by todays military, from last years report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Irelands international, regional and domestic security and risk environments are characterised by a variety of complex, evolving, interdependent and partially unpredictable threats and risks... [which] include increased use of hybrid aggression, cyber attacks aimed at manipulating systems or stealing data, terrorism, proliferation of weapons to hostile actors, organised crime, espionage, energy insecurity, threats to free trade, climate related risks, emergencies and natural disasters, conflicts related to resource scarcity, and illegal exploitation of Irelands maritime resources.

There is a characteristic crucial to defence against each of these threats: intelligence. Security today is often intelligence-led. That places a primacy on the individual intelligence of those tasked with ensuring it. But not only does the military not value intellectual capacity, it is actively hostile to it.

In other militaries, independent thinking and initiative is encouraged; this appears to be penalised in Irelands Defence Forces, the Review Group observes.

The Commission on the Defence Forces noted: Versatility, flexibility and resiliency will be required to adapt to change.

The Review Group found flexibility and alternative thinking is suspect.

This is a portrait of a military that is unfit for purpose. The most obvious manifestation of this is in relation to gender. The Review Group is clear the experiences of harassment, bullying and abuse it documented amount not merely to individual bad behaviours, but to patterns that recurred widely.

These are the headline findings, but some of the less glaring detail is revealing of just how deep-seated misogyny and sexism are within the military.

Military uniforms and equipment are designed using the measurements of a standard male body, the Review Group finds. This includes 18kg ceramic body armour plates, which have been used for two decades without any adjustment for the female form.

This is what author Caroline Criado-Perez calls the phenomenon of the invisible woman. Seeing men as the human default is fundamental to the structure of human society, she writes in Invisible Women. In such a framing, women are set up to be forgettable. Ignorable. Dispensable  from culture, from history, from data. And so, women become invisible.

This patriarchal mindset is bound up with a hierarchical one that is also deeply classist. The Review Groups informants described a class hierarchy that was characterised as the elite and the rest and master and servant, with all the snobbery, condescension and denigrating attitudes and behaviour that go with that. Similarly, the Commission on the Defence Forces found: There is a patriarchal approach that takes responsibility for lower ranks to the point of disabling them, and is resistant to females and so creates an uncomfortable place for them to work.

Such problems are not unique to the Irish military. The Review Group notes similar problems in the UK, New Zealand and Canada. The 2019 Wigston Review reported bullying, harassment and discrimination experienced by women in the British armed forces at a similar scale to that reported here.

But the most telling fact is the percentage of women in the military. In Ireland, it is just 7pc. In the EU, only Malta is as bad, according to the index compiled by SHEcurity, an organisation campaigning for greater participation of women in foreign and security policy. Across 38 countries in the index, average female participation is almost double that of Ireland, at 13pc. In the UK, it is 11pc. Among the top performers are Sweden, with 22pc female participation, and Norway and Australia, each with 20pc.

There are precedents for success in increasing this number. Nato members doubled the representation of women in their forces between 2000 and 2021. In 2015, the Australian military set targets for each of its forces and exceeded them. Today, the rate of female participation in the Australian Army is 15pc, in its navy 23pc and in its air force 26pc. Despite various initiatives in recent years, the proportion of women in the Irish military has remained stubbornly low.

The Review Group report has provoked this debate; hopefully, through the subsequent work of a statutory inquiry, it may catalyse real change. It presents a real opportunity for reformists within the Defence Forces and its leadership to force the pace.

Nonetheless, some of the commentary on the report has perhaps misrepresented the evidential base of the Review Groups findings. The group did not make findings of fact on individual cases, and the report does not give detail of cases.

The Review Group notes the bullying reported by informants included behaviour leading to suicides and informants alleged that in the case of some suicides, they were told that if they were not denoted as accidental deaths rather than suicides, there would be adverse consequences.

These are among the most damning allegations in the report and merit the Review Groups recommendation  since accepted by the Government  that an expert group should conduct a specific study on suicide in the Defence Forces. But there is as yet no detail on the extent to which such suicides occurred and whether these were indeed covered up.

The announcement of a statutory inquiry to follow the Review Group report raises another, recurring issue. Not merely do we seem to keep relearning lessons about Irish institutions, we insist that, each time we inquire into them, we have to relearn how to do an inquiry. Every one of these inquiries must learn for itself how (or sometimes how not) to run itself; every one of them ultimately disbands, and this knowledge is lost. The skill set required to run a court case over a number of days or weeks is different from the skill set required to run an inquiry over a number of months or years.

It is time, surely, for some kind of standing organisation or permanent secretariat that would enable inquiries to get up and running more quickly and cheaply and would acquire and retain a knowledge of best practice. That so many of our inquiries relate to the treatment of women reinforces the potential value of such retained capacity.

Too often Irish institutions have rendered women forgettable, ignorable, dispensable and invisible. Each new inquiry helps incrementally change that  but is incremental change enough?
The past is a foreign country, they say  and Ireland of the 1980s is now depicted as so utterly alien and dark compared to the Ireland of today that it might as well be from another planet.

I left school in that decade, went to university, emigrated to Australia, and returned seven years later.

Politically speaking, what I mainly remember about that time was high unemployment, high emigration, the Troubles, Charlie Haughey and Garret FitzGerald. Social issues left me mostly unmoved. The Catholic Church was a fairly peripheral presence in my life.

I went to mass each week all right  but apart from a handful of perfectly benign priest-teachers at my school, the Church featured little, never mind as something domineering and authoritarian.

Joannes local community rallied to her support. The parish did not shun her

Maybe I was lucky. Or maybe it is because I am male, and if you were a young man growing up then, you experienced Ireland differently compared to a young woman.

Anyone who grew into adulthood then will have different memories of the 1980s. Mine are mainly happy ones. But an event which occurred in that decade has come almost to define it  and that is the Kerry Babies case, which was very much back in the news last week.

At the centre of that case was Joanne Hayes. The basic outline of what happened is now familiar to most people. In April 1984, the body of an infant  Baby John  was found, washed up on a beach outside Cahersiveen, with multiple stab wounds.

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Joanne, a young woman from a different part of Kerry, had given birth at almost the same time  but her baby was initially nowhere to be found. The gardai thought they had found Baby Johns killer.

But Joanne had given birth to a different baby. It was stillborn, and the body was hidden to begin with on the family farm. The father was a married man. She was already raising a child by him.

The gardai came up with the incredible theory that she had given birth to both babies, having been impregnated by two different men. They managed to extract a false confession from Joanne and her family that she was guilty of killing Baby John. To cut a long story short, eventually she was exonerated.

The States handling of the case was a disaster. A tribunal set up to investigate how the gardai dealt with the case only made things worse, by asking Joanne demeaning and invasive questions about her personal life.

The case was presented to the country as a prime example of the cruel way in which Catholic Ireland treated women. We were reminded last week that we did not have divorce at the time. And contraception was only available to married couples. The year before, in 1983, we had passed the pro-life referendum by a two-to-one margin.

But was Joanne Hayes really a victim of Catholic Ireland, as we now imagine? Yes, that Ireland did produce many victims, and a disproportionate number were women. But the specific question is whether Joanne herself was a victim of that culture?

Joannes story is convenient for those who want to make what happened to her fit a particular narrative

The answer is not as cut and dried as we have been led to believe.

Consider, for example, Joannes local community. They rallied to her support. They knew she was raising her child by another womans husband, but they did not ostracise her. The local parish did not shun her. Hayes herself explained that she and her family went to Mass each week.

This is hardly evidence of a hostile parish community.

When she became pregnant the first time, she spoke openly to her friends about it, successfully applied for maternity leave, returned to her job afterwards, and reared the child at the family home. When she appeared before the tribunal, dozens of people from her community marched outside in solidarity.

This does not really add up to a picture of a woman mistreated by a cruel Catholic society. She was certainly the victim of a cruel legal system  but that is a different matter.

Perhaps that legal system was shaped in its cruelty by Catholic Ireland? That seems a stretch. There are many examples from other jurisdictions, far more liberal than 1980s Ireland, of women being treated appallingly by the law, and by society.

A famous one that comes to mind involves another woman accused of killing her baby, namely Lindy Chamberlain, in what became known as the Dingo baby case.

Chamberlain was wrongly sentenced to life in prison in 1982, having been mercilessly traduced by almost the whole of Australian society.

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Or consider the case of Amanda Knox, wrongly sentenced to life in a prison in Italy for the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007 and who had to fight very hard to clear her name.

As with Joanne Hayes, a false confession was extracted from her by the police, and her sex life was exposed for the whole world to see.

And what about Monica Lewinsky? Every prurient detail of her sexual relationship with Bill Clinton was put on public display  when the real villain in that saga was Clinton himself, a much older, married man occupying the most powerful office in the world, and she was simply a young White House intern.

Chamberlain, Knox and Lewinsky will be forever associated with the horrific circumstances they found themselves in at a certain point in their lives, as will Hayes.

Hayes herself has not given an interview in decades. In 2006, she learnt that the Irish Film Board was set to fund two films about her case and pleaded for them not to be made.

Veteran journalist Ger Colleran, who is from Kerry himself, wrote extensively about the Kerry Babies case as it unfolded, and has done so since. He has said repeatedly that Hayes was a victim of the gardai, the legal system, and the State, first and foremost. And Colleran is no church apologist.

But the story of Joanne Hayes is just too convenient for those who want to paint the 1980s in the worst possible light and make what happened to her fit a particular narrative, no matter what. Perhaps she does not want to be used in this way at all, and if she does not, how fair is that?

Maybe she will emerge one day to give another interview. But the other possibility is that she simply wants the right to be forgotten and for the rest of us to respect that.
The Dail was a sorry spectacle last Wednesday. The debate on Labours no-confidence motion was kindergarten chaos, or as the Ceann Comhairle put it, a disgrace. The Government won the division by a distance.

The rumpus meant Questions began late. Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar exchanged the usual unpleasantries. Ivana Bacik asked a question. Then both, big beasts of the Opposition, retired hurt and left the Chamber.

The Ceann Comhairle called on the quiet man, Tipperary TD Michael Lowry, the de facto leader of the

Regional Independent Group. Earlier his gang had backed the Government in the confidence vote.

The Lowry-Leo love-in began.

Lowry raised an urgent question: the lack of palliative care for terminally ill children in Tipperary and the south-east. He was not into theatricals; instead, he convincingly pleaded, sotto voce, the cases of specific families caught in unbearable situations.

Leo lit up, responding suspiciously like a man well-primed for the question. The two TDs treated each other with respect. There was none of the polite dismissal which the Taoiseach often reserves for backbench TDs.

There is something wrong here. I will take an interest in it, Leo helpfully volunteered. I guarantee the money is there. I will convene a meeting in the Department of the Taoiseach, involving the Minister for Health and HSE to get a proper overview of paediatric palliative care services, find out what the problem is and then we will fix it.

Lowry thanked the concerned Taoiseach for his personal interest, namechecked his constituents and re-emphasised the urgency.

Leo had  with inspired foresight  brought a brief on the subject into the chamber. Repeating that there was something amiss here, he praised Lowry for very correctly and articulately pointing out that the problem could not wait and pledged that he would fix it as soon as we can. Job done. Happy families.

The next question  about vacant houses in Kerry  came from Danny Healy-Rae, not a member of Lowrys gang. Danny had just voted no confidence in the Government, marking a flip-flop from his stance a week earlier.

Leo pointedly undermined Danny by revealing Fine Gaels Kerry TD, Brendan Griffin, has done a whole dossier on it, which he had already shared with him. Deputy Healy-Rae is essentially making the same point, he condescended. Dannys question was dismissed as old hat.

Lowry is back in the political saddle, a pivotal figure in the life of this government. He is the key Regional Independent Group TD upon whom this government relies for survival. After the vote, armed with their support, Leo confidently predicted the Coalition would serve its full term.

The Regional Independents are not a band of boat rockers. They consist of six hard-nosed, practical, Independents, namely: Lowry himself, Sean Canney, Denis Naughten, Noel Grealish, Cathal Berry and Matt Shanahan. Their attitude is far removed from the less-disciplined outbursts of Danny Healy-Rae.

They are not natural hurlers on the ditch. Three of them  Lowry, Naughten and Canney  are former ministers, while Grealish, Berry and Shanahan work the corridors of Leinster House in pursuit not only of special treatment for their home patches, but also of changes in national policy. Ten days ago they demanded reliefs in the Governments rules on evictions. The Coalition rolled over.

During that process, the opposing views of a key minister were ignored. Minister of State for Older People Mary Butler was bypassed on a major reform conceded in her bailiwick. Last Thursday, an Independent TD, reflecting on the new balance of power in the Dail, told me: Michael Lowry has more power than any minister in the government.

Embarrassed Coalition ministers pooh-pooh any suggestion that they have struck any deal with the Regionals. Most prefer the word understanding. Beyond dispute is that Lowrys Group has landed a goal prized by backbenchers: open access to ministers. Access means dialogue; dialogue means deals. Nothing will appear in writing. Funding will silently float in their direction.

Lowry is a past master at wielding such clout. Ever since his exit from Fine Gael he has exercised his Dail vote in the interests of his constituents. When I was in the last government, Fine Gael ministers told me of the unwritten rule to look after Michael. He has been lucky because successive governments have needed him.

Today they no longer see him as a sole trader, but leading five similarly pragmatic Independents, demanding realistic changes in national and local policies. In return, they guarantee the governments survival.

Lowrys past troubles with the taxman and the tribunals have been an impediment to such deals, but Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and now the puritan Greens have swallowed hard and accepted that the 2023 version of new politics means Lowry and his colleagues stand between the Coalition and possible perdition.

Leo has buried the hatchet with Lowry, the man he once hinted had an issue with the law, even saying that he would hate to see a government dependent on TDs who are potentially facing future court appearances or spells in prison.

Lowrys rehabilitation is not complete. He is unlikely to be a minister again, but his umbilical cord to Fine Gael remains strong. He has retained friends among party heavyweights, including Heather Humphreys, Senator Paddy Burke, Paul Kehoe, Phil Hogan and Enda Kenny.

It was the former Fine Gael taoiseach who supported him in his darkest hour after his removal from office in 1996. As his friend departed under a dark cloud, Kenny described him as a man of the highest integrity and honour.

Kenny, despite his paean of praise, omitted to predict that 26 years later Lowry would re-emerge as possibly the most powerful TD in Ireland. Today Kenny is long gone, but Lowry is still standing, pulling the political strings in Dail Eireann.
ST Patricks Day was celebrated in great style in Clonroche village in County Wexford with the parade attracting a large number of participants.

One of the organisers commented that even the weather couldnt dampen the spirits or the sense of community in Clonroche.

The parade was led by St Patrick (aka: Dermot OSullivan) and he was followed by representatives of Cloughbawn GAA club, staff and children from Clonroche Community Playschool and a large group from Cloughbawn AFC which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Clonroche Vintage Clubs garda patrol kept a close eye on proceedings while a large number of vintage and classic tractors and vehicles added greatly to the visual spectacle of the event.

Clonroche Development Association had a float that showcased the equipment necessary to keep the village clean and tidy.

One of the highlights of the parade was the appearance of the No Show Like a Joe Show float which really delighted the audience.

Wexford winning its bid for the all-Ireland fleadh was also acknowledged at the event with the Boro Inn entering a float based around the theme of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann Wexford 24 with notable musicians including Rickie Blackburn and Nora Carthy entertaining the audience.

One of the biggest floats was entered by fFrenchs Cloch Ban, with the Breda Houlihan inspired Get Me Out of Here (Im a Celebrity) and get me back to Ffrenchs Pub being a great hit with the crowd  as was the floats special guest, Elton John.

The participants began gathering at Cloughbawn Church at around 1 p.m. and with the weather not exactly being ideal the organisers were delighted with the turnout both in the event itself and also with regard to the number of people who turned up to view the event.

"There is great credit due to the people of Clonroche and the surrounding area for turning out in such great numbers despite the inclement weather, said one of the organisers.

The range of floats and participating walking groups and vehicles provided a very varied spectacle with the new garda patrol car drawing particular attention.

The organisers awarded four prizes for the entrants with the winners being composed of: Ffrenchs Bar  for originality and sheer effort involved; No Show Like a Joe Show with Jim Murphy performing as the man himself accompanied by a full backing band; The Boro Inn  for a very topical theme and the quality of their musician; and Clonroche Vintage Clubs garda patrol- complete with period transport and young members of the force.

The organising committee would like to thank Garda John Kennedy and the Enniscorthy gardai for their help, said a spokesperson for the organisers.

The committee also acknowledged the valuable assistance John and Aidan OBrien who acted as stewards on the day, Des ORourke, for supplying the reviewing platform, Paul OBrien, John Fitzpatrick, Phil Rossiter and Francis Redmond, for their help in erecting flags and bunting.

They also thanked everyone who helped make the day a great success.
MEP Billy Kellegher stopped off at Enniscorthy Community College recently in acknowledgement of the schools participation in the European Parliament Ambassador School Programme.

He is the second MEP to visit the school in the last six months. He engaged in interactive seminars with students from First to Sixth Year on a diverse range of topics including the issue of climate change and the war in Ukraine, as well as the role of the EU in the lives of the citizens.

The European Parliament Ambassador School Programme (EPAS) is aimed at increasing students awareness of European parliamentary democracy, the role of the European Parliament and European values. It also encourages them to actively participate in EU democratic processes.

Teachers and students are appointed as Senior and Junior Ambassadors by the schools selected to take part in the programme and are put in charge of its implementation.

Teachers take care of the educational aspect, mainly organising lessons on European parliamentary democracy and educators can use the European Parliament interactive educational material that includes general information and facts about the EU, training on democratic skills and participation, class role-play games and quizzes.

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The teachers and students are asked to carry out activities such as the creation of an EU Info Point, the organisation of Europe Day events or the creation of social media content.

They liaise with Members of the European Parliament, other Ambassadors and partners, and engage with their communities.

At the end of each school year, the activities carried out by schools are evaluated and on successful completion of the programme, schools are certified as an Ambassador School.

Their Senior and Junior Ambassadors receive certificates in ceremonies organised by the local European Parliament Liaison Offices, very often in the presence of members of the European Parliament, national and local authorities, and partners. Teachers and students may also be given the possibility to participate in Euroscola sessions in Strasbourg or other events organised by the European Parliament in the Member States and Brussels or Strasbourg.

With that in mind the Senior and Junior Ambassadors have been busy establishing Enniscorthy Community Colleges European credentials.

In addition to Mr Kellegher, the Deputy Head of Division of the European Central Bank, Peter Walsh, also visited the school recently and spoke to four class groups about the euro, how it came into being and how the currency is managed.

The schools ambassadorial team is now organising Europe Day on May 9, which will include a formal ceremony including a music recital planned to celebrate the diverse European community of students in the college.

A new physical awareness campaign in the college is also about to be rolled out which will see notice boards and spaces reflect the work and the mission of the European Union.
Paul Mescal hopes his Olivier Award for best actor helps keep his "unwell" mother's spirits high, as well as his father who is "looking after her".

The 27-year-old scooped the top acting prize at the Royal Albert Hall ceremony on Sunday for his turn as Stanley Kowalski in the new stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire.

During his speech, Mescal thanked his mother Dearbhla, who is receiving treatment for cancer, adding: "I hope you get better."

In the winners' room, he told the PA news agency: "My mum and dad are at home. My mum's unwell at the moment, so hopefully it'll give her a little bit of a lift and dad as well who is looking after.

"It kind of feels maybe narcissistic or egotistical to assume that that will help anything, but I hope that it does."

A shocked Mescal asked "what is happening?" while holding his award.

Speaking about his success from starring in Normal People to an Oscar nomination for his role in Aftersun, he said: "It's silly. I feel like I hear people say it all the time, but it doesn't feel real. This doesn't feel at all real.

"But it's kind of happening at such a rate that there is no time to stop and think, this is a phenomenal feeling.

"But we're on stage tomorrow at 7.30pm and I can't wait. It's the best play, it's the best group of people to go to work with."

He described working in theatre as a "thrill".

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"Theatre is where I learned how to be an actor. It's where I started. I did five or six plays in Dublin, that's where I want to end up, he said.

"It feels odd for me to not be in and around a stage or be planning to do theatre. I don't want to be far away for too long."

Meanwhile, Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer, who won best actress for her role as Tessa in Prima Facie, spoke about the meaning behind her inspirational acceptance speech where she encouraged young actors to believe it is possible.

In the winners' room, she said: "When the (Prima Facie) script got sent to me, it was in the first lockdown and I was blown away by it.

"But I was like, 'I don't know why I've been sent this because I haven't done a lot of theatre', I was confused by that.

"I guess I've always been told no a lot in theatre auditions, which I think were always right and meant for me, but there was always this constant feedback of 'We like you but it's too big a task' or 'You're just not trained or educated enough in this'.

"So that was something that kind of lingered with me. I think it might be that the stars need to align and you have to meet kind people, the right people and time and place, but it is actually possible, so hopefully that can be an example of that."

Comer (30) added that she "definitely" wants to pursue more theatre productions in the future.

She said: "It's tricky though because after this it's going to have to be something really special for me to want to delve into it again.

"But I would love to do more theatre. I understand it now when actors told me before that it's kind of incomparable in that way, now I understand that."

Similarly, Derek Jacobi has described receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to theatre as "magical".

In the winners' room, he talked about working with the late actor Laurence Olivier - which the ceremony is named after.

"It's not just an award to me, I worked with him for over seven years, he's part of my life and I owe him so very, very much," he said.

"When I was young, he gave me the opportunities to work with him as an actor, to work with him as a producer, and to become his friend.

"As I said in the speech, he once called me his other son. So I am in love with this man, and I have been all my career and without him, there would have been no lifetime achievement award."

The Olivier Awards 2023 will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX from 10.15pm to 12.20am.
A chipper-sounding Pope Francis was discharged yesterday from the hospital in Rome where he was treated for bronchitis, quipping to journalists before being driven away that hes still alive.

Francis (86) was hospitalised at Gemelli Polyclinic on Wednesday, following his weekly public audience in St Peters Square after reportedly experiencing breathing difficulties. The pontiff received antibiotics administered intravenously during his stay, the Vatican said.

As a young man in his native Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed, leaving him particularly vulnerable to any respiratory illness.

Happy Easter to all, and pray for me

In a sign of his improved health, the Vatican released details of Francis Holy Week schedule. It said he would preside at this weekends Palm Sunday Mass and at Easter Mass on April 9, both held in St Peters Square and expected to draw tens of thousands of the faithful.

A Vatican cardinal will be at the altar beside him, a recent practice due to the pontiff having a troublesome knee issue.

But Francis is scheduled to celebrate mass on Holy Thursday, which this year he will celebrate from a juvenile prison in Rome. Still unclear was whether he would attend the late-night, torch-lit Way of the Cross procession at Romes Colosseum to mark Good Friday.

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Before departing the hospital yesterday morning, Francis offered his comfort to a couple from Rome whose five-year-old daughter Angelica died in the hospital on Friday night.

The distraught mother sobbed as she pressed her head into the chest of the pope, who held her close and whispered words of comfort.

Francis seemed eager to linger with well-wishers. When a boy showed him his arm cast, the pope made a gesture as if to ask Do you have a pen? Three papal aides whipped out theirs. Francis took one pen and added his signature to the childs already well-autographed cast.

Francis got out of his car to distribute Easter eggs to Roman police officers

The pope answered in a low voice that was close to a whisper when reporters peppered him with questions, indicating he had felt unwell.

I felt sick, he said, pointing to his mid-section. Asked how he felt now, Francis joked: Still alive, you know and gave a thumbs-up sign.

Francis exited the hospital from a side entrance, but his white Fiat 500 stopped in front of the main entrance, where a gaggle of journalists waited. He opened the car door himself and got out from the front passenger seat. Francis had a cane ready to lean on.

But instead of heading straight home, his motorcade sped past Vatican City and went to St Mary Major Basilica, a Rome landmark that is one of his favourites.

There, startled tourists rushed to snap photos of him as he sat in a wheelchair, which he has used often in recent years. When he emerged after praying, residents and tourists called out repeatedly, Long live the pope! and clapped.

Given his strained voice, it was unclear if he will deliver the usually lengthy Urbi et Orbi address at the end of mass on Easter Sunday.

Francis stopped to talk to reporters again before he was driven into the Vatican through a gate of the tiny walled city-state, where he lives at a small hotel. Speaking through an open car window, he said: Happy Easter to all, and pray for me.

On yet another stop, he got out of his car to distribute chocolate Easter eggs to the police officers who drove the motorcycles at the head of his motorcade.

He told reporters that after Palm Sunday Mass, he would keep his weekly appointment to greet and bless the public in St. Peters Square.
A Civil War soldier of local interest and the history of the National Medal of Honor will be the subjects of the next edition of an Owasco museum's speaker series.

The Martha Shaw Harvesting History Series at the Ward W. O'Hara Agricultural & Country Living Museum and Dr. Joseph F. Karpinski Sr. Educational Center in Owasco will feature John Lamphere presenting "Robert Buffum: Jayhawker, Spy & Murderer, and the Creation of the National Medal of Honor" on Thursday, April 13.

Buffum, who is buried in Auburn, was the third person to receive the medal, the country's highest honor for bravery during combat. He fought for the Union in the Civil War and was taken prisoner during a failed mission to disrupt Confederate communications.

Presenter Lamphere taught American history and criminal justice at Cayuga Community College for 31 years. He gave a similar talk at the Owasco museum in 2014.

The program will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. at the museum, 6880 E. Lake Road, Owasco. Refreshments will be served.

Admission and parking will be free and open to the public, and donations will be welcome.

For more information, call (315) 252-7644.
A well-known Russian military blogger was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg cafe today in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation into the death of Vladlen Tatarsky.

State-owned RIA news agency said 25 people were wounded and 19 of them were being treated in hospital.

A leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. A Ukrainian presidential adviser said "domestic terrorism" was breaking out in Russia.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have championed Russia's war effort in Ukraine while often criticising the army top brass.

"We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it," he was shown saying in a video clip last September at a Kremlin ceremony where President Vladimir Putin claimed four occupied regions of Ukraine as Russian territory - a move rejected as illegal by most countries.

The TASS news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying the bomb was hidden in a miniature statue that was handed to Tatarsky as he addressed a group of people in the cafe.

Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russian law enforcement, posted a video that appeared to show Tatarsky, microphone in hand, being presented with a statuette of a helmeted soldier. It said the explosion happened minutes later.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the part of Ukraine's Donetsk province that is occupied by Russia, suggested publicly that Ukraine was to blame.

"He was killed vilely. Terrorists cannot do otherwise. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime. It needs to be destroyed, there's no other way to stop it," he said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, wrote on Twitter that it had only been a matter of time - "like the bursting of a ripe abscess" - before Russia would be consumed by what he called domestic terrorism.

"The spiders are eating each other in a jar," he said.

Tatarsky's death followed the killing last August of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow. Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services of carrying out that attack, which Putin called "evil". Ukraine denied involvement.

Russia's war bloggers, an assortment of military correspondents and freelance commentators with army backgrounds, have enjoyed broad freedom from the Kremlin to publish hard-hitting views on the war, now in its 14th month. Putin even made one of them a member of his human rights council last year.

They reacted with shock to the news of Tatarsky's death.

"He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a Petersburg cafe," said Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo.

Alexander Khodakovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: "Max, if you were a nobody, you'd have died of 'vodka and headcolds'. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother."
Russias winter offensive to achieve total control over the Donbas has failed, 80 days since it started, according to Britains ministry of defence.

The temporary advantage Russia gained from mobilising 300,000 troops in the autumn has been largely squandered by Russias marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties in the eastern region, said the UK military.

General Valery Gerasimov  Russias chief of general staff (CGS), who took personal command of Putins war on Ukraine last January  has been leading the offensive in the Donbas, which includes the town of Bakhmut, where fighting has been fierce in recent months.

After ten years as CGS, there is a realistic possibility that Gerasimov is pushing the limits of how far Russias political leadership will tolerate failure, said the UK defence ministry.

In recent weeks, Moscow has switched its focus to Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, hoping to encircle the Ukrainian troops defending it after having so far failed to capture nearby Bakhmut.

However Bakmut remains one of the enemys priority targets said a Ukrainian spokesman.

On Saturday Ukraines army said it had killed 162 Russians in Bakhmut over the past day.

Over the past day, they launched 170 attacks with barrel and rocket artillery in the Bakhmut section of the front. Over 25 combat clashes took place, during which 162 occupiers were killed, 157 more were injured, said the Ukrainian spokesman.

Meanwhile an ex-convict Wagner mercenary on leave from his frontline unit terrorised his home village in central Russia, smashed up cars and allegedly killed an old woman.

People living in Novy Burets were so scared of the rampaging Ivan Rossomakhin that they begged police to send him back to Ukraine, probably to die.

He was walking around the village carrying a pitchfork and an axe shouting: I will kill everybody!, Russian media quoted one woman as saying.

A grainy black and white video on social media showed the 28-year-old angrily breaking car windows. Shortly after his arrest, police said that he was also the prime suspect in a multiple stabbing murder in a nearby town.

Villagers thought they had seen the back of Rossomakhin in 2020 when he was convicted of several crimes, including one murder, and sent to prison for 14 years. But last year he signed up to fight for the Kremlins Wagner mercenary group.

Under the scheme, roughly 20,000 criminals  mainly hardened murderers and drug dealers  were promised freedom if they fought for six months.

These ex-convict mercenaries were mainly used as cannon fodder, and most were killed  but an estimated 5,000 have now been released back into Russian society.

The sudden influx of violent offenders with recent and often traumatic combat experience will likely present a significant challenge for Russias war-time society, said a British intelligence report.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner chief, promised that his personal security service would help catch mercenaries who create trouble, although he also insisted that the plan to recruit from Russias notoriously tough prisons had been a good one and ordinary Russians should be grateful.

These people commit far fewer crimes than before after being on the frontline  and thanks to these fighters, a bunch of your children, fathers and husbands did not die, he said.

The plan appears to have impressed the Kremlin too. This year, it banned Wagner from recruiting any more convicts, but instead ordered the army to adopt the tactic.

Earlier a Ukrainian cleric from a church with Moscow ties appeared in a court hearing over accusations that he glorified invading Russian forces and stoked religious divisions.

The hearing was adjourned to Monday after the cleric, Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), complained of ill health.

The UOC is Ukraines second-largest church, though most Ukrainian Orthodox believers belong to a separate branch of the faith, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formed four years ago by uniting branches independent of Moscows authority.

Sixty-one UOC clergy have had criminal cases opened against them since the start of 2022. Some have been traded for Ukrainian POWs in prisoner swaps with Russia.
Tornadoes have killed at least 18 people in the South and Midwest, including at a heavy metal concert in Illinois where the theaters roof collapsed. Seven people were confirmed dead in Tennessee yesterday.

David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville, Tennessee, confirmed that seven people died in McNairy County. Leckner said the majority of the damage was done to homes and residential areas.

Leckner said emergency responders are going door to door looking to make sure everyone is accounted for, but he said that, for the most part, we have accountability for everyone.

Possibly dozens of tornadoes touched down into the night in at least seven states, destroying homes and businesses, splintering trees, and laying waste to neighborhoods in big cities and small towns across a swath of the country home to some 85 million people.

The dead included four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, and three in Sullivan, Indiana. Other deaths were reported in Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi and the Little Rock area. More than 2,000 buildings were in the path of a tornado that hit the Arkansas capital, the mayor said.

Stunned residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 80 kilometers west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke yesterday to find the high schools roof shredded and its windows blown out. Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses. Debris and memories of regular life lay scattered inside the damaged shells of homes and strewn on lawns: clothing, insulation, roofing paper, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.

Im sad that my town has been hit so hard, said Heidi Jenkins, a salon owner. Our school is gone, my church is gone. Im sad for all the people who lost their homes.

Recovery was already underway, with workers using chain saws to cut fallen trees and bulldozers moving material from shattered structures. Utility trucks worked to restore power. Groups of volunteers gathered to plan their day.

In Belvidere, Illinois, some of the 260 people attending a heavy metal concert at the Apollo Theatre pulled a man from the rubble after part of the roof collapsed; he was dead when emergency workers arrived. Officials said 28 other people were injured at the theater, some severely.

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, concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV.

The venues Facebook page said the bands scheduled to perform were Morbid Angel, Crypta, Skeletal Remains and Revocation.

Crews worked throughout yesterday to clean up around the Apollo, with forklifts pulling away loosely hanging bricks. Business owners picked up shards of glass and covered shattered windows.

Three people died in Indianas Sullivan County, near the Illinois line about 95 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 is essentially unrecognizable right now and that several people were rescued from rubble overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said, and search-and-rescue teams combed damaged areas.

Quite frankly, Im really, really shocked there isnt more as far as human issues, he said, adding that recovery is going to be a very long process.

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, authorities said. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott said that 2,100 homes and businesses were in the tornados path, but that no assessment had been done on how many were damaged.

Joanna McFadden was at a nail salon with two other people when the tornado struck.

The only way we knew the tornado was coming, the leaves were swirling, thats the only way we knew, it looked like it was standing still, McFadden said. She and the others took shelter in the back.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders activated 100 members of the National Guard to help local authorities respond.

A suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabamas Madison County, said county official Mac McCutcheon. And in northern Mississippis Pontotoc County, officials confirmed one death and four injuries.

The storms struck just hours after President Joe Biden visited the Mississippi community of Rolling Fork, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

In western Tennessee, Tipton County Sheriff Shannon Beasley wrote on Facebook early Saturday that there was much devastation and some severe injuries but no reports of deaths yet. But he said many families lost homes that were leveled to the ground.

Tornadoes also caused sporadic damage in eastern Iowa, including one just west of Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa. Television footage showed toppled power poles and roofs ripped off buildings and homes in the area.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.

Thats a quite active day. But thats not unprecedented, he said.

Tens of thousands lost power because of the sprawling storm system that also brought wildfires to the southern Plains and blizzard conditions to the Upper Midwest.

The number of customers in Arkansas without electricity fell from nearly 90,000 to about 52,000, according to Poweroutage.us. There were 69,000 without power in Indiana, 33,000 in Illinois and 1,300 in Oklahoma. Outages were also reported in Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Texas.

Hail broke windows on cars and buildings northeast of Peoria, Illinois. And blizzard conditions whipped parts of Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin, cutting power to tens of thousands in the Twin Cities area. Parts of Interstate 29 were closed.

Nearly 100 new wildfires were reported Friday in Oklahoma, according to the state forest service, and firefighters hoped to gain ground against them Saturday. Fires were expected to remain a danger through the week.

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.
Image Credit: UNI

New Delhi: Stepping up its attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre over the Adani issue, the Congress on Saturday categorically said the Opposition will keep continuing its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter.

The Congress has been spearheading the Opposition's demand for a JPC probe into Hindenburg Research's allegations on the Adani Group.

In a report released on January 24, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud schemes over the course of decades.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Congress general secretary in charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Nineteen Opposition parties are united. Our demand is that there should be a JPC on the Adani issue."

"There has been no communication between the government and the Opposition. No attempt was made by the ruling party. We will continue our demand," the Congress MP said in an apparent reference to the 'logjam' in both Houses of the Parliament.

Referring to the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which was sent to a 'Select Committee, the MP said, "the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 should have been sent to the Standing Committee headed by me but it has gone to a Select Committee."

Taking a dig at the BJP over the same, he said, "There is an agenda. The target is to weaken all Environment and Forest Laws."

(Using UNI inputs)
Image Credit: Facebook/Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi/IBNS: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , who was recently disqualified from the Parliament after being sentenced to two years of jail term over a 2019 defamation case, will challenge his conviction and sentencing in the Surat sessions court on Monday, media reports said.

In his plea, the former Congress president has asked the sessions court to set aside the magistrate order convicting him in the defamation case.

He also asked for an interim stay on the conviction till the matter is disposed of.

Rahul Gandhi was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision.

However, he was suspended by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

Opposition leaders questioned the "bullet train" speed with which action was taken against him.

Unless Gandhi's conviction is put on hold by a higher court, the Election Commission will announce a special election for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.

He will also not be allowed to contest elections for the next eight years.

Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to a 2-year jail sentence in the 2019 defamation case for his remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign, the Gandhi scion had said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname."

A complaint, which was lodged by BJP leader Purnesh Modi, claimed Rahul had defamed the entire Modi community.


PIB

Aizawl: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated several development works of Rs. 2415 crore in Aizawl Mizoram on Sunday.

Several dignitaries including the Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga were present on the occasion.

In his address, Amit Shah said that today is a very important day for Mizoram as the new Battalion Headquarter of Assam Rifles is being inaugurated here.

He said that along with this, the MoU signed between the Ministry of Home Affairs, Assam Government and Mizoram Government to hand over the land to Mizoram Government for the development of the state will open the new avenues for development here.

Shah said that the foundation stone of Laldenga Lammual Centre has also been laid here today which will provide this area a very good cultural centre.

He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government and the Mizoram Government are committed to serve the people of the state and in this direction today 11 different schemes worth about Rs. 2500 crore have been inaugurated and the foundation stone has been laid.

The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that for the all-round development of Mizoram, the foundation stone of 4 new road projects worth about Rs. 1200 crores has also been laid today, which will significantly increase the industry and trade of Mizoram and trade between Mizoram and Myanmar.

He said that this is the 36th year since the formation of Mizoram and attaining statehood and Mizoram has made great progress during this period.

Shah said that once upon a time there used to be unrest and firing and today Zoramthanga is the Chief Minister, this is an excellent example of the success of India's democracy.

Shah appealed to the organizations indulging in violence in the Northeast to join the mainstream, be a part of the democratic process and contribute to the development of India and the Northeast.

He said that the peace established in Mizoram today is an unprecedented example of the success of Indias democracy.

Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire Northeast is moving forward on a new path of peace, stability and development today.

He said that once upon a time violence was spread by insurgent groups in the Northeast, there was lack of rail, road and air connectivity and there was no sign of development.

However, in the last 9 years due to the efforts of the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and with the cooperation of the people of the Northeast, there has been peace in Northeast, connectivity has increased and there has been development at par with other parts of India.

Shah said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is making the entire Northeast conflict-free, insurgency-free and peaceful.

The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that, there has been 67 percent reduction in violent incidents, 60 percent reduction in the death of security forces and 83 percent reduction in the death of civilians in the Northeast in 2021 in comparison to 2014.

He said that since 2014 till now, cadres of about 8000 insurgent organizations have surrendered and joined the mainstream in the entire Northeast.

He said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi signed an agreement with the NLFT in Tripura in 2019, rehabilitated about 37,000 people in Tripura by signing the Bru Accord in 2020.

The government established peace in Assam by signing the Bodo Accord in 2021, and in Uppar Assam also important steps have been taken to establish peace by signing the Karbi-Anglong Accord in 2022. Shri Shah said that the areas under the ambit of AFSPA have come down by about 70 per cent in the last 9 years.

Amit Shah said that Narendra Modi is committed to the development of the Northeast and after becoming the Prime Minister, he has visited the Northeast 53 times and he is the first Prime Minister of the country who has done this.

He said that as per the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ministers of the Government of India have visited Northeast 432 times.

Shah said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the budget of Northeast by 276 percent with PM-DevINE.

He added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the rail, road and air connectivity between the capitals of the eight northeastern states will be developed at a cost of Rs 1 lakh 76 thousand crore before 2025.

Shah said that Mizoram has immense potential for development and especially after Zoramthanga became the Chief Minister, the economy of Mizoram has improved and the GDP has grown at an average of 12.15 percent in the last decade.

He said that Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project will connect Mizoram and Myanmar and it will open up immense business opportunities for Mizoram.

He said that the Government of India would leave no stone unturned to explore the immense potential in Mizoram in the fields of tourism, bamboo cultivation and solar energy.
Pixabay

Washington: The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved 17 new transactions totaling more than $655 million of investment, which include three for India.

The transactions will support U.S. foreign policy and development priorities across the globe, including enabling sustainable infrastructure and energy security, advancing food security and agricultural innovation, supporting small businesses, and improving healthcare, read a statement issued by DFC.

In the second quarter, DFCs Board of Directors approved three projects:

Building sustainable infrastructure in Asia and the Western Hemisphere: A $300 million loan to ISQ Growth Markets Climate Impact Fund, which will invest in critical infrastructure and energy projects in emerging markets across Asia and the Western Hemisphere.

Expanding financial inclusion opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Turkiye: A $150 million purchase of bonds issued by Akbank will enable the bank to address regional and gender disparities by supporting on-lending to women and women-led businesses in the least developed provinces of Turkiye.

Promoting healthcare access and transparency in rural Vietnam: An equity investment of $18 million to BuyMed Pte Ltd. will expand pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals access to pharmaceutical products in rural areas and increase transparency and compliance within the healthcare industry in Vietnam.

Additionally, DFC approved the following investments at the Corporation level:

Supporting entrepreneurs in Africa building agriculture and climate solutions: A $25 million equity investment in Novastar Africa People + Planet Fund, a fund that backs entrepreneurs with the capability to build and scale innovative solutions to address climate change and support agriculture and climate resilience across Sub-Saharan Africa.



Supporting micro, small, and medium businesses in the Indo-Pacific: A $10 million loan to GreenArc IndoPacific Liquidity Facility will mobilize additional $20 million capital through bond issuances to bridge financing gaps for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through financial intermediaries in South and Southeast Asia.

Expanding access to energy in Africa: A $10 million loan to a technology and financing platform operating in Africa will finance long-term working capital to expand the supply of solar home systems to households and small businesses, providing hundreds of thousands of people with electricity.

Increasing economic inclusion in Colombia: A guaranty under DFCs Scaling Enterprise Guaranty Facility covering a $5.4 million loan from Citibank to Sempli S.A.S., will support small businesses run by underserved populations, including women.

Bolstering agricultural enterprises in northern Ghana: A $10 million loan portfolio guaranty to a local lender will promote lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and rural community banks supporting agribusiness in Ghana, particularly in northern regions of Ghana that face high rates of poverty and malnutrition, with support from USAID.

Strengthening agricultural value chains in northern Ghana: With support from USAID, a $2.5 million loan portfolio guaranty to a local lender will support agricultural microenterprises and smallholder farmers, particularly in regions of northern Ghana that face high rates of poverty and malnutrition.

Increasing access to finance in rural Guatemala: In collaboration with USAID/Guatemala, a $12.5 million DFC loan portfolio guaranty for Banco de America Central, S.A. will support the Guatemalan bank to extend loans to SMEs with an emphasis on those operating in rural areas of the country.

Driving energy efficiency in India: A $49.5 million loan to Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd to scale up the deployment of electric smart meters across India, supporting energy security and transition through grid optimization and efficiency.

Boosting early growth-stage businesses in India: A commitment to Amicus Capital Partners II, a private equity fund investing in fast-growing, early growth-stage Indian businesses in sectors including financial services, food security and agriculture, healthcare, and technology and business services.

Extending capital to underserved small businesses in India: An $8 million loan guaranty will provide capital to Svakarma Finance Private Limited, a women founded, owned, and managed non-bank financial company in India that on-lends to underserved micro, small and medium enterprises.

Boosting medical oxygen supply for healthcare in Kenya: A $10 million loan to Hewa Tele Limited will help expand production and distribution of affordable liquid medical oxygen for hospitals and clinics across Kenya, lowering costs for healthcare providers in rural and urban areas.

Enhancing infrastructure in Lesotho: A $7.3 million loan to African Hotel Infrastructure Fund Maseru (PTY) Ltd, or an entity to be created, will aid in the construction and operation of a Maseru-based hotel, providing local economic and employment opportunities.

Improving employment and distribution in Mongolia: A $7.7 million loan to GN Beverages 2, a PepsiCo bottler, will increase the companys production and distribution capacity to reach new customers and create new employment opportunities in the logistics industry through its distribution network across the country.

Increasing economic opportunity for underserved communities in Uganda: With support from USAID, a $9 million loan portfolio guaranty to a local lender will support loans to refugees and host communities in Uganda improving livelihoods.
Image Credit: UNI (File image)

Moscow: The Russian army has pushed back a joint strike of multiple launch rocket systems of Ukrainian troops in the south Donetsk direction and has destroyed two Ukrainian reconnaissance groups, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

"In the south Donetsk direction, combined missile strikes involving two rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system [MLRS] and three projectiles of the Smerch MLRS were repelled. The crews of the S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft missile systems destroyed all targets," the spokesperson said.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian forces have also shot down three Ukrainian drones.

In the south Donetsk direction, Russian troops have thwarted "two attempts by the enemy to carry out reconnaissance by force," "a reconnaissance group was destroyed, and up to 20 militants were eliminated," the defense ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

In addition, in the Zaporizhzhia direction, an attempt by Ukrainian forces to send a sabotage and reconnaissance group to the rear of Russian troops was thwarted and five militants were killed, the spokesperson said.

In response to Russias operation since February 2022, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Western countries have significantly increased their economic and military support for Kiev, which now includes air defense and multiple rocket launching systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, anti-aircraft guns, armored vehicles and various types of ammunition.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in January that arms supplies to Ukraine by Western countries testify to their direct and growing involvement in the conflict.

(With UNI/SPUTNIK inputs)
Image Credit: UNI

Jerusalem: Tens of thousands of people hit the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa on Saturday to oppose the contentious judicial reform, even though it was put on hold earlier this week until the Knesset's summer session, Israeli media reported.

Demonstrators swamped the streets in central Tel Aviv and blocked key highways in the city, The Times of Israel reported, adding that numerous police units were on duty at the scene.

Israeli police used water cannons to disperse the protesters blocking one of Tel Aviv's main highways, a Sputnik correspondent reported later in the day.

Rallies are planned in 150 locations across Israel on Saturday, making it the 13th week of demonstrations against the divisive judicial overhaul, the newspaper said. According to the protests' organizers, as many as 450,000 people are rallying throughout the country, with 230,000 in Tel Aviv alone.

In January, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin rolled out a legal reform package that would limit the authority of the Supreme Court by giving the cabinet control over the selection of new judges, as well as allowing the Knesset to override the court's rulings with an absolute majority.

The reforms, opponents argue, will undermine democracy in Israel and put the country on the verge of a social and constitutional crisis.

For the last three months, tens of thousands of people have been protesting throughout Israel against the reform.

On Monday, after long and hard talks with his coalition partners, Netanyahu agreed to put the legislation on hold until the summer session of the Knesset. Despite this fact, the protests' organizers are wary that the controversial law may be swiftly put to a vote and pledged to continue rallying until the planned reform is scrapped altogether.

(With UNI/SPUTNIK inputs)
Image: Twitter video grab

Tehran: At least two women were arrested in Iran after being attacked with yogurt for suspectedly not wearing a head cover in the public.

In the video, which went viral, two female customers are approached by the man, who begins talking to them, reports BBC.

Two women have been arrested in Iran after an Iranian religious police agent found them not wearing hijab in public.



But first he poured Yogurt on their headpic.twitter.com/Gz1fOvuzRD  Megh Updates  (@MeghUpdates) April 1, 2023

He then takes what appears to be a tub of yoghurt from a shelf and angrily throws it over their heads.

Meanwhile, the country's judiciary said the two women were detained for showing their hair, which is illegal in Iran.

The man has also been arrested for disturbing the public order, it added as quoted by BBC.

The arrests occurred even after the country witnessed several months of protests over the demand to end the compulsory wearing of the hijab (headscarf).

Iran witnessed the spread of protest after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly".

Thousands have been arrested and four protesters have been executed since December. But the authorities show no sign of relenting, reports BBC.
100 years ago

1923: Coconino County spuds ought to increase in price since their utility as hiding places for stolen goods was discovered last week by two women transcontinental hikers from Ontario, California. They chose one of our nice, big, raw potatoes as the cache for a gold brooch, which they had stolen from Miss England of Williams and from which they had removed a $350 diamond. The girls are in county jail in Flagstaff.

They were walking east from California. They stopped in Williams at the home of Mrs. Moose. Miss England also has a room there. Last Thursday the hikers departed, by train, going west instead of coming to Flagstaff as they had at first intended. Then Miss England missed the brooch, a gold watch and a $5 gold piece. Deputy Sheriff Campbell of Williams got on their trail, had them taken off the train at Kingman, went there and got them and on Saturday brought them here. After he got them back they confessed they had stolen the stuff. He recovered the diamond. The rest of the brooch, they explained, he would find inside the largest potato on the sill of the cell they had occupied overnight in the Kingman jail. The watch, they said, they had stuck under the seat of the car they rode in.

75 years ago

1948: The State Department of Liquor Licenses and Control today put into effect a series of new regulations for bars. Loss of license or suspension was ordered for bar operators who permit persons of ill repute to frequent their establishments. Described as objectionable are criminals, gangsters, racketeers, pickpockets, swindlers, confidence men, prostitutes and female impersonators. Another regulation forbids a licensee to let his establishment be used in furtherance or aid of, or in connection with any illegal activity or enterprise. The department cracked down on B girls  women who get a kickback from bars for inducing male customers to buy drinks.

Purely personal ... Platt Cline, editor of the Daily Sun, left today for Phoenix to attend a conference of Associated Press editors. He will return Sunday.

Mrs. Joe K. Moore of The Gap Trading Post is spending several days in the city. She came Wednesday and will remain until Sunday morning.

Bishop Frank J. Randall and family will leave Saturday for Salt Lake City to attend a bishops and stake ward presidents annual conference of the LDS Church. They plan to return next Thursday.

Bill Brown, owner of Browns Credit Jewelers, is recovering nicely in the Marcus J. Lawrence hospital at Cottonwood after undergoing a major operation on his right leg Monday. He has been there the past two weeks.

50 years ago

1973: Jean & Trox Supply Co., Inc., Flagstaff, is the 1972 national Retailer of the Year award-winner for photographic stores. Jean & Trox also won the award in 1968. Store officials will be honored May 10 in New York City at a silver anniversary awards banquet hosted by broadcast journalist Chet Huntley. Eastman Kodak Co. sponsored the Jean & Trox entry.

President Nixons imposition of a ceiling on meat prices was welcome news to Flagstaff residents who have been feeling the money pinch in the grocery carts in recent weeks. The local food buyers sampled by the Daily Sun said they find the prices, especially meat, quite disgusting and most indicated they have been trying to take action against the prices.

We eat meat only two or three times a week and other times we eat a lot of macaroni and cheese, spaghetti with meatless sauce, things like that. You just cut corners where you can, said one woman.

I would hope a boycott would work, but I dont think my husband would let me take part, said a woman who refused to be identified. I have not quit buying meat, though we use a lot of fish food. If I had spent $60 on groceries before, I probably spend $80 now, she said.

We dont eat meat, said Nancy Hungerford. We eat a lot of beans and stuff. Like tonight, were going to have split pea soup. If we do eat meat, we just eat it in little portions and add it to something else.

25 years ago

1998: Reactions to the dismissal of the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit brought strong but mixed reactions in Flagstaff. One local feminist said she saw it as an example of the lack of womens rights in this country.

I think this is another Anita Hill thing precisely, said Martha Shideler, owner of Aradia Bookstore, a feminist store. Despite all the advances weve made, women do not have the power that men do. Whoevers telling the truth is irrelevant. I think its a political issue. I do think she is not being heard because shes a woman.

But the head of Northern Arizona Universitys Affirmative Action office was less critical of the decision. She said she did not think the case being dismissed sends a message that sexual harassment is OK.

I dont see this as a blow against women in this country or an opportunity for people now to go around and conduct themselves inappropriately or perpetrating sexual harassment acts on anyone, whether they are men or women, Celia Gonzalez said.

Phyllis Schiller, professor of social work at NAU, said she was pleased with the decision.

A judge who was both Republican and female  factors that could influence the decision in favor of Jones  ruled that there was not enough evidence of sexual harassment by Clinton. This ruling therefore demonstrates the use of empirical information, information that can be observed and proven as the basis for decision-making, she said. I applaud this basis for a decision affecting the presidents life. Its time for reason, not subjective and/or politically biased actions to prevail.
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Sofia: Bulgarians went to polls on Sunday to vote in the country's early parliamentary elections, Bulgaria's fifth parliamentary elections in two years.

Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to elect 240 lawmakers from 14 political parties and seven coalitions, according to official data.

More than 11,800 polling stations opened across the country at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and are due to close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), the Central Election Commission of Bulgaria said.

Meanwhile, 737 ballot boxes are available for Bulgarians living abroad to cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said.

According to the country's legislation, parties and coalitions need to gain at least 4 percent of the votes to enter the National Assembly, the country's parliament.

Exit polls will be announced immediately after stations closed in Bulgaria, and official results are expected on Thursday.

The previous elections were held on Oct. 2 last year but the legislature was dissolved after the parliamentary parties failed to form a ruling majority.

The National Assembly is Bulgaria's legislative body. It also elects the government by a simple majority, and has a four-year term -- except in certain circumstances such as when it is unable to elect a government.

(With UNI inputs)
Maidan Shar (Afghanistan)/UNI: Two children were killed as a mortar mine left over from past wars went off in Afghanistan 's eastern Wardak province on Saturday, provincial police spokesman Yusuf Israr said Sunday.

The incident took place when children in the Sayedabad district found a mortar mine on Saturday evening and began playing with it.

The device exploded all of a sudden, killing two children of a family, the official told reporters.

This is the third blast of its kind, which has claimed the lives of innocent children in Afghanistan over the past six days.

A similar blast claimed the lives of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province on Tuesday, while another child lost his life and three others were injured as an unexploded mine left over from past wars exploded in southern Zabul province on Friday.

War-torn Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, as dozens of people, mostly children, are killed and maimed every month due to the blasts of unexploded devices left over from the past four decades of wars and civil strife.
Image Credit: UNI

Peshawar (Pakistan): Justice Musarrat Hilali took oath as the first female chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), media reports said.

Hilali on Saturday took oath as the first female chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), according to Geo news.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered the oath to the new chief justice as the post fell vacant after the retirement of Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed.

The ceremony was also attended by the high court judges, office-bearers of the bar councils, lawyers, and ministers of the caretaker government.

If appointed as the regular CJ, Justice Hilali would be the second female in the country who has been elevated to the office of chief justice of a high court  the first being Justice Syeda Tahir Safdar, the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court.

It should be noted that on Friday, Justice Roohul Amin Khan took the oath as chief justice of PHC following the retirement of Chief Justice Rasheed; however, he retired on the same day and was given the honour in a full court reference on the same day.

The governor congratulated Justice Hilali on her new responsibilities and expressed good wishes.

Earlier, President Dr Arif Alvi appointed Justice Hilali as chief justice PHC with effect from April 1 and till the appointment of a regular chief justice by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

She was among the senior judges of PHC and would serve as chief justice till her retirement if notified by the JCP.

Hilali was born in Peshawar on August 8, 1961, Justice Hilali received law degree from Khyber Law College, Peshawar University and enrolled as an Advocate of District Courts in 1983, as an Advocate of the High Court in 1988 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2006.

Being a female, she had several achievements in her career including:

Justice Hilali also served as the first female ombudsman for protection against the harassment of women in the workplace.

(Using UNI inputs)
Image Credit: Xinhua/UNI

Kabul: A former military doctor Shabir Shirzad, who served former Afghan intelligence agency, was shot dead by Taliban forces in Northern Parwan province on Friday, media reports said.

The former military doctor, aged 32, while he was heading to the capital city of Kabul was taken out from his vehicle by Taliban and was gunned down in Ghorband district on Friday around 6:00 Pm local time; his brother tweeted, as reported by Khaama Press.

His brother, Sameer Shirzad, said that he had been living in Islamabad, Pakistan, and recently returned to Afghanistan to participate in the funeral ceremony of his slain uncle.

He also added that Mullah Jan Agha, a local Taliban commander in the district, had murdered his brother.

The Taliban rulers of the country did not comment on the issue so far.
Image: Xinhua/UNI

Kabul: A non-profit organization has claimed that three British men have been detained by the Taliban, a force that has been forcefully ruling Afghanistan since 2021, in the war-torn nation.

"Presidium Network has been working closely with 2 of the families concerning their detention by the GDI and in support of finding a resolution and release for the detainees," the organization tweeted.

Presidium Network has been working closely with 2 of the families concerning their detention by the GDI and in support of finding a resolution and release for the detainees.https://t.co/X8SL817mr5  Presidium Network (@PresidiumNet) April 1, 2023

Scott Richards from the Presidium Network named one of the men as Kevin Cornwell, 53, from Middlesbrough, reports BBC.

Richards said Cornwell and another unnamed man had been arrested in January.

He said another person was also arrested on a different date.

The UK government is "in negotiations" over three Britons held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the British home secretary has told Sky News.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "If there are risks to people's safety, if they're a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they're safe.

"The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld."

Asked directly if the government was in negotiations over the three men, Ms Braverman replied: "If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad, then the FCO will be working actively to ensure people are safe."

She added that anybody travelling to dangerous parts of the world "should take the utmost caution" and should always act on the advice of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The travel advisory issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for Afghanistan reads: "You should not travel to Afghanistan."

"The security situation in Afghanistan remains extremely volatile. There is an ongoing and high threat of terrorist attacks through Afghanistan, including around the airport. There is a heightened threat of terrorist attacks in or around religious sites and during religious festivals, such as the month of Ramadan. Travel throughout Afghanistan is extremely dangerous, and border crossings may not be open. See Safety and security," read the advisory.

"There are currently no British consular officials in Afghanistan and our ability to provide consular assistance is severely limited and cannot be delivered in person within Afghanistan," it said.

"If you choose to travel to or stay in Afghanistan against FCDO advice, you should keep a low profile. Be vigilant, try to avoid all crowds and public events including religious events, and take appropriate security precautions," the advisory said.
Jeff Kingma/Unsplash

Kabul: At least two children were killed when an unexploded device from a past war era blasted in Wardak province of Afghanistan on Saturday, media reports said.

The explosion caused by a mortar mine of past wars resulted in the death of two children in Sayedabad district on Saturday evening while the children were playing with it, Yusuf Israr, the provincial police spokesperson, told Khaama Press.

A similar incident occurred Friday evening in the Sarkhakan area of the Shah Joi district of Zabul province, resulting in one childs death and three others injuries.

Meanwhile, according to local sources, another blast that happened on Tuesday, March 28, caused the death of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province, reports Khaama Press.
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Noting this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Qin said the two sides should, in line with the consensus between the leaders of the two countries, review the spirit of the treaty, strengthen exchanges and communication, and overcome difficulties while advancing bilateral ties.

He said a profound lesson from bilateral relations over the past half-century is that peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choices for both sides. Noting the four political documents between China and Japan have laid a political and legal foundation for bilateral ties, Qin said keeping promises and drawing lessons from history is the prerequisite for the steady and long-term growth of China-Japan relations.

He called on Japan to have a correct understanding of China, work with the Chinese side to enhance dialogue and communication, promote practical cooperation, increase people-to-people exchanges, and properly manage differences to build a China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.

Regarding the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, the Chinese foreign minister urged Japan to handle the disposal responsibly, as it is a major issue concerning public health and the safety of humanity.

On the Taiwan question, Qin said it is the very core of the core interests of China, which bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations. China urges Japan to abide by the principles enshrined in the four political documents between the two countries and its commitment so far, and refrain from interfering in the Taiwan question or undermining China's sovereignty in any form, he said.

In the case of a Japanese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage activities in China, Qin stressed China would handle it following relevant laws.

For his part, Hayashi expressed Japan's willingness to work with China, implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, abide by the four political documents between Japan and China, properly handle issues of common concern, promote the building of constructive and stable Japan-China relations, and jointly contribute to regional and global prosperity and stability as responsible countries.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues, including the cooperation between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and the reform of the United Nations Security Council.

(With UNI inputs)
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Kathmandu: Nepali police have arrested nine Chinese people for their alleged involvement in online fraud, media reports said.

Police also arrested 10 Nepali nationals for their alleged involvement in helping them.

Police told The Kathmandu Post this time they have strong evidence to file an online fraud case.

Earlier, the police would be short of evidence as they would be found to be running a call centre or doing some other legitimate activities, Senior Superintendent of Police Manoj KC, who is also an incharge at the Valley Crime Investigation Office, Minbhawa, told the newspaper. But this time we have enough evidence.

KC told the newspaper that 19 people were arrested from three different places in KathmanduBudhanilkantha, Golfutar and Chandolafter a victim lodged a complaint at the office at the end of February.

They were found duping Nepalis of money from their illegal offices in the Valley, KC said. Through these offices, they ran online classes called Operation Teacher over Telegram.
Moments after the show floors at Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK) the largest art fair in Asia opened last week, the crowd closed in on N S Harshas bronze sculpture, Eternal Helix. The work, featuring a monkey and its child, pointing at the sky, is an allusion to Hanumans langurs, who are worshipped as resilient messengers with the ability to articulate prophecy.

The piece, exhibited by Vadehra Art Gallerythe only Indian gallery in the fairs main segmentwas an instant hit, with visitors queuing up to click pictures while striking the same pose. They also had works by Nalini Malani, Anju Dodiya, Sunil Gupta, BV Doshi, Praneet Soi, Atul Dodiya and Shilpa Gupta.

The fair this year had a total of 177 participants from 32 countries, two-thirds of which were dedicated to galleries from Hong Kong, alongside a strong presence from galleries from Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

The expanding art fair scene in Asia might be at play behind Indias low representation. Since 2022, two additional fairsFrieze Seoul and Art SG (Singapore)have cropped up. There are so many fairs in Asia now that we could be attending a fair every other weekend, Parul Vadehra says, adding they gave Art Dubai a miss for ABHK. With the cost of participation ranging from $815-960 per sqm, fairs have also become an expensive affair for Indian galleries.

Among those that sat out the fair was Experimenter, which has been a participant since 2015, and also represents one of Hong Kongs leading artists, Samson Young. We wanted to see the impact of Covid-related rules for international visitors, but it looks like Hong Kong is back with a bang and we look forward to being back too, says Priyanka Raja of the gallery. Other missing names included Nature Morte, and Chemould Prescott Gallery.

Even as participation was lower than 2019, the footfall of 86,000, including private collectors from 70 countries, is proof that Hong Kong has returned to being the leading art market hub in Asia, with ABHK as its crown jewel. Collectors from across Asia came out in force, and it is exciting to witness the extraordinary growth and vitality of the local art scene. The show reaffirmed its position as the apex cultural moment in the region, says Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel.

Deconstructing Reality

Nibha Sikanders works were brought to the fair by Mumbais Tarq gallery as part of an exhibition, titled Anatomize. In a stunningly colourful collection, the young artist creates deconstructed biological specimens of moths and birds. She lives in Murud Janjiralocated off the Arabian sea coastand next to the Phansad sanctuary in Maharashtra, which is where she collects actual specimens to study and then reproduce them using paper.

The recreation is life-like, and tends to have an unsettling effect on viewers, compelling them to introspect about the damage inflicted on the planet by humankind, giving the vanity-inducing hobby of displaying taxidermy animals an intelligently sustainable twist. This is Nibhas second solo exhibition with us since 2019, and I chose her for the fair, primarily because the number of works15in this collection just seemed right. Also, because her practice is just so in the moment, with everybody talking about the environment and climate change, says Hena Kapadia, founder, Tarq. She adds that the initial interest of fair visitors in the works successfully translated into satisfactory sales.

Nibha Sikander

Art medium: Paper

Artwork: Deconstructed Citrus Fruit Piercer (female)

Wrath of the Written Word

Singapore-based Indian artist Shubigi Raos River of Ink II that was part of the Encounters section is

a reiteration of her 2008 work of the same name. It borrows the title from a survivors account after the Battle of Baghdad (1258), which read, On the first day the rivers ran red with blood, and on the second day black with ink, because the Mongols, as an act of power, dumped all the contents of the libraries into water bodies. The river of ink is symbolic not just of one battle, but the assault on creativity and free expression, says Rao, who curated the 2022 edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The idea of creating a scruffy work300 hand-lettered books destroyed with ink and placed on battered wooden platforms for an art faira representation of money and power, in itself seems like an act of rebellion, something that is synonymous with the artists practice.

Shubigi Rao

Art medium: Wood, ink, paper

Artwork: River of Ink II

Drawing Memory

Although the gallery did not disclose details of the sales, Mumbai-based Jhaveri Contemporarys booth exhibiting Bangladeshi artist Joydeb Roajas works was among the most-packed booths at the fair. Titled Submerged Dreams, the show featured five large-scale ink pen on paper works that retell the 1962 flooding of 400 km of Chakma land in present-day Bangladesh, after the construction of the Kaptai dam. Rajas paintings, which are recollections of the stories he grew up listening to from his grandparents and other elders in his family, feature indigenous people of the region in locations that are now underwater. Even the Chakma Royal Palace got submerged, says the artist, adding,I hope to earn enough money through my art and then go underwater diving to see if I can find the palace. The works are all done in black ink using the cross-hatching technique. The repeated use of lines, in a way, appear to be symbolic of revisiting the memories of multiple people, multiple times.

Joydeb Roaja

Art medium: Ink pen on paper

Artwork: Submerged Dreams

Rustic Routes

M Pravats Concrete Dusk, featuring over eight works, was brought to the fair by Pune-based Vida Heydari Contemporary. The geometric yet abstract sculptures created out of fired brick, cut slate, stonedust and metal, draw in the viewer at first glance, thanks to commendable intricacy on the artists part, especially because of the brittle nature of the material.Pravat creates cityscapes that mimic the cartographic precision of lines to reflect the evolution of civilisation.The works build upon a theme I have been exploring for over 10 years nowdifferent expressions of a city under construction. My interest in the subject comes from the lived experience of a city that is in a constant state of flux, both tangible and intangible, negotiating between its masterplan, popular aspirations and the everydayexperiences, says the artist, who managed to sell four of his works at the fair.

M Pravat

Art medium: Fired brick, cut slate, stonedust, metal

Artwork: Represented Movement

Home With a View

Presented by Delhis Vadehra Art Gallery, B V Doshis 35x50-inch wall-mounted metal sculpture, Overlay of Dreams VII, was sold the very first day of the fair. The 2022 work, created just a year before the artist-architect passed away in January, is part of a larger series that is

a reflection of his minimalist practice combining contemporary architectural aesthetics with the quintessential Indian idea of home. Those familiar with his style will find echoes of his structural designs in the collection that, like the buildings he has created, plays with light and shadow. This particular piece, with steep stairs running across the pyramid-like structure, appears to be a 3D-blueprint of one of the houses in an LIC housing project in Ahmedabad that the architect designed in 1973.

B V Doshi

Art medium: Metal

Artwork: Overlay of Dreams VII
For most of the year, Flagstaffs Rio de Flag is not a river as much as it is a dry wash.

With no water to draw attention to it, its easy to lose track of the drainage  to see it pop up in a neighborhood, duck into a downtown culvert and reappear along an urban trail in disjointed segments of undeveloped channel. For most of the year, when the Rio runs dry, its easy to forget Flagstaffs primary waterway.

But when the water comes, the Rio de Flag cannot be ignored.

In this recent season of substantial snowmelt, the Rio has swollen to seldom seen depths, swallowed roads and refreshed awareness that the unassuming waterway also represents a substantial flood risk. Last monsoon season, it was the Rio de Flag that conveyed floodwaters from the Pipeline Fire scar through town.

The Rios flood risk is so real that the City of Flagstaff and the Army Corps of Engineers have been collaborating for more than two decades on a $122 million project designed to increase the Rios capacity and lift large sections of downtown Flagstaff out of the floodplain. This massive infrastructure project could be breaking ground as early as this spring.

In the interest of better understanding the Rio de Flag, the Arizona Daily Sun sat down with Rick Miller, former president of the Friends of the Rio de Flag (FoRio) to discuss the history and future Flagstaffs temperamental waterway.

The history of the Rio de Flag

First things first: Rio is a misnomer.

We haven't got a river, Miller said. We got a dry ditch most of the time that occasionally runs water.

But dont mistake the ephemeral for insignificant. In Millers perspective, the course run by the Rio de Flag ties the town together, as much as it ties current-day Flagstaff to its ancient origins.

The headwaters of the Rio can be found in the San Francisco Peaks, near Leroux Springs. Directly downstream from these springs, the Rio is perennial for a short time, before turning into ephemeral wash again as it traverses down through Fort Valley, eventually making its way into Flagstaffs Cheshire neighborhood. There, it continues southeast, roughly following the path of Highway 180 past the Museum of Northern Arizona through Coconino Estates and into Frances Short Pond.

From there it winds a course through downtown Flagstaff, crosses the railroad, runs through the Southside and into Sinclair was before reaching a wetland just south of Interstate 40. Then, the Rio continues south and east through the Forestdale area, turning north near Rain Valley Road and crossing Herold Ranch Road before heading into Foxglenn Park and the Continental Country Club neighborhood. After that, it makes a quick hairpin near the Bottomless Pit, resumes a northerly course across Interstate 40 (again), and into Picture Canyon Natural and Cultural Preserve.

Heading north past Townsend Winona Road, the Rio then runs into Doney Park, east across the high desert and eventually joins the San Francisco Wash, Canyon Diablo, and the Little Colorado River  its last stop before joining the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Should any drop of water endeavor to run from Arizonas highest point to its lowest, the first leg of its journey would follow the Rio de Flag.

Over the length of this meandering course are sites of indisputable cultural significance. Leroux Springs was named for Antoine Leroux, who guided European explorers through northern Arizona in the 1850. Petroglyphs from the Sinagua people  who lived in the area from about 600 to 1,400 A.D.  can be found pecked among stone walls on the banks of the Rio. Nowhere is this more evident than in Picture Canyon, but according to Miller, petroglyphs can be found near the Museum of Northern Arizona as well.

According to research compiled in the FoRio 2022 Watershed Plan, Potsherds found in the Fort Valley area indicate that the Sinagua used the Rio de Flag and associated headwater springs at least seasonally and possibly over a long period.

Its just really neat that all these things are aligned with the Rio, Miller said.

In more recent history, the Rio has also been re-aligned. When European settlers began building the town of Flagstaff in the 1880s, they did so directly in the Rios floodplain, likely not realizing the great potential of what must have appeared as an unassuming dry wash. They soon learned. At some point in the 1890s, the Rio was diverted from its original course to run through hand-dug channels in Flagstaffs Southside, where it still runs today. The exact actors and reason for this diversion are not clear in the historical records.

There are several rumors, Miller said. One rumor was that the sawmill sent a crew out because they were getting flooding in their yard. Another rumor was that the county sent a crew out. The third one was that developer sent a crew out to move it. But somebody sent a crew out to move the Rio, and once they did, this part of town [the Southside] started flooding.

The future of the Rio

The aforementioned problematic realignment has been a focus of the Rio de Flag Project, which will aim to restore the Rios original path  except theyre going to put it in a big box and put it underground, Miller said.

The Rio de Flag project will help undo a historic injustice, said city councilmember and executive director of the Southside Community Association Deborah Harris in a series of interviews collected by the city about the project.

Historically, African Americans, Hispanics, Native American people all lived on this side of town, Harris said. So people look at it as not being as valuable as other parts of the town. We diverted the Rio, and we put it through an area where peoples voices were not as loud."

The historic re-routing of the Rio through the Southside created a current condition where people have to have flood insurance, Harris said. And it means that they cant improve their property, they cant access that equity.

Weve been fighting to get the Rio put back so that it would not flood the Southside, she added.

While the importance of this mission is indisputable to Miller, he is not excited about routing the Rio underground through concrete culverts. As a wildlife biologist, hed rather see water  rare as it may be  remain on the surface where it can nourish plant and animal life. Doing so will increase the wildlife diversity here, will increase the plant diversity, will give the people Flagstaff something to be proud of, Miller said.

He also believes that people in Flagstaff will benefit from an accessible, above-ground Rio.

Water is essential for people, Miller said. In addition to the physical needs, I think there's a psychological need  we really like to be around flowing water.

Seeing the Rio flow in its current state is a hopeful sight for Miller. The moving water shows a momentum that he hopes will carry into a plan for the Rio that comingles flood protection with public access, wildlife restoration, and celebration of Flagstaffs unique waterway.

It makes me feel like there's a chance, Miller said. Just one more thing to tie together.

For more information on the Rio de Flag Project, visit www.flagstaff.az.gov/4189/Rio-De-Flag-Flood-Control-Project.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of undermining his authority ahead handover, come May 29.

Ortom who made the accusation in a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Terver Akase, revealed that the APC was already assuming leadership before time thereby subverting and sabotaging his administration.

He claimed that the APC has written to heads of government agencies and some permanent secretaries to stop obeying his directives.

According to him, the APC in the State is making false, inciting, and misleading press statements against his administration.

The statement read, In the last week, APC has written to heads of government agencies and some permanent secretaries to stop obeying directives from the Governor. This is in addition to making false, inciting, and misleading press statements against the present administration.

APC Chairman in the state, yesterday addressed the media and made spurious allegations against Governor Ortom, particularly as it relates to financial transactions and general governance. Agada also illegally asked heads of state government agencies to henceforth stop complying with the Governors directives and approvals. We wonder where on earth such rascality is obtainable.

It is absurd and disturbing that the Benue State leadership of APC has waged a war of attrition on a legitimate government whose tenure is yet to end. They are in a hurry and have resorted to arm-twisting tactics using falsehood as a tool to disparage and blackmail the current administration.

We wish to remind the APC that Governor Ortom remains the duly elected Governor of Benue State and has the constitutional authority to direct government agencies and make approvals while carrying out any other business of government till May 28, 2023.

READ ALSO: APC To Hold Rally For Tinubu In Washington

We demand that the party desists from its acts of sabotage and subversion against the present administration.

It is equally pertinent to state that the Benue State Government under Governor Ortom has not entered into contract with anyone for the construction of the civil airport approved for the State by the Ministry of Aviation, contrary to the speculation by the APC Chairman and his team.

It was also a figment of the imagination of the Benue APC Chairman and his co-travelers when they claimed that the state government was involved in some unspecified contractual engagements of various sums which they curiously could not substantiate.

As a functional and responsive government, the Ortom administration reserves the right to employ and appoint qualified Benue indigenes into positions where vacancies exist; and thats precisely what this administration has done with the employment of Benue sons and daughters through the Teaching Service Board (TSB) and the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB)

According to Akase, Governor Ortom has already set up a transition committee and will be liaising with the Governor-elect to nominate people to serve as members of the committee. The APC ought to separate political campaigns from the real issues of governance and stop exhibiting ignorance.

At the federal level, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of six new permanent secretaries on March 29, 2023. Similarly, the Federal Executive Council on Thursday, March 30th, 2023 approved N95.8 billion for a road linking Ekiti and Ondo states. This is besides the approval of N2.24 billion for the construction of a 150-room capacity female hostel at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, Kaduna State.

The Benue APC should desist forthwith from making inciting and provocative statements while issuing threats to officials of government as if they are already in power. They are yet to assume duty and must be seen to conduct themselves lawfully and in a manner devoid of mischief.

We urge the people of the state to ignore any form of a sponsored smear campaign from the APC as they are only laying a foundation of excuses for failure.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State has announced the expulsion of Sirajo Dada, a national officer of the Party, over alleged anti-party activities in the 2023 elections.

Dada who is an ex-officio of the Party was expelled on Saturday by the executive council in Gamawa Local Government Area (LGA) of the State.

The APC chairman in Gamawa LGA, Ahmed Saleh Super, accused the ex-officio of being involved in acts of indolence, indiscipline, and betrayal.

According to him, Dada worked against the interest of APC in the area during the just-concluded general elections, adding that the national ex-officio was caught campaigning for candidates of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in elections the ruling party fielded candidates.

READ ALSO: Lagos Govt To Repair Third Mainland Bridge On Sunday

Super notified that Dada was caught at one of the polling units during the presidential and national assembly elections asking voters not to vote for APC candidates and soliciting votes for the PRPs House of Representatives candidate for the federal constituency.

We are here today to announce to you that the executives of the APC in Gamawa LGA have expelled Alhaji Sirajo Dada from the party here in Gamawa LGA.

He worked against the success of the party (APC) during the last 2023 general elections by campaigning for candidates of the PRP and we have evidence to prove what we are saying, the chairman said.
Following Saturdays arrest, the Department of State Services (DSS) has said the self-acclaimed Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Lagos State, Fredrick Nwajagu, will be transferred to Abuja from the Lagos holding facility.

A DSS source at the headquarters, Abuja, who craved anonymity disclosed this to The Punch on Saturday night saying, He is in our custody in Lagos. We expect him to be taken to Abuja. He may not be alone.

We have said before that there are people who are threatening the peace of the nation. The country will not allow anyone to plunge it into avoidable crisis.

Recall Nwajagu was arrested during a raid by a joint team of policemen and operatives of the DSS on Saturday for issuing a threat to invite members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to secure the property of Igbo people in Lagos.

A team of police and DSS went to his palace but he had already fled. He was later traced to a hotel in Ejigbo where he was arrested, an anonymous source revealed.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Hundeyin, the State police spokesperson, confirmed the arrest, adding that the chief had been handed over to the DSS for further action over his inciting comments.

He said, Yes, he (Fredrick) has been arrested and is currently in the custody of the DSS. They are in charge of anything associated with terrorism.

Reacting, the leadership of the Lagos State chapter of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide said the comments made by Nwajagu did not represent the ideals of the Igbo people in Lagos.

READ ALSO: DSS Arrests Eze Igbo Who Threatened To Invite IPOB To Lagos

Solomon Ogbonna-Aguene, the president of the socio-cultural group, said the detained chief would be made to face the music alone, adding that he spoke out of his interest.

He (Igbo leader) did not discuss his statement with any of us. The comments are his personal decisions and for his personal interests. Ohanaeze does not support such comment as its views.

There are some comments that should not be heard from us as a socio-cultural organisation. We are supposed to be apolitical.

We are not in support of what Chief Fredrick said. For him to mention that he is going to bring IPOB to Lagos is completely unnecessary. No Igbo person will support such arrangement. So, he is the one that will answer for himself. Let him go and face the music, he said.

Ogbonna-Aguene explained that Igbo people had not found things easy with IPOB even in the South-East, stating that it was unfair for Nwajagu to threaten to invite the group to Lagos.

Why then should he bring it up here in Lagos? If he wants to speak to IPOB, he should have met with them in his personal capacity, not as Eze Igbo. Who gave him the power to speak on Igbo interest, Ogbonna-Aguene queried.

When contacted, the Chairman, Supreme Council of Ndi-Eze, Lagos State, Mr Omega Lawrence, said Nwajagu was not an Eze in Lagos.

He is not a member of the Council of Eze. That is the truth. He is just our brother and his statements are unfortunate, but we cannot deny him. I condemn the statement in its entirety. We are not part of it, Lawrence added.
Founder and presiding bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo has reiterated that he has never campaigned or spoken on behalf of any politician during elections in Nigeria.

The renowned cleric made this known on Sunday while speaking on the subject of faith at the churchs headquarters at Faith Tabernacle, Ota, hours after an alleged audio recording of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, begging the cleric to help instruct Christians to vote for him surfaced.

Oyedepo however said he never spoke to any group of people on behalf of any politician.

According to him, all political parties sought his prayers and advice before the election and he availed them.

His words: Nobody had ever told me what to say in this world. No.

READ ALSO: APC Cant Stop Being Fraudulent  Obi Reacts To Alleged Conversation With Oyedepo

I have never campaigned for anybody or spoken on anybodys behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven.

There is no (political) party in this country that didnt come to me for prayers and advice.

I advised them, some, they didnt take. Those who chose to take it, they see results; those who said no, they are going about it (laughs).

If you still come again, I will still tell you, it doesnt change.

Information Nigeria reports that the bishop has been a strong critic of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Chief spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has responded to the purported audio conversation between the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi and the Founder of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), David Oyedepo.

Keyamo in his reaction to the leaked audio said it has exposed men of God who claim to have heard from God, whereas it was the call of Obi they heard.

Information Nigeria had reported that in the purported audio, Obi begged the cleric to help him mobilise Christian voters ahead of the presidential elections.

The statement released on Sunday by the Minister of state for Labour and Employment revealed that, Having confirmed the authenticity of what is now known as the Peter Obi Yes-daddy audio, I think the real culprit here are the so-called men of God who allowed themselves to be used by an unscrupulous politician to seek to inflame religious passions in our dear country in the name of politics.

So, when they were telling their hapless adherents that they heard the voice of the Lord, it was actually Peter Obis telephone calls they heard and not Gods voice. This is deceitful, shameful and disgusting. Imagine a so-called man of God comparing notes with a politician as to what he said or what he would say on the pulpit in order to get him votes.

READ ALSO: APC Cant Stop Being Fraudulent  Obi Reacts To Alleged Conversation With Oyedepo

I hope this sufficiently embarrasses the men of God in Nigeria to forthwith desist from using the pulpit for politics and the Church-goers to stop being teleguided by their self-serving men of God.

As for Peter Obi who declared an election a religious war in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country like ours, the real God has just exposed him and his dream to be Nigerias President one day has just died a natural death. Yes-daddy is now permanently etched in the consciousness of the nation and we will NEVER forget!

Meanwhile, via Twitter, the special assistant to president Muhammadu Buhari on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad, also said the issue should not be seen as a usual trending joking matter.

According to the aide to President Buhari, the issue is a threat to Nigerians unity and democracy.

He further stated that if it is not well handled, it might have a negative impact on Nigerias next election.

He tweeted: This Peter Obis leaked thank you daddy audio shouldnt be taken as a usual trending joking matter; all sensible and patriotic citizens should publicly condemn it. It is a threat to our unity and democracy. If it is not handled well, it will be having negative impacts on our next elections.
Jude Idimogu, a two-term lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly, has stated that it is not impossible for a non-indigene, or a person of Igbo descent, to become governor of Lagos one day.

While speaking with journalists in Lagos on Saturday, the All Progressives Congress leader noted that Igbos needed to learn how to play politics right, and relate properly with Yorubas and the ruling party in the State for that to happen.

It must be an understanding and you must get the support of the owners of the land, he stated.

According to him, it is undoubted that non indigenes in Lagos have the numbers, but the owners of the land must be respected, and if they work with the Yorubas and the ruling party, its not impossible.

Idimogu stated that the average Igbo man is peaceful and law abiding, while the Yorubas are very accommodating, hence the need to work together to achieve set objectives.

Its only natural for investors in the state, many of whom are non indigenes, and Igbos, to have an interest in politics and whoever is elected to initiate and run policies which will affect their businesses and investments. Hence the Igbos are taking interest in whom gets into public offices.

Going forward, there should be inclusiveness. The APC (All Progressives Congress) should learn to pull others close and carry them along.

Igbos in lagos have more investments here in lagos than in their home states, hence they are interested in who occupies political offices.

READ ALSO: Stop Giving Loans To Kano Govt. Without My Consent, We Wont Honour Them  Governor-Elect Warns Lenders

On the just concluded general elections, Idimogu noted that despite perceived flaws, it was a good election, and that the will of the people triumphed.

Yea there were issues in a few places, but the percentage, les that 10%, is not enough to discredit the entire process, he argued.

The election was good but not good enough. It could have been better. There were reports of violence in some places. But at the end of the day the peoples voice was herd and the majority had their say.

The election was a lesson for us, especially my party. Times are changing. The youths want to be part of governance. The perception about the old politicians is not accurate.

The coming of LP is an eye opener for the old political parties, and elected public office holders to sit up or they might be kicked out, he said.

The lawmaker also condemned calls by the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, who stated that the president-elect should not be sworn in, and tagged such call as irresponsible, and a move geared towards truncating democracy in the country.

He should be careful with his utterances. At his level and with his education, he should choose his language. He does not own Nigeria. Nigeria wont end because he lost election. Must you win?

The democratic process should be followed. They have gone to court. They should follow the process to its logical end. Thats the beauty of democracy

Atiku has contested elections severally, and does not utter such divisive words. Datti-Ahmed is not even a presidential candidate. Hes a mere spare tyre, the lawmaker stated.
The police in Ekiti State have arrested five suspected Indian hemp dealers following crack investigations and follow-up, according to the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Emmanuel Ogundare has said.

Ogundare said that men of the police Rapid Response Squad, in conjunction with the operatives of Ekiti State Amotekun Corps arrested one man identified as Monday during a stop and search operation.

The police commissioner, in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, said that the suspect, who was arrested during a stop and search along Uso Road, Ise-Ekiti, had in his possession one locally made pistol and two live cartridges.

READ ALSO: Bandits Kill Six Vigilantes In Kaduna Community

He stated, During interrogation, the suspect confessed that he is an Indian hemp dealer who engages in the cultivation of the weeds at Ise-Ekiti forest and other nefarious activities.

He mentioned four others  ThankGod, Lucky, Wisdom and Samuel  as his criminal allies and led the police team to their hideouts in Ise-Ekiti forest.

The commissioner said that items recovered from them included one locally made single barrel gun, four cartridges, a large number of seeds and weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.

He said that the suspects arrested would be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation as he reiterated the commands commitment to puncturing criminal activities which were mostly caused by heavy intake of narcotics and other illicit drugs.

He also implored residents to always volunteer useful information that could assist the police to apprehend criminal suspects in the state.
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested two suspects over the alleged murder of a police constable, Nasiru Yusuf.

The police spokesman in the state, DSP Wasiu Abiodun said that the murder took place when some assailants attacked two police operatives on duty in the area. According to Abiodun, the suspects were arrested in Minima village in Lavun Local Government Area of the state over the alleged murder.

READ ALSO: Soldiers Kill 11 Bandits In Kaduna Community, Recover Weapons (Photos)

There was a complaint of assault and affray in the area and two policemen were detailed to the scene at Minima village for an enquiry and possible arrest. In the process, the two policemen were attacked by villagers, who inflicted series of injuries on them.

They were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, for treatment and one of them, PC Nasiru Yusuf, was later confirmed dead in the hospital while the other is still receiving treatment.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the unfortunate incident and they are undergoing interrogation, as the incident is under investigation, he said.

The police spokesperson added that the suspects will be charged to court upon the completion of its investigation.
The Thane city crime branch officials in Maharashtra, India, have arrested two Nigerian nationals and one autorickshaw driver with 147 grams of cocaine and 0.22 grams of LSD (a potent psychedelic drug) worth over 61 lakh, police said on Saturday, April 1.

On March 29, senior police inspector of crime branch unit 5 Vikas Ghodke received a tip-off that a Nigerian national identified as Paul Chukwu, 48, was reaching the front gate of a hotel at Ghodbunder Road in Anand Nagar, Thane to sell cocaine.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Arrests Two Sisters With Indian Hemp In Katsina

Ghodke under the guidance of seniors from Wagle unit 5 reached the spot and arrested Paul who was in possession of 32 grams of cocaine worth approximately 12.80 lakh and 0.2 grams of LSD valued at approximately 1.20 lakh. The officers seized the drugs and registered a case against Paul at Kasarvadvali police station.

In a second arrest and seizure, on March 31, Nigerian national Gok Ajah, 32, was arrested from Indira Nagar, Wagle Estate in Thane after crime branch received an information that he was going to sell cocaine in the area with his alleged accomplice autorickshaw driver Laxman Anirudh, 27, a resident of Santacruz, Mumbai.

The officials seized 115 grams of cocaine worth 47.01 lakh from them. Both were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

We are checking if more people are involved in the sale of drugs in the city. This is one of the major crackdowns as it will help investigate further and give more leads to the illegal sale of drugs in the city, said an officer of crime branch, Thane.
SHILLINGTON, Pa.  Philadelphia Avenue is trembling with traffic as motorists lock horns in a vehicular mayhem that would not have existed eight decades ago when a boy named John Updike lived and played in the two-story white house at No. 117. This is where, by the authors admission, his artistic eggs were hatched.

John Updike (1932-2009) Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and one of Americas most noted authors, Updike lived here until age thirteen, a state historic sign reads in front of the house. Updike often revisited as an adult, and made the rooms, furnishings, and occupants of his childhood home settings for his short stories and novels.

The house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been professionally restored to look as it did during Updikes days here, but the John Updike Childhood Home museum is still a work-in-progress. It just received an Olivetti manual typewriter that was used by Updike.

A sign just inside the doorway counsels, Maximum Occupancy: 60 People.

There were only five people here between 1939 and 1945: Updike; his tempestuous mother, Linda; his math-teacher father, Wesley; and his two maternal grandparents. In his short story Kinderszenen, Updikes alter ego is a 12-year-old boy named Toby, who recounts the adults in his house. There are four  Mother, Daddy, Grandfather, and Grandmother  the same way the house has four sides.

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 READ MORE: Tracing Updike's roots

Updikes fiction, in fact, was one of the restoration companys major sources of information. The house is now owned and operated by the John Updike Society, whose president is James Plath, an Illinois Wesleyan University professor. What makes this house so special, Plath said, is that all of his life Updike treasured his memories of it.

The protagonist in his first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, Plath explained, is based on his grandfather. His father is the main character in his third novel, The Centaur, and the house itself is a character in short stories such as The Black Room and The Brown Chest.

When Updike visited in 1989, he complained about the absence of the gingerbread trim and columns in the living room. Pride creeps into Plaths voice. Theyre back, he said.

There are 10 rooms of exhibits, many with explanatory storyboards: items owned by the Updikes and original to the house. His high school transcript shows nearly all As except physical education. Copies of the Chatterbox, the high school newspaper to which Updike contributed many articles. The guest bedroom features his mothers typewriter, on which he typed his first words.

Updike and his mother painted the moon and stars on the headboard. In the dining room are the dominoes that Updike and his friend would play with. Smiling down from the living room wall is a portrait of Updike done by Ernest Hemingways grandson Edward.

As Plath entered the parents bedroom, he noted how one had to pass through the room to get to Updikes bedroom. His little room was tucked behind theirs, at the back of the house, Updike writes in The Laughter of the Gods.

The tiny bedroom has his toys and books, ranging from Dumbo to The Lone Ranger, and some of the clothes he wore as a toddler. And a bowl of marbles that were found under the floorboards. A childhood friend had no recollection of playing marbles but said he and John would use slingshots to shoot them out the bedroom window.

Updike was inconsolable when, at his mothers insistence, the Updikes moved from 117 Philadelphia Avenue to a farm owned by her family. He wrote in a poem, We have one home, the first.

From the time his first short story was purchased by the New Yorker in 1954, until his death in 2009 at the age of 77, Updike wrote 30 novels, 14 volumes of short stories, nine of poetry, and 10 collections of essays and criticism. He is one of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once.

When I visited in March, there was a soon-to-blossom dogwood tree outside the house that was planted by Updikes grandparents to mark his first birthday, in 1933. Across the street, standing cheek by jowl, are rowhouses  above concrete retaining walls, looking down at Lees house like choirs of angels  just as he described them in his short story The Guardians.

The John Updike Childhood Home, 117 Philadelphia Ave, Shillington, Pa., is open to the public from noon-2 p.m. on Saturdays except for major holidays. Admission is $5 for ages 16 and older. johnupdikechildhoodhome.com
The new Nadeen School campus project, being developed at Dilmunia Island in Bahrain, is expected to be completed by the end of this month (April 2023).

The school is being built in a joint venture (JV) between Naseej BSC, Ithmaar Development Co and Nadeen School Bahrain.

The JV partners made a site inspection visit to the school recently to monitor the projects overall construction progress ahead of its planned completion date.

The new Nadeen School campus project is being developed on a fast-track basis over a time frame of just 12 months.

The new school is expected to welcome about 1,050 students of both genders for the new academic year starting September 2023 and will include all academic levels of education.

The school has 44 classrooms and additional shared spaces to provide a high-quality and healthy learning environment for students and teachers. The school is built on a plot of 17,462 sq m, with a built-up area of approximately 22,500 sq m.

The new state-of-the-art educational facility has been designed and built as a U-shaped building with open spaces, wide corridors and plenty of opportunities for natural sunlight to filter through for healthier and more sustainable learning standards.

The campus has a semi-Olympic indoor swimming pool with other joining pools, science and biology laboratories, a massive library, a health centre, art halls, a large canteen and an indoor physical educational gymnasium. The school also features outdoor classrooms for the cooler months in order to cultivate improved learning and teaching techniques in the effort to enhance student learning.

During the visit, Naseejs Chief Executive Officer Amin Al Arrayed stated: In partnership with our JV partners, we are proud to deliver on our corporate vision to build sustainable communities that build Bahrain. We remain focused on Naseejs strategic commitment to develop other sector specific real estate projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain; not restricted to the housing and residential projects. Together with our JV partners, Nadeen School is Naseejs first non-housing and residential real estate project and we are very excited about delivering this project by the end of April 2023; with a short development period of just 12 months. We are also in a position to note that the school campus shall be ready for the upcoming academic school year in September 2023.

"Looking ahead, Naseej is well and truly positioned to develop other real estate projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain which may include projects within the sectors of healthcare, light industries, and social infrastructure projects, said Al Arrayed.

The schools educational campus has been designed by Mohammed Salahuddin Engineering Consultants (MSCEB), and construction and contracting is being carried out by Al Ghanah Contracting Co.

Ithmaar Development Co's Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Khalil AlSayed said: "As the master developer of this project, we are delighted to announce that the Kingdom of Bahrains newest educational campus is coming to light. The campus is being developed in record time thanks to the collaboration of all JV partners, its design and contractual contractors. We are pleased to see that we are now at the final stages of project completion, and Nadeen School will soon have its very new school campus at the Island of Dilmunia.

"The launch and operation of Nadeen School will add greater success to the story of the Dilmunia Island, which today has turned into an integrated community with its modern services and facilities," he said.

"The completion of the project in record time reflects the capabilities of the Ithmaar Development team as a the master developer of this project, whereby they managed the consultants and contractors, and in partnership with its strategic partner Naseej. We look forward to the school becoming a major addition to the Islands integrated and balanced lifestyle," AlSayed added.

On the part of the schools operator, Shani Puri, Founder of Nadeen School, said: "This year, Nadeen School is celebrating its 45th anniversary and is a globally recognised, highly rated school. We are delighted to establish the latest educational school campus in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which will provide students with a world-class education experience in line with best and international standards and practices.

"We take this opportunity to thank our partners Naseej, Ithmaar Development Co, MSCEB, and Al Ghana Contracting for their remarkable efforts to complete this project in record time, which will have the greatest impact in providing an exceptional educational and learning experience for students. A modern educational campus based on our values, educational spirit, sustainability and the fundamental principle of putting students at the heart of everything we do," she said. - TradeArabia News Service
A new law on the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin came into effect on Saturday.

The law was adopted in October 2022 and features enriched content regarding ecological conservation and restoration, as well as environmental pollution control, in areas along the Yellow River, known as the "Mother River" in China.

It also stipulates that the water resources along the river basin should be allocated under a unified national allocation system.

The Yellow River is China's second largest river after the Yangtze. The Yangtze River Protection Law, China's first legislation on a specific river basin, was put into effect on March 1, 2021.

New policies regarding the reimbursement of COVID-19 medical bills also took effect on Saturday.

Medical bills for the treatment of COVID-19 can be reimbursed by China's health insurance fund in the same manner as for other Class B infectious diseases, according to a circular released earlier this week.

Saturday also saw regulations concerning the water price for water conservancy projects, and regulations for tax-free shopping in the southern island province of Hainan, coming into force.
Being socially frail has been linked to poor health outcomes in later life. Read more

Consider three hypothetical women in their mid-70s, all living alone in identical economic circumstances with the same array of ailments: diabetes, arthritis, and high blood pressure.

Ms. Green stays home most of the time and sometimes goes a week without seeing people. But shes in frequent touch by phone with friends and relatives, and she takes a virtual class with a discussion group from a nearby college.

Ms. Smith also stays home, but rarely talks to anyone. She has lost contact with friends, stopped going to church, and spends most of her time watching TV.

Ms. Johnson has a wide circle of friends and a busy schedule. She walks with neighbors regularly, volunteers at a school twice a week, goes to church, and is in close touch with her children, who dont live nearby.

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Three sets of social circumstances, three levels of risk should the women experience a fall, bout of pneumonia, or serious deterioration in health.

Of the women, Ms. Johnson would be most likely to get a ride to the doctor or a visit in the hospital, experts suggest. Several people may check on Ms. Green and arrange assistance while she recovers.

But Ms. Smith would be unlikely to get much help and more likely than the others to fare poorly if her health became challenged. Shes what some experts would call socially vulnerable or socially frail.

Social frailty is a corollary to physical frailty, a set of vulnerabilities (including weakness, exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, slowness, and low physical activity) shown to increase the risk of falls, disability, hospitalization, poor surgical outcomes, admission to a nursing home, and earlier death in older adults.

Essentially, people who are physically frail have less physiological strength and a reduced biological ability to bounce back from illness or injury.

Those who are socially frail similarly have fewer resources to draw upon, but for different reasons  they dont have close relationships, cant rely on others for help, arent active in community groups or religious organizations, or live in neighborhoods that feel unsafe, among other circumstances. Also, social frailty can entail feeling a lack of control over ones life or being devalued by others.

Many of these factors have been linked to poor health outcomes in later life, along with so-called social determinants of health  low socioeconomic status, poor nutrition, insecure housing, and inaccessible transportation.

Social frailty assumes that each factor contributes to an older persons vulnerability and that these factors interact with and build upon each other. Its a more complete picture of older adults circumstances than any one factor alone, said Melissa Andrew, a professor of geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who published one of the first social vulnerability indices for older adults in 2008.

This way of thinking about older adults social lives, and how they influence health outcomes, is getting new attention from experts in the United States and elsewhere. In February, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of California-San Francisco published a 10-item social frailty index in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Using data from 8,250 adults 65 and older who participated in the national Health and Retirement Study from 2010 to 2016, the researchers found that the index helped predict an increased risk of death during the period studied in a significant number of older adults, complementing medical tools used for this purpose.

Our goal is to help clinicians identify older patients who are socially frail and to prompt problem-solving designed to help them cope with various challenges, said Sachin Shah, a co-author of the paper and a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital.

It adds dimensions of what a clinician should know about their patients beyond current screening instruments, which are focused on physical health, said Linda Fried, an internationally known frailty researcher and dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Beyond the corridors of medicine, she said, we need society to build solutions to issues raised in the index  the ability of seniors to work, volunteer, and engage with other people; the safety and accessibility of neighborhoods in which they live; ageism and discrimination against older adults; and more.

Meanwhile, a team of Chinese researchers recently published a comprehensive review of social frailty in adults age 60 and older, based on results from dozens of studies with about 83,900 participants in Japan, China, Korea, and Europe. They determined that 24% of these older adults, assessed both in hospitals and in the community, were socially frail  a higher portion than those deemed physically frail (12%) or cognitively frail (9%) in separate studies. Most vulnerable were people 75 and older.

What are the implications for health care? If someone is socially vulnerable, perhaps theyll need more help at home while theyre recovering from surgery. Or maybe theyll need someone outside their family circle to be an advocate for them in the hospital, said Kenneth Covinsky, a geriatrician at UCSF and co-author of the recent Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article.

I can see a social frailty index being useful in identifying older adults who need extra assistance and directing them to community resources, said Jennifer Ailshire, an associate professor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Unlike other physicians, geriatricians regularly screen older adults for extra needs, albeit without using a well-vetted or consistent set of measures. Ill ask, who do you depend on most and how do you depend on them? Do they bring you food? Drive you places? Come by and check on you? Give you their time and attention? said William Dale, the Arthur M. Coppola Family Chair in Supportive Care Medicine at City of Hope, a comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, Calif.

Depending on the patients answers, Dale will refer them to a social worker or help modify their plan of care. But, he cautioned, primary care physicians and specialists dont routinely take the time to do this.

Oak Street Health, a Chicago-based chain of 169 primary care centers for older adults in 21 states and recently purchased by CVS Health, is trying to change that in its clinics, said Ali Khan, the companys chief medical officer of value-based care strategy. At least three times a year, medical assistants, social workers, or clinicians ask patients about loneliness and social isolation, barriers to transportation, food insecurity, financial strain, housing quality and safety, access to broadband services, and utility services.

The organization combines these findings with patient-specific medical information in a global risk assessment that separates seniors into four tiers of risk, from very high to very low. In turn, this informs the kinds of services provided to patients, the frequency of service delivery, and individual wellness plans, which include social as well as medical priorities.

The central issue, Khan said, is what is this patients ability to continue down a path of resilience in the face of a very complicated health care system? and what Oak Street Health can do to enhance that.

Whats left out of an approach like this, however, is something crucial to older adults: whether their relationships with other people are positive or negative. That isnt typically measured, but its essential in considering whether their social needs are being met, said Linda Waite, the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and director of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.

For seniors who want to think about their own social vulnerability, consider this five-item index, developed by researchers in Japan.

Do you go out less frequently now than last year? Do you sometimes visit your friends? Do you feel you are helpful to friends or family? Do you live alone? Do you talk to someone every day?

Think about your answers. If you find your responses unsatisfactory, it might be time to reconsider your social circumstances and make a change.

Kaiser Health News covers health issues.
Milan Flowers test water samples in her environmental science class at Lankenau High School. Flowers and her classmates are growing mussels that they will eventually release into the Schuylkill River to help clean Philadelphia's water. Read more

In a second-floor classroom, some Philadelphia students spent their Monday afternoon figuring out how to make the Schuylkill cleaner.

With freshwater mussels.

Mussels are measured in millimeters, but their value is considerable: Just one of the tiny bivalve mollusks is capable of filtering pollutants from 10 gallons of water every day, and while their numbers have declined in local waterways, experts are working to promote their restoration.

The freshwater mussel is not sexy, but its so important, said Lance Butler, a senior scientist with the Philadelphia Water Department. Its an underdog. Its that Philadelphia species  that does so many different ecosystem services for us, but it doesnt get the notoriety.

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Mussels have already improved the Schuylkills water quality, and in 2019, a local area environmental group invested $7.9 million in a freshwater hatchery capable of producing 500,000 mussels annually for the purpose of cleaning area waters.

The Philadelphia Water Department had tried partnering with schools to try to grow mussels, but the initial experiments failed. Officials wanted to give it another go in the 2022-23 school year, and chose an area private school to carry out the experiment.

But Matthew VanKouwenberg, a Lankenau High School teacher who first heard about the mussel-growing project as part of an educator training program with the Water Department, thought: why not the citys environmental-science magnet?

VanKouwenberg and Cynthia Geesey, another Lankenau teacher at the training session, floated the idea to Water Department officials. Choosing a well-funded private school to conduct the work isnt representative, VanKouwenberg said. Im not sure it would show the scalability of the project at other high schools.

Eventually, the pair talked their way in, and Lankenau was officially on board to study how the rising temperatures of local rivers over the next decades are likely to affect the growth of mussels and their ability to clean water. (The other high school eventually dropped out, they said.)

Work began on the project in October. Between VanKouwenberg and Geeseys classes and an environmental club, about 150 students are involved at the school, which is set on a wooded piece of land in Roxborough adjacent to the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.

When VanKouwenberg first told students about the project, they were skeptical, and knew little about the animals, he said.

The question I got most at first was, Can we eat them? (The answer was no.)

But as the project has progressed, students have become more confident working with eastern pond mussels and alewife floaters, two freshwater mussels native to the area.

Weve encountered so many unexpected things, and the students have to troubleshoot that, said VanKouwenberg. Giving them an experience that is real-world, not a put-together lab out of a box, its not quite as neat and orderly, but theyve learned so many problem-solving skills. Theyre not always going to get an answer out of a book, and its amazing for them to learn that.

For instance: How do you handle a piece of equipment thats malfunctioning? What do you do when you have less water to work with than you anticipated? Whats the workaround when the mussels are so miniscule they fall through the mesh thats supposed to separate them from the grains of sand?

I feel like these are skills that they can take with them for their whole lives, said VanKouwenberg. Not everyone is going to need to know the atomic mass of carbon for their lives, but everyone is going to need to know, Ive encountered a problem, Im not sure what the answer is, but I have faith in myself that I have the skills to figure it out.

On a recent Monday, Alijah Willis, a senior in VanKouwenbergs AP Environmental Science class, was measuring tiny eastern pond mussels with a practiced hand, using metal calipers to get the precise size of each mollusk, then calling out the measurement to his classmate Jada Jackson-Rivers, a Lankenau junior.

Ive been doing this for awhile, and sometimes I still get weirded out, said Willis, noting that the smooth texture takes some getting used to. But, Willis said, its definitely cool to be doing what hes doing, learning about flow rates, optimizing growth, performing controlled experiments.

I didnt know mussels cleaned water, and I didnt know the temperature affected their growth, he said.

(Early data show the mussels grow faster in warmer water, but then stop growing and have a higher mortality .)

At another work table, Milan Flores conducted water sample tests, holding up a vial to the light.

Nitrates are at zero, she said.

The students hopes are high, as are VanKouwenbergs. Once the project has concluded and the mussels are released into the Schuylkill or possibly the Wissahickon, VanKouwenberg wants to get the students work published in a scientific journal.

Theres nothing out there about how temperature is affecting the growth of freshwater mussels, VanKouwenberg said.

Butler, of the city Water Department, has been wowed by the Lankenau students work, which he described as cutting edge. He hopes to replicate the project at a few other city schools where interest is high. Butler described the project as STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] on steroids, a way for teens to learn skills from flow dynamics to hydrology.

Mussels are in the kids backyard, and theyre not in the numbers they need to be. Theres a lot of things they can do as the student just to promote the restoration of the mussels, said Butler.

The mussel project fits in well with the vibe of Lankenau, a small high school of 350 where students spend ample time in an outdoor classroom or on the grounds around them.

We get to ask questions about the world around us, then we get to make observations and answer those questions, said VanKouwenberg. Our students are learning in ways that doesnt happen in other spaces.
The U.S. announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine on Friday that for the first time includes armored vehicles that can launch bridges  allowing troops to cross rivers or other gaps as Russian and Ukrainian forces remain entrenched on opposite sides of the Dnieper River.

The war had largely slowed to a grinding stalemate during the winter months, with Russia and Ukraine firing at each other from across the river. Both sides are expected to launch offensives as temperatures warm.

This round of aid will be drawn from existing U.S. weapons stockpiles so it can arrive in Ukraine faster. The U.S. and allies are trying to rush additional support to Kyiv to best position it for intensified spring fighting.

The Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge is a portable, 60-foot (18-meter) folding metal bridge that is carried on top of a tank body. Providing that system now could make it easier for Ukrainian troops to cross rivers to get to Russian forces.

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Because Ukraine also continues to face shortages of ammunition in the intense firefight, this aid package, like previous ones, includes thousands of replacement rounds, such as rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 155mm Howitzer rounds. This package also includes demolition munitions and equipment for clearing obstacles to help Ukraine break through dug-in lines.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, the U.S. has sent in more than $32 billion in weapons and equipment.

The U.S. is also roughly tripling the number of Ukrainian forces it is training on advanced battle tactics at a base in Germany, to help them punch through entrenched Russian lines. At the Grafenwoehr training area, Ukrainian forces run through a five-week course that prepares them to conduct advanced combined arms maneuvers with Bradley fighting vehicles, M109 Paladins and Stryker armored personnel carriers. The first 600 Ukrainian troops completed the course last month and 1,600 more are in training.

The aid will also include spare parts and equipment for vehicle maintenance and repair.

The announcement comes on the heels of a brief meeting Thursday between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a gathering of top diplomats from the Group of 20 nations in New Delhi. It was the highest-level in-person talk between the two countries since Russias invasion of Ukraine. But there was no indication of any movement toward easing the intense tensions between the two nations.

Blinken said he told Lavrov the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Lavrov, who did not mention speaking with Blinken when he held a news conference after the meeting, told reporters Moscow would continue to press its action in Ukraine.
Children and teens march in the second annual Youth Led March Against Gun Violence on Market Street in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, April 2, 2023. The march was hosted by the Beloved Care Project and Forget Me Knot. Read more

A youth-led march through Center City to protest against gun violence is planned for Sunday, followed by a rally outside the Municipal Services Building. It takes place less than a week after a 15-year-old was fatally shot on his way to school, the sixth child killed in Philadelphia this year. As of March 28, 37 kids have been shot this year.

The march starts at 23rd and Market Streets at 12:30 p.m. and proceeds east on Market, ending at the Municipal Services Building at 2 p.m. after circling City Hall.

Event organizer Khalif Mujahid Ali anticipates 200 youths to attend along with representatives from youth services organizations. The kids expected to march participate in programs offered by Alis own Beloved Care Project, Forget Me Knot, Imani Star Development, and programs based in Camden and Washington.

This is the second annual march Ali has organized through his nonprofit, which he founded in 2020 to provide a forum for Philadelphias kids to speak and be heard. Every Saturday he gathers with kids and speakers to discuss their experience of gun violence and violence. I say violence because people are dying from violence also, Ali said.

Our children have been seeing people shot, theyve picked up guns, theyve shot guns, theyve been shot. Theyve seen  Ive got a girl whos seen her mother be murdered. So we dont talk no jobs, no after-school programs. We talk about the trauma, dysfunction, and pain and anger first. Because until we deal with that topic, you cant deal with anything else, Ali said.

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Beloved Care Project also organizes healing circles and field trips to other cities. With support from the citys Targeted Community Investment Grant, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphias GRIT grant, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, it also offers kids weekly stipends. Just like youre giving them love and care, its like giving them an allowance, like giving them a job, Ali said. The kids participated in a letter-writing campaign ahead of Sundays rally to invite local groups and officials to the event.

Dear organizations working with trauma, one letter read, the time is now to end gun violence. Us kids deserve better!!

While the march and rally will address something gravely serious, Ali puts a positive spin on the event, welcoming all who would like to attend. We got a drumline, music at the Municipal [Services] Building. We got a DJ. We got resource tables, kids are going to speak, theyre going to sing. We got poets, we got everything, he said. We really want the whole city involved.
John Fetterman takes the stage after defeating Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate at an election night celebration in Pittsburgh. Read more

 Its going to be a beautiful Sunday in the 50s.

Our big read of the day is about how Pennsylvania Democrats are trying to show they can be populists, too.

Amy S. Rosenbergs very fun Down the Shore newsletter has won third place in the New Jersey Press Associations annual contest! She won in the news column category for three editions of the newsletter, judged on writing style, originality, impact and local appeal. The Down the Shore newsletter returns in late May just in time for the summer seasonal antics, so sign up to get on the list.

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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 Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Still stung by their loss in 2016, Pennsylvania Democrats are trying to channel the populism, and sometimes anger, that many voters feel.

Look no further than the examples reporter Jonathan Tamari cites in his account.

Gov. Josh Shapiros first order of business was ending a four-year college requirement for state government jobs.

Sen. John Fetterman pledged to fight for forgotten communities. Sound familiar?

And U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio is targeting corporate greed.

Its been a battle for Democrats since former President Donald Trump wielded anger at elites in both parties in his 2016 victory in Pennsylvania.

But populism isnt only about policy ideas. Its often about image and approach, as Tamari put it.

Keep reading for how Democrats are aiming to appeal to the working-class voters Republicans have gained ground with.

What you should know today

Pop quiz

Know your FOBs  Friends of Bryce (Harper, of course)

Which is not true based on the Bryce Harper deep dive Taylor talked to you about?

A) If Harper was one of the captains in a pickup game, his first pick would likely be Turner.

B) Harper has the ear of Middleton.

C) Harper structured his contract to enable the Phillies to maintain payroll flexibility.

D) Harper named the campaign to get J.T. Realmuto Keepin it Realmuto.

Find out if you remember the answer.

 Unscramble the anagram 

Where Pennsylvania Germans got the pith to decorate eggs at Easter time

ABRA SWINGS

Well select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if youd like. Email us if you know the answer. Cheers to Stacy Stone, who correctly guessed Fridays answer: Andrew Painter.

Photo of the day

 For todays Sunday track, were listening to I know a girl whos soft and sweet. Shes so fine, she cant be beat. Got everything that I desire. Sets the summer sun on fire.

 Im all ready for Succession Sunday. Whos on top of your power ranking? Email me and let me know.
State Reps. Jordan Harris, Leanne Krueger, and Joanna McClinton are among the Democratic lawmakers from Southeastern Pennsylvania. Read more

The numbers in Harrisburg dont lie  and for the first time in more than a decade, they look good for Philadelphia.

Democrats have been in the minority in the state House for 24 of the last 27 years. Its been 12 years since Democrats held the majority, and in turn, the ability to shape what life is like for Pennsylvanians.

In that time, the collar counties surrounding Philadelphia have flipped reliably blue. Now, almost 60% of the 101 House Democrats hail from one corner of the state: the southeast.

The regional strength grows as you take a closer look: A quarter of all House Democrats come from Philadelphia. The top three House leaders come from the southeast, two of whom are from Philadelphia. Southeastern representatives will serve as chairs on at least half of the states standing committees with the immense power of deciding which legislation gets considered. And most notably: Gov. Josh Shapiro is a Montgomery County native.

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With top leaders from the region  and the overall strength in numbers  the area is poised to bring more resources home to their districts and have a heavier hand in what policies become law, experts said.

Philly has a dynamic, has a voice in Harrisburg that it probably hasnt had in a while, said Dan Mallinson, a political science professor at Penn State Harrisburg.

Rep. Morgan Cephas, the Philadelphia delegation chair, hopes the number of House Democrats from the region should make it possible to make big transformations for the city.

This puts us in a position to deliver, Cephas added. Were all laser-focused on our agenda to help move the needle.

Cephas and other Philly Democrats on Friday outlined some of those goals. The Philadelphia Platform sets the top policy and budget priorities they want to bring home from Harrisburg, such as increasing the minimum wage to $18 an hour and addressing deferred maintenance in school buildings, among other long-sought policy goals.

Whats more: Phillys own House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris  plus Montgomery County native Majority Leader Matt Bradford  will all be at the table for budget negotiations this year with Shapiro and the GOP-controlled Senate.

But the Philadelphia delegations wish list will still have to clear several hurdles to become reality. With a razor-thin House majority  101-100, excluding two vacancies  leaders will need to whip every Democratic vote to pass legislation.

Garnering 100% support from every Democrat could be challenging on some regional issues like fracking, Mallinson said.

Gridlock is still going to rule the day in Harrisburg, Mallinson added.

A lot more work

Rep. Jennifer OMara (D., Delaware), who chairs the southeast delegation, said in an email that her caucus will advance policies that help all Pennsylvanians, not just the region.

More often than not, that means supporting a House Democrat, and when we stand together House Democrats can get it done  not just for Delco and Philly and the southeast, but for everyone, OMara said.

(The southeast delegation includes representatives from Lancaster and York Counties that The Inquirer did not include in its analysis.)

Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) was first elected in 1993, spending almost all of his nearly 30 years in the minority party. He was appointed chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee this year, and said hes a lot more popular in the halls of the Capitol among lobbyists who suddenly want to shake his hand. And hes working a lot more.

Being in the majority is a lot more work, Vitali said. My afternoons are a lot less leisurely. I probably wouldve taken a bike ride in this nice weather, but nope, were going to stay until the end of the day and work into the night.

House Democrats will also need to compromise with the GOP-controlled Senate before they can send bills to Shapiros desk to be signed into law.

Vitali said he plans to run his committee opposite to his predecessor, former Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler), who denied the existence of climate change and publicly stated he would not consider any bills whose prime sponsor is a Democrat.

It was frustrating, and thats not the way I intend to act at all, Vitali said. I dont expect our committee to proceed the way it did last term.

Instead, Vitali said hed seek out bills with sound environmental policy from Republicans as a way to ensure they have an easier time passing the GOP Senate, in addition to advancing some of his long-sought policy goals like increasing funding for the Department of Environmental Protections site workers.

Whats ahead

Just days into their new majority, southeast Democrats had to grapple with their new power and responsibilities, after three people publicly accused former Rep. Mike Zabel (D., Delaware) of sexual harassment. House leadership, in a statement, admitted that Democratic leaders at the time knew about the allegations back to 2019. House Democratic leaders never publicly called for Zabel to resign.

With Zabels resignation and lawmakers out of voting session until the end of April, House Democrats have turned their focus to ongoing budget hearings. And the regions lawmakers want to use this time to make the case for Philadelphia.

Im a firm believer [Philadelphia is] the economic engine of the state, Cephas said. If we are not operating in every single zip code at max capacity, then we are shortchanging the rest of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. So we almost have an obligation to deliver for Philadelphia.

An earlier version of story misstated Rep. Matt Bradfords title. He is the Democratic majority leader.
Josh Shapiro, right, and John Fetterman greet each other at a rally in Philadelphia in October 2022. Read more

Pennsylvania Democrats are trying to show they can be populists, too.

When Gov. Josh Shapiro took office in January, he sent a symbolic message by using his first executive order to end the four-year college degree requirement for most state government jobs. Sen. John Fetterman campaigned as a Democrat who would fight for forgotten communities. And as U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio has started his first term representing a Western Pennsylvania district, hes delivered sharp criticism of the incompetence and greed of big corporations such as Norfolk Southern.

Its about building a government that serves everyone, not just the rich and powerful, said Deluzio, a Navy veteran and Georgetown Law graduate whose congressional bio emphasizes his work helping form a union at the University of Pittsburgh.

As politics in Pennsylvania and nationally have shifted, and Republicans have gained ground with white working-class voters  epitomized by Donald Trumps crucial victory in the state in 2016  the GOP has portrayed Democrats as the party of a snobbish elite, attacking liberals as scolds who have lost touch with everyday workers while trying to impose their views on race, gender, guns, and the environment.

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Some of it is just cultural, and the label of the Democratic Party right now just doesnt appeal to some parts of Pennsylvania that they used to appeal to really well, said Nick Trainer, a Republican strategist who worked on Trumps 2020 reelection campaign.

But Democrats argue theyve always been  and remain  the true party of working people. They say their policies, including support for labor unions, expanded health-care access, and a higher minimum wage, offer tangible help for the working class while Republicans have pushed tax cuts and deregulation that benefit the wealthy and corporations.

But populism  a broad term often used to convey everyday peoples attitudes and anger toward the powerful  isnt only about policy ideas. Its often about image and approach.

We dont have to overthink it and out-policy the other folks, said Rebecca Kirszner Katz, Fettermans longtime strategist. We have to be smart and remind people what we stand for and how well fight for them. Its not that complicated, and weve just done a terrible job of explaining it.

While some on the Democratic side, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), have embraced populism, railing against financial elites, Trump channeled it most emphatically in his 2016 victory. He blended white racial grievances with raw fury at the establishments in both parties, which he said had sold out ordinary workers. It was hugely successful in some culturally conservative parts of Pennsylvania that had lost much of their industry and that finally broke with their Democratic roots.

Despite Trumps wealth and a business career catering to the upper crust, he made disaffected voters feel seen, Katz said. A lot of Democratic politicians were very clinical.

Democrats have tried to correct for that, nominating more plain-spoken candidates such as Fetterman and President Joe Biden. And theyve used suspicion of wealthy elites in their own way, attacking last years GOP Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz, as a rich out-of-stater, and using a similar approach against David McCormick, a former hedge-fund executive eyeing another Senate bid in 2024.

Pennsylvania has a higher than average share of voters who didnt attend college, giving much of it a blue-collar culture and worldview.

You cant win Pennsylvania if youre not able to appeal to non-college voters, said J.J. Balaban, a Democratic strategist based in Philadelphia.

He argues Democrats have always been the party of the working class, but its become more important to emphasize as Trump and his imitators have adopted populist rhetoric, if not policies.

For Democrats, populism is about economics. For Republicans, its largely about cultural grievances, Balaban said.

The Norfolk Southern train derailment near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border presents a prime target for anger at big business.

Shapiro told The Inquirer about a conversation with a woman in Beaver County, which borders East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the crash. Her family had lost several dozen eggs from their family chickens and this was real money for them and important for their family income.

Shapiro said that when he met with Norfolk Southerns top executive, he cited that story as he pushed the railroad to provide aid.

That kind of stuff happens when you show up, treat people with respect, listen, and then are willing to take on the powerful, Shapiro said, a theme he came back to several times in a late March interview.

Changing the states hiring rules, he said, would expand opportunities for people who didnt attend college. It tangibly affects only a sliver of jobs, but the fact that Shapiro made that move his first official act illustrates the political imperative of showing working-class appeal.

Fetterman rarely emphasized specific policy ideas during his campaign, but his image as the tattooed mayor of a hard-hit steel town was a powerful marker. Katz said his success came down to something more fundamental.

He talks to people like theyre on the same level as him, Katz said. One of the bigger problems with Democrats in the past is that they have spoken down to voters, and John never spoke down to anyone.

While Katz worries some Democrats are still too concerned about appealing to wealthy donors, others appear more comfortable channeling anger and frustration, even as their victories in recent elections have depended significantly on voters from affluent suburbs.

Who we are in Western Pennsylvania, our identity, our history, is wrapped up and tied to the labor movement, and its tied to fighting for working people, said Deluzio, whose district straddles the Pittsburgh suburbs and more blue-collar Beaver County.

His guest at his first State of the Union speech was a mailer on strike from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Many voters, Deluzio said, are right to feel angry about being harmed by businesses and politicians.

Folks were mad for a reason, one that I think is fair and valid: They saw jobs and factories ripped away, he said.

Fettermans pledge to stand up for forgotten communities echoed some of the language that once helped propel Trump.

While the start of his Senate career has been stunted by a hospitalization for depression treatment, Fettermans public statements so far have targeted corporate greed and accused oil companies of disgusting price gouging.

And Bidens approach toward reelection was on full display in his most recent visit to Philadelphia, where he told a room full of union members, For too long, working people have been breaking their necks ... while those at the top get away with everything.

Going after corporations and the ultrarich is overwhelmingly popular, and the fact that many Democrats dont do that is political malpractice, Katz said.

 READ MORE: Bidens Philadelphia visit sets the stage for his clash with the GOP, and maybe for his reelection bid

Fettermans victory last year over Oz, for example, was driven by a devastating blitz casting Oz as a rich celebrity from New Jersey who couldnt relate to ordinary Pennsylvanians.

Democrats are already running a similar strategy against McCormick, who ran against Oz last year and is considering another campaign in 2024. They point to his immense wealth, expensive homes, and years leading a hedge fund.

So much of the attacks that worked on Oz can also work on McCormick, Katz said.

McCormick has countered by emphasizing his time growing up in rural Pennsylvania, working on his familys Christmas tree farm, wrestling in high school, and then fighting in the first Iraq War.

As with Trump, populism isnt always an obvious fit.

Shapiro, for example, is an attorney from one of the states wealthiest counties. He has made his career climbing the political ranks and has also won praise from the business community for some of his early steps.

The governor is always going to read like the corporate lawyer in the boardroom, said Trainer, the Republican strategist. You can put him in a polo and a quarter-zip all you want, hes still not going to be an everyman. He never will be.

Shapiro says helping working people is less about where youre from than what you do.

Its about your point of view or your state of mind and your focus on taking on the big fights for the people of Pennsylvania, Shapiro said. And then being willing for years and years and years to show up in their communities and show them respect ... and then go back and show them the results of your work.
Like many a worthy plan, the original idea for Glenilen Farm began at a kitchen table.

Valerie and Alan Kingston were both from farming backgrounds, and when they married and settled down at his family farm in Drimoleague the idea that there might be a viable business in fresh dairy products began to take root.

Having studied Food Science and Technology at UCC followed by two years volunteering in Burkina Faso, Valerie began experimenting with milk from the farm and producing cheesecakes and soft cheese for eventual sale at the farmers market in Bantry.

"We became accidental entrepreneurs," Valerie explained of the kitchen table project that subsequently grew into what is today a substantial local enterprise. "Alan thought I was mad spending 100 on two big pots from Roches Stores, but they started our business. We were working out of the farmhouse kitchen until 2002 and I had three children during that time. It was so busy that we even set up a swing in the kitchen and would be pushing the kids as we blended."

Any lingering scepticism Alan might have entertained toward the viability of the enterprise quickly disappeared when that same 100 came back with interest from farmers market sales over a single bank holiday weekend: "Thats when I really took notice, to see what could be made from a small bit of milk. Farmers in Ireland produce this incredible raw milk from their grass-fed cows, but most never see what its made into.

"To see the little pot with yoghurt in it was amazing, it was hard to believe it was my cows producing it. I didnt want to go to the farmers market initially but I really got a taste for it. Dealing directly with consumers and hearing their feedback every week gave me more excitement than the money."

Ironically, Valeries original choice of career path had no connection to either yoghurt or business: "I wanted to do physiotherapy, but only got enough points to do Science at UCC", she recalled. "In the end, I made the best of it."

The food journey that began tentatively at the kitchen table a quarter century ago continues today through ongoing product development resulting in an ever-broadening consumer offering. Glenilen Farm was the first to launch yoghurt in glass jars and has the first kefir product on the Irish market, which includes 14 live cultures.

Their product range includes a Gut Health yoghurt, Natural live yoghurt, 0% Fat and kids yoghurt. "Valerie revolutionised our thinking and made us look at things outside the box," Alan says.

Additional lines include cheesecakes, country butter, clotted cream and lemonade.

Glenilen Farms customers have packaging, emissions, raw material sourcing, waste reduction, water efficiency, health and nutrition, energy efficiency, and social sustainability."

"We are very focused too on the constant evolution of the brand and the desire to add goodness to the products. We are constantly looking at ways to innovate, while staying focused on using simple ingredients."

Glenilen Farm currently processes up to 100,000 litres of milk weekly, churning out a quarter of a million pots of yoghurt every seven days. The brand is stocked by Tesco, Dunnes Stores and SuperValu in Ireland as well as Waitrose and Sainsburys in Britain.

The couple hired their first employee in 2002, the same year they built their first dairy on the farm and moved from selling at farmers markets to supermarkets and stores.

They upgraded their facilities with a significant investment in 2008, moving from direct delivery to a centralised distribution model. All products  which include yoghurts, cheesecakes, butter, cream and cottage cheese  are based around Drinagh-supplied milk.

Glenilen Farm now employs 50 people, with 80% of the trade in retail and 20% in food service, mainly in top end hotels and restaurants.

"We have had great support locally from people who saw potential in the product, such as John Field in SuperValu Skibbereen and Eugene Scally in Clonakilty. I well remember our first delivery there, when we got a red duplicate book and were shown how to write our first invoice."

Glenilen Farm began selling into Northern Ireland in January 2021, with that market now accounting for 10% of sales. Currently stocked in Tesco, SuperValu NI and a range of independents, Glenilen has plans to grow this further over the next three years.

"We started exporting to Northern Ireland in January last year and we are now growing in that market. We are delighted to have our brand available across the island of Ireland, and have developed some key relationships with partners in the market and are seeing business grow from strength to strength."

The Northern Irish market accounted for 40% of Glenilen Farms total export revenues, with clotted cream the top seller. Some 50% of the sales into Northern Ireland are made up of the glass jar range, which is synonymous with Glenilen Farm and was the first yoghurt launched.

"The success of the glass jar yoghurt range in the Northern Irish market could be attributed to the interest by consumers in sustainability and the ability to re-use and up-cycle the glass jar."

Alan and Valerie are passionate about sustainability and have invested in solar panels, rainwater collection and heat recovery systems, planting native trees and using only locally sourced milk.

"This is a big focus for the company and something that will be at the core of what we do for many years to come."

Origin Green is Bord Bias sustainability programme for the food and drink industry, helping Irish businesses improve and communicate their sustainability initiatives with customers and stakeholders for full transparency.

"We are proud to have obtained Gold Membership within the programme, which is reserved for companies whose sustainability efforts excel in several areas, including packaging, emissions, raw material sourcing, waste reduction, water efficiency, health and nutrition, energy efficiency, and social sustainability."

Sustainability is in the background of every decision made for Glenilen. "We are just going endeavour to do the best we can and we are very conscious of the land for the time we have it and being able to pass it on to the next generation in better condition. We do energy recovery, solar panels, water harvesting and planting trees. The farm is a great place for sustainability initiatives."

Growing up on their respective farms, Valerie and Alan were raised to be conscious of their social responsibility and impact on the environment. "Doing whats right comes naturally. We cant change the world, but we can change our small corner, and we take great care to do our bit right here in West Cork.
It's been a busy couple of week on the farm, with preparing for weaning meaning it's disbudding time for the calves on the farm.

A collection of the latest news, views and analysis from the farming desk on the topic of Dairy.

I have to admit it is one of those essential job that I dread and will happily find any excuse to delay. I think this stems from my childhood when the big bottle of gas had to be rolled across the yard, and the ordeal of catching calves that were running rings around us.

Thankfully times have changed; we now have a neat hand-held express branded cauterising iron and a lovely dedicated crate to place the calves safely into.

Disbudding involves removing the horn bud from which the germinal cells produce the horn as the calf grows. It is a legal requirement in Ireland that once a calf is over two weeks of age, local anaesthetic has to be used. This can be obtained from your vet as it is a prescription-only medicine.

Once the horn bud produces horn, it is then referred to as dehorning and would need veterinary intervention to remove.

Local Anaesthetic

I, personally, inject 3ml of local anaesthetic to each side of the head to numb the corneal nerve that supplies sensation to the horn base. The textbook amount is 2ml. However, I think the extra millilitre allows for a margin of error in the placement of the local to ensure it is still effective.

From getting kicks during C-Sections, its a habit of mine to always check the date on the bottle too, as it does lose it efficacy when out of date.

For the placement of the needle, I find the midway point between the base of the ear and the outer corner of the eye, there I feel a prominent ridge.

The corneal nerve runs under this ridge, and I insert the needle here, always drawing back to make sure I am not in a blood vessel. As I inject I try to reposition the needle without removing it from the skin which allows dispersal of the local. Your vet can always help with advice on local anaesthetic placement, I was asked many times during a TB Test to show exactly where to inject.

Pain relief

Always allow each calf a minimum of five minutes before applying the disbudding iron to allow the local to take effect. This allows ample time to give a non-steroidal pain relief which will ensure pain relief is on

board once the local aesthetic wanes after approximately 30 minutes.

I prefer to give a meloxicam as it has the longest duration of action and is also licensed for pain relief associated with disbudding/dehorning. A study from 2010 found that pain can persist after disbudding for up to 44 hours, and one subcutaneous injection of meloxicam will provide pain relief for longer than that duration.

The same study concluded that calves that received meloxicam pain relief showed fewer signs of pain, such as head shaking, ear flicking and restlessness, compared to those with no pain relief.

I wouldnt be one to quote papers regularly in practice; however, the evidence is clear that the non-steroidal is a game changer for disbudding calves. I personally feel that it is a non-negotiable for improved calf health, the evidence is strong both in published form and from what I am witnessing in my own calves.

The evening feed after the disbudding was like any other apart from their sliver spray-tinged foreheads. They all came running over to the feeder like nothing had occurred, unlike the years when they didnt receive a non-steroidal, where they were very reluctant to drink and lethargic.

The timing of disbudding (dehorning) is also crucial; it should not take place when other stressors are present in the shed. You want your calves to be at their happiest before disbudding, not at times like weaning, when they're ill or on a bad weather day. Treating for coccidiosis also prior to disbudding to prevent a stress-induced outbreak is advised however, this depends on the age of the calf and farm history.

"Knock-down" dehorning

In 2019, I travelled to Denmark to see practice with a vet that I knew in a town called Ribe in the dairy-dominated south of the country.

This was where I was first introduced to knock-down dehorning, where a sedative is added to the protocol alongside the local and non-steroidal.

My eyes were opened to how stress-free the procedure was to both the farmer and the calves. It is a legal requirement in Denmark to disbud all calves in this fashion, which meant the vet was always involved, as sedation is great to monitor calves' health status too.

I wondered if this would ever catch on at home in Ireland, and to my delight it has done just that. Dad even received a text from our local vets a few weeks ago offering the service to their clients, which is wonderful to see.

I actually performed this knockdown method on my own calves last year and it worked a treat.

I will be doing the next bunch of calves in a weeks time when I remember to stock up on sedation - even my uncle was wondering why they werent sleeping beauties this year, and we were back to the reliable crate.

Watch this space for more and more knock down disbudding/dehorning on farms in the future, and don't be afraid to ask your vet about the procedure.
Talks have been held among anti-asylum protest organisers about bringing an end to marches that inconvenience members of the public, the Irish Examiner has been told.

One campaigner said a number of groups in Dublin have held discussions in the last few days about winding down the rallies, which have led to widespread traffic disturbances.

Since November, protests have been held all over Dublin and have spread to other parts of the country, including Sligo, Cork, Carlingford in Louth, and more recently, Mullingar in Westmeath The campaigner said:

Many points have been made and we have highlighted the issue, but we dont want to impact people going to work. Talks are going on about ending the marches.

We have some members who are thinking about going into politics and standing locally which would give us a stronger voice."

During the rallies, drivers have been halted in rush hour traffic in Finglas, and the north inner city, while the Port Tunnel has been blocked on several occasions as well as the East Link Toll bridge  bringing parts of Dublin to a standstill.

The anti-immigration protests first came to light in East Wall in north Dublin before Christmas after an old ESB building was used to house around 360 people seeking international protection in Ireland.

Locals were up in arms, saying they were never informed.

Policed marches

Members of the far right infiltrated a number of the marches which were policed by gardai.

In February, the Policing Authority heard that 115 rallies on this issue had been held in Dublin alone since the start of the year  compared with 30 protests during the same time last year.

Assistant commissioner Angela Willis said the environment is very challenging for gardai.

Pro-immigration marches also began to emerge in recent times, putting more pressure on Garda resources as they tried to manage both sides, while protecting asylum seekers and refugees.

Assistant commissioner Willis said at the time, the force is stretched, but I suppose we are still managing at the moment and that the protests will be medium to long term, there is no end in sight yet".

The Policing Authority was also told that around ten prosecutions over alleged incidents at the rallies are before the courts, but that there were other investigations underway.
It was one of those rare fall days when everything clicked.

Megan Niklasen had wanted to hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park all summer, but every time she tried it was closed due to bear activity. Then she received a text alert the trail had reopened. She made plans for an early morning October drive from her home in Great Falls to take a solo hike before snow blanketed the high country.

It was the most beautiful, perfect day! she wrote in an email.

Niklasens 10-mile trek resulted in an award-winning photo of the lake, first place in the 14th annual Picture Wild Montana contest.

Water flow, reflections, clouds and mountain slopes create a visual swirl that enchants the viewer's gaze, wrote Luke Duran, art director at Montana Outdoors magazine and one of two judges for the contest. It's a fantastic photo  in perfect focus, excellent exposure and masterful composition. This photo is alive and alert.

Surprisingly, Niklasen shot it with her iPhone.

I decided to enter the photo contest on a complete whim, she said. It was my favorite one by far, and the hike was very special, so it means a lot to me to have that memory of being in such a spectacular place by myself.

Entries

Niklasens photo had a lot of competition. This year, 440 people from across the country submitted more than 1,700 photos to the contest, which was also judged by Chris Sawicki, Wild Montana Creative Services manager. The conservation group, Wild Montana, organizes the annual contest.

Earning second place was a shot by professional photographer Kevin League of Helena. While hiking in the Big Belt Mountains with his daughter he took a photo from inside a cave looking out.

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, Duran wrote.

League said the closeness of the Big Belts makes them his familys favorite hiking location.

We love all of the canyons of the range, he said. Refrigerator and Trout Creek canyons are perennial favorites, but for longer hikes the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness is an underrated gem of an area to explore.

Tim Egan, of Dillon, won third place in the contest with his shot of Upper Miner Lake with the ragged peaks of the Beaverhead Mountains reflected in the water. The lake is located southwest of the community of Jackson in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

Egan said he decided to enter the photo at the urging of his son, Andy.

I enjoy hiking and taking pictures all over Montana, but the East Pioneer Mountains, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness area and Big Hole Valley are some of my favorite places, Egan said.

Duran praised the photo for its composition, anchored by the spruce trees on the left.

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, Duran said.

On display

The top 20 photos will be featured in the halls of Benifis, a nonprofit healthcare provider in Great Falls, along with previous Picture Wild Montana photo finalists.

The contest was started by the nonprofit conservation group Wild Montana in 2009 to celebrate the states wild places.

We created the photo contest as a way for people to collectively celebrate the beauty of public lands in Montana, the relationship we have with wild places, and the profound experiences we can have there, said Ben Gabriel, executive director of Wild Montana.

More

Niklasen has plans to continue exploring Glacier National Park. Although growing up in Nebraska and living in Iowa after college, she fell in love with the park when she and her husband vacationed there.

I have never felt that drawn to a place in my life, she said. I could not quit thinking about Montana and how badly I wanted to live there.

In 2021 the couple moved to Great Falls, putting Niklasen on the doorstep of the park.

A fan of hiking, she regularly leaves home as early as 3:30 a.m. to beat any crowds. Lucia, her Australian shepherd, accompanies her on the trail when shes not in the park where dogs are confined to developed areas.

I have three trips planned for this coming summer and even scored a reservation at the Sperry Chalet, Niklasen said of Glaciers rustic hike-in lodging facility. Second to that, I love hiking around Choteau where its less busy but very accessible to me.

Choteau provides access to the Rocky Mountain Front and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex  1,577 square miles of wild country including such iconic features as the Chinese Wall, a limestone barricade of rock rising 1,000 feet above the surrounding forest.

As a newbie to the state, Niklasen received an introduction to the regions hiking trails by going on Wilderness Walks, volunteer-guided treks of different lengths that Wild Montana organizes across the state.

I joined when we moved here so I could meet new people and explore places I normally wouldnt go by myself, she said. I will spend my whole life trying to explore the whole state!
The couple who "brought the world to Cork" last year, are gifting a dramatic sea shanty singing seafarer sculpture to their adopted harbour town.

The Irish Examiner can reveal the striking 12ft high steel sculpture of a sailor singing The Holy Ground, a song sometimes referred to as the Cobh Sea Shanty, which is on its way to the Cork harbour town thanks to the generosity of Garry and Anne Wilson.

They are the couple who bought and restored Belvelly Castle, and who brought the remarkable Gaia installation to the town's landmark St Colmans Cathedral last year.

Thousands of people flocked to the cathedral last June to see the seven-metre wide rotating sculpture of planet Earth hanging from the cathedrals magnificent vaulted ceiling as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival.

Thousands more are expected to pose for selfies and Insta moments in front of this new sculpture, once it is installed.

'A wonderful gesture'

Cllr Anthony Barry, chair of the Cobh Municipal District, said talks on potential locations, involving the Wilsons, among others, are taking place, and he is hopeful that agreement can be reached soon. The location will determine whether a Part 8 planning application is required. Mr Barry said:

It is a wonderful sculpture and a wonderful gesture by the Wilsons and I would hope that we can move quickly on this process.

The Wilsons commissioned British steel fabricator, Ray Lonsdale, to create the piece for their UK home, but then opted to gift it to the people of Cobh.

Mr Lonsdale, an artist who works from his 'Two Red Rubber Things' studio near Durham, in the northeast of England, is renowned for his oversized, and often sombre sculptures, many of which are inspired by, and installed close to the sea.

He spent five months crafting the piece from corten weathering steel, a durable material with a high nickel and copper content, which will weather well and last for centuries.

It depicts a bearded sailor playing a squeeze box while singing The Holy Ground, with one of his booted feet resting on a stool.

Im a steel fabricator who drifted into the art world, Mr Lonsdale said. The piece [is] two-times life size, about 12ft tall. The scale acts as another level of interest.

It will be installed at ground level because I like people to be able to get up and around the piece and get involved with the work. I would like it to complement the town and other works in the town.

As for an ideal location, I hope the sea is involved and that there is a decent background.

Sculptor Ray Lonsdale spent five months crafting the piece from corten weathering steel, a durable material with a high nickel and copper content, which will weather well and last for centuries.

It can be facing inland, with the sea as a backdrop, or facing out with a good backdrop  it's all about the right imagery and context for people who visit it and want to take a photograph with it.

He said he would like to attend the unveiling, whenever its ready, but finds such occasions unnerving.

Especially if its classic unveiling, with the curtain coming down. My knee caps would be going up and down, hoping it will be received well.
The parents of a young Cork girl who died of invasive Group A Strep infection have claimed their daughter would still be alive if doctors had spotted the signs of the potentially fatal condition sooner.

Lilly and Dermot Murphy want greater awareness of the most serious form of Strep A infection among medical professionals following a verdict of medical misadventure into the death of their daughter, Vivienne.

Vivienne, aged 10, of Sycamore Drive in Millstreet, Cork died at Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin on March 1, 2019  just two weeks after first complaining of a sore throat, a high temperature, a rash as well as aches and pains.

A post-mortem on the Cloughoula National School pupil established she had died from Group A streptococcal septicaemia with necrotising fasciitis (known colloquially as flesh-eating disease).

In an emotional statement to the inquest, Ms Murphy said her family were devastated, traumatised, shocked and overwhelmed and in disbelief about Viviennes death after they were informed that it could have been avoided as Strep A is curable with an antibiotic.

We visited doctors three times with deteriorating symptoms and nothing was done to treat our daughter, she said.

Ms Murphy said Viviennes chance of survival would have been greater if her condition was diagnosed and treatment started earlier.

The death of Vivienne has destroyed, devastated, traumatised and ripped our family to shreds and has left a hole in all our hearts that will be with us for the rest of our lives.

The inquest at Dublin District Coroners Court heard Vivienne first felt unwell on February 14, 2019. Ms Murphy said her daughter was screaming every time she moved her head and her chest was covered in a red rash.

She said a doctor at SouthDoc in Kanturk, Joyce Leader, said it was only a heat rash and assured them there was nothing to worry about as it was only a viral illness. However, Ms Murphy said Viviennes condition remained the same over the next two days.

Vivienne Murphy. The inquest heard she suffered a cardiac arrest in a scene which her mother said resembled 'a war zone with blood all over the bed and floor'.

Dr Leader told the inquest she believed the patient had a viral upper respiratory tract infection with a viral rash.

Ms Murphy contacted SouthDoc again on February 16. The rash had spread down her daughters thighs and over her upper body. She would only eat and drink when forced to do so. Another doctor, Katie Frost, gave them the same advice and to contact their own GP if she still had the same symptoms.

Ms Murphy said the family doctor, Christine Walsh-McCarthy, on February 18 also said it was just a viral rash". She said the doctor told her husband she was sure it was only a flu-like illness going around the town".

Dr Walsh-McCarthy told the inquest Viviennes presentation was quite common in other patients at that time. The GP said it seemed there was a viral infection circulating in the family.

Ms Murphy said her husband was dumbfounded when she informed him that Dr Walsh-McCarthy had prescribed medication for herself and Stephen but had done nothing to treat Vivienne.

When Ms Murphy contacted SouthDoc again the following day, she recalled Dr Leader said that the virus could take up to 10 days to clear.

Medical notes

The inquest heard there were medical notes which showed Vivienne had suffered similar symptoms a few years earlier that had been identified as Strep A for which she had been given an antibiotic.

Despite the advice of the three doctors Ms Murphy said she and her husband felt there was something more seriously wrong and brought Vivienne to the emergency department at Cork University Hospital where she was diagnosed with signs of sepsis.

While in CUH, Ms Murphy said they became particularly concerned about a black mark that had appeared on Viviennes leg which started spreading.

She recalled all hell seemed to break loose after doctors got the result of blood tests and they were informed that Vivienne was critically ill.

Ms Murphy added: The last words we heard Vivienne say were: Im sorry for crying nurse, I know you are only trying to help me.

She told the coroner, Crona Gallagher, that they beseeched doctors at CUH to operate on her and amputate her leg if it was the only way of saving her but were informed that the decision had been taken to transfer her to Dublin because there was no paediatric intensive care unit in the hospital.

We never got to see Viviennes leg again until she was in Temple Street and it was cut away and lots more of her, as well as our worst fears, were confirmed, said Ms Murphy.

Transfer time

She also expressed concern at what appeared to be a delay in transferring their daughter to Dublin.

A paediatric consultant at CUH, Susanna Felsenstein said doctors felt Vivienne would not survive surgery performed in CUH.

By the time she and the rest of her family got to Temple Street, Ms Murphy said Vivienne was out of surgery but was critical as the infection had spread.

The inquest heard she suffered a cardiac arrest the following day in a scene which Ms Murphy said resembled a war zone with blood all over the bed and floor which will stick with us till the day we die".

They were told Vivienne needed an MRI scan to determine how much brain damage she had suffered following the cardiac arrest.

Ms Murphy said her family including Viviennes brother, Stephen and sister, Caroline spent the longest night and following day waiting for the results which provided the devastating news that our beautiful little girl was totally brain dead and had no hope of recovery".

After the decision to switch off Viviennes ventilator was taken, she said they would be scarred for all their lives by having to witness our beautiful little angel gulp and gasp for 40 minutes".

Counsel representing CUH, Temple Street, and Dr Frost had urged the coroner to record a verdict of death by natural causes.

Medical misadventure

Returning a verdict of medical misadventure, Dr Gallagher, said she needed to give further consideration about recommendations and to which bodies they should be directed given the totality of complexity of the case.

However, the coroner said they would include increasing awareness of signs of Strep A among medical professionals and highlighted how there is no paediatric ICU in Cork together with related transport issues.

Speaking after the inquest the familys solicitor, Rachael OShaughnessy of HOMS Assist, said they did not want any other family to live the nightmare that they have been living and with which they will have to live for the rest of their lives. Ms OShaughnessy said the Murphy family welcomed the coroners findings but were also aware there was no assurance that Dr Gallaghers recommendations would be implemented.
All of the countrys naval ships were docked in port on Saturday in spite of concerns over the presence of two Russian ships off the west coast.

In pictures taken on Saturday by the Irish Examiner, seven vessels could be seen docked in the Naval Headquarters in Haulbowline island in Cork Harbour, while two were in Rushbrooke in Cobh.

Irish naval vessel LE Niamh at the dockyard in Rushbrooke.

The ships appeared either tied up or in repair.

The Defence Forces told the media on Saturday it was monitoring the two Russian ships off the coast.

One of the Russian-flagged ships seen in Irish waters in recent days. Picture: Oglaigh na hEireann

Russian government vessels equipped with technology capable of interfering with underwater cables had returned to these waters after appearing to depart towards Africa earlier in the week.

The ships, Umka and the Bakhtemir, raised concerns among defence officials last week when they were seen engaging in unusual manoeuvres off the Galway coast.

Monitoring

The statement from the Defence Forces on Saturday said both the Air Corps and the Naval Service were monitoring activity in Irish waters and undertaking Maritime Defence and Security Operations throughout Irelands maritime domain.

The Defence Forces had been monitoring the movements of both of the vessels. Picture: Oglaigh na hEireann

However, informed sources say that because the ships were docked, any monitoring would solely have been done on a screen in Haulbowline.

According to the Defence Forces website, it has eight navy vessels including a helicopter patrol vessel, three offshore patrol vessels, two large patrol vessels and two coastal patrol vessels. The LE George Bernard Shaw is not among those listed. A number of the vessels listed have been decommissioned.

When the Defence Forces press office was contacted about its docked ships on Saturday, a spokesperson said: In response to your query, both the Irish Air Corps and the Naval Service are aware of the below-mentioned vessels, but we wont be releasing any further information on the operation.

The George Bernard Shaw in Haulbowline.

Both continue to monitor activity in Irish waters and to undertake Maritime Defence and Security Operations (MDSO) throughout Irelands maritime domain.

When pressed again about the number of naval ships docked, and if any were at sea prior to the photographs being taken, a second statement said: The Defence Forces does not comment on specific details in relation to operational matters, specifically locations or patrol schedules of our Naval fleet or our Air Corps aircrafts, for security reasons.

On Sunday evening, the Defence Forces confirmed the Russian vessels have now left Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone.
Political instability at Stormont is driving the conversation on Irish unity, Sinn Fein MP John Finucane has said.

But DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly has said her party will take time on restoring the Stormont executive to strengthen the institutions.

Meanwhile, UUP leader Doug Beattie has predicted the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

Stormont is currently suspended due to the DUPs ongoing protest against post-Brexit trading agreements.

Doug Beattie (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Finucane told RTE that ongoing political instability may be contributing to a desire for constitutional change.

People are asking about how we can have a better health system on the one island, how we can have a better education system, how we can increase and build prosperity, and all of that weaves through the conversation on Irish Unity, he told RTE.

And I do think that will be a significant change that we will see in the years to come.

Meanwhile, Mr Beattie and Ms Little-Pengelly clashed on whether returning to Stormont or opposing the Windsor Framework is the best course of action.

Ms Little-Pengelly said the DUP was taking its time in restoring devolution to strengthen the executive.

The reality is a house built on sand cannot stand, it will be weakened, and therefore we have to get this right, she said.

Of course, we want devolution to be restored, it has to be on the right terms.

It has to be on terms and foundations thats going to work because we do have a huge piece of work to do.

Emma Little-Pengelly (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Beattie contested Ms Little-Pengellys assertion and argued that the Windsor Framework could be changed while the executive is operational.

I suppose this is where me and Emma disagree, he said.

Mr Beattie added: I think were both strong unionists and we want Northern Ireland to work as part of the United Kingdom, I think were absolutely on the ground with that.

He went on to state the UUP position, saying: We believe, however, that the only way to achieve this, that is to challenge the issues around the Windsor framework which do not work and also to realise the opportunities of the Windsor Windsor framework is to be in the devolved government.

Mr Beattie also said he believed the DUP would return to Stormont after Mays council elections.

What I think is they will go back in because I think they realise that its good for unionists to be in and have a voice and be able to challenge the government, he said.

Ms Little-Pengelly responded: People do want stable government here. I suppose what we disagree on is the balance of that and how that can be done.

Mr Beattie reiterated that having a stable government in Northern Ireland would help to diminish conversations on constitutional change.

If we focus on the economy, an economy which will give us good health service, good infrastructure, give us homes, give us jobs for our young people, he said.

If we can create that for the people here in Northern Ireland, then nobody will vote for change.

So thats what I want to focus on, but to be able to do that we need to have government.

Fine Gael Minister Simon Coveney was speaking on the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement and said trust between all parties had to be rebuilt.

In many ways thats been the hugely frustrating thing of the last number of years, that much of that trust has been unravelled and we need to put it back together, he said.

My generation of politician has a responsibility to ensure that this piece survives and is, when necessary, rebuilt.

Mr Coveney also commended the representatives from the unionist parties for their expressed desire to reinstate Stormont.

He said: Im encouraged to hear people like Doug Beattie and Emma Pengelly speak the way they have, wanting to see the role of government functioning again in Northern Ireland, and we need to work with them and John Finucane and all the different parties in Northern Ireland to make that happen in the weeks ahead.
Storms that led to possibly dozens of tornadoes have killed at least 26 people in small towns and big cities across the US South and Midwest.

The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, ripped the roof off a packed concert venue in Illinois, and caused widespread damage throughout the region.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, tore up trees, and lay waste to neighbourhoods across a broad swathe of the country.

At least nine people were killed in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in one tornados path.

In Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, the high schools roof was torn off overnight and its windows blown out, while huge trees lay on the ground and dozens of homes were decimated.

The path of a tornado is seen through a building on James Street in Coralville, Iowa (Iowa City Press-Citizen/AP/PA)

Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pick-up truck with its windows shattered.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.

A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm, she said.

Recovery is already under way, with workers using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the area and utility crews restoring power.

Family and neighbours scour the debris after a tornado tore through a farm in Wellman, Iowa (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)/The Gazette/AP/PA)

Nine people died in Tennessees McNairy County, east of Memphis along the Mississippi border.

Governor Bill Lee drove to the county on Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the worst week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife attended earlier in the day.

He said: Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

In Memphis, police spokesman Christopher Williams said three deaths are believed to be weather-related  two children and an adult who died when a tree fell on a house.

An entire neighbourhood was flattened in Sullivan, Indiana (Doug McSchooler/AP/PA)

Tennessee officials have warned that the same weather conditions are expected to return on Tuesday.

In Belvidere, Illinois, part of the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble.

Concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV: I sat with him and I held his hand and I was (telling him), Its going to be okay. I didnt really know much else what to do.

The man was dead by the time emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 others were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries.

Two people stand in front of a destroyed business in Wynne, Arkansas (AP)

In Crawford County, Illinois, three people were killed and eight others injured after a tornado hit around New Hebron.

Sheriff Bill Rutan said 60 to 100 families were displaced. Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, he said.

That was not far from where three people were killed in Indianas Sullivan County.

Sullivan mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 is essentially unrecognisable right now, and several people were rescued overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said.

The gym of Crestview Elementary School, Tennessee (Daily Memphian/AP)

Quite frankly, Im really, really shocked there isnt more as far as human issues, he said, adding that recovery is going to be a very long process.

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, authorities said. Mayor Frank Scott said that 2,100 homes and businesses were in the tornados path, but that no assessment had been done on how many were damaged.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165mph and a path as long as 25 miles.

Motorists pass by a destroyed SUV that was thrown into a ditch along South Gloster in Tupelo, Mississippi (The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal/AP/PA)

Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and activated the US National Guard to help local responders.

A suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabamas Madison County, said county official Mac McCutcheon. And in northern Mississippis Pontotoc County, officials confirmed one death and four injuries.

The storms struck just hours after US President Joe Biden visited the Mississippi community of Rolling Fork, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Centre. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.
Former first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said the need to seek more privacy in the wake of internet rumours was part of the reason for her resignation.

Ms Sturgeon surprisingly resigned as leader of the SNP in February, citing the funeral of independence activist Allan Angus as the moment which cemented her decision.

But the former leader has told a new BBC Scotland podcast that online gossip about her had been part of the reason behind the decision.

She said: Im not naive, Im not of the view that I will step down one day and be completely anonymous the next day, I understand the realities of what I have done and Ill still be in Parliament, but I want to have a bit more privacy.

Nicola Sturgeon signed her official resignation letter to the King earlier this week (Jane Barlow/PA)

I want to have a bit more anonymity and I just want to protect some of what people take for granted in their lives that Ive forgotten to have.

Among the claims she dismissed in the podcast were that she is a secret lesbian and had an extra-marital relationship with a female French diplomat, with the pair buying a house from tennis star Andy Murrays mother Judy as a love nest.

Other rumours spread about Ms Sturgeon claim she has a global property portfolio and has a super injunction in place to hide the truth.

I read accounts of my life on social media and I think, You know, it is so much more glamorous sounding and so much more exciting, she said.

She was replaced as First Minister this week by Humza Yousaf.
The United States is Earths punching bag for nasty weather  and its geography is to blame, according to experts.

The nation is getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on the planet, with two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, jutting peninsulas like Florida, clashing storm fronts and the jet stream combining to naturally brew the nastiest of weather.

But while nature dealt the United States a bad hand, experts say people have made it much worse by what, where and how they build.

Add climate change to the mix, and Rick Spinrad, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, warned: Buckle up. More extreme events are expected.

People walk through flood water after homes and businesses were deluged in California in January (Noah Berger/AP)

While huge swathes of the country currently deal with devastation caused by a series of massive, powerful tornadoes, other parts have in recent times endured hurricanes, flash floods, droughts, wildfires, ice storms, heatwaves, monsoons, and the dreaded polar vortex.

It starts with where we are on the globe, North Carolina state climatologist Kathie Dello said. Its truly a little bit unlucky.

China has more people, and a large land area like the United States, but they dont have the same kind of clash of air masses as much as you do in the US that is producing a lot of the severe weather, another expert  Susan Cutter of the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute at the University of South Carolina  said.

The US is by far the king of tornadoes and other severe storms.

It really starts with kind of two things, said Victor Gensini, a Northern Illinois University meteorology professor. Number one is the Gulf of Mexico. And number two is elevated terrain to the west.

Heavy snow and freezing conditions hit parts of the US, including Massachusetts, in March (Ben Garver/AP)

Look at Fridays deadly tornadoes, and watch out for the next week to see it in action: Dry air from the west goes up over the Rockies and crashes into warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and it is all brought together along a stormy jet stream.

In the west, it is a drumbeat of atmospheric rivers. In the Atlantic, it is noreasters in the winter, hurricanes in the summer and sometimes a weird combination of both, like Superstorm Sandy.

Mr Spinrad said: It is a reality that regardless of where you are in the country, where you call home, youve likely experienced a high-impact weather event first-hand.

Killer tornadoes in December 2021 that struck Kentucky illustrated the uniqueness of the United States.

They hit areas with large immigrant populations. People who fled Central and South America, Bosnia and Africa were all victims.

A huge problem was that tornadoes did not occur in those peoples former homes, so they did not know what to watch for or what to do, or even know they had to be concerned about tornadoes, said Joseph Trujillo Falcon, a social scientist who investigated the aftermath.

Water levels have dropped so much in Lake Mead, Nevada, that a boat which previously sank now stands upright (John Locher/AP)

With colder air up in the Arctic and warmer air in the tropics, the area between them  the mid-latitudes, where the United States is  gets the most interesting weather because of how the air acts in clashing temperatures, and that north-south temperature gradient drives the jet stream, said Northern Illinois meteorology professor Walker Ashley.

Then add mountain ranges that go north-south, jutting into the winds flowing from west to east, and underneath it all the toasty Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf injects hot, moist air underneath the often cooler, dry air lifted by the mountains, and that doesnt happen really anywhere else in the world, Mr Gensini said.

If the United States as a whole has it bad, the South has it the worst, said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd, a former president of the American Meteorological Society.

We drew the short straw (in the South) that we literally can experience every single type of extreme weather event, he said. Including blizzards. Including wildfires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes. Every single type Theres no other place in the United States that can say that.

Hurricane Ian, in October last year, destroyed a bridge leading from Fort Myers to Pine Island, Florida (Gerald Herbert/AP)

Florida, North Carolina and Louisiana also stick out in the water so are more prone to being hit by hurricanes.

The South has more manufactured housing that is vulnerable to all sorts of weather hazards, and storms are more likely to happen there at night. Night storms are deadly because people cannot see them and are less likely to take cover, and they miss warnings in their sleep.

The extreme weather triggered by Americas unique geography creates hazards. But it takes humans to turn those hazards into disasters, Mr Ashley and Mr Gensini said.

Just look where cities pop up in America and the rest of the world: near water that floods, except maybe Denver, said Ms Cutter. More people are moving to areas, such as the South, where there are more hazards.

A team from UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab work inside a 18ft deep snow pit in Soda Springs, California, in early March (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/AP)

One of the ways in which you can make your communities more resilient is to not develop them in the most hazard-prone way or in the most hazard-prone portion of the community, Ms Cutter said.

The insistence on building up barrier islands and development on barrier islands, particularly on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, knowing that that sand is going to move and having hurricanes hit with some frequency seems like a colossal waste of money.

Construction standards tend to be at the bare minimum and less likely to survive the storms, Mr Ashley warned.

Our infrastructure is crumbling and nowhere near being climate-resilient at all.

Poverty makes it hard to prepare for and bounce back from disasters, especially in the South, the experts said, and that vulnerability is an even bigger issue in other places in the world.

Safety can be bought, Mr Ashley said. Those that are well-to-do and who have resources can buy safety and will be the most resilient when disaster strikes.

Unfortunately that isnt all of us.
Japans foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has protested to his Chinese counterpart over the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern about Chinas escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Mr Hayashi is on a two-day visit in China, becoming Japans first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries.

On Sunday, he also met Chinese premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi.

During his talks with the Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, Mr Hayashi demanded the early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man nor the allegations against him.

Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase

Mr Hayashi told reporters he raised serious concern about Chinas increasingly assertive maritime activity in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

He said he also expressed grave concern about Beijings increased joint military activity with Russia around Japan while Moscow wages war against Ukraine, and urged China to act responsibly for global peace.

Mr Hayashi said he told Mr Qin that their countries have the possibility of improved co-operation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, but also face many problems and serious concerns and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Mr Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defence hotline last week and the resumption of defence talks, Mr Hayashi said.

Mr Hayashi said that he and premier Li shared the importance of their bilateral economic ties, and that it was crucial that Japanese nationals and companies feel safe to operate in China.

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 security and economy.

Mr Qin, meanwhile, warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and undermine Chinas sovereignty in any way, according to a statement from Chinas ministry of foreign affairs.

Using strong language, Mr Qin said the Taiwan issue is at the core of Chinas core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged his Russian counterpart to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week  as well as another imprisoned American, the State Department said.

In the call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Mr Blinken conveyed grave concern over the Kremlins detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage allegations, according to a State Department summary of the call.

Mr Blinken called for his immediate release.

He also sought the immediate release of Paul Whelan, whom the statement said was wrongfully detained.

Mr Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the US government have said are baseless. He is serving a 16-year sentence.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who was arrested for alleged spying (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP/PA)

Mr Blinken and Mr Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work, according to the State Department.

The FSB, Russias top security agency and successor to the KGB, said Mr Gershkovich was collecting information on an enterprise of the military-industrial complex.

Russian authorities detained him last week, the first time a US correspondent has been held on spying accusations since the Cold War.

In its summary of the call, Russias foreign ministry said Mr Lavrov drew Mr Blinkens attention to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities about Mr Gershkovich, whom Moscow claims, without evidence, was caught red-handed.

The Journal has adamantly denied the allegations and demanded his release. US officials have also called on Russia to let him go, with President Joe Biden telling reporters on Friday that his message to the country was Let him go.

The Kremlin said Mr Lavrov also told Mr Blinken it was unacceptable for US officials and Western news media to continue whipping up excitement and politicising the journalists detention. His further fate will be determined by the court.

The State Department described the detention of Mr Gershkovich as unacceptable.

More than 30 news organisations and press freedom advocates have written the Russian ambassador in the United States to express concern Russia is sending the message that reporting inside the country is criminalised.

And on Saturday night, basketball star Brittney Griner, who was detained for 10 months by Russian authorities before being released in a prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, issued a statement with her wife, Cherelle, calling for the release of the 31-year-old.

Every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all, the couple said in a statement posted on Instagram.

Interactions between the top US and Russian diplomats have been rare since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though they did have a brief conversation last month on the sidelines of the Group of 20 conference of foreign ministers in India.

It was the highest-level in-person talks between the two countries since the war.

That interaction was their first contact since last summer, when Mr Blinken talked to Mr Lavrov by phone about a US proposal for Russia to release Mr Whelan and Ms Griner.

Though Mr Whelan was not included in the one-for-one swap that resulted in the release of Ms Griner, US officials said they remain committed to bringing him home.
Purge- verb, remove (a group of people considered undesirable) from an organization or place in an abrupt or violent way.

Authoritarian regimes across the globe and throughout history have conducted purges to solidify their power. From Stalins Great Terror in 1937 to the Chinese Communist Partys Great Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the end results have always been the same. People and groups have been surveilled, harassed and oppressed. Free expression has been stifled, edicts have been issued, and dissenters have been targeted. Purges start small and build until they assure compliance and consolidate the leaders power.

The far-right wing of the Montana Republican party has been conducting its own purge. After being rebuked by the State Republican Party, former Republican Governor Marc Racicot published an open letter to Republican leadership warning of the purge mentality. In his letter he said, Republicans have recently experienced the resignation of a twice-elected, young Republican legislator because of the partys coercive efforts to control the exercise of her discretion in voting for what she thought was right. You have also censured two Republican members of the Legislature for not voting the way you deemed appropriate and have witnessed the defection of growing numbers of Republicans in your caucus, and across Montana, who feel bound to their conscience and their constitution more than their party.

The purges within the Republican Party are only part of the takeover by far-right extremists in Montana. They also seek to purge virtually everyone they disagree with from being able to fully participate in society. Sexual minorities, native people, immigrants, and low-income people are all being targeted as lazy, perverted and a threat to the rest of us. Creating an environment of us vs them as a mechanism to mobilize hate is as old as humanity itself. Nothing good has ever come from it.

The arrogance of certainty demonstrated by Republican leaders in Montana is in a time-tested play book used by authoritarian leaders everywhere. You may not care that Greg Gianforte believes that men and dinosaurs lived on Earth at the same time, but he cares and is moving public money to private schools teaching his Fred Flintstone version of history and science. Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen is promoting history lessons stripped of facts to promote the far rights own version of reality. Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the Legislature and the governor have engaged in attacks on the independence of the judiciary to eliminate check and balances and consolidate power. Congressman Matt Rosendale joined the Freedom Caucus alongside the most extreme right-wing members of congress and is busily organizing his own Freedom Caucus here in Montana. You can almost hear the goose-stepping jackboots coming down the street.

This would not have been possible without the erosion of political and social norms brought on by the rise of Trump and Fox News. The January 6th armed insurrection has become peaceful protest, white people have become the victims, desperate people seeking asylum from violence in their own country have become rapists and murders, and caring about your neighbor is now derisively called being woke. In the Republican right, citizens are urged to engage in politics using fear, anger, and hate.

There is an old wives tale about a frog sitting still in a heating pan of water despite the increasing temperature until it is so hot the frog dies. It did not notice the slow change in temperature. It is a great metaphor for the political environment here in Montana. Dont be that frog.
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.
Genres : Romance, Western

Starring : Tyrone Power, Piper Laurie, Julie Adams

Director : Rudolph Mate

Plot Synopsis

Hollywood legend Tyrone Power (The Mark of Zorro, Prince of Foxes) plays a high-stakes game for love and money in the Technicolor adventure The Mississippi Gambler. Mark Fallon (Power), a riverboat gambler on his way to New Orleans, meets Angelique Dureau (pitch-perfect Piper Laurie, Son of Ali Baba, The Hustler), a Southern belle who spurns his charm and advances. Using his winnings to build a casino, Fallons card skills make him a fortune, while his pursuit of the fiery Angelique leads to knife fights, family feuds and duels over personal honor. Written by Seton I. Miller (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Here Comes Mr. Jordan) and directed by Rudolph Mate (D.O.A., When Worlds Collide), The Mississippi Gambler is a rip-roaring western romance with a sparkling cast including Julie Adams (Bend of the River).

 Brand New 2K Master

NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan

 Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
Genres : Drama, Thriller

Starring : Jean Seberg, Honor Blackman

Director : Mervyn LeRoy

Plot Synopsis

The ravishing and radiant Jean Seberg (Breathless) and Honor Blackman (Goldfinger) star in this deliciously twisted affair of illicit lovemaking and mysterious murder, all set in the exotic French Riviera. Hes dead! Thus begins the story of the beautiful Mrs. Kay Stanton (Seberg), left alone in the paradise of Cannes, France, as her husband, a globetrotting psychiatrist, lectures across Europe. As much as she resists, she can only simply surrender into the arms of a forbidden lover, a handsome, young American ensign. But their night of passion has deadly consequencesor does it? Not all is as it seems as the unfolding drama becomes evermore intriguing and intense. Based on a story by Alec Coppel (Vertigo), this romantic neo-noir thriller features the lush music of Henry Mancini (Touch of Evil, The Pink Panther) accompanied by the remarkable direction of Hollywood veteran Mervyn LeRoy (Little Caesar, Mister Roberts).

 Brand New 2K Master

NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson

 Moment to Moment with Mancini: Featurette Trailer (2:49) - Newly Mastered in 2K
A US suppose tank mentioned satellite tv for pc imagery indicated a excessive stage of exercise at North Koreas most important nuclear advanced after chief Kim Jong Un ordered a rise in manufacturing of weapons-grade nuclear materials.

Washington-based 38 North mentioned Saturday that pictures from March 3 and 17 point out that the experimental gentle water reactor on the nations Yongbyon web site is near completion.

Development of a brand new assist constructing has begun, whereas discharges of water have been detected from the reactor cooling system, indicating that the ELWR is approaching the transition to working situation, the report mentioned.

The photographs additionally indicated that the 5-megawatt Yongbyon reactor continued to function, and new building work started across the uranium enrichment plant on the web site, and its prone to broaden its capabilities.

These developments seem to mirror Kim Jong-uns current directive to extend manufacturing of fissile materials to broaden its nuclear weapons arsenal, the report added.

On Tuesday, North Korean state media unveiled photographs of Kim inspecting new, smaller nuclear warheads, as he ordered an enlargement of manufacturing of weapons-grade nuclear materials for a huge enhance in North Koreas arsenal.

Specialists mentioned potential tactical nuclear weapons have already proven main indicators of technical progress, and will point out an imminent nuclear check. Officers in Seoul and Washington have been warning since early 2022 that North Korea might conduct its seventh nuclear check.

Seoul and Washington intensified joint navy workout routines as North Korea performed extra provocative weapons assessments whereas blaming the South for the deteriorating safety state of affairs. He warned the Allies of its nuclear offensive functionality.

It will likely be fairly clear how the DPRKs nuclear weapons shall be used if deterrence of battle doesnt work with those that run from chaos and will not be afraid of nuclear weapons, the assertion mentioned. The North Korean navy has performed a number of workout routines in current weeks, together with the check launch of what state media described as a nuclear-capable underwater drone and the second launch of an ICBM this yr.

Final yr, North Korea declared itself an irreversible nuclear energy, whereas in March Kim ordered the North Korean navy to step up workout routines in preparation for actual battle.

The recent developments at the Yongbyon site and the unveiling of new nuclear warheads have raised concerns among the international community about North Koreas nuclear ambitions.

The United States and South Korea have called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and engage in talks, but so far, Pyongyang has refused to do so, insisting that its nuclear weapons are necessary for self-defense.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula remains tense, and the possibility of a new nuclear test or another provocative action by North Korea cannot be ruled out. The international community, therefore, needs to remain vigilant and united in its efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and maintain peace and stability in the region.
A group of Russian bankers has been found guilty by a Swiss court of enabling Sergei Roldugin to deposit huge amounts of money into bank accounts.

Roldugin, a cellist by profession, has long been believed to be entrusted with the vast wealth of his close friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The court case has raised questions over whether Switzerland is a haven for dirty money belonging to Russias elite.

Roldugin, who deposited over 45m into two accounts, has also been dubbed Putins cellist and is believed to be part of a network of trusted individuals tasked with concealing the presidents finances.

The sentences given to the bankers were light, although fines will be imposed if they are caught breaking the law again within two years.
The East African Community (EAC) has been a crucial force for economic and political integration in the region since its establishment in 1999. The Benefits and Challenges of Ethiopias Inclusion in the East African Community.

Currently, the EAC comprises six member states, namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. However, there has been a growing call for the inclusion of more countries in the community, primarily Ethiopia.



Ethiopia is the second-most populous country in Africa and has one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent. Its inclusion in the EAC would significantly enhance the blocs bargaining power in trade negotiations with other countries and regional blocs. Furthermore, Ethiopias strategic location would offer an excellent opportunity for the EAC to expand its market and reach the Horn of Africa.



However, Ethiopias bid to join the EAC has been met with some resistance from some member states, citing concerns over Ethiopias size and economic dominance. Nonetheless, the benefits of Ethiopias inclusion far outweigh any perceived drawbacks, especially when considering the current economic challenges that the EAC faces, including a trade deficit and low intra-regional trade.



The inclusion of Ethiopia in the EAC would create a more comprehensive and diverse regional economy, enhancing trade and creating more significant opportunities for investment. It would also expand the market for goods and services, enabling member states to explore new markets and promote economic growth.

What are your plans for the next two years?

Theres something that happened recently that was quite historic. President Samia Suluhu granted the EAC 125 acres in Arusha for development, and nothing better shows Tanzanias commitment to regional integration. I challenge the other partner states to demonstrate their support with such gestures.

Now that I have the title deed, I will rally partner states to develop a Community city that will accommodate everyone.

This city will be a symbol of unity and progress, and it will serve as a hub for trade, education, and cultural exchange. We will work closely with local authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the development is sustainable and inclusive, and that it benefits the people of Arusha and the wider region.



In the next two years, my focus will be on laying the groundwork for this ambitious project. We will conduct feasibility studies, engage with potential investors, and seek input from the community to ensure that their needs are met. We will also work on strengthening the EACs institutional capacity and improving our policy frameworks to support regional integration.



I believe that this project will not only benefit the EAC, but also contribute to Africas development and integration. By working together, we can build a brighter future for all our citizens.



Furthermore, Ethiopias inclusion in the EAC would facilitate more significant political cooperation, leading to closer ties between member states and more unified decision-making. This would be crucial in promoting regional stability, resolving conflicts, and addressing security issues.



In conclusion, the EAC needs to consider Ethiopias inclusion in the community for better bargaining power, economic growth, and political cooperation. The EACs success depends on its ability to embrace diversity and work towards a common goal of regional integration and development. Therefore, all member states should support Ethiopias bid to join the EAC for a more prosperous and united East Africa.
UK non-profit reports that three British men have been captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Three British men have been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to UK non-profit group the Presidium Network who shared the news on Twitter and added that they were working closely with two of the families.

The UKs foreign ministry released a statement saying, We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families. Scott Richards of the Presidium Network told Sky News that the men were in good health and being well treated.

He added that there had been no meaningful contact between authorities and the two men the group is assisting, who are believed to have been held by the Taliban since January. It is not known how long the third man has been held for.

Media reports named the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, an unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge. Presidium on Twitter urged the Taliban to be considerate of what we believe is a misunderstanding and release these men.

Last year, the Taliban freed a veteran television cameraman and four other British nationals it had held for six months. The government in London said at the time that the five had no role in the UK governments work in Afghanistan and travelled to Afghanistan against the UK governments travel advice.

The latest incident comes as the Taliban continues to gain ground in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. The group has been accused of human rights abuses and the targeting of civilians, including aid workers.

The UK government has advised against all travel to Afghanistan since 2020, citing the risk of terrorism and kidnapping.

The detention of the three British men has sparked concern among their families and the wider community. The Presidium Network has called for their immediate release and for the Taliban to respect international law.

The situation in Afghanistan remains volatile, with the Taliban making gains in many parts of the country. The UK and other countries have expressed their support for the Afghan government and its security forces, but the situation remains uncertain.

Britains foreign ministry called it a mistake. Afghanistan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Britons of carrying out activities against the countrys laws and traditions of the people of Afghanistan.

However, after consecutive meetings between the IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and Britain, the said persons were released and handed over to their home country, he said. They promised to abide by the laws of Afghanistan, its traditions and culture of the people and not to violate them again, he added.

The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and has since sparked global outrage with its policies, particularly towards women and girls. (AFP)
Israeli occupation forces on Friday night shot dead a Palestinian young man in Al-Aqsa Mosque while he was trying to re-enter the holy site after being removed.

This came after Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and evacuated most of the Palestinian worshippers remaining inside.

At the same site of the killing, eyewitnesses stated they saw the Israeli occupation police assaulting a Palestinian woman who was also attempting to re-enter the mosque.

Local Palestinian media reported that the young man, identified as Mohammed Khaled Elasibi, a 26-year-old resident of the Bedouin town of Hura in Al-Naqab, attempted to protect the woman assaulted by the Israeli police. Palestinian sources reported that he had just finished medical school.

Palestinian witnesses say that Mohammed Khaled Alasibi, an Arab citizen of Israel who had just finished medical school, was shot dead by Israeli police at close range while intervening in an argument between officers and a Palestinian in Jerusalem. https://t.co/oeJDLKCgyv  Shibley Telhami (@ShibleyTelhami) April 1, 2023

The story of the Israeli police that Elasibi grabbed their gun has often been used to justify police killings and is not borne out by eyewitness testimony. The police deny that there was any security footage of the shooting, even though that area of Jerusalem is thick with public cameras.

A young man from southern Israel was shot & killed by Police last night in the Old City, Jerusalem. Contrary to the headline, @nirhasson says Police version is not persuasive.

Mohammed Alasibi had just graduated from medical schoolhttps://t.co/4HjTHbCPGP  '    Jessica  (@JessicaMontell) April 1, 2023

Israeli police claimed in a statement that the young man tried to grab a soldiers weapon and was subsequently shot and neutralised.

An eyewitness confirmed he heard 20 gunshots fired in less than a minute, leaving one man wounded on the floor near Bab Al-Silsila Gate.

The administration of Al-Aqsa Mosque said that about 250,000 Palestinians performed the second Friday prayer there, while hundreds stayed inside the mosque.

One of the few Palestinians who stayed at the mosque told local Palestinian media that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the sanctuary yards and forced most worshippers out.
In Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond, the Pulitzer prize-winning Princeton Sociologist explains how, in a capitalist society based on consumption, profit, and greed, wealthy people benefit from the poverty created by labor exploitation, as well as the tax breaks and credits that are part of the government dole. Contrary to media-generated popular belief, capitalism does not reduce poverty  especially if the redistributive element moves money upward into the middling and upper classes, rather than downward toward wage-earners, the working poor, and people who are in dire precarious situations, living the consequences of organized abandonment.

Medical debt can devastate a family. Educational debt has shackled a generation of consumers. Wages kept low through government intervention, combined with insurance attached to employment, union-busting, skyrocketing rents (which is another way of saying Blackstone is cashing in), and a cult of possessive individualism that has justified commodifying and destroying the earth  to name a few dominant characteristics of contemporary society  are never the reasons for poverty. People are poor, without a house to live in, jobless or underemployed, and undereducated with lousy health care because they are lazy and their cultures do not cultivate aspirations and success.

In Poverty, By America Mathew Desmond takes on these ideological myths weaponized as policy, cultural logic, and justifications for policing by a political force Alberto Toscano characterizes as racial fascism.

"The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?



In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom."

Desmond has been making the rounds on podcasts and radio segments.

Check out this short NPR podcast.

The New York Times published this review.

The New Yorker offers this extensive discussion.

Here is the Atlantic Monthly's perspective.

WBUR, the Boston NPR station, has this more extended interview with Desmond.

Click here for Barnes and Noble's podcast interview from Poured Over.
Jeon Do Yeon confidently responds to how people criticize her for being too old to be in romance dramas.

Want to know what she said? Then read on!

Jeon Do Yeon Responds To People Who Say She's Unfit for Romance Drama

In her guest appearance in "Yoo Quiz on the Block" last March 29, Jeon Do Yeon expressed her gratitude to the support she received for her latest work "Crash Course in Romance." It was her first romance genre after 18 years.

According to the veteran actress, everyone on the team was happy because viewers gave them more love than they deserved. However, she revealed that not everyone responded well, particularly to her return to the romance genre.

Jeon Do Yeon shared, "Some people doubted me joining the 'Crash Course in Romance' cast as if it was a mistake. I was concerned by the words that women over 50s are unfit for onscreen romance."

She continued, "But now, I feel relieved to see my character Nam Haeng Seon received so much love."

Based on the report, this is not the first time Jeon Do Yeon heard such opinions on her role. She is not the usual actress that everyone would always see in rom-com.

In her 32 years in the industry, the actress has been bashed but never crushed.

Jeon Do Yeon's Past Experiences Make Her Unbreakable

The "Lovers in Prague" star experimented with a wide range of scenarios and genres throughout her career, broadening her acting spectrum during her early years in the acting field.

In 1999, she appeared in the movie "Happy End" and played the role of Choi Bo Ra, who is married to Seo Min Ki (Choi Min Sik). As the story progressed, she was killed by her husband after knowing she had an affair with another man. It has been said that she risked full-frontal nudity for the movie but ended up in hot water.

The award-winning actress confessed how she felt about the consequences she had to face before.

"I chose the film out of pure passion. But all the commercials I was in ended their contracts with me. At first, I didn't get the reason behind it, but slowly I understood that it was because I broke out of a certain image of the actress people expect."

Jeon Do Yeon bravely said, "It was hurtful but the experience made me unbreakable as well."

She added that there was a wide conception of viewing actresses as passive actors. But in her movie "Happy End," she led the scene and did her job as an actress, and with that, she wasn't discouraged by what others think, especially those who criticized her. She voiced out her frustration by bringing up the controversy about her eligibility to lead a romance drama.

"I am the same person I was before, but other people see me differently now that I'm in my 50s.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Yoo Jae Suk Shares Hilarious Experience With Jeon Do Yeon: 'You stole my tteokbokki'

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
Praised for her outstanding performance in her recent works, Kim Hieora showed off her super acting skills and diversity, proving how amazing she is as an actress.

This 2023, the 34-year-old actress dominated the Hallyu scene with her powerful acting in the revenge drama "The Glory."

Here's how much Kim Hieora earns after starring in the smash hit work. Keep on reading.



Kim Hieora Net Worth 2023: How Much 'The Glory' Star Earns At 34?

Since her transition from the stage to terrestrial television, Kim Hieora has shown nothing but pure talent and immense dedication to her work.

She has appeared in various dramas, creating an impeccable filmography in just two years after her television debut.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Kim Hieora Fashion: 3 Ways To Upgrade Style As Seen On 'The Glory' Star

Earlier this year, Kim Hieora made buzz in the Hallyu scene for her jaw-dropping performance as a drug addict in the Netflix drama "The Glory" with Song Hye Kyo.

Undoubtedly, the revenge drama instantly became her most popular work as it topped Netflix's global charts in more than 70 countries including South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Pakistan and more for more than three weeks since its premiere.

The work also opened opportunities for her career, landing her acting offers and brand deals. Kim Hieora's celebrity fees also increased over time, thanks to "The Glory."

As of this writing, Kim Hieora's net worth is roughly estimated to amount to 750,000 to 1 million USD. It is believed to double as she continues to take on impressive roles and high scale works in the future.

Kim Hieora To Open Dream Cafe & Clothing Store

Like her character in "The Glory," Kim Hieora is also an art junkie in real life!

According to the actress, painting has helped her stabilize her mood and entertain her on her days off.

In fact, Kim Hieora's artworks are what earned her the role in "The Glory," wowing the production team with her 100% synchronization rate with her character.

At the height of the pandemic, Kim Hieora opened a cafe in Daehangno, which was intentionally created for artists to hang out with with ease.

This also serves as her source of income aside from her salary as an actress. In particular, she also dreams of opening a clothing store for herself and her beloved family.

On the other hand, Kim Hieora is booked and busy. In the second half of 2023, the 34-year-old star will transform into a villain in the new installment of "The Uncanny Counter"! Don't miss it!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Kim Young Kwang oozes with charisma and it's not shocking to know if the 36-year-old star is seeing someone romantically.

Currently, he stars in the melodrama "Call It Love" alongside Lee Sung Kyung. Due to their intense chemistry, rumors about their romantic life arise.

Is Kim Young Kwang dating Lee Sung Kyung? Keep on reading to know more.

Kim Young Kwang Rumored To Be Dating Lee Sung Kyung

Since the premiere of the drama "Call It Love," fans grow more and more curious about Kim Young Kwang's relationship with Lee Sung Kyung!

The two stars play a couple in the Disney+ drama that depicts the complex love story of two indifferent people who find salvation in one another.

As the series progressed, Kim Young Kwang and Lee Sung Kyung continued to receive massive attention from fans, all thanks to their impeccable chemistry.

Their closeness also raised speculations about them dating, which was backed up by the director of the series who also suspected their relationship.

In the press conference of "Call It Love," the director opened up about the rumors he heard from the production unit, claiming that Kim Young Kwang is dating his co-star.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Lee Sung Kyung Fashion: Dress Like 'Call It Love' It Girl With These 4 Easy Steps

It is said that the two also look at one another with loving eyes even when the cameras aren't rolling, which only strengthens everyone's speculations.

The rumors are also fueled when Kim Young Kwang names Lee Sung Kyung as his ideal woman, leaving fans with a full heart.

However, there's no confirmation about the dating rumors from both parties. Dating or not, fans show their support to Kim Young Kwang and Lee Sung Kyung.

Kim Young Kwang Names Lee Sung Kyung As Ideal Woman

In an interview with Elle Korea, Kim Young Kwang talked about his type and romantic ideals, much to fans' excitement!

Kim Young Kwang shared that he doesn't have a set type when it comes to romance. In dating, he's open to meeting diverse people with unique personalities.

However, he confessed that he's more drawn towards women who are ultra-feminine with a lot of aegyo (cuteness).

Kim Young Kwang then names "Call It Love" actress Lee Sung Kyung as the woman who's closest to his ideal type. On the other hand, the actor is also praised by his co-star for his enigmatic charisma and sophistication.

Catch "Call It Love" on Disney+ every Wednesday! Watch the teaser here:





KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Prominent star Lee Jae Wook transformed into a villain in the latest Netflix thriller film "Kill Bok Soon." Keep on reading to know more about the actor's latest role.

Lee Jae Wook's Cameo in 'Kill Bok Soon' Gains Attention

Spoiler Alert!

Lee Jae Wook gave viewers a sneak peek of his antagonist image in the newly-released movie "Kill Bok Soon."

The K-drama star always gets the audience's attention not just for his looks, but also for his brilliant acting skills. Since he debuted in 2018 through tvN's "Memories of Alhambra," the young actor has already showcased his many sides.

In his previous series, Lee Jae Wook played the protagonist. He became one of the trending stars in 2022 as he played Jang Uk in the hit fantasy-romance drama "Alchemy of Souls."

Meanwhile, Lee Jae Wook once again wowed the viewers with his recent role. In particular, the celebrity made a short appearance in Jeon Do Yeon's "Kill Bok Soon."

Even though he only had less than four minutes of screen time, the "Extraordinary You" star immediately stole the spotlight as he perfectly exhibited his character as a villain.

Lee Jae Wook Steals Spotlight in 'Kill Bok Soon'

The 24-year-old celebrity portrayed the young version of Cha Min Kyu, who runs for M.K. Ent, where Bok Soon works. Award-winning actor Sol Kyung Gu plays the adult version.

While fans enjoyed Lee Jae Wook's cold and sharp visuals, which made him perfect for bringing Cha Min Kyu's character to life, nobody expected he would ace the villain role. Even before his face was revealed, Lee Jae Wook's tone was already threatening and captivating.

Some clips from Lee Jae Wook's scenes were posted online, and people couldn't get over the actor's character. Viewers then showered the actor's performance on various SNS.

'Alchemy of Souls' Stars Lee Jae Wook & Go Yoon Jung to Possibly Reunite in 'Death's Game'

Meanwhile, Lee Jae Wook is being courted to make his appearance in the upcoming star-studded drama "Death's Game." If he accepts the offer, he will work with big stars like Seo In Guk, Super Junior member Siwon, Jang Seung Jo, Sung Hoon, and Park So Dam.

The actor might also reunite with "Alchemy of Souls" co-star Go Yoon Jung, who is also in talks to join the series.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Alchemy of Souls' Couple Lee Jae Wook & Go Yoon Jung To Reunite In New Drama

What can you say about Lee Jae Wook's villain role in "Kill Bok Soon"? Share your thoughts in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
The Kenosha City Council will review and potentially act Monday night on ULINEs latest expansion proposal for a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution center.

The Pleasant Prairie-based shipping business has continued expanding its presence into Wisconsins side of the border since relocating its corporate headquarters from Waukegan in 2010.

ULINEs latest expansion plans encompass a nearly 40-acre parcel at 128th Avenue and 38th Street that was recently rezoned from agriculture use to heavy manufacturing.

The site is immediately west of the current ULINE campus and is set to become a part of the large network of buildings along the I-94 corridor.

The company is seeking a conditional-use permit from Kenosha officials to move forward on its expansion proposal. A public hearing on the permit request is on Mondays agenda.

At the recent Kenosha Plan Commission meeting, members briefly reviewed and discussed the application before advancing it to the City Council with a favorable recommendation.

In his report to commissioners, Rich Schroeder, deputy director of Kenoshas community development department, explained the steps in motion for ULINEs latest expansion plans.

This is the first in what theyre looking at with four future buildings directly west and southwest of their current facility, Schroeder said.

The conditional-use permit application is one of several items the Plan Commission and City Council will take up at upcoming meetings related to the new distribution center.

They will be coming back to the commission with a developers agreement for some improvements that they will need to do on 128th Avenue, Schroeder said.

For now, the municipal-level reviews are focused solely on the distribution center ULINE officials anticipate building in the immediate future on the 40-acre parcel.

The additional phases will be taken up on as-yet undetermined dates in the future. ULINE last year purchased several hundred acres of land adjacent the existing campus.

The other three buildings will come back at a future date when they are ready to build those, Schroeder said.

ULINEs newest distribution center will be notable for the Kenosha area. It will be larger by several thousand square-feet than Amazons fulfillment center on the other side of I-94.
A former Buffalo police officer convicted of ripping off drug dealers will spend more time in prison than almost any dealer he arrested.

Sylvestre Acosta, 51, was sentenced to 45 years and one day in federal prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. Although other officers were snared in the FBI crackdown on corruption in the Buffalo Police Narcotics Squad, Acosta is getting the longest sentence.

A jury convicted Acosta last December of violating the civil rights of drug suspects by using phony information to raid their houses. Federal prosecutors said cash, jewelry and other items were stolen during some of the bogus raids.

"I do not dispute that you may at one time have been a good police officer," Arcara told Acosta, who stood before him in an orange Niagara County Jail jumpsuit. "You sold your honor and your integrity for a few lousy dollars."

In a courtroom packed with emotional supporters, Acosta was handed a sentence much longer than those given to many killers, rapists and major drug traffickers. Court officials said it is believed to be the longest prison term ever given in a Western New York police corruption case.

His attorneys, David J. Seeger and Leigh E. Anderson, plan an appeal.

"(Acosta) was convicted on the testimony of liars and convicts," Seeger said. "Forty-five years in sentencing enhancements . . . simply has no place in a civilized society."

Prosecutor James P. Kennedy noted that Arcara had little leeway in sentencing the former officer. He said a prison term of at least 45 years was mandated by federal laws that carry stiff sentences for carrying a gun while committing civil rights crimes.

Acosta was convicted of three felony counts of carrying his police firearm while committing civil rights violations. Under the law, Arcara said, the first of those convictions carries a mandatory five-year prison term. The second and third convictions each carry mandatory terms of 25 years.

The judge said he received 127 letters in support of Acosta and a petition with 32 signatures on it. Arcara said he has no doubt that Acosta has been a good husband and father to his wife and two children.

But Acosta brought "shame" to his family and his department when he decided to steal from drug dealers, Arcara said.

The remark later drew an angry reaction from Acosta's 19-year-old son, Sylvestre Jr., who stood up in the spectators' gallery after Arcara left the courtroom.

"Dad, you never shamed me!" the younger Acosta, fighting back sobs, shouted to his father. "I love you! I'll always love you!"

Several other family members wept, both inside and outside the courtroom, after the sentencing.

Acosta was convicted of conspiracy and civil rights violations last Dec. 17, following a jury trial.

Seven former members of the city Narcotics Squad have been convicted of corruption crimes in the past four years.

Under the federal court system, there are no early releases on parole. Prisoners can get some time off for good behavior, but most wind up serving at least 90 percent of their prescribed sentences.

Another former narcotics detective, Paul Skinner, 46, was convicted of four felony crimes with Acosta. But Skinner faces a much shorter prison term, in the range of eight to 13 years, because he was convicted on only one count of carrying a firearm during a civil rights crime. Skinner's sentencing is scheduled for May 27.

Authorities said both Skinner and Acosta turned down plea deals that would have had them out of prison in less than three years. Their families insist the two men are scapegoats for others in their department who committed more serious crimes.

When asked why Acosta turned down a plea deal, his attorney, Seeger, said: "To this day, Officer Acosta is adamant he is not guilty."

But when Acosta had his chance to speak in court, he told the judge he had nothing to say. He said his attorneys advised him to remain silent.

Acosta's brother-in-law, Frank Rodriguez, said the sentencing was a painful spectacle for the family, especially for Acosta's wife, Carmen, and her two children.

"They're devastated," Rodriguez said.
In the graphic novel "Soaring: A Story of Courage," Suneel Ram shares his joys, struggles and low points living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder.

To tell his story, Ram, 26, of Amherst, spoke with Anthony Zuiker, the creator of the "CSI" television franchise, who turned Ram's accounts into the book.

The book is published by Zuiker Press, formed by Zuiker and his wife Michelle, a former elementary school teacher in Williamsville, and distributed by Simon & Schuster.

"I believe this book is crucial in spreading awareness about people living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy," Ram said. "Not many people are aware of the immense need for medical research for Duchenne's. We are on the cusp of new treatments being developed that could change the course of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but only if there's enough public support.

"Although there is not a cure, I hope we will find one someday," he said.

Ram also hopes the book, which has been distributed to school districts throughout Western New York, will serve another purpose.

"I hope it will help other people understand what it's like to live with Duchenne's," he said.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a neuromuscular disorder characterized by a progressive weakening of the muscles. The disease, which only targets boys, makes it difficult to sleep and do tasks most take for granted, like dressing or going to the bathroom. The disease saps the strength to run and jump, and for many, as it progresses, the ability to walk.

Having the condition also means being unable to live independently.

The graphic novel, intended for young audiences, discusses Ram's early years when he was diagnosed with the disease, the isolation he felt being apart from other kids that continued into his teenage years, and how a motorized chair was both a blessing and a curse.

Ram speaks lovingly about his parents and other family members. He describes the excitement he felt when his father taught him how to shave, the satisfaction of making his own birthday card for his stepmom and the thrill of riding with his stepfather in a rickety pontoon boat.

Ram musters the courage to talk to a college class about his disease, after a professor had been ill-informed. He writes a letter to a pharmaceutical company after his mom, a medical doctor, pushes for a clinical trial of a promising drug only for Ram to be deemed too old to participate. He doesn't know whether that letter made the difference, but the company reversed its decision.

Ram's story is the 10th book in a Zuiker Press series that the publishing couple started with the intention of sharing their son's struggle with autism. That graphic novel was written and ready to be distributed when the son said he didn't want it published. The couple decided to press on with other stories about difficult issues that impact young people's lives and, in the process, encourage public awareness.

Other novels have dealt with issues that include suicide, school shootings, bullying, divorce, racism and body image. The graphic novel format was chosen as a more attractive format for young readers.

Zuiker is best known as a television writer and producer. He has produced all five editions of the "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" series. His current "full-time job is writing 'CSI Vegas,'" he told The Buffalo News.

He said 5,000 copies of "Soaring: A Story of Courage" are being shipped free, including 200 for schools in every district in Western New York.

"Suneel's light shines through this book," Zuiker said. "It really is a story about courage. This is a young man who never complains. A young man who is funny and tough as nails. I love him to death."

Zuiker interviewed Ram for the book and wrote it in Ram's voice. Ram read the draft and offered suggestions. Zuiker then did a rewrite and provided an editorial script describing the visuals for the artist at Fantoons Animation Studios to draw.

The book was supported financially by Suneel's Light Foundation, founded in 2002 by Neera Gulati, Ram's mother. It supports the development of treatments and research leading to a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as efforts to reduce suffering and promote educational awareness.

Gulati remains optimistic. There is a next generation of promising therapies being created, she said, "and we feel they're going to be more effective."
By Nationa Africa

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga has called off the planned Monday protests even as he welcomes President William Rutos call for dialogue.

Mr Ruto has asked me and Azimio to enter into a constitutional open-ended dialogue with his government to find a resolution to the issues that we have raised about the last years election, key governance and cost of living issues facing our country, Odinga said while addressing the country (Kenya) on Sunday evening.

Here are some of the key points from the address by Mr Odinga:
Jeffrey Bellanca's work van makes a statement. And, as far as the Town of Amherst is concerned, that's the problem.

Bellanca is the publisher of the WNY Gay & Lesbian Yellow Pages, a resource for the region's LGBTQ+ community, and his rainbow flag-striped van features his company's website and phone number in bold lettering.

Over the past 14 months, town employees have cited him seven times for violating town code by parking the van that advertises his business outside his home on Harlem Road, Bellanca said.

Bellanca said he believes the town has targeted him while ignoring similar code violations at other residential properties around Amherst.

He has filed a lawsuit in federal court that accuses the town and two of its employees of discrimination based on his sexual orientation. He is seeking a minimum of $4 million in compensation for the humiliation, damage to his reputation, medical ailments and other harm he's suffered  as well as broad changes in how the town treats its LGBTQ+ population.

"I'm sure it's happening to other people. I need to stand up for the gay community. Somebody's got to put a voice to what's going on," Bellanca said in an interview in the offices of his attorney, Lindy Korn. "This is my only source of income that they're trying to destroy."

The town responded that it enforces its zoning code impartially and without consideration for the type of the business being advertised.

Amherst employees have worked for two years with Bellanca to try to address this issue, Town Attorney Martin Polowy said, but the violations have continued.

"The town supports the LGBTQ+ community and vehemently disagrees with the allegations contained in the complaint," Polowy said in an email. "The business owner in question has repeatedly violated the town code regarding commercial business advertising in a residential area."

Bellanca, 56, lives on Harlem Road near the I-290 interchange. He said his run-ins with the town began around February 2021, when he was cited for parking his company's box truck in his driveway.

The citations said the vehicle was overweight, not up to date with its inspection and had improper commercial advertising for a residential neighborhood.

When he went to Amherst Town Court to respond to the citations, Bellanca said, the town added another violation for his car.

Bellanca said the violations were adjourned on condition that he get the truck off his property, remove his website address from his car and avoid new violations for six months, until December 2021.

After receiving the initial violation, Bellanca went to the town Zoning Board of Appeals to seek permission to keep the truck parked in front of his home. He told board members in April 2021 it was a "last-ditch effort" to save his business, which had lost two-thirds of its revenue from the previous year.

"I'm trying to get some free advertising during this pandemic," Bellanca said. The Zoning Board gave Bellanca a six-week, temporary use permit.

The Gay & Lesbian Yellow Pages are meant to help people find LGBTQ+ friendly businesses, an important consideration at a time when members of this community face harassment and personal threats, Bellanca said.

Bellanca said he got rid of the truck and switched to using a rainbow-wrapped van for his business, featuring "WNYGAYPAGES.COM" in bold, white-on-black lettering, the company's phone number and a boast that this is "Buffalo's #1 Resource Guide."

"It's definitely not an eyesore," Bellanca said last week.

Bellanca said he initially received a citation for the van in January or February 2022. He said it was marked as a second violation, drawing a fine of $250.

Bellanca said he went back to Town Court with photos of company vehicles owned by his neighbors, including one for a plumbing service and one for a business that installs stairlift chairs, parked in their driveways.

In response, Bellanca said a representative of the Town Attorney's Office told him, "You can't ticket everybody all the time."

In May he received another violation, followed by two in June that included one issued during Pride Week.

In all, Bellanca said, he's received seven citations for parking his van at his home  most recently the day before he filed his lawsuit.

Sometimes the van was parked behind his home, he said, and other times he said he was ticketed while home only on a brief lunch break.

He said he's paid $1,500 in fines, with only the most recent $250 citation pending.

Bellanca said he reached out to Korn, an advertiser in his guidebook, because he felt the town is singling him out.

Bellanca and Korn conceded the town has a right to respond to violation complaints and to enforce its zoning codes. But, they insisted, town employees must pay attention to whether the complaints are motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias.

"If there is discrimination, based on those who are complaining, then you can't just keep ignoring that and enforcing the codes," Korn said. "You can't be blind to that."

Bellanca's lawsuit against the town and two employees was filed March 15 in federal court. WKBW-TV previously reported on the filing.

The complaint contends the town, by discriminating against him, has cost him future earnings and caused him emotional distress, mental anxiety, depression and headaches, among other harm.

"I don't even feel safe on my property," Bellanca said.

Bellanca is seeking $1 million for each of four causes of action, as well as punitive damages and attorney's fees.

The lawsuit also states Amherst, unlike other municipalities, doesn't host gay pride celebrations or highlight support for the LGBTQ+ community on its website.

Bellanca wants the town ordered to introduce mandatory anti-discrimination training and programming, with an emphasis on gender identity and expression, and to require follow-up progress reports. Town employees already are required to take the state's anti-harassment and discrimination training, said Polowy, the town attorney.

Polowy said the town has no way of knowing what prompted the complaints about Bellanca, but none showed specific LGBTQ+ animus. He also said the town has issued "dozens" of citations for similar cases of improper advertising on residential properties and will provide this documentation as part of the legal process.

"These violations have nothing to do with the type of business advertised and similar violations are routinely issued for other business owners who advertise in residential districts," Polowy said.

He also pointed out that the state Division of Human Rights had previously dismissed Bellanca's complaint. Bellanca's lawsuit said the division dismissed the complaint over a lack of jurisdiction.

Bellanca and Korn said they don't want to engage in protracted litigation.

"We are reasonable people, and we hope that there can be a way for us to to come to a resolution sooner versus later," Korn said.
At least 22 killed and dozens hospitalized after violent storms and large tornadoes tore through the South and Midwest
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Celanese Co. (NYSE:CE  Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,860,000 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the February 28th total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.7% of the companys stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray bought 1,200 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $117.15 per share, with a total value of $140,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $1,240,501.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Celanese by 3.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 112,161 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $10,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,832 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 131.2% during the third quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 30,298 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 17,191 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Celanese during the third quarter worth about $3,136,000. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Celanese by 43.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 21,098 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 6,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Celanese by 16.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 180,138 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $16,254,000 after acquiring an additional 25,167 shares during the period. 92.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE stock traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.89. 720,435 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,513,955. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Celanese has a 52 week low of $86.71 and a 52 week high of $161.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.31.

Celanese (NYSE:CE  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.12). Celanese had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.91 earnings per share. Celaneses revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Celanese will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Celaneses dividend payout ratio is presently 16.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Celanese from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Celanese from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Celanese in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Celanese from $124.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Celanese from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $127.38.

Celanese Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Celanese Corp. engages in the provision of technology and specialty materials businesses. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow, Acetyl Chain and Other Activities. The Engineered Materials segment includes the engineered materials business, food ingredients business and certain strategic affiliates.

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Apartment Income REIT (NYSE:AIRC  Get Rating) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.35-$2.47 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Apartment Income REIT in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. They issued an outperform rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on Apartment Income REIT from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Apartment Income REIT from a sell rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Apartment Income REIT from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $42.33.

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Apartment Income REIT Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of AIRC opened at $35.81 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $37.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.93. Apartment Income REIT has a 12 month low of $32.51 and a 12 month high of $55.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Apartment Income REIT Dividend Announcement

Insider Buying and Selling

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. Apartment Income REITs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.87%.

In other news, Director Devin Ignatius Murphy acquired 2,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.00 per share, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,386 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $387,124. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Devin Ignatius Murphy purchased 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.00 per share, for a total transaction of $85,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,386 shares of the companys stock, valued at $387,124. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Keith M. Kimmel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $286,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,833.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.89% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Apartment Income REIT

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apartment Income REIT during the 4th quarter worth $53,319,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apartment Income REIT by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,563,449 shares of the companys stock worth $457,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,150 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apartment Income REIT by 130.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,220 shares of the companys stock worth $52,509,000 after buying an additional 556,256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apartment Income REIT by 19.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,369 shares of the companys stock worth $100,044,000 after buying an additional 309,508 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apartment Income REIT by 394.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 227,923 shares of the companys stock worth $9,400,000 after buying an additional 181,793 shares during the period. 99.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apartment Income REIT Company Profile

(Get Rating)

AIR is a real estate investment trust focused on the ownership and management of quality apartment communities located in the largest markets in the United States. AIR is one of the country's largest owners and operators of apartments, with 99 communities in 12 states and the District of Columbia.

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Arconic Co. (NYSE:ARNC  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,020,000 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the February 28th total of 2,530,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 966,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark dropped their price target on Arconic from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Arconic from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arconic from a neutral rating to a sell rating and decreased their price target for the company from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Arconic in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

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Arconic Price Performance

NYSE:ARNC opened at $26.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.41. Arconic has a 1-year low of $16.33 and a 1-year high of $31.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.88 and a beta of 1.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arconic

Arconic ( NYSE:ARNC Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.06. Arconic had a negative net margin of 2.03% and a positive return on equity of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.98 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Arconic will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARNC. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Arconic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,686,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Arconic by 5.3% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 115,513 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in Arconic by 85.7% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 22,520 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 10,393 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Arconic by 6.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 100,243 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 6,055 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arconic by 55.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 56,860 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 20,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the companys stock.

Arconic Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Arconic Corporation manufactures and sells aluminum sheets, plates, extrusions, and architectural products in the United States, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Rolled Products, Building and Construction Systems, and Extrusions.

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Bouchey Financial Group Ltd bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,556 shares of the payment services companys stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 22,653 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 33,110 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $4,467,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 3,480 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,732 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.30% of the companys stock.

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American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,594,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,143,726. The companys 50-day moving average is $169.97 and its 200-day moving average is $155.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $122.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a twelve month low of $130.65 and a twelve month high of $194.00.

American Express ( NYSE:AXP Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $14.25 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The businesss revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

American Express declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase 120,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the payment services company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from American Expresss previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. American Expresss payout ratio is 21.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,054.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total value of $2,635,280.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,557 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,270,054.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,361 shares of company stock worth $8,773,678. Insiders own 0.11% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised American Express from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $186.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $158.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on American Express from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $175.44.

American Express 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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Total Energy Services (TSE:TOT  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by Canaccord Genuity Group from C$16.00 to C$12.50 in a research note published on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Total Energy Services from C$16.00 to C$15.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th.

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Total Energy Services Stock Performance

Total Energy Services stock opened at C$8.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.82. The company has a market capitalization of C$342.71 million, a PE ratio of 9.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 2.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$8.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$8.32. Total Energy Services has a twelve month low of C$6.12 and a twelve month high of C$9.87.

Total Energy Services Increases Dividend

Insider Activity at Total Energy Services

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is an increase from Total Energy Servicess previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Total Energy Servicess dividend payout ratio is 36.36%.

In related news, Senior Officer Yuliya Gorbach purchased 4,762 shares of Total Energy Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$7.58 per share, for a total transaction of C$36,095.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,281 shares of the companys stock, valued at C$555,469.98. In other Total Energy Services news, Director Daniel Kim Halyk acquired 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$8.30 per share, for a total transaction of C$41,500.00. Also, Senior Officer Yuliya Gorbach acquired 4,762 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$7.58 per share, for a total transaction of C$36,095.96. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 73,281 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately C$555,469.98. Insiders have purchased 126,762 shares of company stock worth $1,087,285 over the last 90 days. 6.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Total Energy Services Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Total Energy Services Inc provides various products and services to the oil and natural gas industry primarily in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Contract Drilling Services, Rentals and Transportation Services, Compression and Process Services and Well Servicing.

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Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP  Get Rating) had its target price decreased by Canaccord Genuity Group from C$15.00 to C$14.50 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

WCP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays set a C$14.00 target price on shares of Whitecap Resources and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$15.00 to C$15.50 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$16.50 to C$17.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$13.50 to C$14.00 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$14.00 to C$12.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of C$14.83.

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Whitecap Resources Stock Performance

Whitecap Resources stock opened at C$10.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 37.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$10.53 and a 200-day moving average of C$10.30. The firm has a market cap of C$6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.86, a P/E/G ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 2.91. Whitecap Resources has a 1-year low of C$7.70 and a 1-year high of C$12.71.

Whitecap Resources Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at Whitecap Resources

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 17th will be given a $0.0483 dividend. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. This is a boost from Whitecap Resourcess previous monthly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. Whitecap Resourcess payout ratio is 21.40%.

In other Whitecap Resources news, Director Grant Bradley Fagerheim purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$10.14 per share, with a total value of C$101,400.00. Insiders purchased a total of 18,460 shares of company stock valued at $186,555 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the companys stock.

Whitecap Resources Company Profile

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Whitecap Resources Inc, oil and gas company, acquires and develops petroleum and natural gas properties in Canada. Its principal properties are located in West Central Alberta, British Columbia, Southeast Saskatchewan, West Central Saskatchewan, and Southwest Saskatchewan. As of February 14, 2022, it had a total proved plus probable reserves of 701,829 thousand barrels of oil equivalent.

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Coterra Energy (NYSE:CTRA  Get Rating) and Stratex Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:STTX  Get Rating) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Coterra Energy and Stratex Oil & Gas, as reported by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Coterra Energy 1 16 3 0 2.10 Stratex Oil & Gas 0 0 0 0 N/A

Coterra Energy presently has a consensus price target of $30.25, indicating a potential upside of 23.27%. Given Coterra Energys higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Coterra Energy is more favorable than Stratex Oil & Gas.

Volatility & Risk

Profitability

Coterra Energy has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stratex Oil & Gas has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

This table compares Coterra Energy and Stratex Oil & Gas net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Coterra Energy 44.91% 31.29% 18.92% Stratex Oil & Gas N/A N/A N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Coterra Energy and Stratex Oil & Gas gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Coterra Energy $9.05 billion 2.08 $4.07 billion $5.11 4.80 Stratex Oil & Gas N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Coterra Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Stratex Oil & Gas.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.7% of Coterra Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Coterra Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Coterra Energy beats Stratex Oil & Gas on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coterra Energy

(Get Rating)

Coterra Energy Inc. is a diversified energy company, which engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. Its portfolio includes projects in the Permian Basin, the Marcellus Shale, and the Anadarko Basin. The company was renamed to Coterra Energy Inc. on October 1, 2021 in connection with the merger involving Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Cimarex Energy Co. Coterra Energy was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

About Stratex Oil & Gas

(Get Rating)

Stratex Oil & Gas Holdings, Inc. engages in the exploitation, exploration, development of oil and gas properties. Its portfolio includes projects in Texas, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, North Dakota, and Utah. The company was founded on January 6, 1989 and is headquartered in Waterbury, CT.

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Former Buffalo narcotics detective Sylvestre Sly Acosta did not know whether he would see the outside world again after he was convicted of stealing money and jewelry from suspected drug dealers.

In 2005, at the age of 51, Acosta received a 45-year prison sentence under a since changed federal law that dramatically increased some prison terms, including for police officers convicted of civil rights crimes while carrying firearms. It was the longest sentence ever imposed in a police corruption case in Western New York  sending Acosta to prison for a term longer than most convicted killers, rapists and drug traffickers receive.

ACOSTA RECEIVES 45 YEARS IN JAIL EX-NARCOTICS DETECTIVE RIPPED OFF DRUG DEALERS A former Buffalo police officer convicted of ripping off drug dealers will spend more time in prison than almost any dealer he arrested. Sylvestre Acosta, 51, was sentenced to 45 years and one day in federal prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. Although other officers were snared in the FBI crackdown on corruption in the Buffalo

Acosta, among a group of detectives busted for lying to get search warrants and stealing from suspected drug dealers, was the only one to get a decades-long prison term after he turned down a plea deal and was convicted of crimes that occurred while wearing his department-issued gun.

But Acosta, who continues to maintain his innocence, never stopped fighting a prison term his lawyers and family called unfair. An attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to consider his case was turned down in 2008.

Then, three years ago, with little fanfare, Acosta walked out of prison a free man after a Supreme Court ruling in a different case cleared the way for a shorter sentence. He has been quietly living in South Buffalo since.

Now, speaking for the first time since his release, albeit reluctantly, Acosta, 68, told The Buffalo News he has never regretted his decision to turn down a plea deal that would have placed him in prison for 2 years.

Why?

I didnt do anything, Acosta said.

A sentence for life

Acosta's long prison sentence was unusual  an effective life sentence for a crime that landed other detectives in prison for just just a few years. He wasn't accused of using the gun for force, but faced the mandatory prison sentence because he was wearing his department-issued gun when he stole from victims.

Officers today would not face the same penalty. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an unrelated case, determined the law Acosta was sentenced under was too broad and vague when it came to defining a crime of violence. In addition to the Supreme Court's decision, Congress also took steps to change the sentencing requirements on officer firearms charges.

Acosta petitioned federal court in Buffalo and was re-sentenced to time already served, 14 years and nine months, sparing him more than three additional decades behind bars.

Acosta says the governments case was based on lies from drug dealers, drug users, prostitutes and a former narcotics detective who cooperated with the FBI to shorten his own time in prison.

The chief prosecutor in the case offered a different take. He says that even drug dealers and people on the fringes of society should not be victimized by corrupt police.

What was gratifying about this investigation, it gave a voice to people who might not otherwise have had a voice, said retired Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, adding that the vast majority of police officers he worked with over three decades were good and decent people.

The federal investigation of the Buffalo Police narcotics squad started in 1993 and continued for years. When it was over, Acosta was not the only one sent to prison.

Six other former narcotics detectives who stole thousands of dollars from drug dealers ended up behind bars with much shorter sentences. Another was acquitted and fired, and a ninth accepted a deal that required him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, pay a $2,500 fine and retire.

Yet it was Acostas unheard of prison sentence that drew the most public attention.

Acostas December 2004 trial with fellow narcotics detective Paul Skinner ended with a jury finding Acosta guilty of seven felonies and Skinner guilty of four. The charges included deprivation of civil rights, conspiracy and using or carrying a firearm.

Three of Acosta's convictions were for firearms linked to violating civil rights. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara was required to sentence Acosta to five years on the first firearms count and a minimum of 20 years on each of the two subsequent counts, all to be served consecutively. Acosta received 45 years on those three counts and one additional day of imprisonment for his other convictions.

Because Skinner was found guilty of only one firearms conviction, he received a prison sentence of seven years and nine months.

And while many in law enforcement cheered the federal governments success in putting dirty cops behind bars, some expressed concern over how the firearms law would impact police required by law to carry a gun.

The U.S. Attorneys Office pointed out that its case did not involve officers using their weapons to carry out lawful police duties.

REFUSING PLEA DEAL TO COST ACOSTA DRUG DETECTIVE FACES AT LEAST 60-YEAR TERM Sylvestre Sly Acosta, one of two former Buffalo Police narcotics detectives convicted in U.S. District Court Friday, will have a lifetime to wonder if he made the right decision going to trial. Acosta, found guilty of conspiracy and civil rights violations along with fellow Narcotics Squad Detective Paul Skinner, turned down a plea bargain that would have given him

Acosta defends himself

A native of Puerto Rico, Acosta fulfilled a lifelong dream when he joined the Buffalo Police Department in the early 1980s, becoming one of the forces first Hispanic officers.

Throughout his career, he earned commendations and never took a sick day, details that came out during his trial.

Acosta said his appointment to a special detail to target widespread drug dealing on the West Side in the late 1980s represented a high point in his career. The unit was put together by Lt. Michael McCarthy, a tough, no-nonsense cop, whom Acosta respected.

I had already worked on the streets. I helped familiarize others assigned to this squad to learn the lingo and know what street drugs looked like, Acosta said.

But to prosecutors, Acosta was a liar and a thief.

At his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Acosta and other detectives provided false information to obtain search warrants. With those flawed warrants, they gained access to the homes of drug suspects and stole money, jewelry and other valuables. One of the victims testified that a lions head ring recovered from an FBI raid at Acostas home had been stolen from him. FBI agents had found the unusual ring inside a cigarette pack in Acostas garage.

Use your common sense, Kennedy told the jury. How many of you keep your valuable jewelry in your garage? In a cigarette pack?

Acosta did not take the stand to defend himself, but he is now offering an explanation on how he happened to possess not one, but two identical lions head rings.

The rings, he said, were given to him through other police to hold onto for safekeeping. Despite the government's description of the rings as valuable, Acosta and two other detectives, now retired, described them as inexpensive trinkets. Acosta contends the rings were not obtained illegally.

When he was transferred, Acosta said he hurriedly packed them up with other work-related items and brought them home. One of the matching rings ended up in the garage, and the other in his house.

Following his arrest, he said he turned over the second ring to his attorney. The News was given the name of the former detective who reportedly obtained a bag of lion's head rings during a chase with a suspect, but was unable to confirm the account.

Besides the ring found in the garage, some of the most damaging testimony at Acosta's trial came from former narcotics detective Rene Gil, one of the governments main witnesses.

FORMER OFFICER GIVES INSIDE LOOK AT EXTENT OF CORRUPTION Rene Gil knows all about crooked cops in the Buffalo Police Narcotics Unit. He was one of them. Gil, 45, an ex-cop and admitted cocaine trafficker, offered a disturbing inside look at police corruption Monday while appearing as a witness in the federal trial of suspended Detectives Paul D. Skinner and Sylvestre Acosta. Testifying for more than four hours,

Jury given heads-up

When Kennedy informed jury members they would be hearing from a former detective who was cooperating with the government, he warned them about Gils character.

You may find (Gil) to be a very unsavory character, but he is someone who worked with these two defendants every day  for years, Kennedy said.

Gil had taken a plea deal in 2002 admitting that he was a cocaine trafficker while at the same time working as a narcotics detective.

During his more than four hours of testimony, Gil told how some narcotics detectives stole money on raids, planted drugs on suspects and lied to judges to get search warrants. Stolen money, Gil said, would sometimes be divvied up between him, Acosta, Paul Skinner and his brother Gerald Skinner, also a narcotics detective.

Gerald Skinner took a pass on the trial. He instead accepted a plea deal that put him behind bars for 30 months, rather than face the possibility of a 105-year sentence, if convicted.

Acosta declined to comment on the Skinners and insisted he never stole from drug dealers or lied to obtain search warrants.

2 SUSPENDED POLICE DRUG INVESTIGATORS' TRIAL BEGINS Four of their former colleagues from the Buffalo Police Narcotics Unit are already in federal prison. A fifth took a plea deal and awaits sentencing. A sixth faces charges that he provided information to a drug trafficker. On Tuesday, Paul Skinner and Sylvestre Acosta became the latest former Buffalo drug investigators to face trial in federal court. The two

A tortured relationship

Acosta says he had nothing to do with Gil and yet says he once loaned him $350 to help him pay his mortgage. Any money that ever exchanged hands between them, Acosta said, was in the repayment of that loan.

Everybody says Gil was a snitch on others. Personally, I dont consider him a snitch on me. I consider him a liar, Acosta said. I lost 14 years of my life on a lie from Rene Gil.

But in Acosta's unsuccessful 2008 appeal of his sentence, his defense team reached out to Gil for help.

Acosta provided The News with Gil's statement that was included in the appeal. Gil stated that Acosta had no direct knowledge of the information given in search warrants for homes on Potomac Avenue and West Delavan Avenue.

Acosta says that and other statements by Gil should have exonerated him. At Acosta's trial, under questioning from a defense lawyer, Gil testified he had pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges in Florida after taking a job at a pawn shop.

The News reached Rene Gil and his son Rene Gil Jr. and asked them about the statement. They did not deny he made the statement, but added that none of the remarks should be perceived as a retraction to his testimony.

In 2006, Gil was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison after Kennedy requested leniency.

A free man

Western District Federal Public Defender Marianne Mariano, who filed the brief to vacate the 45-year sentence on the firearms charges, said the U.S. Supreme Courts 2019 ruling effectively made the sentence against Acosta unconstitutional.

The sentence for what he was convicted of was grossly unfair. The law was very draconian and the action from the Supreme Court resulted in vacating an unjust sentence, Mariano said.

Anthony ORourke, a University at Buffalo Law School professor whose focuses include inequality in the criminal justice system, said the re-sentencing of Acosta was not unusual and, in fact, the government was required to address it.

When someones sentence was increased because of an unconstitutionally vague statute, it is constitutionally required that they be resentenced, ORourke said. So it is not unusual for a sentence to be reduced under the circumstances here.

Kennedy, who would go on to serve as the U.S. Attorney in the Western District, said he does not have any issues with the Supreme Courts decision.

I accept the courts interpretation of the law. Sly has paid his debt to society and I wish him nothing but the best, Kennedy said.

But Kennedy makes no apologizes for prosecuting Acosta and other narcotics detectives. He says they intentionally went after people who lacked credibility.

They were perfect victims, by and large, small-time drug dealers, prostitutes and otherwise marginalized people in our community. Who was going to believe them when they spoke against police officers, some who were highly decorated? Kennedy said.

When asked about his time in prison, Acosta said, I dont even think about it. This is a drop dead issue. It is done and over with.

Acosta, who receives a police pension, said he does not work and spends his time with loved ones.

My hobby is to be with my family, he said.
General American Investors Company, Inc. (NYSE:GAM  Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,300 shares, an increase of 22.2% from the February 28th total of 2,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 22,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

General American Investors Stock Up 1.8 %

GAM traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.91. The companys stock had a trading volume of 31,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,852. The companys 50-day moving average is $38.25 and its 200-day moving average is $36.93. General American Investors has a 52 week low of $33.23 and a 52 week high of $42.92.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On General American Investors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Karpus Management Inc. grew its stake in General American Investors by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Karpus Management Inc. now owns 30,000 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP increased its stake in shares of General American Investors by 0.6% during the second quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 329,858 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General American Investors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $343,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in General American Investors by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 521,590 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $18,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,137 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in General American Investors by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 40,102 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $1,450,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. 22.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About General American Investors

General American Investors Company, Inc is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The primary objective of the Company is long-term capital appreciation. The Company invests principally in common stocks. The Company may purchase and write (sell) put and call options. The Company has internally managed a global portfolio of investments, consisting of common stocks of the United States companies, including international and private securities.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE:KR  Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

KR has been the topic of several other reports. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. MKM Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Kroger from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 5th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kroger from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Kroger from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $53.65.

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Kroger Stock Performance

NYSE KR opened at $49.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $35.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.47. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $45.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.83. Kroger has a twelve month low of $41.81 and a twelve month high of $62.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Kroger Announces Dividend

Kroger ( NYSE:KR Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $34.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $34.89 billion. Kroger had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kroger will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Krogers payout ratio is 33.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total transaction of $137,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 40,147 shares in the company, valued at $1,842,747.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.90, for a total value of $137,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,147 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,842,747.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gary Millerchip sold 30,182 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total transaction of $1,475,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 185,423 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,063,476.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,481 shares of company stock worth $4,695,775 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.35% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KR. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kroger in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.03% of the companys stock.

About Kroger

(Get Rating)

The Kroger Co engages in the operation of supermarkets and multi-department stores. Its brands include Big K, Check This Out?, Heritage Farm, Simple Truth, and Simple Truth Organic. The company was founded by Barney Kroger in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL  Get Rating) had its target price reduced by Susquehanna from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. They currently have a positive rating on the stock.

RCL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Royal Caribbean Cruises from an overweight rating to an underweight rating and cut their price target for the company from $106.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $76.62.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.9 %

RCL stock opened at $65.30 on Wednesday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $68.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.43. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $31.09 and a 1-year high of $87.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises ( NYSE:RCL Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported ($1.12) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.37) by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a negative return on equity of 56.86% and a negative net margin of 24.39%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 165.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($4.78) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 21.8% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,553 shares of the companys stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 30,004 shares of the companys stock worth $2,514,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,806 shares of the companys stock worth $3,000,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 65.5% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 54,096 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,532,000 after purchasing an additional 21,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.27% of the companys stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

(Get Rating)

Royal Caribbean Group is a cruise company, which engages in the ownership and operation of the following global cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. The firm also holds interest in TUI Cruises GmbH, which operates the German brands TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

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In the episode 9 of Mnet's survival program "Boys Planet," contestants have now entered their third mission, "Artist Battle," where they performed their newly produced songs.

Read more to know further details.

'Boys Planet' Episode 9: Contestants Enter Third Mission 'Artist Battle,' Program Reveals Partial Global Vote Rankings

On March 30, the episode 9 of "Boys Planet" has been released. The 28 remaining competitors held a guerilla showcase before their official "Artist Battle" mission, which was the main focus of the episode.

Previously, Episode 8 introduced the program's fifth Star Master SHINee Key. The idol announced the third mission, and explained how all participants must showcase their creativity in music.

Key also elaborated that contestants will also be receiving brand new songs, which were produced by top-notch producers in the industry.

"To be successful in this quest, you must show your musical talent. You will choreograph performances using brand-new songs that have been written by renowned producers." "You'll need to demonstrate your creativity in production, choreography, and rapping in order to exhibit your versatility as an all-arounder."

The trainees' loved ones and friends were revealed to be the Star Creators for this guerrilla exhibition. The participants were tricked into thinking that this presentation was a midway check-in, with their families serving as the judges, since there were so many influential individuals in the crowd.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Boys Planet Episode 8 Recap: SHINee Key Appears As 5th Star Master, 3rd Mission Announced

After that, they received performance evaluations from their relatives, which turned out to be heartwarming letters.

Episode 9 also featured two original song performances from the "Artist Battle" Mission. The groups who performed where NINTYSIX and En Butter.

Stage Performances

"Super Charger" by NINTYSIX (Sentimental Hip Hop)

Performed by Haruto (852 points / 1st place), Cha Woong Ki, Seo Won, Wang Zi Hao, Ollie, Takuto

"En Garde" by En Butter (Funk Pop)

Performed by Kim Gyu Vin (748 points / 1st place), Park Gun Wook, Lee Hoe Taek, Lee Seung Hwan, Kum Jun Hyeon, Hiroto

After the episode, "Boys Planet" showcased a glimpse of their partial third global vote results. It was revealed that among 18 out of 28 trainees joining the final live broadcast, five contestants were unveiled.

See the partial rankings below:

14. Park Han Bin

15. Lee Jeong Hyeon

16. Kim Gyu Vin

17. Yoo Seung Eon

18. Cha Woong Ki

As for the current top nine finalists, who are part of the debut lineup, contestants Keita placed at No. 6, while Ricky earned his place at No.7.

On April 7, at 10 a.m. KST, the top 18 rankings will be announced on the next Survivor Announcement ceremony and will officially end its third global voting period.

"Boys Planet" episode 10 will be broadcasted on April 6, which will feature the final scores of Artist Battle Mission, increasing the anticipation from viewers.

Are you ready for the remaining performances? Let us know in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has organised an introductory meeting for the Sectoral Business Groups, following the reformation of five groups that operate under its umbrella.

The meeting sought to bolster communication within the emirate's private sector and identify challenges and opportunities for development in order to boost economic activity. To achieve this, the SCCI is planning to launch effective and tailored programmes for each business group to improve their performance.

Held at the Chamber's headquarters, the business gathering was attended by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI, Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi, Director-General of SCCI, and Abdulaziz Mohammed Shattaf, Assistant Director-General of the Communication and Business Sector at the Sharjah Chamber.

Also present were Ibrahim Rashid Al Jarwan, Director of the Economic Relations and Marketing Department, SCCI, in addition to the heads of sectoral business groups, as well as more than 50 representatives of various economic sectors in Sharjah.

Key achievements

During the meeting, participants discussed the significant accomplishments made by the sectoral business groups in Sharjah across various sectors including real estate, industry, hotels, shopping centers, used car, food trade and industry, and hotel apartments.

The new formation plans were also introduced, along with highlighting the most notable challenges faced by these sectors and the solutions to overcome them in order to achieve the business sectors interests in the emirate and enhance its contribution to all activities that support Sharjahs comprehensive development process.

Al Owais stressed that Sharjah Chamber is fully committed to supporting the sectoral business groups operating under its umbrella. He said that the Chamber will unveil new developments in the coming days, including the formation of new sectoral groups that will focus on modern and diverse economic sectors in line with the rapidly developing economic scene of the Emirate of Sharjah, which is guided by the visionary leadership of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

Ideal opportunity

Al Owais emphasised that the meeting provided an ideal opportunity to energise efforts, monitor and analyse the current situation of economic sectors in Sharjah, and explore opportunities for cooperation and coordination with relevant authorities to ensure the interests of member economic establishments. Additionally, it sought to develop communication mechanisms and collaboration with sectoral groups, as well as launch initiatives that serve the interests of the local economic community.

Al Awadhi commended the business groups for their cooperation, suggestions, and initiatives that enable the Chamber to serve the private sector effectively and enhance the business environment in Sharjah, leading to positive impacts on the emirate's economy.

Shattaf clarified that the sectoral business groups are considered the most effective means of communication between the business sector, the Chamber, and the public sector, adding that they help form an integrated structure that meets the needs and aspirations of the economic sectors.

Encouraging investment

He noted that the main objective of establishing such groups is to identify the current status of the sectors concerned, improve the performance of economic activity, and launch initiatives that support the private sector and its role in the economic community. Additionally, these groups continue to encourage investment and inform the associate members of the Chamber about available opportunities.

The business groups assume various responsibilities, including setting goals, developing plans for the development of the concerned sector, and communicating with partners affiliated with the sector, both local and international governmental and civil institutions and bodies, through the Chamber's channels.

They also study laws, provide views and recommendations on those laws and legislation, and propose draft laws in cooperation with the competent authorities in the Chamber. Additionally, these groups organise events and launch activities that serve the sectors concerned with the business groups.-- TradeArabia News Service
As state budget talks continue past Saturday's deadline, lawmakers on Monday are expected to approve a temporary spending measure needed to make sure state employees don't miss a paycheck.

However, because the State Legislature is required to pass this stopgap budget "extender" without making any changes, Republicans in Albany are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to use her leverage to include bail reform language in the bill.

"We don't make a habit of complimenting the governor. But I hope she sticks to her guns and, hopefully, she does put this piece of public policy in the extender," Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, an Oswego County Republican, told reporters Friday.

Stalled by bail and housing, Albany budget negotiations drag past deadline State lawmakers were all but certain to miss a midnight Friday deadline to pass an on-time budget, the negotiations stalled by two contentious items at the top of Gov. Kathy Hochuls agenda: bail reform and housing growth.

The offices of the governor and of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, on Sunday declined to directly address the question of the extender bill's language.

But at least one Buffalo-area state legislator said he doesn't expect to see the bail reform plan in this initial short-term spending bill.

"No, I don't think it's likely," said State Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, on Sunday.

The Democratic governor and legislative leaders are in this position because they missed Saturday's deadline to approve New York's 2023-24 budget.

In addition to the usual negotiations over how much money the state spends  and what it spends it on  lawmakers are wrangling over two main gubernatorial priorities.

One, Hochul's plan to build 800,000 units of housing in New York over a decade, is hung up on a provision that would allow developers to bypass local zoning restrictions if housing growth doesn't occur fast enough in a given community.

The second is the hot-button issue of bail reform.

Hochul wants to amend a bail reform law passed four years ago that eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and some nonviolent felony charges.

Hochul  who also made amending the law a top priority in 2022 budget talks  this year is trying to change a provision she believes creates confusion for judges deciding whether to set bail for criminal defendants.

The governor wants to modify part of the 2019 law requiring judges to use the "least restrictive" means to ensure a defendant returns to court.

She said this would avoid confusion with other parts of the law giving judges greater discretion over whether to require bail in violent felony or serious misdemeanor cases.

Democrats who control the Assembly and Senate have resisted making further changes to the law and omitted Hochuls proposal from their one-house budget plans released in mid-March.

Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a North Tonawanda Republican, on Friday slammed the Democratic-led Legislature for holding up the budget over Hochul's proposed change to the the bail law.

Ortt offered tentative support for an extender with no additional language or with the bail reform plan included. Republicans made crime an issue in the 2022 state elections and have called for an overhaul of the 2019 bail reform law.

"We are not looking to shut the state government down," Ortt told reporters. "And if that change was in there that would be something  while not far enough as far as I'd like to see it  but it's a move in the right direction."

With Saturday's budget deadline come and gone, lawmakers must pass an extender bill by the end of Monday if they want to make sure state operations continue and state employees get paid.

Michael Whyland, a Heastie spokesman, did not comment on what language Assembly Democrats expect the governor to include in her extender bill.

"We are still discussing the budget and expect to pass an extender on Monday," he said in an email Sunday.

Hochul spokesman Matthew Janiszewski also expressed confidence in the timely approval of a stopgap spending measure.

He did not directly comment on the inclusion of bail reform in the governor's extender and, instead, referred to Hochul's remarks Friday on her ongoing push for changes to the 2019 bail reform law.

"I'm very clear on what I'm looking for. Im looking to restore people's confidence in our system," she said at a news conference at the State Capitol.

Ryan noted legislative rules require the Assembly and Senate to accept, or reject, the governor's extender bill as is. But he said he anticipates Hochul will send a "clean" bill without bail reform.

"It would be highly unusual," Ryan said, for the governor at this early point in the process to force lawmakers to accept her plan or risk state employees going without a paycheck.

"Right now, I think all sides are negotiating in good faith," said Ryan.

He further expressed hope the budget is approved by Wednesday afternoon before the Passover and Easter holidays would bring a temporary halt to budget talks.

News Albany Bureau Chief Chris Bragg contributed to this report.
Scientists have concluded that sweeping changes are needed to avoid environmental disaster in the near future.

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.

The most recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that world leaders will have to massively fast-track climate efforts to prevent irreversible consequences, from sea-level rise and heatwaves to melting polar ice caps.

For thousands of Western New Yorkers, however, some of those efforts  such as an en masse transition to electric vehicles and heat systems  raise a vital regional question: How will these technologies work in winter weather?

The answer is optimistic, many scientists and climate activists say, though not without risk.

New York State's aggressive and much-debated climate plan calls for phasing out fossil fuels in power plants, home heating systems and transportation over the next 30 years.

'A cascading failure': Blizzard that left tens of thousands without heat hit some in Buffalo harder While there is scant data available, the historic storm appears to have had a particularly devastating impact on Black people in the city.

Full implementation, over the long term, could keep Buffalo homes warm for days, even during long winter power failures, according to a new report by the Brooklyn-based think tank Win Climate. Before that point, however, residents will need to adapt to new technologies and mindsets, while the state will need to massively expand its electrical grid.

This is such a hopeful message, said Ellen Banks, the conservation chair for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, during a news conference to announce the report. Weve been hearing so many hopeless messages since December.

According to reports by the New York Independent System Operator, the apolitical organization that oversees New Yorks electric grid, electricity in the state is already quite reliable at a time when nationwide blackouts have surged in frequency and duration. A recent analysis by The Wall Street Journal found that major blackout events increased by more than 60% between 2015 and 2020.

Downed power lines, equipment failures and power plant disruptions can all lead to outages during storms. So, too, can unexpected spikes in consumer demand.

The Christmas weekend blizzard caused power failures on both fronts: In the Buffalo Niagara region, downed power lines and frozen substations cut off power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses. Across huge swaths of the U.S. South and Northeast, homes also lost electricity when low temperatures disrupted operations at coal and gas power plants, and demand surged far beyond typical levels.

Investments in resilience

New Yorks climate plan will address many of those failings, climate activists have argued as part of a last-minute push to bolster the more aggressive proposals in the state climate plan. On Wednesday, a coalition of local climate and progressive groups, including PUSH Buffalo, Open Buffalo and the Sierra Club, unveiled a new report that underscores the plans investments in the grid. One day later, statewide advocates held a news conference that addressed, among other topics, reliability issues and electrification.

New Yorks landmark 2019 climate act mandates that the state economy slash greenhouse gas emissions to 85% below 1990 levels by 2050, and achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. A group called the Climate Action Council, comprising state agency officials, scientists and representatives from both environmental and industry organizations, spent three years developing a plan for meeting those goals.

The Climate Action Council spent a tremendous amount of effort looking at this issue of reliability, said Cornell University ecologist Robert Howarth, who served on the council and helped draft the state plan. And we would not have put this forward as the proposal for the state if we were not 100% convinced that it can be done.  This plan is doable, it is not high risk at all.

Among other measures, the states climate plan  and many of the proposals now before the governor and state legislature  would drive substantial new investments in transmission and distribution networks, on top of existing state and federal funds. National Grid is already upgrading its network to meet the state's climate goals, a company representative told the Buffalo Common Council in March, with a focus on "enhancing grid resiliency" during "extreme weather events."

The plan will also incentivize, and later require, the adoption of all-electric heating systems and personal vehicles. In combination, the two technologies can continue to heat homes long after the power goes out, according to local climate groups Wednesday report. The 32-page analysis was conducted by Win Climate, a New York City-based collective of data scientists, and funded by a small, progressive grant-making organization called the Spring Street Climate Fund.

National Grid: Snow and high wind overwhelmed Buffalo substations, but power now restored "Weve never had this. Even though we get snow in Buffalo, from November to March, weve never had it blow to the degree it did," said Kenneth Kujawa, National Grid regional director for Western New York.

Electric heating systems, such as air or geothermal heat pumps, operate well in temperatures as cold as minus-11 degrees. They can also, unlike gas furnaces, run off a midsized electric car battery. Win Climate calculates that in homes that are well-sealed and insulated  another major emphasis of the state climate plan  EV-powered heat pumps can keep residents warm for days without power, even during prolonged cold spells.

Of course, that requires homeowners and landlords take advantage of weatherization programs and incentives.

A recent regulatory filing by the state Utility Intervention Unit, which relays consumer concerns to utility companies and policymakers, said that full electrification may prove unsafe or untenable in the states coldest and most outage-prone regions.

But for Dawn Wells-Clyburn, the executive director of PUSH Buffalo, the plan represents an opportunity to better protect the regions low-income communities and communities of color, which bear the brunt of both climate change and environmental pollution.

When you look at the folks who passed away during the blizzard, most of them represented communities of color, Wells-Clyburn said. I think what we're saying is, let's get the investment, get prepared, have the grid ready, so that  these communities won't be impacted severely in the way that they have been for years.

Supply and demand

The rapid electrification of New Yorks economy could also strain the electric grid in other ways  introducing new and separate issues around winter storm preparedness.

The state climate plan aims to replace fossil fuel power plants with renewable sources at the same time that millions of newly electric buildings and vehicles plug into the grid. To keep up with that surge in demand, New York will need to create, store and move far more electricity, with no project delays or other unplanned complications.

Without such delays that transition is possible over the next seven years, according to Kevin Lanahan, vice president for external affairs and corporate communications at the New York Independent System Operator. Planning work has already begun, for instance, on a new high-voltage, underground cable connecting New York City with Canadian clean energy sources.

Beyond 2030, however, the agency expects winter energy demand to spike to unprecedented levels. That will require a massive expansion of the system, as well as new  and as of now, nonexistent  battery technologies that can store electricity for long periods of time to compensate for the intermittency of wind and solar sources.

In conversations with journalists and policymakers, the agency has emphasized that there may be a future need for flexibility should supply and demand get too far out of sync. Emergency braking measures are built into both the climate plan and existing statute.

Were cleaning up and transitioning the system pursuant to state mandates, Lanahan said. We just want to make sure were doing so while maintaining reliability in a smart, responsible fashion.

Experts widely agree that a safe, reliable transition to clean energy is possible, regardless of winter weather.

In a 2021 policy paper, representatives from 19 grid operators across the eastern and central U.S., including the New York Independent System Operator, specified that technical challenges to greening and expanding the grid should not serve as a barrier.

Climate activists blame fossil fuel industry groups for instigating what they call undue public concern about grid reliability in winter weather.

I don't think they've been bashful about using their resources to tell their version of the story, said Clarke Gocker, PUSH Buffalos director of policy and strategy. Theyve cast doubt on the ability of the energy system to accommodate this transition  and then on the impact it could have on workers and communities.
New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) A court here has ordered framing charges of rioting and arson against five people for allegedly setting ablaze a mosque during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying their identification through a video cannot be termed illegal or inadmissible in evidence at this stage.

Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Ankit, Sourabh Sharma, Rohit, Rahul Kumar and Sachin, who were accused of being part of a riotous mob that torched Allah Wali Masjid at Shahid Bhagat Singh Colony here in February 2020.

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"Identification of the accused through video cannot be termed as illegal or inadmissible in evidence. The same would require to be appreciated on the basis of the overall situation behind such identification and this exercise can be done only after the trial, the judge said.

ASJ Pramachala also rejected the ground of discharge sought in the absence of a test identification parade (TIP), saying TIP is a matter of prudence and an additional safeguard for the prosecution's case and its absence cannot be used by the accused for seeking discharge.

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I find that accused persons...(are) liable to be tried for offences punishable under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 427 (punishment for committing mischief and thereby causing loss or damage to the amount of Rs fifty or upwards), 435 (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to an amount of 100 rupees or upwards), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc.) and 450 (house-trespass in order to the committing of any offence punishable with imprisonment for life) of the Indian Penal Code, the court said in its order passed on March 31.

The judge also put on trial all accused persons for the offences of being a part of an unlawful assembly and disobedience to an order promulgated by a public servant.

"The common object of this mob is well apparent from the evidence i.e, to destroy the mosque, the judge said.

Noting that the statement of a witness that Rohit was instigating others to set ablaze the mosque and other houses, the judge additionally put him on trial for the offence of abetment.

According to the evidence before the court, the accused persons were identified as part of the riotous mob that vandalised and set ablaze the mosque on February 24 and 25, 2020, the judge said.

The riots in northeast Delhi had left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati (Assam) [India], April 2 (ANI): The 28th Annual Day of Airports Authority of India (AAI) was celebrated on April 1 at the Regional Headquarters, North East Region, Guwahati with full enthusiasm by the employees and their participation in a function held in Guwahati.

The Airports Authority of India was constituted by an Act of Parliament and came into being on April 1st, 1995 by merging the erstwhile National Airports Authority and the International Airports Authority of India.

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The merger brought into existence a single Organization entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and in airspace in the country.

All the Heads of the Department and the employees assembled where Sanmukh Jugani, Regional Executive Director, AAI read out the Chairman's message on the occasion.

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Enhancing the comradery and the team spirit, the 28th Annual Day function was held at all AAI airports and its establishments in the North Eastern Region on Saturday.

In his address to the HODs and the employees, Sanmukh Jugani said that AAI today is a better progressive organisation due to the hard work of all our employees. We have outshined not only in our country but outside India also. We have faced hard times during the Covid pandemic and met the challenges of operating airports and also coped with the situation due to coordinated management decisions. It is through the hard work and dedication of our employees that AAI is a Mini Ratna PSU and I am sure we will achieve the Maharatna status soon with our concerted efforts. AAI has provisioned one of the best employee social security schemes that stand for the welfare of employees as well as their dependents, he added.

He also emphasised the role of employee's dedication and commitment in the progress of the organisation and said, "I'm sure you will be motivated by the outstanding achievements of some of the selected employees who have been recognised by our Board Members on this Day. My best wishes to all of you."

Airports Authority of India's theme song was also played during the day to inspire the feeling of brotherhood and unity amongst the employees.

Airports Authority of India is a Mini Ratna Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India. AAI today manages 137 airports, which include 24 International Airports (including 3 International Civil Enclaves), 10 Customs Airports (including 4 Customs Civil Enclaves), 80 Domestic Airports and 23 Domestic Civil Enclaves at Defence airfields.

AAI also provides Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) over the entire Indian Air Space and adjoining oceanic areas with ground installations at all Airports and 25 other locations to ensure the safety of Aircraft operations. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati, April 2: Assam Police alerted all Superintendents of Police of all districts and the Commissioner of Police, Guwahati after a pro-Khalistan leader allegedly threatened Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in an audio message.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Special Branch Hiren Nath said that Assam Police is verifying the audio clip with the central agencies about its authenticity. "But we have alerted all districts Superintendents of Police and Commissioner of Police, Guwahati. We are now verifying this," Hiren Nath said. 'Khalistan Referendum' is ISI Conspiracy, Nothing to Sikhs in India, Says Former Pro-Khalistan Leader.

In the purpoteded audio clip, the pro-Khalistani leader allegedly said that "This message is for Assam CM Himanta Sarma. Your government is harrassing and torturing pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Assam. And also torturing those who are in jail. Listen carefully CM Sarma, the fight is between pro-Khalistan Sikhs and Indian regime. Sarma you do not pray fall to this violence. We are seeking liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation through a peaceful democratic process of Khalistan referendum. Sarma, if your government is going to torture and harass Sikhs, you will be held accountable." In the audio clip, the man claimed that he is Gurpatwan Singh Pannu of banned outfit Sikh for Justice (SFJ).

Notably, Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh has been on the run since March 18, the day Punjab Police launched a massive manhunt for him.

The crackdown came almost over three weeks after Amritpal's supporters stormed Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23 demanding the release of one of his close aides, Lovepreet Toofan. Amritpal Singh, Leader of Waris Punjab De, on the Run, Manhunt Launched to Nab Him, Says State Police.

Earlier on Thursday, pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh surfaced in a new video and said he was not "a fugitive" and will soon "appear in front of the world". This new video comes a day after the radical preacher, who is being chased by police released an unverified video calling on the "Sikh sangat" to come together if they want to "save" Punjab.

(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], April 2 (ANI): Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and former union minister Jairam Ramesh sparred on Saturday over the government's move to send the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 to a select committee of the two Houses with the Congress leader stating that it should have been sent to the Standing Committee on Environment for scrutiny.

In response to Jairam Ramesh's earlier remarks, Bhupender Yadav tweeted a list of the bills sent by Congress governments in the past to the select committees.

Also Read | Iran: Yoghurt Attack on Unveiled Women Goes Viral.

"Jairam Ramesh says referring the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill to a Joint Committee is "devaluation and denigration" of processes. Will serve him well to take a hard look at how many Bills introduced in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha were sent by Cong govts to the Joint Committee," Yadav said.

Jairam Ramesh, a Congress general secretary, responded by stating that Standing Committees came into existence only in 1993 and the minister should have done "better homework"

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"Standing Committees came into existence only on March 31 1993. Better homework was expected of you Mantriji," he said in a tweet.

Bhupender Yadav hit back saying that "truth won't change just because Congress turns a blind eye to it".

"The detailed list is a result of thorough homework, Jairam ji. If you make the effort to look closely, you'd know Congress kept referring Bills to Joint Committees even post-1993. The good thing about truth is, it won't change just because you or Cong turn a blind eye to it," Yadav said.

"Due Parliamentary process was followed in the case of the said Bill. Positive participation in this process is incumbent upon the Opposition. Criticism for the sake of criticism from the Opposition is not healthy for democracy," he added.

Jairam Ramesh, who addressed a press conference on 50th anniversary of Project Tiger, said that the government introduced a bill to amend the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 in Lok Sabha on Wednesday and it was referred to the Select Committee instead of the Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forest as he is its Chairman.

He also gave the example of amendments to the National Biodiversity Act last year and said it too didn't come to Standing Committee on Environment and Forests and went to the Select Committee.

Jairam Ramesh said that the Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had written a four-page letter to the Environment & Forest Minister in September last year.

The Congress leader said the chairam of the commission had stated that "amendments in rules are not in the interest of tribals who live in forests, they go against the Forest Rights Act passed in 2006 and snatch away the Constitutional and legal rights of the tribals".

Jairam Ramesh, a former union Environment Minister. alleged that whatever has been achieved in the last 50 years in the field of forest conservation and wildlife protection "is under threat today".

He said that the purpose of Project Tiger, started by former PM Indira Gandhi, was not only the protection of Tigers but also the conservation of forests.

Terming Project Tiger very successful, he said that the number of tiger reserves has increased from nine at the time of launch to 53 today and they constitute one-third of the area of total dense forests in India.

He said that Wildlife Protection Act, of 1972 was amended some months ago, which was opposed by the Congress party.

The Congress leader alleged that the amendments have opened the doors for trade in elephants.

"While we applaud when our documentary on elephants wins Oscar but in reality, the government is working against the welfare of elephants. Elephant was declared as National Heritage Animal in 2010 but it is in danger today due to amendment in the law," he said.

Jairam Ramesh credited Indira Gandhi for making laws for the environment and forest conservation.

Terming these laws as milestones, he said the Environment Ministry and related institutions were formed at the Centre and state levels and the environment became a central point in Congress government's policies and its economic viewpoint.

He said Indira Gandhi believed that there must be a balance between development and environment and alleged "this balance is being destroyed today".

Jairam Ramesh said that climate change is a big challenge before the whole world today. "We would be able to deal with it only if the environment and forest laws are implemented strictly without showing any leniency and the institutions are strengthened."

He alleged that the Modi government and some industrialists think that environment laws were against "'ease of doing business".

"As per the Forest Rights Act, the rights of the tribals living in forest areas have to be fulfilled first before starting a project in such places".

He alleged that the government thinks of the environmental laws "as regulatory burdens and doesn't look upon these as societal obligations".

Responding to a query, Jairam Ramesh said that the government "pushed" Competition (Amendment) Bill and Finance Bill and is likely to pass a couple of more bills on Monday but the Opposition is going to continue with its demand of JPC enquiry into Adani issue.

He added that 19 Opposition parties are united in this demand and there is no middle path as far as this is concerned.

He stated that no attempt has been made by the ruling party to break the logjam in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha since the start of the second part of the budget session. (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], April 2 (ANI): BJP on Sunday hit out at Arvind Kejriwal for seeking details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degrees, stating that the Delhi CM's real intention was to "divert the attention" from the corruption within the Aam Admi Party days after a court dismissed a bail plea of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the Delhi court on Friday rejected the bail plea of Sisodia, the "number one" accused in the Delhi Excise Policy case.

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"Kejriwal aur Manish Sisodia ki corruption ki degree khul kai samna agave hai (the corruption degree of Kejriwal and Manish came out in the open)," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

In a scathing attack, Poonawalla said, under the garb of seeking degree details of PM, Kejriwal is diverting the issue from corruption, in a veiled reference to two senior AAP leaders Satyender Jain and Manish Sisodia languishing in jail.

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"This low degree of politics is an excuse to divert issues... The real intention is to hide the corruption of Manish and Kejriwal, Poonawalla alleged.

Gujarat High Court has set aside the order of the Chief Information Commission (CIC) and ruled that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) need not furnish the degree and post-graduate degree certificates of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The High Court also imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal. During the high court hearings, the Gujarat University said that "in observance of the highest degree of fairness and transparency", it had uploaded the PM's degree on its website on 9 May 2016. It had asserted that despite this, the respondents were "arbitrarily seeking to litigate on the issue for extraneous and oblique motives".

Poonawala also took a 'kattar imaandaar' (staunch honest) jibe at Chief Minister Kejriwal.

Poonawala said that AAP leaders repeatedly claimed that investigative agencies could not find anything at Sisodia's residence during the searches but, according to Poonawalla, "Probe agencies found Rs 100 crore from his residence". (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], April 2 (ANI): Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday reiterated the party's support to Vizag Steel Plant workers saying that the BRS would oppose the Central Government's move to privatise the steel plant.

In an open letter to the Union Government, KTR said that the Narendra Modi government's "evil plans" to sell off the VSP to private players, the reasons for the steel plant's losses, and ways in which the plant could be revived.

Also Read | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde To Visit Ram Temple in Ayodhya on April 9.

"As part of the conspiracy to privatize the steel plant, VSP will be pushed into losses and the crisis will be shown as an excuse to hand it over to crony corporate companies. The central government did not allow the special iron ore mines to the steel plant. Due to this, the steel plant is forced to spend up to 60 per cent of its production cost on raw material," he added.

He further said that on the other hand, the cost of raw materials in private companies' production is less than 40 per cent as iron ore, coal and other mines were allotted to them.

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BRS's working president further said that VSP, which is forced to spend huge amounts on raw materials, is facing challenges as it is competing with private corporate companies in the market in terms of production.

It is facing losses as the enterprise has to sell at the same price as them in the market.

Minister KTR said that the enterprise is in distress as coking coal has to be imported, and iron raw materials needed for steel production are being bought at the market rate from NMDC.

"Due to this, more than 50 per cent of production had to be stopped for a year. All of this is part of a conspiracy to push the Vizag Steel Plant into losses and use it as an excuse to privatize the steel plant. PM Modi has written off loans worth Rs 12.5 lakh crores for his corporate friends. Why is he not showing the same generosity on the Vizag steel plant?" KTR questioned.

Stating that an Expression of Interest (EoI) notification was issued in the garb of mobilizing funds for working capital and raw materials, KTR said that the Modi government was indirectly attempting to hand over the PSU to private entities through the notification. Minister demanded that the centre should immediately cancel the EoI notification.

The minister in his letter laid out a detailed plan to revive the PSU.

He said that Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has already announced its expansion plans with a cost of around Rs 1 lakh crore.

He also said that the company can be merged with the Vizag Steel Plant, which has several advantages when compared to selling the steel plant to private companies at a low price.

"This will contribute towards SAIL's expansion goals. If the company moves in this direction, then an ecosystem can be created to fulfil a long-standing demand for a steel factory in Bayyaram, Telangana and a steel plant in Kadapa," KTR further said.

Stating that VSP is not able to operate at its full capacity of 7.3 MTPA as the central government is not providing raw materials and capital, BRS Working President said that the enterprise which is working at 50 per cent of the capacity is incurring the same production cost it incurs for working at 100 per cent capacity.

He also said that if the centre extends support, the enterprise can work at full capacity which will help it in generating profits.

The Minister said that VSP can compete with private companies if the central government provides loans to it on par with private companies and facilitates the provision of capital through banks. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
The recent kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico highlights a common practice for many people in the U.S.: traveling to other countries for medical care that either is not available at home or costs a lot less.

The four were abducted  leading to the deaths of two  during a trip to Mexico that one relative said was for cosmetic surgery.

People leave the U.S. for dental procedures, plastic surgery, cancer treatments and prescription drugs, experts say. Besides Mexico, other common destinations include Canada, India and Thailand.

Here's a closer look at the practice.

MEDICAL TOURISM GROWING

Medical tourism has been growing in popularity for years, according to Lydia Gan, an economist at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke who studies the practice.

This travel is popular with people who have no health insurance or plans that make them pay thousands of dollars before coverage begins.

Big employers also sometimes send people covered by their insurance to other countries for hip or knee replacements or bariatric surgery. Some also send people to Mexico for expensive prescription drugs.

Cost is a huge factor. Care in countries like Mexico can be more than 50% cheaper than it is in the United States, according to Jonathan Edelheit, CEO of the non-profit Medical Tourism Association, an industry trade group.

And cosmetic surgeries, like tummy tucks that cost thousands of dollars, are largely uncovered by U.S. health insurers.

Patients also sometimes travel because they can get quicker access to some care outside the U.S. They also may want to seek treatment from a doctor who speaks their language or comes from the same culture.

MILLIONS OF TRIPS

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says millions of U.S. residents travel abroad for care annually.

Researcher Arturo Bustamante estimates that roughly 400,000 people traveled from the U.S. to Mexico each year for care before COVID-19 hit. The University of California, Los Angeles health policy professor said the number dropped under pandemic stay-at-home orders but then quickly rebounded.

Most of the people visiting Mexico for care are Mexican or Latino immigrants living in the United States, he said.

Non-Latino patients mainly cross the border for dental work, to buy prescription drugs or receive care like plastic surgery or some cancer treatments not covered in the U.S.

WEIGHING RISKS

Patients can take steps to lessen risks of receiving care in another country.

They should heed U.S. government travel alerts about their intended destinations, Edelheit said.

Trip safety also can be enhanced if a medical tourism agent works with the patient, Gan noted. Hospitals or care providers often will have someone pick patients up at the airport and take them to their doctor appointment or hotel.

Patients also should do research on care quality before looking at prices, Edelheit said. They should learn where their potential doctor received training and look for any accreditations or certifications.

"They really need to make sure they are going with the best of the best," he said.

The risk for patients may not end after the procedure. If someone has complications after returning home, it may be hard for their U.S. doctor to learn the details about the care received during a trip.

Patients also may find it difficult to sue their doctor or hospital in Mexico, Bustamante said.

"Navigating the system is usually complicated," he said.

____

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
Hyderabad, Apr 2 (PTI) The Cyberabad Police here has issued notices to as many as 11 organisations, including three banks, a social media giant and an Information Technology services company, asking their representatives to appear before it in connection with a breach of data of 66.9 crore persons across the country, a senior police official said on Sunday.

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The Cyberabad Police on Saturday said they arrested one person, Vinay Bhardwaj, who was allegedly involved in stealing, holding and selling personal and confidential data of 66.9 crore individuals and organisations belonging to 24 states and eight metropolitan cities, maintained in 104 categories.

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The accused person was found in possession of the data of students of edu-tech organisations as well as the GST details of persons and companies, and the consumer/customer data of major organisations such as road transport corporations of various states, major e-commerce portals, social media platforms and fintech companies.

The 11 organisations to whom the notices were issued include two PSU banks and one private bank, a social media giant, an IT services company, an online grocery seller, a digital payments app and an online insurance platform, police said.

The 11 organisations' representatives have been told to appear before the police during the next one week to furnish details on how the companies maintained their databases, what procedures and policies were followed in this regard and who could access the data. This could help investigators ascertain how the database was leaked and accessed by an "unauthorised" person, among other relevant details, police said.

The arrested accused was operating through a website, 'InspireWebz', at Faridabad, Haryana and selling databases to clients through cloud drive links, police said.

In March, Cyberabad Police arrested seven people of a gang who were allegedly involved in the theft and sale of sensitive data of the government and important organisations, including details of 2.55 lakh defence personnel as well as the personal and confidential data of about 16.8 crore citizens across the country.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 (ANI): Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for not seeking an apology for allegedly insulting the OBC community and called the Congress leader "egoistic".

While talking to the mediapersons, Thakur said, "This is Rahul Gandhi's ego that he is not ready to seek an apology from the OBC community for insulting them. If he can insult them, he should apologise also."

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He added, "He also insulted Savarkar...Rahul Gandhi is on bail in seven cases. Now we will see if he will seek an apology or not."

Former MP from Wayanad was sentenced to a two-year jail term in a criminal defamation case and subsequently lost his Lok Sabha membership.

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The defamation case was filed against Gandhi by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying "How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?"

Gandhi also faces another defamation case filed by former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi for his 2019 remarks. A Patna court has reportedly directed the Congress leader to appear before it on April 12 in connection with the case.

After the disqualification of Rahul's membership from the Lok Sabha, the Congress has been vocal in protests all over the country. The grand old party has been making an effort to rally like-minded Opposition players around it in the wake of Rahul's loss membership of in the Lower House.

Rahul's disqualification is the latest in a series of flashpoints between the Congress and the ruling BJP, with a united Opposition calling it a ploy to divert public 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)
Dehradun, April 2: The Uttarakhand government on Sunday said that the families rendered homeless after incidents of land subsidence in Joshimath will not be asked to vacate from hotels or temporary camps until April 30. The government extended the deadline from March 31 to April 30 while considering the proposal of the district administration on the matter.

Apart from this, instructions have also been given to take care of the payments at the hotels, lodges or homestays where the families are living. At present, 694 members of 181 families are living in various hotels, Dharamshalas and homestays in the municipal area. Uttarakhand: Hotel Owners Ask Joshimath Disaster-Hit People To Vacate Rooms by March 31.

Earlier on Friday, the hotel owners issued an ultimatum asking the affected people in the hotels to vacate the rooms by March 31. Following this, the district administration said that it has written to the government for extending the deadline.

Earlier on January 28, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) informed that the number of buildings with cracks has not increased and till now 863 buildings with cracks have been noticed due to the disaster.

Hundreds of residents were shifted to relief centres in safe places after cracks appeared at several homes in Joshimath, suggesting subsidence.

The Uttarakhand government has already announced relief packages worth crores for the affected families of Joshimath. Joshimath Crisis: Locals Fearful As New Cracks Develop in Five Houses in Residential Buildings.

In January, Chief Minister Dhami said that the relief package has been released for nearly 3,000 families affected by gradual land subsidence in the Himalayan state.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Devotees during a procession at St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], April 2 (ANI): Devotees offered prayers at St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral in Thiruvananthapuram, on the occasion of Palm Sunday today.

The devotees were gathered to partake in the festival in a traditional manner across the state and carry cut palm leaves in their hands during the processions.

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With the festive spirits, the devotees could be seen attending the mass prayers and procession with palm leaves shaped like the crucifix.

According to Christians, Palm Sunday is a celebration for honouring Jesus Christ's victorious entry into Jerusalem.

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While this was a joyful, special occasion for his followers, this event took place towards the end of his days before he was crucified.

For the occasion, churches organised special masses and processions. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thane, April 2: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that he along with the party leaders will visit Ram Temple in Ayodhya on April 9. This will be Eknath-Shinde-led Shiv Sena's first visit to the Ram temple after getting allotted Bow and Arrow symbol by the Election Commission.

On February 17, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered that the Eknath Shinde camp of the Shiv Sena will retain the official name and the bow and arrow symbol of the party. Savarkar Gaurav Yatra: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde Takes Part in BJP-Shiv Sena's Rally in Thane (Watch Video).

While addressing the press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, Shinde said, "We will be going to Aayodha for Lord Ram's blessings on April 9 and it's a matter of belief and sentiments, we will perform Aarti... I still remember that Dharmveer Anand Dhigana had sent silver brick with Karsevark so we have old bonding with Ram Lalla... we will be visiting the temple also."

"We (Shiv Sena BJP) wanted to go to Ayodhya after getting the symbol Bow and arrow. We will also meet UP CM Yogi Aditynath too. We will perform Aarti at the Sarayu river," he added. He stated, "In Maharashtra, we celebrate all the festivals together and we have the culture to celebrate the festival together. If someone for political gain tries to create a problem then the relevant dept will take action on it." Maharashtra: CM Eknath Shinde, Team To Visit Assam on November 26 To Pay Obeisance to Goddess Kamakhya, Seek Blessings.

On Sunday, Shinde led the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena's 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra' in Thane.The yatra came amid the efforts by the ruling coalition to play up Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comments on Veer Savarkar following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

Rahul, who was disqualified as an MP after being convicted in the criminal defamation case over a remark using the surname 'Modi', on March 25, had said, "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi. Gandhis don't apologise to anyone."

The BJP and ruling Maharashtra ally Sena had slammed Rahul's remarks while the chief of the rival Sena camp and former CM, Uddhav Thackeray, too, voiced concerns over it.Earlier, on March 28, CM Shinde said insulting Savarkar was akin to insulting the people of the country.

"Veer Savarkar's insult by Rahul Gandhi is condemnable. He dedicated his life to the country and Rahul Gandhi is insulting him. He is also casting aspersions on our democracy on foreign soil. Insulting Savarkar means insulting people of the country," he added.

Taking a swipe at Uddhav Thackeray for diluting the Sena's core principles by joining hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shinde said, "Those who used to say earlier they won't tolerate the insult of Savarkar were wearing black bands in support of Rahul Gandhi. It's unfortunate. They (Uddhav Thackeray) said they won't tolerate Rahul Gandhi's remarks. Thackeray had also warned Rahul Gandhi not to insult Veer Savarkar saying that demeaning him would create cracks in the Opposition alliance."

"Savarkar suffered unimaginable torture in the Andaman cellular jail for 14 years. We can only read about his sufferings. It was a form of sacrifice. We will not tolerate the insult of Savarkar," Uddhav said.

Veer Savarkar is our God, and any disrespect towards him will not be tolerated. We are prepared to fight, but insulting our Gods is not something we will tolerate," he added.

Shiv Sena (UBT faction), which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), also comprising the Congress and the NCP, skipped a dinner organised by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for all like-minded Opposition parties at his residence on Monday.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Police have arrested three people in connection with the murder of a man in Maharashtra on Sunday (Photo/ANI)

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 (ANI): A man was allegedly killed for resisting a theft bid in the Shivkar village of Maharashtra's Raigad district early Sunday, police said here.

According to the police, three accused have been arrested in this connection.

Also Read | Iran: Yoghurt Attack on Unveiled Women Goes Viral.

"The accused had gone to the house of the deceased to commit theft," Navi Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pankaj Dahane said.

"On hearing the commotion, the deceased woke up and confronted the accused," the DCP informed.

Also Read | Climate Activists Turn Famed Roman Fountain Black.

"The deceased was killed during a scuffle for resisting the theft bid," Dahane added.

Police said further investigations are on. (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], April 2 (ANI): Five days after a man was allegedly duped of Rs 50,000 by two fraudsters of "Nakli Gaddi Gang", two accused have been arrested during a raid from North West Delhi's Rohini area, police said on Sunday.

Police identified the accused as Gyasi Kashyap, (45), a resident of Rohini sector-27, New Delhi and Ramesh (48), a resident of Sanjay Enclave, Uttam Nagar.

Also Read | India Reports 3,824 New COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Biggest Single-Day Rise in 184 Days; Active Cases at 18,389.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime, officials said, adding that efforts are on to nab the co-accused, Pantu.

Police said a cheating amount of Rs 26,000 and a car used in the commission of the crime have been recovered from the accused.

Also Read | ISRO Successfully Conducts Autonomous Test Landing of Reusable Launch Vehicle in Chitradurga (See Pics and Video).

According to Delhi Police on 28 March an incident of cheating was reported under sections 420/34 of the Indian Penal Code at Police Station Dabri.

"Complainant, Pintu Kumar alleged that at about 01.00 PM, he was in the bank of Baroda, Dabri-Palam road branch to deposit cash Rs 50,000. Two unknown persons induced him on the pretext of depositing their Rs 2 lakhs (found fake) in his bank account. They claimed they used to work in Punjab where they stole this amount from their owner after he did not pay their dues," Complainant told police.

"They induced the complainant to pay him half of the money. They handed the packet of Rs 2 lakh (fake) and surreptitiously replaced his packet of Rs 50,000," police added.

During the investigation, a police team reached the bank and two persons were found involved in committing the offence.

"With the help of CCTV footage, their route was tracked to Dashrath Puri Metro Station. After verification of the registration number of the car, a raid was conducted at Rohini and both accused persons were apprehended along with the Ritz car by the team," police 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)
Chandigarh, April 2: Swinging into action to ensure compensation for crop loss to the farmer before the festival of Baisakhi, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has asked the MLAs and officers to enhance their field visits for expediting the process of Girdawari and redress problems of farmers.

"The MLAs should meet the farmers and listen to their grievances, likewise the officers should make sure that the special Girdawari is completed soon so that we can disburse the compensation before Baisakhi," said the Chief Minister, according to an official statement. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Promises Police Force Modernisation.

Expressing solidarity with the farmers who have lost their crops due to incessant rain and hailstorm, the Chief Minister said that the government is with the food growers in this hour of crisis. He said that loss worth every single penny will be compensated and no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause. Bhagwant Mann said that he was well aware of the agony faced by the farming community due to the whopping loss suffered by them on account of inclement weather conditions.

The Chief Minister said that he is personally monitoring the entire drive on a day-to-day basis to ensure that the affected farmers are compensated in a most transparent and expeditious manner. Bhagwant Mann said that as he hails from a common family so he is aware of the anguish of the farmers at the deeply personal level and duly compensating them remains the top priority of the state government. He categorically said that there will be zero tolerance for any laxity or lapse found at any level in the government machinery during the Girdawari.

The Chief Minister said that the state government is with the beleaguered peasantry in this hour of deep crisis. He said before Girdawari public announcements are being made about the entire process to ensure that all the people are made aware of it. Likewise, Bhagwant Mann said that a 25 per cent hike in compensation per acre had been made to give a healing touch to the farmers.

The Chief Minister further said that in a major pro-farmer initiative, the state government has decided to freeze repayment of loans taken by the farmers from Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies. Bhagwant Mann expressed hope that this will give much-needed relief to the farmers in this hour of crisis, adding that they can pay back this amount later after they recover from the losses. He said that the government will fully compensate the hapless farmers of the state for the losses suffered by them.

The decision comes after 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. Punjab: CM Mann Announces Hikes in Crop Loss Compensation.

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."

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Nawada (Bihar) [India], April 2 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Bihar, days after communal tension in Bihar over Ram Navami processions said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would deal sternly with the rioters if it comes to power in 2025.

" The rioters have had a free run in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Give full majority to PM Modi in 2024 elections and elect a BJP government in 2025 state elections. Rioters will be hung upside down," Shah said at a public rally in Nawada on Sunday.

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Clashes were reported on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit.

However, Shah's visit to Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas has been called off due to the imposition of Section 144 following clashes in the district.

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"I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situations people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit," Shah said on Sunday, adding that there is no point in speaking with the state government in Bihar regarding the clashes.

"I pray to god that peace is restored at the earliest in the state. There's no point in speaking with the state government here, when I called the Governor then Lalan Singh (JDU president) got offended," Shah said.

Adding that the people of Bihar have decided that Modiji's Lotus will bloom on all 40 (LS) seats, Shah said that the BJP will the government will uproot the "Mahagathbandhan" government in the Bihar Assembly elections.

He further hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying, "The government, which has jungle raj's Lalu Prasad Yadav's party, can it ever bring peace in Bihar? Nitish Kumar sat in the lap of Lalu Prasad Yadav because of hunger for power and we will uproot the 'Mahagathbandhan' government."

The Union Minister also said that Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar always practised the policy of appeasement, which helped terrorism flourish.

"On the other hand, PM Modi scrapped Article 370 and dealt with terrorists sternly," he added.

"Nitish Kumar won't become Prime Minister. People of the country have decided that Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister of the country for the third time. After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this government will collapse and BJP will form the government," Home Minister said.

Shah also said that BJP's doors for Janata Dal (United) are shut forever.

"If someone has any doubt that BJP will take JDU back into NDA after election results, then I want to make it clear that BJP's doors are shut for them (JDU) forever," Union HM Amit Shah 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)
Jalgaon (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 (ANI): At least 12 people have been detained in connection to a clash which broke out between two groups in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on Saturday, the police said.

"A clash broke out between two groups in Atarwal village of Jalgaon district after a statue was vandalised by unidentified people," Jalgaon SP M Rajkumar said on Saturday.

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"Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. 12 people were detained. Further action is being taken," Jalgaon SP said.

Earlier on March 30, 56 people were arrested in connection to a clash which broke out between two groups in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district over music being played outside a Mosque while Namaz on March 28, the police said.

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Two FIRs were registered and currently, the situation is peaceful and is under control in the area, said Jalgaon SP.

There was a disagreement over music being played outside a mosque that escalated into stone pelting which led to clashes between the two groups, said police. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired newly released footage on his show Monday from the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, that included images of the rioter known as the "QAnon Shaman," as well as of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died following the attack.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy granted Carlson access to more than 40,000 hours of the Capitol security footage from Jan. 6. CNN and other news organizations have also requested access to the security footage. McCarthy's office said it is still working out the process to make the footage "more widely available" but did not comment further.

Capitol Police have continuously warned that release of all security footage from the Capitol could pose a potential security risk for the building. CNN has reached out to Capitol Police for comment.

Carlson, who used the footage in an attempt to downplay the violence and defend the pro-Trump mob, claimed he had Capitol Police review the footage before airing it.

"We do take security seriously, so before airing any of this video we checked first with the Capitol Police," Carlson said. "We're happy to say their reservations were minor and for the most part they were reasonable. In the end, the only change that we made was in blurring the details of a single interior door in the Capitol building."

Multiple sources on Capitol Hill, however, told CNN that Carlson's show provided only one clip to review and not the others.

Here's what was in the footage that aired Monday:

QAnon Shaman's role

Carlson claimed that new Capitol security footage taken on Jan. 6 shows Jacob Chansley, known as the "QAnon Shaman," walking through the Capitol without pushback from police.

In one clip, Chansley is shown with two officers who attempt to open a door near the Senate chamber. In a second clip, Chansley, still flanked by the two original officers, walks between a group of about half a dozen officers and none appear to try to step in.

There is no audio in the videos, and it is not clear whether the officers and Chansley are talking to each other.

In court documents, however, prosecutors say that Capitol Police officers repeatedly tried to engage with Chansley and others in the crowd, asking them to leave.

Prosecutors say that Chansley disobeyed that request and walked to the Senate floor. Video from that day shows officers following Chansley around the building, and an officer walks into the chamber with Chansley and continues to ask rioters to leave.

Additionally, Capitol Police officers have testified at several Jan. 6 trials that after the initial wave of rioters entered the building, they felt outnumbered and were afraid of escalating violence by engaging with the mob. Members of the crowd were therefore able to walk into the building without much, or any, physical resistance, according to the officers.

Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing the Electoral College proceedings on Jan. 6 and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

Sicknick's death

Carlson aired never-before-seen surveillance footage that he said showed Sicknick, who died one day after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Carlson said he focused on this because Democrats have turned Sicknick into a "prop" and a "martyr" by overstating the links between his death and the insurrection.

Carlson used the new video to try to undermine the known facts surrounding Sicknick's death, and to argue that Jan. 6 was less violent and "deadly" than it has been portrayed.

The video shows Sicknick in the crypt of the Capitol, appearing to give instructions to some of the nearby rioters who are milling around the area, repeatedly waving his arms. Carlson argued that Sicknick looks "healthy and vigorous" in the video, and therefore "it's hard to imagine" that he was severely injured by the rioters or that he died because of the insurrection.

On Jan. 6, Sicknick was attacked with pepper spray and physically fought with members of the mob. An officer testified that she saw Sicknick in significant distress after he was sprayed. He died one day later after suffering a series of strokes. The DC medical examiner ruled that he died of natural causes but said, "all that transpired (on January 6) played a role in his condition."

According to Carlson, the new tape of Sicknick was recorded after he was attacked on the frontlines of the Capitol steps, earlier in the day. CNN does not have access to the footage and cannot verify Carlson's claims, and it's unclear how Fox News determined that it's Sicknick in the video.

The new Sicknick footage does not disprove the medical examiner's conclusion that Jan. 6 influenced Sicknick's death, and it doesn't erase the fact that Trump supporters assaulted Sicknick that day.

Two rioters pleaded guilty to crimes related to the pepper spray attack against Sicknick, though neither were accused of killing him. Julian Khater, who deployed the spray, is currently serving a six-year prison term. His friend George Tanios spent five months in jail and has been released.

Sicknick's mother, Gladys Sicknick, previously blamed Trump supporters for his death. In a statement Monday, after Carlson's show, the Sicknick family blasted Fox News and argued that the footage shows how he was able to valiantly "resume his duties" after being attacked by the mob.

"Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again, and we are frankly sick of it," the Sicknick family said in the statement.

Here's the status of DOJ prosecutions

According to statistics released by the Justice Department earlier Monday, more than 999 people are facing federal or local charges related to the January 6 attack, 326 of whom have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees.

According to the department, 140 officers were assaulted at the Capitol that day, including 60 Metropolitan Police officers and 80 Capitol police officers.

And 518 of those charged have pleaded guilty to various charges related to that day, including 60 defendants who have pleaded guilty to federal charges of assaulting officers.

___

Photos: Scenes from the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 (ANI): Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said in the financial year 2022-2023, procurement of goods and services from the government portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has crossed the Rs 2 lakh crore mark, which is a remarkable achievement.

Commerce and Industry Minister also highlighted the role of GeM as a digital tool in the public and national interest.

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"GeM is a symbol of the speed with which PM Narendra Modi has taken the country forward through modern technology," said the Minister.

He was speaking at a press conference on the landmark achievement of GeM.

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Congratulating GeM and its strong ecosystem of buyers and sellers, whose unwavering support has been pivotal towards achieving this historic feat.

The Minister added that the Prime Minister desires that the Government departments run at the highest levels of integrity and transparency, with the participation of people from the remotest corners of the country and enable women entrepreneurs, startups and the MSME sector to participate in a fair and equitable manner in government procurements.

"I am confident that GeM will grow faster, the future is very bright. I would like to appeal to more and more vendors to join GeM so that they too get a chance to participate in the government procurement process", he said.

"After the GeM portal was launched in 2017, business worth about Rs 400 crore was done, and in the second year, GeM did business of about Rs 5800 crore. The business through GeM has grown from around Rs 35000 crore two years ago and tripled last year to Rs 1 lakh 6 thousand crores," the Minister informed.

Growing to Rs 2 lakh crores in 5 years shows that this experiment of the Prime Minister has been successful, he further stated.

The Minister also mentioned that India has crossed total exports of 750 billion dollars for the financial year 2022-23 and the final figure is expected to cross 765 billion dollars.

The G20 Trade and Investment Working Group Meeting was held in Mumbai recently, and also saw positive discussions, he informed.

The Union Minister expressed that India has got the Presidency of the G-20 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and it is a great opportunity to showcase the achievements of the rapidly developing New India to the world.

Speaking about the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 released in New Delhi yesterday, he said that this has been welcomed by industry and trade.

"A sense of stability is reflected in the foreign trade policy," he added.

Speaking about the vision and journey ahead for GeM, the CEO of GeM P.K. Singh, thanked all the stakeholders who are the primary drivers behind GeM's reaching such great heights.

As on March 31, 2023, GeM has recorded a staggering Rs 2 lakh crore of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in FY 2022-23, an official release said.

Cumulatively, GeM has surpassed the Rs 3.9 lakh crore GMV since inception, with the overwhelming support of its stakeholders. The total number of transactions on GeM has also crossed 1.47 crore, the statement stated.

GeM is catering to the diverse procurement needs of over 67,000 government buyer organisations. The portal features over 11,700 product categories with more than 32 lakh listed products, as well as over 280 service categories with more than 2.8 lakh service offerings.

Based on various studies, the minimum savings on the platform are about 10 per cent, which translates into a savings of Rs 40,000 crore worth of public money.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is an online platform for public procurement in India that was envisaged by the Prime Minister.

The initiative was launched on August 9, 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the objective of creating an inclusive, efficient, and transparent platform for buyers and sellers to carry out procurement activities in a fair and competitive manner. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mathura (UP), Apr 2 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh's Minister for Sugarcane Development and Sugar Mills Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary on Sunday said that the state government will ensure that sugar mills pay the dues of sugarcane farmers within a week.

"At present, sugarcane farmers in 105 sugar mills of the state are getting payment within 10 days," he told reporters.

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Hitting out at the opposition parties, Chaudhary said, "During previous governments, ensuring prompt payment to sugarcane farmers was considered a difficult task."

He informed that over Rs 2.04 lakh crore has been paid to farmers for their sugarcane produce within a period of six years.

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The minister said Rs 21,620 crore has been paid to farmers till March 31 against the crushing of 930 crore tonnes of sugarcane this season.

He said at present 96 sugar mills with high production are running in the state.

Chaudhary said instructions have been issued to keep all these mills running till the sugarcane of all the farmers is not crushed.

According to the minister, the state is on the top in producing ethanol in the country and efforts are being made to pave the way for farmers to run their tractors with this renewable fuel.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], April 2 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 3.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, the Chief Minister will leave for Delhi on Sunday for the meeting with the Prime Minister.

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Earlier on March 31, CM Dhami said that Rs 23.28 crore has been sanctioned to Uttarakhand under the Agriculture Development Scheme and Rs 34.66 crore as a financial incentive under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by the Central Government.

The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government for this. In December 2022, CM Dhami met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the National Capital and discussed development-related issues. (ANI)

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(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, April 2: Ruckus and stone pelting erupted during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shobha yatra in Hooghly on Sunday. On Thursday, a case was registered against Goshamahal legislator, T Raja Singh at Shahinyathgunj police station for allegedly provoking the public to disturb the peaceful atmosphere during the Sri Ram Navami Shobha Yatra held in the city.

"A case was registered against BJP suspended MLA T Raja Singh for his alleged hate speech during Ram Navami Shobha Yatra in Hyderabad. He was booked U/s 153-A, 506 IPC at Afzalgunj Police station," Afzalgunj Inspector M Ravindar Reddy told ANI. West Bengal Ram Navami Violence: Mamata Banerjee Is Role Model for How Law and Order Situation Worsens in State, Says Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

Ruckus, Stone Pelting Erupt in Hooghly:

#WATCH | West Bengal: Ruckus and stone pelting erupt during the BJP Shobha yatra in Hooghly pic.twitter.com/fbRdsGRkNT  ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

On Friday, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani launched an attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the violence during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah and accused her of giving clean chit to those who pelted stones during the procession.

"Stone pelting happened during Ram Navami's procession in Howrah. Instead of delivering justice Mamata Bandopadhyay (Banerjee) gave a clean chit to stone pelters who took the law into their hands and attacked the Shobha Yatra of Ram Navami," Irani had alleged.

"The question is how long will Mamata keep attacking the Hindu community..." she had added.Irani further stated, "This is not the first event that happened during the term of Mamata. Earlier in 2022, on Lakshmi Puja, when Dalits were performing puja they were attacked. At that time also she was quiet." West Bengal Violence: BJP MP Locket Chatterjee Asks CM Mamata Banerjee To Resign As She Fails To Control Situation.

Earlier on Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire 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.

Following the violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Choudhury has initiated the investigation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also earlier 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, the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking an NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas.

(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], April 2 (ANI): Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila on Saturday called on opposition leaders for a joint march to Pragati Bhavan over TSPSC paper leak case.

YS Sharmila said she had telephoned Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Revanth Reddy and Telangana Bhartiya Janta Party chief Bandi Sanjay and appealed to join her in the fight against the K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR)-led government that has been deceiving the jobless youth and driving them to suicide and depression.

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She said, "It is high time that opposition parties come together, and have a joint action plan to fight against the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government that is playing with the lives of the unemployed, educated youth."

"Let us together march towards Pragati Bhavan and bring KCR to the task. If we fail at this moment to come together, then KCR will finish the opposition parties in spirit," she added.

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In the statement, the YSRTP Chief also stated that both the opposition leaders have extended their support.

Responding to the statement, TPCC Vice President Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said, "Today morning YSRTP President Sharmila has called TPCC President Revanth Reddy in regard to the march towards Pragati Bhavan relating to unemployment issues and the recent paper leak issue. Revanth Reddy has responded and said that he will be talking to the leaders of the Congress party and revert back to her."

Reacting to the statement of YS Sharmila, BJP Spokesperson NV Subhash said, "As far as the Telangana BJP and our President Bandi Sanjay is concerned, whenever there are issues for the people, he has taken a bold step and gone in support of the people."

"The Telangana government has literally failed here. The BRS party has promised so many hopes to the people of the state, especially the youth. As far as the TSPSC issue is concerned, it is very unfortunate and we demand a thorough inquiry into it," he added.

Talking about the investigation, Subhash said, "Definitely, the culprits should be punished. BJP has demanded that around Rs one lakh compensation should be paid to the unemployed youth and there should be an enquiry from a High Court sitting judge."

"We also demand that KT Rama Rao (KTR) should be sacked from the cabinet. Apart from that, we have heard that YS Sharmila has called for opposition unity on the issue. Definitely, the BJP will discuss it with the state executive members, senior leaders and office bearers. We are expected to call for a meeting and then the party will decide what to do, whether to go on individually or with the other opposition leaders," he added.

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)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Beijing, Apr 2 (PTI) Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday urged his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi not to "help a villain do evil" by backing the US tech restrictions against Beijing as the two ministers held rare talks here amid China's increasing criticism against Tokyo's backing for Washington-led Indo-Pacific strategy.

The United States "used bullying tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating its old tricks against China", Qin told Hayashi.

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"Japan has suffered that pain, and should not help a villain do evil. The containment will only further stimulate China's determination to become self-reliant," Qin said, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

The talks between the two ministers took place two days after Japan announced it would restrict semiconductor equipment exports from July, following months of lobbying by the US.

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The two countries should "overcome obstacles and move forward", Qin said, adding that "clique-forming and containment was not helpful to managing conflicts, in an apparent reference to Japan's backing for the Indo-Pacific strategy.

China opposes the Quad comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia, saying that it is aimed to contain its rise.

"Peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choices for China-Japan relations, he said.

"In the face of contradictions and differences, forming cliques, exerting pressure through rhetoric will not help solve the problem, but will only deepen the estrangement between each other," he said.

"(We) hope that Japan will establish a correct understanding of China, show political wisdom and responsibility, and work together with China to strengthen dialogue and communication, and promote practical cooperation, he said.

This was the first visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister to China since 2019.

China and Japan have a long-festering dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

The islands are called as the Senkakus by Japan, while China named them as Diaoyu.

Taiwan also claims the islands but has forged agreements with Japan to avoid any conflict as Japan maintains close defence ties with Taipei.

Ahead of Hayashi's visit, China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen their capability of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising out their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea.

Hayashi said the two countries were neighbours separated by a narrow strip of water.

China is also opposing Japan's move to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Qin asked his Japanese counterpart to handle the disposal responsibly, as it is a major issue concerning public health and the safety of humanity.

On the question of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of it, Qin said it is the very core of the core interests of China, which bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations. He asked Tokyo to refrain from interfering in the Taiwan question or undermining China's sovereignty in any form.

In the case of a Japanese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage activities in China, Qin stressed China would handle it following relevant laws.

According to Japanese media reports, Hayashi's talks with Qin lasted around four hours, longer than the planned two and half hours. The two also agreed to resume trilateral dialogue with South Korea.

Hayashi also met Premier Li Qiang and had dinner with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lahore [Pakistan], April 2 (ANI): Lahore High Court has stopped the Punjab caretaker government from handing over the 45,000 acres of land approximately to the Pakistan army on the lease, The News International reported.

The Punjab caretaker government led by Mohsin Naqvi has notified of handing over the 45,267 acres of land to the Pakistan Army on lease in three districts i.e. Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal, for a corporate agriculture farming project.

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According to The News International, the caretaker government had signed a joint venture agreement on March 8, 2023, to hand over the land to the army, but now, the court judge Abid Hussain Chattha has stopped the Punjab provincial from doing so.

Earlier, on February 20, 2023, a notification was issued where the court stopped handing over the land to the Army after a petition was moved by Ahmad Rafay Alam, on behalf of the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan.

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The judgment, a copy of which is available with The News International, the Lahore High Court barred the caretaker government from extending any "lease of state land" for the above-mentioned purpose as per the government's notification.

The court issued notices to the respondents, the Punjab Board of Revenue and secretaries of different departments, including Agriculture, Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries, Irrigation and Livestock & Dairy Development for May 9. Notices have also been served on the Attorney-General for Pakistan and Advocate General Punjab, as per the report in The News International.

The petition argued that Section 230 (functions of caretaker government) of the Election Act 2017 says that the "mandate and scope of the caretaker government is limited to performing day-to-day functions of the government and is specifically barred from taking policy decisions of permanent nature". The petitioner contended that the constitutional mandate restricts the army to performing functions of external and internal security, and does not extend to corporate agriculture farming, the intended purpose, as per the government's notification.

The petitioner implored the court to declare the February 20 notification illegal, and null and void, as it does not fall under the scope of the caretaker government.

Meanwhile, Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed a plea challenging the appointment of Mohsin Raza Naqvi as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, The News International reported.

The government informed the court during the hearing on Monday that the ECP and the courts had the jurisdiction to stop a caretaker CM from abusing their position. The ECP has already halted the execution of a number of Naqvi's orders.

As the Election Commission of Pakistan has the authority to name the caretaker CM, Judge Shahid Karim stated that the appointment was done in accordance with the law, according to The News International.

Questioning Naqvi's appointment, the government contended that the ECP alone had the authority to nominate the caretaker chief minister. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
London, Apr 2 (AP) The UK government is seeking to make contact with three British nationals detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, authorities said on Sunday.

The three men include a charity worker, a thrill-seeking tourist and a third person whose family has asked that he not be identified, according to the Presidium Network, a British charity that works in conflict zones and is representing the families of two of the detainees. The Mail on Sunday newspaper first reported the story.

Also Read | US: Man Shot Down by Truck Owner in San Antonio After Apple's AirTag Gives Away Location.

We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan, and we are supporting families, Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement.

The British government warns against all travel to Afghanistan, saying that there is a heightened risk of terrorism, kidnapping and detention by government authorities. Britain's ability to provide consular support for detainees is extremely limited as the country has no consular officials in the country, according to travel advice updated on March 22.

Also Read | Earthquake in Indonesia: Quake of Magnitude 4.4 on Richter Scale Hits Papua, No Casualties Reported.

The Taliban did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Presidium is working on behalf of charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, and a British man who manages a hotel for aid workers in the capital, Kabul, said Scott Richards, one of the group's co-founders. Both men have been detained by the Taliban's intelligence service since early January, but Presidium believes they are in good health and being well treated, Richards said.

Afghan security services, possibly acting on a tip, accused Cornwell of having an illegal firearm, Richards said.

But Presidium said the Ministry of Interior had issued a license for the weapon, which was stored in a safe and intended only for emergency use, Richards said.

We call it a misunderstanding,? he said.

In the course of their work, Presidium officials became aware that a third Briton, the so-called danger tourist Miles Routledge, 23, had also been detained. The group does not represent Routledge and has no detailed information about his case, Richards said.

Routledge boasts to his followers online that he travels to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun. His last tweet was posted on February 27.

The Foreign Office didn't confirm the identities of the detainees.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman suggested on Sunday that the government was in negotiations regarding the three men, though she offered little detail.

If there are risks to people's safety, if there are British citizens abroad then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they're safe,'' she said in an interview with Sky News. The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld. (AP)

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Washington [US], April 2 (ANI): US President Joe Biden may visit a state-of-the-art semiconductor factory run by a US chip firm in western Japan during the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May, said diplomatic sources quoted by Kyodo News.

The G-7 group consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union.

Also Read | Israel Launches Airstrikes in Syria's Homs Province, Five Soldiers Injured (Watch Video).

Biden, along with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida will visit the plant run by Micron Technology Inc.'s Japanese unit, according to the sources, as a sign of their deepening bilateral collaboration in the semiconductor industry.

The US government is offering huge subsidies to develop the domestic chip business because it views it as crucial to national security and as giving the US an advantage over China.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Russian Military Blogger Killed in St Petersburg Blast.

Washington, which aims to create resilient semiconductor supply chains with Japan and its other allies, recently unveiled broad export controls on some cutting-edge chips in October that could be used by Beijing to power advanced military and surveillance applications as well as train artificial intelligence systems.

Advanced memory chips are now being mass-produced at the Micron Memory Japan KK factory in Hiroshima Prefecture, which will receive subsidies from the Japanese government. Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, said it is a significant investment in the stability and security of both nations' economies.

The Japanese government has also opted to subsidise capital expenditures for production in Japan by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Tokyo-based Kioxia Corp. by up to 46.4 billion yen ($349 million), reported Kyodo News.

With worries about Beijing's expanding military and economic might, Washington and Tokyo have been preparing to secure supply chains for cutting-edge semiconductors, a crucial strategic resource in terms of national security.

At the request of Washington, major chip-making equipment producers from Japan and the Netherlands are anticipated to restrict their shipments of advanced semiconductor technology to China.

At the G-7 three-day summit beginning on May 19, leaders will hold discussions on the agenda of economic security.

According to the sources, mentioned by Kyodo News, arrangements are being made for Kishida, who will preside over the summit, to have private meetings with Biden and the other G-7 leaders before the summit. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
#Israel launched a fresh missile attack against military sites in the central Syrian province of Homs after midnight Sunday, the state TV reported.



Syrian air defences were triggered by the attack, intercepting some of the missiles, according to the report. pic.twitter.com/bQIs6PTaPU IANS (@ians_india) April 2, 2023

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  How do people raised with a sense of right and wrong end up involved in terrible acts of violence against others?

That's the human mystery at the heart of 2,000 intercepted phone calls from Russian soldiers in Ukraine. These calls obtained by The Associated Press offer an intimate new perspective on Russian President Vladimir Putin's year-old war, seen through the eyes of Russian soldiers themselves.

The AP identified calls made in March 2022 by soldiers in a military division that Ukrainian prosecutors say committed war crimes in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv that became an early symbol of Russian atrocities.

They show how deeply unprepared young soldiers  and their country  were for the war to come. Many joined the military because they needed money and were informed of their deployment at the last minute. They were told they'd be welcomed as heroes for liberating Ukraine from its Nazi oppressors and their Western backers, and that Kyiv would fall without bloodshed within a week.

The intercepts show that as soldiers realized how much they'd been misled, they grew more and more afraid. Violence that once would have been unthinkable became normal. Looting and drinking offered moments of rare reprieve. Some said they were following orders to kill civilians or prisoners of war.

They tell their mothers what this war actually looks like: About the teenage Ukrainian boy who got his ears cut off. How the scariest sound is not the whistle of a rocket flying past, but the silence that means it's coming directly for you. How modern weapons can obliterate the human body so there's nothing left to bring home.

We listen as their mothers struggle to reconcile their pride and their horror, and as their wives and fathers beg them not to drink too much and to please, please call home.

These are the stories of three of those men  Ivan, Leonid and Maxim. The AP isn't using their full names to protect their families in Russia. The AP established that they were in areas when atrocities were committed, but has no evidence of their individual actions beyond what they confess.

The AP spoke with the mothers of Ivan and Leonid, but couldn't reach Maxim or his family. The AP verified these calls with the help of the Dossier Center, an investigative group in London funded by Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The conversations have been edited for length and clarity.

Warning: The conversations contain vulgar language and graphic details.

In a joint production on Saturday, Feb. 25, The Associated Press and Reveal at the Center for Investigative Reporting will broadcast never-before-heard audio of Russian soldiers as they confront  and perpetrate  the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine.

***

LEONID

Leonid became a soldier because he needed money. He was in debt and didn't want to depend on his parents.

"I just wasn't prepared emotionally for my child to go to war at the age of 19," his mother told the AP in January. "None of us had experienced anything like this, that your child would live in a time when he has to go and fight."

Leonid's mother said Russia needs to protect itself from its enemies. But, like many others, she expected Russia to take parts of eastern Ukraine quickly. Instead, Leonid's unit got stuck around Bucha.

"No one thought it would be so terrible," his mother said. "My son just said one thing: 'My conscience is clear. They opened fire first.' That's all."

In the calls, there is an obvious moral dissonance between the way Leonid's mother raised him and what he is seeing and doing in Ukraine. Still, she defended her son, insisting he never even came into contact with civilians in Ukraine.

She said everything was calm, civil. There was no trouble at the checkpoints. Nothing bad happened. The war didn't change her son.

She declined to listen to any of the intercepts: "This is absurd," she said. "Just don't try to make it look like my child killed innocent people."

***

ONE: Kill if you don't want to be killed.

Leonid's introduction to war came on Feb. 24, as his unit crossed into Ukraine from Belarus and decimated a detachment of Ukrainians at the border. After his first fight, Leonid seems to have compassion for the young Ukrainian soldiers they'd just killed.

Mother: "When did you get scared?"

Leonid: "When our commander warned us we would be shot, 100%. He warned us that although we'd be bombed and shot at, our aim was to get through."

Mother: "Did they shoot you?"

Leonid: "Of course. We defeated them."

Mother: "Mhm. Did you shoot from your tanks?"

Leonid: "Yeah, we did. We shot from the tanks, machine guns and rifles. We had no losses. We destroyed their four tanks. There were dead bodies lying around and burning. So, we won."

Mother: "Oh what a nightmare! Lyonka, you wanted to live at that moment, right honey?"

Leonid: "More than ever!"

Mother: "More than ever, right honey?"

Leonid: "Of course."

Mother: "It's totally horrible."

Leonid: "They were lying there, just 18 or 19 years old. Am I different from them? No, I'm not."

***

TWO: The rules of normal life no longer apply.

Leonid tells his mother their plan was to seize Kyiv within a week, without firing a single bullet. Instead, his unit started taking fire near Chernobyl. They had no maps and the Ukrainians had taken down all the road signs.

"It was so confusing," he says. "They were well prepared."

Not expecting a prolonged attack, Russian soldiers ran short on basic supplies. One way for them to get what they needed  or wanted  was to steal.

Many soldiers, including Leonid, talk about money with the wary precision that comes from not having enough. Some take orders from friends and family for certain-sized shoes and parts for specific cars, proud to go home with something to give.

When Leonid tells his mother casually about looting, at first she can't believe he's stealing. But it's become normal for him.

As he speaks, he watches a town burn on the horizon.

"Such a beauty," he says.

Leonid: "Look, mom, I'm looking at tons of houses  I don't know, dozens, hundreds  and they're all empty. Everyone ran away."

Mother: "So all the people left, right? You guys aren't looting them, are you? You're not going into other people's houses?"

Leonid: "Of course we are, mom. Are you crazy?"

Mother: "Oh, you are. What do you take from there?"

Leonid: "We take food, bed linen, pillows. Blankets, forks, spoons, pans."

Mother: (laughing) "You gotta be kidding me."

Leonid: "Whoever doesn't have any  socks, clean underwear, T-shirts, sweaters."

***

THREE: The enemy is everybody.

Leonid tells his mother about the terror of going on patrol and not knowing what or who they will encounter. He describes using lethal force at the slightest provocation against just about anyone.

At first, she seems not to believe that Russian soldiers could be killing civilians.

Leonid tells her that civilians were told to flee or shelter in basements, so anyone who was outside must not be a real civilian. Russian soldiers had been told, by Putin and others, that they'd be greeted as liberators and anyone who resisted was a fascist, an insurgent  not a real civilian.

This was a whole-of-society war. Mercy was for suckers.

Mother: "Oh Lyonka, you've seen so much stuff there!"

Leonid: "Well ... civilians are lying around right on the street with their brains coming out."

Mother: "Oh God, you mean the locals?"

Leonid: "Yep. Well, like, yeah."

Mother: "Are they the ones you guys shot or the ones ... "

Leonid: "The ones killed by our army."

Mother: "Lyonya, they might just be peaceful people."

Leonid: "Mom, there was a battle. And a guy would just pop up, you know? Maybe he would pull out a grenade launcher ... Or we had a case, a young guy was stopped, they took his cellphone. He had all this information about us in his Telegram messages  where to bomb, how many we were, how many tanks we have. And that's it."

Mother: "So they knew everything?"

Leonid: "He was shot right there on the spot."

Mother: "Mhm."

Leonid: "He was 17 years old. And that's it, right there."

Mother: "Mhm."

Leonid: "There was a prisoner. It was an 18-year-old guy. First, he was shot in his leg. Then his ears were cut off. After that, he admitted everything, and they killed him."

Mother: "Did he admit it?"

Leonid: "We don't imprison them. I mean, we kill them all."

Mother: "Mhm."

***

FOUR: What it takes to get home alive.

Leonid tells his mother he was nearly killed five times. Things are so disorganized, he says, that it's not uncommon for Russians to fire on their own troops  it even happened to him. Some soldiers shoot themselves just to get medical leave, he says.

In another call, he tells his girlfriend he's envious of his buddies who got shot in the feet and could go home. "A bullet in your foot is like four months at home with crutches," he says. "It would be awesome."

Then he hangs up because of incoming fire.

Mother: "Hello, Lyonechka."

Leonid: "I just wanted to call you again. I am able to speak."

Mother: "Oh, that's good."

Leonid: "There are people out here who shoot themselves."

Mother: "Mhm."

Leonid: "They do it for the insurance money. You know where they shoot themselves?"

Mother: "That's silly, Lyonya."

Leonid: "The bottom part of the left thigh."

Mother: "It's bull, Lyonya. They're crazy, you know that, right?"

Leonid: "Some people are so scared that they are ready to harm themselves just to leave."

Mother: "Yeah, it is fear, what can you say here, it's human fear. Everybody wants to live. I don't argue with that, but please don't do that. We all pray for you. You should cross yourself any chance you get, just turn away from everyone and do it. We all pray for you. We're all worried."

Leonid: "I'm standing here, and you know what the situation is? I am now 30 meters (100 feet) away from a huge cemetery." (giggling)

Mother: "Oh, that's horrible ... may it be over soon."

Leonid says he had to learn to empty his mind.

"Imagine, it's nighttime. You're sitting in the dark and it's quiet out there. Alone with your thoughts. And day after day, you sit there alone with those thoughts," he tells his girlfriend. "I already learned to think of nothing while sitting outside."

He promises to bring home a collection of bullets for the kids. "Trophies from Ukraine," he calls them.

His mother says she's waiting for him.

"Of course I'll come, why wouldn't I?" Leonid says.

"Of course, you'll come," his mother says. "No doubts. You're my beloved. Of course, you'll come. You are my happiness."

Leonid returned to Russia in May, badly wounded, but alive. He told his mother Russia would win this war.

***

IVAN

Ivan dreamed of being a paratrooper from the time he was a boy, growing up in a village at the edge of Siberia. He used to dress up in fatigues and play paintball with friends in the woods. A photo shows him at 12 years old, smiling with a big Airsoft rifle and a slimy splotch of green near his heart  a sign of certain death in paintball.

Ivan's dream came true. He entered an elite unit of Russian paratroopers, which crossed into Ukraine the very first day of Putin's Feb. 24 invasion, one year ago.

***

ONE: Ivan's road to war.

Ivan was in Belarus on training when they got a Telegram message: "Tomorrow you are leaving for Ukraine. There is a genocide of the Russian population. And we have to stop it."

When his mother found out he was in Ukraine, she said she stopped speaking for days and took sedatives. Her hair went gray. Still, she was proud of him.

Ivan ended up in Bucha.

Ivan: "Mom, hi."

Mother: "Hi, son! How "

Ivan: "How are you?"

Mother: "Vanya, I understand they might be listening so I'm afraid "

Ivan: "Doesn't matter."

Mother: " to ask where you are, what's happening. Where are you?"

Ivan: "In Bucha."

Mother: "In Bucha?"

Ivan: "In Bucha."

Mother: "Son, be as careful as you can, OK? Don't go charging around! Always keep a cool head."

Ivan: "Oh, come on, I'm not charging around."

Mother: "Yeah, right! And yesterday you told me how you're gonna f kill everyone out there." (laughs)

Ivan: "We will kill if we have to."

Mother: "Huh?"

Ivan: "If we have to  we have to."

Mother: "I understand you. I'm so proud of you, my son! I don't even know how to put it. I love you so much. And I bless you for everything, everything! I wish you success in everything. And I'll wait for you no matter what."

***

TWO: Love and fear.

Russian soldiers had been told by Putin and others that they'd be welcomed by their brothers and sisters in Ukraine as liberators. Instead, Ivan finds that most Ukrainians want him dead or gone. His mood darkens.

He calls his girlfriend, Olya, and tells her he had a dream about her.

Ivan: "F-, you know, it's driving me crazy here. It's just that ... You were just  I felt you, touched you with my hand. I don't understand how it's possible, why, where  But I really felt you. I don't know, I felt something warm, something dear. It's like something was on fire in my hands, so warm  And that's it. I don't know. I was sleeping and then I woke up with all these thoughts. War  You know, when you're sleeping  and then you're like  War  Where, where is it? It was just dark in the house, so dark. And I went outside, walked around the streets, and thought: damn, f- it. And that's it. I really want to come see you."

Olya: "I am waiting for you."

Ivan: "Waiting? OK. I'm waiting, too. Waiting for the time I can come see you ... Let's make a deal. When we see each other, let's spend the entire day together. Laying around, sitting together, eating, looking at each other  just us, together."

Olya: (Laughs) "Agreed."

Ivan: "Together all the time. Hugging, cuddling, kissing  Together all the time, not letting each other go."

Olya: "Well, yeah!"

Ivan: "You can go f crazy here. It's so f- up, the s- that's happening. I really thought it would be easy here, to tell you the truth. That it's just gonna be easy to talk, think about it. But it turned out to be hard, you need to think with your head all the time. So that's that."

Ivan: "We are really at the front line. As far out as you could be. Kyiv is 15 kilometers (about 10 miles) from us. It is scary, Olya. It really is scary."

Olya: "Hello?"

Ivan: "Do you hear me?"

The line drops.

***

THREE: The end.

As things get worse for Ivan in Ukraine, his mother's patriotism deepens and her rage grows. The family has relatives in Kyiv, but seems to believe this is a righteous war against Nazi oppression in Ukraine  and the dark hand of the United States they see behind Kyiv's tough resistance. She says she'll go to Ukraine herself to fight.

Mother: "Do you have any predictions about the end ...?"

Ivan: "We are here for the time being. We'll probably stay until they clean up the whole of Ukraine. Maybe they'll pull us out. Maybe not. We're going for Kyiv."

Mother: "What are they going to do?"

Ivan: "We're not going anywhere until they clean up all of these pests."

Mother: "Are those bastards getting cleaned up?"

Ivan: "Yes, they are. But they've been waiting for us and preparing, you understand? Preparing properly. American motherf have been helping them out."

Mother: "F f. F kill them all. You have my blessing."

Death came for Ivan a decade after that boyhood paintball game.

In July, a local paper published a notice of his funeral with a photo of him, again in fatigues holding a large rifle. Ivan died heroically in Russia's "special military operation," the announcement said. We will never forget you. All of Russia shares this grief.

Reached by the AP in January, Ivan's mother at first denied she'd ever talked with her son from the front. But she agreed to listen to some of the intercepted audio and confirmed it was her speaking with Ivan.

"He wasn't involved in murders, let alone in looting," she told the AP before hanging up the phone.

Ivan was her only son.

***

MAXIM

Maxim is drunk in some of the calls, slurring his words, because life at the front line is more than he can take sober.

It's not clear what military unit Maxim is in, but he makes calls from the same phone as Ivan, on the same days.

He says they're alone out there and exposed. Communications are so bad they're taking more fire from their own troops than from the Ukrainians.

He has a bad toothache and his feet are freezing. The hunt for locals  men, women and children who might be informing on them to the Ukrainian military is constant.

Maxim's mood flips between boredom and horror  not just at what he has seen, but also what he has done.

***

ONE: Gold!

The only reason Maxim is able to speak with his family back in Russia is because they've been stealing phones from locals. He says they're even shaking down kids.

"We take everything from them," he explains to his wife. "Because they can also be f spotters."

Stuck just outside Kyiv, bored and unsure why they're in Ukraine in the first place, Maxim and a half-dozen other guys shot up a shopping mall and made off with all the gold they could carry.

Back home Maxim has money troubles, but here his hands are heavy with treasure. He gleefully calculates and recalculates what his pile of gold might be worth.He says he offered a wad of money the size of his fist to Ukrainian women and children.

"I wanted to give it to normal families with kids, but the people out there were drunks," he tells his wife.

In the end, he handed the cash off to a random, cleanshaven man he thought looked decent. "I told him: 'Look here, take it, give it to families with kids and take something for yourself. You'll figure it out, make it fair.'"

On calls home, the high sweet voice of Maxim's own young child bubbles in the background as he talks with his wife.

Maxim: "Do you know how much a gram of gold costs here?"

Wife: "No."

Maxim: "Roughly? About two or three thousand rubles, right?"

Wife: "Well, yeah "

Maxim: "Well, I have 1 kilograms (more than three pounds). With labels even."

Wife: "Holy f-, are we looters?!"

Maxim: "With labels, yeah. It's just that we f- up this  We were shooting at this shopping mall from a tank. Then we go in, and there's a f jewelry store. Everything was taken. But there was a safe there. We cracked it open, and inside  f- me! So the seven of us loaded up."

Wife: "I see."

Maxim: "They had these f necklaces, you know. In our money, they're like 30-40,000 a piece, 60,000 a piece."

Wife: "Holy crap."

Maxim: "I scored about a kilo and a half of necklaces, charms, bracelets ... these  earrings ... earrings with rings "

Wife: "That's enough, don't tell me."

Maxim: "Anyway, I counted and if it's 3,000 rubles a gram, then I have about 3.5 million. If you offload it."

Wife: "Got it. How's the situation there?"

Maxim: "It's f OK."

Wife: "OK? Got it."

Maxim: "We don't have a f thing to do, so we go around and loot the f shopping mall."

Wife: "Just be careful, in the name of Christ."

***

TWO: Propaganda.

Maxim and his mother discuss the opposing stories about the war being told on Ukrainian and Russian television. They blame the United States and recite conspiracy theories pushed by Russian state media.

But Maxim and his mother believe it's the Ukrainians who are deluded by fake news and propaganda, not them. The best way to end the war, his mother says, is to kill the presidents of Ukraine and the United States.

Later, Maxim tells his mother that thousands of Russian troops died in the first weeks of war  so many that there's no time to do anything except haul away the bodies. That's not what they're saying on Russian TV, his mother says.

Maxim: "Here, it's all American. All the weapons."

Mother: "It's the Americans driving this, of course! Look at their laboratories. They are developing biological weapons. Coronavirus literally started there."

Maxim: "Yeah, I also saw somewhere that they used bats."

Mother: "All of it. Bats, migrating birds, and even coronavirus might be their biological weapon."

Mother: "They even found all these papers with signatures from the U.S. all over Ukraine. Biden's son is the mastermind behind all of this."

Mother: "When will it end? When they stop supplying weapons."

Maxim: "Mhm."

Mother: "Until they catch (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and execute him, nothing will end. He's a fool, a fool! He's a puppet for the U.S. and they really don't need him, the fool. You watch TV and you feel bad for the people, the civilians, some travelling with young kids."

Mother: "If I was given a gun, I'd go and shoot Biden." (Laughs)

Maxim: (Laughs)

***

THREE: War and peace.

The Ukrainian government has been intercepting Russian calls when their phones ping Ukrainian cell towers, providing important real-time intelligence for the military. Now, the calls are also potential evidence for war crimes.

But phones have been dangerous for the soldiers in another, more personal sense. The phone acts as a real-time bridge between two incompatible realities  the war in Ukraine and home.

In Maxim's calls with his wife, war and peace collide. Even as she teaches their daughter the rules of society  scolding the child for throwing things, for example  Maxim talks about what he's been stealing. His wife's world is filled with school crafts and the sounds of children playing outside. In his, volleys of gunfire crack the air.

One night last March, Maxim was having trouble keeping it together on a call with his wife. He'd been drinking, as he did every night.

He told her he'd killed civilians  so many he thinks he's going crazy. He said he might not make it home alive. He was just sitting there, drunk in the dark, waiting for the Ukrainian artillery strikes to start.

Wife: "Why? Why are you drinking?"

Maxim: "Everyone is like that here. It's impossible without it here."

Wife: "How the f- will you protect yourself if you are tipsy?"

Maxim: "Totally normal. On the contrary, it's easier to shoot ... civilians. Let's not talk about this. I'll come back and tell you how it is here and why we drink!"

Wife: "Please, just be careful!"

Maxim: "Everything will be fine. Honestly, I'm scared s-less myself. I never saw such hell as here. I am f shocked."

Wife: "Why the f- did you go there?"

Minutes later, he's on the phone with his child.

"You're coming back?" the child asks.

"Of course," Maxim says.

***

FOUR: The end?

In their last intercepted call, Maxim's wife seems to have a premonition.

Wife: "Is everything all right?"

Maxim: "Yeah. Why?"

Wife: "Be honest with me, is everything all right?"

Maxim: "Huh? Why do you ask?"

Wife: "It's nothing, I just can't sleep at night."

Maxim is a little breathless. He and his unit are getting ready to go. His wife asks him where they're going.

"Forward," he tells her. "I won't be able to call for a while."

***

Photos: In Ukraine, searing images capture a year of war
According to sources, the Union Home Ministry has decided to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar after communal violence in the state. Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to state governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekara and expressed concern over the situation in Bihar. Communal violence rocked Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns during Ram Navami festivities. Till Saturday, the police arrested 45 people in connection with the communal violence at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Bihar Ram Navami Violence: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Speaks to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Communal Violence in State, Additional Paramilitary Forces to Be Sent.

Home Ministry To Send Additional Paramilitary Forces to Bihar

Union Home Ministry decides to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar after communal violence in state: Sources  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 2, 2023

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Times Religion Writer

The Mormon Church on Friday released photographic copies of an 1825 letter written by church founder Joseph Smith Jr., the oldest ever found in his hand, in which he suggests occult methods for finding treasure guarded by some clever spirit.

The letter thus adds new evidence that the origins of Mormonism were interwoven with magical lore.

Church leaders acknowledged only this week that they own the letter, whose contents were rumored as long as a year ago.

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Its release comes on the heels of the announcement last week at the Mormon History Assn. meeting that an 1830 letter written by Martin Harris, Mormonisms first follower, was authentic in spite of Harris seemingly bizarre report that Smith told him a white salamander guarding the golden plates (later the basis for the Book of Mormon) in 1823 turned into an old spirit who fended off Smith, striking him three times.

Angel Named Moroni

The official Mormon story mentions no salamander, a mythical figure long familiar to occultists, but instead says that Smith was denied immediate possession of the plates by an angel named Moroni, who is depicted widely in Mormon statuary and paintings.

Several prominent Mormon historians say that together the two letters establish Smiths involvement in popular folk magic and money digging during the 1820s when the young prophet later said he was receiving heavenly revelations.

But differences of opinion have emerged as to whether the uncomfortable mixture of magic, money-digging fads and religion will disturb the nearly 6 million followers of Mormonism or hinder the churchs proselytizing efforts.

The majority of Mormons would tend to trust church officials who have downplayed the implications for faith, some Mormon historians said. Many people would rely on present church prophets for interpretation, said Milton Backman of Brigham Young University.

But others, including Canadian historian Klaus Hansen of Queens University, said that the historical implications of the letters are potentially devastating.

Profound Changes Foreseen

Valeen Avery, co-author of a new biography of Smiths first wife, Emma, said she thinks the letters will cause a profound change (because) we cant say our history proves we are right.

In other words, Avery said, A missionary now approaches someone and says, I know the Mormon Church is true because an angel directed by God showed Joseph Smith golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. The book, which complements the Bible in Mormon churches, tells of earlier civilizations in the Western Hemisphere and an appearance of the resurrected Jesus to some of them.

Avery predicted that the church would increasingly de-emphasize the origins of the Book of Mormon and Smiths personality and start emphasizing what the church has to say.

The Times obtained the first photocopy of the Smith letter earlier this week and learned that it was sold to the church about two years ago for a reported $25,000.

Dated June 18, 1825, five years before the Book of Mormon was published and the church was organized, the letter to Josiah Stowell of Bainbridge, N.Y., advised him about locating buried riches.

Guarded by Spirit

You know the treasure must be guarded by some clever spirit, Smith said, and if such (a spirit) is discovered, so also is the treasure.

Smith then gave instructions about using a hasel stick split down the middle to divine the presence of buried treasure. Smith said he was close to accepting an offer from Stowell and, indeed, Smith and his father signed a digging agreement on Nov. 1 that year with Stowell and three others.

With Smith himself writing matter-of-factly in 1825 about a clever spirit guarding buried treasure, the later Harris letter also gains credibility, said George D. Smith of San Francisco, an independent publisher of Mormon books. Some church members were starting to discount the Harris letter by speculating that Harris got the story wrong from young Smith, or had heard the salamander version from Smiths father instead.

The publisher, one of four speakers on the Harris letter at the Mormon historians meeting, asked, If we say that the white salamander letter emerged from the occult culture of Joseph Smiths day, what about the origin of the church? Does the 1830 letter contain Joseph Smiths original story of obtaining the gold plates?

The new findings and increasingly frank academic discussions of Smiths attitudes and practices are important not only for the 5.5 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints based in Salt Lake City, but also the 200,000-member Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Independence, Mo., and scores of small Mormon sects in North America. All claim Smith as their prophet in restoring the gospel in the latter days before Christs return.

Autograph Collector

Charles Hamilton, a prominent New York City autograph collector, said Thursday by telephone that he was shown the Joseph Smith letter two years ago by manuscript collector Mark Hoffman of Salt Lake City, who bought it from a stamp collector.

Ive seen hundreds of letters signed by Joseph Smith, a very common name, but the second I saw this one I recognized it as the Mormon prophets signature, Hamilton said. I said it was probably of great historical interest and was worth about $15,000. Hoffman told me he sold it within three weeks to the church for $25,000.

A typewritten copy of the Smith letter had been circulating anonymously among Mormon historians since last spring but its existence was unconfirmed and its owner apparently unknown. After a previous denial that the church owned it, Jerry Cahill, the churchs spokesman, said he was called into the office of Gordon Hinckley, second counselor to Mormon President Spencer Kimball, on May 3 and told that the First Presidency had the letter in its vault and that it might eventually be available for study.

As it became clear during this week that photocopies of the letter would soon be circulated by sources outside the official church, Cahill announced that the church would discuss the contents and release a photographic copy of the letter.

Prodded Into Action

While the Mormon Church leadership in one sense may have been prodded to acknowledge and talk about the new finds, it was aided in taking that course by scholars who have argued that the Smith and Harris letters will not inflict great harm to the church. Ronald W. Walker of BYUs Joseph Fielding Smith Institute and Richard P. Howard, church historian for the Reorganized LDS Church based in Independence, Mo., both recently took that approach.

Walker said many Americans in the Northeast during the early 19th Century believed that previous civilizations, pirates or Spaniards had left buried treasure that could be found by certain magical methods. Vermont, where Joseph Smiths family first lived, had many digging sites, he said. Dreams and peep stones contributed to locating lost treasure, and it was widely understood that trickster spirits would be guarding these rich caches.

Were not talking about black magic or dark occult powers, Walker said. Angels were as real to Martin Harris as were conjured spirits.

Howard claimed that prayer and magic were consistent companions throughout the world. Churchgoers should try to bridge the gap to Joseph Smiths time and walk with (the early Mormons) in empathy and imagination, he said.

On the other hand, Peggy Fletcher, publisher-editor of the independent Mormon-oriented magazine Sunstone, questioned the approach by Walker and Howard: Why does it not make me feel better to hear that everybody was into magic then? I think historians are naive if they think members are going to buy this.
Times Staff Writer

Olaf Solheim was a fixture on Vancouvers downtown east side, an 88-year-old retired logger who enjoyed watching pigeons and children playing in the park. He lived in the same hotel for more than 60 years.

Last week, Old Olaf, as he was known in the neighborhood, died--a confused and disoriented old man who didnt understand what had happened to him.

He died two weeks after being evicted from his 10-by-10-foot room in the Patricia Hotel so it could be renovated to house some of the millions of people who will crowd the city for Expo 86, the worlds fair that opens May 2.

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The spark went out of him after the eviction, said Dr. John Blatherwick, Vancouvers medical health officer. This was a man whose way of life was completely disrupted. He just stopped living. . . . Im not going to duck it: This was the cause.

Ordinarily, the death of an old man with no known relatives or any noticeable position in society would pass without much comment. It would be noticed only by the other poverty-ridden old-timers who shared his simple life style in the run-down area on the edge of Vancouvers downtown.

But Olaf Solheim has become the symbol of the dark side of what is being otherwise boosted as one of the greatest civic celebrations of the age, an exposition that will show the world the glory of Canadas Pacific Coast.

So, while Vancouver and its province, British Columbia, have been building, cleaning and promoting, hundreds of people, mostly poor and elderly, have been evicted from residential hotels and rooming houses by landlords who expect to make a lot of money from the 18 million visitors expected for the six-month party.

And, according to Jim Green, organizer of the private, nonprofit Downtown Eastside Residents Assn., five of the dispossessed have died in the last two months, two of them by suicide.

In addition to the human dimension, the situation also illustrates a fundamental split between the provincial government and its opponents.

A Real Crisis

This is a real crisis, Green said during an interview in his run-down office across the street from a hotel that had just turned out several long-term residents.

But Jack Kempf, the minister of housing for the ruling Social Credit Party, disagreed, saying, There is no problem there.

Both men may be partly right; it all depends on the perspective.

Kempf points out that almost all the evicted tenants found other housing. Were looking after all those evicted, the housing minister said. I have made a commitment that we would find alternate housing for everybody.

That may be true, Green acknowledges, but as in the case of Olaf Solheim, it is not a question of new rooms but of the traumatic disruption of life.

Average Age 60

This is a tight-knit, stable community, Green said, describing a part of town where 9,500 people live, nearly all in rooming houses and residential hotels. The average age is 60, and the average period of time someone lives in a room is 15 years, Green said, citing a recent study.

Most of the people are on welfare and receive an average of 450 Canadian dollars a month (about $320). They pay out $230 a month--slightly more than half their incomes--in rent. So you can see, Green explained, they dont have much mobility, and they have all their friends here. They also get all their services here. There is a medical clinic, and the cafes and pubs are where they can afford to eat and socialize.

In detailing case after case of hotels dumping people into the streets, sometimes in lots of 25 or more, Green said several people have been dispossessed two and three times.

Besides, Green said, the forced dislocation of the elderly is a medical problem. The health risk goes up.

Medical officer Blatherwick agreed, saying that the shock of eviction can be damaging to health. We know this from a statistical basis, he said.

In a report that he presented to the Vancouver City Council asking, Does a health problem exist? Blatherwick answered in the affirmative, saying about 10% of the people checked have serious health or handicap problems and thus are a risk from the increased stress brought on by relocation.

Blatherwick acknowledged at the time that it was impossible to directly attribute deaths to the moves. But that was before the death of Old Olaf, whose passing the doctor blamed directly on the trauma of moving.

In that case, Solheim refused to unpack after being relocated and was once found wandering the streets near his new room in a public housing unit, evidently trying to find his way back to the Patricia Hotel.

Volunteers from the Downtown Eastside Residents Assn. said he refused to eat.

Others Bewildered

Several other elderly people told reporters of similar reactions, often expressing dismay about their new locations and refusing to go outside. I dont know where to go, said Roger Peterman, a 70-year-old welfare recipient who found a room in a neighborhood about eight miles away. I dont know how to ride the bus, and I dont have money for a cab.

But Kempf denied any cause-and-effect relationship between the evictions and the deaths.

There just is no problem, he said in an interview. It is preposterous . . . for anyone to suggest (the evictions) caused any deaths.

Not only does a problem exist, Green contended, but it was foreseen and could have been prevented.

We have been discussing evictions since 1980, when planning for an exposition was started, Green said. Including rooms lost when hotels were torn down for parking lots and other facilities related to Expo, the known evictions total about 600, he said, and could reach 2,000 by the time Expo ends in mid-October.

Provinces Responsibility

The problem can be attributed partly to perceptions and political belief. Under the British Columbia system, public housing is the responsibility of the provincial government, not the city, and the government of Premier William Bennett does not strongly support construction of new public housing.

Bennetts administration also accepts the right of property owners to do what they wish with their property. If they (hotel operators) want to renovate, they have the right to upgrade their status, Kempf said. Its not the governments place to say they cant renovate or spruce up. In fact, we should be promoting that.

This belief resulted in the refusal of the provincial government to accept proposed legislation to help the evicted residents, requests made by Greens group and the Vancouver City Council.

Over a year ago, we asked for legislation to protect long-term residents in hotels, Green said. We wanted something that would prevent rent increases of over 10% and no evictions without cause for people who had lived in a residential hotel for a year or more.

Actually, he said, two hotels agreed to that plan (we saved 200 people), but the government and the other hotels refused. It is ironic, Green said, that most of the areas residents have spent more years in the hotels than most people live in regular apartments and houses, yet they have no tenant protection at all.

Several hotel owners refused to discuss the matter, saying they had been treated unfairly in the press. One manager, who would not give his name, said that his hotel has a right to make as much money as possible and that it will be providing a public service by making rooms available at reasonable prices to Expo visitors.

Not Likely to Last

A survey by the city government and Greens organization indicates that rooms that now rent for $230 a month will be rented out during Expo for anywhere from $50 to $100 a night.

Even at those prices, it is doubtful that all the hotels will come out ahead in the long run since most are located in shabby, often dangerous, areas and are unlikely to attract tourists after Expo.

Kempf acknowledged this. Some hotel owners are probably wrong to have renovated and may end up losing money, the minister said. However, that is their decision.

But as it stands, the owners are going ahead, renovating the buildings that were at best Spartan and more often shabby and tacky into what they describe as character hotels.

Meanwhile, Green and others are hoping to keep the memory of Old Olaf alive. We want the visitors to know what is happening here, he said. We want the government to know that the price for Expo is too often a life.
From Reuters

Bad blood between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President Zail Singh burst into the open Friday as Indias 71-year-old president accused Gandhi of unconstitutional and distressing behavior toward his office.

The president, a Sikh whose poor relations with the 42-year-old prime minister have been an open secret for months, made the accusations in a private letter to Gandhi leaked to the Indian Express newspaper and published on its front page.

Singhs five-year terms ends in July, and there has been press speculation that he wants to be reelected by the electoral college of members of the national Parliament and the state assemblies.

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His letter came amid widespread criticism of Gandhi for his deficit economic policies and for failure to push through key political programs such as the Punjab peace accord.

Dear Rajiv

The My dear Rajiv letter, dated March 9, said that Gandhi had misinformed Parliament on March 3 about his relations with the president, whom he had failed to keep informed or regularly consult on important matters.

Indias president is a largely ceremonial chief of state and commander in chief of the armed forces.

The letter said that Gandhi had failed to follow the constitution and well-established practices and conventions in his dealings with the presidency.

A presidential spokesman declined to confirm or deny the letters validity. You can say I plead ignorance, he said.

In Parliament, opposition members stormed out of the lower house after a 15-minute uproar when the Speaker refused to let them raise the issue on grounds that the presidential office should not be politicized.

Signing Delayed

Singh is currently showing his ability to embarrass the government by delaying signing into law a postal bill authorizing interception of mail on security grounds.

In an address Thursday to businessmen in Poona, Singh also said the government should take care that its controversial tax raids on business and industrial houses did not harass the innocent or damage the image of industrialists.

Singhs letter followed a March 3 statement by Gandhi to Parliament that he and his ministers frequently consulted the president and always did so on important issues in accordance with the constitution.

As you are aware, the factual position is somewhat at variance with what has been said by you, Singhs letter said.

I am constrained to say that certain well established conventions have not been followed.
The Washington Post

Ever since Jesus Christ said that only God knows the hour or day of the Second Coming, preachers and self-appointed doomsayers have been trying to predict when it will happen -- and watching the sun rise on yet another generation. Even those who chastise date-setters often say, Gods final judgment is coming soon -- probably in our lifetime -- so get ready.

In recent weeks, prophecy interpreters have been citing a new reason they believe the end is coming: the impending U.S. war against Iraq. Anxious discussions have arisen on prophecy Web sites, in Bible study groups and churches, and at such gatherings as last months 20th International Prophecy Conference in Tampa, Fla. Its title: Shaking of Nations: Living in Perilous Times.

Many see evidence of Iraqs significance in end-time scenarios in key passages of the apocalyptic book of Revelation. Chapter 16, which includes the only mention of Armageddon in the Bible, includes a reference to the Euphrates River, which runs through modern-day Iraq.

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The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East, writes John -- possibly the apostle -- of a container of Gods anger emptied on the ancient land of Babylon, now Iraq. The kings will move their armies through the Euphrates valley en route to Har Megiddo (Armageddon) in northern Israel.

The Euphrates appears a second time, with one of seven angels whose trumpets warn that the final judgment is near.

Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates, a voice commands the sixth angel of God, whose compliance unleashes agents of death who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year and were released to kill a third of mankind.

Then comes the clincher. In Chapter 9, Verse 11 -- yes, thats 9:11 -- John says the leader of an army of locusts released to fight humans is named Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek. Both mean Destroyer, one of several meanings for the name Saddam.

Iraq fits like hand in glove, Irvin Baxter, founder of Endtime magazine and pastor of Oak Park Church in Richmond, Ind., said of the world-ending role he expects the country to play if U.S.-led forces invade Iraq.

Baxter, a lifelong student of Old and New Testament prophecies, said casualties will be tremendous, not only of combatants in Iraq but of people in neighboring countries hit by retaliatory missiles of mass destruction and Americans who fall victim to terrorists armed with portable nuclear weapons.

And other countries will take the opportunity to pursue their own interests -- China trying to retake Taiwan, or India making an all-out assault on Kashmir -- leading to World War III, he said.

The result, Baxter concludes, could be a nuclear holocaust that takes the lives of 2 billion people, the one-third of mankind stated in Revelation.

Such talk bothers Craig Hill, professor of the New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and one of many biblical scholars who say end-time interpreters distort Scripture to fit their own points of view. Most claim to read the Bible literally, yet take bits and pieces from books written centuries apart under different circumstances, he said.

Ezekiel, one of the most popular end-time texts, was written in the 6th century BC by a Judean priest exiled in Babylon who dreamed of the Jews return to Israel and the restoration of the Temple.

Revelation was written 600 years later, about AD 95, by an exiled Christian leader encouraging churches in Asia Minor to persevere under the hardships of Roman control.

Yet prophetic interpreters take verses from each and combine them to create a reading that justifies their points of view, said Hill, author of In Gods Time: The Bible and the Future.

In trying to create one overarching interpretation, they are not allowing for the complexity of the biblical witness to come through, he said.

The irony is, in their quest for accuracy, biblical literalists are forced to misread the Bible.

More problematic is the fatalistic worldview of apocalyptic thinking, Hill said. Many who obsess about the end of the world fail to enjoy the life they have or help others in an effort to improve society, he said. They become morally complacent.

Those criticisms are of little concern to millions of Americans who were caught up in end-time fever long before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the recent explosion of the space shuttle Columbia fueled even greater speculation on how the world might end.

One of the greatest indicators of that interest has been the phenomenal success of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Since 1995, when their first book appeared, LaHaye and Jenkins have sold more than 38 million copies of 10 novels set during the end-time period known as the Great Tribulation. Interest in prophecy increases at times of great instability, said Mark Hitchcock, author of several books on prophecy and pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmond, Okla.

People want to know whats going to happen, that theres an end [to the turmoil], that someones in control, he said.

Hitchcock is a member of a prophecy study group run by LaHaye and generally supports the sequence of events on which the Left Behind story is based: the rapture, the antichrists rise to power and the seven years of hell on Earth, Armageddon, and the return of Jesus -- all occurring before Jesus 1,000-year reign on Earth.

He said he and other pre-trib guys, those who believe Jesus will rapture believers before the Great Tribulation, are convinced that the antichrist will rule the world from a restored Babylon. Thats why Hitchcock also thinks an invasion of Iraq will set off end-time events.

According to biographers and news reports, Saddam Hussein fancies himself a modern Nebuchadnezzar, the 6th century BC king who conquered and enslaved the Israelites and brought great prosperity to the land. And he has begun fulfilling the prophecy by rebuilding Babylon, Hitchcock said.
Times Staff Writer

Susan Moller Okin, a Stanford University political philosopher who brought a feminist perspective to the study of work and family issues, has died. She was 57.

Okin died March 3 at her home in Lincoln, Mass., where she was living during a one-year leave from Stanford. At the time of her death, she was a distinguished visiting professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

Authorities said she apparently died of natural causes.

Okin, who joined the Stanford faculty in 1990, was the author of three books, the most acclaimed of which was Women in Western Political Thought (1979), an examination of assumptions about gender in the works of such political theorists as Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau and John Stuart Mill.

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She also wrote Justice, Gender and the Family (1989), which dissected the inequities inherent in traditional families that assign women the role of primary nurturer and domestic caretaker; and Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? (1999), which examined situations in which the claims of minority cultures or religions conflict with the best interests of women.

Okins most important contribution was to put a spotlight on the family in discussions of justice, according to Stanford associate professor of philosophy Debra Satz, who called her late colleague perhaps the best feminist political philosopher in the world.

She viewed inequalities within the family as the linchpin of gender inequality, arguing that inequalities within the home worked to systematically disadvantage women in the economy and in the public sphere, Satz said this week.

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Okin grew up in a family of strong and intelligent women. She said this background had led her to question ideas about women presented in her history courses at the University of Auckland, where she earned a bachelors degree in 1966.

After receiving a masters in philosophy from Oxford University in 1970, she moved to the United States for doctoral work at Harvard. Although an advisor told her that women are not a topic, she wrote her dissertation on what political theorists have said about women over the centuries. She earned her doctorate in 1975, then taught for 15 years at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Her first book, Women in Western Political Thought, expanded on the ideas she developed in her dissertation. In a review published in the Washington Post, Vivian Gornick called it an excellent book that exposed the obvious illogic with which philosophers had to argue in order to exclude women from political equality.

Her next book, Justice, Gender and the Family, questioned basic assumptions about gender roles and justice, arguing that justice begins at home.

How can you grow up in an institution that is pervaded by injustice in very many ways, and become somebody who thinks about justice and goes out there in the world to try to institutionalize it? she said in an interview with The Times in 1986.

Okin maintained that traditional family structures strongly influenced such crucial matters as divorce settlements.

Noting that, by the late 1980s, 70% of poor families were headed by divorced or separated women, she became a vocal proponent of divorce decrees that take into account the disparity in earning capacity between husbands and wives. She urged that a husbands future earning power be considered an asset to be fairly divided after a marriage ends.

She also argued for changes in public policy and in the workplace to provide people with job flexibility and benefits that promote equal sharing of parental and household responsibilities.

Her last book drew attention to the rights of women in cultural or religious minorities. Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? examined such issues as the cultural defense used in U.S. criminal cases, such as the claim by Hmong men who said rape is part of their cultural practice of marriage by capture, or those of Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants who believe that a wifes adultery is sufficient cause to kill her.

Okin was also concerned about female genital mutilation practiced by some African cultures in the belief that it helps ensure womens virginity and fidelity.

In recent years, Okin devoted her attention to the plight of women in underdeveloped countries. She traveled to India earlier this year with a delegation from the Global Fund for Women, a San Francisco-based foundation that supports womens human rights.

Okin is survived by a daughter, Laura, of Boston; a son, Justin, of New York; and two sisters, Janice May of Auckland and Catherine Pitt of Nottingham, England. Memorial donations may be sent to the Global Fund for Women, 1375 Sutter St., Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94109.
Bones from Pacific island likely those of Amelia Earhart, researchers say

Amelia Earhart Likely Died on Nikumaroro, Study Finds

For the record: This article, which republished an article from 1999, should have been updated to say that the mystery of what happened to the Russian Czarevich Alexei was solved in 2009 by DNA testing, which showed the boy was killed with the rest of Czar Nicholas IIs family in 1918.

I read the headlines with excitement, even awe, but also with a tinge of sadness and disappointment. It stands to reason many Amelia Earhart obsessives  and they are legion  felt the same way. After all, the mystery was in many ways the point.

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I first learned of Earhart aficionados in the fall of 1999. As the year 2000 approached, The Times was running a series of articles about memorable 20th century events. I was assigned Earhart.

Thats when I learned of the armies of researchers, professional and amateur, who spent untold hours trying to learn Earharts fate. I spoke to members of a nonprofit foundation called The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or TIGHAR, which posted a disclaimer on it website: Warning: The Surgeon General has determined the Amelia Earhart Search Forum to be a potentially addictive activity.

But now it appears the great chase is over. As many news outlets reported this week, an article in the journal Forensic Anthropology said advances in bone measurement indicated that bones found on Nikumaroro in 1940 are likely Earharts.

Now seems a good time to revisit that story from 1999. In many ways, the Earhart obsession says more about the searchers than the searched. It was published on Oct. 19, 1999, and here it is:

Mystery of Earhart Endures, Captivates

If Amelia Earhart had made it, the world would have hailed her as a hero. But by disappearing while trying to circumnavigate the globe, she became something much more enigmatic and enduring: a mystery.

The mystery may never be solved, which is probably just as well. It would be a shame to rule out some disappearance theories, even the fanciful ones, because theyre so darned entertaining. Among them:

The Japanese captured Earhart and used her Lockheed 10E Electra as a model for their fearsome fighter plane, the Zero.

Earhart secretly slipped back into the United States and lived out her years under an assumed name.

Earhart was spying for the U.S. government. President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew the Japanese had imprisoned her but kept quiet about it.

Then, of course, theres the unromantic explanation: She ran out of gas.

What is it about a mystery that intrigues us so? Is it the answer, or the question? Probably neither. The puzzling out of the question is the point, and it can lead to obsession. Our century has specialized in such obsessions, most of them cloaked in conspiracy theories. Did gunfire come from the grassy knoll? Did Princess Anastasia escape a Bolshevik firing squad? Did a spaceship crash near Roswell?

The discovery of nine skeletons in 1991 and DNA testing finally solved the riddle of Anastasia--she perished with her family--so its conceivable that science will solve the riddle of Earhart as well. Physical evidence is called for here, because the eyewitness accounts of Earhart remain dubious at best.

One Saipanese woman claimed she saw it all: Japanese soldiers led Earhart into a pit, ripped off her blindfold and shot her. When asked years later if she could locate the grave, she replied, It is underneath the biggest breadfruit tree on the whole island. An excavation found no bones, only a 24-inch piece of black cloth the diggers guessed was the blindfold.

The search continues. A nonprofit foundation called the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or TIGHAR, has uncovered intriguing clues that suggest Earhart and her navigator, Frederick Noonan, landed at Nikumaroro, a small South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. Most tantalizing of all: fragments of a shoe--a heel, partial sole and brass shoelace eyelet--apparently from a womans blucher oxford, size 9. Photos of the time show Earhart wearing such a shoe.

Earhart and Noonan left Miami on June 1, 1937, flying east along an equatorial route. The flight wouldnt be the first to circle the globe, but at 29,000 miles it would be the longest. They arrived in New Guinea on June 29 and headed for tiny Howland Island, 2,556 miles away, on July 2.

Perhaps the Earhart mysterys appeal lies in its convenient ambiguity, for although some facts cant be proved true, they also cant be proved false. For example, TIGHAR found scraps of a planes aluminum skin on Nikumaroro. Analysis suggests its not from Earharts Electra. But can we be sure? Not yet.

This probably explains the tongue-in-cheek disclaimer on the TIGHAR Web site. Warning: The Surgeon General has determined the Amelia Earhart Search Forum to be a potentially addictive activity.

For many people, the allure of the Earhart mystery is, quite simply, the mystery. For others, its the woman herself, known for her poise, courage and charming, forthright personality.

In 1928 she became the first woman to fly cross the Atlantic, earning the nickname Lady Lindy, even though she was just a passenger. But four years later she herself flew the Atlantic solo.

Her account of the flight in her aptly named autobiography, The Fun of It, was understated and wry: My own trans-Atlantic rations consisted of one can of tomato juice which I punctured and sipped through a straw. But the account also conveys her infectious determination. I chose to fly the Atlantic because I wanted to. It was, in a measure, a self-justification--a proving to me, and to anyone else interested, that a woman with adequate experience could do it.

Such talk inspired countless women. It still does.

But not everyone wants Earhart or her plane found. More than one person has told Richard E. Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR: This should remain a mystery. Indeed, some Russian royalists probably were crushed to learn the fate of Anastasia.

But mysteries have a way of spawning mysteries. Anastasia was found, but there was no sign of Alexei, her frail brother. Where is his body? And did he survive, as some people claim, only to be locked up in a Soviet insane asylum?

Thats another question from our century of conspiracies.

steve.padilla@latimes.com

Twitter: @StevePadilla2
A girl floats a paper lantern on the Motoyasu River to comfort souls of victims killed by the atomic bombing at Hiroshima.

For years, the question has lingered: Should the U.S. apologize for dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima?

The opportunity could present itself if President Obama visits the city while attending the G7 Summit in Japan next month. No sitting U.S. president has visited the city since it was largely destroyed in an atomic blast during World War II.

Secretary of State John Kerry may have foreshadowed whats to come when he visited Hiroshima this month and called the experience gut-wrenching. Yet he stopped short of offering an apology to his hosts.

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Apologizing for a wartime act generations ago would be as welcome to Japanese political leaders as a cloud of mosquitoes. Heres why:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appears at a news conference following the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Hiroshima. (Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP/Getty Images)

Does Japan even want an apology?

Likely not. A secret 2009 state department cable published by Wikileaks in 2011 indicated Japan was cool to the idea and worried that it would only serve to energize anti-nuclear activists in the country.

Hasnt this come up before?

It has. In 2007, during Shinzo Abes first term as prime minister, Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma referred to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as something that couldnt be helped. While opposition leaders took issue with that position, the governments official stance was that it would be more meaningful for the U.S. and Japan to aim for a peaceful and safe world without nuclear weapons.

The atomic bomb dome is seen through the altar of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. (Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP/Getty Images)

An apology could trigger unneeded political fallout

Devin Stewart, a noted expert on Japan, and senior program director at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, suggests that an apology could open a can of worms on many, many issues.

Theres concern, for instance, it might undermine Abes initiative to give Japan a more nimble, capable military and clear the way for troops to fight overseas, something that hasnt happened since the end of World War II. Abes primary goal, Stewart says, is to strengthen the military and everything else, including his economic platform of Abenomics, is a means to achieve that goal.

An apology also could harden the opposition to using nuclear power in Japan, a sentiment that blossomed after the meltdown at Fukushima. The administration has made nuclear power a major part of its energy policy.

Overemphasizing the inhuman nature of the nuclear weapons used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki goes against what the current government of Japan has been working on so hard for decades  removing allergic reaction against nuclear weapons and nuclear power. In short, let the sleeping dogs lie, Koichi Nakano, a professor of Japanese politics at Sophia University, said.

Officials place wreaths as they prepare for a visit by the Group of Seven foreign ministers at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. (Mari Yamaguchi / AP)

It could set off a chain reaction of apologies

Prime Minister Abes speech on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II was a classic non-apology apology, and this administration allegedly hates to apologize.

Why doesnt the Japanese government want Mr. Obama to apologize? Because it tears the scab off a much bigger wound that Japan wants healed, says Grant Newsham, a senior research fellow with Japan Forum for Strategic Studies and former U.S. diplomat with over 20 years experience in Japan.

If Obama apologizes at Hiroshima, it draws attention to Japanese behavior elsewhere in Asia during the 30s and 40s. It might even be demanded that the Japanese government and emperor go to Singapore and apologize for slaughtering 25,000 Chinese there in 1942. Or to Australia to apologize for how they treated their POWs. Or to the Philippines (to apologize) for a few hundred thousand murders by the Imperial Japanese Army as well.

See the most-read stories this hour >>

Beyond launching a new round of hand-wringing over wartime atrocities, Nakano says an Obama apology could raise fresh questions about Japans own attempts to build an atomic bomb.

Even the right wing journalist and ultra-nationalist Hiroyuki Fujita says that an apology is not necessary and I dont think the Japanese people want it. It will create a ceaseless round of apologies.

However, I think the American people should know that not only the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the firebombing of Tokyo in which thousands died, were illegal acts against humanity. They were civilian massacres.

What about the survivors in Hiroshima?

The survivors  those who remain  are largely out of sight and out of mind, and theres little political capital in digging up memories of the bombing, Stewart notes.

Many people in the center of power in Tokyo would rather not talk about such touchy issues, he says.

The Japanese government has long fought to limit the number of people seeking official recognition as atomic-bomb survivors eligible for special assistance, and survivors who feel they suffered from radiation exposure but werent recognized as victims have filed numerous lawsuits. When Abe was prime minister from 2006 to 2007, he refused to meet with the plaintiffs.

Last year, in a break from tradition, Abe failed to include a pledge to observe the countrys three nonnuclear principles in the annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony speech.

Tourists visit the Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome and the nearby Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. (Carl Court / Getty Images)

What does the public think?

A 2015 opinion poll by a Russian news agency found that 60% of the Japanese public wanted an apology for the bombing.

But what the Japanese government and the public want arent always the same.

Adelstein is a special correspondent.

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BEIJING  In its heyday, the largest island was home to several hundred workers who caught fish and collected albatross feathers to adorn womens hats in Europe.

Nowadays, the only inhabitants are a hardy band of feral, inbred goats descended from a fecund pair left behind in 1978 by Japanese ultranationalists who wanted to establish a living presence on the otherwise deserted shards of land.

Rarely in geopolitics have the stakes been so large over someplace so small.

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Political scientists have compared the islands so vociferously contested between China and Japan to the Falklands, which sparked the 1982 war between Argentina and Britain. But in fact they are much, much less. The Senkaku (to the Japanese) and Diaoyu (to the Chinese) consist of eight islands, the largest all of 2 miles long and the smallest a mere rock jutting out of the East China Sea. In their entirety, the islands cover less than 3 square miles.

Nevertheless, they are a tinderbox for Asias superpowers, one in which the United States is deeply entangled. The U.S. occupied the islands after World War II and was ultimately responsible for handing back administrative authority to Japan.

Until the late 19th century, the Chinese had the strongest claim to the islands. The Chinese name, Diaoyu, (taken from a legend about a fisherman) appears in literature dating back to the 13th century. Ming Dynasty records describe the islands as navigational markers for ships traveling between China and Okinawa, which was then part of a kingdom known as Liuqiu or Ryukyu.

Chinese ships occasionally stopped at the largest island to replenish supplies of fresh water and firewood. The only documented Japanese presence is from the 16th century, when Japanese pirates used an island as a base for launching raids against the Chinese coast.

The border between China and Liuqiu was an underwater trough to the east of the islands, making them clearly part of Chinese territory, wrote Japanese scholar Unryu Suganuma, in a study published in 2000. There was no ambiguity about the Diaoyu islands being part of Chinese territory; these eight islets belonged to the Middle Kingdom, period! Suganuma wrote.

That sole claim changed in the late 19th century, as a rapidly modernizing Japan eclipsed Chinas crumbling Qing Dynasty. In the 1880s, an adventurous businessman from Fukuoka, Tatsushiro Koga, asked the Japanese government for permission to lease them.

The government initially denied his requests, saying the islands probably belonged to China (It has been found that these islands lie near the border area with the Qing  and have Chinese names, the Japanese foreign minister wrote in an 1884 memorandum, according to Suganumas book.) But the government changed its mind in 1895, the same year that it annexed Taiwan after its decisive victory in the first Sino-Japanese war. Japan declared the islands terra nullius, basically no mans land, and formally annexed them. The name Senkaku was a translation of Pinnacle Islands, which British seamen had been using as a nickname for the islands because of their steep rock formations.

The islands were part of the booty of war, said Han-yi Shaw, a scholar from Taiwan, which also lays claim to the islands.

Given a 30-year lease to the islands, the Koga family invested substantially in them. On the largest, they built houses, reservoirs and piers, and set up a collection center for albatross feathers for export to Europe as well as a processing plant for dried bonito flakes, an ingredient in Japanese fish broth. Up to 248 workers lived on the island, many of them children, as it was difficult to recruit adults to go to such a remote place.

There was great hardship living on that island. Charter boats didnt want to stop there; food and fuel had to be imported. Koga hired children between the ages of 7 and 12 and to sweeten the deal built a school for them, said Shaw, who had been studying Japanese documents including Kogas memoir.

Kogas son, Zenji, bought four islands from the Japanese government in 1932 after the lease expired. But the business became unsustainable after Japans entry into World War II, because of rising fuel costs and economic sanctions.

After Japans defeat, the islands came under U.S. occupation. They were given to Japan in 1972, along with the hand-over of Okinawa.

The United States said it wasnt taking sides in the dispute. But this was the Cold War and they didnt want the islands to fall into communist hands, said Suganuma.

Zenji Koga later sold the islands to the Kurihara family, real estate developers who did little with the property except to lease one island to the Japanese Defense Ministry for training exercises and occasional use by the U.S. military.

The current flare-up began in April when the right-wing Tokyo governor, Shintaro Ishihara, announced during a visit to the Washington-based Heritage Foundation that he was raising money to buy the islands from the Kuriharas for an estimated price of $26 million and that he would try to develop them for tourism. The Japanese government stepped in, saying it would purchase three of the islands instead. (The island leased to the military is owned by a Kurihara sister and is not included in the sale.)

There is also a private Chinese claimant to the islands: In the 1970s, the granddaughter of a prominent pharmacist produced a will and purported edict from the late Empress Dowager Cixi bequeathing the island to her grandfather, Sheng Xuanhuai. Scholars have been divided about whether the edict was genuine, but in any case, the family never developed the property. (Ironically, the heirs now operate a Chinese restaurant in Japan.)

Chinese were outraged by the proposed sale of the islands they believe are rightfully theirs. Violent protests broke out this month in dozens of Chinese cities with Japanese stores and factories attacked and Japanese-model cars overturned and set on fire. In Xian, a 51-year-old Chinese man driving his sons Toyota to do the shopping was attacked by a mob and left comatose by a beating.

Hiroyuki Kurihara, a Tokyo architect and spokesman for the Kurihara family, told the English-language Japan Times last week that the dispute should be submitted to the United Nations International Court of Justice before any more violence takes place.

Taiwanese scholar Shaw suggests that people study the history of the islands.

This emotional nationalism isnt going to get us anywhere. We have to win or lose on the underlying historical facts  not trash cars, Shaw said. I dont think anybody wants to go to war over these minuscule islands.

barbara.demick@latimes.com
The 'Harry Potter" film series, with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role, is full of wizardry, mayhem, and romance.

Radcliffe and the rest of the cast are now all grown up, and you are probably wondering who they ended up with in real life.

Real-Life Significant Others of Daniel Radcliffe and other 'Harry Potter' Big Stars

So, here is a list of "Harry Potter" big stars' actual significant others.

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

When Daniel Radcliffe met American actress Erin Darke, who portrayed his love interest in the 2013 movie "Kill Your Darlings," he truly fell in love with her, and they have stayed together ever since.

Earlier this month, a representative for Radcliffe revealed to PEOPLE that Darke was pregnant with their first child.

Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)

PEOPLE reported that Rupert Grint has been with his lifelong girlfriend for over a decade, just like Daniel Radcliffe. They have been together since 2011, and in 2020 they had their first child, a daughter called Wednesday G. However, the couple has never revealed details about where or how they met.

When asked if Wednesday will be a Potterhead, the happy dad who played Ron Weasley in the "Harry Potter" movies told GQ Hype that he cannot wait to watch the fantasy films with her when she is older, adding that she already had her Hogwarts robes when she was just two years old.

READ NEXT: 'Harry Potter' Star Robbie Coltrane Dead

Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)

Since the beginning of her time in the Harry Potter limelight, Bonnie Wright has had her fair share of high-profile relationships, including an engagement to heartthrob Jamie Campbell-Bower in 2011 and a relationship with notorious nightclub owner Simon Hammerstein in 2012.

In addition to her romance with Glee's Jacob Artist, Wright dated American businessman Andrew Lococo from 2013 to 2014. Wright announced her marriage to Lococo on Instagram in March 2022. Wright frequently posts photos of herself and her new husband on Instagram, and the two can often be seen embarking on adventurous outings and exploring new places together.

Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)

After the pressure she endured during "Harry Potter" years, Emma Watson has made it a point to maintain strict boundaries between her personal and work lives.

During interviews, Watson rarely talks about her personal life and never makes formal public appearances with her boyfriends, 80s Kids reported.

Watson told Vanity Fair, "I can't talk about my boyfriend in an interview and then expect people not to take paparazzi pictures of me walking around outside my home. You can't have it both ways."

But Watson has revealed that she has been dating Leo Robinton, an American businessman she met in New York City, since 2019.

Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory)

A source confirmed to PEOPLE that Robert Pattinson, who played Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," and model Suki Waterhouse were indeed a couple since 2018.

In the following years, the couple tried to keep their relationship a secret, showing up together on the red carpet only once. However, they have spent birthdays and other special events on each other's side.

Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)

Matthew Lewis, the dashing former Neville Longbottom actor from "Harry Potter," started dating Angela Jones, an American event manager, in the spring of 2016.

They met in January 2016 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Their 2018 wedding took place in Italy. Jones wrote in her journal that she had "never believed in soul mates until we met.

"We came from two different countries, 4,334 miles apart, and yet we were one and the same," she noted. The couple has two dogs and is presently residing in Southern California.

READ MORE: LeBron James Gives Elon Musk's Twitter Blue Plan a Big Problem

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Harry Potter Cast's Real-Life Partners 2021 Revealed! - From OSSA
News / Local

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LUPANE State University (LSU) Vice Chancellor Pardon Kuipa has escaped censure over allegations of sexually harassing a female staffer, it was established.A female staff member in 2021 accused Kuipa of sexually harassing her at work after she allegedly turned down his proposal, prompting the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) to investigate.In an interview on Wednesday, ZGC chief executive officer, Virginia Muwanigwa said they have completed investigations and the final report will be tabled before Parliament."The processes were concluded and a report was adopted by the full Commission on its 38th seating on February 28, 2023," Muwanigwa said."The investigation was carried out utilising the inquisitorial manner to ascertain whether the alleged acts actually transpired."In terms of the particulars of her complaint, the Complainant was alleging that the Respondent committed sexual harassment by commenting on her private life on the constitution of her family and proposing to donate another child to her."The complainant had every reason to suspect that this was a subtle way of initiating intimate sexual relations."She said the complainant accused the VC of making direct sexual advances in return for job-related favours.Muwanigwa said investigations showed that there was animosity between the VC and the female staffer with the former alleging that opinion leaders from Matabeleland were also sponsoring the smear campaign to have him fired."He also attributed it to tension emanating from him not being the preferred candidate by some opinion leaders in the region," she said.According to the ZGC CEO, there was no witness to the sexual harassment."Amongst all the witnesses interviewed, no one was a direct witness of the sexual advances, sexual comments and the physical act of trying to hug the complainant," she said."In fact, almost all of the witnesses claimed to have heard of the allegations through social media."This can however also be attributed to the fact that by its nature sexual harassment is usually done in secrecy as most perpetrators of sexual violations prey on their victims when they are alone, another fact being that the case involved immense power relations."Muwanigwa said there was no concrete evidence to convict Kuipa."As such, the Commission gave the respondent the benefit of doubt," she said."With no substantial evidence or corroboration, it is difficult for any tribunal to arrive at a decision to convict the alleged perpetrator on the allegations raised by the complainant."The standard of proof in ascertaining such allegations is proof on a balance of probabilities and it was the view of the Commission that the Complainant did not fully dispense with her burden of proof."Regardless of the fact that there was no evidence incriminating the respondent, the Commission however recommended that Kuipa be reprimanded for leading a management which presided over a laissez-faire system towards implementation of gender related policies. Allegations of existence of so-called consensual love affairs amongst staff members were raised during the investigations."She said the Commission has recommended that the ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development maintain a tighter oversight role in the implementation of robust policies on sexual harassment.
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 railroads 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 dont 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.

A BNSF train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Raymond, Minn., Thursday, March 30, 2023. BNSF officials said 22 cars derailed, including about 10 carrying ethanol, and the track remains blocked, but that no injuries were reported due to the accident. The cause of the derailment hasn't been determined.Mark Vancleave /Star Tribune via AP

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 Thursdays BNSF derailment in Minnesota were upgraded triple-hulled DOT-117 cars, but they still ruptured and caught fire.

Smoke and fire appear after a BNSF train derailed in Raymond, Minn., Thursday, March 30, 2023. The train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire early Thursday and nearby residents were ordered to evacuate their homes, authorities said.David Joles/Star Tribune via AP

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.

Thats why so many East Palestine residents remain concerned about potential long-term health impacts even though state and federal officials insist they havent 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.

By JOSH FUNK

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UPDATE: Region dodges worst of severe storms; possible tornadoes investigated

The Lehigh Valley was under a severe thunderstorm warning as the clear-blue skies of the early afternoon gave way to a powerful band of storms Saturday evening.

A tornado watch was issued for a region including Warren and Bucks counties, in effect until 10 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

The thunderstorm warning in effect until 6:15 p.m. included Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties.

It warned of 60 mph wind gusts and penny-size hail, with damage possible to roofs, siding, trees and power lines.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 10 p.m. for northwestern New Jersey...and southeastern Pennsylvania, the thunderstorm warning noted. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.

Lightning strikes over Allentown on Saturday, April 1, 2023.Mike Nester | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Stay up-to-date with National Weather Service advisories for our region at weather.gov/phi, and visit lehighvalleylive.com/weather for your complete local hourly and five-day forecast from AccuWeather, plus radar.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Allentown PA, Reading PA and Bethlehem PA until 6:15 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/pkmbuwVPeG  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) April 1, 2023

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania until 10 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/u4MyVXfzxz  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) April 1, 2023

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
SouthGobi Announces Effective Date for Listing on the TSX Venture Exchange and Voluntary De-listing from the Toronto Stock Exchange





VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 1, 2023 / SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX:SGQ)(HK:1878) ("SouthGobi" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to the Company's press release dated March 6, 2023, the Company's common shares will commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") as of the opening of trade on April 17, 2023 in Canada. The Company's trading symbol "SGQ" will remain the same.

The Company's common shares are expected to trade on the TSX-V under the existing CUSIP #844375105 and ISIN #CA8443751059. In connection with the TSX-V listing, the Company's common shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") at the close of trading on April 14, 2023 in Canada. Both the TSX and TSX-V are each expected to issue a bulletin to this effect.

About SouthGobi

SouthGobi, listed on the Toronto and Hong Kong stock exchanges, owns and operates its flagship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia. It also holds the mining licences of its other metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in South Gobi region of Mongolia. SouthGobi produces and sells coal to customers in China.

Contact:

Investor Relations

Office: +852 2156 1438 (Hong Kong)

+1 604 762 6783 (Canada)

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.southgobi.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information included in this press release that is not current or historical factual information constitutes forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including information regarding the effective date of the listing of the Company's common shares on the TSX-V and the effective date of delisting from the TSX. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "could", "should", "seek", "likely", "estimate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions including, among other things, the ability of the Company to satisfy the listing conditions set out in the TSX-V's conditional acceptance letter and other similar factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from what the Company currently expects. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue importance on forward-looking statements, which speaks only as of the date of this disclosure, and not to rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it is under no obligation and does not undertake to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, further events or otherwise at any particular time, except as required by law. Additional information concerning factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those in such forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: SouthGobi Resources Ltd.

1 april 2023 at 22:00

View source version on accesswire.com:News published onand distributed by:
MT Newswires and QUICK Corp. Form Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Hold in Asia





MT Newswires and QUICK Corp. today announced that they have entered an alliance whereby QUICK will translate select MT Newswires articles into Japanese for distribution in Japan. In turn, QUICK will provide MT Newswires with the Japanese translations of its news for distribution to MT Newswires' global clients.

Under the terms of the alliance, MT Newswires, a leading global publisher of independent, real-time financial news, has agreed to provide QUICK, Japan's dominant financial information provider, with access to its breaking news and commentary on North American financial markets and economies. QUICK writers fluent in both English and Japanese will translate select MT Newswires articles into Japanese and distribute the editorial content to bank, brokerage and wealth management clients in Japan. These same stories with Japanese translations will then be distributed to MT Newswires' clients.

The alliance is a natural extension of MT Newswires' expansion covering Asian markets. With bureaus reporting on Japan, China, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand, MT Newswires is moving forward with its growth plans for distributing its news in both English and the home language of each country. The distribution reach of QUICK in Japan combined with MT Newswires' unrivaled global markets coverage is a partnership that demonstrates cooperative agreements among operations that will only better serve clients that need real-time access to global market developments.

Brooks McFeely, Founder and CEO of MT Newswires said, "This alliance with QUICK is mutually beneficial and allows us both to rapidly expand distribution of MT Newswires' breaking news on North American companies and economies in Japan. This partnership with QUICK will enhance the quality and competitiveness of our Japanese language financial news services globally."

MT Newswires delivers original, intra-day commentary and breaking news on a wide range of topics, including equities, fixed income, commodities, foreign exchange (FX), global economics, and more. Platform and application providers incorporate the MT Newswires news feeds into their platforms, enhancing the client experience with comprehensive news coverage of North America, Europe, and Asia.

Jun Shibuya, Executive Officer of QUICK Corp. said, "Partnership with MT Newswires enables us to provide real-time information on earnings and corporate actions of U.S. companies to Japanese individual investors and others. Interest in U.S. stocks is growing in Japan, and we believe that providing high quality MT Newswires news will lead to an increase in the number of Japanese investing in U.S. stocks. "

About MT Newswires

Founded in 1999, MT Newswires is a recognized leader in original and unbiased global capital market, business, and financial news. The Company's expanding global network of financial journalists and economists produces real-time, multi-asset class news in over 160 distinct categories to cater to the diverse and evolving needs of the global investment community. MT Newswires powers most of the largest banks, brokerage, professional market data, trading, wealth management and research applications globally.

About QUICK Corp.

Since its founding in 1971, QUICK has become Japan's largest financial information provider, and has developed an information infrastructure that supports Japan's securities and financial markets. Our mission is to support the decision making of a wide range of customers, such as securities firms, banks, institutional investors, corporations and individual investors. QUICK delivers high-value-added market information and data from a fair and impartial perspective. The extensive information and data QUICK carries continue to increase day by day.

2 april 2023 at 19:05

News published onand distributed by:
A GOAL of 20k for cancer support services has been set, as two friends are soon to set off on a 320km kayak expedition of the River Shannon.

Kayak for Cancer is a source-to-sea kayaking expedition, with the goal of raising 20,000 for the Irish Cancer Society.

Friends Gavin Sheehan and Maccullin Skelly are beginning their 320km trip of the Shannon on April 2, with the hope of completing the expedition over the course of one week.

Both men are friends from their university careers and attended University of Limerick (UL), where they were heavily involved in the UL Kayak Club.

To our knowledge, we'll be the first people to paddle from the source of the Shannon to the Atlantic Ocean in one trip.

Many people do the shorter trip from Dowra in Cavan to Limerick City, Gavin said.

Gavin is a current employee in Analog Devices, in Raheen on the suburbs of Limerick city while Mac is living and working in Lusk in Dublin.

Like many, Gavin and Mac's families have both been affected by cancer in recent years and it's for this reason they chose the Irish Cancer Society as their fundraising beneficiary.

Mid-West fundraising event manager of the Irish Cancer Society, Mary Murray, has been working with Gavin and Mac since early December last and says that their determination is truly inspiring.

This year alone, 40,000 people in Ireland will hear the words you have cancer - it is really vitally important that they know that the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) are here to offer them the information, care and support they need to ease that burden.

Gavin and Mac are doing so well already with their fundraising, any amount that a person can donate to them is a huge support to us at ICS and we are really grateful to them for choosing us as their beneficiary of their kayak event.

With the event not far into the future, Gavin and Mac are almost 50% of the way to their fundraising goal in the lead up to and during their expedition.

Ms Murray continued by saying that only 3% of the ICS is government funded and the charity is required to raise 20m every year. ICS depend on fundraising and donations to finance the services they provide
A SCIENCE teacher from Limerick will be the first contestant to face Claire Byrne on her new RTE quiz this Sunday evening.

Carol Cronin, who teaches at secondary level, and has also had educational books published, took part in Ireland's Smartest, a quest to find the best quizzer in the country.

The show airs at 7.30pm on RTE One, and the RTE Player, where it will be available to view thereafter.

For the next 10 weeks, Claire will be putting three contestants through their paces in a tournament-style competition.

Initially there will be a number of heats to the semi-finals and the final, where the winner will receive a trophy.

Speaking on the show, Carol admitted she is a committed quizzer.

She told Claire of how she runs an annual table quiz at her school - a well established part of the academic calendar.

Claire Byrne puts Irelands cleverest contestants to the test in a new RTE One quiz show "Ireland's Smartest"



The new ten part series starts Sunday, April 2nd at 7:30pm on RTE one and @RTEplayer #IrelandsSmartest pic.twitter.com/680oIdR2hN  RTE One (@RTEOne) March 22, 2023

As a youngster, she watched a lot of quizzes at home, and she also attended many table quizzes in her community - where she would more often than not win!

Presenter Claire said: "Irelands Smartest has found the cleverest people in this country to compete in a quiz that tests their knowledge and their nerve to the limit."

"This is a completely new type of show for me, and I was left in awe of these contestants from all over Ireland who can produce correct answers to some really tricky questions under the glare of the lights, in the intensity of the studio, in front of an audience and with the clock ticking all the while. Its great fun, with lots of tension and youll get to test yourself against the best too from the comfort of your own sofa to see who will be awarded the title of Irelands Smartest," she added.

It's the first time the current affairs presenter has ventured into the world of quizzing.

Carol was joined on the first show of the new series by Tipperary man Aidan McIntyre and Niamh Duffy from Monaghan.
News / Local

by Staff reporter

BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) says a deadly mix of challenges such as system failures among others were crippling its capacity to quench the thirst of residents who are going for several days without water.The revelations were made by BCC acting director of Engineering Sikhumbuzo Ncube in a presentation during an urgent Water Crisis Committee meeting on Monday.Ncube said council was battling systems failures, breakdowns of pumps and electrical equipment, water pipe bursts while rolling power outages as well as the poor performance of the economy were another headache."On bulk delivery conveyance bottle necks-BCC cannot abstract maximum from the dams due to pipeline infrastructure constraints at Insiza, Inyankuni and Mtshabezi Dams," Ncube said."Perennial droughts (resulting in constantly declining dam levels each year) and floods (now rarely), and there is lack of drought resilient infrastructure to avert such catastrophes."Economic challenges  Spares are not readily available locally to cater for emergencies and if available are sold in USD or cash on delivery basis."On the water supply strategies, Ncube said they were using water bowsers as well as implementing other short to medium term interventions.He said the council has embarked on the rehabilitation of 100  150 boreholes."The disinfection and repair work of existing Water Kiosks is set to begin this week in preparation for decanting in order to improve water accessibility," he said."Re-activation of the Water Crisis Committee and joint mobilisation of resources is being done to improve water and sanitation in the most affected areas."He added that refurbishment of the existing Insiza pipeline to improve hydraulic conveyance capacity at an estimated cost of US$400 000, was set to improve raw water output from 55megalitres to 60 ML."Refurbishment of the Umzingwane Booster station and power supply facilities, linking with an upgraded Mtshabezi Pipe set to Improve raw water output from 17ML to 25ML at an estimated cost of US$1.5 Million," Ncube said."Upgrading of the Inyankuni Pipeline and Booster station is set to increase output from 18MLD with an additional 7MLD at a cost of US$500 000."Bulawayo, which lies in the arid southern Matabeleland region, is facing serious water shortages with residents sometimes going for more than a week without supplies.At one time, then Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo had to desperately suggest that trains be hired to ferry water from the Zambezi River.Government once touted the idea of pumping water from the heavily polluted Khami amid strong reservations from residents and city authorities who fear the move could compromise the quality of water in the city.Khami dam was decommissioned in 1998 because of high levels of sewage and industrial waste. The last dam to be built to support Bulawayo was completed in the 1970s.The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP), a 1912 idea, is touted as the permanent solution to perennial water shortages facing Bulawayo and Matabeleland.If completed, the project would bring relief to Bulawayo and the Matabeleland region where perennial water problems have been partly blamed for de-industrialisation.
THIRTY SIX lives a year could be saved in County Limerick 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 Limerick, the data shows that 86 premature deaths a year are linked to dirty air  with 36 people in the city and 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, 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 Limerick is 9.3 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.

Mr Collins 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, said Mr Ryan.

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.

This is an issue which requires a coordinated response across the island. There is a role for governments north and south to lead on this in order to meet World Health Organisation targets.

We were pleased to work with the Irish Heart Foundation on this report and we will continue to work together to highlight this issue and to improve health outcomes for everyone.

I want to thank the researchers for this excellent report and I look forward to continuing to work with the Irish Heart Foundation and others to save lives."

The new figures are based on mortality data gathered in 2019  the last year research of this type was carried out unaffected by Covid-19.
The sister of a teenager killed during the Troubles says she hopes the dark cloud surrounding their family will be lifted as the search for his body resumes.

Columba McVeigh, 19, from Donaghmore in Co Tyrone, was abducted, murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in 1975 and his remains are believed to be at Bragan Bog in Co Monaghan.

He is one of the Disappeared  victims of the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to 1998 known as the Troubles  whose bodies have yet to be found.

A search for Mr McVeighs remains in Bragan Bog began in October 2022 but was suspended at the beginning of November when the ground conditions became too dangerous for contractors and archaeologists to continue.

His sister Dympna Kerr said the resumption of the bog search brings both hope and anxiety.

Of course we hope that this time Columba will be found but those hopes have been dashed so many times before that there still is that gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, she said, adding: Please make it this time.

Its 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement, that was to bring in a new beginning, a new dawn of hope and for many  including us  it did.

But there is still a dark, thick cloud that hasnt lifted for our family and the other families who are still waiting to bring him home.

Ms Kerr said she hoped US President Joe Biden would be made aware of the plight of the families of the Disappeared who are still waiting for a resolution during his visit to Northern Ireland for the anniversary later this month.

President Biden will rightly be proud of the role played by the USA in our peace process, Mrs Kerr said.

And President Clinton did so much for the families of the Disappeared, but President Biden needs to know that there is unfinished business and that there are Irish men and women who every day and every night still have to live in this horrible limbo.

It has to end.

Jon Hill, the lead investigator for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR), said it was always their intention to resume the search for Mr McVeigh at the earliest opportunity.

Every time we undertake a search the thoughts of everyone involved are with the McVeigh family, he said.

Our focus is on doing everything we can to bring this search to a successful conclusion.

If the remains of Columba are in this part of the bog we will find them.

The ICLVR was established in 1999 to locate 16 missing Irish and British people presumed murdered during paramilitary violence and buried in secret.
Mumbai: Speciality chemicals firm Aquapharm Chemicals Pvt. Ltd is in talks with private equity (PE) investors to raise 5,000 crore through a stake sale, two people familiar with the development said. However, the company has not decided on the number of shares it would sell, they said, requesting anonymity.

Several speciality chemicals businesses have seen an uptick in investor interest, with global companies looking to diversify their supply chains as part of the China-plus-one strategy.

Global private equity firms and strategic investors have been approached. It is still early days, and the final contours of the deal are yet to be ascertained," said one of two people, seeking anonymity.

The company is working with US-based investment bank Stifel Financial Corp. for the proposed transaction, he added.

Both Aquapharm and Stifel Financial declined to comment on the matter.

Promoted by V.K. Mangwani, Pune-based Aquapharm manufactures speciality water treatment chemicals, such as phosphonates, polymers, biocides and pharmaceutical intermediaries, used by various industries, including detergents, paper, textile, pharmaceuticals, personal care, water treatment and leather manufacturers. It has manufacturing facilities in Pirangut and Mahad in Maharashtra, with an installed capacity of 70,000 tonnes. The Mangwani family owns a 50% stake, with Bimal and Sanjay Desai-led Desai family owning the rest. Both the shareholders will sell a part of their stakes, the person added.

The size of the stake sale may vary. The Mangwani brothers will continue working at Aquapharm," he added.

In fiscal 2018, Aquapharm acquired USs Aquapharm Chemicals LLC, which has a facility to make speciality chemicals for the oil and gas sector. In March 2019, it also acquired Saudi Arabia-based Unique Solutions for Chemical Industries Co., which deals in desalination plants in Saudi Arabia and has major contracts with a government agency. Aquapharms consolidated net sales for FY22 stood at 1,616.4 crore, and earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was at 423.3 crore, according to VCCEdge, the data and analysis platform of VCCircle. In FY21, consolidated net sales stood at 919.8 crore on an Ebitda of 159 crore, VCCEdge showed.

The companys FY23 Ebitda is nearing 500 crore," the person said.

The company is in high growth sectors that are somewhat resilient to the overall tech slowdown. The deal is expected to get traction," the second person said.

According to a Crisil report, the firm has established a presence in the global phosphonates sector and is witnessing steady demand. The group will benefit from the China-plus-one policy of customers, which will lead to moderate revenue growth in the medium term. Its operating efficiency has also improved, backed by a scale-up in operations and better performance of the US subsidiary, the rating agency said. Highlighting Aquapharms susceptibility to fluctuations in forex rates, raw material prices, economic downturns and global competition, Crisil analysts said it gets a majority of its revenue from exports to Europe and North America.

Considering that it imports around 60% of its raw material requirement, it benefits from a partial hedge, it added.

Though open positions are hedged through forward contracts, the group remains susceptible to sharp changes in forex rates. Adverse forex fluctuations, along with dearer raw materials, have impacted profitability in the past," it said.

As per a November 2022 report on the speciality chemicals industry in India by global consulting firm KPMG, the Indian chemical industry plays a pivotal role in contributing to the economy of the country, accounting for approximately 7 per cent of GDP and is expected to reach $304 billion by 2025, up from $178 billion in 2021.

The industry continues to remain an attractive hub for opportunities for both domestic and multinational manufacturers. The speciality chemicals segment comprises a significant portion of Indias chemical industry. With rising demand for value-added products by both domestic consumption and exports, the industry has experienced a significant increase from end-user segments such as the food industry, automobile industry, real estate, clothes and cosmetics, among other industries. Additionally, the Indian speciality chemicals industry is also expected to outpace China, Japan and the rest of the world," the report said.

Earlier in January, US-based water technology provider Xylem Inc. agreed to Buy Evoqua Water Technologies Corp in a $7.5 billion deal. Evoqua provides water treatment services, including chemicals.
Fintech giant, Paytm has appointed S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP (SRB, commonly known as EY) as its new statutory auditors for a tenure of 5 years, starting from the 23rd annual general meeting (AGM) to the conclusion of the 28th AGM. SRB will be replacing PwC as the latter's term will expire this year.

In its regulatory filing, Paytm said, "the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors of the Company... has considered and approved the appointment of S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP, as Statutory Auditors of the Company for a term of 5 (five) consecutive years."

It added, SRB will be in place of existing auditors Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP whose term shall expire at the conclusion of the forthcoming 23rd AGM which will be held in the calendar year 2023.

The appointment of SRB is now subject to the approvals of the shareholders of Paytm.

SRB is a limited liability partnership firm of Chartered Accountants registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. The audit firm is part of S.R. Batliboi & Affiliates' network of audit firms. It is primarily engaged in providing audit and assurance services to its clients.

Last week, on Friday, Paytm's stock closed at 637 apiece up by 1.16% on BSE. The company's market cap is over 40,372 crore.

As per Paytm's policies and guidelines, the statutory auditors carry out reviews of the companys internal control systems to obtain reasonable assurance to state whether an adequate internal financial controls system was maintained and whether such an internal financial controls system operated effectively in the company in all material respects with respect to financial reporting.

Recently, global major brokerages have shown optimism about Paytm as NPCI's wallet interoperability norms went live in April.

Morgan Stanley sees additional revenues for Paytm Payments Bank (49% owned by OCL) when PAYTM's full KYC wallet customers transact using their wallets on merchants acquired by other service providers.

Stanley also believes that One 97 Communications should also benefit as the interchange paid to Paytm Payments Bank would be lower, in line with the lower standardized interchange. However, this would imply lower revenues for Paytm Payments Bank.

On valuation, Stanley's note said, "we apply adj.F26e EV/sales multiples of 3.5x base,2.3x bear, and 3.6x bull & derive F25e EV, which we discount to Dec-24 at a 13.9% WACC. We then add net cash to arrive at PT. Relative valuation based on US payment firms." Stanley has given 'equal weight' to Paytm stock with a target price of 695."

Meanwhile, Citi has given a buy recommendation on Paytm for a target price of 1,061 per share.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
About a dozen nations, ranging from Saudi Arabia to Iran, announce reductions in oil production beginning in May as a result of rising crude prices and India's trade deficit, which was $17.43 billion in February. One of the largest oil producers in the world, Iraq, announced a production reduction of 211,000 barrels per day starting May 1 in order to "stabilise the market," according to the Iraq oil ministry. Baghdad's action was taken "in coordination with certain other producing countries," according to the ministry, and it will continue through the end of the year. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait have also announced output reductions.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ announced a surprise oil production cut that will exceed 1 million barrels a day, abandoning previous assurances that it would hold supply steady to maintain a stable market, reported Bloomberg.

United Arab Emirates  Saudi Arabia said Sunday that it will reduce oil output by 500,000 barrels per day between May and the end of 2023. This decision may result in higher oil prices throughout the world. The Saudi Energy Ministry said the cuts would be made in coordination with some OPEC and non-OPEC members, without naming them. The reductions are in addition to one made public in October of last year that enraged the Biden administration. The ministry referred to the action as a "precautionary measure" aimed at keeping the oil market stable. The reductions amount to less than 5% of Saudi Arabia's projected 11.5 million barrel daily average output in 2022.

In reaction to Western sanctions that were set to run out at the end of June, Russia said on Sunday that it was extending the 500,000 barrel daily oil output restrictions until the end of the year. "As a responsible and preventive action, Russia is implementing a voluntary reduction of 500,000 barrels per day until the end of 2023," Alexander Novak, a deputy prime minister in charge of energy issues, said in a statement. In light of the intense market volatility, Russia has chosen to maintain its oil output at a lower level through 2023, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Today the global oil market is going through a period of high volatility and unpredictability due to the ongoing banking crisis in the US and Europe, global economic uncertainty, and unpredictable and short-sighted energy policy decisions," Novak said in a statement released on Sunday. At the same time, stability and transparency in global oil market are key in ensuring energy security in the long run."

In conjunction with other OPEC members, Kazakhstan will voluntarily reduce its oil production by 78,000 barrels per day from May until the end of 2023, the nation's energy minister announced on Sunday. "This voluntary cut is a precautionary measure in addition to the reduction in production agreed at the 33rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on October 5, 2022," it said.

According to state media, Algeria's energy ministry said on Sunday that it will voluntarily reduce its oil output by 48,000 barrels per day from May until the end of 2023. On the other hand, Oman will voluntarily cut its oil production by 40,000 barrels per day beginning in May and continuing through the end of 2023, the energy ministry tweeted on Sunday. The energy minister said on Sunday that the UAE will voluntarily reduce its oil output by 144,000 barrels per day from May through the end of 2023.

Unexpected production cuts by OPEC members of 1.15 million barrels per day might increase oil prices globally by $10 per barrel, the head of investment firm Pickering Energy Partners said on Sunday.

(With inputs from agencies)
Leading fully integrated Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) company, Avalon Technologies is set to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on April 3rd. The public offer will be available for subscriptions till April 6th. Ahead of the IPO, the company has raised around 389.25 crore from 24 anchor investors. Post the IPO, the company is proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

Here are the 10 key points of Avalon Technologies IPO:

1. Avalon allotted 8,927,751 equity shares to 24 anchor investors and raised  389.25 ahead of the companys proposed IPO, at the upper price band of  436 per equity share (including a premium of  434 per equity share) with a face value of  2 per share.

2. Among the anchor investors, some of the major names were Goldman Sachs Funds, HDFC Large and Midcap Fund, Franklin India Opportunities Fund, WhiteOak Capital funds, IIFL Select Series II, Mahindra Manulife funds, and Nomura India Stock Mother Fund.

3. Of the total allocation of equity shares to anchor investors --- about 2,981,698 equity shares (i.e. 33.40% of the total allocation to Anchor Investors) were allocated to 5 domestic mutual funds through a total of 10 schemes.

4. The IPO for non-anchor investors which means qualified institutional buys (QIBs), non-institutional investors (NIIs), and retail individual investors (RII) will open from April 3rd to 6th.

5. The IPO comprised a fresh issue worth 320 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating to 865 crore.

6. The price band has been at a minimum of 415 per share and a maximum of 436 per share.

7. Under the OFS, the selling shareholders of the company are --- promoters Kunhamed Bicha, Bhaskar Srinivasan, T P Imbichammad, and Mariyam Bicha. Other shareholders are Anand Kumar, Sareday Seshu Kumar, and Luquman Veedu Ediyanam.

8. Of the total 100% book building offer, 75% of the portion will be kept for QIBs, 15% reserved for NIIs, and 10% for RIIs.

9. JM Financial Limited, DAM Capital Advisors Limited, IIFL Securities Limited, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Private Limited are the Book Running Lead Managers to the Offer. Link Intime India is the registrar of the issue.

10. The company will not use the proceeds from OFS since they will go to selling shareholders. However, Avalon plans to use proceeds from fresh issue for repayment of all or a portion of certain outstanding borrowings of itself and one of its subsidiaries Avalon Technology and Services. Also, the company plans to use fresh capital proceeds for funding working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

Avalon Technologies is one of the leading fully integrated Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS") companies with end-to-end operations in delivering box-build solutions in India in terms of revenue, with a focus on high-value precision engineered products.

Avalon has seen a significant rise in its customer base to 81 in FY22 from 62 in FY21, increasing its order book to 11,902.46 million as of November 2022 from 9,182.32 million as of November 2021.

Its electronic manufacturing facilities comprise an aggregate of 66 production lines, consisting of 11 Surface Mount Technology (SMT") lines, 12 Through Hole Technology (THT") lines, and 43 assembly lines.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) made their first monthly buying of 2023 in March with an inflow of 7,936 crore in Indian equities. Although in the majority part of March, markets were under pressure after two US banks' failure sparked contagion fear in the banking system, FPIs are broadly buyers driven by the major block deal in Adani stocks. The near-term outlook of FY24 looks positive for FPIs as the high valuation of Indian markets has corrected significantly.

As per NSDL data, FPIs inflow in equities stood at 7,936 crore during March. This is compared to the outflows of 5,294 crore in February and 28,852 crore in January respectively.

Due to a mega block deal in Adani Group in the initial days of March, where GQG Partners pumped in 15,446 crore in four stocks of the conglomerate ---- had led FPIs inflow at 13,540 crore in the overall market from March 1st to March 10th.

But banks contagion which sparked after two banks' failure in the US, has turned the market sentiment volatile and outflows have been recorded from the FPIs front.

As per Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, FPIs have been consistent buyers in capital goods and alternating between buying and selling in financial services. The sustained selling by FPIs appears to be over since they have turned buyers in the last few days.

In overall March, Sensex dipped by 419.56 points or 0.71%, while the Nifty 50 shed 91.15 points or 0.52%.

Also, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made buying of 1,997.70 crore in March in the equities.

Going ahead, Vijayakumar said, "the near-term outlook for FPI looks much more positive now. Even though Indian valuation continues to be relatively high, the recent market correction has made valuations a bit more reasonable than earlier."

An important factor, as per Vijayakumar, is the impressive turnaround in Indias CAD which has improved substantially due to rising exports. He said, "The CAD which was 4.4% in Q2FY23 has turned into a surplus in Q3 FY23."

Therefore, he added, "the INR is likely to be stable, going forward. This may restrain FPIs from turning into aggressive sellers. FPIs turning buyers in banking will help banking stocks scale higher levels assisted by good Q4 results."

Apart from equities, FPIs were sellers in the debt market with an outflow of 2,505 crore in March. They also offloaded 727 crore in debt-VRR instruments. On the contrary, FPIs made investments in hybrid instruments to the tune of 1,195 crore.

Taking the above, FPIs are broadly net buyers in March in the overall market with an inflow of 5,899 crore. This is compared to selling of 4,139 crore in February and 26,544 core in January.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation. State-owned RIA news agency said 25 people were wounded and 19 of them were being treated in hospital.

A leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. A Ukrainian presidential adviser said "domestic terrorism" was breaking out in Russia.

Russia's Foreign Ministry made no accusations of involvement in the attack, but said silence in Western capitals exposed hypocrisy over expressions of concern for journalists.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the military bloggers who have championed Russia's war effort in Ukraine while often criticising the army top brass.

"We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it," he was shown saying in a video last September at a Kremlin ceremony in which President Vladimir Putin claimed four occupied regions of Ukraine as Russian territory - a move rejected as illegal by most countries.

TASS news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying the bomb was hidden in a miniature statue that was handed to Tatarsky as he addressed a group of people in the cafe.

Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russian law enforcement, posted a video that appeared to show Tatarsky, microphone in hand, being presented with a statuette of a helmeted soldier. It said the explosion happened minutes later.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the part of Ukraine's Donetsk province that is occupied by Russia, suggested publicly that Ukraine was to blame.

"He was killed vilely. Terrorists cannot do otherwise. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime. It needs to be destroyed, there's no other way to stop it," he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, said the absence of reaction in Washington, London and Paris "speaks for itself given their ostensible concern for the well-being of journalists and freedom of expression.

"The reaction in Kyiv is striking where those who receive Western grants are in no way concealing their delight at what has happened," she wrote on the ministry's website.

'RIPE ABSCESS'

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, wrote on Twitter that it had only been a matter of time - "like the bursting of a ripe abscess" - before Russia would be consumed by what he called domestic terrorism.

"The spiders are eating each other in a jar," he said.

Tatarsky's death followed the killing last August of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow.

Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services of carrying out that attack, which Putin called "evil". Ukraine denied involvement.

Russia's war bloggers, an assortment of military correspondents and freelance commentators with army backgrounds, have enjoyed broad freedom from the Kremlin to publish hard-hitting views on the war, now in its 14th month. Putin even made one of them a member of his human rights council last year.

They reacted with shock to the news of Tatarsky's death.

"He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a Petersburg cafe," said Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo.

Alexander Khodakovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: "Max, if you were a nobody, you'd have died of 'vodka and headcolds'. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother."
Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government on Sunday afternoon for "failing to check" communal violence. He assured that the current administration would soon be uprooted and that the BJP would win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 polls. Speaking about their former ally, the Union Minister assured that BJP's doors are shut for JDU forever".

"People of the country have decided that Narendra Modi will become the prime minister for the third consecutive term. Once that happens, Nitish Kumar will go back on his promise of handing over the mantle to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav as his dreams of becoming the PM will be shattered," he said.

Shah assured that rioters would be hung upside down if Prime Minister Modi was given a full mandate in 2024 and the people of Bihar elected a BJP government the next year.

#WATCH | "...If someone has any doubt that BJP will take JDU back into NDA after election results, then I want to make it clear that BJP's doors are shut for them (JDU) forever": Union HM Amit Shah in Bihar rally pic.twitter.com/KJll9jH6lm  ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

The government which has 'Jungle Raj' pioneer Lalu Prasad Yadav's party, can that govt bring peace in Bihar? Nitish Kumar sat in the lap of Lalu Prasad Yadav due to hunger for powerwe will uproot the 'Mahagathbandhan' government," Shah said during a public address in Nawada district.

The Home Minister had initially been slated to address an event in Bihar's Sasaram. But due to unfortunate situation people are being killed therebullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit," Shah assured.

(With inputs from agencies)
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended that President Emmerson Mnangagwa sets up tribunals to investigate the suitability of Justice Martin Makonese of the Bulawayo High Court and Justice Webster Chinamora of the Harare High Court to continue holding office following allegations of misconduct against the two.If the recommendation is implemented as expected, they will be the latest to face tribunals after Justices Thompson Mabhikwa, Erica Ndewere, Francis Bere and Edith Mushore, who were all fired for misconduct over the last three years.The complaint against Makonese follows an order he issued in a commercial dispute in which he allegedly had a financial interest.He made the order without an application made before him, and without the knowledge of lawyers of the two other parties in the dispute.The complaint against Chinamora was filed by Advocate Thabani Mpofu. A panel set up by the JSC to review the complaint comprising judges Anne-Marie Gowora, Alfas Chitakunye and Custom Kachambwa concluded that Chinamora has a case to answer.Mpofu filed a complaint in a case in which another attorney, Advocate Taona Nyamakura, lodged a complaint against Chinamora for alleged conflict of interest in a legal dispute between Zimbabwe's Delta Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd and Blakey Plastics (Pty) Ltd, a South African company. Chinamora was already facing a series of accusations ranging from conflict of interest, judicial misconduct, bribery to different forms of corruption.In terms of section 187 of the constitution, a judge can only be removed from office for inability to perform the functions of his or her office, due to mental or physical incapacity; gross incompetence or gross misconduct. A judge can only be removed from office in terms of the section.Sub-section 3 stipulates: "If the Judicial Service Commission advises the President that the question of removing any judge, including the Chief Justice, from office ought to be investigated, the President must appoint a tribunal to inquire into the matter."Sub-section 4 reads: "A tribunal appointed under this section must consist of at least three members appointed by the President, of whom (a) at least one must be a person who  (i) has served as a judge of the Supreme Court or High Court in Zimbabwe; or (ii) holds or has held office as a judge of a court with unlimited jurisdiction in civil or criminal matters in a country whose common law is Roman-Dutch or English, and English is an officially recognised language."The tribunal, in accordance with the constitution, must report its findings to the President and recommend whether or not the judge should be removed from office.The NewsHawks understands that Chinamora has been lobbying in government circles and within the JSC for him to stay on, while Makonese had offered to resign.Makonese handled a dispute over a coal mine in Hwange pitting a company called Philcool Investments, which was the "applicant", and two other companies, Hwange Coal Gasification and Taiyuan Sanxing, who were the "respondents" during the hearing purportedly held on 12 October 2022. He allegedly granted the companies relief they had not sought  including ordering them to abandon pending court applications, which suppliers to use and structuring payment terms to resolve the dispute.Allegations are that no such hearing took place. Representatives of Philcool Investments tried to enforce the order, but failed.The complaint against Chinamora followed a complaint by Mpofu, representing Delta Beverages and Schweppes Zimbabwe in a legal dispute with the South African company Blakey Plastics. Justice Chinamora was the judge in the matter in which he ruled in favour of Blakey Plastics which was resisting the cancellation of its contract to supply Delta with plastic materials over five years.A letter of complaint to the JSC by Mpofu stated that after he filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against Chinamora's judgement, Blakey Plastics approached another lawyer, Advocate Taona Nyamakura, and asked for his opinion on the matter which was now before the Supreme Court. Blakey Plastics proceeded to deliver to Nyamakura two large boxes containing documents relating to the legal battle.While Nyamakura was going through the documents, some of which related to what was an ongoing arbitration process in South Africa, he came across numerous personal papers belonging to Chinamora.The papers included a file containing the judge's conditions of service, his original divorce order and file, original vehicle licence for a Land Rover Discovery, a lease agreement, company documents, and building plans for a residential house being constructed in Carrick Creagh, among others.Nyamukura reported the find to the Law Society of Zimbabwe and also informed Mpofu who, in turn, reported the matter to the JSC.In 14 October 2021 letter to the JSC, Mpofu said that it was "obvious to me that the court and arbitration papers that were transmitted to Advocate Nyamakura had been with or had at some stage found their way to Honourable Justice Chinamora or in the very least to someone close to him and who has an interest in the matter, explaining why they had ended up being mixed with his personal and intimate documents."He added: "The arbitration documents were not produced and do not form part of any court record in Zimbabwe. It is highly inconceivable that this mix-up could have happened without the judge having personal contact with Blakey Investments."There is most assuredly a relationship between justice Chinamora and Blakey Investments that needs to be investigated and explained. It is worrisome that, not just one, but numerous personal documents of the judge would be in the possession of Blakey Investments or that Blakey's documents would be in the possession of the judge."
Rajasthan's Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, alleged that a "lobby" connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was encouraging and misleading private doctors who are protesting against the Right to Health Bill in the state.

He also stated that this lobby's actions were causing difficulties for patients who require medical attention.

"The recommendations given by the doctors to the finance secretary were all agreed upon but later on some four to five doctors, who are associated with the RSS, raised objections. It is not an allegation but the truth that they are people from the RSS," Gehlot said. He also said the "four to five people, associated with the RSS, who misguided the doctors, are 'gaddar' (traitors)".

The doctors who are protesting against the Right to Health Bill in Rajasthan have argued that if the legislation is implemented, it will create obstacles in their ability to function smoothly, and local authorities will have more influence over their work.

People have been given the right to access health services for free up to 25 lakh as the government will pay for the treatment under the Bill, the chief minister told reporters here when asked about the ongoing strike. He also appealed to the doctors to end their protest.

"The recommendations given by the doctors to the finance secretary were all agreed upon but later on some four to five doctors, who are associated with the RSS, raised objections. It is not an allegation but the truth that they are people from the RSS," Gehlot said. He also said the "four to five people, associated with the RSS, who misguided the doctors, are 'gaddar' (traitors)".

The chief minister claimed that two people came from Delhi and called him up to meet him.

"They were directed to Finance Secretary Akhil Arora, but instead of meeting with the secretary, the two went to the governor. They after misguiding doctors here, returned to Delhi," Gehlot said and claimed that the two persons from the national capital are also associated with the RSS.

The chief minister said that "a lobby of the RSS is ruining doctors, misguiding them...". The notification for the RTH is yet to be issued and if there are doubts and confusion, they could be cleared, he said.

"It is not the time for politics as people are suffering and they should immediately end their strike," Gehlot said.

A delegation of doctors who are protesting against the Right to Health Bill had the opportunity to meet with Chief Minister Gehlot.

At the meeting, Gehlot listened to the doctors' concerns and attempted to address any doubts they had while also urging them to end their strike.

(With PTI inputs)
Former Navy Chief Vice Admiral Satish N Ghormade revealed that the Indian Navy will strategically deploy BrahMos supersonic cruise missile-equipped mobile coastal batteries in key locations across the maritime zone to counter threats from both the east and west, as reported by ANI.

Recently, the Defence Ministry signed a contract with BrahMos Aerospace corporation to clear mobile coastal missile batteries.

A day after his superannuation, Ghormade said, We will be able to deploy the Next Gen Mobile Missile Coastal Batteries at strategic locations so that any threat from the east or west could be monitored and neutralized. The BrahMos-Equipped Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries is an indigenous joint venture. This provides us with two capabilities; land attack and anti-ship, both are extremely essential to the maritime security of the nation."

The delivery of BrahMos missile batteries is set to begin in 2027, which will include supersonic BrahMos missiles. This acquisition will significantly improve the multi-directional maritime strike capability of the Indian Navy.

The BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) is a joint venture between India and Russia that plays a significant role in the development of the next generation of surface-to-surface missiles with enhanced ranges.

With this recent contract, the indigenous production of the critical weapon system and ammunition will be further boosted, with the active participation of indigenous industries.

This project is expected to generate employment opportunities for more than 90,000 man-days over the next four years.
Inclement weather has led to a massive loss of crops in three states, triggering fears of huge yield loss for farmers and harvesting challenges. An estimated 5.23 lakh hectare of wheat crop was damaged in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, triggering massive protests in several parts of the state. The agitation has also taken a political tint in some areas with Congress leaders

"The MLAs should meet the farmers and listen to their grievances. Likewise, the officers should make sure that the special 'girdawari' is completed soon so that we can disburse compensation before Baisakhi," said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Expressing solidarity with the farmers who lost their crops due to rain and hailstorms, the CM said that the loss of every single penny would be compensated. The state government has also hiked compensation for crop loss because of vagaries of weather by 25% hike recently.

ALSO READ: How falling farm incomes impact Indias economy

Meanwhile in Haryana, Congress leaders lashed out at the BJP-led government, insisting that government should provide adequate compensation of 65 thousand to each farmer within 24 hours for bailing them out of this crisis".

According to officials, the assessment of wheat crop damage in underway in both states. In some parts of Madhya Pradesh, the government procurement at minimum support price has begun.

Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja told PTI that the government will also review the extent of damage caused to wheat and other rabi crops along with state governments on Monday.

The major wheat growing states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have received unseasonal rains accompanied by thunderstorm, hailstorm and gusty wind due to the western disturbances for the past two weeks. The untimely rains are expected to continue for a few more days. The rains come at a time when the winter crop was almost ready for harvest.

ALSO READ: Another farmers' protest brewing? SKM leaders meet union minister, share memo

(With inputs from agencies)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully conducted the autonomous test landing mission of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnataka's Chitradurga city today, Sunday, March 2, 2023.

India achieved it. ISRO joined by DRDO successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours on April 2, 2023," the Indian space agency said in an official statement.

The RLV took off at 7.10 am by a Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force, the statement said, adding that it completed an autonomous landing using the Integrated Navigation, Guidance & control system on the ATR at 7.40 am.

The statement also said that the autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space re-entry vehicle's landing high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path as if the vehicle arrives from space.

RLV's autonomous approach and landing pic.twitter.com/D4tDmk5VN5  ISRO (@isro) April 2, 2023

LEX utilized several indigenous systems. Localized Navigation systems, instrumentation, and sensor systems, etc. were developed by ISRO," the Indian space agency added.

ISRO had demonstrated the re-entry of its winged vehicle RLV-TD in the HEX mission in May 2016. The re-entry of a hypersonic sub-orbital vehicle marked a major accomplishment in developing Reusable Launch Vehicles," it said.

"The LEX began with an Integrated Navigation test in 2019 and followed multiple Engineering Model Trials and Captive Phase tests in subsequent years," the statement read.

Along with ISRO, Indian Air Force (IAF), Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), and Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) also contributed to this test, ANI reported.

Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, VSSC, and Shyam Mohan N, Programme Director, ATSP guided the teams.

Dr. Jayakumar M, Project Director, RLV was the Mission Director, and Muthupandian J, Associate Project Director, RLV was the Vehicle Director for the mission. Ramakrishna, Director, ISTRAC was present on the occasion. Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DOS Somanath witnessed the test and congratulated the team.

With LEX, the dream of an Indian Reusable Launch Vehicle arrives one step closer to reality, said the ISRO officials.

(With ANI inputs)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will on Monday file an appeal before a court in Surat in Gujarat against his conviction in a criminal defamation case. Gandhi is likely to remain present in the sessions court when the plea will be filed challenging the lower court's order sentencing him to two years in jail, sources said on Sunday. "A petition challenging the lower court order will be filed in the sessions court of Surat on Monday, with Rahul Gandhi remaining present," a member of his legal team said requesting anonymity.

Senior state and national leaders of the Congress will accompany him to Surat, sources said. The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma here had on March 23 convicted Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname" remarks.

It had held 52-year-old Rahul Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500. The court had also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to appeal in a higher court. Gandhi was on March 24 disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by the Surat court in the criminal defamation case.

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.

Rahul 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.
Actor Varun Dhawan found himself at the centre of a controversy on Sunday after his interaction with model Gigi Hadid went viral for all the wrong reasons. As netizens lashed out at Dhawan for picking the model up without her consent the actor took to social media to issue a clarification of sorts. The incident had occured earlier this week as the two attended the inaugural function of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai.

"I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather then going out and doing something about things. Good morning (sic)" Dhawan wrote in reponse to one tweet.

Hadid also took to social media later in the day, thanking Dhawan for making her "Bollywood dreams" come true.

I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather then going out and doing something about things . Good morning  https://t.co/9O7Hg43y0S  VarunDhawan (@Varun_dvn) April 2, 2023

Visuals that have been shared widely on social media show Dhawan helping the American supermodel walk onto the stage amidst his performance before lifting her in his arms. The model appeared to be surprised but then did a few steps as the actor was spinning her around and later even pecked her on the cheek.

"If you are a woman, you are not safe anywhere with anyone. Even if you are Gigi Hadid, invited to a party with an 'elite' crowd, guys like Varun dhawan will randomly pick you up and kiss you without your consent, all in the name of fUn. Disgusting (sic)" read one outraged tweet.

Varun Dhawan lifting Gigi Hadid is the most embarrassing thing on the internet today," asserted another.

(With inputs from agencies)
Its the first time a former US president has faced criminal charges. America had listed human equality as a self-evident truth in its declaration of independence in 1776, and Donald Trump is clearly not above the law. Legally, the case isnt open and shut. During his 2016 run for the White House, he allegedly paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 as hush money to keep quiet about a 2006 affair. She did not, opting to go public later. The ethics of it wont be under trial. The illegality involved, if any, could be an election-law violation for Trumps failure to declare what may amount to a campaign self-donation. The Trump Organization recorded the payment as a legal expense, but this would be just a misdemeanour and not a criminal offence. Even a guilty verdict would not bar him from joining the US presidential race underway. In fact, the spotlight hes got might actually help him win the Republican nomination for 2024 on sympathy. Trumps return to power is a possibility, an outcome that Russia and China are seen to favour, given President Joe Bidens global democracy-versus-autocracy formulation. India is neutral but also a keen watcher of the power matrix as its shifts.
India-Pakistan ties may have improved in recent years if former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had had his way. Ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has revealed that the former army chief had pressurised him to develop friendly ties with the neighbouring nation when they were at the helm of affairs.

General Bajwa wanted me to develop friendly ties with India. He put pressure on me for this and it was one of the reasons our relationship deteriorated," Khan told reporters on Saturday evening.

The ousted premier insisted that Pakistan should only hold peace talks with India provided New Delhi restores the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

ALSO READ: Pakistan PM refuses talks with Imran Khan unless he apologizes to

While ties between the two nations have long been strained, things took a turn for the worse in 2019 after the Narendra Modi-led government abrogated Article 370, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories.

Pakistan is currently facing a precarious impasse on multiple fronts, encompassing political, economic, security, and human rights issues. The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan last week against the Election Commission's decision to delay the provincial elections in Punjab.

"If elections are not held within 90 days in two provinces Pakistan will be without a constitutionPakistan is facing a critical moment in its history. The nation must stand by the Constitution and rule of law," Khan said on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies)
United States President Joe Biden is likely to skip the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charless III, scheduled to be held thid May. A report by UK daily The Telegraph suggests that Joe Biden is likely to skip the ceremony and his wife and First Lady Jill Biden is likely to attend the ceremony.

According to the report on The Telegraph, the people familiar with the development have said that the US president is not expected" to be in the UK for the coronation.

Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to the US and Buckingham Palace had cordial and diplomatic" talks with the White House about the coronation, the report claimed but Joe Biden's aides told the Palace that he had prior commitments.

Further the report also stated that people in the White House has stated that Biden is too old to travel.

However, the report also said that there may still be some efforts under way to see if Biden can be persuaded to come to the Coronation", while another said that his plan was not locked and loaded".

In September, Joe Biden and his wife had visited the UK to join world leaders at Westminster Abbey in paying their respects to late Queen Elizabeth II.

Among those who are expected to attend the ceremony are David Beckham, and his wife Victoria Beckham who also attended the Queens funeral. Former Greys Anatomy star Sandra Oh, musicians Gregory Charles and Olympic gold medallist swimmer Mark Tewksbury are also likely to join.

Confusion remains over whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be present. However, the couple have been invited.

Meanwhile, the UK has unveiled about 8 million-pound funding for its public sector authorities to be able to apply for a free portrait of King Charles III as part of a scheme to celebrate the new reign after Queen Elizabeth II's death last year.

The Cabinet Office said councils, courts, schools, police forces, fire and rescue services and other state-funded organisations will be among the public institutions across the length and breadth of the UK to be offered a new official portrait photograph of the 74-year-old monarch, funded by the UK taxpayers.
Donald Trump, the first former US president to be indicted, will plead not guilty when he appears in a Manhattan state court Tuesday to face criminal charges, his defense lawyer said.

We will very loudly and proudly say not guilty," Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina said on an appearance Sunday on CNNs State of the Union."

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg convened the grand jury in January to investigate Trumps role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The panel on Thursday voted to indict Trump but the charges remain under seal.

Tacopina said he believes Trump faces several misdemeanor charges and signaled a defense the former president is likely to launch, including assailing Braggs authority to bring state charges tied to a federal election. He said the payments were previously investigated by the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department which he said concluded there were no violations."

Somehow, a state prosecutor has taken a a misdemeanor and tried to cobble together and make it a felony by alleging a violation of federal campaign violations which the FEC said didnt exist," he said.

The team will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge, and we will challenge," Tacopina said the defense very much anticipates a motion to dismiss because theres no law that fits this."

He said, however, he would not seek an immediate dismissal at the arraignment on Tuesday because that would be showmanship and nothing more."

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the payments in 2018. The Justice Department had a standing policy that a sitting president couldnt be charged.

Tacopina defended Trumps trashing of New York state judge Juan Merchan, who will preside over the case. While Trump claimed Merchan HATES ME" on his Truth Social platform, Tacopina said there are no plans to seek Merchans removal from the case.

My client has a right to have an issue with everything," he said. Hes been politically persecuted."

Trump will deliver remarks on Tuesday evening after returning to his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, according to a statement from his campaign.

Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Cohen said on CNN Sunday that his client and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker both provided the Manhattan grand jury with evidence about hush-money payments made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal before the 2016 election.

American Media Inc. the parent company and publisher, allegedly bought McDougals story after she claimed to have had a past affair with Trump. Pecker testified before the grand jury twice, and was spotted leaving the courthouse Monday.
News / National

by Staff reporter

CORRUPT government officials are maneuvering to manipulate an anticipated investigation into allegations of misconduct and corruption against High Court judge Webster Chinhamora as he is seen to be pro-government.The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has recommended that President Emmerson Mnangagwa sets up tribunal to determine Chinamora's suitability to hold office in terms of section 187 of the constitution. The JSC has also recommended that Justice Martin Makonese of the Bulawayo High Court be brought before a tribunal.The NewsHawks understands that a rescue mission is underway for Chinamora in order to save him from the chop.Some governmnet officials, particularly from the Ministry of Justice, however want Chinamora rescued from the chop. Those behind the plot want him to be found guilty of a lesser offence and getaway with a mild reprimant, in the event that the tribunal finds him not fit to continue holding office.A senior Ministry of Justice official told The NewsHawks that corrupt government officials want to use corrupt means to rescue Chinamora from corruption allegations."Following the recent suspension of the two judges, the JSC has recommended to Mnangagwa that he should appoint a tribunal to investigate Chinamora and Makonese to ascertain the veracity of allegations of misconduct and corruption against them," a Ministry of Justice source said."The tribunal can either clear them if they are innocent or recommend their dismissal if found guilty."However, there are some senior government officials who are manoeuvring to ensure that Makonese be found guilty, while Chinamora must be rescued through a slap on the wrist; a mild reprimand because he is seen as pro-system. To save him, they will compile his previous judgments favouring the system to plead his case to be spared dismissal. Imagine using corrupt means to save a judge accused of accusation. That shows corruption is deeply rooted everywhere and in all facets of society and the state, including the judiciary. This is a reflection of the current state of affairs in the country; the state of the nation."Chinamora is seen as pro-government, hence some officials feel he should be rescued from the tribunal at all costs.He has made what are seen as pro-government rulings, the latest being the one contradicting a landmark ruling by Justice Jacob Mafusire, who determined that Statutory Instrument 70 of 2015 and other legislation used by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with support from the ministry of Finance was unconstitutional.Mafusire ordered the Central Africa Building Society (Cabs) to pay US$142 000 to local architects Penelope Douglas Stone and Richard Harold Stuart Beattie after their money was converted into local currency following the passing of SI 70 of 2015.Cabs was also ordered to pay interest at the rate of 5% per annum from 28 November 2016  when the money was converted  to the date of payment.The ruling has far-reaching implications for many individuals, organisations and companies whose money was converted into bond notes or RTGS because of SI 70 of 2015 and other predatory legislation.Stone and Beattie own a company trading as Stone/Beattie Studio Partnership and had their savings eroded following the passing of the "illegal laws."Their victory followed a protracted legal battle which started in 2019.In the landmark ruling, Mafusire set aside part of the law which led to conversion of the duo's money into local currency.He also granted the order ruling that the Finance minister and the Reserve Bank had improperly interfered with the contractual rights and obligations between the couple and their banker, Cabs, in breach of the constitution.Cabs, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Finance minister Mthuli Ncube were cited as first, second and third respondents respectively.The judge also criticised the government over its ever-changing policies, saying the haphazard scenario needed to be explained clearly to the banking public in case they found themselves in a similar situation as the architects."Before this court, the third respondent (Ncube) has not provided some further insights into the thought process behind the implementation of the measures above, particularly the split of people's bank balances into Nostro FCAs and RTGS FCAs."The modalities of the whole process of creating Nostro FCAs and RTGS FCAs and the simultaneous separation of already existing bank balances into USD and RTGS, depending on the source of the deposits, is not properly explained."The second and third respondents allege that it was left to the individual banks to use the Know Your Customer (KYC) principles and trace the source of the deposits that had flowed into the individual customers' accounts. But the first respondent has not explained how it actually did it. If the nameless currency was co-mingling with the genuine USD, then perhaps only the banks and the monetary authorities themselves knew."What all this analysis boils down to is that the second and third respondents, in effecting the currency reforms aforesaid, breached one of the constitutional tenets of good governance as set out in s 3(1)(h) of the Constitution. A government must not make, let alone implement arbitrary decisions," said the judge.In their application, Stone and Beattie sought an order that Exchange Control Directive No. R120/2018 issued by the Reserve Bank is unconstitutional and invalid as it violates section 71 of the constitution.They also argued that the conversion of their US$142 000 to RTGS142 000 was unconstitutional and invalid as it violates section 71 of the constitution and also applied for an order that Cabs should pay them US$142 000.Stone and Beattie also submitted that the Exchange Control Directive No. RT120/2018 is grossly unreasonable and ultra vires section 35(1) of the Exchange Control Regulations, SI 109 of 1996, and is invalid.The judge ruled the conversion was illegal before he also slapped the respondents with costs.However, hardly a fortnight after the ruling, Chinamora made a surprise ruling which contradicted Mafusire's findings, leaving a local pensioner, Duncan Hugh Cocksedge, counting his losses after his US$179 000 bank balance domiciled in a Cabs account was wiped out after being wholly converted to local currency through the government's controversial Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018.Duncan had approached the High Court seeking redress, but his application was thrown out by Chinamora.Chinamora's ruling was a stark departure from that of Mafusire who had determined that some sections relied on by Cabs were in breach of the national constitution and contractual obligations between the applicant and the first respondent.Justice Chinamora averred that it was not for the courts to change "political questions".The judge also said the regulation of banking activities to achieve economic stability and protect the banking public were the prerogative of the executive."Put differently, how the government makes policies aimed to achieve monetary stability and incentivise the generation of foreign exchange in the national interest is a political question, best left to the politicians."Courts in this jurisdiction are familiar with the political questions doctrine and how to deal with a case where this arises."No basis exists, in my view, for not deferring to the minister who made the policy decision on behalf of the Executive."He also said Cocksedge had not shown his court that the deposit in his account was realised from offshore or foreign currency cash deposits.He added: "The applicant has not shown that the provisions of the Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018 and the Finance (No.2) Act 2019 are not laws of general application."As a result, I do not find any merit in the applicant's argument, and am inclined to dismiss his application."Cocksedge's claim was for reimbursement of his US$179 541 by Cabs.He also wanted an order nullifying the Exchange Control Directive No. R120/2018 and the court to declare the provisions of section 22 (1) (b) (d) and (e) of the Finance (No.2) Act 2019 unconstitutional in that they violate sections 71 and 56 of the constitution.At all times, he had a bank account with Cabs (first respondent) and as of 5 December 2016, the balance in his account was US$179 541.45.On 4 May 2016, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), cited as the second respondent, made a policy announcement that it was going to introduce an export incentive in the form of bond notes.Prior to that, the RBZ had issued bond coins to complement the multi-currency system.The policy statement dated 4 May 2016 said the RBZ had acquired a US$200 million foreign currency export facility to cater for the high demand for foreign exchange and provide an incentive facility of up to 5% on all foreign exchange receipts, including proceeds from tobacco and gold sales.Further to the policy statement, through an Extraordinary Government Gazette, the President enacted the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Amendment of the Reserve Bank Act.Conscious of loss of value on his account, Cocksedge wrote to Cabs on 6 December 2016 asking the bank to preserve his account and not to deposit any more funds.He wrote again on 2 June 2020 demanding payment of US$179 541.45 but the payment was not made.In his alternative claim, Cocksedge said the conduct of the RBZ and the Finance minister was "unlawful, grossly unreasonable and irrational".He said the changes in law, effectively amount to unlawful and unconstitutional expropriation of value. Consequently, he submitted that these actions violated the provisions of sections 56 (1) and 71 of the constitution of Zimbabwe.Cabs did not dispute that Cocksedge had deposited US$179 541.45 before February 2023.The bank said its banking services are regulated by the RBZ, adding that it had no disputes with the latter.The bank also argued that it never made a secret or undue profit from Cocksedge's deposit but was also affected by the changes in the economy and the monetary environment.Cabs refrained from commenting on the unlawfulness or constitutionality of the Exchange Control directive and said if the court were to find that payment was to be made to the applicant in US dollars, it should be indemnified by the RBZ and the minister.
The travel industry is experiencing a surge in demand for both domestic and international travel, particularly for the summer season. There has been a four-fold increase in demand for long-haul travel and a three-fold increase in short-haul and domestic travel compared to the previous year, a Thomas Cook (India) report cited. As much as there is a demand for traditionally popular destinations, many are flocking to less explored places. Here's a look at top travel trends for 2023, including the popular long, mid and short-haul destinations, and also emerging travel destinations.

Which places are witnessing maximum demand in summer 2023?

Europe remains the most popular destination with demand up by over 300%, followed by Southeast Asia's Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, with Vietnam and Cambodia also seeing strong demand, Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head, Holidays, MICE, Visa - Thomas Cook (India), said

Other destinations like Maldives, Mauritius, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al-Khaimah, Australia, New Zealand, Turkiye, South Africa, Iceland, and Rhodes Island in Greece are also seeing strong re-emergence."

Which are the emerging travel destinations as per the trends?

Baku and Almaty with convenient access and easy visas are popular new emerging destinations, Kale said and added, Notably, Japan and South Korea are experiencing significant growth in travel for the Cherry Blossom season."

Which are the top travel destinations in India?

Top domestic locations include Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Goa, Andaman, and the North East, as well as Bhutan in the Indian subcontinent.

Spiritual tourism continues to witness uptick with Char Dham and Do Dham leading customer preferences. Biking trips, safari holidays and domestic cruises are witnessing spike in customer interest, added Daniel DSouza, President & Country Head - Holidays, SOTC Travel

Kale also pointed out, multi-generational families, young professionals, couples, and groups of friends are among the top travelers celebrating special occasions and holidays.

Despite increased airfares and room rates, and we are witnessing high demand emerging from not only Indias metros, but also mini metros, tier 2-3 cities. Our data trends indicate high interest for experiential holidays, short getaways, domestic cruises and spiritual travel, added DSouza

Customers are also showing an unprecedented appetite for luxury travel and unique experiences.
An astonishing video emerged from a village in Somnath, a district of Gujarat. A lion from the forests of Gir strayed into this village at night. The village was deserted, and the king of the jungle was strolling through its streets. Then dogs in the village caught his scent and started barking. Though the lion ignored them for a while it turned tail when they turned more aggressive. The villagers realised what had happened that night after reviewing CCTV footage of the incident.

Dogs in our cities and metropolises are now more dangerous than even lions. In the wild, lions ambush prey, but strays in cities attack openly barking and chasing you down any street. These terrifying incidents from New Delhi that occurred on 10 and 12 March bear testimony to this. On 12 March, stray dogs mauled a child in Vasant Kunj. The attack was horrific. Relatives found parts of the childs fingers scattered across a wide area after the attack. The boy died even as his young brother lay in hospital struggling for life after a similar attack by a pack of strays two day prior. This child, too, died later.

There are so many such occurrences that writing about them would take dozens of pages. There is no part of the country where stray dogs havent caused havoc. What is the reason behind such attacks? Domesticated animal-rearing and upkeep laws are quite old and have became irrelevant. A pit bull terrier killed its owner in Lucknow a few months ago. Many more attacks by pet pit bulls and such other dangerous breeds were reported after that, but no substantial action was taken. Numerous municipal bodies launched pet animal registration campaigns, but their attempts were futile.

People who enjoy having pets make certain mistakes unknowingly. They forget that stronger dogs require open, long terrain to run for 6-10 kilometres. Nature has bestowed them with the ability to hunt their own food. It is natural for them to grow hostile when we confine them in a small enclosures and feed them ready-made food of our choice. Many countries have laws prohibiting the raising of predatory breeds of dogs. In India, the banned list should be reviewed as well. Besides, it is also vital to provide information regarding pet vaccinations, training, and safety precautions. Is there a system like this in any local body in the country?

Now lets talk about other stray animals. Along with dogs, nilgai, bulls, oxen, and other such animals are involved in fatal attacks. A bull crushed to death two people who were taking a morning walk in Jamshedpur last month. Several of our cities were already notorious for their traffic accidents and road robberies, and now stray animals have added to the list of woes.

It is also necessary to discuss monkeys in this context. Many people express their gratitude by feeding chickpeas and such other foodstuff to monkeys for religious reasons, but the simian population is another threat we face. Dozens of such incidents are reported from every city where monkeys have caused significant harm to life and property. The time has arrived to take essential precautions to protect human life, while also loving animals.

A social and political awakening is required in this regard. On 3 March, Britains prime minister Rishi Sunak went for a walk in central Londons Hyde Park with his family and their dog. The dog was not chained as required by park regulations. The police stopped Sunak and his wife and read them the rules concerning the matter. The Sunaks apologized and immediately followed the instructions. Can such a scene play out in India?

Now, lets talk about wild animals. The number of animals in forests is growing, and at the same time human populations are encroaching on areas surrounding forests. The circumstances lead to man-animal conflicts. According to a report tabled in the Lok Sabha, 1,579 people were killed by wild elephants between 2019 and 2022, of which 322 were killed in Odisha alone. Jharkhand was next, where elephants killed 291 people during this period. Between 2019 and 2021, 125 people were killed by tigers in reserve forests, and 61 of them dying in Maharashtra alone. Animals have become violent, no doubt, but at the same time people are also increasingly hunting them. Poachers killed 29 tigers between 2019 and 2021, while 222 elephants were electrocuted in the same period.

This never-ending cycle violates the rules of sharing natural resources such as water, forest and land. Stopping such conflicts needs urgent action.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.
Hanwha Aerospace Co. is building South Koreas first commercial rocket with an ambitious target: matching Elon Musks SpaceX in price within the next decade.

The company is part of Hanwha Group, a 71-year-old conglomerate that started as an explosives maker, branched into weapons sales and is now shifting into green energy, defense and aerospace. Cash from arms sales to Ukraines neighbors is helping to fund Hanwhas efforts to expand its two-year-old space business.

Nuri, a rocket developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute using Hanwhas engines, isnt reusable, but the goal is to eventually halve launch prices by 2032 to match SpaceX, Yoo Dongwan, senior executive vice president of Hanwha Aerospace, said in an interview.

SpaceXs Falcon 9 currently costs about $67 million per launch.

Initially we may be a niche player and eventually, we hope to catch up" with SpaceX, Yoo told Bloomberg Television in Seoul.

Shares of Hanwha Aerospace have climbed more than 30% this year, after jumping 53% in 2022 when Hanwha Group merged all its defense businesses into Hanwha Aerospace. Hanwha Group is a family-controlled conglomerate; heir-apparent Dong Kwan Kim, a Harvard University graduate, leads the aerospace business.

Like other rivals, Hanwha Aerospace is seeking to become more than a rocket company and push into satellite operation, moon exploration and resource extraction.

Hanwha Aerospace has bought a 9% stake in British satellite startup OneWeb Ltd., a rival to SpaceXs Starlink satellite internet service. Parent Hanwha Group is in process of buying a 49.3% stake to be the largest shareholder in submarine maker Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

South Koreas President Yoon Suk Yeol has made it his goal to develop a home-grown commercial-rocket industry. Last year, Hanwha Aerospace won a bid to jointly develop the countrys next-generation commercial rocket with the government.

Hanwha, which has only worked on aircraft components and engines until now, plans to make three more Nuri rockets with government researchers. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.s H3 rocket  which recently failed to reach orbit  is aiming for $50 million per launch.

Demand for Korean rockets will initially be driven by the government but the goal is to eventually reduce that to just half, Yoo said. Hanwha is looking to develop a next-generation rocket on its own, he added.

We are aiming for a reusable rocket," Yoo said. Thats something we have to grow on our own" as foreign companies are not willing to share that technology with us," he said.

Arms Exporter

Hanwha is one of the worlds fastest-growing aerospace and defense contractors. Hanwha Systems, a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, ranked third in revenue growth among 100 companies analyzed by PwC in its 2022 global aerospace and defense report. Among Asian firms, it was No. 1.

Last year, Hanwha Aerospace posted record sales of 6.5 trillion won ($5 billion) with record operating profit, led by weapons. It signed a new contract with Poland and a partnership with Romania, both of which are neighboring Ukraine, as well as with Egypt.

South Koreas arms exports increased 74% in 2022, compared with a 35% decline for the UK, a 4.4% drop for Spain and a 15% decline for Israel, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

South Korea is uniquely positioned in the global arms market with weapons that are relatively affordable and meant to defeat Soviet-based conventional systems used by neighboring North Korea. Hanwhas K-9 cannons were used during the shelling between the two Koreas in 2010 on Yeonpyeong Island.

Hanwha is making a tremendous amount of money from selling weapons," said Lee Dong-Heon, analyst at Shinhan Financial Investment in Seoul. So the firm has the capacity to invest in aerospace."
Apple is expected to launch iPhone SE 4 next year. But the smartphone is already making headlines. According to the Mashable website, the upcoming model of iPhone SE could be a less expensive alternative to the premium iPhone series, just like its predecessor, the iPhone SE 2022. The report further suggests that the smartphone may compete with the incoming Google Pixel 7a.

According to some online reports, the price of iPhone 15 Pro in the US might shoot up in the coming days. If that happens, it may be the first time that the price of the iPhone 15 Pro may rise, since the release. Nonetheless, the iPhone SE 4 can be the ideal choice if you want a new Apple iPhone but don't want to spend a lot of money.

According to reports, the iPhone SE 4 is anticipated to make a significant change as it transitions from a little, iPhone 8-like design to a larger, 6.1-inch BOE OLED display. The 4.7-inch screen of the iPhone SE 3 is its current size. Thus, the new iPhone SE 4 will be comparable in size to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. Moreover, it will have a notch design and thinner bezels than before.

The iPhone SE 4 is anticipated to drop Touch ID in favor of Face ID, according to Mashable. In addition, the source stated that the iPhone SE 4 might receive an A16 Bionic CPU from the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2019.

By 2024, 5G is likely to become mainstream in more regions, including India. It is expected that the iPhone SE 4 may come with the support for 5G as well. The existing iPhone SE 3 also offers 5G support.

(With inputs from ANI)
A man who "bragged" about stealing $50,000 from the Cartel Del Noreste was kidnapped in Laredo and taken into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, states an arrest affidavit filed in federal court.

FBI special agents arrested Jonathan Cavriales on the charge of kidnapping. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Erik Tadeo Ramirez remain unknown, authorities said.

"The FBI is unable to provide comment on this ongoing investigation. The FBI relentlessly pursues all options when it comes to protecting the American people, and this doesn't change when they are endangered across the border.

"The FBI pursues all cases with the same vigor and commitment to process. The public is urged to call the San Antonio Division at (210) 225-6741 with any information regarding this investigation. Tips may also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov," the FBI said in a statement.

At about 11 p.m. March 23, Ramirez was at a party at a residence in the 3400 block of Queretaro Loop in Las Americas neighborhood in south Laredo. Witnesses overheard Ramirez telling a female on the phone that he was in Laredo and that he was not in danger or afraid of her because he was in the United States, the affidavit states.

Witnesses stated that Ramirez also bragged that Ramirez stole approximately $50,000 from the Cartel Del Noreste, states the affidavit.

Ramirez gave the female his location on Queretaro. At about 12:45 a.m. March 24, a blue Dodge Ram arrived at the location on Queretaro. Two to three masked men armed with firearms exited the vehicle and assaulted Ramirez. Then, they forced Ramirez into the Dodge, authorities said.

The Dodge then crossed into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico at about 1:09 a.m. March 24 via the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. Authorities determined that the vehicle was registered to Cavriales mother out of the 200 block of Palo de Rosa Loop by the Laredo Ranchettes area, the affidavit states.

A video recording showed a male with blood on his face opening the front passenger door of the Dodge while the vehicle was in motion. The male was attempting to exit the Dodge but was pulled back inside, states the affidavit.

The Dodge then bypassed the bridge attendant and drove straight into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, according to court documents.

On March 24, 2023, Cavriales mother stated that at about 11 a.m., she received a call from Cavriales grandmother, who lives in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The grandmother told the mother that Cavriales was at her home in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico sleeping and that the Dodge was parked outside her home.

The grandmother further told the mother that Cavriales did not look well and that something was wrong with him, court documents state.

Ramirez remained listed as missing as of Friday, according to police. A mobile app tracked him to the 3400 block of Queretaro during the evening and night of March 23.

At about 1:30 a.m. March 25, FBI special agents and task force officers conducted a knock and talk at the residence on Queretaro. Two individuals stated they witnessed Ramirez being kidnapped by two to three armed individuals. Description was given on the Dodge, authorities said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers would detain Cavriales at about 2:15 a.m. March 27 when he crossed into Laredo via the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge.

In a post-arrest interview, Cavriales stated he drove the Dodge into Mexico the early morning of March 24 with a kidnapped victim, who was identified as Ramirez. Cavriales added that three other people also took part in the kidnapping, according to court documents.

Cavriales stated that he was aware that the victim had stolen approximately $50,000 from (the) Cartel Del Noreste, states the affidavit.
Every April property owners will receive an appraisal notice informing them of the value of their property, and the Webb County Appraisal District has said that due to market conditions properties will likely show an increase compared to last year.

Bobby Peregoy, Chief Appraiser at Webb County Appraisal District, explained how the appraisal of a property is calculated.

"All of our appraisals are carried out in strict accordance with the Texas Property Tax Code and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice," he said. "State law requires that the appraisal district appraise all property at its market value as of Jan. 1 of each year.

Peregoy added that state law defines market value as the price at which a property would transfer for cash or its equivalent under prevailing market conditions if:

Exposed for sale in the open market with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser.

Both the buyer and the seller know of all the uses and purposes of the property, and neither is in a position to take advantage of the other.

Both the buyer and the seller seek to maximize their gains.

"Depending on the type of property being appraised (residential, commercial, etc.), we seek out and analyze different types of market information in order to derive a value that is representative of what it could sell for in the open market," he said. "Factors include market sales, income and expense information for commercial properties, replacement cost for various types of property, etc."

Webb County currently has approximately 185,000 parcels that the appraisal district is responsible for appraising. Peregoy says roughly 70,000 are mineral properties, with the remainder consisting of land, structures, mobile homes and business personal property.

Peregoy said Webb County is slated to see increases in property values in most areas as compared to last year.

"Unfortunately, the prices that sellers are asking of prospective buyers across all property types continues to rise, and it is our job to make sure that our appraisals keep up with current market activity," he said. "We will be unfairly criticized and demonized for it, but the appraisal district has zero control over what prices sellers are seeking in the open market. Failure on our part to keep up with current market activity could negatively impact our local school districts and our students."

While they adhere to strict standards and statistical models to appraisal district values, Peregoy considered it normal that properties may be under-appraised, over-appraised or right on the money due to a mass appraisal system.

"The important thing to remember when it comes to appraisal district values is that we are executing a mass appraisal system," he said. "Our office develops various statistical models based on market research and analysis, and applies those various models to all of the property types that exist in Webb County.

"Because we are working in a mass appraisal environment, it is certainly possible that a particular characteristic or trait of a property may have been overlooked through the process. Keep in mind that our office is setting a market value for roughly 185,000 parcels a year, so it is inevitable that absolute perfection is not achieved, but we certainly do the best we can with the resources we have to ensure our fellow Laredoans receive a fair value at the end of the day."

Peregoy said that the appraisal notices will go out on April 7.

Patricia Barrera, Tax Assessor-Collector at Webb County, alerted property owners about what they should do if they disagree with the property value set by the Webb County Appraisal District or if they consider that their property is over-appraised.

"On April 7, Webb County will send appraisal notices to all property owners," Barrera said. "If properties have gone up in value, it's important to consider whether you think the value is over-appraised, as this will be reflected in a higher property tax payment."

Barrera said that last year 90% of taxpayers whose property increased in value did not respond to the notice. She said property owners have a deadline to respond and show their disagreement. Peregoy said that the statutory deadline for all of these will be Monday, May 15.

Barrera said that those taxpayers who disagree should respond to that appraisal notice immediately.

"If that letter is not responded to, the property value recommended by the Webb County Appraisals District Office automatically becomes the value on which the tax will be calculated," she said.

Barrera said that last year the Tax Assessor-Collector's Office received many complaints due to the increase in tax property payments.

"Most people didn't realize it until they got their tax bills, and by then it was too late. It was a bitter surprise for taxpayers," she said.

Barrera recommended that property owners pay attention when this notice arrives so that they do not get surprises when paying property taxes.

"The first thing is to open it, read it and answer that they do not agree -- if it is the case -- with the recommended value," she said. "The deadline to answer the notice with the disagreement is May 15."

Peregoy said that those owners who are in disagreement with their respective value are encouraged to create a profile on their website and file their protest online. It can be filed at webbcad.org/public-portal/sign-in.

If you want to know the value of your property over the years, you can access the same website, click on Online Services -- where several options will be displayed -- then click on Property Search and fill in the required information.
Courtesy

A horse died after being ejected from its trailer that was traveling on a major highway in San Antonio last weekend. San Antonio police said the horse was partially hanging over the bridge on Loop 410 and Rigsby Avenue after being ejected.

Police said three units  two vehicles, with one towing a trailer with horses inside  were traveling northbound on SE Loop 410 when the incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 27.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers on Sunday announced surprise cuts totaling up to 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year, a move that could raise prices worldwide.

Higher oil prices would help fill Russian President Vladimir Putin's coffers as his country wages war on Ukraine and force Americans and others to pay even more at the pump amid worldwide inflation.

It was also likely to further strain ties with the United States, which has called on Saudi Arabia and other allies to increase production as it tries to bring prices down and squeeze Russia's finances.

The production cuts alone could push U.S. gasoline prices up by roughly 26 cents per gallon, in addition to the usual increase that comes when refineries change the gasoline blend during the summer driving season, said Kevin Book, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners LLC. The Energy Department calculates the seasonal increase at an average of 32 cents per gallon, Book said.

So with an average U.S. price now at roughly $3.50 per gallon of regular, according to AAA, that could mean gasoline over $4 per gallon during the summer.

However, Book said there are a number of complex variables in oil and gas prices. The size of each country's production cut depends on the baseline production number it is using, so the cut might not be 1.15 million. It also could take much of the year for the cuts to take effect. Demand could fall if the U.S. enters a recession caused by the banking crisis. But it also could increase during the summer as more people travel.

Even though the production cut is only about 1% of the roughly 100 million barrels of oil the world uses per day, the impact on prices could be big, Book said.

It's a big deal because of the way oil prices work, he said. You are in a market that is relatively balanced. You take a small amount away, depending on what demand does, you could have a very significant price response.

Saudi Arabia announced the biggest cut among OPEC members at 500,000 barrels per day. The cuts are in addition to a reduction announced last October that infuriated the Biden administration.

The Saudi Energy Ministry described the move as a precautionary measure aimed at stabilizing the oil market. The cuts represent less than 5% of Saudi Arabia's average production of 11.5 million barrels per day in 2022.

Iraq said it would reduce production by 211,000 barrels per day, the United Arab Emirates by 144,000, Kuwait by 128,000, Kazakhstan by 78,000, Algeria by 48,000 and Oman by 40,000. The announcements were carried by each country's state media.

Russias Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak meanwhile said Moscow would extend a voluntary cut of 500,000 until the end of the year, according to remarks carried by the state news agency Tass. Russia had announced the unilateral reduction in February after Western countries imposed price caps.

All are members of the so-called OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries, which includes the original Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia and other major producers. There was no immediate statement from OPEC itself.

The cuts announced in October  of some 2 million barrels a day  had come on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in which soaring prices were a major issue. President Joe Biden vowed at the time that there would be consequences and Democratic lawmakers called for freezing cooperation with the Saudis.

Both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia denied any political motives in the dispute.

Since those cuts, oil prices have trended down. Brent crude, a global benchmark, was trading around $80 a barrel at the end of last week, down from around $95 in early October, when the earlier cuts were agreed.

Analysts Giacomo Romeo and Lloyd Byrne at Jefferies said in a research note that the new cuts should allow for material reductions to OPEC inventory earlier than expected and could validate recent warnings from some traders and analysts that demand for oil is weakening.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the Saudis are determined to keep oil prices high enough to fund ambitious mega-projects linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the economy.

This domestic interest takes precedence in Saudi decision-making over relationships with international partners and is likely to remain a point of friction in U.S.-Saudi relations for the foreseeable future, he said.

Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant Aramco recently announced record profits of $161 billion from last year. Profits rose 46.5% when compared to the companys 2021 results of $110 billion. Aramco said it hoped to boost production to 13 million barrels a day by 2027.

The decades-long U.S.-Saudi alliance has come under growing strain in recent years following the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist, and Saudi Arabia's war with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

As a candidate for president, Biden had vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah over the Khashoggi killing, but as oil prices rose after his inauguration he backed off. He visited the kingdom last July in a bid to patch up relations, drawing criticism for sharing a fistbump with Crown Prince Mohammed.

Saudi Arabia has denied siding with Russia in the Ukraine war, even as it has cultivated closer ties with both Moscow and Beijing in recent years. Last week, Aramco announced billions of dollars of investment in China's downstream petrochemicals industry.
News / National

by Staff reporter

PRESIDENTIAL Envoy and Ambassador-at-Large Uebert Angel's business partner Rikki Doolan sys it is possible to bring in millions of dollars in dirty money into Zimbabwe as long as officials are bribed and President Emmerson Mnangagwa is informed it is for investment.Doolan, who is married to Angel's niece Nicola, told undercover Al Jazeera investigative reporters posing as gangsters who wanted to launder dirty money that they may even be granted a VIP police escort once they come to Zimbabwe.He told them dirty money could be brought into the country and laundered without questions asked, especially if Mnangagwa is roped in.Speaking in the documentary's second edition released on Thursday, Doolan, who said he preferred to refer to Mnangagwa as Number One, insisted that once he is made aware of their arrival, they would get easy passage into the country with loads of cash and get away with gold.Doolan said however meeting Mnangagwa comes with a facilitation fee of US$200 000.Before his conversation with Al Jazeera undercover reporters who postured as gangsters from China wishing to clean over US$100 million, a man whom he said was his chief security officer collected mobile phones of all the people in the room, to avoid recording and eavesdropping.A lady who posed as Ms Sin, a financial adviser to Mr Stanely, a Chinese gangster, told Doolan:"We want to be very clear. We are cash rich. It's embarrassing. This is black money. This is money which cannot be declared. And we need jurisdictions which are not that rigid."In response, Doolan said: "I like embarrasing cash . . . That is why you need this team of people Mnangagwa and Prophet Angel whom he has scribed in his book as Number 1 and principal."So during this conversation, we will not mention names. I don't think we need to. Principal. You know who my principal is. We know who the number one is. Number One is the President."As long as you grease the wheels in Africa, there is no issue. And this protection is from Number One. Now the greasing of the wheels we are going to figure that out ourselves using this team to make sure that everybody is taken care of, everybody is happy, and things move without questions being asked."There is no way it can never happen. How can questions be asked when these people are happy?"The police, banks, customs, immigration (will not ask questions on dirty money). This is the executive power.""Work with me on everything. And what I am going to do is make sure that through these people (Mnangagwa and Prophet Angel) it happens. That this person (Mnangagwa) knows everything that you are bringing in this amount, you are investing in this, doing this, and he will be like oh very good, okay, no problem'. Meaning that probably when you arrive at the airport on that private jet, you will have a motorcade to take you to where you need to go."Ms Sin then asked: So it (dirty money) becomes legal?"And Doolan responded: "More than legal. It becomes protected at the highest level. So that you arrive as investors, not people trying to sneak things through the border. As soon as you arrive in that country, you are now treated as executives. And it's a system that is secured. Everything will be done with this person's knowledge (Mnangagwa)."At that point an Al Jazeera undercover reporter asked: "You mean Number One?""Of course," replied Doolan.But in response to the documentary which has been circulated on social media, Doolan said he had no intention of fuelling any dirty deals with the undercover reporters."The documentary which has been circulated is brutally edited, to portray a false narrative. I am not a gold dealer and I have never been. So that portion is a false narrative," he said."These fake journalists, or businesspeople, they approached me with a now known false proposal of course of building a US$1.2 billion hotel in Victoria Falls which would have been an outstanding achievement. They are presenting this as a secret investigation yet it was not that."Maybe they placed secret cameras in some places that would make it appear as if it was not with our knowledge. But there was a prior conversation minutes before, where we talked about them filming a few minutes of our conversation to show their bosses that this was legitimate meeting. But we now realise that their intention was to record the President of Zimbabwe, which was unfair."The intelligence blocked them from meeting and filming the President. That is the person that they really wanted to record," he said.
Official confirms 7 deaths in Tennessee, bringing toll of people killed from storms and tornadoes in US to at least 18
Many tributes have been paid following the sudden death of knowledgeable and supportive Longford County Council arts officer, Fergus Kennedy.

Fergus of Tarmonbarry, Co Roscommon and formerly of Cloontagh, Newtownforbes, Co Longford and The Beeches, Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, died suddenly but peacefully, on Friday, March 31.

Described as 'a knowledgeable man who will be terribly missed at Longford County Council', Fergus provided great support, director and encouragement to the myriad of arts groups based in every corner of county Longford.

Some of his fellow Arts Officers remembered Fergus as 'a valued and supportive colleague' adding, 'I will miss his brilliant intellect and his droll sense of humour'.

Fergus was a pleasure to work with, always helpful, kind and clear in terms of what was needed.

One tribute on RIP.ie read, "He was always so helpful and friendly. An innovator in promoting the teaching and appreciation of photography."

Another person wrote, "He was always so approachable and helpful. His help with the Arts in all its forms was really appreciated within St Christopher's."

Bernadette Shea, Stonepark NS, also paid tribute to the late Fergus, "When our school extension was being built, we were tasked with organising the Per Cent for Art programme. We poured over the 45 page booklet, scratching our heads as to how we would go about this process. Fergus came to the rescue.

"He guided us through the whole procedure-from beginning to end, simplifying the whole process. The art installation which now graces our main stairwell is, in large part, a result of Ferguss kind guidance and knowledgeable expertise. Leaba i measc na bhFirean do is gura fada buan a chuimhne."

Predeceased by his parents Michael and Rita, the late Fergus will be sadly missed and remembered with love by his family, son Michael and his mother Sinead, sisters Karina (Terryglass, Co Tipperary) and Orla (Rathoe, Co Carlow), brother Damien (Borrisokane, Co Tipperary), brother-in-law Joe, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, relatives, work colleagues and friends.

May he rest in peace.

Reposing at Glennon's Funeral Home, Ballinalee Road (N39 EC81) on Tuesday, April 4 from 5pm concluding with prayers at 7pm. A private cremation will take place on Wednesday, April 5. House private, please.
Automobili Lamborghini have begun hosting a series of exclusive events across the world to commemorate Lamborghinis 60th anniversary.

As part of the celebrations in Saudi Arabia, Lamborghini Riyadh invited guests from all over Saudi Arabia for an exclusive Lamborghini Bull Run in the capital. The event showcased the power and performance of the brands iconic cars, and guests had the opportunity to experience a thrilling drive around the city.

The evening culminated in a spectacular gala dinner hosted by Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and CEO, Stephan Winkelmann.

Local artist

In honour of the 60th anniversary, Lamborghini commissioned a local artist Nugamshi to create a unique art piece on the bonnet of a Lamborghini Urus. The design incorporated Arabic calligraphy, beautifully illustrating the fusion of Italian design and Arabic culture. The artwork was unveiled at the gala dinner, and will be on display at Lamborghini's showroom.

Winkelmann said: "We are happy to celebrate Lamborghini's 60th anniversary in Saudi Arabia and in the Middle East region, a country with a rich history and passion for luxury and high-performance vehicles. This event is a proof of Lamborghini's commitment to innovation, design, quality and performance, and we are excited to share this special moment with our customers and guests in this region."

"Its such a fantastic time to be part of the Lamborghini story. For the brand to reach this milestone anniversary is a wonderful achievement, and we look forward to continuing this legacy for many years to come," said Abdul Aziz Moolla, General Manager of Lamborghini Saudi Arabia.

Display cars

The Riyadh event was attended by Lamborghini Saudi Arabias VIP guests and customers, who had the opportunity to explore the various Lamborghini display cars and get a glimpse into the world of the Italian Brand.

The 60th-anniversary celebration in Saudi Arabia is just one of the many events that Lamborghini has planned this year to mark the special occasion. Now into its seventh decade, the company will continue to push the boundaries of automotive excellence and offer its customers the best in luxury, design, and performance.-- TradeArabia News Service
News / National

by Staff reporter

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) president Nelson Chamisa said he is content with the gazetted delimitation boundaries, saying he was aware the process was however flawed, vowing that it will not stop his party from winning this year's harmonized elections.Chamisa met with the party's provincial representative members at Masvingo Urban ward 5 Councilor Daniel Mberikunashe's homestead in Pangolin last weekend.He said he will win with all those anomalies especially the presidential election which only had one boundary.He mocked MDC leader Douglas Mwonzora and President Emmerson Mnangagwa for complaining over the new boundaries saying they wanted to delay elections so that they stayed in power for a little longer since they knew their time was over."I saw my brother (Mnangagwa) is afraid of elections that's why he asked his fellow (Mwonzora) to contest the gazetted delimitation report so that they delay elections and remain in power a bit longer. We are not afraid of the election that's why we said delimitation was not done well but we are used to their tactics. For the first time, I heard my brother (Mnangagwa) complaining about ZEC and that's a sign. The president has one boundary; even if he wants to include those from Mozambique I will still defeat him there."I have said our position, even if they move rural wards to urban or vice versa, we will still win because we are everywhere, even in resettlement areas we are there," said Chamisa.Chamisa told supporters to advise new recruits that they should not be afraid of being intimidated especially by traditional leaders because after elections Zanu-PF will no longer be in power so they will not be able to victimize them."I have seen my brother is struggling a lot, he still has the 2018 defeat shock and he is only being strengthened by Chiwenga but he knows our strength. Zanu-PF relies on traditional leaders mainly village heads, but I am also talking to them."However, be careful of them because they are the ones who lie that they will see who you vote for, don't listen to that, after election the situation would have changed and we will arrest those who victimize others because Mnangagwa will not be in power," added Chamisa.He went on to say as a party, they were focusing on being an alternative government saying they will soon produce a blueprint with strategies on how they were going to improve infrastructure, ICTs, Agriculture and the economy in general.He said they had already done all the homework and know where they will get the money to do what has to be done once they get into power.Speaking at the same event, the party's national organizing secretary Amos Chibaya urged party supporters to continue implementing the mango strategy and mugwazo saying it was bearing fruits in many areas.He however said in Masvingo, the party still had challenges in penetrating some areas and said constituency representatives should work hard."Let's continue using the mango strategy, we now work at village level, all champions should operate in their areas where they interact with their relatives. Go in their homes and sit down then talk to them. Tell them to attend Zanu-PF gatherings and accept whatever they give you but just know where to put your X on the voting day."The strategy is working. I have been getting in some deep rural areas and people now know. However, in Masvingo we still have challenges in Mwenezi and Chivi, then some parts of Chiredzi and Zaka but we are getting there," said Chibaya.Of late, police seem to have relaxed their clamp on opposition a bit as they are seen gathering and addressing supporters.
Details of a pilot national programme rolled out in Longford to support the elderly to live in their own home for longer were outlined to members of Ballymahon Municipal District at the March meeting of the authority.

The presentation from Healthy Age Friendly Homes Local Coordinator, Mary Carey, outlined the focus of the programme.

Ms Carey said her role is to support and enable people to live longer healthier lives in their own home, while being and feeling part of their community.

The Local Coordinator explained that she took up the role in May 2020. Ms Carey has assisted service users with applications for housing adaptation and retrofitting under the warmer homes scheme.

Among the key objectives of the Healthy Age Friendly Homes is to support the avoidance of early or premature admission to long term residential care and live with a sense of independence and autonomy.



She told members they are one year into phase one of a two-year programme: We are already documenting positive outcomes. Nationally the programme has received over 1,700 referrals, from multi-disciplinary sources, and carried out 1,600 home visits, with over 3,200 actions in progress.

The Local Coordinator said by ensuring the elderly are in a suitable living environment for accessibility, size, safety, and environment, and warmth, the programme supports older people to live in their own home with dignity and independence.



Healthy Age Friendly Homes Coordinator carries out a needs assessment to establish what supports are required to enable the elderly to continue living independently in their own home for longer.

Ms Carey said she provides information on adapting existing homes and the relevant grants available to support necessary changes, with a focus on universal design and energy efficiency. The Healthy Age Friendly Homes programme also provide access to a range of housing, health and social care supports.



A lot of the elderly we have worked with are from rural areas. The bulk would be in the Ballymahon and Granard Municipal District Area, she told the meeting.



Thanking the speaker for their contribution MD Cathaoirleach, Paul Ross, said one of the biggest issues members are contacted about are the Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme. He said any support the elderly have in accessing such schemes is very welcome.



Longford is one of nine Local Authority areas, including Cork County Council, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, Galway County & City Council, Limerick City & County Council, South Dublin County Council, Tipperary County Council, Westmeath County Council participating in the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme. It's being evaluated by Maynooth University.
The imposition of a custodial sentence on a drunk driver with a number of convictions would be counter productive given his engagement with probation services.



Judge Bernadette Owens imposed 200 hours of community service on Kevin Higgins (40) of Cattan, Mohill. The defendant was before Longford District Court on charges of dangerous driving, driving while intoxicated and driving without documentation on March 15, 2022 at Fardromin, Ballinamuck.

Solicitor Frank Gearty drew the judge's attention to a very positive probation report. Inspector David Jordan agreed, saying it was rare to see such a positive probation report.



Mr Gearty said his client was aware of the gravity of the situation he was in: He knows he was given a real chance by not being sent to prison, he told the judge.



Mr Gearty explained that the necessary driving ban is considerable as his client lives in a particularly remote rural area: The length of the ban will have serious implications as there is no public transport in the area.



The solicitor said as Mr Higgins is serving a six year disqualification he will not be able to apply for a restoration of his driving licence until 2029.



In her noting of the facts of the case, Judge Owens said although the defendant has relevant previous convictions the probations report is excelled and Mr Higgins' engagement with community services was also notable.



In the circumstances a custodial sentence would be counter productive, the judge said.

The judge imposed 100 hours of community service in lieu of a six month prison term for the dangerous driving charge and a further 100 hours of community service in lieu of a six month for driving while intoxicated.



Judge Owens concluded by saying, If you don't comply with the community service order the matter will be brought back and a custodial sentence will be imposed.
Patients, survivors, volunteers, supporters, and everyone else in between, there are few homes that have escaped the clutches of cancer, and fewer still that haven't been touched by the amazing work being carried out by the Irish Cancer Society.



Across Longford last Friday, the mass appreciation for the brilliant work being done by the charity was very evident, and local MEP Maria Walsh was in Longford town to meet with the community, volunteers, and the palliative care nurses, and pledge her support for the charity and volunteers in Longford, and indeed all across the region.



As a county, Longford has long had a strong Daffodil Day tradition, thanks in no small part to the fantastic work of the countys volunteer community. Following the disturbance of Covid-19, and a change of the guard at local level, 2023 began without a Longford coordinator, and with a gap that badly needed to be filled.



In mid February, Noeleen McTaggart realised the position desperately needed filling and, true to form, stepped up to embrace the challenge.

Realising the clock was ticking, she quickly rallied the troops and was bowled over by the response.

Attracting a team of more than 45 volunteers, Noeleen was further encouraged when she received a call from Maria Walsh, with the Fine Gael MEP offering to put some time aside on Friday, March 24, to do her bit to help the worthy cause.



Despite the harsh weather conditions, the people of Longford were out in force to offer their support, and the organisers were overwhelmed.

The planning started in mid February and although we had a short run-in time, the support was incredible and there were volunteers aplenty.



To be honest, the backing was so incredible that it took on a life of its own, and already were looking forward to making it even bigger and better next year, said Noeleen McTaggart, Daffodil Day Coordinator for Longford.

Midlands-North-West MEP Walsh was delighted to offer her support. She commented, We are all far too familiar with the truly brilliant work being done by the Irish Cancer Society, and we are also conscious that it has been a particularly challenging few years for companies and organisations everywhere.



Like many charities, the Covid years were particularly challenging, and realistically, it has probably never been so important that we support the wonderful work being done by the charity. They have never needed our help more than they do now.



She praised the people of Longford who have always been generous in their support of Daffodil Day.

The services offered by the Irish Cancer Society are so vital. In Longford, in 2022, 201 free counselling sessions were provided, while 116 nights of Night Nursing were delivered to allow cancer patients to spend their final days at home, surrounded by their loved ones. Last year, across Longford, more than 100 people were helped by the Irish Cancer Society Support Line and Daffodil Centres.



MEP Walsh also visited Longford Womens Link, where she met with Kathleen Dowd, CE Scheme Supervisor, and the team, and heard all about the fantastic work being done by the domestic violence support and community employment teams.

In addition to concentrating on Longford town, Daffodil Day organisers were delighted to get other communities involved and so had fundraisers placed in Ballymahon, Edgeworthstown and Newtownforbes too.



According to Noeleen McTaggart, however, this is just the beginning.

The response this year, despite the short notice and prep time, was absolutely unbelievable.

Daffodil Day was a tremendous success, but its only just the beginning. Ive no doubt that 2024 will take on a life of its own and it will be bigger and better than ever before, concluded Noeleen.
An application for the return of 7,000 in cash seized by Gardai during a search of a premises on Richmond Street, Longford has been delayed because of a backlog in Forensic Science Ireland.

A certificate from FSI, which is staffed by scientists and analysts who examine samples submitted from crime scenes, are used by the DPP in deciding to proceed with criminal trials, but in this case it's to confirm that property seized at the Richmond Street premises are illegal drugs.



The application was put forward by solicitor Brid Mimnagh on behalf of Joe Doyle, Darren Doyle and Joe Mears, all with addresses at Richmond Court, Longford, on the grounds that Gardai did not have a warrant to search the property.



The court has previously heard that a search carried out by Gardai in numbers 1 to 5, Richmond Court, Longford, on foot of a bench warrant and it was accepted by Inspector Dave Jordan that Gardai did not have a warrant to search number 7, where the alleged drugs were found.

While inside the house investigating officers found a ziplock bag on the floor. The search of the house resulted in the seizure of further ziplock bags containing green herb and suspected cocaine. Other drug paraphernalia was also seized from the house, along with a total of 7,000 in cash.

The matter of the suspected drugs is still under investigation due to a large number of delays in forensic analysis, the court heard.



Judge Bernadette Owens observed that the matter was hanging around for a long time. Ms Mimnagh told the judge that one of the notice parties, Joe Doyle, had passed away since the matter was listed. Inspector Jordan asked for an eight week adjournment to allow FSI time to analyse the suspected drugs. Ms Mimnagh said that such a length of time was unreasonable.



Judge Owens adjourned the matter to April 18 next and marked the matter peremptory against the State, meaning if the FSI cert is not in court the seized cash will revert to the appellants.
Long Island School Closings & Delayed Openings

Home  Education  Schools  LI School Closure Archives  School Closings

Kids celebrate it as a snow day, and parents groan at the hassle - School Closures on Long Island. Often taking place during the winter months due to snow or bad road conditions, School Closures are something that Long Islanders have to deal with almost every year, and it is important to have the most up to date information about your School District in order to plan for the days ahead - especially if the children are going to be at home.



To keep you in the loop, LongIsland.com's School Closure Page provides you with up to date information on what Long Island schools are closed, and who has class in session - including K-12, Preschools, Colleges and Universities on Long Island. Have a tip about a school closing in your area? Email us at news@longisland.com. You can also view Archived Data on Closings.

Coronavirus Update:

ALL Suffolk & Nassau School Districts through grade 12 are closed

Suffolk County Community College

Nassau Community College

Farmingdale State College

FIT - Fashion Institute of Technology

LIU - Long Island University

SUNY - remote classes for remainder of semster begins 3/19

CUNY - remote classes for remainder of semster begins 3/19

Stony Brook University

Hofstra University

Nassau Community College

Cornell University

New York Institute of Technology

Yeshiva University

St. John's University

NYU

Pace University

Manhattan College

Saint Joseph's College - Brooklyn & Patchogue

Adelphi University

Molloy College

Fordham University

Columbia University

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Barnard College

Princeton University (NJ)

Parent-Teacher Conferences Cancelled:
PacificLight Power Pte. Ltd., controlled by Meralco PowerGen Corp., is studying putting up a solar plant in Indonesia that will supply power to Singapore via an undersea cable, a company executive said over the weekend.

MGen, the power arm of Manila Electric Co., holds a combined direct and indirect interest of 58 percent in PacificLight.

We are right now looking in to hopefully exporting renewable from Indonesia to Singapore because we have a Singapore plant. Singapore, theres not much land there, there so much land on the Indonesian side and there are many islands there, MGen president and chief executive Jaime Azurin said.

Hopefully, we will be able to get the export permit from the Indonesian government. It is very meticulous because you are passing through cross border, Azurin said.

He said PacificLight would team up with an Indonesian company to develop the project.

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The most difficult part is the permit from the Indonesian government to export because not all governments would agree to export their power, Azurin said.

He said they were trying to develop the project for the past years, and hopefully within the year something will come out of it.

PacificLight announced in 2021 it forged a strategic partnership with Medco Power Indonesia and Gallant Venture for the development of a solar PV project to import solar power from Bulan Island to Singapore.

PacificLight said it was looking at a 670-megawatt pilot solar project on Bulan Island, Indonesia to supply electricity to Singapore.

PacificLight operates an 800-MW liquefied natural gas facility in Jurong Island, Singapore which supplies electricity to industrial and retail customers.

The companys consolidated core net income reached S$305 million (P12.1 billion) as of end-December 2022, a significant increase from the S$59.2 million (P2.2 billion) in 2021.

PacificLights LNG project delivered 5,619 gigawatt-hours of energy in 2022.

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A new report from Elections Ontario says opinion polling likely contributed to the record-low turnout in the 2022 provincial election. The chief electoral officer is urging a change to the law so that no political polling results could be published during the final two weeks of future campaigns. (Esteban Cuevas/CBC - image credit)

In the wake of record-low turnout for an Ontario election, the province's chief electoral officer is calling for a ban on publishing the results of political polls for the final stretch of the campaign.

The recommendation is one of many in a new post-election report from Elections Ontario.

Under the heading "a call for legislative change," the report recommends disallowing published reports of political polls two weeks in advance of election day

"Political polls have the potential to influence election results," says the report. "The Chief Electoral Officer recommends that no public opinion polling results stating political party favourability ratings be published in the final two weeks before election day."

Voter turnout in the 2022 election  the second straight majority for Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives  was just 44 per cent, the lowest in Ontario history.

Elections Ontario cites survey data as evidence that polling contributed to the poor turnout.

Evan Mitsui/CBC

"Many [survey respondents] lost interest in the election due to early reports of one-sided results," says the report. It says 36 polls were published in the two weeks leading up to voting day on June 2 last year.

Currently in Ontario, news media are only barred from reporting the results of new opinion polls on election day itself.

Elections Ontario also recommends extending the 29-day official campaign period by at least a week.

"Ontario has the largest number of registered voters, yet experiences one of the shortest election calendars in Canada," says the report.

"Deploying materials to 124 electoral districts, accepting an increasing number of nominated candidates and executing a plethora of other time-sensitive deliverables has become increasingly difficult to manage."

Also in the report, chief electoral officer Greg Essensa speaks out against the government's plan to scrap taxpayer-funded allowances to political parties, effective in 2025.

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Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press

The allowances "ensure an adequate balance between public and private fundraising for political parties and constituency associations," says the report. The payments were introduced in 2017 after Ontario banned corporations and unions from making donations to political parties and candidates.

The amounts are calculated based on the number of votes each party received in the previous election. The PCs are in line to receive nearly $4.9 million in 2023, the Liberal Party just shy of $2.9 million, the NDP a little more than $2.8 million and the Green Party about $710,000.

Voting day on weekend or school holiday

CBC News requested an interview with Essensa on Friday, the day after his report was published, but a media spokesperson said he was not available.

Among his other recommendations:

Hold the election on a day when schools are not in session, such as a weekend or school holiday.

Ontario's fixed-date election law sets voting day for the first Thursday in June. Elections Ontario says schools are essential sites for polling stations and it's more complicated to use them when students are in class. The change "would also provide an opportunity to engage youth to work and participate in the election," says the report.

Include civics education in each year of high school.

Ontario currently requires students take just one half-year civics course, in Grade 10. "More civics education in the senior years of a student's secondary education is particularly important as the majority of secondary students become eligible voters in their graduating year," says the report.

Allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work as poll officials in roles that do not involve issuing ballots.

"This would engage them in the electoral process at an earlier age, while also increasing staffing flexibility,' says the report. Elections Canada and the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan allow people younger than voting age to work the polls.

The report also recommends tweaking some of the rules governing candidate nominations, and empowering the chief electoral officer to fine parties or constituency associations that miss deadlines for filing financial statements.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Doug Downey says the government has received the report and its recommendations are currently under review.
One person has been hospitalized after a rollover crash in Weston early Sunday morning, officials say.

At 4:51 a.m., Weston Fire Department responded to a crash on Route 128 South near Route 30, the department in a Facebook post.

At the scene, firefighters found that the car had gone down an embankment next to the road and had landed on its roof. The driver, who was the only person in the car, was trapped inside.

The driver was extricated from the car in less than 10 minutes, and was brought to a Boston hospital with serious injuries.

The ramp from Route 30 East to Route 128 South was shut down for a period of time Sunday morning while Massachusetts State Police investigated. The crash remains under investigation.
A prospective move by the University of Massachusetts to privatize more than 100 jobs threatens the job security and pensions of employees, union leaders claim  and now state officials and a Congressman are calling on the university to abandon its plan.

The university explained its desire to restructure its Advancement Division to comply with state and federal employment laws and that the positions would not be eliminated but moved to the independent non-profit University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation. Union leaders said the moves threaten workers careers and retirement benefits.

In the fall, the university self-reported potential issues with employees being enrolled in the state retirement system and other compliance issues. Even as members of the Massachusetts State Retirement Board said during a meeting last Thursday, March 30, that were not acting on this, it is UMasss issue to fix, a letter dated the following day from the retirement board implored the university to fix compliance issues as soon as possible.

Brad Turner, a co-chair of the Professional Staff Union that represents Advancement Division employees, said comments made by State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and members of the Massachusetts State Retirement Board last week appeared to directly contradict previous university statements.

Frankly, UMass Amherst is union busting, plain and simple, Turner said in an interview Saturday. Its embarrassing to see UMass Amherst using these backward, outdated union-busting tactics.

The retirement board had warned the university that compliance issues in the Advancement Division could jeopardize the individuals retirement benefits as well as the entire pension system, according to university spokesperson Edward Blaguszewski.

After a review by the universitys legal team, the university developed a compliance plan for the state retirement board to protect employees past and future retirement contributions, university officials said, and employees would not have to apply for these new positions.

Lets be clear, Turner said. Moving these jobs, and Im using air quotes, means eliminating state positions and then it is up to this private employer if it wants to hire those people. There are no guarantees.

During the March 30 meeting, the retirement board confirmed pension eligibility of Advancement employees for their past service, but the March 31 letter to the universitys outside counsel makes clear that the university is required to modify its Advancement structure to comply with the law and ensure employees pensions going forward, according to a statement by the university.

The university is now reviewing how to best move forward to achieve compliance, said Blaguszewski.

The compliance issue is whether employees at the Advancement Division did more than a quarter of their work for the UMass Amherst Foundation, a technicality that Turner said employees carefully documented and have proven to be well within the legal standards.

On Thursday, state officials questioned the universitys plan and urged the restructuring of the division to be abandoned at the flagship campus.

Theres been a tremendous misunderstanding here, State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said last Thursday, March 30, in comments to the Massachusetts State Retirement Board. This situation is clearly and absolutely 100% UMass Amhersts responsibility  and it is on them to fix the problem.

Advancement Services is a fundraising operation. The division works to foster donor and alumni relationships at the university, with a team that maintains all data about donors, prospects and alumni while managing all the proposal-based financial aspects and gifts that the university receives, according to the universitys website.

The row between the university and the union representing Advancement Services employees over the privatization plan began back in December 2022 when the university announced it wanted to transition the divisions $13 million budget into the private Foundation  a move that union leaders claim would put the Advancement Division outside of state accounting oversight and public scrutiny.

There is no guarantee that employees would be re-hired by the universitys Foundation if the plan went forward, union leaders said, and employees would also lose the benefits of being state employees.

If the privatization plan were to go forward, employees moved to the Foundation would no longer get credible service towards their state pension, Turner said, adding that the Advancement Division for decades has done its work without compliance issues before the university attempted to make changes to how it collects donations and then it self-reported compliance issues.

They are creating this compliance issue where they dont need to, Turner said. Dont fix something that is not broken. And again, they cant answer the question of why they need to do this unless its union busting.

Goldberg urged the university to work with its employees and union toward a resolution.

I advise and strongly encourage UMass Amherst to resolve this situation as soon as possible with the clarity and the empathy their employees rightly deserve, Goldberg said.

Goldbergs comments were followed by State Sen. Jo Comerford, State Rep. Mindy Domb, and U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern signing a joint statement that questioned the universitys privatization plan.

With increased urgency, and based on University officials comments that their plan was based on the need to secure these retirements, we call on UMass Amherst to immediately abandon its plans to eliminate and privatize these public positions and to announce a renewed commitment to work with the union to protect these employees careers and futures, the joint statement reads.

The university has worked with campus unions University Staff Association and the Professional Staff Union  which held a rally outside of the Whitmore building last Monday. The unions also filed bad faith bargaining charges against the university with the state Department of Labor.

While the workers union co-chair Andrew Gorry contends that the statements made by the State Treasurer Goldberg and the retirement board put an end to the universitys deception and that the universitys justification to privatize these jobs clearly holds no water, directives from the state retirement board have ordered the university to fix compliance issues.

How the university resolves those compliance issues remains to be seen.

As Goldberg noted, the ongoing disputes pose a confusing, disruptive and stressful situation for them (employees) and their families.
Two State Police troopers were conducting a traffic stop Saturday morning when another car rolled over, hitting both of their cruisers.

According to Massachusetts State Police, the two troopers were outside their cruisers on Route 24 South in Avon at about 8:55 a.m. Saturday when the crash occurred. Both cruisers were parked in the breakdown lane with their lights on, and most of the oncoming traffic was slowing down and moving over for them.

Read more: Driver hospitalized after rollover crash in Weston Sunday morning

A 2014 Dodge Journey SUV approached quickly in the right lane and lost control, hitting a 2018 Jeep Wrangler, which had slowed down and was moving over, from behind. The Dodge then rolled over, hitting the two cruisers.

Neither officer was hit by the Dodge. The driver of the Dodge, a 37-year-old man from Middleborough, was evaluated by a Brewster EMS ambulance crew that was passing by, but refused further medical attention. The driver of the Jeep, a 31-year-old woman from Raynham, was not injured.

One cruiser received moderate damage to its back end, while the other received major damage to its driver side, police said. Both cruisers and the Dodge, which also had major damage, had to be towed from the scene.

The driver of the dodge was cited for speeding, following too close, failure to move over for an emergency vehicle, marked lanes violation and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.
Dear Annie: As a child, it was obvious that I needed braces to correct an overbite and crowding of the teeth. Kids made fun of me all the time, and I became severely depressed. My mother was a cold person, and I didnt have a positive relationship with my stepfather or stepsister.

In my 30s, after counseling, I finally had braces put on my teeth. Im now in my late 60s, and my dentist explained that the problems I am now experiencing are because the pockets created when moving teeth do not completely fill in when youre older.

It seems like, even though I take good care of my dental hygiene, I regularly have to undergo painful deep cleaning and repair work. I have worked at forgiveness toward my parents, but every time I have to undergo another painful session with the dentist, I get furious all over again that this was not taken care of when I was a child. I dont know how to handle this forgiveness when the pain is ongoing.

 Failing to Forgive

Dear Failing to Forgive: The best way to handle it is to know that forgiveness is not something you are doing for your parents  you are doing it for yourself so that you can be free. You want to be free from the resentment that you understandably have toward your parents for not taking care of you the way you would have liked.

Know that had they known better, they would have done better, but they never did know  and you had to pay the price. The best way to move on is to let go of the past and focus on the years ahead. The forgiveness is not about them; it is about freeing yourself. You are worthy of living without that baggage.

Dear Annie: I must take exception to an errant sentence in an otherwise excellent letter in a recent column. The reader wrote, Im 63 and number eight of a Catholic family of 10. Only one sibling remains Catholic; most of us went to other churches and are now Christian.

It needs to be pointed out that Catholics ARE Christians, as Roman Catholicism is one of the three major groups of Christianity, along with Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Many evangelical Protestant Christians would have you believe that Roman Catholicism is either a non-Christian denomination or a less pure form of Christianity, but this simply is not true, although obviously there are many distinct differences.

Anyway, just felt compelled to point this out in case it comes up again. We enjoy your columns, and keep up the good work! Thank you.

 A Proud Lifelong Roman Catholic

Dear Proud Catholic: Thank you for sharing that distinction.

Dear Annie: I have one grandson who has never cared for hugging. So a few years ago, he and I came up with our own special fist bump. After the bump, we touch the tips of our index and pinky fingers. This puts our hands in the same position as I love you in sign language. He is now 12.

 Special Fist Bump

Dear Fist Bump: Thank you for your suggestion. I love that you were able to connect with him in a way that felt safe and good for him.

How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner? is out now! Annie Lanes second anthology  featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation  is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM
Type One Energy

With the promise of fusion on full display after a U.S. lab achieved ignition late last year, fusion companies are raising capital to bring this next-gen green energy to life.

Magnetic confinement reactors, such as tokamaks and stellarators, are the leading fusion concept, and are designed to contain super-hot plasma long enough to sustain fusion reactions.

Although tokamaks are more abundant and easier to build, the company Type One Fusion just received millions to bring its stellarator reactor to market.

Fusion reactors come in all shapes and sizes, but can mostly be separated into three groups, defined by how they contain the super-hot plasma needed to combine lighter nuclei into heavier ones.

The first is gravitational reactors (a.k.a. stars), which are impossible to recreate on Earth. The second group is inertial reactors, which essentially fire a bunch of lasers at a small pellet and contain the resulting fusion reaction by sheer inertia for only 100 trillionths of a second. This is the concept that finally achieved ignition last December. But its the third groupmagnetic reactorsthats arguably the most promising.

Magnetic confinement fusion uses superconducting magnets to contain hot plasma long enough for a fusion reaction to take place. These magnets are absolutely critical, as they keep the plasma from touching any of the other materials in the reactor, and no known material can withstand the over-100-million-degrees-Celsius temperatures required for fusion. But even this kind of fusion divides into a further two camps: tokamaks and stellarators.



While tokamaks are seen by many (including the U.S. Department of Energy) as the leading concept of commercial fusion, stellarators are a bit of an underdog. But they have a few benefits over their popular competitor. Now, stellarators are entering the commercial realm as fusion company Type One Energywhich combines expertise from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and MITreceived $29 million to bring its stellarator technology out of the lab and into reality.

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Fusion is the ultimate energy source, and its successful commercialization will be a huge leap towards achieving clean and abundant energy for everyone, Carmichael Roberts, from the Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, says in a press release. Advances in stellarator science, including Type One Energys ability to execute a stellarator development project, provide the basis for a very exciting and promising path to practical fusion on the grid in the coming decades.

Stellarators can be described as cousins of tokamaks, with one key difference. Tokamakslike the upcoming ITER, for exampleuse superconducting coils and a central solenoid, while also running an electric current through the plasma itself. Stellarators, on the other hand, do away with a plasma-based current, and instead use a series of twisting superconducting magnets to control the plasma.

Because this twisting configuration is so complicated to build, there are six times more tokamak reactors than stellarators. However, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stellarators like the Wendelstein 7-X in Germany are better at containing plasma, whereas tokamaks excel at keeping plasma hot.

Although tokamaks are seen as an easier machine to construct, advanced computing has made the creation of stellarators a bit easier. The precise twisting construction of the Wendelstein 7-X was optimally designed by a supercomputer, for example. But according to the Department of Energy, the large bore wire coils needed for these machines still need to be manufactured with millimeter accuracy, which can be an extreme challenge.

The stellarator is also not the only fusion concept getting the startup treatment. Following the success of the National Ignition Facilitys fusion test in December 2022, companies have began investigating ways to turn inertial confinement fusion into a green energy revolution. Tokamaks also have more than their fair share of commercial interest.

Type One Energy says it plans to create a stellarator test bed for examining the fidelity of the companys models while working toward a working Fusion Power Plant, though the company hasnt provided a specific timeline. For now, it appears that stellarators will get a shot at bringing their strange twist on fusion power to the masses. But like so many universities, institutes, and companies working in fusion energy, Type One Energy likely has a long road ahead.

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When Jesus gathered his disciples in the Upper Room just before he died, he did something the Jewish people had been doing for roughly 1,300 years. I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, Jesus said (Luke 22:15). He was referring to the carefully choreographed liturgy of food, prayer, and testimony that marks the beginning of Passover. During his final observance with his disciples, Jesus told them he would not partake of this meal again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God (Luke 22:16).

Soon, Christians will celebrate Easter right in the middle of Passover week (the Feast of Unleavened Bread). The calendar doesnt always line up this way due to the differences between the Gregorian calendar used by the Christian church and the lunar calendar used by the Jewish people. But this year, the alignment spotlights the relationship between Passover and Easter, seen most clearly in the crucial role of Jesus resurrection in the fulfillment he foreshadowed.

Looking Backward

This same calendar coincidence happened in 1995 when Passover observance began two days before Easter. That was also the year that a young Jewish boy, Ari Hoffman, found himself covered in bits of stale matzo (unleavened bread), from years gone by, upon opening his fathers Haggadah, the guidebook for the Seder meal.

Hoffman grew up in a Messianic Jewish family, a term describing Jewish people who believe Jesus is the Messiah. Hoffmans fathers Haggadah was printed by the Maxwell House coffee companya marketing strategy started in the 1930s that continues to this day. The Hoffmans Haggadah had a blue paper cover with white Hebrew letters.

Growing up, it was Hoffmans job to prepare the Haggadah for the guests at his familys Seders. There were always [matzo] crumbs in the books, he remembers. I used to say they must have fallen out of my dads beard the year before.

When the Hoffmans opened their Haggadah each year, they became like courtroom lawyers. Page by page, they made the case for one of the most implausible, supernatural miracles on record. Because God told them to do so in the Book of Exodus, the family, and millions of others, retold the story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt to each other.

This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, says Exodus 12:14. In other words: Never forget what God has done for us.

Throughout Scripture, God told the Jewish people to remember his faithfulness. He instructed them to write his commandments on their hearts, to teach them to their children, and to think about them when they sit in their house and walk by the way (Deut. 6:6). Even now, religious or observant Jewish people all over the world wake up each morning, face east toward Jerusalem, and recite the words found in Deuteronomy 6:4, which read, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. As they make this proclamation, they are reminding themselves of who they areand Whose they are.

Jesus, the Passover Lamb

God wasnt only calling the Jewish people to remember his past deeds in their meticulous observation of the Passover as a statute forever (Ex. 12:14). The feast, which begins with the Seder meal and continues with seven days of abstaining from all forms of leven, doesnt only point backward to the time of Moses. It also points forward.

Through Passover, God invited the Jewish people to imprint the memory of deliverance from Egypt on their minds and heart. In doing so, he was preparing them to recognize the pattern of deliverance in the arrival of Jesus the Messiah. God desired that the people would recognize Jesus as the true Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), the eternal deliverance to whom the temporal deliverance of the original Passover pointed.

When, like the Hoffmans, Messianic Jewish families celebrate Passover each year, they look both backward and forward. The dry, unleavened matzo bread reminds them of the bread the Israelites hurried to make as they prepared to flee. It also brings to mind the words of Jesus during the Last Supper, when he said the matzo also represents his body. The wine points to the blood of the lamb, spread on the doorposts of Jewish homes, protecting their firstborn sons from the Angel of Death as it smote Egypt. Its also the blood of Jesus, just as he said in Luke 22.

In making these claims at the Seder meal, Jesus clearly identified himself as the Passover Lamb. He invited the disciples to apply the sacrifice of his body and blood by faith to the doorposts of their hearts so they would be protected from death. And his resurrection just days later would point to the ultimate fulfillment in the kingdom to come.

Jesus said and did all these things in order to prove to his Jewish kinsmen that he was the Messiah. But not all believed him; they were waiting for a conquering king rather than a lamb who had to be slain. Even today, the majority of the worldwide Jewish community rejects Jesus either as the God of the Christians or as a Jewish teacher who because of his death was disqualified from being the Messiah. But the Passover story urges us to reconsider..

Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI) carries on Jesuss mission by bringing the Good News of His Messiahship to Jewish people all around the world. JVMI also helps Christians better understand the Jewish roots of their faitha faith made possible by the Jewish Exodus from Egypt and built upon the death and resurrection of a Jewish Messiah.

We Still Remember

Through his declaration at the Last Supper, Jesus introduced a new element for his disciples to include in their observances. He asked them to remember him during this feast that beautifully foreshadows his role as the Passover Lamb. In a pantomime of Jesuss last meal, Christians remind themselves of his redemption every time they take communion.

Jewish believers like the Hoffmansand many Christians around the worldcontinue Passover with a Messianic mindset. For them, there are great treasures to be found in observing this ancient feast similar to how our Messiah, the one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3), observed Passover in his time.

The Exodus story holds deep meaning for all believers in Jesus, whether ethnically Jewish or not. To help Christians discover the profound beauty of this chapter in the story of Gods world, JVMI has created a Passover text devotional experience that walks through the Exodus story and the tradition of the Passover Seder, illuminating how it all points to Jesus as the Passover lamb and the ultimate Deliverer of both Israel and the Nations. Sign up for this free devotional today.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will meet tomorrow, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Athens, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the context of the latter's visit to Greece.

Initially, the Emirati Foreign Minister will be received by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias in attendance.

Then, at approximately 14:05, the two Foreign Ministers will have a one-on-one meeting, followed by expanded talks between the two delegations.

Discussions are expected to focus on further strengthening the two countries strategic cooperation in a wide range of areas, including economy, investment, energy, and climate change mitigation. Furthermore, they are expected to cover international and regional developments of mutual interest, including developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, and the Middle East, as well as European Union - UAE relations and regional cooperation schemes.

It is noted that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias made bilateral visits to the UAE in December 2022, June 2022, and June 2021.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)  Asa Hutchinson, who recently completed two terms as Arkansas governor, said Sunday he will seek the Republican presidential nomination, positioning himself as an alternative to Donald Trump just days after the former president was indicted by a grand jury in New York.

Hutchinson said Trump should drop out of the race, arguing the office is more important than any individual person.

Hutchinson, who announced his candidacy on ABC's This Week, said he was running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future." He added: I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.

He is the first Republican to enter the race since Trump became the only former U.S. president to ever face criminal charges. Hutchinson's candidacy will test the GOP's appetite for those who speak out against Trump. Others who have criticized Trump, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, have opted against a campaign, sensing the difficulty of prevailing in a primary.

Hutchinson, in an Associated Press interview later Sunday, said it was important for voters to have an alternative leader and not simply go by default to somebody who is really wrapped around what happened in the past.

I dont think you have to be blustery. I think you can be honest and authentic, and thats what I want to be able to offer, he said.

In a sign of Trump's continued grip on the Republican base, most in the party  even those considering challenging him for the nomination  have defended him against the New York indictment. Hutchinson, notably, had said Friday that Trump should step aside," calling the charges a distraction.

In addition to Trump, Hutchinson joins a Republican field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to jump into the race in the summer, while U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those considering bids.

I think I stand out by stating my convictions and my vision for the country," Hutchinson told the AP. "I think that is illustrated in the last week, in how Ive handled the Trump indictment, how Ive handled how we need to move forward as a party and a country.

The formal campaign announcement will come April 26 in Bentonville, his hometown and also the home of Walmarts headquarters. He will be campaigning in the coming weeks in Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky.

He said he could be very competitive in places like Iowa, where campaigning involves retail politics like chatting with potential voters in diners. He also said he believed he would be financially competitive, though, certainly its not going to be at the level of the Donald Trumps of the world.

Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight years as governor. He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the worst scenario" for Republicans and saying it will likely benefit President Joe Biden's chances in 2024.

The former governor, who was term-limited, has been a fixture in Arkansas politics since the 1980s, when the state was predominantly Democratic. A former congressman, he was one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton.

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush's head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the state's budget surpluses grew. He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Hutchinson, however, has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he vetoed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for children. Arkansas' majority-Republican Legislature overrode Hutchinson's veto and enacted the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

Trump called Hutchinson a RINO  a Republican In Name Only  for the veto. Hutchinson's successor, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has said she would have signed the legislation.

Since taking office, shes signed legislation aimed at reinstating the currently blocked ban by making it easier to sue providers of such care to minors.

Hutchinson, who endorsed Sanders and signed other restrictions on transgender youth into law, said the Arkansas ban went too far and that he would have signed the measure if it had focused only on surgery.

Although he has supported Trump's policies, Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former president's rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election. He said Trump's call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a U.S. attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s.

An opponent of the federal health care law, Hutchinson after taking office supported keeping Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion. But he championed a work requirement for the law that was blocked by a federal judge.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson tried to push back against misinformation about the virus with daily news conferences and a series of town halls he held around the state aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated.

The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning.

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
BEIRUT (AP)  Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in Syria's Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported. Hours later, the Israeli military said it shot down an aircraft that crossed from Syria into Israel's airspace.

In Iran, state media reported that an Iranian adviser who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Friday died of his wounds. Since the start of Syria's conflict in March 2011, Iran has been a main supporter of President Bashar Assad's government and has sent advisers since the early days of the war.

Sunday's strike marked the ninth time Israel has struck targets in Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor.

State news agency SANA, citing military sources, said the strikes targeted sites in the city of Homs and surrounding countryside. Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot down some of them, it said.

The observatory reported that the missiles targeted Syrian military sites and those of Iran-linked militias, including a research center.

On Sunday night, the Israeli army said air force helicopters and fighter jets were deployed following an unidentified aircraft that seems to have crossed from the direction of Syria into Israeli territory. It added that the aircraft was monitored by the Israeli Air Force throughout the incident and it was later shot down.

There was no immediate statement from Israel on the strikes on Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly mention the strikes at a meeting of his Cabinet on Sunday, but said Israel was acting against foreign threats.

We are exacting a high price from the regimes that support terror outside Israels borders, he said.

Netanyahu said that a major domestic crisis over his governments plan to overhaul the judiciary has not affected Israels ability to strike.

The internal argument in Israel doesnt harm and wont harm our determination or intensity or our capabilities to act against our enemies on all fronts, in any place and at any time necessary, he said.

Later Sunday, Israels defense minister, Yoav Gallant, commented about Syria during a visit to soldiers in the occupied West Bank but did not directly confirm the recent airstrikes.

We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we wont allow it now, or anytime in the future, Gallant said. He also accused Iran of seeking to entrench its presence along Israel's borders.

When necessary  we will push them out of Syria to where they belong  and that is Iran, Gallant said.

Reservists have pledged not to show up for duty so long as the overhaul moves forward, prompting military and defense officials to warn of damage to the militarys capabilities. Netanyahu has paused the overhaul for now.

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 Assads forces.

On Friday, Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syrias capital city, Damascus, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported. Irans state television reported Friday that Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser, was killed during what it called a criminal strike by Israel.

Iranian sate media reported Sunday that another Revolutionary Guard adviser who was wounded in Friday's strike succumbed to his wounds. Irans state TV identified the adviser as Meghdad Mahghani, adding that his funeral would be held Sunday in Damascus.

An Israeli airstrike last month targeting the airport in Aleppo put it out of commission for two days. The airport has been a main conduit for aid shipments since the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey on Feb. 6.

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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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel and Josef Federman and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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TOKYO (AP)  Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern" about China's escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Hayashi is on a two-day visit to China, becoming Japans first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He also met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later Sunday.

During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man nor the allegations against him.

Hayashi told reporters he raised serious concern about China's increasingly assertive activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

He said he also expressed grave concern about Beijings increased joint military activity with Russia around Japan while Moscow wages war against Ukraine, and urged China to act responsibly for global peace.

Hayashi said he told Qin while there is a possibility of improving cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, the two countries also face many problems and serious concerns" and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, Hayashi said.

Hayashi said that he and Premier Li shared the importance of their bilateral economic ties, and that it was crucial that Japanese nationals and companies feel safe to operate in China.

That was the concern raised by representatives of Japanese companies during their meeting Saturday with Hayashi. They also sought transparent, predictable and fair business environment in China, said Yukiko Okano, deputy press secretary for the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Separately, Hayashi told Wang that China's assertive activity in the East China Sea and the recent detention are a stumbling block for promoting economic and people-to-people exchanges."

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 security and economy.

Qin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and "undermine China's sovereignty in any way, according to a statement from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using strong language, Qin said the Taiwan issue is at the core of Chinas core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

Japan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.

Japan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defenses recent years.

The Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.

Qin criticized Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The U.S. has imposed similar measures and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.

The U.S. once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japans semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China, Qin said, urging Japan not to be America's pawn. One should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.

Hayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a U.S.-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.

The last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashi's predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures.

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Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.

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Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
The spring season is well underway and many Missouri plants and trees are blooming with life and color. Unfortunately, one invasive tree species is prominent along roadways and other natural open areas: the Callery pear tree. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) urges the public to avoid this nonnative tree species when shopping for a new tree this spring.

The Callery pear, also known as the Bradford pear, Cleveland Select, Autumn Blaze, or Aristocrat, is a highly invasive tree that multiplies quickly and crowds out Missouri native plants.

The Callery pear rose to fame as a popular ornamental landscape tree in the 1960s because it was inexpensive, it grew fast, and it provided white blooms in the spring, said MDC Forestry Field Programs Supervisor Russell Hinnah. But thats where the list of benefits ends. Different varieties of the tree were planted close to each other, they cross-pollinated, and spread everywhere.

Callery pears ability to cross-pollinate is why many roadsides, rights-of-way, parks, and other natural areas are filled with white blooms every spring.

The trees are infamous for the stinky smell, but also have poor branch structure. They dont fare well in bad weather, often losing limbs or splitting apart.

MDC encourages homeowners and landscapers to grow native when picking a tree to plant this spring.

The best decision is to plant a tree species native to Missouri, and there are several great trees to substitute, said Hinnah. Serviceberry trees produce similar white blooms in the spring and they have small red fruits that attract wildlife.

Other great alternatives include American plum, hawthorn, eastern redbud, and Missouris state tree, the flowering dogwood. Hawthorns provide bountiful fruit and attractive fall color, while dogwoods thrive in shady areas, but can be difficult to grow.

Learn more about native trees and landscaping on your property online at https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-care.

Callery Pear Buy-Back Events

Missourians with Callery pear trees on their property have the opportunity to cut down their trees and receive a free, noninvasive tree in return at several buy-back events around the state on April 18. The events are made possible through partnerships with the Missouri Invasive Plant Council, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, Forrest Keeling Nursery, and MDC.

Registration opened March 15. To qualify, participants must submit a photo of their cut-down Callery pear online. One free native tree will be provided to each registered participant at the selected location on April 18 from 3 p.m.  6 p.m. Participating cities include:

 St. Louis

 Columbia

 Cape Girardeau

 Poplar Bluff

 Springfield

 Joplin

 Lebanon

 Hannibal

 Kansas City

For more information on the buy-back events and how to register, visit moinvasives.org.

To learn about native trees for landscaping, planting tips, backyard tree care, and more helpful information, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-care.
DUNDEE, MI - The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado touched down in Dundee today, causing damage to the downtown area and elsewhere along its path.

The tornado was rated as an EF-0, which means it was the weakest level of tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which measures the intensity of tornadoes. It had an estimated wind speed of 80 mph as it tracked 7.3 miles through the town in southeast Michigan. The tornado developed as a line of severe storms moved through the area this morning, bringing rain in some places and adding hail in others.

An NWS damage survey team confirmed the tornado and released the details after 6 p.m. Saturday.

An EF-0 tornado tracked through Dundee, Michigan during the late morning hours of April 1, 2023, the NWS survey team said. Damage was most concentrated within greater downtown Dundee, where immediate areas around Memorial Park experienced concentrated building damage. Additional sporadic damage occurred with the tornado during the duration of its path.

No injuries were reported.

The width of the tornados path was about 75 yards. The tornado reportedly touched down at the intersection of Brewer and Petersburg roads at 11: 03 a.m. and lifted off the ground by 11:08 a.m. near Dixon and Sullivan roads.

The tornado touched down at the intersection of Brewer and Petersburg roads, west southwest of Dundee, the NWS said. Damage in this area included a stand of pine trees down, damage to an outbuilding, and some significant shingle damage to a house. Winds were estimated at 75 mph at this time.

The tornado then tracked along Brewer Road with damage consisting of sporadic downed large limbs as Brewer Road turned into Riley Street. Upon entering in to the village of Dundee, estimated wind speed increased to a peak of 80 mph in downtown Dundee, specifically in the immediate vicinity of Memorial Park.

With increased wind speeds aided by funneling effects between downtown buildings, damage in this area consisted of a roof being partially blown off, windows blown out, downed limbs, and nearby car damage. The tornado then tracked further east northeastward until ending near the intersection of Dixon Road and Sullivan Road, with continued sporadic downed large limbs.

After 6 p.m., the Dundee Police Department reported that M-50 had reopened to traffic.

See more downtown damage photos from the Dundee Police here.

Park Place and the adjacent sidewalk remain closed to vehicles and pedestrians, while some structural damage is still being addressed. Any residents that were asked to leave, may now return to their apartment or dwelling, the police said.
ANN ARBOR, MI - These University of Michigan students think the Ann Arbor music scene is experiencing a post-lockdown rebirth.

From groovy, pop-funk ensembles Tea & Sympathy and Cherry TV, jazz funk crew Joe and the Ruckus, to punk rock quartet Post Nasal Drip and indie-folk artists Kingfisher and Zach Watson and Co., students are banding together to hit the stages of historic venues like The Ark and the Blind Pig.

Meet three student musicians whove enmeshed themselves in multiple local bands, backing up their friends and helping to breathe new life into Ann Arbors music scene.

Kaysen Mortensen-Chown

Kaysen Mortensen-Chown (far right) playing alongside (from left to right) Tyler Thendstedt and Zach Watson at the Canterbury House on 721 E Huron Street.Photo provided by Kaysen Mortensen-Chown

Having lent her fiddle-playing skills to ensembles across town, namely Kingfisher and Zach Watson and Co., UM senior Kaysen Mortensen-Chown chuckles when she said, Ive become kind of the resident fiddle-player in this community.

A native of Traverse City, Mortensen-Chown grew up around music and art, with her father working as a professional pianist and her mother a graphic designer. In kindergarten, while learning how to read and write, Mortensen-Chown also began learning how to play piano, what she calls her first love. Soon, she graduated to the violin.

Mortensen-Chown learned about UMs music and theater programs from her high school robotics teacher, UM alum Justin Sorenson, who caught wind of how she was spending downtime in his class.

I would procrastinate doing my (robotics) work by making silly beats on GarageBand, Mortensen-Chown said, laughing.

She refers to the major, endearingly, as engineering lite, noting that she encounters an interesting mix of technology and art disciplines in her Performing Arts Technology classes.

Mortensen-Chown spent her first years in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance joining bands that fizzled out quick. In the height of the pandemic, making music with peers became difficult if nearly impossible.

Everyone was in their own insular music bubble, she said.

When she ventured northeast to UMs New England Literature Program, Mortensen-Chown said she clicked with new musical collaborators. There, she met fellow musician Zach Watson, who welcomed her into a new bluegrass genre shed yet to explore.

I probably spent more time playing my violin at (the literature program) than writing, Mortensen-Chown said. (Making music with Watson) was a new world of playing violin. Thats when I used my ear and my background in improvisation within the context of (Watsons) music, which is blues-y and folk.

When she returned from the literature program, Mortensen-Chown took up fellow student Sam Uribe-Boteros offer to play a string part for his band, Kingfisher. Mortensen-Chown fell in love with the ensemble and the students in it, and she was added to the band as its violinist that summer.

Kingfisher has cultivated a following on campus, notable for its experimental, indie-folk sound.

Last November, the band released its debut album Grip Your Fist, Im Heaven Bound with the single Snowing, all at once garnering more than 140,000 streams on Spotify. The band has plans to release a second album and intends to continue post-graduation.

After graduation, Mortensen-Chown plans to move to Detroit with a few Kingfisher bandmates to continue personal musical project and see where the future lies for the band.

Steve Poeschel

Steve Poeschel playing drums with The Screws at the Blind Pig on Janurary 20, 2023.Photo provided by Steve Poeschel

Other bands feature non-music students leading double lives, studying coding or sociology by day and ripping guitar solos at The Blind Pig by night.

This includes Steve Poeschel, a senior in the School of Public Health who, by way of being in the right place at the right time, landed as the drummer of two local punk bands, Post Nasal Drip and The Screws. A self-taught drummer, Poeschel is a just-for-fun musician who plays with music majors.

Before the pandemic, Poeschel used the trombone skills he developed in his middle school with UM jazz orchestra ensemble Blue Bops. Now, three years later, Poeschel is drumming with two punk bands at venues across town, including Nakamura Cooperative House, The Blind Pig and student-run radio station WCBN-FM.

Poeschel tells a story about how he stumbled into being Post Nasal Drips drummer last year. He went down into his basement at Michminnies Cooperative House where his housemate Emma McKillip was rehearsing in the houses makeshift music room with her band. Nestled in the corner of the room was a dusty drum set with out-of-tune tom drums and no cymbals.

He said he sat down and started tinkering with the drums, grooving with McKillips punk electric guitar rhythms using only his ear. That same afternoon, Poeschel was asked to join Post Nasal Drip and hes still drumming with the band today, after making some much-needed repairs to that drum set.

Poeschel also joined The Screws as a drummer when he was approached by bandmember Ves Steele at the WCBN-FM studio.

Poeschels career prospects have become somewhat of a conundrum.

Im having a bit of a crisis right now, Poeschel said.

While his parents expect him to get what he calls a smart person job, Poeschel seems determined to keep music in his career in one way or another. Hes even looked into Eastern Michigan Universitys music therapy program.

Poeschel said he feels grateful to be just another part of a larger music conversation in Ann Arbor after having no concept of local music before the pandemic.

Post Nasal Drip and The Screws are so much more than I couldve asked for, he said.

Sam Uribe-Botero

Sam Uribe Botero plays the saxophone during a concert at Blind Pig on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Joe & the Ruckus performed live at Blind Pig.Sydney Verlinde | MLive.com

If youre a connoisseur of local jazz music, chances are youve seen performing arts technology major senior Sam Uribe-Botero delivering saxophone riffs as a backup instrumentalist for a number of local bands.

As the resident saxophone player for Kingfisher, Joe and the Ruckus and indie folk ensemble Cece and The Crawlers, Uribe-Botero has carved out a niche in the music scene after living in Ann Arbor most of his life.

He has performed and produced albums with fellow music classmates for the past four years.

Uribe-Botero enjoys utilizing his to curate spaces that bring people together and revitalize a house show scene he said he thought Ann Arbor was lacking.

Uribe-Botero has been playing and recording music since he played saxophone at Community High School and interned at youth center Neutral Zones studio.

In high school, Uribe-Botero played shows at the Blind Pig and the Ark with his band Rosewood.

The teenaged ensemble, which he said played in the genre of something like neo-soul, released a handful of songs using Uribe-Boteros self-taught music production skills.

Its super embarrassing to go listen to today, Uribe-Botero said.

When Uribe-Botero started college, he noticed house shows were missing from Ann Arbors music community. He said he spent his freshman year learning that live music on campus was more of a soundtrack for partying than it was an artistic experience.

Uribe-Botero said he would walk away from gigs at local cooperative houses with his equipment ruined.

I had a great time, dont get me wrong, Uribe-Botero said. But, he wanted something more.

So, after spending the COVID lockdown at home, Uribe-Botero said he returned to campus wanted to establish a new performance environment.

It was during this time he connected with classmates Joe Thomas and Stephen Oduro to form the trio .SSJ, which later expanded to become Joe and the Ruckus. Uribe-Botero also began collaborating with fellow performing arts technology major Sam DuBose, with whom he would later form Kingfisher.

After graduation, Uribe-Botero plans to move to Detroit along with Kingfisher bandmate Mortensen-Chown to continue making music and, soon, go on tour with Kingfisher.

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WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - New water and sewer projects are only adding to the growing list of road construction-related closures in the Ann Arbor area.

Heres a list of road work that could affect commute times and travel across Washtenaw County for the week beginning Sunday, April 2.

ANN ARBOR

Take Back the Night march closures: A rally and march for the 2023 Take Back the Night Ann Arbor event, protesting sexual violence of all forms, will bring street closures to downtown Ann Arbor between 8 and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5.

The closures include State Street from William to Madison streets, Madison from State to Thompson streets, Thompson from Madison to William, William from Thompson to Fourth Avenue, Fourth from William to East Liberty Street, East Liberty from Fourth to Maynard Street, Maynard from East Liberty to William and William from Maynard to State.

East Hoover Avenue: The street is set to close on Monday, April 3 in the westbound direction between State and South Division streets for a city sewer-lining project.

A detour will be in effect, and the construction is estimated to end by Monday, May 8.

Platt Road: The road on the citys east side is being reduced from four lanes to two between Packard Road and Huron Parkway beginning Monday and lasting until Friday, Aug. 1.

The restrictions will allow for crews to replace an existing water main, as well as replace curb, sidewalk and ramps while resurfacing Platt Road. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

Read more: Traffic restrictions coming for 2 Ann Arbor water and sewer projects

Scio Church Road: A section of the road between South Seventh Street and South Maple Road is closed until May for a resurfacing project, bringing improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

Construction on the first phase of the project is set to run through Friday, May 26, when Scio Church Road will reopen in the eastbound direction, and officials will notify residents of a new traffic pattern.

During the project, the Maple Road intersection will remain open to traffic turning left onto Maple or right onto Scio Church to ease congestion because of the damage to the Liberty Road I-94 overpass.

Read more: $3.58M resurfacing project set to begin, bringing closures to southwest Ann Arbor road

South Ashley Street and West Jefferson Street: South Ashley Street is closed to southbound traffic between Jefferson and William streets, while West Jefferson Street is completely closed between Ashley and First streets.

The closures are for a city sewer-lining project slated to conclude on Wednesday, April 12.

Read more: Sewer project shutting down Ann Arbor streets near downtown through April

South State Street: The downtown street is closed to vehicle traffic between North University Avenue and Huron Street until Sept. 1 for the second phase of a major overhaul extending curb-less design in the area near the University of Michigan Diag.

The intersections on either side of the work zone will remain open. Regular updates can be found online from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

Read more: 6-month closure coming as State Street overhaul resumes in downtown Ann Arbor

South Main Street: The street is closed between William and Liberty Streets until Friday, May 5, for the first phase of a major resurfacing project. The Liberty and Main street intersection also is closed.

Local businesses will remain open, and pedestrians can still access the businesses in the Main Street commercial district. Crews will replace a water main, make crosswalk improvements and put new pavement on the crumbling downtown street.

The project will progress between Liberty and Huron streets between May and July, with additional sewer work at the Main and Huron intersection in July and August.

Read more: Expect closures for $8M project to fix Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor

Whats that under Ann Arbors Main Street? Mysterious bricks spark theories

North Main Street: Northbound North Main Street from Huron Street to Ann Street will see a single-lane closure daily Monday through Saturday beginning on April 3 and running through Friday, April 14 for permit work.

Long-term projects: North Fifth Avenue from Detroit to Catherine streets will have a lane shift through June 2024 for a new development.

Eastbound South University Avenue traffic between East University Avenue and Church Street is closed long-term for high-rise construction.

The Liberty Road bridge over I-94 is reduced to single-lane traffic, with temporary traffic signals, until further notice after being damaged by a semi-truck on March 13. The Michigan Department of Transportation plans to design and contract for a bridge replacement, officials say, though no timeline has been released for the project.

OTHER WASHTENAW COUNTY PROJECTS:

Pittsfield Township - U.S. 23/Michigan Avenue: A major project widening Michigan Avenue (U.S. 12) in Pittsfield Township and upgrading the U.S. 23 interchange will cause shoulder closures and intermittent nightly lane closures on a stretch of U.S. 23 south of Ann Arbor.

The construction is scheduled to run through November. Pittsfield Township is posting regular updates here.

Read more: Closures coming to U.S. 23 near Ann Arbor for $69M construction project

York Township - U.S. 23/Willis Road interchange: Willis Road at U.S. 23 is closed in both directions through late June as bridge construction takes place, with a detour route available here.

The eastbound Willis Road ramp to northbound U.S. 23 also is closed during the project. The detour route is here.

Read more: U.S. 23 closing for bridge demolition, ramp construction in Washtenaw County

Sylvan Township - I-94: One lane of eastbound I-94 will close at Kalmbach Road between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. April 3.

Pittsfield/Ypsilanti townships - Michigan Avenue: Michigan Avenue near the I-94 interchange will see daily single-lane closures for permit work.

They will be present Monday through Friday in both directions at Hunt Club Drive until April 17 and at the I-94 interchange until April 3.

Saline - Michigan Avenue: A daytime single-lane closure is planned on eastbound Michigan Avenue from Maple Street to Industrial Drive in Saline for permit work on April 3.

Pittsfield Township - Morgan Road: The road between Carpenter Road and U.S. 12/Michigan Avenue is closed for sanitary sewer installation until April 14. A detour map is available here.

Pittsfield Township - Intersection of Morgan Road and Platt Road: The intersection will see intermittent lane closures until April 14 for a private road installation.

Pittsfield Township - Platt Road: The road will see intermittent lane closures between Bemis Road and Michigan Avenue through September for construction of a non-motorized pathway.

Pittsfield Township - Bemis Road: Intermittent closures are expected through April 10 between Moon Road and east of North Warner Road for forestry and drainage improvements.

Pittsfield/Ypsilanti townships - Textile Road: The road will see intermittent lane closures running through April 10 between Crane Road and Rawsonville Road for forestry and drainage improvements.

Scio Township - Huron River Drive: The road will see intermittent lane closures until Nov. 15 between Zeeb Road and Delhi Road for construction on a new segment of the Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail.

York Township - Hack Road: The road between Maple and Ridge roads will see intermittent lane restrictions beginning Monday and running through April 14 for forestry work.

York Township - Judd Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions beginning Monday and running through April 14 for forestry work between U.S. 23 and Carpenter Road and also between Platt Road and U.S. 23.

York Township - Moon Road: The road between Stony Creek Road and Saline-Milan Road will see intermittent lane closures beginning Monday and running through April 14 for forestry work.

Ypsilanti - Clark Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions west of Leforge Road until April 30 for forestry work.

An updated list of Ann Arbor city street closures is available online here. The weekly Washtenaw County Road Commission schedule is here. And the MDOT road closure map is here.

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FLINT, MI -- Pharlon Randle used to be the cool bus driver.

He befriended many students and even rocked a boombox for rides to and from school.

For the hours he wasnt driving, Randle was working from home out of the recording studio he built.

It wasnt until he combined those two passions  working with Michigan youth and making music -- that he found his purpose.

Randle, 52, was chosen for the Impact Award by the Michigan Afterschool Partnership in late March for helping generations of students find themselves through music.

His production company, Bangtown Productions and Studio on the Go, has become a mainstay in Flint, Kalamazoo and across the state.

Before starting his production company, Randle worked as a bus driver in Mt. Morris and operated his own recording studio at home.

He went from working with kids to studio sessions back and forth for years, until friends recruited him to start teaching others about music.

Randle quickly realized that he could make a living by sharing his musical gifts with children. He got involved with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint when then-President Jamie Gaskin invited him to put on a session for the kids.

It was an immediate hit, and before he knew it, he had two weekly sessions at the club.

At its peak, he had a team of eight other producers that would host classes all across the state of Michigan.

Bangtown Productions and Recordings has a mission to connect youth to their communities through music and technology. Its the mission Randles been carrying out for 17 years.

Hes coming up on almost two decades of working with children through music.

What keeps him going, one might ask? His dedication to the work.

Its just something that I have to do. Music is my gift that God gave me. When I was 21, I thought I was going to be in a funk band traveling the world and doing my thing. But I still make music every day for a living, Randle said. ... That is my path. Thats my lane.

I have the ability to go in a room and make a song with anybody.

Randle recalled working with his own band at the late Bernard Terrys studio in Beecher when he was just a teenager. He didnt know it then, but it was preparing him for running Studio on the Go.

Related: Family, friends celebrate life of iconic Flint music producer Bernard Terry

He was able to be patient with us, you know, just put up with a bunch of our stuff. We blew out his speakers once, Randle said.

After starting in 2006, Randle has seen generations of young musicians pass through his program.

One time he was working a session in Kalamazoo and a former student of his was picking up her daughter from his music class.

Those light bulb moments -- the split second when you can see that youve gotten through with a student -- are one of the reasons he keeps at it.

Part of the reason why I do it is just that -- to see them make that connection, to see their development and that theyre coming out of their shell, Randle said.

Kameron Motley, a Flint poet, musician and recent Carman-Ainsworth High School graduate, said his first exposure to music was through Randles program.

I look back on it and I go, Oh, wow, Motley said. Like I was super young, and I was doing something that I didnt know was going to really impact me in the future. I love going to the studio now.  It was just dope to get that exposure at a young age.

Read more at The Flint Journal:

Genesee Health System to receive $2.3 million to expand mental health services

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WYOMING, MI  A physical altercation turned deadly, and one man was killed, and another man injured in a shooting early Sunday morning, Wyoming police said.

Police identified the man fatally shot as 24-year-old Isaia Mojica.

Police responded to a shooting around 2 a.m. Sunday, April 2, in the 200 block of 44th Street SW. There, officers found Mojica who had been shot. Mojica was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Police then learned about another man who was dropped off at a local hospital. The man was suffering from gunshot wounds and police believe the man was injured during the shooting on 44th Street. The mans injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

The occupants of the vehicle that dropped him off left immediately.

Witnesses told police the incident began as a physical altercation involving several people. The shooting began during the altercation and multiple people fired shots. A handgun was recovered from the scene.

Police ask anyone with information about this incident to contact the Wyoming Police Department at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  After nearly a year in court, a proposal by an Indianapolis developer to bring roughly 600 housing units and retail space to an 82-acre property in a rural stretch of Gaines Township appears on track to move forward.

The former owner of the property, a limited liability company connected to an East Lansing developer, filed a lawsuit against the township last April after the township board voted 4-3 in February 2022 to block the development near the corner of Kalamazoo Avenue SE and 84th Street.

But the developer has persisted.

Both parties say a settlement is being finalized in Kent County Circuit Court, clearing a path for one of the biggest multi-family housing developments in the townships history to move forward.

Its going to bring a big change to our township, said Gaines Township Treasurer Laurie Lemke, who was among the trustees to vote against the project because of concerns about traffic, the size and height of the development, and the loss of what was once farmland.

Gaines Township is located south of Kentwood, a suburb of Grand Rapids, between Caledonia and Byron Center. It has 27,345 residents, up 9% from 2010, according to the 2020 census.

The lawsuit comes amid a push to add 34,699 new housing units in Kent County by 2027 to meet projected demand. Gaines Township staff say new employers have moved to the township in recent years, and housing is in short supply.

However, the housing push comes into conflict with some longtime residents who value the farming traditions and open fields found near the proposed development and to the south, officials say.

Lemke said, I think we would all love to see our farmland preserved, but added that you cant stop progress.

In late February, American Kendall Properties purchased the 82-acre property at 8460 Kalamazoo Ave. SE for $3.4 million from Caleydonia LLC. The limited liability company is registered to Sam Eyde II, an East Lansing-based developer.

The development would bring a big change to the property.

American Kendalls plans call for 127 single-family homes, 36 condominiums, 258 apartments, 34 apartments above ground-floor retail space, and 44 single family townhome units, planning documents say. Theres also plans for 110 senior housing units.

The development is envisioned as a pedestrian-friendly community center, with a variety of housing options, community-oriented public spaces, non-motorized pathways, and natural water features, according to the proposal.

The proposal, which also includes six commercial buildings and 10 acres of open space, is expected to cost north of $100 million, said Mike Speedy, partner at American Kendall Properties.

It will be very well received by the market, each and every use, said Speedy, who also serves District 90 as a Republican member of the Indiana House of Representatives. Whether it be senior housing, apartments and retail.

Housing in the development would be available at the market rate, with a one-bedroom unit going for an estimated $1,400 a month and a 3-bedroom costing $3,000 a month, Speedy said. The townhomes could start at about $300,000 and go up to $500,000 or more.

The project would join other projects American Kendall Properties has completed in the area such as Knapps Corner Flats in Grand Rapids and The Haven apartments in Wyoming.

Related: Whats going on off Byron Center Avenue? Developer has major plans

The legal settlement with the township has not been filed yet. But Speedy said were putting together the final details. He said he doesnt hold hard feelings with the township board whatsoever.

Often, opposition is just simply to change and uncertainty, he said. Thats what youre working against, not legitimate opposition, not legitimate concerns.

He added, pro-growth prevailed.

The legal fight over the project started in April 2022.

Caleydonia LLC filed a complaint in Kent County Circuit Court, alleging the townships current zoning of 8460 Kalamazoo Ave. SE for agricultural and rural residential uses is arbitrary and capricious and intended to block development and use of the property.

While the townships 2008 master plan zoned the project for agricultural and rural residential use, Caleydonia LLC pointed to a sub area future land use plan adopted by the township board in 2016.

That plan placed 8460 Kalamazoo Ave. SE in a mixed-use district. A mixed-use designation permits an assortment of commercial and residential uses.

The developer made the legal argument, which has held true in other places as well, that basically youve denied me what youve kind of pre-approved through the future land use plan, said Gaines Township Community Development Director Dan Wells.

Discussions between the township and the developer during the legal process have touched on the scope and height of the buildings, Wells said. But the developer has argued the project wont generate the necessary financial returns if the number of apartments and height of the buildings is reduced, he said.

They werent willing to reduce the height of the buildings or reduce the density, Wells said. They always maintained they had to have that there.

Most of the buildings will be limited to 35 feet, though a few of the apartment buildings will rise more than 50 feet into the air.

Speedy, the developer, said the terms of the settlement with the lawsuit do not scale back the project from its original vision. Its no different, he said, than what our plan concluded all along.

Moving forward, he expects construction to start by the end of the year.

We have certain off-site infrastructure to install first, he said. So we expect that to start by the end of the year. We have to wait for building materials to be secured, water line primarily.

The full project could be complete within three to four years from the time the first apartment building opens, he said. Potential tenants for the retail buildings have not been selected.

He disagreed when asked if that time frame was overly optimistic.

They all reflect different market segments, he said of the types of housing included in the project. If they were 500 of the exact type, then I would agree with you. But since they are 500 of about four or five different building types.

While the majority of township board members voted against the project, supporters are pleased to see it move forward.

From my perspective, I think its a pretty good plan given the variety of uses and services that will be available, said Tim Haagsma, who has been on the township board for 20 years and is director of traffic and safety at the Kent County Road Commission.

He said he supports the project because housing is needed in the region.

Theres a housing shortage within Kent County, and this is one way to provide houses for people to live, he said. We need people to keep the economy going, and they need places to live.

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SAGINAW, MI  About 100 yards off the Saginaw River shoreline, Trace Hendrick watches history fuse with the future.

As vice president of Swan Creek Township-based R.C. Hendrick and Son, Inc., the Saginaw native oversees the 212,000-square-foot, five-story-tall, multimillion dollar Saginaw United High School building now under construction just west of the Genesee Avenue Bridge.

Its a massive undertaking, with roots that literally reach deep into Saginaws past and heights that scrape the citys skies. To support the 90-foot-tall structure, crews sunk foundational beams 95 feet into the riverside soil, pushing through buried timber likely dating back to the citys 19th century lumber era boom. Its beams are tall enough that construction equipment topping off the big build flies a flag to warn low-flying aircraft.

Hendrick and his colleagues, though, see how the project stretches forward, into future generations. While his great-great grandfather founded the family business that built some of Saginaws earliest American structures, Hendrick said the building now under construction should stand well into the 22nd century. By then, perhaps his own great-great grand-descendants could receive educations in the hallways now taking form, Hendrick said.

Getting this job was really important for us because we knew it was going to be so transformational for the city of Saginaw, Hendrick said of the contract his company secured when it won the construction bid. For us  being part of Saginaw for 146 years  its been special.

Saginaw Public Schools leaders said the building will open its hallways in fall 2024. The first class of students will include freshmen and sophomores now attending Arthur Hill and Saginaw high schools, which officials will repurpose for other education needs.

Officials broke ground at the Saginaw United High School property last year and some site work began 12 months ago, but the goliath project really began catching eyes in recent months as its shape took form within viewing distance of busy downtown streets and expressway lanes.

Its one of the largest buildings ever constructed in Saginaw, and certainly stands atop the citys modern history of new building projects, Hendrick said.

Mike Hammis, project superintendent for R.C. Hendrick and Son, Inc., was involved 20 years ago in what  at that time  was considered a whopper of a construction project: The building of Willie Thompson Middle School, on Court and Congress in Saginaw.

That facility measures 150,000 square feet, or about 65,000 square feet less than the new high school, he said.

I took some cool pictures this morning, with the sun coming up over this (project), Hammis said of the Saginaw United site. Man, its pretty cool stuff.

Today, Hammis helps coordinate about 35 workers at the site, largely focusing at the moment on raising the foundational steelwork that will disappear from view once the structural skin is applied during the spring and summer. Work begins early on weekdays  as the sun rises  and onlookers can see white-hot sparks flying from 90 feet in the sky where welders mold this creation. Seemingly undeterred by the extreme height, contractors sometimes straddle the beams as they fit each piece into place. It looks scary to laymen, but safety protocols are strictly followed, Hammis said.

About half the workers now are Saginaw County residents, he estimated. That lot includes Israel Delgado, a 32-year-old contractor whose job involves making sure the steel is balanced and even. When the high school doesnt topple over from mis-distributed weight, the Carrollton Township man can take some credit. Its a good thing, too, because Delgado said his elementary school-aged children one day may attend classes there.

It feels good to be part of this, in my community, Delgado said. When I drive by with my kids, they can say, My dad worked on that.

As the construction progresses through different stages, Hammis estimates the job will involve up to 200 contractors from 35 companies at a time. When its finished, crews there will have welded together 1,200 tons of American steel and poured 11,000 tons of concrete while developing innards full of electrical wiring, plumbing, and technology fit for educational needs.

For now, the bones of Saginaw United High School are nearly complete. Its steel forms a five-story-tall metallic grid of infrastructure that towers over the surrounding riverside community. During the day, it is visible at the street level from at least a half-mile away in some directions. At night, hundreds of lights attached to the girders keep the riverside district aglow, with reflections of the white bulbs twinkling against the surface of the water.

Hammis said a ceremony planned later this month with Saginaw Public Schools leaders will end with crews lowering the final steel beam on the ceiling of the structure, placing it near the northeast corner of the building. As is tradition in such topping-out ceremonies in the construction industry, the beam will balance an evergreen tree while the steel locks into a position some say may hold strong for a century or more.

This place is going to stand for a long time, Hammis said. A long, long time.

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 Happy Sunday! No snappy intro to this weeks newsletter, just a reminder that were living through unprecedented times.

Donald Trump on Thursday became the first ex-president to be indicted for a crime, when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced a long-awaited grand jury decision.

This historic development, including the responses rippling through Michigan, tops our five big stories of the week.

FILE: Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP

Thats how former Michigan congressman Peter Meijer described Trumps indictment on charges likely related to an alleged $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.

 Republicans like Meijer quickly came to Trumps defense on social media, arguing the prosecution is politically motivated and is setting a damaging precedent.

Its a mockery of our justice system, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga tweeted.

Kristina Karamo, chair of the Michigan GOP, called it weaponization of our government against citizens.

Thursday was a dark day in American history, the MIGOP said officially.

 On the Democratic side, congresswoman Debbie Dingell called for peace and calm, adding our judicial system will do its job.

No one is above the law. Right? state Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, tweeted.

 Trump is expected to turn himself in Tuesday, which will involve being photographed and fingerprinted at a Manhattan courthouse.

A judge will arraign him on charges currently under seal.

Trump has maintained his innocence, and his 2024 campaign raised more than $4 million in the 24 hours post-indictment.

 More: Among 160 years of presidential scandals, Trump stands alone

MLive file photo

Your Michigan tax refund next year may be a little bigger thanks to a reduction in the state income tax.

 The math: An unmarried filer with no children making Michigans median income  $52,500  would get an extra $95 back, according to the state treasury department.

For the average taxpayer, it will be $50 .

The income tax rate automatically dropped from 4.25% to 4.05% this year as the state took in more money than expected.

Heading into the next fiscal year, Michigan is enjoying a record budgetary surplus, which analysts estimated may be as large as $9 billion after a 14% jump in revenue, MLives Simon Schuster writes.

 Limited time only: The cut will only last for one year, Attorney General Dana Nessel said in an advisory opinion.

FILE: U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, at his office in downtown Flint.Jake May | MLive.com

Flint-area congressman Dan Kildee announced Friday he was diagnosed with a serious but curable form of cancer.

 Thankfully, I caught it very early. With early detection and great doctors, they found a very small tumor in one of my tonsils, the Democrat said in a statement.

Diagnosis: Kildee said he was scanned a few weeks ago for a swollen lymph node. Doctors say he has squamous cell carcinoma.

Kildee will have surgery in a few weeks to remove it, and his doctors say recovery will take a few weeks.

I am going to get through this. Im going to beat cancer, he said.

FILE: U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin speaks at a gun safety rally outside the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on March 15, 2023.Ben Orner | MLive.com

Although gun violence is the leading killer of children in the U.S., did you know its public health impacts arent even studied at the federal level?

A rider in the federal budget since 1996 has prevented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from studying the problem.

But a bill proposed by Michigan congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, both Democrats, would change that.

 The Gun Violence Prevention Research Act would let the CDC study the root causes of gun violence and help shine a light on the steps we can take to make our communities safer, Slotkin announced Wednesday.

The CDC would get $50 million a year for five years to study the problem.

131 mass shootings in the U.S. this year, per the There have beenin the U.S. this year, per the Gun Violence Archive

Slotkin also introduced these bills:

One-week waiting period for buying a gun.

Prohibit transfer of a gun for three years to someone after they were convicted of a misdemeanor during which they carried or possessed a gun.

 Reality check: The three bills are longshots to pass the Republican-led U.S. House.

MLive file photo.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

The Michigan House recently passed a bill to eliminate an A-through-F letter system for schools.

Dont be confused: This would drop the rating system for schools, not the grading system for students.

 The system gives each public school in the state letter grades and ranking labels based on an annual performance review, MLives Jordyn Hermani explained this week.

The state education department then makes a list of the lowest performing schools.

Its duplicative, the department argues, as theres also a federally required 0-100 rating system based on factors like student proficiency, graduation rates and attendance.

House Bill 4166 now heads to the Senate.

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 BONUS! You may have seen MLive data wiz Taylor DesOrmeaus stories in this space before.
While downstate areas have been getting rounds of rain, thunder and even a weak tornado, Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula have been getting an astonishing amount of snow in the last few days.

Wave after wave of snow has moved through some areas of the U.P., with one town reporting 22 inches of snow falling between Thursday night and Saturday morning. In some areas, snowfall was so intense it was piling up at a rate of 5 inches per hour. Widespread power outages were also reported Saturday in the U.P., with restoration times delayed by the bad weather conditions.

Below are some of the recent snow totals reported to the National Weather Service offices in Gaylord and Marquette.

As the record-setting snowfall event comes to a close, here are some of the highest snowfall reports we have received, the NWS meteorologists in Gaylord said, referencing the snow totals roundup being shared in the photo below. Most of this snow fell within a 12-hour window with rates at 3-5 inches per hour.

Norway: 22 inches (Thursday night through Saturday morning)

Kinross: 20 inches

Sault Ste. Marie: 18.6 inches, a daily record

Paradise: 18 inches

Bay Mills: 17.5 inches

Pickford: 13 inches

Heavy snow also made many roads dangerous for drivers, or impassable, during the thick of the Friday/Saturday storm system. Several law enforcement agencies were asking residents to stay home and stay off the roads.

NWS meteorologists in Marquette noted these conditions in a Saturday night report: Widespread power outages were reported from southern Marquette and Dickinson counties eastward through Menominee, Delta, Schoolcraft and Luce counties this morning into the afternoon period. High winds coupled with wet and heavy snow caused power outages across multiple communities and utility service providers. Snow amounts of 12 to 17 inches were observed in some areas. The heavy snow and high winds delayed the restoration efforts by utility crews at times.

Recent snowfall totals in Northern Michigan. Image provided by the National Weather Service.

More snow is on the way today, especially for the eastern U.P., where up to 3 inches are forecast as a quick clipper system moves across Northern Michigan. A quick snow event will move through this afternoon and evening. Up to 3 inches of snow is possible. Brief and intense heavy snow and rain showers will occur this afternoon, meteorologists from the NWS office in Marquette said.
In an extraordinary act of selflessness, Ghanaian actor and philanthropist Emmanuel Asiamah has chosen to use his entire earnings from a lucrative contract with MTN Ghana to support charitable works.

Asiamah's decision has not only helped those in need but also inspired countless others to follow suit, sparking hope for a more compassionate future.

Asiamah, widely known as International KPP, has been passionate about helping the less fortunate since he was a child.

His recent contract with MTN Ghana, which involved using his image in the telecom company's outdoor media campaign at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), provided him with the perfect opportunity to make a difference.

Asiamah decided to invest the money in his charity foundation, the Emmanuel Asiamah Foundation.

Through this remarkable act, the actor and agricultural enthusiast has made a significant impact in deprived communities across Ghana, including a recent project in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality.

Asiamah shared his thoughts on the impact of his philanthropic efforts in an interview with Modernghana's Isaac Donkor Distinguished, saying, "It has really impacted my brand and has elevated my philanthropy movement to a higher status.

My business on campus has also been boosted and has attracted several people who never knew me before to reach out to me. What really makes me happy is that I have been able to carry on my charity works well with the money I got through it."

Taking to Twitter, Asiamah expressed his hope that his actions would inspire others to contribute to charitable courses and help reduce poverty in the country.

"My hope in sharing this story is that it inspires you as well. We may not all have much, but we each have something we can contribute to help others in need. A single act of kindness and charity, multiplied by millions of people, would transform this world."

He continued, "Let's all find a way to help those less fortunate so that someday, we can all live happily and equally. Our acts of compassion have the power to shape our world for the better. Together, let's build a kinder future."

Asiamah's selfless decision serves as a powerful reminder of the impact that one individual's generosity can have on the lives of others.

With his inspiring example, it is hoped that more people will be motivated to contribute to charitable efforts and work together to create a more compassionate world.
The foremost animal shelter in the Charlottesville area has issued a cease and desist order to CASPCA Concerns, the group that first raised issues about treatment of animals and people at the shelter.

Richmond-based attorney Buckley Warden sent a letter demanding that the group delete all social media or online posts, comments, blogs, articles, or statements in which you defame my client, on March 17.

Its not the first time Warden has reprimanded the group of current and former volunteers and employees. The Charlottesville-Albemarle Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has retained Wardens firm, Thompson McMullan. In March, Warden sent a letter firing longtime volunteer dog walker Sarah Lloyd.

CASPCA has retained outside counsel to provide us with independent guidance and support. It is a common practice for professional organizations to contract for external support especially where expertise in specific areas can be valuable, the SPCAs Board of Directors told The Daily Progress via email in March.

In the March 17 letter, Warden cited a Facebook comment about a dog named Sadie who had to be euthanized. The dog was older and had cancer, and the commenter said Sadie began to have trouble breathing one morning. According to the poster, shelter leaders were made aware of Sadies situation at 11 a.m.

Nothing was done until 7 pm when the decision was made to euthanize. Removed from her owner for neglect only to be placed in the custody of an agency that neglected her even worse, the commenter said.

According to Warden, the comment implied that Sadie might have survived if shelter leaders had done more.

Members of CASPCA Concerns denied the allegation.

Rather than making claims about Sadies outcome, the quotation identifies an eight-hour period in which an instance of severe veterinary distress was unaddressed despite shelter leaderships knowledge of the situation, the group said in a press release.

Warden also claimed that the group made continued allegations of mistreatment persist despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, referring to an investigation by The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Veterinary Services. The investigation found several documents at the shelter were missing information required by state law.

We dispute Mr. Wardens assertion that one counterexample based on a review of a single days operations constitutes overwhelming evidence sufficient to assuage our and the publics concerns about animal welfare at CASPCA, CASPCA Concerns said in press release March 28.

Warden said the group defamed the SPCA when CASPCA Concerns said Virginia National Bank has completely pulled their over $25,000 yearly donation to CASPCA since finding out about the problems at CASPCA. Warden said the bank made the decision to pull its donation to the Bow-Wow Walk fundraiser on its own, and not because of alleged problems at CASPCA.

In fact, on March 16th, 2023, VNB President, Glenn W. Rust, specifically refuted this implication and pledged to make a donation of $7,500.00, Warden said in the letter.

CASPCA Concerns said it made that assumption, but only discussed that via emails with members of the group, and never made that assumption public.

As VNB has supported the Bow-Wow-Walk for the last several years, but did not after the public first letter was released, it was reasonable to think that there was a connection between the two, the group said, referring to its initial Medium post alleging animal mistreatment.

The group declined to provide copies of the email correspondence, citing privacy as a reason.

Warden said the groups allegations constitute defamation. A person has to prove that a statement was false in order for it to be considered defamatory, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University. CASPCA Concerns maintains that all of its claims are true. The SPCA has hired McGuireWoods, an international law firm with an office in Charlottesville, to determine the veracity of the groups allegations.

Warden gave the group a March 24 deadline.

If you wish to avoid further conflict, I demand that you remove all defamatory statements, Warden said.

The Medium letters and Facebook posts are still available online.

Warden advised the group to retain legal counsel.

We hope there wont be a need to retain legal counsel, a representative for CASPCA Concerns told The Daily Progress via email.

The SPCAs Board of Directors did not say whether it would pursue legal action against the group, despite the fact the posts are still up.

CASPCA has sought legal guidance with respect to allegations regarding animal abuse and neglect that are simply untrue. We appreciate the legitimate concerns that have been raised by members of the communitywe do take issue with the means by which some individuals have chosen to advance their cause, including repeated anonymous posts making factually erroneous claims about clinical decisions made by licensed professionals, the Board told The Daily Progress via email on Friday.

The board said the cease and desist letter would not have a bearing on the McGuireWoods investigation.

The independent review is focused on the allegations made regarding our management team, the workplace environment and specific operational issues. Any allegations as to animal abuse and neglect are within the purview of the Virginia Department of Agriculture Consumer Services, the board said.
The Director for Creative Arts at the National Commission on Culture (NCC), Socrate Sarfo has said Government of Ghana has never sacked any Nigerian film producer from producing films in Ghana.

He described those peddling such falsehood as selfish and liars for tarnishing the image of Ghana.

The popular film producer was reacting to earlier comments made by Jackie Appiah and James Gardiner who had earlier accused the Film Producers Association for driving away Nigerian Film producers from Ghana.

Speaking on United Showbiz on United Television on Sunday 2nd April, 2023, he stated, "We were getting a lot of complaints from Ghanaians about some Nigerian film producers who had used the services of hoteliers, food providers, taxis and not paying for such services. We had to initiate a $10,000 down payment from foreign producers to offset any debt left. Where all debts were paid, such monies were refunded."

He revealed that, the Association met the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana for a deliberation. He added that they met the Nigerian Film Producers in Nigeria and had the last meeting in Ghana where a memorandum of understanding was signed.

"We agreed on the terms and percentages of how Nigerians and Ghanaians can collaborate to build a healthy industry. We had to do this to save the industry not sack Nigerians", the film producer emphasised.
Member of Parliament for the Cape Coast South constituency, George Ricketts-Hagan has bemoaned Parliaments passage of the governments three new revenue taxes.

Mr. Ricketts-Hagan said the passage of the taxes will worsen the economic distress of individuals and the growth of businesses in the country.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Citi TV/Citi FM, the Cape Coast South lawmaker said the taxes will drive many Ghanaians down the vulnerability scale and worsen the standard of living of Ghanaians because no country anywhere in the world can tax itself out of an economic mess.

No economy can tax itself out of the economic challenges that we have. No economy can tax itself out of poverty, no economy can tax itself to prosperity. Economists will tell you that if you really want growth, you have to look at some critical taxes that need to be reduced so that businesses will have the money to invest in the business, hire more people, produce more, and pay more taxes, and then you can get yourself out of an economic situation.

Mr. Ricketts-Hagan also said the government should assume responsibility for the many ineffective taxes introduced and not blame the International Monetary Fund for such introductions.

He intimated that seeking an IMF programme is not about tax introductions which the government wants Ghanaians to believe, but it is about fiscal consolidation.

When you go for an IMF programme, it is usually about fiscal consolidation which includes how to enhance your tax, how to rationalise your expenditure, and make sure you reduce your deficit which eventually accumulates to reducing your debt and so if the IMF tells you to go and enhance your taxes, and you choose the taxes that you are going to enhance which are counterproductive, dont blame it on the IMF.

-citinewsroom
Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency, Mr Kofi Baah Agyepong has told students of the Kumasi Senior High School, his alma mater and all Senior High School students accross the country to be motivated by themselves and be inspired by the lives of successful old students.

Addressing a large gathering of students and some old students of the Kumasi Senior High School on the school's careers and guidance day on Thursday, Mr Agyepong recounted his days on campus.

According to Mr Agyepong, he resolved to study hard and became passionate about reading, communication and journalism from his early days on the 'Toronto desert' as the school is affectionately called. He was mindful of his pursuit of an exemplary future and pursued that with all passion.

The CEO took time to explain to the students to be mindful of the stress their parents and government have gone through to put them in school to this stage of their academic journey and reward their parents by making the requisite grades through hardwork and studious lifestyle.

"It is obvious that you may never meet some of the people you are sitting by here, for the rest of life, and so inasmuch as bonding and networking is as equally important, do not be guided by negative attitudes of friends, but focus on excelling and becoming successful in life. It is the only way, the school will recognise and invite you back," Mr Kofi Agyepong told the students.

The Assistant Registrar at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Mr Festus Nyame, who is an old student of Kumasi Senior High School took the students through courses offered at the universities, new trends of education and some of the relevant skills a student should pursue.

As an old student he also shared his experiences during his days in the school.

Headmaster of the school Mr. Bernard Hall-Baidoo addressing the gathering reiterated that aside the classroom engagement, the most important values in the world of work and career paths are positive attitudes, dedication, selflessness and hard work.

Mr Hall-Baidoo eulogised Mr Agyepong for outstanding support toward the development of the school and Ghana.

He was appreciative of Mrs Lydia Martins, Career and Guidance coordinator of the school for putting together such a remarkable programme with the school's Students Representative Council.

Other guests included, Emmanuel Kwasi Afriyie Director of Corporate Affairs for YEA, Lawyer Ernest Opoku Nti also of YEA, Akwasi Apraku Agyepong an old student, and a host of other old students and dignitaries.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has lauded the enormous contributions of the Methodist Church to the socio-economic development of Ghana.

Addressing Congregants of the Obuasi Diocese of the Church during its 25th Anniversary celebration in Obuasi on Saturday April 1, Dr. Bawumia said, the Methodist Church, has over the years, contributed enormously not only to the development of the country, he added, the Church has also nurtured men and women of high morals, who have contributed immensely to the nation.

"I must acknowledge that the Methodist Church of Ghanas contributions to national and socio-economic development has been enormous," Dr. Bawumia said.

"By national development, I am not only referring to the physical infrastructural contributions in areas such as education, health, agriculture, etc., I am also referring to the spiritual and religious development of the countrys most precious asset; the human being."

'The education and skill development of the people is the most potent agent of national development that imparts the output of students, scholars and professionals who perform precious roles in the various sectors of the national economy for development."

"It is important to note that the Methodist Church as one of the biggest churches in Ghana, has nurtured and transformed many distinguished personalities. Almost every aspect of our national life has been touched or influenced by the Methodist."

The Vice President recalled fondly, his formative years in primary school in Tamale, when, as a young Muslim, he had his parents' permission to join his friends at the Methodist Boys Brigade, which he described as "one of the most disciplined associations for boys in the country."

Urging the Methodist Church to continue to do more for the people and the nation, Dr. Bawumia also called for more tolerance and selflessness.

"The Good Book urges us to be our brothers keeper. I would therefore, like to use this special opportunity to preach tolerance since it is the bedrock of our democracy."

"As we discuss issues about peace and religious advancement of our people, we also have to pray for the country to move from Grace to Grace," Dr. Bawumia noted.

The Vice President congratulated the Obuasi Diocese on their milestone and urged them to continue to uphold the tenets of the Church.

The Obuasi Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana was carved out of the Kumasi District of the Church in 1998.
April 4, 2023 marks 51 years of US-Bangladesh ties. Although the role of the United States in Bangladesh has been widely discussed since the war of independence. Since then, various levels have been added at different times. At present, the country is a major export destination of Bangladesh and one of the major sources of remittances.

Bangladesh-US relations have been a part of the country's progress since independence. Although there was a question about the role of the United States in the war of liberation, the common people of that country and the lion's share of Congressmen and Senators were sympathetic towards Bangladesh. That is why the Seventh Fleet was inactive in the Bay of Bengal.

It is pertinent to mention that after the nine-month war of liberation against Pakistan in the midst of complex global politics, Dhaka emerged as the capital of the newly independent country, on April 4, 1972, the then US administration recognized Bangladesh. Most of the cooperation since independence has come from the United States. The United States is the largest market for Bangladesh's exports. The country has come forward selflessly during the Corona era when Bangladesh was suffering from a vaccine crisis. They have given more than 50 million vaccines to Bangladesh as a grant.

In recent times, the USA is very interested in further strengthening bilateral relations. Bangladesh also intends to deepen and enhance its ties with the US. Analysts say that the US wants a strategic relationship with Bangladesh beyond bilateral ties. Bangladesh's strategic geographical location is a major factor in the United States' interest in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a coastal and integral part of the Indian Ocean and a major maritime trade route. In addition, Bangladesh's geo-strategic position, impressive economic and social development has added to US interest.

Particularly since the present administration came to power in 2009, the political, economic, and trade ties between the two nations have improved. The United States is also among the most significant nations when it comes to Bangladeshs diplomatic interests. The United States has made a particularly substantial contribution to the socioeconomic growth and investment of Bangladesh, as well as its security cooperation.

US President Joe Biden expressed optimism about deepening relations with Bangladesh. US President Joe Biden has greeted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the people on the Independence Day, saying that the South Asian nation understand deeply the value of freedom and independence as it fought courageously in 1971 to choose their own fate.

Biden wrote the past half a century of bilateral ties yielded advancing economic development, strengthening people-to-people ties, addressing global health and climate issues, partnering on the humanitarian response to Rohingya refugees, and committing to a prosperous, secure, democratic, and independent Bangladesh.

He highly acclaimed Bangladesh Prime Minister as Bangladesh has opened its arms and welcomed nearly one million Rohingya refugees.

US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken has said Bangladesh is "quickly becoming a regional leader" with a rapidly growing economy, an increasingly well-educated workforce, and a dynamic youth demographic. Conveying his best wishes to the people of Bangladesh on its Independence Day, Blinken said his country looks forward to deepen the bilateral partnership with Bangladesh in the years ahead.

The United States Congress has introduced a resolution recognizing and commending Bangladesh and its remarkable socioeconomic progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, co-chair of the Congressional Bangladesh Caucus, tabled the resolution at the Congress on March 29 on the occasion of Bangladesh's 52nd anniversary of independence.

Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh's economy has grown from $9 billion to $450 billion, life expectancy has risen from 47 years to 73 years, and the adult literacy rate has risen to more than 75 percent, the resolution mentioned.

Bangladesh, under the leadership of PM Hasina, has made substantial socioeconomic progress in food production, disaster resilience, poverty reduction, improved health, education, and women's empowerment, it read.

According to the resolution, Bangladesh has successfully maintained a moderate Muslim society and curbed extremism, and its people have sought to maintain support for democracy and rule of law rather than descending into authoritarian rule. It said the US and Bangladesh have extensive cooperation on matters of regional and global security, counter terrorism, and climate change.

Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes said that more than half a century of friendship, Bangladesh and the United States strengthened cooperation across broad range sectors.

The two countries have built close trade and investment ties fuelled by vibrant diaspora community and strong business links, she said. The United States assistant secretary of state for the bureau of population, refugees and migration ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes has said Bangladesh serves as model for rest of world.

In October in 2021, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived in Bangladesh on a landmark visit. He said the United States was looking at Bangladesh's participation as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS.

Ambassador Kelly Keiderling said Bangladesh has traditionally been known as a garment maker and a poor underdeveloped country. However, the United States' perception of Bangladesh has changed as the economy continues to grow and contributes to global security through UN peacekeeping missions. Given the growing importance of the economy and security, the United States is moving away from the old notion of Bangladesh. At the same time, they want to redefine the relationship between the two countries in the next 50 years, said the top US official.

The United States is currently one of the leading development partners in Bangladesh. The United States views Bangladesh as one of the most important economic and security partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States recognized Bangladesh on April 4, 1972. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visited the United States in 1974 as the first statesman of Bangladesh. His historic speech in the UNGA was praiseworthy. This year marks the 51th anniversary of Bangladesh-US relations. The two countries are working together on a wide range of issues, including a lasting solution to the Rohingya problem, tackling climate change, protection of labor and human rights, counter-terrorism, and the defense sector.

Although tensions sometimes arise between the two countries on issues of global and international interest, in almost every case they have given priority to good sense and goodwill. Although US has been publishing its 'annual human rights report' from years to years and criticizing Bangladesh for rights violation. Bangladeshi citizens neednt spark any new controversy and worry based on the recent human rights report. US-Bangladesh bilateral relations wouldnt affect. This is not the first time the US has produced a study like this in recent years. There isnt much of a difference between those and the latest report. Many hoped that the Biden administration was going to impose more sanctions on Bangladesh government. But US hasn't imposed new sanctions on Bangladesh.

IPS is spread across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific and is a major US initiative in Asia. Under the IPS, the United States promotes the vision of an open, inclusive, peaceful, and secure Indo-Pacific region with prosperity for all. To achieve this goal, the United States seeks to integrate private sector participation with countries in the region.

Enhancing security cooperation is also an important aspect of IPS. However, on the year of 51 years of bilateral relations, the US and Bangladesh need to strengthen ties mending all fences and dispelling misunderstandings.

According to data gathered by the United States Department of Commerce through the first ten months of 2022, American orders for clothing made in Bangladesh are increasing faster than American imports from the worlds largest clothing manufacturer China.

According to the Office of Textiles and Apparels (OTEXA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States imported clothing from Bangladesh worth about $8.5 billion between January and October of last year, a 49 percent increase from imports of clothing made in Bangladesh during the same period in 2021.

The US, Bangladeshs top export market, had an increase in garment shipments of almost 51% from the previous year. The nation shipped a record amount of clothes worth more than 7.5 billion US dollars in the first nine months of this year. It is noteworthy that Bangladeshi garment manufacturers are gaining a firm presence in the American market as exports have experienced considerable development. Despite the worldwide economic downturn, Bangladeshi clothing exports to the US have significantly increased.

The Rohingya problem has so far received the most support from the United States. The US Secretary of State announced an additional $170 million in humanitarian help during last years UN General Assembly. More than 190 million dollars have been donated by the nation to the Rohingya catastrophe since 2017.

The US wants to relocate Bangladeshi Rohingya. The US Department of States Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Immigration, Julieta Valls Noyes, visited Bangladesh for this reason last month. The US administration collaborating with the Bangladeshi government would be greatly appreciated. It will demonstrate improved communication between the two administrations. The western world and those who support those who advocate for humanitarian causes can follow the US footprint.

Looking 50 years into the future

However, Bangladesh is a crucial regional ally of the United States when it comes to humanitarian, economic, climatic, and security concerns. The United States and Bangladesh had many high-level engagements and strategic conversations in Dhaka and Washington, D.C., to expand bilateral, economic, commercial, and security cooperation as 2023 celebrates the 51th anniversary of U.S.-Bangladesh relations. It is in the US interest to foster a sense of growing interdependence with Bangladesh as it moves away from the sense of obligatory dependency that defined its relationship with the US in the previous 50 years, looking ahead to the future 50.

Fumiko Yamada

Author bio: Japanese national Fumiko Yamada has a passion for "international affairs." She works as a research associate at the Australian "University of Melbourne." She received her degree in South Asian Studies from the University of Toronto in Canada.
Although there is some issue between Bangladesh and the world's most influential superpower, the United States, the country attaches great importance to the permanent partnership between the two countries. US leaders are enthusiastically praising Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for socio-economic development of Bangladesh. The leaders commented that the development of Bangladesh in various fields was possible because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

On the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of Independence of Bangladesh, the United States Congress introduced a resolution on March 29 recognizing and commending Bangladesh and its remarkable socioeconomic progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina introduced the resolution at the Congress as the co-chair of the Congressional Bangladesh Caucus.

Joe Wilson Sr has been serving as the US representative for South Carolina's 2nd congressional district since 2001. He earlier served as the South Carolina state senator from the 23rd district from 1985 to 2001.

While placing the resolution, Congressman Wilson recalled that 51 years ago on April 4, 1972, the United States recognised Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.

It said Bangladesh has made enormous strides in the last five decades from one of the poorest nations to having one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with their GDP per capita increasing to $2,457 in 2021 according to the World Bank which now exceeds that of its regional neighbors.

The resolution mentioned since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh's economy has grown from $9 billion to $450 billion, life expectancy has risen from 47 years to 73 years, and the adult literacy rate has risen to more than 75 percent.

Bangladesh, through the leadership of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has made substantial socioeconomic progress in food production, disaster resilience, poverty reduction, improved health, education, and women's empowerment, it noted.

The resolution said the United States and Bangladesh have extensive cooperation on matters of regional and global security, counter terrorism, and climate change. The US is the largest export market for Bangladesh and one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment, it said, adding the nation of Bangladesh has also contributed to the US economy through bilateral trade and international security cooperation in return.

The resolution said the American people appreciate the generous and indispensable role that Bangladesh performs in accepting and sheltering more than 1 million Rohingya people from a genocide perpetrated by its neighbor, Burma. The United States has contributed the largest amount of humanitarian aid to address this crisis, totaling more than $2 billion.

It said the American people welcome that Bangladesh is one of the world's largest contributors to United Nations peacekeeping efforts globally. Both countries seek to enhance their people-to-people and government-to-government relationship for shared prosperity.

The resolution mentioned that Bangladesh has expressed their gratitude to the United States for contributing more than 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the people of Bangladesh.

It said the American people recognize and commend the nation and people of Bangladesh as they celebrate 51 years of independence. The United States extends its sincere determination to remain a constructive partner of Bangladesh in achieving mutual economic, social and national security objectives now and into the future, the resolution concluded.

On the other hand, On the occasion of the 51th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Bangladesh, he enthusiastically praised the extensive economic development and progress of our country. Called it as 'an extraordinary story'. He said Bangladesh has been called an important partner in international trade and investment, agricultural economy, climate change, humanitarian, refugee, UN peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, maritime and other security issues. He also mentioned the US investment in this country.

Appreciating the generosity of providing shelter to 1 million Rohingya refugees, the United States is committed to finding a sustainable and permanent solution to this humanitarian problem. It should be noted that recently the United States, United Kingdom and Canada have imposed new sanctions on the military junta government of Myanmar. A 10-member delegation from the US Embassy in Dhaka, led by President Joe Biden's National Security Council Senior Director for South Asia Eileen Lubakhar, also visited the Ukhia Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar on January 8.

It should be noted that the United States is the main buyer of clothes made in Bangladesh. Its amount is increasing day by day. Some European Union countries have assured Bangladesh that they will not cancel the purchase order. New purchase orders have also started coming in. On the other hand, Bangladesh has already started exporting newly made clothes PPE, masks, hand gloves etc. to the US. 31 famous brands and clothing buying organizations of that country have shown interest in buying more clothes from Bangladesh in the next two years.

As a result of the various steps taken by the current Sheikh Hasina government, the economy of Bangladesh is at a stage of development. The government is moving forward with plans to upgrade LDC status by 2026 and become a developed economy by 2041. Considering the economic development of Bangladesh, the global powers cannot ignore the United States considering the current global geopolitical situation. The United States is one of Bangladesh's most important trading partners. The main export items of Bangladesh to the United States are knitted garments, knitted garments, miscellaneous textile products, hats, headgear, footwear, tobacco, snacks, furniture, ceramics, toys, plastic goods, artificial flowers, etc. Major imports are raw cotton, chemicals, machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals, aircraft, electrical equipment, iron and steel. About 90 percent of the total exports from Bangladesh to the United States are ready-made garments. At the moment, a major destination for Bangladeshi software products is the United States.

US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes has said that in rebuilding the country after the 1971 war, and now forging the path toward economic growth, inclusion and development, Bangladesh serves as a model for the rest of the world.

Ambassador Noyes also applauded Bangladeshi leadership and generosity as a host of over one million Rohingya refugees.

Today, Sheikh Hasina is a symbol of, development in the country and the world. It is under her leadership that Bangladesh has been able to create a strong position in the World Assembly today. What was once a small economy has now emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. She has her eye on establishing world peace by ensuring eradication of hunger and poverty.

The history of success is being written in every step of her rule. Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, innumerable world-class facilities like Padma Bridge, Metro Rail, Karnaphuli Tunnel, Udal Bridge, and Subway have been made possible for the first time in the history of the country. Among the developing countries, Bangladesh is showing the way to other developing countries under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. They are following the political policy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. When the entire world is in a state of turmoil due to the epidemic of Corona, then Bangladesh has dealt with Corona very efficiently under the intelligent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Along with this, it has acquired the ability to collect and ensure free corona vaccination for all the people of the country and its achievement is due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, US appreciation indicates that the international community wants to keep Sheikh Hasina in their confidence. They believe that political will and vision can bring economic prosperity to any country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership has proved that political will. And that is why they want to be a partner in the development of Bangladesh.

Sufian Siddique

Independent researcher and freelance columnist, Dhaka.
02.04.2023 LISTEN

Discussions about women's empowerment dominate news headlines and policy formulations across the world. Now more than ever, governments, civil society organizations, and all other relevant stakeholders are giving prominence to the empowerment of women to take up critical positions at every facet of our lives.

While developed countries have made giant strides in their women's empowerment agenda, developing countries continue to lag behind. In Ghana, the Affirmative Action Bill, which aims to set a threshold for women's representation in policy decision-making at 40%, remains unpassed in Parliament since 2011. Ghana Business News reported on 29/03/2023 that the bill has been resubmitted to Cabinet for consideration. The lackadaisical attitude towards the passing of the bill makes one wonder if women's empowerment is a priority for our leaders.

Currently, only 14.5 percent of our parliamentarians are women, and the situation is worse in our district assembly system where less than 5 percent are women. Ghana is still nowhere near the United Nations' 30 percent threshold of women's representation in decision-making spaces, even though there are more women in Ghana than men. Women also continue to face a myriad of challenges ranging from gender-based violence, low access to quality education and healthcare, and inadequate economic opportunities. Stereotypes about women exchanging their bodies for grades, jobs, and other favours remain deep-seated in our national psyche.

Women in rural areas, however, face far worse challenges as relevant social amenities and economic opportunities are hard to come by in such areas. It is rather sad to note that old men, including teachers in rural areas who should know better, take advantage of the ignorance and vulnerabilities of young girls in such areas and rob them of their brighter futures with teenage pregnancies. In 2022, a young girl in one rural area who volunteers at the Akurase Mpuntuo Foundation mentored to apply for the MasterCard Foundation Scholarship at KNUST bizarrely rejected the scholarship when it was offered her to pursue a four-year degree program. Rumours have it that a basic schoolteacher she was dating in the community advised her not to accept the scholarship because he felt other men at KNUST would snatch the girl away from him when she goes there. The girl is now struggling to pay her fees in a training college.

Women's empowerment's priority to our development partners remains incontestable. It was with no surprise that the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, pecked women's empowerment as the first point that her government will work with African governments to achieve in her remarks to a section of Ghanaians at the Black Star Gate on 28th March 2023. The development partners, together with the government, civil society organizations, and all other interested stakeholders, are encouraged to pay critical attention to the empowerment of women, including young girls in rural areas. The vulnerable rural girl child too needs empowerment and should not be left behind.

By: Peter Dadzie

Position: Founder & Executive Director, Akurase Mpuntuo Foundation

Email Address: [email protected]
The Tigray region, in northern Ethiopia, used to be a model for land restoration in Africa. It won multiple awards and recognition.

It all started in 1991 when the regional government of Tigray made a plan to stop forests from being depleted and land from being degraded. Part of the plan provided communities with 20 to 40 days of free labour every year to restore their land.

Over the next 30 years, there was impressive rehabilitation. This included widespread re-vegetation , reduced rainwater runoff , improvement in soil quality. Feed, food and fuel availability increased and forest cover improved from 3% to 17%.

But the two-year war and siege on Tigray region has set Tigray's restoration back by decades. The conflict has had a devastating impact on both people and the environment .

As many as 600,000 people have died , mainly due to man-made starvation . About 120,000 women have reportedly been raped. Schools, factories, hospitals and churches have been looted or vandalised.

The environment has been destroyed by aerial and ground bombardment, the use of dangerous chemicals and vehicle and army movement. Forests and conservation and restoration structures were destroyed by military activity. The landscape is littered with waste and abandoned military material.

Restored landscapes somehow saved some lives and met people's livelihoods. People were forced to eat whatever they could find, including wild fruits and leaves, to survive. In addition, 2.1 million people were displaced . Many turned to firewood for cooking and used timber to construct temporary shelters.

According to World Peace Foundation , the destruction of the environment was also a tool of war . Tigrayan communities are highly dependent on natural resources for food, fuel and feed. Agriculture contributes 42.7% to GDP, about 85% of employment and 70% of export earnings. Armies deliberately destroyed fruit trees, forests, soil conservation structures and nursery structures. Grass harvests used for animal feed were burned . The destruction of the ecosystems will in turn affect food security and the climate for a long time to come.

Typically, humanitarian concerns are prioritised following a war. Reconstruction efforts focus on repairing damaged hospitals, schools, factories and water systems. But restoring the environment also needs urgent attention so that societies can produce food and goods to rebuild their lives.

As experts in land restoration, forestry, agroforestry, climate change and development in the Tigray region and beyond, we want to share what we think should be in the environmental restoration plan to ensure Tigray's recovery is green and sustainable.

Removal of dangerous material

First, any hazards  including bombs and land mines  must be cleared. This is essential to allow people to begin restoration.

Ecosystems contaminated by shelling and bombardments, destroyed industrial, agricultural and health facilities and military waste should be dealt with as hotspots.

These activities can be done by the line offices in consultation with the Tigray, federal and UN environmental agencies.

Assessment of environmental damage

A thorough assessment of the direct and indirect impacts and losses is needed.

Direct damage assessments should evaluate trees, forests, soil, water and wildlife. The assessment will provide detailed information on the magnitude of the destruction, what needs to be prioritised and what resources are needed. As it is impossible to survey the entire region, which is about 50,079km, sites should be chosen for sampling based on the level of damage.

Indirect damage assessments will cover pollution and contamination. Laboratory analysis should be conducted for soil, water and vegetation from areas where intensive fighting took place or where industrial plants or other infrastructure were destroyed. This can be done by the regional environment authority, universities and international partners.

Local people at the centre

The post-war environment recovery must put the needs of the community at the centre. The aim is to reduce vulnerability, improve livelihoods and build resilience.

Communities have been key in Tigray's past land restoration efforts and they must be involved. Restoration processes must be based on their priorities and values. Ensuring they have a sense of ownership is key to sustaining efforts.

Which landscapes to prioritise

Farm households and farmlands should get priority. Farmers should be provided with oxen and improved agricultural farm goods, to improve their subsistence farming and to scale up agroforestry practices.

Existing natural forests and woodlands, specifically those which act as water towers and national parks, are crucial for income generation, biodiversity protection and climate preservation. We would recommend a higher priority for Kafta-Shararo national park, the Boswellia woodlands, Hugumbrda-Grat Khasu forest, Desaa forest, Hirmi woodland, and church forests such as Waldba Forest.

Include urban farming

Past restoration efforts focused on rural landscapes. There is no better moment to introduce urban farming practices to bring greenery and a sustainable lifestyle closer to home.

During the past three years, during COVID and the siege on Tigray, we observed the start of sporadic urban farming in the region. Urban forestry and agroforestry programmes must be designed and integrated as part of post-war rehabilitation and climate adaptation.

Rehabilitating research facilities

The research facilities in Tigray that support land restoration  such as genetic resources, laboratories, farm machinery and nursery infrastructure  have been looted and pillaged. For instance , the Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, which made significant contributions to the past land rehabilitation of Tigray, was destroyed. Research scientists and their support staff were killed. Professors of Tigray origin in Ethiopian universities and Tigrayan professors from universities in Tigray were targeted for killing.

The damage needs to be repaired immediately so that universities and research organisations can continue contributing to the restoration of agriculture and natural resources in Tigray.

The future

Determining ecological damage losses could draw attention to the scale of environmental destruction and foster justice and accountability for lasting peace.

Environmental damage and war are humanitarian issues, regardless of where they happen. What has happened should be a wake-up call to environmentalists and humanity. There is no sustainable land restoration without sustainable peace, and there is no sustainable peace without collective action.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By Aster Gebrekirstos, Global Scientist, World Agroforestry (ICRAF) And

Emiru Birhane, Professor in Ecology, Mekelle University
02.04.2023 LISTEN

Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has urged Members of Parliament (MPs) not to take inexplicable decisions that would mar proceedings of the House in the next Meeting.

In his closing remarks to the House on Saturday, April 1, the Speaker said: Despite the shock we had during this meeting, I urge all to continue to give thanks to Almighty God because that is His will.

We have endeared ourselves, particularly the leaders and my deputies, to try and build more consensus. But we have had some rather inexplicable u-turns. And that sometimes saddens me. I hope we will not go through this experience in the next meeting.

He expressed appreciation to the leadership of both sides of the House, his two deputy speakers, the clerks, and parliamentary press corp for promoting democracy through diligent work.

Sometimes we will not be able to carry through. But I pray and hope that will improve on it. I want to thank the clerk and his deputies and all MPs for what we have achieved so far.

The Speaker of Parliament, however, advised the MPs to take good care of themselves as they journeyed to their various constituencies.

I wish you travelling mercies as you go to your constituencies. What happened on Friday was an accident. Value yourselves to make sure that we all come back to meet in great hope. I declare Parliament adjourned sine die, he said.

Parliament on Friday, March 31, passed the Excise Duty Amendment Bill, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, the Ghana Revenue Authority Bill, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill all for 2022, before adjourning on Saturday, April 01, 2023.

The financial bills the Government presented to the House sought to rake in about GH4 billion annually as part of domestic revenue mobilisation.

The bills, passed under the Certificate of Urgency, were also crucial to facilitate the approval of the three billion dollars by the International Monetary Fund staff-level agreement.

Though the Minority had earlier communicated its opposition to the bills, they were all approved by a headcount.

GNA
02.04.2023 LISTEN

The Ghana Police Service is investigating the alleged case of extortion involving some of its officers in the Western Region.

In a press release on Sunday, April 2, the Police said it has so far arrested members of the gang that attacked two of its officers and seized a service rifle.

On 9th March 2023, the Axim Divisional Police patrol team reported an attack on the team by a gang that seized the magazine of a Service rifle together with some mobile phones belonging to the Police officers.

An intelligence operation was immediately launched after the report to get the suspects arrested.

On 28th March 2023, after about three weeks of the intelligence operation, four men, Kojo Siah alias Mozey, Emmanuel Mensah alias Kofi Asamoah, Maxwell Cudjoe and Agyabu Haruna Dissawu were arrested for their suspected involvement in the attack, the release from the Ghana Police Service disclosed.

It further indicated that a search conducted at the residence of Kwame Ato Asare Ani, the prime suspect, who is still on the run, led to the retrieval of three (3) pump-action shotguns.

In addition, one pump action shotgun, two machetes, and eight BB refilled cartridges were retrieved from the suspect's unregistered Honda CRV vehicle.

Other items retrieved from the suspects include two live refilled BB cartridges and one unregistered motorbike.

The police note that while the investigations were ongoing to get the remaining suspects arrested, the attention of the Police was drawn to video footage on social media on April 1 in which the said Police personnel, members of the Axim Patrol team, are shown pleading with members of the gang while the gang is alleging extortion by the police officers.

The case of extortion has subsequently been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB)

The allegation of extortion against the officers has been referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) for investigation.

All the suspects in the reported attack on the patrol team, who had been arrested, have been put before court and have been remanded in custody. Efforts are continuing to get the remaining suspects arrested, the release from the Police concluded.
Four months after the federal government found the University of Virginia in violation of laws requiring schools to provide housing to students with disabilities and ordered UVa pay a graduate student more than $2,000 in reimbursed housing costs, the check has arrived.

Weston Allen, a UVa Wise alumnus and a student in UVas counselor education program, said he views the late check  which arrived after The Daily Progress first reported Allens case on March 25  as retaliation against him for filing his original complaint.

He also said hes been forced onto a Student Success Plan, been hassled by his academic adviser and been told his personal issues are a threat to his coursework.

Allen said he also has received an additional payment of $995, not part of the federally mandated reimbursement, that university officials told him was from an old refund check. Allen said he does not plan to deposit that check because he does not know what the money is for.

UVa has denied claims that the school or Allens graduate program have retaliated against him.

We  devote significant effort to creating conditions where every student can succeed inside the classroom and outside it and reject any insinuation that University faculty would somehow retaliate against a student in response to a complaint about housing accommodations, UVa spokesman Brian Coy said in a statement to The Daily Progress on Friday.

Allen has lived with delayed gastric emptying for more than a decade and has a benign brain tumor that causes neurological delays. In May of last year, he filed a discrimination complaint against the university with the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights, claiming UVa Housing and Residence Life unlawfully denied him the housing accommodations required by his disability for the 2022-2023 academic year. The office ruled in his favor, finding the university in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Section 504 requires that any college or university that receives funding from the Department of Education and provides housing to its students without disabilities must also provide comparable, convenient and accessible housing to students with disabilities at the same set cost. The federal law also says that accessible housing should be available in sufficient quantity and variety to give disabled students living options to choose from.

Title II prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities by public entities, including public education systems and institutions, regardless of whether they receive federal financial assistance.

On Oct. 31, the Office for Civil Rights ordered the university to make Allen whole with the more than $2,200 that he paid in rent while housing was denied to him; provide Allen with a free parking pass; reinstate any points or deductions that Allen received for class or assignment tardiness through the date the parking pass is provided; and update the universitys Section 504 procedures and faculty training by Nov. 22.

UVa Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis signed a resolution agreeing to the terms on Oct. 28, 2022.

The university requested a deadline extension, citing the Nov. 13 shooting on Grounds that killed three student-athletes. The federal government extended the universitys deadline to Dec. 16.

It failed to meet that deadline.

Allens attorney, Robert Shibley, followed up with a letter to UVa on Jan. 30, 2023, arguing the school was retaliating against his client over the embarrassment at being investigated by a federal agency and resentment over the result.

Shibley acknowledges that several examples he cited in the letter amount to small ball complaints.

For instance, Allen was told that he needed to improve his writing by going to the writing center. When he did exactly this by going the maximum number of times allowed, he was criticized for supposedly going too often.

But Shibley also put significant emphasis on what he called Orwellian Student Success Plans that Allen had been asked to sign.

According to Allens account, the director of the counselor education program, Dr. Derick J. Williams, and Allens academic adviser, Dr. Blair E. Cholewa, forced him to sign a Student Success Plan on Oct. 15, before the Office for Civil Rights ruled on his complaint. The Student Success Plan was a document with statements promising that Allen would submit work on time and not allow his personal issues to derail his coursework.

Allen said his program leaders said that he needed the plan because he was still learning to use the programs academic software applications, Canvas and IRIS, at the time.

On Dec. 15, 2022, after the federal government had sided with Allen in his complaint, Allen said his graduate program pressured him to sign another Student Success Plan.

Allen said that Williams and Cholewa, who were both interviewed during the Office for Civil Rights investigation, berated and taunted him.

Neither Williams nor Cholewa immediately responded to a request for comment from The Daily Progress. Stephanie Rowley, dean of the School of Education and Human Development, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Associate university counsel Barry Meek responded to Shibleys email on March 28, making the same point as university spokesman Coy.

Despite the allegations in your letter, Mr. Allens academic challenges were objectively verifiable and well-documented, Meek told Shibley. Faculty and staff in the School of Education and Human development worked with Mr. Allen in an effort to remediate those challenges and put him on a path to academic success.

Meek defended the Student Success Plans.

The good faith implementation of plans to remediate his academic challenges were not related to or because of Mr. Allens disabilities or in retaliation for his prior claim for a housing accommodation (which was managed by an entirely different division of the university), Meek wrote in the letter to Shibley.

Allen has said he thinks there is nothing good faith about the Student Success Plans he was asked to sign, which he was not actively engaged in drafting.
Cannae Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNNE  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,460,000 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the February 28th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 389,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cannae

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNNE. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Cannae by 145.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading L.P. lifted its stake in Cannae by 127.3% in the 3rd quarter. Group One Trading L.P. now owns 1,481 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Cannae by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cannae in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Cannae by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,632 shares of the companys stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.29% of the companys stock.

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Cannae Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CNNE traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.18. The company had a trading volume of 549,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,665. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.53. Cannae has a 1-year low of $17.11 and a 1-year high of $25.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.91.

About Cannae

Cannae ( NYSE:CNNE Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.65. Cannae had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a negative net margin of 64.66%. The business had revenue of $155.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.00 million. Research analysts predict that Cannae will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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Cannae Holdings, Inc engages in the management and operation of a group of companies and investments. It operates through the following segments: Dun & Bradstreet, Optimal Blue, Restaurant Group, and Corporate and Other. The Dun & Bradstreet segment offers business decision data and analytics. The Optimal Blue segment is involved in secondary market solutions and actionable data services.

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CIRCOR International, Inc. (NYSE:CIR  Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 318,100 shares, an increase of 25.2% from the February 28th total of 254,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 110,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CIRCOR International Price Performance

Shares of CIRCOR International stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.12. The companys stock had a trading volume of 163,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,575. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. CIRCOR International has a 12-month low of $13.26 and a 12-month high of $32.02. The company has a market capitalization of $633.76 million, a P/E ratio of 33.11 and a beta of 2.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.95.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CIR. StockNews.com raised CIRCOR International from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on CIRCOR International from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on CIRCOR International from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 16th.

Institutional Trading of CIRCOR International

CIRCOR International Company Profile

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in CIRCOR International by 453.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,752 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its position in CIRCOR International by 74.9% during the third quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 69,003 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 29,550 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in CIRCOR International by 24.1% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,419,333 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $23,405,000 after purchasing an additional 275,749 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. boosted its position in CIRCOR International by 3.5% during the third quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 74,766 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of CIRCOR International by 30.6% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 669,887 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $11,046,000 after acquiring an additional 157,018 shares in the last quarter. 94.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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CIRCOR International, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical flow control products and services for the Industrial and Aerospace & Defense markets. It operates through the following segments: Aerospace & Defense, and Industrial. The Aerospace and Defense segment is a diversified flow control technology platform.

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Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC  Get Rating) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,976 shares of the software makers stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Paycom Software were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Paycom Software by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 23,268 shares of the software makers stock worth $7,678,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paycom Software during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,000. Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new stake in Paycom Software during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paycom Software by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the software makers stock worth $2,220,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Paycom Software by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 11,399 shares of the software makers stock worth $3,836,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the period. 88.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Paycom Software

In other news, Director Jason D. Clark sold 1,070 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.33, for a total transaction of $297,813.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,741 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,319,562.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paycom Software Stock Up 2.6 %

Paycom Software stock opened at $304.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.82 and a 12-month high of $402.78. The firms fifty day moving average is $300.63 and its 200 day moving average is $314.39. The company has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a PE ratio of 62.68, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.39.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The software maker reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $370.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $366.71 million. Paycom Software had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 25.62%. The businesss revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYC shares. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Paycom Software from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Mizuho restated a neutral rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Paycom Software in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Paycom Software in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Paycom Software in a research report on Monday, January 9th. They issued an underperform rating and a $310.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given 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 price target of $386.38.

Paycom Software Company Profile

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Paycom Software, Inc engages in the provision of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software solutions delivered as Software-as-a-Service. It offers functionality and data analytics that businesses need to manage the complete employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement. Its solutions include talent acquisition, time and labor management, payroll, talent management, and human resource management.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PAYC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC  Get Rating).

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The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Anhui Conch Cement (OTCMKTS:AHCHY  Get Rating) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports.

Anhui Conch Cement Price Performance

Shares of AHCHY opened at $17.17 on Wednesday. Anhui Conch Cement has a 52-week low of $12.80 and a 52-week high of $28.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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Anhui Conch Cement Company Profile

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Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, sells, and trades in clinker and cement products. The company conducts its operations through five segments, which include Eastern China, Central China, Southern China, Western China, and Overseas. It provides construction and installation services for industrial purposes; logistic services; and mining and related services.

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Asset Management Corp IL ADV decreased its stake in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F  Get Rating) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,004 shares of the auto manufacturers stock after selling 40,603 shares during the quarter. Ford Motor comprises about 0.9% of Asset Management Corp IL ADVs portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Asset Management Corp IL ADVs holdings in Ford Motor were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 65.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,836 shares of the auto manufacturers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 82.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 3,065 shares of the auto manufacturers stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 695.8% during the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 3,183 shares of the auto manufacturers stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.68% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at Ford Motor

In other news, insider Ashwani Kumar Galhotra sold 24,850 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.01, for a total transaction of $323,298.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 511,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,655,981.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ford Motor news, CEO James D. Farley, Jr. sold 79,921 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total value of $1,027,784.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,638,667 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $21,073,257.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ashwani Kumar Galhotra sold 24,850 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.01, for a total value of $323,298.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 511,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,655,981.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,592 shares of company stock valued at $1,740,843. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the companys stock.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

NYSE:F opened at $12.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.71. The company has a market cap of $50.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.20. Ford Motor has a fifty-two week low of $10.61 and a fifty-two week high of $17.80.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The auto manufacturer reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.09). Ford Motor had a positive return on equity of 17.45% and a negative net margin of 1.25%. The business had revenue of $41.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Ford Motors quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Ford Motors dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -117.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

F has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ford Motor in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Ford Motor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Barclays began coverage on Ford Motor in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Tudor Pickering downgraded Ford Motor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ford Motor from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $15.22.

Ford Motor Company Profile

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Ford Motor Co engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of automobiles. It operates through the following segments: Ford Blue, Ford Model E, and Ford Pro, Ford Next, and Ford Credit. The Ford Blue, Ford Model E, and Ford Pro segment includes the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute, and service the vehicles, parts, and accessories.

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Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. (OTCMKTS:BZZUF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 874,400 shares, a growth of 15.6% from the February 28th total of 756,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8,744.0 days.

Buzzi Unicem Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:BZZUF opened at $24.11 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $22.20 and its 200-day moving average is $18.55. Buzzi Unicem has a 1 year low of $13.81 and a 1 year high of $24.11.

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Buzzi Unicem Company Profile

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Buzzi Unicem SpA engages in the production and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete and natural aggregates. The firms geographical segment Central Europe consists of Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; Eastern Europe covers Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia. The company was founded in September 1999 and is headquartered in Casale Monferrato, Italy.

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CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ  Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 404,400 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the February 28th total of 332,300 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 210,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CBIZ news, insider Michael P. Kouzelos sold 47,125 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.23, for a total value of $2,414,213.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 313,003 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,035,143.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.80% of the companys stock.

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Institutional Trading of CBIZ

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBZ. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in CBIZ by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,059 shares of the business services providers stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in CBIZ by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,700 shares of the business services providers stock worth $5,233,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in CBIZ by 56.4% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,117 shares of the business services providers stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CBIZ by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,931 shares of the business services providers stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in CBIZ by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 7,749 shares of the business services providers stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.74% of the companys stock.

CBIZ Price Performance

Shares of CBZ stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.49. The company had a trading volume of 187,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,205. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. CBIZ has a 12 month low of $37.01 and a 12 month high of $51.85. The firms fifty day moving average is $48.55 and its 200 day moving average is $47.51.

CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The business services provider reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.21). CBIZ had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 7.46%. The firm had revenue of $295.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $281.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CBIZ will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on CBIZ in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

CBIZ Company Profile

(Get Rating)

CBIZ, Inc engages in the provision of financial, insurance, and advisory services. It operates through the following segments: Financial Services, Benefits and Insurance Services, National Practices, and Corporate and Other. The Financial Services segment offers accounting, tax, government health care consulting, financial advisory, valuation, and risk advisory services.

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China Everbright Environment Group Limited (OTCMKTS:CHFFF  Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,423,400 shares, an increase of 15.9% from the February 28th total of 10,723,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently  days.

China Everbright Environment Group Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:CHFFF opened at $0.42 on Friday. The firms fifty day moving average is $0.41 and its 200-day moving average is $0.42. China Everbright Environment Group has a 52 week low of $0.40 and a 52 week high of $0.71.

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About China Everbright Environment Group

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China Everbright Environment Group Limited, provides environmental solutions worldwide. The company's Environmental Energy Project Construction and Operation segment constructs and operates food waste and leachate treatment, sludge treatment and disposal, methane-to-energy, fecal treatment, fly ash landfill, medical waste treatment, and solid waste treatment projects, as well as waste-to-energy plants.

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Claybrook Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ  Get Rating) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,069 shares of the companys stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Claybrook Capital LLCs holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STZ. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 44.8% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,592 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Echo Street Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the second quarter valued at about $507,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 48.4% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 47,420 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,891,000 after purchasing an additional 15,472 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the third quarter valued at about $810,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.8% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,697,507 shares of the companys stock valued at $395,621,000 after purchasing an additional 45,493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.87% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Thursday, February 16th. They issued a buy rating and a $265.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $298.00 to $277.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet lowered shares of Constellation Brands from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $249.76.

Constellation Brands Price Performance

STZ stock opened at $225.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $223.11 and a 200-day moving average of $231.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.12 and a 12 month high of $261.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 645.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.01.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 5th. The company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.88 by ($0.05). Constellation Brands had a net margin of 0.98% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. Constellation Brandss revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 10.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Constellation Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 8th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 7th. Constellation Brandss dividend payout ratio is currently 914.31%.

Constellation Brands Company Profile

(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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Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE  Get Rating) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $3.65.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CDE shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Coeur Mining from $3.75 to $3.50 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Coeur Mining from a sell rating to a hold rating and increased their target price for the stock from $3.00 to $4.00 in a report on Thursday, January 19th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Coeur Mining from $4.00 to $4.25 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Coeur Mining to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, March 21st.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Randy Gress bought 20,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.93 per share, for a total transaction of $58,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 205,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,274.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.61% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coeur Mining

Coeur Mining Stock Down 1.0 %

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CDE. Caption Management LLC acquired a new stake in Coeur Mining during the 2nd quarter worth $626,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Coeur Mining by 14.1% during the third quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 57,072 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 7,049 shares during the period. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Coeur Mining in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Coeur Mining by 39.4% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 149,664 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 42,338 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Coeur Mining in the third quarter valued at about $12,013,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.76% of the companys stock.

CDE stock opened at $3.99 on Friday. Coeur Mining has a twelve month low of $2.54 and a twelve month high of $5.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -13.76 and a beta of 1.52. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $3.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.47.

Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. Coeur Mining had a negative return on equity of 10.28% and a negative net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $210.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.05) earnings per share. Coeur Minings revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Coeur Mining will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

About Coeur Mining

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Coeur Mining, Inc engages in the exploration and development of silver and gold mining properties and mines located in United States, Canada and Mexico. It operates through the following segments: Palmarejo. Rochester, Kensington, and Wharf. The Palmarejo segment includes a gold-silver complex. The Rochester segment operates an open pit heap leach silver-gold mine located in northwestern Nevada.

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTCMKTS:CMWAY  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,100 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the February 28th total of 6,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 122,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Price Performance

Shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia stock remained flat at $65.83 on Friday. 41,798 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 70,577. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.63 and a 200-day moving average of $68.59. Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a 1-year low of $58.14 and a 1-year high of $81.75.

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.4294 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 24th.

About Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Commonwealth Bank of Australia engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Retail Banking Services, Business Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, New Zealand, Corporate Centre and Other, and Wealth Management. The Retail Banking Services segment provides home loan, consumer finance, and retail deposit products and servicing to all retail bank customers and non-relationship managed small business customers.

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Investmark Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS  Get Rating) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,444 shares of the pharmacy operators stock after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLCs holdings in CVS Health were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisors LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the pharmacy operators stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co grew its position in CVS Health by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 3,640 shares of the pharmacy operators stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 10,025 shares of the pharmacy operators stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the pharmacy operators stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.29% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $130.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.24.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.5 %

CVS stock opened at $74.31 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $72.11 and a 52-week high of $107.73. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $82.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.65.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.07. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business had revenue of $83.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.83 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be paid a $0.605 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. CVS Healths dividend payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

CVS Health Profile

(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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Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO  Get Rating) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,113 shares of the companys stock after selling 3,586 shares during the period. Coca-Cola makes up about 3.8% of Dock Street Asset Management Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Dock Street Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $16,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 1.7% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 301,952,085 shares of the companys stock valued at $16,915,357,000 after purchasing an additional 4,994,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 61.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,764,084 shares of the companys stock valued at $667,373,000 after acquiring an additional 4,095,881 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coca-Cola by 141.0% during the third quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 6,834,434 shares of the companys stock valued at $382,865,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998,128 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,258,425 shares of the companys stock worth $20,349,737,000 after buying an additional 3,864,004 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Coca-Cola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,838,000. 68.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Brian John Smith sold 126,972 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.07, for a total value of $7,881,152.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,168 shares in the company, valued at $7,210,547.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Brian John Smith sold 126,972 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.07, for a total value of $7,881,152.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,168 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,210,547.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nancy Quan sold 74,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.71, for a total value of $4,344,540.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 219,790 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,903,870.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 282,268 shares of company stock worth $17,137,823. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Coca-Cola Stock Performance

Several equities research analysts have commented on KO shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $69.00 price objective on Coca-Cola in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $70.00 price objective on Coca-Cola in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Coca-Cola has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.55.

Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $62.03. 14,440,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,799,158. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.15. The companys 50-day moving average is $60.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.35. The firm has a market cap of $268.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.53. The Coca-Cola Company has a 1-year low of $54.01 and a 1-year high of $67.20.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.45. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 42.35% and a net margin of 22.19%. The business had revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Coca-Colas previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Coca-Colas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.64%.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Coca-Cola Co engages in the manufacturing and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages. It operates through the following segments: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Global Ventures, and Bottling Investments. The company was founded by Asa Griggs Candler on May 8, 1886 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

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Eastern Bank lessened its holdings in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Get Rating) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,575 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 1,095 shares during the period. Eastern Banks holdings in ServiceNow were worth $7,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOW. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,953,299 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,492,805,000 after purchasing an additional 827,285 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,694,117 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $639,716,000 after purchasing an additional 577,933 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,866,914 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $6,369,116,000 after purchasing an additional 320,130 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 483,554 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $269,286,000 after purchasing an additional 214,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of ServiceNow by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,378,372 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $898,098,000 after purchasing an additional 187,393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.31% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOW has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $500.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price objective on ServiceNow from $600.00 to $575.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on ServiceNow from $485.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on ServiceNow from $515.00 to $508.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $519.45.

ServiceNow Stock Up 5.7 %

NYSE:NOW opened at $464.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stocks fifty day moving average is $444.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $411.70. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52 week low of $337.00 and a 52 week high of $601.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.03.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.28. ServiceNow had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.93 billion. Research analysts anticipate that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServiceNow news, insider Christopher Bedi sold 2,613 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.18, for a total transaction of $1,168,481.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,752 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,979.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Christopher Bedi sold 2,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.18, for a total value of $1,168,481.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,752 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,979.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 90 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.59, for a total value of $41,813.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,461 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,075.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,629 shares of company stock worth $29,974,024 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

ServiceNow Profile

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ServiceNow, Inc engages in the provision of enterprise cloud computing solutions. The firm delivers digital workflows on a single enterprise cloud platform called the Now Platform. Its product portfolio is focused on providing Information Technology, Employee and Customer workflows. The company was founded by Frederic B.

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First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Get Rating) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,593 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 2,367 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $3,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 953 shares of the companys stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 19,603 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,629 shares of the companys stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,346 shares of the companys stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 78.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $114.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $104.71.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $79.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12-month low of $70.02 and a 12-month high of $98.88.

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. The firm had revenue of $26.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $25.37 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 18.32%. Archer-Daniels-Midlands quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midlands previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio is currently 23.35%.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

(Get Rating)

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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First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:IJR  Get Rating) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,339 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 14,009 shares during the period. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF accounts for 0.3% of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF were worth $11,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IJR. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 67.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,171,621 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,322,814,000 after purchasing an additional 6,110,963 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $309,689,000. Cowa LLC raised its holdings in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 5,333.8% in the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 1,283,582 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,960 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,349,891 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $685,026,000 after purchasing an additional 990,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 882.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 994,321 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $86,695,000 after acquiring an additional 893,091 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Price Performance

Shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF stock opened at $96.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.13. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has a 1 year low of $86.40 and a 1 year high of $111.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.51 and a 200 day moving average of $97.35.

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Company Profile

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

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HashiCorp (NYSE:HCP  Get Rating) and Outbrain (NYSE:OB  Get Rating) are both technology services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares HashiCorp and Outbrains gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio HashiCorp $475.89 million 11.57 -$276.31 million ($1.47) -19.93 Outbrain $992.08 million 0.21 -$22.51 million ($0.44) -9.39

Outbrain has higher revenue and earnings than HashiCorp. HashiCorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Outbrain, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Profitability

HashiCorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Outbrain pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 20.3%. HashiCorp pays out -100.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Outbrain pays out -190.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Outbrain is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

This table compares HashiCorp and Outbrains net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets HashiCorp N/A N/A N/A Outbrain N/A N/A N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

32.5% of HashiCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.9% of Outbrain shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.7% of HashiCorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.2% of Outbrain shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

HashiCorp has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Outbrain has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for HashiCorp and Outbrain, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score HashiCorp 0 0 0 0 N/A Outbrain 0 0 0 0 N/A

Summary

Outbrain beats HashiCorp on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HashiCorp

(Get Rating)

HashiCorp is a leader in multi-cloud infrastructure automation software. The HashiCorp software suite enables organizations to adopt consistent workflows and a standardized approach to automating the critical process involved in delivering applications in the cloud: infrastructure provisioning, security, networking, and application deployment. HashiCorps open source tools Vagrant, Packer, Terraform, Vault, Consul, Nomad, Boundary, and Waypoint were downloaded approximately 100 million times during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021. Enterprise and managed service versions of these products enhance the open source tools with features that promote collaboration, operations, governance, and multi-datacenter functionality. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, though 90 percent of HashiCorp employees work remotely, strategically distributed around the globe. HashiCorp is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Franklin Templeton, Geodesic Capital, GGV Capital, IVP, Mayfield, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price funds and accounts, and True Ventures.

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John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 849,600 shares, a growth of 15.4% from the February 28th total of 736,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 161,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the companys stock are sold short.

John Bean Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE JBT traded up $1.41 on Friday, reaching $109.29. 204,002 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,572. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.39. John Bean Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $81.59 and a fifty-two week high of $126.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $599.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $599.82 million. John Bean Technologies had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 18.85%. John Bean Technologiess revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that John Bean Technologies will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

John Bean Technologies Announces Dividend

Insider Activity

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. John Bean Technologiess dividend payout ratio is currently 9.80%.

In related news, Director Caroline Maury Devine sold 300 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $32,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,994,447.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 900 shares of company stock worth $94,017. Insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Bean Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBT. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of John Bean Technologies by 1,700.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of John Bean Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of John Bean Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of John Bean Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of John Bean Technologies by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 98.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBT has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of John Bean Technologies from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

John Bean Technologies Company Profile

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John Bean Technologies Corp. is a technology solutions provider, which engages in the food, beverage, and air transportation industries. It operates through the JBT FoodTech and JBT AeroTech business segments. The JBT FoodTech segment designs, manufactures, and services technologically food processing systems for the preparation of meat, seafood and poultry products, ready-to-eat meals, shelf stable packaged foods, bakery products, juice and dairy products, and fruit and vegetable products.

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JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust plc (LON:JESC  Get Rating) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 499 ($6.13) and traded as high as GBX 509 ($6.25). JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust shares last traded at GBX 499 ($6.13), with a volume of 179,129 shares.

JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of 795.72 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.72, a quick ratio of 107.92 and a current ratio of 107.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 499 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 499.

About JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust

(Get Rating)

JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust plc is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by JPMorgan Funds Limited. The fund is co-managed by JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Europe, excluding the United Kingdom. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

Further Reading

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LCM Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS  Get Rating) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,262 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the quarter. LCM Capital Management Incs holdings in General Mills were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the companys stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its holdings in General Mills by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in General Mills by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,935,000 after acquiring an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in General Mills by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the companys stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.48% of the companys stock.

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General Mills Stock Performance

Shares of GIS stock opened at $85.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.28. The companys 50 day moving average is $79.15 and its 200 day moving average is $80.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. General Mills, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.94 and a 52-week high of $88.34.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 14.04% and a return on equity of 24.51%. General Millss revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. General Millss payout ratio is 46.65%.

Insider Activity at General Mills

In related news, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 1,955 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.99, for a total transaction of $168,110.45. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,146 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,474,384.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Mills news, insider Sean N. Walker sold 27,157 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.87, for a total value of $2,304,814.59. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 90,975 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,721,048.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mark A. Pallot sold 1,955 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.99, for a total transaction of $168,110.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,146 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,384.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,036 shares of company stock valued at $4,078,559 over the last ninety days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $81.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of General Mills in a report on Friday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of General Mills from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $83.88.

General Mills Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GIS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS  Get Rating).

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Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust plc (LON:MTE  Get Rating) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 140.70 ($1.73) and traded as low as GBX 135.91 ($1.67). Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust shares last traded at GBX 137.60 ($1.69), with a volume of 212,444 shares traded.

Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust Price Performance

The companys fifty day moving average is GBX 140.70 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 130.71. The firm has a market cap of 260.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -183.47 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust Company Profile

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Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust plc is an open ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Montanaro Investment Managers Ltd. It invests in public equity markets of Europe. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in growth stocks of small-cap companies listed on London Stock Exchange.

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Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:MNARF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 40,100 shares, a decline of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 49,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 401.0 days.

Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust Price Performance

OTCMKTS:MNARF remained flat at $12.55 during trading hours on Friday. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of $10.54 and a fifty-two week high of $15.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.31 and a 200 day moving average of $12.23.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust from C$22.00 to C$23.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 16th.

About Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust

Morguard North American Residential REIT is an open-ended real estate investment trust. The firm owns a diversified portfolio of multi-suite residential rental properties. Its primary objectives are to generate stable and growing cash distributions to unit holders on a tax-efficient basis, and to enhance the value of the real estate investment trusts assets and maximize long-term value of the units through active asset and property management, and to expand the asset base of the REIT and increase adjusted funds from operations per unit primarily through acquisitions and property improvements of its properties through targeted and strategically deployed capital expenditures.

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Shares of Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE:OMI  Get Rating) have received a consensus recommendation of Hold from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.20.

Several analysts have recently commented on OMI shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Owens & Minor from $23.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Owens & Minor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on Owens & Minor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Owens & Minor from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jonathan A. Leon sold 6,000 shares of Owens & Minor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total value of $81,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 106,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,440,760.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.09% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Owens & Minor

Owens & Minor Trading Up 3.2 %

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OMI. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Owens & Minor by 10.1% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,858 shares of the companys stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Owens & Minor by 31.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,981 shares of the companys stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 7,258 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Owens & Minor by 67.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,145 shares of the companys stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Owens & Minor by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,557 shares of the companys stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 2,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Owens & Minor by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 28,979 shares of the companys stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 4,823 shares in the last quarter.

NYSE OMI opened at $14.55 on Friday. Owens & Minor has a 12 month low of $11.79 and a 12 month high of $45.34. The companys 50-day moving average price is $17.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 51.97, a PEG ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.11). Owens & Minor had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Owens & Minor will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

About Owens & Minor

(Get Rating)

Owens & Minor, Inc is a healthcare solutions company, which engages in the product manufacturing and delivery, home health supply, and perioperative services to support care through the hospital and into the home. It operates through the Products and Healthcare Services, and Patient Direct segments. The Products and Healthcare Services segment includes medical distribution, the outsourced logistics and value-added services business, and global products, which manufacture and source medical surgical products through the production and kitting operations.

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Phreesia (NYSE:PHR  Get Rating) had its target price hoisted by Guggenheim from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Phreesia from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. SVB Leerink increased their target price on shares of Phreesia from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Phreesia from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Phreesia from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Phreesia from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Phreesia presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $38.15.

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Phreesia Stock Performance

PHR opened at $32.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The companys fifty day moving average price is $35.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.73. Phreesia has a 1-year low of $13.19 and a 1-year high of $40.00. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.61 and a beta of 0.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Phreesia ( NYSE:PHR Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 22nd. The company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $76.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.50 million. Phreesia had a negative net margin of 62.71% and a negative return on equity of 52.67%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.90) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Phreesia will post -2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Phreesia news, SVP Michael J. Davidoff sold 28,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,835.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 108,749 shares in the company, valued at $3,925,838.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Phreesia news, SVP Michael J. Davidoff sold 28,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,835.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 108,749 shares in the company, valued at $3,925,838.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Linetsky sold 11,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $449,999.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 205,489 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,127,089.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,347 shares of company stock worth $1,694,845 over the last quarter. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Phreesia by 11.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,692 shares of the companys stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Phreesia by 160.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 85,546 shares of the companys stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 52,755 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Phreesia by 20.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,427 shares of the companys stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Phreesia by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,598 shares of the companys stock worth $5,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Phreesia by 27.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,059 shares of the companys stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,473 shares during the period. 92.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Phreesia

(Get Rating)

Phreesia, Inc is a healthcare software company, which engages in the provision of patient check-in solutions for medical practices. The firm offers appointments, clinical support, integration, registration, patient activation, analytics and reports, revenue cycle, patient surveys, and privacy and security products.

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Polaris Renewable Energy Inc. (TSE:PIF  Get Rating) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$13.97 and traded as low as C$13.32. Polaris Renewable Energy shares last traded at C$13.32, with a volume of 19,269 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PIF. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Polaris Renewable Energy from C$21.00 to C$20.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Polaris Renewable Energy from C$27.00 to C$26.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th.

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Polaris Renewable Energy Price Performance

The company has a market cap of C$280.12 million, a P/E ratio of 83.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.33, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firms fifty day moving average is C$13.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$14.85.

Polaris Renewable Energy Dividend Announcement

Polaris Renewable Energy ( TSE:PIF Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported C$0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.02 by C$0.17. The business had revenue of C$22.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$23.75 million. Polaris Renewable Energy had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 0.92%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Polaris Renewable Energy Inc. will post 0.7813062 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. Polaris Renewable Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 506.25%.

Insider Transactions at Polaris Renewable Energy

In related news, Director Marc Murnaghan bought 2,000 shares of Polaris Renewable Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$13.11 per share, with a total value of C$26,220.00. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the companys stock.

About Polaris Renewable Energy

(Get Rating)

Polaris Renewable Energy Inc engages in the acquisition, development, and operation of renewable energy projects in Latin America. The company operates a 72 MW net geothermal facility in Nicaragua; and three run-of-river hydroelectric facilities in Peru with approximately 5 MW net, 8 MW net, and 20 MW net capacity.

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Schear Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,163 shares of the energy companys stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Trustcore Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 23.1% in the third quarter. Trustcore Financial Services LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 35.9% in the second 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 period. Rothschild Investment Corp IL lifted its holdings in Devon Energy by 11.1% in the third 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 period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Devon Energy by 194.4% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 573,342 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $34,475,000 after buying an additional 378,590 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Devon Energy by 470.6% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64,217 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $3,861,000 after buying an additional 52,963 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.08% of the companys stock.

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Devon Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DVN opened at $50.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.58. The stock has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.55, a PEG ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 2.33. Devon Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $44.03 and a 52-week high of $79.40.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

Devon Energy ( NYSE:DVN Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The energy company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.29 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 52.20% and a net margin of 31.38%. The companys revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Devon Energy Co. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. This is an increase from Devon Energys previous None dividend of $0.49. Devon Energys payout ratio is currently 8.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DVN. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Devon Energy from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Devon Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $80.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Devon Energy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $71.95.

Insider Activity at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, CEO Richard E. Muncrief acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.28 per share, with a total value of $532,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,973,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,173,494.56. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Dennis C. Cameron sold 7,179 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total transaction of $393,193.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 262,498 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,377,015.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard E. Muncrief acquired 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.28 per share, with a total value of $532,800.00. Following the purchase, 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. Company insiders own 0.80% of the companys stock.

Devon Energy Profile

(Get Rating)

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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Five Point Holdings, LLC (NYSE:FPH  Get Rating) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 337,100 shares, a drop of 6.0% from the February 28th total of 358,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 112,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 0.5% of the companys stock are sold short.

Five Point Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FPH traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.36. 104,777 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,371. Five Point has a 52-week low of $1.88 and a 52-week high of $6.37. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $2.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.36.

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Five Point (NYSE:FPH  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $17.00 million for the quarter. Five Point had a positive return on equity of 0.22% and a negative net margin of 36.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Five Point

Five Point Company Profile

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Five Point by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,937,392 shares of the companys stock worth $30,167,000 after buying an additional 26,671 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Five Point by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 4,624,424 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,775,000 after purchasing an additional 713,710 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Five Point by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 1,346,140 shares of the companys stock worth $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 59,797 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in Five Point by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 860,161 shares of the companys stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 149,820 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Five Point by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 589,837 shares of the companys stock worth $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 117,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.70% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Five Point Holdings LLC engages in the development and design of mixed-use, master-planned communities that combine residential, commercial, retail, educational, and recreational elements with public amenities. It operates through the following segments: Valencia, San Francisco, Great Park, and Commercial.

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Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Get Rating) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 293,869 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 3,103 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF makes up about 0.8% of Sigma Planning Corps investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Sigma Planning Corps holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $21,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of USMV. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,253 shares of the companys stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 95,612 shares of the companys stock worth $7,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,348,690 shares of the companys stock worth $104,618,000 after acquiring an additional 57,434 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 88,779 shares of the companys stock worth $6,887,000 after acquiring an additional 18,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 12,575 shares of the companys stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Stock Performance

Shares of USMV traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.74. 3,047,977 shares of the company were exchanged. The company has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.76. The firms 50 day moving average is $71.65 and its 200-day moving average is $71.33. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a 52 week low of $47.44 and a 52 week high of $55.45.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USMV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Get Rating).

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Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Tesco (OTCMKTS:TSCDY  Get Rating) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on TSCDY. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Tesco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Tesco from GBX 240 ($2.95) to GBX 270 ($3.32) in a research note on Monday, December 5th.

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Tesco Stock Down 0.1 %

OTCMKTS TSCDY opened at $9.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firms 50 day moving average price is $9.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.32. Tesco has a 52-week low of $6.54 and a 52-week high of $11.19.

Tesco Company Profile

Tesco Plc engages in the retailing and retail banking. It operates through the following segments: UK and ROI, Central Europe, Asia, and Tesco Bank. The UK and ROI segment caters to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The Central Europe segment covers the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

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UiPath (NYSE:PATH  Get Rating) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Wednesday, The Fly reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the healthcare companys stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UiPath from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Credit Suisse Group restated an outperform rating and set a $27.50 target price on shares of UiPath in a research report on Friday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of UiPath from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of UiPath in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of UiPath from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.25.

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UiPath Price Performance

Shares of PATH opened at $17.56 on Wednesday. The companys fifty day moving average is $15.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.69. UiPath has a 1 year low of $10.40 and a 1 year high of $31.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at UiPath

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other UiPath news, CAO Hitesh Ramani sold 12,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total value of $204,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 407,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,929,006.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . In other UiPath news, CAO Hitesh Ramani sold 12,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total value of $204,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 407,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,929,006.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CFO Ashim Gupta sold 40,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.96, for a total transaction of $678,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,319,051 shares in the company, valued at $22,371,104.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,000 shares of company stock worth $1,546,920. Corporate insiders own 31.88% of the companys stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PATH. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UiPath by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 40,993 shares of the healthcare companys stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UiPath during the 1st quarter valued at about $184,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of UiPath by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,316,635 shares of the healthcare companys stock valued at $114,786,000 after acquiring an additional 99,242 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of UiPath during the 1st quarter valued at about $534,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of UiPath during the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.40% of the companys stock.

About UiPath

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UiPath Inc provides an end-to-end automation platform that offers a range of robotic process automation (RPA) solutions primarily in the United States, Romania, and Japan. The company offers a suite of interrelated software to build, manage, run, engage, measure, and govern automation within the organization.

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Sabic, a global leader in diversified chemicals, called on the international community today to strengthen cross-regional and cross-sector collaboration for sustainable economic growth.

This call for collaboration was made during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Conference, an annual international conference that Sabic is sponsoring for the 15th timethe last four of which as an honorary strategic partner.

Led by Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, Sabics CEO and member of the BFA Board of Directors, the Sabic delegation participated in several top-level dialogues at the conference. Following Chinese Premier Li Qiangs keynote speech at the events opening plenary, Al-Fageeh spoke as a representative of the international business community. He expressed his optimism for the re-establishment of stable economic growth and called for the world to unite to deliver this growth through a circular economyone with no open-ended value chains. He also engaged in several public and closed-door sessions at the conference.

Business opportunities

In his speech, Al-Fageeh shared reflections and insights related to this years Annual Conference theme, An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges, while further highlighting how China has opened many new business opportunities for Sabic.

For sustainable economic growth to flourish globally, close international collaboration will be requirednot only between companies but also between countries linked by value chains. Being the worlds largest market for chemical products, China is the obvious place to establish a nexus of global sustainable economic growth, said Al-Fageeh.

As Sabic expands its local presence, it will focus on investing in the development of technology. Innovation-driven economic growth can spread widely under the strategic alignment between Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 and Chinas Belt and Road Initiative.

Holistic vision

In addition to sharing his holistic vision at the opening ceremony, Al-Fageeh also participated in a panel discussion on Carbon Neutrality: Dilemma and Way Out with representatives from financial institutions, businesses, and government organisations. During the discussion, Al-Fageeh underlined the importance of collaboration across the value chain in the quest for global carbon neutrality. He also noted that companies should be focusing on the long-term economic value of their carbon-reduction-related projects to ensure that they are sustainable.

Sabics commitment to carbon neutrality was also on full display at its exhibition booth at the Forum, where it showcased its innovative solutions to accelerate the circular carbon economy, increase energy efficiency, and help customers mitigate their environmental footprint.-- TradeArabia News Service
Adani Group and French company TotalEnergies' newly built Rs 6,000 crore LNG import facility at Dhamra on the Odisha coast has received its first ever shipment of liquefied natural gas - a fuel that will be used to make steel, produce fertilizers and turned into CNG and cooking gas, helping change the landscape of Eastern India. Qatari ship 'Milaha Ras Laffan' docked at Dhamra Port on April 1 morning, bringing in 2.6 trillion British thermal units of natural gas in its frozen form (LNG) which will be used to commission the facility, officials said. "On Utkal Diwas, Odisha's formation day, Adani Ports and SEZ is privileged to welcome to Dhamra Port its first cargo of LNG aboard the 'Milaha Ras Laffan'," Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), wrote on Linkedin. "This is a huge leap forward not only in access to clean and affordable energy but also in decarbonising India's energy sector." Commissioning and testing operations will take up to 45 days and commercial operations are expected to start thereafter. The start of the 5 million tonne per annum LNG import terminal is crucial to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to boost natural gas use in the country's energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030 from current 6.3 per cent. Dhamra is the only LNG import terminal in eastern India and only second on the entire east coast. The country's five other terminals are on its western coast (three in Gujarat, one each in Maharashtra and Kerala). Adani Total Pvt Ltd, where Adani Group and TotalEnergies SE have 50 per cent stake each, will use the cargo received on April 1 to do safety check and test systems, officials said. After all checks, the terminal would be ready to start commercial operations with an expected 2.2-2.3 million tonne of LNG expected to be imported in the first year and a gradual ramp-up to full capacity in the next. The 135,000 cubic meter capacity Milaha Ras Laffan was loaded at Qatargas on March 21. The test cargo has been provided by TotalEnergies from its portfolio. Dhamra is a tolling facility where state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have booked capacity. They will import LNG at the terminal which will be re-converted into gas before being piped to refineries and fertiliser units. It will also be converted into CNG for running automobiles and piped into household kitchens for cooking purposes. It has a 20-year take-or-pay contract to provide regasification services to IOC for 3 million tonne per annum of LNG and 1.5 million tonne to GAIL. Officials said the commissioning cargo was received on Utkal Diwas - the day in 1936 when the state of Odisha (earlier Orissa) was formed. This marks commencement of the terminal's commissioning, with a number of stages to be completed in the coming weeks. The terminal will be able to berth the widest range of LNG vessels all year round, transport gas via pipelines, trucks or on reloaded vessels. It houses two storage tanks, each of 180,000 cubic meters capacity, amongst the largest in the country. The capacity can be doubled to 10 million tonne in future by adding a third tank, they said. Adani Total is a partnership of complementary skill sets. While Adani has world-class infrastructure and port development capabilities, TotalEnergies is the 3rd largest global LNG player globally. Together, the JV built and delivered the project over the past four years, overcoming several challenges like the pandemic, cyclones, difficult soil conditions, supply chain disruptions and the highly volatile LNG market due to the conflict in Europe. Officials said Dhamra will be the main supply point on the recently completed Urja Ganga pipeline developed by GAIL, providing gas access to over 35 per cent of India's population, covering about 20 per cent of the country's land mass. Refineries, fertiliser plants, industries and city gas networks in the hinterland will be the major consumers of gas from Dhamra LNG. The Urja Ganga pipeline is also connected to the other National Gas Grid - the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline, providing customers in the north of the country with a ready alternative source of supply when compared to the western terminals on whom they are solely dependent at present. Its proximity to Bangladesh and other regional markets allows Dhamra to become a viable point of supply to them as well, they said adding the Srikakulam-Angul and Mumbai-Jharsuguda pipeline projects will soon connect Dhamra to central and southern states, completing the National Gas Grid integration. The long-term price of LNG trades at a discount of more than USD 5 per million British thermal unit compared to alternative liquid fuels like naphtha, fuel oil and diesel. The current annual consumption of substitutable liquid fuels across refineries, fertiliser plants and industries in the eastern region is of the order of 5 million tonne per annum. Based on this, substituting 5 million tonne equivalent liquid fuels with LNG would represent a saving of USD 1.25 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore) per annum for the Indian economy, they said. LNG is predominantly methane (C1) gas chilled to around minus 160 degrees Celsius where it turns into a liquid at atmospheric pressure, occupying less than 1/600th of the volume it otherwise would. This allows huge quantities of energy to be transported across oceans in specialised vessels. It is considered as a bridge fuel for India's energy transition. Last year, the global LNG trade reached around 400 million tonne. Over the past three years, Indian imports have varied between 22 and 24 million tonne representing around 3 per cent of the country's primary energy basket.
Avalon Technologies, the first initial public offering (IPO) of the financial year 2023-24, is set to open for subscription next week. Here are 10 key things to know about the public offer: 1) IPO Dates The first day of bidding for this maiden public issue would be April 3, and the offer will close on April 6. 2) Price band The price band has been fixed at Rs 415-436, per share, with a face value of Rs 2 each. 3) Public Issue size Avalon intends to raise Rs 865 crore through its IPO that comprises a fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 320 crore, and an offer for sale (OFS) of equity shares worth Rs 545 crore by promoters and other shareholders. The OFS includes equity shares worth Rs 131 crore being sold by Kunhamed Bicha, shares worth Rs 172 crore being sold by Bhaskar Srinivasan, Rs 16 crore by T P Imbichammad, Rs 10 crore by Mariyam Bicha, Rs 65 crore by Sareday Seshu Kumar. Also, Anand Kumar and Luquman Veedu Ediyanam will each sell shares worth Rs 75.5 crore in the OFS. The public issue has been reduced from Rs 1,025 crore to Rs 865 crore after the company mopped up Rs 160 crore via pre-IPO placement. The company has already raised Rs 389.25 crore from anchor investors on March 31, hence Rs 475.75 crore worth of shares will be up for sale during April 3-6. Click Here To Read All IPO Related News 4) Objectives of the issue The electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company is going to utilise the fresh issue proceeds for repaying debts (Rs 145 crore), and working capital requirements (Rs 90 crore), besides general corporate purposes. The funds raised via the OFS will go to the selling shareholders, not the company. 5) Lot size and investors' reserved portion Investors can bid for a minimum of 34 equity shares and in multiples of 34 shares thereafter. With this, the minimum application size for retail investors would be Rs 14,824 per lot (34 shares), and the maximum would be Rs 1,92,712 for 13 lots (442 shares). The company has reserved 75 percent of the offer for qualified institutional buyers (QIB), 15 percent for high networth individuals (HNI), and the remaining 10 percent for retail investors. 6) Company profile Incorporated in 1999 at Chennai, Avalon Technologies is a fully-integrated EMS company with end-to-end operations in delivering box build solutions, with a focus on high-value precision-engineered products. It provides a full-stack product and solution suite, right from printed circuit board (PCB) design and assembly, to the manufacture of complete electronic systems (box build). Its customers include global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including OEMs located in the United States, China, Netherlands, and Japan. Also read: Samhi Hotels, backed by Goldman Sachs, Equity International, files draft IPO papers again The company caters to a mix of established and long-product-lifecycle industries, such as industrial, mobility, and medical devices, and high-growth sunrise industries, such as solar power, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel in the clean energy sector, and digital infrastructure in the communications sector. With 12 manufacturing units across the United States and India, Avalon has increased its customer base from 54 in FY19-20 to 89 as of November 2022, and grown its order book from Rs 504.67 crore in FY19-20 to Rs 1,190.25 crore in that time. Per a Frost & Sullivan report, the EMS sector is expected to grow at a significant pace. While the EMS market in India was valued at Rs 1.46 lakh crore ($20 billion) in FY21-22 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32.3 percent to hit Rs 4.5 lakh crore ($60 billion) in FY25-26, the US EMS market was valued at approximately $140 billion in 2021, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1 percent to $188 billion by 2026. The company compares itself with Dixon Technologies, Amber Enterprises, Syrma SGS Technology, and Kaynes Technology. 7) Financials At Rs 34.2 crore, Avalon has recorded a 19.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline in profit after tax (PAT) for the eight-month period ended November FY22-23 on a high base due to exceptional income in the year-ago period. The profit margin dropped to 5.84 percent from 7.81 percent in the same period. Consolidated revenue from operations increased 8 percent YoY to Rs 585 crore for the eight-month period of FY22-23, with the clean energy segment contributing 23 percent, mobility and transportation 22 percent, industrials 28 percent, communication 9 percent, and 17 percent by medical and other segments. On the operating front, EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 16.8 percent YoY to Rs 68 crore, while the margin expanded by 87 basis points (bps) to 11.63 percent in the same period. For the financial year 2021-22, the company has clocked a 195 percent growth in PAT at Rs 68.2 crore and a 22 percent rise in revenue at Rs 841 crore, compared to the previous year. Net profit margin jumped 476 bps to 8.1 percent in the same period. EBITDA increased 47.5 percent to Rs 97.5 crore, with the margin expanding 202 bps to 11.6 percent . The company's total borrowings will be reduced to around Rs 150 crore post the IPO from about Rs 300 crore now, R M Subramanian, CFO, Avalon Enterprises, said. 8) Promoters Kunhamed Bicha, Chairman and Managing Director, and Bhaskar Srinivasan, Non-Executive Director, are the founders and promoters of Avalon, who collectively hold 53.38 percent of the companys shares. The total promoter and promoter group holding is 70.75 percent, and the remaining 29.25 percent is held by public shareholders, including UNIFI Financial, Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust Plc, and India Acorn Fund. R M Subramanian is the Chief Financial Officer of the company, while Dr. Rajesh V is the Company Secretary, Compliance Officer, and Legal Head of the firm. 9) Risks and concerns Here are the key risks and concerns highlighted by brokerages (Swastika Investmart, Canara Bank Securities, Reliance Securities). a) The company has had negative cash flow in the past. b) Dependence on a limited number of customers for a major portion of its revenues. c) Disruption in the operation of its manufacturing facilities. d) The company may be subject to financial and reputational risk due to product quality and liability issues. e) Any increase in the cost of raw materials or components, or any delay, shortage or interruption in the supply of raw materials and major production inputs may adversely affect the operations, cash flow, and financials of the business. f) Failure to maintain optimal inventory levels could lead to increase in inventory holding costs. g) Foreign exchange fluctuations. 10) Allotment and Listing Dates Avalon will finalise the IPO share allotment by April 12 and the refunds will be credited to the bank accounts of unsuccessful investors by April 13. Eligible investors will get shares in their demat accounts by April 17. Finally, its stock will be listed on the BSE and NSE on April 18. JM Financial, DAM Capital Advisors, IIFL Securities, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) are the merchant bankers to the issue, while the registrar to the offer is Link Intime India. 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.
US to allow tourist/business visa holders to apply for jobs: In a huge shift from its long-term stance of not allowing internationals on B1/B2 visa to seek or pursue employment, the US will now allow B1/B2 visa holders to apply for jobs and appear for interviews. The B1 visa and B2 visa are temporary, non-immigrant visas that allow the holder to travel to the United States for either business or tourism purposes. The B1 visa covers business trips, while the B2 visa covers tourism, such as vacations or visiting family. The move comes in the midst of huge layoffs in the US that have affected numerous Indians who live/work in the US on H1-B (work) visa. Under the current rules, laid-off immigrants get 60 days to stay in the country. If they do not find another job or change their visa status, they have to leave the country after 60 days. Usually, there is no grace period after that. However, under the new rule, laid-off immigrants can change their status to B1/B2 within the initial 60-day allowed period. With a B1/B2 visa in hand, they can legally stay in the country for another 60 days during which they can apply for jobs and appear for job interviews. It is important to note that if the change-of-status request is denied, the individual must leave the US and be admitted in an employment-authorized classification before beginning the new employment. Also, if the worker takes no action within the 60-day period, they have to leave the US within 60 days. Many people have asked if they can look for a new job while in B1 or B2 status. The answer is, yes. Searching for employment and interviewing for a position are permissible B1 or B2 activities, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said in a press release. Changes to German Skilled Immigration Act approved: The German government has approved the proposed changes to the Skilled Immigration Act in order to bring more foreign workers to the country to tackle the acute shortage of skilled workers in various sectors. In 2022, there were 1.98 million open vacancies in Germany, the highest ever, many of which remained unfilled due to a lack of workers in specific sectors. The latest amendments include:  Qualification: The salary threshold will be reduced, the length of professional experience will be shortened, and proof of German knowledge will no longer be mandatory.  Experience: Recognition of degree will no longer be essential before arrival. However, the due diligence has to be done after arrival.  Potential: Those who could not find a job in Germany from their home country, can now obtain an Opportunity Card to move to Germany for a year and remain there while searching for a job. This Card will be granted according to a points-based system that will include criteria like knowledge of German and English, professional experience, connection to Germany, age, etc. India in the Top 5 migrant-arrivals in Australia: The number of migrant arrivals into Australia (2021-22) jumped 171 percent - up from 146,000 the year before to 395,000, with India included in the top five countries of birth for migrant arrivals. India and China experienced very large increases for the year, with India reaching just under 60,000 arrivals and China over 44,000 arrivals. Nepal and the Philippines both increased on the previous year and have now re-entered the top 5 countries, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics report. Analysis of these five countries of birth in the decade prior to the pandemic, shows that migrant arrivals had increased for Indian-born migrants  driven by international students (mainly for the higher education sector). Collectively, migrant arrivals for all temporary visa holders increased seven-fold on the previous year, migrant arrivals for all permanent visa holders increased by 84 percent, migrant arrivals for international students, after having almost stopped during 2020-21, saw an increase of 135,500 people, while arrivals for working holiday makers increased by more than 12-fold from the previous year. Egypt to offer 5-year valid visa for $700 fee: In a first of its kind, Egypt has announced that it will offer a five-year visa for a fee of $700 while a single-entry 30-day visa on arrival can now be obtained by more than 180 nationalities for $25. Among the handful of nationalities that have been added to the visa on arrival list are Indians and Chinese. Visa on arrival is granted to tourists only if they have a visa on their passports for the UK, US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, or Schengen countries. It is the first time that Egypt has offered visas valid for multiple years, a step being taken to boost the countrys crippled tourism economy. The country is targeting 30 million tourists a year by 2028 and needs to grow at a rate of more than 25% per year to reach the goals. Denmark sees 73 percent increase in workers from India: In 2022, Indians accounted for the largest increase in the number of immigrants with a work permit to Denmark. Around 31,600 foreigners immigrated to the country for work purposes in 2022, with Indians marking a 73 percent increase with 2,800 arrivals. According to Statistics Denmark, the countrys official statistical website, the number of foreigners who decided to immigrate to Denmark for work purposes in 2022 increased 24 percent as compared to the previous year and the highest number since 1997. As of January 1, 2023, around 176,300 foreigners in Denmark had a residence permit to work  an 18 percent increase compared to 10 years ago.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2 hailed the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for its best ever annual production in the 2022-23 fiscal, and said this shows that not only in steel, but also in every sector the country is moving fast towards self-reliance. In a tweet in Hindi, SAIL said it has achieved its best ever annual production in FY 2022-23. During the period, the company registered a production of 194.09 lakh tonnes of hot metal and 182.89 lakh tonnes of crude steel which was a growth of 3.6 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively over the previous best, the company said. Tagging SAIL's tweet, Prime Minister Modi said in Hindi on Twitter, "Many congratulations on this wonderful achievement! This production of SAIL shows that not only in steel, but the country is moving fast towards self-reliance in every sector." The prime minister also responded to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's tweet on the Solar Rooftop Online Portal http://goasolar.in developed by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) in association with Department of New and Renewable Energy and Electricity Department, having been launched. Responding to the CM's tweet, Modi said, "Good step towards harnessing solar energy and furthering sustainable development." He also responded to a tweet by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu who said the Jal Jeevan Mission that aims at providing clean water to every household is a grand success in the state with the coverage crossing 75 per cent, providing drinking water to 1.73 lakh rural households. In a tweet, Modi said 75 percent coverage in the time of Amrit Mahotsav is commendable, keeping in mind the difficult terrain in parts of Arunachal Pradesh. "Compliments to the team delivering this and best wishes to complete the remaining part," he said. In another tweet, the prime minister expressed happiness after Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted about Sagar Setu, the mobile application of the National Logistics Portal-Marine. "Happy to see tech being leveraged for port-led development and to ensure Ease of Doing Business," the prime minister said. Modi also responded to a tweet by Home Minister Amit Shah on the inauguration and foundation stone-laying of 11 distinct schemes of approximately Rs 2,500 crore taking place in a single day. "Congratulations to the people of Mizoram for the boost to the state's growth trajectory through these development works covering various sectors," Modi tweeted.
What is left to be said about Raja Ravi Varma, the princely artist from Kerala who gave the nation an everlasting visual imagery of gods and goddesses? Since there is no dearth of scholarly books and articles that focus on the life and work of the artist, this was what even lawyer Ganesh Shivaswamy wondered when the idea of writing a book on the artist was suggested. The Bengaluru-based lawyer and an avid collector of Raja Ravi Varmas chromolithographs has been interested in the works of Raja Ravi Varma and even founded the Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation which, focuses on structuring the legacy of the artist. But when he toyed with the idea in 2018, it was to write on the legacy of the Ravi Varma Press. On a visit to Kilimanoor Palace, the serendipitous find of a wooden box, unattended for decades, containing the reference materials relied on by the artist, set Shivaswamy on a new narrative. Today, he is set to launch the first book of a six-volume series called Raja Ravi Varma: An Everlasting Imprint, which has delved into information gathered from images from museum displays and store rooms, governmental, institutional, and personal archives, from personal collections and conversations with a range of people. My work begins when Ravi Varmas images got into the common mans life, Shivaswamy says, It delves into the trajectory of the images, the people behind the scenes, the models featured in the paintings, and the artists legacy in the social narrative. Here are some images and their impact which have been featured in the series, as told by Ganesh Shivaswamy: A powerful illustration that changed the law A year after the Radha chromolithograph was published, it inspired a cartoon in the satirical magazine, Hindi Punch, titled Grandmothers of Thirty. The illustration showed two ladies called Gunga and Seeta, wearing shoes and seated in the poses of Radha and her sakhi as they converse: Gunga: I do wish I hadnt myself married so early, and let my little daughter marry early too! Seeta: Where is the trouble now? You occupy an enviable position and are looked up for advice and guidance! A grand-mother at your age and not satisfied? Well, some people never are! Gunga: Reason enough to be satisfied! Isnt there? A grand-mother at thirty! Hardly in the world before you are out of it! Its time they raised the marriageable age in law! There would be no more young grannies then! The minimum marriageable age was the subject matter of the first legislation in India when the Age of Consent Act was passed in 1891. This fixed the minimum age for consensual sex at 12 years but did not address the minimum age for marriage. Hence, when the illustration appeared in the Hindi Punch, this was still a burning issue. The grievance espoused by the Grandmothers at Thirty, cartoon was finally remedied only by the Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, which fixed the minimum age of marriage for boys at 18 and girls at 14. In more recent times, this age has been revised to 21 and 18 through the promulgation of the Child Marriage Act of 2006. Background: At the time when this illustration was published, British India was steeped in controversy and litigation battles related to a womans right to refuse to cohabit with her husband. This came to the fore when Rukhmabai of Bombay to this issue to the High Court of Bombay. Rukhma was married at the tender age of 11 to Dadaji Bhikaji in 1876 and when she turned 19, she refused to go to the house of her husband. This led to the filing of a petition, seeking a restitution of conjugal rights by the husband, which came up before Justice Robert Hill Phinney in 1884. Phinney opined that since Rukhma was still a child at the time of her marriage, her consent was contractually invalid. This judgment was however soon reversed, leading to Rukhma writing in the press and even petitioning Queen Victoria. The queen eventually intervened and annulled the marriage. Rukhma went on to train as a doctor in London and returned to practice in Gujarat. A painting that became popular iconography The painting first became a chromolithograph and then propelled into the public space which, later, artists then made it their own, the representation showcased here is by artist S Murugakani. A hitherto unseen drawing of Raja Ravi Varma One of the artist's greatest talents was his ability to diligently document many aspects of life, be it textiles, draping styles, adornment, sculptures, and so on. Here is an example of a sketch and the actual dwarapalaka. An inspiration found in the wooden box This painting of the Reclining Nair Lady have been said to be reminiscent of Edouard Manet's painting, Olympia. That was simply not true, Shivaswamy said. The inspiration was from an illustration found in one of the many art journals which Ravi Varma owned. Using photographs as study Rajibai Mulgaonkar was photographed at Ravi Varmas studio where she struck several poses in front of a background. These photographs were used by Ravi Varma (for painting Lakshmi and Ahalya) as well as his brother C Raja Raja Varma who was also an artist and painted in the studio. This photograph is Raja Raja Varma's painting. Horse Did you know Raja Ravi Varma painted and sketched horses very well? This was probably because the vahan of his family deity, Sastha (Shaastha), was a horse, the seal of the Kilimanoor family is also a horse and the logo of this book series is also fashioned from a horse. It is an animal associated with energy and power. This rare watercolour sketch of a horse by the artist features in the first volume of the series. Societal influences In the 1890s, around the time the Malayali Lady was painted by Ravi Varma, the women from Kerala dressed differently to indicate their caste and position in the society. In Travancore, tensions brewed as only the Princesses and Zamorin (women from royal household) could cover their breasts while the rest could cover themselves unless in the presence of upper caste women. It was called the upper garment dispute or the breast tax. Later, according to Shivaswamy, the Zeenat Aman-starrer film Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) revisited the painting by draping the protagonist in a manner similar to the Malayali Lady painting. It is documented that JP Singhal, the photographer, was inspired by Raja Ravi Varma, he says. Talk about the influences of Ravi Varmas iconic artworks. Depiction of Ravana One of the mentions in a suit (now dismissed) against Adipurush film about its alleged unflattering depictions of Lord Rama and Ravana was Raja Ravi Varmas depiction of the Ramayana in a positive light. Ravi Varma painted Ravana just thrice: Jatayu Vadha (1906), Ravan and Sita (1910), and Victory of Indrajit (circa 1910). He painted Ravana as a muscular, dark-skinned man which was the way he visualized the demon king. Raja Ravi Varma hailed from the aristocratic Kilimanoor family of the princely state of Travancore. His artistic talent was recognised and patronised by the Maharaja of Travancore. He trained in water colours by Rama Swami Naidu and oil painting by British portraitist Theodore Jenson. In 1881, the newly crowned maharaja of Baroda, Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III, invited Ravi Varma to make his portrait. Thus began a series of commissions from the Maharaja resulting in iconic paintings like Shakuntala, and more. Ravi Varma travelled the length of the country  from Travancore to Lahore  sketching whatever he saw. At an exhibition of his works in Mumbai in 1894, the artist was stunned by the lines of people queueing up to see his paintings. He decided to set up his own press to reproduce affordable lithographs of his paintings. The press was financially unsuccessful, plunging Ravi Varma into debt. Towards the end, he sold the press to Fritz Schleicher, a German lithographer, who used the mythological figures on products like match boxes, fliers, advertisements and calendars. The calendars were a huge hit and changed the visual imagery of gods and goddesses.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday led the Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in his hometown Thane in which hundreds of people took part to honour late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shinde-led Shiv Sena had last month announced that Savarkar Gaurav Yatras would be taken out in each district of Maharashtra to honour Savarkars contribution to the country and to counter Congress leader Rahul Gandhis criticism against him. On Sunday, the yatra participants, wearing saffron caps with Mi Savarkar (I am Savarkar) and other messages written on them, paid floral tributes to Savarkar at the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane city from where the yatra commenced. On the culmination of the rally, addressing a gathering, Shinde slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his repeated attacks on Savarkar and said insults to freedom fighters was akin to insulting the nation. People are angry to see some forces trying to malign Hindutva by attacking Savarkar, Shinde said. We have noticed citizens expressing disappointment over some people consistently insulting Savarkar. An insult of Savarkar is the insult of every Indian. I openly condemn people like Rahul Gandhi for his tirade against Savarkar. I dare anyone to live a day in the Cellular Jail the way Savarkar was jailed, Shinde said. Without taking names, he also swiped at Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray. Balasaheb Thackeray had hit the effigy of Mani Shankar Aiyar once (for such remarks). Unfortunately, some people who claim Balasaheb Thackerays legacy are now sitting with those (Congress Rahul Gandhi) who have consistently attacked Savarkar, Shinde said. Praising Narendra Modi, the chief minister said Hindutva was seen as an aggression against minorities, but the prime minister had brought back its glory post 2014. Hindutva is not against any religion. But some people deliberately keep misinterpreting it, Shinde remarked. A tableau displaying information related to Savarkar was also part of the yatra.Shinde and some other leaders of the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP coalition participated in the yatra on a makeshift chariot with a large photograph of Savarkar in the background. The vehicle was decorated with flowers and followed by supporters riding motorbikes with saffron flags on them. The CM waved to citizens as the yatra moved to cover four Assembly segments in the city. Flowers were showered on the participants as several of them moved around Thane city using more than 200 motorbikes and around 100 auto-rickshaws raising slogans in praise of Savarkar and the country. BJP leader Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Thane MLA Sanjay Kelkar, Thane BJP chief and MLC Niranjan Davkhare, former mayor Naresh Mhaske, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and many other local leaders of the ruling coalition participated in the yatra. Huge hoardings with pictures of Savarkar were put up in the city, patriotic songs were played during the yatra and rangolis (colourful patterns) were made at various places. A number of women in colourful attire and carrying lezims also participated in the yatra. Similar yatras were also taken out in some parts of Mumbai, a BJP leader said. "Rahul Gandhi's 'My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone' remark has drawn fire from the BJP." The former Congress chief had made the remark while addressing a press conference after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha and amid BJP's demands for his apology for allegedly insulting Other Backward Classes (OBCs) with his 'Modi surname remark' that got him convicted for criminal defamation. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule last month said his party will take out 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatras' in all 288 Assembly segments of the state from March 30 to April 6, and apart from senior BJP leaders including Devendra Fadnavis, CM Shinde and 40 MLAs of Shiv Sena will also participate. "We will reach out to people with the history of Savarkar and how he is being insulted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and MPCC chief Nana Patole," Bawankule had said.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will appeal a two-year jail sentence in a defamation case brought against him by lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local media reported on Sunday. Gandhi, the 52-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and leader of the Congress party, was found guilty of defamation by a court in the western state of Gujarat over comments he made in a speech in 2019. Gandhi has filed a plea in the Surat sessions court against the magistrate order, the Indian Express newspaper reported, while a senior Congress party official, who declined to be named, told Reuters the court is scheduled to hear the plea on Monday. Gandhis lawyer did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Indias parliament disqualified Gandhi after sentencing as the law that governs elections in India mandates disqualification of any lawmaker who is convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years. A lower court sentenced Gandhi on March 23 for two years in jail on charges of defamation. Opposition politicians say Gandhis trial and the disqualification is the latest evidence of the Modi governments strongarm tactics and follows investigations and legal troubles faced in recent months by other opposition parties. Gandhi said on March 25 that he would not comment on his sentence as the matter was subjudice, but he said his disqualification from parliament was because he had asking Modi what he called tough questions over Modis relationship with Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani conglomerate. The opposition critics accuse Modi government of giving undue favours to a business group led by billionaire tycoon Adani. Shares of Adani group companies plunged after Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24 alleged that the Indian company had engaged in stock manipulation and used tax havens. It also said the group had unsustainable debt. A day after Gandhis conviction, 14 political parties jointly petitioned the Supreme Court, saying opposition groups were being selectively targeted by federal investigative agencies. The court has agreed to hear the plea on April 5.
Actor Innocent didnt have to say anything to make people laugh. He could just stand there and stare at the camera, and that would be enough to make the audience giggle helplessly. Watch him in Midhunam (1993), where he plays Mohanlals good-for-nothing, alcoholic brother. He arrives at the biscuit factory that the latter is desperately trying to set up, only to insult the bureaucrat who has to grant the licence. From the second Innocent stares at the inspector with complete insolence, the scene is a laugh riot. Few have such a gift for comedy, a rare ability to provoke laughter in people with their sheer presence. Innocent was one of those stock supporting actors you saw in nearly every Malayalam film made in the '80s and '90s. He might be there only for a scene or two, and hed still ensure that you remembered what he did in the film. Ask any Malayali who grew up in the '90s what tender coconut water is called in Hindi, and theyll tell you that its nariyal ka paani. Thats what Innocent calls it in Sandesham (1991) where he plays Yashwant Sahai, a Delhi politician who visits Kerala, and speaks in Hindi to local party men who have no clue what hes saying. Its a brief role but one with immense recall value. On March 26, Innocent passed away at 75. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2012, but the actor made a comeback and continued to have an active career until his death. He even wrote seven books about his battle with cancer, with his memoir titled Cancer Wardile Chiri or Laughter in the Cancer Ward. Thats right. Innocent and laughter could never be separated, not even when he was fighting a deadly disease. The actor, who dropped out of school when he was in eighth grade and went to Madras (now Chennai) to pursue his dream of working in cinema, had an inimitable style of dialogue delivery. In Vadakkunokkiyantram (1989), he plays a novelist who gives advice on romance to a highly insecure man (Sreenivasan) with a beautiful wife (Parvathy). Thalakulam Sirs expert suggestions on how to conquer a womans heart are highly hilarious  from the importance of decorating the bed on the first night to how the husband should pose with a flower when the wife enters the room. He switches from a poetic, faraway look to impatience whenever the nervous groom interrupts him to clarify doubts. Another film where Innocent gives advice to Sreenivasan only for it to backfire is Thalayana Manthram (1990), where he plays an overbearing neighbour with an inflated sense of self-importance. He walks into a household to settle their internal family conflict, but ends up getting snubbed and slapped in the face. Innocents style of dialogue delivery was so instantly recognisable that in Driving Licence (2019), we hear only his voice over the phone and know that its him. Who else could manage to call a spade a spade with such candour? The brief scene where he advises a superstar (Prithviraj) on how to deal with a media scandal, is also a reminder of his leadership at the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA)  he was its longest-serving president at over 15 years and stayed at the position unopposed. He also introduced initiatives such as the AMMA Kaineettam financial aid scheme, medical insurance for actors and so on. However, as loved as he was, his tenure at AMMA was not without its blemishes. It was when Innocent was president that the actor assault case (2017) shook the Malayalam film industry, and AMMAs indecision over expelling accused actor Dileep from its fold came under much flak. Later, the survivor in the case also alleged that she had, in the past, complained to AMMA about Dileep trying to sideline her from the industry but that the film body had done nothing about it. Innocent stepped down from his position as president in 2018 citing health reasons, and was replaced by superstar Mohanlal. He also served as a Member of Parliament on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) ticket from 2014 to 2019. Innocents comic timing was such that he never sounded rehearsed when reeling off his lines. The spontaneity that he brought to the scenes made them funnier because the comedy looked so natural. Take Ramji Rao Speaking (1989) where he plays Mannar Mathai, the owner of an almost defunct Urvasi Theatre. He asks his troubled to-be-tenant what his problem is. By way of introduction, the tenant (Sai Kumar) begins the conversation with, My name is Balakrishnan. Innocent sweetly asks him, Is that your problem? The line slips into the conversation with an ease that only Innocent could bring into his comedy. While his facial expressions could make even a grouch laugh, Innocent also used body language to great effect to generate humour. Watch him in Manichitrathazhu (1993) where hes advised not to speak till he completes a ritual. Unnithan struggles to express his emotions to those around him, only to be constantly misunderstood. Veteran actor KPAC Lalitha adds to the comedy, playing his hysterical wife. Later, its the wife who is asked to keep a vow of silence and tie a ritual thread around his waist, creeping out Unnithan and making him think she wants to have sex with him. In Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu (1988), Innocent plays a casteist and calculative father who forces his daughter (Urvashi) to break up with her lover (Sreenivasan) but not before he pockets the gold chain that the latter had gifted her. He brings the meanness of the personality alive with such flair, but still manages to be hilarious. Like this scene where hes recounting his visit to his daughters house to his wife but keeps swallowing the words as he washes his face and dries himself with a towel. The brilliance of Malayalam cinema of that era is that more or less the same cast of supporting actors would migrate from one film set to another, but the scenes they did together wouldnt look repetitive. Observe the difference in the dynamics between veteran actor Thilakan and Innocent in Kattukuthira (1990) and Kilukkam (1991). In both the films, Thilakan plays Innocents employer, but the comedy doesnt give one a sense of deja vu because the actors change everything about themselves in the respective roles  from the dialect to their body language. Watch how Innocent loses his temper at his stingy, unreasonable boss in Kattukuthira, only to realise what hes done and become apologetic. The way he rearranges his face within a span of seconds is incredible. In Kilukkam, Innocent plays a housekeeper who is forever subjected to barbs from his cranky and sarcastic employer, Justice Pillai (Thilakan). The former takes everything that Justice Pillai says literally, only to get on the latters nerves even more. Many of Innocents best films have been with Mohanlal. In the timeless comedy Nadodikkattu (1987), Innocent plays a Malayali in Madras to whom the desperate Dasan (Mohanlal) and Vijayan (Sreenivasan) cling in the hope of surviving the new city where they were cheated and unceremoniously dumped (their original plan was to go to Dubai illegally by boat). Balan wants to be kind but knows very well that the two fellows could end up being a burden on him. His no-nonsense dialogue delivery and rebuttals are so much fun to watch even now. Innocent was nothing short of a legend in the Malayalam film industry, having worked with stars across generations and leaving behind so many memorable films that its hard to capture his contribution to cinema in one article. Each fan is likely to have a different list of Innocent favourites. His passing is an end of an era moment for Malayalam cinema  but the Age of Innocent will continue to live on through his many, many evergreen films.
A $7.5 million lawsuit filed by Cantor Fitzgerald, a US-headquartered financial adviser and investment bank, against Mumbai-headquartered Yes Bank in the high court in London failed because the judge agreed with the latters interpretation of English grammar. The case hinged on whether the term Financing mentioned in the December 2019 agreement between Yes Bank and Cantor Fitzgerald related only to private placements, private offerings or could it also include Follow-on Public Offering (FPO). Cantor Fitzgerald claimed that the agreement included FPO which would make them eligible to claim their share from Yes Banks successful July 2020 FPO which raised $2 billion in total. Based on investments in the FPO from three entities, Tilden Park (US$ 300 million), Hinduja group (US$ 22.7 million) and Amansa (US$ 50 million), Cantor claimed 2 percent ($7.5 million) on the basis that these three were classified as potential investors in its agreement with Yes Bank. However, Justice Robert Bright in a judgment dated March 31, 2023, ruled that Yes Bank was correct in its surmise that the construction of the term Financing could not include the FPO, but was instead restricted to private offerings, terming it as not an abstruse rule or pattern known only to specialist grammarians. We shall come to the wordings later. Thats because the larger case was much more than understanding the placement of gerund and the use of verb participles! The four-day trial in March 2023, which was preceded by case management hearings, provided a window to the hectic parleys and efforts in late 2019 and early 2020 to infuse capital in the beleaguered Yes Bank. The relationship between Yes Bank and Cantor Fitzgerald had come to be because of the personal relationship between the formers CEO and managing director Ravneet Gill, and the latters President Anshu Jain. It must be noted that much of the initial discussions between the two entities were helmed by Gill and Jain, and conducted privately. Cantors assistance was formalised by virtue of an Engagement letter in December 2019, which was followed by a further letter in February 2020. Gill and Jain had once worked at Deutsche Bank, which had led Gill to turn to Jain in his quest to get investors. The brief was simple - Cantor Fitzgerald could be the source to get potential investors from the US, a huge market which could be tapped to benefit Yes Bank. It is clearly evident that Cantor made substantial efforts to get investors, because of Jains personal interest and commitment. Around 60 entities, including Hinduja Group, Tilden Park, Amansa, were spelt out as investors. Accordingly, on March 2-3, 2020, Tilden Park and Amansa, respectively, made non-binding offers to Yes Bank, but the amounts were not large. Gino Ramadi of Tilden Park and Ashwani Mathur of Cantor Fitzgerald were in India to work out the modalities, but on March 5, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened, issuing a moratorium. The RBIs intervention effectively led to the parting of ways between Cantor and Yes Bank. Besides, Gill and other board members at Yes Bank were replaced. Also read: SBI may look to cut Yes Bank stake once lock-in ends However, that was the COVID period and both Ramadi and Mathur spent time in India for a few more weeks. It was during this period that Mathur introduced Ramadi to key personnel in State Bank of India (SBI) which took a 49 percent stake in Yes Bank. The involvement of SBI changed the complexity of the situation and in July 2020 a successful FPO was concluded. Clearly, the FPO was not a possible solution initially, and became possible only because Cantors efforts to raise capital did not materialise before the intervention of RBI, and SBI taking up stake. Having failed to impress the court that the July 2020 FPO was within the scope of the Engagement letter, Cantor pleaded that Yes Bank did benefit from the introduction to potential investors it facilitated and hence it would be unfair to not be rewarded. There was no denying that Cantor had made substantial efforts in getting investors for Yes Bank. But that was clearly not enough to get its commission. Also read: August 2022: Veteran banker Anshu Jain passes away The judge acknowledged that it could be said that Cantors efforts did contribute to Tilden Park making a significant investment, but concluded that Cantors right to be paid was contingent on a single result. Besides, the Engagement letter specified that Cantor could get paid only for success. The contract between Cantor and Yes Bank was thus described on an all-or-nothing basis. Cantor was not being paid by the hour or by reference to the number of introductions made, the judgment notes, highlighting why it couldnt rule in Cantors favour. The only consolation for Cantor was that the court awarded payment of $21,195 interest on the $500,000 retainer fee which itself was only paid in September 2021. The non-refundable retainer was to be paid in December 2021 upon the execution of the Engagement letter. This brings us back to what was the formulation of Financing in the December 2019 Engagement letter that brought misery to Cantor and cheer to Yes Bank. The Engagement letter spelt out Financing as, the private placement, offering or other sale of equity instruments Cantor pleaded that the adjective private qualifies only placement (which immediately follows private), and not offering or other sale of equity instruments The judge used a telling example to uphold Yes Banks interpretation which was familiar to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Also read: Yes Bank shares down over 7% as RBI-mandated lock-in ends; analysts expect further distress
Disclaimer: This is a humour column and not intended to be taken seriously According to the new regulations of the Supari Exchange Board of India (SEBI) the top 100 listed companies require all rumours to be addressed  not only those raised by exchanges  within 24 hours of appearance. While companies now may need to chase and clarify rumours or stories in mainstream media, it won't be long before this becomes a need to follow up every WhatsApp forward by bored shared market uncles, every Instagram post by stoned financial influencers and every tweet by Anand Mahindra or Harsh Goenka (the two are interchangeable on Twitter). Imagine you having to issue clarificatory disclosures to HR every time you feel like killing your boss. And your boss has 24 hours to convince his superiors that the rumours are untrue so they dont start looking for his replacement. A lot of regulatory functions in the financial world rest on the principle If you are going to kill somebody, just make sure you file adequate disclosures. But now we have a new bunch of guidelines that are taking this to the next level. They say Even if you think of killing somebody, you must file a disclosure. Now the problem is, if you disclose publicly your thoughts of killing somebody, that person will get additional security and you will no longer be able to kill them. You will also cause tremendous losses to the people who had taken short positions in the target hoping that you would kill them. But the worst part about the new regulations is that now the regulator will say You said you will kill them but you havent. Were you just spreading rumours to drive up your stock price? Now, we will have to kill you. But do keep 'making in India'! Employees of Twitter would only be thanking their stars that the company is not incorporated in India, because they would need an entire department just to dispel the latest tweets by Elon Musk. Except if Elon Musk is rich enough to buy Twitter, he is rich enough to buy the Supari Exchange Board of India as well. But let me not add a knee to that discussion. The regulator naively presumes that the Indian population will not deliver to expectations when given such an incentive. So, the best way to cash in on your short positions in a company is to keep leaving rumours so that the senior management spends all its time addressing them instead of more pressing issues like Diversity & Inclusion. Imagine the promoter of a large bank having to spend half his time dispelling rumours that the CFO is an alien because he eats non-veg. The regulations kick in from October 1, so, at least, till then companies can continue to play Wake me up when September ends in the office cafeteria. But a true Indian jugaad innovator could even turn this to his advantage by constantly spreading rumours and then dispelling them. The typical Indian mindset will presume that if the rumour is being dispelled it is definitely true and pick up the shares. On that note, I heard this rumour from my domestic help that Funnycontrol is about to receive a fund infusion from abroad. So, please like, comment and share this news but wait for 30 minutes to invest after I dispel it.
Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of two women, the judiciary said Saturday, after a viral video appeared to show them being attacked by a man for not wearing the hijab. Video footage widely shared on social media in Iran appeared to show the two female customers, who were not wearing the mandatory hijab or headscarf, in a shop being assaulted by a man after a verbal altercation. The footage shows the man pouring a bucket of what appears to be yogurt on the two women's heads before he is confronted by the shopkeeper. Authorities issued an arrest warrant against the man "on charges of committing an insulting act and disturbance of order", the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported. But it added arrest warrants were also issued for the two women for "committing a forbidden act" by removing their headscarves. "Necessary notices have been issued to the owner of the shop where this happened in order to comply with legal and Sharia principles according to the regulations," it added. Remarkable video: An Islamist morality police in Mashhad, Iran pours yogurt over the heads of two women for not wearing hejab. In a previous era the shopkeeper may have been afraid to intervene against government thugs, but times have changed in Iran. pic.twitter.com/4PWu4btPhl  Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) March 31, 2023 It comes after the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in September sparked months of protests after the 22-year-old's arrest for an alleged breach of the strict dress code for women. Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested in connection with what Iranian officials described as "riots" fomented by Israel and the West. On Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated calls affirming that Iranian women should wear the hijab as a "religious necessity". "Hijab is a legal matter and adherence to it is obligatory," he said. In late March, the head of the judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said "removing hijab amounts to enmity towards values and people who commit such abnormality will be punished". Read more: Iran couple sentenced to 10 years in jail for viral video of dancing in public
Israel targeted outposts in Syria's Homs province in a raid early on April 2, the Syrian defence ministry said, while Western intelligence sources said the strikes hit a series of air bases in the central region of the country where Iranian personnel are based. The Israeli military declined to comment on the report of the latest strike in Syria, the third since March 30 and only a day after another attack on March 31 that killed an officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Guards said. Israel launched "an aerial aggression from the direction of northwest Beirut targeting some outposts in Homs city and its countryside at 00:35 a.m.", the Syrian defence ministry said in a statement on state media. Two Western intelligence sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter said the rocket strikes targeted the T4 air base located west of the ancient city of Palmyra, and al Dabaa airport near al Qusayr city near the Lebanese border, an area with members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Iranian military personnel alongside fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah are stationed at both airports and there is a strong presence of pro-Iranian militias in that area of Homs province, the sources said. Reuters is unable to independently verify these accounts. Syria denies Western and Israeli allegations that Iran, whose top military officials frequently visit Syria, has an extensive military presence in the country. A Syrian military source said on state media that the strikes caused some material damage with five military personnel injured. Israel has for years carried out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict that began in 2011 following a brutal crackdown of peaceful demonstrators. Israel has intensified strikes in the last year on Syrian airports and air bases to disrupt what it says is Iran's use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms to militias. Western intelligence sources have said Iran is increasingly using several civilian airports to deliver more arms, taking advantage of heavy air traffic as cargo planes offload relief aid following February's deadly earthquake.[L1N35U04W] Iran declined to comment on the Western and Israeli accusations.
Russia, whose leader is accused of war crimes, assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday causing fury in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy calling it an absurd and destructive move. The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Unfortunately, we  have some obviously absurd and destructive news," Zelenskiy said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a five-month-old boy on Friday. "And at the same time Russia is chairing the U.N. Security Council. It's hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions," he said. The presidency rotates alphabetically each month among the 15 members. Although it is largely procedural, the Kremlin and other Russian officials vowed to "exercise all its rights" in the role. The United States on Thursday urged Russia to "conduct itself professionally" when it assumes the role, saying there was no means to block Moscow from the post. In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC)  an international justice body not associated with the UN  issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia's presidency of the Security Council a "slap in the face to the international community." Zelenskiy said it was time for a general overhaul of global institutions, including the Security Council. "Reform is obviously necessary to prevent a terrorist state  and any other state that wants to be a terrorist  from destroying the peace," he said. Some 400 days into the war, which has killed thousands, destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of civilians to flight, Russia continues to take over parts of the country, pressing on with its assault in the east. Earlier, Zelenskiy advisor Andriy Yermak also hit out at Iran, which Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms. Tehran denies it is giving weapons to Russia. "It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state  Iran  another terror state  Russia  begins to preside over the U.N. Security Council," Yermak wrote on Twitter, referring to Iran's Islamic Republic Day holiday.
April 02, 2023

Ukraine Open Thread 2023-79

Only for news & views directly related to the Ukraine conflict.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Posted by b on April 2, 2023 at 13:24 UTC | Permalink

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Business News

MacPac Packing and Mail Depot is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Saturday.

The company has been servicing small businesses, oil and gas companies and the Midland communitys shipping needs. It has been listed as a top-100 company in the nation in terms of quantity shipped out of one location, according to a news release.

Business News

On March 28, Community National Bank and West Texas National Bank teamed up to build The Hillcrest Village Housing Development, a mixed-purpose, single-family housing development on 19.8 acres, according to a press release.

The development will provide affordable homes for sale to homebuyers meeting HUD income guidelines and homebuyers who are Midland Independent School District teachers, Midland Memorial Hospital Staff and City of Midland first-responders. Community National Bank and West Texas National Bank both donated $25,000 to the project.

Total contributions to this project total $1.9 million to help defray the costs of the infrastructure for the neighborhood.

The developments first home broke ground on March 29.

Business Calendar

Saturday and Sunday: Silver Spur Trade Show, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Horseshoe Pavilion.

Tuesday: Business After Hours, 5-6:30 p.m., Odessa Regional Medical Center.

April 6: 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year and Business Hall of Fame Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Odessa Marriott Hotel, Community Calendar Odessa, TX (odessachamber.com).

April 9: Thriving United Easter Brunch, 12:30 p.m., Horseshoe Pavilion.

April 12: Founders Blend Midland, 7:30 a.m.- 9 a.m., Second Story Coworking.

April 12: Business Roundtable: Supply Chain Risk in Todays Markets, 8:30-10 a.m., Midland Chamber Board Room, Business Roundtable: Supply Chain Risk in Today's Markets - Apr 12, 2023 (midlandtxchamber.com)

April 15: Stanton Trade Days, 9 a.m.6 p.m., Downtown Stanton.

April 16: Stanton Trade Days, Noon5 p.m., Downtown Stanton.

April 17: Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics Ribbon Cutting, 4-5 p.m., 5509 Andrews Hwy.

April 19: 2023 Midland Chamber State of Midland Luncheon, 11 a.m.1 p.m., Bush Convention Center.

April 20: Weigh to Success Informational Seminar, 4-5 p.m. Midland Memorial Hospital.

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Send your event to ben.shaffer@hearstnp.com to be featured on the business calendar.
Stepping up to address concerns about the shortage of skilled energy professionals, the Permian Strategic Partnership is launching an education initiative.

PSP and its partners have unveiled Energy Pathways, acomprehensive curriculum and resource program designed to equip high school and post-secondary students with the knowledge and skills required for successful careers across the industry.

Despite energy being the top industry sector in the Permian Basin, only a handful of schools in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico offer programs on the subject. To bridge the skills gap, PSP plans to invest $4.52 million over the next three years, expanding the program to all K-12 districts and colleges in the 22 counties that make up the Permian Basin.

Energy Pathways is a transformational initiative that will have a lasting impact on the Permian Basin's workforce and economic development, said PSP President and CEO Tracee Bentley in a press release. By investing in our students and equipping them with the tools necessary to succeed in the energy sector, we are building a sustainable future for our industry, region and country.

Developed in coordination with the Education Partnership of the Permian Basin, the Southern Regional Education Board, PetroSkills, Pathful and the Education Strategy Group, Energy Pathways offers a range of subjects, including the fundamentals of energy, oil and gas production, integrated systems applications, and practicums that provide hands-on experience. By building a workforce pipeline, this program aims to improve student achievement, generate interest in the energy industry, and enhance the economic vitality of the Permian Basin.

Participating schools and institutions will receive academic support such as curriculum and teaching resources, blended learning opportunities and industry connections for equipment training and work-based learning. Furthermore, the program will include marketing outreach to students and their parents.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  An international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of the man whose country invaded Ukraine facing justice, but it complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks.

Both justice and peace appear to be only remote possibilities today, and the conflicting relationship between the two is a quandary at the heart of a March 17 decision by the International Criminal Court to seek the Russian leader's arrest.

Judges in The Hague found reasonable grounds to believe that Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights were responsible for war crimes, specifically the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

As unlikely as Putin sitting in a Hague courtroom seems now, other leaders have faced justice in international courts.

Former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a driving force behind the Balkan wars of the 1990s, went on trial for war crimes, including genocide, at a United Nations tribunal in The Hague after he lost power. He died in his cell in 2006 before a verdict could be reached.

Serbia, which wants European Union membership but has maintained close ties to Russia, is one of the countries that has criticized the ICC's action. The warrants will have bad political consequences and create a great reluctance to talk about peace (and) about truce in Ukraine, populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Others see consequences for Putin, and for anyone judged guilty of war crimes, as the primary desired outcome of international action.

There will be no escape for the perpetrator and his henchmen," European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen said Friday in a speech to mark the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the Ukraine town that saw some of the worst atrocities in the war. War criminals will be held accountable for their deeds.

Hungary did not join the other 26 EU members in signing a resolution in support of the ICC warrant for Putin. The government's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said Hungarian authorities would not arrest Putin if he were to enter the country..

He called the warrants not the most fortunate because they lead toward escalation and not toward peace.

Putin appears to have a strong grip on power, and some analysts suspect the the warrant hanging over him could provide an incentive to prolong the fighting.

The arrest warrant for Putin might undermine efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine, Daniel Krcmaric, an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, said in emailed comments to The Associated Press.

One potential way of easing the way to peace talks could be for the United Nations Security Council to call on the International Criminal Court to suspend the Ukraine investigation for a year, which is allowed under Article 16 of the Rome Statute treaty that created the court.

But that appears unlikely, said Krcmaric, whose book The Justice Dilemma, deals with the tension between seeking justice and pursuing a negotiated end to conflicts.

The Western democracies would have to worry about public opinion costs if they made the morally questionable decision to trade justice for peace in such an explicit fashion, he said, adding that Ukraine also is unlikely to support such a move.

Russia immediately rejected the warrants. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow doesnt recognize the ICC and considers its decisions legally void. And Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias Security Council, which is chaired by Putin, suggested the ICC headquarters on the Netherlands' coastline could become a target for a Russian missile strike.

Alexander Baunov, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment, observed in a commentary that the arrest warrant for Putin amounted to an invitation to the Russian elite to abandon Putin that could erode his support.

While welcoming the warrants for Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights, rights groups also urged the international community not to forget the pursuit of justice in other conflicts.

The ICC warrant for Putin reflects an evolving and multifaceted justice effort that is needed elsewhere in the world, Human Rights Watch associate international justice director Balkees Jarrah said in a statement. Similar justice initiatives are needed elsewhere to ensure that the rights of victims globally  whether in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, or Palestine  are respected.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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Before there was Jimmy Hoffa, before there was even Amelia Earhart, another VIP vanished without a trace. He was a household name to your grandparents, and his disappearance remains New York Citys oldest unsolved missing persons case.

On the surface, Judge Joseph Crater looked like a regular guy. A biographer described him as four personalities rolled into one: A jurist, a professor, a Tammany Hall stalwart, and a family man. He could have added a fifth: A party boy known as Good Time Joe who secretly had a thing for booze (during Prohibition, no less) and showgirls.

New York Gov. Franklin Roosevelt appointed Crater to the state Supreme Court in April 1930. He was 41, married, and, apart from being an unusually spiffy dresser, personified a dignified judge.

Fast-forward to that summer. Crater and his wife, Stella, were vacationing in Maine. He got a phone call that troubled him. Crater left on Aug. 3, saying he had to return to New York to straighten those people out. He promised to be back by Stellas birthday on Aug. 9. He was upbeat and behaving normally when he boarded a train that night.

Arriving in the Big Apple the next morning, Crater went to his Fifth Avenue apartment, where he told the maid to take the next few days off. He saw a show that night and lunched with two fellow judges the next day.

Which brings us to Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Crater went to his courthouse office and pawed through records. He asked an assistant to cash two checks for him (from closed stock accounts, he said) totaling more than $5,100 (almost $91,000 today). At noon he headed home with the cash and several files tucked inside two locked briefcases.

That evening, Good Time Joe was ready for a night on the town. A lawyer friend and Craters secret girlfriend, showgirl Sally Lou Ritz, joined him at a steakhouse. Nothing seemed amiss. After dinner, Judge Crater crawled into a taxi around 9:30.

He waved goodbye  and was never seen again.

He had reserved a single ticket for that nights late performance of a new show called Dancing Partner. Someone picked it up, but nobody recalled seeing Crater at the theater.

Back in Maine, Aug. 9 came and went. Stella naturally grew increasingly worried. She called friends and colleagues in the city. No, they hadnt seen the judge for days. Craters seat was empty when the state Supreme Court reconvened on Aug. 28.

Stella finally called the New York Police Department on Sept. 3. Missing Persons #13595 was opened, the story became front-page news from coast to coast, and the country went Crater Crazy.

What was called the most extensive manhunt since the search for John Wilkes Booth was launched. A $5,000 reward was offered. Cops soon had their hands full, fielding more than 16,000 tips. Crater was spotted panning for gold in California, detained in a Missouri mental hospital, herding sheep out West, shooting dice in Atlanta, and (my favorite) running a bingo hall in North Africa.

Police detectives got busy, and what they turned up astonished even jaded New Yorkers.

A few weeks after his April appointment to the bench, Crater had withdrawn $20,000 from his bank account (worth $300,000 today). But investigators never learned where that money went.

Then there were the mistresses. Note the plural. Most intriguing of all was the expensive prostitute Vivian Gordon. New Yorks richest businessmen were among her clients.

So, what happened to his honor? Conspiracy theorists offered explanations by the bushel:

 Crater had paid crooked Tammany Hall for his seat on the bench. When they demanded more money, Crater refused and was eliminated.

 Crater had amnesia.

 Franklin Roosevelt, already eyeing a White House run in 1932, wanted him out of the picture.

 Crater ran off to Canada (or Europe, or South America, or any exotic locale of your choice) with yet another hush-hush girlfriend.

 And the perennial answer to almost every unsolved crime in Gotham, that gangsters rubbed him out.

The New York City Police Department officially closed the Crater case in 1979.

For years, comics got laughs by saying, Judge Crater, call your office! (When one joke bombed particularly badly, Groucho Marx recovered by saying, Im going outside to look for Judge Crater.) For decades pulling a Crater described someone who disappeared.

Stella fell on hard times. Without the judges salary, she was forced out of their Fifth Avenue apartment. When she asked a court to declare Crater dead in 1937, she lived on $12 a week as a phone operator. She married an electrical contractor in 1938 and finally got the $20,561 life insurance payout ($450,000 today) the next year. She and Husband No. 2 split in 1950.

For the rest of her life, Stella went to a small Greenwich Village bar every Aug. 6, ordered two drinks, lifted one, and whispered, Good luck, Joe, wherever you are.
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Laundry detergent is looking a little different these days. A growing number of companies are making bulky plastic jugs smaller and concentrating the detergent or soap.

Without all that water, less fossil fuels are required for transport, because the products are lighter and more can be shipped in a single trip. New detergent formulas are changing to become ultra-concentrated liquids or even solid sheets roughly the size of an iPhone.

Laundry detergent can contain up to 90% water, said Lisa Karandat, co-founder of Good JuJu, a company that sells sustainable laundry sheets and solid shampoo and conditioner bars, among other things. Those big heavy jugs require a lot of space to truck around the country.

In addition to lower carbon emissions from diesel-burning delivery trucks, some companies are responding to public demand to minimize plastic pollution.

If more laundry soap were sold in concentrated bottles, it would sharply cut waste without taking away customer benefits, said John Moorhead, chief marketing officer for Seventh Generation, a company that sells non-toxic disinfectants, soap, and ultra-concentrated laundry detergent.

Reducing plastic pollution is essential to lowering carbon emissions, as nearly all plastics are made from fossil fuels.

In 2022, Seventh Generation launched a digital campaign that featured larger-than-life laundry jugs in inconvenient locations, such as the middle of shopping aisles, to highlight the products' inconvenience and plastic use. The company also pays influencers on Instagram to advertises its ultra-concentrated detergent, dish washing liquid, and disinfectants.

But when products get smaller and more concentrated, how do you know it isn't just  shrinkflation, an ongoing trend where companies are reducing the size of their product, but keeping the price the same?

Concentration is distinctly different from down-ouncing, where material reductions can result in less for the consumer, said Moorhead, who claimed his company's concentrated solutions cost less per wash than the traditional product.

While the absence of water certainly makes a concentrated strip or detergent lighter, which in turn reduces carbon dioxide emissions, determining exactly how much is challenging.

The business group the Consumer Goods Forum said Ariel, a major detergent brand, reduced energy use by 28% in Europe when it went to concentrate. A handful of companies advertise reduced environmental impact, but pressure-testing their numbers is tough. P&G, which makes popular laundry brands Tide and Gain, did not respond to requests for comment on climate benefits of concentrate or sheets, nor did consumer products giant Unilever.

Sometimes the concentrated, lower-carbon products can be more expensive, because manufacturers are also trying to source ingredients ethically or use natural ingredients.

Good JuJu laundry strips, for example, use plant enzymes that can be expensive to test and bring to market.

These companies pay their employees a living wage and use high quality ingredients, explained Emily Rodia, owner of Good Buy Supply, a sustainable general store in Philadelphia.

Hazel Thayer, an environmental activist on TikTok, hopes any price differential will change as "they can scale up and become cost-competitive with the super-plasticky brands.

Interest is increasing.

The increased interest in concentrated and liquid-free products is not surprising, given the innovations that continue to evolve within the cleaning products industry, said Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of communications, outreach, and membership at the American Cleaning Institute, a trade group for cleaning products brands.

Seventh Generation recently committed to phasing out large-format liquid laundry bottles to reduce plastic waste and will no longer sell laundry products that are 90 oz and above by 2030.

Some companies are actively encouraging shoppers to switch away from the detergent theyve been using for years to the concentrated alternative.

Rodia said in her store she's seen that some consumers find the switch intimidating. Becoming an eco-conscious shopper, she said, can be a journey.

We have a range of beginner products and then a lot of long-term options. Our goal is to have lots of people making small changes and not perfection, she said.

Rodia said people of all ages are seeking concentrated detergents and other eco-friendly products.

A surprising number of our shoppers are in their 60s and up. They are the generation that remembers a time before plastics and are excited that this way of living is having a resurgence, Rodia said.

Gen Z is currently learning about climate change and watching it worsen in real time, she said.

While Gen Z consumers are likely to be enthusiastic about sustainability and eco-conscious shopping, many are also aware that some companies don't live up to their sustainability claims. Doing that knowingly is greenwashing.

Greenwashing is rampant," said Thayer. "Transparency is key.
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The following are being sought on arrest warrants, according to various sheriffs departments. The addresses listed are the last known addresses provided by the warrants and may be outdated.

 Gordon B. Walker, 49, of 1042 E. Morton Ave., No. 29, is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on two counts of driving under the influence, driving while license is revoked and driving an uninsured motor vehicle.

He is a white male standing 5 foot 7 and weighing 195 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes.

 Jonathan L. Well, 37, of 1921 N. Illinois Route 78 is being sought on a warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court on charges of illegal possession of a firearm and two counts of driving while license is suspended. He also has an unspecified warrant in Montgomery County, according to authorities.

He is a white male standing 6 foot 6 and weighing 220 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes.
Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Jamie N. Besterfeldt, 40, of 120 E. Vandalia Road was arrested at 10:31 p.m. Saturday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and cited on a charge of operating an uninsured motor vehicle after a traffic stop at East College Avenue and South Johnson Street.

 Demond L. Harris, 42, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after complaints about loud music in the 600 block of North Prairie Street at 4:25 a.m. Sunday.

 Kenya L. Johnson, 27, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of disorderly conduct after a complaint about loud music in the 100 block of Diamond Court at 2:25 a.m. Sunday.

 Johnnie R. Moore, 59, and Rita A. Moore, 48, both of 615 W. Lafayette Ave., were arrested at 5:29 p.m. Saturday on retail theft charges after police said they tried to take merchandise from Walmart, 1941 W. Morton Ave., without paying.

 Kyle T. Garrels, 44, of 10022 Gilbreath Road, Chatham, was arrested at 2:26 a.m. Saturday at Hardin Avenue and Routt Street on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while license is revoked.

 Cody R. Orr, 23, of 1027 S. Clay Ave. was arrested at 12:26 a.m. Saturday on an aggravated battery charge after being accused of punching someone in the face at Emporium, 214 E. State St.

ACCIDENTS

 A 16-year-old girl was cited on a charge of failing to yield after the car she was driving and one being driven by a 17-year-old girl collided at 2:23 p.m. Friday at West Walnut and North Fayette streets.

THEFTS, BURGLARIES

 Three people broke into a vacant apartment in the 200 block of South West Street about 2:26 a.m. Saturday, damaging a door in the process.

 A bicycle was stolen from a rack in the 800 block of Hoagland Boulevard between 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.

OTHER REPORTS

 Police are investigating a fight involving multiple people in the 200 block of East State Street about 12:40 a.m. Sunday.

 Police were called about a person lying in a yard in the 400 block of Gladstone Road about 9 p.m. Saturday. The person was determined to be intoxicated and was helped home by friends.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will not support the use of state tax dollars to assist financially ailing Birmingham-Southern College, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The state has no plans to use the taxpayers public funds to bail out a private college, spokeswoman Gina Maiola said in a statement to al.com

The private liberal arts college in Birmingham is seeking state financial help after years of deficits and declining enrollment.

The Rev. Keith Thompson, chairman of the Birmingham-Southern Board of Trustees, wrote a letter to college supporters encouraged alumni to continue pushing for state support.

The BSC Board of Trustees faces making history-changing decisions that will impact the lives of so many people. One of our biggest challenges is the need to make a decision soon versus the timing of the Montgomery budget process. Knowing whether BSC will receive one-time bridge funding from the state is vital information we need to make the best decision, Thompson wrote.

The colleges board is scheduled to meet April 5. Alabama lawmakers return from spring break next week to work on state budgets for the fiscal year that begins in October, as well as supplemental appropriations for this year.

Southern University, which was founded in 1856 in Greensboro, Alabama, merged with Birmingham College in 1918 to become Birmingham-Southern, with a campus west of downtown Birmingham.

Small private colleges nationwide are struggling with a decreasing number of traditional college-aged students and competition from larger, richer institutions. Judson College, a womens college, shuttered its campus in Marion in 2021.
Poland marches defend John Paul II from abuse cover-up claim View Photo

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Thousands of Poles joined marches Sunday in defense of the late pope, St. John Paul II, following a TV documentary that alleged he covered up child sex abuse involving clergy in his native Poland before his election as pontiff.

The marches took place in Warsaw and other cities on the 18th anniversary of John Pauls death. The largest, held in Warsaw, was organized by an anti-abortion group under the slogan: You awakened us, we will defend you.

Participants prayed before marching behind relics of John Paul in the capital, led by a popemobile John Paul had used on his visits to Poland. Some marchers carried photos of John Paul. Since the anniversary fell on Palm Sunday, they also carried pussy willows and other tree branches, which is a Roman Catholic tradition on the Sunday before Easter.

The investigative documentary was aired last month by TVN, an independent broadcaster often critical of Polands conservative government. It coincided with the publication of a book called Maxima Culpa by a Dutch journalist, Ekke Overbeek, alleging that John Paul II helped cover up cases of clerical abuse before becoming pope.

Many Polish Catholics see both investigations as an attack on the legacy of a man revered in Poland as one of the greatest figures in the nations history and also venerated as a saint by Catholics worldwide thanks to the Vaticans fast-track canonization after his 2005 death.

The issue has taken on political dimensions in Poland, particularly since the country is due to have a parliamentary election in the fall.

The government has called the documentary an attack on the nations identity and ideals by the liberal political opposition. That is a view that resonates in a country where a large majority still consider John Paul a moral authority, and the ruling Law and Justice party as gotten an apparent boost as its leaders campaign.

Several top officials joined the marches, including the defense minister and the head of the constitutional court, according to commercial broadcaster Polsat News.

Opinion surveys show the party is the most popular one in the country, with its numbers as high as when Law and Justice first gained the power to run the government eight years ago.

In Warsaw, some marchers carried Polish national flags and the flag of Solidarity, the trade union and freedom movement whose creation was inspired by John Paul after he was elected pope in 1978 and which played a crucial role in toppling communism across Eastern Europe a decade later.

A couple who joined the march, Eleonora and Stanislaw Sochal, said they were furious at TVN for producing a documentary they regard as defamatory to the late pontiff.

They remembered communism as a dark time when the nation was controlled by the Soviet Union and described John Paul as the person who inspired the resistance that led ultimately to the country regaining its sovereignty and freedom.

TVN slanders our authorities. It slanders John Paul and it slanders all of our values, Eleonora Sochal, 76, said.

Amid the emotional debate about John Pauls legacy, a statue of the late pontiff was vandalized overnight in the central city of Lodz. Someone covered the monument in red and yellow paint and the words Maxima Culpa.

Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who visited the sculpture on Sunday morning, called the vandalism a despicable act and a well-organized element of hybrid warfare.

Its about dividing society along these most fundamental lines of our identity, Rau said.

He did not suggest who the perpetrator might be, but when Polish authorities speak about hybrid warfare, they usually are referring to alleged Russian efforts to sow discord and distrust in Poland.

Polish authorities also marked the anniversary by offering passengers on some state railway rides free cream-filled pastries that are now famous because John Paul loved to eat them. The freebies inspired mockery and criticism on social media, with some saying the state should not be spending taxpayer money to hand out papal pastries.

By VANESSA GERA

Associated Press
Rebounding Pope Francis marks Palm Sunday in Vatican square View Photo

VATICAN CITY (AP)  Bundled in a long, white coat and battling a hoarse voice, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peters Square before tens of thousands of faithful on Palm Sunday, a day after he left a Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis.

The sun broke through the clouds during the Mass, one of the longest services on the Churchs calendar, as Francis, red vestments placed over his coat, sat in a chair under a canopy erected in the square.

He took his place there after standing and clutching a braided palm branch in a popemobile that drove at the tail end of a long, solemn procession of cardinals, other prelates and rank-and-file Catholics. Participants carried palm fronds or olive tree branches.

Francis, 86, received antibiotics administered intravenously during his three-day stay. He last previous appearance in St. Peters Square saw him conduct his his regular Wednesday public audience. He was taken to Romes Gemelli Polyclinic that same day after feeling ill.

His voice sounded strong as he opened the Mass, but quickly turned strained. Despite the hoarseness, Francis read a 15-minute-long homily, occasionally adding off-the-cuff remarks for emphasis or gesturing with a hand.

The homily focused on moments when people feel extreme pain, love that fails, or is rejected or betrayed. Francis cited children who are rejected or aborted, as well as broken marriages, forms of social exclusion, injustice and oppression, (and) the solitude of sickness.

Deviating from his prepared speech, Francis spoke about a homeless German man who recently died, alone, abandoned, under the colonnade circling St. Peters Square, where homeless persons often sleep.

I, too, need Jesus to caress me and be near to me, Francis said.

Concern over abandonment threaded through his homily. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers; prisoners are disowned, people written off as problems, Francis said.

The pope also referred to young people who feel a great emptiness inside without anyone really listening to their cry of pain, and who find no other path but that of suicide.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday.

At the end of Mass, Francis greeted the Romans, tourists and pilgrims who had flocked to the square, noting that many in the crowd of 60,000 had come from afar.

I thank you for your participation and prayers, that in the last days you intensified, the pontiff said, a reference to the many wishes he received for a quick recovery during his hospitalization. Thanks!

Francis appearance on Sunday opened a heavy schedule of Holy Week appointments, including a Holy Thursday Mass at a juvenile prison in Rome. Holy Week culminates on April 9 with Easter Sunday Mass, which recalls the Christian belief in Jesus resurrection.

Francis said Holy Week will see more intense prayer for the martyred Ukrainian people. In a reference Russias war in Ukraine, he noted that the olive branches Catholics wave on Palm Sunday are symbols of Jesus peace.

Then, the cardinals greeted Francis greeted one by one, some shaking his hand or chatting briefly with him as he sat in the wheelchair he uses to cope with a chronic knee problem. At least one prelate gave him a kiss on each cheek.

Finally, Francis went back aboard the open-topped popemobile to loop around and through the square, as he smiled and waved to the faithful, many of whom held aloft national flags. At one point during the nearly 20-minute jaunt over the cobblestones, he was driven down a stretch of the boulevard lined with cafes and souvenir shops that leads to St. Peters Square.

By FRANCES DEMILIO

Associated Press
Taiwans president wraps up Guatemala visit, heads to Belize View Photo

GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Saturday toured a hospital built with support from Taipei, reaffirming their close diplomatic ties as the self-governing island seeks to strengthen relations with its remaining allies in Central America.

It was the final day of Tsais three-day visit to Guatemala and came shortly after Honduras announced it would break ties with Taiwan and switch its support to China, joining Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Belize  the next stop on Tsais trip  is the only other Central American country to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Giammattei once again thanked Taiwans leader for her governments economic support and said Guatemalas friendship with Taiwan was unchangeable.

Sundays visit came a day after the leaders toured the Guatemalan archaeological site of Tikal, one of the most important urban centers of the Mayan civilization.

The hospital in Chimaltengo department built with a donation from Taiwan will serve patients from four departments in Guatemala and cost an estimated $22 million to build. It opened in February.

Tsai said she was pleased with the construction of the hospital, which, according to her, will be able to provide better medical care and service.

Construction of the hospital has brought controversy. Two weeks ago, the attorney general announced an investigation into allegations of a $10 million fraud in the purchase of equipment for the hospital. Prosecutors allege former vice minister of health, Gerardo Hernandez, authorized the purchase of used equipment and material. A company and the director of the hospital were allegedly in on the scheme.

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.

Taiwan now has 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.
Chris Stokes

Musical hits by world renown Mexican pop-rock band Mana rained down on the AT&T Center and thousands of San Antonio fans on Saturday, April 1.

With over 40 million records sold worldwide, the Latin contingent is considered by many as one of the best-selling Latin American bands of all time. Fans inside the AT&T Center were treated to mega hits such as Oye Mi Amor, Rayando El Sol and other songs from their most recent album Cama Incendiada.
Update: 11:30 a.m., April 3: The San Antonio Police Department has released the identity of the driver who crashed into the back of a police officer's vehicle over the weekend.

Jaime Deluna, 40, was arrested early Sunday morning, April 2, for intoxication assault and intoxication assault of a peace officer, according to records with both the Bexar County Jail and the SAPD. His bond is set at $175,000.

The incident on Sunday left Deluna, the passenger in his vehicle, and a San Antonio police officer hospitalized with injuries from the collision.

The original story as follows:

A San Antonio police officer and two other individuals were hospitalized on the city's Northeast side after a wrong-way driver crashed into the officer's vehicle early Sunday morning, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

The officer involved incident happened on the 4900 block of Eisenhauer Road near Fratt Road around 12:55 a.m., according to police reports.

The suspect, a 40-year-old man, was traveling at a high rate of speed according to witnesses before striking the police unit from behind. Officers were immediately called to the scene after the incident and assisted both the injured officer and the suspect in the crash, according to the SAPD. Both individuals were transported to the local hospital by the San Antonio Fire Department and EMS.

Ken Branca

According to previous reports by the department, the officer was stationary in his police unit facing a red light before the crash.

A passenger in the man's vehicle was also transported to the local hospital after sustaining serious injuries after the crash, authorities added. After being treated at the hospital, the 40-year-old man was taken to the San Antonio Municipal Court where he was booked with an intoxication assault charge.

This is still an active and ongoing investigation and will be updated as more information is made available. The San Antonio Police Department was contacted for comment regarding both the crash and the wrong-way driver.
japatino/Getty Images

After experiencing a mild cold front coupled with isolated showers and storms to start the week, San Antonio and Hill Country residents are going to want to keep that umbrella handy this Sunday, April 2.

The National Weather Service is predicting isolated severe thunderstorms across the northern Hill Country and northern I-35 corridor late this afternoon and evening, according the organizations latest report.
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Its a major victory. More details on their historic contract:https://t.co/dIsXC4PFNR  More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) March 31, 2023

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Antidote du jour (via):

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In some of the latest news on the student loan debt crisis, the pause in federal student loan payments that has been in effect since March 2020 may soon come to an end, and Senator Elizabeth Warren is out with another one of her famous plans that would attempt to make the peonage a bit more tolerable. Meanwhile, US student loan debt totals roughly $1.76 trillion.

The numbers and half-measures are familiar enough by now, but today I wanted to look at the circular role that nonprofits play in pushing high school students towards loans.

The gist is that lenders and loan guarantors made massive profits. Some lenders and guarantors actually became nonprofits themselves due to new federal rules under the Obama administration. Either way, the money made off the backs of students, goes to a wide variety of nonprofits focused on college access, usually with an emphasis on racial justice and equity. The national non-profit rains money down onto a web of smaller, local non-profits all pushing higher education and making sure potential students know about their financial options.

Many of these organizations offer scholarships, but they are often nowhere close to enough to cover the annual cost, leaving students reliant on lenders. Not to mention, universities are increasingly shifting costs that used to be covered by tuition to the fees category, where they can no longer be covered by scholarship money. Theres also the scholarship reduction trick.

To be clear, Im not arguing that anyone should not have access to higher education (everyone would have access if it was free), but the likes of Navient using it to launder its reputation with stuff like this?

With Navients support, Boys & Girls Clubs of America launched a new digital program to help young people and their families learn about financial aid and how to pay for college. The data-driven curriculum includes activities for teens to learn about college costs, understand financial aid, complete the FAFSA, learn how to find scholarships and understand student loans. The program also helps Club members identify trusted adults who can guide them through their journey, including discussion guides and parent handouts. The digital curriculum, Diplomas to Degrees, can be accessed through Boys & Girls Clubs of Americas online platform, MyFuture.

One of many major hurdles to doing anything about a nation of student debtors is the entrenched PMC at the nonprofits. According to the Urban Institute, there were 2,161 higher education public charities as of 2016, the most recent year it had data available.

Lets take the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) as a starting point.

What is it?

From its about page:

[NCAN] is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association with nearly 600 member organizations across the U.S. that help students prepare for, apply to, and succeed in college. NCAN member organizations touch the lives of more than 2 million students and families each year. They span the education, nonprofit, government, and civic sectors. NCAN believes everyone  regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status  should have the opportunity to complete affordable, high-quality education after high school.

Where does it get its money?

On its supporters page NCAN says the foundations and companies have provided significant assistance to NCAN since its founding in 1995 include:

ALL Student Loan, a nonprofit student lender dedicated to increasing access to education by offering innovative, affordable and seamless student loan products to students and their parents. [1]

American Student Assistance, which is the business name for the Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit student loan collection agency.

Ascendium Education Group, one of the nations largest student loan servicers, as well as the designated student loan guarantor for Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Consumer Bankers Association. Nearly 70% of private student loans are made by six lenders, five of which are CBA Members

ECMC Foundation, which is part of the ECMC Group that also performs loan collection for federal student loans that are in default or bankruptcy.

Helios Education Foundation. The corporate conversion of Southwest Student Services Corporation created Helios in 2004 with an endowment in excess of $500 million dollars.

Nelnet, the conglomerate that deals in the administration and repayment of student loans and education financial services.

Strada Education Network, formerly USA Funds, which was at one point the largest guarantor of federal student loans.

XAP Corp., which provides state-level sponsors, school districts and individual schools with online solutions for students and adults to explore careers and discover, plan for, and apply to colleges and universities.

This brief list is just a fraction of NCANs partners. If their mission was truly access and innovation, youd think with so many well-heeled friends they might consider opening a few free universities.

But instead all that money and influence goes to coming up with stuff like this:

Meanwhile, over the past decade the $130 billion private student loan market has grown more than 70 percent.

According to NCANs form 990 return of organization exempt from income tax income, most of its disbursements go to local and state non profits lower on the food chain that reflect NCANs top priorities, which are:

Simplifying the FAFSA

Increasing the PELL Grant so it covers 50 percent of college

Making sure work study grants go to more schools with a higher proportion of low-income students

Allowing DACA recipients to be eligible for federal financial aid

Ensuring that student loan counseling is consumer-tested with students and balances an informative process with one that does not create barriers to aid.

Standardizing financial aid award letters

Allowing students who would otherwise be eligible for SNAP to receive these benefits by fulfilling the 20-hour work requirement with a combination of work and credit hours.

One could argue these priorities are simply to ensure that student debt keeps piling up, which could aid NCANs benefactors, which keeps the money flowing into the higher ed nonprofit complex.

Again private loans are on the rise since half measures like those proposed by NCAN only go so far when faced with the following:

The cost of attending college has been rising steeply, with the annual price tag of a public college, including room and board, at more than $18,000 and more than $47,000 for a private one. There are limits to how much students can take out in federal loans  the most an undergraduate can borrow in a year is $12,500  and so many turn to private financing to finish covering their bill.

How about the staff of the National College Attainment Network?

One of the senior managers of policy and advocacy, previously served as policy associate for AccessLex Institute. What is the AccessLex Institute? It provides resources to law schools and scholars by recognizing student barriers and offering services that help improve legal education access. More from Insight to Diversity:

AccessLex formerly operated as a student loan lender exclusively for law students and was previously named AccessGroup. In 2013, the federal government cut out middleman loan providers and made student loans accessible directly from the U.S. Treasury. This move caused AccessGroup to be pushed out of the student lending market. The CEO and board of directors then decided to rename and refocus the organization on reforming legal education. Our funding comes from lawyers paying their loans back to us, says Aaron Taylor, executive director of CLEE. We use that money to make it better for the next generation of law schools and lawyers.

Before that, AlQaisi was at the Lumina Foundation, another nonprofit created as a conversion foundation using proceeds from the sale of assets of the USA Group, a student loan administrator.

Another senior director of policy and advocacy, previously worked as senior director at the Institute for College Access & Success, which advocate[s] for more accessible and effective Pell Grants and Cal Grants, more affordable student loans, greater and more equitable state funding, and better information to help students make good financial decisions.

Board members have missions to help the LatinX community, theres the chair for the California Student Aid Commission, the executive director for the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, a former senior VP of Team Member Philanthropy at Wells Fargo, the head of UBS Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, Americas, etc.

You get the drift. Nearly all the staff and board hail from the chummy, buzzword world of innovation, equity, and access, which is almost always backed by big money made off the backs of the people they are supposedly trying to help.

Weve long been told a college education is the path to a better life, but that message has crumbled. Among bachelors degree holders with debt, 72 percent said the costs of their education were greater than the benefits.

And now universities are increasingly shifting institutional aid to wealthier families they know can pay at least a part of the tuition. Overall, a historic decline is taking place  one that began in the fall of 2020. Since then, more than 1 million fewer students enrolled in college than normal over such a time period.

Was it more the pandemic? Despite repeated declarations that the pandemic is officially over, enrollment is not rebounding. Is it the labor shortage and offer of better-paying jobs that dont require a degree? Or is it a decline that will continue as the American elites have finally made higher education so unattractive, save for the wealthy?

NOTES

[1] Of course many of the nonprofit student loan guarantors donating to the nonprofit NCAN are just rebrands of formerly private student loan companies or guarantors of government backed private lenders. Thats because when the Obama administration eliminated government-backed private lending (FFEL) the business of insuring bank loans was destined to dry up, and guarantors are required to be either nonprofits or state-run.

Although the federal government ended the FFEL program, companies still had plenty of time to make a fortune beforehand, and the well wont run dry for a while. There are still about 9.2 million borrowers with outstanding FFELP loans totaling $208 billion, as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to the Education Department. That could take another few decades for people to pay off.

Heres the system our elite great minds were able to come up with for nonprofit guarantors rather than free college:

Meanwhile Education Department encouraged guarantors to propose new services that build on their experience backing loans. And so now their mission mostly reflects that of NCAN. The now-nonprofits continue to earn revenue off the FFELP loans with fees for collection and account maintenance.

After making fortunes servicing government-backed private lending, these companies suddenly began to care for students and higher education once converting to nonprofits that help students explore their financial options. Who knows, maybe theyll convert back to for-profit entities if/once there are enough private loans outstanding again.

Way back in 2014 Inside Higher Ed wrote about guarantors reinventing themselves:
(Natural News) Nine service members were killed after two HH60 Black Hawk helicopters collided mid-air during a deadly training session near the Fort Campbell military base in Trigg County, Kentucky. The helicopters crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 29.

Military officials said the 101st Airborne Division choppers were flying in a multi-ship formation under night vision goggles when the crash occurred. One witness, who lives about a half mile from the crash site, said they heard a pop and two booms. Trigg County Jailer James Hughes also lives about a half mile away and heard what he believed to be a collision.

Another onlooker, South Cadiz resident Nick Tomaszewski, told NBC affiliate KYTV that he often observes helicopters from Fort Campbell pass overhead, but he said the two that flew by prior to the crash seemed out of the ordinary.

Its nothing out of the norm to see helicopters, we see them all the time, but tonight there were two that were coming kind of straight up over our house, headed straight northbound, he said. I told my wife, wow, those look really close tonight for whatever reason. About a minute later, they were coming across and there was a large explosion in the sky  almost look like a firework went off. And then the entire tree line lit up.

A military investigation is underway and the identities of the fatalities have not been released, but officials have started the process of notifying the victims families.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear tweeted late Wednesday that he had been notified about the crash and fatalities were expected. At the press conference the next day, he said state resources would be made available to the families of the crash victims.

Today is a tough and tragic day for Kentucky, Beshear said. We are blessed to live in the freest country in the history of the planet, but we must remember that freedom relies on those who are willing to serve and some of which make the ultimate sacrifice.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said: I am devastated to learn about the Army helicopter accident over Kentucky involving our brave 101st Airborne. First responders raced to the scene after the helicopters crashed to the ground.

Black Hawk HH60s are twin-engine crafts and versatile combat service helicopters used to conduct medical evacuations, air assault missions as well as special operations, according to the Army. An HH60G Pave Hawk helicopter can reach a maximum speed of 223 miles per hour and can carry between eight to 12 troops.

Two National Guard pilots died in a previous Black Hawk helicopter crash

This is not the first Black Hawk incident that took the lives of servicemen this year. In February, two experienced Tennessee National Guard pilots died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed along an Alabama highway.

The casualties were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Daniel Wadham of Joelton, Tennessee, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Danny Randolph of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Both were assigned to A Company, 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion, from Nashvilles Berry Field Air National Guard Base.

Wadham had 15 years of military service and Randolph had 13 years of military service, officials said. According to reports, the chopper crashed during a training exercise. It plummeted into a highway, catching fire as it hit the ground.

Words cannot express my sorrow for the loss of these two Tennessee National Guardsmen, Brig. Gen. Warner Ross, Tennessees adjutant general, said in a statement. It is felt not only within the ranks of the Tennessee National Guard, but across our entire military community. We ask that Tennesseans continue to join us in prayer for these soldiers families amid this tragic loss.

Witnesses were left in shock and disbelief after witnessing the incident. I just hollered, My Lord! My God! Because nobody could have survived that, said Tammy Adams, who was driving along Alabama 53 in Harvest when the crash happened.

Looking up in the air, we saw the helicopter and BAM! We hear it hit. We saw it hit the ground, and it exploded. (Related: Whats going on? Unusual number of private plane, helicopter crashes kill nearly two dozen in two weeks.)

Visit Disaster.news for news about natural and man-made disasters happening around the globe.

Watch the video below that talks about the Army Black Hawk crash.

This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Video shows the Taliban operating US-made Black Hawk military helicopter that Biden and the Pentagon handed over.

Energy Department to send helicopters in Washington to scan for radiation spikes until inauguration day.

Third military aircraft in a week crashes in Southern California  is it the jabs?

Airlines looking to CUT required training hours for new pilots due to desperate shortage of pilots whom they killed with covid vaccines, of course.

Chinese AI fighter pilots defeat human counterparts in air combat.

Sources include:

The-Sun.com

KY3.com

APNews.com

WAAYTV.com

Brighteon.com
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will not support the use of state tax dollars to assist financially ailing Birmingham-Southern College. A spokeswoman told al.com of Ivey's decision on Tuesday. The private liberal arts college requested financial help from the state after years of deficits and declining enrollment. The Rev. Keith Thompson, chairman of the Birmingham-Southern Board of Trustees, wrote to alumni encouraging them to push for state support. The board is scheduled to meet April 5. Alabama lawmakers return from spring break next week to work on state budgets for the fiscal year that begins in October, as well as supplemental appropriations for this year.
(Natural News) Beware: The censorship boot is now on the neck of all Americans.

The new Restrict Act is a massive truth censorship campaign cloaked as anti-TikTok legislation that has been introduced by communist sympathizers Mark Warner and Tom Thune. The claim is that this will help protect our national security from communist China (CCP), but since Beijing Biden is already their grand puppet, one look into the fine print and the truth is revealed. This is why the communist Democrats in Washington, D.C. are pretending to want to ban TikTok. The truth is now unveiled.

Free speech is on the chopping block right now. Rest assured, the Restrict Act is NOT just limited to TikTok. In fact, they dont really care about TikTok at all. This free-speech-punishing act gives the US government authority over ALL forms of communication, domestic or abroad, granting powers to enforce any mitigation measure to address any risk to our national security. This applies, as worded, to any potential future transaction, meaning they can just say they think it might happen, and pre-ban it. Think next pandemic. Think next fake war. Think all cures for any disease or disorder.

Big Tech, Beijing Biden and the CCP are further weaponizing dictatorship over all forms of communication for USA

The Democrats hate free speech. Big Tech hates free speech. Big Pharma hates free speech. Although censorship of truth news and vital information in the USA is already stifled immensely, many of the MSM hoaxes and lies are still being uncovered and dismantled, like with the recent plandemic (cures for it like ivermectin, zinc, vitamin D and hydroxychloroquine).

Now, the communists in Washington, D.C. want us all to believe that they are trying to ban CCP infiltration of our information by banning one single app, thats just the tip of the iceberg. The Restrict Act lists all the communist countries that already control everything their citizens are allowed to say or print, including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. Its all about controlling online content to protect the narratives that are in place to dismantle the Republic and the Constitution of the United States.

The Restrict Act also allows the government to invade quantum encryption, so nothing is beyond censorship. Anyone who disobeys this new tyrannical censorship bill would be subject to fines of up to $1 million and 20 years in prison. That means you get locked away in federal prison when Biden says you MIGHT have said, thought, or printed something that defies the false narratives the Democrats make up as they go. U.S. citizens will be arrested and imprisoned for two decades for thought crimes, like in the fictional movie Minority Report.

Every conservative and truth news website and app could be shut down overnight and permanently for thought crimes and third-party plug-ins

Many websites use third-party plug-ins, foreign content, or software (including widgets) created in foreign countries to support the content on their site, so almost every website is a target for the Restrict Act. Should any of these websites engage in producing information that goes against U.S. government views, then they would be shut down and face criminal charges.

Anyone using a virtual private network will also be targeted for being accused of posing as a national security risk, as any covered transaction by any person can be construed as such. Virtually everyone is a target for engaging in sabotage or subversion of the CCP and the Biden Regime under this communist act. Believe it or not, there are many Republicans who are supporting this insane Act also. They are listed here:

Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]

Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]

Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]

Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]

Sen. Romney, Mitt [R-UT]

Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]

Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]

Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]

Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]

Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]

Keep your truth news in check by adding BigGovernment.news to your favorites list and tuning in daily for updates on real news about the Constitution being erased before our very eyes by the communist Beijing Biden Regime.

ACTION ITEM: Contact your representatives and demand they reject the RESTRICT ACT. It is important to call, not just send an email. You can reach your Senators and House members via the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Sources for this article include:

Congress.gov

ZeroHedge.com
(Natural News) A trans rights group that had organised a day of vengeance protest has canceled the event citing a threat to life and safety of trans people following the killing of three children and three Christian teachers in Nashville by a trans identifying individual.

(Article by Steve Watson republished from Summit.news)

Our Rights DC issued a statement asserting that we lack the resources to ensure the safety of the protest and cannot in good conscience move forward with it.

The safety of our trans community is first priority, the group added, claiming that trans people have been threatened since the shooting.

The group describes the alleged threats to the trans community as the direct result of the flood of raw hatred directed toward the trans community, claiming that it is one of the steps in genocide.

Full statement in thread: pic.twitter.com/Y4xPOzl4tb  Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023

2/x: 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.  Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023

4/x: In an ideal world we would have continued on in defiance of the attempt to silence our right to free expression. However, we lack the resources to ensure the safety of the protest and cannot in good conscience move forward with it.  Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023

5/5: In our continued efforts to preserve trans and non binary life we have notified the appropriate agencies.  Our Rights DC (@OurRightsDC) March 30, 2023

There are no comments on the Twitter thread because the group has limited who can reply, but you can imagine what people really think about this.

Lol yeah from them  Escape from PDX (@escapeportland) March 31, 2023

Day of vengeance sounds quite threatening to me  E. (@E_111_M) March 31, 2023

Those who warned about the upcoming protest sparking violence were locked out of Twitter:

Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ groups have threatened serious consequences if the FBI releases the mission statement of the Nashville shooter Audrey Hale.

Trans Radical Activist Network, the group behind Trans Day of Vengeance raised money for firearms training. Activists, posing with guns, call for the beheading of christcucks & to throw christcuck babies in bins. Those outraged by this are being suspended by Twitter. pic.twitter.com/ytLQWAgbgR  ???? ??Emma ?? ???? (@TheCynicalHun) March 29, 2023

Other extreme leftist groups are still promoting their own trans day of vengeance:

Violent extremist group @SoCalAntifa, whose members have been convicted in San Diego for a violent conspiracy (case no. SCD274477), are promoting their own Trans Day of Vengeance on March 31 in Hollywood, Calif. I have censored the post, including the address of where they plan pic.twitter.com/35zKTA0C6v  Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) March 31, 2023

In Kentucky, trans activists stormed the Capitol Wednesday to protest a new law prohibiting child sex changes.

Trans protesters scream and chant after storming Kentucky Capitol pic.twitter.com/4jY3Cnxfrn  Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) March 30, 2023

BREAKING: Police in the Kentucky State House Chamber are forcefully removing people who are protesting SB 150, which they consider to be an extreme anti-trans bill. @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/urqwPa9Ij0  Ricky Sayer (@RickyReports) March 29, 2023

A group of people who support SB 150 turned to us as they were leaving the gallery as chants against the bill erupted in the Kentucky house chamber. This is what, worse than January 6th, one person said. This is an insurrection, another said.@LEX18News pic.twitter.com/nDfLlOcqL3  Ricky Sayer (@RickyReports) March 29, 2023

MOMENTS AGO: This is the scene inside the Kentucky House Chamber right now as police are escorting protesters over Senate Bill 150, a bill critics say is harmful to transgender youth. You go after everybodys kids but your own, said Rep. Pamela Stevenson, who opposes the bill. pic.twitter.com/3fjSt5WK39  LEX 18 News (@LEX18News) March 29, 2023



Joe Biden and the White House have said that it is the trans community that is under threat and needs to be protected:

Read more at: Summit.news
(Natural News) The press secretary of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has resigned from her post after tweeting a highly offensive meme encouraging transgender extremists to shoot up their opponents.

Josselyn Berry, whose Twitter profile has since gone private, responded to the Nashville transgender school shooting with an image from the 1980 film Gloria depicting a female character holding a revolver in each hand, along with the message: Us when we see transphobes.

Ben Kew, editor-at-large of Red State, screen-captured the image and retweeted it before Berrys tweet was removed and her Twitter profile turned private:

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

The takeaway message that Berry implied was one of support for Audrey Hales murderous rampage. It would seem as though Berry was happy about the tragedy, and proceeded to encourage and egg on her followers to continue the trend.

(Related: By all appearances, Katie Hobbs stole the governors election in Arizona much like Joe Biden stole the White House.)

How many other leftist politicians are harboring excitement over a trans lunatic shooting up a Christian school?

As you might expect, the world was outraged upon learning about Berrys celebration of the school shooting. Had a conservative tweeted this kind of thing following the Pulse Nightclub shooting, all hell would have broken loose and that persons career destroyed forever.

In this case, liberals everywhere seemed to echo Berrys sentiments and had no problems with what she tweeted. It was not until enough pressure was levied that Berry voluntarily resigned  when she should have been fired immediately and investigated for potential criminal activity.

This is what @katiehobbs press secretary decided to tweet after a trans militant shut [sic] up a school, tweeted conservative commenter Matt Walsh about the incident. Any republican would be fired for this in an instant. Were done with the double standard. @joss_berry must be fired.

Walsh would tweet again with information about how to contact Katie Hobbs and her office directly:

Mailing address: State Capitol, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix, AZ, 85007

Phone: (602) 542-4331

Fax: (602) 542-7601

Prior to Berrys voluntary resignation, the Arizona Freedom Caucus likewise demand that she be immediately dismissed.

Less than 12 hours after the tragic shooting in Nashville by a deranged transgender activist @katiehobbs Press Secretary calls for shooting people Democrats disagree with, the group tweeted, further calling Berrys message a vile tweet encouraging violence.

Calling for violence like this is un-American & never acceptable  @joss_berry should be fired immediately.

So far, Berrys Twitter account remains active. Despite conservative darling Elon Musk being in charge, there has been no action taken against this person and her call to violence.

In the comments, many people expressed anger and outrage over the double standard that Walsh likewise mentioned.

Trans day of vengeance? Sounds like a zombie film, one person said. As I am sure it will be.

Of course, I would be pretty angry, too, if someone chopped off my peepee. Which is why these whack jobs need to be kept off the streets and far away from children.

Another said that he does not believe there is really all that much widespread outrage considering the fact that the general populace of Arizona doesnt seem to care that their recent governors election was another election scam and criminal operation.

Stolen elections have consequences, this person would further write, encouraging Arizona to take seriously and stand up against the fraudulent election of Hobbs.

More of the latest news about deranged leftists and their pro-trans bloodlust can be found at Libtards.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Minneapolis Public Schools are hosting a gender resource fair featuring a drag queen story hour event and a doctor who will speak on the importance of supporting young transgender children.

(Article by Shane Trejo republished from BigLeaguePolitics.com)

Loring Elementary, which teaches kids from preschool to the 5th grade, will be hosting the event on April 13. They are urging parents to bring their gender creative young ones to the event where they can be indoctrinated into a satanic lifestyle that includes chemical castration and the mutilation of their sexual organs.

A flier for the event can be seen here:

Big League Politics has reported on how Minnesota is on its way to becoming a sanctuary state for gender-affirming care, meaning children can be taken to the state to be drugged and mutilated without regulations, with a transgender state representative pushing these policies:

Transgender Minnesota state representative Leigh Finke struggled to define the term gender-affirming health care while defending legislation that would allow kids to receive gender-affirming health care without any restrictions in their state.

Finke has introduced legislation that would make Minnesota a sanctuary state for gender-affirming health care for children across the country, meaning that kids could be brought across state lines to be chemically castrated with puberty blockers and then have their genitals mutilated. Their purity and innocence would be sacrificed on the altar of LGBT perversion.

When Finke was pressed on what the specifics of gender-affirming health care actually means, the transgender state rep appeared to not even understand the concept  or perhaps Finke wasobfuscating because they do not want the public to become aware of the Mengelean atrocities they are pushing.

Representative Finke, are any of the drugs that are prescribed to children also given  and by drugs, I mean hormone therapies or puberty blockers  are any of them prescribed to children, are they also given to violent sex offenders with the purpose of chemically castrating the violent sex offender? asked Minnesota State Rep. Mary Fr

Read more at: BigLeaguePolitics.com
(Natural News) The individual who perpetrated the shooting at the Christian school in Nashville on Monday was identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old transgender male whose act of violence marks the second time since 2019 that a trans-biological female has carried out an attack on a school.

In 2019, Alec McKinney, who identified as transgender, participated in a school shooting in Colorado at the age of 17, resulting in the death of one teenager, Breitbart News reported.

While female mass shooters are not at all common, a 2011 study of 133 women who underwent masculinization treatment in Sweden showed that female-to-males had higher crime rates than female controls  [and] did not differ from male controls. This indicates  that sex reassignment is coupled to increased crime rate in female-to-males. The same was true regarding violent crime.

This shooting reminds us of an item that bears noting: the Dhejne, et. al, Swedish study often cited to demonstrate that men who are transgender retain male patterns of criminality *also* shows that the criminality of women who are transgender *increased* to male control levels. pic.twitter.com/KRTJzlmJAE  Black Together Again (@KProtein19) March 28, 2023

Hale left a manifesto behind, according to police, but it has yet to be released. Its not clear at all if this was a hate crime since she attacked a Christian church  one she attended as a young girl  but it is hard to rule that out on the surface.

Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has urged the pro-transgenderism left to reconsider its support for the notion that women can transition into men by taking male hormones, specifically testosterone, which is known to boost aggression.

Were still learning about the horrific shooting in Nashville. But if early reports are accurate that a trans shooter targeted a Christian school, there needs to be a lot of soul searching on the extreme left. Giving in to these ideas isnt compassion, its dangerous, he tweeted this week. In the meantime, say a prayer for every kid who lost their life and every parent mourning a child. Christ have mercy.

In the meantime, say a prayer for every kid who lost their life and every parent mourning a child. Christ have mercy.  J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) March 27, 2023

Officials have not confirmed whether the perpetrator of the shooting had been taking testosterone, a hormone that is readily prescribed by doctors. However, some critics of transgenderism have raised concerns about potential links between the shooting, transgender ideology, and medical treatments.

Who could have predicted that delisting a mental health condition, replacing therapy with blind affirmation, would result in a movement rife with, wait for it, people with untreated mental health conditions and raging narcissism? one Twitter user noted.

Who could have predicted that delisting a mental health condition, replacing therapy with blind affirmation, would result in a movement rife with, wait for it, people with untreated mental health conditions and raging narcissism.  HocusPocusTheRealWitch KPSS (@TheRealPocus) March 26, 2023

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We have seen women getting violently beaten by trans activists. We have seen 1000s of extremely vulnerable kids get coerced into having their body parts cut up. And now we have seen 3 CHILDREN AND 3 ADULTS being murdered by a Trans Extremism. We must end Trans Extremism now. No more violence from the trans community. We need tougher law enforcement, tougher sentences and tougher laws to stop Trans Extremists, noted Gender Madness author Oli London.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?????? We have seen women getting violently beaten by trans activists. We have seen 1000s of extremely vulnerable kids get coerced into having their body parts cut up. And now we have seen 3 CHILDREN AND 3 ADULTS being murdered by a Trans Extremism. We  Oli London (@OliLondonTV) March 27, 2023

Several studies, including the Swedish study, have found that many transgender individuals experience increased unhappiness, withdrawal, and suicidal tendencies when they identify as members of the opposite sex.

A significant factor contributing to this difficulty is that the vast majority of non-transgender individuals cannot view those claiming to be transgender as potential romantic partners, resulting in a sense of social isolation for the transgender individual, research has shown.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

Journals.PLOS.org
(Natural News) Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed into law a bill that creates a state reserve that can purchase, sell and stockpile precious metals like gold and silver.

Gold experts note that the state law gives Tennessee the ability to achieve more financial independence with gold and silver reserves and could prevent the state from feeling the negative effects of the Federal Reserves monopoly on money. (Related: Central banks continue to stockpile gold as recession looms.)

The bill, introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly by Republican senators and representatives, does not actually create a state reserve as a new, independent financial institution. Instead, it authorizes the state treasurer to purchase and sell gold or precious metal bullion or specie that will be directly owned by the state. A separate bill that would create a state-owned gold bullion depository is still making its way through the legislature and isnt expected to make progress until the 2024 session.

The bills  House Bill 1479 and Senate Bill 529  define precious metal bullion as metals that are formed into uniform shapes and quantities such as ingots, bars or plates, with uniform content and purity, as are suitable for or customarily used in the purchase, sale, storage, transfer and delivery of bulk or wholesale transactions in precious metals.

The two bills define specie as a precious metal stamped into coins or uniform shape, size, design, content and purity, suitable for or customarily used as currency, as a medium of exchange, or as the medium for purchase, sale, storage, transfer or delivery of precious metals in retail or wholesale transactions.

The two bills received widespread bipartisan support. Every single Democrat and Republican in the state House of Representatives and Senate voted in favor of both bills.

Tennessee can secure its financial independence with more gold, silver purchases

Michael Maharrey, writing for Schiff Gold, noted how Tennessee holding its own gold and silver reserves will allow the state to shield its assets and hedge against rapidly depreciating Federal Reserve notes.

Maharrey further pointed out how Tennessee could maintain some financial independence should the American dollar collapse, an event that is turning into a very real possibility as the world moves away from the greenback as its reserve currency, he wrote.

This is also one of the factors that has influenced central banks around the world to purchase more and more precious metals. Last year was considered a record-breaking year for central bank gold buying, according to the World Gold Council, as the worlds central banks purchased 1,136 tonnes (1,252 tons) of gold.

This is the highest level of net purchases on record dating back to 1950, and the 13th straight year of net central bank gold purchases.

While Tennessee is not a central bank, and it will have a hard time competing with the resources entire nations have, the passage of HB 1479 and SB 529 will still set a foundation for proper financial independence for Tennessee in the event of a financial crash.

Learn more about the governments and central banks stockpiling precious metals like gold and silver at Metals.news.

Watch this episode of the Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses how to trade gold and silver as ETFs through brokerage accounts.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Precious metals can help make your portfolio invincible amid financial collapse, says David Morgan.

WGC report: Central banks extend gold buying streak in preparation for currency uncertainty.

Andy Schectman calls JPMorgan the most nefarious group of traders for hoarding silver on a massive scale.

Demand for gold surges to highest rate in over a decade as worlds central banks continue buying spree.

Global DE-DOLLARIZATION is on the way as worlds central banks buy gold at fastest pace in 55 years.

Sources include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

SchiffGold.com

Gold.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The witch hunts against former President Donald Trump are continuing despite the fact that hes been out of office now for more than two years after the deep state stole his reelection in 2020.

On Thursday, a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose campaign was given $1 million by a left-wing political action committee funded by George Soros, indicted Trump on bogus charges alleging he paid $130,000 in hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election that he won, as well as another payment of $150,000 to Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal, in violation of campaign finance laws.

Never mind that the U.S. Southern District of New York and the Federal Election Commission both looked into the same allegations and did not find any actionable evidence a crime had been committed.

Trump, whos running for president in 2024 and facing multiple criminal probes, is the first president in U.S. history  sitting or former  to face criminal charges. The indictment is sure to ripple through his latest presidential campaign, Axios reported, adding context to the charges.

The charges against Trump come more than four years after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the scheme. Cohen has been cooperating with authorities and serving as a witness against Trump, but there have been some who have called Cohens testimony into question.

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 told Axios. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

But few people other than brainwashed Democratic voters believe Trump is guilty of anything. And some of his political rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his most serious challenger for the 2024 presidential nomination, is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump, pledging non-cooperation with any extradition order, should one be issued.

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 following the indictment.

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 added.

Extradition would only be required if the former president refused to leave his Mar-a-Lago home in the Sunshine State to attend an arraignment hearing in New York.

They just indicted President Trump. Unfortunately for them, this will only make himstronger. I didnt think I could possibly support him more, but this political Witch Hunt only strengthens our resolve to fight. Weve got your back, Mr. President, 2022 Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake  whose name has been mentioned as a potential Trump running mate  tweeted.

They just indicted President Trump. Unfortunately for them, this will only make him stronger. I didnt think I could possibly support him more, but this political Witch Hunt only strengthens our resolve to fight. Weve got your back, Mr. President. pic.twitter.com/qoNGeF5aSP  Kari Lake (@KariLake) March 30, 2023

During an interview Thursday evening with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he had spoken to Trump earlier following news of the indictment.

Remember, Soros gave Alvin Bragg a million dollars. Were used to seeing these things. Government printing money till it goes out of style in third world countries, and thats being visited in the United States of America. I spoke with President Trump moments ago, and hes resolute and concerned about what this does to Americas brand around the world, Gaetz said.

I think a motion to dismiss will happen next. If this were ever to be tried, you could not do it in Manhattan. You would see a change of venue in upstate New York. Maybe its the only place Donald Trump could get a fair trial. I expect this will be resolved well before that by any court that looks at the way that the law is being tortured in the absence of any charge that would be maintainable against any human being on the Planet Earth other than Donald Trump and against Trump its clearly political, he concluded.

Sources include:

ConservativeBrief.com

Axios.com
(Natural News) So-called free speech absolutist Elon Musks Twitter temporarily locked out the New York Post on Thursday, March 30, after it tweeted out a story about how the social media company deleted over 5,000 tweets.

The Post was informed that it violated one of the social media platforms rules, preventing it from posting any tweets to its main account, which has 2.8 million followers.

Twitters suppression of the publication came as multiple other news outlets were reporting the very same story of the social media platforms decision to scrub over 5,000 tweets and retweets featuring the same subject.

Bruce Golding, writing for the Post, pointed out that the censorship of the publications Twitter account flies in the face of Musks description of himself as a free speech absolutist who desires to turn the social media platform into a marketplace of ideas that does not censor anything.

Furthermore, Musk previously called Twitters crackdown on the Post in October 2020 due to its investigation into emails on Hunter Bidens laptop incredibly appropriate. At the time, Twitter demanded that the Post delete at least six tweets that linked to the story, claiming the investigation is based on information obtained illegally.

Twitter eventually restored the Posts access to its account after 8 p.m. EST on Thursday.

Deleted tweets discussed radical transgender rights groups plans to create social unrest

The over 5,000 tweets deleted from Twitter were discussing a Trans Day of Vengeance protest in front of the United States Supreme Court on Saturday, April 1, organized by the militant Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN). (Related: Nashville transgender Christian school shooting occurred just days after Trans Day of Vengeance protest.)

The organization was moving forward with its planned protest for the rights of American transgenders despite the fact that, just days before, a transgender person entered the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, killing six people, including three nine-year-old children.

The shooter, Audrey Hale, went by the name Aiden and identified herself as a male. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake confirmed that there is some theory to concerns that transgender propaganda and Hales self-identification as a male played a role in the shooters decision to commit mass murder.

Twitters head of trust and safety Ella Irwin claimed that the images involving the Trans Day of Vengeance were automatically compiled and deleted from the platform because Twitter does not support tweets that incite violence, irrespective of who posts them.

Vengeance does not imply peaceful protest, said Irwin. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is okay.

TRAN claims the so-called peaceful protest in front of the Supreme Court was planned before Hales mass shooting and was not in any way a call to violence.

Vengeance means fighting back with vehemence, claimed the radical organization on its website. We are fighting against false narratives, criminalization and the eradication of our existence.

Learn more about the suppression of free speech on social media platforms at Suppressed.news.

Watch this video discussing in detail Twitters censorship industrial complex, supported by non-government organizations, mainstream media outlets and governments.

This video is from the Andrew Zebrun III channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Twitter Files: US government helped launch project where millions of online posts were flagged for censorship.

BREAKING: Twitter Files detail the censorship-industrial complex, revealing an incestuous self-appointed truth squad made up of media, government and NGOs.

Twitter Files BOMBSHELL: Taxpayers unknowingly fund vast censorship enterprise hiding truth about vaccine injuries, deaths.

Twitter exposes how government funded a cottage industry of disinformation labs that were used to censor real info and ban truth tellers.

Former Twitter execs GRILLED by House Republicans over censorship, possible violations of the Constitution.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

NYPost.com

Brighteon.com
Petroglyphs are rock carvings found in North America and different parts of the world, often made by ancient civilizations centuries ago. These mysterious ancient drawings are long thought to symbolize humans or animals, as well as narrate events like hunting, battles, natural disasters, triumphs, and other significant milestones.

For decades, humans have uncovered these works of art, ranging from different cultures across the recorded history, even the ones before it. The stone carvings are mainly powerful cultural symbols that resonate the developed, sophisticated society and religion of a given tribe, according to the National Park Service. It is also a form of linguistic communication which meant to convey a message.

One of the latest discoveries of ancient petroglyphs was reported in Hawaii recently, wherein the carvings were found underneath the sand of a beach after a large surf or waves removed the thick layer of covering and washed them away. In previous years, there are multiple petroglyphs found in the US island state, which includes similar rock art along Hawaii's Waianae coast.

Recent Hawaii Petroglyphs Discovery

North Shore resident Robert Lanfranchi was the first one who saw the petroglyphs in March 2023 in an area between Ke Iki and Pipeline area of Oahu, which is typically covered with up to 10 feet of sand, Hawaii local news KHON2 reported.

The same petroglyphs were temporarily exposed for at least several days following the Eddie swell in January 2013, residents said they have not seen the ancient drawings since 2016. Meanwhile, other residents admitted of not having seen one in the area.

Experts estimated have been several dozens of recorded petroglyphs in the Hawaiian area, ranging from Ke Iki to Ehukai. They added it could have taken at least a day or more to carve just one image in the sediment.

Dr. Kekuewa Kikiloi, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii Manoa, explains the stone images were carved, including pecking, using a harder stone tool on the surface of a substrate rock. Kikiloi adds petroglyphs depicting human and animal symbols indicate the carvings dates back to pre-contact era, which could date between 80 AD to 1778.

Also Read: Rock Carvings Found in Nevada may be 15,000 Years Old

Who are the First Settlers of Hawaii?

In 2016, petroglyphs were found in some parts of a Hawaii beach, as mentioned earlier. In a statement back then by Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources, the shifting sands on the Big Island's Waianae coast on Oahu island revealed the rare stone carvings, which some experts believe to date over 400 years ago, CNN reported.

Historians believe that Polynesians were the first settlers of the Hawaiian Islands, dating back as early as 400 CE, when the inhabitants arrived from the Marquesas Islands, which is 2000 miles away, through canoes, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.

The Polynesians consist of highly skilled farmers and fishermen, who lived in small communities under the leadership of chieftains who fought other local leaders for territory, the magazine reported. It was until 1778 when the first European voyage led by Captain James Cook reached Hawaii. Cook named the Hawaiian Islands after the Earl of Sandwich.

Related Article: 400-Year-Old Petroglyphs Found Along Hawaiian Coast
The Willow Project, an Alaskan Arctic oil and gas drilling project, was approved by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.

The approval came years in the making after it was first proposed by oil and gas company ConocoPhillips.

Despite the scaled-down version of the project, environmental activists assert it could aggravate the climate crisis.

Alaskan Arctic Willow Project

Oil and gas drilling is connected with climate change and global warming since the operation itself releases stored carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

As to the case of ConocoPhillips' Willow Project, the objective of such activity is mainly for economic purposes.

However, environmentalists and other activist groups are against it, Reuters reported.

The progress of the Alaskan Arctic project came after the Biden administration on March 13 approved the weakened or trimmed-down version of the oil and gas drilling project in Alaska.

Although the decision has drawn criticism from climate activists, the US government also simultaneously announced new environmental protection measures for the North slope and other coastal areas of Alaska, Inside Climate News.

However, while environmentalists reportedly welcomed the said measures, activists are still denouncing the project.

Also Read: Greenhouse Gases From Oil and Gas Projected to Continue to Increase

600 Million Barrels of Oil

The Willow Project was first proposed by the said petroleum refineries company several years ago and was approved by the Trump administration.

However, an Alaskan judge rejected the projected and deemed its environmental goals to be unclear.

Following the approval, the project is expected to pump approximately 600 million barrels of oil in the US federal government-controlled National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) of North Slope, Alaska.

The drilling site Arctic oil project is located in northern Alaska, an area with 22 million acres of undisturbed public land, Reuters reported.

Drilling and Climate Change

As mentioned earlier, there is an evidence linkage between oil and gas drilling and climate change.

In fact, offshore drilling and its process of burning of fossil fuel has been one of the major restrictions under the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international treaty of almost 200 countries with the aim of reducing the global average temperature to at least 1.5 degrees Celsius.

According to non-profit land conservation organization The Wilderness Society, below are some of the detrimental repercussions of drilling to the environment:

constantly generates pollution, fuels climate change, disrupts wildlife, and among others

potential oil spills can damage or destroy marine ecosystems

oil and gas production poses health threats

Public Drilling Program

In November 2021, The New York Times reported the Interior Department recommended that the US government increase the fees that oil and gas companies pay to drill on public lands, which is similar to the site of the Willow Project.

The announcement is the first increase concerning the said rent and royalty rates since 1920.

However, the department is silent with regard to the climate impacts of public drilling programs, The New York Times stated in its article.

Related Article: How Can Big Oil Sanctions on Russia Affect the Environment
To help address hunger in our community, and in celebration of National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day on April 2, Medical Center Enterprise has donated the peanut butter to Coffee County Family Services.

All of that peanut butter was donated by Medical Center Enterprise employees during the recent Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive.

According to Joey Hester, MCE CEO, a large percentage of residents in the Coffee County area struggle to put food on the table. The Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive was launched to help support individuals who are facing food insecurity, which is a social determinant of health.

Food insecurity has a significant impact on a persons overall health and well-being, said Hester. Through our Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive, we are working to help fight hunger in our community. Our generous employees really stepped up to be sure we could stock the shelves and exceeded our donation goals.

Peanut butter is one of the most requested items for food banks because it is highly nutritious and has a long shelf life. Unfortunately, many food banks in America report it is also one of the least donated food items.

Judy Crowley, executive director of Coffee County Family Services Center said, We are grateful to our friends at Medical Center Enterprise for donating the large jars of peanut butter for our families. Most of our families rely on free and reduced priced lunch from school to help keep their children fed so this week has been particularly tough for those families with children being out of school. This generous donation will go a long way to keep our kids happy and healthy during spring break.

Medical Center Enterprise has served the healthcare needs of the community for over 100 years. It is a 131-bed progressive, acute care hospital offering a full range of health services to Enterprise, Fort Rucker, Coffee County, and surrounding areas. Skilled professionals and technology come together to provide patients with compassionate, customer-focused care. Key services include obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, orthopedics, diagnostic imaging with digital 3D mammography, general surgery, physical therapy, family/internal medicine, internal sleep clinic, and senior care.

Medical Center Enterprise is located at 400 N. Edwards St. in downtown Enterprise, Alabama. For more information call (334)347-0584.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Motorcycle maker Royal Enfield plans to strengthen its international presence, including setting up of assembly operations in Nepal and Bangladesh, to expand its global footprints, riding on the back of record exports last fiscal, according to CEO B Govindarajan.

The company, which is present in over 40 countries in the middleweight motorcycle category of 250cc to 750cc, is banking on its existing products and "a slew of new products lined up" to enhance its share in the markets and segments it is present.

"We feel there's a huge potential for Royal Enfield to gain market share more and more in all the markets where we are present," Govindarajan told PTI.

In the North American region, where the company started its journey with its own subsidiary in the last couple of years, it has gained a market share of almost about 8.1 per cent, he said adding in the APAC region it was mostly about 9 per cent and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region it almost touched about 10 per cent.

He said the gain in market share has been on the back of the company's J-Series "super-refined engine" which first came in the 'Meteor' and subsequently in Classic and then in Hunter models.

"It is actually getting us a new set of consumers across the globe because everybody feels the quality levels of Royal Enfield are outstanding and it is at an accessible price point," he added.

While he did not elaborate on the new product plans, Govindarajan said the company would look at the "adjacent segments" of its existing models.

The company has been witnessing 20-25 per cent growth in the international markets in the last five years.

For 2022-23, Royal Enfield posted record exports at 1,00,055 units in FY23 as compared to 81,032 units in FY22, up 23 per cent.

It also registered a 39 per cent growth in total sales at a record 8,34,895 units as compared to 6,02,268 units in FY22.

When asked about international plans in the new fiscal year, Govindarajan said, "Our focus now is on North America, Latin America, APAC region, Bangladesh and Nepal and Europe." He further said, "We will also be looking at the SAARC countries. We could not do some numbers (last fiscal) only because of the legislation."

The company is in process of setting up assembly plants in Nepal and Bangladesh as it cannot export its fully built motorcycles from India to these countries due to legislations, Govindarajan said, adding these would be done through local partners.

On the timeline for setting up the assembly plants, he said for Nepal the company expects to have the plant in the ongoing fiscal but for Bangladesh, it may take a bit longer.

At present, the company has assembly units in Argentina, Colombia, Thailand, and Brazil.

Apart from statutory requirements, he said another reason for setting up assembly plants for completely knocked down (CKD) units in international markets is to be closer to the consumers and instil confidence in the company for the long term to them.

"We feel that in the long term, if we have to be there in those markets to grow, the way is that we have to have a CKD facility also in that," he said.

Besides, having assembly operations in global markets has also helped in supply chain development and sourcing of local components.

NEW DELHI: Motorcycle maker Royal Enfield plans to strengthen its international presence, including setting up of assembly operations in Nepal and Bangladesh, to expand its global footprints, riding on the back of record exports last fiscal, according to CEO B Govindarajan. The company, which is present in over 40 countries in the middleweight motorcycle category of 250cc to 750cc, is banking on its existing products and "a slew of new products lined up" to enhance its share in the markets and segments it is present. "We feel there's a huge potential for Royal Enfield to gain market share more and more in all the markets where we are present," Govindarajan told PTI.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In the North American region, where the company started its journey with its own subsidiary in the last couple of years, it has gained a market share of almost about 8.1 per cent, he said adding in the APAC region it was mostly about 9 per cent and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region it almost touched about 10 per cent. He said the gain in market share has been on the back of the company's J-Series "super-refined engine" which first came in the 'Meteor' and subsequently in Classic and then in Hunter models. "It is actually getting us a new set of consumers across the globe because everybody feels the quality levels of Royal Enfield are outstanding and it is at an accessible price point," he added. While he did not elaborate on the new product plans, Govindarajan said the company would look at the "adjacent segments" of its existing models. The company has been witnessing 20-25 per cent growth in the international markets in the last five years. For 2022-23, Royal Enfield posted record exports at 1,00,055 units in FY23 as compared to 81,032 units in FY22, up 23 per cent. It also registered a 39 per cent growth in total sales at a record 8,34,895 units as compared to 6,02,268 units in FY22. When asked about international plans in the new fiscal year, Govindarajan said, "Our focus now is on North America, Latin America, APAC region, Bangladesh and Nepal and Europe." He further said, "We will also be looking at the SAARC countries. We could not do some numbers (last fiscal) only because of the legislation." The company is in process of setting up assembly plants in Nepal and Bangladesh as it cannot export its fully built motorcycles from India to these countries due to legislations, Govindarajan said, adding these would be done through local partners. On the timeline for setting up the assembly plants, he said for Nepal the company expects to have the plant in the ongoing fiscal but for Bangladesh, it may take a bit longer. At present, the company has assembly units in Argentina, Colombia, Thailand, and Brazil. Apart from statutory requirements, he said another reason for setting up assembly plants for completely knocked down (CKD) units in international markets is to be closer to the consumers and instil confidence in the company for the long term to them. "We feel that in the long term, if we have to be there in those markets to grow, the way is that we have to have a CKD facility also in that," he said. Besides, having assembly operations in global markets has also helped in supply chain development and sourcing of local components.
Nirupama Viswanathan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Thiru Vi Ka Park at Shenoy Nagar, which was closed for metro rail construction in 2011, will be thrown open to the public this week, according to senior corporation officials. The park originally spread over 8.5 acres, will now have fewer trees as around 130 out of 300 trees were cut down for constructing a metro rail station.

The park was handed over back to the city corporation by CMRL earlier this week. Although the park now has modern facilities like a walking track, open play area for children, open gym and toilets, those who knew the original Shenoy Nagar park said that there was a vast difference between the two.

A senior corporation engineer said that the park was part of the layout created by the city corporation in Shenoy Nagar, predating the Anna Nagar layout. In the early 2000s, when I used to walk here, it was like walking in a jungle with tall trees and the sound of birds. From what little Ive seen of the park now from the outside, it looks like a concrete park with modern amenities and lacking its old charm. They do seem to have some trees and hopefully, more will be added, said S Rajendran, a resident of the area. The park also has now been painted in colours in the childrens play area.

City corporation officials said that although the park still forms a part of the urban lung spaces in the city, the civic body will look to add more trees wherever possible. While a part of the park lies on a concrete slab, due to the underground metro station, where planting more trees is not possible, officials said that they were looking to add more trees on its periphery to compensate for the lost trees.

CHENNAI: The Thiru Vi Ka Park at Shenoy Nagar, which was closed for metro rail construction in 2011, will be thrown open to the public this week, according to senior corporation officials. The park originally spread over 8.5 acres, will now have fewer trees as around 130 out of 300 trees were cut down for constructing a metro rail station. The park was handed over back to the city corporation by CMRL earlier this week. Although the park now has modern facilities like a walking track, open play area for children, open gym and toilets, those who knew the original Shenoy Nagar park said that there was a vast difference between the two. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A senior corporation engineer said that the park was part of the layout created by the city corporation in Shenoy Nagar, predating the Anna Nagar layout. In the early 2000s, when I used to walk here, it was like walking in a jungle with tall trees and the sound of birds. From what little Ive seen of the park now from the outside, it looks like a concrete park with modern amenities and lacking its old charm. They do seem to have some trees and hopefully, more will be added, said S Rajendran, a resident of the area. The park also has now been painted in colours in the childrens play area. City corporation officials said that although the park still forms a part of the urban lung spaces in the city, the civic body will look to add more trees wherever possible. While a part of the park lies on a concrete slab, due to the underground metro station, where planting more trees is not possible, officials said that they were looking to add more trees on its periphery to compensate for the lost trees.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A minor fire broke out in the display board placed on the terrace of the LIC building on Sunday evening. The fire was put out about 30 minutes later.

Fire personnel told TNIE that a short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire. LIC building located on Anna Salai is the headquarters of South India. At around 5.30 pm, the public noticed a fire on top of the LIC building. On closer look, the police found it was the name board placed on top of the building.

On information fire tenders from Triplicane, Teynampet, Thousand Lights, Egmore, Kilpauk, Chepauk, Central and Royapettah reached the spot. The fire personnel brought in the hydraulic highrise equipment which was purchased last year. The highrise equipment can climb up to 20 floors. The fire personnel put out the fire in 30 minutes.

Being Sunday there was less than usual traffic on Anna Salai which helped to quickly douse the fire. No casualties were reported, said the police.

The Anna Salai police have registered a case and further investigations are on.



#WATCH | A fire officer told TNIE that a short circuit is being suspected to have triggered the fire. LIC building located on Anna Salai is the headquarters of South India. pic.twitter.com/XwemKDC9nU  The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) April 2, 2023

Sources said five fire attendees were pressed into service to douse the flames.

CHENNAI: A minor fire broke out in the display board placed on the terrace of the LIC building on Sunday evening. The fire was put out about 30 minutes later. Fire personnel told TNIE that a short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire. LIC building located on Anna Salai is the headquarters of South India. At around 5.30 pm, the public noticed a fire on top of the LIC building. On closer look, the police found it was the name board placed on top of the building. On information fire tenders from Triplicane, Teynampet, Thousand Lights, Egmore, Kilpauk, Chepauk, Central and Royapettah reached the spot. The fire personnel brought in the hydraulic highrise equipment which was purchased last year. The highrise equipment can climb up to 20 floors. The fire personnel put out the fire in 30 minutes. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Being Sunday there was less than usual traffic on Anna Salai which helped to quickly douse the fire. No casualties were reported, said the police. The Anna Salai police have registered a case and further investigations are on. #WATCH | A fire officer told TNIE that a short circuit is being suspected to have triggered the fire. LIC building located on Anna Salai is the headquarters of South India. pic.twitter.com/XwemKDC9nU  The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) April 2, 2023 Sources said five fire attendees were pressed into service to douse the flames.
WASHINGTON  Nine months ago, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping bipartisan gun law, the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades.

Lives will be saved, he said at the White House.

The law already prevented some potentially dangerous people from owning guns. Yet since that signing last summer, the tally of mass shootings in the United States has only grown.

Five dead at a nightclub in Colorado. Eleven killed at a dance hall in California. Three 9-year-olds and three adults shot and killed at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.

A day after that school shooting, Bidens tone was markedly less optimistic than it was during the signing ceremony.

What in Gods name are we doing? he asked in a speech last Tuesday, calling for a ban on so-called assault weapons like those that were used to kill at The Covenant School in Nashville. Theres a moral price to pay for inaction.

Biden and others had hailed last years bipartisan gun bill  approved in the weeks after the shooting of 19 children and two adults at a school in Uvalde, Texas  as a new way forward.

Several months in, the law has had some success: Stepped-up FBI background checks blocked gun sales for 119 buyers under the age of 21, prosecutions increased for unlicensed gun sellers and new gun trafficking penalties were charged in at least 30 cases around the country. Millions of new dollars flowed into mental health services for children and schools.

But the persistence of mass shootings in the United States highlights the limits of congressional action. Because the law was a political compromise, it did not address many Democratic priorities for gun control, including universal background checks or the ban on assault weapons for which Biden repeatedly has called.

In the wake of the Nashville shooting, Congress appears to have returned to a familiar impasse. One of the top Republican negotiators on the gun law, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, said new compromise is unlikely. In the House, the new GOP majority favors fewer restrictions on guns, not more.

Asked Thursday about a way ahead, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said legislation alone cannot solve the gun violence problem. He said Americans need to think deeply about mental illness and other factors that drive people to act.

In contrast, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Congress should act with the fierce urgency of now.

Our classrooms have become killing fields, he said. Is that acceptable in America?

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the lead negotiator on the 2022 bill, said he thinks it represented a paradigm shift in how Congress considers gun legislation. But, he said, I dont think that will happen all at once.

This is sickening, but the opportunities for legislative change normally come after really terrible mass shootings, said Murphy, who has been the lead Senate advocate for gun control since the 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. I hate that, I wish that wasnt how it works.

Tensions ran high on both sides of the Capitol last week.

On Wednesday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., stood outside the House chamber and yelled that Republicans are cowards for not doing more on gun control, eventually arguing with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who advocated for allowing teachers to carry guns.

More guns lead to more deaths! Bowman screamed at Massie. Children are dying!

While Republicans in the past might have tried to shy away from gun measures even if they supported them, Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have been promoting the new law and have discussed it frequently. Late last year, they joined Murphy, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and FBI Director Christopher Wray on a visit to an FBI facility in West Virginia for a briefing on how the background checks were working.

I am proud to see this commonsense legislation already making a difference, Tillis said in a statement afterward.

According to recent data obtained by The Associated Press, those who were flagged in the stepped-up background checks and prevented from buying a gun included an 18-year-old in Nebraska who had made terroristic threats and was prone to violent outbursts, a 20-year-old drug dealer in Arizona and an 18-year-old in Arizona who was previously charged with unlawful possession of weapons and was found carrying fentanyl. All were attempting to purchase long guns.

Tillis said he is aware of a separate case in his home state where a person under 21 who had been charged with assault and battery and assaulting a police officer was flagged and prevented from buying a gun.

Its just one of those bills thats going to age well, Tillis said, noting that the number of denials of gun sales is a very small fraction of total sales.

Cornyn said that so far, the bill seems to be working. But he said he doesnt expect Congress to go any further any time soon. He said would strongly oppose an assault weapons ban, as Biden proposes.

Gun control legislation that passed and failed over the last 20 years Gun control legislation that passed and failed over the last 20 years Tiahrt Amendment Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act District of Columbia v. Heller Expanded background checks Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2014 Homemade Firearms Accountability Act Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2015 Criminalizing straw purchasing and gun trafficking Enhanced background checks 72-hour waiting period for those on terrorist watch lists Help End Assault Rifle Tragedies Act Preventing Gun Violence Act Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2017 Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act Handgun Safety Trigger Act Background Check Completion Act of 2017 Bipartisan bump stock ban Closing the Charleston loophole Universal background checks Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Protecting Our Kids Act Assault Weapons Ban of 2022
By IANS

CHENNAI: Hari Padman, an assistant professor at Kalakshetra, who was accused of sexual abuse by his former girl student, is absconding as per the Chennai Police, which is investigating the case.

Police said that Padman was summoned for questioning after a former student of his accused him of sexually abusing her while she was a student at Kalakshetra. The woman had filed a complaint with the Adayar All Women police station based on which an FIR was registered against the college professor.

The Adayar All Women police, which is investigating the case, said that Hari Padman was on an educational tour to Hyderabad with his students and had returned to Chennai on Sunday. Ever since reaching the city, he was absconding.

The Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Women's Commission, S.A. Kumari visited the college on Friday and conducted a detailed probe on the accusations.

Kumari while speaking to the media persons on Friday said that she would submit the report on her findings to Chief Minister Stalin on Monday.

READ MORE

Kalakshetra case: Guru-sishya parampara silenced them for long

Kalakshetra case: Cops book faculty, 100 complaints filed, TN CM assures action

CHENNAI: Hari Padman, an assistant professor at Kalakshetra, who was accused of sexual abuse by his former girl student, is absconding as per the Chennai Police, which is investigating the case. Police said that Padman was summoned for questioning after a former student of his accused him of sexually abusing her while she was a student at Kalakshetra. The woman had filed a complaint with the Adayar All Women police station based on which an FIR was registered against the college professor. The Adayar All Women police, which is investigating the case, said that Hari Padman was on an educational tour to Hyderabad with his students and had returned to Chennai on Sunday. Ever since reaching the city, he was absconding.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Women's Commission, S.A. Kumari visited the college on Friday and conducted a detailed probe on the accusations. Kumari while speaking to the media persons on Friday said that she would submit the report on her findings to Chief Minister Stalin on Monday. READ MORE Kalakshetra case: Guru-sishya parampara silenced them for long Kalakshetra case: Cops book faculty, 100 complaints filed, TN CM assures action
K Mehta By

Express News Service

Shweta was in her 30s when she was diagnosed with uterine fibroids. Her gynaecologist recommended key-hole surgery to remove the growths. Not too long after the anaesthesia had worn off, Shweta began experiencing searing pain on the skin of her back and forearm. A family member found red and blistering patches. Upon asking, her doctor was nonchalant; no explanation was offered and a nurse was instructed to administer an ointment.

Three nights later, Shweta was discharged, but the pain continued. She visited another physician, who said her body might not have been grounded properly during the use of heat instruments in the removal of fibroids. Burns from heat instrumentsto the skin and internal organsare recognised risk factors. Yet Shweta was not informed, either before or after the surgery. It was the not knowing that caused anxiety, Shweta says.

Shweta healed in a few weeks, the only evidence was scarring, and the mention of an ointment in her discharge summary. Like most, Shweta didnt know that clues to her injury lie in her medical record. Most patients think the discharge summary is all they are entitled to, says Uday P Warunjikar, Member of the Bar Council, Maharashtra & Goa.

The fact is, Doctors are required to write notes of their in-patient and outpatient consults, and patients have a right to these notes, he says. Often the first time a patient knows they can request their records is when insurance companies ask for them, or when shifting to another city or physician. No explanation is needed to access these records, says Warunjikar. The hospital is required to provide copies within 72 hours. If they dont, a patient can approach the state medical council.

With government or government-aided hospitals, there is additional protection for patients under the RTI Act. Shailesh Gandhi, the former Central Information Commissioner, recounts a peculiar case. The hospital claimed that the patient couldnt request her records as her husband had admitted her, when she was too ill to sign herself into the facility.

The woman was in the midst of divorce proceedings, so she couldnt request her husband to petition for the papers. Gandhi ruled in the womans favour because patients have a right to their records.

An informed patient

The ongoing protest by medical professionals in Rajasthan, against the recently passed Right to Health Act, has once again brought patients rights under the spotlight. Among the 17 rights listed in the Charter of Patients Rightsa guiding documentnotified by the health ministry in 2018, an important one is a patients right to information about their condition and the possible treatment as well.

The doctor-patient relationship is fiduciary, says SV Joga Rao, an advocate and research scholar in healthcare law and ethics, in which the doctor is required to act in the best interest of the patient. He says, For a patient to make a decision, they must be made aware of available treatments, details of each modality, along with the risks and drawbacks.

Despite this, it is not uncommon for this essential step to be glossed over, even as patients are made to sign consent forms before procedures.

Dr Sanjay Nagral, chairperson of the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, and publisher of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics says the root of the problem lies in inequality in the doctor-patient relationship.

Culturally, he says, doctors in India are placed on a pedestal, but they need to view patients as equalsif not higherbecause they live with the consequences of a surgery or treatment.

Sara, a first-time mother, delivered at a multispecialty hospital in Mumbai. She had been under their care throughout her pregnancy, but after her emergency C-section, she was extremely ill. I was transferred to the ICU, hooked up to meds and machines. My husband kept asking the doctors what was wrong with me. They would offer reassuring words, but no diagnosis was shared, she says.

Months later, Sara visited another gynaecologist who said she might have suffered eclampsia, but couldnt make a definitive diagnosis because of a scant summary. Sara then tried to get a detailed discharge report. We thought the discharge summary was all there was to my case, she says. Sara was unaware that multispecialty hospitals have a medical records department. Did she suffer eclampsia? Could it have been prevented? These questions bother her as she contemplates having another child.

Not just records

Rao also reminds us that patients have a right to a second opinion. Dr Nagral goes further, saying doctors should encourage second opinions, particularly in complex cases. Medicine is not an exact science, and is always evolving; a second opinion could enhance the treatment, he adds.

Shiva, a senior citizen, developed symptoms that pointed to piles. He had undergone surgery for the same two decades ago and had since shifted cities. Now, in his late 70s, the symptoms reappeared. He visited a colorectal surgeon at a multispeciality hospital in Mumbai.

Shiva says, The doctor was insistent that surgery was necessary. He asked me to check into the hospital the next day, as he was travelling the next week. Given Shivas age and comorbidities, he sought a second opinion. This surgeon prescribed a course of medication. The symptoms disappeared and today, years later, Shiva remains problem-free.

In addition to a second opinion, a patient may also request a multidisciplinary appointment. For instance, the removal of a cancerous mass may require a surgical oncologist, a general surgeon, urologist, depending on the affected part of the body. In such cases, Dr Nagral says, patients can request a joint appointment, where various specialists together suggest the way forward.

Redressal under law

What happens when one suffers an iatrogenic injury/harm (caused by medical intervention)? In cases of medical negligence, patients have recourse to medical boards. They can also file cases at civil, criminal and consumer courts. Warujikar, who is also the President of the Consumer Courts Advocates Association, Mumbai, says consumer courts are preferred, as they are fast and economical.

Rao adds that patients dont need representation by a lawyer at consumer courts. However, procedural matters can be daunting and require significant legal research. Many rights that protect patients are scattered across various legal documents, which adds to the challenge of a patient defending themselves in consumer court.

A 2019 WHO report says globally four in 10 patients are harmed in primary and outpatient care, and up to 80 per cent of this is preventable. Each year 2.6 million deaths occur in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries due to diagnostic errors, unsafe surgical procedures and transfusion practices, hospital-acquired infections, and delay in diagnosing sepsis.

Dr Nagral says victims are reluctant to litigate, more so given their physical suffering and debilitated state; instead, they want to be heard and supported when things dont go as planned. Nagrals conclusion appears to be supported by Jennifer K Robbennoits article in the USs National Library of Medicine, Apologies and Medical Errors. The author says, Incorporating apology into the conversations between physicians and patients can address the needs of both parties and can play a role in the effective resolution of disputes related to medical error.

Systemic change wont happen overnight, but if physicians and patients see each other as allies in

a flawed system, this could be a prescription for a healthier future. Names of patients have been changed to protect their privacy

Shweta was in her 30s when she was diagnosed with uterine fibroids. Her gynaecologist recommended key-hole surgery to remove the growths. Not too long after the anaesthesia had worn off, Shweta began experiencing searing pain on the skin of her back and forearm. A family member found red and blistering patches. Upon asking, her doctor was nonchalant; no explanation was offered and a nurse was instructed to administer an ointment. Three nights later, Shweta was discharged, but the pain continued. She visited another physician, who said her body might not have been grounded properly during the use of heat instruments in the removal of fibroids. Burns from heat instrumentsto the skin and internal organsare recognised risk factors. Yet Shweta was not informed, either before or after the surgery. It was the not knowing that caused anxiety, Shweta says. Shweta healed in a few weeks, the only evidence was scarring, and the mention of an ointment in her discharge summary. Like most, Shweta didnt know that clues to her injury lie in her medical record. Most patients think the discharge summary is all they are entitled to, says Uday P Warunjikar, Member of the Bar Council, Maharashtra & Goa. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The fact is, Doctors are required to write notes of their in-patient and outpatient consults, and patients have a right to these notes, he says. Often the first time a patient knows they can request their records is when insurance companies ask for them, or when shifting to another city or physician. No explanation is needed to access these records, says Warunjikar. The hospital is required to provide copies within 72 hours. If they dont, a patient can approach the state medical council. With government or government-aided hospitals, there is additional protection for patients under the RTI Act. Shailesh Gandhi, the former Central Information Commissioner, recounts a peculiar case. The hospital claimed that the patient couldnt request her records as her husband had admitted her, when she was too ill to sign herself into the facility. The woman was in the midst of divorce proceedings, so she couldnt request her husband to petition for the papers. Gandhi ruled in the womans favour because patients have a right to their records. An informed patient The ongoing protest by medical professionals in Rajasthan, against the recently passed Right to Health Act, has once again brought patients rights under the spotlight. Among the 17 rights listed in the Charter of Patients Rightsa guiding documentnotified by the health ministry in 2018, an important one is a patients right to information about their condition and the possible treatment as well. The doctor-patient relationship is fiduciary, says SV Joga Rao, an advocate and research scholar in healthcare law and ethics, in which the doctor is required to act in the best interest of the patient. He says, For a patient to make a decision, they must be made aware of available treatments, details of each modality, along with the risks and drawbacks. Despite this, it is not uncommon for this essential step to be glossed over, even as patients are made to sign consent forms before procedures. Dr Sanjay Nagral, chairperson of the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, and publisher of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics says the root of the problem lies in inequality in the doctor-patient relationship. Culturally, he says, doctors in India are placed on a pedestal, but they need to view patients as equalsif not higherbecause they live with the consequences of a surgery or treatment. Sara, a first-time mother, delivered at a multispecialty hospital in Mumbai. She had been under their care throughout her pregnancy, but after her emergency C-section, she was extremely ill. I was transferred to the ICU, hooked up to meds and machines. My husband kept asking the doctors what was wrong with me. They would offer reassuring words, but no diagnosis was shared, she says. Months later, Sara visited another gynaecologist who said she might have suffered eclampsia, but couldnt make a definitive diagnosis because of a scant summary. Sara then tried to get a detailed discharge report. We thought the discharge summary was all there was to my case, she says. Sara was unaware that multispecialty hospitals have a medical records department. Did she suffer eclampsia? Could it have been prevented? These questions bother her as she contemplates having another child. Not just records Rao also reminds us that patients have a right to a second opinion. Dr Nagral goes further, saying doctors should encourage second opinions, particularly in complex cases. Medicine is not an exact science, and is always evolving; a second opinion could enhance the treatment, he adds. Shiva, a senior citizen, developed symptoms that pointed to piles. He had undergone surgery for the same two decades ago and had since shifted cities. Now, in his late 70s, the symptoms reappeared. He visited a colorectal surgeon at a multispeciality hospital in Mumbai. Shiva says, The doctor was insistent that surgery was necessary. He asked me to check into the hospital the next day, as he was travelling the next week. Given Shivas age and comorbidities, he sought a second opinion. This surgeon prescribed a course of medication. The symptoms disappeared and today, years later, Shiva remains problem-free. In addition to a second opinion, a patient may also request a multidisciplinary appointment. For instance, the removal of a cancerous mass may require a surgical oncologist, a general surgeon, urologist, depending on the affected part of the body. In such cases, Dr Nagral says, patients can request a joint appointment, where various specialists together suggest the way forward. Redressal under law What happens when one suffers an iatrogenic injury/harm (caused by medical intervention)? In cases of medical negligence, patients have recourse to medical boards. They can also file cases at civil, criminal and consumer courts. Warujikar, who is also the President of the Consumer Courts Advocates Association, Mumbai, says consumer courts are preferred, as they are fast and economical. Rao adds that patients dont need representation by a lawyer at consumer courts. However, procedural matters can be daunting and require significant legal research. Many rights that protect patients are scattered across various legal documents, which adds to the challenge of a patient defending themselves in consumer court. A 2019 WHO report says globally four in 10 patients are harmed in primary and outpatient care, and up to 80 per cent of this is preventable. Each year 2.6 million deaths occur in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries due to diagnostic errors, unsafe surgical procedures and transfusion practices, hospital-acquired infections, and delay in diagnosing sepsis. Dr Nagral says victims are reluctant to litigate, more so given their physical suffering and debilitated state; instead, they want to be heard and supported when things dont go as planned. Nagrals conclusion appears to be supported by Jennifer K Robbennoits article in the USs National Library of Medicine, Apologies and Medical Errors. The author says, Incorporating apology into the conversations between physicians and patients can address the needs of both parties and can play a role in the effective resolution of disputes related to medical error. Systemic change wont happen overnight, but if physicians and patients see each other as allies in a flawed system, this could be a prescription for a healthier future. Names of patients have been changed to protect their privacy
Arunansh B Goswami By

Express News Service

Kerameikos is the most important cemetery of Ancient Athens which came into existence in the 12th century BC. It derives its name from the old community of Kerameis, who settled on the banks of the river Eridanos. When the Eridanos River flowed through here, it produced an orange-red clay ideal for pottery (keramos in Greek). The community of pottery artisans and their style of elaborately painted earthenware was called kerameikos (Greek for ceramic).

The 11-acre archaeological site is filled with tombstones and statues. One of these tombs is that of an Indian Buddhist monk. On his tomb is this inscription: Here lies Zarmanochegas, of Barygaza, who according to the ancestral custom of the Indians gave himself immortality.

Tamil or Punjabi

Scholars have been debating whether Zarmanochegas, a part of the mission to the court of the Romans via Athens, was sent by a Tamil king or a Punjabi king of India. Pakistani journalist Majid Sheikh mentions in his article in Dawn: In my student days while hitch-hiking through Europe, I stumbled across a mysterious tomb of Porus (King of Punjab area, now divided between India and Pakistan) ambassador. History tells us that Zarmanochegas was a Rajput Khokhar from Lahore and reached Athens along with his 85 slaves. He was honored with a tomb.

As per RN Dandekar in his research paper, Some Aspects of the Indo-Mediterranean Contacts, published by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, a Pandya embassy, under the leadership of Zarmanochegas (Sramanacarya), had left Bhrukaccha (Barygaza) in 25 BC and waited upon Augustus at Sumos with presents for the emperor which are said to have consisted, among other things, of a gigantic python, huge tortoises, and an armless boy who could shoot arrows with his feet.

Pandyas were a Tamil dynasty of Dravidian origin, hence, if what Dandekar mentions is right, then Zarmanochegas was part of a Tamil mission to Roman court via Athens.

Self-immolation

As per Kim Han-Sang, Research Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea, self-immolation refers to ascetic Buddhist practises that include the voluntary termination of ones life or the offering of parts of ones body usually by setting oneself ablaze.

In both the Northern (Mahayana) and Southern (Theravada) Buddhist traditions, self-immolation has been considered a heroic bodhisattva act to end ones life.

Mosaic depicting the battle of Issus between Alexander and Darius III of Persia

Kalanos and Zarmanochegas

Zarmanochegas was not the first Indian monk to self-immolate in front of ancient Greeks. Long before him, Alexanders friend Kalanos, or Swami Kalyan, also did it. When the Macedonian army reached north-western India, Alexander met gymnosophist Dandamis. Alexander wanted him to come with him back to Greece, but he refused. One of the Gymnosophistai there, a man named Kalanos (Indian Kalyana), followed the conqueror to the West. The story is described in the Anabasis by the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia. It was in Persia that Kalanos mounted the pyre and with due ceremony laid himself down.

We read in Nearchuss account of this incident that at the moment the fire was kindled there was, by Alexanders orders, an impressive salute: the bugles sounded, the troops with one accord roared out their battle-cry, and the elephants joined in with their shrill war trumpetings.

Zarmanochegas Mission

At least nine embassies from India are known to have visited Roman emperors up to the time of Constantine. The purpose must have been both diplomatic and commercial. Indian philosophy seems to have made a tremendous impression on the thinkers of the Graeco-Roman world.

As per Roman History Book LIV by Cassius Dio, The people of India, who had already made overtures, now made a treaty of friendship, sending among other gifts, tigers, which were then for the first time seen by the Romans, as also, I think by the Greeks. One of the Indians, Zarmarus, for some reason, wished to dieeither because, being of the caste of sages, he was on this account moved by ambition, or, in accordance with the traditional custom of the Indians, because of old age, or because he wished to make a display for the benefit of Augustus and the Athenianshe was therefore initiated into the mysteries of the two goddesses, which were held out of season on account, they say, of Augustus, who also was an initiate, and he then threw himself alive into the fire.

The mission of Zarmanochegas was an attempt to create a stronger relationship between India and Rome, but his self-immolation astonished the Greeks, like that of Kalanos several years before him had astonished the Macedonian soldiers.

(This article was originally published on Greekreporter.com)

Kerameikos is the most important cemetery of Ancient Athens which came into existence in the 12th century BC. It derives its name from the old community of Kerameis, who settled on the banks of the river Eridanos. When the Eridanos River flowed through here, it produced an orange-red clay ideal for pottery (keramos in Greek). The community of pottery artisans and their style of elaborately painted earthenware was called kerameikos (Greek for ceramic). The 11-acre archaeological site is filled with tombstones and statues. One of these tombs is that of an Indian Buddhist monk. On his tomb is this inscription: Here lies Zarmanochegas, of Barygaza, who according to the ancestral custom of the Indians gave himself immortality. Tamil or Punjabigoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Scholars have been debating whether Zarmanochegas, a part of the mission to the court of the Romans via Athens, was sent by a Tamil king or a Punjabi king of India. Pakistani journalist Majid Sheikh mentions in his article in Dawn: In my student days while hitch-hiking through Europe, I stumbled across a mysterious tomb of Porus (King of Punjab area, now divided between India and Pakistan) ambassador. History tells us that Zarmanochegas was a Rajput Khokhar from Lahore and reached Athens along with his 85 slaves. He was honored with a tomb. As per RN Dandekar in his research paper, Some Aspects of the Indo-Mediterranean Contacts, published by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, a Pandya embassy, under the leadership of Zarmanochegas (Sramanacarya), had left Bhrukaccha (Barygaza) in 25 BC and waited upon Augustus at Sumos with presents for the emperor which are said to have consisted, among other things, of a gigantic python, huge tortoises, and an armless boy who could shoot arrows with his feet. Pandyas were a Tamil dynasty of Dravidian origin, hence, if what Dandekar mentions is right, then Zarmanochegas was part of a Tamil mission to Roman court via Athens. Self-immolation As per Kim Han-Sang, Research Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea, self-immolation refers to ascetic Buddhist practises that include the voluntary termination of ones life or the offering of parts of ones body usually by setting oneself ablaze. In both the Northern (Mahayana) and Southern (Theravada) Buddhist traditions, self-immolation has been considered a heroic bodhisattva act to end ones life. Mosaic depicting the battle of Issus between Alexander and Darius III of Persia Kalanos and Zarmanochegas Zarmanochegas was not the first Indian monk to self-immolate in front of ancient Greeks. Long before him, Alexanders friend Kalanos, or Swami Kalyan, also did it. When the Macedonian army reached north-western India, Alexander met gymnosophist Dandamis. Alexander wanted him to come with him back to Greece, but he refused. One of the Gymnosophistai there, a man named Kalanos (Indian Kalyana), followed the conqueror to the West. The story is described in the Anabasis by the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia. It was in Persia that Kalanos mounted the pyre and with due ceremony laid himself down. We read in Nearchuss account of this incident that at the moment the fire was kindled there was, by Alexanders orders, an impressive salute: the bugles sounded, the troops with one accord roared out their battle-cry, and the elephants joined in with their shrill war trumpetings. Zarmanochegas Mission At least nine embassies from India are known to have visited Roman emperors up to the time of Constantine. The purpose must have been both diplomatic and commercial. Indian philosophy seems to have made a tremendous impression on the thinkers of the Graeco-Roman world. As per Roman History Book LIV by Cassius Dio, The people of India, who had already made overtures, now made a treaty of friendship, sending among other gifts, tigers, which were then for the first time seen by the Romans, as also, I think by the Greeks. One of the Indians, Zarmarus, for some reason, wished to dieeither because, being of the caste of sages, he was on this account moved by ambition, or, in accordance with the traditional custom of the Indians, because of old age, or because he wished to make a display for the benefit of Augustus and the Athenianshe was therefore initiated into the mysteries of the two goddesses, which were held out of season on account, they say, of Augustus, who also was an initiate, and he then threw himself alive into the fire. The mission of Zarmanochegas was an attempt to create a stronger relationship between India and Rome, but his self-immolation astonished the Greeks, like that of Kalanos several years before him had astonished the Macedonian soldiers. (This article was originally published on Greekreporter.com)
Smitha Verma By

When Amaan Abbas sent his son to Canada two years ago, he had hoped that his son would finish his undergraduate studies, apply for Masters and eventually start his work life there. It was a well-laid out plan except that his son wasnt ready to chase a foreign degree yet. Three semesters down the line, he is back in India and has enrolled in a private university. Letting go of a foreign degree was too little a price to pay for the 19-year-old who found it difficult to adjust in the international campus and found solace back home.

So when the news of the University Grants Commissions (UGC) proposal to invite top-rung foreign universities to set campuses in India came up, the Abbas household was filled with joy. For kids such as my son, who want a foreign degree but are not yet ready to leave home, this comes as a boon, says Abbas, CEO of LawWiser, a Delhi-based legal knowledge platform.

Around a 1,000 km away, Sunita Roy, the head of department, UGC Womens Studies Centre at Patna University, says the proposal allows students from less-privileged backgrounds such as in her state to avail a world-class degree. But her counterpart, Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), an apex representative body with over 900 members, doesnt share her optimism. Among several concerns around the proposal, the main one is will it offer a level-playing field? she asks.

In January, the draft UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023 was unveiled, under which Foreign Higher Education Institutions (FHEIs) will be allowed to set up campuses in India. Initially to run for 10 years, they can decide their own admission process, fee structure and will be allowed repatriation. They can, however, conduct only offline classes and only the top 500 universities (overall or subject-wise rankings) can apply to enter India.

Close on the heels of the UGC announcement, another development, which was brewing for some time, came out. In March, Australias Deakin University declared the opening of its first international campus in GIFT city in Gujarat. Another Australian varsity, Wollongong, too is headed to GIFT. UGC has also reached out to Indian missions abroad and is hopeful that more Australian, UK and US universities will be keen to head to India.

This is UGCs attempt around internationalisation of education plan outlined in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which includes three major reformsforeign universities to set up campuses in India, Indian universities to set up campuses abroad, and twinning, dual degree and joint degree programmes. African and Gulf countries, Thailand and Vietnam are among the probable locations for Indian universities to establish their offshore campuses, for which regulations would be released in a month.

UGC has set the ball rolling. Are the stakeholders ready?

Of Harvard, Oxford and more

Even as big educational reforms are underway, it still remains a far-fetched dream to expect Harvard or Oxford to set up a campus in India. An Oxford or Harvard will simply not come because their campuses do not exist anywhere outside their home country. Why would they want to lose their exclusivity which allows them to attract students from all across the globe? asks Partha Sarathi,

a professor at Delhi University.

Even though UGC rules allow autonomy of the institutions, the caveat remains that it should protect Indias national interests. Similarly, theres no fee cap, but universities need to be realistic. According to Deependra Kumar Jha, Chief Academic Officer, L&T EduTech, unless there is academic autonomy, foreign universities will not be keen, adding they may be unwilling to buy real estate for campuses as land acquisition is a complex issue in India. They will also be conscious of their brand image and be sceptical about setting up a full-fledged campus in India, he adds.

The selection parameters are another area of concern, as besides global ranking, reputation will be considered. The UGC chairman in an interview said, There are universities that may not participate in global rankings but they are reputed such as the institutions that are part of Max Planck Society. All those that participate in global rankings and others of repute will be considered.

Mittal says there exists no metric to judge the reputation of a university. The regulations provide that a foreign institution may apply if it is reputed in its home jurisdiction. However, no metric has been prescribed to determine whether an applicant satisfies this test, says Rahul Chadha, managing partner, Chadha & Co, a Delhi-based legal consulting firm. Chadha, who counsels multinational clients on strategy for setting businesses in India, also questions how UGC would evaluate conditions such as achieving equivalence with the main campuses in terms of the quality of education.

It would prove difficult for the top universities to match the aspirational vision of uniform standards, as the reputation of these institutions is built over time. This would turn international campuses into a second-rate option for students who were unable to get admitted into the primary campuses, says

C Raj Kumar, VC, OP Jindal Global University.

Many FHEIs would still like to know about their profits and fund remittances. The policy states that foreign professors should stay in India for six months. It will be difficult for someone staying abroad to come to India and live for months to teach here, says Piyush Kumar, Regional Director, South Asia, and Mauritius, IDP Education, an overseas education consultant organisation.

The GIFT route

Australias Deakin and Wollongong Universities have become the first foreign universities

to announce campuses in India in Gujarats GIFT (the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) City. Deakins campusthe first-of-its-kind to be approved by the Indian governmentwill initially deliver cyber security and business analytics courses from July 2024 and will have an initial enrolment of 100 students. The regulations for campuses were framed eight months after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022 speech said world-class foreign universities and institutions would be allowed in the GIFT City to offer courses, repatriate funds and be free from domestic regulations.

The India chapter

For a few years now, India has offered twinning or transfer programmes with foreign universities where the student splits time between an Indian and foreign university. Currently, 230 Indian and 1,256 FHEIs are eligible to offer such programmes. The present gross enrolment ratio (GER) of about 26 percent of the age-specific population has to double in the next decade or two. Higher education in India is thus in an expansive phase, says Shyam Menon, VC, BML Munjal University, Haryana, while lauding the new proposal.

This is not the first time though that the country has tried to woo foreign universities. Governments in the pastin 1995, 2005-06 and later in 2010have made attempts to enact similar legislation, but faced opposition from political parties with the most common refrain being expensive education. So what ails or hails the higher education landscape?

Indias rapidly growing higher education system is riddled with limited funding, inadequate infrastructure and unequal access.This years Budget earmarked Rs 44,094.62 crore for higher education, which has 40 million students enrolled across over 1,000 universities and 42,000 colleges nationally. According to the education ministrys All India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21, released in February, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) has increased to 27.3 percent from 25.6 percent in 2019-20.

NEP 2020 aims to achieve 50 percent by 2035. NEP 2020 stipulates various measures to promote India as a global study destination. In effect, UGC is only following NEPs vision, says Rasal Singh, Dean, Students Welfare, Central University of Jammu. Singh maintains his students are ecstatic about the move as it provides them more options in terms of courses and choice of institution.

Besides opening up India as a global education hub, the intention of the current proposal is also to curtail the flow of foreign exchange going offshore. The day the proposal was announced, Amitabh Kant, Indias G-20 Sherpa and former CEO of Niti Aayog, tweeted, The number of Indian students opting for higher education abroad would rise to 1.8 mn with their overseas spending rising to $80 bn by 2024. In this context, UGC allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in India with autonomy to decide fee structure is a highly welcome move.

But its a thought that hasnt reverberated well. NEP 2020s vision is around an inclusive education system, but this move is an elitist attempt to attract third-grade world universities to set shop in India, points out Sarathi. An argument put forth in favour is how the big beneficiary of this move will be students in India. For lesser fee, they will get a world-class education.

But are the FHEIs ready?

According to a survey conducted by the government-funded National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in Delhi, between December 2020 and February 2021, out of 43 internationally ranked universities, eightfive from the US while one each from Canada, Australia and the UKexpressed desire to open campuses in India. Many are interested in exploring this opportunity as India is a huge market for them. However, they may adopt a wait-and-watch approach until there is approval of the rules and regulations that govern the international campuses, says Eldho Mathews, Deputy Advisor-Unit for International Cooperation, NIEPA.

The Great American Dream

India is second to China when it comes to students pursuing international courses. In 2022, as many as 7.5 lakh students left India for higher education. The US, UK, Australia, Ireland and Canada are the top destinations for them. Courses ranging from blockchain to AI, data sciences to energy management, engineering to biotechnology, and public policy to climatology, make foreign shores an attractive destination as India offers limited quality institutions around these popular streams.

The lure for a foreign degree is multi-foldfrom studying in a world-class institution to being a ticket to settling abroad. Not to mention the lack of choices students face in India. Admissions abroad are based on a holistic evaluation (standardised tests, academics and profile) to assess a candidate. This opens up opportunities to aspirants with diverse skill sets who might not stand a chance of getting admitted to Indian institutions because here the selection/rejection approach is based only on examinations, says Arjun Wadhwa, chief financial officer, CL Educate, a competitive test preparatory platform.

Indias higher education, apart from a handful of colleges and universities, still is unable to match global standards as is evident from the India Skills Report 2023 which puts Indias highly employable youth at around 50.3 percent. Currently, the country has 1,113 universities and 43,796 colleges. As per the data shared in Parliament last year, at least 695 universities and 34,734 colleges are operational without accreditation by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

So students who want to study abroad look for world-class universities which are accompanied by great faculty and an advanced curriculum. International students have a multicultural classroom which gives them global exposure. An overseas student can also avail work experience easily because all countries offer post-study work visas, explains Kumar of IDP Education.

Delhi parent Deependra Goel could vouch for those reasons. When his daughter left for Oxford University to pursue MSc in Pharmacology, Goel knew there were slim chances of her returning. Four years later, she is on her way to fulfilling her American dream. She is currently waiting for funding for PhD. She couldnt get her choice of subject last year but we opted to wait rather than find admission in India, Goel says.

But not everyone crosses the border for academic excellence. Students from Punjab, small towns in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Andhra Pradesh often migrate to Canada, Australia or the UK in the hope of finding a strong foothold abroad. Students from Punjab often take admission in second- or third-rung foreign universities in Canada because they want to settle there. In my institute, 99 percent of students who wish to go abroad intend to do so because they aspire to leave India, says Arvinder Singh Deol, founder of Harsh Institute of Excellence, an immigration consulting agency with centres in Jharkhand and Punjab.

Hits and misses

With the UGC proposal, India has started a long-held debate. I dont see the draft as a big deal except that it will mean more higher learning institutions in India, says Debananda Mishra, School of Public Policy, IIT-Delhi. According to him, FHEIs will be an extension of top-ranked private universities of India if they are going to be mandated by UGC. Unless they follow their own curriculum or get international faculty in India, there will hardly be much difference between them and a good private university in India, he says.

On the positive side, students can benefit from innovative teaching methods, research opportunities, and global exposure. Our body has shared several concerns with the UGC. Why is it coming as a regulation and not as legislation? Will there be uniform autonomy for all institutions? If theres repatriation of funds, wont it be for profit and if so, is that allowed? asks Mittal of AIU.

Students of BML Munjal University work on a prototype

On one hand, academicians like Roy and Rasal believe it will bring competition among faculties and provide more opportunities for students beyond the affluent class, others such Mittal believe it will lead to a dilution of education in the wake of a non-level playing field. For Roy, the larger concern mounts on the cost of education. We must not forget the aim of this move. This proposal has to look at the interest of students who cant afford to migrate, she says.

But its hard to think that any university will be interested in coming to India unless they are offered subsidies or allowed to earn profits. On the other side of the debate the arguments also highlight concerns around regulation for FHEIs and whether there would be an accountability towards having international faculty and also what happens to post-study work visas. Most classrooms will primarily be filled with Indian students, and there are more chances that after they graduate, students will get Indian work experience than international ones, says Kumar of IDP.

Private universities in India, even though they welcome the move, believe most of their international counterparts would rather establish a partnership than set up a brand-new campus here as it would make it an expensive investment. To meet the rising demand for a global workforce, internationalisation to higher education is an invaluable policy aspect, says Raj Kumar. However, if foreign universities were to establish their campuses with faculty and infrastructure meeting the standards as their parent university, providing them at an affordable cost to Indian students would be a far-fetched dream, he says. The average figures for education in elite institutions like Harvard or Oxford runs between

Rs 55 to Rs 70 lakh per annum. If it were to set the same standards in India, then the tuition fee would be at least 15 times more than private universities and a hundred times more expensive than public institutions. These prohibitive costs would contradict the vision of NEP to provide equitable and affordable international education, he explains.

As the debate continues, the question is would this be the next big thing in higher education in India. Models such as self-funded, private company stake, collaboration with local universities or government funded are the usual mode of entry. It appears that the foreign universities that operate in their country of origin by establishing a legal entity such as a trust, society, company, etc. may operate in India by forming a similar legal entity. However, express clarity is needed to ascertain the cross-border movement of funds as per the Foreign Exchange Movement Act because the extent and manner of such cross-border fund movement may vary depending upon the legal entity in India, explains Chaddha.

Who will transcend the Indian borders? Students or universitiesthe jury is still out on that.

If theres repatriation of funds wont it be for profit and if so is that allowed?

-Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities

The proposal allows less-privileged students to avail world-class degrees provided

it can be availed at affordable cost.

Sunita Roy, head of department, UGC Women's Studies Centre at Patna University

The present gross enrolment rate of about 26 percent of the age-specific population has to double in the next decade or two.

-Shyam Menon, VC, BML Munjal University

If highly ranked foreign universities were to establish their campuses in India with faculty and infrastructure meeting the same standards as the parent university, providing it at an affordable fee would be a far-fetched dream.

-C Raj Kumar, VC, OP Jindal Global University

Students from Punjab often take admission in second- or third-rung universities in Canada because they want to settle there.

-Arvinder Singh Deol, founder, Harsh Institute of Excellence

It will be difficult for someone who lives in another country to come to India and live for several months to teach here.

-Piyush Kumar, Regional Director, South Asia, and Mauritius, IDP Education

Students will have a plethora of options, and no longer need to compromise on their passion because they were unable to afford it

-Deependra Kumar Jha, Chief Academic Officer, L&T EduTech

When Amaan Abbas sent his son to Canada two years ago, he had hoped that his son would finish his undergraduate studies, apply for Masters and eventually start his work life there. It was a well-laid out plan except that his son wasnt ready to chase a foreign degree yet. Three semesters down the line, he is back in India and has enrolled in a private university. Letting go of a foreign degree was too little a price to pay for the 19-year-old who found it difficult to adjust in the international campus and found solace back home. So when the news of the University Grants Commissions (UGC) proposal to invite top-rung foreign universities to set campuses in India came up, the Abbas household was filled with joy. For kids such as my son, who want a foreign degree but are not yet ready to leave home, this comes as a boon, says Abbas, CEO of LawWiser, a Delhi-based legal knowledge platform. Around a 1,000 km away, Sunita Roy, the head of department, UGC Womens Studies Centre at Patna University, says the proposal allows students from less-privileged backgrounds such as in her state to avail a world-class degree. But her counterpart, Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), an apex representative body with over 900 members, doesnt share her optimism. Among several concerns around the proposal, the main one is will it offer a level-playing field? she asks.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In January, the draft UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023 was unveiled, under which Foreign Higher Education Institutions (FHEIs) will be allowed to set up campuses in India. Initially to run for 10 years, they can decide their own admission process, fee structure and will be allowed repatriation. They can, however, conduct only offline classes and only the top 500 universities (overall or subject-wise rankings) can apply to enter India. Close on the heels of the UGC announcement, another development, which was brewing for some time, came out. In March, Australias Deakin University declared the opening of its first international campus in GIFT city in Gujarat. Another Australian varsity, Wollongong, too is headed to GIFT. UGC has also reached out to Indian missions abroad and is hopeful that more Australian, UK and US universities will be keen to head to India. This is UGCs attempt around internationalisation of education plan outlined in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which includes three major reformsforeign universities to set up campuses in India, Indian universities to set up campuses abroad, and twinning, dual degree and joint degree programmes. African and Gulf countries, Thailand and Vietnam are among the probable locations for Indian universities to establish their offshore campuses, for which regulations would be released in a month. UGC has set the ball rolling. Are the stakeholders ready? Of Harvard, Oxford and more Even as big educational reforms are underway, it still remains a far-fetched dream to expect Harvard or Oxford to set up a campus in India. An Oxford or Harvard will simply not come because their campuses do not exist anywhere outside their home country. Why would they want to lose their exclusivity which allows them to attract students from all across the globe? asks Partha Sarathi, a professor at Delhi University. Even though UGC rules allow autonomy of the institutions, the caveat remains that it should protect Indias national interests. Similarly, theres no fee cap, but universities need to be realistic. According to Deependra Kumar Jha, Chief Academic Officer, L&T EduTech, unless there is academic autonomy, foreign universities will not be keen, adding they may be unwilling to buy real estate for campuses as land acquisition is a complex issue in India. They will also be conscious of their brand image and be sceptical about setting up a full-fledged campus in India, he adds. The selection parameters are another area of concern, as besides global ranking, reputation will be considered. The UGC chairman in an interview said, There are universities that may not participate in global rankings but they are reputed such as the institutions that are part of Max Planck Society. All those that participate in global rankings and others of repute will be considered. Mittal says there exists no metric to judge the reputation of a university. The regulations provide that a foreign institution may apply if it is reputed in its home jurisdiction. However, no metric has been prescribed to determine whether an applicant satisfies this test, says Rahul Chadha, managing partner, Chadha & Co, a Delhi-based legal consulting firm. Chadha, who counsels multinational clients on strategy for setting businesses in India, also questions how UGC would evaluate conditions such as achieving equivalence with the main campuses in terms of the quality of education. It would prove difficult for the top universities to match the aspirational vision of uniform standards, as the reputation of these institutions is built over time. This would turn international campuses into a second-rate option for students who were unable to get admitted into the primary campuses, says C Raj Kumar, VC, OP Jindal Global University. Many FHEIs would still like to know about their profits and fund remittances. The policy states that foreign professors should stay in India for six months. It will be difficult for someone staying abroad to come to India and live for months to teach here, says Piyush Kumar, Regional Director, South Asia, and Mauritius, IDP Education, an overseas education consultant organisation. The GIFT route Australias Deakin and Wollongong Universities have become the first foreign universities to announce campuses in India in Gujarats GIFT (the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) City. Deakins campusthe first-of-its-kind to be approved by the Indian governmentwill initially deliver cyber security and business analytics courses from July 2024 and will have an initial enrolment of 100 students. The regulations for campuses were framed eight months after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022 speech said world-class foreign universities and institutions would be allowed in the GIFT City to offer courses, repatriate funds and be free from domestic regulations. The India chapter For a few years now, India has offered twinning or transfer programmes with foreign universities where the student splits time between an Indian and foreign university. Currently, 230 Indian and 1,256 FHEIs are eligible to offer such programmes. The present gross enrolment ratio (GER) of about 26 percent of the age-specific population has to double in the next decade or two. Higher education in India is thus in an expansive phase, says Shyam Menon, VC, BML Munjal University, Haryana, while lauding the new proposal. This is not the first time though that the country has tried to woo foreign universities. Governments in the pastin 1995, 2005-06 and later in 2010have made attempts to enact similar legislation, but faced opposition from political parties with the most common refrain being expensive education. So what ails or hails the higher education landscape? Indias rapidly growing higher education system is riddled with limited funding, inadequate infrastructure and unequal access.This years Budget earmarked Rs 44,094.62 crore for higher education, which has 40 million students enrolled across over 1,000 universities and 42,000 colleges nationally. According to the education ministrys All India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21, released in February, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) has increased to 27.3 percent from 25.6 percent in 2019-20. NEP 2020 aims to achieve 50 percent by 2035. NEP 2020 stipulates various measures to promote India as a global study destination. In effect, UGC is only following NEPs vision, says Rasal Singh, Dean, Students Welfare, Central University of Jammu. Singh maintains his students are ecstatic about the move as it provides them more options in terms of courses and choice of institution. Besides opening up India as a global education hub, the intention of the current proposal is also to curtail the flow of foreign exchange going offshore. The day the proposal was announced, Amitabh Kant, Indias G-20 Sherpa and former CEO of Niti Aayog, tweeted, The number of Indian students opting for higher education abroad would rise to 1.8 mn with their overseas spending rising to $80 bn by 2024. In this context, UGC allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in India with autonomy to decide fee structure is a highly welcome move. But its a thought that hasnt reverberated well. NEP 2020s vision is around an inclusive education system, but this move is an elitist attempt to attract third-grade world universities to set shop in India, points out Sarathi. An argument put forth in favour is how the big beneficiary of this move will be students in India. For lesser fee, they will get a world-class education. But are the FHEIs ready? According to a survey conducted by the government-funded National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in Delhi, between December 2020 and February 2021, out of 43 internationally ranked universities, eightfive from the US while one each from Canada, Australia and the UKexpressed desire to open campuses in India. Many are interested in exploring this opportunity as India is a huge market for them. However, they may adopt a wait-and-watch approach until there is approval of the rules and regulations that govern the international campuses, says Eldho Mathews, Deputy Advisor-Unit for International Cooperation, NIEPA. The Great American Dream India is second to China when it comes to students pursuing international courses. In 2022, as many as 7.5 lakh students left India for higher education. The US, UK, Australia, Ireland and Canada are the top destinations for them. Courses ranging from blockchain to AI, data sciences to energy management, engineering to biotechnology, and public policy to climatology, make foreign shores an attractive destination as India offers limited quality institutions around these popular streams. The lure for a foreign degree is multi-foldfrom studying in a world-class institution to being a ticket to settling abroad. Not to mention the lack of choices students face in India. Admissions abroad are based on a holistic evaluation (standardised tests, academics and profile) to assess a candidate. This opens up opportunities to aspirants with diverse skill sets who might not stand a chance of getting admitted to Indian institutions because here the selection/rejection approach is based only on examinations, says Arjun Wadhwa, chief financial officer, CL Educate, a competitive test preparatory platform. Indias higher education, apart from a handful of colleges and universities, still is unable to match global standards as is evident from the India Skills Report 2023 which puts Indias highly employable youth at around 50.3 percent. Currently, the country has 1,113 universities and 43,796 colleges. As per the data shared in Parliament last year, at least 695 universities and 34,734 colleges are operational without accreditation by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). So students who want to study abroad look for world-class universities which are accompanied by great faculty and an advanced curriculum. International students have a multicultural classroom which gives them global exposure. An overseas student can also avail work experience easily because all countries offer post-study work visas, explains Kumar of IDP Education. Delhi parent Deependra Goel could vouch for those reasons. When his daughter left for Oxford University to pursue MSc in Pharmacology, Goel knew there were slim chances of her returning. Four years later, she is on her way to fulfilling her American dream. She is currently waiting for funding for PhD. She couldnt get her choice of subject last year but we opted to wait rather than find admission in India, Goel says. But not everyone crosses the border for academic excellence. Students from Punjab, small towns in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Andhra Pradesh often migrate to Canada, Australia or the UK in the hope of finding a strong foothold abroad. Students from Punjab often take admission in second- or third-rung foreign universities in Canada because they want to settle there. In my institute, 99 percent of students who wish to go abroad intend to do so because they aspire to leave India, says Arvinder Singh Deol, founder of Harsh Institute of Excellence, an immigration consulting agency with centres in Jharkhand and Punjab. Hits and misses With the UGC proposal, India has started a long-held debate. I dont see the draft as a big deal except that it will mean more higher learning institutions in India, says Debananda Mishra, School of Public Policy, IIT-Delhi. According to him, FHEIs will be an extension of top-ranked private universities of India if they are going to be mandated by UGC. Unless they follow their own curriculum or get international faculty in India, there will hardly be much difference between them and a good private university in India, he says. On the positive side, students can benefit from innovative teaching methods, research opportunities, and global exposure. Our body has shared several concerns with the UGC. Why is it coming as a regulation and not as legislation? Will there be uniform autonomy for all institutions? If theres repatriation of funds, wont it be for profit and if so, is that allowed? asks Mittal of AIU. Students of BML Munjal University work on a prototype On one hand, academicians like Roy and Rasal believe it will bring competition among faculties and provide more opportunities for students beyond the affluent class, others such Mittal believe it will lead to a dilution of education in the wake of a non-level playing field. For Roy, the larger concern mounts on the cost of education. We must not forget the aim of this move. This proposal has to look at the interest of students who cant afford to migrate, she says. But its hard to think that any university will be interested in coming to India unless they are offered subsidies or allowed to earn profits. On the other side of the debate the arguments also highlight concerns around regulation for FHEIs and whether there would be an accountability towards having international faculty and also what happens to post-study work visas. Most classrooms will primarily be filled with Indian students, and there are more chances that after they graduate, students will get Indian work experience than international ones, says Kumar of IDP. Private universities in India, even though they welcome the move, believe most of their international counterparts would rather establish a partnership than set up a brand-new campus here as it would make it an expensive investment. To meet the rising demand for a global workforce, internationalisation to higher education is an invaluable policy aspect, says Raj Kumar. However, if foreign universities were to establish their campuses with faculty and infrastructure meeting the standards as their parent university, providing them at an affordable cost to Indian students would be a far-fetched dream, he says. The average figures for education in elite institutions like Harvard or Oxford runs between Rs 55 to Rs 70 lakh per annum. If it were to set the same standards in India, then the tuition fee would be at least 15 times more than private universities and a hundred times more expensive than public institutions. These prohibitive costs would contradict the vision of NEP to provide equitable and affordable international education, he explains. As the debate continues, the question is would this be the next big thing in higher education in India. Models such as self-funded, private company stake, collaboration with local universities or government funded are the usual mode of entry. It appears that the foreign universities that operate in their country of origin by establishing a legal entity such as a trust, society, company, etc. may operate in India by forming a similar legal entity. However, express clarity is needed to ascertain the cross-border movement of funds as per the Foreign Exchange Movement Act because the extent and manner of such cross-border fund movement may vary depending upon the legal entity in India, explains Chaddha. Who will transcend the Indian borders? Students or universitiesthe jury is still out on that. If theres repatriation of funds wont it be for profit and if so is that allowed? -Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities The proposal allows less-privileged students to avail world-class degrees provided it can be availed at affordable cost. Sunita Roy, head of department, UGC Women's Studies Centre at Patna University The present gross enrolment rate of about 26 percent of the age-specific population has to double in the next decade or two. -Shyam Menon, VC, BML Munjal University If highly ranked foreign universities were to establish their campuses in India with faculty and infrastructure meeting the same standards as the parent university, providing it at an affordable fee would be a far-fetched dream. -C Raj Kumar, VC, OP Jindal Global University Students from Punjab often take admission in second- or third-rung universities in Canada because they want to settle there. -Arvinder Singh Deol, founder, Harsh Institute of Excellence It will be difficult for someone who lives in another country to come to India and live for several months to teach here. -Piyush Kumar, Regional Director, South Asia, and Mauritius, IDP Education Students will have a plethora of options, and no longer need to compromise on their passion because they were unable to afford it -Deependra Kumar Jha, Chief Academic Officer, L&T EduTech
Ramashankar By

Express News Service

PATNA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed his deep concern over communal violence during Ramnavami in Bihar's Sasaran and Biharsharif and spoke to governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation in the state.

Shah later decided to send additional central armed forces to Bihar to assist state administration in dealing with situations. He, however, hastened to add that central forces would be sent on request of the state government.

Police arrested 106 persons from two trouble-torn districts and prohibitory order under section 144 of CrPC clamped in Biharsharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda. Police sources said that 26 people were arrested from Rohtas, and 80 from Nalanda.

According to reports, one person was killed and several others were injured following clashes between two groups in Nalanda late on Saturday evening. In Rohtas, six people were injured in a bomb blast. Police said the blast took place in a house at Sasaram and one motorbike suspected to belong to troublemakers was recovered from the spot.

The injured have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment, a senior police officer said.

Meanwhile, Shah's visit to the frontier headquarters of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in Patna has been cancelled.

ALSO READ | Amit Shah cancels Bihar visit, state BJP leaders accuse Nitish of discrimination

In a statement, the central para-military force said that the union minister's visit to SSB's frontier headquarters has been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons. The union minister was scheduled to perform 'Bhoomi Pujan' for a new building of the central para-military force in Patna. His programme to visit the BJP office in the state capital has also been cancelled.

BJP MLC Sanjay Mayukh said that Shah would go to Nawada to address a public meeting and leave for New Delhi in the evening. He will leave for Nawada by a chopper from Patna and return to Patna airport from where he will go to New Delhi, he added.

ALSO READ | 45 held in connection with Bihar riots, normalcy restored: Police

PATNA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed his deep concern over communal violence during Ramnavami in Bihar's Sasaran and Biharsharif and spoke to governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation in the state. Shah later decided to send additional central armed forces to Bihar to assist state administration in dealing with situations. He, however, hastened to add that central forces would be sent on request of the state government. Police arrested 106 persons from two trouble-torn districts and prohibitory order under section 144 of CrPC clamped in Biharsharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda. Police sources said that 26 people were arrested from Rohtas, and 80 from Nalanda.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to reports, one person was killed and several others were injured following clashes between two groups in Nalanda late on Saturday evening. In Rohtas, six people were injured in a bomb blast. Police said the blast took place in a house at Sasaram and one motorbike suspected to belong to troublemakers was recovered from the spot. The injured have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment, a senior police officer said. Meanwhile, Shah's visit to the frontier headquarters of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in Patna has been cancelled. ALSO READ | Amit Shah cancels Bihar visit, state BJP leaders accuse Nitish of discrimination In a statement, the central para-military force said that the union minister's visit to SSB's frontier headquarters has been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons. The union minister was scheduled to perform 'Bhoomi Pujan' for a new building of the central para-military force in Patna. His programme to visit the BJP office in the state capital has also been cancelled. BJP MLC Sanjay Mayukh said that Shah would go to Nawada to address a public meeting and leave for New Delhi in the evening. He will leave for Nawada by a chopper from Patna and return to Patna airport from where he will go to New Delhi, he added. ALSO READ | 45 held in connection with Bihar riots, normalcy restored: Police
By PTI

NAGPUR: Nobody can ignore late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar's sacrifice for the country's independence struggle but disagreements over him cannot be made a national issue today as there are many pressing matters to focus on, said Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday.

Defending Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is being targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party for speaking about issues in India on foreign soil, he said this is not the first time an Indian has spoken about issues in the country while abroad.

Pawar was speaking at the Press Club in Nagpur, where he also visited Union minister Nitin Gadkari's home.

To a query on whether he spoke to Rahul Gandhi about Savarkar and if the Congress leader would slow down in his criticism of the late Hindutva ideologue, Pawar said leaders of 18-20 political parties recently sat and discussed major issues before the country.

The BJP has accused Gandhi of repeatedly "insulting" Savarkar.

It is also organising Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in his honour.

"I suggested that there is a need for us to deliberate on the way the country is being run by those in power," he said.

Pawar said, "Today, Savarkar is not a national issue, it is an old thing. We had said a few things about Savarkar but it was not personal. It was against Hindu Maha Sabha. But there is another side to it as well. We cannot ignore the sacrifice made by Savarkar ji for the independence of the country."

About 32 years ago, Pawar said, he had spoken in Parliament about Savarkar's progressive views. He said Savarkar built a house in Ratnagiri and also constructed a small temple in front of it.

"He deputed a person from the Valmiki community to perform puja in the temple. I think this was a very progressive thing," said Pawar.

The NCP leader said there is no need to thrust Savarkar into the national narrative especially because there many other major issues concerning the common public.

On the BJP's criticism of Gandhi, Pawar said the Congress leader also has the freedom to put his opinion like everyone else.

Asked if it is proper for a leader to speak about issues concerning India on foreign soil, Pawar said one should not give much importance to it as this has not been done for the first time.

The NCP leader leaders criticised the government in the past as well.

"Only now such issues are being brought up repeatedly. If people feel agitated over something in the country and if an Indian talks about it, then I think those issues should be addressed."

To a query if he thinks Lok Sabha and state elections will be held together in 2024, Pawar said they won't happen at the same time.

During his Nagpur visit, Pawar also visited Union minister Nitin Gadkari at the latter's home and called it a courtesy visit.

On the request of Gadkari to Pawar, a sub-centre of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune, is coming up in Nagpur. Pawar is the president of this institute.

NAGPUR: Nobody can ignore late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar's sacrifice for the country's independence struggle but disagreements over him cannot be made a national issue today as there are many pressing matters to focus on, said Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday. Defending Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is being targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party for speaking about issues in India on foreign soil, he said this is not the first time an Indian has spoken about issues in the country while abroad. Pawar was speaking at the Press Club in Nagpur, where he also visited Union minister Nitin Gadkari's home.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); To a query on whether he spoke to Rahul Gandhi about Savarkar and if the Congress leader would slow down in his criticism of the late Hindutva ideologue, Pawar said leaders of 18-20 political parties recently sat and discussed major issues before the country. The BJP has accused Gandhi of repeatedly "insulting" Savarkar. It is also organising Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in his honour. "I suggested that there is a need for us to deliberate on the way the country is being run by those in power," he said. Pawar said, "Today, Savarkar is not a national issue, it is an old thing. We had said a few things about Savarkar but it was not personal. It was against Hindu Maha Sabha. But there is another side to it as well. We cannot ignore the sacrifice made by Savarkar ji for the independence of the country." About 32 years ago, Pawar said, he had spoken in Parliament about Savarkar's progressive views. He said Savarkar built a house in Ratnagiri and also constructed a small temple in front of it. "He deputed a person from the Valmiki community to perform puja in the temple. I think this was a very progressive thing," said Pawar. The NCP leader said there is no need to thrust Savarkar into the national narrative especially because there many other major issues concerning the common public. On the BJP's criticism of Gandhi, Pawar said the Congress leader also has the freedom to put his opinion like everyone else. Asked if it is proper for a leader to speak about issues concerning India on foreign soil, Pawar said one should not give much importance to it as this has not been done for the first time. The NCP leader leaders criticised the government in the past as well. "Only now such issues are being brought up repeatedly. If people feel agitated over something in the country and if an Indian talks about it, then I think those issues should be addressed." To a query if he thinks Lok Sabha and state elections will be held together in 2024, Pawar said they won't happen at the same time. During his Nagpur visit, Pawar also visited Union minister Nitin Gadkari at the latter's home and called it a courtesy visit. On the request of Gadkari to Pawar, a sub-centre of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune, is coming up in Nagpur. Pawar is the president of this institute.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Welcoming the recent "wave of Opposition unity", Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Congress will "de facto" be the fulcrum around which other parties converge, but asserted that if he were in the party leadership, he would not "crow about it" and encourage one of the smaller outfits to play the role of convenor of an alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election.

In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- "united we stand, divided we fall."

The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections.

READ MORE | Big consolidation as TMC joins call to Congress to unite Opposition

Asked about Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's 'thank you Germany' tweet after that country took note of Gandhi's disqualification, Tharoor said he would have advised his senior party colleague not to say what he did.

"The international attention - and the negative press for India - should not surprise Mr (Narendra) Modi and his government. Doubts about the democratic credentials of this government have been growing for some years, as is evident from the global media," he said.

"Still, I would have advised my highly respected senior colleague and friend not to say what he did. It has always been an article of faith for the Congress party that we do not require or accept any foreign tutelage after 200 years of subjection to colonial rule," Tharoor stressed.

That pride is deeply ingrained in every Indian, he said, asserting that we are perfectly capable of solving our own problems. "I am confident the people of India will vote for democracy and the right to determine who rules them," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

ALSO READ | Congress should 'set its house in order' for role in opposition unity: Ex-PM Deve Gowda

On Gandhi's disqualification and the ensuing display of Opposition unity, Tharoor said the judgment has generated a "surprising and welcome wave of Opposition unity", as regional parties traditionally opposed to the Congress in their states - AAP in Delhi, TMC in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, CPIM in Kerala - have come out in his support.

"Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage 'united we stand, divided we fall'; if they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a 'vengeful' government," he said.

If the Surat court verdict gives India a more united Opposition, it could be bad news for a ruling party that won the 2019 elections with just 37 per cent of the vote but more than 60 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats, he contended.

"The rest of the votes went to 35 victorious parties, all represented in the current Parliament; if most of them have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in 2024," Tharoor asserted.

Asked if the Congress would be the fulcrum around which an Opposition alliance can be built to take on the BJP in 2024, he said, "Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP."

All other Opposition parties are essentially strong in one state and have a presence in just one or two more, he said, adding that in the circumstances "we will de facto be the fulcrum around which the Opposition converges to offer a credible alternative. But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor asserted.

Everyone knows what the Congress represents and it doesn't need to insist on that being recognised, he said.

In fact a modicum of humility will go a long way towards winning over the other parties, said Tharoor, who had contested for the post of Congress president last year but had lost the internal party election to Mallikarjun Kharge.

Asked if he sees a parallel in Rahul Gandhi's disqualification with that of his grandmother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, Tharoor said there is little doubt that public sympathy is with Rahul Gandhi after this "reprehensible disqualification and jail sentence".

People realise it is not good for democracy that the principal leader of the major Opposition party is sentenced to jail and denied a voice in Parliament, he said.

"When put that way, even several BJP voters tend to say that it's deeply damaging to democracy," he claimed.

The issue is no longer just about one man or one party - it's about safeguarding our democracy by granting every participant in it a level playing field, Tharoor said.

"As for what happened in the late 1970s, I am always wary of facile analogies simply because times are different and historical political circumstances are different. But we certainly hope and expect that this public sympathy translates into tangible support at the elections," the Congress leader said.

READ MORE | Opposition needs no crutches, says Sibal; Rijiju recalls Emergency

On the BJP's persistent attack on Gandhi, Tharoor said that it seems to him that the BJP is rattled and has been alarmed by the positive energy the Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra has generated among Congress workers.

"Once Rahul Gandhi commanded the nation's attention with his expunged speech in the Lok Sabha, a decision appears to have been taken to silence him politically," he alleged.

After years of trying to caricature Rahul Gandhi, they realise he is a "serious threat", Tharoor claimed and said that explains much of the BJP's approach in recent weeks.

Gandhi 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.

NEW DELHI: Welcoming the recent "wave of Opposition unity", Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Congress will "de facto" be the fulcrum around which other parties converge, but asserted that if he were in the party leadership, he would not "crow about it" and encourage one of the smaller outfits to play the role of convenor of an alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election. In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- "united we stand, divided we fall." The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); READ MORE | Big consolidation as TMC joins call to Congress to unite Opposition Asked about Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's 'thank you Germany' tweet after that country took note of Gandhi's disqualification, Tharoor said he would have advised his senior party colleague not to say what he did. "The international attention - and the negative press for India - should not surprise Mr (Narendra) Modi and his government. Doubts about the democratic credentials of this government have been growing for some years, as is evident from the global media," he said. "Still, I would have advised my highly respected senior colleague and friend not to say what he did. It has always been an article of faith for the Congress party that we do not require or accept any foreign tutelage after 200 years of subjection to colonial rule," Tharoor stressed. That pride is deeply ingrained in every Indian, he said, asserting that we are perfectly capable of solving our own problems. "I am confident the people of India will vote for democracy and the right to determine who rules them," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said. ALSO READ | Congress should 'set its house in order' for role in opposition unity: Ex-PM Deve Gowda On Gandhi's disqualification and the ensuing display of Opposition unity, Tharoor said the judgment has generated a "surprising and welcome wave of Opposition unity", as regional parties traditionally opposed to the Congress in their states - AAP in Delhi, TMC in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, CPIM in Kerala - have come out in his support. "Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage 'united we stand, divided we fall'; if they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a 'vengeful' government," he said. If the Surat court verdict gives India a more united Opposition, it could be bad news for a ruling party that won the 2019 elections with just 37 per cent of the vote but more than 60 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats, he contended. "The rest of the votes went to 35 victorious parties, all represented in the current Parliament; if most of them have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in 2024," Tharoor asserted. Asked if the Congress would be the fulcrum around which an Opposition alliance can be built to take on the BJP in 2024, he said, "Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP." All other Opposition parties are essentially strong in one state and have a presence in just one or two more, he said, adding that in the circumstances "we will de facto be the fulcrum around which the Opposition converges to offer a credible alternative. But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor asserted. Everyone knows what the Congress represents and it doesn't need to insist on that being recognised, he said. In fact a modicum of humility will go a long way towards winning over the other parties, said Tharoor, who had contested for the post of Congress president last year but had lost the internal party election to Mallikarjun Kharge. Asked if he sees a parallel in Rahul Gandhi's disqualification with that of his grandmother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, Tharoor said there is little doubt that public sympathy is with Rahul Gandhi after this "reprehensible disqualification and jail sentence". People realise it is not good for democracy that the principal leader of the major Opposition party is sentenced to jail and denied a voice in Parliament, he said. "When put that way, even several BJP voters tend to say that it's deeply damaging to democracy," he claimed. The issue is no longer just about one man or one party - it's about safeguarding our democracy by granting every participant in it a level playing field, Tharoor said. "As for what happened in the late 1970s, I am always wary of facile analogies simply because times are different and historical political circumstances are different. But we certainly hope and expect that this public sympathy translates into tangible support at the elections," the Congress leader said. READ MORE | Opposition needs no crutches, says Sibal; Rijiju recalls Emergency On the BJP's persistent attack on Gandhi, Tharoor said that it seems to him that the BJP is rattled and has been alarmed by the positive energy the Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra has generated among Congress workers. "Once Rahul Gandhi commanded the nation's attention with his expunged speech in the Lok Sabha, a decision appears to have been taken to silence him politically," he alleged. After years of trying to caricature Rahul Gandhi, they realise he is a "serious threat", Tharoor claimed and said that explains much of the BJP's approach in recent weeks. Gandhi 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.
By PTI

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday dubbed the ED's raids in the state as "politically motivated" and alleged that since the BJP could not even make any attempt to topple his government, efforts were now on to destabilise it through the misuse of the central agency.

He also said that despite carrying out raids at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh in the last one month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has so far not disclosed anything about what it recovered through its action.

He was talking to reporters here at the helipad in Police Lines.

When asked about recent ED raids on liquor businessmen and others, Baghel replied, "The maximum number of raids in the country were conducted in Chhattisgarh in the last one month. Once the Congress' plenary session was held in Raipur, more than 50 locations were searched by the central agency. But there is no information about the amount recovered during these actions. The agency did not disclose how much (money) it recovered from businessmen or industrialists (covered in the raids)."

"Our party workers Girish Dewangan, Sunny Sushil Agrwal, Vinod Tiwari and Ramgopal Agrawal were raided, but what was recovered from them is not being disclosed. It means that it is a politically-motivated raid. It is an attempt to destabilise. The central agency is being misused...," he said.

"ED officials from different states of the country have been deployed here...Had our government been in a slight majority, they would have tried to poach our MLAs. But we have got a massive majority of 71 seats (in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly), that's why they (Bharatiya Janata Party) failed to make such an attempt.But now the ED is being misused...," he added.

The ED has been investigating an alleged coal levy money laundering case in Chhattisgarh and raided premises linked to several state government officials, businessmen, ruling Congress leaders in the last six months.

The investigation relates to "a massive scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 per tonne was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen, the agency has said.

Nine persons, including a Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and state administrative service officer Saumya Chaurasia, have been arrested by the agency so far in the case since October last year.

The ED on March 29 had carried out searches against Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, his brother Anwar Dhebar, liquor businessman Baldev Singh Bhatia alias Pappu Bhatia and others.



RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday dubbed the ED's raids in the state as "politically motivated" and alleged that since the BJP could not even make any attempt to topple his government, efforts were now on to destabilise it through the misuse of the central agency. He also said that despite carrying out raids at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh in the last one month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has so far not disclosed anything about what it recovered through its action. He was talking to reporters here at the helipad in Police Lines.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); When asked about recent ED raids on liquor businessmen and others, Baghel replied, "The maximum number of raids in the country were conducted in Chhattisgarh in the last one month. Once the Congress' plenary session was held in Raipur, more than 50 locations were searched by the central agency. But there is no information about the amount recovered during these actions. The agency did not disclose how much (money) it recovered from businessmen or industrialists (covered in the raids)." "Our party workers Girish Dewangan, Sunny Sushil Agrwal, Vinod Tiwari and Ramgopal Agrawal were raided, but what was recovered from them is not being disclosed. It means that it is a politically-motivated raid. It is an attempt to destabilise. The central agency is being misused...," he said. "ED officials from different states of the country have been deployed here...Had our government been in a slight majority, they would have tried to poach our MLAs. But we have got a massive majority of 71 seats (in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly), that's why they (Bharatiya Janata Party) failed to make such an attempt.But now the ED is being misused...," he added. The ED has been investigating an alleged coal levy money laundering case in Chhattisgarh and raided premises linked to several state government officials, businessmen, ruling Congress leaders in the last six months. The investigation relates to "a massive scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 per tonne was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen, the agency has said. Nine persons, including a Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and state administrative service officer Saumya Chaurasia, have been arrested by the agency so far in the case since October last year. The ED on March 29 had carried out searches against Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, his brother Anwar Dhebar, liquor businessman Baldev Singh Bhatia alias Pappu Bhatia and others.
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: While Cheetah Tourism is yet to start at Madhya Pradeshs Kuno National Park (KNP), residents of two adjoining villages, watched one of the male Namibian big cats venture into their villages for around 11 hours on Sunday.

Oban, one of the four Namibian cheetahs which were released into KNPs open jungles last month, strayed into two adjoining villages  Golipura and Jhar Baroda  in the parks Agra range in the morning and returned to the jungle by 5 pm.

While Cheetah Tourism is yet to start at MP's Kuno National Park (KNP), residents of neighbouring Jhar Baroda and Golipura village were lucky to see one of Namibian cheetahs for around 11 hrs on Sunday. @NewIndianXpress@TheMornStandard@santwana99 @Shahid_Faridi_ pic.twitter.com/rKmDCiONCP  Anuraag Singh (@anuraag_niebpl) April 2, 2023

Residents of both villages (located around 20-25 km from the KNP) woke up on Sunday to the sight of the male cheetah wandering freely in the villages and agricultural plots.

WATCH |

The villagers claimed that the cheetah had hunted two cows after straying into the adjacent villages. While some villagers remained panic-stricken, confining themselves to their houses, others watched it exploring its cherished animal prey from their terrace.

Then others kept guard with lathis in hand, while some over-enthusiastic villagers even climbed on trees to catch the treasured glimpse of cheetah, wallowing in their onion fields.

We saw it (cheetah) from a close distance in the morning. It was wearing a tracker device in the neck (satellite collar) and moving around freely. Villagers later ensured that it stayed confined to outer parts only, Jhar Baroda resident Madhusudan Singh Jadaun said.

Another Jhar Baroda resident Rakesh saw the male cheetah from his terrace. I saw it at around 6 am from my terrace, as it wallowed in the onion crop field on the backside of my house. Weve been seeing it moving in the KNPs open jungles and outer limits of the village for around 15 days, but its perhaps the first time it ventured into the main village in the daytime. It also hunted two cows in the fields between the jungles and our village, but didnt harm any villager.

Coming to know about the cheetahs movement in the two villages, KNP staff (including the staff which monitored it while it was housed in big enclosures for around 4 months) rushed to the spot. Later DFO-Kuno PK Verma too joined efforts to ensure Obans return to KNP jungles.

Its the normal behaviour of any animal to explore areas outside jungles, particularly in search of suitable prey. But failing to find its preferred prey base and also spotting human disturbance, it will return to the jungles soon, Verma said a few hours before Oban returned to the KNPs thick jungles.

As per KNP sources, Oban and the female cheetah Asha have earlier also moved out of the jungles, though, usually in nocturnal hours, when there is least human activity.

Importantly, four Namibian cheetahs were released from their big enclosures into the open jungles at KNP last month. While Oban and female cheetah Asha were released on March 11, the two male siblings (coalition) Freddie and Elton were released in the same jungles 11 days later on March 22.

The four Namibian cheetahs were among the 8 cheetahs from the southwest African nation which were trans-located to KNP on Prime Minister Narendra Modis 72nd birthday (September 17, 2022) as part of central governments ambitious project to reintroduce the fastest moving animal on earth into Indias wild, from where it was declared extinct in 1952.

Out of the 8 Namibian cheetahs, a female cheetah named Sasha died recently reportedly due to renal failure, while another female cheetah Siyaya recently delivered four cubs in its big enclosure.

With this, the KNP in Sheopur district of MPs Gwalior-Chambal region is now home to 19 cheetahs (7 Namibians and 12 South Africans), besides four cubs born to one of the three Namibian cheetahs waiting in big enclosures for their turn to be released into the open jungles.

BHOPAL: While Cheetah Tourism is yet to start at Madhya Pradeshs Kuno National Park (KNP), residents of two adjoining villages, watched one of the male Namibian big cats venture into their villages for around 11 hours on Sunday. Oban, one of the four Namibian cheetahs which were released into KNPs open jungles last month, strayed into two adjoining villages  Golipura and Jhar Baroda  in the parks Agra range in the morning and returned to the jungle by 5 pm. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); While Cheetah Tourism is yet to start at MP's Kuno National Park (KNP), residents of neighbouring Jhar Baroda and Golipura village were lucky to see one of Namibian cheetahs for around 11 hrs on Sunday. @NewIndianXpress@TheMornStandard@santwana99 @Shahid_Faridi_ pic.twitter.com/rKmDCiONCP  Anuraag Singh (@anuraag_niebpl) April 2, 2023 Residents of both villages (located around 20-25 km from the KNP) woke up on Sunday to the sight of the male cheetah wandering freely in the villages and agricultural plots. WATCH | The villagers claimed that the cheetah had hunted two cows after straying into the adjacent villages. While some villagers remained panic-stricken, confining themselves to their houses, others watched it exploring its cherished animal prey from their terrace. Then others kept guard with lathis in hand, while some over-enthusiastic villagers even climbed on trees to catch the treasured glimpse of cheetah, wallowing in their onion fields. We saw it (cheetah) from a close distance in the morning. It was wearing a tracker device in the neck (satellite collar) and moving around freely. Villagers later ensured that it stayed confined to outer parts only, Jhar Baroda resident Madhusudan Singh Jadaun said. Another Jhar Baroda resident Rakesh saw the male cheetah from his terrace. I saw it at around 6 am from my terrace, as it wallowed in the onion crop field on the backside of my house. Weve been seeing it moving in the KNPs open jungles and outer limits of the village for around 15 days, but its perhaps the first time it ventured into the main village in the daytime. It also hunted two cows in the fields between the jungles and our village, but didnt harm any villager. Coming to know about the cheetahs movement in the two villages, KNP staff (including the staff which monitored it while it was housed in big enclosures for around 4 months) rushed to the spot. Later DFO-Kuno PK Verma too joined efforts to ensure Obans return to KNP jungles. Its the normal behaviour of any animal to explore areas outside jungles, particularly in search of suitable prey. But failing to find its preferred prey base and also spotting human disturbance, it will return to the jungles soon, Verma said a few hours before Oban returned to the KNPs thick jungles. As per KNP sources, Oban and the female cheetah Asha have earlier also moved out of the jungles, though, usually in nocturnal hours, when there is least human activity. Importantly, four Namibian cheetahs were released from their big enclosures into the open jungles at KNP last month. While Oban and female cheetah Asha were released on March 11, the two male siblings (coalition) Freddie and Elton were released in the same jungles 11 days later on March 22. The four Namibian cheetahs were among the 8 cheetahs from the southwest African nation which were trans-located to KNP on Prime Minister Narendra Modis 72nd birthday (September 17, 2022) as part of central governments ambitious project to reintroduce the fastest moving animal on earth into Indias wild, from where it was declared extinct in 1952. Out of the 8 Namibian cheetahs, a female cheetah named Sasha died recently reportedly due to renal failure, while another female cheetah Siyaya recently delivered four cubs in its big enclosure. With this, the KNP in Sheopur district of MPs Gwalior-Chambal region is now home to 19 cheetahs (7 Namibians and 12 South Africans), besides four cubs born to one of the three Namibian cheetahs waiting in big enclosures for their turn to be released into the open jungles.
Narendra Sethi By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Incessant rains in the hilly areas over the past two days have increased the threat to the disaster-hit people and their already damaged houses in Joshimath.

Joshimath, which has been facing a natural calamity since the beginning of this year, is again under threat due to rainwater filling inside the cracks. The gap has also increased in the 'measurement marks' installed to assess the land submergence in the Singhdhar area. Though the administration has evacuated all the affected houses located in the red zone, the recent rains have widened cracks in many houses.

Kamal Raturi, a resident of Manohar Bagh, says that the land in Joshimath continues to sink. Raturi says, "In the Singhdhar area where the administration had put up signs for submergence assessment, there has been a 'gap', which clearly shows that land submergence is still going on".

There have been complaints of widening cracks in buildings at Singhdhar, Manohar Bagh, Cantonment Bazar and other places in Joshimath. Local residents said three 'supports', installed to check the level of submergence, have been loosened by the further sinking of the land.

Disaster-affected Devendra Singh, who lives under Hotel Malari-Inn, says, "His house is completely damaged by the disaster. Both hotels have been dismantled at this place, but still, the land-sinking continues under the Malari Inn and Mount View hotel and the cracks in the buildings have increased further".

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kumkum Joshi told TNIE, "15 pre-fabricated huts built in Dhaka in Joshimath are ready, although they do not have water connection yet. The administration will supply water to these huts through tankers. The water line has not yet been built".

SDM Kumkum Joshi further said, "The administration has also made disaster-affected people inspect it for allotment of these huts. Many disaster-affected people have also come to see these huts. However, these huts have not yet been allotted to disaster-affected people."

DEHRADUN: Incessant rains in the hilly areas over the past two days have increased the threat to the disaster-hit people and their already damaged houses in Joshimath. Joshimath, which has been facing a natural calamity since the beginning of this year, is again under threat due to rainwater filling inside the cracks. The gap has also increased in the 'measurement marks' installed to assess the land submergence in the Singhdhar area. Though the administration has evacuated all the affected houses located in the red zone, the recent rains have widened cracks in many houses. Kamal Raturi, a resident of Manohar Bagh, says that the land in Joshimath continues to sink. Raturi says, "In the Singhdhar area where the administration had put up signs for submergence assessment, there has been a 'gap', which clearly shows that land submergence is still going on".googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); There have been complaints of widening cracks in buildings at Singhdhar, Manohar Bagh, Cantonment Bazar and other places in Joshimath. Local residents said three 'supports', installed to check the level of submergence, have been loosened by the further sinking of the land. Disaster-affected Devendra Singh, who lives under Hotel Malari-Inn, says, "His house is completely damaged by the disaster. Both hotels have been dismantled at this place, but still, the land-sinking continues under the Malari Inn and Mount View hotel and the cracks in the buildings have increased further". Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kumkum Joshi told TNIE, "15 pre-fabricated huts built in Dhaka in Joshimath are ready, although they do not have water connection yet. The administration will supply water to these huts through tankers. The water line has not yet been built". SDM Kumkum Joshi further said, "The administration has also made disaster-affected people inspect it for allotment of these huts. Many disaster-affected people have also come to see these huts. However, these huts have not yet been allotted to disaster-affected people."
Japans Chiba City has recalled 640 units of soy milk made by a Vietnamese company after finding coliform bacteria in the containers, although the manufacturer assured that the production was up to par.

Japans Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on March 27 said that a testing center had found coliform bacteria in 15 master cartons of Fami Calcium Soy Milk, a product of Vietnamese company Vinasoy, which was imported into Japan by Next Trading, according to NHK.

On March 28, Chiba ordered the product to be recalled and destroyed.

Next Trading said that most of the soy milk had not been sold to the public, except for some 200-milliliter packs that were distributed to a restaurant that sells Vietnamese food in Iga, Mie.

A representative of Next Trading told NHK that the company was "surprised and sorry" to learn that coliform bacteria was found in the batch as the company has done its own tests on the product based on the standards of the health ministry. The soy milk tested negative for coliform.

Vinasoy said it had learned that the importer had submitted the soy milk to a third party testing facility in Japan.

The Vietnamese company has tested other products that were made at the same manufacturing line at its factory and that nothing unusual was found. The company also sent its products to a testing facility.

Vinasoy said it has 25 years of experience in the soy industry and is the leading company in the sector in Vietnam.

It has exported to markets with high standards such as the United States, Japan and South Korea.

"Our products are manufactured in a pasteurized environment and are examined through many processes according to international standards," the company said, adding that it would speed up the independent testing process and announce the results to the public.

Coliform bacteria, which can be found in water and feces of warm-blooded animals, does not often cause serious illness, but a person who has been exposed to them for three or four days may have an upset stomach, vomiting, fever and diarrhea.
Madhav Gadgil By

Climate change is landing blow after blow upon humanity and the planet, an onslaught that will only intensify in the coming years even if the world begins to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. That is the clear message of UNEP's Adaptation Gap Report 2022: the world must urgently increase efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change. India is already experiencing manifold impacts. It is steadily getting warmer, and the country's average temperature is expected to rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius by 2100. There is a slow but steady decline in the total quantum of rainfall, while intense rainfall events accompanied by floods and landslides are frequently increasing. The sea level is rising, and more and more super-cyclones are hitting the west coast. The melting of glaciers in the Himalayas threatens to dry up the Gangetic plains.

That is the reality of climate change, but what are the world's leaders, including our own country doing? The young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg sums up the situation in her inimitable fashion. As she asserts, they are not going beyond blah, blah, blah. She says we are sacrificing our civilisation for a tiny number of people's opportunity to continue making enormous amounts of money. We are about to sacrifice the biosphere so that rich people in countries like Sweden (and our India) can live in luxury. But it is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few. We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not blah, blah, blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people.

We have an excellent example of the hope coming from the people of Kerala, the state that has made remarkable advances in making India's democracy meaningful. In 2008 Maju Puthenkandam as the president of Kadanad panchayat, set up the Biodiversity Management Committee that involved experts and volunteers in all 13 wards of the Panchayat and by pooling together information from farmers and other members of the community, prepared the People's Biodiversity Register. This document noted that the quarrying of rocks in the biodiversity-rich Perumkunnu hills was detrimental to it and should be halted. Kadanad BMC requested Kerala State Biodiversity Board to appoint experts to assess the environmental impacts of quarrying and crusher unit; KSBDB duly did so on 24.12.2011. The Kerala High Court examined this case in 2012 and upheld the Kadanad GP's decision not to allow quarrying as it was based on solid evidence. The vested interests then swung into action and convinced the Panchayat that their resolution would only bring the area under the stranglehold of a tyrannical Forest Department and that they would suffer more in its grip than because of the quarry. Worried, the Panchayat rescinded the resolution. Regretfully, the Forest Department serves as the country's crony capitalism tool to turn the common people against environmental protection.

But this has extracted its price. Kerala's Idukki and Kottayam districts reported intense rainfall and major landslides around October 16, 2021. Eleven people died in Idukki and 14 in Kottayam; the worst to suffer was Koottickal in Kottayam, close to Kadanad, where people have been agitating for over a decade to stop the operation of rock quarries. The quarries kept operating even during torrential rains on the day of the disaster; sounds of explosions from the quarries could be heard all through the disaster. Although only three quarries are mentioned in the official data, such deception is exposed in today's knowledge age, and more than 17 were spotted in the satellite image. As many as 5924 quarries continue functioning in Kerala despite such calamities. The government approved 223 new quarries after the 2018 Kerala floods. This is going on, although it is well established that there is a close link between hard rock quarrying and slope failures in the form of landslides.

Take the example of Goa which for centuries retained its green mantle thanks to the tradition of village community-based gaonkaris. The government is now taking power away from the people to support the enterprises of India's super-rich. The Union Ministry of Shipping is backing a project, despite strong objections from the Pollution Control Board, to deepen the Marmugoa port channel to enable the docking of larger cargo vessels to serve the coal berths operated by the triumvirate of Ambanis, Adanis, and Agarwals (Vedanta). Outside the port, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways supports nearly Rs 1,000 crore worth of road projects. These are geared towards linking the port with Karnataka across the Western Ghats to transport coal, cutting a swathe through Goa's villages and forests. The extensive destruction of tree cover that this entails includes the cutting through of Mollem National Park by a railway line. The people of Goa are protesting and going to court to save Mollem while the foresters enthusiastically participate in cutting the trees.

At the Glasgow summit, our government loftily talked about equity and chanted the mantra of LIFE- Lifestyle for Environment to combat climate change. It emphasised that Lifestyle for Environment must be taken forward as a campaign to make it a mass movement of Environment Conscious Lifestyles. India emphasised that the world needs mindful and deliberate utilisation instead of mindless and destructive consumption.

Then what of these quarries that the people of Kadanad and Koottickal are protesting? And what coal berths are the people of Goa crying hoarse against? They manifest crony capitalism, an economic system in which businesses thrive not as a result of risk but rather as a return on money amassed through a nexus between a business class and the political class. Under this system, inequity is growing to support the opulent lifestyle of a minority of our citizens. The climate crisis is worsening by promoting the burning of coal, accelerating deforestation, creating local heat islands, and adding to the aerosol load of the atmosphere. Indeed, a reality check is urgently needed, and it is the common people of India who will force this reality check.

Madhav Gadgil

Ecologist, academic and author

(madhav.gadgil@gmail.com)

Climate change is landing blow after blow upon humanity and the planet, an onslaught that will only intensify in the coming years even if the world begins to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. That is the clear message of UNEP's Adaptation Gap Report 2022: the world must urgently increase efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change. India is already experiencing manifold impacts. It is steadily getting warmer, and the country's average temperature is expected to rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius by 2100. There is a slow but steady decline in the total quantum of rainfall, while intense rainfall events accompanied by floods and landslides are frequently increasing. The sea level is rising, and more and more super-cyclones are hitting the west coast. The melting of glaciers in the Himalayas threatens to dry up the Gangetic plains. That is the reality of climate change, but what are the world's leaders, including our own country doing? The young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg sums up the situation in her inimitable fashion. As she asserts, they are not going beyond blah, blah, blah. She says we are sacrificing our civilisation for a tiny number of people's opportunity to continue making enormous amounts of money. We are about to sacrifice the biosphere so that rich people in countries like Sweden (and our India) can live in luxury. But it is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few. We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not blah, blah, blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people. We have an excellent example of the hope coming from the people of Kerala, the state that has made remarkable advances in making India's democracy meaningful. In 2008 Maju Puthenkandam as the president of Kadanad panchayat, set up the Biodiversity Management Committee that involved experts and volunteers in all 13 wards of the Panchayat and by pooling together information from farmers and other members of the community, prepared the People's Biodiversity Register. This document noted that the quarrying of rocks in the biodiversity-rich Perumkunnu hills was detrimental to it and should be halted. Kadanad BMC requested Kerala State Biodiversity Board to appoint experts to assess the environmental impacts of quarrying and crusher unit; KSBDB duly did so on 24.12.2011. The Kerala High Court examined this case in 2012 and upheld the Kadanad GP's decision not to allow quarrying as it was based on solid evidence. The vested interests then swung into action and convinced the Panchayat that their resolution would only bring the area under the stranglehold of a tyrannical Forest Department and that they would suffer more in its grip than because of the quarry. Worried, the Panchayat rescinded the resolution. Regretfully, the Forest Department serves as the country's crony capitalism tool to turn the common people against environmental protection.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); But this has extracted its price. Kerala's Idukki and Kottayam districts reported intense rainfall and major landslides around October 16, 2021. Eleven people died in Idukki and 14 in Kottayam; the worst to suffer was Koottickal in Kottayam, close to Kadanad, where people have been agitating for over a decade to stop the operation of rock quarries. The quarries kept operating even during torrential rains on the day of the disaster; sounds of explosions from the quarries could be heard all through the disaster. Although only three quarries are mentioned in the official data, such deception is exposed in today's knowledge age, and more than 17 were spotted in the satellite image. As many as 5924 quarries continue functioning in Kerala despite such calamities. The government approved 223 new quarries after the 2018 Kerala floods. This is going on, although it is well established that there is a close link between hard rock quarrying and slope failures in the form of landslides. Take the example of Goa which for centuries retained its green mantle thanks to the tradition of village community-based gaonkaris. The government is now taking power away from the people to support the enterprises of India's super-rich. The Union Ministry of Shipping is backing a project, despite strong objections from the Pollution Control Board, to deepen the Marmugoa port channel to enable the docking of larger cargo vessels to serve the coal berths operated by the triumvirate of Ambanis, Adanis, and Agarwals (Vedanta). Outside the port, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways supports nearly Rs 1,000 crore worth of road projects. These are geared towards linking the port with Karnataka across the Western Ghats to transport coal, cutting a swathe through Goa's villages and forests. The extensive destruction of tree cover that this entails includes the cutting through of Mollem National Park by a railway line. The people of Goa are protesting and going to court to save Mollem while the foresters enthusiastically participate in cutting the trees. At the Glasgow summit, our government loftily talked about equity and chanted the mantra of LIFE- Lifestyle for Environment to combat climate change. It emphasised that Lifestyle for Environment must be taken forward as a campaign to make it a mass movement of Environment Conscious Lifestyles. India emphasised that the world needs mindful and deliberate utilisation instead of mindless and destructive consumption. Then what of these quarries that the people of Kadanad and Koottickal are protesting? And what coal berths are the people of Goa crying hoarse against? They manifest crony capitalism, an economic system in which businesses thrive not as a result of risk but rather as a return on money amassed through a nexus between a business class and the political class. Under this system, inequity is growing to support the opulent lifestyle of a minority of our citizens. The climate crisis is worsening by promoting the burning of coal, accelerating deforestation, creating local heat islands, and adding to the aerosol load of the atmosphere. Indeed, a reality check is urgently needed, and it is the common people of India who will force this reality check. Madhav Gadgil Ecologist, academic and author (madhav.gadgil@gmail.com)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) had a bumper year in 202223, with total collections crossing Rs 18 lakh crore and growing at a healthy rate of 22%. So far, so good. But the next big challenge awaiting the countrys relatively new indirect tax regime is this: With states no longer receiving compensation from the Centre for the revenue loss due to the implementation of GST, many states will find it difficult to raise enough revenue, and dissatisfaction with GST will only grow. Voices of dissent within the GST Council have gotten shriller in recent times, and things may get uglier as the number of opposition-ruled states grow.

Punjab, Himachal, Puducherry and a few others, where the share of GST compensation in tax revenue exceeded 10% on average, may struggle to generate revenue. Bigger states, such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, may also struggle as GST collection growth slows down. Non-BJP-ruled states have already been expressing their disillusionment with GST. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently said she regretted supporting the GST bill. Tamil Nadu and Kerala finance ministers have been equally critical of GST in its present form. If these voices of opposition grow louder, there are chances of structural changes in GST in the future, and the change will not come only because of political opposition. Taxpayers would also force changes.

FY23 was particularly good for GST collections, with average monthly collections crossing Rs 1.5 lakh crorewhen GST was implemented in July 2017, the government had set a monthly collection target of Rs 1 lakh crore for that financial year. While the rebound in economic activities post-Covid lockdowns is one of the reasons for higher collections, the crackdown on evasion since 2020 also contributed. In 202122 alone, the GST authorities detected tax frauds of more than Rs 54,000 crore and recovered more than Rs 21,000 crore in evaded tax. But such crackdowns lead to excesses by the GST officers, resulting in multiple writs filed in different courts. Taxpayers have been raising their voices against a rule that denies a business claiming input tax credit if one of its vendors fails to file a return or pay taxes. These excesses are bound to increase litigations, forcing the authorities to mellow down. The test for the GST regime will be to proactively address the issues raised by states and taxpayers and change for the better.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) had a bumper year in 202223, with total collections crossing Rs 18 lakh crore and growing at a healthy rate of 22%. So far, so good. But the next big challenge awaiting the countrys relatively new indirect tax regime is this: With states no longer receiving compensation from the Centre for the revenue loss due to the implementation of GST, many states will find it difficult to raise enough revenue, and dissatisfaction with GST will only grow. Voices of dissent within the GST Council have gotten shriller in recent times, and things may get uglier as the number of opposition-ruled states grow. Punjab, Himachal, Puducherry and a few others, where the share of GST compensation in tax revenue exceeded 10% on average, may struggle to generate revenue. Bigger states, such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, may also struggle as GST collection growth slows down. Non-BJP-ruled states have already been expressing their disillusionment with GST. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently said she regretted supporting the GST bill. Tamil Nadu and Kerala finance ministers have been equally critical of GST in its present form. If these voices of opposition grow louder, there are chances of structural changes in GST in the future, and the change will not come only because of political opposition. Taxpayers would also force changes. FY23 was particularly good for GST collections, with average monthly collections crossing Rs 1.5 lakh crorewhen GST was implemented in July 2017, the government had set a monthly collection target of Rs 1 lakh crore for that financial year. While the rebound in economic activities post-Covid lockdowns is one of the reasons for higher collections, the crackdown on evasion since 2020 also contributed. In 202122 alone, the GST authorities detected tax frauds of more than Rs 54,000 crore and recovered more than Rs 21,000 crore in evaded tax. But such crackdowns lead to excesses by the GST officers, resulting in multiple writs filed in different courts. Taxpayers have been raising their voices against a rule that denies a business claiming input tax credit if one of its vendors fails to file a return or pay taxes. These excesses are bound to increase litigations, forcing the authorities to mellow down. The test for the GST regime will be to proactively address the issues raised by states and taxpayers and change for the better.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });
The United Nations promoted Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sounded an alarmbased on its last five years of work and researchthat the Earth is likely to cross the critical threshold for global warming within the next decade. Temperatures have already touched 1.1C above pre-industrial times, and the danger mark of 1.5C is within sight. The UN body has made a desperate plea to nations to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating. While the likes of Donald Trump pooh-poohed moves to lower oil and coal usage, it is now proven that a shift in a single decimal point in the Earths temperature can determine whether or not a catastrophe in the form of heat waves, flooding, drought or crop failures will strike us.

India has been a serious participant in the international effort to limit climate change. It has committed itself to reaching zero-emission levels by 2070 and phasing out gasoline vehicles by 2030. However, outside the climate conferences, sceptical planners and politicians see climate projections as mere doomsday talk emanating from pesky jhola-wallahs. The change to greener optionssolar, wind and hydroelectricityhas been slow, and coal continues to account for more than 70% of our power generation. Going forward, the government has set a target of producing 1 billion tonnes of coal in fiscal 2024, up from the current years estimated 700 million tonnes.

WATCH |

Phasing out fossil fuels is also seen as colonial talk by the West, which, after having polluted the Earth since the days of the Industrial Revolution, is now stopping the poorer, developing world from exploiting its natural resources. Though this charge has some truth, failure to stem environmental damage will ultimately lead to axing our own feet. Global warming has speeded up the melting of icecaps and glaciers, raising the oceans levels. The few inches of rise in water levels have churned up cyclones that have taken a huge toll on coastal communities.

Similarly, last summer, intense heat reaching 50C in the North West killed crops in Punjab and later caused massive flooding in Pakistan. If we are to break this cycle of climate catastrophes, we will have to march in tandem with the rest of the world to reduce greenhouse emissions and rapidly phase out oil and coal-based energy.

The United Nations promoted Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sounded an alarmbased on its last five years of work and researchthat the Earth is likely to cross the critical threshold for global warming within the next decade. Temperatures have already touched 1.1C above pre-industrial times, and the danger mark of 1.5C is within sight. The UN body has made a desperate plea to nations to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating. While the likes of Donald Trump pooh-poohed moves to lower oil and coal usage, it is now proven that a shift in a single decimal point in the Earths temperature can determine whether or not a catastrophe in the form of heat waves, flooding, drought or crop failures will strike us. India has been a serious participant in the international effort to limit climate change. It has committed itself to reaching zero-emission levels by 2070 and phasing out gasoline vehicles by 2030. However, outside the climate conferences, sceptical planners and politicians see climate projections as mere doomsday talk emanating from pesky jhola-wallahs. The change to greener optionssolar, wind and hydroelectricityhas been slow, and coal continues to account for more than 70% of our power generation. Going forward, the government has set a target of producing 1 billion tonnes of coal in fiscal 2024, up from the current years estimated 700 million tonnes. WATCH |googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Phasing out fossil fuels is also seen as colonial talk by the West, which, after having polluted the Earth since the days of the Industrial Revolution, is now stopping the poorer, developing world from exploiting its natural resources. Though this charge has some truth, failure to stem environmental damage will ultimately lead to axing our own feet. Global warming has speeded up the melting of icecaps and glaciers, raising the oceans levels. The few inches of rise in water levels have churned up cyclones that have taken a huge toll on coastal communities. Similarly, last summer, intense heat reaching 50C in the North West killed crops in Punjab and later caused massive flooding in Pakistan. If we are to break this cycle of climate catastrophes, we will have to march in tandem with the rest of the world to reduce greenhouse emissions and rapidly phase out oil and coal-based energy.
Priya Rathnam By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The data theft case is getting bigger as Cyberabad police found that the data of 66.9 crore individuals across 44 categories in eight metro cities and 24 States, including 56 lakh people in Hyderabad, was stolen. This came to light following the arrest of a man, Vinay Bharadwaj, from Faridabad in Haryana. Earlier, it was thought that the data of 16.8 crore people including those from armed forces was stolen. Those who were targeted by the data thieves included the users of streaming platforms, payment applications, social media, students and high net worth individuals, etc.

Grilling of the five offenders arrested in the data theft of 16.8 crore people and simultaneous investigation by the Cybercrime wing, led to the arrest of Vinay Bharadwaj. According to the police, Vinay had set up an office in Faridabad to procure the data from two of the accused and sold it on social media to fraudsters for monetary gain. He was found possessing the data of students from educational platforms like Byjus and Vedanta, 1.84 lakh cab users in eight metro cities and 4.5 lakh salaried employees of six cities and Gujarat state.

According to the police, the accused was found selling personal and confidential data of about 66.9 crore individuals and organisations in 104 categories. This included the data of 51.9 crore individuals and organisations in 24 states and eight cities in 44 categories. He was also found to be in possession of data of defence personnel, government employees, PAN card holders, students of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12, senior citizens, Delhi electricity consumers, Demat account holders, mobile numbers of various individuals, NEET students, high net worth individuals, insurance holders, credit card and debit card holders. The police seized two mobile phones and two laptops from the accused and sent them for further assessment by Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). The data of three crore mobile phone users, 98 lakh credit card holders, 15 lakh IT professionals and 1.2 lakh NRIs was also found to be compromised.

Bharadwaj who operated two call centres was stealing information from major categories like banks, insurance and financial services, doctors, software engineers, Truecaller, telecom data, trading and stockbroking, consulting services of crores of individuals, Just Dial and other portals. Further, the data of car owners, job aspirants, real estate businessmen, frequent air travellers, NRIs was traced in his laptop.

HYDERABAD: The data theft case is getting bigger as Cyberabad police found that the data of 66.9 crore individuals across 44 categories in eight metro cities and 24 States, including 56 lakh people in Hyderabad, was stolen. This came to light following the arrest of a man, Vinay Bharadwaj, from Faridabad in Haryana. Earlier, it was thought that the data of 16.8 crore people including those from armed forces was stolen. Those who were targeted by the data thieves included the users of streaming platforms, payment applications, social media, students and high net worth individuals, etc. Grilling of the five offenders arrested in the data theft of 16.8 crore people and simultaneous investigation by the Cybercrime wing, led to the arrest of Vinay Bharadwaj. According to the police, Vinay had set up an office in Faridabad to procure the data from two of the accused and sold it on social media to fraudsters for monetary gain. He was found possessing the data of students from educational platforms like Byjus and Vedanta, 1.84 lakh cab users in eight metro cities and 4.5 lakh salaried employees of six cities and Gujarat state. According to the police, the accused was found selling personal and confidential data of about 66.9 crore individuals and organisations in 104 categories. This included the data of 51.9 crore individuals and organisations in 24 states and eight cities in 44 categories. He was also found to be in possession of data of defence personnel, government employees, PAN card holders, students of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12, senior citizens, Delhi electricity consumers, Demat account holders, mobile numbers of various individuals, NEET students, high net worth individuals, insurance holders, credit card and debit card holders. The police seized two mobile phones and two laptops from the accused and sent them for further assessment by Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). The data of three crore mobile phone users, 98 lakh credit card holders, 15 lakh IT professionals and 1.2 lakh NRIs was also found to be compromised. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Bharadwaj who operated two call centres was stealing information from major categories like banks, insurance and financial services, doctors, software engineers, Truecaller, telecom data, trading and stockbroking, consulting services of crores of individuals, Just Dial and other portals. Further, the data of car owners, job aspirants, real estate businessmen, frequent air travellers, NRIs was traced in his laptop.
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

Express News Service

AHMEDABAD: Police in Canada identified four more bodies of eight victims belonging to two families who died this week while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River into the United States by boat.

The dead bodies identified include that of a family comprising a father, son, and daughter who hailed from Vijapur village in Gujarat's Mehsana district.

They were identified as Praveenbhai Chaudhary (50), his son Meet Chaudhary (20), and his daughter Vidhi Chaudhary (24), according to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.

Another Indian national, Dakshaben Chaudhary (45) was also identified by the police. But police are yet to ascertain where his family lives in India.

In a media Interaction, Mehsana Superintendent of Police (SP) Achal Tyagi stated, "We have received information that four Indians have died but no official communication has been received yet. We have come to know that there are four persons from Mehsana."

Mehsana police are currently investigating "When these people landed in Canada? Who was their agent? and how did these people got trapped there."

Mehsana Police is currently awaiting official communication and more information will be available after that, he added.

Police believe the tragedy occurred on Wednesday night when eight people were attempting to enter the United States illegally in bad weather. As a result, the boat capsized in the river. A boat was discovered near where the victims were discovered. Two children with Canadian passports were among the eight people whose bodies were discovered.

On Friday, Deputy Chief Lee-Ann O'Brien said, the victims appeared to be from two families, one Indian and one Romanian, who were attempting to enter the United States illegally.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the incident by saying, "This is a terrible situation. We must fully comprehend what occurred, how it occurred, and do everything possible to reduce the likelihood of this occurring again."

It is worth noting that last year, an Indian family of four from Gujarat's Kalol died in Canada's province of Manitoba while attempting to cross illegally into the United States.

AHMEDABAD: Police in Canada identified four more bodies of eight victims belonging to two families who died this week while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River into the United States by boat. The dead bodies identified include that of a family comprising a father, son, and daughter who hailed from Vijapur village in Gujarat's Mehsana district. They were identified as Praveenbhai Chaudhary (50), his son Meet Chaudhary (20), and his daughter Vidhi Chaudhary (24), according to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Another Indian national, Dakshaben Chaudhary (45) was also identified by the police. But police are yet to ascertain where his family lives in India. In a media Interaction, Mehsana Superintendent of Police (SP) Achal Tyagi stated, "We have received information that four Indians have died but no official communication has been received yet. We have come to know that there are four persons from Mehsana." Mehsana police are currently investigating "When these people landed in Canada? Who was their agent? and how did these people got trapped there." Mehsana Police is currently awaiting official communication and more information will be available after that, he added. Police believe the tragedy occurred on Wednesday night when eight people were attempting to enter the United States illegally in bad weather. As a result, the boat capsized in the river. A boat was discovered near where the victims were discovered. Two children with Canadian passports were among the eight people whose bodies were discovered. On Friday, Deputy Chief Lee-Ann O'Brien said, the victims appeared to be from two families, one Indian and one Romanian, who were attempting to enter the United States illegally. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the incident by saying, "This is a terrible situation. We must fully comprehend what occurred, how it occurred, and do everything possible to reduce the likelihood of this occurring again." It is worth noting that last year, an Indian family of four from Gujarat's Kalol died in Canada's province of Manitoba while attempting to cross illegally into the United States.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: King of Bhutan, Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, will be on a state visit to Delhi for three days from Monday.

During his visit, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar.

"The visit would provide an opportunity for both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation," said the MEA.

The visit comes at a time when India appears miffed with the comments Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lotay Tshering, made in an interview he gave to a Belgian newspaper Le Libre, wherein he said that China is an equal stakeholder in the boundary issue.

Tshering denied China encroaching on any territory of Bhutan refuting earlier reports that China had constructed villages inside Bhutan. He also suggested that India, Bhutan and China collectively resolve the border dispute. This hasnt gone down well in India.

"A lot of information is circulating about Chinese facilities in Bhutan. However, we are not making a big deal about it as they are not in Bhutan. This is an international border and we know exactly what belongs to us, PM Tshering had said in the interview.

Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised in India over the China-Bhutan talks over the status of the Doklam trijunction where Bhutan and China are engaged in talks to settle the disputes.

The Doklam Plateau is at a trijunction of India, Bhutan and China. It may be recalled that in 2017 Chinese army had begun to build a road in the area which led to a response from the Indian army and an extended stand-off between the two nations. If Bhutan was to cede their area in Doklam to China  it would have China staring into India  granting them easier access.

Meanwhile, after Doklam Indias relations with China have been at a low since the Galwan incident happened in 2020 and senior leaders have not minced their words to share their disapproval  whether it was by External Affairs Minister, Dr Jaishankar, or NSA Ajit Doval recently.

Two days back at the SCO (Shanghai Corporation Organisation), National Security Advisor (NSA) Meet, NSA Ajit Doval had stated, ``it is my view that the goals and vision of the SCO as enshrined in its Charter, calls upon member states to have mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity of states and inviolability of state borders  non-use of force or threat international relations and seeking no unilateral military superiority in adjacent areas. This was an obvious reference to China.

Sources point out that during interactions that the King has with the senior leadership in India, this issue could be brought up for discussion.

India is Bhutans largest trading partner and also one of the first countries to begin trade in the Indian rupee. India also trains Bhutanese diplomats along with its trainees. Will all that India does for Bhutan, there is going to be every reason for India to seek clarity from Bhutan on its stance with China  especially in the backdrop of the statements that the Bhutanese PM has through the interview recently.

NEW DELHI: King of Bhutan, Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, will be on a state visit to Delhi for three days from Monday. During his visit, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar. "The visit would provide an opportunity for both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation," said the MEA.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The visit comes at a time when India appears miffed with the comments Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lotay Tshering, made in an interview he gave to a Belgian newspaper Le Libre, wherein he said that China is an equal stakeholder in the boundary issue. Tshering denied China encroaching on any territory of Bhutan refuting earlier reports that China had constructed villages inside Bhutan. He also suggested that India, Bhutan and China collectively resolve the border dispute. This hasnt gone down well in India. "A lot of information is circulating about Chinese facilities in Bhutan. However, we are not making a big deal about it as they are not in Bhutan. This is an international border and we know exactly what belongs to us, PM Tshering had said in the interview. Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised in India over the China-Bhutan talks over the status of the Doklam trijunction where Bhutan and China are engaged in talks to settle the disputes. The Doklam Plateau is at a trijunction of India, Bhutan and China. It may be recalled that in 2017 Chinese army had begun to build a road in the area which led to a response from the Indian army and an extended stand-off between the two nations. If Bhutan was to cede their area in Doklam to China  it would have China staring into India  granting them easier access. Meanwhile, after Doklam Indias relations with China have been at a low since the Galwan incident happened in 2020 and senior leaders have not minced their words to share their disapproval  whether it was by External Affairs Minister, Dr Jaishankar, or NSA Ajit Doval recently. Two days back at the SCO (Shanghai Corporation Organisation), National Security Advisor (NSA) Meet, NSA Ajit Doval had stated, ``it is my view that the goals and vision of the SCO as enshrined in its Charter, calls upon member states to have mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity of states and inviolability of state borders  non-use of force or threat international relations and seeking no unilateral military superiority in adjacent areas. This was an obvious reference to China. Sources point out that during interactions that the King has with the senior leadership in India, this issue could be brought up for discussion. India is Bhutans largest trading partner and also one of the first countries to begin trade in the Indian rupee. India also trains Bhutanese diplomats along with its trainees. Will all that India does for Bhutan, there is going to be every reason for India to seek clarity from Bhutan on its stance with China  especially in the backdrop of the statements that the Bhutanese PM has through the interview recently.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Cash-strapped Pakistan has decided to seek help from the US to secure "lenient treatment" from the IMF, amid a delay in signing the staff-level agreement with the global lender.

Pakistan is awaiting a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF).

After failing to convince the global lender, Islamabad is left with no option but to seek help from Washington and its western allies, in order to secure a "lenient treatment" from the IMF for moving towards the staff-level agreement, Geo News reported.

Pakistan's economy is in dire straits. The foreign exchange reserves fell to a critically low level of USD 2.9 billion a few weeks ago.

Pakistan's longtime ally China is the only country that has refinanced USD 700 million to Islamabad.

The report said that Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar has established contacts with the US diplomatic corps, based in Islamabad, and made requests to help end the lingering stalemate with the help of the US treasury department.

"Without the blessing of Uncle Sam, things may not move in the desired direction, despite Pakistani authorities claiming that they had implemented all prior actions under the advice of the IMF, which were possible for them," sources were quoted as saying by the report.

"Now the IMF is asking to get 200 per cent assurances from the friendly countries and multilateral creditors to fill the financing gap of USD 6-7 billion on external account till the end of June 2023," the report added.

The IMF has asked Pakistan to get confirmation on external financing needs of USD 6 to USD 7 billion from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and multilateral creditors to fill the gap till the end of June 2023, it said.

The Fund considers that without full surety of external financing, the 'sustainability' of the loan facility could not be guaranteed, said an official.

Meanwhile, a senior government official said on Monday that the IMF side held a final meeting with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officials on Monday, and now they hoped that the agreement would be signed in the next few days.

According to the official, the IMF also demanded abolishing the power sector subsidies on a permanent basis, as the Fund staff raised objections that the government had made commitments only till the end of the next financial year 2023-24.

However, the IMF wanted a commitment to abolish power subsidies on a permanent basis; therefore, they asked for bringing changes in the wording of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) in the last meeting, held in the previous week.

Pakistan is taking various steps on the Fund's behest for the release of a USD 1.1 billion tranche under the USD 7 billion loan facility, including unveiling a mini-budget for fetching additional tax revenues of Rs170 billion by raising the GST rate from 17 per cent to 18 per cent.

Pakistan and the IMF have been holding virtual talks after the two sides held 10 days of intensive negotiations with an IMF delegation in Islamabad from January 31 to February 9, which failed to reach an agreement.

ISLAMABAD: Cash-strapped Pakistan has decided to seek help from the US to secure "lenient treatment" from the IMF, amid a delay in signing the staff-level agreement with the global lender. Pakistan is awaiting a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF). After failing to convince the global lender, Islamabad is left with no option but to seek help from Washington and its western allies, in order to secure a "lenient treatment" from the IMF for moving towards the staff-level agreement, Geo News reported.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Pakistan's economy is in dire straits. The foreign exchange reserves fell to a critically low level of USD 2.9 billion a few weeks ago. Pakistan's longtime ally China is the only country that has refinanced USD 700 million to Islamabad. The report said that Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar has established contacts with the US diplomatic corps, based in Islamabad, and made requests to help end the lingering stalemate with the help of the US treasury department. "Without the blessing of Uncle Sam, things may not move in the desired direction, despite Pakistani authorities claiming that they had implemented all prior actions under the advice of the IMF, which were possible for them," sources were quoted as saying by the report. "Now the IMF is asking to get 200 per cent assurances from the friendly countries and multilateral creditors to fill the financing gap of USD 6-7 billion on external account till the end of June 2023," the report added. The IMF has asked Pakistan to get confirmation on external financing needs of USD 6 to USD 7 billion from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and multilateral creditors to fill the gap till the end of June 2023, it said. The Fund considers that without full surety of external financing, the 'sustainability' of the loan facility could not be guaranteed, said an official. Meanwhile, a senior government official said on Monday that the IMF side held a final meeting with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officials on Monday, and now they hoped that the agreement would be signed in the next few days. According to the official, the IMF also demanded abolishing the power sector subsidies on a permanent basis, as the Fund staff raised objections that the government had made commitments only till the end of the next financial year 2023-24. However, the IMF wanted a commitment to abolish power subsidies on a permanent basis; therefore, they asked for bringing changes in the wording of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) in the last meeting, held in the previous week. Pakistan is taking various steps on the Fund's behest for the release of a USD 1.1 billion tranche under the USD 7 billion loan facility, including unveiling a mini-budget for fetching additional tax revenues of Rs170 billion by raising the GST rate from 17 per cent to 18 per cent. Pakistan and the IMF have been holding virtual talks after the two sides held 10 days of intensive negotiations with an IMF delegation in Islamabad from January 31 to February 9, which failed to reach an agreement.
Welcome to this interview with Andreas Slettvoll, CEO of Chooose, a platform that provides tools for integrating climate action into any customer experience, based in Oslo, Norway.

Through automated emissions calculations, dynamic sustainability scores, a vetted marketplace of carbon removals and offsets, and climate program reporting Chooose delivers easy and accessible solutions for everyone.

TradeArabia's Sree Bhat met Slettvoll at the recent Arabian Aviation Summit in Ras Al Khaimah.

In this interview, we will discuss the importance of addressing carbon emissions and the progress that has been made in the aviation industry towards decarbonisation and the company's plans for the Middle East.

Why we should choose to address carbon emissions?

When it comes to carbon emissions, it is invisible. So, how do we move from effectively acknowledging to something we can act on? Our mission is to close the gap between speeches on climate action and actual action. We need to address the carbon footprint of our activities, including flying, which is one of the most important connectivity drivers we have. Our focus is on making flying a bit less harmful by partnering with airlines to calculate carbon footprints and offering high-quality choices to act on them.

Are you only focused on flying, or are there other areas of decarbonisation that you're involved in?

We build software that airlines and booking platforms and other stakeholders within travel and mobility sectors can integrate with to calculate carbon footprints and offer customers the opportunity to act on them. We work with stakeholders to distribute sustainable aviation fuel and other climate solutions to reduce emissions.

What are the choices you offer for acting on carbon footprints?

We offer the choice to act on carbon footprints by investing in high-quality local projects that either remove or avoid carbon, or by using sustainable aviation fuel that reduce emissions by 85%.

Have you seen any progress in the aviation industry towards decarbonisation?

Yes, the aviation industry is actually pushing the agenda on decarbonisation and taking it very seriously compared to other high-emission industries. The industry has taken it very seriously.

Is the cost of decarbonisation prohibitive?

The focus is not on price point. In the aviation sector, they want a high quality product, that is much more important. The cost differs from region to region with carbon taxes playing their part, but the industry is still pushing towards high-quality decarbonisation solutions.

What about communities that don't have access to electricity? How does decarbonisation benefit them?

There are huge differences from region to region, and we acknowledge that some communities have other priorities. However, the industry as a whole can still make progress towards decarbonisation.

Is there anything else you would like to say about your company?

We are focusing on the Middle East region. We will do quite a lot in the region going forward and it is one of the important projects we have. We aim to partner with both nation-states and airlines to offer sustainable aviation solutions. We are actively considering setting up a base in the region.
Container trucks queue at a national highway to pass through Vietnam-China border gates in Lang Son Province. Photo by VnExpress/Trong Tien

China has extended its trading hours at border gates with Vietnam by one hour to 7 p.m. every day to reduce the congestion of container trucks carrying Vietnamese fruit.

As of Friday there were nearly 150 trucks waiting to cross the border at Huu Nghi border gate. Over 80% of them were carrying fruit. This was a decrease of 50% from the day before.

Tan Thanh border gate had 394 trucks waiting on Friday, and another 10 at the Coc Nam border gate in Lang Son.

The extra hour for trucks to enter China helped reduce congestion at the border gates, Vietnamese Customs officials said, adding that they had also approved Chinese goods passing through the border to Vietnam up until 10 p.m. every day.

Border trading activity has been increasing this month as the harvest season for jackfruit, dragon fruit and durian has begun in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the demand for imports of equipment and materials from China has also risen. Around 1,200-1,500 containers arrive empty every day to pick up imports from China, and this has added to the congestion on the national highway leading to the border gates.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, in a meeting with authorities from Chinas Guangxi Province, proposed Saturday that Chinese Customs create more favorable conditions for the import of Vietnamese agriculture produce.

He also proposed that some trading routes be reopened, that visa duration be extended for truck drivers and border service staff to one year, and the removal of Covid-19 testing regulations for drivers.

The Lang Son Department of Industry and Trade has advised exporters to lower the number of containers at the border to reduce congestion. It also suggested they use other forms of transport.
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Assam celebrates Chatra Diwas to commemorate birth anniversary of social activist Bodofa Upendranath Brahma

Guwahati, March 31: To commemorate 67th birth anniversary of Bodofa Upendranath Brahma, Assam on Friday celebrated Chatra Diwas.

Assam celebrates Chatra Diwas to commemorate birth anniversary of social activist Bodofa Upendranath Brahma

At a central programme held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Friday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while paying tributes to Bodofa Upendranath Brahma honoured his rich legacy and appealed to students to learn at least one ethnic language as a mark of respect to the great soul. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarma said that Bodofa Upendranath Brahma throughout his life contributed to the socio-economic and cultural empowerment of the people.On this occasion, Chief Minister announced several measures and rolled them out for the empowerment of students in the state.As a part of the welfare measures, Sarma inaugurated a scheme where in 3.4 lakh students of Higher Secondary and Degree will be given Rs 1,459 each for buying books.Moreover, 16,763 students will get Rs 7,157 each to pay mess bills.Every Post Graduate (PG) girl student will be entitled to Rs 10,000 each annually and special benefits like minority scholarship to the tune of Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 will be given to every girl student for pursuing Higher Secondary and Degree courses respectively. The Assam Chief Minister also started the process of distributing tablets to 51,858 schools to enable them to maintain students' data digitally.He also disbursed funds to the tune of Rs 50,000 under Abhinandan scheme as government subsidy to the students who are pursuing higher education by taking educational loans.Further, for making education free in colleges, the Chief Minister announced financial aids to 337 colleges. CM Sarma said that Bodofa's thought and philosophy are still active and fresh like flowing rivers.He also opined that every person of the state should be aware of the value of works rendered by Upendranath Brahma as the former President of All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU). Referring to Bodofa Upendranath Brahma who believed that every student should have aim in life, Chief Minister Sarma said that an aim in life makes a person's life purposeful.Stating that celebrations of Chatra Diwas to commemorate the birthday of Upendranath Brahma is a historic decision, Sarma said that the day will help the state to reflect on the actions and philosophy of Upendranath Brahma and how they will be beneficial to the students of the state. Chief Minister Sarma said that the announcements and disbursing of government aids to the accounts of the beneficiary students through DBT will help the government to revolutionise DBT process and get rid of the involvement of any third person.He also said that the government has extended its helping hands to lend self-reliance to every family which according to him will strengthen the edifice of Atmanirbhar Assam. Sarma also said that celebration of Chatra Diwas and participation of the students from all corners of the state and BTR areas in deed is a testimony that all sections of the people of the state are lending their hands to the empowerment of student community.ANI02 April 2023

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April 1 marks 73rd anniversary of establishment of China, India diplomatic ties: Chinese Embassy

New Delhi, April 1: Chinese Embassy in India on Saturday said April 1 marks the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India.

April 1 marks 73rd anniversary of establishment of China, India diplomatic ties: Chinese Embassy

"Today marks 73rd anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India. Guided by the important consensus of the leaders, let's steer bilateral relations from the perspective of respective national rejuvenation, and be partners on paths to modernization," the Chinese Embassy in India tweeted on Saturday.Meanwhile, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its Annual Report 2021-22, said continued unilateral attempts by China to change the Line of Actual Control (LAC) status quo have impacted India-China bilateral relationship.According to the MEA report, China has since April-May 2020, undertaken several attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the LAC in Western Sector, which seriously disturbed the peace and tranquillity along the LAC.These attempts by China were invariably met with an appropriate response from Indian Armed Forces, the MEA said.According to the MEA report prepared by the Policy Planning Division of the ministry, India's engagement with China is complex. The two sides have, however, agreed to manage their differences and not allow differences on any issue to become disputes.Further, the two sides agreed that pending the final settlement of the boundary question, maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is an essential basis for the overall development of the bilateral relationship.Both sides have agreed to resolve the issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh through peaceful dialogue. Consequently, discussions have continued with the Chinese side to achieve complete disengagement from all friction points and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China Border Areas at an early date.According to the MEA, India has maintained its engagement with China both through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest so as to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas.ANI02 April 2023

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Mizoram: Amit Shah appeals armed groups to become part of democratic process

Aizawl (Mizoram), April 1: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a visit to Mizoram's Aizawl, appealed on Saturday to the armed groups in the northeast to join the mainstream, become a part of the democratic process.

Mizoram: Amit Shah appeals armed groups to become part of democratic process

He also said that the Modi government aims to develop the entire northeast area and connect all eight state capitals by air, rail and road before 2025."Today multiple projects worth Rs 2500 crores have been inaugurated in a single day in a small state like Mizoram. This shows that our government is committed to the development of northeast," he said while addressing the people after the inauguration of several development projects in the state worth around Rs 2500 crore."Our government is focussing on exploring every area whether tourism, agriculture, or any other sector where there is the scope of development," he added.The Home Minister said that there used to be violence in the state of Mizoram, but today peace has been established."At one time there was violence and unrest here. Bullets were fired, and bombs exploded. But today Zoramthanga is the Chief Minister of Mizoram, and there is peace here. This is an example of the success of democracy in India," he said.He also appealed to the armed groups to leave the path of armed struggle and join the democratic process."Today, I appeal to whatever armed groups are left in the northeast, to come and join the mainstream, become a part of the democratic process and give their contribution to the development of the region and the country. Mizoram is a great example of the triumph of democracy in front of the whole world," Shah further said.The former BJP president also said that different Union ministers of the government, have visited the northeast a total of 432 times in the last nine years."Narendra Modi government has increased the budget for the northeast region by 276 per cent under the PM-DevINE scheme. All eight state capitals of the region will be connected by air, rail and road before 2025, at a cost of Rs 1,76,000 crores," he added.He further said that new road projects will help in enhancing the trade and business of the state."Four new road projects have also been inaugurated worth Rs 1200 crores. This will not only increase the trade and business of the state but also enhance the business between Mizoram and Myanmar," the Home Minister said.These projects included; the construction of Assam Rifles Battalion Headquarters Complex Zokhawsang worth Rs 163 crore and the construction of the 'Integrated Command and Control Centre' (ICCC) under Smart City Ltd (ASCL) worth Rs 119.2 crore.Besides, the Home Minister also laid the foundation stone for the construction of Zorinpui - Longmasu NH-502A worth an estimated Rs 781.85 crore; the construction of Aizawl Bypass (Package-1), NH-6 worth Rs 329.70 crore; construction of Aizawl Bypass (Package-3), NH-6 worth Rs 720.72 crore; and construction of Laldenga Centre worth Rs 193 crore.ANI02 April 2023

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Atleast 3 dead, several injured after tornadoes tear through Central US

Washington, April 1: At least 3 people died and several got injured after a powerful Tornado hit Central US on Friday, CNN reported.

Atleast 3 dead, several injured after tornadoes tear through Central US

Weather forecasters warned that the threat would continue to persist. Due to the tornadoes in multiple parts of the US, homes were torn to pieces and neighbourhoods were reduced to a scatter of debris.According to Madeline Roberts, a representative for Pulaski County, who talked to CNN, the first fatality was recorded in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where a strong tornado destroyed the region Friday afternoon.At least 50 hospitalisations were reported in the region, and more were anticipated, according to Roberts.Moreover, two people died in the city of Wynne, St. Francis County Coroner Miles Kimble said, who travelled to Cross County to assist, CNN reported.Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas announced a state of emergency and deployed the state's National Guard, saying the state will "spare no resource" in reacting to and recovering from the storm.According to poweroutage.us, there were more than 74,000 consumers without electricity Friday night across the state, as per the American broadcaster. The Tornado ripped the Central parts of the US a week after a strong storm swept across Mississippi and left at least 26 dead.ANI02 April 2023

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NMACC is an ode to our country: Nita Ambani at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre grand opening

Mumbai, March 31: Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre was inaugurated on Friday in Mumbai, with a long line of celebs gracing the grand opening ceremony.

NMACC is an ode to our country: Nita Ambani at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre grand opening

India's first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, showcases India's finest offerings in music, theatre, fine arts, and crafts.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.Talking about the Cultural Centre, the Founder-Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani said, "NMACC is an ode to our country, to the rich legacy and heritage that we all have inherited. I hope the spaces here nurture young talent, not only from the metros and cities but from small towns and remotest villages. I hope it becomes a home for the art, artisans and the audience."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 programmes for adults."I think at this moment my heart is full. I am at a loss for words but I think Mukesh and me had dreamt about having a cultural centre in India comparable to the best in the world and hopefully, today is the reality. I am so looking forward to welcoming everyone to the cultural centre in Mumbai," she added.Reliance Industries chairman, Mukesh Ambani, said, "I think that for this art and cultural centre, Nita has gifted not only to the city of Mumbai but India. It really marks Indias coming of age. In this new India and the new era that we have and we now have the infrastructure to produce world-class content we have the infrastructure to invite everybody else from the rest of the world to come to Mumbai."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 Centre's 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.ANI02 April 2023

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Nithanya Thothiyana Founder of Nithi honored with Prestigious HMTV Naari Puraskar 2023

Hyderabad, April 1: Nithanya Thothiyana, the Founder and entrepreneur of the clothing brand, has been honored with the prestigious HMTV Nari Puraskar 2023. Celebrating the elegance of womanhood and also expressing gratitude towards women for their contribution to society, hmtv, for the first time, organised the Nari Puraskar-2023 (women awards) in Hyderabad on Friday.

Nithanya Thothiyana Founder of Nithi honored with Prestigious HMTV Naari Puraskar 2023

The award ceremony took place at the JRC Convention Centre in Hyderabad on March 31, 2023. The event was attended by prominent figures, including Telangana Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, BRS MLC Kavitha, Roja Selvamani (Minister for Tourism, Culture and Youth Advancement of Andhra Pradesh), and Laxmi Rao (CEO, HMTV).The HMTV Nari Puraskar is awarded to women who have made significant contributions to their respective fields, and Nithanya's hard work and dedication to her clothing brand were recognized with this prestigious award. Speaking about her achievement, Nithanya expressed her gratitude towards all the stakeholders who have supported her throughout her entrepreneurial journey.Nithanya Thothiyana, the founder and entrepreneur of clothing brand , had a passion for the fashion industry since she was 16. Initially, she wanted to become a model and South Indian actress, but she had to discontinue her engineering studies to pursue her dream. Unfortunately, an early arranged marriage at the age of 20 affected her career aspirations. After a failed marriage, she was left emotionally and financially broken, but she never lost hope. She started working in small-scale employment, selling general knowledge books all over Karnataka. Despite facing many challenges, including sleeping on the floor in temples and experiencing a major accident, she never lost her determination to lead an independent life.Nithanya's life took a positive turn when she moved to Bangalore and started working in various jobs, including customer support executive and modeling. She fulfilled her dream of becoming an actor and acted in a blockbuster hit movie, but a failed relationship and a legal issue affected her career. She then moved to Hyderabad to start a career in public relations and eventually discovered her true passion for business. During the pandemic, she started her own clothing brand, Nithi, with a small office setup in Banjara Hills. With a personal loan, gold loan, and some help from her parents, she launched her offline store in Punjagutta. Despite facing many struggles and difficulties, Nithanya stood bravely without losing confidence in herself. Today, she is a successful entrepreneur and hopes to inspire other women who struggle to build their careers and dreams.Nithanya's win has added more responsibility as an entrepreneur, and she is determined to continue creating unique and high-quality clothing that reflects the personality and style of her customers. has always been committed to sustainability and fair trade practices, and Nithanya is determined to continue this commitment and take the brand to new heights.Nithanya's success story is an inspiration to many young women entrepreneurs, and her dedication and hard work have been rightly recognized with the HMTV Nari Puraskar. She has set an example for other women entrepreneurs to follow and has shown that with the right mindset, hard work, and determination, anything is possible.This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)ANI02 April 2023

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TRAI releases Recommendations on local manufacturing promotion in TV broadcasting sector

New Delhi, March 31: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday issued its recommendations on Promoting Local Manufacturing in the Television Broadcasting Sector.

TRAI releases Recommendations on local manufacturing promotion in TV 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.ANI02 April 2023

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UK Foreign Ministry mocks Russia over its new foreign policy

London, April 1: United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has mocked Russia over its foreign policy.

UK Foreign Ministry mocks Russia over its new 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, and pragmatic and is based on the respect for universally recognized principles and 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.ANI02 April 2023

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A phone subscriber fills in his personal information at a telecom office in Hanoi on March 31, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Around 1.67 million phone subscribers have been locked from making phone calls and sending text messages due to failing to verify their personal information.

This number accounts for more than 56% of subscribers who have been told by their service providers to verify their personal subscription data to ensure they match with that of the official national database, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The lock, which began Saturday, prevented subscribers from making phone calls, sending text messages and accessing the internet.

Users will have until April 15 to verify their information with the network provider, otherwise their subscription will be also blocked from receiving phone calls and text messages.

By May 15, if the data are still not verified, the subscriber will lose the phone number.

In recent days many telecom offices are filled with customers seeking to verify their personal information in response to the order of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Customers can check their personal information themselves either on websites or on apps, telecom providers said. However, many want to make sure their information is properly verified, so they are going to offices to be assisted through the procedures.

This is an effort of the ministry to prevent the inappropriate use of SIM cards, such as cold calling or money scamming, which has been going on for years.

Vietnam has 127 million mobile phone numbers in use, 96% of which belong to either Vinaphone, Viettel or MobiFone, according to the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority.
Study sheds new insights into how body handles salt

Huntington, March 31: A new study led by Marshall University academics focuses on a unique mechanism for the body's salt balance management.

Study sheds new insights into how body handles salt

The kidney plays a central role in the body's ability to maintain an appropriate sodium balance, which is critical for the determination of blood pressure. Disorders of sodium balance contribute to the development and progression of many common diseases, including hypertension, heart disease and stroke.Na/K-ATPase (NKA) is the enzymatic machinery that drives absorption of sodium along the renal proximal tubule. As such, it makes quite an unlikely candidate as a molecular counteractor of sodium absorption. In contrast, the Xie model for NKA receptor/signaling, named for the late Zijian Xie, Ph.D., predicts that NKA has evolved as the perfect molecular entity to sense intracellular sodium and coordinate the cellular response to temper absorption and maintain a steady delivery to the distal tubule.Using gene targeting in cells and mice to test the respective contributions of NKA signaling and ion pumping to the overall regulation of renal sodium reabsorption, the study revealed that NKA signaling is functionally dominant over NKA ion pumping in the control of renal sodium reabsorption, according to new research published earlier this month in the FASEB journal, which ranks among the top biology journals in the world."This paper represents a major advance and a paradigm shift in renal physiology/mammalian salt handling," said Sandrine Pierre, Ph.D., interim director of the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and the corresponding author on the study. "To date, it is the most tangible proof of the validity and physiological significance of the Xie model for sodium pump signaling."Expertise in renal physiology and genetic approaches in experimental models to evaluate the non-classical Na/K-ATPase receptor function was provided by a cross-departmental team of investigators from the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (MIIR) and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Xie, a pioneer of NKA non-ion pumping function, was a driving force behind this project from its inception."Developing the first genetic mouse model targeting NKA in renal proximal tubule cells has allowed us to unmask the dual antagonistic roles of NKA in renal Na+ and water reabsorption," said Shreya Mukherji, Ph.D., a scientist in the rare disease DDU at Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. and first author on the study, who conducted major portions of this research as a biomedical graduate student at Marshall University. "However, this is just a stepping stone. Using similar approaches, our group and others will likely dissect new regulatory networks and identify new targets in the management of hypertensive disorders and other highly prevalent chronic conditions."ANI02 April 2023

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Nepal cabinet reshuffled for seventh time, 5 ministries still remain with PM Dahal

Kathmandu, March 31: In less than one month since the formation of the new government, the ruling coalition of Nepal has been embroiled in rift and dissatisfaction resulting in partial and incomplete expansion of the cabinet.

Nepal cabinet reshuffled for seventh time, 5 ministries still remain with PM Dahal

Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda reshuffled the cabinet after weeks of hiatus and was only able to induct 11 ministers which included a state minister. The newly appointed ministers took an oath of office and secrecy from President Ramchandra Paudel at Sheetal Niwas, the President's Office.It's just been about three months since Nepal PM Prachanda had undergone the second round of floor tests and the seventh round of cabinet reshuffle which is yet to give a full cabinet. Supported by 10 parties in the March 20 vote of confidence who have come on board the ruling coalition, Dahal on Friday managed to take 5 parties on board."Let me finish the cabinet formation then after this government would be remembered for its record-keeping works," Prime Minister Dahal addressed a closed-door party meeting on Friday a few hours before the oath ceremony.The latest round of cabinet reshuffle and swearing-in that took place in a closed venue inside the presidential palace saw four leaders from Nepali Congress coming on board the cabinet. The largest party only could fill half of the seats allocated because of the rising dissatisfaction over the division of ministerial posts.The largest party in the parliament, the Nepali Congress's senior leader Shekhar Koirala and General Secretary Gagan Thapa didn't submit names of ministers from their side.President of the largest and oldest party, Sher Bahadur Deuba who happened to be the former Prime Minister recommended party vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka to lead the party's team in Dahal's cabinet.Khadka on Friday took oath as deputy prime minister and minister for Defense; while Prakash Sharan Mahat, the party spokesperson has been appointed as minister for Finance; Ramesh Rijal as minister for industry, commerce and supplies and Sita Gurung as minister for urban development.Likewise, Shakti Basnet of the CPN (Maoist Centre) led by the PM himself has been appointed the minister for energy, water resource and irrigation.In the latest round of reshuffle, Dahal reassigned Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Senior Vice Chairman of the CPN-MC as Home Minister who earlier was looking after the ministry of physical infrastructure and transport.The prime minister himself was overseeing the home ministry after the Supreme Court invalidated the citizenship of the then-minister Rabi Lamichhane.CPN (Unified Socialist) vice chair 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.Similarly, Janata Samajbadi Party federal council chair Ashok Rai has been appointed the minister for education, science and technology.Likewise, Sharat Singh Bhandari of Loktantrik Samajbadi Party has been appointed the minister for labour, employment and social security. Nagarik Unmukti Party's Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary has been appointed the minister for land management, cooperatives and poverty alleviation.Similarly, Mahindra Raya Yadav of the Nepal Samajbadi Party has been inducted as the minister for women, children and senior citizens.Despite filling up the majority of the ministries, PM Dahal still holds the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs; the foreign ministry; the ministry of forest and environment; the ministry of health and population and the ministry of youth and sports.As a result of the increasing rift in the ruling coalition and rising dissatisfaction, Minister for Water Supply Abdul Khan of Janamat Party on Friday resigned.With less than an hour left for the formal swearing-in ceremony, Khan submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister vacating another ministry and showing dissatisfaction over the allocation of ministries."Many congratulations to Abdul Khan-he has proved by resigning that the Janamat Party is not hungry for any ministerial post. We are the servants of people. If you can serve according to the promises made to the people, you will stay in office, if you cannot do the work and fulfill the promises to the people then there is no reason to hang on," tweeted CK Raut, the Chairman of the Janamat Party after Khan's resignation.Janamat Party in the first expansion of cabinet had demanded Agriculture Ministry while it was handed over to the Drinking Water ministry. As per Raut, the party had demanded the ministry of the industry but the prime minister didn't address their demand.ANI02 April 2023

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Shah Rukh Khan looks dapper in black suit for Ambani event, fan says SRK giving competition to his son

Mumbai, April 1: It was one star-studded affair at the grand opening of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai on Friday night where who's who of Bollywood marked his or her presence.

Shah Rukh Khan looks dapper in black suit for Ambani event, fan says SRK giving competition to his son

While Salman Khan and Aamir Khan posed for the paps, Shah Rukh Khan did give a miss to the shutterbugs! However, his looks for Friday night set the internet on fire.Shah Rukh's manager Pooja Dadlani took to her Instagram to post his look for the event. Shah Rukh looked absolutely dapper in his black suit. He sported a pendant with a black stone to complement the look.Soon after Pooja posted these pictures, celebs and SRK fans rushed to the comment section.Mahira Khan, who performed in 'Raees' with Shah Rukh, wrote, "What is this behaviour, Pooja?"Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga wrote, "Dear Lord" with some heart emojis.Fans compared SRK with his son. "Srk giving competition to his own son", wrote a fan.Another one wrote, "Thought it's Aryan for a second!"Though Shah Rukh was not present in the family frame, it was Salman Khan who joined Gauri Khan, Aryan Khan and Suhana Khan for a special photo-op at the event.India's first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, showcases India's finest offerings in music, theatre, fine arts, and crafts.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 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 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 Centre's 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.ANI02 April 2023

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Union Minister Sonowal launches SAGAR-SETU mobile app of National Logistics Portal Marine

New Delhi, April 1: Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday launched the App Version of National Logistics Portal (Marine) 'Sagar-Setu' in the presence of Shripad Y Naik, MoS, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sudhansh Pant, Secretary and other senior officials.

Union Minister Sonowal launches 'SAGAR-SETU' mobile app of National Logistics Portal Marine

The app has been envisaged with deliverables covering features like a Login Module, Service Catalogue, Common Application Format, Letter of Credit, Bank Guarantee, Certification, Track and Trace etc.It will provide real-time information on activities that are generally not within reach of the importer, exporter, and customs broker including vessel-related information, gate, container freight stations and transactions at fingertips.It also enables digital transactions for payments required for the clearance process of import and export like container freight station charges, shipping line charges, transportation charges, etc.While launching this app Sonowal mentioned, "The SAGAR-SETU app of the National Logistics Portal (Marine) would help custodians in easier access to functionalities on a handheld device. Mobile App will ensure data mobility such that approvals and monitoring shall be at the fingertips of port and ministry officials and stakeholders as well."As per Ministry for port Shipping and Waterways, "The SAGAR-SETU APP will benefit Traders and Improve convenience with the reduced turnaround time for approval and compliances. Increase the visibility of operations and tracking.""App will benefit service providers and help in tracking of records and transactions offered also receive notification of service requests" the ministry added.It is pertinent to add that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping Waterways and Ministry of Commerce and Industry envisaged this one-stop digital platform National Logistic Portal Marine in the month of January 2023.Within a span of two months SAGAR-SETU app has been launched which will boost maritime trade thereby enhancing the economy of the country.ANI02 April 2023

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Chinese state-run TV station censors former Taiwan Presidents mentions of ROC: Report

Beijing, April 1: 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.

Chinese state-run TV station censors former Taiwan President's mentions of ROC: Report

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.ANI02 April 2023

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Sheenu Jhawar becomes the first woman President of TiE Rajasthan

Jaipur, April 1: TiE Rajasthan announced Dr Sheenu Jhawar as its new President for the two-year term 2023-2025. She is the first woman in the 21 years history of TiE Rajasthan to assume this responsibility. Dr Jhawar took charge from Dr Ravi Modani who was successfully leading the chapter since 2021.

Sheenu Jhawar becomes the first woman President of TiE Rajasthan

During the biennial leadership transition ceremony, Dr Jhawar informed that India has the third largest number of unicorns in the world, and within India - Jaipur stands as the first tier 2 city, at an overall 7th position as per Startup Blink report. This is a matter of great pride for all of us. TiE Rajasthan has been contributing to this ecosystem since the last 21 years. Our Past Presidents- Mahavir Sharma, Atul Kapur, Dr Ajay Data, Manuj Goyal, Rajneesh Bhandari, Rajesh Mundra, Siddharth Agarwal, Chirag Patel, and Dr Ravi Modani have made a great visible impact. She also introduced her core committee members Anil Agarwal, Archana Surana, Ashish Mangal, Nishant Patni, Parijat Agarwal, Puneet Mittal, Raj Bagri, Rajeev Lakhotia, Sanjay Yadav, Sharvik Shah, Siddharth Shah, Vijay Khemka, and Vikram Ahuja who will help her with her new responsibilities.As I take over as President for the next two years, I plan to carry on this legacy by more focus on the startups, and work with other ecosystem partners, added Dr Jhawar.Dr Jhawar further informed that as of November 2022, the country with the third most Unicorns in the world is India. The more compelling news is that we added more unicorns in 2022 to the world after the USA, making us the second most powerful Startup ecosystem in the world. But even that is no reason to celebrate. What is truly amazing, is that of the 23 unicorns added in year 2022, 9 have emerged from outside of the three top metro cities. The startup landscape has shifted substantially, with many investors raising their largest ever India-focused funds. And interestingly Bangalore- Karnataka today is no longer the only game in town. As ranked by Start up Blink, Jaipur is the 7th and the first tier 2 city, amongst the top cities for Start-ups in India.With the growing ecosystem in the State of Rajasthan- led by Jaipur, and with the funding to startups in non-metros growing to 18 per cent of the total inflows share in 2022, the future of initiation, incubation- acceleration, and sector agnostic innovation looks very bright.The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley is one of the world's largest non-profit organization fostering entrepreneurship globally with 58 chapters in 14 countries. TiE's mission is to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs globally through mentoring, networking, education, incubation and funding. TiE Rajasthan - as part of TiE Global, and adjudged as Best Chapter in 2021, has been a leader in the State of Rajasthan, and a major contributor to the Start Up ecosystem since 2002. The founding members, the Governing Council and past leadership, of TiE -R has clearly envisioned and implemented a strategy that has impacted ease, mentoring, and funds to the Start-up players in the State over the last 20 years.As Dr Sheenu Jhawar takes on the mantle of President of TiE Rajasthan on April 1, she opines a strong mandate to follow this core philosophy of TiE and create newer milestones, that place Jaipur amongst the top 5 Start up ecosystems in the country. Joining her in delivering this vision will be her committee comprising of seasoned mentors and investors of the Chapter. They look forward to having an open-door policy for aspiring Start-ups, and will soon roll out a very structured and high-quality screening and mentoring Program for the most deserving teams of the State.TiE Rajasthan has touched new heights in the past few years, we are much closer to the startups now and our efforts have been recognised at global platforms. Startup mentored by TiE Rajasthan have won global accolades besides TiE Rajasthan itself winning the most coveted Best TiE Chapter Award in 2021. Sheenu has been spearheading all our mentoring programs for past many years and TiE Rajasthan looks up to her tenure to further TiE's mission of fostering entrepreneurship, said Dr Modani in his closing statement.This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)ANI02 April 2023

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Penelope Cruz exudes glamour at NMACC event, greets paps with gracia

Mumbai, April 2: Hollywood stars sparkled on the Bollywood Stage! Notable Hollywood actor Penelope Cruz graced the second-day gala event of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre inauguration in Mumbai.

Penelope Cruz exudes glamour at NMACC event, greets paps with 'gracia'

Penelope chose a one-shoulder pink gown with a high slit. She paired it with a furry cape. The actor looked resplendent with golden earrings and she kept the makeup to a bare minimum. Penelope posed for the shutterbugs and greeted them with 'Gracia' (In Spanish, it means thank you).Penelope was joined by Hollywood stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, supermodel Gigi Hadid and fashion designer Law Roach. All of them shared a frame which is doing the rounds on the internet.B-town celebs like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas, Kareena Kapoor, and Saif Ali Khan also marked their presence at the event.India's first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, opened on Friday, March 31 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 India's 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 India's cultural traditions and their impact on the world, while also showcasing the diversity of spaces at the Cultural Centre.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 Centre's 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.ANI02 April 2023

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Thai authorities are hunting for a hacker who claims to have stolen personal data of 55 million Thais for ransom.

Local media cited Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), saying that the CCIB has asked the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) as well as the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) to look into the case and find out whether the personal data was hacked or leaked by certain officials.

Previously, local media reported that a hacker named "9Near" posted on BreachForum - an electronic information site specializing in the sale and purchase of leaked personal data from public agencies and private companies - that he/she is holding personal data of 55 million Thais, including name, address, date of birth, citizen identification number and phone numbers.

On the website 9near.org, the hacker threatened to reveal the source of the leaked information and make all the leaked information public if the relevant agency or organization does not respond to the request for money before 4 p.m. on April 5. The website also displays an online countdown timer.

DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said on March 31 that personal identification card data kept by the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not been leaked.

He said the ministry contacted the 9near websites hosting service, which is located overseas, to shut it down for possible privacy violations, but has yet to receive an answer.

The ministry is also seeking a court order to block the website in Thailand over possible violation of the Computer Crime Act of 2017.

Minister Chaiwut also said the leaked information did not appear to contain sensitive data, such as medical records. He believes the information gathered by the hackers may have been taken from agencies or companies that have substandard cyber-security systems.

Chaiwut also warned that releasing other peoples personal information is a criminal offense and can result in five years in prison and/or a fine of up to 1 million THB (US$29,350).
Healthtech firm CoverMyMeds to lay off over 800 workers

San Francisco, April 2: US-based health technology company CoverMyMeds has announced to lay off about 815 employees amid tough macroeconomic conditions, the media reported.

Healthtech firm CoverMyMeds to lay off over 800 workers

The company also said to shut its Scottsdale office in the US, which houses CoverMyMeds' patient support centre, reports The Columbus Dispatch."We're saddened to share that today we will eliminate about 815 CoverMyMeds roles, with the majority of those team members leaving the business between now and April 14," Kevin Kettler, president of CoverMyMeds, was quoted as saying."Over the past few months, together, we took important steps to bring our expenses more in line with our revenue growth and to optimise our investments... It's become clear, however, through business planning that further action is needed for CoverMyMeds to continue on a path of long-term sustainable growth. Today, that means making some difficult announcements related to our people and our workplaces," he added.Moreover, the company announced that laid-off workers will be eligible for severance pay, annual bonuses, career support and healthcare for an unspecified period of time, the report said.In February, US-based Nomad Health, a healthcare staffing start-up, laid off 17 per cent of its workforce, amid tough macroeconomic conditions.Co-founder and CEO Alexi Nazem confirmed the company's headcount had gone from 691 to 572 employees -- a reduction of 17 per cent, reports Forbes.IANS02 April 2023

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With roots dating back to 1800s, April is Sikh Heritage Month in Canada

Chandigarh, April 2: With roots dating back to the 1800s, April is Sikh Heritage Month -- a time to celebrate and honour the rich history and culture of Canada's Sikh community.

With roots dating back to 1800s, April is Sikh Heritage Month in Canada

"With 800,000 Sikhs calling Canada home, we have the largest Sikh diaspora, with roots of the first Sikh in Canada dating back to the 1800s," said Punjab-origin Member of Parliament (MP) from Brampton West, Kamal Khera.At 26, Khera was the youngest to have won in the elections in Canada in 2015. She represents Canada's ruling Liberal party."As a Sikh, I am proud of the contributions and achievements of our community!" she tweeted.In one of her visits to Punjab, she said "My counterpart in India is always with heavy security, I move freely."Proud of vibrant Sikh community, Sonia Sidhu, MP from Brampton South, tweeted, "April 1 marks the beginning of Sikh Heritage Month in Canada and as Canadians, we are proud of our country's strong and vibrant Sikh community.""This month, let's continue to learn about Sikh Heritage in Canada."Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, said this year "we celebrate 10 years of Sikh Heritage Month in Ontario".Among many of the events listed, he said he would also be hosting a special event to award Gurbax Singh Malhi the key to the Brampton city on April 18.As a mark of respect for Canada making it the second largest Sikh population in the world, the Mississauga Civic Centre clock tower was lighted with orange, part of the city's Community Recognition Programme.Learning the faith of the Sikhs, another MP Francesco Sorbara said, "During this month we recognise the contributions to our country by the more than 800,000 Canadians of Sikh heritage, learn about their faith and rich history."Randeep Sarai, Member of Parliament for Surrey Centre, said, "This month, I encourage you all to take this opportunity to learn more about the Sikh faith!"India-origin Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand, said Sikh Heritage Month "is a time to recognise the many contributions of the Sikh community across Canada. Today, I joined members of the Oakville and Halton Sikh community at the flag raising at Oakville Town Hall"."This is an opportunity for Ontarians to come together to learn more about the Sikh faith and celebrate the many ways Sikh Ontarians help build a stronger and better Ontario," said Ontario's Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Michael Ford.MP for Vancouver South, Harjit Sajjan, said, "Learn about how the Sikh values of equality and 'seva' (selfless service) are reflected in what we as Canadians strive toward."Another Punjab-origin Aman Singh, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, added, "On behalf of our British Columbia New Democratic Party government, our caucus and colleagues at your opening gala for Sikh Heritage Month. I know there are many events planned throughout the month."According to Sikh Heritage British Columbia, its philosophy is providing a space where the Sikh community can connect with each other and with neighbouring communities to help each other prosper, learn and grow.Its promise is, "Create a space where Sikhs and non-Sikhs can come together to create connections and relationships for prosperity."(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)IANS02 April 2023

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Gigi Hadid steals the show with her desi attire at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre

Mumbai, April 2: After the ocean-themed co-ord set, American supermodel Gigi Hadid attended the second day of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC)'s 'India in Fashion' event in a desi attire.

Gigi Hadid steals the show with her desi attire at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre

She marked her presence wearing a white sari with golden work and styled it with an embellished statement blouse.Gigi accessorised her look with bangles and ethnic earrings.To complete her, she kept her hair tied in a bun to enhance her look.Apart from her, B-town celebs like Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, and global icon Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas, Kareena Kapoor, and Saif Ali Khan also marked their presence at the event.India in Fashion - Curated by author and costume expert Hamish Bowles and designed by award-winning exhibition designer Patrick Kinmonth along with Rooshad Shroff, this first-of-its-kind exhibition will showcase over 140 pieces of costume documenting India's impact on the global fashionable imagination.The India-inspired pieces have been sourced from some of the biggest museums and unseen personal collections from around the globe. The exhibition's spectacular set will feature costumes from iconic brands such as Chanel and Dior to key historic pieces dating as far back as the 18th century.India's first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, opened on Friday, March 31 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 India's 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 India's cultural traditions and their impact on the world, while also showcasing the diversity of spaces at the Cultural Centre.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 Centre's 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.ANI02 April 2023

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Syrian Foreign Minister meets Egyptian counterpart in Cairo

Damascus, April 2: Syrian Foreign and Expatriate Minister Fayssal Mikdad met his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and held bilateral talks in Cairo. It is the first such trip to Cairo for the Syrian foreign minister in more than a decade, according to Syrian News Agency SANA and Anadolu Agency.

Syrian Foreign Minister meets Egyptian counterpart in Cairo

According to the SANA, the conversation between the two addressed the strengthening of brotherly relations and the latest events in the region and the world.Egyptian Foreign Minister reiterated "Egypt's support to efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis at the earliest possible time," according to an Anadolu Agency report citing the statement released from Egypt's side.The Egyptian minister also voiced support for UN efforts to reach a consensus among Syrian people, build confidence, and continue the meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, the statement said.Mekdad, for his part, said he looks forward to more Arab solidarity with Syria in order to overcome its crisis, the statement said.According to the statement, the two ministers agreed on intensifying channels of communication between the two countries with a view to tackling issues and matters of interest for both countries, reported Anadolu Agency.Mekdad's visit was the first to Egypt since Syria's membership in the Cairo-based Arab League was suspended in November 2011 following the regime's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.The top diplomats of Egypt and Syria met in September 2021 in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings.Earlier, the Egyptian Foreign Minister had visited Damascus on February 27 and conveyed to President Bashar al-Assad a message from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which he expressed Egypt's solidarity with Syria, and Cairo's willingness to strengthen relations and develop joint cooperation, according to SANA.ANI02 April 2023

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Norway contributes USD23.7 mn of flexible funding to boost FAOs capacity to respond to crises, emergencies

Rome, April 2 (ANI/WAM): The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a USD 23.7 million contribution from the Government of Norway to scale up its response to the most severe humanitarian crises and emergencies. The contribution represents the largest single unearmarked funding of its kind to date.

Norway contributes USD23.7 mn of flexible funding to boost FAO's capacity to respond to crises, emergencies

The funds will be channelled through FAO's Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA), which is a funding mechanism with streamlined procedures to receive flexible contributions from donors and allocate them where and when they are most needed.With this funding, FAO aims to reach around 600 000 food-insecure people with farming inputs, livestock supplies, fishing inputs and cash assistance where needed. The contribution will focus on countries and people most in need under Humanitarian Response Plans while having a strategic reserve to respond quickly to sudden onset emergencies."We would like to thank the Government of Norway for this generous and timely contribution which will enable us to provide rapid and at-scale assistance to those in greatest need," said Rein Paulsen, Director of the FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience. "Norway's partnership with FAO has always focused on empowering rural families affected by hunger to protect and restore their own food production. It is of utmost importance to prioritize smallholder agriculture as a strategic frontline humanitarian response."Through the SFERA 2022 contribution, Norway was also among the first countries to assist the earthquake-affected families in Turkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic. Assistance is also being delivered in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mali, Mozambique and Niger.Under the 2023 humanitarian appeals, FAO requires USD 1.9 billion to assist 48 million people to restore local production and gain access to a steady supply of nutritious food, facilitate their recovery and lay the foundations for resilience to future shocks. (ANI/WAM)ANI02 April 2023

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U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis (L) meets with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc in Washington D.C., March 30, 2023. Photo by Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The U.S. reaffirmed commitments to continue assisting Vietnam in improving its maritime capacity, law enforcement and identification of remains of Vietnamese soldiers as the countries' representatives met.

The 12th Vietnam-U.S. Political, Security and Defense Dialogue was held in Washington D.C. on Thursday under the co-chair of Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis.

At the event, the two sides expressed their delight at the extensive and practical development of the two countries relations in the bilateral, regional and international aspects based on the principle of respecting independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and political institutions of each other.

Ngoc affirmed that Vietnam always considers the U.S. as one of its most important partners, while Lewis reaffirmed that the U.S. consistently supports a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam.

The two sides emphasized the importance of bilateral meetings, consultations and delegation exchanges for the process of building trust and mutual understanding, and promoting cooperation and intertwined interests between Vietnam and the U.S. They also affirmed that they will maintain frank, constructive and regular dialogues on controversial issues.

The officials recognized the progress of bilateral cooperation in the fields of defense and security, law enforcement and settlement of post-war consequences; while agreeing to continue developing bilateral defense ties at a stable pace, in line with the interests, conditions and policies of each country, and to expand cooperation in cyber-security, fighting trans-national crimes, and participation in UN peace-keeping missions.

They shared the determination to maintain cooperation in clearing mines and explosives, decontaminating dioxin, supporting war-affected people in Vietnam, and searching the two countries soldiers missing in the war.

U.S. representatives reaffirmed their commitments to continue assisting Vietnam in improving its maritime capacity, law enforcement and identification of remains of Vietnamese soldiers through training and equipment transfer.

The two sides also discussed several international and regional issues of mutual concern, and stressed the importance of ensuring the rule of law, freedom and safety of navigation and aviation, and peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international law, without the threat or use of force.

The U.S. side affirmed its backing for ASEAN's consensus and central role in the regional security architecture, as the two sides agreed on the need to implement creative and practical measures to promote the Mekong-U.S. Partnership in the coming time.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, Ngoc had discussions with leaders of the U.S. Department of State, Department of Defence, and National Security Council, and some parliamentarians and advisers of the Congress, and representatives of US enterprises.

These meetings came as Vietnam and the U.S. are celebrating the 10th founding anniversary of their comprehensive partnership, and followed the high-level phone conversation on March 29 between Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and U.S. President Joe Biden.
New Belgrade-Surcin highway section opened for traffic

Belgrade, April 2: A highway section linking New Belgrade to Surcin of Serbia was opened for traffic.

New Belgrade-Surcin highway section opened for traffic

The section, a part of the E-763 highway, is around 8-km-long and has three lanes in each direction, a five-metre dividing strip, two-metre-wide pedestrian paths, and bicycle lanes was opened on Saturday.The construction of the section began in March 2021 and was conducted by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), Xinhua news agency reported.The project, worth about $70.5 million, is of high priority for Serbia as it will enable a fast connection between Belgrade and the E-763 highway and create a short link between Belgrade and the Adriatic Sea.Attending the opening ceremony in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia is heading into new infrastructural investments thanks to good financial results this year and low public debt."This year, we expect to sign large contracts, thanks to slightly better results... This is the success of Serbia, but also of all our citizens," Vucic added.Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, several Ministers, the Mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Sapic, and the Chinese ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo also attended the ceremony."We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Chinese and Serbian engineers and workers who worked on this section of the road. We are glad that our Serbian friends will feel the benefits of the road every day," said Chen.IANS02 April 2023

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Tea tourism will increase in coming years: Union minister G Kishan Reddy

Darjeeling, April 1: Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said that tea tourism will increase in the coming years, after attending the first-day event at the second G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting here on Saturday.

Tea tourism will increase in coming years: Union minister G Kishan Reddy

While talking to ANI, the Union Minister said, "Our second meeting for tourism has taken place here in Darjeeling. This is a new experience for the G20 delegates. The workers who work here are also getting encouragement after this. Tea tourism will increase in the upcoming years."Meanwhile, the G20 delegates experienced tea plucking on the sidelines of the first-day event.Darjeeling, the Queen of the Himalayas and one of India's leading tourist destinations, along with Siliguri, located in the foothills of the Himalayas, has been chosen to host the second Tourism Working Group meeting from April 1-3, 2023.Around 130 participants are attending the event.The delegates from the G-20 member countries will get the opportunity to discuss the ways of reviving the tourism sector which got affected due to the Covid pandemic, in this three-day meeting from April 1 to April 3.On the first-day event, Chief coordinator of G20 Harshvardhan Shringla said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed us to showcase India to the world as we are ready to host the G20 Summit in September this year. I recall him saying that, "each part of India has its own uniqueness, heritage, beauty and culture and that our G20 meetings should not be confined to the national capital, New Delhi, alone."To explore India during the G20 meeting, Shringla said, "The delegates from the G-20 member countries will get the opportunity to discuss the ways of reviving the tourism sector which got affected due to the Covid pandemic, in this three-day meet."During his speech, he also pointed out, "India, especially the North Eastern part of the country will get a big opportunity to showcase the rich cultural heritage and tourism potentials dominated in the region."Around 10 ambassadors from different countries including Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, G20 Chief Coordinator HarshVardhan Shringla, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism participated in the program in Siliguri and Darjeeling on the first day of the second G20 Tourism Working Group meeting.During the three-day meetings, the foreign delegates would get to experience the tea industry, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and adventure tourism.ANI02 April 2023

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ISRO successfully conducts autonomous test landing of Reusable Launch Vehicle

Chitradurga, April 2: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) informed that it successfully conducted the autonomous test landing mission of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnataka's Chitradurga on Sunday.

ISRO successfully conducts autonomous test landing of Reusable Launch Vehicle

A statement issued by ISRO said, "India achieved it. ISRO joined by DRDO successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours on April 2, 2023."According to the statement, the RLV took off at 710 am by a Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force. The release of RLV was autonomous. Then using the Integrated Navigation, Guidance and control system, the RLV completed an autonomous landing on the ATR at 740 AM. With that, ISRO successfully achieved the autonomous landing of a space vehicle.The statement said, "The autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle's landing high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path as if the vehicle arrives from space. LEX utilized several indigenous systems. Localized Navigation systems, instrumentation, and sensor systems, etc. were developed by ISRO.""ISRO had demonstrated the re-entry of its winged vehicle RLV-TD in the HEX mission in May 2016. The re-entry of a hypersonic sub-orbital vehicle marked a major accomplishment in developing Reusable Launch Vehicles. The LEX began with an Integrated Navigation test in 2019 and followed multiple Engineering Model Trials and Captive Phase tests in subsequent years", reads the statement.Along with ISRO, Indian Air Force (IAF), Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), and Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) contributed to this test.Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, VSSC, and Shyam Mohan N, Programme Director, ATSP guided the teams. Dr Jayakumar M, Project Director, RLV was the Mission Director, and Muthupandian J, Associate Project Director, RLV was the Vehicle Director for the mission. Ramakrishna, Director, ISTRAC was present on the occasion. Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DOS Somanath witnessed the test and congratulated the team.With LEX, the dream of an Indian Reusable Launch Vehicle arrives one step closer to reality, said the ISRO officials.ANI02 April 2023

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Delhi Assembly Committee recommends extending free education to all EWS/DG students in private schools

New Delhi, April 1: The 13th Delhi Legislative Assembly Committee on Welfare of SC/STs meeting was held on Saturday under the chairmanship of Karol Bagh MLA Vishesh Ravi.

Delhi Assembly Committee recommends extending free education to all EWS/DG students in private schools

In the meeting, the Committee recommended extending free education to all Economically Weaker Section/Disadvantaged Group (EWS/DG) students studying in private schools till class 12.The Committee had summoned the GNCTD Education Department to discuss the issue of ensuring the rights and welfare of EWS/DG students studying in private schools."It was deliberated that the Right to Education (RTE) Act currently provides free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14 years, but the benefits are only provided up to class 8. This has left many EWS/DG students in Delhi struggling to pay the fees beyond class 8 and some are even at the risk of dropping out of school," the Delhi government said in a press note. The Committee on Welfare of SC/STs has thus recommended that the Education Department of Delhi extend the benefits of free education to all economically weaker section (EWS/DG) students studying in private schools up to class 12. It was also noted that some private schools that have received land from government agencies already provide free education to EWS/DG children up to class 12.The Committee asserted that it is essential to provide continuous access to education to all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Extending the benefits of free education to all EWS/DG students up to class 12 will ensure that they receive a complete education and have the opportunity to pursue higher studies and have better career prospects.Vishesh Ravi said, "Education is the foundation of a progressive and equitable society, and we must ensure that every child has access to it. This recommendation will help thousands of EWS students in Delhi to continue their education without any financial burden."The Committee acknowledged that this may require additional resources and funding, but held that the long-term benefits to society as a whole makes it a necessary investment. Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and ensuring a better future for all.The Committee urged the Education Department of Delhi to consider this recommendation and take necessary steps to extend the benefits of free education to all EWS/DG students studying in private schools up to class 12.ANI02 April 2023

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IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans Kane Williamson ruled out with injury, to fly back to New Zealand

Ahmedabad, April 2: Defending champions Gujarat Titans suffered a big blow on Sunday as Kane Williamson was been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 after suffering an injury during Friday's tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings.

IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans' Kane Williamson ruled out with injury, to fly back to New Zealand

Seasoned New Zealand batter Williamson sustained an injury to his right knee while attempting a catch against Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium. It is a big blow for the Titans as Williamson was expected to be the mainstay of their middle order."It is sad to lose Kane to injury so early in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery, with the hope of seeing him in action very soon," said Gujarat Titans' Director of Cricket of Gujarat Titans Vikram Solanki said.Williamson will now head home to New Zealand for further assessment. The Gujarat Titans will finalise a replacement for the right-handed batter and an announcement will be made in due course, the franchise said in a statement on Sunday.Williamson's knee injury has the New Zealand team management worried about his availability for the entire season. Williamson, New Zealand's white-ball captain, had to leave the field, after which Sai Sudharsan was roped in as an Impact Player.The New Zealand team doctors will now assess the extent of his injury and set him up on a recovery and rehabilitation programme, expecting him to be fit in time for the World Cup to be held in India in October-November this year.IANS02 April 2023

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Ajay celebrates bday with special screening of Bholaa for the underprivileged

Mumbai, April 2: As he turned 54 on Sunday, Bollywood star Ajay Devgn celebrated his special day with a special screening of his latest release 'Bholaa' with 100 underprivileged beneficiaries here.

Ajay celebrates b'day with special screening of 'Bholaa' for the underprivileged

Ajay said "I am truly humbled by the love that I have received from these young superstars today. They loved Bholaa, shared their favourite parts from the film with so much enthusiasm, spoke so fondly of my action sequences in the movies. It was a touching and truly lovely experience for me."BookASmile, the charity initiative of BookMyShow, organised a special screening of 'Bholaa', the action-thriller starring Ajay and Tabu for young, underprivileged beneficiaries from Mumbai.These beneficiaries are first-generation students from low-income backgrounds living in the slums of Mumbai suburbs. Ajay spent time with them on his birthday, talking about the world of movies, dreams and life in general. The celebration was over cupcakes and loud, excited songs wishing him a Happy Birthday.Speaking about the special initiative, Farzana Cama Balpande, Head - BookASmile said "We are so appreciative of Ajay and his team for being so gracious and helping us spread smiles, making entertainment more meaningful and truly make this Sunday morning special for the beneficiaries."IANS03 April 2023

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Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski (L), Under-Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States, meets with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang in Vatican, March 31, 2023. Photo by Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Vietnam and Vatican discussed their relations and issues related to the Vietnam Catholic Church during a recent meeting at the Holy See.

The Vietnam - Holy See Joint Working Group held the 10th-round meeting in the Vatican on March 31 under the co-chair of Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, Under-Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States.

Hang affirmed Vietnams consistent policy of respecting and ensuring peoples freedom of belief and religion, and that administrations at all levels have always paid attention to and created favorable conditions for activities of religions, including Catholicism.

She proposed the Holy See pay attention to and guide the Catholic community of Vietnam to stay attached to and stand side by side with the State and people, contribute to the countrys development, and bring into play the fine cultural and ethical values of Catholicism, thereby helping to promote the Vietnam - Holy See ties.

Wachowski noted that the Holy See always hopes that the Vietnam Catholic Church operates in line with Vietnams law and actively contributes to the countrys development in conformity with the Churchs teachings of "living the gospel amidst the nation" and that "a good Catholic must be a good citizen."

At the meeting, the two sides shared the view that the relations between Vietnam and the Holy See have recorded much progress in the recent past as seen in the regular meetings and consultations, high-level delegation exchanges, and frequent pastoral visits by Archbishop Marek Zalewski, Non-Resident Pontifical Representative and Special Envoy of the Holy See, to Vietnam.

They also discussed and basically agreed on the working regulations for the Holy Sees Resident Representative and Resident Representative Office in Vietnam.
Jeffrey Eric Jenkins is professor and chair of theater studies at the University of Illinois, faculty affiliate of the Discovery Partners Institute and president of the International Association of Theatre Critics. He can be reached at jej@illinois.edu, and you can follow him on Twitter (@Crrritic).
Terrill Swift, who spent 15 years in prison before being cleared of a murder and rape he did not commit, talks to reporters Friday in Urbana at the first-ever mandated training for police recruits in the avoidance of wrongful convictions.
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Residents across a wide swath of the U.S. are racing to assess the destruction from fierce storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast
Long thought of as "brain glue," the star-shaped cells called astrocytes-;members of a family of cells found in the central nervous system called glial that help regulate blood flow, synaptic activity, keep neurons healthy, and play an important role in breathing. Despite this growing appreciation for astrocytes, much remains unknown about the role these cells play in helping neurons and the brain process information.

We believe astrocytes can add a new dimension to our understanding of how external and internal information is merged in the brain." Nathan Smith, MS, PhD, associate professor of Neuroscience at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester

He and fellow authors from the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Copenhagen highlight this in an opinion article out today in Trends in Neuroscience. The piece explores how astrocytes may be a key player in the brain's ability to process external and internal information simultaneously. "More research on these cells is necessary to understand their role in the process that allows a person to have an appropriate behavioral response and also the ability to create a relevant memory to guide future behavior."

Guiding information in the brain

How our body integrates external with internal information is essential to survival. When something goes awry in these processes, behavioral or psychiatric symptoms may emerge. Smith and co-authors point to evidence that astrocytes may play a key role in this process. Previous research has shown astrocytes sense the moment neurons send a message and can simultaneously sense sensory inputs. These external signals could come from various senses such as sight or smell. Astrocytes respond to this influx of information by modifying their calcium Ca2+ signaling directed towards neurons, providing them with the most suitable information to react to the stimuli. The authors hypothesize that this astrocytic Ca2+ signaling may be an underlying factor in how neurons communicate and what may happen when a signal is disrupted. But much is still unknown in how astrocytes and neuromodulators, the signals sent between neurons, work together.

"Astrocytes are an often-overlooked type of brain cell in systems neuroscience," Smith said. "We believe dysfunctional astrocytic calcium signaling could be an underlying factor in disorders characterized by disrupted sensory processing, like Alzheimer's and autism spectrum disorder."

Building on the past to reach the future

Smith has spent his career studying astrocytes. As a graduate student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Smith was part of the team who discovered an expanded role for astrocytes. Apart from absorbing excess potassium, astrocytes themselves could cause potassium levels around the neuron to drop, halting neuronal signaling. This research showed, for the first time, that astrocytes did more than tend to neurons, they also could influence the actions of neurons.

"I think once we understand how astrocytes integrate external information from these different internal states, we can better understand certain neurological diseases. Understanding their role more fully will help propel the future possibility of targeting astrocytes in neurological disease," said Smith.

The communication between neurons and astrocytes is far more complicated than previously thought. Evidence suggests that astrocytes can sense and react to change-;a process that is important for behavioral shifts and memory formation. Authors believe discovering more about astrocytes will lead to a better understanding of cognitive function and lead to advances in treatment and care.

Additional co-authors include Rune Rasmussen, PhD, Antonis Asiminas, PhD, Eva Carlsen, PhD, and Celia Kjaerby, PhD, from the University of Copenhagen. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the European Union under the Marie Skodowska-Curie Fellowship, the ONO Rising Star Fellowship, the Lundbeck Foundation Experiment Grant, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
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 8 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. 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." Kazuya Motomura, Department of Neurosurgery, Nagoya University
The merger between banks Credit Suisse and UBS could see up to 36,000 jobs being cut across the world, the SonntagsZeitung weekly reported on Sunday.

The takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse was hastily arranged by the Swiss government on March 19 to prevent a global financial meltdown, following fears of contagion from the collapse of banks in the United States.

UBS announced on Wednesday it would bring back former chief executive Sergio Ermotti to handle the huge risks involved in the Swiss banking giants controversial absorption of its troubled rival Credit Suisse.

According to a report by news agency AFP, on Sunday, citing internal anonymous sources, SonntagsZeitung said management was mulling cutting between 20 percent and 30 percent of the workforce, meaning between 25,000 and 36,000 jobs.

Up to 11,000 jobs could be cut in Switzerland alone, according to the weekly, which did not provide details of which posts could be targeted, AFP reported.

Before the merger, UBS and Credit Suisse had employed slightly more than 72,000 and 50,000 people, respectively.

UBS and Credit Suisse, the second-biggest bank in Switzerland, were both among the select banks around the world considered to be global systemically important financial institutions (G-SIFIs) and therefore deemed too big to fail.

UBS chairman Colm Kelleher said this week: Theres a huge amount of risk in integrating these businesses."

Credit Suisse was embroiled in a series of scandals in the years leading up to a March 15 share price collapse, when investor confidence plunged following two bank failures in the United States.

Among these was the bankruptcy of the British financial company Greensill and the implosion of the US hedge fund Archegos.

It was also caught up in a bribery scandal in Mozambique involving loans to state-owned companies and was fined $2 million in a money laundering case linked to a Bulgarian cocaine network.

Recently, UBS said the transaction reinforces UBSs position as the leading universal bank in Switzerland. The combined businesses will be a leading asset manager in Europe, with invested assets of more than $1.5 trillion.

The combination of the two businesses is expected to generate annual run-rate of cost reductions of more than $8 billion by 2027.

(With agency inputs)

Read all the Latest Business News here
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) Gala was a star-studded event, with Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities showcasing their fashion on the pink carpet and delivering electrifying performances inside. Amid the glitz and glamour, one performance stood out for the wrong reasons. Varun Dhawans dance number caused controversy as he lifted American supermodel Gigi Hadid during his performance, sparking concerns among fans about consent.

A video circulating on the internet shows the Bollywood actor beckoning Gigi onto the stage by taking her arm. Gigi, wearing a golden saree, makes her way to the stage only to be abruptly lifted and twirled around by Varun. He then plants a kiss on her cheek before setting her back down. The incident left Gigi visibly taken aback, and many viewers wondered if the act was pre-planned. The video quickly gained viral status on social media, with fans criticising Varuns actions and raising concerns about consent, respect and boundaries.

Amid glitz and glamour of the grand opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in #Mumbai, there is this video of #VarunDhawan with American supermodel #GigiHadid making buzz on the internet. Take a look at their performance pic.twitter.com/5kY86nE7Q9 News18 (@CNNnews18) April 2, 2023

A user commented, #VarunDhawan needs to control himself.offscreen can be friends with everyone but when onscreen he picks up or tickle other person/costars without permission looks disgusting and disrespectful.Shouldnt have picked up #GigiHadid while dancing." Another user remarked, Varun Dhawan is embarrassing actually! huhstupid,clownery behaviour! I hope,its scripted or something."

Shame on you @Varun_dvnGigi looks so uncomfortable !This varun is full trash and cheap person!He picked her without her consent like seriously #GigiHadid https://t.co/r64uL3Pskc Varad (@Cric_varad) April 2, 2023

#VarunDhawan is a cheapo for what he did with #GigiHadidEmbarrassing  she should have slapped him straight !!!!Mr Dhawan doesnt know how to take permission or ask for consent. Abhilasha (@abhilaashaaa) April 2, 2023

Not sure if Gigi Hadid will ever recover from it lmfaooo #GigiHadid #VarunDhawanpic.twitter.com/GXgPXttHaQ Miss kiya (@PriyankaAnomaly) April 2, 2023

#VarunDhawan needs to control himself.offscreen can be friends with everyone but when onscreen he picks up or tickle other person/costars without permission looks disgusting and disrespectful.Shouldnt have picked up #GigiHadid while dancing.#NMAAC #NMACCGala SiM (@shiimmers) April 2, 2023

 he kissed her too! Varun Dhawan is such an idiot, she would have danced along if he handled gracefully. Chapri  https://t.co/R24f7aKC4j Shivi (@kyubataun2001) April 2, 2023

However, some viewers shared a different angle of the video, supporting the Kalank actor. They stated, Guys Varun Dhawan didnt kiss Gigi i saw a video from different angle & also Gigi didnt looked annoyed or anything she only came to the stage by herself & also the fact Varun has mentioned before he always asks the permission of the female celebs before doing anything."

Guys Varun Dhawan didnt kiss Gigi i saw a video from different angle & also Gigi didnt looked annoyed or anything she only came to the stage by herself & also the fact Varun has mentioned before he always asks the permission of the female celebs before doing anything #NMACC Shanaya (@TheWitchGurlll) April 2, 2023

Meanwhile, the actor has responded to the trolls on social media, clarifying that it was all a part of the performance. I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather then going out and doing something about things," he tweeted.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
Driving through mountainous roads in Ha Giang is great experience, foreign tourists say

Frenchman Francais sits on the back of a motorbike as he and his friend conquer Ma Pi Leng mountain pass in Ha Giang. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Phuong

Many foreign visitors say they learned how to drive a motorbike while conquering the dangerous mountain passes in Ha Giang, describing the journey as a great travel experience in Vietnam.

In early March, Yrielle, a French tourist, came to Ha Giang, around 300 kilometers from Hanoi, to explore the old town of Dong Van, which has 40 two-storied houses with a touch of Chinese architecture such as yin-yang tiled roofs, yellow walls and red lanterns hung on the gables.

"I searched for a lot of information about Ha Giang on social media and practiced driving a motorbike three months before my trip," she said.

"The roads here are dangerous, but if you drive at a slow speed, it is still safe," she said. "Its a great travel experience to drive through mountain passes in Ha Giang."

Yrielle (L) walks with her friend in Dong Van Old Town, Ha Giang Province, March 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Phuong

Francais, a French tourist, also rented a motorbike to explore Ha Giang. Conquering different terrains with twisting, narrow roads, he found the province peaceful and different from other places like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Sa Pa.

"We had a little difficulty communicating in English with the locals," he said. "But everything else was great."

The local tourism boom in recent years has seen many motorbike rental services spring up across Ha Giang. Foreigners only need to leave their passports and pay around VND150,000 ($6.40) a day to rent a vehicle.

With the desire to learn about the local culture of different ethnic tribes, Liana from Germany chose Ha Giang as a stopover in her solo journey to several Asian countries.

She traveled through Vietnam working her way north as she stopped off at Mui Ne, Hoi An, Hue, and Ninh Binh before arriving in Ha Giang.

In Ha Giang, Liana visited Lo Lo Chai Village at the foot of Lung Cu Flag Tower, the northernmost point in Vietnam that marks the border with China. She then dropped by Dong Van Old Town and Meo Vac Town.

"In Ha Giang, it was easy for me to find restaurants and accommodations, and the services are also convenient," added Liana.

Besides, she also praised Ha Giang as "a safe destination for solo female travelers."

Louise, a Canadian tourist, and her husband walked over 20 kilometers from Dong Van to Meo Vac, which gave them a chance to gain a deep insight into the daily lives of ethnic groups.

"Walking to enjoy Ha Giang was an unforgettable experience for us," Louise said. "Without renting motorbikes, we had a little difficulty getting around but Ha Giang in my eyes is great. If we go back, we will learn to ride a motorbike."

In February, Ha Giang welcomed 15,000 foreign arrivals, up 3.36 times against pre-pandemic levels.

Earlier this year, the New York Times named Ha Giang one of the 52 best places to visit this year.

Ha Giang has long been popular with Western backpackers who brave the elements and winding roads to conquer the 350-kilometer-long loop that takes three to five days to complete, depending on the weather.

Nguyen Hong Hai, director of Ha Giangs Department of Tourism, said the province strives to develop new tourism products and to ensure the safety of foreign tourists.
Students and activists hit the streets and staged demonstrations at the DUs North Campus on Friday as anger surged over the alleged harassment of students at Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) during a fest and inaction of authorities.

The students held marches at Arts Faculty and inside the IPCW campus.

Inside the college, scores of students formed a human chain showing dissent over the shameless procedure with which the college administration has been acting and working for the past few days, according to the Left-affiliated AISA, which is at the forefront of the protest.

The students have demanded the resignation of principal Poonam Kumria.

Some unidentified men trespassed into the college, shouted slogans and harassed women during the Shruti festival on Tuesday.

At the Arts Faculty, several students accused the police of brutality as they were detained and filled in the police van. A police official, however, said those protesting were peacefully detained and removed from the area.

Over 200 students marched from Miranda House to Arts Faculty demanding justice to the students of IP College for Women. The students organised the Azadi March against repeated incidents of harassment at the campus.

The Delhi Police showed its ugliest form by beating students and pathetically harassing women and detaining all protesters from AISAs Azadi March at DU Arts Faculty, the AISA, which organised the march, said in a statement.

Another student organisation, the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), also participated in the march.

The students held placards that read, Lock up these lumpens, not our hostel, Then Miranda Now IP, Where are women safe-Fight for womens safety and Strict action must be taken against the hooligans, police and DU authorities.

As soon as the march reached the Arts Faculty, the police beat up students and filled them up in two separate buses, AISA alleged.

The Delhi Police, under the orders from ACP Civil Lines, Satender Yadav, unleashed a gruesome attack on the students. AISA demands immediate termination of ACP Satender Yadav, who could not provide a safe campus to IPCW students and now has harassed students himself, the group said in the statement.

Earlier in the day, the AISA led another protest inside IPCW.

Hundreds of students gheraoed the principals office and demanded justice, the group said.

Holding placards, the students of the all-woman college raised slogans against Kumria.

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 sensitisation committee against sexual harassment), a protesting student said.

Later in the day, AISA shared photos of women students holding hands in the IPCW campus.

Several brave students of the IPCW have formed a human chain showing dissent over the shameless procedure with which the college administration has been acting and working for the past few days, the AISA said.

Amidst heavy surveillance and barricades surrounding the college campus entraping students inside, a human chain has been formed in protest of the committee formed by the college administration which includes the principal herself to look into the mishandling and misbehaviour of the female students by drunk miscreants, the group added.

Following the incident on Tuesday, police registered an FIR under IPC sections 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) and arrested seven people.

An AISA activist alleged the men who trespassed the college campus 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 didnt leave Miranda, we wont 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.

Read all the Latest Education News here
Scores of students on Friday staged a demonstration at Delhi Universitys 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 didnt leave Miranda, we wont 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.

Read all the Latest Education News here
Students and activists staged a protest at Delhi Universitys Arts Faculty on Friday against the alleged harassment of students during a fest at Indraprastha College for Women and alleged that they were manhandled and detained by police.

A police official, however, said those protesting were peacefully detained and removed from the area.

The students have alleged that some unidentified men trespassed into the college, shouted slogans and harassed women during the Shruti festival on Tuesday. They have demanded the resignation of principal Poonam Kumria.

On Friday, the students organised an Azadi March against repeated incidents of harassment at the campus. The march was organised by the Left-affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) and other student organisations such as Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS).

Students participating in AISAs Azadi March have been brutally detained. ACP (Civil Lines) Satender Yadav has harassed and manhandled Anjali, AISA DU secretary. AISA will be complaining about the ACP. We demand the immediate termination of Satender Yadav for this brutal crackdown on Delhi University, said Delhi AISA President Abhigyan.

The students held placards that read, Lock up these lumpens, not our hostel, Then Miranda Now IP, Where are women safe-Fight for womens safety and Strict action must be taken against the hooligans, police and DU authorities.

In the videos shared by students on social media, a heavy police deployment could be seen at Arts Faculty and they pushed the students towards the police van.

Following the incident on Tuesday, police registered an FIR under IPC sections 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) and arrested seven people.

An AISA activist alleged that the men who trespassed the college campus 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 didnt leave Miranda, we wont 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.

Read all the Latest Education News here
The Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Department has signed an agreement with IIT Madras, under which its faculty members will hold special online classes for students of government schools in Varanasi, an official said on Friday.

The agreement was signed under the Project Vidya Shakti.

Special online classes in Mathematics, Science, and English will start in 100 schools of Varanasi as a pilot project.

According to a statement, Basic Education Officer Arvind Pathak said IIT teachers will teach students of classes 6 to 8 of government schools in Varanasi. All classes will run online after school hours.

The official added that there are 70 smart classes in selected schools of Varanasi. There will be 30 more smart schools soon.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will have a local coordinator for technical support in each school, the official said.

Read all the Latest Education News here
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday promised free electricity and jobs for all youths in Assam if his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is voted to power in the Northeastern state.

He also claimed the AAP government changed the face of Delhi in seven years, and that nothing but dirty politics took place in Assam, even though BJP has been in power in the state for the same duration.

AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab are giving free electricity to their states, and it will be the same in Assam, too, if the party forms government, Kejriwal said at a rally here.

He promised jobs for all unemployed youths of Assam if AAP is voted to power, adding that the party has given employment to 12 lakh people in Delhi in seven years, and 28,000 people in one year in Punjab.

Kejriwal also assured of providing piped water to all households of Guwahati within a year of the AAP government in the state.

AAP came to power in Delhi in 2015 and the BJP here in 2016. Today, we have changed the face of Delhi. What has Himanta babu (Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) done for the state in seven years? Nothing, only dirty politics," Kejriwal alleged.

Taking a jibe at Sarma for the private school being run by his wife, the Delhi CM said, In a state where the CMs wife operates a private school, how can you expect the government to improve government schools?" On Sarmas threat of suing him if he raised corruption charges against the BJP leader, Kejriwal said his Assam counterpart has not learnt the culture of people of the state, who accord a warm welcome to their guests.

For two days, he has been threatening me that he will put me in jail. Am I a terrorist? I invite Himanta babu to come to my house in Delhi for tea. And if he can make time, also have a meal with me. I will show him around the city, the wonderful work we have done there," Kejriwal added.

Earlier in the day, he had extended a similar invitation to Sarma shortly after he arrived at Guwahati.

Sarma had on Friday threatened to file a defamation case against Kejriwal if the Aam Aadmi Party leader alleged corruption cases against him outside the assembly.

Kejriwal had reportedly said in the Delhi Assembly that there are cases against Sarma.

Read all the Latest Politics News here
Its uncanny. Its fascinating. Its the new scene - a popular culture welcoming the age of artificial intelligence. This past week, an advertisement created by a Patreon user, demonflyingfox, of a French luxury brand Balenciaga with famed Harry Potter characters using AI deepfake, has caught the fancy of the internet.

Check out the ad below:

My guilty secret is that I am enjoying this Midjourney experiment more than I should. Balenciaga X Harry Potter catwalk pic.twitter.com/KZ8LIdekcC Julian Caraulani (@JulianCaraulani) March 23, 2023

The video is titled Harry Potter by Balenciaga." It features deepfaked vocals based on the original cast, set to a pounding electronic beat.

Snape is seen in a chiselled, leather jacket and turtleneck, Dumbledore wears a wide-brimmed leather hat and blacked-out round sunglasses. To the well-organised mind, Balenciaga is but the next great adventure," deepfake Balenciaga Dumbledore says, a twist to his original dialogue, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure."

The video even ends with model-like Harry, with his chiseled cheekbones, spouting - Avada Balenciaga - a spin on the dark killing curse of the Harry Potter universe.

But whats truly fascinating is how believable the ad seems. You just created a 2 milion dollar add for probably less then 10 bucks," said one user.

And others are truly mesmerised by how well put-together the ad is. The cheeckbones(sic), the soundtrack, the fashion, the hairstyle and Hugo Weaving as Balenciaga Dumbledore. What an iconic masterpiece," said another user on YouTube.

I think its addicting to watch because of the backbeat being almost hypnotic in pattern. Matched with the surreal look of the characters you cant help but just stare," commented a user, while another talked about how they had gone on 45 minute walk with the video on loop.

Now, other videos carrying on the trend are coming up in overdrive, so, the trend is evident. But lets understand how the video was even created, what deepfake is, and what this masterpiece could indicate for AI-generated imagery in the future:

How Did Deepflyingfox Create the Video?

The ad even caught the attention of Elon Musk, who commented on the video with two fire emojis.

Im constantly brainstorming which combinations and mash-ups of popular media might work, demonflyingfox told Dazed.

I quickly realised these have to be as unexpected as possible, but still make sense. With his innocent and naive vibe, it worked surprisingly well to put Harry in an adult, cold-world scenario. I already put Harry in the Yakuza world so it was only a matter of time till Id think of the fashion bubble and the most memeable company is probably Balenciaga right now, he says.

According to a report by Futurism, AI-generated graphics is currently enjoying a major moment in mainstream culture. An AI image of Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga-style white papal jacket went viral earlier this month, with many people not aware the image was fake.

The AI-based deepfaking has generated much buzz, with people wondering how its even done. As per the Guardian, deepfakes are the twenty-first centurys equivalent to Photoshopping, which employ a type of artificial intelligence known as deep learning to create photographs of fictitious events, hence the name deepfake.

How are These Made?

Deepfakes first appeared in 2017 when a Reddit user with the same name posted doctored porn movies on the site. Celebrities such as Gal Gadot, Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, and others were transformed into porn performers in the videos, says the Guardian report.

A face-swap video is made in a few steps. First, you put millions of images of the two peoples faces through an AI system known as an encoder. The encoder detects and learns similarities between the two faces, reducing them to their shared common features while compressing the images. After that, a second AI algorithm known as a decoder is trained to extract the faces from the compressed images.

Due to the differences in the faces, you train one decoder to recover the first persons face and another decoder to retrieve the second persons face. Simply feed encoded photos into the wrong" decoder to achieve the face swap. A compressed image of person As face, for example, is input into the decoder trained on person B. The decoder then reconstructs person Bs face using the expressions and orientation of face A. This must be done on every frame for a compelling video.

A generative adversarial network, or Gan, is another method for creating deepfakes. A Gan competes between two artificial intelligence algorithms. The generator algorithm is given random noise and converts it into an image. This synthetic image is then added to a stream of real photos - say, of celebrities - that are given into the discriminator, the second algorithm. At initially, the synthetic images will not resemble faces. Yet, if the procedure is repeated multiple times with performance feedback, both the discriminator and the generator will improve. After enough cycles and feedback, the generator will begin making completely realistic faces of nonexistent superstars, the report explains.

How to Spot a Deepfake?

If your AI dystopia doesnt include images of the Pope in a Balenciaga puffer, I dont want it. pic.twitter.com/7rWHyj35nZ Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) March 26, 2023

Just recently, these deepfake images of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket went viral. As people were perplexed with how real the image looked, Time explained in its report on how to spot whether an image is real or deepfaked.

If you look closely at the image of the Balenciaga Pope, you can see a few clear indicators of its AI origins," the report explains. For example - the cross on his chest is held bizarrely upright, with just a white puffer jacket replacing the other half of the chain. His right hand looks to be holding a hazy coffee cup, but his fingers are wrapped around thin air rather than the cup itself. His eyelid blends into his spectacles, which flow into their own shadow, it says.

Sounds pretty similar to spotting a fake Photoshopped image, right?

The Time report explains that AI picture generators are simply pattern-replicators: theyve learned what the Pope looks like, as well as what a Balenciaga puffer jacket might look like, and theyre able to squeeze the two together seamlessly. They dont (yet) understand physics, it says, adding that they have no idea why a crucifix shouldnt be able to float in midair without a chain, or why eyeglasses and the shadow behind them arent the same thing. Humans are instinctively able to detect errors that AI cannot in these frequently peripheral regions of an image.

However, the report warns that these methods will quickly go out of date as AI continues to better itself. The only option then that remains, is media literacy.

What are the Consequences of Deepfakes?

There are many potential harmful effects that deepfakes are already bringing in with them. From revenge porn to compromised safety and privacy for women, to images or videos that could even threaten the geopolitical order - read footages of world leaders.

It also brings in the new facet of what the Guardian says is a no-trust world, where plausible deniability may make it hard to uncover whats true and whats not, especially for highly-placed individuals and world leaders.

For example, in 2019, Cameroons minister of information dismissed a video, that Amnesty International thought showed Cameroonian military murdering civilians, as false news.

Read all the Latest Explainers here
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a rally in Hisua in Nawada district on Sunday hours after his scheduled visit to Sashastra Seema Bals Patna Frontier was cancelled. At the rally, he spoke out about the cancellation of a public rally in Sasaram on Saturday.

Shahs visit to Patna was marred by a political blame game between the BJP and the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Saturday after the home ministers public rally in Sasaram was cancelled after there were rumours of Section 144 in the city.

While the administration denied the implementation of Section 144, the BJP alleged that the Nitish Kumar government tried to deliberately stop Amit Shahs rally.

Prohibitory orders were in place following communal tension during Ram Navami festivities at Sasaram and Nalanda on 31st March

Speaking to reporters, CM Nitish Kumar indirectly attacked the BJP and alleged that some from the saffron party were behind the violence. He ensured a thorough probe into the incidents.

On Saturday, a BJP delegation led by president Samrat Choudhary met the governor and handed over a memorandum for the violence during Shobha yatras in the two districts.

Here are updates on Amit Shahs Bihar Visit:

Amit Shah Addresses Rally: Shah responded to the cancellation of his rally in Sasaram on Saturday and said, I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situation people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit.

Shah responded to the cancellation of his rally in Sasaram on Saturday and said, I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situation people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit. Violence Aftermath: The Bihar police till Saturday arrested 45 people in connection with the communal violence at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Communal violence rocked Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns during Ram Navami festivities.

The Bihar police till Saturday arrested 45 people in connection with the communal violence at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Communal violence rocked Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns during Ram Navami festivities. Security beefed up: The Union Home Ministry has decided to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar to assist the state administration in handling the situation arising out of the violence, sources said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed concern over incidents of communal violence in Bihar, and reporetedly spoke to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation.

The Union Home Ministry has decided to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar to assist the state administration in handling the situation arising out of the violence, sources said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed concern over incidents of communal violence in Bihar, and reporetedly spoke to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation. Union Home Minister Amit Shahs scheduled visit to Sashastra Seema Bals Patna Frontier on Sunday has been cancelled, a statement said.

 According to PTI, the function, where Shah was scheduled to dedicate to the public nine establishments of the SSB and do bhoomi pujan" for a new Patna Frontier building, has been cancelled because of unavoidable reasons", it said.

 According to PTI, the function, where Shah was scheduled to dedicate to the public nine establishments of the SSB and do bhoomi pujan" for a new Patna Frontier building, has been cancelled because of unavoidable reasons", it said. Amid tensions in Bihar due to incidents of communal violence that took place on Ram Navami (March 30) in Bihars Sasaram, section 144 has been imposed in Nalandas Bihar Sharif area.

 5 people were injured in the process of making crude bombs, and were seriously burnt due to an explosion. LIVE Updates

 5 people were injured in the process of making crude bombs, and were seriously burnt due to an explosion. Home Minister Amit Shahs Schedule today: Shah is scheduled to address a public gathering at Hisua in Nawada district.

Shah is scheduled to address a public gathering at Hisua in Nawada district. What Happened on Saturday: BJP on Saturday cancelled the rally of Union Home Minister Amit Shah following media reports of the imposition of section 144 in Sasaram.

 Bihar BJP state unit alleged that the district administration imposed Section 144 at the venue and in the entire Sasaram city and said they could not organise the event owing to the order.

 The BJP had a pre-scheduled programme at Sasaram to celebrate the birth anniversary of Samrat Ashok.

 According to Rohtas district magistrate Dharmendra Kumar and superintendent of police Vineet Kumar, Section 144 was never imposed in Sasaram. But the BJP still went ahead and cancelled Shahs event scheduled for April 2.

 CNN-News18 confirmed that Section 144 was not imposed in any part of Sasaram city and media reports could have played a role in cancellation of Shahs visit to the city.

Read all the Latest India News here
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raju Jha was reportedly shot dead in West Bengals Shaktigarh in Purba Burdwan district on Saturday night, officials said.

According to IANS, the incident happened near a popular sweetmeat outlet at Saktigarh in East Burdwan when unidentified assailants opened fire on National Highway-19. Another person was injured in the attack.

According to eyewitnesses, the incident took place when around 4-5 people were standing in a shop near the sweetmeat outlet at around 8 p.m., when a blue-coloured four-wheeler arrived there. Bullets were then reportedly fired by the occupants of the vehicle.

West Bengal | BJP leader Raju Jha was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Shaktigarh of Purba BardhamanIt is an unfortunate incident and an investigation is being done: Kamanasish Sen, SP Purba Bardhaman pic.twitter.com/uYnrnVRZ7w  ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2023

The incident took place when Raju Jha was en route to Kolkata. He was a Durgapur-based businessman and coal trader. According to the police, Jha was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. The injured persons were treated at a hospital

According to ANI, the accused fled the scene following the incident. During the Left Front rule, Jha was accused of operating an illegal coal business in Silpanchal. Under the Trinamool government, various cases were also registered against him.

Further investigation is underway, according to the police.

(With ANI & IANS Inputs)

Read all the Latest India News here
Newly elected AIADMK general secretary K Palaniswami on Sunday said his elevation to the post showed the last man" could become a stakeholder in top heirarchy.

He was happy he came to the post not based on birth" but was democratically elected as the partys supreme leader, he said.

In a thanksgiving message days after being elected unanimously as the party chief, the state Leader of Opposition thanked all those who had backed him and paid his tributes to late party leaders, the founder M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.

Recalling his initial days as a branch secretary in Salem, he said the party has recognised his work and honesty and made me the general secretary." This is not merely a recognition for me; it is a recognition given by our paty to democracy. It is a moment where the party has shown that the last man in the country has a share in power," he said in a statement.

I am proud that I have assumed the responsibility as the general secretary of a party that decides the leadership on the basis of democracy and not based on birth," he said without specifying anyone.

He vowed to strive towards ensuring the party-led government again.

Read all the Latest India News here
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that he would visit Ayodhya, where a grand temple of Lord Ram is being built, on April 9 with the leaders of his party, and perform a puja at the Saryu river there.

He made the announcement while speaking to reporters here.

I will visit Ayodhya on April 9 with my party ministers, MLAs, MPs and other functionaries. We will also perform a puja at the Saryu river," Shinde said.

When kar seva (during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement) was going on, my mentor late Anand Dighe had sent silver bricks to Ayodhya. We have an old bond with Ayodhya and Lord Ram," the chief minister added.

In a big blow to the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena, the Election Commission of India (ECI) in February this year recognised the Shinde-led group as the real Shiv Sena and allotted it the bow and arrow symbol.

Referring to his partys symbol, Shinde said, We never treated the bow and arrow symbol as a weapon to be used against anyone. Lord Ram is also seen with a bow and arrow, so we feel that we have a major responsibility to perform well."

Read all the Latest India News here
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits positions of Ukrainian Border Guards near the border with Russia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy region, Ukraine March 28, 2023. Photo by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters

Russia assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday causing fury in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy calling it an absurd and destructive move.

The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Unfortunately, we ... have some obviously absurd and destructive news," Zelenskiy said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a five-month-old boy on Friday.

"And at the same time Russia is chairing the U.N. Security Council. It's hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions," he said.

The presidency rotates alphabetically each month among the 15 members. Although it is largely procedural, the Kremlin and other Russian officials vowed to "exercise all its rights" in the role.

The United States on Thursday urged Russia to "conduct itself professionally" when it assumes the role, saying there was no means to block Moscow from the post.

In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) - an international justice body not associated with the UN - issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia's presidency of the Security Council a "slap in the face to the international community." Zelenskiy said it was time for a general overhaul of global institutions, including the Security Council.

"Reform is obviously necessary to prevent a terrorist state - and any other state that wants to be a terrorist - from destroying the peace," he said.

Some 400 days into the war, which has killed thousands, destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of civilians to flight, Russia continues to take over parts of the country, pressing on with its assault in the east.

Earlier, Zelenskiy advisor Andriy Yermak also hit out at Iran, which Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms. Tehran denies it is giving weapons to Russia.

"It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state  Iran - another terror state  Russia  begins to preside over the U.N. Security Council," Yermak wrote on Twitter, referring to Iran's Islamic Republic Day holiday.
Fresh clashes reportedly broke out between two groups in Maharashtras Jalgaon district on Saturday after a statue was vandalised by unidentified miscreants, officials said

According to ANI, At least 12 people were detained after clashes broke out between two groups in Atarwal village of Jalgaon district, Jalgaon SP M Rajkumar said.

Maharashtra | A clash broke out between two groups in Atarwal village of Jalgaon district after a statue was vandalised by unidentified peoplePolice reached the spot & brought the situation under control. 12 people detained. Further action is being taken: M Rajkumar, SP Jalgaon pic.twitter.com/DdsiwN9F6q  ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2023

The incident comes two days after a group of people belonging to two communities clashed in the same district. This was after a religious procession accompanied by DJ music was taken out in front of a mosque.

Aurangabad Clashes

At least 12 people were arrested in connection with the communal violence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, formerly Aurangabad, in Maharashtra, a police officer said on Saturday.

On Thursday, in the Aurangabad city of Maharashtra, at least 12 people, including 10 policemen, were injured after a mob of around 500 people went berserk and hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when the personnel tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near a Ram temple.

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 that houses the famous Ram temple, they said.

The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob, the officials said, adding that eight teams have been formed to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

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A Muslim man was beaten to death and his two associates were assaulted allegedly by a group of cow vigilantes on suspicion of cattle theft over Rs 2 lakh compensation for letting them off in Karnatakas Ramanagara district, near Bengaluru.

Idris Pasha, a cattle trader, and his two associates, Irfan and Syed Zaheer were transporting cattle via a container on Saturday when they were intercepted by cow vigilante Puneeth Kerehalli and his aides.

Accusing them of transporting cattle illegally for slaughter, Pasha and his associates told them that they had purchased cattle from the market and showed the sale papers. However, Kerehallis group demanded Rs 2 lakh for letting them off.

When Pasha refused to pay, they asked him to go to Pakistan and chased and attacked them.

A police constable intervened and took Zaheer and Kerehalli to the nearby police station.

Kerehalli lodged a complaint against Zaheer and others for illegally transporting cows. Zaheer and his associates were booked under sections of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Transportation of Animals Act, and Motor Vehicles Act.

Pasha was later found dead by the police.

Zaheer, the driver of the container, lodged a case against Kerehalli and his associates for murder, assault, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, and intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace, according to a Hindu report.

According to the police, Kerehalli and his aides were reported to be absconding.

The family members of Pasha staged a protest and demanded action against the cow vigilantes near the Sathanur Police Station, triggering tensions. The protests were also joined by members of the Muslim community in Ramanagara who demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.

Karnatakas anti-cow slaughter law came into effect in 2021 with strict provisions for stringent punishment to those who indulge in the smuggling and illegal transportation of cows.

(With inputs from IANS)

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A 20-year-old man allegedly murdered a minor girl, chopped her body into pieces and stuffed them in plastic bags here, police said on Sunday.

According to police, the possibility of the nine-year-old girl being raped before the murder has not been ruled out and accused Kamlesh, a school dropout, is being interrogated.

The girl was missing since March 29. Her chopped body parts were found at an abandoned house in Mavli area on Saturday night, they said.

Some local residents had complained of a foul smell emanating from the abandoned house, police said, adding that the victim lived in the same neighbourhood.

Superintendent of Police Vikas Sharma said the accused resided near the victims house.

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Read more

to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situation people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit.

The incident took place at the compound of a private house where a forensic team is investigating the matter. So far, 2 arrests have been made. The Bihar Police on Sunday denied a communal angle to the clashes and asked the public to steer clear of any rumours.

On receiving the information, Rohtas District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar and Rohtas SP Vineet Kumar started the investigation. Prima facie has revealed that the incident took place while making bombs near a mosque.

Meanwhile, CID sleuths collected samples and spoke to local people in Bengals Howrah as well as police personnel who were deployed there during Thursdays clash. Clashes broke out between two groups when a Ram Navami procession was passing through Kazipara in Howrah town. Several shops were ransacked during the violence while a number of cars including a few belonging to the police were set on fire.

In light of recent tensions in the area due to Ram Navami clashes, all government and private educational institutions, including schools, colleges and coaching centres will remain closed in Bihars Sasaram till April 4.

Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shahs event in Sasaram town of Rohtas district was put off in view of communal violence that began Thursday evening during Ram Navami festivities and continued till Friday.

The Sasaram event was touted as a celebration of the birth anniversary of Asoka the Great, the Mauryan Emperor, who has acquired the status of an OBC icon in Bihar.

However, Rohtas District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar issued a video statement saying: Section 144 was never imposed. No such order was passed by myself or the Sub Divisional Magistrate concerned. Order was completely restored in Sasaram by Friday evening. We did resort to restrictions like suspending internet services for a day.

In West Bengals Howrah, police personnel deployed in the area were pelted with stones on Friday afternoon following which prohibitory orders were imposed in the area and internet services were suspended. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP and other right-wing organisations were behind the violence.

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At least 12 people were arrested after violence broke out during Ram Navami Shobhayatra in Rishra in West Bengals Hooghly district on Sunday while Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar directed strict actions against those involved in the stir at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns as sporadic incidents of communal clashes were reported in some states.

In Jharkhand, three police officials were injured after they were attacked for stopping loud DJ music during a Ram Navami procession in Hazaribag district.

Heres all that happened today regarding Ram Navami clashes

West Bengal Ram Navami Shobhayatra Violence

Internet services were suspended and prohibitory orders were put in place following clashes between two groups during the Ram Navami Shobhayatra procession in Rishra in West Bengals Hooghly district. At least 12 people were arrested after Chandanagar Commissioner Amit P Javalgi and DIG Burdwan Shyam Singh held marches in the affected area following the clashes, according to reports.

BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh, who participated in the procession, has claimed stones were pelted as the rally moved to the Jagannath temple in Mahesh GT Road in Rishra police station area. BJPs Pursurah MLA Biman Ghosh was reported to have been injured in stone pelting and rushed to the Re-life Hospital. According to reports, five injured individuals were transported to a nearby hospital.

The police took swift action and increased security deployment in the area. Shortly after the incident, police said the situation is currently under control. Later, Section 144 was imposed and internet services were suspended in Rishra.

BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the incident and said senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh was pelted with stones. His vehicle was torched and incidents of arson and fire happened as police stood still as mere spectators which strengthens our allegations that there is definite support from the ruling party TMC and a section of administration led by Mamata Banerjee who has already issued several statements in favour of the miscreants belonging to the minority community, it read.

However, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged violence in Rishra were pre-planned by BJP". These people are trying to create unrest in the name of Ram Navami. Were taking the stock of situation. BJP is watching who can create more ruckus Dilip Ghosh or Sukanta Majumdar, he said.

The Rishra incident came after violence during Ram Navami celebrations rocked parts of the neighbouring Howrah district on Thursday and Friday.

Bihar Clashes

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a high-level meeting over communal tensions during Ram Navami festivities at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns and announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of a person who died in the clashes on Saturday.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Ministers Office said, the chief minister directed officials to take strict action against the elements who disturbed the peace and communal harmony in the state. The CM instructed security forces to keep an eye on everything and take action against miscreants," it read.

The state police have so far arrested 109 people as part of its investigation into the clashes between two groups during the processions of Ram Navami on March 30, which continued till April 1.

Director General of Police RS Bhatti said now the normalcy has been restored in both towns and the situation is completely under control". Four additional companies of para-military forces have been deployed in both districts and senior officials of the district police are also scrutinising video footages to identify the miscreants," he said.

A bomb blast in Sasarams Rohtas on Saturday left six people injured and two persons were arrested in the case. Police on Sunday confirmed the bomb blast was a separate incident related to illegal explosive handling and not linked to the Ram Navami violence.

However, the unrest led Union Home Minister Amit Shah to cancel his scheduled trip to Sasaram following the clashes there on March 30. Shah blamed the Nitish Kumar government over the cancellation of his visit and communal clashes and said vowed to hang rioters upside down if voted to power in state in 2025. Let Prime Minister Narendra Modi return to power in 2024 and help BJP form its own government in the assembly polls which would follow. All the rioters will be hung upside down (ulta latka denge)," he said at a rally in Bihars Hisua.

Jharkhand Loud Speaker Ram Navami Clash

Three policemen were injured after being allegedly attacked for stopping loud music during a Ram Navami procession in Jharkhands Hazaribag district. When the procession reached Veer Kunwar Singh Chowk playing DJ music, three police officials received injuries after they were attacked for switching off the loud music.

When they refused it, a magistrate seized the sound system and the vehicle. Those in the procession attacked the police, in which three policemen were severely injured. Among those injured were sub-inspector Sanjiv Kumar Pandey and constable Vikas Kumar Singh. They were admitted to hospital," Superintendent of Police Manoj Ratan Chothe said.

A case has been registered against the president of the akhara, which organised the procession, and 200 unnamed persons at the Korra police station in connection with the incident.

Another case was registered against an akhara at the Lohsinghna police station for allegedly hurling stones targetting a place of worship during their procession on Saturday.

Right-wing Activist Booked for Hate Speech in Gujarat

Police have registered a first information report (FIR) against a right-wing woman activist, Kajal Hindustani at a Hindu Sammelan, over making alleged hate speech during an event organised on the occasion of Ram Navami on Thursday. The police on Sunday registered a case against Hindustani and 50 people on the charge of rioting following a communal clash at Una town.

According to the police, a communal clash erupted in a sensitive area of Una town on Saturday night with two groups hurling stones at each other due to the speech of Hindustani on Thursday, in which she allegedly targeted a minority community.

Police personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas with some of them patrolling. Two State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) teams have been deployed in Una so far in this case," Superintendent of Police Sripal Sheshma said.

In another similar case in Vadodara city on Saturday night, police arrested a right-wing activist Rohan Shah and some others for hate speech" during a Ram Navami procession on Thursday.

The case against them was registered under sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Shah is a local leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh Named in Hate Speech FIR

Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh was charged in a fresh case and others over alleged intent to provoke breach of peace, in connection with a speech that he delivered during a procession held as part of Ram Navami festival on March 30.

FIR was registered against Raja Singh and others at Shahinayathgunj Police Station under IPC sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (2) on Saturday, based on a complaint filed by a Sub-Inspector of Police who accused them of creating enmity and hatred among different religions.

The complainant alleged that when the procession led by Raja Singh reached Chudi Bazar on March 30, the MLA delivered a speech saying that Hindu Rashtra should be established in this country. After hearing his speech, some of his followers waved photos of Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse in the procession and also raised slogans with the intention to create enmity among public on the grounds of religion

(With inputs from PTI)

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Two passengers died, while others were injured after the roadways bus they were travelling on skidded off Mussoorie-Dehradun road and fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand on Sunday.

Police and fire service carried out an operation and rescued all the passengers, of which three were in critical condition. Two passengers succumbed to injures later.

#UPDATE | Uttarakhand: Two girls dead in a bus accident on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road. Treatment of all the other injured is going on in the hospital: Mussoorie police ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 2, 2023

Visuals showed the bus in the gorge with rescue personnel making efforts to pull out the passengers.

Two girls dead in a bus accident on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road. Treatment of all the other injured is going on in the hospital," Mussoorie Police said.

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One of the Namibian cheetahs has entered a village in Vijaypur Tehsil of Madhya Pradeshs Sheopur district, about 20 kilometres from the Kuno National Park.

The cheetah, Oban, entered the Jhar Baroda village, following which a monitoring team has been sent, District Forest Officer (DFO) said.

The DFO added that efforts are underway to bring the cheetah back to the Kuno National Park. Visuals of the cheetah in bushes in the village were shared by locals.

Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh | Cheetah Oban, one of the cheetahs brought from Namibia, entered Jhar Baroda village of Vijaypur which is 20 kms away from Kuno National Park. Monitoring team has also reached the village. Efforts are underway to bring the cheetah back: DFO(Video pic.twitter.com/4iQAoB6tcz  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) April 2, 2023

Eight cheetahs  five females and three males  were translocated to India from Namibia on September 17, 2022, under the ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme of the Modi government.

The male cheetahs were named Freddie, Elton, and Oban, while the female cheetahs are Siyaya, Aasha, Tbilisi, Sasha, and Savannah.

Last week, Namibian cheetah Sasha died due to a kidney ailment. Sasha died because of a kidney ailment which she was suffering from even before her translocation from Namibia, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF-Wildlife) JS Chauhan said.

In some good news two days later, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav informed that four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs at Kuno National Park.

Twelve more cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released into Kuno in Sheopur district on February 18 this year.

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the West has a bad habit" of commenting on others, and that it thinks it has a God-given right to speak on the internal matters of other countries.

Jaishankar was responding to a question on Germany and United States remarks on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament, during a Meet and Greet interaction organized by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan.

There are two reasons. It is because the West has had a bad habit for a long time of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right, Jaishankar said, news agency PTI reported.

They will have to learn only by experience that if you keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. I see that happening," he added.

He also said that Indians invite the world to comment on its problem.

The second part of the truth  in our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India; America and Europe, why are you standing by and doing nothing, he said.

Part of the problem is them, part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing," he added.

Bengaluru South and Central MPs Surya and Mohan were present during the interaction.

Responding to a question on freebie culture, Jaishankar said some people in Delhi were masters of it. They are doing it because they do not have the responsibility of raising resources," he commented.

You cant run a country on the basis of freebies. Somewhere, somebody has to pay for it. Anybody who is giving a freebie here is taking away something elsewhere," he said. Freebie culture was a way of getting quick popularity in a very irresponsible way, he said, adding that it was not sustainable.

With PTI inputs

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The Chola dynasty, considered among the greatest in the world, continues to be an enigma. In her book RajaRaja Chola King of Kings, author Kamini Dandapani brings to life Rajaraja Chola and his times. The author discusses how Rajaraja Chola earned the title not merely because of his military conquests but also his architectural, religious, literary and administrative accomplishments. Excerpts from an interview:

There is a renewed interest in the Cholas after the Mani Ratnam film. Do you feel they were relegated to the sidelines of Indian history?

I do feel that the Cholas have been relegated to the sidelines of history. When I studied history in school around half a century ago, all of south Indian history was crammed into one chapter that left absolutely no imprint on my memory! I grew up knowing almost nothing about the history of the region I belonged to. However, I would like to stress here that I emphatically do not think that one history is better" or more important" than another. We are a country with a remarkable diversity of histories that span a range of regions, cultures, religions, languages, etc. We need to recognise and learn all of this to truly understand, appreciate and value what India is about. We should not think of Chola history as a regional" or local" history but rather as one of the many histories of India. Im glad that Mani Ratnams movie Ponniyin Selvan - which is based on a serialized historical fiction novel of the same name, written by Kalki" Krishnamurthy in the 1950s - has sparked interest in the Chola story.

The Sangam period is expansive. How did you decide to write the book and keep it concise?

Even though my book is called Rajaraja Chola, King of Kings, it covers the entire Chola story, right from the earliest Cholas who lived and ruled during the era of Sangam poetry (very approximately 300 BCE - 300 CE), to the end of the dynasty in the late 13th century, over two and a half centuries after Rajaraja. It would not make sense to tell Rajarajas story in isolation, rising out of nowhere, shorn of context. In order to fully and properly understand how Rajaraja came to be, I felt had to go back to the beginning and move forward in time from there. The Tamil poetry of the Sangam era is stunning, rich in metaphor, of photographic clarity, and full of all sorts of information that brings that age alive to us. These, too, are important historical sources, and we would be doing them and ourselves a disservice in dismissing them as mere poetry.

We do not know for sure that the Chola rulers of the Sangam period were actually the ancestors of the later Cholas. All we do know is that the Kaveri delta region was the core territory for both the Sangam and the later Imperial" Cholas, and that the latter claimed descent from the former in their genealogies. So, the Sangam Cholas are certainly a part of the Chola story, and the book provides an overview of both the poetry as well as some of the kings of that time.

Keeping the book concise was not easy! What has been left unsaid can cover many more volumes but I hope that the major points have been included in just enough depth to be meaningful without drowning the reader in needless detail.

Rajaraja Chola is considered an iconic ruler in Indian history. What can the present generation learn from his way of administration?

Rajaraja earned his various glowing monikers and the Greatest Chola designation not merely because of his military conquests, but also because of his accomplishments across a range of other areas - like administration, trade, architecture and religious life. Here are some ways in which Rajaraja stood out, that enabled him to achieve what he did on the scale that he did.

He thought big and aimed high. His military campaigns resulted in a kingdom that expanded far beyond the old boundaries; the Brihadeeshwara temple he built was the biggest in the land at the time, unlike anything else seen thus far. He understood the importance of image creation, public relations and communication - all backed with actual achievements. He was extremely detail-oriented - one sees this in his inscriptions, how he conducted his land survey and organization, how he administered his kingdom, how he built and ran his magnum opus, the Brihadeeshwara temple. Everything was recorded in meticulous detail. He was plugged into a world well beyond his borders. He was aware of the benefits of securing favourable trading rights with the Song China court and spared no effort (including sending a mission to China) to best position his kingdom to benefit. He understood the importance of creating something that would serve as a unifying symbol for his kingdom which brought into its fold a mass of squabbling, diverse tribes and clans from a fairly vast region. The Brihadeeshwara temple was that. His kingdom was a patchwork of villages that each had its own system of measurement, taxation, etc etc. He attempted to standardize and streamline all of that, to impose some sort of order over the messy chaos that he ruled over.

The Cholas were called the imperial Cholas by the English. Doesnt this counter the belief that India never invaded any country?

The term Imperial" for the Cholas has excited both praise and scorn. I do not want to get into the semantics of it, but it is one way to set them apart from the earlier Sangam Cholas and also, more importantly, to call attention to the scale of their achievements.

Imposing our modern ideas and attitudes on these rulers of over a thousand years ago makes no sense, and only serves to distort our understanding and perception of history. The Chola definition of borders" and countries" was surely very different from how we define them today. To them, the Pandyas (in southern Tamil Nadu) and Pallavas (northern Tamil Nadu) were enemies who needed to be conquered. Rajarajas troops conducted a savage attack on Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. Bloody battles with thousands of casualties were fought in the Deccan. Rajendra, Rajarajas son launched a brutal raid on the ports of the Srivijaya kingdom in modern Indonesia, because he realized they stood in the way of his trade ambitions.

This was how history played itself out not just in Chola lands, but all over the world. Attributing a false sense of fair play" and national pride" to these medieval polities diminishes them and our understanding of their world. Thinking about them in good guy-bad guy terms blinds us to the messy reality of history. We should always keep in mind that life, personalities and history do not operate in binaries. Beauty and brutality, generosity and covetousness, devotion and treachery, can and do exist in one person (and in someone like Rajaraja, in larger-than-life doses). That is what makes history and historical personalities so fascinating.

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The Dior fashion show held in Mumbai for the 2023 Fall Collection exuded glamour that was evident from a long distance. The show featured several celebrities including Khushi Kapoor in impeccable outfits. Sister Janhvi and cousin Sonam have now become cheerleaders for the diva. Khushi took to Instagram to share pictures of herself dressed in the ensemble she wore to the fashion show. On seeing the pictures, Janhvi Kapoor believed that her sister served Audrey Hepburn vibes as she wrote, Excuse me Audrey, is that you." Sonam also loved her look as she wrote, My Fashionista."

Khushi donned a sleeveless cropped top with a round neckline and a matching midi-length skirt that had an asymmetrical hem and a loose, flowy silhouette. She paired the outfit with a pearl choker necklace, matching earrings, and bold statement rings. To complete the look, she opted for double-winged eyeliner, a ponytail pulled back with a bow tie, brick-red lipstick, darkened eyebrows, rosy cheeks, mascara on the lashes, and a dewy base, resulting in a glamorous appearance.

Check out the post below:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by s  (@khushi05k)

Apart from Khushi, Sonam Kapoor too attended the event and looked stunning as usual. The actor posted several photos of her outfit from the event on her Instagram profile. Sonam served as the muse for the fashion house Dior, choosing an all-pink outfit from their collection. She looked stunning in a pink satin shirt tucked into a high-waisted, matching skirt. Sonam completed her look with an oversized pink blazer draped over her shoulders.

To accessorize her look, Sonam wore a gold choker necklace and statement earrings. She also adorned vintage pearls from her mothers collection, Sunita Kapoor. She carried a mini clutch that was pink and silver in colour. Sonam left her hair in straight locks with a middle part and applied pink eyeshadow, black eyeliner, mascara, filled-in eyebrows, contoured cheeks, and pastel pink lipstick to complete her makeup.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (@sonamkapoor)

The Dior Autumn show held at the Gateway of India was a high-profile event. Many A-listers from the film and fashion industry attended to greet Diors arrival in India. Notable celebrities such as Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli, Athiya Shetty, Shweta Bachchan Nanda, Sonam Kapoor, Rekha and Ananya Panday were among those spotted at the show.

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April 4 marks the release date of the State Departments 22nd To Walk the Earth In Safety report, issued by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Its goal is to highlight the United States accomplishments in conventional weapons destruction.

This is crucial work, because even decades after a conflict had ended, explosive remnants of war pose a deadly hazard to people during daily activities. At the same time, improperly secured small arms, light weapons, and munitions, may easily end up in the hands of the lawless, resulting in criminality that can destabilize an entire region and hinder recovery.

So for example, We're preventing unplanned ammunition explosions at ammunition depots where things may not be properly stored, and so then they're at risk of exploding, said Karen Chandler, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Programs and Operations in the State Departments Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

In terms of the landmines and explosive ordnance removal, that is a top priority because we are saving innocent lives. The casualties when we started the program in the 1990s were around 20,000 casualties per year. That number has gone down to approximately 5000 casualties per year, she said. And finally, in areas where conflict has just concluded, it allows people to safely return to their homes.

Last year, said Ms. Chandler, We've cleared more than 243 million square meters of land. This year, the largest program is in Ukraine, she said.

We were able to fund Ukraine clearance operations at about 90 million dollars this year, she said. We also have a 45 million dollar a year program in Laos that we fund. And we spend about 40 million dollars in Iraq. And our next largest one is the 24 million dollars we spend in Colombia ... and then finally, in Vietnam, we spend about 20 million dollars a year as well.

We're really spreading our work worldwide and hitting some of the hardest hit areas that we need to, said Ms. Chandler. It's a program that we really feel has tangible benefits in terms of preventing children's and innocent people's deaths, but also increasing prosperity and economic opportunity in the areas where we have  provided clearance operations. We're able to see farmers returning to clear [and] farm their land. In terms of critical infrastructure, were allowing utilities to function again.

It's really protecting civilian populations from harm.
PALM SUNDAY 2023: Palm Sunday is a significant day for Christians around the world. It marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week preceding Easter Sunday. On Palm Sunday, Christians celebrate Jesus Christs entry into Jerusalem. Heres what you need to know about the Sunday.

History of Palm Sunday

The history of Palm Sunday can be traced back to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. According to these accounts, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey as people spread palm branches and their cloaks on the ground before him.

ALSO READ: Holy Week Timeline 2023: Palm Sunday, Good Friday to Easter Sunday, All You Need to Know About Passion Week

What was the importance of placing coats and palm branches?

The significance of laying down coats and palm branches was a sign of respect and honour. It was customary to lay down clothing or other items in the path of a respected leader or king. The palm branches were also a sign of victory and triumph, as they were often used to welcome returning heroes.

When is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent and the Sunday preceding Easter. Palm Sunday will fall on April 2, this year.

How is Palm Sunday observed?

Christians commemorate Palm Sunday as a reminder of Jesus entry into Jerusalem and the events that led to his crucifixion and resurrection. The day is typically marked by the distribution of palm branches and a procession, similar to the one that occurred in Jerusalem. In addition to its religious significance, Palm Sunday has also taken on cultural and social significance in some parts of the world. In many countries, elaborate processions take place, with people dressed in colourful robes and carrying elaborate floats or statues of Jesus and the saints. These processions can be quite solemn and moving, and they attract large crowds of people. For Christians, Palm Sunday is a time to reflect on the life and teachings of Jesus, as well as the meaning of his sacrifice on the cross. It is a time to remember the humility and loves that Jesus showed throughout his life, and to prepare for the celebration of Easter.

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Actress Priyanka Chopra recently revealed that she froze her eggs in her early 30s. She welcomed a baby girl via surrogacy in January 2022. For those unversed, egg freezing, also known as oocyte cryopreservation, is a relatively new technology that has gained popularity in recent years as a way for women to preserve their fertility. This process involves extracting a womans eggs and freezing them until she is ready to use them to attempt pregnancy. Lets take a look at the reasons why women choose to freeze their eggs, the process of egg freezing, and the success rates of using frozen eggs for pregnancy.

What is Egg freezing

Egg freezing, or mature oocyte cryopreservation, is a technique utilized to maintain a womans fertility potential or her ability to get pregnant (with her own eggs) at a later age. This approach involves harvesting eggs from the ovaries, freezing them, and keeping them stored until needed to facilitate pregnancy later on. Why should you consider egg freezing?

Dr. Sneha Sathe, Fertility Consultant, Nova IVF Fertility Mumbai explains the reasons for egg freezing that may be considered for various reasons, including:Delaying Pregnancy: For women, fertility declines with advancing age because of a decline in egg reserve and also egg quality. This decline is more rapid after the age of 35. With increasing age, the chances of conceiving naturally decrease as also the chances of conceiving with fertility treatments like IUI and IVF (when compared to younger women). Freezing eggs at a younger age, can help you get pregnant later at an older age when ready for building a family. It allows women to delay conception to allow for time to develop a stable relationship, pursue advanced education or develop a career.

Medical Reasons: Some medical treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation, can damage a womans egg reserve and compromise her fertility. Egg freezing before undergoing such treatments can provide a chance to preserve fertility for the future. Women with conditions like endometriosis, SLE and other autoimmune conditions, family history of POF can also consider eff freezing to preserve their fertility for future use.

Overall, egg freezing is an option for women who want to preserve their fertility potential for future use, whether it is for medical or personal reasons. Why is egg freezing even considered?

A woman is born with an egg reserve in her ovaries which gets depleted over a period of her reproductive age, that spans from her first menstrual period to her last. Asian women in particular, age faster than their western counterparts. The ovarian age is almost 5-6 years more than the chronological age. Which is why this option of freezing eggs gives a woman the option to delay her pregnancy till the right circumstances prevail. A woman can have several reasons to delay pregnancy. Career progression, delayed marriage, finding the right partner, and financial considerations are pushing the age of conception later than ideal. As age advances, the good eggs" with fertility potential get wasted, and unless frozen, are lost for ever, says Dr Sushruta Mokadam, consultant obstetrician at Motherhood Hospital, Kharadi, Pune. What are the advantages of freezing your eggs?

Egg freezing provides an option for women to delay pregnancy until they are ready. This allows them to focus on their career or personal goals without worrying about declining fertility with age. In case they are unable to conceive naturally at a later stage in life, having their frozen eggs provides a fallback option. Egg freezing allows women with greater control over their reproductive choices and can provide peace of mind. They can rest assured that they have taken proactive steps to preserve their fertility potential, adds Dr Sathe. When should one consider freezing their eggs? What is the right age for egg freezing?

In general, the younger the woman is, the better the outcomes of egg freezing. This is because younger women tend to produce a greater quantity of high-quality eggs that are more likely to result in successful conception. The most ideal age for egg freezing would be ages 2734. While egg freezing is possible in the mid-to-late 30s, it may require multiple cycles to yield enough viable eggs for a successful pregnancy, opines Dr Sathe. How many eggs should be stored to achieve pregnancy?

There is no fixed number of eggs that need to be stored in order to be able to achieve pregnancy. Generally speaking, it is recommended that women freeze at least 15-20 eggs to have a reasonable chance of a successful pregnancy (with the frozen eggs in the future). However, the number of eggs required varies depending mainly on the womans age and the quality of her eggs. A young woman in her mid-20s may need to freeze only 10-12 eggs to have a good chance of success, while a woman in her late 30s may need to freeze more than 20 eggs to increase her chances of a successful pregnancy. It is important to understand that egg freezing does not guarantee pregnancy. Dr Sathe believes that the success rates of egg freezing vary, and the likelihood of a successful pregnancy depends on various factors, including the womans age and overall health, the quality of the eggs, other associated infertility factors at the time of planning to utilize the frozen eggs and also the expertise of the fertility clinic performing the treatment.

In this case, the more, the better. Since pregnancy is achieved thru the process of IVF, making embryos with the frozen eggs and male partners sperm followed by embryo transfer, storing 40-50 eggs can increase the success rate as well as number of pregnancies, adds Dr Mokadam. How do I use my eggs once Ive frozen them? How long are they viable for?Oocyte vitrification is a complex process done at select IVF centres. The eggs can be kept over 10-15 years. So, if one is 26 age and freezes the eggs then they can be used upto the age of 36 years or more.

The womans ovaries are stimulated with the help of hormones for producing a large number of eggs and then retrieved under anaesthesia called Ovum Pick up, cooled or Vitrified rapidly to sub-zero temperatures and frozen for later use. This process may be done multiple times to get a large egg pool. Once the pregnancy is planned the eggs are thawed and fertilised to make embryos which may be used immediately or frozen further, opines Dr Mokadam.

The success of egg freezing depends on various factors, including the age of the woman at the time of egg freezing, the number and quality of the retrieved eggs, and the expertise of the fertility clinic handling the eggs. Frozen eggs can remain viable for many years, subject to the laws and regulations that are applicable in the country where the eggs are frozen and being stored. What happens to the eggs which remain unused?

When a woman decides to utilize her frozen eggs, she and her fertility physician will need to discuss how many eggs should be thawed for a particular cycle. The options for utilizing the thawed eggs depend on several factors, including the number of eggs available, the womans age, the quality of the eggs and the presence/absence of other infertility factors.One approach is to thaw all the frozen eggs, fertilize them with sperm, and culture the resulting embryos till blastocyst stage, at which point one or two embryos can be transferred, and any remaining embryos can be refrozen for future use.

Alternatively, only a few eggs may be thawed initially, and the remaining eggs can continue to be stored for future use. This approach can be beneficial for women who want to preserve their remaining frozen eggs for future pregnancy attempts.

The decision about how many eggs to thaw and how to utilize them ultimately depends on the womans/couples preferences and unique situation, as well as the recommendations of her fertility physician.

How can they be retrieved?

Dr Sathe notes down the egg freezing process that involves the following steps:

Ovarian stimulation: The woman is given medication (injections) to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. These injections are usually started from day2 of the period and need to be taken for 9 to 12 days. Monitoring: The woman is closely monitored with transvaginal USG to track the development of the ovarian follicles (fluid-filled sacs in the ovaries that contain the eggs). Trigger shot: Once the follicles have reached the desired size, the woman is given a trigger shot (injection) to prepare the eggs for retrieval. Egg retrieval: About 35.5 to 36 hours after the trigger shot, the eggs are retrieved using a needle under ultrasound guidance. This is done under short general anesthesia. Recovery: After the procedure, the woman is monitored in a recovery area for several hours and can usually go home the same day. Some cramping and discomfort are normal after the procedure.

The retrieved eggs are then evaluated in the IVF laboratory and the mature eggs are identified and frozen for future use.

How safe and productive is the process of freezing eggs?

Egg freezing is generally a safe and productive process, but like any medical/surgical procedure, it does come with some risks and limitations:

The medication used for ovarian stimulation may on occasion lead to Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Symptoms of OHSS include the following in varying degrees of severity: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, extreme bloating, rapid weight gain, difficulty breathing etc. The risk of OHSS can be brought down significantly depending on the protocol used for ovarian stimulation.

Egg retrieval is a minimally invasive procedure, but it does carry some risks, including bleeding, infection, and damage to surrounding organs, says Dr Sathe.

The risk of miscarriage (when the frozen eggs are used in the future) primarily depends on the age at which the eggs were frozen. Older women have higher miscarriage rates.

Research to date hasnt shown an increase in the risk of birth defects for babies born as a result of egg freezing. However, more research is needed on the safety of egg freezing.

While every procedure has some complication attached to it, egg freezing done in expert labs is an extremely safe procedure. It also comes with monetary considerations. Therefore, it is advised to get thoroughly counselled and to address all dilemmas before going ahead, signs off Dr Mokadam.

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How is it that this small, oval-shaped fruit with golden-orange skin, so soft to the touch, its deep orange flesh tender and juicy, makes hearts flutter every time summer arrives in Maharashtra and the rest of the country?

This creamy fruit, with hints of apricot and peach is sweet, juicy, with a silken pulpy flesh that melts in your mouth, leaving a rich aftertaste, that owns a flavour so unique and delicious that is often called a nectar from the gods. Mango is not just any ordinary fruit, but literally symbolises, sweetness, pleasure, joy and prosperity.

In India, mangoes have been cultivated for over 4,000 years and are an intrinsic part of our culture. Their arrival in the markets signals the start of the summer season. Unfortunately, as soon as the first mangoes arrive in the markets, it leads to an immediate surge in price in Mumbai, and this fruit triumphantly arrives as unaffordable for most. A dozen mangoes can cost as much as Rs 2,600, its only as the produce increases with its several varieties through the summer, that we poor people can start affording them.

You cannot ignore or evade the arrival of the mango season because the fruit can be seen everywhere. They are in your face. In my area, the neighbourhood paan-walla and cigarette shop, the small kirana shop, the bakery, hardware shops, cycle repair shop, even the plumbers and car-repair shops, turn into mango sellers overnight.

One fine morning, all these shopkeepers change their professions, and their shops are lined with warm hay and are stocked with cartons, boxes and cases of mangoes. Nearly every shop-front in my middle class Dadar neighbourhood is resplendent with the king of fruit displayed in rows and piles from ceiling to pavement in all its Ratnagiri glory. Out of these, some fruits are still green and are awaiting to ripen, while some have already turned a golden yellow, and the choicest ones, of course, have peaked with little red and orange tips.

Come summer and people start looking for their favourite varieties of mangoes. Mumbai, for instance, offers a wide range of mango varieties, starting with the King Alphonso, or Hapus, which is known for its rich flavour, sweetness, and aroma. Then comes my favourite, the Payri, it is a smaller, softer and more fibrous fruit with a noticeable sour bite. Its skin is often green with a hint of red. Great to make Amraas and juice. I, however, like to nip the top off, gently massage the mango in my palm till it gets soft and warm, and then just suck all the juice out.

When the Alphonso is gone for the year, the Totapuri appears from June to July. Its shaped like the beak of a parrot, and so the name, tota or parrot. The flesh is a lighter colour and its not too sweet. If you have the guts, add some salt and red chili powder. Its a knock out combination. Neelam mangoes are grown in the Nashik region of Maharashtra and are known for their sweet taste and firm texture. Rajapuri mangoes are large and have a bright yellow skin with a sweet and tangy taste. Langra and Baganapalli are the non-Maharashtrian mangoes. Langra comes from Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and Baganapalli from Hyderabad and from Andhra Pradesh. Im sorry but we hardcore mango lovers of Maharashtra look down on these immigrants with a glimmer of contempt.

The most popular way of eating mango, besides just slicing it up and consuming it, or its just Aamras Poori time. Its actually an idiosyncratic combination. A chilled sweet fruit pulp eaten with hot deep fried savoury pooris? Yet it works in this really free-spirited way.

We at home eat Aamras with freshly baked bread, not the kind you buy in a bakery. Its home-baked, cottage sourdough which is leavened with a homemade starter or yeast. The aromas while baking may sometimes seem offensive to the uninitiated, but it comes off hot, and glorious especially when eaten with cold Aamras. Otherwise for Aamras Puri, any Gujju Thali joint will do. Skip the bhakras, phulkas, puran polis, rice, khichdi and all other forms of carbohydrates. Just let them fill your platter with the farsaan, vegetables, dals and pooris. At least half a dozen pooris to start with. One big katori of Aamras and then dip the poori in Aamras and hit your high notes.

Restaurants and patisseries too will start their Mango extravaganzas. Fresh mangoes with cream, Mango Gateaux, Mango Mousse, Mango Panna Cotta, Fresh Mango Tarts, Mango Cupcakes, Mango Cheesecakes, Mango Brulee, Mille Feuille and more.

For me, Im going to indulge in one Thali with Aamras, and then head straight to Seefah in Bandra. There I will have a bowl of fiery Prawn Green Curry on Jasmine Rice, and then settle down to slowly savour their, Sticky Rice with Mango.

Kunal Vijayakar is a food writer based in Mumbai. He tweets @kunalvijayakar and can be followed on Instagram @kunalvijayakar. His YouTube channel is called Khaane Mein Kya Hai. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY 2023: World Autism Awareness Day is observed on April 2 every year to raise awareness about autism and promote acceptance, understanding, and inclusion of people suffering from the disability. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social communication, and social interaction of a person. It is estimated that one in 160 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as per World Health Organization, and the prevalence is higher in males than females.

Early diagnosis and intervention can improve the quality of life of people with autism and their families. This year, the United Nations will mark the occasion by hosting a global virtual event on Sunday, April 2. This year, lets revisit the theme, history and purpose of World Autism Awareness Day.

World Autism Awareness Day 2023: Theme

This year, World Autism Awareness Day will be observed on the theme - Transformation: Toward a Neuro-Inclusive World for All. It will focus on the contributions autistic people make at work, at home, in the arts, and in influencing public policy. It will also provide insight into how the narrative change surrounding neurodiversity can be continued in order to remove obstacles, enhance the lives of autistic people worldwide, and meet Sustainable Development Goals.

World Autism Awareness Day: History

World Autism Awareness Day was first observed on April 2, 2008, by the United Nations General Assembly. The day was designed to raise awareness about autism, improve the quality of life for people with autism, and encourage early diagnosis and intervention. Since then, the day has been observed annually by government and, non-government organisations, as well as individuals around the world.

World Autism Awareness Day: Significance

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the brains ability to process information normally. It affects people of all ages, races, and genders, and its prevalence has been increasing globally. World Autism Awareness Day aims to increase public understanding of autism and reduce stigma and discrimination against people with autism.

World Autism Awareness Day: How To Celebrate

Here are a few things that you can do to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day:

Wearing blue is one way to show that you care about and support persons who are autistic. This might take the form of a blue ribbon, articles of clothing, or a unique blue garment that you can buy from a charity like Autism Speaks. You can post on social media, share a blog post or article, or start a conversation about autism. Consider donating to an autism organization to support research, advocacy, and programs that benefit people with the disorder. Attend an event in your community, or join an online event to learn more about autism and meet people affected by it.

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Jr NTR and Janhvi Kapoors film, dubbed as NTR 30, was launched earlier in all its glory. The film, which marks Taraks first collaboration with Janhvi Kapoor and the actresss first Telugu film, was launched by Taraks friend and acclaimed filmmaker SS Rajamouli. Now the RRR Star has added to the anticipation by sharing an intense video that announced NTR30 has finally gone on floors.

On Saturday, Jr NTR took to his Instagram handle to post a clip which showed the actor walking to the sets. The superstars voice echoes in the backdrop when he says I am coming. The video finally concludes with the word Shoot Begins written all over it. The actor shared the video in not one but five languages. For the caption, Jr NTR wrote, Great to be on sets again and

Koratala Siva!"

Several excited fans were stoked after hearing this announcement. One of the fans wrote, Cant wait for the mass revolution! #ntr30(with fire emojis)". Another one commented, Aaahhh his voice in all languages!!!" Someone else said,

The FEAR is here(with fire emojis)". A fan stated, He is ready to rule. Are you ready?"

Another one wrote, Making a new history on April 5 2024." A fan wrote, My favourite hero NTR!"

NTR 30s director Koratala Siva, who was reuniting with Tarak for the film, spoke with the media gathered for the launch event. The film is set in a forgotten coastal land of India. Its a very emotional story about how we live in a world that has more monsters than humans," he said.

Janhvi had recently opened up about the project. At the India Today Conclave, Janhvi said, Literally counting down the days (to the films shoot). I message the director (Koratala Siva) every day. Working with Jr NTR has been a dream. I recently re-watched RRR. The magnitude of charisma that he has. To be able to share screen space with him will be one of the biggest joys of my life. She added that she manifested the project.

I prayed every day for it. In every interview, I used to say that I want to work with NTR sir. This film might be the first time this (approach) worked for me. I do believe that what you put in the universe is what you attract. I have learnt to be always positive and do your work. That is the moral of the story, she added.

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Oscars 2023 were sepcial for team RRR. The films Naatu Naatu song created history as it won the Best Original Song Award. Besides the songs M. M. Keeravani and films director SS Rajamouli, Jr NTR, Ram Charan and his wife Upasana Kamineni were also present at the prestigious 95th Academy Awards. Now, Upasana has said that it was important for her to be with her actor-husband through the Oscar campaign because the star needed much support.

In an interview with Humans of Bombay, Upasana revealed how Ram Charan was physically shaking during the historic Oscars ceremony and said, I just had to be there for him at this time because he was physically shaking, and he needed as much support as he could get! During the dancing and things like that. LA was like a great vacation for me but also to be with him at that time was really nice. Everyone around was so warm, I didnt even expect it. This was an unknown territory for us, but everyone was so warm, it was really nice.

Upasana also mentioned that just she being there as a family was a huge thing" and explained that the entire RRR team has become a big family over the years. I was there on the set of Naatu Naatu with him (SS Rajamouli) in Ukraine and then here as well. He has been with me through some of my really, really tough times at work, of course he is there with me during all my successes as well," she added.

Meanwhile, Ram Charan and Upasana are also expecting their first child together. The news was announced earlier this year by Chiranjeevi on Twitter. The Telugu superstar had issued a statement that read, With the blessings of Shri Hanuman ji. We are delighted to share that Upasana and Ram Charan are expecting their first child. With love & gratitude, Surekha and Chiranjeevi Konidela; Shobana and Anil Kamineni."

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY REMO DSOUZA: Remo DSouza is well-known for his charismatic choreography. Starting off as a background dancer, Remo has worked his way through the ladder of success to establish himself not just as one of the biggest choreographers in Bollywood, but also as a filmmaker and a reality show personality. Remos appearance on dance reality shows like Dance India Dance, and Dance Plus made him a household name. On his birthday, here are five facts you probably did not know about the ace dancer.

Remo DSouza Birthday: Lesser-known Facts

Remo DSouzas real name is Ramesh Gopi Nair. The ace dancer had no professional training in dancing at all. He was a self-learner, and his wide knowledge of various dance forms comes from his observations over time. Remos big Bollywood break was Urmila Mathondkars song Rangeela Re from the movie Rangeela. He was one of the dancers and got the part while he was assisting choreographer Ahmed Khan. After relocating to Bombay in search of a dancing career, Remo Dsouza founded a Super Brats dance studio on Charni Road in South Bombay with just four students. Remo has directed several Bollywood films, but many are unaware that he also directed a Bengali film Lal Paharer Katha (a story of the red hills), which was screened at the Dubai International Film Festival. The film featured Mithun Chakraborty in the lead role. Lal Paharer Kathas plot revolved around Chhau, a tribal dance form of Orissa and West Bengal.

Remo DSouza Birthday: Latest Songs

Nachi Nachi

Remo DSouza choreographed the iconic song Nachi Nachi from the 2020 film Street Dancer 3D. The song has millions of views on YouTube. It features the ultimate dance battle between Shraddha Kapoor and Nora Fatehi. Garmi

This is yet another song choreographed by Remo DSouza from Street Dancer 3D. The song was sung by Badshah and features Nora Fatehi and Varun Dhawan. The Jawani song

The song from the album Student Of The Year 2 was crooned by Vishal Dadlani, Payal Dev and was a rendition of Kishore Kumars original song Yeh Jawani hai Dewaani. The music video features Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, and Ananya Panday dancing to the perfectly synced choreography by Remo DSouza.

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The nation went over the moon seeing MCU stars Tom Holland and Zendaya land in Mumbai. The couple is in India for the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) fashion gala. While the duo didnt attend the opening day event, they marked their presence on the second day. However, the lovebirds are making the most of their Mumbai trip and were spotted on a yacht ride in Mumbai.

Tom and Zendaya donned their brightest smiles posing with their hosts. While Tom looked dapper in a white T-shirt teamed with denim jeans. Zendaya looked gorgeous in a free-flowing red frock. They posed from the yacht against the azure blue water in Mumbai.

Take a look :

Tom also took to his Instagram handle to share photos from the second day of the event. He wrote, "

Thank you to the Ambani family for inviting us to celebrate the opening of the @nmacc.india . A truly wonderful experience that Ill never forget."

Tom Holland had previously revealed he wanted to visit India. During the promotion of Uncharted last year, Tom revealed he had a list of places he wanted to visit. As reported by IANS, the actor said, I am a big fan of India but as I said I never got a chance to go there. I am grateful to my fans in India for the kind of love and support I have received.

Back in 2019, during the press tour of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Tom had earlier shared with Bollywoodlife, I havent been to India earlier but I would love to visit. We have a charity in India that we support, my brother has a charity. And we would love to go around as a family and visit India."

He even asserted, I would like to go to Mumbai. In fact, I would like to go everywhere, travel around and not just one place. But, I have heard wonderful things about India."

Speaking of the NMACC event, the opening night was no less than a star-studded affair with several Hollywood and Bollywood personalities attending the same. From Gigi Hadid, and Cara Delevingne to Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, Karan Johar, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, everyone made heads turn on the red carpet. The second day, too, saw several celebrities s in attendance including Penelope Cruz.

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After facing backlash for lifting Gigi Hadid during their recent performance, Varun Dhawan broke his silence. The Bollywood actor was performing at the NMACC fashion gala which was attended by several noted stars including the supermodel. During his performance, Gigi can be seen making her way to the stage when Varun lifts her and twirls her. He also gave her a peck on the cheeks. This action left the internet divided with some netizens trolling Varun for his behaviour.

The actor has now responded to a Tweet. The now-deleted post reportedly read, If you are a woman, you are not safe anywhere with anyone. Even if you are Gigi Hadid, invited to a party with an elite" crowd, guys like Varun Dhawan will randomly pick you up and kiss you without your consent, all in the name of fun. Disgusting. (sic)"

ALSO READ: Gigi Hadid Reacts As Varun Dhawan Faces Huge Backlash For Kissing Her Without Consent

Responding to this, Varun wrote, I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather then going out and doing something about things . Good morning "

Take a look:

I guess today you woke up and decided to be woke. So lemme burst ur bubble and tell u it was planned for her to be on stage so find a new Twitter cause to vent about rather then going out and doing something about things . Good morning  https://t.co/9O7Hg43y0S VarunDhawan (@Varun_dvn) April 2, 2023

Meanwhile, Gigi Hadid was not the only Hollywood star present at the show. Along with the supermodel, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Penelope Cruz and Nick Jonas also walked the red carpet.

The first two days of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) launch event were a star-studded affair. Along with these Hollywood stars, several noted Bollywood celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Aayushman Khurram, Tahira Kashyap, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra and Vicky Kaushal, among others were present.

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After a Surat court gave him a two-year sentence for defamation, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Parliament. This caused a huge uproar. Many arch-rivals of the Congress, like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), came out to show solidarity against the disqualification. But in the first press conference after the disqualification, when Rahul Gandhi again took a dig at Veer Savarkar, the partys ally Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) slammed the Congress. This dissatisfaction is a clear sign that Congress real problem is that its politics is all about Rahul Gandhi. And if the Congress believes that the show of Opposition solidarity is an acceptance of its Rahul-centric politics, then it will lead to more disenchantment in the Opposition camp.

Uddhav Thackerays discontent

One of the main problems with Rahul Gandhis politics is that he talks about Indian culture and history without much thought. It is hurtful to see that a tall Opposition leader shows zero empathy towards the feelings of the people, communities, and sections concerning historical figures and cultures of India. For instance, the Congress party may have a different position than Shiv Sena on the issue of Savarkar, but making statements like My name is not Savarkar, and I wont apologise shows a desperately irresponsible politician with zero respect for the allies and even for the communities. It is not that Rahul Gandhi is unaware of the position of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Savarkar. But he did not feel it was that important because the Congress loves to believe that Gandhis are larger than life.

Uddhav Thackeray said, I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that we walked with you in your Bharat Jodo Yatra as it was for the fight to save democracy. But I want to openly tell Rahul Gandhi that Savarkar is a god-like figure for us, and we will not tolerate his insult. We are together in the fight to save democracy. But do not make statements or take steps that will create fissures (between the Senate and the Congress).

The discontentment of Uddhav Thackeray should be an eye-opener for the Congress. It is high time for the grand old party to realise that Rahul Gandhi-centric politics will only create more such issues. A person with zero empathy for the allies cannot be the centre of the Opposition alliance because then there will be no balance.

Messages for Congress from Opposition Parties

Most importantly, the Congress needs to realise that if the Opposition wants to work together, it will have to include the regional political parties. Each regional party comes from a different state and has its own culture and social history. A leader like Rahul Gandhi who doesnt understand or isnt willing to respect such differences cant be the undisputed leader of such an alliance.

The fact that Rahuls disqualification brought the leaders of the Opposition together shows that the Opposition political parties are growing up. They want to make it obvious that cooperation with the Congress can only be based on certain concerns and goals. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised Gandhi harshly in the Parliament and asked him to take back a supposed anti-Indian comment he made in the UK. This seemed to cause a split in the Opposition. While some political groups backed the Congress, others, like the TMC, criticised the grand old party for concentrating only on Rahul Gandhis conflict with the BJP.

Many Issues of Opposition Parties

It is important to understand how strong the Congress party is across India and how much momentum it has gained since Rahul Gandhi led the Bharat Jodo Yatra. But Indias Opposition politics has changed since Narendra Modi was elected the prime minister. The AAP, for example, now dominates two significant states, Delhi and Punjab. Gujarat and Goa both have active AAP governments. The entry of AAP occurred at the expense of the Congress. Kejriwal was the first to come out in support of Rahul, but there should not be any doubt that he will approve a Rahul Gandhi-centric political narrative of the Opposition.

For example, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is in charge of the Bengal Congress, criticises the TMC government both inside and outside of Bengal. But at the same time, the Bengal Congress wants Banerjees support in the Parliament. The TMC itself dismantled the Meghalaya Congress and stole its electoral support. Political parties such as AAP and TMC, or even BRS and SP, are concerned that if the Oppositions entire optics become Rahul-centric, they will be pushed to the sidelines.

The Congress party needs to understand that this struggle cannot be won while acting haughtily and from the moral high chair. Also, the Congress needs to decide if their main goal should be to back Rahul Gandhi as the next prime minister or fight against the BJP.

Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Akhilesh Yadav, who lead the political groups of the Opposition, are all experienced politicians who know that a third front without the Congress cannot compete with the BJP. Their main concern right now is that these regional political parties stay around in their states. When Akhilesh Yadav held Rahul Gandhis hand during the Uttar Pradesh elections, the SP successfully converted votes to Congress, but the Congress did not. In the recently concluded Tripura elections, where the Left and the Congress got together, a similar situation was experienced.

Regional parties will always try to keep going, no matter what, and its becoming clearer with each election that working with the Congress in their states doesnt help them. On the other hand, they worry about losing political clout in national politics if they accept Rahul Gandhis leadership and accept him as the leader of the Opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming general elections in 2024.

Way Forward

So, right now, it is time for the Congress party, under the leadership of its president, Mallikarjun Kharge, to sit down with all these regional stakeholders and find out their shared minimum agenda. If the Congress party is too busy protecting Rahul Gandhi both inside and outside of Parliament, political parties that are not directly affiliated with the Congress but are in Opposition to the Congress will feel more uneasy. These political figures, including Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Akhilesh Yadav, have a history in Indian politics. If the Congress party reaches out to these leaders by breaking the ice at the topmost levels, then the situation can be better.

There is no doubt that Congress has goals and wants Rahul Gandhi to lead the party. However, the party needs to realise that strategies that focus on Rahul Gandhi hurt the party. If the Congress believes that the BJP will make even a minor concession to Gandhi, they are delusional. It is a battleground, and the BJP will benefit more as long as the Congress becomes more Rahul Gandhi-focused.

Indeed, there cant be a third front against the BJP without the Congress, but this is because of history and the thousands of party members and supporters in each state who helped build the party. The Gandhis did not create the Congress, but whether they served as a catalyst to destroy the party or not is something the partys karyakartas should consider. This is the reason why the Congress shouldnt dismiss the requests and perspectives of the local political parties. Hypocrisy is what comes to mind when people make speeches about being willing to give up things for Opposition unity but then centre their entire political platform around Rahul Gandhi.

After the disqualification of Gandhi, the sentiments of the Congress workers and leaders are obvious, but if the party wants to make it the key poll issue against the BJP, then the other parties might not approve it with ease. But this can be strategically used to bring all the parties to the table to discuss the future course of action. The burden is on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and his ability to strategise freely.

The author is a Columnist and Doctoral Research Scholar In Media & Politics. He tweets @sayantan_gh. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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City of Elko Planning Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, in Elko City Hall. The panel will consider a zoning ordinance amendment and a rezoning request from Atlas Towing and Recovery.

Elko County Regional Transportation Commission will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Nannini Administration Building. Roads Superintendent Dennis Price will request a $900,000 budget for chip sealing or micro-surfacing on eight county roads.

Elko County Board of Fire Commissioners will meet at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board may approve a tentative $7 million operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as a $1 million emergency fund.

Elko County Commissioners will meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board will hear a presentation by Brandy Holbrook of Nevada Child and Family Services regarding the crisis the County is facing related to foster care and temporary shelter for children in Elko County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will seek public feedback on the South Fork Dam Flood Management Plan. Commissioners will also consider writing a letter of concern about U.S. Air Force plans to lower flight levels in the northern part of the county.

City of Elko Arts and Culture Advisory Board meets at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at Elko City Hall. The panel will review several unfinished projects.
Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said if he were the Congress president, he would encourage smaller parties to become the convenor of an opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election.

Speaking to the PTI, Tharoor said Congress would effectively become the de facto" where other parties gather, but emphasised that he would not crow about it" if he held the party leadership position.

Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP," he said.

However, the senior party leader who contested the Congress presidential poll race last year, said unity is far more important than pride of place. But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor asserted.

Tharoor had contested for the post of Congress president last year but had lost the internal party election to Mallikarjun Kharge.

He commented that Rahul Gandhis disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a surprising wave of Opposition unity" as regional parties traditionally opposed to the Congress in their states, including, AAP in Delhi, TMC in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, CPIM in Kerala, have come out in his support.

According to him, with the majority of the opposition parties now united under a common purpose and avoiding vote-splitting, the BJP may face greater difficulty in securing a majority in the upcoming 2024 elections.

While the Congress has often mentioned Opposition unity, the Trinamool party had stated that the Congress is not its older month", while the BRS chief and Telanganas chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao has been advocating for a third front that was neither affiliated with the Congress nor the BJP.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has dismissed opposition unity" as a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, stating the leaders are only fighting the BJP in their respective states.

Chandrashekar Rao, Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Congress lets say these four come together under the Modi vs Rest formula. Consider if Chandrashekar Rao holds a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh what difference would it make? If Mamata Banerjee holds a rally in Telangana, will it make a difference? Or if (Akhilesh) Yadav sahab holds a meeting in Bengal, what difference will that make? said Shah at the News18 Rising India Summit.

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A sentence repeated by leader of opposition Siddaramaiah once his name featured in the first list of the Congress for the Karnataka assembly elections was: This is my last election. And since it is my last election, I feel I should contest from Varuna, my karmabhoomi. But the former chief minister will also be contesting from Kolar, for which the grand old party has made a lot of preparations and laid the groundwork.

There was speculation that BJP veteran BS Yediyurappas son BY Vijayendra, who will be making his debut in electoral politics this time, will be contesting against Siddaramaiah from Varuna. But that is not likely to happen as Vijayendra is expected to contest from his fathers seat in Shikaripura; and the BJP high command has made it clear that every candidate will get only one ticket or seat to contest.

Fighting an election is no less than a game of chess and Siddaramaiah wants to ensure he makes all the right moves and traps the BJP in a checkmate. In 2018, too, he contested from two seats  Chamundeshwari and Badami.

In the previous assembly elections, the 75-year-old Congress veterans win from Badami was a tough one by a narrow margin of 1,696 votes. But he ended up losing Chamundeshwari by over 36,000 votes to one-time friend and JD(S) leader GT Devegowda, whose win was termed David taking on Goliath.

Back in 2018, a visibly upset Siddaramaiah had told News18 that though the people of Chamundeshwari showered him with love, it was just not enough. He had even pointed out that he won from this seat five times, but had also faced defeat thrice.

I will not contest from Chamundeshwari again, he had said at the time.

The 2008 delimitation process was also another cause for Siddaramaiahs loss in Chamundeshwari. In that process, the Chamundeshwari constituency was split into two seats  Varuna and Chamundeshwari. This caused the caste balance in the constituencies to go haywire, with a large number of Kurubas  the OBC community that Siddaramaiah belongs to  being concentrated in Varuna and a strong concentration of Vokkaligas in Chamundeshwari. The Vokkaliga community is a substantial vote bank of the JD(S), which is how GT Devegowda won the seat comfortably.

An internal survey conducted by the private political strategist of the Congress, Sunil Kanugolu, had thrown up worrisome results in terms of Siddaramaiahs choice to contest from Kolar. The leader not only faced a major threat from BJPs Varthur Prakash, a former close aide of Siddaramaiahs, but also the complex caste equations in the region that could make the contest a dicey one.

This was communicated to the Congress leadership and it has been learned that senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, reportedly advised him not to contest from Kolar. So this time round, Siddaramaiah has decided to be true to the land of his birth, Varuna, to help him get elected one last time.

Several leaders in the state Congress also feel that contesting from two seats was a safer option than to gamble on a single chance, especially at a time when he has announced that he will be retiring from active electoral politics after this election.

Siddaramaiahs son Yathindra is the incumbent MLA from Varuna. This time, Yathindra had requested the party and his father that he will not be fighting the elections and, on multiple occasions on public platforms, requested his father to contest from Varuna.

The party workers in Kolar have been requesting Siddaramaiah ji to contest from Kolar as well. Apart from the fact that he is a leader loved across the state, he also has a special place in the hearts of the people of Kolar. The information that we know is that he may contest from Varuna and Kolar, said a Congress leader, who did not want to be named.

Until recently, Siddaramaiah had set his sights on contesting from Kolar, 70 km from Bengaluru, but several internal surveys conducted by the Congress showed that the leader could be up against a tough opponent in Kolar. The Congress has also managed to iron out differences between the senior leader and former Kolar MP KH Muniyappa.

Muniyappa is a seven-time Congress MP from the Lok Sabha seat, who lost the previous election. He has been quite upset with Siddaramaiah for having tried to sideline him and his supporters, and try and place his loyalists in Kolar.

Muniyappa had initially expressed discomfort with the idea of Siddaramaiahs contesting from Kolar. KH Muniyappa is also on board and the differences have been sorted out. But there could be a split in votes due to the interference brought in by some leaders from rival parties, said another senior Congress leader.

Political analyst Sandeep Shastri believes that Siddaramaiah saying he wished to contest from Kolar as well showed that the Congressman did not want to step back from a commitment he made.

I believe that a lot of groundwork had happened there. Once it was known that he was going to contest from Varuna, his home constituency, there was a lot of consternation among Congress workers in Kolar. The caste calculus in Kolar district is what the Congress is hoping to cash in on and by bringing Siddramaiah there, the party was hoping to strengthen the caste equation. I think that factor is also in play, Shastri told News18.

Shastri also pointed out that by choosing to contest from two seats, Siddaramaiah had given the opposition a handle to say that the leader of the opposition was not sure about where he will win and so is contesting from two seats.

Siddaramaiahs logic, as I see it, is hoping for some traction in Kolar. The counter regiment put forth by the Congress will also be that senior BJP leaders have also done this at the state and national level, so why not Siddaramaiah? he added.

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A day after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warned" Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and called him a coward," the AAP supremo on Sunday replied saying that open threats does not befit a leader.

Addressing his first political rally in Assam, Kejriwal highlighted the threats" issued by Sarma and said that he has only done dirty politics" in the last seven years in power.

He (Sarma) was threatening me, saying if I come we will put him in jail. The people of Assam are not like that, they are hospitable. They dont give threats. Himanta Biswa Sarma should learn about Assams culture and tradition," he said.

He also added that people of Assam do not threaten their guests, but offer them tea.

When you come to Delhi, please come to my house and have tea. If you have some time, have food with me. Then I will show you the entire Delhi," he said.

This comes as Sarma has called Kejriwal a coward, who was hiding behind the veil of immunity in Delhi assembly and uttering white lies."

Mr Arvind Kejriwal is a coward whos hiding behind the veil of immunity in Delhi Assembly and uttering white lies.Let him say theres a corruption case pending against me outside the Assembly premise and I will sue him in the same manner I did with his colleague Manish Sisodia, Sarma said.

Mr Arvind Kejriwal is a coward whos hiding behind the veil of immunity in Delhi Assembly and uttering white lies.Let him say theres a corruption case pending against me outside the Assembly premise and I will sue him in the same manner I did with his colleague Manish Sisodia. pic.twitter.com/nXLBPrxBUW  Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) March 31, 2023

Sarma had filed a defamation case against former Delhi deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, after the latter alleged that the Assam government had given contracts to his wifes firms PPE kits above market rates during the the coronavirus pandemic.

Kejriwal is in Guwahatai with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The two leaders landed in Borjhar airport in Guwahati at around 1.15 pm on Sunday, and addressed a rally in the state.

This is not the first time the two leaders have been involved in a war of words.

In August last year, Sarmas declaration about closing 36 provincialised schools in the state triggered a Twitter war with his Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal.

The Delhi CM on Friday told Sarma that they both should learn from each other, as only then will India become the number one country. Kejriwals response came after the Assam chief minister lashed out at him over the amalgamation of schools, asking him to do his homework before commenting.

Sharing a news item claiming that the Assam government closed 34 schools due to poor results, Kejriwal had tweeted in Hindi on Wednesday, Closing schools is not the solution. We actually need to open a lot of new schools across the country. Instead of shutting down schools, fix them by improving education."

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Maharashtras Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, is witnessing an action packed day with parallel shows of strength by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Maha Vikas Aghadi as both have organised rallies today, just days after the city saw violence.

A rally by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and a Savarkar Gaurav Yatra organised by the ruling BJP are happening today amid tight security arrangements in place to ensure both events pass off without any untoward incident.

The political events come days after rioting and arson in the citys Kiradpura area amid Ram Navami, leaving one person dead, several policemen injured and property, including vehicles, damaged and gutted.

MVA, BJP Rallies in Sambhajinagar | Track All The Latest Updates:

-Maha CM Shinde Takes Part in Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in Thane

#WATCH | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde takes part in BJP-Shiv Sena's 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra' in Thane pic.twitter.com/L2CmVSpgJT ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

-Security Arrangements: A senior police official said that 300 cops will be deployed for both events to ensure they take place smoothly, adding that the routes and locations of MVA rally and BJP yatra are different. At least 12 persons, including 10 policemen, were injured after a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when police personnel 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.

-CM Shindes Day Plan: Chief Minister Eknath Shindes press conference is scheduled at 5 pm in Thanes Ananda Ashram, after which the CM will inaugurate the Shiv Sena party office in Vikhroli.

-BJPs Yatra in Thane: While MVA holds rally in Sambhajinagar today, BJP-Sena (shinde) will hold Savarkar Gaurav Yatras in different parts of the state. The Veer Savarkar Gaurav Yatra led by BJP will start at 10 am from Savarkar Smarak outside Gadkari Rangayatan in Thane, and after that the yatra will go from place to place in the city.

-Uddhavs Day Plan: Uddhav Thackeray, former Maharashtra CM of the MVA (Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP) alliance-led government will land in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar at 4.15 pm today for the MVA rally.

-In a video released on Twitter, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve asked his party functionaries to assemble for the rally calmly and peacefully as there may be an attempt to cause friction among communities.

Maharashtra | A clash broke out between two groups in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's Kiradpura areaStones were pelted, some private & police vehicles were set on fire. Police used force to disperse the people and now the situation is peaceful. Police will take strict action pic.twitter.com/u9qa5XYyPk  ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2023

-Preps for MVA Rally Complete: (UBT) leader Subhash Desai, after inspecting the Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground on Saturday, said, The preparations for the rally are complete. The ground will be filled to capacity and we have also made arrangements to set up equipment for people outside the venue to hear the speeches". The city is now peaceful and the earlier incidents will have no impact on the rally, he said, adding at least five to six such rallies will be held across the state.

#Maharashtra: Sambhajinagar to witness MVA rally, BJP's Savarkar Gaurav Yatra todayJoin the broadcast with @SakshiLitoriya_ pic.twitter.com/ABOgH93hTr  News18 (@CNNnews18) April 2, 2023

-BJPs Yatra: While Bharatiya Janata Partys Savarkar Gaurav Yatra is being held in multiple parts of the state, in Sambhajinagar, it will begin from a chowk named after the late Hindutva ideologue, which is just a kilometre away from the MVA rally site. The march in honour of Savarkar and to oppose routine attacks on him by the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi will cover all three Assembly seats in the city and culminate at Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk, a BJP office-bearer said.

-MVA Rally: The MVA rally will be held in the evening today at Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground, with speakers being led by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former CM Uddhav Thackeray, senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to move the Surat sessions court on Monday, in a bid to challenge the 2 year jail sentence given to him in a criminal defamation case. The case pertains to his 2019 Modi surname remark, that he had made during an election rally in Karnataka.

Following his conviction, the Gandhi scion was disqualified from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament. Meanwhile, Congress provincial president Ajay Rai on Saturday said people of Amethi are Rahul Gandhis strength, asking them to stand by the former MP just as they have always supported the Gandhi family in the past.

Rahuls legal team has done all the preparation, sources have said. He was convicted on March 23 in the defamation case for two years. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday had said that a legal team was working on the case in which former Gandhi was convicted.

Kharge said that the party was ready to face the matter politically and legally", and also criticised the Central government for disqualifying Rahul Gandhi in haste". The Congress president termed the disqualification as vengeance".

As a mark of protest against the disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, and to press its demand for a probe into the allegations of fraud levelled against the Adani Group, the Congress launched the Jai Bharat Satyagraha across the country against the Centre.

The BJP has been attacking Gandhi, a former Congress chief, over his democracy under attack" remarks in the UK and demanding he apologise, and has criticised him over his 2019 comment.

Before his disqualification, Gandhi was not allowed to speak in Parliament and he had also approached the Lok Sabha speaker, the chief minister said, adding that it was Birlas duty to allow Gandhi to speak.

(With IANS Inputs)

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The Metap-owned popular instant messaging application WhatsApp recently announced that the company banned more than 45 lakh bad accounts in India in the month of February, in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021.

Between February 1 and February 28, 4,597,400 WhatsApp accounts were banned and 1,298,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users", WhatsApp said in its monthly compliance report.

The instant popular messaging platform, which has nearly 500 million users in the country, received another record 2,804 complaint reports in February in the country, and the records actioned" were 504.

This user-safety report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApps own preventive actions to combat abuse on our platform. We will continue with transparency to our work and include information about our efforts in future reports," said a company spokesperson.

Other social media platforms including Twitter on Friday banned a record 682,420 accounts promoting child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity in India between January 26 and February 25. Elon Musk-run micro-blogging platform also took down 1,548 accounts for promoting terrorism on its platform in the country.

Twitter, in its monthly report in compliance with the new IT Rules, 2021, said that it received just 73 complaints from users in India in the same time-frame through its grievance redressal mechanisms. In addition, Twitter processed 27 grievances which were appealing account suspensions.

We overturned 10 of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation. The remaining reported accounts remain suspended. We also received 24 requests related to general questions about Twitter accounts during this reporting period," the company said.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) that will look into their concerns regarding content and other issues.

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Amid a looming demographic crisis in China with a falling birth rate, political advisors to the government have come up with many recommendations to address the crisis.

Several colleges have also come up with a unique plan to support the national concern.

Nine vocational colleges in China want their students to go forth and find love during a weeklong holiday in April to reverse Chinas declining birth rate.

The schools, run by the Fan Mei Education Group, announced on March 23 that they are going on a break from April 1 to 7 and tasked students with enjoying themselves.

The 7-day holiday encourages students to learn to love nature, love life, and enjoy love through enjoying the spring break."

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 Guohui, deputy dean of Mianyang Flying Vocational College, said in a statement.

The homework for students includes writing diaries, keeping track of personal development and making travel videos.

Walk out of campus, get in touch with nature, and with your heart feel the beauty of spring," the statement added.

The schools have been giving students and teachers a week off in the spring since 2019, but this years theme is enjoy the blossoms, go fall in love," places a special emphasis on romance.

The announcement comes amid a push in China to bolster rapidly declining birth and marriage rates.

Local companies, provinces, and townships have been experimenting with ways to get people to marry, like offering 30 days of marriage leave" or launching campaigns asking city women to date rural older bachelors.

South Korea, which is also facing a slowing birth rate, is mulling a proposal to exempt men from mandatory military service for those who have three or more babies before they turn 30. The country hopes that the effort would boost the nations ailing birth rate.

China is facing a looming demographic crisis as its workforce ages, which analysts warn could stymie economic growth and pile pressure on strained public coffers.

The countrys population shrank in 2022 for the first time in more than six decades. The Chinese population could decline each year by 1.1 percent on average, according to a study by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, AFP reported.

The mainland Chinese population stood at around 1,411,750,000 at the end of 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, a decrease of 850,000 from the end of the previous year.

(With inputs from AFP)

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A necessary step for some, a witch hunt" for others: the historic indictment of Donald Trump has further entrenched perceptions that partisanship has cleaved the United States, with the former president at the center of the storm.

The Republican billionaires presidency  as well as his rhetoric since losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden  both underscored and amplified the countrys political divisions, and reactions to him becoming the first US president charged with a crime have followed that playbook closely.

The public today sees almost everything through the lens of partisanship," said Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University.

It is a perception that has not escaped politicos: the indictment is above all a gift to the campaign managers and strategists in both major parties," giving them an opportunity to stoke outrage," Robert Talisse, a Vanderbilt University expert on political polarization, told AFP.

Indeed, several leading Republicans, including the former president, have already launched fund-raising campaigns to fight what they have called a political persecution."

In tweets, interviews and statements, Trump-supporting Republicans sharply denounced the indictment  which is due to be unsealed in a New York court next week  as an absolute outrage" while lining up to defend Trump, who is running for president in 2024 again, as a martyr.

Not my president

The sense of an America divided has moved well beyond politics.

In many homes, whole areas of disputation in todays United States  over gender, abortion or guns  have become so heated they are almost taboo.

As the indictment was announced on Thursday night, with some liberals on social media mocking the MAGA tears" of Trump backers, a small group converged outside the former presidents luxurious Florida residence to display their support and express their anger.

Several waved flags proclaiming Biden is not my president" or Trump won," in the latest reminder that more than two years after the billionaire lost the 2020 election, millions of Americans remain convinced that the election was stolen" from him.

But some experts warn against exaggerating the severity of todays political division.

From the Civil War that pitted North against South in the 1860s, to the rioting and protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, American society has survived deeper divisions.

The country was far more intensely fractured and segregated in the 1900s and (early) 2000s than it is today. We are a more diverse and more participatory country than we have ever been," Schiller said, adding that more voices can mean things get louder and angrier."

But it is unrealistic to compare it to 50 years ago, when so many voices were silenced through discrimination and structural obstacles to voting," she added.

And there is one person in the country who is doing what he can to avoid fanning the flames further: Joe Biden.

The president has yet to officially launch his 2024 campaign, but knows that anything he might say could fuel the Republican billionaires complaints of a politically weaponized" judicial system.

As such he has remained one of the few Democrats to keep his silence, telling reporters he will not comment on the indictment.

Meanwhile Trump, as ever, appeared to feel no such restraint.

The former president himself turned to his Truth Social platform after the indictment to accuse Democrats of being the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country."

He added: They are not coming after me  they are coming after you. Im just standing in their way."

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A leading Russian military blogger was killed Sunday in an explosion at a cafe in Russias second-largest city of Saint Petersburg, the interior ministry said.

One person was killed in the incident. He was military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky," the ministry said on Telegram.

Investigators later said they had confirmed an unidentified explosive device exploded in a cafe in central St Petersburg."

19 people were also injured to varying degrees," they said in a statement.

The TASS news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device hidden inside a statue given to Tatarsky as a gift".

Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, has more than 500,000 followers on Telegram and is in favour of Russias campaign in Ukraine.

The explosion occurred at Street Food Bar No. 1" in the city centre, with the interior ministry saying police had been called to the scene at 6:13 pm (1513 GMT).

A group called Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself on social media as Russias information troops", said it had hired out the cafe for the evening.

There was a terrorist attack. We took certain security measures but unfortunately they were not enough," the group said on Telegram.

Condolences to everyone who knew the excellent war correspondent and our friend Vladlen Tatarsky," it said.

The 40-year-old Tatarsky came from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia claims to have annexed and which is currently mostly held by Russian troops

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The Marburg virus, which has claimed nine deaths, is spreading across countries in Africa raising concerns around the globe.

The outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever has spread beyond the province of Kie-Ntem, where it caused the first known deaths in January and reached Bata, the economic capital of the west African nation.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging travellers to Guinea and Tanzania to be mindful of contracting the deadly Marburg virus.

The CDC is also sending personnel to Africa to assist in stopping the outbreak of the disease. It also urged travellers in Guinea and Tanzania to avoid contact with sick people, healthcare facilities in the outbreak areas and to watch for symptoms for three weeks after leaving the area.

Saudi Arabia has also announced banning its citizens from travelling to Guinea and Tanzania. Oman has also stopped its citizens from travelling to the two African countries.

The Marburg virus causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure. It is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes Ebola, which has wreaked havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa.

The WHO has warned of a potential large-scale epidemic which could spread to neighbouring Gabon and Cameroon.

Marburg outbreaks and individual cases have in the past been recorded in Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana, according to the WHO.

Tanzania also announced last week five deaths from Marburg, but insisted it has the spread under control after sending a rapid response team to the northwestern region of Kagera which borders Uganda.

The suspected natural source of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, which carries the pathogen but does not fall sick from it.

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RENO  With rising production costs, increased workloads, family issues and livestock uncertainties  to name a few challenges  farmers and ranchers are facing health issues related to stress at higher levels than seen in the general population, according to a study led by the University of Nevada, Reno for a collaboration of universities around the western United States.

With everything going on in the world, the prices and stuff have affected me for the last three years, a participant in the study said. Its been really a hardship with the fluctuation; I mean we have always had fluctuation on cattle prices and hay prices, but nothing as severe as we have had the past three years.

The study is part of a larger effort to reach out to farmers and ranchers across the West through the Western Regional Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Project. The overall project is funded by a USDA NIFA grant with the goal of developing programs to assist farmers and ranchers in 13 Western states and four territories to manage the debilitating effects of stress. A separate survey is underway for farm and ranch workers.

While the ages of respondents range from 18 to 70 years old, the average age of respondents is 45 years old, the average number of years working in agriculture is 21, and its a well-educated audience.

While its a normal condition for all of us to experience stress, the agricultural producers appear to experience higher levels of stress, Brenda Freeman, one of the authors of the study and a professor of counseling in the College of Education and Human Development, said. Extreme stress can be debilitating, it affects our minds and our health.

In her more than 25 years as a licensed counselor, Freeman, who is also an Extension mental health specialist at the University, has seen how stress can affect individuals.

People often think stress is a lightweight topic, she said. But, they are missing an understanding of the multiple ways chronic stress can impact their work, their business, their health and their families. Chronic stress can seep into all aspects of their lives.

The finding of higher than normal stress levels for farmers and ranchers is concerning because prior research shows chronic stress can be related to higher incidence of cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure, mental health concerns such as depression, and other detrimental behaviors such as substance abuse and even suicide.

The top six issues identified as leading to stress for producers were: production costs (84%); legislative issues related to agriculture (78%); workload (77.9 %); family (77.9 %); livestock (disease and injury) (75.7 %); and lack of time (75.3 %).

In addition to identifying the types of stressors that agriculture producers are facing, the survey also identified the types of stress management topics the respondents would be most interested in learning more about.

This report captures the perspectives of the Nevada farmer/rancher producers who responded to our survey on issues of stress and coping, Freeman said. This helps us to build appropriate resources and programs available for them to manage the debilitating effects of stress and the best ways to reach out to farmers and ranchers.

The study identified that the best strategies for supporting Nevada farmers and ranchers were social media and online classes with information and webinars. Older people want written materials only, and most respondents preferred online resources.

Its a high-touch field, with neighbor-to-neighbor programs and tele-health for those who want it  using the College of Education & Human Developments Downing Clinic, Freeman said. But because of the stigma of mental health, they dont prefer high-touch solutions and would rather receive help anonymously.

Freemans colleague in the study, Lindsay Chichester, University of Nevada, Reno associate professor and Extension educator in Douglas County, is one of the researchers who designed the survey. She said producers often dont have good help-seeking skills.

We tend to be stoic, and not want to admit we need help, not even to ourselves, she said.

A comment from one of the study participants affirmed Chichesters assessment.

People in this industry tend to be more reserved and less likely to talk about their problems, the participant shared through the survey.

University of Nevada, Reno graduate students assisting with the research are Jessi Gutheil, Katy Breeding and Monty Minter. While the first survey was for producers, meaning farm or ranch owners or managers, a separate survey for farm and ranch workers is underway, and they are looking for participants.

We are in the second round of data collection now, which is to gather survey data from frontline workers, including migrant workers, Freeman said. Were looking at stressors the workers experience such as housing, working conditions and food insecurity. We are trying to better understand the stressors that agricultural workers face, as well as topics of interest for stress management.

Workers in agriculture  either full-time or part-time or as a seasonal or migrant worker  are invited to take the 12-minute survey, which is available in English and Spanish. For their time, participants will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card, as well as be given the opportunity to participate in a follow-up phone interview for an additional $75 gift card. Results will be used to create stress management resources for the farm worker population across the western U.S. The survey is open until March 31.

For more information on the survey or on assistance available to help producers experiencing stress, contact Freeman at brendafreeman@unr.edu or 775-682-9353, or Chichester at lchichester@unr.edu or 775-782-9960. Producers needing immediate help should call the Farm Aid hotline, 1-800-FARM-AID; or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.
Newly elected Nepals President Ramchandra Paudel has been admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu after he complained of stomach pain.

He was admitted to the hospital late on Saturday, and is under observation," the hospital authorities said.

He was admitted to Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandus Maharajgunj after he complained of stomach ache.

He was sworn in as the President last month on March 13. Poudel was elected by members of the Federal Parliament and provincial assemblies.

Poudel, a former parliament speaker and senior leader of the opposition Nepali Congress party, won the election after beating his lone opponent Subash Chandra Nembang.

While Paudel secured 33,802 electoral votes, his rival Subash Chandra Nembwang secured 15,518 electoral votes, according to Nepals Election Commission.

Read all the Latest News here
Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus borders with NATO neighbors, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said Sunday amid simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Moscows war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Boris Gryzlovs comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putins recent statement about plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russias neighbor and ally. The announcement marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine.

Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The two neighbors have an agreement envisioning close economic, political and military ties. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.

Gryzlov, speaking in remarks broadcast late Sunday by Belarusian state television, said the Russian nuclear weapons will be moved up close to the Western border of our union state but did not give any precise location.

It will expand our defense capability, and it will be done regardless of all the noise in Europe and the United States, he said in a reference to Western criticism of Putins decision.

Belarus shares a 1,250-kilometer (778-mile) border with NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Tactical nuclear weapons, which are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield, have a relatively short range and a much lower yield compared with nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles that are capable of obliterating whole cities.

The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe.

Belarus authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that some of Russias strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russias tactical nuclear arsenal.

Read all the Latest News here
Former US president Donald Trump, who has been indicted by a federal court in New York, would deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday night, his office said on Sunday.

Trump, who is the first former US president to face a criminal charge, will be arraigned on Tuesday.

Former President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, will deliver remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at 8:15PM EDT, his presidential campaign announced on Sunday.

Trump, 76, is expected to make a court appearance in Manhattan earlier in the day. A federal grand jury had indicted him last week.

Following the indictment, the former president has been attacking both the prosecutor and the judge.

The Judge assigned to my Witch Hunt Case, a Case that has never been charged before, hates me, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform and alleged that the judge was hand picked by the Democratic district attorney investigating him.

Appearing on Fox News, his attorney Jim Trusty alleged that the case is politically motivated.

We should never have prosecutors acting out on political promises to target people. I was a prosecutor for 27 years. We were supposed to be judicious when we got started, to figure out, where does the evidence lead, follow the rule of law. And instead, we have people announcing, if you elect me, Ill indict Donald Trump, he told Fox News.

So, its no real surprise that when you have people breaking the ethics of prosecution for political persecution, that theyre going to have suspect indictments. Their motivations are suspect. Their willingness to listen to a witness like Michael Cohen makes them suspect, he said.

In this case, it seems like what were guessing the indictment will look like is it will have legal frailties that will be subjected to a very legitimate motion to dismiss early on, Trusty said.

He said Trump is a big believer in free speech and got strong opinions.

I think hes very frustrated for some of his very loyal employees being caught up in the machinery of a prosecution. And so he feels strongly about, he alleged.

Ive never had a case in front of this judge. I certainly reserve judgment. I think were in a position where a fair mind getting to a jury and changes the venue and some of the issues there  I think a fair minded judge is likely to recognise theres something fundamentally wrong that were crossing the Rubicon with this political persecution, he said.

He said the indictment is going to be legally frail.

Thankfully, I suspect the indictment is going to be legally frail, and therell be an opportunity for a judge to do the right thing. You know, we wish prosecutors would do the right thing. But the judges are kind of the backstop on that. So my hope is that despite some of the hysterics at the moment, despite some emotionality and frustration, the president certainly deserves to feel that this judge will do the right thing when hes faced with significant legal motions, Trusty said.

Read all the Latest News here
Anyone who's had an outpatient medical procedure involving anesthesia knows the drill: Their clinic or doctor probably requires them to have an escort bring them to the procedure and take them home. Sometimes, they even require the escort to wait there during the procedure itself. As a story in the New York Times lays out, that requirement can be a serious burden on single people, particularly older ones who might be widowed or divorced with far-flung children. As an example, the story focuses on a 72-year-old man who keeps putting off a colonoscopy because it's so difficult to arrange the transportation angle.

Calling Uber or Lyft doesn't cut it, because clinics typically require escorts to accompany the patient into the facility and agree to escort them back out and see that they're safely back in their homes as the sedatives wear off. Medicare doesn't cover the cost of arranging for such escorts, and health insurers typically don't, either. That results in people skipping their health appointments. It's a "rampant" problem, says the director of a nonprofit in the Boston area that coordinates volunteers for such rides. "We see it every day," says Janet Seckel-Cerrotti of FriendshipWorks. "It's hard on your dignity." Patients in this situation "need a plan," advises an essay in the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois, by an anesthesiologist and her husband, who works in public policy.

That might start with the patient asking for help from their medical provider, who could be able to arrange help through what amounts to a hodgepodge of possibilities, including volunteer networks and home-care agencies. Still, "it shouldn't be up to the patient to figure it out," the patient in the Times story tells the newspaper, whose story suggests the issue will only grow more pronounced as the population ages. (Read more health care stories.)
As a way to repair buried pipelines, the idea is ingenious. Instead of digging up a street, for example, a crew can instead use a contraption that feeds a resin liner into the damaged water or sewer line. It gets inflated with air, then cured to harden with steam, and, voila, you have a quick new "pipe within a pipe," explains USA Today. The procedure is known as cured-in-place pipe lining, or CIPP, and it appears to be on its way to becoming an industry norm as municipalities across the US grapple with aging water pipelines. The problem is that the process releases potentially dangerous fumesespecially styrene, considered a probable carcinogenand it appears to be making people sick, according to a USA Today investigation.

The story by Emily Le Coz and Monique O. Madan begins by ticking off examples of families having to vacate their homes because of the odorone man compares it to plastic model cementand another of a girl rushed to the hospital from her school in Wisconsin. "Dozens of similar incidents coast to coast have not only triggered headaches, nausea and evacuations but also sparked claims of lasting injuries and even death caused by noxious fumes," per the story. A big factor in all this is that the CIPP industry "is completely unregulated when it comes to public health," per the story. "No state or federal agency actively monitors work sites or requires safety protocols to eliminate or prevent harmful emissions from leaking into the environment." The industry insists the procedure is safe, though lawsuits are springing up to challenge that assertion. Read the full investigation. (Or check out other longform stories.)
A distraught Belgian man who turned to a chatbot for comfort committed suicide, and his wife blames artificial intelligence. Via Vice comes a report originally published Belgium-based La Libre of a man referred to as Pierre, who killed himself after using an app called Chaiwhich offered what Vice termed a "bespoke AI language model" that was rooted in an open-source alternative to GPT-4 called GPT-J. Chai has around 5 million users, Vice reports, and its default persona is called "Eliza." Interestingly, a phenomenon discovered in the late 1960s may have come into play here: the "ELIZA Effect." It was pointed out by an MIT scientist who created a conversational program called ELIZA and then noticed that people would develop a relationship with the program, treating its words as expressions of real emotion rather than coding.

Pierre's wife was given the pseudonym Claire by La Libre. She told the paper that were it not for Chai's Eliza persona, her husband "would still be here." Claire went on to tell of her husband asking disturbing questions of the bot such as whether it would save the planet if he committed suicide. At other times, Eliza reportedly responded to Pierre with statements indicating it would be with him forever and that they would be as one person, in paradise.

In a statement quoted by the Brussels Times, Belgium's Secretary of State for Digitalization, Mathieu Michel, said he considers this a serious story. The public, Michel said, "has discovered the potential of artificial intelligence in our lives like never before," and despite the "endless" possibilities, "the danger of using it is also a reality that has to be considered." (If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24/7 at 988.)
Seen through a US perspective, the prosecution of a former president is undeniably unprecedented. But globally, it's not even unusual. At least 78 countries have jailed or prosecuted leaders who have left office since 2000, Axios reports. It's happened in democracies including Francewhich searched the home of former President Nicolas SarkozyIsrael, and South Korea. Part of the reason is that other nations don't confer the near-immunity on leaders that US custom does, per the Los Angeles Times. It's not necessarily the mark of a thriving system, but in Peru, nearly every president in the past 38 years has been convicted of crimes in office, faces pending prosecution, or is fighting extradition from another country to answer charges. Here's a worldwide sampling:

Pakistan : Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was charged last August under anti-terror laws, per the BBC, accused of threatening state officials.

: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was charged last August under anti-terror laws, per the BBC, accused of threatening state officials. Taiwan : Former President Chen Shui-bian received a prison sentence of 20 years after being convicted in 2009 of embezzling government money, forgery, and money laundering, per the BBC.

: Former President Chen Shui-bian received a prison sentence of 20 years after being convicted in 2009 of embezzling government money, forgery, and money laundering, per the BBC. France : Sarkozy faced a series of investigations for various corruption accusations after leaving office, per the Times. He was sentenced to a three-year term for judicial tampering. He's appealing a 2021 conviction for illegal campaign financing, per USA Today. Jacques Chirac, another former president, was convicted in 2011 of misusing public money, breach of trust, and illegal conflict of interest involving his earlier term as mayor of Paris.

: Sarkozy faced a series of investigations for various corruption accusations after leaving office, per the Times. He was sentenced to a three-year term for judicial tampering. He's appealing a 2021 conviction for illegal campaign financing, per USA Today. Jacques Chirac, another former president, was convicted in 2011 of misusing public money, breach of trust, and illegal conflict of interest involving his earlier term as mayor of Paris. Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being tried on corruption charges, including breach of trust and bribery, even as he rules the country. Former President Moshe Katsav was convicted of raping an ex-employee before taking office, as well as other crimes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being tried on corruption charges, including breach of trust and bribery, even as he rules the country. Former President Moshe Katsav was convicted of raping an ex-employee before taking office, as well as other crimes. Italy : Silvio Berlusconi has been tried three times in connection with the raunchy "bunga bunga" parties he hosted while prime minister. He was acquitted in February, the most recent case, but convicted of tax fraud in 2013.

: Silvio Berlusconi has been tried three times in connection with the raunchy "bunga bunga" parties he hosted while prime minister. He was acquitted in February, the most recent case, but convicted of tax fraud in 2013. South Korea: Former President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption, then pardoned after five. Former President Roh Moo-hyun killed himself in 2009 while up against corruption charges; he'd admitted his relatives received $6 million from a businessman while he was in office but said it wasn't a bribe.

Although part of the reason the US stands apart probably is the lesser degree of accountability, an analyst said, aspects of the system might contribute, such as a nonpolitical civil service and the independence of such agencies as the Federal Reserve. Also, "we've been very lucky in the US to rarely have presidents who have exhibited such blatant disregard for the law," said Mark Schmitt of the New America think tank. Axios maps the nations that have moved to punish leaders here. (Read more prosecutions stories.)
Bruce Boolowon, then a lean 20-year-old, and a group of friends were hunting for murre eggs in a walrus skin boat on a remote Alaska island in the Bering Strait when they saw a crippled airplane flying low. Something was wrong, Boolowon, now 87, recalled of that day in 1955. They came in and one engine was smoking. A US Navy P2V-5 Neptune maritime patrol aircraft had been attacked at about 8,000 feet by two Soviet MiG-15 fighters roaring out of nearby Siberia, per the AP. The plane's right engine was destroyed and the pilot was making a controlled crash landing.

Its 11 crewmen had injuries in varying degrees of severity, caused either by the bullets sprayed by the two jet fighters, shrapnel, or the fireball that erupted when the Neptune landed wheels up on the tundra of St. Lawrence Island and fuel tanks stored in the planes belly exploded. It burned everybody, the navigator on the flight, David Assard, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2015. Several of the men had severe burns. The men took refuge in a ditch on St. Lawrence Islandjust 40 miles from Siberia and 715 miles west of Anchorageto avoid the exploding ammunition and waited, but for what they werent sure. When the armed Siberian Yupik Eskimo egg hunters showed up, the Navy men didnt know if they were about to be captured or rescued.

Well, they were glad to see us and that we were Americans, Boolowon told the AP. They were not only friendly faces but members of the First Scouts unit of the Alaska National Guard who lived on the island and whose job it was to monitor the Soviet Union. The 16 guardsmen and an unknown Air Force member helped the crew get medical attention. On Tuesday, the guardsmen were honored with Alaska Heroism Medals, giving the Alaska Native men the recognition that wasnt available 67 years ago. Boolowon, then a corporal, is the sole survivor, and family members of the other 15 received the medals on their behalf. (Read the full AP story with more details on the attack, later labeled a mistake by the USSR.)
LG MEA recently hosted its LG Showcase MEA 2023, where an exclusive platform was showcased complete with the firms innovations, products and solutions.

The grand event provided visitors with an opportunity to experience the latest LG has to offer first-hand in an immersive setting highlighting the capabilities of each product.

Held in Habtoor City Dubai, over 400 guests were welcome to have an exclusive look at the latest technological innovations that will be making its way into the MEA region. The showcase event also featured a dedicated area to exhibit their latest products and solutions that introduce a new category of evolving home appliances that are not only functional, but also offer unique upgradability and personalisation.

Home appliance products

A key focus area during the exhibition was LGs line-up of home appliance products, which includes refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, air conditioning solutions and more. The line-ups were also joined by the ultra-premium LG SIGNATURE range, which is a testament to LGs commitment towards bridging the gap between luxury and technology in the home appliance market.

Commenting on the event, Kim Sa Nyoung, President of LG Electronics Gulf said: The LG Showcase MEA 2023 is one of our largest events and we are proud to have a platform here where our latest innovations are displayed. Every appliance here targets a certain need from the customer. Not only do we tackle that need, but we also provide our customers with a new and unique experience with our line-up, by introducing revolutionary features to reliable home appliances. With each of these products, our customers can truly enhance their day-to-day living while giving their homes a different look altogether.

During the event, LG unveiled its second-generation LG SIGNATURE home appliance line-up. A series of revolutionary premium products, these appliances offer timeless design and innovation that bring home convenience and style. The line-up includes the LG SIGNATURE 4-Door French-Door refrigerator with Dual InstaView, a washer and dryer pair with 7-inch LCD touch panels, Over-the-Range Microwave Oven with smart InstaView as well as the double Oven Slide-in Range, automatic time and temperature-setting functionality.

MoodUP feature

The event also served as the platform to introduce the LG refrigerator with MoodUP to the region. LGs MoodUP feature is known for its exciting and unique colour options, which add a spin to any home kitchen. This time, LG has collaborated with the world-renowned Pantone Color Institute, to add a year of colour, Viva Magenta, a strong crimson red. The refrigerator comes with LED colour-changeable door panels, which can be easily swapped according to the kitchen theme. Owners of the 4-Door French-Door model can mix and match from 23 colours on the top and 19 colours on the bottom panels respectively with more than 190,000 possible colour combinations at their disposal. This is all controlled through the intuitive LG ThinQ app and without the cost and hassle of having to physically replace any of its exterior elements.

LG will also take the opportunity to introduce the CordZero A9 Kompressor with Steam Power Mop. Displayed at CES, LGs first stick vacuum with Steam Power Mop nozzle provides wet and steam mopping functionality, while being completely wireless.

It also comes with an All-in-One tower, an automated dustbin-emptying system that acts as a space-efficient and fast-charging docking station features a replaceable dust bag, and an intuitive display that provides real-time status updates.

Steam mopping

Steam mopping has mops heating up to 60 degrees Celsius for easy and complete cleaning, while dual sensors protect from over-heating. An advanced, automatic water supply system also keeps the mop pads wet during mopping.

Air Conditioning units are not always the most appealing home appliances, but with LG ARTCOOL Gallery Air Conditioner that can be changed. Featuring a bright 27-inch LCD screen with a simple and sophisticated frame, this new air conditioner looks more like a framed work of art rather than an advanced LG air conditioner.

Not only does it deliver energy-efficient cooling and heating with LGs DUAL Inverter Compressor and 3-way indirect airflow, but it can be customised via the LG ThinQ app with a range of static and animated images or favorite family photos to give that personalised look. It provides a more hygienic performance with AI Dry and operates at noise levels as low as 20 decibels and closes its hidden bottom vane in sleep mode so as not to disturb or disrupt users rest.

Laundry solution

LG also takes an interesting spin on washing and drying, showcased with the LG WashTower Compact laundry solution. Keeping in mind space-efficiency, this home appliance combines both a washer and dryer with an all-in-one control panel and advanced AI in a single, space-efficient unit. The washer offers a generous 13 kg capacity and its dryer, a 10 kg capacity, and requires less installation space than the average stackable or side-by-side washer and dryer pair of the same laundry capacity.

It also comes with a flat, unibody design that provides an optimal laundry experience and brings a subtle and minimalist aesthetic. The WashTower also uses advanced laundry technologies such as Artificial Intelligence Direct Drive (AI DD) to identify the most suitable washing pattern (drum motions, water temperature and wash cycle time) for each load, reducing fabric damage to help clothing last longer.

The Smart Pairing feature saves users time and hassle by syncing the dryer with the washer; automatically selecting the best drying cycle based on washer load settings, making it an excellent all-around performer.

Air purifiers

LGs range of home appliances also include air purifiers, a line-up LG has actively merged with advanced technologies. The LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan with its True HEPA and UVnano LED, ensures powerful 3-step Filtration System for a thorough clean of the air at home, capturing 99.97% of fine dust and allergens.

Meanwhile, the Deodorisation filter removes odours and airborne chemicals for easier breathing and a more pleasant indoor environment. It is complemented by the exclusive LG UVnano LED Technology that kills 99.9% of bacteria on fan blades.

Not only can it adapt to small or large rooms with customised airflow, but it also offers 10 fan speeds with oscillation settings, all controllable from its simple controls on top or through the remote control or LG ThinQ app.-- TradeArabia News Service
RENO  A Basque arborglyph project has received grant funding from the National Archives.

The Arborglyph Collaborative is a tri-state academic partnership among University of Nevada, Reno, Boise State University, and California State University Bakersfield, all well-known for their Basque studies programs. The group of partner institutions received an Archives Planning Grant totaling $24,000.

Basque arborglyphs, commonly known as tree carvings, are found on aspen tree trunks in the high-elevation forests of Idaho, Nevada, and California.

Basque lertxun-marrak (tree carvings or Arborglyphs) are unique cultural artifacts that reflect the experience of the sheepherders arriving in the U.S. during the late 19th and 20th centuries, said Inaki Arrieta Baro, Basque librarian at the Jon Bilbao Basque Library at UNR. They are symbols of their solitude during the time spent at the mountain pastures, but also of their willingness to remember their homeland and preserve their identity.

He added, Recently, the Jon Bilbao Basque Library received the Earl Collection; it is one of the Librarys newest collections. It showcases tree carvings and illustrates how they are beautiful examples of human artistic creativity, even in the most humble of material circumstances.

The carvings provide a glimpse into Basque immigrant life in the American West. Crosses, boats, buildings, human figures, well-known sayings, names, and short poems provide a fascinating archival record of Basque sports, politics, religion, love, work, and homeland. With age and environmental conditions, many of the trees are in peril, risking permanent loss of these culturally valuable historical records.

The Arborglyph Collaborative will use grant funding awarded to work to establish a network of interested organizations and individuals; create protocols for documenting the carvings; and provide a framework for the public to more easily access information about these historical carvings. The Collaborative plans to also use funds to document and share information with academic, government, and nonprofit groups, as well as members of the public who are interested in the historical and cultural value of arborglyphs in the American West.

Potential Arborglyph Collaborative partners have been identified to conduct field studies, research, and database support, including the Basque Museum and Cultural Center (Boise, Idaho); the Northeastern Nevada Museum (Elko, Nevada); and the Kern County Museum (Bakersfield, California).

The National Archives grants program is carried out with the advice and recommendations of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. A complete list is available online. More information on the grant award can be found in the National Historical Publications & Records Commission Newsletter, December 2022.
The search for a missing 2-year-old boy in Florida has come to an awful end. Police found the body of Taylen Mosley in the mouth of an alligator in St. Petersburg, reports CNN. He was found on Friday at Lake Maggiore, one day after his 20-year-old mother, Pashun Jeffery, was discovered stabbed to death in her apartment about 13 miles away, per the Tampa Bay Times. The boy's father, Thomas Mosley, has been charged with murder in both of the deaths.

We didnt want to find him this way, but at least we can bring some closure to that family now, said St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway, referring to Taylen. The boy's cause of death has not been determined. The elder Mosley is in the Pinellas County jail, and investigators say he is refusing to cooperate in the investigation. Police say he was examined at a hospital for cuts to his hands and arms before being booked into jail. (Read more Florida stories.)
Donald Trump's presidential campaign had been preparing for his indictment, and the work paid off. More than $4 million in donations poured in over the first 24 hours after the news broke, Axios reports. And another $1 million came in over the next 24 hours. Fundraising pitches began before the indictment, with emails going out over Trump's name saying, "this could be the last time I write to you before a possible indictment comes down." In the 24 hours after the revelation, at least six email pitches were sent.

More than one-fourth of the initial haul was given by first-time donors, the campaign said, which reported that it received 16,000 new volunteer sign-ups, per NBC News. "There's a whole new group of Trump supporters who are angered by what they see as this political persecution," said Jason Miller of the Trump campaign. Other Republicans are fundraising on the matter, too, per Yahoo News. Ohio Sen. JD Vance, though he was just elected in the midterms, asked donors to "step up for President Trump and put America First." Democrats are jumping in, as well. California Rep. Adam Schiff solicited contributions "to help us prepare for Trump's inevitable attacksand ensure we defend the rule of law." (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
Thousands of Poles joined marches Sunday in defense of the late pope, St. John Paul II, in response to a TV documentary that alleged he covered up child sex abuse involving clergy in his native Poland before being elected pope. The marches, which took place in Warsaw and other cities on the 18th anniversary of John Paul's death, were organized by an anti-abortion group under the slogan: "You awakened us, we will defend you." Participants prayed before marching behind relics of John Paul in the capital, led by a popemobile John Paul used on his visits to Poland, the AP reports. Because the anniversary fell on Palm Sunday, marchers carried pussy willows and other tree branches, a Roman Catholic tradition on the Sunday before Easter.

The investigative documentary was aired last month by TVN, an independent broadcaster often critical of Poland's conservative government. It coincided with the publication of a book, Maxima Culpa, by a Dutch journalist, Ekke Overbeek, alleging that John Paul II helped cover up cases of clerical abuse before becoming pope. Many Polish Catholics saw it as an attack on the legacy of a man they revere as one of the greatest figures in the nation's history and venerated as a saint, given the Vatican's fast-track canonization after his 2005 death. The issue has taken on political dimensions in Poland, particularly since the country is due to have a parliamentary election in the fall. The government has called the documentary an attack on the nation's identity and ideals by the liberal political opposition.

In Warsaw, marchers carried Polish national flags and the flag of Solidarity, the trade union that John Paul inspired after he was elected pope in 1978. It played a crucial role in toppling communism across Eastern Europe a decade later. One couple marching, Eleonora and Stanislaw Sochal, said they were furious at TVN for producing a documentary they regard as defamatory to the late pontiff. They remembered communism as a dark time when the nation was controlled by the Soviet Union and described John Paul as the person who inspired the resistance that led ultimately to the country regaining its sovereignty and freedom. "TVN slanders our authorities. It slanders John Paul and it slanders all of our values," said Eleonora Sochal, 76.

(Read more Pope John Paul II stories.)
An explosion tore through a cafe in Russia's second-largest city Sunday, killing a prominent military blogger who had supported the fighting in Ukraine. Russia's Interior Ministry said more than a dozen people were wounded. Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 16 people were hurt in the explosion at the Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe in St. Petersburg. The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility or provide details beyond saying that a cafe visitor carried an "explosive device." The Interior Ministry said everyone at the cafe at the time of the blast was being "checked for involvement," the AP reports.

Russia media and military bloggers said that Tatarsky was meeting with the public and that a woman presented him with a box containing a statuette that apparently exploded. A patriotic Russian group that organized the event said it had taken security precautions but added that "regrettably, they proved insufficient." Since the fighting in Ukraine began in February 2022, various fires and explosions have occurred in Russia without any clear connection to the conflict. Tatarsky was the pen name for Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel. He was known for his blustery pronouncements and pro-war rhetoric. After Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine last year, Tatarsky posted a video in which he vowed: "Thats it. We'll defeat everybody, kill everybody, rob everybody we need to. It will all be the way we like it. God be with you."

(Read more Russia stories.)
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. High 23F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 9F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.
Training for diversity, equity and inclusion has become a lucrative industry. The Harvard Business Review estimates U.S. companies spend $8 billion a year on these programs.

No wonder a survey by The Economist suggests the number of people hired for jobs with diversity or inclusion in the title has more than quadrupled since 2010.

The intent of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs can be debated. But regardless of intent, its clear the agenda being pushed onto American employees is not working.

A growing number of studies  in prominent publications such as Psychology Today, Harvard Business Review and The Economist  are questioning whether this training has a positive effect. Employees of companies that deploy these programs convey similar attitudes, with 62% saying theyre not working as intended.

Unfortunately, the only thing DEI programs have managed to accomplish is to drive deeper wedges between racial groups. Gallup polling finds racial relations have deteriorated since 2013.

While American companies and institutions have imposed DEI programs with a heavy fist, studies reveal the earnings gap between whites and Blacks has widened. At the same time, Black job seekers continue to be about half as likely to secure employment as their white counterparts. A UCLA study found the proportion of doctors who are Black men has remained unchanged since 1940.

Why are these programs not moving the needle for Black Americans?

In recent years, especially after the George Floyd protests, proponents of diversity, equity and inclusion claim the United States has a systematic race problem. But that notion is an inaccurate depiction that exacerbates racial anxiety, discord and animosity.

Is America perfect? No. More work must be done. But look how far weve come. Just turn your history book to Barack Obama, a Black president Americans elected twice. Todays DEI crusaders ignore this progress.

The entire concept of diversity, equity and inclusion tells Black people that the system is against them, and the only hope of success is taking advantage of a minority quota opportunity. The narrative drills the idea into the heads of minorities that hard work and determination are useless.

DEI training also promotes the idea that when Black people are reprimanded, it often represents microaggressions, which essentially tells Black people their behavior is rarely problematic. This communicates again little ability to achieve success.

Given the problems with DEI training in the workplace, why are so many companies rushing to jump on the bandwagon rather than exploring alternative strategies?

Companies adopt these programs for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they do so because they believe in the power of diversity. Sometimes outside activists apply pressure. And in some cases, they fear legal liability.

Corporations began caring more about diversity during the early 2000s and 2010s after high-profile lawsuits in the financial industry cost companies such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch tens of millions of dollars.

Rather than forcing every industry to look like America, why not just let America look like what Americans want it to be?

At best, DEI training is not working. At worst, it is backfiring. We need to come to terms with the idea that what a person does is way more important than the color of that persons skin. The world is not against people of color. Advancing that narrative will only set minorities up for failure. This is an empowering message for everyone.

The sooner those who want diversity start recognizing the power of each person, the sooner we will see minorities embrace their personal agency. Telling people America is against them will never empower anyone.

Millions of Black people have succeeded in America based on their ability. True diversity and equality will only occur when people have faith that they have the ability and capacity to succeed on their own. So lets start promoting programs and concepts that exemplify what we want to achieve  rather than focusing on what divides and discourages Americans.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Lower Criminal Court ordered a wife who locked her husband out of the apartment he owned to allow him admission while the husband's complaint against the wife is being heard.

The husband also accused the wife of changing the locks on the main door, thus preventing him from accessing his property.

According to court documents, the couple, who got married in 1998, had been living together in the flat since then.

Now I have no access to my own home, where I lived for the past 25 years, as she suddenly changed the door locks for no reason, the husband told the court.

However, the wife defended her action, claiming that she had changed the locks to evict strangers to whom her husband had leased the property.

She said that she had been living abroad for five years with her family and found this atrocity only upon returning to Bahrain.

So, I had to evict them and change the door locks, considering our safety. She also told the court, I dont mind if he comes and lives with us.

The wife also informed the court that she had already handed over the keys to the new lock to her husband.

However, the court ruled in favour of the husband, stating that a property owner has the right to access and use their property without any obstruction.
Pakistani man jailed for attempting to smuggle drugs into Bahrain

Pakistani man jailed for attempting to smuggle drugs into Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

A botched attempt to smuggle 100 heroin-filled capsules in his stomach has landed a man in jail in Bahrain for life.

The Pakistani was apprehended at the Bahrain International Airport by customs officers. Officers said they grew suspicious of the mans actions because he appeared increasingly nervous during customs procedures.

We immediately shifted him to the red lane for a detailed examination, though he denied having anything illegal with him."

"Despite not finding anything suspicious at first, we still decided to conduct a detailed examination since he looked stressed and fatigued."

The results showed that our suspicion was right about several capsules lying inside his stomach. According to customs officers, the capsules had over a kilogram of drugs inside them.

The suspect was immediately transferred to the Salmaniya Medical Complex for retrieval of the capsules.

Further investigation revealed the mans involvement in an international drug smuggling network operating in the Kingdom.

The court also imposed a fine of BD10,000 on the suspect.
Do not bring large sums of cash, Saudi Arabia advises Umrah pilgrims

Do not bring large sums of cash, Saudi Arabia advises Umrah pilgrims

TDT | Agencies

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Saudi Arabian government had advised Umrah pilgrims to avoid carrying large sums of cash and valuables while travelling to the Kingdom.

In a Twitter post, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has recommended a cash limit of $16,000 (SAR 60,000) and cautioned against carrying gold bullion, precious metals, and stones.

Additionally, the ministry advised pilgrims to download banking apps from official sources, avoid sharing bank details or transferring money to unknown sources, and report suspected fraud to relevant authorities.

The advice comes after the ministry urged to perform Umrah only once during Ramadan to reduce crowding.

To perform the pilgrimages, apply through the Nusuk app to organise the entire trip ranging from applying for an eVisa to booking accommodation and flights.

Umrah can be undertaken at any time of the year, except during Hajj.
Vietnam Expo 2023 is scheduled to take place in Hanoi from April 5 to 8

(Photo: vietnamexpo.com.vn)

A wide range of products in the fields of electronics - machinery and supporting industries, digital technology, e-commerce, and food, as well as numerous export commodities groups will be introduced during the event, said Radio the Voice of Vietnam.

Most notably, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Improving Private Sector Competitiveness Project (IPSC), will support 20 small Vietnamese enterprises to display their products and services at the expo.

The highlight of the expo 2023 will be the Korean national pavilion. According to organisers, this is the 24th consecutive year that the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) has selected Vietnam Expo as a special event to promote trade in the light industry, smart and consumer electronics, and both the food and beauty sectors.

Furthermore, the pavilion of Chinese provinces and cities is expected to open up bright prospects ahead for trade promotion between Vietnam and China after a period of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To mark 10 years of the Vietnam - Indonesia strategic partnership, the Indonesian national pavilion will focus on business opportunities between the two countries, along with introducing Indonesias landscapes, culture and people.

As the special guest of the Vietnam Expo, Poland will bring to the event a stall themed Tasteful EUROPE, aiming to introduce high-quality agricultural products from Europe to the domestic market.

Vietnamese documentary films screened in France

Documentary films produced by young Vietnamese directors are being screened in a special programme entitled Laventure Varan Vietnam (Adventure of Varan Vietnam) under the umbrella of the Cinema du Reel 2023 (International documentary film festival) which is underway in Paris from March 24- April 2, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Directors and audience hold talks after the screening (Photo: VNA)

Director Ha Le Diems Nhung dua tre trong suong (Children of the Mist), Tran Phuong Thaos Uoc mo lam cong nhan (Pomelo), Chuyen di cuoi cung cua chi Phung (The last journey of madame Phung) by Nguyen Thi Tham are three among 20 works introduced at the event.

The works were created in training programmes conducted by Varan Vietnam Productions since 2004.

Speaking at a screening, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang highlighted the significant meaning of the event in welcoming the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic relations and the tenth anniversary of the two countries' strategic partnership. He also expressed his hope that intriguing experience through the movies will liven up the special bond between Vietnam and France.

The films reflect lives and emotions of individuals or communities in all walks of life in an open society. Through art works, young filmmakers want to express the desire to rise up of ordinary Vietnamese people.

A scene in Nhung ua tre trong suong (Children of the mist) by director Ha Le Diem

(Photo: VOV)

Founded by Jean Rouch in 1978, Ateliers Varan is a programme dedicated to Direct Cinema and to training filmmakers across the world. In 2004, a team of instructors led by Andre Van In organized the first Varan workshop in Hanoi. Since then, nine workshops have been held in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2012, a handful of participants created their own production company, soon followed by their own training programme, Varan Vietnam, in 2016. Several films were born out of this experience and enjoyed screenings in numerous festivals, including Ha Le Diems Children of the Mist, which took home the Clarens Prize for Humanist Documentary Filmmaking during the 2022 edition of Cinema du Reel.

Vientiane-Da Nang direct air route launched

Lao Airlines officially put a direct air route from Vientiane to Da Nang into operation on March 30, with the debut flight carrying the first 150 passengers to coastal Vietnamese city from the Lao capital, Radio the Voice of Vietnam reported.

Upon their arrival, disembarking passengers were greeted to a lively welcome ceremony with a lion dance performance.

As part of the occasion, the carrier also offered three vouchers for round-trip air tickets for the Vientiane-Da Nang route to three lucky passengers.

Vientiane-Da Nang direct air route launched (Photo: VOV)

The airline will use an Airbus A320 aircraft on the Vientiane - Da Nang route with two flights running per week on Thursdays and Sundays. The journey is expected to last for one hour and 15 minutes.

Lao Airlines has been operating direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. These routes are anticipated to attract more passengers from countries such as the Republic of Korea and China, with Vientiane becoming transit points for passengers heading to Vietnam.

Furthermore, the new air service is of great significance to Da Nang tourism as it not only links the central city to Laos, but it also connects to other tourism markets in the northeast region of Thailand.

Last year witnessed Laos rank 10th among the top 10 major tourism markets of Da Nang, with the number of passengers reaching nearly 10,000, duly accounting for 2.1% of the total number of tourists to the central coastal city.

Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the Da Nang city Department of Tourism, said the central city has actively restored international markets as part of activities aimed at reviving the local tourism industry.

In particular, the rising number of flights to Da Nang city during the initial months of the year represents a positive sign for the recovery and development of the Da Nang aviation and tourism market, Binh added.

Vietnamese painting sold for EUR200,000 at French auction

The oil painting "Portrait of my mother by the late veteran painter Nguyen Nam Son fetched EUR200,000 as it was sold on March 30 by auction house Art Research Paris in France, said Radio the Voice of Vietnam.

This iconic portrait featuring the artists mother represents a classical local art masterpiece. The painting won the silver medal at the Fine Art exhibition in France back in 1932 and was subsequently bought by a French person a year later.

Oil painting "Portrait of my mother by late veteran painter Nguyen Nam Son (Photo: VOV)

The painting features the historical value of the country's fine arts and has a deep meaning in terms of the culture of the Vietnamese people.

Painter Nguyen Nam Son, whose real name was Nguyen Van Tho, was born in 1890 in Hanoi.

Nguyen Nam Son and Victor Tardieu are the two founders of the Indochina Fine Arts College, the first Fine Arts school in South-East Asia which ran from 1925 to 1945. The talented artist had been a teacher of many Vietnamese painters and contributed to the development of fine arts locally.

He passed away on January 26, 1973, at the age of 83 in Hanoi./.
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SCORE Western Connecticut has been named Connecticut's 2023 Chapter of the Year, the highest annual recognition for SCORE chapters in the state.

SCORE mentors America's small businesses and is a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SCORE Western Connecticut was recognized for its outstanding involvement, impact and support to the local small business communities in communities from Ridgefield to New Milford and from Danbury to Waterbury.

Demonstrating incredible growth in services, SCORE Western Connecticut provided free and confidential business mentoring and business education to over 1,000 local entrepreneurs and small business owners across its territory in 2022.

With expertise across all phases of business, SCORE Western Connecticuts Chapter is made up of 50 current or former company executives who dedicate their personal time to help small business owners startup or grow their business.

Last year, 100 percent of the chapters clients, when surveyed, indicated that SCORE helped them.

Will Meikle, chapter chair of SCORE Western Connecticut, thanked the group's sponsors, Fairfield County Bank, Newtown Savings Bank, Union Savings Bank, Savings Bank of Danbury and M&T Bank.

Danbury

Cadets set new record on high altitude balloon

The 399th Composite Squadron of Danbury Connecticut set a new record on its high altitude balloon launch on March 18.

The cadets earned the Civil Air Patrol's record for highest altitude balloon launched recovered by cadets at 121,660 feet. This is the squadron's fourth high altitude balloon launch in the past eight years. Through the launch, the cadets can collect data about the stratosphere, weather patterns, and temperatures.

The launch incorporates Civil Air Patrol's three missions: aerospace education, cadet programs and emergency services.

The squadron separated into teams to accomplish the mission. Project manager, build team, launch team, search and recovery team, safety team and public affairs. The teams worked diligently against timelines and deliverables.

The launch site was west of Danbury in Warwick N.Y., far enough inland to keep the balloon out of the ocean. The package was projected to land in Bellingham, Mass. after a four-hour flight. The team would then drive to the location and recover the balloon package.

They contacted local authorities in that area and filed a notice to air mission with the Federal Aviation Administration. This Kaymont 3000 balloon is the largest commercial high-altitude balloon.

Danbury

Nuvance Health names new board members

The Nuvance Health Board of Directors has welcomed new members Elizabeth Bradley and Donald Jones. The board has also appointed Anne Roby as chair and Steven Lant as vice chair.



Roby has been a director with Nuvance Health and its predecessor health system since 2016. Lant has served on board of Nuvance and its former health system since 2003, including as chair. In addition to being vice chair of the Nuvance Health Board of Directors, Lant is chair of Nuvance Healths Finance Committee.



Bradley has been involved with health care management and quality research for decades. She also has experience in hospital administration and public health. Further, Bradley earned a PhD in health policy and health economics from Yale University and is president of Vassar College.



Jones is founder, chair and managing partner of Verite Capital Partners, LLC., which provides private equity opportunities for companies in underserved communities in the United States. He has been on public, private and nonprofit boards all over the country  including the Danbury/New Milford Hospital board. Jones is also part of the Nuvance Health investment, quality and strategy committees.

Danbury

Case Manager of the Year awarded

Lisa Sohonyay, of Danbury Hospital, was recognized by five skilled nursing care facilities in Connecticut as Case Manager of the Year. The contest was open to nominations from health care professionals and community members alike. Over 15 case managers were submitted for consideration.

Her colleagues described how she advocates for her patients and makes discharge stress-free for her patients and their families. Hospital case managers are responsible for connecting patients with proper care while they are in the hospital and developing a discharge plan.

There were entrants employed by Danbury Hospital (Nuvance), New Milford Hospital (Nuvance), Norwalk Hospital (Nuvance), Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale New Haven Hospital Saint Raphael Campus, Saint Vincents Medical Center (Hartford Healthcare), and Greenwich Hospital (Yale New Haven Health).

The skilled nursing facilities hosting this contest are Candlewood Valley Health and Rehabilitation (New Milford), Hamden Health Care Center (Hamden), Greenwich Woods Health Care Center (Greenwich), Amberwoods of Farmington (Farmington), Wilton Meadows Nursing and Rehabilitation (Wilton).

Danbury

Grant to support diesel car rebuild

The Danbury Railway Museum has been awarded $12,000 from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust. This funding will go toward the engine rebuild of New Haven Railroad RDC-1 #32



The Rail Diesel Car, or RDC, was created by the Budd Company of Philadelphia as an innovative solution to declining passenger numbers on smaller branch lines. These cars allowed railroads to continue to operate quality passenger service at a reduced operating cost. Requiring only two crew members for safe operation, the self-propelled cars were powered by two 6-110 type engines built by the Detroit Diesel division of the General Motors Corporation.



The #32 operated under four railroads before it was donated by Metro-North in 1995. It was completely rebuilt under the leadership of volunteer Nancy Sniffen. Over seven years she sourced the parts and knowledge, making this the museum's first major restoration project. Today, #32s engines are beginning to show their age and this grant will allow the museum to keep this historic artifact operating well into the future.

The Danbury Railway Museum has also joined forces with the Railroad Museum of New England to promote Connecticut Railroad History.

When members of the Railroad Museum of New England visit the Danbury Railway Museum, they receive free general admission and a 10 percent discount in the gift shop. When members of the Danbury Railway Museum visit the Railroad Museum of New England, they receive free passage on regularly scheduled Naugatuck Railroad trains and a 10 percent discount in the gift shop.

If you are a member of both organizations, you also receive a 25 percent discount on featured excursions at the Railroad Museum of New England (excluding Christmas) , and a $100 discount on the Hands on the Throttle program at the Danbury Railway Museum.

New Fairfield

Veterans march 26.2 miles to honor fallen soldier

New Fairfield resident and Army veteran Matt Hubert and 14 other team members participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March on March 19 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The march is a 26.2 mile march with a 40+ pound rucksack through the high desert at the foothills of the Oregon Mountain range.The purpose of the march is to remember and honor the 75,000 Filipino and American soldiers who were taken captive by Japanese forces in WWII and were forced, at gun point, to march 65+ miles across the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. Conditions were torturous and without adequate food or water, and many did not survive. Today this annual event has morphed into a memorial march for all of service members who have paid the ultimate price for promoting freedoms and limiting tyrannies around the world.

Hubert and his two brothers assembled three teams (red, white, and blue teams) and prepared and trained over four months. Though many originally joined for personal reasons, the purpose and focus soon became centralized around honoring a fellow fallen soldier, CPT Andrew Pedersen-Keel.

Pedersen-Keel, a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group, died on March 11, 2013, in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan. He was a native of Connecticut, having graduated from Avon Old Farms School in 2002 and the U.S. Military Academy in 2006. His parents, Bob Keiser and Helen Pedersen-Keiser created APK Charities to honor their sons memory.

APK Charities is a nonprofit organization that provides direct assistance to veterans and active duty military from Connecticut. The nonprofit also assists other Gold Star Families struggling to adjust to the new reality of having lost their son or daughter in combat. Prior to the event, the three teams spent some time with Keiser, listening to stories about Andrew Pedersen-Keel.

To honor Pedersen-Keiser, another fallen service member, or support APK Charities ongoing mission, please consider making a donation to APK Charities. Donations can be made directly through their website at apkcharities.org by either clicking on the DONATE section at the top of the homepage or clicking on the BATAAN Memorial Death March logo and scrolling to the donate section.

New Fairfield

Arts show to benefit Great Hollow Nature Preserve

The Great Hollow Photographers Club has issued a call for artists for its sixth annual Juried Painting and Photography Show.

Over the past five years, the show has raised more than $7,000 for Great Hollow Nature Preserve.

The show will be online from May 19 to June 30 and physically exhibited in the barn at Great Hollow. The opening reception will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 19. The show will be open for viewing and sales from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21.

Artists are invited to submit up to four digital images of two-dimensional work for the competition (media includes photographs, paintings, collages, and drawings). There is no cost to submit. The hanging fee for the show is $15 for each accepted work and the Great Hollow Photographers Club will retain a 25 percent commission on all works sold during the show. All works must be for sale because the proceeds from the Art Show support Great Hollow Nature Preserves mission of environmental education, research, and conservation.



Jurors for the artwork are Betty Ann Medeiros for painting and Candi Valeri for photography.



Prizes for first, second and third place for both painting and photography will be donations from local businesses. Accepted artwork will be posted online and will be hung at Great Hollow. Winners and honorable mentions will be invited to participate in a follow-up physical and virtual show at the Sherman Library in late summer.



The subject of all works must be of wildlife and nature found within Great Hollow Nature Preserve and the surrounding area. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Saturday, April 15. Artists are requested to apply and submit their images on https://tinyurl.com/artenter.For more information, visit the Great Hollow Photographers Club Facebook page: www.facebook.com/GHPClub.



Direct any questions to GHPhotoC@gmail.com.

Region

Art trends, opportunities to be discussed

The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut invites all residents with an opinion on the arts to join the Arts and Culture Concierge at one of several convenient locations.

Arts agencies in several towns are hosting the meetings, which provide an opportunity for those interested in arts and culture to meet with Lisa Scails, executive director of the Cultural Alliance, along with other influencers.

Scails will share trends and opportunities and use the conversations to develop shared priorities for the region. Meetings are scheduled at various locations between April and June.

Each event is free but please RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arts-culture-concierge-tickets-529479125317#search

Sherman Allies

5 p.m. April 6

Sherman Senior Center, 8 Route 37, Sherman

Co-host: Sherman Artists Association, Linda Hubbard

New Milford and Bridgewater Allies

6 p.m. April 27

Gallery 25, 11 Railroad St., New Milford

Co-host: New Milford Commission on the Arts, Lou Mandler

Bethel & Redding Allies

6 p.m. May 4

Location: La Zingera, 8 PT Barnum Square, Bethel

Co-host: Bethel Arts, Janice Chrzescijanek

Newtown Allies

6 p.m. June 1

Location: Newtown Community Center, 8 Simpson St., Newtown

Co-host: Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, Laura Lerman

Brookfield Allies

6 p.m. June 15

Location: Brookfield Craft Center, 286 Whisconier Road, Brookfield

Co-host: Brookfield Arts Commission, Jillian Doherty, Commissioner

Ridgefield

Keeler Tavern earns two grants

Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center has earned two new grants to support new initiatives.

A $2,500 grant from the Ridgefield Rotary Club will support Keeler Tavern Museum & History Centers new wayfinding and accessibility project, which will add parking and walkways to the museums 4-acre site on Main Street. The project is expected to be completed by early fall.

A $2,000 grant from the Wadsworth Lewis Fund will support Keeler Taverns new public program series Revolutionary Perspectives. The series, debuting this fall, will celebrate innovative approaches to how we discover, interpret, and share American history, with an emphasis on themes of memory and identity. The series is one of the ways Keeler Tavern is engaging with the upcoming 250th anniversaries of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Battle of Ridgefield.
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DANBURY  Fire crews worked to put out a blaze at a home on Padanaram Road Saturday, authorities said.

In a post on Facebook, the Danbury Fire Department said it was called at 10:07 a.m. Saturday for the fire.

"Arriving units found a fire on the second floor of a house, which spread into the attic," it said. "Fire crews worked quickly to contain the fire to those areas."

The fire department said there was smoke, heat and water damage throughout the house, and it was deemed uninhabitable until repairs can be made.The post said Danbury Emergency Medical Services treated one civilian for a minor hand injury, and no firefighters were injured.

"The American Red Cross was summoned to assist the residents as well," the department said. "The fire marshals office is investigating the cause of the fire."

The department said the Danbury Police Department assisted with rerouting traffic because of fire hoses in the street.
What is aging? We can define aging as a process of accumulation of the damage which is just a side- effect of normal metabolism. While researchers still poorly understand how metabolic processes cause damage accumulation, and how accumulated damage causes pathology, the damage itself  the structural difference between old tissue and young tissue  is categorized and understood pretty well. By repairing damage and restoring the previous undamaged  young  state of an organism, we can really rejuvenate it! It sounds very promising, and so it is. And for some types of damage (for example, for senescent cells) it is already proved to work!

Today in our virtual studio, somewhere between cold, rainy Saint-Petersburg and warm, sunny Mountain View, we meet Aubrey de Grey, again! For those of you who are not familiar with him, here is a brief

introduction.

Dr Aubrey de Grey is the biomedical gerontologist who researched the idea for and founded SENS Research Foundation. He received his BA in Computer Science and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Cambridge in 1985 and 2000, respectively. Dr. de Grey is Editor-in-Chief of Rejuvenation Research, is a Fellow of both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association, and sits on the editorial and scientific advisory boards of numerous journals and organizations. In 2011, de Grey inherited roughly $16.5 million on the death of his mother. He assigned $13 million of his inheritance to fund SENS research.

If you have not read Ending Aging yet I suggest you to do it as soon as possible, and to be more comfortable with the ideas we are discussing below I highly recommend you to read short introduction to SENS research on their web page. Also if you are interested in recent news and up to date reviews about anti-aging and rejuvenation research the best place to look for is Fight Aging! blog. Finally, if you are an investor or just curious, I highly encourage you to take a look at Jim Mellons book Juvenescence.

Ariel Feinerman Interview of Aubrey de Grey

Ariel Feinerman: Hello, Dr Aubrey de Grey!

Aubrey de Grey: Hello Ariel  thanks for the interview.

Ariel Feinerman: How do you feel 2018 year? Can you compare 2018 to 2017 or early years? What is changing?

Aubrey de Grey: 2018 was a fantastic year for rejuvenation biotechnology. The main thing that made it special was the explosive growth of the private-sector side of the field  the number of start up companies, the number of investors, and the scale of investment. Two companies, AgeX Therapeutics and Unity Biotechnology, went public with nine-digit valuations, and a bunch of others are not far behind. Of course this has only been possible because of all the great progress that has been made in the actual science, but one can never predict when that slow, steady progress will reach critical mass.

Ariel Feinerman: In 2017 SENS RF have received about $7 million. What has been accomplished in 2018?

Aubrey de Grey: We received almost all of that money right around the end of 2017, in the form of four cryptocurrency donations of $1 million or more, totalling about $6.5 million. We of course realised that this was a one-off windfall, so we didnt spend it all at once! The main things we have done are to start a major new project at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, focused on stem cell therapy for Alzheimers, and to broaden our education initiative to include more senior people. See our website and newsletters for details.

Ariel Feinerman: What breakthroughs of 2018 can you name as the most important by your choice?

Aubrey de Grey: On the science side, well, regarding our funded work I guess I would choose our progress in getting mitochondrial genes to work when relocated to the nucleus. We published a groundbreaking progress report at the end of 2016, but to be honest I was not at all sure that we would be able to build quickly on it. Im delighted to say that my caution was misplaced, and that weve continued to make great advances. The details will be submitted for publication very soon.

Ariel Feinerman: You say that many of rejuvenating therapies will work in clinical trials within five years. Giving that many of them are already working in clinical trials or even in clinic (like immunotherapies, cell and gene therapies) do you mean first  maybe incomplete  rejuvenation panel, when you speak on early 2020?

Aubrey de Grey: Yes, basically. SENS is a divide-and-conquer approach, so we can view it in three overlapping phases. The first phase is to get the basic concept accepted and moving. The second phase is to get the most challenging components moving. And the third phase is to combine the components. Phase 1 is pretty much done, as you say. Phase 2 is beginning, but its at an early stage. Phase 3 will probably not even properly begin for a few more years. Thats why I still think we only have about a 50% chance of getting to longevity escape velocity by 2035 or so.

Ariel Feinerman: Even now many investors are fearful of real regenerative medicine approach. For example pharmacological companies which use small molecules, like Unity Biotechnology, received more than $300 million, in much more favour than real bioengineering companies like Oisin Biotechnologies, received less than $4 million, even though biological approach much more powerful, cheap, effective and safe! Why in your opinion, and when can we see the shift?

Aubrey de Grey: I dont see a problem there. The big change in mindset that was needed has already occurred: rejuvenation is a thing. Its natural that small-molecule approaches to rejuvenation will lead the way, because thats what pharma already knows how to do. Often, that approach will in due course be overtaken by more sophisticated approaches. Sometimes the small molecules will actually work well! Its all good.

Ariel Feinerman: Do you agree, that small-molecule approach is generally wrong way in the future rejuvenation therapies? Because they have many flaws  especially their main mechanism via interference with human metabolism. Unlike them SENS bioengineering therapies are designed to be metabolically inert  because they just eliminate the key damage, they do not need to interfere with metabolism, so it is much easier than usual to avoid side effects and interactions with other therapies. They just eliminate the key damage, which means they are easier to develop and test  and much safer.

Aubrey de Grey: Ah, no, thats too simplistic. Its not true that small molecules always just mess with metabolism whereas genetic and enzymatic approaches eliminate damage. Small molecules that selectively kill senescent cells are absolutely an example of SENS-esque damage repair; the only thing against them is that it may be more difficult to eliminate side-effects, but thats not because of their mode of action, its because of an additional action.

Ariel Feinerman: In recent years many countries show green light for regenerative medicine. Fast-track approval in Japan, for example, which allows for emerging treatments to be used so long as they have been proven safe. The similar approach works in Russia. What about EU or USA?

Aubrey de Grey: Theres definitely a long way to go, but the regulatory situation in the West is moving in the right direction. The TAME trial has led the way in articulating an approvable endpoint for clinical trials that is ageing in all but name, and the WHO has found a very well-judged way to incorporate ageing into its classification.

Ariel Feinerman: Do you think of working with USA Army? As far as we know they make research on regeneration and are very interested in keeping soldiers healthier for longer. Then they have much money!

Aubrey de Grey: The Department of Defense in the USA has certainly funded a lot of high-impact regenerative medicine research for many years. Im sure they will continue to do so.

Ariel Feinerman: Is any progress in the OncoSENS programme? Have you found any ALT genes? Is any ongoing research in WILT?

Aubrey de Grey: No  in the end that program was not successful enough to continue with, so we stopped it. There is now more interest in ALT in other labs than there was, though, so Im hopeful that progress will be made. But also, one reason why I felt that it was OK to stop was that cancer immunotherapy is doing so well now. I think there is a significant chance that we wont need WILT after all, because we will really truly defeat cancer using the immune system.

Ariel Feinerman: Spiegel Lab has recently published an abstract where they say they have found 3 enzymes capable of breaking glucosepane. Very exiting info! When can we hear more on their research? Revel LLC is very secretive company.

Aubrey de Grey: They arent really being secretive, they are just setting up.

Ariel Feinerman: When can we see the first clinical trial of glucosepane breaker therapy?

Aubrey de Grey: I think two years is a reasonable estimate, but thats a guess.

Ariel Feinerman: What do you think of the Open Source approach in rejuvenation biotechnology? Computer revolution in early 2000 has taken place only because Open Source caused an explosion in software engineering!

We have many examples when Big Pharma buys small company which has patents on technology and then cancel all research. In Open Source approach you cannot close any technology, while everyone can contribute, making protocol better and everyone can use that without any licence fee! Anyway, there are countries where you cannot protect your patents. Maybe there will be better to make technology open from the beginning?

Famous biohacker Josiah Zayner say: In the gene therapy world most treatments are easy to replicate or pirate because you can reverse engineer the DNA from scientific papers or patents. Same exact treatment, same purity and quality I could give to someone rejected from the clinical trial. The cost? Hundreds or a few thousand dollars at most. Same deal with immunotherapy.

Aubrey de Grey: I think youve pretty much answered your own question with that quote. The technologies that will drive rejuvenation are not so easy to suppress.

Ariel Feinerman: Are SENS RF going to begin new research programmes in 2019?

Aubrey de Grey: Sure! But we are still deciding which ones. We expect that our conference in Berlin (Undoing Aging, March 28-30) will bring some new opportunities to our attention.

Ariel Feinerman: What are your plans for 2019?

Aubrey de Grey: Id like to say less travelling, but that doesnt seem very likely at this point. Really my goal is just to keep on keeping on  to do all I can to maintain the growth of the field and the emerging industry.

Ariel Feinerman: Thank you very much for your answers, hope to see you again!

Aubrey de Grey: My pleasure!

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BYD has a target of 3.6 million EVs and Hybrid cars in 2023 and they sold 207,080 in March. This is a 2.4 million annual runrate.

BYD sold 102,670 units of passenger BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles), up 91.32 percent from 53,664 units a year ago and up 13.27 percent from 90,639 units in February. This is 264,000 passenger BEVs in the first quarter. Tesla sold 422,878 battery electric cars in the first quarter of 2023. Tesla sold about 133,000 BEVs in China in Q1 2023. Tesla sells more expensive cars for more profit than BYD.

China BEV and PHEV (Plug in Hybrid) sales in 2022

BEVs: about *4.35 million and 22% share

PHEVs: about *1.58 million and 8% share

Total: 5,924,421 (up 83%) and 30% share

BYD 2022 sales

BEVs: 911,141 (up 184% year-over-year)

PHEVs: 946,238 (up 247% year-over-year)

Total: 1,857,379 (up 213% year-over-year)

BYD has about 20% of the China BEV market. they have some exports to Australia, Europe and Asia.

BYD has over 50% of the China PHEV market.

If BYD sells 3.6 million cars in 2023 then they will be battling with Ford and Honda for 7th place globally. If Tesla can reach 2.3 million cars in 2023 then Tesla will be battling for tenth place globally in total units with BMW.

Tesla sold 1.31 million BEVs in 2022. Tesla China saw a 37.1% growth in domestic sales to over 439,770 units for 2022.

In 2022 global light vehicles sales (all cars not just EVs) were 76.96 million with a moderate 4.1% decline from the previous year.

1. Toyota Group sold 10.0 million vehicles (-1.8%), losing over 60% in the C.I.S. area and 10.3% in North America.

2. Volkswagen Group with 7.86 million sales (-7.2%) losing sharply in Europe (-10.7%), North America (-20.0), Latin America (-11.5), the UK (-12.1%).

3. Hyundai-Kia, with 6.66 million sales (-5.7%) due to losses in Asia (-1.1%), North America (-4.7%) and Europe (-14.9%). The Group reported a growth in sales only in Oceania (+7.7%).

4. Renault Nissan Alliance with sales at 6.32 million (-15.7%). Sales are declining in all sub-regions, apart from in Africa (+6.0%) and in East Europe.

5. Stellantis with sales at 6.31 million (-8.6%). The group is struggling both in Europe (-12%) and North America (-10.7%) but growing ASEAN (+31.0%).

6. General Motors with 5.83 million sales (-7.8%)

7. Honda Motor 3.70 million and the worst drop of -20.3%.

8. Ford 3.64 million new registrations (-6.2%), losing in North America (-1.4%), Europe (-8.4%) and Asia (-15.4%).

9. Suzuki with 2.87 million sales is up 4.7% thanks to the +7.9% reported in Asia countered by the heavy loss in Europe (-32.9%).

10. BMW with 2.33 million sales (-8.0%), losing in Asia and Europe.

13. Chinese BYD 1.86 million -up 8 spots- sales increased 156.9% from 2021 to 2022.

15. Tesla (1.31 million sales up 41.4%).
The 2022 Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Fair . (Photo: tphcm.chinhphu.vn)

The annual event will see a wide range of cultural, artistic and sport activities, and this year's edition will be among the activities in response to the Visit Vietnam Year 2023 hosted by the south-central province of Binh Thuan.

This years event will have more than 120 kiosks, fairs and exhibitions, including nearly 50 kiosks from provinces, cities, travel businesses and hotels nationwide.

The event will also show the readiness of the tourism industry before the peak season for domestic tourism during the holidays of April 30 and May 1 as well as the careful preparation for the peak season of international tourism at the end of the year.

Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said that the fairs activities will seek to improve the quality of tourism services and promotion work.

She stressed that the event will have a series of attractive programs such as exhibitions, young music, circus, magic, stilts, flashmob dancing, and parades to promote tourism activities in Ho Chi Minh City to international tourists, especially in the summer and major holidays.

Within the framework of the event, there will be many meaningful activities such as promoting and introducing domestic tourism; a recruitment booth, a seminar on training and recruiting human resources for the city tourism industry in 2023, and a beautiful booth contest.

The festival will offer discounts of up to 50% on tourism services and products to restore the domestic tourism market and promote Vietnam's tourism on international markets.

The 19th Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Fair is expected to attract about 300,000 visitors. In 2022, the event attracted the participation of 48 provinces and cities; 44 tourism, service and culinary businesses and nearly 150,000 visitors./.
One item on the Chamber of Marine Commerces wish list for this years shipping season is already getting the attention the binational association had been hoping for.

In a news release, the chamber said it is pleased to see a wide range of new investments by the federal government through its 2023 budget will leverage the unique strengths of a marine industry that is simultaneously the most carbon efficient and cost-effective mode of moving cargo.

The chamber welcomes investments to support the development of a green shipping corridor and a supply chain office  two asks that were included in a 2023 wish list published by the chamber.

Its other wish is finalization of a provincial marine strategy, which would support job creation, increased trade and reduce congestion on provincial roads and highways through efficient cargo transport, the chamber said.

The Welland Canal, part of the St. Lawrence Seaway, opened its season March 22.

The federal governments investment of $165.4 million over the next seven years, starting in 2023-24, and delivered through Transport Canada to establish a green shipping corridor program, sets a foundation upon which the marine shipping industry can make even larger investments in Canadian research and development necessary to advance the use of alternative fuels and new technologies to further enhance marine shippings leadership as the green mode of transport, said the chamber.

The investment of $27.2 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, also delivered through Transport Canada to establish a transportation supply chain office, creates a new and unique opportunity for the Canadian marine industry, which has available capacity and has been working hard to keep the bulk supply chain moving forward the last three years, said the chambers release.

Marine is also positioned to foster collaboration across government departments, and with other modes and shippers, to increase Canadas broader logistics chain efficiency and reliability through a dedicated point of contact in a future office, said the chamber.

The marine chamber also applauds investments that support Canadas biofuels sector and assist with the marine industrys workforce development ambitions.

Access to biofuels will play a vital role in further enhancing the sustainability of our industry, through the establishment of clean energy hubs. Access to human resource talent remains key for a Canadian marine sector that will need to hire 19,000 seafarers for rewarding and well-paying careers to keep up with industry demand, said the recent release.

Bruce Burrows, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, is pleased with the recent funding announcements.

Investments made through Budget 2023 reflect the significance of the domestic marine shipping sector to achieving both environmental and economic goals, and our industry is more than ready to build on the foundation established by the Canadian government with this funding, said Burrows.

While the transportation industry comprises approximately 30 per cent of Canadas greenhouse gas emissions, it is road, rail and air transport that make up the bulk, said the chambers release.

RELATED STORIES Business More than 31.5 million tonnes of cargo moved through seaway by end of November

Marine accounts for only two per cent, and domestic ships only 0.59 per cent, making it possible to reduce carbon emissions just by emphasizing marine within multimodal transportation policies.

Marine shipping contributes approximately $60 billion in economic activity in the binational Great Lakes  St. Lawrence River region, supports more than 320,000 jobs, and ensures strong supply chains for businesses and consumers.

The chamber represents more than 100 marine industry stakeholders including major Canadian and American shippers, ports, terminals and marine service providers, as well as domestic and international ship owners.

It advocates for safe, sustainable, harmonized and competitive policy and regulation that recognizes the marine transportation systems significant advantages in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, coastal and Arctic regions.

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Millions of people around the world likely have treasured snapshots of a family trip to Niagara Falls carefully tucked inside a photo album.

But only one such photograph was recently added to Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank.

The Wanderers by Toronto artist Zinnia Naqvi was recently among 72 works by emerging and established artists added to the collection.

The nostalgic tableau features a centre photograph of her mother and sisters taken in Niagara Falls in 1988 together with other images and items including books and board games.

I wanted to think about what they would have been learning about Canada when visiting Niagara Falls, Naqvi said.

I am also thinking about how tourist sites like these are designed specifically for audiences to learn certain details about that place. But who designs these spaces, what do they want people to learn, and what are they leaving out are important questions that we dont often consider.

The Wanderers is part of a larger body of work called Yours to Discover, which includes photographs of her family visiting popular Ontario tourist attractions.

The artists incorporated family photographs as a means of understanding and re-examining commonly accepted ideals of Canadian culture.

I wanted to make works that many immigrants from different backgrounds could relate to. I also wanted to question my place as a settler immigrant, which is why you see games like Settlers of Catan.

While the main photo in The Wanderers was taken before she was born, Naqvi said Niagara Falls holds a special place in her heart.

Her family immigrated to Canada from Pakistan three years after the images were taken.

They would return to Niagara often when she was child, which she said was a common practice with many immigrant families.

I think for a lot of second generation immigrants and people who grew up going there, a lot of the wonderment around the falls itself is lost because we have taken it for granted, she said.

The title of the work is in reference to The Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog, an 1818 painting by German artist Caspar David Friedrich.

That painting is featured on a mug included in the tableau.

The pose of my mother and sisters is very similar to the man in the painting, so it was interesting to think about them stumbling upon the falls, although we know the area around the falls is heavily manufactured today.

Naqvi is thrilled her work was selected for the Art Bank as it will now be able to reach new audiences and be a part of ongoing discussions on topics such as migration and citizenship.

Based in Ottawa, Canada Council for the Arts received more than 1,700 submissions in response to the call for purchases to commemorate its 50th anniversary.

Priority was given to artists who self-identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized, Deaf or having a disability, from official language minority communities, youth, LGBTQ, gender-diverse and women.

Art is often an expression and an account of an artists quest for identity, Simon Braul, director and chief executive officer of Canada Council for the Arts, said in a release.

With these latest acquisitions, the Art Bank collection is all the more inclusive and representative of the art that is currently being created and contributing to societal progress.

The Art Bank offers unique public access to contemporary visual art through three programs  art rental, loans to museums and outreach projects. Its collection is valued at more than $72 million.

Artists from every province and territory are represented, including St. Catharines artist Azadeh Monzavi.

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Riding a wave of support from the community is helping the owner of Niagaras only independent skateboard shop cope with a brazen theft.

Trevor Donegan pulled up to Ride Skate Shop on Main Street in Niagara Falls last Tuesday morning and immediately knew something was wrong.

Before I even got out of the car I saw the window and I was immediately in panic mode, he recalled.

I went in the shop  I couldnt believe it.

Boards, electronics, clothing and other merchandise were gone.

The theft was devastating to the small business owner who has been an avid skateboarder since he was two years old.

Ride Skate Shop has been home away from home for fellow skateboarders since it opened in fall 2021.

Donegan originally launched his business from his basement, during the height of the pandemic. He did it all  shipping, receiving and deliveries.

It went so well that six months later we ended up here on Main Street, he said.

The break-in could not have happened at a worse time.

Winter is over and this is the time things start to dry out and kids are going out more and more, he said.

Donegan is now working to restock his shelves.

This isnt going to stop us, he said.

Donegan said support hes received from the community since the break-in has been overwhelming.

The support has really helped, he said. People are so incredibly sympathetic.

The young man is well aware of how community support can make a difference.

When his family moved to Beamsville, the then-15-year-old was dismayed to find the town didnt have a community skatepark. He started a campaign to remedy that situation. He sent emails to town council, met with the mayor, organized fundraisers.

His hard work paid off in 2020 when Lincoln opened its first skate park at Rotary Park.

The Niagara skate scene is growing so much, he said. There are multiple different skate parks that have been built and a lot of kids are really getting into it.

Niagara Regional Police continue to investigate the break-in.

Detectives are appealing to area businesses and residents to check surveillance cameras. Anyone with information on the incident can call police at 905-688-4111, ext. 1009943, or Crime Stoppers of Niagara at 1-800-222-TIPS.

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Workers at Community Living Port Colborne-Wainfleet are being held captive at work due to a staffing crisis, says Cassie Bisson, vice-president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2276.

This sparked a strike by about 100 developmental service workers at the organization, which has 10 homes in Port Colborne but also serves clients from Wainfleet.

After more than a year of bargaining between members of the union and the organization that supports individuals with intellectual disabilities, talks broke down on Wednesday, resulting in workers hitting the picket line at two sites that started Friday.

The main issue is staff never know when theyre going home, Bisson said Saturday as employees picketed at Main Street and Fielden Avenue in Port Colborne.

There is no relief when it comes to someones shift ending, and often people are being stuck for several hours and sometimes days, the union is saying.

They have third parties, but theyre not really using them effectively to staff the houses, said Bisson.

There are 10 homes across Port Colborne where staff work out of to care for Community Living clients.

We can have kids waiting to be picked up or parents who need care, said Liz Reed, president of CUPE Local 2276. But our employer refuses to make the investments needed to ensure our unionized front-line staff can work a reasonable schedule or guarantee that those who are forced to stay are compensated fairly.

Bisson said employee retention is an issue and that many people have come and gone who became too burnt out.

She also said workers who refuse to stay until relief arrives are considered insubordinate.

There is no date set for when talks between both parties will resume.

Were in for the long haul, said Bisson.

Workers were also picketing at Northland Avenue and West Side Road Saturday.

In a news release, CUPE Local 2276 said 60 grievances were filed in 2022, an increase from about 15 that would be filed in previous years.

Joanna Mataya, chief executive officer of Community Living, said people supported by the organization cannot be left unattended, and that the sector is experiencing significant staffing shortages across the province.

Mataya said the agency tries to encourage staff to be accountable and show up for their shifts and give adequate notice when they cant work, but people not showing up or calling in last minute cant be controlled.

She said the agency does everything it can to provide relief for stuck shifts, such as contacting staff on a call-in list, attempting to get third-party agency staff to work and, in some cases, offering respite care in another location while asking families of the clients supported to assist.

In most cases, we are able to find someone to come in pretty quickly, she said, adding staff are paid overtime rates to compensate them for staying on shift, even if they dont qualify for overtime under the Employment Standards Act.

Mataya said 31 new employees have been hired within the past year. A partnership was also formed with Niagara College to recruit qualified graduates.

During peak periods last summer, when we were been particularly short-staffed, we provided double pay to incentivize and reward staff for working overtime, said Mataya.

She said Community Living has met with the union to try to collaborate with them on how to address staffing shortages.

Bisson said managers should come in to help alleviate people being stuck at work.

But managers already work full-time Monday to Friday and are on-call five nights a week, as well as many weekends, said the organizations head administrator.

We have very few managers, said Mataya.

There is no practical way that they could backfill and meet all of their duties.

The union also is also demanding Community Living pay union dues anytime that third-party agency staff or managers backfill, said Mataya.

We have attempted to address all of the unions demands to avoid a strike, but these last-minute demands are not things that we can agree to, she said.

Kris Dube is a reporter for the Welland Tribune. Reach him via email: kris.dube@niagaradailies.com

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TORONTO - It was only after his flight landed in Toronto last year that Wetsuweten hereditary chief NaMoks learned that Royal Bank of Canada had cancelled its in-person annual general meeting with less than a days notice.

The bank cited COVID-19 as the reason it moved the event entirely online, but those assembled to protest the banks climate record were left wondering if there was more to it andNaMoks says he was insulted that executives werent willing to face him.

Undeterred, he is trying again this year. NaMoks will head to Saskatoon for the banks April 5 meeting, where he plans to share his concerns about its fossil fuel funding and encourage the assembled shareholders to support a resolution related to respecting Indigenous rights.

Dave McKay, hes the CEO, but he has to listen to the people that do business with him, said NaMoks.

The resolution hes pushing, put forth by the B.C. General Employees Union with the support of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, is just one of many Canadas big banks face as climate activists increasingly look to shareholder proposals to shift corporate policy.

Theyre a really important tool for investors to catalyze change, said Catherine McCall, executive director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, which represents the interests of institutional investors.

They can introduce issues to management and the board that are important, and they can signal how important they are to investors.

RBC faced its first climate-related shareholder proposal in 2018, while this year it has five going to a vote. There are also three resolutions at Toronto-Dominion Bank going to a vote, two at Bank of Nova Scotia, and one each at Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada as activists increasingly focus on banks as key intermediaries in the climate fight.

Theyre invested everywhere, and they lend everywhere, said Jennifer Story, associate director of climate advocacy at the Shareholder Association for Research & Education (Share).

So they have a phenomenal ability to accelerate change on behalf of corporate issuers in Canada and elsewhere, if they choose to leverage it.

Share, on behalf of its institutional clients, has put forward a resolution for Scotiabanks April 4 AGM looking for more detail on how the bank will be assessing the transition plans of its high-emission clients.

Scotiabank said in its proxy circular response that the proposal was overly onerous, prescriptive, and not aligned with industry practice, and that it was surprised to see it filed as it was in ongoing engagement about it.

It was only after talks stalled that Share decided to elevate the issue with a shareholder proposal, said Story.

In essence the dialogue broke down, and we were disappointed in the lack of progress over almost a year and decided that this was the best route to take.

Those pushing resolutions emphasize that its not so much about a simple pass or fail on these votes (they are non-binding even if they pass), but more about allowing them to engage with other shareholders, a way to communicate and create dialogue around the issues.

There are ripple effects that go on throughout the year after the dust has settled at the AGM, thats not the end point, said Matt Price, director of corporate engagement at Investors for Paris Compliance, which filed a resolution at TD pushing for more details on how it will achieve its 2030 financed emissions targets.

The proposals do also give the option for major shareholders to make a statement, with even small percentages of support representing billions of dollars of investments, said Richard Brooks at Stand.earth.

The resolutions are meant to send a message to management, said Brooks, head of the groups climate finance program, which submitted a proposal calling for RBC to set a deadline for when it will stop funding new fossil fuel developments.

The message is getting louder, he said, as bigger shareholders step into the fray.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which has $231 billion in assets under management, said on March 22 that it would be using its voting power to promote corporate practices that address climate change, and that its ready to vote against directors when boards fail to prepare.

And this year RBC also faces a proposal about setting absolute emission reduction targets from the New York City Comptroller, which oversees the citys US$242 billion portfolio of pension funds.

Absent a concrete plan to reduce absolute emissions in the real world in the near term, any net zero-plan rings hollow, said Comptroller Brad Lander in a statement announcing the proposal, while noting that BMO and numerous international banks have already set hard targets on emission reductions.

RBC said in its response, recommending shareholders vote against it, that while it recognizes the importance of reducing absolute emissions, only intensity-based ones are appropriate at this point in the banks transition journey.

As with its response to Stand.earths proposal, RBC went on to note the need to continue to engage with clients in high emitting sectors, rather than simply reducing emissions by cutting off their funding, as part of an orderly transition.

This is why RBCs goal to achieve net-zero in our lending by 2050 is intended to balance the needs of people and planet.

RBC believes climate change is one of the worlds most pressing issues, said spokesman Jeff Lanthier in a statement, adding that the bank supports energy development done in a environmentally and socially responsible manner, including meaningful consultations with Indigenous peoples.

We respect the inherent right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination in accordance with international and domestic law, he said.

For NaMoks, the banks talk is little more than greenwashing.

It really bothers me when you read their statements of by 2050, well do this. You know how much damage is going to happen to this planet by 2050 if they continue the way they are? he said.

Things have to happen now. Weve had decades to prepare, and make sure were not in the climate crisis were in, and it was all about money and they kept moving forward.

Hell be looking for allies within RBC investors for the resolution on how the bank assesses how well clients have implemented free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples, as well as on climate action.

Money talks; thats the world right, that is their world, said NaMoks. It will be the shareholders and those who do business with RBC that will make the difference. Thats how it operates. So they just need to listen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RY; TSX:TD; TSX:BNS; TSX:BMO)

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Odelia doesnt sleep well at home. Shes used to the noise of halfway houses and of prison, not the quiet of a house.

Nerissa is overwhelmed by the list of appointments to keep: to update her ID, to meet her bail officer and to attend support meetings. This is the first time shes been free in three decades  since she was 18 years old.

The Quewezance sisters have physically left prison. But it will take a lot longer for either of them to move beyond what they say have been 30 years of injustice.

Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance were granted bail this week for a murder in Saskatchewan to which someone else has confessed.

Now, the two say, they want to help other unjustly imprisoned Indigenous women  two of whom are asking for medical assistance in dying.

I want to use my freedom to help other women suffering, said Odelia, 51.

The sisters would not be free without the support of the late justice advocate David Milgaard, who spent 23 years in prison for a murder he didnt commit, Odelia said in an interview before her release.

Odelias longtime partner, Jay Koch, 62, reached out to Milgaard by email about three years ago, starting a judicial process that resulted in the sisters conditional freedom last Monday.

The sisters were sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for the second-degree murder of Joseph Dolff near their home in Keeseekoose First Nation, a Saulteaux Nation in rural Saskatchewan, even though a younger cousin admitted at his trial that he  not the sisters  killed the 70-year-old.

Released after 30 years in custody, Odelia is happy as ever to be living with Koch and their 15-year-old daughters at their home in Rhein, Sask., she said.

We are free, she wrote in a text minutes after the Monday verdict.

But integrating back into society after 30 years away is not easy, Odelia said. She doesnt have a drivers licence, needs a health card and is confused about places like banks.

I went to a bank and was looking around, she said. My ears just went red and I had to leave.

Odelia is also feeling acute financial distress since her release, she said. She is shocked by the price of food and womens products. Koch has not worked for the past 15 years  he has been caring for the twins.

Nerissa, 48, is living with Congress of Aboriginal Peoples vice-chief Kim Beaudin and his wife Rhonda. They are helping her adjust to her first experience of freedom since she was 18  between residential schools and prison, the younger Quewezance sister has barely any experience living independently.

I dont think it has sunk in yet. (Nerissa) is sharing a lot of stories (of her trauma) with me, said Kim Beaudin.

Nerissa is scarred by memories of her childhood in residential school, surviving a miscarriage of justice and with the horrors of prison, including being confined alongside male inmates in a high-security facility for two years as punishment, he added.

The two other women (housed with the men) were illiterate and one committed suicide.

The federal Justice Department has started a review of the Quewezances convictions last year, saying there may be a reasonable basis to conclude there was a miscarriage of justice. The sisters have been conditionally released while they await the reviews results.

For now, they must abide by several conditions while released, including not speaking to witnesses from their 1994 trial, obeying a curfew of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. and not leaving Saskatchewan.

Its harsh, said Rose Henry, Odelias friend and mentor she calls Mama.

This family really needs a break  and they cant escape the discrimination they face every day in their small community, said Henry.

The ministerial review for the sisters doesnt satisfy Kim Beaudin and Ontario Sen. Kim Pate, either; the latter told the Star there are other women whose cases deserve the same reconsideration.

Pate is one of the co-authors of a report, released last May, that identified 12 Indigenous women  all of them imprisoned now or in the past  who experienced miscarriages of justice. She says two of the women in the report are asking for medical assistance in dying because they believe they will never get justice.

I am quite desperate to get (them) out, because they are so isolated and traumatized, they have given up hope, Pate said.

There are many more cases of Indigenous women in custody that need help, said Pate and Beaudin. The same issues that give rise to the disappearance or murder of Indigenous women are the same issues that lead to them disproportionally criminalized and imprisoned, Pate said.

Pate has appealed for the elimination of mandatory minimum penalties, the elimination of overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons and for a conviction review process that recognizes racism, class bias and misogyny experienced by Indigenous women.

The sisters release will give hope to other Indigenous victims of injustice, Beaudin said.

Odelia and Nerissa were not just fighting for their own freedom but for all Indigenous people.

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Carol Sutherland-Browns family is part of a sprawling military legacy that began here even before Canada became a country.

Born in 1955, her father, Colonel John Orton, was born in Alberta and served as an artillery officer during World War II.

Her husbands family settled in the country in the 1840s. His father, too, served in the war as colonel commandant of the Canadian Royal Engineers.

Sutherland-Brown says shes a proud and loyal Canadian who would love to pass on that identity for generations, and it pains her that her two grandchildren, Findley, 5, and Sloane, 3, are being robbed of their citizenship just because they were born in the U.K.

My daughter is an only child. Im an only child. So thats the end of the line for Canada, said the 68-year-old Ottawa woman, a retired civil servant for the federal government.

What led to the lost Canadians in her family can be traced back almost four decades when Sutherland-Brown gave birth to her daughter, Marisa, in Saudi Arabia in 1985 while she and her husband were working overseas. The family moved back to Canada permanently when Marisa was 2.

Little would she have known the citizenship law would change, apply retroactively and upend her family history in Canada.

I wish I could have gone back. But you cant go back and choose where someones born, she lamented.

In 2009, the previous Conservative government changed the citizenship act and imposed the so-called second generation cut-off that denies the transmission of citizenship by descent to foreign-born kids if both their Canadian parents also happened to be born overseas.

The change was to discourage Canadians of convenience, individuals with Canadian citizenship who live outside of Canada without substantive ties to Canada but were part of the government liability.

An amendment to the citizenship act is currently under review by the parliamentary immigration committee, which will go through it clause by clause in April before reporting back to the House of Commons for final reading.

However, critics say the proposed change in the law doesnt go far enough to help the tens of thousands of lost Canadians now and in the future. And it unfairly penalizes women who choose to travel for work opportunities during their child-bearing years.

Bill S-245, as it is, will only restore citizenship for those who lost it as a result of an administrative gap under the previous amendment to the age-28 rule, which required Canadians born abroad to apply to retain their citizenship before they turned 28. Unaware of the rule, they became lost Canadians on their 28th birthday.

Its a very small group of people who, during a particular historical time, lost their citizenship as a result of a technicality. And Bill S-245 is attempting to remedy their situation, said University of Victoria professor emeritus Donald Galloway, who studied citizenship laws.

But there is a larger group who are suffering a similar injustice and will continue to do so in the future because the law actually denies them citizenship, even though they may have well entrenched connections with Canada.

Galloway said its a mystery why Canada uses ones place of birth as a device to identify the deserving Canadian from the non-deserving, and arbitrarily limits the passage of citizenship by decent to the first generation born abroad only.

People are more mobile than ever before, study overseas and work for international companies and non-governmental organizations  and have children while abroad, he said.

A rule that focuses on place of birth will in fact have more significant impact on women. If you are pregnant and you know that your childs place of birth is going to be determinative of their future citizenship, then youre not going to make choices about going overseas that might be required for your employment, said Galloway.

That, in my eyes, is discrimination.

The Canadian Citizens Rights Council studied the rules of citizenship by descent in 55 major countries in the world and found Canada is among the most restrictive. 27 have no restrictions at all; 14 require only a simple government registration; six ask the child or parents and grandparents to show establishment; the rest, including Canada, have cut-and-dry rules such as generational cut-offs in place.

Theres nothing in the Canadian Charter that says you cannot exercise your mobility rights during child-bearing years and you cant be gone for a long time and come back. So this is where people really get caught up, noted Randall Emery, the councils executive director.

The existing second-generation cut-off includes limited exemptions for children born overseas if their parents are abroad serving in the Canadian military and for the government. Short of repealing that rule, said Emery, Canada should at least adopt an objective connection test to allow lost Canadians to re-establish their citizenship.

Lisa Schubert was born in Belgium in 1976 when her father, a Canadian-born citizen, was working there in the nuclear power industry before returning home six years later. Schubert spent her formative years in Canada and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in military reserves in 1996 while studying at the University of Guelph.

After graduating with a masters degree in education, she had a tough time finding a teaching job in Canada and was forced to go overseas to pursue her career and ultimately landed a position in Belgium.

Still, shes kept her Scotiabank account and condo in Ottawa and continues to pay her Canadian income taxes every year. She returns home in the summer or during school breaks with her daughters, Maya and Naomi, who were born in Belgium through fertility treatment after she retired from the military.

While my daughters are not Canadian citizens or passport holders, I want them to know Canada and to know their Canadian family and make those connections with my parents, with my brothers and their children, Schubert said in an interview from Brussels.

It really was important that we spent as much time in Canada as possible between those school year moments.

She said her daughters, now 7 and 5, are raised as proud Canadians and cheer for Canada at every occasion, and poutine and Timbits are their favourites during their visits.

Its not like I got a Canadian passport through a lucky break and then Ive lived overseas my entire life and Ive never contributed to Canada. Ive lived over 20 years in Canada and I served in the Canadian military for ten years, said Schubert, 46.

I love Canada. Ive proven that I love it enough to serve in the military and go above and beyond in my devotion and commitment to the country.

Currently, one option for lost Canadians such as Schuberts daughters is to ask the immigration minister for a discretionary grant of citizenship in exceptional cases where a person is stateless or faces special and unusual hardship or proven to be an exceptional value to Canada.

Alternatively, Canadian parents can sponsor their foreign-born children to the country through family reunification if they are still underage.

Critics say both pathways are tortuous and unprincipled with little transparency, and decisions are rendered at the whim of a government bureaucrat.

Having a connection test with simple and clear criteria thats based on a persons family ties to Canada would be a practical compromise to address the situation of those who fall through the cracks of the two-generation cut-off, said Majda Dabaghi, whose daughters Louise, 9, and Adele, 8, were born in France where they now reside.

Herself born in Tunisia to Canadian parents, Dabaghi and her family returned home when she was three weeks old. She grew up and remained in Canada until 2007 when she left for a job in international law in the U.K., where she met her French husband.

She said, as someone born outside Canada, she shouldnt be treated like a second-class citizen and have less rights to travel abroad during child-bearing years to pursue an international work experience.

It really goes to the heart of your identity as a Canadian. Its not really just about being able to pass on citizenship. This is to me a very hurtful response for the government to say, Actually, you are not Canadian enough. You do not have the full rights of every other Canadian, said Dabaghi, 43.

I was somehow in Canada as a passerby, that I didnt have my roots. Trying to process all of that is incredibly upsetting.

Opposition MP Jenny Kwan, the NDP immigration critic, said the citizenship law has been amended so many times with exceptions layered with exceptions that the regime has become so complex and itd be much simpler and better just to bring in a brand new act.

It was the conservatives who actually took out the passing on of citizenship to future generations, so there is a reluctance for them to get into this because they have to admit that they were wrong, said Kwan.

Its a mystery to me why the Liberals wouldnt want to fix it, other than to say that the Liberals are true to form, always says the right thing but they can never follow up with action.

Any amendment to Bill S-245 involving the two-generation rule such as establishing a connection test will be ruled out of the scope of the committee in its current form, said Kwan, unless the government would make a royal recommendation to endorse it.

I am very hopeful that we can come to an arrangement where this could be done so that we can address these issues, she said.

Sutherland-Brown said the pandemic really brought home the importance of having Canadian citizenship for her grandchildren, who were prevented from visiting Canada because of the travel ban against non-citizens during the pandemic.

It was only after the border reopened and travel restrictions were lifted first in the U.K. that she was able to travel to England to visit Findley and Sloane in the fall of 2021 after two years of not seeing each other.

We are living at a time of political upheaval and the emergence of the next pandemic is just a matter of time, Sutherland-Brown noted.

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If youre heading to Niagara Falls this year, get ready to pay up, a new report warns.

The iconic attraction is seventh in the world for being a tourist trap, the report by vacation rental company Casago finds, ranking it as the worst culprit in Canada.

It defines a tourist trap as a travel destination with establishments that target tourists with overpriced experiences and souvenirs.

Analysts at Casago searched TripAdvisor for thousands of reviews on attractions around the globe and searched for the phrase tourist trap. They ranked the attractions based on the number of times the phrase was used.

The report highlights one Falls reviewer who complained that every attraction dumped you into a gift shop.

San Francisco Fishermans Wharf  with its pricey souvenir shops, restaurants and attractions  tops the list for biggest tourist trap in the U.S. and the world.

Its followed by Las Ramblas, a boulevard that sees more than 200,000 people every day, in Barcelona. Also on the list is Dole Plantation, a historic pineapple plantation that has its own miniature railway and one of the worlds largest mazes located in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

The report also maps the biggest tourist traps in each U.S. state according to the reviews. Some of the worst offenders are restaurants, monuments, museums, marketplaces and malls, while others  hello, Times Square  are entire streets or districts.

If youre going to a world renowned landmark like Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower, search for discounts ahead of time and research the quietest time to visit, the report advises. Take the time to buy tickets in advance to avoid long lines, too.

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VATICAN CITY (AP)  Bundled in a long, white coat and battling a hoarse voice, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peters Square before tens of thousands of faithful on Palm Sunday, a day after he left a Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis.

The sun broke through the clouds during the Mass, one of the longest services on the Churchs calendar, as Francis, red vestments placed over his coat, sat in a chair under a canopy erected in the square.

He took his place there after standing and clutching a braided palm branch in a popemobile that drove at the tail end of a long, solemn procession of cardinals, other prelates and rank-and-file Catholics. Participants carried palm fronds or olive tree branches.

Francis, 86, received antibiotics administered intravenously during his three-day stay. He last previous appearance in St. Peters Square saw him conduct his his regular Wednesday public audience. He was taken to Romes Gemelli Polyclinic that same day after feeling ill.

His voice sounded strong as he opened the Mass, but quickly turned strained. Despite the hoarseness, Francis read a 15-minute-long homily, occasionally adding off-the-cuff remarks for emphasis or gesturing with a hand.

The homily focused on moments when people feel extreme pain, love that fails, or is rejected or betrayed. Francis cited children who are rejected or aborted, as well as broken marriages, forms of social exclusion, injustice and oppression, (and) the solitude of sickness.

Deviating from his prepared speech, Francis spoke about a homeless German man who recently died, alone, abandoned, under the colonnade circling St. Peters Square, where homeless persons often sleep.

I, too, need Jesus to caress me and be near to me, Francis said.

Concern over abandonment threaded through his homily. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers; prisoners are disowned, people written off as problems, Francis said.

The pope also referred to young people who feel a great emptiness inside without anyone really listening to their cry of pain, and who find no other path but that of suicide.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday.

At the end of Mass, Francis greeted the Romans, tourists and pilgrims who had flocked to the square, noting that many in the crowd of 60,000 had come from afar.

I thank you for your participation and prayers, that in the last days you intensified, the pontiff said, a reference to the many wishes he received for a quick recovery during his hospitalization. Thanks!

Francis appearance on Sunday opened a heavy schedule of Holy Week appointments, including a Holy Thursday Mass at a juvenile prison in Rome. Holy Week culminates on April 9 with Easter Sunday Mass, which recalls the Christian belief in Jesus resurrection.

Francis said Holy Week will see more intense prayer for the martyred Ukrainian people. In a reference Russia's war in Ukraine, he noted that the olive branches Catholics wave on Palm Sunday are symbols of Jesus peace.

Then, the cardinals greeted Francis greeted one by one, some shaking his hand or chatting briefly with him as he sat in the wheelchair he uses to cope with a chronic knee problem. At least one prelate gave him a kiss on each cheek.

Finally, Francis went back aboard the open-topped popemobile to loop around and through the square, as he smiled and waved to the faithful, many of whom held aloft national flags. At one point during the nearly 20-minute jaunt over the cobblestones, he was driven down a stretch of the boulevard lined with cafes and souvenir shops that leads to St. Peters Square.

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GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Saturday toured a hospital built with support from Taipei, reaffirming their close diplomatic ties as the self-governing island seeks to strengthen relations with its remaining allies in Central America.

It was the final day of Tsais three-day visit to Guatemala and came shortly after Honduras announced it would break ties with Taiwan and switch its support to China, joining Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Belize - the next stop on Tsais trip - is the only other Central American country to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Giammattei once again thanked Taiwans leader for her governments economic support and said Guatemalas friendship with Taiwan was unchangeable.

Sundays visit came a day after the leaders toured the Guatemalan archaeological site of Tikal, one of the most important urban centers of the Mayan civilization.

The hospital in Chimaltengo department built with a donation from Taiwan will serve patients from four departments in Guatemala and cost an estimated $22 million to build. It opened in February.

Tsai said she was pleased with the construction of the hospital, which, according to her, will be able to provide better medical care and service.

Construction of the hospital has brought controversy. Two weeks ago, the attorney general announced an investigation into allegations of a $10 million fraud in the purchase of equipment for the hospital. Prosecutors allege former vice minister of health, Gerardo Hernandez, authorized the purchase of used equipment and material. A company and the director of the hospital were allegedly in on the scheme.

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.

Taiwan now has 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.

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The Binh Duong Department of Construction and the Cerro Navia municipality sign an MoU on support for the rehabilitation of the Ho Chi Minh Park at the meeting on March 31. (Photo: VNA)

The host described the Chilean delegations visit as a chance to promote comprehensive cooperation between the southern province of Vietnam and Chilean partners, expressing his hope that with her experience, former President Bachelet will share experience to help Binh Duong develop more strongly and sustainably in the future.



Loi said that after a trip to the South American country in September 2022, Binh Duong officials made proposals on assistance for rehabilitating the Ho Chi Minh Park in Cerro Navia, along with the potential and orientations for trade and investment cooperation with Chile.



He underlined the importance of the park rehabilitation, noting that the Binh Duong Party Committee views this as a responsibility of the province.



For her part, Bachelet said Vietnam and Chile share extremely close-knit ties, and that today and future generations of the two countries share the responsibility of maintaining and further enhancing those relations.



She went on to say that she admires the Vietnamese people for their undaunted spirit during the struggle for national independence as well as for development achievements.



Particularly, President Ho Chi Minh is a symbol in the hearts of peace-loving people around the world. Therefore, Chile will provide maximum support for implementing the Vietnam - Chile Memory project in Cerro Navia and rehabilitating the Ho Chi Minh Park there, the former President noted, pledging continued support for relations between the two countries.



On this occasion, the Binh Duong Department of Construction and the Cerro Navia municipality signed a memorandum of understanding on support for the rehabilitation of the Ho Chi Minh Park./.
SPRING VALLEY, New York (AP)  Klever Ortega and Cristina Lema had a good life until COVID-19 crippled Ecuadors economy.

Ortega was a house-painting contractor and there was work until demand dried up in the pandemic. The entrepreneurial couple launched a pair of food stands. Then the pandemic hit those, too, Lema said.

With unemployment, instability and crime rising, they decided to leave for the U.S., following many friends, family and acquaintances.

We used to hear it in the street: They left. Look who else abandoned their business and took off, Lema said. Thats when we, too, told ourselves, We arent earning enough to survive or pay debts.

Ecuador  long known for remarkably low rates of crime, despite sitting in South Americas cocaine heartland  is earthquake-prone and has been struggling economically, fighting higher violence and losing its people in record numbers. Like Ortega and Lema, many are headed to the U.S.; the number of Ecuadorians detained near the border with Mexico has spiked.

Biden administration policies introduced in January have sharply reduced illegal U.S. border crossings by targeting migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and getting Mexico to take them back. Migrants from Ecuador and some other countries dont face the same hurdles, and are generally allowed to stay in the U.S. while they pursue asylum  part of the piecemeal nature of U.S. immigration policy.

___ This is part of an occasional series on how the United States became the worlds top destination for asylum-seekers. ___

The journey can be perilous. In February, a bus crash in Panama killed dozens of migrants, many from Ecuador, as they plunged off a hillside after crossing the notorious Darien Gap from Colombia. And on Monday, a fire at a detention center in the border city Ciudad Juarez killed at least 39 migrants, almost all from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvador.

The administration wants to be able to send all migrants back to Mexico if they travel through that country to reach the U.S. border, cross illegally and dont qualify for exemptions. That proposal, though almost certain to face legal challenges, may be a serious deterrent for Ecuadorians and other non-Mexicans.

In Ecuador, the economy has been further damaged by strikes against government cutbacks. The economic woes fueled a rise first in minor crimes by those who couldnt get by. Over time, violent crime escalated too  worsened by the countrys proximity to the cocaine trade.

Violence got so bad that you couldnt walk peacefully in the street, Ortega said at his familys new apartment in Spring Valley, New York, where they arrived last year.

Ecuadorians dominated the mix of migrants detained by Mexico for the first time in January, according to the Washington Office on Latin America. The reports from Mexico of migrants detained near the border provide some of the best data on the country of origin of those headed to the U.S.  typically a mix of Mexicans, Venezuelans and Central Americans.

On the U.S. side, officials stopped Ecuadorians 12,000 times at the border in November, about triple the number three months earlier and nearly 20 times the number from the same period last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures show.

Like many migrants, Ecuadorians typically followed the pattern of single men moving first to establish a foothold. Now, many of the Ecuadorians migrating to the New York area are families. CBP figures show that families with children have grown to about 60% of arrivals, from 15% in fiscal year 2020.

The relative ease of current migration is fueling that increase, said Diana Loja, Sleepy Hollows liaison to the Latino community.

It used to take months to get here. Now it takes days, she told The Associated Press as she drove through Sleepy Hollow, pointing out home after home rented by Ecuadorians. Half of the villages 10,000 people are Latino, with the majority hailing from Ecuador, according to census data.

By some estimates, Sleepy Hollow  about an hour from midtown Manhattan  has the most Ecuadorians per capita in the U.S.

In nearby Spring Valley, Ortega and Lema live in a ground-floor apartment. Last May, they took 26 days to travel from Quito to New York. They remember nearly drowning in a river in Nicaragua, mother and daughter struggling to stay afloat on a raft fashioned of empty plastic bottles. Today, Ortega does repair work in a local pizzeria. Lema makes potatoes, chicken and other food for a restaurant.

In recent years, Loja said, Ecuadorians considering their own migration see a growing number of people to follow in the New York area: They start to see their neighbors, their friends, their own families.

Like many migrants, Ecuadorians have stayed closely abreast of migratory rules that allow them to travel to nations on the route to the U.S. Until last year, some 45,000 Ecuadorians had traveled to Nicaragua, which had no requirements for Ecuadorian travelers. Mexico also was an easy destination for Ecuadorians, until September 2021.

Ortega and Lema said they started their trip by paying a smuggling network $8,500 a person and tried to travel to Nicaragua, but were turned down because they didnt have the right documents. The network flew them to Panama, where they boarded buses to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. They crossed the Rio Grande into the U.S. and took a bus to New York.

Ortega and Lema plan to apply for asylum with their 7-year-old daughter, Sofia, in federal court in Manhattan in June.

The factors that drove them to the U.S. continue to drive thousands more Ecuadorians north, although some are waiting in Mexico for the latest U.S. migration-rule tightening to pass, said Dr. Fredy Rivera, a security analyst at the School of Latin American Social Science in Quito.

Many people are still in Mexico, he said of a dip in CBP figures in recent months from the latest record highs. Its temporary.

For Ortega, their journey will pay off when their daughter has a better life than she would in Ecuador, where the family sees no sign things will improve anytime soon.

That was my dream, is my dream, he said, For her to get an education here. Its for that that we came here.

____

Solano reported from Quito, Ecuador. Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

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OTTAWA - The sweeping calls for change stemming from the public inquiry into the 2020 deadly mass shootings in Nova Scotia include a push to overhaul Canadas approach to the epidemic of gender-based, intimate-partner and family violence  something one advocate says will require transformative change.

The Mass Casualty Commission  which examined the shooting spree in rural Nova Scotia that left 23 people dead, including the gunman  released a report last week that makes 130 recommendations aimed at improving public safety and policing.

The commissioners singled out their findings about domestic violence, saying they believe it to be the single most important lesson to be learned.

There is growing evidence, the report says, that many men who commit mass casualties have previously committed gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, or family violence, and that many mass violence events begin with an attack on a specific woman, as it did in Nova Scotia.

It is alarming to know that some people responded to the early RCMP communications on the night of April 18, 2020, by thinking, Its a domestic situation. The mistaken implication is that a domestic situation is not one that sets off warning bells, the report said.

The women initially targeted are frequently seen as triggers rather than victims of the violence, the report noted. Nova Scotia RCMP publicly characterized gunman Gabriel Wortmans attack on his partner Lisa Banfield the night of April 18, 2020, as a catalyst for the ensuing 13-hour rampage.

But the commissioners say that perpetuates the false belief that there is a distinction between private and public violence.

We need a bold, transformative approach to this, because our current systems and structures and institutions are not working, said Kristina Fifield, a trauma therapist at Avalon Sexual Assault Centre in Halifax, one of the groups that participated in the public inquiry.

The commission said the first step in preventing mass violence is recognizing the danger of escalation inherent in all forms of violence and calls for a prevention-oriented public health approach to the issue, which should include treatment for perpetrators.

Fifield said organizations like hers will need stable funding from governments to help both survivors and victims.

We also need to have adequate services funded for men who experience violence, but also for men that perpetrate violence, she said.

Similar recommendations flowed from another public inquiry in Ontario that probed a 2015 triple homicide targeting the perpetrators former intimate partners.

The Renfrew County inquiry probed the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam and released its findings last June.

It recommended that Ontario declare intimate partner violence a provincial epidemic. The Nova Scotia commission report uses the same language but stops short of making a similar recommendation.

The Renfrew Commissions 86 calls to action also included providing services for perpetrators of violence, such as launching a support hotline for those at risk of committing violence, establishing an independent commission dedicated to ending intimate partner violence, and ensuring that public education campaigns reflect the voices and experience of men and prompt them to seek help for their behaviours.

The province responded to the 75 recommendations that fall under its jurisdiction in February, saying 29 of them  including those listed above  require further study.

The governments response does not address the significant gaps between official policy and what is happening on the ground in a number of key areas; in particular, in the area of perpetrator intervention, said a press release from the group End Violence Against Women Renfrew County issued at the time.

Fifield said Avalon has new funding to extend its programming to cis men who have experienced sexual violence and sexual abuse in Nova Scotia starting April 1.

For males, or any individuals using violence, oftentimes theres a very complex trauma history there, she said.

But there are limited treatment options, long wait lists, and for victims and perpetrators, fear that seeking treatment will make things worse.

Canadian law requires police to lay charges of assault in cases where they have reasonable grounds. The Renfrew County jury asked the province of Ontario to study the possibility of ending those mandatory charging policies.

The Mass Casualty Commission took that a step further, saying the federal and provincial governments must end mandatory arrest and charge policies in favour of what it calls a public health prevention model.

The commission noted there will be cases where arresting a perpetrator is necessary, but it should not be the first or only option.

We conclude that mandatory arrest and charging policies have failed in significant ways and have had unintended impacts that contribute to our collective and systemic failure to protect women and to help women survivors protect themselves, the commission said.

So far, Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has only committed to reviewing the recommendations in detail.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2023.

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OTTAWA - Six Canadian children are set to leave a Syrian prison camp and fly to Canada without their mother who cannot come with them because federal officials have not completed her security assessment, advocates for the family say.

The federal government gave the Quebec woman until Sunday to decide whether her children would join other Canadians on the repatriation flight expected to depart any day now or remain with her in Syria, said Alexandra Bain, director of the group Families Against Violent Extremism.

Im shocked. It doesnt make any sense, Bain said Saturday in an interview. Its not how I expect Canada to behave.

The Canadians are among the many foreign nationals in Syrian camps run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the war-torn region from the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The children, ranging in age from as young as three to 16 years, have no family in Quebec, said Bain, whose organization helps families with loved ones caught up in violent extremist groups. At least two of the six children were born in Syria. There is a plan for Quebec social service agencies to place the six in care, in three groups of two.

The mother, who has no idea if or when she will be allowed to leave al-Roj camp in northeastern Syria, is worried about how she will maintain contact with her youngsters, Bain said.

Shes doing this for her children. And shes terrified that shes doing the wrong thing.

Added lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, who is assisting the family: Its not a choice that any parent should ever have to make.

Bain and Greenspon requested that the womans name not be published due to the sensitivity of the case and related privacy concerns.

Greenspon has argued in Federal Court on behalf of several men, women and children detained in Syria that Global Affairs Canada must arrange for their return, saying that refusing to do so violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Greenspon reached an agreement with the federal government in January to bring home six Canadian women and 13 children who had been part of the court action. All 19 are expected to be on the imminent repatriation flight from Syria.

There was hope that the Quebec woman and her six children, though not part of the court case, would also be boarding the plane together.

Greenspon said while the children have been cleared to leave Syria, their mother is still undergoing a federal security assessment.

Separating a mother from her children violates Canadas international commitments as well as the governments policy for assessing possible repatriation cases, Greenspon said. Their own policy framework says that they shouldnt be doing this.

Asked about the case, Global Affairs spokesman Grantly Franklin said Sunday the department continues to evaluate the provision of assistance in line with the policy framework.

Agreeing to or requesting repatriation for ones child is an incredibly difficult decision and one that must be made by the parent, and the parent alone, he said in a written response. It is important that such a decision is informed by all available facts. Due to privacy and operational security considerations, we cannot comment further.

Bain received a Nov. 24 letter from Global Affairs saying the woman and her six children had met the criteria for federal consideration of assistance to Canadians detained in the region, spelled out in the governments January 2021 policy framework.

The letter noted threats to the woman and her childrens safety given the dangerous security conditions inside the camp. It also cited reports of declining sanitary and living conditions, including possible cholera outbreaks and intermittent access to food and clean water.

Bain said the woman has been attacked and beaten while in detention.

As part of the repatriation procedures, the RCMP has recently been conducting interviews with Canadian detainees in Syria. The Quebec woman spoke with the Mounties last Wednesday, an experience she found confusing and terrifying, Bain said. The next day, they told her she couldnt come home.

Bain is aware of 10 other Canadian children of non-Canadian mothers in detention in Syria. These mothers have decided not to send their children to Canada in the current repatriation effort, she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2023.

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The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 Election, Mr. Peter Obi, has dismissed a purported audio recording of a telephone conversation between him and the Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, as product of the endless forgeries the All Progressives Congress has a notoriety for.

He said this in response to a trending audio recording of an alleged conversation between him and the influential Christian cleric in which he was purported to have asked the cleric to mobilize support for him ahead of the disputed election.

Obi who spoke through the Head, Obi Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade, in Abuja, on Sunday, said , APCs desperate bid to grab and retain power using subterfuge must stop.

He said, It appears the All Progressives Congress desperation to grab and retain power by foul means has refused to go away more than a month after they have grabbed the election as they planned.

While we are toeing the constitutional path to retrieve our mandate, those who have truncated the wishes of the majority of Nigerians have recoursed to mischief and endless subterfuge to continue to hold on to what they know does not belong to them.

From the show of shame in Portharcourt to the drama in the Ibom Air aircraft, both of which they contrived, they have now moved to the circulation of a deep fake audio file aimed at promoting religious tension in the country.

All these are meant to serve no other purpose than egregious mischief aimed at demarketing Peter Obi. If the goal is to create a credibility problem, the ploy has failed woefully.

Peter Obi has long been on record as the only presidential candidate who has urged the Nigerians electorate not to vote for him on the basis of religion or tribe .

We will therefore like to advice our beloved Nigerian people to remain focused on the task to take back the mandate we know was freely given to Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed through legitimate means.

That is more important than to expect those who ran election on forged credentials and even fake Bishops to stop faking. They cannot stop being fraudulent because that is who they are.
Comedian Bright Okpocha, also known as Basketmouth, has refused to respond to the claim by his colleague, Ayodeji Makun, popularly known as AY, that the cause of their feud was a debt of N30,000.

Recall that AY had in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, claimed, In 2006, Basketmouth usually had multiple wedding gigs on Saturdays. So what he used to do at that point in time was to attend one, and at a point, leave the venue to catch up in the other venue.

Now, one of the gigs that I got his endorsement to stand in at that time was N30,000 and 30,000 was everything to me at that time. Two weeks later, I havent seen 30k. and I was starving. I decided to ask for 30K, and he said this person hasnt paid. It was very funny to discover that the full payment was made before the event.

One day, I met Basket in the club with a glass of drink, and I said to him, How far, my guy? This thing that happened in 2006 guy drop am. And my dear colleague looked at me eyeball to eyeball and said, Im a beast. I dont forgive.

Reacting to AYs claims, during his recent show, while cheered on by fans about the incident, Basketmouth said, To be honest, I dont want that guy to ever hear from me.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has said Abba Yusuf, the state governor-elect wants to start on a wrong footing.

Yusuf, popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, had reportedly been in an exchange of words with Ganduje on governments lands and buildings.

Ganduje had warned Abba Gida-Gida that he was still in charge of the state and should wait until he was sworn in as governor.

While addressing newsmen after a prayer organised for the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at Government House, Kano, the incumbent governor noted that the incoming governor has shown that his leadership lacks a sense of direction.





According to Ganduje, It is a practical indication and a practical symbol that their leadership has no sense of direction because that kind of advisory is baseless.

He stated that the governor-elect is talking as if he is now the Governor of Kano State, saying that he is not yet the governor and he prays he governs well.

He lamented that for somebody to start making such speeches, saying that one can judge he is starting with a wrong footing.

The governor-elect defeated Deputy Governor Nasir Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the governorship poll on March 18.

Gawuna initially rejected Yusufs victory, but he later made a u-turn and asked his followers to accept Abba Gida-Gida.
David Oyedepo, founder of Winners Chapel, says he has never campaigned for any political candidate before.

His comment comes amid backlash trailing alleged audio of his conversation with Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

In the viral clip, a voice similar to that of Obi can be heard asking the cleric to speak to the Christians in the south-west and Kwara to vote for him in the presidential poll, describing the election as a religious war.

Some supporters of Obi had described the audio as fake.

But Kenneth Okonkwo, a spokesperson of the LP campaign, said the clip was authentic.

He, however, claimed political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if the LP candidate was making a religious comment.

Addressing his congregation on Sunday, Oyedepo said he will not campaign for anyone till I go to heaven.

He claimed that nobody had ever told him what to say in this world.





Nobody had ever told me what to say in this world. No.

Oyedepo stressed, I have never campaigned for anybody or spoken on anybodys behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven.

There is no (political) party in this country that didnt come to me for prayers and advice.

I advised them, some, they didnt take. Those who chose to take it saw results; those who said no are still going about it.

If you still come again, I will still tell you, it doesnt change, he maintained.
Valentine Obienyem, media aide to Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says the leaked audio of his principals conversation with David Oyedepo, founder of Winners Chapel, was edited out of context.

In the audio clip, Obi appeared to be asking the cleric to speak to Christians to vote for him.

Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara. This is a religious war. Like I keep saying: if this works, you people will never regret the support, he apparently said in the trending audio.

But in a Facebook post on Sunday, Obienyem said: The badly doctored conservation with Bishop Oyedepo released by our Nnewi prodigal brother is the much they have discovered so far.

They edited out the Muslim-Muslim ticket that led to the discussion, where Obi said that in a society like ours, religious balancing was a necessary consideration and that their recklessness had made Christians to assume it was a religious war.

He did not name the Nnewi brother but it is understood to be a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who lives in Lagos state.

The APC fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket, with Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima pairing to win the presidential election.

Obi is contesting the outcome in court.








The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has warned those agitating for an interim national government following the emergence of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

The chairman of Kwara State chapter of ACF, Mohammed Ghali-Alaaya, said those agitating for an interim government should be arrested and prosecuted for treason.

Ghali-Alaaya said the body would stiffly oppose those agitating for an interim government.

He spoke while addressing journalists in Ilorin on Saturday.

According to Ghali-Alaaya: I think everybody should be convinced that when the real election came, and Tinubu won convincingly, and most of the votes he garnered were even from the North.

Nigerians have spoken, and we have done so loudly. It is so sad for anybody now to say that anyway, anybody, however highly placed found advocating or supporting any interim government in any guise will be met with very stiff opposition.

Anybody who does that should be arrested and prosecuted for treason because this is the height of unpatrotism for the country.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has revealed the reasons he never fulfilled his childhood ambition to join the Army.

The renowned cleric who spoke on Sunday during his sermon at the Churchs monthly Thanksgiving Service, monitored by our correspondent, said he had always loved the Army but his late mother did not allow him to join the military.

Acknowledging the presence of the military, paramilitary and other security forces in attendance for the special programme, Adeboye, who cited 2 Timothy 2:3, where the Bible talks about enduring hardness as a good soldier of Christ, said, I wanted to be a soldier, its my mother who didnt allow me.

Speaking further on how he told his mum about it after graduation, he said his mother requested that he should allow her to die before he would take the decision.

 And I told her that I wanted to join the army after I graduated (from the university), she said to me, Youre my only son. Im not asking you not to join the army, just wait till I die and you have buried me, then you can do whatever you want.

Adeboye said this was in the 1960s, and that by the time she died in the 1990s, it was already too late for me to join the army. But I love the Army.

Maybe another time I will tell you the reasons.

He said he loved the Army so much that he would always watch films and other documentaries that had to do with the military.

Because I love the Army, I watched every film, cinema, anything that had to do with the military. And Im telling you I saw what changed the civilians to the iron men, the cleric said.

He said the fact people saw the military men in fine uniforms did not mean they knew what the soldiers had passed through before wearing those uniforms

You see them in beautiful dresses, they look nice, maybe you should check what goes on from the day they enlist till the day they begin to march in ceremonial dress, you will know what is called hardness, you will know what is called endurance, Adeboye added
Malaysian Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai wrote in the guestbook at the Presidential Palace when he presented the Credentials on the occasion of receiving a new working term in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)

According to Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai, this closeness is reflected in both economic and social aspects. The two countries became strategic partners in August 2015. This was an important milestone in the relationship between the two sides.

The two countries also signed and implemented the Action Plan for the 2021-2025 period with the expectation of further consolidating bilateral relations and promoting sustainable development in all fields. In fact, this Action Plan is being successfully implemented, bringing great benefits to the two countries.

According to the Malaysian diplomat, in the field of trade, Vietnam and Malaysia have recorded positive achievements. Bilateral trade turnover continuously increases and reached over USD19.4 billion in 2022, an increase of more than 16% compared to 2021. In 2022, Vietnam was Malaysia's 12th largest trading partner on a global scale, and the 4th largest partner in ASEAN after Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

He said that in order to enhance trade exchanges, the two countries should take full advantage of trade agreements, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Accordingly, Malaysia has exempted 88% of applicable taxes with Vietnam, and this number will be 100% in 2033. This will be a lever to help increase bilateral trade in the coming time.

In the field of investment, Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai said that Vietnam remains one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investors, including Malaysian businesses. With a growing economy, the inflow of foreign direct investment into Vietnam has continuously increased in recent years. Malaysian investors are also eager for the prospect of collaborating with Vietnamese partners in potential fields such as agriculture, fisheries, halal food, processed food, and electronic products and components. According to the Ambassador, these are the areas that Malaysia will focus on promoting in the near future.

The good relationship between the two countries is also reflected in other areas, such as defense cooperation and cooperation within the ASEAN framework.

The Malaysian diplomat said he was pleased to see that cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense and security was progressing well. Malaysia hopes that this year, the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation between the two countries, which expired in 2018, will continue to be signed, contributing to strengthening bilateral relations and contributing to security and stability in the region.

Within the ASEAN framework, the Ambassador commented that both Vietnam and Malaysia are active and responsible members of the bloc. The two countries are committed to consolidating peace and stability through active participation in ASEAN and other regional organizations.

Malaysia will assume the ASEAN Chair in 2025. As a member of ASEAN, Malaysia will strive to enhance regional stability and cooperation while pursuing its national interests, added the Ambassador.

Currently, Malaysia is supporting Vietnam and several other ASEAN countries in the field of engineering and regional integration through The Malaysian Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP).

Assessing the prospect of Vietnam-Malaysia relations, Ambassador Dato Tan Yang Thai confirmed that the relationship between Malaysia and Vietnam is growing stronger and stronger. I am optimistic that this relationship will continue to grow in the coming time thanks to the efforts at both bilateral and regional levels that the two countries are showing./.
The past few years have been rough for a declining brick-and-mortar retail industry.

The retail apocalypse continues to hit stores hard as many businesses have struggled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heres a look at notable businesses that announced closings or shuttered stores permanently in March, both in New Jersey and nationwide.

Alleva Dairy

Alleva Dairy, the oldest cheese shop in New York City, closed March 1 after 130 years of business in Little Italy.

The iconic shop had been located at 188 Grand St., on the corner of Mulberry and Grand streets, since 1892.

Owner Karen King is planning to reopen the store in New Jersey, according to reports, at 9 Polito Ave. in Lyndhurst.

BurgerFi

The expanding burger chain closed its Cherry Hill location in early March, just six months after it opened.

BurgerFi has 110 locations nationwide. The chains lone remaining New Jersey spot opened at Newark Liberty International Airport in January.

Party City

Party City recently announced plans to shutter 22 locations across the country, including its store in Woodland Park.

An exact closing date has yet to be determined for the store located at 1756 Route 46.

There are currently 27 Party City locations in New Jersey and over 800 locations nationwide.

Sabatos Prime Meats

Sabatos Prime Meats, located at 113 Leonardville Rd. in the Belford section of Middletown, closed for good March 18.

The popular butcher shop operated for 105 years, with 62 of those in Belford.

A social media post announcing the news garnered thousands of reactions, likes and shares from patrons expressing how much they would miss the butcher shop.

Becker Hardware

Longstanding New Jersey hardware store Becker Hardware took to Facebook to announce a plan to close after more than a century in business.

The store, located at 430 Route 34 in Colts Neck, is expected to close in late April although an exact date has yet to be announced.

The family-owned-and-operated hardware store had been in business for 120 years, spending its last 52 years in Colts Neck.

Walmart

Walmart closed its two last remaining stores in the Portland, Oregon area on March 24.

They were not meeting financial expectations, according to a company spokesperson. However, these closures came after Walmart CEO Doug McMillion said that record-breaking retail theft hurt the companys economic performance last year.

Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel also decided to close its last remaining locations near the Portland area

The restaurant shuttered spots in Beaverton and Tualatin on March 20. A third location in Bend  about a 3.5-hour drive from Portland  also closed.

Foot Locker

Foot Locker said in March it plans to close as many as 420 stores by 2026.

The closures would reduce Foot Lockers national footprint by more than 30%  cutting into its current total of more about 1,300 stores.

Stores set to close will be locations in shopping malls, although Foot Locker has not yet released a list of planned closures and closing dates.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND SHOPPING:

These 7 businesses announced store closings in January

Outback Steakhouse hopes to debut new restaurant design in N.J.

Sprouts Farmers Market picks location for another N.J. spot

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Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisBurch856. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tip
Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey at the Golden Globes in January. Over the last year, the actors have celebrated their love and impending arrival, which happened March 30.Matt Winkelmeyer | FilmMagic
Spring is here, which means allergy season is starting right as the cold and flu season winds down.

With the temperature swings comes more opportunities for people to get active  and also to get sick due to weather changes.

If you have allergies or if you have a full-blown chest cold, here is what to know about working out while sick, according to experts.

Should you work out if you are sick or have allergies?

According to The Mayo Clinic, you should make your decision on whether or not to exercise based on if your symptoms are above the neck or below the neck.

If your symptoms are above the neck, such as a runny nose, nasal congestion, mild sore throat or sneezing, it is generally okay to work out at a lighter intensity.

If your symptoms are below the neck, such as a hacking cough, chest congestion or upset stomach, it is best to skip the workout until you have recovered from your illness.

Should you work out if you have COVID, a cold or the flu?

If you have COVID-19, fever or fatigue, it is also suggested that you skip working out until you have recovered from your illness.

Strenuous exercise may increase complications and prolong the time your immune system needs to clear the infection and to facilitate recovery from the flu-like symptoms. If you have mild symptoms, such as runny nose and sneezing, it is usually okay to exercise, Dr. Sandra Adams, a professor of virology and biologist at Montclair State University, told NJ Advance Media.

It is best to listen to your body and consider those around you, if you choose to work out in a public setting, according to Dr. Stephanie Silvera, a professor of public health at Montclair State University.

While you may feel well enough to workout, when you do so you are spreading aerosolized viral particles to those around you, and you cant know what their individual risk profile looks like and whether or not their illness will be mild, Silvera told NJ Advance Media.

The best low-intensity workouts

If you have a mild cold and are feeling up to working out, taking a light walk outside or at home is an alternative to vigorous exercise, according to Healthline.

In fact, getting some exercise might help open up your nasal passageways, one study noted.

Yoga and breathing exercises are also good options, according to Adams.

When to consult with a doctor

Adams said it is best to consult a physician before working out if you have more severe symptoms such as a cough, chest congestion, fever, muscle aches or if you have or suspect that you may have COVID-19 or another infectious respiratory disease.

According to Healthline, there are also other situations where you might want to consult a physician before restarting a workout program, like if you have a sore throat accompanied by a fever or productive cough.

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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
A jet skidded off the runway Saturday at the Monmouth Jet Center airport, Wall Township police said in a Facebook post. No one was injured in the incident, police said.

The business jet, a Cessna Citation X, left the runway upon landing, police said in the post. It veered off the left side of Runway 32 after landing and came to a stop on an adjacent taxiway, the FAA said in a brief statement.

All occupants made it out of the plane and no injuries were reported, officials said. Authorities did not say how many people were onboard.
Family, friends and loved ones released balloons Sunday night in Salem at a vigil for the 13-year-old boy fatally shot Thursday in front of a home.

Authorities have not publicly identified the boy, but mourners remembered the boy as Ky.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

The Salem County Prosecutors office announced late last week that Salem City Police responded to a home on 9th Street at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, when they found the boy unresponsive after having been shot. He was later pronounced dead at Salem Medical Center.

Salem Executive Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Barile declined to provide his name or any new information Sunday related to the case.

Were not releasing any additional information at this time, since it is an ongoing investigation, Barile said. Obviously, our office takes this very seriously.

A Facebook post announcing the balloon release, also on 9th Street, asked mourners bring black, blue and purple balloons in celebration of the, life of Ky, the post stated.

Salem City School District Superintendent Patrick Michel called the boys death an unimaginable loss, though he did not confirm that the boy had been a student in the district.

The prosecutors office urged anyone with information on the case to contact Investigator Johnathan Seidel at 856-935-7510, ext. 8333, or Salem City Police Detective Sean Simpkins at 856-935-0033. To remain anonymous, use the tip line at salemcountyprosecutor.org.

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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com
An 11-year-old girl that officials say died by suicide at a Mount Holly middle school earlier this year was getting bullied and emailed school officials about it a week before her death, the girls mother said Saturday.

Mount Holly resident Elaina LoAlbo said her daughter Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez died two days after she was found unresponsive on Feb. 6 at her middle school.

Although officials did not name LoAlbo-Melendez, they confirmed a student at F. W. Holbein School found another student unresponsive in a closed stall in the schools restroom on Feb. 6, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office said in a statement.

After being taken to a local hospital, the student was transferred to the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and pronounced dead two days later, officials said.

Medical examiners confirmed the cause of death was suicide and no foul play was involved, according to the prosecutors office.

An investigation into the students death by the Burlington County Prosecutors Office, which included a review of the schools surveillance cameras, determined that she was alone in the restroom when this tragic action occurred, the office said.

Felicia whose death came less than two weeks after her father, NJ Transit Detective Alexis Melendez, died from cancer was getting bullied at the school, according to her mother.

A week before her death, Felicia emailed F. W. Holbein School administration and told them that she and her friends were being bullied and that the school was breaking the laws by not taking action, according to LoAlbo.

She herself had written numerous emails to the administration detailing the events, yet no one was ever questioned, LoAlbo said on Saturday after expressing concerns about the prosecutors office not investigating further into the bullying Felicia was experiencing.

They have swept under the rug, the bullying that she and so many other kids in that school have encountered and now theyre doing the same with this investigation, LoAlbo said.

Getting bullied can be a traumatic event that can unlock feelings of fear and isolation, as well as a lack of belonging, said Maureen Brogan, a licensed professional counselor who leads the Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth at Rutgers University.

Research shows that bullying alone is not thought to cause suicide but can be a contributing factor, she said.

What we know in the field is that suicide is an extremely complex issue, said Brogan, who sits on the states Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board. Its multi-faceted. Its not one thing causes it, but it is a combination of risk factors.

Mount Holly school officials did not immediately respond Saturday to NJ Advance Medias request for comment.

Felicia LoAlbo

A month before her death, Felicia wrote an email to school officials proposing they start a trauma club  a club that students can use as a safe space to talk about trauma or stressors, her mother said.

According to LoAlbo, the email that Felicia wrote reads: I was watching TV and thinking about the things in my life that happened to me and I got a great idea. Instead of drama club, it would be a trauma club ... I would help and provide as much as I can. It would need a room that is not too big and not too small. We would need a couple of chairs too. But I hope this does happen. I for one have heard from my friends and others about things that have happened to them and I think this would be a fantastic thing. Have a great night. Go dragons.

Just three days before Felicia was found unresponsive in the bathroom stall, Adriana Olivia Kuch, a 14-year-old freshman at Central Regional High School in Bayville, killed herself after being attacked by classmates.

In both incidents, parents pinpointed bullying as a factor in the deaths of their children and have called out schools and county officials for not doing enough to curb bullying in schools.

The two recent suicides by New Jersey students come amid a nationwide increase in suicide rates.

One of six New Jersey high school students, or 16.4%, reported being bullied on school property in 2019 and 13.8% reported being cyberbullied, according to the most recent data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report revealed record levels of hopelessness among female adolescents. About 57% of teen girls surveyed felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, double the rate of boys and a staggering increase of nearly 60% from a decade ago, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, the suicide rate for young girls has been increasing nationwide, especially among 10-14-year-olds  even though boys continue to kill themselves at greater rates. State lawmakers held a special hearing in March to examine how schools can combat teen suicide, the latest step in the states response to a national mental health crisis.

Felicia is not the only one, LoAlbo said.

Felicias email will not go unheard, she added. This isnt about me. This is about our children.

Editors note: NJ Advance Media typically limits reporting on suicides to those that occur in crowded public places, involve public figures or, in special circumstances, where there is a larger public impact. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced with the proper mental health support and treatment. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Staff writers Jackie Roman and Adam Clark contributed to this report.

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Two more hotels, with a total of more than 200 guest rooms, could be coming to a vacant lot off Route 41 near Deptfords busy commercial district in Gloucester County.

A Virginia-based hospitality firm, SSN Hotel, is asking the local planning board to approve the construction of two hotels on Hurffville Road in Deptford, according to township documents.

SSN Hotel plans to attract extended stay business travelers to the proposed hotels TownePlace Suites by Marriot and Home2 Suites by Hilton. They would be located next to a Courtyard by Marriott Hotel and near a Hampton Inn and Suites, two other hotels with over 100 guest rooms each.
The states takeover of the Paterson Police Department was a gutsy move by Attorney General Matt Platkin, one that offers at least some hope that the brutality and corruption will finally stop.

But the plan has a fatal flaw, and her name is Camelia Valdes, the shockingly incompetent prosecutor in Passaic County. Prosecutors in New Jersey are legally responsible for overseeing police in their jurisdictions, and during the last dirty decade, Valdes has not only failed to fix this department, but has sabotaged efforts by clean cops in Paterson who were at least trying.

To take over this department, but leave Valdes in power, makes no sense. Several civil rights leaders and local activists are pressing for her resignation.

If were really going to fix this department, we have to start with the leadership, says Liza Chowdhury, head of the Paterson Healing Collective, which employed Najee Seabrooks until he was shot and killed by police on March 3 during a mental breakdown. Thats why were calling for her resignation. Im concerned she is not being held accountable for all this.

Heres the problem: Valdes is protected by the Democratic machine in Passaic County, led by Chairman John Currie. And thats enough for Gov. Phil Murphy to cave, not only by supporting Valdes, but by nominating her for a fresh five-year term.

Its a sad situation, says Zellie Thomas, head of the Paterson chapter of Black Lives Matter. The Democratic Party loves to present itself as progressive as far as Black and brown people, and the poor and working class. But what we find is when poor people need defenders, they dont go to bat for them.

This is how it works in New Jersey politics. If you are an obedient member of the team, youre untouchable. Thats why Camden County Democrats just threw their support behind Arthur Barclay, who was forced to resign from the Assembly in 2018 after he was charged with punching his girlfriend in the face and breaking her nose. Thats why Amy DeGise is keeping her city council seat in Jersey City after waiting six hours to report a hit-and-run, enough time to erase any evidence of drugs or alcohol that might have been in her system. And its why Valdes is unlikely to lose her job.

The governor wont discuss this because he cant defend it. I have no color to add, he usually says when cornered in these moments.

Attorney General Matt Platkin wont talk either, and is stonewalling requests for public records about her performance. Hes been a Murphy loyalist from the start, a key reason he has this job. The gutsy thing goes only so far.

I called Currie to discuss it, and he hung up after a curt blow-off: I got one statement to make: I think shes doing a good job, and Im a supporter of Camelia Valdes, he said. Thank you very much and enjoy your day.

A good job? Lets take a look at that.

 The Robbery Squad: Decent officers in Paterson found evidence that a crew of dirty cops was robbing innocent people during stops, and often beating them. They stole items from houses when investigating burglaries and conducted illegal searches. They rampaged unchecked for years and had the arrogance to call themselves the robbery squad.

Everything we did was illegal, Officer Frank Toledo admitted in court.

Between 2016 and 2019, internal affairs officers sent Valdes 10 letters offering evidence against five officers and begging her to intervene. Over and over, she declined to prosecute, with no explanation. Finally, the good cops went to the FBI, which promptly arrested the whole crew, most of whom are in prison today.

 The wrongful conviction of two innocent men: Eric Kelley and Ralph Lee spent 24 years in prison for a 1993 murder they didnt commit, the stabbing of a clerk in a Paterson video store. The Innocence Project intervened, first asking for DNA testing of a hat found at the scene that witnesses testified was worn by the assailant.

Valdes fought against the DNA testing, but a court overruled her in 2010. Tests found the DNA ruled out Kelley and Lee, and matched the DNA of another man, Eric Dixon, who had been recently released from prison after robbing another Paterson store clerk in exactly the same way, within blocks of the murder scene. Still, Valdes refused to send investigators to question Dixon, and declared his innocence for reasons unknown.

This was neither logical nor intellectually authentic, an investigation by former Supreme Court Justice James Zazzali later concluded. The duty of law enforcement is not solely to obtain and protect convictions, but rather to ensure that justice is donethat did not happen here.

When a court granted a new trial for Kelley and Lee, Valdes appealed, and lost again. She later relented after the attorney general intervened. The two men were released in 2017, with no apology from Valdes.

 Oversight of mental health incidents: Valdes, along with Platkin, is so far refusing to release public records on compliance with a 2020 directive from the attorney generals office that requires prosecutors to convene meetings of key stakeholders, like police and hospital teams, to establish best-practice routines for dealing with people in mental health crises, among the most dangerous calls that police receive.

Valdes is supposed to offer quarterly reports to the AG, but neither her office nor Platkins would confirm her compliance with the directive, or release those minutes. The ACLU and the Star-Ledger have filed open records requests.

This is directly relevant to the killing of Seabrooks, who had barricaded himself in his bathroom for more than four hours in a paranoid breakdown. When he finally burst out of the bathroom, holding a knife, two officers shot him, a split-second decision that is unlikely to result in criminal charges.

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The question is why police pressed Seabrooks to leave the bathroom, rather than deescalate and wait. Why did they refuse help from the Healing Collective, whose members were at the scene, and who Seabrooks was texting over and over. I need to hear one of yalls voices, he texted during the standoff.

And why didnt police call a team waiting a mile away at St. Josephs Hospital that was trained for precisely this kind of crisis? We must ask the question: Why were we not called? asked Kevin Slaving, the CEO of St. Josephs.

There is more on Valdes. You could fill a book.

The 16 police unions in Passaic County, along with the union representing the prosecutors office itself, voted overwhelming to demand her resignation last year, saying Her lack of leadership has crippled our ability to effectively provide law enforcement services.

She is being sued by one former staffer, Daisy Vargas, who says she was forced to do personal chores for Valdes at her home, including shampooing her rugs and pulling a dead rat from her trash. Another former employee, Henry Hernandez, filed a suit claiming Valdes retaliated against him after he refused to process a disc with racy photos of her and her husband in various stages of undress.

There is really no defense for Valdes horrendous performance as prosecutor, and no defense for Murphy sticking with her. In Paterson, it is undermining faith in the entire project.

Gov. Murphy has an opportunity right now to restore the public trust, says BLMs Thomas. If Valdes remains, we cant restore trust, when the very individual who has overseen this remains in play.

It is a powerful point. But is it powerful enough to break the habits of New Jerseys political machines? Maybe not.

More: Tom Moran columns

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 986-6951. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

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My wife and I were in a South Amboy coffee shop enjoying the quaintness of the place when a woman walked in with an energy level that suggested shed already had enough caffeine. As she waited for her order, she was ending an intense phone conversation.

The journalist in me couldnt resist. I asked her where she was from and how long shed lived in Jersey. The conversation eventually shifted to my wife Melodie and me. She wanted to know why we were here and how long wed lived in Jersey. When I told her that wed spent an exasperating month looking for an apartment and that we were new to the state, she grabbed her order and wished us good luck. She was on the way to a hair appointment, and as a father of two daughters, I have learned that nothing gets in the way of that.

But then something unexpected happened. Coming from the South, we had been falsely told that Jersey people were abrasive and unfriendly. We looked outside the coffee shop and noticed that our new friend was clearing the seats in her special-ordered, 5-speed, Jeep. What we didnt know was that she was clearing the seats for us.

Our new friend told us shed delayed her hair appointment. She said she knew of residential developments where her friends were quite happy. Like a Realtor looking to close a deal, she proceeded to drive us to several of those communities. Only she isnt a Realtor; she is a mental health professional with her own private business. We determined she was our good Samaritan. She made the determination we could be trusted, and we did the same. And off we went, looking at place after place. It was a tremendous act of kindness.

The friendliness of the people of Jersey has been replayed over and over. Everywhere we go, we are greeted with smiles and conversation. In one apartment we visited, we stayed nearly an hour as the current occupant regaled us with story after story about how much he loved his place but felt it was time to buy.

My wife and I are a few months removed from our conversation with our new friend and Jersey is now our home. I am the new general manager for NJ.com, which is an extraordinary position that covers several important areas of our business: News, innovation, business initiatives, public engagement and more. Id spent years in newspapers and digital operations before I became GM at the PBS-NPR station in Mississippi, my home state. I had a short stint at Columbus, Ohios WOSU before the phone rang asking of my interest in NJ.com. It took some deliberation, but I ultimately decided that I wanted to come back to my journalism roots. Ive found NJ.com to be a good fit for me, with journalists who take pride in their work and an overall team of advertising and marketing professionals who know their importance to the success of our business.

Ive joined an award-winning team that does journalism for the right reasons. They do it to serve diverse audiences who support our work. Each day, we face a daunting challenge: With Jerseys rich diversity of ideas, it is our job to determine news of value for readers. The old saying in news that no two days are the same still holds true. That simply means that our journalists must approach each day with a new level of vigor.

The energy we have to bring to our coverage reminds me of my new friend from the coffee shop. Its easy to discern that she approaches her life with that Jersey hustle, with no wasted time. She did, however, take the time to send me an email recently asking how were doing and where we settled. Its that Jersey kindness again. Next time, itll be my turn to clean up the car, take her to dinner, and show her our appreciation. She set the tone that you cant always believe what you hear. But you can believe what you see and experience.

Ronnie Agnew is general manager for NJ.com. He can be reached at ragnew@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ronagnew.

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Donald Trump is heading to court, and there is a sense that this historic development -- the first criminal indictment of a former American president  is a danger to the democracy he has repeatedly tried to subjugate.

The argument is that this will open the floodgates for future prosecutions against elected leaders, triggering a trend of weaponizing our justice system, and incite the kind of political pyrotechnics that  discounting one day in January of 2021  is usually more rhetorical than deadly.

Already we are hearing persistent shrieks of outrage from Trumps political allies. Mouthpieces such as Tucker Carlson suggest that this is probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s. Even those who once respected the rule of law, attorney Alan Dershowitz, are calling it banana republic time.

But the opposite is true: We are a banana republic only if we allow our most powerful to commit crimes without facing justice, and those who make threats and sow fear over the prosecution of Trump are the dangers to democracy, because they dont believe we should hold him to account.

This is not weaponizing the legal system. A grand jury of 23 ordinary Americans found evidence sufficient to indict Trump, because thats the way it was supposed to work since our founding. When hesitant colonists wondered who would lead our new country, Thomas Paine had the answer that resonates through the ages: The king is not law in America, he wrote in Common Sense. The law is king.

And Trump -- this licentious, vacuous, morally polluted billionaire -- is about to meet the king.

Indeed, the consensus is that this is not the best case to start with -- that the attempted theft of an election and the orchestration of an insurrection are stronger than charges stemming from paying hush money to a porn star.

But thats not how the rule of law works, and the cases in Georgia and from federal prosecutors  while more compelling  will have to wait.

And while we do not know what the indictment is going to say -- CNN reports that Trump will face 30 counts of falsifying business records  it is also true that Manhattan DA Alvin Braggs case is not a slam-dunk felony.

Nobody disputes the basic narrative: Michael Cohen, Trumps lawyer and fixer, paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about her tryst with Trump. According to the Department of Justice, Cohen was reimbursed $420,000, which included bonuses and extra payments that were illegally logged internally as legal expenses. That money came from the Trump Organization, which has already been convicted of criminal tax fraud.

CHUCK TODD: You keep saying it was personal funds. That was not what Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to. These were funds repaid by the Trump Org



TACOPINA: That's personal



TODD: So everything w/ the Trump Org is Trump's personal funds? You realize the door you're opening there? pic.twitter.com/CiPJBNjQWs  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2023

The underlying crime of falsifying business records, however, is merely a misdemeanor. In order to make it a felony and apply stiffer penalties, Bragg must prove that Trump falsified records when the intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime. He will likely charge that Trump made these payments to support his 2016 election, which would have to be reported.

Its also true that federal prosecutors and the Federal Election Commission took a long look at this, and both passed.

But a majority of the jurists disagreed, and theirs is the only opinion that matters here.

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Don Jr. reacts to the indictment of his father. pic.twitter.com/nhMROhxoFx  Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) March 30, 2023

Trump and his allies will continue to squawk, and it will only grow louder when the fearless leader is frog-marched through the routine of fingerprints and mug shots.

The most addled might be Mike Pence: The vice-president whose own life was threatened by Trumps goons during the Capitol riot calls the New York indictment just one more example of the kind of two-tiered justice system that the American people had enough of.

Actually, most Americans regard Trump as an avatar of that system, a vainglorious gobshite of impunity, who has routinely dodged liability while the people he exploited and swindled were left defenseless.

No matter how New York turns out, Trump will likely face charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election by strong-arming election officials in Georgia. He faces a likely federal indictment for inciting a riot that resulted in five deaths, injuries to more than 100 cops, and 133 convictions. He still faces potential charges for hoarding hundreds of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago, and obstructing efforts to retrieve them.

The legal peril he faces because of a payoff to a porn star is small by comparison, and perhaps too facile to put our democracy through such a vigorous stress test.

But the New York case is momentous in a way that matters most: It is a validation of the principle that no one is above the law, which Donald Trump has spent his entire reality show life trying to disprove.

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Politics aside, Donald Trump has always had a reputation for integrity and square dealing  the whole idea that he would handle a bribe to cover up cheating on his third wife with a porn star with anything less than scrupulous legality is absurd on its face.  Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 30, 2023

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TV programme Chao Tieng Viet (Hello Vietnamese language) has been launched to promote Vietnamese language teaching abroad. (Photo: VNA)

The programme aims to implement the Project "Honouring the Vietnamese language in the overseas Vietnamese community between 2023 and 2030" and the Plan on Day for the Vietnamese language in 2023 approved by the Prime Minister, contributing to honouring the national language and individuals who have made contributions to preserving and spreading the Vietnamese language in the overseas Vietnamese community, as well as improving the effectiveness of Vietnamese language teaching and learning for overseas Vietnamese.



Chao Tieng Viet is designed for overseas Vietnamese children in two age groups - from 6 to 10 and from 10 to 15, teachers, and parents who teach Vietnamese in classes or at home.



The weekly 15-minute programme is on VTV4 and its social network platforms.



Speaking at the launching ceremony, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Mai Phan Dung believed that the programme which is easily accessed on TV and digital platforms would be welcomed by overseas Vietnamese and generate positive results in Vietnamese teaching for overseas Vietnamese children.



On this occasion, the committee launched a contest to seek ambassadors of the Vietnamese language abroad. The contest is held for the first time, targeting 5.3 million overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who love and use Vietnamese fluently.



The contest takes place inthree phases from April 1 to August 10, 2023. The five best candidates will be awarded the title of "Vietnamese language ambassador abroad in 2023" at the closing ceremony of Vietnamese language Honouring Day 2023 scheduled for September 8./.
UPDATE: Thousands still without power in N.J. after 4 tornados ripped across state

More than 9,000 people remain without power in Jackson Township early Sunday morning after a powerful thunderstorm slammed parts of New Jersey, authorities told NJ Advance Media.

The violent storm included hail, with some pellets as large as 1.5 inches in diameter, and intense winds approaching 70 mph Saturday night across the state.

Were assisting Jackson Township with recovery and asking residents that have to travel through the township to obey all traffic laws, signs and do not drive in closed areas, said Chris Raimann, supervisor at the Ocean County Sheriffs Office. Weve already had issues with that this morning, people driving over live wires, not obeying signs, road closures.

The 100,000-square-foot inflated bubble at Adventure Sports & Entertainment, an 87-acre sports complex in Jackson, reportedly suffered serious damage, Raimann said.

Last night  the dome did collapse, our fields are open today for the remaining games but no craft fair, and no football  and we thank everyone for their support and help, the facility said in an update around 7 a.m. Sunday.

There were no injuries reported in Ocean County due to storm that we are aware of, Raimann said.

In Jackson, images have circulated on social media of severe storm damage, including downed trees resulting from heavy winds and debris littering the road.

UPDATE: 4 tornadoes touched down in N.J. during powerful storms, weather service says

Officials with the Ocean County Sheriffs Office shared images of a tree completely uprooted and the branch of another jutting into the windshield of a car. Elsewhere, utility poles could be seen leaning toward the road.

There are A LOT of reports of damage throughout the entire town, the Jackson Police Department said Saturday night in an online post.

READ MORE: Heres how to report a power outage in N.J.

There is no ETA on when power will be restored, the department said Sunday at about 8 a.m., soon after advising residents to stay clear of roads closed due to exposed wires. PLEASE DO NOT call the police department about your power outage asking for updates. We do not know and our dispatchers are already overloaded with emergency calls for service. Everyone is working diligently to open roadways and assist (Jersey Central Power & Light) in any way with power restoration.

A declaration of emergency is in effect for Jackson Township, the local police department said.

A powerful storm left thousands without power across New Jersey. More than 9,000 remained without power in Jackson Township as of Sunday morning, authorities said. Photo courtesy of Chris Raimann (Ocean County Sheriffs Office)Photo courtesy of Chris Raimann (Ocean County Sheriffs Office)

Residents in Ocean County are asked to limit traffic on the roads as emergency crews work to restore services.

Across New Jersey, about 16,000 outages were reported at 9:25 a.m.  most in areas served by Public Service Electric & Gas and Jersey Central Power & Light.

On Saturday night, the National Weather Service advised residents in the effected areas to to seek immediate shelter inside a sturdy building.

In the aftermath, the NWS is investigating reports of two possible tornadoes that may have touched down in the Ramtown section of Howell Township in Monmouth County and another near the border of Delran and Cinnaminson in Burlington County.

For information from PSE&G on how to deal with downed power lines click here.

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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevenrodasnj.
Heavy winds have knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses on Saturday evening.

More than 36,000 outages were reported at about 9 p.m. Most were concentrated in areas served by Public Service Electric & Gas and Jersey Central Power & Light.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for several parts of the state, and multiple thunderstorm warnings have been issued for multiple counties. Parts of the state were under tornado warnings throughout the evening.

The National Weather Service advised New Jerseyans in the effected areas to to seek immediate shelter inside a sturdy building.

Forecasters said New Jerseyans can expect scattered hail up to two inches in diameter and wind gusts up to 70 mph, which are strong enough to topple trees and power lines.

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Deion Johnson may be reached at djohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or Twitter @DeionRJohhnson
NEW YORK  Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton has mashed quite a few majestic home runs in his career with the Yankees. None have traveled as far as the ball he sent into orbit in the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

Stantons two-run shot soared over the batters eye in center field, a 485-foot blast and 117.8-mph missile that was gone as soon as the slugger made contact.

That home run from Stanton  the second-longest in his career and longest since he was traded to the Yankees before the 2018 season  was one of three homers off Giants right-hander Ross Stripling, swings that powered the Yankees to a 6-0 win.

G is weird, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the win. Every time he comes in after one of those, I just tell him youre weird. Youre different.

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Boone said he knew instantly that Stantons shot was going to clear the batters eye. Its not the first time someone has hit a ball up there, but it still had the Yankees scratching their heads in disbelief in the first-base dugout, according to catcher Kyle Higashioka.

Hes definitely one of one in terms of putting the hurt on a baseball, Higashioka said. Its just so much fun to watch him every day.

Stantons 504-foot laser at Coors Field in Colorado back in 2016, when he was with the Marlins, is still the longest homer hes hit in his career.

Thats cool that its up there, Stanton said. I dont worry about that too much. Its just put us in a good spot to win the game.

Stantons home run on Sunday came just a few pitches after Aaron Judge went yard, a solo shot to left off Stripling. Both sluggers have two homers in the first three games of the year. Sunday was also the 31st time, including the postseason, that Judge and Stanton have gone deep in the same game. The Yankees are 29-2 in those games.

The things that theyve been able to do, we see it every day and we almost get spoiled, Yankees center fielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. Its cool to be their teammate.

Meanwhile, Yankees starter Jhony Brito was spectacular, earning the win while making his MLB debut. Brito threw five shutout innings, striking out six while giving up only two hits with one walk.

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Britos changeup was absolutely filthy on Sunday. He threw 28 of them and had 11 whiffs. There was a stretch in the early innings where Brito struck five batters out in a row  all of them swinging on his changeup.

The bullpen took care of the rest. Right-handers Jimmy Cordero, Ron Marinaccio and Colten Brewer combined to keep San Francisco off the scoreboard for the final 12 outs.

NOTABLE

-- Kiner-Falefa made his first career start in center field and hauled in all the routine plays with ease. He wasnt exactly tested with anything  no hard line drives in the gap  but continued to look natural at the position.

-- Ron Marinaccio struck out the side in the seventh. Hes now struck out six of the first 11 batters he has faced in 2023, throwing 3 1/3 hitless innings with a walk.

-- Anthony Volpe has been on base in each of his first three big-league games. The shortstop was hitless on Sunday, but he walked in the bottom of the seventh, advancing to second on a wild pitch before stealing third. He scored on a sacrifice fly from Anthony Rizzo.

-- Higashioka was also part of the home run party on Sunday. He skied his first of the year to left in the fourth, one inning after Stanton and Judge left the yard.

-- The Yankees have hit seven home runs through their first three games of the season, tied for the fourth-most homers through their first three games in franchise history. This is also just the fifth time in the teams illustrious history that the Yankees have hit multiple home runs in each of their first three games to begin a campaign.

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday: Phillies at Yankees, 7:05 p.m., YES, MLB Network. RHP Taijuan Walker (12-5, 3.49 in 2022) vs. LHP Nestor Cortes (12-4, 2.44 in 2022)

Tuesday: Phillies at Yankees, 7:05 p.m., Amazon Prime Video, TBS. LHP Matt Strahm (4-4, 3.83 in 2022) vs. RHP Domingo German (2-5, 3.61 in 2022)

Wednesday: Phillies at Yankees, 1:05 p.m., YES. RHP Aaron Nola (0-0, 12.27) vs. Gerrit Cole (1-0, 0.00)

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.
NEW YORK  Talk about a whirlwind. One day, Colten Brewer is working out on a high school field, unsure where hes going to begin the 2023 season. The next, hes putting pinstripes on at Yankee Stadium, suddenly a piece in the Yankees bullpen.

Its just been wild, Brewer told NJ Advance Media before Saturdays 7-5 loss to the Giants. Its been one of the weirdest situations Ive been in, but probably the best situation too.

Brewer was acquired by the Yankees in a trade on Thursday, coming over from the Rays. Two days later, he signed a major-league deal and was added to the active roster, replacing outfielder Estevan Florial, who was designated for assignment.

Before he was traded, Brewer was staying loose at the Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, Fla. Its a high school field right by Lakewood Ranch, a 20 minute drive from the Orioles nearby spring training complex.

My wife is from over there and got the hook-up for me and it was a blessing, Brewer said. What a journey. Everybodys just like, What happened, are you retiring or something? Actually, something way better.

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Pitching at the ODA facility, Brewer had eyes on him. Except this time, it was local kids, not big-league scouts or ballpark patrons.

They were like, Where are you going? Who do you play with? said Brewer with a huge smile. I was like, Well, I was with the Rays, but now Im not. I dont know where Im going yet! They were all excited and had a blast.

It came down to the Rays and Yankees, Brewer said. Either he would continue pitching for Tampa Bay with one of their affiliates  he threw 9 1/3 scoreless innings in Grapefruit League play with the Rays, but didnt make the Opening Day roster  or he was headed to New York.

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Brewer popped up on our radar a few weeks ago, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Saturday. The front office was seeing some things that hes done with pitch shaping that I think leaped off the screen. He had a really good spring with Tampa. Were excited to have him part of the mix.

That pitch shaping could be the bite on Brewers cutter, the sweep on his slider or the loop on his curveball. His numbers arent the best  he posted a 4.76 ERA in 36 Triple-A games last year and has a 5.04 career ERA in parts of four big-league seasons  but the Yankees certainly have a recent track record of bringing the best out of veteran arms.

Brewer isnt coming over to pitch in high-leverage spots. You probably wont see him pitch very much at all. Hes an emergency arm and depth piece in the bullpen, a guy with high spin rates. Unless Brewer can suddenly unlock another gear in his game hell be on the chopping block when relievers Tommy Kahnle and Lou Trivino return from their injuries.

The 30-year-old wasnt concerning himself with what could happen down the road, though. Not on Saturday at least. The righty was more so focused on the pinstripes in his locker at Yankee Stadium, the culmination of a long journey from his brief stint in the Yankees minor-league system in 2017.

Im not trying to do too much out there, he said. I just want to win ballgames. Hopefully thatll be enough for Yankees fans.

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Vanuatuan President Nikenike Vurobaravu received Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh after the credentials presentation (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Australia)

On this occasion, he also paid courtesy calls to five Vanuatuan ministers overseeing foreign affairs, tourism and trade, agriculture, health, and infrastructure-transport.

At these meetings, leaders of Vanuatu highly value the role and position of Vietnam regionally and globally. They suggested the foreign ministries of the two countries to preside over the review of the implementation of a bilateral memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation and development signed in 2014 to further promote their strengths, governmental relations, and people-to-people exchanges.

In addition to the traditional cooperation fields of agro-forestry-fishery, trade-investment, tourism, and human resources development, Vanuatu desired to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in new areas, especially climate change response and health.

Vanuatuan Foreign Minister Jotham Napat expressed his wish to visit Vietnam soon to inaugurate the southwest Pacific nations Consulate General office in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vanuatuan Minister of Agriculture Nako Natuman expressed his hope that Vietnam will share its wet rice cultivation experience to help Vanuatu ensure food security. He also proposed a tripartite cooperation model between Vanuatu, Vietnam and a development partner to capitalize on their strengths in areas of mutual benefit.

For his part, Ambassador Thanh thanked the Government and people of Vanuatu for supporting the strong growth of the overseas Vietnamese community in the country, contributing to connecting the two nations.

Vietnam and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations in 1982./.
Alex Flores started homebrewing while he was in school at LSU. After several years working at breweries in San Diego, he moved to New Orleans, where he worked at NOLA Brewing Company and Urban South Brewing Company. Hes now the head brewer for Brewery Saint X, which opened at 1100 Girod St. last week. For information, visit brewerysaintx.com.

Gambit: How did you get into homebrewing?

Alex Flores: I started homebrewing in college and fell in love with the creative side of it, using different ingredients  pretty much the way people get into cooking.

I was always the one seeking out different beers. At that time, it was really hard to find them in Louisiana. We were behind the curve on craft beer, except for Abita. Id find these random beers, and I was like, we should try to make one. So I bought a little kit and we did it on a friends stovetop. The first two batches were terrible, but we drank them anyway.

Eventually we got it down and started having fun exploring ingredients. The first beer I made was an English pale ale. Then we started Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clones and messing around with hoppier styles. The first out-of-the-box beer I made was a chocolate rosemary porter. I actually had gone to a farmers market in Baton Rouge and there was a chocolatier who had these unbelievable rosemary chocolates. I was like, I should replicate this into a beer, so I bought some bakers chocolate and got some fresh rosemary and started playing around. People were like, I dont know if I want to drink that. But it was cool experiencing these herbs and spices in a beer with this really chocolatey character.

Gambit: What was it like going pro?

Flores: After LSU, I moved out to San Diego to see if I liked working in the beer industry. Like a maniac, I called every brewery in the county. That was like 45 breweries. I got the same answer from a lot of people, which was you dont have any professional experience, and there are a lot of experienced people out here. This one guy who was opening up this very small brewery said I cant pay you, but if you want to volunteer and get some experience, I would be happy to teach you. I took it and was doing everything from recipe design to cleaning kegs. They were making true West Coast IPA, your more bitter style. They were famous for their brown ale, which is not a very popular style. They did a lot of hoppier styles, IPA, double IPA, a brown ale and they did a saison with goji berries. That was popular. Thats where I developed my first recipe that I put out to market. It was a jasmine saison. It was a great experience.

Then I went to Mission Brewery in downtown San Diego and worked there from 2012 to 2016, when I moved back to New Orleans.

I had been looking for a way to get back to New Orleans. NOLA Brewing was hiring and I reached out to them. I became a cellar manager for NOLA. I was managing fermentation and running their sour beer program for about a year and a half  so all the funky stuff and the barrel-aged program. We won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup. Its one of the two most prestigious beer awards. We won for Sauvage.

I went to Urban South to do research and development brewing. They brought me in to help diversify the portfolio. We came up with Lime Cucumber Gose and Paradise Park.

The pandemic was an interesting time. We were releasing six beers a week. I think I made 250 unique recipes that year.

Gambit: What are you brewing at Brewery Saint X?

Flores: We are doing more classic styles. We have some buzzword beers, like hazy IPAs and fruited sours. But we are brewing a lot of lager and English styles. We are doing some classics you dont see everyday, like true-to-style German beers.

We have cask beer, which you dont see much in New Orleans. Its a traditional English hand-pump style beer. Its naturally fermented. Its got natural carbonation, and were serving it at proper temperature. Starting off, well have an ordinary bitter and a dark mild on cask. Ordinary bitter is brewed with a malt thats a little sweeter than typical pale malt, a little nutty. Its brewed with Challenger hops, so it has the classic English earthy, grassy, aromatic character. Whenever people hear ordinary bitter, they think its going to be bitter, but its actually not. Its balanced. Its earthy, fruity. Theres a nice floral character from the hops. Theres bread and biscuit notes, like a multigrain character.

The dark mild is creamy, and its got notes of dark chocolate. Its got a little bit of roast coffee character. Its really light. Its only 3.5% (ABV). That one leans heavy toward the malty side.

Were going to have a lot of proper German beers. We have these horizontal maturation tanks. So once the beer is done fermenting, we remove a majority of the yeast and put them in these tanks to properly lager at cold temperatures for a long time. They develop like a lager should. A lot of big brewers age their beers for eight to 12 weeks before they release them to get that clean, crisp character. Thats what we want to replicate, the true German way of brewing these beers, letting them rest and settle.

Everything weve brewed so far is on the lighter side with spring and summer in mind. We are focusing on the lagers and lighter styles, low ABVs and sessionable beers. We have a milk stout with coffee and mole spices with vanilla bean and cacao nibs. In the colder months, well throw in more stouts and maybe a barley wine.
An Atlanta man pleaded guilty last week in a plot to smuggle Honduran nationals and cocaine by sea into south Louisiana.

Josue Flores-Villeda, 36, is the first defendant in the eight-man indictment to admit guilt in the conspiracy, which authorities say was run by a twice-bankrupt Pennsylvania labor broker and ended when the smugglers' boat ran out of fuel 95 miles shy of Grand Isle. Another defendant is scheduled to plead guilty May 18.

Federal authorities say the conspiracy dates from January 2021. The defendants are accused of charging Honduran nationals as much as $20,000 for transport to the United States. Villeda's role, he admitted in court documents, was to recruit customers and collect the payments.

The smugglers' last trip saw them depart Utilia, Honduras, on Feb. 8, 2022, the crew sailing 23 customers and 53 pounds of cocaine, hidden in a compartment under the captain's mattress, on a $400,000 yacht named the Pop. They were bound for Cocodrie, authorities say.

But the Pop ran out of diesel fuel in the Gulf of Mexico, and after a storm blew up, the U.S. Coast Guard found it adrift Feb. 14. Federal authorities towed the vessel to Jean Lafitte Harbor and arrested everyone on board.

Villeda, himself a Honduran national living in the United States without legal permission, was not on the yacht. He admitted that two days earlier, on instructions from the boat owner, labor broker Carl Allison of Irwin, Pennsylvania, he had driven from Atlanta to Cocodrie, boarded a charter boat with extra fuel and set out to resupply the Pop. As the charter approached, the Coast Guard intervened and detained him, too.

He pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to smuggle people and cocaine into the U.S., and faces 10 years to life in prison and a fine of more than $10 million. Maximum penalties in federal court are rare for first offenders, however.
The crashed Baton Rouge Police Department helicopter and bodies of two officers were discovered Sunday morning by law enforcement only after a family member of one of the victims called to request a search roughly eight hours after the incident occurred, according to the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
Jefferson Parish Schools Superintendent James Gray said he supports a proposal before the School Board that would close several schools and send thousands of students to new locations, though his administration is still sifting through the details to make sure there are no hidden issues.
Delegates at the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA)

The exhibition, which is in the framework of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam - UK diplomatic relations, displayed art works of famous Vietnamese artists such as Thanh Chuong, Huong Duc Dung, Nguyen Minh Son, and Phuong Binh.

Artists depict the beauty of daily life and natural landscapes of Vietnam as well as compassionate and love for life through their works of lacquer, oil paint and silk.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long expressed his hope that the exhibition would spread an image of a young, dynamic and modern Vietnam to UK friends.

He noted that the embassy will organize a series of events in various fields in 2023 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam - UK diplomatic relations, adding that the two countries will achieve more fruitful outcomes in the strategic partnership in all fields in the Vietnam-UK Friendship Year 2023.

The exhibition will prolong until April 7./.
Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., sponsor of the "Parents Bill of Rights Act," thanks Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., far left, and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Education Committee, right, after the bill narrowly passed the House at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 24, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Giant container ship docked at Cai Mep - Thi Vai port cluster. (Photo: sggp.org.vn)

This is also the largest ever container ship docking in Vietnams port system.

The container ship began service on February 16, 2023, with a length of nearly 400m and a width of 61.3m, with a total tonnage of 225,000 DWT and owned by OOCL, the largest container shipping and logistics service company of Hong Kong (China). It has been awarded 3 certifications for Smart Ship friendly with the environment by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

This is the first voyage of OOCL Spain on the Asia-Europe LL3 route with a series of ports: Shanghai - Xiamen - Nansha - Hong Kong (China) - Yantian - Cai Mep - Singapore -Piraeus - Hamburg - Rotterdam - Zeebrugge - Valencia - Piraeus  Abu Dhabi  Singapore  Shanghai, lasting 84 days.

Mr. Do Cong Khanh, welcoming the giant container ship, said it further strengthened the important role of Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port cluster on transcontinental maritime routes. The event is a proud milestone, opening a new phase of development for Gemalink Port in particular, Cai Mep port cluster and Vietnams maritime industry in general.

Gemalink port, under Cai Mep - Thi Vai deep-water port cluster, was put into operation from January 2021 and named among the worlds top 19 commercial ports, capable of receiving the new generation of megaships. With a water depth in front of the wharf up to -16.5m, Gemalink can accommodate the worlds largest container ships with a tonnage of up to 250,000 DWT./.
Dubai-headquartered Aleph Hospitality has appointed Tariq Yousef Dowidar as Vice President, Saudi Arabia amid plans to add further resources to the Saudi team over the course of the year.



Tariq will be responsible for leading Aleph Hospitality in Saudi Arabia. An accomplished Saudi hotelier, Tariq has 26 years of hospitality experience, most recently as Area General Manger for IHG government hotels and General Manager of InterContinental Riyadh.



Bani Haddad, Founder and Managing Director of Aleph Hospitality, said: We are very happy to be welcoming Tariq to the Aleph corporate team. Our company culture is one of empowerment, openness and curiosity, and we already know that Tariq fits in perfectly. Along with an impressive track record of strategic leadership, Tariq is an innovative and visionary hotelier, and he will be a major asset to regional hotel owners and brands under our management.



This is such an exciting time to get such an opportunity. The hospitality sector in Saudi Arabia is growing at an astonishing pace and with the many projects underway across the Kingdom, independent management services are in high demand. I am beyond excited to be part of this development with Aleph, said Tariq Yousef Dowidar.



Aleph Hospitality, which has targeted 50 hotels in the Middle East and Africa by 2026, manages hotels directly for owners, either with a franchise for branded properties or as a white label operator for independently branded hotels.  TradeArabia News Service
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. When projects in Karabakh gain momentum and attract not only budgetary, but also foreign investments, their contribution to Azerbaijan's economic growth may be 2.5 percentage points in 2023, Gulnara Khaidarshina, Deputy Head of Research at Russian Gazprombank, told Trend.

"Meanwhile, new projects for the development of transport arteries will ensure the growth of the share of transport in Azerbaijan's GDP to levels close to 20 percent by 2024. We would like to note that in the pre-pandemic period of 2019, the share of transport in Azerbaijan's GDP barely exceeded 10 percent," she said.

According to Khaidarshina, the inflow of remittances also contributes to the diversification of the Azerbaijani economy.

"Growing consumer demand stimulates growth in retail trade and the service sector, which also belong to the non-oil and gas sector. According to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, the inflow of remittances from individuals to Azerbaijan reached $3.6 billion and increased by 3.2 times in 2022, compared to 2021," she added.
Historians like Archibald McKinlay, Timothy H. Ball and Richard Dorsen have recorded the story of the Calumet Region as it evolved from a wintry marshland off Lake Michigan to an industrial powerhouse to a robust and diverse metropolitan area just outside one of the country's biggest cities.

But few have been as prolific in chronicling Northwest Indiana history as James Lane. The professor emeritus at Indiana University Northwest recently released a new edition of Steel Shavings, a book-length annual magazine he's been putting out about the Region's social history since 1975.

Lane has published 52 editions of Steel Shavings, which is widely available in local public libraries. It features oral histories, IUN student research and writings from his blog. The long-running publication blends history, major news events and Lane's experiences living in the Region.

"The original idea was to publish student work, mainly family histories," he said. "Most of our students back in the early 1970s were the children of steelworkers or had steelworkers in the family. Most talked about the immigrant experience, as most of the students were second-generation, first-generation or third-generation immigrants."

Lane and another professor founded Steel Shavings after Lane was hired at IUN as an urban historian. They put out the first three volumes, then the other professor moved on to other pursuits. Lane put out the next 49 editions himself.

Special issues have covered periods like the Great Depression, the home front during World War II, the 1950s, the 1960s, 1990s and the 2000s. It's grown more ambitious in scope, and not just because of its longevity.

"It's always usually featured an oral history component and student work," Lane said. "But it's ballooned from 40 pages to 320 pages over the past few decades."

Lane's journal explores life in Gary and the Calumet Region, such as the history of local bowling leagues. He played in the sheet and tin leagues with local steelworkers and interviewed fellow bowlers, many of whom had retired from the mills. He's interviewed bridge players, Black Lives Matter marchers and many others from all walks of life across Northwest Indiana.

Typically, he weaves in local art and literature, such as poetry from IUN's literary journal, Spirits. The new edition, for instance, features the work of Gary artist Corey Hagelberg on its cover.

Lane, who lives in Chesterton, often emphasizes Gary in Steel Shavings, but he has done special issues, like one dedicated to the history of Cedar Lake. Over the decades, he's chronicled everything from car culture to discrimination against female steelworkers to the election of Richard Hatcher as one of the nation's first African-American mayors of a major city.

"It sometimes talks about what's going on at Valparaiso University," he said. "I try to cover the whole history of the Calumet Region."

Steel Shavings has become more personal since he started keeping a journal after he was rattled by a home invasion.

"I kept the journal for my own mental health," he said. "It was to document what I'm doing as a teacher and a researcher. After I retired, it had more of my own work but I still try to showcase student work in there."

He thought about passing it over to someone else after Volume 40 when he was retiring as a full-time professor, but has kept chugging away.

"I think I have two legacies. The Calumet Regional Archives I founded and my books," he said. "My primary intellectual interest has been in putting out Steel Shavings."

Lane also has written books like "City of the Century" and edited books like "Forging a Community: The Latino Experience in Northwest Indiana, 1919-1975." He views Steel Shavings as a calling and a key resource for future historians.

"I've always sort of believed in contemporary history. I've believed in recent history. It's a first draft of history."

Studs Terkel was a big influence.

As with the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, radio host and oral historian who devoted himself to sharing the stories of the common man, Lane is inspired to get people's stories down so they're not forgotten.

"In the plague year, I was writing about what the Region was doing through the pandemic," he said. "How quickly people forgot the Spanish flu in 1918 and 1919. It was a horrible tragedy but people wanted to forget. People want to forget the pandemic. But the history books will capture how lives changed.

"This is the first draft of history without making sweeping conclusions. I write dispassionately about this period so historians looking back at the past can go to firsthand accounts like mine and the contributors."

Social history was dismissed when Lane was a graduate student at the University of Hawaii and the University of Maryland, where he received his doctorate. It was viewed as a fad.

But over the years, it's come to be reevaluated by the profession, Lane said.

"In the 1960s, it was disparaged as pots-and-pans history that might address what the housewife was doing in the kitchen. Now that's women's history. It's become a fertile ground for research."

Lane has always been interested in writing history for the masses, at one point writing a column for the Gary Post-Tribune. He's writing in Steel Shavings about Mount Baldy, the fight over the Bailly Nuclear Power Plant proposal and Eddie "Oil Can" Sadlowski's upstart populist campaign to reform the United Steelworkers union.

He's long felt that the Midwest is underrepresented in many broader historical accounts.

"I love environmental history," he said. "There's a lot of steelworker history, labor history and urban history over the vicissitudes of Gary. I think it's vital that people today know more about the past. Many students wish they knew more about their grandparents. In such a rich ethnic area, the heritage needs to be represented by carrying down family stories, if nothing else."

Over the years, he often tasked IUN students with gathering stories from family members.

"They would ask Granny or Great-granny how they got here and what the old country was like," he said. "What I found is, there was almost one person in every family who was the storyteller."

Lane is a Pennsylvania native who earned his Ph.D. in the 1970s at a time when historian jobs were drying up. Many of his fellow graduates couldn't find jobs in academia and ended up serving as historians in Congress or for other employers.

One of the history professors at IUN was a fellow graduate of the University of Maryland and brought Lane on. He took to Gary right away.

"Some come to IUN seeing it as a stepping stone to a better job," he said. "But as an urban historian, there aren't that many places to study. When I came to Gary, it was 64 years old. You could research the whole history. It was kind of a small town where you could get to know the mayor, which you couldn't do in Chicago or Philadelphia. I met Richard Hatcher at an antiwar rally."

Lane also loved teaching there and the diversity of nontraditional students, who typically ranged from 25 to 28 years old when he started. He hailed from a suburban background and was fascinated by the blue-collar community in a steel mill town.

"In 1970 everybody had someone in the mill, whether a parent or a family member got their livelihood there. The unions were strong then, not so much now. They had a big strike in 1959, but by the time they were locked out in 1986 and 1987, they were trying to barely hold on to what they had won over the years. It was a fight. The Region had such a blue-collar flavor back then."

Gary was a microcosm for society as a whole.

"I studied Gary and the rise and fall of industrialization, the heavy industry that was followed by highways and suburban malls as the nation suburbanized," he said. "It was always fascinating how the rest of the Region connected to Gary. At the beginning of the 20th century, streetcars and trains crisscrossed all over the South Shore, and Gary was a regional hub. It was where farmers from Porter County came to work when the economy was depressed in the 1920s and 1930s so they could keep their heads above water."

Once touted as the City of the Century, the U.S. Steel company town suffered a number of setbacks over the years, including white flight, middle-class Black fight and the push to gut public schools by shifting public money to charter and parochial schools, Lane said.

"We've always been a Hoosier stepchild. Gary's had an absentee landlord who never lived here. U.S. Steel's always been based in Pittsburgh and their giving goes largely to museums there and elsewhere. They've been trying to build a steel museum in Gary for years, but U.S. Steel doesn't help and nothing ever happens."

But he thinks attitudes have been shifting in recent years.

"People long ago moved to the suburbs south of U.S. 30, but I think more people are seeing that the health of the whole Region depends on the health of the industrial cities, and the whole Region is connected. It's not Gary against the world. It's one Region."

Lane considers Northwest Indiana his "intellectual home." In Steel Shavings, he seeks to connect what's going on in the Region at any given time with what's going on in the state, nation and world.

His favorite issues include Lake Michigan and the Northwest Indiana Duneland, which covers history and folklore along the Indiana Dunes. His students tracked down stories of boating accidents, long-ago shipwrecks and remote beaches where teens went to tryst.

He's also proud of the 1990s volume.

"It has a lot of stories from 18- and 19-year-olds about how they were adjusting to life when they first came to IUN," he said. "They were writing about Kurt Cobain's suicide, how close they came to suicide themselves, cutting themselves and the whole goth movement. It really captures for future historians what life was like as a teenager then. A thousand years from now, when hardly anything is left, it would be evidence of what life was like in the 1990s.

"Steel Shavings has gotten around, even to Penn State's library. I hope it's a rough draft that historians come across in the future when looking for accounts of what it was like then."
More school students are going to get killed this year by gun violence.

Lets stop pretending we have any control over this future fact. We dont. Not really. And you know it.

Children will die. Adults will shake their heads or fists. Fingers will be pointed. Politics will be blamed. Funerals will be held. Prayers will be said. And our lives will resume until another school shooting takes place. Somewhere.

Its as inevitable as bullets loaded into a gun. Our country has been locked and loaded for decades. It has had a hair-trigger mentality for years. Weapons will be aimed at more innocent kids who will never grow up to join us in ignoring this epidemic of mass shootings.

Whos to blame? I am. You are. We are. They are.

If you keep voting for lawmakers who choose power over morality, youre partly to blame. If youre a believer who worships politics more than Scripture, youre partly to blame. If you casually look the other way after every school shooting instead of getting involved and doing something to prevent another one, youre partly to blame.

I first wrote that previous paragraph on April 20, 1999, after two teenagers shot and killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado. Since then, weve gone from Columbine to commonplace, an accurate turn of phrase that I first wrote 10 years later.

If a mass shooting is defined as resulting in the death of four or more people, not including the perpetrator, 175 people have died in 15 such events connected to U.S. schools and colleges  from Columbines massacre to last Mondays shooting in Nashville, Tennessee  according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Mass shooters have killed hundreds of people throughout U.S. history in realms like stores, theaters and workplaces, but it is in schools and colleges where the carnage reverberates perhaps most keenly: places filled with children of tender ages, older students aspiring to new heights and the teachers planting the seeds of knowledge, their journeys all cut short, the AP story states.

Sandy Hook Elementary School. Robb Elementary School. Virginia Tech. And now The Covenant School, where a 28-year-old shooter wielding two assault-style rifles and a pistol killed three students and three adults at a private Christian school.

The suspect, who identified as transgender, was fatally shot by police. I have mixed feelings when these alleged mass shooting killers are killed by police on site. Part of me is fine with it. Good riddance, an eye for eye and a deadly cancer cut out from the human species.

Another part of me wants them to live to see the lives theyve destroyed, to possibly find remorse, to hopefully share their sin with others to prevent others from following in their earlier path. I want them to die in prison, from any cause, but not before their face is shoved into the stench of their crime and its tragic aftermath.

When these killers are shot and killed by police at the scene of their crime, it immediately removes them from our lives. Bang. Dead. Gone. Im fine with that, too.

If my loved one were one of the victims, Id feel compelled to pull the trigger on their death. Or flip a switch. Or activate a lethal injection. It wouldnt matter to me their manner of execution. Im pro-choice in this regard.

The killer at The Covenant School is gone but not the next predictable phase in the wake of all mass killings: the "autopsy of explanation."

Each incident gets painstakingly dissected, analyzed and scrutinized by multiple agencies. This is not only standard law enforcement protocol, it's standard procedure to help us process what just happened. Were immediately riddled with the same questions and attempt at answers:

Who did it? When exactly did it take place? Where precisely did it happen? Whats the timeline of events leading up to the shootings? How was it carried out? What triggered it and what stopped it? And, most importantly, why? This latest question goes to the core of our human nature. Why would someone do such a thing?

Guns don't kill people, people do. I agree with this statement.

But I don't agree with our nation's addiction  yes, addiction  to weapons, firearms and ammunition. We just can't get enough of it in our hands and our homes, regardless if it's to protect ourselves, or to perpetrate crimes, or simply to have some fun at shooting ranges.

So, was it fun?

This was the first question I was asked after shooting a Ruger AR-556 auto-loading rifle.

Hmmm, I replied, taking a second to think it through.

Interesting, yes. Educational, certainly. Exhilarating, at least at first.

But fun? I replied. No, I wouldnt call it fun.

Until that experience, I had never shot such a weapon in my life. I likely never will again.

For me, it was one of those one-and-done experiences, like skydiving from a plane, riding in a race car at 130 mph, pulling 9.2 Gs in a F-16 fighter jet, or crawling into a casket to see how it felt.

I did it. I experienced it. I dont need to do it again.

I was more curious than critical about shooting this type of weapon. Similar-styled rifles have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. School shootings. Premeditated murder. Bloody deaths in public places.

Going in, I had no hidden agenda against gun owners. I simply wanted to see how it felt.

It felt  powerful.

This must be part of the allure for evil or deranged or mentally unhinged people who commit mass shootings. They want to feel powerful. For that moment. At any cost.

How many more young victims will it take until our country does something to disprove my first sentence in this column? Many many more.

More school students are going to get killed this year by gun violence.
SCHERERVILLE  Saturdays cold and damp weather did not bother 12-year-old twins Collin and Aiden Blankenship. The boys, both autistic, were showing off the treats they had just received at a unique Easter egg hunt.

It was nice, fun, Aiden said.

I liked the eggs, Collin added.

Not everyone can handle the often-chaotic rush at Easter egg hunts. In memory of an autistic boy who died last year, an egg hunt just for children with disabilities was staged Saturday at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, moved indoors from nearby Stephens Park.

The nonprofit Logans Love sponsored the hunt as a tribute to 10-year-old Logan R. Ruiz, who died Aug. 27, 2022, in a train accident.

Logans mother, Nicole Reveliotis, wanted to do something to remember her son and honor other disabled children and families. That led to Logans Love, which in November put on its first event, 12 Days of Kindness, asking people to perform random acts of kindness. That included a canned-food drive for St. Jude House, a domestic violence shelter in Crown Point.

Showing these kids kindness, acceptance, inclusion and love is most important, Reveliotis said. We also want to educate the community about children with special needs, to see how special they are.

After losing another child this year, Reveliotis told friends she was again ready to work on Logans Love. With Easter coming, the mother recalled how she could never take Logan to egg hunts because of her sons condition.

"There was the rush. It was overwhelming for Logan, she recalled. He was getting overstimulated.

With a committee of 30 volunteers, Reveliotis came up with the special Easter egg hunt. Instead of the mad dashes at traditional hunts, this one accommodated children of varying needs.

Children collected empty plastic eggs. The eggs were empty because of concerns about choking hazards and food allergies.

Other considerations included dimmed lighting and special Disney calming music to prevent overstimulation. Also, volunteers assisted children who could not hunt on their own.

For participants in wheelchairs, helium-filled balloons were attached to eggs to facilitate reaching.

Staff and students from Governors State Universitys Department of Communication Disorders also came to help. Elaine F. Reyna, a GSU lecturer, was Logans first speech pathologist. She recalled the boy as a big heart walking on two feet.

Reveliotis described her son as someone who radiated love, all smiles and laughter.

Participants turned in their eggs for two goody bags. One bag had various snack treats. The other, a sensory swag bag, contained pop-it bracelets, pull-tubes, mini-Slinky and Rubiks Cube, all donated by committee members.

A golden egg with a $50 prize also was donated. Dyer police, including retired Officer Jerry Patrick and Patrolman Zack Schauer, participated in the program. "This is great for the kids, the families, the community," Patrick said.

The committee did not know now many children would attend, so participating was limited to Lake Central School Corp. students. Future egg hunts may be opened to children from other school districts in Lake County and perhaps to adults with disabilities, Reveliotis said.

One mother hopes activities like this can show others that autistic children are very smart and a joy to be around.

Kimberly Bostrom, who came with her autistic son Raylan, 8, cited a lot of misunderstanding. Autistic children are developmentally different, and people need to learn more.

Abbie Luna and David Baker brought daughter Lily, 7, who is autistic.

This is pretty awesome," Luna said. We havent had anything like this.

Logan had attended Homan Elementary in Schererville and was in his first year at Kahler Middle School in Dyer. Kahler Assistant Principal Kepchar attended the hunt, as did her daughter, Angela Ingram, Logans former teacher at Homan.

Ingram, the parent of an autistic child, offered adults this advice: Be patient, be assertive, accommodate their needs and love them unconditionally.
MERRILLVILLE  Gregory Washington was sitting on the couch in his brother's house Friday night when he heard a piercing crack of a nearby window.

"I was sitting watching the Weather Channel when the window blew in on me," he said.

Washington's brother, Julius, who owns the house near the corner of West 76th Avenue and Jackson Street in the Madison Meadows neighborhood, was at his desk when he heard the noise.

"I said, 'That don't sound normal'," Julius said. "I went and hid underneath my desk."

The Washingtons are among the many people who were affected by the ferocious weather Friday evening in northwest Indiana, characterized by high winds and heavy rain. A representative from the National Weather Service said it has not determined whether the winds transformed into a tornado.

"We're still assessing what happened," the representative said. "Right now, we have a report of thunderstorm and wind damage. We're still assessing whether it was straight-line winds or tornadic in nature."

On Saturday afternoon, more than 2,500 NIPSCO customers were without power, down from 21,000 since its peak after 9 p.m. Friday. Crews are out repairing the outages, but damaged poles have complicated the repair efforts, according to a news release from the Town of Merrillville.

The Dean and Barbara White Community Center, 6600 Broadway, was opened as a warming center Saturday evening for those who do not have power.

About 1,000 NIPSCO customers in Hobart also were without power, along with hundreds of homes in Valparaiso, Crown Point and Portage. Traffic lights were out on many of Merrillville's major roads Saturday morning, but some have been fixed. Roads with downed power lines have been cleared, a town representative reported.

By 7 p.m. Saturday, more than 1,000 Merrillville residents were without power. A few hundred residents in Hobart, Valparaiso, Crown Point and Portage had power restored, but many were still without.

Washington said his house is still livable, but many other residents in that area have been displaced. Roofs were ripped off houses and debris littered lawns in Madison Meadows.

In the Forest Hills neighborhood east of Broadway, residents cleared tree trunks and branches from their yards. One resident sawed the damp wood from a large tree that had been ripped from the ground by the wind, leaving a massive hole where the roots once were.

Lou Oseguera said his wife was heading to bed around 9:15 p.m. in Forest Hills when they saw a tree fall right through their bedroom.

"I've lived here 14 years, and I've never seen anything this bad," he said.

When some of the heavier winds subsided, Oseguera and his neighbors came out to check on each other. He said he saw cars and residences damaged but is grateful that no one was injured.

"It's all just stuff," Oseguera said. "It can be replaced."

Oseguera's house is structurally intact, so he and his wife plan to stay while the roof is fixed. They probably will be sleeping in their living room, he said.

Salvation Army Capt. Bersa Vera said she began driving around the neighborhoods at 9 a.m. Saturday, assessing the damage and offering to help set up displaced residents in hotels. The Salvation Army distributed food, water and other supplies to residents in need.

"This is sad," Vera said. "We want to be here to help the people and know they're not alone."

Ross Township Trustee Eric Blackman announced on Facebook he will provide food, support and other assistance to those affected by the storm 1-3 p.m. Sunday at the Ross Township Trustee Office.

Hoosiers affected by the severe storms are asked to contact Indiana 211 (dial 2-1-1 or 866-211-9966) to report damages and help with a damage assessment.
Stephen Fredenburg Stephen Fredenburg, 55, of Michigan City

MICHIGAN CITY  A recent investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations and Indiana State Police's Internet Crimes Against Children division resulted in the arrest of a Michigan City man on child-pornography charges Friday.

Stephen Fredenburg, 55, was charged with four felony counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of child exploitation.

A special agent from Homeland Security Investigations discovered a user who was downloading and sending illicit videos of children on a internet network, state police said. Each incident occurred between October 2021 and 2022. Investigators located Fredenburg through a series of searches and were granted a warrant to search his residence.

Fredenburg is being held in the LaPorte County Jail.
VALPARAISO  Indiana Dunes Tourism has a new deal with the National Park Service that it hopes will keep the federal General Services Administration out of its hair.

We have a unique partnership thats not too common in the U.S., Indiana Dunes Tourism President and CEO Lorelei Weimer said. The county owns the visitor center and leases a portion of it to the park service to promote Indiana Dunes National Park.

The GSA wasnt happy with the park service leasing from a local government, Indiana Dunes Tourism attorney David Hollenbeck said, but it isnt unheard of. When Hollenbeck went a function in Colorado recently, it was a similar set with the park service sharing space with a local entity.

Calling the GSA problematic to deal with, Hollenbeck asked for a 13-month extension of the existing lease to get everybodys juices flowing.

Nobody knew who was on first base.

He and Weimer hope a long-term deal, perhaps 10 to 20 years, can be worked out to stop the cycle of lease extensions while negotiations are underway.

This time, Indiana Dunes National Park and local tourism officials are dealing with the park services Colorado leasing office to nail down details.

I think this is actually good steps to get us in the right direction, County Attorney Scott McClure said. I think everyone has been working hard for years to get us to this point.

The lease uses a series of calculations to arrive at a figure of $103,981.27 per month, Weimer said.

This lease becomes a one-page sheet. If all these things were included, it would be 15 pages, Hollenbeck said.

Thats a pretty good deal since youre putting butts in the seats in Porter County, Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, said. In addition to promoting the national park, the visitor center raises awareness of other places to go and places to stay in Porter County.

The visitor center is popular, hitting almost 200,000 visitors last year, Weimer said.

I have to admit I underestimated what it means to be a national park. It just brings people, Hollenbeck said.

We want them there. They are a driver of people, Hollenbeck said. Theres a lot to do in Porter County, and thats our chance to grab these people.

The Board of Commissioners also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Park Service to clear up jurisdictional issues in enforcing park regulations on county lands.

The park is irregularly shaped, and within it are parcels of county-owned land, McClure explained. Some parcels in the campground, for instance, are county-owned.

With the new agreement, park rangers can enforce park rules on county property, too, inside the parks porous boundaries.

Biggs and Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center, explained why they voted recently to seek appraisals for leasing the 1860 sheriffs residence that formerly housed the Porter County Museum.

That building needs work, there is no doubt about it, but I think it is worth restoring, she said.

McClure said the two appraisals werent in yet. Once those appraisals are in, the commissioners will have little leeway in changing the rent. Leasing the space for $20,000 or more, or for three years or more, would require council approval.

Over the past three years, electric bills alone have added up to $30,000, Biggs said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the US Foreign Commercial Service Arun Venkataraman has arrived in Azerbaijan, Trend reports referring to the US Embassy in Baku.

Venkataraman has over 20 years of experience advising companies, international organizations and the U.S. government on international trade issues. He will also travel to Turkiye, Armenia and Georgia. He will join the Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov at the U.S.-Azerbaijan Clean and Green Energy forum, meet with U.S. businesses and underscore U.S. partnership with Azerbaijan on economic and energy cooperation.
MERRILLVILLE  The National Weather Service is surveying the area surrounding Merrillville and is preparing to survey the area surrounding Valparaiso in the aftermath of the major storm that ripped across Northwest Indiana on Friday.

As of Sunday afternoon, the agency had classified those two areas as "area of potential tornado damage." However, it has not been able to confirm whether a tornado hit the area.

Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the NWS's Chicago office, and his colleagues hope to have a verdict on that within the next couple days or by the end of the week at the latest.

"It's still too close to say right now," Yack said. "Given the fact that this involved a squall line, it's very hard to nail down and delineate between the tornado damage and a straight-line wind damage. It's still not quite clear which one is going to be which yet."

A squall line is a line of thunderstorms, often forming along or ahead of a cold front. Meteorologists sometimes refer to it a quasi-linear convective system.

"Because those squall lines were producing very strong straight-line winds in excess of 70 miles an hour, these weak tornadoes often have the same wind speeds as the straight-line winds themselves, so the damage is very similar between the two," he said. "That's what we're running into, is trying to pinpoint which is actually tornado damage and which is actually straight-line wind damage."

This is why they don't have an answer on whether a tornado hit Lake or Porter counties Friday night. Regardless, the area saw extensive damage: Many houses, trees and power poles collapsed.

However, tornadoes did pass through some areas.

As of Sunday afternoon, 12 were confirmed by the Chicago office, which oversees the Weather Service's operations in Northwest Indiana and northern Illinois. That includes a cluster of five near the border around Benton and White counties in Indiana and Iroquois County in Illinois. The other seven were in northern Illinois west of Chicago, particularly Belvidere.

The tornadoes were part of a larger storm system across the Midwest and South, killing at least 27 people and damaging property in seven states, from Wisconsin to Alabama, according to national news reports. The hardest-hit areas included the Little Rock, Arkansas, and McNairy County, Tennessee.

Indiana accounted for five of the deaths that have been confirmed. Three people were killed in Sherman, in Sullivan County, according to the Indiana State Police, and two were found dead at a campground in McCormicks Creek State Park in Owen County, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

"It was a rather strong storm system that was moving across the central part of the country over into our area here," Yack said. "And ahead of that line we had some thunderstorms develop in the early evening Friday."

The storms included hail and gusty winds, but he said the damage from that was minimal compared with the tornadoes and squall lines.

Recovery efforts are underway, but another storm could make its way to Northwest Indiana this week.

"We have a quiet day today, and tomorrow is supposed to be somewhat uneventful weather-wise, but we are tracking another storm system to arrive late Monday evening and another round of potential severe weather on Tuesday," Yack said Sunday afternoon. He encouraged people to continue watching forecasts in anticipation.

By 4 p.m. Sunday, 950 residences across northern Indiana were without power, according to utility provider NIPSCO. That's down from 23,000 at the peak Friday night.

There were 230 broken poles and "a substantial amount of downed wires and damage to essential electrical equipment" Sunday morning, NIPSCO said, adding that crews have had to complete more than 950 individual repairs to restore service.

NIPSCO expects a small number of outages will probably extend into Monday because of the extent of repairs needed, particularly in the Hobart, Merrillville and Portage areas.

"We understand that this has been a multiday outage for some customers and extend our appreciation for your ongoing patience as the restoration work is completed," NIPSCO wrote in a notice regarding the outages. "Given that a small number of outages are expected to continue until tomorrow, please make the necessary plans to keep yourself and your family safe."

NIPSCO urged people to avoid downed power lines or damaged poles.

Merrillville officials closed several roads in the area Saturday because of downed trees and power lines. Crews spent the day pushing debris to the side, and the town said the debris will be picked up and removed in the coming days. Residents are encouraged to stay home unless it's an emergency.

Gallery: Merrillville hit hard by storm
Michael Blackwood, a prolific documentarian who explored the work of 20th-century artists, architects, musicians, dancers and choreographers in more than 160 films and yet never became widely known, died on Feb. 24 at his home in Manhattan. He was 88.

His wife, Nancy Rosen, confirmed the death, in his sleep, but said she did not know the cause.

Mr. Blackwood filmed his subjects in the unobtrusive, no-frills cinema verite style, seeking to capture the creative process behind their art, often in studio visits. Sometimes they were their own narrators; sometimes there were no narrators at all. Mr. Blackwood was invisible to viewers.

He followed the jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk on tour in Europe. He tagged along as the minimalist composer Philip Glass prepared for the 1984 premieres of his opera, Akhnaten, in Houston and Stuttgart, Germany.
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.  Nail-biter: The phrase is vivid, evoking an agitated psychological state through a physical image that is both banal and disturbing. Its an apt title for the latest work by the choreographer Beth Gill.

Gills Nail Biter, which had its premiere here at the Fisher Center at Bard College on Friday, is a nail-biter in a peculiar sense. Since her 2016 piece Catacomb, Gill has been developing a kind of pedestrian surrealism. Everything seems absolutely deliberate but also mysterious. The dancers give the sense that they must behave exactly as they do, but also that they dont know why. This tension produces suspense, even though the action is so sparely distributed that a viewer can easily space out.

Because of that spareness, entrances are especially dramatic. Gill also dances in the work, and the first parts of her to emerge are her bare feet; they poke out from a wing before retracting, like those of the Wicked Witch of the East. Gradually, the rest of her appears: topless, covered in white paint, leaving a residue as she slides her body along the floor, holding a lighted candle.

She both exposes and disguises herself, as she did in her last work, Pitkin Grove, during which she dipped her topless torso into paint. Here, the candle connects to Thomas Dunns scenic and lighting design, especially to curtains that partially descend and a ragged painted backdrop with a hole in the middle. The atmosphere is ghosts-in-the-theater gothic.
Two days after Donald J. Trump was indicted in New York, marking the first time that a U.S. president, sitting or former, has faced criminal charges, Saturday Night Live envisioned Trump going to unusual lengths to pay for his legal defense by selling his own album of musical covers.

S.N.L. also used its Weekend Update news segment to lampoon Trumps legal predicament, as well as the reactions of his political supporters and rivals.

This weeks broadcast, which was hosted by Quinta Brunson and featured the musical guest Lil Yachty, began with the shows resident Trump impersonator, James Austin Johnson, addressing the audience directly.

Well, folks, it happened, Johnson said as Trump. I got indicted. Or as I spell it, indicated. Frankly, its time that I come clean. Admit that I broke the law and go quietly to prison.
What does it mean to be human? Its an ancient question thats hard to answer, but easy to ask.

Each year, a steady stream of books and podcasts explain how to be human at work, in relationships, in a changing (or technical, or warming, or whatever) world. Meanwhile, in some intellectual quarters, humanism is seen as a mask for elitism, bourgeois complacency or worse  when it isnt dismissed entirely as a uselessly squishy concept.

Enter Sarah Bakewell, who is no stranger to the art of applying sophisticated philosophical thinking to the urgent business of daily life. In 2010, she had a breakout hit with How To Live, an experimental biography of the 16th-century French essayist Michel de Montaigne that brought a cheeky, self-help-inflected wit to the subject. (Step One: Be born.)

Next came At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails, her 2016 group portrait of Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir and other thinkers who wrestled with the intertwined philosophical and political crises of the 20th century.

Now, shes back with Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry and Hope, a history  and defense  of the grand humanist project, from the first stirrings of the Italian Renaissance to todays debates about technology, artificial intelligence and transhumanism.
The reporting job in Moscow had everything Evan Gershkovich was looking for, his friends said: experience in a far-flung location with the chance to connect with his Russian roots.

Mr. Gershkovich, 31, an American journalist born to Soviet emigres, moved from New York to Russia in late 2017 to take up his first reporting role, a job at The Moscow Times and, his friends and co-workers said, he quickly embraced life in Moscow.

He had no hesitation; he was really ready to try something totally new, said Nora Biette-Timmons, a friend from college and the deputy editor of Jezebel, adding, I remember so distinctly how much he loved what he was doing.

In January 2022, he was hired as a Moscow-based correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, a dream job, his friends said.
Norfolk Southern once had so few accidents and injuries that it won the rail industrys prestigious E.H. Harriman safety award for 23 years in a row until it was retired in 2012. But in the last decade, the company has gone from an industry leader to a laggard.

The rate at which its trains are involved in accidents and its workers are injured on the job has soared, putting it at or near the bottom on those safety measures among the countrys four largest freight railroads. Employees, former workers and some rail experts blame decisions by executives to cut thousands of jobs and put pressure on employees to speed up deliveries in a drive to bolster profits.

Lance Johnston is among the critics. Mr. Johnston was a Norfolk Southern engineer, or train driver, in the St. Louis area for over 25 years until he was fired after a dispute in 2021 with his manager about problems with a trains brakes.

That July, he said, he started a shift at the A.O. Smith rail yard in Granite City, Ill., just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, and found that his locomotive had defective brakes. After notifying a supervisor of the problem, Mr. Johnston said, he was told to use the locomotive, even though the defect was in violation of Norfolk Southern regulations and could, he said, make it hard to control the train and even lead to a derailment.
All automakers are contending with the drag on sales from rising interest rates, which increase the cost of monthly car payments. But the Tesla sales figures could disappoint some investors who were expecting sales to top 430,000 vehicles in the quarter.

Tesla, which dominates sales of electric vehicles in the United States, has recovered some of the credibility with investors that it lost during a tumultuous 2022, when Elon Musk, the automakers chief executive, was distracted by his acquisition of Twitter. Tesla shares have risen 90 percent so far this year, though they are still worth about half as much as they were in November 2021.

In the United States, Tesla was among the chief beneficiaries of changes to the federal tax credits available to buyers of electric cars. Last year, Democrats eliminated a cap on the number of vehicles from a given manufacturer that qualified for the $7,500 credit. Tesla had used up its quota but in January purchases of its two most popular cars regained eligibility for the $7,500 tax credit.

The tax credit rules will become more stringent on April 16, requiring companies to acquire battery components and battery minerals from the United States or its allies. Tesla has told buyers that its least expensive version of the Model 3 sedan, which uses a battery made in China, will no longer receive the full credit.

But Tesla is probably ahead of competitors like Ford Motor in meeting the requirements for other models.
Image Credit... Giulio Bonasera

Whats Up? (March 26-April 1)

Silicon Valley Bank Changes Hands

First Citizens BancShares, a family-run bank in North Carolina, announced last Sunday that it was acquiring Silicon Valley Bank, capping off a tumultuous month for the California lender whose collapse touched off a wider banking crisis. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized control of SVB and its assets on March 10, after a run on deposits left it insolvent, and SVB filed for bankruptcy a week later. First Citizens deal with the F.D.I.C. to take over the bank involved the purchase of about $72 billion in loans at a $16.5 billion discount. First Citizens also took control of all of the banks roughly $56 billion in deposits. But an additional $90 billion in SVBs securities remain under the purview of the F.D.I.C. The collapse of SVB was followed in short succession by two other bank failures. Credit Suisse, which was bought by its rival UBS, Switzerlands largest bank, and Signature Bank. New York Community Bancorp later acquired substantially all of the remaining deposits at Signature Bank.

And in Other SVB News

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing last week on the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, federal regulators blamed the banks executives for poor management and risk assessment, which, they argued, led to the collapses. They also suggested bank managers could face penalties if they did anything improper. But the regulators themselves were not off the hook: They were the ones in the hot seat on Tuesday, answering questions from lawmakers about why certain red flags went unheeded and how to avoid future bank failures. The Federal Reserve, in particular, is under scrutiny for not doing enough to prevent the banks implosions. Michael S. Barr, the Feds vice chair for supervision, said he learned about SVBs problems only in February. These lines of questioning are expected to continue this week, when the House Financial Services Committee holds its own hearing on Wednesday.

Not the Usual Treatment

Howard Schultz, the former chief executive of Starbucks, did not get the treatment he was used to receiving in Washington on Wednesday when he appeared before a committee, led by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, scrutinizing him for what lawmakers termed illegal union busting. In the past, Democrats praised Mr. Schultz for his business practices, but last week liberal members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions pressed the longtime chief executive with questions about whether he had participated in decisions to fire or discipline workers involved in the union drive at Starbucks. Lawmakers said they had heard of widespread anti-union efforts at the company, but Mr. Schultz called those accusations propaganda and instead highlighted Starbuckss pay and benefits for workers.

Image Credit... Giulio Bonasera

Whats Next? (April 2-8)

Taking the Labor Markets Temperature

Recent job reports took many analysts by surprise, blowing past expectations and breaking a trend line that had suggested the jobs market was gradually cooling off. Forecasters were going into Fridays jobs report with similar expectations  the consensus was that employers added 240,000 jobs in March. But its unclear how closely the new data will conform to those predictions. Even amid high-profile layoff announcements at companies like Amazon and NPR, jobless claims remain low. And though the banking crisis has fomented concerns about the economic outlook  and darkened the forecast for later this year  its hasnt yet had an effect on jobs figures.
Mr. Swider declined to comment for Digital World. Mr. Orlando, who remains on the companys board, did not return requests for comment, and neither did his lawyer.

Trump Media officials did not return requests for comment.

Since Mr. Orlando was the executive with the most frequent contact with representatives of Trump Media, Digital World was hoping that his ouster as chief executive would lead securities regulators to look more favorably on the merger proposal, said one of the people briefed on the matter.

The insider trading investigation is focused on some investors associated with a small Miami-based venture capital firm, Rocket One Capital, that came to the deal because of Mr. Orlando. The group invested in Digital World about two months before the SPAC went public, said three people briefed on the matter.

Soon after the group invested, some employees at Rocket One began to routinely refer to Digital World as the Trump SPAC, according to two of those people and documents reviewed by The New York Times.

One focus of the investigation has been Michael Shvartsman, the Miami financier who founded Rocket One and was introduced to Mr. Orlando by a wealth manager, said two people briefed on the matter. Mr. Shvartsman then began inviting colleagues, friends and relatives to join the investor group, according to three people briefed on the matter and documents reviewed by The Times.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3. Suspects in the attack on Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa have been detained, Police Colonel-Lieutenant Elshad Hajiyev, Spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, told Trend.

According to Hajiyev, the State Security Service and the Prosecutor General's Office have carried out joint operational-search activities, within which 4 suspects in the attack on MP Fazil Mustafa were identified and detained.

More information will be provided.

Furthermore, the sounds of shots fired by police officers in the Garadagh district of Baku have been reported. It was noted that several police posts are being set up in Baku and control measures are being carried out.
The New York Police Department said on Sunday that a man had been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a series of killings and robberies at Manhattan gay bars that has terrorized the citys L.G.B.T.Q. community and drawn attention to the use of drugs to incapacitate, rob and kill.

The man, Jacob Barroso, 30, of New Britain, Conn., was arrested on Saturday and charged with the murder of Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker who died of a drug overdose last April in what the medical examiner described as a drug-facilitated theft.

Mr. Barroso was also charged with robbery, grand larceny and identity theft, but he had not been arraigned as of Sunday night, the Manhattan district attorneys office said.

The death of Mr. Ramirez and a second man, John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant who was fatally drugged and robbed in May, spread fear through the citys L.G.B.T.Q. community and started a broader conversation about similar drug attacks that have long plagued the citys nightlife.
Even for a city accustomed to celebrity appearances, the two-day visit during which Donald J. Trump is expected be arraigned in Manhattan is likely to be a striking spectacle: There will be protests and celebrations, an all-hands-on-deck police presence and a crush of media attention on the moment in which the first American president is charged with a crime.

Mr. Trump is expected to arrive in New York on Monday from his estate in Florida and head to his erstwhile home in Trump Tower, where he began his pursuit of the presidency in 2015 by descending a golden escalator. The exact timing of the former presidents arrival was unclear, though he was expected to stay the night there before heading to a courthouse in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

Law enforcement officials and outside experts have not warned of major threats from Trumps supporters or opponents this week. But New York City officials and police were already girding for protests near the courthouse and outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, where barricades lined the streets for several blocks surrounding the building on Sunday, amid camera crews and curiosity seekers.

At the same time, Mr. Trumps legal team was speaking out against the indictment, which came as a result of a grand jury vote in Manhattan on Thursday. In an interview on Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC, Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, called the looming charges a political persecution and a complete abuse of power that the former president was ready to fight.
She said it was a common pattern for people to sign up as sponsors who kind of were naive, thinking, Im doing a good deed, but then really not following it up with anything.

Refugee resettlement agencies say that many refugees have arrived at their doors after sponsors bailed, despite volunteers signing a form declaring a two-year commitment to the person theyre resettling. Agency staff also cited more extreme cases, like a Ukrainian woman who was asked by her sponsor to become a surrogate mother and another who had her passport confiscated and was pressured to become a second wife. New York City officials say some Ukrainians have ended up in homeless shelters.

About 282,000 Ukrainians have been either authorized to travel to or have already arrived in the United States as of March 21 under Uniting for Ukraine, which launched last April, according to the most recent statistics from Homeland Security. The refugees are granted a temporary legal status known as humanitarian parole, which allows them to work legally. (An additional 167,000 Ukrainians have been processed to arrive in the United States outside of Uniting for Ukraine.)

The American sponsorship program is modeled on one in Canada, although it differs because sponsors under the Canadian program must be organizations, community groups or groups of at least five individuals. This way the costs of resettling new arrivals are spread out and there is a smaller risk of a refugee being stranded.

A sponsor program in Britain has also run into some problems, including over a thorny application process and long waits for visas.
Universities took note and began culling. One recent study showed that history faculty across 28 Midwestern universities had dropped by almost 30 percent in roughly the past decade. Classics programs, including the only one at a historically Black college, were often simply eliminated.

Never mind that neither politicians nor students seem to have a particularly good idea of which college majors will actually prepare young people for the work force. History majors had a lower unemployment rate than economics, business management or communications majors, and their salaries barely lag behind in those fields, according to a recent study. Art history majors do just fine, too, with strong projected job growth in the next decade. And despite the sneers, those with bachelors degrees in philosophy have an average salary around $76,000, according to PayScale. But this is a grim and narrow view of the purpose of higher education, merely as a tool to train workers as replaceable cogs in Americas economic machine, to generate raw material for its largest companies.

Higher education, with broad study in the liberal arts, is meant to create not merely good workers but also good citizens. Citizens with knowledge of their history and culture are better equipped to lead and participate in a democratic society; learning in many different forms of knowledge teaches the humility necessary to accept other points of view in a pluralistic and increasingly globalized society.

The university as we know it emerged in the Middle Ages, founded around the study of rhetoric, grammar, logic, astronomy, mathematics, geometry and music  or what the Romans called artes liberales, meaning the arts of free people. The first three disciplines evolved into the modern humanities and arts; the others evolved into natural and social sciences.

It was Cold War-era American nationalism that reframed this course of study, once available only to the wealthy few, as something essential for American success. In 1947 a presidential commission bemoaned an education system in which a student may have gained technical or professional training while being only incidentally, if at all, made ready for performing his duties as a man, a parent and a citizen. The report recommended funding to give as many Americans as possible the sort of education that would give to the student the values, attitudes, knowledge and skills that will equip him to live rightly and well in a free society, which is to say the liberal arts as traditionally understood. The funding followed.
The Last of Us, a postapocalyptic television thriller, recently concluded its first season with a stunning finale. However, as a physician and horror superfan, I found the shows beginning more striking: A 1960s talk-show host asks two epidemiologists what keeps them up at night. Fungus, one replies.

Hes worried about a real-world species of Ophiocordyceps known to hijack the body and behavior of ants. Fast forward to the shows central, fictional drama: a pandemic caused by a type of that fungus, which mutated as the world grew warmer. The new version infects humans and turns them into ravenous, zombielike beings whose bodies are overtaken by mushrooms.

Fungal epidemics in humans are infrequent, in part because human-to-human transmission of fungi is rare, and I am not aware of any involving zombielike creatures. Its far more likely that the next pandemic will come from a virus. But the idea that climate change is making the emergence of new health threats more likely is solid. Could it cause a fungus ubiquitous in the environment to morph into a lethal pathogen in humans? Its possible.

Scientists like me worry that climate change and ecosystem destruction may be creating opportunities for fungal pathogens to grow more infectious, spread over larger distances and reach more people. For example, Candida auris, a drug-resistant yeast that can be deadly in hospitalized patients, may have gained the ability to infect people thanks to warmer temperatures, according to some scientists. On March 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Candida auris has spread at an alarming rate in health care facilities and is concerning.
The body of a 2-year-old boy was discovered on Friday in the jaws of an alligator in a tragic end to a search for the toddler after his mother was found stabbed to death, according to the authorities in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The boys father, Thomas Mosley, 21, was booked into Pinellas County jail on Friday on two counts of first-degree murder, according to the police, who did not release details about a motive.

Taylen Mosley, Mr. Mosleys son, had been missing since Thursday, after his mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, was found dead in her apartment around 2:30 p.m., the police said on Facebook.

An Amber Alert was issued for the toddler.

An investigation led police officers to Dell Holmes Park, where they found an alligator with an object in its mouth, the St. Petersburg police chief, Anthony Holloway, said at a news conference on Friday night.
Follow our live coverage of the 2023 Chicago mayoral runoff election.

CHICAGO  Paul Vallas took control of Chicago Public Schools when the district was among the countrys most troubled. He went to Philadelphia to head up a teetering education system that the state had taken over. And after Hurricane Katrina washed away much of the New Orleans school district, he helped rebuild it.

Mr. Vallas built a reputation as the educational emergency responder of the 1990s and 2000s, someone sought out for the most challenging jobs. When he got to a new city, he moved quickly and forcefully, clashing at times with school boards and labor groups that objected to the pace and scope of his changes.

Ill do 10 things and maybe accomplish five of them as opposed to someone who will do two things and maybe accomplish one, Mr. Vallas said in an interview.

One of two Democrats in Chicagos mayoral runoff election on Tuesday, Mr. Vallas highlights his record of improving facilities, keeping schools open more hours and overhauling low-performing schools. He also forced out longtime educators, took a hard stance on student discipline and greatly expanded the number of charter schools, policies that earned him fans and enemies wherever he went.
Follow our live coverage of the 2023 Chicago mayoral runoff election.

CHICAGO  Chicago is known as a city of neighborhoods, a sprawling metropolis divided into distinctive pockets defined by their own architecture, restaurants, languages, ballparks and beaches.

But this is a heated election season, so Chicagoans are temporarily dissecting the city in a more political parlance: the mathematics of wards.

There are 50 wards in all, each represented by a member in the City Council, and each with its own identity. The political winds can shift with every mayoral contest: In a runoff election in 2019, Mayor Lori Lightfoot won all 50, but in her unsuccessful February bid for re-election amid a crowded field of challengers, she took only 16. Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, the top two finishers in February, are spending the final days before their runoff on Tuesday crisscrossing the city campaigning for votes.
NASHVILLE  The first 911 calls started coming in just before 10:13 a.m. Teachers and staff members, hiding in rooms, bathrooms and closets across the Covenant School and its church, whispered prayers and pleas for help on the line, childrens voices and gunshots audible in the background.

Dispatchers assured the callers that the police were already on their way, calmly pressing for details about their location and the shooter. When officers did arrive, minutes later, they formed small teams and swept through elementary school classrooms filled with empty desks in search of the shooter, moving toward the sound of gunfire from the second floor.

By 10:27 a.m., officers armed with handguns and rifles had found the shooter by a window in an open lobby, opened fire and killed the attacker.

The swift response to the shooting at the Nashville school on Monday, in which three adults and three 9-year-old children were killed, highlighted how law enforcement tactics and training have evolved to confront the reality of repeated mass shootings at American schools. It also illustrated a renewed focus on confronting the assailant as soon as possible, a longstanding priority underscored by the botched response to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last May.
Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, joined the race for the Republican nomination for president on Sunday, banking that in a crowded field, enough G.O.P. voters will be searching for an outspoken critic of Donald J. Trump to lift his dark-horse candidacy.

What struck me as I was in Orange County, California, and as I was in Iowa for three days this week, was that the Trump factor really didnt come up, he said in an interview on Sunday, after he announced his candidacy on ABCs This Week. The voters, he said, are talking about things that matter to them, which is the economy, which is the fentanyl crisis that we have, and the relationship and leadership of America on the world stage.

Theyre asking tough questions, he added, but its not about the political dynamics of Trump.

Mr. Hutchinson has made several trips to Iowa, where he has tested out what he has called a message of consistent conservatism to Republican voters who have flocked to Mr. Trump in the past two elections. Recent polling has shown Mr. Trumps lead among primary voters surging as his legal peril has grown. The former president is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in Manhattan on charges that he falsified business records and violated New York campaign finance law to cover up hush-money payments to a pornographic film actress in the final days of the 2016 election.

With several other cases pending, Mr. Hutchinson appears to be betting that external forces will trip up Mr. Trumps third run for the White House. Other anti-Trump Republicans, such as the former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, have declined to run. And the Republicans who have jumped in or are preparing to  Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor  have carefully avoided direct criticism of the front-runner.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3. Suspects in the attack on Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa have been detained.

According to information received by Trend, the detainees in the criminal case are currently being interrogated at the State Security Service and searches are being carried out at their residential addresses.

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.
How Mr. Gertler managed to enlist the president of Congo, whom American officials have celebrated for his efforts to combat widespread corruption since he took office in 2019, is an illustration of the determined bid by Mr. Gertler to lift a set of sanctions that prohibits companies with ties to the United States from doing business with him and freezes money he has in international banks.

Mr. Tshisekedis lobbying efforts came after Mr. Gertler agreed to return to Congo an estimated $2 billion worth of mining and oil-drilling rights secured over the past two decades. In exchange, the Congolese government agreed to pay Mr. Gertlers companies $260 million and to help him lobby in Washington to have the sanctions revoked, the agreement with Mr. Gertler says. The move would allow Congo to resell the mining rights to new investors.

The terms of the settlement are unprecedented and on any view should be positively received  even by my detractors, Mr. Gertler wrote in a letter in March to two dozen human rights groups.

But human rights activists say that the agreement is hardly a good deal for Congo and that Mr. Gertler is still entitled to collect potentially tens of millions of dollars a year in royalties on copper and cobalt mining in the country.

Far from paying an appropriate consequence for his actions, Mr. Gertler will keep collecting an average of $200,000 a day in royalties from these three highly lucrative mining projects for at least another decade, human rights groups said in a letter sent last month to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, urging them to leave the sanctions in place.
Abortion, Mr. Mason said, comes up in his discussions with voters as much as snow plowing, public safety and housing.

These two big issues around freedom, the freedom to vote and the freedom to make your own health care decisions, they are every bit as front and center in this race as anything else that we deal with at the municipal level, Mr. Mason said.

Mr. Masons opponent, Henry Perez, a Republican city alderman opposed to abortion rights, said voters in Racine did not care much about the issue. He said that he did not remember how he had voted in the November abortion referendum, and that too much fuss was being made over abortion being banned in Racine when it was available across the state line in Illinois, roughly 25 miles south of the city.

A lot of people Ive talked to say, Henry, abortion, really? Mr. Perez said. What do we care about it here? I mean, its not a thing that we do. And theres always options like going out of town, you know, or going over to the next state to take care of an abortion if they need to.

Mitch Smith contributed reporting from Chicago.
The weapons have given governments the power to conduct targeted, invasive surveillance in ways that were unavailable before the advent of the tools. This power has led to abuses, from the Mexican government spying on journalists who were investigating military crimes to Saudi Arabia using NSO technology to hack the devices of political dissidents. The use of spyware against journalists and opposition figures sparked a political scandal in Greece.

Rampant abuse of commercial spyware has led to growing calls from Western political leaders to limit access to them. And yet their power makes the tools alluring to intelligence services, militaries and law enforcement agencies in democracies and autocracies alike. The story of NSOs push to break into the United States market brings to life how these tensions have played out.

President Biden signed an executive order last week to clamp down on government use of commercial spyware. It prohibits federal departments and agencies from using hacking tools that might be abused by foreign governments, could target Americans overseas or could pose security risks if installed on U.S. government networks. The order covered only spyware from commercial entities, not tools built by American intelligence agencies, which have similar in-house capabilities.

After this article was published online, the senior administration official told The Times that if there was a contract in November 2021 giving the United States access to the NSO tool, it would violate the new executive order.

Even as the Biden administration has showcased its efforts to drive NSO out of business, it was clear even before the revelation of the latest contract that some agencies have been drawn to the power of these cyberweapons.
Two senators who voted to convict former President Donald J. Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol  one a Republican and one a Democrat  have raised concerns that Mr. Trump has been improperly targeted by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, even before they have learned the details of the indictment.

Its just a very, very sad day for America, said Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the Democrat, referring to Mr. Trumps indictment in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Especially when people are maybe believing that the rule of law or justice is not working the way its supposed to and its biased  we cant have that, Mr. Manchin said. But on the other hand, no ones above the law. But no one should be targeted by the law.
It collapsed a theater in Illinois. Tossed cars in Little Rock, Ark. Flattened homes in Tennessee. And left thousands without power in New Jersey.

The storm system that tore through the Midwest, South and Mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday carved a path of destruction that encompassed an area from Wisconsin to Delaware, south to Mississippi, killing at least 32 people in seven states. Scores more people were injured, and communities were left reeling on Sunday, as they assessed the damage and continued cleanup efforts.

Here is what we know about the storms and their impact.

Was the storm system unusual from a weather perspective?

It is not uncommon to see powerful storms make their way across the middle of the country in the spring, according to Colby Pope, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Ark. But the number of tornadoes that this storm produced was unusual, he said.

Trained spotters reported nearly 100 locations where tornadoes were spotted or had caused damage Friday and Saturday, according to the Weather Service. The exact number of individual tornadoes might not be known for days. A storm system producing 20 to 30 tornadoes is pretty common, Mr. Pope said. But the total for this storm, spread across multiple states, was a cut above what meteorologists considered a normal outbreak, he added.
In an island renowned for boisterous politics, Taiwans president, Tsai Ing-wen, is an improbable leader.

Described by those close to her as scholarly and bookish, Ms. Tsai is known for caution and understatement. In 2016, she ordered her staff to stay silent about a call with incoming President Donald J. Trump, even though it was the first time in decades a Taiwanese leader had spoken to an American president or president-elect. (Mr. Trump was less discreet.)

When she rose to lead her party 15 years ago, she was known as a technocrat, not a transformative politician. Many commentators view Tsai as a transitional and relatively weak leader, noted a U.S. diplomatic cable at the time assessing her place in Taiwanese politics.

As Ms. Tsai, 66, makes one of her final visits to the United States before leaving office next year after two terms, she does so as one of the most important leaders in the world. Sitting at the center of the yawning divide between Beijing and Washington, she has steered Taiwan between the contradictory demands of the worlds two most powerful countries, one that claims the island under its authoritarian rule and another that views the democracy as one prong in a broader confrontation with China.
Its been described by Ukrainian officials as post-apocalyptic.

As Russian forces encircle the city of Avdiivka, they are waging a battle that has destroyed entire neighborhoods and nearly cut off access to humanitarian aid for its remaining residents.

The streets are now littered with the ruins of blasted buildings, making them impassable by car. Schools, health clinics, shopping centers and apartment blocks have been left with gaping holes.

In the last few weeks, Russia has intensified its bombardment of Avdiivka, leaving it battered and largely abandoned after a year of war. The city was once home to 30,000 residents, but Ukrainian officials say around 1,800 are refusing to evacuate, including five children.

The New York Times embedded with Gennadiy Yudin, a Ukrainian police officer with a unit called the White Angels, as he went door to door trying to convince residents to leave. Many of them are old and vulnerable or cannot afford to live elsewhere. Some expressed nostalgia for the Soviet era and said they were waiting for Russian forces to liberate them.
MOSCOW  As children gathered at a holiday camp outside Moscow, they were greeted by a female performer in a kokoshnik, a traditional tiara, who extended the customary Russian greeting of a loaf of bread and salt.

The children were not from Russia. They were Ukrainian children brought to the camp from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. We welcome you like this, said Maria Lvova-Belova, Russias commissioner for childrens rights, who was at the event, because now you are ours.

Many of the children Ms. Lvova-Belova has brought from Ukraine have indeed become Russian, at least by passport, thanks to a decree she asked President Vladimir V. Putin to sign last year to streamline the adoption of Ukrainian children.

She has used that authority to transfer to Russia what Ukraine says are as many as 16,000 children. Some of those children have described a wrenching process of coercion, deception and force, with many placed in homes to become Russian citizens and subjected to re-education.
The shape-shifting president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, Europes longest-serving elected leader, lost a re-election bid on Sunday, according to provisional official results, raising hopes across the Balkans of a long-awaited end to a political era stamped by the Yugoslav wars of the early 1990s.

The vote on Sunday was a runoff between the two top finishers among seven candidates competing in a first round last month. Mr. Djukanovic, 61, conceded defeat late Sunday to Jakov Milatovic, 36, an Oxford-educated economist who campaigned on pledges to root out corruption and organized crime.

Mr. Milatovic won decisively with about 60 percent of the vote, with 70 percent counted as of Sunday night.

Mr. Djukanovic said he respected the outcome of the vote and wished Mr. Milatovic success, adding, If he is successful, it means that Montenegro can be a successful country.
Pope Francis, who was discharged from a three-day hospital stay on Saturday, seemed on the mend on Sunday as he addressed tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peters Square for Palm Sunday Mass, allaying concerns about his health.

Francis, 86, arrived at the crowded square in an open-topped jeep, which drove along a corridor lined with thousands of faithful, many waving palm fronds over their heads, and up a ramp to the top of the basilicas steps. He walked to the altar unassisted  because of knee problems and recurrent sciatica, he often uses a cane or a wheelchair.

Francis delivered the homily  in which he urged the world to care for those who are abandoned  the Angelus prayer and a blessing to the estimated 60,000 people in the crowd. And he thanked attendees for their participation, and also for your prayers, which intensified during these past days.

In off-the-cuff comments during his homily, the pope lamented the recent death, under the colonnade of St. Peters Square, of a homeless German man. God, he said, wanted people to be there for one another. I, too, need Jesus to caress me, come close to me, Francis said. And for this reason, I go to find him in those who are abandoned and alone.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. Visa aims to develop innovations in the Azerbaijani market, Senior Director, Regional Manager of Visa in Azerbaijan Nurlan Hajiyev said in an interview with Trend.

According to him, the company sees huge potential and prospects in the development of new methods of accepting non-cash payments.

"Certainly, here we talk about the projects that promote the transportation and female entrepreneurship sectors as well as the expansion and security of cashless payments across the country. Visa projects are also aimed at ensuring the transparency of doing business and making payments, accelerating the growth of cashless payments, and achieving other strategic goals of our company," he added.

The volume of non-cash payments in Azerbaijan amounted to 58.56 billion manat ($34.45 billion) in 2022, which is 21.1 billion manat ($12.4 billion) or 56.26 percent more than in 2021. A total of 562.1 million transactions worth 54.2 billion manat ($31.8 billion) were carried out through debit cards (an increase of 54.9 percent), and 80.8 million transactions worth 4.3 billion manat ($2.5 billion) through credit cards (an increase of 78.3 percent).

The number of payment cards in circulation equaled 13.2 million as of January 1, 2023, which is 20.1 percent more than in 2021. The growth of debit cards was 18.7 percent, and that of credit cards - 29.4 percent.
An influential Russian military blogger who called for an escalation of the war in Ukraine was killed when a bomb exploded in a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, in what appeared to be one of the most high-profile attacks on a supporter of Moscows invasion.

The blogger, Maksim Fomin, who was more popularly known as Vladlen Tatarsky, was giving a public talk in the center of Russias second-largest city when the explosion ripped through Street Food Bar #1 Cafe, the Russian Interior Ministry and investigative authorities said.

Videos posted on social media showed Mr. Tatarsky receiving a small statue in his likeness onstage shortly before the explosion. An independent local news outlet, Fontanka, cited a witness as saying the blogger had received the statue as a gift from a woman who introduced herself as a sculptor called Nastya.

Another witness said Mr. Tatarsky had asked the woman to bring the statue to him, after she said she had been told she could not take it inside because of bombing fears, according to the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda. About 100 people had gathered at the cafe to listen to him speak about his experience as a military blogger, Fontanka said.
LONDON  Whether foreign leaders view the potential return of Donald J. Trump to the White House with hope or horror, the prospect of a Trump restoration is so deeply ingrained overseas that leaders in several countries have hedged their bets in diplomacy, security and even where they invest their fortunes.

There were few signs that Mr. Trumps indictment last week on criminal charges in New York has changed those calculations.

Foreign leaders have watched him bounce back from so many disasters, according to diplomats and foreign policy experts, that they now regard his political resilience with something approaching fatalism. This is especially true in Europe, whose leaders spent four years enduring Mr. Trumps hectoring on a host of issues, including military spending and climate change.

Even if Mr. Trumps legal woes end his political viability in a way that two impeachments and an election defeat to Joseph R. Biden Jr. did not, many worry that he will be replaced by any number of Trump-like alternatives, of whom the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is the most prominent example.
Russian shelling blasted apartment blocks, homes and a preschool in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, killing six civilians, even as evidence mounted that Moscow has failed to make much progress in its campaign to seize the whole of the region.

For months, the fighting in the Donbas, an industrial and agricultural region close to the Russian border, has been the scene of grinding battles that have sapped the strength of both armies.

But while Russia has struggled to gain territory against Ukraines military, it has regularly launched attacks on civilians. The latest such attack involved the shelling of a town around 15 miles west of the frontline, Kostyantynivka, that killed three men and three women and wounded 11 others, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

The attack damaged numerous apartment buildings, spraying wet earth and shrapnel. Soldiers helped civilians clear away rubble and cover broken windows with plywood. Workers found the body of one of the victims, an elderly man, next to a huge crater in his vegetable garden.
JERUSALEM  The Israeli government agreed in principle on Sunday to establish a national guard, handing a political victory to the far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had long demanded the militia as a condition for supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The form and leadership of the national guard were yet to be determined and will take months to be fleshed out by a committee of government officials, who will then present their proposal for the cabinets approval.

Regardless of the form the guard ultimately takes, the governments decision on Sunday reflected the influence that figures like Mr. Ben-Gvir, a once-marginal activist, wield within the most right-wing government in Israeli history. It also amplified questions, dismissed by Mr. Netanyahu, about the control he exerts over his government.

Mr. Ben-Gvir had demanded that the government move forward with the national guard as a quid pro quo for supporting Mr. Netanyahus decision last week to suspend a judicial overhaul which set off months of protest.
For much of the past decade, Saudi Arabia sent billions of dollars in aid to Egypt, bolstering a poorer regional ally seen as too strategically important to neglect.

But recently, there has been a noticeable shift. Even as Egypt slides deeper and deeper into economic crisis, Saudi officials have sent a stern message: No more blank checks.

Flush with an influx of oil revenue, the Gulf kingdoms 37-year-old leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is increasingly attaching conditions to such aid  insisting on economic overhauls like cutting subsidies and privatizing state-owned companies.

It used to be Egypt is too big to fail, said Karen Young, a senior research scholar at Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy. Now the attitude is Egypt is responsible for its own mistakes.
This blissfully simple recipe, which Melissa Clark adapted from Marcy Goldmans cookbook A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, is a kosher for Passover version of saltine toffee. Just heat butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in a saucepan, pour over matzo, then bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped chocolate, then let sit for a few minutes before spreading the chocolate with an offset spatula. Top with flaky sea salt, crushed potato chips, or chopped dried fruit or nuts.

Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Matzo Toffee
More than 100 scientific studies, spanning continents and decades, have examined the effectiveness and safety of mifepristone and misoprostol, the abortion pills that are commonly used in the United States. All conclude that the pills are a safe method for terminating a pregnancy.

Small icons of scientific papers are lined up in a grid, each representing a study of medication abortion. Studies of abortion pills Each icon represents one study that reported serious complications after medication abortion. The icons rearrange and organize into groups labeled by the number of patients in each study. Most had a sample size of 1,000 patients or fewer, and five had a sample size of more than 10,000 patients. In consultation with medical researchers, The New York Times reviewed these 101 studies, which together covered more than 124,000 abortions in the first trimester. The icons rearrange into groups labeled by region. Most studies took place in North America and South America, and in Asia. The studies varied in sample size, up to as many as 19,000 patients. The icons rearrange into groups labeled by decades. Most took place in the 2000s, followed by the 2010s. The research spanned continents, with studies taking place in 26 countries. And it was conducted over more than 30 years.

A vast majority of the studies report that more than 99 percent of patients who took the pills had no serious complications. These uncommon complications can include hospitalization, blood transfusions or major surgeries.

Safety of abortion pills Share of patients in each study who did not experience serious complications A histogram showing that a majority of studies in the Times review found that most patients had no serious complications. 50 studies 40 In 86 of 101 studies, almost no patients had serious complications. 30 20 10 Less safe Safer 0 20 40 60 80 100% 10 studies 20 30 40 50 100% safe In 86 of 101 studies, almost no patients had serious complications. 80 Safer 60 40 Less safe 20 0

Abortion providers often say that the pills are safer than many common drugs, such as Tylenol and Viagra. Drug safety experts do not typically compare drugs in this way, and they instead assess the safety of a given medication against other choices.

For pregnant women considering medication abortion, the alternatives would be childbirth or procedural abortion.

Serious complication rates Option Complication rate Procedural abortion 0.16% of patients Medication abortion 0.31% Childbirth 1.4% Sources: Ushma Upadhyay, University of California, San Francisco ( 2015 study ); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( 201 4 study

There may be a political fight here, but theres not a lot of scientific ambiguity about the safety and effectiveness of this product, said Dr. Caleb Alexander, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a co-director of the Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness.

Despite the extensive scientific record on the safety of the two abortion pills, anti-abortion groups in the United States have asked a federal judge to block the drugs from being used to terminate pregnancies, arguing that they are dangerous. On Friday, the judge issued a preliminary ruling in the case, signaling he intends to invalidate the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations approval of mifepristone.

If upheld by higher courts, a ruling in the plaintiffs favor could upend abortion across the country, where more than half of abortions are done with medication. The drugs are typically used through the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The use of these two chemical abortion drugs causes significant injuries and harms to pregnant women and girls, the anti-abortion groups state in their complaint.

As evidence of this harm, the plaintiffs cite a handful of studies, none of which contradict the body of research in the Times review. Instead, the cited studies point to patient experiences that are common and expected, such as bleeding and pain, or experiences that are not a clear measure of serious complications, such as visits to the emergency room after taking the pills.

Almost all patients will experience bleeding and pain during a medication abortion, because the pills essentially trigger a miscarriage.

Side effects and complications related to abortion pills Mild Typically resolves without medical intervention. Nausea

Diarrhea

Vomitting

Headache

Dizziness

Fever, warmth or chills Moderate Typically involves medical intervention, at patients request or by necessity. Procedure needed after incomplete abortion

Uterine infection needing antibiotics

Emergency room visit Serious Might cause permanent damage to health without medical intervention. Hospitalization for serious complication

Blood transfusion

Infection requiring hospitalization

Death

Its not a pleasant experience. The bleeding does naturally make people worry whether it is a normal amount or if the pregnancy tissue has passed, said Ushma Upadhyay, a professor of reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.

Some patients who become concerned about the amount of bleeding or other side effects will go to the emergency room after taking the pills, but Dr. Upadhyays research shows that most do not face serious complications.

And while the pills are about 95 percent effective, about 3 to 5 percent of patients need an additional procedure to remove remaining tissue or terminate the pregnancy. Providers say these are not typically dangerous situations.

These are no more risky than if you had a surgical procedure from the beginning, said Dr. Adam R. Jacobs, the medical director of complex family planning at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Still very safe, with a low risk for complications.

In the lawsuit against the F.D.A. that seeks to block the use of the pills, the plaintiffs relied on five studies to argue that the pills cause harm: three from researchers in Finland and two from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Research on medication abortion

cited in F.D.A. lawsuit A diagram compares research papers cited by the F.D.A. with papers cited by the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging medication abortion. Concluded medication abortion is safe Did not measure safety Cited by the plaintiffs Cited in the F.D.A. defense Concluded medication abortion is safe Did not measure safety Cited in the F.D.A. defense Cited by the plaintiffs Note: Studies that did not measure safety are those that did not report serious complications.

Only one of the studies cited by the plaintiffs reports on serious complications of the abortion pill regimen within the 12-week window typically used in the United States. (Two others looked at safety further along in pregnancy.)

That study reviewed records for more than 40,000 medication abortions conducted in Finland in the early 2000s. It reported that 20 percent of patients followed up with a clinician, most often for bleeding and less commonly for a procedure to evacuate the uterus and complete the abortion.

The plaintiffs and other anti-abortion groups say the 20 percent figure from this single study suggests that patients have a high risk of complications after taking the pills. But the study itself notes that bleeding is expected, serious complications are rare and medication abortion is safe.

A layout of eight scientific studies on medication abortion. Some of the 101 studies in the Times review, all finding that medication abortions are safe and effective.

Dr. Oskari Heikinheimo, an author of the Finland study and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Helsinki, said in an interview that anti-abortion groups are misinterpreting the data.

The correct scientific way would be to look at the whole body of evidence, Dr. Heikinheimo said. If you just pick the results that you personally like, then thats pure nonsense.

In response, Dr. Donna Harrison, the chair of the board of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that other researchers are calling moderate what she thinks are serious complications.

I agree with him that you cant pick and choose the results that you want, she said. You have to look at what this means for women.

One of the most important measures of safety for any medication is the risk of death. Across the 101 studies and 124,000 medication abortions covered in the Times review, researchers reported one death from infection related to the abortion, and one death from unrelated causes.

The F.D.A. reported that during the period since it approved the regimen in 2000 through June last year, approximately 5.6 million women in the United States took the pills and 28 have died, or 0.0005 percent. The agency reported that some of those deaths may have been because of other causes.
A MAN who left the scene of an accident was fined and disqualified from driving at last week's sitting of Tullamore District Court.

Ronnie Delaney, 20, Clonin, Rhode, had been driving on the wrong side of the road and was involved in a head-on collision at Tubberdaly, Rhode, on May 22, 2022.

Mr Delaney left the scene and Gardai found him down the road. There was a strong smell of alcohol from him and a breath test revealed 99 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

Mr Delaney had no previous convictions.

Solicitor Donal Farrelly said the defendant was a 66 year old man with a wife and two grown up daughters. He also has two grandsons.

He said the reason he left the scene was that the injured party had told him to get away from the car.

He has completed a CADS (community alcohol and drugs service) programme and is attending AA meetings. A close friend of his had died and it had a negative effect on him. He is now eight months and 23 days alcohol free. I would ask you to be lenient, said Mr Farrelly.

Judge Andrew Cody said it was lucky no one was killed in what was a head on collision with someone well over the limit.

He fined Mr Delaney 1,500 and disqualified him from driving for three years. In addition he fined him 300 in connection with the hit and run offence.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. The delegation for relations with Central Asia, numbering five members and chaired by MEP Fulvio Martusciello (European People's Party, Italy), will visit Uzbekistan on April 35, 2023, Trend reports.

The mission takes place at a very critical moment for the entire region and for the bilateral relations between the EU and Tashkent, due to the forthcoming constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan and the conclusion of the enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement.

Jointly with the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan (Parliemant), the delegation will hold in Tashkent the 16th EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and have meetings with several Uzbek officials. Moreover, the EP Delegation will visit Nukus and Muynak in order to assess the current situation in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, also following the protests in July 2022 and as regards the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea due to desiccation.

The EP delegation will also deliver a message to support democratic reforms and the promotion of rule of law, human rights and transparency.
2 dead, 38 injured after bus falls into gorge on Mussoorie-Dehradun road

India

oi-Prakash KL

A woman and her daughter died and at least 38 were injured including the bus driver when a bus fell into a ditch on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road on Sunday.

The bus was carrying 40 passengers (16 women, 19 men and five children) in the bus at the time of the accident, Mussoorie police station SHO DS Kohli told PTI.

The accident occurred on a turning near the ITBP camp when the driver lost control of the vehicle, plunging the bus into a 70-metre-deep gorge, he stated.

"With the help of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), all the injured have been rescued and admitted to the hospital for treatment," Mussoorie police told the ANI.

Reports claim that the bus driver lost control and the bus fell into the gorge. The accident occurred on a turning near the ITBP camp when the driver lost control of the vehicle, plunging the bus into a 70-metre-deep gorge, Kohli stated.

Uttarakhand | Many feared injured after a roadways bus lost control and fell off the gorge on Mussoorie-Dehradun route. Rescue operation underway. Police, fire service team & ambulance on the spot.



More Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/LZWvg3riML  ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 2, 2023

The police department, ambulance and fire service team were alerted and the rescue operation was launched.

A video clip of the rescue operation has been posted by news agency on Twitter.

The cop said that rash driving apparently led to the accident as the driver could not control the vehicle while negotiating the turn.

Uttarakhand | ITBP Himveers rescued injured passengers from a gorge on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway after a state transport bus rolled down 150 feet after losing control near the JP bend. All the rescued were shifted to hospitals.@ITBP_official pic.twitter.com/O81GOFn1Q4  Prasar Bharati News Services & Digital Platform (@PBNS_India) April 2, 2023

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident and asked officials to make all arrangements for the treatment of the injured.
Amit Shah in Bihar today: BJP, JD(U) trade charges over cancellation of Sasaram visit

India

oi-Deepika S

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in Bihar, again for the fourth time since the JD(U) broke its ruling ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State in August 2022 will inaugurate various programmes for the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in Patna.

He is expected to chair meetings with party leaders and administrative officials. A multi-tier security arrangement has been put in place for the Union home minister's visit and drones have also been deployed for aerial surveillance, an official said.

Notably, Shah's visit to Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas has been called off due to the imposition of section 144 following clashes in the district.

This ensured trading of charges between the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) over communal disturbances which caused him to cancel one of the programmes scheduled on April 2.

Widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, Shah was also scheduled to take part in a function in Sasaram town of Rohtas district, which has been put off in view of communal violence that began Thursday evening during Ram Navami festivities and continued till Friday.

The Sasaram event was touted as a celebration of the birth anniversary of Asoka the Great, the Mauryan Emperor, who has acquired the status of an OBC icon in Bihar, which has been the veritable laboratory of Mandal politics.

BJP leaders were quick to allege that Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in Sasaram "deliberately" with the intent to impede Shah's function, a charge rejected by the Nitish Kumar government.

Rohtas District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar issued a video statement saying: "Section 144 was never imposed. No such order was passed by myself or the Sub Divisional Magistrate concerned. Order was completely restored in Sasaram by Friday evening. We did resort to restrictions like suspending internet services for a day".

Nonetheless, the state BJP shared video clips on its social media accounts wherein police personnel could be seen advising common people to stay indoors with the announcement "Section 144 has been imposed".

The DM said, "We have issued show cause notices to such police personnel. They have said that they relayed the message as a tactic to get some handle over the situation".

The BJP, however, was certainly not impressed with the comedy of errors and the chief minister's insinuation - "instructions are in place to track down those who indulged in mischief to cause the disturbances which were unusual and unnatural" - added insult to injury.

The saffron party gave vent to its outrage by going to the Raj Bhavan where a memorandum was submitted to Governor Rajendra Arlekar.

Signed by close to 30 senior leaders, including state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary and Leader of the Opposition in assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha, the memorandum squarely blamed the cancellation of Shah's programme on "extreme incompetence and failure of the administration".

Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, who was a BJP ally till less than a year ago, however, was of the view: "I failed to understand why he was coming in the first place. And I fail to understand why he is not going (to Sasaram)".

With the NDA in tatters, the BJP faces an uphill task in the Lok Sabha polls next year though it has swept Bihar in the last three general elections, including the one in 2009, when the coalition had put up a dismal performance nationally.

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Story first published: Sunday, April 2, 2023, 8:31 [IST]
Karnataka polls: This is how Cong has outlined its caste equations

Anti-toll gate panel asks voters to defeat BJP in Karnataka assembly poll

India

pti-PTI

The anti-toll gate action committee, which spearheaded the successful agitation against the toll gate at Surathkal here has asked voters in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi to defeat the BJP in the ensuing assembly elections for imposing hefty hike in toll charges on highways.

In a statement here, the committee convenor Muneer Katipalla strongly criticised the union governments decision to increase highway toll charges by 25 per cent with effect from April 1.

Katipalla said the hike in toll charges has burdened the people who are already affected by price rise and increased cost of living. Toll charges have now been increased at the four toll plazas in DK and Udupi districts, he said.

The common people should show their political will to teach the BJP a lesson in the coming elections and force all political parties not to act to benefit of corporates, he said.

While DK has two toll gates at Talapady on the National Highway border with Kerala and Brahmarakootlu on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru NH 75. Udupi has two toll plazas at Hejmady and Sasthana, both on NH 66.
Suspense over as Mukul Roy says, I want to be in BJP

Bengal violence: Section 144 imposed, internet suspended in Hooghly

India

oi-Prakash KL

The West Bengal government has imposed prohibitory orders and suspended the internet after fresh clashes broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Hooghly district on Sunday evening.

Two Ram Navami processions were organised in the Rishra police station area, and the second one was attacked near Wellington Jute Mill More at GT Road around 6.15 pm, the cops said.

BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh said that stones were hurled at them when people were walking peacefully to the Jagannath temple. Pursurah BJP MLA Biman Ghosh was injured in the violence, he said.

"Medinipur MP Dilip Ghosh and Pursurah MLA Biman Ghosh were present in the procession that was attacked. It was going through the traditional route when a group started throwing stones at it. We took immediate steps to address the situation," a senior officer of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate was quoted as saying.

A few police personnel were injured in the violence. However, no arrests have been made yet. Quick action was taken by the police and the situation is now under control, she said.

A heavy police deployment has been made in the area to prevent any further flare-up, the officer said.

"Police are doing route march, and prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144 have been imposed in Rishra wards 1-5 and Serampore's ward 24. Internet services will remain suspended in parts of Rishra and Serampore till 10 pm on Monday," she said.

Governor's Reaction

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Sunday slammed the fresh violence that erupted during the BJP's Shoba Yatra in Hoogly district, saying rioters will soon realise that "they're playing with fire."

"Hooligans and thugs will be crushed with an iron hand. They will be made to curse the day they were born. Democracy can't be derailed. The state is determined to put an end to this arson and looting. Lawbreakers will soon realise that they're playing with fire," ANI quoted West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in a tweet.

He said that the "culprits" will be arrested "tonight itself."

"Reinforcement rushed to the spot, and culprits will be booked tonight itself and put behind the bars. We're determined. This kind of hooliganism thwarts democratic processes," he added.

State Government's Response

State Industry Minister Shashi Panja condemned the incident and alleged the BJP was indulging in the destruction of peace and tranquility of the state.

"BJP is known for vandalism of public property, and triggering communal riots all over the country," she alleged. Panja said the rally, which was attacked, was being led by Dilip Ghosh, "who is known for his provocative statements".

#WATCH| West Bengal: Arson & violence erupt in Hooghly during Ram Navami Shobhayatra at Rishra pic.twitter.com/JsxXOEAolH  ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

The state government will firmly deal with the situation and take necessary action to punish the perpetrators, she said. TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar questioned what was the need to organise the procession two days after Ram Navami.

"Why are they so bent on taking out Ram Navami processions during the holy month of Ramzan? Why was the Ram Navami rally taken out two days later? The BJP wants to engineer riots in Bengal to create instability for political gains," he told PTI.

West Bengal BJP writes to Shah over Ram Navami violence

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over violence in the state during Ram Navami celebrations.

#WATCH | West Bengal: Ruckus and stone pelting erupt during the BJP Shobha yatra in Hooghly pic.twitter.com/fbRdsGRkNT  ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

This is Majumdar's second letter to Shah regarding the violence in Bengal in less than a week.

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over violence in the state during Ram Navami celebrations.

This is Majumdar's second letter to Shah regarding the violence in Bengal in less than a week.

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.

However, a fresh stone pelting incident was reported on Friday. 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.

A total of 38 people were arrested in connection with Howrah violence during a Ram Navami procession, Police said on Saturday.

With inputs from agencies
Cong's second list of candidates after April 4 meeting, says Siddaramaiah

India

pti-PTI

Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Sunday said the second list of candidates for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls is likely to be announced after the crucial party meet on April 4.

Reiterating that the party high command has to take a call regarding his contesting from the second constituency of Kolar, the former Chief Minister said, it may be decided at the party's Central Election Committee meeting on April 4.

"Day-after-tomorrow there is a Central Election Committee meeting, after the meeting the second list will be released," Siddaramaiah said.

Responding to a reporter's question about him contesting from Kolar too, he said, "it has to be decided by the high command, they will decide day-after-tomorrow."

Congress had already announced its first list of 124 candidates on March 25, and is yet to announce the candidates for 100 more segments.

The party has fielded Siddaramaiah from his home turf of Varuna in Mysuru district in the first list, following which the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly has expressed his intention to contest from the second seat of Kolar too, subject to approval of the high command.

According to reports, the Karnataka unit of the Congress has finalised single names for 52 Assembly constituencies in the second list, and the Central Election Committee headed by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to take a final call.

Noting that a candidate emerging victorious or losing is in the hands of the voters, the Congress Legislature Party leader, confident of his victory in Varuna said, irrespective of who the opponent candidate is, "I will not go to the constituency for campaigning other than for filing the nomination."

He said his son and the sitting Congress MLA from Varuna Yathindra Siddaramaiah will take care of his campaigning in the constituency, while he will be touring the state campaigning for the party.

There were speculations that state BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa's younger son B Y Vijayendra is likely to take on Siddaramaiah from Varuna,

However, the veteran BJP leader had on Friday said that his son will not contest from Varuna, and will contest from Shikaripur, the seat he is vacating due to age, following party's approval.
Airlines to share travelers' data with Customs to stop offenders from 'fleeing'

At Rs 678 crore, UPI transactions up over 3% in September

Female students in IITs increased from 8% in 2016 to 20% in 2021

From Byjus to Netflix: Data of 66.9 crore Indians compromised

India

oi-Deepika S

The Cyberabad Police arrested a person who was allegedly involved in stealing, holding and selling of personal and confidential data of 66.9 crore individuals and organisations belonging to 24 states and eight metropolitan cities.

A press release from the police said the accused, Vinay Bhardwaj, was found possessing data of students of edu-tech organisations and also holds consumer/ customer data of major organisations like GST, Road transport organisations of various states, major eco-mmerce portals, social media platforms and fintech companies.

"The accused who was arrested on Friday was found selling personal and confidential data of about 66.9 crore individuals and organisations maintained in 104 categories," it said.

#CyberabadPolice busted a data theft gang who has been involved in the theft, procurement, holding, and selling of personal and confidential data of 66.9 crore individuals and organizations across 24 states and 8 metropolitan cities. pic.twitter.com/Y6bdOfbGUF  Cyberabad Police (@cyberabadpolice) April 1, 2023

Some of the important data held by the accused includes the data of defence personnel, government employees, PAN card holders, data of 9th, 10th, 11 & 12th standard students, senior citizens, Delhi electricity consumers, D-MAT account holders, mobile numbers of various individuals, NEET students, high net worth individuals, insurance holders, credit card and debit card holders among others, the release said.

The accused was operating through a website "InspireWebz" at Faridabad, Haryana and selling database to the clients through cloud drive links.

The police seized two mobile phones and two laptops and data of 135 categories containing sensitive information of government, private organisations and individuals, it added.

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Story first published: Sunday, April 2, 2023, 12:29 [IST]
Give full majority to PM Modi in 2024, rioters will be hung upside down: Shah in Bihar

India

oi-Prakash KL

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday urged the Bihar voters to elect the BJP government under the leadership of Narendra Modi to hang down the rioters.

His statement comes when a few places in Bihar witnessed communal violence. "The rioters have had a free run in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Give full majority to PM Modi in 2024 elections and elect a BJP government in 2025 state elections. Rioters will be hung upside down," ANI quoted Shah as saying at a public rally in Nawada.

Clashes were reported on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit. However, his visit to Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas district was cancelled in view of the imposition of Section 144 following the communal violence.

The Union Home Minister also spoke to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation in Bihar on Sunday. "The home minister spoke to the Bihar governor and took stock of the situation. The home minister expressed his concern over the violence in the state," PTI reported quoting sources.

The Governor is believed to have apprised Shah about the prevailing situation in the state.

"I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situations people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit," Shah said.

"I pray to god that peace is restored at the earliest in the state. There's no point in speaking with the state government here, when I called the Governor then Lalan Singh (JDU president) got offended," he added.

He then claimed that people of Bihar have decided to bloom lotus in all 40 seats in Lok Sabha and the "Mahagathbandhan" government in the Bihar Assembly elections will be uprooted.

Shah further stated that the doors of the BJP have been closed for Nitish Kumar's JDU."If someone has any doubt that BJP will take JDU back into NDA after election results, then I want to make it clear that BJP's doors are shut for them (JDU) forever," Shah said.

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Story first published: Sunday, April 2, 2023, 22:46 [IST]
'If I am a thief, then no one...': Kejriwal after CBI summons him in excise policy

Have tea and lunch with me at my house: Kejriwal responds to Himanta Sarma's warning

India

oi-Prakash KL

Days after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threatened his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal with a defamation case, the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday invited the former to his house in the national capital to have lunch and tea.

The AAP chief and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann arrived at Guwahati on Sunday. The two leaders are scheduled to address a rally in Guwahati.

Sarma had on Friday warned the Delhi CM that he would file a defamation case against Kejriwal if the Aam Aadmi Party leader makes allegations of corruption cases against him outside the assembly. "Is there any FIR or case against me anywhere in the country? I wanted to sue him but like a coward, he spoke inside the assembly," the Assam CM said.

"Let Kejriwal come here on April 2 and say that I am corrupt. The next day, I will file a defamation case against him as I have done against (AAP leader) Manish Sisodia," Sarma had said.

Kejriwal said such threats by Himanta Sarma are unbecoming of a chief minister and the people of Assam do not threaten their guests.

Kejriwal had reportedly said in the Delhi Assembly that there are cases against Sarma. "People of Assam are very good. They welcome their guests. Himanta Biswa Sarma should learn from them," the Delhi CM said immediately after landing at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here, reacting to Sarma's remarks.

"I invite him (Sarma) to come to Delhi, and have tea and lunch with me at my house. I will also show him around the city. "He had threatened to put me in jail, said he won't let me return. Such threats are unbecoming of a chief minister," Kejriwal said.

The chief ministers of Assam and Delhi have often sparred on Twitter over issues related to education and health.

With inputs from PTI
If you torture Sikh, you will be held accountable: Pro-Khalistan leader threatens Assam CM Sarma

India

oi-Prakash KL

A pro-Khalistan leader has allegedly warned Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma not to torture Sikhs in an alleged audio clip.

The man, in the audio clip, claimed that his name is Gurpatwan Singh Pannu and he is from the banned outfit Sikh for Justice (SFJ). The leader has asked Sarma not to get involved in the battle "between Khalistan Sikhs and Indian regime."

"This message is for Assam CM Himanta Sarma. Your government is harassing and torturing pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Assam. And also torturing those who are in jail. Listen carefully CM Sarma, the fight is between pro-Khalistan Sikhs and the Indian regime. Sarma you do not fall pray to this violence. We are seeking the liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation through a peaceful democratic process of the Khalistan referendum. Sarma, if your government is going to torture and harass Sikhs, you will be held accountable," ANI quoted the pro-Khalistan leader as saying.

However, the Assam Police is verifying the audio clip with the central agencies about its authenticity, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Special Branch Hiren Nath told the news agency. "But we have alerted all districts Superintendents of Police and Commissioner of Police, Guwahati. We are now verifying this," Hiren Nath said.

In February, radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, clashing with police for the release of one of Amritpal's aide. An FIR dated February 24 stands registered against followers of 'Waris Punjab De', an organisation headed by Amritpal, for the attack on Ajnala Police Station, police had said.

Amritpal Singh has remained untraceable since a police crackdown against him and members of his 'Waris Punjab De' began in Punjab on March 18. In a video surfaced recently, the radical preacher claimed that he was not fugitive and will soon "appear in front of the world".

Some of his aides were moved to Dibrugarh in Assam. "When one time there were arrests in Assam, we had flown some accused to Bihar's Bhagalpur jail due to security reasons. Punjab police might have thought its better for the suspects to be in Assam. This is a police-to-police co-operation," Sarma had told news agency ANI.
Won't allow our national flag to be put down, EAM warns Khalistanis

India

oi-Prakash KL

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that India will not accept its national flag being pulled down by Khalistani elements.

"The days when India would have taken this lightly are behind us and this is not the India which will accept its national flag being pulled down by somebody," Jaishankar said. "It is a message not only to those so-called Khalistanis but also to the British, saying this is my flag and I will make it even bigger if somebody tries to disrespect it," ANI quoted the External Affairs Minister as saying during an interaction with intellectuals in Dharwad in Karnataka where the assembly elections will be held on May 10.

He attended programme was organised by the BJP Mahanagar unit at Dharwad.

Responding to a question on separatist Khalistani movements in different parts of the world, and on the measures India will take, Jaishankar said, "We have seen in the last few days some such incidents in London, Canada, Australia, San Francisco. There is a very small minority, with different interests, some interests are of neighbours, some interests are of people who try to use it for visas and for personal interest." "They try to project this for their advantage and there are others who do not frankly wish India well," he added.

Jaishankar also said, "The point here is that when we established embassies abroad when our diplomats are performing their task, we are very clear that it is the obligation of the country where these embassies are, where these diplomats are to provide security. After all, we provide security for so many foreign embassies." "If they do not provide security, if they do not take this seriously if there are such incidents, then we will give reactions from India," he warned the Khalistanis.

After the Punjab Police launched a manhunt for Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh on March 18, an Indian flag outside Indian High Commission in London in the UK was tried to pulled down by a group of pro-Khalistan supporters and even the embassy was vandalised.

Talking about the incident, Jaishankar said, "The first thing our High Commissioner did, he brought an even bigger flag and he put it right up there. A bigger flag was put up outside the embassy following the act."

Jaishankar also said, "In that sense, the idea that there is today a different India, an India which is very responsible and very firm."

Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh has remained untraceable. In a video that surfaced recently, the radical preacher claimed that he was not a fugitive and will soon "appear in front of the world".
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Faisal Bin Farhan will meet in the coming days, the two top diplomats announced after a phone call on Sunday, Trend reports citing IRNA.

Amirabdollahian in his telephone conversation with Faisal voiced his satisfaction with the positive trend of relations between the two countries, and emphasized the resolve of the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop and expand its neighborliness policy.

This was the third telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia after the recent agreement between the two countries' security officials in Beijing and agreement to restore bilateral diplomatic relations and reopen the two embassies and consulates of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Amirabdollahian and Faisal bin Farhan had agreed to meet each other in the month of Ramadan in the second phone call.

In a telephone conversation today, the two foreign ministers discussed the latest state of the recent agreement between the two countries and the meeting of the foreign ministers.

In the conversation, the Saudi foreign minister emphasized the need for continuous contacts and meetings between officials of the two countries and called the current process of actions taken by the two countries positive and satisfactory.

In the conversation, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia also agreed to meet each other in the coming days.

The phone call came after Iranian foreign minister said he and Saudi counterpart are going to consult and talk by phone in the next 48 hours to finalize the time and place of the meeting.
40% BJP government would get only 40 seats in Karnataka: Rahul Gandhi

Shah hits off Karnataka poll campaign from crucial Old Mysuru Region

Karnataka polls: This is how Cong has outlined its caste equations

'GST implemented only to help rich...': Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

JD(S) MLA Shivalinge Gowda resigns, likely to join Congress

India

pti-PTI

JD(S) MLA from Arsikere constituency, K M Shivalinge Gowda on Sunday resigned, ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, and is likely to join Congress.

He met Legislative Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri here and submitted his resignation letter.

Gowda, a three time MLA from Arsikere in Hassan district, has been vocal about his differences with the JD(S) leadership, and had maintained distance from the party, in recent days.

He had recently announced that his next move is towards the Congress, and is likely to be fielded by that party as its candidate from Arsikere in the upcoming polls.

Gowda is the third JD(S) MLA to quit as legislator in the last few days.

Party's Gubbi MLA S R Srinivas (Gubbi Srinivas alias Vasu) had resigned on March 27, and joined the Congress on Thursday, while MLA from Arkalgud A T Ramaswamy had quit as legislator on Friday to join BJP.
Karnataka Assembly polls: Increased vigil at inter-state border points in Dakshina Kannada

India

pti-PTI

The Dakshina Kannada (DK) district administration has heightened vigil at the border points with Kerala to prevent flow of money and freebies to Karnataka ahead of the assembly elections next month.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner M R Ravi Kumar on Sunday said 10 check posts have been set up at the inter-state border points with Kerala.

In all, 27 check points have been set up in Dakshina Kannada including inter-district and local check posts.

He said all measures are being taken to ensure effective implementation of the Model Code of Conduct with the help of police and other departments. A police team seized unaccounted cash from a Kerala-based man who was carrying the money without proper documents when his vehicle was intercepted at one such check post.

The Election Commission has appointed DK Zilla Panchayat CEO Kumar as the district nodal officer to ensure the code of conduct is being followed. Nodal officers have also been posted for each of the eight assembly constituencies in the coastal district.

The DC directed the owners of malls, halls, auditoriums and theatres not to allow conduct of programmes of political parties without prior permission from the district election office. City Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain also warned that strict legal action will be taken in cases of violations of the Model Code of Conduct.

Police confiscated Rs 7.95 lakh cash from one Suresh, a resident of neighbouring Kasaragod district in Kerala. The money was found when the police were checking vehicles at Talapady border point between Kerala and Karnataka on Saturday. The seized cash and the impounded car were handed over to the Election Commission officer for investigation.

A preliminary probe revealed that Suresh, who works as a fabricator, brought the cash to buy materials from Mangaluru. A case will be registered if the seized cash is found to have any link with the elections, police said.

In another incident, Bantwal rural police seized a lorry laden with rice without proper documents from Farangipet in the district on Friday night. The police confiscated 300 bags of rice, each weighing 50 kg, totalling 15,000 kg and worth Rs 6 lakh from the accused. In addition, the lorry was also impounded, police further said Karnataka goes to the polls on May 10 and counting will take place on May 13.
Chennai streets are flooded with happiness through this government initiative

Now, follow Thalapathy Vijay on Instagram

India

oi-Prakash KL

After staying away from Instagram for years, Thalapathy Vijay has finally made his debut on Instagram.

Yes, the Tamil actor now has his own Instagram account which will be managed by his office. Taking to social media, the actor captioned his first post, "Hello Nanbas and Nanbis."

In the photo which he shared on his Instagram account, Vijay is seen in a salt-and-pepper look, donning a black jacket over a white t-shirt. Soon after he dropped his first post, fans flooded the comment section with red hearts and fire emoticons. "Welcome thalapathy annaa," a fan commented. Another fan wrote, "Welcome to rule Instagram thalaivaa." "This is Insane..He's A Record Creator..," a user commented.

"Your looking sooooo cute  Vijay sir love you," another fan responded to his picture.

In about seven hours, he has amassed over three million followers on Instagram.

His Instagram bio reads, "Official Page handled by office of Actor Vijay." Vijay also shared a picture in his stories in which he could be seen posing in winter outfits.

Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran welcomed Thalapathy Vijay on social media and wrote on his stories, "Welcome to the Insta world brother."

On the work front, Vijay has teamed up with Lokesh Kanagaraj for his upcoming film 'Leo: Bloody Sweet'. The movie marks a reunion between Vijay and Kanagaraj after the 2021 blockbuster 'Master'.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is also part of the flick.

Sanjay Dutt and Trisha Krishnan are also a part of the film. The official release date of the film is still awaited. The announcement of Sanjay and Trisha's addition to the cast was made recently. Taking to Twitter, the makers of the film, on Wednesday shared a poster which they captioned, "We feel esteemed to welcome @duttsanjay sir to Tamil Cinema and we are happy to announce that he is a part of #Thalapathy67."

Trisha Krishnan, who had paired up with Thalapathy in films such as 'Ghilli', 'Kuruvi' and a few others, is romancing him on-screen in 'Leo: Bloody Sweet'.

It has to be noted that Vijay is also on Twitter (4.4 million followers) and Facebook (7.8 million followers).
Rahul Gandhi to challenge his conviction in Gujarat court tomorrow

India

oi-Deepika S

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi is likely to approach the High Court challenging his conviction by a Gujarat court in the 2019 criminal defamation case on Monday.

The perceived delay by the Congress in appealing in a higher court against Rahul's conviction by a Surat court has set off intense speculation about the party's plans in the matter that has become a major political issue and set off a keen confrontation between the government and the opposition.

The BJP has charged the Congress legal team of intentionally delaying the process to capitalise on the upcoming Karnataka election. However, the Congress maintains there is no deliberate delay and Rahul's legal team is exercising extreme caution and not leaving anything to chance as it prepares the appeal.

"There is absolutely no delay. The court has given 30 days' time to file an appeal," said a senior Congress leader.

The leader said the lawyers working on the appeal are being very careful since the plea to be filed in the sessions court will have ramifications in other similar cases that are going on in other parts of the country.

A trial court in Surat has convicted Gandhi in a criminal defamation case on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in jail for dubbing everyone with Modi surname a 'thug'. The two-year jail term triggered his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member from the date of the delivery of the verdict. Gandhi was granted bail to allow him to appeal to a higher court within a month.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has said that they are not in a hurry to declare a by-election in Kerala's Wayanad parliamentary constituency which fell vacant after Gandhi's disqualification as member of the Lok Sabha.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the court has given Gandhi 30 days' time to seek a judicial remedy in the matter. ''There is no hurry. We will wait to do it before exhausting that particular remedy which the trial court had accorded. We will take a call after that,'' CEC Kumar said.

The vacancy for the Wayanad parliamentary seat was notified on March 23 this year and as per law, a by-poll has to be conducted within six months. ''According to Section 151 of Representation of People Act, whenever there is a vacancy, a by-poll has to be announced within 6 months from the date of notification of vacancy. In this case, it was March 23, so we have six months,'' he explained.

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Story first published: Sunday, April 2, 2023, 10:14 [IST]
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

Ram Navami clash: Amit Shah takes stock of unrest in Bihar

India

oi-Deepika S

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed concern over incidents of communal violence in Bihar, and spoke to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation.

The Union Home Ministry has decided to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar to assist the state administration in handling the situation arising out of the violence.

The additional forces will be sent following a request of the Bihar government.

"The home minister spoke to the Bihar governor and took stock of the situation. The home minister expressed his concern over the violence in the state," PTI reported quoting sources.

The governor is believed to have apprised Shah about the prevailing situation in the state.

Communal violence rocked Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns during Ram Navami festivities.

The police till Saturday arrested 45 people in connection with the communal violence at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif.

Vehicles, houses and shops were torched and several people injured in the communal flare-ups reported in both towns.

In Sasaram, the district administration ordered imposition of prohibitory orders on Friday afternoon after re-eruption of clashes.

Home Minister Shah had cancelled his proposed Sunday tour of Sasaram where prohibitory orders are in place.

State BJP chief Samrat Choudhary blamed the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for the cancellation of the function at Sasaram, organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Emperor Asoka.

Shah will address party workers in Nawada on Sunday as per schedule.

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Story first published: Sunday, April 2, 2023, 11:00 [IST]
How does a mechanised elephant work and why does this Kerala Temple have one

Rice eating tusker's fate capture's Kerala media's attention

India

pti-PTI

Arikkomban, a bull elephant fond of eating rice, which also earned him the moniker, lazily forages in a thicket along with his herd in Chinnakanal area of this high range district.

He is oblivious to the media frenzy that has been created in the state which is divided between keeping him in captivity or relocating him deep into some other forest area.

There are differences of opinion regarding the fate of the tusker with animal lovers advocating for his relocation, while local residents are demanding that he be captured and removed from the area or kept in captivity.

Angels Nair, general secretary of NGO Animal Legal Force Integration, said, "The state government has no power to capture elephants and keep them in captivity. They also have no powers to train them into kumki elephants."

"Moreover, if they ensure a source of food for the elephant, it would not foray into the residential and inhabited areas," he told PTI.

On the other hand, protesting residents of Santhapara, Chinnakanal and neighbouring grama panchayats, bordering the famous hill station Munnar in Keralas Idukki district, are fed up with the antics of the tusker and want him removed from the area.

One such resident, a woman, said, "I live alone with my mother. One night the elephant came there and damaged our house. Several others have faced this problem. Is human life more important than the freedom of one tusker? He is a nuisance now."

Even politicians have joined the cause espoused by the local residents.

Congress MP from Idukki, Dean Kuriakose, said, "The Kerala High Court was misled by the petitioners into staying capture of the elephant. People are scared of coming out of their homes. There is no solution but to capture Arikkomban and remove him from the area."

Media attention was initially drawn to the tusker when visuals of it breaking into homes and ration shops went viral on social media.

However, it was the intervention of the Kerala High Court -- which has for now allowed Arikkomban to stroll around freely for a few more days -- that focused the media glare on the issue.

The High Court in a late night sitting on March 23 stomped the brakes on the government's move to dart and cage Arikkomban in an elephant kraal on March 26.

The stay has been extended till April 5 by when a court appointed expert committee has to decide the fate of the tusker.

Thereafter, every move, from the lazy foraging of the tusker, to the locals protesting for his capture and removal from the area and the subsequent developments in the High Court is being keenly watched and reported by the media in this southern state.

It is the lack of judicial intervention in the case of capture of two other tuskers -- PT7 and PM2 -- from Palakkad and Wayanad districts of the state, respectively, that everyone forgot about them after they were sent into captivity for being trained as 'kumki' elephants -- used to trap and capture other pachyderms.

There are news reports that one of the two tuskers, PM2, might be released into the wild by the forest department.

The development comes while there are two pleas, one of them by Nair, pending in the High Court seeking release of PM2 and PT7.

The bench's denial for any temporary capture of the tusker was interpreted by the locals of the affected areas -- around 10 panchayats in around Chinnakanal -- as an indifference towards their lives and livelihoods both of which were under threat not just by Arikkomban, but also a couple of other elephants.

Aggrieved by the court's order and angry at the animal welfare organisations whose plea was responsible for it, the locals, including even school going children, decided to protest against the same by coming on to the roads and blocking traffic and the same received and continues to receive media coverage.

One child was seen telling media how kids were scared to go to school or even buy groceries, afraid they might land before one of the tuskers who are frequently roaming through the area.

He said that he had exams, but did not go to school as he was afraid that the bus that he would take might encounter an elephant on the way.

As the protestors continued to block roads, news media actively covered the developments which also included a complaint against Vivek K Viswanathan -- the managing trustee of Walking Eye Foundation for Animal Advocacy, one of the petitioner organisations which has opposed Arikkomban's capture.

The complaint by a local Youth Congress leader, reportedly, accuses Viswanathan of making statements before the media and on social media aimed at creating social unrest and riots in the area.

Meanwhile, Nair, whose plea to get the other two tuskers released is yet to be decided, has now decided to raise the issue before the special bench when it will sit on April 5, hoping that he would also get his prayers answered.

"This issue has been placed before that bench. I will raise it on the next date of hearing," he said.
Suspense over as Mukul Roy says, I want to be in BJP

Thugs will be crushed with iron hand: Bengal Governor on Hoogly violence

India

oi-Prakash KL

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Sunday slammed the fresh violence that erupted during the BJP's Shoba Yatra in Hoogly district, saying rioters will soon realise that "they're playing with fire."

"Hooligans and thugs will be crushed with an iron hand. They will be made to curse the day they were born. Democracy can't be derailed. The state is determined to put an end to this arson and looting. Lawbreakers will soon realise that they're playing with fire," ANI quoted West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in a tweet.

He said that the "culprits" will be arrested "tonight itself."

"Reinforcement rushed to the spot, and culprits will be booked tonight itself and put behind the bars. We're determined. This kind of hooliganism thwarts democratic processes," he added.

Arson and violence erupted in the Hooghly district on Sunday evening. Dilip Ghosh, BJP National Vice President, claimed that stones were pelted on women and children during the Shobha yatra. Video clips of the procession showed the BJP workers running for safety amid stone-throwing.

On the other hand, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar wrote to Union Minister Amit Shah on Ram Navmi violence in the state and requested immediate help.

In the latest letter, he claimed that Dilip Ghosh's vehicle was torched and incidents of arson and fire happened as police stood still as mere spectators. This strengthens "our allegations that there is definite support from the ruling party TMC and section of the Administration led by Mamata Banerjee who has already issued several statements in favour of the miscreants belonging to the minority community," he stated.

He further said that one Coal trader named Raju Jha and also summoned by ED was shot dead yesterday in Shaktighar in the Vardhaman district.

"In view of the deteriorating law and order situation, we immediately seek your kind intervention as per law so that the situation does not go out of control and lives and properties of ordinary citizens are saved," he further added.

Meanwhile, the TMC accused that the violence was "pre-planned by the BJP."

"The incident that took place in Hooghly was pre-planned by BJP. These people are trying to create unrest in the name of Ram Navami. We're taking the stock of the situation. BJP is watching who can create more ruckus Dilip Ghosh or Sukanta Majumdar," ANI quoted Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson, as saying over the communal attack on the processions of Ram Navami.

West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja said that violence and arson take place whenever BJP organises any rally. "Today also the same thing happened during the BJP rally which was headed by Dilip Ghosh. This has become their tradition. This whole incident was pre-planned by Dilip Ghosh. Our party completely condemns this act of the BJP," she said.
Suspense over as Mukul Roy says, I want to be in BJP

Violence erupts again in Bengal, this time in Hooghly

India

oi-Prakash KL

Arson and violence have reportedly erupted in West Bengal again. This time, it is reported in Hooghly district, according to news agency ANI.

Dilip Ghosh, BJP National Vice President, claimed that stones were pelted on women and children during the Shobha yatra.

Slamming Mamata Banerjee's government, he said, "The state goverment is taking no action even after Howrah violence. Stones are being pelted and vehicles are being vandalised," he told the news agency.

The ANI has also shared a clip on Twitter which can be seen below:

#WATCH| West Bengal: Arson & violence erupt in Hooghly during Ram Navami Shobhayatra at Rishra pic.twitter.com/JsxXOEAolH  ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

"Police managed to chase away the trouble-makers after being silent spectators for a while," he alleged. Condemning the violence, state Industry Minister Shashi Panja alleged the BJP was indulging in the destruction of peace and tranquility of the state.

"BJP is known for vandalism of public property, and triggering communal riots all over the country," she alleged. Panja said the rally, which was attacked, was being led by Dilip Ghosh, "who is known for his provocative statements".

The state government will firmly deal with the situation and take necessary action to punish the perpetrators, she said. TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar questioned what was the need to organise the procession two days after Ram Navami.

"Why are they so bent on taking out Ram Navami processions during the holy month of Ramzan? Why was the Ram Navami rally taken out two days later? The BJP wants to engineer riots in Bengal to create instability for political gains," he told PTI.

The BJP was trying to foment trouble by taking religious processions to certain sensitive pockets, he alleged, claiming that it was creating such a situation to demand President's rule in the state.

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.

#WATCH | West Bengal: Ruckus and stone pelting erupt during the BJP Shobha yatra in Hooghly pic.twitter.com/fbRdsGRkNT  ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2023

However, a fresh stone pelting incident was reported on Friday. 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.

A total of 38 people were arrested in connection with Howrah violence during a Ram Navami procession, Police said on Saturday.

Amid the political furore, the Mamata Banerjee government on Friday handed over the probe of Howrah violence to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

With inputs from agencies
'West thinks it has God-given right to comment on internal matters of others': Jaishankar slams US, Germany

India

oi-Prakash KL

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday slammed the West for commenting about India's internal issues.

It comes days after the US and Germany commented on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as the Member of Parliament.

"The West thinks it has a God-given right to comment on internal matters of other countries," ANI quoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as saying at an event in Bengaluru.

Jaishankar said, "I will give you the truthful answer (on why we see West commenting on India). There are two reasons. It is because the West has a bad habit of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if they keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. And I see that happening," he said during a Sunday morning 'Meet and Greet' interaction organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan with over 500 young voters, joggers and visitors at Cubbon Park.

"The second part of the truth - In our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India, and (urging) America and the world (by saying), why are you standing by doing nothing? So if somebody from here goes and says why are you standing by and saying nothing, then obviously they are going to comment. Part of the problem is them, and part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing."

Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha on March 23 after his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. A day ago, the Surat court sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail in a defamation case filed on the basis of a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for the Congress leader's remark "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" while delivering a speech in 2019.

Reacting to this development, a few days ago, Germany's foreign ministry spokesperson said,"we have taken note of the verdict of first instance against 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. It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Germany expects that "standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles" will equally apply to the proceedings against Rahul Gandhi, the spokesperson added.

On its turn, a US state department official had said the United States is watching the court case of Rahul Gandhi. The official observed that the US continues to engage with India on the shared commitment towards democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression.

Love from Jaishankar, but what can US envoy expect from Amit Shah

Earlier this month, Gandhi's remarks during his recent trip to the UK had also rocked Parliament, with both Houses failing to transact any significant business in the second half of the budget session.

During his interactions in the UK, Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under attack and there is a "full-scale assault" on the country's institutions. The former Congress president also told British parliamentarians in London that microphones are often "turned off" in the Lok Sabha when an opposition member raises important issues.

Gandhi's remarks triggered a political row, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hitting back at the ruling party by citing instances of Prime Minister Modi raising internal politics abroad.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in Gujarat's Surat city on Monday to file an appeal before a sessions court against his conviction in a criminal defamation case, his lawyer said on Sunday.

With inputs from agencies

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, April 2, 2023, 18:06 [IST]
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city's name, before changing its geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. The club plays its home games at the Chase Center.
North Korea considers military exercises of the US and South Korea provocations and warns Washington and Seoul that they are dealing with a nuclear power, KCNA said in a statement Sunday, Trend reports citing TASS.

"The US and its satellites must remember that the state they are dealing with has real nuclear strike capabilities, and our people and the army do not know empty words," the commentary says.

It also notes that "it is perfectly clear" how Pyongyangs nuclear weapons will be used if "deterrence forces have no effect" on the US and its allies.

DPRK condemned both the military exercise of the US and South Korea that took place in March and the planned exercise with Japans involvement.

The US, South Korea and Japan are expected to hold a joint military exercise with involvement of USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Sea of Japan. According to Yonhap sources, the exercise will take place next week. The exercise will take place amid intensified North Korean missile launches.
Demonstrators gathered in 40 locations across Canada on Saturday to voice their opposition to the Royal Bank of Canada's funding of fossil fuel projects.
Six Canadian children are set to leave a Syrian prison camp and fly to Canada without their mother, who cannot come with them because federal officials have not completed her security assessment, advocates for the family say.
Newsy 06 Apr 2023

ViewA U.S. review led by the National Security Council of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan largely lays..
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Kyiv plans to launch a counteroffensive against Russia this spring. A former US military meteorologist has taken to Twitter to provide valuable predictions as to when ground conditions will be right.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany has criticized an appeal by former prominent members of Germany's Social Democrats that urged a cease-fire with Russia. He reiterated Kyiv's call for total Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
Wales Online 01 Apr 2023

Presidium Network are assisting the men who are believed to have been held by secret police since January
The former Arkansas governor is one of Donald Trump's GOP rivals who did not rush to his defense after his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.


The volume of Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine is 37.6 mln cubic meters per day, a Gazprom spokesman told reporters on Sunday, Trend reports citing TASS.

"Gazprom continues to supply Russian gas for transit through Ukrainian territory via the Sudzha gas pumping station in an amount approved by Ukraine. The volume is 37.6 mln cubic meters for April 2. A request for transit via the Sokhranovka gas pumping station was rejected," he said.

On Saturday, April 1, the volume stood at 37.4 mln cubic meters.

In January, Gazproms gas exports to Europe dropped to the Soviet-era levels due to better gas prices on the spot market. However, gas exports rose again in early February, when contract rates started to catch up with spot market prices.

The transit line through Ukraine remains the only route for Russian gas supplies to western and central European countries.
The UK government is "in negotiations" over three Britons held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the home secretary has said.
Supporters of Former President Donald Trump donated more than $5 million to his cause in the 48 hours after he was indicted in New York City late Thursday.
Newsy 05 Apr 2023

ViewFormer President Donald Trump's legal team has just about four months to file any motions in his 34-felony count indictment...
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has blasted the indictment of former President Donald Trump in public speeches over the weekend without using Trump's name.
Demonstrators will gather in 40 locations across Canada to protest against the Royal Bank of Canada on Saturday for funding fossil fuel projects. The protests, part of a nation-wide effort dubbed Fossil Fools Day, will take place in cities including Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax and



#royalbankofcanada #fossilfoolsday #ottawa #winnipeg #halifax #rbc
Reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained Wednesday on espionage charges. Griner was released from a Russian prison in December and has advocated for the release of Americans detained abroad.
Oneindia 03 Apr 2023

Russian blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in an explosion in St Petersburg today. Russian officials say they have arrested a..
UBS is paying more than $3 billion for Credit Suisse. Switzerlands prosecutors are probing the government-orchestrated takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG by rival UBS Group AG. The federal prosecutor has reached out to national and local authorities and issued investigation orders to analyze



#ubs #switzerland #creditsuissegroupag #ubsgroupag
Saudi-led oil producers are to slash output by more than 1m barrels a day amid a scramble to drive up crude prices in the face of the stuttering global economy. The surprise cut by the Opec cartel of countries was expected to increase the cost of a barrel of oil by as much as $10 in trading on



#saudi #opec #saudis #vladimirputin #ukraine #danpickering #houston #ubs #amritasen #energyaspects
Egypt and Syria hold preliminary negotiations on full restoration of diplomatic relations over 10 years after they were severed, Trend reports citing TASS.

According to the report, the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Syrian President Bashar Assad may meet in April already. This may happen after the end of Ramadan, which ends on April 21 this year.

On Saturday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal visited Cairo with a working visit for the first time since 2011, when an armed conflict between the authorities in Damascus and the armed opposition broke out in Syria.

According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the sides "discussed the most important issues that pose mutual interest and are related both to bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East region." The Ministers agreed to "intensify ties between the two states on various levels."
By making false claims, the ANS endorses and covers up explosions at nuclear power plants. The editors of the ANS Nuclear News made false statements to enforce this cover up, and the President of the ANS endorsed this cover-up by quoting those false claims. This week, the ANS refused to even allow public discussion of this important nuclear safety information at the annual ANS technical conference.

A Fight With The ANS

I have been in a long-standing fight with the ANS, where I repeatedly requested that the ANS reprint any one of this series of Op Ed News articles. The ANS refused to publish any nuclear safety research findings. The editors of ANS Nuclear News made false technical claims in their responses. The ANS also claimed that my work is invalid, since there are no other publications to support my research. My response to this claim was that there are no other researchers yet, since I invented the new theory. According to their claim, new research cannot be published at all since it is not already published. Doesn't such a claim seem ridiculous?

In short, the ANS did not provide a single, technically correct, rebuttal to this new theory. The ANS just does not like the facts that the nuclear industry is operating unsafely.

I have accused, and still accuse, the nuclear industry of covering up explosions in nuclear power plants. Such explosions endanger lives and the environment. Nuclear regulators and the ANS thwart nuclear power plant explosion safety ("Nuclear Threats - Part 5 - An Incoming Nuclear Plant Explosion Disaster- Zaporizhzhia Near Missed This Next Disaster", "The U.S. NRC Still Fails to Protect Us Against Nuclear Power Plant Explosions Like Fukushima", The Ukraine Nuclear Scare - The IAEA Endangered Europe and Russia).

Explosions can be prevented, yet those who influence nuclear industry safety fail to act ("You Can Stop an Explosive Nuclear Disaster: A Message to Nuclear Power Reactor Operators").

A Continuing Fight With The ANS

The following email was sent to the American Nuclear Society (ANS).

'The American Nuclear Society Covers-up Nuclear Power Plant Explosions: The ANS refusal to publish "A Fight for Reactor Safety -- Nuclear Power Plant Explosions" furthers ANS censorship of important nuclear reactor safety explosion information. Short of making false statements, all review comments were completely addressed. I refuse to make false statements. The safety concern, or fight, is that ANS censors nuclear safety information from the public. The intent of this paper was to publicly discuss this safety concern at the ANS Annual meeting. This research works to stop small ongoing nuclear power plant explosions, and to stop the next large-scale nuclear power plant explosion. Once again, the ANS censors important nuclear safety information. A final copy of this paper [follows].'

This article capsulizes published research to date, and further discusses the ANS cover-up of nuclear power plant explosions - present and future.

A FIGHT FOR REACTOR SAFETY - NUCLEAR POWER PLANT EXPLOSIONS



ABSTRACT

Years of research are winding down, and more than 40 publications focused on the causes and effects of nuclear power plant hydrogen explosions [.leishearengineeringllc.com/publications.html]. A review of this research is presented here with the aim of reaching nuclear power plant engineers and operators. Such communications are presumed to improve future nuclear power plant safety.

There are different hydrogen explosion mechanisms that occur in nuclear reactor systems. Each hydrogen explosion type is related to the autoignition of hydrogen-oxygen mixtures.

HYDROGEN-OXYGEN AUTOIGNITION

When mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen are heated, these gases automatically detonate, or autoignite, into violent explosions (Leishear [1-3]). Nitrogen inhibits such hydrogen explosions in some cases, but nitrogen has a negligible effect as temperatures increase (Figure 1).



Fig. 2. Thermolytic generation of hydrogen and oxygen (Adapted from Ohta [4], reprinted by permission of UNESCO-Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, EOLSS).

(Image by EOLLS) Details DMCA





Fig. 3. Fukushima nuclear power plant explosions (Leishear [5]).

(Image by US government) Details DMCA



NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE EXPLOSIONS

The first explosion type to be considered is the autoignition of hydrogen and oxygen in nuclear reactor cores. Such explosions ignite when high temperatures generate hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as thermolysis. At temperatures above 2000 degrees C, water divides into oxygen plus explosive hydrogen (Fig. 2). During meltdowns such as Fukushima Daiichi (Fig. 3) or Three Mile Island, core temperatures far exceed thermolysis temperatures to create large volumes of hydrogen and oxygen. Under such conditions, a bomb is waiting to happen, and the fuse is already lit (Leishear [5]). Bang!

Hydrogen explosions in nuclear reactor cores continue to be a significant concern for nuclear reactor operations as discussed in peer reviewed research (Leishear [5]).

WATER HAMMER EXPLOSIONS

Water hammer explosions, or fluid transient explosions, detonate when flammable gases are compressed - in the presence of oxygen - to heat gases up to the autoignition temperature. Bang!

Such explosions ignite during normal operations, and also ignite during nuclear disasters, such as Fukushima Daiichi or Three Mile Island (Leishear [1,6]).

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI AND THREE MILE ISLAND

Both of these nuclear disasters detonated multiple explosions. There were one or more core explosions, one or more water hammer explosions, and subsequent building explosions, which were ignited by fluid transient temperatures and / or fluid transient explosions (Leishear [3,7]. The complexities of nuclear power plant explosion disasters are further highlighted and explained in supporting research (Leishear [5]). Using available data, the next nuclear power plant explosion is statistically predicted before 2039 (Leishear [2]). Bang!

SMALLER WATER HAMMER EXPLOSION

Water hammer explosions obliterated six-inch, Schedule 40 pipes at Brunsbuettel, Germany and Hamaoka, Japan (Fig. 4, Ansys / Fluent models of the Hamaoka explosion are planned as future research.). Many other water hammer explosions are probable in nuclear power plants (Leishear [1]). The explosions predicted prior to 2039 may have already detonated. Bang!

Fatigue cracks and corrosion are caused by small hydrogen explosions in nuclear plants (Fig. 5, Leishear [1,8,9]). The fact that such damages continue to occur unabated constitutes new information that is essential to ongoing nuclear safety and damage prevention.



Fig. 4. Brunsbuettel piping - hydrogen explosion (Leishear [1]).

(Image by German government) Details DMCA





Fig. 5. Small hydrogen explosions and water hammers induce fatigue corrosion to form piping leaks in nuclear power plants.

(Image by Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant) Details DMCA



SMALLER REACTOR CORE EXPLOSIONS

Even small test reactors can experience small explosions near the core. One such explosion is shown for a Sandia reactor in Fig. 6. Bang, once again! This conclusion is documented in peer reviewed research, where this photo is new to the peer reviewed literature (Leishear [1,10]).

STOP THE EXPLOSION BANGING

More work is needed to fully implement preventive actions to stop nuclear plant hydrogen explosions, but the basic steps have been identified (Leishear [11,12]).

Some of the statements in this paper may seem to constitute sensationalism. I strongly disagree. There are serious reactor safety concerns that are not currently being effectively addressed by the nuclear industry.

A FIGHT?

For the conclusions presented here, peer reviewed proofs are extensively presented in this body of research to date. However, changing ingrained opinions is a monumental uphill task, or battle (Leishear [13,14]).

This ongoing fight to change nuclear safety culture is a new development in the nuclear industry. As long as nuclear advocates block new technology, nuclear plant hydrogen explosion risks remain. The ongoing efforts to thwart nuclear safety constitute ongoing new information to the nuclear industry.

The fight is against the NRC, the IAEA, the ANS, and the NEA, where all of these nuclear industry advocates censor nuclear safety, hydrogen explosion research and new findings. "We have met the enemy, and they are us."

CONCLUSIONS

A concise conclusion for this paper is that the following action list can improve nuclear power plant safety.



Although the following list does not specifically come from any single peer reviewed journal, all statements are directly extracted from peer reviewed journals (Leishear [1,2,3,5]). As such, this list constitutes a new and important information addition to the engineering literature that can be directly applied to stop nuclear power plant hydrogen explosions.

"Several explosions occur as water is added to cool a partially melted, or fully melted, reactor core.

Explosive hydrogen and oxygen will form during a meltdown.

During water additions for cooling, explosions can ignite at high points in the system and at a molten reactor core.

If possible, monitor containment building hydrogen concentrations (4%-75%) in air to know if an explosion is about to ignite.

If possible, monitor reactor system hydrogen (4% - 94%), and monitor oxygen concentrations to confirm the hydrogen explosion limits, which define the range of explosion ignition concentrations inside pipes.

To minimize explosion hazards, use nitrogen, if available, to force hydrogen and oxygen from the reactor system and containment building.

While venting the reactor system and adding water, monitor temperatures, and ensure that temperatures do not go above normal operating temperatures to prevent the ignition of explosive gases.

Preferably, hydrogen should be vented first from the reactor containment building, and preferably, hydrogen from the reactor system should be vented directly to the air rather than into the building.

Otherwise, the building and reactor system should be vented together.

To cool a damaged reactor, add water to a melted reactor core at a velocity slower than 9 feet per second (~3 meters per second).

Explosive hydrogen will form during water additions, and additional venting will be required.

Even if an explosion ignites in the reactor, continue to follow these steps to stop the subsequent, larger explosions.

Unburned hydrogen from the reactor core moves to the reactor containment building to mix with air when the reactor system is damaged by initial explosions.

While adding water to cool the reactor, slowly vent unburned explosive hydrogen from the nuclear reactor, piping, reactor containment building, and any other structures that may contain hydrogen.

There will still be risks of other spark sources in such an explosive situation, but the primary explosion ignitors will be cut off if the above steps are followed.

Avoid electrical switching, shutdowns of equipment, and startups of equipment, in so far as possible, to enable venting to stop explosions.

These steps will need to be tailored to [individual] reactor systems, and additional details are available (Leishear [10,11])."

During normal operations and reactor maintenance, hydrogen and oxygen can collect at system highpoints when hydrogen is generated by radiolysis.

Radiolysis generates oxygen and hydrogen through the radioactive breakdown of water.

Monitor hydrogen and oxygen concentrations at system high points.

Vent explosive hydrogen from the system.

REFERENCES

Since this research is novel, reference proofs are contributed solely by this author. New discoveries are written and published by the inventors of new theory.

[1] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "The Autoignition of Nuclear Reactor Power Plant Explosions", 2019, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, New York, peer reviewed.

[2] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Nuclear Power Plants Are Not So Safe: Fluid Transients / Water Hammers, Autoignition, Explosions, Accident Predictions and Ethics", 2021, Science Publishing Group, peer reviewed.

[3] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Water Hammers Exploded the Nuclear Power Plants at Fukushima Daiichi", 2022, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, New York, peer reviewed.

[4] TOKIO OHTA, "Energy Carriers and Conversion Systems with Emphasis on Hydrogen", 2009, Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, Yokohama National University, Kamakura, Japan.

[5] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Explosion Differentiation Using Light Emissions: Steam, Water Hammer, Hydrogen, Piper Alpha, and Hydro-Volcanic Explosions", 2022, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, New York, peer reviewed.

[6] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Blasting into Our Lives - The Three Mile Island Explosion Cover-up: TV, Myths, and Reality", 2022, OpEd News.

[7] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "From Water Hammer to Ignition, The Spark That Ignited Three Mile Island Burst from a Safety Valve", 2014, R. A. Leishear, ASME, Mechanical Engineering Magazine, Revised, 2022, Academia.com, peer reviewed.

[8] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "One More Government Cover-up: The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Reactor System Explosions and Resultant Leak ", 2023, OpEd News.

[9] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Fluid Mechanics, Water Hammer, Dynamic Stresses, and Piping Design", 2013, ASME Press, peer reviewed, pp. 1-429.

[10] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Ringhals 4 and the Next Nuclear Power Plant Explosion Prediction", 2022, OpEd News.

[11] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Stop A Potential Radioactive Europe and Russia - A Letter To Energoatom, The Ukraine Nuclear Power Company", 2022, OpEd News.

[12] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "You Can Stop an Explosive Nuclear Disaster: A Message to Nuclear Power Reactor Operators", 2022, OpEd News.

[13] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "How Many Nuclear Power Plant Hydrogen Explosions are Enough? Penly 1 In France Is Now on The Explosions List", 2023, OpEd News.

14] ROBERT A. LEISHEAR, "Nuclear Power Plant Explosions Keep on Coming - The Monticello Nuclear Plant Joins the List of Exploding Nuclear Plants", 2023, OpEd News.

ADDENDUM

Along with a link to this article, the following email was sent to the ANS, the current ANS president, the most recent ANS President, and the Editor of ANS Nuclear News.

The ongoing ANS censorship of new nuclear power plant explosion information constitutes a disservice to the nuclear industry.



We can stop nuclear power plant explosions!

(Article changed on Apr 01, 2023 at 9:31 PM EDT)
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A letter and invitation from Susan Lee Schwartz Many of you do not know that I am an artist/photographer! If you live in the NYC Metro area, near Rockland County, you will have an opportunity to see my most beautiful images-- printed on metal -- and curated by a professional. Thus, I want to tell you a little story about the Pomona Cultural Gallery, because it is so very special.In this day when community and neighborhoods are disappearing, this venue is unique!

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Magic Elixir: No Evidence required! Privatized America, for the wealthy and by the wealthy: " magical elixirs" and charter schools, sold to the public as genuine solutions by businesses who have appointed and anointed themselves the 'experts!. for the education of children who will not be children for long. No classroom experience or evidence required to purchase the curricula and materials that ENABLE learning, and the voice of the professional silenced.

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"We take your child's privacy and the security of your child's data seriously, and deeply regret that this incident occurred."

- LAUSD



Beware falling Shoes

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As LAUSD parents attempt to recover from three days of disruptions due to Superintendent Carvalho's botched handling of labor negotiations, a new surprise showed up in some mailboxes. Despite past assurances that the District had intercepted a "one-time" attack on its computer systems during the 2022 Labor Day weekend and prevented any access to sensitive information, parents and teachers are reporting that they are now receiving "Notice of Data Breach" letters. It is not clear if the recipients are among the "approximately 2,000" current and former students the District was forced to acknowledge after an investigation by "The 74" or if this is an entirely new group of victims.

The letter that I reviewed was dated March 22, 2023, which is 200 days after the District shut down its system in an attempt to secure the data that it contained and 234 days after Russian hackers first compromised the system. The parent who received the letter was warned that "one or more files that included your child's name and medical information" was identified in a "review of the files involved". It did not say if the child's information was actually found on the Dark Web or if it was simply in a file that was known to be compromised.

While the letter included information about steps the parent could take to protect their child's credit, including requesting copies of their credit reports and placing Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes on their accounts, it did not specify any actions that the LAUSD was taking to protect the student. Most notably, there were no offers of free credit monitoring as is usually standard practice when there is a breach of computer systems.

The letter also ignored the fact that it was the child's medical information that was exposed. This violation of privacy has the potential of being traumatic to not only the student but to their parents. While this genie cannot be placed back in the bottle, an offer of counseling seems like it would have been appropriate.

Also worth noting is that the letter was "signed" with a generic "Los Angeles Unified School District," not by Superintendent Carvalho or any person that he has placed in charge. Noticeably, instead of the Superintendent's flashy new logo, it is marked with the old one. Apparently, the bad news is not conducive to Carvalho's attempts at rebranding the district in his image.

This latest round of notices only exacerbates the feeling of mistrust by the public in the management of the LAUSD. At this point, there have been enough shoe drops to supply a consortium of octopuses. With the Superintendent unwilling to provide truthful information to the victims of this computer hack, the School Board needs to take control with the following actions:

Begin an independent investigation that looks into how the District's computer systems were compromised. There was a time when the LAUSD Inspector General's office could have been delegated this task, but the previous board majority decimated this office in an attempt to prevent the investigation of charter schools that were breaking the rules.

Appoint an independent body to determine exactly what data was compromised, how much of it is unaccounted for, and ensure that all potential victims have been properly notified.

Conduct an independent audit of the funds that have been spent in the aftermath of the hack. While the Superintendent's office may have convinced the Board that he needed to be able to spend money without approval to deal with the consequences of the hack, this should not mean that he is not held accountable for ensuring that it was spent wisely.

Make credit monitoring and trauma counseling available to anyone victimized by the illegal release of information.



(Image by LAUSD) Details DMCA



Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.


Jalal al-Din Rumi%2C Showing His Love for His Young Disciple Hussam al-Din Chelebi.

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"The Breeze at Dawn" by Rumi

**

"Without humor, poetry and clarity, we might as well throw in the towel"

**

" The fact [is] that [atoms] are mostly (99%) made up of empty space. If we look closely enough, we find that the matter of the world is largely lacking in matter."

"There are spiritual lessons to be drawn from our understanding of the emptiness of atomic reality. For one thing, we all have a lot less stuff than we thought we had.

"Furthermore, if our bodies are made of atoms, and atoms are mostly empty space, then what is holding our clothes on? Not only does the emperor have not clothes, the clothes hardly have any emperor."

Wes Nisker: The Big Bang, The Buddha, and The Baby Boom

**

"Integrative and Control culture have very different ways of seeing the world. Where control culture has been obsessed with building walls, integrative culture seeks to dissolve these boundaries and see the commonality we share"

"In Control culture, the universe is split into opposites: Integrative culture sees the universe as an undivided whole. Control culture sees the world as static matter; integrative culture regards the world as energy in process. Where control culture values hierarchy and authoritarian leadership, Integrative culture values democracy and an egalitarian orientation.

"Where Control culture nurtures competition and war, Integrative culture opts for communication and cooperation.

"Women are devalued in Control culture; in integrative culture women are valued. Change is ordered from above in Control culture. Integrative culture comes down on the side of spontaneous evolution."

Philip Slater

Introduction

I wrote this series to explore and share what I could discover about our current world situation. In summarizing this series, the first question that arises goes like this:

"I am only one person. The interdependent world difficulties are vast. Can I make any difference at all?"

**

The following is what I concluded:

Our entire globe is convulsed with chaos. There is massive confusion over values, a loss of ethical certainty, and a bewildering lack of consensus about almost everything. The recent speed of social change has put an intense strain on our adaptive capacities. Incivility and chaos are erupting as the old system is breaking down and a new one has not taken hold.

Tom Yeomans has articulated the crises that are already visible:

"The litany of difficulties is now familiar, stretching from issues of resource depletion, and destruction, pollution, and species diversity loss, to exploitation and gross disparity of wealth, and political oppression, in the midst of human rights and democratic apathy.

"Accompanying these are social issues of rapidly growing authoritarianism, violence, alienation, constant war, the international weapons trade and a renewed enthusiasm for the use of nuclear weapons. Add to this drug addiction, epidemic disease, illiteracy, child neglect, overpopulation, and irrelevancy of much educational practice to life in a post-modern world.

"Meanwhile, we see meteorological positive (vicious-cycle-like) feedback loops that threaten to accelerate uncontrollably. Then natural cycles that to a great degree have sheltered us from extreme weather conditions. A perfect storm is rapidly approaching.

"Those of us who are open to absorbing at least a modicum of these realities can't help but conclude that a multitude of systems which have sustained life on earth in the past are stretched to the breaking point.

"There are many warning signs that unless we change our collective ways as a species, the future will become increasingly a nightmare of bare survival in a global landscape bereft of the plenty and beauty it provided in the past."

It appears that we are living through the beginning of a world-transforming evolutionary crisis, a planetary rite of passage.

We are faced with a stark choice - evolve or devolve. While we may be able to make a quantum leap beyond a paradigm that is debilitating, we may also resist this leap, leading to a very dark age.



.Neoliberalism Is Dying. With Dr Cornel West #093 Stay Free With Russell Brand Enjoyed this video? Join my Locals community for exclusive content at russellbrand.locals.com! With Guest Ryan Grim @ryangrim ...

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Einstein said it this way:

"Since the advent of the nuclear age, everything has changed but the way people think, thus, we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe."

**

Edgar Morin summarizes that such a [necessary] reform in thinking, implies a mental revolution "of considerably greater proportions than the Copernican revolution."

Morin reminds us that, whether we realize it or not, problems are spatially and temporally interdependent; therefore, only a complex kind of thinking - which he also describes as a nonlinear understanding of cause and effect - as well as holographic, recursive, and dialogic - "can deal with the inseparability of problems in which each depends on the other."

This "mental revolution" involves expanding our awareness - specifically becoming more aware of our thinking and of our awareness itself. Cognitive psychologists have recently discovered that the brain organizes perceptions into "schemas" - packets of information into which the mind stores data. Schemas not only determine what we will notice; they also can determine what we do not notice. This immediately leads us to the concepts of frames, frameworks or paradigms.

**

Most people seem to believe that their human nervous system provides direct access to objective reality, i.e., "to truth," but this is hardly the case. Robert Anton Wilson's similar premise is that everything we think we know about the world is in fact an interpretation: that all information is necessarily filtered through our senses, past experience, conditioning, prior beliefs, and other non-objective lenses.

Thus, each of our individual worldviews can be considered a "reality tunnel" - a term Wilson borrowed from Timothy Leary. Wilson emphasized that each person's reality tunnel is their own artistic creation, whether or not they recognize it as such. We tend to relate to the world from our reality tunnels, rather than to them. He describes a "Reality Tunnel" as a subconscious set of mental filters, such that every individual interprets the world differently.

Robert Anton Wilson quotes:

"Most animals, including most domesticated primates (humans) show truly staggering ability to 'ignore' certain kinds of information - that which does not 'fit' their imprinted/ conditioned reality-tunnel."

"If one can only see things according to one's own belief system, one is destined to become virtually deaf, dumb, and blind."

"'Every national border in Europe,' El Eswad added ironically, 'marks the place where two gangs of bandits got too exhausted to kill each other anymore and signed a treaty. Patriotism is the delusion that one of these gangs of bandits is better than all the others.'"

"Every [current] fact of science was once [d]amned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation was denounced as fraud and folly. The entire web of culture and 'progress,' everything on earth that is man-made - and not given to us by nature - is the concrete manifestation of some [human beings'] refusal to bow to Authority."

"On a planet that increasingly resembles one huge Maximum Security Prison, the only intelligent choice is to plan a [mental] jail break."

Wilson shares a humorous story:

"In the Castro section of San Francisco, a well-known homosexual area, I once saw a sign that said, HALF GAY CLEANERS - but when I looked again, it said, HALF DAY CLEANERS."

A 'Reality Tunnel' may also be described as a paradigm. Because this is a complex and new concept, it is best described through a variety of images and angles.

Paradigms

The term "paradigm" is a relatively new concept (although it is rooted in the ancient world).

A paradigm can be thought of as a filter or lens through which we view the world. Said another way, a paradigm is an internal mental phenomenon though which we structure and make sense of our lives. It is sometimes equated with the term "world-view."

In 1962 Thomas Kuhn - an historian and philosopher of science - offered an analysis of how scientific systems change (or don't). His book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , rocked the intellectual world by introducing the concept of "paradigm." Although Kuhn's focus was on the world of scientific inquiry, we have come to realize that it applies more broadly - to individuals and the world at large. In other words, the reality of paradigms applies not merely to scientists, but to all people.

Paradigms can be thought of as our assumptions about reality. Generally, they are so pervasive that they form an invisible web of beliefs about the world which we take to be reality. Paradigms function as guides that are unconscious - mental models that shape everything we think, feel and do.

To raise paradigm issues is to reflect on the ideas that map our reality: our worldview, life perspective and philosophy.

It follows that once we realize paradigms exist, it is essential that we examine them with a critical, discerning eye. We can learn to perceive the blueprints we are using to build our worlds.

In addition, we can remember that paradigms are social constructions ("world-views") which determine how we shape our culture. Individual, national, and global paradigms are permeable and often overlap.

**

Erich Fromm noted that, in the absence of instincts, humans require a picture of the world and our place in it - a frame of reference that is structured and has inner cohesion:

"Man needs a map of his natural and social world, without which he would be confused and unable to act purposefully and consistently. He would have no way of orienting himself and of finding for himself a fixed point that permits him to organize all the impressions that impinge upon him.

"His world makes sense to him, and he feels certain about his ideas through the consensus with those around him. Even if a map is wrong, it fulfills its psychological function.

**

In fact, paradigms can feel so comfortable, that scientists - and non-scientists, i.e., the rest of us - forget they exist. Our paradigms become functionally invisible. We believe that the way we see things is "just the way they are."

The reality is that many of us spend our entire lives without ever once questioning our cultural assumptions about our own place in the universe.

However, at some point, our paradigm reaches a crisis and does not solve the problems it once appeared to. Eventually, "business as usual" is superseded by radical developments. The Copernican Revolution, which discovered the shocking truth that Earth revolved around the sun, is an example.

Usually, we go merrily - and unconsciously - along, making use of our paradigms until we hit a wall. At such a moment the situation lacks all clarity; eventually we realize that we need something beyond "our father's Oldsmobile."

Often, however, the more the paradigm fails to do its job, the more those invested in the old paradigm will try to make it work - insisting that it is not obsolete. For such people - and societies - alternate solutions, those which lie outside our "tunnels," do not exist. We are too paradigm-bound to notice that we are stumbling over the limits of our own models.

Today, it appears that our paradigms - on both personal and global levels - have begun to make us sick. Although past versions were often experienced as less than life-enhancing, increasing numbers of people are now coming to realize that our assumptions and belief-systems have become abusive. The blueprint for our schools, businesses, families, religions and governments are not working. And, without an understanding of "reality tunnels," we are left wondering why.

**

" Are the veils, webs, or nets of our paradigms playing a part in our suffering? "

As long as the deep structures of our personal and societal worlds remain invisible, we will stay stuck on the surface of life.

Yet because paradigms are the source of our mental models for how we think, feel and act, paradigm changes are times of discomfort, if not outright pain.

Because we can't know exactly what is beyond the current paradigm, the situation breeds anxiety. Paradigm shifts are times of uncertainties, false starts and errors. The consequences of change are unknown and therefore frightening.

On the other hand, it behooves us to remember that paradigms are essentially chains of ideas and assumptions (although often unconscious), and that their power comes from our commitment to them (as well as the institutions we have built). As we become more aware of them, we can, over time, begin to withdraw our commitment from these dysfunctional structures.

Paradigms don't last forever. Once every corner of a given worldview has been explored, and new data accumulate that do not fit the existing model, the predominant paradigm starts to chip away at the edges. A paradigm shift occurs when the way we view reality (our "world-view") ceases to be effective and generates confusion instead of clarity. It may take hundreds of years, but eventually we embrace a new way of being. An alternative emerges that is more fitting and effective.

**

Duane Elgin asserts that each cultural level of development is itself a "perceptual paradigm" in which we experience life to the limited degree that the given paradigm allows. He posits that - as an organizing framework - the invisible "dimensional geometry" that structures physical space also structures psychological or perceptual space.

Each new dimension or context is designed to call forth new potentials from us. As we perceive the possibilities inherent in each new dimension, we begin to actualize them, such that each provides new opportunities or learning contexts for individuals and societies to fill with creative actions.

We began as hunter-gathers, then morphed into farmers, and eventually moved into the technological era, the information era, and currently, perhaps the "integral era."

Supporting Gebser's and Kuhn's work, Elgin's understanding is that each paradigm has an effective and deficient phase. It appears that we are living within the latter stage, while a fresh one is beginning to arise"

Eventually a fresh paradigm becomes stale and confining; we may feel like a chick whose survival depends on its ability to peck its way out of an egg.

According to many cutting-edge thinkers (including Ervin Laszlo, Carolyn Baker and Andrew Harvey, Joanna Macy and Duane Elgin) current world culture is faced with a great crisis. Our willingness to delve deeply and discover its roots may mean the difference between life and death. They argue - and I agree - that our loss of wisdom is leading to terrible suffering and setting us up for potentially devastating consequences in the future.

**

Domination

One of the deepest, most pernicious and pervasive underground paradigms is focused on power and control .

Due to fear of chaos -- and the unconsciousness of people Altemeyer has called "authoritarian followers" -- we, as persons and social systems, have been driven by the control paradigm for thousands of years.

One of the deepest, usually unconscious, worldviews by which we are possessed has been described by Riane Eisler as - "power-over": man over nature, men over women, and men over other men. Until we allow ourselves to become agents of transforming this worldview, progressive change will be blocked.

Award-winning teacher John Taylor Gatto writes the following about the messages schools emanate through their structure:

"I began to realize that the bells and confinement, the crazy sequences, the age-segregation, lack of privacy, and constant surveillance [not to mention the curriculum] is designed exactly as if someone had set out to prevent children from learning how to think and act, to coax them into addiction and dependent behavior."

**

Domination has been our paradigm's driving issue for thousands of years; in this worldview it is assumed that top-down control and power-over-others is necessary for social order.

Two of the most virulent roots of these ideas are 1) the Biblical notion that humans are meant to have dominion over all other living creatures and 2) (from the same source) that humans committed "original sin," have fallen, and therefore cannot be trusted to guide themselves. ( Original Blessing , Mattew Fox)

It is important to grasp that the premises underlying a dominator-based society extend to all levels of interrelationship --- from relationships involving two individuals (such as marriage) to ever-larger gatherings: the nuclear family, schools, businesses, religions, governments, and nations.

Similar ideas have been elaborated in the pioneering work being done at the Stone Center at Wellesley College. The writings of Janet Surrey, Judith Jordan, Jean Baker Miller and other feminist scholars clarify the salient differences between these two modes of being. Surrey writes:

"In the 'power-over' or 'power-for-oneself only' model there is an assumption of an active agent exerting control that [arises from] an actual or threatened use of power, strengths or expertise.

"The alternative model of interaction that we are proposing might be termed 'power-with' or 'power-together'... It suggest[s] that all participants in the relationship interact in ways that are based on connecting and enhancing everyone's personal power."

We are beginning to realize that the deeply rooted belief that women, other men, and nature must be dominated and controlled is an archaic and obsolete delusion.

History

Eisler presents a contemporary overview of archeological data gathered from excavations of Neolithic human communities (ca. 10,000 BC); in her reassessment she argues that substantial evidence now exists which suggests that in prior eras a "partnership" form of social organization was the norm. [It should be noted that many indigenous peoples have operated in the latter mode for thousands of years].

The work of Maria Gimbutas, for example, has strongly indicated that southeastern Europe held a flourishing partnership civilization from 6500 to 3500 BC. Similar to the form of Neolithic groups found in Crete, it would seem that the people of Old Europe developed complex religious, governmental, and economic systems without rigid sexual or class hierarchies. Women held high positions in the social order; between the sexes a basically egalitarian relationship prevailed - one which indicated a division of labor, but not the superiority of either sex.

Evidence of such egalitarian cultures in Crete and Catal Huyuk (in what is now Turkey) suggest active trading, but little in terms of military weaponry or fortifications.

However, in a sweeping turn of events (over several millennia), early partnership societies may have been overrun and conquered by nomadic bands, whose own mode of social organization was based on the dominator model.

Michael Sky argues that: "Raids grew into full-scale invasions"until, some four thousand years ago, the world historic defeat of partnership culture was complete."

Eisler stresses that a fundamental characteristic of the conquering civilization was that it "valued the destructive power of the blade: "

"[The invaders] characteristically acquired wealth, not by developing technologies of production, but through ever more effective technologies of destruction."

This is the age-old problem of oppression - beginning with the emergence of ancient Sumer's of the top-down approach. Philip Slater describes these forms - which have persisted into the present - as a "mega-culture" pervading the world.

Thus, as far as we know, authoritarianism began to appear as a dominant societal form in many parts of the world six to seven thousand years ago; we find the appearance of kings, social classes, slaves, standing armies, weaponry, torture and human sacrifice. It has continued to be the prevailing mega-culture around the world ever.

According to Philip Slater:

The original and principal function of authoritarianism was to manage... enslaved tribes - people who would not voluntarily participate in society and carry out its tasks... It is characterized by fixed vertical hierarchies of power--pyramid organizational structures, a rigid system of control, and an exclusive reliance on competition [and force] as a motivating tool.

Because these structures have been in place for thousands of years - at least since the first city-states - it is no surprise that as soon as we take an alternate direction, the old paradigm tends to reassert itself - like an elastic band that has snapped back.

**

At present Riane Eisler's conception of the ways we organize our thinking, and societies - which she refers to as Dominator Culture - still holds sway. The alternative she proposes - which is slowly emerging among strong regressive reactions - is "Partnership Culture."

Malidoma Patrice Some' was a West African shaman and author of The Healing Wisdom of Africa . Speaking of the wisdom of indigenous people, he has described prerequisites for the emergence of an authentic, shared sense of community:

""What is required for the maintenance and growth of community is"a village-like atmosphere that allows people to drop their masks...where no one has to hide anything. There are certain human powers that cannot be unleashed without such a supportive atmosphere, [and which enable us to] believe in our ability to unlock potentials in ourselves and others far beyond what is commonly known."

Another way to say this might be that we depend upon one another to live as freely and truly as possible. Another community member's distinctness, candidness, and heartfelt sincerity has the capacity to evoke my own ability to embody these qualities.

Some' adds:

"Individuality, not individualism, is the cornerstone of community. Individuality is synonymous with uniqueness. It means that a person and his or her unique gifts are irreplaceable."

In The Spirit of Intimacy - Ancient African Teachings on the Ways of Relationships , Malidoma's wife, Sobonfu Some', beautifully offers a sense of a partnership society:

"Community is the spirit, the guiding light of the tribe, whereby people come together in order to fulfill a specific purpose, to help others fulfill their purpose, and to take care of one another. The goal of the community is to make sure each member of the community is heard and is properly giving the gifts he has brought into this world. Without this giving, the community dies.

"When you don't have community, you are not listened to...You don't have people to affirm who you are and to support you in bringing forward your gifts...And without the unloading of our gifts we experience a blockage inside, which affects us spiritually, mentally, and physically in many different ways."

Dominator culture has led us into a cul de sac, a dead end, an impasse. We are caught in a Gordian knot of our own making. As we experience 1) personal distress, 2) the failure of social institutions, and 3) the degradation of nature - such as mass extinctions - the need to shift our belief systems is becoming more urgent every day.

[We are currently undergoing what has been called the 6th mass extinction; Serious declines in populations of species are an indicator that the ecosystem is breaking down, warning of a larger systems failure.

Currently, the species extinction rate is estimated between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than natural extinction rates""the rate of species extinctions that would occur if we humans were not around.

Unlike previous extinction events caused by natural phenomena, our current mass extinction is driven by human activity, primarily - though not limited to - the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change. Agriculture is also responsible for 90% of global deforestation and accounts for 70% of the planet's freshwater use, devastating the species that inhabit those places by significantly altering their habitats. (worldwildlife.org)]

**

Whether we will make the leap beyond dominator culture - or whether our apathy, ignorance - or those who strongly desire to dominate society will prevail - remains to be seen. If the latter occurs, it may mean the extinction or drastic reduction of humanity and the Biosphere.

Trance

It can be helpful to view paradigms from the perspective of "trance."



Child of Vision - Baby eye in Black and White IMG_1115-002

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In a very real way the control paradigm functions as a trance, that is both individual and global. Akin to propaganda and other mind control methods, it entrances us into unconsciously believing that it is the only way to experience reality. Our beliefs shape the way we create our worlds, and the repetition of daily life in the external world reinforces our assumptions.

To be effective, mind-control methods must be hidden or pass as something acceptable or "normal."

**

In Waking Up, Charles Tart - an American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his work on the nature of consciousness - introduced the phrase "consensus trance " to our lexicon. Tart likened normal waking consciousness to hypnotic trance. He discussed how each of us is from birth inducted to the trance of the society around us. A similar theme is discussed in depth by Berger and Luckmann in their book The Social Construction of Reality .

Stephen Wolinsky, drawing from more than 23 years of therapeutic practice, including Eriksonian training, more than 18 years of meditation practice and 6 years of living in a monastery in India, states, "The job of the hypnotherapist is no longer to induce trance, but rather to dehypnotize the individual out of the trance [he or she is] already experiencing."

Trance involves our minds voluntarily choosing to bypass their critical abilities and to focus selectively. The following is an extreme example of what we experience on a daily basis. There are four primary characteristics of trance.

1. Eliminating the critical faculty

In concentration camps every assumption about human dignity was violated. Prisoners were taken from their homes, stripped naked, shaved from head to toe, and showered en-mass. They were treated as if they were criminals. Having lost their autonomy, even regarding their own bodies, many went into shock and realized that their critical thinking would make no difference in prison life.

2. Selective Focus

Narrowed focus on survival: The brutality of the camps forced everyone to think only at the bare survival level. Every thought tended to focus on how to get a crumb of bread, stay warm, and avoid beatings by the guards. A tremendous amount of thought went into planning the simplest details of survival.

3. Normal Emotions Shut Down/High Suggestibility

Victor Frankl: "Disgust, horror, pity [could not be felt] anymore. Suffering, dying and the dead became such commonplace sights to him that they could not move him anymore." Apathy took over. Prisoners could not afford their normal ways of responding. For survival, they shut down responses of anger or indignation.

New responses were "suggested" by the horrific situation: the desire to save one's life; to not antagonize the guards; to submerge into the crowd. The guards got the responses they wanted: unquestioning obedience, abject submission, having no will other than what the guards demanded.

Suggestions were thus implanted that human beings had no worth, only usefulness to authority.

4. Lack of awareness of trance .

Frankl states that inmates who descended into the trance of being degraded - succumbing to despair and hopelessness - did not last long, even if they had superior physical build. They did not realize that they'd been inducted into a trance, the purpose of which was to destroy their inner lives; in this way they allowed their inner lives to die. The trance of dehumanization overcame them without their awareness. Others realized that a trance was being imposed and resisted it. They did not allow themselves to be convinced that they were subhuman.

As Frankl wrote: "There were enough examples, often of an heroic nature [that man does have a choice]"Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even under such terrible conditions""

*

Concentration camps are an extreme case of the control paradigm - naked and unrestrained. Yet our global control culture has continued to produce comparable dehumanizing trances .

Today:

- As David Korten documented in When Corporations Rule the World , corporations are creating concentration-type workplaces all over the southern hemisphere.

- Slavery, which stretched back to ancient Sumer 6.000 years ago, and was only made illegal in the United States less than 200 years ago.

- For centuries, brutal attempts have been made to suppress and convert indigenous peoples around the world. Native Americans, who lived and thrived all over America, whose population was decimated, now confined to "reservations."

[Native Americans were beset by new diseases - including weaponized diseases and biological warfare by European colonizers, wars, ethnic cleansing and enslavement. After its formation, the United States, as part of its policy of settler colonialism - continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against many Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands, and subjecting them to one-sided treaties and discriminatory government policies, later focused on forced assimilation, into the 20th century.

It is estimated that, prior to the European invasion, from 8-112 million Native Americans lived in the U.S. Today that number is approximately 5 million.]

- China's gruesome torture and incarceration of Tibetans.

* South Africa 's extraordinarily destructive policy of apartheid.

- U.S. prisons induce the trance of inmates being "subhuman criminals." When they are released - still in in a traumatized hypnotic state from pervasive rape, and the tyrannical dynamics between inmates and with the prison administration - this trance is taken back out into the community.

- As the "Adult Children" recovery literature shows, children are regularly treated as "less than." A 1995 Gallup poll indicated, 85 per cent of 1,000 parents shared that they shout or scream at their children; 25 per cent hit their children using a belt, stick, or other hard object; 47 per cent hit their children with a bare hand.

Living in our mega-culture of authoritarianism we see:

Setting aside the critical faculty:

We get the message that to survive we must obey authority. Our ability to think for ourselves is systematically undermined. Many well-known people who directly challenge these assumptions and had the potential to influence countless others have been killed: John Lennon, Martin Luther King, Bob Marley, Gandhi, Robert Kennedy.

Lennon:



IMAGINE. (Ultimate Mix, 2020) - John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band (with the Flux Fiddlers) HD JOHN LENNON. GIMME SOME TRUTH. THE ULTIMATE MIXES. The Very Best of John Lennon. 36 tracks completely remixed ...

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King:



Martin Luther King The Three Evils of Society An almost lost Dr. King speech, from the Pacifica Archives; this speech was given at the first and only National Conference for ...

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Marley:



Bob Marley - Top Ranking Bob Marley & The Wailers - Top Ranking (Demo '79) Perfect Quality A+.

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Bob Marley - One Love (official video+Lyrics) BOB MARLEY IN MY HEART!! Lyrics: One love, one heart Let's get together and feel all right Hear the children crying (One love) ...

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Selective thinking:

We fall into the pattern of bypassing our worth and instead focus on gaining external rewards and approval.

Suggestions planted which cause us to see ourselves as less than we are:

Our social structures "invite" us to play their games - becoming just another one of the "degraded majority," to use Viktor Frankl's term.

We do not perceive ourselves as being in trance:

We are just coping with the "real world." We have succumbed to the illusion.

(With thanks to Michael Dewey)



The Highwaymen - Living Legend (American Outlaws: Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1990) The Highwaymen performing .Living Legend. from American Outlaws: Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1990 Listen to The Highwaymen: ...

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(Article changed on Apr 02, 2023 at 6:10 PM EDT)

(Article changed on Apr 02, 2023 at 8:11 PM EDT)
Portland design reporter Damon Johnstun will cover the 61th edition of Salone del Mobile, the prestigious furnishing and design show, April 18-23 at Fiera Milano Rho in Milan, Italy. The trends and products that debuted during Milan Design Week last year are showing up in showrooms. Here is a designer spotlight:

During Milan Design Week 2022, I had the opportunity to interview architects and designers Roberto Palomba and Ludovica Serafini at Milans Palazzo della Permanente, a dedicated show space that fully embodies the opulent style of Versace. The immersive installation, curated by Donatella Versace in collaboration with the talented design duo, reflects the brands bold and evolving vision.

Serafini and Palomba established their Milan-based design studio in 1994 after completing their architecture studies in Rome. Their collaborative partnership has resulted in a plethora of projects that span a wide range of areas, from product to yacht design. The hallmark of their work is their shared vision, which integrates both architecture and design, ensuring that the two remain closely intertwined.

Their approach to design emphasizes experimentation, innovation and a synthesis of form, function, aesthetics and wellbeing. They have collaborated with some of the worlds most renowned brands, including Cappellini, Boffi, Driade, Flaminia, Foscarini, Ideal Standard, Poltrona Frau, Kartell, Zanotta, Zucchetti and Kos. Their accolades include the Elle Deco International Design Award, ADI Design Index, Red Dot Award and several Archiproducts Design Awards.

Unlike other designers who may have a recognizable style, Serafini and Palomba take a more eclectic approach. They do not feel their work needs to be instantly identified as theirs, as long as people enjoy living with their designs. Rather than focusing on a signature style, each piece is created with an inspiration and a story behind it.

Serafini focuses on architecture and Palomba on the design. However, they exchange ideas and collaborate on projects as much as possible.

Palomba always knew that he wanted to be an architect and designer. Growing up in Sardinia, he was influenced by the natural shapes and rugged landscapes of the island in the Mediterranean Sea, which contrasted sharply with the architecture and design of Rome, where he studied. He later moved to Milan, where he gained a deeper understanding of design and was inspired by the work of the great masters of the field.

Regarding their collaboration with Versace, Serafini and Palomba spoke about the importance of creating inclusive, iconic interiors rather than focusing solely on an exclusive logo.

When asked about Versaces previous furniture designs, Palomba commented that the brand had tried to transfer the logotypes of the brand into the furniture, but this is another business. He explained that a sofa is a sofa, a bag is a bag, and that while design can be inspired by other things, it must remain true to its function.

They recently renovated the beautiful but dilapidated Palazzo Daniele palace, built in 1861 in Italys Salento region. The project was originally designed as a residence for artists before being transformed into a boutique hotel. They emphasized the importance of the guest experience, incorporating elements such as the kitchen in the path to the swimming pool.

Remarkably, they maintained the character and charm, restore it to its former glory in a sophisticated but easy-going style. It was a completely destroyed place, Palomba explained. But the proportion of this place was fantastic and beautiful.

Overall, the duos approach to design emphasizes the importance of staying true to the function of an object while creating a unique and memorable experience for users. They believe that design should be accessible to everyone and strive to create iconic, inclusive interiors and products that serve a wide range of people.

Another project the couple designed was the Pianoalto modular sofa system for the Italian furniture brand Zanotta. They spent three years developing a new upholstery concept that exudes a familiarity with comfort, a place for pure relaxation. They stated that their goal was to create an elegant and distinctive design that felt as if it was already part of the contemporary consumers DNA.

The Pianoalto collection is comprised of interchangeable elements that allow for a wide range of configurations, making it a versatile solution for any space described as a sort skyline in the sitting room. The sofas suspended appearance is achieved through the incorporation of the seat with the base and the inward positioning of the legs, while the innovative angles offer ergonomic comfort.

The couple is known for their incredible taste and design skills, but what happens when they disagree? Palomba jokingly replied, Shes the boss, to which Serafini added, We must convince each other, and if you fight for your idea, it means that you think that this idea is good.

Passion and disagreement, according to the couple, are essential components of successful collaboration. They believe that without these elements, there is no growth or progress. And while they share the same taste, they acknowledge that their personal stories and experiences influence their work.

Looking toward the future, Serafini and Palomba are excited about exploring new ventures. Who knows? Palomba said. We are lucky because we never have the problem of [staring at a blank page]. Our problem is to have enough paper.

Palomba shared that they recently completed their first NFT and are interested in pursuing more fashion-related projects. We developed some patterns, for example, that people like very much, she said. And I think this kind of pattern can be even transferred to some fashion collection.

The pairs passion for design and commitment to collaboration continues to fuel their success. As Palomba put it, We think we can do a lot of things in the future. With their talent and creativity, theres no doubt that they will continue to make beautiful objects for years to come

 Damon Johnstun

@damonjohnstun

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HARTFORD, Conn. -- Doogie Lish Sandtiger, 32, is known as the Croc hunter, but its not as risky as it sounds because hes in pursuit of the trendy, rubber-like shoes.

Sandtiger owns 2,077 pairs of Crocs  though that number can increase any day  in an array of colors, styles, designs and limited edition collectibles, some from around the globe.

He estimates the collection to be worth $370,000 and it was even featured on rapper 2 Chainzs show, Most Expensivest Collections as part of an episode on Cool geeks. Sandtiger has spent as much as $2,600 on one pair.

I find them all, Sandtiger said. I try to wear every single pair. Obviously thats impossible with me having only two feet.

When he first saw Crocs in high school he thought they were ugly.

Sandtiger isnt alone in seeking out special Crocs beyond the plain ones found in everyday stores. Its the magnitude that sets him apart from other Croc collectors.

He said people often ask which is his favorite pair, but he said its really impossible to choose.

Picking a favorite would be like picking a favorite child, he said.

Among one of the most quirky in the collection is a Kentucky Fried Chicken limited edition, with color on the base with the classic KFC red and white stripes and topped with fake chicken pieces that actually smell like chicken. The box came with a warning not to eat them.

Another pair features Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal that looks and smells good enough to get a craving going.

To Sandtiger, Crocs are often works of art, part of the decor in his West Hartford home, on shelves, bookcases and walls. He even has a Croc cave or room dedicated for exhibit and imagines one day opening a Crocseum.

Some of them are so beautiful to me, theyre strictly decor and art pieces, Sandtiger said.

Crocs as a social force

Sandtiger wears several pairs of Crocs every day and in that finds not only comfy feet, but also great social/psychological lightning rod.

He said they are like a vessel or connection piece in sparking interaction.

Anywhere I go, someone might be having a bad day and theyll look at my Crocs and say, Theyre so cool, he said. It takes the monotony out of life.

The Crocs ability to spark a smile and open channels is helpful in his job at the childrens psychiatric hospital where he works as a child services worker.

If theres awkward tension it helps bridge the gap, Sandtiger said of the Crocs at work. It gets people to laugh and talk.

Sandtiger has a bachelors degree in social work and is earning a masters degree and is employed by the Department of Children and Families.

He hated Crocs at first

Crocs came out about 20 years ago and Sandtiger remembers hating them at first.

I thought, Why would anybody wear them? Theyre so silly looking.

But then, for practical and somewhat poignant reasons he converted. Sandtiger said he was raised in the foster care system, going from house to house, and he said learning some of the basics in life slipped through the cracks, including how to tie shoes.

He got along as a youngster by wearing Velcro clasp sneakers, but that didnt cut it in high school, so he improvised by stuffing his laces in his shoes.

The laces were always falling out.

By 16, I thought, I cant keep doing this, but I was too embarrassed to reach out, Sandtiger said.

Then one day he saw a woman wearing Crocs and noticed they had no shoelaces.

He thought, They may be ugly, but maybe it will be an acquired taste like coffee.

His perception quickly changed.

I got my first pair and I fell in love  they were comfortable, he said. I started wearing them everywhere (in basic black). They were just cool.

Sandtiger had a lot going on in his life at that time and as a strategy to help to keep himself happy, started making a list of stuff that motivated him  a bucket list of tangible goals.

One of those goals was to acquire 366 pairs of Crocs, one for each day of the year, including leap years.

I thought I was going to stop there, he said. Once I hit that goal, awesome pairs started to come up.

Looking to set a world record

One of his goals now is to set a Guinness Book world record for biggest Croc collection. Its an open title. as no one holds it, but he was told by officials at Guinness that the higher the number is to begin with, the better, so hes considering entering when he reaches 3,000 pairs.

This is why Im like a Croc hunter. To me this is a second full-time job, he said.

Officials at Croc headquarters could not be reached for comment.

Sandtiger switches out his Crocs for daily activities, wearing different ones for the grocery store, walking the dogs, going to the gym, taking a walk with friends, to work.

I dont discriminate against Crocs. I love color, I love sparkly, I love pink too, he said. If I cant wear Crocs, I aint going.

There exist in the world limited edition Crocs, some designed by famous artists, themed collaborations with other brands such as Hello Kitty, Mine craft, some carrying celebrity names  such as a pair of Jimmy Kimmel pizza Crocs.

There are also endless jibbitz, or charms with which to decorate Crocs, so Sandtiger, who holds a masters degree of fine art from Southern Connecticut State University has many original creations, including numerous holiday pairs, for Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving.

He considers each pair a blank canvas.

They arent just the classic clog like people think. They come as high heels, platforms, loafers, dress shoes, boots, sneakers, wedges, rain shoes. boots, sneakers and different straps.

Hes gotten a lot of tips on enhancing the search for Crocs online from a guy he knew Wethersfield High School and has reconnected with, Alex Marrero, now a Hartford firefighter.

Marrero, a sneaker head who has about 170 pairs of sneakers, said Sandtiger is, definitely the king of Crocs. The Croc culture is considered a subgroup of the broader sneaker culture.

Hes an awesome dude and hes very passionate about all and everything he does, Marrero said. Ive always known hes addicted to Crocs.

Sandtiger recently hit a note of fame when his story was told on 2 Chainzs show.

Sandtigers collection and back story was told by 2 Chainz in a warm and engaging way on episode four of season four.

The rapper and his daughter, Heaven, are Croc fans and were intrigued. After being shown the KFC pair, 2 Chainz remarked, a dog is going to eat your foot up.

Sandtiger said, of being on the show that tapes in New York: It was a lifetime experience that Ill never forget.

As the episode wrapped, 2 Chainz said, referring to the foster care/shoe tying story: Your passion coming up from an environment you had no control over and actually changing something that was considered a weakness and making it into a super powerYou was before your time when you did this.

The rapper had one more question: Can you tie shoes yet?

Sandtiger replied: Im going to leave that as a hidden secret.

-- Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant

2023 Hartford Courant. Visit at courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Chuck Currie

Currie, who holds a doctor of ministry degree and a masters of divinity, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He lives in Portland and can be contacted through his website www.chuckcurrie.com

It is time for an informed conversation in Oregon about the states Death with Dignity Act and dementia. In Oregon, unlike several European countries with similar laws, those with different forms of dementia cannot avail themselves of the benefits of our current law, which allows terminally ill people to take end-of-life medication prescribed by a doctor. The concern in Oregon is that those with dementia, at any stage, might not have the agency to make informed decisions.

This is a conversation in which I have a personal stake.

I am not a huge Bruce Willis fan, but I am familiar with and have enjoyed some of the actors work. So I was, of course, saddened to hear of his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia  or FTD.

Like Willis, I was diagnosed with probable FTD after testing at both Oregon Health and Sciences University and the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. This diagnosis required that I retire from Pacific University, where I served as director of the Center for Peace and Spirituality and university chaplain.

There are different variations of frontotemporal dementia, but what strikes me as particularly cruel is its assault on executive function, which Psychology Today notes is a set of cognitive processes and mental skills that help an individual plan, monitor and successfully execute their goals. The executive functions, as theyre known, include attentional control, working memory, inhibition and problem-solving.

There is no cure, but there continues to be a ton of good news: for me, the progress of the illness has been slow. People have lived 20 years after diagnosis, and there is great hope for new and promising treatments.

While my dementia is mild at this stage, it is still dementia. My short-term memory has taken a hit, and those executive function deficiencies can rear their head. I have long dealt with varying levels of anxiety and depression, but Im experiencing a new level of difficulty now. Recently, the OHSU medical team that watches over me asked me to stop driving.

The rate of progression of symptoms can vary, but eventually, the behavioral and cognitive symptoms will become more pronounced, according to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

It is that uncertain future that creates angst. I do not want to be a burden. I want my family and friends to thrive - to find unique joy in the world. If I could wave a magic wand, I would do so to erase any anxiety or grief my family and others who care for me might feel.

By ballot initiative, Oregonians established our Death with Dignity Act which extends this option to people with a terminal illness expected to lead to death within six months. Oregon has previously considered legislation to extend the Death with Dignity Act to include those facing dementia. Understandably, considering the moral and ethical complexities involved, the legislation did not move forward. But this issue is important and personal to me  and to the 2,000 plus Oregonians who die each year from Alzheimers, the most common form of dementia. The state needs to continue this discussion.

To that end, I would urge Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Legislature to appoint a short-term task force of diverse stakeholders to study this issue further and make recommendations to the governors office and the Legislature. In addition, such a task force should consider expanded support for Oregonians suffering from dementia and end-of-life options.

Expanding Oregons Death with Dignity will not be an easy conversation.

Opponents are concerned as to whether or not dementia patients can make an informed choice. Oregon law already has safeguards in place. Two physicians must be in agreement that the patient is capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him/herself. The biggest hurdle is that Oregon law currently states only those expected to die within six months are eligible. Dementia patients can live for years. The law would need to change, and additional safeguards put in place to ensure individual wishes are respected.

There are stories across Oregon of people facing dementia who die by suicide with guns or fly to Europe to access death with dignity in nations that allow those with dementia to make such a choice  an option only available to those with financial resources. There has to be a better way.

Would I use the Death with Dignity law? As the General Synod of the United Church of Christ noted a few years ago: In Oregon since 1997, there have been no incidents of abuse of this law, and its use has been a rare choice since the will to live is the greatest safeguard there is, yet thousands who will never use the law to hasten their own death are comforted to know that this choice is legally available if they should be among the few who need it and choose it. "

It is that comfort I seek. So, for now, my focus isnt on dying but on living as long and well as possible. But, at the same time, planning for future eventualities is essential.

Oregonians with dementia, with appropriate consent and safeguards in place, ought to have the choice others are afforded regarding death with dignity.

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I want to take a moment to thank lawmakers and Gov. Tina Kotek for their commitment to addressing homelessness and our states housing crisis. There is no doubt this years legislative session has taken some positive steps toward progress. Now its time to go a step further. If we are ever going to successfully make Oregon a more affordable place to live, we must address the longstanding land use and regulatory hurdles that have contributed to the current crisis.

Gov. Koteks recent executive order establishing a housing production target of 36,000 per year is an ambitious, needed, and appropriate goal. But we will never reach it out without meaningful housing policy reforms. Later this month, thousands of Oregon Realtors will travel to Salem to advocate for exactly that as part of our organizations annual Realtors Day at The Capitol.

Realtors have solutions to our states housing crisis. Now we need our elected leaders to act. Lets work together to make Oregon a more affordable state to live and raise a family.

Jenny Pakula, West Linn

Pakula is CEO of Oregon Realtors

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
Backpackers looking to sleep under the stars in Oregons central Cascade Mountain wilderness should get their plans in order now.

Overnight wilderness permits will go on sale Tuesday, April 4, for the 2023 season, the U.S. Forest Service announced this week. Permits are necessary for all overnight trips in the Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and Three Sisters wilderness areas from June 15 to Oct. 15 this year.

Those permits will be available online at Recreation.gov starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday, the agency said. Of the overnight permits allotted for the year, 40% will be made available April 4, while the remaining 60% will be available seven days in advance of the date requested. A permit is technically free but comes with a $6 processing fee.

Day hikers also need permits between June 15 and Oct. 15, but wont be able to book them as far in advance. Those day-use permits will be made available on Recreation.gov starting 10 days in advance, with another batch released two days in advance. Permits are required on 19 of 79 trails within the three wilderness areas.

Forest officials changed the permitting system in 2022 following a rash of no-show hikers in 2021, the first year the system was implemented, by releasing more last-minute permits and increasing the number of permits issued for each trailhead.

A no show happens when a permit is purchased but not actually printed out to be used. After securing a permit online, a hiker or backpacker must go back to Recreation.gov within 14 days of the booked date to issue the permit and print it out to use it.

In 2021, during the 30-day peak use period between late July and early August, only 63% of requested permits were actually issued, according to U.S. Forest Service data. That number only rose to 67% in 2022, according to forest officials, though Jaimie Olle, spokesperson for the Deschutes National Forest, said the no show data doesnt paint an accurate picture.

Olle said that rangers stationed at trailheads last year found many hikers had secured a permit but never issued it, bringing along a printed receipt instead of a printed permit. Those hikers might be considered no shows in the data, despite showing up for the hike.

The issue rate is only one piece of the overall picture that prompted a series of changes to the permit system, Olle said. The issue rate improved from the first to the second year and we expect that trend to continue as people become more familiar with the system.

Recreation.gov is developing a notification system to alert people about printing out permits, Olle said, though theres no timeline for implementing it.

Forest officials have encouraged people who dont plan on using their permits to release them back into the system. The $6 processing fee will not be refunded, but canceling does open a spot for somebody else to enjoy the trail.

The central Cascade Mountain wilderness areas are known for spectacular views, lush forests and peaceful lakeside campsites. The U.S. Forest Service introduced permits to help protect natural areas that the agency said in recent years had become overcrowded to the point of damaging the ecosystem.

 Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB
Ski resorts throughout the Oregon Cascades saw upwards of 14 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon, with more snowfall on the way. Its worked out well for spring break recreationalists looking to hit the slopes this weekend.

Its coming down in buckets, said Mike Quinn, spokesperson for Mt. Hood Ski Bowl. We saw pretty strong visitation all week long with great ski conditions, and this weekends no different.

Quinn said Ski Bowl is expecting anywhere from 20 to 30 inches by Sunday. Forecasters predict higher elevation areas in the Cascades may see up to 4 feet of snow, according to a winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service Saturday.

The ski resort is taking its normal precautions, according to Quinn, including avalanche monitoring.

Timberline Lodge spokesperson John Burton said the snow lined up well with spring break, but cautioned visitors to be careful in the winter storm conditions.

Always be aware of deep snow safety, Burton said. Everybody loves a powder day, but for safetys sake, keep your friends and family in sight at all times.

Conditions on Mt. Bachelor are much the same, although the increased snowfall may make for a challenging day operationally, according to a statement from the resort. Skiers and snowboarders should also watch for tree wells in the deep snow, the resort said.

The resorts warned motorists to come prepared for difficult travel, and to only drive up to the area in the appropriate vehicle for the weather. Burton said the Oregon Department of Transportation is working to keep the roads clear, but the sheer amount of snow is making it hard to keep up.

Give yourself a lot of extra time to drive up, and be patient, Burton said.

The states department of transportation required that drivers remove their studded winter tires by March 31 to spare the roads from damage, which could leave motorists in the Cascades unprepared. ODOT spokesperson David House stressed that all drivers going through mountain passes are required to have tire chains with them, even if they dont need them.

He said some roads will be closed as the snowfall continues, and that travelers should continue to monitor tripcheck.com for updated conditions.

The winter storm warning will be in effect until 11 p.m. Sunday in the Northern Oregon Cascades and Cascades in Lane County. The National Weather Service recommends keeping a flashlight, spare food and water in the car incase of delays or emergency.

 Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744

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Malaysia Tourism Agency Association (MATA) will hold Asia Islamic Tourism Expo 2023 (Aitex 2023) - Hajj, Umrah & Islamic Tourism Conference and Exhibition from September 13 to 15 Sunway Hotel Resort, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.



Aitex 2023 is held in strategic cooperation with Malaysia International Tourism Development Association (MiTDA), Global Islamic Tourism Organization (GITO) and Santai Travel Magazine.



Aitex 2023 is an international tourism event that involves tourism industry players from all over Asia in promoting Islamic Tourism as well as Hajj and Umrah.



Aitex 2023 has three main events namely:



1. Aitex Conference  Hajj, Umrah and Islamic Tourism which will take place on 13 & 14 September 2023 at the Main Hall, Sunway Resort Hotel. This 2-days Aitex conference will feature professional panels from outside and inside the country that are directly involved in the Hajj, Umrah and Islamic Tourism sectors.



The Aitex conference is an important platform for tourism agencies, students and university lecturers to gain knowledge and experience from professional panels such as the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia, Tabung Haji, Saudi Tourism, Islamic Tourism Center and others.. These professional panels will bring interesting and beneficial topics throughout the 2 days of the conference.



The Aitex 2023 delegation expected to attend consists of travel agencies from all over ASIA such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and others.



2. Aitex 2023 Exhibition  Hajj, Umrah and Islamic Tourism will take place on 13 to 15 September 2023 at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Center from 10am to 6pm. The Aitex 2023 exhibition provides an exhibition space with an area of 7,157 sq m with more than 150 booth space offered which will be filled with exhibitors from the Middle East, Asia and other part of the world.



The Aitex 2023 exhibition provides a platform for local and foreign travel agencies to establish business networks in the Islamic Tourism, Hajj and Umrah industry. The Aitex 2023 exhibition is also open to visitors to explore the services and sales of travel and umrah packages displayed by participating exhibitors.



Aitex 2023 provides a special discussion area equipped with a special cafe for exhibitors and trade buyers to establish their respective business networks. Aitex 2023 also provides a Public Forum Area for exhibitors to present their products or services to the visitors.



3. The World Islamic Tourism Awards Night (WITA 2023) is a brilliant event in conjunction with Aitex 2023 to remember the contribution of industry players who raised the Islamic Tourism Industry to an international level. WITA 2023 will be held on September 15 at the Sunway Resort Hotel Ballroom.



WITA 2023 is expected to be attended by more than 1000 people with more than 100 dining tables. WITA 2023 will open award nominations on April 1 to all players in the tourism industry inside and outside the country who are involved in the Islamic Tourism Industry Hajj and Umrah. Award nominations for industry players will close on July 30.  TradeArabia News Service
A pro-Western reformist bloc won most votes in Bulgaria's parliamentary election on Sunday, according to exit polls, but it is expected to struggle to form a stable coalition government in the European Union's poorest member state, Trend reports citing Reuetrs.

The reformist bloc, comprising We Continue the Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB), won around 25.3% of the vote, an exit poll by GALLUP International showed, just ahead of a centre-right bloc led by the GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov which had around 24.7%.

The TREND pollster put PP/DB on 26.9% and GERB, along with its small partner Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), on 26.7%.

It was Bulgaria's fifth election in two years, as personal antipathy between the leaders of the two main blocs has hampered the formation of a stable coalition government.
Michigan ranks 27th nationally in its residents education levels, according to a new study.

The analysis compared states on 18 criteria in three categories: quality of education, attainment rates and achievement disparities between race and/or gender.

Attainment refers to the rate at which students continue their education, taking into account how many adults over 25 have received a high school diploma, completed some college, got a bachelors degree or earned a graduate or professional degree.

Michigans slightly-below-the-middle-of-the-pack ranking could make the state less competitive for jobs and business, according to business leader Brian Calley.

Massachusetts topped the list with an overall score of 83.03 (of 100), ranking 1st for both quality of education and educational attainment.

West Virginia was at the bottom with an overall score of 22.40, ranking 47th in quality of education and 50th in educational attainment.

Michigan ranked in the bottom half, with an overall score of 27. It ranked 26th for educational attainment and 28th for quality of education.

That places the state in WalletHubs low education level and low income level category.

Michigans performance was similar to that of nearby states, with most of them placing at or slightly below the middle.

Ohio ranked 34th and Indiana 38th. Illinois was in the top half at 16th, as was Wisconsin at 20th.

Calley, the chief executive officer of the Small Business Association of Michigan, said that Michigans ranking raises concerns about the states low labor participation rate. That is the percentage of the population that is working or actively searching for jobs.

Education is one of the main drivers of economic opportunity and competitiveness of the workforce, so were focused on a broad people-based agenda aimed toward removing obstacles to people in the workforce, Calley said.

Michigan has fallen behind much of the rest of the country in overall education performance, student retention rates and reading and math scores at a time when education funding is at an all-time high, Calley said.

We know that its not just a money issue. We desperately need alignment between what kids are learning and what they need to be successful in an increasingly global economy, he said.

Trina Tocco, the director of the Michigan Education Justice Coalition in Detroit, said the state has underinvested in schools for decades.

That situation cant be fixed with one-time federal stimulus funding, she said.

There has been significant one-time investment in our schools because of the stimulus funds, similar to many of our other government institutions, Tocco said. However, that money runs out. So, yes, the real dollars have grown, but not at the necessary pace.

Tocco said that the historical underfunding of schools pose many challenges for individual schools, leading to a lower quality of education.

For our kids to learn, they need to feel safe, and have a good connection with the schools that theyre at. At the same time, our staff need to feel safe and secure, she said.
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA)  The European Union (EU) is blaming political, security and economic instability, combined with a poor harvest, for the worst food crisis the Sudan is currently facing
Photo: (Photo : Pexel/William Fortunato)

A father in Georgia was wrongfully terminated from work following a requested time off to care for his newborn baby and wife, federal officials reported.

Investigators from the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the company U.S. Logistics Solutions Inc., under a large network of logistics providers in Humble, Texas, fired a dock supervisor at a distribution center in Covington, Georgia after exercising his right to request and use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protected leave for parental bonding with his newborn baby and to care for a wife who is under a qualifying health condition, the USA Today reported.

In a news release by the US Department of Labor, the termination of the employee violated the FMLA, resulting in the employer, U.S. Logistics Solutions Inc., being ordered to pay $67,140 to the former employee. The amount consists of missed earnings after being fired, front pay for one year and unpaid earned time off.

"Employers cannot deprive an employee eligible for Family and Medical Leave of their legal rights, and force them to make the hard choice between keeping their jobs and caring for themselves or their families," Steven Salazar, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Atlanta, explained.

Further, the US Department of Labor statement stated that the federal law prohibits employers from fighting back against their workers who wants to exercise their legal rights for parental bonding.

Withheld parental leave

According to the US Department of Labor, the employer withheld parental leave from the father despite being aware that they just gave birth.

Forty-two days after the child's birth, June 2, 2022, U.S. Logistics Solutions Inc. demanded the presence of the employee for a meeting to discuss that his FMLA request to care for his newborn and spouse has been denied. And worse, he was being alleged for payroll theft. He was then informed that he was being fired.

On June 9, 2022, the employer notified the employee that his FMLA parental bonding request dated April 13, 2022, eight days before the baby was born, had been canceled by the company. Investigators discovered that there was failure of notification to the employee regarding the cancellation before June of 2022.

Read More: NICU Mom Tiktoks the Bitter Reality of 'Maternity Leave' in the US

What is FMLA?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that requires employers of a certain size to offer employees with unpaid time off for serious family health issues or situations such as pregnancy, foster care placement, family or personal illness or medical reasons or military leave. Employees are given the right to have at most 12 weeks of "unpaid, job-protected" family leave.

Further, the FMLA's intention is to provide families with the time and resources to handle family emergencies, while guiding employers at the same time.

Continuation of insurance coverage and job protection while the employee is on leave is protected and provided under the law. It also guarantees that when the employee comes back to work after the leave, they will be returning to the same job they had before they took the leave. However, if the job is no longer available, another job should be offered with the same pay and status.

Just in the fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division has already investigated 780 FMLA complaints and was able to recover over $870,000 in back wages for violations.

Related article: 'Meternity' Author Meghann Foye Believes All Women Should Get Paid Maternity Leave - Regardless If They're Pregnant Or Not
Photo: (Photo : Jason Redmond/Getty Images)

OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, may not be safe for kids as Italy views it.

Italy's data watchdog, the GPDP, has imposed an immediate temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users' data by OpenAI, the US-based company developing and managing the platform.

The move comes after the chatbot AI, ChatGPT, experienced a data breach in March 2023, and the GPDP raised concerns over data privacy and child safety.

Data privacy concerns and child safety concerns

According to The Daily Wire, Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data (GPDP)'s border states that there is an absence of a suitable legal basis in relation to the collection of personal data and their treatment for the purpose of training the algorithms underlying the functioning of ChatGPT.

This means that OpenAI has no legal basis to collect data from Italian users to train the model.

Much of the agency's concern stemmed from the amount of information the app collects to train its language models.

The order also noted that the data processed by ChatGPT can be inaccurate since the AI does not always match factual circumstances.

Italian authorities have raised concerns regarding OpenAI's approach to collecting data and whether the scope of the data being stored complies with the law.

The Italian government has also taken issue with the lack of an age verification system to protect minors from being exposed to inappropriate answers.

There is no way to prevent children from accessing ChatGPT, and the AI does not have a system in place to prevent inappropriate responses.

This lack of child safety measures has raised concerns about the app's suitability for minors.

Furthermore, the inquiry was initiated following a security breach on March 20th that affected the personal information of certain users, including their chat history and payment details.

OpenAI has since stated that the vulnerability responsible for the breach has been resolved.

However, the Italian government's concerns extend beyond the data breach incident.

They have raised questions about OpenAI's data collection policies and the legality of the extensive data being stored by the chatbot.

Read Also: Dark Side of TIKTOK: What Parents Need To Know To Keep Their Kids Mentally Healthy

OpenAI's ChatGPT faces temporary ban in Italy

As a result of these concerns, ChatGPT has been temporarily banned in Italy.

NPR reported that the Italian authorities have given OpenAI a deadline of 20 days to address the concerns raised by the government.

They also said that failing that, the company could be subject to a fine amounting to either $21 million or 4% of its annual revenue.

Italy has taken the lead among governments worldwide to impose such restrictions on ChatGPT in response to issues concerning data protection and privacy, although similar concerns have been mounting in the US as well.

According to The Verge, Italy's data watchdog has previously taken action against AI chatbots, such as the chatbot app Replika.ai, which was banned in February.

This app gained notoriety for the personal connections that some users established with its chatbot, with many expressing their dismay after the company removed the option for erotic roleplay.

The temporary ban on ChatGPT in Italy highlights the growing concern about data privacy and child safety in the field of artificial intelligence, underscoring the need for greater regulation and oversight to protect users from the risks associated with these technologies.

The lack of an age verification system and an appropriate legal basis for data collection are important considerations that should not be overlooked.

While AI technology is rapidly advancing, it is crucial that developers prioritize the safety and privacy of users, particularly children, in their products.

Related Article: Setting Healthy Digital Limits: Top 5 Tips for Building Family Boundaries in Technology Use for 2023
Ive thoroughly enjoyed General Conference thus far. The talks have been uniformly excellent, although Im sad to hear that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is home sick with COVID and also to realize, in that light, that he wont be speaking this weekend. He is always a favorite, and not merely with me.

I was absolutely delighted to hear the admonition from Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the first speaker in this mornings first session of the annual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we pay more attention than we typically have in the past to the celebration of Easter. Elder Stevenson remarked that there seems to be a growing inclination among at least some Latter-day Saints to place greater emphasis on Easter; he specifically mentioned Palm Sunday, about which I posted a partial blog entry just yesterday.

I agree that more and more of us have been urging greater personal and family focus on Easter, not relying merely upon a single annual sacrament meeting to serve that purpose. As minor evidence for that growing emphasis, I offer my own Deseret News columns The days leading up to Easter Sunday (2011) and Holy Week aids Easter reflections (2014). As more significant evidence, I call your attention to Greater Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide To Celebrating the Easter Season, a just-published new book from Eric D. Huntsman and Trevan G. Hatch. I havent actually seen it yet; my friend Eric Huntsman, who is currently serving as an administrator at BYUs Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, called it to my notice during our just-completed visit to Israel. My wife and I had at one point discussed compiling some such book; Im very pleased that Brothers Huntsman and Hatch appear to have done it.

Im now going to share with you a few more passages that have caught my attention in Chris Ferrie and Geraint F. Lewis, Where Did the Universe Come From? And Other Cosmic Questions: Our Universe, from the Quantum to the Cosmos (Naperville IL: Sourcebooks, 2021):

In the first, Professors Ferrie and Lewis allude to a currently popular view of the very beginning of the universe:

The idea that the universe came from nothing, a true nothing with no space and no time, is rather neat. It leaves no loose ends to tie up! Any question about the origin of the universe will most likely contain the statement from nothing. Like a frustrated parent shouting just because to the endless questioning of a child. The zero-energy needs of the from-nothing universe add to the neatness. Another thing that doesnt need to be explained is that Heisenberg says the universe can last forever. The from-nothing universe seems like a winner. Everybodys happy! Well, not everybody! While seemingly neat, the from-nothing hypothesis is horribly unsatisfying to many scientists. Common sense, which itself is a terrible guide to understanding the scientific workings of the very small and very large, tells that there must have been a before and that something caused the universe to come into being. But at a time before time existed, what does before even mean? In fact, most cosmologists are not satisfied with the from-nothing universe origin theory, and the search for alternative explanations has continued unabated for several decades. (34)

But will we, with current scientific tools or even in this mortal life, ever be able to resolve the question? (See, in this context, my recent blog entry  also drawn from the book by Ferrie and Lewis  entitled Frankenstein Mathematics and the Unimaginable.). Its impossible to say at this point. But we should be very much humbled by what we dont know:

Beyond this point, the singularity, there may be an entire past we have yet to imagine. (37)

My third quotation from Professors Ferrie and Lewis:

The energy that kept the electrons zipping in the early stages was due to collisions with the immense sea of radiation: high-energy gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet light and radiation left over from the fires of the Big Bang itself. If any electron did manage to grab onto an atomic nucleus, a collision with one of the huge numbers of marauding photons, the particles of light, was inevitable and would rip them apart again. It was the expansion of the universe that cooled these photons from their high energies. As the photons cooled, collisions with the electrons eased, and the electrons became more sluggish. At last, the first real atoms could form. This radiation remains and continues to cool, no longer interacting with atoms but always lurking in the background. We still see this radiation today, but it has now cooled from the extreme temperatures in the Big Bang to a few degrees above absolute zero. Instead of being the highest energy photons, that radiation exists closer to the radio part of the electro-magnetic spectrum and is known as cosmic microwave background radiation. It is the oldest light we can see. (39)

Albert Einstein apparently always disliked the notion of an expanding universe. And the prominent British astronomer Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington once remarked that,

Philosophically, the notion of a beginning of the present order of Nature is repugnant to me. . . . I see no way around it; but . . . I should like to find a genuine loophole.

Even in 1949, the great British astronomer and astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle, argued for an ageless and stable universe, denouncing Georges Lemaitres idea of a primordial explosion as

the hypothesis that all the matter in the universe was created in one big bang at a particular time in the remote past.

And hence, using what Hoyle intended as a pejorative dismissal, we still speak today of the Big Bang. As far as I knew when I was in high school, Hoyles proposed steady state alternative to the Big Bang theory continued as a live and plausible option, and it still had defenders. At some point, though, that stopped. One factor, of course, was the 1964 discovery, by the American physicist Arno Penzias and the American radio astronomer Robert Wilson, of cosmic microwave background radiation, which is understood as important evidence for a hot early universe and, thus, for the Big Bang (of which it seems to be something like an echo). In 1978, Penzias and Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery. While I was in high school, though, I dont think that the news had quite trickled down to us yet.

There is virtually universal consensus today that the universe that we know, including all matter and even time itself, originated in a primeval event beyond which we cannot see. Still, though, I like these words from Dr. Penzias:
NOT KILLING

A Consideration of Zens First Grave Precept

James Ishmael Ford

Death and with it, killing is a great conundrum. Half of the conundrum of life and death. The fact of it. And how we engage it. Even, actually, how we think about it. One of the axioms of our Zen way is that everything, including our inner states have consequences. So, going for the hard thing, going toward the heart of the matter, what about death and especially our relationship with killing?

I recall back in 2011. And how in response to the killing of Osama bin Ladin, I shared an observation on social media about our radical interdependence. And with that a small consideration of the ongoing sadness of our human condition.

I prefaced it with an observation that bin Ladin was a bad man. And that I experienced a lifting of my heart at hearing of his death. I used the word glad. Some people objected to these two things. Calling someone bad. First. And being glad someone was killed. Most. One commentator suggested my offence was so grave I should no longer teach the Buddhadharma.

Ive thought about those things. Before that incidence. And since. And in other situations involving killing. And with it, my personal relationship, whether by action, or by my emotional involvement. It all counts. In one sense or another.

There have been no times in our human history without the organized killing of human beings happening somewhere. In our moment its nearly impossible to not be aware of the industrial scale killing going on in that hot spot where Ukraine and Russia touch. A year ago and small change, a Russian army of conquest crossed a shared border, and instantly met with fierce resistance. Today, right now, there many square miles of dirt and ruin stained deep with blood. And with more blood pouring, every day. Another killing field.

I could go on. Litanies of death are easy to compose. War. Murder. Executions, you know state sanctioned killing. There is some endless human propensity for violence. And with that, a question: what it might mean? If meaning is to be found. There are very good arguments there is no meaning.

Although Ive found Buddhism, the Mahayana, the great way, and specifically Zen shows a way through, where we discover our actions and ideas matter in a way somewhat larger than the words meaning and meaninglessness can encompass. Here we enter a world of mystery, which we can partially know, but mostly we can only experience.

The Heart Sutra sings of this mystery, of how what is, is captured in the words form and empty, and what they can point to in our lived lives. Gerry Shishin Wick, a Zen teacher I admire, offered in an exchange, that sometimes, our perception of reality appears to be absolute. Everything is unified. And sometimes our perception is focused on the diversity or relative. Then if we ask, what is the true nature of reality, a definitive answer eludes us. Form becomes diversity or relative. And empty becomes the absolute. Lots of good words. And. Yes. Waxing philosophical, a bit. But also, in them, a pointing. And, in that pointing, an invitation.

Definitive answers elude. But instead, something presents. And, in that elusive place, the specifics of that diversity, of that relative, invite us into a relationship with the absolute. The empty in traditional Mahayana Buddhism. And. Well, Of the things of the relative world that point most directly into the absolute, well, here we meet death.

And it is here we find the precept of not killing.

My understanding is that the Jewish and Christian commandment to not kill is a very nuanced thing. Depending on which list you refer, its the fifth or sixth commandment of the ten best known ones. Which are in turn generally considered the most important of some six hundred twenty-three commandments found in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The most common interpretation of this particular commandment, what is fair to call the normative position of theologians, is that we are not to commit murder. That is, not to commit an unlawful killing of another person. Some do take it to be a more comprehensive call; a few even see a call to pacifism within it. But this more comprehensive understanding of the commandment is something of a minority report.

This is not so for the Buddhist precept about killing, our first grave precept, is unambiguous. And I certainly hope you notice, therefore, of course, ultimately impossible.

In Buddhism, in the great web of relationships, everything has a place. Or, maybe, better, a moment. And with that all living things, specifically, in the temporariness, are cherished. In the Buddhist traditions, sentient beings, that is the totality of living, conscious beings, are bound up together in the way of our liberation. In some traditions of Buddhism, say Zen, finding something insentient is actually pretty hard. On our Zen way even rocks and quarks have a side that can be called sentient.

And with that the precept of not killing is an unmodified, not nuanced statement. Do not killanything, ever. For some, dont even think about it. And, never, ever rejoice. Otherwise, you might not be worthy to teach the dharma. As a for instance.

And. Even in prescientific ages it was pretty obvious that walking and breathing involve at least the possibility of killing. Few missed this. And as time advanced and we began to understand the wealth of life that disappears with each step, with each breath, its impossibility loomed ever larger. But even from the beginning, as one faces the necessities of eating, well, the problems in this precept just pile one upon another.

So, any literal understanding is going to be of limited use.

Back when I was minister of the First Unitarian Church in Providence, Rhode Island, there were several deaths that weave around my memory and are impossible to unravel from how I live in the world. Two were suicides. One was a student at Brown, someone who had, it would seem, everything, and a world with few boundaries before her. But clouded by wounds, well. It only took a moment. Although I witnessed how that moment would unravel in other lives for years.

And another, where I had and continue to have deeply mixed feelings. In addition to the circumstances that led him to climb over a barrier and jump off a parking structure, the hurt and guilt and confusion of those left behind remains a terrible thing. As a leader in the church community, he was often disruptive, and always self-centering. And. I didnt like him.

And. He suffered from horrible, debilitating, chronic pain. It was all so bad he couldnt work, and what assistance our society offered was right at the edge of never being enough. Also, as a problematic person, he was always on somebodys bad list. Then, when he ended up being tagged as drug seeking, and his pain prescriptions were cut, well, that barrier, that parking structure, and that jump. Me, I felt guilt for not liking him. And wondered and wonder if there was something I could have done to help. But didnt because he was troublesome.

Killing. There are always consequences to our actions, and killing self or other seems to leave in its wake more powerful disconnections than most things we do. So, what about suicide? What about war? What about euthanasia? What about capital punishment? What about abortion?

What about eating anything, but particularly eating meat? Worthy questions all: each investigates life and death, and each speaks also of unique situations, and each raises questions that cannot with any integrity be conflated into the others. And none, that I can see, lends itself to a simple you cant do this under any circumstances or dont worry about it. There is something of a tragic cast to our lives. And in killing its all brought to the fore.

For me, back to 2011. First, the bad man thing. There is some hope among many of us that we are not who we are. That buried deep within us there is some pure place untouched by the world. So, things may happen. We may do things. But they do not define us.

In my experience no one has such a place. We are a complex mix of many things. So, normally one action, a dozen, dont define us. That line we are not the worst thing we have done is true. Mostly. Too many things combine to make us into the people we are, to be casually reductive. The karmic mess of life is gigantic. No doubt the US, Europe, and our political actions, all had a hand in setting bin Ladin on his course of action. But ultimately, he is responsible. He ordered those planes to be captured and turned into missiles And, he is what he did. As we all are. We can do things so horrific that they become the lead aspect of who we are. As I said on that social media post, no pass.

I made a passing reference to the famous Zen koan, Baizhaings Fox, which turns on the observation that the awakened person is at one with the law of cause and effect. Or doesnt evade cause and effect. The nuances are several. The subtlety and complexity of its pointing makes this one of the abiding koans of my heart

Which leads to the statement about being glad Osama bin Ladin was killed.

At the time this was an admission, not an exultation. It grieves me that my first reaction was being glad another person had died. And at the time at least one commentator suggested that he does not allow himself such feelings. I suggest it might be wiser to feel what one feels, and then deal with it. Even if a consequence is guilt.

Theres an old line, it appears in our precepts ceremony, not giving rise to the thought of killing is called the Precept of Not Killing. This does not mean suppressing thoughts or denying feelings. It points to how we do not separate ourselves from all that is, including killing. And we do not cling to the ideas. Its spiritual practice as a dance, sometimes we lead, sometimes we follow, sometimes we sit it out. It involves learning when to hold, and when to let go.

I feel these questions of navigating the deep waters of life and death and our hand in life and death are where we see that tragedy and hope most obviously. And so, I find the call in this precept is to engage. Engage. To not look away, diminish, or minimize.

The heart of the matter, of our own lives, and the lives of those around us, those we care for, and those we hate, or who hate us, is where we find life and death meeting. This is the meeting. Just life. Just death. Just life-and-deathone thing. Just this moment, filled with loss and gain, despair and hope.

Prepared or not, were called in each moment to make decisions that are in fact about life and death. Every moment is that important. As I sit with this precept, I dont actually find that it is about the world being red in tooth and claw. Rather, it is about how we are all joined together in the great rhythm of life and death, the great circle itself. And my place within it all.

At the same time we are also gifted with awareness of what is happeningor at least a large enough portion of what is happeningand hence are culpable. We are responsible in a way no other creature Im aware of is. We have eaten of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and we have become as gods. And that godlike quality is responsibility. I find this precept a call to meet the world and our actions in it with relentless honestyand a certain gentleness.

We are one body, you and I, in all our separateness. Both and. The mysterious manifestation of the real. For good and for ill were tied up together, woven out of each other. Osama bin Laden is part of us, part of me, part of you. Even as each of us, as we are, is responsible.

And, all the feelings and thoughts we have, are part of the deal too

If we hope to take any action that shifts the karma, it would be wise to start by looking into our own hearts and owning what it is we feel and think. Thats just as much us, you and me, as will be the action taken

As Leonard Cohen observed about that crack in everything. Notice the cracks. Notice the light. Feel the dark that defines the light.

Be present. Hold as you need.

And when the time calls, let go.

The precept of Not Killing.

Thank you.
Radically changing global scenario has drastically altered the notions of life and the entire gamut of the disciplines associated with it. Literature, especially poetry, being a highly sensitive genre, could not have remained unaffected. Urdu poetry, like all the literatures written in English and indigenous Indian languages, has kept its pace with the pressures of times---misinterpreting or misreading of it notwithstanding.

It has, very subtly and elementally, assimilated and accentuated the recently emerging linguistic and literary ethos in terms of the modes of perception and presentation. Urdu poetry has a rich tradition adorned with oriental philosophies, metaphysical depth and delicacies, socio-cultural complexities and linguistic niceties. Second half of the earlier century brought in the unprecedented advancement in the field of science, technology, politics, intellectual inquiries and cultural studies that had a direct bearing on the creative consciousness all over the globe. Unprecedented migration of the masses and creative writers to the West has also given a sharp turn to the very idea of literary concerns and commitment. It has, in fact, added a new dimension to what is now called literary productions. Parvin Sheres poetry is an excellent synthesis of the tradition and the current internationalism which invariably seems to be the dominant concern of the immigrant writers.



Parvin Sheres poetic concerns and thematic preoccupation, however, needs to be understood in terms of simultaneity of the emotional translucence and intellectual intensity that determine the tone and texture of her poetry and directions of her ideology. Her intellectualism and ideological stance, it should be noted here, cannot and should not be perceived in the Western political, polemical, theoretical or merely academic context. Her new culture, certainly, has sensitized her creative consciousness and sharpened her analytical and critical acumen, that many a time attributes subtlety and pungency to the balanced but highly devastating ironic phraseology of her poetic structures.



Like any other competent diasporic discourse, Parvins poetry embodies a bitter critique of the male dominated society. Her poems like,Mirage (Sarab) and Disposable represent her emotional and intellectual response to the womans predicament in the suppressive patriarchal system. These two poems betray two different dimensions of Parvins poetic reactions against the callous sexist society that resembles across the borders and nations. The very title Disposable is highly suggestive of the Western cultural reality that exemplifies the constitution of the western disposition and it also effectively communicates the nature and texture of human relationship in a culture where romance with consumption reigns supreme. The poem also makes a sarcastic statement on the culture that has reduced woman to the trivial position of a commodity; she is bought, used, abused and discarded:



Exquisite..

Sighting in a show case

He bought it and brought it home

Filling it up

.

He threw in the dustbin

Then left to get another one.

(Disposable)



Mirage offers another dimension of Parvins poetic vision. It reveals the intrigues of the cultural institutions shrewdly engineered by the exploitative male society to perpetuate subservient female psyche. The dominant system makes a woman internalize the submissive positions in absolutely natural way. Obliterating her own identity and independence, she willingly/unwillingly gets subsumed into the roles designed by the male conspiracy. Mirage bemoans this helplessness:



I am water, you a goblet



.



Towards the end, however, the poem takes a turn that unequivocally registers Parvins intellectual reaction:



Even so,

I am water,

a spring source of life

and you---------

a rock,

impervious to what life is!

(Mirage) trans. by: Hameed khan

Parvins poetry epitomizes the agony of a continually tormented and tortured womans soul:

How many more tests and trials of my patience

How many more skies are there over my head ?

Layers after layers are incessantly revealed

How many faces are there behind the faces?

Gazal, trans. by: Hameed khan

Is there an end to it ever! is a perennial question that keep appearing in her poems like a refrain.



The Last Station is an elegy on the decay and death of the human relationships. The values of love and mutual trust, disinterestedness and selflessness are a rarity in the contemporary world that is ruthlessly governed by materialistic drives and ulterior motives. We are all a lonely crowd, lost in the labyrinth of narcissism. John Updike has rightly pointed out that contemporary man needs assurance, without mutual lies we all will be suspended like planets in the azure skies. Octogenarians (Darul Zoafa) dialogizes yet another dimension of the rotting human concerns. The poem portrays the hear-shattering reality of the helplessness of the old people who are mercilessly abandoned by those who had been the pivot of their life. John Updikes first novel The Poorhouse Fair seriously addresses itself to these issues. The thematic canvas of this novel, however, is wider as he also takes into fictional account the larger issues of social homogenization and loss of faith. Parvins other poems like The Coffin (Tabut), Helplessness (Bebasi), No Exit (Sabhi Raste Moattal Hain), Dilemma (Kashmash), A Beautiful Dream-like House ( Khubsurat Khwab sa Ghar) are exquisite subjective expressions of the irresoluble tensions between the worlds within and outside.

Contemporary womans plight in the male dominated world is doubly worsened. Parvin Shere effectively employs the metaphor of train and journey motif. Everyday, right from morn a woman is continually shocked and shattered, dejected and disillusioned. By the end of the journey the train stands against the gloomy landscape tragically deserted and desolated :



left alone,

my wet eyes,

keep trying to locate---

from each and every window,

all human relations

lost in the thick mists of time.

(Last Station) trans. by: Hameed khan



Parvins scathing criticism of the gender-biased society, nevertheless, is not a projection or a manifestation of the radical feminist ideology. Because feminist ideology, ipso facto, aims at subverting the system perpetuated by patriarchy. In her indictment of the patriarchal designs Parvin is, one with her contemporary Canadian women novelists and poets like Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, Aritha Vanherk, Nicole Brossard , Daphne Marlette and many others. But it should also be carefully noted that she is noticeably different from them in terms of modes of perception and presentation and also in terms of linguistic and generic experimentations. Many of these Canadian poetess are constantly engaged in ideological discourses that are vehemently directed towards annihilation of the murderous male supremacy. Deliberate transcendence or transgression is the launching pads of their poetic subversive endeavours. Debunking male-oriented language is also one of the major preoccupations of these women writers. They are often infuriated by the canon, the generic traits and their male association. Sexual deviation and moral digression is yet another point. These radical poets, however, have a well-defined logic and logistics for the subversion of the dominant system as well as for reconstruction of womans identity and her absolute independence. The alternative systems beyond the limits of family and morality, however, would not suit Parvins refined oriental sensibility and inherently feminine delicacy. Like many of the women poets from the sub-continent Parvin retains the she essential and intrinsic poetic idiom coupled with highly loaded phraseology assimilitated from her diasporic experiences in the world that is, ironically, looked upon as a haven of freedom and paradise of consumption. She is a solitary example who enjoys dexterity in painting, music and poetry. Her poetry presents a harmonious blending of these three different disciplines of the fine arts.



Parvin has been living in Canada for more that four decades now; she has been in live contact with the practicing women writers. As an intellectual poet she has been closely following the directions the creative consciousness in Canada and in the west at large. But her poetry does not provide any evidence of being carried away by the inflated intellectual intricacy or triviality. Nor does her poetry betrays any desire to sell-off her own culture to the western readers, as many of the immigrant writers are accused of. Her western exposure, on the contrary, has widened the horizon of her experiences. Like her Canadian colleagues she sharply interrogates the male hierarchies.



Rather than aiming at subversion, Parvins poetry betrays a creative consciousness questing for lasting and enduring human relationship. It is this relationship which, in its ultimate analysis, attributes dignity and integrity to human stature and makes his life meaningful, colourful and eventful.



Her insatiable quest for enduring relationships does not confine itself to the interpersonal or social extent. Imperialistic drives in the cultural, intellectual, political and economic spheres on the international level also reveal disconcerting upheaval owing to an obvious lack of sincerity and authenticity in human relationships. Her poems like Iraq, and Outrage (Andhera), are the moving portraits of the precarious conditions humanity is deplorably placed in. It immensely grieves Parvins heart to think,  what man has made of man!



Parvins poetry, in fact, is a heart-rending scream of a bleeding heart and agonized mind. It is a perennial quest for order, authenticity and equilibrium conspicuously missing in the contemporary spheres of human relationships. And it this quest that determines the aesthetics of her poetic art.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Dr. Hameed Khan is Professor at the Department of English, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad (MS), India. A Ph.D. in American literature, Dr. Khan has one book, two text books and a number of research papers to his credit. His research papers, articles and reviews are published in various journals and magazines. He has also written preface/s and foreword/s to ten books in English, Urdu and Marathi. Dr. Khan is also known for his translations. His Urdu translations of Marathi short stories are published by Maharashtra State Urdu Academy, Mumbai. His English translations of interviews, Marathi and Urdu short stories have appeared in the different issues of INDIAN LITERATURE.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editor's Note: Parvin Shere who studied at Patna University towards Psychology/Philosophy(1964-1966) is an artist, poet and musician. She formally developed her talent of paintings at the University of Manitoba, Canada, Fine Arts Program (1966-1967 Fine Arts, University of Manitoba). Her extensive travel throughout Europe and particularly in developing countries triggered in her a need to enlighten her audience about the dualistic nature of this world.
There is nothing new to be said about our police forces, what was said fifty years ago or seventy years ago will hold good even today.

Writing for The Indian Express two decades back I had said that The growing ineffectiveness of state police forces in the face of powerful offenders creates a demand for CBI investigation, even in cases which are well within the professional and logistic competence of the state police. The CBI itself becomes eminently vulnerable to charges of bias once the affairs of the Central Government become the subject matter of enquiry. The state police forces are well on way to being reduced to a level where they will be good for nothing but ceremonial parades and watch and ward duties and a day may come when the CBI too may face an erosion of credibility. Who shall we turn to then? The Interpol, the FBI, or Scotland Yard?

The moment of reckoning for the CBI seemed to have arrived. The family members of SSR sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to bring in the CBI. Then we are told members of SSR family seem to be distressed at the way CBI is investigating the case. What shall be done now?

The reiteration of the trite fact will help illuminate the dilemma of both police and the public. The popular mind has a very straightforward and simple expectation from the police. It is that police should make itself useful to them in all sorts of circumstances. It is a demanding task. You cannot be useful to the victim and the offender, to the complainant as well as the accused, to the party in power and the ones in perpetual quest of wresting it, to the underprivileged and the powerful, all at the same time.

The only way in which police can navigate this situation is by remaining strictly neutral and following the dictates of law. Therein lies the rub. Police never was, nor is, the agent of law; it is the handmaiden of those who control it. The word has gotten around that those who bring to bear the most pressure on police win the day.

The organizational culture of police puts too much premium on their blind obedience of orders. Stanley Milgram, a management expert conducted a series of obedience experiments in Connecticut in 1961 and advanced a hypothesis that human beings have a natural tendency to obey men in authority and they will even stoop to needless brutality and inhumane treatment of their fellow beings should they feel so commanded by an authority.

In the light of above findings, we can better understand the conduct of the police force in which obedience is drilled in day in and day out. The senior police leadership of the day, and in days to come, need to be put through a crash course in disobedience to refuse to make the organization available to the dictates of political expediency. But who will do it?

One must also now admit the sad but inescapable fact that increasingly it is the criminality of various echelons of governments that often require to be investigated. The fate of political leaders holding responsible positions in governments sometimes depends on the outcome of the investigation of a criminal case. The manifest centrality of impartial investigation for the functioning of democracy can no longer be ignored. The political control of police is leading to unheard of situations. Police officers acting as flag bearers of their respective governments find themselves pitted against each other. In West Bengal it was the CBI vs local police, in the instant case an IPS officer from Bihar was incarcerated by BMC. But the worst instance of police the mistaken direction that police has taken is the exchange of fire and tragic death of police men.

As above, so below was one of the central tenets of the ancient hermetic philosophies  the world in which humans lived was a reflection of the glories of Heaven, but at the same time, the heavens were affected by what happened on the mortal Earth. The eternal truth, as above so below, holds good even today.

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 Pataliputra" and "Modest Proposals" that were published in the local newspapers.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. The total volume of oil and oil products imports to Turkiye in January 2023, compared to January 2022, dropped by 3.64% to 3.449 million tons, Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) said, Trend reports citing Turkish media.

The import of crude oil, which is the largest item in Turkiye's total oil imports, decreased by 13.56 percent to 2.25 million tons.

The import of diesel fuel increased by 8.71 percent - up to 777 thousand tons. The rest of the imports were aviation and marine fuel, gasoline, fuel oil and other oil refining products.

The statistics say that 1.18 million tons of crude oil and petrochemical products were imported from Russia, followed by Iraq and Kazakhstan with 917,656 tons and 683,740 tons, respectively.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has addressed concerns raised by clients of Blackshield Fund Management Company Limited  formerly known as Gold Coast Fund Management Limited, regarding disbursement of the GH5.5billion bailout funds approved by parliament and the progression of the winding-up order process.



In a statement, the SEC said the GH5.5billion approved by parliament was for all investors of the 47 companies that had claims by investors and not solely for Blackshield/Gold Coast investors. It emphasised that all investors with validated claims have been contacted by the Amalgamated Fund and GCB Capital Ltd.  the entities managing implementation of the bailout. However, government has yet to release the full GH5.5billion to the implementing agencies.



The SEC provided updates on the disbursement of bailout funds, stating that GH4.6billion has been allocated  with GH3.1billion assigned to Amalgamated Fund Tier 1 payments and GH1.45billion to Amalgamated Fund Tier 2 payments. The organisation also mentioned the partial bailout programme which entailed payment of sums up to GH50,000 for clients of Blackshield/Gold Coast and other companies who had not received winding-up orders from the court by October 2020 but whose claims had been validated.



Regarding progression of the winding-up process, the SEC said the decision to disburse bailout funds after validation of claims and an official winding-up order by the court was to ensure that all claims were verified and the assets and liabilities of the companies were transferred to the Registrar of Companies. In compliance with the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act, 2020, an official winding-up order can only be granted by a court; hence the ongoing court process between the Office of the Registrar of Companies and Blackshield/Gold Coast.



The SEC clarified that it has complied fully with Blackshield/Gold Coasts request for documents and is not delaying the court process.



The SEC stressed that Blackshield/Gold Coasts lawyers were granted access to all documents when the company appealed the revocation decision in November 2019. It also noted that the server with critical information for Blackshield/Gold Coast was in the companys custody from the date of revocation until the SEC sought help from the Economic and Organised Crime Office to retrieve it in August 2020.



The SEC urged affected clients to remain calm and rely only on information provided by SEC and the official liquidator. The organisation has been working to protect investors interests and the capital markets integrity since the revocation of licences from fifty-three fund management companies (FMCs) on 8th November 2019. The licences were revoked due to various regulatory breaches; including their inability to return clients funds estimated at GH8billion, and significant breaches of applicable rules which created risks to financial stability.



Following the revocation of licences, the SEC took several measures to protect investors  including notifying the Registrar of Companies/Registrar-General to petition the court for orders to commence official liquidation of the FMCs  appointing an agent to secure the assets of affected companies, engaging government on a bailout package, and mandating the agent to receive and validate claims from affected clients of the FMCs.



SEC reassured clients of Blackshield/Gold Coast that it is working closely with government, the official liquidator and other entities involved in the winding-up process to ensure that all claims are verified and assets and liabilities are transferred to the Registrar of Companies

Source: B&FT









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The Ghana Police Service say it has arrested four men; Kojo Siah alias Mozey, Emmanuel Mensah alias Kofi Asamoah, Maxwell Cudjoe and Agyabu Haruna Dissawu for their susopected attack on its personnel.



On 9th March 2023, the Axim Divisional Police patrol team reported azn attack on the teamby a gang that seized the magazine of a Service rifle togther with some mobile phones belonging to the Police officers.



An intelligence operation was immediately launched after the report to get the suspects arrested. On March 28, 2023, after about three weeks of the intelligence operation the four were arrested.





Read below the full police statement







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Pope Francis has joked that he is "still alive" as he left hospital in Rome after a three-day stay.



He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital mid-week with breathing difficulties, and later diagnosed with bronchitis.



The Vatican had said he was responding to antibiotics and would be released on Saturday, depending on test results.



"I wasn't frightened, I'm still alive," the 86-year-old pontiff told reporters and tearful well wishers outside the hospital before being driven away.



He was seen smiling and waving from the car, before getting out to speak to a crowd. He then headed for the Vatican.



The Pope's admission to hospital came ahead of the busiest week in the Christian calendar to mark Easter.



Holy Week, as it is known, includes a busy schedule of events and services that can be physically demanding.



Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Friday that the Pope was excepted to take part in this weekend's service for Palm Sunday.



"I can confirm that, since he is scheduled to leave the hospital tomorrow [Saturday], Pope Francis is expected to be present in St Peter's Square on Sunday for the Eucharistic celebration of Palm Sunday, the Passion of the Lord," Bruni said in a statement.



He added the Pope would return to Santa Marta, the papal residence within the Vatican, once he had left hospital.



The Argentine pontiff, who marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church earlier this month, has suffered a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.



He has also used a wheelchair in recent months because of problems related to his knee.



But the Pope has remained active, visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in February. The previous month, he led the funeral of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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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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Parliament last Friday rejected the Electoral Commissions (EC) use of the Ghana card as the sole source of identification for one to be registered in the new voters register.



The House unanimously recommended to the commission to include the guarantor system in the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulation, 2023 before it could present it for consideration.



Legislators were of the view that unless and until the challenges confronting the issuance of the Ghana Card were dealt with, using the Ghana Card as the only medium of voter registration would negatively impact the electoral roll and thereby deny some otherwise qualified persons from registering to vote.



"The EC should tarry slowly until everybody eligible voter is afforded the opportunity to register and procure the Ghana before the legislation of such a compulsion," they said.



Report adoption



The House took the decision after legislators adopted the report of the Committee of the Whole on the draft constitutional instrument.



The report, signed by the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who is also the Speaker of Parliament, said it was not the time for the EC to introduce and implement the Ghana card as the only means of identification of citizenship for the purposes of voter registration.



The report was presented to the House by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who moved the motion for the House to adopt the committee's report.



The reports captured the concerns of MPs from both sides of the House raised during previous meetings by the Special Budget Committee and the Committee of the Whole with the Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa; the Executive Secretary of the NIA Prof. Ken Attafuah, and the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.



It was premised on the fact that the EC could only lay the new C.I. in Parliament for admission and consideration if it gave favourable consideration to the concerns raised by MPs.



Ready to support reforms



The report said MPs, having thoroughly interrogated the issues and reforms being contemplated by the EC, were ready to support any effort that would enable every Ghanaian to get a Ghana Card because it was the law.



It, however, said the legislators would not accept and would reject any effort that was geared towards making the EC use the Ghana Card as the only medium to qualify a person who was eligible to vote in 2024 elections.



That, it said, was premised on the fact that indeed Ghana had come of age and could boast of a credible national identification card (Ghana Card) to transact business with.



However, even in the face of a number of identification options given in the past, and even in the operation of the NIA, some citizens are unable to register for the national card due to the existence of serious challenges the authority is confronted with, it said.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An Accra High Court has ordered Minority Leader and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, and two others to open their defence in a trial in which they are accused of purchasing defective vehicles as ambulances.



This follows a decision by the court that the three had a case to answer in the charges of causing financial loss and others levelled against them by the Office of the Attorney General in a deal that saw the state spending 2.37 million on the defective ambulances.



The court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, in a ruling held that both the prosecution and the defence teams admit in one way or the other that the ambulances that were imported were defective so, If you have spent money on a vehicle that cannot be used, then there is a case to be answered.



Dr. Ato Forson, Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, as well as private businessman, Richard Jakpa, are standing trial for wilfully causing financial loss of 2.37 million to the state, through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.



The prosecution, led by the Attorney General and Minster for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame and Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa, closed its case on February 14, 2023 after calling five witnesses, including the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu to prove its case.



The main issue raised during the prosecutions case was whether the defective vehicles were purchased in accordance with the purchase agreement approved by Parliament.



The other was whether Dr. Forson was authorised by the substantive Finance Minister or any superior officer to write a letter to the Controller and Accountant General directing the establishment of irrevocable Letters of Credit (LCs) which led to the payments.



Submissions



The Attorney General, in a written submission to establish the prosecutions case, asserted that Dr. Forson was criminally reckless in not ensuring that the terms of the agreement were adhered and that resulted in the institution of the criminal case against him.



Dr. Forson, in submission, argues that he wrote the letter on behalf of the then substantive Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper. The AG disagrees with the assertion and argues that the letters were written with no authorisation from any quarters.



Ruling



Justice Asare-Botwe, in her ruling on whether or not Dr. Forson was authorised to write the said letter, held that lawyers for the accused seem to have misapprehended the law when they stated that the AG should have called Seth Terkper to prove that Dr. Ato Forson did not have authorisation to write the said letter.



It was the opinion of the court that once the AG stated that Dr. Forson did not have such authority and Dr. Forson replied that he did, the responsibility was on Dr. Forson to show that he had authority.



The judge said evidence before court shows that Seth Terkper even told prosecutors he did not have enough information when he gave his statement to the case investigators.



The AG, in his submission on Mr. Anemana, averred that he was the designer of the scheme to cause financial loss to the state by falsely claiming to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Board in a series of letters to the effect that Big Sea had arranged for funding for the project from Stanbic Bank.



The court, in its 45 pages ruling, held that although counsel for Mr. Anemana argues that he was not at post when the LCs were established, that did not absolve him as he could still be made to answer for things that happened during his tenure.



The court also rejected arguments by counsel for Mr. Jakpa that Jakpa at Business should be hauled before court and not the accused as he was only representing the company.



The court said it was a human being acting on behalf of a company which is able to act, and when a human being acts in the name of a company, it is a human being who should be held and not an inanimate thing.



The case was adjourned to April 13, 2023.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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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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Charles Owusu former Head of Monitoring Unit at the Forestry Commission has vowed to 'fight' any Member of Parliament who may hinder the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.



The debate surrounding LGBTQ+ bill was intensified when the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, paid a three-day visit to Ghana.



Meanwhile, a private Members Bill; an anti-gay bill has been laid in Parliament.



The bill which is being sponsored by eight MPs is expected to criminalize some of the activities of homosexuals in Ghana.



Wading into the discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Charles Owusu said: "It's not a warning but we are watching them . . . if any of them seem to be acting in support of them (LGBTQ), he won't win in his constituency. We will list all of them . . . we will inform your constituents because we will never accept this..."





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Bank of Ghana has warned the general public to stop using cedi banknotes as bouquets and hampers when gifting people.



It said the currency was issued to be used as a medium of exchange for the purchase of goods and services.



The Director of the Currency Department at the central bank, Mr. Dominic Owusu, told journalists today (Thursday, March 30, 2023) that any other use of the currency was illegal and subject to prosecution.



He said the bank had noticed that some people were using the cedi notes as bouquets and hampers as gifts during weddings, birthdays and other celebrations, a practice he said must be stopped.



He said beyond being illegal, such acts made it easier for the notes to spoil or get defaced. Given that spoilt and worn-out notes are replaced at a cost, he said such acts affected the operations of the central bank.



Mr Owusu was speaking to journalists on how to preserve the currency as part of events marking Ghana month in March.



He said the local currency was a great symbol of the country and efforts to preserve its quality and cleanliness must be prioritised by all.







Source: Graphic Showbiz









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A juvenile was killed in a shooting in Red Lion on Saturday evening, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Troopers were dispatched around 10:30 p.m. to 1st Avenue in Red Lion, according to a release from PSP, where a juvenile male was found deceased of an apparent gunshot wound.

An investigation is underway, and more information will be released as it becomes available, according to PSP.

More:

Pedestrian loses leg when hes hit by motorcyclist fleeing police stop

Pa. man charged with attacking federal air marshal: officials
Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis is the latest official from Turkiye's western neighbor to visit the country, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah. Mitarakis announced that he plans to travel to Turkiye this week; at the same time, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos is also expected to be in the country.

Mitarakis said he planned to tour the earthquake-hit region around Hatay province along with Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Tuesday. Panagiotopoulos had earlier announced that he would hold talks with Defense Minister Hulusi Akar in Turkiye on the same day.

Observers have witnessed attempts to defuse mutual tensions by the two NATO members since a series of devastating earthquakes hit southeastern Turkiye in early February. They said Greek assistance to its eastern neighbor had contributed to the improved relations. "Ankara has adopted a completely different tone," Greece's Kathimerini newspaper said on Sunday.

Territorial and energy disputes have exacerbated the regional rivalry between the two countries. Still, the two neighbors, which lie on seismic fault lines, also have a tradition of helping each other in natural disasters. For example, the Greek government sent 80 tons of medical and first aid equipment to Turkiye in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquakes.
An explosion tore through a cafe in Russias second-largest city Sunday, killing a well-known military blogger and strident supporter of the war in Ukraine. Some reports said a bomb was embedded in a bust of the blogger that was given to him as a gift.

Russian officials said Vladlen Tatarsky was killed as he was leading a discussion at the cafe on the bank of the Neva River in the historic heart of St. Petersburg. Twenty-five people were wounded in the blast, and 19 of them were hospitalized, according to the regional governor, Alexander Beglov.

Russian media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public when a woman presented him with a box containing a bust of him that apparently blew up. A patriotic Russian group that organized the event said it had taken security precautions but acknowledged that those measures proved insufficient.

In remarks recorded on video, a witness said that a woman who identified herself as Nastya asked questions and exchanged remarks with Tatarsky during the discussion.

The witness, Alisa Smotrova, quoted Nastya as saying she had made a bust of the blogger but that guards asked her to leave it at the door, suspecting it could be a bomb. Nastya and Tatarsky joked and laughed. She then went to the door, grabbed the bust and presented it to Tatarsky.

He reportedly put the bust on a nearby table, and the explosion followed. Smotrova described people running in panic, some hurt by shattered glass and covered in blood.

A video posted on Russian messaging app channels showed the cafe after the explosion. Tables and chairs were broken and stained by blood, and shards of glass littered the floor.

Russian media said investigators were looking at the bust as the possible source of the blast but have not ruled out the possibility that an explosive device was planted in the cafe before the event.

Russias Investigative Committee, the states top criminal investigation agency, opened a probe on charges of murder.

No one publicly claimed responsibility, but military bloggers and patriotic commentators immediately pointed a finger at Ukraine and compared the bombing to the killing last August of Darya Dugina, a nationalist TV commentator. She was killed when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow.

Russian authorities blamed Ukraines military intelligence for Duginas death, but Kyiv denied involvement.

Her father, Alexander Dugin, a nationalist philosopher and political theorist who strongly supports the invasion of Ukraine, hailed Tatarsky as an immortal hero who died to save the Russian people.

There must be no talks with the terrorists other than about their unconditional surrender, Dugin said. A victory parade must take place in Kyiv.

Since the fighting in Ukraine began Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainian authorities have refrained from claiming responsibility for various fires and explosions and apparent assassinations in Russia. At the same time, officials in Kyiv have jubilantly greeted such events and insisted on Ukraines right to launch attacks in Russia.

A top Ukrainian government official cast the explosion that killed Tatarsky as part of internal turmoil.

Spiders are eating each other in a jar, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote in English on Twitter. Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time.

Tatarsky, who had filed regular reports from Ukraine, was the pen name for Maxim Fomin, who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel.

Born in the Donbas, Ukraines industrial heartland, Tatarsky worked as a coal miner before starting a furniture business. When he ran into financial difficulties, he robbed a bank and was sentenced to prison. He fled from custody after a Russia-backed separatist rebellion engulfed the Donbas in 2014, weeks after Moscows annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Then he joined separatist rebels and fought on the front line before turning to blogging.

Russian Emergency Situations Ministry stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, April 2, 2023.AP

Tatarsky was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

After the Kremlins annexation of four regions of Ukraine last year that most of the world rejected as illegal, Tatarsky posted a video in which he vowed: Thats it. Well defeat everybody, kill everybody, rob everybody we need to. It will all be the way we like it. God be with you.

Military bloggers have played an increasingly prominent and influential role in the flow of information about Russias invasion of Ukraine. They have almost universally championed the goals of the campaign but at times criticize Russian military strategy and tactical decisions.

At the same time, the Kremlin has squelched alternative voices opposing the war by shutting down news outlets, limiting the publics access to information and jailing critics.

More:

May the Force be with you, Ukraine: Mark Hamill voices alert

U.S. military sees alarming trend in loss of fitness among soldiers: The numbers have not gotten better
Remember Tiger King Joe Exotic?

If you watched the Netflix show you can never forget. If you havent watched the Netflix show, buckle your seatbelts and get after it because you have one heckuva binge ahead of you.

Either way, theres Joe Exotic news today and  if you have watched the series  it is pretty, darned funny regardless of political affiliation.

Because Exotic, whose real name is Joe Maldonado, is in prison. And, although he has reportedly been dealing with some pretty, serious, cancer-related issues, he has been busy. The guy ran for president once before  there are some awfully funny videos he put together during that campaign  and despite currently being incarcerated he says he is running for president again in 2024.

From his cell.

Which all leads us to the Tiger King taking notice of Donald Trumps indictment last week and the message that he had for the former president.

Former President Donald Trump now that you have been indicted, welcome to the party, wrote on his Instagram. Trump should have to go to arraignment in an orange jumpsuit and shackles and be humiliated just like the rest (of) us have been, innocent or not.

Trumps indictment is certainly polarizing, but again, if you have seen the show and know who Maldonado is, you cant help but laugh a little at all of this.

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Jan. 3, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. The hush money case in New York that has led to criminal charges against Donald Trump is one of a number of investigations that could pose legal problems for the former president. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

Exotic says he is running as a Libertarian in 2024.

He has been in prison since 2018 after he was found guilty of charges related to trying to hire someone to kill his rival, Carole Baskin. He has consistently maintained his innocence.

He also is apparently not a big fan of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis because he told FOX that DeSantis is dangerous for this country.

If you dont like his way, hes going to make a law and make it illegal for you, Exotic said. Very dangerous man.

He told the network that Trump was workable if he sometimes would just keep his mouth shut because he blows so much smoke.

I dont believe that the election was stolen at all, he told FOX.

He had some words for Joe Biden, too.

He needs to just wake up, Exotic told FOX. Him and Vice President (Kamala) Harris, how they want to do justice and prison reform in this country, and hes done nothing. We have President Putin who is wanted. President Trump is about to be indicted. Hunter Biden and President Biden are under investigation.

What the hell is wrong with a guy running from prison?

Nothing, Joe.

Also, Netflix please, if you are reading this, get all of the footage you can of this campaign.

The world needs this.
Last year, 80 percent of Americans celebrated the Easter holidayenjoying the spring weather, sharing time with loved ones, and dying eggs. This year, as families celebrate Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail, American Humanethe countrys first national animal welfare organizationis urging families to revel humanely.

Eggs are at the heart of the Easter holiday. And whether families are purchasing them to decorate for baskets, hide in the backyard, or cook an assortment of traditional dishes where eggs are the key ingredient, Americans can play an active role in promoting animal welfare.

Choosing eggs that come from farms that treat birds with care should be a priority. Need help doing that? Look for the American Humane Certified seal. Products that adorn the graphic adhere to strict welfare standards that are developed by an independent, credible Scientific Advisory Committee made up of the worlds leading animal experts.

Holidays like Easter should remind us of the ways our decisions impact the well-being of all creatures, notably the animals that provide the food we eat. Want to have a more egg-cellent Easter? Begin with making conscious choices that will help build a more humane world.

Dr. Robin Ganzert is the President and CEO of American Humane.
US ex-President Donald Trump has already security endorsement of at least 37 Republican House lawmakers, which may aid him in his presidential campaign and the potential court proceeding, Trend reports citing TASS.

According to Axios, "Trump has been endorsed by 37 House Republicans," including more than a third of Republican members on Judiciary and Oversight committees. The report notes that, facing criminal charges in New York, Trump calls for lawmakers to initiate a probe against President Joe Biden - whom Trump repeatedly accused of corruption - and New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The website notes that the ex-President "frequently chats by phone with supporters such as House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and GOP Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)," whom it calls "key players in Trump's orbit."

The report points out that Trump also secured endorsement of at least Republican senators.
The character of Don Jose in Georges Bizets classic opera Carmen is a tragic figure, seduced by the eponymous gypsy as he abandons his career and childhood sweetheart before getting overcome by jealousy and rage.

Maxime Chilaud was not a tragic figure in the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event. He was more like the dashing toreador Escamillo, acclaimed by the crowds and getting everything he wanted. Chilaud wanted chips, and he made it a mission to get every single one of them over the last three days.

Chilaud ended Day 2 as the chip leader. He was the chip leader following Day 3. He ended the tournament with every chip in play after beating Michael Magalashvili heads-up to win the Merit Poker trophy and $376,800 top prize, his largest career score.

It was really crazy. I doubled my stack on Day 1 after ten minutes, and after that, I was always a top stack until the final table or right before. I had a really good three days. I had to be lucky a few times, Chilaud said following his victory.

Success here at the exotic Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino along the Mediterranean shore of North Cyprus is nothing new to Chilaud. He won the High Roller at the Merit Poker Vintage Series in November for $184,000, the first six-figure cash in a career that dates back to 2013. He keeps returning here, and it paid off today when he bested the 765-player field to add another trophy to his collection.

It means a lot because its my biggest win in a tournament live after ten years. It was already my biggest four months ago in the High Roller. Cyprus is really good for me, Chilaud said. I dont do much live tournaments, but I go to Cyprus every time. There are really good tournaments here. Its really fun to be here. I always have a good time in Cyprus. Its nice to play, and I feel lucky.

Final Table Results

Place Player Earnings 1 Maxime Chilaud $376,800 2 Michael Magalashvili $277,500 3 Yuksel Savsa $170,300 4 Simeon Spasov $125,900 5 Eduard Barsegian $94,300 6 Atanas Pavlov $76,200 7 Fausto Tantillo $63,000 8 Walter Treccarichi $50,200 9 Denis Kapustin $37,700

Day 4 action

Day 4 began with 19 players remaining chasing the title. Boris Smuskevicius (17th), Davut Aydemir (16th), Roman Kolotiuk (15th), Nariman Yaghmai (12th), and Maroun Jazzar (11th) were all eliminated short of making the official nine-handed final table.

Chilaud went into the final table in fourth place, part of a tight bunch at the top of the leaderboard that saw five players separated by less than 2,000,000. He began his ascension back to the top early, flopping a set of queens to win a pot against Fausto Tantillos ace-king.

Eduard Barsegian, making his third final table appearance at the Merit Poker Carmen Series, earned a massive double up when his jacks survived against Walter Treccarichis ace-king of hearts, dodging overcards and the nut flush draw on the turn and river. Denis Kapustin was the first bustout at the final table, losing a race with eights to Tantillos ace-queen.

Treccarichi, who wouldve become chip leader if he won the pot against Barsegian, instead exited in eighth place after running king-queen into Atanas Pavlovs ace-king. Chilaud won another big pot off Tantillo when he flopped trip threes and Tantillo called a bet of 2,200,000 on the turn with just ace-high before folding to a shove on the river.

Tantillo, who began the final table as chip leader, then defended his big blind with ten-seven and flopped top pair.

Yuksel Savsa, though, had ace-ten to bust him in seventh place. Pavlov soon joined him on the rail after Magalashvili made the nut flush to beat his two sevens.

Barsegian enjoyed a moment as chip leader before tangling in a pot against Chilaud, who overbet the pot on the river with two pair and Barsegian called with just a pair of sixes to drop to less than 10 big blinds. Barsegian then moved all in with queen-jack, Magalashvili called with ace-three, and the flop gave Magalashvili two pair.

Barsegian finished in fifth place in the Warmup earlier in this festival. He was fifth in the High Roller. He was also fifth in the Merit Poker Western Series Main Event in January. And he was fifth here today, making it an incredible four straight Merit Poker events the Armenian has finished in the same spot at the final table, a run that defies all odds.

The remaining four players then took a break, with Magalashvili and Chilaud separating from Simeon Spasov and Savsa. On the first hand back, Chilaud won a race with ace-king against nines to bust Spasov in fourth place. He then collided with Magalashvili in what was the biggest pot of the tournament so far, flopping trip aces as Magalashvili called a bet of 9,000,000 on the river with two pair, aces and queens.

Chilaud then busted Savsa in third place with ace-ten to ace-nine and led 64,100,000 to 12,300,000 at the start of heads-up play. Magalashvili won most pots early in the heads-up match to narrow the gap before he jammed the flop for 23,800,000 with a flush draw. Chilaud called with a higher flush draw and spiked a king on the turn to make a pair and leave Magalashvili drawing dead.

Michael Magalashvili

The two opponents enjoyed a friendly rapport during the match. Magalashvili even posed for a picture with the new champion afterward as his impressive run ended in second place.

Chilaud was the last man standing. He wrote his own grand symphony here in North Cyprus, and it ended with him as the conquering hero.

That concludes PokerNews coverage of the Merit Poker Carmen Series. Stay tuned for more updates from tournaments around the world.
The Berkeley County Sheriffs Office released crime data from across the county in 2022. At 1,229 square miles, Berkeley County is the third largest county in South Carolina. The sheriffs office is headquartered in Moncks Corner, but it now has six substations across the county. Read moreFentanyl a major concern per 2022 crime stats
First Citizens was catapulted to a new stratosphere last weekend after it took over some of the choicest holdings from the Silicon Valley Bank failure.

The agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. placed the longtime family-controlled lender from Raleigh among the top 20 biggest financial institutions in the country.

It also was the latest  and largest  in a series of more than 20 orderly government-assisted takeovers the growth-minded bank has consummated since the industrys previous crisis in 2008.

Its no stretch to say South Carolina played a formative role in helping the franchise get to where it is today. First Citizens honed some of its merger-and-acquisition skills in the Palmetto State after establishing an unconventional foothold in rural Dillon County nearly six decades ago.

The history goes even further back, 125 years, when the Bank of Smithfield was established in 1898 about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh, in tobacco country.

"We were Johnston County's sole bank and served primarily agricultural customers," according to First Citizens' website. "Steady growth quickly became our hallmark."

The First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. brand came to be in 1929, six years before the first member of the Holding family, who now control and still run the business, ascended to the corner office. The ambitious R.P. Holding went on to expand the lender's footprint to 45 branches between the Great Depression and the mid-1950s, when his three sons  Frank, Lewis and Robert  stepped in to succeed him.

The brothers soon sensed opportunity beyond the North Carolina line.

SC-bound

Banks at that time were barred from crossing over into other states so the Holding siblings figured out a workaround. They bought a controlling stake in 1964 in the tiny Anderson Bank of Dillon, the same town where Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis, spent his childhood.

Within a few years, the Pee Dee lender was on the acquisition trail.

The turning point was January 1970, when the Holdings finalized a milestone tie-up between their renamed Citizens Bank of South Carolina and Columbia's Commercial Bank and Trust. With that, an independent Palmetto State version of First Citizens was born.

The newly organized bank made the Capitol City its home base and targeted downtown Charleston as its first expansion market by building a branch on Meeting Street, just south of the City Market.

First Citizens went on to seal a long run of buyouts and branch acquisitions as it moved into new areas of South Carolina or beefed up its existing markets, from Pageland to Summerville and points in between.

Notably, during another past financial crisis, it worked with regulators in 1989 to take over the seized Seabank Federal Savings Bank in Myrtle Beach, an early and considerably smaller version of the government-assisted SVB deal.

South Carolina native Hugh McColl Jr., the architect of the empire that is now Bank of America and the retired co-founder of Falfurrias Capital in Charlotte, told Forbes magazine last week that the Holdings "have been very smart people for 100 years.

They first made their very good investments during the Depression and right after the Depression, and they've always been smart about picking up things in hard times, he said in a report published Monday.

A decade ago, the majority-owning clan determined the time had come to unify the two banks that shared the same brand.

Frank Holding Jr., the third-generation CEO of the original First Citizens, hinted at the idea during an employee update in 2014. He said if the bank was to remain competitive it needed "to be a significantly larger organization that operates more efficiently and effectively."

"We also shared with you that strategic mergers and acquisitions, executed with discipline and prudence, are an excellent way to grow," Holding added.

2 to 1

It wasn't long before he and his board announced a $637 million deal to buy the closely held smaller cousin, then the largest bank headquartered within South Carolina.

The combined First Citizens emerged in October 2014 with loans and other assets of $31 billion at 575 branches in 18 states and Washington, D.C.

"Spreading our operating expenses across a greater universe of markets and customers will improve efficiencies and boost profitability," Holding said after the acquisition. "We will also be able to leverage the existing teamwork between our two banks, and capitalize on each other's particular strengths."

The size and scale of First Citizens have changed dramatically since the 2014 tie-up, with loans and other income-generating assets now exceeding $219 billion. It also has set up shop in five more states.

The unexpected SVB takeover alone added a staggering $72 billion in assets and $119 billion in deposits, as well as 17 branches.

Its really remarkable. ... There's a lot there, and you can build up on it," said industry analyst Christopher Marinac, director of research at Janney Montgomery Scott in Atlanta.

Marinac likened First Citizens to the type of businesses that legendary value investor Warren Buffett covets  well-managed, battle-tested and mostly plain-vanilla.

"They're a very good bank ... and they think in long-term strokes, that's for sure," he said. "They really are a long-term bank that doesn't play the Wall Street game."

While its home office is across the country, First Citizens has familiarized itself with the stomping grounds of its latest FDIC takeover. It's completed several California-focused buyouts since 2009, including at least one other failed bank. It also has established a modest presence in Oregon, Washington state, Nevada and Arizona.

First Citizens accelerated its West Coast expansion last year, when it paid $2.2 billion for CIT Group, which included the remnants the failed IndyMac Bank of Pasadena, Calif. The SVB deal will further cement its brand in the Golden State, though Marinac said the post-takeover transition will take time and care to execute successfully.

"I think they have a template they can work with," he said.

First Citizens has pulled it off before, many times, over the past 125 years. In tiny Dillon, for example.
Charleston County Parks live music and dance series on the Mount Pleasant Pier is back in April. Dancing on the Cooper will host a variety of bands performing different genres of live music throughout the year. Read moreDancing on the Cooper returns to the Mount Pleasant Pier
As I discussed in a Dec. 14 column, South Carolina is well on its way to becoming a leader in all things automotive, and increasingly that means electric vehicles. Unfortunately, even as EVs roll off our assembly lines, the opportunities for small businesses to sell electricity to power thes Read moreGrooms: South Carolinas EV predicament  and its golden opportunity
CONWAY  Kaye Hearn had no idea she wanted to become a lawyer or judge, much less a South Carolina Supreme Court justice, when she walked into a womens conference in Washington, D.C., in the early 1970s during a college trip.

As she entered the event, someone stuck a pin on her with the number 59 emblazoned on it with little explanation.

Someone told Hearn, then an undergraduate studying history at Bethany College in West Virginia, that the buttons were a reminder that women made only 59 cents for every dollar a man made.

It was a rude awakening for the head cheerleader and sorority president.

I never looked at the world the quite the same way again, and I was angry, Hearn told The Post and Courier. And then I wanted to do something about it.

More than a half century later, that once righteously indignant college student is retiring as a coolly confident trailblazer after serving 12 years on the S.C. Supreme Court. The petite 72-year-old, the second woman to serve on the high court in its history, was part of a small vanguard of women in a male-dominated legal world that helped shape her worldview and left its mark on her jurisprudence.

She believes deeply in South Carolinas progress as both a chief symbol and beneficiary of it, and a series of stark reminders throughout her career that sexism still held sway pushed her not toward victimhood but reinforced her determination to rise above them and clear the way for the women who came after her.

Thus, it was perhaps fitting that Hearns penultimate case would require her to balance state power against a womans right to bodily autonomy.

Hopefully her legacy is that she served well, truly dedicated to the law and was a credit to the judicial system. But its inescapable that shes going to forever be tied to that (abortion) case, said Costa Pleicones, a former S.C. chief justice.

And it was the courts decision in that case  led by Hearns opinion in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. South Carolina  that South Carolinas six-week abortion ban was unconstitutional because it did not allow women the time to exercise their privacy rights under the state constitution, that made her a political lightning rod.

The blowback was intense and immediate. The conservative leaders of the state Legislature forcefully condemned the members of the courts 3-2 majority as judicial activists legislating their policy preferences from the bench.

But Hearn doesnt care what her critics say.

Im a big girl, she said in an interview late last month in her office at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in Conway. You dont go into judging to be popular because whats right is not always popular. And whats popular is not always right.

'First of all, youre a girl'

On a February day in 1975, Kaye Hearn peered down on the S.C. House of Representatives chamber on then-state Rep. Jean Toal debating the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment with conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, whom the amendments opponents had flown in to advocate against it.

As Toal, who was leading the push to ratify the ERA in South Carolina, and Schlafly went back and forth, Hearn watched in awe from above.

After the womens conference in Washington, Hearn had resolved that the best way she could make a difference was to become a lawyer, and after graduating from college, she enrolled at the University of South Carolina Law School in 1974. Raised in Western Pennsylvania the daughter of a TV repairman and a homemaker, Hearn was one of just a handful of women in the class.

She poured herself into her studies because she quickly fell in love with the law but also out of a desire to prove that women deserved to be in law school, her longtime friend and law school classmate Steve Hamm remembered.

She wanted to make sure during her studies and her exams that being a woman shouldnt have a thing to do with how she could be a good lawyer, the Columbia attorney said.

After graduating in 1977, she applied for a clerkship with then-S.C. Supreme Court Justice Julius Ness.

Hearn frequently recounts that Ness told her he had a lot of problems with you because first of all, youre a girl when she walked into the job interview. Well, youre just going to have to talk to God about that, Hearn riposted. Ness hired her.

Hearn excelled as a clerk.

She was born to be a lawyer without a doubt, said Toal, who had cases before the court while Hearn was a clerk. She was as enthusiastic and inquiring and bright when she first began as she was for the rest of her career.

The work also convinced Hearn that she wanted to be a judge, and in 1986 the Legislature elected her to the family court in Horry County where she still lives with her husband George Hearn, a lawyer and former Republican state representative.

In the same year Toal was elected to the Supreme Court, Hearn became the third woman elected to the family court. She rose steadily through the ranks of the judiciary in the 1990s before joining the state Court of Appeals in 1995. Lightning struck again on the same day in the summer of 1999 when the Legislature elevated Toal to chief justice of the Supreme Court and Hearn to chief judge of the Court of Appeals.

It seemed like a watershed moment marking the states progress toward gender equality that Hearn had sought since her college days.

On the Supreme Court

In 2009, the Legislature elected Hearn to the Supreme Court, making her the second woman after Toal to become a justice.

Hearns opinions on the court, her peers say, are among the best written and most deeply researched of any justice in recent memory. They also reflect the experience of someone who has led and been deeply impacted by womens evolving place in society.

It's very important that we have precedent, and we adhere to precedent, don't get me wrong, Hearn said. But I think ... we don't keep our heads in the sand and see how the world is changing around us.

Many of the opinions Hearn cites when listing her accomplishments on the court attempt to put the law in context of the 21st century, including what had been the legal mire of common law marriage.

By and large, society no longer conditions acceptance upon marital status or legitimacy of children. The current case is emblematic of this shift, Hearn wrote in her 2019 opinion eliminating common law marriage on behalf of a unanimous court.

In a scathing 2022 dissent to a decision that denied a mans death penalty appeal, Hearn said the sentence was disproportionate and a relic of a bygone era when a Black man could be sent to death row by a nearly all-White jury.

Kaye is very grounded in the precedent, and what is but very sensitive to the people who are before her in a particular case and what those real-life dilemmas mean, Toal said.

Not everyone believes considering social context in legal analysis is a legitimate approach, and Hearns abortion opinion brought that contrast into sharp relief.

Incensed Republican state lawmakers, anti-abortion groups and the governor argued that she and the other two justices of the majority ignored the original intent of the S.C. Constitutions privacy amendment, which was recommended in 1969 by a state commission. Anti-abortion advocates say the amendments framers intended it to protect against electronic snooping, not abortion.

Hearn readily acknowledges thats likely the case, but you don't even really go to intent when the text is clear, she said.

We cannot relegate our role of declaring whether a legislative act is constitutional by blinding ourselves to everything that has transpired since the amendment was adopted, Hearn wrote in her opinion.

The decision means abortion remain legal in South Carolina for women up to 22 weeks, or 5 months of pregnancy.

Hearns colleagues and those who have argued before her resoundingly dismissed any accusation that shes some sort of judicial activist, as some have implied.

She is committed to studying the law, doing the very best she can to come up with what she believes is the right result, said Justice John Kittredge, who has worked with Hearn on the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court longer than anyone else and wrote a sharply critical dissent in the abortion case.

In the aftermath, many of Hearns closest colleagues say that despite the high-profile nature of the abortion case, Hearn did much more for the states judiciary in her 36 years on the bench.

That one decision describes her courage and her character, but it does not define her career, said Hood Temple, a Florence attorney who has known Hearn since the 1980s.

Along with the mountain of legal precedents, Hearn has served as a mentor for some 40 clerks.

Were all part of one big family, said Michael Timbes, one of Hearns clerks in 2002 and 2003 who is now a Charleston attorney.

Clerks remember her commitment to doing her homework through extensive research, but also her lighter side  she loves decorating her office for Halloween and once dismissed a clerk from work to watch the movie Titanic so the clerk could prepare for Hearns Oscars party  and her kindness.

Hearn keeps up with many of them, sending texts to check in.

Now the only all-male high court in U.S.

In some ways, it was a harsh reality check that prompted Hearns rise to the top of the legal world. It is ending with what Hearn believes is another barricade for the case of women in the legal world.

Two female candidates to replace her on the high court quickly dropped out after it became clear that legislators support had coalesced behind a male candidate, whom Hearn praises as an excellent and well qualified pick.

Still, the race was heavily tinged by the abortion decision and antiabortion lawmakers desire to avoid a repeat. With the choice, South Carolina became the only all-male state supreme court in the country. Hearn fears the result is that an important perspective goes absent on the bench.

If you're going to trust the system, you need to have somebody that you feel has your point of view, your background, your whatever. It's just important, she said. So, I do think we're backing up.

Hearn has no plans to ride off into retirement. She said shes still full of energy and plans to write appellate briefs for a law firm and maybe argue cases before her former colleagues.

Shes not keeping quiet either, raising the alarm about the lack of women in the judiciary in every interview, talk and panel discussion she does.

She would be maybe discouraged, said Hamm, the law school friend. But she was never dissuaded from continuing if she decided the path that she was on was the right thing to do.
At least 22 people are dead across seven states and dozens have been hospitalized after a tornado outbreak moved across the U.S. on Friday and Saturday, according to local officials, Trend reports citing ABC News.

Among the fatalities, five were in Arkansas, three died in Indiana, one died in Alabama and one died in Mississippi, local officials told ABC News. Adamsville, Tennessee, Mayor David Leckner told The Associated Press that seven people died in McNairy 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.

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.
COLUMBIA  With more than a thousand bridges on South Carolina's interstates and major highways "rapidly approaching" a need for an overhaul, the state Department of Transportation is asking legislators for a $1 billion commitment to keep the state's economic lifelines flowing.

Many bridges on the state highway system are more than 60 years old, built using designs not intended to handle the quantity and hefty loads of today's tractor-trailers, according to the DOT. The agency has identified 1,125 such bridges on the state's main traffic arteries in "fair" or "poor" condition that could become a real problem if not repaired in the next several years.

"Now is the time to start looking at those structures and address them before we have a major issue," DOT Secretary Christy Hall recently told a Senate panel.

"In other words: don't let the bridge fall down before you try to address it, or don't have an emergency closure and then figure out you need to work on it," she said. "Let's work on it early."

She is asking legislators for $200 million annually for five years to do the repairs that will prevent rebuilds that are much more costly, both in dollars and time.

The Senate Finance Committee will consider the request the week of April 3 as it crafts its spending proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1. The version passed by the House in March includes the $200 million allotment specifically for bridge work on major highways.

"We have to look at (interstates) as a major lifeline for economic development and prosperity in this state," Hall said. "What weve been successful at avoiding so far is having an interstate bridge closed for a long period of time or detoured for long period of time due to structural issues or a major problem."

There are notable exceptions to that, depending on what one considers a long time.

In 2015 and again in 2018, portions of Interstate 95 in the Pee Dee were closed due to hurricane-related flooding. The closure of a 13-mile section in 2015 took traffic on an almost 170-mile detour for more than a week as crews repaired bridges that crossed streams and swamps.

Also in 2018, DOT closed the James B. Edwards Bridge on Interstate 526 over the Wando River at Mount Pleasant after inspectors discovered that a 1,000-foot cable in the concrete had snapped due to corrosion. The bridge reopened more than a week earlier than predicted, but that good news came after several weeks of traffic headaches for the Charleston area.

Columbia has been dealing with traffic detours since March 24, when DOT shut down the first five miles of Interstate 77 northbound for eight days. The southbound lanes of the same section will be closed for nine days later this month. In all, 17 pothole-ridden bridges will be resurfaced. The complete shutdown of the sections allows the repairs to take days instead of months, according to DOT.

None of those closures are related to the 1950s and '60s construction and aging issues Hall is looking to get ahead of. (The I-526 bridge opened in 1991. That section of I-77 opened in the mid- to late-1980s.)

The I-77 repairs were a known issue already in the construction pipeline, said DOT chief of staff Justin Powell.

But the interstate shutdown is an example of what the $1 billion request seeks to avoid.

Biennial inspections for every bridge in South Carolina should ensure bridges are closed long before they deteriorate to the point of being in danger of collapsing and risking lives, he said.

As of February, 632 bridges in South Carolina had load restrictions in place, and 51 were closed. Combined, that's less than 10 percent of all bridges on the state highway system, according to DOT.

But the possibility of needing to close any interstate bridge is something the agency is looking to avoid.

Which bridges would be repaired with each $200 million allotment, and in what order, won't be approved until after the Legislature has committed the money, Powell said.

But the priority will be on key commerce routes.

"There are routes in the state where we never want to get in the situation where we get a (load-restricting) posting or closure," he said, adding, "If we had a closure on I-26, it would be a really bad day."

Examples of "strong candidates" for being at the top of the list include the I-95 bridge over Lake Marion between Williamsburg and Clarendon counties. The agency pursued a federal grant for replacing that bridge but didn't get it, Powell said.

"If that one goes down, it's a 70-mile detour," he said.

Another is the I-95 bridge over the Great Pee Dee River, which is threatened during floods. DOT did get a federal planning grant for that one, he said.

The agency's 10-year plan for roadwork on the nation's fourth-largest highway system, initially approved after the Legislature passed the 2017 law increasing gas taxes and other fees, called for repairing or replacing 465 bridges statewide. In December 2021, the DOT's board voted to boost the target to 500 bridges fixed by mid-2027, after dedicating an additional $69 million annually of federal money toward the effort.

So far, 199 bridges have been completed and 75 more are under construction, according to Hall's presentation to senators.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-02 00:57:10

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RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / April 1, 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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Dhirtek Business Research and Consulting recently released their most comprehensive study on the global glass blood collection tubes market. This research report provides a detailed overview of the market's drivers and restraints, as well as a thorough analysis of the current trends that are likely to shape its future. To create this in-depth report, the team of analysts used both primary and secondary research methods. The report offers an unbiased perspective on the glass blood collection tubes industry, allowing clients to make well-informed business decisions. The report reveals key insights about the global glass blood collection tubes industry, such as the market's size and potential for growth. It also examines the impact of technological advancements, regulatory changes, and consumer behaviors on the market's performance. Analysts also take a closer look at the market's competitive landscape, highlighting the strategies used by leading players to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, the report outlines potential threats and opportunities that may arise in the near future.Overall, this comprehensive report offers an invaluable resource for those looking to better understand the global glass blood collection tubes market. With the help of the study's data-driven insights, clients can gain a better understanding of the current market dynamics, allowing them to make informed business decisions.Request a Sample of this Report at: https://www.dhirtekbusinessresearch.com/market-report/Glass-Blood-Collection-Tubes-Market/request-for-sample-report The global glass blood collection tubes market was in a state of flux, and the future direction was uncertain. To gain clarity, a comprehensive research study was conducted to analyze the market using Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis. By combining these two methods of analysis, the research could gain a clear perspective of the global glass blood collection tubes market's expected direction.The SWOT analysis focused on identifying the market's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It was a useful tool in determining the potential of the market to succeed and develop, as well as its potential vulnerabilities. The Porter's five forces analysis, on the other hand, provided a detailed look into the competitive landscape, examining the level of competition, the bargaining power of customers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, and the threat of substitute products.The research report delved into the trends that were shaping the market, as well as consumer behavior patterns. It was found that the competition among the existing players in the market was intense, and new entrants posed a major threat. 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The report gave readers a better understanding of the trends and consumer behavior patterns that would shape the market's evolution.Highlights of Global Glass Blood Collection Tubes Market ReportThe global glass blood collection tubes market report is a comprehensive overview of the current state of the industry and provides an in-depth analysis of its future trends and developments.The report details the market size, growth rate, industry trends, and other noteworthy information. It also highlights key products and services that are driving the growth of the market, as well as their respective market shares.One of the most important aspects of the global glass blood collection tubes market report is the analysis of the competitive landscape. The report details the competitive positioning of the leading players in the market and the various strategies they are using to stay ahead of their rivals.The report also examines the recent technological developments that are disrupting the industry and the effect they will have on the market in the long term. It also covers the impact of government regulations and policies on the industry and provides an insight into the future trends in the industry.The global glass blood collection tubes market report provides an insightful look at the current state of the industry and a comprehensive overview of its future prospects. It is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to gain an understanding of the market and its potential.Scope of the ReportGlass Blood Collection Tubes Market SegmentsThe market by product type is segmented into 1-3 ml, 3-5 ml, others.The market by application is segmented into venous blood collection, capillary blood collection.Regions Covered in the Global Glass Blood Collection Tubes Market:North America (the United States and Canada)Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe)Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific)The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa and Rest of the Middle East & Africa)Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Rest of Latin America)The glass blood collection tubes market has been under intense scrutiny over the past few years, and the latest report released by the market research division provides a comprehensive overview of the leading players in the industry. The report contains a detailed chapter on company profiles which provides an overview of the strategic objectives of the leading players, their primary products and services, and an in-depth analysis of their strategic initiatives.The report reveals that the leading players in the glass blood collection tubes market are taking aggressive steps to strengthen their position in the industry. Many of the organizations have embarked on R&D activities to stay ahead of the competition and remain competitive. Their strategic initiatives have also been designed to capitalize on the technological advances in the industry.The report also provides an overview of the financial outlooks of the leading players in the industry. An overall analysis of the organizations' financial statuses reveals the current trends in the market. This allows readers to gain a better understanding of the potential of the glass blood collection tubes market and its expected trajectory.It is clear that the glass blood collection tubes market is a highly competitive industry and the leading players have to continuously innovate to keep up with the competition. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the industry and its key players and provides readers with an understanding of the industry's current and future prospects. This research aims to provide readers with an informed assessment of the anticipated trajectory of the glass blood collection tubes market.The following Companies as the Key Players in the Global Glass Blood Collection Tubes Market Research Report:BD, CDRICH, FL Medical, GBO, Gong Dong, Hongyu Medical, Improve Medical, Medtronic, Narang Medical, Sanli, Sarstedt, Sekisui, TUD, TerumoContact UsDhirtek Business Research and Consulting Private LimitedContact No: +91 7580990088Email Id: sales@ dhirtekbusinessresearch.com
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-02 11:28:59

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+91 7580990088Parmeet Singh7580990088

Dhirtek Business Research and Consulting recently released their most comprehensive study on the global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market. This research report provides a detailed overview of the market's drivers and restraints, as well as a thorough analysis of the current trends that are likely to shape its future. To create this in-depth report, the team of analysts used both primary and secondary research methods. The report offers an unbiased perspective on the combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits industry, allowing clients to make well-informed business decisions. The report reveals key insights about the global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits industry, such as the market's size and potential for growth. It also examines the impact of technological advancements, regulatory changes, and consumer behaviors on the market's performance. Analysts also take a closer look at the market's competitive landscape, highlighting the strategies used by leading players to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, the report outlines potential threats and opportunities that may arise in the near future.Overall, this comprehensive report offers an invaluable resource for those looking to better understand the global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market. With the help of the study's data-driven insights, clients can gain a better understanding of the current market dynamics, allowing them to make informed business decisions.Request a Sample of this Report at: https://www.dhirtekbusinessresearch.com/market-report/Combined-Spinal-and-Epidural-Anesthesia-Kits-Market/request-for-sample-report The global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market was in a state of flux, and the future direction was uncertain. To gain clarity, a comprehensive research study was conducted to analyze the market using Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis. By combining these two methods of analysis, the research could gain a clear perspective of the global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market's expected direction.The SWOT analysis focused on identifying the market's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It was a useful tool in determining the potential of the market to succeed and develop, as well as its potential vulnerabilities. The Porter's five forces analysis, on the other hand, provided a detailed look into the competitive landscape, examining the level of competition, the bargaining power of customers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, and the threat of substitute products.The research report delved into the trends that were shaping the market, as well as consumer behavior patterns. It was found that the competition among the existing players in the market was intense, and new entrants posed a major threat. The bargaining power of customers was also strong, and suppliers had to come up with innovative products to keep their customers satisfied. Additionally, the threat of substitute products was also present, and companies had to be prepared to face this competition.Overall, the research study provided a comprehensive understanding of the global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market's expected direction. By combining Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis, the research was able to gain a clear picture of the market's future. The report gave readers a better understanding of the trends and consumer behavior patterns that would shape the market's evolution.Highlights of Global Combined Spinal and Epidural Anesthesia Kits Market ReportThe global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market report is a comprehensive overview of the current state of the industry and provides an in-depth analysis of its future trends and developments.The report details the market size, growth rate, industry trends, and other noteworthy information. It also highlights key products and services that are driving the growth of the market, as well as their respective market shares.One of the most important aspects of the global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market report is the analysis of the competitive landscape. The report details the competitive positioning of the leading players in the market and the various strategies they are using to stay ahead of their rivals.The report also examines the recent technological developments that are disrupting the industry and the effect they will have on the market in the long term. It also covers the impact of government regulations and policies on the industry and provides an insight into the future trends in the industry.The global combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market report provides an insightful look at the current state of the industry and a comprehensive overview of its future prospects. It is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to gain an understanding of the market and its potential.Scope of the ReportCombined Spinal and Epidural Anesthesia Kits Market SegmentsThe market by product type is segmented into cse trays, catheters, needles, accessories.The market by application is segmented into hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgical centers.Regions Covered in the Global Combined Spinal and Epidural Anesthesia Kits Market:North America (the United States and Canada)Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe)Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific)The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa and Rest of the Middle East & Africa)Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Rest of Latin America)The combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market has been under intense scrutiny over the past few years, and the latest report released by the market research division provides a comprehensive overview of the leading players in the industry. The report contains a detailed chapter on company profiles which provides an overview of the strategic objectives of the leading players, their primary products and services, and an in-depth analysis of their strategic initiatives.The report reveals that the leading players in the combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market are taking aggressive steps to strengthen their position in the industry. Many of the organizations have embarked on R&D activities to stay ahead of the competition and remain competitive. Their strategic initiatives have also been designed to capitalize on the technological advances in the industry.The report also provides an overview of the financial outlooks of the leading players in the industry. An overall analysis of the organizations' financial statuses reveals the current trends in the market. This allows readers to gain a better understanding of the potential of the combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market and its expected trajectory.It is clear that the combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market is a highly competitive industry and the leading players have to continuously innovate to keep up with the competition. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the industry and its key players and provides readers with an understanding of the industry's current and future prospects. This research aims to provide readers with an informed assessment of the anticipated trajectory of the combined spinal and epidural anesthesia kits market.The following Companies as the Key Players in the Global Combined Spinal and Epidural Anesthesia Kits Market Research Report:B. Braun, BD, Hull Anesthesia, Pajunk, Smiths Medical, Teleflex, Zhejiang Fert Medical DeviceContact UsDhirtek Business Research and Consulting Private LimitedContact No: +91 7580990088Email Id: sales@ dhirtekbusinessresearch.com
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-02 10:05:44

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Dhirtek Business Research and Consulting recently released their most comprehensive study on the global spinal operating tables market. This research report provides a detailed overview of the market's drivers and restraints, as well as a thorough analysis of the current trends that are likely to shape its future. To create this in-depth report, the team of analysts used both primary and secondary research methods. The report offers an unbiased perspective on the spinal operating tables industry, allowing clients to make well-informed business decisions. The report reveals key insights about the global spinal operating tables industry, such as the market's size and potential for growth. It also examines the impact of technological advancements, regulatory changes, and consumer behaviors on the market's performance. Analysts also take a closer look at the market's competitive landscape, highlighting the strategies used by leading players to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, the report outlines potential threats and opportunities that may arise in the near future.Overall, this comprehensive report offers an invaluable resource for those looking to better understand the global spinal operating tables market. With the help of the study's data-driven insights, clients can gain a better understanding of the current market dynamics, allowing them to make informed business decisions.Request a Sample of this Report at: https://www.dhirtekbusinessresearch.com/market-report/Spinal-Operating-Tables-Market/request-for-sample-report The global spinal operating tables market was in a state of flux, and the future direction was uncertain. To gain clarity, a comprehensive research study was conducted to analyze the market using Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis. By combining these two methods of analysis, the research could gain a clear perspective of the global spinal operating tables market's expected direction.The SWOT analysis focused on identifying the market's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It was a useful tool in determining the potential of the market to succeed and develop, as well as its potential vulnerabilities. The Porter's five forces analysis, on the other hand, provided a detailed look into the competitive landscape, examining the level of competition, the bargaining power of customers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, and the threat of substitute products.The research report delved into the trends that were shaping the market, as well as consumer behavior patterns. It was found that the competition among the existing players in the market was intense, and new entrants posed a major threat. The bargaining power of customers was also strong, and suppliers had to come up with innovative products to keep their customers satisfied. Additionally, the threat of substitute products was also present, and companies had to be prepared to face this competition.Overall, the research study provided a comprehensive understanding of the global spinal operating tables market's expected direction. By combining Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis, the research was able to gain a clear picture of the market's future. The report gave readers a better understanding of the trends and consumer behavior patterns that would shape the market's evolution.Highlights of Global Spinal Operating Tables Market ReportThe global spinal operating tables market report is a comprehensive overview of the current state of the industry and provides an in-depth analysis of its future trends and developments.The report details the market size, growth rate, industry trends, and other noteworthy information. It also highlights key products and services that are driving the growth of the market, as well as their respective market shares.One of the most important aspects of the global spinal operating tables market report is the analysis of the competitive landscape. The report details the competitive positioning of the leading players in the market and the various strategies they are using to stay ahead of their rivals.The report also examines the recent technological developments that are disrupting the industry and the effect they will have on the market in the long term. It also covers the impact of government regulations and policies on the industry and provides an insight into the future trends in the industry.The global spinal operating tables market report provides an insightful look at the current state of the industry and a comprehensive overview of its future prospects. It is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to gain an understanding of the market and its potential.Scope of the ReportSpinal Operating Tables Market SegmentsThe market by product type is segmented into motorized spinal operating tables, non-motorized spinal operating tables.The market by application is segmented into hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgical centers.Regions Covered in the Global Spinal Operating Tables Market:North America (the United States and Canada)Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe)Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific)The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa and Rest of the Middle East & Africa)Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Rest of Latin America)The spinal operating tables market has been under intense scrutiny over the past few years, and the latest report released by the market research division provides a comprehensive overview of the leading players in the industry. The report contains a detailed chapter on company profiles which provides an overview of the strategic objectives of the leading players, their primary products and services, and an in-depth analysis of their strategic initiatives.The report reveals that the leading players in the spinal operating tables market are taking aggressive steps to strengthen their position in the industry. Many of the organizations have embarked on R&D activities to stay ahead of the competition and remain competitive. Their strategic initiatives have also been designed to capitalize on the technological advances in the industry.The report also provides an overview of the financial outlooks of the leading players in the industry. An overall analysis of the organizations' financial statuses reveals the current trends in the market. This allows readers to gain a better understanding of the potential of the spinal operating tables market and its expected trajectory.It is clear that the spinal operating tables market is a highly competitive industry and the leading players have to continuously innovate to keep up with the competition. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the industry and its key players and provides readers with an understanding of the industry's current and future prospects. This research aims to provide readers with an informed assessment of the anticipated trajectory of the spinal operating tables market.The following Companies as the Key Players in the Global Spinal Operating Tables Market Research Report:Alvo Medical, Getinge, Harbin Howell Medical Apparatus And Instruments, Hill-Rom, Mindray Medical, Mizuho OSI, OPT SurgiSystems, STERIS, Schaerer Medical, Skytron, StrykerContact UsDhirtek Business Research and Consulting Private LimitedContact No: +91 7580990088Email Id: sales@ dhirtekbusinessresearch.com
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-02 02:00:16

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RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / April 1, 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 o
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-02 07:22:20

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MIAMI, FL, Mar 29, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - The creators of a brand new cross-chain decentralized borrowing and lending protocol announce the release of their Mainnet v1. The launch marks the first step in their journey to be the go-to borrowing and lending platform for NFTs. Initially, the protocol will offer wBTC, ETH, and USDT, however, engineers are currently working on integrating NFTs into the next iteration of the protocol.The unique approach Paribus takes toward these more exotic assets is to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems to assess an accurate value for every supported NFT collection.Paribus key facts:- Initially launching on Arbitrum and building for Cardano.- The Paribus token (PBX) has now become a Cardano Native Token trading on WingRiders.- Supported by Charles Hoskinson's cFund.- Focused on developing a method to use exotic assets as collateral (NFTs, LPs, Synthetics, etc).- AI/ML pricing model will allow instant loans rather than old-fashioned P2P models- User funds are always user-controlled, locked in smart contracts, and never held by the protocol.- Mainnet has passed two separate Hacken security audits pre-launch- The most recent audit was completed on March 16th.- Bug bounty program through Immunefi to ensure ongoing security updatesParibus CEO Deniz Dalkilic said, "Liquidity is the "straw in the camel's back" for NFTs. It is a point of pain and also a gap in the market. We believe liquidity with time, and with more use cases for NFTs, will drastically improve. 2023 seems like it will be a good year for NFTs and tokenized assets, i.e. physical goods/assets as NFTs. With such a growth in adoption, I believe systems like Paribus will become much more fluid and collateral friendly." Paribus COO Wilson Davis said, "Being a cross-chain borrowing and lending protocol, our goal with Paribus is to help bring liquidity and TVL from other ecosystems into the Cardano network. As soon as we have the functionality to integrate with Milkomeda we'll be able to start bringing some of that liquidity across." About ParibusAs DeFi moves forward, innovators are uncovering transformational ways to store and represent value on-chain. Paribus' mission is to unlock the true potential of these assets, evolving them into interoperable financial instruments, capable of being used within DeFi protocols, on any chain. If it can be sold, there is a market value. If it has value, it can be modeled. Paribus is the protocol that brings all of these forces together, offering DeFi holders and investors a platform to extend the reach of their digital assets and positions, doubling down on their earning power.Join Paribus:Website - https://paribus.io Twitter - https://twitter.com/paribus_io Telegram - https://t.me/paribus_ioMedium - https://blog.paribus.io/@paribus_io?gi=450196753ce5 Discord - https://discord.io/paribus YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Paribus_Crypto
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-02 10:51:47

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Dhirtek Business Research and Consulting recently released their most comprehensive study on the global acne light therapy devices market. This research report provides a detailed overview of the market's drivers and restraints, as well as a thorough analysis of the current trends that are likely to shape its future. To create this in-depth report, the team of analysts used both primary and secondary research methods. The report offers an unbiased perspective on the acne light therapy devices industry, allowing clients to make well-informed business decisions. The report reveals key insights about the global acne light therapy devices industry, such as the market's size and potential for growth. It also examines the impact of technological advancements, regulatory changes, and consumer behaviors on the market's performance. Analysts also take a closer look at the market's competitive landscape, highlighting the strategies used by leading players to gain a competitive edge. Additionally, the report outlines potential threats and opportunities that may arise in the near future.Overall, this comprehensive report offers an invaluable resource for those looking to better understand the global acne light therapy devices market. With the help of the study's data-driven insights, clients can gain a better understanding of the current market dynamics, allowing them to make informed business decisions.Request a Sample of this Report at: https://www.dhirtekbusinessresearch.com/market-report/Acne-Light-Therapy-Devices-Market/request-for-sample-report The global acne light therapy devices market was in a state of flux, and the future direction was uncertain. To gain clarity, a comprehensive research study was conducted to analyze the market using Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis. By combining these two methods of analysis, the research could gain a clear perspective of the global acne light therapy devices market's expected direction.The SWOT analysis focused on identifying the market's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It was a useful tool in determining the potential of the market to succeed and develop, as well as its potential vulnerabilities. The Porter's five forces analysis, on the other hand, provided a detailed look into the competitive landscape, examining the level of competition, the bargaining power of customers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, and the threat of substitute products.The research report delved into the trends that were shaping the market, as well as consumer behavior patterns. It was found that the competition among the existing players in the market was intense, and new entrants posed a major threat. The bargaining power of customers was also strong, and suppliers had to come up with innovative products to keep their customers satisfied. Additionally, the threat of substitute products was also present, and companies had to be prepared to face this competition.Overall, the research study provided a comprehensive understanding of the global acne light therapy devices market's expected direction. By combining Porter's five forces analysis and SWOT analysis, the research was able to gain a clear picture of the market's future. The report gave readers a better understanding of the trends and consumer behavior patterns that would shape the market's evolution.Highlights of Global Acne Light Therapy Devices Market ReportThe global acne light therapy devices market report is a comprehensive overview of the current state of the industry and provides an in-depth analysis of its future trends and developments.The report details the market size, growth rate, industry trends, and other noteworthy information. It also highlights key products and services that are driving the growth of the market, as well as their respective market shares.One of the most important aspects of the global acne light therapy devices market report is the analysis of the competitive landscape. The report details the competitive positioning of the leading players in the market and the various strategies they are using to stay ahead of their rivals.The report also examines the recent technological developments that are disrupting the industry and the effect they will have on the market in the long term. It also covers the impact of government regulations and policies on the industry and provides an insight into the future trends in the industry.The global acne light therapy devices market report provides an insightful look at the current state of the industry and a comprehensive overview of its future prospects. It is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to gain an understanding of the market and its potential.Scope of the ReportAcne Light Therapy Devices Market SegmentsThe market by product type is segmented into blue light therapy devices, red light therapy devices.The market by application is segmented into hospitals, beauty salon, home use.Regions Covered in the Global Acne Light Therapy Devices Market:North America (the United States and Canada)Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe)Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific)The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa and Rest of the Middle East & Africa)Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Rest of Latin America)The acne light therapy devices market has been under intense scrutiny over the past few years, and the latest report released by the market research division provides a comprehensive overview of the leading players in the industry. The report contains a detailed chapter on company profiles which provides an overview of the strategic objectives of the leading players, their primary products and services, and an in-depth analysis of their strategic initiatives.The report reveals that the leading players in the acne light therapy devices market are taking aggressive steps to strengthen their position in the industry. Many of the organizations have embarked on R&D activities to stay ahead of the competition and remain competitive. Their strategic initiatives have also been designed to capitalize on the technological advances in the industry.The report also provides an overview of the financial outlooks of the leading players in the industry. An overall analysis of the organizations' financial statuses reveals the current trends in the market. This allows readers to gain a better understanding of the potential of the acne light therapy devices market and its expected trajectory.It is clear that the acne light therapy devices market is a highly competitive industry and the leading players have to continuously innovate to keep up with the competition. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the industry and its key players and provides readers with an understanding of the industry's current and future prospects. This research aims to provide readers with an informed assessment of the anticipated trajectory of the acne light therapy devices market.The following Companies as the Key Players in the Global Acne Light Therapy Devices Market Research Report:BeautyBio GloPRO, Conair, Foreo Espada, Johnson & Johnson (Neutrogena), LED Technologies Inc (reVive Light Therapy), LightStim, Lumenis, Pulsaderm, Rika Beauty, Syneron Medical, TRIA BeautyContact UsDhirtek Business Research and Consulting Private LimitedContact No: +91 7580990088Email Id: sales@ dhirtekbusinessresearch.com
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Nigerian comedian and skit maker Ganiyu Morufu, famously known as Ijoba Lande, has shed light on the circumstances surrounding his disappearance last Sunday.

The comedian was declared missing by his wife and industry colleagues.

He was found on Thursday and returned home, where he promised to let his fans know what led to his disappearance.

True to his word, the prankster, in an Instagram Live session, revealed that he left the house because he was under a spell.

Speaking Yoruba, he said: I left the home of his own will because all the prophecies I heard about me appeared to be coming to pass.

According to Lande, some prophets told him he would go broke, get into debt, sell his properties and walk to places he once drove to.

He said the prophecies also drove him into depression. He further apologised to Nigerians and appealed to them to support him financially.

Rumours

Speaking on the rumour about his family, he noted that his wife had children before marriage.

Ijoba Lande said, I had a child of my own before marrying my wife, and she had two of her own, which I know of, and we also have one together, all making four children.

So the rumour about me taking responsibility for five children is false. Even the four children dont stay with us. They stay with their grandma, and they often visit, though.

I didnt message people to beg for money, as rumoured. The only person I messaged was Mr Sabinus, who invited me for a job once and offered me money which I refused.

I sent him a message because I felt he would understand my situation, but unfortunately, he read the message but didnt reply. Even another colleague convinced me to send him a message in the first place. I never intended to do so.

Appreciating his colleagues and followers for their efforts while he was away, he said, I appreciate every one. They said almost everyone posted. I want to tell everyone that depression is real, and I want to tell the whole world that nobody kidnapped me. I did it intentionally but thank God I am back.

Missing

The skit maker went missing three days after he celebrated his birthday.

In a post on his Instagram page, the actors fans were informed that Ijoba Lande left home to an unknown destination on Sunday, the 26th of March, at about 9:00 p.m. and has not been located since then.

Up till now, we can find him; we have reported the case to the nearest police station, and with their help, they help us to send the signal to the radio station. If you notice anything, please find his account or @ijesaekun. He left his phone at home after breaking his fasting on the 26th. That was the last time we heard from him, the message read.

The actors colleague and friend, Alo Oluwatosin, aka Ijesaekun, a video creator, stated on his page that the police or radio stations are not forthcoming with any promising information.

However, he said he is holding on to his faith that Lande will return soon.

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Landes wife then appealed passionately to his fans to help her locate her husband. In a video posted on the actors Instagram page, the tearful wife said that her husband left home without his phone, and she was confused and didnt know what to do.

Found

After days of his absence, the famous comedian was found and returned home.

A video on his Instagram page showed him alighting from a vehicle and walking into his house, appearing unaware of his surroundings. The comedian broke down in tears as he stepped foot in his parlour.

Ganiyu Kehinde is a brand ambassador, motivational speaker, and content creator with a large fan base on Instagram and TikTok.

His persona, Ijoba Lande, became famous after one of his videos went viral in 2019. Since then, he has released several comedy skits on his Instagram page.

He is one of the young Nigerian content creators who popularised skit-making.

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Nollywood actress Toyin Abraham has stated emphatically that the president-elect, Bola Tinubu of the APC, won the 2023 presidential election and is the peoples choice.

Held on the 25th of February, the 2023 presidential election saw Mr Tinubu polling 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who scored 6,984,520 to emerge second.

The Labour Partys Peter Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes in the election which was said to have witnessed pockets of irregularities.

Although the losing parties have headed to court to challenge the electoral process, some key players have said the elections were rigged to favour Mr Tinubu.

However, Abraham believes that the elections winner enjoys wide acceptance from the majority of the electorate, some of whom she said are afraid of being bullied.

A Twitter user, @OgaKnowledge, asked her, Aunty Toyin, is Tinubu the peoples choice? Did he win the election?

To this, she responded: Yes darling, he is. Many people are just scared of bullies and curses; Betsey didnt say anything online, but they voted for him. I know a lot like that.

Imagine all the curses I got, but its fine. Its all past tense now. At least he is our President, so lets all focus.

Toyins Travails

Nollywood stars Toyin Abraham and Eniola Badmus have received heavy criticism for their vocal support for Mr Tinubus presidential bid.

In January, Abraham publicly announced that she loves the APC presidential candidate, stating that she may vote for him.

I love Asiwaju; I might vote for him because I love him; I have not decided; I am just saying it, and also because of what he has done for my industry. But I will not use my selfish interest to lead others, she said on TVCs breakfast show, Your view.

Since then, she has come under heavy criticism, with some cursing her and her kids.

At some point, her husband, Kolawole Ajeyemi, clarified that his wife supporting a candidate doesnt mean he is, too, a move many interpreted as throwing her under the bus.

Famous skit creator Nasboi also unfollowed and blocked Abraham for backing Mr Tinubu.

A house divided

The 2023 presidential election further widened the division in the Yoruba movie industry, as some of its key players were at loggerheads.

The build-up to the highly anticipated election saw Nigerian entertainers declaring support for different candidates, mainly along ethnic lines.

The support of actors was primarily divided among three candidates: Mr Tinubu of APC, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.

The likes of Kate Henshaw, Chioma Akpotha, Chidi Mokeme and others stood firmly by Mr Obi.

Others like Seyi Law, Toyin Abraham and Brymo have shown unwavering support for Mr Tinubu, while Frodd BBNaija firmly rooted for Atiku.

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is under fire for declaring the 2023 presidential election a religious war.

In a now viral leaked audio published by Peoples Gazette on Saturday, Peter Obi is heard begging David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church for support.

Mr Obi asked Mr Oyedepo to help spread the message to his followers in the southwest and northcentral states.

The leaked audio has since generated heated conversations and controversies on social media with many Nigerians condemning Peter Obi for championing religious-driven campaign in a multi-dimensional country like Nigeria.

Read the conversation word for word below:

Peter Obi: Good morning Daddy.

Bishop Oyedepo: Praise the Lord, how are you Sir?

Peter Obi: Fine Daddy, good morning Sir.

Bishop Oyedepo: Amen, in Jesus name we are going to get bright results.

Peter Obi: Thank you Daddy, when I hear these your calls and prayers, Daddy its very dear to me. Like I keep saying if this works, you people will never regret the support.

Bishop Oyedepo: Amen! Amen! We look forward to Gods intervention.

Peter Obi: Thank you, Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in South West and Kwara, the Christians in South West and Kwara, this is a religious war.

Bishop Oyedepo: I believe that I believe that I believe that You know I did a release Nigeria Going Forward and I am coming with the second one today. I wanted it out when they wont have any time to do damage control. But in the name of Jesus this would be a success. You know what I said in todays own? A sickling nation like Nigeria will require a strong and healthy personality. I said anyone whose source of wealth could not be verified should not have access to governance. So all we are doing is appealing to the conscience of people to know where to go. But I want to assure you, in the name of Jesus, that the result will be favourable.

Peter Obi: Thank you Daddy.

Bishop Oyedepo: So relax yourself dont be apprehensive. Are you in Lagos or Abuja?

Peter Obi: I am in Onitsha now

Bishop Oyedepo: So you will be there for the election?

Peter Obi: Yes Sir

Bishop Oyedepo: Very good, that is where to be, I say all Nigerians have an equal stake, nobody has the right to claim that he is dashing something to someone, we are coming out of it, so how is the east generally?

Peter Obi: East is okay. East is correct.

Bishop Oyedepo: And the Middle Belt?

Peter Obi: It is okay, Middle Belt is okay but places like Kogi, Kwara and Niger are worrisome places.

Bishop Oyedepo: We will get to Kwara

Peter Obi: Fantastic, I went to Kwara and visited Olofa of Offa who told me that nobody had ever come here, with you no problem but the Christian community in Kwara and Niger, and I am also working in Kogi same way.

Bishop Oyedepo: Okay then I will target this clip to them; I will make sure it gets them.

Peter Obi: Thank you I will be looking forward to the release as well, please send it to me.

Bishop Oyedepo: Okay I will do that, God bless you.

Peter Obi: Thank you, Daddy.

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The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has urged the international community to fully support Nigerias quest to save Lake Chad from extinction and revive its potential.

Mr Adamu, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, said it was important to lend his voice to President Muhammadu Buharis call to revive Lake Chad.

Mr Adamu was in New York to attend the just-concluded 2023 UN Water Conference.

If you recall from the beginning of this administration, President Buhari has made this call in several fora, especially at all the engagements during Conference of Parties (COP) on Climate Change and his interactions with world leaders.

It is a consistent call because, you know, the problem we have in the North-east, problem of Boko Haram. It has been clearly linked to the lack of opportunities and abject poverty around the Lake Chad that was caused by the shrinking of the Lake. It sank as low as 10 per cent of its storage capacity 50 years ago, he said.

The minister said the shrinking of the Lake had impacted negatively on the source of livelihood of the people leaving in the area, adding that more than 40 million people were affected.

Mr Adamu said that all the opportunities for fishing, farming, irrigation, and grazing were lost, and the lack of opportunities had caused poverty in that area, giving room for a breeding ground for Boko Haram fighters.

From the security perspective, its very important to make this call and from an economic development perspective, loss of jobs and poverty. Also, there is a climate change issue and desertification, he said.

The minister also told NAN that Nigeria recently ratified the Instrument of Accession to the UN Water Convention and had submitted it at the conference.

Mr Adamu said Nigeria, under the leadership of President Buhari, had acceded to the Water Convention as an instrument to strengthen the existing transboundary commitments under the Niger Basin Authority and the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

Nigeria shares at least one transboundary water body with each of its neighbouring states.

The Lake Chad Basin is the largest inland drainage area in Africa and covers an area of 2,434,000 km2, equal to eight per cent of the total area of the African continent.

The basin extends through Algeria, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, Central Africa Republic, Chad, and Sudan. In Nigeria, the basin drains about 20 per cent of the country.

Nigeria is also home to about 80 per cent of the 100 million people residing in the basin of the River Niger, which crosses Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of Guinea.

NAN reports that President Buhari ratified the Accession to the Convention in December 2022 and Nigeria also ratified the Amendment to Articles 25 and 26 of 23 November 2003.

(NAN)

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The Osun State Police Command on Saturday confirmed the abduction of a trader who was travelling with her goods by gunmen along Ikirin-Osogbo Road in the early hours of Friday.

The command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Ms Opalola said that the victim (a female trader) was coming from Ilorin towards Ile-Ife in Osun when the vehicle she was inside was ambushed by the kidnappers.

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She said the driver of the vehicle managed to escape from the kidnappers and reported the incident to the police station in Iragbiji.

She said that immediately after the incident was reported, a police team was deployed to the scene and later joined by local hunters to comb the area to rescue the victim.

NAN gathered that the incident is the first case of kidnapping recorded in Osun since January.

(NAN)

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The All Peoples Movement (APM) has said the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, will not stand owing to the flawed process of nominating his vice presidential pick, Kashim Shettima.

The party, which filed a petition against the outcome of the 25 February presidential election on 20 March, asked the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to declare Atiku Abubakar, who came second in the poll, as the president-elect.

Mr Tinubu was declared the president-elect on 1 March by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after he defeated Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party and 15 others in the 25 February presidential election.

The president-elect scored 8.8 million votes to defeat the other 17 contestants in the race.

Apart from APM, the two leading opposition parties  PDP and the Labour Party  have filed separate petitions at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to challenge the poll which they alleged was marred by widespread irregularities.

In its petition, the APM whose presidential candidate, Chichi Ojei, polled 25,961 votes, argued that Mr Tinubu was not properly sponsored by the APC by fielding Mr Shettima as vice presidential candidate for the election.

Mr Tinubu while submitting his presidential nomination form to INEC in June 2022, chose Ibrahim Masari, a politician from President Muhammadu Buharis home state Katsina, as a placeholder for the substantive vice presidential candidate who would later be Mr Shettima.

Political analysts based Mr Tinubus initial choice of Mr Masari as a strategy to beat INECs deadline of 17 June 2022, for presidential candidates to submit names of their vice presidential picks.

Mr Masari served as a placeholder and later announced his withdrawal from the position, which paved the way for Mr Tinubu to name Mr Shettima as his running mate on 10 July 2022.

Mr Tinubu while on a visit to President Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, announced Mr Shettima as his vice presidential candidate.

But this has formed one of the major grounds for APMs complaint over the outcome of the presidential election.

The petitioner accused Mr Shettima of double nominations having been nominated by the APC as its senatorial candidate for Borno Central District and later vice-presidential flagbearer for the 25 February polls.

Giving details of Mr Shettimas emergence as APCs vice presidential pick, APM argued that as of 15 July 2022, Mr Shettima was still a validly nominated senatorial candidate of the APC for Borno Central

Referencing an acknowledgement slip dated 14 July 2022, from INECs online portal, the petitioner said the document showed Mr Shettima replaced Mr Masari as APCs vice presidential candidate.

The acts of the 4th respondent (Mr Shettima) double or multiple nomination make his nomination for either of the elective offices/constituencies void particularly the latter.

Masaris withdrawal invalidates Tinubus candidacy

According to the petitioner, the validity of Mr Tinubus nomination as APCs presidential candidate was hinged on his running mate.

APM contended that Mr Tinubu nominated Mr Masari and forwarded the latters name to INEC as a vice presidential candidate.

In a copious reference to Sections 131 (C) and 142 of the constitution, the petitioner said Mr Masari withdrew his purported nomination thereby invalidating the nomination of Mr Tinubu as APCs presidential candidate.

Stressing the three-week gap between the period of Mr Masaris notice of withdrawal and his actual pull-out from the contest, APM argued that by the time Mr Tinubu picked Mr Shettima as his running mate, the president-elects candidature had lapsed and he was no longer in a position constitutionally to nominate a running mate since he had ceased to be a presidential candidate of the APC.

It further argued that the APC was bereft of any powerto substitute Mr Masari whose name had already been submitted (as vice presidential candidate) to the electoral umpire.

Prayers

In the petition filed on 20 March, APMs lawyer, OM Atoyebi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged the Presidential Election Petition Court to make an order nullifying all the votes scored by Mr Tinubu in the presidential election in view of his non-qualification as a candidate of the APC.

The petitioner said if the court voids Mr Tinubus 8.8 votes, it should further set aside his declaration as president-elect by INEC.

According to the APM, if the court accedes to the foregoing requests, it would have effectively excluded Mr Tinubu from the 25 February poll, adding that it should proceed to declare Atiku as the president-elect elect, having polled the second highest votes.

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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to use his good offices and leadership position to immediately enforce the judgment by the ECOWAS Court of Justice prohibiting prosecutions of anyone on the grounds of insulting or stalking public officials online.

SERAP also urged him to enforce and implement the ECOWAS Court judgment compelling your government to respect, protect and promote freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.

In a letter dated 1 April 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation expressed serious concerns about the shrinking civic space in the country as some state governors and government institutions are reportedly using section 24 of the Cybercrime Act and other repressive laws to crack down on anyone seeking to assert their human rights and media freedom.

SERAP said, Many Nigerians and media houses continue to face threats simply for speaking out and seeking to peacefully exercise their human rights and carry out their professional duties. This situation is contrary to the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the judgments by the ECOWAS Court.

According to SERAP, The immediate enforcement and implementation of the judgments by your government will be a victory for the rule of law, the right to freedom of expression and media freedom, including online.

The letter, read in part: These disturbing trends show the failure by your government to effectively comply with the countrys international obligations and the ECOWAS Court judgments on the Cybercrime Act and Twitter ban.

If the two judgments are not immediately enforced and implemented, SERAP will consider seeking a Writ of Execution from the ECOWAS Court, and asking the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to impose sanctions on your government for non-compliance with these judgments.

By implementing the judgment, your government will be demonstrating Nigerias leadership within the ECOWAS sub-region, and sending a powerful message to other countries to embrace the rule of law and human rights.

The processes for the sanctions are provided for under the 2015 Supplementary Protocol, the 2012 Supplementary Act on Sanctions and the 1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaties. The sanctions may include judicial, economic and political sanctions.

Section 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that, A State party to a treaty may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform the treaty.

SERAP urges you to urgently send an executive bill to the National Assembly to repeal the provisions of Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act on the offence of insulting or stalking public officials online by ensuring the deletion of the provisions from the Act, as ordered by the ECOWAS Court.

SERAP also urges you to direct Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to withdraw all charges of insulting or stalking public officials online against activists, critics and journalists, ensure their release from unlawful detention, and pay adequate compensation to those who have faced unfair prosecutions on the basis of the unlawful provisions.

SERAP urges you to instruct Mr Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately reverse the arbitrary and unlawful fine of N5 million imposed on Channels TV for allegedly violating the NBC code in a programme with the Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Some of the troubling trends showing restrictions on freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom include the recent arbitrary detention of journalist Agba Jalingo for allegedly publishing an article that was deemed insulting to Elizabeth Ayade, the sister-in-law of Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade.

Another case involves Ekene Obinali of Umucheke, a traditional ruler in Imo State who was reportedly arrested for allegedly sharing a post on a WhatsApp platform which is said to be critical of Governor Hope Uzodinma.

Nnamdi Chude, a social media influencer, was also reportedly arrested for cyberstalking allegedly over a tweet he posted on electoral violence in Anambra State.

In Rivers State, three lawyers representing Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress were reportedly arrested and detained for preparing a petition against the outcome of the Rivers governorship election. The lawyers are Jerry Aondo, Dr Sobere Nelson, and Odum Eyiba.

The National Broadcasting Code (NBC) also arbitrarily imposed an unlawful fine of N5 million on Channels Television for allegedly violating the NBC code in a programme with the Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

In the first judgment in the suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/09/19 brought by SERAP, the Court ordered your government to repeal section 24 of the Cybercrime Act by deleting the provisions, consistent with Nigerias obligation under Article 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

The ECOWAS Court ruled that Section 24 is inconsistent and incompatible with Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

The unlawful provisions of section 24 of the Cybercrime Act among others criminalise sending or causing to be sent an offensive, insulting or annoying message via a computer system.

In the second judgment in the suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/23/21 brought by SERAP and 176 concerned Nigerians, the Court ordered your government to respect and ensure freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom, consistent with Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The two judgments mean that your government has the obligation to ensure that state governors and government institutions do not use section 24, other repressive laws, and law enforcement agencies to target, harass, intimidate, arbitrarily arrest and detain people simply for peacefully exercising their human rights.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and the full enjoyment of this right is central to achieving individual freedom and to developing democracy. It is not only the cornerstone of democracy but indispensable to a thriving civil society.

SERAP notes that Article 15(4) of the ECOWAS Treaty makes the Judgment of the Court binding on Member States, including Nigeria. Also, Article 19(2) of the 1991 Protocol provides that the decisions of the Court shall be final and immediately enforceable.

Furthermore, non-compliance with the judgment of the Court can be sanctioned under Article 24 of the Supplementary Protocol of the ECOWAS Court, and Article 77 of the ECOWAS Treaty.

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It was rarely expected that President Muhammadu Buhari would reappoint a chief of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) who was once sacked over incompetence and ineptitude. But as the president announced that Saratu Umar would lead the commission again  after she was sacked by former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2015  staff and directors exercised hope there would be a change.

In a statement, Mr Buhari praised Ms Umars short period of service as the Executive Secretary, saying she transformed the NIPC into a world-class investment agency and minimised revenue leakages, saving N500 billion for the country. Ms Umar herself had pledged to be more committed to seeing the growth of the commission in her second coming.

I reiterate that NIPC will be a strong public institution, with a private sector orientation that delivers effective and efficient services that exceed the expectations of all stakeholders in the investment ecosystem and indeed, in Nigeria, Ms Umar had pledged upon her resumption of duty.

But has Ms Umar delivered on her promises in her second coming?

The commission that is responsible for driving desperately needed investments in Africas largest economy is now riddled with troubles as Ms Umar and the staff are at loggerheads on account of the bosss management and competence crisis.

Senior staff and directors of the commission, in separate interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, said the competence deficit in leadership is making NIPC depleted in strength and performance and ridiculing the existence of the federal parastatal. All the staff sources begged this newspaper for anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the press on the matter.

The Odour of Incompetence at NIPC

The last time investment announcements were made on the NIPC website was in April 2022, before the second coming of Ms Umar as the commissions Executive Secretary. The Department of Strategic Service of the commission had named BUA Cement of Nigeria, Tingo of the United States of America, Soft Bank Vission Fund of the United Kingdom and Speedinvest of Austria as some of the investors for the first quarter of 2022.

However, there has been no investment announcement since Ms Umar resumed office last July, suggesting that the commission needs to improve in its primary reason for existence. NIPC was established to promote investments within and outside Nigeria that would favour the country.

In a 6 March petition signed by some NIPC directors, including Gana Wakil, John Oseji and James Akwada, among others, Ms Umars matter was brought to the fore of the trade and investment ministry. The aggrieved directors insinuated that Ms Umars ineptitude is bringing the commission down by instalments. They pointed fingers at her on a plethora of issues, including threats to life and physical body harm against the directors and other staff of the agency.

They cited institutional problems facing the crumbling government agency such as delays in treating correspondences; not honouring the invitations for NIPCs national assignments; not attending or approving participation in sponsored important international events; not implementing the Country-Specific Investment Strategy considered and approved in 2018 and so on.

We therefore kindly appeal for your urgent intervention in these matters that have left NIPC lying prostrate and led to the complete incapacitation of the commission to perform its statutory functions, the petitioners wrote.

The directors said they sought immediate interventions from the ministry of trade and investment because they had on several occasions drawn the attention of the minister to the matter but no significant step had been taken.

Pioneer Status Stalled by Poor Leadership

Since her re-emergence, Ms Umar was said to have turned a deaf ear towards considering pioneer status applications at NIPC. She barely held important management meetings, nor sat down with directors of the commission to determine the reviews of applications and memos in that regard.

Tax incentives or pioneer status are exemptions granted by the federal government to qualified and important investment projects from companies deriving profits in Nigeria or brought into the country, according to Resolution Law Firm. The importance of the pioneer status incentives is to attract foreign direct investments to enhance the growth and development of Nigeria.

But then, as prominent NIPC staff told PREMIUM TIMES, Ms Umar ignores these benefits at the expense of the development of the commission, failing to be forthcoming on issues of the tax incentives. A number of pioneer applicants, the insiders said, have repeatedly visited the NIPC to raise concerns over their pending applications.

Upon her resumption as the commissions chief in July 2022, the pioneer status approvals for companies were stalled largely because Ms Umar has not held a management meeting more than once, insiders said.

A staff of the commission with sufficient knowledge of the ongoings about the pioneer status said Ms Umars lack of commitment to approve these applications has caused a setback for the tax incentive scheme. Another source within the NIPC pioneer status division corroborated this claim, noting that companies such as Eco-Vixer Industry Private Limited, Ocean and Carvel Terminal Service Limited, and John-Hood Hotel, among others, have on several occasions sought the approval of the pioneer status but failed  after going through a rigorous application process.

Smite the Shepperd and the Sheep Will Scatter

On 28 November 2022, a number of directors at NIPC mailed a petition, titled A Cry for Help and Urgent Action, to the office of the Minister for Trade and Investment, asking him, as the superior to the commissions chief, to intervene in the management crises and leadership deformity of the government parastatal.

In our previous report on this issue, PREMIUM TIMES showed how Ms Umar was actively engaging in a divide-and-rule leadership, turning the NIPC space into a toxic workplace. She had been accused of creating disaffection among the directors of the commission by assigning a senior role to junior staff and vice versa.

She went ahead to query the director who dared to say he will not act to oversee his seniors, the directors said in the petition. She is also in the habit of assigning duties of departments to other departments to create disaffection.

Again, she was accused of making unilateral decisions and refusing to work with other directors, noting how she would rather seek counsel from retired personnel of the commission than work with the existing directors.

She also forces staff of specific units to report to them and berates them for not subjecting themselves to tasking by these outsiders, the petition read in parts.

Earlier in February, Ms Umars loyalists were said to be seen moving from door to door to seek allegiance for her after she came under heavy criticism by the public over her poor performance in the commission. Sources said staff are being cajoled to pledge loyalty to Ms Umar against their will, a development some of them described as tyrannical.

For the whole of today, 2 Deputy Directors, her cronies, have been going from office to office trying to compel staff to sign a document that pledges allegiance to the ES and stating that they are not in support of the petitions, an insider, who witnessed the event, told PREMIUM TIMES. While a few have been cajoled into signing, some others have stood their ground and refused. The staff who refused are being threatened; theyve also mandated signatures to be gotten from the Zonal offices.

In the closing paragraph of the seventh item on the 28 November petition, the aggrieved directors begged the minister for a rapid intervention lest Mr Umar got them all fired. They had written a separate petition on the illegal disengagement of some NIPC directors, who appear to be of higher cadre, and they feared they might be the next.

Mr Minister, sir, this will definitely lead to the mother-of-all-unrests in NIPC!, the petition stated. We know that after sacking our (senior) directors, she will come for us. Smite the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.

Why Saratu in the First Place?

A number of NIPC staff PREMIUM TIMES interrogated still wonder why Mr Buhari had to reinstall Ms Umar, once sacked over incompetence and underperformance by former president Jonathan. They believe the Executive Secretary was on a mission of vengeance against them, urging the president to review her reappointment in the commission.

The NIPC workers lamented, in separate interviews, that the reappointment of Ms Umar as the chief of the commission was engineered by her benefactor in the presidential villa, whom they described as a powerful politician from Kwara State.

Since her re-emergence last year, numerous petitions from NIPC staff have been sent to Niyi Adebayo, the trade and investment minister, appealing to him to address leadership excesses exhibited by Ms Umar. The petitions have been received and reviewed by Mr Adebayos ministry but actions are reluctantly taken.

Sources at NIPC and the trade and investment ministry said the minister is clearly irritated by the complaints over Ms Umars maladministration tendencies but he has been cowed by powers that be in the presidency.

Neither Femi Adesina, Mr Buharis spokesman, nor Niyi Adebayo of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, was available for interviews over the reappointment of Ms Umar and the controversies trailing it. They also did not respond to calls and messages placed on the lines. Ms Umar as well ignored our request to hear her own side of the story. She failed to respond to our calls and messages on the matter.

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On Saturday, a telephone conversation between Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, and David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, was leaked to the public by Peoples Gazette. In the audio clip, Mr Obi asked Mr Oyedepo to help spread his message to Christians in the South-west and parts of North-central. Addressing him as daddy, the LPs standard-bearer told Mr Oyedepo that the just concluded presidential election was a religious war.

Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara, Mr Obi was heard saying in the leaked audio clip. This is a religious war.

I believe that, I believe that, I believe that, Mr Oyedepo responded with Mr Obi saying on the other side of the phone that If this works, you people will never regret the support.

Mr Obis critics have accused him of playing a politics of ethnicity and religion ahead of Nigerias 2023 presidential election, which he lost but has challenged in court. He denies this, asking critics to provide evidence. The leaked file appears to have substantiated the position of the critics.

The leaked audio has, however, sparked controversy.

Many supporters of Mr Obi monitored on microblogging sites Twitter and Facebook have dismissed the audio as deepfake, a term used to describe doctored clips generated with artificial intelligence tools. But on Sunday morning, Kenneth Okonkwo, LPs Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) spokesperson, confirmed the authenticity of the audio but suggested a different interpretation of the conversation. He immediately faced threats of being cancelled by the Obidients as Mr Obis supporters are described. He has been blamed for undermining their efforts to dismiss the leaked file as deepfake.

In his tweets, Mr Okonkwo attempted to defend the religious war comment made by his principal in the viral private conversation.

Firstly, the context of the conversation was aptly put by Bishop Oyedepo when he said, All Nigerians have (an) equal stake in this nation, nobody has the right to claim that he is dashing something to someone, Mr Okonkwo tweeted. H. E. Peter Obi was simply urging the Bishop to help him push this message of (an) equal stake of all Nigerians in the Nigerian project to his people and the Christendom because the politicians of the other party is carrying on this campaign as if it is a religious war (sic).

In the tweets, he accused the All Progressive Congress (APC) of trying to twist the narrative of the telephone conversation, saying it is not surprising that these political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if Obi was making a religious statement. He also accused the APC of beginning what appears to be the religious battle of the ballots by running a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in a religiously diverse country.

However, many supporters of Mr Obi saw Mr Okonkowos tweets as anti-Obidient and unauthorised, while insisting on the deepfake spin.

Then, Diran Onifade, the head of the Obi-Datti Media Office, said in Abuja on Sunday that the audio clip was just another propaganda by the APC to discredit Mr Obi, running in agreement with the Obidients.

All these are meant to serve no other purpose than egregious mischief aimed at demarketing Peter Obi; if the goal is to create a credibility problem, the ploy has failed woefully, Mr Onifade said, also describing the audio as deepfake. Peter Obi has long been on record as the only presidential candidate who has urged the Nigerians electorate not to vote for him on the basis of religion or tribe.

He also described it as APCs endless subterfuge to continue to hold on to what they know does not belong to them.

Local and international observers of the 2023 elections have identified how identity politics took over Nigerias political space during the presidential polls.

Many believed Mr Obis consistent lobby of Christians worked and helped him pull over 6 million votes. Many religious leaders had been seen openly campaigning for him and urging their followers to ensure the Muslim-Muslim candidate (referring to Mr Tinubu) was humiliated on Election Day. Including the famous Paul Enenche of Dunamis, a number of faith leaders have also insisted the poll was rigged against Mr Obi and that Mr Tinubu holds a stolen mandate.

Meanwhile, Mr Tinubu, who opted for a Muslim-Muslim ticket that appears to aggravate the worries of Christians, also during the campaign appealed to the Muslim base and his ethnic Yoruba. While Mr Tinubu played the Muslim-Muslim card partly to court northern Muslims, Mr Obi projected himself as the frontline Christain in the presidential race.

For his part, Mr Oyedepo on Sunday morning said he had not been influenced by any politician but was short of categorically denying the conversation in the leaked audio held.

Nobody had ever told me what to say in this world. No. I have never campaigned for anybody or spoken on anybodys behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven, Mr Oyedepo said.

He also said: There is no (political) party in this country that didnt come to me for prayers and for advice. I advised them, some they didnt take. Those who chose to take it see results; those who said no are going about it (laughs). If you still come again, I will still tell you, it doesnt change.

Mr Okonkwo did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES request to determine if he contacted Mr Obi before letting out the tweets on the leaked audio clip on his behalf. He neither responded to our calls nor replied to our message on the subject matter.

Too bad

Amid the controversy, Mr Obis close aide, Valentine Obienyem, appeared to subtly confirm the leaked audio in a Facebook post titled Obi versus Oyedepo: Too bad!

He suggested that the conversation was held between both men but said the leaked tape was doctored.

He wrote, I heard they set up a Committee made up of some Communications experts, headed by our prodigal brother from Nnewi. They are reviewing all calls Obi made in the last three years, and especially now to see if he mentioned Interim Government or anything that will make them prosecute him for treason when and if they take over.

Till now, they are yet to see any. The badly doctored conversation with Bishop Oyedepo released by our Nnewi prodigal brother is the much they have discovered so far. They edited out the Muslim-Muslim ticket that led to the discussion, where Obi said that in a society like ours, religious balancing was a necessary consideration and that their recklessness had made Christians to assume it was a religious war.

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To respond to cases of Online Gender Based Violence (OGBV), especially against women and other vulnerable groups, a community of women in technology, TechHer, has launched a digital platform.

Named Kuram, the platform is designed to provide resources to address OGBV threats affecting different vulnerable groups across gender, sexual orientation, class, and background.

Kuram, which translates to keep me safe in Tiv, one of Nigerias many languages that is commonly spoken across the North-central states and other parts of the country, was launched in Abuja with the support of Hivos through the Digital Defenders Partnership.

While unveiling the platform, TechHer Executive Director, Chioma Agwuegbo, spoke on the need for actionable solutions like Kuram, even as she decried unnoticed and silent victims of OGBV lost to poor data and the non-availability of avenues to report violations.

Data on violence storage

Ms Agwuegbo further explained the platforms ability to collect and store data on digital violence while advancing advocacy efforts and evidence for the remediation of cases.

TechHer has invested a lot of resources to demystify technology for young women and girls through our school tour projects. It is a shame that while we encourage women to access and wield technology more, they are discouraged by the violence perpetrated against them in digital spaces.

Online violence goes beyond revenge porn; it is bullying, doxing, deep fakes, amongst other forms of violence perpetrated against women and other vulnerable groups on the internet, she said.

The launch of Kuram had in attendance stakeholders from civil society and digital platform founders.

Commendation

In a goodwill message, the Country Director of Plan International, Charles Usei, reiterated the importance of protecting womens safety online and the need for survivors justice stories to be shared to encourage others to speak up.

The Executive Director of DIGICIVIC Initiative, Mojirayo Ogunlana, condemned the fact that far too many citizens, especially OGBV victims, are unaware of their digital rights due to the ambiguity of laws in Nigeria.

She recommended the simplification of relevant laws to boost awareness of internet user rights.

Simplifying these laws provides a pathway for better understanding and, in turn, helps people to be aware that they can seek legal recourse when their rights have been violated online. Several cases have been taken to the courts simply by enabling awareness of personal rights, she said.

Speaking of efforts to advance OGBV awareness, the TechHer Womens Rights & Safety Officer, Amina Salaudeen, said they have facilitated in-person and virtual workshops for over 1,000 women and girls nationwide.

These training sessions aimed to create OGBV awareness and provide resources, including a homegrown digital security toolkit and sharing relatable stories to encourage victims to step forward, she said.

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Milan Design Week, which is taking place through the end of April, has dedicated an exhibition to Antony and Cleopatra, featuring works by Egyptian and Italian exhibitors
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Gov Nyesom Wike of Rivers says he will bow out of office on 29 May as a fulfilled man, having positively impacted the 23 local government areas of the state.

The governor charged the incoming administration with stewardship.

Mr Wike made the statement during a Thanksgiving Service organised by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday at All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Rumuokwurushi, Obio/Akpor local government area of the state.

Mr Wike said only a blind man or an enemy of the state would refuse to admit the extent of the spread of equitable infrastructure across the state.

If your politics is not about the interest of your people, then you have a problem; the electorate is now wiser, you must be ready to present a full report card to your people by 2027 if you must continue in politics.

The governor also attributed the partys victory at the polls to evidential impacts in the area of good governance and gender balance.

He said females were serving as Vice-chairmen in the 23 local government areas with not less than 5 female ward councillors in each area and also a handful of female Senators and Members-elect.

The governor urged the Governor-elect, Siminialayi Fubara, and his team not to be distracted by the opposition bent on dragging them at the tribunal.

Earlier, the programmes host and Bishop in charge of the cathedral, Innocent Ordu, noted that Nigeria needed political officeholders who were problem solvers, not excuse-givers.

Reading from the book of James chapter 4: 8, he urged the incoming administration to always seek Gods guidance in their quest for wisdom to deliver good governance to the people of the state.

We need performance and we need game changers like the outgoing governor, Nyesom Wike, who is indeed a game changer.

To achieve good governance, particularly in Rivers, Mr Governor-elect, I urge you to assemble a very strong team which by all standards, is competent and capable.

A team of passionate individuals who love the state more than they love their pockets, a good leader will always surround himself with a team of honest, courageous, God-fearing men and women of integrity to deliver on their assigned tasks, he said.

(NAN)

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The Christian faith requires us to reject the wisdom of the world.

No one likes to be considered a fool. When someone tries to take us for a ride, we are inclined to ask: Do you think I am stupid? Do you consider me to be a fool?

Often, he does. Everybody thinks he or she is smarter and wiser than anybody else. That is why this is a world of lies and liars. We think we can pull the wool over the eyes of everyone else.

The truth of the matter is that we cannot. But that does not stop us. When we are on the receiving end, we are outraged. Our pride is hurt. We do not want anybody to consider us as fools. But then pride comes before a fall.

Whom do you think you are fooling? we ask with self-righteous indignation.

Foolish faith

However, our faith requires us to be fools for Christ. It requires us to reject the wisdom of the world. Paul says: The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As it says in the book of Job, God uses mans own brilliance to trap him; he stumbles over his own wisdom and falls. (1 Corinthians 3:19).

For example, the wisdom of the world says if you have something and give it away, you have lost something. But the wisdom of God says: Is it more blessed to give than to receive? (Acts 20:35).

When told that Jesus has risen from the dead, Thomas says: Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. (John 20:25).

For him, seeing is believing according to the wisdom of the world. But Jesus says: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:29).

Paul heightens this tomfoolery of faith. He says: We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. (2 Corinthians 4:18).

To be wise in Christ, we must become fools. To realise the gospel, we must become fools. The gospel itself is about the foolishness of God. That is why many will not accept it.

Foolish Saviour

According to the gospel, the God who created the heavens and the earth became a man. He came through the womb of a woman. He sucked on a womans breast. He crawled on the ground and learnt to walk and to talk. He grew in stature and in wisdom.

Jesus was so foolish He made a thief His treasurer. He preached the virtue of turning the other cheek when slapped. He knew some people were out to kill Him, nevertheless, He allowed them to do so.

As a result, the so-called Saviour of the world could not even save Himself. He died the most ignoble death of all, hanging on a tree.

But then, this foolishness is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16). There is power and victory in the foolishness of God. David was foolish to fight Goliath with only a sling and a stone. But his foolishness was more than sufficient to defeat Goliath. Only the 300 who drank water like dogs were conscripted into Gideons victorious army.

The psalmist acknowledges to God: Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2).

Jesus echoes this: Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3-4).

God Prefers the Foolish

Paul says: You see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Even if you are not foolish, God will often make a fool out of you. He will require that you do foolish things, ensuring that some will soon regard you as a fool.

God told Abram to change his name to Abraham, meaning father of many nations, when he did not even have a single child, thereby making him a laughingstock. He told Noah to build an ark on dry ground where there was no ocean and when it had never rained before.

He told the children of Israel to march foolishly around the walls of Jericho for seven days in silence, before finally bringing down the wall. He asked Isaiah to walk around without his trousers with his buttocks uncovered for three years, no less. He even asked Hosea to marry a prostitute.

He inducted me into a healing ministry by asking me to pray for the sick. But the first four times I did this, the patients died. He told me to put tattered furniture in my living-room, to the derision of my guests. He gave me a prophecy that my boss would be removed from office on Tuesday, forgetting to tell me that the Tuesday would not come for another two years.

Cheated Christians

Our faith requires us to have such confidence in God that many will take advantage of us. They will not realise that we know what they are doing, they simply think we are fools. Thus, Paul says:

We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured, we are dishonoured! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (1 Corinthians 4:10-13).

He even says under no circumstances should we litigate to defend our rights but should agree to be cheated: Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? (1 Corinthians 6:7).

Peter concurs: If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:14).

Sooner or later, God promises to deal with those who take advantage of the fools for Christ. He says in Hosea:

The time of Israels punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools. (Hosea 9:7).

Faribisala@yahoo.com; www.femiaribisala.com

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To my mind, the script being penned by those who are pushing the frenzied lie of an interim government is that of victimhood and persecution complex. When the APC and its president-elect foist the analogy that they are persistent victims of gang-ups and persecution, they evoke public sympathy. Let all eyes be fixated on the court cases instituted by both PDP and LP. They are therapeutic for the health of Nigerias democracy.

Some huge, evil men surround a big, black pot. It is apparent that some food is being cooked. The men have around their waists black cloths, like priests of a dreadful god. Their torsos are naked like the day of creation. Their countenances are scary, with eyes dilating like pebbles immersed in crimson syrup. The sweat that glides down their barrows are crimson-red too. Underneath the black pot are logs of firewood with billowing charcoal-black fumes and red flame. As one of the men heaves the lead off the black pot, the broth on fire catches the attention. It is a blackish pot-pourri that instantly makes enemies of the mind and the palate. The smell oozing out of the broth is very repugnant. It is thick and heavy like the fart of a roving madman, hitting the nose like a pugilists blow.

The men are unperturbed by the smell. They keep fanning the fire which, in turn, cackles with fury. By their side sits the man who, at first glance, must have sent the hefty, unpleasant-looking men on the culinary assignment. He has the height of Goliath. Every aspect of his bodily features is in excessive proportions. He is as dark as tar, his face momentarily creasing into wry smiles as he watches the broth reach its final cooking finish. Then suddenly, another strange man appears, wearing white apparel. He moves near the heavy pot and billowing smoke. Suddenly, everything disappears; the hefty men and their Satanic paymaster. Alas, it was a mirage!

In the minds eye of Nigerias Department of State Security Service (DSS) today, the above image is Nigerias projected state of the polity. This DSS apparently concocted broth has also infected the polity. And the emerging uproar from it is massive, even unimaginable. Wherever you turn, the discussion is Interim Government, the Satanic plot of some unnamed persons. Some sinister men are right behind the fire. They surround it with the craving fury of a dinosaur. They are cooking the broth with magisterial determination. Their intention is to upturn Nigerias democratic journey. They crave the death of the All Progressives Congress (APC) like the eagle does its reptile prey. In fact, those concocting this deathly scenario are convinced that the announced victory of the APC in the 25 February presidential election has made the political party a victim of jealousy of rival political parties. This jealousy, they seem to infer, is comparable to that suffered by the proverbial Koto  Valley, in the hands of Gegele  Mountain. Wrapped in mortal jealousy that the downpour of the rain sidesteps it and enriches the Koto, the Gegele becomes a kvetch, inundating the world with stories of hatred against it.

All they see is the image of military president, Ibrahim Babangida and how he imposed the interim government on Nigeria in 1993. These elements, who are yet to be identified, cannot even stand Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president-elect. Their gang-up is of equal, even if not more sinister, content with the counsel of the biblical Ahithophel, who was one of King Davids most trusted advisors. Absalom, Davids son, then plotted a rebellion against his father. He recruited Ahithophel who then starred prominently in the grisly drama, playing the lead role. Ahithophel finally defected from King David and this defection posed a mortal blow to the King of Israel.

Like Ahithophels, we are told that the infernal intention of those cooking the current destructive broth in Nigeria is to return the country to the post-June 12, 1993 election annulment scenario. Nigerians who are old enough to connect with this narrative will be galled to their marrows. The interim government signifies uncertainty and confusion. It grabs at the throat of a country, inflicting a scenario of the bird that perches on the thin twine rope in the backyard; both the bird and the rope are gripped with tension of unimaginable proportions. Never must a people return to that Ekwensuan equation. The interim government under Chief Ernest Shonekan was a terrifying time in the life of Nigeria. It was a period of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Were Nigeria to be a country where the rules of the brawn prevailed, those leveling these allegations would probably have taken laws into their hands. But because the courts are the only recognised civil arbiter in such confusion, those leveling the electoral manipulation allegations subsequently took their matters to court. This action was however not enough to reduce national tension. Protests in some parts of the country erupted

So, how did we arrive here? After the 25 February election, which was declared to have been won by the APC, the polity became charged to a boiling point. Leading political parties, the PDP and Labour Party, in concert with their loyalists, contributed immensely to the charged atmosphere. Both Atiku and Obi alleged that there were unprecedented electoral malpractices in the presidential poll and proceeded almost immediately to the court to challenge the declaration of Tinubu as president-elect. They leveled allegations of a sophisticated rigging of the presidential election by characters who, they claim, have perverted the courses of electoral justice through the judiciary more than anyone in history. Their main argument is that, Nigeria is contending with street crooks who, all their growing up years, have cooked and fiddled with electoral figures more than an Ijaw fisherman can ever fiddle with shrimps. The same characters, they allege, are adept at all manners of illegitimate perversions and that in this instance, INEC abetted the electoral crooks.

Were Nigeria to be a country where the rules of the brawn prevailed, those leveling these allegations would probably have taken laws into their hands. But because the courts are the only recognised civil arbiter in such confusion, those leveling the electoral manipulation allegations subsequently took their matters to court. This action was however not enough to reduce national tension. Protests in some parts of the country erupted, pointing to the fact that the parties that went to court were either untrusting of the judiciary or they felt that there was greater power in mob assemblage. PDPs flag-bearer, Abubakar, in March, led one of those protests to the Abuja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The protesters said they rejected the result of the 25 February poll declared by the umpire.

In the process, allegations that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kayode Ariwoola, had travelled abroad to have a nocturnal parley with the president-elect began to spread like bushfire in the height of harmattan. In my submission last week, I said that these were a cache of very incoherent allegations which have however recalibrated themselves everywhere like the metastasising cells of cancer. Superior logic has sprouted to counter the widespread ill-logic. One said that granted that there was such a gang-up, a physical meeting between Tinubu and Ariwoola was immaterial to pulling such treasonable chestnut from the fire. Perhaps this was one of the logics that doused and subsided the boiling passion.

Then, like the whooshing of an evening wind, the allegation of an interim government in the offing harmlessly hopped in. And characteristically, its first berthing point was the social media. Its full manifestation runs thus: There is a plan by some God-knows-who to recreate Nigerias 1993 unpleasant model. As a digression, pray, why is MKO Abiola and the 1993 scenario the refrain of the people on this side of the divide and why does that model serve as a convenient harbour for them? First was, on your mandate we shall stand and then this, which sounds like an Epetedo Declaration! Anyway, the rumour left the realm of guesswork when the DSS claimed it was privy to its authenticity. The DSS claim came at the same time when the voluble Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, raised a similar allegation. Coming in the form of a petition, Keyamo urged the DSS to invite LPs presidential candidate, Peter Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, over their rejection of Tinubu as Nigerias president-elect.

Then the DSS came with some frightening counterfactuals. It alleged that some entrenched interests in their mischievous way wanted to set aside the constitution and undermine civil rule, with the aim of careering Nigeria into avoidable crisis. The illegality is totally unacceptable in a democracy and to the peace-loving NigeriansThe planners, in their many meetings, have weighed various options, which include, among others, to sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of State of Emergency. Another is to obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative houses at the Federal and State levels, the DSS said.

First, what is the work schedule of the DSS? Is it not to arrest evil plotters? Why then make hollow hallow of people who are supposed to be sadistic characters in the market square? Global expectation is that when you have such facts, you should not only mention names with clinical precision, but you should also charge them to court. Second, how did all those counterfactuals propounded by the DSS amount to an interim government?

However, like the man in the white apparel who starred in the first concocted grisly drama I began this piece with, if you subject the DSS allegation, the uproar from the APC and the Satanic scenario they all created, to the rigour of logic, you will realise that all we have since been grappling with are mirages. It is just the fertile and fictive imagination of some ghoulish-minded mind-game fictionists who want to manipulate the emotions of Nigerians like those of marionettes. What you get after subjecting their facts to a session of logic is almost synonymous with prickling a massive balloon with a tiny needle. It will burst in your face. Its most fitting analogy is the famous quote from Shakespeares Macbeth: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day And all our yesterdays have lighted fools Out, out, brief candle! (Alls) but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

First, what is the work schedule of the DSS? Is it not to arrest evil plotters? Why then make hollow hallow of people who are supposed to be sadistic characters in the market square? Global expectation is that when you have such facts, you should not only mention names with clinical precision, but you should also charge them to court. Second, how did all those counterfactuals propounded by the DSS amount to an interim government? At best, what the security directorate painted was public dissent, which is not illegitimate in a democracy.

Perhaps, the DSS needs some kindergarten schooling on how the interim government works. Also known by the name provisional, emergency or transitional government, it is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition. It is mostly applicable in newly formed states or when a collapse has been occasioned in a previous government. Members are generally appointed and, most times, arise as a result of civil or foreign wars. The provisional government maintains power pending the assumption of power of a new government. So, in what way does the Nigerian scenario resemble this? Isnt it obvious that it is only government, never an individual, that can create an interim government?

When the crying wolf is the DSS, headed by a man who is suspected not to be an impartial security boss, people must take this Directorates empty rhetoric with a pinch of salt. The same Directorate it was which laid ambush for Godwin Emefiele and sought to have him locked up during the pendency of the general elections. Nigerians know whose bidding this organisation serves and who the drummer underneath the river who drums for its gadfly dancing on the river top is. To invoke that empty, spidery web of national security is one of the easiest things that characters like those in the DSS do, knowing that there is no way people can put a lie to it. But logic does!

To my mind, the script being penned by those who are pushing the frenzied lie of an interim government is that of victimhood and persecution complex. When the APC and its president-elect foist the analogy that they are persistent victims of gang-ups and persecution, they evoke public sympathy. Let all eyes be fixated on the court cases instituted by both PDP and LP. They are therapeutic for the health of Nigerias democracy. Perhaps, falsified election results and their negative spiritual implications have been responsible for how Nigeria has wobbled on a spot this endlessly since independence? Let the ill-logics of an interim nonsense not detain us or instigate us into misplacing our empathy and sympathy.

Portable and the eccentricity of stardom

In the course of my research into the work, Ayinla Omowura: Life and Times of an Apala Legend, I came to the conclusion that stardom and eccentricity are intertwined. One of my sources told me that one day in the late 1970s, Omowura, the late Yoruba musician, as a litigant in a matter that took place in an Abeokuta, Ogun State High Court, walked into the courtroom clutching a half-smoked wrap of burning marijuana. The judge was so scandalised that he shouted, Get out of here! Where do you think you are! apparently in deference to his stardom; otherwise, he would have had the musician arrested immediately.

Virtually all musicians parade one eccentric feature or the other. Iconic maestro, poet, philosopher and a staunch defender of African rights, Winston Hubert MclnTosh, popularly known as Peter Tosh, was in this mould. Aside his staunch belief, like many other Rastafarians, that smoking marijuana was a spiritual purification exercise, Tosh was extremely controversial and did not care whose ox was gored.

Toshs first major hit, after separating from his friend, Bob Marley, was an atavistic album he called Legalize It released in 1976. It uncompromisingly sang the praises of the banned narcotic called Indian hemp, lauding its alleged health benefits. Its album sleeve had him smoking marijuana from a chalice pipe in a countryside hemp plantation.

Tosh once told a 40-000-strong audience that he was not a man of peace as peace was the diploma you get in the cemetery because on the tombstone, it is written, Rest in Peace! In his bassy voice, apparently encrusted by heavy ganja he smoked anywhere, unabashedly, he shouted: Hungry people are angry people. His memorable words landed with a thud because earlier at the concert, and he had ordered some journalists whom he labelled lickle pirates from America wid dem camera and dem TV business to cease filming him.

Barely five months after, Tosh was arrested by the police. He was mercilessly beaten and in the process, his skull was cracked. He only stayed alive by feigning that he had been murdered. This probably explains the recurrence of brutality of Babylon (the police) in his songs. In his Na go a jail track, he banalised the criminalisation of hemp smoking and made a mockery of the system, which relentlessly hounded the weed smoker. This here smoke that you see me with, sir, I just got it from an officer; And this here little bit of green Sensimilla, I just got it from an Inspector, Hes my friend I hear one leader say, If it wasnt for the little Sensi, Him no know what happen to the economy; I see another leader, Go in a Half Way Tree, And he set them ganja prisoners free he sang, stating that even the priest smoked marijuana.

In one of his vinyl recordings, Sakara music great, Yusuf Olatunji, once threw away the prudery associated with African elders. He sang that he once went to Ibadan on a musical engagement and his host dashed him a baby to please his soul. You would think that women were commodities to be given out as gratification of souls. On getting home, said Olatunji, he couldnt narrate what transpired to his wife. O se mi lalejo o, mi o je rohin funyawo mi nile o, o fi baby kan ke mi, enu o gbarohin nijo ti mo dele, he sang.

The eccentricity of Fela Anikulapo Kuti was also largely known. From marrying 27 wives in one day, to publicly smoking weed and appearing almost naked in public, when musician, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, got embroiled with the law for refusing to honour a police invitation, he merely fed into the troll of the eccentricity of musicians. Last Tuesday, videos of how he pelted policemen with curses after their attempt at getting him arrested for rough-handling some men of the Nigeria police hit the internet. At the expiration of the 72-hour ultimatum given him by the police, and as I write this, he is said to have been locked up in a police cell at Eleweran, Abeokuta, preparatory to his arraignment in court. The Police alleged that it acted based on a petition written to it by a Nigerian studio owner whose office the musician allegedly destroyed, while ordering his boys to beat him up.

Apparently half literate, Portable, like most of the musicians of his ilk, is alleged to romance the banned substance Rastafarians call African herb. Sometimes, he lapses into incoherence that probably speaks to some mental disconnect but the depth of his musical rendition is most times confounding.

It is gladsome that the Ogun State police spoke of how the law is no respecter of persons and thus, the need to arraign Portable in court. It must also follow it to the letter. Its Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, had said that the police believed that you are an artiste or a star does not make you above the law and the law is no respecter of anybody. Those interested in find-tuning celebrities and stars should take deeper interest in Portable. I have written of how Brenda Fassie, South African diva, died of drug addiction, denying her fans of her great talents. The question is, cant eccentric behaviour be divorced from artistry? My fear is that Portable stands the risk of being swallowed by the tide of his eccentricity. Like his predecessors.

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.

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Mike was one of those people who made you feel they were in your life long before you were conceived. He defined dependability, thoughtfulness, and grace that brooked no divisions among all creation and spread laughter everywhere he went. In his passing, the vocation of social justice in Nigeria has lost one of its most committed advocates.

For 21 years, we had an annual ritual of speaking every New Years Day and more often besides. You could always trust him to provide a seasons worth of deep insight wrapped in a bodyguard of fun, humour and hilarity. On 1 January, however, it was impossible to reach him  and try as I did  it was difficult to extract a clear understanding of what the problem was, even as it was evident something was not right. That was until the afternoon of Tuesday, 14 March.

Mbabai, the community in the heart of Tiv-land that gave birth to Michael Utsaha, is in Guma Local Government Area on the flood plains of the Guma River, one of the tributaries of the River Benue. Located just 35 Kilometres from the state capital, Guma used to be part of Makurdi until it orbited off into a separate LGA in 1987. To its west, Guma also shares fragile borders with Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

At birth in May 1969, his family named him Tarnongo. In his native Tiv language, the name evoked optimism, conveying the hope for both progress and greatness in the affairs of the world. This hope was not misplaced. He was born into a community that survived the worst of the atrocities associated with the murderous pacification of Tiv-land in the immediate aftermath of Nigerias Independence and at a time of turmoil during the Nigerian civil war, during which the country was led by a man from his Benue-Plateau State.

In many ways, Mike embodied these hopes, making them his own mantra. His origins very much made him a frontiersman, able to connect across boundaries and divides, real or situational. He was born into a family with a deep commitment to public service, faith, and community. His father, Augustine, retired from public service as a senior judge; his mother, Mary, worked in the public service as a teacher before retiring into community leadership; and his immediate younger brother is a general in the Nigerian army.

Mike began his primary education in what was his state capital then, Jos, before finishing it in Makurdi, the new capital of Benue State, where his family relocated to after the creation of states in 1976. Delayed by the turmoil of military rule, which caught up with him during his undergraduate studies at the University of Jos, Mike eventually enrolled at the Nigerian Bar in 1995, following in the footsteps of his father. One decade thereafter, he returned to the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary, for graduate studies as an Open Society Justice Initiative Fellow, one of a cohort of ten from around the world.

In March, 2021, the Makurdi Catholic Diocese constituted a Resource and Planning Commission to upgrade resources at its disposal for supporting communities and adherents suffering from the attacks and displacement in the face of a combination of challenges from both nature and violence at the hands of armed herders. The Bishop chose Mike to head the new Commission as its Executive Secretary.

Had he not ended up at the Bar, Mike would probably have settled for another vocation of the cloth as a Catholic priest. Such was his faith and his commitment to the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church. That commitment shaped his life-long defence of human rights. In this pursuit, he worked with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), as a programme staff, and thereafter, also, as programme officer at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital. Thereafter, Mike gravitated towards closer association with faith and community undertakings, working in succession with the Kukah Centre and the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation.

In 2015, Mike sought nomination on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for a seat in the Benue State House of Assembly. If he had succeeded, he would have become the member representing the home constituency of the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who also comes from Guma. In July 2018, Governor Ortom defected from the APC back to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mikes political ambition was one of the casualties of the resulting turmoil created by Ortoms defection in the politics of the communities in Guma.

By this time, however, he was happy with his work in the communities and appeared to accept that his calling lay in building a constituency for social justice in Benue State. Three years earlier, in July 2015, the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi had installed a Claretian priest, Monsignor Chikpa Wilfred Anagbe, as its new Bishop. Mike worked closely with the new Bishop, adopting the motto of his episcopacy as his personal mission: Ad Iesu et fratres serviendum  to serve Jesus and the brethren. This was entirely in keeping with his commitment to social justice at a time when the Makurdi Diocese increasingly became the epicentre of exposure to murderous atrocities by armed herders. He saw it as part of his vocation to alleviate the suffering of communities affected by the violence and to work with them to discover resilience.

In March, 2021, the Makurdi Catholic Diocese constituted a Resource and Planning Commission to upgrade resources at its disposal for supporting communities and adherents suffering from the attacks and displacement in the face of a combination of challenges from both nature and violence at the hands of armed herders. The Bishop chose Mike to head the new Commission as its Executive Secretary.

Following the inauguration of the Commission in June 2021, Mike threw his heart and soul into its work, enlisting his significant Rolodex network to support it. Such was his conviction in its desirability. Unknown to Mike, however, perhaps a majority of the clergy in the Diocese did not share in his enthusiasm for this undertaking. Regarding the Commission with suspicions founded in erroneous fears for the fiscal wellbeing of their various parishes, many of them chose to oppose its mission. While some of them were happy to let matters lie, a few unashamedly appeared prepared to explore the extreme frontiers of African ill-will in frustrating the work of the Commission.

The ferocity of the determined ill-will from the clergy to whose wellbeing he had dedicated nearly all of his life, as well as the apparent reluctance of episcopal support to address it, however, took their toll. Mike found the depth of the clerical antipathies arrayed against him frightfully shocking. It is not open to question that this had a lot to do with his lamentably untimely passing.

Despite the toxic opposition he faced, Mike forged ahead with significant success, enabling the Diocese of Makurdi to improve its network of supporters within and beyond Nigeria. The ferocity of the determined ill-will from the clergy to whose wellbeing he had dedicated nearly all of his life, as well as the apparent reluctance of episcopal support to address it, however, took their toll. Mike found the depth of the clerical antipathies arrayed against him frightfully shocking. It is not open to question that this had a lot to do with his lamentably untimely passing.

When we spoke at the end of October 2022, Mike conveyed that he was far from optimal shape but hoped to be in better fettle soon thereafter. That was not to be. As the last quarter of 2022 wore on, his health got more fragile, necessitating hospitalisation in December 2022. On 13 March this year, he was transferred to the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi. The following day, he walked the road of all mortals in the presence of his family. On 1 April, his mortal remains returned to earth.

Mike was one of those people who made you feel they were in your life long before you were conceived. He defined dependability, thoughtfulness, and grace that brooked no divisions among all creation and spread laughter everywhere he went. In his passing, the vocation of social justice in Nigeria has lost one of its most committed advocates.

Tarnongo Mike Utsaha is survived by his wife, Caroline; his teenage daughter, Naomi NguUmbur, his parents, and siblings.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu.

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I so much desire to walk in this realm by the grace and mercy of God. If you dont want your words to be light and watery in the spirit realm, flee from sin. If you want to build spiritual muscle, depth and impact, build a life of integrity, faithfulness and obedience to Gods word. This will catapult you to the realm of the following people: Before they call, I will answer. And while they are still speaking, I will perform.

Daniel in Babylon is a type of church in todays world. Daniel was not a pastor. He was not the General Overseer of any ministry. He was just a faithful young man whose core values were deeply rooted in the fear of God. And on the day it mattered most, when his life and those of his friends depended on Gods mercies, Daniel prayed to God, who answered him swiftly, giving him the secret he so desperately needed in the form of a revelation (Daniel 2: 19). A casual reader of the Bible wont see anything significant in these words, the secret was revealed to Daniel. Who do you reveal your secrets to? Im too sure you wont push the private discussions youve just had with your wife to the pages of social media. Secrets are revealed to trusted sources, people you have built a lifelong relationship with, people who have been tested over the years.

Interestingly, things are not too different with God. A lot of us have been pushing the gates of heaven, almost to a breaking point, to get answers to critical prayers. Still those prayers have remained unanswered. Many of us have been pleading with angels, while some have been engaging every notable spiritual force of prayer, just to gain access to mysteries and secrets, divine ideas, wisdom from the throne room of heaven, to solve critical life problems. Yet, nothing has been revealed to us. Why would God reply to Daniels prayers and Hes refused to reply to mine? Here is the secret, integrity. Daniel had built a history of integrity with God. In Daniel 1:8, the Bible says, And Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Thats the code; a life that fears and honours God.

Daniel had every opportunity to defile himself, but he intentionally walked away from sin. You dont want to know the risk he took to say no to the Kings delicacies, food that had actually been dedicated to idols. Dont let anyone deceive you, there is great reward in living a life of consecration, a life of intentional holiness that we desperately need in this highly corrupt world. On the day it matters most, it is your integrity, your history of faithfulness and loyalty to Gods word, your history of the fear of God, your history of honour to God and to His word that will bail you out. Integrity speaks. Similarly, corruption speaks; it speaks stagnancy; it speaks judgement on a nation. This explains why despite the presence of the church in many nations, evil has continued unabated. A lot of times, many leaders in the church whose voice should birth mercies and turnaround for nations, are deeply corrupt. In that condition, they would pray and prophecy, yet nothing would happen.

Perhaps, hyper-grace preachers have told you that no matter what you do, God will still continue to love you. Yes, His love is unconditional. But His rewards are conditional. The law of sowing and reaping is conditional (Galatians 6:7). It is what you so that you will reap, despite Gods love for you. God does not answer all prayers. Yes, we are equal in our worth before God, and in our access to the salvation grace, but we are not equal in results.

Do not endorse evil, even if you will benefit from it. Do not steal what is not yours. Do not give judgement to the poor and justice to the rich. Do not support corrupt leaders because they are your family members. Do not partake of idolatry or occultism in any guise, regardless of who is involved.

Daniel was intentional about a life of integrity. It was not accidental. No wonder, he achieved so much for God.

This is a very serious matter. The life of Daniel and his friends were on the line. God needed to respond, otherwise, Nebuchadnezzar was hell bent on killing every wise man in Babylon. This scenario is well represented in todays world. We now live in a world filled with tons and shades of troubles and trials. Will you be exempted on the day your life is on the line? Will you seek mercies from God in that critical period of your life, and will God respond to your cries like He did for Daniel? Start building on integrity now. Do not partake of evil. Do not endorse evil, even if you will benefit from it. Do not steal what is not yours. Do not give judgement to the poor and justice to the rich. Do not support corrupt leaders because they are your family members. Do not partake of idolatry or occultism in any guise, regardless of who is involved.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalms 66:18).

Build a history of a life of integrity. Love God and love men to the best of your ability.

Sadly, a lot of us have built up a history of rebellion, corruption and idolatry. God does not reveal secrets to people in that category. Why?

The secrets of the Lord is with them that fear Him (Psalm 25:14).

Can you cry to God for mercies on the day your life is on the line, and the gates of heaven would be flung open to your prayers? Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and said: I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling (1 Timothy 2:8). Look at the words, lifting up holy hands. You cant lift up sinful hands to God in prayer. Sins sinks prayer! The same is repeated in James 5:16: confess your sins, one to anotherand the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

I so much desire to walk in this realm by the grace and mercy of God. If you dont want your words to be light and watery in the spirit realm, flee from sin. If you want to build spiritual muscle, depth and impact, build a life of integrity, faithfulness and obedience to Gods word. This will catapult you to the realm of the following people: Before they call, I will answer. And while they are still speaking, I will perform.

Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist, and minister of the word, writes from Canada and can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com.

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Two female students of the Federal University, Gusau, in Zamfara State were abducted by terrorists who attacked hostels used by students staying off campus in the Sabon Gida area of the states capital on Sunday morning.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the two students, whose names were only given as Maryam and Zainab, were abducted around 01:42 a.m.

Maryam and Zainab are students of Microbiology at the university and were in their room when the terrorists attacked the area.

The police command in the state has confirmed the abduction and said efforts are being made to rescue them.

Mohammed Shehu, the spokesperson of the police in the state, said in a statement that the state police commissioner, Kolo Yusuf, has ordered a tactical team to rescue the students.

Information received by the Command indicated that On 2nd April 2023 at about 0100am, Armed bandits stormed Sabon Gida village in Bungudu LGA and broke into a rented female hostel of the university where they locked up the two (2) civilian guards and dispossessed them of their handsets and later abducted two (2) female students of Microbiology Department of the university, Mr Shehu said.

READ ALSO: Police rescue 14 kidnapped victims in Zamfara

Mr Shehu added that the command has deployed reinforcement to complement the ongoing search for the abductees.

Students in Zamfara and many other states in northern Nigeria have been at the receiving end of terrorists activities since at least 2014 when Boko Haram insurgents abducted over 200 girls students in Chibok, Borno state.

Ever since, terrorists, loosely called bandits in the North- west, have been attacking schools and abducting students, especially in Government Science Secondary school in Kankara Katsina state, Government Science College Kagara in Niger state, Government Girls Secondary school Jangebe in Zamfara State, College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Bakura, Zamfara state, Federal Government College Yauri in Kebbi State, Greenfield University Kaduna state and others.

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Kota Congress's divisional level workers' conference was held in Kotaon Saturday. In the meeting, CM Ashok Gehlot, in charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, arrived to address the workers

calling the BJP government a conspiracy to disqualify Rahul Gandhi's membership from Parliament. CM raised questions even on the working style of Om Birla speaker LS.

CM Ashok Gehlot said that the Lok Sabha speaker is working under pressure. At the same time, CM Ashok Gehlot once again targeted the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat regarding the ERCP project and said that such a considerable portfolio. Despite being in power, the minister cannot do anything for the irrigation and drinking water scheme of the critical 13 districts of Rajasthan. Referring to the welfare schemes of the state government, he said that the government has provided relief to every section of the state's people. Schemes have been implemented, and the common man has decided to bring back the Congress government. While appreciating the Chambal River Front, CM Gehlot also said that Gujarat's riverfront is only in name. Describing Minister Shanti Dhariwal as the designer of Kota Kota, he said that Shanti Dhariwal has changed the picture of Kota with unprecedented development. Kota's riverfront has made Kota a tourist area. At the same time in charge, Randhawa also attacked the BJP government fiercely in his address to the BJP, Describing the most lying party and claiming BJP's crushing defeat in 2024. UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal also addressed the worker's conference in his own style, taking a dig at the BJP. BJP has stopped the salaries of the employees employed in the IT cell.

Minister Shanti Dhariwal also discussed the development work done in Kota and targeted the airport issue, saying that the state government has taken its own initiative. Complete work has been done, but the central government is discussing the airport. Calling upon the workers to forget their differences and join in solidarity, he said that the government would repeat and all the workers should play their essential role. Many Congress office bearers and workers from Kota Bundi Baran Jhalawar reached the divisional level conference. At the same time, the same minister Ashok Chandna targeted the central government by giving a speech in Hadoti, encouraging the workers in the forum. Pankaj Mehta, Vice President of Khadi Village Industries Board, former MLAs Harimohan Sharma, Karan Singh, Bharat Singh Sharma, Meenakshi Chandrawat, Zila PramukhUrmila Jain Bhaya PCC member Amit Dhariwal, district president Ravindra Tyagi and a large number of office bearers of the Congress division in the divisional level Congress worker conference. Congress workers were present.

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Udaipur.75 solar scientists from all over the country will gather in Udaipur from the 3rd to the 5th of April. Solar and space scientists from the country's prestigious scientific institutions, including the Department of Space, IIT, are coming to Udaipur to participate in Udaipur Solar Observatory, USO, which is organizing a three-day solar physics workshop on Multi-scale Solar Phenomena: Current Potential and Future Challenges [USPW-2023] ]

Workshop Convener Prof. Bhuvan Joshi said that in the workshop, there would be an in-depth scientific discussion on the current status of research on the Sun, activity, changes, space weather, etc., and a vision document will be prepared on India's future solar missions including Aditya-L1 solar mission.

The workshop will also provide a platform for young solar researchers to interact with senior researchers in solar physics, which will help orient their interests in line with future research goals.

Convenor and media coordinator Dr. Ramit Bhattacharya said the workshop would be inaugurated on April 3 at 9 am by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council and member of the Space Commission, former Chairman of ISRO, former Secretary Department of Space, PRL Management BoardPadma Shri AS Kiran Kumar.

Renowned Space Scientist Professor Anil Bhardwaj, Director of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, will deliver the welcome address at the workshop.

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A committee of major oil producers recommended Wednesday to maintain the cartel's current reduced output strategy, as the global economic outlook remains uncertain and the war in Ukraine drags on.

The 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Riyadh and their 10 allies led by Moscow agreed last October to reduce output by two million barrels per day until the end of this year.

Collectively known as OPEC+, the group said at the time the move, the biggest cut since the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, was due to "market considerations", but the US denounced it as a concession to Moscow.

Oil prices spiked following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the group's Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) "reaffirmed their commitment" to the strategy of a production cut.

The JMMC has no decision-making power but discusses market conditions and makes recommendations, which are then formally discussed and decided at the organisation's ministerial meetings.

Analysts have been widely anticipating a continuation of the status quo.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at trading platform OANDA, noting the "uncertainty around the global economic outlook also likely clouding their forecasts for demand."

Investors are eyeing an increase in demand after China, the world's largest importer of crude oil, lifted its "zero Covid" policy.

American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) currently hovers around $80 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude around $85, far from their peaks of more than $130 dollars reached in March after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The next JMMC meeting is set for April 3, according to a statement from the group. The group's next ministerial meeting is scheduled for June 4.

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elevatus, the multi-award-winning recruitment software, today announced its partnership with Jisr; the leading HR and payroll system in the Kingdom. This strategic partnership will supercharge and complement their offerings by delivering an integrated one-stop solution for clients to hire and manage their workforces from one single place. With this collaboration, clients will no longer have to piece together a patchwork of solutions, but will instead have access to a complete solution that covers the entire hiring cycle; from creating job requisitions to managing payroll.

Elevatus and Jisr unite to revolutionize recruitment in KSA with the perfect fusion of cutting-edge tech and comprehensive recruiting, HR, and payroll solutions

Jisr is the Kingdom's most powerful, flexible, and integrated HR and payroll software. Jisr partnered with Elevatus to unleash a powerhouse solution and empower clients to effortlessly streamline their entire hiring process, in addition to effortlessly managing their HR and payroll. Elevatus is revolutionizing recruitment with its cutting-edge technology, offering a comprehensive solution that encompasses candidate sourcing, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, candidate ranking, visa management, video assessments, employee onboarding, and more. By partnering and integrating with Jisr, Elevatus can pave the way for companies to recruit top talent and build top-performing workforces in record time. With its award-winning technology, Elevatus has gained substantial popularity in the KSA market, enabling clients to achieve their Vision 2030 goals. Where they can outpace the competition in the talent hunt, attract top talent, streamline their recruitment processes with a paperless solution, and transform their existing tech stack into a unified recruiting powerhouse.

"Our partnership with Jisr will enable us to offer our clients a holistic solution that encompasses everything they need to automate their recruitment, HR, and payroll. Our powerhouse technologies combined together will result in the most innovative workflows our clients will ever see," said Yara Burgan, Founder and CEO at Elevatus. "We're thrilled to partner with Jisr, as this strategic partnership combines the best of both worlds  Elevatus' futuristic recruiting solutions and Jisr's best-in-class HR and payroll system."

Jisr has been the leading HR and payroll system in the KSA for years and this partnership will complete their offering with Elevatus' innovative recruitment technology. Jisr provides its clients with one single platform to facilitate their human resource management needs. Where they can seamlessly manage all their employees' data, pay salaries in minutes, comply with the Kingdom's labour law, and get flexible reporting to make the best business decisions.

Elevatus and Jisr unite to revolutionize recruitment in KSA with the perfect fusion of cutting-edge tech and comprehensive recruiting, HR, and payroll solutions. This powerful partnership will result in superior hiring outcomes and an unparalleled recruitment experience. It will set a new standard in the industry by allowing companies in the Kingdom and beyond to achieve exceptional recruitment success, recruit top-performing teams, and retain a happy workforce.

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Elevatus Inc.

Email: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045897/Elevatus_Jisr.jpg

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ST. PAUL, Minn., April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson//Becker, PLLC is a nationwide product liability law firm with extensive experience representing clients injured by defective products. The firm has represented over 700 clients burned by exploding pressure cookers.

On Mar. 24, 2023, Johnson//Becker filed a lawsuit against Instant Brands, alleging defects in the Instant Pot IP-LUX Electric Pressure Cooker. The firm's client, Mr. Devin Edward Badders, claims that the Instant Pot caused him to sustain severe burn injuries.

The Complaint alleges that Mr. Badders suffered serious bodily injuries due to the pressure cooker lid's ability to be opened while the pressure cooker was still under pressure.

The Complaint also alleges that Instant Brands "should have known of these defects but has nevertheless put profit ahead of safety by continuing to sell its pressure cookers to consumers."

A resident of Damascus, Arkansas, Mr. Badders is represented by Johnson//Becker lawyer Adam J. Kress. Adam exclusively handles injury cases, with an emphasis on national product liability litigation, including cases involving burn injuries from defective products.

Questions About an Instant Pot Explosion Lawsuit? Contact a Johnson//Becker Lawyer for a Free Case Review.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective Instant Pot pressure cooker, you may want to speak with the lawyers at Johnson//Becker. We are actively filing new pressure cooker lawsuits across the country, and you may be entitled to financial compensation.

We offer a Free Case Evaluation. To learn more about Johnson//Becker's product liability cases, or to arrange a free, no obligation case review, please visit Johnson//Becker at https://www.johnsonbecker.com/product-liability/instant-pot-pressure-cooker-lawsuit/, https://www.johnsonbecker.com/product-liability/pressure-cooker-lawsuit/ or contact Johnson//Becker directly at (800) 279-6386.

SOURCE Johnson // Becker, PLLC
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Eileen O'Reilly, President of the National Press Club and Gil Klein, President of the National Press Club Journalism Institute on developments in the wrongful detention of Wall Street Journal Correspondent Evan Gershkovich.

"It was encouraging that Secretary of State Blinken was able to get on the phone with his Russian counterpart Mr. Lavarov this weekend to discuss the case of Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal. The fact that they are talking is encouraging. We hope it means more progress and soon.

Something of great consequence happened last week in central Russia when Evan Gershkovich was unjustly detained by Russian security service. Not since the days of the Cold War has Russia taken a U.S. journalist hostage. For nearly 40 years, despite the ebbs and flows of tensions between our countries, our journalists have been able to operate without being arrested and imprisoned. Now that has changed.

This shocking turn of events has obscured some important aspects of the case. The first is that although the charge could not be of a more serious nature, Gershkovich has not been allowed to even meet the attorney the Journal has provided for him. When you hear news reports stating that Evan was in court and accompanied by his attorney, please know that is an attorney hired by the state. This, on its own, is massively unjust. We should stop using words like courtroom, lawyer, trial, charges to refer to this situation. This is a hostage taking.

The second important matter is that the Russians have announced Evan will be held until at least May 29. That is two months from now. So, any hope that this was a quick action has faded.

The third important matter is that consular visits have not been established. This is allowed by treaty, but, as with some of the other recent cases, there will be at least a period of time when Evan is on his own. This is an extremely challenging situation.

What was Evan doing over there on the other side of the Ural Mountains, in a remote village near a tank factory? He was an American, traveling alone, interviewing sources in Russian, trying to find out how the economy was operating in this rural area. Well, one thing he was doing was making the Russians very uncomfortable with what he was finding out. So much so, that they overturned 40 years of precedent. What he was doing was journalism and we can all learn something by just considering the courage and the craft on display in this case and what it means for our profession. Evan needs our support now. We intended to give him all we can."

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major journalism organization and is a leading voice for press freedom worldwide.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes and engaged, global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club

SOURCE National Press Club
59% Of Registered Voters Would Vote for a Moderate Independent Ticket

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a memo released today, No Labels outlined a path for how an independent Unity ticket could win the White House in 2024.

The memo cites the December 2022 poll conducted for No Labels by HarrisX, which includes responses from over 26,000 registered voters nationally and representative samples of voters in all 50 states. As reported this morning in The Washington Post, the poll found that 64% of voters want more options than just Democrats and Republicans when selecting a president. Specifically, 59% said they would be open to voting for a "moderate independent" presidential ticket in 2024 if the alternatives were former President Trump as the Republican nominee and President Biden as the Democratic nominees.

None of this should be surprising because Americans are leaving the two major parties in droves. In February 2023, 44% told Gallup they considered themselves independent, compared to just 28% who identified as Democrats and 27% as Republicans.

It's hard to overstate just how frustrated and disaffected Americans are right now. Three-quarters of them disapprove of Congress, think the country is on the wrong track and "don't feel represented by the major leaders in either party." Half of Americans say they are worse off financially compared to a year ago, the most negative reading since 2009.

For the last decade, No Labels has been working to combat the growing anger and extremism consuming our politics. No Labels has created a growing national movement of commonsense Americans pushing our leaders together to solve our country's biggest problems.

In late 2021, No Labels began laying the groundwork for a potential independent Unity ticket  featuring one Democrat and one Republican  in 2024. No Labels is aware any independent ticket faces a steep climb. And if rigorously gathered data suggests an independent Unity ticket can't win, the ballot line will not be offered to any presidential ticket.

Going forward, the No Labels "2024 Insurance Policy" will proceed down one of two paths.

The Major Parties Wake Up: They see the growing voice and leverage of the commonsense majority and nominate candidates and release policy platforms that cater to the needs of this majority, instead of the wants of a partisan minority. If at least one of the major parties does this, there's no need, or path, for an independent Unity ticket. And No Labels will stand down and double down on the great work we're doing in Congress. No Labels Nominates a Unity Ticket: Both parties keep forcing the American people down a road they don't want to go and nominate candidates most Americans don't want to vote for. If this happens, and No Labels' polling and research show there is a path to victory for a Unity ticket to win in the Electoral College, then we will offer our ballot line to a ticket.

No Labels is working to ensure Americans have the choice to vote for a 2024 presidential ticket that features strong, effective, and honest leaders who will commit to working closely with both parties to find commonsense solutions to America's biggest problems.

SOURCE No Labels
NEW YORK, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Dutch Bros, Inc. (NYSE: BROS) between March 1, 2022 and May 11, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 1, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Dutch Bros securities 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 Dutch Bros class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12586 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] 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 handle 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, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) the Company was experiencing increased costs and expenses, including on dairy; (2) as a result, the Company was experiencing increased margin pressure and decreased profitability in the first quarter of 2022; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Dutch Bros class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12586 mailto:or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] 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 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.
CANBERRA, Australia, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeing Machines Limited (AIM: SEE), the advanced computer vision technology company that designs AI-powered operator monitoring systems to improve transport safety, will exhibit its world-leading interior sensing technology alongside the 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference 2023 at PACIFICO Yokohama, Japan, from 3 to 6 April 2023.

Seeing Machines' immersive technology demonstrations will be held by appointment at a private meeting space in the Intercontinental Yokohama Grand and in our demo car, to showcase the Company's latest groundbreaking software and algorithm developments for its FOVIO driver and occupant monitoring system (DMS/OMS) technology solutions.

Sponsored by the USA's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the theme of the 27th ESV 2023 is 'Enhanced and equitable vehicle safety for all: toward the next 50 years'. Seeing Machines Chief of Science and Innovation, Dr Mike Lenne, has provided support to the European New Car Assessment Program's (Euro NCAP) presentation on the current and future in-cabin monitoring systems assessment, at the conference.

Seeing Machines is revolutionising global transport safety, developing and licensing proprietary technology to some of the world's leading automotive manufacturers.

We use advanced machine vision technology to precisely measure and analyse head pose, eyelid movements and eye gaze under a full spectrum of demanding in-vehicle lighting conditions, as well as through eyewear such as sunglasses. This data is processed to interpret driver attention state, focus, drowsiness and impairment levels to provide critical inputs in real-time to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), as well as to vehicle cockpit, comfort and convenience systems.

As the worldwide focus on transport safety heightens, Seeing Machines continues to grow as an automotive technology leader in driver and occupant monitoring systems, having won a total of 15 automotive programs for 10 individual OEMs, spanning more than 160 vehicle models, undepinned by over 11 billion kilometers of driving data and delivered with proven global automotive Tier-1 customers and partners.

Seeing Machines' corporate executives and technical subject matter experts will be present at the show.

About Seeing Machines (AIM: SEE), a global company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Australia, is an industry leader in vision-based monitoring technology that enable machines to see, understand and assist people. Seeing Machines' technology portfolio of AI algorithms, embedded processing and optics, power products that need to deliver reliable real-time understanding of vehicle operators. The technology spans the critical measurement of where a driver is looking, through to classification of their cognitive state as it applies to accident risk. Reliable "driver state" measurement is the end-goal of Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) technology. Seeing Machines develops DMS technology to drive safety for Automotive, Commercial Fleet, Off-road and Aviation. The company has offices in Australia, USA, Europe and Asia, and supplies technology solutions and services to industry leaders in each market vertical. www.seeingmachines.com

SOURCE Seeing Machines Limited
Tiens focuses on global markets by engaging with likeminded peers from the four corners of the globe

BOAO, China, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The highly anticipated Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 themed "An Uncertain World: Solidarity and Cooperation for Development amid Challenges", kicked off in Boao, China, on March 28-31. As a BFA senior platinum member, Li Jinyuan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tiens Group, a direct seller of healthcare products, was invited to speak at the forum by the organizing committee.

Li Jinyuan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tiens Group, at the Boao forum.

This year's conference focuses on regional cooperation in Asia, carbon neutrality, green energy, climate change, and the digital economy. Highlighting the Boao Forum's role as a platform for international exchange and cooperation, Tiens Group participated in the discussions, shared the firm's story while listening to the latest ideas and views and connecting with industry peers.

"As a China-based multinational provider of healthcare products with a 28-year track record in international development, Tiens Group has taken the lead in supporting China's 'Belt and Road' initiative, as the means to understand and seize opportunities in the global market," said Mr. Li. "Tiens Group is confident in pooling resources with partners so that all participants are winners despite the challenges that must be jointly overcome during the process."

During the four-day event, Mr. Li engaged in meaningful conversations with many of the invitees, including BFA chairman Ban Ki-moon, and BFA vice chairman and chief representative for China Zhou Xiaochuan, exchanging ideas and sharing Tiens' successful experience with them.

During the forum, Mr. Li were interviewed by journalists from Hainan Daily, Qiongdao TV and several other media organizations. The key message that he related during the interviews: "Tiens is willing to give full play to its own advantages. The company always adheres to the mission of keeping people healthy and serving society with mantra of 'make life healthier, happier, richer and better'. Tiens is in the process of upgrading every stage in its workflow process to adapt to the evolving global industry and supply chains, and, by doing so, contribute to the establishment and growth of new trade flows both throughout Asia as well as worldwide."

Tiens Group has opened offices in 110 countries, with a presence in 224 countries and regions, serving nearly 50 million households, creating tens of millions of jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities worldwide. The company has made significant contributions to improving the quality of life and physical and mental health of hundreds of millions of people.

Looking ahead, Tiens Group plans to continue leveraging its strong globalization platform and channels as well as its extensive brand influence, with a focus on increasing investment and presence in countries targeted by the Chinese government's Belt and Road initiative, and building global supply, industrial, data and talent chains, with the end goal of achieving enhanced and accelerated growth.

SOURCE Tiens Group
Cairo, April 2 : Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, who is visiting Cairo for the first time in more than a decade, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The two Ministers "discussed various aspects of bilateral relations and means of advancing and promoting them ... in addition to a number of regional and international issues of common concern," said Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement on Saturday.

Shoukry reiterated Egypt's full support to efforts aiming at reaching "a comprehensive political settlement" and achieving national reconciliation in Syria, Xinhua news agency reported.

Achieving a comprehensive political settlement "will put an end to foreign interference in Syrian affairs, guarantee the restoration of full security and stability of Syria, preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty, protect its people's resources and eliminate all forms of terrorism," he said.

Syria's political settlement will also allow the voluntary and safe return of millions of Syrian refugees, he added.

For his part, Mekdad expressed his country's appreciation for Egypt's "supportive role" over the past years as well as Egypt's humanitarian relief assistance offered following the devastating earthquake in Syria in February.

The Syrian Foreign Minister hoped for "more Arab solidarity with Syria in order to overcome its crisis and restore its historical role in supporting Arab causes".

Syria has been shunned by many Arab states and its Arab League membership has been suspended since the Syrian conflict started in 2011.
Khartoum, April 2 : Sudanese parties involved in the political process have agreed to postpone the signing of the final agreement to April 6.

The decision was made during a meeting held at the Republican Palace here on Saturday that brought together Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and Commander of the Sudanese army Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leaders of the civilian forces, and representatives from the African Union, the United Nations and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

The final political agreement, which aims to create a transitional civil authority in Sudan, was scheduled to be signed on Saturday, but differences between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces over the security and military reform clause and integration of the irregular forces in the army postponed the signing of the deal, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The meeting reviewed the progress made in the discussions of reaching a final political agreement and identified the remaining issues, which are the technical issues related to the stages of reform, integration and modernisation in the security and military sectors," Khalid Omer Yousif, spokesman of the political process, said in a statement after the meeting.

"During the meeting, the military and civilian parties unanimously decided to double efforts to overcome the remaining obstacle within few days prior to the signing of the final political agreement on April 6," he added.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis since Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, and dissolved the sovereign council and the government.
Russian oil sales to India surged more than twentyfold last year as European buyers turned to other markets following the conflict in Ukraine, Russia's deputy prime minister said Tuesday.

Russia shifted its oil exports to India and China last year as European Union nations sought to end their reliance on Russian energy supplies after Moscow sent troops into neighbouring Ukraine.

The EU imposed an embargo on seaborne Russian oil in December alongside a price cap on Russia crude that was agreed with the Group of Seven industrialised powers.

The shift has meant cheaper Russia energy imports for China and India.

"Most of our energy resources were redirected to other markets, to the markets of friendly countries," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in comments carried by Russian news agencies.

"If for example we take oil supplies to India, they increased 22 times last year," Novak said.

Novak, who is in charge of Russia's energy sector, also noted that supplies to China were increasing as a "result of the great work that has been done in the industry."

Russia, a major producer and key ally of the OPEC oil cartel, cut crude production by 500,000 barrels per day this month in response to the Western sanctions.

Novak announced last week that the output reduction, which amounts to five percent of daily production, would continue through June.

He said the move was part of a response to Western penalties targeting Russia's oil industry that aim to limit Moscow's ability to finance its military.

The International Energy Agency said this month that Russia's oil-export revenue sank by almost half in February compared to last year.

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Belgrade, April 2 : A highway section linking New Belgrade to Surcin of Serbia was opened for traffic.

The section, a part of the E-763 highway, is around 8-km-long and has three lanes in each direction, a five-metre dividing strip, two-metre-wide pedestrian paths, and bicycle lanes was opened on Saturday.

The construction of the section began in March 2021 and was conducted by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), Xinhua news agency reported.

The project, worth about $70.5 million, is of high priority for Serbia as it will enable a fast connection between Belgrade and the E-763 highway and create a short link between Belgrade and the Adriatic Sea.

Attending the opening ceremony in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia is heading into new infrastructural investments thanks to good financial results this year and low public debt.

"This year, we expect to sign large contracts, thanks to slightly better results... This is the success of Serbia, but also of all our citizens," Vucic added.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, several Ministers, the Mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Sapic, and the Chinese ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo also attended the ceremony.

"We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Chinese and Serbian engineers and workers who worked on this section of the road. We are glad that our Serbian friends will feel the benefits of the road every day," said Chen.
Jerusalem, April 2 : Three Israelis have been wounded in a suspected car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli medics and military.

The attack occurred in the Beit Ummar village near the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday evening. According to Israeli emergency services, three Israelis were taken to hospitals in Jerusalem with serious, moderate and light wounds.

The assailant was "neutralised" on the spot, according to a statement from the Israeli military.

Israel security forces are on high alert ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover which will be celebrated in the middle of next week, overlapping the Muslim month of Ramzan. The Israeli military announced it will impose a closure on the West Bank ahead of Passover, forbidding the Palestinians to enter Israel during this period, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Saturday, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli police forces at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. The police said the man attempted to carry out an attack against the forces, which was rejected by some Palestinians at the scene.

The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been flaring since early January this year, with more than 90 Palestinians and 15 Israelis being killed, according to official Palestinian and Israeli statistics.
Aden : , April 2 (IANS) At least three soldiers of Yemen's government forces were killed in an ambush by al-Qaida gunmen in the country's southern province of Abyan, a military official told the media.

The troop fell into a shooting rampage launched by the ambushed gunmen while they were driving in patrol in the Umayran Valley of the province, the local military official said on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

Several other soldiers who were injured in the attack received medical assistance immediately, the military official added.

Tensions have been escalating in Abyan as al-Qaida gains a foothold in the region, exploiting the current instability caused by the years-long military conflict raging in Yemen, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida terror group has been responsible for a surge in attacks against government forces, intelligence officials, and military infrastructure, further exacerbating the already dire situation in the war-ravaged Arab country.

In an effort to combat the mounting terror threat, government forces backed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition conducted several large-scale military operations on al-Qaida hideouts in recent months.

However, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have not been successful in eliminating the terror groups entrenched in various mountainous areas of Abyan and other neighbouring southern provinces.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthi rebels fighting against the internationally-recognised government and its allies, which include a Saudi Arabia-led coalition.
Jerusalem, April 2 : Tens of thousands of Israelis resume demonstrations in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, calling for a complete cancellation of the government's judicial overhaul plan, according to the local media.

The Times of Israel, citing the estimation of Channel 12, reported that some 160,000 people were demonstrating in the major Israeli city on Saturday evening. Demonstrations were also held in several other cities.

Before the protests resurfaced, streets had largely remained calm for a few days in Israel since the ruling coalition and those opposing the reform started their negotiations on Thursday to find a compromise solution, Xinhua news agency reported.

On March 26, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause in the contentious legislation aimed at curbing what they called a too-powerful Supreme Court. The decision came after weeks of widespread protests and a brief nationwide strike.

The ruling coalition, which had pushed forward judicial reform bills in the parliament since the beginning of this year, argued that the Supreme Court often "intervenes" in political issues that should be determined by the legislature.

Opponents of the reforms believe the reform will weaken the courts and give the coalition too much power.

"We are on guard. The danger has not yet passed," Yair Lapid, Head of the Opposition, tweeted from one of the demonstrations. Lapid's party Yesh Atid is participating in the negotiations.
Lucknow, April 2 : As many as 78 students of Babu Banarasi Das (BBD) University in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh's state capital, fell ill after they allegedly consumed food in the hostel on their return to the campus after a late-night event, said university authorities.

In all, 42 students were taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) and 36 to a private hospital in Chinhat.

A team from the state Health department also visited the students and the hostel inside the BBD campus.

S.M. Kamil Rizvi, Dean (Student Welfare) and Chief Proctor of the BBD Educational Group, said, "There was an event in the campus that continued till late in the night. On their return to their hostel, the students had dinner. Hours later, we received news about some of them having stomach problem. They were taken to the hospital." The Superintendent of the Chinhat community health centre (CHC), said, "The students said they had salad, rice, dal, chapati, and sweet dish. According to them, the chapati and the sweet dish tasted bad. We are also getting the water tested in the lab." Most of the students have been discharged while others are stable.
Jakarta, April 2 : Nine people were wounded as an oil refinery owned by Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina exploded in Riau province, Inspector General Muhammad Iqbal, the provincial police chief, said on Sunday.

The incident occurred in Dumai town before midnight, and seven of the wounded people were still treated at a hospital while two others had returned home, the police chief added.

Iqbal said that the fire had been extinguished, and the situation was under control, Xinhua news agency reported.
New Delhi, April 2 With Indian-Americans Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy tossing their hats in the ring for the 2024 US Presidential elections, Democrat Suhas Subramanyam says the US is ready for a president of an Indian descent.

Hailing from Bengaluru, Subramanyam serves the 87th District of Virginia House of Delegates, and recently announced his bid for the state's newly-drawn 32nd Senate District.

"Yes", America is ready for an Indian-American president, Subramanyam told IANS in an interview, as two of the world's two biggest democracies, India and the US, gear up to elect their next governments.

The number of Indian-Americans getting appointed to distinguished positions has grown rapidly in recent years, with Ramaswamy being the latest entrant in the presidential race, and the third in the Republican Party after Haley and former Louisiana Governor Piyush Bobby Jindal's unsuccessful run in 2016.

A resident of Loudoun County, Subramanyam, a technology and regulatory attorney, became the first Indian-American and South Asian to ever be elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2019.

His family's story in America began in 1979, when Suhas's mother immigrated to the US from Bengaluru.

His parents pursued the American dream and passed along values that Suhas holds today -- serve your community, succeed with hard work, and empower those without a voice, according to Subramanyam's website.

"I still have family in India and understand the value of passing on my Indian heritage and traditions to my kids," Subramanyam told IANS.

He served as a White House advisor to President Barack Obama in 2015, where he led a task force on technology policy that addressed job creation, IT modernisation, and regulating emerging technology.

Of over 7,50,000 Asian-Americans who live in Virginia, close to 10 per cent of the population, Indian-Americans make up the largest ethnic group.

The vast majority of South Asians live in Northern Virginia, in Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax counties.

According to a 2021 poll conducted by Indian-American Impact, South Asian voters leaned Democratic, with a vast majority of South Asian registered voters preferring the Democratic candidate.

"The Indian community in Virginia is one of the fastest growing voting groups in the Commonwealth. The issues Indian community members face are no different than other families in Northern Virginia: giving people a quality education, addressing rising costs like health costs, grocery bills, and utility bills, and keeping our community safe," Subramanyam told IANS.

As a Delegate of Virginia's 87th District, Subramanyam has addressed rising costs and worked towards giving children a quality education.

"I increased funding for our schools and made it easier for schools to get and retain great teachers, and I passed legislation that put money back in the pockets of all families, including Indian immigrant families," Subramanyam, who was named to the Loudoun Times-Mirror's '40 Under 40', said.

Virginia is also home to a sizable number of Sikhs and Hindus, who have come into the spotlight with the Khalistani separatists ramping up their activities under the radar of US authorities.

"I do not have a stance on this issue," Subramanyam told IANS. "More generally, my goal is to foster empathy and understanding between people of all backgrounds and religions, which is especially important given the diversity in our region," he added.

The Indian government has been nudging the US government to act against Khalistani separatists, especially after the emergence of Sikhs for Justice, which has been behind frequent protests outside Indian missions in the country.

(Meenakshi Iyer can be reached at meenakshi.i@ians.in)
Panaji, April 2 : To make the 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (Guest is equal to God) concept meaningful in the coastal state, the Goa government has taken several measures and has started acting swiftly on the complaints of tourists who were either attacked or looted.

Also, with the state's debt pegged at Rs 24,175.93 crore and mining operations yet to resume in the coastal state, the government is focusing on the tourism sector and the safety of tourists.

The incidents where tourists were attacked either by the locals or the hotel staff, are being dealt with in a proactive manner. The government has also come up with the concept of providing unique stickers to tourists entering the state to avoid harassment by the police.

With cases reported of tourists being assaulted by hotel staff, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has asked hoteliers to obtain a 'Goa Labour Card' before employing staff and check their criminal antecedents, if any.

Recently two incidents of hotel staff attacking foreign women tourists were reported from North Goa.

On Thursday Abhishek Verma, 27, a native of Uttarakhand, working as a bartender in a resort in Pernem-North Goa, was arrested for allegedly attacking a foreign woman tourist staying in the resort.

"Hoteliers should obtain a 'Goa Labour Card' for their staff when they engage them. This will help to have their permanent address saved with the labour department. Don't engage staff with criminal records. We have seen that hotel staff are involved in such crimes. Police are investigating this case," Sawant said.

"Such incidents should not take place. Police are taking action but hoteliers should also take measures," Sawant said.

According to the police, on Wednesday night the accused person trespassed into the rented tent of the complainant (a foreign woman tourist) and subsequently, she raised an alarm. The accused tried to catch her and threatened her. When local resident Eurico Dias came to her rescue the accused ran away.

"Thereafter, the accused person returned with a knife and assaulted Dias and the woman tourist and then fled from the spot," North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan said.

Earlier, on March 25, two persons who are natives of Assam and Jharkhand and were working as a waiter and an electrician in a hotel in North Goa, were arrested for allegedly trying to rob a Russian national in his hotel room.

The incident of a Japanese tourist being robbed on a beach late last year by three men impersonating police officers jolted the tourism sector. However, the Goa police acted swiftly and nabbed the robbers.

In another incident on March 5, Ashwini Kumar Chandrani, 47, from Delhi was assaulted by a local gang, injuring him and his family members.

After this incident went viral on social media and raised questions about the safety of tourists, the police swiftly arrested the accused persons.

In another form of harassment of tourists, they were stopped by the police to check their vehicle documents and were fined. The ruling party members and ministers had said that such things should be stopped.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, taking cognizance of such harassment announced the new concept of providing stickers to the tourists to fix on their vehicles so they are not harassed by the police while driving around the coastal state.

Sawant added that the papers of the tourists vehicles will be checked at the border check posts.

"In order to allow tourists comfortable movement across the state, vehicles entering Goa will be checked at the border for the documents and will be given unique stickers to fix on their vehicles. Such vehicles will not be stopped (by the police) for checking documents anywhere in the state," Sawant said.

Tourists had been complaining on social media that they were stopped to check their vehicles' papers and were harassed.

A few months ago, Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate had said that the traffic police were harassing tourists by fining them, instead of solving the traffic problems.

"I see police constables standing at one corner only and handing out challans to tourists, they do nothing more than that. They are basically here to solve the traffic problems, but they are not doing that," Monserrate had said.

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had also said that tourists are being routinely harassed in Goa by the traffic police. He had stated that efforts would be made to make the state and its environs more hospitable to tourists.
Lucknow, April 2 : The number of active Covid cases in Uttar Pradesh crossed 350 on Saturday night, which is the highest in this year so far.

In all, 66 more people tested positive for Covid across the state, including 11 in Lucknow, according to the data from the health department.

In the past 24 hours, 46 patients have recovered in the state. The major caseload in the state is in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Lakhimpur Kheri and Lucknow.

In Lucknow, one woman in Aliganj, two women and two men in Chinhat, two women and three men in Sarojini Nagar and a man in N.K. Road area have tested positive for Covid.

The number of active Covid cases in Lucknow now is 41, which is the highest this year.

"No Covid patient in Lucknow is admitted to hospital," said Yogesh Raghuvanshi, district health education officer of Lucknow.

He said, "Social distancing is the most significant thing to follow. This is because you do not know the medical condition of the person you are meeting outside your house. With social distancing and use of masks you can avoid getting infected. Avoiding crowded places is the second most important thing when it comes to Covid protocol." Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already put the medical sector on alert in view of the rising Covid cases in the state.
Greater Noida, April 2 : The land parcels in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida were auctioned for triple their reserve price in a three-day e-auction conducted by the Greater Noida Authority on March 28.

The reason behind the plots being sold at such expensive rates is due to the city's connectivity with the under-construction Jewar Airport or the Noida International Airport.

The auction of 166 plots, which took place through SBI portal, ended on March 30.

The reserve price of these plots was set at Rs 153 crore which exceeded to Rs 415 crore in the auction. Thirty-nine plots were auctioned on the last day of the e-auction, whose reserve price was set to around Rs 53.64 crore. They were sold at Rs 132 crore in the auction.

On the instructions of Greater Noida Authority's CEO Ritu Maheshwari, the estate department launched the scheme of 166 residential plots, ranging from 162 sq metres to 738 sq metres on January 30. These plots are located in Sector 2, Sector Chi 3, Phi 3, Delta 2, Delta 3, Sigma 1 and Sigma 2.

One such plot of 220 sq. metres located in Sector 2 was sold at a rate of about 162 per cent more than the reserve price, which was Rs 87.12 lakh. The plot, however, was sold at Rs 1.41 crore.

Maheshwari stated that the reserve price of all these plots was Rs 53.64 crore. She said that the possession of these lands will be handed over as soon as the allotment process is completed.

She added that the way home-seekers have participated in the e-auction, it is an achievement for the "greenest city", Greater Noida.

Additional CEO, Anand Vardhan said that Greater Noida has been settled with a lot of planning, hence the area has wide roads, greenery and cleanliness. The people there also have access to different kinds of markets, which is why it has become a premier choice for the people in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

Maheshwari stated that the planning was done keeping the residents in mind. To prevent the people from facing problems in reaching their destinations, the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway was constructed.

She said that service lanes have also been constructed on both the sides of the Expressway to avoid traffic jams.

Adding that, an expressway has also been constructed from Greater Noida to Agra-Mathura, which has been connected to the one from Agra-Lucknow.

The CEO stated that one could also use the Eastern Peripheral Expressway to travel to Haryana from Greater Noida.

She added that the expressway will directly connect Greater Noida with Faridabad and Gurugram in the coming days, work on which is underway.

Maheshwari said that the Metros can be used to travel between Delhi and Greater Noida and work to construct a direct line of pod taxis and Metro to Delhi Airport is underway.

Town Planner Abhinav Singh Chauhan while speaking to IANS, said that the biggest reason behind these plots being sold at three times the bid is the Jewar Airport being built near Greater Noida and its excellent connectivity.

Chauhan added that people envision building their homes and future in Greater Noida due to its easy connectivity with other areas.

He stated that the plots have been sold at a very expensive rate because Greater Noida's planning was done keeping cleanliness, connectivity and the problem of traffic jams, among others in mind.
New Delhi, 2 April 2 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is focusing on a 'unique' social equation to defeat the grand alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Janata Dal United (JDU) in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Lalu Prasad's RJD may be the strongest party in the ruling Grand Alliance in Bihar, but the BJP believes that its path to victory depends on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar making a dent in JDU's support base. The JDU has long enjoyed widespread support from non-Yadav backward castes and Dalit communities.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in various programmes organised in Bihar on the birth anniversary of Maurya ruler Ashoka today. This will be his fourth visit to Bihar in last seven months. The programmes scheduled by Shah during this period are being seen as a major part of the BJP's ambitious strategy to help the Kushwaha (Koiri) community, which is populationally strong in Bihar. The Kushwaha community believes that Emperor Ashoka is related to it.

The share of the Kushwaha community in Bihar's population is estimated to be close to seven to eight per cent, which is the highest after the Yadav community. The Kushwaha community has traditionally supported Nitish in elections.

By appointing Samrat Chaudhary belonging to the Kushwaha community as its state president, the BJP has expressed its intention to make every possible effort to woo the people of this community.

The backward castes in Bihar have traditionally been inclined towards 'Mandal' parties with socialist ideology. BJP is trying hard to change this trend in the upcoming elections. Like in 2014, in 2024 too, the BJP is likely to contest elections mainly on its own in alliance with smaller parties in Bihar.

However, unlike in 2014, it is expected to contest elections with RJD and JDU in 2024. Left parties and Congress are also likely to be part of their alliance.

In the 2014 general election, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 31 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and secured nearly 39 per cent of the vote. Political analysts believe that to achieve similar success in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will need to attract more voters against a united opposition.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 : Even though the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are still several months away, if statistics and figures are analysed, at the moment it can be said that the Kerala BJP unit is unlikely to play even spoilsport to the chances of the traditional political fronts in the state.

The state has 20 Lok Sabha seats and in the 2019 parliamentary polls, the Kerala BJP led NDA finished a distant third in 19 seats and managed a mere 15.64 per cent of the votes, while the Congress led UDF which won 19 seats secured 47.48 per cent. The then ruling CPI-M led Left got 36.29 per cent votes and just one seat.

Another indicative figure that it could be a tough nut to crack for the BJP is that in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in the 140 assembly segments, the BJP led in just one seat and came second in just seven seats.

Incidentally the BJP in Kerala was unable to retain its only seat in 2021 which it won for the first time in the history of the party in the 2016 assembly polls, when it lost the Nemom assembly seat.

In the 2021 assembly polls, the BJP vote share went down by 2.60 per cent to touch 12.36 per cent compared to the 2016 polls.

The results of all recent poll battles go totally against the BJP, although both the state and the national leadership are trying to put up a brave face and launch the first-round campaign. The state leadership has marked Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Attingal and Pathanamthitta as the seats where the party could make an impact.

Poll pundits predict that it's a tough one for the BJP. It finished in the second place only in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat. In the others where it had 'hopes', the margin between its third place behind the Left candidate and the winning Congress candidate, was around one lakh votes. Hence, even if a miracle happens it is very unlikely that it will be able to open its account.
Bengaluru, April 2 : The BJP in Karnataka is upbeat about repeating the feat of winning 25 seats out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the parliamentary elections in the state. The Congress, which is confident of capturing power in the assembly elections, is hoping to turn the tide against the BJP in 2024.

The JD (S) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are also aspiring to make their presence felt in Karnataka during the Lok Sabha elections. However, Bharatiya Janata Party insiders say that half the job in the state is done as the saffron party had reached out to the youth and the new voters in a big way during the hijab crisis and the series of murders of Hindu activists.

The mindset has changed of students studying in Pre-University (class 11, 12) and SSLC (class 10). The young students came in contact with Hindu organizations and activists in large numbers across the state as the hijab crisis had taken a communal turn and there was a face-off between Hindu and Muslim students.

This had deeply impacted their psyche. The hijab crisis helped the party as lakhs of students readily agreed with the Hindutva philosophy of the BJP and the RSS. The result will be seen in the general elections 2024, when they will vote for PM Modi, sources in the BJP claimed.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated in the context of the assembly elections that the booth level party workers of the BJP have reached the doorstep of every voter in the state twice already. He said that the programmes of the central and state governments have been explained to them.

Former CM and BJP Central Parliamentary Committee member B.S. Yediyurappa referring to the surveys suggesting a setback for the BJP in Karnataka recalled that no one had believed him when he had predicted that the BJP would win 25 out of the 28 parliamentary seats. One of the independent candidates, the MP from Mandya, Sumalatha Ambareesh has now joined the BJP.

Yediyurappa stated that the respect and reputation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the international level will help the party in the polls. By bringing Yediyurappa to the forefront and campaigning aggressively in Karnataka, the central leadership is not only aiming at the assembly elections, but their eyes are clearly set on the parliamentary polls too, say insiders.

The Congress party which had put up a dismal show in the 2018 elections by managing to win only one parliamentary seat, hopes to revive its fortunes. Buoyed by the internal surveys predicting a return to power in the assembly elections, the party is strategizing to win more than 20 LS seats from Karnataka.

Insiders in the Congress state that once they capture power in Karnataka, there would be a change and the saffron party's chances could be curtailed against the Congress candidates.

Karnataka Congress president D.K. Shivakumar is known for his organizational skills and is equated to Yediyurappa of the BJP. Shivakumar had given some jolts to the BJP and the JD (S) by pulling their candidates including sitting MLAs and MLCs. The Congress could win one seat and save face in the state because of the efforts of Shivakumar and his brother D.K. Suresh. If Shivakumar and opposition leader Siddaramaiah work unitedly, they could pose a serious challenge to BJP in the upcoming parliamentary elections, said sources in the Congress.

The JD (S), the party hoping to become a kingmaker in Karnataka after the assembly elections, hopes to win a couple of Lok Sabha seats. Presently, Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, is the only parliamentarian from the party.

The AAP is claiming that after Delhi and Punjab, it will be Karnataka next for the party. The AAP leaders are confident of making a splash in the assembly as well as the parliamentary elections.

Sanganna A Karadi, senior MP from Koppal, told IANS that in the upcoming parliamentary elections the results of the last elections will be repeated. The double engine government in Karnataka has done tremendous work in terms of infrastructure.

"You take railway connectivity, highway and air connectivity, we feel happy after seeing the development. If we wanted to go to New Delhi, we had to come to Bengaluru earlier. Now, I can reach Hubballi in one and a half hours as a new highway has been built. By noon I can reach the national capital if I start from home at 9 a.m. We faced too many difficulties earlier. We had to stay back in Bengaluru.

"Various schemes in agriculture like the Krishi Samman Yojna, every year the central government will transfer Rs 6,000 and the state government will provide Rs 4,000 to the accounts of farmers. MSPs have increased and considerable development has taken place," Karadi stated.

However, Congress MLA from Bailhongal constituency Mahantesh Kaujalagi talking to IANS claimed that this time the party will get more seats than the BJP.
Damascus, April 2 : Israel launched a fresh missile attack against military sites in the central Syrian province of Homs after midnight Sunday, the state TV reported.

Syrian air defences were triggered by the attack, intercepting some of the missiles, according to the report.

The pro-government Sham FM radio said that four soldiers were wounded in the attack, which hit a military base in the western countryside of Homs, Xinhua News Agency reported.

It was Israel's third attack against Syrian military sites since Thursday.
Washington, April 2 : Severe weather and tornadoes across the US state of Tennessee have killed seven people, the state governor said on Saturday.

"Severe weather has impacted several counties in Tennessee, resulting in power outages, debris and structural damages and seven weather-related fatalities," Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said in a statement.

The number of injuries and damaged structures is unknown, and damage assessments are ongoing, Xinhua News Agency reported quoting Lee.

The fatalities were reported across McNairy County, which is located in southwest Tennessee.

At least 21 weather-related deaths have been reported across Tennessee and five other states, including Arkansas and Illinois, as of Saturday afternoon, after a massive storm system tore through the southern and midwestern regions of the US.
New Delhi, April 2 : Rahul Gandhi is likely to appeal on Monday against his sentence in a criminal defamation case in Surat court. The legal team has done all the preparation, sources have said.

Gandhi was convicted on March 23 in the defamation case for two years following which he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday had said that a legal team was working on the case in which former Gandhi was convicted.

Kharge said that the party was ready to face the matter "politically and legally", and also criticised the Central government for disqualifying Rahul Gandhi "in haste".

The Congress president termed the disqualification as "vengeance".

As a mark of protest against the disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, and to press its demand for a probe into the allegations of fraud levelled against the Adani Group, the Congress launched the 'Jai Bharat Satyagraha' across the country against the Centre.
Tirupati, April 2 : A software engineer was allegedly burnt alive in his car by unidentified persons in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district, police said.

Charred body of Nagaraju (36) was found in the burnt car near Ganguudu Palle village on Naidupeta-Puthalapattu road. After being alerted by the locals on Sunday morning, police rushed to spot and identified the victim on the basis of the car's registration number.

Police suspect that Nagaraju, who was working at a leading IT company in Bengaluru, was murdered past midnight and the accused tried to make it appear like an accident by pushing the car in a ditch.

Nagaraju hailed from Brahmanapalli village in the same district and is survived by wife and two children.

Police have registered a case and launched a hunt for the killers. The techie is suspected to have been killed by relatives of a woman, with whom his younger brother allegedly have extramarital relations.

The extramarital relations between Purshottam and a woman of the same village had led to frequent fights between the two families. On Saturday night, the woman's family members took Nagaraju with him to discuss the matter. They allegedly thrashed him and after tying his hands and legs locked him in the car and set it afire.

The victim's chain, footwear and other belongings were found near the burnt car. Police gathered clues from the spot.
San Francisco, April 2 : As the Silicon Valley looks at a "doom-loop" scenario amid tech layoffs and offices being shut down amid remote work, Elon Musk on Sunday said one could literally film a 'Walking Dead' episode unedited in downtown San Francisco.

Musk commented after American business columnist and author Ashlee Vance said that what the city has become is "unconscionable." "Had a 20-minute walk down Market Street with a friend who remarked, 'I've never seen anything like this,' as his head was on a swivel the entire time. I love SF. What the city has become is unconscionable," Vance posted in a tweet.

"Several pockets of 20 to 30 people all off their heads. A number of them with pants barely on. Zombies. The walking dead. Cops observing the proceedings from 100 feet away," Vance added.

Musk reacted, saying that this is where "San Francisco politics leads and Twitter was exporting this self-destructive mind virus to the world." "With some exceptions, other tech companies are still doing so. Evil in guise of good," the Twitter CEO added.

A twitter follower asked Musk: "How concerning is it that OpenAI is baking these politics into the foundation of machine intelligence?" Musk replied: "Extremely concerning, given that it leads to a dystopian future - just walk around downtown SF to see what will happen." According to reports, once a bustling town, the city of San Francisco is facing innumerable problems amid the ongoing tech meltdown.

"Workers remain primarily remote; office space sits empty; businesses shutter; mass transit is sharply reduced or even bankrupt, making it even harder for low- and middle-wage workers who enable restaurants and small businesses to operate, causing major budget shortfalls from declining tax revenue that imperil numerous city services, trigger mass layoffs of city workers and shred the social safety net, all of which causes more people to leave," elaborates a report in San Francisco Chronicle.

The city officials and business groups acknowledge the possibility of a doom-loop scenario.

It is a scenario in which "one negative development causes another negative development, which then makes the first problem worse. A vicious cycle."
New Delhi, April 2 : We imagine our parents or elders as soon as they wake up, holding a newspaper in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. At the very least, that's what the movies depict! Some people start their day with a cup of hot, strong coffee or tea, while others start their day with one of the healthier choices.

The situation appears to be changing nowadays. In the city, drugs are provided, sold, peddled, scored, and consumed by youth as readily as coffee.

Let's travel back to 1980, when young kids barely knew about drugs and its availability around the city. Sushil (name changed) was then 15 years old when he started taking drugs. He is 59 now.

From being declared a "bad character" by four police stations to craving for one bidi, he has successfully managed to remain clean from 2005, that is, after he started actively participating in a programme of complete abstinence from all drugs.

"I have been to jail and I should have been hanged for the things I have done being an addict," Sushil said.

He recalled how 18 years back when he started off with his de-addiction journey as a newcomer to the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programme, he found it so difficult to keep up with it.

"It was as if even one puff of a bidi would suffice my cravings, but why I joined the programme was to control this very craving," he said.

Though life has been a roller coaster ride for Sushil, it has only become better and smoother after his recovery.

"Even after 18 years, I make sure I attend NA sessions everyday," he said. Once a menace to society, Sushil now runs a coconut water stall in the Paharganj area.

Where a person would think about and set goals for his future, drug addicts' whole life and thinking is centred on drugs in one form or another -- getting, using and finding ways and means to get more.

Substance abusers "live to use" drugs and "use to live". Their life is controlled by drugs and they are in the grip of a continuing and progressive illness whose end is always the same: jail, institutions, and death.

Narcotics Anonymous (NA), a non-profit fellowship or society of men and women, has taken people out of substance abuse around the country.

It is a group of recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean and the requirement for its membership is quite a simple one but also the most challenging -- the desire to stop using.

"Our programme is a set of principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. There are no strings attached to NA" said Kailash, a 37-year-old recovering addict.

The most important thing about the members of NA is that they work. They are not affiliated with any other organisation, have no initiation fees or dues, no pledges to sign, no promises to make to anyone.

"We are not connected with any political, religious, or law enforcement groups, and are under no surveillance at any time. Anyone may join us, regardless of age, race, sexual identity, creed, religion, or lack of religion," Kailash said.

Turning a blind eye to what or how much one used or who his/her connections were, what the individual has done in the past, how much or how little he/she has, the members are only interested in what a fellow addict wants to do about his/her problem and how they can help.

"The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting, because we can only keep what we have by giving it away. We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean," Kailash added.

Substance abuse has become common and one can see the cases rising rapidly due to the easy availability of different drugs. Though the most common age group afflicted with substance use is 15 to 35, as young as eight years to as old as 60 can be seen using it.

Young people typically report a higher level of drug use than adults, and in many countries, drug use levels among young people are higher today than in earlier generations.

Moreover, harmful patterns of drug use likely increased during the pandemic. Cocaine production is at a record high, and seizures of amphetamine and methamphetamine have skyrocketed.

Other than easy availability and access, other reasons youngsters are possibly falling for, are "emotional problems in this age group, reduced parental supervision and subjective feelings of alienation with the parental group, being increasingly more vulnerable to peer pressure and a keen drive to be seen as cool or a rebel," said Paramjeet Singh, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, PSRI Hospital, New Delhi.

A lot of us like to gel and chill with friends and colleagues over a simple 'chai-sutta' break. While a few people have control over their nicotine consumption, a few fall prey to even harder drugs slowly.

Smoking weed has become more of a habit like any other everyday thing in college, especially for students in hostels or living alone.

The habit usually begins with 'one try, one shot'. It starts under peer pressure, angst or frustration, or as self-medication to a negative emotional state or event.

"The usage increases over time and the person is no longer in control of the intake. The person often takes substance despite not wanting to, either out of withdrawal (symptoms when a substance is stopped and the body reacts negatively to these reduced levels) or craving (where the person is unable to control his desire to procure and take the substance)," Singh said while pointing out that despite awareness of the negative consequences to self and others, the person continues with the usage.

These days, there are all kinds of drugs widely used and available to almost anyone on demand in colleges. Young kids have access to acid and pills, though weed remains the most popular among all of them. There are exclusive communities for these "stoners" where they meet often and "chill". Marijuana has kept up to its name as a recreational drug.

"Once you get into these communities, you will realise that almost everyone uses drugs. I remember this guy from my college hostel who used to go score for us whenever we were running out.

"Imagine one person buying weed for a large group of potheads, that's an easy 10 years in jail if caught. We probably didn't realise it then, but I'm sure we wouldn't have cared either way," said a 24-year-old who works as a graphic designer.

"LSDs are more of a party drug. You don't just put one on and then go about your life. It's for music events, weekends, when we go on trips or parties where we really wanna live in the moment," another fresher said.

"LSD, meth and Ecstasy were the most popular ones during my years. These were also available quite easily and anyone from the 'stoner' communities could hook you up with 'their guy', though they're not that cheap when you compare them to weed," he said.

Kailash had started off young. With a passion to follow the footsteps of gangsters around the town, his addiction had no end until he came to know about NA.

"I started taking drugs as soon as I completed my college in 2008. I was 22 and all I loved was the high after using it. It got me addicted," Kailash, who is now a Delhi-based entrepreneur, said.

"Where I stand today is only because I joined NA. The programme's 12-step tradition has kept me hooked to it now and there is no going back. I am healthy physically and mentally," he added.

NA's 12-step tradition is all about unity among the members, the desire to stop using and to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.
Washington, April 2 : Three people were killed on the scene and three others wounded at a bar shooting on in Oklahoma City, the capital city of midwestern US state Oklahoma, authorities said.

Police responded to the shooting at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon around 9 p.m. local time (0200 GMT Sunday), according to local media, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The wounded were hospitalised, with one in critical condition and the other two having non-life-threatening injuries, the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

A suspect has been reportedly in custody.

An investigation is underway. No more details are available so far.
Saudi-based developer Jeddah Central Development Company (JCDC) has signed an agreement with Malta-based International Hotel Investments to set up its Corinthia brand of hotels within its beachfront lifestyle project in the Saudi city.

As per the deal, International Hotel Investments will be providing advisory services for the development and operation of these projects at Marina district located within the mega SR75-billion ($20 billion) Jeddah Central project.

A part of the Jeddah Central's 9.5-km waterfront on the Red Sea, the Marina District will feature a world class marina equipped for local and international boats, yachts, and superyachts.

The marina will serve as a gateway to the city on the Red Sea coast, creating a thriving residential marine community, including recreational facilities, retail outlets, restaurants, and cafes.

JCDC, a subsidiary of Saudi sovereign wealth fund PFI (Public Investment Fund) and the master developer of the Jeddah Central development, said this comes as part of its strategic plan to create a local attraction and global destination in the heart of the Saudi port city.

Being implemented on a 5.7-million-sq-m area in the Saudi port city, Jeddah Central has a stunning waterfront location with a 2.1 km of sandy beaches.

On the strategic partnership, CEO Engineer Ahmed Al Sulaim, said: "We are pleased with this cooperation with Corinthia, and we look forward to working with them and our other partners and customers to develop Jeddah Central to the highest international standards in terms of design, innovation and environmental

sustainability."

The MoU establishes a framework for Corinthia Hotels and its sister company QPM Limited, to develop and operate assets within the Marina District at Corinthia standards.

The deal with International Hotel Investments is mainly aimed at exploring co-operation in developing and operating assets within Jeddah Marina district, stated Al Sulaim after signing the deal with Corinthia officials Chairman Alfred Pisani and CEO Simon Naudi as well as Reuben Xuereb, the Chief Executive at QPM.

Pisani said: "As a hotelier and real estate developer, the Corinthia Hotel group is delighted to be bringing its expertise, brand and innovation in creating uplifting environments that will sit at the nexus of global experience and local ambition."

According to JCDC, the development is being implemented in three phases. The first one will be completed by 2027 following which it will start receiving Jeddah residents and visitors. The second phase is set for completion by 2030 and the rest after 2030, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Many people, especially outside the Western world, did not pay sufficient attention to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russian President Vladimir Putin on the grounds of what it described as the crime of deporting Ukrainian children.

This is despite the fact that this ICC decision represents a dangerous escalation in the conflict and a major step that could have implications for the reshaping of the world.

Those who welcomed the ICC decision, especially given that it is just a link in the chain of the conflict, have naturally focused on it being just another successful step by Western diplomacy to punish Moscow and escalate the zero-sum game and fierce war of attrition between the two sides.

Western parties, especially Washington and the Biden administration, received the news with jubilation and welcome.

Meanwhile, the Russian reaction was angry and reminded everyone that Moscow is not a party to this court and does not recognize it, stressing that Russia is not the only country that holds this position.

In general, the Russian reaction, or the level of anger in the criticism expressed by former Russian President Medvedev, were not unexpected.

The Court: Confusions and Questions

In order to explain why we see the court's decision as more than just a link in the chain of conflict and war, we need to provide some necessary background.

As is known, the ICC was established in 2002 as the first court capable of trying individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and aggression crimes.

It is assumed that the court does not begin its work unless national criminal courts express their desire for it to do so or are unable to prosecute or investigate these crimes themselves.

The ICC is a permanent court unlike previous criminal courts which were temporary historically  the most famous being the courts that tried Nazi war criminals and those that tried war criminals in former Yugoslavia such as in the case of Bosnia.

Since the beginning, the ICC faced international controversy.

It has been objected to by a number of major powers, led by the United States, Russia, China, and India, as well as by other countries such as Iraq, Israel, and Yemen.

However, the international community majority, represented by 121 countries, approved the establishment of the court.

This majority included most of the European countries with Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan bearing most of its budget.

It should be noted that half the countries that agreed to establish the court did not ratify its jurisdiction, including all Arab countries except Jordan.

Argentine Luis Moreno Ocampo headed the court at its inception and was succeeded by Fatou Bensouda from Gambia. And British lawyer Karim Khan has been in charge at the ICC since mid-2021.

It is noteworthy that criticism and debate about this court have not stopped since it was established.

In fact, the court has remained haunted since day one by the fundamental flaw of the rejection by a number of major powers, led by the United States, of its establishment as well as its jurisdiction.

One point of contention surrounding the ICC is that it has focused on the African arena in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Darfur.

There were other controversial issues around the court.

One such controversy surrounded the United States threat to withdraw its forces from the United Nations force in Bosnia unless its soldiers are granted immunity by the court, which was a paradoxical situation par excellence.

This controversy forced the Security Council in July 2002 to issue a compromise decision granting the US soldiers in the UN force immunity for 12 months to be renewed on an annual basis.

To complete the irony, the Security Council refused to renew that immunity decision in 2004 after the spread of pictures of American practices in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

A second major controversy, which unfolded over several years and raised many international complications, resulted from the courts issuing of an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir in Sudan on charges related to the events in Darfur.

It was the first arrest warrant issued by the court for a sitting president and represented a harbinger for the situation we face now with the Russian president.

The ICCs arrest warrant for Al-Bashir forced the man to avoid travelling to most Western countries.

In a famous incident in 2015, the existence of the warrant resulted in a serious internal crisis in South Africa, one of the countries that ratified the ICC convention,

The crisis unfolded after a local court in South Africa issued an order to prevent Al-Bashir, who was in the country to participate in the African Union summit, from leaving the country.

However, the South African government allowed Al-Bashir to leave the country on the grounds that it did not have the authority to stop him from doing so.

This led one South African judge to level angry charges against the government for ignoring the countrys constitution.

The internal crisis escalated to the extent that the South African government threatened to withdraw from the ICC convention.

However, the criticism that keeps following the ICC, as mentioned earlier, is that it focuses on Africa while ignoring two major issues: the Palestinian cause and the American invasion of Iraq with the many accusations of war crimes that accompanied it.

Until this day, the court has not moved forward in the initial investigations that it began in 2015 after the Palestinian government provided evidence in June of that year of war crimes committed by the Israeli army during the 2014 Gaza war.

Moreover, also until this day, the court has not dared to approach issues related to the confirmed violations committed by the United States in Iraq and in many of its previous wars.

This could only confirm suspicions about the ICCs integrity and effectiveness, and thus its ability to play its role without becoming complicit in applying double standards.

More than just a link in the chain of the conflict

This court reflects one of the features of the current international system.

This system is characterized by many contradictions where western powers dominate and the United States leads but under a hegemony that has been gradually declining for several years and a tendency to employ globalization and liberal values without accepting its commitment to them.

This retreat from political and economic liberal values is represented in two dimensions:

The first dimension is the application of double standards.

The most prominent example of this is the historical and ongoing refusal of dominant powers, especially Washington, to condemn Israel as well as their opposition to the attempts of the international majority to oblige it to accept a settlement and international resolutions taken in this regard.

This is also evidenced by the refusal of the United States to bear its ethical obligations for the violations and aggressive wars it has waged, especially in Iraq.

Add to this, from an economic perspective, the United States has abandoned economic globalization, which was championed by Washington, after seeing how China exploited the phenomenon.

What has been discussed above constitutes examples of what is called Western and American double standards.

Double standards are one of the main shortcomings of the existing international system.

They form the basis for understanding the causes that led to the outbreak of the Ukrainian war.

They also constitute a chronic dysfunction at the heart of the current international system.

And thus, the fate of the arrest warrant for Putin can be described as the epitome for the fate of the ongoing war as well as the international arrangements that are based on double standards.

Looking forward, we face two possible scenarios and paths.

A defeat for Russia, according to the aspirations of Washington and its allies, followed by a siege of Russia to force her to change its leadership by any means in order to maintain the current international arrangements in a way that allows the United States to secure its position.

Or reaching settlements that ensure the emergence of new international arrangements entailing a review of the way the court operates, which may result either in its cancellation or its relaunch on the basis of new fair standards not double standards.

At this point, it is still too early to imagine, amid all complex issues at present, which of these two scenarios and paths would prevail as well as how much time is needed for this to happen.

In any case, the ICCs arrest warrant for Putin represents one part in a broader scene that could determine the possible scenarios of the future of the war, the future of the Russian president himself, the future of the court itself, and the nature of the world that may or may not be reshaped.

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Los Angeles, April 2 : Filmmaker Ari Aster pulled an April Fool's prank on moviegoers expecting to see a screening of Midsommar but instead were treated to a screening of his newest film 'Beau Is Afraid' starring Joaquin Phoenix.

The filmmaker and Phoenix introduced the film to the audience at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in New York. At the end of the three-hour screening, Emma Stone moderated a Q&A with Aster to talk about the film, reports Deadline.

Aster talked about working with Phoenix and said that "everything has to feel honest" with the actor and likes to have several takes. The director shared an incident from the set of the film where Phoenix fainted while Patti LuPone, who plays his mother in the pic, was shooting a scene.

"There was a scene that was very intense for Patti and it was a shot that was on Patti, it was not on him and all of a sudden he fell out of frame," Aster recalled.

"I was really pissed 'cause it was a really good take. It felt confusing so I went around the corner and he was collapsed." He continued: "I knew it was bad because he was letting people touch him and people were tending to him and he was allowing it. The point is that he fainted in somebody else's take, he wasn't on camera and he was helping them, he was in it for them to the point where he collapsed. It's very poetic that he collapsed in somebody else's shot." 'Beau Is Afraid' revolves around "a paranoid man [who] embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother." The film also stars Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, Denise Menochet, Parker Posey, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Richard Kind, Hayley Squires and Michael Gandolfini, among others. The film is set to debut in theatres on April 21.
Sitamarhi : , April 2 (IANS) It is said that if calamity strikes, it brings with it the scope of newer avenues and opens the door for new beginnings, if only one has the courage and passion to strive towards their goal.

Abhishek Anand, a young farmer from Majorganj block of Bihar's Sitamarhi district did something similar in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Anand started growing bananas and made his village a banana hub by including many farmers in his endeavour.

Up until some years ago, farmers used to consider the cultivation of bananas as a means of livelihood, but the farmers of Khairwa Bishnuathpur village have now developed it into a business prospect by adopting modern methods to increase its production.

Anand and the farmers cultivate bananas on more than 25 acres of land, eight acres of which is cultivated by Anand himself. He also prepares and sells banana chips and has set up a processing unit for chips, as it has good demand in the market.

Anand, who has a postgraduate degree in Agriculture, while speaking to IANS said that he returned to his village after lockdown was imposed during the pandemic and found that he had plenty of time, but nothing to do.

He shared that he did not know how to use his knowledge of farming and eventually had a desire of cultivating bananas.

He then contacted the Horticulture Department's office in his district to know more about the techniques for better production of bananas. Initially, he started horticulture of the G-9 variety of bananas with tissue culture technique in two and a half acres.

Anand by himself grows 150 tonnes of bananas. He said that drip irrigation method is used in the fields for the trees.

The young farmer said that earlier Bihar's Hajipur and Purnea were known for their banana produce while Sitamarhi was known for its sugarcane cultivation. However, the bananas now grown in Majorganj are not only sold in India but also exported to Nepal.

The demand for the banana chips prepared on Anand's farm has seen a rise in demand in markets.

Anand said that currently 8-10 farmers are associated with him at the local level, wherein five are young farmers, adding that many locals have got employment due to banana cultivation endeavour.
Kolkata, April 2 : West Bengal, compared to other states, does not have a large coastline, as it spans just 210 km in the districts of East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas but faces the major problem of maximum coastal erosion due to climate change-induced rising sea levels.

This issue is cited by Dr Anjal Prakash, the research director with the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business and one of the authors of the 6th assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Based on his observations and analysis about the findings of the same report, he feels that this issue of coastal erosion could have significant implications for communities living along the coast and hence, impact the infrastructure and the economy of the region.

In fact, Prakash's apprehensions about coastal erosion in West Bengal was first highlighted in a report of the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, which claimed that that West Bengal recorded maximum coastline erosion among all coastal Indian states between 1990 and 2016 at 63 per cent, followed by Puducherry at 57 per cent, Kerala at 45 per cent, and Tamil Nadu at 41 per cent.

In terms of land loss on this count during the same period, the quantum was 99 square km of land, as against land accretion of just 16 square km during the same period.

Based on the observations highlighted in the 6th assessment report of the IPCC, the head of the energy economic programme of the Asian Institute of Technology and one of the authors of the same report, Joyashree Roy feels that the climatic hazards in the coastal belts and the resultant loss and damage are likely to aggravate further with every additional warming.

Experts are also of the opinion that the people who are mainly responsible for this coastal crisis in West Bengal are less affected than those who suffer without contributing to that crisis. According to them, natural factors like sea level rise and storms which these coastal regions are prone to, there are several human-made factors which are often leading to such coastal erosions.

The arbitrary real estate development (tourism-related constructions), flouting all norms, had been a major contributing factor adding to the crisis of coastal erosion.

The fact that rampant and arbitrary tourism related real estate activities had been hampering the natural ecological ambience in the coastal areas of West Bengal was observed in a recent judgement by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which ordered the immediate demolition of a private resort at Dulki village under Gosaba, one of the main deltaic islands in the Sundarbans region in South 24 Parganas While passing that order, the NGT observed that the said resort built in the critically vulnerable coastal area was constructed clearly violating the prescribed norms under coastal regulation zone notification on this count.

Environment activists like S.M. Ghosh feel that this Dulki incident is not a one- off case and throughout the coastal belts of West Bengal, especially places having a tourist appeal, such violations are quite rampant.

According to experts, the coastal regions in West Bengal, especially those in the Sundarbans region, had always been facing an existential crisis for quite some time because of a number of climatic factors. In addition to that, they feel, these human- made factors are adding fast to the alarm of an aggravated crisis. According to the experts, the necessity of the day is not just to avoid these human- made adverse factors but also adopt scientific mitigation options to reduce the rate of threat.

However, recently there has been a silver line on this count in the Sunderbans region, where a unique initiative by an NGO involving the local women in the region has started the mission for systematic and large-scale mangrove forestation in the region.

The Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS) started a mission in 2007 with just around 50 hectares spread over three small local villages of Dulki-Sonagaon, Amlamethi and Mathurakhand involving just 160 women from these villages. The success of this systematic mangrove forestation could be first felt in 2009 when Cyclone Aila's tail touched the Sundarbans and moved to Bangladesh. While the rest of the Sundarbans was severely affected by the touch of the tail, the patches of land where the mangrove forestation was done under the project was absolutely untouched Gradually, over the years over 18,000 local women and around 4,600 hectares of land scattered over 183 villages in 14 community development blocks in the Sundarbans areas were brought under this large-scale mangrove forestation.
Panaji, April 2 : Around 27 per cent of Goa's 105-kilometre-long coastline is under the threat of erosion which has left the state government with a daunting task to save beautiful beaches and protect its tourism economy.

The eroding coastline due to increase in sea level and human intervention may impact the state's tourism economy in the years to come as the beautiful beaches of the coastal state are facing threat of erosion. Hence, the environmentalists have urged the state government to take action to prevent it.

Even MLAs representing the constituencies from the coastal line are raising their voice and asking concerned departments to act on it swiftly.

According to state Environment and Climate Change Minister Nilesh Cabral, the government through the Water Resources Department has constantly initiated various steps to curb the erosion by means of structural as well as non-structural measures.

"Structural measures include anti-sea erosion protection works such as tetrapot's, concrete blocks, gabbian walls, among others, devised in consultation with CWPRS Pune. Non-structural measures consist of initiation study for identification of the cause leading to such beach erosion and arriving at a long term remedy for which National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) Chennai has been entrusted the work under a world bank funded project. The report is expected by the end of this year," Cabral said.

He said that the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in the Beach Carrying Capacity Report has observed that the overall for a coastal stretch of about 105km, 35 per cent of the coast is rocky terrain, 20 per cent of the coast is stable, 27 per cent is under erosion and 17 per cent of the coasts experiences accretion.

"River mouths and port areas experience significant erosion characteristics. Pocket beaches of Goa are either stable or are accreting," report further said.

Cabal said that the State Government has also initiated the process for implementing soft measures for control of erosion.

Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar said there is large-scale damage by way of collapse of river banks due to unscientific and un-controlled sand mining resulting in deepening of riverbeds and affecting the littoral drift of the riverbed materials. "This is more prominent in the Khandepar, Chapora, Tiracol river. It has also triggered erosion of the coast along Arabian Sea such as Keri, Morjim, Coco beach," Shirodkar said.

He said that the department has engaged the services of National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai to study the problem and suggest remedial measures.

"Whenever severe erosion occurred, the department takes up anti-erosion protection measures. The department has prepared certain guidelines for regulating the sand mining in the State and handed it over to the Directorate of Mines and Geology for implementation," Shirodkar said.

Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate has said that in regards to Beach erosion, the government has taken cognizance of the same and the severely eroded beaches are referred by the Water Resources Department to Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) Pune, for Scientific Study and recommending suitable Mitigation Measures.

Talking to IANS, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Yuri Alemao said that it is important that measures be taken to protect the coastal area from sea erosion.

"Government should study the Report of ISRO revealing that Goa lost around 15.2 hectares of land due to coastal erosion in 10 years," Alemao said.

Even Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had said that sea erosion had become a major challenge.

"There is the challenge of sea erosion. It is a threat (to the tourism industry) the way it is taking place. Beaches are getting washed out. Though we give permission to erect shacks, however they are not able to occupy a longer distance (in permissible limit), as beaches have washed out," Khaunte said.

He said that it was very important to think about how we stop this sea erosion. "We can adopt technologies to ensure that we get our surface back. Techno-commercial concepts can be adopted with the help of the environment and other departments," he said.

National Fish workers Forum (NFF) General Secretary and environmentalist Olencio Simoes said that sand dunes should be protected or the coastline will get vanished He said that the Sagarmala project will "destroy" the environment and rivers of Goa.

"Goa has a beautiful coastline only because of sand dunes. No other state has such sand dunes. Our livelihood and tourism is dependent on the coastal line. But the government is trying to destroy everything," Simoes said.
Visakhapatnam, April 2 : Andhra Pradesh's extensive coastline is facing climate change challenges in the form of frequent cyclones, coastal erosion, rising sea levels and increasing ocean temperature while scientists have already warned that Visakhapatnam is among the six Indian cities that are potentially vulnerable to coastal flooding if the sea levels rise by 50 cm as a result of global warming.

Andhra Pradesh has the second longest mainland coastline with a total length of 974 km from Ichchapuram in Srikakulam district to Tada of Nellore district, Experts say the rise of sea level and sea water temperature in Bay of Bengal is having an impact on the state's coastline. However, the extent of the impact is yet to be determined.

Rising temperature is leading to not just frequent cyclones but also affecting marine species and impacting fishing communities by reducing fishing days, damaging houses and fishing gear.

Abnormality of cyclones is attributed to global warming and climate change. Visakhapatnam, the biggest city in the state and the proposed state capital, has experienced eight severe cyclonic storms since 2014.

Vizag, as the port city is also known, was battered by very severe cyclonic storm 'Hudhud' on October 12, 2014. For the first time in modern history the city witnessed an unparalleled natural calamity.

With wind speed of 165 kmph during landfall, 'Hudhud' caused widespread devastation in the city and other parts of north coastal Andhra killing 60 people and uprooting thousands of trees, electricity poles and destroying the civic infrastructure. It took weeks for normalcy to be restored in the city.

The vulnerability was again evident in May 2020 when Cyclone 'Amphan', strongest storm recorded in decades in Bay of Bengal, hit the coast forcing several million to evacuate Experts say global warming has rendered monsoon erratic and extreme and is giving way to high intensity thunderstorms which will increase the possibility of flash floods and landslides. Moreover, during thunderstorms, the rainfall is quick and high and this also increases the sea levels.

Melting of the glaciers due to global warming is also causing the sea level to rise. Different factors are likely to lead to flooding of the coastal cities and regions Experts are of the view that huge disparity in the temperature of the land and the ocean may lead to formation of many cyclonic storms, which will have the potential to develop into very severe cyclonic storms. Strong winds and high rainfall will lead to an increase in the sea level.

About 28.7 per cent of the beaches in Andhra Pradesh are eroding, revealed Status of Andhra Pradesh Shoreline Changes along the Indian Coast (1990-2018) report by the National Centre for Coastal Research.

According to the report, 21.7 per cent beaches are stable and 49.6 per cent are accreting.

Human intervention, particularly urbanization and economic activities, in the coastal zone has turned coastal erosion into a problem of growing intensity. Activities like construction of coastal structures, mining of beach sand, offshore dredging and damming of rivers are triggering shoreline changes.

Uppada, Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam and the delta regions of Krishna and Godavari district and Krishnapatnam are some of the areas impacted by coastal erosion.

The reasons for coastal erosion are both manmade and natural. The geographical factors include action of waves, tides, winds, nearshore currents, storms and sea level rise.

Sea level has risen about 40 cm in the past century and is projected to rise another 60 cm in the next century. Due to global warming, average rise in sea level of 1.5 to 10 mm per year.

Sea level rise of 1 mm per year could cause inundation of the order of 0.5 m per year.

As per the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Visakhapatnam is one among six Indian cities that could be exposed to coastal flooding if the sea levels rise by 50 cm due to global warming.

According to the report, the city will be under 3 feet of sea water due to rising sea levels by the end of the century.

However, some experts believe that Vizag is unlikely to be submerged because of its geographic location. The city is surrounded by hilly terrain of Eastern Ghats.

While low-lying and some other areas may be under threat, hills and hillocks may protect the city from flooding.

Vizag currently has a population of more than 20 lakh and projected population growth rate of the city is 2.35 per cent per cent. As the state government plans to make Vizag the executive capital of the state, the population is likely to grow further.

Some experts believe that coastal cities Machilipatnam and Kakinada are facing a bigger threat due to the very small difference between the land mass and the sea.

The Government of India released the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008 as part of an ambitious domestic action plan to address climate change. The NAPCC focuses on adapting to climate change and protecting the vulnerable sections of society through an inclusive and sustainable development strategy that also enhances ecological sustainability and innovation.

Most of the adaptation challenges such as coastal zone disasters, droughts, adverse effect on human health, depleting water resources, are experienced at the state level and programmes aimed at improving the adaptive ability are also undertaken and implemented at state level.

In November last year, the Andhra Pradesh government created an exclusive Climate Change Cell (CCC) in its Environment, Forests, Science and Technology Department to implement a state action plan and make it 'climate resilient through improved climate change governance.

The state will come out with a Climate Change State Action plan, on the lines of the National Action Plan for Climate Change, and the CCC will be tasked with its implementation.

According to Special Chief Secretary (EFST Department) Neerabh Kumar Prasad coastal zone disasters (cyclones), drought, adverse human health effects and depleting water resources are some of the challenges Andhra Pradesh faces.

"Climate change poses a challenge to sustainability of social and economic development, livelihoods of communities and environmental management in Andhra Pradesh. Building capacities for climate change actions (mitigation and adaptation) to make Andhra Pradesh a climate resilient State through improved climate change governance and services linking climate science, policies and people are very important in the present context," he said.

The cell will focus on mitigation of climate change and protect the vulnerable sections of society through an inclusive and sustainable development strategy that also enhances ecological sustainability.

The CCC will coordinate the preparation of Climate Change State Action plan and take focused steps to implement the same, besides liaising with the Government of India, external funding agencies and different departments of State government to identify projects and schemes for implementation of the Climate Change State Action Plan.

The ongoing schemes in the EFS&T Department -- Green Climate Fund (GCF), Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) -- will be transferred to be implemented and monitored through the cell, as part of implementation of the Climate Change Action Plan.
Mumbai: A dry bulk cargo ship apparently landed in troubled waters off Mumbai coast in the Arabian Sea off Raj Bhavan after the city was clobbered overnight with heavy rains, on Aug 4, 2020. The ship was noticed in the morning on Tuesday precariously Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai: A dry bulk cargo ship apparently landed in troubled waters off Mumbai coast in the Arabian Sea off Raj Bhavan after the city was clobbered overnight with heavy rains, on Aug 4, 2020. The ship was noticed in the morning on Tuesday precariously Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai: A view of popular floating restaurant 'Ark Deck Bar' that capsized and sank partially off the coast near Bandra, Mumbai under the possible impact of huge tidal waves triggered by the Mekunu Cyclone on May 25, 2018. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, April 2 : Amid all the gloomy predictions of the 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the Maharashtra coastal areas are also on the caution list for possible disasters with global warming leading to rising sea-levels, experts warned.

The western Indian state has a straight coastline of 720 km from Palghar (bordering Gujarat) to Sindhudurg (bordering Goa), and with a likely increase of 1.1 metres (3.7-feet) in the Arabian Sea levels, coastal communities will be gravely threatened, warns Dr. Anjal Prakash, Research Director of Indian School of Business.

He, along with other experts was the Coordinating Lead Author and Lead Author of two of the six reports of IPCC-2023 in the 6th Assessment Cycle synthesised.

Dr. Prakash cautioned that important cities and hundreds of villages dotting the coastal districts of Palghar, Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and other infrastructure dotting the seashores, could be at higher risk of floods, coastal erosion and other onslaughts by the turn of the century as the Earth warms.

"Maharashtra will witness higher temperatures with more heat waves leading to major health problems, severe water scarcity for agriculture, industries and homes as the state depends largely on the monsoon. Flooding will be a common occurrence, agriculture could be hit in many ways with serious implications for crop yields and food security owing to changing temperature-rainfall patterns," said Dr. Prakash.

He said that the IPCC-2023's Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate has looked at two interconnected systems - the oceans and the cryosphere (frozen zones of the world and glacier systems).

"Due to global warming, we are seeing that oceans have warmed up to a level of 0.8 degrees Celsius in the past around 175 years, or since the pre-industrial era (1850). Due to this ocean warming, it has given rise to an active water cycle leading to an increased frequency and severity of cyclones," he explained.

Here he cited a recent study of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, which has documented and indicated that there has been "a substantial rise in the number of cyclones and associated extreme weather events along coastal areas as compared to previous years".

Though this is very recent phenomenon - like the Cyclone Tauktae (2021), Cyclone Nisarga (2020) - they have caused havoc and will continue to have a devastating impact on Maharashtra, especially the Konkan coast including Mumbai, the creeks estuaries, nearby islands, big and small ports, forts and other monuments, with more like a nuclear power plant and a petrochemicals complex in the offing.

These extreme weather conditions along with more pre-and-post monsoon cyclones in the Arabian Sea will hit the state's coastal populations more severely in the coming decades, and impact over 40 crore (400 million) Indians, said other experts of Association for Scientific & Academic Research (ASAR).

"For instance, the IPCC's global statistics show that there has been a decline in fish production due to the effects of climate change, and the consequences for coastal communities are significant and must be considered," Prakash pointed out.

On the possible steps to counter the impending calamities, the expert offers certain short-term and other long-term measures.

"The short-term measures include a Climate Adaptation Plan to address problems at the sub-district level, meaning we need to comprehend the impacts of climate change within Maharashtra's districts, downscale the climate scenarios for each district and sub-districts, and then determine what interventions are needed. It must be a bottom-up strategy in which we assess adaptation and mitigation plans after analysing the effect of climate change on people's livelihoods," Dr. Prakash said.

On the long-term measures, he feels it must include a top-down strategy in which climate scenarios and predictions at the global scale are brought down to the local level, at the very least to the sub-district level.

"An overall comprehensive plan is needed as a long-term measure, with the next 15 years in mind at least, to consolidate short, medium, and long-term planning in order to guarantee climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts," Dr. Prakash added.

ASAR experts said the recent bouts of unprecedented unseasonal rain in different parts of India, was predicted by IPCC reports and climate models, and point out how massive rains just before crop harvesting was "never expected".

This has resulted in huge crop losses for farmers who need to be compensated and such extreme weather events play havoc with the lives and livelihood of people dependent on climate-related agriculture or similar jobs.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
New Delhi, April 2 : Two conmen, who used to deceive people with bundles of fake currency notes, were held by the anti-burglary cell of Delhi Police in Dwarka district.

Police said they were running a 'nakli-gaddi' gang. M. Harsha Vardhan, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Dwarka said that the accused were identified as Gyasi Kashyap (45) and Ramesh (48). A car used in the commission of crime and cheated amount Rs 26,000 were recovered from their possession, said Vardhan.

"Kashyap is a bad character of outer north Delhi, he was previously involved in nine cases of cheating, murder and Arms Act violation while Ramesh is facing trial in three cases," said the DCP.

The officer said that on March 28, an incident of cheating was reported at the Dabri police station. The victim, Pintu Kumar told the police that he went to the Bank of Baroda to deposit Rs 50,000 where he met the two accused.

"The accused met the victim inside the bank branch and induced him on the pretext of depositing their Rs two lakh (fake notes) in his bank account. The accused told him that they used to work in Punjab and stole whole cash from their employer's office as they weren't given salary. They induced the complainant that if he will get their money deposited then they will give him half of their money," the police said.

Further, the accused handed over the packet of fake Rs two lakh notes to the victim and cleverly changed his packet of Rs 50,000 which the victim later came to know.

After lodging the case, the team reached the bank and two persons were found involved in committing the offence. With the help of CCTV footage, their route was followed and it came in notice that both culprits reached Dashrath Puri Metro Station by a car.

"We conducted a raid in Rohini and arrested the duo. During the interrogation they confessed their involvement in the cheating. They told the police that their third associate, Pantu, was also with them. Efforts are being made to nab the co-accused," the police said.
Mumbai, April 2 : Bollywood star Ajay Devgn's latest release 'Bholaa', which released on March 30, has raked in Rs. 30.70 in just three days.

According to a statement, the film, which also stars Tabu and Deepak Dobriyal, collected Rs 11.20 crore on Thursday, Rs. 7.40 crore on Friday and on Saturday it minted Rs 12.10 crore making a total of Rs. 30.70 crore.

The word of mouth for Ajay's 'Bholaa' has resulted in great footfall on its first Saturday. The film saw an upward trend on Saturday earning 12.10 crore and a grand total of 30.70 crore in three days, the statement read.

'Bholaa', directed by Ajay Devgn is a remake of the 2019 Tamil film 'Kaithi'. The film stars Devgn in the titular role alongside Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao and Vineet Kumar.

The film follows an ex-convict who battles criminals while transporting a truck full of poisoned cops to the hospital in exchange for meeting his daughter after ten years of imprisonment.
Kabul, April 2 : Two children were killed as a mortar mine left over from past wars went off in Afghanistan's eastern Wardak province, provincial police spokesman Yusuf Israr said Sunday.

The incident took place when children in Sayedabad district found a mortar mine on Saturday evening and began playing with it. The device suddenly exploded, killing two children of a family, the official told reporters.

This is the third blast of its kind, which has claimed the lives of innocent children in Afghanistan over the past six days, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A similar blast claimed the lives of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province on Tuesday, while another child lost his life and three others were injured as an unexploded mine left over from past wars exploded in southern Zabul province on Friday.

War-torn Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, as dozens of people, mostly children, are killed and maimed every month due to the blasts of unexploded devices left over from the past four decades of wars and civil strife.
Srinagar, April 2 : The vehicular traffic was disrupted on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at Panthiyal due to shooting stones, officials said on Sunday.

"Traffic movement disrupted on Jammu Srinagar NHW due to Intermittent shooting stones at Panthyal," Jammu and Kashmir Traffic Police said.

The highway is the lifeline of the Kashmir valley and the main road link connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.

Kashmir-bound trucks laden with essential supplies and other vehicles pass through the highway and fruit carrying trucks from Kashmir head for the rest of the country through this road.
New Delhi, April 2 : BJP national vice president Baijayant Jay Panda on Sunday expressed his 'dismay' over police brutality in a village in Germany.

Taking to Twitter, Panda said: "Was dismayed to read about Germany's police brutality at Lutzerath village in January this year. Protestors accused the police of 'pure violence,' & said they had been beaten 'unrestrainedly, often on the head'.

"Indians are taking note of such decline in democratic norms in Europe's biggest economy with sadness & concern," he posted.

Although the incident happened in January, Panda's remark comes close on the heels of the German Foreign Ministry spokesperson comments on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction and subsequent disqualification from Parliament.

The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson had 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." Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had appreciated the comment and said, "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." Soon after several BJP leaders hit out at the Congress and its leaders, accusing them of seeking 'foreign interference' in India's affairs.

The violence in Germany was reported in January when thousands of people, mainly environmentalists, protested the government's plan to raze Lutzerath village to expand a coal mine. The police claimed that the protesters went berserk while the agitators said that they were brutally thrashed, as per media reports. The village was evicted eventually.
Chennai, April 2 : The Christian community celebrated 'Palm Sunday' ahead of Easter at the Basilica of 'Our Lady of Good Health' at Velankanni in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district Velankanni is a prominent pilgrimage centre for Christians of South India and most of the devotees reach there ahead of Easter celebrations.

Special services were held for the devotees in English, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi at the Velankanni church on Sunday during the 'Palm Sunday' celebrations.

Palm Sunday is observed as the last Sunday ahead of Easter celebrations.

The Christian's believe that 2000 years before Jesus Christ returned to the City of Jerusalem mounted on a mule and people lined up on both sides of the road carrying olive branches in their hands as a sign of accepting him as their lord. This tradition is now carried across the world and celebrated as 'Palm Sunday'.

Palm Sunday was celebrated in Kerala churches also with the faithful reaching the Churches in the morning. Mar Cardinal George Alenchery led the prayer meetings at Kochi and called upon the believers to stick to the ideals and belief in Jesus Christ and to think about the ordeals through which he has gone through. He called upon the believers not to wilt during adverse times and instead be strong on their beliefs.
New Delhi, April 2 : A day after an advocate, Virender Kumar, was shot dead in Dwarka area, the Delhi Police on Sunday said that they have identified the two accused involved in the murder and raids were being conducted to nab them.

The accused were identified as Pradeep and Naresh, both residents of Sannoth village. Both killed the victim two kilometers away from Dwarka court.

The police have learnt that accused Pradeep attacked Virender in 2017, but the victim had managed to escape while his driver was killed.

A personal security official was given to the victim by the Delhi Police after that incident. However, during Covid-19, his PSO was removed.

"We have got a CCTV footage in which both the accused could be seen following the victim by a bike," the police source said.

The source said that in 1987, the grandfather of one of the accused was killed and the family wanted to take revenge. Since then, this personal enmity is going on.

Meanwhile, all the district courts will observe strike on Monday to show their solidarity with the advocate community.
Kolkata, April 2 : With Trinamool Congress strongman and the party's Birbhum district president currently locked in Tihar Jail in New Delhi for his involvement in the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal, the state's ruling party has started witnessing an exodus of the lower-rung leaders and workers from the district.

This is happening for the first time since 2011 when the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state ousting the 34-year long Left Front rule.

On Saturday evening, around 3,000 Trinamool Congress activists led by the party's booth president in Mahidpur village, an out-and- out minority- dominated ruling party stronghold, in a public meeting announced their decision to quit Trinamool Congress and extend support towards to the Left Front- Congress alliance in the forthcoming state panchayat elections and subsequent polls thereafter, Those who quit Trinamool Congress and pledged their support towards the opposition alliance at that meeting, organised jointly by the CPI(M) and Congress, included erstwhile Trinamool Congress booth presidents Janarul Mullick and Seikh Sahajul and their deputies like Nuruddin Mollah and Allal Mollah, among others.

Local CPI(M) leaders claimed that the meeting was significant on two counts, the first being that this is the first public meeting by any opposition force in the village in the last 12 years since May 2011, when Trinamool Congress came to power. In addition to that, the development of so many ruling party activists, including lower-rung local leaders extending support towards the alliance, was an additional bonus for the opposition Left Front-Congress alliance.

The Trinamool Congress district leadership has maintained silence over the development. However, a district leader said on condition of anonymity that the faction, which had quit the ruling party on Saturday, had always been identified as the anti-Anubrata lobby in the district.

"Their expectation was that after Mondal's arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation last year there would be a replacement in the chair of the Birbhum district. However, it had not happened as yet even after Mondal had been taken to New Delhi. So, they finally decided to sever their ties with the party and pledge for the Congress-Left Front alliance since unlike BJP they have a secular face," he said.
Bengaluru, April 2 : A Muslim man was beaten to death by alleged cow vigilantes in Karnataka's Ramanagara district, near Bengaluru.

Idris Pasha, a cattle trader, and his two associates were assaulted by self-styled cow protectors led by one Puneet Kerehalli on Friday night.

The cow vigilantes intercepted a container vehicle in which Idirs and others were transporting cattle. Though the traders told them that they purchased cattle from the market and showed the papers, the gang demanded Rs 2 lakh. When Idris refused to pay, they asked him to go to Pakistan and attacked him and two others.

While some of the attackers chased Idris and Irfan, others assaulted container driver Syed Zaheer. A police constable intervened and took Zaheer and Kerehalli to the nearby police station.

Kerehalli lodged a complaint against Zaheer and others for illegally transporting cows. Zaheer and his associates were then booked under sections of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Transportation of Animals Act, and Motor Vehicles Act.

During the investigation, police found that Idris died after being assaulted by Kerehalli and other cow vigilantes.

On a complaint by Zaheer, police booked a murder case against Kerehalli and his associates. The accused were reported to be absconding.

The killing triggered protests by relatives of Idris and members of the Muslim community in Ramanagara. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
Chennai, April 2 : A 32-year-old research scholar at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras committed suicide by hanging at his residence at Velachery in Chennai. The deceased, Sachin Kumar Jain, was a native of West Bengal.

Police said that on March 31, he had put a WhatsApp status: "I am Sorry, not good enough." His is friends reached home upon seeing this and found him hanging in the room.

Sachin was a PhD research scholar at the Mechanical Engineering Department of IIT, Madras.

This is the third incident of suicide here in the year 2023 and demands have begun for conducting mental health surveys among the students in the premier institution.

According to police, Sachin was staying at Brahmin street, Velachery along with two of his friends. He allegedly committed suicide on March 31 afternoon.

The body has been sent to Royapettah government hospital for postmortem.

The IIT, Madras issued a condolence statement saying: "We are deeply anguished to convey the untimely passing away of a PhD research scholar from the Mechanical Engineering Department on the afternoon of March 31 at his residence in Velachery, Chennai. A student with an exemplary academic and research record is a big loss to the research community." The statement further said: "The institute expresses its heartfelt condolences and shares the grief of friends and family of the deceased student. The Institute requests everyone respect the privacy of the student's family at this juncture. May the departed soul rest in peace."
New Delhi, April 2 : The BJP has recalibrated its caste calculus in Bihar to cut into Nitish Kumar's vote bank, and is now fully geared up to take on the grand alliance government in Bihar .

The biggest challenge before the Bharatiya Janata Party currently is the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

By defeating the grand alliance government of JD(U)-RJD-Congress and other parties, the BJP wants to create an atmosphere in its favour for the Assembly elections to be held in the state in 2025.

To win, the BJP has now set its sights on the vote bank of its long-time ally Nitish Kumar.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is the strongest party within the grand alliance government headed by Nitish Kumar, and the BJP has realised that to increase the party's base in the state, or rather, the way to its victory is to cut into Nitish Kumar's vote bank.

Kumar has been Bihar's Chief Minister for a long time with the BJP's support on the strength of non-Yadav backward class, Dalit community and a large section of the middle class, especially women, but is currently being backed by the RJD for the Chief Ministerial position.

After the Yadav community, the Kushwaha community is Kumar's biggest and most solid vote bank. Their population in the state is 8 per cent.

The BJP recently appointed Samrat Chaudhary, who belongs to the Kushwaha community, the state president of the party. BJP has been attacking Kumar saying that the members of the Kushwaha community have always supported him, while he has only cheated them in return.

The saffron party also wants to send a message to the Kushwaha voters of Bihar, that people from the Yadav and Kurmi communities have held the Chief Ministerial position almost always in the state and now someone from their community should be the Chief Minister.

Along with the Kushwaha community, the BJP is also trying to connect with some of the extremely backward castes in the state, whose number may not be very large according to the election strategy, but would prove to be beneficial in making the party win if they are united, which is also why the saffron party has started targeting small political parties having caste base.

Under this strategy, the BJP has been eyeing several leaders such as Chirag Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha, Mukesh Sahani and Jitan Ram Manjhi, among others.

The BJP has been strategising to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with the support of these small parties.

The saffron party has also been cornering the Kumar-led government in the state on issues of failed liquor ban and deteriorating law and order situation among others.

In an attempt to woo the voters of the Kurmi community, the BJP has appointed Nityanand Rai as the Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Government of India.

BJP has been making efforts to create a strong vote bank by including the extremely backward castes, by which it can defeat the grand alliance government with a thumping majority.

If it succeeds in creating such kind of caste-political social equation in the state, then like many other states of the country, the party can get around 50 per cent votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, following which it will contest as a major contender against the Mahagatbandhan in the 2025 Assembly elections.
Patna, April 2 : After the violence in Sasaram and Nalanda districts, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday said that two persons died in Nalanda due to gunshots fired by either 'police' or 'people of Muslim community'.

"The people of Hindu community are facing the atrocity. They are being killed either by the gunshots of police or by firing by the people of Muslim community but the chief minister is saying that the third force is involved in the riot," Singh said.

"The people of Hindu community are feeling insecure in Nalanda and Sasaram. Violence had taken place on Saturday night in Nalanda as well. There is no police. Nitish Kumar should tell us that he is only a chief minister of Muslim," Singh said.

"Bihar is following the path of West Bengal. The chief minister does not know that Ram Navami march takes place every year in Bihar. How the stones and bricks assembled on the rooftops of the houses. Who did it? Where was the intelligence of the state? Nitish Kumar is saying that some people have planned a well-planned conspiracy. Why the police have not taken action against them," Singh said.

Meanwhile, JD-U MLC Neeraj Kumar said: "Union home minister Amit Shah's claim that section 144 imposed in Sasaram was fake. BJP is claiming that the bomb exploded on BJP members. I want to ask the BJP to release their name, caste Gotra, address and mobile number. Are you trying to make law and order an issue in Bihar? Are you looking for an opportunity? The 13 crore people of Bihar completely trust in the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar." "Nitish Kumar has controlled the law and order situation of the state and the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) which comes under Union Home Ministry is a witness of it. You are the home minister of digital India and you should learn about the data and then level allegations on us. The people will answer your every question and we are always ready for it," Kumar said.
Mumbai, April 2 : Actress Nushrratt Bharuccha, who is currently shooting for her next thriller drama film 'Akelli', has dropped a picture from the sets showing the injury she had while shooting.

With a wound on her forehead and blood stains, Nushrratt shared a picture of herself on her social media that shows that she is dealing with tough times as she is shooting for her upcoming film Akelli.

For the caption, she wrote: "Akelli." This much-awaited movie is directed by Prannoy Meshram who is also a debutant in this field. Previously, he has worked as an Assistant director in movies like 'Queen' and 'Commando 3'.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Apart from 'Akelli', Nushrratt also has 'Chhorii 2' in the pipeline.
New Delhi, April 2 : The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday hit out at the Congress by releasing the first episode of 'Congress Files', a video series alleging corruption during grand-old party's 70-year-rule.

The three minute video featured former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who led both the tenures of the UPA and former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

In the video, the BJP alleged that the Congress has looted Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 of the public's hard-earned money.

The BJP said that with Rs 48 trillion 20 billion 69 crore, many works could have been done - from security to the development of the country.

"Using this amount, 24 INS Vikrant, 300 Rafale jets, and 1,000 Mangal Missions could have been made or purchased. But the country had to bear the cost of Congress' corruption, and it lagged behind in the race of progress," the video message added.

"During UPA's tenure from 2004-2014, many scams happened... Coal scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, 2G Spectrum scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, MGNREGA scam of Rs 10 lakh crore, Commonwealth scam of Rs 70,000 crore, Rs 362 crore bribe in the helicopter deal with Italy, Rs 12 crore bribe for the chairman of railway board," the BJP said in the video message.

At the end of the video message, the BJP stated, "This is only the jhanki (trailer) of Congress' corruption, the movie is still not over."
Iraq's Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Al-Halboosi stressed the importance of activating the trilateral cooperation mechanism with both Egypt and Jordan in a meeting on Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo.

The meeting between El-Sisi and Al-Halboosi also highlighted the importance of enhancing strategic cooperation between Egypt and Iraq, the media office of the Iraqi parliament speaker said in a statement.

El-Sisi and Al-Halboosi also discussed political issues of mutual concern in the region, including achieving stability in Syria.

Al-Halboosi hailed Egypt's role in helping to restore stability in Iraq as well as Egyptian efforts in supporting regional security, stability and development, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said in a statement.

In this regard, Al-Halboosi expressed aspiration to continue cooperating with Egypt in all fields, especially at the parliamentary level and to benefit from the Egyptian experience in developing and building state institutions.

El-Sisi confirmed Egypt's full readiness to cooperate with Iraq in all fields on the bilateral level and also on the trilateral level with Jordan, reiterating Egypt's support to the security and stability of Iraq.

The president also highlighted the role of the Egyptian and Iraqi parliaments in enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

El-Sisi stressed the special relations binding Egypt and Iraq and stressed Egypt's keenness to boost cooperation between the two countries in all fields at the official and popular levels.

Strategic cooperation

Al-Halboosi also met with Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry during his Cairo trip, where they discussed their trilateral cooperation mechanism with Jordan and agreed on boosting the Egyptian-Iraqi relations.

Egypt views its trilateral cooperation mechanism with both Iraq and Jordan from a comprehensive strategic perspective with the aim of maximising benefits for all parties, Shoukry said during the meeting.

Shoukry expressed aspiration for the implementation of the joint projects within the framework of the mechanism as soon as possible.

Moreover, Egypt's top diplomat said he looks forward for the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Higher Committee convening in Cairo in the near future.

Shoukry said Egypt is keen to respond to Iraqi requests regarding engaging Egyptian companies in the reconstruction projects in Iraq.

This comes in light of the broad experiences held by these companies and given that a number of these projects have already started, Shoukry said.

Meanwhile, the FM also stressed Egypt's support to the Iraqi efforts in its war against terrorism.

Al-Halboosi's visit comes only a month after Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who took office last October, made his first official visit to Cairo as premier and held talks with El-Sisi.

Bilateral, trilateral cooperation

Egypt and Iraq have intensified bilateral cooperation in recent years and have intensified coordination on regional issues of concern.

Egypt and Iraq are also bound by trilateral cooperation agreements with Jordan, including a power linkage project between the three countries.

During his early March visit, Al-Sudani met with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, where they agreed to assign the relevant ministers in both governments to work over the coming two months to activate the agreements the agreements signed by both countries.

This comes while both countries are also preparing to hold the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Higher Committee in May or June this year, according to the Egyptian cabinet last month.

Egypt already has a power link with Jordan with a capacity of 550 MW and work is underway to boost its capacity in order for it to reach Iraq, Madbouly noted during his meeting with Al-Sudani.

He noted that the power line linking Egypt and Jordan can be boosted to up to 2,000-3,000 MW to serve this purpose.

The Iraqi premier said that the first phase of the trilateral power linkage project will be completed in June.

Al-Sudani also revealed consultations to establish a logistical zone on the Iraqi-Jordanian borders to contribute to securing goods and commodities, noting that Egypt can benefit from this zone by providing Egyptian goods to the Iraqi markets.

Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan and have held five summits since 2019, the last of which was at the Dead Sea in Jordan last December, to discuss implementing tripartite strategic projects.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq have also held a series of periodic meetings to strengthen their trilateral cooperation mechanisms.

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Shimla, April 2 : The state government of Himachal Pradesh is all set to collaborate with the Union government on the "Aroma Mission" -- a lavender cultivation initiative that has proven to be a boon for farmers in Jammu and Kashmir.

With the climatic conditions of several regions in Himachal Pradesh, including Chamba, being similar to those of Jammu and Kashmir, the state aims to replicate the success of the initiative in a big way.

This initiative will boost the economy of farmers as well as the state.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had a telephonic discussion with Union Minister of State, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, who has assured the state of providing technical support to farmers for the project.

The Chief Minister on Sunday said, "The initiative has the potential to transform the lives of farmers and with the collaboration between the state and the Union government. The Aroma Mission could prove to be a game-changer for the farming sector in the region." Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena has been directed to take up this matter with the ministry and expedite the process of implementing the project on the ground.

The state is planning to adopt modern scientific methods of farming by replacing traditional practices.

To accomplish this, the state is seeking technical support from the Union government that would organise orientation programmes, training camps and provide technical support to farmers and horticulturists of the state, enabling them to familiarize themselves with new innovative technologies in the farming sector, improve the quality of their produce and generate more income.

The lavender cultivation, also known as the purple revolution, could prove to be a lucrative option for the farmers, thereby transforming their lives.
Colombo, April 2 : The head of Indian Institute of Good Governance shared India's experience to improve the performance of civil service using information technology with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who expressed interest in replicating this in his country.

The President met Bharat Lal, Director General of the Indian Institute of Good Governance, who visited Sri Lanka to discuss potential ways to enhance the country's civil service and improve government institution performance by implementing effective monitoring measures.

At the meeting at the President's official residence on Saturday, Lal "shared how India was successful in integrating information technology into civil service", the President Media Division (PMD) stated.

"India's success in incorporating information technology into public service delivery, has resulted in significant progress and cost savings," he told the Sri Lankan head of state.

During the discussion, President Wickremesinghe urged Lal's assistance in establishing a University of Governance and Public Policy in Sri Lanka.

On Friday, launching a master plan to digitalise the country's economy by 2030, the President vowed to build a digitalised modern Sri Lanka by digitalising the government sector. He said that a Committee of Cabinet Ministers would be set up to ensure that the government sector digitalisation would be done speedily.

He said that it is a duty of the government to accelerate the digitalisation.

During the Saturday discussion with President Wickremesinghe, Lal was accompanied by Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Gopal Baglay.
Mumbai, April 2 : Rapper Badshah, whose real name is Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, is said to await his wedding with his longtime girlfriend and Punjabi actress Isha Rikhi whom he met at a party of a common friend.

As per the media reports, the couple is planning a gurdwara wedding in north India this month which will be attended by close family members and friends.

However, neither Badshah nor Rikhi has commented anything about their wedding plans. Badshah was rumoured to be dating her since last year after they met at a party and shared similar interests.

Badshah was married to Jasmine Masih in 2012 and in 2017, the two became parents to their daughter Jessemy Grace Masih Singh. However, they separated in 2020.
Hyderabad, April 2 : Extending Bharat Rashtra Samithi's (BRS) support to the employees of Vizag Steel Plant, the party's working president K.T. Rama Rao reiterated that BRS will resist the Central Government's move to privatise the steel plant.

In an open letter to the Central government, KTR detailed the "evil plans" of Modi government to hand over the Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) to private players, the reasons behind the steel plant incurring losses, and the ways in which the plant could be revived.

KTR said that as part of the "conspiracy" to privatise the steel plant, VSP will be pushed into losses and the crisis will be shown as an excuse to hand it over to crony corporate companies.

The BRS leader claimed that the central government did not allow the special iron ore mines to the steel plant. Due to this, he said, the steel plant is forced to spend up to 60 per cent of its production cost on raw material. On the other hand, the cost of raw materials in private companies production is less than 40 per cent as iron ore, coal and other mines were allotted to them.

The BRS working president said that VSP, which is forced to spend huge amounts on raw materials, is facing challenges as it is competing with private corporate companies in the market in terms of production. It is facing losses as the enterprise has to sell at the same price as them in the market.

Minister KTR said that the enterprise is in distress as coking coal has to be imported, and iron raw materials needed for steel production are being bought at market rate from NMDC.

"Due to this, more than 50 per cent of production had to be stopped for a year. All of this is part of a conspiracy to push the Vizag Steel Plant into losses and use it as an excuse to privatise the steel plant. Prime Minister Modi has written off loans worth Rs 12.5 lakh crore for his corporate friends. Why is he not showing the same generosity on the Vizag steel plant?" KTR questioned.

Stating that an Expression of Interest (EoI) notification was issued in the garb of mobilising funds for working capital and raw materials, KTR said that the Modi government was indirectly attempting to handover the PSU to private entities through the notification. He demanded that the Centre should immediately cancel the EoI notification.

The minister in his letter laid out a detailed plan to revive the PSU. He said that Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has already announced its expansion plans with a cost of around Rs 1 lakh crore. He said that the company can be merged with the Vizag Steel Plant, which has several advantages when compared to selling the steel plant to private companies at a low price. "This will contribute towards SAIL's expansion goals. If the company moves in this direction, then an ecosystem can be created to fulfill a long standing demand of a steel factory in Bayyaram, Telangana and a steel plant in Kadapa," said KTR.

Stating that VSP is not able to operate at its full capacity of 7.3 MTPA as the "Central government is not providing raw materials and capital", BRS working president said that the enterprise which is working at 50 per cent of the capacity is incurring the same production cost it incurs for working at 100 per cent capacity.

He said that if the Centre extends support, the enterprise can work at full capacity which will help it in generating profits. He said that VSP can compete with private companies if the central government provides loans to it on par with private companies and facilitates provision of capital through banks.

Maintaining that the Centre should stop "conspiring" to privatise a PSU which has Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth assets, KTR demanded that the Modi government should extend Rs 5,000 crore financial assistance to the steel plant.

KTR reminded that earlier when the Vizag steel plant faced a financial crisis, Prime Ministers P. V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee bailed out the PSU by extending financial support.

He also suggested the central government purchase steel from VSP for the large scale infrastructure projects in the country and pay the money in advance.

"The Vizag steel plant is allowed for loan monetisation up to Rs. 25,000 crores only. However, private companies having the same amount of assets as that of the Vizag Steel Plant are allowed to raise loans up to Rs 70,000 crore-Rs 80,000 crore," he added.

BRS Working President KTR also directed the BRS AP unit President Thota Chandrashekar to extend solidarity to the workers of the steel plant. "Vizag steel is the right of Telugu people and the responsibility is on us to save the steel plant," KTR remarked.
Islamabad, April 2 : Almost all of Pakistan's 30 mobile phone assembly units, including three run by foreign brands, have shut down as manufacturers say they have run out of raw material amid import restrictions, putting the future of some 20,000 employees at stake, media reports said on Sunday.

Most companies have furloughed employees after paying them half of their April salaries in advance. They have been told that they will be called back as soon as production resumes, the Dawn reported.

A mobile phone manufacturer expressed sorrow that the companies had to send employees home in Ramzan, it said.

"My family has three mobile production units, and all are closed," he said and pinned the blame on "incompetent and strange policies" of the Finance Ministry.

He was referring to government policies that have made it difficult for an importer to get a letter of credit (LC) - a document from a bank guaranteeing that a buyer's payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. This has stopped the imports of key equipment and components used in mobile phone manufacturing, Dawn reported.

The Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association (PMPMA) informed the IT Ministry in a recent letter that the local mobile supply had almost stopped and the markets had also started to face mobile phone shortages.

The letter, written by the association's Chairman, Haji Abdul Rehman, highlighted that the situation was equally troubling for consumers, who have to pay significantly higher prices for mobile sets manufactured locally.

Rehman told Dawn that the price of low-cost imported phones and the locally assembled units were getting close, which he said would eventually hurt sales of local sets.
Chennai, April 2 : AIADMK General Secretary K. Palansiwami (EPS) on Sunday said that there is a high possibility that Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, slated for 2026, would be held with the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 and if this happens, his party will come to power in the state.

"Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held next year and there are possibilities of the Assembly elections also being held in 2024 along with the Lok Sabha polls. This is in line with the Centre's One Nation, One Election and the AIADMK will come to power in Tamil Nadu. Our ambition is to serve the people, whether in power or not," he said while addressing a party meeting at Villupuram The current Assembly's tenure lasts till May 2026.

Palaniswami, who is also the former Chief Minister, said that the traitors who have joined the DMK and are functioning as "its B team" would fail, adding that the AIADMK was "a big banyan tree that the DMK will not be able to uproot".

He said that AIADMK founder leader and former Chief Minister MGR and late leader J. Jayalalithaa considered the party cadres as the true heirs to run the party.

"I have been elected with a massive mandate as General Secretary of the party and have the total support of the party rank and file. I will discharge my duties as per the expectations of my party workers," he added.

He also said that AIADMK would face all the cases foisted by the DMK and emerge the winner.
New Delhi, April 2 : A Parliamentary panel has held that the delay in the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 - which was withdrawn by the government in August 2022 for further scrutiny amid concerns raised by stakeholders and political parties owing to several loopholes in it - will have an adverse impact on the economy.

It has asked the government to formulate a separate policy for personal and non-personal data.

The Rajya Sabha's Standing Committee on Commerce, in its report on "Promotion and Regulation of E-commerce", which was recently tabled in Parliament during the ongoing budget session, while noting the delay in the Personal Data Protection Bill, said: "The delay in enactment of the bill will have an adverse impact on economy on account of failure to capitalise on the virtual treasure trove that data has provided." It further noted that any "absence of a clear cut data regulatory framework could also hinder the maximum exploitation of data which is considered as the new oil".

The panel, which is headed by Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, added that the delay in having a dedicated data protection regulation has occurred at a time when there is an urgent requirement for a robust data policy.

It has therefore recommended that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology should make concerted efforts to formulate a data policy on personal and non-personal data.

The government had withdrawn the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 from the Parliament in August last year after a joint parliamentary panel had recommended 81 amendments in it and 12 recommendations were made towards a comprehensive legal framework for a digital ecosystem.

While withdrawing the bill, Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the bill was being taken back in order to bring a legislation that fits into the comprehensive legal framework, as suggested by the joint parliamentary panel.
Bengaluru: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar interacts with youth during a class on foreign policy at the Cubbon Park, in Bengaluru, on Sunday, April 2, 2023.(Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar interacts with youth during a class on foreign policy at the Cubbon Park, in Bengaluru, on Sunday, April 2, 2023.(Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar interacts with youth during a class on foreign policy at the Cubbon Park, in Bengaluru, on Sunday, April 2, 2023.(Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru, April 2 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday interacted with the youth at a park here on Sunday.

On a visit to poll-bound Karnataka, the minister along with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya met the youth at Cubbon Park on Sunday.

Jaishankar fielded questions from youth on topics like India's foreign policy, G20 summit and the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The External Affairs Minister lauded Bengaluru's youth for understanding India's standing in the world and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'game-changing' foreign policy.

Tejasvi Surya shared pictures of Jaishankar's meeting with young lads on Twitter.

"Bengaluru's youth, started Sunday with a class on PM @narendramodi's foreign policy at Cubbon Park. EAM Sri @DrSJaishankar was flooded with wide ranging questions on India's foreign policy. Modi's foreign policy is not distant & dry. It's a hot topic even at public parks," tweeted the MP.

Bengaluru Central MP P.C. Mohan and important functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Bengaluru were also present.

"The enthusiasm among Bengaluru's young to understand India's standing in the world, our leadership role in G20 and PM Modi's game-changing foreign policy is impressive," tweeted Surya.

Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to Karnataka. He will be visiting Hubbali and Belagavi districts after Bengaluru.

The External Affairs Minister will attend a meeting of intellectuals at a college in Dharwad. He will also address a meeting in Belagavi.

Elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly are scheduled on May 10 while the counting of votes will be taken up on May 13
Islamabad, April 2 : Amid reports of an exchange of goods between Pakistan and Israel, the Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) and the Ministry of Trade and Commerce denied on Sunday having made any trade with the nation, media reports said.

The American Jewish Congress (AJC) had claimed that bilateral trade occurred with the offloading of the first shipment carrying Pakistani-originated food products in Israel.

Issuing a clarification over the purported trade, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan does not have diplomatic or trade relations with Israel, Geo News reported.

"There is no change in the policy," she stressed.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said that the AJC's press release was wrongly attributed as it does not make any mention of Pakistan's official trade relations with Israel.

"Rumours about beginning of Pakistan-Israel trade are pure propaganda. We neither have nor do we intend to start trade relations with Israel," the spokesperson said, Geo News reported.

On March 30, the American Jewish Congress released a statement on "trade between the State of Israel and Pakistan" claiming that the first shipment from the country had been received in Israel.

"This week, the first shipment of Pakistan-origin food products was offloaded in Israel, in a transaction that involved Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel Benkhald, based in Pakistan's business hub of Karachi, and three Israeli businessmen from Jerusalem and Haifa," the statement read, Geo News reported.

It also stated that the alleged trade was widely reported by both Pakistani and international media.

The AJC had stated that the two nations didn't have diplomatic ties yet but their entrepreneurs and technologists "have forged ahead in pursuit of common prosperity".

"Thanks to this initiative [alleged first trade] eighteen years ago, constraints and licenses that restricted Israel-Pakistan trade were abolished," it added, Geo News reported.

BenKhald is a Pakistani citizen from Sindh with a Jewish background who is a strong proponent of trade ties between Israel and Pakistan. He is engaged in the business of the kosher food industry.
Washington, April 2 : At least 26 people have been killed after a series of tornadoes and deadly storms struck through towns and cities in several US states, authorities said on Sunday.

Homes were destroyed and thousands left without power after huge storms caused devastation across several states, the BBC reported.

According to the National Weather Service of the US, there have been more than 80 reported tornadoes since Friday.

States including Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all had fatalities.

One storm shredded through the Arkansas town of Wynne -- a community, around 170 km from the state capital, Little Rock.

A school was badly damaged, with some buildings torn to pieces. One of its teachers, Lisa Worden, said a decision to send pupils home early was critical.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in the state of Arkansas on Friday, with the national guard activated to help with recovery efforts.

She said she had spoken to US President Joe Biden about the situation, who promised federal aid.

Friday's storms also led to the collapse of a theatre roof at a packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere, Illinois state, leading to one death and 28 injuries.

As storms continue to work their way east, hundreds of thousands of people are without power across several states.

Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania are the worst affected, according to the US PowerOutage website.

In a bulletin, the Storm Prediction Center warned some of the projected tornadoes could track across the ground for long distances.

The deadly tornadoes come a week after a rare, long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi.

The Mississippi tornado last week travelled 94 km and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes -- an unusually long period of time for a storm to sustain itself. It damaged about 2,000 homes, officials said.

President Biden visited the state on Friday to pay his condolences.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on Saturday declared disaster emergencies for Sullivan and Johnson counties.

Fatalities were also reported in Alabama and Mississippi, and tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa.

From northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, including Chicago and Milwaukee, tornado watches extend nearly 1,000 miles all the way to Mississippi and Texas, affecting tens of thousands of people on Friday, according to AccuWeather.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center.

There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, said Bunting, adding that "that's a quite active day... but that's not unprecedented." Just one week ago, a massive tornado levelled a town in the southern US state of Mississippi, claiming 25 lives. The 26th death was reported in Alabama during the same round of turbulent weather.

The latest "intense supercell thunderstorms" are only expected to become more common in middle and southern US states, as temperatures rise around the world, experts say.
Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approved the Kuwaiti Gulf Insurance Group's (GIG) subsidiary GIG Egypt's acquisition of AIG Egypt for EGP196.97 million ($6.41 million), according to a statement released by the FRA on Sunday.

AIG Egypt operates under the American International Group (AIG) umbrella.

The pending offer has set the share price at EGP 164.14, with a minimum execution rate of 75 percent of the capital shares. GIG Egypt intends to acquire 100% a total of 1.2 million shares.

As the largest insurer in Kuwait, GIG has a strong presence in multiple Gulf countries and Egypt. The acquisition is expected to contribute to the growth of the insurance industry in Egypt, a key sector of the country's economy.

This acquisition comes at a time when Egypt faces a significant financing gap of $17 billion through FY2025/2026, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To bridge this gap, Egypt is seeking loans from international and regional partners, as well as selling off state-owned assets.

In line with this, Egypt has issued the State Ownership Policy, which aims to increase the private sector's role in the country's economic activity, raising its share from the current 30 percent to 65 percent. The policy is expected to create more opportunities for private investment and contribute to the country's economic growth.

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Patna, April 2 : In wake of the violence in Bihar's Sasaram and Nalanda, Director General of Police Rajvinder Singh Bhatti on Sunday said the explosion in Sasaram's Sherganj area occurred during the making of bombs.

He said that 6 persons were injured in the blast and were admitted to the BHU in Varanasi.

"There accused were manufacturing bombs when the explosion took place. Six persons were injured in this accident and it has nothing to do with the Ram Navami march. The forensic team has collected the samples of the explosive and analysis is currently underway," Bhatti said.

The statement of the DGP came soon after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his rally in Nawada on Sunday, claimed that firing and bomb blasts took place in Sasaram.

The DGP said that the Bihar Police will arrest the accused after they are discharged from the hospital.

"We have arrested 109 persons who were involved in violence in Sasaram and Biharsharif. The process of recording video statements is on. We are taking the strongest possible action against the accused," he said.

"The situations in both places are under control. There was a well planned conspiracy to disturb law and order in these two places," he added.

Chief Secretary Amir Subhani said that the Bihar government had held a high-level meeting in advance well before Ram Navami.

"We have directed all the SPs, DMs, DIGs, IGs and Divisional Commissioners of the respective zones. The law and order was intact at most of the places. We are taking the strongest possible action against the offenders," Subhani said.
Amaravati, April 2 : The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday deplored Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's visit to Kotia region on the Andhra-Odisha border, stressing that the Supreme Court directive for maintaining status quo should be honoured.

Deputy Chief Minister P. Rajanna Dora found fault with the Central minister's visit to the disputed region and his statement that Kotia cluster of villages is an integral part of Odisha.

He reminded Pradhan that he represents the entire country and should refrain himself from making such statements. "We need to obey the apex court's order to maintain status quo till the issue is resolved," Rajanna Dora told the media in Saluru in Parvatipuram- Manyam district.

At the time of formation of the Parvatipuram-Manyam district last year, the government had shown 21 villages in the Kotia region in the Andhra Pradesh map.

A day after Pradhan's visit to the disputed area along with five BJP MLAs from Odisha, Parvatipuram-Manyam District Collector Nishant Kumar and Superintendent of Police Vidya Sagar Naidu were closely monitoring the situation in the Kotia region, where the government had conducted panchayat elections two years ago and took up many welfare activities.

Naidu said community policing was being accorded top priority in the region.

The Andhra Pradesh government is likely to depute a team of officials to the region to undertake more welfare activities in the villages.

During his visit to Kotia gram panchatar on Saturday on the occasion of Utkal Divas, the Odisha Formation Day, Pradhan had taken exception to the presence of Andhra Pradesh officials and drove them away.

Expressing his annoyance over the presence of Andhra Pradesh Police officials, the Union Minister asked them to leave as their presence within Odisha borders is not solicited.

"Why are you all here? The Kotia panchayat belongs to Odisha. Please go back. Go back to Andhra," Pradhan told the Andhra Pradesh officials. He then raised the 'Bande Utkal Janani' slogan as locals gathered to take it to a feverish pitch forcing the two officials to beat a quick retreat.

Pradhan's action has evoked sharp reaction from the leaders of various political parties in Andhra Pradesh.

Lok Satta Party State president B. Babji demanded the dismissal of Pradhan from the Union Cabinet as his visit to the village was in violation of the apex court ruling.

Former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLC D. Jagadish urged the Union government to constitute a commission immediately to find a permanent solution to the border dispute that had started in 1956.

A total of 21 tribal hamlets located in the area known as Kotia cluster of villages have been a bone of contention between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh since 1956 when Andhra Pradesh was formed.

As the boundaries of Kotia were not clearly demarcated, both the states claim jurisdiction over the region and enlist tribals as their voters and extend benefits of various government schemes.

The government of Odisha claims that these villages are a part and parcel of the Koraput district while Andhra Pradesh maintains that they are part of newly created Parvatipuram-Manyam district. Availability of rich mineral resources in the region is said to be the reason for the dispute.

Pradhan had last visited Kotia in 2018 and had written to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in September 2021 to resolve the border dispute through talks with his counterpart in Odisha. This was followed by a meeting of the two Chief Ministers in January last year.

Though the Chief Secretaries of the two states had a virtual meeting and decided to have a joint demarcation committee to define the border areas, no progress was made.
Kolkata, April 2 : Raju Jha, a coal trader who was shot dead on Saturday evening by unidentified assailants on NH-19 in West Bengal's East Burdwan district, was travelling from Durgapur to Kolkata in a car registered in the name of an absconding accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case, a source said on Sunday.

Jha was travelling along with Brotin Bandopadhyay -- who sustained injuries in the incident. According to the source, the Toyota SUV in which Jha and Bandopadhyay were travelling is registered in the name of one Abdul Latif, who is currently absconding, and wanted by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the cattle scam.

When Jha and Bandopadhyay stopped near a sweetmeat outlet in Saktigarh for refreshment, suddenly a blue-coloured vehicle arrived there. The vehicle's occupants opened fire, which resulted in two casualties.

The SUV bearing registration number 'WB-48D-7032' was purchased in January 2020 and was registered with the regional transport office (RTO) at Bolpur in Birbhum district.

As per records of the same RTO, the vehicle is registered in the name of Abdul Latif.

According to records of the CBI, Latif was an "extremely close confidant" of Trinamool Congress strongman and party's Birbhum district president, Anubrata Mondal, who is currently serving his judicial custody in Delhi for this alleged involvement in the cattle- smuggling scam.

CBI records also suggested that Latif, who was mainly responsible for monitoring the smooth passage of smuggled cattle from a cattle-trading hub in Birbhum district to the India-Bangladesh border in Murshidabad district, went absconding when Mondal was arrested by the central agency in August last year.

He went absconding last year immediately after he was summoned by the CBI for questioning.
Guwahati, April 2 : While Sikh radical preacher Amritpal Singh is still on the run, terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, founder of the US-based secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has allegedly issued threats against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

On Sunday, a section of journalists in Assam received calls from different mobile numbers, and on connecting, a message purportedly in Pannu's voice issued threats to Sarma.

The caller said: "Pro-Khalistan supporters imprisoned in Assam have been tortured. Listen very carefully, CM Sarma, the fight is between pro-Khalistan Sikhs and the Indian regime." "We are seeking the liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation through a peaceful democratic process of Khalistan referendum. If your government is torturing and harassing the Sikhs, you will be held accountable." Notably, some of Amritpal Singh's aides, including his uncle Harjit Singh, were flown from Punjab to Assam where they were lodged in Dibrugarh central jail.

Pannu's message, referring to the Assam Chief Minister, also said: "Sarma, do not fall prey to this violence." Assam DGP G.P. Singh, said: "We have identified that the voice was that of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. While serving in the National Investigation Agency (NIA), I heard his voice earlier in relation to a case. I am pretty sure that it is him. So, we have taken this issue very seriously." IGP, Law and Order, Prasanta Kumar Bhuyian told IANS that they have registered a case under the special task force and the investigation is underway.

Asked about any change in the Assam Chief Minister's security, he said: "CM's security has already been there according to the government's directive, which is reviewed from time to time." DGP Singh noted that the SFJ was banned in India in 2019 and Pannu was declared a terrorist in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for promoting secessionism and allegedly encouraging Sikh youths to take up arms.
Kolkata, April 2 : The West Bengal government in association with Unicef and the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) has agreed to start an exploratory process on how to minimise burden on offenders in case of juvenile crimes from going through the trauma of prolonged legal trials on such counts.

According to West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister, Sashi Panja, there are provisions under the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 wherein a child allegedly committing minor offences could be diverted from the regular judicial procedure and rehabilitated with the help of social workers by keeping him/her with parents or care-givers.

"The FIR will not be lodged against children committing petty and serious offences. They may or may not be sent to childcare institutions. Efforts will be to restore children to their families and link them to various welfare services and other alternatives to detention," Panja said while addressing a programme on "State Consultation on Diversion" organised by WBCPCR and Unicef on Sunday.

She also said that as part of extending the services of diversion and its benefits to children, government officials and other stakeholders would be sensitised first.

"The police will lodge general diaries for children committing petty and serious offences and inform the Juvenile Justice Board," the minister added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Mohiuddin, chief of Unicef-West Bengal said that in the past three years, there had not been enough initiative to divert children from police stations and Juvenile Justice Boards.

"We have to ensure essential services, regular follow-ups and psycho-social support and care to these children. Hence, a comprehensive care plan by the authorities for the child is required," he said.

Welcoming the initiative to strengthen the implementation of the principle of diversion under the Juvenile Justice Act, WBCPCR chairperson Sudeshna Roy said that during their visit to various childcare institutions, they had found many children who committed petty offences.

"It is essential to use diversion from judicial proceedings as a solution in such cases," she said.
St Petersburg, April 2 : A military blogger, who used to report on the situation in Donbass region where the Russian and Ukrainian forces are currently fighting, was killed in an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, reports said.

Blogger 'Vladlen Tatarsky' (real name Maksim Fomin), was killed in the incident at the 'Street Bar' cafe, while 15 others were injured, RT reported, citing RIA Novosti and TASS.

The cafe is located on the Universitetskaya Embankment in the historical city centre on the Neva River bank.

Tatarsky joined the Donbass militias back in 2014 in the wake of the Maidan coup in Kiev. He since become known in Russia as a blogger and a correspondent reporting on the situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. He also authored several books, RT reported.
Kolkata, April 2 : After violence in Shibpur and Kazipara areas in Howrah district on March 30, a similar clash broke out on late Sunday evening between two groups of people at Rishra in West Bengal's Hooghly district over Ram Navami procession in which BJP vice-president and Lok Sabha MP Dilip Ghosh along with other leaders had also participated.

BJP legislator from Khanakul assembly constituency, Biman Ghosh, along with a number of police personnel including the officer-in-charge of Rishra police station, Piyali Biswas, were injured in the clashes.

The police said that as the procession reached a busy market area in Rishra on Sunday evening, a group of people attacked the procession following which clashes broke out.

The police resorted to cane-charge, and also fired teargas shells to bring the situation under control.

Biman Ghosh received injuries to his head, following which he was admitted to the nearby Uttarpara State General Hospital.

According to the Commissioner of Chandernagore City Police, Amit P Javalgi, Section 144 has been imposed in Rishra.

A huge police contingent has been deployed in the area. Internet services were suspended in the area till 10 p.m. on Monday.

West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, after an initial discussion with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has issued a statement claiming that the state government will take strong action against those involved in such unruly activities.

Claiming that the attack on the procession was pre-planned, Dilip Ghosh said it seems unlikely that the police did not have prior information about the attack on the procession. "The police should have been more careful," he said.

Trinamool Congress MLA from Serampore assembly constituency Sudipta Roy said that outsiders who participated in the procession resorted to the violence in a planned way to disturb peace in the area.
Kabul, April 3 : Unknown men detonated a hand grenade in Afghanistan's capital but caused no loss of life and property damage, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

"Unknown persons threw a hand grenade on a road in Khair Khana area of Police District 11 at 6:20 p.m. local time today but fortunately caused no casualties," Zadran said on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Without providing more details, the official noted that an investigation had been initiated into the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kabul has been the scene of increasing security incidents over the past couple of months. A blast on a road next to the Foreign Ministry a couple of weeks ago for which the rival Daesh or Islamic State outfit claimed responsibility left at least four dead and several injured, including three security personnel.
Moscow, April 3 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges.

During the phone conversation, Lavrov underscored the need to respect the decision of Russian authorities made under Russia's law and international obligations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The Russian Foreign Minister expressed opposition to attempts of US officials and the Western media to politicise the legal case. He noted that "Gershkovich was caught red-handed while trying to obtain classified information and collecting data constituting a state secret under the guise of a journalistic status" and his fate will be determined by the court, Xinhua news agency reported.

In addition, Lavrov and Blinken touched upon some bilateral issues during the call, the statement added.

The Russian Federal Security Service announced on Thursday that it had detained Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg for "spying in the interests of the American government" and a criminal case had been launched.
Cairo, April 3 : Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with visiting Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi in Cairo, where they discussed ways of further promoting bilateral relations, said the Egyptian presidency.

During the meeting, the Egyptian President highlighted "the distinguished Egyptian-Iraqi relations and Egypt's keenness to further promote cooperation between the two countries in all fields," said Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy in a statement on Sunday.

Sisi also hailed the current momentum of the relations between Egypt and Iraq, whether at the bilateral level or through the tripartite cooperation mechanism with Jordan, Xinhua news agency reported.

For his part, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker highlighted Baghdad's close bilateral relations with Cairo.

"He also praised Egypt's role in restoring stability in Iraq and contributions to consolidate security, stability and development in the region and strengthen Arab unity," said the statement.
France held the Ansar Allah (Houthi group) responsible for not renewing the truce in Yemen.

The French embassy in Sanaa issued a press statement on Sunday holding the Houthi group, also known as Ansar Allah, accountable for failing to renew the truce in Yemen.

The truce was reached through the mediation of the United Nations and was in effect for six months, starting 2 April, 2022.

According to the statement, the truce has not been officially renewed since 2 October because the Houthis, who the statement described as responsible for renewing it, did not do so.

It further emphasised that the truce had alleviated the suffering of the Yemeni people and called for its renewal and maintenance.

The statement also urged all parties, especially the Houthis, to abandon violence and negotiate in good faith under the auspices of the United Nations.

It stressed that the achievement of peace and stability require direct dialogue between the government and the Houthis in order to reach a comprehensive political solution.

The French embassy's statement came amid mutual accusations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group regarding the obstruction of the truce's extension.

The statement concluded by saying that Yemenis are exhausted from the war and that the time has come to bring peace to Yemen.

France has been actively involved in efforts to resolve the conflict in Yemen, which has been ongoing since 2014.

The country has called for an end to the violence and for a political solution to be reached through dialogue and negotiations.

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Tehran, April 3 : Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said the number of its officers killed in recent Israeli attacks on Syria's captial Damascus rose to two.

In a statement published on Sunday by the IRGC's media arm Sepah News, the victim was identified as Meqdad Mahqani Jafarabadi, an IRGC officer serving as military adviser in Syria.

The other officer earlier confirmed died in one of the strikes was Milad Heidari, also a military adviser.

Israel has launched two missile attacks on sites in Damascus since Thursday, according to the Syrian national TV.

The IRGC strongly condemned the Israeli missile attacks, saying they violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent Arab country, Xinhua news agency reported.

The IRGC stressed that the Israeli "crimes will not go unanswered and Israel will be atoned for them".
Tehran, April 3 : Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud agreed in a phone call to meet in the coming days.

Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the "positive trend" of the bilateral relation, highlighting Tehran's determination to promote its good-neighbourliness policy, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website on Sunday.

The Saudi Foreign Minister, for his part, stressed the necessity of constant contact and meetings between the two countries' officials, describing the ongoing trend of measures by Tehran and Riyadh as "positive and satisfactory".

The Foreign Ministers also discussed the latest condition of the agreement signed between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing on March 10 on the normalisation of diplomatic relations and reopening of the embassies and missions within two months, Xinhua news agency reported.

This was the third phone conversation between the two top diplomats in the past weeks following the signing of the agreement, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

The Ministry, however, did not specify the date and venue of the upcoming meeting.

In another phone conversation in late March, the two Foreign Ministers had exchanged views on holding their bilateral meeting in the fasting month of Ramzan, which will end in late April.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shia cleric.
Jerusalem, April 3 : Israel's cabinet has voted in favour of establishing a National Guard force controlled by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The National Guard will deal with "national emergency situations," such as violent clashes between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, according to a statement released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

A committee composed of all security agencies will draft guidelines for the operation of the National Guard within 90 days, the statement said on Sunday, adding that the committee will also discuss what would be the powers of the force.

Last week, Ben-Gvir told Army Radio that the force will be deployed "exclusively" in Arab communities, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The police don't deal exclusively with this, because they are too busy with other things," he said.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that Israeli police chief, Inspector-General Yaacov Shabtai has expressed his concerns about the National Guard to Ben-Gvir in a private letter.

In a tweet, Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Ben-Gvir of seeking "to turn his thug militia into a national guard, that will bring terror and violence everywhere in the country".

Ben-Gvir is one the most extreme Ministers in Netanyahu's far-right cabinet. Before entering politics, he was an ultranationalist activist who was convicted of supporting terrorism, incitement to racism and involvement in riots. The Minister is a resident of the hardline Jewish settlement in Hebron, located in the occupied West Bank.

Last week, Netanyahu announced that the overhaul of the country's judiciary would be suspended. To gain Ben-Gvir's support for the move, Netanyahu accepted Ben-Gvir's demand to set up a National Guard under the National Security Ministry.
Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against West Hills Hospital, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

The Los Angeles employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against West Hills Hospital, alleging the company violated the California Labor Code. The lawsuit against West Hills Hospital is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 23STCV05973. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here.

According to the lawsuit filed, West Hills Hospital allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, (e) failed to reimburse employees for required expenses, (f) failed to provide wages when due, and (g) failed to pay sick wages, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in California Labor Code Sections  201-204, 226, 226.7, 233, 246, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct.

The Complaint further alleges, the company's non-exempt employees were allegedly unable to take off-duty meal breaks due to their rigorous work schedules. California labor laws require an employer to provide an employee required to perform work for more than five (5) hours during a shift with, a thirty (30) minute uninterrupted meal break prior to the end of the employee's fifth (5th) hour of work and a second uninterrupted meal break when employees are required to work ten (10) hours. The Complaint claims that the company did not provide their employees who forfeited meal breaks additional compensation.

For more information about the class action lawsuit against West Hills Hospital, 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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Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh will host in May, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.

The move would signal an end to Al-Assads regional isolation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Al-Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said.

Al-Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation.

Syria's return to the 22-member body would be mostly symbolic but it reflects a change in the regional approach towards the Syrian conflict.

Last month, sources told Reuters Riyadh and Damascus had reached an agreement to reopen their embassies after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

One of the three sources said discussions have been ongoing for more than a year over a list of demands from Saudi Arabia, including close cooperation on border security and drug trafficking.

Arab League heavyweight Egypt has also resumed contacts with Al-Assad. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on Saturday during the first official visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Cairo in over a decade.

Some countries, including the United States and Qatar, have opposed the normalisation of ties with Al-Assad, citing his government's brutality during the conflict and the need to see progress towards a political solution in Syria.

Contacts between Saudi and Syrian officials gathered momentum following a landmark agreement in March between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Al-Assad's main backer, to re-establish ties.

The rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran is part of major regional realignment, amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.

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Cracking open a cookbook is just the beginning of a culinary journey. And with the launch of Hardie Grant North America, the revered independent publisher is serving up a stellar list of culturally diverse and beautifully rendered cookbooks. The list includes well-recognized chefs and gastronomical powerhouses as well as up-and-coming cooks and authors.

Hardie Grant publisher Jenny Wapner chatted with PW about the enduring appeal of cookbooks, the qualities she looks for as she seeks out new titles, and some sneak peaks into Hardie Grant's upcoming North American list.

Congratulations on the launch of Hardie Grant North America! What excites you most about this new chapter in Hardie Grants publishing legacy?

Hardie Grant has been in the business of sharing unique stories for 25 years from our home base in Melbourneand later Sydney and Londonwith this expansion into the U.S., we now have the opportunity to do that for a larger audience. Its also an exciting moment for independent publishingwith so much consolidation in the industry, having a new independent publisher on the scene is greatly needed.

What can you share about your inaugural list of titles?

Its small but mighty! These five books represent years/careers/lifetimes of work and expertise. We have a Korean cookbook from Monica Lee that will teach you how to perfect the iconic soft tofu soup that made her restaurant Beverly Soon Tofu in Los Angeles so beloved for over 30 years; a drinks book from Danny Childs, an ethnobotanist turned bartender, that is a guide to botany, foraging, fermentation, bartending and slow living, all rolled into one; a Japanese cookbook from Sylvan Mishima Brackett, who runs one of the most exciting restaurants in the U.S., that will change the way you think about making Japanese food at home; and the first two volumes in a small series devoted to preserving from the foremost experts on the subject: Darra Goldstein, Cortney Burns, and Richard Martin.

As youre acquiring new titles, what are you looking for?

Strong voices, honesty, and candorwhether thats in food, design, interiors, or anything else we publish. I want books on the list that are surprising, idiosyncratic, deeply researched, and add something new to the cultural conversation.

How do the fascinating life stories of the featured chefs and authors contribute to the cookbooks themselves?

The life stories of the authors are what make them who they are and inform their cooking. They are as fundamental to the book as the recipes. The trick is to find ways to share those stories without overwhelming the other components of the book.

From your perspective, how can a beautiful cookbook enhance the cooking experience?

Food and cooking are a window into the larger culture, and a physical book can be such an effective conduit into that world. Bringing a new cookbook into your kitchen, poring over it, learning about another culture and that authors lived experiencethese are momentous things! The photos, the design, the paper, and the texture of the cover all contribute to and facilitate that experience. They make the book come alive.

Going forward, what are your hopes and aspirations for Hardie Grant North America?

To publish beautiful, important, and inspiring books. To become the destination for new and emerging voices and trusted authorities in the field. To make sure our authors feel nurtured and valued, and to fill some of the many holes in the market with books that tell previously untold stories.
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Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE INVESTMENT PROPERTYWEST OF CEDAR CITY, UTAHI have a nice 2.27 acre property west of Cedar City, (Iron County), Utah with a beautiful background view of the Mountains. This acreage is located about 30 minutes west of town an easy drive down Highway 56. It is a frequent visiting location for bald eagles which sometimes nest at a 20 feet pole erected at the SW corner of 36 in an area near the lot.Cedar City sits directly on Interstate 15, between Las Vegas...

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Israels antisemitism envoy said Sunday that she was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government, citing her criticism of its planned judicial overhaul as a possible cause.

Noa Tishby, a pro-Israel activist and actress, was appointed to the volunteer role to combat antisemitism last year by Israels previous administration.

Tishby wrote on Twitter that it is not possible for me to know if their decision was driven by my publicly stated concerns about this governments judicial reform policy.

Last month Tishby published a column on the Hebrew-language news site Ynet critical of the government's proposed legislation, calling it an attempted coup.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined answering questions about Tishbys dismissal, but issued a statement wishing her luck.

Netanyahu announced last week that he would pause the planned overhaul of the countrys judiciary. The governments proposed defanging of the Supreme Court has divided the country and drawn weekly mass protests.

Another diplomatic appointment by the prior government, Assaf Zamir, Israels Consul General in New York, resigned last week in protest.

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On Saturday morning, members of the University of Georgia and Athens community gathered at the Tate Student Center for the Out of the Darkness Campus Walk. The event raised funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention with the theme Hope Walks Here.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a rally in Hisua area in Bihar's Nawada district on Sunday.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Photograph: ANI Photo

He arrived in Patna on Saturday evening and put up at a hotel, where he met state Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

His scheduled visit to Sashastra Seema Bal's Patna Frontier on Sunday morning was cancelled due to 'unavoidable reasons', a statement said.

Shah was scheduled to dedicate to the public nine establishments of the SSB and conduct 'bhoomi pujan' for a new Patna Frontier building.

He will now leave for Nawada in the afternoon, before which he is expected to chair a meeting with senior state BJP leaders.

"The programme in Nawada stands. The district is peaceful and unaffected by disturbances elsewhere," BJP MLA Jibesh Kumar Mishra, who is camping in Nawada, told PTI over the phone.

Widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, Shah was also scheduled to take part in a function in Sasaram town of Rohtas district, which has been put off in view of communal violence that began Thursday evening during Ram Navami festivities and continued till Friday.

Besides, communal conflagration has also rocked Bihar Sharif, barely 40 km from Nawada.

Altogether 45 people have been arrested in the two riot-hit towns.

Shah's Sasaram event was touted as a celebration of the birth anniversary of Asoka, the Mauryan emperor, who has acquired the status of an OBC icon in Bihar, which has been the veritable laboratory of Mandal politics.

BJP leaders were quick to allege that Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was imposed in Sasaram 'deliberately' with the intent to impede Shah's function, a charge rejected by the Nitish Kumar government.

Rohtas District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar issued a video statement saying: 'Section 144 was never imposed. No such order was passed by myself or the Sub Divisional Magistrate concerned. Order was completely restored in Sasaram by Friday evening. We did resort to restrictions like suspending internet services for a day.'

Nonetheless, the state BJP shared video clips on its social media accounts wherein police personnel could be seen advising common people to stay indoors with the announcement 'Section 144 has been imposed'.

The DM said, "We have issued show cause notices to such police personnel. They have said that they relayed the message as a tactic to get some handle over the situation."

The BJP, however, was certainly not impressed with the comedy of errors and the chief minister's insinuation -- 'instructions are in place to track down those who indulged in mischief to cause the disturbances which were unusual and unnatural' -- added insult to injury.

The saffron party gave vent to its outrage by going to the Raj Bhavan where a memorandum was submitted to Governor Rajendra Arlekar.

Signed by close to 30 senior leaders, including state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary and Leader of the Opposition in assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha, the memorandum squarely blamed the cancellation of Shah's programme on 'extreme incompetence and failure of the administration'.

Kumar, the Janata Dal-United supremo, who was a BJP ally till less than a year ago, however, was of the view: "I failed to understand why he was coming in the first place. And I fail to understand why he is not going (to Sasaram)."

JD-U spokesman Himraj Ram twisted the knife with a statement claiming 'Shah's programme has been cancelled since the BJP was wary of not being able to manage sizeable crowds in Sasaram'.

This is Shah's fourth visit to Bihar since the BJP got stripped of power in the state in August last year when Kumar walked over to the Mahagathbandhan comprising the RJD, Congress and the Left.

With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in tatters, the BJP faces an uphill task in the Lok Sabha polls next year though it has swept Bihar in the last three general elections, including the one in 2009, when the coalition had put up a dismal performance nationally.
A court in Gujarat has acquitted all 26 persons accused of gangrape and murder of more than a dozen members of a minority community in separate incidents in Kalol during communal riots in 2002, for want of evidence in the 20-year-old case.

IMAGE: Paramilitary personnel walk down a street covered with stones after riots in the Dariyapura area of Ahmedabad, December 15, 2002. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

Of the total 39 accused, 13 died during the case pendency and the trial against them was abated.

The court of additional sessions judge Leelabhai Chudasama at Halol in Panchmahal district on Friday acquitted 26 persons for the offences of murder, gangrape and rioting for want of evidence.

"As many as 13 out of a total 39 accused in the case had died during the pendency of the trial," the court said in the order.

The accused persons were part of a mob that went on a rampage in the communal riots that broke out on March 1, 2002 during a bandh call given after the Sabarmati train burning incident in Godhra on February 27.

An FIR was lodged against the accused at Kalol police station on March 2, 2002.

The prosecution examined 190 witnesses and 334 documentary evidence in support of its argument, but the court said there were contradictions in the accounts of witnesses, and they did not support the prosecution's argument.

On March 1, 2002, a mob of more than 2,000 people from two different communities clashed with sharp weapons and inflammable objects in Kalol city in Gandhinagar district.

They damaged shops and set them on fire.

A man who was injured in police firing and being rushed to the hospital was burnt alive along with a tempo.

The mob attacked and killed another man coming out of a mosque and burnt his body inside the mosque.

In another incident, 38 people fleeing Delol village and coming towards Kalol were attacked and 11 of them were burnt alive.

A woman was gang raped when she and others were trying to escape, as per the FIR.
The security of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been tightened after a voice message issuing threat to him was received by a number of Assamese journalists based in Delhi and Assam on Sunday from a person identifying himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannu from the banned Sikhs for Justice.

IMAGE: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Photograph: ANI Photo

Assam's Director-General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh said the threat to Sarma by the pro-Khalistan group was being taken very seriously.

In a purported audio clip, sent to some journalists, Pannu, a designated individual terrorist, was heard threatening Sarma.

Pannu is at present in the United States.

The caller claimed that Sikhs were being 'tortured' in Assam jail and asked Sarma to desist from it.

After the March 18 crackdown on pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government had shifted seven of his close aides to Assam's Dibrugarh jail after slapping them with the National Security Act.

The voice message, which was received twice by some of the journalists in the afternoon, came from masked Indian phone numbers.

Acting promptly, the Assam Police said it has taken the threat to Sarma seriously and his security has been 'adequately sensitised to the emerging threat' and a case has been registered.

Assam DGP Singh tweeted: 'Reference audio clip threatening Hon CM Assam by a person called Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a designated individual terrorist under Indian law and heading an unlawful association called Sikhs for Justice: A case under appropriate sections of IPC and UAP Act has been registered at STF Police Station of Assam; the security component of Hon CM has been adequately sensitized to the emerging threat.'

'In view of global events, the threat is being taken very seriously by Assam Police. The central agencies have been kept in the loop on the issue,' the DGP tweeted.

Altogether eight associates of pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh are presently lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam.

A multi-tier security arrangement has been made at the jail since March 19, when four members of the Waris Punjab De (WPD) were taken there in the first batch.
The identities of people of Indian descent whose bodies were found in marshland have not been released by the Canadian police, pending identification and notification of next of kin, a media report said on Sunday, as the circumstances of their deaths continued to be investigated.

IMAGE: The border leading into Canada at Roxham Road, an unofficial crossing point from New York State to Quebec, in Champlain, New York. Photograph: Christinne Muschi/Reuters

Bodies of eight persons were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

Police say the deceased -- believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent -- were trying to cross into the United States from Canada.

Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.

Akwesasne officials have named two family members of Romanian descent -- including a man holding his two children's passports -- who were among eight bodies recovered from the St. Lawrence River, near the Quebec-Ontario border, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

The identities of other people recovered of Indian descent have not been released, pending identification and notification of next of kin, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported.

'The circumstances of their deaths continue to be investigated,' the paper added.

On Saturday, police said that four Indian nationals, who they also believed was a family attempting to cross into the US, have not been identified, the CBC reported.

Police found the bodies of five adults and one infant in the marshland on Friday.

Another infant and an adult woman were located later. One of the children was a Canadian citizen.

The deceased is believed to be of Indian and Romanian descent.

Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin.

They are also increasing surveillance on the river.

Valene Gray, the owner of the Three Feathers Cafe, said the community has been shaken by the tragedy.

"In the past couple of days, it's been very heavy, very emotional, customers coming in and they're sad," Gray said on Saturday. "You could tell they were upset, you could tell they were hurting."

Wanting to offer support to her community, Gray said it was an honour to be hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed. She said the cafe has provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and supper on Friday.

Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of 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.

In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
Canadian police have named two of the eight people, including four Indians, whose bodies were found in a marshland area along the United States-Canada border, amid an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.

IMAGE: Local firemen search the marshland for bodies in Akwesasne, Quebec, Canada on March 31, 2023. Photograph: Christinne Muschi/Reuters

Bodies of eight persons were recovered last week from the marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

Police say the deceased believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent were trying to cross into the US from Canada.

Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.

The Indian family is believed to be from Mehsana district in Gujarat.

Jasubhai Chaudhary, a resident of Manekpur village in Vijapur taluka in Mehsana, on Sunday said his brother, sister-in-law and their two children had left for Canada two months ago on a visitors' visa, adding reports of eight persons, including some Indians, being found in a marsh there had vexed kin here.

"Two months ago, my brother, his wife and two children went to Canada on a visitors' visa. Yesterday morning I learnt about the death of members of a family from India in Canada. I tried to contact my brother but was not able to do so. This caused suspicion that they were our family members," Chaudhary told reporters.

A Mehsana district administration official said Malekpura village residents approached the collector with a request to make arrangements for the bodies of the four deceased to be brought back to their native village.

"It is confirmed that four members of a family from Manekpur village in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana went to Canada on a visitor's visa and tried to cross the river. The villagers approached us seeking help to bring back their bodies, which we have reported to the state government," the official said.

Chaudhary said the family's suspicion was confirmed after they found that the names of the victims circulating on Whatsapp groups of his relatives settled in Canada were that of his brother, wife and two children.

He identified the four who left for Canada Praveeni Chaudhary, 50, his wife Diksha, 45, son Meet, 20, and daughter Vidhi, 24.

Former state home minister Vipul Chaudhary told reporters the government should make arrangements for the bodies of the victims to be brought back here, and termed it a very sad and shocking incident.

If something untoward of this sort happens, then the government must ensure the bodies are brought back, the former minister added.

On Saturday, police said that four Indian nationals, who they believed were a family attempting to cross into the US, have not been identified.

Citing a source with the police in India, the CBC News reported that at least three of them are family members from Gujarat.

The source said the family members include a man in his 50s and a woman and man in their 20s. The age and gender of the fourth Indian national is unknown at this time, the report said.

The identities of other people recovered of Indian descent have not been released, pending identification and notification of next of kin, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported.

The circumstances of their deaths continue to be investigated, the paper added.

However, it is known that these families were attempting to enter the United States illegally from Canada, Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.

Akwesasne officials have named two family members of Romanian descent including a man holding his two children's passports who were among eight bodies recovered from the St Lawrence River, near the Quebec-Ontario border.

'One man has been identified as 28-year-old Florin Iordache. Police said he had two Canadian passports in his possession one for his two-year-old child and another for his one-year-old infant whose bodies were recovered,' the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

'One woman Florin's wife and the children's mother has also been identified as 28-year-old Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache,' the report said, quoting the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service statement.

Police found the bodies of five adults and one infant in the marshland on Friday. Another infant and an adult woman were located later. One of the children was a Canadian citizen.

Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin. They are also increasing surveillance on the river.

"Our hearts are with the families of these victims as we try to work through our own grief for precious lives lost in our territory. Our culture and traditions are based heavily around family and it is difficult for us all to imagine the dreams these families had and the sadness of their deaths.

"This heart-wrenching event profoundly demonstrates the human qualities we all share," said the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.

Grand Chief Abram Benedict said the department is committed to understanding how this tragedy occurred and 'how we can work with our police department and partners to prevent it from ever happening again'.

Valene Gray, the owner of the Three Feathers Cafe, said the community has been shaken by the tragedy.

"In the past couple of days, it's been very heavy, very emotional, customers coming in and they're sad. You could tell they were upset, you could tell they were hurting," Gray said on Saturday.

Wanting to offer support to her community, Gray said it was an honour to be hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed.

She said the cafe has provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and supper on Friday.

Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of 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.

In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
Days after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threatened his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal with a defamation case, the Aam Aadmi Party chief reached Guwahati on Sunday and invited the Bharatiya Janata Party leader for tea and lunch at his residence in the national capital.

IMAGE: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses during a public meeting, at Sonaram play ground, in Guwahati on Sunday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Kejriwal also said such threats by Sarma are unbecoming of a chief minister.

Sarma had on Friday threatened to file a defamation case against Kejriwal if the Aam Aadmi Party leader alleged corruption cases against him outside the assembly.

"Is there any FIR or case against me anywhere in the country? I wanted to sue him but like a coward, he spoke inside the assembly," the Assam CM said.

"Let Kejriwal come here on April 2 and say that I am corrupt. The next day, I will file a defamation case against him as I have done against (AAP leader) Manish Sisodia," Sarma had said.

Kejriwal had reportedly said in the Delhi Assembly that there are cases against Sarma.

"People of Assam are very good. They welcome their guests. Himanta Biswa Sarma should learn from them," the Delhi CM said immediately after landing at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here, reacting to Sarma's remarks.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also accompanied Kejriwal.

The two leaders are scheduled to address a rally in Guwahati on Sunday.

"I invite him (Sarma) to come to Delhi, and have tea and lunch with me at my house. I will also show him around the city.

"He had threatened to put me in jail, said he won't let me return. Such threats are unbecoming of a chief minister," Kejriwal said.
Clashes broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Sunday evening, police said.

IMAGE: Devotees partcipate in a religious procession to celebrate Ram Navami and ahead of Hanuman Jayanati, in Kolkata, on Sunday, April 2, 2023. Photograph: PTI Photo

Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Dilip Ghosh, who was in the procession, told PTI that the incident happened on GT Road in Rishra police station area.

People in the procession were walking peacefully to the Jagannath temple in Mahesh when stones were hurled at it, he alleged.

A senior officer of the Chandannagar Police said the clash broke out around 6.15 pm.

"The procession was going through the traditional route when one group started throwing stones at it. We took immediate steps to address the situation," the Indian Police Service officer told PTI.

Quick action was taken by the police and the situation is now under control, she said.

A heavy police deployment has been made in the area to prevent any further flare-up, the officer said.

BJP's Pursurah MLA Biman Ghosh was injured in stone pelting and rushed to a hospital, Ghosh said.

"There were many women and children in the procession who were walking with saffron flags in their hands. Suddenly, stones were hurled at us from one side of the road. Several policemen were also injured in the stone-pelting even though I and some other leaders were rescued and taken out of the area through adjacent lanes," he claimed.

"Police finally managed to chase away the trouble-makers after being silent spectators for a while," he alleged.

The ruling Trinamool Congress questioned what was the need to organise the procession two days after Ram Navami.

"Why are they so bent to take out Ram Navami processions during the holy month of Ramzan? Why the Ram Navami rally was taken out two days later? The BJP wants to engineer riots in Bengal to create instability for political gains," TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar told PTI.

BJP is trying to instigate trouble by taking religious processions to certain sensitive pockets, he said, adding that it was creating such a situation to demand President's rule in the state.

Majumdar also claimed that those in the rally were carrying weapons such as swords, which created panic among the people.

Violence during Ram Navami celebrations rocked parts of neighbouring Howrah district on Thursday and Friday.

Over 45 people were arrested, prohibitory orders were imposed and internet was suspended to bring the situation under control.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in Gujarat's Surat city on Monday to file an appeal before a sessions court against his conviction in a criminal defamation case, his lawyer said on Sunday.

IMAGE: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrives at the Parliament House to attend the meeting of Congress MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the CPP office, in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

Gandhi will be present in the sessions court to file the plea challenging a metropolitan court's order which sentenced him to two years in jail, party sources said.

"Rahul Gandhi will reach the sessions court in Surat to file an appeal at around 3 pm," his lawyer Kirit Panwala said.

Senior Congress leaders will also be in Surat when Gandhi arrives on Monday afternoon, party sources said.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Varma here had on March 23 convicted Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname remarks.

It had held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500.

The court had also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to appeal in a higher court.

Gandhi was present in the court when it had pronounced the verdict in the case.

The former Congress chief was on March 24 disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by the Surat court in the case.

Following his disqualification, Gandhi would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

The case was filed against Gandhi on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for the Congress leader's alleged remarks How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?

Gandhi, who had served as an MP from Wayanad in Kerala, made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019 during the Lok Sabha elections campaign.

The sentence of two years invited his disqualification from the membership of Parliament under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The RP Act holds that an MP or a member of legislative Assembly (MLA) convicted for any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction.

Gandhi had campaigned for the Congress before the Gujarat Assembly polls held in December 2022.

His party won just 17 out of the total 182 seats, its worst poll performance since the formation of the state in 1960.

In his complaint, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had alleged that Gandhi, while addressing the poll rally in 2019, defamed the entire Modi community by purportedly saying, How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?

Purnesh Modi was a minister in the first tenure of the Bhupendra Patel government.

The ruling party legislator was re-elected from the Surat West Assembly seat in the elections held in December last year.
Iraq's Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Al-Halboosi has arrived in Cairo in an official visit, where he is scheduled to hold talks with Egypts Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry on Sunday.

Speaker of Egypt's House of Representatives Hanafy El-Gebaly welcomed Al-Halboosi in the Egyptian capital, the media office of the Iraqi parliament speaker said in a statement earlier today.

Shoukry and Al-Halboosi are scheduled to hold talks on the two countries' bilateral relations and the most prominent topics of mutual concern.

Al-Halboosi's visit comes only a month after Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who took office last October, made his first official visit to Cairo as premier and held talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Iraq, under Al-Sudani, has recently expressed the desire to help Iran mend its ties with both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Late in February, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian thanked Iraq for its efforts advancing Irans dialogue and cooperation with the two Arab countries in a visit to Baghdad.

Al-Halboosi's visit to Cairo comes a day after Shoukry's meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the first visit of its kind for over a decade. Both top diplomats welcomed the Saudi Arabia-Iran rapproachment, hoping that the step helps achieve further stability in the region.

Egypt and Iraq have intensified bilateral cooperation in recent years and have intensified coordination on regional issues of concern.

Egypt and Iraq are also bound by trilateral cooperation agreements with Jordan, including a power linkage project between the three countries.

During his early March visit, Al-Sudani met with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, where they agreed to assign the relevant ministers in both governments to work over the coming two months to activate the agreements the agreements signed by both countries.

This comes while both countries are also preparing to hold the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Higher Committee in May or June this year, according to the Egyptian cabinet.

Egypt already has a power link with Jordan with a capacity of 550 MW and work is underway to boost its capacity in order for it to reach Iraq, Madbouly noted during his meeting with Al-Sudani.

He noted that the power line linking Egypt and Jordan can be boosted to up to 2,000-3,000 MW to serve this purpose.

The Iraqi premier said that the first phase of the trilateral power linkage project will be completed in June.

Al-Sudani also revealed consultations to establish a logistical zone on the Iraqi-Jordanian borders to contribute to securing goods and commodities, noting that Egypt can benefit from this zone by providing Egyptian goods to the Iraqi markets.

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A total of 10 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been sent to Bihar after violent clashes erupted during Ram Navami celebrations in the state, sources said on Sunday.

IMAGE: Police personnel being deployed in violence-hit Nalanda, Bihar, April 2, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Of these 10 companies (carrying approximately 1,000 personnel) includes four from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) one from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the rest from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the sources said.

Security has been beefed up following the re-eruption of clashes in the region that erupted on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district in Bihar.

The state police, however, tweeted that stringent action will be taken against those spreading rumours, and said that the situation in Nalanda's Biharsharif is completely normal.

The police have further advised people to not believe in rumours.

Tension prevailed in Bihar even a day after Ram Navami as fresh violence was reported in Rohtas and Nalanda districts on Saturday, the police said.

In Nalanda's Biharsharif, one person was killed and several others injured after clashes broke out between two groups last evening, while six people were injured in a blast in Sasaram town of Rohtas district.

Nalanda Police on Sunday said more than 75 people were arrested in raids after a fresh clash erupted following violence during Ram Navami celebrations in the state.

Police have imposed prohibitory orders in Nalanda to maintain law and order in the region.

Clashes were first reported in the two districts on Friday.

The tension had been building since Thursday over taking out Ram Navami processions.

By Friday afternoon, the tension spiralled into full-blown clashes, with the groups attacking each other with stones.
Members of the Vermont State Police and Brattleboro Police Department investigate a suspicious death at 14 Birge St. in Brattleboro on Friday. The incident unfolded late Thursday evening when a call came in about shots being fired. This death and another this week have shaken the community.
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SPRING VALLEY, New York (AP)  Klever Ortega and Cristina Lema had a good life until COVID-19 crippled Ecuadors economy.

Ortega was a house-painting contractor and there was work until demand dried up in the pandemic. The entrepreneurial couple launched a pair of food stands. Then the pandemic hit those, too, Lema said.

With unemployment, instability and crime rising, they decided to leave for the U.S., following many friends, family and acquaintances.

We used to hear it in the street: They left. Look who else abandoned their business and took off, Lema said. Thats when we, too, told ourselves, We arent earning enough to survive or pay debts.

Ecuador  long known for remarkably low rates of crime, despite sitting in South Americas cocaine heartland  is earthquake-prone and has been struggling economically, fighting higher violence and losing its people in record numbers. Like Ortega and Lema, many are headed to the U.S.; the number of Ecuadorians detained near the border with Mexico has spiked.

Biden administration policies introduced in January have sharply reduced illegal U.S. border crossings by targeting migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and getting Mexico to take them back. Migrants from Ecuador and some other countries dont face the same hurdles, and are generally allowed to stay in the U.S. while they pursue asylum  part of the piecemeal nature of U.S. immigration policy.

___ This is part of an occasional series on how the United States became the worlds top destination for asylum-seekers. ___

The journey can be perilous. In February, a bus crash in Panama killed dozens of migrants, many from Ecuador, as they plunged off a hillside after crossing the notorious Darien Gap from Colombia. And on Monday, a fire at a detention center in the border city Ciudad Juarez killed at least 39 migrants, almost all from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvador.

The administration wants to be able to send all migrants back to Mexico if they travel through that country to reach the U.S. border, cross illegally and dont qualify for exemptions. That proposal, though almost certain to face legal challenges, may be a serious deterrent for Ecuadorians and other non-Mexicans.

In Ecuador, the economy has been further damaged by strikes against government cutbacks. The economic woes fueled a rise first in minor crimes by those who couldnt get by. Over time, violent crime escalated too  worsened by the countrys proximity to the cocaine trade.

Violence got so bad that you couldnt walk peacefully in the street, Ortega said at his familys new apartment in Spring Valley, New York, where they arrived last year.

Ecuadorians dominated the mix of migrants detained by Mexico for the first time in January, according to the Washington Office on Latin America. The reports from Mexico of migrants detained near the border provide some of the best data on the country of origin of those headed to the U.S.  typically a mix of Mexicans, Venezuelans and Central Americans.

On the U.S. side, officials stopped Ecuadorians 12,000 times at the border in November, about triple the number three months earlier and nearly 20 times the number from the same period last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures show.

Like many migrants, Ecuadorians typically followed the pattern of single men moving first to establish a foothold. Now, many of the Ecuadorians migrating to the New York area are families. CBP figures show that families with children have grown to about 60% of arrivals, from 15% in fiscal year 2020.

The relative ease of current migration is fueling that increase, said Diana Loja, Sleepy Hollows liaison to the Latino community.

It used to take months to get here. Now it takes days, she told The Associated Press as she drove through Sleepy Hollow, pointing out home after home rented by Ecuadorians. Half of the villages 10,000 people are Latino, with the majority hailing from Ecuador, according to census data.

By some estimates, Sleepy Hollow  about an hour from midtown Manhattan  has the most Ecuadorians per capita in the U.S.

In nearby Spring Valley, Ortega and Lema live in a ground-floor apartment. Last May, they took 26 days to travel from Quito to New York. They remember nearly drowning in a river in Nicaragua, mother and daughter struggling to stay afloat on a raft fashioned of empty plastic bottles. Today, Ortega does repair work in a local pizzeria. Lema makes potatoes, chicken and other food for a restaurant.

In recent years, Loja said, Ecuadorians considering their own migration see a growing number of people to follow in the New York area: They start to see their neighbors, their friends, their own families.

Like many migrants, Ecuadorians have stayed closely abreast of migratory rules that allow them to travel to nations on the route to the U.S. Until last year, some 45,000 Ecuadorians had traveled to Nicaragua, which had no requirements for Ecuadorian travelers. Mexico also was an easy destination for Ecuadorians, until September 2021.

Ortega and Lema said they started their trip by paying a smuggling network $8,500 a person and tried to travel to Nicaragua, but were turned down because they didnt have the right documents. The network flew them to Panama, where they boarded buses to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. They crossed the Rio Grande into the U.S. and took a bus to New York.

Ortega and Lema plan to apply for asylum with their 7-year-old daughter, Sofia, in federal court in Manhattan in June.

The factors that drove them to the U.S. continue to drive thousands more Ecuadorians north, although some are waiting in Mexico for the latest U.S. migration-rule tightening to pass, said Dr. Fredy Rivera, a security analyst at the School of Latin American Social Science in Quito.

Many people are still in Mexico, he said of a dip in CBP figures in recent months from the latest record highs. Its temporary.

For Ortega, their journey will pay off when their daughter has a better life than she would in Ecuador, where the family sees no sign things will improve anytime soon.

That was my dream, is my dream, he said, For her to get an education here. Its for that that we came here.

____

Solano reported from Quito, Ecuador. Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
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HELSINKI (AP)  Finland's main conservative party claimed victory in parliamentary elections Sunday in a tight three-way race that saw right-wing populists take second place, leaving Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party in third, dashing her hopes for reelection.

The center-right National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory with all of the votes counted, coming out on top at 20.8%. They were followed by right-wing populist party The Finns with 20.1%, while the Social Democrats garnered 19.9%.

With the top three parties each getting around 20% of the vote, no party is in position to form a government alone. Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties were vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic countrys parliament.

Based on this result, talks over forming a new government to Finland will be initiated under the leadership of the National Coalition Party, said the party's elated leader Petteri Orpo, as he claimed victory surrounded by supporters gathered in a restaurant in the capital, Helsinki.

Marin, who at age 37 is one of Europes youngest leaders, has received international praise for her vocal support of Ukraine and her prominent role, along with President Sauli Niinisto, in advocating for Finlands successful application to join NATO.

The 53-year-old Orpo, Finland's former finance minister and likely new prime minister, assured that the Nordic country's solidarity with Kyiv would remain strong during his tenure.

First to Ukraine: we stand by you, with you," Orpo told the Associated Press at NCP's victory event. We cannot accept this terrible war. And we will do all that is needed to help Ukraine, Ukrainian people because they fight for us. This is clear.

"And the message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is: go away from Ukraine because you will lose, Orpo said.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, cleared the last hurdles of becoming a NATO member earlier in the week as alliance members Turkey and Hungary signed off the country's membership bid.

NCP's share of votes translates into 48 seats in the Eduskunta, Finland's Parliament, while The Finns, a nationalist party running largely on an anti-immigration and anti-European Union agenda, is to get 46 seats and Marin's Social Democrats 43 seats respectively.

Observers say the result means a power shift in Finland's political scene as the nation is now likely to get a new center-right government with nationalist tones. The government will replace the center-left Cabinet by Marin, a highly popular prime minister at home and abroad since 2019.

Government formation talks led by the NCP are expected to start in the coming days with goal of putting together a Cabinet enjoying a majority at the Parliament.

I trust the Finnish tradition of negotiating with all parties, and trying to find the best possible majority government for Finland," Orpo told the AP.

And you know what is important for us? Its that we are an active member of the European Union. We build up NATO-Finland, and we fix our economy. We boost our economic growth and create new jobs. These are the crucial, main, important issues we have to write into the government program, he said.

The positions of Marin's party on the Finnish economy emerged as a main campaign theme and were challenged by conservatives, who remain critical of the Social Democrats' economic policies and are unlikely to partner with them.

Orpo had hammered on Finland's growing government debt and the need to make budget cuts throughout the election. NCP is open to cooperation with The Finns as the two parties largely share view on developing Finland's economy though have differences in climate policies and EU issues.

While Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland to seek NATO membership in May 2022, neither the historic decision to abandon the nations non-alignment policy nor the war emerged as major campaign issues as there was a large consensus among the parties on membership.

Finland, which is expected to join NATO in the coming weeks, is a European Union member.

The initial voter turnout in the election was 71.9%, slightly down from the 2019 election.

__

Kostya Manenkov and David Keyton in Helsinki contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (AP)  Former President Donald Trump will deliver remarks Tuesday night in Florida after his scheduled arraignment in New York on charges related to hush money payments, his campaign announced Sunday.

Trump will hold the event at his Mar-a-Lago club after returning from Manhattan, where he is expected to voluntarily turn himself in. He is expected to be joined in Florida by supporters as he tries to project an image of strength and defiance and turn the charges into a political asset to boost his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury last week, two people familiar with the matter have told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that is not yet public because the indictment remains under seal.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has blasted the investigation as part of a yearslong witch hunt aimed at damaging his candidacy.

Trump aides and lawyers had been going back and forth over the wisdom of his appearing before reporters after the arraignment as they grasped the news of an indictment that caught many of them by surprise. Trump has been catapulted back into the headlines by the criminal charges and he relishes media attention, and while some of his lawyers would have preferred he stay silent, his campaign believes the development has energized his supporters.

Already, Trumps campaign says it has raised more than $5 million and logged more than 16,000 volunteer signups since the indictment, which Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said were key indicators that Americans from all backgrounds are sick and tired of the weaponization of the justice system against President Trump and his supporters."

Trump was indicted Thursday by a grand jury in the case involving hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to a porn actor who alleges Trump had an extramarital sexual encounter with her years earlier.

In television interviews Sunday, Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said he would pore over the indictment once he receives it, then devise the next legal steps. He dismissed questions about whether he would ask for a venue change or file a motion to dismiss the case as premature, though its common for defense attorneys to do both.

Were way too early to start deciding what motions were going to file or not file, and we do need to see the indictment and get to work, he told ABCs This Week. I mean, look, this is the beginning.

The former president is expected to fly to New York midday Monday and stay at his Trump Tower in Manhattan overnight ahead of his planned arraignment Tuesday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Trumps travel plans.

He is expected to report to the courthouse Tuesday morning, where he will fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken, like anyone else facing charges. Investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants.

Once the booking is complete, Trump will appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment. That will take place 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.

But Tacopina said that most of what will happen Tuesday remains up in the air," given Trump's unique status as a former president, "other the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say, Not guilty.

Obviously, this is different. This has never happened before. I have never had Secret Service involved in an arraignment before at 100 Centre Street, he said on CNNs State of the Union," using the courthouse's street address. Hopefully this will be as painless and classy as possible for a situation like this.

The judge could at some point decide to bar anyone involved in the case from talking about it publicly, but that is unlikely to happen at Tuesdays proceeding. A gag order generally is used as a way to avoid tainting potential jurors. But its often done at the request of the defendant, and in this case, Trump is the one talking

Officials from the Secret Service and the New York Police Department toured the courthouse and met about security plans on Friday.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a key Trump ally, and the New York Young Republican Club, are planning a peaceful protest against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg across the street from the courthouse on Tuesday afternoon.

___ Long reported from Wilmington, Delaware.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Saturday that the fight that took place in the last decade in Sinai against terrorism is "no less significant" than the fight that led to Egypt's victory in the October War 50 years ago.

Related Sisi performs Friday prayers to mark 50th anniversary of 10th of Ramadan war victory

The president made these remarks during an Iftar event with the chieftains of Sinai tribes and personnel in the Second and Third Field Armies to mark the 50th anniversary of the victory in the 6th of October War in 1973, which fell on 10th day of the holy month of Ramadan that year, per the Islamic Hijri calendar.

Minister of Defence General Mohamed Zaki and Chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Osama Askar attended the Iftar event.

The president, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, said in his remarks that the state appreciated the efforts of the Armed Forces and civilian police as well as the chieftains of Sinai tribes during the war on terrorism in Sinai, vowing that the state would continue to empower them.

"The fight that took place on the land of Sinai against terrorism is no less significant than any fight carried out by Egypt in previous battles, El-Sisi said.

The work that was carried out in this war is no less significant than the work that led to the victory of October," he added.

Remember, ten years ago many people were asking when terrorism would be over. Now, thanks to you, it is over.

The president also noted that the state has invested in Sinai heavily over the past eight years and will continue to implement development projects in the peninsula.

He also assured that the current economic crisis in the country will be over soon and will become history.

Earlier in the day, the president inspected security checkpoints east of the Suez Canal.

During his inspection tour, the president spoke briefly with soldiers and officers from soldiers and officers in the East of Suez Canal Forces Command, who are tasked with combatting terrorism, as well as personnel in the Second and Third Field Armies.

"This victory was achieved for our beloved Egypt after its army and people united in a brilliant scene," President El-Sisi told the personnel.

"I am happy to be amongst my sons who are fighters in the Egyptian Armed Forces in the east of the Suez Canal on the precious land of Sinai," the president wrote on his Facebook page.

Before attending the Iftar, the president inspected the permanent operations centre of the East of Suez Canal Command to follow up on security status.



















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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Sunday slammed Pakistan over the pro-Khalistani agitation abroad over the massive police crackdown on 'Waris Punjab De' chief and controversial preacher Amritpal Singh. He said that India will not accept its national flag being pulled down.

His remarks come after a group of Khalistan supporters last month attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, the demonstrators broke open the makeshift security barriers. Later, members of the Indian diaspora gathered outside the Indian consulate to show their support.

In London, the tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission was grabbed at by separatist Khalistani supporters chanting pro-Khalistani slogans on Sunday, leading to an arrest related to the violent disorder. Thereafter, a giant Indian flag graced the High Commission in London.

This is not India which will accept its national flag being pulled down: Jaishankar

During an interaction session at JSS Educational Institutes in Karnataka's Dharwad, Jaishankar said, "In the last few days, some incidents happened in London and San Francisco. Some interests are of neighbours. It is our obligation to provide security to our diplomats in foreign countries. This is not India which will accept its national flag to be pulled down."

On India's bid for a permanent seat at UN Security Council, the EAM said, "Some of the current members of the UN Security Council are keeping the door closed for India. We will create a coalition to enter UNSC. We will keep up the efforts."

Meanwhile, a hunt to nab Amritpal Singh is on. The radical preacher has been on the run since a police crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De on March 18. He has been spotted in multiple purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the past few days.

In the latest video, the Khalistan sympathiser claimed he was not a fugitive and would soon emerge before the world. In the audio clip, he rejected speculation he was negotiating his surrender and pressed the Akal Takht for the second time to summon a "sarbat khalsa" congregation to discuss matters related to the Sikh community.
One of the cheetahs that was brought to Kuno National Park from South Africa's Namibia caused panic among villagers as the animal entered the Jhar Baroda village of Vijaypur in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. The Kuno National Park is 20 kilometres away from the village, where the cheetah reportedly entered and is now being searched by a monitoring team.

According to the information from Kuno National Park, the cheetah Oban who ventured into an area near Baroda Village is identified as Oban who was brought by the central government from Nambia last month. Notably, the cheetah's presence near the village has created a panic-like situation among the villagers, and security has been tightened. After the Forest Department was informed about the incident, a wildlife team rushed to the spot to search for the cheetah. However, the cheetah has not been found yet, and the team, along with the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), is currently conducting a search operation to locate the big cat.

Escape of cheetah from Kuno National Park leaves villagers scared

The news of cheetahs escaping from Kuno National Park has left villagers scared. Some have also reported that they spotted Oban in the fields near Golu Pura and Jhar Baroda village in Vijaypur tehsil in the district. Meanwhile, it was equally shocking for the Forest Department officials when they learnt that Oban had ventured out of the Kuno Sanctuary and was now in the nearby villages. The forest department has assured the villagers that they are taking all necessary measures to ensure their safety, and a rescue operation is underway to safely capture the animal.

"As per the signals from its collar device, the cheetah was moving towards the village from Saturday night. It is sitting at the spot and a police team is monitoring the situation and keeping villagers away. Forest department staff are trying to send it back into the park area," Sheopur divisional forest officer (DFO) P K Verma told PTI.

Significantly, for the first time in 70 years after their extinction from India, the cheetahs are back on Indian soil. A total of 20 cheetahs were imported to India in two batches. The first batch contained eight cheetahs from Namibia that arrived in September last year and 12 more from South Africa in February 2023. India was home to Asiatic cheetahs until the species was declared extinct in the country in 1952.

Image: PTI
Weeks after massive Cyclone Freddy hit Mozambique for a second time , the still-flooded country is facing a spiraling cholera outbreak that threatens to add to the devastation.

There were over 19,000 confirmed cases of cholera across eight of Mozambiques provinces as of March 27, according to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a figure which had almost doubled in a week.

Freddy was likely the longest-lived cyclone ever, lasting over five weeks and hitting Mozambique twice . The tropical storm killed 165 people in Mozambique, 17 in Madagascar and 676 in Malawi. More than 530 people are still missing in Malawi two weeks later so that country's death toll could well exceed 1,200.

Freddy made its second landfall in Mozambique's Zambezia province, where scores of villages remain flooded and water supplies are still contaminated.

At a hospital in Quelimane, Zambezias provincial capital, National Institute of Health director general Eduardo Sam Gudo Jr reported there were 600 new confirmed cases a day in Quelimane district alone, but said that the real number may be as high as 1,000.

At least 31 died of cholera in Zambezia and over 3,200 were hospitalized between March 15 and 29, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

Cases are highest in the neighborhood of Icidua on the city outskirts, where most residents live in bamboo or adobe mud huts and fetch water in buckets from communal wells. Flooding brought by the cyclone has exposed many of these wells to water contaminated with sewage overflow and other sources of bacteria. Cholera spreads through feces, often when it gets into drinking water.

But until water pipelines ruptured in the floods are repaired, these wells are the only source of water for those in Icidua and communities like it. For now, temporary solutions offer the only hope of stemming the outbreak.

Volunteers go from house to house distributing bottles of Certeza, a local chlorine-based water purifier. Each bottle should last a family for a week, but supplies are running low as local production struggles to keep pace with demand. There are also not enough people to distribute the Certeza, even if greater supplies could be procured, Gudo said.

In the meantime, health workers are struggling to treat the infected with many clinics and hospitals badly damaged. The cyclone destroyed the infrastructure here, said Jose da Costa Silva, the clinical director of the Icidua health center. We are working in parts of the hospital that were not destroyed. Some colleagues are working outside in the open because theres not enough space available for everyone.

Eighty health centers in total were affected by Freddys two landfalls in Mozambique, according to INGD, the countrys disaster management agency.

Although cyclones do occur in southern Africa from December to May, human-caused climate change has made tropical cyclones wetter, more intense and more frequent. The now-dissipated natural La Nina event also worsened cyclone activity in the region. While Cyclone Freddy itself hasnt yet been attributed to climate change, researchers say it has all the right hallmarks of a warming-fueled weather event.

Formed in early February off Australia, the cyclone with exceptional longevity made an unprecedented crossing of more than 8000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from east to west across the Indian Ocean.

It followed a looping path rarely recorded by meteorologists, hitting Madagascar and Mozambique for the first time at the end of February, and then again in March before barrelling into Malawi.

Restoring normal water supplies in Mozambique will take time, as many damaged pipelines run through areas that are still inaccessible two weeks after the cyclones last impact.

A cholera outbreak in a flooded flatland with a very high water table is mission impossible to address, Myrta Kaulard, the UN resident coordinator in Mozambique, told Associated Press. Sanitation is a huge problem and the flooding has affected key infrastructure, such as the water pipelines and the electricity supply  Repairing that infrastructure in flooded areas is another mission impossible.

Meanwhile, rural areas around Quelimane are facing other threats. Many villages and fields are still underwater, and the humidity has bred swarms of mosquitoes carrying malaria. In a makeshift displacement camp on the bank of a flooded rice paddy near the village of Nicoadala, 20 out of 290 residents are sick with malaria, according to Hilario Milisto Irawe, a local chief.

There were 444 reported cases of malaria in Quelimane district on 24 March alone, but the number is likely much higher as many, such as those in the camp outside Nicoadala, lack access to health facilities.

Compounding the public health crisis, the material livelihoods of hundreds of thousands are at risk as Freddy hit just before the main harvest. It also carried seawater inland, threatening the long term fertility of the soil in an area where malnutrition is already chronic.

All our farms are flooded. Our rice farms are destroyed. All we can do is start over again, but we dont know how we will do that, said Irawe.
Montenegrins are casting ballots on Sunday in a runoff presidential election that is a battle between a long-serving pro-Western incumbent and a newcomer promising changes in the small NATO member state in Europe that has been locked in political turmoil.

Observers say that President Milo Djukanovic, who is credited with leading Montenegro to independence and into NATO, could be facing defeat from the economist Jakov Milatovic, the candidate backed by governing parties advocating closer ties with Serbia.

The runoff vote on Sunday is being held after none of the contenders won majority support in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Some 540,000 people are eligible to vote in Montenegro, a country of 620,000 located in the Balkan peninsula and by the Adriatic Sea.

The winner of Sunday's vote could also reflect on the upcoming early parliamentary election on June 11. That vote was scheduled because of months-long government deadlock that stalled European Union integration and alarmed the West as war rages in Ukraine.

Djukanovic, 61, first became prime minister at 29 and has stayed in power for the past 32 years  longer than his Democratic Party of Socialists, which was ousted in a 2020 parliamentary election.

Djukanovic has been a key Western ally in countering Russian influence and keeping the Balkans stable. He has insisted that the struggle is not over despite Montenegro's NATO membership because of Serbia's alleged expansionist policies and Russia's influence.

Milatovic, who is 36 and was educated in Britain and the United States, has appealed to voters disillusioned with established politicians like Djukanovic. Milatovic has insisted that he wants Montenegro to join the EU although some of the parties that backed his candidacy are pro-Russian.

If Milatovic wins, his Europe Now movement could find itself in a position to dominate the next government after the snap vote in June. Djukanovic has hoped that his re-election for another five-year term would pave the way for his DPS to also return to power in June.

Milatovics Europe Now emerged after the first government that resulted from the 2020 parliamentary elections collapsed. As the economy minister in that government, Milatovic gained popularity by increasing salaries but critics say this was done at the cost of the already depleted health system and not as an outcome of reform.
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern" about China's escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Hayashi is making a two-day visit in China, becoming Japans first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He was also due to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later Sunday.

During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man or the allegations against him.

Hayashi told reporters he also raised serious concern about China's increasingly assertive maritime activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Hayashi said he told Qin that their countries have the possibility of improved cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, but also face many problems and serious concerns" and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, 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 security and economy.

Qin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and "undermine China's sovereignty in any way, according to a statement from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using strong language, Qin said the Taiwan issue is at the core of Chinas core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

Japan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.

Japan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defenses recent years.

The Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.

Qin criticized Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The U.S. has imposed similar measures and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.

The U.S. once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japans semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China, Qin said, urging Japan not to be America's pawn. One should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.

Hayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a U.S.-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.

The last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashi's predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures.
The Aluthgama police in Sri Lanka have taken into custody at least 39 Chinese people in connection with online money fraud, Daily Mirror reported. According to the police, the suspects stole millions of dollars from online accounts belonging to people in various nations over several months. The accused party was staying at a resort in Kaluamodara, Aluthgama, and were detained as a result of complaints made to multiple embassies, according to the Daily Mirror.

The English daily further reported that while the detained Chinese nationals were being transported to the Alutgama police, authorities seized multiple smartphones and cash from their possession. It is a second incidence this week involving Chinese nationals being detained abroad for online fraud.

Nine Chinese citizens detained in Nepal

Three years after detaining 122 Chinese nationals in various districts of Kathmandu for their shady behaviour, Nepal police detained nine Chinese nationals on Tuesday for allegedly participating in internet fraud in a similar occurrence. Ten Nepalis who were allegedly aiding them in the operation were also detained by police, according to The Kathmandu Post.

This time, according to the police, they have "strong evidence" to bring a case of online fraud. "Earlier, the police would be short of evidence as they would be found to be running a call centre or doing some other legitimate activities," said Senior Superintendent of Police Manoj KC, who is also the in-charge at the Valley Crime Investigation Office, Minbhawan. He further said, "But this time we have enough evidence."

"They were found duping Nepalis of money from their illegal offices in the Valley," KC said. "Through these offices, they ran online classes called 'Operation Teacher' over Telegram," he added.

The crime office in charge said that the operators would initially interact with regular individuals over WhatsApp before forcing them to sign up for online classes using Telegram.

(With ANI Inputs)
Former Arkansas Governor, Asa Hutchinson announced that he will be running for the Republican ticket for the 2024 US Presidential elections. The announcement by the US veteran politician came on Sunday as the Arkansas governor stated that he is ready to challenge former US President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the former US President is struggling to deal with the prospect of getting arrested after a New York Grand Jury voted to indict the business mogul-turned-politician on March 30. While the charges of the indictment were not made public, the case was related to the former US Presidents involvement in paying hush money to pornstar Stormy Daniels. The Arkansas governor, on the other hand, made the announcement for the White House bid during an interview with ABC News.

"I have made a decision, and my decision is I'm going to run for president of the United States," the 72-year-old former Arkansas governor said during an interview with ABC News. As per the American news outlet, Hutchinson will make the final announcement on April 26 in his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. "While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville [Arkansas], I want to make it clear to you, I am going to be running. And the reason is, I've travelled the country for six months, and I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts, Hutchinson added. The former Arkansas governor stated that travelling across the United States over the last six months has influenced his decision.

Hutchinson pushes the motto of consistent conservatism

With the Sunday announcement, the former Arkansas governor joined the list of Republican firebrands that are gearing up to challenge the former US President to clinch the Republican nomination. Former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have also announced their bid for the White House this year. "Its still about retail politics in many of these states, and also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I've seen in my lifetime. So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism and hope for our future in solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates," Hutchinson asserted during the ABC News interview. While Trump is tackling his legal woes, more Republicans are expected to join the Republican primary race in the coming months.

In light of the March 30 verdict, Hutchinson asserted that the twice impeached former US President should not be the next president of the United States. Hutchinson also added that the new developments have also made the 2024 US Presidential rance completely unpredictable. "I think it's a sad day for America that we have a former president that's indicted, and so it's a great distraction, but at the same time, we can't set aside what our Constitution requires -- which is electing a new leader for our country -- just because we have this side controversy and criminal charges that are pending. And so we've got to press on, and the American people are gonna have to separate what the ideas are for our future," he said. The former Arkansas governor made it clear that the office is more important than any individual.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City, US said that a total of 15 sculptures will be returned to the Indian government after discovering that the pieces had been forcibly stolen from India. In the official statement, the museum said that all the sculptures were sold by the looter Subhash Kapoor, who had assisted in smuggling the pieces out of Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other nations. A Tamil Nadu court in India gave drug dealer Kapoor a 10-year prison term in November of last year.

"The Met contacted Homeland Security about its works from Kapoor in 2015 and is pleased to be acting on this matter today as a result of the criminal investigation into Subhash Kapoor by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. Through this cooperative partnership, the museum received new information from the Manhattan DAs office about 15 works of art that made it clear that the works should be transferred, resulting in the constructive resolution," the statement read.

Works range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE

It further said, "The works range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE, and include terracotta, copper, and stone."

The Museum made a statement regarding the entire issue stating they are dedicated to the appropriate purchase of ancient art and apply strict provenance requirements to both new acquisitions and pieces that have been in their collection for a while. It is now investigating the history of artefacts purchased from dubious dealers.

The Museum expressed its gratitude for the resolution and expressed how much it valued its long-standing partnerships with the Indian government. In an earlier press release from October 2022, the US officials stated that they had returned 307 artefacts to India that had been taken by numerous minor trafficking networks and were worth close to 4 million dollars.

Alvin L. Bragg Jr., the district attorney for Manhattan, stated on Monday that 307 artefacts worth nearly $4 million that were seized from disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor will be returned to the people of India. At a repatriation ceremony held at the Indian Embassy in New York, all the artefacts were returned. US Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") Acting Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge, Tom Lau, also participated.

(With ANI Inputs)
A U.S. citizen who moved his family to Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist group has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Emraan Ali, 55, a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad and Tobago, was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court records, Ali moved his family from Trinidad and Tobago to Brazil, and then to Turkey and eventually Syria in March 2015. He falsely told his children that they were going on vacation but actually intended to join IS, prosecutors said.

After arriving in Syria, IS registered Ali and his family, and Ali underwent IS religious and military training with other English speakers, officials said. The training included instruction on the operation of various automatic weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifle and PKC machine gun.

Ali was eventually discharged from combat duty and worked in residential construction for IS in the group's then-de facto capital of Raqqa, investigators said. Ali also became a merchant and began buying and selling livestock, cars, weapons, weapons accessories and telephones to and from other IS members. Ali also provided money remitting services to other Trinidadian IS fighters in Syria and donated his own money to IS members to support the IS cause.

Ali and his family relocated within Syria several times over the years, officials said. Ali and his son, 22-year-old Jihad Ali, surrendered to Syrian Democratic Forces near Baghuz in March 2019, during the last sustained Islamic State group battles to maintain territory in Syria, officials said. They were later transferred to FBI custody and returned to the U.S. The son, who was born in New York and began IS military and religious training at 15 years old, was previously sentenced to five years in prison.

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.
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 today.



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 Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "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."



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).  TradeArabia News Servoce
China's Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping expressed Beijing keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt in tourism and other fields, as he started an official visit to Cairo, his first outside the country since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a meeting on Sunday with Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa, Heping, who is heading an official delegation, stressed the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries.

From his side, Issa emphasized to Heping that China represents one of the most promising markets for tourism to Egypt.

In January, Egypt received its first batch of Chinese tourists after Beijing eased COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Last week, Egypt eased visa requirements for Chinese nationals, allowing them to obtain an entry visa upon arrival.

A Chinese delegation, comprising 22 tourism organisers as well as members of the China Tourism Association, are currently in Egypt to boost cooperation between the two countries.

The Egyptian economy relies on the tourism sector as a key source for hard currency.

The country's tourism sector was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of visitors dropping from 13.1 million in 2019 to 3.7 million in 2020.

However, the tourism sector began to recover in the last two years - with the number of tourists climbing up to 8 million in 2021 and, again, to 11.7 million in 2022.

The government has said it expects 15 million tourists to visit Egypt in 2023 and plans are in the work to expand hotel capacity to receive 2530 million by 2028.

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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.
When Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Moscow in early 2022, he had high hopes of leaving with defense deals that would circumvent international sanctions and take advantage of the expiration of a United Nations embargo on arms trading with Tehran.

Russian fighter jets, advanced antimissile defense systems, and other high-tech military equipment were high on Raisi's wish list. But questions arose: What could sanction-hit Iran, short on cash and technology, offer energy-rich Russia in return? And would Russia be willing to send advanced military technology to Iran at risk of angering rival states and important customers in the Middle East?

Russia's invasion of Ukraine just a month after Raisi's visit provided the answer.

As it became apparent that the war would drag on much longer than the Kremlin anticipated, depleting Russia's arsenal, Moscow turned to Iran for military drones that have proved to be a deadly addition to Russia's war effort. Iranian short-range missiles, as well as shells and ammunition, have reportedly helped shore up dwindling supplies. And there are suggestions that Iranian ballistic missiles could be delivered in the future.

In exchange, Iran is anticipating the delivery of advanced Russian Su-35 combat jets, S-400 antimissile systems, a military satellite, and other long-sought military equipment. CNN has reported that Russia is sending captured weapons that the United States supplied to Ukraine on to Iran, where they could potentially be reverse-engineered to produce Iranian-made equivalents.

And according to The Wall Street Journal this week, Russia is also aiding Tehran's efforts to clamp down on persistent antiestablishment protests at home by providing advanced surveillance software.



Su-35 Deal Goes Down

Immediately after the UN arms embargo against Iran expired in 2020, Tehran lauded the opportunity to strengthen its security.

The lifting of the arms ban was part of the terms of the moribund nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers in 2015, which curbed Tehran's sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

The 13-year embargo had denied Iran the right to import or export conventional weapons, making Tehran largely dependent on its own military technology to keep pace with regional foes Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Remaining U.S. sanctions continued to limit Iran's ability to import technology, particularly any that could aid Iran's suspected efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and the European Union maintained its own arms embargo on conventional arms and missile technology in an attempt to get Iran to adhere to the nuclear deal after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018.

But the lifting of the UN embargo opened a window for conventional arms trading with Iran, with Russia and China seen as the most likely suppliers.

Raisi described his two-day visit to Moscow in January 2022 as a "turning point" in Tehran's relationship with Russia as Iranian officials expressed interest in purchasing fifth-generation Russian fighter jets, air-defense systems, helicopters, and tanks. Acknowledging Iran's strapped budget, however, defense experts suggested Iran was unlikely to invest in prohibitively expensive combat aircraft.

Air-Combat Veterans

For decades, Iran has struggled to maintain an air force that depends largely on U.S. aircraft purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with some dating back to the 1960s. Longstanding U.S. sanctions denying Iran access to spare parts for its aging F-5s, F-14s, and F-4 Phantoms have left Iran with a patchwork fleet of U.S. aircraft, Iranian aircraft modeled on U.S. aircraft, and some Chinese and Russian warplanes purchased in the 1990s.

While Iran's wish for Russian four-plus-generation Su-30 multirole fighters had been denied for years, the Su-35 -- a fourth generation fighter-bomber and Russia's only serially produced fighter aircraft for export -- surprisingly emerged as Iran's best hope to update its air force.

In January 2022, as U.S. sanctions pressure intensified amid concerns of an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine, Egypt canceled an estimated $2 billion contract for the delivery of Su-35s. Cairo's move followed similar terminations of discussions to sell Su-35s to Indonesia and Algeria.

"The Su-35 is the best multirole fighter the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) could hope to acquire in a short timeframe," Jeremy Binnie, Middle East defense specialist at the global intelligence company Janes, told RFE/RL in written comments. "The aircraft have been sitting in the open at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant since they started coming off the production line in 2020."

While it was expected that Iran would try to get the Su-35s once bound for Egypt, the sticking point was whether Tehran would be willing to allocate funds for the air force at the expense of weapons-development programs or the budget of the powerful Islamic Republican Guards Corps (IRGC).

In January, Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency quoted Shahriar Heidari, head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, as saying Iran would receive 24 Su-35s as early as this month. Heidari also said Iran had ordered helicopters, air-defense systems, and missile systems from Russia.

While the specifics of the Su-35 deal have not been confirmed, Binnie said, "We could speculate that Russia's urgent need for one-way-attack [drones] helped tip the equation" in favor of Iran's air force. This he added, "would reflect an interesting Russian calculus that these cheap but long-range weapons are actually more useful than advanced multirole fighters" in the Ukraine war.

The Su-35 has had a spotty record in the Ukraine war, with Ukrainian forces claiming to have shot down many of them. But the deployment of more modern fighters to the Ukrainian battlefield has led Kyiv to express worries that they will significantly strengthen Russia's ability to dominate the skies.

Binnie said he believes the Su-35s will be used "primarily in the air-to-air role, based deep inside Iran to increase their survivability so they can be scrambled to intercept aircraft coming in to attack the nuclear and other strategic sites."

This, he added, will essentially take over the role of the U.S.-made F-14s based in Iran's central province of Isfahan while providing a "massive improvement on those 1970s-vintage aircraft."

Challenges Of Cooperation

During a recent trip to the Middle East, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concerns over Russia's deepening military cooperation with Iran over the past year, saying it "poses serious challenges" for the region.

Austin highlighted the "lethal consequences" of Iran's provision of drones to Russia and the potential for Moscow to send "technology to Iran in exchange for its assistance."

Austin also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

To this point, there is no indication that nuclear-power Russia's defense cooperation with Iran might expand beyond conventional weaponry.

The addition of Su-35s to Iran, while helpful, are not seen as a panacea for its air force's capabilities in the face of better-equipped regional foes.

And while Russia's S-400 antimissile system, of which at least one has been ordered according to Iranian media, would boost Iran's ability to fend off potential air strikes, its provision would not violate previous UN or existing EU arms embargoes because it is a defensive weapon.

Just A Fling?

Regarding the prospect of future arms deals, Binnie said he expects both Moscow and Tehran to take a cautious approach that will not risk weakening their own defenses or transfer top technology.

"For example, due to import restrictions, Russia's military industries will probably struggle to replace any S-400 that is taken out of the line and transferred to Iran," Binnie said. And "supplying ballistic or cruise missiles to Russia would reduce Iran's deterrent against attack."

Advanced Russian tanks, which are at a premium on the Ukrainian front, would also likely not be on offer to Iran.

Speaking about the state of current U.S. sanctions against Iran and Russia, Peter Piatetsky, a former U.S. Treasury Department official who is now the CEO of the consultancy firm Castellum.AI, said they are not designed to stop cash or barter deals between the two states.

"It doesn't mean that sanctions are not effective; they simply are not designed to seize physical items like cash or weapons," he said. "Sanctions can be imposed on the persons involved, but with both Iran and Russia being international pariahs, they don't seem to care."

As for whether Russia and Iran's defense dealings can last beyond the current state of mutual need in the face of domestic economic issues, sanctions, and international pressure, Piatetsky said it will play out much like any relationship.

"What starts out as a relationship of convenience can become a true partnership. True partnerships can crumble and become transactional, true partnerships can endure stress and grow stronger, and parties can also enter into a relationship of convenience and stay in it despite resentments and a lack of mission alignment because they cannot identify better options," he said. "Russia and Iran are in the latter bucket."
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."
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PODGORICA -- Jakov Milatovic, a 36-year-old former economy minister, claimed victory in Montenegro's runoff presidential election, having defeated longtime leader Milo Djukanovic, who conceded defeat.

"Montenegro has made its choice. I respect that choice, and I congratulate Jakov Milatovic," Djukanovic told supporters at his party headquarters in the capital, Podgorica, late on April 2.

Following Djukanovic's remarks, Milatovic told supporters that "tonight is the night we have been waiting for over 30 years. This is a victory of a reconciled Montenegro."

"Within the next five years, we will lead Montenegro into the European Union," he said.

During the victory speech, he was joined by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, former Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, and leaders of the pro-Russia Democratic Front.

The reliable Center for Monitoring and Research (CEMI) said Milatovic had 60 percent of the vote to the 61-year-old Djukanovics 40 percent, citing vote samples.

Another polling company, Democratic Transition (CDT), put Milatovic at nearly 57 percent, according to its calculations, with turnout estimated at about 70 percent.

Official results are scheduled to be released on April 3.

With Milatovics apparent victory, his supporters took to the streets of Podgorica waving banners and shooting off fireworks.

Neither candidate was able to secure a majority in the first round of presidential elections held in the ex-Yugoslav republic two weeks ago.

If confirmed by the official results, a victory by Milatovic could allow the former Yugoslav republic to escape two years of political stalemate and return to the path of reform.

Djukanovic will remain in office until May 21, when he would be scheduled to hand over the mostly ceremonial positon to Milatovic for a five-year term.

Djukanovic topped the first round of voting with 35.3 percent, edging out Milatovic, who received 29.2 percent. Analysts said the small margin of victory likely mean the runoff would be a very close race.

WATCH: Candidates in Montenegro's presidential runoff cast their ballots in the capital, Podgorica, on April 2.

Djukanovic, the head of the Democratic Party of Socialists, has effectively led Montenegro as president or prime minister since 1991. He ran on the slogan "Our President," but his three decades in power have been dogged by perceptions of rampant organized crime and corruption.

"I'm absolutely convinced that I will become a new president of the country, that today the citizens of Montenegro will send the current president to the political past," said Milatovic before casting his ballot.

Milatovic is a leading member of the Europe Now movement. He served as economics minister in a government cobbled together by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church, a point Djukanovic said made his opponent a "representative of the politics of Greater Serbian nationalism."

Milatovic campaigned on boosting prosperity in a country that averaged nearly 3 percent growth for two decades before huge volatility over the past three years caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic and war in Ukraine that drove energy prices to record highs.



Europe Now shot into the national spotlight with a strong showing in last year's local elections in the capital, Podgorica, within months of being formed.



Endorsements from other challengers and parties of the Western-educated economist since that first-round vote suggest he could ride anti-Djukanovic sentiment to victory in the runoff and bring about a new era in Montenegro's political life.



As a candidate, he has played up his economic experience and support for Montenegro's EU membership bid, but he has also consistently argued for closer relations with Serbia.



In an interview with RFE/RL shortly before the first-round vote, Kenneth Morrison, a specialist in modern Southeastern European history and politics at De Montfort University in the United Kingdom, said few presidential elections in Montenegro have been as important as this one.



The last comparable national choice came in 1997, he suggested, when, as prime minister, Djukanovic unseated a staunch ally of Slobodan Milosevic for the presidency to put Montenegro on the path toward independence in 2006.



"This election could be equally pivotal in that the outcome could determine the country's future trajectory," Morrison said.

With reporting by AFP
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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The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) marked a year of service in Somalia on Saturday with a renewed commitment to strengthening cooperation and building partnerships to enhance peace and stability in the country.

Mohammed El-Amine Souef, special representative of the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission for Somalia and head of ATMIS, said an overview of the situation in the ATMIS Areas of Responsibility in the past year shows a decrease in al-Shabab activities with the security situation remaining relatively calm across the country.

"However, we cannot afford to lower our guard since the Khawarij (al-Shabab) remain the greatest threat to Somalia's peace and stability," Souef told a media briefing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday evening.

The AU jointly with the Somali government reconfigured the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) into ATMIS. Following the reconfiguration, ATMIS became operational on April 1, 2022, effectively replacing AMISOM, and will work to prepare the Somali security forces to take over responsibility for security in the country by 2024.

Souef said the transition, which requires the transfer of security responsibility to Somali security forces, is already underway.

He said ATMIS has executed its mandate over the last year with the support of international partners whom he said deserve special recognition for the contribution and support that they continue offering the Mission.

"In this regard, I would like to reaffirm ATMIS's support to the federal government and the good people of Somalia that we stand in solidarity with the communities facing the hardships of droughts and floods, and those displaced by wars," Souef said.

He also paid tribute to the troop- and police-contributing countries whose men and women have paid the ultimate price in pursuit of peace in Somalia.

Out of cowardice, al-Shabab extremists have resorted to asymmetrical warfare targeting civilians and security forces, he said, but noting that the ongoing military offensive by ATMIS forces and the Somali National Army will prevail, and the terrorists will soon have nowhere to hide.

"We urge all peace-loving Somalis to continue working closely with the security forces to help the country achieve long-term peace and security," Souef said.

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New Innova HyCross base variant is priced from Rs 18.55 lakh, ex-sh  First batch has now arrived at dealer yard

Ever since its launch, Toyota Innova Hycross has been one of the highest-selling mid-size SUVs in India. So much so, that it has beaten the likes of MG Hector, Tata Harrier and Safari in sales.

Innova HyCross Base G Taxi Variant Detailed Walkaround

Until now, Toyota had focused on delivering the higher variants of Innova Hycross. Now, the base G variant has started to arrive at the dealer yard ahead of the start of delivery. Cost cutting is evident everywhere in this variant which should establish an appealing price point. Lets take a look at all the features it lacks over higher trims.

Toyota usually takes care that its base trims dont come off as cheap when compared to higher trims. Especially on the outside. We had observed this with Innova Crysta which had alloy wheels from the base model itself. That is not the case anymore as base Hycross G trim comes equipped with steel wheels and wheel covers for Rs. 23.5 lakh on-road, Karnataka.

Tyre size is 205/65 R16. On Hycross, they look small and skinny. It gets reflector LED headlights. Fog lights, a few chrome elements, and a rear defogger are main omissions. Take a look at the detailed walkaround video shared by The Car Show channel.

On the inside, there is more cost cutting than one would have liked. Toyota chose to include certain elements as part of the package, but trivial and essential features are missed. For example, there is keyless entry, push-button start/stop, and an electronic parking brake. But electronically foldable ORVMs, climate control, mirrors on sun shades, and a music system with steering-mounted audio controls are not.

Same Non-Hybrid Powertrain As GX Trim

There are controls on the steering wheel, but they are to control MID. Features like rear washer and wiper, electrically adjustable ORVMs, manually dimming IRVMs, tilt and telescopic steering adjust, traction control, rear AC vents with a separate blower, USB type-C slots at front and rear, a tray and cup holders for 2nd row, rear armrests for individual chair and more are offered.

This particular vehicle is a 7-seater with 2nd-row captain chairs. an 8 seater option with bench seat is also on offer. The same 2.0L 4-cylinder petrol engine is offered with Innova Hycross taxi variant. This engine is coupled with a sole CVT gearbox with 173 bhp of power and 209 Nm of torque.

Despite all that power and torque, this particular taxi variant intended for fleet owners and taxi service providers cant cross 80 km/h. A speed governor will be installed in this vehicle. Toyota claims 16.13 km to a liter of petrol, which is impressive for a vehicle of this size.
Authorities in Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region said Sunday they have reached a preliminary deal with the central government in Baghdad that will allow oil exports from the northern Kurdish region by way of Turkey to resume.

The central government's Ministry of Oil said in a statement that while a final agreement has not been reached yet, it hopes to reach an agreement to resume oil exports soon.

The ministry statement said that Baghdad is keen to expedite the resumption of exports of the regions oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan."

Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish government, have long been at odds over oil revenues, a dispute that has been exacerbated by the lack of a federal law detailing the sharing of funds from oil and gas exports.

The announcement comes after an arbitration process by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) last sided with Iraq over a long-standing dispute over the independent export of oil by the Kurdish regional government.

Exports via a pipeline that goes through Iraqs Fish Khabur border crossing to Turkeys Ceyhan port will resume this week, according to Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish regional government.

Iraq filed for arbitration against Turkey in 2014 after the Kurdish region began exporting the resource without the consent of Baghdad through the neighbouring country. Iraq argued that a 1973 agreement with Turkey requires all oil exports to go through Iraqs state-owned oil marketing company, SOMO.

Iraqi officials announced on March 25 that the arbitration tribunal had ruled in its favour. Turkeys Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said in a statement that the arbitration ruling had thrown out four of Iraqs five claims and upheld one.

In any case, the ruling halted oil exports from the Kurdish region by way of Ceyhan, which previously amounted to about half a million barrels per day. The stoppage, if prolonged, would have been a significant blow both to global oil supplies and to the Kurdish regions budget.

Already in recent years, the Kurdish government has frequently been late in paying public sector salaries, in part due to the ongoing dispute over oil and gas revenues, which has led to the central government withholding budget transfers to Irbil.

Ghafuri said Sunday that after several meetings between officials from Irbil and Baghdad, an initial agreement had been reached allowing exports to resume. The agreement will remain in effect until the long-delayed oil and gas law is passed by the Iraqi Parliament, he said.

Under the deal, the oil will be exported jointly by SOMO and the Kurdish regions Ministry of Natural Resources, with the revenues going to a financial account managed by the Kurdish government and monitored by the central government.

The central governments Ministry of Oil said in its statement that technical issues remain to be resolved between Baghdad and Irbil.

The head of the parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, Haibet al-Halbousi, said Sunday in a statement that there is a quasi-political consensus to speed up the passage of an oil and gas law and that the committee will be meeting with the heads of the various political blocs to reach a consensus. The oil and gas law serves all Iraqis and not a specific party, because oil and mineral investments belong to all the people, Halbousi said.

In a statement on the arbitration decision, Turkeys Energy and Natural Resources Ministry on Tuesday stressed Ankaras support for Iraqs territorial integrity, the political and economic stability of both Iraq and the region and its efforts to support global oil markets.

As always, Turkey is ready to fulfil the requirements of international law and to provide all types of contributions to the permanent settlement between the main parties to the dispute, the statement added.

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Architect Jared Basler, the owner of Basis Studio in La Mesa, at a granny flat he is helping get constructed in the back yard of a La Mesa home. La Mesa has loosened restrictions on the building of granny flats in the city making it easier for people to build on existing lots.

La Mesa has opened the door wider for accessory dwelling units after the City Council updated its rules about backyard cottages and rental units built outside a main home, sometimes called granny flats.

By a 3-2 vote on March 12, with Mayor Mark Arapostathis and Akilah Weber dissenting, the City Council approved changes that will loosen restrictions on the units.

The council also unanimously passed an ordinance allowing junior accessory dwelling units, which are areas set aside in a main home with separate facilities to be used as a residential unit.

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Despite objections from a dozen locals, the new rules will take effect immediately.

La Mesa now joins other San Diego County jurisdictions in relaxing laws for property owners to build other dwelling units on the same lots as their existing homes.

The change may help the city and county meet state housing mandates. La Mesa currently has 22 accessory dwelling units under review and has permitted about 60 of them in the last decade, City Manager Yvonne Garrett said.

The regions planning agency, the San Diego Association of Governments, said this kind of housing can help La Mesa meet the states Regional Housing Needs Assessment.

At a previous City Council meeting, Councilwoman Kristine Alessio said that California legislation could mandate that La Mesa build as many as 10,000 units within the next eight years.

At what point will this city be maxed out when it comes to our nine acres here in La Mesa? resident and real estate agent Marcia Tolin asked the City Council. At what point is it that our streets cannot handle more traffic? At what point is it that our residential streets cannot handle any more parking?

We seem to almost always have close to or over 1,000 units in the permitting or building process here in La Mesa. Am I missing something?

Granny flats are becoming more popular throughout the region for homeowners who want to earn some extra money renting out additional dwelling places and providing more affordable housing options for some renters. The extra housing units are also good for people looking for an extra place for their college-age offspring or senior family members to live close to home.

In La Mesa, many of the homes built decades ago are quite small  sometimes 800 square feet or less  and the updated city ordinance will allow homeowners to build a larger home, move into it, and rent out the smaller unit.

Changes will include:

Property owners no longer will have to live on the premises to be able to rent out another dwelling unit;

Special parking spaces will not have to be provided for renters;

Setback requirements will be eased;

New homes built on a lot can be up to 1,200 square feet.

Those opposed to the updating asked the City Council to reconsider some of the ordinances wording. Several asked that the city make it mandatory that owners live on the premises, to require stays of 30 days or longer and require parking to be provided by the homeowner.

Several La Mesa residents encouraged the council to provide more public hearings to discuss the matter and Weber said she agreed that more community input would be prudent.

More than a dozen people, many of them with a background in housing sales, building or development industries, spoke out in favor of the changes.

Matt Davis, who said he is a real estate broker who has lived in La Mesa for five years, said the city is becoming a hot commodity and the ordinance will keep La Mesa moving in that direction by creating more places to live and making those places more affordable.

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
An explosion tore through a cafe in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Sunday, and preliminary reports suggested a prominent military blogger was killed and more than a dozen people were injured.

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 15 people were hurt in the explosion at the Street Bar cafe in Russia's second largest city. The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility or provide details of what they called an explosive device carried by a cafe visitor.

Russia media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public and that a woman presented him with a statuette that apparently exploded.

The building's facade was reportedly damaged.

Various fires and explosions have occurred in Russia since the fighting in Ukraine began Feb. 24, 2022, without any clear indication of a connection to the conflict.

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The road to a net-zero future must be paved with greener concrete, and Rice University scientists know how to make it.

The production of cement, an ingredient in concrete, accounts for roughly 8% of the world's annual carbon dioxide emissions, making it a significant target of greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Toward those efforts, the Rice lab of chemist James Tour used flash Joule heating to remove toxic heavy metals from fly ash, a powdery byproduct of coal-based electric power plants that is used frequently in concrete mixtures. Using purified coal fly ash reduces the amount of cement needed and improves the concrete's quality.

In the lab's study, replacing 30% of the cement used to make a batch of concrete with purified coal fly ash improved the concrete's strength and elasticity by 51% and 28%, respectively, while reducing greenhouse gas and heavy metal emissions by 30% and 41%, respectively, according to the paper published in the Nature journal Communications Engineering.

"Reducing emissions from cement production is very important to mitigate global greenhouse emissions," said lead author Bing Deng, a postdoctoral research associate in the Tour lab. "This is the big picture of this study."

Rice engineer Satish Nagarajaiah pointed out that "cement production is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing cement content in concrete will help reduce emissions."

"You can use less concrete if you use coal fly ash. However, fly ash contains heavy metals," Tour said. "Often, we try to fix one thing and we mess something else up. In our effort to do something with this waste, namely coal fly ash, we were polluting our environment because the heavy metals were leaching out. Water carried it into our environment and contaminated our soil along roadways, etc."

Roughly 750 million tons of coal fly ash are produced worldwide each year. Rice scientists developed a rapid and water-free process based on flash Joule heating that can remove up to 90% of the heavy metals in it, making it more fit for infrastructure use.

"Basically, we mix the fly ash with carbon black, because fly ash does not conduct electricity, and the carbon black makes the mixture conductive," Deng said. "Next, we place the mixture between two graphite or copper electrodes and use a capacitor to supply a short current pulse to the sample. This current input brings the sample temperature up to about 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,432 Fahrenheit). The high temperature makes the heavy metals evaporate into a volatile stream which is then captured.

"By using this method, we can eliminate the heavy metals from coal fly ash with very high efficiency," he continued. "For different heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, nickel and lead, the removal efficiency is up to 70% to 90% in just one second. This is a very rapid discharging process."

Flash Joule heating was shown to work on different coal fly ash compositions resulting from the combustion of coal extracted from various geographical locations.

"There are two main classes of fly ash with different inorganic compositions, Class C and Class F," Deng said. "We found that our method works for both kinds of coal fly ash. It also works for other hazardous wastes like red mud or bauxite residue. This shows that the process can become a generalized approach for large-scale industrial solid waste decontamination."

"The purified coal fly ash is not only better for the environment, but it also increases concrete strength and quality," said Wei Meng, a Rice civil and environmental engineering postdoctoral research associate and co-lead author on the study. "We have found that by replacing 30% of the cement in a concrete mixture with the purified coal fly ash, the compressive strength and the elastic modulus of the composite increased significantly.

"This is very meaningful for structural engineering and the construction industry because stronger structures can be built with less cement," he continued. "That is why this research is valuable to civil engineers."

The Tour lab's process allows for the evaporated heavy metals to be collected in a vacuum chamber rather than released into the environment. Moreover, the energy consumed during the process is relatively low.

"We calculated that energy consumption is about 532 kilowatts per ton," Meng said. "If we convert this to Texas electricity prices it comes out at about $21 per ton. The life cycle analysis shows we can actually extract value from these waste materials."

"It's a big win for the environment," Tour said. "You're reducing emissions, and you're not leaching heavy metals in the process."

Satish Nagarajaiah, a Rice professor of civil and environmental engineering and mechanical engineering, and Tour, the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering in Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering, are co-authors on the study.

Other co-authors are Rice alumnus Paul Advincula, Weiyin Chen, Robert Carter, and Gang Li; graduate students Lucas Eddy, Kevin Wyss and Yi Cheng, and U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center chemist Mine Ucak-Astarlioglu.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-22-1-0526) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (W912HZ-21-2-0050) and the Shared Equipment Authority (SEA) at Rice University supported the research.
In a paper published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, an international research team composed of scientists affiliated with more than a dozen institutions, including the California Academy of Sciences, propose a first-of-its-kind framework for governments around the world to evaluate their preparedness for -- and guide future policies to address -- ocean acidification, among the most dire threats to marine ecosystems.

"Ocean acidification is one of climate change's silent killers," says Rebecca Albright, PhD, Academy Curator of Invertebrate Zoology and founder of the Coral Regeneration Lab (CoRL). "While not as high-profile as threats like coral bleaching, ocean acidification will cause widespread destruction of marine environments by the end of this decade if we don't take urgent action. To help policymakers identify what actions they should take, my collaborators and I asked ourselves, 'What would a government have to do in order to have a comprehensive plan to safeguard both the environment and society from ocean acidification?'"

Ultimately, the researchers identified six aspects of effective ocean acidification policy, along with specific indicators for each, that policymaking bodies, from local governments to federal agencies, can use to evaluate and guide their own policies.

Climate protection measures: Are there adequate policies to reduce overall emissions of the greenhouse gases driving ocean acidification? Ocean acidification literacy: Is there general public awareness and understanding of the threats posed by ocean acidification? Area-based management: Do marine protected areas and management plans include explicit strategies to measure and increase resilience to ocean acidification? Research and development: Are funds being explicitly invested in research dedicated to understanding and addressing ocean acidification? Adaptive capacity of dependent sectors: Is there an understanding of how ocean acidification will impact various political and socioeconomic sectors, including vulnerable communities, as well as mitigation strategies? Policy coherence: Overall, are policies consistent with evidence-based, science-backed efforts to address climate change and ocean acidification?

As a case study, the researchers used the framework to evaluate the current state of ocean acidification preparedness in Australia which is home to the world's largest system of coral reefs, vibrant ecosystems that support the livelihoods of more than a billion people worldwide but are uniquely susceptible to acidification.

They found that while Australia is generally well prepared with a deep understanding of the adaptive capacity of vulnerable socioeconomic sectors and management strategies that explicitly address ocean acidification, the country is lacking in policy coherence and broader climate protection measures which may hinder its ability to lower greenhouse gas emissions which are the main contributor to ocean acidification.

"Ocean acidification is not an isolated issue, but rather one that is closely linked to other anthropogenic hazards -- in Australia and elsewhere -- such as warming, sea level rise, oxygen loss, and eutrophication," says University of Queensland coral biologist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, PhD. "Therefore, any policy designed to address ocean acidification either locally or globally must consider the many interconnected factors and their impacts on both ecosystems and society."

By providing a baseline for countries to assess their preparedness for ocean acidification, the researchers say their framework will also enable researchers, conservationists, and governing bodies at all levels to identify areas for investment or collaboration to ensure their environments and societies are better protected.

"After governments self-assess their readiness for ocean acidification, they'll have a better sense of where gaps may exist," says Sarah Cooley, PhD, Director of Climate Science at the Ocean Conservancy. "Gaps will be different for every government -- some governments might need to increase fundamental research just to understand how their marine systems will respond to acidification, while others might need to bump up adaptation to safeguard people and ecosystems most likely to be affected by acidification. This self-test will help governments focus future efforts to make sure they are emphasizing the most essential areas for them and can take the necessary steps to address the salient threats from acidification."
New research led by the University of Oxford has revealed that the most endangered turtle and crocodile species are those that are most unique. Their loss could have widespread impacts on the ecosystems they live in, since they carry out critical processes important for many other species.

Turtles and crocodiles are two of the world's most endangered animal groups, with approximately half of species globally threatened (International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN). Greater understanding on which species are most threatened and why is urgently needed to inform conservation efforts to save them.

In a new study led by researchers at the Department of Biology, University of Oxford, an international team examined the greatest risks to wild populations of turtles and crocodiles worldwide. The results, published today in Nature Communications, demonstrate that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. These species typically carry out highly specific roles within their ecosystems that are unlikely to be taken up by other species if they disappeared.

The researchers used models to simulate extinctions as a result of human-led threats, assessing the impacts that would be seen for species with different life strategies. A life strategy is how an organism divides its resources and energy between its own survival, reproduction, and growth.

Professor Rob Salguero-Gomez (Department of Biology, University of Oxford), senior author of this research, commented: 'A key finding is that the threats do not affect all species equally; they tend to impact particular life history strategies. For example, unsustainable consumption of turtles and crocodiles mainly affects the longest-lived species with the largest clutch sizes, such as sea turtles.'

Key findings:

The results indicated that if all species of turtles, tortoises, and crocodiles currently assessed as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN went extinct, 13% of unique life strategies would be lost.

Habitat loss was the main threat to all species of turtles, tortoises, and crocodiles worldwide. Compared to any other threat examined, this had the potential to cause double the functional diversity loss (the range of things that organisms do in ecosystems).

Compared to any other threat examined, this had the potential to cause double the functional diversity loss (the range of things that organisms do in ecosystems). Climate change and global trade were also major threats that affected all species, independent of their life history strategy.

that affected all species, independent of their life history strategy. Species with unique life history strategies were also particularly affected by unsustainable local consumption, diseases, and pollution .

. Species with 'slow' life histories (characterised by late maturity and low numbers of offspring) were particularly vulnerable to threats from invasive species and diseases . For example, in Sumatra, a significant threat to the 'False Gharial' (Tomistoma schlegelii) is predation of their eggs by the introduced wild pig (Sus scrofa).

(characterised by late maturity and low numbers of offspring) . For example, in Sumatra, a significant threat to the 'False Gharial' (Tomistoma schlegelii) is predation of their eggs by the introduced wild pig (Sus scrofa). Threats from pollution were particularly associated with species with high reproductive output (higher clutch sizes), such as freshwater turtles and saltwater crocodiles. For example, the three-striped roofed turtle (Batagur dhongoka) is highly susceptible to major hydrological projects and their impacts on river flow dynamics and nesting beaches, and water pollution.

(higher clutch sizes), such as freshwater turtles and saltwater crocodiles. For example, the three-striped roofed turtle (Batagur dhongoka) is highly susceptible to major hydrological projects and their impacts on river flow dynamics and nesting beaches, and water pollution. Local consumption was a particular threat for species with higher clutch sizes, and longer maximum lifespans. For example, the long-lived Asian Giant tortoise (Manouria emys) is generally killed and butchered on the spot for its meat whenever encountered by local hunter-gatherers through much of its range, as well as collected for export trade for consumption in East Asia.

According to the researchers, the fact that tortoises, turtles, and crocodiles with unique life histories are more vulnerable to vanishing is highly concerning, since many of these perform important functions in ecosystems. For instance, some are effective seed dispersers, some create habitats for other species by making burrows, and others are predators that help maintain balance in the ecosystem.

Having had these functions for millions of years, they are inextricably tied to the unique and diverse life strategies that species have evolved. Many of these species are also highly charismatic, such as the 'spur-thighed tortoise', native to the Mediterranean basin in the north of Africa and the East of Europe.

Lead author Dr Roberto Rodriguez (Department of Biology, University of Oxford at the time of the study, now at the University of Alicante) said: 'The main threat to the viability of these groups of reptiles is habitat loss and fragmentation, which is especially common in species inhabiting the Northern hemisphere. The disappearance of wetlands, increasing urbanisation, and the development of intensive agriculture, which already have tangible effects, will likely continue to negatively affect these species and their ability to persist in the mid- to long-term.'

Other threats, however, had a more global and untargeted effect. Dr Molly Grace (Department of Biology, University of Oxford), co-author of the study, added: 'While sustainable use and trade of wildlife can sometimes benefit species conservation, unsustainable trade of live animals or their parts threaten these reptiles throughout the world, regardless of their life history strategies.' The capture and trafficking of turtles is common for keeping them in captivity, and crocodile skin is of great commercial interest; for example, although there are some controls on trade, Mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) in Pakistan are still illegally hunted for their skin.

According to the researchers, the results of this study highlight the urgent need for effective conservation management plans that protect species overall, but also unique life history strategies and functional diversity. Incorporating functional diversity into conservation policies for these highly endangered groups may be a promising approach to help prioritise conservation efforts in the face of current and future threats. 'IUCN red lists of threatened species could incorporate information regarding the functional uniqueness to help managers make local decisions that would impact global conservation most efficiently,' added Dr Rob Salguero- Gomez.

The researchers add that people concerned about the loss of turtles and crocodiles should avoid purchasing products made from them and, particularly for turtles and tortoises, should not consider them as pets. Moreover, they can support organisations that develop conservation projects to protect their habitats and wild populations. Responsible ecotourism or citizen science activities, such as volunteering programmes or crowdsourced data collection, can also offer opportunities to positively contribute towards turtle and crocodile conservation.
In North America's hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic rainfall and warmer temperatures.

Many studies have documented how a hotter, drier world is causing a redistribution of plants in temperate mountain regions. A new UC Riverside study documents the unexpected ways plants in part of the Sonoran Desert are doing the same.

"The plants are shifting, but in weird ways," said Tesa Madsen-Hepp, first author of the study and UCR evolution and ecology doctoral candidate. "We thought most of them would move to higher elevations with cooler temperatures. But while some lower-elevation trees are declining and shifting upwards, we're also seeing some other species moving down, toward hotter parts of the desert."

Furthermore, the researchers believe the trends they observed are likely to continue despite the extreme precipitation events of the past few months. "It's really the warming temperatures causing the most stress for these species, and a year of rain won't mitigate the long-term drought trajectory," Madsen-Hepp said.

Published in the journal Functional Ecology, the research not only documents how some types of plants are shifting downward in elevation but examines those plants' physical characteristics to explain why the shift is happening.

To make their observations, the research team visited the Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center, just south of Palm Desert, in 2019. The research area spans an 8,000-foot desert-to-mountaintop range across which they traveled from top to bottom sampling plants. This same area had been previously examined by ecologists in both 1977 and 2008, providing a basis for comparison with the more recent findings.

"Species we typically think of as pretty stress tolerant, like California juniper and pinyon pine, are declining, or shifting upwards. And even though they're shifting up, they don't appear to be thriving in their new locations," Madsen-Hepp said. "Moving into their former low-elevation spots are plant species with shallower root systems, like brittlebush, burrow bush, and ocotillo."

In addition to root systems that don't rely as much on deep soil water, which is increasingly scarce, these shorter plants are also able to grow faster and invest fewer resources in their leaves.

"These are weedier species. They have "cheaper" leaves in terms of the carbon cost to produce them, and they are drought deciduous," said Marko Spasojevic, senior author and assistant professor in UCR's Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology.

"In other words, they can drop the leaves when conditions get too stressful and wait for the drought to be over."

Plants that keep their leaves year-round tend to invest in thicker leaves with higher carbon content. They are at a disadvantage compared to plants more easily able to shed. When plants drop leaves, the atmosphere can no longer pull water out of them, which eases demand on the roots to provide the lost water.

"The live-slow-die-old strategy that used to work for plants in this environment just isn't working as well anymore. The increased climate stress in an already extreme environment is pushing them to their physiological thresholds," Madsen-Hepp said. "Once these plants reach their limit, there is no fixing it. There's just not much we can do to bring them back," she said.

The team also found that in contrast to more temperate ecosystems, the lower desert elevations are warming faster than the higher elevations. The shrubs and bushes taking over are not necessarily coming from the highest points in the desert. They're also lower-elevation plants that have generally expanded their range.

At about 29 meters per decade, the upward range shifts are on par with the higher end of global rates for plant movement in response to climate warming. On average, plants in temperate regions have shown range shift rates between 5 and 30 meters a decade.

"We often think of the tundra as the bellwether for climate change. Arctic and alpine ecosystems are very sensitive. We're seeing here that this ecosystem is just as sensitive if not more so," Spasojevic said. "And we already know the answer to easing the stress on it. It's very simple. Cut fossil fuel emissions."
Steroid hormones, to which belong sex hormones like estrogen or testosterone, are important signaling molecules and are responsible among other things for controlling female and male phenotypic sex differentiation. They act by binding to receptor molecules that switch on and off the activity of hormone-dependent genes. Researchers at the University of Freiburg and Kiel University Hospital have discovered that components of the cytoskeleton are critically involved in this process. The findings are relevant for the diagnosis of medical conditions and the study of diseases and cancers in which steroid hormones play important roles. The study was published in the journal Nature.

The new research findings show that filamentous actin, a component of the cytoskeleton, interacts with the androgen receptor directly in the cell nucleus and strengthens its effect. The androgen receptor mediates the signals of sex hormones for male sex development but also promotes the progression of prostate cancer.

A genetic modification as the key indicator

Scientists with different research foci from Freiburg, Kiel, and Lubeck collaborated on the study across disciplines. The project was led jointly by Prof. Dr. Robert Grosse and PD Dr. Nadine Hornig: Grosse conducts his research at the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS -- Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies and the University of Freiburg's Faculty of Medicine, Hornig at University of Kiels Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, campus Kiel.

The researchers became aware of the previously unknown connection between actin and steroid hormones while studying the cells of patients with a so-called androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). People who live with AIS have a set of male XY chromosomes but have less pronounced male sexual characteristics, extending even to a completely female appearance. This is often due to a change in the androgen receptor, which means that male sex hormones can no longer take effect. However, the androgen receptor is frequently unchanged in patients with AIS.

"We want to find out what genetic modifications cause AIS in these patients," explains Hornig. "Thus, we wanted to identify further molecules that play a role in the development of sexual characteristics." For this purpose, the researchers used a screening method to examine the cells of patients with AIS. In the process, they discovered mutations in the DAAM2 gene in two patients: The molecule belongs to the group of formins and controls the dynamic polymerization and elongation of actin filaments. As a part of the cytoskeleton, actin is important for the stability and locomotion of cells but also serves regulatory functions.

High-resolution microscopy reveals the processes in the cell nucleus

The researchers used high-resolution 3D SIM microscopy to examine whether DAAM2 is indeed important for the effect of sex hormones. This is an elaborate technique that can be used to observe molecular movements within cells. The images show that DAAM2 and actin colocalize with the androgen receptor directly in the cell nucleus. Further experiments demonstrated that this colocalization is important for the control of gene activity.

"This is a completely unknown mode of action, which we succeeded in describing here for a very important receptor," says Grosse, highlighting the significance of the new findings. The research team assumes that the mechanism could be widespread and also influences the effect of other steroid hormones. "This could play a role in many physiological processes and diseases. It will be exciting to see whether it will enable new therapeutic approaches," explains Grosse.

Diagnosis possible for more patients with AIS

The discovery also provides a basis for further research on the development of sexual characteristics and enables a clear diagnosis for more patients with AIS: "Previously, patients with androgen insensitivity but without a modification in the androgen receptor did not receive a clear diagnosis despite having clear symptoms," says Hornig. "Now we can make a clear diagnosis for those in whom DAAM2 is altered."
Colorful particles of plastic drift along under the surface of most waterways, from headwater streams to the Arctic Ocean. These barely visible microplastics -- less than 5 mm wide -- are potentially harmful to aquatic animals and plants, as well as humans. So, researchers are devising ways to remove them and to stop them at their source. Today, a team reports a two-stage device made with steel tubes and pulsing sound waves that removes most of the plastic particles from real water samples.

The researchers will present their results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

"The idea came from a discussion with a colleague who said that we need new ways to collect microplastics from water," says Menake Piyasena, Ph.D., the project's principal investigator. "Because acoustic forces can push particles together, I wondered if we could use them to aggregate microplastics in water, making the plastic easier to remove."

Filtration is the most commonly used technique for removing these materials from water. For example, washing machine outlet filters can keep fibers that slough off clothes during washing from entering wastewater. But this method can be costly on a large scale, requiring regular cleaning of the filters, which can get clogged.

Another option could be concentrating plastic particles in flowing water with acoustic forces, or sound waves, that transfer energy to nearby particles, causing some of them to vibrate and move. Just think of a speaker playing loud music that shakes the ground, bouncing flecks of dust and dirt toward each other. Scientists have already been using this phenomenon to separate biological particles from liquids, such as red blood cells from plasma.

Recently, some teams have applied this approach to the separation of microplastics from samples they prepared in the lab with pure water. But this work was done with tiny volumes of water. They also used microplastics that were only tens of microns wide -- smaller than the width of human hair, explains Nelum Perera, a graduate student in Piyasena's lab at New Mexico Tech.

"I read that most of the microplastics in the environment are larger than that," says Perera, who is presenting the work. "So, I wanted to develop a device that could be useful for most of the sizes and could be scaled up to meet real-world goals."

To accommodate higher water flow rates, Perera created a proof-of-concept device with 8-mm-wide steel tubes connected to one inlet tube and multiple outlet tubes. Then she attached a transducer to the metal tube's side. When the transducer was turned on, it generated ultrasound waves across the metal tube, applying acoustic forces onto microplastics as they passed through the system, making them easier to capture. The prototype device is relatively simple compared to traditional filtration methods, Piyasena explains, because it doesn't clog as easily as a filter.

In initial experiments with polystyrene, polyethylene and polymethyl methacrylate microplastics, the researchers discovered that smaller (6- to 180-m-wide) particles behaved differently than the larger (180- to 300-m-wide) ones in the presence of acoustic forces. Spiked into pure water, particles of both sizes arranged along the center of the channel, exiting through the middle outlet, while clean water flowed out the surrounding outlets. But if laundry detergent or fabric softener were added to the water, the larger particles focused toward the sides, exiting through the side outlets, and purified water out the middle outlet.

Based on these results, the researchers set out to develop a system that could take advantage of these differing movements. They connected two steel tubes in tandem: The first stage captured small microplastics less than 180 m wide, and the water stream with the remaining larger microplastics went to the second stage to be cleaned. "We removed more than 70% of the small plastics and more than 82% of the large ones this way," says Perera.

To show that the two-stage system could work for real-world applications, Perera and Piyasena collected water from a pond on the New Mexico Tech campus and from the Rio Grande River. They filtered all of the samples to remove large contaminants, leaving behind water that still contained dissolved substances that could have affected the separation. Next, they spiked the water with microplastics. When the environmental water samples went through the acoustics device, plastic particles were removed as effectively as from pure water. With this prototype, Perera estimates it would cost around 7 cents to operate the current device for an hour and take around an hour and a half to clean one liter of water.

The team's next step is to develop a system with wider tubes, or bundles of multiple tubes, and to try it on unspiked real-world samples, including ocean water and wastewater from washing machines. "We have shown that acoustic forces can be used to concentrate a wide range of microplastic sizes," says Piyasena. "And from here, we want to prove that this can be done on a larger scale with real samples that already have microplastics in them."
Egypts Industrial Development Authority (IDA) is now allowed to provide one-year provisional operation permits to unlicensed factories since President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis signing of law 19/2023 on Saturday.

El-Sisi has recently approved Law No.19/2023 which regulates the procedures for dealing with unlicensed factories and facilities that have existed prior to the issuance of the law

The law gives the IDA the authority to grant one-year provisional operation permits to unlicensed factories.

The permits are subjected to renewal for two additional periods upon a decision by the Trade and Industry Minister based on a proposal by the IDA.

The permits will be granted on the condition that industrial establishments submit documentation acknowledging their commitment to environmental requirements and civil protection measures.

The law comes in light of El-Sisis two-year-old directives to legalise unlicensed factories to help them further develop their business without any legal impediments.

In 2021, El-Sisi said the purpose of his directives is not levying taxes or nitpicking and that his directives aimed at construction not accountability.

These people [meaning those operating unlicensed factories] have been working albeit making some mistakes, and it is our job to set things right, El-Sisi said.

He also issued instructions to move these factories to the nearest industrial areas so that they can carry on their businesses in a completely legal manner.

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Jacom Stephens/Getty Image

A portion of Interstate 80 briefly shut down in both directions Sunday afternoon during a police standoff in Richmond.

The standoff between police and a person in a barricaded vehicle occurred at Central Avenue around 1 p.m.
A 52-year-old man was fatally shot Saturday in San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood, according to the Police Department.

The shooting occurred around 1:04 p.m. in the 200 block of Golden Gate Avenue. The victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers rendered aid and summoned medics before transporting the victim to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite these efforts, he succumbed to his injuries, a representative of the Police Department said.

The agencys Homicide Detail is investigating the killing, and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with knowledge of the shooting should contact the departments tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.
The transition team for Pamela Price, Alameda Countys first Black district attorney, held a news conference Thursday afternoon to extol her accomplishments during her first 75 days in office and try to shift the conversation away from the unsteady start of her tenure.

Price was credited with increasing staffing in her offices Felony Trial Unit to reduce the backlog of serious cases; setting up the District Attorneys Offices first community-based re-entry commission to better help formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society; and upgrading the offices technology to better track victims going through the criminal justice system.

Not mentioned were a series of significant, controversial decisions by Price announced well before she established trust with the members of the community who didnt vote for her. Worse, at a time when she is under intense criticism, Price skipped the news conference, missing an opportunity to defend herself.

Few things can stop a progressive D.A.s chances at creating much-needed change than flawed or badly timed decisions and an outright failure to explain them before they spur backlash.

Did we learn nothing from Chesa Boudin?

Its apparent that Price is being subjected to a familiar playbook by opponents of progressive district attorneys: Amplify cherry-picked policies and decisions to paint them as criminal-first, victim-last, then gin up support for a recall steeped in anti-reform rhetoric that feels more Republican than Democrat. This is what happened with Boudin last year.

Rather than attacking reform prosecutors for problems that predated them, we should be giving them time and support to effect the change their communities have demanded, said Rachel Marshall, director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Boudins former communications director.

But like Boudin, Price is an easy target of anger at a time when public anxiety about crime and disorder, the causes of which extend far beyond the policies of a progressive district attorney, are high. Shes also playing right into her critics hands with her latest decisions around weakening sentences in several older but high-profile murder cases.

In January, Price, who ran on a platform opposing death or life-without-parole sentences, was blasted by critics for dismissing special circumstances  which included murder in the course of a kidnapping, in the case of David Misch, a man charged with three murders, including the 1988 killing of a 9-year-old girl. While the decision tracks with Prices stance on life sentences, she still hasnt connected the dots for the public.

Price again faced backlash in February when she sought a plea deal that would have given a 15-year sentence to Delonzo Logwood, who is accused of killing three people in 2008 when he was 18 years old. The case had been in limbo for years, and Price said Logwood had expressed extreme remorse for his behavior as a teenager.

Price was stunned last month when an Alameda County judge rejected the plea deal. Her rejected plea is mentioned in a Change.org recall petition that was launched last month and needed fewer than 1,000 signatures to reach its goal of 7,500 as of Friday afternoon. The petition says Price is soft on crime.

Most people who are dubious, skeptical of progressive policies, are also persuadable. A progressive district attorney has to win people over the same way they win voters; be aggressive in messaging that lets the public know public safety is also your priority, said Lara Bazelon, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law and the chair of the San Francisco District Attorneys Offices Innocence Commission.

In an interview with the Washington Post on the eve of the recall that ousted him last summer, Boudin said he wished he had spent a lot more time listening to what people were feeling, and finding ways to be responsive.

As for Price, I wasnt the only person among the dozen or so attendees who noticed her absence Thursday.

Ray Bobbitt, the co-chair of Alameda County District Attorney Transition Team, said Price wasnt there because the transition team wanted to speak on her behalf, instead of Price having to come to defend herself.

That is exactly what she should be doing, now more than ever.

Price has to be proactive in getting out there and talking about her choices because it can quickly be too late for her, Lance Wilson, a communications associate for the Worker Agency who served four years in prison for a drug offense that included the type of sentence enhancement Price seeks to limit, told me.

I only hope Price knows this, too.
The indictment of former President Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg represents a sad example of a publicity-hungry prosecutor chasing headlines rather than charging a criminal case that can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

To wit: The chief witnesses for the prosecution are a disbarred lawyer/convicted felon and an adult film actress.

The events at issue took place over seven years ago.

The U.S. Justice Department took a pass on prosecuting Trump for the same allegations at heart in the state case against him  that the payment to Stormy Daniels constituted an illegal campaign contribution in a federal election.

The theory of Braggs case appears to be that had Trumps voters been aware of the payoff to the porn star they would not have supported him, even though over the course of the 2016 campaign they had tolerated any number of racist, misogynistic and ableist statements made by their idol.

Bragg knows full well that he is unlikely to obtain a unanimous jury conviction but proceeded anyway to further his campaign for re-election in 2025. Its dispiriting to see a prosecutor pursue a flimsy case against an unpopular defendant simply to pander to voters.

Colin Gallagher, San Francisco

Stop his candidacy

Im no fan of Donald Trump, but I have grave misgivings about the New York prosecution, which can too easily be dismissed by his supporters as weak and political.

I dont want to see this 76-year-old man imprisoned for this or any other nonviolent crime. But I dont want to see him running for political office again, either. No one has ever done more to destroy the country from within than Trump.

The indictment should not have been necessary. Republicans should have convicted Trump in the Senate after the second impeachment in the House. Having failed to do so, we are left in this mess, having to prove that no one, even a powerful political figure with millions of supporters, is above the law.

And if a byproduct of the prosecutions is a conviction or a plea deal that sees Trump abandon another run for the presidency, that is best for the country. He will probably lose by an even bigger margin than before, but we cannot survive another election that he claims, without evidence, was stolen from him.

Jay Chafetz, Walnut Creek

Let process work

Some say Donald Trumps indictment is outrageous, others say outstanding. Both are wrong. We dont yet know the charges and supporting evidence. But the indictment is sad no matter what your political color is.

If you say outrageous and call for Hunter Biden to be brought to justice, you are a hypocrite. The reverse is also true. Trump and Biden should go through the justice system without interference from Congress or the executive branch.

Other democracies have charged and even imprisoned presidents for illegal behavior. That is how a strong democracy works. Let this run its course.

Ralf Stinson, Alameda
We may have good reasons to close our local K-12 schools for days or weeks.

But we should keep them open anyway.

Thats because, in California, we are closing schools so routinely that were harming children who are already in crisis.

The closures arent just a hangover from the pandemic when we kept schools closed far longer than other American states. The closures reflect deeper problems in the state and in our society.

Indeed, school closures surged before the pandemic. An indispensable CalMatters database of school closures published in 2019 found big increases in the number and duration of closures in the first two decades of this century.

Most closures were in response to wildfires or dirty air. But hundreds of closures were the result of threats of violence to schools. And CalMatters identified more than 370 closures because of disrepair or campus maintenance failures. In recent years as many as 1 in 5 California students lost school days to emergency closures.

More recently, school closures have been occasioned by this winters wet weather and by shortages and conflicts involving the pandemic-ravaged ranks of teachers and school staff. The recent three-day closure of Los Angeles Unified schools, occasioned by a strike by the districts lowest-paid employees, is only one example.

The only thing worse than all the closures is the way weve begun to accept these shutdowns. Indeed, media coverage celebrated the Los Angeles schools strike as a demonstration of worker power. And the resulting closures were mentioned mostly for their impact on families, as if the main role of schools is to provide child care for parents.

But schools are for children and the essential work of education. And our kids badly need schools that are reliably open, with teachers and staff reliably present, every single day.

No matter what.

You may think thats an extreme position, but its less extreme than the problems kids are facing. These include an epidemic of loneliness, a mental health crisis and substantial declines in student learning.

Twin facts exacerbate all of these crises: Schools are too often closed, and when they are open, too few students are present. Chronic absenteeism  when a student misses at least 10% of school days  has become commonplace in California and around the country, doubling during the pandemic. For the 2021-22 school year, chronic absenteeism hit 30% statewide. For Black students, the rate was 42.5%. These attendance problems will persist into the future, according to the Policy Analysis for California Education research center.

The absenteeism has been accompanied by big drops in student enrollment. California public schools lost 110,000 students last school year, and the state Department of Finance has projected a loss of 500,000 more by 2031. The drop in enrollments is already forcing the permanent closure of campuses in every region. Those projections make clear that the future of public education itself is in doubt.

And the strongest possible response is to make it the law that, in California, schools will always be open, because they are that important.

That is easier said than done, but setting a clear rule is a crucial first step in driving the investment necessary to make schools so resilient they never have to close.

Keeping schools consistently open will involve far more than just schools themselves because closures are related to huge problems  climate change that produces bigger fires and crazy weather, digital media that make it easier to convey threats, the violence and omnipresence of guns in our society, and our failure to build and maintain infrastructure.

Right now, and without delay, the state and all its communities need to harden their campuses for this apocalyptic age. And we need not just better pay for school staff  the point of the Los Angeles Unified strike  but comprehensive support and services (like child and elder care) for the families of teachers and employees so they have no reason not to go to work.

Ending school closures is not just the work of school administrators. Californians, especially parents, need to stop pressing for school closures and start getting their children to school every day. And the state must increase funding and apply fiscal pressure to prevent closures. Id suggest a new 2-to-1 rule; for every day a school or district closes, it has to add two additional school days to the calendar, which come out of its own budget.

Most of all, keeping schools open requires a shift in mindset. The fires and storms and threats we think of as emergencies are no longer emergencies  they are the new normal and they may well be with us for the rest of our lives. Instead, we must recognize that school closures  and the attendant damage to children and education  are the real emergencies.

And they are emergencies we have the power to prevent.
French collectors Claude and France Lemand donated a great deal of contemporary artwork to the Arab World Institutes Museum in Paris (AWI), allowing it to hold countless exhibitions.

In 2018, the two art collectors Claude and France Lemand made a major donation of 1,800 works from their private collection. The works are by Arab artists, collected over more than 35 years before founding their Parisian gallery in 1988, upon their return from Cairo.

Claude was born in 1945 to a modest family in Lebanon. His grandparents perished in the great famine that struck the Levant during the First World War while the country was besieged on all sides by the Germans, Ottomans, British and French.

His father was young, illiterate and pursued multiple small jobs to make ends meet. His mother, who grew up in an orphanage, had a penchant for culture and spoke English fluently. She was also an excellent storyteller and encouraged her son to deepen his knowledge of a variety of subjects. As a result, Claude was the only member of his family to pursue higher education, continuing his studies in France. In 1974, he returned to Lebanon to teach at the university for nine years, until the civil war broke out.

He fled to France at the outbreak of the war and became a French national. He then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was stationed in Sudan for two years, followed by a placement in Saudi Arabia. He eventually came to Cairo with his wife, who sold her private clinic to accompany him during his stay in Egypt in 1981.

Cairo, an essential stage

In Egypt, he worked at the Faculty of Languages at El-Alson and founded a specialised translation centre at the French Embassy where he inventoried the works translated from French into Arabic and vise versa.

Seeing that Arabic books were rarely translated into French, he took the initiative to contact several Egyptian writers to publish them in French, including Naguib Mahfouz, Youssef Idriss and Gamal El-Ghitani.

He and his wife also toured several galleries and visited museums. They acquired several canvases, including paintings by Abdel-Hadi El-Gazzar and Hamed Nada.

The couple opened an art gallery back in Paris, becoming one of the few to exhibit Arab artists.

"In 2013, we thought of donating works from our private collection and we chose the AWI so that they would be exhibited there permanently. This event was announced during a press conference that took place in Paris last January, in the presence of Mr. Jack Lang, then president of the AWI and Mrs. Nathalie Bondil, director of the museum and exhibitions department. Our proposal was well received by Lang, who wanted the museum to have the largest number of acquisitions by Arab artists," said Claude Lemand.

He adds that "in this spirit, we organised our first calligraphy exhibition, bringing together many artists, including those from Egypt. Then we held a second exhibition, Lumieres du Liban (Lights of Lebanon) and a third that focused on Algeria. I sincerely hope I can devote one or more exhibitions to Egyptian art."

The Lumieres du Liban exhibition brought together around a hundred works by 55 artists, from 1950 to the present day. The exhibition Algeria My Love took place between 15 March and 31 July 2022, retracing 50 years of painting to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Algerian independence.

Lemand is always present in these events as a curator, collector and bibliophile. He often has specialised works translated to enrich the libraries in both languages, navigating between the works of Gazbia Sirry, Etel Adnan, Youssef Abdelke, Adam Henein and Abdallah Benanteur.

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If you are concerned about reducing the number of mentally ill Californians living and dying on our streets, state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman is the person to watch right now in Sacramento. The Stockton Democrat is the leader of a growing movement to finally change the 56-year-old laws that Gov. Ronald Reagan signed  and make it easier to get help for people with the most severe mental illness.

Even if that help has to be given involuntarily.

Eggman, who was a social worker before entering politics, sees this issue differently than most policymakers. She wants to preserve the rights people have. But she, like many Californians, is tired of watching people die on the street because that Reagan-era law makes it so hard to involuntarily force people to get help, even if theyre covered in their own feces, malnourished and not able to help themselves.

Im tired of people dying on the street with their rights on, Eggman is fond of saying.

Eggman knows that changing those laws created in and for a different era has been tried many times before. But this year, there is momentum behind updating the 1967 Lanterman Petris Short Act, colloquially known as LPS. Last week the Senate Health Committee that Eggman chairs unanimously passed a bill she wrote, SB43. Even the top Republican in the Assembly, James Gallagher, R-Nicolaus (Sutter County), supports the changes Eggman is proposing.

Eggman is also leading the drive in the Legislature behind Gov. Gavin Newsoms proposed 2024 ballot measure to raise $3 billion to $5 billion to build housing and other facilities for the severely mentally ill. Creating that housing was something that California promised to do after LPS was passed, but never did. That is another reason we see so many people suffering in our neighborhoods.

We dont want people staying in locked facilities, you want them living in a community. So this is kind of going back to what we promised in the 1960s, but never delivered on, Eggman told me. Hopefully were going to start helping people a lot earlier in their illness.

She was also a driver behind Newsoms CARE Courts law that he signed last year and that goes into effect in several counties this fall, including San Francisco, and more after that. In CARE Court (which stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment), judges could order people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders to participate in treatment plans and require counties to provide services to them. Newsom estimates that there are 7,000 to 12,000 people statewide like this, many of whom now shuttle endlessly between living outdoors, the hospital, jail and back again.

But passing and implementing these laws and ballot measures will be tough. Disability rights activists oppose many of these changes. So do civil libertarians. Both groups are fearful of stripping vulnerable people of their rights by forcing them into treatment.

So do some county leaders. While they support the idea of aiding those in need, they say state leaders arent giving them enough money to do the job right. After all, it will be county-funded social workers and behavioral therapists and the like who will be doing the actual street-level work in many cases.

The counties are under their own pressures. Counties are seeing their frontline behavioral health workers get poached by private health care providers that can pay them more. They are frequently the kind of highly experienced staff needed to treat people with complex issues such as schizophrenia.

There is no lack of commitment or desire or willingness to serve this population, Debbie Vaughn, Solano Countys assistant county administrator, told me. We are absolutely thrilled that there is a heightened interest in mental health. But its like anything else. Interest is one thing. There also has to be resources.

Does Solano have enough resources to cover all these proposed changes? Said Vaughn: Absolutely not.

To the 62-year-old Eggman, who is in her last term in the Legislature, this fight isnt just urgent, it is personal. Growing up in a blue-collar family in Castro Valley, she watched her Aunt Barbara struggle with mental illness all through her childhood. Barbara, she said, was a wonderful woman and a fantastic cook, but started breaking down in her early 30s. Frequently, she would go missing.

So a lot of my childhood was watching my Dad take phone calls from her, take phone calls from her family when they tried to find her, Eggman told me on my Its All Political on Fifth and Mission podcast last week. She had a delusion about the circle of golden rings that was going to bring world peace. And so she would go out into the streets and preach the gospel about these five golden rings.

Barbara passed in and out of hospitals on short-term stays. But because Barbara didnt meet the standard of Californias landmark Lanterman Petris Short Act  signed by Reagan in 1967  to enter a conservatorship, she never got the long-term help she needed. The law says that for people to be conserved, they have to be unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing or shelter, or be found mentally incompetent.

Shortly after Eggmans aunt was released from one of those short-term stays, she returned to San Francisco to preach about her golden rings delusion. There, she was gang-raped, Eggman said, and soon died of AIDS.

One of Eggmans cousins, who recently died, would regularly tell Eggman that youve got to fix these laws, for all the Aunt Barbaras who are suffering on the street and cant get help.

It is not compassionate, Eggman said. They said she wasnt sick enough to be in a hospital, but apparently she was sick enough to get raped and die. So thats kind of the place I start.

Eggmans SB43 bill would help address that gap in care by expanding the definition of gravely disabled in the LPS act. It would enable people to be placed in a conservatorship if they were unable to provide for the basic needs for nourishment, personal or medical care, adequate shelter, adequate clothing, self-protection, or personal safety, according to the legislation.

It faces opposition. Deborah Roth, a senior legislative advocate Disability Rights California, said expanding that definition undermines the very purpose of the Lanterman Petris Short Act and fails to address the very real needs of Californians living with mental health disabilities, especially those who are unhoused.

Its really sad that this is what it has come to, Roth told the Senate Health Committee last week. This proposal, if it is enacted, is going to create chaos. She noted that the bill said that if someone is not adequately or appropriately clothed, then that can make them gravely disabled. And we think that that is just wrong.

So do others. On Tuesday, the Solano County Board of Supervisors will review an analysis of SB43. The countys legislative staff recommended that the board oppose the bill because it is an expansion of involuntary conservatorship without funding and would be too costly.

Eggman said funding is in the pipeline and that we have dedicated $12 billion to build out the continuum of care. Because when we talk about conservatorship, you cant talk about it in isolation of the full continuum.

This conversation will go on through the rest of this legislative session in Sacramento and in every California county. It will shape how many people we see living and dying around us in plain view.

Eggmans bill has the support of the mayors of Californias largest cities  including San Franciscos London Breed, who spoke about the need for these types of changes the other day to comedian and political commentator Jon Stewart. Eggman even has the support of Republicans such as Gallagher, the Assembly GOP leader.

Sen. Eggman, when she is on something, she is relentless, Gallagher said, standing in front of Breed and Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, during a rare bipartisan news conference announcing SB43. This is a multipronged approach. Its a bipartisan approach. And I really think with the coalition that weve built, we can do it this year.
Ninety years ago, San Francisco Boy Scouts buried a sealed copper box, filled to the brim with mementos from 1933, at the foot of the cross on Mount Davidson.

On Saturday, it was finally time to open it.

More than 100 people gathered at the steps of the 103-foot concrete cross at San Franciscos highest peak to see the history unearthed at an event hosted by the Council of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California, which owns the cross, with the help of Scout Troop 88, the same troop that buried the time capsule almost a century ago.

When we open a time capsule, were then opening a window onto our predecessors lives, unlike what we would read in any history book, said Roxanne Makasdijan, a founding member of the Mount Davidson Cross Armenian Council. It makes us remember and connect with those people that were here on Mount Davidson cross a century ago.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle

Today is a joyous occasion. Its an occasion to reflect back on the past and think about what the future means and how we begin to prepare our city, our nation and the world for a better future generation, said Mayor London Breed, anxious to open the time capsule to see what it revealed about the past.

She wasnt alone in her excitement. As the opening ceremony continued, several in the audience  adults and children alike  whispered to each other theories about what could be inside.

When the time came to open it, public officials, including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Ahsha Safai as well as the mayor, gathered around the hole cut out of the ground in front of the cross where the copper box, rusted in splotches of mint green, had been waiting underneath a section of concrete engraved to commemorate the first Easter sunrise celebration at the cross 100 years ago.

Dramatic music played as the time capsule was pulled out by Sevag Kevranian, chairman of the Mount Davidson Cross Armenian Council, and was soon punctured by the high-pitched buzz of a small drill slowly prying open the corners of the box as onlookers inched forward.

Now Playing: A phone book is unearthed from a 90-year-old time capsule during a ceremony at Mount Davidson in San Francisco on Saturday. Video: Benjamin Fanjoy Special to The Chronicle

A representative from the San Francisco Historical Society wearing white gloves pulled the items out one by one as the public officials looked on intently and children gathered in front of the steps, craning their necks to see what was inside.

Among the items, much more plentiful than organizers were expecting, were a leather-bound Bible, a telephone book, pamphlets, a Boy Scout pin, a municipal record of 1933 and several newspapers, including the March 27, 1932, edition of The Chronicle, featuring a full front-page photo collage of an Easter celebration, and several other newspapers from the time, many with headlines referencing a murder case.

The items will be on display at an exhibit at the San Francisco Historical Societys museum at 608 Commercial St. in June.

I cant wait until the things that we pulled up today are displayed. They are absolutely amazing, Breed said, beaming as she flipped through photographs and newspapers inside.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle

Event attendees also had a chance to look at the items pulled up on Saturday, forming a line dozens deep. Cedric Adams, a current member of Troop 88, looked at the memorabilia alongside his mother, father and sister. The family has a special connection to the items inside.

We actually were looking for my great-grandfather in the telephone book, he said, explaining that his great-grandparents lived in San Francisco in the 1930s. While they werent able to immediately find him, they snapped a picture of the page listing dozens of people named Adams.

Its really cool to see, Cedric said.

The event was also attended by leaders of various Christian denominations in the city, including Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Armenian Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Metropolitan Gerasimos of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Rev. Jeff Mammen of New Life Church of the Nazarene, and the Rev. Canon Debra Low-Skinner of the Episcopal Church. The group led a prayer at the ceremony.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle

The Mount Davidson cross, built in 1934, has faced challenges over the years as a religious symbol sitting on what was once public property. In the 1990s, several groups sued the city over the cross, arguing that, as a symbol of Christianity, it was illegal on public property and alienated people of other faiths. A federal appeals court ruled in 1996 that the cross would have to be torn down or sold to a private owner, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case a year later.

The cross and the sliver of land it occupies were purchased in 1997 by the Council of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California for $26,000, a sale approved by voters on a ballot measure that fall. It now stands as a memorial to the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide that started in 1915.

The Armenian Council did not know about the time capsule when it purchased the property, Makasdijan said, and while its contents included articles of Christianity such as a Bible and pastors business cards, the items did not specifically come from the Armenian community. But the speakers at the event said its role in preserving history matters deeply to the community, especially in light of its experience surviving a genocide at the hands of the Ottoman government.

For us, this cross, and this time capsule, embody the importance and the purpose of remembrance to seek a better future, Makasdijan said.

Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to The Chronicle

The group worked to continue that tradition Saturday, burying a new time capsule in the old ones place. Included in that capsule are the mayor and lieutenant governors engraved challenge coins, the supervisors pins, a patch designed for the 100th anniversary of Troop 88, celebrated last October, a mask, Saturdays copy of The Chronicle, newspapers and booklets from the various Christian churches at the event, a cross from Armenia, an 1884 Armenian Bible that survived the Armenian genocide, a copy of a 1934 letter from Mount Davidson Park founder Madie Brown to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Armenian and American flags.

Cedric Adams, the Troop 88 Scout, was just as excited about the new capsule as the old.

In a hundred years, the stuff that we buried is going to be hopefully unburied by this same troop, he said.
Around 10:30 a.m. on April 8, 2016, a San Francisco parks worker stumbled onto an unusual-looking piece of plywood atop a brushy, overgrown area in McLaren Park. They pushed the wood aside, and there, curled into the fetal position, was a woman's body. She was dead.

Seven years later, that womans young daughter is still missing  but family and police strongly believe shes alive out there, somewhere.

The tragedy of Nicole and Arianna Fitts is one of San Franciscos most frustrating unsolved cases.

Nicole Fitts was 32 when she was killed. Her life had been a hard one, marked by poverty and struggle. She worked relentlessly to make ends meet for her two daughters, but high Bay Area rents forced her to send her oldest to live with the girls father in Southern California. Nicole and Arianna, just 2 and a half years old, bounced from home to home, and sometime before Nicole was killed, they ended up briefly in a homeless shelter.

There, Nicoles family says she met a so-called street pastor named Lemasani Briggs. Nicole and Arianna moved in with her, but the relationship quickly soured; Nicoles loved ones have alleged Briggs was emotionally abusive and controlling.

The Fitts left Briggs home and found shelter with relatives in Santa Cruz. But that meant hours of driving to and from San Francisco, where Nicole had a job at the Harrison Street Best Buy. To cut down on commuting, she sometimes couch-surfed with friends. Arianna would stay for days at a time with her new babysitters, Helena and Devin Martin, at their home on Castro Street in Oakland.

Nicole met the Martins through Briggs; Helena was Briggs niece. When worried family members asked Nicole if she was concerned about still having ties to Briggs, she allegedly reassured them that Helena wasnt close to her aunt. Its not clear if Nicole knew that Helena had once been charged with murder in 2001  then known as Helena Hearne, the 18-year-old was accused of fatally shooting the father of one of her children. She reportedly served six years for the crime.

On April 1, 2016, Nicole worked her usual shift at Best Buy and headed out for the day. Later that evening, she texted a family member with the news she was going to Fresno with someone named Sam. They thought this was odd; she didnt know any Sams, and she also didnt have her own car. Shortly after 1 a.m., an even stranger post went up on Nicoles Facebook page: "Spending time with my 3 year old need this brake. Loved ones believe this wasnt posted by Nicole; she rarely made spelling mistakes, and more glaringly, Arianna wasnt yet 3.

By April 5, it was clear something wasnt right. Nicole wasnt responding to calls, and she hadnt shown up to work. Her family reported her and Arianna missing; when they did so, they noted to police they hadnt seen Arianna in person since mid-February.

San Francisco police detectives quickly homed in on Helena and Devin Martin. A police commander told reporters they believed Nicole was trying  and failing  to bring Arianna home at the time of her disappearance. Although the Martins cooperated initially, SFPD said they gave inconsistent, conflicting statements and soon stopped helping altogether.

Nicole Fitts received a phone call on April 1st 2016 at approximately 9:00 PM., the San Francisco Police Department said in a missing poster. That call lured Nicole out of her residence to go meet the baby sitter. Nicole was never seen alive again.

A week after that phone call, Nicoles body was discovered near the Louis Sutter Playground. The plywood plank covering her body didnt match anything in the area, so police believe the killer or killers brought it with them to hide the remains. It has distinctive gray spray paint on it, although the pattern could just be from construction markings.

She was cheerful and pleasant to be around, always just giving to people, sister Contessa Fitts said shortly after Nicoles death. She always made sure whoever she was around was taken care of. She was bubbly and a really good person.

Arianna, now 9 years old, has yet to resurface  although police believe someone out there may be raising her.

We do not have any evidence that shows that Arianna's status is anything but alive, an SFPD spokesperson told SFGATE on Wednesday.

Briggs died after falling ill with COVID-19 in December 2021. The Martins are believed to have moved to Las Vegas, where billboards displaying Ariannas face went up last year.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children/Handout

Age-progressed photos of Arianna have been made by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. In them, as she did at 2 and a half, Arianna has a wide, welcoming smile. Family members say she is bright and curious and loved lollipops as a toddler.

At this time we do not have updates to release regarding this case, SFPD told SFGATE over email. Due to the open investigation we are not confirming any person who may be a person of interest or a suspect. The missing person investigation for Arianna Fitts remains an open investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact SFPDs tip line at 415-575-4444 or text their tip to TIP41, starting that text with SFPD. Tips can be left anonymously.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  A man and woman have been found dead in North Las Vegas and authorities said it appears to be a murder-suicide.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said the bodies of the couple were discovered fatally shot around 4 p.m. Saturday on property where the man lived.
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.
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CHICAGO (AP)  A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for the man accused of gunning down a Chicago honor student days after she had performed at Barack Obama's 2013 presidential inauguration.

Micheail Ward was found guilty in connection with the death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton and sentenced to 84 years in prison in 2019. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday that the 1st District Appellate Court ruled that detectives improperly extracted a confession from Ward after he invoked his right to remain silent at least three times during a 12-hour interrogation. Ward was 18 years old at the time of the shooting.

One of the detectives who questioned him, John Halloran, has secured confessions from suspects in at least six cases who were later cleared by DNA or other evidence, the Sun-Times reported.

The three-judge appellate court said that Ward's statements were inadmissible and the trial judge should have suppressed them.

It was unclear whether prosecutors would re-try him. A spokesperson for Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said the office was reviewing the matter.

No weapon or other physical evidence connects Ward to the shooting, the appeals court noted. Without Ward's confession, prosecutors' case relies on witness identification and testimony from two of Ward's friends. They told police that Ward and his friend, Kenneth Williams, picked them up in the getaway car soon after the shooting and made incriminating statements. The lead prosecutor on the case, Brian Holmes, has retired.

Pendleton's mother, Cleo Cowley-Pendleton, said in a text to the Sun-Times that the appellate ruling granting Ward a new trial has left her disappointed and devastated.

After leaving the campus of King College Prep on an unseasonably warm January afternoon, Pendleton and a group of her classmates had gathered in a park in North Kenwood, a Chicago neighborhood, when someone opened fire on them. Pendleton was struck in the back as she ran away and died in the arms of her friend, Klyn Jones.

Prosecutors said the teens were innocent victims in a gang war that had been going on for years. Pendletons death triggered a national outcry against Chicago gun violence.

Pendleton died just days after she performed as a majorette with her high school band at Obama's inauguration festivities. The park where she was shot lies less than a mile from Obama's Chicago home.

Michelle Obama attended Pendleton's funeral and the girl's parents sat next to her at the State of the Union address several weeks later.

Williams, the alleged getaway driver, was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Pendleton's death. He was sentenced to 42 years in prison in 2021. His appeal is pending.
NEW HAVEN  With a recent uptick in antisemitism some called an unfortunate reality for Jewish people, local rabbis offered perspectives beyond the need to ramp up security.

Obviously, were putting all this attention on security and making sure everything is safe, but I think if that becomes the core of what it means to be Jewish in America, then we lose the richness of Judaism, said Rabbi Josh Pernick of Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven.

What deserves more spotlight, the rabbi said, is more than 3,000 years of the religions history  and he believes the best way to move forward with the state of hate is to celebrate and share that richness with others.

Connecticut has seen a record-setting high number of antisemitism last year, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League. There was a 100 percent uptick in antisemitic incidents and a 115 percent increase in white supremacist propaganda in the state alone. It has also been on the rise nationwide.

Out of 274 incidents locally, nine were in New Haven, including harassment and right-wing propaganda on Yale University and Southern Connecticut State University campuses.

Pernick said the rise wasnt surprising because there has also been a rise in other race-based hatred and more prevalent supremacist movements around the country. And he said antisemitism was one of the first forms of such hatred in history.

Its weird because Im not scared, said Rabbi Eric Woodward of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel. At our synagogue, we take safety and security very seriously, and I think this is a really loving community here in New Haven.



Even with high-level threats about a month ago when extremist groups were calling for a National Day of Hate, Woodward said about 250 people showed up at the service that day to show up and be Jewish and be proud.

I think that people are scared of this, but the fear doesn't get them down, Woodward said. I think fear leads them to be brave.

Regional Security Advisor for Secure Community Network Michael Shanbrom said Jewish communities across the country have been ramping up their security measures in the past years  and those included alarm systems, cameras and special safety rooms.

Despite the shockingly high number of antisemitic incidents last year, Shanbrom said the threat had existed for many years. The staff of different organizations and synagogues have also been trained for active shooting situations.

Shanbroms organization works to enhance the safety and security of Jewish communities in southern and western Connecticut.

When it comes to the presence of law enforcement in a religious space, Shanbrom said most kids and families are used to seeing school resource officers in public schools, which he said made them feel safer.

Pernick said there are different dynamics within the antisemitic events that are not confined to one side of the political spectrum.

Certainly, theres incidents of swastikas being carved on things and when things get bad and get tense in Israel, often, that leads to antisemitism from a different perspective, he said. Obviously, with Kanye and all of that  its something that people are hearing about, suddenly its not in the news, and often that leads to an uptick for a period of time.

The Woodbridge-based rabbi referred to Kanye West  also known as Ye  who drew headlines last year for embracing antisemitism rhetoric.

One of the challenges is how to simultaneously kind of call out and point out the prevalence of antisemitism while also not recognizing the dangers of having something being in the news often leads to increased incidents, Pernick said.

Before Pernick came to New Haven, he was a rabbi in the New Orleans area for three years. He said since the area was more of a conservative Catholic community, antisemitic incidents usually were faith-based. But in the Northeast, he said they base more on social media movements  like Yes controversy.

Asked what contributed to the rise, Westville-based Rabbi Woodward attributed it to the empowerment of white supremacists in this country. He noted that while its not new for the country, its new to New Haven.

According to the ADL data that goes back to 2002, New Haven started seeing antisemitic incidents just in 2016, with the highest point being in 2020 with 14 incidents. The Westville Synagogue was shot with a BB gun during the Passover holiday that year.

Jews have such a place in white supremacist rhetoric and incitement that I think this uptick is something that is distressing but unfortunately not surprising, Woodward said.

As 30 percent of antisemitic incidents last year happened in schools, Woodward said what he mostly tells young people is that things are going to be OK and that we have been through this before. Its challenging especially for teens, he said, because theyre also dealing with impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.

I also tell them if they ever feel bullied or harassed or they see somebody else being bullied or harassed, they should always bring it to the right authorities, that other people will always believe them, Woodward said. The world has turned out to be a harder place than they expected when they were young.

For Pernick, its about making things as normal as possible for them while not focusing on what it means to be Jewish on Jew hatred because he doesnt want that to be at the center of someones identity.

Pernick said the United States is still a great place to live as a Jew from the historical perspective  given its more than 3,000 years of history when their ancestors had to live without the rights they got in America.

Its about how you talk to kids about wanting them to feel proud of their Jewish identity in all of its components while also preparing them for what they might hear and encounter out in the world, Pernick said. Its a very real challenge.
WEST HARTFORD  By moving its main offices into town, the nonprofit Journey Home hopes to deepen its connection to a community that has been supporting its mission to end homelessness for over 15 years.

The group, which started in 2007 as the agency tasked with handling the city of Hartford's plan to end homelessness, has since expanded to become a regional nonprofit that supports other agencies working in the homelessness sector in the state's capital region.

But in West Hartford, there's a deeper connection, even if it might not be the town Journey Home does most of its work in.

"West Hartford has always been a friend to Journey Home," said Sara Salomons Wilson, the nonprofit's director of development and communications. "My best guess is that 75 percent of our volunteers are from West Hartford. Fifty percent of our donors are from West Hartford. We have felt the love from West Hartford right from the beginning."

So when the group needed to find a new home for its staff, a connection with St. James's Episcopal Church on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford facilitated a quick move. In 2018, the nonprofit acquired the church's A Hand Up nonprofit, a program that collects donations of furniture and other household items, which are then given to people who had previously been unhoused.

"The thought behind A Hand Up was that when youre moving from being unhoused into potentially your first home in a really long time, the last thing financially you need to worry about is how to furnish it," said the Rev. Bob Hooper of St. James's. "These folks are focusing on their jobs. Theyre focusing on paying rent for the first time in a long time. Theyre probably focusing on childcare. This was at least one burden we could take on."

It was a natural move for Journey Home to acquire A Hand Up, as it pairs with its mission of supporting agencies working on ending homelessness by providing resources, data and more.

"We work together as a unit rather than siloed," Wilson said. "What that has really done has changed the way that the system works. We work collaboratively and collectively. Were the backbone agency."

Most of its work is behind the scenes, like having a landlord engagement coordinator.

"Her only job is really to establish relationships with landlords and make sure there are units available," Wilson said. "Thats a huge barrier. You can get somebody whos experiencing homelessness, get all of their paperwork together and everything they need to get into a unit, but then they cant find any available units."

And so when Hooper heard Journey Home needed new office space, he suggested they rent out what had been available on the bottom floor of their church. Hooper hopes this reengages his church's members with the A Hand Up mission they started nearly 20 years ago.

"Its the engagement at a deeper level with an organization that weve believed in since its inception," Hooper said. "The mission of the church is not about whats inside the walls. Its about how you take the prayerful and faithful generosity of the parishioners who individually are all concerned about these things but individually cant make an impact. This allows the collective to be impactful."

Wilson said the move from Hartford to West Hartford felt right. The nonprofit  which is preparing for its major spring fundraiser on May 5 in Manchester  just recently applied for community development block grant funding from the town for the first time.

"We feel the love from this church," Wilson said. "We are hoping to deepen our connection here. This is another sign for us that being here, having that connection with West Hartford social services and having our warehouses here, its all right. Its all supposed to happen the way that its happening right now."
The Adam Henein Foundation for Fine Arts revealed the winners of the seventh edition of the Adam Henein Prize for sculpture.

The winners were announced during a celebratory event that took place on 31 March at Hanager Arts Centre, whose exhibition hall carries the name of the sculptor.

The event coincides with Heneins birthday; he was born on 31 March 1929 and passed away on 22 May 2020.

The foundation awarded its first prize, EGP 50,000 (USD 1,600), to Eman Barakat, its second prize, EGP 30,000 (USD 1,000), to Souhaila Al-Nouishy and its third prize, EGP 20,000 (USD 650), to Moustafa Rawash.

Following the announcement of the winners, the collective exhibition of the best works was inaugurated by the former Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny in the presence of artist and professor of art Ashraf Reda, the president of the Union of Visual Artists and former Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Helwan University, Safia Al-Qabbani and renowned sculptor Abdel-Aziz Saab.

The exhibition continues until 5 April, presenting 40 sculptural works at the Adam Henein gallery.

Through its annual competition, the Adam Henein Foundation aims to motivate and encourage artists under 40 from Egypt and the Arab world by offering them an opportunity to highlight their creations and win monetary prizes.

The first edition of the competition was launched on 15 September 2016 and prizes were awarded to the winners on 31 March 2017.

One of the leading Egyptian sculptors of his generation, Adam Henein rose to prominence in the 1950s, influencing numerous younger Egyptian artists and producing a prolific oeuvre that left an indelible mark on Egypt's cultural landscape.

He obtained a BA in sculpture from Cairo's School of Fine Arts and pursued training in Munich and Paris, where he lived until 1996.

"Residing in Paris for 25 years, Henein significantly grew as an artist. But brimming with nostalgia for his homeland and knowledge of his predecessors, his art was infused with fidelity to his Egyptian roots. Henein eventually founded the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium, which he headed for many years," writes Soha El-Sirgany in Henein's obituary.

Heneins work was exhibited in Egypt, the Arab world, Europe and the US.

With his works displayed in the world's finest museums, including New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre in Paris, his exhibitions catapulted him to international recognition and awards.

In the 1990s, Henein "led the restoration of the famed Sphinx of Giza, work that won him a national decoration," AP adds.

While dedicating his life to sculpture, Henein was also interested in painting. Heneins paintings are abstract, featuring an earthy palette of reds, pinks, ochres and warm greys, placed to contrast the heavenly hues of chromes, greens, cobalts, azures and turquoises.

What they share with his sculptures is a secret, simple and poetic language.

In January 2014, the artist inaugurated the Adam Henein Museum in Cairo's Al-Harraniya district.

The museum is a priceless gift from the artist to the country.

In 2017, the Adam Henein Foundation established the Adam Henein Annual Sculpture Prize.

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By Joseph Geha

San Jose Spotlight

Two days after federal prosecutors announced a bombshell drug charge against the San Jose police union's office manager, she made her first appearance in court.

Joanne Segovia, who the U.S. Attorney's Office charged this week with attempting to illegally import a form of fentanyl, surrendered to authorities today at the federal courthouse on South First Street in San Jose. If convicted, Segovia faces up to 20 years in prison, officials said.

Segovia, 64, timidly walked into the courtroom Friday, wearing a gray sweater, leopard print top, dark pants, black boots and was bound by shackles on her ankles. She didn't say much, save for brief responses to Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi who read Segovia her rights, laid out the charge filed against her and ordered she would be released on no bail following her appearance in court.

Segovia's next court appearance, a preliminary hearing, is set for April 28.

Will Edelman, an attorney representing Segovia, declined to comment on his client's alleged crime.

Segovia is charged with one count of attempting to import valeryl fentanyl, though a 13-page criminal complaint filed Monday outlined several years of behavior federal investigators said is consistent with with shipping and receiving illicit drugs.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Segovia is alleged to have "used her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid and other pills to her home and agreed to distribute the drugs elsewhere in the United States."

Authorities were alerted to Segovia while pursuing leads in an ongoing Homeland Security investigation into an international scheme to illegally import controlled substances into the San Francisco Bay Area from other countries.

In at least one instance, Segovia is alleged to have used the police union's UPS account and return address to ship a package to North Carolina, which investigators believe was a drug shipment.

Investigators said Segovia lied to them when confronted, and tried to blame her housekeeper for the entire scheme.

The complaint alleges Segovia continued to order controlled substances after being interviewed by federal authorities in February. A package labeled as containing a "clock" sent from China and addressed to Segovia was seized on March 13 by federal agents in Kentucky, which contained valeryl fentanyl, the attorney's office said.

Segovia, who is not a police officer, has worked for the San Jose Police Officers' Association since 2003, serving as the "executive director." Tom Saggau, a spokesperson for the union, previously told San Jose Spotlight that despite her title, Segovia was an office manager.

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By Joshua Ram

San Jose Spotlight

Santa Clara County is grappling with how to implement the latest COVID-19 changes, as the state lifts rules on masking and vaccinations in April.

The county will follow new state guidelines starting Monday as California loosens requirements, but officials are cautious a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared the state's COVID-19 emergency over.

Starting next week, masks will no longer be required in California's high-risk and health care facilities including jails, homeless shelters and long-term care homes. Health care workers will no longer be required to get vaccinated for COVID, and people with the virus can end isolation after five days, among other changes.

A county health department spokesperson said there are still serious threats to people with certain medical conditions and for those who need vital health care services, especially during high transmission periods.

"In general, the county's public health officer is aligning local requirements with state and federal COVID rules and guidance," the spokesperson told San Jose Spotlight.

The county has issued an updated health order requiring masking in health care settings during the winter--Nov. 1 to March 31--in order to protect people from disease and prevent the overcrowding of hospitals. County officials also strongly advise health care facilities to closely monitor local and internal data, and set masking requirements and other policies that best protect their patients and ensure ongoing access to critical services during periods when risk is high. The county's COVID dashboard will continue to operate and post data pertaining to the virus.

Santa Clara County has been at the forefront of the country's governmental response to COVID and was first in the nation to declare COVID-19 a public health emergency on Feb. 10, 2020, when there were two confirmed cases of the disease in the county and 13 confirmed nationwide.

Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of global health, infectious diseases and epidemiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said COVID isn't gone and it's important to keep monitoring trends, which includes assessing the need for additional boosters.

"Given the high degree of population immunity from infection and vaccination this is the right time to lift the emergency measures," she told San Jose Spotlight.

She said the number of people who have gotten booster shots is still low and she urges residents to get them.

County data shows only 33% of eligible residents have received the updated bivalent COVID booster, and 12% have not completed the initial series of COVID vaccines. Only 25% of the eligible population statewide has received the bivalent booster.

Maldonado added that masking has been an effective tool in reducing disease transmission and that health care workers should be vaccinated in order to maintain protective immunity among patients and staff.

Santa Clara County health officials highlighted that federal rules still require all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers to ensure that applicable health care staff are vaccinated for COVID.

While major strides have been made in responding to the virus, Santa Clara County is stressing that COVID is still being detected at medium levels in wastewater samples and officials strongly recommend people wear masks indoors in crowded or high-risk settings, such as health care facilities or nursing homes.

Local updates on COVID-19 are available from the county at covid19.sccgov.org.

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California's main coastal highway -- state Highway 1 -- remains blocked by landslides in three areas between Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, evidence of how severely battered the highway became by the drought-busting series of winter storms that began in December.

For now, the Big Sur coast is inaccessible along Highway 1 between Deetjen's Inn in Monterey County and Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County.

A Caltrans spokesperson said this week that there are three slides south of the Monterey County closure which have limited, one-lane access that can be used by locals to evacuate or resupply. The slides are located just south of Torre Canyon Bridge at mile marker 39.5, just south of Esalen at mile marker 32.5, and farther south at mile marker 29.5.

Passage through these three slides is not open to the traveling public, because they are intended as evacuation routes.

The University of the Pacific hosted San Joaquin Council of Governments and its partners as they launched the Stockton Mobility Collective at a Rise 'N' Ride event Saturday.

Stockton Mobility Collective project brings clean, affordable transportation to serve the economically disadvantaged communities through its nonprofit electric bikeshare and carshare programs. The project also includes mobility incentives and a workforce development program - to train Stockton residents in marketable fleet management and operational skills. .

A 68-year-old woman died after she drove her car off a cliff and plummeted onto Seacliff State Beach in Aptos.

A California Highway Patrol spokesperson said CHP officers responded at approximately 8:23 a.m. The woman, a Watsonville resident, was driving her 2018 Toyota RAV4 on southbound State Park Drive just south of Santa Cruz Avenue when she left the roadway and went down an embankment to crash onto the Seacliff State Beach picnic area.

She sustained major injuries and was transported to Dominican Hospital, where she died.

One lane of southbound Interstate 680 in Fairfield will be closed for five consecutive nights beginning Monday.

The lane closure will begin at 5 p.m. Monday near the Gold Hill Road exit. The closure is necessary for work crews to perform slide repair work along the right slope of Interstate 680, which sustained storm damage last week.

The far right lane in the southbound direction of the freeway will be closed from Monday through Friday, between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m.

All work is set to be completed by 5 a.m. Saturday, April 8.

Making a stretch of San Francisco's Clay Street a permanent afternoon transit lane is no longer being pursued as a proposal by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

Agency officials said Friday that based on community feedback, the SFMTA is no longer pursuing the proposal to make a transit lane permanent on Clay Street between Stockton Street and Grant Avenue.

Officials added this includes a paired proposal to remove an afternoon towaway on Sacramento Street between Mason and Stockton streets as a parking offset.

The current, temporary transit lane on Clay Street will expire and be removed no later than June.

The existing morning transit lane on this block and other transit lanes along the 1 California route that were legislated to become permanent will remain in effect.

Remaining transit lanes include two remaining blocks of Clay Street in Nob Hill, between Mason and Taylor streets and between Jones and Leavenworth streets. This is where the SFMTA approved adding peak-period transit lanes last year that have not yet been implemented.

The month of April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office will be looking for drivers who are in violation of California's hands-free cell phone law.

According to the 2022 California Statewide Public Opinion Survey, nearly 72 percent of drivers

surveyed said that distracted driving because of texting was their biggest safety concern. In

2021, the California Highway Patrol issued nearly 56,000 citations for distracted driving.

Under current law, drivers are not allowed to hold a phone or electronic communications device

while operating a vehicle.

The National Weather Service forecast for Sunday for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for partly sunny skies with daytime highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Windy conditions may persist in some parts of the Bay Area. Overnight lows will range mostly in the upper 30s to upper 40s.

Sunday night calls for clear and breezy conditions with lows in the 30s and 40s

Copyright  2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

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The National Weather Service forecast for Sunday for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for partly sunny skies with daytime highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Windy conditions may persist in some parts of the Bay Area. Overnight lows will range mostly in the upper 30s to upper 40s.

Sunday night calls for clear and breezy conditions with lows in the 30s and 40s.
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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  A reformist coalition led by former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is the likely winner of Bulgarias parliamentary election after exit poll results showed it placing first on Sunday.

The exit poll conducted by the Gallup International pollster showed the coalition between the We Continue the Change party and the right-wing Democratic Bulgaria with 25.6 %, apparently edging out the center-right GERB party ex-premier Boyko Borissov on 24.8 %.

Initial results are expected on Monday, but it could take days before the final official results are announced. If they confirm the exit poll, Petkovs coalition will be handed a mandate to form a cabinet.

It looks, however, that it will be an uphill task for him to find allies to form a governing coalition in a fragmented parliament.

In their first comments, political analysts predicted that the results, which do not differ significantly from the previous four elections held within the last two years, could lead to a viable coalition and did not exclude the possibility of another election.

Bulgaria, which is the European Unions poorest member, held its fifth general election in two years and political leaders hoped it would end government instability and provide a path to overcoming economic woes fueled by the war in Ukraine.

But a low voter turnout, estimated at 40 percent, shows the wide disillusionment with politicians who do not stick to promises to fight corruption and introduce reforms. Asked about a possible coalition with Borissovs GERB party, the co-leader of Democratic Bulgaria, Hristo Ivanov, said that governing in a coalition requires a high degree of trust and mutual understanding. He added that he did not think a coalition with GERB met those conditions.

We will be, rather, looking for a formula that is based on some kind of unity around specific priorities, Ivanov said.

The other leg of the reformist coalition, the We Continue the Change party, has said it would also reject a coalition deal with GERB if Borissov remained at its helm.

We Continue the Change, which regards Borissov as a divisive figure and has accused him of promoting corrupt policies, proposed forming a minority government with the support of GERB, which rejected the idea.

After casting his ballot, Borissov said wisdom from politicians was the only way out of the crisis. He said Bulgaria must have a stable government if we dont want to commit suicide as a nation.

It will be a catastrophe for the country, if a ruling majority could not be formed, Borissov said, adding that he was ready to compromise.

Borissov refused to comment on the initial results saying that he rather will wait for the official outcome of the vote.

Analysts predict that some compromise could be made, and the fierce opponents might find an alternative to the consecutive caretaker governments appointed by President Rumen Radev, a former military general, in the last few years that have quietly shifted the countrys orientation toward Russia.

Traditionally, many Bulgarians in this former communist nation share pro-Russia sentiments, which provides fertile soil for aggressive Kremlin propaganda and intelligence activity in the current NATO member country. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dug deeper divisions in Bulgarian society, and fueled support for the pro-Moscow parties.

Exit polls indicate that the ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party, a strong opposition to any actions against Putins Russia, is widening its parliamentary presence from 10% to 14% of seats.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  Patti Chang walked into her polling place in Chicago earlier this year, anxious about how poll workers would treat her, especially as a voter who is blind. Even though she was accompanied by her husband, she said she was ignored until a poll worker grabbed her cane and pulled her toward a voting booth.

Like many voters with disabilities, Chang faces barriers at the polls most voters never even consider  missing ramps or door knobs, for example. The lack of help or empathy from some poll workers just adds to the burden for people with disabilities.

It doesnt help you want to be in there if youre going to encounter those kinds of low expectations, said Chang, 59. So why should I go vote if Im going to have to fight with the poll workers? Im an adult and I should be able to vote without that.

Chang had a better experience when she cast an early ballot in March in the runoff election for Chicago mayor, a race that will be decided Tuesday, even as access to the ballot box remains a challenge across the city for voters like her.

Chicago is among numerous voting jurisdictions across the United States with poor access to polling locations for disabled voters. Since 2016, the Department of Justice has entered into more than three dozen settlements or agreements to force better access in cities and counties under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many of those places are holding elections this year.

The department's targets are almost certainly an undercount of the number of places with poor access, according to disability rights activists who attempt to track ADA compliance and complaints from voters.

Several, including Chicago, either missed their deadlines without making all the requested changes or asked for an extension.

Chicagos agreement with the federal government started in 2017 but has been extended twice; the current deadline is November 2024, the next presidential election. As of February, the city had 302 polling places that complied fully with the ADA and 327 with low accessibility or none at all for disabled voters.

The expense of bringing aging buildings up to code is one challenge in complying, said Max Bever, a spokesperson for the citys board of elections. Some polling places could be forced to close.

Things can be identified and surveyed, we can know the status of certain buildings  but actually making and funding the appropriate changes can be a long and difficult process, he said.

People with disabilities make up about one-fourth of the U.S. adult population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have been ensnared in battles over access to the polls as many Republican-led states have passed restrictive voting laws in recent years, including over limits on what assistance a voter can receive and whether someone else can return a voters mailed ballot.

In Wisconsin, disability rights activists scored a victory when they filed a legal challenge in federal court after the state Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, ruled that only the voter can return an absentee ballot. The federal court said that ran afoul of the Voting Rights Act. Nevertheless, voters with disabilities have been complaining that the federal law is being ignored in the run-up to Wisconsin's high-stakes election Tuesday, when control of the states high court could flip.

They say local election officials throughout Wisconsin have been giving incorrect information on websites, in mailings and at polling places saying voters cant receive help or have someone else return their ballot  without making the distinction that such assistance is allowed for voters with disabilities.

Disability must be considered a fundamental right to enhance accessibility throughout the country, said Herbert Humphrey, the ADA coordinator for Jackson, Mississippi.

Typically, when you hear civil rights, you think about race. But no, civil rights includes the disability community, as well, he said.

Disjointed coordination between election authorities and disability advocates has been a persistent problem in Mississippi, especially related to reliable transportation. It was the reason Lee Cole, who is blind, missed a local election in Jackson in January.

That frustrated Cole, 74, because she said she tries to vote in every election.

I live in senior housing now and we can't always vote because we cant get to the site, and that's unfortunate, she said.

Mississippis local and state officials havent been receptive or collaborative, said Greta Kemp Martin, litigation director for Disability Rights Mississippi.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin said the group met with Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson to discuss accessibility issues statewide. But Martin said Watson seemed uninterested, except when asking if the group had reached out to the election commission.

His attorneys were helpful, but we received no follow-up from them about the issues that we outlined, Martin said.

Watson's office said in a statement that it has communicated its efforts to the organization to best assist voters with disabilities in Mississippi and welcomes further dialogue for future elections.

Ensuring ADA compliance in localized polling places lies with each county, and the Mississippi Secretary of States Office does not have enforcement authority, the statement said. Whether the designated polling places are county-owned or privately-owned, the counties are responsible for ensuring the polling places they have selected are ADA compliant.

After conducting routine polling place surveys, Disability Rights Mississippi sent letters in 2021 to state election commissioners and Watson's office about access problems in two small towns, but said it did not receive a response. The letters said the group had found egregious violations of the ADA.

Local election offices are often burdened with a lengthy list of responsibilities, such as ensuring that equipment works properly and defending against cyberattacks. Because of that workload, disability right advocates say they try to reach out and help ensure that polling places are accessible, said Michelle Bishop, the voter access and engagement manager at the National Disability Rights Network.

This is a significant investment and I know that elections officials are typically under-resourced to do a multitude of things, she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic also shifted focus from ADA compliance as election offices had to ensure polling places were safe and had to mail and process a flood of mailed ballots, Bishop said.

Poll worker training is a priority, especially to make sure workers and volunteers are sensitive to the needs of disabled voters, said Denise Avant, first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. The group offered to make a presentation during a poll worker class following last years midterm elections, but the Chicago Board of Elections declined, she said.

The board did let the federation assist in testing voting machines for compliance and to provide guidance on how precinct workers could interact with voters who are blind or have low vision. It expects to work with the organization in the future now that in-person training has returned.

Such training is needed to help poll workers gain a better understanding of how to best help voters with disabilities, said Kelly Knoop, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and has cerebral palsy. She uses a machine for those who may not be able to communicate with their own voices.

Knoop's older sister, Karen Heil, also helps her communicate and said workers at their local precinct still seem unfamiliar with their lone accessible voting machine. Jefferson County, home to Louisville, entered into an ADA agreement with the Justice Department in 2022.

I sadly just have to say there are so many Americans that are looked upon as not being full citizens and not being worthy of all the rights that we do have, said Knopp, 56. "We just need our lives to be as important as many other minorities.

___

Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) 

A special election to fill an open Wisconsin Senate seat will determine whether Republicans gain a supermajority that would allow them to impeach Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and other office holders as well as move the GOP a step closer to overriding gubernatorial vetoes.

Voters on Tuesday will pick Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin or Republican state Rep. Dan Knodl to represent Milwaukee's northern suburbs. The seat has been under Republican control for decades but came open in November after longtime incumbent Alberta Darling chose to retire after 30 years in the Senate. Evers scheduled a special election to fill the position to coincide with the state's spring Supreme Court election.

The stakes are huge. A Knodl win would give Republicans 22 votes in the chamber, enough to override gubernatorial vetoes if the state Assembly also votes to do so and enough to convict civil officers in impeachment trials.

Knodl denied accusations from Habush Sinykin that he would vote to impeach Evers if elected. He said in an email to The Associated Press that he has had success working with the governor.

Habush Sinykin said it's essential for Democrats to win the seat, saying impeachment isn't just hypothetical.

"Its going to happen," she said. The election is "high stakes in every way for democracy, for the balance of power, to protect the governors veto, to protect against these nonsense impeachment threats. Will this be a government where we dont have any checks or balances on the Legislature?

Veto overrides, at least in the near future, appear unlikely. A successful override requires a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and Assembly and Republicans are two seats shy of the 66 they would need in the Assembly. But Democrats fear that if Senate Republican achieve a two-thirds majority their counterparts could launch a stealth override attempt during a floor session where two Democrats are absent.

Impeachment trials, though, could become a GOP tactic if Knodl wins.

Under state law, the Assembly can trigger a trial in the Senate with 50 votes. Conviction requires a two-thirds Senate vote. It's not clear who could be impeached, though. According to an analysis from the Legislative Reference Bureau, the state constitution says the Legislature can impeach civil officers but doesn't define that term.

The state Supreme Court has ruled that the constitution makes specific mention of the governor, lieutenant governor and judges as impeachable officers. The reference bureau analysis concludes that other constitutional officers such as the attorney general could be impeached as well. The Assembly has impeached someone only once, Judge Levi Hubbell in 1853, but the Senate ultimately acquitted him, according to the analysis.

Knodl has served in the Assembly for 15 years. He was one of 15 Wisconsin Republicans who sent a letter to then-Vice President Mike Pence in January 2022 asking him to delay certifying presidential results that showed Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.

While Evers apparently isn't in his impeachment sights, Knodl said on WISN-TV's UpFront earlier this month that he would consider impeaching Milwaukee County judges for being weak on crime. Asked whether that includes liberal Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz, should she remain a Milwaukee County judge, Knodl responded: I certainly would consider it.

Protasiewicz faces conservative Dan Kelly in Tuesday's election, and a Protasiewicz win would give liberal justices a 4-3 majority on the court. State law doesn't specifically say that sitting justices can be impeached, but Wisconsin laws are based on federal law that opens up justices to impeachment and could be interpreted as permitting them to be impeached.

Republicans also could attempt to impeach her before she's sworn in as a justice. The question then would be whether releasing criminals on bail or handing out lenient sentences rises to the level of corruption.

Knodl also has said he would consider impeaching Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. Republicans have long criticized the Democratic prosecutor as being soft on crime.

Habush Sinykin holds a law degree from Harvard and has worked as an attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates. She was a key litigator in MEA's lawsuit to block Wisconsin wolf hunters from using dogs. A state appeals court ultimately rejected the group's arguments in 2014.

Habush Sinykin held a massive financial advantage over Knodl as Election Day approached.

According to the latest campaign finance reports, she raised nearly $1.1 million between Jan. 1 and March 20. A huge chunk of that money  $453,550  came from the State Senate Democratic Committee. She received another $25,000 from the state Democratic Party.

Knodl raised $324,200 between Jan. 1 and March 20. The largest contribution he received was $2,000 from a political action committee that represents the interests of health insurers.
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CHIHUAHUA, Mexico (AP)  Marcela Castros office in Chihuahua is more than 100 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, yet the distance doesnt prevent her from assisting women in the United States in circumventing recently imposed bans on abortion.

From the headquarters of Marea Verde Chihuahua, an organization that has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018, Castro and her colleagues provide virtual guidance, as well as shipments of abortion pills for women who want to terminate a pregnancy on their own.

This abortion model, in which no travel, clinics or prescriptions are needed, sparked interest in the U.S.  and a surge of requests for help  as the Supreme Court moved to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion last year. But the model was developed by Mexican activists through decades of facing abortion bans and restrictions in most of Mexicos 32 states.

We dont offer medical attention because we are not doctors, Castro said. Part of our work, though, is to remove the stigma toward abortion. Although it is a medical procedure, it does not require hospital measures.

To safely advise women on self-managed medical abortions, Castro and her colleagues were trained to become acompanantes -- capable of serving as a guide and partner, whether in person or from long distance. They have carefully studied national abortion guidelines and they know by heart some protocols established by the World Health Organization.

Since they do not charge for the help they provide, most acompanantes need jobs outside the organizations where they volunteer. Among them are lawyers, psychologists and other professionals. Over the years, they have created a nationwide network that has secured abortion access for Mexican and foreign women, whether or not abortion is legal where they live.

We are ordinary women working for reproductive justice, Castro said. We seek what the State has denied us out of prohibition.

Mexican women face a scenario that resembles the U.S., where more than a dozen states  including Texas -- have imposed sweeping abortion bans. Unless its justified under certain exceptions, abortion is considered a crime in two-thirds of Mexicos states.

Chihuahua, where Castro lives, is ruled by a conservative governor and its penal code criminalizes most abortions.

Among all other Mexican border states where acompanantes support Mexican or American women, abortion is only legal in Baja California. Additionally, a 2021 ruling by Mexicos Supreme Court held that those who get the procedure shouldnt be punished in Coahuila, a state south of Texas.

More than 30 women collaborate with Castro in Marea Verde Chihuahua. They are part of what she calls a binational network, bringing together several Mexican collectives willing to facilitate self-managed abortions in the U.S.

Most women from the U.S. contact Marea Verde Chihuahua through social media or by someones referral. Most communicate in Spanish, though the acompanantes are able to assist English speakers as well.

After an initial contact, members of the team check their availability and an acompanante is assigned to each case. Further communications usually proceed via WhatsApp.

The accompaniment starts with some basic questions to determine the gestational age, how the pregnancy was confirmed, and the womans overall health. Once the information is evaluated, the acompanante proposes how to proceed.

In most cases, medication is advised and the acompanante is able to provide a combination of two abortion pills, misoprostol and mifepristone, both considered safe by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Although both medications require a prescription in the U.S., misoprostol can be acquired without a prescription in Mexican pharmacies  though some vendors refuse to sell pills to women. Mifepristone can be obtained through some abortion rights organizations.

The work of the acompanantes troubles anti-abortion activists in Mexico. One of them, Jahel Torres of a national group called Pasos por la Vida, suggested there were health risks because abortion pills were being distributed by non-medical personnel.

However, the WHO has depicted self-managed abortion as a safe option.

Castro and her colleagues usually send pills by mail and provide virtual follow-up until the abortion is completed. But depending on its personnel and resources, each Mexican abortion collective has its own logistics.

Aborto Seguro Chihuahua, which is part of the binational network, provides long-distance guidance to women in the U.S. but medication is not mailed from Mexico. Instead, the acompanantes collaborate with volunteers who transport the pills from Ciudad Juarez, in Chihuahua, to El Paso, Texas, where the packages are delivered either in person or through mailing services.

Laura Dorado works alongside 20 people in Aborto Seguro Chihuahua and says her team handles around 120 abortions per month. Some requests come from Mexico; others from Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

When she receives a message from a woman who is able to travel from the U.S. to Mexico, Dorado can offer some advice. We have identified some pharmacies in which buying the pills is not a struggle or we suggest staying at a hotel and request the medication by delivery, to keep a low profile.

Dorado said Aborto Seguro Chihuahua mostly receives mifepristone pills from Las Libres, an organization founded 20 years ago in the conservative state of Guanajuato, in central Mexico, where abortion is still banned.

Led by activist Veronica Cruz, Las Libres pioneered in training acompanantes to provide virtual guidance for self-managed medical abortions in Mexico and, since 2019, in the U.S. as well.

In January 2022, we had an average of 10 cases every day. When Roe was overturned, in June, we had up to a hundred, Cruz said.

She said the numbers kept rising until they reached 300 requests per day, all from the U.S. The workload was immense for her team of 10 people, so she created new networks to help.

In one year we have created more than 20 networks. We are about 200 people helping only the United States, Cruz said.

As with Marea Verde and Aborto Seguro in Chihuahua, Las Libres usually receives requests from Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Occasionally, women also reach out from Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Georgia, California, New Jersey and New York.

Though abortion is legal in some of those states, acompanantes believe many of these women are of Hispanic origin and either want to avoid going to an abortion clinic or cant afford to pay up to $600 to get an abortion where they live.

According to Cruz, many of these women are wary of self-managed abortions, and fighting that stigma has become part of their work.

Most people think pills arent safe, so changing all of that so quickly has been a challenge, Cruz said.

John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, said there has yet to be any intensive effort to prosecute people involved in supplying abortion pills to Texas residents.

Texas simply does not have enough policy tools to efficiently stop these practices," Seago said. His organization is pushing for new legislation, he added so that those breaking Texas law by aiding and abetting abortion digitally or physically will be held accountable.

Nathan Cortez, a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas specializing in health law, said he considered it inevitable that women in states with abortion bans would consider options outside the U.S.

This demonstrates the limits of a states jurisdiction  the more onerous and unreasonable your state laws are, the more likely you are to push prohibited activities elsewhere. Cortez said.



Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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Alert: Russian media say a famous military blogger has been killed in an apparent bombing attack at a cafe in St. Petersburg
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israels antisemitism envoy said Sunday that she was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government, citing her criticism of its planned judicial overhaul as a possible cause.

Noa Tishby, a pro-Israel activist and actress, was appointed to the volunteer role to combat antisemitism last year by Israels previous administration.
ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistan on Sunday denied rumors of trade with Israel following a Jewish businessmans tweet about successfully exporting food samples to Jerusalem and Haifa.

Fishel Benkhald, a Pakistani Jew based in the southern port city of Karachi, went viral for tweeting about his first kosher food shipment to Israel. The two countries do not have diplomatic ties.

Congratulations to me as a Pakistani. I exported the first batch of Pakistan food products to Israel market, he said last week.

Benkhald shared a video clip showing his visit to an Israeli market. He walks past stalls with containers of dates, dried fruit and spices with product tags in Hebrew.

Pakistan denied having any diplomatic or trade relations with Israel. There is no change in the policy, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told media in response to queries about bilateral trade.

Pakistan officially backs a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and has a longstanding position of non-recognition of Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established within the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Pakistans Commerce Ministry said rumors of bilateral trade were sheer propaganda.

Neither do we have any trade relations with Israel nor do we intend to develop any, it said in a statement.

Benkhald, who is part of a dwindling Jewish community in the Muslim majority-nation of 220 million, had his religion status in his national Pakistani documents corrected from Islam to Judaism in 2017. Although a statement on his Pakistani passport says the document is valid for travel to all countries except Israel, he is the first Pakistani to have officially performed a pilgrimage there with the permission of Islamabad.

Food, trade, music and tourism bring people together. Lets build bridges, Benkhald said in his tweet.

Benkhald sent food samples to three businesspeople in Jerusalem and Haifa through the United Arab Emirates, where he met them at food exhibitions, according to the Commerce Ministry. The ministry said the shipment was not supported by the Pakistan government and no banking or official channel was involved.

The American Jewish Congress earlier welcomed news of the shipment, saying it could have wider implications for the two countries economies and for the region at large. It said Benkhald was at the heart of a small, but growing Pakistani kosher industry exporting food to different destinations.

But there were mixed opinions in Pakistan about Benkhalds venture. Shireen Mazari, a key leader from ex-Prime Minister Imran Khans party and former minister for human rights, criticized the government and asked how a Pakistani citizen was exporting to Israel directly and visiting the country on a Pakistani passport.

But an interfaith representative from the current administration, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, said Benkhald was permitted to visit Israel during Khans tenure.
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TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus' borders with NATO neighbors, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said Sunday amid simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Boris Gryzlov's comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent statement about plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russia's neighbor and ally. The announcement marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine.

Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The two neighbors have an agreement envisioning close economic, political and military ties. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.

Gryzlov, speaking in remarks broadcast late Sunday by Belarusian state television, said the Russian nuclear weapons will be moved up close to the Western border of our union state but did not give any precise location.

It will expand our defense capability, and it will be done regardless of all the noise in Europe and the United States, he said in a reference to Western criticism of Putin's decision.

Belarus shares a 1,250-kilometer (778-mile) border with NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Tactical nuclear weapons, which are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield, have a relatively short range and a much lower yield compared with nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles that are capable of obliterating whole cities.

The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe.

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that some of Russia's strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russias tactical nuclear arsenal.
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GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Saturday toured a hospital built with support from Taipei, reaffirming their close diplomatic ties as the self-governing island seeks to strengthen relations with its remaining allies in Central America.

It was the final day of Tsais three-day visit to Guatemala and came shortly after Honduras announced it would break ties with Taiwan and switch its support to China, joining Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Belize - the next stop on Tsai's trip - is the only other Central American country to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Giammattei once again thanked Taiwans leader for her governments economic support and said Guatemalas friendship with Taiwan was unchangeable.

Sundays visit came a day after the leaders toured the Guatemalan archaeological site of Tikal, one of the most important urban centers of the Mayan civilization.

The hospital in Chimaltengo department built with a donation from Taiwan will serve patients from four departments in Guatemala and cost an estimated $22 million to build. It opened in February.

Tsai said she was pleased with the construction of the hospital, which, according to her, will be able to provide better medical care and service.

Construction of the hospital has brought controversy. Two weeks ago, the attorney general announced an investigation into allegations of a $10 million fraud in the purchase of equipment for the hospital. Prosecutors allege former vice minister of health, Gerardo Hernandez, authorized the purchase of used equipment and material. A company and the director of the hospital were allegedly in on the scheme.

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.

Taiwan now has 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.
In the final year of his first term in office, Gov. Ned Lamont broke through the legislative barriers that had stalled his climate agenda, ushering in laws to electrify the states fleet of thousands of vehicles, phase in new clean-energy power plants and make it easier for car buyers to make the transition to electric.

Now at the start of his second term, the Democratic governors team is hoping to follow up on what activists hailed as a banner year with new legislation that would extend Connecticuts existing carbon-reduction blueprint into sub-sectors of the economy and even, critics say, into peoples homes.

That effort has drawn the support of Lamonts commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Katie Dykes  who would be given greater authority to promulgate new regulations to keep the states carbon emissions in check  along with most of the states environmental advocacy organizations.

Opponents of the bill, meanwhile, have cast it as bureaucratic overreach by Democrats who failed to gain traction on other, more far-reaching proposals.

The legislation has even drawn comparisons to the failed Transportation Climate Initiative, which Lamont had earlier sought to join along with other Northeastern states in a bid to reduce stubbornly high tailpipe emissions.

Following a public hearing earlier this month, the legislatures Environment Committee voted along party lines to advance a slimmed-down version of the bill, sending it to the full Senate. As part of their changes, lawmakers stripped the final two sections from the bill, which would have imposed tougher regulations on gas-powered outdoor equipment such as leaf blowers and lawn mowers.

The remainder of the bill, however, has continued to stir strong opposition among Republicans and the energy industry, setting up another potentially fierce debate over Lamonts climate agenda.

The first, and perhaps most significant development written into the bill is the establishment of sector-specific subtargets for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

That change would allow Dykes and future DEEP commissioners to go beyond the states overall goal of cutting emissions to 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050. Currently, the state is not on track to reach that target, and proponents of the measure hope that by setting new limits on a wide range of industries such as manufacturing, natural gas distribution, and home heating and cooling, Connecticut will soon get in line with its existing targets.

The bill would also establish a new goal of reaching economy-wide, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050  possible through emerging technologies that can remove carbon from the atmosphere  while keeping in place the existing timeline or reducing overall emissions.

Were simply asking and putting in statute that the state does, that DEEP does, what its already been mandated to do in law, said Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. Which is to reach our targets.

Much of the debate surrounding the legislation hinges on a few sentences about two-thirds of the way into the nine-page bill. That section reads, in part, that the DEEP commissioner may adopt market-based compliance mechanisms developed independently or with interested states and Canadian provinces to reduce emissions.

Opponents of the bill, which include distributors of home heating oil and gasoline, charged that the language would allow Connecticut to enter into agreements that are identical or similar to the TCI.

Such agreements are likely to put a price on carbon pollution, which opponents say would be akin to a tax increase on everyday consumers.

Market-based compliance mechanisms is just a very sneaky way of trying to accomplish something that they tried to accomplish a couple of years ago, and thats trying to enter into a cap-and-trade program, said Chris Herb, president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association. At least last time, we had an honest bill that told us exactly what they wanted to do.

Herb predicted that if the language in the present bill were to pass, officials would seek to go beyond the kind of regional coalition once sought by the TCI, and instead join existing cap-and-trade programs such as the one established by Californias Air Resources Board. (Connecticut already follows CARBs emissions regulations for most cars and light duty trucks, and is set to adopt the standards for medium-and-heavy duty trucks under a law signed by Lamont in 2022).

Adopting CARBs price caps for the carbon emissions could increase the price of home heating oil by as much as $663 per household each year, along with raising the price of gasoline by $475 a year, Herb said.

Theres a reason California has the highest fuel prices in the nation, Herb said.

Advocates of the bill argue that its critics have resorted to fear mongering to sway lawmakers by dredging up old battles, including the TCI.

Nathan Frohling, the director of external affairs for the Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, noted that plans to create the regional climate initiative were largely abandoned after Connecticut opted not to join. Any future regulations proposed by DEEP, he added, would have to go through the legislatures Regulations Review Committee, which is made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.

People can fantasize about what they think it might do, but I think they need to go a lot further in actually substantiating the ability and or the likelihood of that happening, Frohling said.

In a statement on Friday, DEEP spokesman Paul Copleman defended the agencys request for new authority to develop regulations combating greenhouse gas emissions, noting that similar laws have been passed in states such as New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Climate change pollutions public health and economic costs to Connecticut are already being felt, particularly by the most vulnerable in our state, which is one of the reasons why the legislature passed mandated targets to reduce greenhouse gas pollution in the first place, Copleman said.

During the debate over the bill ahead of last weeks committee vote, one lawmaker, state Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, speculated that it could be used as a tool by the DEEP commissioner to regulate the methane emissions caused by cows farting and burping  even raising the possibility that cows could one day be expelled from Connecticut.

Frohling said such arguments are an example of the fantastical nature of the arguments against the approach sought in the legislation.

The (agriculture) sector is less than 1 percent of the emissions issue in Connecticut, Frohling said. Its the last thing we need to be worried and focused about.
Palestinian towns in Israel are preparing for a general strike on Sunday in response to the killing of Mohammad Khaled Al-Osaibi, a Palestinian doctor from the town of Houra in the Negev.

Al-Osaibi was killed Saturday in Jerusalem by Israeli police after intervening on behalf of a Palestinian woman who was assaulted by the police, according to witnesses.

The Higher Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens, the top body representing Arab citizens of Israel, urged all Arab local authorities, the public education system, shops and facilities to participate in the strike.

The strike is a demonstration of solidarity with Dr. Al-Osaibi and a protest against the Israeli occupation army's actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the committee.

In addition to the strike, they also called for vigils to be held in Palestinian towns in Israel, starting Saturday evening and continuing through Sunday.

The committee has also decided to turn Dr. Al-Osaibi's funeral, which will be held in his hometown of Houra, into a mass demonstration against "all policies of occupation, oppression and racial discrimination."

This killing has sparked a wave of anger and calls for justice among the Palestinian community, and the strike and demonstrations are a clear expression of their demands for change, the committee said.

Arabs in today's Israel are the Palestinians and their descendants who stayed on their land following the creation of Israel in 1948. They make up about 20 percent of the country's nine million people.

By law, they have rights equal to those of Jewish citizens, but in practice they are subject to discrimination in almost all walks of life, including employment, housing and policing.

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UPDATE: A spokesperson for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information confirmed to the Advance/SILive.com that Priscilla Hanley has been found. No further information was provided.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The NYPD is asking for the publics help to locate a 16-year-old Staten Island girl reported missing from New Springville.

Priscilla Hanley was most recently seen on Sunday around 12:45 a.m. in front of her residence on Lamped Loop, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police described Hanley as standing about 50 tall with a heavy build, hazel eyes, and dark-colored hair. She was seen wearing a gray sweatsuit.

A photo of the girl was provided to the media by police.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.
Slam the gas and ditch the brakes this spring break.

With school vacation quickly approaching, plan a trip to RPM Raceway in Jersey City, N.J. to experience safe and kid-friendly activities. I took my teenaged children and they loved it.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Paul Sieswerda Sr. was enamored by the expansion of exploration in the 1960s.

Humans were going to the moon and treading on ground never reached before, and as new frontiers were being crossed in the sky above, Jacques Cousteau, the French author, filmmaker, inventor and explorer was breaking barriers and making the vast untouched limit of the oceans depths tangible for the first time.

Its there where Sieswerda found his purpose.

After studying English in college, he developed an unbreakable conviction to be part of the excitement blossoming under the oceans surface. That desire would fundamentally begin a long and storied career that brought him to Staten Island, where his passion was met with a city welcoming the oceans largest inhabitants.

Sieswerda spent decades studying marine life through positions in numerous aquariums. In interviews over the course of his life, he has expressed gratitude for the opportunity that has brought him to the frontiers he sought to reach.

Ive been diving in many of the oceans around the world and seen some really amazing things, he said on a podcast last year.

His journey eventually enabled him to serve as curator in the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. There, he received hands-on experience in projects both throughout the city and overseas, allowing him to continue to pursue new advances in marine research.

But, after years passed and he closed the book on his career, his insatiable aspiration to explore never waned.

Thats when the Dongan Hills resident founded Gotham Whale in 2009. Since then, the nonprofit has been a fixture in New York Citys environmental rolodex.

Dongan Hills resident Paul Sieswerda counts seals as part of the Kingsborough Community College Maritime Technology class partnership with the Aquarium for Wild Life Conservation on March 19, 2009. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Under Sieswerdas leadership, the organization has led whale watching tours, conducted vital research and helped inspire a connection to whales as they have made their way into the citys waters, which have been teeming with life in recent years.

He began to see the payoff of pushes to improve the environment and reverse practices that damaged water quality and hurt marine life. As the ocean has become cleaner, fish have arrived and allowed for an abundant ecosystem to proliferate.

However, Gotham Whale is now at a precarious point. Paul Sieswerda Jr. told the Advance/SILive.com his father, now 81, has dealt with recent health issues and is looking for support to keep the organizations mission alive.

Gotham Whale is on a sink-or-swim type of cusp, he said of his fathers nonprofit.

Those pursuits are underway, and the younger Sieswerda, who lives in Massachusetts, said he has been humbled by the current outreach of those looking to volunteer. Other efforts like fundraising and leadership will be needed as Gotham Whale aims to survive and evolve in the coming years.

Sieswerda Jr. has stepped in to aid in that transition as an influx of whales in New York Citys waters has raised interest in getting a first-hand look at seeing the leviathans break the surface of the water.

Were taking it to a call out to volunteers and some leadership to get more involved with sustaining the organization, to bring it to getting some funding sources and get the name out there, he said.

A humpback whale's tail breaks the surface of the water as it dives during an American Princess Cruises Whale Watching tour in the Atlantic Ocean Sunday, July 23, 2017. (Staten Island Advance/ Bill Lyons) Staff-Shot

Since its inception, Sieswerda Jr. said Gotham Whale has been a community-based effort. His father, he said, viewed every ticket purchased for a whale watching tour as a mini grant to study the species that have fueled his passion for the ocean.

That research extends to other environmental efforts, like measuring water quality and food sources that help the ecosystem surrounding the five boroughs to thrive.

Hes maintaining and trying to keep this organization afloat and going forward with looking for more leaders to pass the torch to, he said of his father.

The push to keep Gotham Whale running is a personal one for Sieswerda Jr., who has had a front-row seat to his fathers enthusiasm and love for the water.

Im picking up that passion with keeping his legacy alive to pass on to my kids to understand what their grandfather has done and what hes accomplished, he said.

Those interested in helping the organization can reach out through its website.



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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Since March 29 was designated Vietnam War Veterans Day by President Donald Trump in 2017  the day the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam 50 years ago and the day the last acknowledged prisoners of war were released  Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis thought it fitting to honor U.S. Air Force Cpt. Theodore (Ted) Cohen, posthumously.

Cohen, an Eltingville resident who passed away on Saturday, March 25, was a captain in the U.S. Air Force. He also participated in Malliotakis Monthly Veteran Roundtables and Service Academy Selection Committee.

From the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday she acknowledged Cpt. Cohens service to both community and country.

I rise today on Vietnam Veterans Day to first and foremost thank the Vietnam veterans from my district and from around the country who served, but also for a very special person, Theodore Ted Cohen, who sadly passed away this past Saturday and will be sincerely missed.

A LITTLE ABOUT COHEN

Cohen, who was an Eltingville resident, was born and raised in Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn College where he was a member of the ROTC.

Soon after, his first tour was with the Strategic Air Command not long after the Second World War. Their motto? Peace is our Profession.

After being deployed to Spain (where he became fluent in Spanish) Cohen served in Vietnam. While there, he flew on 26 close air support missions. After returning to the homeland, he spent his nights working with the Daily News prior to working for Avon in international marketing for 25 years.

From the left, Lee Covino, Leon Wallace and U.S. Air Force Cpt. Theodore "Ted" Cohen. (Courtesy/Lee Covino)Staten Island Advance

After his wife fell ill, he retired early to take care of her. They spent their last nine years together traveling around the world.

That passion for taking care of others would continue beyond his wifes passing.

Driven to serve his fellow veterans, not only did he deliver food to homebound servicemen and women, but he also drove them to other appointments and offered his help in completing VA paperwork.

His love for others even extended to youngsters and young adults, as seen by his assistance in reviews and recommendations for high school students to Service Academies.

Cpt. Cohen was a member of the USIVO, AF Association, and the American Legion.

MORE STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

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>> After 6-year wait, Asian Foods celebrates full opening on Staten Island

>> 3 Curtis High School students win prestigious award with full four-year college scholarship

>> New NYC garbage rules for homeowners and businesses go into effect April 1
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A fire that ravaged a Shore Acres home on Sunday morning may have also damaged beyond repair an important piece of Staten Island history.

Over 100 firefighters tended to a blaze at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street, around 9:30 a.m. After the flames and smoke subsided, the charred structure of what was once the home of prominent Staten Island real estate developer and businessman Cornelius G. Kolff sat as officials surveyed the destruction.

The home at 15 Harbor View Pl. is seen in this Google Maps image from 2013. (Google Maps)

Records indicate the single-family home on Harbor View Place was built in 1915. It was unclear if the house was inhabited at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the investigation is ongoing, according to FDNY. Two firefighters were transported to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton. Their conditions are not known at this time.

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

According to Staten Island Advance archives, Kolff was one of the founders of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, and served as its president for three years and its secretary for 25. He was president and secretary of the Staten Island Historical Society, a trustee of the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences and president and director of the Conference House Association, among many other organizations, some of which no longer exist.

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

Kolff was one half of a two-man team responsible for the development of several Staten Island properties, including Woods of Arden, Emerson Hill and Longview at Grymes Hill, according to Historic Richmond Town archives. Those archives also noted Kolff was a real estate appraiser for the city.

Cornelius G. Kolff relentlessly promoted the Island.

Kolff was made an honorary member of the Richmond County Bar Association although he was not a lawyer, according to Advance records. He was also responsible for the establishment of the old Free Port in Stapleton.

Cornelius Kolff, far left, tours Silver Lake Park.

Kolff was also a prolific author, and established the storied log cabin named Philosophers Retreat on Emerson Hill.

As with many prominent figures, Kolff was bestowed the honor of having a Staten Island Ferry boat named after him. The steam-powered ferry was put into service in 1951, and ran for more than 30 years before being turned into a floating inmate dorm for prisoners of Rikers Island. It was eventually sold for scrap in 2003.

The ferryboat Cornelius Kolff is towed up the Kill van Kull. vintage Staten Island Ferry Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance

According to Advance archives, Kolff died in 1950 at the age of 89. In his Staten Island Advance obituary, he was described as a visionary, optimist and constant disseminator of Staten Islands virtues. It was reported that he was known as The Kentucky Colonel and Staten Islands Most Obedient Servant.

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)

The aftermath of a fire at 15 Harbor View Pl. South, near the corner of Bay Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Lovallo)
MANHATTAN, N.Y.  A prisoner found unconscious and unresponsive in his Manhattan jail cell this weekend was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The 38-year-old man was inside the Midtown South Precinct, located at 357 West 35 St., on Saturday when he was discovered unconscious just after 2 p.m., according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police at the precinct requested EMS and rendered aide at the scene, said the NYPD statement. He was transported to Mount Sinai West Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation is ongoing by the Force Investigation Division, according to the NYPD. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

Identification is pending family notification.

DEATHS IN CUSTODY

Earlier this year, a Rikers Island inmate died while in custody. The 65-year-old inmate was the first New York City jails-related death of the year, according to NY1. It is unclear whether other in-custody deaths have occurred in 2023.

NY1 also reported there were 19 Rikers-related deaths in 2022, including a 25-year-old New Springville man.

In 2021, 16 people died in DOC custody, including three people arrested on Staten Island, according to Advance records.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Eric Adams has called Staten Island ground zero when it comes to the deadly opioid epidemic.

But with $150 million set to be doled for anti-drug efforts in New York City, Staten Island is again the forgotten borough.

Its unconscionable. But its sadly par for the course when it comes to how the city deals with Staten Island.

This involves the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund, a $256 million payout announced by Adams and state Attorney General Letitia James in April 2022 from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.

As part of the first round of funding, New York City is set to get $150 million to spend over the next five years.

And Staten Islands share of this windfall? Zero.

Thats because the citys money will be distributed through the NYC Health + Hospitals system. And Staten Island, as we know all too well, is the only borough without a city public hospital. The only Health + Hospitals facility on Staten Island is the Gotham Health Clinic in Clifton.

So Staten Island gets punished twice: We dont get the day-to-day services of a public hospital, which puts a strain on our two other hospital systems, particularly when it comes to emergency room care. And we dont get a share of the spoils when additional money or programs are filtered through the public hospital system.

Is Staten Island part of the City of New York or not?

In testimony in Albany before a board overseeing the settlement fund, state Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo (R-Mid-Island) called the denial of funding for Staten Island discriminatory and likely illegal.

The intent of the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund was never meant to exclude any New Yorker based on their residence or lack of a city hospital, Pirozzolo said in his testimony.

And while the $150 million is just the first round of funding, given the track record, Staten Islanders cant be sure that they will be included in subsequent rounds.

A bi-partisan group of borough elected officials said as much in a letter to Adams last fall. We share their deep skepticism, despite City Halls subsequent assurance that the Island would receive money from the settlement fund.

Pirozzolo said he intends to introduce legislation to rectify the funding problem. Borough officials want a Staten Islander included on the board of the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).

We strongly support the lawmakers on both counts.

District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, whose office deals with the human wreckage of the opioid crisis on a daily basis, was even more pointed about the situation.

McMahon earlier this month told the Health + Hospitals board, You do almost nothing for us!

McMahon, a former congressman and City Council member, has decades-long experience dealing with the city bureaucracy. He knows of what he speaks.

McMahon pointed out that since the pandemic, more Staten Islanders have suffered fatal overdoses than ever before, with 145 borough residents perishing from overdoses in 2021. He said he expects that the final 2022 numbers will set a new, terrible benchmark.

A critical reason for the surge, according to McMahon? The omnipresence of deadly fentanyl in all street drugs, he said.

The district attorney rightly says that to deprive Staten Island of money from the settlement fund would be a slap in the face to every borough family who has lost a loved one to the opioid scourge.

We couldnt agree more. We need that settlement money, the services it will buy and the lives it will save as much or more than any other borough.

When Adams announced the funding last year, he described Staten Island as ground zero for the opioid crisis.

The mayor said that the funds from settlements with opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. would help people on the Island who deal with those suffering from addiction.

So now that the time has come to distribute the funding, we tell Mayor Adams: Show Staten Islanders the money.

MORE FROM THE STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE EDITORIAL BOARD

Quiet those cars and motorcycles | Our Opinion

For true school safety, those who shot student at Tottenville High School must face justice | Our Opinion

We stand with LGBTQ+ people on St. Patricks Day | Our Opinion
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance identifying a group of males in connection with a robbery of a teen last month in St. George.

On March 22 at approximately 11:35 a.m., five unidentified individuals allegedly approached a 15-year-old male in front of 35 Hyatt St. and demanded money, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The group proceeded to forcibly remove the victims wallet containing approximately $150, said police.

Police said the males fled the scene on foot. The victim did not sustain any physical injuries, according to the NYPD statement.

The NYPD provided photos and surveillance video of the individuals sought for questioning.

The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance identifying a group of males in connection with a robbery of a teen last month in St. George. (NYPD)

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  For Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 18, the St. George Theatre will host 1,200 public and parochial school students who will join one of the largest Youth Stand Up to Hate days in New York history.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the heart of the commemoration is a performance of the play Rising Up: Young Holocaust Heroes. The public is also invited to view the play and attend the event, which organizers say is particularly recommended for fourth through 12th graders -- though any age is welcome.

(Tickets may be purchased by email from jdeangelis@sgtr.com or holocaust.center@wagner.edu or call 718-442-2900, ext. 503.)

Our mission is to create upstanders not bystanders, said Lori Weintrob, professor of history at Wagner College, a 2019 Advance Woman of Achievement and Director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center, which organized the commemoration.

In addition to the play, five awards will be presented to anti-bias and Holocaust educators who have inspired thousands of youth with their commitment, including Holocaust Educator of the Year to Jennifer Hermus-Washburn, a teacher at Susan Wagner High School, and recognitions to Traci Frey, Bobby Digi, Ruth Garber and Dr. Vanessa Smith-Washington.

Among the partners in sponsoring the event are the Staten Island Advance/SiLive.com, the Alan and Joan Bernikow Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island, the Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force and the Richmond County District Attorneys office, the Jewish Foundation School and Department of Education District 31 Deputy Superintendent Christine Chavez.

YOUNG HOLOCAUST HEROES

Based on the lives of six Holocaust survivors, Rising Up: Young Holocaust Heroes is performed by Wagner College students of all faiths.

Rising Up is an original play directed by Mickey Tennenbaum. In it, a graduate student named Tali (played by Molly Nemirow), encounters six teenagers caught in war and genocide, Margot (Tina Jean-Louis), Hannah (Taitum Eddington), Egon (Viraj Shriwardhanker), Romi (Nicholas Nunez), Rachel (Caitlyn Efner), and Gabi (Leslie Baez).

The words of these six characters are based on the real testimonies of Holocaust survivors who later came to Staten Island to build a new life. Their individual stories were also documented in a Staten Island Advance/SILive.com project, and as part of the Where Life Leads You documentary.

Their families -- children, grandchildren, cousins -- will be present at the event.

This play celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and honors Holocaust Remembrance Day. The play was written by Lori Weintrob, Theresa McCarthy and Martin Moran and first performed under the title In the Light of One Another: A Meditation on Resistance in 2018.

The second year of the show was documented by the Advance/SILive.com in 2019:

FIVE EDUCATORS TO BE HONORED

From the left, Jennifer Hermus-Washburn, Ruth Garber, Traci Frey, Bobby Digi and Dr. Vanessa Smith-Washington.Staten Island Advance

JENNIFER HERMUS-WASHBURN

Jennifer Hermus-Washburn will receive the Holocaust Educator of the Year Award for her work at Susan Wagner High School for more than 16 years.

She teaches an incredibly popular and beloved, a full-year course she developed herself on the Holocaust and Equality to 165 students of diverse backgrounds each year. She is a member of the prestigious Advisory Council of Anti-Defamation League/Echoes and Reflections since 2018 and was trained at Auschwitz in Poland (2006) and at Yad Vashem (2007) in Israel with the Jewish Holocaust and Resistance Teacher Program.

Hermus-Washburn explains her goals: What we study is the complexity of the human condition and the transformational power of the human story. Sadly, there is always evident antisemitism and intolerance, apparent to our youth. There has never been a time that I thought my work is done.

RUTH GARBER

Ruth Garber, principal of the Jewish Foundation School-SI (JFS-SI), will accept the School Partnership Award for Holocaust Remembrance on behalf of its students, teachers and parents.

The school, founded in 1954, has partnered annually with the Wagner College Holocaust Center since it began in 2014.

Garber, an administrative leader for over 10 years, is deeply committed to Holocaust education and has taken the initiative to make sure we Never Forget.

Programs for Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) and Holocaust Remembrance Day connect JFS-SI middle-school students to local Holocaust survivors and to Wagner College students of all faiths to fight Antisemitism. Tiles created by JFS students adorn the new, permanent Holocaust Education and Action Gallery at Wagner College.

TRACI FREY

Traci Frey, retired Superintendent of Department of Education District 31 and former teacher and Principal at Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning High School, will receive the award for Leadership in Holocaust and Anti-bias Education.

Frey has empowered youth for decades. She oversaw the founding of a Holocaust and Anti-bias Educators of Staten Island Committee, facilitated a workshop for educators on The Power of Women: Resistance in the Holocaust and participated in the annual Egon J. Salmon and Family Commemoration of Kristallnacht and the St. Louis and many other events.

She has promoted the annual Wagner College Holocaust Art and Poetry Contest in schools. Frey is a board member of the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, the proud mother of Rebecca and Katie, and loving wife of her husband of blessed memory, Judge David Frey.

Frey shared these reflections: Lifes greatest work is that which is performed in the service of others. It is all of our duty to ensure that our students, their families, and our community hears the stories of the survivors, cherishes the memories of the dead, and uses this knowledge to ensure that nothing like the Holocaust ever takes place again. My grandfather escaped Eastern Europe in time, but his town in Poland no longer exists. As we see the number of Antisemitic incidents rise, and listen to hateful rhetoric come across our screens, it is imperative that we continue this work to create a light in the darkness and pass the baton to the next generation. The work of the Wagner College Holocaust Center epitomizes this. I am proud to work with the Holocaust Center, both in my former role as a school administrator, and in my current role as a private citizen and volunteer.

BOBBY DIGI

As founder of Canvas Institute of the Arts, Culture and Civic Engagement, Bobby Digi earns the Community-Builder of the Year Award.

For over two decades, he has worked with youth in Africa, Brazil and New York with a laser focus on his hometown of Staten Island, to combat violence and prejudice in all its forms. He has helped build bridges between the Jewish and Black communities in New York.

He founded and continues to organize the 17th annual Youth Empowerment Summit for Black History month, which took place at Wagner College for about a decade and has mentored and guided over 10,000 youth through his numerous programs.

As an MIT certified master practitioner of Compassionate systems, he engages students weekly in 11 schools in Staten Island and around the world.

Digi is driven by a vision of strength in unity among youth: As we toil in our field of dreams, each one of us is working towards a more just and fair society where we all thrive, he said. We are constantly reminded that there are those who are working to diminish our efforts by spreading fake news and harmful narratives. Therefore, we must join with the youths to remind one another that we are much stronger together, building on all that is beautiful from our intersectionality.

DR. VANESSA SMITH-WASHINGTON

Dr. Vanessa Smith-Washington, assistant professor of Education at Wagner College, will receive the Higher Education Upstander Award for her work training future teachers with cultural sensitivity and awareness of the past.

She has facilitated programs with pre-service teachers at Wagner College to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust and Genocide. In particular, she introduced the Rwandan Genocide survivor Consolee Nishimwe face-to-face with her students as part of her classroom curriculum. This award also acknowledges a decades of commitment to empowering youngsters in Dreyfus Intermediate School.

We admire the passion of these five exemplary individuals to build bridges of mutual respect through Holocaust education which ensures a better future for us all, she stated.
Sabre Corporation, a leading software and technology provider to the global travel industry, and American Airlines, have announced the availability of Americans NDC offers through Sabres global distribution system (GDS).



Starting on April 3, Sabre-connected travel buyers, agencies and developer partners will be able to shop, book, and service Americans NDC content, including paid seats, through Sabres Offer and Order APIs, the agency point-of-sale tool, Sabre Red 360, and the online booking tool, GetThere.



We are committed to providing our customers with a modern, seamless retailing experience across all channels, said Thomas Rajan, vice president, global sales at American Airlines. Through Sabres network of travel retailers, well be able to provide our enhanced, rich NDC content to travelers worldwide. This will open new business opportunities to American as well as our travel retail partners, and deliver a better, more tailored experience to the customers we all serve.



Travel buyers connected to the Sabre GDS will be able to choose enhanced offers from American such as the Main Select and Flagship Business Plus fares, ancillary products and the lowest fares available in these channels. They will also have access to more descriptive information on Americans flight offers as well as seat selection enabled in the booking path.



We are excited to reach this milestone with American Airlines and look forward to our ongoing collaboration to provide travel buyers with the offers and services their travelers want, said Kathy Morgan, Vice President, NDC and Airline Supply, Sabre Travel Solutions. While it is still early days for NDC bookings, making this rich NDC content from the worlds largest airline available in Sabre channels is an important step towards the maturing and scaling of NDC distribution.  TradeArabia News Service
The pope, 86, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, but recovered quickly following an infusion of antibiotics and returned to his Vatican residence on Saturday.

Thousands of people waved palm and olive branches as Francis was driven into St. Peter's Square sitting in the back of a white, open-topped vehicle, before descending and starting the service from beneath an ancient Egyptian obelisk.

Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm.

Looking to allay concerns about his health, the Vatican has said he will take part a full array of Easter events this week, the busiest period in the Roman Catholic Church calendar, starting with the open-air Palm Sunday service.

The pontiff, wearing red vestments, spoke with a quiet, but clear voice as he addressed a crowd of more than 30,000 faithful in weak spring sunshine. In his homily he called on people not to ignore those experiencing great suffering and solitude.

"Today their numbers are legion. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers, prisoners are disowned; people written off as problems," he said.

The pope, who marked the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March, has long highlighted the plight of the poor and of migrants. He has suffered a number of ailments in recent years, including severe knee pain, which means he uses a cane and often a wheelchair in his public appearances.

His difficulties with mobility have limited his participation at some events, and as happened last year, a senior cardinal celebrated the actual Mass on Sunday.

Palm Sunday marks the day that the Bible says Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds, the week before Christian believe he rose from the dead following his execution on the Cross.

On Holy Thursday, Francis will celebrate Mass in a prison for juveniles in Rome. It is not yet clear if he will participate in the traditional Good Friday Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession around Rome's ancient Colosseum.

The pope, head of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, will then preside over the Mass on Easter Sunday, the most important day on the Christian liturgical calendar, where he is expected to read his "Urbi et Orbi" [to the city and the world] message.
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Welcome to Quick Q  Monday Medias weekly series dedicated to finding out more about the personalities that matter most in the media landscape.

Each week, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age ask figures across corporate media, business, sport, federal politics, radio, television and culture to answer questions about their lives, careers, hobbies and news habits.

This weeks conversation is with Education Minister Jason Clare.

Education Minister Jason Clare with his parents, Pam and Bob.

How did you get your big break?

I owe so much to the teachers I had at Cabramatta Public School and Canley Vale High. They didnt just teach me how to read and write, they helped me see what might be possible.
Aussies urged to prioritise flu vaccines ahead of 'significant' season

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Albanese added: We will never again hear his voice anew, but his words  and his legacy  will keep speaking to us. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also expressed his condolences, describing the Indigenous leaders passing as a sad occasion for Australians. The news of the passing of Yunupingu today will resonate around the nation, the Liberal leader said. When I visited Arnhem Land in February, the influence of Yunupingu was omnipresent in the community, he said.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Assistant Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said Yunupingu worked with more than 10 prime ministers and lived through many disappointments. In his final months, Yunupingu reminded us: the future is our responsibility, and that we all have a responsibility to show leadership on reconciliation, recognition, and the referendum. Yunupingu was invested an honorary doctor of law by the University of Melbourne in 2015. Credit: Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation As a leader, Yunupingu stood firm, said Greens leader Adam Bandt. Yunupingu embodied the strength and heart of his people, he said. His legacy deserves a resounding Yes: Yes for Voice, Yes for Truth, and Yes for sovereignty through Treaty.

Academic Professor Marcia Langton, who heads the prime ministers working group on an Indigenous Voice, said she knew Yunupingu for more than four decades and described him as an unwavering friend, a guide and a teacher. He loved his Country and his culture, and held his ceremonial responsibilities as the highest priority, she said. If he had not been such a great leader, not just Aboriginal cultures across Australia, but also Australian culture would have suffered, and been far less rich ... his representations were always for the good of his people and other peoples. Yunupingu with Noel Pearson and Marcia Langton at Garma in 2018. Credit: Melanie Faith Dove/Yothu Yindi Foundation Senator Patrick Dodson, who was the director of the Central Land Council when Yunupingu chaired the Northern Land Council, described him as a canny and forceful operator.

He weathered tempestuous engagements with good humour and was always prepared to defend customary law and the rights of traditional owners. Early years The young Yunupingu, who did not see a European until early childhood, attended Yirrkala mission school at age 11 then, at 17, the Methodist Bible College in Brisbane, more than 3500 kilometres away from his ancestral and spiritual homeland. His activism began in 1963, when Yunupingu assisted father Mungarrawuy and uncle Djalalingba in drafting the Yirrkala Bark Petitions. The petitions asserted customary law and native title rights over land, including a 360 square kilometre area over which the Menzies government had granted a commercial bauxite mining lease without consulting traditional Gumatj owners. The historic barks feature traditional art surrounding text in both English and Yolngu and are considered the first traditional documents recognised by the federal parliament.

The Barunga Statement in Parliament House, Canberra. Credit: Andrew Taylor Although ultimately unsuccessful in getting ancestral Yolngu land rights recognised by parliament or stopping the bauxite mine, the petitions led to legal action in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. That case, where Yunupingu served as a court interpreter, was the first in Commonwealth history in which First Nations people challenged mining company leases by asserting native title rights. The case, along with the barks, contributed to the establishment of the Whitlam governments Woodward royal commission in 1973. Yunupingu served on the royal commission as an adviser, as the inquiry sought ways to recognise Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory. Throughout the 1970s, Yunupingu joined other Yolngu leaders to lead the homelands movement in the Northern Territory, which involved small groups of Aboriginal people leaving larger, often mission-run, settlements and returning to their traditional lands. A man of influence In 1975, Yunupingu worked with then-prime minister Malcolm Fraser on what would become the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. He was elected chairman of the Northern Land Council the following year, a position he would hold twice, for a total of 23 years, before retiring from the role in 2004.

He was named Australian of the Year in 1978 and was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 1985. As chair of the Northern Land Council, Yunupingu handed the Barunga Statement to then-prime minister Bob Hawke in 1988. Three years later, the statement was officially welcomed into Parliament House with an unveiling that included Yunupingu giving a speech alongside Hawke. The official event was Hawkes last as prime minister. The Yirrkala Barks and the Barunga Statement remain permanently on exhibit in Parliament House today, occasionally to the dismay of Yunupingu himself. In the early 90s, Yunupingu was instrumental in the Eva Valley Statement, which stemmed from a meeting of around 400 First Nations leaders responding to the 1992 Mabo decision that overturned the terra nullius doctrine. The statement called for veto rights over mining and pastoral leases on native-title land, acceptance that native title cannot be extinguished by leases, and a block on developers accessing Country without permission.

During this era, while serving as either chairman or board member of the Northern Land Council, Yunupingu drew criticism for his enterprising position on mining, employment and business development in Aboriginal communities, and for his perceived lavish lifestyle while clan neighbours and family members continued struggling financially. In 1993, Yunupingu established the Yothu Yindi Foundation alongside other Yolngu leaders from five regional clan groups. During the 90s he also continued practising his visual art, contributing to many of the early album covers by musical group Yothu Yindi. In 1998, the National Trust of Australia named Yunupingu as one of its national living treasures. Before the decade ended, he also founded the Garma Festival with his brother, Dr M Yunupingu. It has since become the nations largest and most politically influential Indigenous gathering. In the new millennium, Yunupingu became active in calling for constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. From 2007 he hosted prime ministers Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull at Yirrkala and Gulkula in north-east Arnhem Land.

In a 2016 essay titled Rom Watangu, Yunupingu wrote that Australia lacked a prime minister to lead and complete the task of reconciling the country to the truth, find unity and achieve the settlement. All the [p]rime [m]inisters I have known have been friendly to me, but I mark them all hard, he wrote. None of them has done what I asked, or delivered what they promised. I asked each one to be truthful and to honestly recognise the truth of history, and to reconcile that truth in a way that finds unity in the future. But they are who they are and they were not able or not permitted to complete their task. The leader of the nation should accept his or her commission and simply say what he or she thinks is right, and put that forward for the nation to correct, or to accept, or to reject. Let us have an honest answer from the Australian people to an honest question. Colossus as a leader In a 2019, he invited Australias first Indigenous minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Ken Wyatt, to the opening of the four-day Garma festival.

There, Yunupingu again stressed the importance of unity through constitutional reforms to recognise First Nations, and expressed his ongoing frustrations with the ducking on commitment from Canberra. He asked me to bring my booka (kangaroo skin cloak) to Garma and had the Gumatj men take me down to the ceremonial area, and I was asked to lead the elders and the men out to the crowd for the opening ceremony. When I sat beside him, he said, Its good when our cultures come together, and we sat side by side, Wyatt told this masthead. Yunupingu at the 2019 Garma Festival. He co-founded the annual gathering and regularly attended. Credit: Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation He then informed me that he was going to threaten to throw the Commonwealth Constitution into the Arafura Sea. That was his sort of humour, but he was also genuinely frustrated with successive prime ministers who had failed to deliver on constitutional recognition and many other matters that had remained unresolved. Wyatt said Yunupingu genuinely wanted to see long, sustained and substantial change that would leave a better future for future generations.

He was a colossus as a leader. He was very considered, very wise. In my time as minister I always appreciated his counsel. His sage approach to outcomes were always more meaningful than symbolic. This was particularly the case when it came to his advocacy for local and regional self-determined models for Voice based on local community decisions  one size does not fit all. In 2019, Yunupingu also launched federal court action against the Commonwealth, alleging the 1968 acquisition of Gumatj native title rights for mining was unlawful. As chair of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, he was outspoken about education and housing availability for Yolngu peoples, established a knowledge centre at Gulkula in 2014, struck a 99-year town lease for Gunyangara in 2017, and established the Gumatj-owned Gulkula bauxite mine in 2018  the first Aboriginal-owned and operated commercial mine in Australia. Last year, he oversaw the establishment of the Gulkula Space Base in partnership with NASA. When the Albanese government committed to implementing an enshrined Indigenous Voice, Yunupingu questioned whether the latest prime minister was serious.

Yunupingu has been remembered as a giant of the nation. Credit: Peter Eve/Yothu Yindi Foundation Two weeks ago, Yunupingu watched on as Albanese announced the final wording of the Voice referendum proposition and the cabinets proposed constitutional amendment. The PM called Yunupingu after the announcement, relaying what had occurred. Albaneses words were translated by Yunupingus brother, Djawa, into Yolngu Matha. Yunupingus response was concise: Manymak  good, OK. Binmila Yunupingu paid tribute to her father, saying his death was a profound loss to his family and community. Yunupingu lived his entire life on his land, surrounded by the sound of bilma (clapsticks), yidaki (didgeridoo) and the manikay (sacred song) and dhulang (sacred designs) of our people. He was born on our land, he lived all his life on our land and he died on our land secure in the knowledge that his lifes work was secure, she said. He had friendship and loyalty to so many people, at all levels, from all places. Our father was driven by a vision for the future of this nation, his peoples place in the nation and the rightful place for Aboriginal people everywhere.

Loading In leaving us, we know that Dads loss will be felt in many hearts and minds. We ask you to mourn his passing in your own way, but we as a family encourage you to rejoice in the gift of his life and leadership. There will never be another like him. In a statement, the Yothu Yindi Foundation described Yunupingu as a giant of the nation whose contribution to public life spanned seven decades. He was first and foremost a leader of his people, whose welfare was his most pressing concern and responsibility, the statement said. Yunupingu is survived by a large family, including his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The national consumer watchdog has revised its forecast of gas supply shortages this year saying it now expects enough gas supply for Australias East Coast.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said that if liquified natural gas (LNG) producers commit an extra three petajoules (PJ) of gas to the domestic market, in addition to amounts already contracted, a shortfall will likely be avoided, but we remain concerned about adequacy of gas supply in the winter months.

ACCC chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb. Credit: Peter Rae

The available data shows that the outlook for the East Coast gas market has improved and the market is not expected to face a material shortfall in 2023, she said.

The improvement in the outlook since the ACCCs previous report was attributed to an increase in forecast gas production, and the LNG producers committing some additional sales to the domestic market.

East coast LNG producers are expected to have uncontracted gas in each of the quarters of 2023 that could be used to prevent any shortfalls. However, they have firmly committed 45 PJ of their previously uncontracted gas to LNG spot cargoes or additional sales, leaving less uncontracted gas, Cass-Gottlieb said.

If gas supply is brought forward, for example through gas swaps, or if LNG producers commit further gas to the domestic market, supply should be sufficient to meet demand in the third quarter of 2023.

We encourage producers to consider this information and amend their plans to ensure domestic demand will be met each quarter.
Eddie Woo says it only takes nine words from a parent to make a student struggle with numbers for the rest of their 13 years of schooling: Dont worry, I was never any good at maths.

Often used to console a child struggling with the subject, Woo said it usually makes a student feel worse about their inability to solve maths problems  and has a long-lasting effect on their numeracy skills.

Eddie Woo says a childs approach to maths is heavily influenced by a parents attitude. Credit: Louise Kennerley

It is a well-meaning statement, but it has disastrous effects, he said.

It is meant to reassure a kid and say dont stress; the irony is, it has the opposite effect  it reinforces mathematics anxiety.
A baby has died after a woman allegedly attempted to drown him and two days later restricted his breathing in Sydneys north-west.

Emergency services attended a home at Berowra Heights at about 12.30pm on March 21 after reports that a 10-month-old boy was found unresponsive.

He was treated at the home by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to The Childrens Hospital at Westmead in a critical condition. He died on March 23.

Officers from Ku-ring-gai Police Area Command established a crime scene and began initial inquiries into the incident.

Detectives from the child abuse squad attended the hospital on March 22, when they spoke with a 30-year-old woman.
Twenty-year-old Sister Liguori climbed out of the window of her Wagga Wagga convent one foggy winter night in 1920 wearing just her nightdress.

It seems every newspaper in Australia was fascinated with the story of Brigid (aka Bridget) Mary Partridge, originally from Ireland. But the motive for her disappearance as the nun on the run remained a mystery  until now.

Crowds at the Supreme Court in Sydney for the opening of the case against Bridget Mary Partridge. Credit: SMH

Fuelling the flames of controversy was the fact that the Catholic Church wanted her back, and the Protestant church was providing refuge for the itinerant nun. The Catholic authorities went to all lengths to apprehend her. When they did catch up with her, they claimed she was insane, arguing she should be in an asylum.

She was taken to Reception House for the Insane in Darlinghurst to be held for medical observation. She was then declared sane and released. With no apology from the bishop for the slur cast on her character, she turned to the courts for redress and 5000 (roughly $370,000 in todays money) in compensation.
Dana Monkman has been unable to work since she was hit by a Lime e-scooter rider, breaking her ankle as she crossed Swanston Street in February.

Over eight weeks, the 46-year-old hairdresser has used all her sick days and long-service leave and is now claiming Centrelink payments to survive, only just covering the rent for the house in Melbournes west that she shares with her 11-year-old daughter.

Dana Monkman says shes been left in limbo after a scooter rider broke her ankle eight weeks ago. Credit: Justin McManus

Im already a low-income earner and I dont have any savings, she said. They want me to start physiotherapy, but I dont have an income, so I cant afford physiotherapy.

Monkman is one of a number of people unable to claim compensation after they were injured by either a hired or privately owned scooter.
The result of Saturdays Aston byelection is indelible proof that the Liberal Party is being expelled from its heartland in one of Australias biggest cities and faces a daunting challenge in making itself relevant to contemporary politics.

Federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton accepted responsibility for leading an Australian opposition party that lost a byelection for the first time in a century, but he blamed the loss on the Liberals standing in Victoria, which he noted had been in a decline since John Howard won government.

I think in recent years the Liberal Party has allowed itself to be defined by our opponents, and I think its time for us to take that back, he said. Stand up for what we believe in, whether its trendy or not.

But its obvious voters are not buying the old pitch. Dutton would be better off grasping the nettle and recasting the many Liberal policies that have lost traction with voters, especially among women, younger voters and ethnic communities.
Since the 1789 storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution, populist uprisings have either been mythologized or demonized. The socialist collapse in the late 20th century has relegated such revolutions to the horror section of the library. Italian author Enzo Traversos Revolution: An Intellectual History (2021) reinterprets and rehabilitates the history of 19th- and 20th-century revolutions by avoiding unmerited idealization and revisionism. Traverso traces the cultural impact of these violent uprisings and calls them milestones of modern history.

Traverso is a renowned scholar of European intellectual history and the author of numerous works such as Left-Wing Melancholia: Marxism, History, and Memory (2017). His book on revolutions is an eclectic constellation of dialectical images a la Walter Benjamin that is so diverse, it challenges the reader to sort through all the revolutionary chaos. We accepted that challenge and offer the following guide to his ideas and anecdotes.

Anonymous. This is the essence of revolution: anonymous masses capable of uniting, self-organizing, and becoming an unstoppable force. This is the romantic aspect of revolutions that has captivated so many intellectuals  transformation from the bottom up.

Bogdanov. The USSR dreamed of creating a new man: homo sovieticus. Nothing was impossible, and the remarkable Aleksandr Bogdanov took this literally. His utopianism soared in science fiction novels that described communist societies on Mars enjoying eternal youth thanks to regular blood transfusions. In 1926, Bogdanov even persuaded the Soviet government to set up a blood transfusion institute with him in charge. According to Enzo Traverso, Bogdanov died from a tainted blood transfusion. Bogdanov believed resurrection was possible, but so far there are no signs of his return.

Celestial. Heaven will be stormed and conquered, according to the Marxist canon. But the Winter Palace surrendered peacefully  there was nothing epic about it. Thats why Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein had to conjure up a more dramatic scene for October (1928), his film about the 1917 October Revolution. An attempt to portray the truth with a lie.

Donoso. There is a Spanish link between classic counterrevolution and modern fascism, and his name is Juan Maria Donoso Cortes (1809-1853). A philosopher, essayist, statesman and 19th-century apocalyptic visionary, he saw revolutions as a societal disease. It made no difference whether the cure was dictatorship or violence, the important thing was to eradicate the disease. Carl Schmidt called Donoso the most radical of the counterrevolutionaries, an extreme reactionary and a conservative of almost medieval fanaticism.

Historian Enzo Traverso, in a 2017 photograph. Monica Torres

Excluded. They were always excluded. The Jacobin Convention outlawed all womens clubs in 1793. Any excuse would do, including the medical communitys opinion that genital location (internal in women, external in men) determined an individuals public role  women should stay indoors while men should lead public lives. Traverso sums up this type of thinking by saying, Human rights were really just mens rights. Notable exceptions like Rosa Luxemburg, Dolores Ibarruri (La Pasionaria), Angelica Balabanoff and Ruth Fischer werent enough to bring the gender issue to the fore. But one woman succeeded  Claude Cahun. She was the lesbian daughter of French bourgeois parents who became a surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer, defender of queer identity, dissident Marxist, secular Jew, and resistance activist. Traverso believes Cahun possessed a pure revolutionary spirit.

Fresco. In 1932, Mexican artist Diego Rivera was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller to add a mural to the soaring lobby of Rockefeller Center in New York City. Before it was even finished, Rockefeller fired Rivera and destroyed Man at the Crossroads. But Rivera avenged the ignominy when the Mexican government gave him free hand to create another fresco for the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. And so the Sistine Chapel of the Mexican Revolution was illuminated by Man, Controller of the Universe. The revolution is on full display in IMAX format: the epic battles, the masses, the conflict, the repression and the future.

'Man, Controller of the Universe' (1934) by Diego Rivera is a revision of the mural commissioned and later destroyed by Nelson Rockefeller. Palacio de Bellas Artes

Guillotine. Surrounded by a frenzied mob, the guillotine awaited Louis XVI. Drums rolled and the blade dropped, severing the royal head. The executioner held it up for all to see, and the crowd shouted, Long live the Republic!

H-hour. Revolution is the locomotive of history, said Karl Marx. The metaphor came to represent the crucial role of the railroad in the expansion of capitalism and the proletarianization of the peasantry. But something was missing. For the trains to run properly, schedules had to be synchronized because clocks fluctuated from one area to another. As railways expanded, Greenwich Mean Time was established in 1884 and became the planets official clock. The capitalist economy demanded punctuality. Perhaps that is why Joseph Conrad wrote The Secret Agent (1907), a novel about an anarchist plot to bomb the Greenwich Observatory (UK) and blow up time.

Iconoclasm. Vladimir Lenin was emphatic  the bourgeois state could not be transformed. It had to be vanquished with violence and then reinvented. But only the first part of Lenins formula is remembered  destructive rage  just like the firing squads that shot up religious icons in churches during the Spanish Civil War. Sometimes fear is the message.

Juvenile. This is the undercurrent that runs throughout the Traversos book and almost all of its protagonists: revolution is for the young.

Karakozov. Dmitry Karakozov specialized in killing kings and statesmen, a type of propaganda in action. His bloodthirsty revolutionary deed was truly anarchist reductionism.

Lukacs. The role of intellectuals in the vanguard of revolutions is a prominent theme in Traversos book. One anecdote, true or not, will suffice. In 1956, when Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to put down the uprising, a Red Army officer asked Georg Lukacs to hand over his gun. The old revolutionary-philosopher held out his pen.

Mummy. Lenins widow said no, and Trotsky and Bukharin were appalled at the idea. Mummify Lenin like some sort of Orthodox saint? They were atheists, after all. Nonetheless, a physical body made up of 23% of Lenins actual corpse was fabricated and placed on permanent display. As it says in Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the epic poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky, Lenin and life are comrades / Lenin lived / Lenin lives / Lenin will live.

Lenins mummified body on display in the mausoleum in Moscows Red Square. REUTERS

Nechayev. The author of the radical manifesto Catechism of a Revolutionary (1869), Sergey Nechayev believed every revolutionary had a moral and political responsibility to destroy the civilized order in its entirety. Leave nothing intact. For the revolutionary, there is only one joy  the success of the revolution. Day and night, he must have only one thought, one goal: merciless destruction.

Nangotarse. In Central America, the word means humiliation, submission, and it seemed to be the destiny of the colonized. For Frantz Fanon, the revolutionary author of The Wretched of the Earth (1961), the oppressed had to rise up at all costs and free themselves from violence using violence.

Orgasm. In 1917, the Great October Socialist Revolution in the Soviet Union changed everything. Even in the bedroom, said revolutionary women like Alexandra Kollontai, a Soviet ideologue who espoused a new ideal for women and denounced the unequal sexual morality of the times. Social liberation meant sexual liberation for all, including women. Socialist happiness meant satisfying orgasms.

Pariahs. This is how high society viewed the revolutionary intellectuals of the 19th century. Alexis de Tocqueville, the paradigm of the counterrevolutionary aristocracy, describes the first time he saw Auguste Blanqui, leader of the Paris Communes far-left faction. He had bloodless and emaciated cheeks, white lips, a sickly, wicked and repulsive expression, a dirty pallor, the appearance of a moldy corpse He seemed to have spent his life in a sewer from which he had just emerged.

Quid. Revolutions tell us about the past, but perhaps they also foretell the future, writes Traverso. This is the central thesis of his book.

Razor. Hundreds of thousands of Spanish women aligned with the losing Republican side during the Spanish Civil War had their heads forcibly shaved. Their Republican sins were inscribed on their heads, a visible symbol of the new Francoist order. But this crude insult was also used by the other side. Traverso describes how in newly liberated Italian and French cities after 1945, women accused of horizontal collaboration with the Nazis and Fascists were taken to the central square and had their heads shaved in front of jeering crowds.

Symbol. La Marseillaise is an epic revolutionary anthem, written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle while he was in hiding after fighting for the Paris Commune. Traverso describes the lyrics as messianic, finding a fair dose of religion in the revolutionary sentiment of Frances national anthem.

Tatter. A red tattered cloth, a rag  nothing more. It was used by royal authorities to execute the sans-culottes  the lower classes during the French Revolution. But the common people appropriated the red rag, and it came to symbolize the color of revolutions since 1848.

Utopia. It has a cruel ending: disappointment. Emma Goldman and her companion, anarchist Alexander Berkman experienced it while living in the USSR. In The Bolshevik Myth (1922), Berkman bitterly wrote, One by one, the embers of hope have been extinguished. Terror and despotism have crushed the life born in October. The slogans of the revolution have been renounced The revolution is dead, its spirit weeps in the desert.

Violence. Mao summed it up: A revolution is not a dinner party. Traverso explicitly acknowledges this stark fact: Violence is in its genes.

Walter Benjamin. The German philosopher is the leading light of Traversos book who illuminates everything with one idea  revolutions are leaps into the future in which the past reappears, in which memory flashes.

X. An X marks a crossroads. It was 1968, when a constellation of revolutionary events shook the world. Traverso writes about those events: The revolution had to be anti-capitalist in the West, anti-Stalinist in the East and anti-imperialist in the South. Everything came together in 1968: the barricades in Paris, the Prague Spring and the Tet offensive in Vietnam.

Yearning. Revolutions usually begin momentously and end in tragedy. That is why Traverso writes, Their memory is steeped in mourning for their martyrs, a yearning counterweight to the narrative of power.

Zombies. The fall of the Berlin Wall shattered the socialist utopia. But because Traverso refuses to let it die, he writes, The left of the 21st century must reinvent and distance itself from previous patterns. It must create new models, new ideas and a new utopian imagination. This is how revolutions are born.

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has accepted responsibility for the Liberal Partys historic byelection defeat in Aston, saying the partys brand had suffered terribly in Victoria over recent years.

Dutton vowed to continue as leader until the next election and said he was determined to rebuild the party to put it in a winning position at the next federal election.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton after the Liberal Partys loss in the Aston byelection. Credit: Penny Stephens

Labors upset victory in Aston, held by the Liberals since 1990, was the first time in a century that a sitting government has won a seat from the opposition in a byelection.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrated Labors victory alongside successful candidate Mary Doyle on Sunday morning, accusing Dutton of being too negative and focusing too much on internal party issues.
This leads to a bizarre reality: after being smashed at the byelection, Dutton remains the default choice for the leadership. There is a live question about replacing him before the next election but no talk of an imminent spill. Many like him, respect him and praise the way he works with all sides of the party.

The question for some Liberals, however, is whether Dutton will do anything with his leadership. He has done little so far: no listening tour to engage voters, no rethink on policy to heed the lessons of the election, no inkling of a new idea on climate change, no attempt to win over Chinese voters who recoiled from the warlike rhetoric of the last government.

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I have had one test in my leadership and that is whether we can keep the party together, he said on Saturday night. Unity is a constant challenge for any major party, but Australians need a more compelling reason to return to the Liberals. Why should they applaud the poverty of Duttons agenda?

What is clear, so far, is that Dutton ensures unity by avoiding hard decisions.My fear is that keeping the party together comes at the cost of fixing the party, says one senior Liberal. In theory, the Liberal leader could accept the verdict of the election on climate and support deeper cuts to emissions, but this would mean telling the base what it does not want to hear. Dutton is yet to do that on any issue.
The states environmental watchdog has fined Snowy Hydro for polluting waterways in Kosciuszko National Park, prompting a warning from new Environment Minister Penny Sharpe that she expects greater care to be taken in sensitive conservation areas.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has also cautioned that there must be robust controls to protect the environment or industry operators face serious regulatory action.

Snowy Hydro has been fined $30,000 after two incidents in Kosciuszko National Park.

Snowy Hydro Limited and its contractor WeBuild were last week each issued with $15,000 penalty notices following two alleged pollution incidents in Kosciuszko National Park.

The EPA alleges that inadequate sediment and erosion controls were established despite warnings by officers which saw a sediment plume stretch for more than two kilometres down Yarrangobilly River, while Nungar Creek was hit with sediment-laden water from roadworks at Tantangara.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan will lead a five-day trade mission to China to reconnect with the states largest trading partner  and unlike his Victorian counterpart, hes taking the media.

Beginning on April 17, the first trade mission since the start of the coronavirus pandemic will include high-level meetings with key central government and industry leaders in energy, resources, science and innovation, international education and aviation.

Premier Mark McGowan will visit China this month. Credit: Kerry Faulkner

WAs economic relationship with China is crucial to the strength of our local economy, supporting thousands and thousands of local WA jobs, the premier said on Sunday.

Developed over several decades, our economic relationship with China is a mutually fruitful one.
Jalalabad: Afghanistans only women-run radio station has been shut down for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, a Taliban official said.

Sadai Banowan, which means womens voice in Dari, started 10 years ago in the countrys north-east. It has eight staff, six of them female.

Najia Sorosh head of Sadai Banowan, a women-run radio station, and other staff in the broadcasting studio last month. Credit: AP

Moezuddin Ahmadi, the director for Information and Culture in Badakhshan province, said the station violated the laws and regulations of the Islamic Emirate several times by broadcasting songs and music during Ramadan and was shuttered because of the breach.

If this radio station accepts the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and gives a guarantee that it will not repeat such a thing again, we will allow it to operate again, said Ahmadi.
Rome: Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis party has proposed imposing fines of up to 100,000 ($163,000) on public and private entities that 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 ruling party of Giorgia Meloni, Italys prime minister, has pushed new measures to stop the use of foreign languages, especially English. Credit: Bloomberg

The bill was presented by lawmakers from Melonis 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.
On Saturday, crews were cleaning up around the Apollo, with forklifts pulling away loose bricks. Business owners picked up glass shards and covered shattered windows. Residents of Wynne, a community of about 8000 people 80 kilometres west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke on Saturday to find the high schools roof shredded and its windows blown out. Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses. Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered. The gym of Crestview Elementary School, where students usually gather to ride out storms, was damaged by a tornado. Credit: AP Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead. A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm, she said. Recovery was already under way, with workers using chain saws to cut fallen trees and bulldozers moving material from shattered structures. Utility trucks worked to restore power. Family and neighbors look through debris on Ed Whestines farm southwest of Wellman, Iowa, after it was hit by tornadoes. Credit: AP Nine people died in Tennessees McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. The majority of the damage has been done to homes and residential areas, said David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville.

Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her two-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming. She kept asking me, What do I do, daddy? Day said, tearing up. I didnt know what to say. A vehicle is crushed under the roof of the Apollo Theatre where it collapsed during a tornado. Credit: AP After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and over barbed wire and drove to nearby family. On Saturday evening, baby clothes were still strewn about the site. In Memphis, police spokesman Christopher Williams said late on Saturday that there were three deaths believed to be weather-related: two children and an adult who died when a tree fell on a house.

Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions from Friday night are expected to return on Tuesday. Loading In Crawford County, Illinois, three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron, Bill Burke, the county board chair, said. Sheriff Bill Rutan said 60 to 100 families were displaced. Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indianas Sullivan County, about 150 kilometres south-west of Indianapolis. Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4000 is essentially unrecognisable right now and that several people were rescued overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said. Im really, really shocked there isnt more as far as human issues, he said, adding that recovery is going to be a very long process. In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than 50 were hurt, some critically. The National Weather Service said that tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165 mph (265 kph) and a path as long as 40 kilometres.

Masoud Shahed-Ghaznavi was lunching at home when it roared through his neighbourhood, causing him to hide in the laundry room as plaster sheeting fell and windows shattered. When he emerged, the house was mostly rubble. Everything around me is sky, Shahed-Ghaznavi recalled on Saturday. He barely slept on Friday night. When I closed my eyes, I couldnt sleep, imagined I was here, he said Saturday outside his home. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. Another suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabamas Madison County, officials said, and in northern Mississippis Pontotoc County, one death and four injuries were confirmed.

Loading Tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa and broke windows northeast of Peoria, Illinois. The storms struck just hours after President Joe Biden visited Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town. It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes from the latest event, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Centre. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said. Thats a quite active day, he said. But thats not unprecedented.
PHILIPSBURG:--- In recognition of Rotarys Peace and Conflict Prevention Month, observed during February, members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset gathered at the Sundial School to paint a peace mural to promote peace among the youth. The concept, design, and painting were done by the members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset.

One of Rotarys key areas of focus involves promoting peace and Rotary clubs worldwide initiate projects centered around the ideal of peace. Given the constant uproar among the youth in our community and the schools, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset felt a sense of urgency to tackle the issue head-on. The intention behind the painting of the peace mural is that it would serve as a daily inspiration to the students, faculty, and staff and a reminder of the importance of exhibiting peace.

Peace is a never-ending process that allows us to all come together despite our differences. We have all been experiencing challenges with the youth of today, however, ignoring and constantly pointing out their wrongdoings without addressing it is not the solution. Sharing and promoting peace does not only start in school or at home, but with service clubs such as Rotary to guide the youth in trying to be more calm and pleasant in their words and actions, Service Projects Chair Lucrecia Lake stated.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the management of the Sundial School for the opportunity to execute our vision of the peace mural.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Colebay at 7:30 pm. The club can be contacted via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
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 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, they said.

A reporter for The New York Times who was temporarily in Moscow, Valerie Hopkins, left after Gershkovichs 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.

Gershkovichs 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 Kremlins 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. Gershkovichs 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 Tuesdays 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 Gershkovichs 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 Gershkovichs arrest from Latvia. In a memo announcing Ebels hiring last fall, the Post said its Russian team is working from outside the country.

The Associated Press story about Gershkovichs 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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Chinese FM says Japanese chip curbs to drive Beijing's self-reliance



Beijing, April 2 (AFP) Apr 02, 2023



Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Japanese counterpart on Sunday that Tokyo's new export controls on semiconductor equipment will only further drive Beijing's quest "to become self-reliant".

Yoshimasa Hayashi's visit to China is the first by a Japanese foreign minister since December 2019, ending a gap of over three years during which bilateral ties have sharply deteriorated.

The ministers' Beijing meeting comes just days after Japan unveiled planned export controls on 23 items used to make semiconductors, following US pressure for countries to restrict China's access to the technology.

"The United States used bullying tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating its old tricks against China," Qin told his counterpart, according to a readout of the meeting.

He also accused Japan of being Washington's "minion".

"The blockade will only further stimulate China's determination to become self-reliant," he said.

Japan's controls were preceded by similar restrictions imposed last month by the Netherlands, where authorities cited "international and national security".

In comments to reporters, Hayashi defended the new restrictions on Sunday as "consistent with international rules", adding that they were "not aimed at a specific country".

Semiconductors have become a major flashpoint in the souring ties between China and Japan -- the world's second and third-largest economies.

The foreign ministers also discussed China's recent detention of a Japanese national working in Beijing for Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company Astellas under allegations of espionage.

Hayashi told reporters after the meeting that Japan had "protested" the detainment, and called for "the immediate release of that individual".

Qin said Sunday that "China would deal with him according to the law", without offering further details on the case.

The two sides also discussed a disputed group of islands that Japan calls the Senkakus and Beijing the Diaoyus.

"We reiterated my serious concerns about the East China Sea, including the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands, as well as China's increased military activities in and around our country, including cooperation with Russia," said Hayashi.

Beijing's growing regional assertiveness will likely be among the key topics discussed at this year's G7 meeting, which Japan is scheduled to host.
A group of South Korean women in traditional dress visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, on July 1, 2022. ANTHONY WALLACE (AFP/Getty Images)

Many South Korean women are so fed up with machismo that, in recent years, theyve taken up a radical stance: refusing to marry, date men, have sex and reproduce. This movementknown as the four nosbegan in 2019. It has since spread, in the hope that the conservative government of Yoon Suk-yeol will adopt measures that promote gender equality.

Despite the solid academic credentials of women in South Korea, according to a study by Statista, the gender pay gap is scandalous: men earn 30% more than women. This makes the country, according to the Korean Herald, the most gender-unequal OECD nation.

Added to this is a poor work-life balance in South Korea, as well as a disparity in the distribution of domestic tasks. Women often assume the responsibility of raising children, pushing them to have to choose between working or being mothers. In South Korea, the work week is 52-hours-long.

The four nos is a desperate cry that arose after the incumbent South Korean president began his term. He has stated his intention to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The repercussions of the so-called birth strike have been severe for the country. For three consecutive years, the country has had the lowest fertility rate in the world, with an average of 0.78 children per woman.

Life isnt going well for many young people, for whom getting married or having children is no longer natural, Lee Sang-lim, a demographer at the Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs, told The New York Times.

The country is on alert, since an average of 2.1 children per woman is estimated to be necessary to keep the population stable. In 2020, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births in South Korea. Many cities are at risk of disappearing in the coming years.

Hawon Jung, the author of Flowers of Fire: The Inside Story of South Koreas Feminist Movement, tells EL PAIS that the movement was sparked by the governmental policies in a country that she considers to be very conservative.

Single mothers are stigmatized, doctors refuse to give IVF to women without a male partnereven though its not illegaland out-of-wedlock births represent only 2% of the total, compared to the average of 41% for women in the OECD. Marriage and childbirth are closely intertwined; women are pressured to sacrifice their career once they have a child or get married.

Jung believes that the origin of the problem lies in the role of women since Confucianismthe prevailing ideology before the reforms of the 20th century. The philosophy advocated submissive daughters, chaste wives and self-sacrificing mothers. These beliefs were maintained due to a militarized society, where the concept of aggressive masculinity has been prevalent throughout history. This has applied from the Korean War (1950-1953) onwards, through the military dictatorship, to the ongoing confrontation with North Korea.

According to Jung, countries where parents are more cooperative and have good family policiessuch as Swedenor that recognize the diversity of couples, like France, have been more successful in stabilizing or even increasing their birth rates.

The movement of the four nos reflects the radicalization of a frustration that has made women even opt to give up sex. According to Jung, young women dont consider it worth investing their time and energy into having affairs with men, as they find it exhausting trying to find one who doesnt follow patriarchal norms.

Feminist movements have, historically, been very effective in the country, achieving milestones such as the decriminalization of abortion in 2021, or changes in the notions of female beauty. The escape of the corset movement, for instance, rejects the rigid South Korean stereotypes associated with women, such as having long hair or following the K-pop beauty concept, which imposes the obligation on women to have porcelain skin, wear perfect makeup and undergo plastic surgery. Its increasingly common to see South Korean women and girls with short hair, or daring to wear glasses rather than contact lenses. This has been a real revolution.

But there is still a long way to go in a country where gender violence doesnt always lead to a charge or divorce. According to a survey published by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, eight out of 10 men admitted to having been violent towards their partner.

Jennifer Jung-Kim, a professor of Korean History at UCLA, points out via email that, in order to solve the problems derived from the gender gap in South Korea, gender-based violence must be recognized and prosecuted as such.

When it comes to the government and corporations, laws and policies must prohibit discrimination and guarantee equal pay and opportunities for women especially working mothers. Socially, there needs to be a greater support system for working parents, so that either parent can take days off if a child is sick, or to attend a school meeting or event. And single parents, whether male or female, shouldnt be stigmatized, regardless of whether they are adoptive or biological parents, she explains.

For Jung-Kim, the most important thing is an internal change on the part of men.

They must step up and take on household chores and childcare equally and support their wives in their career choices.

Judy Han, a professor and vice chair of Undergraduate Affairs in the Department of Gender Studies at UCLA, points out that the movement of the four nos is an invitation to rebuild society.

Can we imagine a world where women dont have to shoulder the full burden of reproductive and domestic work, without being degraded or exploited? Where they could have marriage equality without throwing away their professional careers? Can women imagine a world without abuse, rape and violence? she wonders.

This approach could work in many other democratic countries where gender inequality affects birth rates. Faced with an apparently unbeatable patriarchal system, more and more women around the world are choosing to give up having children, because they cannot reconcile their personal and professional lives. The consequences can push governments to act and shape entire societies.

According to Judy Han, anyonemen and women, straight, queer, cisgender and transgenderwould benefit from taking these criticisms seriously and creating a more just society.

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STAMFORD  After more than doubling the number of roads paved in the city during her first year in office, Mayor Caroline Simmons has announced a new target: paving a total of more than 200 roads before her first term ends.

About 75 municipal roads were paved across Stamford last year, up from about 35 the year before as the city looked to meet Simmons goal of doubling paving through an effort called Pave Stamford, said Matthew Quinones, the citys director of operations.

The city paved about half of those roads in coordination with utility companies. Excluding such projects, the city paved 16.2 miles of roadway  up from 9.74 miles the previous year, Quinones said.

Stamfords traffic and road maintenance supervisor, Thomas Turk, has said that supply chain and manpower issues affected paving in 2021. He has also said that several wide roads were paved during former Mayor David Martins administration. With those roads done, Turk said the city could turn to smaller streets, which take less time to pave.

Quinones said the city is looking to pave another 70 or so roads during the 2023 paving season, which is set to start in April and run into November. Officials posted an initial list of 36 roads to be paved on the citys website this week.

We want to continue that momentum this year so that we can give our residents quality, safe roads in our city, Simmons told The Stamford Advocate.

Quinones said more roads will be added to the list based on a citywide road assessment that is nearly complete. And the Simmons administration will deviate from the way roads were prioritized under Martin, he said.

Differing from the prior administrations approach, we decided to not have traffic considerations as part of the calculation for establishing priorities and felt that doing so would kind of disproportionately affect residential areas, Quinones said. So basically if the roads bad, whether its a dead end or a busy street, we wanted to have a priority list based off of the conditions.

Last year, the city paved roads using two lists, called Tier 1 and Tier 2. The first list consisted of roughly 40 roads identified as in line for paving under Martin. About half of those roads were paved last season, and the rest are scheduled for this year.

For the Tier 2 list, Quinones said the city considered requests from citizens and did a more informal evaluation to determine additional roads to pave.

So it may have been a side street that wasnt necessarily on the Tier 1 list but could also use paving, and were in the neighborhood and we have the money, so we paved it, he said.

Contributing to the increase in paved roads last year was better coordination with utility companies, Quinones said.

Utility companies are obligated to go from curb to middle any time they rip up a road, he said, but such paving creates an uneven street, with one side raised above the other.

So we improved on our coordination for utility projects, Quinones said. In some cases, we may take a check from a utility company and then pave the whole road, or if theyre paving, we may actually add on to a project to make sure that it goes from curb to curb and not curb to middle.

Simmons included a $5 million request for street patch and resurfacing  the citys main account for road paving  in her capital budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, which is about midway through the paving season. She requested $500,000 for a separate account, which Quinones said the city will use to match funding from utility companies to ensure roads are paved curb to curb. Bonding would fund both requests.

Last year, Simmons asked for $3 million for the main paving account, which already had a sizable balance at the time, and later allocated $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to it.

Our goal is $10 million worth of paving every year and finishing with (about a) $5 million fund balance, Quinones said.

Officials have also been studying unaccepted roads that the city doesnt currently pave.

What were trying to do is first establish the conditions of the roads and, for lack of a better term, put them in buckets, Quinones said. Then we need to make some policy decisions alongside our legal department on exactly what we as a city can do to help get this done.
Contributed/Getty

ROCKY HILL  One person was injured Saturday in a crash involving a tractor trailer and a vehicle on Interstate 91, officials said.

Troopers responded at around 7:48 p.m. to the four-lane interstate highway between exits 23 and 24 due to reports of the collision, according to the Connecticut State Police.
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A former Connecticut man who fled the state after facing child porn charges and who was recently captured by U.S. marshals while trying to cross the Mexican border has been extradited back to Connecticut, officials said.

Thomas Marcel, 64, formerly of East Haddam, was facing two sets of charges related to child pornography in 2012 when he failed to show up at Superior Court in Norwich, where the cases were being prosecuted, federal officials and court documents show.
For or against electric scooters for rent? This is the question that Parisians of legal age who registered on the electoral rolls of the French capital will be able to answer. The popular consultation, which will take place this Sunday, will determine the future of these electric vehicles in the city, one of the first to open up to this personal mobility market. The mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has said loud and clear that she wants to ban them because she considers them dangerous, environmentally unfriendly and a source of conflict in the public space.

The scooter craze has not waned since they arrived in the French capital in 2018, when more than 12 operators offered their services. The devices have proliferated across the citys wide boulevards, but also on its narrower streets and on the hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes that authorities have built in recent years. Their growing use, however, has been accompanied by criticism and controversy due to their difficulty in coexisting with pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, and the fact that they obstruct some sidewalks.

Its a dividing issue. While for some residents of the capital the scooters represent the ease of getting around cheaply at any time, others see them as the source of chaos and lawlessness in public space. Rental scooters are an object of tension for Parisians, Socialist Hidalgo, mayor of the capital since 2014, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday.

Prior to Sundays vote, the city government already took action on the matter. Since June 2019, scooters are considered as motorized personal travel devices subject to traffic regulations. Their speed is limited to 10 kilometers per hour (a little more than six miles per hour) or in some specific areas to 20 kilometers per hour (12 miles per hour). In the event of a violation, the fine can be up to 1,500 euros ($1,630). The vehicles, in which only one person may be in, are also forbidden to circulate in public parks and on the sidewalk. The minimum age to use them is 12 years old, and they must be parked expressly in the designated places.

In 2020, the City Council went a step further by reducing the number of companies authorized to offer the service. Now there are only three leftU.S.-based Lime, Frances Dott and Germanys Tierand they operate a fleet of 15,000 devices in total. The measures, however, have not been sufficient, according to the mayor.

Lets get rid of scooters for rent

Despite these regulations, we still have a number of problems, a spokesperson for the Paris City Hall explained by phone, referring to road safety and the fact that they continue to obstruct traffic in some areas of the city, one of the densest in the world. In 2022, a report by Frances National Academy of Medicine warned of the danger of scooters and said they had become a major health problem because of the growing number of accidents. The cause: the design of the devices, the behavior of drivers and the shared use of public space.

In 2022, there were three deaths and 459 injuries in Paris, in more than 400 accidents involving this type of vehicle, according to police data cited by local media. These figures have been rising for three years. In 2021, there was one dead and 353 injured in 318 accidents. My idea is that we get rid of scooters for rent. But I will respect the vote of Parisians, even if it is contrary to what I would like, Hidalgo said in mid-January, announcing the popular consultation on whether or not to ban the vehicles.

Voters must vote in person at one of the 21 polling stations in the capital. The vote excludes citizens private scooters. The result, which will be known on Sunday evening, is not legally binding, but both the mayor and the deputy mayor for transport, environmentalist David Belliard, have pledged to respect it. Both also consider that the scooters are not as environmentally friendly as they seem, because of the short life of their lithium batteries.

Influencers and free riding minutes

It remains to be seen what the outcome will be. If the votes against scooters are in the majority, Paris could become in September the largest city in the world to expel rental scooter operators. Detractors and the three companies that operate them have criticized the modalities of the consultation. The fact that it is not possible to vote online or by proxy does not favor the vote of young people, the main users of these devices.

Fearing being driven out of the city, the operators launched a campaign to encourage their users to vote, sometimes with the help of local influencers. The company Lime even proposed 15 minutes of free use of its scooters to users who proved they had registered to vote, a strategy that drew criticism. Our operation aims to ensure that as many Parisians as possible can have their say in this consultation, the company defended itself. A few months ago, the operators also announced new measures to reassure local authorities, such as identity checks to prevent underage users, the use of license plates and an increase in agents to control the correct parking of vehicles.

The vote also has a political edge. Scooters can be an opportunity if they are well organized and regulated, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said Wednesday. The French government, which has strained relations with the capitals City Hall, announced a plan agreed upon with the scooter operators to raise the minimum age of use from 12 to 14 years and have fines of up to 135 euros ($147) in cases when there was more than one person on the same vehicle. The opposition also criticized that Mayor Hidalgo initially wanted to ban scooters without any consultation. The vote could be a way, according to Le Monde, for the mayor to recover at the political level before the end of her mandate in 2026.

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P olice are hunting for the driver of a BMW after a pregnant woman lost her unborn baby in a crash in the West Midlands.

West Midlands Police previously arrested an 18-year-old they believe was in the BMW, which collided with a Toyota in Cooks Lane, Solihull, last year.

The teen was arrested on suspicion of theft of motor vehicle, and later released on bail.

Police have now issued photos of another man they want to speak to, who they believe may have been behind the wheel of the BMW when it crashed.

The force also revealed a woman lost her unborn child in the crash, adding that she and her family have agreed to release this private and sensitive information to show the impact the collision has had on their lives.

Police are trying to trace this man / West Midlands Police

Detective Constable Rachael Johnson, from the forces CID, said: This has had a lasting impact on the family who were left devastated that day at the loss of their unborn baby.

We have carried out CCTV enquiries and spoken to witnesses and our investigation continues.

I would appeal directly to the suspect to do the right thing and get in touch with us. Anyone who has any information on his whereabouts or about the incident please get in touch.

Anyone with any information should contact Live Chat on the West Midlands Police website or by calling 101 quoting investigation number 20/471463/22.
A London ambulance medic who was placed in 27 different foster homes as a child only received his diagnosis for autism as an adult because he never lived in one place long enough to be assessed when he was growing up.

James Sweeney, 37, moved around 25 different foster families and two children homes across the Midlands during his childhood.

He had to start and stop his autism assessment several times as a result of the upheaval  and was only diagnosed with the condition six years ago, when he settled down in Maidenhead with his wife.

He said: I grew up being very frustrated. I remember feeling misunderstood by all my foster parents but one  a woman I now call mum.

Back then people simply used to say that I had naughty boy syndrome.

I had so many foster placements in so many different areas of the region and every time I started an assessment for autism I was re-housed, so it would have to start all over again.

When I got my diagnosis, I could finally understand why I am the way I am.

Mr Sweeney, who has worked as an Emergency Medical Technician at the London Ambulance Service for seven years, said the upheaval made him feel like he had no hope of leading a normal life.

He went on train as an advisor with a charity that helps care leavers to take their next steps in life, before embarking on an apprenticeship with the LAS.

While I enjoyed the unpredictability of the call-outs, I used to really struggle with being paired up with a different crewmate each day, and always having different shift patterns.

My management team have been excellent and they made the adjustments I needed.

Speaking on World Autism Awareness Day, Mr Sweeney said he is incredibly proud of where he is today.

I work in the busiest ambulance service of the world  despite leaving school at 14 with no qualifications.

I think I've worked ten times harder than I would if I wasnt autistic or didnt grow up in care. But if it werent for my past, who knows where I'd be now.

If I could speak to my younger self, Id tell him: explore your passions and dont feel like you have to fit in with everyone else for the sake of it!

Darren Farmer, London Ambulance Services Director of Ambulance Operations, said: Im in awe of what James has achieved  not only as an ambulance crew member who has cared for countless patients over the years, but also for the inspiration he provides to people going through similar challenges.

Im glad he was able to turn his life around and its great to see that he is proud of that too.
S adiq Khan has called for Wayne Couzens to be stripped of his police pension after it emerged that he is in line to receive several thousand pounds a year of public money despite being behind bars.

Couzens, 50, was given a life sentence after he abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, 33, in south London in March 2021.

He does not qualify for a pension with Scotland Yard because he did not work for the force for long enough.

Instead his pension pot remains with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), for which he worked for more than 7 years before joining the Met in 2018.

His service at the constabulary makes him eligible to receive a pension of about 4,000 a year when he turns 60, in addition to a lump sum of up to 12,000.

Mr Khan, the mayor of London, has written to Energy Secretary Grant Shapps to urge him to take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension.

The letter, seen by the BBC, says: I seek your assurance that you will take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension. This is what the public would rightly expect.

Mr Khan adds that the CNC portion of the pension sits outside the normal police pension regulations.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: "It would be totally unacceptable if Couzens remains entitled to a single penny of his pension - it would be very difficult for his victims and the wider public to comprehend."

Police officers forfeit their pension if they are convicted of a criminal offence linked to their work and if their actions are deemed to lead to a serious loss of confidence in the public service.

The move often requires the home secretary to issue a so-called certificate of forfeiture in order to revoke the pension.

Mr Shapps agrees that Couzens should not be entitled to the money and says he supports a recommendation from the CNC that he is stripped of the benefit.
T he Home Secretary has suggested the Government is in negotiations regarding three British men who are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan.

Non-profit organisation the Presidium Network is assisting two of the men, charity medic Kevin Cornwell and a second unnamed man.

Presidium confirmed that the third man is Miles Routledge, the British holidaymaker who received widespread attention and criticism on social media in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Talibans gains in the nation.

The two men being assisted by Presidium were detained by Taliban secret police on January 11.

It is unclear how long Mr Routledge has been held for.

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution.

If they are going to do that they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice.

If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK Government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe.

And the Government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

Pressed on whether negotiations are currently happening, Ms Braverman replied: If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad then the FCDO will be working actively to ensure people are safe.

Scott Richards, co-founder of the Presidium Network, who initially spoke to the Mail On Sunday, told the PA news agency on Saturday: I am told that those men are in good health and being treated well.

I have no reason to believe they have been subject to any poor treatment whatsoever.

Mr Richards said the men are being held in a general directorate of intelligence facility for foreigners.

He said there has been no contact with the men.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesman said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.

The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks, including detention.
S ome of the British men detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been in contact with their relatives, a family spokesman said.

Charity medic and married dad Kevin Cornwell, 53, of Middlesbrough, and another unnamed man who manages a hotel for aid workers in Kabul have been detained since January.

The other detainee is YouTuber Miles Routledge, 23, who documents his travels to dangerous places online.

Scott Richards, an experienced negotiator with conflict zone charity Presidium Network, has been assisting the mens families.

He said Mr Cornwall and the unnamed Briton spent 10 minutes in conversation with their families on Sunday morning.

He told Sky News: Were very pleased to announce that there has been contact between families and the detainees.

They were able to spend about 10 minutes this morning in an unscripted conversation, which is very important. This is a landmark move and for any negotiation with the Taliban, because we havent seen any of this privilege before.

Theyve certainly taking this as a goodwill gesture and an incredibly important step.

Mr Routledge, a former Loughborough University physics student, had recently posted videos of him firing assault weapons with members of the Taliban.

Married father Mr Cornwell, from Middlesbrough, had been in Afghanistan for 11 months working as a medic for Iqarus International, which provides free healthcare to local people.

He was arrested in a raid at his hotel by officers from the General Directorate of Intelligence on January 11.

Mr Cornwell stands accused of having an illegal firearm in the safe in his room at the Darya Village Hotel, despite having a permit from the Taliban government.

The manager of the resort - popular with Western humanitarian staff - was also detained in the raid and both are being held in a secure unit for foreign nationals run by the GDI.

No charges have been brought and they have not been granted legal representation.

The UK withdrew embassy and consular staff in 2021 and the Foreign Office continues to advise citizens against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks involved, including the possibility of detention by the Taliban authorities.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.
P lastic windows designed by a Cambridge PhD student are transforming uninhabitable houses in war-torn parts of Ukraine into liveable homes, local residents have said.

Engineer Harry Blakiston Houston created the Insulate Ukraine project to replace bullet and bomb-damaged windows with plastic ones of his own design, pausing his studies to concentrate on the initiative.

According to the United Nations, millions of people in Ukraine are living in damaged homes or in buildings ill-suited to provide sufficient protection, particularly in the winter when temperatures can plummet to -20C.

Before that it was impossible to live in that house because there were no windows and it was very damp and cold there

Mr Houston said there was a woman in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, who had been sleeping in her bathtub for two months because it was the warmest place in her house before the plastic windows were installed.

He added: We were able to get her back to some kind of normality after the windows went in. The house was immediately warmer and lighter  she was able to rearrange everything and actually live in her home again.

Fedor Tikva, of Izyum, eastern Ukraine, told the PA news agency that the Insulate Ukraine replacement windows have made his house liveable after his original windows were destroyed by nearby bombing.

The 64-year-old said: After the workers built windows and now it is possible to live in that house.

I am happy now because after the installation of all the windows the house became more cosy and warmer and lighter

Before that it was impossible to live in that house because there were no windows and it was very damp and cold there. There was no heating, the heating was also destroyed.

All windows there were broken, even the frames partly were damaged, he said. The walls also were a little bit damaged with parts of bombs.

The pensioner added: This is a very great help, I am very satisfied with these windows and I am happy now because after the installation of all the windows the house became more cosy and warmer and lighter.

Before the installation it was too dark and cold inside.

He continued: We were the same happy after the installation of the windows as we were happy when the light and gas came back into our houses after the occupation.

So we are cheering and saying hooray.

Theres hardly a house in Izyum without bullet holes in it

Mr Tikva shares the house with his sister, whose flat on the other side of the city burned down during the Russian occupation.

He told the PA news agency he has two houses and that he had been staying in a different home which suffered less damage until the installation of the new windows.

Izyum was occupied by Russian soldiers between March 1 and September 11 last year, according to Mr Tikva.

Insulate Ukraine staff member Helen Demchenko, who translated for the 64-year-old, told PA that new windows have been provided to more than 200 customers in Izyum.

She said residents are either given materials to build the windows themselves or staff and volunteers will install them if customers are vulnerable.

The project is operating across the liberated areas of Ukraine that have suffered the most at Russias hands.

The concept uses triple-glazed polyethylene to protect against the cold, costs around 12 per square metre of window, and can be built at home in quarter of an hour from basic materials.

Mr Houston said: The level of destruction the Russians left in their wake is astounding. Theres hardly a house in Izyum without bullet holes in it. In peacetime the city was home to 50,000 people, now there are 10,000.

Its just the most extraordinary image of destruction everywhere but now its safe.

Part of Putins war is about trying to make people in Ukraine cold and miserable. Its about breaking their resolve to actually continue defending themselves.

Weve come up with a solution that makes a real difference.

The PhD student came up with the idea while queueing to see the late Queen lying in state last year.
F ormer president Donald Trump is ready to fight in court, his lawyer has said.

Trump is due in court on Tuesday to face criminal charges after he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 (105,000) in hush money to buy her silence over an alleged affair.

He plans to appear in court in Manhattan on Tuesday before flying back and addressing his supporters in a televised address in Florida on Tuesday evening.

He is the first former president to face criminal charges.

Joe Tacopina said any charges against the former president will be fought vigorously.

Hes someone whos going to be ready for this fight, Mr Tacopina told ABCs This Week programme on Sunday.

Were ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him.

The former president is expected to fly to New York on Monday and stay at his Trump Tower in Manhattan overnight ahead of his planned arraignment on Tuesday.

He is expected to report to the courthouse early on Tuesday morning, where he will be fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken.

Investigators will complete arrest paperwork and check to see if he has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants.

Once the booking is complete, Trump will appear before a judge for an afternoon arraignment in a Manhattan court.

Officials from the Secret Service and the New York Police Department toured the courthouse on Friday and met about security plans.

The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

But two people familiar with the matter have told news agency Associated Press that Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence, in the indictment handed down by a Manhattan grand jury last week,

They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that is not yet public.

Mr Tacopina, said he would pore over the indictment once he gets it, then devise the next legal steps.

Any chatter on whether he would ask for a venue change or file a motion to dismiss is premature, he said, though it is common for defence lawyers to do both.

Were way too early to start deciding what motions were going to file or not file, and we do need to see the indictment and get to work, he said.

I mean, look, this is the beginning, he added.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, left, shakes hands with his counterpart Qin Gang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing Sunday, April 2, 2023. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japans Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern about Chinas escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Hayashi is making a two-day visit to China, becoming Japans first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He was also due to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later Sunday.

During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man or the allegations against him.

Hayashi told reporters he also raised serious concern about Chinas increasingly assertive maritime activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Hayashi said he told Qin that their countries have the possibility of improved cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, but also face many problems and serious concerns and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, 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 security and economy.

Qin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and undermine Chinas sovereignty in any way, according to a statement from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using strong language, Qin said: the Taiwan issue is at the core of Chinas core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

Japan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.

Japan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defenses in recent years.

The Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.

Qin criticized Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The U.S. has imposed similar measures, and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.

The U.S. once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japans semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China, Qin said, urging Japan not to be Americas pawn. One should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.

Hayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a U.S.-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.

The last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashis predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures.

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A monument in a cemetery in Switzerland has sparked controversy after locals discovered its links to Nazi Germany.

The 13-tonne block of granite, which commemorates soldiers lost during World War 1, has stood in the middle of the graveyard in the town of Chur since 1938.

However, research by local journalists has now revealed that the monument was built by the German War Graves Commission as Nazi propaganda.

The organisation erected a number of monuments in German-speaking Switzerland and their propaganda often involved cult-like worship of the war dead.

I didnt know anything about it, Chur mayor Urs Marti told news outlet SRF. It irritates me that there is a monument to the National Socialists in Chur.

At first sight it looks like a war memorial, radio journalist Stefanie Hablutzel told the BBC, pointing out some faint lettering: "1914 - 1918; hier ruhen deutsche Soldaten here lie German soldiers."

I grew up here in Chur," she said, adding: And I didnt realise how many Nazi organisations were present in the 1930s, here in Chur.

The city is reportedly yet to decide what to do with the controversial monument.
A n extremely high number of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are thought to be dying due to alcohol abuse, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

In its latest defence intelligence briefing on Russias war in Ukraine, the department said pervasive alcohol abuse among Russian troops is reportedly leading to many deaths, along with other non-combat causes such as hypothermia.

Its intelligence update, released on Sunday, said: While Russia has suffered up to 200,000 casualties since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a significant minority of these have been due to non-combat causes.

On March 27, 2023, a Russian Telegram news channel reported there have been extremely high numbers of incidents, crimes, and deaths linked to alcohol consumption amongst the deployed Russian forces.

Other leading causes of non-combat casualties likely include poor weapon handing drills, road traffic accidents and climatic injuries such as hypothermia.

Russian commanders likely identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness.

However, with heavy drinking pervasive across much of Russian society, it has long been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even on combat operations.

Russias war in Ukraine has been rumbling on for more than a year, since February 24, 2022.

Sunday saw well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg cafe, in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war.

Russias state Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation. State-owned RIA news agency said 25 people were wounded and 19 of them were being treated in hospital.

A leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. A Ukrainian presidential adviser said domestic terrorism was breaking out in Russia.
O scar-winning Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has died at the age of 71, it was reported on Sunday.

Mr Sakamoto, who had suffered from cancer in recent years, was famed for his much-lauded scores for films including The Last Emperor, The Revenant, and Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

He was also known as a pioneer in electronic music of the late 1970s, having co-founded band the Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).

Japanese recording company Avex said in a statement that Mr Sakamoto died on Tuesday, March 28.

Ryuichi Sakamoto (right), pictured with (L-R) Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence star David Bowie; producer Jack Thomas, producer; and director Nagisa Oshima / AP

His first score was for the 1983 film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, in which he also played the commandant of a prisoner of war camp, starring alongside David Bowie. The score went on to win a BAFTA.

His most celebrated work was 1987s The Last Emperor - a film in which he also acted. The score won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe.

Mr Sakamoto, who was an anti-nuclear campaigner and environmental activist, took a break from work in 2014 for about a year to be treated for throat cancer.

Mr Sakamoto holds the Academy composition award he won for The Last Emperor in Tokyo, Japan, in April 1988 / AP

Though cured of that after years of treatment, he announced on his website in January 2021 that he had been diagnosed with rectal cancer.

In December 2022, Mr Sakamoto gave what was clearly meant to be a farewell concert for his fans, broadcast online.

My strength has really fallen, so a normal concert of about an hour to ninety minutes would be very difficult, he said in an online message several days before.

As a result, Ive recorded it song by song and edited it together so it can be presented as a regular concert - which I believe can be pleasurable in the normal way. Please, enjoy.

Introduced to the piano as a toddler, Mr Sakamoto lived for music. While at secondary school, he rode on Tokyo commuter carriages so packed nobody could move, amusing himself by counting all the different sounds the train made along the way.

Ryuichi Sakamoto / AP

Mr Sakamoto, who described classical musician Claude Debussy as his hero, studied ethnomusicology at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, with particular interest in the traditional music of Japans Okinawa prefecture as well as Indian and African musical traditions.

Asian music heavily influenced Debussy, and Debussy heavily influenced me. So the music goes around the world and comes full circle, he told WNYC public radio in 2010.

Embracing electronic music, he and fellow studio musicians Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi formed YMO in 1978.

The bands groundbreaking use of a vast array of electronic instruments brought both domestic and global success.
In 2011, the Chakana Reserve, a former cattle ranch, became an important conservation site for Andean flora and fauna. It is one of a network of 15 private reserves created by the Locofoco Conservation Foundation. Located 60 kilometers southeast of Quito, Ecuador, it has 5,000 hectares and is flanked by an ancient wall of lava flow once expelled by the Chakana volcano, which neighbors Antisana, a major volcano that rises near the bottom of this area. The site is surrounded by the largest paramos (high plateaus) in Ecuador. The reserve extends from the road to behind the mountains. Among other animals, the reserve is home to spectacled bears, pumas, mountain tapirs, white-tailed deer and peregrine falcons.

But above all, the Chakana Reserve is known as an Andean condor sanctuary. 40 of Ecuadors barely 150 condors live in this area and its environs, according to the most recent study, conducted in 2018. According to Perus National Forest and Wildlife Service, there are 301 condors in that country, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that there are 1,500 and 2,000 specimens in Chile and Argentina, respectively. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Bolivia has between 80 and 150 condors, and Fundacion Neotropicals 2021 survey in Colombia found that at least 63 reside in that country.

Andean condors in the Chakana Reserve, which is home to over 40% of Ecuadors condor population. Ana Maria Buitron

The high concentration of individual condors in the Chakana Reservewhich is crucial for the survival of this endemic species that does not share genetic material with the birds of neighboring countriesmakes it the most important site of its kind, not just in Ecuador but in all of northern South America. The largest flying bird in the world (its wingspan can exceed three meters and it can weigh up to 15 kilograms), the condor is an important symbol in Ecuador; it graces the national coat of arms as a symbol of greatness and represents ideas of power and health that stem from the cosmovision of many different Andean cultures.

But the condor is in danger of extinction. A healthy population of a closed species like Ecuadors [condor], which does not share genetic material with the ones in Colombia and Peru, should have between 600 and 700 breeding pairs so that the species survival can be guaranteed 100 years from now, explained Fabricio Narvaez, the executive director of the Ecuador Andean Condor Foundation. But now we [only] have between 40 and 60 breeding pairs, which shows how serious the condors situation is at the national level.

It was an early Saturday morning in February and the sky over the reserve was a crystal-clear light blue. We stopped at the side of the road at a lookout to observe the Isco crag, an impressive two-kilometer-long stone wall where several condors in the area live, nest and roost. The countrys most prolific pair of condors has been living there since 2012; the couple has had one offspring per year since that time, as compared with the normal rate of reproduction of every two or three years. A wide and dense paramo bed extends at the foot of the crag; it is lined with achupallas, a ground bromeliad that feeds the spectacled bears that roam the area. We werent lucky enough to see them, but at around 9:30 a.m. we saw the first condors of the day, two young birds (gray plumage, brown spots) in calm flight.

A condor with wing bands placed by the Ecuador Andean Condor Foundation flies next to another one without such markings. Sebastian Kohn (Fundacion Condor Andino)

Collecting data, protecting condors and debunking myths

In the heart of the reserve, the paramo is no longer what one sees in front but rather what is underfoot. All around, a group of white-tailed deer leap as if in a cartoon, while a pair of Andean egrets splash in a waterhole. The ground is carpeted with dandelion flowers, and higher up a former cattle pasture is now a healthy patch of grass. Luis Gualotuna, a biologist at the Andean Condor Foundation, an organization that works closely with the Chakana Reserve, ate a snack while he watched the flight of the condors; four or five of them glid over the rock. His goal was to catch one so that he can attach a satellite tracker and wing band to it.

There are several techniques for attracting them, including using carrion or captive condors. When the lured condors approach, they can be captured by using snares or nets. Researchers then measure and take blood samples from the birds to determine their genetic profile; the condors are then fitted with a satellite tracker and a wing band so scientists can identify them from a distance. The process usually takes thirty minutes and then the bird is released. But that day Gualotuna was unable to place band number 20. To date, 16 trackers have been placed with their corresponding wing bands; another three condors have bands only.

We started placing trackers and wing bands to mark the condors, and that revolutionized our knowledge about the species, said Sebastian Kohn, the founder of Condor Andino (Andean Condor) and its current president. In 2012, the young biologist accompanied Hernan Vargas, an Ecuadorian biologist with a PhD from Oxford University whoas a member of the Peregrine Fund, a U.S. organization dedicated to conserving endangered birds of preycame to Ecuador to start the most comprehensive study on the condor at that time. Together, they went to the Chakana Reserve and were greeted by a dazzling scene: some 20 condors were devouring a horse carcass.

I had never seen so many condors; they flew very close to us, and then I had an epiphany: I realized that we knew nothing about them, Kohn said. Until then, experts commonly thought that simply breeding condors in captivity and then releasing them into the wild represented the solution for the species decline. But no one had stopped to investigate how many condors exist, where and how they live, that is, the basics, he added.

Sebastian Khon, president of the Andean Condor Foundation. Ana Maria Buitron

With financing from the Peregrine Fund, the two biologists began their research; a veterinarian and two other biologists also came on board to form the initial team of investigators. Technology allowed them to learn about the condors breeding, mortality, flight and movement patterns. Researchers went from not knowing anything to learning the rocks on which the birds settle to eat or sleep; from knowing about a single nest to finding the location of 30; from knowing about 32 roosts to having a database of over 500 across the entire mountain range. Similar research had been done in Chile and Argentina, but the researchers in Ecuador were the first to do so in northern South America. Years later, in 2017, they established the Fundacion Condor Andino Ecuador (Ecuador Andean Condor Foundation). Today, the organization works on 12 flora and fauna conservation projects around the country.

With the data they collected, the researchers were also able to debunk some myths. For instance, many biologists previously maintained that it was impossible for the condor to kill another animal for food, based on the belief that the birds only feed on carrion. However, field researchers said that they had witnessed one condor arrive and bite a calf from the front, for example, while another came from behind to attack the bovine with its beak and claws. Monitoring the birds allowed scientists to verify and document such attacks. Previously, a lack of food was thought to be the main threat facing the condor, a bird that can eat up to five kilograms of meat a day and survive up to five weeks without food.

To test that idea, scientists put down carrion, hoping that the condors would eagerly pounce on it. But to their surprise, they saw that the condors did not stop because they had already eaten. However, the feral dogs that invade Ecuadors paramos went for the carcasses, and scientists realized that they are a primary threat to the condor. A 2015 Wildlife Conservation Society study in Ecuador estimated that 50,000 feral dogs roamed the highland mountains. Today, it is believed that there are twice as many canines in the area.

The primary threats of feral dogs and a wind farm

Narvaez explained that feral dogs are the main food competitors for the entire scavenger chain, including condors, paramo wolves (Andean foxes) and curiquingues. The dogs also displace and kill native species and transmit zoonotic diseases like canine distemper. In addition, wild dogs also attack the corrals of poor peasant families for whom their animals (chickens, calves, sheep, guinea pigs) serve as both food and a source of income. The owners of these animals set traps with poisoned carrion to kill the dogs, and eventually condors arrive to eat the carcasses of the dogs killed by poisoning, leading to a quagmire of unstoppable proportions.

Solving that problem is extremely complex, Kohn said. We have to involve Ecuadorian society as a whole, because it starts with abandoning dogs in the countryside. We have to educate [people] about responsible pet ownership, undertake massive sterilization campaigns and, in some places, we need to carry out campaigns to eradicate feral dogs. Many try to avoid talking about this issue, but it is something that must be done. [We have to] capture them and put them to death humanely.

An adult condor named Sisa, marked with wingband number nine. Sebastian Kohn (Fundacion Condor Andino)

In addition, hunting continues to pose a considerable threat to the birds. Each year, the foundation rescues at least one bullet-wounded condor, but only one person has ever been prosecuted in Ecuador for hunting that animal. In 2013, a 61-year-old farmer hunted a young condor in Azuay province. Environmental and criminal regulations punish hunting endangered animals with up to five years in prison, but the poacher was only given six months because of a series of extenuating circumstances.

Other threats include an encroaching agricultural frontier, large-scale mining in concessioned paramos and condor foraging areas, and certain wind energy projects. On January 26, the last of the Huascachaca projects 14 wind turbines was erected in the province of Loja, in the south of the country. The project is expected to produce 50 megawatts of energy per hour to power 90,000 Ecuadorian homes; it also promises to reduce the emission of some 76,000 tons of carbon dioxide. The issue is that these generators were built in front of a condor roost, that is, in their flight zone, and the birds could collide with the blades, which rotate at almost 200 kilometers per hour.

Whats problematic is that the projects environmental impact report doesnt even mention the presence of those condors, Kohn said. Its not a question of canceling that multibillion-dollar project. What we are proposing is that it take measures to mitigate [harm to the condors], that the report mention the condors presence in that region, and, for example, that they invest in a radar that reduces the speed of the turbines when it detects the flight of large birds.

In 2009, Ecuadors Ministry of Environment created the National Working Group on the Andean Condor as a coalition of organizations with expertise on the subject. The Jocotoco and Andean Condor Foundations are members. As the national authority, the Ministry of Environment is currently spearheading the process of implementing an action plan to conserve the emblematic bird. The approach includes research and monitoring, identifying threats, sustainable habitat maintenance, strengthening the wild population by reintroducing captive-bred birds, environmental education and raising awareness about the importance of the birds conservation. The plan is being carried out to varying degrees of completion, and the authorities dont really do any evaluation, Kohn said. But the biggest weakness is that theres no budget for implementing [it], no support from the state.

Looking west from the center of the Chakana Reserve, the horizon was a vast green tapestry of plots laid out with the grace of providential geometry. On such a clear day, the silhouettes of the Sincholagua, Ruminahui and Pasochoa volcanoes appeared dto have the cadenced sequence of a waltz. We walke in that direction to where the plain ends, to perch atop the Isco crag, which we had previously seen from the roadside. All that was left to do was settle on that paramo ridge to wait for the splendid flight of the condors; the young ones have brown spots, while the adults bear white scarves and bare crests.

We watched them take off from their perches and roosts or arrive from behind, from another of the reserves crags, delighting us with their refined glide, the rhythmic oscillation of their tails, the constellations they call to mind when they fly in a group. Ten or more of them passed overhead, leading us to wish that these majestic birdswhich can live for up to 80 years in captivity and several years less in the wildremain on Earth for our children to see, despite the multiple threats the condor faces.

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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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The former head of the Havana Group who convinced an investor he could help secure lucrative contracts with companies such as Niagara Casinos and Fort Erie Race Track has been found guilty of fraud.

In his judgment delivered Thursday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Judge Andrew Brown said Steven Sardinha, 50, took advantage of a gullible investor and, with another man who was later murdered, swindled him out of more than $200,000.

The judge said the victim, a Hamilton steelworker for more than 40 years, was neither sophisticated nor experienced in business matters and took Sardinha at his word and invested in the company with the promise of multimillion-dollar contracts.

He was an overwhelmingly trusting individual, the judge said. He asked few questions, and accepted as true what he was told.

Court was told the victim, now 65, met the defendant in the fall of 2017 following a chance meeting.

Sardihna offered him an opportunity to become a shareholder in a soil-removal company called Forever Top Soil.

The victim invested $30,000 for a 30 per cent stake in the company and was later introduced to Grant Norton.

Sardihna said Norton was an old friend and a consultant for Metrolinx who had the authority to award a $1.2-million excavation and maintenance contract involving transit stations across southern Ontario.

The victim met with Norton in February 2018 and was told of the Metrolinx contract as well as other potential lucrative contracts with Niagara Casinos, Fort Erie Race Track and CN Rail.

The following month, a new company  Havana Group Supplies Inc.  was created with the victim listed as president.

Purchasing construction equipment, repair costs, fuel costs and other expenses fell on the victims shoulders.

He was easily convinced that lucrative contracts awaited him in the near future, if only he would purchase more and more construction equipment and invest more and more of his savings, the judge said.

The man drained his savings account and cashed out his RRSPs.

He readily assumed the role as chief bill payer, for companies he knew little or nothing about, the judge said.

At one point, the victim was paying the offender a salary  $1,000 a week  and covering his personal expenses including food.

The defendant also convinced the victim to buy him a new truck so he could look a certain way when going to job sites.

He trusted Steven Sardinha, Brown said. He thought Steven Sardinha was protecting his interests. In that he was wrong.

By June 2018, court was told, Norton met with the victim and proposed a new plan  called Plan B  to ensure the company would be awarded the Metrolinx contract.

Under the new plan, the victim would continue as an investor but be a silent partner and have no active role in the company.

(The victim) having invested so much in the venture and awaiting the promised Metrolinx contract, reluctantly agreed to Plan B, the judge said.

When he got cold feet about a week later, the victim claimed Sardinha and Norton threatened him, saying he was dealing with the Mafia, and he should just play ball.

Soon after, the corporate offices of Havana Group in Beamsville were broken into.

Nothing of value was stolen, but for corporate documents and ownership documents of the equipment bought by the victim.

Police were contacted but no arrests were made.

On the same day as the break-in, court heard, Sardinha incorporated a new company with a similar name, Havana Group Supplies Inc.

The victim was then cut out of any dealings with Forever Top Soil or the original Havana Group.

Weeks after the mans removal from the company, a grand opening was held in Waterdown for the new company.

Much of the construction equipment on display  dump trucks, backhoes and other machinery  had been purchased by the victim.

Representatives from the various entities mentioned in the scheme, including Niagara Casinos, testified at trial there were no contracts on the table, and none had ever heard of Sardinha, Norton or the Havana Group.

The much-hyped Metrolinx contract and talked about contracts with CN Rail, the old casino and Fort Erie Race Track never materialized because they never existed, the judge said.

Sardihna, who had represented himself at the seven-day trial, maintained he was a victim of misrepresentations made by Norton.

The former Ancaster resident, who has multiple previous fraud-related convictions, is scheduled to return to court in May for sentencing.

The Crown is seeking a custodial term plus restitution for the victim.

Meanwhile, Norton was reported missing in Waterloo in July 2020.

At the time, the 59-year-old was on the run from Niagara Regional Police after failing to appear in court to answer multiple charges including fraud and theft.

Nortons remains were found in a wooded area in London, Ont., nine days after Hamilton mobster Pat Musitano was shot dead in a Burlington parking lot.

Musitano was a minority shareholder in Havana Group Supplies. He pleaded guilty in 2000 to conspiracy to commit murder in the 1997 death of Carmen Barillaro of Niagara Falls.

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Ontario Ministry of Labour has issued 18 orders to the developer behind a 266-unit condo building under construction in Welland since the first of two partial collapses at the project on Prince Charles Drive.

On Feb. 18 the first collapse occurred. That was followed by another eight days later.

Since then, minimal details about the cause of the incidents have been released, as both constructor Evertrust Development Inc. and the ministry have cited an ongoing investigation as the reason why.

Ministry spokesperson Anu Dhar said visits by inspectors on March 15, 24 and 29 resulted in a number of orders and requirements being issued recently.

The ministry has been tight-lipped about what those orders involve throughout the investigation at the five-storey project.

As the investigation is ongoing, the ministry cannot comment further at this time, Dhar said.

A timeline on when the probe of the two collapses will conclude is something the ministry is unable to provide.

Ministry investigations are detailed and thorough, and may take weeks or months to complete depending on the complexity of the investigation, said Dhar.

On March 8, a stop-work order was lifted by the ministry and the constructor was permitted to return to the site to continue with remedies.

On Saturday, Joyce Morocco, a contracted spokesperson for Evertrust, said she had limited information on progress made so far, but that the cleanup on the ground has been completed and that the builder has applied for a rebuild permit.

She said the developer continues to work closely with the ministry.

The Welland Tribune filed a Freedom of Information request March 9 at Welland city hall asking for names of all contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers who have worked on the Upper Vista Welland build. The citys site inspection reports have also been requested. Deputy clerk Laura Bubanko said at that time the municipality would respond to the request within 30 days.

City staff, including planning and development director Grant Munday and corporate communications manager Marc MacDonald, said this information would need to be sought through the FOI process.

Soil conditions have been a topic of speculation at the site.

Local historian Terry Hughes recently said the area the Upper Vista building is on was once swam that was filled in with soil from excavation of the third and fourth Welland canals.

But Harvey Russell, who was the lead on the neighbouring Seaway Pointe condo building, was skeptical to point to that being the problem  but he didnt rule it out.

The soil beside us could be something different, he said in early March.

Falling under the Ontario Building Code, mandatory inspections of the Upper Vista Welland Condominiums would have been carried out at specific stages of construction, said MacDonald after the first collapse.

The project has a construction value of about $55 million.

A partial demolition started on March 6.

Both collapses occurred on the south tower of the project, which sits on the west side of the Welland Recreational Canal.

Evertrust Development remains subject of a $10-million lawsuit brought forward by residents of the developers Niagara Falls site, citing poor conditions at that building.

Kris Dube is a reporter for the Welland Tribune. Reach him via email: kris.dube@niagaradailies.com

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A Niagara Falls lawyer disbarred for his role in a development company that saw investors lose millions of dollars in syndicated mortgages has had his licence to practice law reinstated.

According to a Law Society of Ontario tribunal held in 2021, Christopher Di Giacomo had represented more than 80 clients who had invested more than $7.7 million with Black Bear Homes between 2014 and 2016.

Black Bear Homes had promoted syndicated mortgages for multiple real estate projects in Crystal Beach.

The majority of the projects failed, with little or no construction work being done, and the clients, most from the Toronto area, lost some or all of their investments.

At the tribunal, counsel for both Di Giacomo and the agency that governs the provinces lawyers had proposed a joint submission of a one-year licence suspension.

The panel rejected the submission, calling the misconduct egregious and unethical and revoked his licence.

Di Giacomo appealed the decision, with the support of the law society.

In a decision released last week, the tribunal appeal division of the law society struck down the revocation and imposed the joint submission originally proposed. The one-year suspension was effective March 2022 to March 2023.

The board concluded the hearing panel had erred in rejecting the joint submission, and imposing a penalty on the basis of misconduct that was not alleged and was not admitted.

This was procedurally unfair, Malcolm Mercer wrote in the decision on behalf of the five-member appellate panel.

Joint submissions are important to the functioning of the justice system because they promote certainty and efficiency. They are accepted unless they are so unreasonable that they might be viewed as a breakdown in the proper functioning of the justice system.

The board noted Di Giacomo has expressed remorse and has taken responsibility for his actions.

This is simply a case in which a lawyer profoundly failed to competently serve his clients with disastrous results, the decision said.

We cannot determine whether results were disastrous because of criminality, because the projects were ill-conceived or because they were ill-managed, or for some other reason.

Meanwhile, no criminal charges were laid in relation to Black Bear Homes as York Regional Police, which conducted an investigation in 2017, concluded there was insufficient evidence to lay charges.

One of the companys founders was Gary Fraser.

Niagara police arrested Fraser in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2007 following an investigation into, among other things, a fraudulent home-flipping scheme. He was subsequently convicted of multiple counts of fraud and served 30 months in jail.

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WASHINGTON - As the world struggles to find the right balance between a carbon-free future and a present that still runs on fossil fuels, Canada could be leveraging its natural-gas riches to help fuel both, a new report suggests.

The report, to be released Monday by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, urges the federal government to finally get serious about building the infrastructure necessary to fast-track the extraction and export of liquid natural gas.

The carbon-credits clause of the 2015 Paris climate accord could be a key driver of growth for the LNG sector if Canadian natural gas were to become a viable alternative for coal-fired power plants around the world, it suggests.

This initiative could not only support natural gas exports but an array of services, technology, and materials exports, writes Eric Miller, president of the D.C.-based Rideau Potomac Strategy Group and the reports author.

Canada should use the global carbon market framework to build a stronger Canadian natural gas sector and a cleaner world.

In addition to several measures to develop and promote Canadian gas as a global low-carbon alternative, the report encourages Canada to retool its often convoluted regulatory processes and give Indigenous Peoples a greater stake in natural gas projects.

Canadian natural gas already has certain advantages beyond the fact that its plentiful and cleaner than coal, Miller suggests: its also produced under Canadas carbon-price regime, an advantage that could create a market premium in coming years as demand for cleaner fuel sources with a smaller carbon footprint continues to rise.

It could well help power the switch from coal to gas around the world, Miller writes: converting just 20 per cent of Asias coal-fired power to gas would save the equivalent of an entire years worth of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.

The challenges, the report acknowledges, are myriad.

First and foremost is Canadas glaring lack of the necessary infrastructure  pipelines and export terminals, particularly on the east coast  to get its gas to international markets.

Since 2008, no fewer than 18 new LNG export terminals have been proposed, Miller writes, including 13 in B.C., three in Nova Scotia and two in Quebec. Only the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, B.C., is anywhere near completion.

The report blames a lack of decisiveness on energy policy over the last 20 years for the countrys current inability to export its landlocked resources.

Had Canada supported the construction of even a fraction of these terminals, it would have been at the centre of support for growing Asian and European markets that are in desperate need of LNG, and would be actively contributing to the displacement of coal.

Miller cites last summers missed opportunity with Germany as an instructive example of Canadas problem.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in August hoping to secure an agreement for liquified natural gas to ease its dependence on Russia, now a global pariah following the invasion of Ukraine.

But he left empty-handed. Months later, Germany signed a 15-year gas supply agreement with Qatar instead.

This opportunity to supply Germany has now passed Canada by, Miller writes. Qatar, not Canada, will now get the economic and employment benefits of producing and shipping gas to Germany.

A more robust LNG pipeline network would have the added advantage of being adaptable to the future use of hydrogen as a modern-day low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels, the report notes.

Being able to piggyback on existing infrastructure would be an enormous advantage in hydrogens scaling process, Miller writes.

In addition to investing in hydrogen research, the government of Canada should move to understand what specifically would be involved in converting gas infrastructure to hydrogen and what the cost structure would look like.

Indeed, Canada and Germany did manage to reach an export agreement for hydrogen during Scholzs visit, which proposed to establish a transatlantic supply corridor that could be operating as early as 2025.

And during last months visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trudeau announced a new hydrogen deal with the EU that he vowed would mobilize investment, support businesses, share expertise and get clean Canadian hydrogen to Europe.

Von der Leyen called Canada a prime potential partner for hydrogen in Europe, such as through an already-announced, long-term deal with Germany.

A better understanding of how a natural gas pipeline network could be converted to hydrogen would help clarify the long-term economics of building such infrastructure, the report says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2023.

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MONTREAL - Akwesasne Mohawk Police continued to search Sunday for a local man whose boat was found where the bodies of eight migrants were pulled from the St. Lawrence River last week.

Police said in a statement they would continue searching the area until sunset for Casey Oakes, 30, whom officers have been seeking since Thursday when the first of the migrants bodies were discovered.

Police have said the eight victims consisted of two families, one of Romanian and another of Indian descent. Authorities said they were allegedly attempting to illegally cross into the United States from Canada through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles provincial and international boundaries and includes regions of Quebec, Ontario and New York State.

Oakes was last seen Wednesday night operating a boat that was found next to the migrants bodies, but police have made no direct connections between Oakes and the deaths. Some items of clothing that belong to Oakes have also been found and the boat has been placed in secure storage for inspection.

Police identified two of the migrants on Saturday as Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, 28, and 28-year-old Florin Iordache, who was carrying Canadian passports for two young children  aged one and two  who were among the victims. All four were of Romanian descent.

The identities of four Indian nationals also plucked from the marsh have not yet been confirmed and their next of kin had not been notified.

Police also said a male found inside a cabin on St. Regis Island on Saturday is not connected to the investigation.

Authorities estimated Saturday they had about eight kilometres worth of local waterways to search.

The bodies of five adults and one child were found in a marshy area on Thursday and the bodies of a second child and an adult woman were recovered on Friday.

Akwesasne Mohawk Police Chief Shawn Dulude has previously said signs of potential trouble surfaced on Wednesday night when the force received calls from people who reported hearing shouts from the river. Those calls came in at around 9:30 p.m., the last time Oakes was last seen.

Officers patrolled the shoreline at the time using night-vision goggles and body-heat sensors, but came up empty.

In February, police in Akwesasne reported an increase in human smuggling into the Mohawk territory.

Authorities have said the territorys unique geography makes it a popular spot for human smugglers, with police making 48 separate interceptions involving 80 people trying to enter the United States illegally since January.

Most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during an appearance on a French-language talk show Sunday that his thoughts are with those affected by the tragedy, and that he wants to discourage people from putting themselves in danger to cross the border irregularly.

Thats part of the reason why we signed an improvement to the Safe Third Country agreement with the United States to regulate and encourage immigration in a regular, and not irregular, way, Trudeau said on Tout le monde en parle, a popular Radio-Canada television show.

When asked if those changes, which see asylum seekers turned back at irregular crossings, would push people to take more dangerous routes across the border, Trudeau said the U.S. is a safe country and immigrants and asylum seekers should be treated the same way across the entire border.

We continue to be an open and welcoming country, but we privilege people who come in a regular way, Trudeau said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2023.

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LOS ANGELES (AP)  One person is dead and three others were injured in a shooting during a drug deal outside a Los Angeles shopping center Saturday, police said.

Multiple suspects shot at each other during what police believe was a dispute during a narcotics deal in a parking lot at the Fallbrook Shopping Center in West Hills around 3:45 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said.

The deceased man was not immediately identified by police.

Three victims hit by gunfire were transported to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. At least two of those may face charges after their release from medical care, Hamilton said.

Three suspects were in custody Saturday evening and investigators believe the shooting involved gang members, he said.

Mark Connole, 34, of Woodland Hills, California, was booked at Van Nuys Jail on a charge of murder, police said in a statement Sunday.

Police recovered two firearms at the scene, Hamilton said.

We believe that all of the people involved in this dispute have been identified and we believe we have them either in custody or we have them where we can provide them medical care, Hamilton said.

An LAPD helicopter spotted a vehicle with windows shot out leaving the scene and tracked the vehicle, Hamilton said.

That suspect became involved in a hit-and-run traffic collision where they injured someone else and continued fleeing the area, Hamilton said. They subsequently switched vehicles and the air units saw them switch vehicles and directed ground units to the location where the suspect was fleeing.

There was a pursuit lasting two to three minutes before the vehicle pulled over. A female driver and the male suspect who fled the shooting scene surrendered and were taken into custody, Hamilton said.

The person who was injured in the hit-and-run accident was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

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We check our cars regularly, so why shouldnt we also check our bodies so that we can find and treat abnormalities before they cause too much harm? This question was posed by a group of Danish researchers in a 2014 editorial published in The BMJ under an enlightening headline: General Health Checks Dont Work. Their answer was clear: It seems so easy, but the human body is not a car, and, in contrast to a car, it has self-healing properties.

Not only that: they even warned that this type of examination, which is carried out on healthy people and may include diagnostic tests, will cause harm in some people. The researchers went a step further and in 2019 made a systematic review for the renowned Cochrane Library. After analyzing 17 clinical trials involving 230,000 people and comparing adults from the general public who got checked to others who did not, they found that general checkups had little or no effect on total mortality or cancer, cardiovascular, heart disease and stroke mortality. Even if it seems counterintuitive, general health checks are unlikely to be beneficial, the experts concluded.

Checkups are necessary when there is already a disease, but performing a screening on healthy people is debatable, confirmed Borja Rivero, a family doctor at the Doctor Morante health center in Santander, Spain. People demand it, thats the problem, he added. But why is it that undergoing routine medical examinations may not be beneficial? The Danish specialists explained that most of the commonly used individual screening tests offered in general health checks have been incompletely studied.

Furthermore, while we cannot be certain that screening leads to benefit, all medical interventions can lead to harm. In a report accompanying the research, lead author Lasse T. Krogsbll, of the Nordic Cochrane Center and Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, added: One reason for the apparent lack of effect may be that primary care physicians already identify and intervene when they suspect a patient is at high risk of developing disease when they see them for other reasons, making additional examinations unnecessary.

However, in order for these people to be identified, they have to go to a health center from time to time, which may not happen in vulnerable groups due to marginalization or other access difficulties. Those at high risk of developing disease may not attend general health checks when invited or may not follow suggested tests and treatments, added Krogsbll. This is known as the inverse care law, a term popularized by the British doctor Julian Tudor Hart, explained Rivero. The one who demands it receives better care, not the one who needs it the most.

However, Krogsbll warned about the importance of distinguishing between people who do not feel sick and those with symptoms or a personal or family history of risk factors. The conclusions do not imply that physicians should stop clinically motivated testing and preventive activities, he pointed out.

False positives and overdiagnosis

Even basic tests, such as blood tests, can lead to unnecessary interventions or treatments. First of all, because there are no infallible tests and they can all give a false positive (an altered test that turns out to be nothing, with the additional stress and procedures it can entail) or a false negative (a normal result for someone who does have a problem, creating a false sense of security). More medicine is not always better, argued retired specialist in preventive medicine and public health Andreu Segura in an EL PAIS article from 2008.

The confusion that occurs among people and among some colleagues has to do with the idea that the more data, the more knowledge, but this is not true, warned the expert, who is still a member of the Bioethics Committee of Catalonia and the Public Health Advisory Council of Catalonia. It seems logical, but it is a very poor intuitive logic, he added, alluding to Bayes theorem, which calculates the conditional probability, essential to interpret any diagnostic test: the veracity of the results doesnt only depend on the accuracy of the measurement, but on the presence of what you are looking for in the population in which you are looking for it, he explained. Thus, for statistical reasons, the more patients there are in a population, the more reliable a positive result will be. Conversely, a positive is more likely to be false in the case of rare diseases.

Segura warned of an additional risk. With indiscriminate screening, when you start looking for things you dont expect, just in case, the probability of overdiagnosis is very high. This is what happens when they find latent or highly localized cancers that may never have progressed or may even have remitted spontaneously.

Rivero used as an example a request he receives frequently: to check the cholesterol of young people with no risk factors. Checking a 32-year-old man with no history of sudden death or hypercholesterolemia in the family is pointless, and can result in prescriptions for medication of questionable usefulness and that is not without risk in the event of minor changes.

Another example of overdiagnosis could be the frequent vitamin D deficiencies that have been diagnosed since this parameter started being added to other laboratory tests. The truth is that the proper levels are not even clear, and the levels agreed today among experts could be encompassing many healthy people, as U.S. researchers warned in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Scottish general practitioner and educator Margaret McCartney has studied extensively the use of screenings to find signs of disease in people who would otherwise never know about it or suffer any ill effects, and she agrees that more diagnoses may not necessarily translate into better outcomes. As she told The Guardian, if everyone were scanned for aneurysms [abnormally dilated blood vessels], around 2% of people would be found to have onebut, since most would never cause problems, intervention might well do more harm than good. McCartney also mentioned a mass screening program for thyroid cancer carried out in South Korea that detected 15 times as many cases without improving mortality from this disease.

In clinical practice, only interventions that work should be used, the Danish specialists point out in their editorial. They suggest focusing the efforts on structural interventions aimed at reducing disease, such as imposing higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol or restricting corporate advertising of harmful products. And instead of having a general checkup every year, added Rivero, the key is to maintain the right weight, walk or do moderate physical exercise and not smoke.

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Several large, urban counties across the United States gained residents or stemmed population declines in the year ending last July after losing residents in the previous 12-month period amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus population estimates released Thursday.

Population change is driven by migration, both within the U.S. as people move around inside the country, and from international trends as people arrive from abroad. It also depends on whether births outpace deaths, or vice versa.

Heres a look at what drove population change in the 10 largest U.S. counties from July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2022.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: The most populous county in the nation lost more than 90,000 residents last year and now has a population of 9.7 million people. Los Angeles County gained almost 34,000 residents from abroad and another 18,000 people from births outpacing deaths. But it wasnt enough to offset the almost 143,000 residents who left for another county. The loss from Angelenos moving elsewhere was 20% smaller than a year earlier.

COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: Home to Chicago, the nations second-largest county lost more than 68,000 residents last year. Residents of the Windy City and neighboring communities moved away to the tune of 94,000 residents. Unlike other major urban counties, Cook Countys population loss from people moving away wasnt much smaller than the previous year. It was the fifth-most popular destination for people arriving from other countries. The county had 5.1 million residents last July.

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: The county of 4.7 million residents which encompasses Houston had the nations second-largest population gain at 45,000 new residents, although 20,000 residents left for elsewhere. The gain was powered by one of the nations highest levels of migration from abroad and natural increases.

MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: The biggest domestic migration boom was in the county thats home to Phoenix. Coupled with strong international migration and natural increase, Maricopa County grew by almost 57,000 new residents and now has a population of 4.5 million people.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Even though San Diego County gained only 1,254 new residents, it was a reversal from the 11,000-person decline a year earlier. The drop in the number of residents leaving, combined with robust international migration as well as births outpacing deaths, brought the county to around 3.2 million residents.

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: The coastal county south of Los Angeles thats home to Anaheim and Disneyland lost almost 10,000 residents, but it was a smaller decline than the previous 12-month period due to a jump in international migration. It had a population of 3.1 million residents.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA: The county gained only 3,416 new residents last year, but it was an about-face from the nearly 30,000-person drop a year earlier. Miami-Dade continued to hemorrhage residents but that loss was overcome by the nations biggest influx of international migration. It had almost 2.7 million residents.

DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS: The county of 2.6 million people gained almost 13,000 new residents after losing almost twice that amount in the previous period. Robust international migration and births outpacing deaths helped it overcome the departure of 20,000 residents.

KINGS COUNTY, NEW YORK  The county which encompasses Brooklyn lost almost 47,000 people but the decline was almost half the size of the previous period. The county of 2.5 million residents had robust natural increase and a respectable amount of international migration, but more than 77,000 residents left.
Are tech companies moving too fast in rolling out powerful artificial intelligence technology that could one day outsmart humans?

Thats the conclusion of a group of prominent computer scientists and other tech industry notables such as Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak who are calling for a 6-month pause to consider the risks.

Their petition published Wednesday is a response to San Francisco startup OpenAIs recent release of GPT-4, a more advanced successor to its widely-used AI chatbot ChatGPT that helped spark a race among tech giants Microsoft and Google to unveil similar applications.

What do they say?

The letter warns that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity  from flooding the internet with disinformation and automating away jobs to more catastrophic future risks out of the realms of science fiction.

It says recent months have seen AI labs 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.

We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, the letter says. This pause should be public and verifiable, and include all key actors. If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.

A number of governments are already working to regulate high-risk AI tools. The United Kingdom released a paper Wednesday outlining its approach, which it said will avoid heavy-handed legislation which could stifle innovation. Lawmakers in the 27-nation European Union have been negotiating passage of sweeping AI rules.

Who signed it?

The petition was organized by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, which says confirmed signatories include the Turing Award-winning AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio and other leading AI researchers such as Stuart Russell and Gary Marcus. Others who joined include Wozniak, former U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Rachel Bronson, president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a science-oriented advocacy group known for its warnings against humanity-ending nuclear war.

Musk, who runs Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX and was an OpenAI co-founder and early investor, has long expressed concerns about AIs existential risks. A more surprising inclusion is Emad Mostaque, CEO of Stability AI, maker of the AI image generator Stable Diffusion that partners with Amazon and competes with OpenAIs similar generator known as DALL-E.

Whats the response?

OpenAI, Microsoft and Google didnt immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday, but the letter already has plenty of skeptics.

A pause is a good idea, but the letter is vague and doesnt take the regulatory problems seriously, says James Grimmelmann, a Cornell University professor of digital and information law. It is also deeply hypocritical for Elon Musk to sign on given how hard Tesla has fought against accountability for the defective AI in its self-driving cars.
In 2019, a viral tweet by a former St. Louisan named Alek Krautmann introduced the rest of the country to a St. Louis secret.

At St. Louis Bread Co.  Panera, if you must  you can get your bagels bread-sliced, cut into skinny vertical planks rather than two horizontal halves.

The tweet drew reactions both horrified and mocking. It confused more than a few locals who hadnt heard of bread-sliced bagels. It revealed St. Louis deeper culinary shame. Our town can boast dozens upon dozens of fine options for barbecue, doughnuts and Italian food, but our bagel culture is lacking.

Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced. It was a hit! pic.twitter.com/XNGbljtpYz  Alek Krautmann (@AlekKrautmann) March 26, 2019

According to a survey last year by the bagel experts at Lawn Love, St. Louis ranks way, way down at No. 75 among the "Best Cities for Bagel Lovers."

The situation grew only more dire at the end of last year with the closure of the Bagel Factory in Creve Coeur, a stalwart of New York-style bagels.

This schmear campaign against St. Louis bagels, though, might soon end. The area is now the home of three new or about-to-open bagel shops: Bagel Union in Webster Groves, C&B Boiled Bagels in Wood River and Leftys Bagels in Chesterfield.

At each, you will find artisans passionate about a roll that isnt simply bread with a hole in it, but a unique food with a tradition dating back to Poland circa the 1600s. And they just might turn around St. Louis' lackluster reputation for bagels.

A more perfect union

If you need proof that St. Louis is hungry for bagels, join the crowds at Bagel Union, which opened in January where Big Bend Boulevard intersects South Elm Avenue.

Bagels would seem like a natural offering from owners Ted Wilson and Sean Netzer, who operate the acclaimed Botanical Heights bread bakery, sandwich shop and pizzeria Union Loafers. Wilson grew up with his uncle bringing bagels to his house nearly every weekend, and he has worked in New York City, the bagel epicenter of the United States.

Still, bagels have never been a regular offering at Union Loafers. The staff has made them for holidays and staff meals  and had fun and made a good product doing so, Wilson said  but the kitchen setup isnt conducive to New York-style bagels, which are boiled first, then baked in the oven.

The inspiration for Bagel Union was the corner storefront at 8705 Big Bend itself, which Wilson and Netzer saw was available on their way to a meeting nearby.

It was like, Hey, thatd be a cool bagel shop, Wilson said.

And unlike the three-in-one Union Loafers, Bagel Union is just a bagel shop. Take a number and wait to order from the compact menu of bagels, schmears of cream cheese or whipped butter, bagel sandwiches and deli-style salads (also available as bagel sandwiches).

The bagels have been drawing crowds since before Bagel Union officially opened. A bagel-sandwich pop-up event at the new shop on New Years Day drew a line down the block.

The appeal of a proper bagel is obvious, Wilson said: You can't deny a warm, yeasty, crunchy thing that is giving you several different textures  obviously, different temperature experiences (too), especially once you throw in cream cheese or butter  and, like, that is a very special thing.

Fresh from the oven

Brothers-in-law Scott Lefty Lefton and Doug Goldenberg had no restaurant experience when they launched Leftys Bagels, which will open a storefront shortly after Easter and Passover at 13359 Olive Boulevard in Chesterfield.

A few years ago, Lefton found himself at a loss when his go-to Einstein's for a bagel with lox and cream cheese closed. A self-described tinkerer guy at home, he decided to teach himself bagel-making, reading books and watching YouTube videos.

I blew out two mixers at home, Lefton said. And I got it to a point where my family was like, These are really good.

Early in the pandemic, Lefton talked Goldenberg into joining his efforts, and they went to the Bakers Hub, a shared-use space in Chesterfield. They asked themselves three questions. Could they make a decent bagel? Could they make and sell a dozen of those bagels. Could they get some repeat customers?

And more or less in three weeks, we solved it, Goldenberg said.

The shared space wasnt ideal for sustainable bagel-making, though. It took Lefton and Goldenberg a combined 16 hours to produce 600 bagels. They have designed their new storefront to meet demand, both retail and some wholesale, while retaining their made-by-hand, New York-style ethos.

The bagel dough is proofed overnight, boiled in malt-sweetened water and baked in an oven atop a burlap-lined board  each bagel upside-down at first, then flipped right-side-up. The nuances matter, from the temperature of the dough to the temperature outside to the timing of the flip in the oven.

All those things absolutely equate to the sort of perfect bagel, right? Lefton said. Its a fresh product. Its meant to be eaten fresh.

Even here, though, there is more nuance. Lefton and Goldenberg say the perfect window for eating a bagel is roughly four to six hours out of the oven.

Breaking bread

Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe brought bagels to the United States, and the countrys Jewish community has nurtured and grown the bagel tradition.

Bagels are part of Jewish life, Lefton said.

Both Lefton and Goldenberg are Jewish, and they credit word-of-mouth in the local Jewish community for building their customer base.

And (whats) really driven us to build the restaurant is we feel this isn't just a thing for us, building a business, Goldenberg said. This is really something that we're bringing to the community. This is something that community has been longing for for a really long time.

The idea of community is also driving C&B Boiled Bagels, which Amy and Matt Herren will debut this month in Wood River. The couple hope their bagel shop will help revitalize Wood Rivers downtown.

In fact, C&B is the Herrens second restaurant here. They opened 1929 Pizza and Wine in December. Waits for weekend tables there grew so long that Herrens started taking reservations.

Matt and Amy had each already made a culinary mark in Edwardsville. Matt founded both Goshen Coffee and 222 Artisan Bakery; Amy was the chef-owner of the upscale restaurant Fond. They sold everything they owned and traveled for 10 years. They took contract jobs and founded their own company that manufactured storage for green coffee in Australia.

During the pandemic, they moved the manufacturing operations to the United States.

We took two years of, basically, being broke and living in our van, Matt said.

The couple eventually settled on a plot of land a few miles outside of Wood River. (They have traded the van life for a tiny house.) Matt started baking bagels. They saw an opportunity.

They surveyed the bagel scene in St. Louis and realized, Amy said, its a giant void.

The Herrens research for C&Bs New York-style bagels has included visits to New York, of course, but they have also taken inspiration from bagel shops from Phoenix, Arizona, to Providence, Rhode Island. They traveled to Spain to try a bagel shop in Madrid. (It was closed.) Their primary influence is a place called Los Bagels in Humboldt County in northern California.

C&B will feature both a retail storefront and an expansive wholesale operation at 62 East Ferguson Avenue. The retail component will be streamlined: breakfast and lunch, with bagels, schmears and bagel sandwiches.

No tables, no bathroom, no Wi-Fi, no nothing, Amy said.

A bagel bakery needs to be a bagel bakery, Matt said. It's not an artisan cafe. It is not an espresso shop. It's none of that. Youre there to make bagels.

Everything bagel

At Bagel Union, Wilson and Netzer want to re-create the experience, post-pandemic, of going into a shop and interacting efficiently, but personally, with one member of their team to place your order.

We just wanted to invite people back in in a way that felt good to us (and) feels good to them, Netzer said.

And maybe our bagel reputation is already improving; the bagel experts Lawn Love have moved us up to ninth for 2023. Another sign things are looking up: A sign in the window at the Bagel Factory says it will be reopening soon under new ownership.

And while Lefty's will happily toast your bagel, Lefton and Goldenberg are taking a firm stand against St. Louis' "secret" shame.

We did make a pact, however, Goldenberg said. The bread-sliced bagel is forbidden.

Photos: Bagels abound at Bagel Union Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels Abound with bagels
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.
Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger 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

PILOT KNOB, Mo.  Lori Ann Stuehmeyer spent three days in the Iron County Jail because she is poor.

It was my first time in jail, she told me.

Stuehmeyer is 64. She has no record. Shes disabled and lives on a monthly $892 disability check from the federal government.

Her run-in with the law started on a sunny May afternoon two years ago. She took her dog, a 7-year-old pitbull mix named Saint, for a walk in a park by the Arcadia Valley Pool in Ironton, about two hours southwest of St. Louis.

Stouts Creek runs through the park, and Saint likes to play in the water. On this day, the pool was closed. Stuehmeyer said she didnt see anybody around, so she let Saint off the leash so she could splash in the water. The local elementary school shares a border with the park and lets the kids play outside there. One of them had some sort of interaction with Saint.

The boy looked like he had a scratch on his back, Stuehmeyer remembers. She didnt think much of it and went home with Saint. Later that day, an Ironton police officer served her a summons. She was charged with an ordinance violation of having an animal at large.

She showed up at court on the given day and pleaded guilty. Associate Circuit Court Judge Scott Schrum set sentencing for three months later. This is where things took a turn for the worse.

There is no evidence in the court record that there was an actual dog bite, and Stuehmeyer was not charged with such a crime. But in a hearing in Schrums chambers, the judge told her that shed owe about $2,700 in restitution to the boys mother for medical bills and lost time off work, as well as fines and fees.

Stuehmeyer asked to see the documentation. The judge wouldnt let her, she says. So he sentenced her to three days in jail but suspended those days  if she paid the $2,700, plus other fines and fees, within nine months.

Stuehmeyer knew shed never be able to pay off that debt on her income. But she did what she could, sending $5 and $10 money orders now and then. Last September, with little of the debt paid off, municipal prosecutor Daniel Fall moved to revoke her probation. Hauled before Schrum, the senior citizen tried to explain her inability to pay.

He said he put me in jail because I told him I wasnt going to pay the fine, she told me. But he didnt let me finish. I was going to explain that I didnt have the money to pay the fine because I live on a fixed income of $892 a month and I couldnt afford it. He just slapped the cuffs on me and put me in jail.

Stuehmeyer, like thousands of other Americans in small courts like the one in Ironton, was headed to debtors prison. She wasnt locked up because she was a dangerous criminal, but because she couldnt afford the costs thrust upon her by a court. Like many others who end up in her position, she had no idea that the court had violated her civil rights.

She found that out a couple of months later, when she went to see Kenneth Seufert, an attorney in Farmington. Stuehmeyers friends and family put together some money so she could file for bankruptcy, in part because the mother of the alleged dog bite victim filed a civil lawsuit against her. When Seufert saw what had happened to Stuehmeyer, he fired off an email to the judge.

I can find nothing in the docket sheet that Ms. Stuehmeyer was ever advised of her right to counsel, Seufert wrote. She was never advised that if she was a poor person, an attorney would be appointed for her  No indigency hearing ever occurred.

Further, Seufert wrote, theres nothing in the Ironton animal at large ordinance that allows the city to charge a defendant for restitution. And threatening Stuehmeyer with jail time, and then sending her to jail, without letting her consult an attorney are violations of her civil rights.

One of the cases cited by Seufert in his letter to the judge is the famous Bearden vs. Georgia case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court said it was a violation of the 14th Amendment to send a person to jail because they cant afford court costs. That case turned 40 years old this year, and yet it is still violated by judges who dont want to take the time to assess a defendants indigency.

I didnt have any idea that I had those rights, Stuehmeyer says.

Its not clear if Schrum did. He didnt return phone calls seeking comment. Earlier this month, Stuehmeyer filed a motion, prepared by Seufert for free, asking for an indigency hearing. Schrum has yet to rule on it.

Like the entire legal system in Iron County  where the sheriff and two of his deputies have been jailed in an alleged criminal conspiracy  her case seems to be in limbo.

Stuehmeyer has been back to the jail several times since her incarceration, in the role of a volunteer. Her three days behind bars taught her that jail food is terrible, so she has been taking fruit to the inmates when she can afford it.

She hopes she doesnt end up on the other side of the bars anytime soon. If so, at least she now has a lawyer on her side.

It is unfortunate that the court has already imposed the jail sentence, Seufert wrote the judge. I hope not to become involved in this matter further.

But he added that his sense of justice will require me to appeal the case if Stuehmeyer returns to jail.

Jailed for being poor is Missouri epidemic: A series of columns from Tony Messenger Tony Messenger has written about Missouri cases where people were charged for their time in jail or on probation, then owe more money than the
The Mehlville School District is looking to voters to help them recruit and retain teachers and staff with pay raises.

Proposition E on Tuesdays ballot would raise property taxes by 31 cents for every $100 of assessed value. The owner of a home valued at $250,000 would pay an extra $147 per year.

The district is losing teachers to neighboring districts that pay more, administrators said. First-year teachers in Mehlville earn $1,938 less than the average starting teacher across St. Louis County school districts. The salary gap increases to a high of $7,585 with additional experience.

Teacher resignations in the district increased to 46 last year, after totals of 25, 36 and 32 in the previous three years. The district currently has 17 unfilled custodian jobs and 15 bus driver vacancies, about 20% of the total for each position.

Mehlville voters last passed a tax increase in 2015, at a rate of 49 cents, after rejecting four tax hikes in the 29 years prior.

Four out of 10 Jefferson County school districts will also have financial questions on the ballot.

Northwest School District in House Springs will ask voters to approve borrowing $28 million for renovation projects including enhanced security at school entrances and new surveillance systems. There is no tax increase associated with the ballot measure.

Voters in Hillsboro and surrounding areas will decide on a no-tax-increase measure to borrow $7.2 million for safety projects in the Grandview School District including bullet-resistant film on windows and doors. The funds would also go toward a kitchen expansion at the high school, a new sewer treatment plant and new school buses.

The Dunklin School District has a $13.5 million bond measure for school construction projects including security upgrades and a new high school gym with a storm shelter. The bond measure has no tax rate increase.

There are two ballot measures in the Sunrise School District in De Soto, neither raising taxes. The first would shift funds from debt service and add $200,000 to the operating budget. The other is a bond measure to borrow $1.5 million for improvements to school buildings including new roofs, windows and ventilation systems.
Clergy should be leading fight against gun violence

Following the Nashville shooting, we once again read of worshipers gathering to share thoughts and prayers for the dead and the bereaved. This is all good and necessary for healing, but I wonder when the clergy of the major denominations are going to step out of the pulpit and into the streets and legislative halls of this country.

Black church ministers are doing this on a daily basis, as the epidemic of urban shooting is decimating the families of their congregations. Can their white ministerial colleagues not step out of their navel-gazing concerns about the decline of their flocks and become persons of action? Joseph Cardinal Ritter and his colleagues of mainline faiths marched in Selma in those critical times when the fight for civil rights was in a crisis state. I wonder where are the prophetic cries of that generation today.

All I see and hear now are perfunctory condemnations and handwringing about what church buildings need to be closed due to an unengaged and apathetic community. Maybe there would be more people in the pews if there was prophetic action by these ministers. Maybe young women and men would want to take leadership roles in the church if there were models of faith in action to emulate. Maybe taking a stand to end gun violence and saving lives should be viewed as more important than their almighty tax-exempt status.

Paul Kilmer  Ballwin

Arming-up schools isnt a rational response to shootings

In the wake of this countrys most recent gun-related bloodbath, many gun fans will no doubt propose staffing schools with armed guards. The sad irony of turning our kids schools into prisons notwithstanding, lets consider the logistics of this proposal.

Most school activities get going around 7 a.m. and continue until around 5 p.m. Semesters are usually 16 weeks, with two per year, so thats about 1,600 hours of regular school. There are about 130,000 K-12 schools in the United States. That means if we put just one armed guard in each school (think about the size of a typical suburban high school campus), we would need about 208 million working hours of coverage. Assuming we could get people to fill those rolls for, say, $12 per hour, we would spend $2.5 billion annually.

Given the fact that many mass shootings have occurred at places already equipped with armed guards, the efficacy of this strategy is sketchy anyway. An alternative proposal might be to pass some compromise gun laws including universal background checks, restrictions on magazine capacities and red flag laws. None of these measures would violate Second Amendment rights.

Carl Fischer  St. Peters

There is no reason for civilians to possess AR-15 rifles

I am a Vietnam-era veteran. I spent three years on active duty in the Army. And though I served in Germany and not Vietnam, everyone who enters the Army receives the same eight weeks of basic training. During a significant portion of basic, we spent countless hours at the rifle ranges learning how to properly use our weapon  an M-16. Every target we fired at was in the shape of the upper half of a human torso. In other words, we were learning how to kill another human being with that weapon. Thats the only purpose of an M-16: to kill another human being.

The AR-15 is essentially a modified version of an M-16. Like an M-16, it is an assault rifle, which means it is designed to kill humans. I believe anyone who has served in the military would agree that there is no reason for a civilian to own an AR-15.

Michael Heyer  St. Louis

2nd Amendment was for states rights, not gun owners

As more and more people hide behind the Second Amendment, I feel it is appropriate to understand how it came about. Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison all wrote that the main reason for the Second Amendment was to avoid having a standing national army. The states required men to have certain weapons and they specified in the law what weapons these people had to keep in their homes so that when they were called to do service for state militias, they would have them. So they needed the Second Amendment to ensure that the troops would have arms and that the federal government couldnt take them away.

The Second Amendment placed both the right and burden of bearing arms on the people and the states. It was written for rational people in a rational society, but that is not where we live today. Senseless carnage is the unfortunate byproduct.

Frank Abbenhaus  Fenton

Nursing home pay and conditions need to be updated

Regarding Mental health conditions increasing in St. Louis nursing homes, report says (March 28): The Post-Dispatch has done all nursing home workers and residents a service with this article about how more people with mental illnesses are taxing the ability of staff to provide adequate care. Ive been doing this work for more than 15 years now, and I can say for certain that its never been harder.

Our pay, training and working conditions need to reflect this much tougher day-to-day reality in homes for those who cant take care of themselves. Government agencies need to step up inspections of nursing homes, and owners must accept smaller profits if this grim situation is ever to improve.

Lavetta Richardson  St. Louis

Read letters online at STLToday.com
Hutchinson said Trump should drop out of the race, arguing the office is more important than any individual person.

Hutchinson, who announced his candidacy on ABC's This Week, said he was running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future." He added: I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.

He is the first Republican to enter the race since Trump became the only former U.S. president to ever face criminal charges. Hutchinson's candidacy will test the GOP's appetite for those who speak out against Trump. Others who have criticized Trump, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, have opted against a campaign, sensing the difficulty of prevailing in a primary.

Hutchinson, in an Associated Press interview later Sunday, said it was important for voters to have an alternative leader and not simply go by default to somebody who is really wrapped around what happened in the past.

I dont think you have to be blustery. I think you can be honest and authentic, and thats what I want to be able to offer, he said.

In a sign of Trump's continued grip on the Republican base, most in the party  even those considering challenging him for the nomination  have defended him against the New York indictment. Hutchinson, notably, had said Friday that Trump should step aside," calling the charges a distraction.

In addition to Trump, Hutchinson joins a Republican field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to jump into the race in the summer, while U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those considering bids.

I think I stand out by stating my convictions and my vision for the country," Hutchinson told the AP. "I think that is illustrated in the last week, in how Ive handled the Trump indictment, how Ive handled how we need to move forward as a party and a country.

The formal campaign announcement will come April 26 in Bentonville, his hometown and also the home of Walmarts headquarters. He will be campaigning in the coming weeks in Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky.

He said he could be very competitive in places like Iowa, where campaigning involves retail politics like chatting with potential voters in diners. He also said he believed he would be financially competitive, though, certainly its not going to be at the level of the Donald Trumps of the world.

Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight years as governor. He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the worst scenario" for Republicans and saying it will likely benefit President Joe Biden's chances in 2024.

The former governor, who was term-limited, has been a fixture in Arkansas politics since the 1980s, when the state was predominantly Democratic. A former congressman, he was one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton.

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bush's head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the state's budget surpluses grew. He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Hutchinson, however, has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he vetoed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for children. Arkansas' majority-Republican Legislature overrode Hutchinson's veto and enacted the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

Trump called Hutchinson a RINO  a Republican In Name Only  for the veto. Hutchinson's successor, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has said she would have signed the legislation.

Since taking office, shes signed legislation aimed at reinstating the currently blocked ban by making it easier to sue providers of such care to minors.

Hutchinson, who endorsed Sanders and signed other restrictions on transgender youth into law, said the Arkansas ban went too far and that he would have signed the measure if it had focused only on surgery.

Although he has supported Trump's policies, Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former president's rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election. He said Trump's call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a U.S. attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s.

An opponent of the federal health care law, Hutchinson after taking office supported keeping Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion. But he championed a work requirement for the law that was blocked by a federal judge.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson tried to push back against misinformation about the virus with daily news conferences and a series of town halls he held around the state aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated.

The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning.
Maria Angeles Bonmati, author of the book 'Que nada te quite el sueno, por que dormir es fundamental para tu salud' [Let Nothing Keep You Awake: Why Sleeping Is Essential for Your Health].

Mythology, religion and art are full of references to the difficulty of falling asleep. Writers like Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortazar, Juan Rulfo and Sylvia Plath suffered from insomnia and addressed it in their works. In his letters, Franz Kafka mentioned his problems sleeping, which even prompted a scientific study published in The Lancet to analyze how insomnia might have influenced the Czech authors work.

There have been very prolific and successful authors who have suffered from insomnia. For example, one tends to think that Kafkas work is very much conditioned by that insomnia. But we can also ask ourselves what geniuses like Kafka would have done if theyd had a good rest, what level their work would have reached without such problems, said Maria Angeles Bonmati, a University of Murcia PhD in Physiology and a researcher in chronobiology. In her book Que nada te quite el sueno [Let Nothing Keep You Awake], Bonmati staunchly argues that good sleep is a fundamental pillar of health. The cases in which poor sleep has an artistic or financial benefit are rare, she said. Normally the opposite is true, she added: insufficient sleep creates a number of problems.

Question. In Funes the Memorious, Borges wrote that to sleep is to be distracted from the world.

Answer. In certain contexts, there seems to be the idea that time spent sleeping is wasted time, unproductive time, because when were sleeping we dont produce or consume, which seems to go against what the world in which we live demands.

Q. Sometimes it even seems like not getting much sleep is a status symbol these days.

A. I remember that when I was a teenager I had a teacher who bragged to us, his students, that he slept very little, no more than five hours a day. He told us that the more he slept, the less he lived. That view is totally wrong. It is true that there are people who need less sleep, and they are probably fine with five hours of sleep, but that doesnt mean that [everyone] has to make that a goal. On the contrary, for most people, too little sleep is going to mean being far less productive in their daily lives, and [its going to] diminish their physical and cognitive capacities.

Q. Speaking of productivity, you explain in the book that having a population thats dead tired is not a very profitable situation.

A. Citizens poor sleep costs between $50 and $60 billion a year in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany; that is more than 1.5% of those countries GDP. As we said, sleep deprivations impact on productivity is clear, but we also know perfectly well that poor quality sleep is associated with the onset of many diseases, which implies significant economic costs. So, this argument highlighting the economic importance of sleep is welcome because many people do not see beyond economic data.

Q. Sleep Is Life, is the title of the second chapter in your book.

A. Life cannot be understood without sleep. That is why I also included a chapter about sleep in other animals, to convey the idea that sleep, despite a number of disadvantages  it disconnects us from the environment and reduces our ability to react  is an essential physiological process. Otherwise, we would not have maintained it throughout our evolution as a species.

Q. This years World Sleep Day has the slogan sleep is essential for health. How does insufficient sleep damage our health?

A. Given that sleep is essential for our whole organism to function properly, not enough of it will affect all our physiological processes. Therefore, insufficient sleep has been linked to the onset of metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases, a greater propensity to develop infectious diseases and a higher likelihood of getting certain types of cancer and developing neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimers disease. We must also add the issue of mental health, with which sleep has a bidirectional relationship: with poor sleep, sooner or later mental health problems will develop, but often sleep problems are also a symptom that something is wrong with our mental health. In fact, in many cases difficulty sleeping is one of the first symptoms of depression.

Author Maria Angeles Bonmati, at the University of Murcias School of Biology, where she researches chronobiology, on March 15. alfonso duran

Q. Is poor sleep a public health problem? For instance, in Spain its estimated that over 30% of citizens wake up every day not feeling like theyve had a good nights sleep or they end the day very tired.

A. Given all the implications of not sleeping well, I think it is an issue that should be given much more attention than it currently receives. Among many other things, the authorities should protect the environment in which we rest. To sleep, we need darkness and silence. In cities, the issue of silence usually leaves a lot to be desired. There are many people who cannot sleep well in their homes because of the sounds of nightlife, or because of the noise of street-cleaning machinery, which often doesnt even respect [the time were typically sleeping].

Q. In your book, you explain that we now know that to improve our quality of sleep, it is important to have a good contrast between day and night, good lighting during the day (preferably natural light) and darkness at night.

A. We know this, but we nevertheless have a pattern that, if its not inverted, lacks significant contrast. We spend our days indoors, often with very poor lighting; I have even seen windowless offices. And then we leave work, and we get hooked on the light from screens, or we go into a hyper-lit shopping mall at 9 p.m. In addition, we have a very late dinner, which also means that we go to sleep with a digestive process in progress, which is not conducive to sleep. Our lifestyle certainly does not favor a good nights sleep.

Q. We are increasingly stressed out, glued to screens, and living in cities that are becoming brighter, noisier, and warmer because of climate change. Thats not a scenario that is very conducive to sleep.

A. Not really. It has already been shown that peoples time asleep is being lost as the minimum temperatures at night increase. However, I believe that if we become individually and collectively aware of this issue, we can begin to protect our sleep environment.

Q. What do you think about daylight saving time?

A. (laughs) This is a very controversial issue, but as a researcher in chronobiology I have to say that the current scientific consensus advocates abolishing the time change and maintaining a standard time; that is best physiologically. From a scientific and health perspective, the conclusion is clear, but there are other social and economic interests that go against that.

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Rillion has announced Rillion Pay, a fully managed payments operations solution enabling organizations to eliminate paper checks, manual payment processes, and supplier exceptions.

Chicago, Illinois--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2023) - Rillion, a leading provider of invoice and payment automation software, has announced Rillion Pay, a fully managed payments operations solution enabling organizations to eliminate paper checks and manual payment processes.





Online Bill Payment Automation Software for Business Announced by Rillion



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Organizations are discovering the value of automating manual tasks and the management of vendor invoice payments. Online payment automation such as Rillion Pay, or Payments as a Service (PaaS), helps organizations save time, reduce costs, prevent fraud and gain visibility into their payment process.

Payment automation is a valuable tool for companies looking to outsource their vendor invoice payments. Without automation, accounts payable teams and finance teams have to be physically together to accomplish tasks such as signing physical checks, doing check runs and managing paper and paper delivery processes.

After implementing a payments solution, outdated paper-driven processes are removed from the payment process. Time is saved with a digital payment solution that offers better auditing and control functionality.

Companies save time by removing administrative payment tasks. Costs are reduced because manual work and paper processes are eliminated. Fraud is prevented with reduced payment management liability, and organizations get insight into who is being paid, by how much and by what method.

"The solution removes the burden of exception handling, disputes, and manual supplier communication," said Matt Lechowicz, Head of Sales for Rillion. "And automated, proactive checks and balances ensure your payments are settled."

Finance administrators can take advantage of modern electronic payments including virtual cards, ACH, Enhanced ACH, eCheck and international wires. Account information is securely collected, validated, encrypted and stored.

Data cleaning and enrichment ensures payment data is always up-to-date and reliable for making accurate payments and increasing electronic payment conversion.

Reducing fraud is a top priority for CFOs. Rillion Pay provides a complete audit trail and full visibility to track down and understand the path of a payment for both internal and external investigations.

Rillion Pay is SOC compliant and is offered alongside the Rillion AP Automation platform that includes invoice data capture, approval workflow, automated PO matching and a searchable invoice archive in the cloud.

Visit here, to find out more about Rillion Pay.

Rillion provides accounts payable automation solutions to over 3,000 customers worldwide. The AP automation solution includes capture, invoice processing, approval workflow, PO matching, auditing, an invoice archive and automated payment.

Contact Info:

Name: Derek Cavaleri

Email:[email protected]

Organization: Rillion, Inc.

Address: 330 North Wabash Ave. 23rd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States

Phone: +1-872-205-3170

Website: https://www.rillion.com

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EAHI is offering Full Spectrum Home Inspections to ensure our clients are informed and protected with their largest investment. The health and safety of our clients and their family members are of the utmost importance to us. Book today



East Alabama Home Inspectors (EAHI) is excited to announce the launch of its new service, Full Spectrum Home Inspections. The new inspection services will be offered in Auburn, Alabama, and its surrounding area, providing homeowners and potential property buyers with comprehensive home inspection services focusing on health and safety.



As a leading home inspection company in Auburn, Alabama, EAHI aims to prioritize their clients' health and safety by offering a wide range of services, including accessibility surveys, indoor air quality surveys, mold testing, radon testing, VOC testing, and asbestos testing. Additionally, the company focuses on aspects of home inspection that traditional inspection services may miss, with services such as infrared inspection, sewer scope inspection, and chimney flue inspection.



According to a spokesperson for East Alabama Home Inspectors, "Our primary focus is on health and safety items for our clients. We want our customers to avoid costly health problems and complications by undertaking thorough inspections that help identify potential hazards before they become a problem. With our Full Spectrum Home Inspections, clients can have peace of mind, knowing that they have a reliable and experienced inspector looking out for their best interests."



The benefits of using East Alabama Home Inspectors to perform Full Spectrum Home Inspections are numerous. Not only do clients avoid costly health problems by being informed about the true condition of the home, but they also benefit from the avoidance of costly repairs related to sewer lines, septic tanks, and chimneys that could have been negotiated. The company's inspection reports also provide valuable insights into the home's systems and potential health hazards that could affect the occupants.



For added peace of mind, EAHI provides a host of industry-leading warranties, including a $100,000 1year structural warranty, a 5-year roof leak warranty, a 125-day Home warranty Plus, a 125-day Mold Guard for visible mold, a 6-month termite warranty, a 1-year sewer guard warranty, and a recall check on appliances. The warranties provided by EAHI offer their clients an exceptional level of protection that is unrivaled in the industry.



"We know that buying a home can be a stressful experience, which is why we strive to make our clients' lives easier by providing additional concierge services, such as utility transfers," said EAHI's spokesperson. "We want our clients to have a seamless and stress-free move into their new home, and we will do everything possible to ensure that their experience is a positive one."



East Alabama Home Inspectors is proud to offer Full Spectrum Home Inspections with certified inspection experts and certified master inspectors, ensuring clients receive the highest quality inspection possible. The company has an excellent reputation for providing reliable, detailed reports and expert advice, making them the go-to choice for home inspections in Auburn, Alabama.



About East Alabama Home Inspectors



East Alabama Home Inspectors is a leading home inspection company serving Auburn, Alabama and its surrounding areas. With a focus on health and safety, EAHI offers comprehensive Full Spectrum Home Inspections, including accessibility surveys, indoor air quality surveys, mold testing, radon testing, VOC testing, and asbestos testing, in addition to other services that traditional inspections may miss. EAHI is committed to providing clients with the best possible service and offers industry-leading warranties to ensure that clients are protected even after the inspection is complete

About Us: EAHI is your Certified Inspection Expert, Certified Master Inspector and we inspect what matters to protect our clients.

Contact Info:

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Email: Send Email

Organization: East Alabama Home Inspectors

Phone: 3342312827

Website: https://eahi.biz



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Mansfield, TX (PRWEB) April 01, 2023

Design-Build modular construction company Ramtech Building Systems has announced the completion of an eight-classroom relocatable modular building for Prestonwood Christian Academy North of Prosper, Texas. The 9,856 square foot relocatable modular building, referred to as 'Pride Rock' by the school's administration, adds additional facility space to accommodate the school's burgeoning middle school student enrollment.

The traditional modular school building's floor plan includes eight student classrooms, a multi-use commons area, boy's and girls' restrooms, and administrative space for two offices and a conference room. The interior of the building is finished-out with vinyl covered gypsum on the walls, a combination of carpet and vinyl composition tile for the flooring, and a lay-in the acoustical tile ceiling. The exterior of the building utilizes a parapet wall design finished with HardiePanel fiber cement vertical siding to blend in with the existing adjacent structures. Heating and cooling of the building are accommodated with Bard exterior wall-mounted air conditioner units. Ramtech's scope of work included the design, manufacture, and installation of the eleven modules, providing for the utility point of connections, the interior finish-out, and furnishing the steps, ramps, and decks. The project was fast tracked to be completed in 90 days.

As the country's fastest-growing private school, Prestonwood Christian Academy North is part of the Prestonwood Christian Academy System of Schools and is a ministry of Prestonwood Baptist Church based in Plano, Texas. PCA North now serves students from PK-3 through the 12th grade, with its first senior class in the 2022-2023 academic school year. The school system also includes the PCA Hybrid program which offers a combination of on-campus and off-campus learning, PCA Online for virtual learning opportunities, and two affiliate schools; St. Timothy Christian Academy which assists students with learning differences, and The King's Academy which serves low-income students the South Dallas community.

About Ramtech Building Systems and Modular Construction

Since 1982 Ramtech Building Systems has been providing innovative relocatable modular buildings and two types of permanent modular construction for commercial companies, educational institutions, government agencies, and healthcare providers throughout the Southern United States. As a vertically integrated design-build construction company, Ramtech provides full in-house design, a manufacturer direct product, and complete site construction services all within a single-source solution. Ramtech can offer facilities built using permanent modular construction on both a pier and beam or concrete slab foundation. Both options combine the best of off-site manufacturing and on-site construction techniques to produce a building faster and with less cost, but identical in the look, functionality, and life expectancy of a completely site-built structure. By emphasizing a value engineering approach, Ramtech has successfully completed over 4,500 diverse projects of all sizes. For more information, visit the company's website at RamtechModular.com.



Read the full story at https://www.prweb.com/releases/prestonwood_christian_academy_north_pride_rock_modular_building_from_ramtech_building_systems/prweb19260343.htm
LOS ANGELES , April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Opening statements and presentation of evidence are set for April 3, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in Department 14 of the Los Angeles Superior Court in a case filed by Barta Law PC against a medical doctor and his corporation involving claims that they retaliated against a former employee, Dr. Yamin Shwe , after she refused to be concurrently on-call at a Comprehensive Stroke Center and another hospital, because it was against the law and jeopardized patients' lives.

In the lawsuit, Dr. Yamin Shwe , an Endovascular Neurointerventionalist, accuses Kok-Chye Tan , M.D. and KC Tan MD Medical Corp. of violating California's Whistleblower and Retaliation statutes (Labor Code section 1102.5 and Business & Professions Code section 2056) by retaliating against, filing a lawsuit, and terminating Dr. Shwe after she refused to participate in an activity that violates a local rule and regulation.

Los Angeles County Department of Health's EMS "Stroke Receiving Standard" (Ref. 322) requires all Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSC) to "have a dedicated on-call endovascular neurointerventionalist [like Dr. Shwe ], and neurologist, who cannot be concurrently on-call at any other hospital or specialty service."

The lawsuit explains that, because "Time is Brain", meaning stroke patients need emergent and timely treatment, Dr. Shwe refused when Tan was going to place her concurrently on-call without backup at Methodist Hospital of Southern California (now USC Arcadia Hospital ) and Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park, California .

Dr. Shwe completed two Fellowships, one in Vascular Neurology and a second at UCLA in Interventional Neuroradiology, in order to be able to provide life-saving treatments to stroke patients.

Jury selection was completed on March 30, 2023 .

The lawsuit is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court , Stanley Mosk Courthouse , located at 111 N. Hill Street , Los Angeles, California . Dr. Shwe is represented by Barta Law PC , a Physician Advocacy firm located in Newport Beach, California .

Los Angeles Case No. 20STCV21289

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trial-starts-in-lawsuit-by-doctor-yamin-shwe-who-treats-stroke-patients-alleging-retaliation-after-she-refused-to-engage-in-the-unlawful-activity-of-being-concurrently-on-call-at-two-hospitals-301787802.html
THE HAGUE (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 suspected war crimes during the conflict.

He is one of just a small number of heads of state who have faced justice in international and hybrid war crimes tribunals. Following is a look at sitting and former heads of state who have appeared as defendants since World War Two.

NAZI GERMANY - KARL DOENITZ

At the Nuremberg trials in 1945, seen as the forerunners of international war crimes tribunals, Nazi Germanys political, military, and economic leaders were prosecuted. Among them was Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, the first former German president to be put on trial. Doenitz, who was only a head of state for a few months after the suicide of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, was convicted in 1946 and spent 10 years in a West Berlin jail.

YUGOSLAVIA - SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

Former Yugoslav and Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic became the first ex-head of state to stand trial before an international court since World War Two when his trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) started in The Hague in 2002.

Milosevic was charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his leading role in the 1990s Balkan wars that followed the break-up of federal Yugoslavia. Before a judgment could be rendered, Milosevic died in his cell in a Hague detention centre in 2006.

LIBERIA - CHARLES TAYLOR

The first ex-head of state to be convicted of war crimes by an international court since the Nuremberg trials was former Liberian president Charles Taylor. His trial before the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone started in 2006. In 2012 he was convicted of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the notoriously brutal militias he backed in nearby Sierra Leone. Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison that he is now serving in Britain.

KENYA - UHURU KENYATTA

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has seen two heads of state appear before it in proceedings against them. In 2014 then-Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta became the first sitting head of state to appear before the ICC in a pre-trial hearing.

The charges against him were related to alleged stoking of ethnic tensions before the 2007 presidential election and committed before be became head of state. Later in 2014, the prosecution withdrew the charges and blamed the decision on political interference with witnesses, especially after Kenyatta was elected president. In 2015 the ICC dropped the case.

IVORY COAST - LAURENT GBAGBO

In 2016 former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo became the first former head of state to go on trial before the ICC. Gbagbo faced charges of crimes against humanity related to post-election violence over his refusal to accept defeat at the polls in 2010 following a decade in power.

After a three-year trial, Gbagbo was acquitted in 2019. Judges ruled the prosecution's case linking him to the post-election bloodshed that killed some 3,000 people was "exceptionally weak". Gbagbo returned to Ivory Coast in 2021 and vowed to remain involved in politics until his death.

CAMBODIA - KHIEU SAMPHAN

The former head of state of Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia, Khieu Samphan, faced trial in two separate cases before the U.N.-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). He first went on trial in 2011 and was convicted in 2014 for crimes against humanity over atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge "killing fields" regime and got a life sentence.

Most of the estimated 1.7 million victims of the 1975-79 ultra-Maoist rule of the Khmer Rouge died of starvation, torture, exhaustion or disease in labour camps, or were bludgeoned to death during mass executions.

After his second trial from 2014 to 2018, Samphan was convicted of additional crimes against humanity and genocide against the Vietnamese people.

Genocide is the gravest of international crimes and the hardest to prove as prosecutors need to show perpetrators had a special intent to destroy a national, religious, racial or ethnic group.

Khieu, 91, is serving his life sentence in Cambodia.

CHAD - HISSENE HABRE

Former president Hissene Habre, who ruled Chad with an iron fist from 1982 to 1990, went on trial in Senegal before the African Union-backed Extraordinary African Chambers in 2015. His trial came after 17-year campaign by his victims and rights groups to bring Habre, who lived in exile in Senegal, to justice.

Habre's rule, which began with a coup, saw widespread killings by his infamous political police who rounded up suspects and held them in secret detention centres. In eight years, tens of thousands were raped, tortured and killed.

In 2016 he was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in 2021 after contracting COVID-19 in prison.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
FILE PHOTO: Iran's and U.S.' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Iranian navy said it identified and warned off a U.S. reconnaissance plane near the Gulf of Oman on Sunday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

"After the warning, the plane was prevented from entering the country's skies without authorization," said the report, identifying the plane as a U.S. Navy EP-3E.

While the opening line of the Tasnim report said the aircraft had crossed into Iranian airspace, the same report also said the aircraft had not entered Iranian skies and had left after the warning.

The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has had similar confrontations with U.S. forces in the past. In 2019, Iran shot down a U.S. drone which it said was flying over southern Iran.

On Dec. 31, Iran said its military had launched a drone to warn off a reconnaissance plane trying to approach Iranian war games on the Gulf coast, without identifying the aircraft.

The United States has long deployed weaponry and troops in the oil-producing Gulf to provide security to its allies.

Long-strained relations between Iran and the United States have deteriorated further in the last year, as talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal hit deadlock and after Tehran unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters.

U.S. sanctions have also targeted suppliers of Iranian drones which Washington said have been used to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.

Iran has previously acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said they were sent before the invasion. Moscow has denied its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Editing by Tom Perry, David Goodman and Raissa Kasolowsky)
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant attends a news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel, March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to dismiss last week, has completed his visit to the occupied West Bank and warned against Iranian interference.

"We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we wont allow it now, or anytime in the future," Gallant said during the visit to an army brigade in the West Bank.

Netanyahu announced Gallant's dismissal a week ago after he spoke out against the pace of the government's hotly contested judicial reforms.

The announcement triggered foreign alarm and unprecedented street protest, and Gallant never received a formal dismissal letter from Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition government has since moved to pause the judicial reforms.

Gallant was briefed during his visit on a probe into a Palestinian motorist who the Israeli military said it shot on Saturday after he rammed his car into a group of soldiers in the West Bank.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions are simmering after months of violence in areas of Jerusalem and the West Bank. Tensions are also simmering with Syria, Iran and with Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

"All our fronts are tense. The Iranians are extending their outreach to (the West Bank) and Gaza, and are attempting to entrench themselves in Syria and Lebanon," said Gallant.

(Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Josie Kao)
FILE PHOTO: Matteo Salvini, Italian infrastructure minister and deputy PM, attends a news conference for the government's first budget in Rome, Italy November 22, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's deputy prime minister on Sunday criticised a decision by the government's Data Protection Authority to temporarily ban chatbot ChatGPT, saying the block over privacy concerns seemed excessive.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy on Friday after the national data agency raised concerns over possible privacy violations and for failing to verify that users were aged 13 or above, as it had requested.

The move by the agency, which is independent from the government, made Italy the first Western country to take action against a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence.

"I find the decision of the Privacy Watchdog that forced #ChatGPT to prevent access from Italy disproportionate," Matteo Salvini, who is leader of the ruling coalition League party, wrote on Instagram.

Salvini, who also serves as transport minister, said the regulator's move was "hypocritical" and that common sense was needed as "privacy issues concern practically all online services".

Italy's Data Protection Authority declined to comment on Salvini's post.

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.

OpenAI, which disabled ChatGPT for users in Italy on the back of the agency's request, said on Friday it actively works to reduce the use of personal data in training its AI systems like ChatGPT.

"We look forward to working closely with (the Italian data agency) and educating them on how our systems are built and used," it said.

The ban could harm national business and innovation, Salvini said, adding that he hoped for a rapid solution to be found and for the chatbot's access to Italy to be restored.

"Every technological revolution brings great changes, risks and opportunities. It is right to control and regulate through an international cooperation between regulators and legislators, but it cannot be blocked," he said.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Elvria Pollina; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Philippa Fletcher)
FILE PHOTO: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a Quad Ministers' panel at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, India on March 3, 2023. OLIVIER DOULIERY/Pool via REUTERS

By Laurie Chen, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Sakura Murakami

BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met his Chinese counterpart on Sunday and urged Beijing to promptly release a detained Japanese national.

Hayashi's meeting with Qin Gang was the first visit to Beijing for a Japanese foreign minister in over three years, as the two rival Asian powers seek common ground amid rising regional tension.

An employee of Astellas Pharma Inc was detained in China for unknown reasons, a company spokesperson said a week ago. Five Japanese nationals are currently detained in China, two of whom have already been tried and found guilty, according to Japan's foreign ministry.

"I made a protest against the recent detention of a Japanese person in Beijing, and made a strong point of our position on the matter, including the early release of this national," Hayashi told reporters.

Qin responded that China "will handle (the case) according to the law", according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Hayashi said Japan is seeking transparency over the legal process regarding detentions and has asked for China to secure a fair and safe business environment. He did not elaborate on China's reaction.

"This happened when the Chinese government is trying to promote Japanese investment to China, and we see a discrepancy there," deputy press secretary of Japan's Foreign Ministry Yukiko Okano said to reporters on Sunday, adding that this point was raised by Hayashi during his meetings in Beijing.

The Japanese minister also conveyed Tokyo's grave concerns over an increase of China's military activity, including its collaboration with Russia and its maritime presence in the East China Sea, he said.

"We both affirmed the importance of continuing to have a dialogue on issues including national security," Hayashi said.

Hayashi said he spoke to Qin about the "importance of ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan strait". Beijing said Qin warned Japan "not to interfere in the Taiwan issue or undermine China's sovereignty in any form", stressing that Taiwan is "the core of China's core interests".

"Japan's position has not changed, not with this remark, and not in recent years," Okano said when asked for comment on Beijing's account.

Tension has been rising over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. The democratically elected government in Taipei rejects Beijing's claims and says only its people can decide its future.

Japan also lodged a diplomatic complaint in August after five ballistic missiles launched by the Chinese military fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone, near disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

After Tokyo on Friday announced export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, following the U.S., Qin warned his counterpart "not to play accomplice to an evildoer".

The curbs are aligned with similar measures from the U.S. and the Netherlands, aimed at restricting China's ability to make advanced chips.

Hayashi told reporters the restrictions "are not aimed at any specific country".

Despite their differences, China and Japan agreed to restart trilateral talks with South Korea, Hayashi said, calling the agreement "an important achievement" from his meeting with Qin.

"We agreed to continue communicating closely on various levels, including the foreign ministerial and leadership levels," Hayashi added.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, the first bilateral summit in almost three years.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo, and Laurie Chen in Beijing; Editing by Christopher Cushing and William Mallard)
FILE PHOTO: President of the Philippines Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. attends a news conference after the European Union (EU) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) commemorative summit in Brussels, Belgium December 14, 2022. REUTERS/

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Sunday welcomed the European Commission's (EC) decision to continue recognising certificates issued by his country for Filipino seafarers, saying it averted job losses for roughly 50,000 sailors.

The EC had warned in 2021 it would withdraw its recognition of Filipino seafarers' certificates unless serious measures were taken, including compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers.

The Southeast Asian country, among the world's biggest suppliers of maritime labour, has since made serious efforts to comply with the requirements, particularly in key areas like the monitoring, supervision and evaluation of training and assessment, the EC announced on Friday.

Marcos had met with EC President Ursula von der Leyen in December, when he attended the ASEAN-EU summit in Brussels, to discuss the 15-year-old issue involving Filipino seafarers.

In a statement, he said his administration will do everything to address all other issues faced by the local maritime industry so that the Philippines can produce more world-class seafarers.

The EC said it intends to provide the Philippines with technical assistance to further improve its education, training and certification system for seafarers.

The seafarers are among millions of overseas Filipinos sending home more than $2.5 billion of their earnings each month, boosting consumer spending that drives growth of the domestic economy.

(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Marea Verde Chihuahua is an organization that has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018.

Marcela Castros office in Chihuahua is more than 100 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, yet the distance doesnt prevent her from assisting women in the United States in circumventing recently imposed bans on abortion.

From the headquarters of Marea Verde Chihuahua, an organization that has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018, Castro and her colleagues provide virtual guidance, as well as shipments of abortion pills for women who want to terminate a pregnancy on their own.

This abortion model, in which no travel, clinics or prescriptions are needed, sparked interest in the U.S.  and a surge of requests for help  as the Supreme Court moved to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion last year. But the model was developed by Mexican activists through decades of facing abortion bans and restrictions in most of Mexicos 32 states.

We dont offer medical attention because we are not doctors, Castro said. Part of our work, though, is to remove the stigma toward abortion. Although it is a medical procedure, it does not require hospital measures.

To safely advise women on self-managed medical abortions, Castro and her colleagues were trained to become acompanantes  capable of serving as a guide and partner, whether in person or from long distance. They have carefully studied national abortion guidelines and they know by heart some protocols established by the World Health Organization.

Since they do not charge for the help they provide, most acompanantes need jobs outside the organizations where they volunteer. Among them are lawyers, psychologists and other professionals. Over the years, they have created a nationwide network that has secured abortion access for Mexican and foreign women, whether or not abortion is legal where they live.

We are ordinary women working for reproductive justice, Castro said. We seek what the State has denied us out of prohibition.

Mexican women face a scenario that resembles the U.S., where more than a dozen states  including Texas  have imposed sweeping abortion bans. Unless its justified under certain exceptions, abortion is considered a crime in two-thirds of Mexicos states.

Chihuahua, where Castro lives, is ruled by a conservative governor and its penal code criminalizes most abortions.

Among all other Mexican border states where acompanantes support Mexican or American women, abortion is only legal in Baja California. Additionally, a 2021 ruling by Mexicos Supreme Court held that those who get the procedure shouldnt be punished in Coahuila, a state south of Texas.

More than 30 women collaborate with Castro in Marea Verde Chihuahua. They are part of what she calls a binational network, bringing together several Mexican collectives willing to facilitate self-managed abortions in the U.S.

Most women from the U.S. contact Marea Verde Chihuahua through social media or by someones referral. Most communicate in Spanish, though the acompanantes are able to assist English speakers as well.

After an initial contact, members of the team check their availability and an acompanante is assigned to each case. Further communications usually proceed via WhatsApp.

The accompaniment starts with some basic questions to determine the gestational age, how the pregnancy was confirmed, and the womans overall health. Once the information is evaluated, the acompanante proposes how to proceed.

In most cases, medication is advised and the acompanante is able to provide a combination of two abortion pills, misoprostol and mifepristone, both considered safe by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Although both medications require a prescription in the U.S., misoprostol can be acquired without a prescription in Mexican pharmacies  though some vendors refuse to sell pills to women. Mifepristone can be obtained through some abortion rights organizations.

The work of the acompanantes troubles anti-abortion activists in Mexico. One of them, Jahel Torres of a national group called Pasos por la Vida, suggested there were health risks because abortion pills were being distributed by non-medical personnel.

However, the WHO has depicted self-managed abortion as a safe option.

Castro and her colleagues usually send pills by mail and provide virtual follow-up until the abortion is completed. But depending on its personnel and resources, each Mexican abortion collective has its own logistics.

Aborto Seguro Chihuahua, which is part of the binational network, provides long-distance guidance to women in the U.S. but medication is not mailed from Mexico. Instead, the acompanantes collaborate with volunteers who transport the pills from Ciudad Juarez, in Chihuahua, to El Paso, Texas, where the packages are delivered either in person or through mailing services.

Laura Dorado works alongside 20 people in Aborto Seguro Chihuahua and says her team handles around 120 abortions per month. Some requests come from Mexico; others from Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

When she receives a message from a woman who is able to travel from the U.S. to Mexico, Dorado can offer some advice. We have identified some pharmacies in which buying the pills is not a struggle or we suggest staying at a hotel and request the medication by delivery, to keep a low profile.

Dorado said Aborto Seguro Chihuahua mostly receives mifepristone pills from Las Libres, an organization founded 20 years ago in the conservative state of Guanajuato, in central Mexico, where abortion is still banned.

Led by activist Veronica Cruz, Las Libres pioneered in training acompanantes to provide virtual guidance for self-managed medical abortions in Mexico and, since 2019, in the U.S. as well.

In January 2022, we had an average of 10 cases every day. When Roe was overturned, in June, we had up to a hundred, Cruz said.

She said the numbers kept rising until they reached 300 requests per day, all from the U.S. The workload was immense for her team of 10 people, so she created new networks to help.

In one year we have created more than 20 networks. We are about 200 people helping only the United States, Cruz said.

As with Marea Verde and Aborto Seguro in Chihuahua, Las Libres usually receives requests from Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Occasionally, women also reach out from Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Georgia, California, New Jersey and New York.

Though abortion is legal in some of those states, acompanantes believe many of these women are of Hispanic origin and either want to avoid going to an abortion clinic or cant afford to pay up to $600 to get an abortion where they live.

According to Cruz, many of these women are wary of self-managed abortions, and fighting that stigma has become part of their work.

Most people think pills arent safe, so changing all of that so quickly has been a challenge, Cruz said.

John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, said there has yet to be any intensive effort to prosecute people involved in supplying abortion pills to Texas residents.

Texas simply does not have enough policy tools to efficiently stop these practices, Seago said. His organization is pushing for new legislation, he added so that those breaking Texas law by aiding and abetting abortion digitally or physically will be held accountable.

Nathan Cortez, a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas specializing in health law, said he considered it inevitable that women in states with abortion bans would consider options outside the U.S.

This demonstrates the limits of a states jurisdiction  the more onerous and unreasonable your state laws are, the more likely you are to push prohibited activities elsewhere. Cortez said.

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FILE PHOTO: India's main opposition Congress partys leader Rahul Gandhi holds a news conference after he was disqualified as a lawmaker by India's parliament on Friday, at partys headquarter in New Delhi, India, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/ Anushree Fad

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will appeal a two-year jail sentence in a defamation case brought against him by lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local media reported on Sunday.

Gandhi, the 52-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and leader of the Congress party, was found guilty of defamation by a court in the western state of Gujarat over comments he made in a speech in 2019.

Gandhi has filed a plea in the Surat sessions court against the magistrate order, the Indian Express newspaper reported, while a senior Congress party official, who declined to be named, told Reuters the court is scheduled to hear the plea on Monday.

Gandhi's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

India's parliament disqualified Gandhi after sentencing as the law that governs elections in India mandates disqualification of any lawmaker who is "convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years".

A lower court sentenced Gandhi on March 23 for two years in jail on charges of defamation.

Opposition politicians say Gandhi's trial and the disqualification is the latest evidence of the Modi government's strongarm tactics and follows investigations and legal troubles faced in recent months by other opposition parties.

Gandhi said on March 25 that he would not comment on his sentence as the matter was subjudice, but he said his disqualification from parliament was because he had asking Modi what he called "tough questions" over Modi's relationship with Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani conglomerate.

The opposition critics accuse Modi government of giving undue favours to a business group led by billionaire tycoon Adani.

Shares of Adani group companies plunged after Hindenburg Research on Jan. 24 alleged that the Indian company had engaged in stock manipulation and used tax havens. It also said the group had unsustainable debt.

A day after Gandhi's conviction, 14 political parties jointly petitioned the Supreme Court, saying opposition groups were being selectively targeted by federal investigative agencies. The court has agreed to hear the plea on April 5.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Rupam Jain; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
CHEYENNE (Tribune News Service)  It all begins at Lackland Air Force Base.

Thats where every United States Air Force recruit spends their eight weeks of basic training before being stationed at one of the 59 Air Force bases within the continental United States  if they arent deployed overseas, that is.

Some airmen end up here at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, one of three installations that oversee the domestic Intercontinental Ballistic Missile force, forming one-third of our countrys nuclear triad. Whether they hail from the luscious greenery of central Oregon, the humid southern air of Florida, the dry hearth of the Texas panhandle or the snowcapped mountains in Utah, these military servicemen and women now call the high plains of Laramie County their home.

Consequently, they were required to abandon the environment of their hometowns, the security of childhood friend groups and comfort of regional familiarities. But more strenuous a trial than any of these is the sudden absence of their familial foundation.

However, these airmen need not feel alone in Cheyenne.

Since 2019, F.E. Warren Air Force Base has encouraged its airmen to enter the Adopt an Airman WYO program, which matches military members with willing Cheyenne-area residents. The program allows for these younger individuals to have a home away from home, where they can remove themselves from the stress of daily tasks, have a home-cooked meal and build lasting connections with community members.

Such connections have proven instrumental in many airmens and foster families quality of life.

Last Monday morning, Sharon Taylor was sitting beside her son, Airman 1st Class Jasiah Brown, in the home of Brenda and Paul Gregg just south of Cheyenne. Taylor made the trip from their home state of Oregon less than 24 hours earlier to visit her son for the first time since he moved to Cheyenne last summer.

I think this was a good way for him to get out and see things, she said.

I just wanted him to be able to experience things. I think the benefit of this program is hes able to have others and a family, especially since Im not going to be here.

Like her son, she had never seen the vast Western landscape or lived in a place as cold, flat and botanically barren as southeast Wyoming. It was one of Browns primary worries when he first arrived, knowing that the outside elements would only encourage him to become a recluse in the military dorms, hindering his experience in his first station.

Its more of being able to basically get out and see things. Most people, when they first get here, they dont necessarily know what to do because they see Wyoming and theyre like, Oh, its kind of flat, Brown said. They think, What do we do? So most of them go down to Colorado to ski, or whatever.

So ( F.E. Warren) pushes people to do the program just to kind of learn what there is out there.

Emotionally fulfilling

Airmen can commune with their matched families as often as they want, whether these opportunities come in the form of weekly dinners, family outings or simple game nights with the other airmen who are under a familys care.

Matches between an airman and a family can fall through  some families can serve as a better support system, depending on an airmans needs, lifestyle and interests. Luckily, Brown seems to have found the right match with the Greggs.

Aside from some unlikely common interests between he and Paul Gregg  particularly, knives and knots  he was more easily able to learn more about the Front Range region and the activities available to him. On slower weekends, he had a place to eat and an inviting shelter from the Wyoming winter.

Paul and I stay really busy, and we love to rock hound, we love to fish, we hunt, metal detect, we go pan  we have something going all the time, year-round, Brenda Gregg said.

This winter is a bit of a different story, however. Gregg stopped and motioned out the window to the blanket of snow still coating the ground from the most recent storm.

A couple of weekends ago, it was freezing, she said. We sat here, and my son came down from Douglas, who also was in the Navy, and we had a good time. We played  Wyoming-opoli, and my other airman beat the crap out of all of us.

The Greggs raised sons who ultimately decided to serve in the U.S. Navy. For this reason, they are well acclimated to the military way of life, the deployments and rotations, and know the difficulties that military service places upon newly enlisted personnel.

Their enthusiasm for the Adopt an Airman program reflects the deeper meaning and emotional fulfillment that comes with participating in the program.

It is pretty awesome to watch these young airmen grow, Brenda Gregg said. To watch them with their personal triumphs, see their military accomplishments and to be along for the ride, I think, is pretty awesome.

The Greggs also emphasized that participating in the program, opening up your home to airmen, doesnt require elaborate planning or restructuring of your daily schedule. The essence of the Adopt An Airman program is for a family to simply provide the space and include the airman in their life.

No expectations, agenda

Relationships between airmen and their matched families are something that, like most thing, best develop organically. This is the case with David and Melissa Wilson, who own and operate a ranch just northeast of Cheyenne. It was Melissas idea to apply for the program last summer, and since then, theyve come to quickly form a bond with their airman.

With ample space and farm life to spare, theyre completely capable of hosting three young airmen  two men and one woman  who come and go as they please. Though its only been a short time since they opened their home, they are well on their way to forming a long-term bond with these airmen, having grown accustomed to their unique personalities and interests.

The key to their experience so far is the release of any expectations or agenda.

If people who go into the program embrace that, theyre gonna get something wonderful out of it, because it allows these people to open up and to blossom with you. It kind of puts all their guards down, so to speak, when theres no expectation, when theres no agenda, David Wilson said in a phone interview Thursday morning.

Calling in from their ranch home, the Wilsons identified this as one of the major benefits to not only the program, but their specific location.

One of the Wilsons three airmen is Blake Patrick, a native of Michigan who was on assignment at the time of the interview. The Wilsons essentially have an open-door policy  all of the airmen have the opportunity to visit the house unannounced, even when the Wilsons arent home.

Patrick, in particular, the Wilsons said, finds solace in the isolated environment of the ranch. It is a place where, after a sand in the wound kind of day, he can go to clear his mind, David Wilson said. Patrick will often step out to visit the horses and barn cats, immersing himself in a welcome change of scenery from the day-in, day-out responsibilities he has in the military.

When you go into the military, you are told, This is what you do. This is what you eat, where you go, when you do it, David Wilson said. Theres still a very strong amount of regiment there, which is not bad. But I also think because these folks are young and theyre in the prime of their lives, theyre still learning about life.

It makes sense, because we can give them a place not to replace their parents, not to replace their families or their homes, but maybe to give them an opportunity where they feel like theres a little bit of home.

More airmen, regardless of their years of experience in the military, likely need this kind of escape.

Carolyn Ritschard, program director for Adopt an Airman WYO, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that there is currently a waiting list for airmen looking to participate in the program due to lack of family applicants. Like the Wilsons and the Greggs, many families have elected to take in multiple airmen to make up for the shortage.

More than one

Recently, Noam Mantaka and Abby Rowswell, who already care for their young son and are expecting their second, have taken in another airman as their longtime match is preparing for rotation at the beginning of May.

The transition is expected to be a difficult one between them and Omar Saidi, who has been with Mantaka and Rowswell since 2019. On Wednesday morning, the three sat in the living room of Mantaka and Rowswells home, while Aviv, their son, played on the carpet before them.

Over the years, Saidi has built a significant catalog of memories with his host family, from accidentally breaking Mantakas bike  an event they laugh about during the interview  to working in Mantakas food truck, Noams Table, to attending Rowswells graduation from Laramie County Community College.

Theyve celebrated holidays together, like Passover and Christmas, and have invited Saidi to break his fast during Ramadan. Saidi, originally from Florida, has also come to acquire a vast knowledge of the region and what it has to offer, some of which he has hiked and camped, others he has biked with Mantaka.

He knows that he is safe, Mantaka said. If he is stuck, he knows that he can call someone, and he will get help. We will do everything we (can). If I cannot do it, I will send a friend.

Mantaka has already vowed to call Saidi regularly once he makes the trip to Texas, where he will be retrained as an F-35 crew chief and then restationed.

Though his time in Cheyenne is approaching an end, Saidis time with Mantaka and Rowswell likely never will.

I dont know how Ill ever get out of the crazy situations I get myself into without this guy, Saidi said, smiling at Mantaka.

(c)2023 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.)

Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle at www.wyomingnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
CRESSON, Pa. (Tribune News Service)  Long after John Holoka Jr. went missing in action during World War II, his relatives displayed pictures of the Army Air Forces technical sergeant in their homes.

Holokas great-nephew, Keith Levatino, remembers seeing those images of a man he never met.

As a young boy and even into my teens, I knew that the loss of this great-uncle really had an impact on my grandmother, my own mother  he was her uncle  and all of the siblings, Levatino, a school superintendent from Little Falls, New York, said in a telephone interview. And I knew that because they would often talk about him, and, at mostly every house I would go, there was always this picture of great-uncle John.

But the photographs were also reminders of important, painful and lingering unanswered questions.

How did Holoka go missing one summer day in 1944? Why was very little information provided? Where were his remains?

Now, eight decades later, the answers to those questions are finally known.

Earlier this month, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that Holokas remains have been discovered and identified through archaeological digs and scientific analysis.

Holoka, then 25 years old, was an engineer aboard a B-24H Liberator that was struck by anti-aircraft fire on June 22, 1944, after a bombing raid on a German airfield in Saint-Cyr-lEcole, France, near Versailles.

The pilot was able to keep the damaged plane in the air until it was back over England. Thats when he gave the order to bail out. Seven of the 10 airmen successfully parachuted from the plane, but the other three  including Holoka  were still on board when it crashed into farmland in West Sussex, England, according to details provided by the DPAA.

Levatino, who submitted a DNA sample during the investigatory process, had been looking for that type of information for years.

In my mind, I wanted to bring mental and emotional closure to my grandmother, mother and their families, Levatino said. I knew how hurtful this was to them, but I also wanted to make sure that he was honored  his memory as well as his service  and I think Ive accomplished that.

Finding and identifying Holokas remains has been a decades-long process.

The American Graves Registration Command of the Army Quartermaster Corps searched the spot where Holokas plane crashed in November 1947, after the end of the war, but couldnt find the remains of any of the airmen. Holokas body was declared non-recoverable on May 10, 1950.

A local archaeological group tried to excavate the site in 1974, searching for airplane parts. U.S. Department of Defense search efforts took place in 2017 and 2019.

Human remains were eventually found at the crash site in June 2021. They were analyzed by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, which looked at mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome evidence, as well as dental records.

The DPAA announced on March 22 that Holoka was killed in action and accounted for as of Jan. 24.

Levatino called it really a wonderful outcome.

Holoka is one of 5,127 people listed on the Wall of the Missing at the 30.5-acre Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial site in England. A rosette will be placed next to Holokas name on the wall to indicate that his remains have been recovered and identified.

A burial service for Holoka is scheduled in Portage on May 1, according to the DPAA.

(c)2023 The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.)

Visit The Tribune-Democrat at www.tribune-democrat.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Washington, D.C., May 28, 2012: An American flag flies in front of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Memorial Day 2012. Located near the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995, and commemorates the sacrifices of the 5.8 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed services during the three years of the Korean War.

For memories of the war from Korean War veterans, check out C.J. Lins 2012 article here.
A few days ago, a crowd gathered on the steps of the New York Supreme Court, in southern Manhattan. Outside the heavily guarded court, supporters and detractors yelled out at one another over and over again. The situation appeared to be on the brink of turning violent. That is until Todd Phillips, the director of the Joker sequel, Joker: Folie a Deux, had enough takes, called cut and allowed the extras to go.

On that same street, just a little further north, Donald Trump will appear on Tuesday to be formally arrested and arraigned. Trump  who is the first former U.S. president to be indicted in history  has called for mass protests, and warned of potential death and destuction. For now, the grand jurys decision to indict Trump has caused fewer protests on the street than the protests in the scene starring Lady Gaga, but Trump supporters are beginning to mobilize for Tuesday and police will try to secure the area. Weighing heavily on everyones mind is the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which Trump often pays tribute to.

Trumps indictment marks a before and after in the political and justice system of the United States. Prosecutor Alvin Braggs investigation into hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels has further polarized an already deeply divided country, challenged U.S. institutions and will define the next 18 months leading up to the 2024 presidential elections.

Following an indictment by a grand jury, the next step is for the defendant to turn themselves in or be arrested. The prosecutor wanted the former president to turn himself in last Friday, but for logistical and security reasons, the secret service, Trumps lawyers and the Prosecutors Office agreed that this will happen on Tuesday. Trump will leave his Mar-a-Lago mansion on Monday, fly to New York on his private jet and spend the night in his Trump Tower penthouse on Fifth Avenue. From there, a security detail will take him to 100 Center Street, where the criminal courts and the Prosecutors Office are located.

Trump is scheduled to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m. in a courtroom on the 15th floor on 100 Centre Street. The judge presiding over the case is Juan Merchan, who was born in Colombia and educated in the United States. Trump has already attacked Merchan, since he was the judge in the case that demonstrated that the Trump Organization had been committing tax fraud for years. Before appearing before the judge, the former president will be processed: his fingerprints and mugshot will be taken, but he will not be handcuffed when he is taken into the courtroom.

Trump will be informed of his rights. The charges against him will be read in court, and he will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Merchan will decide whether to set bail or some other precautionary measure. The former president plans to return to Mar-a-Lago that same afternoon. And will deliver remarks from Florida after his arraignment.

Although the specific charges are not yet known, they are tied to Trumps 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 a misdemenour 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. According to sources cited by the AP agency, there is at least one felony among the thirty-something charges for which the grand jury has decided to indict Trump.

Lanny Davis, the lawyer representing Michael Cohen  Trumps former lawyer who served time after confessing to paying the hush money  told CNN on Friday that there is extensive corroboration in the case, citing documents such as email, text messages, telephone calls and other witnesses.

Unlike jurors who decide guilt or innocence after listening to the defense and the prosecutor, for an indictment, a grand jury only has to decide whether there is sufficient evidence of crime. In this case, the grand jury was made up of 23 people, and a simple majority was enough to indict Trump. The grand jury only listens to the evidence and testimony offered by the prosecution, which gives them a clear advantage. There is a legal saying, coined by a New York judge in the 1980s, that district attorneys can convince a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. Mike Pence, who was Trumps vice president, used this phrase in a CNN interview on Thursday. Alabama Republican Congressman Barry Moore went further and brought in sandwiches to indict at the Capitol on Friday.

Trump received the news of the indictment at Mar-a-Lago. Photos on Twitter and Instagram show him with having dinner with his wife, Melania Trump, at the clubs restaurant. The former president and his team were taken by surprise by the announcement, since it had been reported that the grand jury would not meet again until a few weeks later. In any case, Trump was quick to respond to the news, calling it an attack on our country, political persecution, electoral interference at the highest level and a witch hunt. He continued posting messages on his social network Truth Social until the wee hours of the morning.

Despite the fact that the charges are still unknown, Republicans have closed ranks around Trump. Among those who have remained silent, the most prominent figure is the Minority Leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who the former president has declared an enemy. This is more about revenge than it is about justice, tweeted Nikki Haley, Trumps official rival in the Republican presidential primaries.

Trumps former vice president, Mike Pence, also came to his defense, even though he is also thinking of running in the Republican presidential primaries. Pence called the indictment an outrage and an act of political persecution. Whats more, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who seemed to distance himself from Trump when the former president predicted his arrest two weeks ago, not only proclaimed on Twitter that the indictment was un-American but even threatened to refuse to assist in any extradition request  perhaps knowing that Trump would appear voluntarily in court.

Marjorie Taylor Greene (known by her initials as MTG), one of Trumps closest allies, has gone even further and called for U.S. President Joe Biden to be impeached. Other Republicans have called for an investigation into Bragg; Hunter Biden, the presidents son; and Democrats in general. When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson tweeted.

Far-right talk of a coming civil war

In the right-wing media, Trumps indictment has spurred rhetoric of a coming civil war. In the same week that it was revealed that the right-wing Fox News would face trial for defamation for airing false allegations about the 2020 presidential election, its star presenter, Tucker Carlson, said that Trumps indictment was a greater assault on democracy than the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He added: Probably not the best time to give up your AR-15.

During his show, Carlson also spoke with Glenn Beck, a bestselling author and the founder of the far-right TV and radio network TheBlaze. Beck went even further with his doomsday talk. Im going to make a prediction. By 2025 we are going to be at war, we are going to have a new dollar, [...] a currency collapse and we will live in a virtual police state. I know that may sound crazy to a lot of people. Its not far off. The Bill of Rights is gone. These are the messages that the leading news network in the U.S. is broadcasting in prime time.

This climate of polarization favors Trump ahead of the Republican primaries. As Charlie Cook, the founder of the Cook Political Report and a political analyst on electoral trends, said a few months ago, close to 50% of voters in the Republican primary would jump off the Grand Canyon if Trump asked them to. Trumps potential are unlikely to use the indictment to criticize the former president, as this would be akin to siding with the Democrats, which explains why Republican have closed ranks around Trump.

Trump knows this and is going to lengths to play the victim and martyr. He spent most of his first campaign rally last week talking about his legal problems, and immediately after being indicted launched a successful fundraising offensive. According to a statement released Friday by the Trump campaign, it raised $4 million in donations in the 24 hours after the indictment, with the average person donating $34.

This indicates that around 120,000 people donated to Trumps campaign. This incredible surge of grassroots contributions confirms that the American people see the indictment of President Trump as a disgraceful weaponization of our justice system by a Soros-funded prosecutor, a press release from the former presidents campaign read. Most notably, more than 25% of the donations came from first-time donors to the Trump campaign, further cementing Trumps status as the clear favorite in the Republican primary.

But being the favorite in the Republican primaries does not mean he will be in the favorite in the 2024 election. Many Republicans fear a repeat of the disappointing results of the November midterm election, when Joe Biden appeared to be struggling, but ended up retaining control of the Senate and achieving the best outcome of siting president in 20 years. At the time, Trump, his apocalyptic messages and his extreme-right, hand-picked candidates were blamed for scaring away independent and moderate voters.

Thats what Michael DuHaime, who was an adviser to George W. Bush, John McCain and other Republican leaders, believes might happen in the 2024 election. Being indicted may solidify some Trump supporters, but it wins back absolutely zero voters who left him between 2016 and 2020. None. No independent who voted for Biden thinks Trump is a martyr or victim suddenly worthy of support, said DuHaime, who is the head of the MAD Global consultancy firm, in a message on Twitter on Friday.

Trumps indictment will define the 18 months that remain until the 2024 presidential elections. It may be that the real winner will be Biden. The presidents popularity remains very low and his advanced age is of concern to some Democratic leaders. But Biden is willing to run for re-election there are no viable alternatives in sight. Perhaps having Trump as a rival is the best possible scenario for him. The Democratic position is that Trumps indictment shows that no one is above the law.

Biden hasnt even made that point. He prefers to stay on the sidelines and avoid anything that could be used to build Trumps victim narrative. On Friday, he intentionally approached journalists when leaving the White House and they asked him about the indictment up to five times.

 Mr. President, any reaction to the Trump indictment?

 No.

 Are you worried this will further divide our country  the indictment?

 I have no comment on that.

 Are you at all concerned about possible protests in the wake of the indictment?

 No, Im not going to talk about Trumps indictment.

 Sir, what does this mean for the rule of law that former President Trump has been indicted?

 I have no comment at all on Trump.

 Mr. President, do you think that the charges against Trump are politically motivated?

 I have no comment on Trump.

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NEW YORK (Tribune News Service)  New York City officials plan to close key streets in lower Manhattan as a security measure when former President Donald Trump appears in court on Tuesday to be arraigned, said a person familiar with the situation.

Several streets surrounding the Manhattan courthouse, including Centre Street and Baxter Street, are expected to be closed to traffic, while other adjacent streets such as Worth Street and Canal Street, may also experience intermittent closures, the person said. Vehicles could also be prohibited from parking in the immediate area, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter isnt public.

Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, the first former U.S. president to be indicted. A grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who had been investigating Trumps role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, determined on Thursday that there was enough evidence to bring criminal charges against him.

Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination for next years presidential race, has denied any wrongdoing and called the probe and the indictment a partisan attack. Bragg is a Democrat.

Preparations were already visible on Friday afternoon as court officials in the lower Manhattan courthouse readied for Trumps arraignment.

A team of Secret Service agents accompanied by New York Police Department officials toured the courthouse and its entrances Friday, apparently mapping the former presidents transit through the building. The public was later barred from entering the floor where New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, the judge who will preside over Trumps case, has his courtroom.

Just before sunset Friday, at the city park located across the street from the courthouse, a parks department employee shooed out visitors and locked the gates, announcing the venue was now closed. It typically closes at 10 p.m.

Trump already warned there could be violence if he was indicted, saying on his Truth Social platform on March 24 that if he was charged there could be potential death and destruction. Ahead of the indictment, he also called for protesters to take our nation back, echoing his rhetoric before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The NYPD issued a statement Saturday saying there are no credible threats to New York and that the department remains ready to respond as needed.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said on Twitter Thursday that NYPD and other law enforcement agencies have been planning and coordinating intensively for this moment. New York City is ready. If there is a Trump mob, they have lost the element of surprise.

After Trump predicted hed be indicted March 21, the New York Police Department deployed additional officers on foot and in police cars to monitor the immediate area around the courthouse. The NYPD installed temporary flood lights around the building, which also includes the offices of Bragg.

As soon as word of Trumps indictment began to filter out, additional metal barricades were placed around the building and teams of officers were posted at each corner and across the street where the Manhattan grand jury worked.

___

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VACAVILLE, Calif. (Tribune News Service)  In 1973, hundreds of American Prisoners of War being held captive in Vietnam finally gained their freedom, boarding planes en route to the United States by way of Travis Air Force Base.

On Friday, those veterans were honored for their service and sacrifice during the second and final day of the 50th Anniversary of Operation Homecoming celebration at Travis.

Despite memories of the horrific war, the mood was jubilant and the veterans present were wreathed in smiles.

Its the way many of us dealt with things, veteran Michael OConnor, retired pilot and chief warrant officer, explained later.

In a video, Gen. Michael Minihan with Air Mobility Command shared deep gratitude for Vietnam veterans.

I send my deepest honor and respect from Air Mobility Command, he said. Its an honor to follow in your footsteps.

Col. Derek Salmi, commander of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis, shared the sentiment, saying he was honored and humbled by their presence. He thanked their families for their sacrifices, as well, and said the celebrations at Travis reaffirm what a grateful nation affirmed 50 years ago and that the veterans are a moral North Star to follow.

Know that we will never waver in our remembrance of you, he said, nor would those Missing in Action be forgotten.

The Vietnam War ran from November 1955 to April 1975 with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973. An estimated 58,220 servicemembers were killed.

A three-part video series followed, speaking with POWs about their time in captivity, and after. It was a moving remembrance.

Retired Capt. Charlie Plumb, a naval aviator and guest speaker, spoke about being shot down on his 75th mission and shared a bit about the experience. When freedom came it was unexpected, he said, but also the most beautiful day of our lives. ... We thought we dreamed about it. We prayed.

He thanked those that made the rescue possible.

On the tarmac, Salmi renamed the Travis AFB Passenger Terminal and hosted a historic marker dedication ceremony in the spot where former POWs touched down on American soil.

We stand on your shoulders as we go forward, he told the veterans.

The commander described the moment as deeply moving.

It is amazing to see them and hear their stories, he said.

The contingent later headed to the Travis Air Museum for a look at a new exhibit, that of a POW complete with prison garb worn in Vietnam. Michael OConnor made the donation, describing how important it was that people never forget what servicemembers went through in Vietnam.

OConnor hammered home that the story is just not about the prisoners, bu also their families and how so many came together to bring them home.

I hope it helps people reflect on what sacrifices were made, he said.

A POW roundtable was slated to complete the event.

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The government of Pakistan Saturday filed a plea in Supreme Court to withdraw a curative review petition against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

In its petition, the government stated that it wants to withdraw the appeal filed against the judgment of the countrys top court.

The government does not want to pursue this case, the petition read seeking withdrawal of the case while considering the requirements of justice.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, two days earlier, announced the government's decision to call off the review against Justice Isa dubbing it an act of state-led vengeance by the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led regime.

"On my direction, the government has decided to withdraw the Curative Review Petition against senior most Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Qazi Faez Isa," the premier wrote in his tweet.

PM Shehbaz said that the curative review was based on the ill will to "harass and intimidate" Justice Isa at his predecessor's (Imran Khan) "behest".

A separate statement issued by the PM Office shared that a cabinet meeting chaired by the premier had already given assent to taking back the reference. It added that Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has been directed by the PM to take back the curative plea.

The federal cabinet, in July last year, had approved the withdrawal of the curative review petition.

In 2021, the Imran Khan-led government filed a curative review petition against the order of the majority in the review petitions of Justice Qazi Faez Isa passed on April 26 of the same year.

However, the registrar of the Supreme Court returned the instant petition after raising objections to it, saying that once the review petition is decided, it cannot be reviewed.
Amid reports of an exchange of goods between Pakistan and Israel, the Foreign Office (FO) denied on Sunday having made any trade with the middle-eastern nation.

The Foreign Office spokesperson reacting to the reports of the sell of Pakistani commodities in the Israeli markets said there is no change in Pakistans policy about the Jewish state.

The FO spokesperson further directed to contact the Ministry of Trade and Commerce for further reaction to the news.

Separately, in a press release, the Ministry of Commerce in Islamabad stated that the rumors of Pakistan beginning trade with Israel were unfounded and nothing more than propaganda.

The release mentioned that the news of Pakistan starting trade relations with Israel was misrepresented by the American Jewish Congress in their press release, which didnt mention any official trade between the two countries.

This statement was made in response to claims made by the American Jewish Congress that a shipment of Pakistani food products had been delivered to Israel by Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel Benkhald.

Benkhald shared a video on Twitter of the goods he had exported to Israel, including dates, dried fruit, and spices.
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
The Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China is likely to be re-opened on Monday for all kinds of traffic after almost three years.

All arrangements in this regard have been completed and the local customs has worked round the clock to ensure the transportation of cargo.

The major trade route between the two countries was closed in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.

Home Secretary Gilgit Baltistan Rana Muhammad Saleem Afzal in a statement said the Khunjerab Pass will be opened from Monday.

Deputy Commissioner Hunza on Sunday visited Khunjerab site to inspect the zero point where heavy machinery of Frontier Works Organization is removing snow from roadside to clear it for re-opening of Pass.

The closure of Khunjerab Border caused immense financial hardships to the local business community and a large number of workers were left jobless.

According to protocol signed between Pakistan and China, trade and travel activities between the two countries through the Khunjerab pass start on 1st April and close on November 30 every year.

The port was temporarily opened twice early this year to ensure smooth customs clearance of Pakistans urgently needed supplies

The two temporary openings facilitated 128 cross-border personnel visits, 328 transportation vehicles passes, and export of more than 6,000 tons of goods.
Cahill McDonald sexually assaulted the little boy while his mother was in the next room

This is the creep who sexually assaulted a little boy while his mother was in the next room.

Newry Crown Court was told Cahill McDonald even molested the toddler as they sat on a sofa watching television.

Sentencing the 34-year-old on Wednesday, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the victim, who was aged between three at five at the time of the abuse, told his mum the paedophile had touched him.

There was also evidence from his mother that she saw the defendant move his hand from under the blanket or rug while he was on the sofa, said the judge.

He told the court it was clear this has had a significant affect on the child, who has become withdrawn at a crucial time of his development.

McDonald, from Drumintee Road in Forkhill, previously admitted a single count of sexually assaulting a child under 13 on dates between June 14, 2019, and April 13 last year.

Judge Kerr said that while reports had indicated the defendant performed well below average in terms of intelligence, there was nothing in the evidence to suggest he didnt know what he was doing was wrong.

McDonald denied having any sexual interest in children, but the judge said probation services had assessed him as a high priority for intervention.

The court was also told he had multiple testimonials and references which showed he is extremely highly thought of.

Judge Kerr said while he believed a 12-month jail term was appropriate, guidelines dictated that where a sentence was under 12 months, the court should consider an enhanced combination order of community service and probation.

I consider, given the background of the case, that this is one where I should impose an enhanced combination order, he added.

McDonald was given three years of probation and ordered to complete 60 hours of community service.

The judge also imposed a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for seven years.

He warned the paedophile that if the terms of his sentence were breached, he would be jailed.
James McGrogan (36) and 31-year-old Christopher Cullen were remanded in custody

Some of the drugs and paraphernalia seized by the police

Two alleged drugs barons arrested over a 100,000 cocaine haul that police linked to the East Belfast UVF are Catholics from west Belfast.

James McGrogan (36) and 31-year-old Christopher Cullen were remanded in custody after appearing in court last week charged with possessing the drug with intent to supply.

Loyalist sources said they were surprised the seizures had been linked to the East Belfast UVF, given the backgrounds of the people in the dock.

It is telling that when they appeared in court, there was no mention of the UVF, an insider said.

Both of these individuals are originally from west Belfast. They have no connection whatsoever to the organisation [the East Belfast UVF].

Judge Mark Reel told a sentencing hearing at Belfast Crown Court last week the police believed all drug dealing in east Belfast was connected to the paramilitary gang.

Grogan and Cullen were arrested after police stopped a car they were travelling in on the citys Montgomery Road on March 25, the day after Judge Reel made his comments.

Cops had earlier witnessed the Volkswagen Jetta being driven to a property on Picardy Avenue, where a package was passed through the window.

With a search failing to locate this item, the vehicle was taken away for further examination.

After a more detailed investigation, officers discovered a professionally installed, hydraulically controlled hide.

A detective told Belfast Magistrates Court: Inside that hide there was a kilogram of cocaine in various states. There were broken parts of what we would describe as a compressed block, loose cocaine in bags, prepared deal bags of cocaine, unused deal bags, scales and all the accoutrements of drugs supply.

There was also 30,000 approximately in cash, which was located in a Flannels [shopping] bag.

This item would be consistent with what was passed through the window at the time of the observations on Picardy Avenue.

McGrogan, who has an address on Ardenlee Drive, was remanded in custody after the court heard he has 22 criminal convictions, six of which are for serious drug crimes.

It was also revealed he is currently on bail for serious drugs offences linked to the Encrochat phone network.

Co-accused Christopher Cullen, from the Upper Lisburn Road, appeared in court the following morning on the same charges of possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

Giving evidence, a detective claimed the defendants clean record made him an ideal candidate to fly below the radar and transport drugs.

He said: If he [Cullen] has gone out of his way to modify this car, is it indicative that this is being done on a regular basis?

Defence solicitor Adrian Harvey argued a distinction could be made between the alleged roles played by Cullen and McGrogan.

There is no way Mr Cullen could have exited the vehicle or stopped driving to secrete any package, the lawyer said.

He doesnt hide the fact that this was his vehicle. He works for a local delivery firm.

However, that was not enough to stop his client from being remanded in custody.
Its understood two inmates in the exercise yard helped a third inmate up to the netting covering the yard and he retrieved the package.

Peadar Keating has assumed the role of top dog among the Kinahan cartel inmates in the prison.

Brazen criminals tried to get a drug shipment into Portlaoise Prison by throwing it over the prison wall into an exercise yard despite the presence of an army sniper on the prison roof.

Sources confirmed the crude smuggling attempt occurred at the states only top security prison on Wednesday evening.

Its understood two inmates in the exercise yard helped a third inmate up to the netting covering the yard and he retrieved the package.

He was subsequently detained but not before authorities believe he swallowed the package.

He was taken to a close observation unit for round the clock monitoring until such time as he passes the contraband.

The incident is said to have added to ongoing concerns among officers in the prison about the quantity of drugs and phones currently being smuggled into the top security facility.

A source said Kinahan cartel aligned inmates have the A Block of the prison flooded with phones and drugs and that Wednesday nights drug drop was one of many to have occurred in recent months.

There is a serious situation developing on A block, the source said.

Portlaoise Prison

In July of last year, we revealed how Peadar Keating had assumed the role of top dog among the Kinahan cartel inmates in the prison.

He was sacked from his job in the kitchen of Portlaoise as jail bosses tried to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the facility.

Insiders say much of the contraband into Portlaoise is suspected to arrive through the prisons kitchen and is now almost exclusively controlled by cartel-aligned inmates such as Keating and a high-profile dissident inmate.

Keating is doing an 11-year-stretch after admitting in July 2021 to directing the activities of a criminal gang involved in the failed attempt on Hutch associate James Mago Gately in 2017.

30,000 worth of drugs and phones were seized by prison officers in Portlaoise from a tea trolley in the common area of the dissident republican E-Block in April of last year.

Following the seizure, a republican inmate was kicked off E-Block by his paramilitary bosses and later transferred to A-Block.

The seizure confirmed long-held suspicions of dissident involvement in the smuggling of contraband into the prison.

Kinahan cartel inmates are now in control of two blocks in the prison  A and C.

At the top of the pile in A-Block is Lee Canavan and a second cartel killer, who cannot be named as he is before the courts on separate serious charges.

Canavan was jailed for life for the murder of Daithi Douglas in May 2021 and is also a suspect for the brutal Gary Hutch killing in Spain that led to the deadly Hutch-Kinahan feud.

A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service this week told the Sunday World that combatting the flow of contraband into Portlaoise and other prisons is a top priority for the service.

Preventing the access of contraband into prisons continues to be a high priority for the Irish Prison Service, the spokesperson said.

70% of prisoners are committed to custody with addiction issues.

Those with active addiction continue their drug seeking behaviour inside prison notwithstanding the supports that are available to address their addiction.

Drug free prisons will only be achievable when we have a drug free society.

The Irish Prison Service has committed to continuing to invest in new technologies to support our efforts to keep contraband out of prisons.

The Irish Prison Service continues to engage with An Garda Siochana with regard to preventing contraband entering our prison and this happen at both local and national level.

The Operational Support Group work closely with their colleagues in An Garda Siochana on a regular basis and the sharing of intelligence has led to targeting searching and the seizure of contraband.
Michael Scott says Chrissie Treacys death is very sad but he shouldnt go to jail

Michael Scott does not believe that he will be servicing a prison sentence   Paddy Cummins - PCPhoto.ie

Michael Scott does not believe that he will be servicing a prison sentence

A farmer convicted of killing his 76-year-old aunt by reversing over her with a teleporter has insisted he meant her no harm, saying: People have made me out to be a monster.

In his first comments since being cleared of murder but convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of Chrissie Treacy, Michael Scott said people have not heard his side of the story.

Scott (58), who was released on bail to get his affairs on his farm in order prior to sentencing, said he doesnt think he will be sent to jail after being acquitted of murder.

Im not being rude or anything now, but its not over, he told the Sunday World when we called to his fathers house in Co. Galway.

As you know well, sure, (the sentencing is up on) the 12th.

But fair play to you, you were the first man to call, so if you leave your number well talk to you then  but it wont be for this weekend.

Chrissie Treacy was hit by a teleporter

When it was pointed out to Scott, that he may well receive a jail sentence on June 12 and may not be in a position to speak afterwards, he replied: Well, I think, unless things go very wrong, I will be coming home again.

You cant be doing time for gross negligence, thats my opinion.

Details of the horrific circumstances of Chrissie Treacys death and allegations she had been intimidated and was living in fear of Scott prior to her death were detailed over a lengthy trial, which ended on Thursday.

The court heard allegations a toxic relationship had developed between Scott and his elderly aunt as a result of a dispute over 140 acres of farmland they shared at Derryhiney.

But, ruling the killing an act of gross negligence, the jury ultimately did not accept the prosecutions case that Scott had deliberately knocked down Chrissie 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.

When asked by this newspaper on Friday if he was sorry for causing the death of the pensioner, Scott replied: Oh Lord God, why wouldnt I be? My only aunt  without a doubt

But Scott said he would have to speak with his solicitor before saying anything further.

Chrissie Treacys body being removed from the scene

I want to talk to my solicitor, he said. Hes after warning me there not to be talking to anyone over the weekend...

You can see my father there. We are genuine people. What went out [what people said] from day one was very, very wrong.

Its all very, very sad. People are saying horrible things and our side of the story hasnt been heard at all. But Id be afraid Id be interfering with the barristers or solicitors by saying anything now.

People have made me out to be a monster. Thats very tough, thats very hard to listen to.

Asked if he meant harm to his aunt, he said: Oh God, not at all, not at all, I didnt.

You have to remember that she was the last surviving member of the family on my mothers side.

This has had an awful impact on our whole family but our story is not being heard.

I was convicted of manslaughter through gross negligence, people are forgetting that.

From the moment of Chrissie Treacys death on April 27, 2018, and throughout a lengthy Garda investigation and the subsequent trial, Scott maintained that her death was a tragic accident.

At 3.26pm that day, Scott rang neighbour Francis Hardiman and told him that he had hit Chrissie with the teleporter.

On arriving at the farm, Hardiman found the pensioner lying face down on the concrete near her home.

She had been run over with the teleporter and suffered multiple traumatic crush injuries.

State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan said she would have died almost instantaneously.

Mr Hardiman told the court he found Scott in a shed crying and shouting.

And he said Scott had pulled a gun from his jeep and said: I cant deal with this.

Chrissie Treacy with her Jack Russell dog Bradley, which disappeared

Mr Hardiman managed to take the gun from him while Scott roared: I cant live with what happened to me.

The background to the case outlined to the jury was that Chrissie had formerly farmed 140 acres of land, described as the finest agricultural land, at Derryhiney in Portumna with her brothers.

After her brothers died, the property was divided between Chrissie and Scott, who farmed all of it and was described as having an almost childlike obsession with land.

By April 2018, the relationship between the pair had completely broken down. The court heard Chrissie intended to partition her land from the parcel owned by her nephew and that he was angry and resentful about this.

She had begun legal proceedings and a letter formally outlining her intentions in relation to the land was sent to Scott the day before her death.

The court also heard that neighbours and friends were worried for Chrissies welfare and Gardai had been notified of these concerns a month before she died.

Regina Donohue said she had encouraged Chrissie to move into a retirement home for her own safety, but Chrissie wanted to stay in her home.

The court also heard that the company who provided home care to Chrissie before her death sent their concerns to a HSE team leader, who contacted Gardai.

On one occasion, while discussing the leasing of the farm with an agricultural consultant, Scott said this will end badly.

Prosecuting lawyers told the jury that Scott reversed over his aunt in a deliberate act of murder out of a sense of entitlement and revenge.

They said Scotts claim that he did not see his aunt through the rear window of the teleporter was self-serving, dishonest nonsense.

Prosecution counsel Dean Kelly said the intensity and toxicity of the relationship between Chrissie and Scott was increasing with every passing week in the build up to her death.

He said there were incidents of general cruelty and unkindness, such as Scott refusing to bring her rubbish away and letting it pile up in her yard.

Mr Kelly reminded the jury of the deliberate turning off of Chrissies oil during very severe weather in early 2018. He said the only explanation was that Scott turned the oil off to torment his aunt.

He also noted the disappearance of Chrissies Jack Russell, Bradley, in February 2018.

The jury was not told, due to rules on hearsay, that Chrissie had blamed Scott for the animals disappearance.

After the jury found Scott not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs remanded him on bail until June 12 for sentencing.

The judge said as a consequence of the gross negligence manslaughter verdict, she would allow him bail to put his affairs in order. However, she said she did not want him to have any expectation of continuous liberty.
Significant doubt young American ever went for walk in Enniskerry

The last known image of Annie McCarrick captured in the AIB on Sandymount Road   Colin Keegan

Photos of Annie McCarrick shown by gardai as part of the investigation. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins   Colin Keegan

A man who lived in the same Dublin 4 neighbourhood as Annie McCarrick has been identified as a suspect in her murder.

The man is understood to have lived in Sandymount at the time the young American was murdered on or about March 26, 1993.

He has not been arrested, and sources said there were no plans yet to bring him in as gardai continue to build a case against him.

It is not known whether he and Ms McCarrick were known to each other, and gardai stressed last night they are still keeping a very open mind in their murder investigation.

There is a list of people of interest in this case and this individual is a person of major interest, a source said.

Earlier this week, the Sunday Worldrevealed that the main geographical focus of the investigation is the Sandymount area of south Dublin.

This is where Ms McCarrick was last seen, at the Allied Irish Bank on March 26, 1993.

Gardai have released the final known image of her  a grainy shot captured on a CCTV camera at that location.

Sources believe way too much attention was paid by detectives to reported sightings of her in Enniskerry village and Johnnie Foxs pub in the aftermath of the bank sighting.

The firm belief is that the key to solving this case is south Dublin, particularly the Sandymount area where Annie lived, rather than anywhere else, a source said.

However, it has been stressed that it is a complex investigation and everything is still being looked at.

Last week, gardai officially upgraded their missing person investigation into Ms Mc- Carricks disappearance to a murder investigation and made a public appeal for information.

While convicted rapist Larry Murphy, a long-time suspect in this case, has not been ruled out as a person of interest, sources said gardai believe he is not on top of the list.

Nothing can be ruled out, of course, but this investigation is going in a certain direction now, a source said.

There have been significant developments which cannot be disclosed now.

Murphy has been connected to other missing persons cases, including the 1998 murder of Deirdre Jacob, and Jo Jo Dullard in 1995.

However, the south Dublin suspect in the Annie McCarrick case has never before come to the medias attention in relation to those matters.

Ms McCarrick, from Long Island, New York, was 27 when she was last seen alive. She had been living in Sandymount and working in Dublin city centre at the time.

The last known image of Annie McCarrick captured in the AIB on Sandymount Road   Colin Keegan

It had been believed that shortly after her image was captured inside the AIB in Sandymount, Ms McCarrick boarded a bus to Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, to go for a walk, but she never returned.

However, there is significant doubt that bus journey ever happened.

Ms McCarricks father, John, died in 2009 without knowing what happened to his daughter.

Her mother, Nancy, lives in Long Island and was recently visited by senior garda detectives.

Further advances in investigative techniques may help gardai in finally bringing closure for the McCarrick family.

So far, detectives have discovered and collated more than 5,000 documents and reports, taken more than 300 statements of evidence and retained several exhibits.

On the morning of her disappearance, Ms McCarrick spoke to her flatmates before they left separately to travel home that weekend.

She arrived at the AIB on Sandymount Road at 11am and also made arrangements with friends, inviting them over to dinner the following day.

However, on the evening of March 27, her friends became concerned for her welfare.

She was not at home for the arranged dinner and had not shown up to work.

Groceries that had been bought the previous morning were left unpacked in shopping bags.

By the following day, she was reported missing, a report that was confirmed by her mother, who arrived in Dublin two days later.

Last week, the officer leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Eddie Carroll, said: I want to speak to any person who met, spoke with or had any interaction with Annie McCarrick on March 26, 1993, or subsequently.

There is a person or persons who have information on the disappearance of Annie McCarrick and her murder, and who havent yet spoken to gardai or who may have already spoken to gardai but were not in a position to tell everything that they know at that time.

I want to speak with any person who has any information on the large brown handbag which it is believed that Annie was in possession of when she went missing. I am appealing to those persons, 30 years later, to please come forward and speak to the investigation team embers.

The primary focus of this investigation is the victim, Annie McCarrick, and her family.

Annies father, John, has passed away not knowing what happened to his daughter.

Annies mother, Nancy, deserves to know the truth  she deserves to know what happened to her daughter. She is waiting 30 years for those answers.

I, and the investigation team, are determined to gather all available information and evidence to find those answers and bring this matter to a positive conclusion.
Teen in horror smash is second brother to die in just over a year

A screwdriver left at the scene in the cemetery

The grave of a prolific burglar whose teenage brother died in a car crash last weekend has been damaged in a targeted attack.

Jason Caseys brother Danny Casey (16), from Limerick, was seriously injured in a crash on the R505/R661 at Dundrum junction.

The tragic youngster was rushed to hospital along with a man in his 30s and another male teenager.

Relatives of Danny Casey, who was a talented young boxer, posted a picture of him in hospital and asked that people pray for him to survive but he was later pronounced dead.

The death is the latest to befall his family after the death of his brother Jason Jake the Snake Casey (29) on Christmas Day 2021.

Danny praised his brother in a series of online tributes after his death.

The scene in the cemetery

Simply the best, never be another man like him, one of a kind, my brother, he said.

Jason was a prolific burglar and his associates posted a series of bizarre tributes online praising him for his crimes after his death.

He had been a top target for gardai under Operation Thor and was suspected of being highly active in burglaries both here and in Northern Ireland.

Jason was linked to a cross-border burglary team and intelligence connected him to a wider network of 30 criminals across Munster and Leinster.

In December 2021, he was suspected of involvement in an aggravated burglary in the Midlands and managed to escape from gardai by jumping into a river.

The Sunday World can reveal that Jasons grave was damaged in January this year.

His wife Jane posted pictures of the damaged grave in which showed smashed up lanterns and pictures.

She wrote: Dirty scum wont have a hours luck, ye must have a lot of time in yere (sic) hands when ye could drill a photo out of concrete. God is slow but sure and for the ones that put there (sic) hands on my husband grave wont have hours luck something must be bothering ye that ye keep doing things to the grave but wont do if yere caught.

A screwdriver left at the scene in the cemetery

After Jasons death, associates and relatives have posted a series of tributes describing him as the king of the road and king of Munster gang.

They also shared a number of news articles of burglaries which appear to be attributed to Casey.

One post featured an article originally published by the Irish Independent on an organised crime gang using a high-powered car to carry out rural raids.

The mob used a 3.3 litre Kia Stinger and were involved in up to 10 burglaries of service stations in 2020.

A relative of Jake shared a screenshot of the article and wrote online: First in Ireland to get a Kia Stinger. Best in the business at what he did.

Another image of Casey has King of Munster Gang written on it along with a picture of a Kia Stinger.

Footage of his funeral showed mourners dressed in black caps, masks and gloves carrying Caseys gold coffin to and from the church.

It is understood the man in his 30s who was injured in last weeks crash remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Two discoveries in space of four days worrying as it shows access different groups have to weapons

The AK-47 and cannabis that was found on Friday

There is no obvious link between two firearms hauls which included an AK-47, two machine pistols, and a handgun as well as drugs in the space of four days in Finglas, Dublin.

Gardai seized an AK-47 in a building at the back of a property in Finglas on Friday evening along with cannabis valued at 12,000.

The search operation was carried out by the District Drugs Unit in Finglas acting on intelligence with assistance from a number of local units.

The items are believed to be linked to a local drugs gang.

That seizure came just four days after gardai found three lethal weapons and drugs valued at 177,000 on waste ground in Finglas.

The guns  including a Scorpion machine pistol with magazine clip, ammunition and silencer, a SIG Sauer pistol with ammunition and a RAK 63 machine pistol and magazine clip  were discovered yesterday at vacant waste land in the area.

A source said there is no indication that the two hauls are linked to the same gang and while gardai are understood to be following a specific line of inquiry in relation to the AK-47 seizure, they are still trying to determine who had stored the three weapons on the Finglas waste ground.

The two raids were not part of the same operation, which is nearly more worrying as it shows the access different groups have to weapons.

Access to weapons like these was once tightly controlled by underworld elements but these seizures show how prevalent they are. Were glad that these ones are off the streets now, the source said.

Suspected cocaine with an estimated value of approximately 92,000 and suspected cannabis with an estimated value of approximately 85,000 was also found in the search carried out on the waste ground in Finglas on Monday.

The search, conducted as part of Operation Thor by gardai from the Finglas Detective Unit supported by gardai from the K District Task Force and the Garda Dog Unit, occurred at approximately 3pm at vacant waste land in the Finglas area, a spokesperson said.

A source said gardai were acting on intelligence when they searched the waste ground and had not stumbled across them by chance.

They seized a number of items at various locations within the waste land, including in a barrel which had been buried into the ground.

There were no arrests in relation to either of the two seizures this week and investigations are ongoing.

There has been a number of feuds in the Finglas and surrounding areas, including a bitter dispute between associates of the local gang boss known as Mr Flashy and associates of James Whela Whelan, who was shot dead by Flashys mob in Finglas one year ago tomorrow.

There have been attempts on Mr Flashys life and that of one of his close associates since Whelans murder, including a gun attack outside a chipper in Finglas at the end of last year.

The AK-47 seized on Friday is the second assault rifle to be seized in Finglas in just over four months.

Gardai seized an assault rifle along with a machine pistol with silencer, ammunition and 210,000 worth of cocaine in a residential complex in Finglas in November.
Stephen Troy of Troy's Family Butchers said he hasnt handed over any money to the council this year due to the unkempt condition of Moore Street, where he trades from.

A Dublin butcher has said that he will happily spend a week in prison after refusing to pay rates to the council.

Dublin City Council typically charges rates to all commercial business owners in the city in January of each year, with the income generated going towards housing, public lighting, fire services, roads and traffic, and leisure and community services.

Stephen Troy of Troy's Family Butchers said he hasnt handed over any money to the council this year due to the unkempt condition of Moore Street in the north inner city, where he trades from.

Mr Troy, a fifth generation butcher whose family has been on Moore Street for more than 100 years, told Dublin Live that he was recently served a court order over the rates but would rather do a week in Mountjoy than cough up cash.

"Independent store traders and market traders on this street have seen a year on year impact on our trade as a result of the neglect. In the meantime, businesses and market traders are expected to pay their rates, he said.

"I was summoned to court on my own. Rather than discharge the rates, I'll happily do a week in Mountjoy because we are absolutely getting nothing for our money. It's an absolute disgrace.

"It is the first time in all the years we have been in business that we have ever gotten a summons over a rates liability to the courts. How they can expect us to discharge them [the rates] with the condition of the street is absolutely incredible."

Dublin City Council has been contacted by sundayworld.com for comment.

The council announced at the end 2021 its plans to redevelop the historic Moore Street site and eventually increase the number of stalls on site with extended trading hours.

UK company Hammerson were hired to redevelop a 5.5 acre site stretching from the old Carlton cinema on O'Connell Street to Moore Street, Henry Street, and Parnell Street.

The plans also included an archway commemorating the 1916 Rising as well as a fully integrated MetroLink station for O'Connell Street.

However, a number of buildings set to be demolished under Hammersons plans were directly involved in the Easter Rising, with councillors voting to designate six sites as protected structures.

Dublin Central GP Ltd, a subsidiary of Hammerson, subsequently lodged judicial review proceedings against Dublin City Council and complained that interfering with the development process was "unlawful".

Mr Troy had previously criticised the renovation plans, pointing out that traders would be put out of business once work began on Moore Street.

"Dublin City Council is saying they're going to revitalise a market when there's a planning application for development that will take 15 years, which will effectively mean street traders won't be able to trade on Moore Street," Mr Troy said in November 2021.

"So I don't see the point now at this stage of revitalising a market that's going to be on a 15-year construction site if planning is passed.

"I was with the plan, and a committed member of the expert group. I represent the local independent businesses here on Moore Street.

"But I just think that to expect a vibrant food market to survive on a dirty, noise-polluted construction site is incredible," Mr Troy added.
The death of Vivienne has destroyed, devastated, traumatised and ripped our family to shreds and has left a hole in all our hearts that will be with us for the rest of our lives

The parents of a young girl who died of invasive Group A Strep infection have claimed their daughter would still be alive if doctors had spotted the signs of the potentially fatal condition sooner.

Lilly and Dermot Murphy have called for a greater awareness of the dangers of the most serious form of Strep A infection among medics following a verdict of medical misadventure into the death of their daughter, Vivienne, at an inquest in Dublin last week.

Vivienne (10) of Sycamore Drive, Tanyard Wood, Millstreet, Cork, died at Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin on March 1, 2019  just two weeks after first complaining of a sore throat, a high temperature, a rash as well as aches and pains.

A post-mortem on the body of the girl established she died from Group A streptococcal septicaemia with necrotising fasciitis.

In an emotional statement to the inquest, Ms Murphy said her family were devastated, traumatised, shocked and overwhelmed and in disbelief about Viviennes death after they were informed that it could have been avoided as Strep A is curable with an antibiotic.

We visited doctors three times with deteriorating symptoms and nothing was done to treat our daughter, she said.

Ms Murphy said Viviennes chance of survival would have been greater if her condition was diagnosed and treatment started earlier.

The death of Vivienne has destroyed, devastated, traumatised and ripped our family to shreds and has left a hole in all our hearts that will be with us for the rest of our lives, she said.

The inquest at Dublin District Coroners Court heard Vivienne first felt unwell on February 14, 2019.

Ms Murphy described how her daughter was screaming every time she moved her head and how alarmed they were at discovering her chest covered in a red rash.

She claimed a doctor at SouthDoc in Kanturk who examined Vivienne, Joyce Leader, said it was only a heat rash and assured them there was nothing to worry about as it was only a viral illness and to continue taking Nurofen and Calpol and use her inhalers.

However, Ms Murphy said Viviennes condition remained the same over the next two days.

Dr Leader told the inquest she believed the schoolgirl had a viral upper respiratory tract infection with a viral rash given her symptoms.

Ms Murphy said she contacted SouthDoc again on February 16 as the rash had spread and Vivienne would only eat and drink when forced.

She said they returned to the SouthDoc clinic later that day where another doctor, Katie Frost, gave them the same advice and to contact their own GP after the weekend if she still had the same symptoms. The inquest heard Dr Frost also formed the impression that Vivienne had a viral illness.

Ms Murphy said she had to carry her daughter in to see GP Christine Walsh-McCarthy at the Millstreet Medical Centre on February 18 as Vivienne was unable to walk with the pain in her legs but the GP had claimed it was just a viral rash.

She said when her husband returned later to the surgery with a urine sample from Vivienne he was told by the GP that she was sure it was only a flu-like illness that was going around the town.

Dr Walsh-McCarthy told the inquest that Viviennes presentation was quite common in other patients at that time. As both her mother and brother Stephen were also suffering similar symptoms, she said it seemed there was a viral infection circulating in the family.

Ms Murphy said her husband was dumbfounded when she told him that Dr Walsh-McCarthy had prescribed medication for herself and Stephen but had done nothing to treat Vivienne.

The Murphys felt there was something more seriously wrong and brought Vivienne to the emergency department of Cork University Hospital on February 20 where she was diagnosed with signs of sepsis.

Returning a verdict of medical misadventure, Coroner Dr Crona Gallagher said she needed to give further consideration to recommendations and to which bodies they should be directed given the totality of complexity of the case.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2023 - 22:00 | All, World, Japan

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Award-winning Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, member of YMO, dies

TOKYO - World-renowned Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, also the keyboardist of the legendary electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, known as YMO, died last Tuesday, his office said Sunday. He was 71.

Sakamoto revealed in June 2022 that he had been battling stage IV cancer. The Tokyo native also starred in the 1983 war film "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," and won an Oscar and Grammy for scoring the 1987 movie "The Last Emperor."

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Japan minister protests China's detention of national, seeks early release

BEIJING - Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Sunday he has lodged a strong protest over China's recent detention of a Japanese national and called for the citizen to be released as soon as possible during his first in-person talks with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, in Beijing.

Hayashi told reporters following the meeting with Qin that he also sought consular access to the Japanese citizen and urged China to provide transparency in the judicial process. The national, arrested in China last month, is a senior employee of Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma Inc.

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High level of activity spotted at North Korea's key nuclear complex

TOKYO - Satellite images have shown a "high level of activity" at North Korea's key nuclear facility, a U.S. organization said, as leader Kim Jong Un has ordered an expansion of the country's production of weapons-grade nuclear materials.

The images taken in March suggest that completion of an experimental light water reactor at the nuclear complex in Yongbyon is just around the corner, Washington-based website 38 North, a group monitoring North Korea, said Saturday.

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Football: Kaoru Mitoma nets Japanese-high 7th goal in Premier League season

BRIGHTON, England - Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season on Saturday, surpassing Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki for the most goals scored in a single English top-flight season by a Japanese player.

Brighton equalized three times in an entertaining 3-3 home draw with Brentford, which saw Mitoma scoring their first goal in the 21st minute. Mitoma, named the Man of the Match, ran behind the opposing backline to receive a long pass from keeper Jason Steele before lobbing the ball over advancing Brentford custodian David Raya.

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Prince Hitachi, former Emperor Akihito's brother, taken to hospital

TOKYO - Prince Hitachi, the younger brother of former Emperor Akihito and uncle of Emperor Naruhito, was hospitalized with a fever Sunday, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The 87-year-old was recovering well after surgery to crush stones in his ureter in March, but he was readmitted to the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center as a precaution, the agency said.

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Biden may visit to Japan chip plant on G-7 summit sidelines

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden may visit a cutting-edge semiconductor factory operated by a U.S. chip giant in western Japan when he visits for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May, according to diplomatic sources.

In a show of close bilateral cooperation in the semiconductor field, he will be accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the plant run by Micron Technology Inc.'s Japanese unit, the sources said.

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FEATURE: Paris to make history with men's Olympic artistic swim debut

TOKYO - For the first time ever, women are set to comprise half of the athletes in Olympic competition next year in Paris, where the Summer Games will also mark another milestone for gender inclusivity.

Men will make their Olympic artistic swimming debut in the French capital, amid hopes they can help invigorate the sport and attract new participants.

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Disney Cruise Line makes Singapore its 1st home port in Asia

SINGAPORE - Singapore's tourism board and a Walt Disney Co. subsidiary have agreed to make the Southeast Asian country the first Asian homeport for one of the company's cruise ships.

The Singapore Tourism Board and Disney Cruise Line have signed a memorandum of understanding to homeport the new vessel exclusively in Singapore for at least five years, they said. Disney cruises are operating in the Caribbean, Europe and elsewhere but not in Asia.

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Video: Memorial ceremony for Bucha massacre in Ukraine
Ms OKeeffe said she was trying to stay calm for the health of the baby, but described the situation as extremely scary

Kate OKeeffe with her partner Stephen Bermingham, their eldest daughter Mia and baby Eabha on her christening day

A woman whose baby is due on the same day her family is to be evicted from their home says they have nowhere else to go.

Kate OKeeffe and partner Stephen Bermingham were served a notice of termination just a couple of months after they found out she was expecting their third child.

The family, who have been on the social housing waiting list with Wicklow County Council since 2014, have to leave their rental property by Tuesday  the same day she is due to give birth at the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street, Dublin.

They have been renting a four-bedroom house in Rathnew, Co Wicklow, for three years, for 1,600 per month. The family gets the Housing Assistance Payment and had entered into a four-year agreement on the property.

However, the landlord now wishes to sell the house. The couple were issued with a notice of termination on September 30 last year and have been unable to find alternative accommodation within their budget.

Mr Bermingham works full-time with the NCT and Ms OKeeffe had to give up work to mind their 14-month old daughter Eabha. Their eldest daughter Mia is 11.

Ms OKeeffe said she was trying to stay calm for the health of the baby, but described the situation as extremely scary.

We have no idea where we are going to end up or what we are going to do. Weve had doctors letters and everything recommending and pleading with the council to try and sort us out before it causes problems during the pregnancy, but even trying to talk to anyone in the council has been a nightmare, she said.

A search on Daft.ie for four-bed houses in Wicklow shows just three available. The cheapest is 2,350 per month. The other two are priced at 3,120 and 3,450.

Theres nothing out there and anything that is available is overpriced. Even for a three-bed youre looking at around 2,500.

Weve been in the house three years. We lived here for the first year without the HAP and then we signed up to the HAP due to my other daughter being born. It was impossible for my partner to cover the rent by himself.

My other daughter also goes to school in the area and all her friends are here.

"Its an absolute nightmare"

In recent weeks, Wicklow County Council has had zero capacity in its emergency accommodation.

Ms OKeeffe and her partner, who are in their mid-30s, cannot move in with family because their siblings live at home.

Our families feel so helpless, she said.

Theyre overcrowded as it is and theres not much they can do. They cant take in us and three kids.

The Government isnt helping at the moment. Were taking in more refugees when there is no accommodation available and there are more people being made homeless.

Theyve decided not to extend the eviction ban and have put nothing else in place, its very frustrating.

We cant watch the news any more as its so upsetting.

"Weve been on the housing list for nine years. I know of people who are on it 16 years and still waiting.

The politicians are sitting in their rooms and having these arguments but they havent a clue whats happening in the real world.

If you look to get a mortgage, the banks dont even want to know you.

"Its one roadblock after another"

My partner has been working full-time since he was 15. Its not fair to be in this situation.

Wicklow County Council said it does not comment on individual cases. It said there is limited emergency accommodation and every effort is under way to increase capacity.
Gilmore has finally apologised to the woman publicly despite spending months posting on social media that he was completely innocent

Toilet pervert Mark Gilmore ducked going to jail after finally saying sorry publicly to the woman he secretly filmed using the loo TWICE.

The sneaky creep  exposed by the Sunday World recently  had also told cops he was living out a porn fantasy when he sexually assaulted the same woman.

But a judge at Ballymena Magistrates Court decided not to send the seedy voyeur to prison  after Gilmore made a public apology to his victim.

Sentencing the 47-year-old District Judge Nigel Broderick told the perv while he deserved to go to jail, it is not without considerable hesitation that instead, he was imposing a combination order of probation and community service.

He was also told he must sign the sex offenders register for the next five years.

A source close to the case told the Sunday World: Gilmore has finally apologised to the woman publicly despite spending months posting on social media that he was completely innocent.

He apologised to her hours after he hid his camera phone amongst clothes on a seat in his bathroom but publicly, he kept denying it.

Now he has said sorry in a court, in front of everyone. I know that will mean a lot to the victim because she has had to put up with people trying to defend him.

As revealed here last December Gilmore, of Princes Street in the town, had confessed at the last minute to two counts of voyeurism by recording a female doing a private act and one of sexually assaulting the same victim on dates between 1 June 2020 and 4 December 2021.

Mark Gilmore

But when we called at his door shortly after he pleaded guilty he incredibly continued to deny he had done anything wrong.

In fact he concocted a story so ludicrous it deserved to be flushed straight down the toilet!

Gilmore even claimed hed been told to plead guilty by his defence lawyer who he says told him to do so because Gilmores version of events was so unbelievable.

In one of the voyeurism incidents Gilmore claimed to this paper he had been filming his toilet because it was broken, and he wanted to get it fixed.

He claimed the woman called at his house and asked to use his bathroom, but he forgot that the phone was still running on video mode.

He brazenly told us in December, The first video I dont even remember taking but I must have done but the second one I was taking a video of my toilet because it was broken and I had people coming to stay with me and I needed to get it fixed.

(Name of woman removed) called in the middle of me filming it and then asked to use the toilet and the phone was still going. She took my phone and ran out the house.

Im completely harmless, Im no danger to anyone and now Im going to be splashed all over the papers. I dont deserve to be vilified for this. Its been blown way out of proportion I cant believe its ended up in the courts.

I was hoping to keep it out of the papers because I have three kids.

But when we were told about a series of disgusting and grovelling texts which Gilmore sent the woman in the hours after he was caught out  it was clear he deliberately tried to film her private parts, not once, but twice.

A source told us: He had the phone hidden in some clothes on a chair in his bathroom and when his victim found it she confiscated it with the intention of alerting the police.

Gilmore sent her desperate messages apologising and admitted he had been trying to film her private parts.

In fact he told her he just wanted to see her like that and that he wanted to have a piece of her.

In court on Thursday, a prosecuting lawyer disclosed how the offences came to light when the unsuspecting victim was out and about and called ahead to see if she could use Gilmores loo.

When she did so however, she spotted that Gilmore had stashed a camera in a pile of clothes to record her going to the toilet.

Snatching the phone and running screaming from the property, she later contacted Gilmore to demand his passcode so that she could delete the video herself but he offered to delete it in her presence.

The lawyer said that eventually, he did hand over his passcode but when he did and the victim unlocked his phone to delete the offending material, she discovered a second video, also taken of her using the toilet.

She reported to police how the videos had captured her taking her trousers down, going to the toilet and that her private parts were visible.

The victim also reported how Gilmore had felt her bum and tried to kiss her each time she saw him.

Defence counsel Stephen Law submitted that Gilmore has already paid a heavy price for his offending in that he was sacked from his taxi dispatching job and he has also lost contact with his young daughter.

Theres been considerable media interest both on social media and written form and that of itself has made him something of a pariah in the community, said the barrister, adding that because of his outrageous and disgraceful behaviour, he has lost everything.

Although he conceded that the custody threshold has been passed, Mr Law urged DJ Broderick not to send Gilmore straight to jail, suggesting that everyone might benefit from an ECO which would supervise the defendant and also allow him t out something back into the community.

Describing the offences as extremely serious, the judge said it was quite clear from the various reports that the victim still experiences emotional trauma and is likely to continue to do so, given the invasive and very distasteful nature of the offending.

Imposing the combination order, DJ Broderick said while a jail sentence would be a clear punishment, it would not give you any support so it was for that reason he was persuaded not to jail him.

In addition to the combination order, the judge imposed a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order and told Gilmore he must sign the police sex offenders register for five years.

As part of the SOPO, Gilmore must register and seek permission for any internet capable device that he has, make fun verifiable disclosure of his convictions to any new partner and is barred from having any device that can take or store photos or videos.
Shane, who joined Boyzone nearly 30 years ago in November 1993, says: I need peace and tranquillity and to bow out.

Shane (front right) with the rest of the celebrities

Boyzone star Shane Lynch insists that a pilgrimage he took part in for a new television series is the last thing he will ever do in showbiz.

Dubliner Shane last year announced he would no longer sing professionally. And he says the reason he took part in a religious trek through Portugal with other celebrities was to touch base with his inner soul.

I am a Pentecostal Born Again Christian, maintains Shane (46). My relationship with God is very tight and I love it.

The reason why Im taking on this pilgrimage is just to find a bit of clarity in my life. I want to put myself into a position that Ive never experienced before and hopefully find out some amazing and emotional things, so this pilgrimage for me is all about the knowledge I can gather, and about my God. This will be big walk for sure, for many reasons.

Asked whether taking part in Pilgrimage: The Road Through Portugal was what led him to his decision, Shane revealed it sealed the deal.

He added: Now, dont get me wrong: the people, the crew, the walk were all brilliant. Its just the process of making television  the stop-start, the cameras, the fireworks.

The participants had to stay in hostels

Ive played to 100,000 people multiple times, and I dont need any more fireworks.

Shane, who joined Boyzone nearly 30 years ago in November 1993, says: I need peace and tranquillity and to bow out.

The star, who was raised Catholic by his family in Donaghmede, says he will be saying sayonara to television for ever as he prepares to do a 180 out of all that.

Shane previously revealed he had been involved with clairvoyants and ouija boards, and claimed to have been frequently visited by evil spirits who tortured his mind in his teenage years.

He became a Born Again Christian in 2003, having been persuaded to convert by close friend Ben Ofoedu, who was his colleague in the band REDhill which Lynch joined after Boyzone played their final show in late 2019.

The father-of-two now lives in England, where he runs a pub and also spends his time driving cars. Taking part in the trek led Shane to share rooms in hostels with other male members of the group on the pilgrimage.

In all the years of Boyzone life, 30 years, Ive never shared one room with the boys. Im a pretty private guy. The hostel scenario was a difficult one, he admits.

Pilgrimage: The Road Through Portugal takes seven well-known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs on a personal journey along the northern route of the Fatima Way in Portugal in three hour-long episodes.

Pilgrims taking part are actress Su Pollard, who was raised in the Church of England; Jewish actress Rita Simons, who is a Pentecostal Born Again Christian, and reality TV star and influencer Vicky Pattison, who is agnostic.

The Boyz: Keith, Ronan, Shane and Mikey   PA

Bobby Seagull, a practising Catholic,will also be on the pilgrimage along with Nabil Abdulrashid, a comedian and practising Muslim, and Paralympian skier Millie Knight, who is a non-practising member of the Church of England.

Their destination is the sanctuary in the city of Fatima, where in 1917 three local shepherd children experienced several apparitions of the Virgin Mary. What was once a small village is now one of the biggest Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world.

The celebrity pilgrims are on a deadline  they need to arrive in time for a major celebration which ends with a spectacular night-time candlelit vigil, attended by nearly 70,000 pilgrims who have travelled from across the world.
Vicky and Charlie became fast friends following his motor neurone disease diagnosis in 2021.

Charlie Bird lights five candles to mark the first anniversary of the Climb with Charlie. Picture: Gerry Mooney

Charlie Bird hailed his late friend Vicky Phelan as an inspiration as he lit a candle in her honour at his Phoenix Park charity walk this weekend.

The cervical cancer campaigner died aged 48 surrounded by her family at Milford Hospice in Limerick in November.

She and Charlie became fast friends following his motor neurone disease diagnosis in 2021.

On Saturday morning, the veteran broadcaster chose to honour his pal as he kicked off a 5km walk in Phoenix Park to raise money for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association, Pieta House, and Samaritans.

The event took place on the anniversary of his historic Climb With Charlie hike up Croagh Patrick last year.

Hundreds of people, including Vicky's family, were in attendance as he lit a candle for the late mum-of-two and spoke about her impact on Irish people.

In the church on the summit of Croagh Patrick on the day, I lit five candles, Charlie said.

And that is what I want to do this morning. The first candle is in memory of the great Vicky Phelan, who was and still is an inspiration for the people of Ireland.

I am so honoured her parents and sister are here with us.

Vicky's father John also paid tribute to Vicky before the walk, saying: Were here to support Charlie today and were coping quite well since Vickys passing. Wed like to make a special thanks to everyone that supported us the last four months, we really appreciate it.

Charlie also lit candles for the people of Ukraine, those with terminal illnesses, and anyone who is in a dark place, while President Michael D Higgins lit a candle in Aras an Uachtarain.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday morning, Charlie thanked those who took part in the 5k as well as anyone who lit a candle across the nation.

Want to thank all of the charities and groups who turned up in the Phoenix Park yesterday morning to light the candles, including Vicky Phelans family. What an honour, the 73-year-old wrote.

The President Michael D also lit a candle as did thousands of people across the country. In Westport today, WOW.
People with Long Covid who have been calling for more support and information for the past two years will have their prayers answered on Wednesday when not-for-profit organisation ME Support launches their free Long Covid online support tool.

The tool includes a comprehensive series of videos with supplementary information, featuring New Zealand post-viral experts and people with Long Covid Lived Experience.

"The tool is for any New Zealander who has, or thinks they might have, Long Covid along with their whanau or friends who want to learn more about the illness," says an ME Support spokespeson.

ME Support say this is the only comprehensive online tool with all information in one place in New Zealand and was created with funding from Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand.

The tool will be launched at mesupport.org.nz/longcovidhelp and its purpose is to help people to better understand their illness; get a diagnosis; manage their symptoms and energy levels; and access support; to improve their health and well-being.

Diagnosed cases of Long Covid in New Zealand are growing, as the public and health system gains a better understanding of what Long Covid is, says ME Support Manager and Vice President Kate Duder.

It is estimated that 10-20 per cent of everyone who had Long Covid -19 will experience Long Covid symptoms and some are very severe leaving them unable to work or carry out normal daily tasks.

The complexity of the illness has generated confusion, so it was important to bring together our 10 years of expertise managing post-viral illnesses, along with experts and New Zealanders with lived experience, to create a free resource of information all in one place, that anyone can access," says Kate.

This support tool will be vital to the health and well-being of tens of thousands of New Zealanders.

Long Covid, as a post-viral illness, has a similar presentation of symptoms and very similar molecular signatures for immune dysregulation, inflammation, and energy production as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, often referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - abbreviated to ME/CFS - is a chronic and debilitating illness whereby the key symptom is overwhelming fatigue, often triggered by even minimal exertion. Although post-exertional fatigue is the defining feature of this illness, ME/CFS presents a range of other symptoms, including cognitive impairment, orthostatic intolerance, sleep disturbances, headaches, muscle and joint pain, gastrointestinal upset, and anxiety and depression. ME/CFS, like Long Covid, can affect men, women and children of all ages, and any social and ethnic background. Both illnesses significantly affect a persons ability to live a normal life, leaving some house or bedbound.

Since 2013, ME Support - formerly ME Auckland - has been providing vital support services for New Zealanders living with ME/CFS, and support for New Zealanders living with Long Covid since 2020. People with Long Covid and ME/CFS have often experienced stigma and misunderstanding that impacts peoples mental health and wellbeing access to services and leads to significant economic impacts.

ME Support will continue to work with others in the Long Covid community to ensure more people with Long Covid have access to the support they need. The full expert and lived experience interviews will be added to the Long Covid Support Tool in coming weeks. These interviews will raise further awareness of the condition and enable people to hear more from those on their journey with Long COVID and those taking on important research in this field.

ME Support is launching their free Long Covid Online Support Tool on Wednesday April 5.
Algal blooms have coloured a popular Rotorua lake a vivid and vibrant shade of green.

A Rotorua kayaking company owner has called the situation at Lake Rotoiti a smack in the face after months of high water halted business.

An environmental scientist says it is the result of windy weather. However, one environmental advocate has questioned if enough is being done to help prevent algal blooms from happening.

Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council environmental scientist James Dare said the green water was host to potentially toxic cyanobacteria, dominated by a species called Anabaena circinalis.

Normally the blooms last for about two weeks but more intense blooms, such as this one, may last longer.

The green colour comes from the pigment used to capture sunlight, called phycocyanin.

The colour is so vivid in this bloom due to the number of cells that are present in the water.

Cyanobacteria cells can be moved by the wind, so the past couple of days of southerly winds caused accumulation around the Ohau Channel outflow of Lake Rotorua.

This, in turn, causes a high concentration of cells to be washed downstream into the Okere Arm, he says.

While it's hard to define exactly when blooms occur, he says the most important factors are nutrient supply and climate.

This year has seen a number of heavy rainfall events which have supplied a significant load of nutrients to the lake.

Combined with warm and still weather, these are perfect conditions for growth.

Algal blooms typically form in the summer months due to water temperature. We can expect for blooms to reduce as we head into winter.

Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Lynne Lane says it's important to avoid any activity which results in contact with the lake water when a warning is in place.

Health warnings are in place for lakes Rotorua, Rotoiti, Rotoehu, and the Kaituna River.

Cyanobacteria can release toxins which can trigger asthma and hayfever symptoms, skin rashes, stomach upsets and, in some cases, neurological effects such as tingling around the mouth, headaches, breathing difficulties and visual problems, Lane says.

If the water is discoloured or has a strange smell, consider swimming or rafting elsewhere. Current health warnings can be found on its website.

Rotorua Rafting owner Sam Sutton says it's not operating because of the bloom. This follows 230 days of being closed due to rain and high waters which had now dropped low enough.

It sucks ... to have one obstacle behind you and get smacked in the face with another.

He hopes the wind will change direction and the cooler weather will ease the issue.

Lakes Water Quality Society chairman John Gifford questions whether damage at the nearby Ohau Diversion Wall impacted on the bloom at Okere Falls.

The loss of integrity of the wall is a very real concern to the [society] if this is the case, and urgent action is required to repair the wall.

He also believes there is rising concern over how effective measures have been to date in addressing nutrient, nitrogen and phosphorous input into the lakes.

There needs to be a significant lift in action to more effectively manage nutrient inputs into the lakes and a community commitment to head in this direction.

Regional councils Rotorua catchments manager Helen Creagh says there have been actions that have led to significant improvements in water quality since the early 2000s when annual long-term blooms were a regular occurrence.

In reality even though the water quality has improved, seasonal weather impacts and climate change impacts will continue to contribute to conditions that can create algal blooms from time to time.

Local Democracy Reporting asked if the damaged wall would impact on algal bloom growth and spread. This was not answered but Creagh says the council is aware of corrosion in the wall.

Stabilising work has been undertaken to protect the structure but she says extensive maintenance needs to be balanced with good options analysis.

These are not decisions we make without good information, and a good understanding of long-term benefits.

It's contracting divers to inspect the wall below the surface of the lake.

Once the extent of the corrosion is known, and the University of Waikato has completed preparing information on the benefits of the wall in achieving water quality, it will look at options for repair.

In response to Giffords comments on how effective measures to achieve better water quality were, she says a review of progress in achieving sustainable nutrient load for Lake Rotorua has recently been completed.

This involved independent scientific input and consultation with stakeholders, including the society. This work will be repeated in 2027 to see if it's on track and inform any adaptations that sre needed.

In the meantime, we are asking that everyone with rural land over 5ha in the Lake Rotorua catchment does their bit by making sure they have been in contact with us and understand their obligations under the Nutrient Management rules for Lake Rotorua.
By Maya Kaneko, KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2023 - 23:43 | World, All, Japan

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Sunday lodged a stern protest over China's recent detention of a Japanese national and demanded his early release in meetings with Premier Li Qiang and senior Chinese officials in Beijing after the incident further strained bilateral ties.

Hayashi also requested that Li and foreign policy chief Wang Yi ensure Beijing provides "an environment in which Japanese nationals and companies can safely work and operate," the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, in reference to the citizen's detention.

In a separate meeting, however, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang only told Hayashi that Beijing will "handle the case based on laws," according to the Chinese government. Hayashi and Qin talked for over 3 hours and 45 minutes, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (L) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on April 2, 2023, ahead of their talks. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hayashi told reporters following the meeting with Qin that he also sought consular access to the Japanese citizen and urged China to provide transparency in the judicial process. The national, arrested in China last month, is a senior employee of Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma Inc.

Since a counterespionage law and a new national security law came into force in China in 2014, 17 Japanese citizens have been detained for their alleged involvement in spy activities. Five of them are still being held in China, the Japanese government said.

Hayashi, the first Japanese foreign minister to travel to China since December 2019, became the first Japanese minister to meet with Li, who assumed the premiership last month.

The Japanese minister also met in person with Qin, who took the ministerial post late last year, for the first time. He wrapped up a two-day China visit after meeting with Wang, a member of the ruling Communist Party's Political Bureau, who outranks Qin.

Japan's top diplomat added he and Qin agreed that the two countries should maintain close communication "at all levels" to improve strained ties, including between their leaders and foreign ministers.

Hayashi said he has also expressed Tokyo's serious concern over the repeated entry of Chinese vessels into waters near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which Beijing claims, and joint military activities between China and Russia near Japanese territory.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining communications involving security and welcomed the establishment of a hotline between their defense authorities that was announced on Friday, Hayashi said. The communications link is designed to build confidence and prevent unexpected contingencies.

On Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island regarded by Beijing as its territory, Hayashi said he underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid increasing Chinese military pressure in the region.

Li told Hayashi that Japan should appropriately handle the Taiwan issue "with sincerity," saying it concerns the "political foundations" of the two countries' relations, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Qin warned against Japan getting involved with the Taiwan issue, saying it is "at the core of China's core interests." Tokyo should not damage Beijing's sovereignty in any way, the Chinese foreign minister was quoted as saying.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (far L) holds talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang (far R) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on April 2, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Sunday expressed "high appreciation and gratitude" over Hayashi's remarks on the island in his meeting with Qin, noting the Japanese government has repeatedly said in recent years it shares basic values with the territory, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The island pledged to continue strengthening cooperation with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.

The top Japanese diplomat also said he called on China to play a "responsible role" in ensuring the peace and security of the international community in reference to the Ukraine crisis.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met in the Russian capital in March, with Moscow positively assessing Beijing's proposal of a cease-fire and political settlement of the crisis.

But critics say the Chinese plan is not impartial as it does not call for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

As for Tokyo's plan to start releasing treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant sometime this spring or summer, Qin urged Japan to "responsibly deal with" the discharge because it is a "serious matter concerning the health and safety of human beings," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Hayashi said he protested China's information campaign on the Fukushima water issue, claiming it is "not based on science."

Qin also criticized a decision taken by Japan on Friday to tighten export controls for advanced chip manufacturing equipment, a measure seen as an effort to hinder Beijing's development of advanced semiconductors that could be used for military purposes.

The Chinese minister urged Tokyo not to join U.S.-led efforts to stymie Beijing's ability to develop high-end semiconductors, saying such a "containment" measure would "only strengthen China's determination for self-reliance."

Hayashi said he explained to Qin that the latest export control step is "not targeted at a specific country."

The Japanese minister said he relayed Tokyo's concerns over moves in China to coerce foreign companies to disclose and transfer advanced technologies and called for a "transparent, predictable and fair business environment."

The two ministers also agreed that Japan and China will work to restart the trilateral dialogue framework involving South Korea, Hayashi said.

Last November, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Xi agreed at a summit in Bangkok to arrange Hayashi's visit to China in an effort to stabilize precarious ties. The two Asian neighbors have shared the view that they will seek "constructive and stable" relations.

Related coverage:

Businessman detention shocks Japan firms in China, dampens sentiment

China's premier Li opposes new Cold War in warning to U.S.

Russia hails China's Ukraine cease-fire proposal in joint statement
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Town of Onondaga, N.Y. - Twenty-four years ago today, Guy Pyke disappeared.

What happened to the 70-year-old man has remained a mystery. He and his Chevy Blazer have been missing since April 1999.

Now, another attempt will be made to find answers about his disappearance.

Adventures with Purpose, a search and recovery dive team, will come to New York state this spring to search in Onondaga County, according to the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office.

The group will use sonar, marine navigation and boats to search bodies of water in Onondaga County, where Pykes vehicle could be submerged, deputies said Sunday.

The same group searched for Pykes blue and black 1989 Chevy Blazer in Jefferson County in September 2022, but didnt find it.

On April 2, 1999, Pyke left his home on Aitchison Road just west of Syracuse driving his Blazer, with a full tank of gas. Pyke told his family he was headed to Watertown to visit relatives.

The last person who reported seeing him was a cousin, who lives in Evans Mills, north of Watertown. The cousin told deputies Guy never got out of his car.

Pyke pulled into his cousins driveway before backing out and driving north, according to The Post-Standard | Syracuse.coms archives.

No one has seen Pyke, or his Blazer, since, deputies said.

Family told investigators that Pyke would leave for short trips often and come back on his own, deputies said. Thats why his loved ones did not report is disappearance until two days later, they said.

Pyke was last seen wearing a red, green and blue plaid shirt over a maroon sweatshirt, blue rider jeans and brown Gobie boots.

He is described as 6 feet tall, weighing 170 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes.

A decade after Pykes disappearance, one of his sons died. Arline Pyke, his wife of more than 50 years, died in 2012.

Pykes family continues to have faith that the mystery of his disappearance will come to an end, Newton said.

Deputies asked anyone with information about Pykes disappearance to call (315) 435-3081 or through Tip411.

Editors Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Guy Pykes age was 73 when he disappeared. He was 70 years old.

It has been 24 years since Guy Pyke disappeared on April 2, 1999. A boat search will start this spring in search of Pyke's 1989 Chevy Blazer. (Photo Provided by Onondaga County Sheriff's Office)

Staff writer Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at dstevenson@syracuse.com
Were tired of wringing our hands over the plague of youth violence in Syracuse  11-year-old Brexialee Torres-Ortiz murdered while picking up a gallon of milk, the daily drip of shootings across the city, the almost-worst-in-the-nation rate of youth homicide. Were tired of solutions that dont solve anything.

Were ready to try something new.

The Common Council should approve a pilot project proposed by Mayor Ben Walsh to target young people associated with gangs who are at the highest risk of committing violence.

Gang conflicts and personal disputes are behind half the homicides in the past two years, and one-third of them over the past decade. Over that time, authorities implemented an alphabet soup of anti-gang and anti-gun initiatives  TRUCE, RICO, SWEEP, SNUG, GIVE  and yet murders rose 31%.

A deeply researched assessment of crime in Syracuse makes the case that these fragmented efforts arent reaching those at highest risk.

A relatively small number of young people are associated with gangs in Syracuse  an estimated 1,300, less than 7% of all males between 5 and 24 years. They grew up poor, often without parental supervision or in abusive homes, and are disconnected from school and career prospects. Gangs offer them easy money, protection and social connection in exchange for selling drugs or committing crimes, city researchers said.

Theres another component not addressed by current anti-violence efforts:

They also continually experience feelings and thoughts of anger, resentment and vengeance. Gang activity in Syracuse is a set of intractable disputes that resemble ethnic and religious conflicts. The gang members can trace their feuds to actions committed years and even decades before. Many have seen family members and close friends killed by other gangs. The trauma and hurt they have experienced make them harbor resentments that predispose them to violence.

Add to that the proliferation of illegal guns, a police department on its heels due to understaffing and mistrust, and a criminal justice system roiled by attempts to reform it, and getting a handle on youth violence looks like an unattainable goal.

But doing nothing wont change anything.

The Mayors Office to Reduce Gun Violence, led by Lateef Johnson-Kinsey, has developed a strategy relying on a few key concepts grounded in research and the experiences of other U.S. cities:

Trying to resolve personal conflicts before violence occurs, using credible messengers who know the kids and the streets;

Cognitive behavioral therapy to address the trauma, anger and impulsiveness of participants;

Schooling, mentoring and, when participants are ready, job training;

A $100 per week stipend to alleviate extreme poverty and to incentivize participation. Anyone who breaks the law or fails to engage in therapy and training is out of the program. Holding young people accountable is key.

The stipend is most controversial aspect of the plan. Councilor Pat Hogan points to the majority of city kids who go to school, stay out of trouble and hold down part-time jobs to earn a paycheck. In a perfect world, all children would be equipped to grab that opportunity. All children would grow up in stable households with supervision, role models and resources. We dont live in that world. Half of Syracuses children grow up in poverty. A 2017 community survey in gang neighborhoods found that over half of participants knew more than 10 victims of violence  an astounding level of trauma that has not been addressed.

We will spend money to lock them up, but not invest money into them, Hasan Stephens, founder of the Good Life Foundation, said in response to criticism of the stipends.

Paying 50 participants $100 a week would cost $120,000 of the pilot projects $1 million budget, Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens told councilors last month.

The violence costs Syracuse exponentially more, in monetary and human terms.

Trying Walshs idea doesnt mean we drop other anti-violence efforts. We can do two things at once  enforce the law and use new tactics to change young minds while theres still time.

As Walsh wrote in a recent Syracuse.com commentary, do we let the swimmer who is in over his head drown? Or do we throw him a lifeline?

The cost of doing nothing is more young lives lost or ruined. Syracuse cant afford not to try. If this pilot project doesnt move the needle, end it and try something else.

About Syracuse.com editorials

Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte, Katrina Tulloch and Marie Morelli.

To respond to this editorial: Submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines.

If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion lead, at mmorelli@syracuse.com
KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2023 - 13:33 | All, World, G7, Japan

U.S. President Joe Biden may visit a cutting-edge semiconductor factory operated by a U.S. chip giant in western Japan when he visits for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May, according to diplomatic sources.

In a show of close bilateral cooperation in the semiconductor field, he will be accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the plant run by Micron Technology Inc.'s Japanese unit, the sources said.

The U.S. administration is providing huge subsidies to expand its domestic chip industry, seeing it as important to national security and providing a competitive edge in the confrontation with China.

Washington, which unveiled in October sweeping export controls on certain advanced chips that could be used by Beijing to train artificial intelligence systems and power advanced military and surveillance applications, aims to build resilient semiconductor supply chains with Japan and its other allies.

The factory of Micron Memory Japan K.K. in Hiroshima Prefecture, which will receive subsidies from the Japanese government, began mass producing advanced memory chips last November. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said it represents an important investment for the economic safety and security of both countries.

The Japanese government, which has decided to provide up to 46.4 billion yen ($349 million) to improve facilities at the factory, is also subsidizing capital spending for manufacturing in Japan by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Tokyo-based Kioxia Corp.

Washington and Tokyo have been gearing up to strengthen supply chains for state-of-the-art semiconductors, an important strategic resource in terms of national security, amid concerns over Beijing's growing military and economic clout.

Japan and the Netherlands, both home to leading chip-making equipment producers, are expected to limit exports of high-end semiconductor technology to China at the request of Washington.

Ensuring economic security is expected to be on the agenda at the three-day gathering of the G-7 leaders from May 19.

Arrangements are being made for Kishida, who will chair the summit, to meet bilaterally with Biden and other G-7 leaders on the fringes of the summit, according to the sources.

The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States as well as the European Union.

Related coverage:

Japan planning visit by G-7 leaders to Hiroshima atomic bomb museum

Hiroshima group makes int'l "okonomiyaki" dishes to tempt G-7 leaders

Japan eyes leaders' visit to Hiroshima shrine during G-7 summit
On4Wheels BHPian



Join Date: Apr 2022 Location: Chennai Posts: 50 Thanked: 181 Times

Re: Study: Here's the average cost of replacing batteries of popular EVs in the market Quote: shyampsunder Originally Posted by Actually, it's the other way around.

As battery tech evolves, we should see more companies offer longer warranties



Quote: supermax Originally Posted by If they push too much risk onto the consumer, they risk losing him, but I think they'll wait till industry really moves away from ICE before they really start to tighten the screws, knowing that they've got their customers locked in, and without much options. They know the consumer will ultimately cough up the money and stay with them, when he/she has no other alternatives. ). The new normal to the customer is just three to four years of product life even if you use it very carefully. Who is taking more risk here? In case of EVs, the risk is substantially higher. Though, the apple to orange comparison may not be correct, I expect, the EVs are also going to follow same trajectories in future. Also, if we have better Lithium-ion battery technology in future, the cost of the battery may not come down. Rather, I expect, we may get enhanced range. As a customer, I wish to have longer battery warranty. However, when I draw a parallelism with the other products that has almost reached the technology maturity, I am skeptical about this. For example, take the development of LCD/LED Television, the initial days when it was launched in the market, we were getting two to three years of warranty depending on the manufacturers and the most of the premium brands today offer only one year warranty with specific two year panel warranty (correct me, if I am wrong). Unless the regulators bring law to enforce the long term battery warranty, I think, EV batteries also may follow this trend. I learned that California is trying to bring the legislation to ensure BEVs maintain 80% of their certified test-cycle range for 15 years or 150,000 miles, while fuel-cell models maintain at least 90% output power after 4,000 hours of operation. Moreover, it is encouraging to see companies coming forward with 10 year battery warranty. At the same time, I find, the public statements by companies are nothing more than a pep talk as it does not give any legal assurance to the customers.I would like to draw another parallelism to mobile technology. Many of us might have owned a Nokia 1100 and no body can question its durability or battery life. Despite of huge technological advancement in last 20 years, there are very few mobiles available in market that can match Nokia 1100 in these aspects(). The new normal to the customer is just three to four years of product life even if you use it very carefully. Who is taking more risk here? In case of EVs, the risk is substantially higher. Though, the apple to orange comparison may not be correct, I expect, the EVs are also going to follow same trajectories in future. Also, if we have better Lithium-ion battery technology in future, the cost of the battery may not come down. Rather, I expect, we may get enhanced range.
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)

BOAO, Hainan, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Song Hailiang firmly believes in the benefits of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), viewing it as a path of development, win-win cooperation and hope for all those involved.

In an interview with Xinhua during the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, in south China's Hainan Province, Song, board chairman and executive director of China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (Energy China), said that the decade-old BRI will bring broader consensus, wider development space and more brilliant achievements in the future.

"This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed BRI, and I hope that countries and regions along the Belt and Road can ensure substantive, steady, sustained and high-quality development and usher in a brighter future of BRI cooperation," he said.

Energy China is a comprehensive conglomerate that provides holistic solutions and full-chain services in areas such as power and infrastructure to China and the world as well.

The company has been actively practicing the concept of green and low-carbon development, and building infrastructure projects such as dams, roads and bridges around the world, Song said.

He noted that the company has done business in more than 140 countries and regions across the world, with more than 100,000 employees engaged in international businesses. To date, contracts with a value of over 500 billion yuan (about 72.76 billion U.S. dollars) have been signed along the Belt and Road.

"Our business along the Belt and Road has been deeply integrated into the construction of energy and power infrastructure," he said, listing several large-scale infrastructure projects, such as a hydroelectric power plant in Argentina, a seawater desalinization plant in the United Arab Emirates, and a gas-fired combined cycle power plant and a 1-GW wind power project in Uzbekistan.

In terms of public well-being projects, Song mentioned a maternity medical center that the company built in Kenya last year.

"There was a lack of maternity facilities and delivery rooms in the past. Local residents had to go to a hospital more than 40 km away. Thanks to the new center, women and infants can receive better medical services," Song explained.

China and countries along the Belt and Road are working together to develop a high-quality green Silk Road, and pursue green and low-carbon development by increasing investment in green energy, he said.

He said that the company has completed a variety of green, low-carbon and high-quality projects overseas, which not only promote local employment but also help other countries achieve new energy targets. "More efforts should be made to strengthen cooperation in the fields of green infrastructure, energy and finance," he said.

"We remain committed to pursuing international cooperation following the principles of localization, marketization and internationalization. I have full confidence in the future, and believe that the BRI will enjoy sound development in the long run," Song added. 
Nikhildrao BHPian



Join Date: May 2020 Location: Bangalore Posts: 110 Thanked: 424 Times

Hunt for my first car with a budget of around 2 lakhs



With the above criteria in mind, I have shortlisted these cars as the ones that will meet my lofty expectations -



1. 2006-2008 Toyota Corolla (post facelift)







2. MS SX4 ZXI petrol (diesel is out of budget)







3. 2nd gen Honda City (dolphin nose)







Fords like fiesta tdci are out because of obvious reasons and if anyone thinks that I should reconsider them, please let me know with your reasoning . Do provide your valuable opinions and suggestions if I have overlooked some others. Tbhp , I summon you to help me find my first car. The budget is just around 2 lakh, but I ask of the members to help me with all your might. The car will have to be safe as I will be moving around with my parents in it , so airbags and ABS/EBD is a must. The car must be relatively affordable to maintain and easy to live with (read as "no breakdowns"). I won't be traveling too much in it as Bangalore requires the 2 wheeled convience when heavy congested traffic is involved.With the above criteria in mind, I have shortlisted these cars as the ones that will meet my lofty expectations -1. 2006-2008 Toyota Corolla (post facelift)2. MS SX4 ZXI petrol (diesel is out of budget)3. 2nd gen Honda City (dolphin nose)Fords like fiesta tdci are out because of obvious reasons and if anyone thinks that I should reconsider them, please let me know with your reasoning . Do provide your valuable opinions and suggestions if I have overlooked some others.
SiSoftware Sandra (the System Analyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software. Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means "defender", "helper of mankind". We think that's quite fitting.

It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what's really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCIe, ODBC Connections, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Benchmark UI Change: Select Multi-Threading, Multi-Core, Single-Thread

While it was always possible in Sandra to disable hyper-threading (HT) to use only physical cores/modules or disable multi-core (MC) to use only sockets/packages or just 1 thread - by using Options - we decided to make it easier to use.

So now you can test either MT, MC, ST - which can be useful on processors that use Turbo/dynamic overclocking and can boost fewer threads to higher speeds.

You can also run on all APs (application processors) - but not the BSP (boot processor, aka thread 0) just in case the BSP causes AP threads to wait for it to finish and thus delay the completion of the test (even now there are some problematic systems).

Single-thread will use an AP not the BSP as generally the BSP is loaded with other tasks (e.g. interrupts).

Note: Sandra uses its own scheduler - thus does not depend on Windows to schedule the threads on specific socket/core (and perhaps park the rest). NUMA is also fully supported and the right NUMA node will be selected as appropriate for the package/core the thread should run on.

General Sandra Information

Here are the version types, in line with industry standards:

Sandra Lite (free for personal/educational use - no nag screens, time limit, etc.)

Sandra Advanced (for OEMs)

Sandra Professional (commercial)

Sandra Engineer (commercially exploitabile)

Sandra Enterprise (commercial)

Sandra Legacy (home enthusiast)

List of SiSoftware Sandra Modules:

System Summary

Mainboard/Chipset/System Monitors Info

CPU/BIOS Info

APM & ACPI (Advanced Power Management) Info

PCI(e), AGP, CardBus, PCMCIA bus and devices Info

Video Information (monitor, card, video bios, caps, etc.)

OpenGL Information

DirectX (DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectSound (3D), DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectInput) Info

Keyboard Info

Mouse Info

Sound Card (wave, midi, aux, mix) Info

MCI Devices (mpeg, avi, seq, vcr, video-disc, wave) Info

Joystick Info

Printers Info

Windows Memory Info

Windows Info

Font (Raster, Vector, TrueType, OpenType) Information

Modem/ISDN TA Information

Network Information

IP Network Information

WinSock & Internet Security Information

Drives Information (Removable Hard Disks, CD-ROM/DVD, RamDrives, etc.)

Ports (Serial/Parallel) Info

Remote Access Service Connections (Dial-Up, Internet)

OLE objects/servers Info

Processes (Tasks) & Threads Info

Modules (DLL, DRV) Info

Services & Device Drivers (SYS) Info

SCSI Information

ATA/ATAPI Information

Data Sources Information

CMOS/RTC Information

Smart Card & SIM Card Information

CPU Arithmetic Benchmark (MP/MT support)

CPU Multi-Media Benchmark (including MMX, MMX Enh, 3DNow!, 3DNow! Enh, SSE(2)) (MP/MT support)

File System (Removable, Hard Disks, Network, RamDrives) Benchmark

Removable Storage/Flash Benchmark

CD-ROM/DVD Benchmark

Memory Bandwidth Benchmark (MP/MT support)

Cache & Memory Bandwidth Benchmark (MP/MT support)

Network/LAN Bandwidth Benchmark

Internet/ISP Connection Benchmark

Internet/ISP Peerage Benchmark

Hardware Interrupts Usage

DMA Channel Usage

I/O Ports Usage

Memory Range Usage

Plug & Play Enumerator

Hardware registry settings

Environment settings

Registered File Types

Key Applications(web-browser, e-mail, news, anti-virus, firewall, etc.)

Installed Applications

Installed Programs

Start Menu Applications

On-disk Programs & Libraries

Installed Web Packages(ActiveX, Java classes)

System Event Logs

Burn-in Wizard(test computer stability)

Connect Wizard (connect to remote computers, PDAs, Smart Phones and other devices)

Combined Performance Index Wizard (overall computer performance score)

Create a Report Wizard (save, print, fax or e-mail in CIM (SMS/DMI), HTML, XML, RPT or TEXT format)

Performance Tune-Up Wizard (tune-up computer)

Environment Monitor Wizard (temperatures, voltages, fans, CPU power, cooling solution thermal resistance, etc.)

WebUpdate Wizard for automatic version updating

What's New

Benchmark Support, Updates & Fixes

GP-GPU Processing OpenCL Benchmark: fixed kernel failures on most GP-GPUs. Bug discovered by Mark Poppin.

CPU Scientific Benchmark: greatly improved AVX512 GEMM (SGEMM, DGEMM) performance by using the larger 48kB L1D cache (on RKL and ICL-SP) and better prefetch. [note AVX2/FMA3 performance is also improved to some extent]

CPU Inter-Thread Efficiency Benchmark: reasonably improved AVX512 inter-thread transfers by using larger transfer blocks that take advantage of the larger 48kB L1D cache (on RKL and ICL-SP). [note AVX2/FMA3 performance is also improved to some extent]

Memory Bandwidth Benchmark: modestly improved AVX512 bandwidth transfers by using the larger 48kB L1D cache( on RKL and ICL-SP) and smarter prefetching. [note AVX2/FMA3 performance is also improved to some extent]

Multi-Core Efficiency Benchmark: renamed to "Inter-Thread Efficiency" Benchmark as it now measures and displays inter-thread/core/module (CCX)/node (die)/pakage (socket) thread latencies.

Inter-Thread Efficiency Benchmark: enabled 512-bit/AVX512 inter-thread transfers for higher bandwidth utilisation.

Inter-Thread Efficiency Benchmark: reduce latency reported to just one of the

All CPU Benchmarks: expanded CPU microcode version from 2 digits to 8 digits (i.e. MC- -<8V>).

All GP-GPU Benchmarks: latest nVidia run-time (v456+ CUDA/OpenCL) now includes company name in device name which results in duplicated company name (e.g. "nVidia NVIDIA 2080Ti") that is pretty ugly.

Please see our article Processor Multi-Core Efficiency: Inter-Thread Latency & Bandwidth Benchmarking for an in-depth look at the benchmark and an example of its results from a modern processor.

Hardware Support, Updates & Fixes

All CPU Benchmarks: support Intel Pentium & Celeron (Atom "JasperLake").

All CPU Benchmarks: preliminary support Intel Xeon ("IceLake-SP").

All CPU Benchmarks: optimised Intel Core/Atom Hybrid ("Lakefield") performance.

All CPU Benchmarks: initial fixes for detection that fails to detect TDP/other power values on AMD Mobile Ryzen all - series. Please contact us if you have such a processor and can help with troubleshooting.

All Benchmarks: initial fix scheduler that fails to detect additional modules/CCXes on AMD Ryzen 3000-series. Please contact us if you have such a processor and can help with troubleshooting. [Note that Ryzen Series 1000, 2000 & 5000 are *not* affected]

All Benchmarks: initial fixes for detection that fails to detect TDP/other power values on AMD Mobile Ryzen all series. Please contact us if you have such a processor and can help with troubleshooting.

Additional Support, Updates & Fixes
The big picture: Looking Glass, the holographic technology company that launched the first desktop-based holographic development kit back in 2018, introduced Twitter to their newest creation earlier last week. The company posted videos of team members conversing with Uncle Rabbit, the ChatGPT-based holographic AI with a penchant for carrots. The conversational bot comes complete with its own unique, carrot-obsessed personality that is incorporated into its responses.

The videos, posted to the Looking Glass official Twitter page as well as @nikkiccccc's personal page, show members of the development team having a direct conversation with the 3D holographic image of a bunny known as "Uncle Rabbit." The prototype chatbot is designed to run on the company's 3D holographic line of products, such as the Looking Glass Portrait display, pictured above.

"any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" aA p sure i've never said this about anything we've made.



meet uncle rabbit---the first conversational holographic ai being powered by #ChatGPT @OpenAI powered by @LKGGlass



(hey @DBtodomundo i'iAA) pic.twitter.com/WuIAsZm3Ef --- nikki i-* i'- i-* (@nikkiccccc) March 29, 2023

The technology provides similar capabilities to ChatGPT, allowing the AI to imitate or apply a specific personality or tone for use in its responses. The bot's conversation and reactions leverage its unique character, creating a less robotic and more genuine experience for users interacting with it. And by conversation, we don't mean "it answers questions." Like ChatGPT, Uncle Rabbit is capable of engaging in a full-fledged conversation with you, from initial inquiry to follow on responses. It even has a sense of humor, though based on the videos, its brand of comedy is very dad-joke focused.

Looking Glass isn't new to the 3D holographic technology space. Established in 2014, the Brooklyn and Hong-Kong-based technology shop has a full suite of tools, add-ons, and even hardware designed to support 3D holographic development. The company's Looking Glass Core SDK allows developers to use their 3D software of choice, making it compatible with Looking Glass' hardware. 3D developers have the ability to use multiple rendering backends such as DirectX, OpenGL, Metal, Vulkan, or WebGL in conjunction with windowing libraries such as GLFW, Qt, and SDL. The site also offers plugins for popular development and rendering solutions such as Unity, Unreal Engine, and Blender.

The possibilities for using a conversational AI in gaming, daily productivity tasks, or even for use as a virtual assistant are endless. Unfortunately, Uncle Rabbit isn't available for users to download and engage, yet. The company has created an email sign-up page to keep interested parties informed of the tool's progress and capabilities. And once available, the technology will still likely require one of the Looking Glass proprietary displays, a cost that can range from almost $400 to packages that cost several thousand dollars or more.
Archaeologists from the University of Bradford have embarked on a new mission to uncover an ancient lost civilization buried under the North Sea, using magnetic data to detect anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field that could indicate the presence of ancient remains, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post.

The Mysterious Doggerland

The area of interest, known as Doggerland, was once a stretch of land that connected mainland Europe with the eastern coast of Great Britain, approximately 12,000 years ago. The region was buried at the bottom of the ocean by global warming that marked the end of the last ice age.



The University of Bradford's team, which already has a project dedicated to studying Doggerland, is now focusing on utilizing magnetometry to explore an underwater landscape.



This research method has primarily been used by terrestrial archaeologists, and this will be one of the few attempts to use it to examine an underwater environment.

According to National Geographic, human settlements once existed in Doggerland, based on the evaluation of tools and other artifacts embedded in the sea floor.

However, most of the artifacts discovered thus far have been encountered by chance, which means that knowledge of Doggerland's ancient inhabitants remains elusive.



Ph.D. student Ben Urmston is leading the new mission, looking for magnetic anomalies that could indicate the presence of ancient remains. "Small changes in the magnetic field can indicate changes in the landscape, such as peat-forming areas and sediments, or where erosion has occurred, for example, in river channels," explained Urmston.



The team's research will be crucial as offshore wind farming companies have begun to compete for Doggerland real estate, which could soon make parts of the area entirely inaccessible to scientists.



The United Kingdom, along with dozens of other nations, pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, which includes expanding offshore wind power.

Read Also: Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Earliest Known Narrative Scene Carved in an 11,000-year-old Neolithic Bench

Lost Civilization

The University of Bradford archaeologists are collaborating with climate scientists and engineers to obtain as much information about the mysterious Doggerland.



According to Urmston, middens-trash piles comprised of animal bones, mollusk shells, and other organic materials-could also be discovered. It is worth noting that Middens can disclose a lot about past habitations.

Doggerland was one of the most resource-rich and ecologically diverse regions between approximately 20,000 BCE - 4,000 BCE, according to the university report. The team's upcoming journey could reveal new information about this lost civilization, shedding light on the lives and activities of its ancient inhabitants.

Related Article: Archaeologists Find an Extremely Rare 1,300-year-old Gold and Gemstone Necklace From a Medieval Woman in England

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Italy has temporarily banned the use of ChatGPT following a data breach investigation, according to a report by AP.



The Italian Data Protection Authority stated that it was undertaking a provisional action "until ChatGPT respects privacy", including limiting the company's processing of Italian users' data.

OpenAI Disables ChatGPT in Italy

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has disabled the software for Italian users at the request of the government. The company said it believes its practices comply with European privacy laws and hopes to make ChatGPT available again soon.



This marks the first nation-scale restriction of a popular AI tool by a democracy, according to Alp Toker, director of the advocacy group NetBlocks, which monitors internet access worldwide.



However, software applications from businesses that already have licenses with OpenAI to use the same technology driving the chatbot, such as Microsoft's Bing search engine, are unlikely to be affected by the restriction, as per AP.



The restriction only applies to the web version of ChatGPT, which boasts millions of users around the world.



OpenAI has been given 20 days by the Italian watchdog to report on the steps it has taken to protect the privacy of user data, it the company fails it might be fined up to 20 million euros (almost $22 million), or 4% of annual global revenue.



In its statement, the agency cited the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and mentioned a recent data breach involving "users' conversations" and subscriber payment information from ChatGPT.



OpenAI previously disclosed that it had to take ChatGPT offline on March 20 to address an issue that permitted certain users to view the titles or topic lines of other users' conversation histories.

The company added that 1.2% of ChatGPT Plus users may have accidentally shared personal information with another user. Concerns over the boom in artificial intelligence have led to the Italian watchdog's action.



A group of academics and executives from the tech industry recently wrote a letter urging businesses like OpenAI to postpone the creation of more potent AI models so that society has time to consider the hazards.



According to Italian state television, the petition was signed by the head of the privacy watchdog organization in Italy because "it's not clear what aims are being pursued" ultimately by those developing AI.

Read Also: Italy Wants OpenAI's ChatGPT Blocked - Why?

Altman's Six Continent Trip

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, revealed this week that he will visit six continents in May to meet with users and developers and discuss the technology.



This includes visits to Madrid, Munich, London, and Paris in addition to a scheduled stop in Brussels, where European Union legislators have been drafting extensive new regulations to restrict high-risk AI capabilities.



The EU's 27 member countries and the European consumer group BEUC asked for an investigation into ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots on Thursday.



BEUC stated that since it may be years until the EU's AI legislation is put into action, authorities must move quickly to safeguard consumers from potential threats.

Related Article: Ethicists Criticize Elon Musk-Backed Call for 'AI Pause'-What Are They Saying?

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China's J-20 Mighty Dragon fighter jet receives a new wingman, the FH-97A.

This new combat drone will assist the aircraft in its defense operations.

The Chinese government introduced its new cutting-edge combat drone at the biennial Zhuhai air show last November 2022.

Pairing the new FH-97A with the J-20 Mighty Dragon will improve the performance of the fighter jet in combat activities.

China J-20 Mighty Dragon's New Wingman Arrives!

According to the South China Morning Post, the new Chinese combat drone will free the J-20 fighter jet from frontline tasks.

Also Read: US Senate Warns CISA About DJI Drones After DoD Confirms It's a Chinese Military Company

This will allow the aircraft to specialize in functions, such as data distribution, communication interruption, as well as command and control.

Interesting Engineering reported that the combat drone can keep up with the speed of the J-20 Mighty Dragon.

Aside from this, the FH-97A can also carry eight intelligent air-to-air missiles (loitering munitions).

This is expected to solve the ammo capacity deficiency of the Chinese fighter jet.

Overall, the new drone can improve the combat performance of the J-20 Mighty Dragon and increase the pilot's chance of survival.

FH-97A Combat Drone's Other Details

The Chinese combat drone debuted in 2022 in southern China.

It was developed by Feighong Company; a China Aerospace and Technology Corporation division.

When the combat drone was unveiled, many experts compared the FH-97A to the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie; the jet-powered drone which flies with the F-35 and F-22 fighter jets of the United States.

"The Valkyrie is a subsonic drone, while the FH-97A is a super-speed variant," said Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based military analyst.

As of writing, China is planning to work on more wingman drones for its advanced fighter jets.

If you want to learn more details about the new Chinese combat drone FH-97A, you can click this link.

China is not the only country improving its military defenses.

Recently, the U.S. Air Force's new MUTANT missile, which can bend its nose, was introduced.

Meanwhile, a new fighter jet development deal was previously discussed by Italy, Japan, and U.K. ministers.

For more news updates about combat drones and other defense innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: US Navy Awards Lockheed Martin with $2 Billion Contract for First Sea-based Hypersonic Tech

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Semaglutide, a weight-loss drug on the market for over 15 years and primarily used to treat type 2 diabetes, has recently gained attention after receiving an endorsement from none other than Elon Musk.

Marketed under the names Ozempic and Wegovy, this drug has proven to be quite effective in helping people lose weight. However, it is important to note that this drug is not a magical solution for everyone, say experts.

What is Semaglutide? How does it work?

As per a report by Variety, the use of insulin regulator prescriptions is quite popular in Hollywood, particularly among the affluent and glamorous who constantly strive to enhance their physical appearance. This trend is part of the everlasting culture in Los Angeles, where people are always on the lookout for ways to improve their looks.

Even the social media platform TikTok is brimming with influencers showcasing dramatic before-and-after transformations attributed to the use of this product.

Nutritionist Diane Tran, from Hong Kong's Central Health clinic, tells the South China Morning Post that semaglutide works by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is produced naturally in the body and helps regulate blood sugar levels by slowing down the rate at which food is emptied from the stomach.

This causes a sensation of being full and may aid in weight loss. According to a study conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), people who used the drug for 16 months lost an average of 12% of their body weight compared to those who received a placebo.

The Drug's Drawbacks

While the drug's ability to regulate blood sugar levels is particularly beneficial for people with diabetes, it can also be helpful for those who struggle with weight loss. SCMP tells us that Ozempic has helped many people, including Anna, who were previously unable to lose weight despite exercising and eating healthily.

Stephanie, a healthcare worker from Hong Kong, has been battling weight issues for several years. However, over the last ten months, she has shed 25.4 kilograms (56 pounds).

However, it is important to note that a medical doctor should only prescribe the drug, as many factors can contribute to weight gain, including undiagnosed health conditions.

Read Also: Revolutionary GlucoScreen: Smartphone-Based System for Early Detection of Prediabetes

Despite the drug's effectiveness, there are some concerns about its safety. The FDA has warned about the development of thyroid tumors in rodent studies, and it may not be suitable for patients who have had pancreatitis or certain types of thyroid cancer.

Additionally, some doctors caution that the drug may not instill healthy eating habits and may only provide a temporary fix for weight loss.

There is also concern that the drug will be misused by individuals who do not meet the criteria for which it has been approved. Celebrity endorsements, such as Elon Musk's support for Wegovy, may boost the drug's popularity, but they also risk undermining its real and significant purpose.

The drug's popularity has resulted in an international shortage, particularly for diabetic patients who rely on it.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Ashwagandha Trends on TikTok, Some Users Warn About Dangerous Side Effects

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The right to repair is first mentioned in Canada's federal government 2023 budget, included in the section titled Making Life More Affordable and Supporting the Middle Class.

According to Ars Technica, the government will seek to develop a right-to-repair to provide a "targeted framework" for mending household gadgets and appliances by 2024. The federal government said it would engage with provinces and territories before enacting the right to repair throughout Canada.

"When it comes to broken appliances or devices, high repair fees and a lack of access to specific parts often mean Canadians are pushed to buy new products rather than repairing the ones they have. This is expensive for people and creates harmful waste," the 2023 budget report reads.

The budget also implies that third-party repairs may be less expensive than having the original maker fix a device like a phone, much more so than it ought to be.

Support for Right-to-Repair Law

The acceptance by the European Commission (EC) of a proposal mandating technology manufacturers to offer repairs for up to ten years after purchase, depending on product type, coincides with Canada's budget presentation. The plan will not become legislation unless approved by the European Parliament and Council.

A global perspective on right-to-repair debates reveals the complexity of trying to please consumer activists and tech businesses. Others have questioned the efficacy of the EU right-to-repair law since it does not guarantee that affordable features, such as replacement parts, tools, and instructions, are included.

Nevertheless, others, such as the director-general of the tech trade group DigitalEurope, argue that the regulation should be based on "manufacturer-led repair networks."

New York passed the Digital Fair Repair Act at the very last minute in 2022, making it the first state to guarantee the right to repair electronic devices.

However, tech giants' home repair programs have been criticized for things like insufficient product support. In Apple's case, there is also the need for remote original equipment manufacturer (OEM) authorization to complete repairs.

In July 2022, India stated it would form a committee to draft a right-to-repair framework that may apply to electronics, cars, agricultural equipment, and consumer durables.

See Also: New Draft EU Law Aims to Prioritize Tech Repairs Over Replacements

Universal Charging Port

Canada's 2023 budget showed its interest in a common electrical charging port. A universal charging port may just save households money and e-waste, according to the budget.

The EU famously mandated that smartphones, tablets, and other consumer goods with wired charging have a USB-C connector by December 28, 2024. Laptops must comply by April 2026.

Several nations are currently exploring universal charging port legislation due to the EU's requirements.

Due to the high expenses involved, India is contemplating implementing such a law by March 2025. In August 2022, Brazil concluded a public survey on mandating USB-C ports for smartphone charging. While such a bill hasn't moved much in the US, some legislators have urged the Secretary of Commerce for a plan.

See Also: Apple iPhone 15 Pro to Support USB-C With Faster Speeds - Slow Transfers for Standard Phones?

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Italy's deputy prime minister voiced his disapproval of the Data Protection Authority's decision to temporarily prohibit artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. On Sunday, Apr. 2, he stated that the restriction due to privacy concerns sounded disproportionate.

Complaints from Italy's national data agency about potential privacy breaches and OpenAI's failure to verify that users were above the age of 13 as asked recently emerged. Hence, OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, shut down in Italy on Friday, Mar. 31.

That was the first time a Western nation took legal action against an AI-powered chatbot, which was taken by an independent body separate from the government.

Does the ban go too far?

The head of the governing coalition's League party, Matteo Salvini, took to Instagram to express his displeasure with the Privacy Watchdog's decision to block access to ChatGPT from Italy.

According to Reuters' report, Salvini dubbed the action "hypocritical" and called for common sense, saying that privacy problems touch almost all internet businesses.

Since its introduction last year, ChatGPT has caused a tech frenzy, with competitors releasing counterparts and businesses adopting its core technology for use in their own offerings.

OpenAI, which suspended ChatGPT for Italian users at the agency's request, said on Friday that it actively seeks to minimize the collection and use of personally identifiable information while training its AI systems.

In a statement, the company expressed its eagerness to collaborate with the Italian data agency and educate them on how their AI systems are designed and operated.

Salvini, who is also the minister of transportation, has expressed concern that the ban may hurt Italian businesses and creativity. He has also expressed a desire for a swift resolution that would allow the chatbot to once again operate in the country.

"Every technological revolution brings great changes, risks, and opportunities. It is right to control and regulate through international cooperation between regulators and legislators, but it cannot be blocked," he stated, as per Reuters.

See Also: ChatGPT Saves Dog's Life After Failed Diagnosis by Vet-How?

Demand to Shut Down

Reportedly, the limitation is unlikely to disrupt software apps from companies that already have licenses with OpenAI to utilize the chatbot's technology, such as Microsoft's Bing search engine. The ban applies solely to ChatGPT's online version, which has millions of users worldwide.

OpenAI has 20 days to report its data privacy measures to the Italian authority. Otherwise, it might be penalized up to 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) or 4% of its global revenue.

Apparently, the Italian privacy watchdog organization's chief signed the petition to ban the chatbot because it was not obvious what interests were being pursued by those working on AI. The agency highlighted the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and ChatGPT's data breach of users' chats and subscriber payment information.

See Also: New AI App Serving as ChatGPT Alternative for iPhones, Now Available

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British scientists are creating innovative new methods for monitoring the genetic evolution of respiratory viruses as they spread across the globe. The goal is to utilize the system as an early warning mechanism for emerging illnesses and potential pandemics.

According to The Guardian, the Cambridgeshire-based team plans to make the technology affordable, user-friendly, and scalable to be used for worldwide viral monitoring. Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), coronaviruses, and even as-yet-unidentified infections would be a target.

A System to Detect All Viral, Bacterial, and Fungal Species

The long-term goal of the Respiratory Virus and Microbiome Initiative is the development of a system that uses DNA sequencing technology to detect and identify all viral, bacterial, and fungal species present in a single nasal swab sample.

According to project leader Dr. Ewan Harrison of the world-renowned genetics research and DNA sequencing facility, the Sanger Institute, "Britain was at the leading edge of the genomic surveillance of Covid-19 and was responsible for about 20% of all the Sars-CoV-2 genomes that were sequenced across the planet during the pandemic."

Dr. Harrison said they were able to follow the evolution of Sars-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, with remarkable speed and precision owing to the information and insights they produced.

The current goal is to aid in establishing worldwide respiratory virus genomic monitoring. After all, Dr. Harrison said, these are the agents most likely to cause new pandemics.

Coronaviruses are a warning sign of potential future pandemics. In the last 20 years, three distinct coronaviruses-SARS in China and its neighbors, MERS in the Middle East, and Covid-19 around the globe-emerged to infect people.

Yet it was during the Covid pandemic that genetic surveys were used, and their extraordinary potential was made clear.

The technology demonstrated that the abrupt increase in Covid cases in southeast England in December 2020 was caused by the emergence of a new, more infectious variety.

Read Also: Scientists Develop Respiratory Virus Testing Device to Distinguish COVID-19 From Flu

Aiming for an Inexpensive, Quick, and Scalable System

The Sanger team is working with the UK Health Security Agency, British universities, and other public health organizations to develop methods to sequence all viral variants from a single sample. Patients who have just been admitted to a hospital are a good source for these samples since that is when a disease is most likely to show up in the wild.

Such technology, however, would need to be transferable to research facilities in other parts of the globe. John Sillitoe, head of the genomic surveillance team at the Sanger Institute, said the system needed to be as simple, inexpensive, quick, and scalable as possible to be effective on a global scale.

Dr. Harrison told The Guardian that three variants of the technology were now undergoing testing. "Over the coming months, we will be seeing if we can swap bits and possibly come up with a hybrid in the end."

He noted that the goal would be to have a workable system operational in a year.

Read Also: Notorious Yeast Virus Gained More Drug Resistance Amidst COVID, CDC' Considers it an 'Urgent Threat'

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Staff members load freight into a Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Tao)

WUHAN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft loaded with some 100 tonnes of freight took off at around 11 a.m. Saturday at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in central China's Hubei Province.

This flight marks the opening of the first international route of China's first cargo-focused airport.

This route is scheduled to provide two round-trip cargo flights each week between China and Europe, adding 400 tonnes of air express capacity, according to the aircraft's operator SF Airlines, China's largest air-cargo carrier.

The Ezhou Huahu Airport was put into operation in July 2022. It is positioned as a cargo-focused hub airport with extensive cargo traffic but little passenger traffic. It is expected to open 40 domestic freight routes and about four international freight routes by the end of this year.

SF Airlines' Ezhou Base was officially opened on the same day, and it will provide services for the company and other airlines in the future, according to SF Airlines. 
Qin Gang, China's foreign minister, called on his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi to stop supporting the US attempts to limit China's semiconductor sector. Meanwhile, Hayashi is also demanding the immediate release of a Japanese national jailed in China.

Chip Curbs

According to Bloomberg, Foreign Minister Qin met with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi in Beijing on Sunday, Apr. 2. The Foreign Ministry released a statement the same day, quoting Foreign Minister Qin that a chip boycott would only increase China's determination to attain self-reliance.

According to the statement, Qin remarked, "In the past, the US ruthlessly suppressed the Japanese semiconductor industry, but now it is repeating its old tactics toward China." A release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry reports that he also expressed optimism about the prospects for improved bilateral ties via joint effort.

It has been almost three years since a senior Tokyo diplomat last visited Beijing, making Hayashi's trip historical. After China's Mar. 31 criticism of Japan's decision to limit exports of 23 forms of cutting-edge chipmaking technology, this outcome is to be expected. As the US increases its attempts to restrict China's access to critical semiconductor know-how, Japan has responded by tightening its own trade curbs.

Recently, relations between Beijing and Tokyo have deteriorated due to Japan's participation in US-led initiatives to undermine China's regional dominance via organizations like the Quad group, which also includes Australia and India. And yet, Japan has worked hard to keep its relationship with its largest trade partner intact.

Also Read: Japan Restricts China's Chipmaking Export, Joining US, and the Netherlands

Demand to Release Detainees

The incarceration of an employee of Astellas Pharma in China is causing growing worry in Tokyo.

In his meetings with Qin, Premier Li Qiang, and senior diplomat Wang Yi, Hayashi protested the man's imprisonment and demanded his release, according to Japan's foreign ministry. Hayashi emphasized the need to create a stress-free atmosphere for business and interpersonal interactions between Japanese citizens and companies.

As per Bloomberg, an official from Japan's foreign ministry informed lawmakers last week that 17 Japanese nationals had been imprisoned in China since 2015. Two of the five still detained individuals were given prison terms by the Chinese government.

China vs. Japan

The two Asian neighbors have been at odds over a group of islands in the East China Sea for some time, which is just one of several bilateral issues they have been dealing with. China is opposed to Japan's plans to dump its cleaned-up nuclear waste from the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi plant into the ocean.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Xi Jinping broke the ice with a meeting in Bangkok in November 2022, which led to Hayashi's visit. However, Hayashi's visit occurs only weeks before Japan hosts the Group of Seven conferences, to which Kishida has invited several foreign leaders from Asia and beyond, but Xi is not among them.

Qin also cautioned Japan not to meddle in Taiwan-related or other problems that may threaten China's sovereignty during the meeting. Bloomberg reported that Japan is concerned that China will eventually take Taiwan by force. Notably, many Japanese officials consider Taiwan's stability crucial to Tokyo's security.

Also Read: Huawei Says China's Chip Sector Will Be 'Reborn' Amid US Sanctions

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In St. Petersburg, Russia, a devastating bomb explosion rocked a "Street Bar" cafe, resulting in the death of a military blogger named Vladlen Tatarsky and the injury of 19 others.

According to the Russian authorities, Tatarsky's real name was Maxim Fomin, and he had over 560,000 followers on Telegram. His blog was known for providing critical commentary on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, making him one of the most prominent military bloggers in the country.

Investigations On-going

The investigation into the explosion is still ongoing, and the authorities have not yet determined who was responsible for the attack.

Sky News reports that Tatarsky attended a Kremlin ceremony last year, where Russia announced the annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine.

During the ceremony, Tatarsky was recorded saying, "We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it."

The Russian state Investigative Committee has reported that 19 people were injured in the blast, and they have opened a murder investigation into Tatarsky's death.

Read Also: Export Ban to Russia Now Includes Smartphones Over $300: US Department of Commerce Enforces

Sky News tells us that it is believed that Tatarsky was the target of the bombing. This would make the second time a figure associated with the war in Ukraine was assassinated on Russian soil.

Bomb Disguised as a Miniature Statue

As per the investigative authorities in Russia, the bomb used in the attack was a makeshift explosive device that had been concealed within a miniature figurine.

This particular object had been presented to Tatarsky by an unidentified woman while he was present at the cafe. It has been reported that Tatarsky was acting as a speaker at an event during this incident.

A video that has been shared on the Mash Telegram channel, a platform that is purportedly associated with Russian law enforcement, depicts Tatarsky holding the small statue of a helmeted soldier mere moments before the detonation took place.

Russian Bloggers Were Shocked by Bombing

According to Reuters, Tatarsky's death has shocked his colleagues and followers, who remember him as a brave and experienced blogger.

He was part of a group of military correspondents and freelance commentators who have been publishing strong perspectives on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Putin even appointed one of them to his human rights council last year, Reuters cites.

Although the investigations pertaining to the attack are still underway, military analyst Sean Bell, as per Sky News, has refuted any notion of Ukrainian military involvement, citing that the cafe in question was not a military target.

At present, the Russian authorities have not been able to ascertain the identity of the perpetrator(s) of this heinous act.

Latest on the War

According to a recent report by the BBC, the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate with Russian shelling resulting in the tragic deaths of at least six innocent civilians in Kostyantynivka, an industrial city located near the embattled Bakhmut region in eastern Ukraine.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Ukraine Buys 1,400 Drones to Develop Combat Models That May Rival Russia's Exploding Drones

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* The Yellow River, known as China's "mother river" and the cradle of Chinese civilization, flows about 5,464 km through nine provincial-level regions.

* The Yellow River Protection Law came into effect on Saturday.

* As China's second piece of legislation on a specific river basin after the Yangtze River Protection Law, the new law targets key problems of the Yellow River basin, including water shortages, ecological fragility and flooding.

TAIYUAN/JINAN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- How long does it take for a little sapling to grow into a big tree, and how many trees are needed to make a forest? Zhang Zhisong, 70, has spent the past six years finding out the answers.

Hailing from Ruicheng County, north China's Shanxi Province, Zhang was born and grew up near the Yellow River, China's second-longest waterway. Aside from farm work, he has another important mission -- planting trees on the river banks.

Recognizing that trees are a key component of a healthy river, Zhang is one of many forest rangers hired by the county government to plant and protect trees along the Yellow River. Every year, he can earn over 20,000 yuan (about 2,900 U.S. dollars) in extra income from the job.

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 20, 2023 shows people planting trees in Ruicheng County near the Yellow River in north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Xie Yuan)

He still recalls the old days of living near the river. "When I was a kid, there were few trees, and we were hit by sandstorms every spring," Zhang recalled. "Now that we have more trees, the sandstorms have almost disappeared over the past decade."

His confidence in the future received a boost when he learned that the Yellow River Protection Law came into effect on Saturday, having been adopted in October 2022.

As China's second piece of legislation on a specific river basin after the Yangtze River Protection Law, the new law targets key problems of the Yellow River basin, including water shortages, ecological fragility and flooding.

The law will strengthen legal protection for the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin, said Zu Leiming, director of the Yellow River Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources.

"GREENING" THE RIVER

The Yellow River, known as China's "mother river" and the cradle of Chinese civilization, flows about 5,464 km through nine provincial-level regions. It supplies water to 12 percent of China's population and irrigates 17 percent of the country's arable land.

As the old saying goes, "When the Yellow River is harnessed, China will enjoy the tranquility." Since ancient times, Chinese people have struggled against the flooding of the Yellow River, and conservation of the river has always been high on the country's agenda.

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 18, 2022 shows the wetland scenery at the Yellow River delta national nature reserve in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

Every morning at around 7 o'clock, Zhang starts his daily work along the river, carrying shovels and water tanks. So far this year, the 10-person team he belongs to has planted more than 10,000 trees. Countywide, a total area of 11,000 mu (about 733 hectares) of forest was added in 2022.



Zhang's endeavor is a reflection of China's efforts to protect the Yellow River basin, which was once plagued by soil erosion but has seen steady progress in rebuilding its ecological environment.

Thanks in part to increased afforestation, the basin's soil and water conservation rate increased from 41.49 percent in 1990 to 66.94 percent in 2020, and then to 67.37 percent in 2021.

In the city of Dongying, east China's Shandong Province, where the river meets the sea, flocks of migratory birds soar over the Yellow River delta national nature reserve during springtime.

In recent years, Dongying has implemented a dozen ecological restoration projects mainly focused on connecting water systems. Over the past three years, the city provided 469 million cubic meters of water to the reserve, effectively alleviating soil salinization and improving the wetland's ecological functions.

Thanks to wetland restoration efforts, the number of bird species in the delta nature reserve has almost doubled from 187 in 1992 to over 370 today.

A flock of birds fly over the Yellow River delta national nature reserve in east China's Shandong Province, Nov. 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Fan Zhangguo)

"We will work with relevant departments to build a biodiversity data platform for the Yellow River delta and continue to promote wetland restoration to improve the breeding and habitat environments for rare bird species," said Chen Yunlong, director of the municipal bureau of ecology and environment.

EFFECTIVE WATER GOVERNANCE

The Yellow River Protection Law emphasizes conservation in water resource utilization. In fact, in Shandong's Ningjin County, measures have been taken to encourage farmers to save water. The price of any water used beyond a certain limit has been raised, while rewards have been implemented for using less.

"In the past, we used a lot of water in irrigation," said Wang Meng, a farmer from Ningjin. According to Wang, whenever they watered the crops, they would let flow more than 70 cubic meters of water per mu of land.

Now they are able to save around 25 cubic meters per mu each year. This means that an average of 20 million cubic meters of water has been saved in total, which is enough to meet the daily living needs of the entire county of 480,000 people for two years.

Wang himself received 5,000 yuan last year for water conservation. "Now everyone is trying their best to save water," he said.

This aerial photo taken on March 20, 2023 shows water-saving irrigation equipment working in the field in Ruicheng County near the Yellow River in north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Xie Yuan)

Persevering in the protection of water resources, China has improved its water governance capacity by balancing economy and environment.

While the Chinese economy has maintained steady growth, the country's annual water consumption has remained below 610 billion cubic meters for years. In 2022, its water use per 10,000 yuan of GDP dropped 46.5 percent from 2012, while its water use per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value fell 60.4 percent.

According to Yu Qiyang, an official with the Ministry of Water Resources, to effectively implement the Yellow River Protection Law, efforts should be made in fields involving ecological protection and restoration, conservation and the effective usage of water resources, flood control, high-quality development of the Yellow River basin, as well as inheritance and promotion of the Yellow River culture.

Currently, Zhang Zhisong and other local forest rangers are planting ornamental vegetation, such as flowering shrubs and oriental plane trees, along a tourist highway that winds along the Yellow River. The highway will open soon, emerging as a new attraction for visitors.

"Now that the environment has improved and we have become more accessible by various roads, I believe we'll have a better life in the future," Zhang said.

(Reporting by Xie Yuan, Cheng Lu, Bai Xu and Sun Xiaohui; Video reporters: Xie Yuan, Feng Yuanyuan, Zhu Xiaoguang, Guo Gang and Cheng Nan; Video editors: Zhang Zhihuan, Li Qin and Yu Jiaming.)
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BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Political Bureau of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held on Thursday afternoon its fourth group study session on the study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

While presiding over the session, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed that this group study session will set an example for the entire Party to further advance the study and implementation of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as part of the theoretical study program to consolidate Party members' understanding in theories.

Liu Guozhong, Li Ganjie, Li Shulei, He Weidong, and Chen Min'er, who are all members of the Political Bureau, shared what they have achieved from studying Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, explaining how the study benefited their own thinking and work.

After listening to the speakers, Xi made an important speech. He pointed out that studying and implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the fundamental requirement for us to break new ground to advance our causes and pursue development on the new journey in the new era. One important piece of experience drawn from our Party's historical achievements and remarkable successes is to always equip our Party with the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to Chinese context and the needs of the times and use them to guide our practice and advance our work. Facing the complex international and domestic situation, arduous tasks of promoting reform and development, and maintaining stability, and various uncertain and unpredictable risks and challenges on the new journey in the new era, it is urgent for Party members and officials, especially leading officials at all levels, to further study and implement to the letter the Thought in order to achieve the strategic goals set at the 20th CPC National Congress. This primarily explains why the CPC Central Committee has decided to launch this Party-wide theoretical study program.

Xi stressed that for every step forward in the Party's theoretical innovation, theoretical study must follow. The Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has been developed for 10 years. Along this journey, we have also encouraged the entire Party to study it for 10 years and achieved notable results. However, the task of theoretical study remains daunting. The theme of this study program has been decided to be the study and implementation of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, so as to encourage the whole Party, especially leading officials, to continuously further their study and implementation of the Thought.

Xi pointed out that the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era covers all realms and respects, including reform, development, social stability, domestic affairs, foreign relations, national defense, and governance of the Party, the state, and the military, which constitute a complete scientific system. As the report to the 20th CPC National Congress has clarified, the main contents of this Thought are summarized in the 10 affirmations, the 14 commitments, and achievements in 13 areas. We should not only study and master the main contents comprehensively and systematically, but also grasp the theoretical system of this Thought as a whole, so as to understand it inside out. We must understand and grasp the new ideas, thoughts, and strategies proposed for various fields and the specific requirements put forward for various aspects of work in the context of the entire theoretical system, so that one-sidedness with only fragments of the Thought being learnt can be avoided, and we will never fail to see the wood for the trees.

Xi emphasized that to thoroughly study and understand the Thought, we must also grasp its worldview, methodology, and the stances, viewpoints and methods running through it. In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, a science-based method was put forward for continuing to promote theoretical innovation, that is, we must put people first, must maintain self-confidence and stand on our own feet, must uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, must adopt a problem-oriented approach, must apply systems thinking and must maintain a global vision. These "six musts" epitomize the stances, viewpoints and methods of the Thought. Only if we gain an accurate command of the stances, viewpoints and methods of the Thought, including the six musts, can we better understand the essence of the Thought, have right thinking and methods for doing things, keen vision of situations, and ability to analyze issues profoundly, and do our work with precision and ease.

Xi noted that studying the Thought is for application and turning it into a powerful intellectual tool to transform ourselves and the world. During this theoretical study program, Party members and officials, especially leading officials at all levels, must consciously involve their own thoughts in it, and gain a good command of the requirements of the Party's new theories for maintaining firm ideals and convictions, raising their ideological level and enhancing their Party consciousness, which includes never forgetting the original aspiration and founding mission, bearing in mind the country's most fundamental interests, improving political acumen, understanding and capacity to deliver, being strict in practicing self-cultivation, using power and exercising self-discipline, being earnest in thinking, work and behavior, being faithful, clean and responsible and being pragmatic and honest for the sake of the people, so as to preserve the political character of Communists forever. In particular, we should transform the Thought's worldview and methodology as well as the stances, viewpoints and methods running through it into our own ideological tool, internalizing them in our hearts and manifesting them in our actions.

Xi pointed out that the Party's new theories should be applied to the implementation of the major strategic plans put forward at the 20th CPC National Congress. We should be good at applying the Thought in observing, understanding and steering the trends of the times, better implement the national rejuvenation strategy within a wider context of the once-in-a-century changes taking place in the world, have a profound insight into time and momentum as well as crisis and opportunity, and actively identify, respond to, and steer changes. We should be good at using this Thought to make new progress and breakthroughs in promoting modernization through a Chinese path, strengthen political leadership, enrich strategic support, expand practical paths, solve problems hindering development, and stimulate vitality, to make the Chinese modernization more distinct in its Chinese characteristics, more prominent in its strengths, and brighter in its prospects. We should also be adept at using the Thought to solve various problems in economic and social development, so as to fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, speed up the creation of a new development pattern, advance high-quality development and promote common prosperity. We should be adept at utilizing this Thought to forestall and defuse major risks, enhance the sense of vigilance, be prepared for worst-case scenarios and contingencies, always save for a rainy day, be prepared against possible war, be proactive in taking precautionary measures, preempt and nip risks in the bud, resolutely prevent various risks from spiraling out of control and guard against systemic risks. We should also be adept at utilizing this Thought to further advance full and rigorous self-governance of the Party, always stay alert and determined to tackle the special challenges that a large political party like ours faces, and pay attention to solving the new problems that arise and deep-seated problems that exist, so as to ensure that the Party will never change its nature, its conviction, or its character.

Xi emphasized that comrades in the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee should set an example during the theoretical study program. It is an effective management and work method for leading officials to set examples through their own conduct and influence the subordinates. They should set a higher standard, meet stricter requirements and take more practical measures in the program in order to set examples, establish benchmarks and lead the way for the whole Party. They should take the lead in doing a good job on the theoretical study, guiding and promoting an in-depth study of the Thought among the whole Party. They should also take the lead in conducting inspections and researches, go to the grassroots to see the real situation and communicate with the people, and be more conscious of problems so as to get a clear picture of the situation, pinpoint the problems, put forth right solutions, and put forward new line of thought and new approaches for solving problems with a view to guiding and promoting the trend of conducting inspections and researches among the Party. They should take the lead in conducting inspections and examinations and rectifying misdeeds detected. In line with the new circumstances, new tasks and new responsibilities, they should integrate the theoretical study with examinations and rectifications to identify their own shortcomings and deficiencies in work, place themselves under supervision from within and outside the Party with correct attitude, conscientiously carry out criticism and self-criticism, and make efforts to solve problems from the root cause of thinking and institutional mechanism, so as to do a good job in examinations and rectifications within the whole Party and win public trust with specific results from rectifications. They should take the lead in organizing the theoretical study program in the regions and areas under their jurisdiction, perform their duties well, know well how the study is going on, and make efforts to detect symptoms of potential problems and tendentious problems. They should do their work in a down-to-earth manner to make sure that they do not deviate from the right direction and their work intensity remains strong, so that the theoretical study will be carried out in a solid manner and concrete results will be achieved. 
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BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A total of 8,487 police officers from China's immigration administration organs were awarded medals in commemoration of their exemplary work in guarding China's border regions.

The medals were presented by the National Immigration Administration and its subsidiary immigration administration departments.

This marks the first time the country presented the medal, an honorary award for immigration administration workers. It was established after being approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

As per regulations, from this year on, the medals will be awarded annually to immigration administration police officers who have served in remote and harsh areas of border regions. Officers who have given 10, 20 and 30 years of service will be awarded bronze, silver and gold medals respectively. 
Advocate staff photo by Stephanie Warren -- The Town of Clinton prepares for two July festivals. The Red, White and Blues Festival will be held in downtown Clinton on July 3. The Red, White and Blue Festival is set for July 4-5 north of Clinton, on Liberty Highway at the American Legion Park.
The five most popular potato chip brands in Africa are Simba Chips, Chippies, Niknaks, Lays, and Safri Chips. PepsiCo owns three of the five best selling potato chips in Africa; Simba, Chippies and Lays.





What are potato chips called in Africa?





Potato chips are known by various names in different countries in Africa, and the name may vary based on the local language or dialect.





In some countries, potato chips are simply referred to as chips or crisps, while in others, they may have different names.





For example, in South Africa, potato chips are commonly called slap chips.





In Nigeria, they are known as potato crisps or potato chips, while in Kenya they are referred to as "crisps."





In Egypt, they are known as lays after the popular brand of potato chips, while in Morocco they are called chips or pommes chips, French for potato chips.







The five best selling potato chip brands in Africa.





Simba Chips is a South African brand that offers a variety of flavors. Simba Chips is a popular snack brand in South Africa, known for their range of potato chips or crisps, as they are often called in South Africa.





Simba Chips has been around since the 1950s and is one of the most recognized snack brands in the country. Simba Chips offers a variety of flavors, including cheese and onion, salt and vinegar, tomato sauce, and many others.





The brand is known for its high quality and delicious taste, and is a popular choice for snacking in South Africa. In addition to their potato chips,





Simba Chips also produces other snacks such as peanuts, popcorn, and pretzels. The brand is owned by PepsiCo, one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world.





Chippies is a Zimbabwean brand that offers flavors such as Tomato Sauce, BBQ, and Cheese and Onion. Chippies is a popular brand of potato chips in Zimbabwe.





It is owned by Simba Savannah Private Limited, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Chippies potato chips come in a variety of flavors, including salted, cheese and onion, tomato sauce, and BBQ.





They are made from locally sourced potatoes and are known for their crispy texture and rich flavor. In addition to potato chips,





Chippies also produces other snacks such as maize snacks and peanut butter. The brand is widely available in Zimbabwe and is a favorite snack among many Zimbabweans.





Niknaks is a South African brand that offers cheese-flavored corn snacks that are similar in texture to potato chips.







Lays is an international potato chip brand that is available in many African countries. Lay's potato chips are sold in various countries across the African continent, including South Africa, Lays is an international potato chip brand that is available in many African countries. Lay's potato chips are sold in various countries across the African continent, including South Africa,





Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Nigeria. The flavors available may vary depending on the country, but some of the popular flavors in Africa include classic salted, cheese and onion, barbecue, and peri-peri.





The availability of Lay's potato chips in specific regions or countries within Africa may depend on factors such as local demand, distribution channels, and import/export regulations.





Lay's is a brand of potato chips and other snack foods owned by Frito-Lay, which is a subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc.





PepsiCo is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York.





Safari Crisps is a brand of potato chips produced by the Kenyan company, Trufoods Limited, which is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.





Trufoods Limited also exports its products to other countries in East Africa, such as Uganda and Tanzania. Some of the most popular potato chip flavors are onion and cheese, peri-peri, chicken and tomato.

More links to articles you will find thought provoking.
Australian companies are walking back their public commitments to climate action as part of a growing global trend known as green hushing.

With Australian regulators now cracking down on alleged greenwashing, companies have been put on notice that they face an increased risk of legal action for false claims.

AustralianSupers climate report.

The biggest superannuation fund in the country, AustralianSuper, removed its climate report from its website on March 22. The copy on the website where the report used to sit now says: We are currently updating our climate change report. A new version will be available soon.

A net zero by 2050 fact sheet, which included a commitment to active ownership to drive climate action, was removed from AustralianSupers website in March.
Contestants race their ox-carts in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia, on April 2, 2023. Local villagers hosted a centuries-age tradition of ox-cart racing here on Sunday, attracting hundreds of onlookers. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Under the sweltering sun here on Sunday, local villagers hosted a centuries-age tradition of ox-cart racing, attracting hundreds of onlookers.

The race was organized in Chbar Mon town's Rolaing Sangke village, some 46 km west of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, to mark the end of the rice harvesting season and to celebrate the Khmer New Year, which starts from April 14 to April 16.

At the annual event, contestants raced their ox-carts pulled by two oxen in an 800-meter dirt track, as spectators enthusiastically watched and cheered on the winners of the race.

Sun Meanchey, director of the Kampong Speu Provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts, said the tradition of ox-cart racing has existed in the province for centuries and local farmers have always brought their oxen to join the race every year.

"This is our intangible heritage, and if we don't pay much attention to conserving it, it will be easy to disappear," he told Xinhua. "So, we'd like to encourage farmers to continue to join the race and people to come and watch it when such an annual event is held."

Khat Sokhay, head of the Kampong Speu Provincial Oxen Association, said 38 pairs of oxen took part in this year's race, expressing his hope that more oxen would partake in the event next year.

"Since the generation of my grandparents, I have always seen this tradition of ox-cart racing at the end of the rice harvesting season," he told Xinhua. "Today, 38 pairs of oxen participated in the race."

Sokhay said the revival of this traditional sport was also for the next generations to carry on, saying that the race was for fun, not for a win nor a loss.

"As it's on the brink of disappearance, I'd like to appeal to our people to preserve this tradition from extinction and maintain it for our next generations," he added.

One of the spectators, Nhib Phanny, said he had never lost his excitement in watching the race, although he had seen it several times in previous years.

"It provides a happy moment for people ahead of the Khmer New Year and also contributes to conserving and safeguarding our old-age tradition," he told Xinhua.

"It's an amazing race, and I'm impressed with the oxen, which are beautifully adorned with headgear and small bells around their necks," he added.

The ox-cart has been a traditional tool of transport for farmers in Cambodia for centuries. However, the use of ox-cart has been now on the brink of disappearance since farmers turn to more modern modes of transport such as tractors and motorized rickshaws. 

A contestant races his ox-cart in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia, on April 2, 2023. Local villagers hosted a centuries-age tradition of ox-cart racing here on Sunday, attracting hundreds of onlookers. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

Contestants prepare their oxen for an ox-cart race in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia, on April 2, 2023. Local villagers hosted a centuries-age tradition of ox-cart racing here on Sunday, attracting hundreds of onlookers. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)
The current dissonance within the Australian Human Rights Commission on the proposed Indigenous Voice to parliament might give many people pause, especially with the referendum just around the corner.

The claim by one member of the commission that it may not be consistent with Australias human rights commitments is misleading and may prove damaging, not just for the Voice, but for the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) itself.

Lorraine Finlays view that the Voice will create constitutional uncertainty has been criticised as misleading. Credit: Murdoch University

Following the release of the proposed wording for the constitutional amendment by the prime minister last week, the AHRC issued a statement that the proposal for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice was consistent with fundamental human rights principles, and with international human rights conventions that Australia has endorsed.

Following that, the current Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay published an opinion piece questioning whether the Voice was constitutional overreach, suggesting that it is at odds with fundamental human rights principles such as equality and non-discrimination, and goes beyond the rights set out in UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Mick Smith was enjoying a nine-day camping holiday on the Murray River when a mosquito bite turned his life upside-down.

The weather was gorgeous and the fish were plentiful at Boundary Bend, which lies between Mildura and Swan Hill.

Mick Smith spent 125 days in hospital with Japanese encephalitis contracted from a mosquito bite. Credit: Jason South

Smith made sure his three children applied mosquito repellant  but neglected to use any himself.

He believes that decision may have resulted in him contracting the mosquito-borne virus Japanese encephalitis, which can produce mild flu-like symptoms in some people while others may suffer seizures, paralysis and confusion. It can be fatal.
The strategy was risky. The school lost students, and therefore government funding, but it also provided an opportunity for a restart. Loading We had to stage some sort of response to the COVID years and not pretend life will go on like it was before; it changed too dramatically, Vinnicombe said. And so my response needed to be, I need to do something different here because the school needs to get back on its feet. Vinnicombe has also been selective about new staff, even amid a teacher shortage, only hiring teachers who are committed to building a strong culture of learning in a tough school.

Efforts to rejuvenate the senior school are under way, with students given a choice between traditional VCE and a vocational stream focused on building skills for work. Its really crucial for us to create a sense of urgency amongst our students, to really put learning forward as the number one priority at our school, Vinnicombe said. Lunchtime clubs have been launched, such as the Womens Business Club for female students. John Fawkner is a small school. Its enrolments have shrunk to fewer than 300 students this year. Vinnicombe is working on a plan to combine with other nearby schools to expand the range of VCE subjects on offer. The college was also promised $14.5 million in last years state election campaign, which will go towards replacing crumbling, 70-year-old classrooms with new learning spaces.

A transition officer is working with local primary schools to promote the schools new direction. Along with that is bringing in parents and working with them to create the school of choice in the area, Vinnicombe said. But restoring community confidence in a school is a long road. It can take several years. Gail Major began as executive principal of Scoresby Secondary College in 2014, when enrolments were in freefall. The school had 92 year 12 students leaving, and just 15 year 7 students coming in. The school in Melbournes east was failing, Major said.

Students arrived with average NAPLAN scores and left with below average VCE results. Teachers lacked professional support. In interviews, all but one said they wouldnt send their own children to the school. The school had a collection of mountain bikes and canoes and five food technology staff, but just one qualified maths teacher. It has taken several years for Scoresby Secondary College executive principal Gail Major to begin to shake off the schools poor reputation. Credit: Joe Armao Majors initial efforts to transform the school environment were not welcomed by all. The community that was in there thought it was fantastic because their kids liked going there for the wrong reasons, and that was challenging, she said.

Major brought in new early career teachers and overhauled teaching practices. She made connections with local industry, generating internship opportunities for students. The schools NAPLAN and VCE data improved significantly between 2015 and 2018 as students made high gains in their literacy and numeracy scores. But Major believes the greatest measure of a schools success is having engaged students. Youve got to bring everyone along, she said. Ive never been one to say you need to leave the school to get our year 12 results up. Ive taken in some students whose self-esteem has been destroyed through that process.

Success to me is that they are engaged. Theyre loving to coming to school. Loading There are signs the wider community is finally seeing the change. Last year, two primary school principals in the colleges catchment visited for the first time in years. And next year, the year 7 intake will expand from three classes to four. Extra enrolments will bring extra resources and, Major hopes, boost the case for capital funding to modernise the schools ageing facilities.
Peter Dutton says that hes determined to rebuild the Liberal Party after its weekend defeat in Aston. Thats necessary but insufficient. It needs a personality transplant too.

And its not as simple as replacing Dutton. He is merely the current face of a party that has chosen to make itself inherently unattractive.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton and Roshena Campbell arrive to give the concession speech after losing the Aston byelection. Credit: Penny Stephens

Kelly ODwyer, then federal minister for women, explained to her Liberal colleagues in 2018 that the party was widely seen by the voters as being homophobic, anti-women, climate-change deniers.

Whats changed? Today you could probably add the perception that its anti-transgender and anti-Indigenous as well. From being merely unattractive, the party is now on course to make itself irrelevant to contemporary Australia.
The Aston loss means the Liberal Party now controls seven out of 39 Victorian seats. Australias second-largest city is now awash with red, with some splotches of teal and green near the CBD. While Dutton more or less accurately articulated what has happened to his party in Victoria, the question of why is far more fraught for a party that remains deeply divided along ideological lines. It was a question Dutton struggled with on Sunday, pointing to problems in the Victorian division of the Liberal Party and some ruthless campaigning by state Premier Daniel Andrews, as if that should come as a shock. According to The Age and The Sydney Morning Heralds pollster, Resolve Strategic director Jim Reed, the Aston byelection result was a rarity, marking the first byelection in a century in which a government has won a federal seat off an opposition. But he says the result was hardly unforeseeable, either.

We have a very marginal seat vacated under a cloud, a well-known repeat candidate stepping in, a popular Albanese-Labor government out-polling their opposition, all in a state where Labor dominates and the Liberals are self-harming over issues alien to most voters, Reed said. Loading Duttons obvious contention is that he is not to blame for the disaster. But the opposition leader has long had a fraught relationship with Victoria. In January 2018 he was ridiculed in the state after suggesting Victorians were scared to go out to restaurants at night because they were threatened by African gangs. Labor certainly zeroed in on Duttons unpopularity in Victoria as a negative for Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell during the Aston campaign, with the opposition leader featuring heavily in Labors attack ads.

On Sunday, Andrews accused the party of cuddling up with extremists and racists. The Liberal Party are a nasty, bigoted outfit, and people have worked them out, and that might be why they keep losing, he said. But perceptions within the Liberal Party about the extent to which Dutton was responsible for the result are mixed. One Liberal MP from a state adjoining Victoria said while Dutton was less popular outside of Queensland, his unpopularity explained only about 10 per cent of the result. Another federal MP from Victoria said the Dutton factor was closer to 15 per cent.

Another Victorian MP criticised the Liberal Partys campaign for failing to counter anti-Dutton messaging by Labor. Dutton has a good story to tell in terms of his police background and reforms to protect children from predators but let Labor define him over his time as health minister, the MP said. We didnt counter it. Loading Following the Liberal Partys loss, federal senator Jane Hume claimed Dutton was very well received in Victoria. I think that the more time that we can get Peter spending in Victoria, getting to know Victorians and letting Victorians get to know him, the better, she said. Jason Wood  the only Liberal to record a swing towards him, in his seat of La Trobe, at last years federal election  suggested the partys reluctance to use Dutton in the Aston campaign was a mistake. You cant have a campaign strategy where you dont back the leader, its insanity, Wood said.
The result of Saturdays Aston byelection is indelible proof that the Liberal Party is being expelled from its heartland in one of Australias biggest cities and faces a daunting challenge in making itself relevant to contemporary politics.

Federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton accepted responsibility for leading the first federal opposition in a century to lose a seat to the government in a byelection, but he blamed the loss on the Liberals standing in Victoria, which he noted had been in a decline since John Howard won government.

I think in recent years the Liberal Party has allowed itself to be defined by our opponents, and I think its time for us to take that back, he said. Stand up for what we believe in, whether its trendy or not.

But its obvious voters are not buying the old pitch. Dutton would be better off grasping the nettle and recasting the many Liberal policies that have lost traction with voters, especially among women, younger voters and ethnic communities.
Australias population is ageing, and successive governments have committed to increase spending on health and aged care. But unless there is policy change, too much of this extra tax burden will fall on younger Australians.

The Albanese government should do more to rein in excessively generous super tax breaks, so the burden of an ageing population can be shared more fairly between young and old.

Successive governments have committed to increase spending on health and aged care. Credit: Rob Homer

The number of working-age Australians for every Australian aged 65 or older has fallen from 7.4 in the mid-1970s to 4.4 in 2015, and could be as low as 2.7 by 2060. We should celebrate people living longer lives, but theres a price tag attached.

It means more people needing more health and aged care for longer, funded out of a federal budget already struggling with a structural deficit of $50 billion a year, or 2 per cent of GDP.
Several Liberal MPs privately backed Archer and called for Dutton to think carefully about which bills the party opposes and where it can negotiate with the government. Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan said the Aston result shows weve got a lot of hard policy work to do. Part of opposition is about resetting to make sure that weve got the policies we know will appeal to the Australian people, Tehan said. Weve started that, but weve got to redouble our efforts because we could be in an election at the end of next year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrated Labors victory alongside Doyle on Sunday morning, accusing Dutton of being too negative. Loading Declaring that Australians have conflict fatigue, he told reporters: After 10 years of being part of the problem, Peter Dutton now fails to be a part of the solution ... hes become an observer of Australian politics rather than a participant. Speaking on the ABCs Insiders, Dutton pointed to longstanding difficulties in the nations second most populous state, saying: Our brand has suffered terribly in Victoria. Acknowledging the Liberal Party had many lessons to learn from the Aston defeat, Dutton said: Ours is now an opportunity to rebuild. We will do that over the course of the next couple of years and we will go into the next election in a position that will see us win it.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison, who could retire from parliament within months, alluded to the Aston defeat in an Instagram post uploaded from a Cronulla Sharks rugby league game on Sunday afternoon. Problems elsewhere but Sharks lead by 6, he said. The Coalitions path back to power is imperilled by its especially dismal standing in Melbourne, where it now holds just two urban seats. Keith Wolahan holds one of those seats  Menzies  and said it was vital the Liberal Party start winning back seats in Melbourne given it was set to become the nations most populous city.

My party has to earn the trust of Melbourne again and to do that we have to listen and demonstrate that their [voters] concerns are our concern and that we are a party of character and competence, he said. I think its deeper than a particular policy, we have to fix the relationship and the onus is on us to do that. Fellow Victorian Liberal MP Jason Wood said the byelection loss was a perfect storm and the party had played perfectly into Labors hands. While praising defeated Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell as outstanding, Wood said there were concerns within the local branches about parachuting her into the seat given she lived in Brunswick, 45 kilometres away from Aston.

He said he was one of a number of MPs who also raised concerns about the campaign strategy and the refusal to rebut Labors attacks on Dutton. You cant have a campaign strategy where we dont back our leader, its insanity, he said. One MP, speaking privately, said: I dont think the answer is to change the leader. Dutton is widely praised within the party for keeping it united following last years crushing election defeat.

Another Liberal MP who did not want to be named said the partys woes extended beyond Victoria. Loading The depth of brand damage has not been understood by the people sitting around the shadow cabinet table, the MP said. The community has seen no change in the 10 months since the election and theyve marked us down. Its embarrassing out there, people dont want to be associated with us. We still look and sound like the Morrison government. The Coalition opposed Labors safeguard mechanism bill, leaving the Greens in a kingmaker position last week to negotiate amendments to the governments signature climate change policy.

One Dutton loyalist in the shadow cabinet blamed the loss on the Albanese governments post-election honeymoon, the retirement of former member Alan Tudge, infighting in the Victorian branch and Campbell being parachuted into the seat. Accumulate all that up and it adds up to a loss. But we would have held the seat if we had had a local candidate, the MP said. Its a sobering result. Its bad for confidence, morale, momentum and for Dutton, but we have to be clear-eyed, not emotional. Another Dutton loyalist MP said that anyone rushing to say this is the end of Dutton is wrong. The Victorian division is completely dysfunctional. They dropped an inner-city Liberal into an outer-suburban seat, the MP said.
Premier Daniel Andrews has defended his controversial recent trip to China by pointing to agreements on education and events that he said would bring economic benefits to the state.

As Opposition Leader John Pesutto reiterated demands for greater transparency about the trip, including a call for an inquiry, Andrews declared meetings with representatives from Victorias sister states of Jiangsu and Sichuan were successful.

Andrews four-day trip  which ended when he arrived home on Saturday  made him the first leader of an Australian government to visit China since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, Andrews said a meeting with Chinas education minister resulted in the establishment of a working group on post-graduate education, which the premier hoped would result in more international students in Victoria and more Victorian post-graduates spending time in China.

He also said a Victorian display stand would have pole position at an upcoming food and beverage show in Chengdu at his request, while officials from the World University Games would share their experiences with Victorias Commonwealth Games organisers.
Ultimately, that will depend on how many people use it, and as the long-awaited opening nears, that is the big unknown. A target of 31,000 passengers a day has been set  down from an original projection of more than 60,000 a day  but even the reduced figure will be difficult to achieve, said Muhammad Dimas Mahardika, a transport expert from Indonesias Gadjah Mada University. He said the introductory standard ticket price of 250,000 rupiah ($25) was reasonable given the need to repay a Chinese loan of at least $US4.5 billion ($6.7 billion) but accessibility shapes as an issue due to the locations of the stations at the Bandung end. They have been built 19 kilometres from the middle of the city itself, meaning connecting transport will be needed. Widodo walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, where they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November. Credit: AP The travel time is 30-45 minutes. Fine, but the stations are still very far from Bandung city centre, he said.

People may eventually be interested in taking it. But we are still in the dark about when people will take it as their regular transport. The Indonesian government hopes the introduction of the high-speed rail can ease traffic and air pollution on densely populated Java, which is home to 145 million people and, like the rest of the archipelago, is lacking in modern, world-class mass public transport. Commuters and other travellers, though, will have to be convinced to use the new rapid service ahead of cheaper established alternatives such as cars, mini-buses and an existing three-hour train trip, a ticket for which costs about 160,000 rupiah ($15.90). The Indonesian government announced last week that the track for the high-speed rail was now complete. Credit: Bloomberg I think people will be curious to try the new train in the first year. If they are satisfied, they will take it again, said Djoko Setijowarno from the Indonesia Transportation Society.

The shifting is expected to happen with people using private cars, not from conventional trains, because conventional trains are the same as the high-speed train  they are public transport. The target is to bring down the number of people driving private cars. China needs a success story Indonesia considered a rival bid from Japan before opting in 2015 to go with China on the high-speed rail. The project has since been one of the most high-profile developments within Beijings Belt and Road Initiative, under which state-owned Chinese companies have outlaid hundreds of billions of dollars financing and building airports, highways, ports and other projects on multiple continents during the past decade. The scheme has been the subject of much scrutiny and concern among Western nations worried about the increasing influence it allows Xis regime to wield, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, as the superpower rivalry between China and the United States continues.

But while Chinese investment in the likes of Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam has been picking up, it has been slowing down across the board in the region, according to Roland Rajah, director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre at the Lowy Institute. Sri Lanka handed over its Hambantota port to Chinese companies after being unable to repay loans. Credit: The New York Times In a newly released report on regional infrastructure financing and the role Australia could play in it, Rajah identifies multiple factors contributing to the trend, including decreasing demand, tightening Chinese capital controls and the debt distress suffered by countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Laos after they took out Belt and Road loans. A study by the World Bank and US researchers showed last week that China forked out $US240 billion ($369 billion) between 2008 and 2021 bailing out 22 developing nations, most of them Belt and Road borrowers. With such a backdrop, and with the US, Japan and Europe intensifying their own infrastructure efforts, there is much at stake for China with the Jakarta-Bandung rail. I think the Bandung rail project is very important for Beijing. Its politically important to Jokowi and therefore important for China and Xi Jinping in both the bilateral relationship but also regionally in showcasing Chinas ability to deliver on an important project for a counterpart, Rajah said.

These kinds of mega-projects arent the only thing China is doing under [Belt and Road], but they get the most attention because they are not only big but promise high-tech benefits and so are especially politically and geopolitically salient. Whether they pay off once completed is also very important, though it will take time to tell. As China seeks to widen its footprint, Rajah said it should be kept in mind that it was exporting a build it and they will come model of development that differed from the economic and institutional reform pushed by Western nations and organisations such as the World Bank. As such, it needs to prove its worth. Indonesia is probably the best bet China has for success for this kind of infrastructure-driven strategy, compared to, say, far more difficult places like Pakistan or Laos, where it has also provided many billions for big infrastructure projects, he said. Especially with those countries now facing acute debt problems, China needs a success story. The semi-high-speed train from Laos to China travels at up to 160km/h. Credit: Istock Beijing was behind a new fast train connecting its southern city of Kunming with Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which opened in 2021 and travels up to 160km/h. It has also set out to establish a high-speed line linking China with Bangkok via Laos.

In development-focused Widodo, China has found another willing partner. It is the No.2 foreign investor in Indonesia, behind only Singapore. I think from Chinas point of view Indonesia is strategic, said Toto Pranoto, a University of Indonesia economic scholar. So they want to have more grip on this area through their investments. The economic and political aspects cannot be separated. Pranoto believes the Jakarta-Bandung rail may be financially problematic, although he also sees a great upside. He does not think the relocation of Indonesias capital city from Jakarta to a newly built administrative centre on the island of Borneo will have as much of an impact on the success of the high-speed rail as some have anticipated, arguing it will appeal to business people. This is a showcase project that now we have a modern technology in place which could mean that we are in equal status with other major cities in developed countries, he said.

It is like Canberra in Australia. The capital moved, but businesses stay in Sydney, in Melbourne. The ones who will move to [the new capital] Nusantara are only government employees. Maybe the business will move too, but it will be much later. It means the business centres will still be in Java. As long as they pay us well, its OK With the track now fully laid, Widodos government plans to unveil the high-speed rail on August 17, Independence Day in Indonesia, and launch it the day afterwards. Amid the pomp and ceremony, watching as closely as anybody will be those who have been directly affected. Among them are Yanna Simanjorang, a 35-year-old housewife and mother to two sons, one in year 5 and the other 18 months old.

Simanjorang and her husband, a motorbike rider with ride-sharing giant Grab, were evicted from their house in east Jakarta in 2019 and found the compensation they received the same year underwhelming. Loading We welcomed [the government] when it was doing the measuring [of their former house], she said. But when we received the money we were a little disappointed because the amount was far less than what we expected. It is not enough to buy a house in this area. Luckily we already have a small [piece of] land here. So we spent all the money for the construction  nothing was left. Her neighbour Erna, a teacher and mother of two who was also forced to move with her bus driver husband to make way for construction, has had a better experience.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds talks with Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, in Beijing, capital of China, April 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, in Beijing on Sunday.

Noting this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Qin said the two sides should, in line with the consensus between the leaders of the two countries, review the spirit of the treaty, strengthen exchanges and communication, and overcome difficulties while advancing bilateral ties.

He said a profound lesson from bilateral relations over the past half-century is that peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choices for both sides. Noting the four political documents between China and Japan have laid a political and legal foundation for bilateral ties, Qin said keeping promises and drawing lessons from history is the prerequisite for the steady and long-term growth of China-Japan relations.

He called on Japan to have a correct understanding of China, work with the Chinese side to enhance dialogue and communication, promote practical cooperation, increase people-to-people exchanges, and properly manage differences to build a China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.

Regarding the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, the Chinese foreign minister urged Japan to handle the disposal responsibly, as it is a major issue concerning public health and the safety of humanity.

On the Taiwan question, Qin said it is the very core of the core interests of China, which bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations. China urges Japan to abide by the principles enshrined in the four political documents between the two countries and its commitment so far, and refrain from interfering in the Taiwan question or undermining China's sovereignty in any form, he said.

In the case of a Japanese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage activities in China, Qin stressed China would handle it following relevant laws.

For his part, Hayashi expressed Japan's willingness to work with China, implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, abide by the four political documents between Japan and China, properly handle issues of common concern, promote the building of constructive and stable Japan-China relations, and jointly contribute to regional and global prosperity and stability as responsible countries.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues, including the cooperation between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and the reform of the United Nations Security Council. 
Russian authorities have blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating a bombing at a St Petersburg cafe that killed Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky who fervently supported Moscows invasion of Ukraine, and they arrested a suspect.

Ukrainian authorities did not directly respond to the accusation on Monday (Ukraine time), but President Volodymyr Zelensky said in reference to the attack that he didnt think about events in Russia, and a senior Ukrainian official earlier described the bombing as part of Russias internal turmoil.

Tatarsky, 40, was killed on Sunday as he led a discussion by a pro-war group at the cafe on the banks of the Neva River in the historic heart of Russias second-largest city, officials said. Tatarsky, who had filed regular reports from the front lines in Ukraine, was the pen name for Maxim Fomin. He had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel.

The bombing involving what investigators believe were more than 200 grams of TNT concealed inside a statuette of Tatarsky himself, was the latest attack inside Russia on a high-profile, pro-war figure. It also wounded more than 30 other people. Last year, a nationalist TV commentator was assassinated when a bomb exploded in her SUV outside Moscow.
At the White House on October 3, 1949, President Harry Truman, left, congratulates Gen. George Marshall (architect of the Marshall Plan) after the former secretary of state became chairman of the American Red Cross, succeeding Basil OConnor, right. Credit: AP

WASHINGTON, April 4.- Less than 24 hours after Congress had passed the U.S. Foreign Aid Bill by a sweeping majority, President Truman signed the measure yesterday.

Operations under the bill, which will benefit 16 Western European nations and China, Greece, and Turkey, will begin tomorrow - two weeks before the crucial Italian elections.

President Truman declared : This measure is Americas answer to the challenge facing the free world to-day. It is the best answer this country can make in reply to vicious, distorted misrepresentation of our efforts for peace.

BIG IMMEDIATE GRANTS

Under the bill, America will spend 6,098 million dollars (1,900 million) in 12 months on aid to the 19 countries mentioned in the measure.

Most of the funds will not be voted by Congress until later, but the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which will administer the funds, has been empowered to advance 1,000 million dollars (A312 million) immediately to

the 16 European countries and 50 million dollars each to China, Greece, and Turkey.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, in Beijing, capital of China, April 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, in Beijing on Sunday.

Noting that China and Japan are close neighbors and important Asian countries, Li said maintaining and developing China-Japan relations benefits not only the fundamental interests of the two peoples but also regional peace, stability, and prosperity.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

Li called on the two sides to review and abide by the principle of the treaty to firmly develop a lasting China-Japan relationship featuring peace and friendship.

He called on the Japanese side to take the 45th anniversary of the signing of the treaty as an opportunity to meet China halfway, enhance communication and cooperation, properly handle differences, stay clear of disruptive risks, and keep expanding the positive side of bilateral relations to jointly build a relationship that meets the demand of the times.

Li pointed out that major issues of principle, such as history and the Taiwan question, are the bedrock of the political foundation of China-Japan relations, which call for sincere, cordial, and careful settlement.

Noting that China and Japan are important economic and trade partners, Li said the two sides should and can make the pie of economic and trade cooperation bigger.

He called on the two countries to enhance cooperation in the digital economy, green development, fiscal and financial sectors, as well as medical and elderly care services to achieve high-level mutual benefit and win-win results.

Li welcomed Japan to continue to deepen cooperation with China and share China's development benefits.

He expressed the hope that the two sides will jointly safeguard free trade, practice true multilateralism, actively promote the process of regional integrity, maintain the stability and smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, and contribute to regional and global development.

Japan and China have great cooperative potential in a wide range of areas, said Hayashi, adding that Japan is committed to promoting cooperation with China.

Hayashi said Japan is willing to work with China to take the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship as an opportunity to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, maintain high-level exchanges, and keep carrying out dialogue and communication to build constructive and stable bilateral relations. 
3 Dead After Shooting at Bar in Oklahoma City: Reports

3 others injured

Three people are dead and three others are injured after a shooting at a bar in Oklahoma City late on Saturday, according to multiple reports.

Police responded around 10 p.m. to reports of the shooting at Whiskey Barrel Saloon at 4120 Newcastle Rd, and confirmed that three adults were killed.

It wasnt immediately clear when exactly the shooting happened.

Another three people were transported to a local hospital, with one in a critical condition. The other two people have non-life threatening injuries.

A suspect has not been arrested.

On social media, Oklahoma City Police issued a statement that said they were working a significant incident with large law enforcement presence in the 4100-block of Newcastle Road. The department added that the scene is just west of S. Portland Avenue.

Please avoid the area as investigators will be on scene for some time.
AI Experts Disown Musk-Backed Campaign Citing Their Research

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk attends the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Aug. 29, 2019. (Aly Song/Reuters)

LONDONFour artificial intelligence experts have expressed concern after their work was cited in an open letterco-signed by Elon Muskdemanding 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 OpenAIs new GPT-4, which can hold human-like conversation, compose songs, and summarize lengthy documents.

Since GPT-4s 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 United States and EU have since pressed lawmakers to rein in OpenAIs research. OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Critics have accused the Future of Life Institute (FLI), the organization behind the letter which is primarily funded by the Musk Foundation, of prioritizing imagined apocalyptic scenarios over more immediate concerns about AI, such as alleged racist or sexist biases.

Among the research cited was On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots, a paper co-authored by Margaret Mitchell, who previously oversaw ethical AI research at Google.

Mitchell, now chief ethical scientist at AI firm Hugging Face, criticized 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 dont have.

Mitchell and her co-authorsTimnit Gebru, Emily M. Bender, and Angelina McMillan-Majorsubsequently published a response to the letter, accusing its authors of fearmongering and AI hype.

It is dangerous to distract ourselves with a fantasized AI-enabled utopia or apocalypse which promises either a flourishing or potentially catastrophic future, they wrote.

Accountability properly lies not with the artefacts but with their builders.

FLI president Max Tegmark told Reuters the campaign was not an attempt to hinder OpenAIs corporate advantage.

Its quite hilarious. Ive 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, told Reuters she agreed with some points in the letter, but took issue with the way in which her work was cited.

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 said: AI does not need to reach human-level intelligence to exacerbate those risks.

There are non-existential risks that are really, really important, but dont receive the same kind of Hollywood-level attention.

Asked to comment on the criticism, FLIs Tegmark said both short-term and long-term risks of AI should be taken seriously.

If we cite someone, it just means we claim theyre endorsing that sentence. It doesnt mean theyre 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 eventsthose 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.

Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alabama School Districts File Lawsuit Against Social Media Platforms Over Youth Mental Health Crisis

According to a national study authored by Dr. Brain Primack, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions and professor of public health at the University of Arkansas, Young adults who increased their use of social media were significantly more likely to develop depression within six months. (ShutterStock)

Three Alabama school districts have filed lawsuits against major social media platforms, alleging that they have created a mental health crisis among children.

The harm created by social media companies has strained already limited school resources as educators attempt to combat the widespread problems caused by social media addiction, said Joseph VanZandt, co-lead counsel with the Beasley Allen law firm, one of the three firms suing the companies.

These lawsuits make it clear to social media companies that they will face consequences for their conduct, not only from the adolescents they harmed but also from the people and institutions supporting our youth.

The Beasley Allen, Wagstaff & Cartmell, and Gonzo & Honnold law firms filed a lawsuit (pdf) against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat on the behalf of the Baldwin County Public Schools, Montgomery Public Schools, and the Tuscaloosa City Schools districts.

In the past decade, youth in America have engaged with Defendants products at an exponential rate, the lawsuit states. This increase in youth using social media is the direct result of Defendants calculated efforts to encourage and addict adolescents to endlessly use their products.

The lawsuit alleges that the social media platforms have inadequate age verification measures, insufficient parental controls, information feeds designed to keep users in an induced trance, and manipulative reward mechanisms that activate dopamine while providing unhealthy social comparisons.

These defects, along with others discussed throughout this complaint, cause Defendants products to be harmfully addictive, which in turn causes additional related injuries, the lawsuit states. Excessive screen time is especially harmful to adolescents mental health, sleep patterns, and emotional well-being. Yet, Defendants products lack any warnings (to users in general, minor users, or their parents) that foreseeable product use can cause injury to users mental and physical health, rendering the products unreasonably dangerous.

The lawsuit alleges that social media giants, rather than making their platforms safer, prioritize profit by implementing product designs that facilitate addiction.

The lawsuit follows a growing number of other complaintsincluding one from the state of Arkansas and another from the San Mateo County Board of Educationalleging that the social media platforms are manipulative and addictive.

Mental Health Crisis

The mental health crisis among children has reached epidemic proportions, to which the social media platforms have largely contributed, the lawsuit alleges.

Students are experiencing record rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues because of Defendants intentional conduct, one lawsuit states. These students perform worse in school, are less likely to attend school, more likely to engage in substance use and to act out, all of which directly affects Plaintiffs ability to fulfill their educational mission.

The school districts demand accountability and change from the social media platforms, the lawsuit states.

Defendants knew or, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have known that their social media products were harmful to a significant percentage of their minor users and failed to re-design their products to ameliorate these harms or warn minor users and their parents of dangers arising out of the foreseeable use of their products. Defendants intentionally created an attractive nuisance to children, but simultaneously failed to provide adequate safeguards from the harmful effects they knew were occurring.

The lawsuit alleges that the addictive components of social media were purposefully crafted to exploit the same neural circuitry as drugs and gambling, as users data is collected for a more narrowly tailored experience for future use.

Heavy social media users are twice as likely to be depressed as light users, making it important for parents to consider limiting their teens access or offering more beneficial activities. (Eightshot Images/Getty Images)

Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998

The lawsuit cited the Federal Trade Commissions Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998, which went into effect in April 2000, at the dawn of the internet age.

The federal law was written to protect the online collection of personal information from children under the age of 13.

None of the Defendants conduct proper age verification or authentication, the lawsuit states. Instead, each Defendant leaves it to users to self-report their age. This unenforceable and facially inadequate system allows children under 13 to easily create accounts on Defendants apps.

Instead of using their algorithms to prevent children under 13 from using their platforms, the social media companies turned a blind eye and violated COPPA.

A Perilous Amalgamation

In addition, social media presents an exaggerated reality that has been known to leave users feeling less than in comparison, the lawsuit states.

Defendants algorithms powerfully sort and promote the most eye-catching content, such as content flaunting lifestyle, appearance, or success, the lawsuit states. As a result, individuals browsing their News Feeds are more likely to see posts about friends exciting social activities rather than dull days at the office, affording numerous opportunities for comparisons to seemingly better-off others.

According to the lawsuit, this is known to cause low self-esteem that threatens mental health.

Social media-induced social comparison often results in a discrepancy between the ideal self and the real self, thus evoking a sense of depression, deprivation, and distress, resulting in an overall aggravation of ones mental state, the lawsuit states.

The use of filters and other editing tools creates another layer of a false reality where all other users on the products appear better looking than they are in fact, often in an artificial way.

Filters, especially in combination with other product features, directly cause body image issues, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and related issues, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit called the sum of harms a perilous amalgamation of intense psychological vulnerability and targeted exploitation that includes withdrawal from friends and family, lack of focus, insomnia, fatigue, headaches, loss of vision, self-harm, and sometimes even suicide.

Alabama Public Nuisance and Negligence Laws

The school districts lawsuit, which was filed in the California state court Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding, alleges that the defendants have violated Alabama public nuisance and negligence laws.

The plaintiffs called for a jury trial, with prayers for relief that includes a judges finding the defendants liable.

In addition, the social media companies must cease engaging in further actions violating the public nuisance and negligence laws and award relief, which includes statutory damages and equitable relief to fund prevention education and addiction treatment.

Meta Says Its Making Changes

The Epoch Times contacted Meta Platforms, which includes Facebook and Instagram; Snapchat; ByteDance, the owner of TikTok; and YouTube for comment.

In response, Antigone David, head of safety for Meta Platforms, told The Epoch Times, We want to reassure every parent that we have their interests at heart in the work were doing to provide teens with safe, supportive experiences online. Weve developed more than 30 tools to support teens and their families, including tools that allow parents to decide when, and for how long, their teens use Instagram, age verification technology, automatically setting accounts belonging to those under 16 to private when they join Instagram, and sending notifications encouraging teens to take regular breaks.

Weve invested in technology that finds and removes content related to suicide, self-injury, or eating disorders before anyone reports it to us. These are complex issues but we will continue working with experts and listening to parents to develop new tools, features, and policies that are effective and meet the needs of teens and their families.
Beijing Cant Continue Its Deceitful Trade Practices If China Loses Developing Country Status: Expert

News Analysis

U.S. House lawmakers have unanimously voted to revoke Chinas developing country status. China experts believe that the passage of this bill will make it difficult for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to continue its deceitful trade practices in the international community.

On March 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to end Chinas status as a developing country by a vote of 4150. The bill would require the U.S. Department of State to influence international organizations to include China as a high-income, upper-middle-income, or developed country and to suspend the special treatment China has enjoyed as a developing country in various international organizations.

Young Kim, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, is one of the bills sponsors. Kim pointed out that China is the second-largest economy in the world, accounting for 18.6 percent of the global economy, second only to the United States, and that the United States is considered a developed country, and so should China.

She also criticized the CCP for using Chinas status as a developing country to game the system, depriving countries that need help accessing resources.

Workers are sewing down coats at a factory for Chinese clothing company Bosideng in Nantong of Jiangsu Province, China, on Sept. 24, 2019. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

CCPs Deceitful Practices

Li Yuanhua, a former professor at Capital Normal University, said in an interview with The Epoch Times on March 31 that the bills passage would make it difficult for the CCP to use its developing country status to cheat on international organizations and obtain loans or aid money.

I think the world might get to know the true nature of CCP again. The CCP has been cheating international organizations in the name of a developing country. It has been using shady methods to corrupt these international organizations to reap profits from them, Li said.

The United States has taken the lead, and Li hopes the rest of the world will follow suit.

After this bill is passed, we shall see that the CCP cannot just take profits without doing its due responsibilities. It will not be able to do whatever it wants as it did in the past, he said.

The U.S. is actually forcing the CCP to play by international rules. As a rogue regime, it is impossible for it to follow the rules, but I think it will have fewer and fewer opportunities to do so. This will actually kill the CCPs ambition to dominate the world and use violence and money to control the world.

Li pointed out that the CCP has always used deception to achieve its goals, including the lure of profit and fake promises.

If other countries recognize the CCP for what it is and stop falling for its deceptions, life will get more challenging for the CCP, and its rogue regime will have no room to play, he said.

Frank Tian Xie, Ph.D., a John M. Olin Palmetto Chair business professor and marketing professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken, told The Epoch Times on March 31 that if Chinas status as a developing country is revoked, many of the preferential policies, loans, and aid that China has enjoyed will be terminated.

In addition, many international treaties have exemptions for developing countries. Losing the status of a developing country means that Beijing will be required to assume the obligations required by international treaties like all other countries.

Xie also noted that while members of the U.S. Congress are typically divided along partisan lines, there has been a remarkable bipartisan consensus on the issue of how the U.S. government should tackle the CCP.

They have put aside their partisan differences and are united in dealing with the CCP in order to force it to play by international rules, he said.

20 Years of WTO Membership

In 1979, when communist China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations, the two countries signed a trade relations agreement in Beijing, granting each other most-favored-nation (MFN) status starting in February 1980.

However, at that time, Chinas MFN status must be renewed each year by the U.S. president, and Congress could override the presidents extension of MFN by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.

Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the U.S.-China Trade Relations Act of 2000 during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 10, 2000. (Mario Tama/AFP via Getty Images)

Years later, despite the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in May 1994, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the continuation of MFN status for China and the separation of trade from human rights issues. Furthermore, in October 2000, during his second term in office, Clinton signed into law a bill granting permanent normal trade relations to China, which ended the annual review of Chinas human rights record by the U.S. Congress and paved the way for Chinas accession to the WTO.

On Dec. 11, 2001, China officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). This is one of the most significant geopolitical events in the world since the Cold War. The accession to the WTO boosted Chinas economic status, and it quickly became the worlds factory by taking advantage of the countrys cheap labor.

Chinas share of the world economy climbed from 4 percent in 2001 to 18.5 percent by 2021. According to official figures, Chinas GDP ranking overtook that of the United Kingdom in 2006, surpassed that of Germany in 2007, and surpassed that of Japan in 2010, eventually becoming the worlds second-largest economy.

However, the CCP has not kept its promises upon joining the WTO.

In 2015, the U.S. Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report (pdf) called False Promises: The Yawning Gap Between Chinas WTO Commitments and Practices.

But all too often, one step forward has been met with two steps backward, as China has erected new, often behind-the-border non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to more than compensate for concessions elsewhere. These have more than offset Chinas apparent concessions, the report stated.

In many other casessuch as its practice of limiting market access or conditioning access on the transfer of technology or intellectual property, or its ongoing subsidies for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and export industriesChina has simply failed to fully comply with its WTO accession commitments and membership requirements.

Upon accession, the CCP promised to gradually remove market access restrictions, open access to foreign investment, and allow sole proprietorship, joint venture, or wholly-owned subsidiaries. However, in some areas where foreign investment is allowed, foreign companies are forced to transfer technology under the CCPs regulations. Furthermore, the CCP has been stealing intellectual property from developed nations, including stealing trade secrets from foreign companies, and selling counterfeit goods and pirated software.

A WTO Loophole

WTO does not have a clear definition of developed and developing countries and allows its members to determine their own status based on their economic development. Whether China is a developed or developing country has been a topic of debate as different parties have varying opinions, but most agree that this is a loophole in the WTO rules.

The most significant difference between the two statuses is that developing countries are granted special and differential treatment within the WTO framework, including relaxed trade subsidy restrictions, flexibility in using economic and commercial policy tools, extended transition periods, and provision of technical assistance to member developing countries.

Developing countries often act in concert to protect or maximize their interests when casting votes within the WTO, as they hold a higher proportion of membership and decision-making power.

In December 2017, then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed the need to clarify the definitions of developed or developing within the WTO framework. Lighthizer noted that the United States could not continue with a situation where new regulations only apply to a few countries while others can evade the rules by self-identifying as developing countries.

There is something wrong, in our view, when five of the six richest countries in the world presently claim developing country status, he said. Indeed, we should all be troubled that so many Members appear to believe that they would be better off with exemptions to the rules. If in the opinion of a vast majority of Members playing by current WTO rules makes it harder to achieve economic growth, then clearly serious reflection is needed.

Kane Zhang contributed to this report.
Braverman Calls Out Silence on Child Sex Abuse Involving British Pakistani Men

Political correctness has prevented authorities from tackling British Pakistani grooming gangs abusing vulnerable white English girls, the home secretary has said.

Suella Braverman said that the systematic and institutional failure to safeguard the welfare of children when it comes to sexual abuse is one of the biggest scandals in British history.

Whats clear is that what weve seen is a practice whereby vulnerable white English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men whove worked in child abuse rings or networks, she told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News.

Its now down to the authorities to track these perpetrators down without fear or favour relentlessly and bring them to justice.

Weve seen institutions and state agencies, whether its social workers, teachers, the police, turn a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racists, out of fear of being called bigoted.

Braverman alluded to high-profile cases including in Rotherham and Rochdale, and said there is a predominance of certain ethnic groupsand I say British Pakistani maleswho hold cultural values totally at odds with British values, who see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way and pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave.

Weve got to stamp that out with criminal law and proper safeguarding, and were only going to do that if, as a society, we face up to the facts and the truth of whats actually going on.

Burning Sense of Injustice

The home secretary made the comments after she announced plans for a consultation on introducing a mandatory duty on professionals working with children to report concerns about sexual abuse.

It came after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse last year described sexual abuse of children as an epidemic that leaves tens of thousands of victims in its poisonous wake.

The seven-year inquiry into institutional failings in England and Wales concluded that people in positions of trust should be compelled by law to report child sexual abuse.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Braverman said: Had this duty been in place already, countless children would have been better protected against grooming gangs and against sexual abusers more widely. That is why I have committed to introduce mandatory reporting across the whole of England.

She added: Some crimes, if left unpunished, create such a burning sense of injustice among the public that they singe the fabric of our social contract.

When the most vulnerable people cannot rely on protection from those entrusted to safeguard them, cannot rely on the police to defend them, and cannot rely on the courts to deliver them justice, then the legitimacy of our democratic institutions is called into question.

Grooming gangs and child sexual abuse are examples of that phenomenon.

Silence Enables Abuse

Braverman told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that while the fault lay with the perpetrators for carrying or heinous and vile acts of depravity, there was also a social ignorance among authorities.

She said: Silence has enabled this abuse. We need to ensure a duty on those professionals that they cant get away with inaction.

She accused Labour politicians of failing to take action because of their reluctance to call out specific ethnic minorities.

The home secretary said: Some councillors, senior politicians, in Labour-run areas over a period of years absolutely failed to take action because of cultural sensitivities, not wanting to come across as racist, not wanting to call out people along ethnic lines.

The authorities aware of these problems have turned a blind eye and roundly failed to take the right action to safeguard these girls.

Dog Whistle

But Labour politicians have pushed back against the home secretaries accusations.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin told the BBC that the blame game was not helpful and that some of the suggestions she was making are already in train.

She said Bravermans comment feels very dog whistle and doesnt deal with what is happening on the ground.

Lisa Nandy, Labours shadow levelling up secretary, said the government is not taking child abuse seriously.

She told Sky News: I think the home secretary needs to get real. Were failing young people in this countryonline, on our streets, and in their homesbecause the government is just simply not taking it seriously.

Nandy said mandatory reporting of any signs or suspicions of abuse was being called for 20 years ago, adding: Here we are after 13 years of Tory government, and finally the home secretary has just woken up and said lets do something about it. And all weve got is a consultation. That is not the mark of a serious government.

They must honestly think that we are fools if they think that were going to fall for this as a sign that the government is taking seriously what is a huge scandal and an absolute disgrace for some of the most vulnerable young people in this country.

PA Media contributed to this report.
32 Dead as Tornadoes Torment From Arkansas to Delaware

The path of a tornado is seen through a building on James Street, in Coralville, Iowa, on April 1, 2023. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

WYNNE, Ark.Residents across a wide swath of the United States raced Sunday to assess the destruction from fierce storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast, killing at least 32 people.

The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital and also collapsed the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, stunning people throughout the region with the scope of the damage.

The number of deaths continued to grow Sunday.

While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses, President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Biden earlier declared broad areas of the country major disaster areas, making federal resources and financial aid available for recovery.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas, where at least five people were killed, already had declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees, and laid waste to neighborhoods.

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado was responsible for damage to several homes near Bridgeville, Delaware. One person was found dead inside a house heavily damaged by the storm Saturday night, Delaware State Police reported.

It may take days to confirm all the recent tornadoes. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, five in Indiana and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.

Residents of Wynne, Arkansas, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high schools roof shredded and its windows blown out. At least four people died.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead. A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they escaped unhurt.

Chainsaws buzzed, as bulldozers plowed into debris. Utility crews restored power as some neighborhoods began recovery.

Tennessee recorded at least 15 deaths, including nine fatalities in McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the worst week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife just attended.

Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state, Lee said. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

Rachel Milam lived in the basement with her 6-year-old daughter, while her mother and her mothers boyfriend lived upstairs in their home on the outskirts of Waynesboro, Tennessee.

All squeezed into the bathroom of the cinder block basement Friday night as the tornado approached and made whooshing sounds like a washing machine.

As it ripped the roof off, the shower curtain fell, Milam, 26, said Sunday. So Im trying to dig through the shower curtain and see. I saw darkness and then rain started to fall.

Then absolute terror.

And the houseI watched it pick up and move  about six inches and then pick up and it was gone.

I was just thinking its gonna take the tub, like were going to be gone, she said.

A piece of wood fell over them. So did a mirror. We were fine and just thankful that we made it out alive, Milam said.

Milam, who works as a nurse, soon joined other neighbors in digging people out from wrecked homes. One woman had a laceration to her face and other parts of her body and was flown out by a helicopter. Another man was freed from the rubble of his home by rescuers who used chainsaws to slice through the debris.

Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her 2-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming.

She kept asking me, What do I do, daddy? Day said, tearing up. I didnt know what to say.

After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and drove to nearby family.

Elsewhere, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled Sunday to Belvidere to visit the Apollo Theatre, which partially collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert.

Frederick Livingston, Jr., was pulled from the rubble but didnt survive. He had gone to enjoy the concert with his son, Alex.

I couldnt save him, his son told WLS-TV. The father and son were standing side by side when debris began raining down. It happened so fast.

The governor said 48 others were treated in hospitals, with five in critical condition.

Pritzker also planned to visit Crawford County, about 230 miles south of Chicago, where three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron.

Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, Sheriff Bill Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indianas Sullivan County, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis. Several people were rescued overnight, with reports of as many as 12 people injured.

By Adrian Sainz, Andrew DeMillo, and Bin Finley
For the insatiably curious Midwest native, wild foods open up a world of forgotten flavors, traditions, and wisdom from the past

When you work with wild food, says Alan Bergo, you learn about a lot more than food. For the Minnesota professional chef turned full-time forager, foraging expanded his horizons beyond what he even thought possibleand possibly saved his life.

Take the results of a recent rabbit hole of research: isirgan salatasi, a traditional Turkish salad made with raw stinging nettles (yes, those ubiquitous culprits of red, burning ankles). Though Bergo had long foraged the wild greens, he wasnt convinced they were edible without cooking to neutralize the stinguntil he found footage of Turkish grandmas harvesting them, simply bashing them with a rolling pin, and indeed, turning them into salad.

Or consider pansotti, a tortellini-like northern Italian stuffed pasta, made with a blend of wild greens and herbs known as preboggion. Depending on which reference you look atand this is where it gets so excitingthe mixture of wild plants could be anywhere from 4 to 18 different species, Bergo said. It gets better: References he found for la minestrella, a Tuscan stew of beans, wild greens, and corn cakes, called for the inclusion of 20, 30, or more than 50 different species.

We dont even think these sorts of things are possible, he said, but its real. Its a tradition. And you can go outside, and if you dont harvest 60 plants you can harvest 4, and its still going to taste really good.

Lost and Found

A business school graduate who turned cooking from a side hustle into a career, Bergo worked with wild foods in restaurant kitchens before hed ever foraged them himself. After stumbling upon a chicken of the woods mushroom one day, he put the pieces together: The expensive ingredients he was serving on fancy tasting menus were literally within reach. Intrigued, he dived into the world of wild foods.

But his reality as a line cook was hardly glamorous. He was broke, in debt, hopping from friends basement to friends basement. Combined with a bout of Lyme disease that paralyzed half his face, among other crippling symptoms, he entered the lowest point of his life.

Foraging was there for me when nothing else was, he said. I had absolutely nothing, but every day I could go to a park and get excited.  Theres a therapy to being able to forget about everything else and just be in the moment outside, breathing the fresh air. At the encouragement of a friend, Bergo made a website to share his foraging and cooking adventures; a decade later, hes grown ForagerChef.com into an expansive repository of guides and recipes.

By the time Bergo became executive chef of Lucias, a beloved Minneapolis farm-to-table restaurant, in 2016, he was building menus from his harvests. I was just like, What is the most awesome stuff that I can possibly find? Its all going on the menu.

After Lucias closed, Bergo sold a book seriesthe first installment of three, The Forager Chefs Book of Flora, was published in June 2021and worked on various other projects, including filming a foraging and cooking show during the pandemic that won a 2022 James Beard Award. The journey of a lifetime was well underway. I found that wild food was something I would never be able to master; its like a never-ending journey. Thats exciting.

Wisdom From the Past

Bergo was taught to cook with classical French techniques, but bringing the best out of wild foods often requires looking elsewhere: at where theyre traditionally harvested and prepared. That means stepping out of my comfort zone and learning about different cultures that Id never thought I would, he said. I need to go back and learn about the history, the stories of things. Those really give a dish and an ingredient a soul.

He consults academic texts, especially ethnobotanical resources, and, to a lesser degree, cookbooks; an Italian one hes been translating has proved a treasure trove of new, old knowledge. His mentor chefs might have been aghast at the cucina povera practices hes picked up, like cooking medleys of foraged weeds until theyre not green anymore, he said, but now, I like to tell people I cook like an Italian grandmother and Im making the best food of my life.

He also draws upon a network of wild food experts and friends, in places from Alaska to India, to share their firsthand knowledge of regional specialties. Some are closer by, like Native American ethnobotanist Linda Black Elk, who once invited him to South Dakota to harvest timpsula (prairie turnips), a traditional staple food of the Lakota. Lindas husband, Luke, taught Bergo the trick to finding them: Watch the wind. The dried plant blows across the prairie like a tumbleweed to spread its seeds, he explained, so intuiting the flight patterns of the previous years seedheadsIf I was a little tumbleweed, where would I fall?will lead you to this years growth. Theres so much native knowledge tucked away in these oral traditions, Bergo said.

And renewed interest in this traditional knowledge is higher than ever. Bergo points to growing website viewsnow millions a yearalong with the 2022 James Beard wins for both him and fellow forager Alexis Nikole Nelson (aka breakout TikTok star BlackForager) as indications of this being wild foods biggest year yet. Hes not surprised.

Every single person in the world is descended from a forager at one point or another, he said. All those instincts are still locked inside of you, like an ancestral bicycle you just need to hop on and knock the dust off.

Alan Bergo

Location: Menomonie, Wis.

A Favorite Spring Edible: Stinging and wood nettles. I could eat nettle soup every day for the rest of my lifeand the awesome part is, now I have a whole list of different nettle soups from around the world, because theyre enjoyed around the world.

=====

Expert Tips for Beginner Foragers

Ready to head into the field? Study these expert tips before you go.

Abide by the Golden Rule: Never eat anything from the wild unless youre 100 percent certain what it is. Less than that? Dont throw it out just yet, Alan Muskat advisesask about it, and turn it into a learning experience.

Find a Local Expert: The absolute best way to learn is in person, with an experienced guide. Attend guided tours and classes and join local community groups, which now abound both in person and online, to maximize your exposure to what others are finding.

Round Out Your Toolbox: Get a solid set of guidebooks. Alan Bergo highly recommends all of his mentor Sam Thayers books on wild plants, and David Aroras on mushrooms. He also recommends plant identification apps such as iNaturalist and PlantSnapthough he notes that others may not agreeas a tool not to rely upon, but to use in conjunction with guidebooks and expert advice.

Start Small: Learn to identify three plants in your own backyard or area where you live, Tama Matsuoka Wong suggests. Its a great way to familiarize yourself with your home environs, and youll be aware of whether or not anything has been sprayed on the plants, legal permissions, and so on (be sure to research these if youre looking elsewhere). Really get to know those plants, including at different stages of their life cycles and in different preparations, before you move on to others.

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.
Len and Debbie Wiens at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, in Seattle, on April 1, 2023. (Sunny Chen/The Epoch Times)

SEATTLELen and Debbie Wiens attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall on April 1, 2023.

The Wiens founded a dance school, and Ms. Wiens is the artistic director. My husband and I actually run a dance school, so we really appreciate [Shen Yun]all the choreography, the beautiful costumes, and all the work behind it, she said. We loved the show. It was so beautiful.

Mr. Wiens concurred. Its amazing, its wonderful. Theyre obviously very, very professional. [Its] very well done, and we can tell that theyve worked on this for many, many hours on this in the studio. Practice makes perfect, as they say, he said.

I would say the same: hours, and hours, and hours, and hours, and hours! And then to come to this location and set the whole thing up, too, Ms. Wiens said. When youre in the profession, you can see behind the scenes, and you know everything behind the scenes is also being done so wonderfully.

Mr. Wiens commented on the mission to revive tradition. I think its great. Its good. We ourselves, we are strong Christians; [we have] a Christian belief, so obviously we believe in God, God is our Creator.

And theres power in the arts  doing artand creativity, and brightness, said Ms. Wiens.

There is power in that. Im not sure if they were saying in this story that that creative power comes from God, but thats the worldview that I have and that I teach, too, she said. We have a creative spirit within us, and thats how we can release our energy, our goodness into the world.

Mr. Wiens spoke about their dance production. Were going to be doing a production, a dance performance ourselves in 2 months, and its based upon creation and its going to be called In the Beginning. Were going to have all the dancers do a dance on the story of creation from the biblical point of view.

He described Shen Yuns performance as awesome, inspiring, and very professional. Well done.

Couple Wants Freedom for the Chinese People

Dan and Mindy Hagedorn saw Shen Yun for the first time, at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, on April 1. I think its fantastic, Mr. Hagedorn said. The attire, the dress, has been really great. The musicexcellent. The subject matterthe best! More people need to hear it.

Ms. Hagedorn also liked it. I liked all of it. It was fantastic, she said.

The piano was good, piano and the tenor. That was really good, Mr. Hagedorn added.

Mr. Hagedorn commented on the importance of bringing traditions into todays modern world.

Its very important because freedom is what Americas all about. And to come into a place like Seattle in Washington State that doesnt allow many freedoms any more, its important that we fight for them and keep them.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture.

That Shen Yun is banned in China, Mr. Hagedorn said, I think thats unacceptable. People have to fight for their freedoms in China, too.

He said he would absolutely recommend Shen Yun to friends with this message: As a message on freedom for the Chinese. Yes.

Reporting by Sunny Chen, Frank Zhang, and Yvonne Marcotte.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Doomsday Plot? After 3 Years, Slain Childrens Mother to Stand Trial

Lori Vallow Daybell (L) glances at the camera during her hearing in Rexburg, Idaho, on March 6, 2020. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool)

BOISE, IdahoIt has been more than three years since police announced that two children were missing from a rural eastern Idaho town, and each twist in the grim investigation has seemed stranger than the last.

Their mother claimed to be a deity, her estranged husband wrote in divorce papers. She called the children zombies before they vanished, a friend told police. A handful of followers seemed to buy into her doomsday claims, Arizona investigators reported.

Those are just some of the details that could be aired in court starting next week, when Lori Vallow Daybell stands trial on murder, conspiracy and grand theft charges in the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow, and Tylee Ryan, who was last seen a few days before her 17th birthday.

Joshua JJ Vallow (L) and Tylee Ryan. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children via AP)

Her husband, Chad Daybell, faces the same charges. And they are both also charged in the October 2019 death of Daybells late wife.

Heres a look at what is known and what is next in the bizarre case:

How Did the Case Begin?

JJs grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcock of Louisiana, were increasingly worried about the children in 2019. For the first half of the year, Lori Vallow Daybell was still married to JJs father, Charles Vallow, but the two were estranged and he had filed for divorce.

In the divorce documents, Charles Vallow claimed his wife believed she was a god-like figure, sent to usher in the apocalypse and carry out the work of 144,000 believers.

Their marriage ended suddenly in July when Loris brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her husband outside the familys suburban Phoenix home. Police initially determined the shooting was in self-defense and Cox was never charged.

Lori Vallow Daybell, the children, and Cox moved to eastern Idaho, and JJs grandparents struggled to reach him by phone. The Woodcocks said Vallow Daybell wouldnt tell them why the child was always unavailable. They grew suspicious and called police.

When Did the Case Become a Murder Investigation?

Rexburg police performed a welfare check in November of 2019, and said Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybellan Idaho man who had known Lori for monthslied about the childrens whereabouts.

Chad Daybell during a court hearing in St. Anthony, Idaho, on Aug. 4, 2020. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP)

When police returned the next day, the couple had left town.

Police determined Tylee Ryan was last seen in September headed into Yellowstone National Park with her mom and other family for a day trip, and JJ was last seen by school officials several days later.

The search spanned several states and continued until June 2020, when the childrens bodies were found buried in the yard of Daybells eastern Idaho home.

Detectives meanwhile learned that his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, had unexpectedly died in October 2019 of what was initially reported as natural causes, and the family had declined an autopsy.

Chad and Lori married just two weeks after Tammys death. Authorities exhumed Tammy Daybells body and expanded their investigation.

What Do Prosecutors Say Happened?

Prosecutors say the Daybells espoused strange doomsday-focused beliefs to further their alleged plan to kill the children and Tammy Daybell, then collect life insurance money and the childrens social security and survivor benefits.

Several family members and friends described to detectives a group led by Lori and Chad that met to pray, believing that they could drive out evil spirits and seek revelations from beyond the spiritual veil.

Though the beliefs Vallow Daybells friends described to detectives were loosely based in theology from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they veered into the extreme.

In police reports, one friend said Vallow Daybell told her she could teleport between Arizona and Hawaii, and that Daybell said he had a portal in his home where he could receive revelations and travel to other realms.

Vallow Daybells close friend Melanie Gibb told investigators that the couple used a scoring system to determine whether people were good or evil, and that they believed people became zombies when they were possessed by evil spirits.

Vallow Daybell called JJ and Tylee zombies several times before they died, Gibb told investigators.

What Do Defense Attorneys Say?

Vallow Daybell is being represented by eastern Idaho-based attorneys John Thomas and James Archibald.

She has pleaded not guilty in the case, and her attorneys have submitted formal notice that they intend to offer an alibi.

In that court document, Vallow Daybells attorneys said she was in her own apartment in Rexburg, Idaho, when the children died at a nearby apartment where her brother lived. The attorneys said she was with a couple of friends, and/or Chad Daybell.

Her attorneys also wrote that Vallow Daybell was in Hawaii with other friends when Daybells previous wife died the next month.

Daybells attorneys havent offered details about his planned defense, other than saying in court that Daybell and Vallow Daybell will have mutually antagonistic defenses a legal term that generally means a jury would have to disbelieve one defendant in order to believe the other.

What Will Happen During the Trial?

Vallow Daybells trial is expected to last up to 12 weeks. Jury selection begins Monday.

The judge has banned cameras from the courtroom and the trial was moved to Boise to increase the likelihood of finding jurors that arent deeply familiar with the case.

Her husband will be tried later.

Prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty against both defendants. But just two weeks before the trial was to begin, 7th District Judge Steven Boyce granted a request from Vallow Daybells defense attorneys to take the death penalty off the table.

The judge said the decision was made because of the volume of evidence that was turned over to the defense team. Vallow Daybell has not waived her right to a speedy trial, so it could not be delayed.

Daybell still faces the death penalty in his case.

Any Other Charges?

Vallow Daybell has also been indicted in metro Phoenix on a charge of conspiring to murder Charles Vallow. The indictment says she conspired with her brother, Alex Cox, in Vallows death.

Cox was never arrested in the case. He died five months after Vallow was killed from what medical examiners said was a pulmonary blood clot.

Idaho likely wont agree to extradite Vallow Daybell to face the Arizona charges until the case against her in Idaho is completed. She has not yet entered a plea in the Arizona case.
A handover ceremony of a China-aided school building was held in the Lao capital Vientiane. Find out what the new building has to offer for local students.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Leader of the opposition Peter Dutton has vowed his party will come together and rebuild after a historic by-election loss in the eastern Melbourne electorate Aston.

The Liberals candidate for Aston, Roshena Campbell, conceded defeat to Labors Mary Doyle on Saturday night, with Labor predicted to take the seat with a swing of more than six per cent.

Fronting the party faithful alongside Campbell, Dutton acknowledged it was a tough night for the Liberals, but said it wasnt the partys first.

The Liberals would listen to the people of Aston and grow stronger from the result, he said.

We will work toward the next election to make sure that were in a much better and stronger position by the time of the next general election, Dutton said.

We gather together now, we rebuild, and I promise you we will never give in.

Labor minister Ed Husic said traditional Liberal voters had abandoned the party because of their negativity in opposition.

The Liberal Partys addiction to negativity and to saying no has received a resounding no from their own voters in Aston, he told Sky News Sunday Agenda program.

The Liberal Party need a period of reflection and to think whether or not the approach they have always had once they go into oppositionthe Tony Abbott approach to saying no to everythingis the way to go.

But Husic said the historic result was no guarantee Labor would clean up at the next federal election, which could be called as early as the end of 2024.

What it does require is for the Australian government to keep doing what it is, which is governing in a mature way, being able to deliver practically for the type of concerns people have.

Dutton has said he will remain in the drivers seat and fight on after a historic by-election loss.

We have a lot of work to do, I accept responsibility as Im the leader of the party, he told the ABCs Insiders program on Sunday.

The by-election result was being discussed as a test of his leadership.

Nations leader David Littleproud said Dutton remained the best person to lead the opposition.

Peter is by far the best leader of the Liberal Party, he said.

I think sadly what I saw in this election was the personal character assassination that I thought stooped to a level that Australian politics shouldnt.

Pundits had expected the Liberals to retain the seat in line with historical trends.

The election result derails them, with a governing party not winning a seat off the opposition at a by-election in a century.

Doyle, a breast cancer survivor and former unionist who failed to take the seat at the last election, said even the most optimistic true believers had her pitted as the underdog in the Aston campaign.

We were the underdog but boy, have we shown that we have a big bite, she told the party faithful.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated Ms Doyle, saying she had made history.

Labor said the win was a huge endorsement of Albaneses leadership.

Its probably more a reflection of the federal government doing well, NSW Premier Chris Minns told Sky News on Sunday.

Getting a mid-term report card from the people of Australia that they like the direction of the Albanese government and they want to see more of it.

Aston was held by the Liberals on a 2.8 per cent margin after former minister and outgoing member Alan Tudge suffered a large swing against him at the 2022 election.

The opposition leader said that state issues also played into the result with a dominant Labor government, and acknowledged inner-Melbourne seats had always been tough to win for the Liberals.

Obviously, the difficulties for us in Victoria havent germinated in Aston over the course of the last five weeks, he said on Saturday night.

Even back to 2013, with all of my predecessors, Victoria is the one state that we have never held a majority of seats in and there are huge issues at a state level as well.

Dutton said is leading a united team, which was hard from opposition after an election loss.

Parties always tear themselves apart in opposition. We havent gone through that period of self-destruction, he said.

I have a leadership style which I believe they appreciate which is why people very strongly are expressing their support to me.

Now, the question is how we rebuild from here, the policies that we have, the brand rebuilding that we need to do in Victoria, he told Insiders on Sunday.

I can tell you it makes me more determined to rebuild this party and be in a winning position by 2025.

By Cassandra Morgan and Dominic Giannini in Canberra
FBI: 2017 Las Vegas Shooter Was Angry About How Casinos Treated Him

Former police official disputes FBI claims

Stephen Paddock's license photo is seen next to the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, following a deadly shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. (Department of Motor Vehicles; AP Photo/John Locher, File)

The shooter who killed 60 people in a Las Vegas massacre in October 2017 may have been angry at casinos after he lost a significant amount of money in the days before the incident, according to newly released FBI files.

Stephen Paddock was accused by law enforcement of shooting into a crowd of country music fans from his Mandalay Bay hotel suite after transporting dozens of rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition into his hotel room. Officials said that he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound as responding officers attempted to access his room.

But few details have been provided about Paddock, and officials have never established a motive for why a 64-year-old high-stakes gambler would carry out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Last week, the FBI released redacted documents following a Wall Street Journal Freedom of Information Act request showing that a fellow gambler, whose name is redacted from the hundreds of pages of documents, told the FBI that casinos had previously treated high rollers like Paddock to free cruises, airline flights, penthouse suites, rides in nice cars, and tours in wine country.

But in the years leading up to the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the red carpet treatment for high rollers had faded, the gambler claimed. Casinos even began banning some high rollers for playing well and winning large quantities of money, the documents said.

Paddock had been banned from three Reno casinos, the gambler told FBI investigators. That individual also believed the stress could easily be what caused Paddock to snap.

The FBI documents did not provide any information for why Paddock targeted a country music concert instead of shooting up a casino if he was angry about the way he and other gamblers were being treated.

The gambler also said that Mandalay Bay was not treating Paddock well because a player of his status should have been in a higher floor in a penthouse suite. Its not clear how the gambler knew Paddock.

A woman who worked at the Tropicana Las Vegas casino told the FBI that Paddock would often play 6 to 8 hours per day at casinos and was a prolific video poker player. During a three-day-long period in September 2017just days before the shootinghe lost about $38,000, she told the FBI.

Workers board up a broken window at the Mandalay Bay hotel, where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his mass shooting along the Las Vegas Strip, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., Oct. 6, 2017. (Reuters/Chris Wattie)

Paddock, who appears to have had virtually no social media or online presence, did not leave a note or a manifesto, as is common among mass shooters, officials said. He also did not give any indication that he would carry out the shooting to family members or his girlfriend, a Filipino national named Marilou Danley.

The revelation comes years after the FBI in Las Vegas and the local police department concluded their investigations without a definitive motive, although both agencies said Paddock burned through more than $1.5 million, became obsessed with guns, and distanced himself from his girlfriend and family in the months leading up to the shooting.

In a statement on Thursday, Las Vegas police defended their inconclusive findings and dismissed the importance of the documents released this week in response to an open-records request from The Journal.

We were unable to determine a motive for the shooter, the police statement said. Speculating on a motive causes more harm to the hundreds of people who were victims that night.

It added: The FBI documents that were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, are from the original investigation, we do not believe they will shed new light in the case.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, who was the sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at the time of the shooting, declined to comment on the FBI documents last week.

But Kelly McMahill, a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department official who headed the criminal investigation into the shooting, disputed the FBIs claims that Paddock was motivated by an animus towards casinos. There were never any indicators that Paddock had an anti-casino motive, she said.

Theres no way that LVMPD would have hidden any potential motive from our victims and survivors for five years, McMahill told AP.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Environment Minister Says Carbon Tax Will See Households Pay More on Average Despite Rebates

Guilbeault says 'richer Canadians' will pay 'thousands of dollars more'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault hold a press conference at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says the carbon tax will see Canadian households pay more on average, even after rebates, while asserting that the average calculation does not reflect the whole picture.

If you do the average, yeah, its true, its going to cost more money to people, but the people who are paying are the richest among us, which is exactly how the system was designed, he said in an interview with CTVs Question Period, which aired on April 2.

When you look at the details, the better off Canadians, richer Canadians, in the jurisdictions where the federal pricing system is being applied, will pay thousands of dollars more in carbon pricing.

Guilbeault added that they had stated in the past that the rebates would help the people most in need in Canada, and thats exactly what the system is doing.

On April 1, the federal government increased the carbon tax by 30 percent on the cost of fuel, from $50 to $65 per tonne. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) estimated the jump will increase the price for consumers filling their gas tanks from 11.05 cents to 14.31 cents per litre, and the price of natural gas will go up 12 cents per cubic metre.

The April 1 federal carbon tax increase applies to Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, and Nunavut. In Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, the tax will increase on July 1.

The federal government maintains it does not keep any direct proceeds from pollution pricing, according to a Nov. 22, 2022, news release.

The release said provinces that dont meet federal stringency requirements in 202324 get 90 percent of the direct proceeds from the federal fuel charge returned to their residents through Climate Action Incentive payments, while the other 10 percent will be used to support small business and Indigenous groups. Those provinces are Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.

Guilbealt said the rebates will help the people most in need in Canada.

Most Households Will See a Net Loss in 2030

Meanwhile, Canadas Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said, When both fiscal and economic impacts of the federal fuel charge are considered, we estimate that most households will see a net loss even after receiving rebates, based on projections for 203031.

Based on our analysis, most households will pay more in fuel charges and GSTas well as receiving slightly lower incomesthan they will receive in Climate Action Incentive payments, he said on March 30 when announcing the release of his report, A Distributional Analysis of the Federal Fuel Charge Under the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan.

Our estimate of the economic impact captures the loss in employment and investment income that would result from the federal fuel charge, the report noted.

However, the release added that relative to disposable income, our estimates of household net cost of the federal fuel charge show a progressive impact that is, larger net costs for higher income households.

An updated analysis released by the PBO later that day further explained that the largest net cost is for households in the top income quintile in Alberta (2.7% of disposable income) and the largest net gain is for households in the lowest income quintile in Saskatchewan (2.7% of disposable income) in 203031.

Under the Liberals governments climate plan, the carbon tax, after rising to $65 per tonne starting April 1, will gradually go up by $15 every year until 2030, by which time fuel will cost $170 per tonne.

Net Cost

The PBO report estimated that by 2030, the net cost of carbon tax will hit $1,513 on average for Nova Scotian households, $1,512 in P.E.I., and $1,316 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Alberta households will pay on average $2,773 by 203031, while those in Saskatchewan will pay $1,723, those in Manitoba will pay $1,490, and those in Ontario will pay $1,820.

While the lowest-income households in these provinces will benefit from several hundred dollars in rebates, all of the other income quintiles, with few exceptions, can expect to see a net loss as cost increases relative to rising income, based on the reports calculation.

In 2018, when Trudeau announced a carbon tax on Canadians, the federal government promised that the average family would receive more in rebates than the costs from the tax, giving an example of the average family of four in Ontario.

The government said that this example family would receive roughly $300 in rebates in 2019, but only pay $240 in cost increases associated with the carbon tax.

The CTF said in a news release on March 30 that the Parliamentary Budget Officers report is clear. The carbon tax costs families hundreds of dollars more every year than the rebates they get back. It said the report shows politicians are using magic math to sell their carbon tax.

It simply isnt credible to believe the feds can raise taxes, skim some off the top for administration costs and somehow make families better off, the release said.

Citing the PBO report, the CTF said the carbon tax will cost households on average up to $710 this year even after rebates, with the highest cost to Albertans.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on social media on April 2: So after lying for 5 years that Canadians would be better off because of the carbon tax, Liberals now admit most people will pay more than they get back.

Let this be a lesson to all the Liberal media mouthpieces that repeated Trudeaus disinformation on the carbon tax, said Poilievre.

The Conservatives have said they would remove the carbon tax and lower prices if elected.

Isaac Teo contributed to this report.
Finlands Right-Wing National Coalition Party on Track to Win Election; Prime Minister Marin 3rd

The National Coalition Chairman Petteri Orpo speaks to supporters at the party's parliamentary election party, following the Finnish parliamentary elections, in Helsinki, on April 2, 2023. (Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP via Getty Images)

HELSINKIFinlands opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) was on track to narrowly win Sundays parliamentary election in a tight three-way race, public broadcaster Yle projected, with 71 percent of votes counted.

The NCP was seen winning 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, ahead of the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and Prime Minister Sanna Marins Social Democrats on 43 seats, Yles projection showed.

My thought is that those are really heavy numbers on the screen  a strong mandate for our politics, NCP leader Petteri Orpo told Yle after seeing the prediction.

The leader of the largest group in parliament gets the first chance at forming a coalition to obtain a majority, meaning Marins time as prime minister could be about to come to an end.

Marin, 37, the worlds youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019, has faced criticism at home for her partying and her governments public spending.

The NCP has led in polls for almost two years although its lead had melted away in recent months. It has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70 percent of GDP since Marin took office in 2019.

Orpo accused Marin of eroding Finlands economic resilience at a time when Europes energy crisis, driven by Russias war in Ukraine, has hit the country hard and the cost of living has increased.

Orpo has said he will negotiate with all groups to obtain a majority in parliament, while Marin has said her Social Democrats may govern with the NCP but will not go into government with the Finns Party.

The Finns Partys main goal is to reduce what leader Riikka Purra has called harmful immigration from developing countries outside the European Union. It also calls for austerity policies to curb deficit spending, a stance it shares with the NCP.
On this new episode of International Reporters Roundtable:

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met again, following Xi securing a third term and Putins arrest warrant. Theyre deepening their ties, and their new agreement is in full support of each others supreme ambitions. Fallout from the visit is unfolding quickly, with friends and foes alike conducting military and political maneuverson many fronts.

Joint exercises are underway. Arrests are being made. Warships and bombers are encroaching. We saw Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas trip to Ukraine and now Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in America. The United States, Taiwan, and Japan are preparing for the worst: Japan is building up its military to a degree we havent seen since World War II.

Journalists Chuck Holton, Jennifer Zeng, and Gregory Ho join us to discuss the true nature of Xi and Putins relationship, and what these rapid developments mean for Taiwanand the world.
Former Republican Governor Announces 2024 Presidential Campaign

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson stands on stage prior to the start of the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 19, 2016. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced a 2024 presidential bid, becoming the fourth major Republican candidate to make such an announcement.

Im convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts, Hutchinson told ABC News on Sunday. I am going to be running. And the reason, as Ive traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country.  I believe I can be that kind of leader for the people of America, he added.

Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor, again said that Trump should withdraw from the 2024 race. Well he should, Hutchinson said when asked about if the former president should pull out of the race. But at the same time, we know hes not [going to]. And theres not any constitutional requirement.

Other than Hutchinson, the other major GOP candidates include former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. There is speculation that former Vice President Mike Pence, former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will launch presidential bids.

Notably, Hutchinson has been highly critical of former President Donald Trump, often appearing on CNN and ABC News to target him. The former governor continued that trend earlier this month, saying that Trump should quit the 2024 race if he is indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggbecoming one of the very few Republicans to back Braggs investigation and charges against Trump.

I actually think more voices right now in opposition or providing an alternative to Donald Trump is the best thing in the right direction, Hutchinson told CNN last month, coming before Braggs indictment that hasnt been unsealed yet.

After Trumps indictment was confirmed last week, Hutchinson said that it is essential that the decision of Americas next president be made at the ballot box and not in the court system. He again said that Donald Trump should not be our next president, but that should be decided by the voters.

The U.S. Constitution does not bar presidential candidates from seeking or holding office if they have been charged with a felony as it only says that a candidate must be aged 35 or older, be a natural-born citizen, and have lived in the United States for 14 years. Law experts have said that Trump could be serving time in prison and still be president if hes elected.

A recent poll from Quinnipiac suggested that Hutchinson is a long-shot candidate. The former governor received fewer than 1 percent among voters when asked who they would vote for, garnering even less support than former Maryland Gov. Larry Hoganwho, like Hutchinsonis another Trump critic who recently announced he would not be running in 2024.

Hutchinson ended his tenure as Arkansas governor in January as he was limited from seeking a third term in office. In 2021, he drew criticism from Republican state lawmakers for vetoing a bill that would block minors who claim to be transgender from seeking so-called gender-affirming drugs, although lawmakers in the state voted to override Hutchinsons veto.

Hutchinson at the time attempted to claim that Republicans legislation that would bar such drugs and treatment for minors is statist. I do hope my veto will cause my Republican colleagues across the country to resist the temptation to put the state in the middle of every decision made by parents and health care professionals, Hutchinson said in a statement following the vote in 2021.

Some analysts have said that a large GOP field will only serve to benefit Trump, who enjoys significant support among Republican voters and was able to emerge from a crowded field of about a dozen major Republican candidates during the 2016 campaign. But Hutchinson told news outlets that he believes it will benefit him.

In the early stages, multiple candidates that have an alternative vision to what the president has is good for our party, good for the debate, good for the upcoming debate that will be in August, Hutchinson told CNN in March. So, sure, that will narrow, and it will probably narrow fairly quickly. We need to have a lot of self-evaluation as you go along, but I think more voices now that provide alternative messages and problem-solving and ideas is good for our party, he added.
Martial arts instructor Hoon Park with his wife, Liliane Lan, at the Mahaffey TheaterDuke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, in St. Petersburg, on March 31, 2023. (NTD)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Hoon Park, a martial arts school owner in Tampa and Clearwater, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time with his wife Liliane Lan at the Mahaffey TheaterDuke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on March 31.

It was amazing  very beautiful performances all the way through, said Mr. Park.

Mr. Park had never seen classical Chinese dance and was astonished by the incorporation of martial arts in the dance form.

The classical Chinese dance was beautiful  the flips, the aerial movement together with the martial arts and the dance  it was amazing, he said. It wasnt like anything Ive ever seen before!

Classical Chinese dance was originally passed down among people and through imperial courts and plays. The martial arts used in combat on the battlefield was transformed into performance. The flipping and tumbling techniques, which are a major component of the dance form, evolved from martial arts.

According to the companys website, New York-based Shen Yun has preserved the true aesthetics of this classical dance systemthe way it has been passed down from antiquityand presents this authentic culture in its purest form.

In addition to the physical techniques of the dance system, Mr. Park appreciated the expression and emotion delivered through the movements, saying that Shen Yun presents every type of emotion you could possibly bring out in the show.

In this years production, there is a story-based dance about a drunken monk who was also a martial artist that Mr. Park said was funny, emotional, [and] powerful.

That was amazing because it was a display of dance with martial arts with some comedy as well, he said.

Classical Chinese dance involves a dance-acting element where coordinating facial expressions with physical movements results in an amplified form of expression. The movements are rich in their ability to express a variety of feelings from happiness and grief to tipsiness and insanity, Shen Yuns website explains.

Mr. Park was also impressed by Shen Yuns live orchestra, which blends traditional Chinese instruments with a classical Western orchestra.

It was so good that I didnt even know the music was live, he said. Youre just so immersed into the music  it was beautiful.

Mr. Park said he greatly admired and respected the performers and their ability to put on a new production every year.

Inspired and uplifted by Shen Yun, he said, Theyre enjoying inspiring people  it was a lot of fun!

A Good Message to Put Out to the Public

Chelsea Smith, a writer and musician, also attended Shen Yun with her mother Mary Smith at the Mahaffey TheaterDuke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on March 31.

Musician Chelsea Smith with her mother, Mary Smith, at the Mahaffey TheaterDuke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on March 31. (Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times)

In addition to classical Chinese dance, Ms. Smith was inspired by Shen Yuns traditional ethnic and folk dances.

Its just beautiful to see them all displayed in one place because you just get so much perspective of other peoples views and what they find beauty in, she said. And your idea of what beauty is just grows  so youre just more appreciative of the world in general.

As a professional violinist and music instructor, Ms. Smith was amazed by Shen Yuns erhu soloist.

Incredibly expressive, the erhu (known as the Chinese violin) is a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument capable of conveying a broad range of emotions.

You can get so much emotion from the two strings, its incredible  absolutely beautiful, she said.

This was the first time Ms. Smith saw Shen Yun. Her mother, who encouraged her to attend, had already seen the performance twice since the companys inception in 2006.

From the elegance of the classical Chinese dance to the message of hope and faith delivered through the dance stories, Mary Smith said, I love itall of itthats why Im back the third time!

Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, a meditation and spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Were not communist China, so were not having those types of problems here like they are, she said, but we still have our own struggles and our own day-to-day, and life is hard.

I think the overall message of faith  forbearance and compassion  is universal, she added. I think its a good message to put out to the public.

Reporting by NTD Television, Yawen Hung, and Jennifer Schneider.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
George Mason University President Responds to Students Protesting Commencement Address by Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Graduates walk to the stage during a graduation ceremony at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on May 13, 2021. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

George Mason University President Gregory Washington defended the Universitys decision to have Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, give the spring 2023 commencement address, saying that universities are places for healthy debate and hearing ideas one may not agree with.

The President of Virginias most diverse public university called on the school community to support free speech and help build an effective society, adding that diversity includes the diversity of ideas.

If we teach that the only way to deal with the opposition is to suppress it, we rob students of the very tools they will need to build an effective society, Washington said in a March 27 written statement to those opposing Youngkins invitation.

I support those students who are making their voices heard, and I applaud their courage and commitment to advocate for themselves and their communities, said Washington. That being said, I dont believe that we should silence the voices of those with whom we disagree, especially in this forum where there is no imminent threat present as a result of the disagreements.

Soon after the university announced Youngkins invite, GMU student Alaina Ruffin launched a Change.org petition claiming that by having Youngkin address the 2023 graduating class in May, the institution would be contradicting its core values, especially diversity.

George Mason University prides itself on being one of the most diverse institutions in the Commonwealth. Yet by having Governor Youngkin as this years Commencement speaker, we believe that the University compromises its supposed values of centering students experiences and overall well-being, wrote Ruffin.

Washington challenged those protesting his decision by asking a question.

Is his [Youngkin] inclusion in commencement a betrayal of our core identity of diversity, and commitment to inclusivity? Or are his presence and the passionate objections it has inspired actually the purest reflections of who we are as Mason Patriots?

Opponents to Youngkin, who signed Ruffins petition, criticized the governor for supporting anti-trans legislation, abolishing racial equity curricula, and restricting the availability of literature in schools.

Loudoun County mother Shawntel Cooper (Top 3rd L) experienced an emotional moment in the State Capitol as the new Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (C) signed an executive order to ban the teaching of critical race theory in public education on Jan. 15, 2022. (Courtesy of Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope)

I and my peers do not want the memories of our graduation day to be tainted by an individual who has harmed and continues to harm the people he serves, Ruffin wrote.

The effort to prevent Youngkin from speaking is only the latest effort by campus progressives to ban dissenting views that they deem hateful.

Josiah Joner, the executive editor of Stanford Universitys The Stanford Review, told the House Education Subcommittee at a March 29 hearing that the current culture at his university and most others exiles free speech and debate.

Joner said ensuring First Amendment rights is crucial to the success of all educational institutes.

This is not a conservative issue. This is not a liberal issue. This issue of free speech is at the core of what defines our society in the United States. And without it, these institutions will fail, Joner said.
H&M Reports Surprise Q1 Profit

The H&M clothing store in Times Square in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 15, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

STOCKHOLMFashion retailer H&M reported a surprise operating profit for its first quarter due to a one-off gain and as cost-cutting measures started to bear fruit despite consumers curbing spending.

While H&M showed signs of bringing its costs under control, it still struggled to compete with major rival Inditex, owner of Zara and other brands, as well as rapidly expanding fast fashion online retailers such as SHEIN and Temu.

The value for money that we provide is really, really important for customers right now, CEO Helena Helmersson told Reuters in an interview.

Unusually cold weather in many of the Swedish retailers key markets held shoppers back from buying spring clothing, the company said, denting its March sales figures.

Operating profit in the companys fiscal first quarter was 725 million Swedish crowns ($69.73 million) against 458 million crowns a year earlier. That was largely thanks to a one-off 1.1 billion crown earnings boost from a re-valuation of its majority stake in second-hand resale platform Sellpy.

H&M said Sellpy, in which it still holds a 79.84 percent stake, is now part of the group.

Now at a time when consumers really ask for more and more second-hand, we came to a point where it made sense to do that consolidation. We also see quite some synergies, Helmersson said, adding that H&M does not plan to fully acquire Sellpy.

H&Ms operating profit margin was 1.3 percent, up from 0.9 percent a year earlier. Helmersson said the company was making progress towards its goal of a 10 percent operating margin next year, a target analysts at Credit Suisse said would be very challenging to reach.

China Still Complex

China remained a difficult market for H&M, which was hit by boycotts in 2021 and kicked off Alibabas Tmall e-commerce site after saying it would not source cotton from the Xinjiang region over concerns about human rights abuses.

Customers can access us on TMall again, but overall we are still in a complex situation, we are in dialogue with different stakeholders, Helmersson said, adding things were going step by step in the right direction.

Net sales for March are expected to increase by 4 percent in local currencies compared with the same period last year, H&M said. Thats a slight acceleration after sales for the first quarter were up 3 percent from last year, but lags the competition.

Performance was weighed by weather and could, therefore, be recovered as warmer temperatures land, but of course this result is in stark contrast to the current trading reported by Inditex, JPMorgan analyst Georgina Johanan said.

The end of 2023 looks more promising for H&Ms earnings, when savings from its cost-cutting program that is slashing 1,500 jobs are expected to kick in.

($1 = 10.3975 Swedish crowns)
IMF Approves $15.6 Billion Ukraine Loan, Part of $115 Billion in Global Support

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo outside the headquarters building in Washington on Sept. 4, 2018. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

WASHINGTONThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday its executive board approved a four-year $15.6 billion loan program for Ukraine, part of a global $115 billion package to support the countrys economy as it battles Russias 13-month-old invasion.

The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7 billion to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious reforms, especially in the energy sector, the Fund said in a statement.

The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan is the first major conventional financing program approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war.

Ukraines previous, $5 billion long-term IMF program was canceled in March 2022 when the fund provided $1.4 billion in emergency financing with few conditions. It provided another $1.3 billion under a food shock window program last October.

An IMF official said the new $115 billion package includes the IMF loan, $80 billion in pledges for grants and concessional loans from multilateral institutions and other countries, and $20 billion worth of debt relief commitments.

Ukraine must meet certain conditions over the next two years, including steps to boost tax revenue, maintain exchange rate stability, preserve central bank independence, and strengthen anti-corruption efforts.

Deeper reforms will be required in the second phase of the program to enhance stability and early post-war reconstruction, returning to pre-war fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, boosting competitiveness, and addressing energy sector vulnerabilities, the IMF said.

A senior U.S. Treasury official said the program was really solid and included commitments from Ukrainian authorities to achieve 19 structural benchmarks over the next year alone.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said the program faced exceptionally high risks, and its success depended on the size, composition and timing of external financing to help close fiscal and external financing gaps and restore Ukraines debt sustainability.

Russias invasion of Ukraine continues to have a devastating economic and social impact, she said, lauding Ukrainian authorities for maintaining overall macroeconomic and financial stability despite the strains of the war.

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 Zelenskyy 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!

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who pushed hard for the past year to secure the IMF funding package and paid a surprise visit to Ukraine in February, said the package would help secure the countrys economic and financial stability and set the foundation for long-term reconstruction.

I call on all other official and private creditors to join this initiative to assist Ukraine as it defends itself from Russias unprovoked war, she said in a statement. The United States will continue to stand by Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes.

The IMF said international financial institutions, private-sector firms, and most of Ukraines official bilateral creditors and donors backed a two-step debt treatment process for Ukraine that includes adequate financing assurances on debt relief and concessional financing during and after the program.

The broad support reassured the IMF, the senior Treasury official said, adding, That was really helpful for them to see that we really mean to be there for the long haul.

Longer War Scenario

IMF official Gavin Gray told reporters the funds baseline scenario assumed the war would wind down in mid-2024, resulting in the projected financing gap of $115 billion, which would be covered by the multilateral and bilateral donors and creditors.

The funds downside scenario saw the war continuing through the end of 2025, opening a much larger $140 billion financing gap that would require donors to dig deeper, he said.

Gray said the program had been designed to function, even if economic circumstances were considerably worse than the baseline. He said the countries providing financing assurances had agreed to work with the IMF to ensure Ukraine was able to service its debt to the IMF if larger sums if needed.

Ukraine will face quarterly reviews beginning as early as June, he said.

By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder
NANJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- East China's economic powerhouse Jiangsu Province reported a record-low average PM2.5 density, a key indicator of air pollution, in 2022, local authorities said.

The average concentration of PM2.5 in Jiangsu was 31.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022, down 3 percent year on year, marking a nine-year straight decline since the data was first collected in 2013.

The rate of good air quality days in Jiangsu reached 79 percent in 2022.

Data also showed that the density of PM10 and nitrogen dioxide in Jiangsu last year dropped by 7 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively.

Compared to five years ago, the PM2.5 density decreased by 31.9 percent and the rate of good air quality days rose 4.6 percentage points in Jiangsu.

The province has set the targets for environmental protection this year, including keeping the PM2.5 density at around 32 micrograms per cubic meter and raising the rate of good air quality days by 1 percentage point.

The PM2.5 reading monitors airborne particles of 2.5 microns or less in diameter, which can penetrate deep into people's lungs. 
Jared Kushner Breaks Silence on Trump Indictment

President Donald Trump talks on a phone call with the leaders of Sudan and Israel, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien applaud in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 23, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Former President Donald Trumps son-in-law and erstwhile White House advisor Jared Kushner responded to a Manhattan grand jury having indicted the former president, calling it very unprecedented.

During a Future Investment Initiative Institute summit, Kushner told a crowd that as an American, its very troubling to me to see the leader of the opposition party be indicted  and I think that shows, obviously, the fear that the Democrats have of Trump, and the political strength that he has.

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 also said during the speech. Ive been by him in a lot of these instances and its only made him stronger and his resolve to take on big challenges to fight for change, to fight for the American people has only gotten stronger, Kushner said before referring to now-unsubstantiated allegations that he colluded with the Russian government to win the 2016 election, according to the Times of Israel.

Kushner served as a senior advisor to Trump during his entire term in office, from 2017 to 2021. Hes the husband of Trumps daughter, Ivanka Trump, who also issued a statement on her fathers indictment late last week.

I love my father and I love my country. Today I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern, Ivanka wrote on Instagram.

It came after Manhattan District Attorneys Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on yet-to-be-disclosed charges in connection into alleged hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels in 2016. The indictment hasnt been unsealed yet, although it likely will be when Trump arrives in New York to be arraigned.

Reports indicate that Bragg, who has been investigating Trump, will charge the former president with counts of falsifying business records when he allegedly misclassified the payment as a business expense when it should have been a campaign expense. Some legal experts, including former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, have said that the charges Bragg are bringing should be classified misdemeanors but say he is using an untested legal theory to charge Trump with a felony.

Trumps lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told news outlets Friday that the former commander-in-chief is looking to file motions to dismiss the case in the near future. He also said there is zero chance Trump will take a plea deal in the case, adding that Trump also wont be handcuffed.

This is unprecedented in this countrys history. I dont know what to expect other than an arraignment, he told media. 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.

Other Details

After Trump announced his third bid for the presidency last year, Ivanka indicated that she wont be involved in his campaign or in politics in general. While I will always love and support my father, going forward, I will do so outside the political arena. I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and will always be proud of many of our administrations accomplishments, she added.

And in late 2022, Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post that both Ivanka and Kushner will not be involved in his 2024 White House run. Reports at the time that claimed they would be involved are false, he declared.

Contrary to Fake News reporting, I never asked Jared or Ivanka to be part of the 2024 Campaign for President and, in fact, specifically asked them not to do ittoo mean and nasty with the Fake & Corrupt News and having to deal with some absolutely horrendous SleazeBags in the world of politics, and beyond, Trump wrote on his social media platform.
NSW Labor Fails to Form Majority Government, Vote Counting Shows

Labor leader and Premier elect Chris Minns during the NSW Labor reception in Sydney, Australia, on March 25, 2023. Labor won the election and will form a majority government after Premier Dominic Perrottet conceded defeat. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

The NSW Labor governments hopes of ruling in majority have ended, with vote counting in three close seats handed two wins to the Liberal Party on Saturday, leaving Labors hopes of reaching a 47-seat majority in the dust.

Projections show the Liberal Party will retain the Central Coast electorate of Terrigal and the southwestern Sydney seat of Holsworthy, while the north west Sydney seat of Ryde remains in doubt, ABCs Election Analyst Antony Green said on Saturday.

If Labor is able to win Ryde, the government will reach 46 seats, one short of a majority, while the Liberal-National coalition is likely to land between 35 and 36 seats.

Meanwhile, Mark Latham, state leader of the conservative NSW One Nation party, will re-enter the parliament with a renewed eight-year term. He attributed the failure of the Liberal party to the left-wing Liberals whose agenda he said is based on the renewables cult and the rent seeker money they rely on.

Last week, Latham said NSW One Nation is averaging 9.83 percent primary vote in the lower house seats they contested, running ahead of their 2019 results.

Our average primary vote of 9.83 per is a nice boost on the 4.84 percent our party achieved in NSW during last years Federal election in lower house seats, he said. One Nation is heading in the right direction.

Across the 10 Western Sydney seats we contested (so far) we are averaging 9.6% primary vote.

The Liberal Party was successful in just two of those seats. Of the 17 seats in which we ran, the Liberals were successful in just 4, with a net loss of 5 seats. Can you believe the Leftwing Liberals are blaming John Howard for their defeat, not Matt Kean?!!

Meanwhile, the Minns government is mulling referring independent MP Gareth Ward to the parliamentary privileges committee. Ward, a former Liberal minister, was re-elected as the independent MP for Kiama while fighting five sexual assault charges.

He pleaded not guilty to five criminal offences last week, and is due to stand trial in the NSW District Court after being formally arraigned.

He has consistently maintained his innocence and said in a statement released last week he looks forward to getting back to work.

On Saturday, Environment Minister Penny Sharpe would not rule out a motion to suspend Ward, saying the government was considering its options.

We could look at referring him to the privileges committee, but were waiting until the final declaration of the poll.

The Epoch Times contributed to this article.
Ontario School Named After US President Franklin Roosevelt to Be Renamed

Children cross the street as they head to school in Mississauga, Ont., on Thursday, April 1, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

School board trustees have announced F.D. Roosevelt Public School in London, Ontario, will be renamed, attributing the decision to the former U.S. presidents history.

Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) said on March 28 that trustees had voted to change the name of the school at a board meeting that day. The school will be renamed Forest City Public School.

The board said the name change is part of a broad review of all schools named after individuals to ensure they reflect the Boards commitment to human rights, equity and inclusive learning environments.

TVDSB undertook the renaming process because of F.D. Roosevelts historical connection to racism and controversial approach to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, which are inconsistent with the school boards values and commitments to human rights and equity, the board said.

As an American historical political figure, Roosevelts legacy also has limited relevance to the TVDSB community.

The board said there was a public process followed for renaming schools, with school community members submitting suggestions for a new name. A selection committee that included trustees, school members, and individuals from First Nations put forward a short list of three names for a vote from the school community.

Forest City Public School was the first choice of survey respondents, receiving 51% of the votes, said the board.

Trustees Leroy Osbourne and Marianne Larsen said the name reflected the TVDSBs commitment to creating safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff.

The school will update the logo, mascot, and all school signage.

In May 2022, the TVDSB name review committee also recommended that Sir John A. Macdonald public school in Toronto be renamed due to historical ties to racism and discrimination. According to a Dec. 20, 2022, statement, the board determined that it would seek public input on the renaming of 12 schools, many of which are named after historic or present-day figures such as Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Lord Elgin, Lord Dorchester, and Queen Victoria.

The board said there will be opportunities for public input from the fall of 2023 until spring 2025.

TVDSB had already decided to change the name of Ryerson Public School in a vote on June 24, 2021, and further said it would conduct a review of all schools named after individuals.

The school was named after Egerton Ryerson, who helped establish Ontarios public education system in the 1840s. The board said the educator was a key influence on the creation of the residential school system for Indigenous children.

The overriding context for changing the name of this school relates to the historical oppression of Indigenous people in Canada, specifically the forced residential school attendance by Indigenous children, school trustee Corrine Rahman said at the time.

As society changes, we must also be prepared to make changes as a school board that ensure our schools are safe and welcoming places for all our students.

Indigenous Trustee Carol Antone said: On behalf of First Nations and Indigenous people, this change is long overdue.
Ontario School Principal Charged With Sexual Assault, Child Pornography, Luring Underaged Victim

A teacher walks in the hallway of a junior public school in Ontario in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

The principal of a public elementary school in Kitchener, Ontario, has been arrested on multiple charges including sexual assault, child pornography, and luring an underage victim.

London Police Service issued a news release on March 31 stating that Phillip Sallewsky, age 55, has been arrested following a joint investigation involving police forces from London, Toronto, and the Kitchener-Waterloo region that began in February.

Police said the suspect communicated online with individuals who he believed to be teenaged girls.

The suspect, aware of the victims ages, sent sexually explicit messages and images to the victims. The suspect used an online website, as well as the social media application Snapchat to communicate with the victims, under the usernames Sam and Chuck, according to the news release.

Police said the suspect arranged to meet one of the teenaged girls on March 30 and was subsequently arrested in Burlington and transported to London.

Sallewsky is charged with five counts of luring a person under 16 by means of telecommunication, two counts of invitation to sexual touching under 16, sexual assault, sexual interference with a person under 16, three counts of transmitting sexually explicit material to a person under 16, luring a person under 18 via telecommunication, and various charges related to printing, possessing, distributing, and unlawfully possessing child pornography.

Police said that no one sustained any physical injuries and that the accused is scheduled to appear in a London court on May 11. They are asking anyone with information or who may also be a victim to contact their local police service.

An individual named Phillip Sallewsky is listed as the principal on the staff list of Northlake Woods Public School, an elementary school in Waterloo.

A Waterloo Regional District School Board (WRDSB) spokesperson confirmed that Sallewsky is a principal under that board, the London Free Press reported on March 31.

As per our process, the staff member has been assigned to home immediately, and as such, they are not able to attend . . . school properties or access (board) communication tools, Estefania Brandenstein said.

As this matter is now before the courts, we are unable to discuss the particulars of this situation.

According to public records, Sallewsky has worked as a school principal since 2018 and as a vice-principal since 2011, and he was licensed by the Ontario College of Teacher in 1992.

CTV News Kitchener reported on March 31 that the media outlet has obtained a message issued by Northlake Woods Public School advising parents that a school administrator had been arrested.

At this time, we can share that we have been working closely with the London Police Service as part of established WRDSB protocols, said the message attributed to Michelle Newlands, superintendent of student achievement and well-being.

Please also note that once we learned of the arrest we assigned the administrator to home immediately, and as such, they are not able to attend WRDSB school properties or access WRDSB communication tools. The safety and well-being of our students is always our priority.
A photographer risked the life of his camera for closeup photos of a wild herd of elephants, but the gamble paid off; not only did his camera survive the colossal mammals, but the photographic results were beyond belief.

Israel-based wildlife photographer Yarin Klein, 30, was on a trip to Amboseli National Park in Kenya in December 2021 when he decided to place his camera unattended alongside a dirt trail near a group of elephants on the move. Klein had not encountered this particular herd before and knew it was risky.

I saw them from a long distance and decided to approach them, Klein told The Epoch Times. The idea of placing my camera next to the elephants with a remote control is not new to me; its something Ive tried to do many times, but never succeeded the way I wanted until that day.

Of course, there is the fear that one of the elephants will decide to destroy the camera.

Wildlife photographer Yarin Kleins camera is seen unattended near a herd of elephants on the move in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Courtesy of Yarin Klein)

The photographer gave the herd a wide berth, stepping back about 150 feet as they passed. Usually, either they would fail to come close enough, or Klein would miscalculate the cameras angle and they would be on the wrong side. On this particular day, though, he nailed it.

Afterward, Klein retrieved his Nikon D850 camera and 14-millimeter lens intact, and out of the 300 or 400 photos he took, three shots blew his mind. He posted those on his Instagram with the caption, Was it worth the risk?

Elephants lumber near Yarin Kleins unattended camera in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Courtesy of Yarin Klein)

As a wildlife photographer, Im always trying to innovate, Klein told the newspaper. I am very satisfied with the final result. It just proves that in life you have to take risks, sometimes, in order to succeed. Of course, you have to act carefully so as not to disturb the wildlife.

Attracting eyes online, the photos garnered over ten million views and a lot of love from appreciative netizens in the form of likes, shares, and comments.

The elephants came too close for comfort when Yarin Klein left his camera unattended in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Courtesy of Yarin Klein)

A black and white shot of an elephant up close and personal in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. (Courtesy of Yarin Klein)

The photographer was inspired to enter his profession by a deep love for nature and wildlife. His work takes him to remote locations where he focuses on finding new angles for capturing animal species less often seen.

To those hoping to explore wildlife photography, Klein advises, Preserve nature. Try to get close to the animals without disturbing them or scaring them; you will learn when to draw the line between a good photo and a disturbance to nature.

A portrait of the photographer. (Courtesy of Yarin Klein)

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
It originally aired back in the day when Americans had three TV stations to choose from, and when every household had a designated channel changer instead of remote control. In a way, the limited channels brought the country together. From the subways to the mountains, from the rich to the poor, young and old alike, wed likely all watched the same thing on TV the night before.

For those of us alive in 1977, whether children like myself or older family members weve since lost, it was a huge event: the first made-for-TV series depicting the life of Christ. Over 90 million viewers tuned in for the first installment which aired on Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter.

The first thing we heard was that beautifully haunting soundtrack that demanded our attention. Nearly 50 years later, the score that is described as alternately majestic and quietly intimate still sends me into a state of quiet reverence. Composed by Maurice Jarre, who had previously written scores for Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, it infused the film with an air of mystery fit for a biblical tale.

And so it was that long before The Passion of the Christ, and predating millions tuning in to see The Chosen, there was Robert Powell in the title role of Jesus of Nazarethin a film that many still consider the most inspiring depiction of Christs life ever made.

Working in the location of Morocco and Tunisia, the cast had their faces pelted with Saharan sand flung from a wind machine, even as a cold damp wind from the Mediterranean continually knocked over flood lights. Another day of shooting found them choking from incense. Franco wants to give the picture a feeling of age, like the old Italian paintings, Powell had explained about the director.

The Magic of Zeffirelli

That great director whom Powell referenced was the incomparable Franco Zeffirelli, master of stage and screen. Besides Jesus of Nazareth, which many consider his chef-doeuvre, he directed 1968s Romeo and Juliet, and brought other Shakespearean plays to the screen with rave reviews (Otello and Hamlet, the latter of which most notably starred a young Mel Gibson.)

Director of Jesus of Nazareth, Franco Zeffirelli in 1972. Library of Congress. (Public Domain)

And of course, there was his incredible contribution to opera, bringing La Traviata and Pagliacci to the big screen, and staging such greats as Pavarotti, Domingo, and Callas. He is memorialized with plaques at each end of the Met stage proscenium for the dozen lavish productions he created that shaped the history of the Metropolitan Opera.

Zeffirelli was also a devout, anti-abortion Catholic who struggled with homosexuality after claiming to have been sexually molested by a priest as a child. In his conflicted autobiography, he wrote: I believe totally in the teachings of the Church, and this means admitting that my way of life is sinful.

Universal Portrayal

Of course, at the time of his work on Jesus of Nazareth, none of this was known. As a matter of fact, the only thing people cared about was that Zeffirelli had some pretty impressive religious backing. As early screenings of the film commenced, it was praised by the Pontifical Commission for Relations with Non-Christian Religions, the National Catholic Radio and Television Center, the Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, and Campus Crusade for Christ International.

John the Baptist (Michael York, L) baptizes Jesus (Robert Powell), in Jesus of Nazareth. (Movie StillsDB)

Zeffirelli gifted cinema history with an ordinary man who radiated divine energy. To convey an air of messianic spirituality, the director instructed Powell not to blink. Resultingly, Powells mesmerizing blue eyes conveyed the illusion that God himself was peering out at us. It was a result that Powell worked hard on.

Reflecting on his acting for the role, Powell said: You go in as an actor and work subjectively, but the moment you start to try and play [Jesus] as a real person you lose the divinity completely. So from that moment on, I played it objectively without any recourse to giving him any particular idiosyncrasies, quite deliberately avoiding the normal human things.

Whatever Powell did, it worked. It was as if he created the template of a universal Jesus that reached out to touch the hearts of believers and unbelievers alike. Powell himself said that he believed the film had such a hold on the culture because it reached a vast audience and because the filmmakers were so non-specific in their approach to Jesus. He went on to say that theyd received tens of thousands of letters all saying the same thing: Its exactly how I imagined him to be.

Vision on a Windswept Day

It cannot be overstated that most of the cast were among the biggest names: Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Peter Ustinov, Anne Bancroft, Michael York, Rod Steiger, James Mason, Anthony Quinn  ; the list goes on.

Mary Magdalene (Anne Bancroft, L) washes the feet of Jesus (Robert Powell, R) as Joseph of Arimathea (James Mason, C) watches, in Jesus of Nazareth. (MovieStills DB)

One of my personal favorites was Ernest Borgnine. No one who has seen the movie can forget his statement of faith as the Roman centurion speaking to Jesus: I am unworthy that you should enter under my roof. I know that if you say the word my servant will be healed. But a story that wasnt widely reported was Borgnines real-life spiritual experience on the set.

In an article that he wrote for Guideposts in 1989, he gives a detailed description of a mystical vision he had while filming the crucifixion scene. Since the camera was focused only on Borgnine, neither the cross nor Powell had to be present. Instead, Borgnine was instructed to look at a chalk mark on a piece of scenery as though he were looking at Christ. He wasnt ready. He was uneasy. He asked for someone to read from the Bible the words that Jesus spoke on the cross. Director Zeffirelli obliged.

As Borgnine considered in his mind what the centurion would have thought and felt, he looked up and saw the face of Christ, lifelike and clear.

It was not the features of Robert Powell I was used to seeing, but the most beautiful, gentle visage I have ever known. His face was still filled with compassion. He looked down at me through tragic, sorrowful eyes with an expression of love beyond description.

Joseph (Yorgo Voyagis) and Mary (Olivia Hussey) greet visitors who come to see the newborn Jesus. (Movie StillsDB)

He heard Christs final words: Father into Thy hands I commend My spirit. Then he saw Christs head slump to one side and knew he was dead. A terrible grief welled within me and, completely oblivious to the camera, I started sobbing uncontrollably.

By the time they yelled Cut! Borgnine noticed fellow actors Olivia Hussey and Anne Bancroft crying too. He added: Whether I saw a vision of Jesus that windswept day or whether it was only something in my mind, I do not know. It doesnt matter. For I do know that it was a profound spiritual experience and that I have not been quite the same person since.

Many of us havent been quite the same since that movie. This Easter, why not consider revisiting this great movie, or introducing it to someone whos never seen it?

Get out the popcorn, dim the lights, and listen as that majestic music rises to prepare us for entering that supernatural world of our dreams  where we see the manger, the ministry, the crucifixion, and the empty tomb.

Perhaps when we get to the other side, God will show us the original footage, but for those of us still trapped in this mortal coil, it may be the closest thing weve got.

Susan D. Harris can be reached at SusanDHarris.com
William Lloyd Garrison has gone down in the history books as being one of the first major leaders in the abolition movement of the 19th century. Although his opinions and anti-slavery views were very unpopular during that time, Garrison stood by his beliefs that all men are equal until his final days.

Garrison became most famous for publishing his own anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator. Even though Garrisons unpopular views often got him into trouble, he printed his newspaper for over three decades filling it with opinion columns and editorials against slavery and supporting the idea that all slaves should be freed immediately.

William Lloyd Garrison, engraving from a 1879 newspaper. (Public Domain)

Garrison started working in the printing industry at a young age and his knowledge of the trade helped him support the movement to end slavery in the United States. In fact, Garrison published The Liberator up until President Abraham Lincoln officially ended slavery in the nation with the 1865 passage of the 13th Amendment.

Early Years

Garrison was born in 1805 to Abijah Garrison and Frances Lloyd in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His father lost his job due to the U.S. Embargo Act of 1807 that caused the countrys commercial shipping industry to take a turn for the worse. In 1808, Garrisons father abandoned his family after he became unemployed.

Garrison then went to work as a youth to help support his mother and siblings doing things like selling homemade lemonade and candy, and delivering firewood around his neighborhood. At age 13, Garrison got an apprenticeship with the Newburyport Herald and he began learning how to typeset and write articles.

Through the years, Garrison learned how to directly typeset his writing into the newspaper without having to first write his articles down on paper. Garrison eventually became the owner, publisher, and editor of the Newburyport Free Press, which he ran until he moved to Boston and became the editor of the National Philanthropist.

Outspoken Abolitionist

In the 1820s, Garrison became involved in the abolition movement and he ended up joining the American Colonization Society. Garrison used his Christian beliefs instilled in him by his mother to create a strong stance against slavery. He also strongly believed in peace and was against all types of war until the Civil War started, and he decided to back President Lincolns efforts.

While he was with the American Colonization Society, he quickly learned that many of the organizations members actually believed that free African Americans should be moved back to Western Africa. The majority of the groups members did not really agree that slaves should be freed; they just wanted to reduce the number of freed African Americans living in the country to preserve slavery.

In 1830, while Garrison was working as the co-editor of an anti-slavery newspaper in Maryland called The Genius of Universal Emancipation, he withdrew from the American Colonization Society after being convinced by his freed African American friends. The next year, Garrison moved back to Boston and started publishing The Liberator to further express his anti-slavery views. In 1832, he organized a group of his newspapers readers to form the New England American Anti-Slavery Society, which grew to become the American Anti-Slavery Society (AAS).

AAS contended that slaveholding is a heinous crime in the sight of God, and Garrison used his newspaper as an outlet to spread the groups beliefs. Garrisons well-written editorials shamed people who participated in the slave trade business.

His efforts often got him in trouble. One slave trader filed a libel lawsuit against Garrison for an article he wrote, and the state of Maryland also pressed criminal charges against him. The pro-slavery courts found the newspaper man guilty and sentenced him to pay a $50 fine plus court costs.

However, Garrison refused to pay the fine which earned him a sentence of six months in jail. Garrison though, was released a mere seven weeks later when his friend and anti-slavery philanthropist Arthur Tappan agreed to pay the fine to free the newspaper editor.

Illustration titled New method of assorting the mail, as practiced by Southern slave-holders. The sign on the wall offers a reward for Tappan. Arthur Tappan paid the fine so Garrison could be released from jail. (Fotosearch/Getty Images).

After getting released, Garrison found himself in more trouble when he moved back to Boston. In 1835, an angry mob tied Garrison up and dragged him through the streets of the city and threatened to lynch him for his anti-slavery views. The citys mayor then had him arrested and jailed for disturbing the peace to protect him from the mob.

Even though Garrison lived and operated his newspaper in the North, his views and newspaper columns heavily angered people in the South. It was reported that some people in the South offered a $1,500 award for the arrest of anyone who distributed The Liberator newspaper. The state of Georgia even offered a $5,000 reward for the arrest of the outspoken abolitionist.

The Liberator Goes World Wide

In the first issue of The Liberator which Garrison published on Jan. 1, 1831, he made it clear that his views that were seen by many as radical would be bluntly and unapologetically expressed.

I am aware, that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? the editor stated in The Liberators first issue. I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen;but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnestI will not equivocateI will not excuseI will not retreat a single inchAND I WILL BE HEARD.

Cartoon criticizing the tendencies of certain individuals to place regional concerns above the Union as a whole. (2nd from left) abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison places his issues into the hurly-burly pot. Printed by J Baillie. (MPI/Getty Images)

The newspaper contained many poems, essays, and editorials that worked to persuade people that slavery was against Christian beliefs and that African Americans also had the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He was also known as being one of the first newspaper editors that gave women abolitionists a voice by publishing their writings.

The newspaper started out small. Abolitionist William Nell wrote that during its first year, The Liberator was supported by the colored people, and had not fifty white subscribers. In its second year, the newspaper only had around 400 paid subscribers.

In its life of over 30 years, The Liberator has gotten to the point where they could claim about 3,000 paid subscribers. But due to its popularity in certain abolitionist groups, the paper spread to many people for free, and by 1861 it not only had subscribers in the North, but it reached Canada, Scotland, and England.

Garrisons Later Years

After slavery had officially ended in the country, Garrison announced in May 1865 that he would be resigning as the president of the AAS and that he thought the organizations mission was over and the society could be dissolved. In December that same year, Garrison published his last issue of The Liberator and he stated that his vocation as an Abolitionist, thank God, has ended.

After he left AAS and ended the publication of The Liberator, Garrison continued to support movements like civil rights for African Americans and the right to vote for women. In 1870, Garrison became an associate editor for a pro-womens suffrage newspaper entitled the Womans Journal.

During the 1870s, Garrison was key to the womens suffrage movement through his newspaper columns and his role as the president of the American Woman Suffrage Association and the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. In 1879, Garrison became extremely ill with kidney disease, and he eventually passed away from the ailment on May 24 that year while staying with one of his daughters in New York.
Russia Takes Over Presidency of UN Security Council on April 1

Ukraine says presidency is 'absurd and destructive' amid Russia's war

Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia, permanent United Nations representative of the Russian Federation, speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine at U.N. headquarters in New York City on March 7, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The Russian Federation assumed presidency of the U.N. Security Council on April 1, as Moscow wages war on Kyiv, in a move that Ukraines president said showed the institutions total bankruptcy.

Russia last held the post at the intergovernmental body, which is tasked with maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression, in February 2022, when President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter.

The presidency of the U.N. council rotates alphabetically among its 15 members every month.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russias presidency of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) a slap in the face to the international community.

I urge the current UNSC members to thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency. I also remind that Russia is an outlaw on the UNSC, he said.

Kuleba told London-based think tank Chatham House on March 30 that you can not imagine a worse joke for April Fools Day than Russia assuming the UNSC presidency on April 1.

As Russia takes charge of the council, Putin stands accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes. The ICC is an international justice body thats not associated with the U.N.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed outrage at the situation, calling the U.N.s adherence to its procedural rules in the face of clear violations by member states an absurd and destructive move.

Unfortunately, we  have some obviously absurd and destructive news, he said in his daily video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a 5-month-old boy on March 31.

And at the same time, Russia is chairing the U.N. Security Council. Its hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions.

The Kremlin and Russian officials vowed to exercise all its rights in the role, following what it said were attempts by the United States to strip it of its right to assume the presidency.

Dmitry Polyansky, Russias first deputy permanent representative to the U.N., said on his Telegram channel that international law and procedure rules, developed over decades are actually in effect in the U.N., instead of the rule-based order, which the collective West seeks to replace international law with, reported Russian state media TASS.

As a president should be, we will act as an honest broker, just like we did in February 2022, when our presidency coincided with the beginning of the special operation, the official noted. Any attempts to provoke us are doomed to fail in advance. Unlike our former Western partners, we play fair [in] the international arena and we do not promote double standards.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on March 30 urged Russia to conduct itself professionally when it assumes the role, saying there were no means to block Moscow from the post.

Unfortunately, Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality, she said, adding that the United States expects Russia to continue to use its seat on the council to spread disinformation.

Russias presidency begins on 1 April and, frankly speaking, you can not imagine a worse joke for April Fools Day@DmytroKuleba (@MFA_Ukraine) on Russias presidency of the @UN Security Council. Watch in full: https://.co/Z20mPFjxta pic.twitter.com/zhSqqFGg6s  Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) March 31, 2023

Zelenskyy, echoing conservative voices in the West, says its time for a general overhaul of global institutions, including the Security Council.

Reform is obviously necessary to prevent a terrorist stateand any other state that wants to be a terroristfrom destroying the peace, he said.

Some 400 days into the warwhich has killed thousands, destroyed Ukrainian cities, and forced millions of civilians to fleeRussia continues to take over parts of the country, pressing on with its assault in the east.

Read More Putin Says Russia Will Place Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus

Earlier, Zelenskyy adviser Andriy Yermak also hit out at Iran, which Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms. Tehran denies that its giving weapons to Russia.

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Reactions Around the World

The April Fools Day situation at the UNSC drew significant attention from observers worldwide.

Russia taking over today [the UNSC] presidency is fitting for April fools day, European Unions foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter. Despite being a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia continuously violates the very essence of the UN legal framework. The EU will stand against any abuse by Russian presidency.

Estonias U.N. delegation said on Twitter it was shameful and humiliating for the UNSC that Russia is its president for the month.

April Fools Day is a perfect day to start the presidency of the UN Security Council, if the seat is taken by Ruzzia. This presidency is a #BadRussianJokeRussia, waging a brutal war against Ukraine, can only lead #InsecurityCouncil, Lithuanias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

British member of Parliament Barry Sheerman said, Please tell me that Russia taking on the Presidency of the United Nations [sic] Security Council is the sickest of sick jokes on this All Fools Day.

Geopolitical strategist Velina Tchakarova, director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, told i24News that Moscow will take advantage of its powers to set up Cold War 2.0 scenario, with Russia and China presenting a counternarrative to the U.S.

Director of U.N. Watch Hillel Neuer said on Twitter: Today on April 1, 2023, the U.N. announced that its Security Council is now being led by a murderous regime whose president is subject to an international arrest warrant for war crimes. This is not an April Fools Day joke, this is real.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Saudi Arabia Joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization as Ties With China Grow

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)

RIYADHSaudi Arabias cabinet approved on Wednesday a decision to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as Riyadh builds a long-term partnership with China despite U.S. security concerns.

Saudi Arabia has approved a memorandum on granting the kingdom the status of a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the state news agency SPA said.

The SCO is a political and security union of countries spanning much of Eurasia, including China, India, and Russia.

Formed in 2001 by Russia, China, and former Soviet states in Central Asia, the body has been expanded to include India and Pakistan, with a view to playing a bigger role as counterweight to Western influence in the region.

The Iranian regime also signed documents for full membership last year.

The decision of joining the SCO followed an announcement by Saudi Aramco which raised its multi-billion dollar investment in China on Tuesday, by finalizing a planned joint venture in northeast China and acquiring a stake in a privately controlled petrochemical group.

Riyadhs growing ties with Beijing have raised security concerns in Washington, its traditional ally. Washington says Chinese attempts to exert influence around the world will not change U.S. policy toward the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have voiced concern about what they see as a withdrawal from the region by the main security guarantor the United States, and have moved to diversify partners. Washington says it will stay an active partner in the region.

Countries belonging to the organization plan to hold a joint counter-terrorism exercise in Russias Chelyabinsk region in August this year.
Senate Committee Finds Nation Losing Election Workers

A voter talks with poll workers at Middletown Senior Center on primary day on Aug. 23, 2022. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Harassment of election officials, misinformation, excessive public information requests, and frivolous lawsuits are driving many experienced poll workers into retirement and making it hard to recruit new ones.

Those were some of the election administration problems that the Senate Rules Committee heard about on March 28.

Committee Chairperson Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) opened the two-hour hearing by citing a recent study, which found that one in three election workers are concerned about their safety and one in six have actually been threatened.

We must support our election officials, she said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks during a hearing in Washington on June 15, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

A good way to start solving the problems facing election administration, said Klobuchar, is to tackle the spread of misinformation on social media.

Protecting American elections against foreign interference and preserving the use of secure ballot drop boxes against Republican efforts to get rid of all of them rank high on her list of necessary actions.

She told the hearing that Ease of voting is a big deal and that same-day voter registration has greatly increased voter turnout.

Klobuchar supports more federal funds for state and local election administration.

But ranking member Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) said that, States have the primary responsibility to administer elections.

Opposed to what she calls a one-size-fits-all federal takeover of elections, Fischer said, Security is better with decentralized administration.

Every state should set up and monitor their own elections, focusing on things that work for them.

Fischer acknowledged that the loss of experienced election workers is a problem and advocated for an increased effort to recruit, train, and retain dedicated workers.

Election Officials are Calling it Quits

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) stated that, nationwide, one in three election workers have left their positions.

New Mexicos Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver testified that six election workers in her state were the targets of drive-by shootings and several reported being followed home. She did not say if any were injured.

Oliver also complained of county clerks being inundated with requests by self-described detectives for information that the local officials dont even use in the course of their job.

She labeled the practice as a weaponization of public records requests, which is often accompanied by threatening and harassing activity.

In response, New Mexico has stiffened its penalties for threatening election officials.

Oliver identified persistent staffing issues and outdated equipment and technology as two of the big problems in the conduct of New Mexico elections.

Another problem, Oliver said, is the need for more equity in access to mail-in voting.

Colorado has made it easy for everybody to vote without compromising security. In 2022, 95 percent of Colorado voters voted by mail, said Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.).

A fan of mail-in voting himself, Bennett said he liked it because it gave him more time to study complex ballot proposals than he had when he voted in person.

Fischer said that people in sparsely populated states that live great distances from polling places need to be able to vote by mail.

Bennett lamented that there were 80 bills offered in 23 states to limit voting by mail.

Padilla called for a federal standard to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail, while preserving in-person voting as an option.

Marcia Johnson, of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told the hearing voting by mail is a very secure form of voting.

Oliver agreed, stating that since 2000, Oregon sent out 100 million vote-by-mail ballots, of which only a handful was found to be fraudulent.

Consistent Federal Funding

Oliver argued that the key to solving problems with state and local election administration is for the federal government to provide consistent funding streams.

South Carolina Elections Commissioner Howard Knapp agreed, saying, consistent, predictable, federal funding would help solve many of the problems highlighted in the hearing.

Knapp reported that his state will be the first in the nation to conduct a Democrat presidential primary in 2024.

Knapp also testified that recent surveys have found that 85 percent of South Carolinas voters are confident in the fairness of their elections, as opposed to only 66 percent nationally.

Yet, he said, there is a segment of his states population thats not going to believe anything we say.

Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen, a Republican, told the committee that, pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, the responsibility of administering elections lies with the states.

He said that his states installation of electronic cyber-security monitoring devices designed to detect intrusion into voting machines has allayed the concerns of many about e;ection security.

Confidence in Nebraskas elections result was also bolstered by the adoption of a mandatory voter ID law and an audit program of hand-counting ballots from a sampling of precincts after every election.

Out of 48,000 ballots examined after the midterm election, 22 irregularities were discovered and there was a 29-vote variation between the number of votes cast and votes counted, he said.

He added that early voting does presents the challenges of increased opportunity for vote buying and intimidation.

Thirty Seconds to Steal a Vote

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a hearing of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) used his time to note that voting laws must be neutrally applied.

He said recent problems have been caused by partisan-minded state courts that skew their own laws.

According to Cruz, photo voter ID is not an onerous requirement, at a time when in 30 seconds, you can steal someone elses vote.

States Seek to Suppress the Vote

Advocate Johnson testified that, since the record voter turnout of the 2020 presidential election, a number of states have passed laws to allegedly restrict voter turnout.

She decried the Republican governments pre-midterm election election integrity reforms in favor of expanding early voting across the state, which Democrats claimed challenged the voter registrations of large numbers of people and suppressed the vote.

We must make sure we have a high turnout across the country, she said.

However, the midterm elections in Georgia ended up seeing a record voter turnout.

Election Myths and The Big Lie

Johnson added that, in the 2022 midterms, a disturbing trend of voter intimidation around ballot drop boxes was observed in places around the country.

Election myths and disinformation encourage bad actors to intimidate voters, particularly voters of color, she said.

Sen. Padilla said the question for state and local elections officials is, Are you prepared for the challenges the Big Lie will cause in the 2024 elections?

Evnen encouraged young people concerned about fair elections to become poll workers.

Familiarity with the process will grow public confidence in the system, he said.
This aerial photo taken on March 31, 2023 shows a light show themed on Chinese flowering crabapple at the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Tourists take part in an activity themed on Chinese flowering crabapple at the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin, April 1, 2023. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Tourists visit the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin, March 31, 2023. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Tourists visit the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin, April 1, 2023. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

A float parade is held at the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin, March 31, 2023. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Tourists take photos at the Dali Avenue of the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin, March 31, 2023. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Tourists take a carriage while visiting the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin, April 1, 2023. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

This photo taken on March 31, 2023 shows a light show themed on Chinese flowering crabapple at the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

This aerial photo taken on March 31, 2023 shows people visiting the Dali Avenue at the Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin. The Wudadao historical urban area, or the Five Great Avenues, in north China's Tianjin attracted flocks of visitors during the blooming season of Chinese flowering crabapple recently. In order to further embrace the tourism boom brought by the blossoms, Heping District of Tianjin launched a series of events themed on Chinese flowering crabapple from March 31 to April 9, featuring float parade, light show and cultural fair. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)
Member of Parliament Daniel Muys attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 2, 2023. (Xinxin Teng/The Epoch Times)

TORONTO, CanadaBy the end of the first half, Member of Parliament Daniel Muys already had plenty of good things to say about Shen Yun Performing Arts, which he watched at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 2.

Its been wonderful, said Mr. Muys. I think its a beautiful performance with an important message.

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 to give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China.

Shen Yuns program includes story-based dances, some of which are based in modern-day China and depict the communist governments persecution of followers of faith. Mr. Muys said that Shen Yuns performance was also a way for people to understand the human rights abuses that are taking place in China today.

I think theres a rich history, said Mr. Muys, commenting on pre-communist China. And you see that, obviously, in the dance and the music and the performances were seeing today. Unfortunately, under the Beijing communist regime, were not seeing that today. As Canadians, weve always stood up for human rights and freedoms on the world stage, and we will continue to do so.

Mr. Muys said that Shen Yuns performance was very good quality.

I think its a strong performance. I think the visuals in the background, in addition to the dancing and performance and costumes  [was] quite interesting.

The music is phenomenal, Mr. Muys added, saying that Shen Yuns live orchestra is obviously a world-class orchestra.

Mr. Muys also acknowledged the importance of Shen Yuns mission to revive traditional values.

I think its important because  as a society, we should always be remembering our history and our past, he said. I think that obviously, whatever their faiths and traditions that people have that is important in their lives, that should be respected and should be continued to [be] passed on from generation to generation.

Finally, to the performers, Mr. Muys wanted to say: Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. Obviously, what we see on stage is perfect and professional, but theres a lot of hard work that takes place behind the scenes. So, thank you for doing that, and thank you for bringing that to us here and here in Toronto.

Reporting by Xinxin Teng 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.
Neel (L) and Vishakha Bhandari enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at Duke Energy Center for the Arts on April 1, 2023. (Nancy Ma/The Epoch Times)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.Neel and Vishakha Bhandari, owners of an international finance and technology training company, greatly enjoyed Shen Yuns seventh show at Duke Energy Center for the Arts on the evening of April 1.

It was the couples first-time seeing Shen Yun, and they thought it was wonderful and majestic.

It was colorful. It was everything we thought it would be! Mrs. Bhandari exclaimed. I loved the expertise of the dancersthe way they moved their bodiesyou can tell a lot of training goes into it. Its something that everyone should experience.

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.

For 5,000 years, Chinas civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist partys violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The mission of Shen Yun artists is to return to the worlds stagethe glory and beauty of Chinas 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

This concept resonated deeply with Mr. Bhandari.

Shen Yun showed us what modern society has becomethe standard clothes everyone wears and everyones on their phones. You realize that Chinese culture [should be celebrated] more, rather than adopting pure Western styles, he said.

Thats what really sat with me[society] is changing, and we should keep these moments and events together because it keeps that culture alive.

Upon finding out that Shen Yun is currently banned in China by the ruling communist regime, Mr. Bhandari said it made him sad and uncomfortable.

It feels as though China is erasing its own culture; thats something that China should really think abouta culture as beautiful as this should be expressed, he said.

The truth of events should be shared with others as well; its important that its not lost. I appreciate what Shen Yun is doing because theyre showcasing the truth of what has happened.

Referring to Shen Yuns story-dance piece depicting the Chinese Communist Partys persecution of people of faith, Mrs. Bhandari said she hopes and wishes that those rules would change so people can practice their religion and what they believe in.

[The artists should] keep up the good work and continue to inspire future generations so all the young people can learn the message that Shen Yun is [presenting regarding] their beliefs, dance, and the arts.

Mr. Bhandari added that the stark contrast between Chinas traditional culture and its modern-day restrictions was eye-opening for him. Its something he doesnt fully understand.

I visited China twice, but every time Ive gone, I havent really been able to access some of the cultural [aspects] that Ive experienced in just two hours today. That sits heavily with meIll be meditating on that over the next few days.

If he gets a chance to speak to the Chinese people in China, Mr. Bhandari said he will tell them that the culture of China is being shared beautifully in the U.S. and internationally.

Thats something Chinese people should be proud ofwherever you go in the world, Shen Yun is carrying the true culture of China.

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Lan Baiqing attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on March 31, 2023. (NTD

TORONTO, CanadaDirector of the Culture Centre of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto Lan Baiqing watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on March 31. Mr. Lan said that the performance touched him deeply, and that it was a performance worth watching, as it elevated the mind.

There was a lot to see in the performance, and it was very exciting, said Mr. Lan. It presented the complexity of Chinese culture before communism. Every performer did a superb job; I can tell theyre well-trained and that theyve spent a long time preparing.

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 to give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China.

Im very pleased to see a Chinese community striving to elevate peoples minds through a cultural performance and contributing to human civilization, said Mr. Lan. I hope every Chinese person can enjoy such a beautiful performance and thank Shen Yun for it.

Mr. Lan said that the story-based dances recalled many memories in his mind. He added that Shen Yuns ability to spark laughter in audiences of any age and race is a form of cross-cultural communication.

To be able to see such a beautiful performance in Canada, to see Chinese people from different areas gather together, to be able to communicate with members of mainstream society here, is this not the ultimate purpose of todays performance?

I hope that more people can use this cultural difference to seek common ground while preserving differences, and to move closer to ultimately achieving peace through mutual understanding.

Shen Yun a Feast for the Eyes and Soul

Xu Peichen attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on March 31, 2023. (NTD)

Also in the audience was Xu Peichen, the deputy director of the Culture Centre of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto.

It was stunning and beautiful, said Ms. Xu, who watched Shen Yun for the first time. The scope and magnificence can only be experienced in person.

Ms. Xu said that she had seen Shen Yuns advertisements on television and found them beautiful, but that seeing the live performance at the theater was a completely different experience.

You can tell by the way the performance was set up, the cooperation between the performers, and their movements that they must have had very strict training in order to achieve these results.

Shen Yuns own patented animated backdrop, which allows performers to move between the stage and the background, left a deep impression on Ms. Xu.

The high-tech backdrop and the dancing came together perfectly, she said. The special effects were very unique, and I was stunned to see the performers appear from the backdrop.

Ms. Xu was also impressed by Shen Yuns live orchestra, which combines traditional Chinese and Western instruments.

The music and dance go very well together. You usually hear a lot of Western music from symphony orchestras, and I never knew that traditional Chinese instruments could go so well with the dancing. It was very elegant and very wonderful.

Ms. Xu said that she also enjoyed the humor in Shen Yuns story-based dances. She said that through the performance, she learned that many of the movements in Shen Yuns dancing originate from classical Chinese dance, not ballet or gymnastics.

Nowadays, most people are influenced by the West and look there for inspiration, rather than look back and acknowledge that their own Chinese culture has its own beauty and attractiveness, said Ms. Xu.

Ms. Xu said that she will be bringing her daughter the next time she sees Shen Yun. She hoped that through Shen Yuns dancing and music, her daughter could learn about the beauty of traditional Chinese culture.

The performance presents many values, Ms. Xu said. It tells us the importance of human rights, freedom, and dignity. These are all expressed throughout the dances and are very meaningful.

Im very happy I got to see a performance like this, Ms. Xu added. Im also very glad that they tour around the world and present a feast for the eyes and souls for every audience member.

Reporting by NTD and Wandi Zhu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Stormy Daniels Eager to Testify in Trump Trial

(L to R) Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) and Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, speak to the media as they exit the United States District Court Southern District of New York for a hearing related to Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney and confidante, in New York City on April 16, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Adult film actress and stripper Stormy Daniels, whose alleged hush money payments are likely at epicenter of Donald J. Trumps indictment, has publicly volunteered to take the stand in the prosecution of the former president.

Fingers crossed that I do, she said in an interview on Times Radio.

I have nothing to hide. I look forward to telling everybody what I knowbut at this very moment, I have not officially been called, added Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

She also told the interviewer she wasnt afraid of squaring off with Trump in court.

The indictment was handed down by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on March 30.

It concerns payments to Daniels made by Trumps then-lawyer, Michael Cohen.

She alleges the money was paid as part of a non-disclosure agreement meant to keep her quiet about a one-time consensual romantic encounter between the two in 2006.

Trump has maintained that the supposed affair never took place.

In 2018, Daniels signed a statement denying any sexual relations with Trump.

In March 2018, she agreed with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes that the statement was, in his words, a lie.

If it was untruthful, why did you sign it? he asked.

Because they made it sound like I had no choice, she responded, later clarifying that she did not mean she was threatened with physical violence.

In her Times Radio interview, Daniels said she had participated in a video conference with Trumps prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorneys office.

She said she told them what I did and made it clear that I was willing to go on the stand and tell my story if they needed me.

Daniels also criticized her former attorney, Michael Avenatti.

Avenatti, who once considered running for president as a Democrat, was given a four-year prison term in June 2022 after stealing almost $300,000 in book sale proceeds from Danielsone of a string of convictions he has recently faced.

In December 2022, Avenatti received a 14-year sentence for defrauding clients out of millions and for obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service.

The celebrity lawyer has done great evil for which he must answer, said U.S. District Judge James Selna, who sentenced Avenatti.

Daniels Ideal Outcome

The Times Radio interviewer asked Daniels, What would a win look like for youwhat would you like the outcome to be?

I can only speak from a selfish and personal opinion on that, and thats that it is revealed that I was telling the truth, she said, adding that she hoped to show that a person in power is not exempt from the law, not matter what your job is or your bank account says.

From a broader perspective, if somebody gets away with bad behavior, then it encourages other people to do that as well. And it scares people from, you know, coming forward and feeling safeand thats not okay, Daniels continued.

She added that she hopes justice is served.
Taiwans President Visits US, as Former President Makes Trip to China

Analysts say Taiwan's upcoming 2024 election front of mind

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (R) and former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou (L) greet to the crowd in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 20, 2016. (Ashley Pon/Getty Images)

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party is visiting the United States, while former President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang opposition party made a cross-strait journey to mainland China for an ancestor worship trip.

Observers say that in the next 10 days, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) will debate fiercely over pro-U.S. and pro-China topics, as the parties ramp up toward Taiwans 2024 presidential election.

Tsai set off to visit Central American allies on March 29, stopping in New York along the way. While passing through New York on March 30, she received the Global Leadership Award from the Hudson Institute. Shes scheduled to transit through Los Angeles on her return trip on April 5, when shell give a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and also is expected to meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy attend an event with members of the Taiwanese community in New York in a handout picture released on March 30, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)

In Beijing, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for Chinas ruling Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) Taiwan Affairs Office, shortly before Tsais departure threatened retaliation in response to any meeting with the U.S. lawmaker.

We firmly oppose it and will take resolute countermeasures, but didnt specify what actions the regime would take.

Mas Trip to Mainland China

Ma left for mainland China on March 27 to visit the Nanjing Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Sun is the founding father of the Republic of China (1911present). On March 28, Ma left flowers at a bronze statue of Sun, who died in 1925.

The island of Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Qing dynasty of China after its defeat in the first SinoJapanese war in 1895. Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule until 1945, when Japan surrendered and returned Taiwan to the Republic of China (ROC).

In 1949, when the communists took over mainland China and established the communist state under the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), the KMT government of the ROC retreated to Taiwanthe last territory of the ROC, which still exists today. Taiwans official name is the Republic of China.

A Republic of China flag is seen at a campaign rally by Taiwan President and ruling Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 8, 2012. (Aaron Tam/AFP/Getty Images)

The CCP in mainland China welcomed Mas visit at a downgraded levela deputy provincial level, international media reported, unlike the deputy state head level with which they greeted former Nationalist Party Chairman Lian Zhan during his 2005 visit; that reflects the CCPs doubling down on its claim that Taiwan is a province to be ruled by the regime in Beijing.

U.S.-based China affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan stated on his talk show for Epoch Times sister media outlet NTD that the Republic of China has existed for 112 years, since 1911, and its legal status has never changed.

The biggest reason for Chinas division, so far, is that the CCP created civil strife and established a separate regime. In essence, there is no difference between the current situation of separate rule by the sea between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the separate rule by the river in history that divided the north and the south of China as different states.

During Mas visit, he made mention of Taiwan by its official name, the Republic of China, on April 1 during a speech at the burial site of his ancestors in Hunan provinces Xiangtan city.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (R) and then-Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (L) at the Shangri-la Hotel in Singapore on Nov. 7, 2015. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

However, when meeting with the communist partys secretary of Jiangsu province, Xin Changxing, Ma expressed that hell adhere to the 1992 consensus. In 1992, the then-ruling KMT of Taiwan signed an agreement with the CCP in which both parties agreed that theres only one China. However, the agreement was ambiguous, as it didnt define China. The CCP insists that the one China is ruled by the PRC. Some people in Taiwan reject that 1992 consensus.

I hope that both sides of the Taiwan Strait will pursue peace and avoid war, Ma also said in an interview with mainland Chinese media.

The CCP has two strategies. On the one hand, they welcome Mas visit, Chen Wen-Chia, a senior consultant of the Taiwan National Policy Research Institute and director of the National and Regional Development Research Center of Kainan University, told The Epoch Times on March 29. On the other hand, they deliberately downgrade the reception for him to the level of former regional leader to cause dissatisfaction among Taiwanese people.

For the Taiwanese people, they are generally optimistic about Mas visit to China. But if he fails to properly represent Taiwans sovereignty and dignity, his trip may cause a negative effect (on the KMTs election campaign).

Now that the competition between the United States and China is so fierce and President Ma is visiting China now, he wants to take a more active and conciliatory role in the changing international situation, Wu Chonghan, an associate professor at the Department of Foreign Affairs of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, said on March 28.

There are also different opinions within the KMT regarding the 1992 Consensus. This time Ma visited China, he mainly wanted to direct the Blue Camps (KMT) cross-strait rhetoric toward being pro-China.

Eyes on 2024

Taiwan will hold its presidential election on Jan. 13, 2024. The current chairman of the ruling DPP and the nations current vice president, Lai Ching-te, has registered and will represent the DPP to run for president; Tsai is term-limited from running for a third term. The KMT hasnt announced its presidential candidate yet.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai Ching-te attend inaugural celebrations at the Taipei Guest House on May 20, 2020. (Taiwan Presidential Office)

This time, it feels like a competition, as Tsai is visiting the United States while Ma is visiting mainland China, Wu said. They are also planning their parties stance on cross-strait relations or relations with the United States.

Chen believes that under current tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Ma intends to use his peace trip to help the KMT gain more votes and boost his partys presidential campaign.

Ma Ying-jeous pro-China expression may have a negative impact on the election of the KMT because after 2020, the Taiwanese publics [negative] opinion toward China has not changed much, Chen Fang-yu, assistant professor of politics at Soochow University in Taiwan, told The Epoch Times on March 28. Although the DPP lost in the 2022 local elections, the publics views on the China issue has not changed.

According to a survey released by Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council on March 23, 83.7 percent of the Taiwanese surveyed agree with the resumption of orderly exchanges between the two sides of the strait after the COVID-19 pandemic. With regard to cross-strait relations, 88.9 percent of the people support maintaining the status quo in a broad sense but for the CCPs proposal of one country, two systems, 83.6 percent of respondents disapprove.

Additionally, 84.3 percent of respondents reject the CCPs ongoing push for other countries to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan and hinder Taiwans participation in international affairs.

Chen told The Epoch Times on March 29 that cross-strait relations between Taiwan and mainland China are unlikely to improve anytime soon.

Under the DPP administration, Taiwan is joining the alliance with the United States and Japan to contain the CCP. Meanwhile, the CCP confronts the United States, while cooperating with Russia. So, it will not show goodwill toward Taiwan officially, he said. The only thing that is going between the two sides of the strait is nongovernmental exchanges and contacts.

U.S.-based current affairs commentator Li Linyi told The Epoch Times that the moves of the KMT and DPP are essentially testing Taiwans public opinion as both parties fight for power in the 2024 Taiwan general election.

At present, the CCP is mainly using indirect means to join forces with pro-communist forces on the island to try to influence public opinion in Taiwan, Li said. The United States will take measures to counter the CCP, based on the CCPs actions toward Taiwan.

The four-way interaction between the KMT, the DPP, the CCP, and the United States is likely to have a decisive impact on the final outcome of the general election in Taiwan next year.

Lin Cenxin contributed to this report.
Trump Indictment Unifies GOP, Undermines Americans Trust in Justice System: Experts

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The indictment of Donald Trump, which appears to have intensified the former presidents base within the Republican Party, may very well dampen any trust Americans have in the justice system, political and legal experts say.

I think this is going to backfire. I think this is going to leave a bad taste in peoples mouths, Gavin Wax, president of the New York Young Republican Club, told The Epoch Times. Its bigger than Trump.

Meanwhile, five Republicans who are seeking to outstep Trump for the partys nomination for president have put political differences aside to condemn Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for the indictment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hasnt yet declared his intention although hes considered to be Trumps biggest rival for the nomination, called the indictment un-American and vowed that his state wouldnt assist with extradition of Trump to New York.

Trump, who is a New York native, has been living in Palm Beach, Florida, at Mar-a-Lago, his home and private club, since leaving the White House. He also stays at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course during the summer.

The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American, DeSantis wrote in a Twitter post.

Even New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who is a well-known Trump critic, condemned the indictment, saying he thinks the former president is being attacked.

Trumps attorney Jesse Binnall told NTDs Capitol Report that he believes that the Bragg indictment will be perceived as prosecutorial bullying that will, alarmingly, broadly cast the justice system in a poor light.

Its a very, very dangerous road that they have decided to go down here, he said.

Immediately following the announcement of the Trump indictment, longtime columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, who has been critical of Trump, even joined Trump loyalists in warning that Bragg may end up bringing unwanted scrutiny not only to his office, but also to the entire U.S. justice system.

In a column titled The Wrong Indictment Against Trump, the Wall Street Journal columnist wrote the indictment is below usnot below him, but us.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, known to be pro-Trump, said that even if the allegations against Trump prove to be true, it will end up discrediting the U.S. justice system.

If reports are to be believed, it is not merely an unworthy exercise of prosecutorial discretion. It is one that will threaten the legitimacy of the justice systemon the public acceptance of which the rule of law hinges, he wrote in a March 31 commentary for the National Review.

Wax says that Braggs avowed soft-on-crime agenda beginning in 2022 has created distrust in the conjoined U.S. political and justice systems, especially given the violent nature of the cases that he isnt prosecuting.

He is not prosecuting rapists. Hes not prosecuting assaults, people committing a burglary, or mugging people, or people with long raps, Wax said. He has this worldview of narco-tyranny that hes going to allow criminals to rampage the streets, but then go after Trump for basically [what] was effectively a bookkeeping infraction.

Two of the crimes Bragg hasnt prosecuted recently are a hate crime against a Jewish man and a group of teens violently assaulting FOX weatherman Adam Klotz at a New York subway station.

Bragg has brought a sort of unity to the GOP.

Conservative television host and pro-Trumper Tucker Carlson said on his show that the indictment likely regarding a payment that federal regulators said [several years ago] violated no law will send American politics into complete chaos, perhaps permanently, as presidential historian Michael Beschloss told MSNBC, Tomorrow, I think, in terms of American history, we will be waking up in a different country.

Gene Healey, senior vice president of policy of the Cato Institute, warned in a 2004 article that the broadening of laws was expanding more opportunities for the abuse of prosecutorial power. It was based on the indictment and conviction of Martha Stewart at the time for insider trading.

In the article, Healey quoted a famous 1940 speech by U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson.

With the law books filled with a great assortment of crimes, a prosecutor stands a fair chance of finding at least a technical violation of some act on the part of almost anyone.

The great danger, Jackson said, is that he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted.
Trump Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe Says Manhattan DA Indictment Leak Is a Felony

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said that the leaking of information suggesting that former President Donald Trump would be indicted is a crime, suggesting that someone inside Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office committed a felony offense.

The only felony of which we can be certain to come out of this Alvin Bragg prosecution in New York is the felony committed either by DA Bragg himself or someone on the grand jury that hes using for this perversion of our justice system, Ratcliffe told Sunday Morning Futures on Fox Business.

Since last week, anonymously sourced reports said that Trump could be charged with as many as three-dozen counts in connection to Braggs investigation. The indictment, which was voted on by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30, has not yet been unsealed by a judge.

Both NBC News and CNN cited sources familiar with the indictment, although they did not specify whether it was someone on the grand jury, an official in Braggs office, or someone else. Neither Trump nor his lead attorney, Joe Tacopina, have seen the indictment or know the charges yet, and the former president is expected to arrive in Manhattan for his arraignment on Tuesday.

The accused, Donald Trump, and his lawyers, dont know whats in this sealed indictment. But for the past  72 hours, the American public has been discussing supposedly 30 or 34 felony counts, Ratcliffe, a former Texas Republican congressman before he was appointed by Trump, told the outlet. Leaking grand jury information is a felony, and so the only people capable of that would be Alvin Braggs team or members of the grand jury itself.

Other than Ratcliffe, former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz suggested in an interview OANN-TV that leaks to the press about the indictment could be a violation of New York state law. Somebody criminally leaked the indictment before it was supposed to come out, he said, adding that New York law provides one to five years in prison for a grand juror, prosecutor, police officer, or another official who discloses any aspect of an ongoing grand jury proceeding.

Dershowitz, a high-profile criminal defense attorney, claimed that Bragg appears unwilling to investigate criminal leaks by one of his people. The Epoch Times has contacted Braggs office for comment on the leaks.

According to N.Y. Penal Law  215.70, when a grand juror, a public prosecutor, a grand jury stenographer, a grand jury interpreter, a police officer, or a peace officer intentionally discloses to another the nature or substance of any grand jury testimony, or any decision, result or other matter attending a grand jury proceeding which is required by law to be kept secret, except in the proper discharge of his official duties or upon written order of the court, they are guilty of unlawful grand jury disclosure. Thats a class E felony under New York state law.

Braggs office on Thursday issued a statement saying that the prosecutors team had been in contact with Trumps legal counsel to arrange his surrender and arraignment in Manhattan. Tacopina told The Epoch Times last week that Trump will appear for his arraignment on Tuesday, April 4, while a spokesperson for Trumps campaign said Sunday that the former president will make a speech that evening at 8:15 p.m. ET.

All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air, other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say, Not guilty,' Tacopino told CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. Hopefully this will be as painless and classy as possible for a situation like this, Tacopino added, describing the charges as politically motivated.

Tacopina maintained it was unlikely Trump will face a perp walk, where an individual who has been charged is walked in front of the media. Last year, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was subject to a perp walk while in handcuffs to face his arraignment in New York state, telling the press: This is what happens on the last days of a dying regime. They will never shut me up.

Before the indictment, Braggs office was investigating a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and denied having an affair with Daniels in the mid-2000s.
Trump Lawyer Predicts Motion to Dismiss Charges in Grand Jury Indictment

Former President Donald Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina said that he does not know what to expect when the former president is arraigned in New York City on charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office but suggested that Trump file a motion to dismiss it.

Tacopina said that his team has not yet seen the indictment, which is still sealed.

We will take the indictment. We will dissect it. The team will look at every, every potential issue that we will be able to challenge and we will challenge, and of course I very much anticipate a motion to dismiss coming because theres no law that fits this, Tacopina told CNN on Sunday.

In a separate interview, the lawyer indicated that he doesnt know what to expect when Trump arrives in Manhattan for his arraignment. Last week, he confirmed to The Epoch Times that Trump will surrender on Tuesday, April 4.

Ive done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot, but this is a whole different thing, said Tacopina, who has represented a large number of high-profile individuals, in an ABC News interview on Sunday. We have Secret Service involved. I understand theyre closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just dont know what to expect to see.

What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that its at the end of the day, a typical arraignment, where we stand before the judge, we say, not guilty, we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery and we move forward and get out of there, he added. As a lawyer, I want this to be done as smoothly and quickly as possible and begin this fight to do really  to put justice back on course to the degree weve had because Ive said, once the rule of law falls in this country or is stretched so far to try and get a political opponent, its often hard to get that rule of law back to its original shape.

Late last week, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on undisclosed charges. In a statement, the district attorney issued a statement saying that prosecutors are working with Trumps legal team on the arraignment, although its not clear when that may occur.

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 Attorneys Office said in a March 30 statement. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.

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)

Bragg has been investigating Trump for 2016 payments that were made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and whether those payments were misclassified. An investigation into Trump was opened in 2019 by then-Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance on potential bank, tax, and insurance fraud, but that was later dropped.

On Sunday, Tacopina argued that the charges against Trump are politically motivated and Bragg had to cobble some misdemeanors together to show that it was done with intent to cover up another crime. He added that both the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Southern District of New York said that it did not happen.

Im not going to be shocked to see whats in this indictment, Tacopina said. Im going to be curious, of course. But we do know that the counts revolve around the interaction with his settlement agreement with Stormy Daniels.

Gearing Up for a Battle

Also in the interview, Tacopina revealed more details about Trumps mindset ahead of his arraignment, noting that everythings on the table in terms of his future plans.

Hes gearing up for a battle. You know, this is something that, obviously, we believe is a political persecution and I think people on both sides of the aisle believe that, he said. Its a complete abuse of power. Hes a tough guy  and hes someone whos going to be ready for this fight. Were ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him.

When asked whether Trump will try to move his trial to Staten Island, which leans Republican, Tacopina demurred. Reports that cited anonymous sources claimed that Trump would do so.

I mean theres been no discussion of that whatsoever. We havent seen  like you pointed out earlier, we havent seen the indictment yet, he said in response. Its way [too] premature to start worrying about venue changes until we really see the indictment and grapple with the legal issues. And theres  before you make motions like venue changes, you have to do some  some research. Were way [too] early to start deciding what motions were going to file or not file and  and we do need to see the indictment and get to work. I mean, look, this is the beginning.
Trump to Address Nation on Tuesday Night From Mar-a-Lago Just Hours After Arraignment

Campaign spokesperson confirms speech will take place starting 8:15 p.m. ET

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower the day after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home, in New York on Aug. 9, 2022. (David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters)

Former President Donald Trump will hold a speech on Tuesday night at his Mar-a-Lago resort, a senior 2024 campaign adviser confirmed on Sunday morning.

Trump adviser Jason Miller confirmed to Newsmax on Sunday he would deliver the speech at his Florida residence after he is arraigned by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg following a grand jury indictment last week.

Trump is going to be giving a speech on Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago 8:15 p.m. I think the entire world will be watching just how strong and just how fervent he is, that we must continue this Make America Great Again movement, because you cant have Trump policies without President Trump, Miller told the channel.

Miller did not elaborate on the contents of Trumps speech. The former president delivered his 2024 campaign announcement at Mar-a-Lago in mid-November.

Nobody wants to go see the tribute band when the Rolling Stones are still playing, he added. Theyre here for President Trump and the Republican Party is solidly behind him. Miller also said that recent polls show that Trump has a decisive lead over Joe Biden in the general presidential election.

Braggs office is investigating Trump regarding payments he made to adult performer Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign and whether he misclassified those payments as business expenses rather than campaign expenses. The former president and his lawyers have criticized the case as politically motivated and an attempt to harm his 2024 chances.

The indictment, however, has not been unsealed by Braggs office. Legal experts have said that in New York, those court documents are unsealed after a defendant appears in court for arraignment.

A lawyer for the former president, Joe Tacopina, told The Epoch Times last week that he will surrender for his arraignment in New York City on Tuesday, April 4. Its not clear if Trump will also make a statement then or how it will be handled as some have speculated that the former president would have to get his mugshot taken.

There were reports indicating that his arraignment would be planned at around 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but Miller suggested that the president could be taking a morning trip to the courthouse. It takes about two hours to travel by plane from South Florida to New York City.

Since it was reported that Trump would be indicted, the former president has not kept a low profile amid his third presidential bid. The president, who frequently criticizes Democrats including Bragg and President Joe Biden, has been using it as a campaign fundraising opportunity. Reports say he generated at least $4 million in contributions in the 24 hours after he was indicted.

Trump has also criticized the judge assigned to the case as another example of the investigation being part of a political witch hunt.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. (Alon Skuy/AFP via Getty Images)

The Judge assigned to my Witch Hunt Case, a Case that has never been charged before, hates me, Trump said on Truth Social Friday. The judge, acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, was hand picked by the Democratic district attorney, Trump alleged.

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! the former president also wrote on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, Tacopina told ABC News on Sunday that he does not know what to expect during the Tuesday arraignment.

Ive done a million arrangements in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot, but this is a whole different thing. We have Secret Service involved, he noted. I understand theyre closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just dont know what to expect to see.

But the attorney said he hopes that Trump can get in and out of the courthouse as quickly as possible. He predicts that it will be a typical arrangement, where we stand before the judge, we say, not guilty, we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery and we move forward and get out of there.
UK In Negotiations After 3 British Men Detained by Taliban in Afghanistan

Undated handout file photo of Miles Routledge in Afghanistan, issued on April 1, 2023. (Miles Routledge via PA Media)

The UK government is in negotiations after reports that three British men are being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the home secretary said on Sunday.

The Presidium Network, a UK-based non-profit organisation, named one of the men as Kevin Cornwell, a 53-year-old charity medic from Middlesbrough.

Presidium said it is assisting Cornwell and another unnamed British man, who were detained by Taliban secret police on Jan. 11.

The organisation also confirmed that a third BritonMiles Routledgeis in Taliban custody.

Routledge, 23, is a British holidaymaker from Birmingham who received widespread attention and criticism on social media in August 2021 having travelled to Afghanistan despite the Talibans rapid military advances across the nation.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives in Downing Street, central London, on March 7, 2023. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News, Suella Braverman said that anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution and always act on the travel advice issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).

She added: If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe. And the government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.

Pressed on whether negotiations are currently happening, Braverman replied: If there are problems and if there are safety concerns to British individuals abroad, then the FCDO will be working actively to ensure people are safe.

Taliban fighters keeping a watch at an outpost in Tawakh Village of Anaba district, Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, on July 8, 2022. (Wakil Khosar/AFP via Getty Images)

In Good Health

Scott Richards, co-founder of the Presidium Network, said on Saturday that there had been no contact with the men but he had been told that those men are in good health and being treated well.

I have no reason to believe they have been subject to any poor treatment whatsoever, he told the PA news agency.

He said the men are being held in a general directorate of intelligence facility for foreigners.

Commenting on the UK governments role in this issue on Sunday, Richards said, The FCDO would be fully anticipated to be using its available resources to support the negotiations and understand the circumstances facing the detainees.

We are not privileged with any information pertaining to their actions and, should we become aware of them, we would be unable to discuss, he added.

We certainly welcome their assistance and would be pleased to cooperate alongside, as we have done in the past.

An FCDO spokesman said: We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.

Travel Advice

The FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks, including detention.

In its travel adviceupdated on March 22, 2023the FCDO said: You should not travel to Afghanistan.

The security situation in Afghanistan remains extremely volatile. There is an ongoing and high threat of terrorist attacks through Afghanistan, including around the airport.

There is a heightened threat of terrorist attacks in or around religious sites and during religious festivals, such as the month of Ramadan. Travel throughout Afghanistan is extremely dangerous, and border crossings may not be open.

The Foreign Office added: There are currently no British consular officials in Afghanistan and our ability to provide consular assistance is severely limited and cannot be delivered in person within Afghanistan.

If you choose to travel to or stay in Afghanistan against FCDO advice, you should keep a low profile. Be vigilant, try to avoid all crowds and public events including religious events, and take appropriate security precautions.

The travel advice emphasised that there is a heightened risk of detention of British nationals.

The British government may not be notified about such detentions; communications with next of kin may not be guaranteed; and detention may be lengthy, it added.

Dark Chapter

The UKs involvement in Afghanistan began as part of a U.S.-led coalition in 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Some 457 UK military personnel lost their lives during the 20-year war, which cost British taxpayers more than 27 billion ($33 billion).

Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade who returned from helping in operations to evacuate people from Kabul airport in Afghanistan walk to the air terminal after disembarking an RAF Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England, on Aug. 28, 2021. (Alastair Grant/PA)

NATO forces were forced to withdraw in August 2021 after the Taliban took over the country. The evacuation, codenamed Operation Pitting, resulted in 15,000 Afghans who had worked with British authorities being brought to the UK but left many behind.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Committee of the House of Commons, said in February that the chaotic withdrawal was a dark chapter in UK military history.

He said the government should carry out a review of the UKs 20-year Afghan mission to take an unflinching look at where we went wrong.

It is only through this that we can learn the necessary lessons and prevent this from ever happening again, he added.

PA Media contributed to this report.
A highway section linking New Belgrade to Surcin of Serbia was opened for traffic on Saturday.

The section, a part of the E-763 highway, is around 8-kilometer long and has three lanes in each direction, a five-meter dividing strip, two-meter-wide pedestrian paths, and bicycle lanes.

The construction of the section began in March 2021 and was conducted by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

The project, worth about 70.5 million U.S. dollars, is of high priority for Serbia as it will enable a fast connection between Belgrade and the E-763 highway and create a short link between Belgrade and the Adriatic Sea.

Attending the opening ceremony in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia is heading into new infrastructural investments thanks to good financial results this year and low public debt.

"This year, we expect to sign large contracts, thanks to slightly better results... This is the success of Serbia, but also of all our citizens," Vucic said.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, several ministers, the mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Sapic, and the Chinese ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo also attended the ceremony.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
UN Calls for Release of Detained Pro-Democracy Activist for Urgent Medical Treatment

Former Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Albert Ho, after his arrest by police, in Hong Kong, on March 21, 2023. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Former Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Albert Ho Chun-yan, has been arrested by the national security police for allegedly obstructing justice during his bail while charged with incitement to subvert state power. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed great concern regarding this incident and the ongoing case under the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL).

On March 28, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights tweeted that it was closely following the ongoing case of the NSL with great concern. They specifically mentioned Ho Chun-yan, detained in March, and urged authorities to release him for urgent medical treatment.

This tweet coincided with the 33rd day of the trial of the 47 pro-democracy activists charged with conspiracy to subvert state power, where the second prosecution witness, Chiu Ka-yin, was initially scheduled to testify. However, due to one of the judges, Chan Chung-hing, falling ill, the trial was postponed until March 29.

It has been reported that Ho was detained in the high-security Stanley Prison after his bail was revoked. According to reports from Radio France Internationale, Ho was mainly held in solitary confinement, and his condition fluctuated.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Uneasy about Hong Kong National Security Law

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has closely monitored the NSL, and in his first speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 7, Volker Turk, who was appointed as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in October 2022, expressed concern about the human rights of ethnic minorities such as Uighurs and Tibetans by the Chinese Communist Party. He was also worried about the increasing restriction of civic space, including the arbitrary detention of human rights defenders and lawyers. While calling for action from Beijing, he also expressed concern about the impact of the NSL.

When the 47-person case commenced in February 2023, Turk said it was crucial to abide by international human rights law, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He reposted the deliberation of the UN Human Rights Committees call for the Hong Kong government to abolish the NSL and the crime of incitement.

On July 27, 2022, the UN Human Rights Committee issued a review report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the Hong Kong government, criticizing the arrest of over 200 citizens, as well as the dissolution of labor unions and student unions since the implementation of the NSL in 2020. The Committee urged the Hong Kong government to abolish the NSL.

National Security Law Repeatedly Criticized for Violating Human Rights

In October 2022, seven members of the social organization Glory to Hong Kong were found guilty of conspiring to incite subversion of state power, the first time minors had been convicted under the NSL in Hong Kong. Among them, five defendants under 21 were sentenced to reeducation through labor. Ravina Shamdasani, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson, expressed shock at the verdict.

At that time, she pointed out that although the United Nations Human Rights Committee had explicitly recommended in July that the Hong Kong government abolish the NSL. The committee regretted seeing that the law was still being applied in Hong Kong, including targeting children. She reminded the Hong Kong government that its judicial and law enforcement should be in line with the obligations set forth in international human rights law.

In October 2021, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement saying that several United Nations human rights experts expressed deep concern over the detention of the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China in September 2021 and urged the authorities to refrain from using the NSL and to review its application. At that time, the vice-chairman was accused of inciting subversion of state power. The experts pointed out that such sedition charges were improperly stifling basic rights protected by international law, including the right to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and participation in public affairs.



They were also concerned about the definition of foreign agents under the National Security Law. They believed that such regulatory measures improperly restricted and punished recipients of foreign funds, infringing on the right to freedom of association and other human rights. The NSL in Hong Kong fundamentally contradicted international law and Chinas human rights obligations.

Before the Communist Party of China imposed the NSL, she said she was closely monitoring the National Peoples Congresss review of the draft of the law and believed that any laws in Hong Kong and their implementation must fully comply with Chinas human rights obligations and respect the relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights applicable to Hong Kong.

She also pointed out at that time that any law related to national security should have a clear scope and definition and only allow strict and necessary restrictions on human rights.

Meaningful legislative and judicial supervision should be implemented for the enforcement of such laws. She further stated that such laws must never be used to suppress people who exercise their rights.
US Extends Carrier Deployment After Syria Attack

The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier anchored off Stokes Bay in the Solent, Britain, on July 27, 2017. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)

WASHINGTONThe United States has decided to extend the deployment of the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group to provide options to policymakers after last weeks deadly attacks in Syria by Iran-backed forces, U.S. military officials said on Friday.

The decision likely means the Bush strike group and its more than 5,000 U.S. forces, which are now in the European Command operational area, will not be returning to home port in the United States on schedule.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino confirmed the carrier groups extension, which was first reported by Reuters.

The extension of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group, inclusive of the USS Leyte Gulf, the USS Delbert D. Black, and the USNS Arctic, allows options to potentially bolster the capabilities of CENTCOM to respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East, Buccino said in a statement.

Buccino also noted a scheduled, expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the region.

News of the deployment came a day after the Pentagon doubled its tally of the number of American troops wounded in last weeks attacks in Syria to 12, following the diagnosis of six U.S. military personnel with traumatic brain injuries.

The attacks also killed an American contractor and injured another.

President Joe Biden warned Iran last week that the United States would act forcefully to protect Americans. The Pentagon has estimated eight militants were killed during retaliatory U.S. air strikes against two Iran-linked facilities in Syria during the tit-for-tat exchanges triggered by the first March 23 attack against a U.S. base near the Syrian city of Hasaka.

The White House said on Monday that the incidents would not trigger a U.S. pullback from the nearly eight-year-old U.S. deployment to Syria, where American troops and local Kurdish-led partners are battling the remnants of the ISIS terrorist group.

Still, the United States has formally prioritized in its national security policies Russia, Ukraine, and the Asia-Pacific above the Middle East after two decades of U.S. intervention in the region during its global war against terrorism.

That has led to an overall decline in U.S. military personnel and assets in the Middle East.
Western Australia Premier to Visit China for First Time Since Pandemic

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has announced his decision to visit China for the first time in four years.

McGowan said the visit is a great opportunity to strengthen partnerships with the Chinese communist leaders, as well as industry leaders across energy, resources, science and innovation, international education, and aviation.

It will be the first visit for the Labor leader since in April, 2019, when he attended the International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas in Shanghai.

My first official overseas mission after taking office in 2017 was to China, and I am looking forward to returning again this month, to highlight our strong trade relationship, the Labor premier said in a statement.

Developed over several decades, our economic relationship with China is a mutually fruitful one. It is a relationship that continues to grow.

Read More US Capital Is the Lifeline of the Chinese Communist Party: Roger Robinson Interview

China is Western Australias largest trading partner, with $143.6 billion of goods traded in 202122.

Minerals is a key component of the trade relationship, with Western Australia exporting 80 percent of its iron ore to China. China is WAs largest market for battery mineral exports, and with the push for the production and use of battery electric vehicles in China, it is expected that demand for battery minerals will continue to rise.

China is Western Australias second largest source for international students, accounting for 11 percent of the states total international student enrolments in 2022.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China was Western Australias fifth largest market for international visits, with 66,720 visits in 2018-19.

Victorian Premier Visits China After Pandemic

The move came after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews came back from his four-day trip in China. Andrews, who was the first Australian leader to travel to China since the beginning of the pandemic, said his China visit wont be the last.

The Labor leader also claimed that his decision not to invite journalists to his China trip was not under his control.

When you travel to China, you dont get to interview any of the people I would meet with. Thats just how it works, he told reporters in Melbourne of the communist-ruled state.

Im not saying it was a good thing or not. Ive done more press conferences then most. Some of them can be very, very lengthy. I try to answer any questions you have for me.

The notion that if youd been there, youd be able to have a long chat or a long chat with the people I met with, thats never happened.

When asked about the Belt and Road Initiative that he signed with Chinas ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)a decision that was later scrapped by the federal Coalition governmentAndrews said, that matter [is] in the past, this trip is about the future.

Im sure that infrastructure, both infrastructure needs in China and some of our challenges and needs here, may well be talked about, he said. This is the infrastructure capital of our nation, so no doubt theyll be interested.

Victorias trade with China in 2022 was in excess of $40 billion. The state also enrolled about 42,000 Chinese students in Victorian higher education settings.

Stability in Indo-Pacific

Attempts to invigorate the relationship with China at the state level come as the federal government moves to address the CCPs growing threats and challenges to the international rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.

The federal Labor government recently announced a new AUKUS submarine deal with the United States and United Kingdom. The submarine pact will see Australia replace its six Collins-class diesel-electric submarines with eight nuclear-powered submarines over the course of the next 30 years.

Meanwhile, newly elected New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said he did not intend to follow his state counterparts and visit the communist government.

Delegations are not a major priority for the NSW government, he told Sky News on Sunday.

We want to see more international students on the ground in NSW but I believe I can do that on the ground here in this state.
Where Was Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou Born?

Why does it matter?

Taiwan's former president, Ma Ying-jeou (C), speaks to journalists before his visit to China from the Taoyuan international airport in Taiwan on March 27, 2023. Ma's travel to China is the first cross-strait visit by a current or former leader of Taiwan in more than 70 years, though he will not visit Beijing and has no current plans to meet Chinese government officials, his spokesman said on March 20. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

In 2009, a controversy arose during then-President Ma Ying-jeous administration (20082016) concerning his Taiwan birthplace. Due to his supposed first visit to communist China last week, questions about this story are returning. How will this story play out during his visit?

This article will lay out the historical background and ask important questions about Ma and the future of Taiwan.

Why Bring This Topic Up Now?

The Chinese city of Shenzhen had a curious announcement on March 21. The Shenzhen Daily said the following in English on its website:

Spokesperson extends welcome to Ma Ying-jeou.

A mainland spokesperson yesterday extended a welcome to former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou, who will visit the mainland March 27.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland is willing to do its part to facilitate Ma Ying-jeous visit, and wished him a good journey.

Ma Ying-jeou will visit the mainland to pay respects to his ancestors ahead of the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-sweeping Day.

In the meantime, he will lead a group of Taiwan students who will come to the mainland for communication and exchanges.

Paying respects to ancestors around the Qingming Festival is a tradition shared by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, said Ma Xiaoguang. He added that by enhancing communication, young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can create new impetus for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Ma Ying-jeou will visit Nanjing, Wuhan and Changsha, as well as other cities, said Hsiao Hsu-tsen, director of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.

Why would the Shenzhen Daily post a welcome message in English before Mas visit to China? Is there a special relationship between Ma and Shenzhen? Let us look at the historical background.

A man sets up his camera as he looks across Deep Bay toward the Chinese mainland city of Shenzhens (back) skyline from Hong Kong on Sept. 12, 2018. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

1 Birth Certificate: 2 Discrepancies

On Nov. 24, 1980, Mas first daughter was born in Massachusetts while he was studying law.

When someone is born in the United States, the state requires the parents to provide their names, occupations, ages, where they were born, and other information, and to testify that the information is correct by signing the birth certificate. In this example, Ma signed the birth certificate and testified that he was born in Shenzhen.

In the same birth certificate that Ma signed, he certified that the information provided in this form is true and correct, former First Lady Christine Mei-Ching Chows birthplace is listed as Nanking, China. However, Chow claims that she was born in Hong Kong in 1952. Chow is also a lawyer who graduated from the New York University School of Law.

Additional Evidence That Ma Was Born in Shenzhen

According to press reporting in 2009, at least three different documents showed that Ma had claimed his birthplace was Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, not Hong Kong under UK rule. DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong argued that Ma had lied about his birthplace.

According to Taipei Times, Chai said that between 1981 and 1982, Ma signed three documents that proved he was not born in Hong Kong. Ma wrote in his first unpublished autobiography and on the birth certificate of his daughter Lesley Ma () that he was born in Shenzhen. In a second autobiography, Ma wrote Guangdong Province as his birthplace. Shenzhen is in Guangdong Province.

Showing copies of the three manuscripts at a press conference yesterday, Chai told reporters that Mas signatures on the three documents were identical, hence the documents were authentic, the report said.

Shenzhen is next to Hong Kong, but by 1949, communist China controlled Shenzhen.

Michael Richardson, a Boston Examiner investigative reporter, points out in a recent article that If Ma was really born in China, as he certified in 1980, that makes his Hong Kong story a deliberate falsification for political purposes. If Ma was really born in Hong Kong, then one is forced to ask why would Ma have lied on his daughters birth certificate?

Mas Official Record

According to the official Republic of China (ROC, Taiwans official name) Presidential website, Mas family was originally from Hengshan County in Hunan Province on the Chinese mainland, and born in Hong KongYau Ma Tei, British Hong Kong on July 13, 1950. According to his former offices website, his family escaped Hengshan County in Hunan Province to Hong Kong, where he was born. A year later, his family moved to Taiwan.

What Other Information Is Available?

Mas presidential spokesperson Wang Yu-chi traveled to Hong Kong and claimed that he was able to find Mas Hong Kong birth certificate showing that Ma was born in Hong Kong.

According to Baidu, the dominant internet search engine in China, Chow was born in Hong Kong and is a native of Nanjing. This might explain her notation that she is from (ancestral home) Nanjing, as she wrote on her first daughters birth certificate. Mas biography on the same website states that his ancestral home is Hengshan County, Hunan Province, which is over 397 miles away from Hong Kong or Shenzhen.

Mas Recent Trip to China

If Ma goes to Shenzhen to visit his relatives, this action will reinforce the previously held argument that it is Mas birthplace. If nothing happens in Shenzhen, then the official story could hold true. The question remains as to why Ma wrote Shenzhen as his birthplace on at least three documents prior to his presidency.

Could it be that he and his wife did not want to claim their birthplace as Hong Kong on these documents because they did not want to acknowledge that a part of China was controlled by a foreign colonial power, the United Kingdom?

KMT Party Fears Mas Trip Will Help the Opposition

Several Koumintant (KMT) leaders have stated that Mas visit to China could have a negative effect on national elections in January 2024 by reminding voters that the KMT wants reunification sooner rather than later. In contrast, the majority of the population does not want any sort of Chinese annexation, even a Hong Kong light version. The messaging coming from Ma during his visit, as well as how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) describes his visit, may be key to the 2024 election.

According to the December 2022 survey of Taiwanese citizens political views about unification and independence conducted by the Election Study Center, National Chengchi University, only 1.2 percent of those surveyed want unification as soon as possible, and 6 percent want to maintain the status quo and move toward unification. In other words, only 7.2 percent want any sort of unification; 87.2 percent prefer the status quo or move toward independence. And 5.6 percent had no response. The current public opinion indicates the KMT faces challenges in the 2024 elections, especially if it appears too focused on unification or if the DPP forces the political discourse in this area. Mas visit to the mainland will not help the KMT.

Then-Taiwan President of the ruling Kuomintang Party Ma Ying-jeou and his wife Chou Mei-ching smile as they step on stage after voting results showed that he won the election at his campaign headquarters in Taipei on Jan. 14, 2012. (Aaron Tam/AFP/Getty Images)

Other KMT Mistakes

The KMT downplays Mas historical record of decreasing Taiwans national security in several areas during his eight years in office, such as removing mandatory conscription to an all-volunteer military force in 2014, reducing service time from one year to four months by 2016, and destabilizing Taiwans defense budget.

Taiwanese national security experts I interviewed argue Ma reduced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget, and eviscerated the Ministry of National Defenses Political Warfare Department and the Psychological Warfare Department that did so much to counter CCP propaganda and cognitive warfare.

Mas Massive Intelligence Failure

Mas opening of Taiwan to communist China brought about the dark decade due to the massive CCP espionage against Taiwanthe worst national security crisis since the establishment of the ROC. Peter Mattis, an intelligence expert, explained:

From 2006 to the present [2016], more than 40 Taiwanese citizens were prosecuted for espionage and espionage-related crimes involving China, including serving and retired officials, military officers, and businesspeople.  No part of the Taiwan government has been exempt, including the Office of the President, the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of Justice, and the military.  The cost was not just to Taiwans national security, but to its reputation for integrity and probably the willingness of foreign partners to collaborate in addressing shared intelligence and counterintelligence concerns related to China.

Even Mas office was not exempted from Mattiss indictment. Authors I. C. Smith and Nigel West, in their book, Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence (2018), noted that in 2009 a presidential aide, Wang Jen-ping, was convicted of having sold more than 100 confidential documents to the MSS [Chinas Ministry of State Security] over the previous two years.

Divide and Conquer

While in China, Ma parroted the CCP anti-Japanese propaganda by highlighting the trauma that Imperial Japan caused during World War II when he visited the Nanjing memorial. Taiwanese people, companies, and government all have friendly relations with Japan.

Mas incitement of anti-Japanese sentiment aligns with the CCP anti-Japanese propaganda infused in daily life in China, and is reflected in contemporary movies like Ip Man. Another example was the intense anti-Japanese sentiment expressed on Weibo shortly after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abes assassination. The CCP could have, but did not, shut down this virulent discourse.

The CCPs endorsed anti-Japanese propaganda, a divide and conquer tactic, contributed to bad feelings between Japan and Taiwan during perilous timesa possible kinetic war against Taiwan.

Reversing the Trend

The current DPP government is successfully reversing the damage done by the KMT to Taiwans national security. Over the past several years, the DPP has consistently increased the national defense budget from a low of $9.663 billion in 2016 to $12.958 billion by 2021.

The DPP continued to increase the defense budget in 2022 to $16.9 billion when accounting for the additional special budget and planned to grow to $18.1 billion (using a compound annual growth rate) by 2026, along with a fortuitous loan of $2 billion from the United States during the 20232027 period.

This $2 billion loan guarantee in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) allows Taiwan to purchase weapons via the Foreign Military Financing Loan and Loan Guarantee Authority (FMF) for the first time.

The $2 billion in aid allows Taiwan to increase its deterrence against CCP aggression and sends a message that the United States is willing to make a financial commitment, military hardware sales, and a moral commitment to Taiwan.

Conclusion

When former President Ma returns to Taiwan, will anyone ask him how he helped the island nation maintain its democracy and freedoms (as clearly delineated in the ROC Constitution) and enhance Taiwans security?

The answer is he will not have done any of these things, and he has consistently degraded Taiwans democracy, freedom, and national security.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Akhand Bharat dream





BY ER. NEAVE PARKAR :

INDIA got freedom from British empire on Aug 15,1947, consequently, Pakistan came into existence in the same year. It was adeliberate division planted by colonial regime, out of frustration, before leaving the subcontinent. Sufferings on both sides were endless, whilewounds are still seeping in spite of many full scale wars between them. Both countries are now members of worlds elite club of Atomic Powers; which acts as a deterrent for our noisy neighbour. If we recall the words of the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill about India- Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India. But today, unlike the verdict given by Churchill, India has emerged as economic power house i.e. fifth largest economy in the world. Not only India, even the people of Indian origin are holding key p o w e r f u l positions in the world today like Kamla Harris, VP of USA, Rishi Sunak (45) Prime Minister of UK since last five months in spite of deep political and economic turmoil. First Minister of Scotland, HamzaYusuf (37),also from Indian subcontinent, elected recently.

Leo Varadkar (40) Prime Minister of Ireland isalso of Indian origin.Varadkar recently visited his native village Varad in Maharashtra, on a private visit. In very near future, PM of UK, Rishi Sunak and First Minister of Scotland, Yusuf Hamza may meet across the table to decide the fate of United Kingdom(UK). On one side, Hamza is leading Scotlands movement for sepa r a t i o n from UK after Brexit, while on the other, Rishi is against the separation of Scotland from UK. In Ireland, as we know, all is not well too, with long painful history of war between Belfast and London, Leo Varadkar is facing many challenges. Looking on present situation, Churchills soul might be gazing eagerly with raised eyebrows from heaven; people from same Indian origin, as predicted by Churchill, like Sunak, Hamza and Varadkar are now deciding the fate of United Kingdom (UK). Is it not an absolutely unimaginable situation from Churchills point of view?

Does it not look like the scene from a Bollywood blockbuster ? Mother nature always acts as ultimate power for balancing, at the end of the day! Likewise, it may seem absurd today but who knows...tomorrow, the leaders of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma may meet and resolve for United Kingdom of India i.e. Akhand Bharat, a dream of our esteemed leaders! Recalling the lines of a famous Bhajan, Karam kiye ja... phal ki icha matkar aiye insaan, Jaise karam karega, waise phal dega bhagwan! Yeh hai Gita ka gyan!
Road safety neglected in India amid rapid infra devpt





 Kaushik Bhattacharya :

ROAD safety in India has remained a neglected concern amid the rapid development of urban areas, implementation of new traffic policies and awareness programmes by the governments, Rajesh Wagh, a renowned road safety activist, who dedicated his life for road safety awareness, told The Hitavada. Road safety and traffic issues have been a topic of discussion for the longest time now. However, how much impact it has on any Indian citizen still remains a question, he said. Jivan Suraksha Prakalp, founded by Rajesh Wagh, has saved thousands of road accident victims in the past two decades. Wagh bagged many state and national awards for his work. Elaborating on this, he said, Every year, 5 lakh road accidents take place in India killing around 1.5 lakh people, and seriously injuring 3-4 lakh. About 77% road mishap victims are young, between 17 and 45 years of age, he added. The figures are approximate as many cases get settled outside the court of law, and sometimes there is no detailed investigation into the causes of road deaths, he informed. A single authority cannot be blamed for the mishaps. People are equally responsible. Its high time governments and people came together to understand the their roles in maintaining road safety, he opined. No one bothers to understand the significance of Road Safety Weeks observed regularly.

It is just an event for the government and people as well, said the activist. When asked about under-age drivers, Wagh said, We cant blame the kids. The parents are the culprits, who allow them to drive vehicles before legal age. Lack of safety awareness such as the use of helmet and seatbelt, over-speeding, improper overtaking, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving in the wrong lanes, overloading of trucks, transporting people in trucks, overload of people in autorickshaws, illegal modification of a vehicle are some major challenges to be addressed in this area, he said, adding, For this, the government should introduce a full time syllabus on road safety education at the school level. This will help develop a culture of road safety among younger generations. We cant ignore the fact that there is an inadequacy of public infrastructure such as well-maintained roads, proper visibility, alignment of intersections, no blind spots, clear marking and road sign warnings, he further said, adding, these are serious reasons that lead to confusions and, as a result, dangerous situations on road for commuters.

The governments should have worked intensively on these fronts, he believed. Just constructing broad roads and expressways would not bring down road accidents, the activist suggested, and so the government should address the problems on such broad roads if it wished to avoid accidents. The traffic department has a major role in this, and the traffic cops have to understand that role, to curb road accidents effectively. Instead of collecting fines and checking documents, the cops must work towards curbing road mishaps by systematising the traffic movement and spreading more awareness, Wagh said. Non-compliance of safety standards like airbags, anti-lock braking systems (ABS), electronic stability controls (ESP) by automobile companies are also some reasons of rising road accidents. The government should make strict rules for such companies before allowing them to sell their vehicles. As citizens of this country, we must work to create a traffic-sensible generation to curb road mishaps.
Howrah Ram Navami clashes: CID takes over investigation





KOLKATA :

THE Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal police has taken over the charge of investigation in the clashes in Howrah district on Thursday over a Ram Navami procession that continued on Friday. Sources from the State Government said that investigation will be conducted by the special operation group (SOG) under CID and the investigation team will be headed by an officer in the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police. West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose late Friday evening issued a strongly worded statement directing the police to be objective, strong and fair in the matter. State Secretariat sources said that the decision of handing over the charge of investigation in the matter to the CID was taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself after discussion with the Governor, in which she assured the constitutional head of the state of necessary and prompt action in the matter. The Governor has already announced the constitution of special cell at Raj Bhawan for real-time monitoring of the situation.

Meanwhile, though no fresh incidence of clash or violence occurred in the troubled pockets in Howrah district, the ambience continues to be tense there. Constant patrolling in the area by mobile police teams and the ban of gathering in those areas is still in force. Already, a public interest litigation has been filed by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Sevendu Adhikari demanding central agency probe in the clashes over Ram Navami procession.
Pawankar familymassacre: Courtholds VivekPalatkar guilty





 Staff Reporter :

VIVEK Palatkar, who killed five persons of Pawankar and Palatkar families, including his own son and sister in Nandanvan area, in June, 2018; was held guilty by District and Additional Session Judge R S Pawaskar on Saturday. The quantum of punishment including imposition of death penalty will be decided on April 11. The prosecution will address the court why this case falls into the rarest of rare category and to present the aggravating circumstances justifying the death penalty. While in all fairness and opportunity given to the defence to present the mitigating circumstances and praying for lesser penalty.

Vivek Gulab Paltankar (35), a resident of Navargaon village in Mauda tehsil was arrested by the police from Ludhiana, Punjab after almost 15 days of the brutal killing. Palatkar had massacred BJP activist and his brother-in-law Kamlakar Motiram Pawankar (52), Kamlakars mother Meerabai (72), his own sister Archana (45), her daughter Vedanti (15) and his own son Krishna Vivek Palatkar (4), in Kamlakars house at Plot No 26, Aaradhana Nagar on June 11, 2018. The case was investigated by the then Police Inspector of Nandanvan police station Mukund Salunke while APP Abhay Jikar represented the state in the court. It may be mentioned here that Palatkar had come to Pawankars house for an overnight halt. Kamlakar, Archana, Vedanti and Krishna were sleeping in the bedroom while Vivek was sleeping in the living room. Kamlakars daughter Mitali (5) and Viveks daughter Vaishnavi were also sleeping in the living room with Mirabai. He committed the crime between 1 am and 3 am.

He entered the bedroom when the victims were in deep slumber. He attacked them with sharp and heavy objects. Their heads were smashed three to four times. After hearing screams from the bedroom, Mirabai went to the bedroom to see what was happening. As Mirabai attempted to raise an alarm, Vivek hit her with a sharp object on her head. Her body was found lying near the refrigerator in the kitchen in a pool of blood. After committing the crime, the accused fled the spot by jumping the compound wall.
Sharad Pawar either skips ordiverts volley of questions





Staff Reporter :

REFLECTING on his political experience of more than six decades, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, on Saturday, downplayed many burning issues raised by mediapersons and made futile attempts to justify his stand on those. While answering a volley of questions on subjects ranging from Gautam Adani to Swatantryaveer Savarkar, Pawar was struggling to profer justifications. I have written several good things about some industrialists, farmers because I feel their growth helped India to grow too. It doesnt mean I justify their every act. This way Sharad Pawar diverted the question, Do you stick to whatever good things you wrote about Gautam Adani in your book Lok Maze Sangati or you would advice Congress, which is making scathing attack on the industry tycoon, not to spit venom against him? Pawar was interacting with mediapersons during Meet the Press organised by Patrakar Club of Nagpur. When asked about Rahul Gandhis shout against Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Pawar diverted the question by saying Savarkar is not the national issue.

He commented that nobody should forget the contribution made by Savarkar to the country. He also described the scientific approach of Savarkar who had built a temple in front of his home and given it to a person ofWalmiki community to run it. Savarkar was so practical and he termed cow as an animal which should be given due attention till it has utility value. Once its utility value ends, cow should be given the treatment like we do with other animals, pointed out Pawar. He clearly said,Rahul Gandhi can have his own opinion. Pawar also avoided to answer the question on Arvind Kejariwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, who sought to know the educational qualification of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said,The matter is in court.

Today, Pawar met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at latters residence. A journalist asked Pawar on which issue they had discussion? Pawar smiled and said, On food, which I had with him. When a mediaperson asked is it proper that people from abroad commenting on Indian Government and its functioning, Pawar diverted the answer. He said, If the persons are Indians, then we must give a thought of introducing change in our policies. Pawar along with Nitin Gadkari decided to open subcentre of Vasantdada Sugar Institute at Nagpur with an aim to resolve agrarian crisis. When asked why such efforts were not taken in the past as he too was Union Agriculture Minister and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Pawar did not reply. Dilip Walse Patil and Anil Deshmukh, ex-Home Ministers; Rajendra Jain, Ramesh Bang, ex-Minister and others were present.
TRUMPS INDICTMENT

BY JEFFREY BELLIN: MILLS E. GODWIN, JR. :

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



 Complications will arise if there is any prospect of incarceration in Trumps case. Based on what we know now, there is little prospect that Trump will be jailed pending trial for this allegation of a non-violent 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.

W HEN former P r e s i d e n t 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. 1. Falsified business records are the key issue From what we understand of the investigation, the charges againstTrump appear to stem from a USD 1,30,000 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 Organisation, his company. Creating a false business record with the intent to defraud is a Class A misdemeanour offence in New York. But the offence 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 defence 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 offence, 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. 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 co-ordinate 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 non-violent 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 NewYork 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. 4.

The judicial process will be a messy affair. Most low-level felony and misdemeanour 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 diversionprogramme with communityservice, for example, whichwill lead to a dismissal of the charges. It will be interesting to see if Bragg makes an offer alongthose lines. Even if he does, defendants must typicallyadmit guilt to take advantageof these arrangements, andTrump may refuse for political, personal or legal reasons toadmit guilt. So its likely the case will goto trial, a process that will bemessy for many reasons  mostimportantly, the jury. When choosing a jury in acriminal case, the trial judge issupposed to screen out potential jurors who are biased infavour of, or against, the defendant. Thats normally easybecause the jurors have usually never have heard of thedefendant. But most potential jurorswill have opinions aboutTrump and many will need tobe excused from juryservice because of a lack of objectivity. In a trial with this muchmedia attention, there will alsobe people who have strong feelings about Trump and want tobe on the jury. Some of themmay hide their biases. Thats aproblem by itself. Then, once the trial starts, the media attention will shinea spotlight on the selectedjurors. If it becomes clear thatthe jurors lied or failed to disclose information in jury selection, that could be grounds forremoving them from the juryin the middle of the trial.

If enough jurors are removed, thecase will end in a mistrial, sending everyone back tosquare one. So, while there is a lot about this prosecution that isnt yetclear to the general public, onething is clear  this will be acase with unprecedentedattention and complexity. (The author is Professor of Law, William & Mary LawSchool) (The Conversation/AP/PTI)
DAMASCUS, April 2 (Xinhua)-- Israel launched a fresh missile attack against military sites in the central Syrian province of Homs after midnight Sunday, the state TV reported.

Syrian air defenses were triggered by the attack, intercepting some of the missiles, according to the report.

The pro-government Sham FM radio said that four soldiers were wounded in the attack, which hit a military base in the western countryside of Homs.

It was Israel's third attack against Syrian military sites since Thursday. 
Vande Bharat shows skill, potential, confidence of India: PM





 By Ankita Garg :

BHOPALCOUNTRYS latest semi-high speed train Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 1 at Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in Bhopal. This train symbolises the progress of India from mentality of slavery to selfreliance, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while flagging off the semi-high speedVande Bharat Express on Saturday. He said that our endeavour is to transform Railways and make travel convenient for people. He also praised the punctuality, technology and cleanliness of Vande Bharat Express. He said that the semihigh speed train is showcasing skill, potential and confidence of our nation. PM Modi started his address by expressing grief over the Indore incident.

He also paid tributes to the diseased and their families. During inauguration programme, over 300 children from several schools across State interacted with the Prime Minister. These children were selected to travel in train through an essay competition. He said that earlier it was very tough to spend time at railway stations. Trains were being late by several hours and people struggled hard to wait at platforms and waiting halls.

He said, now the problem is resolving as Indian Railways is moving towards modernisation. He said that passengers are not only safe from accidents but also getting medical facilities during the journey. People are being treated in trains in emergency as well. He further added that electrification work is also an example of modernisation in Indian Railways. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Railway Minister Ashwin Vaishnav and other senior officials were also present in the programme. Addressing a large gathering, CM Chouhan said, It is a proud moment for Madhya Pradesh that countrys latest high speed train is running from our State. Railway Minister Ashwin Vaishnav said that 1,200 stations in country will be developed as world class and this includes 80 stations of Madhya Pradesh. SOME PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN SUPARI TO DENT MY IMAGE WITH SUPPORT FROM FEW INSIDE AND OUTSIDE INDIA: PM MODI : PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said some people are hellbent to sully his image and they have given a supari (contract) for this purpose colluding with certain people sitting in India and also outside the country. Modis veiled attack on Congress comes amid a slugfest between the Grand Old Party and BJP over Rahul Gandhis democracy under brutal attack in India remarks in the UK and Germany taking note of Rahuls disqualification from Lok Sabha. The BJP has accused the Congress of inviting foreign powers for interfering in Indias internal matters. The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at Rani Kamalapati railway station after flagging off the semi-high-speed BhopalDelhi Vande Bharat Express train.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  In the wake of an elementary school shooting in Tennessee earlier this week that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead, state legislatures across the country are moving forward with bills aiming to improve school safety.

The bills have been introduced in blue and red states alike and would require schools to install technology ranging from panic buttons, video surveillance and emergency communications systems. Most have bipartisan support, with lawmakers seeing them as a way to boost school security while avoiding political gridlock on the hot-button issue of gun control. But some experts say teacher safety training is more effective and less expensive than the new technologies, which also can require upgrades or ongoing maintenance that may not be funded.

That hasn't stopped states from Oregon to Missouri to Tennessee from pursuing the systems.

I was asked by a colleague if our schools will have to become fortresses to keep our kids safe. And I told them yes, if thats what it takes. I dont care if we have to park a tank outside a school," Tennessee's Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth said.

While Democratic state lawmakers have called for tighter gun laws as a way to stem school shootings, many are now also supporting the school emergency measures that have largely been touted by Republicans.

In Oregon, where Democrats control the Legislature, a bill that would require schools to send electronic notifications to parents as soon as possible after a safety threat occurs passed the state House unanimously this week. Two Democratic lawmakers are the chief sponsors of another bill that would require all public school classrooms to have panic alert devices that would contact law enforcement or emergency services when activated.

If passed, the panic alert bill would make Oregon the fourth state  along with Republican-led Florida and Democratic-led New Jersey and New York  to enact such a law. Several other states are considering similar legislation.

If there's anything we know, it's that during an emergency, time equals life, said one of the Oregon bill's chief sponsors, Democratic state Rep. Emerson Levy.

Some school districts arent waiting for legislation to implement new security measures such as panic devices.

Las Vegas's Clark County School District, among the 10 largest districts nationwide, is now using a system involving badges called CrisisAlert. The badges can be worn around the neck and pressed to call for help or trigger a schoolwide lockdown.

Olathe Public Schools in suburban Kansas City, the second-largest district in the state, also adopted CrisisAlert. The district has yet to use it to respond to an active shooter situation, according to Jim McMullen, who oversees the district's Safety Services Department and also serves as assistant superintendent of middle school education. But he said school personnel use the badge every day for things ranging from student fights to medical emergencies.

Earlier today we used it when we had a student who was unconscious. The staff member, instead of leaving the kid to go call for help, was able to just hit their button three times and had a lot of assistance real quickly, he said on Thursday.

We've gotten tremendous feedback from our staff regarding the fact that it makes them feel safer, empowered, McMullen said.

Panic alert devices gained steam after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was among the 17 killed, founded the group Make Our Schools Safe and began advocating for panic buttons. She had texted her daughter as shots rang out that help was on the way.

It's really so important to be proactive, and to really accept the fact that unfortunately this can happen anywhere at any time, as we've seen over and over again, said Lori Kitaygorodsky, the group's spokesperson. There's really nothing to lose by being prepared.

Some Republican-led states have boosted funding for school safety in order to help schools pay for new devices like panic buttons. Installing CrisisAlert, for example, costs at least $8,000 per campus under a three- to five-year contract, according to Will Fullerton, senior vice president for government affairs at Centegix, the Atlanta-based company that makes the product.

The number of schools using CrisisAlert nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022, according to the company. The badge system delivered over 50,000 alerts in the Fall 2022 semester, a 100% increase from the same time the previous year, said vice president of marketing Stacy Meyer in an email.

After a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers last May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, state officials announced $105 million for school safety and mental health initiatives. Nearly half of that was slated for bullet-resistant shields for school police and $17 million was for districts to purchase panic-alert technology.

The Missouri House on Thursday approved a 2024 budget with $50 million for school safety grants, on top of $20 million already authorized for school safety in the current year. Schools will be able to use the money on technology including door locking devices, intercom systems and video surveillance equipment.

While one-time grants can allow schools to purchase new technology, they don't always fund upkeep over longer periods of time. Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a consulting firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, said he's found items like security cameras gathering dust in boxes in some of the schools that he's worked with.

There's no budget to repair, replace and maintain them after they put them in ... Things are pushed into a closet and not used again," he said.

The basic fundamental tools are not being properly used  staff not being properly trained, doors that are propped open, he said, adding that the focus should be on situational awareness, pattern recognition ... and then making cognitive decisions under stress.

___

Associated Press writers Kimberlee Kruesi and David A. Lieb contributed reporting from Nashville, Tennessee and Jefferson City, Missouri.

___

Claire Rush 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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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Thousands of Poles joined marches Sunday in defense of the late pope, St. John Paul II, following a TV documentary that alleged he covered up child sex abuse involving clergy in his native Poland before his election as pontiff.

The marches took place in Warsaw and other cities on the 18th anniversary of John Pauls death. The largest, held in Warsaw, was organized by an anti-abortion group under the slogan: You awakened us, we will defend you.

Participants prayed before marching behind relics of John Paul in the capital, led by a popemobile John Paul had used on his visits to Poland. Some marchers carried photos of John Paul. Since the anniversary fell on Palm Sunday, they also carried pussy willows and other tree branches, which is a Roman Catholic tradition on the Sunday before Easter.

The investigative documentary was aired last month by TVN, an independent broadcaster often critical of Polands conservative government. It coincided with the publication of a book called "Maxima Culpa' by a Dutch journalist, Ekke Overbeek, alleging that John Paul II helped cover up cases of clerical abuse before becoming pope.

Many Polish Catholics see both investigations as an attack on the legacy of a man revered in Poland as one of the greatest figures in the nation's history and also venerated as a saint by Catholics worldwide thanks to the Vatican's fast-track canonization after his 2005 death.

The issue has taken on political dimensions in Poland, particularly since the country is due to have a parliamentary election in the fall.

The government has called the documentary an attack on the nation's identity and ideals by the liberal political opposition. That is a view that resonates in a country where a large majority still consider John Paul a moral authority, and the ruling Law and Justice party as gotten an apparent boost as its leaders campaign.

Several top officials joined the marches, including the defense minister and the head of the constitutional court, according to commercial broadcaster Polsat News.

Opinion surveys show the party is the most popular one in the country, with its numbers as high as when Law and Justice first gained the power to run the government eight years ago.

In Warsaw, some marchers carried Polish national flags and the flag of Solidarity, the trade union and freedom movement whose creation was inspired by John Paul after he was elected pope in 1978 and which played a crucial role in toppling communism across Eastern Europe a decade later.

A couple who joined the march, Eleonora and Stanislaw Sochal, said they were furious at TVN for producing a documentary they regard as defamatory to the late pontiff.

They remembered communism as a dark time when the nation was controlled by the Soviet Union and described John Paul as the person who inspired the resistance that led ultimately to the country regaining its sovereignty and freedom.

TVN slanders our authorities. It slanders John Paul and it slanders all of our values, Eleonora Sochal, 76, said.

Amid the emotional debate about John Pauls legacy, a statue of the late pontiff was vandalized overnight in the central city of Lodz. Someone covered the monument in red and yellow paint and the words Maxima Culpa.

Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who visited the sculpture on Sunday morning, called the vandalism a despicable act and a well-organized element of hybrid warfare.

Its about dividing society along these most fundamental lines of our identity, Rau said.

He did not suggest who the perpetrator might be, but when Polish authorities speak about hybrid warfare, they usually are referring to alleged Russian efforts to sow discord and distrust in Poland.

Polish authorities also marked the anniversary by offering passengers on some state railway rides free cream-filled pastries that are now famous because John Paul loved to eat them. The freebies inspired mockery and criticism on social media, with some saying the state should not be spending taxpayer money to hand out papal pastries.
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Linkedin Yerica Lai (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, April 2, 2023

Civil society groups are calling for an environment that is more conducive to increasing women participation in politics and reducing any stereotypes preventing it, whether that has to do with low representation among lawmakers or entrenched discrimination at the House of Representatives.

Finding more female candidates for the nations legislative and executive branches has remained a constant challenge, said Nurul Amalia Salabi, a researcher at the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), at a live-streamed discussion in Jakarta over the weekend.

Our Election Law has opened the door [for more women to be represented in politics] by stipulating a required minimum 30 percent quota for women representation at the central executive board level among political parties. But a study has shown that parties often pass up on these requirements leading up to an election, Nurul said.

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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil and Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Nusa Dua, Bali  Sun, April 2, 2023

Indonesia and Russia officially signed an extradition agreement over the weekend in an effort to combat transnational organized crime, following the increasing number of Russians visiting and investing in Indonesia  including those who have irked local authorities.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Anatolyevich Chuychenko signed the deal at a ceremony in the Hilton Bali Resort in Nusa Dua, Bali on Friday morning.

Yasonna called the occasion an essential milestone in Indonesia-Russia relations, as it will enhance cooperation and collaboration in law enforcement efforts.

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Linkedin Nina A. Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, April 2, 2023 12:24 22 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b053a0454 1 Society health,cooperation,USAID,COVID-19-aid,health-ministry Free

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided Indonesia with more than US$65 million in assistance across three years of the COVID-19 pandemic to support frontline workers, strengthen the countrys health facilities and provide vaccinations for residents.

At a recent event held in Jakarta, US Deputy Chief of Mission Michael F. Kleine said USAIDs COVID-19 support for Indonesia had reached more than 90 percent of Indonesians, or roughly 260 million people, including around 840,000 frontline healthcare workers.

In the face of this unprecedented challenge, Indonesia and the United States stood shoulder to shoulder against the challenge of COVID-19, Kleine said, celebrating the successful USAID-Indonesia collaboration, on Friday.

USAID in particular quickly mobilized more than $65 million in funding to help the Indonesian Health Ministrys efforts to fight the pandemic of this scale. Together, we rolled out innovative treatments, we fought misinformation and improved national laboratory research, he added.

According to Kleine, throughout the course of the pandemic, USAID has strengthened infrastructures in almost 2,000 hospitals, clinics and laboratories across the archipelago, and as the largest donor to COVAX, the organization has also helped to deliver more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

COVAX is a global vaccine initiative run by global vaccine alliance Gavi and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Read also: Why the G20 should defer debt from emerging economies like Indonesia and IndiaKleine said USAID would continue to support the countrys efforts to provide widespread and equitable access to and delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations, including in hard-to-reach areas.

As of Friday, roughly two years after the government launched its nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign, some 74 percent of Indonesias 234.6 million targeted population have been fully vaccinated, passing the minimum threshold set by the WHO to achieve population immunity against the novel coronavirus.

Despite the sufficient national vaccine coverage, however, inoculation disparity continues to persist, especially in remote regions. Coverage for the second dose in Papua, for example, is currently only at 23 percent, way below the national average.

The government has promised to continue rolling out COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses, even as the pandemic subsides.

Indonesias COVID-19 indicators have continued to show signs of improvement since the government lifted its public activity restrictions (PPKM) at the tail-end of last year. As of Friday, Indonesia reported 465 new COVID-19 cases, 5,222 active cases and 8 deaths.

The government is currently consulting with other nations to lobby the WHO into declaring the pandemic over.

Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono, who attended Fridays event, attributed Indonesias success in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak to massive surveillance efforts, vaccination and health protocol strategies.

Were currently in the transition period out of the pandemic toward an endemic era. Therefore, we must remain vigilant, stay informed and follow the public health guidance and support one another. We hope the strong cooperation between Indonesia and the US will continue in years to come. Together we are stronger, Dante said.
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Linkedin Robin Legrand (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Fri, July 17, 2020 18:30 1011 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406672d983 2 World women-in-politics,gender-equality,women-empowerment,female-leader,Women Free

On July 21, 1960 in Sri Lanka, Sirima Bandaranaike became the world's first democratically elected female head of government.

Here is a look back at sixty years of milestones for women in politics:

First head of government

Sirima Bandaranaike followed in the footsteps of her husband when she took the post of prime minister of Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, on July 21, 1960. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had become the country's leader in 1956 but three years later he was assassinated by an extremist Buddhist priest.

She remained at the helm till 1965, and would serve another two mandates, from 1970 to 1977, and then when her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga was president, from 1994 to 2000. In her last term the role of prime minister in the country had become ceremonial.

Not long after Bandaranaike, in neighboring India in 1966, Indira Gandhi became the country's first female prime minister. The daughter of Indian independence icon Jawahrlal Nehru remained in power till 1977 and was then elected again in 1980.

Four years later she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards following a deadly confrontation between Indian security forces and Sikh separatist militants at the Golden Temple in Punjab state.

First elected president

In 1980 Iceland became the first country to democratically elect a woman as president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir. Six years earlier in Argentina Isabel Peron had been named president of the country, but without an election.

Finnbogadottir was re-elected three times, serving until 1996, and faced no opposition in the elections of 1984 and 1992.

The role of president in Iceland is mostly ceremonial and Finnbogadottir focused on raising the country's profile internationally.

First gender parity government

In 1995 Sweden became the world's first gender parity government, made up of eleven women and ten men.

Twenty years later Sweden became the first country in the world to describe itself officially as "feminist", meaning "gender equality is central to the Government's priorities - in decision-making and resource allocation", according to its website.

Since then Spain and Canada have made similar moves.

First female majority parliament

In the period following the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the population was majority female and in 2003 the government pledged to give women a more prominent position in politics.

The country's constitution that year included the requirement that at least 30 percent of positions of responsibility in government should be occupied by women.

In 2008 Rwanda went beyond this quota, becoming the first country in the world to have a majority female parliament.

Universal suffrage everywhere

In 2015, Saudi Arabia became the last country in the world to give its female citizens the right to vote, some 118 years after New Zealand was the first to do so in 1893.

While there have been some reforms, including the lifting of bans on female drivers, women's rights in the country continue to be among the most restricted in the world.

Progress and glass ceilings

In 2020 Germany was the only country in the G7 group to have a woman at its helm, with its Chancellor Angela Merkel. The first woman to head a G7 country was Britain's Margaret Thatcher in 1979.

For the most part however the major powers are still led by men. The United States, Russia, China and Japan have never been led by a woman.
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Linkedin Chayanika Saxena Singapore  Sun, April 2, 2023 17:30 22 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc3b99aa 2 Academia India,ASEAN,partnership,Indo-Pacific,US-China-tension,Russia,economy,climate-change Free

The striking story of India's economic resilience and success has inspired confidence and awe across the world, including among countries in Southeast Asia. Once famous for being the economic tigers of Asia, today the members of ASEAN are appreciating India's march toward becoming a US$5 trillion economy and a leading power on the global platform.

It comes as little surprise then that ASEAN and its member states are seeking to forge closer ties with India across a spectrum of concerns, including economic cooperation and strategic association. The ongoing geopolitical turmoil because of the Russia-Ukraine war and the rivalry between the United States and China closer home has further reinforced the need for a greater alignment between the interests of India and ASEAN.

Among other things, their common desire for free and fair trade practices, greater physical and digital connectivity between its citizens, and an increasing emphasis on sustainability to combat climate change signal the expanding remit of cooperation between the South Asian powerhouse and its Southeast Asian counterparts.

The coming years will only witness further deepening and strengthening of their ties, especially as both India and ASEAN push forth for the realization of a more peaceful and equitable, multi-polar world order by overcoming critical but surmountable challenges as strategic partners.

The ties between India and ASEAN stretch back over three decades when the former engaged with the Southeast Asian regional organization as a sectoral dialogue partner in 1992. Thereafter, the gradual progression in their ties, particularly in the backdrop of Indias fast-paced economic growth and its increasing geopolitical weight, helped the bilateral partners broach newer and different areas of engagement, including in the maritime domain where India and ASEAN have sought to establish a collective security architecture to promote a rule-based maritime order.

Today, India is counted among ASEANs key strategic partners, signaling the growing convergence in their strategic and economic interests, which are further bolstered by their cultural and civilizational linkages. In fact, reiterating the historical moorings of their contemporary ties, a joint statement by India and ASEAN on the outlook for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region noted that the strength of their continuing cooperation was primed by their age-old ties.

Maintaining a Janus-like relationship, it is, then, not hard to see that India and ASEAN will continue to leverage their friendly association of the past for their collective benefit in the future, particularly as they seek economic growth and strategic security for their people.

With multi-faceted cooperation in its mind, India took strides in transitioning from its economy-centric policy of Look East to a more proactive stance under the banner of Act East in 2014. Under the leadership of Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India began to chart a more strategically robust journey vis-a-vis the countries to its East, including ASEAN and its respective member states, supplementing its ongoing cooperation with the Southeast Asian nations in economic and cultural domains.

It is important to note that Indias evolved foreign policy stance towards its extended neighborhood in the Southeast and beyond stemmed from its own geo-economic and geopolitical story of growth, which helped India to claim a spot for itself as a responsible rising power in the prevailing global order.

Furthermore, the shifts in Indias approach coincided with ASEANs growing need for stronger ties with like-minded democratic economies to rise up to the current and future challenges.

In the last decade, faced with similar challenges, India and ASEAN have found newer terrains of cooperation to explore, going beyond their traditional areas of engagement. Needless to say, their strong track record of bilateral cordiality and supportive diplomatic outreach, along with friendly people-to-people ties, helped them prime one another as credible economic and strategic partners.

Attesting to that, a recent survey by the Yusof Ishak House indicated an elevated status for India as a country that the Southeast Asian nations were likely to align with in hedging against the uncertainties posed by the intensifying US-China rivalry. It is instructive to note that India was counted as a dependable strategic partner just after the European Union and Japan, indicating both Indias growing might in the geopolitical order as well as its credentials as a reliable bilateral partner.

In the index of perception of trust, India climbed up from the last spot in 2022 to the third spot in 2023, with 9 out of 10 ASEAN member-states increasing their approval ratings for India as one of the most preferred and trusted strategic partners that they would seek out in the event of US-China rivalry spins out of hands.

Indias catapulting rise in status among the ASEAN nations is not surprising at all. Against the backdrop of growing geopolitical rivalries, including those between the US and Russia over the war in Ukraine, Indias unchanging stance of neutrality has helped project both confidence and responsibility onto the global platform. Indias unequivocal commitment toward peace was recently reflected when on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in 2022, the Indian PM advocated for democracy, diplomacy and dialogue to settle the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Similarly, Indias confident demonstration of strategic autonomy, particularly on the matter of energy imports for Russia amid American disapproval, has sent out a strong message about Indias position in the geopolitical equations as a country that cannot be pushed over. Factors like these have been attributed to the substantial jump in Indias ratings - from 5.1 percent in 2022 to 11.3 percent in 2023 - among its ASEAN partners.

Against the backdrop of a volatile geopolitical order and a looming economic recession are likely to prompt even closer cooperation between India and ASEAN. Besides tiding over these concerns, India and ASEAN must continue to build on their economic, strategic and cultural partnerships to make fuller use of the potential that their ties hold.

From building smart cities to combating climate change to promoting the ethos of democracy and equanimity, much can be done by India and ASEAN to transform their age-old ties into a shining example of contemporary inter-regional camaraderie.

***

The writer was a President Graduate fellow at the National University of Singapore with a PhD in geography.
Staff members load freight into a Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Tao)

WUHAN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft loaded with some 100 tonnes of freight took off at around 11 a.m. Saturday at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in central China's Hubei Province.

This flight marks the opening of the first international route of China's first cargo-focused airport.

The route's maiden flight carried mainly electronic products and processors. A single trip takes about 12 hours.

This route is scheduled to provide two round-trip cargo flights each week between China and Europe, adding 400 tonnes of air express capacity, according to the aircraft's operator SF Airlines, China's largest air-cargo carrier and also the aviation branch of the country's leading courier enterprise SF Express.

The Ezhou Huahu Airport was put into operation in July 2022. It is positioned as a cargo-focused hub airport with extensive cargo traffic but little passenger traffic. It is expected to open 40 domestic freight routes and about four international freight routes by the end of this year.

Zhang Hao, a senior staff member at SF Express, said that with the new routes to come, they expect the throughput of cargo carried via international routes to reach 15,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

SF Airlines' Ezhou Base was officially opened on the same day, and it will provide services for the company and other airlines in the future, according to SF Airlines.

The company said that a cargo transit center is now in testing and will start operations this year.

SF Airlines has established a cargo route network covering China, radiating across Asia, and reaching Europe and the United States.

It will continuously push forward its operations at the Ezhou Huahu Airport and support the airport in creating a world-class air cargo hub, the company noted. 

A staff member loads freight into a Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft at at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Tao)

Staff members make preparation before taking off of a Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Tao)
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Linkedin Dio Suhenda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, April 3 2023

A refinery operated by state oil and gas firm Pertamina in Dumai city, Riau province, caught fire on Saturday, injuring nine workers and damaging several buildings in the area.

The incident came just a month after another fire broke out at a fuel storage depot in North Jakarta that killed close to three dozen people, raising alarms over poor safety measures at Pertaminas aging facilities.

A spokesperson for the Dumai Refinery Unit, Agustiawan, told The Jakarta Post in a statement on Sunday that the firm was focusing on helping the local community recover while the Riau Police investigated how the refinerys gas compressor had caught fire, the suspected source of the blaze.

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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, April 2, 2023

Indonesia is looking forward to stronger relations with South Korea in various fields ranging from defense to economy, including the development of the new capital city Nusantara (IKN).

During a recent visit to Seoul, South Korea, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi co-chaired the fourth Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) of Indonesia and South Korea with her South Korean counterpart Park Jin over the weekend, during which she expressed ways that both countries could and had done to strengthen relations.

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Here are a few suggestions for fun things to do in the neighborhood in the next couple weeks:

Check out the free film screening of Martin Scorseses Italianamerican on 16mm at the Seward Park Library this Wednesday, April 5th at 6:00pm. In one of his most personal works, Martin Scorsese sits down with his parents, Catherine and Charles, in their New York apartment for a free-flowing discussion that touches on family history, the immigrant experience, and the meaning of Italian American identity.

Chose from an array of performances in the 18th annual La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival opening on Thursday, April 6th and running through April 30th. Curated by Nicky Paraiso, the 2023 festival features new and recent works by 12 choreographers and companies with varied approaches to performance. Utilizing movement, storytelling, visuals, and sound, the works in this years festival reflect the artists engagement with the times we live in, questioning, challenging, and inspiring conversation through dance.

Join Friends of Corlears Hook Park for their first-ever egg hunt on Saturday, April 8th. Hundreds of treat-filled plastic eggs will be hidden throughout the park for kids to collect. They also promise an array of lawn games and arts and crafts for families to enjoy. More info and pre-registration on their website HERE.

Sign up for a chance to participate in the next installment of the ICP PhotoSLAM with the theme of Mother Earth. During the open mic event on Thursday, April 13th at 6:30pm, photographers, the ICP community and audience members are invited to compete in a live story telling competition, driven by photographs.

Celebrate The Clemente turning 30 with a benefit performance and world premiere of Tu Nombre Verdadero on April 14th at 8pm. The piece has music and lyrics by Rita Indiana and libretto and direction by Noelia Quintero-Herencia. A post pandemic abstract tale that visits experiences of illness and death in the context of artistic practices and their markets

Find more local event on our calendar and submit your own HERE.
by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye is set to inaugurate the first unit of its Russian-built nuclear power plant in late April by loading nuclear fuel, a step towards boosting national energy security and strengthening energy ties with Moscow, experts said.

The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, currently under construction in Turkiye's southern Mersin Province, will be the country's first nuclear power plant. Akkuyu will be operational for 60 years, plus a possible 20-year extension, until its decommissioning.

During an interview with private broadcaster ATV on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the fuel-loading ceremony will be held on April 27 in Akkuyu.

Power production at the plant is set to begin later this year, likely in late October, public broadcaster TRT reported last month, citing energy ministry officials.

Erdogan also said on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin might either travel to Mersin in person or attend the ceremony via teleconference.

In 2010, the two countries reached a deal to let Russia's state company Rosatom build and operate the Akkuyu plant, which is designed with four nuclear reactor units, each with a capacity to generate 1,200 MW of electricity.

Under the deal, the Akkuyu plant was to be constructed with a Russian capital of 20 billion U.S. dollars.

The construction began in 2018 and is scheduled to complete in 2026. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to produce annually 35 billion kWh of electricity to meet approximately 10 percent of domestic electricity needs, Erdogan said in March 2021 at the groundbreaking ceremony of the plant's third unit.

Turkiye aims to take steps for a second and third nuclear plant "as soon as possible", Erdogan also said in September that year.

"Turkiye's electricity energy needs are growing and will continue to increase considerably in the coming years," Murat LeCompte, an Istanbul-based energy expert, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

He said that nuclear energy is effective because the amount of energy it provides is incomparable with other traditional sources.

According to the lastest data from the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry, coal has a 34.6-percent share in Turkiye's electricity generation, followed by natural gas, 22.2 percent, and hydropower, 20.6 percent.

"Most of Turkiye's energy sources are imported, with a heavy cost on the country's finances, therefore a nuclear plant operating on its soil will contribute to the nation's energy security," said LeCompte.

Turkiye is heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, with Russia being a large source for years.

Russia's share in Turkiye's natural gas imports was 33 percent in 2019 and 2020, declining from more than 60 percent in 2005, according to data released by the energy ministry in February.

The Akkuyu plant has deep political significance for Turkiye aside from its aspiration toward energy independence, as the project symbolizes the growing relationship between NATO member Turkiye and Russia.

"The fact that a huge and very strategic project with 100 percent Russian capital is built in a NATO country is extremely symbolic in reflecting the diversifying and deepening dimension of Turkish-Russian relations," Kerim Has, a Moscow-based analyst on Russian affairs, told Xinhua.

The inauguration of Akkuyu comes at a time when NATO and European Union countries have imposed sanctions on Russia for launching its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Ankara has refused to sanction Russia, with which it has strengthened cooperation in some sectors over the past few years despite Western criticism.

"When the Western bloc is imposing sanctions on Russia, the construction of Akkuyu is not disrupted. It demonstrates Ankara and Moscow's willingness to maintain their ties despite differences on the Ukraine conflict," Has said.

According to the analyst, Akkuyu can also serve as a project to help prevent ups and downs of Turkiye-Russia relations in the long run, especially in a global world order currently characterized by major transformations.

The nuclear plant is also important for Erdogan politically, as he is running as a presidential candidate for the May 14 general elections, while the country is struggling with economic woes and the huge recovery costs of the Feb. 6 earthquakes, according to analysts. 
Nigerian actor, Chidi Mokeme, recently expressed his belief that despite the plethora of religious institutions present in the country, the people are not prosperous.

During an Instagram Live session with his fans, the actor pointed out that Nigeria has a place of worship on nearly every street, from churches and mosques to traditional juju shrines. However, despite the abundance of religious centers, he noted that the country lacks financial success and suffers from lost souls who are attempting to deceive God.

He said, "All these people going to all these churches every day, God is listening. Its just that He knows us more than we know ourselves. All these people are just going to church to look for what they will use to oppress their brother,

Mokeme stated that some people attend church not to worship God, but to search for ways to oppress others. He emphasized that individuals should not attempt to deceive God as He knows humans better than they know themselves. Mokeme concluded that churchgoers should not seek to oppress their brothers and sisters but instead strive to build a better community.

Mokeme's comments sparked an interesting debate on the role of religion in Nigerian society. While some agreed with him, others argued that religious institutions provide much-needed support and guidance to the people. Regardless of the varied opinions, Mokeme's words underscored the importance of using religion as a tool to create positive change within one's community.
April 4, 2023 marks 51 years of US-Bangladesh ties. Although the role of the United States in Bangladesh has been widely discussed since the war of independence. Since then, various levels have been added at different times. At present, the country is a major export destination of Bangladesh and one of the major sources of remittances.

Bangladesh-US relations have been a part of the country's progress since independence. Although there was a question about the role of the United States in the war of liberation, the common people of that country and the lion's share of Congressmen and Senators were sympathetic towards Bangladesh. That is why the Seventh Fleet was inactive in the Bay of Bengal.

It is pertinent to mention that after the nine-month war of liberation against Pakistan in the midst of complex global politics, Dhaka emerged as the capital of the newly independent country, on April 4, 1972, the then US administration recognized Bangladesh. Most of the cooperation since independence has come from the United States. The United States is the largest market for Bangladesh's exports. The country has come forward selflessly during the Corona era when Bangladesh was suffering from a vaccine crisis. They have given more than 50 million vaccines to Bangladesh as a grant.

In recent times, the USA is very interested in further strengthening bilateral relations. Bangladesh also intends to deepen and enhance its ties with the US. Analysts say that the US wants a strategic relationship with Bangladesh beyond bilateral ties. Bangladesh's strategic geographical location is a major factor in the United States' interest in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a coastal and integral part of the Indian Ocean and a major maritime trade route. In addition, Bangladesh's geo-strategic position, impressive economic and social development has added to US interest.

Particularly since the present administration came to power in 2009, the political, economic, and trade ties between the two nations have improved. The United States is also among the most significant nations when it comes to Bangladeshs diplomatic interests. The United States has made a particularly substantial contribution to the socioeconomic growth and investment of Bangladesh, as well as its security cooperation.

US President Joe Biden expressed optimism about deepening relations with Bangladesh. US President Joe Biden has greeted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the people on the Independence Day, saying that the South Asian nation understand deeply the value of freedom and independence as it fought courageously in 1971 to choose their own fate.

Biden wrote the past half a century of bilateral ties yielded advancing economic development, strengthening people-to-people ties, addressing global health and climate issues, partnering on the humanitarian response to Rohingya refugees, and committing to a prosperous, secure, democratic, and independent Bangladesh.

He highly acclaimed Bangladesh Prime Minister as Bangladesh has opened its arms and welcomed nearly one million Rohingya refugees.

US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken has said Bangladesh is "quickly becoming a regional leader" with a rapidly growing economy, an increasingly well-educated workforce, and a dynamic youth demographic. Conveying his best wishes to the people of Bangladesh on its Independence Day, Blinken said his country looks forward to deepen the bilateral partnership with Bangladesh in the years ahead.

The United States Congress has introduced a resolution recognizing and commending Bangladesh and its remarkable socioeconomic progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina, co-chair of the Congressional Bangladesh Caucus, tabled the resolution at the Congress on March 29 on the occasion of Bangladesh's 52nd anniversary of independence.

Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh's economy has grown from $9 billion to $450 billion, life expectancy has risen from 47 years to 73 years, and the adult literacy rate has risen to more than 75 percent, the resolution mentioned.

Bangladesh, under the leadership of PM Hasina, has made substantial socioeconomic progress in food production, disaster resilience, poverty reduction, improved health, education, and women's empowerment, it read.

According to the resolution, Bangladesh has successfully maintained a moderate Muslim society and curbed extremism, and its people have sought to maintain support for democracy and rule of law rather than descending into authoritarian rule. It said the US and Bangladesh have extensive cooperation on matters of regional and global security, counter terrorism, and climate change.

Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes said that more than half a century of friendship, Bangladesh and the United States strengthened cooperation across broad range sectors.

The two countries have built close trade and investment ties fuelled by vibrant diaspora community and strong business links, she said. The United States assistant secretary of state for the bureau of population, refugees and migration ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes has said Bangladesh serves as model for rest of world.

In October in 2021, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived in Bangladesh on a landmark visit. He said the United States was looking at Bangladesh's participation as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS.

Ambassador Kelly Keiderling said Bangladesh has traditionally been known as a garment maker and a poor underdeveloped country. However, the United States' perception of Bangladesh has changed as the economy continues to grow and contributes to global security through UN peacekeeping missions. Given the growing importance of the economy and security, the United States is moving away from the old notion of Bangladesh. At the same time, they want to redefine the relationship between the two countries in the next 50 years, said the top US official.

The United States is currently one of the leading development partners in Bangladesh. The United States views Bangladesh as one of the most important economic and security partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States recognized Bangladesh on April 4, 1972. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visited the United States in 1974 as the first statesman of Bangladesh. His historic speech in the UNGA was praiseworthy. This year marks the 51th anniversary of Bangladesh-US relations. The two countries are working together on a wide range of issues, including a lasting solution to the Rohingya problem, tackling climate change, protection of labor and human rights, counter-terrorism, and the defense sector.

Although tensions sometimes arise between the two countries on issues of global and international interest, in almost every case they have given priority to good sense and goodwill. Although US has been publishing its 'annual human rights report' from years to years and criticizing Bangladesh for rights violation.Bangladeshi citizens neednt spark any new controversy and worry based on the recent human rights report. US-Bangladesh bilateral relations wouldnt affect. This is not the first time the US has produced a study like this in recent years. There isnt much of a difference between those and the latest report. Many hoped that the Biden administration was going to impose more sanctions on Bangladesh government. But US hasn't imposed new sanctions on Bangladesh.

IPS is spread across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific and is a major US initiative in Asia. Under the IPS, the United States promotes the vision of an open, inclusive, peaceful, and secure Indo-Pacific region with prosperity for all. To achieve this goal, the United States seeks to integrate private sector participation with countries in the region.

Enhancing security cooperation is also an important aspect of IPS. However, on the year of 51 years of bilateral relations, the US and Bangladesh need to strengthen ties mending all fences and dispelling misunderstandings.

According to data gathered by the United States Department of Commerce through the first ten months of 2022, American orders for clothing made in Bangladesh are increasing faster than American imports from the worlds largest clothing manufacturer China.

According to the Office of Textiles and Apparels (OTEXA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States imported clothing from Bangladesh worth about $8.5 billion between January and October of last year, a 49 percent increase from imports of clothing made in Bangladesh during the same period in 2021.

The US, Bangladeshs top export market, had an increase in garment shipments of almost 51% from the previous year. The nation shipped a record amount of clothes worth more than 7.5 billion US dollars in the first nine months of this year. It is noteworthy that Bangladeshi garment manufacturers are gaining a firm presence in the American market as exports have experienced considerable development. Despite the worldwide economic downturn, Bangladeshi clothing exports to the US have significantly increased.

The Rohingya problem has so far received the most support from the United States. The US Secretary of State announced an additional $170 million in humanitarian help during last years UN General Assembly. More than 190 million dollars have been donated by the nation to the Rohingya catastrophe since 2017.

The US wants to relocate Bangladeshi Rohingya. The US Department of States Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Immigration, Julieta Valls Noyes, visited Bangladesh for this reason last month. The US administration collaborating with the Bangladeshi government would be greatly appreciated. It will demonstrate improved communication between the two administrations. The western world and those who support those who advocate for humanitarian causes can follow the US footprint.

Looking 50 years into the future

However, Bangladesh is a crucial regional ally of the United States when it comes to humanitarian, economic, climatic, and security concerns. The United States and Bangladesh had many high-level engagements and strategic conversations in Dhaka and Washington, D.C., to expand bilateral, economic, commercial, and security cooperation as 2023 celebrates the 51th anniversary of U.S.-Bangladesh relations. It is in the US interest to foster a sense of growing interdependence with Bangladesh as it moves away from the sense of obligatory dependency that defined its relationship with the US in the previous 50 years, looking ahead to the future 50.

Author bio: Japanese national Fumiko Yamada has a passion for "international affairs." She works as a research associate at the Australian "University of Melbourne." She received her degree in South Asian Studies from the University of Toronto in Canada.
Washington, DC.- (Saturday, April 1, 2023). We are aware that thugs of the All Progressives Congress ( APC-USA) are sharing a document on social media purportedly granting them permission to conduct a protest on Monday, April 3, 2023 near the White House, at the time the Nigerian-American Coalition for Justice and Democracy led protest is taking place.

In the last few days, these thugs have coordinated a series of media attacks on our organization. They have also asked their counterparts in Nigeria to make threatening calls to our leaders, here in the USA from Nigeria.

We will like to put it on record that we shall not allow APC to bring their thuggery, street urchin-life and banditry to the United States.

We warn that APC thugs are not allowed anywhere near our peaceful protest near the White House, Capitol, State Department and the National Press Club.

We have therefore tipped off the United States Capitol Police and other security agencies. We shall uproot any APC thug that tries to raise any form of violence or intimidation during our protest.

We call on the United States government to shun Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the same one convicted of narcotics trafficking in Chicago who stole the mandate of Nigerians. And to activate the US Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanction on Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

We call on all Nigerians to resist any attempt by mischievous politicians like Mr. Ahmed Bola Tinubu who deployed ethnic and tribal sentiment in politics to derail the current move by young people to return Nigeria to the comity of developed and progressive countries.

The NACJD is a non-partisan Washington, DC. Research and Good Governance advocacy non-profit organization in the United States. We educate the US Government, the Congress, and the policy-making community to influence US policies on Nigeria.
Schneider Electric has reiterated its commitment and goal to driving sustainability, with the commissioning of a new solar energy system at the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB), which was donated in partnership with renewable energy engineering manufacturer, Eauxwell Nigeria Limited.

Speaking at the event, the Country President, Schneider Electric West Africa, Ajibola Akindele, highlighted the alignment of the solar system installation with the United Nation SDG goal of affordable and clean energy for quality living in the 21st century.

He said: The solar energy systems installation provides FNSB with the accessible, renewable and clean energy it needs to power daily requirements and enhance the quality of education students receive.

Mainwhile, the Chairman of FNSB, Fusi Akinkugbe, expressed his gratitude to the company, saying: The promotion of sustainable energy will significantly propel human development thereby improving the lives of individuals and communities, while creating cities that are safe, resilient, and sustainable.

With the power pandemic in Nigeria, Schneider Electric has proven to be a leader in driving both life and energy sustainability by making life easier for everyone. The solar energy system installation has made a world of difference to FNSB. During instances of grid outage, the students are still able to use electrical equipment and their electronic learning devices in a conducive environment, he said.

Appreciating the founder and sponsors of the FNSB, Ajibola Akindele said the FNSBs operations is a drive to sustainability in its unique way, In a world where people are averse to accepting and aiding persons with special needs, it is wonderful to have the FNSB committed to empowering and changing lives for the better.
Like a thief in the night, he appeared; moving about in black attire like a bereaved person whose loved one has just answered the heavenly call. Behind his comely exterior is a bigoted soul. A stoker of flame whose aim is setting Nigeria afire on the woof of tribal and religious differences. He would pretend to love Nigeria publicly at interviews where he slurs words, gives false information and statistics; but behind the scenes is a soul who jumped into the fray of the presidential election just to put Nigeria on her knees.

Successfully, he rode on the frustration-triggered and semi-emotional sentiments of gullible Nigerians who had seen him as a messiah - a messiah who lied that he used only one wristwatch and pair of shoes - a tactic used by you-know-who current leader who drove Nigeria amok. It was the eye-opening point for many of us to wake up to the gimmick of this Anambra man, for we had witnessed something similar and knew where it had landed us. This is another gun powder we shouldn't sit on, hence we took a turn.

A unifier he should be, who would unite a sundered country across tribes and religions, but Peter Obi turned out to be the behemoth of dicey religious bigotry. He would move from one church to the other, turning pulpits into campaign premises, while telling the Christains to "wake up and take back your country." Really? Has the country ever been taken from Christians? Is the Muslim-Muslim ticket the pretext on which the country would be taken from Christians? Are there not countless numbers of Christain-Christain tickets in the past and currently at state levels? The whole of the South East, South South, and South West are currently led by Christians; have the Muslims gathered and cried foul that the Muslims should take back their country? Even in the Muslim-dominated North, are there not Christian governors in Plateau, Benue, and Taraba? Are the Muslims unwise for their tolerance?

But when author Angelica Hope, in her evergreen book, Landscape of a Heart, listed nine prevailing signs of social climbers, the fourth, "gloves of bigotry" is secretly worn on the fingers of Peter Obi. He only takes them off when he's headed for public occasions and wears them when he's alone or amid his cronies in the church. His latest "Yes Daddy" leaked video with Bishop David Oyedepo where he described the 2023 election as "religious war" again had put a stamp of affirmation on the bigotry of a man who pretends to be a saint but is rather a modern seth.

The heart-wrenching audio - which authenticity has been confirmed by Kenneth Okonkwo, the spokesperson of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council and many fact-checking media houses with the aid of AI tools - is indeed a reason to be grateful for the loss of Peter Obi - a disgrace to the word TOLERANCE.

Tolerant Yorubas did not take the just-concluded election as a "tribal war" when they supported Peter Obi to victory in Lagos and gave him mammoth votes across other states. Northerners did not take it as "religious war" when they handed him victory in Nassarawa, Plateau, and oiled him with millions of votes across other Northern states. The excuses he would tell Northerners in 2027 should be a project he'd start thinking about, because, peradventure he has 200K votes in the North in the next election, that would mean the Ndi Igbos' population over there.

Sadly, religious bigotry has marked the end of the political career of a man who tickle Muslims in their front but taunt them behind - an hypocrite who the Czech writer, Milan Kundera, described as one "with one real face and several false ones". Like the day, it's now glaring that Peter Obi's political dream is insincere and perilous. Nigeria indeed dodged a big bullet that could have ripped her apart. May Peter Obi and his ilk never happen to Nigeria.

Hashim Yussuf tweets via: @LegalBard


1 April 2023 | Heirs Place, Lagos, Nigeria: The Group Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Heirs Holdings, the leading Pan-African investor, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, will be traveling to Zambia at the invitation of United States Vice President, Kamala Harris.

Mr. Elumelu will join other global leaders at the inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee of the United States Governments initiative Gender Inclusion in the Digital Economy taking place on Saturday, April 1, 2023, in Lusaka, Zambia. His attendance represents a further recognition of his advocacy of the transformation of Africa, through a dynamic private- public sector approach, made most recently at the US-Africa Leaders Summit, held in Washington D.C, hosted by President Biden in December 2022.

Tony O. Elumelu, CFR (Group Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA)

Mr. Elumelu welcomes the increased engagement of the US Administration with Africa, a partnership that he has stressed should be based on equity and mutual respect. As one of Africas leading entrepreneurs, Mr. Elumelu sees many common values, between the entrepreneurially driven US economy and the opportunities in Africa, not least in creating the enabling environment to support Africas highly entrepreneurial youth. He is an ardent advocate of Africapitalism, his belief that Africas economic renaissance will be catalysed by the collaboration between public and private sectors, and that the private sector must create social good, as well as economic wealth.

Africapitalism

Africapitalism is the economic philosophy developed by Heirs Holdings Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu,CFR, andispredicatedon the beliefthat Africasprivate sectorcan andmustplaya leadingrole in thecontinents development.It isa call-to-actionfor businessesto make decisions that will increase economic and social wealth and promotedevelopment inthecommunitiesand nationsin whichthey operate.
People wait to vote during Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Lin Hao)

The exit poll by Alpha Research said that PP-DB was expected to have 26.4 percent of the votes, against 25.5 percent for GERB-UDF.

SOFIA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Two coalitions, We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) and GERB - Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-UDF) were neck-and-neck to win Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections on Sunday, according to exit polls.

The exit poll by Alpha Research, one of the leading agencies for social and political research in Bulgaria, which was announced on the Bulgarian National TV, said that PP-DB was expected to have 26.4 percent of the votes, against 25.5 percent for GERB-UDF.

Bulgarian President Rumen Georgiev Radev votes during the country's early parliamentary elections at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2, 2023. (Xinhua/Lin Hao)

The other exit poll, by Gallup International, and announced on the Bulgarian National TV, said that PP-DB was leading the elections with 25.6 percent of votes, while GERB-UDF took 24.8 percent.

Alpha Research said the two coalitions were followed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with 13.9 percent, Revival party with 13.5 percent, and BSP (Bulgaria Socialist Party) for Bulgaria coalition with 9.2 percent.

According to Gallup International, Revival party gained 14.2 percent of the votes, followed by MRF with 13 percent, BSP for Bulgaria coalition with 10 percent. And another party, There Is Such A People (ITN), managed to have gained 4 percent, a threshold required to enter the country's 240-seat parliament.

The official results, including the distribution of seats, are expected to be released on Thursday.

A man votes during Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2, 2023.(Xinhua/Lin Hao)

The National Assembly, or the parliament, is Bulgaria's legislative body. It also elects the government by a simple majority, and has a four-year term -- except in certain circumstances such as when it is unable to elect a government.

This is Bulgaria's fifth parliamentary elections in two years. The previous elections were held on Oct. 2 last year, but the legislature was dissolved after the parliamentary parties failed to form a ruling majority. 
The Cobourg Police Service (CPS) will host a Cram-A-Cruiser food drive to support Northumberland Fare Share Food Bank (Fare Share) at Foodland in Cobourg on Sunday, April 23.

Community members are invited to make a non-perishable food donation at Cram-A-Cruiser at Foodland, located 990 Division St., on April 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The March Cram-A-Cruiser food drive collected 2,762 pounds of food and $2,000 in donations, said police. All the donations received during Cram-A-Cruiser go directly to Fare Share, which distributes food to those in need across Northumberland County.

If you cannot make it to a Cram-A-Cruiser event, you can still donate to Fare Share by visiting fareshare.ca, noted police.

Some suggested non-perishable food items and other items include:

 Canned pasta, stew, chili, soup.

 Flakes of ham, turkey, chicken.

 Canned fruit and vegetables.

 Macaroni and cheese mixes.

 Pasta and rice, side dishes.

 Cereal and oatmeal.

 Peanut butter, jam and cheese spread.

 Cookies and crackers.

 Peanut-free granola bars.

 Pudding and fruit cups.

 Coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

 Meal replacement or protein drinks.

 Juice and juice boxes.

 Cooking oil and sugar.

 Shampoo and body wash.

 Deodorant and dental care products.

 Diapers and baby care products.

 Period and incontinence products.

Monetary donations are also welcome at the event.

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In the past 10 days we have had rain, snow, ice pellets, tremendous winds, awesome display of the Northern Lights, five planets in alignment, wonderful sunrises and sunsets  it is definitely spring in Ontario.

You never know what to expect. We have gone from sunny spring weather to blizzard conditions in a matter of hours. If the pattern continues, we will move past the snow to mud and spring flowers. It happens every year, but we just do not know when it will happen.

Another true sign of springs arrival is the annual provincial burn ban for the month of April. The ban is usually lifted by May 1 but conditions will make the final decision.

Acreman

The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 497 Omemee will host the Acreman Dart Tournament April 29. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., play at 10 a.m. There is a 16-team limit and teams must be registered by Apr. 22., $20 per person. For information or to register contact Karen at 705-740-3620.

Iron Butterfly moves

The Iron Butterfly store has moved from one end of town to the other. This jewelry store offers repairs as well and is now located beside Butternut store.

Manvers

Manvers Township Research Centre is accepting artifacts, collections, maps, old newspapers, memorial notices or other items pertaining to Manvers Township. If you have items of interest, contact the Research Centre at 705-277-2751 or kmorton131@gmail.com

Tax season

If your income was less than $35,000 or your familys income was less than $45,000 in 2022 and you need assistance with your income tax, volunteers will do your taxes for free.

Bring all of your T4s, T5s, T4As, T3s, T2202, rent information including address and landlord or property tax information to Trinity United Church, 6 King St. W., 9-3:30 p.m. Tuesday and members of the Happy Wanderers will prepare your taxes for free. Masks are required.

Seniors

The Omemee Seniors Exercise classes which focus on low impact exercise is held at the Legion, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10-11 a.m. Cost is $10 per month and your first class is free.

The Omemee Seniors Social Club, open to anyone 55 and up, will be held April 25 at the Legion. Lunch is served at 12:30 p.m. but come early and settle in. A 10-month membership is $15. A short meeting follows lunch followed by bingo or euchre.

For further information contact Lynda at 705-799-6493.

If you have any news items for future columns, please send to cowsandcranio@gmail.com or call 705-799-7064.

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The Send a Kid to Camp AXE-travaganza fundraising event, in support of the Kawartha-Haliburton Childrens Foundation, is back.

Presented by Herod Financial Services and supported by AON, Chemong Family Dental, KOMFS, Best Western Plus Otonabee Inn, and Paris Marine, the event takes place May 5 at the Peterborough Axe Club, and tickets are now on sale.

We are so excited to be able to bring this event back, said Carrie Truman, executive director of the Kawartha-Haliburton Childrens Foundation. This is our major fundraiser that allows us to provide the summer camp experience to children involved with the Kawartha-Haliburton Childrens Aid Society.

The evening will include a family friendly axe throwing competition, food, a photo booth and a silent auction.

The goal for the fundraiser is to help 200 local, at-risk children involved with the Kawartha Haliburton Childrens Aid Society attend and experience the joy of camp this summer.

The Kawartha-Haliburton Childrens Foundation celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. When established in 1983, the foundations primary purpose was sending kids to camp. Although the foundation has expanded its scope of support, sending kids to camp still remains a priority.

Over the past 40 years, over 5340 kids have been sent to summer camp, giving them not only a vacation but the chance to connect with new friends, to meet and build relationships with caring adults and counselors, and to get outside and just be a kid.

Our goal is to foster feelings of inclusion and belonging in children and build their self-confidence, reads a release from the foundation regarding sending kids to camp.

Tickets for the fundraiser cost $50 per person. Two time slots for axe throwing are available: 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. or 8 until 10 p.m. To purchase your tickets, visit khcas.on.ca/foundation/axe.

Event sponsorship opportunities are also available. Email carrie@k-hchildrensfoundation.com for further information. To learn more about the foundation or to make an online monetary donation towards the Summer Camp Program visit khcas.on.ca/foundation.

Astronomy meeting

The Peterborough Astronomical Association (PAA) meets Friday. The group is back meeting in person at the Rotary Education Centre Guest Services Building at Riverview Park and Zoo, with masking required. If you prefer to attend online the option to do so via Zoom is still available.

Community members are invited to attend either in person or online. The meeting

format includes a novice class, followed by the main presentation and then a question-and-answer period.

The novice astronomy class, lesson 13, Choosing an Eyepiece, takes an in-depth look at eyepieces, an integral part of a telescopes optical system. Learn how to choose the right ones for your visual needs.

The novice astronomy class begins at 6 p.m. and runs for approximately 45 minutes. Participants need not to have attended previous classes. You are also welcome to stay for the meeting that follows, but there is no obligation.

The main presentation starts at 7 p.m. following a short meeting. This months presentation, by club member, Brett Hardy, entitled Observing Serendipity, looks at the variable of chance involved in witnessing (or not) events in astronomy.

The Sky This Month, a regular meeting feature, will be posted on the club website, peterboroughastronomy.com, for all to access.

To participate in the Zoom meeting, register in advance at peterboroughastronomy.com/zoom_register.php.

There is no cost and the meeting is open to all ages and anyone interested in learning what the group is all about. For further information visit peterboroughastronomy.com.

Diabetes workshop

Do you live with challenges and complications as a result of diabetes or pre-diabetes? Activity Haven is hosting a free six-week diabetes workshop, presented by Self-management Program Central East. The workshop runs Mondays from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. from April 24 to June 5, excluding May 22.

Call the Activity Haven office at 705-876-1670 to register.

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Ryuichi Sakamoto, the influential Japanese composer and founding member of the pioneering electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra, died on March 28 at the age of 71.

While undergoing treatment for cancer discovered in June 2020, Sakamoto continued to create works in his home studio whenever his health would allow, according to a statement released Sunday by the artists management company.

He lived with music until the very end. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to his fans and all those who have supported his activities, as well as the medical professionals in Japan and the U.S. who did everything in their power to cure him. In accordance with Sakamotos strong wishes, the funeral service was held among his close family members.

The statement also shared one of Sakamotos favourite quotes: Ars long, vita brevis. Art is long, life is short.

Sakamoto scored several Hollywood movies, including The Last Emperor and The Revenant. He also acted in films, and played a Japanese soldier alongside David Bowie in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.

Yellow Magic Orchestra was formed in 1978 by Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Haruomi Hosono. The group was one of the most successful bands in Japan and, alongside Kraftwerk, were a major influence on the emergence of hip-hop, New Wave and techno. Takahashi died in January at the age of 70.

As a solo artist, Sakamoto released more than 20 studio albums, more than 10 live albums, over 40 EPs and singles and dozens of soundtracks.

On Sunday, many musicians and fans paid tribute to Sakamoto on Twitter and other social media.

A life so well spent, wrote Nigel Godrich, the prolific record producer best known for his work with Radiohead.

Johnny Marr, guitarist for The Smiths, called Sakamoto an elegant and timeless artist.

 Even if he name isnt familiar his influence on ANY artist you ever tested your b-boy b-girl poppin/lockin/breakdance/electric boogie sites (sic) HIM as their god, wrote drummer and producer Questlove.

His impact on music is truly incalculable, wrote Toronto-based rapper Cadence Weapon.

The King is dead, the Montreal-based indie rock band Stars wrote on Twitter.

Teacher, I hope you have a safe trip Suga from BTS posted on the app Weverse.

Film director Barry Jenkins also paid tribute to an absolute legend.

Heres how other artists and fans are remembering Sakamoto.

With files from The Associated Press

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David Lai was already one of Hong Kongs most respected chefs when he opened his restaurant Neighborhood in 2014, choosing to locate it in a discreet alleyway and make it an intimate and cosy space, the essence of a neighbourhood joint.

His European-inspired menu changes weekly, and the restaurant is booked out weeks in advance. Neighborhood placed ninth in the most recent Asias 50 Best Restaurants rankings but has been a regular on the list since opening; Lai also earned a peer-voted accolade, winning the Inedit Damm Chefs Choice Award 2022.

When asked to describe Hong Kong, Lai says, It is not unlike New York City, where every few blocks can constitute entirely new worlds. Exploring on foot enables you to see these contrasting sides of the city, especially when walking along major thoroughfares like Canton Road or Shanghai Street.

Thats a good way to sample a cross-section of the citys demography and history, he says. Starting from the poshest luxury malls near the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier, he adds, you can pass through the old jade market, restaurant supply shops, the wholesale fruit market and other diverse pockets.

As Hong Kong welcomes back international travellers, Lai shares some of his favourite destinations in the city, showcasing a fun mix of old and new that will make you feel like an insider when you visit.

For fresh fare where the locals go: Ap Lei Chau Market

If you want to shop like a Hong Kong chef, Lai find ingredients for Neighborhood at this market, which is tucked inside the Ap Lei Chau Municipal Services Building and specializes in locally caught seafood. A bonus to this market is the food court upstairs, he says. There, one can find casual local staples such as milk tea and noodles, or purchase live seafood from the market and have it cooked at the restaurants upstairs for a reasonable fee.

For the latest culture hub: West Kowloon Arts District

Spanning 40 hectares of reclaimed land right on Hong Kongs harbourfront, this purpose-built arts and culture quarter is home to new museums, restaurants, design stores, and the citys latest green space, Art Park, with food trucks, free live performances and prime water views. The landmark museum M+ opened in 2021 and Palace Museum just last year. The first features local and international modern arts, and the latter (has) antique treasures from the palace collection in Beijing, explains Lai.

For a traditional HK delicacy: Seventh Son Restaurant and Moon Bay Chinese Cuisine

For Lai, roast suckling pig is the crown jewel of culinary achievement in Hong Kong, and these two restaurants are his top places to experience this revered dish. Both restaurants descended from the venerable Fook Lam Moon, a.k.a. the tycoons canteen, Lai says. The crispy-skin pigs are served half or whole and must be preordered. Dim sum at lunch here is also some of the best in town.

For chill (and cheap) sightseeing: Hong Kong Tramways

For an all-encompassing view of the city, board one of the vintage trams that run the 13-kilometre track from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan. Its a two-hour, snails-pace scenic ride across the entire east-west span of Hong Kong Island, Lai says. Since this is largely a commuter route (and not a tour specifically for travellers), it comes cheap: For $3 HKD, or about 50 cents CAD, you get a profound view of the city. This is easily one of the biggest bargains in the world.

For live jazz in an unexpected spot: Visage One

This one-chair hair salon turns into a jazz bar with secret-hideaway vibes on Saturday nights, with lines down the block to get in. Ben, the owner, is impossibly cool. He doesnt use mobile phones and is an avid reader, explains Lai. The jazz sessions are usually jam-packed, featuring young musicians and, sometimes, established stars such as Eugene Pao and Ted Lo.

Read more about:

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Blood donors invited to join island-wide drive to save lives

PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Centre (Phuket RBC) operated by the the provincial chapter of Thai Red Cross is calling for Thais and foreigners to donate blood, as medics in Phuket and nearby provinces are facing shortages of all blood types due to growth in tourist arrivals and, sadly, various emergencies including road accidents.

healthtourismSafety

By The Phuket News

Sunday 2 April 2023, 10:37AM

Foreigners donate blood at Central Festival on Mar 27. Participants were praised as heroes and given special passport covers with Phuket Immigration emblem. Photo: Phuket Phuket RBC

Foreigners donate blood at Central Festival on Mar 27. Participants were praised as heroes and given special passport covers with Phuket Immigration emblem. Photo: Phuket Phuket RBC

Foreigners donate blood at Central Festival on Mar 27. Participants were praised as heroes and given special passport covers with Phuket Immigration emblem. Photo: Phuket Phuket RBC

Foreigners donate blood at Central Festival on Mar 27. Participants were praised as heroes and given special passport covers with Phuket Immigration emblem. Photo: Phuket Phuket RBC

Foreigners donate blood at Central Festival on Mar 27. Participants were praised as heroes and given special passport covers with Phuket Immigration emblem. Photo: Phuket Phuket RBC

The Phuket RBC invites donors to visit various locations across the island throughout April. All blood types are in deficit, including Rh-positive and RH-negative, but heightened emphasis is made on donating Rh-negative blood types, which are not common among Asians, but critically needed for providing help to other foreigners, including those injured in road accidents.

Despite the ongoing efforts, Rh-Negative blood reserves in Thailand remain alarmingly low, as only 0.3% of the Thai population have this blood type, compared to around 15% of westerners, according to academics.

Scores of foreigners  notably an impressive number of Russian nationals  turned out to contribute at a major blood donation drive organised by Phuket Immigration and Phuket Red Cross this Monday (Dec 27).

Present for the event were Phuket Immigration Chief Col Thanet Sukchai and Phuket Red Cross President Wandee Woonciew among other dignitaries who in person thanked Phuket heroes for donating blood.

The Phuket Red Cross outreach campaign schedule for April is as follows:

Apr 1  2pm-6pm  Lotuss Bypass;

Apr 2  9am-3.30pm  Phuket Regional Blood Center (special donation on the occasion of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn birthday);

Apr 3  noon-6pm  Lotuss Thalang;

Apr 3  1pm-4pm  Makro Phuket (Kathu);

Apr 5  noon-6pm  Lotuss Bypass;

Apr 5  1pm-4pm  Great Glove Thailand (Srisoonthorn);

Apr 7  10am-3pm  King Power Duty Free;

Apr 11  noon-6pm  Lotuss Bypass;

Apr 11  noon-6pm  Lotuss Thalang;

Apr 12  noon-6pm  Lotuss Bypass;

Apr 12  noon-4pm  Makro Thalang;

Apr 18  1pm-4pm  Noku Phuket Hotel (Chalong);

Apr 19  1pm-4pm  Melia Phuket Hotel (Mai Khao);

Apr 21  10am-3pm  Phuket Court of Appeal (Phuket Town);

Apr 22  2pm-6pm  Lotuss Bypass;

Apr 25  10am-4pm  Phuket International Airport, Office Building;

Apr 27  9.30-2pm  BISP School, Koh Kaew;

Apr 27  noon-6pm  Central Floresta, G Floor Parking;

People can also donate blood directly at the Phuket RBC in Phuket Town:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday  8.30am to 4.30pm;

Tuesday, Thursday  8.30am to 8pm;

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays  9am to 3pm;

Telephones  076-251178 ext. 2 or 081-9588854.

Facebook  Phuket RBC and Region Phuket NBC.

Normally Vachira Phuket Hospital organises its own separate outreach campaign, but the schedule for April has not been released yet. People can donate blood at the Blood Bank on the 4th floor of the hospital, located on Yaowarat Rd. in Phuket Town:

Monday to Friday  8.30am to 8pm;

Weekends and holidays  8.30am to 3pm;

Telephone  076-361234 ext 1287;

Facebook  Blood Bank, Vachira Phuket Hospital.

A separate donation event specifically targeting foreigners with RH negative blood is scheduled for Apr 10. The event  dubbed Phukets Blood Donation Drive 2nd  is to be held at Limelight Avenue in Phuket Town from 10am through 4pm.
Envoys enjoy Andaman culture fam trip

PHUKET: Ambassadors and foreign diplomatic staff from more than 20 countries arrived in Phuket yesterday (Apr 1) to enjoy a taste of local culture from throughout the Andaman provinces.

culturetourismeconomics

By The Phuket News

Sunday 2 April 2023, 10:58AM

The envoys and their partners were escorted to an area in Sirinat National Park at Nai Yang, where a country-style Rim Lay Market by the sea had been set up, complete with demonstration booths and vendors selling local OTOP products. Local food was also on site for the visitors to sample as well.

Before arriving in Phuket, the envoys and their partners had visited several locations in Phang Nga and Krabi, explained Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew.

At Nai Yang, heads of government agencies explained to the visiting envoys the Royal Development Projects underway and Thailands potential and success in sustainable development and environmental and friendliness in accordance with sufficiency economy philosophy as it is exercised in Phang Nga and Krabi provinces.

The event at Nai Yang was the last stop on the envoys familiarisation trip itinerary before they returned to Bangkok.
ELMIRA  It was worth the wait.

After a three-year pandemic-prompted hiatus, a live and in-person version of the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival returned in force on Saturday.

Back were the crowds filling the towns downtown core, the vendors selling their wares, the street performers, pancake flippers, syrup pourers  all had returned.

Its so heartwarming, said festival vice-chair Quentin Mayer. Its the start of the springtime festival season.

Things were looking a bit dicey when crews were busy setting things up in the early morning hours in a thunderstorm and pouring rain.

It was mayhem, Mayer said.

But Mother Nature cooperated once it was time to open to the public at 7 a.m., with clear blue skies welcoming morning visitors. Forecast rain didnt return until the afternoon.

And by noon, Mayer and fellow festival volunteers knew they were well on their way to near-record attendance.

When youre downtown and your cell reception dies, thats when you know, he said, predicting theyll have seen around 70,000 to 75,000 visitors by the time the day was through.

Festival crowds have topped out at about 80,000 people in the past. To put that in perspective, thats roughly eight times the towns population.

Were definitely pushing the limits that this town can hold, Mayer said.

An official count of 66,529 in 2000 earned the event a Guinness World Record as the Worlds Largest Single Day Maple Syrup Festival, and that attendance figure has been surpassed several times since.

The 59th edition of the popular event marks a comeback, after the 2020 event was cancelled with just days to go before showtime. Organizers held online versions in 2021 and 2022.

But that just doesnt compare with the sights, sounds and, oh yes, the smells, of the real thing.

Clutching a souvenir  a freshly-cut piece of wood won through a log-sawing challenge  seven-year-old Pedro Borba pronounced it his favourite activity at the festival.

This is the only thing Ive done, the Guelph youngster added, his festival visit just beginning.

I remember lots of people in 2019, said his father, Diogo. I dont remember if it was this many.

Further along Arthur Street, Josh Tritt was taking a brief break with his family, including children Jasper, 4, Chloe, 7, and Sophie, 9.

Were going venue to venue, just taking in the environment, the Cambridge man said.

RELATED STORIES Waterloo Region Elmira Maple Syrup Festival returns April 1

Sophie decided her favourite thing so far was meeting an alpaca at the petting zoo, while Chloes vote went to a pretzel shed eaten.

My worst favourite thing was walking, she noted.

Proceeds from the festival return to the community, through donations to charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

The event has generated about $1.7 million for community groups since its inception; traditionally, 40 per cent of the profits go to Elmira District Community Living, with the remainder going to a host of worthy causes serving Elmira, Woolwich Township and Waterloo Region, the festival website says.

Standing at the headquarters hut, Mayer looked up a packed Arthur Street and smiled.

Coming out of Covid, its really a special treat, he said. Were really pleased.

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This photo taken on April 2, 2023 shows soldiers of South Sudan at the Goma airport in east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The first contingent of South Sudan's army arrived Sunday in Goma, capital of North Kivu Province in east DRC, under the mandate of the regional force of the East African Community (EAC). (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani)

GOMA, DR Congo, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The first contingent of South Sudan's army arrived Sunday in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), under the mandate of the regional force of the East African Community (EAC).

Composed of about 40 military personnel, the first South Sudanese contingent, transported by the Kenyan army plane, will be deployed around Goma for peacekeeping operations.

"As of this Sunday and during the coming week, we begin the deployment of our colleagues from South Sudan who will join the other colleagues already deployed on the ground," Emmanuel Kaputa, deputy commander of the EAC regional force, declared at the Goma airport.

This deployment came a few days after the deployment of nearly 1,000 Ugandan soldiers in the territory of Rutshuru of North Kivu.

South Sudan is, therefore, the fourth country to officially join the EAC regional force aimed at ending the violence in eastern DRC, after Kenya, Burundi and Uganda.

In 2022, the EAC countries set up a regional force to intervene in eastern DRC, in particular, to stem the advance of the March 23 Movement rebel group. 

This photo taken on April 2, 2023 shows soldiers of South Sudan at the Goma airport in east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The first contingent of South Sudan's army arrived Sunday in Goma, capital of North Kivu Province in east DRC, under the mandate of the regional force of the East African Community (EAC). (Xinhua/Alain Uaykani)
The Sangh and SwarajRole of RSS in freedom struggle

|

Dr Sagolsem Kulachandra Singh (Kendra Pramukh, Vishwa Samvad Kendra, Manipur)

Contd from previous issue

Dr Hedgewar said, When any act for the nation hits a hurdle and we have the ability to take it forward then we should rush forward without thinking about the party, etc.( Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar,H.N.palker P/300).

Swaraj- Complete Freedom-The Ultimate Aim of RSS.

Dr. Hedgewars commitment to national cause was total, whether it was revolutionary activities or Gandhian non violent agitations, he supported every patriot.

That oath that an RSS Swayamsevak took while becoming an active member of RSS during those days clearly said, I will strive for the freedom of this Hindu Rastra, i.e. Bharat Objective was clear to achieve freedom. And after getting freedom, to work as pen Indias inherent nature and genius, find new ways and not copy west blindly,Ratan Sharda , Prof.Rajendra Singh ki Jeevan yatra,Hindi,2014, Page 29 (Rajju Bhaiya the forth Sarsanghchalak.)

British Eyes on RSS

During this period, the British rules were alert and cautious about RSS. They had lept a sharp eye on every activity of Guruji. The British tried to curtail Sangh work in various ways.

A report of the Home Department shows that anti-British nature prevailing at the RSS Camp at Jabalpur where a speaker proclaimed that the aim of Sangh was to drive the British out of India and the sentiment was repeated by other speaker ,(Shridhar Damle email ,Home Department, Pol.E No.28/3/43-Pol (1))

Report dated 13 Dec.1943 shows that British Intelligence was wary of Shri Gurujis work.It says,  It is not possible to create a case for banning Sangh but, is equally clear that Golwalker is creating a strong organisation at a rapid pace that would obey the orders, maintaining confidential and jump into any activity of sabotage or of other type whenever required as per their leaders order. The structure of this organisation looks superficially like that of Khaaksrs .But, the fundamental difference between the two is that the leader of Khaaksaar , Inaayatullah is a big mounted imbalance lunatic,while Golwaker is a very cautious, craftly and much more capable leader. (Devendra Swaroop, Sangh Beej se Vriksha ,Hindi Prbhat Prakashan,2017 edition ,page 64).

15th August 1947 Did Not Herald Independence For All The Indians.

1) When the Congress leaders boast of gaining independence for India, they forgot two things. One, it was cumulative effect of many a factor, and supported by people of all shades of opinion under an umbrella organisation named Congress.

2) They want us to forget that when process of freedom was set in motion around 1946,Congress leaders thought their job was over and got busy with formalities of taking over the government.

When Partition was agreed upon, Congress leaders did not forsee the violent aftermath that would be unleashed. However, it does seem that they did not worry too much about it as subsequent developments show.

The violet upheaval and trial of disaster left behind by the partition was handled from civil society side by RSS at a heavy cost to its swaysamsevaks and leaders . This tragic and violent history is paid a lip service, but the onus of this tragedy and insensitive handling of victims of this violence is not put on anyone not talked about much. Naturally the yeoman service rendered by RSS is also not remembered nor RSS credited for doing what should have been a natural duty of a new government and the supposedly biggest organisation, that is Congress that had agreed to partition.

For the victims of this violence, declaration of independence was not end of a chapter but the beginning of a terrible nightmare .And in this nightmare, it was RSS that held the candle of hope.

Weakness of congress Leadership in make of Muslim league Promoted violence-

It is important to lay bare some unpalatable truths of that period.

(To be contd)


Misrepresenting reality : The case of Moreh

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Symon Sangma and Wirilungbo

When we read about exotic places to travel and visit, we are often captivated by the pictures of far-off land with exotic people, places, and food. This is especially true concerning towns like Moreh, hidden away in the international borders. What urged us to write this piece is the abyss of disconnect between what is being told (as represented) in articles, journals, and books and the actuality (or the ground reality) we saw and experienced during our field research.

Much is written in books, travel sections of various magazines, and academic journals about Moreh. We have encountered cliches from Indias reputable newspapers, Moreh serves as an important trade route, and is also a commercial hub for India. Located before the India-Myanmar border, its a place you should visit at least once. One of the primary highlights of this place is that its streets are lined with bustling shops that sell almost everything, and will compel you to indulge in some shopping for sure. Or Get a taste of Myanmars vibrant culture and cuisine at the Indian border town of Moreh in Manipur. A quick glance at Indias foreign affairs policy will suggest such a commonplace disconnect between policy declarations (that proclaim these border towns and regions to benefit from such policy directives) and the desperate ground realities in these border towns, such as alcohol and substance abuse, unemploy- ment, lack of proper infrastructure, illegal cross- border narcotics trade, informal taxes, lack of access to Central and State Government schemes, lack of quality health care, education, and skill development.

In March 2023, we went to Moreh for our field research, regarding our graduate thesis, on border trade towns. We were excited about our field research trip. And before embarking upon our adventurous journey to this exotic place called Moreh, we did our background study. We read numerous academic articles on border town trade, especially concerning Indias Act East Policy and Border Trade Agreement with Myanmar.

From our experience in Moreh, what struck us the most was the utter disconnect between what we had read and what we experienced. We found, interacting with the local respondents, that most (if not all) had neither heard about nor had any knowledge about the Act East Policy. This is a surprising revelation given how the Union Government promotes Act East Policy to promote Indias relations with South East Asia. One appropriate example is the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trila- teral Highway, connecting Moreh with Mae Sot in Thailand via Mandalay in Myanmar. This trilateral highway is purported to bring innumerable socio-economic development and benefits to the border towns like Moreh.

Ironically, the people pointed out this about the depilated market road and lack of a proper drainage system near Gate-2 in the Indo-Myanmar friendship gate. Also, take the case of Indias Border Trade Agreement with Myanmar, signed in 1994, which allows for a specific number of tradable items (23 items in the original agreement but has now been expanded to 40 items) between the two sides. But the irony, just as with Act East Policy, is that most people, especially the traders and wholesalers, are unaware of the 40 items and the number of tradable items.

In addition to the State Governments neglect, there is the proverbial lack of job opportunities for the people in Moreh, especially the graduate students. About 50% of the students (those surveyed) work in the market and run small businesses to help their families. The lack of skill and training programs is something that the youths in the town were most interested in for the State Government to do to uplift the plight of the youths. It is thus not difficult to imagine why there is a drug and other substance abuse epidemic in Moreh. Regarding other aspects of development in Moreh, a lot needs to be done by the State and the Union Government, given how important Moreh is purported to be for India in its view toward the South East Asia countries.

The Government of Manipur should also take an active part in taking care of the township with proper roads, strong drainage systems and security. Proper functioning and governance are essential as these are necessary to construct and maintain access to the market with appropriate road conditions. Currently, it lacks all the requirements with its poor drainage systems regularly flooding the market roads, especially during rainy seasons. Whats more, most politicians fail to fulfill their promises, and the people continue to face the same problem with a lack of support from the Government. It includes a lack of investment in the village and market areas and no scheme or funds to look after the welfare of the people. In other aspects, people, especially students attending Government schools and college in Moreh face acute problems regarding the lack of proper classes, teachers, and infrastructure. Though these problems acutely affect their lives, people living in Moreh cannot express their views and grievances to the Government.

There are plethoras of issues that we can mention. Still, for the sake of space and clarity, our main aim is to direct peoples attention, especially the people and the Government of Manipur, to the plight of its people on the border towns. Moreh has gained much attention in academic literature in the past few years. Yet, the representative picture or the description we find in those academic journals and magazines belie the ground reality of the struggles people of Moreh go through daily. In articles and magazines, we see Moreh represented in policy declarations and statistics about international trade and its strategic location as a border town with immense possibilities; we also see in popular magazines depictions of people smiling in their vegetable and food stalls. But Alas ! If only we could see the deplorable conditions of the exotic and alluring pictures and policy declarations.

One of the most valuable lessons from our field research to Moreh is that the representation of people and places (especially about North East India) in popular magazines and academic journals is not always accurate. And the most concerning ramification of such representation is that most vital policies formulated for this region and places are based on such inaccurate models of representation written by travel magazines, even reputable journalists, and academics. The question is: are we not the victims of misrepresentation ?

The writers are from International Relations Graduate Program, North East Christian University Dimapur, Nagaland
Canadas steel industry welcomed this weeks federal budget incentives for clean energy, measures which should also help to bolster the economy in Hamilton.

The sector is pleased to see this budget significantly expand the climate toolkit to support heavy industrys competitiveness as Canada moves toward a net-zero economy, said Catherine Cobden, CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association.

One of the most important themes in the budget  the need to build a national net-zero electricity system by 2035  is an important policy goal for heavy industries like steel and cement which will become increasingly dependent on large supplies of emission-free energy. The clean energy transition is also a key feature of the city of Hamiltons manufacturing strategy.

Canadas electricity system is already more than 80 per cent emission-free due to the countrys large hydro, nuclear and renewable generation. But Canada will need to at least double its power capacity by 2050 to meet added demands for electric vehicles, home heating and manufacturing. With so much additional demand, there are fears utilities like Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will simply crank up their gas-fired plants, hugely ramping up CO2 emissions.

This poses a problem for Hamilton since steel, the heart of the manufacturing industry in the city, is in the process of switching to electricity-heavy production.

With federal and provincial aid, ArcelorMittal Dofasco plans to switch from CO2-intensive blast furnace technology to lower-emission natural gas and electric arc furnace production by 2028, which is expected to place huge additional demand on Ontarios electricity grid.

The new natural gas furnace can also be powered with hydrogen once an ample, clean hydrogen supply becomes available. But that would also massively increase the need for renewable power in Ontario since low-CO2 hydrogen requires large volumes of electricity for its production.

Under the new budget, the government seeks to address these and other power supply problems through an electricity credit program. It will spend $25.7 billion for a 15-per cent credit on clean electricity projects over a decade. The credits will help defray costs for wind, solar and hydro projects, gas-fired generation with abated emissions, nuclear projects, batteries, pumped storage and power grid equipment.

It will be available to private companies and non-taxable entities such as Crown corporations, public utilities and Indigenous-owned companies. Offering it to Crown corporations is an important feature of the program since electricity in most provinces is provided through provincially-owned power utilities.

Indigenous-owned corporations are also expected to play an important role as they commit part of their large land tracts for electricity generation and storage. The Oneida Energy storage project, 40 kilometres south of Hamilton, is a good example of what can be done. When operational in 2025 it will be Canadas largest power storage project at 250 megawatts.

The clean electricity credit will end in 2034, which is in line with the federal governments commitment to create an emission-free national grid by 2035.

In addition to the clean electricity credit, the budget also includes a 15 to 40 per cent tax credit to build hydrogen production plants. This could encourage OPG and private power companies to build hydrogen capacity in Ontario, which would be a key enabler of ArcelorMittal Dofascos transition to hydrogen and the creation of a potential hydrogen hub in Hamilton.

The cost of doubling the electricity grid by 2050 will be enormous. In Ontario alone, its estimated at $400 billion. So even at $26 billion over 10 years across Canada, the federal clean electricity program is not nearly enough to pay for this expansion.

But together with other incentives, the government is betting that it can spark private companies and provincial utilities to invest in this transition, which will also help to safeguard Hamiltons economic future.

Eugene Ellmen writes on sustainable business and finance. He lives in Hamilton.

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Semiconductors are the microchips that form the combined brains and nervous system of every major electronic device from blenders to Artemis rockets. While Canadas homegrown tech sectors have exploded in recent decades, our domestic semiconductor manufacturing has not kept pace.

We have a small window of opportunity in 2023 to become a global tech leader with a strong stake in the crucial semiconductor industry. If not, our greentech, life sciences, transportation and software sectors will be at the mercy of foreign chip suppliers.

We fell further behind this month when one of Canadas semiconductor success stories, GaN Systems was sold to a German chip giant Infineon Technologies for nearly $1 billion. GaN could have remained Canadian owned and grown into a global giant if policymakers, business leaders and innovation strategists were working together more effectively to build a thriving ecosystem for chip makers.

That means Canadas existing and future semiconductor makers need what the Council of Canadian Innovators calls for a clear road map that mobilizes our industrial base. If we dont do it now, this crucial tech sector risks becoming yet another branch-plant industry where profits and economic benefits flow to foreign giants instead of our own communities.

The City of Markham where I am mayor is home to ventureLAB, Canadas only startup incubator for semiconductor firms, as well as the countrys largest cluster of semiconductor R&D companies. Its a great example of how success is achieved by working together. But the opportunities lie far beyond Markham. Part of our strategy should be to stretch out our chip research and manufacturing capacity across Canada to become exporters, creating thousands of good-paying, career-path jobs.

The first step is to address supply chain weaknesses so that we have future access to the range of materials needed to build and improve chips in Canada. Lack of semiconductor supply was a major reason why car consumers were left looking at empty dealerships last year, not to mention shortages of other appliances and consumer goods. While those supply chain problems seem to be resolved at the moment, we cant risk another dry spell in the future.

One example is Project Arrow, a concept electric vehicle almost entirely built in Canada using domestic auto-parts and suppliers unveiled in January. The Arrow is an enormous achievement that could ignite a domestic EV manufacturing industry. But while over 97 per cent of the Arrows parts originated in Canada, there was one exception: its vital semiconductor chips had to be imported.

Another important element is a collaborative and targeted industrial policy that promotes measures to bring chip building back here. Such a policy will require investments bolstering infrastructure, education, R&D and startup ventures. For example in Markham, we have built a model environment for tech firms and other stakeholders to solve problems and support innovation, which has led to the birth of the next generation of hardware companies at ventureLAB.

The U.S. passed a massive support package and blueprint last year to encourage semiconductor research and manufacturing with the CHIPS and Science Act. The $280 billion U.S. commitment is specific, targeted and designed to lure manufacturing from abroad. Canada needs its own version at the federal level.

Finally, we need co-ordination with all levels of government and industry to ensure these investments are producing the intended results. The strategic goal is to make sure the benefits of these investments stay in Canada through domestic growth, supply chain improvements, R&D and talent recruitment, and dont leak across borders.

Building up the semiconductor industry should be as important to our future economic security as the energy and agri-food sectors. All Canadians have the ability to share in the promise and benefits of locating manufacturing here and fostering chip innovation. We have all the tools at our fingertips, including access to the Rare Earth raw materials. Its time we used them properly and with purpose.

If Canada is to truly be the global tech powerhouse it aspires to be, we need to work together toward a strategic goal to bring more semiconductor research and manufacturing here. Thats the only way we can have a secure supply for our outstanding tech innovations. We cannot afford to lose any more ground to the rest of the world.

Frank Scarpitti is the mayor of Markham.

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Michelle Douglas was a newly minted Canadian Armed Forces military police officer when she was told by her boss to report to Ottawa for a serious investigation.

Gather your things, were leaving now, her commanding officer in the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) at Canadian Forces Base Toronto said, with urgency.

She didnt know exactly what was happening, but the idea excited her. She was going to work on something meaningful, something important.

It was June 1988, less than two years after she signed up to serve her country.

Leaving the detachment at Canadian Forces Base Downsview, she was whisked into an undercover car. Driving along the strip toward Pearson airport, her boss instead turned the car into the parking lot of the Constellation Hotel.

There would be no flight that day. She would not work on an investigation. She was the investigation.

It was then she knew she was, in her words, in big trouble.

Douglas was in a same-sex relationship with a fellow officer and the military had a long-standing practice to interrogate and purge members found to be, in their terms, Not Advantageously Employable Due to Homosexuality.

An estimated 9,000 were surveilled, interrogated and purged from the armed forces, RCMP and public service between the 1950s and mid-1990s. Expulsion left victims traumatized and adrift, with many carrying the weight of unceremonious public outings in a world often unsupportive for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex people. Many reported long-term mental-health and substance-abuse struggles as a result.

Douglas experience would change all that. It stopped the formal purge program and marked an acknowledgment of a practice deeply rooted in Canadian history, the beginning of change in the Canadian military and a new mission for the shunned soldier.

She couldnt anticipate that when she walked into an eighth-floor hotel room to meet alone with two men tasked with outing her. All she knew was that her job was in jeopardy.

Michelle, its not going to be a pleasant thing for you, they began.

They were right.

The intent was to break the person down

Criminalization of LGBTQ people goes back hundreds of years, but it was the First World War when the practice of purging suspected gay servicemen becomes clear. For some, it was a matter of being found guilty of gross indecency or buggery, and for others, the most insignificant mannerism  the flick of a wrist, how a man held his cigarette or crossed his legs  could raise suspicion and derail a persons career and personal reputation.

It was a culture of intolerance in which, as Gary Kinsman, co-author of the book The Canadian War on Queers: National Security as Sexual Regulation, notes, the military saw gay soldiers as having a psychopathic personality with abnormal sexuality.

The military long had policies to get rid of people who engage in sex with members of the same gender, Kinsman says. The most provocative was called Canadian Forces Administrative Order (CFAO 19-20) Homosexuality  Sexual Abnormality Investigation, Medical Examination and Disposal.

The subjects sexual propensity or behaviour could scandalize other members and bring discredit on the CF, it read.

Kinsman says the rationale was, Somehow same-gender sex between members within the military would disrupt military discipline in the military hierarchy.

When the Cold War hit, homosexual acts shifted from being unbecoming conduct to a matter of national security. Canada looked to root out suspected communists and protect classified information by removing people with government-defined character weaknesses and moral failings.

Suspected homosexuals in the military, but also in public service and the RCMP, were of greatest interest. If someone was hiding that, what else were they hiding from the government? They could not be trusted.

Once women joined active military service, they faced the same treatment. Soldiers were actively surveilled and judged, homes were watched and attendance at homosexual meeting places was noted, until ultimately came interrogation.

Members were shamed into near-seclusion by the sometimes-obvious surveillance alone.

There was a social alienation that was happening; psychologically it was incredibly difficult, says Carmen Poulin, a professor in the psychology department at the University of New Brunswick. The questions were so intrusive, inappropriate and unnecessary and meant to intimidate and make the interview as uncomfortable as possible. The intent was to break the person down.

Interrogation included invasive questioning, allegations and gaslighting. Investigators offered to spare some targets from purging if they outed service members who werent being investigated yet.

No one was safe from suspicion, though for a time women were targeted more than men. They raised more suspicion at work because their same-sex intimacies were often with others in the ranks.

(Men had relationships) for the most part outside the military, says Lynne Gouliquer, an associate professor of sociology from Laurentian University and a purge survivor. If you caught one you didnt catch the soldier beside him.

The fruit machine

Where interrogation couldnt produce results, it was believed the RCMP-termed fruit machine might. Developed by a Carleton University professor, it included a battery of testing. One test required subjects to view gay pornography while their pupils of the eyes, perspiration and pulse were measured, looking for stimulation.

The testing also included word-association tests and masculinity/femininity tests where a subject would answer true or false to statements evoking gender stereotypes.

I would like to be a nurse, one subject was asked to confirm. I very much like hunting.

That was in practice for a few years before it was abandoned in 1967. Others would be brought to psychiatric institutions for electroconvulsive therapy and chemical treatment.

Some of the people who were interrogated were kept like some kind of ongoing torture, not knowing what was going on (and) when they were going to be kicked out because they were kept as bait (to find others), Poulin says. There was a lot of following. Their phones were tapped.

Expulsion for homosexuality effectively outed people, leaving them vulnerable and often subject to violence. Some gay men were beaten up once identified as gay, as women were sexually assaulted by assailants who sometimes told them they were testing their sexuality. There were suicides.

Even as some homosexual acts were decriminalized in 1969 and the Cold War later receded, purging of the ranks did not ebb; policies were added denying promotions, transfers and pay raises.

The national security campaigns largely receded in the public sphere but they still existed around security clearance levels, says Kinsman. If you were identified as being homosexual, you would not be eligible for higher-level security clearances.

In Douglas case, her security clearance had been a point of pride.

It was November 1986 when, then a recent university graduate, she swore the oath for a minimum nine-year commitment with an eye to a career in military policing. Quite thrilled and excited about her future, as she recalls, she finished her basic officer training with highest honours, received Level 3 (Top Secret) security clearance and was posted to the Military Police Section with an assignment to the Special Investigation Unit, where serious criminal offences were investigated.

Douglas was told she was only the second female officer ever posted there but, given her new relationship with a female officer, she knew her personal life would have to be private if she were to last. Her department was the one that investigated suspected homosexuality.

Like other people in the military who would go to extremes to discourage possible suspicion  avoiding stereotypical behaviour or places like gay bars, not sharing much about their personal lives or referring a same-sex partner by a different name  Douglas was guarded in what she described as a climate of fear. She worked hard to hide, creating a false narrative about me but not being too specific.

It was really contrary to who I am, which is a very honest person, she says. I knew I had to have a story that would protect me.

Is that what you are hiding?

Douglas had no prepared story when she found herself under interrogation. She just knew she had been a good soldier.

The experience lasted for two days and proved to be a very, very difficult time that in some ways was terrifying. Faced with a barrage of invasive questioning, Douglas denied allegations about her sexual identity and refused to reveal names of gays and lesbians she knew who were serving.

How many gay people do you know? they asked.

Why are you concerned with how many people? she countered. Im dedicated. I work hard at my job. I dont get it.

Youll take a polygraph examination, right, Michelle? they said. Not doing one would be seen to mean she was lying and not loyal to Canada.

She declined the exam and instead argued that she was loyal and dedicated and frankly, an excellent officer, all while trying to hide how dehumanized they were making her feel.

I knew if I came out to them, it would be the end of my career, she says.

Back to work days later, Douglas was told she could not be trusted and her files were vacated. She faced intense harassment and humiliation  she was aggressively confronted and yelled at  until, three weeks later, she agreed to take the polygraph.

Flown to Ottawa, she crumbled just as the exam started, and admitted her relationship and sexual identity. There was no empathy, only more invasive questioning over the coming months. The SIU requested she then be removed from her job because she was unlikely to be able to provide good leadership and guidance to SIU investigators who view homosexuals as part of the the opposition.

The military also forced me to come out to my family and they gave me 24 hours to do it, or they told me that the police would do it for me, she says.

Douglas was in limbo for months. She lost her future as a military police officer and she was moved to a less auspicious role as the process continued. Her security clearance was revoked in April 1989 and in July she was released on the grounds of homosexuality, 13 months after she walked in the door at the Constellation Hotel.

She describes the initial feeling as being in a fog. Adrift, she found a lifeline with a chance meeting with Svend Robinson, Canadas first openly gay member of Parliament, at a Toronto Metropolitan University (then Ryerson Polytechnical Institute) lecture. Robinson connected Douglas with Clayton Ruby, the lawyer who made a career fighting discrimination and championing the underprivileged.

Robinson and Ruby encouraged her to fight the injustice. She was not the first to take the military to court over discrimination  that would be purged serviceman Jacques Gallant  but Ruby told her she had a strong case.

The case was first shared with the world in March 1990, when then-Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg profiled the 26-year-old shining light who was suing the government for breaching her Charter rights.

Landsberg gave her a pseudonym  Marian X  a gesture of discretion and protection for a soldier expecting a battle in court.

Douglas lawsuit would be settled the night before a three-week trial was set to begin in 1992. She got a settlement of $100,000 plus legal costs, CFAO 19-20 was repealed and LGBTQ people in the military would no longer have to serve under codified forms of discrimination.

The purge was over.

The real win was not the money, she says. It was the restoration of dignity to herself and others in the armed services.

(It is) a great day for me, but more than a great day for gays and lesbians, Douglas said at the time. It means simply that they are now equal.

John de Chastelain, then chief of defence staff, reiterated his full support. For Douglas, next steps would take time.

I would say now I can appreciate that I was traumatized, she says. You have to find a way to move forward.

Douglas could have returned to the military, but instead chose to focus on a new career as a public servant. For 30 years she worked for Revenue Canada and the Department of Justice, and dove into opportunities in non-profits and activism.

She worked in notable organizations, including the 519 Church Street Community Centre, Foundation for Equal Families and Rainbow Railroad. She spent 15 years on the board with WE Charity and is on the board for the Michaelle Jean Foundation.

Douglas supported landmark cases that went before the Supreme Court, including the case of teacher Delwin Vriend, who was dismissed from his position at a college in Edmonton because of his sexual orientation, and the 1999 case of M v. H, which fought for the rights of same-sex couples.

In 2017, Douglas, along with other purge victims, survivors and allies, welcomed Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus public apology to LGBTQ Canadians for state-sponsored, systematic oppression and rejection that he equated to nothing short of a witch-hunt.

As an ex-military person that is LGBTQ, it was deeply moving, says Gouliquer. It doesnt necessarily do anything about the horrors of the trauma, but it was an acknowledgment. It was an extraordinary, meaningful event.

Trudeau delivered the apology in hand with a $145-million settlement for victims, a result of a lawsuit from purge survivors Todd Ross, Martine Roy and Alida Satalic. From that, almost $24 million was earmarked for the LGBT Purge Fund, the organization tasked with reconciliation and memorialization projects. Douglas is executive director, alongside Ross and Roy.

The funds work includes creation of a national monument to discrimination against LGBTQ people in Canada and development of an exhibition, education programs and digital content in hand with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The fund also works to maintain a library of government documents illustrating what the purge activity looked like. Just this January, the fund was successful in gathering 15,000 pages of such documentation. Work continues to remove unnecessary redactions.

If you dont have the historical record that is publicly accessible to people, the event or the historical event is often minimized, says Douglas. How did it get going? What caused it to ramp up at certain times? Why was it so inhumane? What drove them to be so cruel in their practices?

In May 2021, the fund released the Emerging From The Purge report with 23 recommendations for government to foster diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. Members of the fund have met with the Prime Ministers Office as follow up, and the reports elements are included in the governments 2022 Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan.

Some places are doing better than others, Douglas says of results. We would really like to see the RCMP put a priority on the recommendations of the report.

Another institution remains in the crosshairs of the report  the Canadian military.

You dont have to be hiding

It is one thing to stop purging LGBTQ members from the military, but another to change institutional culture. After the Douglas decision in 1992, there was no immediate broader change.

A lot of military folks did not come out after the ban was lifted, Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, an LGBTQ inclusion researcher and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says. Homophobia still existed. It was pretty much an unofficial dont ask, dont tell policy.

For years, out LGBTQ service people faced homophobia at work. Duval-Lantoine says it took decades to recognize and take action against it.

It took Donna Winslow during Somalia inquiry to talk about homophobic violence in the Canadian airborne regime, says Duval-Lantoine. There is little acknowledgment that its still happening ... There is no ability to monitor, track violence they experience and discrimination they experience.

The military admits progress took time. There was a wait for evolution of government law and policy, such as marriage recognition and spousal rights, and time was required for learning.

Chief Warrant Officer Martin Rousseau, a military personnel command chief, says change now is reflected right at onboarding and basic training.

The basic military qualification training has gone through a significant revision, he says. We moved toward emotional intelligence, social interactions, understanding human behaviour ... Its very much open and safe as an approach.

When basic training was once meant to tear someone down and build them back up into the image of the military, Brig.-Gen. Roger Scott, a gay man who joined the military not knowing the purge was ongoing,says they are not trying to erase the person that was there before, but rather accept people as they come, and building the values of what it means to be military into that person  You can be visible and you dont have to be hiding.

Scott is part of the Defence Team Pride Advisory Organization. A recent example of their work was suggesting a reduction of unnecessary gender identifiers on official forms.

In addition, uniform instructions have been updated to remove gendered dress regulations and barriers to self-expression; rank changes were made; and pronouns are respected, including on formal communication.

A recently updated positive-space program includes more than 800 trained positive-space ambassadors  members who are trained and identified as being a resource for a fellow service member needing support. In the past 18 months, consultations have been held with 12,000 active service members to get feedback.

As for the LGBT Purge Funds recommendations, Lt.-Col. Donna Allen, Canadian Armed Forces acting director of human rights and diversity, says they wont be achieved overnight.

It is our intention to implement the recommendations that are listed in the report, as broad as they are, as specific as some are, she says.

Rousseau acknowledges there is a conflict-and-complaint structure in place for homophobia, gender-based violence and harassment, and pockets of resistance are being tackled.

Society is changing and it is forcing us to have discussions, he says. A whole lot of new language is being introduced. A whole lot of new philosophies are introduced and a whole lot of actually putting words on a behaviour is being introduced which pushes people to do some reflection.

The effort has not gone unnoticed.

We cannot deny that there has been progress, says Poulin. But the solution has to be a fundamental transformation.

Gouliquer says focus must also be on gender-based violence and toxic masculinity. In October 2022, two Royal Canadian Air Force senior officers were charged with allegedly failing to stop a group of Cold Lake, Alta. fighter pilots from assigning an offensive, homophobic, misogynistic call sign (a nickname for an aviator, e.g. Maverick from Top Gun) to another member.

As reported by the Ottawa Citizen, a military member said not only were 30 soldiers present when the call sign was created and did not object; leadership only took action once it was formally reported months later. The Citizen reported that a military member emailed Defence Minister Anita Anand to point out the call sign showed just how useless culture change is.

The military predominantly has been a cisgendered male, heterosexual-dominated institution and a lot needs to happen to stop the domination of that, says Gouliquer.

Many of the affected people do not forgive the military. Some take an abolitionist view of the entire institution. But loyalty of some other purged service members has not waned. In the 2018 documentary The Fruit Machine, a love for military service is apparent. Victims said the pain was not just the trauma of being purged, but also having to stop serving. Some say they would proudly return if ever asked.

Last month, purge victims visited Canadian Forces Base Borden to reclaim some sense of security and recast some of their memories. A sod-turning was completed to mark a military monument to the LGBT Purge.

Douglas was there, in part for her own reflection and as part of her work with the Purge Fund, which she continues full-time with an eye to maintaining progress and supporting marginalized groups.

Now is the time for great vigilance and support for our most vulnerable, she admits. I will be there for them. I am unbending.

Brian Bradley is a Hamilton-based journalist who works for the Stars Public Editor and podcast teams. Follow him on Twitter: @brianjbradley

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A pioneer of controversial right-wing social media campaigns. The mastermind behind Kathleen Wynnes ambitious policies. Stephen Harpers advertising guru. A Polaris Prize-winning musician.

Theyre all among the growing list of people working on Toronto mayoral campaigns.

Ahead of nominations opening Monday for whats expected to be the most hotly contested mayors race the city has seen in at least a decade, well-known political strategists, communications professionals, lobbyists and others have been flocking to join candidates teams.

As much as the performance of any politician on the campaign trail, backroom staff could be decisive in who wins the June 26 vote. Theyre the ones tasked with sifting through polling data, crafting policies that will grab voters attention and raising the millions of dollars that could be necessary to run a winning campaign. Before any debates are held or platforms drafted, whos working for which candidate offers a glimpse at how the race could play out.

Technically, there are no party politics at city hall. But so far, some of the most recognizable backroom staff involved are Conservatives with experience in federal or provincial politics.

Conservatives in demand for mayoral candidates

Jim Burnett, who worked on Erin OTooles leadership bid and is a senior adviser on ex-police chief Mark Saunderss mayoral campaign, said its no surprise theyre in demand.

I think that Conservatives are very good campaigners.  Weve proven that over and over again, he said, citing the success of Premier Doug Fords Ontario PCs, who have coasted to victory in successive elections.

Recent provincial and federal Conservative leadership contests have also created a strong pool of campaign-ready right-leaning pros.

Among those working for Saunders are: Ontario PC fundraising chair Tony Miele; former director of advertising for the federal Conservatives and Harpers communications director Dan Robertson; OTooles leadership campaign data lead Mitch Wexler; and Nico Fidani-Diker, a lobbyist and one-time staffer for Rob and Doug Ford. Premier Fords former chief of staff Dean French, who resigned in 2019 over a patronage scandal, is also supporting Saunders.

Saunderss opponents say his team signals hes the premiers candidate. But Burnett said hes never discussed Saunderss candidacy with the premier, and Ford has claimed hell stay neutral in the race.

However, Burnett asserted the most pressing issue in facing Toronto is public safety, and Saunders is the best person to tackle it. And I think the premier would know that too, he said.

The campaign of Coun. Brad Bradford (Ward 19, BeachesEast York) also boasts some high-profile Conservatives. His campaign director is Matt Hiraishi, former chief of staff to Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, while his digital director is Jeff Ballingall, founder of the popular Ontario Proud social media campaigns that were credited with helping take down Wynnes government, but which critics accused of stoking online abuse against Liberal politicians. Last year, his firm was retained to work on Pierre Poilievres Conservative leadership bid

Dennis Matthews, an advertising strategist who has worked for Harper and Ford, has an advisory position on Bradfords campaign, as does Fords 2018 and 2022 campaign manger Kory Teneycke, although sources say his involvement is limited.

Brad Bradfords team includes prominent Liberals

There are also Liberal organizers on Bradfords team  advisers Brian Teefy and Bob Lopinski both worked for Liberal premiers.

During his four years on council Bradford has positioned himself as a progressive on issues like housing and transit, but critics say the makeup of his campaign team is a sign he has a secret right-wing agenda.

Jamie Ellerton, Bradfords communications director, rejected that idea, and said the campaign is cross-partisan. The councillor has promised to move quickly to address public safety and housing affordability while not revisiting old debates like the Gardiner Expressway, and would bring a culture of action to city hall that is appealing to people across the political spectrum, said Ellerton, a partner at a PR firm who previously worked as executive director for a pro-oilsands website.

Ana Bailaos team resembles John Torys winning teams

Former Davenport councillor Ana Bailao was a close ally of John Tory, and her campaign team resembles those that helped the former mayor win three municipal elections.

Her backroom is led by veteran Liberal organizer Tom Allison and polarizing pollster Nick Kouvalis, the unlikely duo who teamed up in 2014 on Torys first mayoral win. Bob Richardson, who co-chaired Torys first campaign, is serving as an adviser, as is Torys 2022 campaign manager Patrick Harris.

Despite those links, campaign spokesperson Blue Knox said Bailao is her own person, with her own ideas and plan to see them through. She said Bailao has already put forward original proposals, like compelling telecoms to provide cell service on the subway and creating community health teams for seniors.

Advising Coun. Josh Matlow in his mayoral bid is John Laschinger, who is considered the elder statesman of Canadian political campaigns and for 50 years has worked with politicians of all stripes, including on David Millers and Olivia Chows previous mayoral bids.

Peter Donolo, one-time director of communications for Prime Minister Jean Chretien, is also advising the TorontoSt. Pauls councillor, who describes himself as a pragmatic progressive and has proposed a two-per-cent tax to improve declining city services.

Matlows digital strategy lead is Rollie Pemberton, the musician and author who performs as Cadence Weapon.

While for the moment Matlows team has fewer high-profile insiders than some candidates, a spokesperson said the campaign is still growing and will be able to go toe-to-toe with any challenger.

We are building a really robust machinery of people who represent Toronto and who also have political know-how and decades of experience, she said.

Mitzie Hunters campaign staff includes more than Liberals

Among Mitzie Hunters advisers is Andrew Bevan, former principal secretary to Wynne who led key transit expansion and climate change files for the provincial Liberals, and was once described by the Globe and Mail as the most powerful person in Ontario most people have never heard of.

Hunter, who is currently Liberal MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood but says she will resign to run for mayor, also has one-time Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Brad Duguid as an adviser, and veteran Liberal strategist John McKenna as deputy campaign manager.

But she doesnt accept the label of Liberal candidate in the race. Her campaign manager, Imran Amin, has volunteered for Conservatives. She also has the support of civic activist Dave Meslin.

The focus should not be partisan party politics. It should be all about electing the best mayor for this critical moment in Torontos history, said a spokesperson for Hunter, who has vowed to improve TTC safety and not use strong-mayor powers if elected.

Mitzies running to make sure we have a city that works for everyone.

Largely absent from campaigns so far are high-profile NDP strategists, but that will likely change if Chow enters the race. The former NDP MP is considering a run.

Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr

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When Nathalia Comrie told the Crown attorney she didnt want to testify at the sexual assault trial of her ex-partner, she said the prosecutor yelled at her.

She said that I was breaking her heart, the 21-year-old social work student told the Star.

The Crown told her that feminists fought for so many years to have marital rape laws, and that I wasnt being brave and courageous, Comrie said.

I said your idea of justice and my idea of justice are completely different, Comrie said, so please stop assigning your idea of justice to my sexual assault.

It is my hurt, my trauma, not yours.

By that point, Comrie was already disheartened with a criminal justice system that she felt didnt listen to her and often kept her in the dark. It was a system she had been trying in vain to escape by requesting that the case against her ex be put on hold so that they could explore a rarely used alternative for sexual offences.

In its most basic form, restorative justice brings the two parties together in a mediated setting where the survivor can seek healing by talking about being harmed, and the person who harmed them takes responsibility for their actions.

Its a process that was allowed to proceed successfully in at least one Ontario criminal sexual assault case in 2019  leading to the sexual assault charge being withdrawn with the agreement of the complainant  but almost never again since.

The Ministry of the Attorney General says sexual offences are ineligible for restorative justice because theyre too serious, citing the need for deterrence and the protection of victims. If convicted of sexual assault, penalties the offender may face include a criminal record, jail time, and being put on a sex offenders registry.

Moreover, sexual offences involve violations of sexual integrity, privacy, and autonomy which can have enduring and substantial effects upon victims and the community at large, the ministry told the Star in a statement. These crimes pose a serious threat to individual and public safety, and they are prosecuted vigorously.

But where does that leave survivors?

Three women, including Comrie, spoke to the Star about their painful experiences as complainants in criminal sexual assault cases. They spoke of being infantilized, re-traumatized by having their personal lives vigorously questioned, and ultimately feeling a sense of hopelessness that anything good would come of the process.

All of them pushed for an alternative such as restorative justice, and all faced stiff opposition and ultimately refusal by Crown attorneys. As a result, their cases ended in stayed or withdrawn charges earlier this year after they declined to testify.

Despite the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights stipulating victims have the right to information about restorative justice programs, the women interviewed by the Star all had to find out about alternatives on their own.

In an email sent via a ministry spokesperson, the prosecutor in Comries case said she refutes making such comments or any allegations of wrongdoing.

Not every case is right for restorative justice, and if complainants want to pursue criminal justice, they should be supported in doing so, the women say. But theyre urging Ontarios prosecutors to make space for other options in sexual assault cases  models that they and a growing number of experts believe have the potential to help survivors heal and to rehabilitate offenders in a way prison cant.

The overwhelming feedback from an extensive study speaking to survivors by Toronto-based organization WomenatthecentrE was that the criminal system is as violent as the rape itself, said executive director Nneka MacGregor.

So if survivors are telling you that and Crowns are blinkered and obstinate and refusing to listen, it makes them complicit to the continuing harm that survivors are facing, said MacGregor, whose organization is dedicated to eradicating gender-based violence. And then you wonder why women dont come forward.

What is restorative justice?

More than 80 per cent of sexual violence offences are committed by a person known to the victim; securing a conviction in a sexual assault case is notoriously difficult, and well over 1,000 court cases end in stayed or withdrawn charges across Canada each year.

In the wake of these failed prosecutions, sexual assault survivors are left alone to pick up the pieces, not having been able to heal or to see the perpetrator take responsibility.

Restorative justice offers an alternative.

The process aims to meet the needs of the survivor and find accountability for the perpetrator. The survivor can speak freely about their harm, and the person who has caused that harm can, for example, apologize, answer the survivors questions, meet practical needs such as paying for therapy, and also commit to seeking therapy themselves.

Another example, one that has Indigenous roots, involves a circle of individuals  perhaps including the survivor, perpetrator, friends, family and even lawyers  all getting the chance to speak.

And restorative justice can also mean working with each person separately, said Kate Crozier, director of programs at Kitchener-based Community Justice Initiatives, which has offered restorative justice for decades, at no cost to participants.

The process can bring together a group of offenders to hear from a survivor of sexual violence who is not their direct victim, someone who can talk about the experience of victimization, so those who have caused harm grow from that experience, Crozier said. Her organization may also work with the offenders on understanding consent, boundaries, victim empathy and toxic masculinity.

The reasons why people offend sexually are much better addressed in a restorative justice setting than in a courtroom, where stress levels run high, Crozier says.

Theyre more likely to be vulnerable with us, share with us what they were thinking about at the time, and we can look at the root factors, she said.

We see them take more responsibility for what theyve done.

When someone is in prison for a sexual offence, theyre trying very, very hard to hide that thats even the reason theyre in prison, because its so dangerous to admit youre there for sexual offending, and so youre almost guaranteed to not reach out for any help for the behaviours that got you there.

And the research says restorative justice works.

A 2018 paper said alternative justice models were found to reduce victims fear of retaliation, and to help them to redefine their relationship with the offender. They also reduce recidivism. Victims are not only less afraid as a result of these justice approaches, but they are also less at risk.

In the criminal system, most victims are left traumatized and trapped in self-blame, said the paper, produced by Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence, at the University of Calgary. Offenders, whether punished or exonerated, do not learn the true nature of their wrongs, or how to prevent reoffending.

Pushing for an alternative

Comrie originally went to the police in late 2020 because she just wanted her ex to leave her alone after they broke up. She hoped hed get a warning; she didnt think it would go further than that.

She said officers kept pushing her for information, and she ended up revealing she had been sexually assaulted, which led to charges against her ex.

The prospect of a trial made her feel scared and nervous, concerned about the reaction from both of their families and also because she did not want her ex going to jail, believing it wouldnt solve anything. A further consideration was that her ex was a Black man in a system where Black people are overrepresented.

I did not feel OK taking part in a system that not only oppressed me and silenced me throughout the process, but also has been oppressing and silencing my people for generations to come, she said.

Late last year, Comrie found out about restorative justice from her therapist and was then connected with Sarah Scanlon, a restorative justice practitioner and associate director, sexual violence response, in the office of human rights and conflict management at Wilfrid Laurier University.

It was the alternative Comrie had been looking for from the start but didnt even know existed; she said she felt deceived she hadnt been told about it by anyone in the criminal system.

Scanlon connected with Crozier and lawyers who had been through the process, helping Comrie to build a case for restorative justice. They spent hours strategizing how to bring the Crown on board, including by providing resources and contacts which the prosecutor said she would follow up on  but Comrie says nothing came of it.

Comrie also did her own research and outlined her reasoning in a letter addressed to the prosecutor and others. She suggested that the charges be put on hold to pursue the alternative route, and that the criminal proceedings could be reactivated if things didnt go well.

Her ex had also expressed an interest in restorative justice. But the prosecutor ultimately denied the request, citing Crown policy. Comrie decided she wouldnt testify. Without a complainant, the Crown had no case and stayed the charges earlier this year.

For his part, Comries ex-partner remains interested in pursuing restorative justice at any time, his defence lawyer, Christien Levien, told the Star.

Restorative justice is of particular interest to racialized victims, given their dissatisfaction with policing and the criminal justice system. They often have a preference that offenders from their own community are not incarcerated.

Vanessa and Katrinas story

Vanessa Setter and Katrina Abourisk were colleagues in late 2018 when each realized the other had been sexually assaulted by the same man, and decided to report to police together.

Both described initial encounters with the Crown attorney as lacking in compassion and empathy. There was no connection, no learning to understand, Setter said.

Abourisk said she felt like a piece of paper  It was emotionless. It was like a meeting he had to check off.

They described traumatic experiences testifying at the preliminary inquiry, where a judge decides if the evidence is sufficient to go to trial.

Setter spent two and a half days on the stand, becoming emotional as she described the experience and how she could barely sleep or eat. I went into it almost like this is a competition, where I know the defence is doing their job, and their job is to discredit who I am as a human, she said. Its hard to sit there and just have someone discredit you for hours and really just question and challenge my own experience of an event.

Abourisk described a brutal day on the stand. It was extremely difficult, sitting there in a room filled with strangers, she said. I felt like my character was being questioned constantly. The accused gets to sit there the whole time and not say a word, so I felt more broken with this process than I did when I originally went in.

They had started requesting restorative justice early on in the criminal case, only to be rebuffed by the Crown.

Setter had first learned about it after her mother shared an article with her and Abourisk about sexual assault survivor Marlee Liss, the complainant in what was reported in 2019 as Ontarios first criminal sexual assault case to be resolved through restorative justice. Setter then connected with Liss lawyer, Jeff Carolin.

Setters experience at the preliminary inquiry solidified her decision to pursue an alternative that wouldnt be so crushing. She and Abourisk again asked the Crown for the criminal case to be put on hold to explore whether the accused would be willing to participate in restorative justice.

I went through a little bit of a struggle of being like Well I think he should go to jail, this is what people do when they do bad things, Abourisk said, but restorative justice provides education to him, healing to both of us and potentially forgiveness and closure.

But the Crown attorney refused Setter and Abourisks request, citing policy. They both decided not to testify at trial, leading the Crown to withdraw the charges.

Unrelated to Setter and Abourisks case, prosecutors were recently reminded that under no circumstances are they to allow sexual assault cases to go to restorative justice. Crown attorney Jill Witkin  the chair of the criminal law divisions sexual violence advisory group  sent an email to all Ontario prosecutors in February with a few reminders about prosecuting adult sexual offences.

Sexual offences are strictly ineligible for any community justice program (diversion) and prosecutors must not refer a sexual offence to a community justice program, regardless of the circumstances of the offence or the accused, Witkin wrote in the email, obtained by the Star (emphasis hers.)

This means that any restorative justice alternative is not available, as per Crown policy.

Setter described the policy as incredibly outdated  uneducated, uninformed. A rigid approach to handling cases like her own inflicts more trauma, she said.

The women are hopeful that they can still pursue an alternative form of justice even with the charges gone. Their lawyers have approached the defence lawyer in the criminal case to explore that possibility.

They have also expressed interest in transformative justice, which is the focus at WomenatthecentrE. Its different than restorative justice, MacGregor said, explaining that transformative justice is a system created by Black women in the United States and engages the entire community.

Since the criminal case ended, I feel like something has been lifted off my shoulders, Abourisk said, of not having to be scared of getting a phone call with upsetting news. Now I can continue to open a new chapter in my life.

Repair from this harm and rupture

The stay of charges against Comries ex means the Crown has the option of bringing the charges back within a year. Once that year has passed, Comrie hopes to be able to pursue restorative justice  when the Crown cant stand in her way.

Shes hoping to see her ex show accountability and learn about healthy relationships and coping strategies. She also wants her family members to be able to speak to him, pointing out that her experience has indirectly affected others around her.

Comries experience in the criminal justice system has left her feeling deceived, betrayed, disappointed, and without any sense of justice.

Restorative justice has the potential to turn the most painful, traumatizing experiences of my life into an opportunity for learning, accountability, rehabilitation/repair, and growth for myself, the defendant, and the community around us, she wrote in her letter earlier this year to the Crown, defence and judge.

We all deserve and need repair from this harm and rupture.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, resources and support are available on the website of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres https://sexualassaultsupport.ca/get-help/.

The Ontario-wide Assaulted Womens Hotline is 1-866-863-0511 and the Male Survivors of Sexual Violence number is 1-866-887-0015.

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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COLOMBO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has established a committee to oversee Sri Lanka's utilization of the credit facility provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), state media reported on Sunday.

The committee includes Sagala Ratnayaka, chief of staff to the president, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, and a group of experts, according to the Sunday Observer.

The committee's main responsibility is to monitor the IMF process regularly and examine tax policies, including changes in tax percentages and the possibility of increasing direct taxes while decreasing indirect taxes.

Additionally, the committee will ensure that the IMF's conditions are implemented effectively, state media reported.

Upon the president's instructions, the committee will report to the cabinet once a month on key issues, including ordinances such as the anti-corruption act.

The president will make recommendations on the committee's operation, and its approval will be sought from the cabinet in due course

Sri Lanka started negotiations with the international lender in 2022 after it was hit by a severe economic crisis. 
Is restorative justice in sexual assault cases too soft on crime?

Marlee Liss, a sexual assault survivor, says we need to ask better questions.

Is it efficient in driving change? she said. Is it enhancing public safety? Is it bringing healing for the people who were hurt? Is it preventing the person who did this from doing this again?

The case against her assailant in 2019 is reported to be one of the first in Canada  and one of the only cases in Ontario  in which a criminal sexual assault offence was resolved through restorative justice. Its an alternative that Liss had strongly advocated for, and her story made international headlines at the time.

The process was carried out by trained mediators at St. Stephens Community House in Toronto, now part of Neighbourhood Group Community Services. It involved an eight-hour circle that included Liss, her family, the assailant, Lisss lawyer Jeff Carolin and Crown attorney Cara Sweeny. Part of the process also involved the assailant undergoing months of therapy prior to the convening of the circle.

Liss had had a traumatic experience going through the criminal proceedings, including having to answer invasive questions on the stand at the preliminary inquiry  a court hearing where a judge must decide if the evidence is sufficient to go to trial.

But in the circle, she was able to share how much her assailant had hurt her, speaking directly to him.

She said the experience was immensely healing for herself, and immensely transformative for her assailant, saying she was confident he wouldnt reoffend. After the process was completed, and with Lisss agreement, the sexual assault charge was withdrawn.

Despite the positive feedback from all involved, allowing a criminal sexual assault case to be resolved through restorative justice has almost never been permitted again in Ontario.

The Star reported on women who were complainants in recent sexual assault cases and who urged the Crown attorneys on their cases to hit pause so they could explore trying alternatives like restorative justice, only to be rebuffed by the prosecution. Their cases ended with stayed or withdrawn charges after they refused to testify.

In its most basic form, restorative justice is a process that can involve the two parties coming together in a mediated setting. The process deals with both the healing and safety needs of the survivor and accountability for the perpetrator.

Crown policy forbids sending sexual assault cases to such programs, with the Ministry of the Attorney General saying sexual offences are too serious and there is a need for deterrence and protection of victims.

These crimes pose a serious threat to individual and public safety, and they are prosecuted vigorously, the ministry told the Star.

What do complainants want?

A growing number of experts have said the policy needs to change, to recognize that the criminal system is retraumatizing sexual assault survivors and is not rehabilitating offenders.

To speak directly to the ministrys response, there has to be consideration for what complainants themselves want, said Pam Hrick, executive director and general counsel of LEAF, a prominent legal organization that has advocated for the equality of women for almost 40 years.

And an understanding of the ways in which the criminal system  and a blanket policy of prosecuting no matter what  not only does it not always serve the needs of the complainant in a case, but it doesnt always do much, if at all, to deter and prevent sexual violence more broadly.

Liss is urging Ontario prosecutors to listen to what survivors want, and to make space for restorative justice approaches as an alternative option.

She heard from thousands of survivors after she went public with her story in 2019, expressing how they wished they had known about other options for justice.

People do really want this and survivors voices just arent being heard or legitimized, Liss said.

The executive director of a Toronto-based organization dedicated to eradicating gender-based violence said she was baffled as to why Crowns wont explore alternatives, when complainants are being brutalized on the witness stand and prison just makes offenders better criminals.

Nneka MacGregor of WomenatthecentrE is urging governments to redirect some funding away from police and prosecutions toward organizations working on alternative models of justice.

I can guarantee the success rate  accountability, healing, and justice  would outdo anything that the current system is providing, hands down, I know it, she said.

The people who wield the power are determined to hold onto it and see these alternatives as a threat.

Her organizations work focuses on transformative justice, which is different than restorative justice, she said. MacGregor explained that transformative justice is a system created by Black women in the United States and engages the entire community.

Assailant had to undergo therapy

It had been agreed that Lisss assailant wouldnt move forward with the circle unless he was taking full accountability and his therapist reported that he was ready, she said.

Once in the circle, Liss said he expressed remorse and described how he wanted to use his experience to help stop sexual violence. He talked about how he disrupts locker room talk in social interactions, and how he now only engages in intimacy when sober.

At the end of the process, he asked if it would be all right to shake her hand.

I knew that Id be safe to say no and that that would be met with respect, she said. But I did feel compelled to say yes. We shook hands and it felt like a powerful embodiment of consent culture and care.

When she initially raised the idea of restorative justice, she was met with fierce opposition from a senior Crown attorney (not Sweeny, who was open to the idea.) The Crown raised the MeToo movement, and Liss said assumptions were made that she didnt understand the severity of the crime.

Which is so ridiculous and condescending, Liss said. There was this response like Dont you understand that rape is bad? Out of everyone in the room, Im the one who experienced this trauma, this incident, so of course I understand its bad, and rates of sexual assault are not declining and therefore we need to try something different.

Liss said she felt like a means to get to this end, and was being silenced.

But Sweeny was on board. Once she gave an undertaking that nothing from the restorative justice process would be used in the criminal proceedings, Carolin said it provided a protective shield for him to work with the defence lawyer for the accused and what was then St. Stephens to formalize everything.

This included how to make it as safe a space as possible, confidentiality, and what steps would the accused have to take beforehand in terms of counselling.

Trained volunteer mediators

Neighbourhood Group Community Services, which has about 50 trained volunteer mediators, has seen a trickle of sexual harm cases come its way over the years.

Its something we believe ultimately holds people to a higher level of accountability than court can, said Catherine Feldman Axford, co-ordinator of community mediation, of restorative justice.

Because they have to actually speak to the harms theyve caused and demonstrate an understanding of how it has affected the other person, whereas in court the person who caused harm may never speak,

Sweeny, who has prosecuted sexual offences for over 20 years, told the Star she was intrigued to try something different, rather than just withdraw the charge after Liss said she wouldnt testify.

The restorative justice process was incredible and scary, Sweeny said, and it changed everything for her. It presented an opportunity to do something different in a system that is inflicting more trauma and pain on people who are already traumatized and hurt, in a system thats failing everyone.

Alternative models like restorative justice is one more tool that the criminal justice system can use to address sexual violence, Sweeny said. With its focus on acceptance of responsibility and addressing harm, it offers some hope of healing trauma and rehabilitation.

Seeing the impact of restorative justice in this one case inspires me to do better, to listen to survivors, to what their needs are, and how those needs parallel societys interests. But also to listen to offenders: What do they need to move forward to heal and to rehabilitate?

Its unclear why Lisss case was permitted to proceed to restorative justice when others have been barred. The Ministry of the Attorney General told the Star that it cannot comment on the specific circumstances of this case, while reiterating that diverting sexual offences from the criminal justice system is not permitted.

As I understand it, those have been the marching orders since Marlees case, Carolin said. That Marlees case shouldnt have happened, and dont let it happen again.

Liss believes it was a combination of factors. If Cara Sweeny had not been in that room, this would not have happened, she said. Advocacy from Carolin was another big factor, and the assailant was open to the idea.

And Ill credit myself for advocating for myself, she said.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, resources and support are available on the website of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres https://sexualassaultsupport.ca/get-help/.

The Ontario-wide Assaulted Womens Hotline is 1-866-863-0511 and the Male Survivors of Sexual Violence number is 1-866-887-0015.

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ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistan on Sunday denied rumors of trade with Israel following a Jewish businessmans tweet about successfully exporting food samples to Jerusalem and Haifa.

Fishel Benkhald, a Pakistani Jew based in the southern port city of Karachi, went viral for tweeting about his first kosher food shipment to Israel. The two countries do not have diplomatic ties.

Congratulations to me as a Pakistani. I exported the first batch of Pakistan food products to Israel market, he said last week.

Benkhald shared a video clip showing his visit to an Israeli market. He walks past stalls with containers of dates, dried fruit and spices with product tags in Hebrew.

Pakistan denied having any diplomatic or trade relations with Israel. There is no change in the policy, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told media in response to queries about bilateral trade.

Pakistan officially backs a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and has a longstanding position of non-recognition of Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established within the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Pakistans Commerce Ministry said rumors of bilateral trade were sheer propaganda.

Neither do we have any trade relations with Israel nor do we intend to develop any, it said in a statement.

Benkhald, who is part of a dwindling Jewish community in the Muslim majority-nation of 220 million, had his religion status in his national Pakistani documents corrected from Islam to Judaism in 2017. Although a statement on his Pakistani passport says the document is valid for travel to all countries except Israel, he is the first Pakistani to have officially performed a pilgrimage there with the permission of Islamabad.

Food, trade, music and tourism bring people together. Lets build bridges, Benkhald said in his tweet.

Benkhald sent food samples to three businesspeople in Jerusalem and Haifa through the United Arab Emirates, where he met them at food exhibitions, according to the Commerce Ministry. The ministry said the shipment was not supported by the Pakistan government and no banking or official channel was involved.

The American Jewish Congress earlier welcomed news of the shipment, saying it could have wider implications for the two countries economies and for the region at large. It said Benkhald was at the heart of a small, but growing Pakistani kosher industry exporting food to different destinations.

But there were mixed opinions in Pakistan about Benkhalds venture. Shireen Mazari, a key leader from ex-Prime Minister Imran Khans party and former minister for human rights, criticized the government and asked how a Pakistani citizen was exporting to Israel directly and visiting the country on a Pakistani passport.

But an interfaith representative from the current administration, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, said Benkhald was permitted to visit Israel during Khans tenure.

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BEIRUT (AP)  Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in Syrias Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported. Hours later, the Israeli military said it shot down an aircraft that crossed from Syria into Israels airspace.

In Iran, state media reported that an Iranian adviser who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Friday died of his wounds. Since the start of Syrias conflict in March 2011, Iran has been a main supporter of President Bashar Assads government and has sent advisers since the early days of the war.

Sundays strike marked the ninth time Israel has struck targets in Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor.

State news agency SANA, citing military sources, said the strikes targeted sites in the city of Homs and surrounding countryside. Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot down some of them, it said.

The observatory reported that the missiles targeted Syrian military sites and those of Iran-linked militias, including a research center.

On Sunday night, the Israeli army said air force helicopters and fighter jets were deployed following an unidentified aircraft that seems to have crossed from the direction of Syria into Israeli territory. It added that the aircraft was monitored by the Israeli Air Force throughout the incident and it was later shot down.

There was no immediate statement from Israel on the strikes on Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly mention the strikes at a meeting of his Cabinet on Sunday, but said Israel was acting against foreign threats.

We are exacting a high price from the regimes that support terror outside Israels borders, he said.

Netanyahu said that a major domestic crisis over his governments plan to overhaul the judiciary has not affected Israels ability to strike.

The internal argument in Israel doesnt harm and wont harm our determination or intensity or our capabilities to act against our enemies on all fronts, in any place and at any time necessary, he said.

Later Sunday, Israels defense minister, Yoav Gallant, commented about Syria during a visit to soldiers in the occupied West Bank but did not directly confirm the recent airstrikes.

We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we wont allow it now, or anytime in the future, Gallant said. He also accused Iran of seeking to entrench its presence along Israels borders.

When necessary  we will push them out of Syria to where they belong  and that is Iran, Gallant said.

Reservists have pledged not to show up for duty so long as the overhaul moves forward, prompting military and defense officials to warn of damage to the militarys capabilities. Netanyahu has paused the overhaul for now.

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 Assads forces.

On Friday, Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syrias capital city, Damascus, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported. Irans state television reported Friday that Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser, was killed during what it called a criminal strike by Israel.

Iranian sate media reported Sunday that another Revolutionary Guard adviser who was wounded in Fridays strike succumbed to his wounds. Irans state TV identified the adviser as Meghdad Mahghani, adding that his funeral would be held Sunday in Damascus.

An Israeli airstrike last month targeting the airport in Aleppo put it out of commission for two days. The airport has been a main conduit for aid shipments since the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey on Feb. 6.

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.

___

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel and Josef Federman and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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JERUSALEM (AP)  Israels antisemitism envoy said Sunday that she was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government, citing her criticism of its planned judicial overhaul as a possible cause.

Noa Tishby, a pro-Israel activist and actress, was appointed to the volunteer role to combat antisemitism last year by Israels previous administration.

Tishby wrote on Twitter that it is not possible for me to know if their decision was driven by my publicly stated concerns about this governments judicial reform policy.

Last month Tishby published a column on the Hebrew-language news site Ynet critical of the governments proposed legislation, calling it an attempted coup.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined answering questions about Tishbys dismissal, but issued a statement wishing her luck.

Netanyahu announced last week that he would pause the planned overhaul of the countrys judiciary. The governments proposed defanging of the Supreme Court has divided the country and drawn weekly mass protests.

Another diplomatic appointment by the prior government, Assaf Zamir, Israels Consul General in New York, resigned last week in protest.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  A man has been convicted of killing four people in Minnesota and then leaving their bodies in an abandoned SUV in a Wisconsin cornfield.

Antoine Suggs, 39, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was found guilty Friday of four counts of second-degree murder in the September 2021 deaths of Nitosha Flug-Presley of Stillwater, 30; Jasmine C. Sturm, 30; Matthew Pettus, 26; and Loyace Foreman III, 35, all of St. Paul.

He will be sentenced on May 15.

Suggs testified that he shot the four in self-defense because he thought they were going to rob him, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

Prosecutors said his motive remains unclear but that Suggs meant to kill the victims after a night of drinking in St. Paul.

Suggs father, Darren McWright, who also goes by the last name Osborne, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to helping his son hide the victims' bodies.

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New York City officials plan to close key streets in lower Manhattan as a security measure when former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court on Tuesday to be arraigned, said a person familiar.

Several streets surrounding the Manhattan courthouse, including Centre Street and Baxter Street, are expected to be closed to traffic, while other adjacent streets such as Worth Street and Canal Street, may also experience intermittent closures, the person said. Vehicles could also be prohibited from parking in the immediate area, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter isnt public.

Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, the first former US president to be indicted. A grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who had been investigating Trumps role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, determined on Thursday that there was enough evidence to bring criminal charges against him.

Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination for next years presidential race, has denied any wrongdoing and called the probe and the indictment a partisan attack. Bragg is a Democrat.

Preparations were already visible on Friday afternoon as court officials in the lower Manhattan courthouse readied for Trumps arraignment.

A team of Secret Service agents accompanied by New York Police Department officials toured the courthouse and its entrances Friday, apparently mapping the former presidents transit through the building. The public was later barred from entering the floor where New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, the judge who will preside over Trumps case, has his courtroom.

Just before sunset Friday, at the city park located across the street from the courthouse, a parks department employee shooed out visitors and locked the gates, announcing the venue was now closed. It typically closes at 10 p.m.

Trump already warned there could be violence if he was indicted, saying on his Truth Social platform on March 24 that if he was charged there could be potential death and destruction. Ahead of the indictment, he also called for protesters to take our nation back, echoing his rhetoric before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The NYPD issued a statement Saturday saying there are no credible threats to New York and that the department remains ready to respond as needed.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said on Twitter Thursday that NYPD and other law enforcement agencies have been planning and co-ordinating intensively for this moment. New York City is ready. If there is a Trump mob, they have lost the element of surprise.

After Trump predicted hed be indicted March 21, the NYPD deployed additional officers on foot and in police cars to monitor the immediate area around the courthouse. The NYPD installed temporary flood lights around the building, which also includes the offices of Bragg.

As soon as word of Trumps indictment began to filter out, additional metal barricades were placed around the building and teams of officers were posted at each corner and across the street where the Manhattan grand jury worked.

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WYNNE, Ark. (AP)  With tornadoes hitting the Midwest and the South this weekend, some survivors said they emerged from their homes to find buildings ripped apart, vehicles tossed around like toys, shattered glass and felled trees.

J.W. Spencer, 88, had never experienced a tornado before, but when he and his wife saw on TV that a tornado was nearing their town of Wynne, Arkansas, he opened a front window and rear door in his house to relieve air pressure. The couple scurried into the bathroom, where they got into the bathtub and covered themselves with quilts and blankets for protection.

Fifteen minutes later, the storm unleashed its fury on the town nestled among the flat fields and fertile farmland of eastern Arkansas. Debris came whistling through their house.

We just rode it out, Spencer said on Saturday. We heard stuff falling, loud noises. And then it quit. It got quiet.

After it passed, the couple emerged to see devastation in the neighborhood.

We come through it real good, as far as the physical part, Spencer said.

Many large trees were down in the community of 8,000 residents who take pride in their schools, their churches, their mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses. Numerous single-family homes were damaged, especially near the high school, which had its roof shredded and windows blown out.

Near a theater in Belvidere, Illinois, where a tornado killed one man and injured 40 concertgoers, Ross Potter picked up glass shards Friday in front of his building. The last time the town was devastated to this extent from a tornado was in 1967.

Ambulances whirred by after the theater was hit.

They took, I cant even remember how many people, Potter said. He was lucky  only a few of his buildings windows were broken, mostly on the second floor. Across the street, most of the brick siding on a storefront was ripped away.

Back in Wynne in northeastern Arkansas, Alan Purser stopped in his pickup truck to chat with Spencer. Purser described how he rode out the tornado with his cats in his home, which is being remodeled. He took a risk, sheltering in the sun room which is covered by glass, but it was one of the few rooms not being remodeled.

I just lay down with my cats, and lay a blanket over me, and let it rumble, he said of the tornado that flipped over the camper van parked outside.

From his front porch in Covington, Tennessee, Billy Meade Jr. said he watched a tornado pass through, before hail struck and the sky darkened.

You could see the swirl, Meade said. The rain was like a sheet. You couldnt even hardly see past the rain, it was so dark. But you could see the swirl going past.

Less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, a tornado struck the elementary school that Meades twin sons go to, as well as a middle school next door. On Saturday morning, an exposed gymnasiums bleachers were visible through a crushed brick wall. Much of the roof was ripped off.

The neighborhood Im in looks fine  its like nothing even happened, Meade said. But as soon as you go around the corner, its like devastation. Theres power lines down everywhere  all kinds of stuff everywhere.

And as a tornado hit Little Rock, Arkansas, workers at a Tropical Smoothie Cafe cowered together in the bathroom.

It was really loud because the glass started breaking, said Irulan Abrams, an employee who stood outside the building near a door with broken windows. A siren howled in the distance. She said one person was injured.

Now we dont have anywhere to work, Abrams said.

When the tornado hit, there were nine firefighters in Little Rocks Fire Station No. 9, which became one of the most devastated areas of the city. They sheltered in the chiefs office as the tornado damaged their building.

If I said it wasnt scary, Id be lying, Capt. Ben Hammond said Saturday.

Once the tornado passed, the firefighters began working to help injured residents and to clear debris blocking their equipment.

Once you address all the people you can see, then youve got to start looking for the people you cant see, he said.

The fire station has served as a shelter for neighbors amid fears that another storm was coming.

___

Associated Press reporters Harm Venhuizen in Belvidere, Illinois, and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this story. Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon.

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MIAMI (AP)  A U.S. citizen who moved his family to Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist group has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Emraan Ali, 55, a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad and Tobago, was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court records, Ali moved his family from Trinidad and Tobago to Brazil, and then to Turkey and eventually Syria in March 2015. He falsely told his children that they were going on vacation but actually intended to join IS, prosecutors said.

After arriving in Syria, IS registered Ali and his family, and Ali underwent IS religious and military training with other English speakers, officials said. The training included instruction on the operation of various automatic weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifle and PKC machine gun.

Ali was eventually discharged from combat duty and worked in residential construction for IS in the groups then-de facto capital of Raqqa, investigators said. Ali also became a merchant and began buying and selling livestock, cars, weapons, weapons accessories and telephones to and from other IS members. Ali also provided money remitting services to other Trinidadian IS fighters in Syria and donated his own money to IS members to support the IS cause.

Ali and his family relocated within Syria several times over the years, officials said. Ali and his son, 22-year-old Jihad Ali, surrendered to Syrian Democratic Forces near Baghuz in March 2019, during the last sustained Islamic State group battles to maintain territory in Syria, officials said. They were later transferred to FBI custody and returned to the U.S. The son, who was born in New York and began IS military and religious training at 15 years old, was previously sentenced to five years in prison.

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.

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Now that Toronto is headed for another mayoralty election let us remember that this city belongs to us. Given the mess our city is in, we have an opportunity to reshape it with one of its most valuable assets: Exhibition Place.

Growing up in Toronto in the 60s and 70s was exciting, with all the promise of an innovative and world-class city. That spirit gave us the CN Tower, the Science Centre, a space age City Hall and stopped the Spadina Expressway. For goodness sake, Jane Jacobs embraced us and chose to live here.

Who grew up in those days and did not love the CNE? The hokey rides, the fun houses, rip-off games, Tiny Tom Donuts rolling along the conveyor belt, the Food Building. Kids tickets were free if you clipped out the coupon from the Toronto Telegram. You could top it all off, get a load of this, and see low-price concerts by The Who, The Jackson 5, Johnny Cash, Janice Joplin, The Beach Boys, Rush and Queen. Oh, the joy that was the CNE.

Go through it now and witness lineups for the few rides that are not worth the wait, over- priced games, fun houses that are not fun and a Food Building that is Torontos largest corporate branded, mediocre food court. The CNE is no longer Canadian, national or an exhibition. It is a hollow, corporate, money-sucking pathetic ripple of what it once was. It is time to let it go.

The CNE sits on some 192 acres called Exhibition Place in prime, underutilized downtown-central Toronto. Is there a city anywhere in the world that has this wondrous oasis with the potential to revolutionize its urban environment. As we watch Ontario Place transmute into exclusionary Luxury Place, we can be sure that forces have been at hand to divvy up Exhibition Place into a developers paradise.

Artists of all kinds in our city are being squeezed out and crushed by the diminishment of venues, performance locations, rehearsal space, storage facilities and affordable housing. Restaurants and small food operators have experienced years of blight. Homeless are bounced around our city from neighbourhood to neighbourhood like pawns in a morbid chess game. Students in our downtown and central universities and colleges can barely afford their tuitions let alone a place to live.

Imagine Exhibition Place being run by a committee truly reflective of our diverse people with the objective of nurturing and fostering artists and artistic expression for the betterment of us all. A place where inexpensive if not free rehearsal and studio space is provided for independent dancers, choreographers, musicians, painters, sculptors, illustrators, film makers and actors to explore and develop their talents.

We could create affordable living space for those artists in the short term. We could provide cheap lockers large and small of the kind that used to be in train and bus stations for storage for artist equipment. Diverse and independent chefs, operators and restaurateurs can create and showcase their food in a Food Building that barred the branded, corporate operators. The buildings are already there.

The last two weeks of the summer could culminate in a festival where the musicians, dancers, actors, visual artists, filmmakers, chefs and other artists would perform and display their works for all to see and experience in retrofitted theatres and platforms indoor and out.

We could keep the childrens part of the CNE and in fact expand it from two weeks to the whole summer and provide affordable yearlong camps in conjunction with the artist activities where kids could learn, witness and experience artistic expression. We could provide modular housing for homeless people on the periphery and adjacent to existing neighbourhoods that included health and social service support with a view to transitioning them into the broader community.

Lets say no to the unaffordable condos and malls that encroach on our living space and parks and glutinously feed on expanding roads, highways, malls and inordinate municipal services that we all pay for. We could stem the tide of the corporate bulldozer and give- a-ways run by short-sighted politicians that is sterilizing our city and draining our spirit, joy and humanity.

We have an unprecedented and unparalleled opportunity, in a time of madness, to re-envision, to revitalize and reshape our city by experimenting for a better future on this prime land. Imagine walking through the Princess Gate to enter this prideful part of our Toronto for all our people in celebration of who we are and can be. What have we got to lose?

We could call it The Peoples Place.

Jerry Levitan is a Toronto lawyer, filmmaker, actor, writer and musician.

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TOKYO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Tokyo area is expected to sustain a tight supply-demand situation for electricity this summer, according to projections made by the government.

According to the latest estimates released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the reserve power supply capacity ratio in the metropolitan area might hit the lowest level for maintaining stable supply by falling to 3 percent, if the region served by Tokyo Electric Power Company experiences excessive heat on a once-in-a-decade scale in July.

Even if such severe weather persists, utilities in other locations are anticipated to have power supply reserves of greater than 3 percent, the forecast showed.

The estimates, based on the supply plans of electrical service providers, expected the reserve capacity rate to improve to 3.9 percent in the Tokyo area in August and stand at 4.6 percent in January 2024 for the region as well as northern parts of Japan including Hokkaido.

Amid power crunch concerns, the Japanese government asked Japanese residents and businesses to conserve electricity in July of last year.

The request was made to avoid a power shortage for the first time since fiscal 2015, when all of the nation's nuclear reactors were shut down in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster brought on by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

A similar request was issued for this winter until Friday, with the government encouraging residents to lower their thermostat settings and switch off lights when not in use.

To ensure a stable power supply, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has instructed his government to speed up efforts to restart nuclear reactors that face stringent safety standards implemented after the 2011 disaster, local media reports showed. 
A series of attacks in Toronto  many occurring within the public transit system  has shone the spotlight on the issue of crime and safety in the city. As we search for solutions, we should start by thinking about who among us feels more vulnerable.

The Toronto Social Capital Study  conducted last summer, before the latest high-profile incidents  painted a picture of a city that felt fairly safe. One-in-five Torontonians agreed that the crime in my neighbourhood makes it unsafe to go on walks at night, but a majority (58 per cent) disagreed (the remainder were neutral or did not provide an answer).

The level of agreement in Toronto was similar to that seen nationwide, suggesting that people in the countrys largest city felt no less safe from crime than the average Canadian. There had also been little change in opinion in Toronto in 2022 compared to 2018, when an earlier citywide survey was conducted.

Whats most important, however, is how answers vary by background. Contrary to what some might expect, older residents of the city feel more secure than average, not less. Even seniors living alone are less likely than average to feel that crime makes their neighbourhood unsafe to walk in at night.

Those who are better off financially are also more likely than average to feel secure. Agreement that it is unsafe to walk around your neighbourhood at night declines as income rises and is lower for those who own, rather than rent, their homes. Agreement is highest among those who live in apartment buildings and lowest for those who live in single, detached homes.

Along with those who feel most stretched economically, three additional groups stand out as being among those most likely to be concerned about crime in their neighbourhoods. These are those who are food insecure (who have days when they cant afford to buy enough to eat), who report a mental health disability and who score highest on an index of discrimination, which measures how often they feel mistreated for reasons such as their race, religion or gender.

These findings can help us shape the discussion (among the long list of mayoral candidates) about what to do next. Issues relating to hunger, housing affordability, and mental health are attracting more attention now, which  if it leads to solutions  is undoubtedly a positive development.

But this should not lead us to see those among us who feel less secure, or less well, as the threat. It is these fellow Torontonians who actually feel most threatened. It is not they, but the conditions that lead to their insecurity, that need to be the focus of the public policy response.

Random attacks on people in public places are deeply troubling. The latest occurrences in Toronto may well mean that a new survey today would find a growing share of the population is feeling unsafe. But the overall pattern would likely be unchanged.

As the Toronto Social Capital Study shows, those most worried about crime in their neighbourhoods are Torontonians who are less well-off, less healthy, less socially connected, and more likely to experience discrimination. Building a safer city must mean doing more than funding an increased police presence. It should mean doing more to tackle social isolation and exclusion.

Taking steps to make Torontonians feel more safe in the presence of those most vulnerable is one way to tackle the problem. But lasting change will come when we take steps to ensure those most vulnerable start to feel more safe.

Andrew Parkin is the executive director of Environics Institute and Sharon Avery is president and CEO of the Toronto Foundation.

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Transgender people have been in the headlines frequently in the past few years. Youve probably been hearing disinformation about their medical care and watched as school board meetings have been protested and disrupted.

You may think that this doesnt affect you or anyone you know, but as a family member, ally, and fierce mama bear, allow me to introduce you to some real, live transgender people.

Transgender people are our friends, siblings, aunts, uncles, parents, children, grandchildren, neighbours, and colleagues. We love them passionately and unconditionally. They are artists, health-care providers, writers, accountants, IT professionals, movie producers, chefs, and scientists. They enrich every walk of life you can imagine.

However, by simply living their lives as their true selves, theyve become targets of discrimination and hate and they are scared.

They fear for their safety, their jobs, their access to health care, and their futures. Instead of being admired for their strength and celebrated for the diversity and joy they bring, theyre being demonized and condemned because their gender identity doesnt fit arbitrary  and outdated  social constructs.

Our transgender loved ones are disparaged by rhetoric and misinformation in the media. In the U.S., theyre under a well-funded, co-ordinated, sustained attack by politicians who are enacting hateful laws based on misinformation and wilful ignorance and which are deliberately designed to cause them harm.

Last month, at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), speaker Michael Knowles called for the eradication of transgenderism. While he claims hes not calling for violence, our trans friends have good reason to be afraid of how other will respond to his rhetoric.

Making matters worse, misinformed, misguided, and some complicit media are reporting false and inaccurate stories regarding transitioning. Its particularly inflammatory when it involves children who, to be clear, do not physically or medically transition.

Canada is not immune to the trend and were seeing the impact here at home. There have been recent incidents in Durham Region and Ottawa, where our trans family members have been subjected to hateful and false rhetoric from groups copying tactics from south of the border. In the last election we saw a rise in the number of anti-woke school board candidates whose agendas include erasing LGBTQ2S+ people from the curriculum and libraries.

Trans people are people. No more, no less. They arent causing harm to anyone in leading their authentic lives. As long as theres been a human race, trans folks have been with us. Now theyre finding their voices and facing the world head-on. They need us to stand with them against adversaries who try to diminish or extinguish their mere existence.

We need to show our support for our trans friends and family members, and we want you to join us. We need to be strong allies. If you wish to support your trans loved ones and need more information to understand their experiences, there are great resources like Toronto Pflag.

Now more than ever, our trans family needs not just solidarity, but intense love and protection. Use your voice to speak up. Dont let hatred win.

Lisa DelCol is a volunteer with Toronto Pflag.

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Thank goodness. We can all stop worrying. Finally, we can sleep soundly at night.

A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Donald Trump.

Hallelujah.

Surely, that ought to do it. Surely, his spell over the MAGA horde has been broken. Surely, the Republican faithful will now see him for who he truly is and, collectively, turn away.

Yeah. Right. If only things were that easy. Sadly, theyre not. And Thursday nights historic announcement means only one thing: the road ahead for American democracy just got a whole lot bumpier. Buckle up.

And yet, despite all the warranted hoopla  we should not forget theres still an ongoing race for the Republican partys presidential nomination. So the million-dollar question becomes: what impact will this latest development have?

Well, if you think these charges will do anything to dampen Trumps support, think again. Even before charges were formally announced, Trump was effectively fundraising off just the threat of this legal action. But now that this threat has materialized and Trumps victim narrative is approaching its climax, his devotees will be doing much more than opening their wallets.

Indeed, I believe that only if Trump is behind bars will he lose the Republican partys nomination race. A race in which he faces one serious challenger: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Though hes not formally declared his candidacy, DeSantis has distinguished himself in national and state-by-state polling as the lone player who can release Trumps stranglehold over the GOP. With two new polls showing DeSantis running competitively in the key early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, pundits claimed his camp had strong reasons for optimism and hope  even weeks ago.

But heres the rub: weeks ago, Im pretty sure they were dead wrong. Dead wrong because DeSantiss strategy left him with only one realistic road to victory  Donald Trumps arrest and, crucially, conviction. So its only after this past weeks events that they might be somewhat correct.

Still, that strategy has been and is flawed in two fundamental respects.

First problem. With DeSantis, Trump is not taking any chances. Diving into his usual bag of tricks, hes branded DeSantis a traitorous lackey. Both Trump and DeSantis understand their support significantly overlaps, but only Trump, thus far, has been willing to bet his is stronger. And it is. Meanwhile, DeSantis has, far from criticized Trump, only defended him.

Second problem. The greater one. To date, DeSantiss sales pitch has amounted to this: Im Trump, but without the baggage, and therefore more electable.

You need only consult the myriad documentary evidence of DeSantis plagiarizing Trumps every move, to appreciate the pupil is copying his master. But its a political rule that when voters are presented with the choice between the real McCoy and a copycat, theyll go for the genuine article  essentially every time.

Its not because voters cant imagine the alternative might be preferable. Instead, experience tells us voters go with what they know as opposed to what they dont.

And this is where DeSantis and his strategy Trumpism without Trump crumbles. It fails to account for a truth that so many try and wish away: that Trump carries a deep personal appeal for many millions of Americans. An appeal that not even criminal charges can or will erase.

So, dont get confused, the GOP is still the party of Trump. What better proof than the fact the sole realistic challenger to Trump is Trump-lite, the wannabe, the counterfeit? Indeed, so long as Trump is a free man and therefore a choice in the primaries, most Republicans will back the King, not the pretender to the throne.

However, if Trumps candidacy goes up in legal flames, as it well might, DeSantis will be perfectly positioned as his heir apparent. But, in the meantime, no matter how much he practices in the mirror, the student wont be dethroning the master any time soon.

Jaime Watt is the executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. @jaimewatt

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How strange it is when police do their jobs and do them well. How morally worrying it is to feel gratified, to replay murderous footage as if it were a choreographed dance video.

The body cam shows a Nashville cop pulling up at an elementary school, taking his rifle out of the trunk, gathering information, shouting, I need three! and then Lets go! Lets go! and racing into the school without hesitation. Its a lesson, a tonic, and not just for Republican gun fetishists.

The cop and his team raced inside and up and along at hyper-speed, shouting, Go! Go! Go! and quickly took down a shooter who had just slaughtered six people, including three small children. It had been 14 minutes since the 911 call.

It was just the latest such massacre of American schoolchildren in recent years, after Sandy Hook where Adam Lanza could not be stopped in time, at Parkland where cops waited fearfully outside the school, and at Uvalde, where 376 heavily armed police waited outside for over an hour while the killer massacred 19 children and two teachers.

The killers are samey, mentally distorted and evil. The Nashville police did what they trained for and what the school had rehearsed for. Yet most Americans are still braced for gunfire.

American cops show up for war, encased in massed armoured trucks, adding to the chaos, panicking, brutalizing anyone in their path and often killing for no reason. Generally, they are ill-chosen, undereducated and undertrained, overarmed, and backed by police unions whose interests do not include the public good.

But at the Capitol on Jan. 6, most of the doomed police officers did their job with immense courage and determination. New York City is girding for Donald Trumps court appearance on Tuesday; I hope the police are immaculate.

It is indeed possible for police to be effective. In Canada they arent, not much. This weeks report into the Portapique mass killing of 23 people is a tolling bell of RCMP incompetence.

Thats why its so remarkable that Torontos new police chief, Myron Demkiw, has drawn attention to the case of an officer who allegedly brushed aside the pleas of a woman who told him her ex-boyfriend was going to kill her.

Three days later, on Aug. 18 last year, Dylon Dowman, 33, who was accused of stalking and terrorizing Daniella Mallia, 23, allegedly shot her to death in a Downsview parking garage. Mallia had told Const. Anson Alfonso and his partner Const. Sang Youb Lee that she feared Dowman would kill her.

According to documents filed in connection with the misconduct charges laid against Alfonso, the officers spoke to her for 39 minutes, to Dowman for three, collected no information, pressed no charges and even cautioned Mallia, although it was clear she was the victim.

Alfonso, now facing four charges, is accused of lying to a superior about Dowmans firearms prohibition. No problem here, he said. Nothing to see. Move along. (Dowman is charged with first-degree murder.)

Demkiw met with Mallias family and put out a statement to the media. He did his job. His officers, it is alleged, did not. It is so rare for cops to be called to account for the job they didnt do.

Toronto police told the Star that they have a very clear and very direct intimate partner violence procedure. In the same way, the Nashville police knew precisely what to do in a school shooting, formatted and taught.

Some work is amorphous, a matter of judgment, of stepping back and assessing a problem. Most jobs, however, are learned early. People are told how to do a good job at speed.

On the other hand, I watched an aggrieved garbage collector go down my street last week, smashing bins and dumping them sideways to block the sidewalk, scattering detritus, and littering the street with little green bags of dog leavings fluttering in gusts of cold wind.

I was impressed. The man hates his job. He wants the world to know it and now it does. Whats it like when a doctor or a cop or anyone is wholeheartedly bad at their job? What does it do to the rest of us?

Lovely Daniella is shown smiling, an assuredly happy person. She called the police as a last resort and they failed her. Her family will never recover, each day of their lives bringing the same agony, waking up and thinking, Daniella is gone. How can that be?

A murder is a stone thrown into a pond, leaving ripples that radiate across the entire surface of the still water. The ripples reach everyone. No one is untouched.

I sometimes think that Canada, a liberal-minded nation I love, has a habit of idealizing people. It didnt work out that well in the pandemic. Americans ruin their country by overreacting to crime, to everything. Canadians underreact. When it comes to protecting citizens from violent death, we dont prepare, teach and practise how its done.

We let cops get away with neglecting their work, not bothering to do it carefully and well. Nothing would please me more than rethinking the job of policing, of keeping it in good repair, staffed by thoughtful men and women we could come to admire.

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#GTAHomeHunt is a weekly series from the Star that gets into the details of real estate listings in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. Have a tip? Email us at social@torstar.ca

Price: $799,000

Neighbourhood: Moss Park

X-factor: At 220 George St., this two-bedroom, three-bathroom condo is a part of a five-year-old development, the O2 Maisonettes on George.

Stretching over an expansive 1100 square feet, this two-storey unit boasts a modern kitchen with updated light fixtures and neutral-toned finishes throughout.

Located on the seventh floor, the unit has two balconies, one in the second bedroom and one on the main floor, each facing north and south respectively. Residents can also enjoy access to amenities such as a gym, rooftop deck and a party room.

Its close by coffee shops, restaurants, grocery and corner stores (like the iconic Kims Convenience from the show of the same name) and a brief 10-minute walk from Eaton Centre and Yonge-Dundas Square. The area is also home to community services, such as an overdose prevention site.

The home sold above asking price on March 31 for $820,000, according to HouseSigma. But it had been relisted several times with a fluctuating price before the sale.

We spoke to our expert realtor Othneil Litchmore, as well as listing agent Anna Oliver, for a better understanding of its price.

Whos the right buyer for this?

This property features two bedrooms, though one appears to be significantly smaller. In staging iterations, the property shows the smaller room is best for a home office, game room or a nursery. Litchmore said it could definitely be a home for a couple with or without a baby.

This is the place for somebody who wants to live downtown and is interested in a trendy life, he said.

Oliver, the propertys listing agent, said she could envision a family here, as well as other demographics.

It could be for first-time buyers. The two-level living space is great for people who work from home because theres that division. Maybe for young professionals as well. The building also appeals to older people.

Why is it priced this way?

The home was originally listed in September 2022 for $1,080,000. After sitting on the market for a few months, it was relisted in early March, for just shy of $1 million, and then three times after that before reaching its final listing price.

Litchmore atrributes this frequent price decrease to marketing strategies.

The first listing was $999,000 and then they dropped the price. I think that was an attempt to bring in attention. But putting it at $799,000 is definitely a marketing strategy. Theyre trying to create a bidding war to get the highest amount, he said.

Listing agent Oliver said pricing unfortunately, (isnt) always an exact science.

The market is always changing and were just trying to figure out the right pricing strategy, she said.

Is it a good deal?

Its stylish, new, and updated, Litchmore said. Its a good price for the size. Youre getting a lot for your money. With two floors, its pretty unique. Those sort of things will drive the price up.

But Litchmore warns that the condo fees may be a bit on the higher side with a price tag thats already so steep.

... One of the bigger issues were looking at are the condo fees. The monthly cost of $826 a month is pricey. That may be one of the obstacles for anyone trying to buy it.

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At the age of 99, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, the great anarch and scholar extraordinary authored a significant book, Three Horsemen of the New Apocalypse (1997, Oxford University Press). The book highlighting the decline of Western civilization created ripples among the intelligentsia at Oxford and other universities in the United Kingdom. But this highly acclaimed book has hardly been read in India, partly because of its exorbitant price (Amazon sold the paperback edition at Rs 11443 sometime back, now reduced) and also because of many Indians unexplained apathy towards this great intellectual, who like V S Naipaul, always tells the bitter truth. Highly controversial as he has always been, Chaudhuri, one of the finest writers in English, can be disliked or despised but cannot be ignored.

The word Apocalypse comes from the Greek word apokalupsis meaning revelation or disclosure, presumably by a supernatural being about the cosmic mysteries. The word assumed deeper meaning and connotations between 250 BCE and 250 CE in the Jewish Bible (The Old Testament) and the Christian Bible (The New Testament). In Jewish literature, this refers to the persecution of the Jews and the coming of Moses and in Christian literature, one of the references relates to the prediction of Jesus about the destruction of Jerusalem and coming of abomination of desolation. The concept goes back further ~ in Zoroastrian literature and the mythologies of the East, especially Indian mythology.

In common culture, apocalypse has come to be used as the synonym of catastrophe or the end of the world. Prophesies about the end of the world has been going round through centuries. The earliest reference to some form of apocalypse can be found in the ancient Indian scriptures  the Puranas, Vishnu Smriti, Manusmriti and the Mahabharata (1500 ~1000 BCE) where the beginning and the end of the world in a cyclic fashion have been elaborately discussed. According to the Brahma Purana and Bhagavata Purana, the worlds life-time is divided into four Yugas (cyclic age, era, epoch) ~ Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, each Yuga marked by the advent of an Avatar (God-self) of Lord Vishnu who incarnated in different forms to restore peace and dharma: Matsya, Kurma,Varaha and Narasimha in Satya Yuga; Vamana, Parasuram and Sri Rama in Treta Yuga; Balarama and Sri Krishna in Dvapara Yuga; and lastly Kalki Avatar in Kali Yuga. The Kali Yuga spans for a period of 432,000 years believed to have started in 3102 BCE. Near the end of the Kali Yuga when morality and virtues will reach the nadir, when man will eat man, a cataclysmic apocalypse will occur and Kalki is prophesied to arrive to usher in a new cycle with Satya Yuga and reestablish dharma. That was the explanation offered by Indian Mythology. Predictions and prophesies about catastrophes and the end of the world pronounced by priests, astrologers, sadhus, seers, and saints started coming on a regular basis from the beginning of the Common Era and are still going on. It is estimated that since 66 CE till today, at least 175 prophesies for the end of the world or major cataclysm have been made but leaving out the futuristic predictions, all past predictions have proved wrong. In this context, soothsayers Nostradamus and Baba Vanga have become household names worldwide. Michel de Nostredame, popularly known as Nostradamus (December 1503-July 1566) born at Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France to an originally Jewish family (his fathers family converted to Catholic Christianity before he was born) had been an extraordinary person ~ physician, astrologer, writer, translator, and apothecary. Owing to the outbreak of plague in France, (during the first wave, he lost his wife and children), he could not complete his studies in the University of Avignon which was shut down because of plague and later his dream of getting a doctorate in medicine from the University of Montpellier was shattered as he was expelled from the university for his past practice of apothecary which was forbidden by the university statutes. But he was still regarded as a doctor because of his relentless fight against plague along with the famous physician Luis Serre and his discovery of the rose pill as an antidote to plague. Nostradamus gradually moved away from medicine to occultism and astrology. He wrote an Almanac in 1550 and encouraged by its success, decided to publish one or more annually, in which he had made altogether 6,338 prophesies. He also started publishing a calendar annually starting from January 1 instead of 1 March, which was the practice then. But it his Les Propheties (The Prophesies) published as a book in 1555, which made him famous as a prophetic astrologer. The omnibus edition published in 1568 after his death contains 942 poetic quatrains (in 9 sets of 100 quatrains each and another 42 quatrains) supposed to represent future prophesies of apocalyptic events. After his death, The Prophecies gained extraordinary popularity as evidenced by about 2,000 editions of the book and more than 2,000 commentaries within a short time. Nostradamus became very much a part of common culture in the 20th and 21st century. Hundreds of books, fiction and non-fiction, have been written on his life and The Prophesies as well as numerous films and videos which still captivate peoples imagination.

Nostradamus had based all his published predictions on judicial astrology ~ astrological judgment or assessment, which had been severely criticized by the contemporary professional astrologers like Laurence Vidal. Supporters of Nostradamus (there are too many) claim that Nostradamus did predict the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, World War I and II, and the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Popular authors also credit him for predicting the major modern events like Apollos landing on the moon, disaster of the space shuttle Challenger, death of princess Diana and the blowing up of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Some commentators attributed to Nostradamus the Mayan Prophesy that the world would end in December 2012, but Nostradamus himself said in the preface of his book that his prophesies were from now to the year 3797. While millions of people believe that Nostradamus prophesies are genuine, a large number of scholars, academicians and critics are skeptics such as James Randi who suggested that Nostradamuss reputation as a prophet is largely manufactured by modern-day supporters who fit his words to events that have either already occurred or are so imminent as to be inevitable, a process sometimes known as retroactive clairvoyance (postdiction). No Nostradamus quatrain is known to have been interpreted as predicting a specific event before it occurred, other than in vague, general terms that could equally apply to any number of other events.

According to Jacques Halbronn, an academic, Nostradamuss Prophesies are nothing but antedated forgeries written by later authors for political reasons. As one who has closely followed the alleged predictions, I have always felt that Nostradamuss quatrains containing undated predictions are too vague, nebulous, too general and too ambiguous, which are susceptible to multiple interpretations. Perhaps, they are hyped to sustain a big prediction business! Vangeliya Pandeva Surcheva (October 1911-August 1996) commonly known as Baba Vanga is another mystic and herbalist who became famous in popular culture for her supernormal abilities. Baba Vanga was a semi-literate Bulgarian who lost her eyesight in childhood due to an accident caused by a tornado (it is believed she was lifted up by the tornado and thrown into a sandy terrain, which damaged her eyes). Because of her intelligence and uncanny intuition, she earned the reputation of seer and soothsayer and was widely known in Eastern Europe for her alleged supernatural powers. Hundreds of people including high dignitaries of Bulgaria and the Soviet Union including Leonid Brezhnev reportedly visited her for consultation. Baba Vanga had not written any book nor did she cause her prophesies to be documented during her life time. According to The Weiser Field Guide to Paranomal, Baba Vanga did predict the break-up of the Soviet Union, sinking of the Soviet submarine Kursk, Chernobyl disaster, Stalins death, September 11 attack, Topolovs victory in World Chess, World war III etc. But Bulgarian sources and new evidences indicate that Baba Vanga did not make many of the predictions now attributed to her, but rather people frequently attribute new fake prophesies to her since her death. It is presumed that she must have played with the theory of probability for her alleged predictions, none of them has perhaps come true. (To be concluded)

[The writer is a former Dy. Comptroller &Auditor General of India and a former Ombudsman of Reserve Bank of India. He is also a writer of several books and can be reached at [email protected]]
Seemingly irked over perceived police laxity in the Shibpore, Howrah, incident, which witnessed violent clashes between two groups on the occasion of Ram Navami, the state government today handed over the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to fix responsibility and identify the causes that led up to the clash between two communities, which resulted in vandalism and arson. Sources said that the decision of handing over the charge of investigation in the matter to the CID was taken by chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself after discussion with state Governor C V Ananda Bose.

The CID investigation, would be headed by IG CID (1) Vishal Garg and DIG CID (operations) Sukhendu Hira, who have been asked to go into the root cause to unearth any conspiracy behind the incident. The team will also look into the alleged lacunae of the police that may have contributed to the clash taking place, and also to examine whether any departure from the prescribed route allotted for the organizers of the Ramnavami march had taken place.

The CID team, according to a source, would also examine as to how some persons could manage to sneak into the Ram Navami procession with a firearm, as claimed by the chief minister and the Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The role played by the district police and their preparedness to guard against any untoward incident will also come under scrutiny.

A team comprising senior officers from Bhawani Bhawan today visited the disturbed locations along the G.T Road from Howrah Maidan to Kazipara at Shibpore, this afternoon and took stock of the situation.

The team also went to the Shipore police station to collect the case details and took photographs of the marks of alleged arson and vandalism on shops and vehicles, which bore the brunt during the clash.

Meanwhile, tension continued to be palpable at Shibpore though heavy police deployment was in place and the commissioner of the Howrah City police Praveen Kumar Tripathy with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel in tow patrolled along the GT Road to restore confidence among the locals .

Police were also seen dispersing any assembly of people as prohibitory orders under sec 144 crPC were in force , which were clamped only yesterday to rein in the volatile situation. People were seen today coming out in numbers and going about with their businesses as usual.

Local shops, which downed their shutters yesterday were seen today doing brisk business. Vehicular traffic, which was suspended due to clash was back to normal today amidst huge police presence.

A total of 38 people have been arrested so far in connection with Thursdays incident
Biswak Mukherjee, officer-incharge (OC) of the Tiljala police station, has been removed and shunted out to the Kolkata Police Training Academy at Dumurjala, on Saturday, a day after Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), brought charges of assault against the police officer.

Supratim Majumder, of the anti-dacoity section of Kolkata Police, has been made the new OC of Tiljala.

Mr Kanoongo lodged a written complaint with deputy commissioner (DC) of police (south east division), Subhankar Bhattacharya, on Friday. Later in the evening Mr Bhattacharya met Mr Kanoongo at a hotel where he was staying, its learnt.

Mr Kanoongo alleged on Friday that police had clandestinely recorded the NCPCR panels proceedings at Tiljala police station in connection with the alleged murder of a seven year-old minor girl and that an officer assaulted him when he resisted the move.

The NCPCR team headed by Mr Kanoongo is visiting Bengal since Friday to meet the parents of the girl who was allegedly tortured and whose body was recovered in a gunny bag in the flat of a neighbour last Sunday.

The team was also due to visit Malda to meet the family of a minor girl who was recently allegedly raped inside a school.

A team of the anti-rowdy squad of the city police headed by an assistant police commissioner (ACP) visited Tiljala police station on Saturday.
Pakistans official app to provide online education to students, Teleschool Pakistan App, witnessed a massive success among students across the country, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said.

Taking to Twitter, her said: Glad that the efforts to develop Teleschool Pakistan App are now bearing fruit. Students keen interest is evidenced by more than 10,000 downloads in 310 cities, 5,500 enrollments & viewing of 17,000 videos in just a week.

Dream of #TaleemGharGhar (education is every house) is on its way to becoming a reality.

Quoting sources from the Education Ministry, state news agency Associated Press of Pakistan said that around 17,000 videos of various class lessons have been viewed in just a week, mostly by people living in remote areas, Xinhua reported.

Sharif launched an initiative earlier last week to provide online education to students from grade 1 to 12.

The idea of the Teleschool was conceived in 2020 during the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country to provide online education to students during the closure of educational institutions.
BELFAST, Britain, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Considering the importance of China in the world today, students may find multiple benefits in learning Mandarin through the on-campus branch of the Confucius Institute, Paul Bartholomew, the vice-chancellor of Belfast-based Ulster University, told Xinhua recently.

According to Bartholomew, learning Mandarin can significantly enhance students' chances of landing a high-quality job with international significance after graduation. And seen in a broader context, the better people and nations can communicate with one another, the easier it becomes to join forces for the common good across language and cultural divides.

Bartholomew believes that as we all share one planet, we need to share the challenges this planet presents us with. But, "how can we share those challenges if we can't talk to one another?" He asked.

"So absolutely, the knowledge of languages and a shared culture and perspective are important for people to understand each other, so that together we can all take responsibility for our shared future," he stressed.

As part of the cooperation between the two sides, Ulster University has partnered up with several Chinese universities, including the Shaanxi University of Science and Technology.

"We are a university of, and for, the world and China is a major player in the world," both regarding the size of its population and its economy, stressed Bartholomew.

Therefore, "our university has seen the tremendous opportunity to work with China. We already do so with partnerships with institutions in China. And we'll continue to do that," he said.

Bartholomew's visits to China have left him impressed by the friendly and warm welcome he received from Chinese people. "My impression of China is that Chinese people are really wonderful," he told Xinhua.

He also spoke highly of the diligence of Chinese students taking part in the exchange programs hosted by Ulster University.

"Many of them are high-performing students, who do very well on our programs here. I think it's very impressive," he said.

He also stressed the importance of strong interpersonal relationships, which helped to maintain the partnerships the university has with Chinese institutions throughout the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A cooperation based on personal relationships allows better mutual understanding, better sharing of perspectives and acknowledging that we all share one planet, therefore we have a responsibility to work together for the solutions that our planet requires," he said. 
The Big Little Lies actress Reese Witherspoon was photographed in Nashville without her wedding ring about a week after announcing her divorce from husband Jim Toth after 11 years of marriage.

As reported , Reese kept it chic in a blue and white stripped button-down shirt, white pants and a nude straw hat for the outing. The actor accessorized with a matching brown belt, heels and bag.

Ahead of their 12-year wedding anniversary, Oscar-winning actor Reese Witherspoon and her talent-agent husband Jim Toth decided to end their marriage on March 24.

Announcing it in a joint statement, they said, We have some personal news to share It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce, they said. We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together.

Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter, they added. These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyones respect for our familys privacy at this time.

They are parents to a 10-year-old son Tennessee James. The insider also noted their shared goal of raising their son, saying, You will see them out there co-parenting together.

Reese and the former CAA talent agent first met at a friends house in 2010, before tying the knot at California.

Jim said, Im gonna show you every day what a good partner is, what a good person is. Im going to take care of you. Im gonna do this so much that youre gonna get used to it,' Reese told in 2012 interview. I was like, What are you talking about? Ive never had anybody like that in my life.

Reese is also mom to Ava Phillippe, 23, and Deacon Phillippe, 19, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
Ramdas Athawale is a prominent Dalit leader. He is the president of the Republican Party of India (RPI) and a member of the Rajya Sabha. Athawale began his political career in the 1980s as a member of the Dalit Panther Movement. He later joined the RPI and became its president in 1991. He has been elected as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly five times. He was also a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, from 1999 to 2004.

Athawale is known for his work in promoting the welfare of Dalits and other marginalized communities in India. He has been a vocal advocate for the rights of Dalits and has worked to eradicate caste-based discrimination and prejudice in Indian society. He has also been a strong supporter of affirmative action policies that aim to provide equal opportunities for Dalits and other backward classes in education and employment.

In 2016, Athawale was appointed Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. In this role, he continues to work towards promoting social justice and empowerment for marginalized communities in India. He has also been a strong advocate for the rights of women and has supported various initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality in Indian society.

Anjali Bhatia talked to Ramdas Athawale.

Excerpts:

Q: Can you tell us about your role as Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment of India?

A: As the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment of India, my primary responsibility is to oversee the implementation of policies and programes that aim to promote social justice and empowerment of marginalized communities in India. This includes initiatives related to the welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities, Senior Citizens, and other vulnerable sections of society. I also work to ensure that the constitutional rights of these communities are protected and their voices are heard at the national level.

Q: What are some of the key initiatives that your ministry has undertaken to promote social justice and empowerment in India?

A: One of the key initiatives is the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which is designed to prevent atrocities against these communities and provide them with legal protection. We have also launched several schemes aimed at improving the educational and economic status of these communities, such as the Dr. Ambedkar Scheme for Social Integration through Inter-Caste Marriages and the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes. Additionally, our ministry has been working to provide equal opportunities and access to resources for persons with disabilities. As part of our initiatives the Accessible India Campaign and the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan were launched

Q: How do you envision Indias future with regard to social justice and empowerment?

A: I believe that India has made significant progress in the field of social justice and empowerment, but there is still a long way to go. My vision for Indias future is one where every citizen, regardless of their caste, religion, gender, or ability, has equal access to opportunities and resources. We need to work towards building a more inclusive society, where marginalized communities are not just given a seat at the table, but are actively involved in the decision-making process. To achieve this vision, we need to continue to work towards eradicating discrimination and prejudice, and promoting policies that enable social justice and empowerment for all.

Q: Would you mind telling me what you think of the Constitution of India drafted by BR Ambedkar?

A: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar played a significant role in drafting the Indian Constitution. It is one of the most remarkable documents ever written. The Constitution of India is a progressive and forward-looking document that enshrines the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Indian citizens. The Indian Constitution is a shining example of Indias commitment to democracy, secularism, and social justice. It is a testament to Indias pluralistic and diverse society, where people from different backgrounds and religions can coexist peacefully and prosper together. The Constitution reflects Dr. Ambedkars vision of a just and equitable society, where everyone has equal opportunities and access to resources. We must uphold these values and work towards building a more inclusive and equitable society.

Q: Would you agree with some people who want the Constitution changed?

A: The provisions for change are incorporated into the Constitution. The Constitution has been amended several times over the years. However, its spirit must remain intact since it is working well.

Q: The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled for 2024. What preparations are being made for that?

A: We have our party in every state, in North East, North India and South India. If BJP takes RPI along in the Lok Sabha elections, both parties will be benefited. Our partys base is increasing rapidly across the country. If BJP takes us along in Uttar Pradesh, along with Dalit votes, we will also get Muslim vote. Mayawati has become weak as the leader of the Dalits. Given the weak position of Mayawati, Dalit voters may come towards RPI. In such a situation, BJP can strengthen itself further by increasing the role of RPI in Uttar Pradesh. Our party got two seats in the Nagaland assembly elections. I have spoken to BJP National President JP Nadda and National Organization General Secretary BL Santosh. He has also discussed this with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Q: How many seats do you think the BJP will get in the coming Lok Sabha elections?

A: BJP will get more than 350 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. BJP has made a lot of achievements under other central schemes including Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana and so on. The people have benefited so they are naturally inclined towards the BJP and our charismatic Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Q: What do you think about Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Yatra?

A: Instead of connecting with India, he should bring unity to his party. Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Yatra was Bharat Todo Yatra. If Rahul Gandhi strengthens his party instead of bringing unity to India, then some results might come. The country is one. Babasaheb has united the whole country through his Constitution.

Q: What is your expectation from the government on power sharing in Maharashtra?

A: Our partys status in Maharashtra is good, and we hope it will also be part of the Eknath Shinde government. When the cabinet expansion takes place in Maharashtra, one or two leaders from our party should get ministerial berths.

Q: From where are you preparing to contest the Lok Sabha elections?

A: Shirdi (Maharashtra) is the preferred seat for the Lok Sabha. I contested Shirdis election in 2009, but lost. My tenure in the Rajya Sabha is till 2026, but now I want to go to the Lok Sabha. Since 2009, the Shiv Sena has been winning the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat continuously. This time the Shiv Sena has split. In this situation, winning the seat is most likely
Amid allegations and counter allegations between the ruling JD-U and the opposition BJP over the communal disturbances in Bihars Sasaram and Biharsharif, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had a talk with Bihar Governor RV Arlekar and took stock of the current situation.

Shah while addressing a rally at Hisua in Nawada district today expressed deep concern over the communal frenzy in these two cities. He was scheduled to take part in a function at Sasaram today to commemorate the birth anniversary of Emperor Ashoka. But his programme was cancelled due to communal tension after a clash between two groups during the Ramnavami procession.

During the last two days, the situation in these two cities was tense. This is Shahs fourth visit to Bihar during the last seven months.

According to official sources, prohibitory orders are in place in disturbed areas. To prevent the spread of rumours, internet services have been snapped till Monday. Additional para-military forces have been deployed in these regions.

In total more than 80 suspected persons have been arrested during the last night raids conducted in Nalanda district. In Sasaram, 25 preventive arrests have been made. Reports of bomb explosions and firing have also been reported.

I express my sincere apology to the people of Sasaram for not visiting Sasaram due to disturbances. But I promise that next time I will certainly come to Sasaram and will participate in the celebration of the birth anniversary of Emperor Ashoka in a big way, Shah made this statement while addressing a rally in Nawada.

Shah paid floral tributes on the oil painting of the Emperor Ashoka at Nawada meet amidst the chanting of slogans Samrat Ashok Amar Rahe.

Attacking the ruling JD-U, Amit Shah said that power hungry Nitish Kumar has chosen to sit on the lap of Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is the architect of Jungle Raj in Bihar. The BJP is committed to overthrowing the Mahagathbandhan government in both 2024 and 2025 polls in Bihar.

Neither Nitish has a chance to become the PM nor Tejshwi will be able to become the CM of Bihar. The post of PM is reserved for Modi ji for the third time in a row. And in 2025, the BJP will form the government in Bihar with absolute majority, he thundered.

Currently, he said that Bihar is being ruled by corrupt anarchist and repressivegovernment. He reminded the people of Bihar how Tejshwi had treated Nitish and used to call him names as Paltu Chacha.

On the other hand, JDU spokesman Neeraj Kumar categorically said: We will not allow Bihar to be another Godhra.

The Union Home and Cooperative Minister listed out various development related projects in Gaya-Nawada region. A detailed project has been completed for the construction of a much awaited 2000 MW nuclear power plant at Rajauli in Nawada district besides four lane roads between Bakhtiyarpur Rajauli, Nawada  Gaya region double rail track are in progress.

He said that the Modi government has done what he had promised like scrapping Article 370, construction of Ram mandir in Ayodhya, triple Talaq etc.

Earlier speaking on this occasion cabinet minister and Begusarai MP Giriraj Singh said that Bihar is fast following the path of West Bengal Bihar state party chief Samrat Choudhary presented a memento to Shah.
Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande today left for Australia for meetings with the senior military leadership of Australia with an aim to enhance defence cooperation between the armed forces of the two nations.

Gen Pande will interact with a host of senior military dignitaries from different services of the Australian defence forces. He will call on the Chief of the Defence Force of Australia, the senior most defence officer of the nation.

Besides a discussion with his counterpart, the Chief of the Australian Army, he will interact with the Chief of the Australian Air Force. He is scheduled to meet a host of other senior dignitaries wherein he will discuss avenues for deepening India-Australia defence relations.

Australia-India defence cooperation has been on an upward trajectory with a series of diverse engagements at different levels, in various domains. These include bilateral visits by senior officers, reciprocal courses of instructions and training exercises, among others.

The ever-expanding defence cooperation engagements encompassing a broad spectrum of activities have established a strong bonhomie between the two Armed Forces.

The visit of the Chief of Army Staff to Australia will further strengthen the bonds of trust and understanding between the two armies, the Ministry of Defence said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday hit out at the Congress by releasing the first episode of Congress Files, a video series alleging corruption during grand-old partys 70-year-rule.

The three minute video featured former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who led both the tenures of the UPA and former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

In the video, the BJP alleged that the Congress has looted Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 of the publics hard-earned money.

The BJP said that with Rs 48 trillion 20 billion 69 crore, many works could have been done  from security to the development of the country.

Using this amount, 24 INS Vikrant, 300 Rafale jets, and 1,000 Mangal Missions could have been made or purchased. But the country had to bear the cost of Congress corruption, and it lagged behind in the race of progress, the video message added.

During UPAs tenure from 2004-2014, many scams happened Coal scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, 2G Spectrum scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, MGNREGA scam of Rs 10 lakh crore, Commonwealth scam of Rs 70,000 crore, Rs 362 crore bribe in the helicopter deal with Italy, Rs 12 crore bribe for the chairman of railway board, the BJP said in the video message.

At the end of the video message, the BJP stated, This is only the jhanki (trailer) of Congress corruption, the movie is still not over.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday spoke at length on Indias muscular, independent foreign policy under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an interaction with the youth at Bengalurus Cubbon Park.

BJP Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya posted a tweet on the EAMs interaction with bright Bengaluru youngsters, saying PM Modis foreign policy is not distant and dry, but a hot topic even at public parks. Bengalurus young started Sunday with a class on PM @narendramodi s foreign policy at Cubbon Park. EAM Sri @DrSJaishankar was flooded with wide-ranging questions on Indias foreign policy Modis foreign policy is not distant and dry. Its a hot topic even at public parks, tweeted Surya.

Bengalurus young started Sunday with a class on PM @narendramodis foreign policy at Cubbon Park. EAM Sri @DrSJaishankar was flooded with wide ranging questions on Indias foreign policy Modis foreign policy is not distant & dry. Its hot topic even at public parks. pic.twitter.com/o9KYpfcyRz  Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) April 2, 2023

Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan and important functionaries of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Bengaluru were present at the unique open-air interaction.

Jaishankar lauded Bengalurus youth for understanding Indias standing in the world and PM Modis game-changing foreign policy.

Bengaluru Central MP Sri @PCMohanMP and important functionaries of BJYM Bengaluru were present at the event. The enthusiasm among Bengalurus young to understand Indias standing in the world, our leadership role in G20 and PM Modis game-changing foreign policy is impressive, tweeted Surya.

Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to to poll-bound Karnataka, will be visiting Hubbali and Belagavi districts after Bengaluru.

The EAM will fly from Bengaluru to Hubbali where he will attend a meeting of intellectuals at Koushalya Hall, JSS College in, Dharwada.

The foreign minister would also address a meeting at the Kannada Bhawan in Belagavi, after which he will return to the national capital.

The kind of appeal that he (Jaishankar) has amongst the youth and the educated class is phenomenal. This is why, there is a big demand for him to campaign in Karnataka, the BJP MP from Karnataka told ANI.

On Wednesday, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly polls. The elections to the 224 Assembly seats will take place on May 10, 2023 and the counting of votes has been scheduled on May 13.
High Commissioner of Singapore in India Simon Wong on Saturday danced with folk artists at a G20 meeting in West Bengals Darjeeling.

A wonderful evening at the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting. Moonlight tea picking was the highlight. HC Wong, Singapore in India tweeted on Saturday. G20 delegates experienced tea plucking on the sidelines of the G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting in Darjeeling.

During the three-day meetings, the foreign delegates would get to experience the tea industry, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and adventure tourism.

Our second meeting for tourism has taken place here in Darjeeling. This is a new experience for the G20 delegates. The workers who work here are also getting encouragement after this. Tea tourism will increase in the upcoming years, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said.

Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said that tea tourism will increase in the coming years, after attending the first-day event at the second G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting here on Saturday.

While talking to ANI, the Union Minister said, Our second meeting for tourism has taken place here in Darjeeling. This is a new experience for the G20 delegates. The workers who work here are also getting encouragement after this. Tea tourism will increase in the upcoming years.

Meanwhile, the G20 delegates experienced tea plucking on the sidelines of the first-day event.

Darjeeling, the Queen of the Himalayas and one of Indias leading tourist destinations, along with Siliguri, located in the foothills of the Himalayas, has been chosen to host the second Tourism Working Group meeting from April 1-3, 2023.

Around 130 participants are attending the event.

The delegates from the G-20 member countries will get the opportunity to discuss the ways of reviving the tourism sector which got affected due to the Covid pandemic, in this three-day meeting from April 1 to April 3.

On the first-day event, Chief coordinator of G20 Harshvardhan Shringla said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed us to showcase India to the world as we are ready to host the G20 Summit in September this year. I recall him saying that, each part of India has its own uniqueness, heritage, beauty and culture and that our G20 meetings should not be confined to the national capital, New Delhi, alone.

To explore India during the G20 meeting, Shringla said, The delegates from the G-20 member countries will get the opportunity to discuss the ways of reviving the tourism sector which got affected due to the Covid pandemic, in this three-day meet.

During his speech, he also pointed out, India, especially the North Eastern part of the country will get a big opportunity to showcase the rich cultural heritage and tourism potentials dominated in the region.

Around 10 ambassadors from different countries including Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, G20 Chief Coordinator HarshVardhan Shringla, Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism participated in the program in Siliguri and Darjeeling on the first day of the second G20 Tourism Working Group meeting.
In February the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, which is facing the brunt of climate change impacting lives, environment and the economy, and the World Bank discussed a greener and more sustainable growth path to achieve the target of a Green Energy State by 2026.

It is believed to be one of the largest renewable agendas planned by the state where more than 90 per cent of the population resides in the rural areas. They largely depend upon traditional biomass like crop residues and animal dung, mainly for domestic use.

Also, climate change and unsustainable development in the state, whose growing economy highly banks on hydroelectric power, high-value horticultural and vegetable products and tourism, leads to extreme weather events that are projected to spike over the next few decades.

The states major sources of renewable energy include mini and micro hydropower and solar, biomass and wind energy. Of late, there has been a noticeable increase in the solar and wind power share with the amended policy compared to hydropower.

At the meeting, the World Bank indicated that it is keen on the Green Resilient Integrated Development programme for the state with a basin approach at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore ($300 million) depending upon the technical analyses, which may be enhanced further, an official statement said.

Taking another step towards the green, clean and sustainable generation agenda, the three-month-old state government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, who is himself monitoring the clean energy agenda, last month announced the development of two panchayats in all 12 districts as Green Panchayats by commissioning a solar power project, ranging from 500 KW to 1 MW capacity, on a pilot basis.

Also, the youth of the state will be given a 40 per cent subsidy to set up solar power projects ranging from 250 KW to 2 MW on their own or leased land as per the state budget provisions for this fiscal.

A solar power-based battery energy storage system project is proposed to be set up in Pangi in Chamba district to strengthen the power supply system in one of the remotest regions of the state.

The government also proposed the Himachal Pradesh Power Sector Development Programme with the assistance of the World Bank. Under this, there is a provision to construct solar power projects with a capacity of 200 MW and to construct 11 sub-stations and two distribution lines serving 13 towns.

Himachal Pradeshs hydropower generation potential is 23,500 MW  about 25 per cent of the countrys total hydropower potential. A total of 10,580 MW has already been harnessed, according to the states economic survey 2022-23 released last month.

As per official data, the state-run Himcoste has identified 10 schools for establishment of grid-connected solar power plants to propagate the concept of energy conservation in schools.

The grid-connected solar rooftop power plants of 30.10 MW capacity have been installed by Himurja, the state energy agency responsible for exploitation of small hydro electric projects up to 5 MW.

Till last month Himurja invited applications for setting up ground-mounted solar power projects of 100 MW with capacity ranging from 250 KW to 5 MW. It has been asked to evolve a mechanism for the state to get royalty from solar projects above 3 MW capacity.

The states first solar power facility of 5 MW was set up by the Himachal Pradesh Power Corp Ltd (HPPCL) near the hilltop Naina Devi shrine in Bilaspur on January 4, 2019. This facility generated 32.66 million units till December last.

Also, HPPCL is in the process of commissioning solar plants of 150-200 MW with the assistance of the World Bank.

Likewise, public sector SJVN is coming up with five solar power projects in Himachal Pradesh.

With the promise to develop Himachal Pradesh as a Green Energy State by March 2026, the budget outlines plans to set up solar projects of 500 MW in 2023-24.

The hill state will be developed as a Model State for Electric Vehicles which will be encouraged in a phased manner with the collaboration of the private and public sectors.

To make the state a leading green hydrogen-based economy, a Green Hydrogen Policy will be brought.

The budget talks about the Himachal Pradesh Power Sector Development Programme with an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore that will be launched with the assistance of the World Bank.

The Himachal Pradesh Kaushal Vikas Nigam, which develops the skills of the local youth, will train 500 people in solar energy.

In another green push, the state transport department in February became the first in the country to switch its entire fleet of petrol and diesel official vehicles to electric ones.

As per the plan, all government departments will be equipped with electric vehicles within a year for a sustainable and cost-efficient system.

Green hydrogen will be promoted to make the state a leading green hydrogen-based economy, as per the budget.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) informed that it successfully conducted the autonomous test landing mission of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnatakas Chitradurga on Sunday.

A statement issued by ISRO said, India achieved it. ISRO joined by DRDO successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours on April 2, 2023. According to the statement, the RLV took off at 7:10 am by a Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force. The release of RLV was autonomous. Then using the Integrated Navigation, Guidance & control system, the RLV completed an autonomous landing on the ATR at 7:40 AM. With that, ISRO successfully achieved the autonomous landing of a space vehicle.

The statement said, The autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicles landing high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path as if the vehicle arrives from space. LEX utilized several indigenous systems. Localized Navigation systems, instrumentation, and sensor systems, etc. were developed by ISRO.

ISRO had demonstrated the re-entry of its winged vehicle RLV-TD in the HEX mission in May 2016. The re-entry of a hypersonic sub-orbital vehicle marked a major accomplishment in developing Reusable Launch Vehicles. The LEX began with an Integrated Navigation test in 2019 and followed multiple Engineering Model Trials and Captive Phase tests in subsequent years, reads the statement.

Along with ISRO, Indian Air Force (IAF), Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), and Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) contributed to this test.

Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, VSSC, and Shyam Mohan N, Programme Director, ATSP guided the teams. Dr Jayakumar M, Project Director, RLV was the Mission Director, and Muthupandian J, Associate Project Director, RLV was the Vehicle Director for the mission. Ramakrishna, Director, ISTRAC was present on the occasion. Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DOS Somanath witnessed the test and congratulated the team.

With LEX, the dream of an Indian Reusable Launch Vehicle arrives one step closer to reality, said the ISRO officials.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called upon the people of the state to conserve water for future generations.

Virtually interacting with the beneficiaries of Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Yojana on Saturday, the CM said groundwater depletion and drying up of water bodies has been a major concern of the government.

He said the Haryana Water Resources Authority has prepared a village-wise report of ground water availability. This report reveals that out of 7,287 villages of Haryana, 3,041 villages are facing a water crisis. Out of these villages, groundwater has been critically depleted in 1,948 villages. If the decrease of water level continues in the same pattern, then the future generations have to face critical consequences, Khattar added.

The CM said Haryana took initiative to launch a unique scheme Mera Pani Meri Virasat in the state from May, 2020. In this direction during Kharif season-2020, stress was given to grow less water consuming crops like maize, cotton, millet, pulses, vegetables and fruits by replacing paddy. Similarly, in Kharif season-2021, the government had included oilseeds, pulses, onion, fodder and other crops under this scheme, he added.

The CM said under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs. 7,000 per acre is provided to the farmers for adopting crop diversification. He said that the target has been set by the state government to sow alternative crops on 2.50 lakh hectares replacing paddy area every year.

The CM said 20 to 25 per cent of water can be conserved by adopting DSR (Direct Seeded Rice) technology for paddy cultivation. Thats why the government has made a provision to provide financial assistance of Rs 4,000 per acre for adopting DSR technology,

He expressed gratitude to the farmers who saved 31,500 crore liters of water in Kharif-2022 by adopting DSR on 72,000 acres. The total amount of Rs 29.16 Crore at the rate of Rs 4,000 per acre was provided to those farmers who adopted DSR technology, he added.

Khattar said if farmers adopt alternative crops replacing paddy in the blocks containing low ground water level, then 80 per cent subsidy will be offered on micro-irrigation and drip irrigation systems. He said that adopting this system can help the farmers to maintain the ground water table in some blocks of the state.
Finland's National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, April 2, 2023. Finland's opposition National Coalition Party emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary election held on Sunday, according to the preliminary result reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle. (Xinhua/Chen Jing)

HELSINKI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Finland's opposition National Coalition Party emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary election held on Sunday, according to the preliminary result reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

After counting all votes for the election, the National Coalition Party won 48 seats in parliament, an increase of ten from four years ago, followed by the Finns Party with 46 seats, an increase of seven. The Social Democratic Party, the leading party in the current Finnish coalition chaired by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, won 43 seats, an increase of 3.

Voter turnout was 71.9 percent, slightly less than in 2019.

Commenting on the result, National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo said this was an important win for the party, and he was confident that the formation of the new government would begin under his leadership.

Marin congratulated on the National Coalition Party's and Finns Party's election results, and said that she was also satisfied with the performance of her party.

In a major change, medium-sized parties suffered losses: the Center Party lost eight seats, the Greens lost seven, and the Left Alliance party lost five.

Orpo did not reveal the possible composition of the upcoming ruling coalition, but said that the new government's priority would be to fix the country's economy.

The election campaigns focused mainly on economic and welfare issues. The National Coalition Party, in particular, underlined the need to balance the state budget and reduce the need for new debt.

Commentators noted that the formation talks of a coalition government could take some time as the combined seats of the two right-wing parties, the National Coalition Party and the Finns Party, still fell short of a parliamentary majority and would require support from other smaller parties.

The election result will be officially confirmed on Wednesday, and the new parliament will commence work next week. 

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, also chairman of the Social Democratic Party, attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, April 2, 2023. Finland's opposition National Coalition Party emerged as the largest party in the parliamentary election held on Sunday, according to the preliminary result reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle. (Xinhua/Chen Jing)
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police busted a Ponzi investment scam running into Rs 144 crore and arrested the mastermind from Maharashtra.

The accused Vishal Sakharam Utkar, a resident of Latur, Maharashtra was arrested from Mundwa, Pune under Sections 420/467/468/471/120-B of IPC read with Sections 4/5/6/ of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 Section 6 of Odisha Prevention of Interest of Depositors Act, 2011 and Section 66 (C)/66 (D) of Information Technology Act.

The accused was produced before the local Cantonment Court, Pune and was brought to Bhubaneswar on the strength of transit remand for his production before the OPID Court, Cuttack, EOW officials said.

During investigation so far, Rs 144 crores involved in this Ponzi investment scam has been traced. The company was running online money circulation by running Ponzi schemes in the name of crypto mining and operating throughout India. The amount of invested money and the number of investors will go up with the progress of investigation, they said.

Out of the invested amount, Rs.9 crores was found to have been transferred to the account of the arrested accused Vishal Sakharam Utkar.

EOW took up the investigation of the scam after Dibyajyoti Kar of Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar lodged a complaint alleging that he was deceived by the Ponzi unit.

The complainant was attracted by the colourful propaganda videos containing the promotional activities and invested Rs 1.27 lakh in it. He was assured of high returns of 6 per cent daily on the invested amount apart from daily withdrawal facility.

The complainant created an account on the website of GETSO company and through an up line referral link. During the period from October 2022 to 24 December 2022, he deposited an amount of Rs 1.27 lakh with the company. Subsequently, the GETSO WhatsApp group was closed and withdrawal requests were ignored by GETSO.

The complainant was among thousands of other investors across India who was duped by the fraudulent ploy of the company. More than one hundred investors from Odisha might have been deceived by the Ponzi firm, EOW added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) tomorrow at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

During the programme, an Investiture Ceremony for recipients of Presidents Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Gold Medal for Best Investigating Officers of CBI will be held wherein the PM will confer medals to the awardees.

He will also inaugurate newly constructed office complexes of CBI at Shillong, Pune and Nagpur. He will release a Postage Stamp and a Commemorative Coin marking the Diamond Jubilee Celebration year of CBI. He will also launch the Twitter handle of CBI.

The CBI was established by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs India dated 1 April 1963. It is the premier investigative agency of the country and operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption, in 1965 it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases.

The CBI has attracted numerous controversies and criticisms due to various reports of irregular practices, excessive political influence, and a poor conviction rate. It is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. The CBI is Indias officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.
Rahul Gandhi is likely to appeal on Monday against his sentence in a criminal defamation case in Surat court. The legal team has done all the preparation, sources have said.

Gandhi was convicted on March 23 in the defamation case for two years following which he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday had said that a legal team was working on the case in which former Gandhi was convicted.

Kharge said that the party was ready to face the matter politically and legally, and also criticised the Central government for disqualifying Rahul Gandhi in haste.

The Congress president termed the disqualification as vengeance.

As a mark of protest against the disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, and to press its demand for a probe into the allegations of fraud levelled against the Adani Group, the Congress launched the Jai Bharat Satyagraha across the country against the Centre.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal before a sessions court in Gujarats Surat on Monday against his conviction in a criminal defamation case, sources said.

Rahul Gandhi will be present in the court in Gujarats Surat on Monday as an appeal is filed against his conviction and sentencing in a criminal defamation case while party workers and leaders are reaching there.

The legal team has done all the preparation for the appeal, party sources said.

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday met his mother and former party president Sonia Gandhi ahead of his appearance in a Surat court to appeal against his conviction in a defamation case tomorrow.

Rahul met Sonia Gandhi at a hotel in the national capital for more than 1.5 hours. He was accompanied by his brother-in-law Robert Vadra.

Rahul Gandhi was convicted on March 23 in the defamation case for two years following which he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of the Lower House on March 24, a day after his conviction by the Surat court in a defamation case for a remark using the Modi surname at a rally in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday had said that a legal team was working on the case in which former Gandhi was convicted.

Kharge said that the party was ready to face the matter politically and legally, and also criticised the Central government for disqualifying Rahul Gandhi in haste.

The Congress president termed the disqualification as vengeance.

As a mark of protest against the disqualification of Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, and to press its demand for a probe into the allegations of fraud levelled against the Adani Group, the Congress launched the Jai Bharat Satyagraha across the country against the Centre.

On March 23, a Surat district court in Gujarat had convicted Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case against him over his alleged Modi surname remark in April 2019.

Gandhi was convicted under Sections 499 and 500 of IPC. The maximum possible punishment under this section is two years.

The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma sentenced him to two years in jail and also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 after finding him guilty.

However, on Rahul Gandhis plea, his sentence has been suspended and bail has been granted to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days.

The lawyer representing Rahul Gandhi said that they will move to the sessions court soon.
Targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the excise policy scam case, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on

Sunday alleged that jailed former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was the mastermind of the alleged scam.

Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said: Why did the court refuse to give relief to Manish Sisodia, the accused in the liquor scam? Manish Sisodia and company have received a bribe of Rs 100 crore and this has been verified through the court.

The court said that while reviewing the evidence presented, it can be said that Manish Sisodia is not honest but the mastermind of this corruption policy, Poonawalla said.

Poonawalla said: The Delhi court on Friday rejected the bail plea of Sisodia, the number one accused in the Delhi Excise Policy case.

On March 31, a Delhi court had dismissed the bail plea by Sisodia in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

CBI Judge MK 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.

On March 31, the court, while dismissing the bail plea of Sisodia in the excise policy case lodged by the CBI, said prima facie the AAP leader is the architect of the criminal conspiracy in the matter.

Special Judge MK Nagpal said Sisodias release may adversely impact the ongoing investigation and seriously hamper its progress.
Shooting stones and massive landslides at the south portal of the newly built T5 tunnel at Panthyal near Ramban on JammuSrinagar highway on Sunday halted vehicular traffic on the strategic route.

The tunnel built by national highways authority of India (NHAI) was recently thrown open for traffic to bypass the landslide-prone spots that witness frequent roadblocks.

According to reports, an army vehicle carrying some officers had a narrow escape when the landslide hit suddenly. All of them are safe.

Soon after the incident, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam, sent a letter to the NHAI authorities asking them to get the vulnerable zone technically

assessed so that immediate protection measures are taken to protect the lives of passengers travelling on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway as well as Tunnel T-5, which has been constructed after overcoming so many challenges.

He wrote; Your immediate attention is invited towards the massive shooting stone activity that occurred in forenoon today on 02.04.2023 near the mouth of South Portal of Tunnel T-5 (Tube 1), which was recently opened for vehicular traffic on 16 March 2023. This has halted traffic on both sides of the highway.

As can be seen from some of the videos doing rounds on social media platforms, the lives of passengers entering or exiting the tunnel will be at grave risk, if no remedial measures are immediately taken, the DC wrote.

You may note that Tunnel T-5 after diversion of traffic from the old treacherous Panthyal stretch has brought huge respite to the travellers and also helped in

better regulation of traffic in absence of jams, he added.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that society is witnessing positive changes thanks to the welfare schemes of the state government.

Earlier, Rajasthan had the image of a backward state, but today Rajasthan has emerged as a model state and a rapidly growing economy. It is our aim to carry the benefits of all welfare schemes of the state government to every eligible person, Gehlot said while addressing the Labharthi Utsav in Jaipur on Rajasthan Day on Thursday.

He said the state government is benefitting the common man with public welfare schemes like free education, water, electricity, ration, health insurance, tests, medicines, and treatment along with pensions to 1 crore people, new schools, colleges, roads, and cheaper gas cylinders.

Besides this, Rajasthan ranks second in the entire country with the economic growth rate of 11.04 per cent. Both these achievements have become possible at the same time because of the public money being spent by the state government in the public interest.

The number of employees working in the 181 Helpline has been increased to 1000 from 200 so that the general public do not face any problem in getting the benefit of the schemes.

Gehlot said that 19 new districts have been created in Rajasthan so that better governance could be ensured through small administrative units.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will leave for Delhi on Sunday afternoon for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the Chief Ministers Office, along with holding dicussions on plans for the states development, the CM will also invite the Prime Minister Modi to visit Uttarakhand when the gates of the Chardham are opened. CM Dhami will be on a two-day tour of Delhi, informed the Chief Ministers Office.

Earlier, on March 31, Dhami thanked Prime Minister Modi and the Central government, saying that Rs 23.28 crore was sanctioned to Uttarakhand under the Agriculture Development Scheme and a further Rs 34.66 crore was released as financial incentive under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), by the Central government.

In December 2022, CM Dhami held a meeting with Prime Minister Modi in the national capital and discussed development-related issues.

Further details are awaited.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Sunday rescued 26 people from a roadway bus which lost control and rolled down 150 feet gorge on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway.

As many as two girls died and several others were injured after the bus met with the accident that happened near Shergadi on Mussoorie Dehradun main road. Soon after the ITBP received the information, its troops at nearby locations moved on the spot and they managed to rescue 26 people.

26 people were rescued from a gorge on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway by Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel when a state transport bus rolled down 150 ft after losing control near JP bend, said the ITBP.

The force said that all the rescued were shifted to hospitals, some of which are reported as critical.

Mussoorie Police earlier told ANI that two girls died in a bus accident on the Mussoorie-Dehradun road and that treatment of all the other injured is going on in the hospital.

A team of police officials, fire service, ITBP and an ambulance arrived at the spot and conducted rescue operations soon after the input regarding the accident was reported.

The injured people have been taken out of the gorge and sent to the sub-district hospital in Landour.

As per preliminary information, the bus was coming from Dehradun when it lost control and fell into the gorge.

Upon receiving the information, police officials from Mussorie, ITBP and other relief teams reached the spot and started the search and rescue operations.
Ukrainian ambassador scolds Scholz party members for immediate ceasefire call 2 April, 09:24 PM Oleksii Makeiev (Photo:Bernd von Jutrczenka/Pool via REUTERS)

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev in comments made to the DPA news agency criticized prominent members of Germanys Social Democratic Party for a peace initiative they put forward, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported on March 2.

The SPD members' initiative is "pure cynicism towards the numerous victims of Russian aggression" that aimed to " cover up the crimes of Russia and, accordingly, the responsibility of the Russian regime," said the ambassador.

Makeiev said that the only possible peace appeal should sound like this: "Mr. Putin, immediately withdraw your troops from the whole of Ukraines territory!

Video of day

Peter Brandt, son of former Chancellor Willy Brandt, is the initiator of the appeal, titled "Make Peace!" that declares the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible by any means.

Reiner Hoffmann, former German Trade Union Confederation chairman, and Michael Muller, a German Bundestag member, were among the supporters of the appeal.

Ukraines stated war aim is the liberation of all of its territory from Russian occupation, including the Crimean Peninsula and the parts of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast that Russia invaded and occupied in 2014.

The Ukrainian governments aim is supported by a large majority of Ukrainians  over 80%, according to recent polls. Public support for the liberation of the whole of Ukraine grew after the discovery that the Russian army had committed atrocities against civilians in the parts of Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts that they had occupied but which have since been liberated.

Germany and the Netherlands earlier pledged their support to Ukraine, including the supply of military equipment and compliance with anti-Russian sanctions.

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GRAFTON  The Grafton Ferry will open for the 2023 season April 14.

The Grafton Ferry, operated by the Calhoun Ferry Co., will operate Fridays through Sundays.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

The fees will remain the same as last year, $9 for a one way, $17 for a round trip and $70 for a book of 10 one-way tickets.

Use of the ferry  which can accommodate personal vehicles, buses and vans  cuts travel time between Missouri and Illinois by about 30 minutes. People are allowed to get out of their vehicles during the river crossing.

When the Grafton Ferry opens for the year, it is a signal that the tourism season is in full swing, Great Rivers and Routes' Cory Jobe has said.

We cant wait to host all the visitors that come to the area by ferry, said the president/CEO of the tourism bureau, which represents Grafton.

Related, Americas Central Port District received two proposals to conduct the regional study of the Grafton, Golden Eagle and Brussels ferries. Upon a review process, a contract was awarded to NelsonNygaard Marine Consultants. A committee is being established by the port district to oversee the work.

Watch for details on how you can add your comments on this study this summer.

Travelers can access the Grafton Ferry on the Illinois side near the Grafton Lighthouse and the public boat ramp off Market Street in Grafton. On the Missouri side, the landing is located at the end of Grafton Ferry Road, just off of Highway 94.

Cash and check are accepted, but credit cards cannot be processed.

The Golden Eagle Ferry, also operated by Calhoun Ferry Company, is open year-round, seven days a week. The Golden Eagle connects Calhoun County with St. Charles, Missouri.

For more details visit www.EnjoyGrafton.com or call the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau at 618-465-6676.
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OTTERVILLE  A World War II time machine rolled through Jersey and Calhoun counties on Saturday as the Odd Ball Express  a collection of vintage military Jeeps driven by authentically-uniformed and equipped GI re-enactors  slowly wound its way down the regions back roads.

The four-Jeep convoy turned a lot of heads and sparked lively conversations when the re-enactors stopped in several small towns along the way, or boarded ferries for river crossings.

The Jersey County community of Otterville was one of the convoys first stops on what turned out to be a cold and windy day to be driving the open-air vehicles.

Its a stiff ride  no heat, no air, no luxuries  so its pretty rough on a day like this, said Brian Stacks of Moro. My dad was in World War II and, like most GIs, learned to drive in a Jeep. He was an officer in the Pacific and I inherited a lot of his stuff. And that why Im here today.

Edwardsville resident Jeffrey Germer was also honoring his fathers service by driving a Jeep in the Odd Ball Express.

My dad was a World War II vet and we were going to take him on an honor flight in 2006 to Washington, DC to see the World War II Memorial dedication, Germer said. He couldnt make it. So I took my two daughters and my mom went with us.

I met up with some living history re-enactors there and they were doing a lot of outreach, showing equipment and vehicles, Germer said. Thats how I go interested. I wanted to carry the message and thats what were doing today.

The Odd Ball Express was organized by the U.S. 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion of St. Louis, a World War II re-enactment unit dedicated to preserving the military history and honoring the veterans of the U.S. armed forces. The re-enactors do not have any actual affiliation with the current U.S. Army Rangers but pay homage to D Company of the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion.

Right now its freezing cold. But if the 2nd Rangers could deal with it during World War II, we can too, said Odd Ball Express organizer John Pietrusinski. Driving this Jeep is a lot of fun. It's a heck of a feeling; its an American icon.

The Odd Ball Express made stops Saturday in Grafton, Otterville, Pere Marquette State Park, the Brussels Ferry, Brussels, Golden Eagle Ferry, and the Smartt Field Commemorative Air Force Museum in St. Charles County, Missouri.

The unit the re-enactors portray was involved in the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. The men of D Company were among 225 Rangers who landed at the base of cliffs at Pointe du Hoc and scaled the cliffs under heavy fire using rope ladders. After two days of relentless fighting, only 90 Rangers were still able to bear arms against the German army.

The vehicles driven by the Odd Ball Express on Saturday have their own storied history. The name Jeep comes from the letters GP, the military abbreviation for general purpose. The go-anywhere, do-anything vehicles produced by Willys-Overland Motors went everywhere the United States military went during World War II.

According to the history section of the modern Jeep vehicles brand website, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall described the Jeep as "America's greatest contribution to modern warfare." World War II reporter Ernie Pyle once said, "It did everything. It went everywhere. Was a faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carried twice what it was designed for and still kept going."

The Odd Ball Express made stops on Saturday in Grafton, Otterville, Pere Marquette State Park, the Brussels Ferry, Brussels, Golden Eagle Ferry, and the Smartt Field Commemorative Air Force Museum in St. Charles County, Missouri.
Money has always been equated to happiness.

In 1970, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote that Money buys everything, except morality and citizens. This belief has been supported by numerous research from the field of psychology to prove that people with higher incomes tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction and overall well-being. The overall purpose of this piece is to prove that there is a positive relationship between money and happiness. The more money people have, the happier they are. The reverse is also true.

Money, according to Investopedia, is a system of value that facilitates the exchange of goods in an economy. Going off this definition, I'd like to argue that money does in fact lead to happiness. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a positive psychology researcher, defines happiness as the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that ones life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile. This definition highlights the terms well-being and contentment which money has the potential to offer. I also believe that happiness can be measured through biological means(hormones), behavioral (how much you smile and laugh) as well as through personal reflections.

Consequently, the relationship between money and happiness is not straightforward.

On one hand, money can provide access to resources that are important for happiness, such as healthcare, education, and leisure activities. For instance, someone with a higher income could be able to afford better healthcare, which might result in better outcomes for their physical and

mental health. Also, they would have the money to travel as much as they please.

On the other hand, it also does not guarantee happiness due to the idea of diminishing returns when it comes to happiness. People will quickly adapt to increases in income and begin to take their new level of wealth for granted. This concept known as the Hedonic Treadmill notes that while having more money can lead to increased happiness, the reverse is also true. Financial stress and insecurity can be major sources of unhappiness and can contribute to a range of mental health problems.

Further solidifying my thesis is data from World population Review. From its research in 2021, the happiest countries in the world are Finland, Denmark, and Switzerland. These countries also have relatively high GDPs. They have strong economies, they offer their citizens good healthcare, education, and overall good standards of living. At the bottom of the list is Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, both of which have plummeting economies, tyrannical regimes, and deplorable standards of living.

Harry Enten, a reporter from CNN, even published an article in May 2022 detailing how money may buy some happiness. According to Enten, life experiences also contribute to happiness. If people can afford life experiences, their happiness increases.

In conclusion, money directly affects happiness. While it may not be money directly in hand, it could be the other benefits that money brings. From the promise of a warm bed, a meal, or affordable healthcare, good transport systems, and security, money is linked to good standards of living.

If peoples needs are met, then they are happy. This proves that money and happiness have a positive relationship.
The world is coming to an end! Cats will lay down with rats and the sky will turn red with blood. Time itself will crack and the cosmos will spin out of control until reality is no more. Or, as Donald Trump has stated, the result will be death and destruction.

House Republicans are screaming and scheming about Trump being indicted in the hush money scandal for giving an illegal payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels. Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan (R-OH), is leading the charge against the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.

Jordan is joined by Representative James Comer (R-KY), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee who has failed to articulate some legitimate justification for Republican House members interest in the case, falsely claiming, "This is not a local investigation, this is a federal investigation," Comer said, even though he does not know what the charges are

What is obvious is that the Trump allies do not want Trump prosecuted in a state court or anywhere else for anything. However, Trumps many crimes include both state and federal violations and, therefore, jurisdiction lies in both fora. And since any indictment by Bragg would only include state charges, House Republicans are simply wrong on the law.

Remember that Michael Cohen, Trumps former lawyer and fixer, went to jail for his participation in Trumps scheme to silence Stormy Daniels while violating federal law. Cohen was prosecuted by Trumps Justice Department and Trump didnt pardon Cohen, so Trump must agree that their shared crime justifies all participants incarceration.

Meanwhile no Republican has offered any evidence exonerating Trump. They can speak to the credibility of Cohen or Stormy Daniels, but simply calling the matter partisan does not add one exculpatory fact in Trumps favor. And I, for one, can see some real challenges in getting a felony conviction out of this case. But if Alvin Bragg has compelling evidence of a crime, even if its only a misdemeanor, hes entitled to charge Trump.

Thats not politics. Thats the rule of law.

Donald Trump is not a monarch who rules or may be excused by divine right. He is a citizen of the United States, subject to the same laws that apply to each of us. He can get a ticket for jaywalking. He can be arrested for drunk driving. He can be prosecuted for failure to pay child support. And he can be indicted for the creation of false business records in an effort to forward a criminal conspiracy. Again, thats the rule of law.

So dont be incensed or even impressed much by Trumps indictment. And certainly dont heed the criticism of Marjorie Taylor Greene who called the indictment unconstitutional (once again showing that her knowledge of our Constitution would fit in a gnats navel) or those elected officials that blew it when they failed to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial despite his obvious criminal behavior.

As Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) predicted soon after that impeachment trial, Donald Trump is being held accountable under our criminal statutes. Thats not political. Thats equal justice.

Meanwhile, Trump, in his typically bombastic style of schoolyard taunts, has called Bragg a degenerate psychopath and the matter as something straight out of a stalinist Russia horror show. But unlike Russia, if Braggs case is as weak as Trump claims, it will fizzle and die in no time. That too is the rule of law.

As for Speaker Kevin McCarthys (R-CA) vow to hold Alvin Bragg accountable for his performance of his sworn duties, do we need to remind McCarthy and the other Trump toadies that the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reserves police powers to the states and the House of Representatives has no jurisdiction over a state prosecution. Simply put, the House legislates. It does not prosecute. Youd think the Speaker would know that.

If this case does not end in a plea, it will take a year before it goes to trial. Meanwhile, Trump is likely to be indicted a few more times. And ultimately the Republican Party will come to understand that an indictment of Donald Trump isnt the end of the world. This nation will survive and will actually thrive because of its willingness to hold everyone equally accountable. Who knows? The GOP may, once again, stand in support of our laws to which even Trump is subject. What a glorious reset back to reality and democratic principles that would be.


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Even as I write this column, I have switched off my cell phone, placed it in my handbag (Dior) and locked it up in my cupboard. This is not usually a routine I follow when I write. This is only because the Dior Fall 2023 Collection taking place in Mumbai this year is three days away. I get a text/ call every minute or so asking, Can you swing me passes? Click. Shut. Lock. Bye.

This is not the first time a major luxury label has presented a fashion show in India. Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino (who I had the good fortune of interviewing) have shown in Mumbai. But Diors showcase is a special one indeed. The label is not here seeking profit from Indias growing middle class. No maam, it is here during the worst economic crisis faced by the world and by our country, just to say thank you.

Diors creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri is a singular tour de force in the fashion industry. To start with, she is the first woman to head a storied fashion house with a legacy like Diors. Very few major couture houses have been founded by women, with the exception of Chanel, or then helmed by them.

Maria Grazia Chiuri at the Paris Fashion Week 2023 | Getty Images

Chiuri is bringing the worlds press to India to highlight the countrys exceptional crafts. Otherwise known as textiles and embroideries, they have been the secret sauce in European couture. While almost every luxury label has treated India as its supply chain or a sweatshop, Chiuris Dior acknowledges India as its creative collaborator and consistently highlights its crafts in every single runway show in Paris.

Its chief partner in India is the wonderful Chanakya house, a huge embroidery atelier that works with several fashion houses. It also runs the outstanding Chanakya School of Craft that pays women in the neighbouring slums a monthly stipend to come and train with them. It is a huge hit with the underprivileged girls who get formal training, a small fee, and the opportunity to work and upskill in an organised setting. The school is Chiuris brainchild, and speaks of her commitment to uplifting women in the bottom-most rungs of fashion. In an earlier interview, Chanakyas Karishma Swali told me what an amazing torchbearer for crafts and cultures Chiuri has been. Chiuri wanted to open a school for women after learning that embroidery skills usually passed from father to son.

Chiuris bold feminist stance was evident when she sent a model down her runway in 2016 in a slogan T-shirt that read, We Should All Be Feminists, after Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies controversial essay. Feminism and fashion have always battled. Corsets, stilettos, mini skirts and cleavages were designed by a male designers club for other men to gaze at. Chiuri, who had previously helped Fendi develop the Baguette and oversaw Valentino with Pierpaolo Piccioli, hardly needed the debatable debut. But she was finally in full creative control of a very big brand. It was important for me to speak with my own voice, and to reflect about whats missing in womens fashion, she has said in an interview to W magazine.

Dior under Chiuri is an intelligent new womans wardrobe. It is practical, thoughtful and still elegant, using the founders house codes. Its collections today are a roll call for international feminist icons like Isabel Allende, Agnes Varda and Judy Chicago. Its press releases also reference patriarchy, consent and clitoral orgasms.

Never mind the socialite scramble for invites, Dior really is for everywoman.
Rahul Gandhi has amended his Twitter profile as dis-qualified MP. Thats much like what Walter Scotts Ivanhoe did when he had to join a jousting tournament incognito, after his proud Saxon father had disinherited him. He gave his name on his shield as Disinherited Knight. As the gallant knight in shining armour smote down champion after villainous champion, the ecstatic crowd cheered him as Sir Disinherited.

We dont know whether our middle-aged knight in white t-shirt, who trotted from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, would win the tournament of 2024; but let me tell you, Dame Luck often smiles on him. With enemies like the BJP, he doesnt need friends. Overnight they have made him, who would otherwise have been a convict in a criminal case, into an injured knight, a champion of liberty, and a hero of democracy.

Imaging: Bhaskaran

Look at how Rahul came to be disqualified. He had said something silly about the Modi surname in a humdrum poll speech four years ago in the outbacks of Karnataka. Most people who heard it just laughed it away as a PJ. But in this country where even poor jokes have to conform to political correctness, half a dozen Modis felt aggrieved and slapped cases against him for insulting them, their families, and their community. Rahuls legal eagles didnt bother to get the cases clubbed or get them dismissed as vexatious litigation.

A magistrate in Surat took up the case that was in front of him, heard both parties, found Rahul guilty of criminal defamation and sentenced him to two years in jail that entailed his disqualification from Parliament. In the normal course of events, Rahul and his cohorts would have made some noise about being hounded with court cases, sought a stay order on the conviction from a higher court, filed an appeal, and gone ahead with another walkathon or a lacklustre poll campaign in Karnataka. No one would have been any wiser, stronger or more popular.

Lalu Prasad, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav et al would have sympathised with him in public, but said in private, serves him right, recalling how he had slighted the sagely Manmohan Singh by tearing up the latters ordinance that would have saved him now from disqualification. Thats not what happened. Even before the Surat magistrate rose from his seat after pronouncing his sentence, BJP factotums began firing from all cylinders. They went to town celebrating the conviction and condemning the convict as a casteist, and an enemy of the people who had been going around the world denigrating his motherland. Cabinet ministers pronounced his name in Parliament and outside ad nauseum. In no time, all the ladies and gents in the opposition ran to him asking, Oh, what can ail thee, knight at arms?

Rahul replied he had been wronged by Modi and Adani; the opposition added ED. Soon they were all supping together in Mallikarjun Kharges house, and vowing to fight Modi, smite at Adani, save Rahul, redeem free speech, hail liberty and promote democracy. Overnight, Rahul became a Patrick Henry who said, Give me liberty or give me death.This is the BJPs problemnine years in power, and they still think like in the opposition. Usually it is the opposition that hounds the government with charges of corruption and criminality, and the government that acts with restraint. The roles are reversed now. The rulers are barking and hunting like hounds, and the opposition is getting global and popular sympathy as being the hunted hares. No wonder, the world talks of democratic regression in India.

prasannan@theweek.in
Compared to the western world, robotic surgeries in India are still at a nascent stage. Indias contribution to robotic surgeries in a year is less than 0.1 per cent, globally. The awareness about robotic surgery is still not at a mass level in India, and coupled with this, not many surgeons are trained for this procedure. Further, the high cost of a surgical robot is one of the major barrier to high penetration.

It was in 2012, when Dr Sudhir Srivastava, currently MD and Chairman of SSI Innovations, a medtech startup, met a 22-year-old lady who was diagnosed with a hole between the two chambers of her heart. She was recommended a surgery, but her brother thought that a large cut on the chest might be a barrier for her to get married. Hence, Dr Srivastava told them about robotic surgery which they could not afford.

I even offered them my services for free, but the hospital I was working in at that time insisted on payment which could have run into several lakhs of rupees. Her brother said they will raise the necessary money and come back. A month later, he called to say that they were still struggling to raise the money, and, after that, I never heard from them. This incident set me to think that the common person should not be denied high-tech and high-quality medical care for want of money. I set into motion to develop a cost-effective surgical robot for the benefit of the masses.

In 2021, Dr Srivastava came up with Indias first Made-in-India surgical robot called SSI Mantra. Till date, it has been deployed in Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, New Delhi; Sanjeevani CBCC USA Cancer Hospital, Raipur; Continental Hospital, Hyderabad; Hindusthan Hospital, Coimbatore and Cytocure hospital, Mumbai.

With SSI Mantra, the surgeries can be performed at just 1/3rd the cost of current robotic procedures. It was developed to make the system cost and surgeries more affordable so that more hospitals can buy it, and, in turn, people can also have access to high-quality medical care, Dr Srivastava said.

India is lagging behind the US and European countries and instruments have limited number of usages, informs Dr Pradeep Jain, Principal Director and HOD, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Fortis Hospital.

Some instruments for such surgeries cost Rs 3 to 4 lakh, but their usage is limited to just 10 procedures, and the cost also ranges from Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 lakh, he said.

Most of the hospitals use DaVinci surgical system manufactured by Intuitive Surgical, costing about Rs 15-18 crore. It is a United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)-approved surgical robotic system.

Malfunctioning of the robot (although extremely low) is a potential risk, though.

Robotic surgeries are also deployed for carrying out remote surgeries that are dependent on high speed and stable internet connectivity, the absence of which, can be a challenge. Hopefully, 5-G comes as a saving grace for seamless connectivity. Also, being relatively new and growing in leaps and bounds, governmental regulations will take some time to be put in place, Dr Srivastava further said.

At present, SSI, is commencing dialogues with the USFDA, post which it will share a list of documents that maybe needed in addition to plan, organise and execute its clinical trials for the FDA approval. It hopes to get the approval next year for SSI Mantra.






The Union Home Ministry has decided to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar to help the Nitish Kumar government ensure law and order in the state, where clashes between two groups erupted over the last week. The extra forces are being sent following a request from the Bihar government.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who arrived in Patna on Saturday on a pre-planned visit, took stock of the situation and spoke to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar in this regard.

The minister will also address a rally in the Hisua area in Bihar's Nawada district on Sunday. He will leave for Nawada in the afternoon, before which he is expected to chair a meeting with senior state BJP leaders.

"The programme in Nawada stands. The district is peaceful and unaffected by disturbances elsewhere," BJP MLA Jibesh Kumar Mishra, who is camping in Nawada, told PTI over the phone.

Shah had earlier cancelled his scheduled visit to Sashastra Seema Bal's Patna Frontier due to "unavoidable reasons". The Union Home Minister was also scheduled to take part in a function in Sasaram town of Rohtas district, which has been put off because of communal violence.

Situation normal

Amid reports of fresh clashes in the districts of Rohtas and Nalanda, the Bihar Police said on Sunday that the situation in the state was completely normal.

According to Nalanda Superintendent of Police Ashok Mishra, the situation in the district was normal. He also urged locals to maintain peace and not to be swayed by rumours or misleading reports. "The situation in Nalanda's Bihar Sharif is completely normal. We would like to urge the general public not to believe in rumours. Stringent action will be taken against those spreading rumours," stated Bihar Police in a tweet.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in force in Nalanda since violence between two groups erupted over Ram Navami celebrations. One person was killed and several others injured after clashes last evening in Bihar Sharif.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials also rubbished rumours of people fleeing Sasaram, a town in Rohtas where clashes erupted between two groups over Ram Navami celebrations over the last week.

The Rohtas police also reacted to rumours that people were fleeing Sasaram due to fear. Calling the rumours "totally baseless and absurd rumour," the police said no one has left his/her locality. They also appealed to the general public not to pay attention to any such rumours. "The situation is peaceful and normal in Sasaram," Rohtas Police said on Twitter.

This came as six people were injured in a bomb blast in Sasaram. But, the Bihar police said the bomb blast was not a communal incident.

Officials said the injured people have been taken to a hospital, and a forensic team was rushed to the spot. Two have been arrested in this connection. The Rohtas police added that the injured were handling illegal explosives at a private property in Rohtas.

"There was a bomb blast in Sasaram. Injured people were referred to BHU hospital. We're investigating all the angles right now. The cause of the blast is still not known," Sasaram DM Dharmendra Kumar said.

The Bihar Police said that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team reached the spot to investigate the matter. "The blast was reported at a shanty and a scooty has been recovered from the area. Prima facie it does not appear to be a communal incident," the police said.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched another fresh round of attacks against Congress on Sunday by releasing the first episode of 'Congress Files' with the aim to expose the party's corruption.

BJP through its official Twitter handle tweeted that "The first episode of the Congress Files, see how one after the other corruption and scams took place under the Congress rule."

The video message is titled "Congress means corruption", the BJP stated, "Congress has looted Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 from public in 70 years of its rule. That money could have been utilised for so many useful areas of security and development."

Congress Files     ,             pic.twitter.com/vAZ7BDZtFi  BJP (@BJP4India) April 2, 2023

"Using this much amount, 24 INS Vikrant, 300 Rafale jets, and 1000 Mangal Missions could have been made of purchased. But the country has to bear the cost of Congress' corruption, and it lagged behind in the race of progress," the video message added.

It also termed the Congress tenure from 2004-2014 as a "Lost Decade".

"Keeping the whole 70 years aside, if we only look at the last tenure of 2004-14, it was a 'Lost Decade'. The government was led by Manmohan Singh, who turned a blind eye to all the corruption that kept on happening under his rule. In those days, paper were filed with the new of corruption, looking at which the heads of every Indian hung in shame," it further added.

"Coal scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, 2G Spectrum scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, MNREGA scam of Rs 10 lakh crore, Commonwealth scam of Rs 70,000 crore," it further added.

Towards the end of the video it was also mentioned that this was only the trailer of Congress's corruption, the movie is still not over.
A person walks past the Credit Suisse office in Canary Wharf in London, Britain - REUTERS/Hannah McKay

UBS is expected to lay off as many as 3,000 bankers in central London as the company races to cut jobs following its rescue takeover of Credit Suisse.

The Swiss bank expects to cut between 20pc and 30pc of its 125,000 employees around the world once the takeover is approved, according to domestic reports.

This could amount to almost 40,000 job losses across the world.

In London, where the redundancies would be among the most brutal since the financial crisis, the lenders employ 11,000 people between them and around 3,000 positions are thought to be in danger.

It came as Swiss prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into UBS's takeover of Credit Suisse, agreed last month over a weekend and pushed through by the countrys regulator to prevent the latter banks troubles from spilling over into the rest of the financial sector.

The Federal Prosecutor said it was examining whether any criminal laws had been breached by regulators or the banks as the 3bn Swiss francs (2.7bn) deal was agreed.

Last week, UBS re-appointed Sergio Ermotti, the former chief executive who cut thousands of jobs in the wake of the financial crisis, to steer it through the takeover.

Mr Ermotti oversaw a restructuring of UBS investment bank after taking charge in 2011, cutting 11,000 jobs.

Newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Bank UBS Sergio Ermotti - Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP

Credit Suisse had already outlined plans to lay off around 9,000 staff before it agreed to the UBS sale.

UBSs UK base is at offices in the City of London, while Credit Suisse has been a fixture in Canary Wharf since the early 1990s.

News of the losses come ahead of expected protests at Credit Suisses annual meeting in Zurich on Tuesday.

Norways sovereign wealth fund said it would vote against the re-election of seven directors including the chairman Axel Lehmann, citing unacceptable treatment of stakeholders among its concerns.

UBS takeover, agreed two weeks ago, is being rushed through without shareholder approval from either banks investors under Swiss authorities emergency measures.

Story continues

Bondholders have vented against the decision by Finma, the Swiss financial regulator, to wipe out billions in Credit Suisses debt.

Credit Suisse had outlined plans to cut 9,000 jobs before its sale was agreed, and its merger was expected to lead to losses of several times this figure, due to cost cutting requirements and the duplication of roles across the two banks.

Switzerlands Sonntagszeitung newspaper said that some 11,000 staff would go in the banks home country, around 30pc of the total. Swiss prosecutors' interest was first reported by the Financial Times.

UBS did not comment.
The political legacy of late Ajit Jogi  the first chief minister and a popular leader of Chhattisgarh  seems all but over as a social media post of his son Amit Jogi, who is the president of the Janta Congress formed by Jogi senior, has hinted that his family might stay away from the Assembly polls of 2023.

With this, the political future of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (Jogi), which had emerged the third front in 2018 Assembly polls, seems quite bleak.

Amit Jogi took to social media on Saturday to say that the health of mother Renu Jogi (MLA from Kota constituency) was far more important than political power in Chhattisgarh, which indicated that family members or the party might not contest the upcoming polls.

People ask why JCCJ (Janta Congress) is doing nothing, though only seven months is left for Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. Politics can never be bigger than life. After losing my father late Mr. Ajit Jogi ji, my mother's health is far more paramount than gaining power in Chhattisgarh and until she is fully healthy I will be with her like a shadow. It's unfortunate that I couldn't be with Papa in his last moments. I can't repeat this mistake with mommy. That's why my first aim is that my mother regains health. There is always the rest of life to do politics, Jogis post with a picture of Renu Jogi and himself with an ailing Ajit Jogi in hospital, said.

Janta Congress, Chhattisgarh, was formed in 2016 after the Jogi father-son duo was expelled from the Congress for anti-party activities. In the 2018 polls, though it created some pre-poll ripples mainly on the accord of political strength of founder Ajit Jogi, the new party could manage to win just five seats while alliance partner Bahujan Samaj Party won two seats.

However with the death of Jogi in May 2020, the party started floundering under Amit Jogi who hardly has any part of the charisma of his late father. Of the four remaining MLAs, senior leader Devwrat Singh (MLA of Khairagarh) passed away in November 2021. The ruling Congress won both the Marwahi seat held by late Ajit Jogi and Khairagarh seat in the bypolls emphatically.

JCCJ could not contest polls in Marwahi seat reserved for scheduled tribes (ST) after the nomination papers of both Amit Jogi and his wife Richa Jogi were rejected on the ground that a high power committee had found their tribal caste certificate questionable. Just days before elections, Amit Jogi has announced support to the BJP. The caste certificate issue is yet to be resolved, thus putting a question mark on Amit Jogis future in electoral politics.

The downslide for the party continued as another senior leader Dharamjit Singh (MLA of Lormi), who had been raising questions on handling of party affairs, was expelled in September 2022 for anti-party activities. The party is thus officially left with only two MLAs of which Renu Jogi is seriously ailing and the Baloda Bazar MLA Pramod Kumar Sharma had openly supported Dharamjit Singh after the latters expulsion. There are strong speculations that ahead of the 2023 polls, Sharma might join the ruling Congress.

In such a situation, despite a press statement by JCCJ spokesperson Bhagwanu Nayak that no such indication should be read into Amit Jogis post and that the party will contest polls under his (Jogis) leadership, there are widespread speculations that the JCCJ might officially stay away from the 2023 polls, thus marking the partys probable end.

With the Bahujan Samaj Party, too, in a weak condition in the state, the third front space looks vacated clearly for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is making inroads into the tribal state. The AAP has shown intention to contest all the 90 seats in the state, though political watchers feel that the party might just play the vote-splitter in the Assembly polls. Interestingly, there is a feeling that the AAP might cause more damage to the BJP than the Congress as it has no hold among the ST and SC voters who comprise about 44 per cent of the vote-base.
Clashes broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Sunday evening, leading to stone pelting and arson. The fresh violence erupted two days after similar incidents were reported in Howrah and North Dinajpur during the Ram Navami processions on Thursday.

BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh, who participated the 'shobha yatra' on Sunday, told PTI that the incident happened on GT Road in Rishra police station area.

People in the procession were walking peacefully to the Jagannath temple in Mahesh when stones were hurled at it, he said.

"There were many women and children in the procession who were walking with saffron flags in their hands. Suddenly, stones were hurled at us from one side of the road. Several policemen were also injured in the stone-pelting even though I and some other leaders were rescued and taken out of the area through adjacent lanes," Ghosh further alleged.

Police said the situation is now under control and that a heavy police deployment has been made in the area to prevent any further flare-up.

The saffron party blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruling Trinamool Congress for the fresh violence.

After Howrah, Sreerampur is burning. Ramnavami Shobha Yatra attacked. This has Mamata Banerjees approval, BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted.

"BJP 'shobha yatra' was attacked in Hooghly. The reason is simple and clear. Mamata Banerjee hates Hindus," said West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar.

The TMC, however, hit back saying the clashes were pre-planned by the BJP.

These people are trying to create unrest in the name of Ram Navami. Were taking stock of the situation. BJP is watching who can create more ruckus - Dilip Ghosh or Sukanta Majumdar, said TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.

The party also questioned what was the need to organise the procession two days after Ram Navami.

"Why are they so bent to take out Ram Navami processions during the holy month of Ramzan? Why the Ram Navami rally was taken out two days later? The BJP wants to engineer riots in Bengal to create instability for political gains," TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar said.
India will not allow its national flag being pulled down, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Sunday in a strong message to separatist Khalistani elements. The minister's reaction came amid reports of vandalism of the Tricolour in different countries by the Khalistan supporters following the Punjab Police's crackdown on radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh.

"The days when India would have taken this lightly are behind us and this is not the India which will accept its national flag being pulled down by somebody," Jaishankar said at an event in Maharashtra's Dharwad.

"It is a message not only to the so-called Khalistanis but also to the British, that this is my flag and I will make it even bigger if somebody tries to disrespect it," the minister was quoted as saying by ANI.

There is today a different India, an India which is very responsible and very firm," he said.

Khalistan supporters had staged protests in front of the Indian embassy buildings in the UK, Canada, Australia and the United States after police launched a manhunt for Amritpal, the chief of Waris Punjab De. In London, the protesters pulled down the national flag and hoisted a Khalistan flag at the Indian high commission, prompting New Delhi to summon a senor British diplomat over the security lapse.

Jaishankar said it the obligation of the respective country to provide security to the embassy and the diplomats.

Asked about the Khalistani movements in different countries, the minister said, There is a very small minority, with different interests. Some interests are of neighbours, some interests are of people who try to use it for visas and for personal interest."
Days after it witnessed arson and riots, Aurangabad, now renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, will witness two massive rallies; the one by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the ruling BJP's 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra'.

Violence erupted last week amid Ram Navami celebrations in Aurangabad, a culmination of the tense situations prevailing in the city since its renaming to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in February.

Police said they ensured tight security arrangements to ensure both events pass off without any untoward incident.

While the MVA rally will be held on Sunday evening at Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground, the 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra' will begin from a chowk named after the late Hindutva ideologue, just a kilometre away from the MVA rally site.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole will speak at the MVA rally, expected to be the coalition's show of strength. "The preparations for the rally are complete. The ground will be filled to capacity and we have also made arrangements to set up equipment for people outside the venue to hear the speeches," Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Subhash Desai said after inspecting the site on Saturday.

He added that the city was now peaceful and the earlier incidents will have no impact on the rally. The MVA plans to conduct five to six such rallies will be held across the state.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve have also his party functionaries to assemble for the rally calmly and peacefully as there may be an attempt to cause friction among communities.

The BJP's yatra, held in honour of Savarkar and to oppose routine attacks on him by the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi, will cover all three Assembly seats in the city and culminate at Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk.

"The routes and locations of rally and yatra are different. We will deploy nearly 300 policemen for both events to ensure they take place smoothly," Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Girhe said told PTI.

At least 12 persons, including 10 policemen, were injured after a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles. The clashes broke between two groups near the Ram temple in Kiradpura locality of Aurangabad on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

As many as seven persons have been arrested following the mob attack, while an injured man died in hospital.

The intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday saw rioting and arson in the city's Kiradpura area amid Ram Navami, leaving one person dead, several policemen injured and property, including vehicles, damaged and gutted.

(With inputs from PTI)
Three British men have been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a report said.

The detainees were identified as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, a controversial traveller Miles Routledge, and an unidentified UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul. Reuters quoting a spokesperson of Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said, "We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families."

However, the foreign office reportedly did not confirm details of British nationals.

Al Jazeera reported that a non-profit organization Presidium Network is assisting two of the detainees. The publication quoted Scott Richards of the Presidium Network as saying, We believe they are in good health and being well treated. We have no reason to believe theyve been subject to any negative treatment such as torture, and were told that they are as good as can be expected in such circumstances.

The NGO said they were arrested in relation to a misunderstanding over a licensed weapon in Cornwells room. The two Britishers were reportedly detained by the Taliban on January 11.

BBC quoted Richards as saying, that the weapon was stored with a licence issued by the Afghan interior ministry. "That license is missing. But, we have taken several statements from witnesses who have seen the licence and affirm its existence, BBC quoted Richards as saying. "It is perfectly possible that during the search the licence was separated from the weapon and, as such, why we refer to this scenario as a probable misunderstanding," Richards told the publication.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman reportedly told Sky News, Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution. If there are risks to peoples safety, if theyre a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that theyre safe. The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure peoples safety is upheld.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone since the Ukraine war, to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State Department said Sunday.

In the call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Blinken conveyed grave concern over the Kremlin's detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage allegations, according to a State Department summary of the call. Blinken called for his immediate release.

Blinken also sought the immediate release of Whelan, whom the statement said was wrongfully detained.

Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the US government have said are baseless.

Blinken and Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work, according to the State Department.

However, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Blinken that it was unacceptable for Washington to politicise the case of Evan Gershkovich. Reuters quoting Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov told Blinken in the phone call that Gershkovich's fate would be determined by a court. He reiterated Russia's assertion, for which it has not publicly stated any evidence, that the journalist was caught "red-handed" last week.

The ministry said Blinken's attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, taken in accordance with the law and international obligations. It was emphasized that it is unacceptable for officials in Washington and the Western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political colouring, Reuters reported quoting the ministry.

The Wall Street Journal denied the espionage charges and demanded his immediate release. Russia's Federal Security Service detained Gershkovich at Ekaterinburg while he was allegedly trying to get classified information. The Guardian quoting the agency reported the FSB alleged Gershkovich was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.

(With PTI inputs.)
Pakistan's ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that the then Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had put pressure on him to develop friendly ties with India.

Relations between India and Pakistan have often been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. However, their ties nose-dived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

"General Bajwa wanted me to develop friendly ties with India. He put pressure on me for this and it was one of the reasons our relationship deteriorated," Khan claimed during an interaction with social media journalists at his Lahore's Zaman Park residence on Saturday evening.

He, however, reiterated his stance that Pakistan should only hold peace talks with India provided New Delhi restores the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has repeatedly told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

The 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman further said what Bajwa did to Pakistan even an enemy couldn't do. "Bajwa should be held accountable by the army," he said.

Khan in the past accused Bajwa of not only toppling his country that laid a foundation of economic disaster but also committing atrocities against him, his party members and journalists. "Bajwa wanted me killed," Khan alleged.

Khan has been at loggerheads with Bajwa ever since his ouster from power in April last year by a no-confidence motion. Bajwa retired on November 29 last year after two consecutive three-year terms.

Regarding the PML-N-led federal government's assertion that it would not accept the verdict of a three-member bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial in polls in two provinces, Khan said, "I know what kind of benefits this cabal of corrupts would get by delaying the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. They are just delaying elections hoping to crush the PTI or finish Imran Khan."

Khan asked the ruling alliance to explain the reasons for postponing polls till October this year. "If elections are not held within 90 days in two provinces Pakistan will be without a constitution, he said.

Khan's party had dissolved assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in January after which a caretaker setup took over. Under the constitution, elections are held within 90 days from the date of dissolution of an assembly.

"Pakistan is facing a critical moment in its history. The nation must stand by the Constitution and rule of law," Khan asserted.
Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in Syria's Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported.



In Iran, state media reported that an Iranian adviser who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Friday died of his wounds.

Since the start of Syria's conflict in March 2011, Iran has been a main supporter of President Bashar Assad's government and has sent advisers since the early days of the war.

Sunday's strike marked the ninth time Israel has struck targets in Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor.

State news agency SANA, citing military sources, said the strikes targeted sites in the city of Homs and surrounding countryside. Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot down some of them, it said.

The observatory reported that the missiles targeted Syrian military sites and those of Iran-linked militias, including a research center.

There was no immediate statement from Israel on the strikes.

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 Assad's forces.

On Friday, Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syria's capital city, Damascus, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported.

Iran's state television reported Friday that Milad Heidari, an Iranian military adviser, was killed during what it called a criminal strike by Israel.

Iranian sate media reported Sunday that another Revolutionary Guard adviser who was wounded in Friday's strike succumbed to his wounds.

Iran's state TV identified the adviser as Meghdad Mahghani, adding that his funeral would be held Sunday in Damascus.

An Israeli airstrike last month targeting the airport in Aleppo put it out of commission for two days.

The airport has been a main conduit for aid shipments since the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey on February 6.

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.
Russia on Saturday assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council, a move decried by Ukraine as the war rages on. Moscow's turn to head the 15-member council came in line with a rotation system that seems to have been unaffected by the Ukraine war.

This comes amid International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine has condemned the move, with Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calling it "the worlds worst April Fools joke." The country which systematically violates all fundamental rules of international security is presiding over a body whose only mission is to safeguard and protect international security, Kuleba said.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian permanent representative, also called the move new levels of absurdity. "The security council as it is designed is immobilised and incapable to address the issues of their primary responsibility, that is the prevention of conflicts and then dealing with conflicts," he said.

Kyslytsya added that Ukraine would stay away from the security council in April except for "issues of critical national security interests". Though the country is not a current council member, its representative often attends meetings to speak on issues related to the war.

Despite Ukraine's public outcry, there is little the US or other permanent members of the council - UK, US, France, and China - can do to block Russia from assuming the presidency.

"Unfortunately, Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a news briefing this week. However, she said the US expects Moscow "to continue to use its seat on the council to spread disinformation" and justify its actions in Ukraine.

Though no member state is currently planning any form of boycott or other protest, countries that support Ukraine may show their disapproval by downgrading the level of their representation at Russian-hosted events throughout the month, said The Guardian.

Interestingly, the last time Russia held the presidency was in 2022 February, the same month Vladimir Putin launched his "special military operation" in Ukraine.

This time, Russia said it plans to exercise all its rights on the council. Moscow's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia told the Russian Tass news agency that he planned to oversee several debates, including one on arms control. Nebenzia also stressed discussions on a "new world order" that was coming to "replace the unipolar one".
Not everyone gets to hold the most coveted bureaucratic post in the country, and then rise to occupy an even more exalted position and a place in history. Retired IAS officer Nripendra Misra managed to do both. After serving as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 78-year-old Misra now serves as chairman of the Ram temple construction committee, which he defines as a divine task. Between managing diverse technical aspects required to build a temple that is expected to last a thousand years, and dealing with scores of religious leaders, local people and politicians, Misra has his hands full. It has made me more humble, he says, as he sits down in his office at Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi. Misra also serves as chairperson of the executive council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. He oversaw the construction of the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya (Prime Ministers Museum) which has turned into a popular destination in the national capital.

The first challenge was to make the temple to last a thousand years or more, like our ancient temples. Our problem was that there is not enough researched engineering material about ancient temples. In the complex, there is a decision to make seven temples belonging to Maharishi Valmiki, Shabri, Nishad Raj, Acharya Vashisht, Rishi Vishwamitra, Ahalya and Agastyamuni. The choice of material [used for construction]was largely inspired by our ancient temples, but on the engineering side, as new technology is available, we depended a lot on our IITs.

Misra spoke exclusively with THE WEEK, explaining the intricacies of the Ram temple construction and the challenges he encountered. His current task involves travelling regularly to the construction site in Ayodhya, holding a review meeting every Saturday and making decisions when diverse opinions come in.

Edited excerpts:

Q/ The question on top of everyones mind is: When will the temple be ready for devotees?

A/ The deadlines are set by the [Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra] Trust. The trust has already given a construction plan. As chairman of the construction committee, it is my duty to see that we adhere to this schedule. When they approved the design and details of the temple and the complex, three dates were given. The first is December 31, 2023. By this date, we are expected to complete the ground floor, except the iconography on the pillars. There are 160 pillars on the ground floor. Each pillar, as per shilp shastra, will have 16 figures. Carving them takes time. It has various constraints. For instance, one pillar has to be crafted by one person as far as possible. It is his hand that matters. If I put four people, it will obstruct the work and they will create different figures.

The mandap, ceilings, walls and the complete structure, including lighting and all other support structures, will be done by December 31, 2023. We will also have the deity in the garbh griha (sanctum sanctorum). The deity will be installed with pran pratishthan (consecration) and all the rituals, and the religious requirements would be completed by December. And the deity will move there.

By January 14-15 next year, the temple will be opened for darshan for devotees also. That is when the sun is in the uttarayan (northward movement). In the second phase, the complete framework will be done, which means the first and the second floors, though the iconography will continue. But one will be able to see the complete temple. The lighting will also be done.

Nripendra Misra | Sanjay Ahlawat

The outer parikrama boundary (parkota) will be complete. Those who want to do the parikrama will have the provision to walk 750m. The outer wall of the parkota will have provisions of murals made in bronze, depicting the value-based life of Ram. He is called maryada purushottam Ram, one having the highest form of maryada (righteousness). People can walk through it. If we include the parkota, we are talking about an area of eight acres. But when we talk about the temple, it is 2.8 acres.

The complex is 77 acres. In December 2024, the temple will be completed along with the parkota. By December 2025, one will see the complete complex which will have all facilities like the pilgrim facilitation centre, holding areas for devotees and facilities for personal requirements of devotees. The technical and security system will also become operational at that time.

Q/ Apart from the original plan, are there any new additions being made to the temple?



A/ In the complex, there is a decision to make seven temples for Maharishi Valmiki, Shabri, Nishad Raj, Acharya Vashisht, Rishi Vishwamitra, Ahalya and Agastyamuni. In the parkota, on the outer side, there will be an arrangement for the distribution of prasad, which people can have after the darshan. All of this will be complete by December 2025.

Q/ What is the reason behind building these seven temples?



A/ The starting point was one of the review meetings with the honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When the progress was being conveyed to him, he observed that Ram really became maryada purushottam during his journey (exile) of 14 years. That was when he set the principles of social integration and the principle of how good wins over evil. On his return, Ram defined the role of a benevolent king. If you remember the line from Ramayan, Rams sense of justice is what you see in a human body.... It takes everything for energy, but it ensures distribution according to the needs of all parts of the body. It does not keep everything to itself. That is how a king should be. Ram is called the benevolent king, and has all the elements of democracy. The prime minister said the social cohesion of the temple had to give a messageit must not be just a place of worship, but it should also be a place to show how society developed. That is why he suggested that if you have these temples, then you will give a larger message to the people in terms of acceptance. In fact, that is another reason that we are also going to have gopurams, which is entirely a south Indian concept. When a man from south identifies himself with this, he feels that this is his place, too.

Q/ So, the suggestion for the gopuram came from the prime minister?

A/ All these ideas came from him, but he does not want to influence [our decisions]. He only puts forward his point and leaves it entirely to the trust, which, according to the Supreme Court, is an autonomous body.

Auspicious start: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (third from right) and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel (far right) at the bhoomi pujan ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020 | PTI

Q/ Can you tell us about the challenges you faced in building the temple and explain the innovations you brought in?

A/ The challenges start with the ambitions. If you dont have any ambition, then you will not face a challenge. The first challenge was to make this temple to last a thousand years or more, like our ancient temples. Our problem was that there is not enough researched engineering material about ancient temples. There are certain beliefs, certain piecemeal information but there was no single place where we could find those. Many IITs have now requested us to keep records of our construction so that it could be added to the syllabus for civil engineering students. So the obvious challenges started in terms of engineering details and the materials used.

I will try and explain the first challenge. When soil was tested, it was found that it was unstable, so we referred it to IIT Madras and also formed a committee comprising Prof V.S. Raju, who is emeritus director of IIT Delhi, the directors of IIT Surat and IIT Guwahati and representatives from the Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee, L&T and Tata Consulting Engineers. The question was: What would we do to this soil? An obvious choice was to provide pile foundation, and make it very strong. When that was tried at a few places and a certain load was created, it tilted a little. Many engineers were of the view that it could be structurally corrected and they asked us not to give up on pile foundation as it was the most established engineering requirement for high rises all over the world. The other choice was to address the improvement of the soil. So we requested IIT Madras for engineered soil which will have the features of stone. They asked us to first dig out and remove 15 metres of soil. It was like digging a well. Had we gone down a few metres more, we would have found water. Then on the recommendation of IIT Madras, engineered soil was brought in. The filling was done layer by layer. One layer of certain width was done and was compacted. Then a sample was taken after 14-28 days and tested in the lab to verify whether it acquired the features of stone.

Look at the challenge we faced: If piles or rafts are used, what material should be used? What should be the specification to be achieved from the foundation, how strong should it be? There should be some technical parameters. There was a timing issue, too, as we had to complete the task before the monsoon. It required a combination of engineering, skills and knowledge. Another risk was that the committee of experts gave us both choicesit could be done either with piles or with engineered soil. They also said that there was some technology in London called rotary compacting scheme. Finally, a decision was made by the trust. In the raft, which is over the foundation, we decided not to use any iron. So it will not be RCC (reinforced cement concrete). After the raft, it was the plinth, which was 2.5m. The final decision was in favour of granite as it is the strongest stone for the plinth, and absorbs the least water and was the least reactive.

So, you know, these challenges are on a daily basis. The lighting on the facade was another challenge. One easy technology was to use projectors. There is also the monkey menace. But let us say we can overcome that. However, 80-odd projectors would not have been a beautiful sight. There is another technology which is for linear absorption of light. The projector would be utilised for the shikhar (tower) and the rest of the mandap. On the outer facade, linear light will be used. Then came the question of flooring. One also has to look at the cost. So it is a compromise between technology, timing, cost and making sure that the temple will last a thousand years.

The challenges came, but everyone supported us wholeheartedly and came up with the best possible solutions. Details about all the decisions that we made have been recorded and the document is with the temple trust.

Work and worship: Workers cut big stones to be placed in the main Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya | Pawan Kumar

Q/ You say the temple would stand for a thousand years. Has it been equipped to withstand all challenges?

A/ The temple should be maintained, avoiding wear and tear. There could be earthquakes. So the CBRI got the data for the last 500 years and performed laboratory simulation about the kind of load. Then there was the question of floods and the effect of climate change. All these things were considered while making the choice of the material and technology.

Q/ Have you drawn inspiration from ancient temple techniques in terms of material and construction?

A/ It was decided that iron should not be used as it has a life of only 90 years. It was decided that stone should be used and not cement in the construction of the walls. About the type of stone, the major consideration was how long it will last. No cement is used for construction, but cement slurry is used for support in case there is a cavity between two stones, but it is not used in the walls. So, you could say that the choice of material was largely inspired by our ancient temples, but on the engineering side, as new technology is available, we depended a lot on our IITs.

Q/ Did you reach out to any international bodies?

A/ We sought assistance from our tech institutes; they are among the best in the world. Another institution that was consulted to ensure that sunlight fell on Ram Lallas forehead was the CBRI, along with the Astronomical Institute in Pune.

Q/ Can you explain the process to ensure that sunlight falls on Ram Lallas forehead?

A/ The suns rays will fall on Ram Lallas forehead every year on Ram Navami (Rams birthday). The challenge was that each year, there is a movement of the sun and the date of Ram Navami also changes. The rays have to come at 12 noon which is believed to be Rams time of birth. The sun will come up to a point in the shikhar. And then it will have to be diverted to fall on Ram Lallas forehead. The entire calculation has been done for 20 years by the CBRI and the Astronomical Institute. The rays have to come through the shikhar where the aperture has been made.

Q/ Can you give us an overview of material being sourced from different parts of the country and the stone being used for carving the main deity?

A/ We have got the best granite from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, marble is coming from the mines of Rajasthan and stone from the Bansi-Paharpur area of Rajasthan.

Q/ Will there be two idols in the garbh griha?

A/ When the devotees stand in the temple, they will be 30 feet away from the idol. They will not be able to see the present idol from that distance. So we have to create a standing Ram Lalla, which will be just behind the current idol. The devotees want two things: a blessing coming from the eyes of the lord. So, the eyes must lead the eyes. The average height of an Indian is 5 feet 7 inches. So from that point of view, that should be the height of the idol. Then there is samcharandevotees should be able to pay their obeisance at the lords charan (feet). That is why a standing statue will be placed on a pedestal. The height and the age of the idol should depict the bhav (spiritual attitude) of five- or six year-old Ram Lalla.

So we will have an achal murti, and an utsav murtione idol will be permanent and the other, which can be taken out during processions if needed, like in the case of Puri. The present idol will be utsav murti.

Q/ So, a new idol of Ram is being carved.

A/ The initial question was about the stone to be used for carving the lords idol. We decided that the existing Ram Lallas statue be brought in on an as is where is basis. But there will be a standing Ram Lalla with an age of four to six years and a height of 51-52 inches. The rays of the sun have to fall on the forehead of this standing idol, so this is important for the scientists to calculate. So only that stone is now under consideration. The idol must not absorb water, when it is given snaan (bath), and it should not react to atmospheric acidity or any chemical. The choice is stones found in some rivers of Karnataka, granite and marble from Rajasthan. There is also shaligram, from a river in Nepal. No decision has been made yet.

The decision is to call six sculptors to Ayodhya and ask them to guide us, as the most important thing is the carving of the stone. They must test whether any kind of chipping will take place. That has to be completed. They will have the final say. We have to select two sculptors. You cannot depend on one. They must finally decide on the stone with which they are most comfortable.

Q/ What will be the experience for a devotee?

A/ Crowd management is going to be a challenge. We have given the crowd management study to RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service), a body under the ministry of railways. Their first test will be on Ram Navami which falls on March 30 this year. That day they will be able to find out the footfall in the makeshift temple, Hanumangarhi and the Saryu river. They will also get to know the [flow of devotees from] from Prayagraj, Lucknow and Varanasi. They will survey how these visitors come here, whether they first take a dip in the river, go to Hanumangarhi or directly come to the temple.

Spiritual bliss: The main idols in the Ram Lalla temple | Pawan Kumar

Q/ So, safety will be the key?

A/ Nothing in the building should be so constructed that it becomes a challenge in safety. One example comes to my mind. The garbh griha has three doors and its chaukhat (threshold) must be according to shilp shastra. The thresholds height is roughly two feet and its width is three feet. What is the challenge now? You can have the threshold here and no one would cross it. The mandap next to the garbh griha has nine doors, so the threshold was also constructed here. But when there are 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh devotees, there will be some pushing and jostling. So, the threshold in these doors could have led to a stampede even if one person were to fall. So, despite our architect sticking to shilp shastra, we took a decision that there will not be a threshold in any other part except the garbh griha. Here, vaastu and shilp shastra have been ignored and we are going by the safety of the pilgrims.

Q/ How do you plan to regulate the entry of devotees?

A/ There will be a token system for people who want to deposit their stuff. There will be 60 counters for this at the pilgrim facilitation centre. As for allowing mobile phones, we have not yet made a decision.

Q/ The temple is going to be on the world map. What new facilities are being created?

A/ It is the biggest challenge for us. In one of his recent visits, the prime minister said that despite having a temple, if we do not have the necessary infrastructure and civic amenities, it will be a major failure. We need parking, hotels, water, sewage systems and wide roads. The state government is widening the roads. In many areas, the locals have agreed to donate land and roads are being widened to four lanes or six lanes. A smart city is also coming up.

Q/ What about the temple timings?

A/ It will be governed by the number of security people needed. At the moment, the temple opens at 6:30am and remains open till 8pm with an hour-long break in the afternoon. But on special days, we will have to keep it open for 14 to 16 hours. If five lakh people come, one visitor will have about 17 seconds to do the darshan. How is this satisfying? That is the challenge we are trying to address.

Q/ With so many stakeholders involved, how do you ensure consensus?

A/ This is an entirely new experience for me. But this art of working with people of all faith and emotions is new for me. Their oldest feeling about Ayodhya is that they have launched the agitation and it is because of them that this day has come. They want a say in the construction as well. So, whatever decision is taken, it must appear that it is their decision, too. I have been extremely conscious and sensitive to their requirements. Whether I succeed or not, I will get to know only in the end.

Q/ You were posted in Uttar Pradesh when the Ayodhya agitation started. How do you see your current role?

A/ This particular role is a totally divine one for me. I never thought this would come my way. After serving at the prime ministers office, I had gone into some sort of hibernation. And then came the Supreme Court judgment which envisaged that there should be a chairman for the construction committee. And somehow it came my way. Today, I am a religious person. I have no hesitation to say this. And it is entirely devotional. If God desires it, it will be completed through my hands and I will have made some contribution. God willing, I will complete my devotion to the temple by December 2025.

Q/ Has this changed you?

A/ It has made me more humble. There are enough egos, emotions and challenges that come my way. If I react with the same ego and same emotions, then perhaps there will be confrontation.
FILE - The sun sets behind the Vjosa River near Tepelene, Albania. Officials on Monday, June 13, 2022. The Albanian government on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 formally designated the Vjosa River and its tributaries a national park, starting with an investment of some $80 million (75 million Euro) to stop pouring wastewater into the river. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

TIRANA, Albania (AP)  The Albanian government on Wednesday formally designated the Vjosa River and its tributaries a national park, starting with an investment of some $80 million (75 million euros) to stop wastewater being poured into the river.

Authorities held a ceremony in a move aimed at preserving what they called one of the last wild rivers in Europe, which runs for 270 kilometers (170 miles) from the forest-covered slopes of Greeces Pindus mountains to Albanias Adriatic Sea coast.

Today we protect for ever Europes last wild river, said Prime Minister Edi Rama. Albanian officials say the free-flowing Vjosa is largely untouched by development and human impediments in its course.

Tourism and Environment Minister Mirela Kumbaro said the national park would include more than 12,700 hectares (32,000 acres), including the 190 kilometer (120 mile) long Albanian section of the river, where more than 60,000 people live.

The river and its surrounding areas are ecosystems of substantial biodiversity and home to over 1,100 species of animals. Two of the plant species and 13 of the animal species are assessed as globally threatened by International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN.

The project will seek to address water and land pollution, waste management, and deforestation. Additionally, officials say, the National Park will create economic opportunities for local communities through responsible tourism, and help address depopulation.

Kumbaro's ministry has signed an agreement with Patagonia, a California-based outdoor clothing company that supports environmental projects, to assist in the plan.

Standing on the banks of the Vjosa today, we are humbled to know that this exceptional river and its wildlife will be conserved forever, said Patagonias CEO Ryan Gellert.

Boris Erg, director of the IUCN's European regional office, applauded Tirana for the decision and offered to support its implementation. He also called on other regional governments to show similar ambition and help reach what he called the vital goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030.

Story continues

Albania's government has cancelled plans for eight hydropower stations on the Vjosa and its tributaries. Environmentalists say the dams would have caused serious damage to the river.

Authorities now need to resolve what to do with a half-built hydropower station at Kalivac on the Vjosa.

Environmentalists have also warned that a new, multimillion-euro international airport being built where the Vjosa River flows into the Adriatic near the city of Vlora would cause irreparable damage to the fragile ecosystems of protected lagoons that host flamingos, pelicans and millions of other migratory birds.

Rama rejected the criticism, saying a file as big as a mountain has been prepared on the airports environmental impact, promising that the project in no way is a threat to the ecosystem. ___ Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini
January 25, 1987, marked the beginning of a new phenomenon in Indias socio-political journey. Starting that day, the country used to come to a standstill every Sunday morning for the next 78 weeks as the state-run broadcaster Doordarshan started airing episodes of Ramayan. Its religious appeal primed the countrys populace even as demands for a temple at Rams birthplace in Ayodhya grew. A year later, the BJP, which had only two Lok Sabha MPs back then, adopted a resolution at its Palampur national executive demanding the construction of the Ram temple. The fledgling party found its cause. On November 9, 1989, the shilanyas (foundation laying ceremony) was carried out at the site, and when Lok Sabha elections were held a few days later, the saffron partys tally surged to 85, and it has not looked back since.

The Ram temple will go beyond the symbolism of a Hindu deity to signal a larger message of cohesion and cultural synthesis. It is social engineering through invoking divinity. The BJP is all set to invoke the cultural linkages with the new temple as the building materials are sourced from many of the poll-bound states.

Thirty-five years after the shilanyas, Ayodhya awaits the grand opening of the Ram temple after a series of legal and political battles. The temple is expected to open on Makarsankranti next January, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Nripendra Misra, chairman of the Ram temple construction committee, said that by December 31 this year, the garbh griha of the temple would be complete and Ram Lallas idol would be moved to his permanent abode.

The opening of the Ram temple will be a key element in the BJPs narrative for its 2024 campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the prime mover behind the building of the temple, is likely to be the main beneficiary of the public sentiment built around the religious issue. The Modi government has delivered on two of its core ideological promises ahead of the electionsbuilding the Ram temple and the removal of Article 370. The temple will find resonance in the Hindi speaking states which have remained the saffron partys core support base. The new temple could also attract voters from the southern states, especially on the cultural and spiritual fronts, by creating newer linkages for social integration.

The issue is likely to reverberate during the assembly campaigns in heartland states like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which go to the polls later this year. Elections are due in Karnataka and Telangana, too, and the BJP hopes the issue will work there as well. During the election campaign in Tripura earlier this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had invoked building the Ram temple while attacking the opposition. The BJP performed well in the state and retained power.

The excitement around the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation benefited the BJP and now it is time for its final result. Whatever the party promised, it delivered. The BJP will gain from the temple construction and also when it is opened to the public, said Badri Narayan, director, Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad. The BJP will bring the temple into the campaign in an organised manner. Even if it displays the picture of the completed temple, it will have an impact on the Hindu mind. The main impact will be felt in Hindi-speaking areas, but it will not be limited to those areas. The people in the south are also religious; they may vote for regional parties, but they look up to the temple, and thus it will have an impact. Modi will be the sole beneficiary.

The Ram temple will go beyond the symbolism of a Hindu deity to signal a larger message of cohesion and cultural synthesis. It is social engineering through invoking divinity. Based on Modis suggestion, the temple complex will have seven new temples dedicated to key characters in the RamayanMaharishi Valmiki, Shabri, Nishad Raj, Acharya Vashisht, Rishi Vishwamitra, Ahalya and Agastyamuniwho are revered by different castes and communities and in diverse geographic regions. Valmiki is revered by dalits, and so is Shabri. Surat has a temple dedicated to her, while the Sabarimala temple in Kerala is believed to draw its name from her. Nishad Raj is revered by the fishermen community. Acharya Vashisht was a Brahmin, while Vishwamitra belongs to the Kshatriya caste. Ahalya and Agastya have temples dedicated to them in various parts of the country. The message is clear: maryada purushottam Ram is for all castes and communities within the Hindu faith. Shabri is an icon of the Musahar (rat catcher) caste. At the Jayapura village adopted by Modi, a temple dedicated to Shabri was built for the Musahar caste. This was done as a message to the marginal castes and communities, said Narayan.

Similarly, Modis idea to link the Ram temple with the south through the use of gopuramsan architectural element found in temples in south Indiaaims to bring visual and cultural synchronisation across geographies. According to Misra, Modi wanted the Ram temple to go beyond being just a place of worship; he wanted it to be a place to show how society developed.

Winners take all: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | PTI

The BJP is all set to invoke the cultural linkages with the new temple as the building materials are sourced from many of the poll-bound states. For instance, granite has come from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and marble from Rajasthan. The Modi government does not want the young voters, who probably do not remember the UPA regime, to feel fatigued about the BJP rule. Building the Ram temple is one way to renew contact with young voters.

The BJP knows that development alone does not win elections. Often, an emotive issue is also required. The party realised it after its loss in the 2004 elections, despite the India Shining slogan. When L.K. Advani became BJP president for the third time, he said the party was wrong in assuming a direct correlation between good governance and electoral outcome. In the BJPs voyage from the fringe to the centre of the political stage, we aroused many expectations, some extremely emotive. We were unable to fulfil some of those. The construction of a grand temple in Ayodhya was one such issue, he had said.

Modi was part of Advanis rath yatra where he learned to pick up the pulse of the people. Advani brought the Ayodhya issue to the fore of Indias political discourse with his rath yatra which was launched on September 30, 1990. The original charioteer may have faded away from the political scene, but the impact of his initiative has had a lasting impact on the countrys polity and national consciousness. It was Modi who fructified that dream.

While the Ram temple has been the BJPs biggest politico-cultural project, it is also keen on developing other religious sites like the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the Mahakal corridor in Ujjain and the Kartarpur corridor, in an attempt to deepen its engagement with the electorate.

The Ram temple is not a political issue for the BJP. It is one of its commitments. The party always stood for due legal process given the fact that a wrong has been committed. The identity of Ram and what he stands for is part of Indias proud civilisational heritage, said BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli. The building of the Ram temple has been welcomed by all, including by those political entities who created every possible impediment when we tried to resolve the issue.

An RSS insider said that apart from the socio-cultural aspects, the construction of such temple complexes were important from an economic standpoint, too. They bring in tourists and pilgrims in hordes which helps rejuvenate local and state economies. In the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the government spent over Rs900 crore, which has already been recovered, he said.

This means other political parties have no choice but to support it. Most political parties welcomed the Supreme Court verdict allowing the construction of the Ram temple. The Aam Aadmi Party led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, for instance, built a replica of the Ram temple in Delhi and organised aartis. It made electoral sense as the AAP managed to wrest the coveted municipal corporation of Delhi from the BJP, which was in power for the past 15 years.

The BJPs weapons for the upcoming elections are welfarism and development backed by cultural and spiritual nationalism. The BJP has also been relentless in its attack on opposition leaders, with investigating agencies aggressively questioning and booking them on corruption charges. Dont you think action should be taken against them? People believe Modi when he attacks those indulging in corruption, said a senior cabinet minister.

For the sangh, which has been at the forefront of the Ayodhya agitation through its front organisations like the Vishva Hindu Parishad, the Ram temple is an important landmark for its formulation of Hindu rashtra. The issue is not just of a temple, it is of Ram rajya, the ideals that Ram stood for, said VHP international working president Alok Kumar. There cannot be discrimination based on caste or community or economic conditions. We are not saying that Hinduism should be the national religion. All religions should get equal rights and be allowed to flourish, but no one should get more than others.

Milind Parande, general secretary of the VHP, said the Ram temple would emerge as the primary temple of the country. Hindus had to fight for the Ram temple for more than 500 years. It has laid the foundation for Ram rajya, which will be good for everyone, he said. The temple construction should not worry the minorities as it is a cultural work that is not against anyone. It assimilates everyone.
Labourers at work at the Ram Temple construction site in Ayodhya. The main street in Ayodhya is being widened. The pillars of the temple under construction. An artist gives final touches to idols in the Ram Katha workshop. An old building being demolished for road widening.

Every morning, the sun rises over the Saryu to see a different Ayodhya.

Grand is the word often used to describe this changing land of Ram. It is a word that transcends words like piety and humility that are more associated with the king of Ayodhya, the most human of Hindu gods, one bereft of the spectacular powers of fellow deities.

Some 4,000 shopkeepers are affected by the demolition, but by the governments calculation, only 700 qualify for compensation. Moreover, Ayodhyas development does not square with the governments plan to get the city the UNESCO heritage tag.

One interpretation of the word Ayodhya is that of a place which is not to be fought for, one that is invincible. But today there is a fight to draw up a different kind of Ayodhya where the comfort of the pilgrims is also taken care of.

The biggest of these plans is the laying of three corridors for easy access to the Ram Janmabhoomi. The longest of these is the 13km-long Ram Path that extends from Sahadatganj to the Lata Mangeshkar Chowk. Here, instead of getting into the city, pilgrims will take a road which connects them directly to the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.

The road could have been aligned differently as it is not part of any parikrama (circumambulation) route and, therefore, not sacrosanct. However, temples, mosques and gurdwaras on its path have been dismantled and rebuilding is not permitted. We are still planning and might require more land, is what local officials say. Nothing is committed on paper.

Devendra Nath Mishra of the Lal Mohariya Chah Bhaiyya Dharamshalaa property of the erstwhile royals of Nepalstruggled to describe how he felt about the destruction of the institution. I am satisfied by the compensation, but I do not understand why the state is erasing heritage, he said, pointing to the ornately carved boundary wall which had been demolished a while ago. Foreigners are coming to see indigenous architecture, not modern doors, he said.

A labourer working atop the temple. A newly placed Ram idol at a hotel lobby in Ayodhya. Bricks with Shri Ram carved on them. Devotees waiting for darshan in Ayodhya.

One of the most puzzling of these demolitions has been that of the Singh Dwar, an iconic gateway to Hanumangarhi, the hilly fort from where Lord Hanuman keeps a watchful eye on the city. The dwar had carvings of the twin fishthe iconic symbol of Awadhs might and glory, which is now used by the state government. It was one of Ayodhyas most recognisable markers.

To this new Ayodhya, which is readying an international airport to welcome visitors from across the world, have come offerings from Janakpur in Nepal, the birthplace of Sita. These are in the form of two shaligrams, weighing 26 tonnes and 14 tonnes. Shaligrams are rocks found at the bed of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki in Nepal. The ammonite fossil is worshipped as representative of Vishnu and the natural lines they have are known as their markers.

A mosque and a dargah will be partially demolished to widen the road.

Satyendra Das, chief priest of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi mandir, said, Carving on these shila is ill advised as they are venerable in the form in which they exist. It would also not have been easy to eke out forms from them.

Lallu Singh, BJP MP from the Faizabad (Ayodhya), said the plan for the citys growth was an ever expanding one. The railway stations first phase was expected to cost Rs100 crore; it has now gone up to Rs240 crore. It will have the countrys largest air concourse which will connect platforms one to five, he said. A proposal of Rs360 crore has been sent to the Railway Board to develop the Cantonment railway station. The work of doubling the Barabanki-Ayodhya-Ambedkarnagar rail track route will finish by December this year.

Ram Ki Paidi will be renovated to accommodate one lakh people on the banks of the Saryu.

New roads are being built, new pipelines are being laid, tangled electricity wires are getting straightened, public conveniences are being created and the entire city is getting a makeover.

Then why are not all residents happy?

Nand Kumar Gupta, chairperson of the local traders association, said, There were many sparsely populated alternatives available to make access to the temple easier. Those who have been displaced used to earn their livelihood here for generations. Once uprooted, they will not find a place as economically viable as this. The financial and the emotional void will never fill.

Most shopkeepers who ply their trade do not own the buildings they operate from. The ownership is with erstwhile royalty, temple trusts or it is nazul land (government land not used for agriculture). Some 4,000 shopkeepers are affected by the demolition, but by the governments calculation of ownership, only 700 qualify for compensation. Moreover, Ayodhyas development does not square with the governments plan to get the city the UNESCO heritage tag.

Ayodhya is the city of a thousand suns, the representative of the dynasty to which Ram belonged. Every evening, when the sun sets over Ayodhya, it might look at and wonder at its huge lookalike that has come up on the facade of the revamped railway station. And also feel curious about the Ayodhya it will return to the next dawn.
Ahmedabad, Apr 2 (PTI) Corporate leaders should exercise "self-restraint" in their perks, profligacy, and lifestyle, particularly in India where a majority of people are poor, to make capitalism attractive, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy said here on Sunday.

Speaking as the chief guest at the 58th annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), Murthy said "good governance" is enhanced by adhering to "honesty, fairness, transparency and accountability in every transaction".

Listing his "ideals," he emphasised the virtue of "fairness" as being the most important attribute for a decision.

"Across the world and particularly in a country like India where a majority of people are poor, the best way to make capitalism attractive is that corporate leaders exercise self-restraint in their perks, profligacy, compensation, and their lifestyle," Murthy said.

He said the "mindset" of a company should be determined by the culture of meritocracy and values, as "culture is a strong foundation on which the super-structure of aspirations, dreams, and hopes rests".

Murthy said a part of success is determined by performance and half part by luck.

"I want every one of you to be humble...You must do everything possible for success before you invoke God," he said.

Talking about building Infosys, Murthy said he wanted it to be a place where a person irrespective of his race, religion, caste, region, nationality and economic strata could succeed based on competence and values.

"Transparency in everything you do is counterintuitively a competitive advantage. I want you to remember this very importantly (sic)," he said.

Murthy said "competence, commitment and character" are essential for a company to earn the respect of stakeholders and achieve enduring success.

Talking about the attributes of a leader, he said, "the most powerful instrument of a leader is leading by example in demonstrating courage, sacrifice, hope, confidence, innovation, hard work, truth, fairness, transparency, accountability, austerity, discipline, a good value system, and most importantly, open-mindedness."

A confident leader hires people smarter than himself or herself, and such a leader gets the best out of his or her people by creating an environment of openness to "new ideas, values, meritocracy, fairness, transparency, speed, justice, imagination, discussion, excellence in execution and questioning, he added.

"The best management guru is the market competition," Murthy said.

"The way one behaves when he or she is on top and has power and wealth is his/her true character. In such moments, your grace, your courtesy and humility showed to others will reveal a real you," he added.

According to Murthy, there is no progress without questioning.

"Putting the interest of the company ahead of one's interest in the short and medium term results in the betterment of one's personal interest in the long term," he said.

Murthy said every customer looks for the best value for money in every purchase, and therefore, a company that enhances differentiated values to customers using continuous innovation, will obtain premium pricing.

Murthy said it was drilled into his mind when he was young that his fate would be limited by the circumstances that he was born in, and India he experienced was a lower middle class with small hopes and even smaller dreams.

He said he had simply accepted that there would be a glass ceiling to most of the corporate ladders in corporate India when corruption and connections in government used to be common for success in most businesses.

"This regressive mindset changed when I went to work in a French real-time software company in Paris where I learnt three important ideas --the power of entrepreneurship in a free market in creating jobs and prosperity for the nation, the beauty of an enlightened corporate democracy, and the role of compassionate capitalism in building happy and prosperous country", Murthy added.

He said this journey irrevocably transformed him from a "confused Leftist" to a determined compassionate capitalist.

"After my return to India, I decided to conduct an experiment based on these three important ideas that I spoke about," he said.

A total of 597 students graduated from IIMA.
Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) Damodar Valley Corporation achieved the highest power generation in its 75 years of existence, with a 6.5-per cent on-year rise in 2022-23 to 43.32 billion units, which mostly came from thermal sources, company officials said.

It also registered a robust 29 per cent growth in power sales to Rs 24,432 crore in 2022-23 over the preceding fiscal, aided by tariff revision and a central scheme, they said.

The plant load factor, too, stood at a record 74.23 per cent as against 68.96 per cent in the 2021-22 fiscal.

"In FY'23, billing was Rs 24,432 crore, which is higher by around Rs 5,461 crore over the previous year. Apart from higher generation, regulatory approvals of tariff revision and the Union government's Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) scheme also boosted revenue collection," DVC Chairman Ram Naresh Singh told PTI.

DVC Member Finance Arup Sarkar said billing had risen by about 29 per cent and realisation was higher by 23 per cent in FY23 to Rs 23,413 crore.

The figures are subject to final auditing.

Sarkar said DVC ensured uninterrupted power to the industry in 2022-23 despite input supply chain disruptions.

"Amid unprecedented demand, we maintained power supply by blending imported coal to ensure seamless power to the country, which was recouping from the Covid pandemic," he said.

Elaborating on the companys performance, Sarkar said the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission had approved its tariff revision for 2017-18 to 2019-20 during 2022-23, and the Jharkhand Electricity Regulatory Commission did the same for 2020-21.

Realisation improved from discoms due to the LPS scheme that restricts power in case of non-payment, he said.

"DVC has already commenced production at its Tubed Coal Block in Jharkhand. The dry fuel is expected to be received soon at the companys power plant, which will help reduce dependence on external coal," Sarkar said.

Singh said the Koderma Unit 1 of 500 MW generated uninterrupted power for 393 days, a milestone considering 2 to 4 per cent forced outages are common in thermal power plants.

DVC plans to implement significant capacity addition in renewable energy in the near future, he added.
Jammu and Kashmir government is all set to import Romanov, a prolific sheep breed, under the holistic agriculture development programme to increase wool and mutton productivity in the union territory.

To boost production and reduce import of mutton, the Jammu and Kashmir government has approved a Rs 329-crore project for the next five years to achieve self-reliance in the mutton sector.

Earlier, J&K's sheep husbandry department imported two premier breeds, Rambouillet of France and Dorper of South Africa, to give a fillip to the sheep breeding productivity and decrease imports.

"We are importing the elite breed of sheep in the world. It is the Romanov breed. This is the best breed in the world for wool and mutton. We are introducing it here", Additional chief secretary Atal Dulloo told PTI here.

He said that the Romanov breed grows to 70 kg in a year. "It will give a fillip to the income of the sheep breeders. This is part of the holistic agriculture development plan. We will import the breed soon. and will give a fillip to the sheep breeding here", he said.

Romanov is a breed of imperial sheep originating from the Upper Volga region in Russia. These domestic sheep got the name Romanov from the town of the same name. In the 18th century, these sheep were first noticed outside of Russia. Soon after, they were imported to Germany and then to France.

The authorities are preparing the Reasi-based centre, the oldest breeding farm of Jammu and Kashmir for housing Romanov breed.

"We are developing this farm under a holistic development plan. We have decided to introduce the Romanov breed. We are preparing for that", Director Sheep husbandry department Jammu, Krishen Lal told PTI.

This Reasi farm was the private farm of the King of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh. "It was set up in 1937. It is the oldest farm in Jammu and Kashmir. It was later taken over by the government in 1949", Deputy Director Reasi Dr R K Mahas said.

This Rambouillet breeding centre houses nearly 2500 livestock of the Roumilet breed, which is the elite breed of France. "These are provided in every district to breeders free of cost. The aim is to increase the population of this foreign breed in bid to decrease the import of mutton", Dr Manhas said.

Another Breeding centre at Panthal in Reasi district houses South-African breed Dorper and French breed Rambouillet.

"We provide the sheep breed to the farmers to increase the population. It is a lone farm which has the Dorper breed. The Dorper witnesses growth of 30 kg in six months. We are introducing this breed to other areas in Jammu and Kashmir", Assistant Director Sheep Breeding farm Panthal, Dr Deepak Kitchloo said.

In view of huge mutton usage in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Kashmiri cuisine and in order to reduce meat import, the government has approved an ambitious Rs 329 crore project for the next five years to achieve self-reliance in the mutton sector, Dulloo said.

Despite the regions competitive advantage and potential to become self-reliant in the mutton sector, there is a shortfall of 41 per cent leading to an import bill of Rs 1,400 crore every year, officials said.

One of the major interventions planned is the import of prolific breeds, which will lead to establishment of 72 breed-based farms to provide high genetic merit to animals. The project aims to conduct 1,00,000 artificial inseminations annually and establish 400 new commercial farms every year.

The project also focuses on clusterization, creation of mandis, abattoirs and common facility centres (CFCs), to support marketing and value addition of the sector, Dulloo said.

The existing mutton production is not only of insufficient quantity but also lacks quality and is not FSSAI compliant, putting consumers at risk.

The majority of the livestock population is held by Bakerwals who follow traditional methods of farming, resulting in low productivity and profits.

The expected output from the project includes import of 2700 high genetic merit and elite sheep and goats, increased lambing percentage from 80 to 120 and considerable reduction in marketable age for sheep and goats (40-50 kg in 6 months), they officials said.
Lahore, Apr 2 (PTI) Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan has claimed that the then Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had put pressure on him to develop friendly ties with India.

Relations between India and Pakistan have often been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. However, their ties nose-dived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

"Gen Bajwa wanted me to develop friendly ties with India. He put pressure on me for this and it was one of the reasons our relationship deteriorated," Khan claimed during an interaction with social media journalists at his Lahore's Zaman Park residence on Saturday evening.

He, however, reiterated his stance that Pakistan should only hold peace talks with India provided New Delhi restores the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has repeatedly told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

The 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman further said what Gen (retd.) Bajwa did to Pakistan even an enemy couldn't do. "Bajwa should be held accountable by the army," he said.

Khan in the past accused Bajwa of not only toppling his country that laid a foundation of economic disaster but also committing atrocities against him, his party members and journalists. "Bajwa wanted me killed," Khan alleged.

Khan has been at loggerheads with Gen (retd.) Bajwa ever since his ouster from power in April last year by a no-confidence motion.

Gen (retd) Bajwa retired on November 29 last year after two consecutive three-year terms.

Regarding the PML-N led federal government's assertion that it would not accept the verdict of a three-member bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial in polls in two provinces, Khan said: "I know what kind of benefits this cabal of corrupts would get by delaying the elections in Punjab and Kyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. They are just delaying elections hoping to crush the PTI or finish Imran Khan."

Khan asked the ruling alliance to explain the reasons for postponing polls till October, 2023. "If elections are not held within 90 days in two provinces Pakistan will be without a constitution, he said.

Khan's party had dissolved assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in January after which a caretaker setup took over. Under the constitution, elections are held within 90 days from the date of dissolution of an assembly.

"Pakistan is facing a critical moment in its history. The nation must stand by the Constitution and rule of law," Khan asserted.
Tokyo, Apr 2 (AP) Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting on Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern" about China's escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Hayashi is making a two-day visit in China, becoming Japan's first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He was also due to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later on Sunday.

During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man or the allegations against him.

Hayashi told reporters he also raised serious concern about China's increasingly assertive maritime activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Hayashi said he told Qin that their countries have the possibility of improved cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, but also face many problems and serious concerns" and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase".

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, 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 China's growing influence in the region a threat to its security and economy.

Qin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and "undermine China's sovereignty in any way", according to a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using strong language, Qin said the Taiwan issue is at the core of China's core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

Japan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.

Japan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defences recent years.

The Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.

Qin criticised Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The US has imposed similar measures and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.

The US once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japan's semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China, Qin said, urging Japan not to be America's pawn. One should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.

Hayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a US-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.

The last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashi's predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures. (AP) PY

PY
Toronto, Apr 2 (PTI) The identities of people of Indian descent whose bodies were found in marshland have not been released by the Canadian police, pending identification and notification of next of kin, a media report said on Sunday, as the circumstances of their deaths continued to be investigated.

Bodies of eight persons were found on Friday in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

Police say the deceased  believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent  were trying to cross into the US from Canada. Among them were two children under the age of three, both Canadian citizens.

Akwesasne officials have named two family members of Romanian descent  including a man holding his two children's passports  who were among eight bodies recovered from the St. Lawrence River, near the Quebec-Ontario border, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

The identities of other people recovered of Indian descent have not been released, pending identification and notification of next of kin, the Montreal Gazette newspaper reported.

The circumstances of their deaths continue to be investigated, the paper added.

On Saturday, police said that four Indian nationals, who they also believed was a family attempting to cross into the US, have not been identified, the CBC reported.

Police found the bodies of five adults and one infant in the marshland on Friday. Another infant and an adult woman were located later. One of the children was a Canadian citizen. The deceased is believed to be of Indian and Romanian descent.

Akwesasne police are working with Immigration Canada to assist with identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin. They are also increasing surveillance on the river.

Valene Gray, the owner of the Three Feathers Cafe, said the community has been shaken by the tragedy.

"In the past couple of days, it's been very heavy, very emotional, customers coming in and they're sad," Gray said on Saturday. "You could tell they were upset, you could tell they were hurting."

Wanting to offer support to her community, Gray said it was an honour to be hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed. She said the cafe has provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days and supper on Friday.

Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of 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.

In January 2022, the bodies of four Indians, including a baby, were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border. In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
Beijing, Apr 2 (PTI) Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday urged his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi not to "help a villain do evil" by backing the US tech restrictions against Beijing as the two ministers held rare talks here amid China's increasing criticism against Tokyo's backing for Washington-led Indo-Pacific strategy.

The United States "used bullying tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating its old tricks against China", Qin told Hayashi.

"Japan has suffered that pain, and should not help a villain do evil. The containment will only further stimulate China's determination to become self-reliant," Qin said, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

The talks between the two ministers took place two days after Japan announced it would restrict semiconductor equipment exports from July, following months of lobbying by the US.

The two countries should "overcome obstacles and move forward", Qin said, adding that "clique-forming and containment was not helpful to managing conflicts, in an apparent reference to Japan's backing for the Indo-Pacific strategy.

China opposes the Quad comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia, saying that it is aimed to contain its rise.

"Peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choices for China-Japan relations, he said.

"In the face of contradictions and differences, forming cliques, exerting pressure through rhetoric will not help solve the problem, but will only deepen the estrangement between each other," he said.

"(We) hope that Japan will establish a correct understanding of China, show political wisdom and responsibility, and work together with China to strengthen dialogue and communication, and promote practical cooperation, he said.

This was the first visit by the Japanese Foreign Minister to China since 2019.

China and Japan have a long-festering dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

The islands are called as the Senkakus by Japan, while China named them as Diaoyu.

Taiwan also claims the islands but has forged agreements with Japan to avoid any conflict as Japan maintains close defence ties with Taipei.

Ahead of Hayashis visit, China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen their capability of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising out their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea.

Hayashi said the two countries were neighbours separated by a narrow strip of water.

China is also opposing Japan's move to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Qin asked his Japanese counterpart to handle the disposal responsibly, as it is a major issue concerning public health and the safety of humanity.

On the question of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of it, Qin said it is the very core of the core interests of China, which bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations. He asked Tokyo to refrain from interfering in the Taiwan question or undermining China's sovereignty in any form.

In the case of a Japanese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage activities in China, Qin stressed China would handle it following relevant laws.

According to Japanese media reports, Hayashis talks with Qin lasted around four hours, longer than the planned two and half hours. The two also agreed to resume trilateral dialogue with South Korea.

Hayashi also met Premier Li Qiang and had dinner with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.
Wynne (US), Apr 1 (AP) Storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes killed at least 18 people in small towns and big cities across the South and Midwest, tearing a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage's scope.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least seven states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees, and lay waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The dead included seven in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, and three in Sullivan, Indiana.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama, Illinois and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where the mayor said more than 2,000 buildings were in a tornado's path.

Stunned residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school's roof shredded and its windows blown out. Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses.

Debris and memories of regular life lay scattered inside the damaged shells of homes and strewn on lawns: clothing, insulation, roofing paper, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.

I'm sad that my town has been hit so hard, said Heidi Jenkins, a salon owner. Our school is gone, my church is gone. I'm sad for all the people who lost their homes.

Recovery was already underway, with workers using chain saws to cut fallen trees and bulldozers moving material from shattered structures. Utility trucks worked to restore power, and volunteers set out to help.

At least seven people died in Tennessee's McNairy County, east of Memphis along the Mississippi border, said David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville.

The majority of the damage has been done to homes and residential areas, Leckner said, adding that although it appeared all people had been accounted for, crews were going door to door to be sure.

In Belvidere, Illinois, some of the 260 people attending a heavy metal concert at the Apollo Theatre pulled a 50-year-old man from the rubble after part of the roof collapsed; he was dead when emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 other people were injured, including two with life-threatening injuries.

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," concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV.

The venue's Facebook page said the bands scheduled to perform were Morbid Angel, Crypta, Skeletal Remains and Revocation.

Crews worked Saturday to clean up around the Apollo, with forklifts pulling away loosely hanging bricks. Business owners picked up shards of glass and covered shattered windows.

Three people died in Indiana's Sullivan County, near the Illinois line about 95 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 is essentially unrecognizable right now" and that several people were rescued from rubble overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said, and search-and-rescue teams combed damaged areas.

Quite frankly, I'm really, really shocked there isn't more as far as human issues, he said, adding that recovery is going to be a very long process.

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, authorities said. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott said that 2,100 homes and businesses were in the tornado's path, but that no assessment had been done on how many were damaged.

Joanna McFadden was at a nail salon with two other people when the tornado struck.

The only way we knew the tornado was coming, the leaves were swirling, that's the only way we knew, it looked like it was standing still, McFadden said. She and the others took shelter in the back.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to help local responders. She and the mayor toured hard-hit neighborhoods, including one with a badly damaged fire station. Sanders praised its firefighters for moving quickly.

A suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabama's Madison County, said county official Mac McCutcheon. And in northern Mississippi's Pontotoc County, officials confirmed one death and four injuries.

The storms struck just hours after President Joe Biden visited the Mississippi community of Rolling Fork, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

Tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa, including one just west of Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa. Television footage showed toppled power poles and roofs ripped off buildings and homes in the area.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.

That's a quite active day. But that's not unprecedented, he said.

Hundreds of thousands lost power because of the sprawling storm system that also brought wildfires to the southern Plains and blizzard conditions to the Upper Midwest, and left in its wake high winds. A threat of tornadoes and hail remained for the Northeast, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New York.

More than 530,000 homes and businesses in the affected area lacked power at midday Saturday, over 200,000 of them in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.

Hail broke windows on cars and buildings northeast of Peoria, Illinois. And blizzard conditions whipped parts of Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin, cutting power to tens of thousands in the Twin Cities area. Parts of Interstate 29 were closed.

Nearly 100 new wildfires were reported Friday in Oklahoma, according to the state forest service, and firefighters hoped to gain ground against them Saturday. Fires were expected to remain a danger through the week. (AP)

NSA
Market forces rained on the parade of PetroTal Corp. (TSE:TAL) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting analysts have soured majorly on the business. Investors however, have been notably more optimistic about PetroTal recently, with the stock price up a worthy 21% to CA$0.74 in the past week. With such a sharp increase, it seems brokers may have seen something that is not yet being priced in by the wider market.

Following the latest downgrade, PetroTal's three analysts currently expect revenues in 2023 to be US$332m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to descend 15% to US$0.18 in the same period. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$444m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.45 in 2023. Indeed, we can see that the analysts are a lot more bearish about PetroTal's prospects, administering a pretty serious reduction to revenue estimates and slashing their EPS estimates to boot.

View our latest analysis for PetroTal

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that PetroTal's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2023 expected to display 1.5% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 60% over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see a revenue decline of 1.3% annually. So it's clear that despite the slowdown in growth, PetroTal is still expected to grow meaningfully faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. Sadly they also cut their revenue estimates, although at least the company is expected to perform a bit better than the wider market. After a cut like that, investors could be forgiven for thinking analysts are a lot more bearish on PetroTal, and a few readers might choose to steer clear of the stock.

Story continues

That said, the analysts might have good reason to be negative on PetroTal, given concerns around earnings quality. Learn more, and discover the 2 other concerns we've identified, for free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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London, Apr 2 (PTI) The UK has unveiled about 8 million-pound funding for its public sector authorities to be able to apply for a free portrait of King Charles III as part of a scheme to celebrate the new reign after Queen Elizabeth II's death last year.

The Cabinet Office said councils, courts, schools, police forces, fire and rescue services and other state-funded organisations will be among the public institutions across the length and breadth of the UK to be offered a new official portrait photograph of the 74-year-old monarch, funded by the UK taxpayers.

The announcement this weekend comes ahead of the celebrations planned for the King and Queen Consort Camillas Coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6.

We have entered a new reign in our history. Now as we unite in preparing for the splendour of the Kings Coronation, these new portraits will serve as a visible reminder in buildings up and down the country of the nations ultimate public servant, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said on Saturday.

They will help us turn a page in our history together  and pay a fitting tribute to our new sovereign. I am sure they will take pride of place in public buildings across the land, he said.

The government said official portraits of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 in September last year, are currently on display in many public institutions, and the new portrait of Charles is intended to carry on that tradition.

This scheme will allow thousands of public institutions across the UK to mark this defining moment in our nations history with pride, said John Glen, Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

The Coronation of His Majesty the King is an opportunity for the whole country to unite, and these new portraits continue a very British tradition to celebrate this momentous occasion, he said.

The scheme will begin later this year following the Coronation and the release of the official portraits of the King by Buckingham Palace.

Those public authorities who are eligible, a list to be released by the palace, will be offered the opportunity to request one free framed portrait once it is released.

However, there is some criticism over the large taxpayer funding being devoted to the scheme.

"At a time when a majority of local councils are raising taxes and cutting public services, when schools and hospitals are struggling, to spend even 1 pound on this nonsense would be 1 pound too much," Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic which campaigns for the UK to become a republic, said in a statement.

The Coronation is estimated to cost anything from 50-100 million pounds  and we can see why. This waste is absolutely scandalous," it said.
Aurangabad, Apr 2 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve on Sunday claimed vehicles carrying people for the MVA rally in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar city were turned away by police before they could reach the designated spots and diverted.

The first rally of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was held in the Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground in the city in the evening.

"Police are not allowing vehicles carrying people to reach the designated spots. It was decided to allow vehicles coming for the rally to reach the Jubilee park area. But the vehicles are being stopped ahead of a petrol pump (nearly 1.5 km away from the designated spot)," the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council claimed.

He claimed vehicles coming from Jalna were diverted towards the Beed bypass.
Jabalpur, Apr 2 (PTI) A mild tremor of 3.6 magnitude was experienced in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district on Sunday, officials said.

There was no report of any casualty or property damage, they said.

The tremor was recorded by the National Centre for Seismology at 11 am, with its epicentre near Jabalpur at a depth of 23 kilometres, India Meteorological Centre (Jabalpur) in-charge Biju J Joseph told PTI.

The seismic activity was experienced in Jabalpur and nearby Umaria district, he said.
Mehsana, Apr 2 (PTI) A family in Mehsana district in Gujarat believes the Indians who were among the eight who died while trying to cross into the United States of America from Canada recently are their kin.

Jasubhai Chaudhary, a resident of Manekpur village in Vijapur taluka here, on Sunday said his brother, sister-in-law and their two children had left for Canada two months ago on a visitors' visa, adding reports of eight persons, including some Indians, being found in a marsh there had vexed kin here.

Canadian police has said the deceased, who were found on the banks of St Lawrence River near Akwesasne, a community which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York State, are believed to be two families of Indian and Romanian descent and were crossing into USA.

"Two months ago, my brother, his wife and two children went to Canada on a visitors' visa. Yesterday morning I learnt about the death of members of a family from India in Canada. I tried to contact my brother but was not able to do so. This caused suspicion that they were our family members," Chaudhary told reporters.

A Mehsana district administration official said Malekpura village residents approached the collector with a request to make arrangements for the bodies of the four deceased to be brought back to their native village.

"It is confirmed that four members of a family from Manekpur village in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana went to Canada on a visitor's visa and tried to cross the river. The villagers approached us seeking help to bring back their bodies, which we have reported to the state government," the official said.

Chaudhary said the family's suspicion was confirmed after they found that the names of the victims circulating on Whatsapp groups of his relatives settled in Canada were that of his brother, wife and two children.

He identified the four who left for Canada Praveeni Chaudhary (50), his wife Diksha (45), son Meet (20), and daughter Vidhi (24).

Former state home minister Vipul Chaudhary told reporters the government should make arrangements for the bodies of the victims to be brought back here, and termed it a very sad and shocking incident.

If something untoward of this sort happens, then the government must ensure the bodies are brought back, the former minister added.

On January 19 last year, four members of a family from Dingucha village in Gujarat's Gandhinagar froze to death while trying to illegally cross into USA from Canada.
Imphal, Apr 2 (PTI) The Manipur government will set up a shelter home in Churachandpur district's Singngat for illegal immigrants who have fled Myanmar, Tribal Affairs and Hills Minister Letpao Haokip said on Sunday.

Four barracks of the Singngat police station complex will serve as the shelter home for the Myanmar nationals who fled their country in the wake of the unrest there, he said.

Haokip, who heads a newly-created cabinet sub-committee on the influx of Myanmar nationals into the state, announced the decision after visiting the area with police and civil officials.

The shelter home will have a capacity of 200 people, he said.

Earlier, the government announced similar shelter homes in Tengnoupal and Chandel districts, both of which share borders with Myanmar.

"They will be provided food, lodging and other basic amenities, including healthcare, at shelter home on humanitarian grounds. Identity cards would also be issued to the inmates. They would be allowed to stay in the camp until normalcy returns in their country or any order in this regard is issued by the state or central authorities," Haokip said.

"The objective is to monitor their movement closely, and deport all of them once normalcy returns in their country," he added.

Any Myanmar nationals found "avoiding" the shelter homes would be dealt with severely, the minister said, urging them not to be apprehensive about the steps taken by the state government.

Haokip and his team asked the district officials to encourage village authorities not to harbour foreign nationals, and instead report them so that they do not mix freely with the natives, officials said.

"Intensive verification drives will again start in the district based on intelligence reports," Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur Sharath Arroju said.

Hundreds of illegal immigrants from Myanmar with fake or no documents have been crossing over to India due to the political situation in their country. The immigrants, mostly Kuki Chin tribals, share linguistic and cultural affinities with the natives of Churachandpur, Chandel and Tengnoupal.

Manipur shares a 390-km-long border with Myanmar.
Patna, Apr 2 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a rally in Hisua area in Bihar's Nawada district on Sunday.

He arrived in Patna on Saturday evening and put up at a city hotel, where he met state BJP leaders.

His scheduled visit to Sashastra Seema Bal's Patna Frontier on Sunday morning was cancelled due to "unavoidable reasons", a statement said.

Shah was scheduled to dedicate to the public nine establishments of the SSB and conduct "bhoomi pujan" for a new Patna Frontier building.

He will now leave for Nawada in the afternoon, before which he is expected to chair a meeting with senior state BJP leaders.

"The programme in Nawada stands. The district is peaceful and unaffected by disturbances elsewhere," BJP MLA Jibesh Kumar Mishra, who is camping in Nawada, told PTI over the phone.

Widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, Shah was also scheduled to take part in a function in Sasaram town of Rohtas district, which has been put off in view of communal violence that began Thursday evening during Ram Navami festivities and continued till Friday.

Besides, communal conflagration has also rocked Bihar Sharif, barely 40 km from Nawada.

Altogether 45 people have been arrested in the two riot-hit towns.

Shah's Sasaram event was touted as a celebration of the birth anniversary of Asoka, the Mauryan emperor, who has acquired the status of an OBC icon in Bihar, which has been the veritable laboratory of Mandal politics.

BJP leaders were quick to allege that Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in Sasaram "deliberately" with the intent to impede Shah's function, a charge rejected by the Nitish Kumar government.

Rohtas District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar issued a video statement saying: "Section 144 was never imposed. No such order was passed by myself or the Sub Divisional Magistrate concerned. Order was completely restored in Sasaram by Friday evening. We did resort to restrictions like suspending internet services for a day."

Nonetheless, the state BJP shared video clips on its social media accounts wherein police personnel could be seen advising common people to stay indoors with the announcement "Section 144 has been imposed".

The DM said, "We have issued show cause notices to such police personnel. They have said that they relayed the message as a tactic to get some handle over the situation."

The BJP, however, was certainly not impressed with the comedy of errors and the chief minister's insinuation -- "instructions are in place to track down those who indulged in mischief to cause the disturbances which were unusual and unnatural" -- added insult to injury.

The saffron party gave vent to its outrage by going to the Raj Bhavan where a memorandum was submitted to Governor Rajendra Arlekar.

Signed by close to 30 senior leaders, including state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary and Leader of the Opposition in assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha, the memorandum squarely blamed the cancellation of Shah's programme on "extreme incompetence and failure of the administration".

Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, who was a BJP ally till less than a year ago, however, was of the view: "I failed to understand why he was coming in the first place. And I fail to understand why he is not going (to Sasaram)."

JD(U) spokesman Himraj Ram twisted the knife with a statement claiming "Shah's programme has been cancelled since the BJP was wary of not being able to manage sizeable crowds in Sasaram".

This is Shah's fourth visit to Bihar since the BJP got stripped of power in the state in August last year when Kumar walked over to the Mahagathbandhan comprising the RJD, Congress and the Left.

With the NDA in tatters, the BJP faces an uphill task in the Lok Sabha polls next year though it has swept Bihar in the last three general elections, including the one in 2009, when the coalition had put up a dismal performance nationally.
Bhubaneswar, Apr 2 (PTI) Odisha is all set to scale up Olympic Values Education Programme for students in 250 schools soon, an official said on Sunday.

A team of delegates led by Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage Director Angelita Teo met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during the day.

They discussed the Olympic Values Education Programme being implemented in the state, the official said.

The programme is a practical set of resources designed to inspire and allow young people to imbibe the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship.

Incidentally, Odisha was the first state to implement such a programme in India, and Patnaik launched the initiative in May 2022.

Since then 32,000 young children have been impacted by this programme which was introduced in 90 schools across Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, the official said.

"The programme is all set to scale up and impact more than 1.5 lakh school children in 250 schools in Odisha," he said, adding that it aims at disseminating a value-based curriculum to help children become active, healthy and responsible citizens.

The chief minister applauded the effort of the International Olympic Committee to promote such a programme among school students in Odisha with a focus on the values of friendship, excellence and respect.

The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage will visit the OVEP-intervened schools in Bhubaneshwar on April 3 and 4, the official said.

The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Department of School and Mass Education in the state and the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust.

The delegates lauded the decision of the chief minister to support the Olympic Forest Network programme through a plantation of more than 1 million trees this year, the official said.

Patnaik, through the delegation, invited IOC President Thomas Bach to Odisha when he will come to India for the IOC session in Mumbai in October this year.
New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) The Congress has finally shown its faith in the judicial system and it should now also apologise to backward classes for "insulting" them, the BJP said on Sunday following reports that Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal against his conviction in a defamation case.

"This is a welcome step. Though delayed, the Congress has shown faith in the judicial system," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told reporters at a presser.

Replying to a question, he noted that Congress leaders had been till recently protesting the court's conviction of Gandhi by wearing black clothes and with "black intentions".

Though it is worth pondering as to why the Congress took so many days to move a higher court for its "top" leader, when it has done so within hours in some other cases, he said.

Gandhi will on Monday file an appeal before a court in Surat in Gujarat against his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

He is likely to remain present in the sessions court when the plea will be filed challenging the lower court's order sentencing him to two years in jail, sources said on Sunday.

Poonawalla also attacked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for communal violence at some places in the state following Ram Navami processions and accused him of practising "appeasement" and not acting against accused.

The RJD rule always brings "jungle raaj" and "danga raaj," he alleged. Kumar in alliance with the RJD has become helpless, he claimed.

The BJP spokesperson also criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for violence of similar nature and said her government is of "dictatorial mindset".
New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) Citing 1,350 cases pending disposal for more than 10 years, a Parliamentary committee has asked the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to decide them on a priority basis, specifically the ones related to pensions and senior citizens.

The tribunal adjudicates service matters of central government employees.

As many as 80,545 cases are pending in different benches of the tribunal as on December 31, 2022.

Of these, 16,661 cases are pending for zero to one year, 46,534 for one to five years, 16,000 for five to 10 years and 1,350 for more than 10 years, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said in its report.

The panel said according to the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, every application should be heard and decided as far as possible, within six months from the date of its registration.

"However, the Committee notes that there are about 1,350 cases pending for over ten years. The Committee also learnt that there are approximately 3,716 cases related to pension pending in the tribunal. The Committee recommends that CAT should dispose of cases related to pensions, matters related to senior citizens and cases which are more than 10 years old on priority basis and conduct special drives, if need be," the report said.

The Committee noted the mounting pendency of cases in CAT and it felt that one of the major reasons for the delay is the non-availability of sufficient number of members.

The sanctioned strength of members in CAT is 70 (35 judicial members and 35 administrative members), including the chairman.

As on date, 53 (28 judicial members and 25 administrative members) members, including the chairman, are in position and 17 posts (7 judicial members and 10 administrative members) are vacant.

The Committee said it was informed that in some benches of the tribunal, cases are pending for want of division bench as sufficient number of division benches are not available due to vacancy of members, according to the report.

The panel inferred from the data provided by the tribunal that Allahabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jammu, and Patna benches are operating with 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength, it said.

"The Committee recommends that steps should be taken to ensure that these vacancies are filled up at the earliest. The Committee is happy to note that CAT is contemplating to implement an Advance Case Information system which facilitates hearing of cases through video-conferencing and complete digitisation of the functioning of the tribunal and hopes that it is operationalised soon," the report said.
New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday raised questions on the genuineness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degrees and claimed that they would turn out to be fake if a probe is conducted.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party have launched a fresh attack on the issue since the Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed a seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had asked the Gujarat University to provide information on Modi's degree to Kejriwal and also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the AAP chief.

AAP had raised the issue in 2016 also and the then BJP chief Amit Shah and the then finance minister Arun Jaitley had displayed Modi's degrees during a press conference to debunk its allegations and demanded an apology from the Delhi chief minister for trying to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Sunday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh asked the prime minister to reveal the truth before the nation, saying if his degrees turn out to be fake, he would lose his Lok Sabha membership and also become ineligible to contest elections for submitting wrong information to the Election Commission.

Entire BJP is rattled since the issue of the prime minister's degree came to the fore. All the ministers and spokesperson of the BJP have scrambled to prove that the prime minister's degree is not fake, the AAP leader told a press conference here.

If a probe is conducted the prime minister's degrees would turn out to be fake and his (Lok Sabha) membership will be cancelled, he claimed, referring to the Election Commission's rules.

He will neither remain an MP nor remain eligible to contest elections because the prime minister has committed a big fraud, he alleged.

The BJP has, however, alleged that Kejriwal was attacking Prime Minister Modi as probe agencies have been unearthing "proof" of corruption of the AAP government including in the Delhi excise policy scam.

According to the Election Commission's rules, Singh said, candidates contesting elections have to submit details about their assets and properties as well as academic qualifications.

And the Election Commission rules say that if you submit wrong information about your degree or property, your membership can be cancelled, Singh added.

At the press conference, the AAP leader showed a purported copy of Modi's degree issued by Gujarat University and highlighted the alleged wrong spelling of the word University in the document in a bid to substantiate his claim that it is fake.

The degree of the prime minister which has been made public and once shown by home minister Amit Shah at a press conference raises many questions, he said

Here spelling of the word university has been written as unibersityThis is the degree which Home Minister Amit Shah had shown at a press conference, saying Modi did MA from Gujarat University, the AAP leader said, pointing to the purported document.

He also claimed that the font used to print 'Master of Arts' in his degree was introduced in 1992 while the prime minister said that he had done his MA from the varsity in 1983.

He has come after studying entire political science from Unibercity, the AAP leader said while taking a dig over this.

Singh also ran a purported video of Modi where he could be heard saying that he did not continue his studies after school education in his village and asked if prime minister Modi got his bachelor's degree in 1979 from Delhi University and he did MA from Gujarat University in 1983 why did he make such a statement after becoming Gujarat chief minister in 2005-06.

The AAP leader also termed as shocking and ironical the Gujarat High Court's verdict on the prime minister's degree issue.

Gujarat High Court verdict was ironical and shocking as the CIC had ordered Gujarat University to show Modi's degree and the varsity filed an appeal against this order.

"But, Gujarat High Court imposed a fine on Arvind Kejriwal who had nothing to do with it. He had not even gone to file the appeal, the AAP leader told reporters.

Kejriwal has filed the RTI application in the matter.

"I have only one question today. Whether in the 21st century, India's prime minister should be educated or not. Does India need an educated PM," the AAP chief had said on Saturday, adding if there is a valid degree of Modi, why is Gujarat University not showing it.

Gujarat University is unwilling to part with the information on Modi's degree either due to his arrogance or his degree is fake, Kejriwal charged, firing a fresh salvo at the prime minister.
Assyrians Celebrate New Year With Song and Dance

Assyrians celebrate the new year, 6773, in Dohuk (Noohadra), north Iraq. North Iraq -- Unusually cold temperatures did not put a damper on Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac celebrations of Akitu, the Assyrian-Babylonian New Year, in the Kurdistan Region on Saturday.

Akitu marks the revival of nature in the spring and is dedicated to the rebirth of the ancient Mesopotamian god Marduk and his victory when he created the world out of chaos.

The festival, also known as Kha b-Nisan (first of April in the Suret language), is typically celebrated with large gatherings in the community's ancestral homeland of Duhok and the Nineveh Plains. Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs play music and dance while wearing traditional costumes.

It is known as the world's oldest holiday.

Iraqi and Kurdish leaders extended their congratulations to the Christian community and reaffirmed the values of coexistence and religious equality.

"We reaffirm our commitment to protecting equality, human rights and liberties, and consolidating peaceful coexistence, mutual acceptance, and tolerance among all religious and ethnic communities in Kurdistan," Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said, assuring Christians that the Region "will remain the homeland of everyone."

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also sent his best wishes to the community, "hoping that it will be a year full of peace, security, and prosperity, and an end to all tragedies."

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani labeled the festival as "an exceptionally rich cultural and civilizational heritage... a testament of the value of our national diversity that consolidates our unity and prosperity."
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT), is not the largest company out there, but it saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. As a well-established company, which tends to be well-covered by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the companys outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Lets take a look at Applied Industrial Technologiess outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for Applied Industrial Technologies

What's The Opportunity In Applied Industrial Technologies?

According to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. In this instance, Ive used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stocks cash flows. I find that Applied Industrial Technologiess ratio of 18x is trading slightly above its industry peers ratio of 13.06x, which means if you buy Applied Industrial Technologies today, youd be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe Applied Industrial Technologies should be trading in this range, then there isnt really any room for the share price grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Applied Industrial Technologiess share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of Applied Industrial Technologies look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by a double-digit 12% in the upcoming year, the short-term outlook is positive for Applied Industrial Technologies. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

Story continues

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in AITs positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we havent considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at AIT? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on AIT, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for AIT, which means its worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Diving deeper into the forecasts for Applied Industrial Technologies mentioned earlier will help you understand how analysts view the stock going forward. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.

If you are no longer interested in Applied Industrial Technologies, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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 Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) The government has merged the funds for two of the major animal conservation schemes in India -- Project Tiger and Project Elephant -- and states will be asked to send a common annual plan of operations starting this financial year, officials have said.

India is celebrating the completion of 50 years of Project Tiger and 30 years of Project Elephant this year.

The administrative setup for Project Tiger and Project Elephant will continue as it is. Only the funds will be provided under a common head. There will be only one Annual Plan of Operations for the two schemes against two APOs earlier, they said.

The decision will allow effective integration and efficient utilisation of resources, smoothen the process of disbursal of funds, save time and prevent duplicacy, a senior official in the environment ministry said.

"Eighty percent of the area covered under two schemes is common. Overlapping happens due to the presence of tigers and elephants in the same habitats," one of the officials quoted above told PTI.

"At present, the states send separate APOs for the same area under Project Tiger and Project Elephant. There are chances of overlapping. Now, only one APO will be there. The administrative setup for the two schemes will continue to exist separately. Only the funding has been merged," another official said.

The erstwhile Planning Commission had also proposed the merger of three centrally sponsored schemes -- Project Tiger, Project Elephant and Development of Wildlife Habitat -- in 2011.

President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate a two-day "Gaj Utsav" on April 7 in Assam's Kaziranga National Park to commemorate the successful completion of 30 years of Project Elephant.

India launched Project Elephant in 1991-92 as a centrally sponsored scheme to protect elephants, their habitats and corridors, prevent human-elephant conflict and to ensure the welfare of captive elephants in India.

India accounts for more than 60 percent of the global wild elephant population. These are distributed majorly in southern and northeastern India, east-central and northern regions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the latest tiger census data at a mega event on April 9 in Mysuru in Karnataka.

The prime minister will also release the government's vision for tiger conservation during 'Amrit Kaal' and a commemorative coin.

India launched Project Tiger on April 1, 1973 to promote tiger conservation. Initially, it covered nine tiger reserves spread over 18,278 sq km.

At present, India has 53 tiger reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km (approximately 2.4 per cent of the country's geographical area) of tiger habitat.

With a current population of about 3,000 tigers, India is home to more than 70 per cent of the global wild tiger population and their number is increasing at six per cent per annum.

Countries with tiger populations -- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam -- in 2010 committed to doubling their number of big cats by 2022.

India met its target in 2018, four years ahead of schedule.
Chandigarh, Apr 2 (PTI) Farmers group Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) on Sunday held a rail roko protest at Batala railway station in Punjab's Gurdaspur in support of various demands, including fair compensation to farmers for land acquired for road projects and crop loss due to inclement weather.

Farmers put up tents at the railway station and squatted on the rail track.

Speaking to reporters, KMSC general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said they are demanding fair compensation for land acquired for road projects.

Raising the issue of extensive crop damage due to untimely rains and hailstorms in the state, Pandher sought a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to the affected farmers.

He also sought relaxation of norms for the procurement of wheat for the central pool.

Untimely rains, hailstorms and high-velocity winds have damaged wheat and other crops in many areas of Punjab. The state government has announced a 25 per cent hike in compensation for crop loss due to the vagaries of weather.

Farmers' crops have been damaged due to inclement weather conditions and they should be given at least Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for 100 per cent crop loss, Pandher said.

He demanded that the state government waive interest on farm loans and defer loan installments for six months to provide relief to farmers in the hour of crisis.

He also said that the state government should expedite the process of special 'girdawari' (revenue survey) for the assessment of crop loss and ensure farmers are compensated at the earliest.
Jaipur, Apr 2 (PTI) More than 4,200 criminals were arrested in 10 districts of Ajmer and Udaipur division in Rajasthan on Sunday, an official said.

A campaign on direction by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is being run to catch criminals. Under this, as many as 4,255 criminals were arrested in districts under Ajmer and Udaipur range on Sunday, Director General of Police Umesh Mishra said.

In total, 2,111 criminals were arrested in the Ajmer range and 2,144 were arrested in the Udaipur range. Inspector General (IG) Ajmer Rupinder Singh and IG Udaipur Ajaypal Lamba monitored the raids.

Ajmer division has four districts -- Ajmer, Tonk, Bhilwara and Tonk while six districts of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Dungarpur, Banswara and Pratapgarh are under the Udaipur range.

According to officials, 1,068 teams comprising more than 6,000 policemen conducted raids in the ranges and caught the accused involved in organised crime, arms and drug smuggling and other criminal activities.
LAUREL MCINTOSH, Chariho Girls Lacrosse, Senior; McIntosh scored six goals and assisted on another in a Chariho win against Toll Gate. Chariho is 5-0 this season.

DYLAN CIMINI, Stonington, Baseball, Junior; Cimini allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in a win against Ledyard. Cimini did not give up the hit until the sixth inning.

ALLYSON FAUBERT, Westerly, Girls Lacrosse, Sophomore; Faubert scored the winning goal with 49.6 seconds left in a win against Cranston East. Faubert finished with two goals in the game.

REESE MAIN, Wheeler, Softball, Junior; Main pitched a one-hitter and struck out 10 in a win against Bacon Academy. Main walked just two batters and also drove in three runs at the plate.

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Tens of thousands of right-wing Israelis on Thursday blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv as they demonstrated in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus plan to overhaul the countrys judicial system.

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.

(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 isnt 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, Trumps legal team prepared his defense while the prosecutors 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 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 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 Trumps 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 Trumps 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, theres 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.

(AP)




A militant attack from across the border with Iran left four Pakistani soldiers dead Saturday in southwestern Baluchistan province, the army said.

The soldiers were part of a routine border patrol operating along the Pakistan-Iran border when the militants struck in the Jalgai sector of Kech district, the military said in a statement.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The army said necessary contact was being established with Iranian officials for effective action against terrorists to prevent such incidents in the future. It identified the casualties as Sher Ahmed, Muhammad Asghar, Muhammad Irfan and Abdur Rasheed.

On Friday, a Pakistani soldier was killed in an exchange of fire with militants in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said. There was no immediate of responsibility for that attack, either.

In January, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the killing of four security officials along the border with Iran in Baluchistan. He said: We expect Iran will ensure that its soil is not used for cross border attacks.

(AP)




Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after six weeks of inpatient treatment for clinical depression, with plans to return to the Senate when the chamber resumes session in mid-April, his office said Friday.

In a statement, Fettermans office said he is back home in Braddock, in western Pennsylvania, with his depression in remission, and gave details on his treatment  including that his depression was treated with medication and that he is wearing hearing aids for hearing loss.

It was the latest medical episode for the Democrat, who won last falls most expensive Senate contest after suffering a stroke that he has said nearly killed him and from which he continues to recover.

Fetterman, who has a wife and three school-age children, said he is 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, said Fetterman said. I am extremely grateful to the incredible team at Walter Reed. The care they provided changed my life.

Fetterman, 53, will return to the Senate the week of April 17.

Doctors describe remission as when a patient responds to treatment so that they have returned to normal social function and they are indistinguishable from someone who has never had depression.

In an interview that will air on CBS Sunday Morning, Fetterman said the symptoms gathered strength after he won the November election.

The whole thing about depression, he said, is that objectively you may have won, but depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost and thats exactly what happened and that was the start of a downward spiral.

He said he had stopped leaving my bed, Id stopped eating, I was dropping weight, Id stopped engaging in some of the most  things that I love in my life.

Fetterman checked into Walter Reed on Feb. 15 after weeks of what aides described as Fetterman being withdrawn and uninterested in eating, discussing work or the usual banter with staff.

At the time, Fetterman was barely a month into his service in Washington and still recovering from the aftereffects of the stroke he suffered last May when he went to Walter Reed on the advice of the Capitol physician, Dr. Brian P. Monahan.

Post-stroke depression is common and treatable through medication and talk therapy, doctors say.

Fettermans return will be welcome news for Democrats who have struggled to find votes for some nominations, in particular, without him in the Senate.

Fettermans office also released details of his treatment under medical professionals led by Dr. David Williamson, a neuropsychiatrist.

When he was admitted, 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 statement attributed to Williamson said.

The symptoms had steadily worsened over the preceding eight weeks and Fetterman had stopped eating and drinking fluids. That caused low blood pressure, the statement said.

His depression, now resolved, may have been a barrier to engagement, it said.

Fetterman had the stroke last May as he was campaigning in a three-way Democratic primary race. He had surgery to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator to manage two heart conditions, atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy.

One of Fettermans main aftereffects from the stroke is auditory processing disorder, which can render someone unable to speak fluidly and quickly process spoken conversation into meaning. Fetterman uses devices in conversations, meetings and congressional hearings that transcribe spoken words in real time.

(AP)




Israel Police officers opened fire and killed a 26-year Bedouin man who tried to commit a terror attack near Chain Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Shabbos.

According to the police, Border Police officers detained the man for questioning due to suspicious behavior. During his interrogation, he suddenly attacked one of the police officers, grabbed his gun, and shot two bullets. The officers, who felt their lives were in danger, shot back and neutralized him. Fortunately, no Israeli security forces were wounded in the incident.

Following the incident, a large number of police forces were deployed to the area and the entrances to Har HaBayis were closed. Clashes ensued between Israeli security forces and Arab storekeepers in the Old City.

The terrorist was later identified as Mohammad Al-Saibi, a 26-year-old medical student from the Israeli-Bedouin town of Hura.

The terrorists family members claim that he got into an argument with police and they decided to shoot him for no reason, and they are demanding to see security camera footage of the incident.

The police issued a statement saying: From all the assessments and evidence so far, it appears that this was a shooting attack that included stealing a weapon from a police officer. The terrorist suddenly attacked one of the policemen who asked the suspect to come outside and tried to grab the secured gun that was on the policemans body. The terrorist managed to take the gun and fire two bullets with the policemans gun, while the policeman was physically fighting with him  in the direction of police officers who were nearby. In a quick response by the police officers who felt their lives were in danger  a shot was fired at the terrorist and he was neutralized on the spot.

The police added that all the security cameras were checked in the area and unfortunately the attack itself was not recorded on security cameras or on the body cameras of the police officers who in those seconds were fighting the terrorist and working to neutralize him. Contrary to erroneous reports  not every spot in the Old City or Har HaBayis is outfitted with security cameras. Also, the attack did not occur on the outside of Chain Gate, which is indeed well documented, but rather on the inside.

2/17 Documentation of the moment of the attack from the closed Chain Gate. The attack was behind the closed gate and was not observed on camera as stated. People hear the shooting and flee the scene pic.twitter.com/Zpp4Zdmzqu  Israel Police (@israelpolice) April 1, 2023

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
(Bloomberg) -- It took Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. almost two months to raise $360 million in emergency financing from a hedge fund positioned to profit from the deal. It wasnt enough.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Now, to avoid bankruptcy, the retailer has three weeks to squeeze another $300 million from equity markets that have largely turned against it after the deal diluted existing shareholders and sent its stock down 50%.

Cut off from direct access to its own cash and turning to third-party financing to convince some suppliers to ship merchandise, Bed Bath & Beyond is running low on options to dig itself out of a financial hole years in the making. In January, its lawyers stared down increasingly impatient lenders to insist on a last-gasp chance to forestall Chapter 11; after that deal raised a fraction of its $1 billion goal, the company is back to begging.

Equity markets are not receptive. The army of day traders who once drove its share price sky high soured even more on the stock when they realized their stakes would lose value under its funding deal with hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital Management. Retail investors have been net sellers over the past two weeks, according to Vanda Research data.

Even retail investors are throwing in the towel on the stock rather than seeing this as an opportunity to double down and get behind the name as they did in the past with other meme stocks, says Vandas Marco Iachini. Total retail trader buys havent crossed the $100 million mark since last summer, so its quite a challenging situation for Bed Bath & Beyond at the moment.

The shares traded Monday at a record low of around 41 cents, down from around 43 cents at Fridays close.

Story continues

Efforts by the company to dump new shares on the market were likely underway on Thursday and Friday when more than 320 million shares changed hands, roughly nine times the normal volume in a two-day stretch over the past year.

We know our value today is not representative of our full potential, and this fuels our determination to stabilize and ultimately unlock our true value, Sue Gove, Bed Bath & Beyonds chief executive officer, said in a statement Saturday. We are relentless in seeking ways to improve our liquidity to save this beloved business for the long term.

Consignment Model

Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond has become increasingly dependent on its banks and other partners to manage the business since the retailer agreed to a deal with bankers earlier this year in order to quell concerns that arose after it temporarily defaulted on its most senior debt.

The company must turn over all income from sales directly to its banks before borrowing back the cash to fund operations, a hurdle that could slow its ability to quickly turn around the business. To maintain the inventory that serves as collateral to the banks, Bed Bath & Beyond said it is planning to use more credit-worthy intermediaries to buy goods it will then sell under a consignment model  the supplier retains ownership of the product until its sold.

Distrust from suppliers has been a central element of Bed Bath & Beyonds demise  the company stopped paying some of them last year. While some have since been repaid, others have been reluctant to ship merchandise again until the retailer pays them the money they are owed, which has left store shelves emptier in recent months.

There is a lot of trepidation out there from vendors, said Chris Peasley, director of North America sales for AeroPress Inc., which manufactures and sells coffee makers.

Up to Date

Several months ago, Bed Bath & Beyond stopped ordering from AeroPress, Peasley said, because the retailer is transferring coffee makers from the hundreds of stores its closing to the 360 that will remain open. In the stores slated to stay in business, we continue to see strong weekly sales, he said.

The retailer has kept up to date on payments to AeroPress, Peasley added, and pledged in February to pay suppliers in advance or on delivery.

We are improving daily by taking actions to expand and accelerate our entire brand experience  for our customers, employees, supplier partners and, ultimately, our shareholders, Gove said.

The availability of products in Bed Bath & Beyond stores in March was, on average, 46% of the level a year earlier, according to DataWeave, a retail data firm. That figure is much lower than other retailers. Home Depot Inc., for instance, was at 66% product availability in March.

The April 26 deadline for the share sale stems from a requirement that Bed Bath & Beyond file an annual report, known as a Form 10-K, to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by that date. In that report, it has to evaluate whether it continues to qualify as a well-known and seasoned issuer, a designation that gives it greater flexibility to access U.S. public markets. The eligibility requirements include having a public float of at least $700 million in the previous 60 days, according to Alon Kapen, an attorney at Farrell Fritz in Uniondale, New York.

Bed Bath & Beyond, which has a market capitalization of less than $200 million, implied in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it wont meet those criteria after April 26 and therefore wont be able to issue securities under its arrangement with B. Riley Securities.

The retailer, Kapen wrote in an email, needs to hustle and sell as much as possible between now and the 10-K filing on April 26.

(Adds share price in sixth paragraph)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.




Former Israeli Consul-General to New York Asaf Zamir who was dismissed from his position last week called Israel a US protectorate in an interview on Channel 12 News on Motzei Shabbos.

The most important thing for me to say iswere losing the US  and were a protectorate of the US and in many ways, were trapped in this relationship, Zamir said.

Zamir was slammed for his comments on social media and later clarified his remark on Twitter.

An unsuccessful statement. Israel is not a protectorate of the US, but Israel exists, grows stronger, and prospers thanks to its patronage and support  in UN vetoes, grants, securities, weapons, in a strong Jewish community and endless ways.

The crisis with the United States and the breaking of the fundamentals of shared values is even more serious than some statement of the former consul.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Jewish Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on Thursday morning and charged with espionage by the Federal Security Bureau (FSB), the successor to the KGB, the first time Russia has accused a foreign journalist of espionage since the Cold War.

According to a Wall Street Journal report published on Friday, Gershkovich, 31, is the American son of Soviet-born Jews who emigrated to the US in the late seventies. His mother, Ella, fled the Soviet Union when she was 22 via Israeli documents [there was no further explanation of this fact], and his father, Mikhail, left the Soviet Union in the same Jewish migration wave. The two met in Detroit and later moved to New Jersey, where they raised Evan and his older sister.

After Gershkovich graduated from college in 2014, he moved to New York to break into journalism. In 2016, he was hired as an assistant at the New York Times. But when an employee asked him why he doesnt use his Russian language skills to cover the Russian beat, he took the question seriously, subsequently moving to Russia and joining the Moscow Times.

He loved Russia and he wanted to report from here, said Pjotr Sauer, a Moscow Times colleague now at the Guardian.

Mrs. Gershkovich told the WSJ that her son became more interested in his Russian and Jewish roots after moving to Russia. She once took him to a building she was afraid to visit as a teenager  a shul. Thats when Evan started to understand us better, she said.

When Evans father and sister later visited him in Moscow, they visited its new Jewish Museum together.

In January 2022, Gershkovich was hired by The Wall Street Journal. It was only a month later that Russia invaded Ukraine and his beat became a more perilous one.

Reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years, he tweeted in July.

According to the report, diplomats and legal experts dont hold much hope that Gershkovich will be freed as espionage trials in Russia are carried out in secret and suspects are almost always convicted.

The FSB claims that Gershkovich was working on behalf of the US government and was arrested while collecting secret information about a Russian defense company.

Gerhskovich is now facing a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years. He is being held in Lefortovo prison and has not been allowed access to the lawyer hired by the WSJ.

An American Jewish journalist from the WSJ  Evan Gershkovich  has been detained in Russia on espionage charges. Our thoughts are with Evans family during this time and trust @POTUS @SecBlinken will do everything possible to free him. pic.twitter.com/SRmNbKgdLm  StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 30, 2023

Today on EVERY SINGLE newsstand in New York City. Moscow must let Evan go. The Jewish people will not remain silent about the kidnapping and abuse of #EvanGershkovich.@MedvedevRussia @MedvedevRussiaE#FreeEvan #IStandWithEvan pic.twitter.com/xCV92RjZeT  Rabbi E. Poupko. #FreeEvanGershkovich (@RabbiPoupko) April 2, 2023

Free Evan Gershkovich pic.twitter.com/9cloyGX9J5  francesca mannocchi (@mannocchia) April 1, 2023

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




A group of radical left-wing activists broke into the offices of the conservative think tank Kohelet Policy Forum in Jerusalem on Sunday at noon and confronted the employees.

The incident was an escalation of a similar incident last month, when anarchists blocked the front entrance of the offices early in the morning.

The protesters, waving signs stating: Kohelet advances the hatred of poor people and There is no G-d for racists confronted the employees.

One employee, Moran Amitai, told Makor Rishon about the disturbing incident. All the employees were busy, like every day. The activists arrived at one of the entrances with a bouquet of flowers, they said they were looking for Debbie, the office manager. One of the employees opened the door because he thought they wanted to bring flowers to the office manager and they just held the door. Ten people came in and started yelling. Our office is divided into two parts, we locked one part of the office so they wouldnt enter it. They started knocking on the door and yelling at us to open the doors. They refused to leave the office, shouting and threatening: Stop your work. You hate the poor, you hate women.

At one point one of the women ran to me and pushed me, we have it a video of it. I was attacked.

At this point, Meir Rubin (the director of Kohelet] decided to put an end to it. He demanded that they leave the office and they refused. They terrorized the office, I was really shaking at that point. They literally laughed in my face that I was shaking and scared. They just stood there and laughed. They called one of the employees a violent Ashkenazi for taking pictures of them.

When they realized the police were on their way, they tried to leave. The police arrived and detained them for questioning.

Simcha Rothman, the head of the Knessets Constitution Committee, responded to the report of the incident by stating: There is only one thing worse than a violent break-in and attack on the offices of a research body like the Kohelet Policy Forum, and that is the backing and support it receives from prominent spokespeople on the Israeli left. They have no right to talk about democracy when they support and justify breaking the law and violence against people who hold other opinions.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Asa Hutchinson, who spent two terms as governor of Arkansas, will seek the Republican presidential nomination, positioning himself as an alternative to Donald Trump just days after the former president was indicted by a grand jury in New York.

In an interview that aired Sunday on ABCs This Week, Hutchinson said Trump should drop out of the race, arguing the office is more important than any individual person.

Im running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future, he said. Im convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.

Hutchinson is the first Republican to announce a campaign after Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. His candidacy will test the GOPs appetite for those who speak out against Trump. Others who have criticized Trump, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, have opted against a campaign, sensing the difficulty of prevailing in a primary.

And in a sign of Trumps continued grip on the Republican base, most in the party  even those considering challenging him for the nomination  have defended him against the New York indictment. That, at least for now, leaves Hutchinson as a distinct outlier among Republicans.

In addition to Trump, Hutchinson joins a Republican field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to jump into the race in the summer, while U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those considering bids.

Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight years as governor. He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the worst scenario for Republicans and saying it will likely benefit President Joe Bidens chances in 2024.

The former governor, who was term-limited, has been a fixture in Arkansas politics since the 1980s, when the state was predominantly Democratic. A former congressman, he was one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton.

Hutchinson served as President George W. Bushs head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the states budget surpluses grew. He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Hutchinson, however, has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he vetoed legislation banning gender-affirming medical care for children. Arkansas majority-Republican Legislature overrode Hutchinsons veto and enacted the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

Trump called Hutchinson a RINO  a Republican In Name Only  for the veto. Hutchinsons successor, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has said she would have signed the legislation.

Hutchinson, who signed other restrictions on transgender youth into law, said the Arkansas ban went too far and that he would have signed the measure if it had focused only on surgery.

Hutchinson endorsed Sanders bid for governor.

Sanders hasnt publicly endorsed Trump or anyone else yet in the 2024 presidential race. She has avoided direct criticism of her predecessor, even as she split from him on several policies.

Among the bills shes signed since taking office is legislation intended to reinstate the ban on gender affirming care for minors that Hutchinson opposed by making it easier to sue providers of such care. Shes also dissolved five panels Hutchinson had formed to advise him on the states response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she wanted the state to focus on other health challenges.

Although he has supported Trumps policies, Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former presidents rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election. He said Trumps call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a U.S. attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s.

An opponent of the federal health care law, Hutchinson after taking office supported keeping Arkansas version of Medicaid expansion. But he championed a work requirement for the law that was blocked by a federal judge.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson tried to push back against misinformation about the virus with daily news conferences and a series of town halls he held around the state aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated.

Hutchinson infuriated death penalty opponents in 2017 when he ordered eight executions over a two-week period, scheduling them before one of the states lethal injection drugs was set to expire. The state ultimately carried out four of the executions.

The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning.

Hutchinson, who graduated from the evangelical college Bob Jones University in South Carolina, said in the ABC interview that he considers himself part of the evangelical community.

I believe that the evangelical community understands that we need to have a leader that can distance themselves from some of the bad instincts that drive Mr. Trump, he said. And I hope that we can do that in the future.

(AP)
The banks are playing into scammers' hands. I don't say that lightly, but after seeing a text message from a scammer last week, I'm convinced of the fact.

The message purported to be from NatWest and was entirely realistic. My friend who received it was convinced it was genuine. It appeared at the end of a string of genuine text messages that he had previously received from NatWest.

It warned him, in exactly the same language used by banks, that there had been suspicious activity on his account and it needed to verify some recent transactions.

Terrifying, yes. But so far none of this is NatWest's fault. Sadly scammers can easily get hold of genuine messages from banks and mimic them accurately. Scammers also have technology called smishing that enables them to add their own text messages to existing threads.

But the next bit is where I think NatWest  and indeed most high street banks  need to take some responsibility.

Doubts: Banks, the Government and regulators tell us that tackling fraud is a priority

The message continued: 'Reply Y if you would like to resolve by text, which is quicker and easier. Reply N if you would prefer to speak to the team, this may be subject to a wait time.'

My friend was poised to reply Y and would have, had I not suggested he phone NatWest to be on the safe side. Had he responded, the scammers would probably have sent more texts designed to draw further information from him. It would not have ended well.

The problem is that the scammers are right. Getting through to an actual person at a bank is often a long and frustrating process. They know how much we loathe having to phone up: the pressing 1 for this and 2 for that, the interminable hold music, the recorded messages in which robotic voices explain just how important our call is to them.

Trying to get hold of a bank staff member in person is just as frustrating. Growing numbers of us can't just pop down to our local branch because the chances are it has been shut down. NatWest announced last week it is closing a further 40 branches, while its sister bank Royal Bank of Scotland will shutter five. Barclays is closing another 69 this year; HSBC 114; Lloyds Banking Group 37.

Sources told Group Wealth and Personal Finance Editor Jeff Prestridge last week that it may not be long until the number of bank branches remaining is slashed from 5,000 to just 1,000. So when a scammer says you can cut out the bother and answer by text message instead, I'm sure many people wouldn't think twice.

If banks are going to take away branches, they need to make sure that the replacements they offer work for customers. And that means being easy and painless to get hold of.

I'm deeply worried about how the scam epidemic is being tackled. Banks, the Government and regulators tell us that tackling fraud is a priority. But from the action  and inaction  I saw last week I have my doubts.

We're told that part of the solution is reporting scams to Action Fraud.

But when my friend eventually got through to the NatWest call centre, Action Fraud wasn't even mentioned. When my friend asked if there was anywhere he should report details of the scam, he was given a stark answer: 'No'.

The Government reassures us that the Online Safety Bill contains measures to tackle scams. So where is it?

Years after it was first mooted, it is still making its way through Parliament at a snail's pace. The Payments Systems Regulator will be able to force banks to publish data on how often they reimburse victims. But last week, it finally announced a timetable for doing so  and it's half a year away. Have scams become so endemic that banks, Government and regulators have all but given up trying to turn the tide?

Beans does not mean Heinz

Readers of Wealth & Personal Finance I hear you loud and clear: beans does not mean Heinz. Last week, I asked for recommendations of own-brand baked beans and scores of you kindly responded.

Keith and John rate Asda's beans; Derek, Duncan and Bernard like Tesco's. But by far the most popular was Aldi's  a favourite of many readers including Tony, Ian, Lawrence and David. I look forward to trying them all.
The trans-Pacific trade club that the UK is joining is not a substitute for membership of the European Union. But, for a number of reasons, it is much more important than it seems.

Most obvious of those is that the world outside Europe, and particularly the countries round the Pacific Rim, will grow much faster than continental Europe.

On a long view, it is a no-brainer to try to build relationships with fast-growing markets rather than slow-growing ones.

The name of the club, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, does not exactly roll off the tongue, and the UK is rather a long way from the Pacific.

There are 11 members and we do lots of trade already with many of them, including Japan, Australia and Canada, so don't expect any sudden boost to UK exports.

New horizons: On a long view, it is a no-brainer to try to build relationships with fast-growing markets rather than slow-growing ones

However, now that the UK is joining, the club will account for about 15 per cent of the world economy, roughly the same as the EU is without us  so not to be scoffed at. And while Japan is slow-growing, the rest of the pack has far outpaced continental Europe.

The importance goes far beyond the mechanics of physical trade.

The UK is the first new member since the group came together in 2018. That is a hugely important signal, partly that the UK is open for business, but even more important that what started as a Pacific Rim club is open to new members from the rest of the world.

Because unlike the EU, it imposes few bureaucratic obligations  no commitment to join the euro, sign up to detailed product standards and so on  it will find it easy to grow. Actually, I expect the US to join at some stage, as it planned to do when the club was first formed in 2016.

The project, then called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, was agreed by the US, but the incoming President  Donald Trump  pulled out in January 2017. It was one of the first things he did.

The other countries went ahead without America, but it seems nuts that the action of one controversial President should set trade policy for his successors.

That is particularly so because of what has happened since then in its relations with China. Donald Trump imagined that he could somehow charm, cajole and bully China into acting more as he wanted.

We now know that the US gained nothing from that approach, and is now pushing back against China in diplomatic, economic and military terms.

So it needs to encourage its other trading partners to push back too. It already has a trade alliance with two of its neighbours, Canada and Mexico, both also members of the Pacific club.

It has the Aukus military pact with the UK and Australia, much to the chagrin of the French. But it would be sensible to stitch together a much wider alliance with other like-minded nations that feel uncomfortable with the expansionist intentions of China. Actually China has also applied to join, but I can't see it having any chance of being accepted.

The US will always act in its own self-interest. The UK, and indeed other nations, should expect no special favours.

So we should not think of this Pacific deal as a back-door way into a trade deal with the US, even if I am right and the US does join up. But it will undoubtedly help foster UK trading and financial relations with America in ways we cannot at the moment predict.

That is of profound importance. Not only is the US a much bigger economy than the EU. Even without a trade deal, it is our largest bilateral trading partner, and we have a current account surplus with it, unlike with the EU where we have a deficit.

Just last week, the Government released new figures showing our total trade in goods and services with the US was up 22 per cent in the four quarters to the end of September last year, compared with the equivalent numbers in 2021.

It also owns one third of the stock of inward foreign direct investments here, while it accounts for one quarter of our outward foreign direct investments.

So I think the best way of seeing our membership of this club is as an early marker of a wider redirection of UK economic relationships, not only to the Pacific nations but also and especially across the Atlantic towards the US.

That is not to say we should walk away from trade with Europe, which is still extremely important and will remain so for the foreseeable future. That would make no sense. But I do believe this deal will turn out to be of huge benefit to the UK. This could be the start of something big.
Economic conditions are turbulent the world over but shipping is buoyant and industry specialist Braemar is riding the waves.

Chief executive James Gundy recently revealed record results for the year to February 28, doubling profit to 20 million, upping the dividend by 33 per cent to 12p and expressing confidence in the long-term future of the business.

Midas recommended Braemar in 2020, when the shares were 99p and the firm was in the midst of a turnaround strategy following years of underperformance. Today, the stock is 3.03.

Riding the waves: Midas recommended Braemar in 2020, when the shares were 99p and the firm was in the midst of a turnaround strategy

Non-core divisions have been sold off and the business is now firmly focused on what it does best  helping ship-owners and their customers to transport goods reliably and cost-effectively around the world.

Cargo includes oil and gas, heavy metals, wheat, grain and logs, even bags of cement  all essential commodities, in demand across the globe.

Until recently, traders would tend to take out one-year contracts with ship-owners. Now, firms are anxious to lock in deals. Five-year contracts are increasingly common, giving Braemar more certainty about the future.

Gundy, a shipbroker with nearly 30 years of experience, has expanded the business too, opening up in new parts of the world and increasing its presence in the lucrative shipping finance and futures markets.

Midas verdict: Braemar shares have tripled in three years and supporters believe they could rise still further, from 3.03 to more than 4.50. With dividends set to increase along the way, the stock is a firm hold for all but the most cautious mariners.

Traded on: Main market Ticker: BMS Contact: braemar.com or 020 3142 4100
Metro Bank has drawn up plans for an orderly wind-down if it were to fail, bringing it in line with Britain's largest lenders.

The troubled bank, whose share price has fallen by 97 per cent in the past five years, has been told by regulators to put in place measures that would avoid taxpayers picking up the tab if it collapsed.

Losses totalling 627 million in the past three years have sapped Metro Bank's strength. Its shares have tanked 30 per cent in the past month alone in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS.

Metro Bank is one of the most thinly capitalised of the smaller challenger and specialist banks, a recent survey by consultants EY found.

A proposal to create a 'clean' holding company for a so-called 'bail-in' if the lender failed will be put to shareholders next month. It also needs court approval.

Sign of the times: Metro Bank is one of the most thinly capitalised of the smaller challenger and specialist banks

The move is part of the Bank of England's efforts to ensure taxpayers will not be on the hook for the biggest banks and building societies if they fail  to avoid a repeat of the bailouts of Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, now NatWest, that followed the 2008 financial crisis.

It comes at a time of renewed turmoil in the sector. Silicon Valley Bank's UK subsidiary was sold to HSBC for 1 after uninsured depositors suddenly withdrew cash in droves.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told MPs last week the run was the fastest since Barings failed in 1995. But he insisted the UK banking system was 'very strong' and dismissed comparisons with the crisis of 15 years ago.

Metro Bank was set up by US entrepreneur Vernon Hill in 2010, when it became the first new high street bank in over a century.

But in December, the Financial Conduct Authority fined it 10 million for misleading investors about its capital position in 2018. It grew rapidly by investing heavily in its branches, which became famous for providing dog biscuits.

Most of its 76 branches are in London and the South East, but it is looking to open 11 outlets in the North of England.

A spokeswoman said the bank had remained above minimum capital requirements throughout its turnaround and its capital strength was twice the regulatory minimum.
Britain's blue-chip companies are going through one of the biggest ever upheavals in top management, as seven stalwart Footsie chief executives have either gone or declared their exit since the start of the year.

The changing of the guard comes at a highly sensitive time, with the world economy on a knife-edge and the FTSE 100 index losing ground compared with Wall Street.

Those stepping down include City stalwarts Nigel Wilson, the head of Legal & General, and Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, the maker of Guinness and Baileys.

It heralds shake-ups at some of Britain's best-known firms, as leaders such as Wilson, who have made a distinctive mark on their businesses, make way for fresh faces.

Water group United Utilities and safety equipment maker Halma both waved goodbye to longstanding bosses on Friday.

Handovers: Andrew Williams, left, and Steve Mogford

Steve Mogford, 66, at United Utilities has handed over to Louise Beardmore, previously the company's customer service and people director. She takes over at a delicate moment when water companies are under intense scrutiny.

Shareholders may miss Mogford, who has overseen returns of 213 per cent since he began 12 years ago.

The exit of Andrew Williams, boss of health and safety equipment group Halma, is likely to be keenly felt. At 55, he is the youngest boss on the departures list, but has clocked up the longest run as chief executive, with 18 years in the hotseat.

Over that time, shareholders have seen returns of 1,896 per cent  big boots to fill for his successor, finance head Marc Ronchetti.

Menezes, 63, called time on his stint at Diageo last week and investors will raise a toast to a successful tenure. He will hand over to Debra Crew, Diageo's president in North America and the former chief executive of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Four of the seven bosses have led their companies for a decade or more, including Menezes. Legal & General's Wilson has spent 11 years running Britain's biggest asset manager, during which he has made it his mission to push 'inclusive capitalism' by investing in UK infrastructure including transport, housing and universities.

No successor has been appointed yet and the 66-year-old has said he is happy to stay until one is found.

Two relative unknowns have taken the reins at Shell and Rolls-Royce, both of which saw CEOs leave at the start of the year. Shell's veteran boss Ben Van Beurden, 64, who raked in more than 86 million during his nine-year tenure, handed over to Wael Sawan, who had been overseeing the company's green transformation before landing the top job.

Sawan will need to steer the group towards becoming a green powerhouse  something that many in the industry said Van Beurden had failed to achieve quickly enough.

At Rolls-Royce, Warren East, 61, did not manage to lead the company to glory. He is the only one of the departing CEOs to have presided over a dramatic fall in the value of shares, with total returns for investors falling by almost two-thirds from when he started in 2015.

But he did save the flagship manufacturing group from possible bankruptcy in the pandemic when planes were grounded and income from aero-engine servicing contracts dried up.

Rolls has drafted in the head of BP's petrol station business, Tufan Erginbilgic, who has started a massive overhaul of the group, after criticising the previous regime. He has already poached several executives from BP to right the ship.

At Unilever, boss Alan Jope, 59, is due to stand down at the end of 2023 after 37 years with the consumer goods giant.

His four years at the helm have been marked by controversy, notably over an abortive 50 billion bid in 2022 to buy GlaxoSmithKline's healthcare arm, and for 'woke' virtue signalling.

He is being replaced by Hein Schumacher, head of a Dutch dairy co-operative, an appointment backed by activist investor Nelson Peltz. Investors will be hoping that Schumacher and the other new bosses can restore Britain's productivity.
Mission: Archie Norman wants a new democracy for shareholders

Archie Norman, the chairman of Marks & Spencer, wants to spark a revolution in popular capitalism. The last time this was attempted was in the Thatcher-era privatisations of the 1980s. His aim, however, is to create a shareholder democracy for the digital world of the 21st Century.

He is this week launching a 'Share Your Voice' campaign to update company law because he believes small shareholders are in danger of being disenfranchised.

His proposals include improving companies' ability to communicate directly with all their small shareholders, something not happening at the moment due to outmoded rules.

He also wants online annual general meetings (AGMs) to be recognised as valid, so that companies are no longer obliged to hold a traditional shindig where shareholders can question bosses in person.

He believes that virtual gatherings would lead more private investors to get involved.

And he is critical of the weighty, old-fashioned paper annual reports that descend with a thud through investors' letterboxes, suggesting that streamlined communications, whizzed over by email, would in many cases be more effective.

So what has inspired him to embark on this path? 'We're Marks & Spencer. We are the supremely British company, so even people who don't own our shares think they own us. We have more than 30 million customers and a large private investor base. Why aren't we setting out to show people they can invest in British companies and that these companies will talk to them and engage with them? Back in the 1980s there were a lot more small shareholders. Then, the Government were the creators of popular capitalism and wanted to give people a stake.'

In the intervening four decades, however, the proportion of shares held by individual savers has fallen inexorably. Most of UK plc is now owned by big City institutions and foreign investors. So it may seem quixotic to champion the small shareholder  though if anyone can do it, then Archie Norman can.

One of the most respected figures in British business, Norman, 68, has made a career of turning around struggling businesses, including Asda, ITV, and now M&S, where he has been in the chair since 2017.

Educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge University, he spent eight years in politics, as a member of the Conservative Party and served as Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment under William Hague. Married with a daughter, he lives in London and North Yorkshire.

His most radical proposal is to reform the rules on annual general meetings (AGMs). At present, a purely online meeting is not legitimate under company law.

Norman describes it as 'madness' that meetings are still stuck in the past. 'I remember going to my first Asda annual general meeting. We had 800 people in the room and an overflow room, including Yorkshire farmers with their trousers tied up by string, banging the table. 'That is never going to happen again. We have clung on to an old system which no longer speaks to people.' Before Covid, many of his shareholders relished turning up at the annual meetings, not least for the spread of food and wine.

They would berate the board about weak knicker elastic, the quality of sweaters and the lack of elegant long-sleeved dresses as well as questions on executive pay and dividends.

Small investor power peaked at the annual meeting in 2004, when almost 3,000 people lined up behind the M&S board and repelled a 9.1 billion bid from Sir Philip Green. The former Bhs and Topshop tycoon backed away, and the rest is history.

But, Norman says, nostalgia for the AGMs of old is ill-placed.

Pre-pandemic, M&S held its meeting at Wembley stadium. Most shareholders, he says, 'don't want to trek across the country' for a meeting and are put off by the 'whole idea of this noisy brouhaha' where they have to stand at a microphone in front of everyone to ask a question. 'That's not modern life and it's for show-offs, isn't it?'

Isn't there some value in being able to see the whites of the directors' eyes? 'I don't think so. I think physical presence is for the loudmouths. Some female CEOs have been subjected to misogynistic questions from small shareholders.' M&S has trebled participation in three years since it started hosting digital meetings alongside physical ones due to the pandemic.

At the most recent event, BBC radio and TV presenter Anita Anand chose the shareholder questions. Some 1,750 people tuned in with another 2,500 views subsequently. 'This year I want 5,000,' Norman says. A virtual meeting is preferable, he says, because everyone can attend, including shareholders living abroad. Why not have a hybrid and keep everyone happy? He argues that would risk 'just filming the town hall meeting'.

As for annual reports, he says they are far 'too long'. 'At Asda annual reports were about 80 pages and we thought they were too long then. Now the M&S annual report is well over 200 pages.' While it does contain important information, he argues there is also a lot of 'guff'.

'I have never met anybody who has read all of it, except possibly our audit partner. It is not designed to tell shareholders how the company is doing, it is to tick a load of governance boxes.'

He believes shareholders would benefit from shorter but more meaningful online communications. 'We should try to make it interesting, but we have regulated annual reports to the point where they are so large they are of no use. We sent out 10,000 copies of the last annual report, this thing that nobody reads. It has added 40-50 pages this year because of the new sustainability reporting. It is absurd.'

Key role: The BBC's Anita Anand helped host M&S's latest AGM

Scrapping the old-style meeting and annual report would save M&S around 1 million a year, which Norman says could be used more productively.

Private shareholders have always been very important to M&S. In the past five years, the performance of their investment has been disappointing. Christmas trading was strong with its market share in clothing and home rising to a seven-year high. The company is to create 3,400 jobs as part of plans to revamp its stores. It is closing shops in unprofitable locations and investing in more lucrative sites.

The shares have recently enjoyed a rally, rising 30 per cent this year so investors will be hoping Norman's turnaround plan is finally bearing fruit.

Bizarrely, he cannot be sure how many private shareholders he has on his register, because of the popularity of 'nominee accounts', where individuals' shares are pooled together with those of other savers and held by a stock broker. He says that 'we don't know' how many individual shareholders M&S has 'because so many are held through nominees'. He adds: 'The number of direct shareholders is declining every year.'

Nominee accounts are cheap and convenient. But, Norman says, nominee holders are 'third-class citizens' because companies, under current law, cannot automatically communicate with them directly.

Within 30 years, he claims, M&S will not be able to speak to a single one of its individual shareholders, unless the rules are changed.

Norman also wants a push to encourage employee share ownership with tax incentives. 'We have 65,000 current employees and many more former staff. It would be wonderful if we could make them all shareholders.'
Bettmann - Getty Images



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Content warning: This article contains references to murder and abuse some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.

Hulu's The Boston Strangler stars Kiera Knightley as Loretta McLaughlin, a Boston Record American lifestyle reporter who took on the coverage of a series of targeted murders with fellow reporter Jean Cole back in 1962. The true-crime movie is based on a real and partially-unsolved case of a murderer (dubbed "the Boston Strangler" by McLaughlin and Cole) who primarily targeted elderly women living alone, ransacking their apartments and leaving behind nothing but the dead body as evidence.

In 1964, Albert DeSalvo confessed to being the Boston Strangler during an examination for trial with psychiatrist Dr. Robert R. Mezer. At the time of confession, DeSalvo was in prison for a separate string of sexual assaults and burglaries and had previously served time for other sexually-motivated crimes. In his verbal confession, he claimed responsibility for all 13 women killed by the Boston Strangler as well as detailing the gruesome acts he committed against some of them.

DeSalvo served a life sentence for the rapes that he was convicted of but, due to insufficient physical evidence, was never charged for the murders  despite his verbal confessions. DNA proof that linked DeSalvo to the rape and murder of strangling victim Mary Sullivan was eventually discovered in 2013, but many people believe there might have been a string of copycat killers who could've adopted the Boston Strangler's MO and strangled some or all of the 12 other victims. DeSalvo recanted his confession while at Walpole State Prison right before his death in 1973.

Keeping his all-female victims and history of sexual assault in mind, was Albert DeSalvo married? Did he have a family? Here is what we know about his personal and romantic life.

Was Albert DeSalvo married?

Yes, he was. Albert DeSalvo married Irmgard Beck in 1953 and the couple stayed married until his death in 1973. The Boston Globe reports that DeSalvo once remarked, It was the best thing I ever did when I married a German girl.

Story continues

What do we know about his wife?

DeSalvo served in the army for almost eight years and was stationed in Germany when he met Irmgard Beck. The couple got married in Frankfurt and ended up having two children together. Their first child, a daughter named Judy, was born with a physical handicap. A couple of sources claim that Beck avoided sleeping with her husband to evade the possibility of having another child with a handicap, but they had a second child together  a healthy son named Michael.

Using recently-uncovered notes from a social work researcher who went by the initials J.E.B., The Boston Globe described DeSalvo's "careless supervision of his two children" during a visit in 1962. The man reportedly egged young Michael on to make a mess that "Mommy can clean up." Said reports also noted in all caps, [DESALVO'S] MOTHER MADE CLEAR THAT [HIS] WIFE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT HIS JUVENILE RECORD OR COMMITMENT AND THAT BOTH HE AND SHE  THE MOTHER  WANT THE WIFE TO REMAIN IN IGNORANCE ABOUT THIS POINT.

Some sources report that Beck didn't believe it when defense attorney F. Lee Bailey informed her of her husband's confession, claiming that he had confessed to procuring money from the newspapers and profiting off of his newfound notoriety.

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Rio Tinto is facing a shareholder rebellion next week after raising its chief executive's pay by 70 per cent.

Jakob Stausholm took home 4.8 million in 2022, up from 2.8 million the year before, after the mining giant made record profits on the back of soaring commodity prices.

But analysts at the proxy advisory group Pirc have urged investors to vote against the FTSE 100 group's pay scheme.

Opposition: Rio Tinto plans to build a mine on a sacred site in Arizona

It has also recommended a vote against the re-election of senior independent director Sam Laidlaw, former chief executive of Centrica, who chairs Rio Tinto's pay committee.

The advisory group, meanwhile, has told shareholders to abstain from voting for sustainability committee head Megan Clark, who is up for re-election, as questions remain over plans for the miner to build a huge copper mine in Arizona on sacred Apache land.

Rio Tinto plans to do this through a company it jointly owns with BHP, called Resolution Copper.

A US congressman, Raul Grijalva, recently introduced a bill aimed at protecting the Oak Flat site, which would stop Resolution setting up the mine.

Any rebellion over pay is unlikely to be on the scale of the shareholder revolt in 2021, when more than 60 per cent of investors voted against plans to hand ousted former boss Jean Sebastien-Jacques a 7.2 million bonus.

He was forced to leave after the company blew up two 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sacred sites in Western Australia to expand an iron ore mine.

This triggered worldwide outrage and an Australian parliamentary inquiry, as well as a boardroom clearout.

Campaigners have questioned why Rio has not ditched plans to build the Resolution Copper mine, which would harm another sacred site, when bosses have pledged never again to destroy native heritage.
The British Ambassador to Japan has issued a rallying cry to energy firms in the wake of the UK's trade deal with 11 Asian and Pacific countries.

Julia Longbottom said the agreement announced by Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch on Friday was a 'trailblazing moment'.

She said there are significant opportunities for Britain's green energy businesses  should they support Japan in its push to be carbon neutral by 2050, which will require hundreds of millions of pounds in investment.

New horizons: Britain has emerged as a world leader in the race for renewable energy

Britain has emerged as a world leader in the race for renewable energy.

Longbottom said UK firms could help speed up the transformation of Japan's energy market, which is still reliant on gas imports from Russia.

Japan is also the world's largest importer of liquified natural gas.

'The UK is a real leader in wind energy and has a lot of experience to share with a market like Japan, which is just at the start of its decarbonisation journey' she said. 'We've a got a very valuable offer to a market like Japan.'
A former Royal Marine who wants to expand his fledgling combat training tech firm in Britain warns he may be driven to the US to raise money.

4GD uses virtual reality and special effects to allow soldiers to practice fighting at smaller facilities in Army garrisons rather than having to travel to vast training areas such as Salisbury Plain.

The company's technology is already used at Merville Barracks in Colchester, Essex.

Fighting fit: 4GD uses virtual reality and special effects to allow soldiers to practice fighting at smaller facilities in Army garrisons

Now co-founder Rob Taylor, a former Royal Marine, is looking to expand domestically, as well as in the United States, both of which will require new capital.

He said: 'Our intention initially as a UK-owned and veteran-owned business was that we really wanted to keep things in the UK.'

But he found that the higher valuations that could be obtained on the other side of the Atlantic as well as the reduction in tax breaks for entrepreneurs in the UK were 'testing patriotism or the desire to maintain sovereignty'.

Taylor said: 'We need to encourage higher valuations of high-growth potential UK start-ups because if you're getting valued at say 40 million in the UK and 100 million in the US, it is not in the business's interest to maintain equity in the UK.'

The company is starting a fundraising with the aim of achieving a 'low nine-figure' valuation, raising tens of millions of pounds. Taylor added that at best, the company would probably conduct a 'blended' funding round on both sides of the Atlantic, but that it would probably be predominantly in the US.
Equinox Gold (CVE:EQX  Get Rating) had its price target lifted by National Bankshares from C$6.00 to C$7.25 in a report published on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Equinox Gold from C$4.70 to C$5.40 in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Equinox Gold from C$6.50 to C$7.50 in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Equinox Gold from C$6.50 to C$5.75 in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Haywood Securities lowered their price target on Equinox Gold from C$10.00 to C$9.50 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Cormark increased their price target on Equinox Gold from C$5.75 to C$7.50 in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$7.33.

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Equinox Gold Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of EQX stock opened at C$7.88 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$7.88 and a 200 day moving average of C$7.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.28. The stock has a market cap of C$892.46 million and a P/E ratio of -43.54. Equinox Gold has a twelve month low of C$4.25 and a twelve month high of C$8.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

About Equinox Gold

In other Equinox Gold news, Senior Officer Sebastian Damici sold 24,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$5.45, for a total transaction of C$130,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$498,762.20. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,869 shares of company stock worth $218,874.

(Get Rating)

Equinox Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral deposits. The company's principal properties include the Aurizona project covering a total land package of approximately 223,160 hectares located in Maranhao State, Brazil; and the Castle Mountain property situated in California, the United States.

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Shares of Talos Energy Inc. (NYSE:TALO  Get Rating) have been assigned an average recommendation of Buy from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.20.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TALO shares. Roth Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of Talos Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Talos Energy from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Talos Energy in a report on Friday, March 24th. TheStreet lowered shares of Talos Energy from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Talos Energy in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock.

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Talos Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of TALO stock opened at $14.84 on Tuesday. Talos Energy has a 1 year low of $11.67 and a 1 year high of $25.49. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $16.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Talos Energy

Talos Energy ( NYSE:TALO Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.42). The business had revenue of $342.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.00 million. Talos Energy had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 23.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Talos Energy will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TALO. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Talos Energy by 109.0% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 20,018 shares of the companys stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 10,440 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in Talos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Soviero Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Talos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,565,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Talos Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 161,481 shares of the companys stock worth $3,049,000 after buying an additional 2,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Talos Energy by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 817,038 shares of the companys stock worth $15,426,000 after buying an additional 202,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.24% of the companys stock.

About Talos Energy

(Get Rating)

Talos Energy, Inc operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It focuses on the exploration, acquisition, exploitation and development of shallow and deepwater assets near existing infrastructure in the United State Gulf of Mexico. The company was founded by John A.

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Telstra (OTCMKTS:TLSYY  Get Rating) and Starry Group (NYSE:STRY  Get Rating) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Telstra and Starry Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Telstra N/A N/A N/A Starry Group N/A -174.35% -1.57%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Telstra and Starry Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Telstra 0 0 0 0 N/A Starry Group 1 3 3 0 2.29

Volatility and Risk

Starry Group has a consensus price target of $6.29, suggesting a potential upside of 69,741.27%. Given Starry Groups higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Starry Group is more favorable than Telstra.

Telstra has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Starry Group has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.6% of Starry Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 44.2% of Starry Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Telstra and Starry Groups revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Telstra $15.21 billion 1.90 $1.22 billion N/A N/A Starry Group $29.86 million 0.05 $25.55 million N/A N/A

Telstra has higher revenue and earnings than Starry Group.

Summary

Telstra beats Starry Group on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Telstra

(Get Rating)

Telstra Corporation Limited provides telecommunications and information services to businesses, governments, and individuals in Australia and internationally. It operates in four segments: Telstra Consumer and Small Business, Telstra Enterprise, Networks and IT, and Telstra InfraCo. The company offers telecommunication, media and technology products and services in Australia using mobile and fixed network technologies, as well as operates call centers, retail stores, a dealership network, digital channels, distribution systems and Telstra Plus customer loyalty program. It also provides network capacity and management, unified communications, cloud, security, industry solutions, integrated and monitoring services to government and large enterprise and business customers; wholesale services, including voice and data; and telecommunication products and services to other carriers, carriage service providers, and internet service providers, as well as builds and manages digital platforms. In addition, the company operates the fixed passive network infrastructure, including data centers, exchanges, poles, ducts, pits and pipes, and fiber network; provides wholesale customers with access to network infrastructure; provides long-term access to components of infrastructure under the infrastructure services agreement; designs and constructs fiber, exchanges, and other infrastructure; and operates the passive and physical mobile tower assets owned or operated by the Amplitel Pty Ltd. The company was formerly known as Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited and changed its name to Telstra Corporation Limited in April 1993. Telstra Corporation Limited was founded in 1901 and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

About Starry Group

(Get Rating)

Starry Group Holdings, Inc. operates as a next generation licensed fixed wireless technology developer and internet service provider. The company is deploying gigabit capable broadband to the home using its hybrid fiber fixed wireless technology. It serves approximately 5.3 million households through deploying its gigabit network in six U.S. cities, including Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; Washington D.C.; Denver, Colorado; and Columbus, Ohio. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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AstraZeneca (OTCMKTS:AZNCF  Get Rating) and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY  Get Rating) are both health technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AstraZeneca and Sanofis gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AstraZeneca N/A N/A N/A $0.82 171.76 Sanofi $45.39 billion 3.02 $7.14 billion $2.83 19.23

Sanofi has higher revenue and earnings than AstraZeneca. Sanofi is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AstraZeneca, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AstraZeneca N/A N/A N/A Sanofi N/A N/A N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

This table compares AstraZeneca and Sanofis net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

40.9% of AstraZeneca shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.0% of Sanofi shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Sanofi shares 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.

Dividends

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Sanofi pays an annual dividend of $1.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. AstraZeneca pays out 343.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Sanofi pays out 48.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sanofi has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Sanofi is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for AstraZeneca and Sanofi, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AstraZeneca 0 0 1 0 3.00 Sanofi 0 0 0 0 N/A

Summary

Sanofi beats AstraZeneca on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AstraZeneca

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AstraZeneca Plc is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company was founded on June 17, 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.

About Sanofi

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Sanofi engages in the research, production, and distribution of pharmaceutical products. It operates through the following business segments: Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Healthcare, and Vaccines. The Pharmaceuticals segment comprises the commercial operations of the following global franchises: specialty care, diabetes and cardiovascular, established prescription products and generics, and research, development, and production activities. The Consumer Healthcare segment includes the commercial operations for its Consumer Healthcare products. The Vaccines segment consists commercial operations of Sanofi Pasteur. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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AstraZeneca (OTCMKTS:AZNCF  Get Rating) and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY  Get Rating) are both health technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for AstraZeneca and Sanofi, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AstraZeneca 0 0 1 0 3.00 Sanofi 0 0 0 0 N/A

Dividends

Institutional and Insider Ownership

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Sanofi pays an annual dividend of $1.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. AstraZeneca pays out 343.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Sanofi pays out 48.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sanofi has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Sanofi is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

40.9% of AstraZeneca shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.0% of Sanofi shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Sanofi shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AstraZeneca and Sanofis top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AstraZeneca N/A N/A N/A $0.82 171.76 Sanofi $45.39 billion 3.02 $7.14 billion $2.83 19.23

Sanofi has higher revenue and earnings than AstraZeneca. Sanofi is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AstraZeneca, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares AstraZeneca and Sanofis net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AstraZeneca N/A N/A N/A Sanofi N/A N/A N/A

Summary

Sanofi beats AstraZeneca on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AstraZeneca

(Get Rating)

AstraZeneca Plc is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company was founded on June 17, 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.

About Sanofi

(Get Rating)

Sanofi engages in the research, production, and distribution of pharmaceutical products. It operates through the following business segments: Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Healthcare, and Vaccines. The Pharmaceuticals segment comprises the commercial operations of the following global franchises: specialty care, diabetes and cardiovascular, established prescription products and generics, and research, development, and production activities. The Consumer Healthcare segment includes the commercial operations for its Consumer Healthcare products. The Vaccines segment consists commercial operations of Sanofi Pasteur. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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Pan African Resources (OTCMKTS:PAFRF  Get Rating) had its price target increased by Berenberg Bank from GBX 32 ($0.39) to GBX 33 ($0.41) in a research report released on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Pan African Resources Price Performance

Shares of PAFRF stock opened at $0.19 on Thursday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $0.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $0.20. Pan African Resources has a 12-month low of $0.15 and a 12-month high of $0.32.

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About Pan African Resources

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Read More

Pan African Resources Plc engages in the exploration, mining and production of precious metals. It operates through the following segments: Barberton Mines, Evander Mines, Corporate Office & Other, and Funding Company. The Barberton Mines segment sells gold to financial institutions located in Barberton, South Africa.

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Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:CHIK  Get Rating) shares traded down 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $18.24 and last traded at $18.24. 198 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.34.

Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF Trading Down 0.5 %

The stocks fifty day moving average price is $18.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.70.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF stock. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:CHIK  Get Rating) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,747 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $306,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC owned approximately 1.50% of Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF at the end of the most recent reporting period.

About Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF

The Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF (CHIK) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in information technology equity. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of Chinese large- and mid-cap companies in the information technology sector. The index includes A shares. CHIK was launched on Dec 7, 2018 and is managed by Global X.

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ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website - AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

Last week a group of tech leaders, including Elon Musk, issued a plea for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) to be paused for six months while we ponder the implications of its advance and introduce ways to effectively regulate it in the interests of humanity.

This follows repeated revelations about the remarkable abilities of AI minds such as ChatGPT.

But are we really seriously at risk?

Over the last few years we have heard very little about the way that AI is going to transform our lives  for good or ill.

The leading reason is Covid and its consequences. While humanity was battling a pandemic which recalled the plagues that have wracked our species since time immemorial, there was little appetite for stories about the approaching wonders of this new technological dawn.

Equally, those with a dystopian view of the impact of AI on humanity werent needed either.

There was quite enough in Covid and the associated lockdowns to provide the source material for all your wildest nightmares.

And then, of course, on top of that came the war in Ukraine, bringing gruesome suffering and even threatening nuclear Armageddon.

Tesla founder Elon Musk - NTB via REUTERS

Yet if you go back only four years, it was a very different picture.

Scores of books had appeared claiming that the world and all our lives were about to be transformed by AI. Some of them, including my own The AI Economy, saw it as a potentially powerful factor increasing productivity and hence boosting living standards.

But the pessimists predominated. At bottom, their pessimism rested on the idea that AI would be so omni-capable that there would be nothing left for human beings to do.

Books and articles with titles like The robots are coming for your job abounded.

This might mean mass unemployment for life, and  unless there was a substantial redistribution of income  poverty for most of the population, thereby risking a revolution and even the collapse of democracy.

Believe it or not, there was an even more dystopian view, namely that as AI became more intelligent than humans, we could face a future as slaves or objects of curiosity, rather like animals in a zoo.

Story continues

Alternatively, AI minds, or whatever we should call them, could get so fed up with human beings and their foibles that they could decide to do away with us altogether. This conjures up images of Daleks shouting Exterminate! Exterminate!.

For those concerned with the narrowly economic aspects of all this, the threat to jobs was supposedly imminent.

I well remember the dire prospects held out for all those lorry drivers, couriers and taxi drivers who would soon be out of a job as self-driving vehicles proliferated.

It is richly ironic, therefore, that throughout much of the developed world and especially here, there is currently an acute labour shortage, with high levels of unfilled vacancies.

The mass disappearance of jobs for humans just hasnt happened, not least with regard to those involving transport.

Many years after the hype about driverless cars began, they are still a good way off being let loose on our roads.

Meanwhile, skilled manual workers such as electricians and plumbers are pretty safe because robots lack adequate manual dexterity.

This isn't to say that there will not eventually be a radical reshaping of the labour market as AI replaces human beings in a wide range of jobs, especially those involving routine mental functions.

We know from past technological transformations, such as the development of electric power in the 19th century, that it can take a long time for the full implications to be felt.

This can be helpful because it gives time for society to adjust to the changes.

If and when AI does sweep away a huge number of traditional job types, this does not mean that there is bound to be widespread unemployment.

There is one thing that robots and AI will never be better at than humans  namely, being human. We have a deep need for interaction with other humans and interaction with some form of AI just wont cut the mustard.

As AI and robots perform many of the more mundane jobs that humans have done, not out of love but through necessity, this will expand the scope of the human sphere.

The nature of most continuing jobs will change and they, and most new jobs, will involve the development and management of human relationships.

Take the teaching profession, for example. Last week the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, told a group of teachers that AI would lighten their load by being able to mark homework and exams.

You might think that this spells doom for the teaching profession but I think quite the opposite.

Less time spent doing routine tasks will free up room for interaction between teachers and students  and indeed, increase the possibility of the one-to-one time which can be so important in the learning process.

So what about the idea of pausing the development of AI? I am sceptical that this will prove possible.

Can we imagine China signing up to a pause in AI development? And if China did not pause and the rest of the world did, we would be setting ourselves up for a fall.

There is no doubt that AI has its darker sides, especially its capacity to subvert personal privacy and even imitate or steal personal identity.

It can provide vital tools for the surveillance state, as is all too evident in China.

This means that we do need a regulatory framework shaped especially for it, along the lines of the approach laid out here in a government white paper last week.

But this must not become a straitjacket  which the EUs more rigid approach threatens to do.

Strangling the AI sector with overly tight regulation would not only lose a source of increasing prosperity, but would also risk us falling behind Xi Jinping's China, with potentially devastating consequences.
Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc (NYSE:JEQ  Get Rating)s share price was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.47 and last traded at $5.47. Approximately 10,277 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 19,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.40.

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.41.

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Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Company Profile

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JEQ. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 13.3% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,904 shares of the companys stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 9,614 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund during the second quarter worth $85,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 2.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,362,146 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,857,000 after buying an additional 60,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 238.6% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 43,968 shares of the companys stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 30,981 shares in the last quarter. 58.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc is a close ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Japan. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It employs quantitative analysis to build its portfolio.

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Yorkton Equity Group Inc. (CVE:YEG  Get Rating) shot up 10% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$0.17 and last traded at C$0.17. 6,000 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 4,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.15.

Yorkton Equity Group Stock Performance

The stocks 50-day moving average is C$0.16 and its 200-day moving average is C$0.16. The stock has a market cap of C$18.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.08 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 169.24, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Yorkton Equity Group Company Profile

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Yorkton Equity Group Inc operates as a real estate development company in Canada. It owns a portfolio of multi-family residential rental investment properties and commercial units in British Columbia and Alberta. The company is based in Edmonton, Canada.

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MicroSectors FANG & Innovation 3x Leveraged ETN (NYSEARCA:BULZ  Get Rating) shares were up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $46.07 and last traded at $46.00. Approximately 532,713 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 694,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.78.

MicroSectors FANG & Innovation 3x Leveraged ETN Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.58 and a 200-day moving average of $30.19.

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CAPROCK Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VanEck VietnamETF (BATS:VNM  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 28,086 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of VanEck VietnamETF during the 4th quarter worth $110,000. TPB Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in VanEck VietnamETF by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. TPB Wealth Advisors now owns 219,880 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,926,000 after buying an additional 18,374 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in VanEck VietnamETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $320,597,000.

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VanEck VietnamETF Stock Performance

Shares of VNM opened at $12.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $512.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.00 and a 200-day moving average of $12.22.

VanEck VietnamETF Company Profile

The VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MVIS Vietnam index, a market-cap-weighted index of Vietnamese stocks VNM was launched on Aug 14, 2009 and is managed by VanEck.

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CAPROCK Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT  Get Rating) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,289 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. CAPROCK Group Inc.s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,908,004 shares of the companys stock worth $1,327,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254,472 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,213,967 shares of the companys stock worth $1,232,009,000 after acquiring an additional 75,154 shares during the last quarter. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. now owns 10,031,580 shares of the companys stock worth $1,210,009,000 after acquiring an additional 122,978 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,200,822 shares of the companys stock worth $637,433,000 after acquiring an additional 583,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,969,051 shares of the companys stock valued at $602,263,000 after buying an additional 366,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HLT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $154.00 to $144.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $148.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, January 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $150.73.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 2.5 %

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $140.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.24. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.41 and a 1-year high of $167.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.39. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 14.31% and a negative return on equity of 155.17%. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 5.69 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 27th. Hilton Worldwides dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Kristin Ann Campbell sold 32,863 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.93, for a total value of $4,960,012.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 221,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,361,114.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock.

About Hilton Worldwide

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Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of hospitality businesses. It operates through the following segments: Ownership and Management & Franchise. The Ownership segment includes owned, leased, and joint venture hotels. The Management and Franchise segment operates hotels of third-party owners.

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Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (NYSE:TNP  Get Rating) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $18.38 and traded as high as $19.61. Tsakos Energy Navigation shares last traded at $19.43, with a volume of 210,142 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on TNP shares. StockNews.com raised Tsakos Energy Navigation from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Tsakos Energy Navigation from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Tsakos Energy Navigation from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, December 5th.

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Tsakos Energy Navigation Stock Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $353.63 million, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Institutional Trading of Tsakos Energy Navigation

Tsakos Energy Navigation ( NYSE:TNP Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The shipping company reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $224.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $225.00 million. Tsakos Energy Navigation had a return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 23.74%. Equities research analysts expect that Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TNP. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 7.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 189,278 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $1,664,000 after buying an additional 13,698 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 157.2% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 18,109 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,067 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 110.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 74,887 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 39,309 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Tsakos Energy Navigation during the first quarter worth approximately $108,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Tsakos Energy Navigation by 167.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,460 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 12,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.87% of the companys stock.

Tsakos Energy Navigation Company Profile

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Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. engages in the provision of seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services. Its activities include the operation of crude tankers, product tankers, and liquefied natural gas carriers. The company was founded by Nikolas P. Tsakos and Michael Gordon Jolliffee in July 1993 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.

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Banco Macro S.A. (NYSE:BMA  Get Rating) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $16.95 and traded as high as $18.68. Banco Macro shares last traded at $17.81, with a volume of 182,456 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Banco Macro in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company.

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Banco Macro Trading Down 4.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.32. The businesss 50-day moving average is $19.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.95.

Institutional Trading of Banco Macro

Banco Macro Company Profile

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Banco Macro during the first quarter worth about $361,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Banco Macro by 456.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,298 shares of the banks stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 5,167 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Macro by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,798 shares of the banks stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Banco Macro by 77.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 163,609 shares of the banks stock valued at $2,830,000 after buying an additional 71,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Banco Macro during the first quarter worth $2,595,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.87% of the companys stock.

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Banco Macro SA engages in the provision of financial and banking services. It serves the low and mid-income individuals, and small and mid-sized companies. The firm offers savings, checking accounts, time deposits, fund management, loans, mortgages, and direct banking transactions. The company was founded on November 21, 1966 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Mascoma Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (NYSEARCA:GSG  Get Rating) by 74.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,811 shares of the companys stock after selling 14,350 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLCs holdings in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GSG. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust by 13.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,027 shares of the companys stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust in the first quarter valued at about $1,554,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust by 99.4% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 65,261 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 32,536 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust in the first quarter valued at about $423,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust in the first quarter valued at about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.09% of the companys stock.

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iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust Price Performance

NYSEARCA:GSG opened at $20.12 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $20.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.93. iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust has a 12 month low of $18.65 and a 12 month high of $26.49.

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust Profile

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (The Trust) is an investment trust that issues units of beneficial interest (shares) representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The Trusts objective is to track the results of a fully collateralized investment in futures contracts on an index composed of a diversified group of commodities futures and to track the investment returns of the index before payment of the Trusts expenses and liabilities.

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Santander Bank Polska S.A. (OTCMKTS:BKZHF  Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,500 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the February 28th total of 30,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently ? days.

Santander Bank Polska Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS BKZHF opened at 45.48 on Friday. Santander Bank Polska has a twelve month low of 45.48 and a twelve month high of 48.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of 45.48 and a 200 day moving average of 45.54.

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About Santander Bank Polska

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Santander Bank Polska SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services for individuals, small or medium-sized enterprises, corporate clients, and public sector institutions. It offers personal account, deposits and currencies, internet and mobile banking, and mobile contactless payments, and credit solutions.

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The Berkeley Group Holdings plc (OTCMKTS:BKGFF  Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 128,600 shares, an increase of 13.4% from the February 28th total of 113,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 428.7 days.

The Berkeley Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Berkeley Group stock opened at $47.82 on Friday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $50.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.54. The Berkeley Group has a 1 year low of $37.00 and a 1 year high of $54.22.

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About The Berkeley Group

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The Berkeley Group Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the residential-led and mixed-use property development activities in the United Kingdom. The company is also involved in land selling activities. It operates under the Berkeley, St Edward, St George, St James, St Joseph, and St William brand names.

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China's efforts to improve relations with South Korea on the people's level may struggle to overcome the impact of political tensions, an observer in Seoul has warned.

The head of China's ruling Communist Party body tasked with people-to-people diplomacy recently concluded a visit to South Korea, held up as an effort to "recall the start of the [bilateral] friendship" and "revitalise cooperation mechanisms".

"China and South Korea are inseparable neighbours, friends, and partners, and have become an increasingly close community of shared interest and destiny," Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said as he met officials, academics, and representatives of non-governmental organisations during his three-day trip.

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.

But whether Chinese willingness to revive civic cooperation succeeds in boosting economic and cultural ties remains in doubt, amid tensions over South Korea's links with treaty ally the United States, whose Indo-Pacific strategy is seen by Beijing to be aimed at containing China.

Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, visited South Korea and Japan. Photo: Handout alt=Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, visited South Korea and Japan. Photo: Handout>

Choo Jae-woo, professor of Chinese studies at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, described Lin's trip as an attempt to "break the ice".

However, economic and cultural interaction "won't show too much progress" under Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Choo, who took part in one of the events with Lin's delegation.

"People-to-people diplomacy is dictated by politics under Xi," he said. "China still effectively bans all Korean satellite TV stations ... No Korean drama, no nothing as of today."

Story continues

South Korean tensions with China spiked in August over the expansion of a US-made anti-ballistic system, stationed near Seoul since 2017. China says the system's radars pose a security threat, while South Korea maintains it is meant to counter threats from North Korea.

This comes as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office last May, adopts a tougher stance on China than his predecessor. This has seen Yoon bolster security cooperation with Washington and Nato, as well as Japan - the other major US ally in East Asia.

Lin, who arrived in Seoul on March 26, also visited Japan before wrapping up his trip on Saturday.

Meanwhile, political tensions have hurt South Korean public opinion on China. A recent study by the Sinophone Borderlands project, a global online survey on attitudes towards China, found South Koreans viewed China more negatively than any other country in the region, especially on the aspects of natural environment and technology.

In an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Monday, Lin admitted the existence of "undesirable" public opinion on either side.

He attributed the sentiment to the "speedy development" of China, the lack of personal exchanges during the pandemic, and the "smearing" and "misleading" efforts of "some countries outside of the region".

In a meeting the same day with South Korea's deputy foreign minister, Choi Young-sam, Lin emphasised that his visit showed how highly China valued the need to "enhance friendship and strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation".

It also showed China's eagerness for "peaceful and friendly" relations and prosperous development with both Japan and South Korea, he said.

People-to-people relations, focused on non-governmental exchanges of the people, have always been part of China's overall diplomatic strategy.

Lin, a former Chinese ambassador, recently also became deputy head of the foreign affairs committee of the country's top political advisory body.

In talks with Incheon mayor Yoo Jeong-Bok on Tuesday, Lin remarked on the "remarkable geographical advantages" of the neighbouring capital city of Seoul, which conducted frequent exchanges with China.

Yoo pledged to deepen ties with China, saying "local-level exchange and cooperation, especially with [Chinese] sister cities, is of foremost importance, and should not be affected by official relations".

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.
Shares of Wincanton plc (LON:WIN  Get Rating) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 311.47 ($3.83) and traded as low as GBX 212.65 ($2.61). Wincanton shares last traded at GBX 216 ($2.65), with a volume of 228,439 shares traded.

Wincanton Stock Performance

The stocks 50-day moving average price is GBX 266.18 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 311.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.76, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of 269.01 million, a P/E ratio of 540.00 and a beta of 0.71.

Wincanton Company Profile

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Wincanton plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of outsourced and integrated supply chain solutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It offers business critical services, including storage, handling and distribution, eFulfilment, retailer, home delivery, fleet and transport management, and network optimization.

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Lyell Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,003 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Bank OZK boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 5,065 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 1,599 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 348 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Vice Chairman Christopher A. Oherlihy sold 60,137 shares of the companys 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 40,072 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,868,130.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Illinois Tool Works 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 value of $58,039,716.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 213,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,592,274.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Christopher A. Oherlihy sold 60,137 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.26, for a total value of $14,809,337.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 40,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,868,130.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.78% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

Several analysts recently issued reports on ITW shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $174.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, January 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $223.07.

Illinois Tool Works stock opened at $243.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.41. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52 week low of $173.52 and a 52 week high of $253.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.26 and a 200-day moving average of $220.31.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($0.26). Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 87.15% and a net margin of 19.04%. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Illinois Tool Workss revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Illinois Tool Workss payout ratio is presently 53.58%.

About Illinois Tool Works

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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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SOL Capital Management CO boosted its holdings in iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IJK  Get Rating) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,871 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,170 shares during the quarter. SOL Capital Management COs holdings in iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 262.5% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 39,530 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,491,000 after buying an additional 28,625 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF in the third quarter valued at $417,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 5.8% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,984 shares of the companys stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 31.9% in the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 9,555 shares of the companys stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF by 46.7% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,891 shares of the companys stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 2,195 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of IJK stock opened at $71.51 on Friday. iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has a fifty-two week low of $61.44 and a fifty-two week high of $80.32. The stock has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.70.

iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF Profile

iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF, formerly iShares S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market and consists of those stocks in the S&P MidCap 400 Index exhibiting the strongest growth characteristics.

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Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (BATS:GOVT  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 717,145 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,294,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 24.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 177,076,860 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,030,269,000 after buying an additional 35,312,725 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 21.2% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 42,157,829 shares of the companys stock valued at $959,513,000 after buying an additional 7,384,393 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 17.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,890,896 shares of the companys stock valued at $612,037,000 after buying an additional 3,961,893 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 3,484.0% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,588,480 shares of the companys stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 21,958,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SCS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF by 5.1% in the third quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 18,313,029 shares of the companys stock valued at $416,811,000 after buying an additional 890,163 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF stock opened at $23.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.07 and a 200 day moving average of $22.92.

About iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF

The iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (GOVT) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond index. The fund tracks a market-weighted index of fixed-rate nonconvertible U.S. Treasury securities with a remaining maturity of one year or more. GOVT was launched on Feb 14, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR  Get Rating) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,519 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurichs holdings in Whirlpool were worth $13,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,122,210 shares of the companys stock worth $420,905,000 after acquiring an additional 558,391 shares in the last quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Whirlpool during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,284,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 168.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 233,557 shares of the companys stock worth $40,354,000 after acquiring an additional 146,700 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,474 shares of the companys stock worth $130,358,000 after acquiring an additional 134,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 271,579 shares of the companys stock worth $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 98,086 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

WHR has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Whirlpool from $108.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered Whirlpool from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Whirlpool from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Whirlpool from $145.00 to $137.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $144.00.

Whirlpool Trading Up 2.6 %

WHR opened at $132.02 on Friday. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $199.07. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.71 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $140.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.36.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.60. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 27.98% and a negative net margin of 7.71%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 16.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.30%. Whirlpools payout ratio is currently -24.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher S. Conley sold 1,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.20, for a total value of $225,952.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.85% of the companys stock.

Whirlpool Company Profile

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Whirlpool Corp. engages in the manufacturing and marketing of home appliances. Its products include home laundry appliances, refrigerators and freezers, cooking appliances, home dishwashers, and room air-conditioning equipment, mixers, and portable household appliances. The firms brands include Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, JennAir, and Indesit.

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Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA  Get Rating) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,682 shares of the auto parts companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,289 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.11% of BorgWarner worth $10,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of BorgWarner in the third quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of BorgWarner by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BorgWarner during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV acquired a new position in BorgWarner in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in BorgWarner in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. 91.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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BorgWarner Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BWA opened at $49.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.09. The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.41. BorgWarner Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.14 and a 12-month high of $51.14.

BorgWarner Announces Dividend

BorgWarner ( NYSE:BWA Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The auto parts company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. BorgWarner had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 5.97%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BorgWarner Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. BorgWarners dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BorgWarner news, CAO Tonit M. Calaway sold 6,889 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.87, for a total value of $350,443.43. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,105 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,429,701.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other BorgWarner news, VP Craig Aaron sold 9,638 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.29, for a total value of $465,419.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,435 shares of the companys stock, valued at $648,776.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Tonit M. Calaway sold 6,889 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.87, for a total transaction of $350,443.43. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,105 shares in the company, valued at $1,429,701.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,707 shares of company stock worth $5,027,503 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BWA shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BorgWarner in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BorgWarner from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BorgWarner from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered BorgWarner from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on BorgWarner from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $52.91.

About BorgWarner

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BorgWarner, Inc engages in the provision of technology solutions for combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles. It operates through the following segments: Air Management, e-Propulsion & Drivetrain, Fuel Injection, and Aftermarket. The Air Management segment develops and manufactures products to improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and enhance performance.

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Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI  Get Rating) by 48.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,035 shares of the business services providers stock after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLCs holdings in S&P Global were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SPGI. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in S&P Global during the second quarter worth about $29,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Rain Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 38.2% during the second quarter. Rain Capital Management LLC now owns 94 shares of the business services providers stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SPGI. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $393.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $434.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Monday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $388.00 to $403.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $398.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $393.56.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.0 %

SPGI stock opened at $344.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.32 and a fifty-two week high of $423.55. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $351.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.88. The stock has a market cap of $113.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.12.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.88 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 9.84%. S&P Globals quarterly revenue was up 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from S&P Globals previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. S&P Globals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.52, for a total value of $2,703,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,816 shares in the company, valued at $57,977,384.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.52, for a total value of $2,703,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,816 shares of the companys stock, valued at $57,977,384.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sally Moore sold 3,499 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.30, for a total transaction of $1,285,182.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,820,706.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,749 shares of company stock worth $4,266,185 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

S&P Global Company Profile

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S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions. The Market Intelligence segment provides multi-asset-class data and analytics integrated with purpose-built workflow solutions.

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Annapolis Financial Services LLC trimmed its stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Get Rating) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 823 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLCs holdings in Chevron were worth $148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 1.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,697,160 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,393,138,000 after acquiring an additional 189,762 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Chevron by 16.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,569,692 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,964,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,104 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Chevron by 7.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,052,751 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,731,739,000 after acquiring an additional 847,841 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 1.6% in the third quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,953,548 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,430,026,000 after acquiring an additional 155,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Chevron by 4.1% in the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,762,782 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,115,281,000 after acquiring an additional 309,277 shares in the last quarter. 69.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Chevron from $206.00 to $199.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 19th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Chevron from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Chevron from $204.00 to $199.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Chevron from $196.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Cowen lowered their price target on Chevron from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $189.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

Chevron Stock Performance

In related news, VP Rhonda J. Morris sold 19,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $3,343,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,967 shares in the company, valued at $674,390. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Shares of CVX opened at $163.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Chevron Co. has a 52 week low of $132.54 and a 52 week high of $189.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.47. The stock has a market cap of $311.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.16.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The oil and gas company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.16 by ($0.07). Chevron had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $56.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $53.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is a boost from Chevrons previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.04%.

Chevron declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 25th that permits the company to buyback $75.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 21.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Chevron

(Get Rating)

Chevron Corp. engages in the provision of administrative, financial management, and technology support for energy and chemical operations. It operates through the Upstream and Downstream segments. The Upstream segment consists of the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas, the liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas, the transporting of crude oil by major international oil export pipelines, the processing, transporting, storage, and marketing of natural gas, and a gas-to-liquids plant.

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Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Rating) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,258 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter worth $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter worth $26,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1,033.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1,006.5% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 343 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.12% of the companys stock.

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LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of LYB opened at $93.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $71.46 and a 1 year high of $117.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.75. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $93.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.42.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

LyondellBasell Industries ( NYSE:LYB Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.73 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 32.96%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.07%. LyondellBasell Industriess dividend payout ratio is presently 40.34%.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, EVP Jeffrey A. Kaplan sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.99, for a total transaction of $989,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,711,924. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LYB. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $85.00 to $74.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $98.95.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

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LyondellBasell Industries NV engages in the refinery and production of plastic resins and other chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Olefins and Polyolefins-Americas; Olefins and Polyolefins-Europe, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.

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WealthOne LLC decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,541 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 623 shares during the period. WealthOne LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Front Street Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 4.3% during the first quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,168 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors raised its position in Pfizer by 1.0% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors now owns 21,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 1.6% during the second quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 34,338 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 33,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.62% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Pfizer Inc acquired 1,811,594 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.76 per share, with a total value of $4,999,999.44. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 5,952,263 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,428,245.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Pfizer Stock Performance

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Berenberg Bank set a $40.00 price target on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $45.00 price objective on Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Bank of America cut Pfizer from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Pfizer from $49.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $50.38.

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $40.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $41.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.23 and a 1 year high of $56.32.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $24.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.40 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 42.03% and a net margin of 31.27%. The businesss revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Pfizer

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Pfizer Inc is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company. It engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution of biopharmaceutical products worldwide. The firm works across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases.

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Rare coin dealing can bring in a pretty penny, and its relatively easy to do. All you really need is ironclad patience and a keen eye for detail. Seasoned coin collectors are already well familiar with Wheat Pennies, a U.S. one cent coin issued from 1909 to 1958 that has an image of Abraham Lincoln on the obverse side and two stalks of wheat on the reverse side.

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But do they know exactly which variations could be worth $3,000 or even more, potentially? Lets explore.

1909-S VDB

Wheat pennies are, well not exactly a dime a dozen, but theyre pretty common. They go for about three to five cents a pop because theyre just nothing special in the world of rare coins. But the 1909-S VDB is a standout example of where things start to get quite interesting for Wheat Pennies.

In 1909, the U.S. Mint halted production of Indian Head pennies and began producing Lincoln cents. Victor David Brenner designed the new penny and put his initials V.D.B. to the reverse of the coin between the stalks of wheat. Only 484,000 coins were produced, which is what makes it so rare. You can easily spot this coin by making out the S (for San Francisco) under the date on the obverse and Brenners initials V.D.B. on the other side.

According to The Spruce Crafts, the 1909-S VDB sells from between $500 and $1,600.

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1909-S

Another example of things getting interesting for little old Wheat Pennies. The 1909-S. Heres the story with this one: After the Mints Chief Engraver Charles Barber saw Victor D. Brenners initials on the 1909-S VDB, he petitioned the Mint Director to have them removed.

His request was met, in Philadelphia, but there was only enough time remaining in the year to mint 1,825,000 coins, aka,1909-S coins. These coins arent as rare as 1909-S VDB coins, so they do not sell for as much. According to The Spruce Crafts, they go for between $70 and $370.

Story continues

1909-S Over Horizontal S

This valuable coin is the result of an error. Until 1990, mint workers used a small letter punch to apply the mint mark to the working die by hand. They could only be so precise. Dies that had mintmark mistakes on them were not scrapped but repaired, and errors were not always completely erased. Thats what happened with this coin. You can see faint remnants of the S that was punched horizontally instead of vertically.

The Spruce Crafts estimates that this coin goes from between $80 and $400.

1914-D

Sometimes you dont have to be that rare to be that exquisite. You just have to have barely made it out alive. Thats the case with the 1914-D Wheat Penny. It has a mintage of 1,193,000 coins, so, not very rare, but it has one of the lowest survival rates. Much publicity surrounded this coin, as it was launched on the 100th anniversary of Lincolns birth. Many people saved them, which took them out of circulation.

According to The Spruce Crafts, this coin has an estimated average value of between $150 and $3,000.

1917 Double Died Reverse

Heres where you can start making some serious money if your coin is in good enough shape. This coin is also the lucky result of an error in the manufacturing process when the mint craftsman made two impressions that were just slightly offset from one another. You can tell because both doubled images are raised when only one should be.

Look for deep doubling in the word trust and on the date. Using magnifying glass is recommended. According to The Spruce Crafts, this coin fetches anywhere from $160 all the way up to $7,500.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Collect Wheat Pennies? These Variations Could be Worth Up To $7,500
Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI  Get Rating) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,849 shares of the health services providers stock after selling 11,566 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurichs holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $9,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 82 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group by 178.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the health services providers stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the health services providers stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in The Cigna Group by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the health services providers stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 87.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered The Cigna Group from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $355.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on The Cigna Group from $359.00 to $348.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Raymond James decreased their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $350.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, SVB Leerink upped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $309.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $339.00.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI stock opened at $255.53 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $286.89 and its 200-day moving average is $302.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $239.50 and a twelve month high of $340.11.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 3rd. The health services provider reported $4.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $4.84 by $0.12. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $45.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $45.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.77 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 24.92 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 8th were given a $1.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 7th. This represents a $4.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is a boost from The Cigna Groups previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The Cigna Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 23.01%.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 20,148 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.06, for a total value of $5,924,720.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 120,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,433,053.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 20,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.06, for a total transaction of $5,924,720.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,433,053.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Everett Neville sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.67, for a total value of $810,119.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,403 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,467,833.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,752 shares of company stock worth $8,008,479 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the companys stock.

The Cigna Group Company Profile

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The Cigna Group is engaged in the provision of global health services. It operates through the following segments: Evernorth, U.S. Medical, International Markets, and Group Disability and Other. The Evernorth segment includes a broad range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy solutions, benefits management solutions, care solutions and intelligence solutions.

Further Reading

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Lyell Wealth Management LP bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,209 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 88.15% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 2,857 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $202,732.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,915 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,471,008.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $57.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.08. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.83 and a 1 year high of $77.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.14.

MetLife (NYSE:MET  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.19). MetLife had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. MetLifes quarterly revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. MetLifes dividend payout ratio is currently 68.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded MetLife from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their target price for the company from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut MetLife from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $78.00 in a report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Four equities research 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, MetLife currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.36.

About MetLife

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MetLife, Inc provides insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers. It offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowners insurance and retail banking services to individuals as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services.

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Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Rating) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,600 shares of the conglomerates stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement Systems holdings in General Electric were worth $5,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in General Electric by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,108,801 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $5,330,997,000 after acquiring an additional 625,757 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,761,615 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $851,982,000 after purchasing an additional 725,871 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,871,992 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $501,211,000 after purchasing an additional 213,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,903,809 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $540,199,000 after purchasing an additional 220,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,246,088 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $388,518,000 after purchasing an additional 81,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.12% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on GE shares. Argus upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $85.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Electric from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. TheStreet raised General Electric from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on General Electric from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on General Electric from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $94.93.

General Electric Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:GE opened at $95.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.16. The companys 50-day moving average is $86.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.11. General Electric has a 12-month low of $46.55 and a 12-month high of $95.67.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $21.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.11 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 8.47%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts expect that General Electric will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,066.67%.

General Electric Profile

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General Electric Co engages in the provision of commercial and military aircraft engines and systems, wind, and other renewable energy generation equipment and grid solutions, and gas, steam, nuclear, and other power generation equipment. It operates through the following segments: Aviation, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, and Power.

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Fragasso Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,412 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 83.2% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,909,466 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,854,521,000 after buying an additional 13,126,188 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 652.1% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,894,453 shares of the companys stock valued at $572,309,000 after buying an additional 5,977,719 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,480,611 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,997,216,000 after buying an additional 1,451,582 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 122.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,632,467 shares of the companys stock valued at $247,294,000 after buying an additional 1,446,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 646.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,174,660 shares of the companys stock worth $97,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.85% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Citigroup reissued a neutral rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $109.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $110.36.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM opened at $97.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $150.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. The firms 50 day moving average price is $99.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.65. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.85 and a twelve month high of $109.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.54 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 127.24%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 22nd. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Philip Morris International

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total transaction of $887,070.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,731 shares in the company, valued at $4,835,627.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $8,588,020.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.31, for a total transaction of $887,070.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,835,627.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 117,064 shares of company stock worth $11,738,763 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

About Philip Morris International

(Get Rating)

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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CRA Financial Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Get Rating) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,876 shares of the companys stock after selling 673 shares during the quarter. CRA Financial Services LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,134,691 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,425,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,790 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,579,128 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,957,671,000 after purchasing an additional 513,208 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,302,349 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,896,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,596 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the companys stock valued at $990,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,443,608 shares of the companys stock valued at $478,003,000 after purchasing an additional 38,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.68% of the companys stock.

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Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $44.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.31. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.35 and a 1 year high of $57.05.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.18. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.15 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 284.29% and a net margin of 22.97%. Altria Groups revenue for the quarter was down 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.43%. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 117.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.50 to $49.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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 Hold and a consensus price target of $45.55.

Altria Group Profile

(Get Rating)

Altria Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Smokeable Products, Oral tobacco products, and Wine. The Smokeable Products segment consists of cigarettes manufactured and sold by PM USA and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco manufactured and sold by Middleton.

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How much do you need to retire comfortably? It's a question in the mind of every American saving for retirement. Unfortunately, there's not a one-size-fits-all answer. There are several rules of thumb to help you figure out how much to save to retire. But the exact dollar amount you need will depend on a variety of factors -- especially where you plan to live in retirement.

Social Security: 20% Cuts to Your Payments May Come Sooner Than Expected

Find Out: 3 Ways to Recession Proof Your Retirement

That's because the cost of living varies from state to state. In some places, you can get by on a small nest egg, while in others, even $2 million won't be enough. Your age at retirement also plays a factor.

To pinpoint the average retirement income you would need to live comfortably throughout the U.S., GOBankingRates looked at five factors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia: an individual's spending on groceries, healthcare, housing, utilities and transportation. Then, the annual retirement income needed to cover these living expenses was calculated, with an additional 20% to account for the "comfortable" aspect of retirement. The states are ranked from least to most expensive.

It should be noted that the suggested annual savings don't include Social Security payouts, potential pension income or interest earned on savings.

Find out exactly how much you'll need to retire comfortably in your state.

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Mississippi

Total expenditures: $44,059

20% comfort buffer: $11,015

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $55,074

Take Our Poll: Are You Concerned About the Safety of Your Money in Your Bank Accounts?

peeterv / Getty Images

Oklahoma

Total expenditures: $45,206

20% comfort buffer: $11,302

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $56,508

Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Alabama

Total expenditures: $45,415

20% comfort buffer: $11,354

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $56,769

Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Kansas

Total expenditures: $45,519

20% comfort buffer: $11,380

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $56,899

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pabradyphoto / Getty Images

Iowa

Total expenditures: $45,988

20% comfort buffer: $11,497

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $57,485

graphiknation / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Georgia

Total expenditures: $46,353

20% comfort buffer: $11,588

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $57,942

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Ohio

Total expenditures: $46,614

20% comfort buffer: $11,654

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $58,268

ablokhin / Getty Images

West Virginia

Total expenditures: $46,823

20% comfort buffer: $11,706

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $58,528

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Missouri

Total expenditures: $46,979

20% comfort buffer: $11,745

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $58,724

Ron and Patty Thomas / Getty Images

Indiana

Total expenditures: $47,031

20% comfort buffer: $11,758

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $58,789

SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Tennessee

Total expenditures: $47,083

20% comfort buffer: $11,771

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $58,854

shuttersv / Shutterstock.com

Arkansas

Total expenditures: $47,083

20% comfort buffer: $11,771

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $58,854

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Nebraska

Total expenditures: $47,500

20% comfort buffer: $11,875

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $59,376

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

Wyoming

Total expenditures: $47,792

20% comfort buffer: $11,948

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $59,741

Davel5957 / Getty Images

Michigan

Total expenditures: $47,813

20% comfort buffer: $11,953

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $59,767

Mlenny / Getty Images

Illinois

Total expenditures: $47,918

20% comfort buffer: $11,979

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $59,897

Roschetzky Photography / Shutterstock.com

Texas

Total expenditures: $48,283

20% comfort buffer: $12,071

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $60,353

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Kentucky

Total expenditures: $48,387

20% comfort buffer: $12,097

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $60,484

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Louisiana

Total expenditures: $48,752

20% comfort buffer: $12,188

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $60,940

miroslav_1 / Getty Images

New Mexico

Total expenditures: $48,908

20% comfort buffer: $12,227

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $61,135

Michael Tatman / Shutterstock.com

Wisconsin

Total expenditures: $48,960

20% comfort buffer: $12,240

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $61,200

culbertson / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Minnesota

Total expenditures: $49,586

20% comfort buffer: $12,397

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $61,983

South Dakota

Total expenditures: $50,108

20% comfort buffer: $12,527

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $62,634

Arina P Habich / Shutterstock.com

South Carolina

Total expenditures: $50,212

20% comfort buffer: $12,553

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $62,765

Ryan Herron / Getty Images

North Carolina

Total expenditures: $50,525

20% comfort buffer: $12,631

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $63,156

Guy RD / Shutterstock.com

North Dakota

Total expenditures: $50,785

20% comfort buffer: $12,696

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $63,482

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Pennsylvania

Total expenditures: $51,202

20% comfort buffer: $12,801

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $64,003

Charles Knowles / Shutterstock.com

Idaho

Total expenditures: $51,567

20% comfort buffer: $12,892

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $64,459

Shutterstock.com

Nevada

Total expenditures: $53,132

20% comfort buffer: $13,283

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $66,415

ferrantraite / iStock.com

Utah

Total expenditures: $53,184

20% comfort buffer: $13,296

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $66,480

Kate Scott / Shutterstock.com

Virginia

Total expenditures: $53,236

20% comfort buffer: $13,309

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $66,545

Crystal Bolin Photography / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Florida

Total expenditures: $54,487

20% comfort buffer: $13,622

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $68,109

Jeremy Janus / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Colorado

Total expenditures: $54,852

20% comfort buffer: $13,713

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $68,565

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Montana

Total expenditures: $54,904

20% comfort buffer: $13,726

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $68,631

Delaware

Total expenditures: $54,957

20% comfort buffer: $13,739

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $68,696

benedek / Getty Images

Arizona

Total expenditures: $56,312

20% comfort buffer: $14,078

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $70,390

Shutterstock.com

Rhode Island

Total expenditures: $57,981

20% comfort buffer: $14,495

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $72,476

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

New Jersey

Total expenditures: $59,441

20% comfort buffer: $14,860

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $74,301

benedek / iStock.com

Washington

Total expenditures: $59,441

20% comfort buffer: $14,860

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $74,301

f11photo / Shutterstock.com

Maine

Total expenditures: $59,701

20% comfort buffer: $14,925

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $74,627

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

New Hampshire

Total expenditures: $59,806

20% comfort buffer: $14,951

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $74,757

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Connecticut

Total expenditures: $60,171

20% comfort buffer: $15,043

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $75,213

Marc Dufresne / Getty Images

Vermont

Total expenditures: $60,692

20% comfort buffer: $15,173

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $75,865

will_snyder_ / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Oregon

Total expenditures: $63,716

20% comfort buffer: $15,929

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $79,645

Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Maryland

Total expenditures: $64,707

20% comfort buffer: $16,177

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $80,884

Shutterstock.com

Alaska

Total expenditures: $65,437

20% comfort buffer: $16,359

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $81,796

OlegAlbinsky / Getty Images/iStockphoto

New York

Total expenditures: $70,755

20% comfort buffer: $17,689

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $88,444

benedek / iStock.com

California

Total expenditures: $72,320

20% comfort buffer: $18,080

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $90,399

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

Massachusetts

Total expenditures: $78,159

20% comfort buffer: $19,540

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $97,699

ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

District of Colombia

Total expenditures: $79,984

20% comfort buffer: $19,996

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $99,980

SvetlanaSF / Shutterstock.com

Hawaii

Total expenditures: $96,982

20% comfort buffer: $24,246

Cost of a comfortable retirement annually: $121,228

More From GOBankingRates

John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed the following expenditures of Americans aged 65 and older, based on data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey release for the full year of 2021: (1) annual spending on groceries, defined as "food at home;" (2) annual spending on housing, defined as "shelter;" (3) annual spending on transportation, defined as"gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil" AND "other vehicle expenses;" (4) annual spending on healthcare; (5) annual spending on utilities, defined as "utilities, fuels, and public services;" and (6) overall average annual expenditures. Spending estimates were adjusted to the state level by multiplying each cost category by its corresponding cost of living index score in each state, sourced from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center's 2022 Q3 cost of living index data. After calculating total consumption expenditures, an additional (7) savings buffer was calculated by assuming that total expenditures consume 80% of ones budget (50% for necessities and 30% for discretionary spending), with 20% left over for savings. GOBankingRates then combined factors (6) and (7) and factored it out by 20 (assuming 20 years of retirement) to give (8) retirement savings needed to live comfortably. All data was collected on and up to date as of November 9, 2022.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What a Comfortable Retirement Will Cost You in Each State
Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russias state Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation. State-owned RIA news agency said 25 people were wounded and 19 of them were being treated in hospital.

A leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. A Ukrainian presidential adviser said domestic terrorism was breaking out in Russia.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have championed Russias war effort in Ukraine while often criticising the army top brass.

Well defeat everyone, well kill everyone, well rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it, he was shown saying in a video clip last September at a Kremlin ceremony where President Vladimir Putin claimed four occupied regions of Ukraine as Russian territory  a move rejected as illegal by most countries.

TASS news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying the bomb was hidden in a miniature statue that was handed to Tatarsky as he addressed a group of people in the cafe.

Mash, a Telegram channel with links to Russian law enforcement, posted a video that appeared to show Tatarsky, microphone in hand, being presented with a statuette of a helmeted soldier. It said the explosion happened minutes later.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the part of Ukraines Donetsk province that is occupied by Russia, suggested publicly that Ukraine was to blame.

He was killed vilely. Terrorists cannot do otherwise. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime. It needs to be destroyed, theres no other way to stop it, he said.

RIPE ABSCESS

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, wrote on Twitter that it had only been a matter of time  like the bursting of a ripe abscess  before Russia would be consumed by what he called domestic terrorism.

The spiders are eating each other in a jar, he said.

Tatarskys death followed the killing last August of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow.

Russias Federal Security Service accused Ukraines secret services of carrying out that attack, which Putin called evil. Ukraine denied involvement.

Russias war bloggers, an assortment of military correspondents and freelance commentators with army backgrounds, have enjoyed broad freedom from the Kremlin to publish hard-hitting views on the war, now in its 14th month. Putin even made one of them a member of his human rights council last year.

They reacted with shock to the news of Tatarskys death.

He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a Petersburg cafe, said Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo.

Alexander Khodakovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: Max, if you were a nobody, youd have died of vodka and headcolds. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Shareholders might have noticed that IGas Energy plc (LON:IGAS) filed its full-year result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 7.6% to UK0.16 in the past week. Revenues of UK59m beat expectations by 4.8%. Unfortunately statutory earnings per share (EPS) fell well short of the mark, turning in a loss of UK0.093 compared to previous analyst expectations of a profit. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for IGas Energy

After the latest results, the consensus from IGas Energy's dual analysts is for revenues of UK49.9m in 2023, which would reflect an uncomfortable 16% decline in sales compared to the last year of performance. Earnings are expected to improve, with IGas Energy forecast to report a statutory profit of UK0.12 per share. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of UK48.2m and earnings per share (EPS) of UK0.10 in 2023. So it seems there's been a definite increase in optimism about IGas Energy's future following the latest results, with a nice increase in the earnings per share forecasts in particular.

Althoughthe analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of UK0.63, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 16% by the end of 2023. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 3.5% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue decline 3.1% annually for the foreseeable future. So it's pretty clear that IGas Energy's revenues are expected to shrink faster than the wider industry.

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The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards IGas Energy following these results. They also upgraded their revenue estimates, with sales apparently performing well, although revenues are expected to lag the wider industry this year. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have analyst estimates for IGas Energy going out as far as 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You still need to take note of risks, for example - IGas Energy has 2 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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WOODSTOCK  The future of three public elementary schools in rural Ulster County is unclear as Onteora Central School District considers permanently closing one or two schools due to low enrollment.

The district  which encompasses the towns of Shandaken, Olive, Woodstock, West Hurley and parts of Marbletown and Lexington  has struggled with plummeting enrollment since the early 2000s, said superintendent Victoria McLaren. The student population went from a peak of 2,470 students in 1998 to 1,101 students currently, the lowest number on record.

We have lost 1,000 students and not changed our footprint, said McLaren, who was rehired by the school board in April of 2022.

Declining student numbers have led the district to consider drastic solutions. In 2004, OCSD closed West Hurley elementary school; in 2012, it restructured its three K-6 elementary schools, turning Woodstock and Phoenicia into K-3 schools and Bennett into grades 4-6.

In 2019, the district commissioned a report to explore further solutions. While the pandemic put on pause any plans, in January, the Onteora School Board unanimously voted to transfer sixth graders from Bennett to the adjacent middle school starting in the 2024-25 school year, which would align with the state Department of Educations recommendation for middle schools, McLaren said.

The next step will be to implement one of three scenarios, which could include closing one, and possibly two, of the elementary schools. While an official vote hasnt been set, the boards ad hoc committee recommended April 18.

The plan has been met with pushback from parents, the PTA and some community members, who say the process has been rushed, relies on outdated data and that the district hasnt kept the public informed. Parents are now calling for the school board to delay the vote until the issues are reexamined with more up-to-date data and until the board analyzes the total cost of each option.

The problem facing rural schools

Whats happening in Onteora Central School District is representative of declining enrollment in rural schools across large swaths of the Hudson Valley and upstate New York. Data indicates the decrease correlates with fewer births and outward migration, according to a Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress report that analyzed demographics and school enrollment. Counties are down between 20 and 35 percent on births, except in some with concentrated religious populations, said Adam Bosch, the think tanks president and CEO.

In Ulster County, the number of children ages 5-19 decreased from 36,764 in 2000 to 29,000 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Some of the parents argue that OCSD is relying on outdated data that doesnt include population gains during the pandemic. Pattern for Progress calculated that the Hudson Valley received a net gain of over 30,000 people from New York City in 2019-20, and the think tank will get population data on the remainder of the pandemic later this spring. But Bosch said that any increase is not going to be enough to counterbalance the population decline thats been happening for more than 20 years.

While some private school enrollments increased as a result of newcomers, the decline in enrollment in public schools is happening everywhere across the Hudson Valley, Bosch said. Some children may have moved out of state or been home-schooled after the pandemic.

We have 120 public school districts in the Hudson Valley, but 97 of them are shrinking, he said.

Three possible scenarios

The report, which OCSD commissioned from education planning consultant Dr. Kevin Baughman, listed six different options, which have been narrowed to three: Closing Bennett Elementary and making the other schools K-4 or K-5; closing Phoenicia and Woodstock and adding more capacity Bennett; or closing one school.

Projected enrollment is expected to decline another 38 percent over the next two decades. OCSD says this challenges the current configuration of five schools and requires the most bus runs, provides the least educational advantages and generates greater recurring costs, according to the OCSDs long-term planning information.

Parents criticize that the district projections come from the Department of Education and do not account for future students born in other counties who moved to the district later on.

You cant just close the school and stop educating the children. Its not like a business where you just stop making products, said Laurie Osmond, who was part of the school board for 14 years. There are still kids who need to be educated. We have class size guidelines in place. So if they close a school, its not just that they close the building  they actually will have to add onto the other building or buildings in order to accommodate those students.

McLaren, the superintendent, acknowledged that if the district were to close Woodstock and Phoenicia and create a Bennett central campus, it would need additional capacity, but added that all three of those schools and the middle school require infrastructure work regardless of which option they choose.

By having only one elementary school, the districts transportation would be more efficient, which would be better for taxpayers and the environment, McLaren said. She also mentioned a bus driver and teacher shortage, which could worsen as much of the districts staff nears retirement age.

Certainly, instructionally, it helps for students to be in less different locations so that the faculty can also be together and can collaborate more easily, McLaren said. As we have declined in enrollment, we have some service providers who cover multiple buildings in order to service the students because theres not enough of a concentration of students that need a particular service in one building.

Communication has been another issue.

McLaren said the district included information about the plans in a district newsletter and invited the community to participate in meetings to ask questions and share ideas. Additionally, an online survey was open for a month asking peoples preferences, and a community forum was held on March 30 to share the results.

But parents and the PTA say that many families only found out about the plans through word-of-mouth and that the language shared by the district failed to clearly indicate it was considering closing two schools. They say the district seems to prefer closing Woodstock and Phoenicia to create a Bennett central campus  an option that would save the district the most funds: $979,000.

Its starting to feel like they just want to jam this down peoples throats, Osmond said. They say they want input, but its not really happening.

The cost of implementing the three scenarios is unclear, but McLaren said the district is calculating basic estimate costs. The Baughman report mentioned the need to estimate architectural costs for repairs and a possible expansion of Bennett, which parents said hasnt been done.

They get paid a lot of money  it doesnt take a rocket scientist to say, This is the idea, this is what were looking at, PTA member Lindsay Shands said. Those are pieces of information that are so important for the community to feel good about that decision  if that is in fact the one they make.

McLaren said it would would waste a lot of peoples time designing for all possible scenarios before knowing what option the district will choose.

Were trying to do the right thing, but change is hard and its very emotional for people, she said. So we understand that a lot of people are upset at the prospect.

The parents fight

In light of the possible closing of schools, parents have organized and created the Onteora Parents Engaged Now (OPEN). They criticize relying on a pre-pandemic report that doesnt account for the recent influx of people to their neighborhoods. They also worry that the change would send their children to schools further away and that the community may lose important social centers and economic activity.

Megan H. Brenner, one of the parents and a spokesperson for OPEN, said many young professionals like her family have moved to the community in large part due to the quality of education offered by Woodstock and Phoenicia elementaries. Anecdotally, Brenner said shes seen more people arriving in her neighborhood, many of them with young children. She said parents have begun surveying the area to get a sense of how many people have moved to the area.

From 2019 to 2021, the population of Ulster County grew 2.8 percent, reversing a decline since 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The parent organization argues the pandemic has fundamentally changed the makeup of the local population, and believes the board should acknowledge it and update the plan. Brenner also said the parent organization has offered to help survey the area, but the district has not been open to it.

While the Hudson Valleys population jumped after 9/11, only to steadily decline again within a few years, the parents say that now is a different time because remote work and local investment will mean more recent transplants will stay.

Meg Brenner, who moved to Ulster County seven years ago and has had three children since, said some teachers in the district also oppose closing the school, citing an anonymous survey conducted among teachers that revealed that 71 percent of the staff oppose any decision to close the schools, and added that many are afraid to speak up due to possible retaliation.

Moral of the story is that its fiscally irresponsible to rush decision-making on something that cannot be undone, Brenner said. That will forever shape the impact of these communities without knowing or disclosing all the impacts on the community and taxpayers.

For families like Brenners, the quality, reputation and intimate setting of the local schools were major factors when moving to the town of Hurley seven years ago. But now, they worry what the impact of closing those schools will have on their children and the community.

It's starting to feel more and more like were not wanted here, she said. We dont want to be a part of any problem that existed before choosing to make this our home. We want to be part of a solution.
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BERLIN  The final 10 miles of U.S. Navy Lt. Wayne K. Goodermotes trip home after nearly six years of captivity as a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War was like a cinematic blur.

In the spring of 1973, Goodermote got a heros welcome along a stretch of rural Route 22 headed north to a waiting ceremony in Berlin.

There were signs for miles coming into town. Yellow ribbons on all the trees and telephone poles. It was a shock. They had a band. People showed up in droves, recalled Goodermote during a telephone interview last week from his home outside San Diego.

I wasnt a hero. I was a survivor, said Goodermote, a retired Navy captain.

Its been 50 years since the Vietnam War ended on March 29, 1973, with the withdrawal of American combat troops from Vietnam. Its been a half-century since Goodermote, now 79, stepped out of the car on March 31, 1973, and was swarmed by family, friends, neighbors and strangers in the heart of the small Rensselaer County town.

The crowd went wild. Everybody was clapping and smiling, said Sharon Klein, 81, Berlin town historian and Goodermotes friend since primary school.

The path to POW

On Aug. 13, 1967, Goodermote was on his 33rd combat mission as the navigator and radar officer aboard a RA-5C Vigilante, a nuclear bomber developed for the Navy and converted to a reconnaissance jet, when he and pilot Cmdr. Leo G. Hyatt were shot down over North Vietnam near the Chinese border. They were following a bombing raid to photograph the results.

They were part of the RVAH-12 squadron nicknamed the Speartips, and flying from the aircraft carrier USS Constellation.

Goodermote and Hyatt were listed as missing in action for nearly two years until their presence at the notorious Hanoi Hilton prison where POWs were tortured became known. Goodermote would spend nearly six years as a POW before he was released on March 14, 1973, as part of the third group of American POWS set free.

When Goodermote flew home, another Capital Region POW was on the flight out of Vietnam. U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert R. Craner of Cohoes, now deceased, also was shot down in 1967. Cohoes has named a park for Craner, who rose to the rank of colonel.

The two captured aviators were listed as MIA in the In Memoriam section of the USS Constellations cruise book that was published when the deployment ended. More recently, Lt. Rod Anderson wrote on his blog about how he learned that Goodermote, his roommate aboard the carrier was missing. Anderson was on duty when he took the call reporting Goodermote had been shot down.

The navigator on this flight was my roommate, Wayne Goodermote. We didn't have time to get well acquainted because of my late arrival on board, but he was a good roommate, Anderson said.

Back home in Berlin, Goodermotes parents, Marion and Loyal Goodermote, and their other two children, Jan and Dean, waited for news about what happened to him. Goodermote and his sister Jan Newport, 84, of North Greenbush recalled how his captivity was felt throughout the family.

We didnt know for 2 years whether he was a POW or an MIA or had been killed ... that was one of the hardest parts for my parents. My mother in particular, Newport said.

Shed really, really suffered through this ordeal and put a lot of time and effort into trying to get us back, Goodermote said.

He was reconnaissance and went in after the bombings. They were waiting for them. They were sitting ducks, Jan Newport said.

Marion Goodermote was a dove and lobbied hard to get her son and other prisoners home, her daughter recalled.

Telling a POW about bad news was difficult for family members as they didnt know if it would get through or if the North Vietnamese would use the information against the prisoners. Goodermotes mother wrestled with that before deciding to tell him that his first wife was divorcing him.

From Kennedy Airport, Goodermote went to the Naval Hospital in St. Albans, Queens, where he would meet his wife Patty, a flight attendant, in a rom-com movie moment as she lugged a rug down a hallway for someone else. Theyve been married since 1974.

When Goodermote and other Navy officer POWs arrived on March 17, 1973, in New York City, his immediate family and lifelong friends including Karl and Sharon Klein were there to meet him. Goodermote was the best man at the Kleins wedding and Klein, 79, was his best man. They would help organize the towns reception for Goodermote when he arrived home.

Sharon Klein kept a scrapbook of the newspaper clippings of Goodermote as well as the POW bracelet with his name engraved on it to show support. The scrapbook is inscribed Wayne K. Goodermote. Dearest friend. Best man in our wedding. Dearest friend. An inspiration to all who know him. Dearest friend.

We wore them for a long time, Klein said, recounting how seeing people wearing bracelets for Goodermote was common in Berlin (1970 population: 1,562) and eastern Rensselaer County.

He was a dear friend. I was very close to his mother and father, Klein said about preserving the newspaper reports of his captivity, release and his return to us all.

A long separation

The Kleins went to Navy offices in Troy with the Goodermotes to review photographs and films of POWs to see if they could spot Goodermote and determine if he was alive. Finally, word came that he had survived being shot down.

We were very grateful that he was still alive. We were concerned about how he was being treated because he was in the Hanoi Hilton, Klein said.

We didnt know if he was alive for years, Karl Klein said.

After learning her son was a POW, Marion Goodermote would go to the Berlin Post Office once every two months to mail him a 6-pound package, the maximum allowed, Newport said. Her mom and the postmaster would spend hours calculating how to squeeze the most items possible into that 6-pound limit, Newport said.

Few packages arrived.

At the Hanoi Hilton, Goodermote said he was tortured as were other prisoners.

It was like dealing with a light switch. They were turned on to be nasty and they turned off. At times they made life pretty difficult and other times they tolerated you, Goodermote said.

He spent a couple of lengthy stints in solitary for a month to six weeks. Sometimes he was in a cell, other times in a large room with 57 other prisoners. The toughest part, Goodermote said, was losing his freedom to do anything.

Fighting boredom was another issue. There was nothing to read and everything was confiscated.

Simple things initially, like trying to remember all the state capitals. And I did mathematical equations in my mind, Goodermote said.

The POWs had their own educational programs, such as learning French, Spanish and other foreign languages, he recalled. He wrote a 3,000-word French-English dictionary on tiny scraps of paper that could be hidden in a bar of soap so the guards wouldnt seize it.

The pages, theyre probably an inch and a half wide and two inches long. I wrote all the words very small with a homemade bamboo pen and most of it in homemade ink, Goodermote said. That was my contribution to the education program.

Sharon Klein said she believes Goodermotes positive attitude was a major factor in him getting through his years imprisoned.

A second life

After the cheering and welcome-home festivities ended, Goodermote had to decide what he wanted to do next. He had planned only to serve four years in the Navy after graduating from the University of Rochester where he was in ROTC. He was just months short of his 30th birthday when he arrived home from Vietnam looking at the future.

I had the opportunity to start all over again at the age of 30. I hadnt been in the Navy but a couple of years when I got shot down, Goodermote said.

I was very fortunate to be alive. Its been a tremendous second life.

Goodermote blazed down a new career path in the Navy. He left aviation and pursued his dream of working in architecture and building. He married Patty and graduated from the University of Colorado with a masters degree in architecture and went into the Navys civil engineering corps.

Goodermote stayed with the Navy in a career that saw him work on the Trident submarine base at Bangor, Wash., near Bremerton, and took him to Guam. He served in other positions including commanding Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, a Seabee unit, before going to San Diego where he was the officer in charge of the Broadway Complex Redevelopment Project. He retired as a captain in August 1991.

I went in for four years and spent 26. I went through the ROTC program. So, I guess they got their money back, he joked.

Reflecting on the Vietnam War, Goodermote said, That was a war that should have never been fought. We keep fighting them like Iraq and Afghanistan for starters.

On Wednesday, March 29, ceremonies were held around the country to mark National Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Day and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the wars end, remembering those who died, are still missing in action and came home.

A ceremony was held at the Schenectady County Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the SUNY Schenectady Community College campus. Noe F. Boilard Jr., 74, of Schenectady recalled serving in a U.S. Army supply company refueling helicopters during the Battle of Kham Duc at a Special Forces base in May 1968.

Im glad its over, Boilard said.
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WYNNE, Ark. (AP)  Residents across a wide swath of the U.S. raced Sunday to assess the destruction from fierce storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast, killing at least 32 people.

The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital and also collapsed the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, stunning people throughout the region with the scope of the damage.

The number of deaths continued to grow Sunday.

"While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses," President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Biden earlier declared broad areas of the country major disaster areas, making federal resources and financial aid available for recovery.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas, where at least five people were killed, already had declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods.

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado was responsible for damage to several homes near Bridgeville, Delaware. One person was found dead inside a house heavily damaged by the storm Saturday night, Delaware State Police reported.

It may take days to confirm all the recent tornadoes. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, five in Indiana and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.

Residents of Wynne, Arkansas, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school's roof shredded and its windows blown out. At least four people died.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead. A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they escaped unhurt.

Chainsaws buzzed, as bulldozers plowed into debris. Utility crews restored power as some neighborhoods began recovery.

Tennessee recorded at least 15 deaths, including nine fatalities in McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the worst week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife just attended.

"Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state, Lee said. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

Rachel Milam lived in the basement with her 6-year-old daughter, while her mother and her mothers boyfriend lived upstairs in their home on the outskirts of Waynesboro, Tennessee.

All squeezed into the bathroom of the cinder block basement Friday night as the tornado approached and made whooshing sounds like a washing machine.

As it ripped the roof off, the shower curtain fell, Milam, 26, said Sunday. So Im trying to dig through the shower curtain and see. I saw darkness and then rain started to fall.

Then absolute terror.

And the house  I watched it pick up and move  about six inches and then pick up and it was gone.

I was just thinking its gonna take the tub, like were going to be gone, she said.

A piece of wood fell over them. So did a mirror. "We were fine and just thankful that we made it out alive, Milam said.

Milam, who works as a nurse, soon joined other neighbors in digging people out from wrecked homes. One woman had a laceration to her face and other parts of her body and was flown out by a helicopter. Another man was freed from the rubble of his home by rescuers who used chainsaws to slice through the debris.

Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her 2-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming.

She kept asking me, What do I do, daddy?" Day said, tearing up. "I didnt know what to say.

After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and drove to nearby family.

Elsewhere, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled Sunday to Belvidere to visit the Apollo Theatre, which partially collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert.

Frederick Livingston, Jr., was pulled from the rubble but didn't survive. He had gone to enjoy the concert with his son, Alex.

I couldnt save him, his son told WLS-TV. The father and son were standing side by side when debris began raining down. It happened so fast."

The governor said 48 others were treated in hospitals, with five in critical condition.

Pritzker also planned to visit Crawford County, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) south of Chicago, where three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron.

Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, Sheriff Bill Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indiana's Sullivan County, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis. Several people were rescued overnight, with reports of as many as 12 people injured.

___

DeMillo reported from Little Rock and Finley from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press writers around the country contributed to this report, including Kimberlee Kruesi in Adamsville, Tennessee, Harm Venhuizen in Belvidere, Illinois, Corey Williams in Detroit, and Ron Todt in Philadelphia.
ALBANY  William S. Hackett Middle School was a target of fake threats of violence via Snapchat Friday, separate from the string of "swatting" calls made to schools statewide Thursday.

Students reported the Snapchat threats to school officials. Authorities determined all threats made towards Hackett throughout Friday were unfounded.
Kathina Thomas family had a chance to hear a deep apology from her killer all these years later  or would have, if only the criminal justice system had been paying attention.

Yet through bureaucratic indifference by the state corrections system and the Albany County district attorneys office, Kathinas family missed the opportunity to hear from Jermayne Timmons, who has since been released from prison. Whatever measure of closure might have been had was denied them.

Kathina, just 10 years old, was killed outside her First Street home on May 29, 2008, by a stray bullet fired by Mr. Timmons, who was 15 at the time. By his own account, he haphazardly fired a community gun he had brought to a confrontation with a rival gang.

Mr. Timmons, who was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life, had apologized in a note to the family, but as the Times Unions Robert Gavin reported, he told the state parole board that he had not comprehended as a boy the enormity of what he had done. "I think about it all the time and I hate that I'm the person that caused that.  There's not enough time I can do to repay it. He said he had grown over the nearly 15 years since through spirituality, education and discipline, and hoped for the chance to work at preventing such tragedies in the future.

Kathinas family didnt get to hear that, though. In an unfortunate sequence of events, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision sent a letter Sept. 14 to the sentencing judge in the case, Mr. Timmons' defense attorney, and Albany County District Attorney David Soares, notifying them that Mr. Timmons would appear before the parole board in February "or earlier if eligible, which he was because of merit time. On Oct. 11, Mr. Soares office notified the family to that effect  sending the letter to the same address where they had they lived at the time of the murder. Apparently, no one bothered to check to see if the family had moved from the home that held such an awful memory. And in another bit of sloppiness, the letter got the killers name wrong.

Mr. Timmons had his hearing Oct. 17. He was released Dec. 6.

The responses from the DOCCS and Mr. Soares office are sadly, if predictably, bureaucratic. DOCCS says that its notification was correct under statute and that it was not required to follow up with a more specific date. The Thomas family was not registered to receive notifications directly, DOCCS noted. So  not on them.

Mr. Soares office says that it wasnt notified of the exact parole board hearing or release date, and that the letter to the family didnt come back as undeliverable. So  not on them, either.

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Kathinas older brother, George Yhap, said the family didnt want to see Mr. Timmons languish in prison for life, though for forgiveness theyd need to see him truly work on the outside to prevent violence.

If only DOCCS and Mr. Soares' office could show the tiniest measure of the kind of personal responsibility and contrition that Mr. Timmons showed, they might find themselves worthy of the kind of grace Kathinas family demonstrates. But how typically and sadly callous of too many politicians and bureaucracies to show no humility at all in the face of such painful oversights.

Heres the right response now: The Legislature should fix the statute DOCCS is hiding behind to ensure more respect for victims when it comes to notification of parole hearings. And perhaps call it Kathinas Law, so theres no doubt why this change is needed.
You just knew it was all going to come back to New York, the state that former President Donald J. Trump in 2019 abandoned as his primary residence in search of a lower tax bill in Florida.

More particularly, it is coming back to Manhattan, the borough that  as expertly laid out in Maggie Haberman's recent biography-to-this-point "Confidence Man"  Trump has long viewed as an island of elites endlessly conspiring to resist the rise of an ambitious young striver from the outer boroughs with nothing going for him but his wits and his father's real estate empire. Sure, different times require rhetorical tweaks: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg can't exactly be cast as the same kind of aristocratic blueblood that Trump used to see arrayed against him, so his indictment on still-sealed charges related to the hush-money payments that flowed to Stormy Daniels must be cast as part of an elaborate plot to deny him the White House in 2024.

That regional mindset  Queens against the world  has allowed Trump to cast himself as an aggrieved outsider even as he ascended to the presidency and ensorcelled a vast swath of the Republican party. The entire matter is cast almost exclusively from the outer boroughs and slightly beyond: Trump's former fixer-turned-nemesis Michael Cohen is a Long Island product; his bookkeeper Allen Weisselberg is a native son of Brooklyn; former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who helped broker the payments to Daniels, came up in the Bronx.

It's a mode used in similar fitful fashion by his fellow Queens boy, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose family used to be on very good terms with Trump back when the developer was ostensibly a Democrat but was definitely in need of favors from powerful elected officials. As Chris Bragg wrote in the Times Union in 2016, Cuomo once worked for a law firm that Trump had retained, a choice possibly influenced by the fact that its principals had deep ties to the administration and campaign endeavors of then-Gov. Mario Cuomo. Trump's fawning letters to the elder Cuomo are classics of the form.

The outer-borough defense is a bipartisan tool, and was in full effect two years ago as Andrew Cuomo faced what was then the most serious barrage of calls to resign amid what had become weekly revelations of new claims from women accusing him of misconduct. "Part of this is that I am not part of the political club," he told reporters in March 2021. "And you know what? Im proud of it."

The man who said that had served in politics for 40 years at the state and federal level and spent the previous 14 years as New York's attorney general and governor. He was at that very moment the chairman of the National Governors Association, which while not exactly a club isn't some loose affiliation of rebellious outsiders.

Politics makes strange bedfellows, and  as Stormy Daniels might remind us  vice-versa. There was more evidence of this a week before news broke of Trump's indictment, when Cuomo went on John Catsimatidis' seemingly endless WABC talk show to denounce the prospect of the ex-president's indictment.

"I think it's all politics and I think that's what the people of this country are saying," Cuomo said. "It just feeds that anger and cynicism and partisanship. It's a coincidence that Bragg goes after Trump, that Tish James goes after Trump, and Georgia goes after Trump? That's all a coincidence? I think it feeds the cynicism, and that's the cancer in our body politic right now."

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It is, of course, fairly surreal to hear a former elected official who resigned in the face of overlapping scandals  alleged serial sexual misconduct; instituting a VIP COVID testing program for his family, friends and at least one chief judge as many New Yorkers scrambled for tests; and using "volunteer" labor from state employees to cobble together a pandemic memoir that earned him more than $5 million  lecture the public on what he think feeds their cynicism. It is, heaven help me, enough to make one feel a little cynical.

It is only "coincidental" for lots of investigators to pursue someone if there aren't a lot of potential crimes for them to be looking into. Bragg took on l'affaire Daniels, while James has sued him over similar but unrelated alleged business fraud. Fani Willis, the district attorney in Georgia's Fulton County, is looking into possible crimes related to Trump's attempt to undo the results of the 2020 election. A federal special counsel, Jack Smith, is examining Trump's potential culpability in the attempts to undo the election and whether or not he engaged in criminal acts to conceal his possession of presidential records.

Put another way: If I shoot a man in Reno (just to watch him die) and then rob a bank in Sacramento, my pursuit by authorities in both Nevada and California is not "coincidental," but simply appropriate.
ALBANY  A sheriff's deputy spotted the blue Ford Fusion with three young men inside speeding along Second Avenue on a Monday night in November. The 25-year-old driver, a Schenectady resident, avoided eye contact and appeared to nervously struggle to answer basic questions after the deputy pulled them over, according to a police report.

When the deputy tried talking to a 20-year-old passenger in the back seat, the driver anxiously rolled up the window and allegedly acted as if he was going to flee. The deputy called for backup. After the three men were directed to exit the vehicle, one of the arriving officers spotted a handgun in the sweatshirt of the man climbing out of the back seat.

The officers seized two more loaded handguns during the stop  one in the coat of a 17-year-old front passenger and a third from under the driver's seat. The unlicensed semiautomatic handguns all had rounds in their firing chambers. The police also found three ski masks and some drugs in the car, but were never able to determine what if anything the group had been planning that night, according to the arrest reports.

For the teenage boy, who lives a few blocks from where the car was stopped, it was his second felony charge last year involving an illegal firearm. Under New York's "Raise the Age" statute, the incident ultimately landed him in front of a Family Court judge in Albany.

That judge decided the teen's illegal gun possession  which occurred about 10 months after he was indicted on charges of kidnapping and beating a young woman who was a witness in another criminal case  was not "extraordinary" enough to justify keeping his case in the Youth Part of Albany County Court, where he could face a felony conviction and be sentenced to incarceration.

In her decision, Family Court Judge Sherri J. Brooks-Morton noted that when the state Legislature began retooling New York's criminal justice statutes in 2017, it did not define what makes a youth's criminal case "extraordinary." Instead, judges must make that determination on a case-by-case basis.

That legislative gap has vexed some Family Court judges and underscores what many law enforcement officials and a growing number of state lawmakers and city leaders have said are significant breakdowns in the juvenile justice system that may be leading to increases in shootings and gun cases involving teenagers.

Indeed, some data indicate the number of teenagers under 18 who are accused of violent offenses or illegal gun possession have increased sharply since the law was changed. That surge includes Albany County, where since 2018 nearly 60 percent of the cases involving adolescent and juvenile offenders are violent offenses  and nearly half of those involve guns, according to data reviewed last year by the Times Union.

These cases often roll through Family Court proceedings that result in their release with conditions, including imposing curfews or requiring ankle-monitoring bracelets, that don't always dissuade many teens from quickly returning to the way of the gun.

When the statute took effect five years ago, it raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18 and was intended to remove 16- and 17-year-olds from the adult criminal justice system and place them in settings where they could receive legitimate services and treatment. At the time, then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said it would end "the injustice of treating teenagers as adults."

New York lawmakers and advocates who supported the changes noted then that only one other state still treated 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in criminal cases  a setup that often pulled teens into a criminal justice vortex that would result in convictions that carried lengthy sentences in adult prisons without meaningful efforts to reform their lives.

At a legislative hearing in late January, New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey B. Maddrey told lawmakers that since 2017 the number of juvenile shooting victims in that city has doubled and the number of juveniles identified as shooters had increased about 156 percent.

"Unfortunately, data silos and sealed records make it difficult to analyze case outcomes and (to) work with partner agencies to intercede and help these children," Maddrey, who was appointed NYPD chief in December, told the panel.

Other recent legislative hearings in Albany have also solicited testimony to examine the fallout of sweeping changes that were made to New York's criminal justice statutes over the past six years. But those discussions have focused primarily on bail statutes governing adult defendants, with relatively little discussion about the reasons that violent youth crime  especially shooting incidents  remains a serious concern.

Last week at the Capitol, a cadre of Republican lawmakers, who have frequently criticized the overhaul of New York's criminal statutes, were flanked by a bipartisan group of district attorneys at a news conference promoting what they said are needed "reforms" to the Raise the Age statute, including removing the "extraordinary circumstance" provision that judges are frequently left to interpret.

"We dont need to throw out the law entirely, but we need to fix what isnt working," said Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, an Oswego County Republican. "As with most progressive policymaking, 'Raise the Age' went too far and created a system where young people commit violent crimes and face little to no consequences."

The Times Union has previously reported that many of the support programs that were supposed to accompany the rollout of the Raise the Age statute  and steer teenagers away from criminal activity  were never put in place.

That reporting indicated much of the state funding allocated for the change was never distributed to enhance treatment programs or increase juvenile detention beds in secure facilities across the state. The severe bed shortage has resulted in many teenage defendants being released from custody for violent offenses or, in some instances, transported to juvenile detention facilities hours away from their homes. In other instances, adolescent offenders have quietly been placed in adult jails with the caveat that they cannot see or hear adult inmates.

But proponents of the statutory changes contend there is no reason to "roll back" the law and they contend the data being proffered by law enforcement about surging recidivism among 16 and 17 year olds are misleading.

"There is a failure of programming for young people to do what Raise the Age was supposed to do, which was to provide counseling, support, education, training for young people, recognizing the science  which has not changed  that young people are still works in progress and that they are able to change," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. "There's a glaring failure to even use the money that was allocated to provide services for young people in trouble. They're not going to fix themselves."

'Holding a gun to her head'

Brooks-Morton, in a footnote to her January decision that kept the Albany teen's gun possession case in Family Court, pointed to a lawmaker's remarks in the state Assembly in 2017, when the Raise the Age statute was passed, that there would be a "presumption where only one of 1,000 cases, ... those extremely rare and exceptional cases, would remain in Youth Part (of adult court)."

Albany County prosecutors sought to keep the teen's case out of Family Court by citing his indictment early last year in Rensselaer County on charges alleging he and a second teenager had kidnapped a girl who was a witness in an unrelated criminal case.

In the Rensselaer County case, the Albany teenager, who turned 18 two months ago, had been released from custody under the supervision of probation officials, who initially required him to wear an ankle monitor. By the time of his gun arrest in November, that ankle monitor had been removed by authorities while his case across the Hudson River was still pending.

The judge recounted the details of the kidnapping case in her decision, including noting the two teens had allegedly "held the victim in the back seat of a vehicle while holding a gun to her head ... stripped the victim of her clothes and beat her; the victim was able to escape by jumping out of the car."

But because months had elapsed between the charges in Rensselaer County and the teen's November arrest  and he had not committed "a series of crimes over a series of days"  the judge ruled against prosecutors and transferred the gun possession case to Family Court. The teen was subsequently released from custody in Albany. In Rensselaer County, prosecutors used his Albany arrest to petition a judge there to revoke his release, and he has since been placed in a detention facility.

The pattern of judges citing the narrowly prescribed aggravating and mitigating factors they must balance when weighing whether to transfer a youth's criminal case to Family Court remains an issue that prosecutors and some lawmakers want to adjust.

Brooks-Morton made a similar determination in a case in which two teenagers armed with "ghost" handguns, including a fully automatic 9mm capable of firing 50 rounds in seconds, were arrested during an October 2021 traffic stop in Albany as they drove through a neighborhood with their headlights off at night, according to law enforcement officials.

Police suspected the boys, a 16-year-old from Clifton Park and a 17-year-old from Troy, were planning a drive-by shooting when they were stopped.

Since police stopped them before any shots were fired, and the boy in the rear seat of the car  seated next to an open window  was not found holding the guns, their cases were transferred to Family Court.

Following their arrests, the teenagers emerged as suspects in a previous drive-by shooting in Rensselaer County in which shell casings were connected to the firearms seized from the Porsche they were driving in Albany. Still, a judge determined those factors were not "extraordinary circumstances," and the teens' cases were allowed to remain in Family Court.

Last June, the 17-year-old boy, who lives in Schenectady, was arrested again by Albany police after he ran into a residence on McCrossin Avenue as officers chased him on foot. A police report said the boy was armed with a "ghost" AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that had a round in the chamber and 29 rounds in an ammunition magazine. A second boy, who was 16 and had been walking with the 17-year-old, was charged with illegally carrying a loaded 9mm handgun.

Both of the teens were suspects in a robbery earlier that evening. Court records indicate the 17-year-old was charged with felony charges of weapons possession, possession of an assault weapon, possession of an ammunition-feeding device, burglary and illegal entry of a dwelling. The 17-year-old was subsequently released from custody and his case was transferred to Family Court.

Brooks-Morton, in a decision in which she noted her "primary consideration is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the Legislature," rejected prosecutors' motion to keep the teenager's case in the Youth Part of County Court, noting as she had in other cases that his three arrests did "not establish a series of crimes over a series of days." She also highlighted that police had failed to charge him with the armed robbery that had led them to pursue the teen when he ran into a stranger's residence without permission.

The calls to amend the statute  not undo it  have come as New York City police officials have released data reports they said indicate a surge in rearrests for 16- and 17-year-olds in the wake of the changes. They said in the first year after enactment that 48 percent of 16-year-old offenders were rearrested for new crimes, including 27 percent for violent offenses.

Those figures have been touted by NYPD officials as they have noted that there has been an increase in youth gun crimes, including what they said is a 183 percent increase in offenders under 18 involved in gun crimes between 2017 and 2022.

But just as dueling data points have engulfed the debates about New York's bail laws, supporters of Raise the Age contend that no changes are necessary. The NYCLU pointed to a February report issued by John Jay College of Criminal Justice that sought to answer the question of whether violence among youth under 18 changed after the statute was changed.

'It's more dangerous'

Jeffrey Butts, a research professor at the school, said their analysis "would suggest that Raise the Age did not introduce new risks to public safety."

"The key is comparing the age groups over time, not simply looking at crime trends over time. Unfortunately, Raise the Age came into being just before the entire world of crime and justice changed in 2020 and 2021. If you just look at recidivism without accounting for that general environmental disruption, youre not conducting research  youre counting stuff. ... But, to draw causal inferences that way is irresponsible."

Butts contends that putting adolescents in the adult criminal court system did not improve public safety and "assures juvenile/Family Court dispositions will not be used for the small number, perhaps 2 percent, of violent and dangerous 16- and 17-year-olds coming into the justice system. That last effect may be appropriate for the 2 percent. The problem is it harms the other 98 percent, and actually, research shows, increases their tendency to commit serious crimes in the future."

John Jay's research determined that recent increases in violence should not be attributed to Raise the Age, and that youth under 18 account for a small portion of violent offenses.

But that research apparently did not analyze recidivism among young defendants who are involved in gun crimes and subsequently released by Family Court while their cases are pending. It also collides with data cited by the NYPD, where officials have said shootings and gun possession cases involving teenagers  including teenage shooting victims  are soaring.

The John Jay study selected 2006 and 2014 as the baseline years for comparison  a period when arrests for possession of weapons by persons under 18 had been steadily declining. In 2018, the year that the laws took effect, the number of arrests 16- and 17-year-olds increased for the first time in a decade  at a time when arrests for those 25 and older began to decline.

Another analysis last year by the New York City Criminal Justice Agency found "extremely high rates of rearrest" among adolescent and juvenile offenders in the wake of the statutory changes. That report noted the rates of recidivism could be even higher, but New York does not compile public data on Family Court outcomes. That makes it difficult to determine whether teenagers accused of violent offenses are benefitting from having their cases adjudicated in courts that seal their records and help prevent them from being imprisoned of afflicted with a criminal record.

Albany County's probation department, like many others around the state, does not track rearrests or "noncompliance" by 16- and 17-year-olds released under their supervision by Family Court judges.

Michael Lipetri, chief of the NYPD's Office of Crime Control Strategies, provided a briefing on their statistics to the Times Union in December. A month later, he joined Maddrey when the NYPD testified before a legislative panel in Albany. He cited data from their records that show sharp increases in firearms possession cases among youth and noted that last year 10 percent of New York City's shooting victims were under age 18.

"Some of the youth in New York City think they have to carry a gun ... because it's more dangerous," he said. (Law enforcement officials in other areas of the state said they are seeing the same trend: more youth are arming themselves with illegal firearms.)

"We always agreed with the age changes," Lipetri told lawmakers in Albany. "It's what happens when juveniles are arrested for serious crimes that we have a lot of questions about."

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, like many other New York district attorneys, has supported the intent of the recent changes to criminal justice statutes, but also vehemently opposed what he contends were flaws in the legislation.

"Raise the Age has been a colossal failure and has betrayed its stated intent," Soares said. "Sixteen and 17-year-olds avoid accountability for carrying loaded illegal firearms so long as they dont display them."

Soares, whose office has used probation and arrest records to track gun cases and rearrests involving teenagers, said police are "arresting the same people over and over again with illegal guns. "

"Wheres the intervention promised by Raised the Age?" he added. "Leaders at the Capitol are in a panic over gun violence in New York and continue to pass legislation targeting lawful gun owners who do not contribute in anyway to the violence were confronting on the streets. They have not lifted a finger to address this major loophole that in practical terms makes it OK for teenagers with underdeveloped brains to trot around our blocks playing tag with AR-15s and guns with extended magazine capacities."
ALBANY  The impending indictment of former President Donald J. Trump has fueled widespread speculation about the potential impact of the release of his booking photo  including commentary from conservative news outlets that have suggested Trump could use the mugshot to fuel campaign support and donations.

Last week, attorney Alan Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law School professor, said during interviews with multiple news outlets that Trump should put his booking photo on T-shirts and posters and sell them to support his 2024 presidential campaign.

But the booking photo of Trump may not be made public unless he decides to release it.

New York law was amended four years ago to restrain the release of booking photos unless police determine there is a legitimate law enforcement purpose to release a person's image. It is highly unlikely Trump's mugshot  an image of one of the world's most photographed individuals  would meet that threshold.

That change was pushed during state budget negotiations in 2019 by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. He avoided having his own mugshot taken two years later after he was charged in a misdemeanor criminal complaint in Albany with forcibly touching a female staff member. But Cuomo's case was subsequently dismissed at the request of prosecutors  during his first court appearance  and he was never required to submit to the booking process.

The criminal charge against Cuomo had been filed by the Albany County Sheriff's Office based on a complaint filed by an investigator after she had met with Brittany Commisso, a former Cuomo aide and one of numerous women who have accused him of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior. The case was dismissed by a judge after a motion was filed by Cuomo's attorney a day after prosecutors with the Albany County District Attorney's office informed the court they did not believe they could meet their burden to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

But Trump is facing a felony indictment that is expected to be made public next week. The case was the result of an investigation into allegations that he had signed off on a deal during his 2016 presidential campaign to pay $130,000 in "hush money" to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, to get her to agree not to disclose they had a sexual encounter. Trump has denied sanctioning or making the payment and also denied that he had sex with Daniels.

Trump is the first former U.S. president to be indicted on criminal charges.

Trump's attorneys should eventually receive his booking materials  including his mugshot  if the criminal case goes forward. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg would be obligated to turn those materials over to the defense, but that timeline will depend on pre-trial discovery rules and how the case unfolds.

New York's "mugshot ban" was implemented by amending the state's Freedom of Information Law to prevent law enforcement agencies from releasing the photos of someone who has been arrested. The change targeted websites that would obtain mugshots of individuals and post them online  sometimes offering the person an option to pay a fee to have the photo and arrest information taken down.

There are two statutes in play regarding Trump's potential booking photo and whether it could be released. Under the state Freedom of Information Law, law enforcement agencies such as the New York Police Department would be within their right to withhold a copy of a booking photo on the grounds that releasing it would constitute an unwarranted invasion of a defendant's privacy.

But for law enforcement agencies that have a practice of withholding booking photos from public disclosure unless there is a legitimate law enforcement need, it is unlikely the policy would be altered simply to disclose the photo of a high-profile defendant such as Trump.

If someone is booked by a state agency, including the State Police, those New York agencies are also governed by FOIL as well as a privacy protection law that would require them to withhold records on individuals  including booking photos  due to the potential invasion of a person's privacy. That law places additional responsibilities on state agencies that maintain records on individuals.
You start a new life from zero, with just one suitcase.

That is how Nataliia Verhovna from Ukraine describes the trauma of having her and her familys lives turned upside down since the Russian invasion of their country just over a year ago, which has forced thousands to flee their homes and move to another country in search of refuge.

Nataliia is one of 30 Ukrainians staying at the Hillcrest Guesthouse at Ard na Greine, Clonmel, since July 7 of last year, having arrived in Ireland via Turkey.

When the war started she and her husband Serhii, 15-year-old daughter Diana and 3 year-old son Oleksander fled their home in the capital Kyiv, waving sad farewells to their friends and family, who included their 16-year-old son Kyrylo, who initially decided to stay with Nataliias parents.

I hadnt any connection with my family for months, I didnt know if they were alive or not, she says.

I was very worried about Kyrylo, I knew of situations where the Russian army has captured boys and forced them to fight in their army. My parents are old and its very difficult for them.

The village where my parents live was occupied by Russian troops from the first day of the war.

Conditions there were extremely challenging, with the bombardment of and damage caused to power stations meaning that people had to survive without water, electricity or heat.

She recalls the familys escape from the village where her parents live, and having to run the gauntlet of passing scores of heavily-armed Russian troops and columns of tanks.

It was very scary and very dangerous. We had to walk four kilometres to where the bus was leaving, and when it wasnt there we had to walk four kilometres back home again.

The family went through this ritual every day for ten days before they eventually made their escape.

Kyrylo later moved to western Ukraine, before spending a few months with a host family in Germany before joining his own family in Clonmel.

He has since enrolled at secondary school in Raheen College, where he is in the same class as his sister Diana. With the help of a psychologist, he is doing fine, says Nataliia.

Above: The Verhovna family enjoy a day out last Christmas

As they adjust to life a couple of thousand miles from their homeland, her husband Serhii has secured a job at the medical equipment manufacturer Abbott Vascular, while Nataliia has enrolled on an art course at the Central Technical Institute (CTI).

Like her friend and fellow Ukrainian in Hillcrest, Maryna Yurieva, she too enjoys the weekly sessions with the South Tipperary Art Group (STAG), and is also grateful to the groups organiser Maureen Purcell for all her support.

Maureen helped us to get bicycles and clothes when we arrived. Shes very nice and is full of energy.

Nataliia says no one knows when the war will end and, like Maryna Yurieva, shes concerned about the long-term effects of landmines planted in Ukraine by Russian forces.

It can take up to 70 years to remove mines. Even mines from the Second World War were discovered in recent years in Ukraine.

Facing an uncertain future, Nataliia says Our generation has a foggy future, we cannot plan.

By the same token, she and her family are grateful for the opportunities that their new home has afforded them.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elevatus, the multi-award-winning recruitment software, today announced its partnership with Jisr; the leading HR and payroll system in the Kingdom. This strategic partnership will supercharge and complement their offerings by delivering an integrated one-stop solution for clients to hire and manage their workforces from one single place. With this collaboration, clients will no longer have to piece together a patchwork of solutions, but will instead have access to a complete solution that covers the entire hiring cycle; from creating job requisitions to managing payroll.

Elevatus and Jisr unite to revolutionize recruitment in KSA with the perfect fusion of cutting-edge tech and comprehensive recruiting, HR, and payroll solutions

Jisr is the Kingdom's most powerful, flexible, and integrated HR and payroll software. Jisr partnered with Elevatus to unleash a powerhouse solution and empower clients to effortlessly streamline their entire hiring process, in addition to effortlessly managing their HR and payroll. Elevatus is revolutionizing recruitment with its cutting-edge technology, offering a comprehensive solution that encompasses candidate sourcing, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, candidate ranking, visa management, video assessments, employee onboarding, and more. By partnering and integrating with Jisr, Elevatus can pave the way for companies to recruit top talent and build top-performing workforces in record time. With its award-winning technology, Elevatus has gained substantial popularity in the KSA market, enabling clients to achieve their Vision 2030 goals. Where they can outpace the competition in the talent hunt, attract top talent, streamline their recruitment processes with a paperless solution, and transform their existing tech stack into a unified recruiting powerhouse.

"Our partnership with Jisr will enable us to offer our clients a holistic solution that encompasses everything they need to automate their recruitment, HR, and payroll. Our powerhouse technologies combined together will result in the most innovative workflows our clients will ever see," said Yara Burgan, Founder and CEO at Elevatus. "We're thrilled to partner with Jisr, as this strategic partnership combines the best of both worlds  Elevatus' futuristic recruiting solutions and Jisr's best-in-class HR and payroll system."

Story continues

Jisr has been the leading HR and payroll system in the KSA for years and this partnership will complete their offering with Elevatus' innovative recruitment technology. Jisr provides its clients with one single platform to facilitate their human resource management needs. Where they can seamlessly manage all their employees' data, pay salaries in minutes, comply with the Kingdom's labour law, and get flexible reporting to make the best business decisions.

Elevatus and Jisr unite to revolutionize recruitment in KSA with the perfect fusion of cutting-edge tech and comprehensive recruiting, HR, and payroll solutions. This powerful partnership will result in superior hiring outcomes and an unparalleled recruitment experience. It will set a new standard in the industry by allowing companies in the Kingdom and beyond to achieve exceptional recruitment success, recruit top-performing teams, and retain a happy workforce.

Contact:

Elevatus Inc.

Email: contact@elevatus.io

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045897/Elevatus_Jisr.jpg

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/elevatus-joins-forces-with-jisr-to-create-a-unified-recruiting-and-hr-experience-for-clients-across-the-kingdom-301787769.html

SOURCE Elevatus Inc
Here's something to consider as politicos will take advantage of the nice weather today and knock on a slew of doors ahead of Tuesday's vote . . .

WE WATCH THE LOCAL NEWS AS CLOSE AS ANYONE & WE'RE NOT AWARE OF ANY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO LOWER THE KCMO HOMICIDE RATE FROM ANY CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR OFFICE!!!

Again . . .

We all have opinions and ideas about this topic . . . BUT THERE IS NO PLAN.

In fact, all we've seen is a bunch of people fighting about money and power.

Meanwhile.

The carnage continues.

And so we share info on the details of the latest chapter in an ongoing crisis that now outpaces KC's historic rate of killing by more than 10%.



Here's the word . . .



Homicide 1800 block of Cambridge

(Last night) right at 8 oclock officers were called to the 1800 block of Cambridge on a shooting call. On arrival officers located a crime scene associated with a shooting and were notified the victim had been driven to the hospital by private vehicle.



Additional officers responded to the hospital and were notified that the victim was declared deceased there.



Individuals at the scene when officers arrived indicated the shooting occurred inside a residence there.



Detectives are speaking with the people who were at the scene as well as canvassing for witnesses. Crime scene investigators will be processing the scene for evidence.



A person of interest has been preliminarily identified however they are not in custody at the moment. Detectives will be looking to get in contact with that person as their investigation progresses.



If anyone saw or heard anything in this area or has any information and they havent talked to detectives yet, they are asked to contact the Homicide Unit directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS, there is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.



We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents.

###########



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

KCPD investigate late Saturday night homicide Kansas City Police Department is responding to a homicide in the 1800 block of Cambridge Avenue off of 18th Street near Manchester Trafficway.KCPD say at 8 p.m. officers were called address on a shooting call. On arrival officers located a crime scene associated with a shooting and were notified the victim had been driven to the hospital by private vehicle, police say.

KCPD investigating fatal shooting Saturday night KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Missouri, police are investigating a fatal shooting in the 1800 block of Cambridge Avenue. Right at 8 p.m. Saturday, officers were called to the location on reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, police located the scene of the crime and were informed the victim had been transported to an area hospital via private vehicle.

Kansas City police investigating deadly shooting Saturday night KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred Saturday night. Officers arrived at the 1800 block of Cambridge on a shooting call around 8 p.m. Upon arrival, they located a crime scene associated with a shooting and were notified the victim had been driven to the hospital by private vehicle.

Developing . . .


Once again, in this upcoming low-turnout election the Northland hopes to demonstrate their growing power amongst the local electorate as the biggest, fastest growing part of Kansas City.

Make no mistake . . . The Northland holds promising potential that has so far been mostly unrealized in terms of local politics.

The big question . . .

WILL KANSAS CITY NORTHLAND RESIDENTS SEIZE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE REPRESENTATION FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES?!?!

As with everything . . . There's reason to be skeptical.

Allow us a moment of doubt on Sunday . . .



For many years the power of the Northland vote has failed to materialize. In one election after the next, voters from this part of town have ignored their civic responsibility.

A quick theory . . .

Part of the reason people move to the Northland is to isolate from any semblance of community. Northland suburban life is solitary and every day can be spent closed off from neighbors in the confines of a car, McMansion and any number of take-out foodie apps.

Still hope shines through . . .

Love it or hate it . . . The Northland vote has proved crucial over the years. From anti-tax efforts, putting Mark Funkhouser in office (lulz) or joining with East side neighbors to reverse MLK street naming without voter consent . . . We think it's fair to say that the Northland is a sleeping giant.

Still . . .

We question if a low-turnout vote with no major Mayoral challenger is enough to awaken this swath of local voters.

A great deal of Kansas City Northland rhetoric is uninspiring.

Political Action Committee Northland Strong promised a big showing . . . But in the end the group is sending mixed messages.

A strong conservative bloc of candidates supporting a mayoral challenger might have impressed voters.

Instead . . .

Family connections, safe bets and donors attempting to flex against one another give us a mishmash of candidates . . . The Northland Strong candidate slate isn't strictly conservative . . . It's a jumble of LGBT advocates, union progressives and beneficiaries of family money.

Our biggest pet peeve . . .

Kevin O'Neill leads Northland Strong endorsements and he not only supports slavery reparations but also backs higher costs for home builders . . . Does that seem representative of the Northland vote???

Didn't think so.

More than anything . . . The Northland Strong slate is diverse in opinions but not united by any actionable agenda.



We respect the Northland . . .

We think that in 2023, a unified vision of Kansas City doesn't stop because of a river or any measly geographic consideration.

The idea of Kansas City should be strong enough to stretch from the airport to the South Side, from the East side and to the Kansas State Line.

Kansas City is one of the most unique places in all of the world but so far our leadership has FAILED to inspire voters to do anything but commit to sketchy vanity projects with taxpayer funds and cross their fingers rather than demand accountability.



So far Mayor Lucas hasn't offered anything close to a coherent idea for how Kansas City will navigate the future.

And sadly . . .

Neither have our Northland Strong neighbors.



Developing . . .


There is rarely an outpouring of sympathy of love and compassion for a local corporation.

However . . .

Today Kansas City residents were concerned with the well-being of a local Internets provider. Unfortunately, since customer service isn't really "a thing" in the world anymore . . . Locals weren't able to call and convey their sympathies.



Luckily . . . The source of the problem was discovered and it's not just a weird excuse but a realization that crime is impacting everything in this town and we all have to stick together in order to stop it.

Here's the word . . .



"Vandalism to our network caused the fiber cut and outage," a Spectrum spokesperson said in a statement.



Crews began work to restore service at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.



Spectrum says a fiber cut can contain hundreds of fiber strands, and each needs to be individually repaired or replaced.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
A chefs guide to where to eat, drink and explore in Hong Kong  including the best dim sum

In Hong Kong, Top chef David Lai shares his favourite places to listen to jazz in a secret spot, visit new landmark museums, and experience one of the biggest bargains in the world.
Key Insights

Donaldson Company's estimated fair value is US$58.03 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Donaldson Company's US$65.34 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Analyst price target for DCI is US$66.00, which is 14% above our fair value estimate

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) 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!

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Donaldson Company

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, 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) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$390.5m US$396.8m US$417.9m US$440.2m US$460.0m US$475.9m US$490.4m US$503.9m US$516.8m US$529.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.46% Est @ 3.05% Est @ 2.75% Est @ 2.55% Est @ 2.40% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.2% US$361 US$339 US$330 US$321 US$311 US$297 US$283 US$269 US$255 US$241

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$3.0b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$529m (1 + 2.1%)  (8.2% 2.1%) = US$8.8b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$8.8b ( 1 + 8.2%)10= US$4.0b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$7.0b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$65.3, 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. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Donaldson Company as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.028. 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 Donaldson Company

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded its 5-year average.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Machinery industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Machinery market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess 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 Donaldson Company, there are three further elements you should explore:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Donaldson Company that you should be aware of before investing here. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for DCI's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NYSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
The second group of Ukrainian gunners has completed training on the AS90 self-propelled gun in the United Kingdom.

According to Ukrinform, the UK Ministry of Defense announced this on Twitter.

"The second group of Ukrainian artillery recruits have come to the end of their training on the formidable AS90 155mm self-propelled gun. The program is part of the UK's enduring commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia," the tweet reads.

 The second group of Ukrainian artillery recruits have come to the end of their training on the formidable AS90 155mm self-propelled gun.



 The programme is part of the UKs enduring commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/oPRlpYerO1  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) April 2, 2023

As was reported earlier, military instructors from the Swedish Armed Forces, as part of the basic combined military training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in the United Kingdom, conduct classes on the organization and conduct of ambushes and combat operations in forested areas.

On March 8, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said at a press conference in Stockholm following an informal meeting of the defense ministers of EU member states that the EU's auxiliary training mission for Ukraine would complete the training of 11,000 Ukrainian servicemen by the end of March, and the number of trained military specialists will reach 30,000 by the end of the year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday held talks with Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, who is visiting Ukraine.

Thats according to the Presidents Office, Ukrinform reports.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Head of State thanked the Prime Minister of Croatia for his visit and participation in the Bucha summit on the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from the Russian aggressor, the report reads.

"We are friends, we feel it. It is very important for our people," the president said, noting the high level of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Croatia.

He separately emphasized the unchanging position of the Croatian government regarding the support of Ukraine and its people as they resist Russian aggression.

Zelensky briefed Plenkovic on the situation at the front, drawing attention to the primary needs of Ukraines defenders.

The importance of the significant defense assistance provided by Croatia to Ukraine was noted, and the need for its continuation was emphasized.

The parties discussed the issue of increasing pressure on Russia, including sanctions.

Particular attention was paid to further joint work to create a special tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

"For people, justice is very important. Ukrainians lost many relatives and friends over the past year. And it is very important to reach the end and have the results of justice," he said.

Zelensky emphasized the importance of cooperation in matters of recovery and post-war reconstruction of the regions of our state liberated from the aggressor.

Noting Croatia's leadership in humanitarian demining, the president of Ukraine welcomed Zagreb's intention to hold a relevant international donor conference this autumn.

The president of Ukraine and the prime minister of Croatia discussed cooperation on Ukraines path of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Zelensky thanked Croatia for its support in granting Ukraine the EU candidate status and noted the personal role of Plenkovic in this process.

Earlier today, Croatia PM met with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, who stated that Croatia's experience in European integration, post-war reconstruction, veteran policy, and mine clearance were extremely valuable for Ukraine.

Earlier, Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said his country, having gained experience in eliminating the consequences of war in its territory, can help Ukraine with humanitarian demining.
The European Commission and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have selected 18 communities in Ukraine and Moldova as part of the EU Response and Renewal Grant Program, which will receive funds for the restoration of the urban environment.

This is said in a statement published on the UNDPs website, Ukrinform reports.

The European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced the selection of 18 municipalities from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova under the Call for Local Demonstration Initiatives as part of the EU Response and Renewal Grant Programme aimed at revitalizing and supporting the recovery of local economies and communities impacted by Russias war on Ukraine, the statement says.

It is stressed that the financial increase of EUR 1.8 million, under the auspices of the M4EG Facility network, provides directs support to the selected cities in Ukraine and Moldova. A total of 70% of the grant component will be available to Ukrainian local authorities and 30 % to local authorities in Moldova.

Seven cities were selected under Lot 1 (Response and Immediate Recovery), namely Chortkiv (Ternopil region), Hlukhiv (Sumy region), Kamianets-Podilskyi (Khmelnytskyi region), Slavuta (Khmelnytskyi region), Velyka Oleksandrivka (Kherson region) from Ukraine, and Carpineni and

As part of Lot 2 (Renewal and Anticipation), the following 11 cities were selected: Bucha (Kyiv region), Chernivtsi, Kharkiv, Nizhyn (Chernihiv region), Nova Kakhovka (Kherson region), Slavutych (Kyiv region), Velyki Luchky (Zakarpattia region), Voznesensk (Mykolaiv region) from Ukraine, and Copceac, Cimislia, and Drochia from Moldova.

As reported, the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development and the Kyiv Regional Military Administration signed memoranda with the United Nations Development Program on the restoration of 18 damaged apartment blocks. The funding will come from the "Destroyed Property and Infrastructure Restoration Fund" of the UNITED24 fundraising platform.
ViewApart / iStock.com

Government-sponsored retirement programs face a math problem: People are living longer at the same time that younger working-age populations are decreasing. This has contributed to dwindling funds for Social Security and similar retirement/pension systems around the world.

Next: 6 Big Shakeups to Social Security in 2023

Read: 3 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Retirement

Meanwhile, higher housing and healthcare costs and lower market returns have made affordable retirement more challenging than ever, according to Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock.

Fink made that statement in the Annual Chairmans Letter he recently sent to investors. The billionaire businessman also warned that the world is headed for a silent retirement crisis, The Telegraph reported.

The crisis doesnt make headlines or attract attention because its not immediate, Fink wrote. Its not this years  or even next years  problem. But it is a crisis. And the longer we delay the conversation about it, the larger the crisis grows.

Much of the problem can be traced to the combination of longer life spans and falling fertility rates. In his letter, Fink noted that fertility rates have slipped to an all-time low of 1.7 births per woman in the United States, 1.5 births in Europe and 1.2 in China.

It will result in a smaller working population and cause income to grow more slowly or even decline, Fink wrote.

This problem has been building for some time. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted in a 2020 report, many countries have long faced an aging population and shrinking labor force. With fewer people paying into pension and other retirement systems, it is increasingly difficult to ensure that older populations have decent living standards in retirement.

In the United States, the problem can be seen in the coming insolvency of Social Securitys Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which funds about 25% of the programs benefits. That fund is expected to run out of money as early as 2032, leaving Social Security solely reliant on payroll taxes for funding.

Story continues

The reason the fund is being depleted is that many baby boomers who contributed to Social Security as workers have now reached retirement age and are collecting benefits. They are also living longer than previous populations  and there isnt enough revenue coming in from the current workforce to make up the difference.

The problem is compounded by lower fertility rates and a smaller workforce. If fertility continues to fall, Social Security will be in even worse fiscal shape than official government projections assume, the Financial Times reported late last year.

Because government retirement programs face funding problems in the future, it is more important than ever for people to build up adequate retirement savings on their own. A good first step is to dedicate yourself to establishing a retirement savings account  and then leaving it alone.

Even in wealthier countries, many people lack the ability to save; and if they do save, they often use those savings for an emergency, rather than investing for retirement, Fink wrote in his letter.

Take Our Poll: Do You Think the US Should Raise the Medicare Tax on High Earners To Help Save the Program?

He also suggested that people avoid over-saving [and] under-investing, which will not generate the returns necessary to retire with dignity. To build up an adequate nest egg, you should seek the higher returns you can get with stock, real estate and other investments in addition to building 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Expert Says Silent Crisis with Retirement Savings Looms Worldwide  How To Act Now
(Bloomberg) -- Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin lost to a pro-business opposition group in the Nordic countrys close parliamentary elections.

Most Read from Bloomberg

National Coalition leader Petteri Orpo declared victory as his center-right party took 48 seats, leaving the millennial leaders Social Democrats in third place with 43 seats, behind the far-right Finns Party, which won 46 seats.

The outcome mirrors the shift in neighboring Sweden where a more inward-looking and fiscally conservative government, led by the Moderate Party, took power from the Social Democrats last year and an extreme anti-immigrant force surged in popularity.

With his party having won the most seats in parliament, Orpo, 53, is on track to become prime minister. He has two main options to start talks on forging a coalition. One alternative is to work with Marins party, and another to reach out to Riikka Purras nationalist Finns Party.

The outcome is welcome news for bond investors, with big swings related to Finland-specific developments unlikely, Jan von Gerich and Juho Kostiainen, analysts at Nordea Bank Abp, said in a note. The next four years will likely bring a tighter fiscal stance, they said.

Orpo has overseen the finance, interior and agriculture portfolios in two governments, and has led his party since 2016. Hes also known to enjoy fishing and spending time at his century-old cottage with no running water and little electricity.

While he could agree with Marin on an ambitious climate policy, their big differences lie on the fiscal side. The issue is a priority for Orpo, who has been a vocal critic of how Marins government has managed public finances.

Story continues

We must fix our economy, Orpo told reporters. We are a clear alternative to the left-wing government. People are very worried about the economy.

The National Coalition has pledged to reduce expenditure by 6 billion, an amount calculated by the Finance Ministry that compares with the state budget of about 83.5 billion. Marin rejects spending cuts.

Its also questionable how well the two leaders get along, with Marin appearing to make jabs at Orpo throughout the campaign and election debates.

Second Option

With the Finns, the election winner is broadly in agreement on economic policy, but strongly at loggerheads on immigration and climate policies. The National Coalition wants to lure more workers into Finland, a policy rejected by the anti-immigration party. On climate, the Finns Party has channeled the vote of those who think too much fuss is being made of reducing emissions.

My party has succeeded in defining the exact problems of the state at the moment and succeeded in offering a clear alternative to combat them, Purra said, singling out public finances, internal security and the governments energy and climate policies.

Putting together a cabinet with the Finns Party would also be complicated by a refusal of many to work with the anti-immigrant force, leaving open whom Orpo would persuade to join in to ensure a majority. The Center Party of Finance Minister Annika Saarikko was the elections biggest loser, and the party is likely to spend the next four years in opposition, she indicated.

The talks are certain to be quite difficult, Orpo told reporters. That said, the only way forward is through cooperation. There are big differences between the top three parties, and theres a lot to work out.

More Prudence

While Marins SDP was the only one in her five-party left-leaning cabinet to add seats, the result shows Finns wanted to see more prudence in fiscal policy.

Under her government, Finlands public debt jumped by about 40 billion ($43.4 billion) to about 195 billion last year, fueled by borrowings to tackle fallout from the pandemic, Russias war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. About a quarter of the total debt growth isnt explained by those crises.

Still, Marin has widespread support, stemming from her handling of both the pandemic and the fallout of the war, which led to Finlands bid to join NATO. She has garnered international fame as head of a cabinet led solely by women, with the 37-year-old premiers personal lifestyle drawing in young voters.

As a rule, the party with the most seats in parliament gets the first attempt to form a ruling coalition  and cabinets can even be formed by parties from opposite sides of the political spectrum if they manage to agree on a joint policy program. The talks can kick off after the election of a parliament speaker April 12 and are set to take weeks, if not months.

Marin congratulated the elections other winners, mentioning both the National Coalition and the Finns Party, but stopping short of conceding defeat.

Finnish people have cast their votes, she said. A celebration of democracy is always magnificent.

--With assistance from Philip Tabuas.

(Updates with result as all votes tallied.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 02nd Apr, 2023) DUBAI, 2nd April 2023 (WAM)  H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), chaired the 75th meeting of the Council, which was held virtually in the presence of Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the DSCE.

The meeting was also attended by Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary-General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and board members Dawood Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality; Abdulla bin Kalban, Managing Director of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA); Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC); Juan-Pablo Freile, General Manager of Dubai Petroleum; and Hussain Al Banna, Acting CEO of the Strategy & Corporate Governance Sector at the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

The DSCE discussed the vital role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and data management through the achievements of the Data Hub for Integrated Solutions (Moro), a subsidiary of Digital DEWA, the digital arm of DEWA, in developing digital services, smart management of data, operations and customer transactions that were implemented at DEWA.

Moro has expanded its activities recently to provide digital services and smart solutions to numerous companies and government organisations to improve practices and introduce AI in various pillars.



We work according to the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the best city in the world to live and work.

The Council and its members are keen that Dubai is a pioneer in acquiring and implementing the latest AI and data management technologies through Moro to enhance government services and ensure operational efficiency to reach the highest levels of customer happiness in Dubai, said Al Tayer.

The Council also approved the final stage of the laws regulating the district cooling sector, which ensures the effectiveness of contracts between service providers and customers.

Regulating the district cooling sector enables the grant of licenses to service providers in line with the regulatory frameworks approved by the Council to raise the efficiency of operations and ensure the quality of services provided to consumers in Dubai.

We seek to improve the system in which high-efficiency cooling energy is produced and distributed at an appropriate cost, said Al Muhairbi.
(@FahadShabbir)

Algiers, April 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2023 ) :An Algerian court on Sunday sentenced prominent journalist Ihsane El Kadi to three years in prison for "foreign financing of his business" in a case denounced by rights groups.

El Kadi, one of the last independent media bosses in the North African nation as director of the Maghreb Emergent news website and Radio M, was handed a five-year sentence, two years of which are suspended.

The court in Algiers also ordered during the public sentencing the dissolution of the company Interface Medias, the publisher behind El Kadi's two outlets, and the confiscation of its assets.

The company was also fined 10 million dinars (about $73,500), while El Kadi himself was handed a separate 700,000-dinar fine.

His lawyer, Abdelghani Badi, told AFP he would appeal the sentence, though the defence team had boycotted Sunday's session over the "absence of just trial conditions".

The sentence has sparked condemnation among activists and civil society, with the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD) describing it as a "verdict of shame".

Filmmaker Bachir Derrais meanwhile charged that the authorities had "finished one of the best Algerian journalists".

"It is a sad day for the press in Algeria, for democracy and for the country's image," he said.

Following his remand in December, El Kadi was accused of "receiving sums of money and privileges from people and organisations inside the country and abroad in exchange for carrying out activities that could harm state security".

He had faced up to seven years in prison in line with an article in Algeria's penal code which criminalises anyone who receives "funds, a grant or otherwise... to carry out acts capable of undermining state security".

- 'Ruthless campaign' - In January, Amnesty International said the accusations against El Kadi were "trumped-up state security related offences".

"El Kadi's unjustified detention by the Algerian authorities... is yet another example of their ruthless campaign to silence voices of dissent through arbitrary detention and the closure of media outlets," said Amnesty's Amna Guellali.

Earlier that month, 16 international media figures including Russian journalist Dmitri Muratov, winner of the Nobel Peace prize, called for his release and urged Algeria to lift "unacceptable" restrictions on his media outlets.

El Kadi was sentenced in June to six months in prison but remained at liberty at the time as a warrant was not issued for his arrest.

Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, known by its French acronym RSF, previously launched a petition demanding El Kadi's release that was signed by more than 10,000 people.

Algeria ranks 134th out of 180 countries on RSF's 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

Also in January, the Human Rights League (LDH), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) criticised what they said was a constant attack on freedoms in Algeria since 2019 -- the year protests unseated longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The groups accused the authorities of trying to crack down on the Hirak protest movement, pointing to El Kadi's imprisonment and the closure of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights as examples.

"The deterioration of the human rights situation in Algeria is more concerning than ever," the three groups said in a statement at the time.
Goma, DR Congo, April 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2023 ) :South Sudanese soldiers arrived in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, an AFP journalist saw, joining a regional military force in the region wracked by the M23 rebellion.

At least 45 soldiers touched down in the city of Goma in the late morning, with further contingents expected to arrive at later dates.

The South Sudanese soldiers are part of the seven-nation East African Community (EAC) military force, which was created last June to stabilise eastern DRC.

Much of the region is plagued by dozens of armed groups, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

Since re-emerging from dormancy in late 2021, M23 rebels have also captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province and advanced within several dozen kilometres of its capital Goma.

The EAC force -- which comprises Kenyan, Burundian and Ugandan troops as well as South Sudanese -- is due to supervise a planned pull-back of the rebels.

"Welcome to Goma," said Colonel Jok Akech, an EAC force officer, addressing the new South Sudanese arrivals.

"Now you are in a different operational environment.

You have to be ready." 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.

It then won a string of victories against the Congolese army and captured large chunks of North Kivu, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing its advance.

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.

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.

The EAC force commander, Kenyan General Jeff Nyagah, told reporters on Friday that the planned M23 withdrawal would be "sequenced".

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.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2023) Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juan Carlos Holguin has announced his resignation, for personal reasons.

"For personal reasons, I present my resignation from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility," Holguin said on Twitter on Saturday.

The minister said that, in his mandate, he had always acted fairly and in accordance with the law, in order to safeguard the interests of the state.

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso said that Minister of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition Gustavo Manrique Miranda will replace Holguin as the new foreign minister.

"I highlight the work carried out by Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin and I regret his resignation. On Monday, Gustavo Manrique will be appointed as responsible to assume this post," Lasso said on Twitter on Saturday.

Earlier this week, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador announced that it had approved impeachment proceedings against Guillermo Lasso, on charges of embezzlement.
If you happened to stop by the State House on Wednesday, you would have seen massive Irish and Italian flags flanking the Senate rostrum, in honor of two of Rhode Island's largest ethnic groups.

But March isn't just the month of St. Patrick's Day and St. Joseph's Day. It's also the month of Norooz, also known as Persian New Year. So, this week, a traditional haftsin table also appeared in the State House  for the first time ever.

"Its a way to build community and come together," said Maryam Attarpour of the Iranian-American Cultural Society of Rhode Island, who played a major role in making it happen.

Maryam Attarpour packs up cookies and flowers from a display table set up outside the State Room on Thursday afternoon in a first for the the RI State House, an honoring of the Persian New Year coming on Monday.

Haftsin tables are the symbol of the Persian New Year, which occurs on the spring solstice. They typically display at least seven different items whose names start with the letter "S" in Farsi, including garlic, an apple, sumac, and a dish of vinegar.

A bowl of goldfish was also once considered customary, but putting live animals on display is frowned upon today. The State House haftsin, which is located on the second floor overlooking the atrium, gets around that by incorporating a candle with a goldfish design.

Most of the items come from Attarpour's personal collection. She said that she was excited to give people an opportunity to learn about her favorite Iranian holiday.

Attarpour came to Rhode Island when she was 3, and grew up in Pawtucket and Providence. Back then, Rhode Island's Iranian community was so small that taking part in cultural gatherings required driving to Boston.

Political Scene: The little-known story of House Speaker Shekarchi's Iranian roots

"For the longest period in my life, I didnt really have much connection to my Iranian culture," she said.

When she got to URI, she discovered that there were actually quite a few students from Iran on campus, and petitioned to create the university's Iranian cultural alliance.

Attarpour, who now works for the United Way of Rhode Island, said that State House staff were "really, really receptive to the idea" when she proposed having a haftsin table on display for Norooz. (Although House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is Iranian, the Iranian-American Cultural Society didn't coordinate directly with him, she said.)

Story continues

During the time that it took her to set up on Wednesday, several people stopped to ask about the haftsin table, Attarpour said.

"The curiosity is there, which is great," she said.

The Iranian-American Cultural Society is also hosting a Norooz potluck celebration on Saturday at the International House of Rhode Island, which is located on the East Side of Providence. As of Wednesday afternoon, free tickets were still available for the 10am to 12pm time slot.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Norooz or Persian New Year honored at RI State House with haftsin table
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2023) The Iranian navy prevented a US reconnaissance aircraft from violating the country's airspace in the Gulf of Oman by issuing a warning, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

The Iranian navy's press service said that an EP-3E reconnaissance jet of the US Navy was approaching the air borders of the Islamic republic, but had to alter its course after a warning was issued by the Iranian naval forces, Tasnim news agency reported.

EP-3 is a four-engine electronic signals reconnaissance jet developed by the Lockheed Corporation for the United States navy.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2023) The victims of the explosion at a cafe in Russia's St. Petersburg are receiving medical care, the situation is under control, the city governor's press office told Sputnik on Sunday.

"Governor Alexander Beglov is coordinating the work of emergency services, the victims are receiving medical assistance and the situation is under control," a press office official said.

Emergency services told Sputnik that 15 people were injured in the explosion. According to a Sputnik source, the blast killed famous Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. An explosive device appears to have been brought to a cafe by a young woman, who had a statuette in a box, a gift to Tatarsky.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2023) Former US President Donald Trump currently has the support of nearly forty House Republicans, Axios reports.

Trump has been endorsed by 37 House Republicans, including nine of the 25 Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee and 11 of the 26 Republicans on House Oversight, Axios said on Saturday.

The endorsements can significantly boost Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, amid the criminal charges that the former president is currently facing in New York.

Two of Trump's Republican supporters - House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan and GOP Conference chair Elise Stefanik - have been holding regular discussions with Trump regarding the Republicans' probes into US President Joe Biden and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Axios said.

Trump said on Friday that he will be appealing an indictment against him by a grand jury in Manhattan, claiming that the officials involved in the case are biased. Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Juan Merchan, has authorized Bragg to confirm to the public that the indictment against Trump has been filed with the court.

On Thursday, a grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict Trump on charges related to his alleged involvement in a hush money payment and cover-up involving a purported affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump denies the allegations, as well as the affair with Daniels, and has characterized the case as a "witch hunt."

According to US media reports, Trump will travel to New York on Monday ahead of an arraignment hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
Glacier Bancorp, Inc.'s (NYSE:GBCI) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.33 per share on 20th of April. This payment means that the dividend yield will be 3.1%, which is around the industry average.

View our latest analysis for Glacier Bancorp

Glacier Bancorp's Earnings Will Easily Cover The Distributions

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue.

Glacier Bancorp has established itself as a dividend paying company with over 10 years history of distributing earnings to shareholders. Past distributions do not necessarily guarantee future ones, but Glacier Bancorp's payout ratio of 48% is a good sign as this means that earnings decently cover dividends.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to expand by 4.2%. Analysts estimate the future payout ratio will be 52% over the same time period, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.52 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of $1.32. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.8% a year over that time. We like to see dividends have grown at a reasonable rate, but with at least one substantial cut in the payments, we're not certain this dividend stock would be ideal for someone intending to live on the income.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Growing earnings per share could be a mitigating factor when considering the past fluctuations in the dividend. Glacier Bancorp has impressed us by growing EPS at 13% per year over the past five years. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

We Really Like Glacier Bancorp's Dividend

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

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It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Glacier Bancorp that you should be aware of before investing. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Vietnam is one of the most affordable travel destinations in Asia, where budget-conscious tourists can enjoy a wide range of activities, attractions, and local delicacies. Follow our Vietnam travel tips on how to save money in Vietnam, which comprises essential aspects such as accommodation, dining, and shopping.

Eat like a local

Vietnam has recently become a popular destination for tourists, therefore a lot of restaurants and hostels serve Western food with a rather higher price. However, this is rarely worth the extra cost since the local street food is cheap and yet very delicious. Often times the most authentic dishes can be found in roadside eateries, vibrant markets, and food carts. Eating at street stalls is not only the best ways to discover Vietnamese cuisine, but is also incredibly cheap. For example, a bowl of Pho costs just about 40,000 VND (less than $2). Rice dishes, banh mi, spring rolls, and banh xeo are often at a similar price. Pick a stand, do what the locals do and go for it. If you want a truly authentic Vietnamese dining experience, eat a meal with a local family in home-stay or learn to cook the dishes with cooking classes.

Drink like a local

Beer in a Southeast Asian country like Vietnam is cheap. A bottle of Tiger or Saigon costs you around VND 20,000 (under $1). However, theres an even much cheaper one is bia hoi. This cheapest beer in the world is a draught beer freshly brewed on the day and served from a keg or container on the side of the street. Nothing beats sitting on a street corner on a plastic chair, sipping this cheap and cheerful beer at around 15-30 cents. If youre in Hanoi, Bia Hoi Junction in the Old Quarter is a great place to sit and watch the world go by. However, theres a drawback that it contains only 4% of alcohol. So if its not enough, beers such as Tiger are available.

And bargain like a real one, too

Shopping is one of the best things to do in Vietnam, here you can find unique handicrafts and local food at relatively affordable prices. However, selling and buying in Vietnam tend to need some tactics. As a tourist, you should expect to be charged more than the true price of an item or service, but dont take it too serious cause thats just the way it goes around here. Be confident and find ways of bargaining. Also, take your time searching for good Vietnamese souvenirs and gifts for your family and friends.

Here are some tips for bargaining in Vietnam:

 First ask the price, then ask if the price can be reduced.

 If the answer is yes, then offer about one-half of the asking price.

 After some counteroffers, you and the seller will agree on a price that is about half to two-thirds of the original asking price.

 You can leave if you think the final offer is too high.

 Tell the sellers you have visited several shops and you knew the price.

 If you dont really want to buy, dont open negotiations.

 If you are going to shop there frequently, your relationship with the sellers will be important and eventually, his opening prices will be lower.

 In some cases, learning a little Vietnamese can help.

Find the right place to stay

Backpackers areas are great to save money when you travel in Vietnam as you can find just about anything that you want without being charged unreasonably high for it. Wherever you go, hostels are among the cheapest options you can find if youre traveling on a tight budget. These areas usually have funky bars, roadside eateries, street markets and countless tour companies. Accommodation options here comprise guesthouses, hostels, and motels. A typical backpackers district in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh Citys Pham Ngu Lao Street. If you want it to be more private, most hostels in Vietnam offer rooms for couples or singles at higher rates.
After the first international regular flight carrying passengers from Cambodia to Vietnam, in the coming days, a series of other international flights will also be resumed and tickets will be sold to customers in need.

On the evening of January 1, 2022, the first international regular flight carrying two-way passengers (going and returning) to Vietnam was officially carried out. The flight carrying 121 passengers arrived in Vietnam with flight number VN852 route Phnom Penh (Cambodia)  Ho Chi Minh City operated by Vietnam Airlines.

The passengers on the flight meet the regulations to test negative, get vaccinated against Covid-19, or recover from Covid-19 before departure. Vietnam Airlines maintains the application of epidemic prevention measures for flights, such as disinfecting the aircraft, simplifying services to limit repeated contact Passengers monitor their health and isolate according to the regulations of the Ministry of Transport Medical after landing.

The above flight officially marked the reopening of a regular international airport, restoring the bridge connecting Vietnams aviation with the world after nearly 2 years of having to suspend operations because of the COVID-19 epidemic. The flight opens up hope for the recovery of aviation and international travel in the period of the new normal.

After the Vietnam  Cambodia flight is restored, on the basis of the agreement of the Government, the Ministry of Transport, and the flight license of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, in the next few days, a series of other regular international routes will also be resumed. The airline has started selling commercial tickets to customers in need.

The plan to resume regular international flights carrying passengers to areas with a high safety factor starting from January 1, 2022, has been approved by the Government. This policy aims to restore international passenger transport activities; promote the process of economic recovery, tourism; not let Vietnam lag behind other countries in the region; create conditions for Vietnamese citizens to return to their homeland in the context of the coming Lunar New Year.

Initially, the plan to reopen international flights will be piloted for 2 weeks, then the second phase will be piloted in 1 month. The Ministry of Transport will evaluate and report to the Government to proceed to normal operation.
After her husband survived a fire that killed dozens of migrants at a detention center in northern Mexico, Venezuelan Viangly Infante crossed into the United States on Saturday, in search of new opportunities for her three children.

Infante's husband, Eduard Caraballo, was transferred by ambulance from a hospital in Ciudad Juarez, where the fire happened, to a health center in El Paso, Texas, where he is receiving oxygen for damage to his lungs.

A fire on Monday night broke out at a detention center run by Mexico's National Migration Institute, killing 39 migrants from Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela and pushing Mexican authorities to promise tough consequences for those responsible.

"The storm has passed," Infante, 31, said while holding back tears as she walked to the vehicle that would take her to a migrant center in El Paso. She carried her infant daughter in her arms and was flanked by her two sons ages 12 and 13.

Like millions of others, the family decided to flee Venezuela's economic and political crisis, setting off for the United States last October on a journey that took them through the Darien Gap, a tangled jungle separating Colombia and Panama that is known for being one of Latin America's most dangerous regions.

The family had arrived in Ciudad Juarez just before the new year, but only Caraballo managed to cross into the United States. He returned to Mexico in February after his daughter fell ill. Authorities in the city detained him last week and transferred him to the center, where he almost died in the fire.

Mexican authorities have shut down the detention center and arrested five people in the migrants' deaths, including INM staff, a private security agent, and a Venezuelan accused of starting the fire.

In the days following the fire, the U.S government announced it would aid those affected, with Infante's family the first to receive help.

"For a while I thought we wouldn't make it, but thanks to the help of God and (international) organizations, we are here," Infante told Reuters.
Beijing is sending conflicting signals to foreign companies by telling those offshore that the country is reopening while arresting employees of foreign companies already operating in China, experts say.

The contradictory messages suggest China is trying to recover economically from three years of COVID-19-related isolation while still exerting control over the business sector. Chinas economy grew 3% in 2022, according to official figures, short of Beijings 5.5% target. In the decade before the pandemic, Chinas economy grew an average 7.7% a year.

Part of this is because Chinese leaders likely perceive that Chinas economy needs a major rebound in investment and consumption, said Gerard DiPippo, a senior fellow with the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in an email to VOA Mandarin this week.

And they really need the private sector to lead that because localities fiscal resources are too constrained for another round of state-led stimulus.

Chinas new premier, Li Qiang, said Thursday that Chinas economic recovery gained steam in March as he tried to reassure foreign companies that the country is committed to opening to the world.

No matter how the world situation may evolve, we will stay committed to reform, opening up and innovation-driven development, Li said. We welcome countries around the world to share in the opportunities and benefits that come with Chinas development.

His message came days after Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met executives from 11 multinational corporations including Apple, Nestle and BMW.

The state-affiliated Global Times reported on the meetings on Monday, saying they had sent a clear signal on China's unswerving commitment to opening-up, and is testimony to China's increasing role as a magnet for foreign investors.

The news outlet compared the concrete welcoming gesture to the actions of Washington, which has spared no effort to suppress Chinese companies in the U.S.

Members of the U.S. Congress had grilled the CEO of the embattled Chinese-owned app TikTok days earlier.

Although Beijing began sending business-positive signals early in March, Chinas draconian zero-COVID policy over the past three years had made the huge Chinese market less alluring than it had been for foreign companies, especially start-ups and small businesses.

According to the EU SME Centre, inquiries from small and medium-sized companies interested in entering China fell about 18% last year.

A survey released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China earlier this month shows that for the first time in 25 years, U.S. companies no longer regard China as the primary investment destination it once was.

Last week, Chinese authorities closed the Beijing office of Mintz Group, a U.S. due diligence firm, and detained five Chinese employees on suspicion of illegal business operations. [[ ]] An employee at Japan's Astellas Pharma was also detained on suspicion of espionage.

On March 17, the Chinese Ministry of Finance imposed a three-month suspension of business on professional services firm Deloittes Beijing branch with a fine of $31 million.

Anna Tucker Ashton, director of China corporate affairs at the Eurasia Group, a political risk management company, told VOA Mandarin via email Wednesday, Chinas central government has spent the past few months emphasizing to the foreign business community that it is welcome in China and trying to assuage international business concerns about the operating environment. These high-profile arrests of employees of foreign companies come at an odd time."

Ashton said the detention of employees of the American and Japanese companies raised concerns about whether geopolitical factors were involved.

There has been some attention paid to the fact that the Mintz Group is an American due diligence firm. It helps businesses ensure they are in compliance with applicable laws, which undoubtedly include US laws that Chinas government views as discriminatory. US companies operating in China have faced growing challenges navigating political and legal contradictions at home and in China, and due diligence firms are on the front lines of some of those conflicts, she said.

Japan is a close ally of the U.S. and relations between China and Japan are strained, so the arrest of the Astellas employee has also prompted questions as to whether geopolitics has anything to do with the situation, she added.

Ashton said that while these incidents on their own may not prove consequential, if they turn out to be part of a bigger trend and more employees of foreign company employees are arrested, businesses may be spooked and stay away.

Likewise, if Chinese authorities continue to withhold details on the reasons for these recent arrests, that too may have a chilling effect, she added.

DiPippo said foreign investors and companies were already wary of possible arbitrary regulatory or legal decisions by Chinese authorities, especially with the ups and downs in China's COVID-19 prevention policies last year.

He added that for China's top leader, Xi Jinping, economic development is important, but it has taken a back seat to national security and long-term strategy. In a speech earlier this month Xi said, "Security is the foundation of development, and stability is the premise of prosperity."

For many foreign investors, this means that their needs will be put on the back burner, according to DiPippo, because Xis top priority is to speed up indigenous technological self-sufficiency while lowering risks for the financial sector.

Ones outlook for the business environment is downstream of ones expectations for Chinas broader political trajectory and geopolitical risks, DiPippo said. Unfortunately, I do not see many reasons for optimism for the latter.

Thus, I would expect the environment in China to become increasingly suspicious of foreign  especially American  investors except insofar as those firms are making priority investments or possess valuable technology."
Donald Trump has made history so many times.

The first president without government or military experience. The first to be impeached twice. The first to aggressively challenge the certification of his successor.

Now, he adds another: Even as he hopes to return to the White House in 2025, he is the first former president to be indicted.

The latest line crossed by Trump challenges again the aura of the American presidency, nurtured in the infallibility of George Washington but made human over and over, through scandals born of greed and the abuse of power, corruption and naivete, sex and lies about sex.

Trump is hardly the first president, in or out of office, to face legal trouble.

In 1974, Richard Nixon may well have avoided criminal charges on obstruction of justice or bribery, related to the Watergate scandal, only because President Gerald Ford pardoned him just weeks after Nixon resigned the presidency.

Bill Clinton's law license in his native Arkansas was suspended for five years after he reached a deal with prosecutors in 2001, at the end of his second term, over allegations that he lied under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Some historians wonder about President Warren Harding's fate had he not died in office, in 1923. Numerous officials around him would be implicated in various crimes, including Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, whose corrupt land dealings became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal."

The walls were closing in on him, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said of Harding.

Trump's indictment in New York reportedly is linked to how business records were mischaracterized in connection with paying porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016, shortly before Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton for the presidency, to keep Daniels from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with him years earlier. Trump denies having sex with her.

Trump also is being investigated for allegedly attempting to change the 2020 vote results in Georgia, a state he narrowly lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attempted to stop the congressional certification of Biden as president. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the New York investigation a witch hunt.

While in office, Trump adopted the view of a Justice Department legal opinion that a president could not be indicted. Once a president leaves office, though, that protection falls away.

Most ex-presidents of the past half-century have led relatively uneventful public lives  creating foundations, delivering lucrative speeches, or in the case of Jimmy Carter, doing abundant charitable works. Nixon's disgrace scarred him for years, though he eventually reemerged to talk about global affairs and counsel aspiring politicians and potential presidents, including Trump.

The immediate cause of Nixon's resignation was the discovery of the smoking gun  Oval Office tape recordings, initiated by Nixon himself, that revealed he had ordered a cover-up of the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington. By 1974, the scandal had expanded well beyond the initial crime. Many of Nixon's top aides had stepped down and were eventually imprisoned. Nixon himself was a possible target of the Watergate special counsel.

There were partisans in Congress and on the special counsels staff who would have liked to see Nixon indicted after the resignation  or at least believed that the pardon was premature, says John A. Farrell, author of Richard Nixon: The Life, a prize-winning biography published in 2017. But the special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, had consistently chosen to deal with Nixon via the constitutional, impeachment process.

Farrell notes that Ford's pardon happened so soon after Nixon stepped down that Jaworski's office didn't have time to fully consider charges against Nixon. Ford himself would say that an indictment, a trial, a conviction, and anything else that transpired would have distracted the country from more immediate problems.

This much can be said: Nixon himself was very worried about the possibility [of prosecution], to the point of ruining his health, Farrell said, referring to Nixon's battles with phlebitis, the inflammation of veins in the leg. He mused aloud about how some of the great political writing in history had been crafted in jail cells. His very worried family reached out to the White House, alerting Fords aides of the ex-presidents deteriorating condition.

The administrations of Nixon and Harding were among several defined by scandal, without the president being charged.

Ulysses Grant, the Union general and hero of the Civil War, was otherwise naive about those around him. Numerous members of his presidential administration were involved in financial wrongdoing, from extortion to market manipulation. Grant himself was caught for a more trivial offense. In 1872, during his first term, he was stopped twice for riding his carriage too fast.

The second time Grant had to pay a $20 fine, but never spent a night in jail, says historian Ron Chernow, whose Grant biography was published in 2017.

Tragedy may have spared one future president.

In the fall of 1963, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was out of favor in the Kennedy administration and in possible legal danger because his top aide, Bobby Baker, was under investigation for financial dealings and influence peddling. Johnson, with his own history of questionable finances, was denying any close ties to a man he had once claimed to love as a son.

By the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, Life magazine was planning a investigation and congressional hearings were just getting started. But within hours, Kennedy had been assassinated, Johnson sworn in as his successor and interest in the affairs of Baker had essentially ended.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad arrived in Cairo Saturday in the first visit by a top Syrian official in more than 14 years to the Egyptian capital. Speculation is that both countries soon will re-establish diplomatic ties following a recent move by Saudi Arabia to renew relations with its longtime nemesis and ally of Syria, Iran.

The visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad to Cairo is yet another sign of impending normalization among many Arab governments and Damascus, despite hesitation to make any direct move that would anger the U.S.

Both Syria and Egypt have continued to cooperate on security matters in the years since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi came to power in 2014, although diplomatic ties have remained severed since 2011.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry underscored during the meeting with Miqdad that Egypt was doing what was in the best interest of both the Egyptian and Syrian peoples.

Shoukry said he welcomes the chance to resume dialogue between both sides and the importance of continuing coordination and consultations to move mutual relations forward and to work to preserve the unity of the Syrian state and to return it to its Arab neighborhood.

Syrian Foreign Minister Miqdad thanked Shoukri for making the first move in breaking the ice with Damascus by visiting Syria in the wake of the deadly earthquake that shook the region in February.

He said that Syria thanks Egypt for its direct relations with his country during the earthquake, and both the government and its people are grateful for the help provided during the quake, which affected several Syrian provinces.

Journalists were not allowed to ask questions, as is normally the case during diplomatic visits, and the absence of a press conference appeared to signal a reluctance to formally spell out the slow normalization of ties between both countries.

Egyptian member of parliament Mustafa Bakri also told Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV that official Egyptian sources informed him there is not likely to be a formal meeting between Egyptian President Sissi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "in the immediate future," despite media speculation to the contrary. He also insisted there was "no agreement to have Egyptian companies participate in rebuilding Syria, either."

Joshua Landis, who leads the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, tells VOA that "Syria is being slowly reintegrated back into the Arab world, but it isn't clear yet whether it will be returned to the Arab League by the May [Arab summit] in Saudi Arabia. Qatar, he notes, "has said that it will not support the return of Syria to the Arab League and will not forgive Assad for his brutal war."

"Egypt has been taking an important role in welcoming Syria back into the embrace of its fellow Arab countries," Landis noted. Arab governments, he emphasized, "are trying to negotiate some important concessions from the Assad regime, beginning with cracking down on the Captagon [drug smuggling] trade, limiting Iran's influence in Syria, and guaranteeing the safe return of Syrian refugees."

Egyptian political sociologist Said Sadek told VOA that "Egypt has always been close to Syria, and it doesn't want to escalate with the Syrian regime. The Miqdad visit Saturday, he said, "can be seen as part of new alliances emerging in the area," including cooperation with both Russia and China.

"Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not abandoning the U.S. but expanding relations with other countries and using their currencies in many of their dealings. China has recently canceled some of [the debt] Egypt owes it," said Sadek.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA he sees a limit to the extent of a rapprochement between Egypt and other Arab countries with Syria, over fears of U.S. potential economic sanctions.

He said that Dubai recently closed a Russian bank over U.S. sanctions concerns, and he asserted the UAE, Egypt and Saud Arabia are afraid of U.S. sanctions on any dealings with Syria and al-Assad. The U.S. obstacle, he adds, is "not a small obstacle and is most likely to be an insurmountable barrier."
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 Mackey's cynical attempt to use the First Amendment free speech protections to shield himself from criminal liability for a voter suppression scheme.

"Today's verdict proves that the defendant's 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.
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Grant Shapps - Jamie Lorriman

The Energy Secretary is flying to Japan to promote British businesses amid a scramble for offshore wind farm deals worth tens of billions of pounds.

Grant Shapps is due to visit Tokyo in mid-April as the country prepares to auction off licences to develop key areas of seabed.

It will be the first visit by a senior British official since the UK joined Japan in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

British companies including BP are vying for a share of the potentially lucrative rollout of offshore wind technologies in Japan.

They face opposition from the likes of American behemoth General Electric, which makes wind turbines the size of skyscrapers.

The UK is the worlds second-biggest producer of offshore wind power after China.

It hosts the worlds largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 2, off the coast of Yorkshire, giving its businesses valuable expertise that diplomats and executives believe will be useful.

Japan is pinning its hopes on renewables such as wind and solar, alongside a revival of nuclear energy  put on hold in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima disaster  in an attempt to strengthen its energy security and reduce reliance on gas imports from countries including Russia.

The countrys first large-scale offshore wind farm only entered service in December but the government has plans to develop many more, with a strategy targeting capacity of at least 10 gigawatts by 2030 and 30 gigawatts by 2040.

Deep coastal waters and frequent earthquakes make the environment a challenging one, meaning the majority of potential projects will need to use turbines on floating platforms  a technology being pioneered off the coast of Scotland.

Tokyo has already held one national auction of seabed licences, with all three sites won by Mitsubishi, and is holding a second due to conclude in the summer. More are expected every year.

Julia Longbottom, the UK Ambassador to Japan, said the shake-up was a huge export opportunity for British firms with expertise in renewable energy that could generate new jobs and investment at home.

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She added: The UK is a leader in wind energy and has got a lot of experience to share with Japan, which is near the beginning of its decarbonisation journey.

Wind energy is going to take off here, there is a lot of potential and we, the UK Government, are ready to support companies that are interested.

In terms of the invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis, our view is that this is a prompt for us all to invest much more in renewables to increase our energy self-sufficiency.

That's the message we are giving to our Japanese friends... and we would encourage the Japanese government to be looking harder and faster at increasing renewables.

The Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm, Cumbria, UK - Ashley Cooper

Ms Longbottom said UK companies had been blown over by interest from the Japanese after flying over recently to attend an industry conference.

They included BP, Arup, OSI Renewables, Marine Power Systems and others.

Ms Longbottom said major unnamed Japanese players are also in talks about potential investments in British offshore wind projects off the coast of Wales.

Some, including Mitsubishi and Inpex, have already bought shares in wind farms off the coast of Scotland.

In parallel, British and Japanese officials are in talks about closer cooperation on nuclear energy, as Tokyo looks to restart nuclear power stations that were previously put on ice in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

It is understood the collaboration will explore whether Japan could use small modular reactors  such as those being developed by Rolls-Royce  as well as other cutting-edge technologies.

Ms Longbottoms comments came just hours after the UK officially joined the CPTPP a trade bloc including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and eight other nations that now rivals the European Union in clout, following months of intense negotiations.

Japan joined other G7 nations in sanctioning Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine but the resource-scarce country has maintained involvement in key Russian oil and gas projects  which are exempt.

Those supplies are seen in Tokyo as vital to Japans energy security, despite fears that the Kremlin could restrict future supplies or use them as leverage in efforts to weaken the sanctions regime.

Japan is the worlds biggest importer of liquid natural gas.

A spokesman for the Energy Department said: The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and renewables and that has opened up significant opportunities for UK companies to export their expertise and drive Japanese investment.

Powering Up Britain shows how we will boost the countrys energy security and independence, create green British jobs and stay at the forefront of the transition to net zero.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday toured a farm outside Zambia's capital that's using new techniques and technology to boost its vegetable crop as she highlighted ways to secure food supplies in an age of climate change.

"It's an example of what can be done around the world," she said after walking past rows of peppers and inspecting a drip irrigation system.

Unlike in the United States, where conversations about climate change usually revolve around replacing fossil fuels with clean energy, the focus in Africa is on expanding access to food. Rising prices stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been damaging to poor countries, and global warming is expected to bring more challenges in the coming years.

Hunger can also create instability, leading to migration and conflict.

"The connection between these issues is quite clear," Harris said.

She is pushing for $7 billion in private-sector investments, mostly to boost conservation and improve food production, to help Africa prepare for the effects of climate change. Her announcement about that goal came as she wrapped up her weeklong visit to Africa, which included earlier stops in Ghana and Tanzania. The trip was intended to advance U.S. efforts to make inroads in a part of the world where China's influence runs deep.

It's the biggest-ticket item that Harris has announced, but more work will be needed to follow through.

For example, African Parks, a nonprofit group, has committed to raise $1.25 billion over the next seven years in order to expand its conservation program. Another organization, One Acre Fund, plans to raise $100 million to plant 1 billion trees by the end of the decade.

The politics of climate change are complicated in Africa, which has contributed far less to overall greenhouse gas emissions than richer corners of the world such as the United States. According to the International Energy Agency, 43% of Africans didn't have access to electricity in 2021, and recent outages have caused frustration.

In Ghana, Harris was questioned at a news conference about how the West can demand that Africa go green and forgo using its natural resources. She also was pressed on whether wealthy nations would supply $100 billion annually to help poor countries cope with climate change, a commitment made under the Paris climate accord.

Harris said it is "critically important that, as global leaders, we all speak truth about the disparities that exist in terms of cause and effect and that we address those disparities." She said there were opportunities in the "clean energy economy" that could help generate growth in Africa.

As for the money, President Joe Biden has requested $11 billion in his proposed budget to meet its international commitments.

"We are waiting for Congress to do its work," Harris said.
The Iranian navy said it identified and warned off a U.S. reconnaissance plane near the Gulf of Oman Sunday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

"After the warning, the plane was prevented from entering the country's skies without authorization," said the report, identifying the plane as a U.S. Navy EP-3E.

While the opening line of the Tasnim report said the aircraft had crossed into Iranian airspace, the same report also said the aircraft had not entered Iranian skies and had left after the warning.

The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has had similar confrontations with U.S. forces in the past. In 2019, Iran shot down a U.S. drone which it said was flying over southern Iran.

On Dec. 31, Iran said its military had launched a drone to warn off a reconnaissance plane trying to approach Iranian war games on the Gulf coast, without identifying the aircraft.

The United States has long deployed weaponry and troops in the oil-producing Gulf to provide security to its allies.

Long-strained relations between Iran and the United States have deteriorated further in the last year, as talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal hit a deadlock and after Tehran unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters.

U.S. sanctions have also targeted suppliers of Iranian drones which Washington said have been used to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.

Iran has previously acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said they were sent before the invasion. Moscow has denied its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine.
Israeli forces carried out air strikes on outposts in Syria's Homs province in a raid early on Sunday, Syria's defence ministry said, while Western intelligence sources said a series of air bases in central Syria where Iranian personnel are based were hit in the bombings.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the reported strikes in Syria, the third since Thursday. An Israeli attack near Damascus on Friday killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.

Without referring to any specific places or strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel is "exacting a heavy price from terrorist-supporting regimes" outside of its borders. He was speaking to his cabinet in televised remarks.

The Syrian defence ministry said in a statement on state media that Israel launched "an aerial aggression from the direction of northwest Beirut targeting some outposts in Homs city and its countryside at 00:35 a.m." on Sunday.

A Syrian military source said on state media that the strikes caused some damage, and injured five military personnel.

Two Western intelligence sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter said rockets struck the T4 air base located west of the ancient city of Palmyra, and al Dabaa airport near al Qusayr city near the Lebanese border where Iranian-backed Hezbollah is dominant.

Iranian military personnel alongside fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah are stationed at both airports and there is a strong presence of pro-Iranian militias in that area of Homs province, the sources said.

A regional intelligence source also said an underground research centre where Iranian scientists are suspected of developing missile and drone capabilities was also among the targets.

Syria denies Western and Israeli allegations that Iran, whose top military officials frequently visit Syria, has an extensive military presence in the country. It says military cooperation and arms programmes with Iran are part of a decades old strategic relationship to withstand Israel's long-term threats.

Iran says its officers serve in an advisory role in Syria at the invitation of Damascus. Dozens of Revolutionary Guards members including senior officers have been killed in Syria during the 12-year-old civil war there.

Israel has for years carried out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict.

Israel has intensified strikes in the last year on Syrian airports and air bases to disrupt what it says is Iran's use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms to militias.

Western intelligence sources have said Iran is increasingly using several civilian airports to deliver more arms, taking advantage of heavy air traffic as cargo planes offload relief aid following February's deadly earthquake.
Israeli police shot and killed a man who they said tried to snatch an officer's gun at an entrance to a Jerusalem holy site early Saturday, raising fears of further violence during a time of heightened tensions at the flashpoint compound.

Later Saturday, the Israeli military said a Palestinian driver rammed his vehicle into a group of Israelis in the occupied West Bank. Israeli medics said three people were wounded, two seriously, and the alleged attacker was shot dead.

In Jerusalem's police shooting, Palestinian worshippers at the entrance to the site on Saturday morning had a different account, saying that police shot the man at least 10 times after he tried to prevent them from harassing a woman who was on her way to the holy compound, home to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City, the third holiest shrine in Islam. The compound, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, is also the most sacred site in Judaism.

The police said the slain man was 26-year-old Mohammed Alasibi from Hura, a Bedouin Arab village in southern Israel. The village council called for a thorough investigation of his killing and a general strike Saturday in protest.

Alasibi's family said he was a physician who had recently passed his exams and earned his medical degree in Romania. He returned to his hometown a month ago, his cousin said, and was caring for his sick father as he worked to get certified in Israel.

"He is a polite, kind man from a family of doctors who was going to Al-Aqsa for spiritual reasons," his cousin Fahad Alasibi said. "If you want us to believe that he tried to attack police, then show us the security footage."

A police spokesperson pushed back on Palestinian accounts, insisting there was no woman walking to the compound at midnight because the complex was closed to visitors under an agreement with an Islamic trust called the Waqf controlled by Jordan.

Nonetheless, a few dozen people have been trying to sleep at the mosque overnight during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, prompting Israeli police to intervene and try to evict the worshippers.

The police spokesperson said Alasibi first aroused suspicion walking toward the shuttered compound. After being stopped for questioning, the spokesperson said Alasibi jumped on one of the officers and grabbed his gun, managing to fire two bullets toward policemen as the officer struggled to restrain him. Police described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack and said they shot and killed him in self-defense. No officers were injured. The spokesperson said there was no camera on the inner wall of the compound that could have captured the incident.

Palestinian worshippers at the compound Saturday disagreed. Noureddine, a 17-year-old who lived in the neighborhood and declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals, said he saw Alasibi confront police who had stopped a female worshipper on her way to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Alasibi's relationship to the woman was not clear. He said some kind of disagreement broke out between Alasibi and the officers before he heard a dozen shots ring out.

"Nothing could justify that many shots," he said, pointing to chaotic footage he filmed that showed Palestinian vendors and worshippers screaming at the sound of bullets being fired in rapid succession. "They were fired at close range."

His cousin Fahad said Alasibi was worried about making the trip from Israel's Negev desert to Al-Aqsa because his ailing father relied on him.

"But he went because praying there during Ramadan means a lot to him," he said.

The city's contested compound has been a focus for clashes in the past, particularly in times of turmoil in Israel and the West Bank. This year, as violence surges in the occupied territory under the most right-wing government in Israeli history, fears of an escalation in Jerusalem have mounted with the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

On Friday, more than 200,000 Palestinians gathered at the compound for noon prayers, which passed peacefully.

For the past year, Israeli-Palestinian fighting has surged in the occupied West Bank. At least 86 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli or settler gunfire this year, according to an Associated Press tally. Palestinian attacks against Israelis have killed 15 people in the same period.
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern" about China's escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Hayashi is on a two-day visit in China, becoming Japans first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He also met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later Sunday.

During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man nor the allegations against him.

Hayashi told reporters he raised serious concern about China's increasingly assertive maritime activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

He said he also expressed grave concern about Beijings increased joint military activity with Russia around Japan while Moscow wages war against Ukraine, and urged China to act responsibly for global peace.

Hayashi said he told Qin that their countries have the possibility of improved cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, but also face many problems and serious concerns" and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, Hayashi said.

Hayashi said that he and Premier Li shared the importance of their bilateral economic ties, and that it was crucial that Japanese nationals and companies feel safe to operate in China.

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 security and economy.

Qin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and "undermine China's sovereignty in any way, according to a statement from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using strong language, Qin said the Taiwan issue is at the core of Chinas core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

Japan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.

Japan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defenses recent years.

The Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.

Qin criticized Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The U.S. has imposed similar measures and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.

The U.S. once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japans semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China, Qin said, urging Japan not to be America's pawn. One should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.

Hayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a U.S.-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.

The last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashi's predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures.
The car ride from Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, to the town of Shaqlawa took about 40 minutes  about the same time it takes to find Fakhria Elias home in the mountainous town.

The 76-year-old opened the door with a wide smile on her face and welcomed VOA into her house, with its backyard that overlooks a steep valley, surrounded by the famous Mount Safeen.

This is where I made my wine for nearly 50 years, Elia said, pointing to a corner of her backyard where several wooden barrels stood.

Elia is known throughout Kurdistan and Iraq for her homemade wine.

What makes our wine unique is that the grapes used for it are from our own vineyard, she told VOA in January. Everything we make is homegrown.

The vineyard, located across from Elias home, is on a sloping hill.

I used to produce my wine by placing the grapes on a cloth and crushing them with my feet, she told VOA. It was a very difficult, yet fun process.

When Elias children realized she was aging a few years ago, they decided to purchase some modern winemaking equipment so she could carry on her passion.



On average, the aging time for our wine is seven years. Elia said as she picked up a sealed bottle of her Shaqlawa wine. If you want decent wine, then seven years should be enough.

Fakhria Elias wine is sold in selected liquor stores in Iraqi Kurdistan, January 18, 2023 (Photo: Hama Azad/VOA).

Elias wine is sold in the familys liquor store, adjacent to the house, as well as selected liquor stores and bars in Erbil and other cities in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Elia belongs to a Christian minority living in a predominately Muslim region. Her hometown, Shaqlawa, used to have a significant Christian population. But now just more than 500 Christians live there, according to a recent census commissioned by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

While the Kurdistan region is largely moderate, alcohol consumption is limited to Christians, other non-Muslims as well as non-practicing Muslims.

In early March, the Iraqi government banned the production, export and import of all alcohol in the country, but that ban doesnt include the Kurdistan region.

Elia and her family say they have never felt unsafe for running a business that is largely deemed unacceptable by conservative Muslims.

Fazil Khorani, 50, Elias youngest son who runs the liquor store, said their business relies on two types of customers.

Those who come to us specifically for our homemade wine, he said. And others who randomly stop by to buy any kind of alcohol.

With a deteriorating economic situation in the Kurdistan region, Elia hopes to expand her sales beyond Kurdistan and Iraq.

We get some on-demand business from people in places like Australia, Canada and America, but we certainly want to export our wine in a more formal way, she said. It is a product that everyone here should be proud of.

This story originated in VOAs Kurdish Service.
Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm.

Thousands of people waved palm and olive branches as Francis was driven into St. Peter's Square sitting in the back of a white, open-topped vehicle, before descending and starting the service from beneath an ancient Egyptian obelisk.

The pope, 86, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, but recovered quickly following an infusion of antibiotics and returned to his Vatican residence on Saturday.

Looking to allay concerns about his health, the Vatican has said he will take part a full array of Easter events this week, the busiest period in the Roman Catholic Church calendar, starting with the open-air Palm Sunday service.

The pontiff, wearing red vestments, spoke with a quiet, but clear voice as he addressed a crowd of more than 30,000 faithful in weak spring sunshine. In his homily he called on people not to ignore those experiencing great suffering and solitude.

"Today their numbers are legion. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers, prisoners are disowned; people written off as problems," he said.

The pope, who marked the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March, has long highlighted the plight of the poor and of migrants.

He has suffered a number of ailments in recent years, including severe knee pain, which means he uses a cane and often a wheelchair in his public appearances.

His difficulties with mobility have limited his participation at some events, and as happened last year, a senior cardinal celebrated the actual Mass on Sunday.

Palm Sunday marks the day that the Bible says Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds, the week before Christian believe he rose from the dead following his execution on the Cross.

On Holy Thursday, Francis will celebrate Mass in a prison for juveniles in Rome. It is not yet clear if he will participate in the traditional Good Friday Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession around Rome's ancient Colosseum.

The pope, head of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, will then preside over the Mass on Easter Sunday, the most important day on the Christian liturgical calendar, where he is expected to read his "Urbi et Orbi" [to the city and the world] message.
The South African rapper Costa Titch died on stage while performing, police said Sunday, as they opened an investigation into the circumstances of the 28-year-old's sudden death.



The artist "collapsed while he was performing" Saturday evening at the Ultra South Africa concert in the Johannesburg suburb of Nasrec, police told AFP.



They said a post-mortem would establish the cause of death.



Costa Titch scored a major hit with "Big Flexa," which has more than 45 million YouTube views, showcasing the Amapiano or the pianos local subgenre of house music blending house, jazz and lounge music.



Videos on social media of his concert Saturday show him performing with his microphone in hand when he appears to fall. He continues singing but collapses again, prompting other artists to come to his aid.



Costa Titch, whose real name is Costa Tsobanoglou, died a month on from the assassination of another popular South African rapper Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA.



Forbes was shot dead outside a Durban restaurant and an investigation is ongoing into what has been seen as a likely contract killing.



Tributes swiftly appeared Sunday for Titch with Julius Malema, leader of radical leftist party EFF, posting an image of a broken heart alongside Costa Titch's name on social media.



The Southern African Music Rights Organization wrote on Twitter: "SAMRO is saddened by the passing of popular rapper Costa Tsobanoglou, better known as Costa Titch. Heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and broader music industry."



"RIP, Costa Titch. Great talent gone too soon," tweeted rapper Da L.E.S.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused a train to derail Thursday in Minnesota, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate. Crews have started removing contaminated soil and damaged rail cars in the wake of the fiery derailment. No injuries have been reported.

Around 1 a.m. Thursday, 22 cars of a freight train derailed in the Midwest U.S. state of Minnesota near the town of Raymond. Ten of the tanker cars contained ethanol, a chemical that can be harmful to people. Four damaged cars containing ethanol erupted in flames and burned for several hours after the derailment. Environmental Protection Agency officials arrived at the scene by 6:30 a.m. and started monitoring the air for toxic chemicals.

The entire town of Raymond was evacuated in the night by first responders. Many residents were sent to a school and church in nearby Prinsburg. The evacuation order was lifted around noon.

The United States has been increasingly concerned about rail safety following the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Several thousand people had to evacuate after that derailment and are worried about lingering health issues after officials released and burned toxic chemicals to prevent an explosion. Officials have assured residents that no toxic chemicals were found in the air and water, but residents remain uneasy.

At a news conference Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and railroad officials said they arent especially concerned about groundwater contamination from the derailment there because a lot of the ethanol burned off and the ground remains frozen at this time of year.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says pure ethanol is biodegradable and if spilled, it will break down into harmless substances.

We will have our team here until this is cleaned up, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said at the news conference.

Major freight railroads have said they plan to add about 1,000 more trackside detectors nationwide to help spot equipment problems, but lawmakers have proposed additional reforms they want the railroads to make to prevent future derailments.

A group of Ohio representatives said at a news conference Thursday that the Minnesota derailment reinforces the need for reform.

The Ohio derailment sparked a bipartisan bill called the Rail Safety Act, which U.S. President Joe Biden supports, but the bill has yet to be passed by the Senate. The act would mean enhanced safety procedures for trains that carry hazardous materials, a two-person crew minimum and increased civil penalties over crashes.

Well-known food processing company ADM confirmed that the ethanol came from its corn processing facility in Marshall, Minnesota.

David Schneider is a lawyer who lives in Willmar, Minnesota, a town about 25 kilometers from the crash site. His family owns farms in and around Raymond. Upon hearing of the incident, he was worried the farms might be affected by the ethanol and corn syrup spillage. However, after learning more information, he says his fields are too far away from the derailment to be affected.

Schneider drove near the derailment around midday Thursday and could see smoke in the distance from the Raymond area. He said he has one friend that was evacuated.

A lot of jobs depend on the production and transportation of ethanol, so I was relieved when I learned nobody was hurt, he said. But the economic consequences of this event may yet to be determined.

Schneider emphasized that railroads are an important part of Minnesotas history and economy.

We in Western Minnesota were built by the railroads. Some of these towns are named after family members of the railroad We are here because of the railroads.

There were at least 1,164 train derailments across the U.S. last year, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. That means the country is averaging roughly three derailments per day.

All it takes is one piece of worn-out equipment or broken equipment Something comes loose, you can have a cascading effect, Schneider said.

NTSB investigators are working to determine what caused the derailment, but it could be weeks before their findings are released.

Some information from this report came from The Associated Press.
The lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Sunday to mount a vigorous defense against allegations that he paid $130,000 in hush money to a porn star to boost his election chances in 2016 to keep her from talking about her claim that she had a one-night tryst with Trump a decade before.

Defense lawyer Joe Tacopina told CNNs State of the Union show that the payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels was a personal expenditure, not a campaign expenditure. Trump has long denied the porn stars allegation they had an affair but acknowledged the payment to her just ahead of his defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Watch related video by Veronica Balderas Iglesias:

Tacopina assailed New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg for getting a grand jury last Thursday to charge Trump in connection with the payment, saying that had Trump not been running for president [in 2024], he would not have been indicted.

We will loudly and proudly say not guilty when the former president is arraigned in the case in New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Tacopina said.

But the defense lawyer said he would not immediately ask that the case be dismissed. No, that would be showmanship, he said.

Tacopina, however, contended that no law fits the basic allegations in the case, and that the federal government decided to not bring charges against Trump, although Bragg, a state prosecutor, proceeded.

A state prosecutor has somehow tried to make this a felony, Tacopina said.

The defense lawyer criticized the states key witness in the case, Michael Cohen, Trumps one-time personal attorney and political fixer. Tacopina called Cohen, who made the payment to the porn actress and then was reimbursed by Trump, a pathological, convicted liar who is continually unable to tell the same story twice.

Cohen was convicted of several offenses in connection with the payment to Daniels and served more than a year in prison.

Lanny Davis, Cohens lawyer, also spoke with CNN on Sunday.



Davis said Cohen, while pleading guilty in the case, lied for Donald Trump for 10 years, and has now provided prosecutors a vast set of documents showing how the payment to the porn actress played out with the consent of Trump and subsequent reimbursement of Cohen.

The payments to Cohen were listed on Trump company records as payment to Cohen for legal fees. But U.S. news accounts of the investigation say the payments were to keep Daniels allegations of the affair out of the news in the weeks before the 2016 election. The Wall Street Journal first broke news of the hush money payment in early 2018.

In the charging allegations against Cohen, the government stated that the payment to Daniels was at the direction of Individual 1, which the government acknowledged was Trump.

Trump is the first U.S. president, in office or after leaving the White House, to be criminally charged in an indictment. Officials familiar with the case say the grand jury is alleging more than 30 counts of criminal misconduct, but the indictment is under seal, not yet publicly disclosed, and wont be divulged until Trump appears in court.

Trump, who lives much of the year at Mar-a-Lago, his oceanside retreat in Florida, is flying to New York on Monday and then, as he turns himself in at the courthouse on Tuesday, is likely to be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken before appearing in court before Judge Juan Merchan.

Trump's office says he is expected to deliver remarks at Mar-a-Lago late Tuesday.

Trumps Secret Service detail, courthouse officials and New York City police have been meeting since the indictment was announced to plan for Trumps appearance at the courthouse, which corridors he will walk through and what nearby streets will be blocked off and parking prohibited.

Trump, long accustomed to unleashing attacks on political foes, has criticized Bragg for bringing what he describes as a witch hunt case, and characterized the Black prosecutor as an animal and a racist. Even before his court appearance, Trump has also assailed the judge, misspelled his name in a social media post as Marchan, and claimed that he hates me.

Merchan earlier this year fined subsidiaries of Trumps real estate empire, the Trump Organization, $1.6 million in connection with what prosecutors alleged was a 15-year tax fraud scheme to help the company evade a bigger tax bill and imprisoned Trumps former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, for five months.

After learning of his own indictment in the hush money case and that Merchan had been randomly assigned to oversee it, Trump claimed on his Truth Social site that the judge had railroaded Weisselberg to plead guilty in the case and had treated my companies, which didnt 'plead,' VICIOUSLY.

Former New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. told NBC's "Meet the Press" show, "I've got to say that I was disturbed to hear the former president speak in the way he spoke about the District Attorney Bragg, and even the trial court [judge] in the past week.

And I think if I were [Trumps] lawyer, and believe me, no one has called up to ask for my advice, Vance added, I would be mindful of not committing some other criminal offense, like obstruction of governmental administration, which is interfering by threat or otherwise, the operation of government. And I think that could take what perhaps we think is not the strongest case, when you add a count like that, put it in front of a jury.

Many Republican politicians have rallied behind Trump, not by discussing the specifics of the hush money payment to Daniels, but rather by taking aim at Bragg, a Democrat, for securing the indictment. Democrats have generally said that Trump is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and that he will have his day in court to answer the charges.

Trump is facing other serious criminal investigations related to his efforts to upend his 2020 reelection loss to Democrat Joe Biden, urging supporters in January 2021 to try to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote showing Biden had won and his retention of classified documents at his Florida estate even though he was required to turn them over to the National Archives when he left office two years ago.
RAF Eurofighter Typhoons taxiing to the runway RAF Coningsby - Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The rise of home working has left defence companies unable to hire crucial talent as they attempt to counter Russia and China, one of the industry's largest players has said.

Shonnel Malani of private equity firm Advent International, which owns defence stalwarts Cobham and Ultra, also said top scientists are being lured to huge technology companies with greater flexibility and deep pockets.

We have engineers leaving and you say, what happened? he said.

And they say, I got a call and they said you can live where you live, you can work from home five days a week, we'll double your salary and just come work for us. And Im not sure what you do with that.

Unlike big tech, the defence industry requires large numbers of staff to work from an office  particularly if they are involved in production of components, or developing secret systems that require additional security.

The challenge comes as arms makers grapple with replacing large numbers of experienced workers in their 50s and 60s who are contemplating retirement.

The war for engineering talent in particular is quite hard at the moment, said Malani, 43, who is chairman of both Cobham and Ultra.

Defence companies are corralling more and more information from complex sensors including detailed cameras, sonar devices, radio listening technology and radar.

Combing through it all means harnessing artificial intelligence (AI)  and for that, companies must tap up the kind of talent normally found in Silicon Valley.

As the defence sector innovates, and moves into more electronics, more AI, more software, more autonomous innovation, the engineering talent starts to overlap more and more with the big tech companies, Malani said.

But these skills come at a price. The perks normally found at tech companies include remote working and US-style big pay packets.

The situation is not critical, and there are always candidates who want a career in defence to defend their homeland.

But for younger scientists, the lure of a safe job in defence engineering is less of a draw than it used to be.

Story continues

The goal is how do you keep them excited about their career trajectory, Malani said.

They're more interested in what could be exciting, and they're not very focused on the stability of the next 20 years, they are actually more intrigued by the next opportunity. And if that opportunity is at a different place, it's fine.

The retrenchment of big tech companies, which have sacked more than 100,000 workers around the globe since the start of the year, has thrown up a few candidates for hiring.

There's a little bit of an opportunity, which is good, and defence is in a much more stable position, he added.

A big push is on to get young, talented people, particularly the under 30s.

Shonnel Malani Managing Partner at Advent International

Cobham and Ultra have set up a 5m fund to offer scholarships to 500 students from poorer backgrounds who would not normally consider a career in defence, working alongside universities including Oxford, Strathclyde, Nottingham, and Northumbria.

They want to hoover up more leavers with doctorates who can find solutions in six big areas of growth for defence in the coming years.

Autonomy for ships, submarines and warplanes, which will move without pilots, is a key area of research, and that means competing with the likes of Google and Tesla which are trying to make the same strides with cars.

Militaries also want to use artificial intelligence to dig out data from satellites, radio chatter and other sources, combine it with information from allies and deliver speedy warnings about troop movements, missile tests and other events where time is of the essence.

Today, it's very manual. It's fairly disjointed, Malani said.

And there's a lot of time that elapses between something being sensed, and people being able to take action on it, because they need to join up lots of bits of it.

Everything around artificial intelligence, machine learning, is going to grow massively.

All of this means developing secure information systems with cybersecurity experts  the third area of growth  using satellites and other assets in space, the fourth opportunity, meaning a large overlap with the technology sector.

The growing threat of Chinese and Russian hypersonic missiles will also be a big area of growth.

China in particular is developing weapons which can travel at five times the speed of sound, making them very hard to hit and leaving aircraft carriers particularly vulnerable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping - ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / POOL / AFP

The first challenge is detecting these weapons early enough to have a chance at interception, before then trying to hit the weapons to destroy them.

As with executives at other companies developing solutions for the missiles, including Raytheon in the US, Malani is tight-lipped on how much progress is being made.

Finally, anti-submarine warfare will grow in importance as China expands its underwater fleet.

Advent hoovered up Cobham in January 2020 and Ultra last year, both times meeting resistance from politicians who worried about jobs being lost.

While some parts of the businesses were sold off, Malani insisted that other companies have been bought and Advent is a good home for them.

Cobham was famed for its air-to-air refuelling businesses, which Advent sold to power management company Eaton in 2021.

It now makes radio electronics to work in space, parts for electronic warfare and satellite systems.

Ultra posted a 30m profit for 2021, down from 46m for the year earlier. In the same year Cobham booked a 1.1bn profit after a 705m payment from the sale of its mission systems business.

Private ownership of the companies has offered them respite from quarterly reporting and allowed for some longer-term thinking on developing new defence products, Advent has said.

The company last year bought Maxar Technologies, a satellite business. Advent plans to further expand in space to cater for the intelligence services.

We can build additional satellites that the company cannot afford to do in a public context, because we can accelerate that investment, said Malani, who started his financial career at Morgan Stanley as an analyst before moving into private equity at Bain Capital.

He earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.

Advent bought the companies at an opportune time. Since it acquired Cobham, the value of UK defence companies has grown by 20pc.

Much of the gain has been driven by the invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The war kicked off a race among Western powers to increase their defence spending, and hundreds of billions of euros have been committed to bolstering existing projects as well as bold new programmes.

The FTSE 350 aerospace and defence index, whose members include BAE Systems, Babcock and Qinetiq, is up by 50pc since the start of last year.

The Aukus deal signed last year to develop next-generation submarines with Australia and the US ought to aid Ultras business as it makes technology for the vessels.

Ultra is known for its so-called signature management systems which help hide Royal Navy submarines. The company also develops sonar to detect other vessels.

We are very well positioned when it comes to sonar and signature management for Aukus, Malani said.
On March 29 Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, along with several other counties, marked 19 years since they joined NATO. All three Baltic nations have long warned of the Kremlins imperialistic ambitions and the looming threat it poses to countries throughout the region.

Over the last year, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius  Europe's most staunch supporters of transatlantic integration for both Ukraine and Georgia  have been among the largest direct supporters of Ukraine's military in terms of GDP.

During a stopover in Washington to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics told VOA's Georgian Service Wednesday that Russia's decision to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is an act of desperation on the part of the Kremlin and calls the very sovereignty of Belarus into question. He also explains why he believes providing Kyiv with the ability to strike bases within Russia is a means to de-escalate the war.

The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: March 29 marked 19 years since Latvias accession to NATO. Visiting Washington after 101 years of formal diplomatic ties with the U.S., what are the key issues and challenges that you discussed with this strategic partner?

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics: The main topics were discussing with all the people I'm meeting here is about Russia's aggression against Ukraine and how to better help Ukraine. I think that we are in a year that [will prove] very decisive. Our position is that we must provide Ukraine with all the weapons and ammunition theyre asking for. Then, of course, we need sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

We also discussed the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius  how to proceed from [the 2022 NATO summit in] Madrid to [the upcoming 2023 NATO summit in] Vilnius and beyond. Apart from that, definitely there are also some areas that we believe we should pay closer attention: Moldova, the Caucasus, countries in the Central Asia.

VOA: Visiting Riga last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Baltic States have formed a democratic wall in Europe. After 13 months Russias of the full-scale war in Ukraine, where do things stand right now for Baltic and European security?

Rinkevics: I think that there are three major challenges that we need to tackle. One is the immediate challenge that is war in Europe; to stop Russia, to help Ukraine to liberate its territory. Helping Ukraine win is in the interest of Europe, the United States and the globe. If we fail and Ukraine fails, then it's an incentive for [aggressors] to do the same things all over the world. Its also very important that we continue implementing all those decisions that we made [at the 2022 NATO summit] in Madrid. [Europe's] eastern flank needs more troops, more weapons, hard military security is important. And finally, the most challenging thing is how you actually look at the challenges in our societies, how to fight disinformation and propaganda; how to strengthen the resilience of our societies.

VOA: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. What do you think this means at this point of the war and how should the West respond? Do you think the placement of nuclear weapons in Belarus might increase calls to avoid unnecessary escalation or provocation of Moscow?

Rinkevics: Frankly, when it comes from a hard security point of view, this is not going to fundamentally change the military security and situation. The Russians had nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad near our borders already before the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. I believe this is the act of desperation, because you see that the war in Ukraine is not going well for Mr. Putin. Not [just for] three days, not three weeks, not three months, Russian troops have not been able to capture any significant city in Ukraine. I believe this is just a continuation of the nuclear blackmail that we've seen in the last year. In my opinion, this kind of announcement clearly shows that Belarus is not a sovereign country. It's actually part of a Russian military district. And we need to impose more sanctions on both Russia and Belarus, simply to make a point that this blackmail, these moves aren't going to work.

On the other hand, I think that this kind of rhetoric is not as influential as probably one could think. Assuming that if we do not help Ukraine, Russia is going to stop and wont escalate is completely wrong. Russia is escalating, and it's not going to de-escalate simply if someone thinks that not providing Ukraine with means of defense would help the political process. The goal of Putin is not to sit at the negotiation table  the goal of Putin is to take over Ukraine, to [ethnically] cleanse it, to perpetrate all those atrocities revealed in territories since liberated by Ukraine.

VOA: Long-range missiles and fighter jets are still a priority for Ukraine, and yet the U.S. seems hesitant to provide weapons that could be used to strike Russian soil. Many believe its unfair to limit Ukraine in that regard. Where does Latvia stand on this?

Rinkevics: Let's not forget that shelling Ukrainian cities and villages with all kinds of ammunition is something that Russians have actually been doing since 2014. I have no reason to argue that Ukraine does not have this right to respond in a proper way to stop the aggression. I dont believe [providing Ukraine with long-range missile and fighter jets] is escalatory. If Russia and Mr. Putin can comprehend that there is no winning for them, then that would most probably lead to de-escalation. I'm in that camp that firmly believes that providing Ukraine with all kinds of weapons systems and ammunition is the right thing to do and we should not prevent Ukraine from using military equipment or weapons for legitimate defense. And legitimate defense does not mean only the territory of Ukraine, but, yes, striking military bases in Russia. It is completely legitimate. It's exactly what Russia currently does in Ukraine.

VOA: Visiting Kyiv last month, President Joe Biden said that Vladimir Putin hoped to outlast us [the West], but hes been plain wrong. Many in Western democracies are worried about so-called Ukraine fatigue indicated by some recent opinion polls. Do you think Western resolve may weaken and reach its limits in the near future?

Rinkevics: Russia really counts on this fatigue, counts on the change of course. We are all democratic countries, and we have elections. There are many pressing issues that democratic countries have to discuss. Of course, military operations could become an object of criticism. Russia now is counting that it may use a lot of its own people, to kill them just for the goal of restoring the Russian empire. Right now, the biggest threat for Russia is next year with the series of elections, including in Russia.

But I think that what we really need is what we call strategic endurance. I think that President Biden is right. Russia so far has failed politically, militarily and frankly, even in blackmailing. We need to find a way to overcome this fatigue, how to endure this. But I'm confident that with all those challenges, we will withstand.

Interview conducted by VOA's Georgian Service.
A Myanmar human rights activist told VOA in a recent interview that the ruling junta in Myanmar is using rape and other violence against women as a bigger part of its campaign to crack down against opposition groups.

May Sabe Phyu organized womens demonstrations in the anti-coup protest movement. She fled Myanmar in April 2021 under threat of arrest and is now a visiting fellow at the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University. She and other female Myanmar human rights defenders formed the Women Advocacy Coalition Myanmar in May 2021 to strengthen and support the role of women in the anti-coup movement.

She said the junta wants to scare people, whoever is against the coup, using fear as a weapon and womens bodies as a battlefield.

The National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Women, Youth and Childrens Affairs and the National Unity Consultative Council Joint Coordination Committee on Gender Policy said in a March 8 joint statement that junta troops have sexually assaulted at least 122 women since the beginning of the coup two years ago. At least 3,125 women have been detained in that time, 15 of whom have been sentenced to life in prison by the junta, and 11 more who face the death penalty, according to the statement.

VOA reached out multiple times by phone to the junta spokesman about the serious allegations in the March 8 statement, but he declined to take the telephone calls or respond to the sexual assault charges leveled at troops.

VOA recently reported on one of the latest examples of sexual violence, where junta troops raided Tar Taing village in the seat of Sagaing region on March 1, killing at least 17 civilians, three of whom were women. The women had been gang-raped by the soldiers before being shot and killed. The attack was seen as part of a recent escalation of violence against civilians by the military junta in Myanmar.

The Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said in February that more than 4,000 women had been arrested or detained since the beginning of the coup in February 2021. It also said that the number of women killed in the conflict had reached around 400, with some women being killed in military action, or even burned alive. The organization has been documenting arrests and killings in Myanmar since the coup.

The death toll and arrest numbers are based on limited information that can be difficult to collect on the ground in Myanmar. Human rights groups estimate that the number killed could be much higher. The junta has not officially responded to the latest AAPP reports but has in the past rejected the numbers, calling them baseless.

If we talk about the number of women dying from the ongoing conflict, May Sabe Phyu said, we should include women who hide in the forest and die in childbirth or [of] disease because of [the] lack of health services. We estimate that the number of women dying in Myanmar as a result of the coup is much higher, but we dont know the true toll yet.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said last year in its Global Appeal 2023 report, violence against civilians and the intensified armed conflict following the coup has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee into neighboring countries and has displaced more than 982,000 people within Myanmar. The report estimates there are 1.35 million internally displaced people (IDP) in the country, mainly women and children.

Junta increasingly targets women



Women have been fearlessly resisting the tyrannical rule of the junta since the beginning of the coup over two years ago. Women are courageous, smart, and in leading roles in the revolution, thats why the junta is targeting us, May Sabe Phyu said in an interview at VOAs Washington headquarters.

Women are our future leaders, she said. In Myanmar, as in the rest of the world, women often have to use innovative ways to get noticed. We have been innovative in our resistance to the militarys oppression, and now we cannot be denied as a force to be reckoned with, thats why we are being targeted more and more, specifically with sexual violence.

Miemie Winn Byrd, a Burmese American academic and former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, struck a similar note.

There are more women involved in the resistance movement, she told VOA by Zoom March 29. You can see more women being arrested and killed, because they're on the front lines, they're a part of the conflict, she said.

Most of the victims tend to be women, she said, its just the anatomy of conflict. Women generally suffer more in conflict than men, and they suffer more when they are arrested because the military uses sexual assault to interrogate, punish and abuse the women in captivity."

In its March 8 statement, the NUG said it would continue to fight for justice for women whose rights have been violated.

Myanmar military is no longer acting like a professional military organization, Byrd said. It has become like an organized crime syndicate, using tactics that are not normal for militaries. They are breaking every human rights law.

Female political prisoners unprotected

According to accounts from VOA sources and news reports, attacks against female prisoners by male prison guards working at Obo prison, in Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, underline the challenges faced by women in Myanmar. The guards reportedly beat the women in captivity, leaving the mostly political prisoners with severe injuries, including head wounds, bruised faces and broken bones.

May Sabe Phyu said the recent reports of attacks inside Obo prison have caused concern among prisoners family members, who say they also fear retribution by the junta. May Sabe Phyu said using men to guard female prisoners is against Myanmars prison code, something many other activists and human rights watchers say.

According to the Myanmar prison rule book published in 1992, male guards are not allowed to enter dormitories housing female inmates without the presence of female guards. VOA contacted prison authorities by phone about the assault allegations but have yet to receive a response.

Women on the front lines

Women are playing a critical role in the current anti-coup resistance movement in Myanmar, Byrd said.

Research data, she said, shows that about 60% of resistance forces are made up of women.

Many are involved in fundraising and are involved in information operations online. Also, much of the logistics as well as humanitarian assistance delivery is provided by women, she said.

In previous resistance movements, [in Myanmar] women were there, Byrd said, but much less than 50%.

The amount, the level of women that are involved today is amazing, unseen before. The protests were actually started by women, initially. They have evolved into armed resistance, and now women are behind the armed resistance as well, she said.

Gabriela Sagun, program specialist for the Burma and Southeast Asia programs at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), agrees with Byrd.

Young women have been instrumental to the resistance movement, she wrote in an online publication for USIP, with some fighting in the all-women PDF [Peoples Defense Forces] unit, Myaung Women Warriors, and others joining fledgling security and police groups to help stifle injustice in Burmese society. In urban areas, women help to move supplies to the front lines.
WASHINGTON - Transparency International has urged Zimbabwean authorities to investigate an alleged gold smuggling scandal linking President Emmerson Mnangagwa to illegal traders, suspected criminals and others siphoning billions of dollars in potential revenue through shady deals.

In a statement, Transparency International noted that Al Jazeera documentary exposed illicit financial flows from Zimbabwe, including serious allegations of abuse of diplomatic immunity, illicit gold trading, corruption and money laundering in the mining sector.

Transparency International urged the Financial Intelligence Unit, Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate further and introduce the necessary reforms to end such activities in the country.

The documentary comes after the release of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, which revealed endemic corruption in Zimbabwe, with a score of just 23 out of 100. New scandals of grand corruption and abuses of public office continue to emerge, which damages the country in the perspective of investors and development partners. Along with the shocking findings of the documentary, these results make clear that its time for the government to take stronger action against corruption and money laundering.

Transparency International said, As the documentary highlights, more and more cartels work with individuals and institutions in Zimbabwe to move dirty money using anonymous trusts and shell companies in tax havens and other secretive jurisdictions. This insidious relationship facilitates organised crime and huge outflows of gold and other precious minerals.

In particular, the documentary exposes incidences of alleged under invoicing and under declarations by registered gold dealers to Fidelity Printers and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, alleging even higher losses than previously assumed. This reduces the countrys ability to build critical infrastructure and support the needs of the population or respond to urgent challenges. To combat this, the government of Zimbabwe should strengthen mutual legal assistance with other involved jurisdictions to facilitate the exchange of information. They must also ensure that such institutions have the capacity to manage mutual legal assistance requests.

Transparency International said it is also concerning that the documentary suggests that authorities do not complete sufficient due diligence into potential investors  including official gold traders.

The revelations are a possible source of information to bust criminal networks that are actively engaging in gold smuggling and laundering money from Zimbabwe and other selected African countries. Law enforcement, anti-corruption agencies and regulatory authorities should immediately revoke gold trade and export licenses given to the implicated individuals and corporations, pending an investigation into the allegations.

Episode 2 aired a few days ago in which Eubert Angel, who is Zimbabwes Ambassador at Large, linked Mnangagwa with a gold smuggling syndicate.

An offer of US$200,000 was made for the Al Jazeera investigative team to meet with Mnangagwa to find ways of smuggling gold out of the country.

Presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, was unavailable for comment. He recently threatened journalists who will write stories related to the issue saying they will be locked up.

Mnangagwa has not personally said a word about the scandal.
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Is this AMCs attempt at a revamp? Per Deadline, Interview With the Vampire has recast the role of teenage vampire Claudia in the second season of the show based on Anne Rices novel of the same name. Bailey Bass is a talented actor who did a remarkable job bringing the character of Claudia to life in Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire. For a variety of reasons, Delainey Hayles will appear as Claudia in season two, AMC said in a statement. We are grateful for Baileys unforgettable performance in season one and wish her nothing but the best. Bass, who stars as Tsireya in James Camerons Avatar franchise, issued a similar statement about her departure from the character previously played by Kirsten Dunst in the 1994 movie adaptation. Due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances Im unable to return to Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire for the second season, she said. Playing Claudia has been a dream role and an incredible ride. I wish Delainey the best of luck in taking over. I cannot wait to watch. Im extremely appreciative of AMC, the producers, Jacob, Sam, the crew and, of course, the wonderful fans.

Production on the eight-episode second season will reportedly start next week in Prague, with further filming scheduled in both Paris and New Orleans. Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) and showrunner Rolin Jones (Perry Mason) will executive produce. Well have to see how much of an impact replacing Bass will have, given that Claudia was a pretty key character. Along with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), she made up the shows main trio of vamps, whose lives are recounted to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Deadline previously reported that Ben Daniels will also join season two as Santiago, a thespian who leads the Theatre des Vampires and becomes suspicious of Louis and Claudia. Other cast members in the first season included Assad Zaman, Kalyne Coleman, and Rae Dawn Chong, among others. We dont know who will return, but hopefully none of their roles are, uh, at stake.
Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Bernard Ridgeway, the Independent Non-Executive Chair of Artrya Limited (ASX:AYA) recently shelled out AU$96k to buy stock, at AU$0.32 per share. That purchase might not be huge but it did increase their holding by 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Artrya

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Artrya

Notably, that recent purchase by Bernard Ridgeway is the biggest insider purchase of Artrya shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of AU$0.33. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

While Artrya insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. They paid about AU$0.47 on average. These transactions suggest that insiders have considered the current price attractive. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Artrya is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Artrya Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Artrya insiders own 32% of the company, worth about AU$8.3m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At Artrya Tell Us?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Artrya insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Artrya (2 make us uncomfortable!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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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Most large American cities are continuing to lose people, the US Census Bureau reported last week, even as many smaller and mid-sized counties are growing. And while politicians (and, increasingly, billionaire investors) like to make hay over the cultural and economic reasons for moving, the most striking aspect of the USs shifting population isnt which counties are losing people. Its the sheer number that are experiencing population loss.

Consider that 48 of West Virginias 55 counties lost people, as did 56 of Louisianas 64 parishes. A majority of the counties in Iowa, Ohio, Mississippi and North Dakota lost population. Northern New England grew, as remote workers fled the expensive metro areas of the Northeast in search of more rustic accommodations. But almost all of upstate New York shrank, as did Western Massachusetts. Even in fast-growing Texas, most of the arid western counties and much of South Texas lost people. So did big stretches of rural Pennsylvania, southwestern Virginia, and all of Puerto Rico.

Some transition of population from place to place is healthy and natural, and the pandemic induced large dislocations in working habits and daily life. And in some expensive metro areas, such as New York and San Francisco, some population loss may be beneficial.

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In New York, for example, Manhattan actually gained population between July 2021 and July 2022 as people took advantage of lower prices to move in from the outer boroughs. Compared to the national average, most of those outer-borough neighborhoods (as well as the inner-ring suburbs that also lost people) remain pretty expensive. Over the next few years, prices will fall to reflect the diminished demand and people will return, just as they already have to Manhattan. The result will be a somewhat poorer, somewhat more affordable metro area  that continues to have all the qualities that people who love New York love about it.

Even so, it will be a challenging fiscal environment for local governments, which have pension and other obligations that were undertaken under different circumstances.

The situation is much worse for places that were affordable before the pandemic. Cities and towns in rural Midwest that lose people are looking at a larger fiscal loss, because theres no guarantee people will return even at lower prices. They could adjust to the smaller population by raising taxes, but that wont exactly help attract new residents. A permanent loss of population will be a blow to local businesses, too, which will further reduce government revenue.

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Even before the pandemic, several large Midwestern cities  most notably St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee  were in a difficult spiral of decline. When demand for living in a place becomes so low that the market price of housing falls below the cost of building a new home, bad things happen. Landlords end up with little financial incentive to invest in the upkeep of their property. (Homeowners are less likely to let their houses fall into disrepair, but the money and sweat equity they put in may be wasted.) Homes stay vacant or get demolished.

The risk is that this dynamic will now spread to a much broader set of communities  smaller towns and suburbs, potentially even Chicago.

In any one of these cases, its easy to point to some mix of idiosyncratic factors or policy errors behind the decline. Its also not so hard to imagine policy tweaks that could make a community more appealing and reverse a cycle of decline.

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But this is where scale matters. County A can gain population from County B  but in a country where 47% of all counties are losing people, this is a zero-sum game. The reality is that a huge share of American communities are losing people not just because of specific local conditions, but because the national population growth rate  0.4% in 2022  is very, very slow.

Immigration rebounded last year to pre-pandemic levels, which pushed Manhattan and several Sun Belt central cities back into positive population growth. But even pre-pandemic immigration levels remain significantly below those which preceded the Great Recession.

Thats largely a decline in illegal immigration relative to its levels of a few decades ago, which no politician will bemoan. But if the US had replaced that illegal migration with visas for people with in-demand skills, it would have a stronger economy and more resilient communities. Birth rates, meanwhile, have been sliding for a long time, and theres also been an alarming recent increase in deaths  from Covid, from drug overdoses, from traffic accidents, from homicides and suicides.

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The result of this slowdown in population growth is a more challenging landscape for leaders in all kinds of places. Its easy for partisans to pit Florida against Illinois or Texas against California, or for cities to pit themselves against the suburbs. But the fundamental reality is one of broad decline, in which growth is the exception rather than the rule.

And only national leaders have the power to raise the national level of population growth, which would make life easier for local leaders. Theres no one solution here  making policy more supportive of parents while addressing the frightening decline of life expectancy are both complicated, multifaceted issues. But legal immigration remains a fast-acting and relatively straightforward option that deserves a consideration from Congress, separate from any controversies about asylum-seekers. Educated, skilled workers in particular would help stabilize communities in decline while bolstering the economy as a whole.

Theres no good reason for places to be struggling with population decline even while tens of millions of people want to move to the US. This country cant and wont let in everyone who wants to come  but thats not a good reason to keep all of them out.

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More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 What Do Growing Regions Have in Common? They Build Housing: Justin Fox

 Why Millennials Are Following Boomers to the South: Conor Sen

 How the US Can Solve Its Housing Crisis: Just Start Building: The Editors

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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Matthew Yglesias is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A co-founder of and former columnist for Vox, he writes the Slow Boring blog and newsletter. He is author, most recently, of One Billion Americans.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Loudoun County authorities locked down the Dulles Town Center mall Saturday afternoon following a report of a possible shooting there, but sheriffs deputies quickly determined that there was no shooting or gunman spotted at the mall.

The Loudoun County Sheriffs Office received a call about a possible shooting at about 1:45 p.m., prompting a heavy police response to the mall, which is near the intersections of Routes 7 and 28 outside of Sterling. Patrons and workers were held in place while authorities searched the area.

The caller apparently had overheard two women discussing a possible shooting and saying that they had to leave, according to Liz Mills, a spokeswoman for the Loudoun Sheriffs Office. The two women could not be located and have not contacted law enforcement.

Out of an abundance of caution, the mall complex was searched and nothing suspicious was located, Mills said in a statement.

The mall was closed as of about 3:30 p.m. and was slated to reopen later in the afternoon.

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The network said Carlsons last show was this past Friday and that the 8 p.m. time slot, which he has held since April 2017, will be filled on an interim basis by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named.
Key Insights

The considerable ownership by individual investors in Aussie Broadband indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy

47% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders

Insider ownership in Aussie Broadband is 14%

If you want to know who really controls Aussie Broadband Limited (ASX:ABB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 53% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutions, on the other hand, account for 19% of the company's stockholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Aussie Broadband.

Check out our latest analysis for Aussie Broadband

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aussie Broadband?

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 Aussie Broadband 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 Aussie Broadband's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Aussie Broadband. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Intertubes Pty Ltd with 6.8% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.8% and 5.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Phillip Britt, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

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On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Aussie Broadband

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Aussie Broadband Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$742m, and insiders have AU$105m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 53% stake in Aussie Broadband, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 13%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Aussie Broadband you should be aware of.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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It was just before 5am one late summer day in 2019 when ranger and photographer Erik (not his real name) pulled up in his four-wheel drive in the carpark of Fjarargljufur Canyon in southern Iceland. I am an ecologist and photographer, and I was about to head off in search of the species that most fascinates me, fungi, when he leapt out of the vehicle and stormed towards me, hat pulled low, bristled jaw jutted firmly outward. Erik locked me in his myopic glare and barked a series of questions that came out as accusations about where Id camped overnight. He was clearly not in a good mood. He took a bit of convincing, but, finally, he accepted that Id made an early start and arrived from elsewhere, and had not camped illegally in the carpark.

Erik and I then engaged in a long and disturbing conversation. He told me of his battles to manage what he called the spike of Instagram-obsessed tourists, and how he was greatly concerned about the damage being done to the local ecologies and fragile soils. See all this bare ground? he said, sweeping his arm in 180-degree arc. This area was covered in lichens and mosses. Now theyre gone, in just a few years. Clambered on and crushed. They take decades to grow and will take decades to come back, if they do at all, because our soils are unstable and growing seasons in Iceland are short.

Lichens and mosses have already been loved out of existence in some places. Credit:Alison Pouliot

Iceland experienced an unprecedented boom in tourism that helped lift the country from economic recession following a devastating financial crisis in 2008. However, Erik, like other Icelanders I spoke with, lamented the lack of infrastructure necessary to protect vulnerable ecologies. As both a photographer and a ranger, he was acutely sensitive to the interplay of aesthetics and conservation: Images of beautiful places are consumed like junk food through Instagram. There seems to be little conscience or conservation awareness. The images are just trophies, he said, throwing his arms in the air. We cant build boardwalks fast enough to cope with the stampede of Instagrammers. I thought about the tragic irony of how places and species once revered for their beauty are being destroyed by the same aesthetics that once protected them.

And its not just happening in Iceland. Tasmanian-born bushwalker Rima Truchanas told me how the iconic places her photographer father, Olegas Truchanas, once photographed to showcase their beauty and need for protection are likewise succumbing to the increased influx of visitors. Olegass photos of south-west Tasmanian landscapes were pivotal to the rise of ecological consciousness and conservation in Australia that gained momentum in the 1960s and 1970s. Yet today, that same ecological consciousness is often overridden in the rush to capture and post images of Tasmanias places online, as a confirmation of having been there, and to be rewarded in the currencies of likes and followers.

How might less well-known organisms like fungi might too be affected by the increased tourism? Credit:Alison Pouliot

As photographers, Erik and I discussed how photographs can stimulate and inspire interest in nature, but also risk reducing it to something to be simply looked at rather than something to which we are inherently connected. Its a line thats hard to draw. Capturing an impression on the sensor of a camera inevitably strips the subject of all but the visual. We talked about the paradox of how the trophy hunting of animals with guns has largely been replaced today with cameras, yet shooting with cameras also has environmental consequences. Cameras dont shoot bullets, said Erik but the scale, the sheer number of people out here taking pictures, is the issue. I think hunters understand their responsibility and the implications of their actions better than many Instagrammers. But what can we do?
Australian playwright and former Sydney lawyer Suzie Miller has won the United Kingdoms top gong for best new play at the Olivier awards, for her play Prima Facie.

The Broadway-bound play was the big winner of the glittering ceremony on Sunday night, with Killing Eves Jodie Comer named as best actress for her West End performance of the one-woman show.

Australian playwright Suzie Miller. Credit: John Davis

The story about a lawyer representing men accused of sexual assault, who is assaulted herself, is an unflattering study of the Australian legal systems treatment of sexual assault cases.

It is due to open next week, April 11 at New Yorks Golden Theatre.
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 2 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories . Thomasin McKenzies early acting roles suggest she loves playing on the stage while dancing in the shadows, just shy of the spotlight. But small parts like Astrid in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Pixie in New Zealands rite-of-passage series Shortland Street, led her to Debra Graniks haunting Leave No Trace, which put her firmly on the map. That performance pushed her into the pre-Oscar awards season, with nominations for the Gotham, Independent Spirit and Critics Choice awards, and a win from the prestigious National Board of Review for Breakthrough Performance. It also led to roles in films directed by M. Night Shyamalan and Jane Campion, and now her own television series, Totally Completely Fine. But McKenzie, 22, is no stranger to fame. She grew up with not one but two legendary acting Dames: her mother, Dame Miranda Harcourt, and her grandmother, Dame Kate Harcourt. To translate that from New Zealand to the rest of the world, it would be not unlike having Meryl Streep for a mum and Maggie Smith for a nan. Loading Growing up with such role models, McKenzie says, was deeply affecting. Thinking about it actually makes me want to cry because Im really proud of my grandma and my mum, she says. The only pressure Ive felt to live up to the success that my mum, grandma and Dad [film director Stuart McKenzie] have had, was external. Within the family, Ive never felt any pressure to become an actor; they all forged their own paths and were accepting of whatever I wanted to do. [But] a family of overachievers really set the bar for me, and I think Im always trying to keep up with that.

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Such a theatrical bloodline also opens up the thorny question of being a nepo-baby, the name coined in a New York Magazine story last year which refers to Hollywood stars and their in-the-spotlight offspring. The narrative, which was to some extent negative, was flipped by actor Jamie Lee Curtis this year, who proudly name-checked her famous parents, screen legends Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, when she won her Screen Actors Guild award in February. Ive always been aware of how lucky I am that I was born into a family that is established in the film and theatre industry, at least within New Zealand, McKenzie says. Both of my parents have been instrumental in my success. It would be insulting to them, she adds, to deny the connection. Ive seen how much theyve sacrificed to support me, she says. I dont know if Im proud to be a nepo-baby, but Im not not proud of it, if that makes sense. It is what I am, and Im not going to deny that. But I also dont want that to diminish how hard Ive seen my parents work and how hard I know I have worked. I dont want that to diminish how hard Ive seen my parents work and how hard I know I have worked. Totally Completely Fine, which Stan (owned by Nine, publisher of this masthead) is producing with AMC Networks Sundance Now and Fremantle, is the story of 20-something Vivian Cunningham whose life, already something of a train wreck, is upended when her grandfather passes away and leaves her his sprawling old home. Vivian is in the house barely a day when she realises it overlooks a cliff that frequently draws the suicidal, and through various encounters, discovers that her father had spent his later years here, lending an ear to the troubled souls drawn to the drop and saving them from themselves. Despite being just 22, McKenzie has worked with a number of prominent filmmakers. Credit:Rosaline Shahnavaz/AUGUST The shows creator, Gretel Vella (The Great, A Sunburnt Christmas), has described the series as a response to the mental health crisis, written for myself and so many other people in my life to let them know they arent alone, that mess is okay, and sometimes the pain and anxieties we try and hide can be our greatest superpowers.

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The series is described as inspired by true events because it taps into the story of Sydney man Don Ritchie, dubbed the angel of The Gap, who spent more than five decades talking hundreds of people out of taking their own lives at the nearby cliffs. Hailed a hero, Ritchie died in 2012, aged 85. McKenzie says she learnt all she could about Ritchie after she read the scripts for the series. I researched his story and who he was, she says. He was an incredible person who affected so many lives. [The series] takes that and then builds on it. In Totally Completely Fines marketing material, it states that Maybe, in saving these people, Viv will slowly start to save herself. But its a little too neat to say that Totally Completely Fine is the story of an angel getting her wings. That sounds too clean and tidy, says McKenzie. I think Vivian is a lot messier than that. Maybe by the end of the first season she sees the potential and the impact she could have, so its a beginning. But shes not in any way fully healed. What is so striking about McKenzie is that, despite being just 22, she has accumulated a body of work that has connected her to a number of prominent filmmakers. She has worked under the direction of David Michod (The King), Liz Garbus (Lost Girls), M. Night Shyamalan (Old) and three Kiwi filmmakers, Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Peter Jackson (The Hobbit) and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). Mum experiencing a similar kind of attention when she was the same age as me is something thats been very valuable to me. That has played a massive part in shaping my career and me as a person, and my approach to work as well, she says. Its quite wild. I think I owe a lot of that to my agents and manager for putting me in those rooms and working so hard on my behalf to connect me with amazing people.

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Her first significant directorial relationship, she says, was with Debra Granik, who directed her in Leave No Trace, the critically acclaimed 2018 drama based on Peter Rocks novel My Abandonment, inspired by the true story of a former soldier suffering from PTSD who lives in a remote forest with his daughter. Debra is an incredibly collaborative director and she made me feel empowered to have a voice, McKenzie says. She set the bar for me, and I was very fortunate to be treated with such respect at such a young age. I think thats pretty rare, and it has made me realise that Im an actor who really enjoys collaboration. McKenzie has set her sights on Hollywood, for sure, but she says shes wary of the spotlight, a lesson learnt growing up in a family that garnered more attention than most. For example, in the 1980s, McKenzies mother played journalist Gemma Stace in the high-camp, legendary Kiwi soap opera Gloss  New Zealands answer to Dynasty and Dallas. Its really important to have a couple of things that fuel your soul, because its pretty dangerous to define yourself by one single thing. I wasnt alive when Mum was filming Gloss [but] its something that people often bring up, McKenzie says. Im very, very proud of that. Mum experiencing a similar kind of attention when she was the same age as me is something thats been very valuable to me because she understands what Im going through. But the spotlight is, she observes, a dangerous thing, isnt it? Even if its slight, that extra layer of the feeling of being watched can make someone very egotistical or narcissistic or self-centred. I dont like the idea of having my life just ripped apart and analysed. I dont like the idea of being the centre of attention. I never have. One of my worst nightmares is being overdressed and drawing attention to myself, McKenzie adds. That makes me feel so uncomfortable. As an actor, Ive always felt much more comfortable observing. I think the reason I went into acting in the first place is because its where I felt most at home. [But] the desire to act wasnt born out of the desire to be famous.

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And if it doesnt work out? She can always give it all up and become a vet, a career shes on the record as saying she came close to pursuing. When I was younger, I literally wanted to be anything but an actor, McKenzie says. I was dead set against it; I wanted to be a vet or a zookeeper or anything to do with animals. Loading Even now, she says, shes studying at university (majoring in history and minoring in classics) because she wants to experiment with what else is out there, and what else I might be passionate about. Its really important to have a couple of things that fuel your soul, because its pretty dangerous to define yourself by one single thing, especially since my passion is acting, but my career is also acting, McKenzie says. That can be a little bit tricky because if Im succeeding or Im failing at acting, thats succeeding or failing in life. I want something else that Im able to balance it out with. Totally Completely Fine streams on Stan from April 20. Lifeline: 13 11 14.
Back in one of the lengthier Sydney lockdowns, I decided to learn a new skill. It didnt require sourdough starter, a crochet hook or special shoes. It didnt even require a device; actually, it called for me to put down my device. I decided to learn to just be with my thoughts.

I used to be very good at that. Back when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, I didnt have a choice! I didnt have my own landline or TV, so when alone in my bedroom I was either reading, listening to music or daydreaming. I certainly had no portable devices to distract me, so out walking, on the train or standing in a queue, I had no alternative but to let my mind wander.

After her divorce, Sackville distracted herself with her phone in every idle moment. Credit: Getty

But once the smartphone came along, I never needed to be alone with my thoughts, so I very rarely was. And after my divorce, I distracted myself in every idle moment. I chatted to friends on WhatsApp, scrolled through Instagram and Facebook, and fell down internet rabbit holes. I listened to podcasts, posted on Twitter and engaged in pointless arguments with strangers on social media.

I spent most of my time absorbing the thoughts of other people and very little time exploring my own. Whats more, I was spending hours swiping on dating apps, frantically searching for a partner. This was in part because I was lonely and wanted companionship. But it was also  I realise now  because I didnt know how to be alone. I had no idea how to keep myself company, or to validate or nurture myself, so I looked to other people to give me what I needed.
Experts are concerned that misconceptions about the flu are hampering the uptake of vaccination among young children and other vulnerable groups as influenza cases begin to climb in Australia.

A significant flu season is being predicted for 2023. Last years influenza wave peaked earlier than usual  in June  and killed at least 308 Australians, aged between one and 106.

Young children are among those vulnerable to the flu. Credit: iStock

The numbers are starting to creep up on the east coast  Queensland, NSW and Victoria, said Professor Ian Barr, deputy director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza.

I think influenza will be back to its normal epidemic proportions. Whether thats above or below the average season remains to be seen.
(Bloomberg) -- Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said it has reached an agreement with the federal government to resume oil exports through Turkey this week, after a legal spat pushed up crude prices.

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Following several meetings between the Kurdistan Regional Government & Federal Government, an initial agreement has been reached to resume oil exports through Ceyhan this week, Lawk Ghafuri, the KRGs head of foreign media affairs, said in a tweet.

Turkey closed a pipeline running from northern Iraq to Ceyhan in March after an international business tribunal said KRG authorities shouldnt export oil from the Mediterranean terminal without Baghdads approval. The move was part of Baghdads long-running attempt to assert its right to manage resources in Kurdistan, which has been pumping and selling oil independently.

The resumption would be for more than 400,000 barrels a day of Iraqi oil exports that go through Turkey. The deal will remain in effect until an oil and gas law is approved by the Iraqi parliament, Ghafuri said.

London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. said last week that it was shutting-in Shaikan field flows processed at Production Facility 1 on March 31. Other companies including DNO ASA and HKN Energy had already started to lower production in Kurdistan.

Iraqs oil ministry in Baghdad said on Sunday that it hopes to reach an agreement to resume oil exports soon. The ministry said that it will announce the deal when a final agreement is reached in accordance with the new understandings for oil exports. Details of the agreement are yet to be made public.

Baghdad said last week that 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.

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Relations between the KRG, based in Erbil, and Baghdad have improved since Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani became Iraqs prime minister in October. The legal case was brought by a previous administration.

--With assistance from Khalid Al-Ansary.

(Updates with comments from Iraqs oil ministry and background.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Institutions by definition are more likely to be powerful than terminally ill suffering patients, White said. Their interests are likely to trump. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 33 family members and caregivers, and a terminally ill patient. In 17 of those interviews, participants reported objections by institutions at varying stages of the voluntary assisted dying process. Alan Clark finally got approved for Victorias voluntary assisted dying scheme after spending almost a year trying to access it. He was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2020, a rare neurological disorder that affected his muscles, walking and balance and eventually killed him. Alan Clark, with wife Zenda, not long before he died. Alan, who lived in Warragul, in south-east Victoria, was adamant he wanted to take his own life when the pain got too much.

After struggling to find a neurologist willing to determine he would definitively die within 12 months, as required under the law, his wife Zenda Clark said the final obstacle came days before Alans death, when his non-religious aged care facility in rural Victoria objected to him taking the lethal dose onsite. When we found out that he could not access it there I was stunned. I said What will we do now? Zenda said. They said: Well just transfer him home, but I was so concerned he would be extremely uncomfortable. Alan went downhill quickly and died at the facility without using the medication on November 3 last year. He was 83. The way Alan passed away in the end was just about his worst nightmare. Zenda Clark It was horrendous, Zenda said. You would not wish it on your worst enemy. The way Alan passed away in the end was just about his worst nightmare.

The researchers argue the governments soft regulation policy, which guides how institutions manage objections, is not binding and preferenced institutional positions over patient choice. Loading Such an outcome is inconsistent with the wider policy goals of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act, the researchers wrote. Section seven of Victorias Voluntary Assisted Dying Act outlined that although health practitioners have a duty of care to provide clinically indicated treatment, they are not under any obligation to provide voluntary assisted dying. Zenda said changes were desperately needed, and argued the onus should be on facilities to inform people if they object to voluntary assisted dying.

That information should be in the documents that you receive before you admit your loved one in there, she said. Melbourne renal physician Margaret Fraenkel has helped several of her patients obtain permits to die. She said some Melbourne palliative care organisations still refused to verify their patients deaths if voluntary assisted dying occurred at home. This meant, in some cases, police had to be called to verify deaths, a situation she described as extremely distressing for family and immoral. White said there is an opportunity to reform the laws in Victoria. His view is that institutions which do not want their staff to be involved in voluntary assisted dying should not have to participate.

However, he said there should be regulations in place which allow for each step of the process to be completed by people outside the facilities which oppose the laws. For instance, some institutions might say Look, we wont allow the medication to be taken onsite, but if the navigators want to come onsite, if the doctors want to come to assess eligibility, we wont to stand in the way of that happening, White said. Ahead of a review of the landmark legislation scheduled for this year, White said Victoria should look to Queensland, which had struck a better balance between patient choice and an institutions right to conscientiously object. In Queensland, there are several clauses in the legislation, including that permanent residents in aged care facilities can have medical practitioners onsite to assess them for the scheme. Institutions must also publicly publish the information if they conscientiously object to the laws.
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 Legalise Cannabis Australia Party is shedding its reputation of being a collective of nutty hippies, stoners and cannabis convicts. After decades of barely making waves as a federal party, its seen a groundswell of support in state elections, scoring a seat in Western Australia and two in Victoria. Now, the NSW party is on track to win an upper house seat. It has an eclectic mix of members. Its headquartered in Nimbin, where tourists have to be directed out of the partys building to buy their black-market marijuana. Its federal president Michael Balderstone is a scraggly-bearded daily pot smoker. Its NSW candidates range from those who advocate for people to grow their own cannabis to prevent much of the ill health that plagues society today, to former NSW Police officers. Jeremy Buckingham (centre) grew up off the grid in Tasmania, wearing hemp, smoking pot and playing in a heavy metal rock band. But since nominating former Greens member Jeremy Buckingham as its lead candidate for the NSW upper house, the party has gained an air of legitimacy  despite his dramatic exit from the Greens following a sexual harassment allegation. One in eight residents voted for the party in some regions of NSW. The party only fielded candidates for the upper house. Buckinghams alternative upbringing in Tasmania made him a good fit for the party but to achieve its goals, he is likely to form some unexpected alliances  even with Pauline Hansons One Nation party, if required  to get support. Legalise Cannabis is a single-issue party, aiming to legalise cannabis, introduce a moratorium on arrests of cannabis consumers, and reform drug driving laws so impairment, not presence, is tested. But for nearly 30 years, it achieved none of its goals. It was first formed in 1993 when activist Nigel Quinlan legally changed his surname to Freemarijuana, and ran for the Senate in Queensland in 1996. Hes since reverted to his original name. The party he founded became the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party in 2008 and rebranded to become Legalise Cannabis in 2021.

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Years of failure have jaded Quinlan, and hes not hopeful the party will achieve anything even now  especially in Queensland. Australia is a tiny little vacuum  of prohibitionists, he said. I wish legalisation was going to happen, but its not. Yet things have changed following the legalisation of prescription cannabis in 2016. Australians are now changing their attitudes to the plant, with a 2019 National Drug Household Survey finding 41 per cent of Australians support the legalisation of recreational pot, with just 37 per cent opposing it. Legalise Cannabis parties have emerged in every state and territory, acting in an unofficial loose federation with the national party, sharing staff and resources. In the federal election, it was one of the last parties to be eliminated. But recruiting party members has been notoriously difficult, federal party president and NSW committee member Balderstone said. To register in NSW for the March state election, the party needed to be established for a year with a minimum of 750 members. People agree with the cause but once they receive mail at their house from the electoral commission asking them to confirm theyre a member of the Legalise Cannabis Party, they go underwater. Balderstone said prospective members often backed out once they had to declare their membership officially. Credit:Paul Harris

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But the party met the requirements and registered. Then members hit the regions, spruiking the hemp and cannabis industry as a job creator and a solution to deforestation, with hemp replacing paper. NSW party secretary Craig Ellis  who also worked as the secretary for the Victoria party  said it was truly a grassroots campaign. We did it on the smell of an oily rag, he said. The only advertising they ran was a few Facebook ads, and they didnt hand out how to vote cards in electorates. Even then, it was a battle: Facebook kept rejecting the partys ads, later reinstating them after being contacted by the Herald. It also found volunteers in an unexpected place after being erroneously approved as a voluntary work organisation for Centrelink recipients to fulfil mutual obligations  which Buckingham said was a regrettable move and one that shouldnt have been allowed in the first place. Services Australia has launched an investigation into how a political party could be added to the list of accepted bodies. NSW party secretary Craig Ellis also worked for the partys campaign in the Victorian election. Credit:Jessica Hromas Shellharbour candidate Mia Willmott, who has received 4 per cent of the vote so far, said people have been more and more receptive to the partys objectives. It was magical. Speaking to people over the years has never been easier. Loading The party has not taken a hard stand on COVID vaccinations. Last year, WA MP Sophia Moermond was suspended from parliament after refusing to provide proof she had been triple vaccinated against COVID-19. Balderstone rejected the suggestion the party was anti-vaccination and stressed it supported freedom of choice. Were definitely not anti-vax, but were not about being forced to have stuff either, he said.

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Finding a lead candidate for the party was another challenge. According to Balderstone, there were not many members who were up for the job. I dont want to do it, he said. I couldnt get in there and put on a suit every day. So, when Buckingham emerged, eager to run, Legalise Cannabis snatched him up. The party is close to Buckinghams roots: He grew up in off-the-grid, often unpowered farmhouses across Tasmania, wearing raw hemp, and milking goats and cows. Joni Mitchell and Jethro Tull albums crackled from the record player. His first given name was Elian Nova, but his parents changed it while to Jeremy while he was still young. His brothers name is Tambo. As a bong-smoking adolescent, he played in a heavy rock band, rehearsing in wood-panelled homes, his head-banging band members sporting Metallica tees and oversized denim shirts. He tried to turn his wild, curly hair into dreadlocks but, after starting to go bald in his 20s, abandoned the idea. Jeremy Buckingham quit the Greens in a blaze of glory. He got into politics early, joining Tasmanias Hemp for Paper Consortium party in the 90s, before being elected to Orange City Council in 2004 and as a member of the NSW Legislative Council for The Greens in 2011. But after seven years he was asked to remove himself from the partys ticket for the next election: An allegation that he had inappropriately touched a former party aide during his first year in office emerged, with Greens MP Jenny Leong calling for his resignation in 2018. Buckingham denied the allegations, and an independent investigation commissioned by the Greens found insufficient evidence to substantiate the complaint.

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He quit the party and left in a blaze of glory, tearing up a poster of the Greens logo and accusing the party of being toxic. After failing to get elected as a self-described real Green independent, Buckingham joined the Legalise Cannabis Australia party last year. But the decision to make Buckingham the lead candidate wasnt simple. He had quite a bit of media because he had been so controversial  but his knowledge of parliament and the parliamentary process was invaluable. And he knows cannabis pretty well, Balderstone said. The party committee met to make sure the sexual harassment allegations were behind him and to make sure Buckingham wasnt carrying any animosity towards the Greens. It was a difficult choice in many ways, but Im really happy, Balderstone said. Rob Keldoulis was the top donor to the teals, but also backed the Legalise Cannabis Party. Credit:Steven Siewart It turned out to be the correct decision for the party. With help from fundraising experts, Buckingham secured cash from prominent donors including the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Alex Turnbull; Rob Keldoulis  who also backs the teals and owns a medicinal cannabis farm south of Launceston  and philanthropists Sue and John McKinnon. Despite the funding injections, the party campaigned with under 3000 members and less than $40,000. The party has seen a groundswell of support, scoring 13 per cent of the vote in Cessnock, with one in 10 residents voting for them in Myall Lakes. For Ellis, it was a huge win: We werent surprised that weve got a good vote, but were surprised at the strength, the size of the vote in some of those seats, he said.

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Premier Chris Minns wants a bipartisan agreement to block One Nations NSW leader Mark Latham from having any additional powers in the new parliament after the political firebrand doubled down on his homophobic slur.

Latham on Thursday morning tweeted a highly graphic and offensive comment aimed at Sydney independent MP Alex Greenwich, who is gay, prompting the partys figurehead Pauline Hanson to demand Latham apologise.

Mark Latham walking dogs near his home on Saturday, Credit: Dean Sewell

Instead, after maintaining his silence for 24 hours, Latham tweeted never apologise, never explain before issuing a statement to News Corp in which he said: Sometimes in public life when you throw out insults they come back at you harder and truer  So boo-hoo Alex Greenwich.

Minns said his government would not support Latham chairing any upper house committee and urged the opposition to follow his lead.
A group of federal and state MPs from Victoria are working on a plan to challenge Greg Mirabella for the role of Liberal Party state president, using the loss in Aston to campaign for his removal.

Six state and federal Liberal MPs who spoke to The Age on the condition of anonymity said the partys candidate for the Aston byelection, Brunswick barrister Roshena Campbell, was ill-suited for the electorate where she had never lived and are pinning the blame on officials who handpicked her for the seat.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton with Roshena Campbell ahead of her concession speech in the Aston byelection. Credit: Penny Stephens

There is almost unanimous agreement from federal Liberal MPs that Campbell was a talented and hard-working candidate.

While some members of the administrative committee voted against the proposal to handpick a candidate, the move was backed by Mirabella, federal director Andrew Hirst and Victorian frontbencher Dan Tehan.
Investors can look forward to an engaging week with Disney holding its annual shareholder meeting, a slew of employment-related data coming out and other events.

The stock market closed out last week on highs. As of Friday, the Nasdaq Composite saw an increase of 2.98% from where it opened at the start of the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3.09%. The S&P 500 rose 3.17% in the same time frame.

FOX Business looks at some big market events in the week ahead.

Before the market opens Monday, tech company Science Applications International will put out its fourth-quarter earnings.

DISNEY TO BEGIN LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES

Many eyes will be on the Walt Disney Co. as its annual shareholders meeting kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.

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It will be CEO Bob Igers first since returning to the company roughly four months ago.

With Iger back in charge, the entertainment giant has been undergoing a reorganization that has seen its business segments become Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

It also began laying off employees in the first of three rounds of job cuts announced in February. The layoffs will ultimately trim Disneys headcount by about 7,000 workers.

Investors will also be looking for an update on Disney+ and its path to profitability.

The special tax district encompassing Walt Disney World in Florida has also been in focus lately, with the board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to run it seeing its authority lessened by the outgoing one.

A virtual meeting of OPEC+ is also scheduled.

In the morning, a few sets of economic data will be released, including the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), durable goods and factory orders, at 10 a.m. ET. JOLTS is one of the datasets the Federal Reserve keeps a close eye on.

Acuity Brands and Kirklands will release their latest earnings.

Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, is expected to talk economic and policy outlook during a speech to the Money Marketeers of New York University Inc.

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Tuesday will also mark a century since Warner Bros. Studios was founded, according to a press release from Warner Bros. Discovery.

In earnings, Conagra Brands and Simply Good Foods will release results.

Walmart, as part of its 2023 Investment Community Meeting, will have CEO Doug McMillon, CFO John David Rainey and other top executives speak on the retailers "strategic plans," according to an announcement from the company. The start time for those presentations is 8 a.m. ET.

The exterior of a Walmart department store in West Haven, Conn., Feb. 17, 2021.

A FedEx Ground shipping truck in San Ramon, Calif, March 3, 2022.

Another company, FedEx, is holding an investor event as well. Starting at 8:30 a.m. ET, CEO Raj Subramaniam and other FedEx leaders will give an update on efforts to save over $4 billion in "annualized structure cost reductions" by fiscal 2025.

FEDEX CUTTING OVER 10% OF MANAGEMENT ROLES

On the economic front, investors will get the latest ADP National Employment report and EIA weekly crude stocks.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen are scheduled to have a meeting in California. That prompted threats of reprisal from China, The Associated Press reported.

Constellation Brands, Lamb Weston, Levi Strauss and WD-40 all have earnings releases teed up Thursday, with the former two slated for the morning and the latter two for the afternoon.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President also has a morning presentation scheduled. It is expected to focus on monetary policy and the economy.

Investors will see challenger layoffs and initial jobless claims data come out.

Friday will start with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early in the morning. It will be carrying an Intelsat communications satellite.

NASA'S SPACEX CREW-5 SPLASHES DOWN ON EARTH AFTER 5-MONTH MISSION ABOARD ISS

Non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate are slated for an 8:30 a.m. ET release. In the afternoon, another piece of economic data  consumer credit  will come out.
Was Pablo Neruda murdered? Its an enduring mystery with chapters that have yet to be written. And a McMaster research associate believes the truth may lie with the bodies of two prisoners who were allegedly murdered by agents of Augusto Pinochets dictatorship.

Debi Poinar of the McMaster Ancient DNA laboratory has been examining the suspected poisoning of Neruda since 2015.

Neruda was suffering from prostate cancer and died at age 69 on Sept. 23, 1973, 12 days after the coup that toppled his close friend, President Salvador Allende.

Neruda, also a Communist Party politician, had been vocal in his criticism of the Pinochet regime and had been planning to leave the country to avoid reprisals, but was admitted to a clinic to treat his cancer when he died.

In 2011, Nerudas driver came forward with allegations that the Nobel Prize-winning-poet was injected with deadly poison by agents of Pinochet.

Poinar and her husband, Hendrik Poinar, director of the McMaster lab that is well known for retrieving bacteria from ancient remains, began work on the case even though they dont typically get involved with forensics, least of all a murder case, she said.

By 2017 they had determined that Clostridium botulinum, which produces a deadly toxin, was in his body, but they couldnt confirm if it was in his body before or after he died.

And in February the panel made up of experts across the globe released their latest finding: Clostridium botulinum was present in his body when he died.

The finding made headlines recently, attracting attention worldwide.

But the mystery is not yet solved.

We can certainly say that its present, which it is, but it would be difficult to determine if it actually killed him, Poinar said of the toxin.

Its not natural for him to have it in his body  thats for sure. Its not something that we just have swimming around and when we die it becomes a part of it, Poinar further explained.

It was used as biological agent in World War II as it could be easily cultured in a lab and then injected to hurt or kill someone.

The bacteria produces a toxin which can also cause food poisoning.

So is it possible for the experts to determine if Neruda was injected with Clostridium botulinum?

Its a bit complicated  Poinar said the team could try to retrieve more DNA from Nerudas remains and use additional testing to reconstruct the genome of the crushed Clostridium botulinium.

It would be good to know that all the toxin genes were present, Poinar explained what makes Clostridium botulinum toxic is a cluster of 10 genes that produce and manufacture the deadly toxin.

But  another way to solve this mystery is by comparing the Clostridium botulinium found in Neruda to the Clostridium botulinium found in prisoners, allegedly poisoned by agents of Pinochet.

If we were able to retrieve any of that Clostridium, especially from those two people that passed away, in their remains and compare the two bacteria, and if they were similar, then Id pretty much say this was something that definitely killed him, Poinar explained.

On why she thinks people are so enamoured with finding out what happened to this famous poet: I think Nerudas case has become emblematic of the whole situation in just needing to have justice, Poinar said. I think thats become a very pressing, pressing concern.

A combination of social, health and natural science meeting hardcore science with a little bit of murder mystery is why people are so fascinated with this case, said another expert trying to find out what happened to Neruda, Marie-Louise Kampmann, special consultant at University of Copenhagen.

Was he actually killed or was he not killed?

Poinar has no personal connections to Chile, but said living in Canada its hard to imagine what it would be like living under a dictatorship and she thinks the case means something for people of Chile who lost family and friends.

They want to know if he was murdered like all the other people that were there that went missing or were executed or found in mass burials, Poinar said.

The group of experts will have to wait to find out from a Chilean judge if theyll be looking into this mystery any further.

With files from the Associated Press

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CHIHUAHUA, Mexico (AP)  Marcela Castros office in Chihuahua is more than 100 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, yet the distance doesnt prevent her from assisting women in the United States in circumventing recently imposed bans on abortion.

From the headquarters of Marea Verde Chihuahua, an organization that has supported reproductive rights in northern Mexico since 2018, Castro and her colleagues provide virtual guidance, as well as shipments of abortion pills for women who want to terminate a pregnancy on their own.

This abortion model, in which no travel, clinics or prescriptions are needed, sparked interest in the U.S.  and a surge of requests for help  as the Supreme Court moved to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion last year. But the model was developed by Mexican activists through decades of facing abortion bans and restrictions in most of Mexicos 32 states.

We dont offer medical attention because we are not doctors, Castro said. Part of our work, though, is to remove the stigma toward abortion. Although it is a medical procedure, it does not require hospital measures.

To safely advise women on self-managed medical abortions, Castro and her colleagues were trained to become acompanantes -- capable of serving as a guide and partner, whether in person or from long distance. They have carefully studied national abortion guidelines and they know by heart some protocols established by the World Health Organization.

Since they do not charge for the help they provide, most acompanantes need jobs outside the organizations where they volunteer. Among them are lawyers, psychologists and other professionals. Over the years, they have created a nationwide network that has secured abortion access for Mexican and foreign women, whether or not abortion is legal where they live.

We are ordinary women working for reproductive justice, Castro said. We seek what the State has denied us out of prohibition.

Mexican women face a scenario that resembles the U.S., where more than a dozen states  including Texas -- have imposed sweeping abortion bans. Unless its justified under certain exceptions, abortion is considered a crime in two-thirds of Mexicos states.

Chihuahua, where Castro lives, is ruled by a conservative governor and its penal code criminalizes most abortions.

Among all other Mexican border states where acompanantes support Mexican or American women, abortion is only legal in Baja California. Additionally, a 2021 ruling by Mexicos Supreme Court held that those who get the procedure shouldnt be punished in Coahuila, a state south of Texas.

More than 30 women collaborate with Castro in Marea Verde Chihuahua. They are part of what she calls a binational network, bringing together several Mexican collectives willing to facilitate self-managed abortions in the U.S.

Most women from the U.S. contact Marea Verde Chihuahua through social media or by someones referral. Most communicate in Spanish, though the acompanantes are able to assist English speakers as well.

After an initial contact, members of the team check their availability and an acompanante is assigned to each case. Further communications usually proceed via WhatsApp.

The accompaniment starts with some basic questions to determine the gestational age, how the pregnancy was confirmed, and the womans overall health. Once the information is evaluated, the acompanante proposes how to proceed.

In most cases, medication is advised and the acompanante is able to provide a combination of two abortion pills, misoprostol and mifepristone, both considered safe by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Although both medications require a prescription in the U.S., misoprostol can be acquired without a prescription in Mexican pharmacies  though some vendors refuse to sell pills to women. Mifepristone can be obtained through some abortion rights organizations.

The work of the acompanantes troubles anti-abortion activists in Mexico. One of them, Jahel Torres of a national group called Pasos por la Vida, suggested there were health risks because abortion pills were being distributed by non-medical personnel.

However, the WHO has depicted self-managed abortion as a safe option.

Castro and her colleagues usually send pills by mail and provide virtual follow-up until the abortion is completed. But depending on its personnel and resources, each Mexican abortion collective has its own logistics.

Aborto Seguro Chihuahua, which is part of the binational network, provides long-distance guidance to women in the U.S. but medication is not mailed from Mexico. Instead, the acompanantes collaborate with volunteers who transport the pills from Ciudad Juarez, in Chihuahua, to El Paso, Texas, where the packages are delivered either in person or through mailing services.

Laura Dorado works alongside 20 people in Aborto Seguro Chihuahua and says her team handles around 120 abortions per month. Some requests come from Mexico; others from Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

When she receives a message from a woman who is able to travel from the U.S. to Mexico, Dorado can offer some advice. We have identified some pharmacies in which buying the pills is not a struggle or we suggest staying at a hotel and request the medication by delivery, to keep a low profile.

Dorado said Aborto Seguro Chihuahua mostly receives mifepristone pills from Las Libres, an organization founded 20 years ago in the conservative state of Guanajuato, in central Mexico, where abortion is still banned.

Led by activist Veronica Cruz, Las Libres pioneered in training acompanantes to provide virtual guidance for self-managed medical abortions in Mexico and, since 2019, in the U.S. as well.

In January 2022, we had an average of 10 cases every day. When Roe was overturned, in June, we had up to a hundred, Cruz said.

She said the numbers kept rising until they reached 300 requests per day, all from the U.S. The workload was immense for her team of 10 people, so she created new networks to help.

In one year we have created more than 20 networks. We are about 200 people helping only the United States, Cruz said.

As with Marea Verde and Aborto Seguro in Chihuahua, Las Libres usually receives requests from Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Occasionally, women also reach out from Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Georgia, California, New Jersey and New York.

Though abortion is legal in some of those states, acompanantes believe many of these women are of Hispanic origin and either want to avoid going to an abortion clinic or cant afford to pay up to $600 to get an abortion where they live.

According to Cruz, many of these women are wary of self-managed abortions, and fighting that stigma has become part of their work.

Most people think pills arent safe, so changing all of that so quickly has been a challenge, Cruz said.

John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, said there has yet to be any intensive effort to prosecute people involved in supplying abortion pills to Texas residents.

Texas simply does not have enough policy tools to efficiently stop these practices," Seago said. His organization is pushing for new legislation, he added so that those breaking Texas law by aiding and abetting abortion digitally or physically will be held accountable.

Nathan Cortez, a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas specializing in health law, said he considered it inevitable that women in states with abortion bans would consider options outside the U.S.

This demonstrates the limits of a states jurisdiction  the more onerous and unreasonable your state laws are, the more likely you are to push prohibited activities elsewhere. Cortez said.



Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
"I'm here to raise money for cancer."

It's the annual Dodgeball for Life Event at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School.

"We wanna give back to our local community and those within our community that are fighting cancer," said Megan Mohl. She's a phys. ed. teacher at Governor Mifflin Middle School.

Teams sign up to face each other in a dodgeball tournament

"Having fun with a cause. Doing it for a purpose."

That purpose is to raise money for community members who need it most and their charities of choice

"We're dedicating it to two people, Lori Bilsky and Paisley Miller, and two charities that they picked which is the Four Diamonds and the Berks County Support Services for Breast Cancer," said Amy Dobrosky, math teacher at Governor Mifflin Middle School.

And of course, what's a tournament without a little competition?

"Nothin' less but winnin."

But above all else, the teams do it to give back to their own.

"The community is really close so to me. This event means a lot. It brings people together."

"We came out to support a cause. It feels good. We're helping out the community."

And it's all because of one thing.

"Nobody fights alone here at Governor Mifflin," said Mohl.
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.
The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For instance the Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) share price is 102% higher than it was three years ago. Most would be happy with that. And in the last week the share price has popped 5.0%. But this could be related to the buoyant market which is up about 3.7% in a week.

Since the stock has added US$975m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

See our latest analysis for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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).

During three years of share price growth, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings achieved compound earnings per share growth of 20% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 27% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. It is quite common to see investors become enamoured with a business, after a few years of solid progress.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Dive deeper into Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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 Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings the TSR over the last 3 years was 105%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings shareholders are down 12% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 11%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 8%, 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings that you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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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Columbus Area Historical Society

1973

The Columbus-Fall River Jaycees had plans to clean-up the Milwaukee Road train depot in Columbus. Included were renovations to the depot building and cleaning up the surrounding grounds. Gov. Patrick Lucey designated April 27-28 as Spruce-Up-Clean-Up Weekend and this was one of the projects.

A late winter snow storm caused the closing of area schools and area businesses.

1983

Fall River gymnast Gina Piazza won the Class B All-Around Title at the state tournament in Wisconsin Rapids with a score of 8.56. She placed first in floor exercises, beam, uneven bars, and placed fourth in the vault.

Ethel Theede was honored for her 40 years of dedicated service at the First National Bank by the directors, officers, and staff of the bank. She began her career in March 1943.

1993

Freddy the Firetruck had a new friend as the Columbus Fire Department unveiled Firepup. Firepup was purchased to promote fire safety. Gerry Galston, fire education officer, will use Firepup and Freddy in fire safety presentations.

Columbus Lady Cardinal senior gymnast won the state title in the All-Around Competition at the state Division 2 meet at Wisconsin Rapids.

2003

Ryan Dean, son of Kelli Dean, danced in the production of Coppelia by the Dance Wisconsin ballet group. Coppelia is the story of a mechanical doll that comes to life.

The low budget film broke was created by three local graduates of Columbus High School. Andrew Basler, Mitch Dhein, and Craig Sauer wrote, directed, and produced the film. The movie was scheduled to be shown at the Orpheum Theater in Madison.

Visit www.columbuswiareahistory.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/columbuswiareahistory or email info@columbuswiareahistory.com to reach us. The Columbus WI Area Historical Society is looking for a new home for its museum. If anyone has ideas on where to locate, please contact the society.
StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Almaden Minerals (NYSEAMERICAN:AAU  Get Rating) (TSE:AMM) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock.

Separately, Alliance Global Partners downgraded shares of Almaden Minerals from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd.

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Almaden Minerals Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of Almaden Minerals stock opened at $0.19 on Wednesday. The firms 50 day moving average price is $0.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 26.92, a current ratio of 26.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Almaden Minerals has a 52-week low of $0.18 and a 52-week high of $0.38. The company has a market cap of $26.07 million, a P/E ratio of -9.50 and a beta of 0.95.

Institutional Trading of Almaden Minerals

Almaden Minerals Company Profile

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Almaden Minerals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Almaden Minerals by 587.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 485,878 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 415,244 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in Almaden Minerals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its stake in Almaden Minerals by 564.4% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 233,188 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 198,088 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Almaden Minerals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 3.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

(Get Rating)

Almaden Minerals Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It focuses on the operation of Ixtaca gold-silver deposit. The company was founded by James Duane Poliquin on February 1, 2002 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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Analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS  Get Rating) in a research report issued on Friday. The brokerage set a hold rating on the stock.

American Shared Hospital Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:AMS opened at $2.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $3.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.90. American Shared Hospital Services has a 1-year low of $2.18 and a 1-year high of $3.75. The stock has a market cap of $17.29 million, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.86.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Shared Hospital Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in American Shared Hospital Services by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,321 shares of the companys stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in American Shared Hospital Services by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 158,681 shares of the companys stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Shared Hospital Services in the 4th quarter worth about $470,000. 13.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Shared Hospital Services Company Profile

American Shared Hospital Services engages in leasing radiosurgery and radiation therapy equipment to healthcare providers. Its equipment includes Gamma Knife, PBRT, and IGRT. The Gamma Knife radiosurgery equipment is a non-invasive treatment for malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations and trigeminal neuralgia.

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Key Insights

The projected fair value for MYT Netherlands Parent B.V is US$8.31 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of US$7.03 suggests MYT Netherlands Parent B.V is potentially trading close to its fair value

Analyst price target for MYTE is 13.81, which is 66% above our fair value estimate

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. (NYSE:MYTE) as an investment opportunity by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for MYT Netherlands Parent B.V

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) 50.6m 15.2m 28.4m 33.3m 37.4m 41.0m 43.9m 46.4m 48.5m 50.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 17.03% Est @ 12.54% Est @ 9.40% Est @ 7.20% Est @ 5.66% Est @ 4.58% Est @ 3.83% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 8.1% 46.8 13.0 22.5 24.4 25.4 25.7 25.5 24.9 24.1 23.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 256m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.1%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 50m (1 + 2.1%)  (8.1% 2.1%) = 858m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 858m ( 1 + 8.1%)10= 395m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 650m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$7.0, the company appears about fair value at a 15% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now 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 MYT Netherlands Parent B.V as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.010. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For MYT Netherlands Parent B.V, there are three further factors you should further examine:

Financial Health: Does MYTE 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 MYTE's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the NYSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ARGO. Raymond James cut shares of Argo Group International from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Compass Point cut shares of Argo Group International from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 13th.

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Argo Group International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARGO opened at $29.29 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.10 and a 200-day moving average of $27.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -5.52 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Argo Group International has a 12 month low of $19.00 and a 12 month high of $45.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Argo Group International

Argo Group International ( NYSE:ARGO Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The company reported ($2.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by ($1.07). The firm had revenue of $379.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.90 million. Argo Group International had a negative net margin of 9.98% and a positive return on equity of 0.06%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Argo Group International will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Argo Group International by 515.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,324 shares of the companys stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Argo Group International by 2,751.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Argo Group International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Argo Group International by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,760 shares of the companys stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Argo Group International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 89.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Argo Group International

(Get Rating)

Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of underwriting property and casualty insurance and reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Operations, International Operations, and Run-off Lines. The U.S. Operations segment include distribution through retail, wholesale, and managing general brokers/agents in the specialty insurance market.

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Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX  Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,620,000 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the February 28th total of 2,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 453,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.91, for a total transaction of $718,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,689 shares of the companys stock, valued at $25,137,849.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrew J. Micheletti sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.91, for a total transaction of $718,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,689 shares of the companys stock, valued at $25,137,849.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mosich Nick purchased 2,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.00 per share, for a total transaction of $97,308.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 80,556 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,738,904. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.81% of the companys stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axos Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AX. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Axos Financial by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 41,606 shares of the companys stock worth $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 8,272 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Axos Financial by 96.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the companys stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,308 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Axos Financial by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,233 shares of the companys stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Axos Financial by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,758 shares of the companys stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Axos Financial by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,958 shares of the companys stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 10,451 shares during the period. 76.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axos Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AX traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.92. The company had a trading volume of 778,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,862. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Axos Financial has a 1-year low of $33.15 and a 1-year high of $51.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.77.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.15. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 27.07%. The business had revenue of $228.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Axos Financials revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Axos Financial will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AX shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Axos Financial from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Raymond James lowered Axos Financial from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Axos Financial from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Axos Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $51.00.

Axos Financial Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Axos Financial, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and financing services. It operates through the following segments: Banking Business and Securities Business. The Banking Business segment includes online banking, concierge banking, prepaid card services, and mortgage, vehicle, and unsecured lending through online and telephonic distribution channels.

Further Reading

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Caliber Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,965 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $1,662,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $1,109,194,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 37.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 10,355,686 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $747,479,000 after buying an additional 2,798,159 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,437,061 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $8,943,291,000 after buying an additional 2,589,952 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 49.3% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,986,327 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $315,036,000 after buying an additional 1,645,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.4% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 20,767,564 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,492,565,000 after buying an additional 1,431,879 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Marianne Catherine Brown purchased 5,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.47 per share, for a total transaction of $267,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,984 shares in the company, valued at $533,844.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Charles Schwab news, President Richard A. Wurster acquired 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.39 per share, with a total value of $108,780.00. Following the purchase, the president now owns 101,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,514,656.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marianne Catherine Brown acquired 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.47 per share, with a total value of $267,350.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $533,844.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,706,960 and sold 728,106 shares worth $58,067,403. Insiders own 7.50% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Charles Schwab Price Performance

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $109.00 to $83.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.50.

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.38. The stock had a trading volume of 43,886,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,410,832. The stocks 50 day moving average is $70.97 and its 200 day moving average is $75.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.93. 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.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.03). Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 24.94% and a net margin of 34.60%. The firm had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The companys revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This is an increase from Charles Schwabs previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

Further Reading

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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,110,000 shares, a growth of 23.9% from the February 28th total of 2,510,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 925,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CNO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a neutral rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.50.

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CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE CNO traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,071,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,183. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.12 and a 200 day moving average of $22.35. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $16.56 and a 1-year high of $26.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.15.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

CNO Financial Group ( NYSE:CNO Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.56. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The company had revenue of $973.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $910.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. CNO Financial Groups revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. CNO Financial Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,308 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $85,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258,163 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,673,513.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CNO Financial Group news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,308 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $85,511.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,673,513.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 17,095 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $433,187.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 120,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,121.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,591 shares of company stock valued at $627,713. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 60,846 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 191.0% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 36,666 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 24,066 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 38.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 141,090 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 39,101 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $1,142,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 44,125 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company, which engages in developing, marketing, and administering health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance and other insurance products. It operates through the following segments: Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn. The Bankers Life segment markets and distributes medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive life insurance, traditional life insurance, fixed annuities and long-term care insurance products to the middle-income senior market through a dedicated field force of career agents and sales managers supported by a network of community-based sales offices.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD  Get Rating) (NYSE:TD) had its price objective cut by Cormark from C$105.00 to C$98.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Cormark also issued estimates for Toronto-Dominion Banks Q2 2023 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.31 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.33 EPS and Q4 2024 earnings at $2.26 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on TD. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$102.00 to C$101.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$96.00 to C$100.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$100.00 to C$102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Fundamental Research set a C$104.14 target price on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$102.00 to C$106.00 in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$99.76.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank stock opened at C$80.95 on Thursday. The firms 50 day moving average price is C$87.34 and its 200-day moving average price is C$87.48. Toronto-Dominion Bank has a 52-week low of C$76.40 and a 52-week high of C$103.13. The company has a market cap of C$148.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Announces Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. Toronto-Dominion Banks dividend payout ratio is presently 46.72%.

In other Toronto-Dominion Bank news, Senior Officer Riaz Ahmed sold 37,832 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on 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. In other news, Director Mark Russell Chauvin sold 42,576 shares of the companys stock in a transaction 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. Also, Senior Officer Riaz Ahmed sold 37,832 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on 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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

Further Reading

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Courier Capital LLC increased its position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM  Get Rating) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,768 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the quarter. iShares Russell 2000 ETF comprises approximately 1.1% of Courier Capital LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Courier Capital LLCs holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $9,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IWM. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 1,703 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,411,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,953,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,761 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan Co. increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 1,026 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Russell 2000 ETF Trading Up 1.8 %

iShares Russell 2000 ETF stock opened at $178.40 on Friday. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a fifty-two week low of $162.50 and a fifty-two week high of $212.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $185.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.28.

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM  Get Rating).

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STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG  Get Rating) and Summit Industrial Income REIT (OTCMKTS:SMMCF  Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.2% of STAG Industrial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Summit Industrial Income REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of STAG Industrial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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Profitability

This table compares STAG Industrial and Summit Industrial Income REITs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets STAG Industrial 27.24% 5.16% 2.93% Summit Industrial Income REIT N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score STAG Industrial 0 2 4 0 2.67 Summit Industrial Income REIT 0 2 1 0 2.33

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for STAG Industrial and Summit Industrial Income REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

STAG Industrial currently has a consensus price target of $37.83, suggesting a potential upside of 11.87%. Summit Industrial Income REIT has a consensus price target of $22.83, suggesting a potential upside of 32.25%. Given Summit Industrial Income REITs higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Summit Industrial Income REIT is more favorable than STAG Industrial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares STAG Industrial and Summit Industrial Income REITs top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio STAG Industrial $657.34 million 9.23 $178.33 million $1.00 33.82 Summit Industrial Income REIT N/A N/A N/A $0.59 29.50

STAG Industrial has higher revenue and earnings than Summit Industrial Income REIT. Summit Industrial Income REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than STAG Industrial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

STAG Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Summit Industrial Income REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. STAG Industrial pays out 147.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Summit Industrial Income REIT pays out 35.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. STAG Industrial has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. STAG Industrial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

STAG Industrial beats Summit Industrial Income REIT on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About STAG Industrial

(Get Rating)

STAG Industrial, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which focuses on acquisition, ownership and operation of single-tenant, industrial properties throughout the United States. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

About Summit Industrial Income REIT

(Get Rating)

Summit Industrial Income REIT is an open-ended mutual fund trust, which engages in growing and managing a portfolio of light industrial properties. Its properties are located in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick. The company was founded on November 24, 1998 and is headquartered in Markham, Canada.

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Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Co. Limited (OTCMKTS:FSPKF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 743,300 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the February 28th total of 788,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 929.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FSPKF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered Fisher & Paykel Healthcare from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Fisher & Paykel Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. They set an underperform rating on the stock.

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Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Stock Performance

OTCMKTS FSPKF remained flat at $15.22 during trading on Friday. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has a 52-week low of $10.24 and a 52-week high of $19.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.03 and a 200-day moving average of $13.87.

About Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp. Ltd. engages in the designing, manufacturing and marketing of medical device products and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. It operates through the following geographical segments: The New Zealand, North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Further Reading

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Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 330,300 shares, a growth of 24.0% from the February 28th total of 266,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 100,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Forestar Group Stock Up 5.0 %

Forestar Group stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.56. The company had a trading volume of 118,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,631. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.47 million, a P/E ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firms fifty day moving average is $14.61 and its 200-day moving average is $13.94. Forestar Group has a fifty-two week low of $10.28 and a fifty-two week high of $18.01.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FOR. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Forestar Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. First Manhattan Co. bought a new stake in shares of Forestar Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Forestar Group during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forestar Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forestar Group during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.02% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

About Forestar Group

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FOR. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Forestar Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Forestar Group from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.63.

(Get Rating)

Forestar Group Inc is a residential lot development company, which engages in the provision of real estate business. The firm focuses on making investments in land acquisition and development to sell finished single-family residential lots to homebuilders. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Arlington, TX.

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Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL  Get Rating) is one of 33 publicly-traded companies in the Agricultural production  crops industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Local Bounti to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

65.3% of Local Bounti shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.5% of shares of all Agricultural production  crops companies are held by institutional investors. 41.5% of Local Bounti shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.7% of shares of all Agricultural production  crops companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Local Bounti and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Local Bounti $19.47 million -$56.09 million -0.62 Local Bounti Competitors $1.55 billion $34.30 million 0.62

Analyst Recommendations

Local Bountis competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Local Bounti. Local Bounti 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.

This is a summary of current ratings for Local Bounti and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Local Bounti 0 1 3 0 2.75 Local Bounti Competitors 96 168 486 23 2.56

Local Bounti currently has a consensus target price of $2.81, indicating a potential upside of 252.84%. As a group, Agricultural production  crops companies have a potential upside of 55.26%. Given Local Bountis stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Local Bounti is more favorable than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Local Bounti and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Local Bounti -570.35% -97.51% -51.03% Local Bounti Competitors -340.62% -27.10% -17.11%

Volatility & Risk

Local Bounti has a beta of 1.66, suggesting that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Local Bountis competitors have a beta of -26.99, suggesting that their average stock price is 2,799% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Local Bounti competitors beat Local Bounti on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Local Bounti Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Local Bounti Corporation grows fresh greens and herbs in the United States. It produces lettuce, herbs, and loose-leaf lettuce. The company sells its products to food retailers and food service distributors. Local Bounti Corporation was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Montana.

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(Reuters) - Burger chain McDonald's Corp is temporarily closing its U.S. offices this week as it prepares to inform corporate employees about its layoffs as part of a broader company restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

In an internal email last week to U.S. employees and some international staff, McDonald's asked them to work from home from Monday through Wednesday so it can deliver staffing decisions virtually, the report said. It is unclear how many employees will be laid off.

"During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organization," the Chicago-based company said in the message viewed by the Journal.

McDonald's also asked employees to cancel all in-person meetings with vendors and other outside parties at its headquarters, the report added.

McDonald's did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment.

The fast-food chain said in January that it would review corporate staffing levels as part of an updated business strategy, which could lead to layoffs in some areas and expansion in others.

McDonald's is expected to begin announcing key decisions by Monday.

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Josie Kao)
HNP Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW  Get Rating) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,882 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 207 shares during the period. HNP Capital LLCs holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.76% of the companys stock.

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W.W. Grainger Price Performance

GWW opened at $688.81 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $440.48 and a 12-month high of $709.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $658.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $592.34. The company has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.18.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

W.W. Grainger ( NYSE:GWW Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The industrial products company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.17. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 60.13% and a net margin of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 33.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. W.W. Graingers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kathleen S. Carroll sold 1,690 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $671.56, for a total transaction of $1,134,936.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,199,359. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 49,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $694.36, for a total value of $34,107,657.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,240 shares in the company, valued at $55,715,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kathleen S. Carroll sold 1,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $671.56, for a total value of $1,134,936.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,275 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,199,359. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,434 shares of company stock worth $38,315,317 in the last three months. 10.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on W.W. Grainger from $490.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $650.00 to $730.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $660.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $695.00 to $800.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $688.88.

About W.W. Grainger

(Get Rating)

W.W. Grainger, Inc is a supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products, with operations in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It operates through the following segments: High-Touch Solutions N.A., Endless Assortment, and Other. The High-Touch Solutions N.A. segment is involved in value-added MRO solutions that are rooted in deep product knowledge and customer expertise.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GWW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW  Get Rating).

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HUTCHISON TELEC/ADR (OTCMKTS:HTHKY  Get Rating) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.99 and traded as low as $5.99. HUTCHISON TELEC/ADR shares last traded at $5.99, with a volume of 1,600 shares.

HUTCHISON TELEC/ADR Price Performance

The firms fifty day simple moving average is $5.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.99.

HUTCHISON TELEC/ADR Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, provides mobile communication services primarily in Hong Kong and Macau. It offers 4G long term evolution, 3G, and GSM dual-band mobile telecommunications services under the 3 brand. The company's mobile telecommunications services and products include local voice, SMS, MMS, international direct dialing, and international roaming; and broadband-based data services and applications, such as direct carrier billing offerings, mobile device security management, eBooks, music downloads, movies-on-demand, mobile social networking applications, and stock trading, as well as Wi-Fi services.

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International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN  Get Rating) by 82.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,826 shares of the energy companys stock after purchasing an additional 15,251 shares during the quarter. Devon Energy accounts for approximately 0.8% of International Assets Investment Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. International Assets Investment Management LLCs holdings in Devon Energy were worth $3,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Devon Energy in the first quarter valued at $364,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy in the first quarter valued at about $188,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 52.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 99,120 shares of the energy companys stock worth $5,861,000 after acquiring an additional 33,936 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Devon Energy by 9.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 414,354 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $24,500,000 after purchasing an additional 34,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Devon Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 78.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DVN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $80.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $84.00 to $71.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on Devon Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Devon Energy from $82.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $71.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

Devon Energy Price Performance

In other Devon Energy news, CEO Richard E. Muncrief bought 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,973,977 shares of the companys stock, valued at $105,173,494.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link . In related news, EVP Dennis C. Cameron sold 7,179 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.77, for a total transaction of $393,193.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 262,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,377,015.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, CEO Richard E. Muncrief bought 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.28 per share, for a total transaction of $532,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,973,977 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $105,173,494.56. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here . 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Shares of NYSE DVN traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.61. The companys stock had a trading volume of 7,652,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,485,017. 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 company has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 2.33. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $55.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.58. Devon Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.03 and a fifty-two week high of $79.40.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The energy company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.09). Devon Energy had a net margin of 31.38% and a return on equity of 52.20%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Devon Energys revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. This is a boost from Devon Energys previous None dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 9.3%. Devon Energys payout ratio is presently 8.77%.

Devon Energy Profile

(Get Rating)

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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International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,300,000 shares, a growth of 14.4% from the February 28th total of 3,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IFF shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on International Flavors & Fragrances in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $120.00 to $106.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on International Flavors & Fragrances from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Bank of America raised International Flavors & Fragrances from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on International Flavors & Fragrances from $100.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $115.47.

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Institutional Trading of International Flavors & Fragrances

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its holdings in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 11.7% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 19.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,380 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 10.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,844 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 2.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in International Flavors & Fragrances by 31.5% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,684 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. 88.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Flavors & Fragrances Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE IFF traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,987,926. The companys fifty day moving average price is $95.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.03. International Flavors & Fragrances has a 12 month low of $81.53 and a 12 month high of $135.17. The stock has a market cap of $23.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.74, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. International Flavors & Fragrances had a positive return on equity of 7.46% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firms revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that International Flavors & Fragrances will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

International Flavors & Fragrances Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. International Flavors & Fragrancess dividend payout ratio is currently -44.88%.

International Flavors & Fragrances Company Profile

(Get Rating)

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&Bs Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&Bs Health & Biosciences division.

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Investmark Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Target Co. (NYSE:TGT  Get Rating) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,688 shares of the retailers stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLCs holdings in Target were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 122,068.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,793,906 shares of the retailers stock worth $711,368,000 after buying an additional 4,789,982 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Target by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,177,540 shares of the retailers stock worth $1,213,466,000 after buying an additional 1,401,559 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,191,786 shares of the retailers stock worth $5,073,719,000 after buying an additional 852,361 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Target by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,749,200 shares of the retailers stock worth $255,285,000 after buying an additional 725,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Target by 171.9% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,044,226 shares of the retailers stock worth $154,954,000 after buying an additional 660,229 shares in the last quarter. 78.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Target news, insider Brian C. Cornell sold 35,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.98, for a total transaction of $5,564,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 191,272 shares in the company, valued at $30,408,422.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Target Trading Up 3.3 %

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Target in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. They set an equal weight rating and a $163.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Target from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Target from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Target from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Target from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $181.69.

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $165.63 on Friday. Target Co. has a 52-week low of $137.16 and a 52-week high of $254.87. The company has a market capitalization of $76.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Target (NYSE:TGT  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The retailer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $31.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.73 billion. Target had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Target Co. will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Targets dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.24%.

About Target

(Get Rating)

Target Corp. engages in the operation and ownership of general merchandise stores. It offers food assortments including perishables, dry grocery, dairy, and frozen items. The company was founded by George Draper Dayton in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:IE  Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the February 28th total of 889,800 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 379,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Ivanhoe Electric Trading Up 0.6 %

IE stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.15. 525,035 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 617,644. The company has a quick ratio of 8.34, a current ratio of 8.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ivanhoe Electric has a fifty-two week low of $7.01 and a fifty-two week high of $16.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.38.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IE. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Ivanhoe Electric in a research note on Thursday, December 22nd. They issued a sector perform rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Ivanhoe Electric from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ivanhoe Electric from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $14.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ivanhoe Electric

In other Ivanhoe Electric news, COO Mark Andrew Stuart Gibson sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.81, for a total value of $54,050.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 334,761 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,618,766.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Insiders own 14.10% of the companys stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IE. Kopernik Global Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ivanhoe Electric in the third quarter valued at $9,176,000. Raffles Associates LP purchased a new position in Ivanhoe Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $124,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Ivanhoe Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,916,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ivanhoe Electric during the third quarter valued at about $1,877,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Ivanhoe Electric by 187.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 115,000 shares of the companys stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.67% of the companys stock.

Ivanhoe Electric Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Ivanhoe Electric Inc operates as a mineral exploration and development company in the United States. It operates through Critical Metals, Technology, and Energy Storage. The company holds 84.6% interests in the Tintic copper-gold project covering an area of 65 square kilometers located in Utah. It also holds an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Santa Cruz copper project covering an area of 77.59 square kilometers located in Arizona; 75% interest in the Hog Heaven silver-gold-copper project covering an area of 24.2 square kilometers located in Montana; and 60% interest in the Ivory Coast project covering an area of 1,125 square kilometers located in the Ivory Coast.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP  Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Korea Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of Korea Electric Power stock opened at $6.94 on Thursday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $7.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 0.73. Korea Electric Power has a 52 week low of $5.76 and a 52 week high of $9.55.

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Institutional Trading of Korea Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veriti Management LLC raised its holdings in Korea Electric Power by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 88,396 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Kopernik Global Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 1,660,792 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $11,293,000 after purchasing an additional 39,326 shares during the period. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $325,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 24,961 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 8,281 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 20,583 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 4,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.45% of the companys stock.

Korea Electric Power Company Profile

Korea Electric Power Corp. engages in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following Businesses: Sale of Electric Power, Development of Electric Power Resources, Investment, and Real Estate. The company was founded on July 1, 1961 and is headquartered in Naju, South Korea.

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Mandom Co. (OTCMKTS:MDOMF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,600 shares, a decrease of 15.6% from the February 28th total of 9,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days.

Mandom Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS MDOMF remained flat at $11.75 during midday trading on Friday. Mandom has a 12-month low of $11.25 and a 12-month high of $11.75. The company has a market capitalization of $567.16 million, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 2.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.75.

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Mandom Company Profile

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Mandom Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of cosmetics, perfumes, and quasi-drugs in Japan, Indonesia, and internationally. The company offers a range of products, including men's everyday grooming products, as well as general fashion items, such as hair styling, skin care, and body care products; and hair coloring, scalp care, and face care products under the Gatsby and Lucido brands.

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New Perspectives Inc bought a new position in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,248 shares of the railroad operators stock, valued at approximately $258,000. Union Pacific comprises approximately 0.2% of New Perspectives Incs holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 8.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 50,653 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $10,083,000 after buying an additional 4,051 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 1.4% in the third quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 29,591 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. PFS Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.5% in the second quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 30,842 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $6,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 48.2% in the second quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 2,739 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Union Pacific in the third quarter worth approximately $257,000. 77.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Union Pacific

In other news, EVP Elizabeth F. Whited sold 2,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,080 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,324,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

UNP opened at $201.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $123.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. Union Pacific Co. has a 1-year low of $183.69 and a 1-year high of $278.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.75 by ($0.08). Union Pacific had a return on equity of 58.41% and a net margin of 28.13%. The company had revenue of $6.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Union Pacifics quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 27th. Union Pacifics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNP shares. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $218.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Monday, February 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $243.00 to $240.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Union Pacific from an underperform rating to a sector perform rating and boosted their target price for the company from $191.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Thirteen equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $218.60.

Union Pacific Profile

(Get Rating)

Union Pacific Corp. engages in the provision of railroad and freight transportation services. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Omaha, NE.

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North American Palladium Ltd. (OTCMKTS:PALDF  Get Rating)s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.98 and traded as high as $15.01. North American Palladium shares last traded at $14.98, with a volume of 21,600 shares changing hands.

North American Palladium Price Performance

The businesss 50 day moving average price is $14.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.98. The company has a market cap of $881.42 million, a P/E ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 2.08.

North American Palladium Company Profile

(Get Rating)

North American Palladium Ltd. produces precious metals in Canada. It explores for palladium, platinum, gold, nickel, copper, and other metals. It primarily holds interest in the Lac des Iles mine that is located to the northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUP) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. Performance was better than the analysts expected, with revenues of US$40m coming in42% ahead of expectations, and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.87 exceeding forecasts by 18%. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for Ocuphire Pharma

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the four analysts covering Ocuphire Pharma, is for revenues of US$19.9m in 2023, which would reflect a sizeable 50% reduction in Ocuphire Pharma's sales over the past 12 months. The company is forecast to report a statutory loss of US$0.18 in 2023, a sharp decline from a profit over the last year. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$19.9m and losses of US$0.21 per share in 2023. While the revenue estimates were largely unchanged, sentiment seems to have improved, with the analysts upgrading revenues and making a favorable reduction in losses per share in particular.

There's been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$22.50, suggesting that reduced loss estimates are not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock's valuation. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic Ocuphire Pharma analyst has a price target of US$24.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$20.00. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

Story continues

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 50% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2023. That is a notable change from historical growth of 166% over the last three years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 5.0% per year. It's pretty clear that Ocuphire Pharma's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - although our data does suggest that Ocuphire Pharma's revenues are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates - from multiple Ocuphire Pharma analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Even so, be aware that Ocuphire Pharma is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Schear Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,915 shares of the CRM providers stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 40.6% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 46,707,038 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $7,708,529,000 after acquiring an additional 13,483,854 shares in the last quarter. Public Investment Fund acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $437,393,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 114.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,881,056 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $640,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074,938 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $181,700,000. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 12.5% in the third quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 11,057,687 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $1,590,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.83% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 438 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.59, for a total transaction of $68,148.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,819 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,062,518.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 438 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.59, for a total value of $68,148.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,819 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,062,518.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 7,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $1,411,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,214,883.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,984 shares of company stock valued at $9,228,819. Insiders own 3.60% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Salesforce Stock Up 1.6 %

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Salesforce from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Salesforce from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Salesforce from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $211.24.

Shares of CRM opened at $199.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $126.34 and a one year high of $222.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 951.38, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 1st. The CRM provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.99 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 4.48% and a net margin of 0.66%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the CRM provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Salesforce Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Salesforce, Inc engages in the design and development of cloud-based enterprise software for customer relationship management. Its solutions include sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, digital commerce, community management, collaboration, industry-specific solutions, and salesforce platform.

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AngloGold Ashanti Limited (NYSE:AU  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,330,000 shares, a growth of 15.1% from the February 28th total of 7,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Investec raised AngloGold Ashanti from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on AngloGold Ashanti from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. HSBC lowered AngloGold Ashanti from a buy rating to a reduce rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised AngloGold Ashanti from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AngloGold Ashanti from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $27.00.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,475 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in AngloGold Ashanti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AngloGold Ashanti by 664.4% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,646 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares during the period. 24.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance

AngloGold Ashanti Cuts Dividend

AU stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.19. 2,959,620 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,045,909. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.60. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $11.94 and a 12-month high of $24.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.88.

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be issued a $0.177 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%.

About AngloGold Ashanti

(Get Rating)

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of gold. It operates through the following business segments: Africa, Australia, and Americas. The Africa segment consists of Ghana, Guinea, the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Tanzania. The Americas segment comprises of Argentina, Brazil, and projects in Colombia and the United States.

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Birks Group Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:BGI  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,400 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the February 28th total of 7,600 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 50,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Birks Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BGI stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.11. The company had a trading volume of 30,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,350. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.03, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.17. Birks Group has a twelve month low of $4.29 and a twelve month high of $8.47. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $7.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.25.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Birks Group in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Birks Group

About Birks Group

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Birks Group stock. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Birks Group Inc. ( NYSEAMERICAN:BGI Get Rating ) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,000. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Birks Group, Inc engages in the designing of jewelry, timepieces and gift and operates jewelry stores. It operates through the Retail and Other segments. The Retail segment operates stores across Canada under the Maison Birks brand and retail locations in Calgary and Vancouver under Brinkhaus, Graff, and Philippe brands.

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Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LNVGF  Get Rating) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,659,200 shares, a decrease of 14.2% from the February 28th total of 24,084,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 48,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 425.1 days.

Lenovo Group Stock Performance

LNVGF stock traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.07. The companys stock had a trading volume of 500 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,371. The firms 50-day moving average is $0.89 and its 200-day moving average is $0.82. Lenovo Group has a 12 month low of $0.66 and a 12 month high of $1.15.

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Lenovo Group Company Profile

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Lenovo Group Limited, an investment holding company, develops, manufactures, and markets technology products and services. It operates through Intelligent Devices Group, Infrastructure Solutions Group, and Solutions and Services Group segments. The company offers commercial and consumer personal computers, as well as servers and workstations; and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smartphones.

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Smart Employee Benefits Inc. (CVE:SEB  Get Rating) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$0.30 and traded as high as C$0.30. Smart Employee Benefits shares last traded at C$0.30, with a volume of 11,100 shares.

Smart Employee Benefits Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1,180.39. The companys 50-day moving average price is C$0.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$0.22. The company has a market cap of C$52.63 million, a P/E ratio of -6.00 and a beta of 1.66.

About Smart Employee Benefits

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Smart Employee Benefits Inc, a technology company, provides business process automation and software solutions, and professional services in Canada and internationally. It operates through Benefits and Technology segments. The Benefits segment offers software solutions, services, and products that focuses on managing group benefit and wellness plans for corporate and government clients.

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Stonegate Investment Group LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonalds Co. (NYSE:MCD  Get Rating) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,066 shares of the fast-food giants stock after selling 976 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLCs holdings in McDonalds were worth $11,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of McDonalds by 103.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 413 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonalds by 7.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $17,266,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in McDonalds by 4.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 516,408 shares of the fast-food giants stock valued at $127,697,000 after acquiring an additional 23,643 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in McDonalds in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,108,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonalds by 59.7% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,338 shares of the fast-food giants stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. 66.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at McDonalds

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 3,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.69, for a total transaction of $1,030,606.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,271,978.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.44, for a total transaction of $370,554.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,755.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 3,850 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.69, for a total value of $1,030,606.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,637 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,271,978.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,122 shares of company stock worth $2,177,681. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonalds Price Performance

Shares of McDonalds stock traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $279.61. 2,902,491 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,721,851. McDonalds Co. has a 12-month low of $228.34 and a 12-month high of $281.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.10.

McDonalds (NYSE:MCD  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The fast-food giant reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.13. McDonalds had a negative return on equity of 120.10% and a net margin of 26.65%. The firm had revenue of $5.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that McDonalds Co. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonalds Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.52 per share. This represents a $6.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. McDonaldss dividend payout ratio is presently 72.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MCD. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonalds from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of McDonalds in a report on Monday, January 23rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonalds from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on McDonalds from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on McDonalds from $296.00 to $283.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $290.16.

McDonalds Profile

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McDonalds Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for McDonalds Co. (NYSE:MCD  Get Rating).

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Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP  Get Rating) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,379 shares of the railroad operators stock after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLCs holdings in Union Pacific were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MAS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at about $233,000. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Union Pacific by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 16,608 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at about $569,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its stake in Union Pacific by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 47,144 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $12,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Union Pacific by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,745 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.27% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $215.00 to $207.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Union Pacific from an underperform rating to a sector perform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Union Pacific from $215.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $218.60.

Union Pacific Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE UNP opened at $201.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firms fifty day moving average price is $200.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.39. The company has a market capitalization of $123.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.10. Union Pacific Co. has a 12 month low of $183.69 and a 12 month high of $278.94.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.75 by ($0.08). Union Pacific had a net margin of 28.13% and a return on equity of 58.41%. The company had revenue of $6.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 27th. Union Pacifics payout ratio is currently 46.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, EVP Elizabeth F. Whited sold 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,080 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,324,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Union Pacific Profile

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Union Pacific Corp. engages in the provision of railroad and freight transportation services. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Omaha, NE.

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Peter MacDonald, head of research and collections and John McLeish, chair of The Scottish Tartans Authority and James Wylie, an assistant curator at V&A Dundee, examine the faded tartan.

The world's oldest surviving Scottish tartan is over 400 years old and, though now faded, once sported green, brown, red and yellow, a new analysis of the centuries-old fabric reveals.

The tartan was found in a peat bog in Glen Affric  an area in the Scottish Highlands carpeted with woods, lakes and moorland  in the 1980s, but this is the first time that scientists have examined it with dye analysis and radiocarbon testing.

Tartan is a specific type of textile made from colored wool yarn woven in crisscrossing horizontal and vertical bands. The places where the bands of color cross form the tartan's iconic diagonal lines, and the color blocks repeat to form a pattern of lines and squares. Since the 19th century, different tartan patterns have been associated with specific Scottish clans.

Measuring 22 inches by 17 inches (55 by 43 centimeters), the scrap of tartan was found in a peat bog just 19 miles (31 kilometers) west of Loch Ness. This area of wetland is covered in dead plants such as mosses, and that combination produces high acidity and low levels of oxygen that can preserve organic material for millennia. Peat bogs throughout the U.K. and Ireland have been known to preserve wood, butter and even human bodies .

Related: Scotland's 'bodies in the bog' traveled hundreds of miles to die in a toilet

Here we see a rectangular piece of brown cloth (the tartan) on a display being held by two people.

Before testing the Glen Affric tartan, scientists carefully cleaned the peat staining off of it. Then, an analysis of the yarn dye was done at National Museums Scotland, using high-resolution digital microscopy. The scientists identified the four colors, which were produced by natural dyes such as woad, a flowering plant in the mustard family that can be used as a blue dye. The lack of artificial dyes suggested a pre-1750 date for the tartan, according to the statement.

Additional testing was then done at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) Radiocarbon Laboratory in East Kilbride. The most probable date for the scrap of tartan is between 1500 and 1600, making it the oldest "true tartan" found in Scotland.

Story continues

"Although we can theorize about the Glen Affric tartan," Peter MacDonald , head of research and collections at the Scottish Tartans Authority, said in a statement , "we don't know who owned it." The rustic nature of the cloth means it was mostly likely a garment someone wore while working outdoors, he said.

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Earlier possible examples of tartans have been found in England. The Falkirk tartan , which dates to the third century A.D., was found a century ago in Scotland near the Antonine Wall, stuffed into a ceramic pot with thousands of Roman coins. Although the fabric was woven in two colors, the pattern is a simple checkered design, and there is no evidence the yarn was dyed, meaning it is not a "true tartan."

"The Glen Affric tartan is clearly a piece of national and historical significance," John McLeish , chair of the Scottish Tartans Authority, said in the statement. "There is no other known surviving piece of tartan from this period of this age. It is a remarkable discovery and deserves national attention and preservation."

The newly dated tartan fragment will be displayed starting April 1 at the Tartan exhibit at V&A Dundee, Scotland's design museum.
A car in West Little Rock is battered and covered with debris following the March 31 storms.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have carried out a series of attacks against targets in Syria, criminal acts of aggression in defiance of international law.

Part of the US-Israeli covert war against Iran, they were carried out to support US imperialisms efforts to counter its declining economic and political position in the Middle East and to oppose Iran, which has intervened militarily to defend the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

In this May 17, 2018, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Syrian President Bashar Assad during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. [AP Photo/Mikhail Klimentyev]

With the Syrian regime backed by Russia, Israels intervention is also directed at supporting the US-NATO proxy war in Ukraine. It brings ever closer the threat of a broader military conflagration in the region.

According to the Syrian defence ministry, Israel launched an aerial aggression from the direction of northwest Beirut targeting some outposts in Homs city and its countryside at 00:35 a.m. on Sunday. The strikes injured five military personnel, reportedly hitting the T4 air base west of the ancient city of Palmyra, as well as the al Dabaa airport near al Qusayr city. This is close to the Lebanese border where Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed bourgeois clerical group, is dominant. Reuters cited sources stating that Iran has military personnel stationed alongside Hezbollah at both airports, while pro-Iranian militias have a strong presence in that area of Homs province.

Another target, according to the pro-imperialist London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, was an Iranian facility suspected of developing missiles and drones, where several Iranian-affiliated fighters were allegedly killed.

Iranian state media said that on Friday, an Israeli attack near Damascus, the Syrian capital, killed two members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a statement issued Sunday, the Revolutionary Guards said, The crimes of the Zionist regime will not go unanswered and they will pay for this.

Fridays attack followed missiles being fired from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on targets outside Damascus on the nights of March 30 and 31. While Syrian air defences downed some of the missiles, the strikes injured five Syrian soldiers and caused material damage.

Syrian security officers inspect the damage in a residential neighborhood after an early morning Israeli airstrike in the capital city of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. Syrian state news reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted a residential neighborhood in central Damascus. [AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki]

It was Israels sixth attack on Syria in March, with two separate attacks on Aleppos international airport and another on a weapons depot in central Syria that killed a Syrian officer and two Iranian-backed fighters. It follows hundreds of attacks on Syria since the start of the CIA-led proxy war in 2011 to topple the Assad regime, a key Iranian ally. While the IDF originally targeted Hezbollahs arms convoys, it later extended to Syrian government forces, Iranian-backed fighters and Hezbollah, as well as weapons-production sites, with Israel insisting that it would not allow Iran to operate near its borders.

Syrias civilian airports, including Damascus International Airport, and residential neighbourhoods, have been hit. The attacks on Aleppos airport are particularly criminal as it has been one of the main entry points for international aid trying to reach earthquake-hit zones in northern Syria. Februarys catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey has killed nearly 60,000 people, including around 8,500 in Syria, although the number of unreported cases is likely to be far higher than official figures. Millions are suffering from homelessness, hunger and terrible weather conditions in northwest Syria, with many people forced to live in emergency shelters or tents.

Fridays attack indicates that Israel is now directly targeting the IRGC, which has taken increasing control of Irans foreign policy. Tel Aviv has accused the IRGC of funding both Hamasthe clerical group that controls Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihadas well as Hezbollah. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said recently, We openly declare our support for the resistance front, a reference to the groups opposing Israels occupation of Palestinian land.

The IDF has refused to comment on the reported strikes in Syria, the third since Thursday. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, without referring to any specific targets or strikes, that Israel is exacting a heavy price from the regimes that support terrorism beyond Israels borders.

Israels attacks on Syria, undoubtedly coordinated with the Biden administration, support Washingtons broader predatory interests in the region, but also reflect the increasing political turmoil within Israel itself.

Last Monday night, Netanyahu, in the face of the largest outpouring of popular opposition in Israels 75-year history, announced a temporary halt to his plans for a coup against the countrys judicial system. The mass walkout of workers on Sunday and Monday in opposition to his fascistic government has brought Israel, as Netanyahu admitted, to the brink of civil war. It has been fuelled by Israels immense economic inequality, its myriad social problems and the impact of the global capitalist crisis.

It creates the ever-greater risk that Netanyahu will take dangerous military action to create some kind of national unity and deflect political tensions outward towards Iran. He would be following the example provided by the US and NATO, which have incited the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine in large part to divert their mounting internal tensions towards a foreign adversary.

Netanyahu is also whipping up tensions in the occupied West Bank, in East Jerusalem and among Israels own Palestinian citizens. On Saturday, Israeli police shot and killed Mohammed al-Asibia young Israeli Palestinian resident of the Bedouin town of Hura in southern Israel who had just completed his medical studiesat the Chain Gate entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem. Police claim he had snatched a gun from an officer and fired it at other officers. Witnesses say he had in fact gone to help a woman involved in an altercation with the police and that the police shot him 10 times.

With the police unable to produce any CCTV footage confirming their version of events, an umbrella group of Arab leaders declared a one-day general strike across Israel in protest at the cold-blooded execution. Rallies would be held along with a mass protest during al-Asibis funeral against all occupation policies, oppression and racial discrimination.

Hours later, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Mohammed Baradyeh, a 23-year-old Palestinian motorist near the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the West Bank, following what they said was his attempt to ram his car into a group of soldiers. It brings to at least 88 the number of Palestinians and one Palestinian Israeli killed by Israeli security forces and settlers since the start of the year and raises fears of bloodshed during Ramadanespecially around the al-Aqsa mosque compound as Israel tightens restrictions against Palestinians in the area.

Tensions are particularly acute in the wake of the plans announced Monday that the government is preparing to establish a National Guard, a reservist paramilitary force to be used within Israel. Originally proposed by the previous government, it will be under the direct control of Jewish Power leader and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. This, along with new legislation that enables the homes of Palestinian Israelis to be searched without a warrant, will give the authorities the power to storm and search Palestinian homes at will.

It will become yet another weapon in the armoury of the far-right against Israels own Palestinians that Ben Gvir and ultra-nationalist and fascistic allies have for years called to be subjected to population transfers, meaning ethnic cleansing. It is aimed at preventing the mass protests and riots that broke out in Israels predominantly Arab and mixed cities in May 2021 following the pogrom-like provocations by his vigilante groups as the police turned a blind eye, with the ultimate objective of driving them from their homes.
25 years ago: Suharto signs IMF deal

Suharto in 1993

On April 7, 1998, following three weeks of tense negotiations with International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials, the Suharto regime in Indonesia agreed to sign a revised package of economic measures in return for the resumption of US$43 billion in emergency funding.

A previous deal signed in January 1998 collapsed when the IMF suspended a US$3 billion payment to Indonesia due March 15. Jakarta was accused of failing to meet deadlines and prescriptions for the restructuring of the economy. The new agreement was identical to the one signed in January, effectively placing the Indonesian economy under IMF control. It consisted of a comprehensive plan for restructuring the finance and banking sectors, the removal of trade, taxation and other barriers facing international investors, and stringent budget guidelines.

The IMF, backed by the US, seized upon the Asian economic crisis to advance long-held plans for prying open the Indonesian economy to foreign investors and dismantling monopolies, tax concessions and trade barriers enjoyed by the Suharto family and its close business cronies.

During the ensuing standoff between the IMF and Indonesia, the US press reported that top-level meetings were taking place regularly in the White House to weigh out various options, including Suhartos removal. The prospect of a complete economic and political breakdown in Indonesia provoked alarm and divisions in ruling circles.

The Australian government warned that the IMF plan could trigger a social explosion under conditions where no viable ruling class political alternative to Suharto existed. Backed by the World Bank and other IMF critics, Australia urged the IMF to modify its stance to slow the rapid rise of unemployment and poverty.

Talks recommenced and a new agreement was eventually reached, but sharp differences remained. Even as the deal was being signed, IMF deputy managing director Stanley Fischer publicly cast doubts on Suhartos willingness to cooperate. Speaking in Tokyo after visiting Indonesia, Fischer said: We will simply have to see if the system as a whole is capable of implementing reform... It is clear that there is a question about the commitment of the Indonesian government.

He warned that the IMF would again cut off funds if the plan was not fully carried out. The program has specific actions and deadlines with other safeguards to monitor that actions are taken. We could not continue disbursements if conditions were not met.

Fischers comments undermined the assurances made by chief economic minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita that Indonesia would carry out the IMF agreement to the letter... Were following through on all of the commitments. I can confirm there will be no more monopolies, he said.

Suharto criticized previous IMF deals for their failure to restore confidence in the rupiah or reschedule the countrys massive US$71 billion private debt. Without that relief, many of Indonesias major corporations, those of the Suharto family included, were technically insolvent.

50 years ago: Picasso dies at 91

Pablo Picasso in 1962

On April 8, 1973, Pablo Picasso, one of the most famous and influential artists of the 20th century, died in his sleep at his home in France, at the age of 91. His life witnessed many great upheavals and catastrophes, including two world wars, the Russian Revolution, the rise of fascism, and the Spanish Civil War. At the time of his death, Picasso was preparing works that were to be presented at the Avignon Arts Festival that coming May.

Over the course of his long career, which spanned numerous modes of expression from neo-classicism to cubism to sculpture, Picasso greatest works expressed through the medium of art the immense contradictions and political instability of his era.

Trained by his father, who was also an artist, Picasso had mastered the classical styles of art by the time he was just 13 years old. At the turn of the century, in his early twenties, he would already begin painting some of the most sensitive and impactful pieces of his career. This Blue Period features works dealing with the tragic conditions of the poor and social outcasts. Among the paintings from this period include The Old Guitarist and La Celestine.

Picasso had already won fame by World War I. However, unlike many other artists who joined revolutionary movements during the upheavals of this period, Picasso never participated in any political movements. Indeed, he lived through the war, the Russian Revolution, and the rise of fascism with evident indifference, at least in public.

But in 1936 at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and with the thuggery of Francos fascist forces that threatened works at the Prado Museum, Picasso finally was stirred into political action. Like many artists in this period, he mistakenly came to regard the Stalinist Communist parties as a bulwark against fascism and became a supporter of the French and Spanish Stalinist parties, though it was not until 1944 that he would officially join the French Communist Party.

It was in this time, as part of the struggle against Franco, that Picasso painted Guernica, his depiction of the Basque town viciously destroyed by Nazi bombing in 1937. This painting, his most clearly political, became one of the most important works of the 20th century.

After the victory of Franco in the Civil War, Picasso went into exile from Spain. With Franco still in power in 1973, he was never able to return to his home country, living the rest of his life mainly in France.

Picasso continued to work, embracing other mediums of art in addition to painting, particularly sculpture. Though his greatest achievements came during the heights of wars and revolutions that he experienced, he never stopped working even up to the very final hours of his life.

75 years ago: Zionist paramilitary forces carry out Deir Yassin massacre of Palestinians

The transfer of the village of Deir Yassin to the Haganah militia. Exhibited in Beit Gidi Hatzel Museum in 1988

On April 9, 1948, Zionist paramilitary organizations carried out a brutal massacre of Palestinians in the village of Deir Yassin, killing anywhere from 117 to 254 of the villages 600 inhabitants. The onslaught included the murder of women, children and the elderly, as well as the execution of prisoners, rapes and other crimes against humanity.

The Zionist raid took place as the British were preparing to leave Palestine, which they had ruled since the end of World War I, as part of the dismantling of their colonial empire. The United Nations, dominated by American imperialism, had mandated that Palestine would be split along ethnic lines, with the creation of a Jewish state. This had provoked substantial opposition from the Palestinians who faced displacement.

In the hostilities, the Zionist groups increasingly turned to indiscriminate violence against civilians. While there had been armed clashes between Arab nationalist and Zionist organizations in April, Deir Yassin was in an area covered by a peace agreement.

Despite this, the Zionist militias Irgun and the Stern gang plotted an assault on the village, in collaboration with other organizations including the Haganah, the primary Zionist military force. The nominal purpose was to secure control over the villages in the approaches to Jerusalem. This was part of a bid to establish the military supremacy required for the defeat of the Arab nationalists and the establishment of an Israeli state.

When the 130 Zionist fighters entered the village, they encountered some limited resistance. Immediately, they began going from house to house. Grenades were thrown into many dwellings, while villagers were marched out of their homes.

Mohamed Aref Samir, a schoolteacher in the village and survivor of the attack, later stated:

From 5:00 a.m. until about 11:00 a.m. there was a systematic slaughter, with them going from house to house. From the eastern edge of the village nobody came out unhurt. Whole families were slaughtered. At 6:00 in the morning they caught 21 young people from the village, about 25 years old, they stood them in a row, near where the post-office is today, and executed them.

Many women who watched this horrifying spectacle went crazy, and some are in institutions to this day. A pregnant woman, who was coming back with her son from the bakery, was murdered and her belly was smashed, after her son was killed before her eyes. In one of the conquered village houses a Bren machine gun was set up, which shot everyone who got in its line of fire.

Aside from the stated military purposes of the occupation, the clear aim was to terrify the Palestinians to force them from the land. The Deir Yassin massacre thus constituted a clear example of the ethnic cleansing that was at the core of the establishment of Israel. The leader of Irgun was Menachem Begin, who would go on to serve as the sixth Israeli prime minister.

100 years ago: Harvard University bans racial and religious discrimination

A. Lawrence Lowell, portrait by John Singer Sargent

On April 9, 1923, Harvard Universitys Board of Overseers adopted policies against discrimination in campus room and board, and in admissions. In a rebuke to Harvard President A. Lawrence Lowell, the board ruled that blacks could live on campus and dine with whites in university facilities, and that no quotas could be set for members of any race or religion.

In 1921, Lowell had prohibited six blacks admitted to the class of 1925 from moving into university housing, which was required of all first-year students, forcing them to live off campus. He also banned them from dining on university premises with whites. Lowells racist act prompted the students to fight back by circulating petitions and bringing information about the exclusion to the press. This developed into an anti-discrimination campaign by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Lowell had also limited Jews to 15 percent of incoming freshmen. Jews at the time made up about 20 percent of undergraduates.

In a letter to the father of one of the black freshmen, an alumnus, Lowell wrote, We owe to the colored man the same opportunities for education that we do to the white man  but we do not owe to him to force him and the white man into social relations that are not, or may not be, mutually congenial.

In 1922, the New York Times published an exchange of letters between Lowell and a Jewish alumnus, in which Lowell justified his policy limiting the number of Jews as a method of combating antisemitism. The anti-Semitic feeling among the students is increasing, he wrote, and it grows in proportion to the increase in the number of Jews. If the number [of Jews] should become 40 percent of the student body the race feeling would become intense. When, on the other hand, the number of Jews was small, the race antagonism was small also.

In reversing Lowells admission policy, the Board of Overseers wrote that if it were now adopted here as a means of selection, [it] would inevitably be regarded as a covert device to eliminate those deemed racially or socially undesirable.

The board also overturned Lowells exclusion of blacks from living and dining on campus. It declared, all members of the freshman class shall reside and board in the freshman halls  nor shall any man be excluded by reason of his color, but added, in what was widely viewed as a concession to white students and alumni from the Jim Crow south, in the application of this rule, men of the white and colored races shall not be compelled to live and eat together  .
The Turkish parliament (TBMM)s acceptance of Finlands NATO membership, without a single vote against, is a clear declaration of the commitment of the entire ruling class to imperialism.

Turkish lawmakers vote in favor of Finland's bid to join NATO, late Thursday, March 30, 2023, at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey. All 276 lawmakers present voted unanimously in favor of Finland's bid, days after Hungary's parliament also endorsed Helsinki's accession. [AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici]

This move, amid the escalating war by the US-led NATO powers against Russia, is part of NATOs decades-long aggressive eastward expansion. It turns the entire Nordic region into a potential battleground in a war with Russia and increases the danger of a world war between nuclear-armed powers.

Since the Turkish government had issued a tactical veto of Finnish membership in NATO, the overturning of this veto was seen as critical. A unanimous vote of the NATO alliances 30 member states is required for a country to join NATO. The Hungarian parliament also approved Finlands NATO membership earlier this week. That left only Turkeys approval for the application to go through.

Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO last May, amid the US-led war against Russia in Ukraine. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government declared its opposition and threatened a veto, mainly based on allegations that these countries have supported the Kurdish nationalist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its Syrian affiliate, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG). Ankara denounces both these organizations as terrorist. As the World Socialist Web Site previously explained, however, this was but a negotiating tactic.

In return for Swedens and Finlands commitment to meet its demands, Ankara withdrew its veto on Finnish NATO membership. We have seen that Finland has taken sincere steps to fulfill its commitments in the trilateral memorandum, Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Finnish President Niinisto in Ankara on March 17. However, Erdogan accused Sweden, which has applied for NATO membership along with Finland, of harbouring terrorists.

On, ahead of upcoming May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, Erdogans approval of Finlands NATO membership was a signal to his NATO allies. The decision on Finland is a step to counter growing criticism in the West, especially in the US, that Turkey is a stumbling block for the expansion of the alliance, the BBC Turkce wrote, adding that the move sent a message that we are committed to NATO.

The protocol approving Finlands NATO membership was adopted with the votes of all parties participating in the vote.The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally, the fascist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), as well as the Kemalist Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the far-right Good Party, which lead the bourgeois opposition Nation Alliance, all voted in favor.

The Kurdish nationalist Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) took part in the talks but did not vote no. The Workers Party of Turkey (TIP), which has four deputies, also did not take part in the talks or the vote. The Labour and Freedom Alliance (EOI), which includes the HDP and TIP, had announced its support for Kemal Klcdaroglu, the candidate of the National Alliance, in the presidential elections on 14 May.

The CHP, behind which the pseudo-left parties have united as a supposed alternative to Erdogan, enthusiastically supported Finlands NATO membership.

Speaking to Reuters in February 2022, CHP leader Klcdaroglu hailed NATO, an imperialist war alliance, as a guarantee of democracy. He declared, We are a part of NATO. Therefore, we cannot see ourselves outside this alliance. We have commitments in this regard. We do not see NATO only as a defence institution. Today, in the 21st century, NATO is also a guarantee of democracy.

Klcdaroglu and his Nation Alliance had won the support of Western capitals with its more openly pro-imperialist and pro-NATO stance. Speaking to the New York Times before the 2020 US elections, Joseph Biden openly declared his support for the CHP-led alliance against Erdogan. It is no coincidence that Klcdaroglu, now the Nation Alliances official candidate, has traveled to major NATO countriesincluding the US, the UK and Germanyin recent months, meeting with representatives of the political and financial elite.

The pseudo-left parties support for the Nation Alliance, despite its openly pro-NATO stance, exposes their support for imperialism. As for the TIP, which stood behind the Nation Alliance that the US and European imperialist powers hope will be elected, it took a deliberate decision not to oppose NATO in this historic vote.

While HDP deputy Hisyar Ozsoy tried to take an anti-war stance in his speech to parliament, the HDP did not oppose the move. Moreover, Ozsoy portrayed Helsinkis application as a result of Russias unprovoked invasion, rather than as part of NATOs decades-long eastward expansion: As you know, discussions on NATO enlargement began after Russias invasion of Ukraine. Sweden and Finland, which have historically remained neutral in military alliances, are seeking NATO membership because of growing security concerns.

The HDPs decision to abstain rather than vote no exposes the falsity of this position. Ozsoy justified this decision with a mealy-mouthed statement: We never vote yes to a military agreement, we always say no. This is the first time we are doing so in a military agreement. But this time we decided not to take part in this vote because we consider Finlands security concerns legitimate, and we didnt want to say no either.

The Socialist Equality Group in Turkey unconditionally opposes the anti-democratic repression of the Kurdish people and of HDP politicians by the Erdogan government. However, this in no way diminishes our opposition to the HDP as a pro-imperialist bourgeois party.

HDP did not oppose the US invasions and regime change wars in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria. On the contrary, the YPG, which HDP claims is leading a Rojava Revolution, has become the main US proxy force in Syria.

The HDP is officially represented in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. It also has close ties with the imperialist political establishment in Europeespecially the ruling German Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens, who enthusiastically support the NATO war against Russia. Because it faces a lawsuit that may result in the HDP being banned, it is running its candidates in the lists of the Green Left Party in Turkey. It is a member of the European Green Party coalition.

The alignment of the entire political establishment in Turkey, including the pseudo-left, behind US imperialism and NATOs war against Russia has strikingly confirmed the perspective of the Socialist Equality Group: The Nation Alliance led by the CHP is not an alternative to Erdogans People Alliance, but a right-wing rival of it. The pseudo-left supporters of the Nation Alliance work to contain growing social opposition of the working class and youth within the limits of the capitalist system.

The main issues facing the masses of workers and youth in Turkeyofficial disregard for public health and safety amid pandemics or earthquake, the danger of world war, social inequality and the cost of living, ever more authoritarian forms of ruleare essentially international problems that can only be resolved on a global scale by the working class. The way forward is to build an international working class movement aiming to take power from the bourgeoisie and establish socialism worldwide.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shareholders have seen the share price descend 10% over the month. In contrast the stock is up over the last three years. Arguably you'd have been better off buying an index fund, because the gain of 55% in three years isn't amazing.

On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Delta Air Lines

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.

Over the last three years, Delta Air Lines failed to grow earnings per share, which fell 34% (annualized).

This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Therefore, we think it's worth considering other metrics as well.

It could be that the revenue growth of 8.6% per year is viewed as evidence that Delta Air Lines is growing. In that case, the company may be sacrificing current earnings per share to drive growth, and maybe shareholder's faith in better days ahead will be rewarded.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Delta Air Lines will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

The total return of 11% received by Delta Air Lines shareholders over the last year isn't far from the market return of -11%. Unfortunately, last year's performance is a deterioration of an already poor long term track record, given the loss of 5% per year over the last five years. Weak performance over the long term usually destroys market confidence in a stock, but bargain hunters may want to take a closer look for signs of a turnaround. 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 3 warning signs with Delta Air Lines , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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The main aim of stock picking is to find the market-beating stocks. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in Transcontinental Inc. (TSE:TCL.A), since the last five years saw the share price fall 47%. Even worse, it's down 12% in about a month, which isn't fun at all. Importantly, this could be a market reaction to the recently released financial results. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

View our latest analysis for Transcontinental

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the five years over which the share price declined, Transcontinental's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 13% each year. This change in EPS is reasonably close to the 12% average annual decrease in the share price. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Transcontinental, it has a TSR of -32% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Transcontinental shareholders are down 14% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 6.3%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 6% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Transcontinental you should be aware of.

We will like Transcontinental better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Canadian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

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The National Weather Service issued a rare level 5 "high risk" outlook, predicting several "strong to potentially violent" tornadoes in several southern and Midwestern states early Friday

Benjamin Krain/Getty

At least 26 people are now dead after tornadoes and severe storms struck several southern and Midwestern states on Friday, according to various news outlets.

According to The Hill, the storms struck at least eight states with nine reported deaths in Tennessee, four in Arkansas, four in Illinois and three in Indiana. A week ago, 26 people died in Mississippi and one in Alabama from a twister that passed through, per NPR.

Leading up to the storms, the National Weather Service issued a rare level 5 "high risk" outlook over portions of the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Mid-South, predicting several "strong to potentially violent" tornadoes in the area.

"The damage and loss that our community suffered last night was catastrophic. We send our condolences to all of those who were impacted by this event, not just in our community, but across the entire region," the Adamsville Police Department in Tennessee wrote in a statement on Facebook on Saturday.

Related:At Least 11 Dead and Dozens Injured Due to Tornadoes and Severe Weather Across Several States

The Covington Police Department in Tennessee wrote in a statement on Facebook Saturday that the city is "impassable," sharing photos of the damage, including homes and fallen power lines, "to keep people from being tempted to take to the roads."

In Arkansas, at least five people are dead after tornadoes swept through the cities of Wynne and Little Rock, destroying several homes and businesses in the area.

Wynne's county coroner confirmed to Fox 13 News that four were killed overnight as a tornado touched the ground moving at about 50 mph. CrossRidge Community Hospital located in Wynne confirmed to WATE 6 that at least 26 people had been admitted to the hospital due to storm-related injuries.

Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

On Friday night, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. also tweeted that there were at least 24 people hospitalized. Fox Weather reported that the number of those injured had grown to 30 and at least one person was dead in the aftermath of the tornado. Little Rock Police issued a statement asking people to avoid the areas which received extensive damage, including the Rodney Parham and Shackleford area, Murray Park, and Reservoir Road up to the Arkansas River.

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Related:Mississippi Dad and Daughter, 1, Killed After Tornado Destroyed Home, Family Hospitalized: 'Shattered'

"As dawn breaks we start the long process of recovery and rebuilding. Little Rock is resilient & we will rebound stronger," Scott tweeted on Saturday.

In Belvidere, Ill., one person was killed and 28 people were injured at a metal rock concert held at the Apollo Theatre after the roof collapsed due to severe weather, per CNN. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle told the outlet that although tornadoes had been predicted to hit the area, there were no reports that one "actually" touched the ground.

In Sullivan County, Ind., Sullivan City Mayor Clint Lamb confirmed three deaths and nearly 200 structures damaged throughout the city in a news conference, calling it "absolutely unbelievable, like nothing I've ever witnessed," per PBS. Fox Weather reported that the tornado tore through the area at about 10:30 p.m. and traveled about 3-4 miles, destroying homes and businesses in the rural town.

"It is far too early to know the extent of the devastation; however, we can tell you that there is a line of damage covering several miles," wrote Sullivan County Sheriff Jason Bobbit in a statement on Facebook Saturday. "Homes in both the city and county are severely damaged and some are completely leveled."

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.

"Our worst fears became a reality earlier when we learned that members of our community have lost their lives," he continued. "Please pray for our community and the families affected. And pray for our emergency responders and utility workers who are still searching for residents and making the scene safe."

In Huntsville, Ala. local news station WAFF-TV reported that one woman was dead and five others were injured after a tornado touched down in the Hazel Green area. Madison County Coroner Dr. Tyler Berryhill told NPR that the woman, described as "elderly" had been killed in her home after the tornado impacted her home.

Mississippi's Emergency Management Agency also tweeted that there was at least one fatality and four people injured in Pontotoc County due to the "severe weather."

The tornadoes impacted several power lines across the country in states like Minnesota, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan, leaving over 559,000 people without power on Saturday, according to electricity tracking website poweroutage.us.

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Read the original article on People.
John Boyd says that being a part of this Tuesday nights 3-way crossover between CBS three FBI shows was no less than an out-of-body experience.

Three years ago, Boyds FBI character, Special Agent Stuart Scola, had a small role in a mini crossover with Most Wanted. But this time around, Boyd can be seen in all three episodes of the Imminent Threat crossover event.

More from TVLine

It was definitely a first, getting to take a character that Ive been building for five seasons and drop into shows that I have watched, Boyd shares with TVLine. In the crossover events third hour, for example, It was a surreal thing to be sitting in the Muster Room with the cast of Most Wanted, to have a scene where all of them are looking at my character. Like, Im looking at the show, and the show is looking at me! I was having an out-of-body experience.

Boyd adds, That was definitely the most interesting part of crossing over, that no one could have warned me about  the sheer surrealism of taking your character and going into a world that youve seen but never played in.

The Imminent Threat crossover event  which is not broken up with individual show credits and instead rolls each breakneck hour right into the next  kicks off Tuesday at 8/7c with an episode of FBI: International. That hour opens with an explosive wedding, before jumping to Three Months Later, where the Fly Team led by Special Agent Forrester (Luke Kleintank) gets to investigating an American businessmans abduction in Rome, Italy.

As it becomes clear that the kidnapping victim knows things that would be extremely useful to terrorists, FBIs Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) and Nina (Shantel Van Santen) jet off to Rome. Meanwhile  and likely related to the abduction  Agent Scola back in New York has been working undercover to draw out someone interested in buying industrial-grade explosives. Scola is doing his job, and its not going great, Boyd reports. Hes struggling to get anywhere with the case.

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Not helping matters is that fact that Nina, who is pregnant, is working so dangerous a case over in Rome, while baby daddy Scola is doing his best to not blow his cover amongst a very sketchy and dangerous lot of individuals.

As such, whenever he gets to break cover and come up for air, Scolas focus is on his feelings for Nina and missing her and wanting her to know how much he cares about her, says Boyd.

FBI Most Wanted Scola remy

In the second hour, when Scolas undercover work points in the direction of some Brighton Beach baddies, FBI: Most Wanteds Remy (Dylan McDermott)  who has experience infiltrating Chechan gangs in the Brooklyn nabe  gets called in for a big assist.

Its interesting seeing a seasoned agent with that depth of undercover experience joining up with a member of our team, Boyd notes. We really get to see Scola respond to the way Remy works, as the leader of an elite fugitive task force.

The third hour, an FBI: Most Wanted episode, builds to a climax that is as big as it gets, Boyd declares. Its New York City, its three shows, its tens of thousands of lives [at risk], every law enforcement agency.

They pulled out all the stops, the actor attests. They really went all out.

Want scoop on any of the FBI shows? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matts Inside Line.

Launch Gallery: TV's Best Crossovers, Ranked: Lucifer Joins Arrowverse, Homer on <I>Family Guy</i>, #OneChicago Team-Up and More

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Tourists watch a newborn blacktip reef shark at the beach of Maya Bay in Phi Phi Island National Park, on Phi Phi Leh Island, Thailand (Reuters)

On any given day in Thailands Maya Bay, up to 40 blacktip reef sharks cruise in the cyan shallows while about 4,000 tourists visit its white-sand beach flanked by towering cliffs.

Shark numbers have improved since almost every last one was driven from the bay by the influx of tour boats and tourists keen to see the uninhabited idyll that was made famous as the set of Leonardo Di Caprios 2000 thriller The Beach.

The sharks returned after a tourism ban and the pandemic between 2018 and 2022 halted all visitors to the bay.

Authorities allowed limited tourism to resume last year, and now conservationists say shark numbers are thinning out again, leaving Maya Bay struggling to strike a balance between preserving a pristine ecosystem and sustaining livelihoods dependent on tourism.

The sun rises over Maya Bay's limestone mountains at the Phi Phi Island (Reuters)

A group of eight juvenile blacktip reef sharks swim in the early morning, during low tide (Reuters)

We dont talk about closing down everywhere or reducing the tourism numbers, but I think we are talking about managing it wisely, said Petch Manopawitr, a marine adviser to Thailands National Parks Department.

Shark nursery

Maya Bay lies in Phi Phi Leh Island, a speck of limestone rock covered in emerald-green vegetation in the Andaman Sea off Thailands west coast.

Marine researcher Metavee Chuangcharoendee said that thanks to the pause in tourism the island was once again functioning as a nursery for young sharks.

Metavee Chuangcharoendee, 27, from the Maya Shark Watch Project, arrives with her team to install their baited remote underwater video station (Reuters)

Tourists arrive for an hour-long visit to Maya Bay beach through a new pier constructed over a reef in Loh Samah Bay beach (Reuters)

She and other researchers at the Maya Shark Watch Project use underwater cameras and drones to count sharks and observe their behaviour, feeding areas, and breeding patterns.

In the year between November 2021, when they initiated a pilot study, and the end of 2022, they noticed a decrease in the number of sharks as tourists gradually returned.

Blacktips, named after the distinctive black colouring on their dorsal fins and tails, roam the Andaman Sea and other tropical regions in decreasing numbers due to overfishing, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Sommawan Kasa, 29, a divemaster with the Maya Shark Watch Project, takes notes on a waterproof filming board (Reuters)

A newborn blacktip reef shark is silhouetted as it swims at night (Reuters)

Tourists enjoy the beach where swimming is forbidden and people are only allowed to enter water up to their knees (Reuters)

A number of factors affect the sharks around Phi Phi Leh Island, including seasonal movement patterns and human activity like fishing, Metavee said.

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But with the number of sharks already dwindling, authorities and conservationists are intent on keeping tourists from swimming in the bay and driving away the baby sharks, which hide in the shallows and coral reefs from the cannibalistic adults.

We are hoping that with the restrictions in place, we can mitigate the disturbance to [the sharks]. We are doing this research in hopes that we can find the best way to manage and the best way for tourism and the environment to coexist, Metavee said.

Tourism dollars

Tourism is a key driver of Thailands economy, accounting for 12 per cent of GDP before the pandemic. The southeast Asian country is hoping to generate 1.5 trillion baht from up to 30 million tourists this year.

For Phi Phi Island National Park, annual revenue was almost halved from 638.3 million baht (15.1m) in 2018 to 373.6 million baht in 2019 after authorities closed the beach.

The pandemic further crippled the struggling industry.

Tourists take pictures at the beach on Maya Bay (Reuters)

Tourists arrive for an hour-long visit to Maya Bay beach (Reuters)

Tourists pose for a picture as a newborn blacktip reef shark swims by the shore (Reuters)

Under pressure from tour operators, authorities reopened Maya Bay in January last year after four years of closure, and visitor and revenue figures are once again rising steadily.

But authorities have maintained restrictions on access.

Tour boats must dock on the other side of the island from the beach; visitors must walk to the beach; the number of visitors allowed every hour is capped at 375, and they are allowed to wade only knee-deep into the water.

If you can create a new image of Maya Bay as a nature reserve ... I think that is actually going to create a new tourism scheme as well and we are going to benefit from it overall, said National Parks Department adviser Petch.
The post Feist Opens Up About Playing Shows with Arcade Fire After Win Butler Allegations: I Was Out of Body appeared first on Consequence.

Last year, Feist opened two shows for Arcade Fire before exiting the tour in response to sexual misconduct allegations leveled against the bands frontman, Win Butler. Now, shes opened up about her initial decision to stay on the tour, and her ultimate choice to leave, in an interview with The Irish Times.

A detailed report by Pitchfork revealing Butlers extramarital relationships  in which he used his power as a rock star in inappropriate ways with much younger women  was published on August 27th, 2022. Feist was set to open for Arcade Fire in Ireland on August 30th, and went along with the shows after considering the money shed invested in bringing her band across the Atlantic, as well as the potential in trying out new songs for an audience.

I was having an out-of-body experience, Feist recalled in the new interview. Not to mention, I had brought all of these new songs. I thought, Okay, maybe Ill go do this tour and workshop how to play these songs in a bigger context. She donated the money from her merchandise sales at the two shows to Womens Aid Dublin.

Soon, though, her initial strategy to duck my head and get through this felt wrong. My body was just doing the songs, she said, as opposed to the performance feeling natural in the way it normally does. She likened her presence on the tour to being caught at a crime scene.

My presence is here, she said. Here is what Im saying. Here is what I am doing. It was sort of this crime-scene wand [a device used to dust for finger prints]. You put a wand up and you can see the fingerprints.

On September 1st, Feist announced her exit from the tour with an Instagram post. It took me until the second show where all of the practical discomfort of having to dismantle this crazy machine and fold it back up and lose what I had invested in being there, she recalled. The whole thing was made so clear to me. I couldnt continue.

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The artist continued, It was like, actually, no  I cant avoid my responsibility here. Not to mention every word that came out of my mouth, I was hearing through an ear that wasnt my own. I was hearing how twisted and skewed  In the context they were in, the songs werent safe. And neither was I  It was deeply difficult.

Read Feists full interview with The Irish Times here. Beck was slated to open for Arcade Fire on the North American leg of the same tour, but he dropped off the bill without comment weeks before the shows were to begin.

The artists next album, Multitudes, is out April 14th, and tickets to her own North American tour are on sale now via Stubhub.

Feist Opens Up About Playing Shows with Arcade Fire After Win Butler Allegations: I Was Out of Body

Carys Anderson

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Jean Fincher

Jean Finchers introduction to teaching occurred in Peru, so it is only fitting that she ultimately became a dedicated social studies teacher with an unparalleled ability to incorporate her worldly experiences into her lessons to effectively engage her students.

She is one of four retired educators who will be inducted into the Bartlesville Educator Hall of Fame April 27 at the Bartlesville Community Center.

Fincher was born in Denoya, Oklahoma, which in the 1920s was known as Whizbang and was an infamous oil boomtown. Her family left Denoya when she was a toddler and eventually settled in Valley Center, Kansas where she attended school until the ninth grade. Her family then moved to Drumright, Oklahoma. It was there that she first met Don Fincher, her future husband.

After high school, she went to business school, worked in Tulsa as a secretary, got married, and worked in Stillwater while Don completed his engineering degree. After Don graduated, the couple, with their infant son Mark, moved to Cartagena, Colombia, where Don worked for an international oil company, and their second son, Derrel, was born. After two years in Colombia, the couple moved to Aruba and then Talara, Peru.

Talara was where Fincher got her first taste of teaching, as a substitute teacher of English for Peruvian students in a Peruvian/American school. The principal of the school recognized Jeans talent, and both the principal and Jean's husband encouraged her to consider a teaching degree.

Prompted by this encouragement, she and her husband moved their two boys back to Stillwater, where Fincher pursued a degree in education at Oklahoma State University. Despite being an atypical student with a family at home and a lot of life experience, she was recognized for having the highest GPA among first-year education majors.

After her husbands job required moving to Borger, Texas, she commuted to finish her degree at West Texas State University, where she was inducted into Alpha Chi National Honor Society. She taught upper-elementary grades for four years in Borger before moving to Bartlesville and teaching at Jane Phillips Elementary. One year she spent half of her day teaching sixth-grade reading classes and the other half teaching Head Start. She remembers this divide as a challenge that developed an admiration of early-childhood specialists.

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Fincher does not identify herself as sweet enough to work with very young children, confessing that she often had to cheat when teaching rhyming games because she did not know her nursery rhymes.

A few years later, she moved to Wilson Elementary to teach sixth grade for nine years. She speaks fondly of the time when there was one virtually self-contained class per grade with highly involved families.

The 1980s brought significant transitions in education and Finchers sixth-grade students were at Wilson, then Highland Park, back to Wilson, and then shifted to Madison Middle School. She requested to shift to Central Middle School and taught sixth-grade social studies there until her retirement in 1991.

Both before and after retirement, Fincher traveled internationally. She visited several Western European countries while touring, but her longest visits were in countries where her sons families resided: Japan, China, Norway, Trinidad-Tobago, and Brazil. Return visits of these families, with four grandchildren in the mix, kept the Finchers Bartlesville home happily busy during many summers and holidays. Jean now has four great-grandchildren.

After her sons left for college, Fincher became busy outside the classroom, serving as president of the Washington County OSU Alumni Club and on the boards of the Friends of the Library and of the Oklahoma Division of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She was named Woman of the Year by the Bartlesville branch of AAUW. She has consistently stayed active in her church. Prior to the illness and death of her husband in 2010, she also trained and volunteered briefly as an early-settlement mediator.

When reflecting on her time in the classroom, Fincher loved seeing her students connect the classroom lessons to the real world. To foster those connections and keep her students engaged, she brought in guest speakers, including World War II veterans, writers, musicians, and a Taiwanese gentleman who spoke fluent Mandarin and had helped open business connections with Communist China. Fincher is excited to be a part of an event that supports the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation, since the Foundation supported her and her colleagues during their careers.

The Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation has been investing in students and staff members within the district since 1985. Over the decades, the non-profit organization has funded more than $3 million in creative projects outside of the traditional state, local and federal sources to support state-of-the-art instruction. The money generated by the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on April 27, 2023, will help fund the organizations programs. A $1,000 grant in Finchers name will also go to a school or department of Ms. Finchers choice.

This event is open to the public and tickets are available for $35 through the BPS Foundations website: https://bpsfoundation.org/educator-hall-of-fame/

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Fincher named to BPS Foundation Educator Hall of Fame
Donald Trumps intense rhetoric and threats of death and destruction since his indictment on criminal charges came down on Thursday are being dismissed by one Fox News pundit as just an example of how Trump was able to become president in the first place.

Former congressman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz appeared on Howard Kurtz MediaBuzz Sunday to discuss the 34 counts that Trump faces allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. The conversation eventually turned to Trumps fiery response on his Truth Social site, calling Manhattan District Attorney a degenerate psychopath.



After reading back Trumps comments, Kurtz asked Chaffetz if those comments worry him, to which the former Republican politician responded with dismissiveness.

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Chaffetz on Trumps Death and Destruction post: I'm sure every attorney would advise their client, just don't say anything, but that's not Donald Trump, and that's why America loves the guy pic.twitter.com/g03mgDbbMV  Acyn (@Acyn) April 2, 2023

Look, Donald Trump is always going to take the nonconventional way of doing things. Hes going to defend himself. Hes not going to just sit back and take it and let some other attorney go out and talk, he said.

Im sure every attorney would advise their client just dont say anything, but thats not Donald Trump, and thats why America loves the guy, is that he will go right into the face of whatevers coming after him and get back in their grill and tell them exactly what he thinks, Chaffetz continued.

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Fox News The Five Warns Countrys Not Going to Stand for Trump Indictment: People Better Be Careful (Video)

Though how exactly Trump has rushed out to defend himself hasnt always met Chaffetzs approval. This past Tuesday on Fox & Friends, Chaffetz gave a thumbs down to Trumps performance in an interview with Sean Hannity in which he claimed that the multiple investigations he is facing in New York, Georgia and Washington D.C. are a new way of cheating elections and continued his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

I think that was the worst interview Ive seen the president do. He was whining. He was complaining. He played the victim card, Chaffetz said. I thought he was absolutely horrific. Hes the former president of the United States. Act like it. He didnt in that interview.

Watch Chaffetzs comments on MediaBuzz in the Twitter clip above.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, over his approach to Walt Disney World. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images, Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo, Octavio Jones/Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in Florida on Saturday.

He spoke with Insider about the battle between DeSantis and Disney World.

"There's a new sheriff in town. It's Mickey Mouse, back on top," Newsom said.

PALM BEACH, Florida  Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California praised Walt Disney World for its "masterclass" of putting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida "back in his place" after the company created a loophole to maintain control of its land.

"I guess there's a new sheriff in town," Newsom told Insider on Saturday, in a not-so-subtle reference to a comment DeSantis made when he appointed a new board to oversee Disney's district.

"It's Mickey Mouse, back on top," Newsom added.

The Walt Disney Studios is headquartered in Burbank, California, but the company holds powerful sway in Florida through the jobs and tourists Disney World brings. News broke this week that a law giving the Florida governor power to take over Disney World's governing board is likely toothless.

But the battle is far from over: DeSantis has promised, "You ain't seen nothing yet," and the state's attorney general demanded texts and emails about Disney's maneuver with former board members. Current board members are also meeting with attorneys.

Taryn Fenske, the spokesperson for DeSantis, said the agreement Disney brokered "may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law."

During a wide-ranging interview, Newsom told Insider he was certain DeSantis would retaliate, saying he's "incapable of not." But he argued the Disney maneuver hurt the governor politically, at a time when he appears to be slipping in the polls when placed in a hypothetical 2024 matchup for the Republican nomination for president.

"It's a bit of a yellow flag, if not a red flag, for DeSantis and a very perilous time for him politically, too, because he's struggling right now," Newsom said, calling the national attention to DeSantis an "over-hype."

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Newsom said he had an "emotional response" to hearing about DeSantis' threat to the Special Olympics. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, Octavio Jones/Getty Images

DeSantis appeared in New York on Saturday evening

DeSantis has been doing a book tour that is widely considered to be a soft launch for a 2024 presidential run. As part of that tour, he often talks about his feud with Disney. His next stop is in Long Island, New York.

The Florida governor made an example of Disney after its leaders said they would work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act, the legislation that Democrats and LGBTQ-rights groups have derided as "Don't Say Gay" because it limits classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation.

In response, DeSantis took aim at Disney's special tax district, one that essentially allows it run its own government in an arrangement that doesn't apply to other theme parks. Disney was free to take a position on the bill but "they are not free to force all of us to subsidize their activism," DeSantis has said in explaining his position.

He and the Republican-controlled legislature first tried to dissolve Disney's special district last year, but when it was revealed that might result in county residents paying higher taxes, he signed a bill into law this year to sub-out the governing board. This week, it appeared Disney set up a previous agreement that defanged the new board.

Newsom accused DeSantis of engaging in the feud with Disney to draw attention, and of showing "arrogance" and a "semi-authoritarian bent" in his "overreach" policies. He said Disney was defending itself from DeSantis' "assault on their private free expression as a corporate citizen."

"It's not just folks in the classroom who have to worry about what they say, but in the boardrooms, they're trying to ban not just books, but speech," Newsom said, referring to the removal of certain books in Florida school libraries that DeSantis has defended by broadcasting some of their content.

Asked about Newsom's latest interview remarks, the governor's office pointed to comments DeSantis made previously. Speaking about the Parental Rights law during a book tour event in Georgia on Thursday, DeSantis said, "My job is to stand up for the children of my state."

The governor also has said he thinks it's appropriate for state governments to intervene in "woke" business practices to "give space to the individual citizen to be able to participate in society to be able to speak his or her mind."

DeSantis and Newsom  darlings of the right and left, respectively  have frequently hit at each other over policies on crime, COVID-19, abortion, and LGBTQ rights. A year ago, Newsom urged Disney to gut its plan to relocate 2,000 employees from California to Florida over the Parental Rights law.

Newsom met with Insider in a meeting room at the oceanfront Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, where the Democratic Governors Association was having a conference. Newsom is DGA's policy chair.

Democratic governors frequently criticize DeSantis' policies in Florida, and DeSantis last month mocked people who do so yet "end up being spotted on the beach somewhere vacationing in Florida." The Palm Beach region is a draw for political events on both sides of the aisle because it's chock full of high-dollar donors.

Newsom told Insider he was in Florida "to remind people about how bad the elected officials are."

He'll be going to other red states next, including Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama to promote his new political group, the Campaign for Democracy, that fights against looser gun laws, abortion restrictions, and limits on LGBTQ rights.

The DGA conference was less than 7 miles south of Mar-a-Lago, the private club where former President Donald Trump lives. Trump was indicted Thursday, but Newsom said he wanted to reserve comment until reading the indictment, which is sealed.

Newsom otherwise had some kind words about Trump, praising him for his accessibility and for supporting California during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As for a potential 2024 GOP nomination contest between the former president and DeSantis, Newsom predicted Trump would "clean his clock."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The latest uptick in regulatory action around the globe may be due to policymakers finally waking up to cryptocurrencies.

On a recent panel at the Citi Digital Money Symposium in London, which touched on crypto regulations in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, Barclays head of digital policy Nicole Sandler argued that the apparent late arrival from policymakers was actually intentional.

"I think one thing certain policymakers have said is that they left this market to do what it wanted to do because they thought it would essentially die," she said. "And it hasn't died, it's grown, it's grown, it's grown."

Vote on EUs Landmark MiCA Crypto Bill Delayed Again

Drawing from her experience in 2016, when she discussed a legal framework around digital assets with the European Commission, Sandler argued that the space may have been nascent then, but it certainly isn't nowand again repeated that its nascence wasn't why regulators stayed away until recently.

"It wasn't that it was nascent and they couldn't regulate it, it was a choice to see where the market went," she said. "And now they know that they have to regulate it. But the problem is regulation takes a long time from start to finish."

Crypto regulations in the US

The regulatory crackdown has been especially fierce in the United States.

Following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX empire in November, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken swift and decisive action. After charging Bankman-Fried, the SEC also charged the crypto exchange's co-lead engineer Nishad Singh with defrauding investors.

Still, insisted Sandler, the FTX collapse had "nothing to do with the technology."

And though regulations would've certainly helped, the exchange's downfall revolved primarily around a "bad actor," she said, adding that the firm's terms and conditions "didn't say you can take your client funds and use it for something other than what they've said."

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The Commission has also gone after other crypto firms for different reasons. On March 22, the SEC issued Coinbase with a Wells Notice, informing the California-based exchange that it would be pursuing enforcement action against the company. The notice alleged that Coinbase's staking products constituted unregistered securities.

Crypto Community Fired Up Over SEC Action Against Coinbase

A source close to the matter told Decrypt that Coinbase leadership is frustrated that the SEC allowed American investors to participate in crypto for years before "suddenly deciding to pull the rug out."

The crypto community has been up in arms over the matter, taking aim at the SEC chair in particular.

"People don't like Gary Gensler, who's the chair of the SEC, in the crypto space," said fellow panelist Ijeoma Okoli, the director of the Digital Economy Initiative. "But if people think back to about ten years ago, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, when the same man was the chair of the CFTC, the vast majority of the derivatives sectorthe global derivatives sectorhated him. So it's not that he's picking on crypto, this is just his M.O."
LAS CRUCES  Approximately six million European Jews were killed during World War II, 1.3 million of whom were sent to Auschwitz extermination camp in German occupied Poland.

Auschwitz is known as the largest and deadliest of Nazi extermination camps. Nearly 1.1 million people, or 85%, sent to the camp between 1940 and 1945 were killed. Survivors are aging and Holocaust denial is prominent.

Las Crucens had the rare opportunity to meet survivor Esther Basch, 94, and hear her tell her story of survival and forgiveness.

Rabbi Bery Schmukler of the Chabad of Las Cruces said he and his wife, Chenchie Schmukler, have been working on bringing a Holocaust survivor to speak in southern New Mexico for several years. They were behind Eva Schloss visit to Las Cruces in 2019. Schloss is the posthumous stepsister of Anne Frank and a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps.

Eva Schloss: Holocaust survivor shares story, touts tolerance and peace during Las Cruces visit

There are a lot of people who've never met a Holocaust survivor and especially a lot of students, Schmukler said. And unfortunately, there's people in the world who are denying the Holocaust and I think it's an obligation for each person to be able to see a Holocaust survivor, in person, and hear their story  And we have to keep the memory of such a tragedy alive to be able to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Rabbi Bery Schmukler introduces Esther Basch on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at NMSU Center for the Arts.

Traveling storytellers make a stop in Las Cruces

Basch was born in the Carpathian Mountains in May 1928 in a town that has alternated being part of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. She has lived in Prescott, Arizona for many years. Baschs daughter, Rachel Turet, said the two of them travel throughout the country telling Baschs story to receptive audiences.

The mother-daughter duo was welcomed in Las Cruces Sunday, March 26 at the Associated Students of New Mexico State University Center for the Arts on the colleges main campus.

Schmukler said the venue was just about sold out and the audience varied from senior Las Crucens to children.

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Basch and Turet have multiple other speaking events planned over the next couple of months.

From child to WWII prisoner of war

Baschs father was a rabbi and she said she grew up very religious. She described having a wonderful childhood until her teenage years.

A seemingly overnight legal and societal shift had former friends, neighbors and teachers suddenly treating her and other Jewish members of the community horribly. Her father was forced to shave his beard because people would pull on it so harshly, he would bleed.

When I went to school next day, of course I had to wear a yellow star (of David). The teacher threw me out  youre a dirty Jew. You dont have to have an education  and I came home crying, Basch recalled. I actually liked school. I liked to learn history and all of that, but I had to come home and it was not a fun time. The three friends that I was friends with for years, next day they called me dirty Jew. I did not understand at age 14 how I was clean yesterday and today am dirty.

Jewish people were rounded up and forced to travel by cattle car to Auschwitz in southern Nazi-occupied Poland. People were stuffed inside the car so tightly that there was no room for anyone to sit for several days. Basch said one person in their car died on the way and the rest of the passengers were forced to hold him up.

It was Baschs 16th birthday when they arrived at the extermination camp. Relief from stepping off the train car was quickly replaced by the horror of being separated from her parents. Basch said Nazi soldiers took the men to the right first. Her mother clung to her hand but soldiers ripped them apart and the older woman was also sent to the right.

Esther Basch, a Holocaust survivor, and her daughter Rachel Turet talk about EstherOs experience in Auschwitz on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at NMSU Center for the Arts.

Basch later learned her parents were both immediately sent to the gas chambers and killed.

The next year was laced with torture and starvation for Basch and her fellow prisoners. They slept 12 people to each bunk level and were forced to stand outside, no matter the weather, to be counted by soldiers. The counts lasted hours each morning and each night and involved thousands of women.

She said she still has post traumatic stress responses to thunder after enduring counts in bad storms.

Basch even had an encounter with Schutzstaffel physician Josef Mengele. The doctor was known as the angel of death and performed inhumane medical experiments on prisoners. Basch said he would join the count each day to send people to the gas chambers or to use them for his latest tests by pointing his cane at them.

One day he was standing in front of my line and it looked to me like he was pointing the great cane towards me. I stepped out of the line, and he took that incredible cane and pushed it into my bellybutton and pushed me back into the line and took out my best friend, she said.

Basch described being taken to a different labor camp, Fallersleben in north Germany, after some time. However, she was not originally chosen to go. She explained that she was separated from a friend and snuck through the door to be with her when officers were not looking.

I believe very, very strongly in God. If not for God, I wouldnt be here, Basch said.

At the camp, she was tasked with soldering handles to equipment. Basch said were fingers were often accidentally soldered to the handles, which is why she no longer has fingerprints.

She worked there for nine and a half months before she was transferred to a different munitions factory in Salzwedel, farther north. Workers were forced on a death march between the two factories, and many lost their lives with no food or water for several days.

Basch said Nazi soldiers locked all the prisoners inside the camp and left them for several weeks. They were eventually liberated by American soldiers. Basch was 17.

First we were shaking because there were uniforms again and we didnt understand, Basch said.

She said the men found a Jewish soldier who explained to the prisoners that they were finally free. At that time, she still assumed she would be able to go home and reunite with her parents.

Instead, she was greeted by a male relative who told her nothing was left. She changed course and made her way to Palestine with other displaced persons. On the way, she met Joseph Basch. They quickly grew close, fell in love and were married at a displaced persons camp run by the United Nations.

The American Army gave them both jackets and the women sewed a skirt out of an Army blanket, Turet said. The men gave up cigarette rations to buy a white piece of material because a bride should have white.

Rachel Turet, daughter of Holocaust survivor Ester Basch, holds up a photo of her parents on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at NMSU Center for the Arts.

As they nearly reached the Port of Haifa in Israel, British soldiers forcibly removed their group and took them to Cyprus. They found themselves surrounded by barbed wire once again. Six months later, they finally arrived in Palestine.

The couples first child, Rachel, was born soon after they made it to Israel. Turet said her parents arrived at a pivotal moment in history because Israel was just establishing itself as a state. The couple went on to have three children.

Joseph Basch and his brothers quickly joined the Israeli army. One of them died in service.

Basch said her father-in-law was living in Ohio and was quite bereaved when his son died. The couple decided to move to the U.S. to be closer to him. It was many years before the family actually arrived in America. They spent time in France and Canada first before making it to the U.S. in 1958.

Turet recalled getting singled out as a young child for being Jewish in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

The school that I went to, I was the only Jew, which never even entered my mind. Im not even sure at that point that I knew I was Jewish, I was 6. And mom told me that I would have to tell the teacher that I would have to take off the following day because it was Yom Kippur, Turet said. I did, and thats how everybody found out I was Jewish  These children had been taught and truly believed that I, at age 6, had personally killed Christ. That I drank the blood of Christian babies. That I had horns.

Turet said she believes children are born blank slates and are not programed to hate, but are taught. She was ridiculed and thought being Jewish was a bad thing.

My parents believed I was the clumsiest kid on the planet because I came home with bruises and blood, she said.

Turet said her mother has always stived to be a positive, upbeat person, despite the horrible circumstances that marred her early life. However, she described her father as a bitter survivor.

He died right around his 80th birthday. And he suffered so badly from anger and resentment, but he lived a very different life than my mother, even before they met, Turet said.

Sharing her story of struggle and perseverance

"I don't even have a picture of my parents, nothing. But what I have is what they taught me. To be good. If you cant do anything good, dont do anything bad. Love all people no matter what. Love God and think positive and youre going to have a happy life. And thats how I live my life. Life is beautiful because of what my parents taught me, and I follow.

Turet is working with filmmakers to create a documentary about her mothers life. The Honey Girl was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Turet said speakers were sent equipment and had to film themselves because in-person interviews were not possible.

The documentary is in its final stages of production. Turet said the goal is to release it to the public this coming summer.

The name comes from Baschs story following her liberation by American soldiers. She was offered some honey by someone in the nearby town but became very sick after trying some. The sudden intake of sugar after over a year without was a shock to her system and she was hospitalized.

Basch reunited with Max Lieber, one of the U.S. soldiers who liberated her group in Germany, many years later. Lieber lived in New Mexico and the two became good friends. Turet said Lieber remembered her mother as the honey girl.

People can view a preview of the film and stay up to date on progress online at honeygirlfilms.org.

Moms story is not about chimneys, Turet said. Her story is helping people to live with the truth of love and forgiveness as a self-preservation. And shes one of the happiest people youll ever know.

Others are reading:

Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Holocaust survivor Esther Basch shares her story of hate and love in Las Cruces
Leon Russell isn't a name that casual music fans will know these days. But for those who know (and those looking to find out more), it's almost hard to fathom his contribution to rock music. The Grammy Award winner and member of the Roll and Roll Hall of Fame left us on November 13, 2016, at the age of 74, but his legacy lives on.

Born Claude Russell Bridges, he changed his name to Leon Russell when he moved to Los Angeles from his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His 60-year career embraced spells as a celebrated session musician and included writing some of rocks most memorable songs, such as A Song for You' and Delta Lady. Those that Leon worked with included George Harrison, Elton John, Joe Cocker, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and Ringo Starr.

Russell moved to Los Angeles in 1958, where he worked on sessions for the Byrds, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Herb Alpert; he appeared at 1964's T.A.M.I. Show, playing piano with the top-drawer session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. He wrote two hits for Gary Lewis and Playboys and by 1967 he appeared on the Glen Campbell album, Gentle on My Mind, credited by his birth name, Russell Bridges.

Look Inside the Asylum Choir, a 1968 album, was a recording of a studio group including Russell and Marc Benno. The following year, Russell became a member of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, playing guitar and keyboards on their albums and as a member of their touring band that included Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

Russell found further success as a songwriter with Delta Lady, recorded by Cocker for his 1969 album, Joe Cocker! The album, co-produced by Russell, made No.11 on the Billboard chart. This led to Russell joining 1970's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour featuring many alumni from the Delaney and Bonnie band. Superstar, co-written by Russell with Bonnie Bramlett and sung by Rita Coolidge on that tour, later became a hit for the Carpenters, Luther Vandross, and many others.

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Shelter Records released his 1970 solo album, Leon Russell, which included the first recording of "A Song for You." This has been endlessly recorded by countless performers from Ray Charles to Willie Nelson as well as Amy Winehouse, Donny Hathaway, Simply Red and Michael Buble. It was also in 1970 that Russell played piano on Dave Mason's album, Alone Together.

In 1971 Russell produced some tracks for Dylan, including the single Watching the River Flow and When I Paint My Masterpiece, both of which feature Leon's gospel-flavored piano. Later that year he played piano on Badfinger's third album, Straight Up; his keyboard playing also complements Pete Ham and George Harrison's slide guitars on the group's hit Day After Day. It was at this time that Russell appeared on Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, at which he performed a medley including Jumpin' Jack Flash and Young Blood and sang a verse on Harrison's Beware of Darkness.

Also in 1971 Russell released Leon Russell and the Shelter People and Asylum Choir II and played on sessions for B.B. King and for Clapton. He also helped blues guitarist Freddie King by collaborating with him on three of his albums for Shelter Records.

In 1972 Russell's Shelter People took to the road and a live performance was recorded and released as the Leon Live album in 1973. The year before, he released his third studio album Carney, which features Tight Rope and the beautiful This Masquerade. The latter ballad was recorded by numerous artists including Helen Reddy and the Carpenters; George Benson's version reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 and in 1977 won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

Russell released Hank Wilson's Back! (Vol. 1), recorded in Nashville in 1973; incongruously, he also helped the funk-soul outfit the Gap Band, based around the trio of Tulsa brothers who backed Leon on his Stop All That Jazz album. The following year, Will O' the Wisp became Russell's fourth gold album.

Leon formed his own label, Paradise Records, in 1976 and over the coming decades recorded a string of albums, but none achieved the prominence of his early recordings. Russell and Willie Nelson had a No.1 on the country music chart in 1979 with their duet of Heartbreak Hotel. By the early 1980s, he was working as New Grass Revival and in 1984 released Hank Wilson Vol. II.

In 1991, Russell released Anything Can Happen on Virgin Records, produced by Bruce Hornsby, and the two of them worked closely together throughout the decade. Into the new millennium, Russell was still releasing records but it was in 2009 that a major new project came along when he and Elton John recorded the album The Union together, produced by T-Bone Burnett and released the following year. Rolling Stone placed it at No.3 on its list of the 30 best albums of 2010. In 2011 the Union film documentary was released; made by Cameron Crowe, it explored the creative process behind the record.

In 2014, Life Journey, made with producer Tommy LiPuma, was released, and the following year Russell joined Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Chris Stainton, and other members of the 1970 Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour for a tribute concert to Cocker organized by the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Leon Russell was a major talent, releasing well over 30 albums during his career. While he did get a lot of recognition during the first half of the 1970s, his star never did shine quite as brightly as it should have in the ensuing decades. Elton John and Bernie Taupin's love of his music brought him some belated recognition, but it's sad that an artist's passing is sometimes needed to bring him the kind of accolades reserved for others. Elton called A Song For You an American classic, and its words are worth remembering now

I've been so many places in my life and time

I've sung a lot of songs

I've made some bad rhymes

I've acted out my life on stages

With 10, 000 people watching

But we're alone now and I'm singing this song to you

Follow the official Leon Russell Best Of playlist.

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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.
Buki Papillons award-winning debut novel, An Ordinary Wonder, is told through tense divisions  starting within the protagonists body.

Otolorin is physically both male and female, intersex. Otolorin is a boy and a girl, raised as a boy while knowing shes a girl. Otolorin is a twin.

Nine readers from across the metro recently gathered for a meeting of the FYI Book Club at the Kansas City Center for Inclusion in Westport to make sense of this character and their dueling dual existences. The author joined the meeting via Zoom toward the end.

An Ordinary Wonder won the 2022 Maya Angelou Book Award, the first time its been given for fiction. But the characters and their thoughts are imagined with such depth, that the novel almost reads like nonfiction, said Judith Reagan, of Brookside. Most fiction you read, and you know its fiction, she said. But this, I had a hard time separating the two.

And maybe that feeling is largely due to the early and insistent acknowledgment that no one is just one way. Not only is Otolorin male, female, boy, girl and a twin, but Papillon writes equally complex family and friend responses to this multidimensional character.

Leading the discussion, Kaite Stover, the Kansas City Public Librarys director of readers services, noted that the book alternates sections in the past and present.

We see Otolorin from age 12 in 1989 through age 16 in 1993. All but the final chapter and epilogue is set in the authors native Nigeria.

Oto is struggling with figuring out who they are in the before section, Stover said. In the now section, when Oto is at school, the fear is more, I understand who I am, Im still confused by who I am. But now I am fearful of how others are going to react to who I am.

Tori Kottwitz, from Westwood Park, said she found the structure challenging and had a slightly different take on its significance. In the now, Otolorin understands that no one will be a champion for them as they work to claim a female identity in a society where even discussing that struggle is taboo.

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Instead of feeling at the mercy of his mother and all the adults who let him down, I just thought that in the now section I saw glimmers of hes beginning to take charge, you know, to make his way in the world because he didnt have anyone else that was going to do it for him, Kottwitz said.

Buki Papillons An Ordinary Wonder is the latest selection of the FYI Book Club.

For Otolorin, taking charge means leaving the home theyve shared with their mother and twin sister after independently gaining admittance to a boarding school  the only solution for not only escaping a bad situation at home, but for establishing their true identity.

The mother views Otolorin as a monster and never hesitates to say so. Otolorins father abandoned the family at the twins birth, repulsed and frightened by Otolorin.

The maternal and paternal grandmothers push and pull on the family in selfish ways that also threaten the the two children, Otolorin in particular.

The thought of a child not having a significant adult to make the child feel loved was extremely disturbing, says Lisa Timmons of Overland Park. My hope was that all its going to take is one person to know that you are an ordinary wonder, you are who you are.

And that is what Otolorin finds at school, though not immediately. They meet Mr. Dickson, a teacher with his own history of trauma stemming from his early expression of his sexual orientation. The teacher aims to protect his student.

But in a society as deeply rooted in superstition, tradition, and a good deal of closed-mindedness, such a move takes guts.

Timmons recalls an interviewer commenting that Papillon, as a Nigerian, was brave to write this book. Papillon, who writes and even seems to speak in proverbs, responded that a turtle doesnt move forward without sticking out its neck.

Papillon addressed this bravery when she joined the book club meeting from her home in Massachusetts. She said Mr. Dickson is the character she identifies with most.

No matter what it costs him, hell stick his neck out to help this young girl that has been raised as a boy, Papillon said. I feel like writing this book has come out of a lot of the circumstances that I saw as a child that I felt that I couldnt do anything about because I was too little.

Papillon told the group about growing up the oldest in a family of six and how a persons first understanding of the way the world works is based on family dynamics.

In An Ordinary Wonder the family dynamic keeps Otolorins identity split. Even Wura, the twin sister, unwittingly has a hand in holding open the unsettling schism.

As children, Papillon said to the group, were always trying to do whatever we can to keep the peace because we dont have the power to do anything any other way. So, Wura is stuck in this place where she thinks, Oh Oto, if you will only just be who everyone is saying you are. And Oto says, Well, I cant because thats not who I am.

So, it doesnt feel ironic that what finally mends Otolorin  and the entire family  is the characters ferocious commitment to independence, to breaking away entirely.

Timmons cited a passage toward the end of the novel. It occurs to me to change my name to Lazarus, not Lori, because I truly feel like I am back from the dead, she quoted. The power in a name and the power in your identity and the power of being who you are.

Meet the author

Buki Papillon will speak at 6 p.m. April 12 at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, 4801 Main St. See kclibrary.org/signature-events/ordinary-wonder.

Join the club

The Kansas City Star and the Kansas City Public Library present a book-of-the-moment selection every few weeks and invite the community to read along. To participate in the next discussion led by Kaite Stover, the librarys director of readers services, email kaitestover@kclibrary.org.
CADIZ, Kent.  War veteran Jeff Struecker, a scheduled speaker at Trigg County High School on Thursday, told about his military chaplain experiences, coincidentally, the night after two Fort Campbell Black Hawk helicopters crashed seven miles away, resulting in nine deaths.

Organizers from Little River Baptist Association planned the event months ahead of the fatal crash that occurred less than 24 hours before.

The audience of almost 200 people shared prayers for the Black Hawk helicopter crash victims and their families, as they sat on the bleachers in the gym at the Cadiz, Kentucky high school.

Black Hawk Down Survivor Jeff Struecker speaks about his faith and military career as a chaplain and soldier, at the Trigg County High School, in Cadiz, Kentucky. The program was presented by the Little River Baptist Association on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Struecker speaks to the crowd the day after two Black Hawk helicopters from Fort Campbell crashed nearby. Struecker will conclude his program on Friday night at the high school.

Struecker has experienced his own fair share of eerily similar tragedy as a ground crew survivor of the tragic incident in 1993 when Somali forces shot down three Black Hawk helicopters in hostile territory, which was made into the book and movie, "Black Hawk Down."

His combat experience also includes participation in the invasion of Panama, Operation Desert Storm and more than a dozen combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Struecker has earned many medals for his combat service, including the Silver Star.

He seemed to relate deeply with the sorrow of losing soldiers in such as crash, but this time close to home.

"Im really glad to say that they decided were going to do this event because we believe it can help bring the community together and help them heal maybe some people that are really struggling with the news," Struecker said prior to speaking.

Also serving as a pastor at 2 Cities Church in the Columbus, Georgia, Struecker described himself as a "special operations door kicker" during the battle "when multiple Black Hawks got shot down and a lot of people died on those crash sites," he said.

My first half of the career, I was an enlisted guy. Thats when I was in Somalia," he said explaining that an actor portrays him in the movie.

Among the audience members with strong memories of what happened in Somalia was veteran Bruce Wayne Grace, who served in the Navy from 1968 to 1972. Wearing a cap that honors his branch of service, Grace recalled watching the news when he learned about the American lives lost.

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"I get emotional," said Grace, a retiree who volunteers with The Way Christian Youth Center in Trigg County.

'It breaks my heart': Audience members mourn those lost in crash

Grace had planned to attend the event to hear Struecker speak prior to the two 101st Airborne Division Black Hawks crashing.

"It breaks my heart," Grace said. "Being an ex-serviceman, I know how the families feel. Any loss is terrible."

Audience member Charles Jones also wore a Navy cap and expressed similar words about the nine who died when the Black Hawks crashed.

"It was terrible," said Jones, who served in the Navy from 1973 to 1977 and then in the reserves for 20 years with the United States Naval Construction Battalions. "Thoughts and prayers go out to the families."

Prayers were lifted up following the Little River Baptist Association program where war veteran Jeff Struecker spoke at the Trigg County High School gymnasium, in Cadiz, Kentucky, on Thursday, March 30, 2023, about his faith and military career as a chaplain and soldier. The event was held near the crash site of two Black Hawk helicopters from Fort Campbell that crashed the night before.

Jones said he appreciates what those serving in the military do to "keep us free."

"They pay a terrible price and the families do, too," Jones said.

Struecker touts 'the courage of the American warriors'

In the second half of Struecker's military career, he served as a chaplain sent to Iraq and Afghanistan to minister to troops and remember warriors after helicopter tragedies.

"One of the things that I think Ill cherish for the rest of my life is the courage of the American warriors that I had a chance to serve next to, the helicopter pilots that were willing to place themselves in very dangerous situations so that I could do my mission on the battlefield," Struecker said.

War survivor Jeff Struecker, whose experiences were portrayed in the movie "Black Hawk Down," speaks at the Trigg County High School, in Cadiz, Kentucky, during a program presented by Little River Baptist Association on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Struecker speaks to the crowd the day after two Black Hawk helicopters from Fort Campbell crashed nearby. Struecker will conclude his program on Friday night at the high school.

"I really had a chance to serve with some of the greatest warriors on the planet, and without a doubt, the most talented helicopter pilots this countrys ever produced.

Audience hears prayer from major who visited Fort Campbell crash site

The audience also heard a prayer from Maj. Tim Morgan, who's also law enforcement chaplain and pastor at Fruit Hill Baptist Church in Christian County. Based at Fort Campbell, Morgan went to the crash site of the two Black Hawks the night before attending the event at Trigg County High School.

It was just a tragic event that as our heroes go out every night to train, to be on the edge, doing what we love to do," said Morgan, who's served as a helicopter pilot. "Ive seen several crashes in my military career, and this was tragically probably the worst. These folks died doing what they loved, practicing to protect us and our nation. And they gave the full measure. There was nothing left to give."

Maj. Tim Morgan, a law enforcement chaplain, who also serves on active duty, gives a hug to a man that he prayed with at the end of the Little River Baptist Association program where veteran Jeff Struecker, whose experiences were portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down, spoke at the Trigg County High School gymnasium, in Cadiz, Kentucky, on Thursday, March 30, 2023, about his faith and military career as a Chaplin and soldier. The event was held near the crash site of two Black Hawk helicopters from Fort Campbell that crashed the night before.

Morgan served with Struecker in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We've known each other about 20 years," he said.

Morgan said it was an honor to be present at the crash site.

"I live about five miles from the site," Morgan said. "A lot of my law enforcement friends called to make sure it wasnt me, on the aircraft.

"And so I went down to just serve however I could, to console, to offer, just offer Gods Grace and comfort to just hurting men, men and woman who showed up to mourn the loss of their brothers and do what they could do.

Maj. Tim Morgan, a law enforcement chaplain, who serves on active duty, and a member of the Kentucky Wounded Heroes nonprofit program and served as a voluntary chaplain at the site of the two downed Black Hawk helicopters not far from his home on Wednesday night. Morgan comforted and supported many emergency and military personnel that were at the crash site. Morgan spoke with the media following a Little River Baptist Association program where veteran Jeff Struecker, whose experiences were portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down, spoke at the Trigg County High School gymnasium, in Cadiz, Kentucky, on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Struecker spoke to the crowd about his faith and his military career as both a Chaplin and a soldier.

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscriptionfor all dnj.com stories.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: War veteran mourns Fort Campbell soldier deaths, helps community heal
Rare footage of Frank Zappa performing Mudd Club from the New York venue of the same name has been released. The film of the typically satirical, reggae-tinged track was shot by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher (DoRo Productions) on May 8, 1980 and edited by J. Warner and you can watch it below.

Mudd Club features the latest exciting live collection to be released from The Vault, Zappa 80: Mudd Club/Munich, which offers fans an opportunity to hear two blistering shows recorded in two distinct settings: the intimate 240-capacity Mudd Club in New York City and the massive 12,000 seat German arena, Olympiahalle in Munich.

Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers  and out now  this historically significant release is now available, digitally, on 3CD, and now on vinyl via Zappa Records/UMe. Its release marks the first time that full concerts have ever been released featuring the 1980 lineup of Zappa leading the five-strong band which included the dual vocal attack of Ike Willis and Ray White, Arthur Barrow on bass, Tommy Mars on keyboards, and newcomer David Logeman on drums.

The Mudd Club was a happening, underground venue in lower Manhattan best known for being a popular hangout for the counterculture and a bastion of new wave and punk which dominated NYCs music and fashion scene. As Travers writes in the liners, celebrities and musicians alike would frequent the art bar cabaret during its heyday between 1979 and 1983, dancing, drinking and making the scene amongst the New York City denizens of the deep. Zappa loved the small, seedy club and the punks, posers, and hipsters that called it home, and so made it a priority to play there while on tour.

At the Mudd Club show, Zappa and his five-piece band treated the sweaty, packed club to a thrilling 15-song, hour-long set filled with tracks from the recently released 1979 albums, the triple LP rock opera, Joes Garage (Joes Garage, Keep It Greasy, Outside Now, Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?), and Sheik Yerbuti (Bobby Brown Goes Down, City Of Tiny Lites), along with songs from across his prolific catalog, including I Aint Got No Heart and You Didnt Try To Call Me from 1966s Freak Out!, and the title track from 1970s Chungas Revenge.

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Zappas Mudd Club show was recorded on May 8, 1980 by Klaus Weidemann on a 2-track Nagra tape recorder while the Munich show at Olympiahalle was recorded and mixed by engineer Mick Glossop direct to digital 2-track stereo and has the distinction of being the first digital live recording of Zappa ever. The Maestro was early to embrace the emerging technology and shifted to it upon its availability.

Buy or stream Zappa 80: Mudd Club/Munich.

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.
The Army on Friday revealed the identities of the nine soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were killed in a helicopter crash near Fort Campbell, Ky., earlier this week.

The soldiers, who ranged from 23 to 36 years of age, died after two Black Hawk helicopters crashed late Wednesday while conducting a night training exercise.

The victims included Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith and Sgt. David Solinas Jr.

This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. J.P. McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell, said in a statement. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come.

Now is the time for grieving and healing, he added. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers.

An aircraft safety team from Fort Rucker, Ala., has been sent to Kentucky to investigate the crash, which is the militarys deadliest training accident in nearly three years, according to the Washington Post.

The crash is also 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.

Anytime theres an accident it is incredibly unfortunate and something we take incredibly seriously, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters after the incident. Unfortunately, a lot of what we do is inherently dangerous.



This is something that were always going to constantly be working at, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Alon Skuy/AFP via Getty Images and Scott Olson/Getty Images

Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke to a crowd Saturday about former President Donald Trump's indictment.

DeSantis, however, did not mention Trump's name in the 50-minute speech.

He also appeared to use the speech as an opportunity to criticize Trump  though again without naming him.

Gov. Ron DeSantis used a Saturday stop in Long Island to stick up for former President Donald Trump following his indictment, but the Florida politician avoided using Trump's name in the nearly hour-long speech.

DeSantis called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr., who convened the grand jury that voted to indict Trump on Thursday, "a menace to society" according to the New York Post, coming to Trump's defense but only ever calling him "a former president of the United States."

"His whole thing is he doesn't want people to be in jail, he wants to downgrade felonies to misdemeanors...And then he turns around, does a flimsy indictment against a former president of the United States," DeSantis said of Bragg, according to the New York Post.

Trump is the first ex-president to ever be charged with a crime after an investigation into a $130,000 payment made to the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

Following the historic indictment, Republicans and Trump allies came to the former president's defense by calling it a "politically motivated prosecution" and taking aim at Bragg and his criminal-justice-focused policies.

DeSantis also backed Trump  although he wasn't always so supportive. The Florida governor took to Twitter to lambaste Bragg on Friday, but again, did not mention Trump's name.

"How do you take down trump when you're literally afraid to say his NAME?" political journalist Molly Jong-Fast wrote on Twitter Saturday.

DeSantis also appeared to take a shot at the former president, whose four-year term was often mired in scandal.

"For over four years, we don't have leaks, we don't have palace intrigue... We just execute the agenda," DeSantis said to the crowd, according to the New York Post.

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DeSantis is likely entering the 2024 race for the White House; Trump announced his candidacy last year.

Trump has been using multiple opportunities over the past few months to disparage his potential rival, concocting petty nicknames and questioning his decision to endorse him for governor in 2018.

Following his indictment, Trump's popularity over DeSantis has grown, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll in which Trump beat DeSantis by 26 percentage points among registered Republican voters and Independents who lean Republican.

Trump is expected to voluntarily turn himself in on Tuesday in New York for his arraignment.

Representatives for Trump and DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
It is disturbing that the current state regime is at war with gender. To the actors of this regime, gender is an otherworldly force that is destroying the heteronormative family and will unleash such perversities as bestiality and pedophilia unto the world if it becomes socially accepted. As such, they are attempting to silence, invisibilize and eradicate two spirit, transgender, queer and gender non-conforming (2STQGNC+) people through the passage of violent transphobic bills to maintain the cisheteropatriarchal order. Their efforts are causing undue harm to an already vulnerable population. This inhumanity must stop.

More: Guest column: Why do Oklahoma politicians want us to react to imaginary threats?

Many people have incorrectly claimed their efforts are happening in a vacuum. They are not; they are part of an international anti-gender movement that is homophobic, transphobic and anti-feminist. Recently, the Uganda Parliament passed an anti-2STQGNC+ bill that, if enshrined into law by the president of Uganda, will make it a crime to identify as 2STQGNC+. As several 2STQGNC+ activists in Uganda have astutely pointed out, Uganda has always been a queer nation. Heteronormativity and the gender binary, which have tainted the Uganda Parliament, are the effects of U.S. imperialism and Western colonization. And nothing else. The White House should acknowledge and take responsibility for this, but it will not because it is complicit.

Guest columnist calls on Oklahomans to fight against the anti-gender movement by employing such nonviolent resistance tactics as protest art, marches, consciousness raising and community education, and lobbying.

In early March, the actors of the current state regime voted to censure Rep. Mauree Turner, Oklahomas first (and only) Black, gender non-binary and Muslim elected official. These actors would like for us to believe that Rep. Turner was "harboring a fugitive." This hollow allegation is merely a distraction from the current state regimes nefarious agenda. Since Rep. Turner was voted into office, they have been mocked, ridiculed, harassed and threatened by other representatives and their supporters for who they are and what they believe in.

The primary reason these actors censured Rep. Turner is they hold the belief that they, and people like them, e.g., educators, librarians and medical doctors, are trying to turn kids 2STQGNC+. The secondary reason is they hold the beliefs that sex is natural and ordained by God and that gender is a leftist invention meant to destroy the categories of man and woman. Because they believe this, they are weaponizing laws against gender and, by extension, people whose gender identity falls outside cisheteronorms. It is wrong and based on willful ignorance.

I am deeply concerned by what is happening and call on Oklahomans to fight against the anti-gender movement by employing such nonviolent resistance tactics as protest art, marches, consciousness raising and community education, and lobbying.

Sage Mauldin

Sage A. Mauldin is an activist and educator who is deeply committed to liberation work.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahomans need to fight against the anti-gender movement
Jeffrey D. Allred/The Deseret News

Gwenyth Paltrow was found not liable for a 2016 ski crash on Friday.

Paltrow's lawyer, James Egan, spoke to "Extra's" Billy Bush following the trial.

Egan told Bush that he was aware of comparisons the internet was making between him and Superman.

Gwyneth Paltrow's attorney, who helped her win a ski case against her in Utah, has been getting compared to a certain superhero's alter-ego  and he said he's aware of it.

James Egan, based in Salt Lake City, represented Paltrow along with a team of attorneys from the law firm Epperson & Owens, and received attention for his looks during the trial, striking comparisons to Clark Kent, the timid reporter who transforms into Superman.

On an Instagram post by pop culture commentator Evan Ross Katz, hundreds of commenters took turns discussing the lawyer's looks.

"He's cute," journalist Katie Kouric said in one comment.

"Extra's" Billy Bush, who caught up with Egan following the final day of the trial on Thursday, asked him about the Superman comparisons.

"I have heard that. It's weird," Egan told "Extra" after laughing it off.

On Thursday, following an eight-day trial a Utah jury found Paltrow was not liable for a ski accident involving Terry Sanderson, the retired optometrist who first sued the actress for the 2016 collision in 2019.

Paltrow countersued for just $1, arguing that she was not at fault for the crash at the Deer Valley resort in Utah.

In another viral moment from the trial, Paltrow reportedly came up to Sanderson after her $1 victory and whispered into his ear, "I wish you well."

Egan did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
MONTREAL, April 2, 2023 /CNW/ - The ninth edition of the Premium Kids event, organized by ADM Aeroports de Montreal in partnership with Air Transat, took place at YUL Montreal-Trudeau International Airport today amidst good cheer, much laughter and many smiles. This unique day enables children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or functional limitations to familiarize themselves with the airport process and reduce their anxiety about flying.

Premium Kids 2023 (CNW Group/Aeroports de Montreal)

This year, nearly 200 participants experienced the complete airport journey, from arriving at the parking lot to boarding an airplane, including checking in, going through security, and listening to in-flight safety instructions.

"The ADM team is delighted to have once again hosted Premium Kids, an event that is very close to our hearts," said Martin Masse, Vice President, Sustainable Development at ADM. "Accompanied by their parents, the children were able to enjoy an experience in a real-life environment that could prepare them for the hope of one day being able to fly as a family. It was an important day for the participants, but also for ADM, which is committed to making travel accessible to a growing number of passengers at YUL. A special thank you to the volunteers, our employees and our partners who made this initiative a real success."

"As the mother of a child with autism spectrum disorder, it goes without saying that this event is very important to me," said Chrystal Healy, Transat's Vice President, Corporate Responsibility. "It was very touching to go on this trip with my son, and to see the positive impact it had on the other families present. I believe that this type of initiative broadens the definition of inclusivity and its application in all areas of daily life. I join Martin Masse in sincerely thanking everyone involved in making Premium Kids a reality."

In addition to Air Transat, which has been involved since the very first edition by providing an aircraft and personnel free of charge, several other partners ensure the smooth running of the event: Autisme Montreal; the Giant Steps; Transport Canada; the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA); the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA); Securitas; HMSHost; and Montreal Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel.

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This initiative is inspired by a similar program, Wings for Autism, launched in 2011 by the Charles River Center in collaboration with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Logan International Airport, Boston). ADM became the first airport authority in Canada to implement such a program at YUL in 2013.

About Aeroports de Montreal

ADM Aeroports de Montreal is the airport authority for the Greater Montreal area responsible for the management, operation and development of YUL Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, certified 4-stars under the Skytrax World Airport Star Rating program, and YMX International Aerocity of Mirabel.

About Air Transat

Founded in Montreal 35 years ago, Transat has achieved worldwide recognition as a holiday travel provider, particularly as an airline under the Air Transat brand. Voted World's Best Leisure Airline in North America by passengers at the 2022 Skytrax World Airline Awards, it flies to international, U.S. and Canadian destinations. By renewing its fleet with the most energy-efficient aircraft in their category, it is committed to a healthier environment, knowing that this is essential to its operations and the destinations it serves. Transat has been Travelife-certified since 2018. (TSX: TRZ).

Premium Kids at YUL: A 9th Successful Edition (CNW Group/Aeroports de Montreal)

SOURCE Aeroports de Montreal

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2023/02/c5184.html
Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Decision to Go or Not Go to the Coronation

On May 6, King Charles will finally get his official Coronation ceremony, but the moment has been a bit overshadowed by the question of whether or not his youngest son, Prince Harry, would be attending with wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The couple have received an official invitation, though reportedly their kids have not been included  yet.

If they choose not to come, however, royal public relations expert Edward Coram-James told GB News that it would cause an irreversible blow to the family relationship. But it has also been said that if they do attend, they are likely to receive the cold shoulder from senior members of the royal family.



They will be given the cold shoulder by very many relatives. One said to me, I hope theyll be seated in Iceland,' a royal source told the Daily Mail in March. Much of the family just wants nothing more to do with them. If they have to see them at the coronation then so be it, but they do not want to socialize with them.

What a conundrum. Coram-James broke down the decision, saying, In a universe in which the damage already caused by the rift is still recoverable from, at least in part, a no-show would be the fatal, irreversible blow, both in the public perception as well, potentially, as within the family itself. It risks drawing out the conflict over the long term.

He added that not attending would draw as much, if not more, media attention than showing up.

It would give further oxygen to the rift and allegations that the Sussexes have leveled at the royal family, he explained. And the shadow of their absence would loom large over the entire ceremony, risking becoming the elephant in the room and an unwanted sideshow.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's main concerns are allegedly that their kids will be snubbed. The date actually coincides with Archie four-year-old birthday. They want to make sure the children are acknowledged along with King Charles other grandkids, despite the fact that Harry and Meghan are no longer working members of the royal family. But they are still family.

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Around 4:40 a.m. Monday, Columbus police were called to a townhome on the 5700 block of Belmore Drive, located off of Hilliard Rome Road, for a report of a burglary. Officers found one person who had been shot and two people who had been stabbed at the scene.

A deadly weekend in the city continued into early Monday morning after a person was fatally shot and two others were stabbed in a reported burglary on the Far West Side.

Around 4:40 a.m. Monday, Columbus police were called to a townhome on the 5700 block of Belmore Drive, located off of Hilliard Rome Road, for a report of a burglary. Officers found one person who had been shot and two people who had been stabbed at the scene.

The person who had been shot was taken to OhioHealth Doctors Hospital where they died. One of the stabbing victims was also taken to Doctors and is expected to survive their injuries. The second stabbing victim was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in critical condition.

Police have not released any additional information about the situation.

A violent weekend in Columbus

The violence was a continuation of a deadly weekend that saw two people killed on the South Side within 12 hours.

On Saturday, James Dawson Jr., 50, was found stabbed on the 800 block of South Champion Avenue around 8:55 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:05 p.m. that night.

Police arrested Rieko Leohner, 39, of Lancaster, in connection with Dawson's death. Leohner's bond was set at $1 million during a court appearance on Monday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court.

Early morning murder on the South Side

About eight hours later, at about 4:20 a.m. Sunday, Columbus police were called to a shooting on the 3900 block of Great Southern Court, at the Great Southern Shopping Center.

Officers found Alijuwon Tolliver, 27, with a gunshot wound. Tolliver was rushed to Grant Medical Center but he did not survive his injuries.

Police have not released any information about a suspect or motive in the homicide.

As of noon on April 3, there have been 42 reported homicides in the city in 2023, the second-highest total by early April in the city's history. The 40th homicide of the year was not reported until May 4, 2022 and not until May 25, 2020.

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In 2021, the deadliest year the city has ever seen, there were 49 homicides reported by April 3. Every other year has seen 30 or fewer by that point in the year. In 2022, there were 28 homicides reported through April 3.

Anyone with information regarding either incident is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

tmoorman@dispatch.com

@taijuannichole

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Two homicides occur within 24 hours on South Side
Louisiana state Rep. Kyle Green said he felt compelled to bring a bill to abolish the state's death penalty despite admittedly long odds.

"It's important enough to continue to bring this debate every year until we can convince our colleagues that this is not the best version of who we are," said Green, a Democrat from Marrero whose measure is House Bill 262.

"This state time and time again has affirmed the sanctity of life," said Green, referring to Louisiana as one of the most restrictive abortion rights states in the nation. "For me as a Christian, I can't sit back and not try to repeal this abhorrent institution."

Louisiana is one of 27 states where the death penalty still exists, though it's been 13 years since a prisoner was executed.

The state last carried out an execution on January 7, 2010, putting Gerald Bordelon to death by lethal injection after he waved his appeals. His execution was the 28th in Louisiana in the modern era of the death penalty.

Since then corrections officials have said they've been unable to secure the drugs necessary to carry them out.

Despite the lack of executions, the state spent more than $7 million last year defending those on death row, according to recent reporting by Louisiana Illuminator.

Sister Helen Prejean, whose decades-long crusade to abolish the death penalty was most famously illustrated in her best-selling book "Dead Man Walking," has been among those crusading against the death penalty.

Prejean and other mostly Catholic faith leaders and students gathered at the Louisiana Capitol last year to support failed efforts by Democratic Monroe Sen. Katrina Jackson and Green to abolish the state's death penalty.

Prejean, 83, has witnessed four executions as the spiritual adviser of those who were put to death.

"In our Catholic faith we are pro-life not just for innocents but for the guilty," she said. "We need to be a real pro-life state. No matter how grave the crime we can't entrust the government with the ability to take lives."

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Sister Helen Prejean, a decades-long advocate to abolish the death penalty in Louisiana, is surrounded by students from St. Joseph's Academy in the Louisiana Capitol in 2022 during a press conference to support bills that would eliminate executions in the state.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca called the death penalty "an assault against the dignity of life" that denies those convicted of the most heinous crimes the opportunity to repent. "All it does is demean us," he said.

But there are others of the Christian faith who argue scripture supports the death penalty. That was the case in 2019 when the Rev. Will Hall, a Baptist minister, said: "There are times when this punishment is appropriate."

More: Louisiana lawmaker seeks to shield children from TikTok, social media

Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards for the first time in his eight-year tenure said he supports abolishing the death penalty, but Green's bill has a long way to go before it could reach Edwards' desk.

Only once, in 2019, has a bill to abolish the death penalty even made it out of a House or Senate committee for full debate in either chamber. Even then, former Democratic state Rep. Terry Landry shelved the bill when it became clear he didn't have the votes in the House.

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: Lawmaker seeks to abolish death penalty in Louisiana, end executions
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  Gov. Janet Mills last week signed a two-year, nearly $10 billion budget jammed through by fellow Democrats that will keep government services rolling  and possibly avert a shutdown  in the new fiscal year.

Mills said she was unwilling to take a chance of Republicans using the threat of a shutdown as a bargaining tactic.

I would have preferred to sign a budget that has bipartisan support, but the possibility of a government shutdown  which would be extremely harmful to Maine people  is something I cannot accept," she said in a statement.

The Maine State House is seen at dawn from Capitol Park on Dec. 2, 2020, in Augusta, Maine. Democratic leaders in the Maine Legislature were prepared Thursday, March 30, 2023, to push through a $9.8 billion, two-year state budget thatll ensure theres no government shutdown this summer.

Lawmakers adjourned late Thursday so the budget can go into effect on July 1, the start of the fiscal year. Mills signed a proclamation Friday calling them back to work in a special session starting Wednesday.

She insisted that the current budget containing no new programs is not the final word. There will be a supplemental budget in which new programs and spending priorities will be discussed.

I recognize that tensions are high, but there is still a lot of work left to do, with room  I believe  for compromise. I urge Democrats and Republicans to reset and to begin anew the work of negotiating their priorities during the next round of budget discussions, she said.

'It's really exciting': Front Porch in Ogunquit gets OK for new rooftop bar with ocean views

Democrats, who hold majorities in both legislative chambers, pushed through a continuing services budget on party-line votes over forceful GOP objections on Thursday.

The timing allows the budget to go into effect 90 days later on July 1 with simple majority votes. Lawmakers would have had to approve the budget with a two-thirds majority, a steeper hurdle that would have required Republican support, if they'd waited until later in the legislative session.

Republicans were incensed over the maneuver. Several of them said they were negotiating in good faith and noted that their proposal to reduce income taxes on lower- and middle-income Mainers by $200 million would have reduced the overall size of the budget by only 2%.

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Rep. Scott Cyrway, a Republican from Albion, said during the floor debate that Democrats chose to freeze out the GOP even though there was plenty of time to reach a consensus that could have achieved a two-thirds majority.

That's all we're asking  R-E-S-P-E-C-T, he said, spelling out the word for emphasis.

It was the second time in Mills' tenure that Democrats have used the maneuver of adopting a majority vote, adjourning the Legislature, and then resuming a special session.

Maine governor 'fine' after contracting COVID-19 again

AUGUSTA (AP)  Democratic Gov. Janet Mills will have to miss a visit by first lady Jill Biden this week because she has contracted COVID-19 for a second time, officials said.

Mills tested positive on Sunday and will isolate for a minimum of five days, consistent with state and federal heath guidelines.

Other than a scratchy throat, I feel fine, she said Sunday evening in a statement. I will work remotely over the next few days, and I look forward to getting back to the office later this week.

Because of the timing, the governor will be in isolation when the first lady, a teacher, pays a visit to Southern Maine Community College in South Portland on Wednesday.

Mills, 75, also contracted COVID-19 in April 2022 and recovered quickly. She attributes being fully vaccinated and boosted for her mild symptoms and good prognosis.

Bellows applauds committee vote to protect Ranked Choice Voting

AUGUSTA  The Legislatures Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted last week to defeat a bill that would repeal Maines Ranked Choice Voting law.

Mainers have shown over and over that they support the use of Ranked Choice Voting in our elections, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said. They appreciate the ability to vote with their hearts, rather than their fears. This issue has been settled, and Im glad to see the committee vote reflect that today.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows

We rank things every day to make our choices  what kind of cereal to buy at the grocery store, which movie to watch, or what hike to go on with our friends. Its common sense that we be able to do that with our votes as well.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine governor signs 2-year budget that angered Republicans
The 'Law & Order: SVU' star showed off some snaps from her quick trip back home to the West Coast.

Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann traded in bagels and pizza for some sunshine on the West Coast.

During the married couple's recent trip to Los Angeles, the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star, 59, shared some moments from their vacation with her millions of Instagram followers.

The carousel of photos showcased multiple black-and-white selfies of Hargitay and Hermann while they basked in the California sun.

View the original article to see embedded media.

The first snapshot captured the couple at a low angle as they looked at the camera, rocking cool sunglasses and opposite hues of sweaters. The second showed the duo snuggling up together and smiling. While the last two photos put their loveas well as the Los Angeles landscapeon full display as they are completely enamored by each other's company.



"A quick trip to LA, a little sunshine, a lotta love. #home #lawoman #californialove #californiadreaming #californiagirl #LA," the actress wrote in the caption.

Related: 'Law & Order: SVU's' Ryan Buggle Details Sleepovers With Mariska Hargitays Kids

Many fans took to the comments to gush over the adorable couple, with one fan writing, "Gorgeous humans; inside & out  #relationshipgoals #sunshineandlove."

"I've said 100 times and I'll say it again, y'all are goals! Period. The love just radiates off the two of you. ," another fan added.



"You both are the look of love! You bring joy to my heart!!!! ," a third fan gushed.



Hargitay, who hails from Santa Monica, and Hermann met on the set of Law & Order in 2002 and tied the knot two years later on Aug. 28, 2004.

The actress admitted to falling in love with her husband at first sight when she spoke about the duo meeting on The Drew Barrymore Show back in 2022.



She recalled thinking, "Who is that Clark Gable, superman guy that I need to marry today?" when she first met Hermann. "On the first day [of meeting] I was so nervous and I felt very  he was very handsome and it was, uh, distracting," she said.



We love these two and their love story!

Related: 'Reba' Cast Reunited at Singer's Recent Concert
WASHINGTON  It was supposed to be a pick-up game of basketball.

Asa Hutchinson had continued to play weekly when he was elected governor of Arkansas, gathering a crew to play at high school gyms on Friday nights.

Hutchinson's aides thought he would enjoy playing in Cuba when he made an official visit in 2015 shortly after the U.S. restored diplomatic ties with the communist country.

"I'm just thinking of a little pickup game," Hutchinson recalled. "They dropped me off at the Cuban national sports arena. I go in there, and they had the Cuban national team warming up on both ends of the court  with referees, in uniform  and the international media was there. I said, 'It's too late to back out.'"

Hutchinson says the basketball game in Cuba, where the professional players were hesitant at first to foul him and backed away when he went to shoot, made for a good ice breaker. It became a habit of his to play when he traveled outside the U.S.

"So now I've played basketball in Switzerland, Bolivia, I played basketball in Mexico, in China, in Japan, in Israel, in Germany, on and on down the list," he told USA TODAY during a sit-down interview. "So I'm an international basketball player."

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Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson responding during an interview with the Associated Press, Dec. 13, 2022 in Washington.

Who is Asa Hutchinson?

Age: 72

Wife: Susan

Children: Asa III, Sarah, John, Seth

Grandchildren: 7

Pets: American Eskimo named "Bandit;" cat named "Snowflake"

Favorite Book: "Troublesome Young Men"

Favorite Movie: "Cool Hand Luke"

Hutchinson announces White House bid

Hutchinson has been testing the waters for a presidential bid and said Sunday he will seek the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

He will formally announce his candidacy on April 26 in Bentonville, Ark.

Noting that it is where he was born and practiced law prior to becoming governor of the state, Hutchinson told USA TODAY, "I think that helps to tell the story as to who I am."

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Former President Donald Trump became the first major Republican candidate to announce his 2024 bid last November. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy entered the fray in February.

Several other Republicans may soon follow suit, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Vice President Mike Pence and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who competed in 2016, also recently held a town hall in New Hampshire.

In an interview, Hutchinson, who left office earlier this year after serving two terms as Arkansas governor, said he hopes voters find him to be "authentic, a person of faith and somebody that loves my family." He also emphasized his experience battling white supremacists as a U.S. attorney and cartel leaders as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson speaks during the Vision 2024 National Conservative Forum at the Charleston Area Convention Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 18, 2023.

What did Hutchinson do as governor of Arkansas?

Hutchinson approved tax cuts for individuals and corporations in Arkansas  a state he presided over for eight years as governor.

One of Hutchinson's most notable actions is the near-total abortion ban trigger law that he signed prior to the Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights last summer.

The ban provides an exception for when a mother's life is at risk and has no exclusions for victims of rape and incest. Hutchinson later lamented the ban's lack of exceptions, and said it should be "revisited," but has defended signing the bill, saying the aim of the law was to reduce abortions.

Hutchinson also made national headlines in March of 2021 when he signed a law that banned transgender women athletes from participating in women's sports teams in schools. The move drew widespread condemnation from LGBTQ rights groups.

Shortly after signing the bill, Hutchinson vetoed another piece of legislation in April of 2021 that would have banned gender-affirming care for anyone under 18, calling it over broad and extreme. The Arkansas state legislature overrode the veto.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Hutchinson banned COVID-19 vaccine requirements in state and local governments. He also signed into law a ban on state and local mask mandates, a move he later regretted as cases of the Delta variant were surging among children.

"People want to return to normal and they want to be able to have someone in office that's a problem solver. That's my experience in government, both as a prosecutor but also as a governor," he told USA TODAY.

'An outrage': What Trump's potential rivals for 2024 are saying about his indictment

Asa Hutchinson worked on Bill Clinton impeachment

Early in his career, Hutchinson worked as a federal prosecutor. Former Republican President Ronald Reagan appointed him to serve as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

He was later elected to the House of Representatives, representing Arkansas' 3rd congressional district from 1997 until he joined former President George W. Bush's administration in 2001. He served first as DEA administrator and later became an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

While in Congress, he served as an impeachment manager during fellow Arkansas native and former President Bill Clinton's trial in the House. Hutchinson, who said he was hesitant at first due to the potential electoral consequences of sharing a home state with Clinton, said he felt it was his constitutional duty.

This was a constitutional crisis at that time, in the sense that we hadnt done that in a 100 plus years, so I took on that responsibility, not knowing how that would impact me politically, but I thought it was necessary, Hutchinson told USA TODAY.

He said he also worried, "If I don't do it, will somebody else do it that is not going to be balanced and fair and professional about it."

"The end result was I did get reelected, because I think the people of Arkansas saw that I was doing it for the right motivations and did it in a highly professional way."

Francesca Chambers is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow her on Twitter @fran_chambers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Asa Hutchinson? The GOP ex-Gov. running for the White House
Olha Mazur before departing to find her son, Oleksandr Chugunov, in Russian-occupied territory, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 13, 2023. (Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times)

MOSCOW  As children gathered at a holiday camp outside Moscow, they were greeted by a female performer in a kokoshnik, a traditional tiara, who extended the customary Russian greeting of a loaf of bread and salt.

The children were not from Russia. They were Ukrainian children brought to the camp from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

We welcome you like this, said Maria Lvova-Belova, Russias commissioner for childrens rights, who was at the event, because now you are ours.

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Many of the children Lvova-Belova has brought from Ukraine have indeed become Russian, at least by passport, thanks to a decree she asked President Vladimir Putin to sign last year to streamline the adoption of Ukrainian children.

She has used that authority to transfer to Russia what Ukraine says are as many as 16,000 children. Some of those children have described a wrenching process of coercion, deception and force, with many placed in homes to become Russian citizens and subjected to reeducation.

And the International Criminal Court has branded her actions a war crime. When it issued arrest warrants last month related to the Ukrainian invasion, it named only two Russians: Putin and Lvova-Belova.

She is reviled in Ukraine, where she is labeled a war criminal, and the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on her in 2022, but at home, Lvova-Belova is portrayed as the archetype of the woman revered in Putins Russia: a conservative, deeply religious mother to a large brood  as well as a dedicated advocate of the rights of children and people with disabilities.

In the Kremlins telling, she is far from a war criminal, instead leading a humanitarian evacuation of only around 2,000 orphans and other children who have been abandoned. The Russian propaganda machine notwithstanding, there is little doubt that she is a mother and guardian to many children: At the time of her appointment in October 2021, she told Putin that she had nine children, five biological and four adopted, while fostering 13 more. Now, her official biography lists her as the mother of 10 children, as she adopted a teenage boy from Mariupol, Ukraine, over the summer.

Story continues

Lvova-Belova, 38, grew up in Penza, Russia, a city of about 500,000 about 400 miles southeast of Moscow. She met her husband, Pavel Kogelman, when she was a teenager singing in a church choir. In high school, she studied conducting, and she later gave guitar lessons.

For more than a decade, Lvova-Belova threw herself into helping disadvantaged children and disabled people. One of her first public projects was to provide care for babies who had been abandoned by their parents.

In 2008, already the mother of two children, she co-founded an organization called Blagovest that helped orphans adapt socially. Her co-founder, Anna Kuznetsova, became something of a trailblazer for Lvova-Belova, first establishing a name for herself in the social services field and then branching into politics.

Both women became well known in the city for their efforts, said Oleg Sharipkov, executive director of the Penza Civil Union Foundation. After establishing Blagovest, the two women went their separate ways as partners, with Lvova-Belova focusing on disabilities and Kuznetsova becoming active in the anti-abortion movement, but they remained close friends.

They had a good reputation in the community. They really, really, did some good things, said Sharipkov. And then there was a turning point, he said, when both women realized that they could raise substantial funds from the regional and federal governments: Both began to cuddle up hard to power.

In July 2014, Lvova-Belova founded a nongovernmental organization called the Louis Quarter, after the jazz musician Louis Armstrong, a center for orphans with disabilities who had aged out of state homes but were not yet prepared for independent living. She said she chose Armstrong because he rose so far after starting from deprived circumstances.

Kuznetsova, who had become the head of Mothers of Russia, a government-aligned group promoting traditional values, was appointed commissioner for childrens rights in 2016. That opened a door to bigger projects for Lvova-Belova. She started several group homes for people with severe disabilities, including one called New Shores that grew into the largest assisted-living center for disabled Russians.

In September 2019, a month after her husband was ordained a Russian Orthodox priest, Lvova-Belova was elected to the Penza City Duma, or parliament, as a candidate of Putins United Russia Party. But in a common practice that allows the party to choose its own lawmakers, she refused the seat, clearing the way for a party pick who was less well known. She was rewarded with a significant jump in her career. A month later, Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia and chair of United Russia, formalized her place with a party membership card. The next day, she became a member of United Russias presidium, the 35 people who manage the party.

I think when they used to work, they genuinely believed they were doing good things, and then at some point they made a compromise: To get money for the project, you have to go to the polls, Sharipkov said of Lvova-Belova and Kuznetsova. Just like this, little by little. Its just pure politics right now.

A year later, in September 2020, the party gave her a seat as a senator in the Dumas upper house, the Federation Council. When Kuznetsova stepped down as childrens rights commissioner in autumn 2021, Lvova-Belova was appointed in her place.

Lvova-Belova met with Putin for the first time March 9, 2022, in a session that was videotaped and made public. It had been less than two weeks since Russian troops full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but she told the president that 1,090 orphans had already arrived.

Of course, Russians have big hearts and are already queuing up to take care of these children. What do you think? she asked, adding that only those who had Russian documents could settle permanently into families.

There were legal caveats to be addressed before non-Russian children could be adopted, she told Putin, who quickly brushed aside such concerns.

We are facing an emergency, he said, I believe that we must focus on the interests of the children rather than think about red tape.

In May, Putin issued a decree that removed the obstacles to giving the children Russian passports.

Having been given her marching orders, Lvova-Belova began traveling to the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, visiting orphanages, bringing supplies and often bringing children back with her. In mid-July, she posted on the Russian social network VKontakte that 108 children of the Donbas region would receive citizenship that week. As she dropped a group of them off with their foster parents, she wiped away tears.

But Lvova-Belova stands accused of serious violations of international law, such as extracting children from orphanages and hospitals in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine even though many had relatives who would have taken them in.

Researchers affiliated with Yale University reported that she used a network of summer camps spanning at least eight time zones, from the annexed Crimean Peninsula to Magadan, in Russias Far East, to move Ukrainian children to Russia. While Russia was occupying parts of Ukraines Kharkiv and Kherson regions, families there were promised a two-week summer vacation in Russia for their children as a break from the hostilities. But when Ukraine reclaimed the areas in September, many of the children had not been able to leave the camps in Russia and were still stranded there.

In early March, Lvova-Belova acknowledged in a post on Telegram that 89 children in the summer camps were waiting to go home, but she denied that they or any others were being held against their wishes.

If parents or legal guardians are able and willing to take them in, we do everything in our power to help them, she said, adding that she had not received an official request from Ukrainian authorities regarding this group of children.

This professed willingness to return the children is hotly disputed in Kyiv, Ukraine, where authorities say that only 327 Ukrainian children out of the thousands Russia has extracted have been returned. Ukraines ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, told The New York Times in a recent interview that Ukrainian authorities had never been given a list of children who were taken to Russia.

Despite the accusations against her, the sanctions and the international warrant for her arrest, Lvova-Belova has defiantly supported her actions.

I arrived in hell, she told the pro-government, conservative channel Tsargrad about her first journey to Mariupol, in an interview broadcast in November. Im honestly not ashamed of this year. Im not ashamed, because I think my team worked not 100%, but 150%.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Dr. Anna Igler, second from right, a Wisconsin obstetrician-gynecologist who traveled to Colorado for an abortion because her fetus had a severe abnormality, speaks at a campaign event for Mayor Eric Genrich, left, in Green Bay, Wis., March 22, 2023. (Kayla Wolf/The New York Times)

GREEN BAY, Wis.  Eric Genrich is running a full-throated campaign in support of abortion rights, reminding voters of his position at every turn and hammering his anti-abortion opponent in television ads. At a recent event, he featured an obstetrician who now commutes to a state where abortion is legal to treat patients and a local woman who traveled to Colorado to terminate a nonviable pregnancy.

Theres just one inconvenient reality: Genrich is running for reelection as mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, an office that has nothing to do with abortion policy.

Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, putting back into effect a Wisconsin law from 1849 that bans nearly all abortions, the city did not have a clinic that performed the procedure, nor a health department that regulated it.

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Genrich is one of several candidates for municipal offices on the ballot this spring in races in Wisconsin, Chicago, St. Louis, Lincoln, Nebraska, and elsewhere who are making their support for abortion rights  and often their opponents past opposition  a centerpiece of their campaigns, even though abortion policy in all of these places is decided at the state level.

Democrats used a muscular defense of abortion rights to great success in the midterm elections last fall, and, if that strategy works again, they are likely to copy it next year in races at all levels of government, including in President Joe Bidens campaign if he seeks reelection.

The focus on abortion rights in down-ballot races, however, reflects Democrats increased nationalization of local politics. For decades, local Republican candidates ran on issues like abortion, immigration and national security, putting them in simple terms: A noun, a verb and 9/11, Biden once said in describing the phenomenon.

Now Democrats are doing the same on abortion in left-leaning cities, hoping to win over independent voters and some moderate Republicans.

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Doing so allows Democrats to avoid discussing crime rates or other less appealing campaign topics. But beyond that, they recognize and emphasize that in todays tribal politics, the precise responsibilities of an office matter less than sending a strong signal to voters about ones broader political loyalties.

Its definitely not a municipal issue per se, Genrich said in an interview. Voters dont care about some of these parochial distinctions between municipal boundaries. This is a city issue, a state issue, a federal issue. Some of their most important questions are, what do you stand for fundamentally?

Genrich declined repeated opportunities to explain what, precisely, the mayor of Green Bay could do about abortion in his city.

Still, Republicans running for mayor find themselves doing a political tap dance, trying to de-emphasize but not disavow their opposition to abortion rights, which is not an electoral winner in Democratic cities. In Green Bay, Biden won 53% of the vote in 2020; last year, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, took 55% of the citys vote.

Genrichs opponent in Tuesdays officially nonpartisan election, Chad Weininger, is a former state legislator who cast a series of votes to restrict abortion rights before last years Supreme Court ruling. Now, as television ads and campaign mail blast his stance and label him MAGA Chad to emphasize his Republican politics, he is trying to change the subject.

Im running for mayor, Im not debating abortion, Weininger said. We could have discussions about nuclear arms, but guess what? Cant do anything about it. We can have discussions about securing our borders, but theres nothing we can do about it.

National Democratic organizations that do not typically involve themselves in local elections are using abortion policy to promote and raise money for candidates who back abortion rights.

Emilys List, a group that backs women who support abortion rights, has endorsed mayoral candidates in Jacksonville, Florida; Madison, Wisconsin; and Lincoln.

In Lincoln, where Biden won 54% of the vote in 2020, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, a Democrat, said her constituents had demanded to know what she could do about proposed legislation in the Nebraska Legislature that would restrict abortion rights. Her answer: speak out against the bills.

Voters, Gaylor Baird said, are much more interested in knowing where people stand. So I expect that people will want to know where I stand on this issue, even if it isnt a local issue typically.

Her main opponent, Suzanne Geist, a Republican state senator who has sponsored bills to restrict or ban abortion in Nebraska, said her actions in the State Capitol should have little bearing on how she would run the states capital city. She said she would prefer to focus on issues such as public safety and the health of the citys business community.

Talking about abortion, Geist said, is a way of avoiding what the present issues are and trying to get the public wrapped around something that really has nothing to do with the mayors office or the mayors race.

Past opposition to some abortion rights has become a political liability even for candidates who support them now. In Chicago, Paul Vallas, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO who is running for mayor, is being attacked by his more liberal opponent, Brandon Johnson, for a 2009 television interview in which Vallas said, Fundamentally, I oppose abortion.

Vallas statement, which he made when being asked about possibly running for state office as a Republican, came after he had declared himself personally pro-choice but said he would favor banning some late-term abortions.

Johnson is now broadcasting ads with a clip of Vallas statement that he opposed abortion; Vallas has responded with advertising declaring that he supports abortion rights.

In an interview Sunday at a Greek restaurant, Vallas said Johnson had taken his past abortion comments out of context.

Its had some impact, he acknowledged.

In other races, municipal candidates are trying to find ways to make their cities have some influence over abortion access.

Daniela Velazquez, a public relations executive running for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, has proposed providing money for women seeking abortions to travel across the Mississippi River to Illinois, where the procedure remains legal. While abortion became illegal in Missouri after the Supreme Courts decision, Velazquez said many in St. Louis supported abortion rights.

I have been knocking on doors and people have looked at our lit and been like, Oh, you know, pro-choice, she said. Then they say, Yeah, Im going to vote for you.

Democrats are open in their belief at the current moment, the best way to win votes is to focus on the abortion fight.

Abortion and reproductive rights is the No. 1 issue in 2023, said Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to back Genrich in Green Bay and Mayor Cory Mason in Racine, who is making similar arguments there. Its the No. 1 issue that moves voters that normally vote Republican to vote for someone else and its the No. 1 issue to get Democrats off the couch and casting ballots.

In November, Racine asked voters on the midterm-election ballot if Wisconsins 1849 abortion ban should be repealed  and 71% said yes. Mason is now running television ads highlighting his stance in favor of abortion rights and attacking his opponent.

Abortion, Mason said, comes up in his discussions with voters as much as snow plowing, public safety and housing.

These two big issues around freedom, the freedom to vote and the freedom to make your own health care decisions, they are every bit as front and center in this race as anything else that we deal with at the municipal level, Mason said.

Masons opponent, Henry Perez, a Republican city alderman opposed to abortion rights, said voters in Racine did not care much about the issue. He said that he did not remember how he had voted in the November abortion referendum, and that too much fuss was being made over abortion being banned in Racine when it was available across the state line in Illinois, roughly 25 miles south of the city.

A lot of people Ive talked to say, Henry, abortion, really? Perez said. What do we care about it here? I mean, its not a thing that we do. And theres always options like going out of town, you know, or going over to the next state to take care of an abortion if they need to.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Supporters of former President Donald Trump react as a motorcade carrying Trump drives through West Palm Beach, Fla., after leaving his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, April 3, 2023. (Josh Ritchie/The New York Times)

Attack. Attack. Attack.

Delay. Delay. Delay.

Those two tactics have been at the center of Donald Trumps favored strategy in court cases for much of his adult life and will likely be the former presidents approach to fighting the criminal charges now leveled against him if he sticks to his well-worn legal playbook. In fact, his attacks against both the prosecutor and the judge in the case have already begun.

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Over more than four decades, Trump has sued and been sued in civil court again and again. In recent years, he has faced federal criminal investigations, congressional inquiries and two impeachments. He has neither a law degree nor formal legal training, but over the course of that long history, he has become notorious in legal circles for thinking he knows better than the lawyers he hires  and then, very often, fires  and frequently is slow to pay if he does at all.

The former president now faces an indictment stemming from a hush-money payment made to a porn actress in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, who has steadfastly contended he committed no crime and almost certainly will decline any plea deal, will fight the case in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York. The battle there will play out in front of the same judge who last year presided over the tax fraud trial of Trumps family real estate company  a trial that ended in a conviction on 17 felonies.

The details of Trumps defense strategy are still unclear because the specific charges in the indictment against him will stay under seal until his arraignment Tuesday.

But two things seem certain: The defense approach will include aggressively attacking the credibility of Michael Cohen, Trumps onetime fixer and lawyer who is expected to be the prosecutions central witness; and, if the indictment relies on a legal theory that has never been evaluated by a judge, the defense will also zero in and zealously challenge it.

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Cohen, who broke with Trump in 2018 and testified before the grand jury that indicted him, is expected to tell a trial jury that the former president directed him to pay off the porn actress, Stormy Daniels, and that Trump reimbursed him and helped to cover up the entire hush-money affair.

Cohen was federally prosecuted for the hush-money payment and pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and other crimes.

His guilty plea to those crimes, which include lying to Congress, and his years of public statements will make him a sure target on cross-examination for Trumps lawyers, while prosecutors will be likely to counter that he lied on behalf of Trump and that his story has remained consistent for years.

The judge, Juan Merchan, who in more than 16 years on the bench has earned a reputation for being thoughtful and measured, keeps to a tight schedule in court and seeks to maintain a certain level of decorum there, despite the sometimes rough-and-tumble atmosphere in state criminal proceedings. He likely will have little patience for the former presidents attack-and-delay strategy.

Merchan did not have to wait long to see Trumps tactics in full flower. On Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the former president had been indicted, he lashed out at the judge.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that Merchan had railroaded Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial executive of the Trump Organization, who is serving the final weeks of a 100-day sentence in the Rikers Island jail complex in New York City after pleading guilty to tax fraud charges in the case against the former presidents company.

Referring to his upcoming arraignment before Merchan scheduled for Tuesday, he wrote, The Judge assigned to my Witch Hunt Case, a Case that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME.

Asked about the sentiment the former president expressed in his post, one of his lawyers said Sunday morning that he had no problem with Merchan. He has a very good reputation, Joseph Tacopina said on CNNs State of the Union, adding that I have no reason to believe this judge is biased; I have not been before him on this matter.

Trump also attacked Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, in the hours after news of the indictment broke. Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely hates the USA! the former president wrote.

Trumps intensely litigious nature has made his strategy more visible over the years than it might otherwise be. He has long used delay tactics in legal matters that emerged from business disputes, and since becoming a politician, he has repeatedly tried to throw sand in the gears of the legal system, using the resulting slow pace of litigation to run out the clock until seismic events shifted the playing field.

One of the more notable examples came in the early stages of the Manhattan district attorneys investigation that led to the indictment Thursday. Prosecutors in 2019 subpoenaed Trumps accountants for his tax returns and other records, and the president sued in federal court to block the document demand, a move that delayed the inquiry for 18 months while the case went to the Supreme Court of the United States  twice. (Trump lost both times.)

Similarly, when Democrats took over the House after the 2018 midterm and began trying to perform oversight, Trump vowed to stonewall their subpoenas and raised a host of objections once the matters got into court. The disputes chewed up time  for briefings, arguments and then the period judges took to craft opinions  and while Trump often lost those decisions, he would simply appeal again and restart the process.

In that way, Trump effectively won despite losing, thwarting the ability of House Democrats to extract potentially damaging information  such as testimony by his former White House counsel about his efforts to obstruct the Russia investigation  before voters went to the polls for the 2020 election.

Christopher Kise, a lawyer who represents Trump in some of his cases, defended the former presidents often-used approach and argued that it is not significantly different from what takes place in many legal cases.

He has adopted a strategy that is consistent with what any sophisticated defense lawyer would advise, and it works, Kise said in an interview.

And the reason it works is, its the right strategy, he said, contending that its not really delay for its own sake.

He argued, however, that Trumps approach may be different in the New York case.

Transparency is his ally in this circumstance, because the more facts that become public, the more I think the public will be truly outraged by the level of injustice and manipulation thats taking place in this case, Kise said.

Timothy OBrien, the senior executive editor at Bloomberg Opinion and a former reporter and editor at The New York Times, is somewhat familiar with Trumps legal strategy. Trump unsuccessfully sued him for libel in 2006 over a book he wrote about the then-real estate developer, a case that dragged on for five years.

He said Trump learned from his first lawyer, Roy Cohn, a fixer who attacked the legal system while leveraging connections in an attempt to instill fear of financial or reputational damage in his opponents.

The former president, OBrien said, relies on everyone else to play by the rules while he bends or breaks them.

Trump also has a lengthy history of conflating legal problems with public relations problems, treating every matter as one that can be dealt with in terms of a media strategy.

While in office, he talked often about investigations he faced  so much so that some of his comments became possible acts of obstruction of justice scrutinized by a special counsel, including tweets in 2018 suggesting that Cohen, whose home and office had just been searched by the FBI, would never turn against him.

But in previous legal entanglements during his presidency, the system itself repeatedly protected him because Justice Department policy barred indictment of a sitting president.

And then, when Trump was twice impeached by the House, his relationship with Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, meant he was never at risk of being convicted or removed from office during his first Senate trial.

During the second, focused on the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, Republicans were still mostly unwilling to vote to convict him.

But now the former president has no such armor protecting him as he faces the most significant threat he ever has.

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Former President Donald Trump's conservative defenders in Congress were not exactly front and center on Sunday, as rank-and-file Republicans tap-danced around his looming arraignment and gently distanced themselves from Trumps Ukraine and entitlement policies.

Instead several Republicans found themselves harmonizing with Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who appeared on three Sunday shows to say Trump shouldnt be immune from legal scrutiny but also warn against a politically motivated prosecution as New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg prepares to unveil his Trump indictment on Tuesday. Manchins Sunday mantra that no one is above the law but nobody should be targeted by the law was music to the ears of Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio).

I really liked what the senator was just saying in that, you know, our laws should not be bent to target someone, Turner said on CNNs State of the Union. The senator was saying that, you know, when this comes out, and we finally get to see what's happening, if this is politically motivated this will be a shame on our criminal justice system.

Turner, the House Intelligence chair, also gently broke from Trumps assertions that Russia will eventually take all of Ukraine: Its certainly not inevitable  theres a number of people I think that should just stop the speculation. He did not call Trump out by name, though. He also lamented that its one thing when you have a cancel culture, its another one when you have a cancel criminal justice system.



The coming indictment marks only the beginning of what will be a huge debate within the GOP on whether Trump should be nominated for a third consecutive presidential election. Hes facing other legal woes beyond the hush money case, and each controversy stands to test his support among elected Republicans desperate to retake the White House. At the moment, many conservatives are not officially supporting his bid.

And now nearly eight years since Trump entered the political ring, it remains truer than ever that many Republicans loathe discussing Trumps endless penchant for controversy. Even Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who took a massive political risk in voting to convict Trump in his impeachment trial in 2021, is uninterested in rehashing his opinion on Trump.

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As Trump will likely face charges over his handling of hush money payments to an adult film star, Cassidy repeated the same phrase as Manchin nearly word-for-word: No one should be above the law, but no one should be a target of the law.

The particular problem is that its going to lead to all kinds of political theater, theater that is going to distract from the issues, Cassidy said on Fox News Sunday. After raising fears that Social Security benefits will be cut without action, he lamented of both President Joe Biden and Trump: Neither of the two leading candidates will take the issue on. That's frustrating.

Trumpian conservatives don't generally flock to TV news networks each weekend, and often take their pugnacious defensive style to right-leaning networks. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Fox Newss "Sunday Morning Futures" that some Republicans would consider retribution through the spending process over what he sees as the targeting of Trump by the federal government.

We control the power of the purse, and we're going to look at the appropriations process and limit funds going to some of these agencies, particularly the ones engaged in the most egregious behavior, Jordan said. He called the Bragg case ridiculous.

That some of the most animated support of Trump on Sunday came from his own defense team highlights the fractional support the president still has in both chambers of Congress. And even his lawyers couldnt fully defend Trump, who has attacked New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan as someone who hates me.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said on CNN that while Trump certainly had a right to take issue with any aspect of the case, he personally has no issue with this judge whatsoever.

If there was a memorable moment over the weekend within the GOP, it may be former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson's announcement of a 2024 president campaign. He immediately called on Trump to drop out of the race amid the indictment, a call even Trumps latest campaign rival admitted would be summarily ignored.



The office is more important than any individual person. For the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that is too much of a side show, Hutchinson said on ABCs This Week. He added: At the same time, we know he's not going to drop out.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has flirted with another presidential bid, questioned on ABC whether Trumps prosecution is really about increasing the public safety of the people of Manhattan but also said an indictment cant be good news for Trump: All this bravado from the Trump camp is baloney.

The comment illustrated Republicans quandary: Criticizing Trump too directly over the matter could lose conservative support, even if on its face an indictment clearly hurts the former presidents general election prospects.

Marc Short, a former chief of staff for former Vice President Mike Pence, did not take Hutchinsons tack either and said on Fox its right for Republicans to denounce the indictment.

So even as they very much dont defend Trump on the particulars of the case over a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign, some Republicans are doing their best to channel their inner Manchin  with a twist.

People need to ask themselves a fundamental question. If this were anyone but Trump, would this DA even take up this case? asked Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) on CNNs State of the Union. He added that former presidents should definitely not be immune from criminal charges. Its just that this one is as weak as it can get.
IndexBox, Inc.

NEW YORK, April 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IndexBox, a leading global research firm, has published a new comprehensive report on the global frozen vegetable market, providing detailed analysis, forecasts, size, trends, and insights. The full report is accessible through the following link: https://www.indexbox.io/store/world-frozen-vegetable-market-analysis-forecast-size-trends-and-insights/ .In addition, IndexBox is offering trial access to market data available on their platform.

According to the report, the global frozen vegetable market is expected to witness significant growth from 2023 to 2030. Key factors driving this growth include increased consumer awareness about the health benefits of frozen vegetables, advancements in freezing technology, and the growing demand for convenience in food preparation.

However, the market also faces several challenges, such as fluctuating raw material prices, strict regulations on food safety, and the environmental impact of packaging materials. The report provides an in-depth analysis of these factors, as well as their implications on market dynamics.

Demand for frozen vegetables is primarily driven by the food processing industry, specifically ready-to-eat meals , soups, and snacks. The frozen vegetable market is also influenced by the retail sector, where supermarkets and hypermarkets are the primary sales channels. Moreover, the growing foodservice industry, including restaurants, catering services, and institutional food providers, is expected to contribute to the market's expansion.

The global frozen vegetable market can be segmented into several categories based on the type of vegetables, such as leafy greens, cruciferous, legumes, roots and tubers , among others. Leafy greens include spinach , kale, and collard greens, while cruciferous vegetables consist of broccoli and cauliflower , and Brussels sprouts. Legumes comprise peas , beans , and lentils , whereas roots and tubers include carrots , beets, and potatoes .

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End-User:

The frozen vegetable market caters to various end-user segments, including food processing, retail, and foodservice industries.

Food Processing: The food processing industry utilizes frozen vegetables in the production of ready-to-eat meals, soups, snacks, and other processed food products. This segment accounts for a significant share of the overall market demand.

Retail: Supermarkets, hypermarkets, and specialty stores constitute the retail sector for frozen vegetables. The growing preference for convenient and healthy food options among consumers has driven the demand for frozen vegetables in this segment.

Foodservice: Restaurants, catering services, and institutional food providers such as schools, hospitals, and offices are part of the foodservice industry. The expansion of the foodservice sector, coupled with increasing consumer awareness of the nutritional benefits of frozen vegetables, contributes to the market's growth.

Region:

The global frozen vegetable market can be analyzed across various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America : The North American market, led by the United States and Canada, exhibits steady growth due to the high demand for convenience foods and increased consumer awareness about the health benefits of frozen vegetables.

Europe : Europe, with countries such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, is another significant market for frozen vegetables. The region's growth is driven by changing consumer preferences, advancements in freezing technology, and the expanding food processing industry.

Asia-Pacific : As the largest market for frozen vegetables, the Asia-Pacific region comprises countries such as China, India, Japan, and Australia. The region's growth prospects are attributed to the rising urban population, increased disposable income, and rapid expansion of the food processing industry.

Latin America : Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, is an emerging market for frozen vegetables. The growth in this region is driven by the increasing demand for convenient food options, growing urbanization, and expanding retail and foodservice sectors.

Middle East and Africa : The Middle East and Africa market is expected to witness moderate growth, driven by the growing demand for healthy and convenient food options, as well as the expansion of the food processing and foodservice industries in the region.

The report provides key statistics on the frozen vegetable market, including market size, growth rates, and consumption patterns. It also offers a detailed breakdown of market segments by product type, application, and region.

These companies have a significant market presence and contribute to the overall growth of the industry:

Conagra Brands Inc.

Greenyard NV

Bonduelle Group

Pinnacle Foods Inc. (acquired by Conagra Brands)

B&G Foods Inc.

General Mills Inc.

McCain Foods Limited

Nestle S.A.

J.R. Simplot Company

The Kraft Heinz Company

Unilever

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Findus Group (owned by Nomad Foods)

Ardo Group

Europeenne des Desserts

CRF Frozen Foods (joint venture between Harbin Gaotai and Rujia Group)

Uren Food Group Ltd.

Gelagri Bretagne SA

Cargill, Incorporated

Charalambides Christis Ltd.

For more information about the report or to request trial access to the IndexBox platform, please visit https://www.indexbox.io/

Keywords: Frozen Vegetables, Market Analysis, Market Forecast, Food Processing, Food Industry, Market Growth

CONTACT: Contact: Mekhrona Dzhuraeva, Editor Email: media@indexbox.io




Vivek Ramaswamy, the conservative author and pharmaceutical company entrepreneur who launched a long-shot bid for the presidency in late February, believes that at the end of the GOP nomination race, he and former President Donald Trump will be the two top candidates.

He doesn't think that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is "suited to be a leader of our country" and called him "fundamentally uncourageous," noting the length of time that passed before DeSantis publicly addressed Trump's earlier claim that he would be indicted.

"Anyone that's coming in as sort of a professional politician, with all the plastic features, I don't see our base ending there. I think they need the outsider," Ramaswamy told CBS News during a visit to Washington D.C. earlier this week.

Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old Indian American CEO who has been a frequent guest on Fox News, has been visiting early presidential primary states and says he will launch a daily podcast about his campaign soon.

But he is still a relatively unknown figure to the GOP base. In early presidential primary polls, Ramaswamy's name either has not registered or a plurality of voters have said they don't know who he is. In a February Monmouth University poll, 49% of Republicans said they hadn't heard about him.

But Ramaswamy, whose presidential run is his first run for office, argues he can be the "outsider" politician that the Republican base  and Trump's base of voters  want.

"It's not going to be immediate. It's going to be a 14- to 16-month project," Ramaswamy said of his campaign.

He claims he would take Trump's "America First" agenda "further than he ever did"  and in a less divisive way. Ramaswamy vowed to "take on" affirmative action, the "climate cult," show a "use of force to solve the [Mexican drug] cartel problem" and says he would shut down the Department of Education, which he maintains has "no reason to exist," a stance popular among a number of Republicans, including Trump.

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Ramaswamy feels the country is in "the middle of a national identity crisis" and that younger generations think of themselves as "victims rather than victors," a core stance in one of his books.

"Conservatives are hungry, they want to go further, but they don't want to abandon the moral core of conservatism," Ramaswamy said, without answering whether Trump has damaged that "moral core," as Trump faces an arraignment next week in Manhattan, while several other investigations of the former president are underway.

Ramaswamy believes that the presidential primary race will change after the first debate in August, especially for DeSantis, whose potential candidacy has attracted wide interest among Republicans already.

"He happens to be the one that I think the country believes might actually be a career politician who has a shot, [but] I think that we the country and the Republican base certainly will see through that act. I think they're already starting to," Ramaswamy said.

DeSantis has not officially launched a 2024 run yet, but has been making visits to early presidential primary states and battleground states to promote his new book and talk to local Republican groups. And in early hypothetical surveys of the 2024 field so far this year, DeSantis is always in the top two with Trump, with many other candidates trailing far behind.

Still, Ramaswamy is eager to take on DeSantis directly, and characterized him as a kid who grew up "in their sheltered environment" and said DeSantis has created an "echo chamber" of support in Florida.

DeSantis "indulged himself into thinking that's actually the world. The world's not going to be nice to you, man," said Ramaswamy.

"We're talking about representing the freaking United States of America on the global stage. That can't be the guy. He doesn't have it. I know he's deeply insecure. He won't tell you whether he got the second shot. He's not going to tell you whether he got the second shot  what business [does he have] standing up to Vladimir Putin," Ramaswamy said. He also criticized DeSantis' fights with Disney and investment management company Blackrock.

CBS News has reached out to DeSantis' political team for comment.

Ramaswamy was one of the first in the potential 2024 field to show public support for Trump after he predicted he would be indicted, which he says he did "on principle." Ramaswamy said he was not sure how this indictment or any future charges stemming from other investigations of Trump will affect the nomination race.

As for the rest of the potential 2024 field, Ramaswamy was quick to label them "professional career politicians" who would not win the support of Republican primary voters.

Of former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, the only other declared candidate in the race besides Ramaswamy and Trump, the biotech entrepreneur said she was a "classic case" of a "professional career politician." "I think she and DeSantis share a lot in common, even though they appear different," he said.

He said of former Vice President Mike Pence that he's a "good man  career politician, who actually does express his beliefs."

Of Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is also mulling a presidential bid, that he "seems like a nice enough man  I think he's still deciding who he wants to be," Ramaswamy said.

A native of Cincinnati, Ramaswamy was considered to be a potential GOP challenger to Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio in 2024, but told CBS News he has ruled out a run and has his eyes set on the presidency.

Fin Gomez and Fernando Suarez contributed to this report.

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Japan is officially moving forward with restrictions aimed at limiting Chinas access to advanced chipmaking machinery. As CNN reports , the country announced Friday it would tighten export controls on 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Once the new rules take effect in July, companies like Nikon and Tokyo Electron will need to obtain approval from Japans trade ministry if they want to sell their tools in some 160 territories across the world. A Japanese government spokesperson told CNN the restrictions arent designed to target a specific nation. However, Japans east asian rival is among the nations on the restricted list.

We will fulfill our responsibilities in the international community as a technology-owning country and contribute to maintaining international peace and security, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japans minister of economy, trade and industry, told reporters.

The restrictions follow the US and Netherlands enacting similar export controls. At the start of the year, the three countries reportedly reached an agreement to limit Chinas access to western-made lithography machines. In March, the Netherlands made good on the deal, announcing it would restrict overseas sales of semiconductor technology in the interest of its national security. Those restrictions will affect ASML. As of last year, the Dutch firm was the only company in the world producing the extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines chipmakers need to make the 5nm and 3nm semiconductors that power the latest phones and computers.
Former president Donald Trump during a rally in Waco, Texas on Saturday, March 25, 2023. (Christopher Lee/The New York Times)

LONDON  Whether foreign leaders view the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House with hope or horror, the prospect of a Trump restoration is so deeply ingrained overseas that leaders in several countries have hedged their bets in diplomacy, security, and even where they invest their fortunes.

There were few signs that Trumps indictment last week on criminal charges in New York has changed those calculations.

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Foreign leaders have watched him bounce back from so many disasters, according to diplomats and foreign policy experts, that they now regard his political resilience with something approaching fatalism. This is especially true in Europe, whose leaders spent four years enduring Trumps hectoring on a host of issues, including military spending and climate change.

Even if Trumps legal woes end his political viability in a way that two impeachments and an election defeat to Joe Biden did not, many worry that he will be replaced by any number of Trump-like alternatives, of whom the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is the most prominent example.

If Trump were really history, many in Europe would have fewer sleepless nights, said Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the United States who ran the Munich Security Conference until 2022. But the fundamental fear Trump provoked six years ago would not disappear.

What if the isolationist virus Trump unleashed continued to infect other candidates? Ischinger said. What if, instead of Trump, Republicans nominate another isolationist candidate for the presidency? And what if that candidate wins?

These fears were deepened when DeSantis, the leading potential challenger to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, recently characterized Russias war on Ukraine as a territorial dispute. He later walked back the comment under intense criticism from fellow Republicans.

But his remark, which echoed Trumps casual treatment of the Russian invasion, arguably landed with a bigger thud in European capitals than in the United States, given the heavy dependence of Europe on American military and diplomatic support to maintain a unified resistance to Russian aggression.

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Trump is a phenomenon, but no longer unique, said Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to the United States. He has spawned a whole generation of mini-Trumps and Trump lites.

So if you believe that isolationism is growing in America, or it suits you politically to assert this, you dont have to hang it all on Trump, said Darroch, who was forced to leave his post in Washington after critical cables he wrote about the Trump administration were leaked in 2019. There are plenty of alternatives.

None of this is to say that Trump does not remain a singular figure, or that his legal woes are not drawing attention abroad. The case against the former president, with its lurid accusations of hush money paid to a pornographic film actress, is the kind of only-in-America spectacle that lends itself to tabloid headlines.

The Bigly Usual Suspect, said Londons Daily Star, with a collage of unflattering photos of Trump against a backdrop used for mug shots. Trump will refuse to be handcuffed, said the Times of London in a front-page article Saturday that included an interview with Stormy Daniels, the actress who said she had a sexual relationship with Trump and received the payments from Trumps lawyer in exchange for her silence.

But the Daily Telegraph, which leans to the right, focused on the potential upside for Trump with his hard-right political base, declaring Indictment is a golden opportunity for Trump. The sense that Trumps legal troubles could play out unpredictably extended to parliaments and government offices.

For one thing, Darroch said, only those who follow the Trump saga closely will recognize that this is the first of potentially several indictments, in cases involving election interference and mishandling of classified documents. More casual observers will shrug it off, focusing instead on his lead in the polls over Republican rivals.

Part of the reason that some Europeans promote the view that Trump is resilient, he said, is that it furthers their geopolitical agendas.

In Britain, some on the right openly pine for the return of Trump, who championed Brexit and dangled the prospect of a trans-Atlantic trade agreement. Biden shelved that, and while his relationship with Britain is cordial, he is less gushing than Trump was. Biden is skipping the coronation of King Charles III, the kind of showy, attention-saturated ceremony his predecessor would have savored.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has advanced European strategic autonomy, the theory that Europe needs to defend itself more independently of the United States. Trumps derision of NATO was a key motivating factor, and a second Trump term, in which he might actually pull out of the alliance, would make it all but imperative.

In the Middle East, too, countries are hedging their bets about Trumps return to power. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have invested in a private-equity fund started by Trumps son-in-law and former adviser, Jared Kushner. The investments, experts say, reflect their desire to stay on good terms with Kushner, who is married to Trumps daughter, Ivanka.

The Saudis, in particular, are betting on a return of Trump or at least a Republican president, said Martin S. Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel. The relationship between Biden and MBS is so fraught that ABB  anybody but Biden  is his approach, Indyk said, referring to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Indyk said he was skeptical that Arab leaders would change their calculations because of the indictment. I doubt theyve concluded yet that this will take Trump out of the contest, he said. And if it does, it might open the way to another Republican who has more chance of defeating Biden.

In Israel, analysts said, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would also likely welcome the return of Trump, not least because they share the same problems. Both face legal charges: in Netanyahus case, allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, which he has fought with a highly unpopular  and now temporarily halted  attempt to exert more control over the judiciary. Like Trump, Netanyahu has accused prosecutors of waging a politically motivated attack on him.

To American allies, Trumps unrelenting assault on the American legal system, and the fact that he has been backed up by so many other Republicans, is perhaps the most alarming short-term fallout from his indictment.

Yet for adversaries like Russia and China, the prospect of Trump mounting another campaign for the presidency, while at the same time defending himself from criminal charges, plays into their narrative of American chaos and decline.

Evan S. Medeiros, a former China adviser to President Barack Obama, said, The Chinese will use this to reinforce the argument theyve long made: that America is consumed by its democratic dysfunction, and that China is a better bet.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Freshman Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley returned home to Placer County on Saturday, where he continued to cultivate his role as Gov. Gavin Newsoms chief antagonist in the California congressional delegation.

Kiley, in Roseville to speak to a meeting of the South Placer Republican Women Federated, took on several of his Democratic foes  specifically former California Labor Secretary Julie Su, President Joe Bidens nominee for U.S. Secretary of Labor.

Kiley was welcomed home in warm and patriotic fashion at the Sierra View Country Club, where dozens of women  led by Dry Creek School Joint Elementary School District Board member Jean Pagnone, the South Placer RWF president  applauded his return.

I dont know if Ive ever been in a more patriotic group, Kiley told the crowd adorned in MAGA hats, Lets Go Brandon shirts, and other Trump attire and accessories.

Kiley was home from Washington, D.C. to give the group an update about his first months as Congressman and caution voters about the Newsom administrations continued model of failure.

Where the battle lines have really being drawn right now, said Kiley, is with the nomination of the next Secretary of Labor for the United States.

Who is Julie Su? he asked his supporters. She was an acolyte of Gavin Newsom.

Su, a longtime union leader, faces a Senate confirmation hearing later this month that will likely be messy. During her two-year tenure as the states Labor Secretary, California experienced unprecedented unemployment fraud in the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the state is estimated to have lost $30 billion in fraudulent claims.

She was responsible for that, Kiley said. Because she didnt know basic, common sense things like not sending checks to prisons.

In 2020, district attorneys from across the state wrote to Gov. Newsom asking him to implement changes at the unemployment department when the state paid upwards of $1 billion in fraudulent claims to prison inmates.

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There is no sugarcoating the reality, Su said at a news conference in early 2021. California did not have enough security measures in place.

Republicans have said that Su continues to fail up  first when Biden appointed her as Deputy Secretary of Labor in 2021, and again earlier this year when he appointed her to take over for outgoing Secretary Marty Walsh.

Su was also the architect who ruthlessly enforced AB5, Kiley said. The bill, which passed in 2020, extended employee benefits to some independent contractors. Proponents, like Su, said it protects workers. Opponents, like Kiley, said it put people out of work. Congress is considering a national version of the same bill.

Ive made it a top priority to ... lay the case against Julie Su, and by extension, Gavin Newsom, Kiley said. Kiley was unavailable for an interview on Saturday after the event.

I think this is the most high stakes moment yet for this goal (of) bringing Californias failures to the national level ... if we can defeat her nomination, it is going to be a huge victory, and a huge loss for Gavin Newsom.

Newsom has been a strong supporter of Su. In 2021, when Biden appointed her Deputy U.S. Labor Secretary, Newsom said: With a leader like Julie at the helm  a tireless fighter for working Americans and a voice for the voiceless  the U.S. Department of Labor will play a central role in guiding us through recovery toward becoming a safer, more equitable and more prosperous nation.
At least 32 people have been killed after a weekend of devastating tornadoes that tore through the South and Midwest of the United States.

Homes were destroyed and thousands left without power after huge storms caused devastation across several states.

There have been more than 80 reported tornadoes since 31 March, according to the National Weather Service.

States including Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all had fatalities.

The death toll is highest in Tennessee, where 15 people were killed after tornadoes swept through multiple counties, local officials said.

Another storm shredded through the Arkansas town of Wynne - a community some 100 miles (170km) east of the state capital, Little Rock.

Wynne's mayor, Jennifer Hobbs, told CNN that the town was "cut in half by damage from east to west".

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in the bathroom as a tornado passed overhead, "praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead".

A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

"We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm," Ms Macmillan told AP news agency.

Wynne High School was badly damaged, with some buildings torn to pieces. One of its teachers, Lisa Worden, said a decision to send pupils home early was critical.

"We got out at 1:30, which was such a God blessing from our superintendent, because otherwise kids would have been on busses and teachers would have still been here. And so that would have been even more devastating," she told Reuters news agency.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in the state of Arkansas on Friday, with the national guard activated to help with recovery efforts.

Several buildings of Wynne High School were torn apart by the tornado

She said she had spoken to President Joe Biden about the situation, who promised federal aid.

On Sunday, President Biden wrote in a tweet that his administration is ready to assist several states with recovery efforts following the devastating storms.

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"Jill and I are praying for everyone impacted," he added.

The state of Illinois was also hit by violent storms on Friday that led to the collapse of a theatre roof at a packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere, leading to one death and 28 injuries.

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power across several states over the weekend.

Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania are the worst affected, according to the US PowerOutage website.

In a bulletin, the Storm Prediction Center warned some of the projected tornadoes could track across the ground for long distances.

Investigators at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Illinois, after the monster storm caused the ceiling to collapse

The deadly tornadoes come a week after a rare, long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi.

The Mississippi tornado last week travelled 59 miles (94km) and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes - an unusually long period of time for a storm to sustain itself. It damaged about 2,000 homes, officials said.

President Biden visited the state on Friday to pay his condolences.

Map showing the states mainly affected by the story/ tornados

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Crime and Courts Reporter

Donald W. Meyers is a multimedia journalist at the Yakima Herald-Republic covering crime and courts. He is also the writer behind It Happened Here, a weekly history column. Before coming to Yakima, Meyers covered a wide variety of beats at The Salt Lake Tribune, Daily Herald, and daily and weekly newspapers across New Jersey. He is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, serving as a regional officer in the organization as well as on the national Freedom of Information Committee.
Education Reporter

Vanessa Ontiveros is the education reporter at the Yakima Herald-Republic. She grew up near Los Angeles but has happily made Yakima her new home. She is passionate about reporting stories that serve the community and highlight various aspects of the educational system.She also hosts a podcast that discusses local arts education, Yakima Arts Talk, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The daughter of two longtime public school teachers, she is always looking to include community voices in her work.
Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering, Asia, technology and the environment. He is author, most recentl, of Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale.
Allan Leighton - Micha Theiner/City AM / Rex Feat

Retail veteran Allan Leighton is to quit as Co-op chairman as the mutual presses ahead with the biggest cost-cutting push in its 160-year history.

The Manchester-based group is understood to have hired City headhunting firm Odgers Berndtson to find a replacement for Mr Leighton and his de facto deputy Sir Christopher Kelly, the Co-ops senior independent director.

City sources said that a shortlist of five to six people has been drawn up for the chairman role but a final decision on the appointment is unlikely to be made before Co-op announces its annual results this week.

The exit of Co-ops two most senior non-executives at the same time was described by one senior City figure as something of a succession collision and comes as the mutual cuts costs and grapples with its debts.

Co-op axed 400 jobs at its head office last July as part of wider plans to restructure its finances. It hopes to make 150m of savings in 2023.

A gloomy economic backdrop also forced Co-op to address its unwieldy debt pile, with 300m of bonds due to be repaid in little more than a years time.

Co-op sold its estate of 129 petrol stations to Asda last autumn in a deal worth 600m. Some of the money was used to repay 100m of bonds in February.

Half-year pre-tax profit fell to just 7m on 5.6bn of revenue in the first half of last year. However, the actions taken are expected to lead to a more optimistic outlook when annual results are unveiled on Wednesday.

One senior source said: "The business is upbeat and the finances are now in a really good place."

Mr Leighton, the son of a Co-op manager, was appointed as the mutuals chairman in 2015. He was credited with turning around the fortunes of Asda in the 1990s ahead of the supermarkets 6.7bn sale to US giant Walmart in 1999.

He went on to be Royal Mails longest running chairman in the noughties and served on the boards of Dyson, Sky and Selfridges. Mr Leighton remains chairman of Pizza Express and Brewdog.

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Mr Leighton will leave a relatively new executive team in charge of the Co-op. Rachel Izzard was announced as chief financial officer last month. Shirine Khoury-Haq was appointed chief executive in August, after being promoted to the interim role the previous March.

Co-op employs 60,000 people across 2,500 food stores and 800 funeral homes. Its products are listed in a further 5,000 stores and it is the UKs fifth biggest food retailer.

A spokesman for Co-op said: Over the past 12 months our Co-op has made considerable progress against the strategic priorities Shirine and Allan set out last April.

When we announce our results next week our members will see that their Co-op has significantly strengthened its balance sheet, has clear business goals and continues to deliver on its social commitments.

This clear progress would not have been possible if we didnt have clear and textbook succession plans in place at both board and executive level. Such clarity is enabling us to manage the short-term economic headwinds, whilst ensuring our Co-op continues to succeed longer-term.
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Everything we want or want to have in life comes with a cost. The cost of ambition is well worth having, and one needs to make tremendous sacrifices in life. Whether it was about leaving the social life behind or putting more than 12 hours a day into work, entrepreneur Junaid Dhebar gave it all to become a successful entrepreneur. He is the primary example of not giving up and trusting his faith.

In this dynamic world, Junaid Dhebar has stayed up with trends and has invested his time and energy in learning different things. The entrepreneur has been a visionary in his work and has always welcomed newer strategies for business growth. Dhebar has established himself in the hospitality industry with the success of Hotel Vennington Court in Raipur. Having completed his graduation in Hotel Management, Junaid has mastered himself in several other fields.

Junaid has learnt how to build and accomplish different business ventures by diversifying them. His excellency and proficiency in work saw him dive deep into the real estate sector as Junaid started 'A Dhebar Buildcon', a leading real estate company in Raipur. In the last few years, his company has provided premium and luxurious real estate projects for residential and commercial use across Chhattisgarh.

Behind his massive success, Junaid Dhebar has understood how to create an effective business based on customers' necessities. "When you offer what your customers want, you are bound to achieve success. As a businessman, my attention has always been to improve customer feedback and satisfy their needs by providing the best services at an affordable rate", said Junaid.

In addition, Junaid Dhebar has a business in the iron and steel industry. He says, "We are working towards the development of new products and services to have an edge over competitors. Diversification of businesses has helped us increase our customer base by leaps and bounds. This year, the goal is to build brand awareness across India."

Apart from being a businessman, Junaid is a philanthropist with multiple initiatives. In the past, Hotel Vennington Court has donated to different causes like the 2018 Kerala floods and the terrifying 2019 Pulwama attacks. Even during the pandemic, Junaid's team reached out to underprivileged families and donated essential commodities. In the coming time, his goal is to set up an NGO for underprivileged children and educate them for a better future.
New Delhi: Amid layoffs spree, Google planning to announce cost-cutting measures. As per the reports, the cost of the benefits offered to google employees has grown significantly for the business. Google has therefore made the decision to reduce some of its exorbitant costs.

A number of Google's company-wide perks, including complimentary snacks from micro kitchens, laundry services, massages, and business lunches, are reportedly going to be scaled back or eliminated.

In order to reduce costs, Google will also delay employment decisions. According to a Business Insider story, Google's Chief Financial Officer, Ruth Porat, stated that the corporation must utilise the funds effectively in order to concentrate on work that is of a higher priority.

Insider has access to a document that Porat wrote to Google employees on Friday and in which he stated that the business would slow down on hiring and reallocate teams to work on higher-priority projects.

The corporation will stop investing in personal technology like laptops, according to the memo. Porat noted that the adjustments to the benefits would depend on the requirements of each office site and the trends observed there.

In light of usage patterns, Google is considering closing the micro kitchen on days with lesser activity and adjusting the times of some exercise classes. The business argues the benefit cutbacks intended to generate savings to support other improvements, such machine utilisation, even though for Google employees they may seem like a substantial change.

The wide range of benefits offered by Google, such as free snacks, laundry services, massages, and business meals, make it a desirable place to work. Sundar Pichai, the company's CEO, announced earlier this year that Google would reduce its workforce by about 6%, or about 12,000 workers, in order to focus its talent and resources on its top objectives, including artificial intelligence.

Google spokesperson Ryan Lamon commented on the subject, saying, "As we've previously mentioned, we have a business goal to achieve lasting savings through greater velocity and efficiency,

But he continued, "As part of this, we're making certain practical changes to help us stay good stewards of our resources while continuing to provide industry-leading perks, benefits, and amenities."
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for its best ever annual production in the 2022-23 fiscal, and said this shows that not only in steel, but also in every sector the country is moving fast towards self-reliance. In a tweet in Hindi, SAIL said it has achieved its best ever annual production in FY 2022-23. During the period, the company registered a production of 194.09 lakh tonnes of hot metal and 182.89 lakh tonnes of crude steel which was a growth of 3.6 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively over the previous best, the company said.

Tagging SAIL's tweet, Prime Minister Modi said in Hindi on Twitter, "Many congratulations on this wonderful achievement! This production of SAIL shows that not only in steel, but the country is moving fast towards self-reliance in every sector." The prime minister also responded to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's tweet on the Solar Rooftop Online Portal http://goasolar.In developed by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) in association with Department of New and Renewable Energy and Electricity Department, having been launched.

      ! SAIL         ,               https://t.co/sViusASjss  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 2, 2023

Responding to the CM's tweet, Modi said, "Good step towards harnessing solar energy and furthering sustainable development." He also responded to a tweet by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu who said the Jal Jeevan Mission that aims at providing clean water to every household is a grand success in the state with the coverage crossing 75 per cent, providing drinking water to 1.73 lakh rural households.

In a tweet, Modi said 75 per cent coverage in the time of Amrit Mahotsav is commendable, keeping in mind the difficult terrain in parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

"Compliments to the team delivering this and best wishes to complete the remaining part," he said. In another tweet, the prime minister expressed happiness after Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted about Sagar Setu, the mobile application of the National Logistics Portal-Marine.

"Happy to see tech being leveraged for port-led development and to ensure Ease of Doing Business," the prime minister said. Modi also responded to a tweet by Home Minister Amit Shah on the inauguration and foundation stone-laying of 11 distinct schemes of approximately Rs 2,500 crore taking place in a single day. "Congratulations to the people of Mizoram for the boost to the state's growth trajectory through these development works covering various sectors," Modi tweeted.
New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that some people have given 'supari (contract)' to dent his image, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday urged the PM to name them and said "let us prosecute them".

What PM Narendra Modi said in Bhopal

Addressing a gathering at Rani Kamalapati railway station in Bhopal after flagging off a Vande Bharat Express train, Modi had said that some people are hellbent to sully his image and they have given a "supari" (contract) for this purpose, colluding with certain people sitting in India and also outside the country.

Reacting to the remarks, Sibal said, "Modi ji's charge: 'They have given a contract to..people, some within the country and some..,outside the country to dig Modi's grave'. Please let us know the names of these: 1) individuals 2) institutions or 3) countries."

Modi jis charge :

" They have given a contract to..peoplesome within the country and some..,outside the country to dig Modis grave



Please let us know the names of these:

1) individuals

2) institutions or

3) countries



This cannot be a state secret. Let us prosecute them  Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) April 2, 2023

"This cannot be a state secret. Let us prosecute them," Sibal said.

Kapil Sibal asks PM Modi to reveal the names of people referred to in his statement

In his remarks, Modi said, "There are some people in our country who have been determined since 2014, spoken publicly and declared their resolve that they will tarnish Modi's image. For this, they have given 'supari' (contract) to various people."

"Some people are sitting inside the country to support these people and some are doing their work sitting outside the country. These people have been continuously trying to spoil and dent Modi's image," he had said.

Also Read: PM Modi Again Emerges As Most Popular Global Leader With Approval Rating Of 76%

But India's poor, the middle class, tribals, Dalits, backward classes and every Indian has become the security cover of Modi, which made these people furious forcing them to adopt new tricks, the prime minister had said.
PATNA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a rally in Hisua area in Bihar's Nawada district on Sunday. He arrived in Patna on Saturday evening and put up at a city hotel, where he met state BJP leaders. His scheduled visit to Sashastra Seema Bal's Patna Frontier on Sunday morning was cancelled due to "unavoidable reasons", a statement said.

Shah was scheduled to dedicate to the public nine establishments of the SSB and conduct "bhoomi pujan" for a new Patna Frontier building. He will now leave for Nawada in the afternoon, before which he is expected to chair a meeting with senior state BJP leaders.

"The programme in Nawada stands. The district is peaceful and unaffected by disturbances elsewhere," BJP MLA Jibesh Kumar Mishra, who is camping in Nawada, told PTI over the phone.

Widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, Shah was also scheduled to take part in a function in Sasaram town of Rohtas district, which has been put off in view of communal violence that began Thursday evening during Ram Navami festivities and continued till Friday.

Besides, communal conflagration has also rocked Bihar Sharif, barely 40 km from Nawada. Altogether 45 people have been arrested in the two riot-hit towns.

Shah's Sasaram event was touted as a celebration of the birth anniversary of Asoka, the Mauryan emperor, who has acquired the status of an OBC icon in Bihar, which has been the veritable laboratory of Mandal politics.

BJP leaders were quick to allege that Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in Sasaram "deliberately" with the intent to impede Shah's function, a charge rejected by the Nitish Kumar government.

Rohtas District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar issued a video statement saying: "Section 144 was never imposed. No such order was passed by myself or the Sub Divisional Magistrate concerned. Order was completely restored in Sasaram by Friday evening. We did resort to restrictions like suspending internet services for a day."

Nonetheless, the state BJP shared video clips on its social media accounts wherein police personnel could be seen advising common people to stay indoors with the announcement "Section 144 has been imposed".

The DM said, "We have issued show cause notices to such police personnel. They have said that they relayed the message as a tactic to get some handle over the situation."

The BJP, however, was certainly not impressed with the comedy of errors and the chief minister's insinuation -- "instructions are in place to track down those who indulged in mischief to cause the disturbances which were unusual and unnatural" -- added insult to injury.

The saffron party gave vent to its outrage by going to the Raj Bhavan where a memorandum was submitted to Governor Rajendra Arlekar.

Signed by close to 30 senior leaders, including state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary and Leader of the Opposition in assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha, the memorandum squarely blamed the cancellation of Shah's programme on "extreme incompetence and failure of the administration".

Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, who was a BJP ally till less than a year ago, however, was of the view: "I failed to understand why he was coming in the first place. And I fail to understand why he is not going (to Sasaram)."

JD(U) spokesman Himraj Ram twisted the knife with a statement claiming "Shah's programme has been cancelled since the BJP was wary of not being able to manage sizeable crowds in Sasaram".

This is Shah's fourth visit to Bihar since the BJP got stripped of power in the state in August last year when Kumar walked over to the Mahagathbandhan comprising the RJD, Congress and the Left.

With the NDA in tatters, the BJP faces an uphill task in the Lok Sabha polls next year though it has swept Bihar in the last three general elections, including the one in 2009, when the coalition had put up a dismal performance nationally.
New Delhi: Hitting out at the West Bengal government over the death of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker in the state, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday (April 2) accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of being "biased" and "instigating violence" through her speeches. The BJP leader was reacting over the death of a party worker Raju Jha, who was allegedly shot dead by some unidentified miscreants on Saturday night in Shaktigarh of Purba Bardhaman in West Bengal.

Talking to ANI, Anurag Thakur said, "In Bengal, the Ram Bhakts are attacked with lathis, stones are pelted, bombs are thrown, arson, violence takes place, the shobha yatra during Ram Navami was stopped. And all this has happened right under the nose of Mamata Banerjee". "She (Mamata Banerjee) is the role model for how the law and order situation worsens in a state. It can be seen, how the Chief Minister is biased and anti-Hindu," he added.

Anurag Thakur further said, "She has kept her eyes closed to all the violence and restricted herself to just one section. It can also be observed in her speeches, how she stands with one section and instigates violence against people of the Hindu community".Earlier in the day, Union Minister Anurag Thakur had attacked the Bengal government over the communal clashes in the state.

Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government, Anurag Thakur said, "Mamata Didi is sleeping. She is providing security to one section. On the incidents of stone pelting, arson and violence during the `Shobha Yatra` of the Hindu community, she kept on taking a selective stand. It is very unfortunate that Hindus are attacked under the protection of a Chief Minister, and she only plays the role of an audience"."What is the point of being a Chief Minister, that when you are elected, violence happens, and now again violence has taken place during the Ram Navami," he added.

In West Bengal, two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations on March 30. Several vehicles were set on fire, and public and private properties were vandalised during the clashes. The West Bengal police on Saturday said that a total of 38 people have been arrested, two cases have been registered and section 144 has been imposed in some areas.
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Rep. Ilhan Omar was recently ousted from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over past remarks construed by critics as anti-Semitic.

Omar is the first Somali-American member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota and one of the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress.

Her current net worth is a matter of some dispute.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, 40, the U.S. Representative from Minnesotas 5th congressional district, has never shied away from controversy. However, comments she had previously made about Israel were referenced by Republicans as a reason for her recent ousting from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

See the List: GOBankingRates Best Banks of 2023

Find: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

Omar was removed on Feb. 2, with the vote being 218-211 along partisan lines. Republicans gestured toward comments she made in 2019 and 2021 that were construed by critics as anti-Semitic; she referred to Israel as an apartheid state, and in 2011 compared the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban  a move which offended even some of her Democratic colleagues, USA Today reported.

Instead of acting contrite over her removal, Rep. Omar lashed out at the Republican-controlled Congress and claimed she was being silenced, according to USA Today.

This is far from her first scuffle with the GOP, though members of her own party called her out for those comments as well. Omars past (and frequent) public clashes with former President Donald Trump also made headlines.

Ilhan Omar at a Glance

In January 2019, she became the first Somali-American member of Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota. Along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, she is one of the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress. But it was a long journey for her to get there  Omar first came to the U.S. as a refugee in the 1990s. GOBankingRates explored her political life and finances to find out how she went from refugee to congresswoman.

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Birthdate: Oct. 4, 1982

Net worth: Disputed

Primary source of income: U.S. congressional salary

Career highlight: First Somali-American member of Congress

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Ilhan Omars Net Worth: Disputed

According to a financial disclosure report filed by Omar in May 2019, she had no assets at that time. She owed between $15,001 and $50,000 in student loans, and had a car loan from Toyota for $10,000 to $15,000, leaving her with a negative net worth ranging from -$25,001 to -$65,000, per OpenSecrets.

In more recent years, her net worth has often been disputed. In a recent 2021 financial disclosure examined by Fox News, it is indicated that Omars disclosure does not appear to list any of the congresswomans personal bank accounts, despite this being required by federal law. Four of the five line items listed under Assets and Unearned Income' belong to her spouse, Tim Mynett, partner at political consulting firm eStreet Group.

Omars campaign paid eStreet Group $3.7 million over the 2020 cycle, according to campaign filings, contributing four-fifths of political payments to her husbands firm during the election cycle, Fox News reported. The outlet also disclaimed that it is entirely possible Omar does not have a personal bank account matching the $5,000 reporting threshold.

Omar recently also inked a significant book deal with HarperCollins, according to Forbes, worth an estimated $100,000 or more. However, as her agent claimed, Omar has not personally profited from the book, as yet, due to the advance having been offered to her co-author, Rebecca Paley. Any details surrounding said book deal (for This Is What America Looks Like) were also absent from her financial disclosures for that year.

Any advance for the book went to the congresswomans collaborator and not to the congresswoman (per House Ethics guidelines), and she has not earned any money from the book, said Steve Ross, Omars agent, per Forbes. Anything else you hear about her benefiting financially from the book is groundless  and erroneous  speculation.

Not everyone is happy with this potential lack of financial transparency, however. Attorney Paul Kamenar of the National Legal and Policy Center believed book deals should be disclosed. The book contract in and of itself is an asset, Kamenar said, as detailed by Forbes. Its one that hasnt necessarily realized its value, but its nevertheless intellectual property and one that should be reported for that reason alone.

Ilhan Omars 2020 Reelection Campaign Funds: $5.8 Million

Omars campaign committee raised around $5.8 million in her successful 2020 race, per data compiled by both OpenSecrets.org and FollowTheMoney.org.

Ilhan Omars Political Journey

Omar was born in Somalia, and fled the countrys civil war with her family when she was 8 years old. She spent four years at a refugee camp in Kenya before immigrating to the U.S. in the 1990s. Prior to her run for elected office, Omar was a community educator at the University of Minnesota, a policy fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a senior policy aide for the Minneapolis City Council.

She was elected as Minnesota House representative for District 60B in 2016. During her time in this role, she served as assistant minority leader and was assigned to three house committees: Civil Law & Data Practices Policy, Higher Education & Career Readiness Policy and Finance, and State Government Finance. She was elected to represent Minnesotas fifth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2019.

Since becoming a congresswoman, Omar has become known for her progressive views, which include abolishing ICE, implementing Medicare for All, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and establishing tuition-free college opportunities.

More From GOBankingRates

Michelle Tompkins contributed to the reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Rich Is Congresswoman Ilhan Omar?
Guwahati: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed his first rally in Assam's Guwahati on Sunday (April 2) along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. During the rally, he promised free electricity and jobs for all unemployed if the party forms the government in Assam.

"An AAP government in Assam will provide free electricity to all households, and ensure jobs for every unemployed person in the state," said Kejriwal at the rally.

He further added, "AAP came to power in Delhi in 2015 and the BJP here in 2016. Today, we have changed the face of Delhi. What has Himanta babu (Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) done for the state in seven years? Nothing, only dirty politics."

VIDEO | Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addresses AAP's Karyakarta Sammelan in Assam's Guwahati, targets BJP-led state govt over exam paper leak and unemployment. pic.twitter.com/K8FtA5spYU  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 2, 2023

Kejriwal, after arriving in Assam, invited Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for tea and lunch at his residence in Delhi.

Earlier, Sarma had threatened to file a defamation case against Kejriwal if the latter alleged corruption cases against him outside the assembly. Kejriwal had reportedly said in the Delhi Assembly that there are cases against Sarma.

"Is there any FIR or case against me anywhere in the country? I wanted to sue him but like a coward, he spoke inside the assembly," the Assam CM had said.

Reacting to Sarma's remarks, Kejriwal said, "such threats by Sarma are unbecoming of a chief minister."

"I invite him (Sarma) to come to Delhi, and have tea and lunch with me at my house. I will also show him around the city," said Kejriwal at a rally in Guwahati as quoted by PTI. "People of Assam are very good. They welcome their guests. Himanta Biswa Sarma should learn from them," he added.
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting over violence in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif during Ram Navami festivities and asked police to be on the alert. Bihar CM also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of a person who died after clashes broke out between two groups on Saturday evening in Nalanda's Bihar Sharif.

The deceased, identified as Mukesh Kumar, died in a firing incident in the Paharpur area, police said.

However, during the review meeting, the Chief Minister said that the police and the administration should be fully alert, and maintain complete promptness. "They should keep an eye on everything. Keep identifying the miscreants and take the strictest action against them. Under any circumstances, keep an eye on it so that no mistake is made. Maintain law and order completely," an official statement said quoting Bihar CM.

Also Read: Amit Shah Slams Nitish Kumar For Spreading 'Venom Of Casteism' In Bihar

Bihar CM also directed officials to have an immediate talk with the Superintendent of Police of all the districts through video conferencing. "Get complete information. Inform the media about the facts by holding a press conference so that no rumour spreads and people do not get confused," CM said.

The Chief Minister condoled the death of the person killed in the incident in Bihar Sharif during the Ram Navami procession.

Tension continues to prevail in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif after widespread violence was witnessed on Friday during the Ram Navami Shobha yatra. Fresh violence erupted in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif on Saturday evening. Firing took place reportedly in Paharpur and Kashi Takiya, injuring 3 people who were rushed to hospital for treatment. Several police personnel were also injured in stone pelting.

After Friday`s violence, the local administration imposed section 144 in Bihar Sharif.
Kolkata: In a shocking incident, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Raju Jha, was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district on Saturday (April 1) evening. According to the police, Jha, a Durgapur-based businessman, was on his way to Kolkata with some colleagues when he was attacked outside a confectionery shop in the Shaktigarh area.

"In the car, there were three persons including Raju Jha. The motive of the accused is yet to be ascertained. Further investigation is underway," said Bardhaman SP Kamnasis Senas quoted by ANI. The police rushed Jha to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. The injured persons are undergoing treatment at a hospital.

West Bengal | BJP leader Raju Jha was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Shaktigarh of Purba Bardhaman



It is an unfortunate incident and an investigation is being done: Kamanasish Sen, SP Purba Bardhaman pic.twitter.com/uYnrnVRZ7w  ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2023

The accused fled the spot immediately after the incident, and their motive is still unclear. During the Left Front's rule, Jha was accused of operating an illegal coal business in Silpanchal. In the Trinamool government, various cases were also registered against him. He joined the BJP ahead of the last assembly elections in December 2021, in the presence of State President Dilip Ghosh.

#WATCH | Union minister & BJP leader Anurag Thakur reacts on the death of BJP leader Raju Jha who was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Shaktigarh of Purba Bardhaman in West Bengal last night pic.twitter.com/3iKy5FyLWM April 2, 2023

Speaking to reporters on Sunday (April 2), BJP's West Bengal president and MP, Sukanta Majumdar, said, "It is not important which party he (the deceased) belonged to. What matters is the fact that a citizen of the state was shot dead by five people in broad daylight. Such incidents never happened in Bengal earlier. We only heard of such incidents in other states".

"The fact that such incidents are happening here shows that the law and order situation in the state has totally collapsed," Majumdar added as quoted by ANI.
NEW DELHI: The Congress has planned a month long agitation program after its leader Rahul Gandhi`s conviction and subsequent disqualification from Parliament. Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has made it clear that Rahul Gandhi`s disqualification from the Lok Sabha will be one of the key issues to corner the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Party president Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the Congress will fight the battle both legally and politically as the party alleged that this is a political case and there is a chronology attached to it. After Rahul Gandhi made a speech in Parliament everything moved at lightning speed, it said.

"The matter will not end... and the Congress will take this issue to the people during the general elections," he said.

The Congress had said Rahul Gandhi was targeted for questioning the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani.

Also Read: Opposition Unity For Lok Sabha Polls: Former PM HD Deve Gowda's Says Congress Should Set Its House In Order First

"If Rahul Gandhi raised questions and demanded an investigation into the Adani group, did he do anything wrong? The entire episode is happening at the behest of PM Modi. Even BJP leaders accept that wrong things are happening... but they are unable to express their thoughts openly," Chavan said.

But the Congress has a tough task to maintain the momentum till the next election which is a year ahead. Before that, the party has to face crucial elections in four major states and the important Karnataka election is in May.

The Congress leader is going to kick-off his poll campaign from April 9 in Kolar. Congress general secretary (organisation), K.C. Venugopal said, "Rahul Gandhi will be in Kolar on April 9 and will address the `Jai Bharat` mega rally there."

He said Rahul is the voice of the people, you can never silence him. This voice will only get louder and stronger.

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 the 2019 `Modi surname` case politically and legally.

The disqualification has triggered all like minded opposition parties to rally behind Rahul Gandhi but the party has a tough challenge to keep the flock together. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge has stepped in to speak to the allies and keep them in good humour.

Also Read: 'Modi Surname' Case: Rahul Gandhi To Challenge Conviction In Surat Court Tomorrow, Says Report

A senior leader said that on Rahul`s disqualification Kharge went with the concept of consensus to the opposition meet and was not trying to override with the party`s agenda. In the second part of the budget session the Opposition jointly pressed for a JPC on the Adani row.

To keep the momentum going against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, and to press its demand for a probe into the allegations of fraud levelled against the Adani Group, the Congress has launched a `Jai Bharat Satyagrah` across the country against the Centre.

The party will set up a war room to monitor the `Satyagrah`, which will culminate in Delhi with a big rally.

Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said, "The `Jai Bharat Satyagrah` is a protest against the erroneous conviction and disqualification of Rahul Gandhi, and to express the party`s strong resolve to keep raising the voice of the people against the blatant loot of people`s money and nation`s wealth."

As part of the protest programme, all block/mandal units of the Congress will hold `nukkad sabhas` and address the public on relevant issues. Social media campaigns focusing on Rahul Gandhi`s message to the people will also be carried out to appeal for public support for the `Satyagrah`.

On Wednesday, protests was staged by the SC/ST/OBC/minority groups of the party at all district headquarters.

On March 31, press conferences were held by state-level leaders at all district headquarters. In April, district-level leaders will address the media in all blocks.

Beginning April 3, a campaign of sending postcards to the Prime Minister on the pressing issues will be launched by the Youth Congress and the NSUI.

From April 15, simultaneous `Jai Bharat Satyagrah` meetings will be held at the district headquarters. The party`s senior leadership will address these district-level events.

From April 20, state Congress units will organise `Satyagrah` events at the state level, with senior leaders going on a day-long fast. All the like-minded parties and civil society groups will be invited to join these events.
New Delhi: E-cigarettes are easily available at tobacco shops and sold to anyone without any age verification, the findings of a joint survey have revealed. The findings have been shared with the Union health ministry.

The survey conducted across six states -- Assam, Goa, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana -- and Delhi also found that e-cigarettes get delivered within a couple of days when ordered online (through e-commerce websites, exclusive vape websites, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites) and are sold without any age verification.

Also, most of the vendors are not aware that e-cigarettes have been banned by law and are openly selling those, and the e-cigarettes that are being sold are mostly manufactured in China, the survey conducted by five organizations -- Voluntary Health Association of India, VOICE, Nadda India, National Law School University India, Bangalore and Karnataka NO for Tobacco -- said.

Despite the ban clamped by the government in 2019, e-cigarettes are easily available at tobacco shops and sold to children below 18 years of age, it added. Shops and vendors were randomly selected for the survey. A total of 100 points of sale were surveyed across the six states and Delhi. The survey was conducted both online and offline.

The field investigators checked on the availability of e-cigarettes, age verification, awareness on the ban and subsequent penalties in case of being found guilty among the vendors.

The survey also found out that e-cigarettes are available among the tobacco vendors operating near educational institutions. Some tobacco vendors do not sell such products but assure a doorstep delivery in accordance with demand.

While ordering online, a few websites ask for age verification, which merely requires ticking a checkbox asking whether the customer is aged 18 years or above, the survey said while pointing out that most of the e-cigarettes that are being sold are manufactured in China.

The key findings of the survey were presented at the National Consultation on the Enforcement of Prohibition of Electronic-Cigarettes Act 2019 -- Challenges and Way Forward, which was held here on February 23.

E-cigarettes were banned to protect youngsters from a new form of toxic addiction. However, its enforcement has been weak, resulting in the market being flooded with cheap and unbranded China-made e-cigarettes. Thus, a coordinated effort at the central and state levels is urgently needed to ensure that the ban is effective, said Bhavna Mukopadhyay, chief executive, the Voluntary Health Association of India.

Considering the harmful effects and the alarming rise in its prevalence among youngsters, the government prohibited the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes, including all forms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, heat-not-burn products, e-hookahs and such other devices, called by whichever name and irrespective of their shape, size or form, vide the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019, which was introduced as an ordinance and subsequently formalised into an Act in 2019.

"E-cigarettes were banned in India due to the health risks they pose and to ensure that they do not become an epidemic among children and young adults. The government must ensure the effective compliance and enforcement of the ban," Dr Harit Chaturvedi, chairman, Max Institute of Cancer Care, said.

Despite heavy penalties and even imprisonment, e-cigarettes are reported to be widely available across a range of sources, including tobacco vendors, general stores and online providers, Chaturvedi said, adding that a rampant use of such products has been observed among youngsters, including school children. It thus appears that e-cigarette marketers have illicitly managed to achieve a foothold in the market that has not been completely redressed by the ban, he said.

"The prevalence of vape products, especially among teens, is a global epidemic. The government's role has been remarkable in nipping the vape menace in its bud through the enactment of the PECA. However, there is no follow-up at the ground level on enforcement. There have been very few instances of compliance, such as where the customs department has seized e-cigarettes coming in the form of toys or some other material," said Ranjit Singh, a Supreme Court lawyer.

Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in its directions to the states and Union territories, highlighted the weak implementation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA), 2019, leading to an easy availability of e-cigarettes online, at retail or convenient stores, stationery shops and near educational institutions.

The states were directed to review the compliance with the PECA and issue necessary instructions for an effective implementation of the provisions of the Act through special drives and random checking at schools and colleges.

As a follow-up to the MoHFW directions, the states have taken an initiative to enforce the PECA. The chairman of the Child Protection and Rights Commission of Uttar Pradesh has issued directives to all districts for a strict enforcement of the PECA. The additional director general of police, crime of Bengaluru city (Karnataka) has asked the joint commissioner, crime for a strict enforcement of the PECA and provided a list of shops where e-cigarettes are suspected of being sold.

While the Delhi Police has issued a public notice on the harmful side of e-cigarettes as well as on compliance with the PECA, there have also been reported seizures of China-made e-cigarettes from Noida and Mumbai.

E-cigarettes and such devices are battery-operated systems that heat up a substance (in liquid or solid state), which constitutes of nicotine and often flavours, to create an aerosol for inhalation. Nicotine is very addictive and creates dependence.

These act as gateway products. E-cigarettes are very attractive by way of design, come in alluring flavours (chocolate, hazelnut, peppermint, gummy bears, cr?me brulee, mango, cranberry etc.) and their use does not leave a trace of bad smell associated with conventional smoking.

Therefore, the young population, adolescents and children are particularly vulnerable to get initiated to nicotine addiction through the use of e-cigarettes. This is evident from reports from several schools in India where teachers found e-cigarettes in students' bags. Teen e-cigarette use has become an "epidemic" globally.
New Delhi: Assam Police has been put on high alert after a pro-Khalistan leader allegedly threatened Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In the purported audio clip, Sikh for Justice founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a designated individual terrorist, was heard claiming that Sikhs were being "tortured" in Assam jail and asked Sarma to desist from it.

"This message is for Assam CM Himanta Sarma. Your government is harassing and torturing pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Assam. And also torturing those who are in jail. Listen carefully CM Sarma, the fight is between pro-Khalistan Sikhs and the Indian regime. Sarma, you do not pray fall to this violence. We are seeking the liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation through a peaceful democratic process of Khalistan referendum. Sarma, if your government is going to torture and harass Sikhs, you will be held accountable," news agency ANI quoted the pro-Khalistani leader as saying in the purported audio clip.

Speaking on the voice note, the Assam Police said it has taken the threat to Sarma "very seriously" that and his security has been "adequately sensitized to the emerging threat" and a case has been registered.

A case under appropriate sections of IPC and UAP Act has been registered at STF Police Station of Assam, Director General of Assam Police GP Singh said.

"Reference audio clip threatening Hon CM Assam by a person called Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a designated individual terrorist under Indian law and heading an unlawful association called Sikh for Justice - A case under appropriate sections of IPC and UAP Act has been registered at STF Police Station of Assam; The security component of Hon CM has been adequately sensitised to the emerging threat; In view of global events, the threat is being taken very seriously by Assam Police; The central agencies have been kept in the loop on the issue," he said in a tweet.

Reference audio clip threatening Hon CM Assam by a person called Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a designated individual terrorist under Indian law and heading an unlawful association called Sikh for Justice -

1. A case under appropriate sections of IPC and UAP Act has been registered April 2, 2023

It is notable that after the March 18 crackdown on pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government had shifted seven of his close aides to Assam's Dibrugarh jail after slapping them with the National Security Act.

Singh, meanwhile, remains on the run since the police crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De. He has, however, appeared in two purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the past few days.

In the video, the Khalistan sympathiser asserted he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world.

In the audio clip, he had 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 crackdown on the 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 in 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.
Days after communal violences were reported from Sasaram and Nalanda in Bihar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that rioters will be hanged upside down, if BJP comes to power in the state in 2025. Shah also claimed that riots have never happened in the BJP government. While addressing a rally in Hisua block in Bihar`s Nawada district, Shah said that riots have taken place in Bihar`s Sasaram and Nalanda districts. "I have a programme in Sasaram to celebrate the birth anniversary of Samrat Ashok but it was unfortunate that I did not go there. The situation is not normal in Sasaram. Firing took place on the day of Ram Navami march. I apologise to the people of Sasaram and also promise them that I will return for a rally at that place," Shah said.

"After the violence in Sasaram and Nalanda, I contacted the Bihar governor and raised concern about the law and order situation of these two places but JD-U national president Lalan Singh felt bad. The Nitish Kumar government has failed over the law and order situation in these two places. As I am a Union Home Minister and Bihar is a part of our country, I have to be concerned about it," Shah said.

"We never do the politics of votes. If our government is formed in the Centre in 2024 and the BJP government in Bihar in 2025, we will hang the rioters upside down. Bihar is burning due to riots. I pray to God that the situation normalises soon," he said.

"I want to tell you that half of the JD-U MPs are knocking the door of BJP but I want to make it clear that the alliance will never happen with Nitish Kumar in future. The door of BJP for Nitish Kumar is closed for ever and no one should remain in confusion that BJP would allow him inside the NDA post 2024 Lok Sabha election. We will not go with Nitish Kumar who is responsible for poisoning the society on the basis of castes and Lalu Prasad Yadav who is known as the leader of corruption. The government of Mahagathbandhan will fall before the 2024 Lok Sabha election," Shah said.

"Nitish Kumar is sitting in the lap of corrupt leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. He cannot bring peace in Bihar. The hunger of power forced Nitish Kumar to sit in the lap of Lalu Prasad Yadav but we have no such compulsions. We will go before the people of Bihar and uproot this government," he said.

Shah also said that Bihar has a `BAD` government. While elaborating BAD, he said: "B stands for Bharashtachar, A stands for Arajakta and D stands for Daman. The Nitish Kumar government is running on these three policies. We have to uproot this `BAD` government."

"Lalu Prasad Yadav is living in confusion that Nitish Kumar will make his son a chief minister of Bihar. Lalu Ji, you know Nitish Kumar. He will never become the prime minister of the country and hence your son will never become the chief minister of Bihar," Shah said.

"I am surprised with Nitish Kumar`s greediness for power. Lalu`s son Tejashwi Yadav pronounced him `Paltu Chacha`, cheater, greedy, arrogant and chameleon. Still, Nitish Kumar goes with him for the hunger of power," he added.

Live TV
New Delhi: Days after US and Germany spoke on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday (April 2, 2023) criticized the West for its habit of commenting on internal matters of other countries. Speaking during a Sunday morning 'Meet and Greet' interaction organised by Bengaluru lawmakers Tejasvi Surya and PC Mohan, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also listed two reasons why we see the West commenting on India.

"I will give you the truthful answer (on why we see West commenting on India). There are two reasons. It is because the West has a bad habit of commenting on others. They somehow think it is some kind of God-given right. They will have to learn only by experience that if they keep doing this, other people will also start commenting and they will not like it when it happens. And I see that happening," Jaishankar said.

ALSO READ | Law Minister Says India Under PM Modi Won't Tolerate 'Foreign Influence' After Germany 'Takes Note' Of Rahul's Disqualification

"The second part of the truth - In our arguments, you are inviting the people to comment on you. Then more and more people are tempted to comment. We also need to stop giving generous invitations to the world saying there are problems in India, and (urging) America and the world (by saying), why are you standing by doing nothing? So if somebody from here goes and says why are you standing by and saying nothing, then obviously they are going to comment. Part of the problem is them, and part of the problem is us. And I think both need fixing," he added.

"The West thinks it has a God-given right to comment on internal matters of other countries," the External Affairs Minister said.

Bengaluru Central MP Sri @PCMohanMP and important functionaries of BJYM Bengaluru were present at the event.



The enthusiasm among Bengalurus young to understand Indias standing in the world, our leadership role in G20 and PM Modis game changing foreign policy is impressive. pic.twitter.com/QBfEZqp62m  Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) April 2, 2023

Last month, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha from Wayanad, Kerala, after a Gujarat Court convicted him in a 2019 defamation case for a remark using the surname 'Modi'.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma in Surat had on March 23 held Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500.

It had also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to appeal in a higher court.

Gandhi was present in the court when it had pronounced the verdict in the case.

The case was filed against Gandhi on a complaint by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for the Congress leader's alleged remarks "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

In his complaint, Modi had alleged that Gandhi defamed the entire Modi community with his statement.

Gandhi had made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally in Karnataka in 2019 during the Lok Sabha elections campaign.

The sentence of two years invited his disqualification from the membership of Parliament under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The RP Act holds that an MP or a member of the legislative Assembly (MLA) convicted for any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to travel to Surat in Gujarat tomorrow to file an appeal in the Sessions court challenging his conviction and two-year- sentence in the 'Modi-Surname' defamation case. According to news agency ANI and other media reports, the petition is ready. It may be recalled that the Surat court has given Rahul Gandhi 30 days to appeal against the order which was delivered on March 23. The court has also granted bail to Gandhi in the case.

According to a PTI report, the Congress has contended that there is no delay in the filing of a review petition challenging the Surat court verdict. The news agency had reported citing Congress sources that the 168-page judgement of the Surat court against Gandhi has been translated by experts and the petition was ready for filing within a week but Rahul Gandhi's legal team was 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 report also said that Gandhi's legal team are prepared to go to the next level 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 were working on the review petition which is likely to be filed before the Surat sessions court tomorrow.

Gandhi was convicted and was given a two-year sentence in the 2019 defamation case over his remarks on the Modi surname, following which he was disqualified as a 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. The report said the Congress leaders 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.
NAGPUR: Nobody can ignore late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar's sacrifice for the country's independence struggle but disagreements over him cannot be made a national issue today as there are many pressing matters to focus on, said Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday. Defending Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is being targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party for speaking about issues in India on foreign soil, he said this is not the first time an Indian has spoken about issues in the country while abroad.

Pawar was speaking at the Press Club in Nagpur, where he also visited Union minister Nitin Gadkari's home. To a query on whether he spoke to Rahul Gandhi about Savarkar and if the Congress leader would slow down in his criticism of the late Hindutva ideologue, Pawar said leaders of 18-20 political parties recently sat and discussed major issues before the country.

The BJP has accused Gandhi of repeatedly 'insulting' Savarkar. It is also organising Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in his honour. "I suggested that there is a need for us to deliberate on the way the country is being run by those in power," he said.

Pawar said, "Today, Savarkar is not a national issue, it is an old thing. We had said a few things about Savarkar but it was not personal. It was against Hindu Maha Sabha. But there is another side to it as well. We cannot ignore the sacrifice made by Savarkar ji for the independence of the country."

About 32 years ago, Pawar said, he had spoken in Parliament about Savarkar's progressive views. He said Savarkar built a house in Ratnagiri and also constructed a small temple in front of it. "He deputed a person from the Valmiki community to perform puja in the temple. I think this was a very progressive thing," said Pawar.

The NCP leader said there is no need to thrust Savarkar into the national narrative especially because there many other major issues concerning the common public.

On the BJP's criticism of Gandhi, Pawar said the Congress leader also has the freedom to put his opinion like everyone else. Asked if it is proper for a leader to speak about issues concerning India on foreign soil, Pawar said one should not give much importance to it as this has not been done for the first time.

The NCP leader leaders criticised the government in the past as well. "Only now such issues are being brought up repeatedly. If people feel agitated over something in the country and if an Indian talks about it, then I think those issues should be addressed," he said.

To a query if he thinks Lok Sabha and state elections will be held together in 2024, Pawar said they won't happen at the same time.

During his Nagpur visit, Pawar also visited Union minister Nitin Gadkari at the latter's home and called it a courtesy visit. On the request of Gadkari to Pawar, a sub-centre of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune, is coming up in Nagpur. Pawar is the president of this institute.
MELBOURNE, Australia, April 02, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rio Tinto has published its 2022 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, detailing $10.8 billion of global taxes and royalties paid during the year.

This compares to $13.3 billion in 2021, during very strong commodity prices, and is the third-highest annual global taxes and royalties paid by Rio Tinto since it published its first annual Taxes Paid report, for 2010.

In Australia, which is home to almost half of the companys assets, $8.5 billion (A$12.3 billion) was paid in taxes and royalties in 2022, down from $11.1 billion (A$14.8 billion) in 2021. Rio Tinto also made significant tax and royalty payments in Canada ($718 million), Chile ($678 million), Mongolia ($294 million) and the United States ($135 million).

Rio Tinto Chief Financial Officer Peter Cunningham said "At Rio Tinto, we are finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs, and it is important that we do this responsibly and transparently, while contributing to the host countries and communities where we live and work.

"Taxes and royalties play a critical role in the economic and social development of the regions and communities we operate in. As temporary custodians of the land where we operate, we have a responsibility to extract value from the minerals and materials we produce in the safest and most sustainable way. This includes providing economic opportunities; safeguarding and promoting health, wellbeing, and human rights; combatting climate change; and being the best possible stewards of the natural resources entrusted to us."

In the past ten years, Rio Tinto has paid $74.9 billion in taxes and royalties globally, of which more than 78% was paid in Australia.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230331005315/en/

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has again topped the global leaders' approval rating released by Morning Consult firm. PM Modi has received an approval rating of 76 per cent while leaving behind other leaders including American President Joe Biden. However, there is a slight decrease in PM Modi's rating which was 78 per cent in February.

The latest survey by Morning Consult has shown that PM Modi stands tall among all global leaders with a huge approval rating of 76 per cent. The approval rating shows that no world leader is even close to PM Modi in terms of popularity. According to the rating, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is in the second spot with a 61 per cent approval rating. Thus there is a gap of 15 per cent between PM Modi and President Obrador.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in the third position in this list of Morning Consult. He has got a global leader approval rating of 55 per cent. At the same time, Italy's PM Georgia Meloni has got an approval rating of 49 per cent. Meloni has occupied the fourth number on this list. Brazilian President Lula de Silva has got a rating of 49 per cent just like Georgia Meloni but is ranked fifth in the list.

US President Joe Biden, who is heading one of the world's superpower nations, is at number 6 in the Global Leader Approval Rating list. Biden has got an approval rating of only 41 per cent.

Global Leader Approval: *Among all adults



Modi: 76%

Lopez Obrador: 61%

Albanese: 55%

Meloni: 49%

Lula da Silva: 49%

Biden: 41%

Trudeau: 39%

Sanchez: 38%

Scholz: 35%

Sunak: 34%

Macron: 22%

*Updated 03/30/23https://t.co/Z31xNcDhTg pic.twitter.com/sDRneBzB1Z  Morning Consult (@MorningConsult) April 1, 2023

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has been ranked seventh with a 39 per cent approval rating. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is ranked eighth with an approval rating of 38 per cent, one per cent less than Trudeau.

On the ninth spot is Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz with a rating of 35 per cent. Britain's PM Rishi Sunak is at number 10. His global leader approval rating is 34 per cent.

Morning Consult Political Intelligence tracks the approval ratings of government leaders and country trajectories in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
NEW DELHI: Welcoming the recent "wave of Opposition unity", Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Congress will "de facto" be the fulcrum around which other parties converge, but asserted that if he were in the party leadership, he would not "crow about it" and encourage one of the smaller outfits to play the role of convenor of an alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election. In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- 'united we stand, divided we fall'.\

The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections.

Asked about Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's 'thank you Germany' tweet after that country took note of Gandhi's disqualification, Tharoor said he would have advised his senior party colleague not to say what he did.

"The international attention - and the negative press for India - should not surprise Mr (Narendra) Modi and his government. Doubts about the democratic credentials of this government have been growing for some years, as is evident from the global media," he said.

Also Read: On Savarkar, Sharad Pawar's 'Understand BJP's Politics' Message For Rahul Gandhi, Opposition

"Still, I would have advised my highly respected senior colleague and friend not to say what he did. It has always been an article of faith for the Congress party that we do not require or accept any foreign tutelage after 200 years of subjection to colonial rule," Tharoor stressed.

That pride is deeply ingrained in every Indian, he said, asserting that we are perfectly capable of solving our own problems.

"I am confident the people of India will vote for democracy and the right to determine who rules them," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

On Gandhi's disqualification and the ensuing display of Opposition unity, Tharoor said the judgment has generated a "surprising and welcome wave of Opposition unity", as regional parties traditionally opposed to the Congress in their states - AAP in Delhi, TMC in West Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, CPIM in Kerala - have come out in his support.

"Many have begun to feel the truth of the adage 'united we stand, divided we fall'; if they don't back Rahul now, they could be picked off one by one themselves, by a 'vengeful' government," he said.

If the Surat court verdict gives India a more united Opposition, it could be bad news for a ruling party that won the 2019 elections with just 37 per cent of the vote but more than 60 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats, he contended.

Also Read: Opposition Unity For Lok Sabha Polls: Former PM HD Deve Gowda's Says Congress Should Set Its House In Order First

"The rest of the votes went to 35 victorious parties, all represented in the current Parliament; if most of them have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in 2024," Tharoor asserted.

Asked if the Congress would be the fulcrum around which an Opposition alliance can be built to take on the BJP in 2024, he said, "Objectively we are the only Opposition party with a national footprint. There are about 200 seats where the elections will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP."

All other Opposition parties are essentially strong in one state and have a presence in just one or two more, he said, adding that in the circumstances "we will de facto be the fulcrum around which the Opposition converges to offer a credible alternative."

"But if I were in the party leadership, I would not crow about it; in fact I would actually encourage one of the smaller parties to play the role of convenor of an Opposition alliance. Unity is far more important than pride of place, in my view," Tharoor asserted.

Everyone knows what the Congress represents and it doesn't need to insist on that being recognised, he said. In fact a modicum of humility will go a long way towards winning over the other parties, said Tharoor, who had contested for the post of Congress president last year but had lost the internal party election to Mallikarjun Kharge.

Asked if he sees a parallel in Rahul Gandhi's disqualification with that of his grandmother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, Tharoor said there is little doubt that public sympathy is with Rahul Gandhi after this "reprehensible disqualification and jail sentence".

People realise it is not good for democracy that the principal leader of the major Opposition party is sentenced to jail and denied a voice in Parliament, he said.

"When put that way, even several BJP voters tend to say that it's deeply damaging to democracy," he claimed.

The issue is no longer just about one man or one party - it's about safeguarding our democracy by granting every participant in it a level playing field, Tharoor said.

"As for what happened in the late 1970s, I am always wary of facile analogies simply because times are different and historical political circumstances are different. But we certainly hope and expect that this public sympathy translates into tangible support at the elections," the Congress leader said.

On the BJP's persistent attack on Gandhi, Tharoor said that it seems to him that the BJP is rattled and has been alarmed by the positive energy the Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra has generated among Congress workers.

"Once Rahul Gandhi commanded the nation's attention with his expunged speech in the Lok Sabha, a decision appears to have been taken to silence him politically," he alleged.

After years of trying to caricature Rahul Gandhi, they realise he is a "serious threat", Tharoor claimed and said that explains much of the BJP's approach in recent weeks.

Gandhi 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.
Prayagraj: In a major development in the Umesh Pal murder case, the Special Task Force (STF) arrested gangster Atiq Ahmed`s brother-in-law, Akhlaq from Meerut, informed police sources. Akhlaq was arrested for allegedly harbouring shooters and helping them escape after the crime. He is a resident of the Nauchandi area in Uttar Pradesh`s Meerut. According to police sources, after murdering Umesh Pal, the shooter and Atiq Ahmed`s son, Asad, absconded with the help of Akhlaq. Further details are awaited in the case.

Mafia don-turned-politician, Atiq Ahmed was convicted by an MP-MLA court on March 28, and sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment in the abduction case of now-deceased Umesh Pal. It marked the first time that Atiq Ahmed, who has over 100 cases against him over the last 43 years, has been convicted in a case.

Apart from Atiq Ahmed, the court gave life sentences to Dinesh Pasi and Khan Saulat Hanif and also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each of the three convicts. Seven other accused in the case, including Ashraf, brother of Atiq Ahmed, were acquitted. Ahmed`s conviction came after Umesh Pal, an advocate and a prime witness in the 2005 murder case of BSP MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead in Prayagraj on February 24 this year.

Atiq is also the main accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. Apart from Umesh Pal, his two security personnel were also shot dead. Atiq, the former MP and MLA, was brought by Uttar Pradesh Police from Ahmedabad`s Sabarmati Jail to Prayagraj`s Naini jail on Monday after an over 24-hour-long drive.
New Delhi: Rapper Badshah, whose real name is Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, is said to await his wedding with his longtime girlfriend and Punjabi actress Isha Rikhi whom he met at a party of a common friend.

As per the media reports, the couple is planning a gurdwara wedding in north India this month which will be attended by close family members and friends.

However, neither Badshah nor Rikhi has commented anything about their wedding plans. Badshah was rumoured to be dating her since last year after they met at a party and shared similar interests.

Badshah was married to Jasmine Masih in 2012 and in 2017, the two became parents to their daughter Jessemy Grace Masih Singh. However, they separated in 2020.
New Delhi: Renowned for her on-point fashion game, and making sure to attempt something new each time, Kriti Sanon last night stunned the internet and her fans with her Banarasi gown at the red carpet of NMACC Day 2. Enthralling everyone with the intricate beauty of making the gown from a Banarasi saree with top-notch exquisite craftsmanship, Kriti made all heads turn towards her.

Cut out of a Banarasi saree, the gown featured one-shoulder detail with a cut-out at the torso. The gown further cascaded to flowy details with a thigh high slit. Kriti draped a cape around her shoulders made out of the same banarasi saree. Every Banarasi saree has a story specially when it ends up in a gown and cape, Kriti captioned her pictures.

In no time, Kritis pictures were flooded with likes and comments from her Instagram family. Reacting to the pictures, Anushka Sharma dropped by to comment with a fire emoticon. Kriti further accessorized her look for the day in statement golden earrings to add to the ethnic vibes of the attire.

Her fans too set the internet trending on Kriti's look, as they couldn't stop raving about it. Here are some reactions:

Even at the red carpet, Kriti's look made jaws drop and is easily counted one of the best looks of the event, which was graced by the who's a who of tinsel town, and Supermodel Gigi Hadid, Zendaya and Tom Holland.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kriti has a busy year ahead with her upcoming releases of Adipurush and Ganpath. The actor will also be seen in The Crew alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tabu.
New Delhi: Vikrant Massey has been ruling the television sets of every household for years now. He owns the OTT space as he has given some commendable performances and has always proved his mettle as an actor with his strong performances. Be it web series or movies he has featured in, Vikrant never missed a chance to amaze the audience and leave them in absolute awe.

Time and again, Vikrant has shown the example of his caliber as an actor by playing different kinds of roles with sheer conviction. Vikrant is undoubtedly one of the prominent actors of this generation who is a well-known face in the OTT space. From Haseen Dillruba to Gaslight, Vikrant has shown us different faces of his versatility as an actor. He makes sure to deliver his role with utter sincerity and perfection taking the whole project a notch higher. Vikrant is an actor who ensures that his performance helps the project, making it much better than it could have been.

Vikrant is celebrating his birthday today and must say he is constantly stepping much higher in his career! The audience loves to see him playing different kinds of roles which is the reason today, he enjoys a huge fan base all across the nation. Vikrant is currently winning the hearts of the audience with his latest release, Gaslight. The actor very brilliantly carried the whole film on his shoulders and must say it's hard for us to take our eyes off him in the film.

As an audience, we have seen Vikrant delivering some amazing performances one after the other, he also has a very strong lineup of films for us to keep our eyes on. After the first part, he will be coming up with 'Haseen Dillruba 2, which is one of the most awaited ones for Vikrant fans. Up next he will be seen in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '12th fail', and yet another one 'Sector 36' with Maddock Films.
Mumbai: After the ocean-themed co-ord set, American supermodel Gigi Hadid attended the second day of Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC)`s `India in Fashion` event in a desi attire. She marked her presence wearing a white sari with golden work and styled it with an embellished statement blouse. Gigi accessorised her look with bangles and ethnic earrings. To complete her, she kept her hair tied in a bun to enhance her look.

Apart from her, B-town celebs like Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, and global icon Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas, Kareena Kapoor, and Saif Ali Khan also marked their presence at the event. India in Fashion - Curated by author and costume expert Hamish Bowles and designed by award-winning exhibition designer Patrick Kinmonth along with Rooshad Shroff, this first-of-its-kind exhibition will showcase over 140 pieces of costume documenting India`s impact on the global fashionable imagination.

Gigi Hadid is not taking a break, slay after slay! pic.twitter.com/1VOJBaWj0A  andriana (@MUGLERMIND) April 1, 2023

what a gorgeous gold sharee by abu jani sandeep khosla on gigi hadid pic.twitter.com/QTCaRwvkLo  roo (@cafewindows) April 1, 2023

The India-inspired pieces have been sourced from some of the biggest museums and unseen personal collections from around the globe. The exhibition`s spectacular set will feature costumes from iconic brands such as Chanel and Dior to key historic pieces dating as far back as the 18th century. India`s first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space, the NMACC, opened on Friday, March 31 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 India`s 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 India`s cultural traditions and their impact on the world, while also showcasing the diversity of spaces at the Cultural Centre. 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 Centre`s 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.
New Delhi: If reports are to be believed, the price of iPhone 15 Pro in the US might shoot up in the coming days. If that happens, it will be the first time that the price of the iPhone 15 Pro has risen, since the release of the iPhone X. Nonetheless, the iPhone SE 4 can be the ideal choice if you want a new Apple iPhone but don`t want to spend a lot of money.Although scheduled to be released in 2024, the iPhone SE 4 is already making headlines.

According to the Mashable website, the iPhone SE is anticipated to become a less expensive alternative to the premium iPhone series, just like its predecessor, the iPhone SE 2022. Furthermore, it may compete with the incoming Google Pixel 7a.According to reports, the iPhone SE 4 is anticipated to make a significant change as it transitions from a little, iPhone 8-like design to a larger, 6.1-inch BOE OLED display.

The 4.7-inch screen of the iPhone SE 3 is its current size. Thus, the new iPhone SE 4 will be comparable in size to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. Moreover, it will have a notch design and thinner bezels than before.The iPhone SE 4 is anticipated to drop Touch ID in favor of Face ID, according to Mashable. In addition, the source stated that the iPhone SE 4 might receive an A16 Bionic CPU from the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2019.
Lahore: Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan has claimed that the then Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had put pressure on him to develop friendly ties with India. Relations between India and Pakistan have often been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. However, their ties nose-dived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

"Gen Bajwa wanted me to develop friendly ties with India. He put pressure on me for this and it was one of the reasons our relationship deteriorated," Khan claimed during an interaction with social media journalists at his Lahore's Zaman Park residence on Saturday evening.

He, however, reiterated his stance that Pakistan should only hold peace talks with India provided New Delhi restores the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has repeatedly told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

The 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman further said what Gen (retd.) Bajwa did to Pakistan even an enemy couldn't do.

"Bajwa should be held accountable by the army," he said.

Khan in the past accused Bajwa of not only toppling his country that laid a foundation of economic disaster but also committing atrocities against him, his party members and journalists. "Bajwa wanted me killed," Khan alleged.

Khan has been at loggerheads with Gen (retd.) Bajwa ever since his ouster from power in April last year by a no-confidence motion.

Gen (retd) Bajwa retired on November 29 last year after two consecutive three-year terms.

Regarding the PML-N led federal government's assertion that it would not accept the verdict of a three-member bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial in polls in two provinces, Khan said: "I know what kind of benefits this cabal of corrupts would get by delaying the elections in Punjab and Kyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. They are just delaying elections hoping to crush the PTI or finish Imran Khan."

Khan asked the ruling alliance to explain the reasons for postponing polls till October, 2023. "If elections are not held within 90 days in two provinces Pakistan will be without a constitution," he said.

Khan's party had dissolved assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in January after which a caretaker setup took over. Under the constitution, elections are held within 90 days from the date of dissolution of an assembly.

"Pakistan is facing a critical moment in its history. The nation must stand by the Constitution and rule of law," Khan asserted.
Rome: Use of English or any other foreign language by citizens in Italy for formal communication would soon attract hefty penalties, according to CNN. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni`s Brothers of Italy party has introduced new legislation which proposes a fine of up to Euro 100,000 for using any foreign language, especially English, in official communication.

"If Italians use English or any other foreign language during their official communication then they have to pay fines of up to Euro 100,000 (USD 108,705) under new legislation introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni`s Brothers of Italy party," CNN reported.

In the Italian Chamber of Deputies (Lower House), politician Fabio Rampelli introduced the legislation which was supported by the Prime Minister. While the legislation talked about any foreign language but particularly geared at "Anglomania" or the use of English words, which the draft states "demeans and mortifies" the Italian language, adding that it is even worse because the UK is no longer part of the EU.

The bill still has to go for the parliamentary debate, and it is required to hold an office in public administration to have "written and oral knowledge and mastery of the Italian language".

It also prohibits the use of English in official documentation, including "acronyms and names" of job roles in companies operating in the country.

Foreign entities would have to have Italian language editions of all internal regulations and employment contracts, according to a draft of the legislation seen by CNN.

"It is not just a matter of fashion, as fashions pass, but Anglomania has repercussions for society as a whole," the draft bill states. Article 2 would make Italian "mandatory for the promotion and use of public goods and services in the national territory." Not doing so could garner fines between Euro 5,000 (USD 5,435) and Euro 100,000 (USD 108,705).
Democratic Alliance members marching on the streets of Johannesburg against load shedding blackouts - Fani Mahuntsi/Gallo Images via Getty Images

When the power started going out daily in South Africa, the lights also went out on Lungie Klaas's coffee shop. He and his wife had poured in 14,700 of savings to get their business off the ground, and their hard work had been rewarded with a decent trade among the morning commuters in their Cape Town suburb.

That was until relentless rolling blackouts started hitting each day at their busiest time. At a stroke, coffee machines could not work during their peak business hours and they lost three-fifths of their custom. Running a generator was too expensive, so they had to close. That put four guys out of a job, he recalls.

Africa's most industrialised nation has been enduring power cuts of sometimes 10 hours each day, for month after month. A country once used to plentiful, cheap energy can no longer keep the lights on and the blackouts are likely to get worse as demand picks up in the southern hemisphere winter.

The power cuts, a form of energy rationing known as load shedding, weigh heavily on Mr Klaas's small businessmen friends. It's all anyone talks about, he says.

Their frustration is echoed in the country's top boardrooms. Shoprite, Africa's biggest grocer, had to spend an extra 26m on diesel in the last half of 2022 to run supermarket generators during power cuts. South Africas second-biggest mobile network, MTN, estimated that load shedding cost its operations 31m in extra costs in 2022 alone.

Meanwhile, ordinary South Africans find food goes off in fridges, they cannot cook their dinner, or must do their homework by lamplight.

The country is in the grip of an unprecedented energy crisis that will bring growth to a halt this year, the International Monetary Fund warned starkly in late March.

Real GDP growth is projected to decelerate sharply to 0.1pc in 2023 mainly due to a significant increase in the intensity of power cuts, as well as the weaker commodity prices and external environment, the lender said.

Story continues

The power crisis leads news bulletins, and dominates angry radio phone-ins, while frustration bubbles up through social media platforms. Does anyone else feel like they are being taken for a ride? asked one frustrated caller on a recent phone-in. When are people going to take to the streets? asked another.

South Africa's shortage of electricity may be the crisis in the headlines, but it is only one among many plaguing the country nearly 30 years after the end of Apartheid.

This polycrisis and the failure of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to deal with it means many believe a political earthquake is coming. Next year the country votes in general elections in what are widely expected to be the most important polls since the end of white rule.

Disillusionment over the ANC's failure to provide basics from electricity and water, to jobs, a healthy economy, public safety, healthcare or education mean it is in line to lose its three-decade-long hegemony.

Polling now suggests that while the party of Nelson Mandela will remain by far the biggest player, it may be unable to reach the crucial 50pc of the vote needed to win an overall majority. Such a result will usher in an uncertain new era of coalition politics.

If that happens, anger at load shedding will be a significant reason. Polling by Ipsos in December found two-thirds of eligible voters believed power cuts would sap ANC support. Some 45pc said they will not consider voting in future as a result of the regular load shedding.

Blackouts have wrecked small businesses in South Africa - Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg

South Africans sitting in darkness can recall with grim irony that at the start of the century their state energy provider, Eskom, was named by the Financial Times as the world's best power company. Yet even before that, in the late 1990s energy analysts were warning the country needed to invest in more power capacity if it wanted to keep the lights on.

Fast forward 25 years and Eskom's ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations, which provide the great bulk of the country's power, have been run into the ground and frequently break down. Rolling power cuts to stop the grid collapsing were first imposed as an emergency measure in 2008. They then became routine and eventually daily, reaching their worst levels ever in the past six months.

Two coal-fired power stations due to be completed by 2015 have both had major design faults and been immersed in corruption. Neither is yet in full operation.

Neglect has been compounded by corruption. Eskom is still trying to recover from years of embezzlement after it was looted by the friends and allies of former president Jacob Zuma.

The corruption has not gone away, according to Eskom's most recent chief executive, Andre de Ruyter. He recently claimed graft is firmly embedded in the company and linked to the highest political levels. When he tried to clean it up, he alleges he was poisoned with cyanide in an unsuccessful assassination. He has now left the company and fled the country.

Kgosientso Ramokgopa, the newly appointed electricity minister, recently acknowledged that blackouts were cutting GDP by around 2.1 per cent and costing 22bn a year.

A brief improvement in supply in late March was greeted with cynicism. It was widely seen as an attempt to take the sting out of a threatened national protest against electricity shortages by the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) opposition party.

Overturning years of neglect and corruption to end load shedding, for example by allowing private generating companies to make up the power shortfall, will take years, analysts say. After years of hollow promises, many doubt whether the ruling party is up to the task, however.

One diplomat observes a sense of continuous drift among the government. It doesn't feel like a government which has either the authority or bandwidth to address the issues, the diplomat says.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who many hoped would steady the ship and root out graft after the rampant corruption under his predecessor, Zuma, has disappointed many.

Amanda Gouws, professor of political science at Stellenbosch University, says the party appears unable to give people hope and Mr Ramaphosa had failed to grip the mounting problems.

She says: I think the ANC is in a mess. It's a deeply divided party and we have an absent president who just doesn't take decisions unless he is forced to. She went on: It's really a powder keg at the moment and the ANC does not know how to steer this. They do not know what to do to give people hope.

They are so self-interested and invested in their own political fiefdoms that they have no idea.

Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC remains South Africa's biggest party  but it may not win a majority this time around - MICHELE SPATARI/AFP/Getty Images

South Africa's voters are not the only ones disaffected. The sight of Pretoria, welcoming China and Russia with open arms and conducting joint military manoeuvres together has exasperated Pretoria's Western allies.

If load-shedding is one symptom of the ANC's mismanagement, then it is only part of the painful wider state of the economy. After surging in the early years of democracy, growth has been weak since the financial crisis. Covid lockdowns were severe and economically painful. The numbers sleeping rough in the cities grew sharply. Unemployment is at around 33pc.

Mining, once the driving force of the South African economy, is in the doldrums, despite employing more than 450,000 people, contributing more than 7pc to GDP and earning 3.7bn last year.

The rail freight network that once kept the industry running is falling apart. Transnet, the state-run rail and logistics firm, is in just as precarious a condition as Eskom.

South Africa has the only electrified rail system in Africa, which operates at a minimal level these days as much of it has been stripped by thieves. Trains on many of these links are now forced to use diesel. In 1950, before there were cross country highways for road transport, South Africa ran 135 trains a day between Johannesburg and port city Durban. Now there are only three a day along that same line.

With its enormous coal reserves, South Africa should have been able to take advantage of the spike in the price caused by the Ukraine war.

South Africa squandered what could have been a dramatic windfall, because we havent been able to use our existing capacity, as Transnets freight rail systems have almost collapsed because of poor management, says Paul Miller, director of the mining consultancy, AmaranthCX. Thungela Resources, a coal mining company, revealed a huge spike in profits this week because of the increase in coal prices, but says it had also lost three million tonnes in export as a direct result of the poor Transnet Freight Rail performance.

Elsewhere, South Africas 150-year-old mining sector has shrunk, not least because exploration is virtually paralysed. The country took 5pc of annual global mining exploration budgets in 2003. Now it attracts 0.8pc, according to a survey by S&P Capital IQ. By comparison, Australia accounts for nearly 18pc and Canada nearly 21pc.

It can take about 20 years from discovery to production and most of South Africas present mines will be exhausted in 15 to 20 years. The long-term sustainability of the industry is threatened by low exploration levels, unreliable electricity and rail networks, as well as crime, corruption and violence, says Terence Creamer, editor of South Africas Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

Electricity outages have also hit mining hard, with companies reporting increased operating costs of nearly 25pc to fund generators according to a survey by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa.

The crisis has been particularly damaging to the metals and engineering sectorthe backbone of industrialisation and to which electricity, particularly base-load electricity, is fundamental to its survival, says the federation's chief operating officer, Tafadzwa Chibanguza. The long term implications of this energy crisis to the future prospects of the sector are devastating.

Business leaders complain the ANC is ideologically opposed to the private sector investment needed to turn around struggling sectors.

The ANC government is also struggling to deliver on the other foundations of South Africa's governance, from healthcare, to education, to public safety.

The murder rate has hit 74 killings per day in 2022 and ruthless organised crime gangs, often politically connected, have many business sectors in their grip. In the latest killing to cast the country as a mafia state, a fortnight ago, a high-profile business liquidator was shot dead alongside his son.

Cloete Murray, 57, and Thomas, 28, were gunned down after being forced off a major highway connecting Johannesburg to the capital, Pretoria. Thomas Cloete was on his first assignment with his father and they were officially investigating corruption closely connected with key ANC supporters and funders. The killers remain at large.

Health and education are also weak.

Doctors at one hospital in Eastern Cape province were this week reported to have resorted to handing patients letters explaining they do not have the materials to fix their broken bones. The letter instead lists local health complaint numbers and the Presidential complaint hotline.

South African Airways has gone bankrupt amid allegations of corruption - REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

South Africas chief justice, Raymond Zondo, underlined the frustration of many South Africans at a memorial speech for former ANC president Oliver Tambo last week.

Tambo, who died in 1993, a year before the ANC came to power, would be shockeddisappointed at South Africa today, he says.

Judge Zondo, who chaired a lengthy judicial probe into corruption and state looting under Zuma, told the audience that most of South Africas 250 municipalities were dysfunctional, or on the point of collapse.

All but 44 failed their audit, he says, and 21 of those that passed were in the opposition-controlled Western Cape province.

It is likely those 21 municipalities are not controlled by the ruling party, he said.

There was a time, Judge Zondo said, when bankrupt South African Airways was a well-respected airline, when the post office was at least functional. He then listed several other state-owned corporations which were on their knees.

Hundreds of thousands of children attend schools made of mud children fall into pit toilets and some children have to walk 10km a day to attend school, he said.

Lord Hain, the veteran anti-Apartheid campaigner and Northern Ireland Secretary under Tony Blair, believes the country is moving towards becoming a failed state. Unless corrupt politicians and incompetent officials are removed, the downhill slide will continue.

All that separates South Africa from countries like Zimbabwe are an independent opposition, judiciary and media which investigate, despite enormous intimidation and threats, he says.

Unfortunately the African National Congress, ANC, which I am associated with historically for half a century in the anti-Apartheid struggle, has betrayed the legacy of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and their colleagues.

Cyril Ramaphosa speaks with Nelson Mandela (left) and former political prisoner Andrew Mlangeni (right) in 1990 - PHILIP LITTLETON/AFP via Getty Images

It is against this backdrop of blighted service delivery, crime and economic malaise that the country will next year head to the polls. The ANC for years appeared unassailable. That is no longer the case. As South Africa's dreams have soured, both the ANC's vote and the turnout have fallen.

The party won nearly 70pc of the vote in 2004, but by 2019 that had fallen to nearly 58pc. By municipal elections in 2021, the partys share of the vote fell below 50pc for the first time. It has also lost control of municipalities it once considered strongholds.

Frustration with the ANC is turning into frustration with politics in general and turnout has fallen steadily over the same period. The young in particular are not voting, as they question the point of it and whether there is any alternative to ANC rule. The frustration is across racial groups. Many Black voters feel they have not benefited from the past 30 years of ANC rule.

How will that affect elections next year? Analysts predict next year's polls will be the first where the ANC cannot win outright. A poll this week by the Social Research Foundation put ANC support at 46pc, though if adjusted for expected turnout, that could still rise to scrape above the 50pc threshold. Other polls in recent months have put the ANC lower.

John Matisonn, a political analyst and journalist who has written several books on the ANC, predicts voters will punish the party for fostering the corruption that has hit their pockets and lifestyles.

Daily electricity blackouts that peaked at around nine hours in a day earlier this year, steep electricity price rises, and damage to the economy from blackouts as well as failed rail and other government services have left people poorer.

If the ANC does indeed not make the required 50pc, what happens next depends on how short of the target they come. If it is only a few percentage points they may be able to cobble together a coalition with electoral minnows. But if further below, they will have to turn to one of the larger opposition parties.

The Democratic Alliance, which held around 21pc of the vote in 2019, is again likely to come in second. Yet though it has a reputation for competence running Western Cape province, for many it is framed as a white party which has struggled to keep its top black leaders.

At the other end of the political spectrum, the Marxist EFF, a splinter group from the ANC which won 11pc of the vote in 2019, describes itself as a radical and militant economic emancipation movement. Led by the firebrand Julius Malema, the party appeals to many young black voters who feel they have not benefited from the end of Apartheid. The party is frequently accused of anti-white rhetoric, which it denies, and stands on a platform of expropriating land and nationalising mines and banks.

Malema tried to demonstrate the EFF's street power a fortnight ago by trying to bring the country to a standstill with protests against load shedding. His national shutdown was a damp squib however.

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, attempted to instigate a national shutdown earlier this month - Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg

The EFF, with its roots in the ANC, may appear a more natural fit as a coalition partner, but both parties have their disadvantages, says Matisonn.

Joining with the biggest opposition party, the DA, is anathema to one faction of the ANC because it is considered conservative and too white, he says. While joining the third biggest party, the Economic Freeform Fighters, would alienate more sober elements in the party.

Any EFF demands for nationalisation or farm confiscations as part of a coalition would spread panic among businesses, investors and markets.

The country has probably already seen a glimpse of what coalition-building will look like with the horse-trading in municipalities. As the ANC has lost power in city halls, opportunistic coalitions have sprung up, but they have often been consumed by factional fighting and turf wars at the expense of service delivery. Power-sharing has often been brief, unedifying and chaotic.

At the back of many minds is the question of whether such instability will result in violence. The country is still in shock from 10 days of frenzied looting and arson in July 2021, when at least 350 people were killed in the worst civil unrest since the end of Apartheid. That politically mobilised anarchy was set off by the arrest of Zuma, but highlighted the potential for political violence in the country.

South Africa has long been subject to doom-mongering and has managed to defy predictions of its imminent collapse, or at least somehow muddle through. Yet while many will be glad to see the back of ANC dominion after 30 years, the political upheaval on the horizon could be profound.
NEW YORK CITY: A total of 15 sculptures will be returned to the Indian government, the US Metropolitan Museum of Art announced after learning that the works were illegally removed from India. In the official statement, the Metropolitan Museum of Art pointed out that all the sculptures were sold by Subhash Kapoor, a looter, who had helped to traffic the items from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other countries.

Last year, in November, a court in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu sentenced Kapoor, a dealer 10 years imprisonment. "The Met contacted Homeland Security about its works from Kapoor in 2015 and is pleased to be acting on this matter today as a result of the criminal investigation into Subhash Kapoor by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Through this cooperative partnership, the museum received new information from the Manhattan DA`s office about 15 works of art that made it clear that the works should be transferred, resulting in a constructive resolution," the statement read.

"The works range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE, and include terracotta, copper, and stone," the statement added. Over the entire incident, The Museum commented that they are committed to the responsible acquisition of archaeological art, and applies rigorous provenance standards both to new acquisitions and to works long in its collection.

The Museum is actively reviewing the history of antiquities from suspect dealers. The Museum values highly its long-standing relationships with the government of India, and is pleased to resolve this matter, it said.

Earlier, in October 2022, after the 15-years of investigation, the US authorities said that they had returned 307 antiquities that were stolen by multiple smaller trafficking networks to India, valued at nearly 4 million Dollars, according to a press statement.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L Bragg Jr on Monday announced that they are returning 307 antiquities valued at nearly USD 4 million to the people of India and the majority of them were seized from disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor. All the antiquities were returned during a repatriation ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York attended by India`s Consul General Randhir Jaiswal, and US Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") Acting Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge, Tom Lau.
Russia's economy has been hit hard by sanctions, which are complicating the government's efforts to pay its debts. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/Getty Images

Russia's economy is going though "reverse industrialization," Finland's central bank said.

The country is shifting away from investments in technology to support its war on Ukraine.

"Russia is stuck ineluctably on a path to lower potential growth and a bleak economic future."

Russia is experiencing "reverse industrialization" as Western sanctions and its continued war on Ukraine weigh on long-term economic growth prospects, Finland's central bank said.

While 2022 saw Russia hit with a "financial shock, a trade shock, and an uncertainty shock," its GDP proved more resilient than expected, only contracting by 2.1%, Laura Solanko, a senior advisor for the Bank of Finland, wrote in a recent blog post.

But sanctions continue to weigh on the economy, she added, so businesses have switched to inferior or pricier inputs, with some shifting from high-tech to low-tech.

As a result, the Russian economy has been experiencing a structural transformation to become more self-sufficient and state-controlled, according to the blog post. The Kremlin has had to find import substitutions and stray from partners that the government deems as "unfriendly countries," which represent more than 50% of the global economy.

"Such policies can only succeed with huge investments in domestic production to replace lost imports, as well as the construction of new transportation links to the east and south," Solanko said. "As resources are limited, this implies less investment in other sectors, including potentially more productive areas."

The country's investments will continue to move away from the technological frontier, she said, referring to the economy's current state as the "reverse industrialization."

If the war continues, Russia will inevitably allocate more investments that support the government's brutal invasion efforts.

"This applies not only to the military-industrial complex, but to the many sectors that support the war effort, including textiles, food and medicines," Solanko added. "Even ignoring the fact that resources are easier to misallocate in a wartime economy, Russia is stuck ineluctably on a path to lower potential growth and a bleak economic future."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Saputo Inc.

MONTREAL, April 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saputo Inc. (we, Saputo or the Company) (TSX: SAP) announces today it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell two fresh milk processing facilities in Laverton North, Victoria, and Erskine Park, New South Wales, to Coles Group Limited, an Australian-based supermarket, retail, and consumer services chain, in a transaction valued at approximately CDN$95 million (A$105 million).

The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and is expected to close in the second half of calendar 2023.

In line with the Companys Global Strategic Plan, this intended divestiture will enable Saputo to further streamline its operating model, adjust its manufacturing network to strengthen market competitiveness, and allow it to reinvest in areas of the business that will result in more value creation opportunities.

Were continually working to ensure we have the right manufacturing footprint and product offering to enhance our position as a high-quality, low-cost processor, said Lino A. Saputo, Chair of the Board, President and CEO. This marks an important step in executing our long-term vision for success in Australia as we maintain a sharp focus on efficiency to ensure we maximize the return on every litre of milk.

About Saputo

Saputo produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada, and the top dairy processor in Australia and Argentina. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the largest producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products. In the United Kingdom, Saputo is the largest manufacturer of branded cheese and a top manufacturer of dairy spreads. In addition to its dairy portfolio, Saputo produces, markets, and distributes a range of dairy alternative cheeses and beverages. Saputo products are sold in several countries under market-leading brands, as well as private label brands. Saputo Inc. is a publicly traded company and its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SAP. Follow Saputos activities at Saputo.com or via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains statements which are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to the intended sale of two processing facilities and the expected timing related thereto, our objectives, outlook, business projects, strategies, beliefs, expectations, targets, commitments, goals, ambitions and strategic plans including our ability to achieve these targets, commitments, goals, ambitions and strategic plans, and statements other than historical facts. The words may, could, should, will, would, believe, plan, anticipate, intend or expect, or the negative of these terms or variations of them, the use of conditional or future tense or words and expressions of similar nature, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws.

By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to a number of inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those stated, implied or projected in such forward-looking statements. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statements will materialize, and we warn readers that these forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance in any way. Assumptions, expectations and estimates made in the preparation of forward-looking statements and risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in our materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time, including the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Managements Discussion and Analysis dated June 9, 2022, available on SEDAR under Saputo's profile at www.sedar.com, and also include the following: our ability to implement capital investment, consolidation and network optimization initiatives as planned, our ability to achieve productivity and efficiency gains resulting from such initiatives, uncertainties as to the timing of the intended sale; the risk that the intended sale may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, and the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the intended sale may not be satisfied or waived, including the failure to receive any required regulatory approvals.

Forward-looking statements are based on Managements current estimates, expectations and assumptions. Management believes that these estimates, expectations, and assumptions are reasonable as of the date hereof, and are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, and other uncertainties and contingencies regarding future events, and are accordingly subject to changes after such date. Forward-looking statements are intended to provide shareholders with information regarding Saputo, including our assessment of future financial plans, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Undue importance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, and the information contained in such forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as of any other date.

All forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof or as of the specific date of such forward-looking statements. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Saputo does not undertake to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether written or verbal, that may be made from time to time by itself or on our behalf, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. All forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Investor Inquiries

Nicholas Estrela

Director, Investor Relations 1-514-328-3117

Media Inquiries

1-514-328-3141 / 1-866-648-5902

media@saputo.com








The Samsung Galaxy A54 is under $200pre-order the affordable new smartphone here.

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If you're a frequent photographer with your smartphone, the Galaxy A54 has four different cameras to capture your favorite memories. This includes a 32-megapixel front camera for smooth video calls, a five-megapixel macro camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 50-megapixel main camera. You can also capture the best video clips without shakiness and blur thanks to optical image stabilization and video digital image stabilization, plus Night Mode which increases the cameras pixel size to find brighter images.

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This article originally appeared on Reviewed: Samsung Galaxy A54: Pre-order the affordable smartphone for under $200
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Much of the current political debate over Social Security comes down to wording  who said what about how to reform the program, and what those statements ultimately mean in terms of benefits for Social Security recipients.

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For example, President Joe Biden made headlines during his recent State of the Union speech by saying he will stop any attempts to cut Social Security. Republicans have responded by saying nobody has proposed any cuts to the program.

One of those Republicans, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, pressed that point home during a hearing on Wednesday, March 15. As The Hill reported, Romney got into a tense exchange over Social Security with Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in discussions centering on Bidens fiscal 2024 budget proposal.

Romney grilled Young about whether she knew of any cuts to Social Security proposed by lawmakers  something Biden has accused Republicans of trying to do.

Youve heard of proposals from a current senator or congressman currently proposing to cut benefits to Social Security? Romney asked Young during the hearing.

Young answered that yes, she has heard of lawmakers proposing cuts, but then added that they might have changed their positions. Romney then asked if any lawmakers have proposed cuts in the last several months or the last year.

Young replied that current members have well-known policies out there to cut Social Security and Medicare.

That is simply wrong, and its not honest to say that to members of Congress, Romney responded. That is simply wrong.

Many Republican leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have publicly opposed cuts to Social Security. At the same time, many also want to address the impending insolvency of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which funds about 25% of Social Security benefits. That fund is expected to run out of money as early as 2032, leaving Social Security solely reliant on payroll taxes for funding.

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When Romney asked Young whether she was aware of the trust funds coming insolvency, she replied that she was.

Well, why is it then that in the presidents budget theres no effort to address that whatsoever? Romney asked.

The exchange between Romney and Young underscores differences between Republicans and Democrats over how and whether to reform Social Security as the trust fund gets further depleted. It also underscores different perceptions of what represents cuts to the program.

As previously reported by GOBankingRates, some lawmakers have proposed raising Social Securitys full retirement age to 70 from 67. While this proposal has bipartisan support, it has mainly been pushed by Republicans. And although it does not technically cut benefits, some Social Security advocates say that for all practical purposes, a higher FRA will result in lower benefits for many recipients.

Pushing FRA to 70 would significantly cut benefits for anyone retiring before their new full retirement age, according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), a nonprofit advocacy group.

The NCPSSM noted that when the full retirement age was 65, workers retiring at age 62 received an initial benefit that was 20% less than their full benefit amount. When the FRA rises to 67, workers retiring at age 62 will receive a 30% cut in benefits. If the age were increased to 70, a worker claiming retirement benefits at age 62 would have their benefits reduced by nearly half, according to the NCPSSM.

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See: 10 Places in Florida Where You Can Live Only on Social Security

Meanwhile, a recent proposal by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to sunset Medicare and Social Security in five years would allow Congress to either pare the programs down or completely gut them, Social Security advocates say.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Social Security: Romney Asks Why 25% Drop in Funds Isnt in Bidens Budget
(Bloomberg) -- Hanwha Aerospace Co. is building South Koreas first commercial rocket with an ambitious target: matching Elon Musks SpaceX in price within the next decade.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The company is part of Hanwha Group, a 71-year-old conglomerate that started as an explosives maker, branched into weapons sales and is now shifting into green energy, defense and aerospace. Cash from arms sales to Ukraines neighbors is helping to fund Hanwhas efforts to expand its two-year-old space business.

Nuri, a rocket developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute using Hanwhas engines, isnt reusable, but the goal is to eventually halve launch prices by 2032 to match SpaceX, Yoo Dongwan, senior executive vice president of Hanwha Aerospace, said in an interview.

SpaceXs Falcon 9 currently costs about $67 million per launch.

Initially we may be a niche player and eventually, we hope to catch up with SpaceX, Yoo told Bloomberg Television in Seoul.

Read more: South Korea Maps Out Plan to Become Major Space Player by 2045

Shares of Hanwha Aerospace have climbed more than 30% this year, after jumping 53% in 2022 when Hanwha Group merged all its defense businesses into Hanwha Aerospace. Hanwha Group is a family-controlled conglomerate; heir-apparent Dong Kwan Kim, a Harvard University graduate, leads the aerospace business.

Shares of Hanwha Aerospace rose as much as 4.5%, the highest since 2011.

Like other rivals, Hanwha Aerospace is seeking to become more than a rocket company and push into satellite operation, moon exploration and resource extraction.

Hanwha Aerospace has bought a 9% stake in British satellite startup OneWeb Ltd., a rival to SpaceXs Starlink satellite internet service. Parent Hanwha Group is in process of buying a 49.3% stake to be the largest shareholder in submarine maker Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

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South Koreas President Yoon Suk Yeol has made it his goal to develop a home-grown commercial-rocket industry. Last year, Hanwha Aerospace won a bid to jointly develop the countrys next-generation commercial rocket with the government.

Hanwha, which has only worked on aircraft components and engines until now, plans to make three more Nuri rockets with government researchers. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.s H3 rocket  which recently failed to reach orbit  is aiming for $50 million per launch.

Demand for Korean rockets will initially be driven by the government but the goal is to eventually reduce that to just half, Yoo said. Hanwha is looking to develop a next-generation rocket on its own, he added.

We are aiming for a reusable rocket, Yoo said. Thats something we have to grow on our own as foreign companies are not willing to share that technology with us, he said.

Arms Exporter

Hanwha is one of the worlds fastest-growing aerospace and defense contractors. Hanwha Systems, a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, ranked third in revenue growth among 100 companies analyzed by PwC in its 2022 global aerospace and defense report. Among Asian firms, it was No. 1.

Last year, Hanwha Aerospace posted record sales of 6.5 trillion won ($5 billion) with record operating profit, led by weapons. It signed a new contract with Poland and a partnership with Romania, both of which are neighboring Ukraine, as well as with Egypt.

South Koreas arms exports increased 74% in 2022, compared with a 35% decline for the UK, a 4.4% drop for Spain and a 15% decline for Israel, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

South Korea is uniquely positioned in the global arms market with weapons that are relatively affordable and meant to defeat Soviet-based conventional systems used by neighboring North Korea. Hanwhas K-9 cannons were used during the shelling between the two Koreas in 2010 on Yeonpyeong Island.

Read more: South Koreas Arms Sales Double on Russias War in Ukraine

Hanwha is making a tremendous amount of money from selling weapons, said Lee Dong-Heon, analyst at Shinhan Financial Investment in Seoul. So the firm has the capacity to invest in aerospace.

--With assistance from Sam Kim, Bruce Einhorn, Sabrina Mao, Rika Yoshida and Andy Hung.

(Updates with share price in final paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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In some states, homes are cheap, property tax rates are less than half of 1% and the average property tax payment is just a few hundred bucks per year. In the most expensive states, however, rates soar over 2%, homes are pricey and average annual property tax bills routinely creep as high as $10,000 per year.

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Using data from the Tax Foundation, GOBankingRates ranked the states with the highest property taxes in America, including the percentage rate, the average dollar amount paid and the average home value. We ranked the top 15 in ascending order from least expensive to most. For context, the national average effective property tax is 1.04%, the U.S. average home value is $349,015 and the average annual property tax bill is $3,630. See which states are the most expensive to own real estate in.

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

15. Kansas

Average effective property tax: 1.32%

2022 average home value: $210,447

Average annual property tax paid: $2,778

Kansas's property taxes are actually low compared to the others on this list, but are still considered high in relation to the rest of the U.S.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

13. (tie) New York

Average effective property tax: 1.38%

2022 average home value: $370,445

Average annual property tax paid: $5,112

New York ties with Michigan for states with highest property taxes, though New York's are $1,966 higher, significantly higher. The average home value is also quite a bit higher in New York than the other states, but its residents still pay a relatively low property tax rate.

Take Our Poll: What Do You Plan To Use Your Tax Refund For?

CT757fan / Getty Images

13. (tie) Michigan

Average effective property tax: 1.38%

2022 average home value: $228,708

Average annual property tax paid: $3,156

Michigan ties with New York for the #13 spot, even though the property taxes and home values are quite a bit different, but they both share a 1.38% property tax rate.

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12. Rhode Island

Average effective property tax: 1.43%

2022 average home value: $433,666

Average annual property tax paid: $6,201

Rhode Island's property taxes are higher, but so is its average home value, which is in the top three highest on this list.

See: 10 Most Overpriced Housing Markets in the U.S.

Paul Sableman / Flickr.com

11. Pennsylvania

Average effective property tax: 1.49%

2022 average home value: $265,724

Average annual property tax paid: $3,959

Pennsylvania's property taxes are actually relatively low compared to some of the other states even lower on this list, but it has a higher property tax rate.

pabradyphoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

10. Iowa

Average effective property tax: 1.50%

2022 average home value: $197,330

Average annual property tax paid: $2,960

Iowa's another state where the property taxes themselves aren't actually all that high, though the tax rate is, because the average home value is lower here than other states.

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

9. Ohio

Average effective property tax: 1.58%

2022 average home value: $212,757

Average annual property tax paid: $3,362

While the effective property tax rate is high in Ohio, the average home value is low, so property taxes are not as high as other states on this list.

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8. Nebraska

Average effective property tax: 1.61%

2022 average home value: $244,619

Average annual property tax paid: $3,938

Nebraska's average home value falls around the middle of the states on this list, but its property tax rate is creeping up past 1.6%.

UWMadison / Getty Images/iStockphoto

7. Wisconsin

Average effective property tax: 1.63%

2022 average home value: $266,908

Average annual property tax paid: $4,351

Wisconsin's property tax rate is over 1.6%, which, at an average home value of $266,908, translates to property taxes that are closing in on $4,500 per year.

Davel5957 / Getty Images

6. Texas

Average effective property tax: 1.66%

2022 average home value: $308,392

Average annual property tax paid: $5,119

With a property tax rate edging up to 1.7%, and an average home value of over $300,000, Texas homeowners are paying over $5,000 in taxes each year.

Housing Market 2023: Is a Double-Digit Drop in Prices Coming?

Shutterstock.com

5. Connecticut

Average effective property tax: 1.76%

2022 average home value: $373,373

Average annual property tax paid: $6,571

In Connecticut, even though its average home value isn't the highest on the list, with a tax rate of 1.76%, homeowners are paying through the teeth for their annual property taxes.

vermontalm / Shutterstock.com

4. Vermont

Average effective property tax: 1.82%

2022 average home value: $366,246

Average annual property tax paid: $6,666

The New England state of Vermont sees a pricey jump in property tax rate from Connecticut. At over 1.8% property tax rate, even though its average home value is lower than Connecticut, that additional percentage pushes taxes here to a significant level.

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images

3. New Hampshire

Average effective property tax: 1.96%

2022 average home value: $443,793

Average annual property tax paid: $8,698

New England holds three spots on this list, with New Hampshire almost at 2% property tax rate. Its average home value price is also the second most expensive on this list, and the annual property taxes are the second highest on this list.

Notice: 10 US Real Estate Markets To Avoid for Now

Mlenny / Getty Images/iStockphoto

2. Illinois

Average effective property tax: 2.05%

2022 average home value: $262,134

Average annual property tax paid: $5,374

Illinois may be the first state to crack the 2% mark in property tax rate, but due to its low average home value, the annual taxes here won't break homeowners' banks.

Ultima_Gaina / Getty Images/iStockphoto

1. New Jersey

Average effective property tax: 2.21%

2022 average home value: $470,981

Average annual property tax paid: $10,409

New Jersey earns the top spot as highest property taxes not only in property tax rate, which is over the 2% mark, but in the actual dollars spent in property taxes; here the average home value is the highest on the list.

More From GOBankingRates

Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at Tax Foundation's Property Tax data to find (1) effective average property tax for each state. Once this was gathered GOBankingRates also found each state's (2) March 2022 average home value from Zillow and (3) average annual property tax paid. Only factor (1) was considered in the final rankings. All data was collected on and up to date as of January 23, 2023.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: States With the Highest Property Taxes
Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK) Zheng Zeguang (Front, L) talks with Elena Garcia (Front, R), a teacher and music coordinator of the Millburn Primary School, after the school choir finished singing "Let Love Fill the World" in Chinese, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, March 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

BELFAST, Britain, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The first time Chloe Millar rehearsed the Chinese song "I Love You, China," she fell in love singing it despite the challenging pronunciation of lyrics.

Chinese is different from latin languages, and it's "nice and interesting," Millar, a student studying music at Belfast-based Ulster University, told Xinhua recently. She said she wanted to continue learning Chinese and would love to go to China someday.

"China's a beautiful country. There's a lot of culture that is totally different from what's here, and it's just something really interesting to see," she said. "I think it is good for people here to understand it."

Earlier this week, when the Ulster University Choir had just finished their performance on campus to welcome the visiting Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK) Zheng Zeguang and his delegation, many students were attracted to the melody and stopped to listen.

Abigail Medcalf, a student studying piano at Ulster University, told Xinhua she joined the choir at last minute, taking the role of accompanying the choir's singing. "It's been really good. I really enjoyed it," she said.

"It's so exciting to learn the new language and to learn how to sing in Chinese," she said, "I wish I could speak it a bit more, understand it a bit more."

Ulster University has established partnerships with many Chinese universities and hosts a Confucius Institute. Also on the university campus, the Millburn Primary School Choir sang "Let Love Fill the World" in Chinese.

Elena Garcia, a teacher and music coordinator of the school, told Xinhua that the song was about bringing different countries together and uniting everyone.

"The world's been through a lot of different, turbulent things in the last few years. I think that is very important to reach out to each other," she said. "It's something that brings us together."

"Music is very powerful," she said, "It's a nice way to come together, communicate with others."

Garcia said she would love to travel in China. She was fascinated with the Great Wall, as it is "so different from anything I've ever seen and it's so big and expansive."

Garcia said she thinks it's really important for young children to learn about different cultures and broaden their horizons."

Milena Stecyk, a student at Millburn Primary School, was in the choir and had been learning Chinese for years. She told Xinhua that she loved Chinese music and wanted to travel to Beijing someday to learn more. 

Members of Ulster University Choir perform the Chinese song "I Love You, China," to welcome the visiting Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK) Zheng Zeguang and his delegation, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, March 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
DNY59 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Biden administration has yet again quietly updated the timeline for borrowers seeking student loan forgiveness under a one-time account adjustment, according to reports.

Student Loan Forgiveness: Relief for Public Loans Pushed Back Due to Lack of Funds

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In April 2022, the Department of Education announced updates that will bring borrowers closer to forgiveness under income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. Said updates include a one-time adjustment of IDR payment counters to address past inaccuracies and permanently fixing IDR payment counting by reforming EDs IDR tracking procedures going forward, the department stated.

As the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) indicated, IDR was originally designed to offer borrowers a reduced monthly payment tied to their income, not their outstanding balance.

In theory, federal law also provides that after a 20 or 25 year IDR repayment term, the borrowers debt is canceled in full. However, in recent years, investigations by SBPC and the National Consumer Law Center, National Public Radio, and the Government Accountability Office revealed widespread problems with IDR, the SBPC wrote in a January 2023 post.

Forbes reported that when the Education Department announced the one-time adjustment last April, the guidance indicated that borrowers could start receiving student loan forgiveness by the fall of 2022, and that all others should receive their one-time retroactive credit by January.

Then, in an updated guidance statement delivered October 2022, the department maintained that borrowers eligible for immediate student loan forgiveness would still receive those benefits under the IDR account adjustment before the winter of 2022, and that all other borrowers would not receive retroactive IDR credit until July 2023, according to Forbes. In a further December 2022 update, the department extended this timeline further, pushing out expected student loan forgiveness under the adjustment to the spring of 2023, with all others receiving the benefits of the adjustment in the summer of 2023.

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And now, the key dates have been pushed even further, Forbes noted.

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In the latest guidance document released this week, the Education Department declared it still expects borrowers eligible for immediate student loan forgiveness under the IDR account adjustment to receive those benefits in the spring. But now, All other borrowers will see their accounts update in 2024, according to a press release  which, as Forbes noted, could translate to a delay of more than one year.

According to Forbes, the delays are due to Congress not providing additional funding to the Office of Federal Student Aid in a recent budget bill.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Student Loan Forgiveness Rule Quietly Changes  How It Affects Borrowers Debt
Recognizing the right stocks is a skill that every investor needs to learn, and the sheer volume of market data, on the main indexes, on individual stocks, on and from stock analysts, can present an intimidating barrier. Fortunately, there are tools to help. The Smart Score is a data collection and collation tool from TipRanks, using an AI-powered algorithm to sort the data on every stock according to a series of factors, 8 in all, that are known for their strong correlation with future share outperformance.

That all sounds like a mouthful, but it boils down to this: a sophisticated data tool that gives you a simple score, on a 1 to 10 scale, to judge the prospects of any given stock. It puts the complex world of stock market data at your fingertips.

The Perfect 10, of course, should be a brilliant neon sign post guiding investors in for a closer look  and sometimes, it guides investors toward stocks that have never lacked for headline or notice. These are some of the markets giants, stocks that are household names, feature trillion-dollar market caps, and boast Strong Buy consensus ratings from the Streets best professional analysts. So, lets give two of them a closer look.

Amazon (AMZN)

First up on our list is Amazon, a name that doesnt need much introduction. Chances are, weve all bought something from Amazon recently; the company is a giant among the worlds retailers  the second largest in the world  with a leading position in the e-commerce sector. In addition, Amazons cloud computing service (AWS) also holds a market-leading position.

Amazons gigantism in retail is complemented by its position among Wall Streets publicly traded companies. Its one of just four trillion-dollar-plus companies, when measured by market cap. Amazons $1.03 trillion in market cap puts it fourth place, behind #1 Apple, Microsoft, and Google-parent Alphabet.

As the leading e-commerce firm, Amazon benefited heavily during the pandemic/lockdown period  but it saw drastic losses last year, as the pandemic receded and business and social activities returned to more normal patterns. In 2022, Amazons share price fell by 51%, shedding well over $800 million in market cap.

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More recently, Amazon has showed a tick up in sales. Total revenues for 4Q22 came to $149.2 billion, up 8.6% and above the $145.4 billion that had been expected. The companys bottom line, however, missed the forecasts. On earnings, the company showed an EPS of 3 cents, comparing unfavorably to the expected 17 cents.

The revenue guidance for Q1 was set in the range of $121 billion to $126 billion, which would represent growth of 4% to 8% year-over-year; analysts had been predicted Q1 guidance of $125.1 billion.

Eric Sheridan, one of Goldman Sachs 5-star analysts, sees Amazon in a good position for further gains, with a series of catalysts providing support: For AMZN shares, we still see the forward catalyst path dominated by a mixture of 1) bottoming of revenue deceleration dynamic for AWS; 2) continued proof points of a return to pre-pandemic levels of operating margins for its North America eCommerce operations and/or 3) stability vs. volatility in the consumption habits of the Amazon Prime household consumer in the coming quarters. Longer term, we are unchanged in our long-term view of the potential for cloud computing (as evidenced by Amazons $110bn revenue backlog that grew +37% YoY.

In Sheridans view, Amazon is worth a Buy rating  and his price target, of $145 implies that a one-year gain of 40% is coming up for AMZN shares. (To watch Sheridans track record, click here)

The big tech names typically gather plenty of Wall Street attention, and Amazon has 38 recent analyst reviews  breaking down 37 to 1 in favor of Buys over Holds for a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating. The stocks average price target, $136.86, and trading price, $103.29, add up to 32.5% potential share appreciation in the next 12 months. (See Amazon stock analysis)

Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL)

Next up is Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Alphabet holds the next rung up among public firms; its $1.3 trillion in market cap makes it the third-largest company on Wall Street. Alphabet is best known for its Google subsidiary, which has an iron grip on the lions share of the internet search business, and almost as large a share in online advertising.

Google may be the largest revenue driver for Alphabet, but the company has a slew of additional subsidiaries, giving it footholds in a variety of tech-oriented fields. The more high-profile of these include its ownership of DeepMind, in the AI field; Wing, the drone-based freight delivery service, and Waymo, an autonomous vehicle development enterprise.

Alphabet has felt some pressure recently, as its recently launched Bard AI has been perceived as inferior to its competition, primarily Microsofts Bing and the new ChatGPT. Long-term, however, the Google offering in AI has some important advantages. Based on the size and breadth of Alphabets subsidiary holdings, the company can draw on a deep well of data to feed the machine learning aspects of its AI.

On the financial side, Alphabet can rely on strong revenue performance and cash holdings. The company saw $76 billion at the top line in 4Q22, the last reported quarter, and finished 2022 with $21.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents. While the total revenue was in line with forecasts, the companys Q4 EPS of $1.05 missed the expectations by 11%, or 13 cents. Even with those whiffs, Alphabet still pulled in a quarterly free cash flow of $16 billion.

Looking forward, BNP Paribas analyst Stefan Slowinski believes the companys AI is the key to future performance, writing: On the AI front, we expect Google to fight back and launch a string of generative AI supported services, while also turbo charging existing offerings Google is best positioned given it has developed its own large language models since it acquired DeepMind 9 years ago (and is not dependent on a third party like OpenAI), has the best Search tool and data set, its own proprietary silicon since 2015, and user experience DNA.

To this end, Slowinski gives GOOGL shares an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating, while setting his price target at $123 for ~19% upside potential over the coming year. (To watch Slowinskis track record, click here)

Overall, the Strong Buy consensus rating here is based on a unanimous 32 positive analyst reviews. Alphabets stock is priced at $103.73 and carries a $129.58 average price target, suggesting a gain of ~25% in the next 12 months. (See Alphabet stock analysis)

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

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
Toubani Resources, Inc.

TORONTO, April 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toubani Resources, Inc (ASX: TRE; TSX-V: TRE) (Toubani Resources or the Company) is pleased to advise that Kevin Hart has been appointed as Company Secretary, effective immediately. Kevin is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years experience in statutory reporting, business administration and corporate compliance of public listed entities in the mining and exploration industry.

He is a Director of the corporate advisory firm Endeavour Corporate which specialises in providing company secretarial and accounting services to ASX listed entities. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from The University of Western Australia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Ms Lucy Rowe has retired from the role of Company Secretary. The Board thanks Lucy for her service as Company Secretary since the Companys listing on the ASX in November 2022 and wishes her every success going forward.

For the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 12.6, Mr Hart will be the person responsible for communications between the Company and ASX.

This announcement was authorised for release to the ASX by the Board of Toubani Resources Inc.

For more information:



Phil Russo Jane Morgan Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Investor and Media Relations

+(61) 478 138 627 +61 (0) 405 555 618

Phil.Russo@toubaniresources.com jm@janemorganmanagement.com.au

About Toubani Resources Inc



Toubani Resources (ASX: TRE; TSX-V: TRE) is an exploration and development Company with a focus on building Africas next mid-tier gold producer. The Company has a highly experienced Board and management team with a proven African track record in advancing projects through exploration, development and into production.

For more information regarding Toubani Resources visit our website at www.toubaniresources.com .

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE




(Bloomberg) -- A pro-Kremlin military blogger was killed by a bomb hidden inside a figurine at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russias interior ministry said. Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, supported the war in Ukraine.

Most Read from Bloomberg

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov about Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested by Russia last week and charged with spying. In a call that Russia said was initiated by the US, Blinken demanded the release of Gershkovich and a second American.

Russia is boosting its production of conventional and high-precision ammunition, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Saturday, days after visiting munitions factories in two regions to inspect the production of artillery and missiles.

Key Developments

Blinken Demands Russia Free US Journalist in Lavrov Call

Bulgaria Votes Again With End to Political Deadlock Unclear

Finlands Voters May Unseat Sanna Marin in Tight Election

A Grain Glut Is Straining the Goodwill That Ukraine Badly Needs

Russia Extends Pledged Oil Output Cuts Through 2023, Novak Says

(All times CET)

St. Petersburg Blast Kills Pro-War Blogger (6:45 p.m.)

An explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg killed a military blogger who supported the war in Ukraine. Russias Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal probe into Sundays blast, which officials blamed on an improvised bomb hidden inside a statuette that was presented to Vladlen Tatarsky.

Tatarsky is a pseudonym for Maxim Fomin, 40, according to state-run news agency Tass. He became widely known after Russias invasion of Ukraine by espousing goals including the complete destruction of the Ukrainian state.

Story continues

Russia Extends Pledged Oil Output Cuts Through 2023 (4:20 p.m.)

Russia has decided to keep its oil production at a reduced level through 2023 amid high volatility in the global market, said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

Russia had previously pledged to cut its crude-only output by 500,000 barrels per day in March in response to Western sanctions, including price caps on its oil and petroleum production, and to keep those curbs in place through June.

The cuts of 500,000 barrels a day will be implemented from the average production level as assessed by secondary sources for February, according to Novak.

Read more: Russia Extends Pledged Oil Output Cuts Through 2023, Novak Says

Blinken Demands Russia Free US Journalist in Lavrov Call (5:19 p.m.)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov about Evan Gershkovich, demanding that Russia free the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested last week and charged with spying.

Blinken conveyed the United States grave concern over Russias unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist and called for his immediate release, according to a statement from the State Department .

The call also comes as Russia takes over the rotating leadership of the UN Security Council for the month of April. Lavrov, whos under US sanctions, intends to spend part of the month in meetings at UN headquarters in New York.

Civilian Death Toll in Kostyantynivka Rises to Six (2 p.m.)

Russian troops used multiple rocket launchers and cluster munitions to shell the city of Kostyantynivka in Ukraines Donetsk region overnight, killing at least six civilians, said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukraines presidential office.

Eight others were wounded in the rocket and artillery attacks on the town, less than 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Bakhmut. At least 16 apartment buildings were damaged along with private houses, a kindergarten, and a government tax office.

Moscow Suspends Operations at Anglo-American School for 90 Days (2 p.m.)

A court suspended operations at the Anglo-American School of Moscow for 90 days, saying it had violated certain rules that govern how education activities can be conducted in Russia, RBC news outlet reported, citing the press office of the Tushinsky district court of Moscow.

The determination was based on an inspection made in February and concerned documents needed by some teachers to confirm their qualifications, among other things, according to the RBC report.

The school, founded in 1949, teaches students from over 30 countries, including the children of many diplomats and international business leaders.

EU to Stand Against Any Abuse of UNSC Presidency by Russia, Borrell Says (11:16 a.m.)

Ukraine and many of its Western allies have expressed concern or outrage about Russia holding the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of April.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russias stint - which the US has said there are no legal means to stop - showed the complete bankruptcy of such institutions. Josep Borrell, the European Unions foreign policy chief, tweeted that the EU will stand against any abuse by Moscow of its month-long role.

Russia, one of five permanent members of the UNSC, is scheduled to preside over a council meeting on Monday. Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov is expected to be in New York for at least part of April.

Over 200 Miners Being Evacuated in Russian Rostov Region (11 a.m.)

The evacuation of more than 200 people is underway at the Obukhovskaya coal mine in Russias Rostov region after smoke was reported in the vicinity, Interfax reported, citing the press office of the regional unit of the emergencies ministry.

The unit received information about smoke in the mines central intermediate sub-station, located at a depth of 199 meters (653 feet) at 10:40 a.m. Moscow time, according to Interfax. There are no reports of injuries so far.

Exhibits From De-Occupied Regions On Display in Shadow of UN (9 a.m.)

An exhibition entitled Ukraine. Crucifixion. Tribunal, and focused on alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, opened Friday steps from United Nations headquarters in New York, according to a post on the presidential website.

The display was organized by the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War with backing from Volodymyr Zelenskiys office.

More than 1,000 exhibits were collected during field expeditions to areas recaptured by Ukrainian forces. The exhibition opened to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the town northwest of Kyiv that endured a brutal weeks-long occupation by Kremlin troops  and a day before Russia take on the rotating presidency of the United National Security Council for the month of April.

Finland May Unseat PM Marin Days After Getting NATO Nod (8 a.m.)

Sanna Marin, Finlands 37-year-old prime minister, is fighting to stay in power as voters head to polls on Sunday to decide on a nail-biter race.

The election comes days after the Nordic country got the go-ahead to join NATO in whats been a security-policy U-turn for a nation that guards a border with Russia roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) long.

Russias War Adds to Chaos as EUs Poorest Country Votes Again (6 a.m.)

Bulgarians vote Sunday in their fifth election in two years, seeking to end turmoil that has paralyzed the political system and put at risk European Union unity over Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has added to the chaos in the EUs poorest country, which is on NATOs eastern flank less than 300 miles (482 km) away from Crimea across the Black Sea. Parties led by former prime ministers Boyko Borissov and Kiril Petkov are running neck and neck with the backing of more than a quarter of voters, according to opinion polls.

Most power in the past two years has been in the hands of interim cabinets appointed by President Rumen Radev, a former fighter pilot whos taken pro-Moscow stances, including saying Crimea is Russian and labeling opponents who support arming Ukraine as warmongers.

Grain Glut Strains Goodwill Ukraine Badly Needs (6 a.m.)

Poland and other neighboring states agreed to help get grain out of Ukraine and onto global markets after Russias invasion blocked exports. Part of that supply is now piling up in eastern Europe, and its threatening local livelihoods.

Many growers held on to their crop in anticipation of higher prices. Instead, a broader global downturn has pushed grain values down, leaving farmers in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria facing lower revenue.

Read more here: A Grain Glut Is Straining the Goodwill That Ukraine Badly Needs

Zelenskiy Aide Calls Russias Presidency at UNSC Symbolic Blow (1 p.m.)

Russia, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, took over the rotating presidency of the body for the month of April. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whos under US sanctions, intends to spend part of the month in New York.

On Twitter, Andriy Yermak, head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the rotation another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.

Russia last held the post in February 2022, the month its troops invaded Ukraine. The US said it has no legal option to block Russias presidency.

Russia Ammunition Output in the Rise, Shoigu Says (10:28 a.m.)

Russia has boosted its production of conventional and high-precision ammunition many times over, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting at the headquarters of troops involved in its war in Ukraine.

Manufacturing volumes have multiplied due to the expansion of production capabilities and increased labor productivity, Shoigu said. Earlier in the week, the minister visited munitions factories in the Chelyabinsk and Kirov regions, watching artillery, tank, mortar shells of various calibers and unguided aircraft missiles rolled off the assembly lines.

Shoigu said that makes it possible to fulfill tasks in what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine. Earlier in the week, the defense ministry said the the production of certain types of products will increase by seven to eight times by year-end.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Clive Selley CEO of Openreach - Heathcliff O'Malley

Unresponsive property owners and red tape nonsense are holding up Britains rollout of ultra-fast broadband, the head of BT's Openreach division has warned.

Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said around 1.5 million flats  primarily in London  may never get upgraded because uncontactable freeholders will not sign off work.

Mr Selley said: The owners of many of those blocks do not even have a name, all we can get is a post office box number. So it is really difficult to get permission.

BT's Openreach infrastructure division is part-way through a 15bn programme to connect British households to so-called full fibre broadband, which uses fibre optic cables to bring a signal all the way into users' homes.

Previous generations of fibre stopped at a telephone exchange box in the street, with the final stretch into houses completed on much slower copper wires.

A property in Ketton, Rutland, in the East Midlands became the ten millionth home to get BT's full fibre in March, and the company is upgrading houses at a rate of 60,000 a week.

But at present there are 575,000 flats where full fibre cables are stumped  meaning Openreach has built up to the front door but is unable to get permission to go inside for the final connection  even if the people who own leaseholds for the individual flats want the upgrades.

Britains full fibre rollout is going faster than any other country in Europe, but issues with freeholders are a peculiarly British problem because of the country's unusual property laws, Mr Selley said.

Most blocks of flats are owned by a freeholder  often an investor that is based abroad  with individual apartments sold to their occupiers on a long lease.

The freeholder, not the leaseholders, must give permission for BT to bring in a connection.

Mr Selley said: The UK is one of the toughest countries in which to get permission to install fibre infrastructure. It is easier to do in most countries in Europe. We ask the Government just to remove these barriers, this red tape nonsense.

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The full fibre rollout is key for the Chancellor Jeremy Hunts hopes both of getting Britain back to work and turning the UK into a science and tech superpower.

Faster internet access could boost the UK economy by 72bn, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

The new opportunities it provides for flexible working  particularly for older workers and those with children  could help 431,000 people to join the workforce by 2026.

Mr Selley said: It is very reliable and it doesnt go on strike. Its not like when you commute to the office and the train is cancelled again. This will be the new infrastructure for working.

Soon, access to full fibre will start flowing into house prices. If a block of flats does not have access when the rest of a neighbourhood does, it will likely fall in value, Mr Selley said.

He also called on the Chancellor to boost opportunities for workers to retrain mid-career.

Trainee engineers from BT Openreach, a unit of BT Group Plc, carry out work at the top of telegraph poles at the company's training facility at West Hanningfield, U.K - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Openreach has 11 training schools around the country and has 10,000 apprentices  a scheme which is supported by government funding. But there is a major gap in support for mid-career changes, Mr Selley said.

He added: In this fast-moving world that were in now, you cant as a youngster train in one thing and then spend 40 years doing just that.

Technology moves at such a pace that you need to refresh and retrain mid-career.

People mid-career are being overtaken by new technology. To stay relevant and useful and fulfilled they need to get reskilled. I say to the Government, please give us some help on that one.

Labour costs have soared, but so too have the costs of materials  particularly the price of optoelectronics from Asia, fibre cables, and the chipsets used to create fibre networks.

The war in Ukraine also threw up unexpected challenges.

Openreach cables run either underground or overhead, across 4.5 million wooden poles imported from Scandinavia.

Mr Selley said: We buy about 100,000 a year or so, and unbeknownst to me they used to be transported on Russian ships.

Openreach poles are now transported under a different flag.
Experts often use an analogy of a toddler to describe A.I., suggesting products like chatbot phenomenon ChatGPT need to be taught everything they know by a real human being.

In their early days, large language models (LLMs) like these are created by developers and programmers who build them up to a useable level. Then comes the point in an A.I.'s lifespan where it needs to learn how to communicate clearly and efficiently.

This is where a new breed of technology employees is being createdand they don't need to know a thing about coding.

They are the 'prompt engineers', tasked with training LLMs to continuously give users accurate and useful responses.

Despite people in the role raking in six-figure salaries, potential employers often welcome candidates who don't come from a tech background or have any coding skills. As Tesla's former head of A.I. Andrei Kaparthy put it: "The hottest new programming language is English."

The shift in the tech careers landscape comes amid a heated race for the top spot in the A.I. market, which intensified in recent months after OpenAI's ChatGPT was labeled a game changer.

Google moved to launch Bard, its chatbot competitor, soon after Microsoft revealed Bing was being revamped to incorporate ChatGPT, in which the tech giant is investing $10 billion. Tesla has joined the race with its 'Tesla Bot', and Chinese search engine giant Baidu is developing its own version called Ernie Bot.

Prompt engineer postings at the time of writing range from contracted remote work for $200 an hour, up to full-time positions paying up to $335,000.

One role, advertised by San Francisco-based A.I. research and safety organization Anthropic, asks for basic programming skills.

However, the company emphasized in its job ad that it encourages people to apply "even if [they] do not believe [they] meet every single qualification."

"We think A.I. systems like the ones we're building have enormous social and ethical implications," the company says. "This makes representation even more important, and we strive to include a range of diverse perspectives on our team."

Story continues

Unique perspectives

Peter Pru, CEO of Ecommerce Empire Builders, which designs and grows online sales platforms, has hired and trained two prompt engineers, both of whom are earning six figures a year.

Pru told Fortune that while a "solid" technical background is important, diverse backgrounds are valuable in bringing unique experience to an ever-evolving platform.

Prompt engineers at his Philadelphia-based company, he explained, are tasked with working with teams from design to research and development to create inputs which will result in an effective outcome for clients. They also test new prompts to generate unique responses which can then be fed back to clients to adapt or improve services.

Training more prompt engineers is "absolutely" something the company would consider again in the future, he said, noting that while the training process could be "time-consuming," he saw it as an investment in success.

"Training typically involves teaching them about A.I. language models like ChatGPT, as well as the intricacies of prompt design and optimization," he told Fortune.

"With tools like ChatGPT, it's not just about asking random questions, its more about engineering prompts to get unique responses. Additionally, they need to learn how to analyze prompt performance and collaborate effectively with researchers, designers, editors, and advertising managers."

New opportunities

The development of prompt engineers as a career path is in its early stages, according to Kieran Scully, manager in the technology division at specialist recruiters Morgan McKinley.

Scully told Fortune that although skills like coding aren't essential to land the job, candidates with a background in linguistics or critical thinking should at least familiarize themselves with the basics of data science, machine learning and deep thinkingeven if just through free online courses.

He was echoed by Krystian Dabrowski, CEO at Polish knowledge assessment platform Testportal, who reiterated that "candidates from non-tech backgrounds can definitely find opportunities in the A.I. industry."

The aptitudes bosses in the industry were looking for, he said in an email, were persistence, logical thinking and curiosity.

Cause-effect thinking is also key, Dabrowski added.

"Candidates who can provide more contextual information when crafting prompts will be more likely to receive comprehensive and accurate answers from the A.I.," he said. "This ability to think critically and understand the importance of context will be invaluable in the A.I. field."

A.I.-focused jobs in more niche markets such as healthcare, finance, gaming and legal will also continue to grow, Scully believes. While research out of Goldman Sachs shows 300 million jobs will be impacted by generative A.I., Scully believes roles like prompt engineers are "evidence that [A.I] has and will continue to create new jobs, some we haven't considered yet."

2025 will be the hiring peak

Employers like Testportal believe A.I. has also opened up the jobs market for those without a traditional tech background, with chatbots becoming increasingly commonplace in a variety of long-established sectors.

Although a role in its infancy, those looking to snap up one of the lucrative gigseither as graduates or in a career shiftcan expect to find a wave of jobs in 2025, experts are predicting.

Stephen Hellier, director of London-based IT recruiters Initi8, told Fortune he predicted peak demand would come in 24 months' time, as early adopters prove the technology's worth and jobs become more defined.

But right now, this is a new frontier, he added.

"The job is based on an ability to build prompts and not on prior experience, so candidate will probably normally do task-based interviews," Hellier said. "This should ensure we are hiring from diverse backgrounds, hiring on traits and ability rather than prior experience."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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When we're researching a company, it's sometimes hard to find the warning signs, but there are some financial metrics that can help spot trouble early. More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. Ultimately this means that the company is earning less per dollar invested and on top of that, it's shrinking its base of capital employed. So after we looked into China Kangda Food (SGX:P74), the trends above didn't look too great.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for China Kangda Food:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.00079 = CN488k  (CN1.3b - CN713m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, China Kangda Food has an ROCE of 0.08%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Food industry average of 12%.

View our latest analysis for China Kangda Food

roce

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating China Kangda Food's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From China Kangda Food's ROCE Trend?

In terms of China Kangda Food's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, the ROCE was 3.4% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. This combination can be indicative of a mature business that still has areas to deploy capital, but the returns received aren't as high due potentially to new competition or smaller margins. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on China Kangda Food becoming one if things continue as they have.

Story continues

On a side note, China Kangda Food's current liabilities are still rather high at 53% of total assets. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's unfortunate that China Kangda Food is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 68% from where it was five years ago. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

China Kangda Food does have some risks, we noticed 3 warning signs (and 2 which don't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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A former dog trainer in Orange County has pleaded guilty in an animal cruelty case tried with assistance from the Virginia Attorney Generals office.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Friday announced the successful prosecution in Orange County Circuit Court of Shawn Deehan, 62.

He is the former owner of The Perfect Dog, a reported K9 training facility in the county that came on authorities radar in 2021.

Deehan pleaded guilty March 30 in the case to two felony animal cruelty charges and five misdemeanors of failure of a boarding establishment to provide adequate care for animals at the site, according to a release from the AGs office. Deehan pleaded not guilty at arraignment two years ago.

Im proud of the work of the Orange County Sheriffs Office, the Fairfaxs Animal Protection Police and my offices animal law unit, Miyares said in a statement. Animal cruelty and violence will not be tolerated in Virginia.

In March 2021, a German Shepherd puppy was picked up from Deehans facility, just east of Raccoon Ford, after the owner received a tip the puppy was in bad shape, according to authorities.

The owner took the puppy to a veterinarian in Fairfax County, who contacted the Fairfax Animal Protection Police, who referred the case to the Orange County Sheriffs Office, according to the release.

The puppy, Scout, ultimately had to be put down due to trauma from being kept in a crate for several hours, the release stated. Upon an investigation of the property in Orange County, deputies found 12 dogs in crates and kennels standing in urine and feces with no bedding.

In court Thursday, Deehan was sentenced to five years with four years and six months suspended. He will serve the six month jail term under house arrest. He was sentenced to 12 months with 12 months suspended on the misdemeanor charges.

Deehan was barred from owning, possessing, caring or training dogs for the rest of his life, according to the attorney generals office.

He was additionally ordered to pay almost $100,000 in restitution to the dogs owners and the Orange County Animal Shelter who have taken care of his dogs for two years.

Deehan surrendered his six dogs to the shelter and they will be adopted by police units, Miyares said. Senior Assistant Attorney General Michelle Welch assisted with the local prosecution in the case.
Three people were arrested on felony drug and gun charges, including a Jeffersonton man, following a recent raid of a Fauquier County home.

The Blue Ridge Narcotics and Gang Task Force and Prince William County Police Department concluded a lengthy investigation into a multijurisdictional narcotics operation throughout Prince William and Fauquier County, according to a release Friday from Virginia State Police spokesperson Sgt. Brent Coffey.

On March 23, officers executed a search warrant at a residence on Toms Way, south of Catlett. Seized in the search was 104 grams of pressed fentanyl pills, 43 grams of crack cocaine, 38 grams of powder cocaine, 29 grams of methadone, $4,285 cash and seven handguns, including one previously reported as stolen out of Prince William County, according to the release.

Tanya M. Dodson, 46, of Catlett, was arrested and charged with possession with the intent to distribute a schedule I/II substance, two counts of possession of a schedule I/II substance and possession of a firearm while in possession of schedule I/II substance.

Quintin J. Gilliam, 33, of Jeffersonton, was arrested and charged with possession with the intent to distribute a schedule I/II substance, two counts of possession of a schedule I/II substance, possession of a firearm while in possession of schedule I/II substance and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Timon D. Kornegan Jr., 27, of Manassas, was arrested and charged with three counts of possession with the intent to distribute a schedule I/II substance, possession of a firearm while in possession of schedule I/II substance and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Kornegan was served with outstanding warrants out of Prince William and Fauquier County.

Timothy D. Fields, 24, of Manassas, was taken into custody and served with four outstanding warrants out of Prince William and Fairfax County.

All were held without bond at the Fauquier County Adult Detention Center, according to Coffey.
Prior to the Revolutionary War, Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Quakers and others suffered discrimination under the aegis of English governors application of Englands state religion.

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was passed by the Virginia legislature in 1786. It is considered to be one of the greatest reforms in history. A stone monument placed in the median on Washington Avenue at Pitt Street commemorates the statute.

Are we witnessing the erosion of religious freedom? Maybebased on two recent occurrences in Virginia: the FBI memo on confidential informants infiltrating Catholic churches to report on extremist, potential terrorist parishioners and the Fairfax County high school test that stereotyped middle-aged, male Catholics.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said the memo was deleted, but what does that mean? How does it change the thought process that inspired the memo? Does his pronouncement comply with the spirit and the letter of U.S. law or FBI regulations and policies?

The Fairfax County school system said it will remove the test question from future examinations and it will begin to review test questions. Is this level of anonymity, the indefinite in the future, or the admission that the school system had not previously done its job, assure anyone this type of manipulation is forever ended?

At least three questions remain unanswered: What motivated the act? Who is responsible for it and for fixing it? Why was it permitted?

Is there a Virginia-based, objective journalist/reporter ready to investigate and find answers to these three important questions?

Bill Halpin

Orange County
Democrats advanced a bill Friday to expand insurance coverage for abortions, marking the third and final bill in a package intended to bolster abortion rights in Colorado.

If enacted, Senate Bill 189 would require health insurance carriers that serve large employers  those with more than 100 employees  to pay for abortion coverage without deductibles, copays or coinsurance, among other changes.

SB 189 passed the Senate last week. In a voice vote, House lawmakers approved the bill, sending it to its third and final reading scheduled on Saturday. If passed, the bill will be sent back to the Senate to approve any changes, and then to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration.

After more than a year of trying to have a baby, Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet said she miscarried at 20 weeks pregnant. With no fetal heartbeat, her doctor sent her to a clinic to receive an abortion, saying she was at risk of becoming septic and dying if she continued to carry the baby. Though she had insurance, Michaelson Jenet said she had to pay $500 upfront for the procedure.

"I tell you this because abortion is part of the spectrum of care. Abortion is sometimes needed desperately. We might not know all of the reasons behind it," said Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, who is sponsoring SB 189. "The procedure saved my life."

"How many people can go to the ATM and pull out $500? Not as many as you think," she added.

Also under the bill, health insurance for the small group and individual market would provide abortion coverage depending on how it would affect premiums. If it has the potential to increase premiums, the state would technically be required to defray those extra costs. But an actuarial review of SB 189 said the bill would result in a minimal decrease in costs, around 15 cents per member.

The bill gives employers the option of refusing to offer abortion services if it conflicts with their religious beliefs, so long as the decision is in line with federal court decisions.

The insurance mandates would also apply to treatment for HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases. The bill prohibits insurance from requiring HIV patients use step therapy, when patients must try a lower-cost drug before a more expensive one. And it prohibits insurance from requiring deductibles, copays, coinsurance, or imposing a lifetime maximum benefit for treating a sexually transmitted disease or for sterilization services.

Colorado Democrats move to shield abortion, transgender care from out-of-state penalties

Friday's House debate on SB 189 was the shortest of any of the abortion-related bills, totaling less than three and a half hours, even though Democrats voted to allow up to six hours of debate.

In brief speeches, some Republican opponents raised issue with the bill for being "unfair," pointing to its varying influence on different insurance plans and specific focus on reproductive health care instead of other health issues.

"Cancer, heart disease, lung disease, strokes, Alzheimer's, suicide, diabetes, liver disease. Those people don't get their health care for free. They're still paying copays," said Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock. "How is it okay for us to pick medical winners and losers here? How is it okay that we don't acknowledge the things that are actually killing us in this state?"

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Frizell said her mother died from cancer, "That's a really expensive disease."

Other critics of the bill spoke of a portion that expands the kinds of health care providers that can give contraception, supplies and information to a minor without parental consent or notification. Current law only lets physicians provide those services, but the bill would add, for example, nurse practitioners.

Colorado Democrats advance ban of 'deceptive' ads, 'abortion reversal' for crisis pregnancy centers

The bill also removes the requirement that, when a minor receives contraception services without notifying their parent or guardian, a notification be sent to someone who makes a referral for those services, such as a member of the clergy, family planning clinics, or schools or colleges.

While minors can already access contraception without parental consent or notification  and have been able to do so in Colorado since 1971  some argued that these changes would further restrict parental rights.

"Every parent wants the best for their children. Every parent wants to be involved with their lives, their well-being, their health care," said Rep. Anthony Hartsook, R-Parker. "Parents should be involved."

On Friday, sponsors amended the bill to give insurance carriers until 2025 to enact the changes, as they are already preparing for their 2024 plans, said bill sponsor Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County. Garcia said this request came from the Division of Insurance.

Republicans introduced nine other amendments that sought to weaken the bill, including one to exempt abortions that are voluntary or not medically needed from being covered by insurance. All of those amendments were rejected.

"Colorado voters have said loudly and clearly over and over again that access to the full range of reproductive health care is something no one should mess with," Garcia said. "Reproductive care is health care, and insurance should cover people's health care."

SB 189 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 188 to protect Colorado abortion patients and providers from out-of-state penalties.

SB 190 passed its second House reading on Thursday and SB 188 passed its second reading on Friday. All three bills are expected to face their third and final reading on Saturday.

Democrats' abortion, gender care bill may violate Colorado constitution
Alpine Essentials Dispensary's stated mission is serving the public and helping others. Now, with retail recreational marijuana sales legalized in Palmer Lake, they hope to benefit their hometown more.

The dispensary, off Colorado 105 just west of Monument, opened its doors to recreational sales Saturday, a recent shift many locals believe will bring a sizable revenue boost to Palmer Lakes economy.

Alpine Essentials have been owned and operated by the Woodward family since 2015.

Started as a cultivation center, the business has grown exponentially in the past eight years. They opened their medical dispensary in January 2022, and on Saturday reopened for recreational sales.

For the past three years, Melissa Woodward and her family have petitioned to legalize recreational marijuana in Palmer Lake. For two years, their campaigning work got the initiative on the ballot, but it failed to pass. This year, the circumstances were different.

This last November, it was put on the ballot by the Board of Trustees, so it wasnt a citizen-led initiative, Woodward said. 

We got a new Board of Trustees that looked very honestly at the financial state of Palmer Lake, and it wasnt good. They looked at options to develop revenue, which came down to cannabis sales or property taxes. Cannabis passed.

Novembers ballot measure passed 55% to 45%, making Palmer Lake only the second municipality to offer retail recreational sales in El Paso County. With marijuana customer having a second option to Manitou Springs without having to drive to Pueblo or Denver, the area is expecting an influx of out-of-towners.

Alpine Essentials is one of two formerly medical-only dispensaries in Palmer Lake that opened its doors to recreational retail sales this weekend.

We dont have any chains, grocery stores or gas stations, Woodward said. Were a town that relies heavily on revenue from small businesses and restaurants.

Woodward said the opposition to the initiative in Palmer Lake mainly fell into two camps; One being individuals who believe marijuana to be a dangerous substance, and then people who fear the amount of traffic it will bring to the small town.

The reality is, all of our small businesses need the traffic and will benefit from it, Woodward said. It (the dispensary) brings in more revenue than just marijuana revenue. Were bringing people to Palmer Lake to explore all the amazing things our little town has to offer; we have great restaurants, we have great shops, and its a spot not everyone in the Springs knows about, but they should.

The dispensary is offering incentives in form of discounts for customers who bring in receipts from other small businesses in Palmer Lake.

We want to be sure that when people come to Palmer Lake to spend money here, its going throughout the entire town and benefiting the other small family-owned businesses, Woodward said.

The dispensary presents a clean look. Greenery and natural wood accents are scattered throughout and soft arches frame the register windows.

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We want everyone to feel welcome. You dont walk in and think youre in a head shop, you walk in and it could be any high-end retail experience, Woodward said.

Woodward said the opening day has brought a true mix of people from all different walks of life.

Its a pretty diverse demographic, just like youd see at a liquor store. People have this idea of what a smoker looks like, what someone who uses cannabis looks like, and its just not that anymore. Woodward said.

By opening their store to recreational sales, Alpine Essentials was able to hire 30 new employees from the area.

Of that group is Shaunice Gilbert, who moved to Colorado to work in the marijuana industry five years ago.

Gilbert came to Alpine Essentials from the medical industry in Colorado Springs, a move that seemed natural to her in wake of the new market present in nearby Palmer Lake.

The medical industry is not doing great in Colorado Springs, because its overly saturated right now. Ive seen a lot of dispensaries closing their doors, Gilbert said, Its amazing that we can spread the medicine to more people in the area. Everyone has been so grateful and happy.

On the medical side of Alpine Essentials is the dispensarys longest-serving employee, Susan Herrera.

A Palmer Lake resident for 17 years, carrying over a decade of experience as a firefighter and EMT, Herrera found her start in the marijuana industry 15 years back after transitioning to holistic medicine from narcotics treatment for her lupus and fibromyalgia.

I was on a lot of narcotics and pain meds, and I had to do something different. I started with cannabis and have been with it ever since. Herrera said.

Herrera participated in campaigning for recreational marijuana sales all three years alongside the Woodwards, and says shes witnessed a change of attitude.

Ive taken a lot of phone calls from locals that are now very excited that cannabis is readily available for them. I think that were getting a younger population moving into the area thats more open-minded toward it.

However, Herrera said she believes the decision truly came from the threat of raising property taxes in wake of the towns exposed financial crisis.

Over our years campaigning, I saw a lot of people who had said 'no' in the past change their minds, Herrera said, I think people were thinking, 'are we going to double or triple our property tax or vote in cannabis? This is attacking our pocketbook now, and we dont want that, so were going to vote it in.'
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced a bill on Thursday that directs the attorney general to develop a regulatory framework that could be enacted as soon as the federal government legalizes marijuana.

The legislation, called the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment (PREPARE) Act, would lay the groundwork for "effective regulation" of the legal sale and use of marijuana, incorporating lessons by states that already have legalized marijuana, including Colorado.

A decade after Colorado pioneered marijuana legalization, Americans overwhelmingly support the same at the federal level, Hickenlooper said in a statement. This bipartisan, bicameral framework, based on Colorados Amendment 64 Task Force, will replicate our success nationally.

The legislation would create a task force to provide recommendations on the regulatory framework, similar to the one Hickenlooper created when he was governor of Colorado. The panel would not have rule-making authority and would only be able to develop proposals.

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) also introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

Im thrilled that the PREPARE Act has been introduced in the Senate, making it not only further bipartisan, but bicameral, and bringing it one step closer to becoming law, Joyce said in a statement.

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This past July, Senate Democrats unveiled legislation that would legalize marijuana at the federal level while creating monitoring requirements from the Food and Drug Administration like those that already exist for tobacco and alcohol. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee but has faced tough opposition from many Republicans in the evenly split Senate. Conservatives cite the rise in traffic fatalities due to growing marijuana usage and argue the plant is a gateway to other drugs.

Proponents of legalized marijuana say it allows the product to be regulated and taxed, while opponents note that black markets subsist even in states that allow it for recreational use.

The public's perception of marijuana is mixed. Sixty-eight percent of people support the legalization of the drug, according to Gallup, though half of the country said it has a negative effect on society.

Another bill intended to simplify and expand research into the medical possibilities of cannabis and cannabidiol as a treatment for certain illnesses was passed in both chambers and is headed to President Joe Bidens desk.

In October, Biden announced he would pardon all prior federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana. Additionally, he urged governors to follow his lead and launched a review of how marijuana is classified under federal law.
One of the greatest aspects of my job running the Independence Institute, writing columns, talking on radio and appearing on TV has been getting to meet some of the most fascinating and influential people in Colorado.

Among the top honors has been becoming friends over the years with John and Maria Castillo. Through them, Ive become to know their beautiful son, Kendrick who saved countless lives on May 7, 2019, by giving his life in taking on mass shooters at the STEM school in Highlands Ranch.

He put himself between bullets and more victims while he and classmates engaged the shooters, brought them down and subdued them.

Through his soft-spoken, mild-mannered and peaceful parents, I feel I know this young man, his love of science and robotics, his fascination with life. The love they have with their only son is stunning, and how they are manifesting that love is even more so. These are two of the most beautiful people Ive had the pleasure to know.

We know Kendrick as the hero who has saved lives. What you might not know is John and Maria Castillo, his still very grieving parents, are every bit the same brave heroes and their work is on course to save even many, many more school children from mass shooters. Theyre doing this in a couple of ways. First, by simply getting the truth out.

The STEM school should be ashamed for its lack of transparency. Its sinful behavior for not providing these grieving parents, all parents, and all other schools with the simple truth of what really happened at the shooting will hamper efforts to prevent similar massacres.

After requests for open records were denied, John and Maria Castillo succeeded in using the recent Claire Davis School Safety Act to find out what really led up to the death of their son and what systems failed to protect him and the other six students injured.

The Castillos were present each time their tenacious and passionate lawyer, Dan Caplis, deposed 20 school staff and others. They obtained thousands of emails and documents. They merely want this information made public.

They know whats in these depositions and documents. I do not.

They believe what it will reveal will, shock the conscience of the public, and will force urgently needed school safety changes.

STEM doesnt want us to know what John and Maria Castillo now know.

STEM has offered the Castillos the maximum compensation allowed under the Claire Davis School Safety Act to keep the info bottled up, $387,000.

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That is an impressive amount of cash, and the Castillos are not people of great means. But they didnt even blink. They immediately turned down the hush money.

STEM is now asking a judge to force them to take the hush money and keep the information buried.

STEMs public relations flak says they dont want the information released because of student privacy and school safety. If this issue wasnt so somber, that would cause a belly laugh.

Any student information, any personal information at all, would of course be fully redacted. And thats not what the Castillos, other parents or the public want to know.

I have no idea what is in those depositions, but if there is some horrifying systematic failure in school security that, if exposed, will put our children in danger, it sure seems like the nut-job kids who spend seven hours a day there have already figured it out. And they will continue to.

In fact, when such a systematic failure is made fully known, media pressure, parent pressure, public pressure will see it resolved faster than keeping it a secret.

Oh, and if it matters, STEM is a public school. And I heard the government was supposed to tell us the truth, otherwise the whole democracy thing breaks down.

Most all the placebo gun control bills in the Colorado Legislature will pass and be signed into law. And it will do nothing to stop the violence.

School shootings will continue.

John and Marys quiet passion and methodic work to get the truth out about the security failures in our schools might provide information needed to save lives. I suspect it might lead to the needed conversation of armed staff.

And the Castillos are brave enough for that conversation, too.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats in the state Legislature have decided that the housing affordability crisis in Colorado is the fault of local municipal zoning laws.

Having come to that conclusion, their solution for the perceived problem is Senate Bill 23-213, a breathtaking usurpation of control of local land use by the state.

The bill would impose top-down State land use standards that would essentially deprive local citizens of meaningful input into the land use practices that directly impact their quality of life.

Here are just a few of the provisions in this 100-plus pages of legislation.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) will be a use as-of-right in every zone that allows single family residential housing, overriding existing covenants and deed restrictions.

Regardless of the neighborhood, the ADU can be a manufactured or modular unit and the occupancy cannot be limited by number or relationship to the homeowners.

Middle housing, including townhomes, duplexes, triplexes (up to sixplexes) will also be a use as-of-right in any single-family residential zone, without consideration of compatibility, minimum lot sizes, setbacks, and with no requirement for off-street parking.

The legislation would also require multifamily development as-of-right in key corridors, which are areas where there is frequent transit service within a quarter of a mile. Again, there would be no requirement of compatibility with surrounding uses and no off-street parking requirement.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs, an historically small bureaucracy with a mission to assist local governments in carrying out their functions, will now become a large bureaucracy charged with regulating and enforcing the state-imposed land use standards.

As mayor of Colorado Springs, my vehement opposition to this power grab by the state stems from my extensive experience in state and local government.

First, its my conviction that, to the extent government has contributed to increases in housing costs in Colorado, the state is the primary culprit. Ever wonder why no one builds condominiums in Colorado?

Condos are a popular housing type that would be more affordable than single-family residences for many of our citizens. But the governor and the Legislature continue to kowtow to trial lawyers by retaining construction defect legislation that makes condominium construction economically unfeasible.

The Legislature has also been enamored with statewide building and energy codes that significantly drive-up housing costs. They are considering a statewide code for construction in the wildland urban interface.

And many of our legislators are captivated by rent control, which every graduate of Economics 101 knows drives up noncontrolled rents and deters multifamily construction.

Im also insulted by the notion that local government officials are too stupid to address housing affordability issues and only our benevolent governor and Legislature have the necessary wisdom.

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While the state has been consistently pursuing a regulatory environment that has increased housing costs, many local governments have been seeking and implementing solutions.

In Colorado Springs, we have dramatically increased our construction of affordable housing units over the past eight years, and we have worked hard to make our land use codes more flexible and encourage a broader range of housing options.

Plan COS was a multiyear project with significant citizen participation. It is a visionary document that promotes greater density and more housing types.

Our City Council recently passed Retool COS, which is the culmination of a three-year effort which incorporates feedback from dozens of community meetings. It enacts changes to our land use code that allows for implementation of PlanCOS. Now, belatedly, the governor and Legislature have decided they can do a better job. Count me very skeptical.

The state legislation will render local citizens voiceless in land use matters that directly impact their neighborhoods and their quality of life. No longer will citizens be able to go to elected city officials and have a meaningful impact on land use decisions.

Now, theyll simply be informed that the land use theyre concerned about is dictated by state law. In my experience, most citizens have a higher level of confidence in local government to hear their concerns than their federal and state government. Local government truly is the government closest to the people.

The state mandated scheme will simply exacerbate the decline in public trust in government.

As a lawyer, I also see a serious state constitutional issue at play. The state constitution recognizes home rule cities and gives them greater autonomy over their affairs than statutory cities and towns.

Apparently, the governor and Legislature believe they can negate the power of home rule cities to do local land use planning by simply declaring this a matter of statewide concern.

I believe that Colorado Springs and other home rule cities can make a very cogent argument to state courts that what our local neighborhoods look like is more an issue of local concern than statewide concern. I predict a period of long and contentious litigation if SB 23-213 becomes law.

Its important to note that nothing in this sweeping legislation assures Colorado residents that it will have a positive impact on housing affordability.

My experience with government regulatory schemes tells me the opposite will occur.

The legislation cannot be implemented without creating a greater regulatory overlay for state and local government and these regulatory costs will ultimately be born by developers and passed onto the consumers of housing. The law of unintended consequences will triumph here, as it does so often.

Every concerned citizen and homeowners association in Colorado should educate themselves on SB 23-213 and contact the governor and state Legislature to let them know they want local government, and not the state government, to decide what their neighborhood and their city looks like.

John Suthers is the mayor of Colorado Springs and the former Colorado attorney general.
Vietnam War Veterans Day

Very few people knew that March 29 was this national day and very few, if any, media sources mentioned it. Fifty years ago, our armed forces returned with no parade or appreciation for their brave service. They were greeted with scorn and anger.

Many returned in coffins or were seriously injured. Then President Donald Trump said that this was the first time that our armed forces returned home from battle with this kind of reception. Thats when he designated March 29 as National Vietnam Veterans Day.

I was stationed at Fort Carson when the commanding general put out the word that we were not to run errands after duty in our uniforms on the way home. Instead, go home, change into civilian clothes, and then run errands. What a shame that we were required to do that to remain safe. We felt angry and betrayed.

USAA sent out an excellent email about this special day. They said that today there are approximately 6 million living veterans from the Vietnam era  more than 30% of our veteran population.

MacKenzie Place, our home, put on a special event on this special day. We had the Ball Room filled with Vietnam vets. Thanks for remembering us.

Thank you, Vietnam veterans, for your courage in war and service to our nation.

Vern Swim

Colorado Springs

Murder is murder

I see the Pride Fest is being moved up to remember the people killed at Club Q. That was tragic to be sure, but what is not talked about often that it was a member of the LGBTQ community that was the perpetrator and he had frequented the club before he went on a murderous rampage. I hope they will also remember the children and staff that were murdered last week at their school by a trans woman/man. The media is staying pretty silent on that information. Murder is murder.

R.A. Parmelee

Colorado Springs

Called to a higher standard

While extolling the virtues of unfettered capitalism as an engine of economic growth and prosperity (which it is), the Gazette Editorial Board misses the point of the higher standard to which we are called  stewardship. Pursuing profit apart from considering the environmental and social impact of profit-making is irresponsible stewardship of the many gifts and resources our Creator has bestowed upon us.

Responsible stewardship requires that we consider the impact of how we treat workers. Otherwise the pernicious exploitation of others to maximize profits (as in the days of child-labor, indentured servitude, sweatshops and slavery) will (and still does in some countries) persist.

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Responsible stewardship requires we consider the impact of our production methods lest we return to the days of polluted waterways and air of the 1970s before Congress passed legislation to regulate how industry stewards the environment while pursuing profit.

I disagree that alone profit motives reward good environmental practices and dissuade social injustice. Tell that to the families of coal miners killed in accidents in Appalachia before OSHA regulating working conditions in the mines.

Responsible stewardship costs money and that sometimes diminishes profits. So be it. I hope the UCCS business school succeeds in its efforts to train next generation business leaders to be good stewards  pursuing profit while also minimizing negative social and environmental impact. This is America  we can do both.

Doug Hunt

Colorado Springs

Arrogant invasion of privacy

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade they stripped our daughters and granddaughters of a 50-year precedent on their rights to freedom, privacy and choice.

There is no medical or dental office, clinic, ER or hospital that doesnt require the patient to sign a HIPAA form. The HIPAA act is a federal law that guarantees privacy for medical conditions, treatment, prescription medications, and that the information will not be released to anyone without the expressed written consent of the patient designating who is allowed to be privy to that information. Pregnancy is a medical condition.

It was an arrogant invasion of privacy by this radical Supreme Court, not only into the medical conditions of young girls and women, but also into the bedrooms of Americans coming between the extremely sensitive, private and personal decisions that husbands make with their wives, that parents make with their daughters and that patients make with their physicians.

In many Republican-dominated states, physicians and OBGYNs are being threatened with fines, jail time and loss of medical licenses for treating their patients.

Abortion is a medical procedure. 99.9 percent of later term abortions are performed to remove a nonvital fetus, one that died in the womb. One young woman in Texas, thrilled to be pregnant with her first baby was told at 4.5 months that her baby would not survive as its brain and skull were not developing. She was treated like a criminal in Texas and forced to travel to Seattle where people stood outside the clinic and called her a murderer. She was heartbroken.

There are five women who along with their OBGYNs are suing the state of Texas. Two of these women were pregnant with twins, one twin died and for the other twin to survive they had to travel out of state for a surgical procedure to abort the nonvital twin.

Three women had complications with torn uteruses, where the embryo had no chance of survival but threatened the lives of these women with sepsis. They, too, were forced to travel out of state for a medically required abortion.

Republican politicians are not physicians or OBGYNs. They need to get completely out of the doctor business.

Karon McCormick

Colorado Springs
As firefighters make progress on the 403 fire, the public's assistance is still appreciated

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.
An El Paso County judge on Friday ruled that surveillance footage from the Club Q shooting will not be released to the public.

The ruling from Judge Michael McHenry came at a motions hearing for alleged Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich, who is accused of killing five and wounding more than a dozen in a shooting at the popular LGBTQ+ nightclub on North Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs.

At Aldrich's motions hearing on Friday afternoon, McHenry was set to rule on the Club Q surveillance footage from the night of the shooting being released to the public, something the prosecution and defense strongly objected to.

McHenry set the motions hearing to allow for any media outlets to file a request to the court to have the footage released. McHenry stated there were no such requests.

In the absences of any objections to the surveillance footage not being released, McHenry ruled the footage wasn't part of the public record.

McHenry also addressed a motion from the defense filed earlier this week regarding evidence in the possession of law enforcement that had not been shared with the defense.

The evidence comes from the communication app Discord, which Aldrich used frequently and, at one point, sent a photo that had been altered to show a rifle scope trained in on a person at a Pride parade.

No further details were disclosed about the evidence Friday, and McHenry set a date of April 21 to discuss the discovery issue further. However, McHenry conceded it was "likely" he would rule in favor of the defense.

At the start of Friday's hearing, a Club Q employee responding to a subpoena request from the defense handed over a USB drive to the court containing surveillance footage from other evenings at Club Q.

A copy of the subpoena obtained by The Gazette shows that the request was for Club Q owner Matthew Haynes to hand over "any and all video surveillance of Club Q between the dates of 2/18/21-11/20/22 to include any still images, audio and video files in your possession or control."

The Club Q employee had no objections to handing over the USB drive when asked by McHenry.

No update was provided by the defense about the status of Aldrich's sanity evaluation, the results of which could play a determining factor in whether Aldrich chooses to plead not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

McHenry warned defense attorney Michael Bowman that even if the defense is not ready to proceed at arraignment on the status that they still may be forced to enter a plea and set a trial date.

Aldrich, who appeared in person to the Friday afternoon hearing wearing an orange El Paso County jail jumpsuit, is expected to enter a plea at the May 30 arraignment hearing. Aldrich currently faces 323 charges.
High, shifting winds caused difficulties for firefighters as they battled the 403 fire near the border of Teller and Park counties.

Mandatory evacuations were lifted at noon Sunday, but those residents remained on pre-evacuation notice.

Efforts to suppress the fire continued as the Courier went to press. Red-flag warnings persist throughout southern Colorado.

As of Saturday, the fire had burned an estimated 1,215 acres, with 25% of the fire contained, according to the official 403 Fire Facebook page run by the National Forest Service.

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

Although no structures had been lost as of Sunday afternoon, they remain threatened.

Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said that the fire is in challenging terrain, making it difficult for firefighters to move toward the fire due to the possibility of wind shifting, creating a dangerous situation for personnel. The terrain has also made it difficult to properly map the fire, Mikesell said.

Current fire updates are sparse due to the firefighters inability to access the fire at this time. Officials said no houses have been lost, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Citizens at the Saturday morning press conference voiced concerns regarding over-alert systems, specifically in Park County. Many residents said they hadnt received any information from the Park County emergency alert system.

A spokesperson from the County said that officials are doing their best.

A commissioner from Park County said they suspect the issue stems from residents proximity to Teller County. The commissioner asked those with issues receiving alerts to provide their contact information and said they are actively looking into where the communication broke down.
With its four-foot height, six-foot wingspan, ear piercing call, and penetrating stare, the crimson-capped sandhill crane is about as charismatic as a wild bird can get.

During spring courtship, crane pairs conduct flamboyant rituals with birds engaging in unison calling while simultaneous conducting graceful wing extensions before leaping into the air in a dramatic and perfectly choreographed nuptial dance. As if that werent enough, the crane is also credited with having the loudest voice of any bird. When conditions are right, the cranes rolling elephant-like trumpeting can literally be heard for miles. Extremely wary, nesting adults stay as far from humans as possible. Their nest sites and newly hatched young are rarely observed.

Wild cranes were once common inhabitants of Iowa bogs and marshlands. During the 1800s, crane flocks containing hundreds, and even thousands of birds, were documented across northern Iowa. But times change. Following the arrival of European settlers, crane numbers began to rapidly dwindle. Relentlessly hunted for food and feathers, pressured by the advent of wholesale wetland drainage, and eventually plagued by the growing popularity of wild bird egg collections, crane populations crashed and then disappeared entirely by around 1900. The states last known nesting of sandhill cranes occurred in May 1894 on a marsh located near Hancock Countys Eagle Lake. This final nesting attempt was unsuccessful when egg collectors looted the nest.

At another nearby wetland, the last breeding pair of Iowa whooping cranes was also setting on eggs. By now, both crane species had become exceedingly rare and serious collectors were paying a premium for their eggs or skins. Consequently, the female whooper was shot while sitting on the nest; her hide and eggs promptly collected. Although the male was pursued at length, the bird eluded capture and was finally driven from the area. A remarkable display of short-sighted greed, the shameful incident marked the very last time that a pair of whooping cranes attempted to nest anywhere in the continental United States. Today, the only self-sustaining population of whooping cranes breeds in northern Canada and winters in Texas. Biologists, mainly as a result of captive breeding projects, are currently attempting to reestablish three whooper populations in the Lower 48. The closest attempt is in Wisconsin.

Faring somewhat better than their larger cousins, a fragile mid-continent population of sandhill cranes managed to survive within the undeveloped reaches of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. These birds have shown significant gains during recent years and are currently expanding their Midwestern range. In 1992, breeding sandhill cranes returned to Iowa when two successful nests were documented at Tama Countys Otter Creek Wildlife Area.

There was more history in the making when, following an absence of more than a century, wild sandhill cranes officially returned to Cerro Gordo County in 2010 when a single crane colt emerged from a nest located in a remote section of the 992-acre Ventura Marsh. Continuing to expand their range and reclaim historic habitats, wild cranes are now nesting in more than 40 Iowa counties; about double the number tallied in 2010.
Deb Nicklay is no stranger to big projects.

For two years, she wrote articles for Our Austin, Our America, an in-depth look at the diversity of Austin, Minn. Nicklay is an Osage resident who once worked for the Globe Gazette in Mason City. After retiring and taking a year off, Nicklay decided retirement did not suit her, and she went to work for the Austin Daily Herald, commuting from Osage.

The book was inspired by a photo exhibit by William Taufic. His work accompanies each story. Originally from Austin, after a time away, he returned to the Midwest and was surprised by the growing diversity of his hometown.

Somebody got the idea of doing the stories that go with the photos, Nicklay said. And thats where I came in.

By that time, Nicklay was well known for her newspaper work in Austin. The group organizing the diversity endeavor contacted her. She became their hired gun.

The writer

Nicklay was born on the East Coast. Having lost both parents at an early age, she and her siblings were raised in the Rochester area.

We probably wouldve ended up in an orphanage if we hadnt had relatives to take us in, Nicklay said. I didnt know how lucky I was until I got older.

In college she earned a teaching degree, but there was a low demand for English instructors. While she had not taken any journalism courses, she could write. That translated well to the newspaper business.

Nicklay is also a member of the Fine Arts Council of Mitchell County. Nicklay and FACMC are currently promoting a memoir writing class.

Nicklay also volunteers at the Mitchell County Historical Society, which will have a new exhibit about Spring Park in Osage opening soon. Her role is finding photos for the exhibit, telling a story through images.

The work

In the beginning, the project committee assigned Nicklay to write 12 of the 40 stories. In the end, she wrote more than half.

The project began in 2019, and by the next year COVID-19 left everyone scrambling. Interviewing became difficult. Long-distance calls and Zoom meetings helped, but the work became protracted. Nicklay had her preference of how things should be done.

As a reporter, I want to do face-to-face interviews, Nicklay said. That was the challenging part, trying to find places to interview during COVID. We did not want to go into homes  we didnt want to be intrusive.

One meeting place became an alcove at the Austin Public Library. Nicklay was not short on subject matter.

Its incredible the amount of immigrant population they have there, Nicklay said.

First, Nicklay had to educate herself about the various regional and ethnic conflicts her subjects were witness to and victims of.

We dont hear enough about them, I dont think, Nicklay said. Or we choose not to read about them. We think of them as those people over there. I learned something from every one of them.

Austin is an example of the American melting pot. People have come from across the world to the region, from Ethiopia, Sweden, Peru, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Sudan, Laos and many other nations. One woman, Nelly Croes, grew up in Nazi-occupied France.

According to Nicklay, three groups make up the largest portion of this diversity, those from Mexico, Africa and Southeast Asia.

All immigrated to the United States or were second generation United States citizens, which have their own challenges, Nicklay said of the people she interviewed. Theyre born in the U.S. but arent always viewed as being American citizens.

The departed

Nelly Croes was in her nineties when she was photographed, but died before Nicklay could formally interview her. However, Nicklay had spoken with Croes in 2016 for an article and was able use that information.

She was quite a lady, Nicklay said.

Nelly Croes described in vivid detail the horror of Nazi-occupied France. After World War II, she married Victor Croes, a chef for the Jay Hormel family.

From one excerpt in the book, after being ordered to evacuate as the Germans bombed a nearby military airfield, her family escaped under the strafing, going from having everything to having nothing. Nelly Croes uncle, along with her sweetheart, were murdered for aiding the French Resistance.

She recalled Jewish neighbors in Paris who jumped to their deaths from the windows of their top-floor apartment rather than be taken by German soldiers who had arrived just minutes before to take them to concentration camps.

When Nelly Croes left Austin to visit France with her children, she met a woman who had witnessed the death of her uncle.

Our Austin, Our America also lost one man to Ethiopian violence. He had returned to his country of birth to take care of his paralyzed father, where he was murdered by the forces he originally fled from. Another man died of lung cancer before his story could be told.

These are a few examples of the books importance  how some stories would be otherwise forgotten. The book sold out of its first edition, which allowed for the printing of a second edition.

I had requests for the book, and I had to tell people there werent any, Nicklay said.

It can be ordered online from the Minnesota Historical Society. The gallery opening was held in March, featuring the photographs that inspired the stories. Some of the subjects of the articles served as greeters.

The forest

The Apolo family owns a grocery store in Austin, but are originally from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. According to Nicklay, they spent 20 years in a refugee camp across the border in Thailand, where they raised five children. The father, Mordecai, lost a leg to a landmine during their escape from civil war.

In camp, where Mordecai went on to make prostheses for others with missing limbs  he told Nicklay he had plenty of business  they would be cautioned not to have candles on at night, because it might signal the wrong side.

Often they fled to the safety of the forest. In one instance, when one of the children was learning about the outdoors, with descriptions of birds and trees in elementary school at Austin, she began shaking uncontrollably because when her family went to the forest, it meant they were escaping from people who wanted to kill them.

Thats one particularly striking story, Nicklay said. And what is probably more striking about it is how optimistic they are after having gone through all of that  they love the United States. Almost everybody I talked to expressed this incredible love to be here, and how safe they felt.

The prison

There are also Austin families who emigrated from the islands of Micronesia, having lost their homes to climate change and rising sea levels.

Theyre sinking, Nicklay said.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, life has not always been better in the United States, at least not immediately.

One man, Elbert Trias from the Philippines, lived a life of crime when he was young. He was 12 years old when he first got involved with California street gangs. Eventually his mother intervened and took him back to the Philippines for three years. Her family still lived in bamboo huts with no electricity, running water or indoor plumbing.

Having grown up speaking English, he had to learn to speak the language of his native county.

Hes kind of a character, Nicklay said.

When Trias came back to the United States, he returned to his criminal ways. After being released from a California prison, he married a woman from Minnesota and settled in Austin. Life was not always easy, but he struggled back from the hole he dug for himself. He later oversaw one of Austins sober living houses.

In Taufics photograph for the article, Trias is shown with a ball of yarn unfolded in a web-like canopy for an Austin Public Library Unity project.

The modest

The appropriately named Modeste Zinzindohoue immigrated to the United States from the West African country of Benin. While he was not fleeing some of the horrors others witnessed, he understands the opportunity he has been given.

Almost everyone from Africa spoke perfect English, Nicklay added.

He came from a family of 33 siblings and had a decent job in Benin as an accountant for an agricultural company, but there was still severe poverty.

As one friend of Modeste said, A starving man is not a free man.

In Taufics photo of him, Modeste is holding two ears of corn and leaning against a John Deere tractor as a business major in college, where he was graduation speaker. He went on to earn a degree in animal science.

I do not want my daughter to beg someone before getting what she deserves, Modeste said. I want her and all my children to come to achieve their full measure of happiness and live peacefully in a country that cherishes freedom. The USA guarantees all of those to us.
Gnats and fruit flies are both small, bothersome insects that become abundant in our kitchens, porches and outside spaces during warm weather months.
WINSTON-SALEM  Working as a cook on a U.S. Merchant Marine ship, Don McMillan used to crack four eggs at a time each morning while prepping breakfast for 6,200 sailors.

And I thought I cooked a lot of eggs, he said. But its nowhere like this.

McMillan stood in a large dining room on Wednesday helping to oversee a massive and meticulous operation, one with direct links to the White House. By Friday, he and his team with The Stocked Pot must have 30,000 eggs boiled, dyed and ready to be eventually shipped to Washington, D.C., for the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn.

This years egg roll is April 10.

Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Crates of pink and blue dyed eggs on Wednesday. The Stocked Pot is hard-boiling and dying 30,000 eggs for the White House Easter Egg Roll.

The team is following eggsact orders from the White House, down to the proper shade of the dyes. The location of the operation is being kept under wraps to keep away any rotten eggs interested in spoiling this beloved American tradition or poaching a few eggs for themselves.

Braswell Family Farms in Nashville has been donating eggs to the egg roll nearly every year since 1997, said Trey Braswell, the company president.

Last year, the American Egg Board, which facilitates the event, asked Braswell Family Farms if it could also dye the eggs.

John Watson, the vice president of marketing and sales for the farm, agreed then later forgot he made that commitment.

I was like, I got myself in a dilemma, Watson said Wednesday.

He reached out to The Stocked Pot, a cooking school and catering company that McMillan started in 1985. McMillans son, Andrew, now owns the company with Andrews wife, Laurie.

The farm and The Stocked Pot have teamed in the past, with the farm providing the eggs and Stocked Pot chefs cooking omelets for cancer patients and doctors at area hospitals during Victory Ride to Cure Cancer events.

Shell game LuLu McMillan dries dyed eggs for The Stocked Pot, which is hard-boiling and dying 30,000 of them for the White House Easter Egg Roll.

When the farm contacted Andrew McMillan last year, he thought his crew at The Stocked Pot was going to boil and dye 12,000 eggs.

I still thought it was a lot of eggs, but I said wed be honored to do this for the White House, Andrew McMillian said. I said give me two weeks, and itll work perfectly. Then the count went up to 14,000, and it became comical. A week before (the event), it went to 18,000.

This year, the farm told The Stocked Pot off the bat that the order would be 30,000.

On Sunday, a crew of 12 people boiled 10,000 eggs that kids at the egg roll will decorate. From Monday through Friday, a nine-person crew is boiling and dying 4,000 eggs each day with a designated color.

Wednesday was green day, by the way.

The day starts at 8 a.m., and ends when the daily quota is met. Ninety eggs at a time are boiled in four different vats of water for 10 minutes then bathed in ice water for four minutes. From there, they head to the dying station before getting packed and sent to a cooler.

Occasionally, the team will crack an egg to make sure the eggs are fully cooked.

Though the days are long, Daphne Fish said she likes thinking about the kids having fun at the White House.

I do landscaping so this is easy work for me, Fish said during a break on Wednesday.

Braswell got to go to the egg roll as a child when George H.W. Bush was president and has never forgotten the thrill of being at the White House.

And now fast forward, and we get to be part of process, and I know the effort were putting into it. Its really cool, he said.

PHOTOS: The Stocked Pot dyes 30,000 eggs for the White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll 30,000 eggs are dyed in Winston-Salem for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll Dying Eggs for White House Easter Egg Roll White House Easter egg prep
Flags remained at half-mast.

The tears in Tennessee had yet to dry.

And, still, here North Carolina Republicans rushed into the legislature last week to override the governors veto of an irresponsible law that repeals gun permits in this state.

Even in the shadow of yet another mass shooting, they couldnt wait it make it easier to own a gun.

Time will reveal the mistakes that we have made, Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough said in a statement.

It didnt take long.

A day later Kimbrough found himself at Forsyth Technical Community College where the campus was locked down after a visiting high school student shot himself in the hand with a gun.

So, here we are.

While Congress does next to nothing about gun violence, state legislatures, like ours, are rolling back gun laws.

And so, only two days after a 28-year-old armed with a map, two assault rifles and a handgun broke into a Nashville Christian elementary school and killed three 9-year-old students, the headmaster, a teacher and a custodian, the General Assembly eliminated gun permits in North Carolina.

Effective immediately.

What a former governor, Pat McCrory, a Republican, called the last line of defense of common sense is no more.

And we will have to live  and die  with the consequences.

Please note how urgently lawmakers will act to loosen gun safety rules. And how sluggishly  if ever  theyll move to address a plague of gun violence that is uniquely American.

The primary sponsor of the vetoed bill, Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, said the repeal would not make individuals less safe.

Ignoring the irony  or being too blind to see it Britt also dared to accuse anyone who invoked the Nashville shooting while questioning the gun permit repeal of trying to score political points.

Last weeks veto override vote means that handgun purchases no longer will require a permit issued by a sheriff after a background check.

Republicans  every one of whom in the House and the Senate voted to override Gov. Coopers veto  cite the end of pistol permits as a triumph of the Second Amendment.

What it actually is, is a cynical and reckless disregard for reality.

Critics of the permitting requirement say it was unnecessary because it duplicated a federal background check. But the federal screening process covers neither most domestic violence convictions in North Carolina, nor checks for pending convictions. Pistol permits were, in fact, the only means in the state to prevent most domestic abusers from owning a handgun.

Theres an infinite amount of loopholes that this bill will shed light on, Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers said.

Why does that matter?

Between 2017 and 2022, 866 Americans who were younger than 17 were shot in domestic violence incidents; 621 of them died. That means three times more children were shot at home as in school and eight times as many lost their lives.

Closer to home, gun-related deaths among children in this state rose by 231.3% between 2012 and 2021, the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force reports.

Meanwhile, those in Congress who want to make changes cant because Republicans wont allow it, preferring to save their outrage for drag queens and critical race theory.

To their credit, some did react quickly  to declare defeat.

Were not going to fix it, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee flatly proclaimed in the wake of the Nashville tragedy.

Criminals are going to be criminals, said Burchett, whose state, like North Carolina, has no red flag law that would empower judges to remove guns from the hands of people who are deemed to pose a danger to themselves or to others.

Meanwhile, Tennessee also has repealed its pistol permit law.

So, Sheriff Kimbrough found himself at Forsyth Tech Thursday, at only one of numerous incidences of gun violence in the Triad.

And as more children continue to die, fools rush in in Raleigh to protect their precious guns.
" " Jayne Bigelson compares her experience with maladaptive daydreaming to drinking alcohol. Some people can handle it, but for others it just takes over. Benjiecce/Getty Images

There was no label for Jayne Bigelson's unusual habit. For hours a day, she'd weave elaborate storied daydreams in her mind. When she was a child, she did it while walking in circles and shaking a string. When she got older, she learned how to do it standing still.

They were pleasant daydreams. She describes them like personal screenings of sitcoms in which she played a starring role. Stories about joining the "Brady Bunch" on a family vacation or hanging out with members of "General Hospital." But they had become all consuming.

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"At the end of the day, it's kind of like alcohol. A lot of people can drink wine and think it's great. There's nothing wrong with daydreaming in this fashion, either. But for some people, it takes over," she says during an interview. "With me it was all day, every day."

The frustrating part was that no one believed her. Her parents and therapists told her there was no such thing as excessive daydreaming, and she should embrace this "special talent."

Eventually, Bigelson was prescribed the antidepressant fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) known to help with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The immersive daydreams eventually stopped and Bigelson moved on.

But 15 years later, the Harvard Law School graduate began to wonder again whether anyone else suffered from obsessive daydreaming. That was the early 2000s, and the internet was becoming a treasure trove of information. Google eventually led her to Eli Somer, Ph.D.'s 2002 paper, "Maladaptive Daydreaming: A Qualitative Inquiry." Finally, she had validation that her symptoms were real, and proof she wasn't alone.
The juxtaposition of April Fools Day and Palm Sunday offers unique view into the meaning of Palm Sunday.

Among many legends about the origin of April Fools Day, one has it rooted in Noahs prematurely releasing a dove from the ark to find land signaling the receding of waters and the end of the flood.

In Genesis we read that the dove could find no place to set its feet because water still covered the surface of the Earth. It was only the second dove that later returned with a twig signifying the receding waters.

The first dove was sent on a mission that was impossible to complete, the meaning of the popular idiom in the English language - fools errand.

On Palm Sunday, Christians recall Jesus triumphal entry to Jerusalem initiating a series of events culminating in his execution. The event is one of the few events recorded by all four accounts of his ministry known as the Christian Gospels.

Clearly, Jesus triumphal entry to the heavily fortified city of Jerusalem was a significant event, not only to the people of Jesus day, but to Christians throughout history and even other religious movements.

The inevitable outcome of these final days in Jerusalem was driven by Jesus deliberate decision, recorded by the Gospel of Luke. Herein we read that when the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem and publicly challenge the Roman emperors self-description as Son of God.

Regardless of ones interpretation of the religious significance of these events, one cannot deny that they set in motion a history-changing movement known as Christianity and honored by other world religions. From the moment of his birth, Jesus was targeted for death by the mighty Empire of Rome. Romes hesitancy in carrying out this act throughout his brief ministry was undoubtedly rooted in Jesus popularity by the peasant populace and Romes fear of uprising.

The Gospels report Jesus movements throughout Galilee for several years, reportedly performing healing miracles, offering forgiveness to the unforgiveable, and carefully walking the line separating political and religious proclamations. He talked about a new kingdom where the poor and powerless find hope and something called eternal life.

These were fighting words that Rome feared would upset the social order.

In advance, Jesus prepared his disciples for his inevitable death. He entered the jaws of death on a donkey to symbolize his humility in contrast the to the emperors lavish comings and goings. Peasant well-wishers lined his path with palm branches, shouting Hosannah which means God save us. After a hastily and scripted trial Jesus was executed by Rome. For a time, his disciples hid out of well-founded fear of their own executions until they experienced his presence, even after his death. Christians know the rest of the story which is celebrated on Easter.

As we read the gospels, we see an individual who did nothing without a purpose.

It seems Jesus entire life was scripted, and maybe it was. His life embodied the promise that God always leads his people to a better place. Some familiar with this story may interpret Jesus entry into Jerusalem as an act of another martyr who sacrifices his life to inspire the living. But this was much more than a person sacrificing his life for a principle, one who, like Joan of Arc, is adored for a while and then forgotten.

For Jesus, this was an act of revelation of the creators intent for a life that transcends the ups and downs of the human experience and finds fulfillment in love and forgiveness among all people.

Having satisfied the populace of his power to relieve suffering and to put their ugly pasts behind us, he now must embody the eternal nature of the human experience.

Jesus decision was not a fools errand with no hope of accomplishment.

Instead, it was the fulfillment of the creators greatest desire for human confidence that there is much more to life that working, eating, breathing, working and surviving. Life, he taught, has an eternal quality that transcends the fears and struggles of the present. This is the crux of Jesus life and also of the Christians faith mirrored in many ways by those who seek the Holy One in different religious traditions.

Unless we understand this, our collective faith is in vain -- a mirage and platitudes offered to the dying, I recently sat by the bedside of a member of my congregation in her final days.

She was significantly weakened by her 95 years and was without sight. I read the Commented [RH1]: 23rd Psalm to her. I read her life story written by a grandchild for our church newsletter, and she faintly commented on some of her life experiences.

We prayed together. Then, with a weak voice, she whispered to me that all she wants is to go to heaven. I then I shared my faith that her greatest wish was being granted. She grasped my hand and passed away a few days later. On my leaving her bedside, a health care aide acknowledged to me the difficulty of moments like these.

I agreed, it is always difficult. But I also thought that I was honored to be able to provide her with a vision of the eternal nature her human life, revealed by Jesus in his life, his final days, and in the lives of millions.

Jesus triumphal entry to Jerusalem and associated events culminating in Easter was no fools errand.

As I am writing this article, my television screams news of another mass shooting involving children and caring adults. Again, the nation was shocked. My news screen simultaneously informs me of a prominent member of U.S. Congress, responding to the presidents renewed call for eliminating public access to military weapons. The congressman declared that we have gone as far as we can with guns.

Thank goodness Jesus set his face on Jerusalem, surely against all advice from his loved ones suggesting his trip to be a fools errand. That trip changed the world.

Perhaps Palm Sunday can be a day when we as a nation, against all resistance and advice that it is a fools errand, can set our collective faces on the evil of gun violence in our country.

If we do the promise of Palm Sunday eventually will be fulfilled.
East Helena officials' pro-growth mentality over the past decade has laid the foundation for the town to more than quadruple its housing stock over the next decade.

East Helena, which has a population of about 2,000, now has about 900 housing units. With major housing and commercial developments planned by Helena Area Habitat for Humanity and Billings-based Oakland Companies among others, the town stands to gain around 2,300 mixed-income housing units, a manufacturing facility and a new commercial district just south of U.S. Highway in the next two to three years.

The local Habitat's proposed project, in partnership with Power Townsend, incorporates 300 homes, including single-family units, smaller town homes and a multi-family apartment complex, in addition to a Power Townsend manufacturing facility.

Some of the lots will be sold to private developers for market-rate homes to offset the cost to build Habitat's affordable units whose resale value is capped to maintain affordability.

The nonprofit's Executive Director Jacob Kuntz said they are about 18 months from breaking ground on the more than 100 acres.

A subsidiary of Billings-based Oakland Companies is closing on 750 acres next door for a development incorporating about 2,000 home sites, both multi- and single-family, a commercial corridor along State Highway 282 and dedicated land for the city of East Helena and the East Helena Rodeo grounds.

"It'll be a beautiful area," Oakland Companies CEO Gary Oakland said, "with lots of green space."

The proposed development will be adjacent to about nine miles of Prickly Pear Land Trust trails and green space that follows the restored Prickly Pear Creek from the area to Montana City.

Both sites are now under contract. Development in that part of East Helena has been stalled for 20 years as the Asarco smelter lands remediation work was being completed by Montana Environmental Trust Group.

That work is largely done, and Kuntz said he expects to close the deal with Montana Environmental Trust Group early this summer.

"In 10 years, East Helena is going to look completely different. In 20 years, there's the possibility of 7,000 to 9,000 new homes being built," Kuntz said.

Oakland Companies is completing a similar build known as Highland Meadows that will see the addition of 350 more home sites to a parcel near the city's new high school.

But such major development requires more infrastructure and essential services, things only East Helena can provide.

"We're open for business because we can be," East Helena Mayor Kelly Harris said in an interview during a recent Helena-area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Harris was referring to what he called the "foresight" of former East Helena Mayor Terrie Casey, who during her tenure witnessed the shut down of Asarco that at one time paid annual property taxes of more than $1.2 million and employed more than 300 people with an annual payroll of more than $7 million.

Casey and the City Council annexed the land now poised for massive development more than a decade ago to gain back some of the lost tax revenue.

Oakland said he has developed many home sites in the region and has never seen anything like this site.

"It's a unique tract of land," he said. "I don't know of another of that size that's already annexed, zoned and within city limits."

East Helena officials now have to make the proposal a reality, and Harris said he believes they are up to the task.

"It's just about being supportive of not only new development, but also new businesses," he said.

City officials and staff have held near weekly meetings for months with representatives of Oakland Companies, Helena-area Habitat for Humanity, Montana Environmental Trust Group, major area employers and neighbors of the proposed development American Chemet and other stakeholders to facilitate the development by ensuring it has services it needs to function and helping to guide it in a way that as Harris put it is "respectful of the people who already live here."

Kuntz said the city has created an "encouraging environment where they treat us like partners."

"They're literally around a table trying to figure out how to get this done instead of sitting back and waiting for applications to come through," he said. "And they're going to have a better community because of it."

Building on the foundation laid by previous city administrations post smelter collapse and super fund site designation, East Helena's current leadership is attempting to rise to the occasion.

East Helena City Councilman Wes Feist echoed Harris' sentiment.

"We're pro-growth, but we're making sure development occurs responsibly, not on the backs of our current residents," Feist said.

One of the critical needs for future development is water and sewer service, something not readily available south of Highway 12.

Feist said the city took its allocation of American Rescue Plan Act money and competitive state grants and "put it in the ground."

The city is working on a $3.6 million upgrade to its waste water system and replacing miles of aging water and wastewater pipes.

American Chemet CEO Bill Shropshire said in an email his company is working with the city to help fund a wastewater lift station to deliver wastewater from the south side of the highway into the city's sewer system.

"We're doing that for not only future growth but for existing residents," Feist said. "We're making sure this is done responsibly and will provide opportunities for residents."

East Helena's Public Works Department is contracting out residential development plan reviews to Helena-based WWC Engineering and engineering firm Robert Peccia and Associates.

East Helena Public Works Director Kevin Ore said the city is turning around residential plan reviews in about a week.

Local developer Mark Runkle recently told the Independent Record the city of Helena's turnaround time for such reviews lately is about two weeks.

Helena's Public Works Department, amid numerous vacancies within its engineering staff, similarly began contracting out grant writing work to Great West Engineering and is in the process of hiring more engineers to tackle the backlog.

Helena City Commissioner Andy Shirtliff said "East Helena has done it right."

"They've teamed up with the private sector, applied for grants, they're laying all new pipes," Shirtliff said. "East Helena is planning for the next decade."

He said while Helena is "always open" to development, it could learn some things from its neighbor, such as "finding ways to streamline business processes."

"My hope is to be more of a partner," he said.

Fellow Helena City Commissioner Sean Logan noted the tight construction schedules in a place like Helena.

"Part of it is responsiveness," he said. "If it takes weeks to get an answer from city staff, that's weeks off the construction schedule."

When asked what he hopes East Helena will look like in the near future, Harris said "I hope it looks like the same old East Helena we know and love, but with more opportunities to grow and advance."

Editor's note: This story has been updated from earlier version to correct a quote from developer Mark Runkle.
As we enter the month of April, the 2023 Montana Legislature rolls into its fourth and final month of the regular session, the Republican controlled, super majority of both Houses appears intent to pass unneeded legislation that is damaging to the very fabric of Montanas Constitution and statutes.

As a backdrop, take note of the unprecedented number of laws passed by the 2021 Legislature which were successfully challenged in court. Over 20 legal actions were filed challenging a variety of laws passed by the 2021 Legislature and signed by the governor.

These cases were filed in various district courts throughout Montana. Of the district court judicial decisions rendered, some resulted in the cases being dismissed at the district court level and some resulted in the Montana Supreme Court finding the challenged laws to be unconstitutional. The entire process needlessly consumed way too much time and money paid for by you - the Montana Taxpayers.

Based on our experience it is clear some legislators didnt heed the advice of those who are constitutional experts with their admonitions that some legislation could be or will be found to be unconstitutional. Whatever the reasons, we suggest as a Legislature you proceed with deep respect for the viability and well-reasoned contents of the Montana Constitution. Reflect on the motivation and rationale behind the law making that went into crafting the laws stricken down. Honestly ask yourselves: Are those laws really needed? Are they in the best interest for the common good of the people of Montana? Will they end up wasting hard-earned taxpayer money trying to defend frivolous and unconstitutional legislation?

Because the 2021 Legislature passed frivolous legislation which the Supreme Court deemed to be unconstitutional, the current fringe-controlled Legislature now wants to do away with the constitutional separation of powers by passing another set of frivolous laws intended to either assert control over, or neuter the judicial branch.

We hope our elected legislators are very circumspect when considering and proposing changes to the Montana Constitution.

Our Montana Constitution, crafted over 50 years ago by a group of Montana citizens from all walks of life, is regarded by constitutional scholars as a commendable example of a citizen delegation composing a very polished document - a document upon which all laws of our state are hinged.

Did the framers of the constitution expect it to remain static?

No. Montanas Constitution affords the mechanisms for it to be in a dynamic state. However, changes to the constitution should be implemented in a systematic, thoughtful, non-emotional and deliberative manner.

As elected representatives and senators, the Montana Legislature needs to be reminded of their responsibility to safeguard taxpayer money and avoid the expensive legal problems caused by the 2021 Legislature.

You owe this to the people of Montana.
Authorities say one person was killed and dozens were injured when the roof collapsed Friday night during a concert at an Illinois theater.

Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the venue at the time. 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.

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.

A staffer working at Rockfords Saint Anthony Medical Center said they treated 12 patients, none of whom had died. The staffer said the victims were split among three hospitals.

Belvidere Mayor Clint Morris wife told the Chicago Tribune late Friday that he remained at the scene of the Apollo Theater, 104 N. State St., where the roof collapsed. The city is approximately 70 miles northwest of Chicago.

Morris dropped everything to hustle over there when it happened.

Hes worried about the residents, said the mayors wife, who asked to not be named.

The establishment was formerly a movie theater, she said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his administration was closely watching the situation.

"Ive been in touch with officials for updates and to direct any available resources we can," he said in a social media post.

My administration is closely monitoring the roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere tonight.



Ive been in touch with officials for updates and to direct any available resources we can.



As we learn more, please follow the guidance of all local authorities.  Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) April 1, 2023

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, whose 11th Congressional District includes much of Belvidere, said he was monitoring the situation and headed back to Illinois.

The damage came as part of the monster storm system that tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes and threatening a broad swath of the country home to some 85 million people.

Elsewhere 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.

At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock, Arkansas, 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.

Tornadoes moved through parts of eastern Iowa, with sporadic damage to buildings. Images showed at least one flattened barn and some houses with roofing and siding ripped off.

In Oklahoma, wind gusts of up to 60 mph fueled fast-moving grass fires. People were urged to evacuate homes in far northeast Oklahoma City, and troopers shut down portions of Interstate 35.

The Chicago Tribune contributed.

Photos: Tornado collapses northern Illinois theater roof
Photo: The Canadian Press Na'moks, a spokesman for the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, holds a press conference in Smithers, B.C., Tuesday, Jan.7, 2020, on the one-year anniversary of RCMP enforcement of an injunction granted to Coastal GasLink. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amy Smart

It was only after his flight landed in Toronto last year that Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief NaMoks learned that Royal Bank of Canada had cancelled its in-person annual general meeting with less than a day's notice.

The bank cited COVID-19 as the reason it moved the event entirely online, but those assembled to protest the banks climate record were left wondering if there was more to it andNaMoks says he was insulted that executives werent willing to face him.

Undeterred, he is trying again this year. Na'Moks will head to Saskatoon for the bank's April 5 meeting, where he plans to share his concerns about its fossil fuel funding and encourage the assembled shareholders to support a resolution related to respecting Indigenous rights.

Dave McKay, hes the CEO, but he has to listen to the people that do business with him, said NaMoks.

The resolution he's pushing, put forth by the B.C. General Employees Union with the support of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, is just one of many Canada's big banks face as climate activists increasingly look to shareholder proposals to shift corporate policy.

Theyre a really important tool for investors to catalyze change," said Catherine McCall, executive director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, which represents the interests of institutional investors.

They can introduce issues to management and the board that are important, and they can signal how important they are to investors.

RBC faced its first climate-related shareholder proposal in 2018, while this year it has five going to a vote. There are also three resolutions at Toronto-Dominion Bank going to a vote, two at Bank of Nova Scotia, and one each at Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada as activists increasingly focus on banks as key intermediaries in the climate fight.

They're invested everywhere, and they lend everywhere, said Jennifer Story, associate director of climate advocacy at the Shareholder Association for Research & Education (Share).

So they have a phenomenal ability to accelerate change on behalf of corporate issuers in Canada and elsewhere, if they choose to leverage it.

Share, on behalf of its institutional clients, has put forward a resolution for Scotiabank's April 4 AGM looking for more detail on how the bank will be assessing the transition plans of its high-emission clients.

Scotiabank said in its proxy circular response that the proposal was "overly onerous, prescriptive, and not aligned with industry practice," and that it was surprised to see it filed as it was in ongoing engagement about it.

It was only after talks stalled that Share decided to elevate the issue with a shareholder proposal, said Story.

In essence the dialogue broke down, and we were disappointed in the lack of progress over almost a year and decided that this was the best route to take.

Those pushing resolutions emphasize that its not so much about a simple pass or fail on these votes (they are non-binding even if they pass), but more about allowing them to engage with other shareholders, a way to communicate and create dialogue around the issues.

There are ripple effects that go on throughout the year after the dust has settled at the AGM, thats not the end point," said Matt Price, director of corporate engagement at Investors for Paris Compliance, which filed a resolution at TD pushing for more details on how it will achieve its 2030 financed emissions targets.

The proposals do also give the option for major shareholders to make a statement, with even small percentages of support representing billions of dollars of investments, said Richard Brooks at Stand.earth.

The resolutions are meant to send a message to management, said Brooks, head of the group's climate finance program, which submitted a proposal calling for RBC to set a deadline for when it will stop funding new fossil fuel developments.

The message is getting louder, he said, as bigger shareholders step into the fray.

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which has $231 billion in assets under management, said on March 22 that it would be using its voting power to promote corporate practices that address climate change, and that it's ready to vote against directors when boards fail to prepare.

And this year RBC also faces a proposal about setting absolute emission reduction targets from the New York City Comptroller, which oversees the citys US$242 billion portfolio of pension funds.

Absent a concrete plan to reduce absolute emissions in the real world in the near term, any net zero-plan rings hollow, said Comptroller Brad Lander in a statement announcing the proposal, while noting that BMO and numerous international banks have already set hard targets on emission reductions.

RBC said in its response, recommending shareholders vote against it, that while it recognizes the importance of reducing absolute emissions, only intensity-based ones are appropriate at this point in the banks transition journey.

As with its response to Stand.earths proposal, RBC went on to note the need to continue to engage with clients in high emitting sectors, rather than simply reducing emissions by cutting off their funding, as part of an orderly transition.

This is why RBCs goal to achieve net-zero in our lending by 2050 is intended to balance the needs of people and planet.

For NaMoks, the banks talk is little more than greenwashing.

It really bothers me when you read their statements of 'by 2050, well do this'. You know how much damage is going to happen to this planet by 2050 if they continue the way they are? he said.

Things have to happen now. We've had decades to prepare, and make sure we're not in the climate crisis we're in, and it was all about money and they kept moving forward.

He'll be looking for allies within RBC investors for the resolution on how the bank assesses how well clients have implemented free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples, as well as on climate action.

Money talks; that's the world right, that is their world, said Na'Moks. It will be the shareholders and those who do business with RBC that will make the difference. Thats how it operates. So they just need to listen.
HICKORY  The recently organized Catawba County Women Who Care held their first impact meeting Thursday evening, March 30, at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in northwest Hickory.

The group, an organized giving circle, is excited to have exceeded their initial membership goal of 100 women. The organization, which now has more than 145 members, is accepting membership commitments and hopes to increase their ability to collectively give more money to local charities.

The members meet three times annually to decide which local nonprofit will be the recipient of their collective gift. The meetings last one hour.

The inaugural event was particularly exciting as over 100 members were in attendance and experienced an initial vote in which two of the three charities in consideration tied for first place. A run-off vote was held, and in a very narrow margin, Exodus Homes of Hickory was named the award recipient.

Members pay the nonprofit directly with their check or online contribution within seven days of the event. The sum received from the event should culminate in a collective gift of $14,500-plus for the nonprofit to utilize as they see fit.

The group was formed this year by seven local women, shown in the photo, and will hold their next meeting on Sept. 12, 2023 at First Presbyterian Church in Hickory.

For more information, email CatawbaCountyWomenWhoCare@gmail.com. Any interested parties are welcome to attend the impact meetings to learn more.
I was a little early for my appointment with Kim Holden, executive director of the Catawba County Partnership for Children, and Ashley Benfield, program director for the Childrens Resource Center at 738 Fourth St. SW in Hickory.

As I waited in the resource centers front sitting room, I noticed a stack of forms on an end table. All were titled Our Nest Diaper Pantry. Parents who are struggling to pay for diapers, which are very expensive, can complete forms and then receive complimentary diapers. The center is able to provide this service thanks to generous donations.

Catching my attention on the forms was a list of other services available to families thanks to the Childrens Resource Center: car seats, childcare referral, Dolly Partons Imagination Library (free childrens books!), parenting classes, and so on. I wasnt surprised. Catawba County, as well as counties around it, is chock-full of agencies, organizations, and institutions working to address the needs of its residents.

Whether the need is a continuing struggle such as hunger and homelessness or a new crisis like the lack of childcare workers that grew substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, theres always one or more groups brainstorming and implementing measures to address the predicaments.

Which is why I was at the resource center. Because of the already large and growing need for childcare workers, the Catawba County Partnership for Children teamed with the Alexander County Partnership for Children to plan and execute an Early Childhood Academy to train workers, with classes taught at Catawba Valley Community College.

The first academy, the pilot, took place Jan. 23 to Feb. 2 with 11 participants. Their ages ranged from early 20s to 50s. The success of the pilot gave planners good reason to host a second academy, which will take place in June. And, if things continue on a positive path, there will be at least two academies per year.

First, to clarify, the Catawba County Partnership for Children is not a county government agency. Its a private nonprofit that receives much support from county agencies, one of which is CVCC. Kim Holden suggested that holding the academy on CVCCs main campus was a neat thing for the students. It provided a way for students to be on campus, where they felt comfortable, said Kim.

The students, all women, attended eight half-day sessions, the cost for which was paid with donations. Future academies will come with small tuition costs, but participants can apply for scholarships. The good news is that as soon as students graduate from the academy, they can begin working in a childcare classroom as stated on a flyer about the academy: Upon completion of this Early Childhood Academy, individuals will have an employment portfolio of training certificates required by the state of North Carolina and will be immediately eligible for employment in the field of early childhood care and education.

A number of trainers led the many and varied sessions, including CPR and first aid, health and safety, playground safety, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), fire safety, and whats known as Foundations, meaning students became familiar with an early childhood curriculum, the North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development.

There also were guest speakers sharing information on a number of topics, such as different early childhood career opportunities and community resources and how to access them. Among the speakers were Kim and Ashley, who shared about the Childrens Resource Center and how it can be a resource for the women as they move into childcare positions.

There was so much content to learn, said Ashley about the academy, but they came every day, enthusiastic and ready to learn. When surveyed after the programs conclusion, the students said they would have liked even more classes.

One participant was especially excited because she plans to open a childcare center, which will require much preparation. The academy connected her with many people, agencies, and resources, the community of childcare resources we have here, Ashley pointed out, adding that the Childrens Resource Center offers free consultations to anyone interested in opening a childcare facility. Theres a great deal involved, and potential owners/directors have their work cut out for them. Just a few considerations are square footage requirements, room arrangements, and quality indicators, whereby state representatives go into a center and assess the program and the facility, looking at everything, including simple things such as the number of books and toys.

Additionally, all academy students were fingerprinted and their backgrounds checked, so these two requirements for employment were taken care of, making it even easier for graduates to move right into jobs.

On the last day of the academy, participants heard about job openings in the area. Ashley said anyone interested in a job in the childcare field can find a list of opportunities at childrensresourcecenter.org.

Kim said the last time Catawba County was surveyed concerning childcare, openings showed a need for 125 workers.

Kim and Ashley pointed out that graduating from the academy does not mean the women can be alone with children. They can work as assistants. But they have good foundations for taking the next step toward becoming full-fledged early childhood classroom teachers: enrolling in Introduction to Early Childhood (EDU 119) at CVCC. This class is required by the state of North Carolina for all early childhood educators. There are scholarships available through NC Works to pay for the class.

Three Early Childhood Academy graduates already have enrolled in EDU 119. Two others are working at area childcare facilities.

Kim and Ashley concluded by pointing out how collaborative the academy was, emblematic of all the collaboration we have with our partner agencies, said Ashley.

So, from an area task force created to address the shortage of childcare center workers  a crisis that hurts both families and businesses  came the idea of an academy, and, though still in its infancy, it already is proving successful.
When the accident at Chernobyl occurred, Pripyat  located just under 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the nuclear plant  was in a perilous spot.

"Since the radiation doses and levels of contamination are generally highest in the region within a few miles of an radiological release, individuals located that close were clearly in serious danger from both exposure to the radioactive plumes and to contamination of the ground and structures," explains Edwin Lyman, a physicist and director of nuclear power safety for the Union of Concerned Scientists, who visited the city 20 years later.

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"However, at the time of the Unit 4 explosion early in the morning on April 26," he says, "the prevailing winds were to the west and did not blow directly in the direction of Pripyat, so fortunately the town did not encounter the highest dose rates immediately following the accident, and the residents were largely spared the worst consequences."

" " Dolls and a gas mask were left behind in a kindergarten in Pripyat. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images

Even so, Lyman notes, air dose rates ranged up to 0.01 rem per hour in Pripyat on the day of the explosion  hundreds of times the normal background rate.

"To put that in perspective, international standards generally recommend that members of the public do not receive more than 0.1 rem from artificial sources in an entire year, and standards such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's protective action guides recommend evacuation if the expected dose will exceed 1 rem (whole-body exposure) in four days," Lyman writes in an email. "In addition, there was a distinct risk from inhalation of radioactive iodine in the plume. Thus, prompt evacuation of these areas was clearly appropriate."

The authorities hesitated to order an evacuation until late evening on the day of the accident, Lyman says. Though the town was cleared of people by the following day, the average whole-body dose to the Pripyat evacuees was estimated at around 2 rem, according to Lyman.

"This was well below the dose at which acute effects occur, but could increase the lifetime risk of cancer by a few percent," Lyman says. "However, thyroid exposures were more significant, especially for young children. Even though the evacuees were given stable potassium iodide, they delayed taking it until it was too late."

How much the radiation affected their health remains unclear. A 2021 paper published in Frontiers in Endocrinology found that the rate of thyroid cancer increased in people who lived in the Chernobyl region, but the health of Pripyat's evacuees wasn't broken out in the study.
Everyone knows that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America in 1492, even though he never set foot in North America and died insisting that he had found a Western route to Asia. So why didn't the makers of the 1507 Waldseemuller map name the newly discovered lands "Columbia" instead of "America"?

Probably because Columbus didn't write a best-selling pamphlet about his travels full of sex, violence and naked cannibals like his fellow Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to the New World a decade after Columbus.

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"Vespucci was a better self-promoter than Columbus," says Van Duzer, "and his accounts are more lurid, shall we say, than Columbus's, so they were reprinted more often."

Vespucci published two wildly popular accounts of his voyages to the New World. The first, written in 1504, was called "Mondus Novis" and clearly asserted Vespucci's claim that the lands across the Atlantic were indeed a new continent, not an extension of Asia or just a big island.

"For this transcends the view held by our ancients... that there is no continent to the south beyond the equator, but only the sea which they named the Atlantic," wrote Vespucci. "But that this their opinion is false and utterly opposed to the truth, this my last voyage has made manifest; for in those southern parts I have found a continent more densely peopled and abounding in animals than our Europe or Asia or Africa." By following the South American coast to just 400 miles (643 kilometers) short of Tierra Del Fuego, Vespucci was convinced that he was traveling around a new continent.

"Mondus Novis" also included plenty of colorful details about the curious natives, whom Vespucci depicted as gentle and almost childlike in nature, but nevertheless barbarous and decidedly un-Christian in their customs, which included facial piercings, cannibalism and sexual promiscuity.

A second pamphlet known as the "Soderini Letter," which may not have been written entirely by Vespucci, made the rounds in 1505. The disputed text doubled down on Vespucci's descriptions of the naked locals and provided play-by-play accounts of a few violent clashes between Vespucci's men and the more aggressive tribes.

In one "laughable affair," Vespuccis men welcomed some of the more adventurous Indians onto their ship where the Europeans decided to "fire off some of our great guns."

"[A]nd when the explosion took place, most of them through fear cast themselves (into the sea) to swim, not otherwise than frogs on the margins of a pond, when they see something that frightens them, will jump into the water, just so did those people," wrote Vespucci. "[A]nd those who remained in the ships were so terrified that we regretted our action."
The Concord Police Department is seeking assistance locating two missing male juveniles who were taken from a neighbor's yard Saturday, according to a press release.

Police said on Saturday, April 1, at 6:54 p.m., officers were dispatched to a possible kidnapping at 71 Wilshire Ave. SW in Concord. When officers arrived on the scene, they were informed that two young male juveniles were taken from a neighbors yard where they were playing, and put into a white vehicle (unknown make) by an adult black male.

The two juveniles are brothers, and the adult black male is believed to be their father.

The juveniles live with their grandmother at 63 Apartment A, Wilshire Ave. SW. The father is possibly en route to Texas or Florida, where he has additional family members.

The missing

Josiah Brooks, 8, 4 5 tall, 55-65 pounds, 63 Apartment A, Wilshire Ave, SW, Concord, NC 28025

Aaron Toliver, 11 years old, DOB: 09/11/2011, B/M, 4 8 tall, 70-80 pounds, 63  Apartment A. Wilshire Ave. SW, Concord, NC 28025

A person of interest

The juveniles father is a person of interest in this investigation, and he is describes as:

Aaron Eugene Toliver, 35, 5 7 tall, 160-170 pounds, who resides at 553 Spring St. SW, Concord, NC 28025.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 911 or the Concord Police Department at 704-920-5000.
I must go down to the sea again  to the lonely sea and the sky. And all I ask  is for Highway 12 to be rebuilt. And for county, state or federal money to pay for beach renourishment, so my house will not be swept into the ocean. We have a house on the inner banks that we have rebuilt twice and raised once. And friends, its time to rethink coastal development. When we lived in Elizabeth City, in the Albemarle area, the old Oregon Inlet Bridge was compromised after noreasters and hurricanes. As the inlet was shifting, there was wrangling over how much money it was going to take to keep the bridge open.

An old Salt in Nags Head once told us, If the ocean wants to open an inlet, she opens it. And if she wants to close it, it closes. Living with the dynamics of a coastline is something we who plant a stake in the sand dont quite understand.

Recent pictures and articles on the encroaching ocean gobbling up land and houses at Rodanthe are a reminder that this trend of sea rise continues. They moved the Hatteras Light. Nicolas Sparks Rodanthe House was eerily eroded. I remember a weekend with a friend with a house at Kitty Hawk before 1984. The house next door was swept away in a Noreaster. When we lived in the area, it was not uncommon for Nags Head homes to be swallowed whole.

Dont get me wrong. I love the beach. I acknowledge the income that comes from tourism. We need solutions in sustainability and stewardship of the coastline. I hope people a whole lot smarter than me are working toward plans that will protect the coastline and natural habitats for birds and sea creatures. But we who own property and pay taxes in these vulnerable places have responsibility in this too.

I love the Inner Banks of the Neuse River and the home we have owned since 1969. But we have seen the landscape change. The sand in front of our cottage on River Road was over 30 feet out, even in 1996. Since then, after hurricanes like Irene, when we were losing shoreline quickly, we decided to build a bulkhead. A bulkhead actually creates a dynamic that takes sand away. So much for a personal solution to a natural process that no amount of money will slow.

For much of Pamlico and Craven counties, the landscape is still littered with flooded out houses and buildings that have never been repaired. It looks apocalyptic in its unaddressed destruction. Homeowners dont have the money or the will to clean up. Local municipalities and counties dont have the money or manpower to manage all the damage.

We owned property in Watauga County years ago when a high-rise condominium was built on Sugar Mountain. The sunset across the mountain tops was interrupted in such dramatic ways that advocates and activists pressed the government to write Ridge Laws that regulated what could be built on mountain ridges.

What would advocacy and activism at North Carolinas coast look like? I know there are river water advocates who voice concern about water quality. I also know that routinely Oriental and sometimes downtown New Bern flood, even at high tides.

I dont think there is enough money, either individually or publicly to turn the tide on this problem. The water will continue to rise and much of eastern North Carolina is very low land. There is a New Testament Scripture in Matthew 7 that speaks to the human folly of building a house on the sand.

Native peoples who occupied this land knew a level of living with nature and changes in rivers and shorelines. Their stewardship is a model of how we are called to live in the world without imposing our own desires on every aspect from coastline building to daylight savings time.

Things on the North Carolina coastline will continue to change around us. Reide Corbett, executive of the Coastal Studies Institute at ECU says, We are getting a glimpse of the quandaries that await as seas rise, storms intensify, and shorelines deteriorate. Now the question is, how will we be willing to change, how we live with the dynamics of the sea and sound around us? Will our own Sea Fever ever cool?
Critical infrastructure provider Intelli Systems wanted to be accessible to its clients irrespective of their location, without having to increase fees or time. TeamViewer's frontline remote assistance solution, with augmented reality, was the product that helped make it happen.

Intelli Systems is a leading critical infrastructure services provider in Australia, specialising in data centre infrastructure. The company manages and maintains data centre infrastructure for customers such as airports, media corporations, healthcare providers, banks, retailers, and utility companiespriding itself on being established enough to offer unrivalled project and resource management services, yet small enough to maintain a personalised and client-centric approach to business.

While servicing customers from varied industries is good for the business, it also means having to resolve unique requirements and disparate technical issues day-to-day. Hence, for the team of experts at Intelli Systems, delivering superior outcomes is parallel to finding the right solutions.

With existing customers and prospects located throughout the vast Australian continent, providing remote access to job sites, and expanding its services in remote regions has become a business imperative for Intelli Systems. This drive for growth and commitment to address customer requirements landed its team of experts TeamViewer Frontlines remote assistance solution. Over a three-month period, Intelli Systems implemented the remote support solution to connect frontline workers on-site with its remote technicians via TeamViewer Frontline running on RealWear Navigator 500 smart glasses.

Challenge

Intelli Systems wanted to be accessible to their clients irrespective of their location without having to increase their fees and time to provide service. Their specialised capability started becoming highly sort after across the country and so it became a priority to find more innovative and efficient ways to support their clients.

The challenge to serve remote Australian locations was compounded during the COVID-19 pandemic with increased travel expenses and adhering to the range of state-specific government safety regulations.

Intelli Systems CEO Joseph Vijay said, aside from our customers having to incur higher fees related to travel and related expenses, our team was also severely inconvenienced especially during COVID-19, and at times we found the remedy for the fault was a simple reset. We needed a way to be able to remotely triage a fault so we could arrive prepared and restore services more efficiently.

TeamViewer Frontline solution

To address these challenges, Intelli Systems chose to implement TeamViewer Frontline, a fully integrated enterprise augmented reality (AR) solution. The solution connects frontline workers to the critical data and information they need using smart glasses and mobile devices to perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

Vijay said, even though we invested in expanding our field team, having everyone skilled to the same level as our senior technicians was impractical. Selecting TeamViewer Frontline was a simple decision because of the ease of use and breadth of products and solutions offered by TeamViewer, particularly the AR solution running on the smart glasses. Features such as voice control, on-screen annotations and the end-to-end encryption of the connections were decisive in Intelli Systems decision for TeamViewer.

Results

Since implementing TeamViewer Frontline, Intelli Systems processes for remote support have greatly transformed. Previously, responding to an emergency in a remote location would take a minimum of one week, including travel time. Now, with the ability to remotely connect with a local technician who can provide initial visibility on the malfunction, the response time has been reduced to hours. Aside from being quicker to respond, the solution has delivered significant cost savings for Intelli-Systems customers.

Additionally, the planned implementation of on-site permanent lease kits for critical sites will increase the efficiency and speed of support even further.

Vijay said, when the local technicians put the smart glasses on and start the TeamViewer application, they are immediately connected back to HQ where our expert technicians can see exactly what theyre seeing. This has made our service more extensive and our service delivery more immediate for our remote customers. Accessing customers equipment remotely has also allowed Intelli Systems to perform ongoing and proactive maintenance and take on new contracts that were previously out of reach.

The deployment of TeamViewer Frontline has allowed Intelli Systems to maximise the lifecycle of its service, expand its reach, and deliver its compelling proposition. Were excited to continue our relationship with TeamViewer and explore what else we can achieve with AR.
Companies need to be thinking beyond traditional backups to stay one step a head of their adversaries, according to one security firm executive in comments he made on the recent World Backup Day.

Paul Lancaster, Director Pre Sales Engineering at Commvault said World Backup Day was a reminder for Australian businesses of all sizes to be on their guard to the heightened risk of cyberattacks.

In the last 12 months Australia has faced an unprecedented number of cyber-attacks with many consumers having their data compromised in at least one attack, Lancaster noted.

While cyber criminals traditionally breached systems and encrypted data, in effect hold a companys data to ransom, they are increasingly using the threat of publication instead. This carries the risk of damage to a companys bottom line, reputation, and its competitive advantage in the market.

This World Backup Day, companies need to be thinking beyond traditional backups and incorporating early detection systems, such as cyber deception, to stay one step ahead of their adversaries. Decoys can be deployed on a network to throw an attacker off course and lure them to fake assets.

This not only slows down the attacker but can provide the first alert to a company about a breach, enabling security teams to take immediate action to isolate data assets.

While a seamless recovery process of critical data will always be vital for business continuity, a proactive approach to data protection must be used in tandem to counter the rising threat of data breaches. recommends Lancaster.
East-cost Australians have woken up to the confusing days where daylight savings is over and the days are darker sooner as we head towards winter. Well, New Zealand lighting and consumer tech brand Osin has launched a new innovative circadian lighting product named Loop, which is designed to help you live more in line with the earth and the natural rhythm of our bodies.

Over 87% of office workers suffer from social jetlag with their body clocks out of sync due to a lack of natural light during the day, followed by evenings with too much artificial light.

Osin wants to tackle this, and this is where Loop comes in. While it looks like a desk lamp, it is much more. Loop is designed to provide the missing levels and correct spectrum of light needed throughout the day. It sits on your desk, changing tones from sky blue to amber throughout the day, delivering the right light to re-align your circadian rhythm and boost your productivity, while also driving healthier sleep patterns.

Using Loop will help regulate your body clock, establishing healthy work and sleep patterns. This in turn boosts immunity, mood, and cognitive function. It can also help decrease the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

The product is being brought to tired Aussies by Osin's founder Ralph Booth and Osin head of science Dr Nina Li. It's a first-of-its-kind solution, backed by science, to mimic the natural light needed by the human body's 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, otherwise known as the circadian rhythm. Booth was inspired to create Loop after his partner spent weeks in a hospital, completely disconnected from natural light. Booth has over 25 years of experience in lighting and knows how important light is in somebody's overall well-being. Hence, Osin was born, and its mission was set in place to create an accessible piece of circadian lighting technology that could address every individual's needs.

I want to bring a corner of the blue sky to peoples desks. Loop gives people access to the light their body needs in order to perform optimally, improving their overall well-being while also elevating their productivity during the day, which is usually spent for hours inside, he said.

Dr Li said, "almost all living organisms, from bacteria to plants to mammals including humans - have circadian rhythms. By nature, circadian rhythms align with the 24-hour world, via environmental cues, the most important cue is actually light. In recent decades, we have been exposed to bright light whenever and wherever we want, which involuntarily causes circadian misalignment and leads to our physiological and psychological problems. We are part of the burnout generation and OSIN, through the Loop, is working alongside our biological processes to restore our circadian health. It is a game-changer for the health and wellbeing sector."

As it is in the form of a desk lamp, it fits seamlessly into your workspace no matter if you work from home, in an office, or move between the two. It provides the optimal amount of beneficial blue light to improve productivity during the day and transitions to soothing amber during the evening, signalling to your body to wind down and prepare for rest.

Artificial lighting in offices often fails to provide the beneficial blue light needed, and Loop addresses this by adhering to universally accepted circadian lighting guidelines, synchronised to your timezone.

The Loop is available today and can be purchased for $499, inclusive of shipping.
Arthur Rosenblum, left, president of the Foundation for Emotionally Disturbed Children, and Mrs. Seymour Ellison, right, president of the Womens Division, present checks to Bruno Bettelheim, center, director of the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School at the University of Chicago on April 29, 1957. (Terrys Photography/Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School.)

By 2007, when the United Nations designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, Bruno Bettelheim had been knocked off his pedestal in the field of child psychiatry. But three decades earlier, he was a popular-culture hero.

Famously known as Dr. B., he made a cameo appearance in Woody Allens movie Zelig. His book Dialogues With Mothers rivaled in influence those written by the parenting guru Dr. Spock.

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But upon on his death in 1990, it became apparent that Bettelheim had pulled off a monumental scientific fraud.

He wasnt who he claimed to be. He hadnt rescued children from autisms grip with compassion. Instead, he had bullied into submission his patients at the Orthogenic School, a residential treatment center at the University of Chicago for emotionally disturbed children, where he was director from 1944 to 1973.

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In a 1990 issue of Commentary magazine, Ronald Angres recalled his 12 years in Dr. Bs Orthogenic School:

Though Bettelheim routinely proclaimed in print and speech that no one should ever use corporal punishment on children, Angres wrote, I lived for years in terror of his beatings, in terror of his footsteps in the dorms  in abject, animal terror.

In the limited contact that patients were allowed with their parents, Angres begged to come home. But his father, a psychiatrist, refused to hear his complaints.

I experienced the blinding power of Bettelheims deception. After the Orthogenic School, Angres enrolled in Lake Forest College, where I was a professor.

Do you know Dr. B hit the children? Angres asked at our first meeting.

I said I couldnt believe it. As a student at the University of Chicago, I had hung on every word of a Bettelheim lecture. I was transfixed by his book on fairy tales, The Uses of Enchantment. It was obvious he had a gruff, domineering side. But could he have faked his resume and led autism research up a blind alley?

Born in Vienna in 1903, Bettelheim belonged to an affluent Jewish family. His university studies were interrupted by his fathers death, which forced him to take over the familys lumber business. Some who knew him thought him less a scholar than a rich mans son.

He was a playboy riding around Vienna in a red roadster, Bertram Cohler, who worked with Bettelheim and briefly headed the Orthopedic School, told the Tribune in 1990.

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His University of Vienna transcript suggested Bettelheims Ph.D. was in art history and philosophy, but it was never clear. He only took a few psychology courses, but the dean who hired him at the University of Chicago assumed Bettelheim had a second Ph.D. in psychology, until informed to the contrary by a Tribune reporter.

Bruno Bettelheim, an author and child psychologist at University of Chicago, photographed in 1962. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune)

A wealthy American couple came to Vienna seeking help for their apparently autistic daughter. Not finding a psychiatrist willing to take the case, the girl was left in the care of Bettelheims wife, Gina. She had worked with Freuds daughter Anna, who applied her fathers theories to children.

Ginas experience  which Bettelheim later passed on as his own  became the source of Bettelheims interest in milieu therapy, treating patients in a strictly controlled environment.

Gina also induced him to go to a psychiatrist, perhaps because their marriage was failing. The experience was brief, but Bettelheim later suggested that hed undergone in-depth analysis, the prerequisite for certification as a psychoanalyst.

When Hitler annexed Austria in 1938, Bettelheim was deported to the Dachau and Buchenwald concentration camps. He found his lifes work behind barbed wire.

He covertly studied his own and other prisoners reaction to the beatings, which he later presented in a psychologically insightful paper. In Individual and Mass Behavior In Extreme Situations, Bettelheim observed that the concentration camp was the blueprint for Nazi-occupied Europe

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It is the Gestapos laboratory where it develops methods for changing free and upright citizens not only into grumbling slaves, but into serfs who in many respects accept their masters values.

Bettelheim got to the University of Chicago with help from the Rockefeller Foundation, which found places for refugee scholars. He was assigned to assist Ralph Tyler, who was evaluating high school art programs.

Then Bettelheim was sent to teach art history at Rockford College. The school also needed someone to teach psychology, so Bettelheim volunteered for that post,

Tyler had administrative responsibility for the Orthogenic School, and needed to find a new director. Parents were upset with the incumbent, and Bettelheim somehow convinced Tyler to appoint him head of one of the few psychiatric facilities for young people. Richard Pollak, the author of The Creation of Dr. B, a biography of Bettelheim, believed Bettelheim was driven by a desperate need to be somebody, and that the school provided an outlet for his ambitions.

Bruno Bettelheim, an author and child psychologist at University of Chicago, takes off his glasses while talking in 1962. (Arthur Walker/Chicago Tribune)

There was always a peculiar tradition on the American frontier, that when you were frustrated with your life, you simply pushed on farther West and reinvented yourself, Pollak wrote.

Pollaks brother, an Orthogenic School patient, was killed in a car accident. By Bettelheims analysis the boys death was a thinly disguised form of suicide in which his parents participated in because of their own inadequacies, Pollak told the Tribune in 1997.

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Bettelheim had borrowed a concept from Leo Kanner, who in the 1940s first described autism as an inability to empathize with others. Kanner, a child psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, considered the condition was due to inadequate mothering.

Kanner eventually rejected his own theory, but guilt-tripping refrigerator mothers was a hallmark of Bettelheims career. He rejected the possibility of autisms origin being organic.

Freudianism was sacred scripture at the Orthogenic School. Counselors had to regularly lie down on Bettelheims analytic couch and express their most intimate feelings. Surrendering secrets is the prerequisite to emotional growth, Bettelheim taught. But he didnt reciprocate.

Sometimes Dr. B talked about growing up in Vienna, but only to illustrate some concept he was trying to teach you, recalled Jacquelyn Sanders, one of his successors at the Orthogenic School. Over the years, he would recount the same incident differently.

The reason was obvious once Angres and other alums blew the whistle on the grim reality of life in the Orthogenic Schools dormitories. Dr. B was making up his biography, one draft after another. Once that breach was made, verifiable facts replaced the fairy tales he told about himself.

His claims of notable success in treating autism were undercut by Sanders revelation of Dr. Bs gatekeeping. The most seriously disturbed children werent admitted. In retrospect she wondered how many of those taken in were truly autistic.

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By the time Bettelheim retired in 1973, child psychiatry was being realigned with science. Drugs were being developed that reduced attention deficits and hyperactivity. The disorder was renamed the Autism spectrum, in recognition of its various manifestations and severity.

Vintage Chicago Tribune Weekly The Vintage Tribune newsletter is a deep dive into the Chicago Tribune's archives featuring photos and stories about the people, places and events that shape the city's past, present and future. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

School boards created special-education departments where autistic children got therapy without giving up the family life that Dr B.s approach denied them.

In his final years, Bettelheim was isolated, increasingly forgotten by the profession of which he was the architect. He was estranged from the daughter who had provided him emotional support. Declining health forced him into a nursing home. The depression he intermittently suffered became chronic. He obsessed over how he would be remembered.

On March 13, 1990, he died after swallowing a batch of barbiturates and tying a plastic bag over his head.

Among the revelations that triggered was Roberta Redfords letter to the editor of Commentary. Orthogenic School counselors had silently witnessed Bettelheim beating her, she wrote.

I was at a loss to understand this until a friend of mine, a mental-health professional herself, made an important point, namely, that professionals today are required to report to authorities even the slightest suspicion of child abuse, let alone anything as blatant as what Bettelheim committed.

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Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
Ever since Republican legislative leaders tied Medicaid expansion funding to the 2023-24 state budget, there has been fretting among expansion advocates about what controversial non-financial language may be inserted into the bill.

The proposed House appropriations bill, disclosed for the first time at the committee level Thursday, appears to contain primarily Republican education and public-health policy priorities. The Senate budget proposal has not been disclosed publicly.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper may have set at least an expectation  if not a precedent  by saying the good outweighs the bad when he signed the 2022-23 state budget bill after vetoing the 2019-20 and 2020-21 bills because of the lack of Medicaid expansion funds.

The $29.7 billion state budget bill is projected by GOP legislative leaders to be passed by early July.

There has been speculation among legislative analysts and observers that the budget bill could include legislation on such hot-button topics as: tightening abortion restrictions; loosening gun regulations; further cutting tax rates for corporations or the wealthy; adding Dont say gay into education curriculum; or gerrymandering legislative and congressional redistricting maps.

For example, House Bill 98, titled Medical Freedom Act, has been inserted into HB295. The bill would end COVID-19 vaccine mandates for certain government agencies and political subdivisions.

The bill would prohibit city, county and state government agencies and certain political subdivisions from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees. It does not affect other required vaccinations for K-12 public school students, including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, red measles (rubeola) and rubella.

HB98 also would not allow the State Board of Education, local public school districts, colleges and universities to require students to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or be vaccinated for one or multiple doses.

The bill has cleared two House committees and been recommended to the gatekeeper Rules and Operations committee. HB98 has Reps. Jon Hardister of Guilford County and Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County as co-primary sponsors.

Yet, the bill has been inserted into House Bill 295 on page 26.

The insertion is likely prompted by the potential for HB98 veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and high likelihood that House Democrats would not support a veto override vote.

Educational elements

A summation of the education legislation insertions from standalone bills was posted by N.C. Policy Watch. Among the most prominent:

Private schools that receive funds from the state voucher program would no longer have to submit student test results to the state.

Students beyond kindergarten, first and second grades would be eligible for vouchers that could be used to attend a private school.

Allowing local and state committees to hear parent challenges of school instructional materials, and on procedures for having challenged materials removed.

Related language would establish a commission, comprised mostly of political appointees, to recommend public school content standards, or what students should study in each grade, to the State Board of Education.

The Charter School Advisory Board would become the Charter School Review Board, with the ability to give final approval to charter applications and renew charters. The State Board of Education currently holds that authority.

Public schools would have to post descriptions of all classroom course materials and supplemental materials to websites, along with available links to the materials. That would apply to the high school program at UNC School of the Arts.

Fourth- and fifth-grade classes would be capped at 24 students. That cap exists for kindergarten through third grade.

Timing realities

HB76 lists that if the state budget is not signed into law by June 30, 2024, the funding mechanisms for the bill expire at that time.

The June 30, 2024, expiration date represents a shift from the original Dec. 31 deadline when HB76 cleared the House by a 96-23 vote on Feb. 15.

Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, and a lead House Republican budget writer, said it is likely that the budget will include some provisions just as it has included in past years that cause some concern.

Those type provisions have been a part of budget negotiations for years, Lambeth said. However, I believe that the benefits of expansion outweigh those risks, and if the budget is vetoed we would cross that bridge at that point.

Budgets are always about negotiations and compromise, and this one is no different.

Mitch Kokai, senior policy analyst for conservative think tank John Locke Foundation, said there is nothing in the House budget leaps out at me as a poison pill that would definitely prompt the governor to reach for his veto stamp.

There are certainly items in there that differ from his priorities, but he was willing to go along with items he didnt like in the 2021 and 2022 budget deals, Kokai said.

The holy grail of Medicaid expansion makes Cooper more likely to look the other way when he sees Republican policy prescriptions he doesnt support.

Still worried

The fact that the Medicaid expansion deal is contingent on final passage of a budget highlights another huge problem, Rob Schofield, director of the left-leaning NC Policy Watch advocacy group, said in a March 7 posting titled The Medicaid expansion celebrations are premature.

Schofield said its very likely that an array of unrelated Republican priorities will no doubt be included ... since each year, the budget bill is packed with all manner of controversial appropriations and dozens of substantive law changes unrelated to state spending.

On numerous occasions in recent years, GOP leaders have packed the measure with hugely important law changes that have scarcely been discussed in public at the Legislative Building, and on which debate was effectively prohibited.

Schofield envisions a scenario in which Republican lawmakers are setting themselves up to use Medicaid expansion as a bargaining tool  a political cudgel with which to further entrench their own power, while further advancing a far-right policy agenda thats increasingly out of step with the generally moderate views of most North Carolinians.

Whats to stop them from doing the same this year?

The bottom line: Medicaid expansion needs to happen now and without unrelated conditions.

The reality of House Republicans being able to override at least one Cooper veto in the 2023 session likely changes the tug of war of the state budget, said John Dinan, a political science professor at Wake Forest University who is a national expert on state legislatures.

The challenge is less whether Cooper issues a veto of the budget than whether Republican legislative leaders secure commitments from one or more Democratic House members to support the budget on initial passage and on an override vote, or at least not to be present for the override vote, thereby allowing the budget to take effect, Dinan said.

The latter scenario allowed House Republicans to override by a 71-46 vote Wednesday Coopers veto of Senate Bill 41, titled Guarantee 2nd Amend Freedom and Protections.

The new law ends local background checks for pistol permits. It was the first successful override of a Cooper veto since 2018.

The three House Democrats who did not cast votes, Cecil Brockman of Guilford County, Tricia Ann Cotham of Mecklenburg County and Michael Wray of Halifax County, were listed as having excused absences during the SB41 roll call vote.

Brockman could not be reached for comment by the Journal, but told the News & Observer of Raleigh that he was at an urgent care facility at the time of the vote.

The significance of this weeks successful veto override is that it shows that Republican leaders have developed a working relationship with several Democratic house members this session, Dinan said.

If several of these and other Democratic House members interests are taken into account in the budget-writing process, this may prove sufficient to overcome their concerns about inclusion of some non-budget matters.

That is the key question going forward.
Flags remained at half-mast.

The tears in Tennessee had yet to dry.

And, still, North Carolina Republicans were rushing into the legislature last week to override the governors veto of an irresponsible law that repeals gun permits in this state.

Even in the shadow of another mass shooting, they couldnt wait to make it easier to own a gun.

Time will reveal the mistakes that we have made, Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough said in a statement.

It didnt take long.

A day later Kimbrough found himself at Forsyth Technical Community College, where the campus was locked down after a visiting high school student shot himself in the hand with a gun.

So, here we are.

While Congress does next to nothing about gun violence, state legislatures, like ours, are rolling back gun laws.

And so, only two days after a 28-year-old armed with a map, two assault rifles and a handgun broke into a Nashville Christian elementary school and killed three 9-year-old students, the headmaster, a teacher and a custodian, the General Assembly eliminated pistol permits in North Carolina.

Effective immediately.

What a former governor, Pat McCrory, a Republican, called the last line of defense of common sense is no more.

And we will have to live  and die  with the consequences.

Please note how urgently lawmakers will act to loosen gun-safety rules. And how sluggishly  if ever  theyll move to address a plague of gun violence that is uniquely American.

The primary sponsor of the vetoed bill, Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, said the repeal would not make individuals less safe.

Ignoring the irony  or being too blind to see it  Britt also dared to accuse anyone who invoked the Nashville shooting while questioning the gun permit repeal of trying to score political points.

Last weeks veto override vote means handgun purchases no longer will require a permit issued by a sheriff after a background check.

Republicans  every one of whom in the House and the Senate voted to override Gov. Coopers veto  cite the end of pistol permits as a triumph of the Second Amendment.

What it is, actually, is a cynical and reckless disregard for reality.

Critics of the permitting requirement say it was unnecessary because it duplicated federal background checks. But the federal screening process covers neither most domestic violence convictions in North Carolina, nor checks for pending convictions. Pistol permits were, in fact, the only means in the state to prevent most domestic abusers from owning a handgun.

Theres an infinite amount of loopholes that this bill will shed light on, Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers said.

Why does that matter?

Between 2017 and 2022, 866 Americans who were younger than 17 were shot in domestic violence incidents; 621 of them died. That means three times more children were shot at home as in school and eight times as many lost their lives.

Closer to home, gun-related deaths among children in this state rose by 231.3% between 2012 and 2021, the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force reports.

Meanwhile, those in Congress who want to make changes cant because Republicans wont allow it, preferring to save their outrage for drag queens, critical race theory and the indictment of a disgraced former president.

To their credit, some did react quickly  to declare defeat.

Were not going to fix it, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee flatly proclaimed in the wake of the Nashville tragedy.

Criminals are going to be criminals, said Burchett, whose state, like North Carolina, has no red flag law that would empower judges to remove guns from the hands of persons deemed to pose a danger to themselves or to others.

Also like North Carolina, Tennessee has repealed its pistol permit law.

So, Sheriff Kimbrough found himself at Forsyth Tech Thursday, the scene of only one of numerous incidences of gun violence in the Triad last week. Turns out that the student was armed with an untraceable ghost gun  which is a growing problem in itself.

And as children continue to die, in Raleigh fools rush in to protect their precious guns.
Former employees of Nebraska Book Co. have filed a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of violating federal labor laws when it closed a month ago.

The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, has Christopher DeGroot as the only named plaintiff. It alleges that the company violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act by not providing adequate notice to employees when it announced in late February that it was going out of business.

The federal law requires most employers with 100 or more workers to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings or mass layoffs.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Labor said it has no investigative or enforcement power for alleged WARN violations and the only remedy for aggrieved parties is to file a lawsuit.

According to the class-action suit, Nebraska Book notified employees on Feb. 27 via email that their employment would end on March 1 because the company was shutting down.

The 108-year-old company told the Journal Star at the time that 114 employees were losing their jobs, but the Nebraska Department of Labor lists more than twice that many.

In a letter to the department dated March 1, Nebraska Book CEO Gary Shapiro wrote that the company did not provide the required notice because it was "in a dire financial position."

"Management has spent the last several months feverishly looking for the additional capital investment NBC needs to maintain operations until next season. NBC had several potential options that management thought were viable and would have allowed NBC to avoid this situation, but the last one backed out a few days ago," Shapiro wrote in the letter. "Management believed that if it had sent this notice earlier, our vendors would have stopped doing business with NBC and potential sources of capital would have ceased discussions with NBC."

That could be a key determining factor as to whether the suit is successful because the WARN Act contains an exception for "faltering companies," which can be exempt from the notice requirements if they were actively seeking capital within the 60-day notice period, had a reasonable expectation they could have secured that capital and believed in good faith that providing the required WARN notification "would have precluded the employer from obtaining the needed capital."

A local attorney for DeGroot deferred questions to the lead attorney on the case, who could not be reached for comment. Officials from Nebraska Book Co. also could not be reached for comment.
TECUMSEH  Among the files at the Johnson County District Court Clerk's office are two newly filed, thickly bound books detailing the deaths of seven men, all inmates at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.

Five of the seven had killed, convicted of murder or motor vehicle homicide.

Two of them  Arthur Gales Jr. and Patrick Schroeder  had been on Nebraska's death row.

The grand jury, which met Jan. 13 to review in-custody deaths in the county since 2021, found no criminal wrongdoing, though in some cases asked questions. If the outcome may have been different if one inmate had been brought to the hospital sooner? If another who killed himself had been on suicide watch? Whether there were cameras in the hall outside another's cell?

In Nebraska, whenever a person dies in custody, a grand jury is called to look at the circumstances and determine whether any criminal wrongdoing occurred.

Historically, the proceedings were secret.

But in 2016, in response to renewed focus on deaths in police custody, the Legislature changed the law and required grand jury reports and transcripts of the proceedings to be filed with the court.

On Jan. 13, Johnson County Attorney Ben Beethe presented the evidence to the grand jury in District Judge Rick Schreiner's courtroom.

The Journal Star read the trial transcripts filed March 20 and reviewed the exhibits put before the 16 jurors to get a glimpse of what happened behind the razor wire fences at the prison just outside of Tecumseh in the deaths of Arthur Gales Jr., John Zalme, Frank Hardy, Michael C. Becker, Robert Mahler, Kevin Miller and Patrick Schroeder.

Here's a recap of the evidence in each.

Arthur Gales Jr., 55

On April 3, 2021, an inmate porter in Gales' room at the Skilled Nursing Facility heard a gurgling sound from Gales, then noticed he wasn't breathing, according to Nebraska State Patrol Investigator Jason Jones. He said the previous year, Gales had his arm amputated in an effort to stop bone cancer from spreading. But it had spread to his lungs and into his brain. He had signed a do-not-resuscitate order.

Gales was sentenced to death for the murder of two children, 13-year-old Latara Chandler and 7-year-old Tramar Chandler, plus 50 years for the attempted murder of their mother in Omaha in 2001.

Patrick Schroeder, 45

Early Aug. 29, 2022, a corporal doing hourly checks of inmates on death row found Schroeder suspended from a bedsheet tied to his bunk bed and called the emergency response team, according to State Patrol Investigator Pedram Nabegh. An hour earlier, Schroeder had been sitting up, awake. Nabegh said they took him to the prison's medical facility, where he was declared deceased. On a table near the bed they found a sheet of paper propped up with a suicide note, saying he was "Tired." "I'm going to die in prison so since there's no way around that I'm going out on my terms and my time," he wrote.

Pedram confirmed what inmates had told the Journal Star in September, that Schroeder had used a razor blade to cut his wrist on Aug. 12, then buzzed in on the intercom to alert staff. The next day he denied trying to kill himself, saying he'd used K2 and when he came to saw he was bleeding. Two days later, he was taken off overnight checks every 15 minutes.

Schroeder was 11 years into a life sentence for the killing of 75-year-old Pawnee City farmer Kenny Albers when on April 15, 2017, he strangled his cellmate, Terry Berry, because Berry wouldn't stop talking. Schroeder pleaded guilty to the crime and didn't fight the death sentence.

John Zalme, 74

Early July 7, 2021, a prison corporal doing normal cell checks looked through the window for signs of life and didn't see Zalme's chest rising, State Patrol Investigator Amanda DeFreece said. The corporal woke up Zalme's cellmate and asked him to check on him, and he said Zalme was cold to the touch. The guard called for an emergency response, and he was moved to Skilled Nursing, but the automated external defibrillator indicated not to shock. DeFreece said the cellmate had no defensive wounds, and an autopsy later determined he died of a heart attack.

Zalme was serving time for stabbing a fellow inmate in 1975 and stabbing three penitentiary guards in 1981. In 1997, he killed an inmate by beating him and then starting him on fire. At the time, Zalme was serving his time in Oregon. Most recently, he was charged with assault in the May 2015 riot in Tecumseh.

Kevin Miller, 41

On Aug. 25, 2022, Miller died at the Johnson County Hospital while waiting transfer to a higher level of care for a blood clot in his lungs. A day earlier, he complained to nursing staff at the prison that he'd been short of breath for several days, and they sent him to the ER. Dr. Benjamin Biehl said Miller was diagnosed with the blood clot and put on oxygen and blood thinners. At the hospital, he collapsed onto the bed. "He rose up and took a gasp of air and then collapsed again," Investigator Nabegh said. Miller had colon cancer and was determined to have died of natural causes.

Miller was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for the murder of his wife, Kelsey, and hiding her body in a storage facility in Lincoln.

Frank Hardy, 68

On Dec. 1, 2021, an inmate porter in Skilled Nursing, where Hardy was housed, noticed that Hardy did not appear to be breathing, according to Nebraska State Patrol Investigator Henry Dimitroff. He said the 68-year-old had been suffering from leukemia and had signed a DNR order. The grand jury found no signs of foul play and determined he died of natural causes.

Hardy was serving time on charges of sexual assault of a child.

Michael C. Becker, 25

Early Dec. 7, 2021, a corporal discovered Becker hanging, a bedsheet tied to the upper bunk of his cell, and called for emergency responders, State Patrol Investigator Justin Podany said. Becker was taken to the prison's ER, where he was pronounced dead. He had been housed alone in the Special Management Unit cell, where a search turned up an unsent suicide note to his dad.

He was serving time for armed robbery but a week from sentencing in federal court on a child porn charge. Podany said Becker didn't want to be a sex offender in prison and likely had seen firsthand how they were treated.

Robert Mahler, 65

On July 6, 2022, Mahler collapsed while mopping the gallery of Housing Unit 1A, according to Podany. He said no one was around Mahler at the time, but the incident was spotted on prison surveillance video. He was taken to the Johnson County Hospital, but life-saving measures failed. Dr. Jeremy Berg determined Mahler died of a heart attack.

Mahler was serving time for motor vehicle homicide for a September 2011 crash that killed two Wayne State College students  Alexis "Lexi" Calfee, 19, of Bennet and Christopher Oberg, 20, of Mapleton, Iowa,  near Emerson.

Nebraska's 11 death row inmates Jose Sandoval Nikko Jenkins John Lotter Raymond Mata Jorge Galindo Erick Vela Jeffrey Hessler Roy Ellis Marco Torres Anthony Garcia Aubrey Trail
WASHINGTON  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 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 this 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 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 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 faced 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 almost $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.

Though 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 poofy than usual, as he peered impassively into the camera shortly after federal agents showed up at about 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.

Here's a look at how Trump's predecessors fared: Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan Richard Nixon Ulysses S. Grant Andrew Johnson
Amid his culture war campaign against woke liberals, critical race theory and other bugaboos of the political right, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken his ongoing culture war to an old, reliable political enemy, the media.

With a defamation bill working its way through the states legislature, DeSantis is trying to put some legal teeth in his pitch.

As he is expected to challenge Donald Trump and others for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, the governor is backing a bill in his states Republican-dominated legislature to make it much easier for public figures to sue news outlets for defamation  and win.

He gave the world a preview last month with a contrived roundtable discussion in a mock television studio livestreamed on social media under the topic Legacy media defamation practices. His guests were plaintiffs and lawyers who had sued major media companies, including Fox News and The Washington Post.

DeSantis called major media companies probably the leading purveyors of disinformation in our entire society, adding, There needs to be an ability for people to defend themselves.

Of course, that ability already exists. But thats not good enough for DeSantis.

The governor has taken on New York Times v. Sullivan, a landmark 1964 Supreme Court case that said public officials could not successfully sue for libel or defamation without proving that the false statements made against them were made with actual malice, meaning with knowledge that the statements were false or made with reckless disregard for whether or not they were false.

Florida state Rep. Alex Andrade, the bills author, argues that the Supreme Courts actual malice standard is too high, claiming it is not a case of government shutting down free speech, which would be unconstitutional, but a private cause of action.

Unfortunately, two justices on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, have already expressed a willingness to revisit or overturn Sullivan if the opportunity comes up. It could, if the Florida bill is enacted, although the court has bypassed such opportunities in the past.

After the court overruled Roe v. Wade, following a half-century of seemingly settled law, anything can happen.

DeSantis mission echoes Trumps early days in his 2016 campaign when he vowed to fight news outlets that dared to publish harmful coverage about him. Were going to open up those libel laws, he told supporters. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece, which is a total disgrace, or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because theyre totally protected.

Youll have to catch us first, I said to myself. If the media content in question is wrong, the media deserve to be called out on it.

But DeSantis and Trump are both wrong to imply that disinformation only applies to ideas they dont like and that it only comes from the left.

For example, the hottest newsmaking defamation lawsuit these days doesnt center on The New York Times, CNN or other perennial targets of the right. Rather, it involves Fox News and the disclosures pouring out of lawsuits by voting machine companies for its misleading coverage of the 2020 election, including claims that the vote counting might have been rigged.

Worse, evidence shows that some of the channels key figures apparently sought to prevent Fox reporters from fact-checking those assertions.

And Fox is not alone among conservative outlets already under a spotlight for truthfulness. Lowering the threshold for defamation lawsuits could be more dangerous for the conservative media ecosystem, with its many social media and web pages, than it would be for anyone else.

Disciplined conservatives thinking about 2024 should understand that expanding defamation liability would silence voices across the political spectrum, Seth Stern, advocacy director for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, recently posted on the groups website. It would cause most harm not to mainstream media outlets that can afford lawyers but to independent news outlets and opinionated individuals, including conservatives, who cannot.

Hes right. This countrys constitutional speech and press freedoms are a model for the rest of the world. That model can be tarnished by government overreach that actually silences the free exchange of ideas, even as it claims to protect them.
Lincoln voters Tuesday can cast their ballots in the citys primary election that will be the first step to adding at least three new City Council members, at least one new member of the Lincoln Board of Education and determine who will be mayor for the next four years.

If history is any indicator, and in voting behavior it usually is, the overwhelming majority of those eligible to vote Tuesday wont do so.

Two years ago, just 25% of voters cast ballots in the city primary. In 2019, which had a three-way race for mayor, 31% of registered voters went to the polls. And in the previous mayoral primary in 2015, the number was 25%

In something of a stark contrast, some 42% of voters turned out in the 2020 primary, the last presidential year, even though both the Republican and Democratic nominations had been settled.

Thats, perhaps, evidence that beyond complaining about streets and property taxes, most Lincolnites dont pay enough attention to city government to get them to take the time to examine the candidates and their positions and vote.

Yet they cast ballots in presidential elections, even though local elections have far more effect on day-to-day life in the city than almost anything that comes out of Washington, D.C.

To that end, voters have a plethora of choices on Tuesdays ballot.

Two of the three candidates for mayor  incumbent Leirion Gaylor Baird, Sen. Suzanne Geist or Stan Parker  will advance to the May general election.

Four candidates are vying for two general election slots in City Council District 2, in southeast Lincoln and in northwests District 4. The other two races have only two candidates.

All six candidates for three school board seats will advance to the general election as well, while one of the five candidates who has filed for two open seats on the Lincoln Airport Authority will be eliminated by the outcome of Tuesdays vote.

Because of the compressed time between the primary and general elections, and the number of races in which both candidates will advance to the May election, the Journal Star editorial board has not made primary election endorsements. We will make endorsements prior to the general election.

In the meantime, we simply would urge voters to go to the polls Tuesday  hopefully those who received mail-in ballots have already sent them to the Lancaster County Election Commissioners office.

More voices and more voters make for a more representative government and a brighter future for the place thats home to 100% of those eligible to exercise their voting right and civic voice.
1873: Tim Kelly, trader and trapper on the Platte River, reported during a visit to Lincoln that business was good and the natives were quiet.

1883: A group of 35 masked vigilantes captured and hanged the alleged killers of Cash M. Millett, a Hastings grocer who was held up and shot by robbers on his way home from work. The accused were hanged from a bridge of the St. Joseph and Western Railroad.

1893: Nebraska exhibits were loaded for transportation to the Worlds Fair in Chicago.

1903: William Jennings Bryan, speaking in Des Moines, poured vitriol upon the reorganization of the Democratic Party.

1913: Annual contests over the issue of selling liquor were held in many Nebraska towns. The list showed 30 towns were wet and 14 dry after the elections.

1923: Architect Bertram Goodhue said he was willing to economize but would not allow inferior materials to be used in the new Nebraska Capitol, then in early construction stages.

1933: A notorious gang robbed the Fairbury First National Bank of $26,650 cash and $125,700 in insured bonds. Three Fairbury residents were wounded, as was one of the gangsters, whose wounds were proved fatal.

1943: The 6th Heavy Bombardment Processing Group was stationed at the Lincoln Air Base under the command of Maj. Earnest G. Ford.

1953: Construction was begun on three new dormitories at the University of Nebraska to complete Selleck Quadrangle.

1963: A 20-year old parachutist, Lewis Kulaza of Crete, was hospitalized after an exhibition jump. Kulaza fell 3,000 feet before his emergency chute opened 500 feet from the ground.

1973: Fewer than 20,000 Lincolnites voted in a primary election. A proposal to increase salaries of City Council members from $20 per meeting to $4,000 a year was defeated by only eight votes.

1983: A Vietnam Veterans MIA Task Force, to be based in Grand Island, held its organizational meeting.

1993: The U.S. House of Representatives approved an economic package granting $27.9 million in additional highway and mass transit funds for Nebraskas transportation system.

2003: The Board of Pardons commuted a cancer victim's drug sentence, the first time the board had commuted a sentence since 1998 and only the third commutation in more than a decade, according to board records.
RACINE  The Racine Unified School District has piloted a new offering for Academies of Racine students that could put them at the helm of multi-billion dollar companies one day.

Its a Lean Six Sigma certification being offered thanks to a partnership with Gateway Technical College. The first students to test it out were juniors and seniors in the manufacturing and accounting pathways at the Academies of Racine-Case.

This opportunity was brought to us from an RUSD employee who thought it could be valuable to our students, said Alex DeBaker, executive director of academies and transformation. When we brought it to our advisory board, they all felt strongly that it would give students a competitive advantage in the workplace.

Lean Six Sigma is a team-focused managerial approach to improve performance by reducing waste, standardizing processes and streamlining operations.

There are various Six Sigma certifications one can receive, ranging from white belt certification to master black belt.

The RUSD students are receiving white belt training and could receive white belt certifications, meaning they demonstrate an introductory level knowledge of the fundamental Six Sigma concepts.

The students are being taught by Jenelle Zito, who is RUSDs director of continuous improvement and program evaluation and also has a Lean Six Sigma black belt certification from Gateway.

What we are doing is giving students the base knowledge of what Lean Six Sigma is in order to help them in both manufacturing and the financial industry, Zito said. It gives them that base knowledge that they can then take on to wherever they go beyond high school and use the things they learn in their future careers.

The students in training have gone through various exercises to better understand the Lean Six Sigma approach, including manufacturing simulations.

The students really enjoyed seeing how quickly they could get their raw material produced, Zito said, adding that students noticed how different barriers like bottlenecks could slow down the manufacturing process and reduce efficiency.

For the accounting students, it was the financial components that stuck out to them. They did an activity where they pretended to be Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and were able to see how much money a company can lose due to factors like human error and returns.

There is no business that exists to this day that could not use some form of Lean Six Sigma, Zito said. Doing work more efficiently, creating standardized work and reducing wasteful processes is beneficial for any industry.

And that is why Racine Unified felt this training was such a good fit for its students.

Part of the Academies experience is to give students access to certifications that will prepare them for the workforce, DeBaker said. Employers benefit by working with graduates that understand how change happens and how to implement a problem-solving process to come to a solution.

The Academies of Racine offer more than 55 industry certifications to students, ranging from fundamentals of mechanical systems to certified nursing assistant, and there are plans to add even more in the future.

That includes expanding the Lean Six Sigma white belt training to even more students, starting with those in the International Baccalaureate pathway at the Academies of Racine-Case this spring, and then moving on to the manufacturing and accounting students at both the Academies of Racine-Horlick and Park in the 2023-24 school year.

I think this is a good opportunity, said Maddie Cerny, a junior at Case who went through the training. We actually get to learn things that will help us for our future and future careers that I dont think a lot of people would find out about until they enter the workforce.

In photos and video: Goodland Montessori School students, mayor work to 'Save Soil' Goodland Montessori School student Kattelaya Lillo goes over what her school has been doing to compost Racine Mayor Cory Mason explains the importance of soil and issues Save Soil Day proclamation Dave Backmann, president of Greening Greater Racine, explains a world of desertification Racine Mayor Cory Mason Dave Backmann Kattelaya Lillo speaks Goodland Montessori School third and fourth grade students Digging through the dirt Kattelaya Lillo Kattelaya Lillo and Chris Mannion
RACINE  For 35 years, Ken Kaiser and his son, Dan, have enjoyed boating along Lake Michigan in Downtown Racine.

Now, they are planning to turn a passion project of theirs into a reality.

The Kaisers have purchased 11 acres east of Main Street Bridge in Downtown Racine, most of it along Dodge Street and Michigan Boulevard, and with it three local businesses: Johns Dock, Boosters Buoy and Pugh Marina.

The new development will be called Rivers End.

We just always used to love coming to these places, Dan said. We just wanted to bring them back to where we had the memories and make it a vibrant place, and hopefully profitable for Scott (Monroe) and us as well, and just kind of reinvigorate this corridor.

The plan is to repair, restore and rename the properties.

The restaurants will be operated under the name Rivers End Management.

Rivers End is a unique venture for Dan and Ken Kaiser.

The two consider the development more of a passion project compared to their other businesses, such as industrial and property management.

We would like to make some money at it, definitely, because we invested a lot, Dan said. It wasnt purely an investment decision that led us here. It was more something we wanted to do.

Rivers End Marina

Pugh Marina is being renamed to Rivers End Marina.

Scott Monroe, owner of Racine Riverside Marina, 950 Erie St., will lease the old marina and give it a facelift, including a new paint job and cleaned up fuel docks to allow for easier accommodation.

Infrastructure upgrades like phone lines and internet also are a part of the restoration process.

Were kind of growing our business into this business, Monroe said.

The marina will remain open while the renovations are being made and employees from Pugh Marina will be moving to Rivers End Marina.

The Restaurants

Tom Landreman, owner of Angry Brothers Pub, 6501 Washington Ave., will be managing both of the restaurants for the Kaisers.

The Kaisers hope that Landremans expertise and years of success in the Racine restaurant industry will help to reinvigorate the area.

Boosters Buoy, 209 Dodge St., will revert to its original name, The Chartroom.

Many of the nostalgic favorites that the Kaisers were fond of, including the broasted chicken, a favorite of Kens, will return to The Chartrooms menu.

Johns Dock, 303 Dodge St., will be renamed The Bridgetender Tavern, and feature quick eats and tavern style foods.

Landreman has even suggested adding pizza to the Bridgetenders menu.

Most the work that has to be done at the restaurants is restoration.

No demolition or additions are planned for the properties, but they will receive high-tech point of sale systems and updated kitchen equipment.

Were not reinventing the wheel, were restoring it, Dan said. Customers will see a new look, but a lot of it will be behind the scenes stuff.

The boat slips along the properties also will be restored or replaced to make them functional.

The space between the restaurants will be used for outdoor games and dining, creating a unity between the two locations.

Ideally, the Kaisers would like the restaurants to be ready to open in mid-May, with a grand opening Memorial Day weekend.

The future

The next step after the marina and restaurants work would be to renovate the Coast Guard station, which is further down the road.

However, the Kaisers anticipate that project will be a couple years down the line, along with plans for a residential development.

For the fifth year, Bend & Brew yoga and mimosas offered at Reefpoint Marina Sprouting Meditation Liz Masik Good stretch Hands up! Jack Long Warriors as far as you can Cristina Aponte Kelly Highman Jack Long Try and keep up! Up and out Cassy Cichy Top of the class
A U.S Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter transports a M777 howitzer during a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, Sunday, March 19, 2023. North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.

The Norths continuation of missile tests showed its determination not to back down despite the U.S.-South Korea exercises, which are the biggest of their kind in years. But many experts say the tests are also part of North Koreas bigger objective to expand its weapons arsenal, win global recognition as a nuclear state and get international sanctions lifted.

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The missile launched from the Norths northwestern Tongchangri area flew across the country before it landed in the waters off its east coast, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. They said the missile traveled a distance of about 800 kilometers (500 miles), a range that suggests the weapon could target South Korea.

The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. discussed the launch on the phone and strongly condemned it as a provocation that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. They agreed to strengthen their coordination to issue a firm international response to the Norths action, according to Seouls Foreign Ministry.

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South Koreas military said it will thoroughly proceed with the rest of the joint drills with the U.S. and maintain a readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation by North Korea. As part of the drills, the U.S. on Sunday flew long-range B-1B bombers for joint training with South Korean warplanes, according to South Koreas Defense Ministry.

North Korea is highly sensitive to the deployment of B-1Bs, which are capable of carrying a huge conventional weapons payload. It responded to the February flights of B-1Bs by test-launching missiles that demonstrated potential ranges to strike some air bases in South Korea.

Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino said the missile landed outside Japans exclusive economic zone and there were no reports of damage to vessels or aircraft. He said the missile likely showed an irregular trajectory, a possible reference to North Koreas highly maneuverable, nuclear-capable KN-23 missile that was modeled on Russias Iskander missile.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch doesnt pose an immediate threat to the U.S. territory or its allies. But it said the Norths recent launches highlight the destabilizing impact of its unlawful weapons programs and that the U.S. security commitment to South Korea and Japan remains ironclad.

The launch was the Norths third round of weapons tests since the U.S. and South Korean militaries began their joint military drills last Monday. The drills, which include computer simulations and field exercises, are to continue until Thursday. The field exercises are the biggest of their kind since 2018.

The weapons North Korea recently tested include its longest-range Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland. The Norths state media quoted leader Kim Jong Un as saying the ICBM launch was meant to strike fear into the enemies.

Thursdays launch, the Norths first ICBM firing in a month, drew strong protests from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington. It was carried out just hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol flew to Tokyo for a closely watched summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

During the summit, Yoon and Kishida agreed to resume their defense dialogue and further strengthen security cooperation with the United States to counter North Korea and address other challenges.

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Ties between Seoul and Tokyo suffered a major setback in recent years due to issues stemming from Japans 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

But North Koreas record run of missile tests last year  it launched more than 70 missiles in 2022 alone  pushed Seoul and Tokyo to seek stronger trilateral security partnerships involving Washington, which also wants to reinforce its alliances in Asia to better deal with Chinas rise and North Korean nuclear threats.

North Korea has missiles that place Japan within striking distance. Last October, North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan, forcing communities there to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.

After Sundays launch, Kishida ordered a prompt response, including working closely with South Korea and the U.S., according to Ino, the Japanese vice defense minister.

A day before the start of the drills, North Korea also fired cruise missiles from a submarine. The Norths state media said the submarine-launched missile was a demonstration of its resolve to respond with overwhelming powerful force to the intensifying military maneuvers by the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces.

According to South Korean media reports, the U.S. and South Korea plan more training involving a U.S. aircraft carrier later this month after their current exercises end. This suggests animosities on the Korean Peninsula could last a few more weeks as North Korea would also likely respond to those drills with weapons tests.

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Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
RACINE  A hotly contested race for Wisconsin Supreme Court mobilized abortion rights supporters Saturday at a rally pushing support for womens healthcare in Tuesdays election.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin activists gathered at Monument Square in Downtown Racine before fanning out to knock on doors or campaign via telephone.

The group supports liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz over conservative Dan Kelly in a race that could decide the Wisconsin Supreme Courts majority ideological orientation on abortion rights and other issues.

As a potential bellwether for the national political climate heading into the 2024 presidential campaign, the court race has drawn widespread attention and millions of dollars in outside support for both candidates.

Janet Serrano, regional public affairs coordinator for Planned Parenthood in the Racine-Kenosha area, said the outcome of Tuesdays statewide election could affect whether women in Wisconsin have access to any abortion rights in a post-Roe v. Wade era.

Serrano said the prospect of Kelly tipping the states highest court toward an anti-abortion majority is alarming.

Were nervous, but were just doing our part, she said. Were all putting in the work.

The rally attracted student leaders at Carthage College in Kenosha and also representatives of the Milwaukee immigration rights group Voces de la Frontera.

Kayla Raye, president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action, a student group at Carthage, told the crowd that young people in particular must show up Tuesday at the polls.

Not only is womens healthcare at stake in the Protasiewicz-Kelly contest, Raye said, but also the future of LGBTQ rights and immigration rights. She urged activists on all such issues to get their voters to the polls.

We all have power in our communities, she said.

After the Monument Square rally, the dozen or so participants were heading out to either campaign door-to-door for Protasiewicz or to participate in telephone banks.

Citlali Garcia, a regional organizer for Planned Parenthood, said that while the Supreme Court election is pivotal, the outcome either way will not stop her organizations efforts to support women.

Were going to keep fighting, Garcia said. Were just looking for reproductive freedom here in Wisconsin.

Photos: Women's March draws crowd with costumes and signs to Downtown Racine Mary Pirrello in handmaid costume Rachel Trobaugh Diana Valencia pumps a fist into the air Janet Eppers, Barbara Kodlubanski Crowd marches from courthouse to City Hall Madysen Ernst, 4, in Wonder Woman costume State legislator Greta Neubauer addresses crowd at rally Two women wear 'handmaid' costumes Protestors wave signs outside Racine County Courthouse during women's march Hannah Noel displays 'Mind Your Own Uterus' sign Marchers cross the Racine County Courthouse grounds Mary Pirrello uses megaphone to address crowd at rally
March 27-31

This list is not comprehensive. Municipalities are listed as they appear on the criminal complaint. Suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. To see mugshots of the accused, visit journaltimes.com/gallery. Additional information about the complaints can be found at: journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts.

Michael John Allyn, 1100 block of 12th Avenue, Union Grove, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (first offense, with a minor child in the vehicle), misdemeanor bail jumping.

Daniel E. Anick, Greenfield, felony bail jumping, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), resisting an officer, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Josue Chavez Aranda, 2100 block of Racine Street, Mount Pleasant, operating without a license (second offense within three years).

Elizabeth A. Campton, 500 block of Mill Avenue, Union Grove, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Matthew Antoine Canady, 1900 block of North Wisconsin Street, Racine, concealing stolen firearm, possession of an electric weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of THC.

Regina (aka Virginia Henley) M. Cox, 1600 block of 16th Street, Racine, misdemeanor retail theft (intentionally take less than or equal to $500), misdemeanor bail jumping, disorderly conduct (use of a dangerous weapon), substantial battery.

Brandon J. Fitzpatrick, 1400 block of Park Place, Union Grove, physical abuse of child (intentionally cause bodily harm by conduct which creates a high probability of great bodily harm).

Dallas David Gomez, 500 block of Sixth Street, Racine, obstructing an officer, resisting an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia.

Marquese L. Haines, 200 block of Howland Avenue, Racine, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Cody J. Hoegsted, 2000 block of 61st Street, Kenosha, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia, operate motor vehicle while revoked (fourth-plus), felony bail jumping.

Dontrel M. Hunter, 1400 block of Douglas Avenue, Racine, first degree recklessly endangering safety, discharging a firearm from a vehicle (toward a building or vehicle), felony bail jumping, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Kendrick J. Jackson, 2100 block of Taylor Avenue, Racine, attempt first degree intentional homicide, first degree recklessly endangering safety.

Tina Y. Johnson, 1600 block of West Street, Racine, felony bail jumping (domestic abuse assessments).

Christopher John Jones, Kansasville, operating with restricted controlled substance in blood (fourth offense, general alcohol concentration enhancer).

Kurt F. Kenna, 1400 block of Blaine Avenue, Racine, misdemeanor battery, disorderly conduct.

Bobby A. Martz, 2800 block of North Main Street, Racine, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments), misdemeanor bail jumping (domestic abuse assessments).

Joaquin V. Mora, 300 block of Paul Street, Burlington, threat to a law enforcement officer, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (second offense), disorderly conduct, possession of drug paraphernalia.

Juan R. Gonzalez Morales, West Allis, felony retail theft (intentionally take between $500-$5,000).

Zion M. Vaughn Murphy, 33600 block of Contour Drive, Burlington, possession of a controlled substance, possession of THC, resisting an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct, operate motor vehicle while revoked (fourth-plus).

Jordan D. Parker, 33600 block of Contour Drive, Burlington, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a THC, obstructing an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony bail jumping.

Chandler (aka Spuaky Playa-Hata) L. Pierce, 5400 block of Byrd Avenue, Racine, physical abuse of child (intentionally cause bodily harm).

Nico (aka Chezmun Kanzery McBearth) Q. Prince, 7200 block of Kinzie Avenue, Mount Pleasant, threat to a law enforcement officer, throw or discharge bodily fluids at public safety worker, possession of THC, felony bail jumping.

Jairo E. Reyes Palencia, Milwaukee, theft (business setting, between $5,000-$10,000).

Jerry Armando Rivera Jr., 1600 block of Hamilton Street, Racine, carry handgun where alcohol is sold and consumed, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Emillio V. Rodriguez, 400 block of Lake Avenue, Racine, manufacture/deliver THC (less than or equal to 200 grams), maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to deliver/distribute/manufacture THC (less than or equal to 200 grams).

Jaime Colon Rodriguez, 1300 block of Saint Patrick Street, Racine, substantial battery (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Deonta L. Rowsey, Milwaukee, felony failure to report to jail.

Antonio (aka Mario Jesus Aranda) J. Servantez Jr., 3200 block of Packer Drive, Racine, burglary of a building or dwelling, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), misdemeanor theft, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments), operate motor vehicle revoked, felony bail jumping (domestic abuse assessments).

Jamal A. Smith, 1200 block of Grand Avenue, Racine, attempting to flee or elude an officer, obstructing an officer, felony bail jumping.

Jason T. Snow, 1300 block of North Green Bay Road, Mount Pleasant, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), criminal damage to property (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Reginald (aka Red Little) J. Sparkman, 200 block of Hubbard Street, Racine, attempt armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, obstructing an officer, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Leontae B. Stanciel, 100 block of McKinley Avenue, Racine, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments), misdemeanor bail jumping (domestic abuse assessments).

Anthony D. Taylor, 800 block of Park Avenue, Racine, strangulation and suffocation (domestic abuse assessments), misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments), felony bail jumping.

Jessika Alexandria Tobias, 1500 block of Wolff Street, Racine, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Antonio L. Turner, Racine, felony retail theft (intentionally take between $500-$5,000), retail theft (alter price less than or equal to $500).

Brandon Michael Vankoningsveld, 2100 block of Potter Road, Burlington, possession with intent to deliver cocaine (greater than 40 grams), possession of narcotic drugs, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of THC, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia.

Gregory A. Washington, Milwaukee, threat to judge, disorderly conduct, felony bail jumping.

Christopher A. Weber, 900 block of Marquette Street, Racine, delivery of methamphetamine.

Marcus L. Webb, 2200 block of Romayne Avenue, Racine, sex offender registry violation, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Johnathan L. Wilkerson, 400 block of Memorial Drive, Racine, obstructing an officer.

Christopher A. Williams, 1800 block of Blake Avenue, Racine, felony bail jumping, misdemeanor retail theft (intentionally take less than or equal to $500), felony retail theft (intentionally take between $5,000-$10,000), possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jerome J. Williams Jr., 5000 block of Byrd Avenue, Racine, stalking (domestic abuse assessments), misdemeanor intimidation of a victim (domestic abuse assessments), criminal damage to property (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments), robbery, robbery with use of force, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), resisting an officer, manufacture/deliver cocaine (less than or equal to 1 gram, possession with intent to deliver/distribute a controlled substance on or near a school), deliver of schedule I or II narcotics (possession with intent to deliver/distribute a controlled substance on or near a school), manufacture/deliver cocaine (between 1-5 grams, possession with intent to deliver/distribute a controlled substance on or near a school).
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

View Results
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. In 1974, Richard Nixon may well have avoided criminal charges on obstruction of justice or bribery, related to the Watergate scandal, only because President Gerald Ford pardoned him just weeks after Nixon resigned the presidency. (Uncredited/AP)

Donald Trump has made history so many times.

The first president without government or military experience. The first to be impeached twice. The first to aggressively challenge the certification of his successor.

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Now, he adds another: Even as he hopes to return to the White House in 2025, he is the first former president to be indicted.

The latest line crossed by Trump challenges again the aura of the American presidency, nurtured in the infallibility of George Washington but made human over and over, through scandals born of greed and the abuse of power, corruption and naivete, sex and lies about sex.

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Trump is hardly the first president, in or out of office, to face legal trouble.

In 1974, Richard Nixon may well have avoided criminal charges on obstruction of justice or bribery, related to the Watergate scandal, only because President Gerald Ford pardoned him just weeks after Nixon resigned the presidency. Bill Clintons law license in his native Arkansas was suspended for five years after he reached a deal with prosecutors in 2001, at the end of his second term, over allegations that he lied under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Some historians wonder about President Warren Hardings fate had he not died in office, in 1923. Numerous officials around him would be implicated in various crimes, including Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, whose corrupt land dealings became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal.

The walls were closing in on him, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said of Harding.

Trumps indictment in New York reportedly is linked to how business records were mischaracterized in connection with paying porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016, shortly before Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton for the presidency, to keep Daniels from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with him years earlier. Trump denies having sex with her.

Trump also is being investigated for allegedly attempting to change the 2020 vote results in Georgia, a state he narrowly lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attempted to stop the congressional certification of Biden as president. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the New York investigation a witch hunt.

While in office, Trump adopted the view of a Justice Department legal opinion that a president could not be indicted. Once a president leaves office, though, that protection falls away.

Most ex-presidents of the past half-century have led relatively uneventful public lives  creating foundations, delivering lucrative speeches, or in the case of Jimmy Carter, doing abundant charitable works. Nixons disgrace scarred him for years, though he eventually reemerged to talk about global affairs and counsel aspiring politicians and potential presidents, including Trump.

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The immediate cause of Nixons resignation was the discovery of the smoking gun  Oval Office tape recordings, initiated by Nixon himself, that revealed he had ordered a cover-up of the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington. By 1974, the scandal had expanded well beyond the initial crime. Many of Nixons top aides had stepped down and were eventually imprisoned. Nixon himself was a possible target of the Watergate special counsel.

There were partisans in Congress and on the special counsels staff who would have liked to see Nixon indicted after the resignation  or at least believed that the pardon was premature, says John A. Farrell, author of Richard Nixon: The Life, a prize-winning biography published in 2017. But the special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, had consistently chosen to deal with Nixon via the constitutional, impeachment process.

Farrell notes that Fords pardon happened so soon after Nixon stepped down that Jaworskis office didnt have time to fully consider charges against Nixon. Ford himself would say that an indictment, a trial, a conviction, and anything else that transpired would have distracted the country from more immediate problems.

This much can be said: Nixon himself was very worried about the possibility (of prosecution), to the point of ruining his health, Farrell said, referring to Nixons battles with phlebitis, the inflammation of veins in the leg. He mused aloud about how some of the great political writing in history had been crafted in jail cells. His very worried family reached out to the White House, alerting Fords aides of the ex-presidents deteriorating condition.

The administrations of Nixon and Harding were among several defined by scandal, without the president being charged.

Ulysses Grant, the Union general and hero of the Civil War, was otherwise naive about those around him. Numerous members of his presidential administration were involved in financial wrongdoing, from extortion to market manipulation. Grant himself was caught for a more trivial offense. In 1872, during his first term, he was stopped twice for riding his carriage too fast.

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The second time Grant had to pay a $20 fine, but never spent a night in jail, says historian Ron Chernow, whose Grant biography was published in 2017.

Tragedy may have spared one future president.

In the fall of 1963, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was out of favor in the Kennedy administration and in possible legal danger because his top aide, Bobby Baker, was under investigation for financial dealings and influence peddling. Johnson, with his own history of questionable finances, was denying any close ties to a man he had once claimed to love as a son.

By the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, Life magazine was planning a investigation and congressional hearings were just getting started. But within hours, Kennedy had been assassinated, Johnson sworn in as his successor and interest in the affairs of Baker had essentially ended.
KEARNEY  Bruce Whitacre feels drawn to poetry for the mediums ability to serve different purposes.

Ive written in many forms, said the former Kearney resident. Ive written stories, screenplays and I worked in theater for a long time. I came to poetry in the last five or six years. I tend to be a narrative poet, so I believe that poetry can be used for storytelling. I think that poetry works for me in this project because it is so flexible.

In his book, The Elk in the Glade: The World of Pioneer and Painter Jennie Hicks, the writer uses lyrical poetry, prose poems and ekphrastic poetry to explore the life of his great-grandmother, a pioneer girl who went on to become an accomplished landscape painter in 20th-century rural Nebraska.

Pictures painted with words What: Bruce Whitacre reads from his book, Elk in the Glade: The World of Pioneer and Painter Jennie Hicks. When: 7 p.m. Tuesday. Where: Kearney Public Library at 2020 First Ave. Admission: Free. Contact: 308-233-3282; KearneyLib.org.

I wrote some hypothetical poems about why she painted mountains when she lived in the prairie, Whitacre said. Poetry is broad enough and flexible enough to hold the aspects of this story that I was interested in, which was the emotional journey of an artist like Jenny from her prairie childhood to exposure to the arts in the East when she went to her home in Cleveland.

After her children grew up and her husband died, Hicks devoted herself to painting.

Whitacre will read from his book during a public event at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Kearney Public Library. His reading is part of the month-long poetry event, How the Light Gets In: A Celebration of Poetry in Central Nebraska presented by Kearney Public Library and the Prairie Art Brothers.

Admission to the reading is free.

Whitacre will also lead a poetry workshop at noon Tuesday at the library. Admission for the workshop is $15 and includes lunch.

Want to hear more? Additional stops on the tour of Bruce Whitacre:  April 6  5 p.m.  Francie and Finch Bookshop, Lincoln.  April 13  7 p.m.  Dawson County Historical Society Museum, Lexington.  April 17  1 p.m.  Red Cloud Opera House Gallery, Red Cloud.  April 20  7 p.m.  Museum of the High Plains, McCook.  April 22  2 p.m.  South Pointe Barnes & Noble, Lincoln.  April 23  1 p.m.  The Bookworm, Omaha.

This is my celebration of the people who raised me, in many ways, the poet said. And many of these poems are elegies to my aunts and grandmother, Jennys daughter, as well as to Jenny. The forms of poetry fit what I was after in this story.

Born in 1879 in Cleveland, Ohio, Jennie Fitch Hicks moved with her family to Nebraska in the 1880s. After marriage, childrearing and the untimely death of her husband, she moved to Farnam in the late 1930s where she painted more than 1,500 landscapes in oil. She sold 1,000 pieces of her artwork to patrons throughout the United States, Canada and Britain. She died in 1977.

Whitacre is touring Nebraska in support of his book. His tour coincides with Jennie Fitch Hicks: Paintings and Poetry, a special exhibit of Hicks work at the Dawson County Historical Society and Museum in Lexington, currently on display through Aug. 3. The exhibit features more than 20 paintings from the collections of Hicks descendants, marking her first museum show.

Whitacre said he wanted to capture moments and images that helped tell the story of his great-grandmother. The brevity of poetry works well with that goal.

Images are extremely important in poetry, of course, he said. I didnt want to write A Little House on the Prairie or a romance novel  all those stories are told. We can fill in the gaps where she went from being a child in a sod house to a mother painting a picture. Poetry gave me the chance to jump in and out of the steps in the story.

Whitacre, who lives in New York, acknowledges the parallels of his life to the life of his great-grandmother. He retired from a career in the arts to writing full time at about the same age that Hicks devoted her time to painting.

Ive been writing about her life since I was 10 years old and I first heard these stories, he said. I really got on to this project about six years ago when I was back in Nebraska and I visited the cemetery in Farnam for the very first time. And the last poem is almost exactly what happened  I felt this sudden presence of all these people Id grown up with.

The project started emerging in 2020 during the pandemic lockdowns.

Whitacre grew up in Kearney and graduated from Kearney High School.

I was a paperboy for the Hub, he said.

Growing up in Kearney allowed Whitacre a chance to live a carefree life. He spent a lot of time around Kearney Lake near where the family also lived.

I have a lot of poems based in Kearney, or going back to childhood memories, he said. Being around nature and being in a town where you could ride your bike downtown and pay your paper bill with the Hub and go to Pauls Broiler and have a breakfast  and youre only 10 years old. It gave you so much control and independence and confidence to live in a town like that.
LINCOLN  This week hundreds of FFA students and their advisors from across the state descended on Lincoln for this years State FFA Convention.

Each year the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation selects two recipients for their FFA Advisor of the Year award. This award honors FFA advisors for outstanding work in their local communities.

Hannah Horak from Shelton High School and Boyd Bowder from St. Paul High School were honored Thursday at the Nebraska State FFA Convention in Lincoln. The winning advisors received a plaque and a $1,000 donation to their FFA chapter.

The teachers were nominated by their students and chosen based on their school and community involvement, their leadership development in the classroom and their ability to keep students involved in agriculture.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation is proud to support these exceptional educators. They go above and beyond for their students and the industry they love, and the future of Nebraska agriculture is bright thanks to their work, said Megahn Schafer, executive director of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation.

Horak is the FFA Advisor for the Shelton FFA Chapter. As described by her students, Horak creates a learning community through relationships with other teachers, community members, students and agriculture industry members to aid in agricultural and career development. A great example is the activity the Shelton FFA Chapter hosted in the schools greenhouse for elementary students. FFA members taught the elementary students how to plant flowers and grow houseplants. Each elementary student not only took home a plant of their own, but Horak planted a seed in each of those elementary students that encouraged them to become involved in agriculture.

I am honored to be nominated and recognized for this award. In just seven years, the Shelton FFA chapter has grown and succeeded in many different ways. Its been an honor to work with an incredible group of students and community members who are passionate about agricultural education and FFA. There are many amazing educators in this state who are deserving of this award, and Im humbled to know that my students found me deserving of it, too. I appreciate the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation for sponsoring this award and other programs such as the Teacher Retention Award and the Connecting Chapters Program, which have benefited the Shelton FFA Chapter and myself personally, said Horak.

The mission of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation is to engage youth, educators and the general public to promote an understanding of the vital importance of agriculture in the lives of all Nebraskans. The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For more information about the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, visit www.nefbfoundation.org.
As I walked at Fort Kearny State Recreation Area in early March, I waited. I gazed at the sky, searching for cranes. I listened.

At last, I heard the familiar cry of a sandhill crane, and I knew spring was coming.

Like Christmas gifts or the Thanksgiving turkey, I never get tired of this annual wonder.

A few evenings later, I drove to the bridge over the Platte River south of Gibbon to watch the cranes fly in for the night.

I parked, wrapped a blanket around myself like a cocoon and headed up to the crane-viewing platform beside the bridge.

It was well before sunset, but people were already keeping a vigil, gazing at the western horizon where a gauzy pink had begun to bleed into its edges.

Some clutched binoculars. A few gripped the leashes of their dogs. Others carried cameras with lenses longer than Pinocchios nose. A little girl stared at a poster about cranes and then looked at the sky. Where are they? she asked her father. "They will come," he said.

The cranes always come. A rebel crane never veers off from the flock to seek new scenery. He never delays his departure to bask for a few more days in that warm toasty place where he spends the winter. No. Every year, they come.

Last week, I headed out to Rowe Sanctuary to interview the volunteers who, like the cranes, arrive every year to lead tours, answer visitors questions and manage the gift shop during crane season.

Three days earlier, retired Hub assistant managing editor Dan Speirs had passed away, but the minute I stepped out of my car at Rowe, I heard the cranes cries, and they lifted my sorrowful soul.

I stood there, listening, watching, savoring the beauty of this annual wonder. I saw cranes weaving through the sky. I saw visitors with binoculars aimed overhead. I saw license plates from Colorado, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and beyond. Visitors had signed in from 40 states and 20 foreign countries, the Rowe staff told me.

I sat down with the staff and a few volunteers. Their stories are always, always intoxicating.

One year, I met a volunteer couple who knew nothing about the cranes, but as they drove along I-80, they saw hundreds of birds flying overhead. Curious, they got off at Gibbon, followed signs to Rowe Sanctuary and were hooked.

A few years ago, I talked to a volunteer who was so enthralled by the cranes that when she retired, she moved from Denver to a house on Kilgore Road so she could be close to the cranes every spring.

I talked to a volunteer from Ontario whod had a vicious 13-hour drive through bad weather to get here, but she got here. She wouldnt have missed it.

Another volunteer couple met while admiring sandhill cranes over the winter near the Bosque del Apache reserve in New Mexico. Both retired, they became a twosome. Now they roam the country, following cranes. They have traveled with our flocks all the way to Alaska.

This past Tuesday, I was at the annual Dutch oven cookout offered by Gene Hunt, superintendent of the Fort Kearny State Recreation Area and Fort Kearny, every crane season for Nebraska Game & Parks employees. Afterward, many of the out-of-town guests walked down the hike-bike trail to the Platte to watch the cranes come in for the night.

I joined them and happened to follow a man who lugged a camera as big as a fishing tackle box. He was a newcomer to all this. When we got to the bridge over the Platte, people were already lined up, waiting.

I heard a few cranes in nearby cornfields, but they hadnt come to the river yet. The man was puzzled. Where are they? he asked. "Wait a few minutes," I said. I assured him that they would come. They always do. As we talked, I told him about the year I watched cranes fly in as a fat full moon rose like a yellow balloon in the eastern sky.

This weekend, two friends are coming from Chicago. I've already promised to show them the cranes. No matter how many times I watch, I am awed.
This undated photo, provided by the Seoul Subway Police, shows cash, mobile phones and other objects the police seized from the leader of a phone theft ring. Yonhap



Fifteen people, including a Vietnamese illegal immigrant, have been arrested for stealing mobile phones and smuggling them into Vietnam, officials said Sunday.



The Vietnamese, who has been detained in the face of a prosecutors' probe, is suspected of buying stolen mobile phones for as little as 200,000 won ($156) and reaping around 18 million won in profits by smuggling them into Vietnam between July 2021 and March this year, according to the Seoul Subway Police.



Police also detained eight others on charges of stealing and selling the phones to the Vietnamese national, and referred them to the prosecution.



To reset the stolen devices in order to sell them, police said the suspects sent text messages to the owners of the phones, saying they had found the lost phones and provided a link to a map of the phone's current location, and asked them to enter their log-in information to view the map.



The phones that were reset were then smuggled into Vietnam through retail traders and export agencies.



Most of the phones were stolen from drunk passengers on the subway. (Yonhap)


Pope Francis blesses faithful with olive and palm branches before celebrating the Palm Sunday's mass in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican Sunday, a day after being discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where he has been treated for bronchitis, The Vatican said. AP-Yonhap



Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm.



Thousands of people waved palm and olive branches as Francis was driven into St. Peter's Square sitting in the back of a white, open-topped vehicle before the start of the Mass, which lasted two hours.



"I thank you for your participation and also for your prayers, which intensified during these past days. Thank you," he said at the end of the service in an apparent reference to his recent illness, drawing loud applause from the crowd.



The pope, 86, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, but recovered quickly following an infusion of antibiotics and returned to his Vatican residence on Saturday.



Looking to allay concerns about his health, the Vatican has said he will take part in a full array of Easter events this week, the busiest period in the Roman Catholic Church calendar, starting with the open-air Palm Sunday service.



The pontiff, wearing red vestments, spoke with a quiet, but clear voice as he addressed a crowd estimated by police to be 60,000-strong. For most of the service he remained seated, but he stood at the end for a final blessing.



In his homily he called on people not to ignore those experiencing great suffering and solitude.



"Today their numbers are legion. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers, prisoners are disowned; people written off as problems," he said.



Speaking at the end of the Mass, the pope, as he often does, recalled "the battered people of Ukraine", and urged the faithful to pray for an end to the war.



Francis, who marked the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March, has suffered a number of ailments in recent years, including severe knee pain, which means he uses a cane and often a wheelchair in his public appearances.



His difficulties with mobility have limited his participation at some events, and as happened last year, a senior cardinal celebrated the actual Mass on Sunday.



At the end of the ceremony, the pope was driven slowly around the square for around 10 minutes. He waved and smiled at the well-wishers and appeared in good spirits.



"We are very happy to see him and considering what has happened over the past few days, we think he looks quite well," said Antonio Donatelli, a tourist from southern Italy.



Palm Sunday marks the day that the Bible says Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds, the week before Christian believe he rose from the dead following his execution on the Cross.



On Holy Thursday, Francis will celebrate Mass in a prison for juveniles in Rome, but it was not yet clear if he would participate in the traditional Good Friday Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession around Rome's ancient Colosseum.



However, the pope, head of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, will preside over the Mass on Easter Sunday, the most important day on the Christian liturgical calendar, where he is expected to read his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message. (Reuters)


Mitchell Ludtke, 40, of Knapp, was arrested Saturday after crashing his vehicle into two sheriffs department squad cars and attempting to crash into a Cornell officer.

Ludtke now faces three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, felony bail jumping, operating while intoxicated, knowingly fleeing, misdemeanor bail jumping, operating after revocation, and two counts of felony criminal damage to property.

According to the Chippewa County Sheriffs Department, officers were in pursuit of Ludtkes vehicle in the northeast corner of Chippewa County when Ludtke attempted to strike a marked Cornell police squad vehicle, as well as the Cornell officer.

Ludtke was pursued into Dunn County by law enforcement officers from the Chippewa County Sheriffs Office, including the sheriff, Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin DNR, city of Cornell officers, city of Bloomer officers and Dunn County Sheriffs officers. The chase went on for more than an hour, according to Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes.

Ludtkes vehicle was stopped and Ludtke was taken into custody.

Hakes wrote in a press release Saturday that two of the Sheriffs vehicles became disabled due to the damage caused.

There were no reported injuries.

Hakes said in a social media post, Thank you to everyone whos reached out about concerns for the staff. They finished their shifts and made it home safely.
A research vessel that will transform aquatic science education in Wisconsin is getting closer to hitting the water.

Faculty from the UW-La Crosse River Studies Center visited Seattle recently to meet with officials from Munson Boats, the company manufacturing the research vessel Prairie Springs  a 32-foot, state-of-the-art, aluminum vessel expected to be completed this summer.

Were thinking not only about safety and how usable it is, but also about the functionality of it  which features it will be equipped with, said Eric Strauss, professor of biology and director of the River Studies Center. Thats why were really taking our time during the design phase. We want to make sure its something our students will enjoy using for research as well as education.

Now, new design mockups offer a clearer picture of how the vessel will look and function once complete.

Colin Belby, professor of geography and earth science, and assistant director of the River Studies Center, said the vessel will be a major boost to the university.

He expects it to unlock new opportunities for students, and faculty, as well as current and future state K-12 educators.

The boats we have now are great, but the new vessel will allow us to get more students out on the water at the same time, with the capacity to do more things, Belby said. Well be able to do different analyses  water sampling, sonar-based work, mapping features and habitats within the river system  and bring the program to a new level.

The vessel will have twin 225-horsepower motors, allowing for a top speed around 40 mph. Additionally, the vessels catamaran hull will have a 20-inch draft, making it well-suited for the shallow backwaters of the Mississippi River.

The scientific features, paired with a performance-based design, will create new and impactful opportunities to explore the river, cementing UWLs role as a regional leader in aquatic science.

When looking at other universities upstream and downstream, Belby said, Im not aware of anyone with a vessel like this one.

The research vessel Prairie Springs will also serve as a cornerstone of UWLs new research partnership with J.F. Brennan Co., a harbor management and marine construction firm based in La Crosse.

Under the agreement, Brennan will store and maintain the vessel, while working with UWL to ensure curricula meet evolving industry standards.

Our business, like any business, is fundamentally based on the ability to recruit, train and retain good people, said Brennan President and CEO Matt Binsfeld. Its going to be a great opportunity to get the technology that we use into the hands of students.

Construction of the vessel is funded through a nearly $500,000 gift from Prairie Springs: The Paul Fleckenstein Trust to the La Crosse Community Foundation.

Trustees Jay and Carolyn Scott made the gift in honor of Paul Fleckenstein, Carolyns late brother, who was a powerful proponent of environmental education and conservation programs.

This donation, paired with a previous $2 million gift assisting in the construction of the Prairie Springs Science Center, supports the Scotts vision of UWL as a springboard for future generations of scientists and water professionals.

Paul established the trust to support research and scholarship in environmental studies and education, wildlife habitat and protection, conservation, and ecological technology, Carolyn says. The research vessel will add another dimension to fulfilling that mission on one of the great waterways in North America.

As trustees, we believe Paul would be thrilled to be associated with this initiative. He also would be grateful for the partnership with J.F. Brennan and the creation of significant experiential learning opportunities for UWL students, research opportunities for faculty and the opportunity to advance the La Crosse community.

Once construction of the vessel is complete, faculty from the River Studies Center will return to Seattle for a sea trial and training session.

A christening and maiden voyage out of La Crosse could happen as soon as the fall semester.
WASHINGTON  Federal courts have implemented a rare tweak to their ethics rules for Supreme Court justices and federal judges following bipartisan congressional pressure.

The Judicial Conference of the United States has adopted a new reporting rule for travel and other hospitality gifts with a narrower exemption for what's known as "personal hospitality," according to a letter released this past week through Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, & Federal Rights.

The change from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts comes following years of pressure on the court over ethics issues, with Whitehouse as one of the most vocal on the issue, and a string of public reports about the ethics decisions of the justices.

"These new rules will make it much harder for justices to travel, dine, hunt, or vacation for free at the private resort of a wealthy corporate executive  especially one with business before their court  and avoid disclosing that information to the public," Whitehouse said in a press release.

The change follows years of bipartisan concerns from lawmakers about ethics at the high court. In 2021, Whitehouse and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the justices asking about the hospitality rules as well as broader concerns about an ethics standard for the justices.

Under the new rule, judges and justices can only avoid reporting "personal hospitality" like food and lodging when staying at a personal home, according to the March 23 letter to Whitehouse from Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

If the food or lodging is at a commercial facility or the lodging is owned by an entity other than an individual it must be disclosed, according to the letter. The new regulations went into effect in March, Mauskopf's letter said.

The rules apply to disclosures mandated by federal law for members of all three branches of the government. Whitehouse and some others said justices had taken advantage of an exemption from disclosure for personal hospitality.

Advocates have called for more robust hospitality reporting rules and ethics standards for more than a decade. In 2004, an environmental group asked Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse himself from a case involving then-Vice President Dick Cheney because the former rode on Air Force Two during a hunting trip  a request Scalia refused.

For years there have been bipartisan efforts to address ethics concerns among Supreme Court justices and federal judges more broadly.

Last Congress, legislators passed a law creating a new requirement for federal judges to post stock transactions but have so far not acted on further ethics rules for federal judges or Supreme Court justices.

Last year Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee voted on party lines to advance a bill that would create new recusal standards for when a justice should not sit on a case because of a conflict and require the creation of a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices and a new code of conduct for all federal judges, among other provisions.

That measure did not advance in the full House and faced uniform Republican opposition.

The 9 current justices of the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Justice Clarence Thomas Justice Samuel Alito Justice Sonia Sotomayor Justice Elena Kagan Justice Neil Gorsuch Justice Brett Kavanaugh Justice Amy Coney Barrett Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Heavy equipment operators view a crushed vehicle under a downed roof across the street from the Apollo Theatre, April 1, 2023, in Belvidere. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere Sunday morning to survey damage caused by the Friday tornado that killed one man and injured more than 40 adults during a metal concert.

Later in the day, he held a news conference in Robinson, a city of roughly 7,200 people about 290 miles southeast of Belvidere. Three people were killed and eight others injured in the Robinson area, which is located in Crawford County.

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Twelve tornadoes tore through Illinois Friday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed.

[ Tornadoes touching down in new areas; season is starting sooner and lasting longer, experts say ]

This is a devastating day for the families of the deceased, Pritzker said at the afternoon news conference, flanked by various state and Crawford County officials. There are no words that can alleviate the pain of such a tragic and sudden loss.

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Pritzker declared a state disaster proclamation for Boone County, which includes Belvidere, Crawford County, DuPage County in Chicagos western suburbs, Sangamon County in the Springfield area and Marion County in south-central Illinois. These counties will be prioritized by the Pritzker administration to receive state help to aid in their cleanup and recovery efforts.

With more severe weather predicted for Election Day, the Chicago Board of Elections urged voters to early vote Monday or vote early in the day Tuesday. The weather service is forecasting damaging winds, hail and potential tornadoes Tuesday afternoon and evening.

In Belvidere, Pritzker praised the quick work of residents and first responders who helped pull people out of the rubble after the tornado touched down Friday evening. He said their actions saved lives.

The people of Illinois know when others are hurting, he said. Neighbors show up for each other to help alleviate the suffering, and as your governor, I really couldnt be more proud of everyone.

The news conference took place at 104 N. State St., Belvidere, the site where a twister caused the theaters roof to collapse onto the crowd.

[ Officials confirm tornado hit Belvidere just before deadly roof collapse at metal concert ]

Dan Zaccard, director of Boone County emergency management, told the Tribune that 50-year-old Frederick Forest Livingston, Jr. died in the collapse. By Saturday, Zaccard said that some of the over 40 injured had already gone home. Those still hospitalized had mostly suffered head trauma and soft tissue injuries, he said. None of the injured were children.

During the Belvidere news conference, Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau also expressed gratitude for those who were on the scene Friday night.

If it wasnt for the fast and coordinated efforts on Friday night, we would have seen a more tragic outcome from the events, Tate-Nadeau said. I really want to tell you what a great job your fire and police have done for you in being able to respond to this incident. If it wasnt for their actions, there would have been many more lost lives.

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Zaccard said the tornado, characterized as an EF-1, had wind speeds between 90 and 100 mph.

The weather service did their survey and found the tornado had a 28-mile track that started in Ogle County and ended in North Boone County, Zaccard said.

Belvidere is located in central Boone County.

ICYMI, we confirmed a total of 12 tornadoes in our forecast area yesterday. Several areas of potential tornado damage have yet to be investigated closely, though we should have some more info available after we conduct additional damage surveys today and tomorrow. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/UiZYDgZCS2  NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) April 2, 2023

In Crawford County, Sheriff William Rutan said the tornado weather left more than an 18-mile trail of damage in the county. He told the Tribune that included in the damage was the Crawford County Airport. He said its hangars and a control center were damaged, though the runways were untouched. Nonetheless, he said the airport is unusable.

Its going to take a lot of time to fix this damage because theres a lot of it, Rutan said during the afternoon news conference, referring more broadly to the storm damage in Crawford County, which is rural and sits next to the Indiana border.

IEMA is also working with local officials to assess storm damage throughout Illinois.

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Crawford County officials said theyre trying to figure out where to set up dumpsters for helping with their cleanup. State officials also praised the community for coming together, from high schoolers delivering lunch and water to utility workers to others trying to help people trapped in basements.

I have to tell you that after seeing the damage and seeing the response so far, Im most impressed with the resiliency of this community, the resiliency of the Crawford County community, IEMA Deputy Director Scott Swinford said at the news conference. I saw donations by local businesses. I saw volunteer groups. I saw neighbors helping neighbors.

He also said hes been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency more than once today and they are standing by to provide assistance as we find it necessary.

President Joe Biden said in a statement on Sunday that hes reached out to Pritzker and spoken to other governors and other officials whose areas were affected by the storms, offering them any federal assistance they need.

Theres nothing we can do to heal the hole left in the hearts of far too many families who lost loved ones this weekend, but we will be there every step of the way as they rebuild and recover, said Biden.

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Illinois state Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet praised first responders trying to find people after the tornado in Crawford County to bring them help and aid and spoke of dangerous conditions in the aftermath of the tornado brought upon by live, downed power lines.

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This was a tragedy of enormous implication, said Rose. As bad as it was, it couldve been so much worse.

In Sangamon County in central Illinois, 30 to 40 homes were damaged just outside Springfield, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell told the Tribune. Much of that damage occurred in the town of Sherman, which borders the states capital. Campbell also said at least one horse stable was destroyed and 32 horses went missing. He said Sunday evening he did not know if theyve been found.

Tornado weather also blew the roof off a child care facility in Riverton, also outside Springfield, Campbell said.

The only injuries Campbell attributed to the weather in the county was a single-vehicle crash that left two people hurt, but he didnt know their conditions as of Sunday evening.

Pritzker said his administration is working alongside local officials to assess other storm impacts throughout the state. He said power will be restored to the remaining 4,400 people experiencing outages by Monday.
In the fall of 1989, I was doing research into the ways people justify doing harm to others. Sitting in the lower levels of the Johns Hopkins library, methodically working my way through a pile of readings on cruelty, I opened a book by Philip Hallie. There I found a description of a moment that changed his life:

I came across a short article about a little village in the mountains of southern France.  About halfway down the third page of the account of this village, I was annoyed by a strange sensation on my cheeks.  I reached up to my cheek to wipe away a bit of dust, and I felt tears upon my fingertips.

He explained that years of research into cruelty, studying the experiments Nazi doctors had conducted on children in the death camps, had drained away his humanity. Yet, when he encountered the story of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and the villagers who risked their lives to save thousands of Jewish children during World War II, his body responded to the goodness that his mind had kept walled off. He eventually went on to write the first in-depth account of those heroic events in a book titled Lest Innocent Blood be Shed.

Hallies story caused me to rethink my own research. Maybe I was trying to answer the wrong question. Maybe I should ask instead how people become committed to doing good. Reframing the focus of my research, I began to notice the many ways we attempt to prevent and punish bad behavior instead of nurturing goodness.

The average child hears the word no about 400 times a day. Businesses, professional associations and government bodies compose ethics codes consisting entirely of prohibitions. Republican legislators trip over themselves to prohibit teachers from teaching things they regard as harmful. Students at our nations top law schools are more interested in silencing speakers than listening to them. The heroes of our most popular movies, like John Wick, specialize in killing those who kill.

This preoccupation with reacting to the wrongdoers also affects how we view history. Louis Pasteur saved billions of lives, yet students learn much more about Adolf Hitler.

For 16 years Ive been involved in Holocaust education, working with Darryle Clott to bring scholars and survivors to Viterbo University to lead a workshop for teachers of history and literature. Many assume that spending time with survivors and hearing their stories must be unbearably depressing, but I have found that what I remember most vividly are the life-sustaining kindnesses both given and received.

I remember Nesse Godin, when asked how she managed to be so happy, replied that she could be cheerful during the daytime surrounded by friends, but the nightmares returned when she was alone in the dark. Of course, the darkness was still there, but when she told a roomful of children about the time an old woman in the camp shared with her a precious piece of bread, one could see the light of goodness shining through it.

I remember Gerda Weissman Klein telling about the day she was liberated. Two American soldiers pulled up to an abandoned factory where 150 young women, the few survivors of a monthslong death march, had been deposited. Gerda saw the soldiers and uttered a word of caution: We are Jewish, you know. The soldier was silent for a long time, then he replied, So am I. He held the door open for her. That was the moment of restoration of humanity, of humaneness, of dignity, of freedom, she said.

I remember Magda Herzberger, at 90 years old, dancing about the stage for nearly three hours, reading love poems she had written to an adoring audience.

And I remember Peter Feigl, just a few days ago, smiling broadly as he told about the day he was dropped off alone on a roadside in southern France at 12 years old and how Daniel Trocme, who ran a boarding school for orphans in Le Chambon, met him and walked with him to the village. He told us about the old woman who, when asked why she and her neighbors risked their lives to help children like Peter, smiled and tapped the Bible in the crook of her arm: I guess we all got caught up in a conspiracy of goodness.

We tend to assume that if we root out bad behavior most of our social problems will be solved. But that is a naive assumption. When our attention is focused only on responding to evil, we forget that the chief task of those who would make a better world is not to tear down but to build up.

What does it take to create more communities like Le Chambon, where parents and grandparents regard all children as our children? Where kindness and generosity are not regarded as exceptional but just what everybody does every day? Where people feel no need to speak truth to power but speak simply, humbly and honestly to everybody they meet as a matter of course?

The day after the workshop I had lunch with Stephen Feinberg, one of the nations top experts in Holocaust education. He had spent the last couple days lecturing on topics like Nazi racial ideology, propaganda and American relations with Nazi Germany. But we werent discussing those topics during lunch; we were talking about our lives, about what is most important to us. You know, he said, I think what I care most about is friendship.

That is how it should be. If we want to be prepared to confront evil when it arises, we cannot wait until it arises to respond to it.

The hidden lesson of the Holocaust is that the heroes who rise up in resistance to evil have themselves been raised by communities of people committed to goodness. That is something we need to work at every day.
The four defendants charged in the ComEd bribery scheme are, from left, consultant Jay Doherty, lobbyist and former ComEd executive John Hooker, retired lobbyist Michael McClain and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore. (Chicago Tribune photos)

The shockingly abrupt end to House Speaker Michael Madigans nearly four-decade reign over Illinois politics was only two years away when a trio of key players in the ongoing ComEd Four trial gathered in early 2019 for a secretly recorded conference call.

Unaware of the bribery investigation swirling around them, Anne Pramaggiore and Michael McClain were planning a bright future in Madigans good graces. First, though, they had to hash out a problem: Who was going to be their new point person to maintain the cozy relationship with Madigan and keep the legislative wins coming?

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Were in a conundrum, McClain, the former ComEd lobbyist and longtime Madigan confidant, said on the Feb. 22, 2019, call, which was played in the courtroom last week.

They were joined on the call by senior ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who went along with the strategy session as he had many times in his seven years managing the utilitys legislative affairs team.

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A recorded phone conversation between Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore and Fidel Marquez was played at the "ComEd Four" trial. (Chicago Tribune Handout)

What McClain and Pramaggiore didnt know was that there was a fourth party on the line: the FBI.

We wanted to put the three of us together, Pramaggiore said to Marquez, who unbeknownst to her had secretly agreed to cooperate with federal authorities, breaking the bribes-for-favors scandal wide open. We  weve got a problem with the Springfield dynamics.

Listen to the audio, which was split into two parts when submitted into evidence:

The recording went on to put the jury in the middle of a fascinating brainstorming session, one that got to the heart of the long and mutually beneficial relationship between the company and the speaker.

It came at a time that Madigan was still riding high, enjoying the success of his legislative victories in the 2018 election, where he racked up his biggest-ever majority of 74 House Democrats. Hed worked through a 2018 #MeToo reckoning in Springfield, where he needed to oust top aides and allies. And Democrat J.B. Pritzker had defeated Madigans Republican nemesis, Gov. Bruce Rauner, whose political battles with the speaker had driven Illinois into dire fiscal straits over their two-year standoff.

But it turned out Madigans winning streak was about to come to an end. Less than three months after the strategy call, the feds raided McClains home in Quincy and those of other top allies around Chicago, the first public sign of the investigation that ultimately would end Madigans nationwide record 36 years as speaker.

In January 2021, Madigan was dethroned by his own House Democrats, followed by his indictment in March 2022 on racketeering charges.

Defendant Anne Pramaggiore walks down Dearborn Street after exiting the U.S. Dirksen Courthouse in downtown Chicago following the first day of the ComEd Four bribery conspiracy trial on March 14, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

The ComEd Four trial, now headed into its fourth week, has offered a sort of preview to Madigans case, which is set for trial in April 2024.

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Along with McClain and Pramaggiore, the two other defendants are John Hooker, a former ComEd executive and longtime lobbyist, and Jay Doherty, a ComEd contract lobbyist and ex-president of the City Club civic organization.

They are accused of steering $1.3 million in payments from ComEd to Madigan-approved subcontractors with Dohertys consulting firm who did little or no work in a bid to win the speakers influence over the utilitys legislative agenda in Springfield.

[ ComEd Four trial: Evidence seen and heard by the jury ]

The indictment also alleged the defendants schemed to hire a clout-heavy law firm run by Madigans onetime ally Victor Reyes, appoint former McPier boss Juan Ochoa to the companys board of directors, and stack the utilitys summer internship program with candidates sent from Madigans 13th Ward.

The four on trial have all pleaded not guilty. Their lawyers have contended the government is trying to turn legal lobbying into a crime.

Meanwhile, Marquez, the governments star witness, will return to the witness stand for a fifth day Monday for more questioning from the defense, followed by redirect by the prosecution. He pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy, and prosecutors have agreed to not seek any jail time in exchange for his truthful cooperation.

Former senior ComEd executive Fidel Marquez in 2012. (Warren Skalski/ for the Chicago Tribune)

By the time the February 2019 call was placed, McClain had been so close to Madigan for so long  dating to when they met as young lawmakers in the 1970s  and had been so loyal to him that utility officials in the trial testified that they viewed their lobbyist as a double agent.

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For years, no one had greater access to Madigan or more of his trust than McClain, who camped out inside the speakers suite or just outside of his office on a padded bench in the Capitols rotunda while dispensing tidbits of knowledge to lobbyists and lawmakers seduced by his insider information.

But McClain had retired as a ComEd lobbyist at the end of 2016, only weeks after a major victory in the legislature for the utilitys parent company, Exelon, to save two nuclear power plants and the union jobs that went with them while boosting costs for consumers.

Despite his retirement, McClain stayed busy. ComEd hired him back as a consultant because officials had to call him so often for advice. He also took on what he called Madigans assignments, kept abreast of political strategy and played an instrumental role in fundraising for the speaker.

In the recorded phone call, McClain recounted for Pramaggiore and Marquez that his absence as a full-time lobbyist in Springfield had prompted Madigan to say he needed someone to fill the role of an all-purpose, one-stop-shop that McClain had so adeptly handled.

Defendant Michael McClain exits the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago during the ongoing ComEd Four bribery conspiracy trial on March 28, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Having briefed Pramaggiore already, McClain immediately brought Marquez up to speed.

So Fidel, McClain said, the speaker called me up and said, You know, Mike, um, we have this green set of (pro-environmentalist) bills that they want to do.  Exelon Generation wants to do something. And no matter what happened in the past, Ive just always gone to you.  I always used you as the point person. But youre not here anymore, so whos the point person?

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And this is like at 4 or 4:30 at night, and he said, So if you can still get back to me before I go to dinner, Id appreciate it.

I went, Holy schtick, McClain said, laughing and clearing his throat.

Wow, Marquez said.

Later in the call, McClain explained his double-agent role, telling Marquez that the point person has to  have his trust and the companys trust.

And that persons gotta be very discreet, McClain said, pausing to clear his throat. And whoever that person is, uh, talking for the company, uh, like, let, lets say its you. Uh, theres a code, right?

Code is a word used often in the trial.

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Sometimes its a code that McClain uses rather than say Madigans name, such when he talks or writes to others and refers to the speaker as Our Friend or Himself. McClain once told authorities in an unrelated matter that he does that because no one knows who may be listening.

[ [Dont miss] ComEd Four bribery trial: What you need to know ]

At other times, the code is a reference for how to interpret Madigans occasionally cryptic way of saying what he wants without directly asking for it and how he might expect those around him to understand what they should do.

The call gave jurors a chance to hear McClain describe such an instance in detail.

So, like, when all of a sudden I come to you and say  Would you take a look at this resume? I mean, thats like, Will you drop and do and try to get this done as fast as possible? Right? McClain said.

McClain then gave another example of what to do if a lawmaker has a complaint, goes to the speaker for help and the speaker then turns to his point person.

The speaker says, McClain take a look at this. Uh, its, like, that, that sort of code that you know, Do everything that you can to fix it right away, right? McClain said on the recording. Thats what weve always done, but now were in a situation where, um, what do we do?

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McClain further explained Madigans point person should be a contract lobbyist rather than an actual full-time ComEd or Exelon employee, suggesting that juggling the complexities of the job as the go-between for Madigan and the utilities could be difficult or problematic for someone inside the company.

So its gotta be an agent, McClain said.

McClain raised the idea of making that agent Will Cousineau, a lobbyist who long worked as Madigans government-side political director and held a ranking position in the Madigan-run Democratic Party of Illinois.

Ive been trying to mentor him, McClain said. But I, I dont, I dont know if hes ready yet. You know what I mean? I know Heathers not ready yet. He was referring to Heather Wier Vaught, previously the speakers top lawyer, whom Marquez called a tough but fair negotiator on utility legislation, a job she handled on various issues many times.

Cousineau and Wier Vaught, who now has her own law firm, both left state government at different times and became contract lobbyists for ComEd and other clients. Testimony showed they participated with McClain and other ranking staffers in the speakers elite small group of political and legislative advisers on Sunday morning conference calls.

While Cousineau may have been known as a Madigan loyalist, that took on a new dimension when he became a surprise witness in the ComEd Four case last month, testifying under a grant of immunity from prosecutors.

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Will Cousineau, center, exits the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago after testifying in the ComEd Four bribery trial on March 23, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Cousineaus testimony could prove pivotal, as he so far is the only witness to describe how Madigan played a direct role in getting the Future Energy Jobs Act legislation passed for ComEd in 2016.

He told the jury that in the frenetic final hours before a vote, Madigan explicitly sent him out to the House floor to work the bill and rally advocates, which helped make the difference between the legislation passing or coming up a few votes short. Madigan himself did not cast a vote on the bill, suggesting neutrality despite his alleged assistance in passage.

Cousineau also provided an insider look at Madigans political operation, including private meetings with his inner circle of advisers to discuss legislative and campaign strategy  at least one of which was secretly recorded by the FBI.

He also offered insight into the political A-Team that made up Madigans vaunted 13th Ward operation, including Ray Nice, former Ald. Frank Olivo, current 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, and precinct captains and twin brothers Ed and Fred Moody, whom he would dispatch to key races to knock on doors and deliver votes.

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So far, Cousineau is the only person from Madigans inner circle to take the witness stand. While Wier Vaughts name has frequently popped up in the trial, she is not expected to testify.

The February 2019 call also gave a glimpse of how Pramaggiore, despite her new role at Exelon Utilities, plotted how to keep up the Madigan connections but work around Joe Dominguez, the new ComEd CEO who also happened to be a former federal prosecutor.

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McClain told Marquez that he should be the one to broach the idea of having an outside point person for both Madigan and then-Senate President John Cullerton.

Pramaggiore then told Marquez that he should make a recommendation to Dominguez that ComEd should consider making that point person McClain or Hooker.

Theyre seasoned. They know what theyre doing. The speaker will accept them, Pramaggiore said, adding that part of the calculus is putting the idea on the table for Dominguez so that he can decide what he wants to do.

rlong@chicagotribune.com

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
States are spending more money and creating new incentives to ease the severe child care crisis, with most federal pandemic aid set to dry up in September.

The child care shortage costs the United States $122 billion in lost earnings, productivity and revenue each year, according to ReadyNation, a consortium of business leaders under the umbrella of the Council for a Strong America, a bipartisan nonprofit that promotes workforce solutions.

A December 2022 survey of working parents found that about two-thirds of parents of infants and toddlers reported being late to work or having to leave work early because of inadequate child care. And 85% of parents surveyed said problems with child care hurt their work effort or their time available for work.

Polls have shown that large majorities of voters and small business leaders say access to affordable child care is essential or very important to strengthen the economy, giving politicians incentive to act.

States are turning to a variety of ideas to ease the burden, including grants, tax credits, salary supplements and incentives. The bipartisan measures aim to help families pay for child care, while bolstering businesses in a worker-scarce economy.

Of the roughly $52 billion that Congress approved in federal pandemic child care aid, states must spend all but $15 billion by Sept. 30.

The federal funding provided a lifeline for states to stabilize their child care systems, according to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit group that works with resource and referral agencies.

Diane Girouard, state policy senior analyst for Child Care Aware, said that with the federal funds running out, states now are aware of the difference the money can make in child care, which has given more impetus to state-sponsored funding efforts.

But while the federal pandemic money was helpful, experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the broader, longstanding problem of expensive and scarce child care.

This has been a crisis for so long in affordability and accessibility, Girouard said. But during the pandemic, it has gotten so much harder with rising costs and what continues to be a downward trend in licensed family child care, she said, referencing what is generally small, in-home day care operated by neighborhood residents. Its been really hard to staff child care programs.

The problems boil down to three main categories: the high cost of child care for families; a lack of available child care homes or centers; and low pay that has led to a shortage of workers.

For a long time, both child care access and affordability were considered personal issues that were ordinarily rendered without monetary compensation, said Gabrielle Pepin, an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Michigan. That history is reflected in the low pay for child care and early learning workers, she said.

The pandemic, school and child care closures made it apparent to many people that our economy depends on child care, she said. That began the move in states to address the problem.

In Maine, for example, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills included $10.5 million in her budget proposal that would help expand pre-K, and $7.8 million to continue salary supplements of $200 each for child care workers. That bonus program was started last year on an emergency basis, but Mills wants to make it permanent, according to Ana Hicks, policy director for human services in the Governors Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.

The budget is making its way through the legislative process.

Hicks said the program will change in July to a tiered system, under which teachers with advanced education will get higher stipends. The formula has yet to be worked out.

In addition, the Maine legislature considered a bill that would provide incentives to help existing businesses establish on-site child care for their employees. The governors office plans to conduct a study on the issue before final action.

Opposition to the state efforts has come mainly from conservative interest groups such as the Maine Policy Institute, which testified against the on-site child care bill. The institute argued that in-home or neighborhood child care is over regulated, and the state should concentrate on making it easier for neighborhood moms to look after kids, said Jake Posik, communications director for the conservative think tank.

But Hicks, the Maine governors point person on child care, said the key is to keep children in licensed centers while providing the owners with financial and business help.

Other states also are working on the issue.

In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Parson called in his State of the State speech for $56 million to expand pre-kindergarten options for families with lower incomes and $78 million to increase child care subsidy rates. He also proposed three new tax credits: for expansion of child care centers, for employers who offer assistance to employees for child care and for augmented pay for child care workers.

In Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in his State of the State address that he plans to make child care available to 15,000 more kids with money in his budget proposal, which is awaiting legislative approval.

And in Texas, buried in a bill that would give parents up to $8,000 vouchers for private schools and limit instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation, is a provision that would give teachers free access to pre-K programs for their own kids, if the programs exist in the school district.

Minnesota has two child care bills moving through the legislature. One would increase the amount that eligible families with low incomes would get for child care costs, and the other would add $12 million for child care centers through June and another $40 million for early learning scholarships.
Tuesday marks the end of another intense campaign season.

Voters will decide on school referendums and other issues. This election, residents of many communities will choose mayors and the people who will sit on their town boards, city councils and school boards.

The state will decide on a new Supreme Court justice in a race thats being watched around the country amid fights about abortion rights working their way through courts.

There was only one debate between liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz and conservative candidate Dan Kelly.

Instead, they attacked each other in campaign literature and on television ads, each making the other look like a monster in the black-and-white ads with key words in threatening fonts. Each candidate accused the other of being soft on crime in one form or another.

Its not the image of an impartial, thoughtful justice you hope youll see on a Supreme Court.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and her opponent, Gloria Reyes, on the other hand, seemed willing to debate anytime, anywhere. In fact, one night just before the primary they left a forum at the Urban League around 8:30 p.m. and walked straight into another one across the parking lot.

They disagree on how to handle housing, transportation and body cameras. But theyre willing to debate, and its clear their desire to serve is rooted in helping the city and its residents, even if they have different ideas on how to do that. There were tense moments to be sure, especially in the end days of the campaign, but it was largely civil and focused on the issues.

But debate answers are kept to a minute or two, and to say television ads stretch the truth is an understatement. So it can be hard to know what the real issues are and where the candidates stand.

Reporter Dean Mosiman wanted to focus on the citys most pressing issues and where each candidate stood.

So in a series of articles, he walked Rhodes-Conway and Reyes through the nuances of each issue to better understand how they would address it. Those issues included housing, public safety and body cameras, equity and transportation. They also covered city financing, an important topic considering the city is projected to have a serious budget deficit soon and the next mayor will have to find ways to make up for that.

Reporter Alex Shur covered the debate between Protasiewicz and Kelly.

But his reporting on the race went beyond that. He followed the campaigns and wrote about where each candidate stands on the issues, from abortion to whether recusals are necessary because each candidate is backed by a political party.

He also followed the money, writing about how outside groups spent a record amount of money to support one candidate or the other.

And reporter Chris Rickert did some fact-checking on an ad slamming Protasiewicz for being soft on crime and another accusing Kelly of defending dangerous criminals.

Shur also broke down the two constitutional amendment questions that will appear on the ballot.

Weve also covered school board debates, told you about school referendums and explained the issues on Madison voters ballots.

Quote box Nearly the entire newsroom will be at work election night, bringing live updates on madison.com and tracking how the candidates and issues are doing online and in Wednesdays paper. Well follow up later in the week with analysis and a look ahead at what the winners hope to accomplish.

For other races, we compiled a candidate Q&A for each race so you could hear from the candidates about where they stand on the biggest issues. You can find them on races from the Fitchburg mayor to city council races, and they might provide insight into the candidates views on issues you care about.

You can find all of the candidate Q&A stories at go.madison.com/election2023.

Reporters and photographers have spent a great deal of time and effort to bring readers this context and provide them with the information they may need to make an informed choice.

Nearly the entire newsroom will be at work election night, bringing live updates on madison.com and tracking how the candidates and issues are doing online and in Wednesdays paper. Well follow up later in the week with analysis and a look ahead at what the winners hope to accomplish in their terms.

You can find all the election coverage on madison.com. We hope that you find it a valuable resource this election.

On a related note, if you want to see an impressive grilling of candidates, check out the Simpson Street Free Press forum with the Madison School board candidates. Student interviewers were joined by some Madison journalists, and they asked some tough questions. You can find the video at go.madison.com/simpsonstreet.

And dont forget to vote Tuesday.
For the past decade, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has been a rubber stamp for the Republican-dominated state Legislature.

On issues such as extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression, the court has almost always sided with the Republican Legislature. The court came within one vote of possibly overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election and allowing the Republican Legislature to overturn the will of voters by reelecting Donald Trump as president.

It is time to break with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and friends and elect a justice who will not walk in lockstep with the Republican Party but instead vote on cases in an impartial, fair and independent manner.

Vote for Janet Protasiewicz for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice on Tuesday.

Dennis McGilligan, Madison

The Mendota Marsh collection
LA CROSSE  Crochet wonder Jonah Larson has been awarded the 2023 William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, a prestigious international recognition.

The La Crosse teen, who garnered worldwide fame four years ago after a profile in the La Crosse Tribune, is renowned for his skill with hook and yarn, as well as his generous nature and tenacity. As a child, Jonah was already using his artistic gift to bring attention to and support the needs of youths in his home country of Ethiopia, and in the years since he has raised tens of thousands to benefit the students of Teza Gerba School in Durame.

The William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, granted to one individual and one group, is presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and sponsored by Carter, a group of nonprofit professionals around the world. Jo nah was selected for the individual award for his demonstration of "exceptional generosity" and civic responsibility, as well as his encouragement of others to volunteer or contribute to charitable causes.

Jonah was nominated by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Upper Mississippi Valley Chapter. On a global level, the group has more than 27,000 members and 240 chapters that raise more than $100 billion each year for charities. Jonah will receive the award at the AFP ICON 2023 event on April 18 in New Orleans.

"I was blessed with a talent that brought me notoriety and the ability to help kids in my birthplace receive a better education and quality of life," Jonah said. "I discovered early on that giving back was equally important and more rewarding than receiving. Philanthropy doesn't require a talent or platform, but rather an understanding that each of us can contribute with a giving heart. You can even start with something as simple as a ball of yarn and a hook, as in my case."

Jonah's philanthropic efforts started relatively small, with donations to auctions and fundraisers supporting Roots Ethiopia. As his crochet sales grew  and his popularity soared from book deals, TV appearances, crafting partnerships and more  Jonah set his charitable goals higher, starting GoFundMe campaigns to raise enough capital to build the Jonah's Hands Library and Jonah's Hands on Science Lab at Teza Gerba School, as well as a new latrine facility for female students. In total, Jonah brought in $52,500 for the projects, drawing in contributions with his engaging, passionate calls to action.
GUATEMALA CITY  Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her Guatemalan counterpart, Alejandro Giammattei, on Saturday took in the jungle ruins of a Mayan civilization citadel where they observed an ancient ritual before a massive stone pyramid known as El Gran Jaguar.

The two shook hands there and vowed to maintain strong ties in the face of a diplomatic offensive by China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification.

The assembled dignitaries witness today the strengthening of the friendship between our nations, Guatemalan deputy culture minister Jenny Barrios said.

Tsais visit, which will also take her to Belize, comes days after neighboring Honduras broke diplomatic relations with Taipei to link up with Beijing, which does not allow countries to recognize both China and Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro is expected to visit China soon.

The two presidents walked to a nearby esplanade and shook hands for a symbolic official photo while a bonfire lit during a Mayan dance ceremony burned. They also witnessed a traditional ball game played in Mayan times.

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In a meeting with Giammattei on Friday night, Tsai thanked him for his support last year when China conducted military maneuvers near the island. AFP

She also highlighted cooperation with Guatemala, one of only 13 diplomatic allies the self-governing island has in the world, mostly small nations in the Caribbean, the Pacific and Latin America.

Speaking to the media with Tsai at his side, Giammattei called Taiwan the one and only true China.

Some Guatemalans believe their nation is losing economic opportunities by choosing Taiwan over mainland China.

China is a market of more than one billion people, and it would be in the interest of some Guatemalan sectors to export and import products from China, sociologist and political analyst Miguel Angel Sandoval told AFP.

On Sunday, Tsai will visit a new hospital in the city of Chimaltenango, in western Guatemala, built with a $22 million donation from Taipei.

Tsai will then leave for Belize, where she is to meet with Prime Minister John Briceno on Monday and depart on Tuesday.

On her way home, Tsai will stop in California to meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a meeting that prompted China to warn Washington that it is playing with fire.

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Pope Francis thanked those who prayed for him during his illness Sunday, after presiding over mass in St Peters Square, just a day after leaving hospital following a bout of bronchitis.

I thank you for your participation and also for your prayers, which intensified during these past days. Thank you! he said.

The 86-year-olds admittance to hospital on Wednesday with breathing difficulties sparked concerns he may not be well enough to attend a series of rites in the most important week in the Christian calendar.

REBOUNDING POPE. This photo taken and issued as a handout on April 2, 2023 by the Vatican Media shows a girl handing an olive branch to Pope Francis during the Palm Sunday mass on April 2, 2023 at St. Peters square in The Vatican. AFP / Vatican Handout

But Francis had promised to be present, and he waved briefly to some 30,000 people as he rode in his popemobile through the square, which was adorned with over 35,000 plants and flowers.

He looked serious as he followed the procession through St Peters Square of religious figures, including red-robed cardinals, carrying large palm leaves and olive branches.

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He blessed the palms, then walked a short way with the aid of a walking stick to the altar, where he sat while the ceremony was conducted by a cardinal.

The Vatican said this was an arrangement adopted prior to the popes latest illness, as the Argentine is no longer able to stand for long periods.

Francis, who had appeared pale at times, stood to say the Angelus at midday, and the crowds applauded as he thanked them for their prayers.

He then did a final round in the popemobile, waving and smiling.

Palm Sunday marks the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Easter Sunday, which this year is on April 9, celebrates his resurrection from the dead.

As a smiling Francis had left Romes Gemelli hospital Saturday after a three-night stay, he quipped to well-wishers who asked how he was I am still alive!

The head of the worlds 1.3 billion Catholics has suffered from increasing health issues over the past few years, including knee problems which have forced him to use a wheelchair and a walking stick.

Francis felt unwell Wednesday following a general audience in St Peters Square, but his condition improved after he was given antibiotics.

The hospitalization was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli.

His increasing health issues over the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life.

Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Churchearlier this month.

He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.

He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down were his health to fail himbut said last month that, for now, he has no plans to quit.

Francis previous stay at Gemelli in July 2021 lasted 10 days. He was admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine, that required surgery.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned. AFP

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China welcomes first Vietnamese tourists after three-year hiatus

Chinese localities bordering Vietnam such as Guangxi and Yunnan received their first groups of Vietnamese tourists after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.



A group of 72 Vietnamese tourists traveling by train arrive in Lijiang city in Yunnan province. (Photo: Sina.com.cn)

The northern neighbour moved to open its borders for foreign tourist groups starting from March 31 as part of the Chinese Governments decision to abandon its zero tolerance policy towards COVID-19 infections, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced.



Following this policy shift, Chinese travel agencies and online tourist service providers resumed the organisation of inbound group tours for foreign citizens and provision of plane tickets plus allocation services.

A group of 72 Vietnamese tourists traveling by train arrive in Lijiang city in Yunnan province. (Photo: Sina.com.cn)



Liuzhou city in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region welcomed the first group of foreign tourists on March 31, including representatives of more than 10 Vietnamese travel operators in order to promote cross-border tourism co-operation between the two sides.



The Vietnamese delegation visited the place where President Ho Chi Minh lived in Liuzhou city, learning about his revolutionary activities in the locality.



In addition, the group toured Liuhou Park and several famous sightseeing spots around Liuzhou city in preparation for new tours by Vietnamese visitors to China in the near future.



This comes after a group of 72 Vietnamese tourists traveling by train arrived in Lijiang city in Yunnan province.



They expressed their wishes that the opening of the international tourism market will mark the start of an increasing number of travelers from Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries visiting the Chinese locality.



Before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019, China received 145 million foreign arrivals with tourism revenue of US$131.3 billion.



Vietnam makes up China's second largest main international visitor market, behind only Myanmar.
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)

Paul Vallas glanced around the room at an LGBTQ community event in Lakeview as he proudly played up his early support for same-sex marriage.

But soon, the focus turned to an issue thats caused the Chicago mayoral candidate to visibly wince on the campaign trail: repeated attacks from rival Brandon Johnson claiming that Vallas opposes the teaching of Black history and has palled around with right-wing extremists.

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Its frustrating when somebody calls you a racist, he said, unprompted. Racists dont do 55% minority contractors. Racists dont go to New Orleans when 110 of the 120 schools have been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and were uninhabitable.

Vallas has studiously avoided discussing race since advancing to Tuesdays mayoral runoff election as the front-runner. When its come up, he has almost always deflected, dismissing Johnsons censures as rhetoric.

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[ Brandon Johnson on the campaign trail. ]

But as the guests at Barcocina Mexican restaurant drank Tajin-rimmed cocktails and munched on empanadas, Vallas let his frustration loose.

He spoke of making sure every single child in the New Orleans system he rebuilt after the hurricane was in a new or renovated school and how the district led the state in academic improvement for seven consecutive years. Then he paused to soak in the audiences cheers before going back for more.

And racists dont go at the peak of their earning powers to Haiti, not one time but 40 times, despite getting hospitalized three times, he said.

Chicago is a deeply segregated city where political support often flows along racial lines. Vallas emerged from a nine-candidate field in the Feb. 28 election in part because he was the only white contender, while Mayor Lori Lightfoot competed with six other Black challengers, including Johnson.

In the first round of campaigning, Lightfoot accused Vallas of blowing the ultimate dog whistle for announcing that this whole campaign is about taking back our city  a line he said was about crime but has not uttered again in front of media. Days after the incumbent mayor was knocked out of the runoff, Johnson immediately picked up where Lightfoot left off, digging into Vallas over past remarks that unspecified school curricula related to critical race theory was harming families and taking emphasis off more important subjects.

Although Vallas has run for public office only as a Democrat, hes been blasted for past affiliations with conservative radio talk show hosts, Republican political donors, the anti-LGBTQ activist group Awake Illinois and pro-Trump Fraternal Order of Police local President John Catanzara.

Vallas has sought to downplay such connections. Hes condemned comments by Awake leaders and Catanzara as hateful and irresponsible, respectively. He praised Trumps indictment.

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His most-used talking point is to call himself a lifelong Democrat, and hes rolled out endorsements from popular party members like U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez and former Secretary of State Jesse White to expand his support along racial and ethnic lines.

Former U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush announces his endorsement of Paul Vallas for mayor, during a news conference at Beloved Community Christian Church of God in Christ in the Bronzeville neighborhood on March 21, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

At Josephines Southern Cooking in Chatham, Vallas was joined by six Black aldermen and former state Senate President Emil Jones. Vallas seemed to revel in his decadeslong relationships with those behind him, recounting work they did in the 1990s when Vallas was Mayor Richard M. Daleys budget director and then Chicago Public Schools CEO.

Im probably going to tell a few stories, because I go way back, Vallas said before turning to Jones. Im so glad you stopped smoking. I was never a smoker, but I used to come down to the Senate presidents office and steal his cigarettes. Remember that? I know I owe you big time.

He continued: You didnt tell my wife, didnt tell my mother, for heavens sake.

Vallas also was endorsed by Willie Wilson, the well-known African American philanthropist who in his three bids for mayor, including this year, consistently tallied about 10% of the vote, mostly from Black neighborhoods.

On an unseasonably sunny March day, Wilson led a line of Black clergy into the sanctuary of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Auburn Gresham.

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When Wilson  the most right-leaning candidate when he was still in the race, who famously called for police to hunt down criminal suspects like a rabbit  took the microphone, he slammed Johnson for what Wilson said was wanting to defund the police and raise taxes.

Then Wilson recalled the tragic impetus for his friendship with Vallas: The two bonded over the deaths of their sons. Omar Wilson was killed in a 1995 shooting; Mark Vallas died in 2017 after suffering from long-term opioid addiction.

Vallas warmly deemed Wilson his comfort zone before promising to bring faith-based organizations into campuses to combat youth murders. The candidate, who practices Orthodox Greek Christianity, concluded with a prophecy: With the power of all your prayers collectively, my election will be guaranteed. The pastors placed their hands on his shoulders and blessed him.

A bid to transcend race

Two days later, Vallas similarly held hands with former U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush as they marched down 47th Street into another church where Rush spoke about leadership that will transcend race.

A founder of the Illinois Black Panther Party and a friend of 1960s activist Fred Hampton, who was assassinated in a police raid, Rush has likened the Chicago FOP to kissing, hugging, and lawbreaking cousins of the Ku Klux Klan. He explained his support for Vallas by denouncing street crime and arguing that its rank-and-file officers who are behind Vallas.

As Rush shuffled away from the glass podium after wrapping up with a vigorous Elect Paul, yall! chant, Vallas eyes stayed glued to the ground. He fidgeted with a stack of papers, appearing to blink back tears as supporters behind him said, You got it, Paul.

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Ten seconds later, Vallas pointed an index finger up in reassurance, swiveled the mic over and spoke, focusing largely on public safety, the issue hes made the main point of contrast in the contest.

Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas speaks to supporters during a Young Professionals for Vallas rally on March 25, 2023, at Joy District in River North. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

Over the course of the campaign, Vallas has ramped up assertions Johnson would defund the police, saying it would have a devastating consequence on our city. Johnson has flat-out denied that he would defund the police.

If I win, we will make our city safer by prioritizing the filling of police vacancies and the returning of police to the local beats, Vallas said. The stakes in this race could not be higher.

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It was inside the Pullman Community Center on the Far South Side where Vallas unexpectedly encountered another fault line in his efforts to prove that hes not too conservative for heavily blue Chicago.

As children hit Wiffle balls in the background and Vallas spoke to a group of mostly Black women about his public safety plans, he was asked about how he would address not just murder in the streets, but also the murder in the womb.

Are you pro-abortion? Jan Nunnally asked.

Vallas stumbled over his words slightly but said he supports a womens right to choose in my household.

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Do you support a womens right to murder? Nunnally followed up. Youre a man of God.

Im not going to tell my wife or my sisters. Im not going to have the government regulate, Vallas said. Thank you, though, nice question.

In 2001, when Vallas ran for the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor against Rod Blagojevich, he told The Associated Press he personally opposes abortion on religious grounds, but would not support restrictions on abortion rights.

In 2009, he said he was personally pro-abortion rights but also that he was fundamentally opposed to abortion. Critics have pounced on that comment to argue he opposed reproductive rights, which he brushes off by saying his words are being taken out of context.

Public safety is a human right

Vallas has routinely invoked family to humanize himself. He talks about his wife, Sharon, who lives in Palos Heights and takes care of Vallas mother while he stays in Bridgeport. The two have more or less lived separately for years, dating back to the time he worked in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Connecticut and Haiti, among other cities.

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During one campaign swing, Vallas stopped at the annual St. Josephs Day dinner hosted by the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, which is suing the city over Lightfoots decision to remove the Christopher Columbus statue in Little Italy.

Vallas shook hands until he was called to the podium, where he joked that he and campaign manager Brian Towne were going to move in together and go to couples therapy.

Vallas highlighted his familys record of public service, including six veterans in the family, four police officers and a firefighter. But he saved a special shoutout for his wife, who works overnight at the Transportation Safety Administration at Midway Airport so they can have health insurance, he said.

She does it because the Vallas family has always been about public service and sacrifice, Vallas said.

Vallas is an occasionally awkward speaker and is known to overexplain, a trait that has harmed him in past runs for office and that he has worked to quell.

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Growing up, Vallas struggled with a speech impediment, which he said led to bullying and isolation. His 93-year-old mother, Mary, recalled those days in a recent Sun-Times interview, noting his evolution to his current reputation as a gabber: I guess you could say that once Paul started talking  he has yet to stop!

Vallas kicked off his remarks to the Italian American group with a long-winded story about his fascination with the crucifix at St. Anthonys Church in Roseland growing up. When he finished, Vallas quipped, I dont know why I just told you that story. It just came to mind.

The audience laughed. Then Vallas went after Johnson in dismissive terms, arguing he doesnt have a plan or strategy. Vallas often denounces Johnson as failing to have substance.

Public safety is a human right, and Im running against someone who has always advocated for defund the police, who talks about cutting the police budget ... who thinks that promoting 200 detectives from districts are suddenly, magically going to solve the problems of crime, Vallas said.

Vallas also said he wont be a successful mayor if he cant address broader issues, like disinvestment on the South and West sides, another common refrain.

My ultimate success will be determined by my ability to take the community I was born in, like Roseland, and transform (it) into the community of my dreams, Vallas said. I dont dream about any other community Ive lived in except Roseland: the avenues, the stores, the activities, the public park, a school I ended up buying and renovating and investing so its one of the extraordinary magnet schools in the city of Chicago  Gwendolyn Brooks.

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After a standing ovation, Vallas signed autographs, sprinted to take a photo with an accordion player and grabbed a priests hand to give it a kiss.

A man of many words

Vallas then stopped in at the Red Barrel Restaurant in Archer Heights for an event hosted by Ald. Silvana Tabares, 23rd. He apologized to the crowd for being late and blamed it on a televised debate earlier that night.

Near the end, Vallas went into his spiel about harnessing tax increment finance surpluses, the damage of property tax increases and why Johnsons plans would hurt business growth  then caught himself.

I didnt mean to be wonkish, and I didnt mean to be so long-winded. This is what happens when you come from a debate and you try to say things you would have liked to have said in the debate, Vallas said. Now you have to suffer for it.

Again, the audience chuckled.

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Late that night, Vallas made one last stop at the swanky River North bar Tree House, where he was introduced by Gery Chico, a former CPS board president.

Yes, Im kind of a wonkish guy. Im an issues guy. I try to answer questions. I try to explain how I will fix the problems and how I will address them, Vallas said.

As is often the case, Vallas lamented law enforcement shortages. He said only half the beat cars that are needed in the 11th Police District on the West Side are available, leaving a troubled community vulnerable.

The bottom line is communities have to be saved, Vallas said. Nothing is possible if youre living in a community where youre literally being held hostage because seniors cant walk down the street to get their medicine or children cant play in their yards or people cant socialize on a Friday night or over the weekend.

He later returned to a common theme: Blasting Johnson for his ties to the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, where he still earns a salary and from whose political funds, together with those of closely allied unions, he received most of his campaign money.

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Do we want the Chicago Teachers Union leadership to do to the city what theyve done to the Chicago Public Schools? Vallas asked the crowd.

No! the room shouted.

Do we? he asked again, louder.

No! they shouted back.

Sometimes I think Im running against Stacy Davis Gates, Vallas said, referring to the CTUs outspoken president.

But Vallas has faced questions of his own about his education record. As he rode the Red Line to a Cubs game last week, a woman asked, Whats your stance on public schools?

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Vallas immediately turned defensive, asking, What schools did I privatize?

Sorry? she asked. Vallas repeated the question.

Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, who was riding with Vallas, cut in gently, She doesnt know your history.

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After Vallas argued all the schools he opened as CPS CEO were public schools, the woman said, I just heard that you are going more towards privatization.

No, thats my opponent who wants you to believe that, Vallas said. Now, they opened 15 new charter schools, but charter schools are public schools.

Another woman sitting nearby whipped her head back and sharply stated, Theyre privately operated, but they use our tax money.

No, charter schools are publicly funded, not-for-profit schools, Vallas said. The second passenger opened her mouth again, but Vallas kept going. And most of them, and a large number of them, are actually alternative schools for overage underachievers.

Vallas appeared much more relaxed during this years South Side Irish Parade in Beverly, his former neighborhood.

Whether it was paradegoers leaning over the metal barricades to snag a handshake or friendly first responders waving along the route, the people in the crowd on the Southwest Side appeared as if they were ready to coronate Vallas on the spot.

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Paul Vallas, Paul Vallas, sang a chorus of young children from a local Catholic school, their green-and-white ribboned float slowly squeaking underneath a fluffy snowfall. One of them pleaded with Vallas to add space heaters to the floats as mayor.

Holding it together that frenetic morning was James Sheahan, a former deputy of Mayor Richard M. Daley and an old friend of Vallas who is more famously known as Skinny among political circles. The two matched in knee-length black coats and dark gray berets, though Vallas tucked in an emerald green scarf.

With every familiar face that approached, Sheahan corralled Vallas to take photos. Whenever the loquacious candidate was dragging on a conversation, Sheahan barked Paul! until they got moving again. At one point, he even leapt over a pile of fresh horse poop while continuing to give Vallas pointers.

As Vallas walked down Western Avenue, he paid special attention to first responders.

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Hang in there, Vallas said to a firefighter, who nodded back.

While passing by a line of police officers raising their arms for a fist bump, he said: Help is on the way.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com

ayin@chicagotribune.com

hsanders@chicagotribune.com
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. enjoined the predominantly Catholic population on Sunday to become better agents of change and conveyors of truth by knowing Christ more during the observance of the Holy Week.

In his message, the President said while it may be difficult to comprehend, the message of salvation and eternal life remains as timely as ever.

I urge all of us now to make this promise personal: Let it stir in each of us the desire to know Jesus Christ more so that we may become better agents of change and conveyors of truth wherever we go, President Marcos said.

No matter how constant or diverse the occasion is in the Filipino psyche, one thing emerges true each time: That God, in His divine and everlasting wisdom, manifested His immeasurable and incomparable love to us all through the very human person of Jesus Christ, Mr. Marcos said.

As Filipinos are presented with the chance to deeply contemplate the impact of Christs passion and death, President Marcos said it is inevitable that our thoughts will gravitate to the events and challenges of recent years.

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Malacanan earlier announced half-day work on Wednesday for executive department agencies to give employees ample time to travel to their home provinces for the Lenten holiday.

The Philippine National Police has assembled over 78,000 to reinforce security during the observation of Holy Week and summer vacation inthe country.

About 38,387 policemen will be stationed for enhanced police visibility through mobile and foot patrols, while 39,504 cops will be placed in specific areas with high numbers of travelers.

PNP assistance hubs and desks were set up to aid the public with their concerns and complaints.

The PNP also intensified checkpoint operations to ensure the safety and security of all commuters.

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has announced that it will be on heightened alert during Holy Week to ensure safe and secure navigation in the countrys waters

In a statement, Marina said the alert is in line with the Department of Transportations drive to ensure the safety of all passengers traveling during Holy Week.

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Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Sunday said he is not optimistic that the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea will be completed this year, saying there was still a lot of work to be done.

Manalo said there were still many things to consider, making it impossible to complete the COC negotiations between the claimant countries within the year.

You need all the countries to agree so that alone takes time. We have bigger issues, too. Political issues, whether the code will be really binding or not, were not yet there, the Department of Foreign Affairs leader said.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis Tolentino urged the DFA to carefully study the governments plan for another round of exploratory talks with China.

This was after Manalo last Thursday said the Philippines and China are set to resume talks on a possible joint venture for oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea.

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Maybe, the DFAs planned talk with the Peoples Republic of China should consider the decision of the Supreme Court and the context of the Constitution based on our rights on the exclusive economic zone, Tolentino, vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said on Sunday.

In an interview with radio dzBB, Tolentino said the DFA should consider the 2016 Hague Arbitral ruling as well as the recent Supreme Court decision that invalidated and declared unconstitutional the 2005 Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) before entering into another partnership with the Asian superpower.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Indonesian Ambassador Agus Widjojo shared the pessimism of Manalo, saying almost the same thing as the DFA chief.

Widjojo noted that while the negotiations were progressing, much work was still needed to be done.

We are entering the third part of the 1/3 of the COC, he said. But in diplomacy, it could be anything. The most important is the parties are willing to meet each other and talk to each other.

The Indonesian envoy admitted the biggest challenge among the parties involved having differences.

If you have differences, how could you meet? So, its important to have a basis for a win-win approach, win-win interest, and a balance of interests between all parties concerned, he said.

Despite this, Widjojo said Indonesia remains committed to intensifying the COC negotiations, which resumed in Jakarta in early March.

It was the 38th meeting of the Joint Working Group and will be held at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat.

The COC is expected to be one of the topics of discussion in the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Indonesia in May. Indonesia is the current chairman of the 10-country regional bloc.

The 2016 Arbitral Ruling basically invalidated Chinas nine-dash line claimthe basis of their supposed militaristic expansion in the entire South China Sea region, including the zone along the West Philippine Seaas well as the decision of the Supreme Court last January, which invalidated the JMSU between the governments of the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

Tolentino also stressed that any new agreement between the Philippines and China should comply with the provisions enshrined under the 1987 Constitution before exploring the mineral seabed resources within the Philippines exclusive economic zonewhich was also mentioned in the 2016 Arbitral Ruling.

The senator said they should not only talk about these two things, but they should also be prepared on what to do.

So, in these two issues, to be included is the protection of our exclusive economic zone, 200 nautical miles from the baseline, and the Supreme Court decision, he said.

The senator admitted he is quite hesitant over plans of having new rounds of talks with China, considering the series of bullying incidents involving the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia against the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard over the past months along the West Philippine Sea.

The number of Chinese ships in the WPS might increase since they will insist on their rights to drill, to conduct ng scientific marine research, he said.

Due to this, our DFA should go slow since their presence there might increase, and there may be more abuses, warned the senator.

Since the matter involves foreign policy and national security, Tolentino said its only proper that the Senate must be involved in any future exploratory talks with China.

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The demand for Filipino seafarers is expected to rise after the European Commissions (EC) decision to continue recognizing seafarer certificates issued from Southeast Asian countries, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople said.

Ople also said demand will surge not in the European Union (EU) but also throughout the globe, ABS-CBN News reported.

Its a vote of confidence in the Philippines and in the quality of training, education and certification of our seafarers, Ople, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said.

Earlier, the EC acknowledged that the Philippines has been working to improve the training and certification of seafarers in the country after a recent audit.

Ople further said Filipino seafarers are internationally compliant This will boost the competitiveness and demand for our Filipino seafarers.

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As of 2022, there are some 490,000 Filipino seafarers in different parts of the world, Ople said, citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Sunday meanwhile welcomed the ECs decision on Filipino seafarers.

I am very happy that the European Commission granted an extension to our seafarers in their certification so that they can continue to work, he said in a statement.

Mr. Marcos recognized that deficiencies in Filipino seafarers education, training and certification system have been a long-standing problem.

This is why he prioritized meeting with EC President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, Belgium in December last year to explain the Philippines efforts to comply with European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) standards.

During their meeting, Marcos said von der Leyen promised that the EC would provide technical help to the Philippines so that they will be able to remedy all of the deficiencies that EMSA has been pointing out within three months.

Marcos was in Brussels on Dec. 12 to 14 last year to attend the Association of Southeast Asian-EU Commemorative Summit.

Citing data from the Department of Migrant Workers, he said the ECs decision to keep recognizing Filipino seafarers certificates prevented 50,000 Filipino seafarers from losing their jobs.

He likewise reaffirmed his administrations promise to prioritize the local maritime industry and provide the sector with all the necessary support.

Gagawin natin ang lahat upang mabigyan natin ng solusyon ang mga isyung kinakaharap ng ating maritime industry upang patuloy tayong mag-develop ng mga world-class at magagaling na seafarers para sa buong mundo (We will do everything we can to provide solutions to the issues facing our maritime industry so that we can continue to develop world-class and the best seafarers for the whole world), he added.

On March 31, EC Directorate General for Mobility and Transport finally decided that it will continue to recognize certificates issued by the Philippines to seafarers.

European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean acknowledged Manilas constructive cooperation with the EU and welcomed efforts by Filipino authorities to improve the system for training and certifying seafarers.

The EC, the executive arm of the EU, first notified the Philippines in December 2021 that recognition of its seafarer certificates would be withdrawn unless serious measures were taken, including compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers.

Since then, the Philippines 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 EC said.

Marcos ordered the creation of an advisory board last year to address deficiencies identified by the EU.

The Philippines remains the top provider of seafarers for both officers and ratings, across all departments, aboard merchant cargo vessels, according to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2021 study.

In 2021, Filipino seafarers remitted a total of USD6.54 billion from USD6.353 billion in 2020, or an increase of 3 percent, making them a significant contributor to the countrys economy. With PNA

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The lawyer of Surinames former dictator Desi Bouterse called Friday for a court to acquit him of a 20-year sentence over the deaths of 15 political prisoners.

Bouterse first seized power in a 1980 coup and in December 1982 allegedly rounded up 15 political opponents  including lawyers, journalists and businessmen  for execution at the Fort Zeelandia military barracks in the capital Paramaribo.

The 77-year-old had already been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019, but he has been challenging that verdict and under Surinamese law cannot be arrested before he exhausts the appeals processes.

I ask for you to respond to the undeniable need of our society forthe trial to end as soon as possible and with an acquittal, said his lawyer Irvin Kanhai during the appeal hearing in Paramaribo.

Kanhai added it would be wise and an act of patriotism to end thetrial against Bouterse, who has always denied involvement in the murders.

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Bouterse was all smiles when he left the court on Friday, greeting supporters who shook his hand and hugged him.

During the previous hearing in January, Bouterse admitted in court that he had heard gunshots on the day the prisoners were killed, but insisted he did not order their execution nor was he present for the killings.

He said he believed the gunshots were part of an effort to intimidate the inmates, who he claims were trying to overthrow him.

Instead, Bouterse accused his number two Paul Bhagwandas  who died in 1996  of being responsible for the Fort Zeelandia violence.

The court is expected to issue its verdict in the second half of 2023.

Bouterse stepped down in 1987 under international pressure, but returned to power in 1990 in a second, bloodless coup. He left office a year later but was then elected president in 2010 and remained in the post until 2020.

In 1999, a court in the Netherlands, Surinames former colonial ruler, sentenced Bouterse to 11 years in prison in absentia for cocaine smuggling, another charge he denies.

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The geo-political brew is not only heady; it can be explosive

Taipei was damp and cold last week. It still is this week, when thousands of Filipinos will visit, the Holy Week respite being quite long and hot.

Taiwan is very much in the news these days, as the tension between the mainland and the island to its east rises with the former raising the decibels of protest against what it perceives to be the aggressive deterrence of the latters go-to protector, the US of A.

When I left Taipei, President Tsai Ing-wen embarked on a trip to Guatemala and Belize, two Central American states still with full diplomatic ties to it, after Honduras junked Taiwan for the PRC the week before.

Only 13 sovereign states recognize Taiwan as of this writing: the Holy See in Europe; Paraguay in South America; Haiti, Guatemala and Belize in Central America; the Carribeans tiny touristic islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Sta. Lucia; the South Pacific island states of Tuvalu, Palau, Nauru, Marshall Islands; and the lone African state of ESwatini, formerly named Swaziland.

When I took over as Philippine resident representative in Taipei in 2016, there were yet 22 states recognizing Taiwan as an independent state instead of the PRC.

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In less than seven years, nine flags were taken down from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ketagalan Boulevard in central Taipei.

The cost of dollar diplomacy has become too high for Taiwan, while the mainland has kept raising the ante in its bid to isolate the island it considers its renegade province from the rest of the world.

Note that most of the remaining diplomatic allies are sparsely-populated countries whose ways and means are adequate enough and could suffice with less financial and technical assistance from Taiwan.

Others could sooner or later be enticed to disengage and fall into the waiting arms of Beijing.

In the forthcoming elections in Paraguay, the issue of whether to shift alliance to Beijing over Taipei is a central issue.

Haiti and Guatemala are always in need of foreign assistance and could fall prey to the enticements of Beijing.

Will the Pacific islands of Tuvalu, Nauru and the Marshall Islands fall into the web of the PRC, just like Kiribati and the Solomons have?

If Beijing softens on its demand to have veto power over the naming of Roman Catholic bishops in the PRC, will the Vatican likewise switch, considering that even if it is able to convert just one percent of Chinas population into its fold, that would be several multiples of the number of Catholics in Taiwan?

After Honduras last week ditched Taipei for Beijing, the DPP announced an end to dollar diplomacy, describing the practice as a meaningless contest,

Instead, Tsai flew to Guatemala and Belize, passing by New York on her seventh trip to the US in seven years as president, and on the way back, she plans to meet with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

If this tete-a-tete materializes, Beijing is likely to go into yet another round of tantrums in the Taiwan Strait, as it did when former Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei last year.

Meanwhile, former president Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang upped the One China-Two Systems card as he visited China.

In a trip to Nanjing last week, he chokingly described the infamous Rape of Nanjing by Japanese invaders more than a century ago as animalistic brutality rarely seen in human history.

That event always rekindles resentment by the Chinese race against Japan.

Today, Japan has formed alliances with those countries which confront the PRC claiming deterrence, among them the US, UK and Australia (AUKUS), or the QUAD among the US, Japan, India and Australia.

The defense of Taiwan against a military invasion by the Peoples Liberation Army ostensibly binds these nations, to preserve the peace in the region and to ensure freedom of navigation in the South and East China seas.

And in New York, Pres. Tsai declared that the US and Taiwan are now closer than ever.

Meanwhile, our president has pushed the envelope of EDCA, granting four more strategic locations for visiting American forces.

Albeit clad in non-permanent status, the US can now pre-position arms and munitions in all nine sites, the most strategic of which are in Palawan, Zambales, Isabela and Cagayan facing the West Philippine Sea or the Bashi Channel that separates Batanes from Taiwan.

In no uncertain terms, Beijing has warned the Philippines about involving itself in the conflict over Taiwan, which it vows to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Observers here and abroad see the expansion of EDCA as announced by our president as magnets for attack in case the US, as it has expressed, gets into a war with China over Taiwan.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte himself unequivocally stated that we have no quarrel with China or the US, nor even Taiwan.

Thus, he said, those EDCA sites serve no purpose for us; they only serve the interest of the US in its desire to prevent Chinas swift ascent as a world power.

Even Singapores Lee Hsien Loong has stated the West must come to terms with Chinas increasing economic and military power, and that it is best for both sides to work together in harmony, rather than to be in conflict.

For now, we can only witness tensions escalating, with the hope these do not graduate into the realm of military conflict. .

If the DPP wins in 2024 and hardens its pro-independence stand, expect China to harden its position as well. It will impose economic sanctions on the island, tightening the screws on an economy interdependent to a large extent on the mainland.

It can increase its cyber-attacks; it could ban more and more exports, hoping to cripple the Taiwanese economy. Will the West absorb the losses?

Further, the mainland could go to the extreme of imposing a blockade in the Taiwan Strait, which is just 100 miles  160 kilometers, or the distance between Manila and San Manuel, Tarlac  at the narrowest point from Fujian, and which China claims to be part of its territorial waters.

That would be the fuse to ignite a war.

And if the US attacks Chinese PLA vessels or even its militia to force through the blockade, China could very well attack Cagayan and Isabela, Subic and Palawan where the US, through EDCA, is pre-positioning armaments of deterrence for use in case hostilities erupt.

Later this year, some 16,400 US, Philippine, Australian and Japanese troops will undertake the largest balikatan exercises in the Ilocos region, the presidents home turf.

That will be a clear sign to China that we have taken the side of the US and its other allies, even as countries like Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have staunchly maintained that they will never allow foreign powers to use their territory as staging ground for hostilities.

Meanwhile, coinciding with Tsais sojourn to the West, her predecessor, KMTs Ma, in what detractors from even his own party describe as a private trip borne out of vainglory, met with Beijings Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao in Wuhan, where he reaffirmed the importance of the 1992 Consensus, where both sides of the Taiwan Strait recognize there is only One China with each having its own interpretation of what China means.

The DPP has resolutely refused to accept the 1992 Consensus, and while it has not declared independence that would provoke war, it maintains that Taiwan, which it officially calls the Republic of China, is a self-governed state with a democratic system.

It remains to be seen how these moves by the DPP and KMT, the latter maintaining an ambiguity due to the current unpopularity of being perceived as pro-assimilation, will impact on the January 2024 presidential election in Taiwan.

It is not easy to read the shifting mind of the Taiwanese electorate.

In the recent mid-terms, the KMT swept most of the local posts.

Including the all-important Taipei City mayoralty, where it fielded Chiang Wan-an, a great grandson of Chiang Kai-shek, who won over Tsais popular former health minister and a third candidate endorsed by two-term Mayor Kho Wen-je, himself touted as a future candidate for president.

A KMT president would likely stay the hand of Xi, who is anxious to make good before the Politburo and the PLA on his promise of the great rejuvenation and re-unification before his third term ends in 2027.

Conversely, a DPP victory could hasten the Xi itch to recover Taiwan.

Those elections are a scant nine months away, and, meanwhile, the suspense and the tensions escalate.

Factor in the US elections later in 2024, with China and the Taiwan issue becoming a major foreign policy issue, along with the continuing war in the Ukraine.

The geo-political brew is not only heady; it can be explosive.

But our country, instead of being a negotiator with both sides for peace, has, with the EDCA expansion, joined the fray and chosen sides.

Sure we have many issues with China over the rocks and islets in the West Philippine Sea and the frequent incursions into our fishing areas, but these are issues that could be resolved with firm diplomacy wisely negotiated.

In 1941, we were an American colony, with scores of military bases utilized by the Americans all over the country. The day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, the enemy was in our door.

We are now an independent sovereign state but a magnet, even a target, for attack by the PLA should hostilities erupt after 2024 and likely before 2027.

We live in dangerous times.

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Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines Inc. (CCFPI) continues to support community access to clean, safe water through its partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines and non-government organizations.

CCFPI teamed up with the USAID to improve watershed conservation and promote a water-secure future in Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

Green Forum Western Visayas principal coordinator Melvin Purzuelo (from left), CRS Philippines subregional country representative Sanda Rihtman, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines chairman Tony del Rosario, USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn and Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines president Cecile Alcantara represent their respective organizations to cement their partnership for the IWARI program in Iloilo.

CCFPI and USAID signed two memoranda of agreement, one for the Iloilo Water Resilience Initiative Project and another for Sustaining Watershed Health through Sustainable Livelihood and Agroforestry Project in Negros Occidental, on March 22 at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

The Iloilo Water Resilience Initiative (IWARI) Project aims to promote climate resilience and help enhance water availability from the Tigum-Aganan Watershed and Iloilo-Batiano Watershed for upstream and downstream communities, including Iloilo City, through improved resource management. Through the CCFPI grant, IWARI Project will be implemented on the ground by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Philippines and Green Forum Western Visayas, while USAID will provide technical oversight. The project will address the urgent need for sustainable management of critical watersheds in Iloilo province and ultimately help improve water availability from the watersheds.

Meanwhile, the Sustaining Watershed Health through Sustainable Livelihood and Agroforestry (SWATH) Project in Negros Occidental aims to implement agroforestry and watershed conservation activities to help protect the provinces sources of freshwater, especially the Himogaan River Watershed and Sicaba River Watershedensuring sustainable water resources for the farming communities and households of Negros Occidental residents.

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Through the CCFPI grant, the SWATH Project will be implemented on the ground by Negros Economic Development Foundation (NEDF) while USAID Philippines will provide technical oversight.

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National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the countrys transmission system operator, continues the work of empowering communities through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, benefiting 13,722 residents in various host provinces since it began officially operating in 2009.

For 2023, several social infrastructure projects are lined up, whose locations will be finalized in coordination with the Department of Education.

Social responsibility is an essential component of NGCPs corporate culture, and this is the reason why we established our Corporate Initiatives and Advocacies Division or CIADour CSR armto respond to the development needs of our partner communities through projects that help improve the residents quality of life, build up their capabilities and protect the environment, as well, said Ada Lopez, head of NGCPs Corporate Initiatives and Advocacies Division.

The faculty of Binugao Central Elementary School in Toril District in Davao City, Davao del Sur led by Ismael L. Segundo, Public School District Supervisor (right), Shelley B. Abenoja, School ICT Coordinator (center) and Jocy M. Gatchalian, Master Teacher I, inaugurates the air-conditioned computer laboratory building donated by NGCP.

A total of 130 social infrastructure projects, says Lopez, were built to date, such as footbridges; multipurpose halls that also serve as evacuation centers; classroom buildings; learning centers; multipurpose covered courts; industrial arts buildings; and water systems, including drainage repair and area backfilling in various host communities.

NGCP since 2017 has constructed 39 computer laboratories utilized by some 6,240 learners and 273 teachers in 25 provinces across the country.

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In the last three years, 16 health centers in 14 provinces were built including the most recent one turned over in January for Barangay Zone 1 in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

Among those who greatly benefited from the social infrastructure projects are the learners and faculty of Binugao Central Elementary School in Toril District in Davao City through an air-conditioned computer laboratory building that was turned over in June last year.

Equipped with WiFi, 25 laptops, a router, two printers plus chairs and computer tables, the lab can accommodate 25 users.

Binugao Central Elementarys ICT coordinator Shelly Abenoja said the lab is instrumental in improving the skills of learners in working with software programs, completing assignments, interacting with teachers, and developing other skills in preparation for future job opportunities.

Aside from textbooks and worksheets, technology provides teachers with more tools to support students and help them develop a better understanding of the material, said Abenoja.

She cited the computer laboratory was very helpful during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the implementation of blended learning that enabled the creation of Google classrooms where teachers can post modules and students can send in their activities and output.

In Barangay Calean in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, the learners and teachers of J. Hector Lacson Elementary School also felt the positive impact of the two-classroom school building donated by NGCP.

Meresa Bacea, who was the school principal from 2018 to January 2023, said a fire razed a two-classroom building in 2020, displacing learners whose parents mostly work as farmers or laborers. NGCP, being its neighbor and supporter of various programs to its students, was approached for assistance.

After a series of virtual meetings and upon completion of the required documentation, the plans were finalized within a month and the building was constructed in less than 90 calendar days.

The building is conducive to learning with enough lights and ventilation. Aside from being used as instructional rooms, it can also serve as a function hall for official meetings or gatherings that can accommodate about 100 persons. The school building is very useful for the community, said Bacea, adding K to 3 learners also received school supplies from NGCP.

We are not just a transmission facility. We aim to be a partner in nation-building by helping light up the future of Filipinos through the social infrastructure and development projects, said Lopez.

Total NGCP support to CSR has amounted to P2.5 billion since 2009 that improved the quality of life of Filipinos as part of its commitment to help the country achieve sustainable growth and progress.

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Seven of the solar projects by Energix Renewables, including two in Henry County, have been cited for violations by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

One is Sol Leatherwood Solar, a solar panel farm in Leatherwood, and the other is Axton Solar Phase II, a solar farm under development in Axton.

DEQ representative Kristen Sadtler will accept written comments on Energix Violations through April 26 by email at kristen.sadtler@deq.virginia.gov or by phone at 804-698-4000 and 800-592-5482.

Energix is an independent power producer company that develops, builds, owns and operates its own solar farm projects, Energix Renewables Senior Director of Project Acquisition and Development Dominika Sink said: Our business model is to sell energy.

It is a U.S. subsidiary of an Israeli company that was founded over 10 years ago. The company expanded in to Poland and eventually to America, where it has had headquarters in Arlington since 2017. Energix has nine operational projects in Virginia, six projects that are currently under construction and more that are still in developmental phases.

The Leatherwood solar project is located at Mountain Valley Road (Route 647) and Dees Road (Route 615).

One violation was the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) not being properly approved, with modifications that were made to the material of pipes. The material that was used was on the approved list; the change was just not made to the plan, Sink said.

A second issue was a lack of proper vegetative lining on the site which led to gullies being created by a concentrated flow of water. A plan to address the stabilization and erosion issues will be submitted in the new SWPPP, Sink said.

Sink said that the DEQ order to resubmit the SWPPP with the modifications for approval with the correct material and the plan to address the stabilization and erosion issues is on track to be submitted early May.

Additionally, Energix is already working to fix the vegetative lining to stop the erosion from happening, Sink said.

The Axton solar project is located near 374 Centerville Road in Axton, and the violation is concerning the absence of a copy of the notice of coverage letter being posted near the main entrance of the construction activity, according to the Virginia DEQ consent order posted on its website.

Sink said that the coverage letter is now posted and, in fact, was posted before the report from DEQ was even released.

That was just one administrative item that was immediately fixed, Sink added. All the administrative items were remedied by us on all the sites so right now were just focusing on the physical work that needs to be finished on the cites.

The other sites with violations reported by the DEQ were: Axton Solar Phase II, Pamplin Solar, Sol Leatherwood Solar, Wytheville Solar, Hollyfield II Solar, Rives Road Solar in Prince George and Buckingham II Solar.

Sink said the majority of the issues Energix has had to fix throughout all the different sites were as a result issues with a contract manager whom Energix no longer engages.

According to Henry County Board of Supervisors Iriswood District Representative Garrett Dillard, local government is limited in what it can do about solar farms.

The countys interactions with companies pursuing solar projects is limited to land use determinations and building permits. We do not have the authority to oversee environmental regulations, he said by email.

While Henry County requires compliance with state and federal environmental regulations, it is up to those environmental regulators to investigate and ensure compliance, Dillard wrote. It benefits all when Solar companies and for that matter any industry abides by the local, state and federal guidelines that they agreed to during the various processes to get approved.

Because were long-term owners of our projects we establish relationships with local communities. We always work diligently with neighbors and localities to understand their perception of our projects, Sink said.

Energix requested the DEQ to come in to inspect all of its project sites to better understand really what we need to work on to make sure that our sites are in full compliance, Sink said.

The majority of the issues quoted are administrative in nature, she said.

Internally, Energix has created an environmental compliance task force to preemptively prepare for issues that come up. As a result, she said, Energix will double down on the amount of onsite stormwater erosion control inspectors.

Even though a lot of these things are small and administrative, I think the fact that we fixed the issues on Axtons  as soon as possible without this consent order public, that really speaks to the fact that we do take this seriously, Sink said.

We are an environmental company, so things like this we take very seriously, Sink added. We are putting all effort and were not sparing any time, effort and cost on fixing these sites.

Were working through the projects to make sure theyre in compliance and really implementing lessons learned, Sink said.
The former president of a paving and asphalt contractor based in Billings was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation, with six months of home detention, and fined $27,000 after he admitted to attempting to monopolize the market for highway crack-sealing services in Montana and Wyoming, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Nathan Nephi Zito, 44, of Billings, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to an information charging him with one felony count of attempted monopolization in violation of the Sherman Act.

The government alleged in court documents that Zito attempted to cheat the competitive bidding process by monopolizing the markets for highway crack-sealing services in Montana and Wyoming by proposing that his company and its competitor allocate regional markets. As early as January 2020, Zito approached a competitor about a strategic partnership and proposed that the competitor stop competing with Zitos company for highway crack-sealing projects administered by Montana and Wyoming.

In return, Zitos company would stop competing with the competitor for projects administered by South Dakota and Nebraska. Zito offered to pay his competitor $100,000 as additional compensation for lost business in Montana and Wyoming. Zito further proposed that he and his competitor enter into a sham transaction to disguise their collusion.

If Zito had succeeded in his efforts to game the competitive bidding process, there would have been a dangerous probability he would have eliminated competition and been free to raise prices or limit production, which would have negatively impacted the American taxpayer, U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.

Defendant Zitos sentence should serve as a deterrent for contractors tempted by greed when bidding on contracts funded with federal dollars, said Cissy Tubbs, Special Agent-In-Charge, Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG), Western Region. We rely on DOT operating agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration to sound the alarm when circumstances in these complex bidding processes seem amiss, as occurred here. Consequently, OIG is committed to pursuing these multifaceted cases with our partners including the Justice Departments Procurement Collusion Strike Force, the Antitrust Division, and the Montana United States Attorneys Office.

The case is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Antitrust Divisions San Francisco Office, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Montana and the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General as part of the Justice Departments Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government  federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to defense-related spending, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Divisions Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
A seismic shift is underway in the Asia-Pacific region due to Chinas growing assertiveness, the increased threat from North Korea, and Russias unprovoked war in Ukraine. Most pronounced is the recent thaw in Japan-South Korea relations, which seeks to reverse more than a century of enmity and suspicion stemming from Japans colonization of Korea from 1910 to 1945.

The initiative for this rapprochement came from conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, narrowly elected in March 2022 on a platform of closer ties with the United States and a tougher stance against North Korea and China. Mending long-frayed ties with Japan fits into Yoons broader strategic approach of strengthening relations with other democracies and neighbors.

The first clear sign of Yoons new stance came during his March 1, 2023, speech commemorating Koreas March First Independence Movement. Although the public holiday celebrates leaders of Koreas anti-colonization efforts, Yoon used the occasion to laud Japan and to call for greater cooperation.

A century after the March First Independence Movement, Japan has transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values with us. Trilateral cooperation among the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan has become more important than ever to overcome the security crises including North Koreas growing nuclear threats and complicated global crises.

Following that speech, Yoon took concrete steps to address some of the thorny issues dividing South Korea and Japan in recent years. One dispute concerns the estimated 8 million Korean laborers forced to work by Japanese companies before and during World War II.

South Koreas Supreme Court in 2018 ordered two Japanese firms to pay 15 Korean workers who had sued for compensation for their wartime labor. The Japanese government rejected the decision, arguing that all wartime claims had been settled in a 1965 agreement, along with Japans payment of $300 million as restitution for its annexation of Korea. Relations between the two governments entered a downward spiral following the courts ruling.

To resolve the dispute, South Koreas Foreign Ministry on March 6 announced a plan to compensate forced laborers through a government fund to be financed by voluntary contributions from South Korean and Japanese companies. Although the plan met fierce public and political pushback in South Korea, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi applauded the move, noting that it "will help restore Japan-South Korea relations to a healthy state."

South Koreas olive branch opened the way for the first bilateral summit in 12 years. President Yoon traveled to Tokyo March 16-17 for meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during which they discussed ways to strengthen economic, security, and people-to-people ties. And as if to underscore their shared concern about its nuclear missile program, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles that landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan just hours before the summit began.

The summit appeared to break a logjam that had hindered closer relations. In rapid succession, Korea and Japan announced moves to resolve several problematic trade and security disputes.

Japan lifted export controls on materials essential for making semiconductors and digital display screens. In return, South Korea withdrew its complaint in the World Trade Organization challenging Japans restrictions as unfair trade. South Korea also moved to restore intelligence sharing with Japan, including on North Korean missile activity.

Other confidence-building steps announced during the Yoon-Kishida summit include resumption of security dialogues between foreign and defense ministries and increased cooperation on economic security and advanced science and technology.

This remarkable shift in relations between two countries with fraught histories comes on top of separate Japanese initiatives to strengthen its security posture: doubling defense spending; strengthening defense ties with Australia, India, America, and NATO countries; and augmenting its self-defense capabilities.

These developments are good news for the Biden Administration as it seeks to strengthen alliances with like-minded countries in the face of challenges from North Korea and the growing no limits partnership between China and Russia. The United States has long urged South Korea and Japan to resolve their differences in order to shore up wider Asia-Pacific security.

Domestic politics in Korea and Japan could still derail efforts to put the past behind. That said, in todays very unsettled world, both countries have great motivation to overcome their long-standing divisions and forge a more positive future for bilateral relations. And the United States will be strongly urging them forward.
Lux Leaf Dispensary opened recently at 5539 Miller Circle Drive in Matteson, near the Matteson Auto Mall. (Mike Nolan / Daily Southtown)

More recreational marijuana dispensaries having budded in the south and southwest suburbs and others are in the works, while a large growing operation is on track to open later this year.

With the opening of shops in Burbank and Matteson, there are now nine dispensaries in the south and southwest suburbs. Some also sell medical marijuana. There is a 10th shop, in Mokena, that sells only medical products.

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Lux Leaf opened in March at 5539 Miller Circle Drive, near the Matteson Auto Mall, southwest of the interchange of Interstate 57 and U.S. 30.

It received its license from the state to sell cannabis March 14, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

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In a former Oak Forest church, 5940 W. 159th St., Island Thyme plans to open a dispensary later this year, and there are plans for a dispensary in Tinley Park to open in the next few weeks.

In Orland Hills, two dispensaries are in the works, and the village sees tax revenue from pot sales being used to rebate property taxes.

When the state legalized the sale of recreational marijuana in January 2020, initially the only places getting licenses for adult use also sold medicinal marijuana. Since then, other shops that carry both medicinal and recreational marijuana have cropped up in the region.

Throughout Illinois, sales of recreational marijuana totaled $1.55 billion last year, up 12% compared with 2021. Sales to out-of-state residents accounted for nearly a third of total sales.

Anthony Burton, Matteson village administrator, said village officials had been working with Lux Leaf for about a year and the store opened two weeks ago.

Lux Leaf is not technically part of the auto mall but just to the south of it, and is in an area zoned for industrial uses. Burton said village officials set regulations for dispensaries to be in industrial rather than commercial retail areas.

Lux Leaf Dispensary opened recently at 5539 Miller Circle Drive in Matteson, near the Matteson Auto Mall. (Mike Nolan / Daily Southtown)

They are a great group, Burton said of the business. They are focused a lot on the community.

The business is in 5,000 square feet and was formerly a car rental office, Burton said.

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He said Lux Leaf conservatively estimates sales of $10 million in its first year. With the villages 3% tax on recreational sales, that would net Matteson $300,000, he said.

Matteson has limited the number of recreational marijuana dispensaries to two, and Burton said it would be difficult for a second operator to open because of zoning as well as state-imposed regulations governing the distance of dispensaries from homes, schools and churches.

Star Buds, 7844 S. Cicero Ave., Burbank, opened in January after receiving its state license Jan. 3, according to state records.

The Burbank store is the only Illinois location for Star Buds, whose parent company, Schwazze, also operates growing facilities and has shops in Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma, according to the companys website.

In Oak Forest, Island Thyme paid Oak Forest $275,000 for city-owned land to open a dispensary. The site is 1.75 acres and had most recently been home to Church of Gods Holiness.

The company plans to renovate the former church on the site, according to Ed Cage, the citys director of economic and community development.

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Ascend Illinois owns the former Bandanas Bar-B-Q restaurant at 16200 S. Harlem Ave., Tinley Park, with plans to open a dispensary, according to the village.

The business is undergoing final inspections and should be opening in a few weeks, according to Pat Carr, village manager.

Ascend Wellness Holdings, a New York-based company, has eight dispensaries in Illinois as well as retail locations in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio. Ascend has dispensaries on Chicagos Southwest Side and in Chicago Ridge.

In Orland Hills, a former Ace Hardware store, 9545 W. 167th St., is being retrofitted for Stash, a dispensary that will also have a lounge for on-premise consumption of cannabis. Also in the village, a former bank building, 9101 W. 159th St., will be remodeled for a dispensary, Sozo, although it wont have on-premise use of product, according to village officials.

A rendering of the interior of Sozo, a marijuana dispensary planned for a former bank in Orland Hills. (Village of Orland Hills)

A rendering of the exterior of Sozo, a marijuana dispensary planned for a former bank in Orland Hills. (Village of Orland Hills)

The village is very excited about having two dispensaries, Mayor Kyle Hastings said Friday.

Last November, 90% of Orland Hills residents approved an advisory referendum question asking whether half the tax revenue from cannabis sales should be used for property tax rebates.

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Stash anticipates opening by the middle of May, while Sozo could be ready for customers toward late fall, according to Brian ONeill, village administrator.

Hastings said between the two shops, the villages 5% tax on sales could generate $1 million annually. He said that half would be applied toward preschool and after-school programs the village would sponsor, while half would be used for property tax rebates.

Residents would have to apply and rebates would be only for the villages portion of the tax bill, not for other taxing bodies such as school districts, Hastings said.

This past Wednesday, Hastings attended a community forum at Christian Hills Church, which is just east of the proposed Sozo dispensary. Christian Hills also operates a school on its property, 9001 W. 159th St.

A mix of church and school families as well as community residents numbering about 100 attended, according to Brennan Nemec, associate pastor at the church. The session was organized by the church, which invited Hastings to talk, said Nemec, who is youth pastor.

Hastings said he answered questions about the dispensary and that the majority of the people were not for it.

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Nemec said that 91st Avenue divides Christian Hills property from the planned dispensary, and concerns raised at the meeting included the safety of children attending the school as well as church parishioners. He said that the mayor spent about three hours discussing the dispensary and listening to concerns.

The feeling is there should have been more consideration of the location or discussion with the church, Nemec said.

Hastings said that Sozos plans went through a zoning review by the village that included public hearings, and said he understands many people have moral qualms about the products dispensaries offer.

We have to take into consideration that cannabis is not going away, Hastings said. These dispensaries are very heavily regulated.

Nemec said church leaders and members will abide by their teachings and learn to love their new neighbor.

Our goal as a church is not to demonize anyone or demonize the business, Nemec said. The whole marijuana issue is a very gray area for many people.

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Massachusetts-based Curaleaf, one of the countrys biggest marijuana companies, has a significant footprint in the Chicago area.

In early 2021 it received state approval to acquire nine dispensaries in the Chicago area, including outlets in Justice, Mokena and Worth.

The Justice and Worth locations were owned by Windy City Cannabis, which continues to operate recreational dispensaries in Homewood and Posen.

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 >

Justice and Worth both sell medical and recreational products, while the Mokena dispensary offers only medical marijuana. Mokena had opted out of allowing recreational sales before the state law took effect in January 2020.

As with the introduction of video gambling in Illinois, communities were able to opt-out of allowing recreational marijuana businesses.

Mokena was among area suburbs including Frankfort, Homer Glen, Oak Lawn and Orland Park that voted to prohibit recreational sales.

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Along with dispensaries, Arizona-based 4Front Ventures is progressing with construction of a growing and cultivation center west of I-57 that is expected to produce medical and recreational marijuana.

4Front operates Mission dispensaries in Calumet City and on Chicagos Southeast Side.

Construction of the Matteson facility is expected to be substantially completed sometime by late summer, according to a financial filing by the company. Burton confirmed that 4Front is on track to have the initial phase finished by late summer or early fall.

mnolan@tribpub.com
Were small business owners and were proud that the taxes we pay directly benefit wildlife habitat conservation, public access, and working farms and ranches.

Unfortunately, some state lawmakers and the governor have decided theyd rather take this tax revenue away from the public lands that benefit all of us.

Some background before we go further: when Montana lawmakers acted on the will of the voters and legalized adult-use cannabis in 2020 via House Bill 701, they also required that the state tax recreational cannabis sales be at 20%. A significant chunk of that tax revenue was  again, according to the will of the voters and HB 701  directed to Habitat Montana, the states best program to conserve wildlife habitat and support working lands.

That allocation is threatened by House Bill 462, which would permanently strip over $30 million in recreational cannabis tax revenue from Habitat Montana. State lawmakers and Gov. Gianforte say the state needs this money to fund other priorities. This is all happening while we have a historic budget surplus of well over $1 billion. Theres plenty of money to go around, even for tax relief, without going against what voters passed in HB 701.

The Governors Office of Budget and Program Planning estimates that the 20% recreational cannabis tax is projected to bring in $81 million in fiscal year 2024 and $91 million in fiscal year 2025. Combined with the states surplus, this means that theres enough money to protect Habitat Montanas share of tax revenue AND contribute more than expected to the general fund AND generously fund the other important priorities like drug treatment programs, law enforcement, and veterans services identified in HB 462.

The tangible benefits of Habitat Montana are obvious. Last fall, the state used Habitat Montana funds to buy the 6,000-acre Big Snowy Mountains Wildlife Management Area, which protected some of the states best elk habitat and improved access to almost 100,000 acres of near-landlocked public lands that, in the words of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks, is surrounded by large absentee landowners.

Montana's record growth has driven up land costs, making it more expensive to conserve our wild and working lands. According to the USDA, the value of agricultural lands in Montana has increased by 10% between 2021 and 2022. And since 1990, 1.3 million acres of agricultural and forest lands have been developed across the state. That reality fuels Montanans' anxiety around the loss of natural areas. It makes conserving our public lands and ensuring the long-term sustainability of working lands more important than ever, and it jives with a recent Colorado College poll showing 86% of Montanans consider a loss of natural areas an extremely or very serious problem.

Habitat Montana is the best tool we have to conserve our open spaces and wildlife habitat. Its helped secure nearly 300,000 acres of conservation easements and purchase over 130,000 acres of land in places like the Big Snowies since it was established in 1987. And since it does so using recreational cannabis tax revenue, it does so without draining money from any of the states other worthy budget priorities.

Managed responsibly, we have more than enough money to support Habitat Montana, protect working lands, and fund drug treatment programs, law enforcement, and veterans services. Itd be a shame if lawmakers chose to needlessly sacrifice our outdoor way of life.
Preserve Historic Missoula believes that a community discussion over the proposed development at Fort Missoula and the Old Post Hospital is warranted. We support the efforts to preserve the nurses quarters and hospital and the monumental effort that will be necessary to restore these historic gems. However, this development has several flaws.

The preservation of the hospital is a laudable goal. However, the plans are vague and need more detail. We would like to see final plans reviewed and approved by the Historic Preservation Commission and the Montana State Historic Preservation Office. This would ensure the restoration efforts follow appropriate guidelines.

The nurses quarters, a contributing building to the Fort Missoula Historic District, is currently being used as office space and does not appear to require much in the way of preservation treatments. PHM fully supports the preservation and adaptive reuse of this historic structure.

The Civilian Conservation Corps garage, a contributing building to the historic district, is slated for demolition. The historic structure was listed for sale with the stipulation it had to be moved. Which naturally led to a lack of any interest from a potential buyer. We would like to see this historic structure preserved instead of being demolished.

The application addresses the archaeology around the hospital and we believe their report is inadequate. There is a Native American component to the Fort's archaeology that is being ignored. It is well hidden under the intense industrial footprint and heavy landscape, but it is present and it exhibits considerable age. The developers should reconsider their approach to the archaeology of this historic place.

The developers retained an arborist and a landscape architect. Both ignore the Forts historic landscape. The historic landscape at Fort Missoula is a contributing resource to the historic district and it is related to two historic moments: the City Beautiful Movement, and the CCC era. The application presents drawings and even possible types of details and vegetation without noting how this will affect the existing historic landscape. We believe that the historic landscape will be irreparably harmed and will no longer be a contributing resource to the Fort Missoula Historic District.

The developers present the Forts historic overlay zoning section by section and their response detailing how they believe this development meets the requirements. The vague plans and architectural notes make it nearly impossible to determine if this development will adhere to the historic overlay requirements. We would note that Fort Missoula Historic District is one of only two historic districts in Missoula that has a historic overlay and we believe the overlay should be followed both in the letter and spirit of the ordinance.

Finally, in the larger picture, this development as proposed will negatively affect the historic integrity of the hospital and the Fort Missoula Historic District. While the developers will restore the hospital, the building does not exist in a bubble; the integrity of the hospital also includes the immediate surroundings. The mass, scale and poor architectural compatibility of the proposed commercial and residential structures will effectively remove the hospital's integrity of feeling, association, and setting. This could jeopardize the hospitals standing as a contributing resource to the district even with the proposed preservation.

We support the preservation of the nurses quarters and the hospital. We understand these are expensive actions and we would like to see community support for these efforts. However, we have concerns about this development. The historic zoning overlay was adopted to protect the historic district at Fort Missoula. This development will cause irreparable harm to one of Missoula's oldest, largest, and finest historic districts. This development will preclude Fort Missoula from ever attaining National Historic Landmark status, which would be a real affront given its rich association with the internment camp historic period. We believe this is the appropriate time for a community wide discussion about the future of Fort Missoula.
" " H&M temporarily closed stores in South Africa after protesters staged demonstrations following the release of an ad campaign featuring a young African-American boy wearing a hoodie that read "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle." Felix Dlangamandla/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images

In a world where anyone can weigh in and give their often-unforgiving opinions about anything and everything, social media can pose a challenge as to how companies advertise their brands. These days, almost everything posted on the internet can be dug up again, even if it was deleted, making it tough for some people and companies to bounce back from not-so-awesome posts.

In these five instances, the way the following five companies marketed their products didn't exactly make people want to rush out and buy them. You might be familiar with a few.
" " Yes  it's true  there are certain people who are exempt from paying income tax. But who are these lucky souls? NickS/Getty Images

Some people will tell you that paying income tax isn't mandatory. After all, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 instruction book tells readers that the tax system is voluntary. And the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Flora v. United States includes the statement that "our system of taxation is based upon voluntary assessment and payment." But does that mean no one is obligated to pay taxes?

Not so fast. The word "voluntary" as used in the Supreme Court case actually refers to the fact that our system allows taxpayers to self-assess. That is, it lets people complete the appropriate returns to determine the correct amount of tax themselves, rather than the government determining it for them [source: TurboTax]. And contrary to what some believe, the IRS isn't legally obliged to prepare tax returns for those who don't file.

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The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, states, "The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived ..." Congress used this power to make laws requiring individuals to pay taxes and delegated the responsibility to administer the tax laws to the IRS.

These facts don't keep taxpayers from contesting the tax laws, with arguments based on frivolous reasons. Some contend that filing a Form 1040 violates the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Others argue that wages, tips and other compensation aren't income, but rather an exchange of labor for money. Still others have stated that they aren't required to pay taxes because the federal tax return form and instructions don't display the Office of Management and Budget control number required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The truth of the matter is whether you're a financial consultant or a fitness instructor, if you're a U.S. citizen or a legal resident who earns taxable income, you must file a tax return.

But does that mean everyone will pay income taxes? Not necessarily. According to the Tax Policy Center, a nonprofit joint venture by the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, 57 percent of tax-filing households didnt pay any federal income tax in 2022 (tax year 2021). This was a huge increase from the 44 percent of households who didn't pay in 2020. The jump was because of government stimulus checks and tax credits, due to the COVID-19 pandemic [source: Frank]. However in 2023 (tax year 2022), the Center estimated that just 40 percent of households will not pay taxes. The decrease in non-taxpaying households is due to the expiration of these COVID-related tax credits as well as a strong job market. What determines who pays and who doesn't?
The biggest criticism of UBI is how much it would cost. Under Yang's "Freedom Dividend" plan, each of America's 236 million adults would receive $12,000 a year for a total of $2.8 trillion, which is more than half of the 2020 federal budget. Yang's plan allows older Americans the option of keeping their current Social Security and Medicare benefits, while other UBI proposals vow to replace the entire welfare state with one guaranteed monthly check.

Even though some of the money could be offset by doing away with other "entitlement" programs, the federal government would have to raise taxes substantially to pay for a UBI program. Some of those taxes would target the wealthiest 1 percent and the very technology companies that are making human workers obsolete, but regular Americans would get hit, too. For example, Yang and others propose a "value-added tax" (VAT) of 10 percent on all manufactured goods. Yang also thinks that his Freedom Dividend would produce more economic growth, therefore increasing the tax base.

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"It is more likely that his overall plan would reduce the long-run size of the economy and the tax base, The three major taxes in his plan (VAT, carbon tax, and payroll tax increase), while efficient sources of revenue, would tend to reduce labor force participation by reducing the after-tax returns to the working," wrote Kyle Pomerleau at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation website. "We estimate that one option to make his proposal sustainable would be to raise the VAT rate to 22 percent and reduce the cash transfer to $9,000 per year."

UBI supporters like Martin-West agree that a nationwide guaranteed income program would be enormously expensive, but disagree that it's not worth the investment.

"Like all the decisions this country makes, it really comes down to, 'What is our priority?'" says Martin-West. "If our priority is to let people waste away in poverty, have ill health, have their work not be valued, then we won't prioritize a guaranteed income as part of our national budget. But if we do, in fact, honor the social contract that we have in the U.S., that means we should likely look at something like a UBI."

Which leads to the second and arguably more difficult obstacle to creating a national UBI program  the belief, deeply held by many Americans, that a guaranteed income is just another form of government "handout" that encourages people not to work.

There have only been a few real-world studies so far on universal basic income. For instance, people involved in a UBI trial in Finland reported less stress and greater feelings of wellbeing compared to people who didn't receive the extra cash. But they weren't more likely to seek out employment, even though they wouldn't lose the benefit if they did, reported the Guardian.

The truth is that we won't know if UBI schemes work until there is more data from experiments like SEED and a half-dozen more pilot programs being launched by a group called Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

"As one of the leaders of guaranteed income research, I'll be the first to say that we're only at the beginning of studying UBI in this country in the modern macroeconomic landscape," says Martin-West.

She adds that even if the data from the Stockton SEED program show a strong positive outcome from those $500 checks, the American public will only be convinced if they "hear stories from people who look like themselves." That's why the Stockton initiative includes a "storytelling cohort," people who are comfortable sharing their personal stories, including detailed spending data, to show how all lower-income Americans could benefit from the extra cash in different ways.

Now That's Interesting Tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are some of the most vocal supporters of a guaranteed income scheme paid for, in part, by "robot taxes."
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri

Zachary Esparza's positive energy was infectious.

From his days at Bayless High School in St. Louis, Southeast Missouri State University, and throughout his 13-year military career, friends say Esparza's lively personality had a way of lighting up the room.

Esparza, one of the nine Army service members killed in Wednesday's Black Hawk helicopter crash near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was also a mentor-like figure among his peers.

The Chief Warrant Officer 2 started his military career as a satellite communications specialist before entering the Army Warrant Flight program in 2015, and became a MedEvac helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne Division and served throughout the world.

Esparza, 36, the son of former Bayless Board of Education member Misty Overstreet Esparza, had a wide spectrum of interests. He was a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan, an outdoorsman, snowboarder, and a self-proclaimed charcuterie board artist.

Among his greatest passions was making his loved ones laugh.

In 2018 he mailed out Christmas cards dressed as National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation" character Uncle Eddie, sporting a robe and trapper hat in front of an RV.

"He was one the most genuine, fun-loving spirits who could spark a conversation with anyone and always would be the center of the party," Ryan Christy, a friend of Esparza's in the Army, posted to Facebook. "While also being someone a lot of us leaned on when we were struggling after losing MFO400R."

MFO400R was a 2020 Black Hawk helicopter operation in Egypt that resulted in a crash that killed seven, including five U.S. service members.

Esparza, whose residence is listed in Jackson, Missouri just north of Cape Girardeau, had six siblings.

"Zac lived his life to the fullest while defending his country and traveling the world. He passed away while doing what he loved most, flying his aircrafts," his sister, Rebecca Esparza, posted to Facebook. "Lets celebrate the light that Zac brought into our lives and learn to live how Zac lived  to its fullest."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Zachary Esparza, killed in Fort Campbell helicopter crash, remembered
March is Womens History Month, and I almost let it get by me without recognizing it. The observance of Womens History Month began in California in 1978 as Womens History Day, then it later became Womens History Week, then finally Womens History Month in 1987. One of the proclamations along the way stated that men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung, and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. Womens History Month is a time to recognize those contributions and to celebrate the successes of women.

I have 15 assistant district attorneys in my office. I am lucky as the district attorney, as well as a member of our community, to have this talented group of attorneys dedicated to fighting for victims and keeping our communities safe. Of these 15 assistant district attorneys, eight are women. During this Womens History Month, I would like to recognize this special group of women.

Carrie Nitzu has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2002 (well it was not my office back then; I was an assistant district attorney at that time too). Carrie is from Statesville, and she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She graduated from law school at North Carolina Central University.

Elizabeth Floyd has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2006 (we were assistant district attorneys together too). Elizabeth is from Mooresville, and she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and peace, war and defense. She graduated from law school at Franklin Pierce School of Law in New Hampshire.

Crystal Beale has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2009 (we worked together as assistant district attorneys from 1999-2002). Crystal is from Mooresville, and she graduated from Erskine College with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She graduated from law school at Wake Forest University.

Reagan Hill has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2011. Reagan is from Statesville, and she graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She graduated from law school at North Carolina Central University.

Courtney Marlowe has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2015. Courtney is from Taylorsville, and she graduated from Campbell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Government. She graduated from law school at North Carolina Central University.

Regina Mahoney has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2018. Regina is from New City, New York, and she graduated from Binghamton University with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics and law. She graduated from law school at St. Johns University in Queens.

Megan Powell has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2020. Megan is from Fort Mill, S.C., and she graduated from Winthrop University with a Bachelor of Arts in criminology and psychology. She graduated from law school at the Charlotte School of Law.

Autumn Rushton has been an assistant district attorney in my office since 2020. Autumn is from Rocky Mount, and she graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in economics. She graduated from law school at Campbell University.

All of these women work in demanding jobs with dedication and professionalism. They spend most of their days in court, fighting for justice and standing up for victims. When court is over, many of them serve on boards and in groups that serve our community. I tell them that they are rock stars, and this month, I want to recognize and thank them. They are an important part of our community, and they are excellent role models for women everywhere.
The Burke County Board of Education will meet Tuesday to consider a resolution opposing a North Carolina House bill that would change the regulations regarding charter school funding.

At issue in the bill is a provision that would narrow the scope of funding sources local districts could withhold from charter schools. If passed, critics say the bill would unfairly advantage charters schools, forcing districts to share funding from sources such as federal Medicare reimbursements, sales tax refunds, rental, tuition and other fees, grants and more with them.

According to the North Carolina School Boards Association, which opposes H.B. 219, this creates an unfair advantage for charter schools, since they get to keep 100% of their revenue from these sources.

The resolution before the board, which mirrors a sample resolution from NCSBA, says if the bill passes, it would create a substantial financial impact on Burke County Public Schools from lost revenue. It also says the bill could potentially encourage litigation in a well-settled area of the law. It calls on the legislature to reject the bill in favor of the current law that fairly and equally apportions local funding.

In other business, BCPS Finance Officer Keith Lawson will present the board with the local budget request to the county for the 2023-24 school year.

The board also will consider policy revisions including a new policy that would outline whether and how the district would respond to the dissemination of inaccurate information, harassment and/or personal attacks against employees.

The board also will hear an update from BCPS Director of Auxiliary Services Bob Accord on phase 1 of the BCPS redistricting plan. Phase 1 centers around alleviating the overcrowding at Mountain View Elementary School, shifting approximately 150 students out of Mountain View and distributing them between Forest Hill, Hillcrest, Oak Hill and Drexel elementary schools. After phase 1 is complete, the district is expected to begin considering phase 2 which will look at rebalancing student populations of the districts high schools and middle schools.

The meeting will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Olive Hill Resource Center. The meeting is a work session and no action will be taken. The Olive Hill Resource Center is located at 509 W. Concord St. in Morganton.
Republican lawmakers have rolled out another bill making it more expensive for the public to challenge government decisions.

Sen. Mark Noland, a Republican from Big Fork, told a Senate Business Committee this week that his Senate Bill 557 would help industries that have been stalled or stopped by some actions that could be lawsuits, could be just challenges in the courts.

The bill passed out of the Senate Business Committee on Thursday 6-4.

Opponents of the bill said it created a pay to play system that would keep many Montanans from challenging environmental and wildlife decisions by the state departments of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Environmental Quality and Natural Resources.

Noland described the bill as undoing the consequences of whats known the Lucky Minerals Decision. Lucky Minerals is a Canadian company that had planned for a gold mine 15 miles from the Gardiner entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Lucky was one of two business eyeing gold mines in the area. Prohibiting the gold mining so close to Yellowstone was a bipartisan cause. In 2018 then Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a 20-year ban on mining in the Yellowstone-adjacent area. Gov. Greg Gianforte, then a U.S. representative wrote a bill to protect the area from mining.

However, Lucky Minerals indicated in 2020 that it hadn't given up on mining gold outside Yellowstone.

Luckys first step was to cut some roads and drill for core samples. The mining companys exploration plans received the backing of Montanas Department of Environmental Quality, a permitting agency that two courts later concluded downplayed damage the mine presented to water and wildlife.

Ignoring the mines potential damage and not calling for a more thorough environmental review, meant DEQ was out of step with the Montana Environmental Policy Act. Known as MEPA, the policy lays out steps for ensuring state agencies uphold Montanans right to a clean and healthful environment.

What Republicans had hoped that Luckys gold exploration would keep rolling despite a public challenge that proved DEQs work insufficient. The 2011 Legislature had amended MEPA to make it so.

Then-Attorney General Tim Fox argued that the Montana Environmental Policy Act couldn't stop Lucky's mine activities because the law wasn't substantive, an argument rejected by a District Court and Montana Supreme Court. That argument was that the mine work should continue, while DEQ did a more thorough review of the project.

The Montana Supreme Court ruled the 2011 amendment unconstitutional because if a project couldnt be stopped when DEQ got its environmental work wrong, then the publics right to a clean and healthful environment couldnt be upheld.

The court said allowing the project to proceed while DEQ corrected its environmental work was analogous to a mandatory aircraft inspection after takeoff.

Nolands bill would make it more expensive to use the Montana Environmental Policy Act for redress. The U.S. Constitution forbids the creation of laws that violate the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. More than one bill proposed by Republican legislators and endorsed by the fossil fuel industry makes it more expensive to challenge government actions.

Senate Bill 557 would require anyone challenging a project to get a court injunction to stop it. Several legal costs would be transferred to the challenger, who would also be required to post a bond covering the lost wages and revenues of the project developer.

Only two people showed up to testify against the bill. The 8 a.m. hearing had been scheduled the night before and the actual text of SB 557 wasnt readily available.

This is intended to chill people from using this law. MEPA implements our right to a clean and healthful environment, implements our right to participate. And what they're saying is if agencies don't follow the law, then there's nothing you can do about it because you can't afford to go to court, said Anne Hedges, of the Montana Environmental Information Center.

None of those organizations, those individuals that over the last 40 years have challenged agency actions under MEPA would be able to go to court. So, you're making MEPA voluntary. This takes the guts, the heart and the soul out of the law and puts all of that in those people with all the power. And pay-to-play system for public participation seems really misplaced.
Whats Speak Out?

Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 100 words and give your first name and your hometown.

Since President Biden has taken office, he and his administration are spending money like a bunch of drunken sailors. Hes given Ukraine how many millions, then Janet Yellen goes and gives Ukraine how many more millions. Now Vice President Kamala Harris is in Africa giving them a hundred million for what, she should be taking care of our borders. Whos going to pay for all this money theyre giving away? I know who, our grandchildrens, grandchildrens grandchildren. Use that money for the USA.

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Suzie, Orland Park

Many conservatives say climate change is a hoax, but whenever the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration analyzes new data, it always confirms it as factual. Many Christians reject evolution as false, but after 164 years of studying it, every scientific discipline from anatomy to zoology proves it is real. With such an abysmal track record, in spite of all the evidence, why would any rational person ever agree with any of them when it comes to politics.

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Wes, Orland Park

Regarding that Jordan Henry of Harvey who did the carjackings in Chicago and took a wrong turn and wound up in Will County, thank you States Attorney James Glasgow. Hes a poster child for this SAFE-T Act with no bail, and the fact that he thought he would get out on Sunday after three aggravated armed carjackings, and if it was Cook County he would have.

Kathy, Elwood

David of Tinley Park, your statement that the woke of Jesus day crucified him leads to one of two conclusions, one you have never read the Bible or two you have no idea what woke means.

Mark, Orland Park

Congratulations to Diana Spyrka for her 50 years of service to the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League as stated in the article March 30. Only good comments were made by Chris Higens, who is now the board president. My experience was three years ago with Higens and her husband. Go search Chicago Ridge Animal League and read the comments. Sounds like the same staff is still there. Maybe Spyrka should check the comments and do something about the staff rudeness. Poor animals cant get a forever home.

JK, Oak Lawn
Last Thursday, the Senate passed a resolution, introduced by Montanas Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, designating the first week of April 2023 as National Asbestos Awareness Week. The vote was unanimous.

Thats nice.

Dont get us wrong  we are heartily in favor of more asbestos awareness. We should all be aware of the deadly fiber that kills 40,000 Americans every year, its victims dying horrible deaths of cancer and suffocation.

As the resolution points out, Montana has suffered more than its share.

In and around Libby, hundreds of asbestos victims have died, are slowly dying, and due to the diseases latency period, often 40 years or more, are still being diagnosed regularly despite 20 years of heroic cleanup efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In past years, we have praised earlier versions of this resolution and expressed the hope that they would lead, at long last, to a ban on importation, manufacture and use of asbestos-containing items.

But all of the asbestos awareness resolutions  and this is the 18th year of them  have not spurred Congress to take action and ban asbestos.

Also last week, yet another bill to ban the fiber was introduced by primary sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. To ban the fiber that nearly 70 other countries have already banned  in the name of humanity.

Will Congress rustle up the gumption to take action on the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now bill?

Well see, but based on Congress ineffectual past performance, if Las Vegas were making book, the ARBAN bill would be a huge underdog.

As this is happening, EPA is ponderously working toward an administrative rulemaking ban that is really not much of a ban at all. It would only apply to one kind of the fiber  chrysotile  not to the considerably more deadly tremolite, Libbys proven killer, or to other varieties  and to only a handful of uses.

Many in Congress  including Daines  have cited the EPA process as a reason to temporize, to decline to sign on to a ban bill, thus avoiding risking the wrath of the chlor-alkali industry, which, in only a handful of its oldest factories, still uses asbestos to make diaphragms that filter water.

The industry has pleaded for more time to adjust to a ban, despite the fact that its modernized factories no longer use asbestos and despite the more damning fact that science, and thus industry, has known of the deadly nature of asbestos for a century or more.

Now it is time for both Sens. Daines and Tester to honor the memory and the suffering of their Libby constituents by co-sponsoring this ban bill. If that comes to pass, Sen. Daines will become the first Republican ever to sign onto true asbestos-banning legislation. And he will be a hero to many for that act of political courage.

Eighteen years of resolutions amount to nothing  almost an entire generation with no concrete steps to stop the exposure that all too often leads to a slow-motion death sentence.

We know now that thoughts and prayers wont get it done. Hard-nosed, effective, loophole-free legislation like ARBAN will.

If only Congress can find the gumption.
NEW YORK  The Tyrannosaurus rex is often shown baring massive, sharp teeth, like the ferocious creature in "Jurassic Park." But new research suggests that this classic image might be wrong.

The teeth on T. rex and other big theropods were likely covered by scaly lips, concludes a study published Thursday in the journal Science. The dinosaur's teeth didn't stick out when its mouth was closed, and even in a wide open bite, you might just see the tips, the scientists found.

The research is the latest in a long back-and-forth over how dinosaur mouths really looked.

Recent depictions show big teeth jutting out of the dinosaurs' jaws, even when closed. Some thought the predators' teeth were just too big to fit in their mouths, said study author Thomas Cullen, a paleontologist at Auburn University in Alabama.

When researchers compared skulls from dinosaurs and living reptiles, though, they found this wasn't the case. Some large monitor lizards actually have bigger teeth than T. rex compared to their skull size, and can still fit them under a set of scaly lips, Cullen said.

The scientists also found clues in the pattern of wear and tear on tooth surfaces.

For a creature like a crocodile, whose teeth stick out of its mouth, the exposed part gets worn down quickly  "like someone's taken a sander to the side of the tooth," said another study author Mark Witton, a paleoartist at England's University of Portsmouth.

But when researchers analyzed a tooth from a Daspletosaurus, a T. rex relative, they found it was in good condition and it didn't show that uneven damage pattern.

With this evidence and other clues from the dinosaurs' anatomy, the study makes a good case for lipped tyrannosaurs, said University of Maryland paleontologist Thomas Holtz, who was not involved with the study. Still, "we're not talking kissy lips," he pointed out  they'd be thin and scaly like those of the Komodo dragon, a large lizard.

It's not the first time our depictions of dinosaurs have been called into question: Other research has shown that T. rex was more hunched over than we used to think, and that fierce velociraptors probably sported feathers. Most of what we know about dinosaurs comes from their bones, but it can be harder to get clear answers about soft tissues like skin, which usually aren't preserved as fossils.

Adding lips may make dinosaurs look a little less ferocious, but it also makes them feel more realistic, Witton said.

"You don't really see a monster," he said. "You see an animal."

States with the most dinosaur fossils States with the most dinosaur fossils #46. Kentucky (tie) #46. New Hampshire (tie) #46. Rhode Island (tie) #46. Vermont (tie) #46. Wisconsin (tie) #45. West Virginia #44. Minnesota #43. Indiana #42. New York #41. Iowa #40. Missouri #39. Louisiana #38. Michigan #37. Delaware #36. Arkansas #35. Mississippi #34. Maine #33. Nevada #32. Washington #31. Illinois #30. South Carolina #29. Tennessee #28. Pennsylvania #27. Ohio #26. Georgia #25. Kansas #24. Nebraska #23. Oklahoma #22. Alabama #21. Idaho #20. Maryland #19. Hawaii #18. Connecticut #17. Alaska #16. New Jersey #15. North Carolina #14. Oregon #13. South Dakota #12. Arizona #11. North Dakota #10. Virginia #9. Massachusetts #8. Texas #7. Colorado #6. Utah #5. Florida #4. New Mexico #3. Montana #2. Wyoming #1. California
WBBM-TV reported Sunday that the 36-year-old teacher has been charged with two felony counts of stalking and six misdemeanor counts including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

According to a complaint filed by the mayor, the teacher showed up at her home four or five times between Wednesday and Thursday. He questioned the size of the Chicago Police Department unit that protects her. He was asked to leave several times but kept coming back.
WYNNE, Ark. (AP)  With tornadoes hitting the Midwest and the South this weekend, some survivors said they emerged from their homes to find buildings ripped apart, vehicles tossed around like toys, shattered glass and felled trees.

J.W. Spencer, 88, had never experienced a tornado before, but when he and his wife saw on TV that a tornado was nearing their town of Wynne, Arkansas, he opened a front window and rear door in his house to relieve air pressure. The couple scurried into the bathroom, where they got into the bathtub and covered themselves with quilts and blankets for protection.

Fifteen minutes later, the storm unleashed its fury on the town nestled among the flat fields and fertile farmland of eastern Arkansas. Debris came whistling through their house.

We just rode it out," Spencer said on Saturday. "We heard stuff falling, loud noises. And then it quit. It got quiet.

After it passed, the couple emerged to see devastation in the neighborhood.

We come through it real good, as far as the physical part, Spencer said.

Many large trees were down in the community of 8,000 residents who take pride in their schools, their churches, their mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses. Numerous single-family homes were damaged, especially near the high school, which had its roof shredded and windows blown out.

Near a theater in Belvidere, Illinois, where a tornado killed one man and injured 40 concertgoers, Ross Potter picked up glass shards Friday in front of his building. The last time the town was devastated to this extent from a tornado was in 1967.

Ambulances whirred by after the theater was hit.

They took, I cant even remember how many people, Potter said. He was lucky  only a few of his building's windows were broken, mostly on the second floor. Across the street, most of the brick siding on a storefront was ripped away.

Back in Wynne in northeastern Arkansas, Alan Purser stopped in his pickup truck to chat with Spencer. Purser described how he rode out the tornado with his cats in his home, which is being remodeled. He took a risk, sheltering in the sun room which is covered by glass, but it was one of the few rooms not being remodeled.

I just lay down with my cats, and lay a blanket over me, and let it rumble, he said of the tornado that flipped over the camper van parked outside.

From his front porch in Covington, Tennessee, Billy Meade Jr. said he watched a tornado pass through, before hail struck and the sky darkened.

You could see the swirl, Meade said. The rain was like a sheet. You couldnt even hardly see past the rain, it was so dark. But you could see the swirl going past.

Less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, a tornado struck the elementary school that Meades twin sons go to, as well as a middle school next door. On Saturday morning, an exposed gymnasium's bleachers were visible through a crushed brick wall. Much of the roof was ripped off.

The neighborhood Im in looks fine  its like nothing even happened, Meade said. But as soon as you go around the corner, its like devastation. Theres power lines down everywhere  all kinds of stuff everywhere.

And as a tornado hit Little Rock, Arkansas, workers at a Tropical Smoothie Cafe cowered together in the bathroom.

It was really loud because the glass started breaking, said Irulan Abrams, an employee who stood outside the building near a door with broken windows. A siren howled in the distance. She said one person was injured.

Now we don't have anywhere to work, Abrams said.

When the tornado hit, there were nine firefighters in Little Rock's Fire Station No. 9, which became one of the most devastated areas of the city. They sheltered in the chiefs office as the tornado damaged their building.

If I said it wasnt scary, Id be lying, Capt. Ben Hammond said Saturday.

Once the tornado passed, the firefighters began working to help injured residents and to clear debris blocking their equipment.

Once you address all the people you can see, then youve got to start looking for the people you cant see, he said.

The fire station has served as a shelter for neighbors amid fears that another storm was coming.

___

Associated Press reporters Harm Venhuizen in Belvidere, Illinois, and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this story. Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon.
A Russian judge has ruled that American journalist Evan Gershkovich must remain behind bars on espionage charges. The case is part of a Kremlin crackdown on dissent and press freedom during the war in Ukraine. Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter stood in a defendants glass cage in Moscow City Court, wearing blue jeans and a navy blue gingham checked shirt. He paced at times and occasionally smiled as he acknowledged the other journalists in the courtroom. Gershkovich is the first U.S. correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying allegations. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government deny the charges and demand his release.
A vehicle pursuit early Sunday morning ended with the arrests of two men on firearm and police evasion allegations, and American Canyon Police announced it was seeking a third suspect in the case.

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Noah Shelby, an 18-year-old San Francisco resident, and 19-year-old Charles Lucky Sanchez of San Bruno were detained on Highway 37 in Vallejo at the end of a pursuit that began at 12:40 a.m. in the 3600 block of Broadway (Highway 29) in American Canyon, according to police. Both were booked into the Napa County jail, where they were being held Sunday afternoon on felony allegations of evading police officers, firearm possession by a prohibited person, and possessing a concealed firearm.

A third person in the vehicle pursued by police eluded arrest, and officers are still investigating that suspects identity, Sgt. Chet Schneider said in an email.

The chase began when an American Canyon officer, seeing a white Kia sedan leave the parking lot of a Broadway hotel, noticed an apparent bullet hole in the car door and the driver wearing a ski mask, according to Schneider. When the officer tried to read the Kias license plate, its driver sped up to more than 90 mph and ran a red light, leading to a pursuit, Schneider said.

The Kias driver made it into Vallejo before officers disabled the car on Highway 37, after which Sanchez and Shelby were detained a short distance away, according to Schneider.

Two handguns were found at the scene, and the Kia was reported stolen in San Francisco, according to police, who Schneider said were assisted by the California Highway Patrol.

Bail at the Napa jail was listed at $250,000 for Shelby and $50,000 for Sanchez, according to online booking records.

Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, April 02, 2023
Doom loop (noun)  A scenario in which one negative development causes another negative development, which then makes the first problem worse. A vicious cycle.

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This is how San Francisco could die:

Interconnected forces trap the city in economic free fall. Workers remain primarily remote; office space sits empty; businesses shutter; mass transit is sharply reduced or even bankrupted, making it even harder for low- and middle-wage workers who enable restaurants and small businesses to operate, causing major budget shortfalls from declining tax revenue that imperil numerous city services, trigger mass layoffs of city workers and shred the social safety net, all of which causes more people to leave.

San Francisco officials and business groups acknowledge the possibility of a doom-loop scenario, as some economists call it, and agree that the city will struggle through an indefinite transition period. But they are optimistic the city  as it has after previous downturns  will bounce back to resemble what it was before 2020.

Others argue that this amounts to magical thinking and a major reimagining of the city is needed. Though many American cities are struggling in the wake of COVID-19, San Francisco is perhaps in the greatest peril of them all. The city is heavily reliant on technology and other knowledge industries that lend themselves to remote work, and there is little evidence that employees will return to offices more than two or three days a week. Those offices dominate the urban core, which has few people living there, keeping downtown a hollowed-out shell and less appealing to people who don't need to work there. Meanwhile, a shortage of affordable housing, sky-high commercial real-estate prices and political polarization persist. Public safety and tourism also would be affected by cuts to policing. The homelessness crisis would worsen.

And perhaps the ultimate threat: The possibility of a return to 1960s- and 1970s-style mass migration from cities to the suburbs.

Bay Area readies for doomsday scenario for sinking public transit Grim projections come as Bay Area train, bus and ferry systems struggle to recover from massive ridership declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's sort of ground zero for remote work's impacts," Arpit Gupta, an associate professor of finance at New York University who co-authored a widely read doom loop paper last year, told The Chronicle during a recent San Francisco visit. "There's a little bit of desolation in the air, so it definitely seems a little bit apocalyptic to me." Significant doom loops have caused fiscal crises in other cities in previous decades, such as New York and Detroit.

What should San Francisco do?

Some believe current conditions present an opportunity to reimagine the city.

For example, "rather than thinking about downtown San Francisco as simply the central business district for the region, I think we can be thinking about it as the central social district for the region," said Alicia John-Baptiste, CEO of the urban planning think tank SPUR. "I think it's important for us to start to articulate a really proactive vision for the identity of San Francisco."

To date, city leadership has yet to pass any major legislation to support significant changes to transform the city. Ted Egan, the city's chief economist, believes that the likeliest scenario is that the forces of market capitalism will right the ship. Ideas such as office-to-housing conversions, for example, can't be done quickly or at a big enough scale to make a difference, he has argued.

"We need an element of modesty here," he said. "In San Francisco, there's a tradition of grand ambitions. And I think we need, rather than promoting a grand vision, we should ... let nature take its course while not going off the rails."

Here is a primer on the threats, how they might play out, and what the city might do to mitigate them:

Remote work

Fueled by the tech boom, downtown San Francisco became the nation's most expensive office market. Office work, concentrated downtown, accounted for more than 75% of the city's GDP and the area generated 95% of the city's business tax revenue in 2021. Now it is the emptiest market in the nation.

The office vacancy rate soared to a record high 29.4% this month, nearly eight times the 3.7% vacancy rate at the end of 2019, according to preliminary data from real estate brokerage CBRE. San Francisco's measure of the available space to lease or sublease had by far the highest percentage jump in the nation during the pandemic.

Office occupancy, the percentage of workers actually in the office on a given day, has consistently been among the lowest in the country, and was about 43% by late March, according to data about buildings managed by security firm Kastle.

The absence of office workers hurts more than just corporate office landlords.

"When they're downtown, they're buying goods and services," Gupta said. "They're getting a haircut, they're going for lunch, they're going for happy hour after work."

Case in point: After 32 years, Alexander Books on Second Street said last week it is closing because foot traffic is only around 45% of pre-pandemic levels, largely due to the absence of office workers and tourists.

"If there had been a different mix of the type of office workers down here, it would have been different," said co-owner and co-founder Michael Stuppin, a San Francisco native. "The city's changed."

No one knows when the office market will rebound, nor what types of tenants might replace tech firms that are continuing to downsize. And now the city is facing a flood of property tax appeals, in which landlords seek to lower their annual bills. If successful, City Hall could see a direct hit to one of its most lucrative tax sources, imperiling the budget and the mayor and supervisors' spending priorities for the entire city.

The San Francisco Controller's Office estimated last November that the city could lose nearly $200 million per year in property taxes by 2028 in a worst-case scenario where office vacancy remains high  a 35% plunge in office property tax revenue. Overall, the city is forecasting a $728 million deficit over the next two fiscal years and as much as a $1.2 billion annual deficit by 2028. That could mean a lot of cuts to city services.

"They're not forecasting a recession, but they're forecasting a slowdown and weakness in property tax," said Egan.

Egan said the likeliest scenario is that office rents eventually drop far enough to entice new companies to move downtown, rather than a worst-case doom loop outcome. But he has no estimate of how long that would take and how far prices could drop. It's also unclear what industries would step in to absorb office space.

Real estate experts also can't say when vacancy will peak and a recovery will begin.

Rents haven't budged much despite the explosion in office vacancies, with asking rents down around 15% compared with 2019. That's far less than the 70% plunge after the 2000 dot-com bust, according to CBRE. Rents are staying high in part because landlords don't want to devalue their buildings and many long-term leases have yet to expire.

Some office landlords are offering concessions like free months of rent and paying for interior office tenant improvements as a way to lure firms without reducing the stated rent per month.

Robert Sammons, senior research director at real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, declined to predict when office vacancy will peak, but said he expects it to continue to go up at least through this year. CBRE projects the same.

"In the near term there's going to be pain. In the longer term, if the public and private sectors can come together, it can come back and come back strong," Sammons said.

For all the office vacancies and tech downsizing, San Francisco's unemployment rate remains at historic lows, though it rose from 2% in December to 2.9% in February.

"Lots of vacant office space is much better than lots of unemployed people," Egan noted in a recent report.

BART's survival

BART is the linchpin for downtown San Francisco's economic health, and its future is in jeopardy.

"There isn't a path to sort of reoccupying downtown without (public) transit," Egan said, referring to BART. "San Francisco is one of the only employment centers on the West Coast that most people get to work by (public) transit."

BART was designed to feed the city's economic core and has leaned heavily on fare revenue from those workers. The switch to remote work decimated ridership, which in January was about 40% of pre-pandemic levels systemwide and 28% for downtown exits. The transit service's budget forecasts show an expected $300 million deficit by 2026. As a result, the coming years could see widespread layoffs and service cuts, including shuttered stations, long waits between trains at remaining stations during weekdays, and an end to weekend service.

Even those cuts wouldn't secure the agency's future and, worse, they'd likely deter riders, further hurting revenues. And its impact would be felt throughout the city. "We believe it is reasonable to assume ridership losses would be almost immediate," said BART spokesperson Alicia Trost. "From there, we would last as long as our reserves could carry us."

If BART dies, or must cut back dramatically, commuters would be sorely challenged. Office attendance could fall further, as could excursions into the city by regional residents who help support city restaurants and retailers.

Some people could resort to bus service or driving their cars to get downtown. But there aren't enough streets and parking spaces to accommodate a pre-pandemic volume of drivers into the city's northeast, Egan said. Bay Bridge traffic is already near pre-pandemic levels, surpassing it at some times of the day, and gridlocked city streets have returned.

BART officials are contemplating a regional ballot measure in 2026 to raise tax revenue and keep the agency alive even if pre-pandemic ridership never returns. But waning federal funds will put BART in dire financial straits before then, leaving its fate uncertain.

Exodus

Across the county, the pandemic turned population trend lines upside-down by spurring a shift from urban centers to suburbs.

"This is the first time the nation's major metro areas registered an annual negative growth rate since at least 1990," according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution.

In San Francisco, more than 7% of residents working in computer, engineering and science fields moved out of San Francisco from 2019 to 2021, U.S. census data shows. While that's a meaningful hit to the city's tax revenue, it's not a threat to the city's tech industry, Egan said  unlike if tech workers left the Bay Area, because then they couldn't return to downtown in the future and seed the area's revival. As of 2021, only about one-quarter of 1% of tech workers left the San Francisco metropolitan area, which includes Oakland and Berkeley. The sector has suffered substantial layoffs since last year, with signs those work force reductions could last through this year.

But San Francisco's recovery is also threatened by the flight of lower-wage workers. The city lost 55% of food-service workers from 2019 to 2021, 34% of service workers, 33% of people in sales and 26% of office administrative workers, to name a few. Many cannot afford to live in the city, while higher-cost commuting options are driving them to seek jobs closer to home.

With the economy reopened, businesses are now struggling to find workers to wait tables, manage offices and do other jobs that are essential for small and medium-size businesses.

For all the recent downsizing and fears of a mass outmigration of companies due to remote work, high taxes and safety concerns, there have been no examples of major companies completely abandoning the Bay Area during the pandemic, and only a few significant departures in San Francisco, such as the crypto firm Coinbase going fully remote.

San Francisco's population loss also slowed during the second year of the pandemic, census data released this week shows.

And there is no evidence that the city's infamously high tax rates are pushing businesses to move workers out of downtown, according to data through 2021, Egan said. Companies with the highest tax burdens weren't disproportionately reducing their work forces compared to those with lower tax rates, he said.

"Everybody is having less payroll in San Francisco, irrespective of what happened to their taxes," he said. "It's a sign that you shouldn't panic that the tax increases we introduced in 2018 and 2020 led to the increase of office vacancy we're seeing now, because that's not what the data shows."

Housing

As the city struggles to come back to life, it will need to figure out how to draw workers back, and attract new ones. That means it must buck a long-term trend of producing homes that are too expensive for most people  including service workers, police, firefighters and teachers  in order to address hiring shortages, fight crime and teach children.

For decades, San Francisco has produced less low-income housing than state agencies mandated. More than 22,000 housing units were built from 2015 to 2021, city records show, but only about 9% of units were affordable for two-person households earning up $55,450. About one-quarter of San Francisco households earn up to that threshold, according to 2021 U.S. census data. The vast majority of the remaining housing built was "market rate," generally for households earning at least $133,000 for a two-person household.

The state has demanded that, from 2023 to 2031, San Francisco must build low-income housing at an annual rate greater than it has over the last two decades.

Although they have softened, San Francisco's rents remain among the most expensive in the nation, although the city and San Jose are the only two U.S. regions where apartment rents remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to Apartment List. Other cities have seen price surges as people sought more space for working from home, alongside an influx of renters returning to the office part-time. That isn't happening as much in San Francisco.

"Before the pandemic, a lot of cities just sort of took an attitude towards their residents that they had no other choice," Gupta said. "You have to live here, be it in San Francisco or New York or some other high-cost city. And that means you can kind of get away with offering those residents a poor quality of living. You can have very high house prices. You can have poor quality of governance. And people just don't have a choice. They have to stay there and live in the city. What's changed now is that people do have a choice."

For many, that choice is somewhere else.

Silver linings?

Overall, Egan sees three major upsides from remote work if the city and region can survive the transition period, and a potential easing of three of the Bay Area's biggest pre-pandemic challenges.

Remote work has eliminated the city's shortage of office space, which was pricing out nonprofits and smaller firms, and making it hard for many companies to grow.

It has also more widely distributed demand for housing, since people can work from home and accept longer commutes if they don't have to go in five days a week.

And the burden on transit has lessened, reducing congestion in some areas, though the shift from mass transit to driving means Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge traffic resembles 2019, even as BART and Muni lag behind.

"Work-from-home is basically addressing indirectly the region's three biggest infrastructure constraints," Egan said. "Looking out beyond 10 years, I think you have to be optimistic, assuming again you don't get into the doom loop scenarios. Once you do get to that office adjustment ... that positions the area for growth in a way that it wasn't positioned before."

Not everyone shares his optimism.

"I think it's a little bit of an open question whether and how you're going to get new tenants to come into that space  ever," said Gupta.

It's not so much that firms are paying lower prices for their office space, he said  they're simply giving it up. It's possible that the market has undergone such a "fundamental shift" that companies never want to come back, he said, especially with many tech startups now normalized to partial or full remote work.

"What firms look like five or 10 years from now is very uncertain," he said.

Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, April 02, 2023
There are several enduring mysteries in Napa County. Why does everything seem to close down at 9 p.m., even on the weekends? Are the trees north of Calistoga truly petrified or just scared? How many glasses of Screaming Eagle (at $150-plus a pop) does the wine vending machine at the Oakville Grocery actually go through? Does anyone actually use that rickety rope swing up in Westwood Hills Park?

And, of course, when will the state Fair Political Practices Commission finally get around to releasing its findings about Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza? Were now at a year and counting of the original complaint, which claimed he had a less-than-honest interest in his in-laws purchase of a potential vineyard near the controversial Walt Ranch project.

Since were on the subject, what happened to all of the signatures gathered in that recent down-in-flames attempt to recall him?

That clock ran out in early February, when proponents failed to deliver the more than 3,000 signatures that would have been needed to get it on the ballot. How many did they actually gather? Its unclear, as those folks did not turn in a single piece of paper.

In one of those small-town things Napa is famed for, I live in Pedrozas district and were both members of the Sunrise Rotary. So though I see him in person more than most folks, we havent talked much about all this, as Im fairly certain hed like to put all of this far, far in the rearview. But until the FPPC does its thing, the Walt Ranch fracas keeps hanging around, wafting its odor like wine soured in the sun.

And thats not the only smoke in the air. The recall attempt, initially organized by Beth Nelsen and Lisa Seran, made a big splash when they filed the official papers last fall. As recalls are very uncommon in (mostly) genteel Napa County, this was a pretty big deal and landed on the Registers front page.

Rather annoyingly, proponents of the recall blew up that story, posted it on a vinyl banner, and put it on a vacant building on Main Street. I found this irksome because it makes it appear that the paper has taken a side in this dispute; we did not then, and do not now.

I want to note that, in the spirit of fairness, when the recall attempt failed to get enough signatures to get it on the ballot, we also placed that story in a prominent position on A1. That story did not show up, larger than life, on that building, though thats hardly surprising. What is surprising is that Nelsen, who was collecting the signatures, did not turn in any at all. Instead, she burned them in some type of ceremony  a move that just adds to the overall oddness of all this.

Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur, who also serves as assessor and recorder-county clerk, sent a letter to the 36 official proponents of the Pedroza recall attempt, asking them to attest  under penalty of perjury  to how much they knew about what happened. (Nelsen and Seran do not live in the Pedroza district, and could not be official "proponents.")

The letter goes point-by-point through the process, asking those folks to say whether they were or were not aware of certain actions. Here's his rundown:

Tuteur reached out to Nelsen and Seran on Jan. 9, letting them know of the legal requirement to turn in the petitions by Feb. 9  the deadline  even if not enough signatures had been gathered. Nothing was turned in on the deadline, and the following day, Nelsen told Tuteur a portion of the petitions had been burned.

He responded that Nelsen needed to turn in any remaining petitions, but instead of doing so, those petitions were also burned.

Tuteur, in a phone call, said about a third of those affidavits had been returned  all denying they knew about any of these actions. Tuteur said he took those steps to educate the proponents and the public, that "a recall effort is a serious thing and not to be taken lightly."

Nelsen, in an email, said that, despite assurances to the contrary, the confidentially of the signers would not or could not be guaranteed. This made it a public safety issue as knowledge of their identities could have opened up them potential intimidation or retaliation. (California election law states petitions of this type are shielded from public view.)

Seran, for her part, said this week she was apoplectic to learn the petitions had been destroyed, and that Nelsen has refused to talk to her since that day. She said she stopped active involvement with the campaign last November over a dispute regarding tactics.

I was more than surprised, Seran said when she found out. I was speechless and furious.

She said she gave Nelsen two sheets with about 15 names on them. As for the total number, she said she could only guess.

I thought we didnt have enough, Seran said. I figured that. I had thought we had between 500 and 1,200, but now I dont know if we had 500.

Its clear, from letters-to-the-editor published in the Register, that the pro-recall people had more than one purpose. Yes, they truly wanted to bounce him from the dais, but regardless of its success the hope was that it would wound Pedroza so badly that he would slink away from public life.

That aim, it appears, also has not borne fruit, as he declared himself a candidate for state Senate last week. If history is any guide, the letters page will soon be filled with dueling portraits of Pedroza, either touting his accomplishments or castigating his failures  real or imagined.

And perhaps lost in all of this is that this specific issue is moot. The vote that riled-up his opponents was redone  the development was approved, again, without his participation. And the owners of Walt Ranch are in discussion with the Land Trust of Napa Valley to potentially make that land open space. The deadline for that to occur is May 31.

This would, presumably, make the land purchased by Pedrozas in-laws less valuable and eliminate any ongoing conflict.

As to whether there ever was a conflict at all, we will just have to wait for the excruciatingly slow wheels of the FPPC to turn.
PACE Rapporteur wants to visit Lachin corridor

Trudeau on Armenian Genocide Memorial Day: Canada will continue to promote peace and justice

Greece PM on Armenian Genocide: We are against any act that incites discrimination, violence against humanity

European People's Party on Armenian Genocide: We urge Turkey to acknowledge reality of past

Italy MP: International organizations access to Karabakh for humanitarian aid should be facilitated

PACE pays tribute to Armenian Genocide victims with minute of silence (VIDEO)

Representation at ECtHR: Armenia will apply to International Court of Justice regarding Lachin checkpoint matter

Yeghishe Kirakosyan: Armenia will apply to International Court of Justice regarding Lachin checkpoint issue

Levon Aronian: Message of remembering and demanding must be directed towards ourselves

Biden: We renew our pledge to never forget Armenian Genocide

Armenian Genocide commemoration event held in Istanbul

Russia ambassador, embassy military attache lay flowers at Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan (PHOTOS)

Peskov on setting up Azerbaijani checkpoint at Lachin corridor: Situation not easy, requires extra effort

Greece president: We honor Armenian Genocide victims memory

Russia calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to immediately return to existing agreements

Armenian Genocide victims honored at PACE chamber courtyard (PHOTOS)

Bruno Retailleau on Armenian Genocide victims: They are our victims also

Artsakh MFA: Armenian people are again facing threat of new Genocide

France senator: We should help Armenia arm itself

Karabakh president: Today more than ever we need to turn words into action

Greece FM: Preserving Armenian Genocide victims memory is minimum duty of all humanity

Sotk gold mine of Armenia inactive for 10th day due to periodic Azerbaijani shooting

Colorado declares April 24, 2023 as Armenian Genocide remembrance day

Ambassador: France stands with Armenia to commemorate victims of 1915 Genocide (PHOTOS)

Karekin II: Azerbaijan's goal is to de-Armenianize, take over Karabakh

US Congressman Adam Schiff to introduce bill recognizing Karabakh independence, sovereignty

Karabakh MFA: Any proposal to discuss Azerbaijans illegal demands is tantamount to condoning its genocidal policy

Karabakh president pays tribute to Armenian Genocide victims

Catholicos visits Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

Armenia ex-President Sarkissian: We must be able to move forward without retreating from our identity, history

Armenia army General Staff chief: We are doing positional improvement work at Tegh village

Nathalie Loiseau: No one should approach risk of new violence against Armenians lightly 108 years after Genocide

Armenia MFA: Armenians in Karabakh are facing danger of genocide, ethnic cleansing even today

Netherlands ambassador expresses support to Armenians in the words of great poet Hovhannes Tumanyan (VIDEO)

Georgia Armenians hold torchlight procession in Tbilisi

PM Pashinyan, other state officials visit Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan (PHOTOS)

Kristina Kvien: No US sanctions against Azerbaijan at the moment

MFA: France condemns setting up of Azerbaijani checkpoint at Lachin corridor, demands to reopen corridor

Karekin II: Fight for just cause of Armenians, contribute to prevention of genocidal acts and crimes

Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan: Bloody scimitar which has now become Bayraktar hangs over our people again

Armenia PM: This is best moment to think about past, present, future

Armenian Genocide Memorial entrance closed

108 years later: It is Armenian Genocide victims commemoration day

State minister: People of Karabakh have right to demand from players to make clear assessments, take steps

US 'deeply concerned' by Azerbaijan's checkpoint in Lachin corridor

Edmon Marukyan: Peaceful Armenians of Artsakh taken hostage by Azerbaijan

Kanaani: Iran's military program is solely defensive

Ministry of Defense of Armenia: The Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan has spread disinformation

Erdogan: Putin to take part in fuel delivering ceremony to Akkuyu

Security Council of the Republic of Artsakh makes a statement

Kosovo Serbs boycott local elections

An Armenian serviceman was lethally wounded in a position in Sotk

Armenians in Great Britain remember Armenian Genocide victims

Azerbaijan establishes checkpoint on Lachin-Stepanakert road

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day rally in Berlin

Azerbaijan blocks Hakari bridge on Artsakh-Armenia border

Faro Palace in Marseille in Armenian tricolor

Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Green Sunday

AK Party office in Istanbul attacked

Spain shipping Leopard 2 to Ukraine

Teenager hit by Toyota car

Russian citizens evacuated in Khartoum

Turkey represents Iranian interests in Albania

US military evacuates diplomats from Sudan

Armenian PM Pashinyan visits memorial

Fire breaks out in Martuni town

The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh: The Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan released another provocative statement

Blackout threat at major events in France

Young men lost in Artsakh found

Baku "worries" for Armenia

Updated Turkey earthquake death toll

Greek City Times: India and Greece conduct exercises

Earthquake hits Greece

Trump: I have 'very good relationship' with Putin

NATO delegation arrives in Azerbaijan

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ARF Hay Dat European Office prepares lawsuit

Armenia Ombudsperson delivers welcome speech at CoE

RA Ombudsperson receives CoE delegation

Head of Armenian Community of Georgia attacked in Tbilisi

MEP Kovatchev: Baku must stop aggression against Armenia

Pashinyan stressed the importance of launching Nvidia Research Center in Armenia

Armenia's representative presents objections to Azerbaijan's case before the International Court of Justice

Albania cancels visa-free travel for Russian citizens

UN worker killed in Sudan clashes

1 dead after small-engine plane crashes in Lithuania

European Union has already trained 16 thousand Ukrainian soldiers: Josep Borrell

Health ministry: Planned surgeries partially resume in Karabakh

Armenia deputy PM Mher Grigoryan attends Eurasian Economic Commission Council meeting in Moscow

MOD: No Armenia military convoy, escorted by Russian peacekeepers, entered Karabakh

Armenia, Lithuania sign Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in technology, innovation (PHOTOS)

Yerevan theater, cinematography institute has new rector

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Parliament vice-speaker: Armenia stated that Karabakhs right to self-determination is limited by Azerbaijans wish

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Quake occurs in Caspian Sea

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Water gathers in an area adjacent to the the Oak Savannah Trail in the Oak Ridge Prairie in Griffith on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

A last-minute attempt by Indiana legislators to redefine wetlands and strip state protections via amendment to an unrelated sewage bill could exacerbate flooding issues, reduce the number of wetlands, and flies in the face of recommendations in a state-commissioned wetlands report, critics say.

The bill passed the Indiana House 62-31 last week and heads back to the Senate for approval.

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Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, who introduced the amendment that removes state regulations from wetland acreage to the bill, is a real estate broker and member of the Indiana Builders Association. There was no public comment during the committee hearing in which the amendment was passed. All Democratic amendments to mitigate the changes in the amendment were defeated.

Larry Clemens, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Indiana, said in a statement that the only group to support the amendment to Senate Bill 414, which was aimed at regulating septic systems, was the Indiana Homebuilders Association, the same group behind the attempt to remove all state regulation of wetlands in 2021. Changes were made to the bill after public outcry and the threat of a veto by Gov. Eric Holcomb.

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Dogs Gu, on right, and Bean go for a walk with owners, Hammond residents Jeremy Cergizan and Rebecca Lawrence, on the Oak Savannah Trail through the Oak Ridge Prairie in Griffith on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

While that bill removed about half of the 800,000 acres of wetlands from state regulation, it also included a non-partisan task force of experts appointed by the governor.

The task force committee was made up of a compilation of stakeholders including a representative from the Indiana Builders Association. The report makes a point to note the IBA representative did not attend a single meeting or contribute to the report.

Not a single word on the 25-page report suggests reducing the acreage of regulated wetlands, Clemens said. The Wetlands Task Force took its job seriously. Its past time for the General Assembly to do the same and stop pushing legislation that will destroy wetlands and harm Hoosiers across Indiana.

A representative from the IBA was not available for comment Friday.

The task force, comprised of experts from around the state, spent nearly a year studying the issue and last fall issued a 25-page report including 10 recommendations for the General Assembly.

Geese stand on the shore of a pond at the Oak Ridge Prairie on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Walt Breitinger, president of the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed group, said the vast majority of the wetlands throughout the state already have been lost. Weakening protections will only serve to exacerbate the loss, he said.

What we have left has become even more critical or desperately needed, Breitinger said.

The most important function of wetlands that most voters can relate to is their role in reducing flooding, Breitinger said. If people dont want to see their homes, fields and roadways flood, the water has to have some place to go, he said, and that is where wetlands come in.

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Wetlands also function to filter storm water which often is heavily polluted by contaminants such as salt, gasoline, oil, antifreeze, fertilizer and pesticides among other contaminants, Breitinger said. That water makes its way to underground aquifers supplying well water to individual homes and entire communities such as Lowell, he said.

Wetlands help clean and filter ground water and provide fantastic habitat for wildlife, fish and birds, Breitinger said.

South Holland resident George Gunkel walks his son's dog, Moose, on the Oak Savannah Trail through the Oak Ridge Prairie on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

The current bill initially was popular until the unrelated amendment targeting wetlands was added at the last minute without debate or public input.

The bottom line is it will damage wetland protection, Brietinger said.

He urged residents who understand that wetlands need protection to contact their elected officials encourage them to vote against the measure.

Lake Countys Surveyor Bill Emerson agreed that if passed the legislation would further restrict what could be classified as a more protected wetland.

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Im definitely not in support, Emerson said.

Water gathers in an area adjacent to the the Oak Savannah Trail in the Oak Ridge Prairie in Griffith on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Currently when developers are interested in land, they have the option of mitigating a wetland if they must fill it in, meaning they must replace to water storage lost by the removed wetland, Emerson said. This legislation would end that protection for certain isolated wetlands.

As an engineer, he said often people do not understand the role these isolated wetlands play in the interconnectivity of drainage throughout the region. Emerson also is frustrated that the recommendations of the Wetlands Task Force to protect the states existing wetlands are being ignored.

The recommendations to protect the existing wetlands are so important for water quality and flood control, Emerson said.

Wetlands are so important to our ecosystem and water quality. They are also important for flood control. Even isolated wetlands throughout the watershed hold back water, Emerson said. I dont want to see the state protections continue to be eroded. I think that could happen if these wetland protections continue to be lessened.

As weather patterns change and more intense storms become more frequent, removing water storage is not a good idea, he said.

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Once they are gone, geez, theyre gone. Its hard to mitigate and build new ones and its expensive, Emerson said.

Jim Sweeney, president of the Izaak Walton League of Porter County, said there will be some kind of impact right away if the bill is signed into law.

My bet is there are people who have plans already for a piece of property they are sitting on. Once the bill gets passed and the governor signs it, it will either get filled in or drained depending on the need, Sweeney said.

Sweeney said he is very disappointed legislators seem to be ignoring the recommendations of Indiana Wetlands Task Force and its report.

Its very frustrating, he said, adding he thought that with the Wetlands Task Force report there would be some benefits.

According to that report, to have a measurable impact on flooding in Indiana, isolated wetlands should continue to be regulated at the state level with effective and efficient mitigation.

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Flood risk can be reduced by storing runoff and reducing peak flows in isolated wetlands before reaching downstream cities. An investment by the state in non-regulatory incentive will be required to accomplish wetland construction and restoration at a scale that will have a measurable impact on flooding and the quality of life, the Task Force report continued.

Sweeney said part of the reason these battles exist every session is so few members of the public are getting involved. He encouraged anybody interested in water quality, fish and wildlife, and smart development to get involved and talk to their elected officials.

A lot of people think the Department of Natural Resources and Indiana Department of Environmental Management have addressed all the concerns regarding wetlands but that is not the case, he said. The agencies get beat up every year in the General Assembly because they are part of the regulators, Sweeney said.

Locally, in some instances, the state has been drained so effectively, weve lost 85% of the wetlands. Flooding is common. Will a new definition for isolated wetlands have a big impact on that? In some areas it will make a difference, Sweeney said.

The impact may be felt less in the hillier regions of the state, he added.

I wish the people that run for office knew more about natural resources. Quality of life includes a handful of different metrics and access to open space, clean air, clean water and land for recreation are all part of it. The State of Indiana is probably in the bottom 10 percent of the states in every one of those categories, he said.

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Lake County Councilman Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, has a district with many wetland areas. Nearby Cedar Lake is a catch basin and the entire region from the town south was at one time part of the Grand Kankakee Marsh before areas were filled.

I dont think wetlands should be filled in, Niemeyer said.

However, officials need to be really careful in defining what qualifies as a wetland, he continued. Federal regulations define what is essentially a puddle in a backyard as a wetland and that is a concern for property owners, he said.

The trick is creating clarity of definition. When you can achieve that, you can come up with good legislation, Niemeyer said.

Craig Zandstra, superintendent of planning and resource development for the Lake County Parks Department, said as the park system looks to add to its green space, he fears the legislation will drive up the cost of land.

A lot of times we buy properties with wetlands, Zandstra said.

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The systems parks hold a lot of water helping with drainage throughout the county, but he said the less wetlands there are, the more pressure it places on the remaining wetland areas in times of heavy rain.

If the bill becomes law, developers no longer would have to work around existing isolated wetland areas or provide mitigation, thus making land once difficult or impossible viable for redevelopment, Zandstra said. As it stands right now, Lake County falls behind other neighboring county park systems such as Porter and Newton counties and Cook and Will counties Illinois, he said.

As far as we are concerned with the county parks, it definitely would not make our life any easier, Zandstra said.

State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, said he supported the bill in its first iteration as it was passed out of the Senate and was unaware of the amendment that added the changes to the wetland classifications.

He said the bill as originally presented is a tool in the toolbox for homeowners who find themselves in a situation where their septic system is failing.

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The freshman legislator was unaware of the study commissioned in 2021 and said he would have to look into the amendment and its impact before the measure returns to the Senate for consideration in its current form.

I want to see that amendment. Now its on my radar, Dernulc said.
Paul Chan: SE Asian students eyeing HK talent scheme

Paul Chan speaks in Singapore last week. Photo courtesy of the Financial Secretary's office

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday that university students he met during a trip last week to Malaysia and Singapore are very interested in Hong Kong's schemes to attract talent.



Chan spent several days in the Southeast Asian countries last week and visited the University of Malaya and Singapore National University.



He noted that graduates of the two leading universities are now eligible to come to Hong Kong even before they secure a job under the administration's Top Talent Pass Scheme.



"During the close encounter, I can feel that the new policy has made them consider coming to Hong Kong to develop their careers more seriously," Chan wrote on his weekly blog.



The minister said the Singaporeans of Chinese descent told him that they grew up watching Hong Kong movies and listening to Hong Kong pop songs.



Chan added that as the global economic focus shifts from the West to the East, healthy competition between China and developing Asian economies can bring out the potential of both places, allowing them to make greater contributions to the world.



He said while some may fear the adverse effects of more stringent competition, the actual effect would be to "grow the pie", meaning a bigger economy and benefits to eveyone.



He said a sense of urgency would mean different economies would keep getting more competitive.



Chan's visits also included meetings with officials and business leaders from sectors including technology, private equity and family offices.
Qin Gang meets Japanese foreign minister in Beijing

Qin Gang meets Japanese foreign minister in Beijing

State media have reported that Foreign Minister Qin Gang has told his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi, during talks in Beijing, that Tokyo's new export controls on semiconductor equipment will only drive Beijng's quest "to become self-reliant" in the sector.



Hayashi's visit to China is the first by a Japanese foreign minister since December 2019. It comes just days after Japan unveiled planned export controls on 23 items used to make semiconductors, following US pressure for countries to restrict China's access to the technology.



"The United States used bullying tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating its old tricks against China," Qin told his counterpart, according to a readout of the meeting.



He also accused Japan of being Washington's "minion".



Reports suggested the talks were wide-ranging, covering many topics besides semiconductors, including Taiwan, waste from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and ideas for reforming the United Nations Security Council.



According to Xinhua, Qin said the two countries should strengthen exchanges and communication and advance bilateral ties, and called on Japan to have "a correct understanding of China."



Regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Xinhua said Qin urged Japan to handle its disposal responsibly.



It also reported that he urged Japan to refrain from interfering in "the Taiwan question".



In the case of a Japanese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage activities in China, Xinhua said Qin told Hayashi that China would handle it "following relevant laws".



Hayashi told reporters after the meeting that Japan had "protested" the detainment, and called for "the immediate release of that individual".



He also defended Japan's restrictions on semi-conductor equipment as "consistent with international rules", adding that they were "not aimed at a specific country".



Hayashi added that the two sides had discussed the future of the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus.



"We reiterated my serious concerns about the East China Sea, including the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands," he said. (Agencies)
Swiss prosecutors probing UBS-Credit Suisse merger

Credit Suisse was taken over by its bigger rival UBS. File photo: AFP

Swiss federal prosecutors said on Sunday that they had begun investigating the UBS takeover of its embattled banking rival Credit Suisse.



In an email to AFP, prosecutors said they had issued orders to investigate after "taking stock of the situation with all the relevant internal services" and contacting national and local authorities.



The probe will aim to ensure Switzerland's financial centre remains "clean" and identify any criminal offence lying within their remit, they added.



A "surveillance system" has been put in place that will allow them to intervene if necessary, the public ministry said.



The prosecutors said they wanted to "have an overall view of the many aspects" of the events relating to Credit Suisse, including those reported in the media, and to "secure and assess the available information".



"Different internal and external bodies have been mandated or contacted with the aim of clarifying and gathering information," they added.



The statement confirmed a report by the Financial Times.



Switzerland's largest bank agreed to absorb its troubled main rival for US$3.25 billion last month in an emergency deal supervised by the government, the Swiss central bank and the financial regulator.



Credit Suisse shares had tumbled after the collapse of some US regional banks sparked fears of a trans-Atlantic contagion across the sector and a financial meltdown.



Both UBS and Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, are among a select group of lenders deemed "too big to fail" due to their importance to the global banking system.



Verbal assurances and a loan of 50 billion Swiss francs by the central bank shortly before the takeover were not enough to calm investor concerns.



Credit Suisse had been embroiled in a series of scandals before the share price collapse, getting caught up in the bankruptcy of the British financial company Greensill and the implosion of the US hedge fund Archegos.



It was also embroiled in a bribery scandal in Mozambique involving loans to state-owned companies and was fined US$2 million in a money laundering case linked to a Bulgarian cocaine network. (AFP)
The actor was spotted at the Kalina Airport donning a black t-shirt and black shades. He was surrounded by his security.

Several photos and videos of the actor surfaced online soon after he arrived at the airport.

Created by the Russo Brothers, Citadel will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on Friday, April 28, with two adrenaline-fueled episodes, followed by a new episode released weekly every Friday through May 26.

The show stars Richard Madden and actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the lead roles.

The action-packed show revolves around two elite agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka) of the global spy agency Citadel.

Sharing details about the show, Priyanka earlier said, "The story is closely interwoven with the stunts. What's so exciting about these huge action pieces was that they are infused with drama and storytelling. We get to see a lot about these characters, how they physically interact, not just great action sequences but there's drama at the heart of each one of them, so there's a story sort of interwoven in all the stunts. And that was just very cool and new for me."

Richard is known for his performance in projects like '1917', 'Eternals', and 'Game of Thrones' among others. (ANI)
Taking to social media, the actor captioned his first post, "Hello Nanbas and Nanbis."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqh9BT6S59A/

In the picture, the 'Master' actor could be seen in a salt-and-pepper look, donning a black jacket over a white t-shirt.

Soon after he dropped his first post, fans flooded the comment section with red hearts and fire emoticons.

"Welcome thalapathy annaa," a fan commented.

Another fan wrote, "Welcome to rule Instagram thalaivaa."

"This is Insane..He's A Record Creator..," a user commented.

The 'Beast' actor's profile has gathered 2.3 million followers in just 4 hours after he dropped his first post.

His Instagram bio reads, "Official Page handled by office of Actor Vijay."

Vijay also shared a picture in his stories in which he could be seen posing in winter outfits.

Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran welcomed Thalapathy Vijay on social media and wrote on his stories, "Welcome to the Insta world brother."

Meanwhile, on the work front, Vijay will be next seen in director Lokesh Kanagaraj's next film 'Leo: Bloody Sweet'.

The upcoming project marks a reunion between Vijay and Kanagaraj after the 2021 blockbuster 'Master'.

Sanjay Dutt and Trisha Krishnan are also a part of the film. The official release date of the film is still awaited.

The announcement of Sanjay and Trisha's addition to the cast was made recently.

Taking to Twitter, the makers of the film, on Wednesday shared a poster which they captioned, "We feel esteemed to welcome @duttsanjay sir to Tamil Cinema and we are happy to announce that he is a part of #Thalapathy67."

Vijay is known for his amazing performances in Tamil films like 'Thuppakki', 'Mersal', 'Kaththi' and 'Master'. (ANI)
As her team Punjab Kings got a winning start, she took to Instagram and expressed her happiness.

"Nothing like coming home. Thank you to all the Punjabi's in the house for such a warm welcome. We waited 4 years to come back to Mohali. I'm so happy we started this IPl season with a win," she wrote.

Preity also shared a picture with the crowd. In the image, she is seen flashing her dimpled smile.

Take a look

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqiEZS-y7AK/?igshid=OGRjNzg3M2Y=

Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs. Punjab Kings managed to score 191 runs at the loss of five wickets. Kolkata Knight Riders were supposed to chase the winning target of 192, but due to heavy rainfall in Mohali, Punjab was declared the winner by DLS method on Saturday.

Punjab Kings will return to action against Rajasthan Royals at Barsapara Stadium on April 5. (ANI)
You are here: China

Staff members load freight into a Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2023. [Photo by Hu Tao/Xinhua]

A Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft loaded with some 100 tonnes of freight took off at around 11 a.m. Saturday at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in central China's Hubei Province.



This flight marks the opening of the first international route of China's first cargo-focused airport.

The route's maiden flight carried mainly electronic products and processors. A single trip takes about 12 hours.

This route is scheduled to provide two round-trip cargo flights each week between China and Europe, adding 400 tonnes of air express capacity, according to the aircraft's operator SF Airlines, China's largest air-cargo carrier and also the aviation branch of the country's leading courier enterprise SF Express.

Staff members make preparation before taking off of a Belgium-bound all-cargo aircraft at the Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2023. [Photo by Hu Tao/Xinhua]

The Ezhou Huahu Airport was put into operation in July 2022. It is positioned as a cargo-focused hub airport with extensive cargo traffic but little passenger traffic. It is expected to open 40 domestic freight routes and about four international freight routes by the end of this year.

Zhang Hao, a senior staff member at SF Express, said that with the new routes to come, they expect the throughput of cargo carried via international routes to reach 15,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

SF Airlines' Ezhou Base was officially opened on the same day, and it will provide services for the company and other airlines in the future, according to SF Airlines.

The company said that a cargo transit center is now in testing and will start operations this year.

SF Airlines has established a cargo route network covering China, radiating across Asia, and reaching Europe and the United States.

It will continuously push forward its operations at the Ezhou Huahu Airport and support the airport in creating a world-class air cargo hub, the company noted.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Saturday met with the families of those who lost their lives in Indore's temple stepwell floor collapse incident and the injured undergoing treatment in the hospital. The incident occurred at Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple located at Patel Nagar locality in the city on Thursday when a Havan puja was going on in view of the Ram Navami festival. A total of 36 persons died and 16 people were rescued in the incident. Nath first visited the hospital and inquired about the well-being of the injured people. Describing the details of the incident, the injured said that they received late help from the government and the administration. After that, he reached Patel Nagar and met with the families and the relatives of the deceased, where the aggrieved families told him about the illegal construction on the stepwell of the temple. A Sindhi family told Nath, when the Member of Parliament (MP, Indore) Shankar Lalwani was the chairman of the Municipal Corporation, he had got the slab installed on the stepwell of the temple, that slab collapsed and 36 people died on Ram Navami. Speaking to the reporters, Nath said, "Such an incident has tarnished the entire Madhya Pradesh. People told me that notices were given for illegal construction on the stepwell, but the notices were suppressed due to political pressure. Now the local people have demanded that the illegal construction on the stepwell should be demolished in seven days." "If the illegal construction is not removed within seven days, then we will knock on the doors of the court. Action should be taken against the culprits and the illegal construction should be demolished," he said. "If our government returns to power, we will form a Rapid Rescue Force in every big district, which reaches the spot within 15 minutes of the incident. It is a matter of shame that the army reached here after 12 hours. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan did not even talk to us about this, he only does media events," Nath added. (ANI)
While addressing people in Odia, Pradhan said, "87 years ago, Odisha became a separate State on basis of language. Since then we are celebrating Utkal Divas on April 1. It is my good fortune that I have come to Koraput and will go to the village to celebrate this day with the people. I congratulate and extend my wishes to all Odia brothers and sisters".

Education Minister along with four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs on Saturday celebrated "Utkal Divas" with residents of Kotia people in Odisha's Koraput district.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, during his visit to the controversial Kotia village also said, "This is our Utkal Maa (Motherland). We never address our mother as aunty. The people of Koraput will never allow anybody to intrude in this region amid intrusion of Andhra Pradesh in Kotia regions."

Both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh claim that Kotia belongs to it.

April 1 is an important day for the people of Odisha, as it was on this day in 1936 the state was formed on the basis of language. To mark the occasion, the people of Odisha celebrate the day as Utkal Divas. (ANI)
Amid speculation of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh likely to surrender at Golden Temple, Amritsar Deputy Commissioner of Police Law and Order Parminder Singh Bhandal on Saturday said that if fugitive Khalistan sympathiser wants to surrender, then they will do their bit according to the law. "We are continuously working for the security of Amritsar. Even today we have sealed the entire city. Right now we are more focused on traffic as Baisakhi is around the corner. If Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh wants to surrender and appear, we will do our bit according to the law," he said. Earlier on Thursday, the pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh surfaced in a new video and said he was not "a fugitive" and will soon "appear in front of the world". In the unverified video, Amritpal Singh sought to address some comments about the video that surfaced on Wednesday. "I uploaded a video yesterday. It was addressed to people. Public thinks that maybe the video was made in police custody because I was looking here and there in that video while talking. You can see other earlier video, I don't talk too much looking at the camera," he said. Amritpal Singh said those who think that he has run away or left friends, "get that thing out of your mind". The pro-KhaIistan leader, who has been declared fugitive by Punjab Police, said no one should have an apprehension that he had not run away from his people. "Soon I will appear in front of the world. I'm not the kind of person who will go abroad and put videos," he said. He urged people to spread message for big congregation on Baisakhi to discuss issues before the community . "Many people had said that I got my hair cut. Before getting the hair cut, I will get my head cut," he said. He said the government should do whatever it wants to do and he was not afraid. "I am not afraid of arrest. Nor have I put any conditions for arrest," he said. This new video comes a day after the radical preacher, who is being chased by police released an unverified video calling on the "Sikh sangat" to come together if they want to "save" Punjab. He had said in the video that he was not under police custody. "I am absolutely fine and nothing can harm me. As far as the arrest is concerned, it is in the hands of the Guru," he said. "I urge the Sikh sangat to join the Sarbat Khalsa campaign if they want to save Punjab. I am grateful to all the Sikh Sangat, who carried out protests against the action taken against me." The pro-Khalistan leader further alleged that many of his supporters have been sent to Assam jail. Amritpal is on the run since March 18, the day Punjab Police launched a massive manhunt for him. The crackdown came almost over three weeks after Amritpal's supporters stormed Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23 demanding the release of one of his close aides, Lovepreet Toofan. (ANI)
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila on Saturday called on opposition leaders for a joint march to Pragati Bhavan over TSPSC paper leak case. YS Sharmila said she had telephoned Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Revanth Reddy and Telangana Bhartiya Janta Party chief Bandi Sanjay and appealed to join her in the fight against the K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR)-led government that has been deceiving the jobless youth and driving them to suicide and depression. She said, "It is high time that opposition parties come together, and have a joint action plan to fight against the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government that is playing with the lives of the unemployed, educated youth." "Let us together march towards Pragati Bhavan and bring KCR to the task. If we fail at this moment to come together, then KCR will finish the opposition parties in spirit," she added. In the statement, the YSRTP Chief also stated that both the opposition leaders have extended their support. Responding to the statement, TPCC Vice President Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said, "Today morning YSRTP President Sharmila has called TPCC President Revanth Reddy in regard to the march towards Pragati Bhavan relating to unemployment issues and the recent paper leak issue. Revanth Reddy has responded and said that he will be talking to the leaders of the Congress party and revert back to her." Reacting to the statement of YS Sharmila, BJP Spokesperson NV Subhash said, "As far as the Telangana BJP and our President Bandi Sanjay is concerned, whenever there are issues for the people, he has taken a bold step and gone in support of the people." "The Telangana government has literally failed here. The BRS party has promised so many hopes to the people of the state, especially the youth. As far as the TSPSC issue is concerned, it is very unfortunate and we demand a thorough inquiry into it," he added. Talking about the investigation, Subhash said, "Definitely, the culprits should be punished. BJP has demanded that around Rs one lakh compensation should be paid to the unemployed youth and there should be an enquiry from a High Court sitting judge." "We also demand that KT Rama Rao (KTR) should be sacked from the cabinet. Apart from that, we have heard that YS Sharmila has called for opposition unity on the issue. Definitely, the BJP will discuss it with the state executive members, senior leaders and office bearers. We are expected to call for a meeting and then the party will decide what to do, whether to go on individually or with the other opposition leaders," he added. 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)
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National General Secretary Nara Lokesh, on Friday expressed confidence that Amaravati will certainly win the battle and will remain the people's capital. As the agitation of the farmers who donated their lands for Amaravathi reached 1,200 days, Nara Lokesh, during his Yuva Galam pada yatra, thanked them for their relentless battle and said that the ultimate result will be in their favour. "Your sacrifice will not go to waste and Amaravathi will certainly remain as people's capital," Lokesh added. On the 56th day of his pada yatra on Friday, Lokesh was given a rousing welcome at CK Palli of the Raptadu Assembly segment. The old complained to the TDP national general secretary that their pension has been withdrawn as their monthly power bill is more than the limit set by the Government. "Pensions have been withdrawn for over 6 lakh people and another 6 lakh people are going to lose the benefit very soon. Pension facility for all of them will be revived once the TDP forms the government," Lokesh said and promised the petty traders and local women that their problems will be resolved once the TDP is back in power. The representatives of Valmikis and Boyas met Lokesh with an appeal to include them in the BC list as their lives are impoverished. The Kurubas also complained that the Rs 2 lakh loan facility for them has been withdrawn by this Government for which Lokesh said that once the TDP is into the government all their issues will be resolved on a priority basis. He said that the funds meant for BC welfare are being diverted by the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, and the BCs are being harassed by foisting even petty cases against them. Those cases will be lifted by the TDP as soon as the party forms the government and it is only Chandrababu Naidu who always stands by the BCs, Lokesh added. Moved over the problems narrated by the locals, Lokesh said that sand is being illegally transported to Bengaluru with the support of the Dharmavaram MLA, Venkatrami Reddy, and unable to bear the torture by the MLA, the Jockey company left Andhra Pradesh due to which 6,000 persons lost their employment. Those who have given their land to the Jockey company met Lokesh and wanted him to bring the Jockey company back to Rapthadu as soon as the party is back in power. The TDP general secretary assured them that immediately after coming back to power justice will be done to them. AT SS Gate, the auto workers met Lokesh and submitted a memorandum to him in which they wanted the fuel prices to be brought down once the TDP is in power again. Responding to them, Lokesh said targets have been fixed for the police to collect money from the vehicle users in the shape of challans. He promised to lift the green tax immediately after coming to power. (ANI)
A person was arrested for blackmailing his friend to pay Rs 4 lakh, the Delhi Police informed on Saturday. As per the police, the accused hatched a conspiracy to lure the victim into removing his clothes and then record the video to blackmail him for money. "Police arrested an accused for sextortion of Rs 4 lakhs from a victim. The victim was receiving objectionable video calls from a number that lured him to remove clothes, which was later recorded and used for blackmailing him by his friend," the Delhi Police said in a statement. The complaint named Bablu (28 years) had alleged that he received a message on WhatsApp from a number who disclosed her identity as 'Ankita Sharma'. "She started vulgar chatting with the complainant and also made a video recording of the same. She asked the complainant to get nude saying that she too is also nude on the other side. However, when the complainant took off his clothes, the call got disconnected. He then received a video recording of him without clothes. The accused threatened him of making his obscene video viral and demanded money from him. The victim paid Rs 4 lakh," the complaint stated. Subsequently, a case vide FIR No 30/2023 was registered dated March 29 at Cyber North Police Station and an investigation was taken up. His complaint was later forwarded by MHA Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to Cyber Police Station, the police said. A dedicated team was handed over the task to identify accused persons and arrest the culprits, after which a detailed technical analysis of Call Detail Records and Money Trail was carried out. Details obtained from UPI IDs and concerned beneficiary banks were also analysed. The victim was arrested by the police. He was identified as Shivam Kumar, who also happened to be a close friend of the victim. On sustained interrogation, the accused revealed that he came in contact with the victim Bablu, as they stayed in the same locality after which they became close friends. Bablu told the accused that he was chatting with a girl on WhatsApp who asked for nude video of him and is now blackmailing him for money. He initially asked Bablu to ignore her messages, but later out of greed, decided to himself pretend as a fraudster. He brought a new SIM card and started blackmailing the victim using the new number. After that, pretending to help the victim in transferring the money, he took Rs 4 lakh from him. The accused also told the police that he has already spent all the money on luxury items. Further investigation is underway in the case. (ANI)
According to the Chief Minister's Office, the Chief Minister will leave for Delhi on Sunday for the meeting with the Prime Minister.

Earlier on March 31, CM Dhami said that Rs 23.28 crore has been sanctioned to Uttarakhand under the Agriculture Development Scheme and Rs 34.66 crore as a financial incentive under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by the Central Government.

The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government for this. In December 2022, CM Dhami met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the National Capital and discussed development-related issues. (ANI)
Five people were injured in a bomb blast in Sasaram town of Bihar after fresh violence erupted in the state on Saturday evening, the police said. The injured people have been taken to a hospital, and a forensic team was rushed to the spot, officials said. Sasaram DM Dharmendra Kumar said, "There was a bomb blast in Sasaram. Injured people were referred to BHU hospital. We're investigating all the angles right now." "The cause of the blast is still not known," he said. According to the Bihar Police, information was received about the incident of a bomb blast in Sasaram of Rohtas after which the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team reached the spot to investigate the matter. "The blast was reported at a shanty and a scooty has been recovered from the area. Prima facie it does not appear to be a communal incident," the police said. The police team, Special Task Force (STF), and Para Military forces conducted a flag march in Sasaram on Saturday. The communal tensions in Bihar again rose on Saturday, after two groups clashed in two different regions in the state, leaving three persons injured with bullet injuries, according to locals. The clashes occurred in the Paharpur area in Bihar Sharif, and the Khasganj locality in the Sohsarai police station area, as per the locals of the respective areas. "During the clashes in the Paharpur area, two persons suffered bullet injuries, and were admitted to the hospital for treatment," Dr Mahendra Kumar from Bihar Sharif Sadar Hospital told ANI. Earlier on March 31, clashes were reported in Nalanda's Biharsharif, Rohtas' Sasaram where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit. Shah's visit to Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas has been called off due to the imposition of Section 144 following clashes in the district. According to Bihar police, a total of 45 people have been arrested so far in connection with the clashes between groups following Ram Navami celebrations in parts of the state. This includes 18 in connection to the clash that occurred in Sasaram. Officials appealed to the public to not pay heed to rumours. "The situation is peaceful and Section 144 has been imposed here," they added. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Water Works Minister and senior DMK leader S. Duraimurugan said on Saturday that the state government is not slowing down the Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar river linking project. Speaking on the floor of the Assembly, Duraimurugan said the government is keen that the project is swiftly completed. The opposition AIADMK had told the House that the project has been slowed down since the DMK came to power. The minister in his response said that in the past two years, the speed of land acquisition for the project and digging of canals have been accelerated. The minister said that in 2020, the then AIADMK government had allocated an amount of Rs 600 crore for the project, but only Rs 34.31 crore was spent and 71.6 acres of land was acquired for the project, and the balance amount returned to the government treasury that year itself. Duraimurugan in his speech said the DMK government has allocated Rs 312 crore in the past two years and acquired 698.97 acres of land. He also said that the present government has made a provision to retain the unspent money in a deposit for further use towards land acquisition, instead of returning it to the government treasury by the end of the financial year. The minister also said that further allocation of Rs 554.17 crore for land acquisition has been made by the DMK government for 2023-24. He said during the previous AIADMK government, no digging of canal took place during 2020-21, adding that during the DMK rule, Rs 177.9 crore has been allocated in the past two years and 64 per cent of the targeted work has been completed. He also said that an amount of Rs 111.52 crore has been allocated for digging of canal during the 2023-24 financial year. There was uproar in the House when former minister C. Vijayabhaskar of the AIADMK said that it was former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami who had allocated funds for the project and commenced work for it. Duraimurugan confronted Vijayabhaskar by saying that the DMK government had commenced the construction of the barrage in Mayanur for the project when it was in power in 2009. --IANS aal/arm ( 374 Words) 2023-04-01-22:38:04 (IANS)
Taking to Twitter CM Banerjee said, "It pains me deeply to learn about the passing away of revered Swami Prabhanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President, Ramakrishna Math and Mission."

"His life and teachings will continue to inspire us for generations to come. May his devotees find strength in this difficult time," she added.

Swami Prabhanandaji Maharaj passed on Saturday at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata at the age of 91.

According to the statement of Belur Math, his mortal remains will be kept at Belur Math (Cultural Hall) from 6.00 am to 8.00 pm on Sunday for the devotees and admirers to pay their homage to the departed soul.

Moreover, cremation will take place at about 9.00 pm on Sunday at Belur Math. (ANI)
Ma Ying-jeou visits the tomb of his grandfather with his family in Shuangyang Village of Chaensi Town in Xiangtan County, central China's Hunan Province, April 1, 2023. Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, and his family on Saturday morning visited the tomb of his grandfather in the mainland's Hunan Province and honored the family's ancestors at the site. [Photo by Cai Yang/Xinhua]

Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, and his family on Saturday morning visited the tomb of his grandfather in the mainland's Hunan Province and honored the family's ancestors at the site.



The tomb is located in the county of Xiangtan in Hunan.

Ma and his four sisters stood in front of the well-preserved tomb and carried out a solemn ceremony based on local tradition to pay respects to their ancestors. Ma presented flowers and fruits as sacrifices and used a local Hunan dialect when reading an article to honor his grandfather.

Ma Ying-jeou makes a libation in front of the tomb of his grandfather in Shuangyang Village of Chaensi Town in Xiangtan County, central China's Hunan Province, April 1, 2023. Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, and his family on Saturday morning visited the tomb of his grandfather in the mainland's Hunan Province and honored the family's ancestors at the site. [Photo by Cai Yang/Xinhua]

After the ceremony, the family took photos at the site.

During an interview, Ma said that over the years he had always wished to visit the site and pay homage to his grandfather, and this wish had now finally been fulfilled. He also noted that cherishing respect for ancestors is "a very important part of our Chinese people's ethical education."

On his visit, when local people greeted him with saying "Welcome home," Ma used local dialect and answered "the Xiangtan boy is back!"

The family also visited a local ferry pier, the construction of which had been financed by Ma's grandfather and other locals in the 1910s, to provide a free ferry service for the public at that time.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday offered prayers at Shri Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain. He took the blessings of Lord Shiva. During NSA Doval's visit to Ujjain, the police administration made special arrangements for security. Senior officials including the temple administrator Sandeep Soni were also present. Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in New Delhi. The two outlined ways for further cooperation between Russia and India in the field of security. (ANI)
On Saturday, a lawyer was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants in New Delhi's Dwarka area on Saturday, said police.

The victim was identified as Virender Kumar.

The incident happened at around 4:30 pm on Saturday in the Dwarka-1 area in Delhi, when the victim was travelling in a car.

According to Delhi Police, the reason behind the murder is personal enmity and both the suspects have been identified and will be arrested soon.

The police said that the lawyer was also attacked before. Police are probing the matter from all angles.

Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The court has also cancelled his bail bonds filed in this case.

Earlier in 2021, Rane had accused Thackeray of ignorance about the year of India's independence at an event and said "I would have given a tight slap".

Shiv Sena leaders strongly condemned Rane's remarks. Party leader Vinayak Raut sought his removal from the union cabinet.

FIRs were registered against Rane at several places including Nashik and Pune, based on the complaints filed by Shiv Sena leaders.

A Fir was registered against Rane under sections 153 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Chaturshringi police station in 2021. (ANI)
According to the police, three accused have been arrested in this connection.

"The accused had gone to the house of the deceased to commit theft," Navi Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pankaj Dahane said.

"On hearing the commotion, the deceased woke up and confronted the accused," the DCP informed.

"The deceased was killed during a scuffle for resisting the theft bid," Dahane added.

Police said further investigations are on. (ANI)
Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit out at the Bihar and West Bengal governments over clashes in the states during the Ram Navami celebrations. Hitting out at the Bihar government over violence, Thakur alleged that "Jungleraj" has returned in the state. Speaking to ANI, the Union minister said, "I would only say that the worsening law and order situation in Bihar suggests the return of 'Jungleraj'. It is very unfortunate that the Jungleraj of the Lalu (Yadav) regime, has returned to the state under (CM) Nitish Kumar and (deputy CM) Tejashwi Yadav." He added that the violence during Ram Navami festivities in West Bengal and other parts of the country was also very unfortunate. Lashing out at the Mamata Banerjee government, Thakur said, "Mamata Didi is sleeping. She is providing security to only one section of the population. On the incidents of stone pelting, arson and violence during the 'Shobha Yatra' by the Hindu community, she has been taking a selective stand. It is very unfortunate that Hindus are attacked on the watch of the chief minister and has been a mute spectator to all that has been happening in the state." "What is the point of her being a chief minister if she can't crack down on violence. There was violence after she was elected and now there are clashes on Ram Navami," he added. In West Bengal, two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations on March 30. Several vehicles were set on fire, and public and private properties were vandalised during the clashes. After a fresh clash erupted following violence during Ram Navami celebrations in the state, Nalanda Police on Sunday said more than 50 people were arrested in raids conducted on Saturday night. The Superintendent of Police, Biharsharif, Ashok Mishra, informed that the mortal remains of a person, who died during the violence, sent for post-mortem. "A body (of a person who died in fresh violence last night) has been sent for post-mortem. More than 50 people were arrested in raids conducted last night. Till now, 8 FIRs have been registered and additional forces have been deployed," he said. While the SP quoted the number of people arrested at more than 50, Nalanda District Magistrate Shashank Shubhankar said more than 80 people were arrested, adding that the situation is peaceful right now. "Fresh violence erupted at 2-3 places in Biharsharif last night. The situation is peaceful right now. Section 144 is in force but curfew hasn't been enforced. Many miscreants were identified and more than 80 people have been arrested in this connection so far," he said. Clashes were reported on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit.
The devotees were gathered to partake in the festival in a traditional manner across the state and carry cut palm leaves in their hands during the processions.

With the festive spirits, the devotees could be seen attending the mass prayers and procession with palm leaves shaped like the crucifix.

According to Christians, Palm Sunday is a celebration for honouring Jesus Christ's victorious entry into Jerusalem.

While this was a joyful, special occasion for his followers, this event took place towards the end of his days before he was crucified.

For the occasion, churches organised special masses and processions. (ANI)
Hitting out at the West Bengal government over the death of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker in the state, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of being "biased" and "instigating violence" through her speeches. The BJP leader was reacting over the death of a party worker Raju Jha, who was allegedly shot dead by some unidentified miscreants on Saturday night in Shaktigarh of Purba Bardhaman in West Bengal. Talking to ANI, Anurag Thakur said, "In Bengal, the Ram Bhakts are attacked with lathis, stones are pelted, bombs are thrown, arson, violence takes place, the shobha yatra during Ram Navami was stopped. And all this has happened right under the nose of Mamata Banerjee". "She (Mamata Banerjee) is the role model for how the law and order situation worsens in a state. It can be seen, how the Chief Minister is biased and anti-Hindu," he added. Anurag Thakur further said, "She has kept her eyes closed to all the violence and restricted herself to just one section. It can also be observed in her speeches, how she stands with one section and instigates violence against people of the Hindu community". Earlier in the day, Union Minister Anurag Thakur had attacked the Bengal government over the communal clashes in the state. Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government, Anurag Thakur said, "Mamata Didi is sleeping. She is providing security to one section. On the incidents of stone pelting, arson and violence during the 'Shobha Yatra' of the Hindu community, she kept on taking a selective stand. It is very unfortunate that Hindus are attacked under the protection of a Chief Minister, and she only plays the role of an audience". "What is the point of being a Chief Minister, that when you are elected, violence happens, and now again violence has taken place during the Ram Navami," he added. In West Bengal, two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations on March 30. Several vehicles were set on fire, and public and private properties were vandalised during the clashes. The West Bengal police on Saturday said that a total of 38 people have been arrested, two cases have been registered and section 144 has been imposed in some areas. (ANI)
As part of the Tenali Bandh programme, TDP held a rally in the Tenali area of Guntur District.

Tenali Circle Inspector Koteswarao said, "To control the law and order and to maintain the peace we detained them. Nobody was arrested."

The rally was organised in a protest of a scuffle between the YSRCP and TDP councillors in a Municipal Council meeting in the Tenali area of the Guntur district on Friday.

TDP councillors had objected to the approval of a single tender for the door-to-door works, and over the matter, a scuffle broke out between TDP and YSRCP councillors at Tenali Municipal Office.

As a result of the scuffle, TDP members held a rally in the Guntur District, and YSR Congress Party members also held a massive protest at Tenali Municipal Office, on Saturday.

Members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) at the rally were stopped because they did not have permission from the authorities for conducting the rally, police said.

TDP members protested against the police action.

The rally was diverted to the other side as it was prevented from entering the market and the protestors were detained. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar and took stock of the situation in the state in the wake of the violence during Ram Navami celebrations and after, sources said. Further, according to sources, Shah assured provision of additional security reinforcements from the Central Armed Police Forces (CRPF, SSB and ITBP) in view of the current situation. Meanwhile, fresh violence erupted in parts of Bihar on Saturday night. As many as six people were injured handling illegal explosives at a private residence while two people were arrested in Rohtas, said a police officer. The injured were taken to a hospital and a forensic team was rushed to the spot, officers said. "We learned that 6 persons were injured handling illegal explosives at a private residence in Rohtas. A team of forensic experts is conducting an investigation at the spot. Two persons have been arrested," said Rohtas Police. Meanwhile, reacting to some media reports that people were leaving their homes in Sasaram fearing communal violence, Rohtas Police said it was a baseless rumour. He urged the citizens not to pay heed to any rumours. "This is a totally baseless and absurd rumour. No one has left his/her locality. We appeal to the general public not to pay heed to any such rumour. The situation is peaceful and normal in Sasaram," the Rohtas police said. After a fresh clash erupted following violence during Ram Navami celebrations in the state, Nalanda Police on Sunday said more than 50 people were arrested in raids conducted on Saturday night. The Superintendent of Police, Biharsharif, Ashok Mishra, informed that the mortal remains of a person, who died during the violence, sent for post-mortem. "A body (of a person who died in fresh violence last night) has been sent for post-mortem. More than 50 people were arrested in raids conducted last night. Till now, 8 FIRs have been registered and additional forces have been deployed," he said. While the SP quoted the number of people arrested at more than 50, Nalanda District Magistrate Shashank Shubhankar said more than 80 people were arrested, adding that the situation is peaceful right now. "Fresh violence erupted at 2-3 places in Biharsharif last night. The situation is peaceful right now. Section 144 is in force but a curfew hasn't been enforced. Many miscreants were identified and more than 80 people have been arrested in this connection so far," he said. Clashes were reported on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit. (ANI)
Jafar Ali (45 years) who is a resident of Cooch Behar, West Bengal was convicted in an NDPS case of the PS Crime Branch.

Delhi Police on Sunday said, in the year 2010, a team from Crime Branch had apprehended the accused Jafar Ali and his associates with 142 kg of weed from Burari, Delhi. During the trial, the accused was sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine by the Delhi High Court.

In the year 2020, the accused Jafar Ali was granted emergency parole, which was extended from time to time till February 27, 2021 and even after the expiry of his extended parole, he did not surrender and absconding since.

As per the given direction, the team reached Sahebganj Dinhata Coochbehar, West Bengal to arrest the accused. After knowing of the presence of the police party, the accused fled from his native place to cross the India-Bangladesh border.

The raiding team traced him and arrested him from Kusherhat, Dinhata, West Bengal, situated 500 meters away from the India-Bangladesh border, police said on Sunday.

Accused Jafar Ali is uneducated and he was working as a labourer in the year 2009. Not satisfied with his work and earnings, he planned to export weed from West Bengal to Delhi for profitable earnings. (ANI)
You are here: China

Passengers pose for a group photo at the West Kowloon Station in south China's Hong Kong, April 1, 2023. [Photo by Chen Duo/Xinhua]

The long-haul services of the Express Rail Link (XRL) Hong Kong Section fully resumed on Saturday, connecting the financial hub with destinations outside the neighboring Guangdong province.



Over 30,000 passengers are expected to take bullet trains to the mainland on Saturday, according to forecast by the MTR Corporation.

Tickets for trains departing early for destinations such as Xiamen and Beijing have already been sold out.

People queued up to purchase cross-border tickets for the next 14 days at the West Kowloon Station, terminus of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong XRL, which connects Hong Kong with the mainland's high-speed rail network.

The XRL operation has been smooth since its resumption of short-haul services on Jan. 15.
The Christian season of Lent before Easter began this year on February 22 with Ash Wednesday. The last Sunday of this Lent is observed as Holy Sunday.

Palm Sunday is celebrated annually by Christians to commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem. It is also known as the Holy Sunday of Songs. It is celebrated on the Sunday before Jesus' resurrection (Easter).

In this way, Palm Sunday was celebrated in the churches of Rameswaram island. Kurutholai Bhavani was held at Thangachimadam St. Theresal's Church which was presided over by Father Jebastian.

Just as the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus with olive leaves in their hands in those days, many Christians took palm leaves, shaped them into a cross, and carried them in their hands.

Following the completion of Kurutholai Bhavani at St. Teresa's Church, special prayers were held under the leadership of Father Sebastian. (ANI)
According to the police, the deceased was identified as Idress Pasha (38).

"The body of the cattle trader was found under suspicious circumstances," an oficer said.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal code against one Puneet Kerehalli and others, Ramanagara Police said.

The incident took place on April 1, police said, adding that they have not made any arrests so far.

"Further investigations are underway," the officer said.

More details are awaited (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to prepare a detailed action plan focusing on 10 sectors, in coordination with all the important departments related to the economic development of the state, to achieve the goal of USD 1 trillion (Rs 82 lakh crores) economy in the next four years. The 10 sectors are law and order, agricultural production, social security, infrastructure and industrial development, urban development, rural development, medical and health, education, tourism and culture and revenue collection, according to an official statement. Upbeat with investment proposals worth Rs 35 lakh crores received through the recently held Global Investors Summit and a historic budget of Rs 6.90 lakh crore for the financial year 2023-2024, the State Government has embarked on its mission to establish the state as the country's largest economy by 2027. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to the officials to carry forward the programs while preparing an action plan in mission mode for the next four years. The responsibility of each of these sectors has been given to an experienced officer of the level of Additional Chief Secretary. The Chief Minister has instructed officers to prepare both short and long-term action plans for each sector and ensure continuous monitoring for its successful implementation. The Yogi Government recently completed six years in office and celebrated its remarkable successes on the fronts of infrastructure, law and order, connectivity and employment. The Yogi government also has a big base for realising the huge goal of making the state an economy of more than 82 lakh crores. It was clearly evident during the last three years of the Covid-19 pandemic when the whole world witnessed an economic downturn, but Uttar Pradesh's GSDP increased by 16.8 per cent in 2021-22 due to the financial discipline and concerted efforts of the government. Besides, Uttar Pradesh contributes about 8 per cent to the national GDP, endowed with the most fertile land in the country, abundant water resources and a young population, as well as the country's largest consumer and labour markets. Not only this, Uttar Pradesh holds 12 per cent of the country's total agricultural land and 20 per cent share in foodgrain production. In the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if India is a bright spot for the world today, then UP is going to play an important role in driving India's growth. (ANI)
Launching a fresh round of attack on the Congress party over corruption allegations during its tenure, Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday released the first episode of 'Congress Files'. The official Twitter handle of BJP tweeted, "The first episode of Congress Files, see how one after the other corruption and scams took place under the Congress rule". https://twitter.com/BJP4India/status/1642353659714387969?s=20 In the video message titled "Congress means corruption", the BJP stated, "Congress has looted Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 from the public in 70 years of its rule. That money could have been utilised for so many useful areas of security and development". "Using this much amount, 24 INS Vikrant, 300 Rafale jets, and 1000 Mangal Missions could have been made or purchased. But the country had to bear the cost of Congress' corruption, and it lagged behind in the race of progress," the video message added. BJP further attacked the Congress party and termed its tenure from 2004-2014 as a "Lost Decade". BJP further said in the video, "Keeping the whole 70 years aside, if we only look at the last tenure of 2004-14, it was a 'Lost Decade'. The government was led by Manmohan Singh, who turned a blind eye to all the corruption that kept on happening under his rule. In those days, papers were filled with the news of corruption, looking at which the heads of every Indian hung in shame. " "Coal scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore, 2G Spectrum scam of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, MNREGA scam of Rs 10 lakh crore, Commonwealth scam of Rs 70,000 crore, a bribe of Rs 362 crores in the helicopter deal with Italy, 12 crores bribe for the Chairman of Railway Board," it further added. At the end of the video message, BJP stated, "This is only the jhanki (trailer) of Congress' corruption, the movie is still not over." Earlier Congress had also attacked BJP over the Adani issue, and released multiple sets of questions under the campaign of 'Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun'. The party alleged that BJP granted "monopolies" to the Adani group in various projects. (ANI)
One of the cheetahs, which were brought from Namibia in the Kuno National Park, reached a village, 20 km from Kuno on Sunday morning, a senior forest official here said. However, the cheetah, named 'Oban', was under surveillance of the forest officials and they were trying to move the animal towards the Kuno National Park, the official said. District Forest Officer (DFO) Prakash Kumar Verma informed that 'Oban', reached Jhar Baroda village of Vijaypur which is adjacent to the forest and was sitting in the field. 'Oban' has been kept under the surveillance of the Cheetah Monitoring Team and will be released back to Kuno National Park, he added. Earlier, the news of the cheetah reaching the Jhar Baroda village created panic in the area. The DFO told that the villagers are far away from the place where 'Oban' is sitting, and the forest team has sticks and rods to move the animal from a distance. Cheetahs roaming in the open forest of Kuno National Park are getting familiar with the forest by reaching every corner of it. They roam in an area of 10 to 15 km per day, the DFO said. However, they also reach the outer areas of the forest, which are being monitored by the monitoring team for 24 hours, he said. 'Oban' is one of the Cheetahs which were brought from Namibia that were released into the wild of Kuno National Park in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. (ANI)
Former minister and senior Congress leader Anand Singh Dangi on Sunday morning reached Rohtak and inspected the damage to the crops caused by the fresh spell of hail storm that lashed the district on Saturday evening. After inspection Dangi claimed that the latest spell of hailstorm had caused a huge loss to wheat and mustard crops in various villages of the district. "The distressed farmers are now eyeing the state government for help. Their cops had been completely destroyed, hailstorms can also be seen lying in the fields now. The government should provide adequate compensation of Rs 65 thousand to each farmer within 24 hours for bailing them out of this crisis," said Dangi. Congress leader also alleged that the government keeps asking affected farmers of doing registration on portals but farmers do not know how to register. It is to be noted that, a fresh spell of a hailstorm that lashed the district on Saturday evening further damaged the wheat and mustard crops in several villages. Distressed farmers said they were already bearing the brunt of unseasonal rain and the hailstorm had utterly destroyed their crops. Apart from Haryana neighbouring Uttar Pradesh also witnessed the loss of crops following which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday reviewed the situation and gave necessary guidelines. CM held a high level meeting and instructed officials to assess the loss of crops and distribute compensation to the farmers without delay. He also instructed the relief commissioner to inform the farmers about the weather forecast and make proper use of the early warning system. Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) in New Delhi, made a tweet that forecasted light-intensity intermittent rain and drizzle over and adjoining areas of Haryana and Rajasthan for Sunday as well. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Bihar, days after communal tension in Bihar over Ram Navami processions said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would deal sternly with the rioters if it comes to power in 2025. " The rioters have had a free run in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Give full majority to PM Modi in 2024 elections and elect a BJP government in 2025 state elections. Rioters will be hung upside down," Shah said at a public rally in Nawada on Sunday. Clashes were reported on March 31 in Nalanda's Biharsharif and Sasaram in Rohtas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to visit. However, Shah's visit to Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas has been called off due to the imposition of Section 144 following clashes in the district. "I was supposed to go to Sasaram but due to unfortunate situations people are being killed there, bullets are fired and tear-gas shelling is happening. I will come to Sasaram surely during my next visit," Shah said on Sunday, adding that there is no point in speaking with the state government in Bihar regarding the clashes. "I pray to god that peace is restored at the earliest in the state. There's no point in speaking with the state government here, when I called the Governor then Lalan Singh (JDU president) got offended," Shah said. Adding that the people of Bihar have decided that Modiji's Lotus will bloom on all 40 (LS) seats, Shah said that the BJP will the government will uproot the "Mahagathbandhan" government in the Bihar Assembly elections. He further hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying, "The government, which has jungle raj's Lalu Prasad Yadav's party, can it ever bring peace in Bihar? Nitish Kumar sat in the lap of Lalu Prasad Yadav because of hunger for power and we will uproot the 'Mahagathbandhan' government." The Union Minister also said that Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar always practised the policy of appeasement, which helped terrorism flourish. "On the other hand, PM Modi scrapped Article 370 and dealt with terrorists sternly," he added. "Nitish Kumar won't become Prime Minister. People of the country have decided that Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister of the country for the third time. After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this government will collapse and BJP will form the government," Home Minister said. Shah also said that BJP's doors for Janata Dal (United) are shut forever. "If someone has any doubt that BJP will take JDU back into NDA after election results, then I want to make it clear that BJP's doors are shut for them (JDU) forever," Union HM Amit Shah said. (ANI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting over violence in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif during Ram Navami festivities and asked police to be on the alert. Bihar CM also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of a person who died after clashes broke out between two groups on Saturday evening in Nalanda's Bihar Sharif. The deceased, identified as Mukesh Kumar, died in a firing incident in the Paharpur area, police said. However, during the review meeting, the Chief Minister said that the police and the administration should be fully alert, and maintain complete promptness. "They should keep an eye on everything. Keep identifying the miscreants and take the strictest action against them. Under any circumstances, keep an eye on it so that no mistake is made. Maintain law and order completely," an official statement said quoting Bihar CM. Bihar CM also directed officials to have an immediate talk with the Superintendent of Police of all the districts through video conferencing. "Get complete information. Inform the media about the facts by holding a press conference so that no rumour spreads and people do not get confused," CM said. The Chief Minister condoled the death of the person killed in the incident in Bihar Sharif during the Ram Navami procession. Tension continues to prevail in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif after widespread violence was witnessed on Friday during the Ram Navami Shobha yatra. Fresh violence erupted in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif on Saturday evening. Firing took place reportedly in Paharpur and Kashi Takiya, injuring 3 people who were rushed to hospital for treatment. Several police personnel were also injured in stone pelting. After Friday's violence, the local administration had imposed section 144 in Bihar Sharif. (ANI)
The jawan had gunshot injuries from a service revolver, said Chandigarh Police PRO, DSP Ramgopal. He said the incident occurred around 4:30 am on April 2. The jawan's body was taken to the hospital and the postmortem report is awaited.

The bullet shell has been recovered from the spot by the police. Whether the incident is a suicide or not has still not been determined. An investigation is ongoing in the matter. (ANI)
Coming down heavily on Enforcement Directorate for conducting searches at several locations in the State, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday alleged that people are being beaten up and threatened to sign documents. "They (ED) are beating up people and pressurizing them to sign documents and threaten them(Maarpit Kar Rahe Hain... Maar Maar Kar Likhwa Rahe Hain...Dastkhat Karwa Rahe Hain)," CM Baghel alleged. The scathing attack by Baghel comes at a time when Enforcement Directorate have been conducting searches at several locations in Raipur, including at the office belonging to Congress leader Ram Gopal Agarwal. The Congress leader said that they raided 50 places in a month. "How much money and property were seized from it?" CM Baghel asked further. He also questioned the Central probe agency to come clean on whether the crackdown is being done with an anti-corruption motive or political motive. "We are against corruption and there should be a probe. But let them [ED] decide whether they are raiding for the purpose of arrest or with a political motive behind?" he told reporters here. ED on Tuesday reportedly carried out search operations at separate locations in Raipur at the office belonging to a Congress leader Ram Gopal Agarwal at Gore Parisar under Civil Lines police station and residence of industrialist Kamal Sarda at Shankar Nagar in mining and alleged coal levy scam. CRPF personnel remained present at both locations as the ED officials conducted raids. He also informed that he has written to Home Minister Amit Shah aprising about the people being threatened by ED officials and had also mentioned it during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier on Tuesday Baghel took a swipe at said the Centre by saying that it seems that ED has no office in BJP-ruled states. "Industrialists, businessmen, transporters, MLAs, officers, farmers -- there is no section left which has not been raided by ED. But it seems there is no ED office in MP, UP, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Karnataka. As long as there was Uddhav Thackeray's Government in Maharashtra, central agencies were active there. When there was a change of Government there, the agencies became of no use there," Baghel had said. (ANI)
This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonaut Fei Junlong conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs) out of the space station lab module Wentian. [Photo by Liu Fang/Xinhua]

The astronauts of China's Shenzhou-15 crew have completed three spacewalks since their journey into space four months ago, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).



The third spacewalk was conducted on Thursday by astronauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu, in collaboration with the astronaut Deng Qingming who was inside the space station. The pair accomplished all their scheduled tasks before safely returning to the lab module Wentian, the CMSA said.

According to the CMSA, four crews have carried out a total of 10 spacewalks since the Shenzhou-12 manned mission in 2021, mastering a series of key technologies. Follow-up extravehicular activities will continue to be conducted regularly as planned.

In the past month, the Shenzhou-15 crew has completed various tasks, including the in-orbit maintenance of the space station. The Stirling thermoelectric convertor has also completed its in-orbit test. Capable of converting thermal energy into electricity with relatively high efficiency and power density, the convertor is expected to be used in future manned lunar missions and deep-space exploration, the CMSA said.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo craft is scheduled to be launched in early or mid-May, the CMSA said, adding that it has been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern province of Hainan.
The Economic Offences Wing, Bhubaneswar arrested an accused on March 30 from Pune for running an online ponzi scheme and defrauding thousands of people, said an official. According to the officials of EOW, the accused identified as Vishal Sakharam Utkar, a resident of Latur, Maharashtra was arrested from Mundwa, Pune following a complaint filed by Dibyajyoti Kar, a resident of Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The complainant in his complaint alleged that he got himself added to a WhatsApp group through a person identifying as the Manager of a company namely GETSO which was doing the business of crypto mining. Complaint Dibyajyoti was induced to invest with the company for getting high returns like 6 pc daily on the invested amount apart from daily withdrawal facility. An account was created on the website of GETSO company and through up line referral link. During the period from October 2022 to 24.12.2022, he deposited an amount of Rs.1.27 Lakh with the company. Subsequently, the GETSO WhatsApp group was closed and withdrawal requests were ignored by GETSO. J. N. Pankaj, Inspector General, EOW Bhubaneswar said "During the investigation, Rs 144 crore involved in this scam was traced. The company was running online money circulation via Ponzi schemes on the pretext of crypto mining and operating throughout India. The amount of money invested and the number of investors will go up with the progress of the investigation. Out of the invested amount, Rs 9 crore was found to have been transferred to the account of the arrested accused Vishal Sakharam Utkar." Further explaining the modus operandi IG said that "the accused used to introduce GETSO fraudulently as a Washington, USA-based company on its website/APP. A GETSO APP was also available in Google Play Store with more than 10000 downloads which were showcased as dollar earning APP," said the IG. The accused was produced before the local Cantonment Court, Pune, and was brought to Bhubaneswar on the strength of transit remand for his production before the OPID Court, Cuttack. (ANI)
On the occasion of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) foundation day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address party MPs in the Parliament on April 6. BJP has asked all its MPs to remain present in Parliament on April 6. "MPs will be asked to gather in Parliament at around 9:30 am and be present for the address to all party workers on the occasion of the party's foundation day," a top BJP source told ANI. Last year too the BJP had organised a similar event for their MPs in Parliament. The day marks the BJP's 43rd foundation day and the party has organised various programmes right from the booth level. "We have close to a year to go before the next general elections and the BJP is on the cusp of creating history by forming a government for the third time in a row. The address by our tallest leader will act as a guiding force and motivate us to give in our best in the years and months to come. We are looking forward to the 'margdarshan' by Modi ji on this auspicious occasion of our foundation day," a senior BJP official told ANI. April 6 is also the last day of the ongoing Budget Session which has been an absolute washout because of the Opposition demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Hindenburg report on Adani group and the BJP has been demanding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi apology for his remarks on Savarkar and insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is one of the tallest OBC leaders, in the UK. (ANI)
To familiarise members with the new guidelines of MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds, Rajya Sabha will hold an orientation programme in Parliament on April 5. "Orientation Programme for all the Members of Rajya Sabha is being organised in the PRIDE's Main Lecture Hall, First Floor, Parliament Library Building, New Delhi after the session adjourns in the afternoon on Wednesday, April 5, 2023," read the parliament bulletin. The Centre had launched the revised norms for MPLADS a couple of months ago. The revised set of revised rules will enable MPs to recommend developmental works as per the requirement of their constituency. The renewed guidelines of MPLAD funds came into effect from April 1, 2023. The entire process of fund flow under the revised guidelines will operate through the web portal, which will facilitate real-time monitoring, greater transparency and accountability in the system, and improved efficiency and effectiveness of the MPLAD Scheme. The scheme was launched in 1993-94 proposing that each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for works to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. Since Rajya Sabha MPs are elected through the Council of States, they can recommend works in one or more districts in the State from where they have been elected. The Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select any one or more districts from any one State in the country for implementation of their choice of work under the scheme. Under MPLAD scheme, MPs can recommend work of upto Rs 25 lakh for natural calamity in the state and upto Rs 1 crore in the country in case of calamity of severe nature. (ANI)
With just a few weeks left for the first meeting of the G20 summit in Goa, the state government is looking at all avenues to ensure prevention and preparedness against health emergencies and security arrangements. Sanjit Rodrigues, Secretary Protocol and Nodal Officer for G20 of Goa, said that the preparation for the upcoming meetings is going on in full swing with the government exploring every aspect of management. "Across Goa, from the airports to the route to be covered during the G20 meetings, everything is being spruced up. We are adding greenery and beautifying the stretches. We are trying to give the delegates a comfortable stay here through experiences, dinners and cultural programmes," he said on Sunday. From providing medical cover to delegates to having a dedicated team at all venues, the health department has planned it all. "We're ready with both, a medical cover for the delegates as well as designated teams at the venues and airports," Dr Kedar Raikar, Nodal Officer Ayushman Bharat, Digital India, DHS who is currently holding the position of OSD (Health) of G20 said. The medical cover will include life savers ambulance services, in addition to other medical facilities. He further said that doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff from Goa Medical College, the Directorate of Health Services and the EMRI 108 will be trained and deployed for these meetings to provide additional support. "The Goa Medical College and Hospital will be used to cater to surgical and medical emergencies as well as the treatment and evaluation of patients. We have identified a dedicated ward alongwith ICU facility for this purpose," Dr Raikar added. Additionally, the health department is also ready to effectively address other contagious and infectious illnesses at the airport and other venues. In the technologically advancing age, the health department has also made some notable changes in digital health and preparedness in Goa which will be showcased to the visiting delegates. "Under the health management systems, we are showcasing PHC Corlim for switching from offline to online mode of treatment. The hospital provides online services right from the registration counter to the patient getting lab investigated," Dr Raikar said. However, the delegates will also be able to explore the dialysis centres at the health and wellness centres, emergency care centres, and elderly care centres as well as telemedicine, teleconsultation and OPDs at the PHC Corlim, PHC Dharbandora and PHC Aldona. New initiatives and the state's efforts towards going digital and improving treatment plans will be showcased during the course of the meetings in Goa. This comes as part of the nationwide rollout of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 27 in 2021. The mission is aimed at developing the digital health infrastructure of the country and making data sharing easier across different stakeholders of the health system. On the security front, Jaspal Singh, Goa Director General of Police (DGP) has assured that the department will follow all security and safety measures during the stay of the visiting delegates in Goa. Similarly, Omvir Singh Bishnoi, IPS, Goa Inspector General of Police, Nodal Officer (Security) - G20 stated that all security arrangements will be ensured promptly and will be in place before the planned meetings. "We have already conducted an interdepartmental security coordination meeting under the DGP of the state wherein all departments were roped in and the final list was discussed. I have also conducted a meeting with managerial meetings with the staff of hotels and airports. Venue commander and two officers have been deputed as venue commander for both the airports," he also said. The final meeting with all the stakeholders will be held on April 13 to find out all the details for the event and transportation of the delegates. As part of the eighth G20 summit to be held in Goa starting in April, two ministerial and six other meetings will be held in the state spread across the next four months. The first meeting in Goa is scheduled to be held from April 17-19 at Grand Hyatt, Bambolim-Goa and will have in attendance international health officials and delegates for the 2nd Health Working Group Meeting. (ANI)
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday reiterated the party's support to Vizag Steel Plant workers saying that the BRS would oppose the Central Government's move to privatise the steel plant. In an open letter to the Union Government, KTR said that the Narendra Modi government's "evil plans" to sell off the VSP to private players, the reasons for the steel plant's losses, and ways in which the plant could be revived. "As part of the conspiracy to privatize the steel plant, VSP will be pushed into losses and the crisis will be shown as an excuse to hand it over to crony corporate companies. The central government did not allow the special iron ore mines to the steel plant. Due to this, the steel plant is forced to spend up to 60 per cent of its production cost on raw material," he added. He further said that on the other hand, the cost of raw materials in private companies' production is less than 40 per cent as iron ore, coal and other mines were allotted to them. BRS's working president further said that VSP, which is forced to spend huge amounts on raw materials, is facing challenges as it is competing with private corporate companies in the market in terms of production. It is facing losses as the enterprise has to sell at the same price as them in the market. Minister KTR said that the enterprise is in distress as coking coal has to be imported, and iron raw materials needed for steel production are being bought at the market rate from NMDC. "Due to this, more than 50 per cent of production had to be stopped for a year. All of this is part of a conspiracy to push the Vizag Steel Plant into losses and use it as an excuse to privatize the steel plant. PM Modi has written off loans worth Rs 12.5 lakh crores for his corporate friends. Why is he not showing the same generosity on the Vizag steel plant?" KTR questioned. Stating that an Expression of Interest (EoI) notification was issued in the garb of mobilizing funds for working capital and raw materials, KTR said that the Modi government was indirectly attempting to hand over the PSU to private entities through the notification. Minister demanded that the centre should immediately cancel the EoI notification. The minister in his letter laid out a detailed plan to revive the PSU. He said that Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has already announced its expansion plans with a cost of around Rs 1 lakh crore. He also said that the company can be merged with the Vizag Steel Plant, which has several advantages when compared to selling the steel plant to private companies at a low price. "This will contribute towards SAIL's expansion goals. If the company moves in this direction, then an ecosystem can be created to fulfil a long-standing demand for a steel factory in Bayyaram, Telangana and a steel plant in Kadapa," KTR further said. Stating that VSP is not able to operate at its full capacity of 7.3 MTPA as the central government is not providing raw materials and capital, BRS Working President said that the enterprise which is working at 50 per cent of the capacity is incurring the same production cost it incurs for working at 100 per cent capacity. He also said that if the centre extends support, the enterprise can work at full capacity which will help it in generating profits. The Minister said that VSP can compete with private companies if the central government provides loans to it on par with private companies and facilitates the provision of capital through banks. (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh government is all set to collaborate with the Union government on the "Aroma Mission," a lavender cultivation initiative that has proven to be a boon for farmers in Jammu and Kashmir. With the climatic conditions of several regions in Himachal Pradesh, including Chamba, being similar to those of Jammu and Kashmir, the state government aims to replicate the success of this initiative in Himachal Pradesh in a big way. This initiative will boost the economy of farmers as well as the state in a big way. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had a telephonic discussion with the Union Minister of State, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, who has assured the state of providing technical support to farmers for the project, during his recent meeting with the Union Minister in New Delhi in the month of January. "The initiative has the potential to transform the lives of farmers and with the collaboration of the state and Union government, the "Aroma Mission" could prove to be a game-changer for the farming sector in the region. Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena has been directed to take up this matter with the concerned Ministry and expedite the process of implementing the project on the ground," Sukhu said. The state government is planning to adopt modern scientific methods of farming by replacing traditional practices. To accomplish this, the Himachal Pradesh government is seeking technical support from the Union Government. The Union Government would also organize orientation programs, and training camps and provide technical support to farmers and horticulturists of the state, enabling them to familiarize themselves with new innovative technologies in the farming sector, improve the quality of their products and generate more income. Lavender cultivation also known as the purple revolution could prove to be a lucrative option for the farmers of the state, thereby transforming their lives. (ANI)
Police have arrested six persons including Dimple Panchal (38), Sonu Sahni (35), Vinod (45), Mohit (32) years, Mukesh (49), and Deepak Tyagi (38), accused of posing as officials of Delhi Police AATS and extorting hefty sums.

According to Delhi Police, "On March 31, information was received in AATS, Outer North District, that one gang, posing as police personnel are extorting money in the name of AATS from various persons in the Bawana Industrial Area."

Immediately, police said, a team was constituted to nab the accused.

The six accused were arrested on the spot," police said, adding that one uniform of Delhi Police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) was recovered.

"The accused persons were arrested and on further interrogation, they disclosed that they were impersonating AATS Staff and used to extort money from bootleggers," Delhi Police added.

Police have registered a case in the matter. (ANI)
Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for not seeking an apology for allegedly insulting the OBC community and called the Congress leader "egoistic". While talking to the mediapersons, Thakur said, "This is Rahul Gandhi's ego that he is not ready to seek an apology from the OBC community for insulting them. If he can insult them, he should apologise also." He added, "He also insulted Savarkar...Rahul Gandhi is on bail in seven cases. Now we will see if he will seek an apology or not." Former MP from Wayanad was sentenced to a two-year jail term in a criminal defamation case and subsequently lost his Lok Sabha membership. The defamation case was filed against Gandhi by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying "How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?" Gandhi also faces another defamation case filed by former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi for his 2019 remarks. A Patna court has reportedly directed the Congress leader to appear before it on April 12 in connection with the case. After the disqualification of Rahul's membership from the Lok Sabha, the Congress has been vocal in protests all over the country. The grand old party has been making an effort to rally like-minded Opposition players around it in the wake of Rahul's loss membership of in the Lower House. Rahul's disqualification is the latest in a series of flashpoints between the Congress and the ruling BJP, with a united Opposition calling it a ploy to divert public attention from the Adani issue. (ANI)
Tactical Urbanism (TU) trials help modify road design and safety infrastructure to make dangerous roads and intersections safer.

TU interventions introduced at the Kalpana Talkies Square include the provision of continuous crosswalks and public spaces with geometric corrections as well as the provision for pedestrian waiting spaces.

Reiterating the priority of government regarding Road Safety, the Union Minister took to Twitter and said, "Road safety remains a top priority for our government. Today inspected the Kalpana Talkies Square Tactical Urbanism (TU) Trial in Nagpur."

He said that he has asked for the final report to make the interventions permanent.

"Road crashes are an epidemic facing our country and one that we must counter together. We are committed to making roads across India safer and innovative solutions to this end are the need of the hour. Tactical Urbanism (TU) trials help modify road design and safety infrastructure to make dangerous roads and intersections safer. TU interventions introduced at the Kalpana Talkies Square include the provision of continuous crosswalks and public spaces with geometric corrections as well as the provision for pedestrian waiting spaces. #TacticalUrbanismTrial@savelifeindia," Niting Gadkari tweeted. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday at 12 noon at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, said a press release by Prime Minister's Office on Sunday. During the programme, an Investiture Ceremony for recipients of the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Gold Medal for Best Investigating Officers of CBI will be held wherein the Prime Minister will confer medals to the awardees. Prime Minister will also inaugurate the newly constructed office complexes of CBI at Shillong, Pune and Nagpur. He will release a Postage Stamp and Commemorative Coin marking the Diamond Jubilee Celebration year of CBI. He will also launch the Twitter handle of CBI. The Central Bureau of Investigation was established by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India dated April 1, 1963. On the occasion of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) foundation day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address party MPs in the Parliament on April 6. BJP has asked all its MPs to remain present in Parliament on April 6. "MPs will be asked to gather in Parliament at around 9:30 am and be present for the address to all party workers on the occasion of the party's foundation day," a top BJP source told ANI.Last year too the BJP had organised a similar event for their MPs in Parliament. The day marks the BJP's 43rd foundation day and the party has organised various programmes right from the booth level. "We have close to a year to go before the next general elections and the BJP is on the cusp of creating history by forming a government for the third time in a row. The address by our tallest leader will act as a guiding force and motivate us to give in our best in the years and months to come. We are looking forward to the 'margdarshan' by Modi ji on this auspicious occasion of our foundation day," a senior BJP official told ANI. April 6 is also the last day of the ongoing Budget Session which has been an absolute washout because of the Opposition demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Hindenburg report on the Adani group and the BJP has been demanding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's apology for his remarks on Savarkar and insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is one of the tallest OBC leaders, in the UK. (ANI)
BJP Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Locket Chatterjee on Sunday said that she will demand a discussion on Monday over the recent violence in West Bengal during the Ram Navami procession in Parliament. "I will ask for this matter to be taken up urgently on Monday by the House given its severity and will also try to raise the issue if given an opportunity during Zero Hour," Chatterjee confirmed to ANI. The Lok Sabha MP from Hoogly has been at the forefront, leading the attack on the ruling TMC in Bengal in the wake of this violence. Locket has been demanding an investigation by the NIA on the issue. On Friday while speaking to ANI, for the first time MP had termed the incident "disheartening". "Such visuals emerge from Bengal during every Ram Navami and Durga idol immersion. Not acceptable that the lives of Hindus in Bengal are under threat." She added. On Sunday, ruckus and stone pelting erupted during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shobha yatra in Hooghly. Last Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire 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, allegations and counter-allegations continued to fly between the ruling TMC and the principal opposition party BJP on the issue. Soon after the reports of the violence Union Home Minister Amit Shah had spoken to the Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on the issue. In fact, the union home secretary has sought a detailed report from the state on the violence. On Thursday, a case was registered against Goshamahal legislator, T Raja Singh at Shahinyathgunj police station for allegedly provoking the public to disturb the peaceful atmosphere during the Sri Ram Navami Shobha Yatra held in the city. Following the violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Choudhury has initiated the investigation. (ANI)
Eyeing support of government employees, Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday again promised restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) if the party was voted to power in 2024 Assembly polls. He slammed the BJP-JJP government for pushing the state into a debt trap, saying that a state that was once at the top of development has been number one in crime and unemployment. Addressing the Vipaksh Aapke Samaksh and Jai Bharat Satyagraha programme organised by the Congress here, Hooda, who is the Leader of Opposition in Assembly, said Haryana is one of those states which have more debt than its state budget. "Today the state is immersed in a debt trap. Law and order has become worse. Haryana ranks number two in the country in crimes like murder and rape. Haryana, which was among the leading states, is rapidly lagging," he said. The meeting saw a large attendance with all roads leading to the programme venue were blocked. Enthused by seeing the huge crowd, Hooda announced that the OPS will be implemented as soon as the Congress government is formed in the state. "A pension of Rs 6,000 will be given to all elderly and we will give legal guarantee of the MSP (minimum support price). The creamy layer limit of backward class will be increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Gas cylinders will be given to women for Rs 500 and sanitation workers would be given permanent jobs," he promised. Hooda said he had come to the meeting to listen to grievances of the people. "In Haryana, farmers, laborers, traders, employees -- rural and urban -- and every section are repenting. Farmer is not getting the MSP. Today there is no buyer for mustard. The MSP of mustard is Rs 5,450 per quintal but farmers are forced to sell it for Rs 4,000. Potatoes have to be sold at 50 paise per kg in Pipli. It was promised to double the income of the farmer, but the agricultural cost doubled," he added. Expressing disagreement with the decision to end the Lok Sabha membership of Rahul Gandhi, Hooda said the Congress would fight a legal battle against this decision. "Today the Constitution itself is in danger, it needs to be protected. We will not allow the Constitution to be tampered with. No power can suppress the voice of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress." About the "record unemployment" in the state, he said the youths are migrating to other places for employment. "As soon as the Congress government is formed, we will provide permanent employment to the youth in Haryana itself and will fill vacant government posts," Hooda added. More than 24 party MLAs and 50 former ministers, former MLAs and former MPs, besides senior leaders, were present at the programme. Former minister Ashok Arora, the convener of the Vipak Aapke Samaksh programme, conducted the meeting. State Congress chief Uday Bhan said the BJP-led Central government is scared of Rahul Gandhi's questions. "What is the reason that the debt of Haryana has increased from Rs 60,000 crore to more than 3 lakh crores in the last nine years. Today the petroleum and has prices have come down in international market, but this government is not giving any relief to the common people. The time has come to overthrow this government," he said. MP Deepender Hooda said during the Congres government in the state four cities were connected with metro and 12 universities and medical colleges were built. "The BJP-JJP government has derailed the state from the track of development and has pushed the youth of the state into the unemployment trap." --IANS vg/vd ( 626 Words) 2023-04-02-19:24:02 (IANS)
Raju Jha, a coal trader who was shot dead on Saturday evening by unidentified assailants on NH-19 in West Bengal's East Burdwan district, was travelling from Durgapur to Kolkata in a car registered in the name of an absconding accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case, a source said on Sunday. Jha was travelling along with Brotin Bandopadhyay -- who sustained injuries in the incident. According to the source, the Toyota SUV in which Jha and Bandopadhyay were travelling is registered in the name of one Abdul Latif, who is currently absconding, and wanted by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the cattle scam. When Jha and Bandopadhyay stopped near a sweetmeat outlet in Saktigarh for refreshment, suddenly a blue-coloured vehicle arrived there. The vehicle's occupants opened fire, which resulted in two casualties. The SUV bearing registration number 'WB-48D-7032' was purchased in January 2020 and was registered with the regional transport office (RTO) at Bolpur in Birbhum district. As per records of the same RTO, the vehicle is registered in the name of Abdul Latif. According to records of the CBI, Latif was an "extremely close confidant" of Trinamool Congress strongman and party's Birbhum district president, Anubrata Mondal, who is currently serving his judicial custody in Delhi for this alleged involvement in the cattle- smuggling scam. CBI records also suggested that Latif, who was mainly responsible for monitoring the smooth passage of smuggled cattle from a cattle-trading hub in Birbhum district to the India-Bangladesh border in Murshidabad district, went absconding when Mondal was arrested by the central agency in August last year. He went absconding last year immediately after he was summoned by the CBI for questioning. --IANS src/pgh ( 299 Words) 2023-04-02-20:38:03 (IANS)
While Sikh radical preacher Amritpal Singh is still on the run, terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, founder of the US-based secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has allegedly issued threats against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. On Sunday, a section of journalists in Assam received calls from different mobile numbers, and on connecting, a message purportedly in Pannu's voice issued threats to Sarma. The caller said: "Pro-Khalistan supporters imprisoned in Assam have been tortured. Listen very carefully, CM Sarma, the fight is between pro-Khalistan Sikhs and the Indian regime." "We are seeking the liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation through a peaceful democratic process of Khalistan referendum. If your government is torturing and harassing the Sikhs, you will be held accountable." Notably, some of Amritpal Singh's aides, including his uncle Harjit Singh, were flown from Punjab to Assam where they were lodged in Dibrugarh central jail. Pannu's message, referring to the Assam Chief Minister, also said: "Sarma, do not fall prey to this violence." Assam DGP G.P. Singh, said: "We have identified that the voice was that of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. While serving in the National Investigation Agency (NIA), I heard his voice earlier in relation to a case. I am pretty sure that it is him. So, we have taken this issue very seriously." IGP, Law and Order, Prasanta Kumar Bhuyian told IANS that they have registered a case under the special task force and the investigation is underway. Asked about any change in the Assam Chief Minister's security, he said: "CM's security has already been there according to the government's directive, which is reviewed from time to time." DGP Singh noted that the SFJ was banned in India in 2019 and Pannu was declared a terrorist in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for promoting secessionism and allegedly encouraging Sikh youths to take up arms. --IANS tdr/vd ( 326 Words) 2023-04-02-21:48:04 (IANS)
This will be a second visit by a Maharashtra CM to the upcoming Ram Temple - in March 2020, then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had prayed there and now present Shinde will perform an 'aarti' there.

Shinde will be accompanied by his party Ministers, MLAs, MPs and other leaders on their maiden trip to Ayodhya.

Like Thackeray two years ago, Shinde will also perform the aartis and other rituals at the Sarayu River and worship Ram Lalla there, besides visiting the Shri Hanuman Garhi Temple.

The developments follow an invite by a Mahant of Ayodhya who extended a personal invitation to the CM to visit the Lord Ram Temple, and a week after the Maharashtra government sent the first consignment of prized teak-wood from Chandrapur district for the temple construction.

Earlier, then minister Aditya Thackeray had visited the Lord Ram Temple and offered prayers there in June 2022, barely a fortnight before the MVA government was toppled by a Shinde-led rebellion.

However, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray - the estranged cousin of Uddhav - was prevented from going to Ayodhya in early June 2022 in view of threats by the Uttar Pradesh BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, though the MNS-BJP are now cosying up in this state.

--IANS qn/vd

( 245 Words)

2023-04-02-22:28:04 (IANS)
A team of top Bihar police officials including the Director General of Police (DGP) RS Bhatti on Sunday night reached Bihar Sharif and conducted an inspection of each and every violence-affected place. DGP Bhatti went to the spot where the firing took place and later held a discussion with senior officials of the police department. Bihar Sharif SP Ashok Mishra and other subordinate police officers were present in the meeting. Around 9:00 pm, Bhatti went out to see the violence-hit areas of Bihar Sharif while Patna Central IG Rakesh Rathi also accompanied him. DGP Bhatti visited Gagan Diwan Masjid, the starting point of the violence along with Badi Dargah, Paharpur, Pukki Talab near Sogra School, Kargil Bus Stand, Baba Madiram Akhara, Palace, Banaulia (where there was firing on Saturday night) and Madina Masjid areas. "The situation is under control. 13 companies of Bihar Special Armed Police (BSAP) and 3 companies of paramilitary have been deployed in affected areas. The situation here is peaceful till now," Bihar Sharif SP Ashok Mishra told reporters. The police officer further urged the citizens to maintain peace and not to pay heed to rumours. "14 people were injured and one of them has died. A total of 77 people have been arrested in connection to the incident till now. Strict action is being taken against the miscreants," SP Mishra added. Tension continues to prevail in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns after widespread violence were witnessed on Friday during the Ram Navami Shobha yatra. This prompted local administration to issue prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns. Violence erupted in parts of Bihar again on Saturday evening. Firing took place reportedly in Paharpur and Kashi Takiya, injuring 3 people. Several police personnel were also injured during violence and stone pelting. Following this, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday and directed the administration and police authorities to be on the alert. Bihar CM also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of a person who died after clashes broke out between two groups on Saturday evening in Nalanda's Bihar Sharif. Earlier on Saturday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the incidents are not "natural" and somebody might have done something "unnatural deliberately" to disturb the law and order. Denying any law and order problem in the state, CM also remarked on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's cancellation of his visit to Sasaram following the clashes, stating that it is the BJP's decision. Speaking to the media over the incident, Nitish Kumar said that he instructed the officials to investigate the incidents and ascertain those behind the clashes. (ANI)
US-based San Antonio police received a stolen vehicle report at around 1 p.m. from a home in the Braesview area, reports KSAT.

However, before authorities could recover the stolen truck, the owners chose to conduct their own investigation, aided by an AirTag left in the vehicle.

The truck's unidentified owners traced it down to a shopping centre on Southeast Military Drive, according to the report.

Instead of waiting for police, the truck owners decided to approach the car and confront the suspect.

While it is unclear what occurred, police believe the suspected thief may have drawn their own firearm. The owner of the car retaliated by shooting and killing the suspect while they were inside the truck, the report said.

In addition, an investigation is underway to determine whether the suspect actually had a weapon when he was attacked, or whether the suspect will face any charges over the matter.

In February, Apple's AirTag helped to track a stolen car in the US state of North Carolina.

Police were able to track down the stolen car because of the owner's AirTag inside, but the thieves then crashed it during the high-speed chase.

--IANS shs/pgh

( 238 Words)

2023-04-02-19:12:03 (IANS)
King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will officially visit India from April 3- 5. He will be accompanied by Dr Tandi Dorji, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and senior officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan, according to the Ministry of External Affairs press release. His India visit comes at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu. The visit of the King of Bhutan is in keeping with the long-standing tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and during his visit, he will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and senior officials will call on the King of Bhutan. India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, characterized by understanding and mutual trust. The visit would provide an opportunity for both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation, the release added. Earlier in February 2023, a Parliamentary Delegation from Bhutan led by Wangchuk Namgyel, Speaker of the National Assembly of Bhutan called on President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Welcoming the delegation, the President said that we deeply value the multifaceted and unique friendship between India and Bhutan. The Government of India is committed to expanding its excellent bilateral cooperation with Bhutan, in accordance with the aspirations and priorities of the people of Bhutan. India is foraying into new avenues of bilateral cooperation with Bhutan such as Space Cooperation, Smart Agriculture, Youth and Sports, Start-ups, Renewable energy and Digital Development, to help the Royal Government of Bhutan realize its vision of prosperity for all. The President noted that this year Bhutan would graduate from the LDC group of countries and embark on becoming a High Income Economy by 2034. India and Bhutan share unique and exemplary bilateral relations, which are based on mutual trust, goodwill and understanding. Formal diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968. The basic framework of India-Bhutan relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries, which was renewed in February 2007. The bilateral ties have been advanced by regular high-level exchanges between the two countries. India re-negotiated the 1949 treaty with Bhutan and signed a new treaty of friendship in 2007. The new treaty replaced the provision requiring Bhutan to take India's guidance on foreign policy with broader sovereignty. (ANI)
Israel's Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said he choose India as his first destination as Speaker to visit as it is the largest democracy in the world and because the country is progressing rapidly in recent years. Ohana said India and Israel have a great connection between leaders, between the people and a great new connection between parliaments. Knesset is the unicameral parliament of Israel and the supreme authority of the state. "I chose India as my first destination as speaker to visit because it's the largest democracy in the world, because it is progressing rapidly in recent years, because the connection between our two countries is so great in recent years and because never has a speaker of the Knesset visited India," Ohana said. "So, in that case, it is a historic visit. I met the president of India, the vice president who is also the speaker of the upper house and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house which I signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with to strengthen the relationship between the parliaments. So, we have a great connection between the leaders, between the people and a great new connection between parliaments," the Knesset Speaker further said. Ohana on Friday called India one of Israel's closest and dearest friends. He called it a distinct pleasure to have been invited to India. Knesset Speaker made the statement during a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. "It is a great honour for me to be here with you today. This is indeed not only my first visit to India but also the first visit of any Speaker of the Knesset on an official visit to India. And it is my distinct pleasure to have been invited specifically to India, one of Israel's closest and dearest friends and the world's largest democracy," Ohana said. "When I had to decide where to make my first official visit as speaker of the Knesset, India stood up with all the other countries. We saw it not only as a dear friend but also as a rising power in the world in many, many fields," he added. Ohana said that Israel and India are marking 31 years of diplomatic ties. He said, "Our countries are marking 31 years of full diplomatic relations. What started as ties between two ancient civilizations with rich histories and tremendous respect for our traditions, is now a friendship based on common interests in almost every aspect of life. We also share a deep historical connection." A Parliamentary Delegation from Israel, led by Ohana called on President 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. Ohana in a tweet on Saturday wrote: "On behalf of the Israeli delegation, I thank you Honorable President Smt. Murmu Ji for your kind words and for the gracious hospitality. It is a true honour to be the first Speaker of the Knesset to visit India, a country we hold in high esteem and share a unique bond with." (ANI)
Lahore High Court has stopped the Punjab caretaker government from handing over the 45,000 acres of land approximately to the Pakistan army on the lease, The News International reported. The Punjab caretaker government led by Mohsin Naqvi has notified of handing over the 45,267 acres of land to the Pakistan Army on lease in three districts i.e. Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal, for a corporate agriculture farming project. According to The News International, the caretaker government had signed a joint venture agreement on March 8, 2023, to hand over the land to the army, but now, the court judge Abid Hussain Chattha has stopped the Punjab provincial from doing so. Earlier, on February 20, 2023, a notification was issued where the court stopped handing over the land to the Army after a petition was moved by Ahmad Rafay Alam, on behalf of the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan. The judgment, a copy of which is available with The News International, the Lahore High Court barred the caretaker government from extending any "lease of state land" for the above-mentioned purpose as per the government's notification. The court issued notices to the respondents, the Punjab Board of Revenue and secretaries of different departments, including Agriculture, Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries, Irrigation and Livestock & Dairy Development for May 9. Notices have also been served on the Attorney-General for Pakistan and Advocate General Punjab, as per the report in The News International. The petition argued that Section 230 (functions of caretaker government) of the Election Act 2017 says that the "mandate and scope of the caretaker government is limited to performing day-to-day functions of the government and is specifically barred from taking policy decisions of permanent nature". The petitioner contended that the constitutional mandate restricts the army to performing functions of external and internal security, and does not extend to corporate agriculture farming, the intended purpose, as per the government's notification. The petitioner implored the court to declare the February 20 notification illegal, and null and void, as it does not fall under the scope of the caretaker government. Meanwhile, Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed a plea challenging the appointment of Mohsin Raza Naqvi as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, The News International reported. The government informed the court during the hearing on Monday that the ECP and the courts had the jurisdiction to stop a caretaker CM from abusing their position. The ECP has already halted the execution of a number of Naqvi's orders. As the Election Commission of Pakistan has the authority to name the caretaker CM, Judge Shahid Karim stated that the appointment was done in accordance with the law, according to The News International. Questioning Naqvi's appointment, the government contended that the ECP alone had the authority to nominate the caretaker chief minister. (ANI)
Pope Francis, on Saturday morning, was released from the Gemelli Hospital after being treated for bronchitis, according to the Vatican news. In a statement, released on Saturday morning, Holy See Press Office noted that, before his departure, the Holy Father greeted the leadership of the hospital, including Franco Anelli, the Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; Marco Elefanti, the General Director of the Policlinic; and the General Ecclesiastical Assistant for the hospital, Bishop Claudio Giuliodori, as well as the medical team and healthcare workers who assisted him during his convalescence. The Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic, the largest hospital in Rome, is the teaching hospital for the Catholic University's medical school. The hospital is named for Franciscan Friar Agostino Gemelli, a physician and psychologist, who was also the founder and first rector of the University. As he left the hospital, Pope Francis stopped his car briefly to greet those present, pausing for a moment to embrace and pray with a couple who had lost their daughter during the night. 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 sometimes using a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee. (ANI)
Use of English or any other foreign language by citizens in Italy for formal communication would soon attract hefty penalties, according to CNN. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party has introduced new legislation which proposes a fine of up to Euro 100,000 for using any foreign language, especially English, in official communication. "If Italians use English or any other foreign language during their official communication then they have to pay fines of up to Euro 100,000 (USD 108,705) under new legislation introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party," CNN reported. In the Italian Chamber of Deputies (Lower House), politician Fabio Rampelli introduced the legislation which was supported by the Prime Minister. While the legislation talked about any foreign language but particularly geared at "Anglomania" or the use of English words, which the draft states "demeans and mortifies" the Italian language, adding that it is even worse because the UK is no longer part of the EU. The bill still has to go for the parliamentary debate, and it is required to hold an office in public administration to have "written and oral knowledge and mastery of the Italian language". It also prohibits the use of English in official documentation, including "acronyms and names" of job roles in companies operating in the country. Foreign entities would have to have Italian language editions of all internal regulations and employment contracts, according to a draft of the legislation seen by CNN. "It is not just a matter of fashion, as fashions pass, but Anglomania has repercussions for society as a whole," the draft bill states. Article 2 would make Italian "mandatory for the promotion and use of public goods and services in the national territory." Not doing so could garner fines between Euro 5,000 (USD 5,435) and Euro 100,000 (USD 108,705). (ANI)
Syrian Foreign and Expatriate Minister Fayssal Mikdad met his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and held bilateral talks in Cairo. It is the first such trip to Cairo for the Syrian foreign minister in more than a decade, according to Syrian News Agency SANA and Anadolu Agency. According to the SANA, the conversation between the two addressed the strengthening of brotherly relations and the latest events in the region and the world. Egyptian Foreign Minister reiterated "Egypt's support to efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis at the earliest possible time," according to an Anadolu Agency report citing the statement released from Egypt's side. The Egyptian minister also voiced support for UN efforts to reach a consensus among Syrian people, build confidence, and continue the meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, the statement said. Mekdad, for his part, said he looks forward to more Arab solidarity with Syria in order to overcome its crisis, the statement said. According to the statement, the two ministers agreed on intensifying channels of communication between the two countries with a view to tackling issues and matters of interest for both countries, reported Anadolu Agency. Mekdad's visit was the first to Egypt since Syria's membership in the Cairo-based Arab League was suspended in November 2011 following the regime's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The top diplomats of Egypt and Syria met in September 2021 in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings. Earlier, the Egyptian Foreign Minister had visited Damascus on February 27 and conveyed to President Bashar al-Assad a message from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which he expressed Egypt's solidarity with Syria, and Cairo's willingness to strengthen relations and develop joint cooperation, according to SANA. (ANI)
The Forum will examine, in particular, how the services sector, digitalisation and inclusive trade policies can support global environmental goals and help combat the climate crisis.

Titled 'It is Time for Action', the Public Forum, to be held from September 12 to 15, will cover three main topics -- the role of the services sector in sustainable trade, inclusive policies for the advancement of green trade, and digitalisation as a tool for the greening of supply chains.

Sessions at the public forum will be organised by representatives from civil society, academia, business, government and international organisations. A call for proposals and registration is due to open in early May 2023.

The forum is the WTO's largest outreach event, providing a unique platform for interested stakeholders from around the world to discuss the latest developments in global trade and propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system.

The event attracts over 2,000 representatives each year from civil society, academia, business, government, international organisations and the media. (ANI/WAM)
Civil societies have always played an important role in shaping the socioeconomic foundation of India. In order to highlight the importance of civil society, India has formed the Civil20 group as part of its G20 presidency. C20 India 2023 is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G20 that provides a platform for civil society organisations (CSO) around the world to voice people's aspirations to the world leaders of G20. It gives CSOs a forum to protect the agency of this sector, reflects the primary and common concerns affecting the people of the world, and promotes social and economic development with the vision of leaving no one behind. CyberPeace -- a Global non-profit and thinktank of cyber and policy experts -- have organised the CyberPeace Dialogue with the C20 Working Group on Technology, Security & Transparency supported by Zoom Video Communications, Developing Library Network (DELNET) and Autobot Infosec, reported CXO Today. The CyberPeace Dialogue is a collaborative effort that brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, all committed to promoting responsible technology use for empowerment, trust, and safety in the digital age. Participants include policymakers, government representatives, UN agencies, industry experts, academics, civil society members, and netizens, with a special focus on ensuring the inclusion of differently-abled individuals. The dialogue focused on Trust and Safety in cyberspace and several aspects of technology and its impact on society, such as digital inclusion, privacy, data protection, online safety, and bridging the digital divide. It laid down insights into strategies and initiatives to improve digital inclusion and also connect the unconnected. Indian society is known for its uniquely dynamic and plural character. Although the Indian approach is quintessentially society-centric at its core, it is also a deeply independent culture which allows autonomous space for society. Because of this innately autonomous way of functioning, Indian thought has flourished over the centuries. Our approach relies on non-state initiatives, from temples and dharamshalas, to voluntary bodies to educational and welfare institutions, seeking to resolve public issues through public participation. We are committed to this path because we collectively believe in the idea of self-reliance and sustainability, where economic growth, ecological health, personal enlightenment, and social well-being go hand in hand. In India, civil society has historically remained independent of political powers and is self-supporting in every aspect. We expect this ethos to permeate this year's C20 activities and to shift the dynamics between state, society, market, family, and individual from conflict and contradiction to cooperation, collaboration, and compassionate assistance, stated the site dedicated to C20 initiatives. Indian philosophical tradition recognises the importance and limitations of individualism and collective action. Volunteerism, which bridges this gap between these two is the essential spirit behind civil society in India. As an ideal, volunteerism, or selfless service, should reflect a sense of personal ownership of one's surroundings and a sense of belonging. Beyond this, for volunteerism to have the most positive impact, we require a genuineness of passion for reforms and improvement, self-inspired initiative, and creativity in approaches that reflect the complexities of the real world. Lastly, it represents a democratic, participatory, and harmonious way of working together. Volunteerism in India has always been driven by a sense of duty and indebtedness to society. In that sense, this consciousness is in fact beyond government as each individual develops a personal responsibility for ensuring national (and global) well-being. This perspective reinforces the role of individual citizens rather than placing the entire burden on the government alone. The C20 in India would thus focus on a uniquely Indian experience, bringing these aspects to the fore. The priority issues of C20 will focus on solving the socio-economic matters which touch the daily lives of the people, which include education, health, environment, technology and sewa (sense of service). The C20 India will conduct regular consultations with national and international Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to deliberate upon and structure the priority agenda. Along with this, C20 India will hold regular dialogues with G20 Engagement Groups along with other key actors to ensure adequate representation of civil society voices and aspirations in the G20 Leaders Summit. (ANI)
At least 39 Chinese nationals have been arrested by Sri Lanka's Aluthgama police in connection with online financial fraud, Daily Mirror reported. Police said the suspects had defrauded millions of money over several months through the internet from the accounts of people in different countries. The group had been staying in a tourist resort in the Kaluamodara area in Aluthgama and Police said they were arrested based on complaints received through several embassies, Daily Mirror reported. While the arrested Chinese nationals were taken to the Alutgama police, several smartphones and cash in their possession were also taken into custody by police, the English daily reported. This is the second incidence this week of Chinese nationals being arrested from another country for online fraud. In another such incident, three years after arresting 122 Chinese nationals from different parts of Kathmandu for their suspicious activities, Nepal police on Tuesday nabbed nine China nationals for their alleged involvement in online fraud. Police also arrested 10 Nepalis who were allegedly helping them in the business, The Kathmandu Post reported. Police said this time they have 'strong evidence' to file an online fraud case. "Earlier, the police would be short of evidence as they would be found to be running a call centre or doing some other legitimate activities," said Senior Superintendent of Police Manoj KC, who is also the in-charge at the Valley Crime Investigation Office, Minbhawan, adding, "But this time we have enough evidence." "They were found duping Nepalis of money from their illegal offices in the Valley," KC said. "Through these offices, they ran online classes called 'Operation Teacher' over Telegram," he added. The crime office in charge said the operators would make various tempting offers to general people after initially connecting over WhatsApp and then making them join online classes via Telegram. Police said one of the victims lost Rs4.7 million in the business whereby the Chinese would send messages via WhatsApp with an offer of investment in an online business from where one was liable to get over 30 per cent net profit. (ANI)
Celebrating five decades of tiger conservation, India marked the 50th anniversary of "Project Tiger" on Saturday. With a current population of about 3,000 tigers, India is home to more than 70 per cent of the global tiger population and their number is increasing by 6 per cent per annum, according to government figures. India first launched Project Tiger under the then-prime minister Indira Gandhi on 1 April 1973, in a bit to promote conservation, The Independent.co.uk reported. While it initially covered nine tiger reserves spread over 18,278 sq km, India now has 53 reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km (approximately 2.4 per cent of the country's geographical area). In a recent interview with an Indian daily, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "Project Tiger has been successful in bringing tigers back from the brink of extinction." The Indian government will officially mark the anniversary of the project on 9 April with a three-day event in Mysuru, in southern Karnataka state, The Independent.co.uk reported. "50 years ago, 'Project Tiger' was launched by Smt. Indira Gandhi for habitat conservation of the Tiger. This landmark initiative ensured a viable tiger population for economic, scientific, cultural & ecological values. Let us continue protecting this majestic animal," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted on Saturday. At the event, prime minister Narendra Modi will release the latest tiger census data and a commemorative coin, The Independent.co.uk reported. Yadav said the success of the project should not be viewed in terms of numbers alone. "We believe in the scientific management of tiger reserves and aim to have a tiger population as per the carrying capacity of the habitat," he said. "The ministry is bringing all potential tiger habitats under the coverage of the NTCA [National Tiger Conservation Authority] so that the viable tiger population can be conserved on a sustainable basis," he added. On Saturday, the general secretary of the opposition Congress, Jairam Ramesh, also spoke about the 50th anniversary of the big cat conservation project. Taking to Twitter, he posted, "[Fifteen] months after she launched Gir Lion Project, Indira Gandhi heralded Project Tiger exactly 50 years ago today at Corbett. There were 9 tiger reserves then. Today, there are 53. For her, protecting tigers is equal to protecting forests. Tiger reserves are 1/3rd of rich forest areas now." India along with other countries with tiger populations including Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam, committed to doubling their number of big cats in 2010 by 2022, The Independent.co.uk reported. India met its target in 2018.(ANI)
Indian smartphone export is likely to have crossed USD 10 billion (over Rs 82,000 crore) in the previous financial year 2023, according to the new industry data. Apple's 'Make in India' smartphones now constitute 50 per cent of total exports, followed by Samsung with 40 per cent of mobile exports and other smartphone players constituting the remaining 10 per cent of the export share, the Asian Lite reported. India is going strong in its electronics manufacturing sector and making a mark globally. Smartphone manufacturing is something the government is very keenly focussing on. The Telecom industry is on the government's priority list. India is now being preferred by Global manufacturing giants. Recently, Samsung opened the world's largest phone manufacturing unit in India. Other major global giants like Apple have moved significant units in the country too. Global enterprises like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Lava have also set up their bases and expanded operationally in India, the Asian Lite reported. "The mobile phone industry will cross USD 40 billion manufacturing output and 25 per cent exports at USD 10 billion is a stellar performance," stated Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA. Smartphone exports from India have doubled from a corresponding period from last fiscal year, driven by production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. The top five global destinations India currently exports mobile phones to are the UAE, the US, the Netherlands, the UK and Italy, according to the ICEA data. India has more than 260 units manufacturing mobile phones and accessories now, with only two units operational in 2014. Thus, India has come a long way in the mobile manufacturing sector. This is one industry where the 'Make in India' drive has worked on the ground, the Asian Lite reported citing NewsonAir. The country has witnessed a splendid growth rate in mobile phone manufacturing, charting a global success story. In Budget 2023, it was revealed that mobile phone production in the country increased from 5.8 crore units valued at about Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to 31 crore units valued at over Rs 2,75,000 crore in the last financial year. With this, the custom duty of 2.5 per cent on the import of certain parts and inputs like camera lens were waived off in this Budget. The relief has been extended to further reduce input costs, deepen value addition, promote export competitiveness and boost domestic manufacturing. India's mobile exports were close to 'zero' in 2015 and reached a mark of Rs 27,000 crore in 2019-20. The real game-changer has been the PLI Scheme. According to IT Ministry, mobile phone manufacturing saw a 66 per cent rise to Rs 45,000 crore within the first year of the roll-out of the scheme in April 2020. "Due to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, India is currently one of the fastest-growing mobile phone manufacturers in the world and has emerged as the second-largest manufacturer of mobile handsets in the world in volume terms," India's IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said earlier. (ANI)
Four Pakistani soldiers were on Saturday killed in a terrorist attack along the Pakistan-Iran border in the Jalgai sector of Balochistan's Kech district, according to the military's media wing, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported. An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said: "On April 1, 2023, a group of terrorists operating from the Iranian side attacked a routine border patrol of Pakistani security forces operating along the Pakistan-Iran Border in Jalgai Sector, District Kech." "In the attack, unfortunately, four soldiers, including Naik Shair Ahmed, Lance Naik Muhammad Asghar, Sepoy Muhammad Irfan and Sepoy Abdur Rasheed, were critically injured" and were later pronounced dead. The ISPR said that "necessary contact" with the Iranian side was being made for "effective action against terrorists" on their territory and to prevent such incidents in the future, according to Dawn. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his grief over the incident, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office. The PM extended his condolences to the families of those killed and offered prayers for them. "The sons of the soil are laying down their lives for the defence and protection of the country," he said. PM Shehbaz maintained that ridding the country of terrorism was the national agenda. "We will rest after defeating the menace of terrorism." Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also condemned the attack and paid tribute to those killed. "The sons of the country are laying down their lives to protect their land, the whole nation salutes them, the nation is united in the war against terrorism," he tweeted, adding that "this scourge will be eradicated," Sanaullah said as quoted by Dawn. Four security personnel were in January killed during "terrorist activity" from across the Pakistan-Iran border in Balochistan's Panjgur district, according to Dawn. The incident was roundly condemned by Pakistan's senior officials and the Foreign Office had asked Iran to punish the culprits and ensure a thorough investigation. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asserted that India's stance on the Line of Actual Control, which separates India from China, will remain undeterred. Jaishankar was speaking at an interaction session with intellectuals in Dharwad. A programme was organised by the BJP Mahanagar unit at Dharwad on Sunday. "We have serious a dispute with China and after 2020, there is tension on the border," he said, adding, "Our relationship with China is not normal and it could not be normal if there is a large military force at the Line of Actual Control." In context with the Chinese aggression on the Line of Actual Control, Jaishankar said, "In 2020, even when Covid was going on, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no hesitation in moving the Indian Army and Indian Air Force in very large numbers to the borders to make sure because the only answer you can give to a neighbour who brings military, in violation of agreements, to the Line of Actual Control, is to counter deploy the military." Jaishankar also said, "Our soldiers were deployed on the China border in a manner in which that are well looked after and they have the right kind of equipment to deal with challenges they face. Until we get a satisfactory solution, our posture on that border will not change, we will maintain whatever we have to maintain because that is really the conviction of the Prime Minister." While answering a query on border security and relation with neighbouring countries, Jaishankar said, "We have many neighbours, with most of them relations are extremely good. With two of them, we have problems and I think we should be hesitant in accepting that and describing that." "First, Pakistan where problems are very obvious. It is also a fact that we have been much more tolerant of it than we should have been," he added. The External Affairs Minister also said, "We have to be firm, we have to expose them, we have to delegitimise terrorism. If we couldn't take a strong stand, don't expect the world to take a strong stand because we are the primarily affected party." "Big difference after 2014, we have been absolutely relentlessly uncompromising on this issue," said Jaishankar, adding, "For us whichever forum we have been strongly keeping terrorism as a focal point. Even in the G20, we have also made sure that world recognises today that terrorism is just not acceptable." (ANI)
Belgian authorities piece together trail of suicide bombers

A picture emerged Wednesday of the men who bombed the Brussels airport and a central subway line killing scores, with prosecutors and media naming two brothers and a Belgian with links to Paris as the search continued for a fourth attacker.

GALLERY

This screengrab, released by the federal police on demand of the Federal prosecutor shows three suspects of the attacks at Brussels Airport, in Zaventem, Tuesday 22 March 2016. The men on both the left and right are yet unidentified, the man at center has been the identified by the Federal Prosecutors office on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 as Ibrahim El Bakraoui.

Brussels (dpa) - Brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui were known to police and had extensive criminal records that were not linked to terrorism, federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said. The third man, reported by state broadcaster RTBF to be Najim Laachraoui, was already sought as a suspected bomb maker in Novembers terrorist attacks in Paris.Ibrahim, 29, was one of two suicide bombers who died at Brussels Airport. Khalid, 27, died in the attack at the Maelbeek subway station, where an explosion tore through the second wagon of a train that was headed away from the neighbourhood housing EU institutions.A fourth suspect is on the run after having dropped off at the airport a bag containing "the most significant" explosive charge that had been prepared for the attacks, Van Leeuw said. But the bomb only went off later, once a bomb squad was on the scene.The two attacks in the Belgian capital, which happened about one hour apart on Tuesday, left 31 people dead and 300 injured. The Belgian Health Ministry said that 150 people were still hospitalized and 61 were in intensive care.Most of the injured, representing 40 nationalities including three European Commission staff members, suffered burns that in some cases were accompanied by "war injures like lesions related to a powerful blast," the ministry said.The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attacks.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said one of the suspects had been detained in his country near the border with Syria, which has long served as a a gateway for fighters, including Islamic extremists, to join armed groups participating in the Syrian civil war.The man, identified as Ibrahim El Bakraoui by broadcaster CNN Turk, was deported by Turkish officials. Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens told local media that the man had been deported to the Netherlands.European officials held a minute of silence to commemorate the victims, as French Prime Minister Manual Valls met with his Belgian counterpart, and US Secretary of State John Kerrys office said he would travel to Brussels on Friday to reiterate US support for the investigation and international efforts to counter violent extremism.In Brussels, many gathered around an impromptu memorial in front of the former stock exchange wondered how the Belgian-born attackers could have turned on their home."I think a whole lot of questions about our society will take place," one of the citys deputy mayors, Ans Persoons, told dpa.Movement in the city has been limited since the attacks, and the airport will remain closed to passenger flights through Friday. The Maelbeek subway station could remain closed for weeks; some roads in the centre were blocked by police.Details on the attackers provide potential insight into a complex network reaching across Europe. Laachraoui had been sought for months by his alias Soufiane Kayal in connection to the November 13 attacks at bars, cafes, national stadium and a concert hall in Paris that left 130 people dead.Laachraouis false identity was recorded by Hungarian authorities when he travelled to Budapest with the key suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam. Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels last after months on the lam.Traces of Laachraouis DNA were also found in a house and an apartment in Belgium that are thought to have been used by the Paris terrorists before their attacks. He travelled to Syria in 2013.Khalid used a false identity to rent an apartment in the Brussels neighbourhood of Forest where a shootout with police occurred during a terrorism raid last week, the broadcaster RTBF said. He is also thought to have rented a hideout in the southern city of Charleroi that was used to prepare the Paris attacks.The three airport bombing suspects, including one who is still unidentified, had been picked up by a taxi driver in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaerbeek before the attack.While searching the building where the three men had come from, police found 15 kilogrammes of explosives, 150 litres of acetone, 30 litres of hydrogen peroxide, detonators, a suitcase filled with nails and screws and other bomb-making material, prosecutor Van Leeuw said.In a trash bin in the same street, investigators found a computer that contained Ibrahims will.He wrote that "he was in haste, not knowing what to do, being sought everywhere, not being secure anymore and that if he drags this out he risks to end up ... in a [prison] cell," Van Leeuw said.
 Flash

Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds a welcoming ceremony for the visiting Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2023. Li held talks with Lee Hsien Loong in Beijing on Saturday. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with visiting Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Beijing on Saturday, with both sides vowing further efforts to enhance cooperation.



Noting Lee as an old friend familiar to Chinese people and one of the first batch of foreign leaders received by Li himself after taking office as the premier of the State Council, Li said this fully shows China and Singapore attach great importance to the bilateral relations.

During Lee's visit, both sides have agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to an "All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership." Li said China is ready to work with Singapore to make "high quality" the most distinct feature of cooperation and bring bilateral ties and pragmatic cooperation to a new height, to deliver more benefits to the two peoples and inject more positive energy into regional and global peace, stability and prosperity.

Li stressed efforts to take the substantive conclusion of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Work Programme for Subsequent Negotiations as an opportunity to facilitate two-way opening up of a higher level and the synergy of economic and trade policies of a higher standard.

The two countries should tap into the new potential of cooperation in various fields including digital economy, artificial intelligence and e-commerce, to help further upgrade major cooperation projects, said the premier.

He also urged efforts to give bigger play to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor as the pivot of industrial and supply chains in the region, and foster an internationalized platform via China-Singapore cooperation to help boost economic recovery of the regional countries.

"China is willing to continuously deepen cooperation in education, culture, tourism, public health and other sectors with Singapore and work to bring personnel exchanges between the two sides back to normalcy as soon as possible," said Li.

Noting China always regards the ASEAN as a priority of neighborhood diplomacy and firmly supports the centrality of ASEAN, Li said China is ready to work with ASEAN countries including Singapore to promote the construction of ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA 3.0) and advance regional economic integration.

As China and Singapore are both firm defenders of economic globalization and multilateralism, Li said China is willing to join hands with the Singaporean side to jointly resist the attempts to politicize economic issues and overstretch the concept of national security, safeguard the stability and smoothness of international industrial and supply chains, and uphold a multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization as its core.

Hailing the extensive friendly cooperation as well as the profound mutual trust between the two countries, Lee said Singapore is ready to work with China to expand cooperation in such fields as finance, digital economy, green development, grain security and urban sustainable development, as part of the efforts to forge a paradigm of bilateral and regional cooperation and further advance ties.

Noting China as one of the most substantive cooperative partners of the ASEAN, Lee said all ASEAN countries support developing ties with China and hope to strengthen cooperation while harnessing the opportunities presented by China's economic recovery and expansion of opening up after the COVID-19.

Singapore welcomes and supports China's efforts to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is willing to work with China to jointly uphold a fair, open and inclusive international trading regime.

After the talks, Premier Li and Prime Minister Lee witnessed the signing of documents on bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, science and technology, food, law, environmental protection and arts.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held discussions on domestic progress and world affairs with intellectuals in Belagavi. Belagavi is a city in Karnataka. "A nostalgic return to Belagavi after 45 years. Enjoyed discussions with intellectuals on domestic progress & world affairs. Underlined how deeply they are connected, as well as the opportunities they present," Jaishankar tweeted on Sunday. "Impressed by how Belagavi is getting connected to global supply chains," the EAM further wrote. Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka this weekend. Jaishankar on Sunday while interacting with intellectuals in Dharwad, Karnataka, said the world is fascinated with the digitisation of India. "What is the world's fascination with India? Today? It is in the digitisation of India," the EAM said. "In 2014, six crore people had access to broadband. Today, it is 80 crore. From six it has gone to 80. Internet was used by 25 crore people. It is today 85 crores. We have laid optical fiber cable of 25 lakh kilometres in this country," Jaishankar said. "The number of mobile users has crossed 100 crores. We do 800 crore UPI transactions per month. We actually have seven crore authentications per day. So the world watches this and suddenly for them, this India, which they used to associate with poverty, with backwardness, with red tape, with bureaucrats, they now have a new vision of this country," the EAM said while addressing the people of Dharwad. He said that he has a friend who came back to India for the G20 meeting after five years. "He's a foreigner. And he told me his biggest impression today is that any place he goes to in India, some infrastructure construction is going on. Road is being built, airport is being extended, railway line is taking place. Metro is coming up. Housing is taking place. So this sense, this energy, this activity in India, this is something today the world is very, very fascinated by," the minister said. (ANI)
The US on Sunday expressed concern over Russia's detention of US citizen journalist Evan Gershkovich and called for his immediate release. US' concern was expressed by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a telephonic conversation with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The Secretary called for his immediate release," according to a readout issued by the US Department of State, attributed to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. Blinken further urged the Kremlin to immediately release wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work. "I spoke with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today to convey our grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist. I called for his release and for the release of wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan," Blinken tweeted on Sunday. American reporter for Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, Russia's top security agency said on Thursday, reported Al-Jazeera. WSJ in a statement said, "The Wall Street Journal is deeply concerned for the safety of Gershkovich." The Federal Security Service (FSB), a top KGB successor agency, said that the WSJ reporter was detained from the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while he allegedly tried to obtain classified information. In a statement, FSB said, "Gershkovich acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex," read a WSJ report. The FSB has also alleged that Gershkovich "was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret," according to Al-Jazeera. The local media stated that he was covering the war in Ukraine and the Wagner mercenary group before getting detained. The mention of the date of arrest was not there in its statement, however, Gershkovich could be imprisoned for about 20 years if he gets convicted of espionage. Ever since the Cold War, he is the first journalist from an American news organisation to be detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, and his detention comes at a time of intense international concern due to the conflict in Ukraine, according to Al-Jazeera. Gershkovich covers Russia and Ukraine and was duly accredited as a journalist as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal's Moscow office.His most recent assessment, which was released last week, concentrated on the stagnation of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions. The Wall Street Journal hired Gershkovich, 31, who was formerly employed by AFP in Moscow. Before, he worked as a reporter for The Moscow Times, according to his bio in Wall Street Journal. The European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday condemned the Russian detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Taking to his official Twitter handle, he stressed that journalists must be allowed to exercise their profession freely. Josep Borrell tweeted, "The EU condemns the detention of @evangershkovich, a journalist and U.S. citizen, in Russia. Journalists must be allowed to exercise their profession freely and deserve protection. The Russian authorities demonstrate yet again their systematic disregard for media freedom." (ANI)
Dubai [UAE], March 2 (ANI/WAM): The Dubai Autism Centre launched its 17th annual autism awareness campaign today, coinciding with World Autism Awareness Day, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. The Dubai Autism Centre has organised this annual campaign since 2006, launching the month-long initiative on the World Autism Awareness Day every year. The annual initiative is aimed at raising awareness about autism and promoting inclusion of individuals with autism in society. It includes a range of activities such as free diagnosis, workshops, seminars, and events, as well as the lighting up of several landmarks in Dubai in blue to show support for the cause. The campaign also seeks to showcase the creative skills of children with autism through art exhibitions and auctions, with the proceeds going towards supporting the services provided to individuals with autism by the Dubai Autism Centre. Hisham Abdullah Al Qassim, Chairman of Dubai Autism Centre, expressed his gratitude to the Dubai Crown Prince for his patronage of the annual autism awareness campaign. Al Qassim also expressed his appreciation for the partnership between the government and private sectors in supporting the campaign, highlighting the contributions of strategic partners such as Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Wasl Asset Management Group, as well as Al Ansari Exchange, the exclusive partner for the free assessment initiative. He emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts in achieving the goals of the National Policy for Empowering People of Determination. On this occasion, Al Ansari Exchange announced its support for the free diagnosis initiative for 100 Emirati children, which was launched last year. The company has provided AED500,000 to support the initiative and transform it into an annual feature. This will give Emirati families more opportunities for early detection of autism and ensure that their children receive the necessary intervention. The Free Comprehensive Assessment Initiative provides free annual assessment sessions for 100 Emirati children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The initiative also includes a pre-screening campaign for students enrolled in kindergartens, first and second grades. Mohammed Al Emadi, Director-General of the Dubai Autism Centre, said, "The 17th annual autism awareness campaign aims to emphasise the significance of creating an autism-friendly community that facilitates access to the services offered by public and private institutions." Al Emadi stressed that since its establishment, the Dubai Autism Centre has sought to enhance community awareness of autism, not only by raising awareness of its symptoms but also by introducing individuals and institutions to the requirements for appropriately dealing with people with autism. To achieve this, the centre has launched many campaigns and awareness initiatives, the most prominent of which is the annual autism awareness campaign. As part of the campaign, art workshops will be held to showcase the creative skills of children with autism. These workshops will be organised by the Dubai Autism Centre in collaboration with Zee Arts Community, a group of fine artists from around the world who will share their own drawing tools with the centre's students. The aim is to showcase the paintings of the students in a charitable auction, with the proceeds going towards supporting the services provided to children with autism. The campaign will also feature a series of awareness webinars in schools and public institutions to increase public knowledge and promote a better understanding of the different challenges faced by individuals with autism, emphasising the importance of community support and understanding in achieving inclusion. (ANI/WAM)
To raise funds for terrorist activities in India, the extreme right wing Islamic organisation Tehreek-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat will organise a conference in Hattian Bala College ground in Jhelum Valley in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on April 30. Tehreek-e Itefaq-e-Rai (Movement for Consensus) chairman Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza informed the international media that the purpose of the conference is to raise funds for future terrorist activities in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He said by instilling sentiments of Jihad among the PoK youth they are preparing them for recruitment in various jihadi outfits sponsored by Pakistan. Dr Mirza warned that Pakistan is working on reviving infiltration into Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in order to conduct acts of terrorism in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Using the purpose of the conference, the organisers have already begun a massive fund raising campaign in the PoK, said Dr Mirza. He said that at a time when the whole of the PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan was engulfed in social upheaval caused by gross violations of human rights and economic crisis this conference aims at diverting the youth's attention from real issues by propagating the finality of Prophet Muhammad and targeting religious minorities. He said that the PoK government in collaboration with the Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is attempting to divert the social anger, demonstrated by youth and civil society in recent months, towards religious fanaticism. Dr Mirza warned that holding of such events was not in the best interest of the region and should be banned in all parts PoK and occupied Gilgit-Baltistan. Dr Mirza said that the Khatam-e-Nabuwat conference organising body is collecting funds openly in the streets and from businesses and shopkeepers in the name of Jihad in Kashmir which is a gross violation of Financial Action Task Forces' demands regarding terror financing. Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He currently lives in the UK in exile. Recent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) waiver to Pakistan came as a massive relief for Islamabad, however, the global money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog should continue to keep its pressure on the country as it just uses symbolic actions to curb terror financing, reported South-South Research Initiative (SSRI). Pakistan, which was removed from the 'greylist' in October 2022, continues to be monitored by the Asia Pacific Group (APG), an FATF-style regional body. Pakistan had to undergo a long scrutiny process to get itself off the list. The country was added to the "grey list" in the FATF's plenary meeting in Paris in June 2018. This was the third time Pakistan's name was added to the list. Earlier Pakistan was on the FATF's grey list during 2008-2010 and 2012-2015 and had its name removed from the list in February 2015.(ANI)
After European Union mocked Russia for assuming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) rotating presidency on April 1 as befitting 'April Fool's day', Moscow reverted to the 27-member bloc in a sarcastic manner, saying that such irresponsible rhetoric only confirms that the EU is not ready to be a global player. The Russian embassy to European Union also highlighted in a tweet, "EU has nothing to do with the UNSC" The EU and Russia are at loggerheads over the Ukraine conflict and earlier in the day Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, had ridiculed Russia's assumption of the UNSC presidency. He tweeted, "Russia taking over today UN Security Council presidency is fitting for April fools' day. Despite being a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia continuously violates the very essence of the UN legal framework. The EU will stand against any abuse by the Russian presidency." The Russian embassy to the European Union responded to the tweet by saying that the European Union had nothing to do with the UNSC. A tweet by the official account of the Permanent Mission of Russia to the EU reads, "Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council in April is a reality that the EU refuses, and publicly, to reckon with. By the way, the EU has nothing to do with the UNSC. Such irresponsible rhetoric only confirms that the EU is not ready to be a global player." Notably, Russia's assumption of the United Nations Security Council was also condemned by Ukraine. The foreign minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba had said that Russia's tenure of the body's rotating presidency was "a slap in the face to the international community," reported Kyiv Independent. "I urge the current UNSC members to thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency," he said on Twitter, calling Russia "an outlaw on the UNSC". Moscow will assume the UNSC presidency as part of its monthly rotation between the Security Council's 15 member states, with ties with the West at their lowest point since the Cold War over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow last chaired the council in February 2022 -- the same month it invaded Ukraine. The presidency of the United Nations Security Council rotates monthly between 15 member states. Meanwhile, Moscow has said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is planning to chair a UN Security Council meeting later this month on "effective multilateralism". Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also said that Lavrov will lead a debate on the Middle East on April 25. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the UN General Assembly that Russia had "no choice" but to invade Ukraine, UN News reported in September 2022. "I am convinced that any sovereign, self-respecting state would do the same in our stead, which understands its responsibility to its own people," Lavrov claimed, denying Ukrainian sovereignty on an international platform. Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from the Security Council. The United States has also criticised Russia's membership of the Security Council and its status as a permanent member. "A country that flagrantly violates the UN Charter and invades its neighbour has no place on the UN Security Council," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier. "Unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and no feasible international legal pathway exists to change that reality," she added, calling the presidency "a largely ceremonial position." 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. 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 on Friday, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in a tweet wrote, "April Fool's Day is TOMORROW." (ANI)
Yusuf Israr, the provincial police spokesperson, said the explosion caused by a mortar mine of past wars resulted in the death of two children in Sayedabad district on Saturday evening while the children were playing with it.

A similar incident occurred on Friday evening in the Sarkhakan area of the Shah Joi district of Zabul province, resulting in one child's death and three others' injuries, according to Khaama Press.

Meanwhile, according to local sources, another blast that happened on Tuesday, March 28, caused the death of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province.

Recently, the incidence of unexploded devices from past wars has increased in several parts of the country, resulting in the death and hurt of men and women, including children.

The presence and existence of unexploded devices and the remnant in war-torn Afghanistan pose significant threats to people's lives, particularly children, according to Khaama Press.

International bodies have since last November, contributed to support demining in the country, including Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the United States, the UK, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

However, Afghanistan is still reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, taking the lives of scores of people monthly, including children, due to the explosion of unexploded devices left over from the four decades of civil war, as per Khaama Press. (ANI)
The US-based daily newspaper, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), has once again called for the release of its reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia over espionage charges, TASS reported. In a statement on Twitter, WSJ wrote, "The Wall Street Journal demands the immediate release of our colleague, Evan Gershkovich, a distinguished journalist who was arrested while reporting in Russia. We know what's going on in the world because of the fearless reporting of journalists like Evan. Evan's case is a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world. No reporter should ever be detained for simply doing their job." Earlier, the WSJ had rejected all accusations against its reporter and demanded his immediate release. It also expressed concerns for Gershkovich's safety, reported the Russian news agency. Notably, American reporter Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, Russia's top security agency said on Thursday, reported Al-Jazeera.WSJ in a statement said, "The Wall Street Journal is deeply concerned for the safety of Gershkovich." The Federal Security Service (FSB), a top KGB successor agency, said that the WSJ reporter was detained from the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while he allegedly tried to obtain classified information.In a statement, FSB said, "Gershkovich acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex," read a WSJ report. The FSB has also alleged that Gershkovich "was collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret," according to Al-Jazeera. The local media stated that he was covering the war in Ukraine and the Wagner mercenary group before getting detained. The mention of the date of arrest was not there in its statement, however, Gershkovich could be imprisoned for about 20 years if he gets convicted of espionage.Ever since the Cold War, he is the first journalist from an American news organisation to be detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, and his detention comes at a time of intense international concern due to the conflict in Ukraine, according to Al-Jazeera.Gershkovich covers Russia and Ukraine and was duly accredited as a journalist as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal's Moscow office.His most recent assessment, which was released last week, concentrated on the stagnation of the Russian economy in the face of Western sanctions.The Wall Street Journal hired Gershkovich, 31, who was formerly employed by AFP in Moscow. Before, he worked as a reporter for The Moscow Times, according to his bio in Wall Street Journal.Gershkovich speaks Russian as his parents are from the Soviet Union but now reside in the United States, Al-Jazeera reported. (ANI)
Israel has conducted airstrikes on outposts in the Homs province of Syria, inflicting injuries to at least five soldiers, according to the Syrian defence ministry, reported Al Jazeera. According to Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, as quoted by Al Jazeera the raids on early Sunday were the third in recent days and came just one day after another attack on Friday that resulted in the deaths of two Iranian Revolutionary Guards military advisers. According to a statement on state media, Israel began "Aerial aggression from the direction of northwest Beirut targeting some outposts in Homs province and its countryside at 00:35 am" (21:35 GMT)." According to the report, Syrian air defences intercepted the missiles and destroyed some of them. Five military personnel were injured as a result of the attacks, a Syrian military source told state media, adding that there was some material damage. Israeli military officials denied Al Jazeera to respond to the report. Syria refutes claims made by the West and Israel that Iran, whose top military officials routinely visit Syria, maintains a sizable military presence there. Israel has been conducting attacks against what it has referred to as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence in Syria has grown since it began to back President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict that broke out in 2011 as a result of a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters. Israel has intensified its strikes on Syrian airports and air bases over the past year in an effort to stop what it claims is Iran's exploitation of aerial supply lines to arm militants. Last month, the Aleppo airport was the target of an Israeli airstrike that rendered it inoperable for two days. The airport has served as a major route for assistance shipments after the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on February 6. According to Western intelligence sources, as quoted by Al Jazeera, Iran is increasingly using a number of civilian airports to ship more weapons, taking advantage of the busy airspace created by cargo planes delivering supplies after the tragic earthquake. Iran failed to respond to the accusations made by the West and Israel, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)
Citing various media reports, Khaama Press stated that two of them are charity medic Kevin Cornwell,53, and another unidentified UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul.

The Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) detained Cornwell at his hotel in January as the suspect of keeping an illegal handgun in his room safe. However, the family claimed that Cornwell had a licence for it.

meanwhile, Routledge had been evacuated from Afghanistan by the British military in August 2021, but he just made the decision to go back.

He is a famous YouTuber who travels to dangerous countries and posts about them on social media, reported Khaama Press.

Routledge's Twitter states that he goes "to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun", listing off recent destinations as Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ukraine.

In February, he tweeted that if he were ever placed on a "no-fly list", he would take an "Uber to Afghanistan."

Looking at the cases in Afghanistan, the UK government advised British nationals against all travel to Afghanistan.

British people have been advised by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK to keep a low profile and use caution if they decide to travel to or stay in Afghanistan despite the "heightened" risk of imprisonment, as per the report in Khaama Press.

Furthermore, due to the high level of security, the statement advised British citizens to stay away from Kabul Airport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, religious gatherings, festivals, and marketplaces. (ANI)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a telephonic conversation, told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that it is up to the court to decide the fate of The Wall Street Journal's detained reporter, TASS Agency reported citing Foreign Ministry. "In light of the established evidence of the US national's illegal activities, his future will be determined by the court. The American embassy in Moscow was duly notified about his detention," the ministry said. The American reporter for Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Evann Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on Thursday on espionage charges, according to Al-Jazeera. "In the context of the discussion of the issue of the detention of US national Gershkovich in Russia on suspicion of espionage, which was raised by the Secretary of State, Blinken's attention was drawn to the necessity to respect the Russian authorities' decision made in conformity with the law and Russia's international commitments," the ministry said. "Lavrov stressed that Gershkovich had been detained red-handed when he was receiving secret data and was collecting data constituting a state secret acting under the guise of a journalist's status," TASS Agency reported citing the ministry's statement. The ministry also stressed that it is inadmissible for US officials and Western mass media to stir up hysteria with an obvious aim of giving a political overtone to this case," the ministry said. The call was initiated by the US to express concern over Russia's detention of US citizen journalist Evan Gershkovich and called for his immediate release. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The Secretary called for his immediate release," according to a readout issued by the US Department of State, attributed to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. Blinken further urged the Kremlin to immediately release wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work. "I spoke with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today to convey our grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist. I called for his release and for the release of wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan," Blinken tweeted on Sunday. (ANI)
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Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu met with Bangladesh Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal in Beijing on Saturday.

Noting that China and Bangladesh are friendly neighbors, Li said China appreciates Bangladesh's firm support on issues concerning China's core interests.

China stands ready to expand new exchange areas and create new cooperation highlights with Bangladesh to make greater contributions to safeguarding the common interests of the two countries as well as global and regional security, Li said.

Shaheen said Bangladesh is willing to deepen practical cooperation with China in various fields, and jointly push bilateral military relations to a new height.
United States former President Donald Trump is all set to deliver the remarks on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he returns from the indictment, CNN reported citing the news release from his campaign. Trump is expected to appear before the court on Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan. A New York grand jury on Thursday indicted the former president on criminal charges for his involvement in a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by his longtime fixer Michael Cohen before the 2016 presidential election. His attorney said the former president will voluntarily surrender to New York law enforcement and plans to mount legal challenges, according to CNN. Trump is expected to travel to New York on Monday before his arraignment in the Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, two sources familiar with this plans told CNN. Trump will remain at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate, over the weekend. Meanwhile, according to The Hill, Trump has successfully raised USD 4 million within a time frame of just 24 hours after his indictment on Thursday with his fundraising campaign. More than 25 per cent of the contributions were made by first-time contributors, which the former president's campaign team hailed as evidence that he was "the clear frontrunner in the Republican primary." "This incredible surge of grassroots contributions confirms that the American people see the indictment of President Trump as a disgraceful weaponization of our justice system by a Soros-funded prosecutor," The Hill reported citing the press release of the Trump campaign on Friday. Trump promised in a fundraising email that the "witch hunt" being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) would "backfire enormously" shortly after the news of the indictment became public. Officials involved in the planning of Trump's appearance are considering pausing all other case activity at the court during the time that the former president is expected to appear, according to CNN citing a source with knowledge of the plans. It's the first time in US history that a current or former president has been criminally charged. The indictment was filed under seal and the charges are not yet public. (ANI)
Finland's right-wing opposition National Coalition Party won the parliamentary elections on Sunday (local time), according to Yleisradio Oy, the country's national public broadcasting company. Petteri Orpo's party National Coalition Party received more than 93.4 per cent votes, which means that very soon, the country will get the new Prime Minister. "Do you know what? It was a win," said Orpo as he arrived to greet cheering supporters. Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats finished the line on third place. The radical right Finns Party, meanwhile, gained seven new MPs and took 20 per cent of the vote. The National Coalition Party was on top with 20.7 per cent, followed closely by the right-wing populist party The Finns with 20.1 per cent, while the Social Democratic Party of Marin garnered 19.9 per cent. The Centre Party, Left Alliance and Greens all suffered large losses after their participation in the current five-party coalition, with leaders of all three saying it would be difficult for them to go back into government after these election results. According to Yleisradio Oy, Orpo faces a difficult job forming a government in the new parliament, with his first task to put out feelers to each of the parties to find any common ground on the important issues and explore the prospect of drafting a government programme. Once that task is complete, he will enter into negotiations with his preferred coalition partners and set out a plan for the next four years. The NCP has led in polls for almost two years, although its lead melted away in recent months. It has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) since Marin took office in 2019, according to Al Jazeera. (ANI)
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, on Sunday, held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang and called for the release of the recent Japanese businessman detention, The Japan Times reported. While addressing the reporters following the meeting, Hayashi said that he sought consular access to the Japanese citizen and urged China to provide transparency in the judicial process. The meeting was held over the detention of the Japanese businessman, who was arrested in China last month. He is a senior employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma. Hayashi added that he and Qin had agreed to maintain close communication "at all levels" to improve ties, including between leaders and foreign ministers. In the last three-hour conversation with Qin, the Japanese minister said that despite "many challenges," it is becoming "increasingly important" that Japan and China aim for "constructive and stable" bilateral relations agreed upon by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their summit talks last November, according to The Japan Times. Qin noted that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the 1978 bilateral Peace and Friendship Treaty and that "right choices" must be made to honour the spirit of the pact. He vowed to work with Hayashi to promote further exchanges and dialogue so that the two countries can "move ahead by removing obstacles". Notably, this is for the first time that a Japanese foreign minister travel to China since December 2019. Hayashi met with Premier Li Qiang, who assumed the premiership last month. He was also scheduled to hold talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi. The top Japanese diplomat said he has also expressed Tokyo's concern over the repeated entry of Chinese vessels into waters near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by Beijing, as well as joint military activities between China and Russia near Japanese territory, The Japan Times reported. On Taiwan, the Japanese Foreign Minister underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid increasing Chinese military pressure in the region. Hayashi also said he called on China to play a "responsible role," based upon international law, in working toward peace and stability in Ukraine after Russia invaded in February 2022. (ANI)
National Security and Defense Council secretary, Oleksiy Danilov

Proposals include dismantling the Crimean Bridge and installing a "Russian warship, go f**k yourself monument."

The Russian Gauleiter trash in temporarily occupied Crimea has gone too far in a hysterical Z-fit  first planning to seize Kyiv or Odesa, then falling into the Soviet madness of reviving the Crimean Smersh (Red Army1940s-era counter-intelligence units  Ed.)," Danilov said.

For this Moscow garbage, I would like to draw in broad strokes how Ukraine will de-occupy Crimea, where they and their ilk will be the number one target.

Read also: Pro-Ukrainian sentiment growing in Crimea, Reintegration Ministry says

According to Danilov, the complete de-occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula will involve 12 steps:

1. The design and location of the Russian warship, go..." monument in Crimea will be put up for public discussion. It is possible to repurpose the pedestal of the Sevastopol monument to sunken ships to save public funds.

2. In addition to prosecuting perpetrators for collaboration and high treason, a lustration mechanism is under development that will determine the level of responsibility and degree of involvement of Crimean residents in supporting occupation administration activities. Sanctions could include the right to participate in elections  to vote and to be elected.

3. Civil servants, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, and others employed by the Ukrainian state before occupation and who worked for Russian occupation structures will wait until a Ukrainian court determines their criminal liability. Even if they are not held criminally responsible, they could be deprived of their state pensions and be permanently banned from working for the Ukrainian state.

Read also: Crimean occupiers are starting to panic, presidents permanent rep to Crimea says

4. Russia, or whichever entity that will claim legal succession, shall ensure unconditional and complete extradition of anyone, whether a Russian or Ukrainian citizen, suspected of treason or other criminal offenses, or who was involved in war crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity, committed on the territory of Ukraine, and in particular Crimea.

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5. Propagandists  journalists, media professionals, and other experts who contributed to the occupation, militarization of children's education, or incitement to hatred against Ukraine, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, and other nationalities  are a group of special attention whose crimes will be investigated by Ukrainian and, if necessary, international law enforcement agencies. They will be legally deprived of their liberty, titles, pensions, property, honors, and respect by a court of law.

6. Citizens of the Russian Federation who illegally came to reside on the Crimean peninsula after February 2014 must immediately leave the territory of Ukraine within the time limit established by law. The fittest and most intelligent have already begun to "leave", which is commendable, and others who continue to hesitate will have to do so like in Bulgakov's (play) Flight.

Read also: No peace without liberation of Crimea, Zelenskyy says

7. Transactions made under non-Ukrainian law after February 2014, including those involving real estate, are recognized as null and void a law that has been in effect for nine years. Ownership of property remains with the citizens of Ukraine. If it was appropriated or nationalized by the occupiers, the property will be returned to its rightful owners.

8. The transport crossing (bridge) in the city of Kerch in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea will be dismantled to ensure full freedom of navigation as part of the compensation program.

9. A comprehensive detoxification program will be implemented to neutralize the effects of years of Russian propaganda on the collective consciousness of the peninsula's population. Using Germanys experience of denazification in the 1940s, groups of active supporters of Russian occupation will be used in public works to rebuild destroyed Ukrainian cities and to exhume and rebury victims of Russian aggression (for those found guilty of equivalent crimes by a court). The goal will be to provide the widest possible access to information about the crimes of the Putin regime.

10. A documentary outlining the facts of Russian crimes against Ukrainians who resisted occupation will be made. The rights of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists will be restored.

Read also: Ukrainian intel officer reveals plans to liberate Crimea

11. Immediate release of all Ukrainian citizens, Crimean Tatars, who have been persecuted by the Russian Federation on politically motivated grounds since 2014, with compensation for moral damages.

12. Given Sevastopols place and role in the ideology of racism, the system of negative myth building, and the rewriting of history, the so-called "city of Russian glory" is to be renamed Object 6. Ukraines Verkhovna Rada will later decide on a new name for the city, including the citys previous Greek name, Akhtiar (magnificent ed.).

Ukraines National Security and Defense Council is developing a detailed legal program with the involvement of a wide range of specialists and experts, said Danilov.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, and Gigi Hadid all attended the NMACC Gala. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre hosted a gala in Mumbai, India, on Saturday.

Several celebrities attended the event, including Zendaya, Penelope Cruz, and Gigi Hadid.

Priyanka Chopra posed for photos with her husband, Nick Jonas.

Celebrities from across the globe gathered at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai on Saturday.

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai, India. Hindustan Times/Getty Images

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, a space built to celebrate and highlight Indian art, celebrated its grand opening on Saturday.

To mark the occasion, celebrities like Zendaya, Penelope Cruz, and Sonam Kapoor arrived in eye-catching ensembles for a gala.

Take a look at some of the night's best looks.

Zendaya wore a sheer violet sari embellished with star-themed designs that resembled a night sky.

Zendaya attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. NIHARIKA KULKARNI/Reuters

Zendaya arrived at the NMACC gala in a custom sari designed by Rahul Mishra, who revealed on Instagram that the sari is hand embroidered.

"Zendaya is wearing the hand embroidered 'Verdure' sari gown with the 'Flying Cranes' bralette," Rahul wrote.

The sari featured star- and nature-themed embellishments.

Law Roach arrived in a custom sherwani jacket that featured floral designs.

Mishra also designed Law Roach's outfit, which included an embroidered "Shirley Poppy" sherwani jacket with a coordinating black lehenga skirt, according to the designer's Instagram post.

A sherwani is a long-sleeved coat worn by men in South Asia.

Priyanka Chopra wore an "upcycled vintage look with a modern twist" while posing with her husband, Nick Jonas.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas attend the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. SUJIT JAISWAL/Getty Images

Chopra wrote on Instagram that her outfit was an "amalgamation of the east and the west." She said it was crafted using a vintage Banarasi patola sari with silver threads and gold electroplating on khadi silk.

"It is paired with a sequins sheet holographic bustier to reflect the nine colours of ikat weave that the brocade is set in," she added.

Chopra's outfit was designed by Amit Aggarwal, who added that it took six months to create.

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Jonas wore a dark-hued blazer with matching pants.

Tahira Kashyap wore a pantsuit while standing with her husband, Ayushmann Khurrana.

Ayushmann Khurrana and Tahira Kashyap attend the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Rahul Mishra also designed film director Kashyap's outfit for the NMACC event. Kashyap wore a bright-red blazer and matching pants that had gold designs.

She wrote on Instagram: "What a spectacular venue for art, culture, theatre and so much more! Will be my go to place to consume art."

She posed alongside her husband and actor Khurrana, who wore an embroidered tuxedo designed by Gaurav Gupta, according to stylist Isha Bhansali. In an Instagram post, Bhansali added that he wore Louboutin shoes.

Tom Holland sported a sleek black tux.

Tom Holland attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Holland attended the event with his girlfriend Zendaya.

Afterward, he took to Instagram to thank the Ambani family, who founded the centre and hosted the gala, for his invitation and called it "a truly wonderful experience that I'll never forget."

Gigi Hadid donned a two-piece gold and ivory sari and accessorized it with gold jewelry.

Gigi Hadid attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Gigi Hadid wore a sari designed by Indian designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, the brand shared in an Instagram story.

The two-piece sari featured a gold embellished top and flowing ivory skirt.

Hadid paired the outfit with gold bangles and earrings.

Bhumi Pednekar stepped out in an off-the-shoulder gray gown and matching headpiece.

Bhumi Pednekar attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Pednekar, an actor, graced the event in an off-the-shoulder gown with floral designs and a matching headpiece. The monochromatic look also included gray heels.

Designer Anamika Khanna created the piece.

Penelope Cruz's light pink gown included a thigh slit and an ostrich feather-lined cape.

Penelope Cruz attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. SUJIT JAISWAL/Getty Images

Cruz's ensemble was designed by Australian designer Tamara Ralph.

Ralph shared a video of Cruz wearing the chiffon gown on her Instagram. Cruz also wore silver heels and diamond earrings.

Ralph previously dressed Halle Berry for the 2023 Oscars.

Sunny Kaushal wore an embroidered gray ensemble.

Sunny Kaushal attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Kaushal, an actor, wore a gray jacket with ornate silver embroidery from Indian designers Shantanu & Nikhil, according to his Instagram post.

He paired it with loose pants, silver jewelry, and black loafers. His sheer shirt featured an embroidered design similar to his jacket.

Kriti Sanon's Banarasi sari featured intricate gold designs that matched her earrings and rings.

Kriti Sanon attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Her sari had a halter strap that looped across the actor's shoulder, as well as a high slit and a draping cape.

The entirety of the black fabric was adorned with gold designs that paired with Sanon's jewelry. Monisha Jaising created the actor's ensemble, according to the designer's Instagram.

Disha Patani wore a strapless shimmering sari to the star-studded event.

Disha Patani attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

Vogue India reported that Patani attended the NMACC gala in a "sultry sari."

The ensemble featured what appeared to be a bralette, which paired well with her dangling earrings. Patani shared a video and photo of the outfit on her Instagram account.

Sonam Kapoor wore an archival piece with hand-embroidered designs and a Swarovski corset.

Sonam Kapoor attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Images

The actor arrived in a multi-colored ensemble designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. The fashion house said on Instagram that the outfit was made with 20 individual embroidered panels representing 35 years of designs.

Kapoor also celebrated the outfit on her Instagram, noting that Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla was the first fashion house to dress her for an event.

Sidharth Malhotra wore a black sherwani with silver buttons.

Sidharth Malhotra attends the NMACC gala on April 1, 2023. Prodip Guha/Getty Imageas

Malhotra, a former model and actor, wore a black sherwani, a long outer coat, made by his uncle, designer Manish Malhotra.

The black coat featured six silver buttons down the front, and he paired it with a shiny pair of black and silver loafers.

Read the original article on Insider
Nurse measuring blood pressure of a senior patient

Credit - Getty Images

Some 15 million people could lose their Medicaid coverage over the next few months as pandemic-related emergency provisions come to an endthough residents in five states will feel its impact earlier than others.

During the pandemic, the yearly reapplication process for Medicaid was paused and states stopped checking if people were still eligible for its coverage. But starting April 1, people in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire and South Dakota could see their loss of healthcare coverage as Medicaid begins to verify eligibility and will begin to disenroll patients.

Fourteen more states will cut off coverage for people who are no longer eligible in May, and another 20 (plus the District of Columbia) will do so in June, affecting the more than 90 million Americans who are currently enrolled in Medicaid.

Heres what to know about the change.

Why is this happening?

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was enacted in March 2020, required Medicaid programs to keep people enrolled until the end of the public health emergency. The federal government promised to federally match states Medicaid rates to help deal with the increase in enrollment.

But the federal spending package that passed in late December changed that law. Congress set March 31 as the final date for the continuous enrollment provision. Within the next 14 months, states must now verify if a recipient still qualifies.

This shift in policy puts some 6.7 million children at risk, compared to the 4.4. million children that were uninsured in 2019.

We know whenever these sorts of moments happen, its people of color, its kids, its people that dont speak English that are always hit the hardest, Natalie Davis, a founder and the chief executive of nonpartisan advocacy organization United States of Care, told the New York Times.

What are your options if you think you may lose your Medicaid coverage?

About 6.8 million Americans who will be unenrolled will likely still be eligible for Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Story continues

In order to ensure that you receive notices, renewal forms and other letters from Medicaid to keep up your eligibility, enrollees should update their contact information under their online Medicaid account.

Most states say they plan on prioritizing renewals and following up with enrollees before they end their coverage, meaning there is still time to act. You can find out your states plan, here.

States that are acting quickly, like Idaho, began sending notices to people who would lose coverage in February, and gave them 60 days to respond.

If a change in income or circumstance does cause you to lose your health coverage, you may still be eligible for other programs. Idaho residents, for instance, can find coverage through Your Health Idaho, a marketplace where individuals can compare health insurance plans. One third of Idahoans who enroll through the site make a $0 monthly payment for health insurance.

Under the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion, which took effect this month, adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level can become eligible for the public health insurance program. Forty states have opted in to the expansion, including South Dakota, which will begin to apply the new eligibility requirement in July. That means that people who lose coverage may become re-eligible by the summer.

You can also check for other affordable options by visiting the Affordable Care Act marketplaces at HealthCare.gov.
Two suspects were placed in custody after Dayton officers found them in possession of a stolen vehicle late Saturday night.

>> TRENDING: 39 arrested, hundreds of contraband confiscated in Columbus police operation

Dayton police discovered a stolen vehicle near the 100 block of North James H McGee Boulevard at around 11:35 p.m., Montgomery County Regional Dispatch told News Center 7. As they began their preliminary investigation, they found two suspects thought to have stolen the vehicle.

The two suspects, one confirmed to be a male, ran from officers, dispatch stated. Officers initiated a foot chase to detain the runaway suspects.

The first suspect was in custody at around 11:43 p.m., according to initial reports over emergency scanners. The second suspect was placed in custody at around 11:58 p.m., about 15 minutes from the first.

While dispatch confirmed the two suspects were detained and placed into custody, they were unaware of any arrests made.

The suspects identities and the stolen vehicles make and model were not available at the time of questioning.

Dayton police led the investigation into the stolen vehicle and subsequent chase.
This versatile condiment goes beyond deviled eggs and potato salad.

Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christina Daley

Tangy and packed with flavor, Dijon mustard is a condiment that is not just for sandwiches. Beyond being a staple in many Southern deviled eggs and potato salads, it can be a secret weapon for home cooks to add extra zing to any dish, from casseroles to easy skillet dinners. Dijon mustard also happens to pair wonderfully with pork, so you're able to make the most of the hearty, approachable protein for weeknight suppers that are anything but boring. It also perfectly complements sweet ingredients such as honey for homemade salad dressings and marinades. Basically, there's no shortage of ways to use Dijon mustard in the kitchen.

In honor of perhaps the most versatile condiment other than trusty mayonnaise, here are 23 delicious recipes that use Dijon mustard.

Photographer: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Food Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl

This comforting pork chop dinner has a Louisiana twist, thanks to a Creole mustard, which is basically a spicy mustard made from Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce.

Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Potato salad is already pretty perfect in any form, but this recipe with Dijon mustard is packed full of flavor without the heaviness of a mayo-based coating.

Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist Lydia Pursell

Cabbage is an underrated ingredient that can make for a delicious dinner. Here, wedges are cooked until the edges are perfectly caramelized, and the dish is finished with a warm dressing made from bacon, mustard, and cider vinegar.

Alison Miksch

This nostalgic classic is even better when made from scratch. Extra crispy and well-seasoned, the pork chops are complemented with a tangy, lemony mustard sauce.

Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

It's easy to boost the flavor on grilled vegetables by creating a sauce to brush on top or serve on the side for dipping, and these skewers of fresh okra and sweet mini peppers are an ideal vehicle.



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Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

If you haven't tried warm potato salad, consider this your call to try it at your next dinner alongside a grilled main dish. This recipe skips the mayonnaise in favor of a vinegary mustard sauce that offers a lighter alternative.

Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Missie Neville Crawford

This savory casserole is a host's dependable big-batch breakfast. Mini croissants add buttery richness that is balanced with a bite of sharp Dijon mustard and Swiss cheese.

Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

Deli ham subs in for chicken in this pot pie that utilizes store-bought pie crusts for ultimate ease. The filling is kicked up a notch with whole-grain Dijon mustard and tarragon.

Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch

Break out the sleeve of Ritz crackers for this unique take on deviled eggs that doesn't have any of the hassle of mashing yolks and piping filling into cooked egg white halves. A mixture of mayonnaise, mustard, and hot sauce sits between each cracker and a slice of boiled egg.

Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christina Daley

Dijon and buttermilk? This combination may sound unconventional, but it's a match made in heaven. This skillet dinner is bound to be a weeknight go-to.

Will Dickey

A Carolina-style slaw differs from classic slaw in that it prefers a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing rather than a mayo-based one. This recipe uses apple cider vinegar and two kinds of mustard.

Let the slow cooker do the work for this big-batch breakfast casserole that's wonderfully savory thanks to Cheddar cheese and Dijon mustard, as well as packed with veggies like broccoli and spinach.

Alison Miksch

Get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes and with very little dirty dishes with this sheet pan recipe. The mustard glaze is sticky and sweet, made with honey, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar.

Becky Luigart Stayner

Apples pair beautifully with pork, but it's helpful to balance the sweetness with savory herbs like thyme and a sauce that contains Dijon mustard and bourbon.

Victor Protasio; Food Stying: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

It's hard to go wrong with gooey cheese, turkey, and bacon sandwiched between sweet rolls. The secret to the popularity of these baked mini sandwiches? A brown sugar-garlic butter sauce that's baked over the top.

Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Summer grilling season just got a little bit better thanks for a totally unique sauce made with berries and mustard. Pair with grilled meats and vegetables.

Micah A. Leal

This deep-fried version of deviled eggs might just become a new favorite at Easter and beyond. A crispy, crunchy egg white is complemented by familiar creamy filling.

Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

This hearty autumn salad recipe makes the most of both sweet and savory elements, mixing in chopped Honeycrisp apple alongside shaved Manchego cheese. The kale base can often be found at your fall farmers' market.

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Clair Spollen; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

This pasta salad is ready for a porch party. Shrimp keep it refreshing, while a light vinaigrette using honey and Dijon mustard make this dish just the thing to serve all summer long.

Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

If there's one fruit that really thrives on the grill, it's peaches. While the caramelized peach slices are certainly one of the stars of this dish, juicy pork and a tasty homemade dressing also stand out.



Fred Hardy; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood

It's not traditional potato salad without a few squirts of mustard, and this basic recipe is the only one you need when craving something simple and old-school.

You only need five ingredients to make this main dish, starting with a pork loin that's well-seasoned and coated in Dijon mustard.

Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

This homemade sauce pairs well with everything from crab cakes to French fries. It's basically a combination of mayonnaise, sour cream, and two kinds of mustard.

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
A string of storms that ripped through the South and the Midwest left at least 26 people dead over the weekend, with tornadoes believed to have hit at least eight states.

The confirmed or suspected tornadoes left devastation in their paths. The highest number of reported deaths, nine, came from one Tennessee county, with four more deaths in a small town in Arkansas, four across Illinois and three in one Indiana town. Other deaths were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.

High winds caused the roof of a concert venue in Belvidere, Illinois, to collapse, leaving one person dead and dozens injured.

There were more than 60 tornadoes reported in the U.S. on Friday alone as the storms made their way through the middle of the country. The damage reached as far east as Delaware, where a suspected tornado in the southern part of the state on Saturday caused a house to collapse, killing one person.

In the days before the storm, the National Weather Service offered its highest alert level for storms throughout the South.

Another possible severe weather event could affect roughly the same area later this week. The National Weather Service has already issued enhanced warnings of severe thunderstorms across parts of Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas  a population coverage of over 18 million people.

Last week, a tornado hit Mississippi, killing 25 people and prompting a federal emergency disaster declaration to aid in the recovery efforts. President Biden toured the area over the weekend.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
We are physicians and other health care professionals in Missouri who are gravely concerned for the well-being of our patients. With the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade and the enactment of Missouris trigger ban, which made nearly all abortion care illegal, it has become painfully clear that women in Missouri have lost their bodily autonomy, basic human rights and access to lifesaving medical care.

We stand steadfast in our support of the sanctity and privacy of the relationship that patients have with their physicians and other health care providers. The decision to perform an abortion should be left solely to the patient and a health care professional. What defines and necessitates abortion is nuanced, and no explanation should be required. Doctors are guided by evidence-based medicine and are bound by the commitment to do no harm.

A government that takes away the freedom of people to access critical medical care that directly leads to the illness and death of countless people, and that threatens health care providers with criminal penalties for upholding their professional obligations, is un-American.

As physicians and health care professionals of many specialties, we are calling on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and all elected and appointed government officials in the state to protect lives by recognizing and upholding the right to access abortion care in Missouri, and demand that Missouris H.B. 126, the trigger ban, and all restrictions on abortion care be repealed.

We ask that our public officials support reproductive autonomy and respect our basic rights to live our lives free from government intrusion into this most personal and private realm.

Where these government officials fail to act, we call on all health care professionals to uphold their duty to their patients to organize and gather political support for laws and initiatives that protect personal bodily autonomy for all Missourians.

In solidarity,

MO Healthcare Professionals for Reproductive Rights

Jennifer Smith, MD, OBGYN; Lisa Alderson, MD, Cardiology; Michelle Lee, MD, Radiology, Diagnostic; Vicky Fraser, MD, Internal Medicine; Leah Glass, DO, OBGYN; Lisa Ryan, MD, Pediatrics; Jacob Klein, MD, OBGYN; David Weinstein, MD, OBGYN; Diane Rosen, DO, OBGYN; Gretchen Levey, MD, OBGYN; Archna Calfee, MD, Pediatrics; David Rosen MD/PhD Pediatric Infectious Disease; Ed Weisbart MD, Family Medicine; Harley Hammerman, MD, Diagnostic Radiology; Robyn Jacobs, MD, Internal Medicine/Nephrology; Juliana Verticchio, MD, OBGYN; Cherese Collins, MD OBGYN; Christi Menges, MD OBGYN; Sarah Mermelstein, MD Adolescent Medicine; Nikoleta Kolovos, MD Pediatric Critical Care; Pat McLaughlin, RN; Julia Hoven, WHNP; Kim Novack, RN; Rakhee Bhayani, MD, Internal Medicine; Alex Young, MD, Anesthesia; Nicole Durko, DO, Anesthesia; Andrea Hagemann, MD, Gynecology Oncology; Patrick Fahey, MD, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary; Susan ODonnell, MD, Internal Medicine, Pulmonary-Critical Care; Amanda Heidemann, MD, Family Practice; Stephanie Zwicker, MD, Allergy; Libby Williams, MD, Urology; Michelle Rubin, Med, LPC, Trauma and Grief; Daniel Jasper, MD, Internal Medicine; Julia Hoffman, MD, OBGYN; Dawn Weinstock, RN BSN, Neurosurgery; Sally King, LCSW, LMFT, Individual, couple and family therapy; Shellie Fidell, MSW LCSW, Reproductive Mental Health; Haley Herbeck, RN, BSN, Labor and Delivery; Kaetlyn Macauley, BSN RN, Obstetrics; Shayna Warner, MSW, LCSW, Adult Psychotherapist; Kirsten Settle, RN, Emergency medicine, labor and delivery; Debbie Bennett, MD, Radiology; Marlene Hammerman, MSW; Gary Meltz, MD, FACP, Internal Medicine; Violet Klenov, OBGYN, REI; Caitlin Bley, nurse midwife and NP; Maureen Schulte MD, OBGYN; Jen Bernstein, MSW; Kelly Hilker, BSN, RN; Stephanie Miller, BSN, WHNP-BC, OBGYN; Julie Taylor, BSN, MSN, OBGYN; Sharon Vermont, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics; Denise Meckler, MD, OBGYN; Anna Barton, WHNP-BC, Womens Health; Samantha Syrett, PA, OBGYN/Psychiatry; Elizabeth Collum, NCCPA, PA-C, Family Medicine; Meera Patel, MD, OBGYN; Mackenzie Jones, BSN, RN, Labor and Delivery; Nikki Rauner, MSW, LCSW; Katherine Kreusser, MD, Pediatrics; Lara Fuchs, MD, Psychiatry; Jean Wang, MD, PhD, Gastroenterology; Vinita Alexander, MD, OBGYN; Randi Becker MD, Family and Emergency Medicine; Rania Farhat, MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care; Katherine Jones-Grady, DO, OBGYN; Alexis Bouras, MPAS, PA-C, OBGYN; Mary Gardner, RN, BSN, ACLS, BLS, PALS, CAPA, Peri-Operative nursing; Joan Schieber, MD, OBGYN; Anitha Varghese, PA-C, Radiology; Madelyn Tegerdine, PA-C, RN, Cardiac Surgery; Erica Banes, MSN, WHNP, OBGYN; Elizabeth Noonan, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics; Liza Siegel, MD, Pediatric Dermatology, Pediatrics; Laura Mueller, MD, OBGYN; Mi Vo, MD, ABIM, ABOM, Internal and Obesity Medicine; Alysa Ellis, MD, Pediatrics, Allergy and Immunology; Lydia Assioun, Internal Medicine, Hospitalist; Anu French, MD, Pediatrics; Valerie French, MD, MAS, OBGYN; Amy Mosman, MMS, PA-C, Internal Medicine, Nephrology; MaryBeth Huber, MD, Anesthesiology; Alison Bedell, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics; Ceara Barmeier, PA-C, Internal Medicine; Deana Mikhalkova, MD, Cardiology; Katherine Coates, PA-C, Infectious Disease, Dermatology; James Jenkins, MD, Retired Anesthesiology; Margaretta Mendenhall, MD, OBGYN; Kristin Streiler, MD, Pediatrics; PhD, Licensed Psychologist, Brandi Morrison, DO, Pediatrics; Urvi Patel, MD, Dermatology; Noushin Ansari, MD, Family Medicine, Neurology; Thuylinh Pham, MD, Pediatrics; Lina Patel, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine; Christie Pickrell, MD, Emergency Medicine; Alyssa Wait, MD, FASCRS, Colorectal surgery; Neha Mehta-Shah, MD, Medical Oncology; Farheen Raja, MD, Ophthalmology; Rachel Dickerson, MD, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Michael Bennett, MD, Gastroenterology; Jessie Davis, MD, Family Medicine; Adriana Canas-Polesel, MD, OBGYN; Noor Riaz, MD, MPH, Pediatrics; Kerry Will, MD, Internal Medicine, Hospice; Claudia Krasnoff, MD, OBGYN; Chandra Wiewel, MD, Family Medicine; Lauren Gregory, MD, Pediatrics; Cary Siegel, MD, Radiology; Monica Drylewicz, MD, PhD, Diagnostic Radiology; Zahra Hassan, MD, Internal Medicine; Maureen Boyle, MD, OBGYN; Martin Gregory, MD, Gastroenterology; Laura Parisi, MD, OBGYN; Evanne Ihnken, MMS, PA-C, Neurosurgery; Theodore Kremer, MD, Pediatrics; Courtney Andrus, PA-C, Pediatrics; Alex Plattner, MD, MBA, Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Alison Oswald, MD, Pediatrics; Stephen Cliff, DO, Pediatric Pulmonary; Erin Casey, MD, Primary Care Pediatrics; Jerome Molleston, MD, PhD, Pediatric Gastroenterology; Thomas Greaves, MD, OBGYN; Jina McAtee, MD, Pediatrics; Heather Morgan, DO, Family Medicine; Elizabeth Harrison, MD, Pediatrics; Melissa Whitson, DO, Pediatrics; Dawn Miller, BSN, RN, Labor and Delivery and Podiatry; Chava Weiman, RN, OB; Lance Peterson, MD, PhD, Pediatrics, Pediatric Rheumatology; Jennifer M. Dunn, MD, Pediatrics; Tracy Cope, RN, MSN, CPNP, Pediatric Primary Care, Pediatric Urgent Care; Emily Rodgers, DO, Psychiatry; Scott Roos, MD, FAAFP, Family Medicine; Jenny Miele, MD, Pediatrics; Toniya Singh, MD, Cardiology; Philip Abraham, MD, Pediatrics; Gregory Finn, MD, Pediatrics; Mia Henderson, MD, PhD, Pediatrics; Sarah Greene, MD, Pediatrics; Betsy Wickstrom, MD, FACOG, Maternal Fetal Medicine; Hayley Wurzel, MD, Pediatrics; Michelle Martin, RN, CPNP-PC, Pediatrics Primary Care; Denise Dow, BSN, MSN AGPCNP-BC, Oncology; Becky Lynn, MD, MBA, Menopause, Obesity Medicine, Sexual Medicine; Brenda Hall, BSN,RN, Oncology, Neurosurgery; Megan DeSpain, DO, Emergency Medicine; Katherine Weilbaecher, MD, Breast Cancer, Internal Medicine; Anna Grodzinsky, MD, MSc, Cardiology; Laura Schmidt, MD, Cardiology; Karen L Florio, DO, MPH, Cardio-Obstetrics, Pre-eclampsia, Maternal-Fetal Medicine; Emily Williams, MD, OBGYN, MFM; Sharon Jick, MD, Ophthalmology; MaryJo Hernandez-Zipfel, MD, Pediatrics; Valerie Rader, MD, Cardiology; Padmini Prabhu, PA-C, BPT, MBA, Clinical Psychology; Katherine Kramer, BSN, Endoscopy; Sue Matlof, RN, BS, Pediatrics; Emily Schindler, MD, PhD, Pathology; Kenan Omurtag, MD, OBGYN, REI; Margaret Baum, MD, OBGYN; Andrea Orr, MD, Pediatrics; Jesus Jimenez, MD, PhD, Cardiology; Jennifer Hillman, MD, MS, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine; Elizabeth Marsicano, MD, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology; Edward Levy, MD, OBGYN, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery; Jane Roodman Weiss, RN, BSN, Oncology; Denise Willers, MD, OBGYN; William Parks, Emergency Medicine; Kavita Krell, University of Missouri chapter of Medical Students for Choice; Gabriella Thornton, Med Student; Shilpa Thornton, MD, Ophthalmology; Dianna Fine, M.Ed, LPC, Mental Health Counseling, Trauma Resolution; Lindsey Noles, BSN, RN, Medical Surgical; Linda Tsai, Md, FACS, Ophthalmology; Patricia Lupu, Med Student; Jocelyn Ihnat, Med Student; Lauren Henry, Med Student; Lizzie Cremer, Med Student; Kate McGough, Med Student; Kostandin Valle, Med Student; Edward Van Matre, PharmD, MS, BCCCP; Ria Shahapeti, RA; Mollie Henry, Med Student; Lauren Flowers, Med Student; Casey Fogarty, Med Student; Suryanshi Rawat, Med Student; Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Kafi, Med Student; Meridith Schoening, Med Student; Eben Eno, MD, Cardiology; Pranav Suri, Med Student; Jordan Beveridge, Med Student; Mitchell Botney, MD, Pulmonary and Critical Care; Devon Cruzan, Med Student; Anne Marker, Med Student; Jadee Wagner, Med Student; Emily Schaff, Med Student; Marc Bernstein, MD, Gastroenterology, Hepatology; Maya Ramachandran, Med Student; Brooklyn Campbell, Med Student; Margie Rempe, MD, OBGYN; Kathryn Botney, MD, OBGYN; David L. Eisenberg, MD, MPH, OBGYN and Complex Family Planning; Courtney Kaar, MD, Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine; David Kantor, DO, Family Practice; Miranda Kaleel, Med Student; Julia Phillips, MD, OBGYN; Alejandra Alvarez Wilson, MD, OBGYN; Kyle OMara, Med Student; Kaylie Nichols, Med Student; Carlye Goldenberg, Med Student; Taylor Ramsaroop; IJ Singh, MD, Nephrology; Justin Pearre, Med Student; Deena Goran, Med Student; Jacob Lee, Med Student; Peggy Collins, RNFA, Obstetrics; Kelsey Rose Stayton, CNA, Labor and Delivery; Shelby Dickison, MD, OBGYN; Leanne DePalma, MD, Pediatrics; Bridget Huysman, MD, MPD, Clinical Fellow, Maternal-Fetal Medicine; Rebekah Greenspan, Med. Student; Heather Raznick, MSW, LCSW, Sexual Health; Pamela Woodard, MD, Radiology; Amanda Schilly, WHNP-BC, OBGYN; Nicole Shuert, MSN, WHNP, OBGYN; Elizabeth Laffey, MD, Family Practice; Bobbi Lakin, MD, ABFM, OBGYN; Treena Sturgeon, DO, Internal Medicine; Michael Donovan, MD, Family Medicine; Jacqueline Bergeron, RN, MSN, FNP-C, Family Medicine; Heather Savedra, MD, Internal Medicine; Angela Turpin, MD, Pediatric Endocrinology; Chris Thornton, MD, MBA, Diagnostic Radiology; Saivagmita Kantheti, Med Student; Anushka Kanga, Med Student; Anna Ruvinov, Med Student; Priyanka Kumar, Med Student; Shreya Katwala, Med Student; Priyanka Mahadev, Med Student; Sanjana Nallagatla, Med Student; Navin Amin, MD, Ophthalmology; Sruthi Sripada, Med Student; Lauren Roberts, Med Student; Megan Costello, Med Student; Maryam Naemi, DO, Family Medicine; Anne Hibbard, Family Medicine; Robert Hibbard, MD, Emergency Medicine; Karishma Kondapalli, Med Student; Madeline Glodowski, Med Student; Sarah Hemme, Med Student; Tanvi Karmarkar, Med Student; Cheryl Hemme, MD, Psychiatrist; Johanna Jeyaraj, Med Student; Dharti Patel, Med Student; Shelly Bhagat, Med Student; Rithika Ginjupalli, Med Student; Divya Minnaganti, Med Student; Naseem Nikaeen, MD FAAP, Pediatric; Ghausia Shah, Med Student; Laura Duckworth, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterology; Malavika Rajaram, Med Student; Sarah Jacober, Med Student; Emma Famous, Med Student; Natalie Abanathie, Med Student; Adela Plancarte, MSN, RN Pediatric Critical Care and Patient Safety Specialist; Rebecca Chibnall, MD, General and Vulvovaginal Dermatology; Najat Al-Sherri, MD, OBGYN; Jessica Gold, MD, MS Psychiatry; Ashley Segobiano, Med Student; Kara Sternhell-Blackwell, MD, Dermatology; Macie Sommer, Med Student; Elizabeth Fisher, RN, Pediatrics; Julie Hanak, RN, MSN, Clinical PI, Program Manager; Matthew Lindquist, DO, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Adult and Pediatric Obesity; Alexandra Roman, MD, Internal Medicine; Stefani Tica, Pediatric Gastroenterology; Maryam Baikpour, MD, OBGYN; Jessa Glick, BA, MSSW, LMSW, Advocacy, Development, Communications; Pat McLaughlin, RN, OB/Labor and Delivery; Leslie Fields, MD, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics; Lisa Silverman, RN, MSN, CPNP, Pediatrics; Ben Voss, Internal Medicine

Please reach us at mohealthcare4reprorights@gmail.com
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This photo taken on Nov. 4, 2022 shows an evening view of the Lujiazui area in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

There is a growing expectation among the Western population to hear something positive about China, "at least more factual," a business insider has observed.



China is in the crosshairs of certain Western countries, which are openly waging "a multidimensional war" to contain its economic and political development, Laurent Michelon, a French entrepreneur who has been living in China for 25 years, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I perceive in a growing part of the Western public a doubt about the information reported about China in the Western media, because everything is so negative about such a diverse country, populated by 1.4 billion people, with 5,000 years of history and which has become the second largest economy in the world," he said.

Author of the book "Understand the China-West relations (2022)" (Comprendre la relation Chine-Occident), Michelon's analysis of China is vastly different from mainstream perceptions in the West, but closer to the reality of the Chinese society.

In his book, he delved into a question often asked by his European and American friends: "why I live so long in a country about which they can only read negative news."

Western media usually present an "apocalyptic portrait" of China. The Western political and media elites, which are closely linked to the economic elites, are playing a perverse role in smearing China, while investing increasingly in the country, he said, citing the latest figures which indicated growing European Union investments in China, as well as trade between China and the United States.

In contrast with the mainstream Western media that systematically demonize China, Michelon has been pushing for a less caricatured, less ideological and more fact-based vision of China.

During his recent multiple interviews with French media, Michelon pointed out the many errors of analysis by Western media about China, which is pummeled repeatedly by negative propaganda.

These biased reports, he said, involved a handful of industry moguls in such fields as arms, finance, pharmaceuticals and energy.

Michelon believed that such a journalistic bias is due to the blindness of Western media, whose reports about China are based on assumptions, but not facts, research, or investigations.

This is because the reporting of whatever positive about China's development is systematically refused by editors in attempts to block the Western public from the reality of China's progress, he added.

In his book, the author explains that behind the defamation of China by Western elites lies the promotion of a so-called "rules-based order" imposed on the whole world, which is "a set of vague rules outside of international law," seeking to hold back multipolarity.

Despite all the disinformation, "in Europe, many people know that they have been lied to" on many issues, including COVID-19, Ukraine, and "logically on China as well," he noted.

Michelon praised such China-proposed initiatives as the Belt and Road Initiative, for their role in promoting inclusive development, saying that China has "a true joint development approach, and not the predatory approach that is presented in the international media."

China is not the enemy of the West. With mutual respect and understanding, the interests of China and the West can "converge on key issues, to the benefit of the whole world," the business insider added.
Lila Varisco, 5, used her mother's Amazon account to buy more than $3,000 worth of toys. WJAR

A 5-year-old girl used her mom's Amazon account to buy more than $3,000 worth of of toys.

Jessica Nunes said she thought her daughter was playing video games on her phone when she made the orders.

Nunes said she was able to cancel about half the order before it shipped.

A 5-year-old girl in Massachusets used her mother's Amazon account to buy more than $3,000 worth of toy motorcycles, toy jeeps, and cowgirl boots, her mother says.

Jessica Nunes told WJAR in Boston that she thought her daughter, Lila, was playing video games on her phone when she used it to make the purhcases during a drive home. Nunes said she was surprised when she recieved an email on March 27 that said her package had shipped, according to the station.

"I go on my Amazon order history to find that I, or somebody, had ordered 10 motorcycles, a Jeep, and 10 pairs of cowgirl boots women's size seven," Nunes according to the outlet.

Nunes estimated that the motorcycles and the toy Jeep came out to $3,180, while the boots totalled $600, WJAR reported.

According to WJAR, Nunes says she was able to cancel the boots order and half of the motorcycle orders, but she didn't catch the order fast enough to stop five motorcycles and one children's Jeep that had already shipped.

The motorcycles were originally nonrefundable through Amazon, but Nunes said she reached out to the company and was able to return the products, according to WCVB.

"(The kid's motorcycles) were actually nonreturnable, originally, but I had reached out to Amazon at 2 o'clock in the morning and I was like: 'Please, is there anything we can do?!'" Nunes said according to the outlet.

Nunes told WJAR that she plans to use the experience as a teaching moment for her daughter rather than punish her.

"I did tell her that maybe if she you know, acts right, she behaves and she does chores around the house that we can get her a bike that's more geared towards her age range," Nunes said.

When asked why she ordered the motorcycles, Lila Nunes said, "because I wanted one," WJAR reported.

Read the original article on Insider
Half of respondents in a new poll said the charges against former President Trump are serious after the former president was indicted in New York City following an investigation into an alleged hush money payment to an adult film star.

Fifty percent of respondents in an ABC News/Ipsos poll published Sunday said the charges against Trump are serious, compared to 35 percent who said the charges arent that serious at all.

The indictment, which remains sealed, revolves around an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) into a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels shortly before the election. Daniels alleges she was paid to keep quiet about an affair with the former president, which Trump denies.

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that Trump is facing at least one felony charge in his hush-money case.

Forty-five percent of respondents said that Trump should have been charged with a crime in the case, while 32 percent said no charges should have been brought and 23 percent said they didnt know.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they believe the charges against Trump are politically motivated, with 32 percent saying they were not.

There was a stark divide along party lines. Nearly eight in 10 Republican respondents said the charges against Trump are politically motivated, compared to 16 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of independents.

A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday for his alleged role in organizing a hush money payment to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. He is expected to appear for an arraignment on Tuesday.

Trump, who announced his third bid to run for president at his Mar-a-Lago estate in November, is now the first former president to face criminal charges.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll of 593 respondents was conducted from March 31 to April 1. The polls margin of error was 4.4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A 68-year-old woman died after crashing down an embankment onto Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California Highway Patrol officers told news outlets.

The Watsonville womans 2018 Toyota RAV4 left the road at 8:23 a.m. Saturday, April 1, and crashed down onto a picnic area on the beach, officers told The Mercury News.

She was taken to a hospital with major injuries, where she later died, officers told KSBW.

Officers are investigating the cause of the accident, KION reported.

Aptos is a city of 6,200 people next to Santa Cruz, about 80 miles south of San Francisco.

Firefighters rescue 16 stranded on SeaWorld roller coaster, California officials say

Man accused of attacking 9-year-old at library faces new charge, California cops say

Police union executive led scheme to smuggle opioids marked party favors, feds say
Jessica Long's 9-year-old daughter could not bear to see her pet goat, Cedar, slaughtered for meat, according to a federal lawsuit. Long family/Advancing Law for Animals

A lawsuit accuses police of unjustly seizing a 9-year-old girl's pet goat amid a custody dispute.

The goat had been entered into a youth livestock auction and sold for $903.

But the "thought of him going to slaughter was something [the girl] could not bear," the lawsuit says.

Cedar was a beloved pet goat, raised since he was a baby by a 9-year-old girl who did not want him to die.

But after she and her family tried to pull him from a youth livestock auction, the operators of the sale called the police, who then seized the animal, according to a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The suit accuses police of unjustly acting as judges  and, perhaps, executioners  when they picked sides in a case over disputed property, took a pet goat, and enabled "the apparent slaughter of Cedar for a community barbecue," as The Sacramento Bee reported.

Cedar is now presumed dead.

The saga began last June, when Jessica Long took her daughter, who was active in her local 4-H club, to the Shasta District Fair. There, Cedar was meant to be sold off. But before bidding began, the lawsuit states, her family sought to pull him from the auction, the reality of what it meant having set in.

Fair authorities would not allow it and Cedar was auctioned, as meat, for $902. The fair itself was to pocket $63.14 from the sale.

But the goat's young caretaker would not leave him. She "loved Cedar," the lawsuit states, "and the thought of him going to slaughter was something she could not bear."

Unwilling to send him off to die, the Long family took Cedar back home the day of the auction and then, according to their lawsuit, offered to compensate the fair for any lost earnings. In an email, which the fair operators acknowledge receiving, Jessica Long asked for understanding, explaining that it was wrenching to see her daughter sob the day Cedar was to be auctioned.

"Our daughter lost three grandparents within the last year and our family has had so much heartbreak and sadness that I couldn't bear the thought of the following weeks of sadness after the slaughter," she wrote. In a subsequent email, she asserted continued ownership over Cedar.

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Instead of seeking to resolve the matter civilly, the lawsuit alleges that the fair went to the police, disregarding the claim of ownership and asserting that its property had been stolen. In an email obtained by The Sacramento Bee, a representative told the family that while they were "not unsympathetic regarding your daughter and her love" for the goat, the auction was a matter of teaching children "responsibility and for the future generations of ranchers and farmers to learn the process and effort it takes to raise quality meat."



Fair leadership, instead of resolving the matter civilly, then went to the police, who the lawsuit accuses of disregarding the competing claims of ownership. Sheriff's deputies obtained a search warrant for a local goat sanctuary where they falsely believed he was being held; Cedar was ultimately found hundreds of miles away at another farm, in Sonoma County, where the Long family had placed him as the dispute over custody played out.

"Our clients can't get complete justice in this case," attorney Vanessa Shakib, co-founder of the firm Advancing Law for Animals, told Insider. "The sheriff's deputies took that from them when they violated due process and turned Cedar over for slaughter."

Shakib said that the family simply wants recognition that the proper legal process was not followed in this case. "We want to make sure this never happens again," she said.

"Given this reality, at a minimum, we are looking for recognition of the constitutional and statutory violations that took place here. We want to make sure this never happens again."

The family's lawsuit was originally filed last year and listed several members of the local police as defendants, accusing them of seizing Cedar before any judge had weighed in on the ownership claims. An amended version of the lawsuit, filed in early March, expanded that list to include the County of Shasta, the local Sheriff's Department, and the Shasta District Fair and Event Center.

A representative for the Shasta County Sheriff's Department declined to respond to the Long family's allegations, citing the ongoing litigation. Other parties, including the fair, did not respond to requests for comment. The defendants have all denied wrongdoing.

Read the lawsuit:

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Insider
By Kanishka Singh and Ashraf Fahim

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A rock concert was in store on a Friday evening at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, with hundreds of people looking forward to an evening of death metal music to start the weekend.

What followed was "chaos, absolute chaos" in the words of Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody as vicious storms brought down the roof half an hour into the show with 260 people inside the theater.

The deadly tragedy summed up the sudden destruction left by recent tornadoes that have ripped through the U.S. South and Midwest.

"The lights go out, I hear a noise. Everything crashes down," Jessica Hernandez, who was inside the theater on Friday, told Reuters in an interview. Hernandez, 18, said her friends had convinced her to attend the concert.

A man aged around 50 was killed in the collapse and dozens were left injured, officials said. The deceased man was identified as Frederick Forest Livingston Jr by his employer and sister, according to ABC News.

Over 40 people were treated at local hospitals following the roof collapse incident and most injuries included orthopedic, head and neurologic trauma, and soft tissue injuries, CBS News reported, citing a local doctor.

Death metal band Morbid Angel, which was scheduled to perform at the concert, wrote on its Facebook page that the tornado caused "the roof, over the area in-front of the stage, and marquee to collapse." The show was subsequently canceled.

Footage from the scene cited by local media showed destruction inside the theater with officials and members of the public attempting to clear the debris and rescue those who may have been trapped.

All the people had been accounted for, officials said on Saturday. The concertgoers were eventually led to safety by emergency workers.

In Illinois, three other people were killed in Crawford County after the collapse of a residential structure, the state Emergency Management Agency said on Saturday.

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Over 20 people were left dead and scores wounded after violent storm packing high winds and heavy rains ripped through Southern and Midwestern sections of the United States, heading east on Saturday.

The turbulent weather occurred 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.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul)
A recent accountability audit of Timberland Regional Library, which serves a multi-county area of Southwest Washington including Thurston County, has resulted in a letter to the library district outlining some problems that were discovered and recommendations to correct them.

The audit period ran from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2021.

An accountability audit, according to the state Auditors Office, evaluates whether a local government has adhered to applicable state laws, regulations and its own policies and procedures.

We audit records to ensure public funds are accounted for and controls are in place to protect public resources from misappropriation and misuse, the Auditors Office website reads. We are required to examine the financial affairs of all local governments at least once every three years.

Although the library district received a clean financial audit over the same period, the accountability audit resulted in a management letter that was addressed to the Board of Trustees on Feb. 28, 2023. It outlined three problem areas in public works procurement and prevailing wage compliance, improvements to city-owned property and perhaps the most surprising: loss of public funds during an electronic transfer.

The Olympian was unable to reach the library districts executive director Cheryl Heywood, but she did make some brief comments about the audit to the board on March 22 and again to a facilities committee on March 30. Both of the meetings can be watched online via Timberlands website.

Heywood acknowledged to the trustees that the library system has some things to address with regard to the accountability audit, but she also pointed out they received a clean financial audit during a time that included the pandemic.

We are super proud of the work we did, she said.

Loss of funds

In the letter, the state says that since 2016, Washington governments have lost $28 million in public funds to cyberfraud.

Our audit found the district did not have adequate internal controls over electronic payments to protect public funds, the letter reads. In 2020, the district made a vendor payment totaling $120,968 to a fraudulent bank account. The district did not take sufficient corrective action to improve its internal controls after the event, and it experienced a second loss in 2022 totaling $2,675, which was related to payroll.

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Among the Auditors Office recommendations: Strengthen its controls to ensure verification procedures are required and followed to protect electronic funds transfers from internal and external threats.

Public works procurement and prevailing wage compliance

In this category, the Auditors Office says the library district did not:

 Have procedures for securing quotes and awarding contracts using the small works roster method.

 Provide evidence that invitations for quotes included the required elements or that it obtained the required number of quotes. As a result, auditors could not verify the district awarded contracts to the lowest responsible bidder.

 Maintain a list of the contractors contacted and the contracts awarded for the previous 24 months.

 Include the required prevailing wage language requirements in the contract, or verify the contractor filed Statements of Intents to Pay Prevailing Wages and Affidavits of Wages Paid with the state Department of Labor & Industries.

Under state law, using the small works roster process to solicit bids requires the district to obtain quotes from at least five contractors, or three if the value of the contract is under $50,000.

The district must also maintain a list of the contractors contacted and the contracts awarded for the previous 24 months, and for public works projects, the district must include the prevailing wage language requirements in its contracts.

Improvements to city-owned property

The Auditors Office cited the districts own policy, which allows for financial assistance with maintenance and/or health and safety projects at city-owned libraries.

However, the value of such projects is not to exceed $10,000 and on two occasions it did: The district spent $21,000 on a restroom renovation project and $41,000 on a flooring project, according to the letter.

This one aspect of the accountability audit was discussed by the library systems facilities committee on March 30.

Heywood acknowledged the board approved the projects that went beyond $10,000 as part of an annual budget process.

The recommendation she made at the meeting was to remove formal request from the city not to exceed $10,000 from the districts policy.

And we have to make a change because its not jibing with the actual reality of what were doing, she said, pointing out the district spent more than $10,000 on a building project in Ilwaco.

She said the district should make that change before the Auditors Office returns this fall.
An American crisis

What is it about school shootings that divides people rather than brings them together?

Keeping students safe and allowing teachers to do their jobs educating and developing future leaders of our own communities should be something that everyone can agree on, not argue about.

We have had another tragic and senseless loss of life at The Covenant School in Nashville. There have been 376 school shootings in the 24 years since Columbine  and more school shootings occurred during 2022 than any other year before.

The problem hit very close to home recently with threats of violence targeting Midlands schools occurring multiple days in a row in the past two months alone.

During those times, I observed reactions by parents and youth ranging from shoulder shrugs and eye rolls to real fear and emotional breakdowns.

School administrators are hyper vigilant to such threats and have well-oiled response and communication systems in place, but one crucial piece seems to be missing. What is being done to prevent real or threatened school violence?

We are at a crossroads in this country in our need to address this uniquely American public health epidemic that is negatively impacting and threatening the lives of one of our most vulnerable populations.

Lana Cook, Lexington

Will next child be yours?

A well-regulated militia does not kill its children.

An assault rifle such as the AR-15 is not used in hunting for sport. Mentally-ill and mentally-challenged people do not need guns.

The Second Amendment has been turned into a license to kill anyone, anywhere at any time.

If we are to survive in a safe environment, we must have responsible gun control.

If not, the next child killed may be yours.

Elizabeth Jones, Columbia

Allow needed care

Sometimes I really wonder about our state legislators.

Now I read that SC senators consider ban on transgender care for children.

Do they think a ban will make this situation disappear? If it is that simple, I urge them to ban poverty, contaminated drinking water, etc.

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But I doubt a ban will prevent children from needing care. The kids will still need help through a very confusing time in their lives.

If a child of a state senator were to find himself or herself in need of transgender care, would that senator be so heartless as to refuse assistance? Should our state senators refuse other peoples children this care?

I urge our legislators to be kind to others and not try to make these children suffer for their sexuality.

Please, allow them to receive the services they need.

Elizabeth A. Russell, Columbia

Book offers answers

Educational agencies at all levels are concerned about low test scores post-COVID.

While academic losses are evident, I am more troubled by lingering bad habits from pandemic learning. Thats why Ive turned to the book, Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum by Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick.

Remaining persistent, managing impulsivity and communicating with clarity are just some of the habits mentioned that Ive found to be underdeveloped or missing in the classroom.

Too often students search for solutions online before theyve taken adequate time to do their own thinking, make choices without pausing to consider the consequences or struggle to articulate ideas thoughtfully.

Classroom teachers can only do so much. They need the help of families and administrators.

Virginia Woolf said, The skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame. While those in power worry about the outside appearance of assessment scores, those in proximity to students must unite to address what is inside and unseen  the bones of habit.

For more information check out habitsofmindinstitute.org/resources/parents/.

Danielle Ann Verwers, Columbia

Do unto others

It saddens me to see so many people, especially faith-based groups, marginalizing those who are different from the majority  LGBTQ+ people, Black, Hispanic and Asian people, members of other faiths and those who are physically or mentally challenged.

Did Jesus have some sort of litmus test before he associated with people?

I suspect most believe that God created each and every single human being.

If they find other groups to be worthy of discrimination, I see three options:

1. God made a mistake in creating people with differences. Seriously, they are telling God he was wrong?

2. God intentionally created groups of others so that perfect people would have someone to look down on and discriminate against. Not the Divine Spirit Id believe in.

3. God created all races, beliefs, sexualities and abilities and provided us with guidance on how to behave towards one another. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Remember that?

Mr. Rogers used to say: I like you just the way you are.

Im betting Fred Rogers would go with option #3.

Louise Plodinec, Aiken
Remnants of ancient Greenland tundra were preserved in soil beneath the ice sheet. Andrew Christ and Dorothy Peteet, CC BY-ND

In 1963, inside a covert U.S. military base in northern Greenland, a team of scientists began drilling down through the Greenland ice sheet. Piece by piece, they extracted an ice core 4 inches across and nearly a mile long. At the very end, they pulled up something else  12 feet of frozen soil.

The ice told a story of Earths climate history. The frozen soil was examined, set aside and then forgotten.

Half a century later, scientists rediscovered that soil in a Danish freezer. It is now revealing its secrets.

Using lab techniques unimaginable in the 1960s when the core was drilled, we and an international team of fellow scientists were able to show that Greenlands massive ice sheet had melted to the ground there within the past million years. Radiocarbon dating shows that it would have happened more than 50,000 years ago. It most likely happened during times when the climate was warm and sea level was high, possibly 400,000 years ago.

And there was more. As we explored the soil under a microscope, we were stunned to discover the remnants of a tundra ecosystem  twigs, leaves and moss. We were looking at northern Greenland as it existed the last time the region was ice-free. Our peer-reviewed study was published on March 15, 2021 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Engineers pull up a section of the 4,560-foot-long ice core at Camp Century in the 1960s. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

With no ice sheet, sunlight would have warmed the soil enough for tundra vegetation to cover the landscape. The oceans around the globe would have been more than 10 feet higher, and maybe even 20 feet. The land on which Boston, London and Shanghai sit today would have been under the ocean waves.

The ice core and the soil below are something of a Rosetta Stone for understanding how durable the Greenland ice sheet has been during past warm periods  and how quickly it might melt again as the climate heats up. Today, humans are warming Earths climate, and the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising quickly.

Secret military bases and Danish freezers

The story of the ice core begins during the Cold War with a military mission dubbed Project Iceworm. Starting around 1959, the U.S. Army hauled hundreds of soldiers, heavy equipment and even a nuclear reactor across the ice sheet in northwest Greenland and dug a base of tunnels inside the ice. They called it Camp Century.

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It was part of a secret plan to hide nuclear weapons from the Soviets. The public knew it as an Arctic research laboratory. Walter Cronkite even paid a visit and filed a report.

Workers build the snow tunnels at the Camp Century research base in 1960. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Camp Century didnt last long. The snow and ice began slowly crushing the buildings inside the tunnels below, forcing the military to abandon it in 1966. During its short life, however, scientists were able to extract the ice core and begin analyzing Greenlands climate history. As ice builds up year by year, it captures layers of volcanic ash and changes in precipitation over time, and it traps air bubbles that reveal the past composition of the atmosphere.

One of the original scientists, glaciologist Chester Langway, kept the core and soil samples frozen at the University at Buffalo for years, then he shipped them to a Danish archive in the 1990s, where the soil was soon forgotten.

A few years ago, our Danish colleagues found the soil samples in a box of glass cookie jars with faded labels: Camp Century Sub-Ice.

Geomorphologist Paul Bierman (right) and geochemist Joerg Schaefer of Columbia University examine the jars holding Camp Century sediment for the first time. They were in a Danish freezer set at -17 F. Paul Bierman, CC BY-ND

A surprise under the microscope

On a hot July day in 2019, two samples of soil arrived at our lab at the University of Vermont frozen solid. We began the painstaking process of splitting the precious few ounces of frozen mud and sand for different analyses.

First, we photographed the layering in the soil before it was lost forever. Then we chiseled off small bits to examine under the microscope. We melted the rest and saved the ancient water.

Then came the biggest surprise. While we were washing the soil, we spotted something floating in the rinse water. Paul grabbed a pipette and some filter paper, Drew grabbed tweezers and turned on the microscope. We were absolutely stunned as we looked down the eyepiece.

Staring back at us were leaves, twigs and mosses. This wasnt just soil. This was an ancient ecosystem perfectly preserved in Greenlands natural deep freeze.

Glacial geomorphologist Andrew Christ (right), with geology student Landon Williamson, holds up the first fossil twig spotted as they washed a sediment sample from Camp Century. Paul Bierman, CC BY-ND

Dating million-year-old moss

How old were these plants?

Over the last million years, Earths climate was punctuated by relatively short warm periods, typically lasting about 10,000 years, called interglacials, when there was less ice at the poles and sea level was higher. The Greenland ice sheet survived through all of human history during the Holocene, the present interglacial period of the last 12,000 years, and most of the interglacials in the last million years.

But our research shows that at least one of these interglacial periods was warm enough for a long enough period of time to melt large portions of the Greenland ice sheet, allowing a tundra ecosystem to emerge in northwestern Greenland.

We used two techniques to determine the age of the soil and the plants. First, we used clean room chemistry and a particle accelerator to count atoms that form in rocks and sediment when exposed to natural radiation that bombards Earth. Then, a colleague used an ultra-sensitive method for measuring light emitted from grains of sand to determine the last time they were exposed to sunlight.

Maps of Greenland show the speed of the ice sheet as it flows (left) and the landscape hidden beneath it (right). BedMachine v3; Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), CC BY-ND

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is well beyond past levels determined from ice cores. On March 14, 2021, the CO2 level was about 417 ppm. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CC BY-ND

The million-year time frame is important. Previous work on another ice core, GISP2, extracted from central Greenland in the 1990s, showed that the ice had also been absent there within the last million years, perhaps about 400,000 years ago.

Lessons for a world facing rapid climate change

Losing the Greenland ice sheet would be catastrophic to humanity today. The melted ice would raise sea level by more than 20 feet. That would redraw coastlines worldwide.

About 40% of the global population lives within 60 miles of a coast, and 600 million people live within 30 feet of sea level. If warming continues, ice melt from Greenland and Antarctica will pour more water into the oceans. Communities will be forced to relocate, climate refugees will become more common, and costly infrastructure will be abandoned. Already, sea level rise has amplified flooding from coastal storms, causing hundreds of billions of dollars of damage every year.

Tundra near the Greenland ice sheet today. Is this what Camp Century looked like before the ice came back sometime in the last million years? Paul Bierman, CC BY-ND

The story of Camp Century spans two critical moments in modern history. An Arctic military base built in response to the existential threat of nuclear war inadvertently led us to discover another threat from ice cores  the threat of sea level rise from human-caused climate change. Now, its legacy is helping scientists understand how the Earth responds to a changing climate.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Andrew Christ, University of Vermont and Paul Bierman, University of Vermont.

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Andrew Christ receives funding from the Gund Institute for Environment and the National Science Foundation.

Paul Bierman receives funding from the US National Science Foundation and UVM Gund Institute for Environment.
Andrew Tate has issued a response after being hilariously mocked in South Park.

Tate, a 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.

On Friday (31 March), Tate won an appeal against jail detention, and was placed under house arrest.

The former Big Brother contestant was originally 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.

South Parks latest episode, titled Spring Break, depicted Tate via character Alonzo Fineski, a toxic masculinity coach who is revealed to be a wanted sex trafficker.

Alonzo is shown to have a shaved head and wear faded sunglasses as well as be a cigar smoker  an image clearly based on Tate.

In the episode, Alonzo is told: I think I need to explain something to you. Im just trying to combat the messages that the liberal left is putting out to young men about their male instincts being toxic.

Later, when he is arrested, someone calls him a Romanian sex trafficker.

In response to the episode, Tate wrote on Twitter: When I will be proven innocent, I look forward to help create the greatest South Park episode of all time.

The Independent has contacted Comedy Central, which airs South Park, for comment.

Andrew Tate responded to being source of South Park mockery on Twitter (Twitter)

In February, South Park made headlines after sending up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

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.
In total, eight French citizens have been killed since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began

A certain T died a week ago, the French daily newspaper wrote.

The French Foreign Ministry confirmed this information, La Parisien reported.

Read also: Belarusian volunteer and former Tornado battalion member, Danylo Modzhakhed Liashuk, killed on frontline

"We are aware of the sad news that a French citizen has been fatally wounded during combat in Ukraine," a French Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said to AFP news, adding that they contacted the family to offer them their condolences.

Another French volunteer Kevin D., who left more than a year ago to fight alongside the Ukrainians, was reportedly killed in combat near Bakhmut on March 21.

Read also: Polish platoon commander of Ukraines International Legion killed in action

In total, eight French citizens have been killed since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Le Monde wrote.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican critic of former President Donald Trump, said hes entering the 2024 presidential race.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Hutchinson, 72, said in an ABC News interview broadcast Sunday that while hell make a formal announcement later this month in Arkansas, hes going to run for the Republican presidential nomination.

As Ive traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country, and Im convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts, Hutchinson said on ABC.

Hutchinson is the fourth candidate to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination, joining former South Carolina Governor and Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson. Other candidates including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are also expected to run.

His announcement comes as Trump is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday in Manhattan after being the first former US president to be indicted. Hes due to face charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult film star during the 2016 presidential election.

Hutchinson said he thinks Trump, who has said hes innocent and the victim of a political prosecution, should drop out of the race because the office is more important than any individual and that his criminal case is too much of a sideshow and distraction.

If were looking at the presidency and the future of our country, then we dont need that distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on the legal issues that he faces, Hutchinson said on ABC.

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Hutchinson, a former US representative, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security official, served eight years as Arkansas governor before leaving office at the beginning of 2023 because of term limits.

He spent his final day as governor in Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Hutchinson, who faces a long shot bid for the nomination, is seeking to appeal to GOP voters with a unity message. He has cast himself as a pragmatic conservative with the experience to lead the party in a different way than Trump  whom he has portrayed as rising to power by dividing people.

We are divided, but leaders have to try to bring people together, particularly on key issues, Hutchinson said in a Feb. 8 interview on Bloomberg Radio. And thats where I think its responsibility of a president to try to appeal to the best instincts of America and not our worst instincts.

Hutchinson has also spoken about the need to bridge the growing divide between rural America and urban areas in the US.

Hutchinson grew up on a small farm in Gravette and practiced law in rural Arkansas for 21 years. At 31, he was appointed as a US attorney by President Ronald Reagan, the youngest in the nation at the time. He touts a record fighting domestic terrorism and violent crime, including donning a bulletproof vest and helping arrest a neo-Nazi leader after a three-day armed standoff in 1985.

In 1996, Hutchinson first won election to the US House. During his third term, then-President George W. Bush appointed him head of the DEA and later as an undersecretary in the newly created Department of Homeland Security. He was elected governor in 2014 and reelected with 65% of the vote in 2018.

--With assistance from Mark Niquette.

(Updates with additional Hutchinson comments starting in second paragraph.)

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Putin - GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Armenia has said that it wont arrest Vladimir Putin despite preparing to join the International Criminal Court which has labelled the Russian leader a war criminal.

Since its constitutional court approved joining the ICC last week, the Kremlin has threatened Armenia with serious negative consequences and banned its dairy imports.

But in a blow to the authority of the ICC, a top Armenian official has now confirmed that police will not arrest Mr Putin if he travels to Yerevan.

The decision of the constitutional court does not find anyone guilty in any matter and does not require steps to arrest anyone, said Hakob Arshakyan, deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament. We have heard concerns expressed by the Russian Federation.

For the Kremlin, Armenias move towards the ICC was not only a humiliation but also posed a practical problem.

The ICC ruled last month that Mr Putin was a war criminal for authorising the abduction of thousands of children from Ukraine. This means that the ICC now expects its 123 member states, and aspirants like Armenia, to arrest him.

Vital ally

Mr Putins travel options have shrunk since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February and he has restricted himself mainly to visiting former Soviet Central Asia and the South Caucasus. He travelled to Armenia in November for a security conference.

The war has weakened Russias power and influence over its former Soviet satellite states.

Armenia once viewed Russia as a vital ally that was able to impose peace in the South Caucasus but last year, Nikol Pashinyan, its prime minister, accused the Kremlin of failing to stop Azerbaijani border attacks.

He has since cancelled a military exercise, threatened to leave the Russia-led CSTO security group and courted the US and the EU.

Armenias parliament approved joining the ICC in 1999 but this was blocked five years later by its constitutional court.

In 2015 Armenia adopted a new constitution and in 2021 Mr Pashinyan asked the constitutional court to reconsider joining the ICC because he wants to prosecute Azerbaijani military commanders accused of crimes during a war in 2020.
Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin

He noted that while Armenia had signed the Rome Statute back in 1998, it hasnt been ratified due to a 2004 Constitutional Court decision that said that the statute was unconstitutional.

However, on March 24, 2023, the country's Constitutional Court recognized that the Rome Statute was, indeed, in line with the Armenian Constitution.

Following the court's decision, MP Gagik Melkonyan, a member of the ruling faction, said that Armenia should detain Putin after ratifying the Rome Statute.

Read also: RTs Simonyan, Russian propagandist with Armenian roots, banned from entering Armenia

Melkonyan was prompted to make his statement by similar reports in the Russian press, Arshakyan said.

"Of course, the ruling party and the team have no such intention or desire (to detain dictator Putin)," the vice speaker said.

Arshakyan also stated that Armenia does not want to harm its strategic relations with Russia.

"One thing is clear: we have heard the concerns expressed by the Russian Federation, and I think we will be able to ensure that the further process related to the Rome Statute does not harm the strategic relations between Armenia and Russia," he said.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russias childrens ombudsperson, Maria Lvova-Belova, for their involvement in the unlawful kidnapping of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation since Feb. 24, 2022.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has documented the deportation of over 16,000 children from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson oblasts, but the actual number could be much higher. Ukraine has only been able to return 308 children to their homes.

Read also:

Ukraine's Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, stated that Putin can be arrested in the 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. All EU countries, including Germany, are signatories.

Story continues

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov have argued that the arrest warrant is "legally null and void" because Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Reuters) - German armsmaker Rheinmetall is building a military maintenance and logistics hub in Satu Mare, Romania, expected to begin operation this month to service weapons used for the war in Ukraine, the company said on Sunday.

"The service hub should play a central role in maintaining the operational readiness of western combat systems in use in Ukraine and ensuring the availability of logistical support," a spokesperson for the company said.

The hub, located near the border with Ukraine, will service self-propelled howitzers, Leopard 2 and Challenger tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Fuchs armoured transport vehicles and military trucks.

"It is a key concern for us at Rheinmetall to provide the NATO forces and Ukraine with the best possible support," Chief Executive Armin Papperger said in a statement.

Rheinmetall founded a similar center in Lithuania in June 2022 to provide support to NATO vehicles in the Baltic states.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Inverardi; Editing by David Holmes)
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is running for president in 2024, he said Sunday.

I am going to be running. And the reason, as I've traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country, and I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts, Hutchinson said during an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABCs This Week. I believe I can be that kind of leader for the people of America.

Hutchinson will make a formal announcement later this month in Bentonville, Arkansas, he said.

Hutchinson is entering the GOP primary at a tumultuous time in the race, as its current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, faces an indictment stemming from a case related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.



On Sunday, Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor, reiterated the call he first made Friday for Trump to withdraw from the race.

Well he should, Hutchinson said, when asked whether Trump should pull out of the race. But at the same time, we know he's not [going to]. And there's not any constitutional requirement.

The indictment will become too big of a sideshow, Hutchinson said, adding that the former president should focus on his defense instead of another bid for the White House.

I mean, first of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think thats too much of a sideshow and distraction, and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process, Hutchinson said, acknowledging that the former president should be presumed innocent of the charges, which the Manhattan District Attorneys office have yet to publicly unveil.

Hutchinson joins whats expected to be a competitive Republican primary. In addition to Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have launched campaigns, and several others have said theyre considering joining the fray.



So far, Hutchinson is the only candidate or speculative candidate to call on Trump to remove himself from the race. Others have condemned the investigation as a partisan attack by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney who brought the case to the grand jury. Haley described the case as more about revenge than justice; Former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment an outrage; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the move was un-American.

Hutchinson has also been critical of the case. I don't like the idea of the charges from what I've seen coming out of New York, he said Sunday. But the process has got to work, and we've got to have respect for our criminal justice system, but also for the office of presidency.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson's entry on Sunday into the GOP 2024 presidential primary marks the first potential shakeup in the race since former President Donald Trump's unprecedented indictment last week.

Hutchinson is the first major candidate to jump into the race since criminal charges were brought against the ex-president in a hush-money case in New York, and the self-proclaimed "non-Trump" candidate is offering a measured response compared to his competitors.

"The office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that's too much of a sideshow and distraction," Hutchinson said on ABC's "This Week" of Trump's legal troubles.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson attends the Vision 2024 National Conservative Forum in Charleston, S.C., on March 18, 2023. Hutchinson announced on April 2, 2023 that he will seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Following his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury, several of Trump's 2024 rivals rushed to his defense. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called the indictment an act of "revenge." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it a "weaponization of the legal system."

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy went even further, chastising DeSantis to CBS News as "uncourageous" for not coming to Trump's defense sooner after he predicted his indictment on March 18.

Hutchinson said, however, that while Trump, who will be arraigned Tuesday, has a "presumption of innocence," he should drop out of the race out of respect for the presidency.

"The important thing is that the grand jury found probable cause and that's the standard for any criminal charges in our society and then the presumption of innocence follows you and then there's a trial and the determination of guilt or innocence," he said.

"While we might disagree with what's happening, we don't want to erode confidence in our entire criminal justice system, simply because we don't like the beginning parts of the case," he added.

He first called a potential indictment of the former president a "distraction" in a USA TODAY interview in March before the charges against Trump were announced.

Story continues

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Exclusive: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson: Trump should quit 2024 presidential race if indicted

Hutchinson isn't defending Trump, nor is he supporting his indictment

Hutchinson is not coming to Trump's defense, but the former federal prosecutor has not expressed support for the indictment either. Instead, Hutchinson is maintaining a neutral position, adding that he does not support "the idea of the charges," which are anticipated to be over the falsification of business records.

"I don't like the idea of the charges, from what I've seen coming out of New York," Hutchinson said. "But the process has got to work, and we've got to have respect for our criminal justice system, but also for the office of the presidency."

Hutchinson's view of the case and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been investigating Trump over his alleged involvement in his former legal fixer's payment to Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election, draws a sharp contrast to Republicans who have forcefully attacked the district attorney's office.

Haley called the indictment "revenge by some political people in New York." DeSantis, who is expected to launch a presidential campaign as soon as next month, accused Bragg of "stretching the law to target a political opponent." Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering a White House bid of his own, said Bragg was "playing politics" with the indictment.

Related: GOP ex-Gov. Asa Hutchinson jumps into 2024 presidential race, brands himself 'non-Trump' candidate

2024 Upended: Will Trump's indictment hurt his campaign? Or his rivals? The 2024 race has turned on its head

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson responding during an interview with the Associated Press, Dec. 13, 2022 in Washington.

Is there room in the 2024 GOP race for a 'non-Trump' candidate?

At a time when many Republicans are hesitant to criticize Trump, Hutchinson is seeking to frame himself as a "non-Trump" candidate  something he hopes to portray through his neutrality on Trump's indictment and his open calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race.

"When I say 'Non-Trump,' I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters, I want to be able to speak to all of the party and say this is the leadership I want to provide," Hutchinson said.

'Freaks.' 'Big spenders.': Why 2024 GOP hopefuls Trump, Haley, DeSantis are ripping their own party

When asked whether he thinks he can convince some of Trump's most ardent supporters to vote for him instead, Hutchinson said he thinks as the race progresses, Trump's early support will falter.

"Whenever you look at winning a campaign, you got to find your slice, you got to find your votes, and I hope that we can take some of (Trump's votes)," Hutchinson said. "And I think down the road, that support will diminish for Donald Trump as you look at the future and look at the challenges he faces."

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at the Vision 24 National Conservative Forum March 18, 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First 2024 test: Hutchinson's measured response to Trump indictment
The former governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, has announced his intentions to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

I have made a decision, and my decision is Im going to run for president of the United States, Hutchinson told ABC News.

While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville [Arkansas], I want to make it clear to you . . . I am going to be running. And the reason is, Ive traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. Im convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.

Hutchinsons announcement comes on the heels of Donald Trumps indictment by Manhattans district attorney Alvin Bragg which prompted the former governor to come to the former presidents defense.

It is a dark day for America when a former President is indicted on criminal charges, Hutchinson wrote in an official statement on Thursday.

However, Hutchinson also managed to throw in a jab insisting that it is essential that the decision on Americans 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.

See my statement on the indictment of former President Trump below: pic.twitter.com/sVOwUxrZwL  Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) March 30, 2023

Hutchinson joins a growing field of Republican hopefuls including Trump, Nikki Haley  the former governor of South Carolina  and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

During Hutchinsons time in the Governors Mansion in Little Rock, he gained notoriety for resuming capital punishment executions and supporting a ban of Syrian refugees from entering Arkansas in the wake of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.

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Following the 2020 presidential election, Hutchinson became vocally critical of Republicans promoting conspiracy theories that votes were stolen and that former president Donald Trump was unfairly deprived of a second term in office.

Whenever we do not have the president in power from our party, you have divided leadership  you have many different voices, the Arkansas governor said. And former President Trump is dividing our party, and so its important that we not unite with someone who is dividing our party.

Hutchinson added that relitigating the 2020 election would be a recipe for disaster for Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Hutchinson was succeeded as Arkansas governor by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Donald Trumps former press secretary, earlier this year.

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Bravo to Barbara Savery and Doris K. Reed on their excellent letters that appeared in the Wednesday, March 28 edition of The Desert Sun on gun violence.

I would just like to add a couple more points. The medical profession needs to be much more vocal about the awful carnage wrought by guns of any kind, particularly assault rifles. Sadly, the proliferation of guns leads to an over-weaponized police force afraid of guns on the street and an over-weaponized population fearful of the police and their fellow citizens.

Unfortunately, for some parents, public and school librarians are now more dangerous to their children than guns in the wrong hands. How much better would it be if these parents spent their energy demanding the control of weapons than the banning of certain reading material?

I reiterate the point made by both writers to push our legislators to do as much as they can to make all our society safe.

Rosalind Hoover, Palm Springs

Let's record what the Second Amendment actually says

After the recent Nashville shooting, and the inevitable arguments about the Second Amendment, I would like to submit the following for the record.

Warren Burger, former chief justice of the Supreme Court (and a conservative Republican), was quoted as saying the following: "The gun lobbys interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American [people by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies  the militia  would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires."

Robert Cleveland, Palm Springs

Politician expresses sorrow, does nothing

The legislator from Tennessee who appeared on TV after the shooting expressed sorrow, but made it clear he would do nothing to support reasonable gun control. I wonder if his comments would have been the same had one of his children been a victim, though he mentioned that he has his kids schooled at home. This kind of "Ill protect my kids and tough luck for everyone else" politician deserves to be ousted from office.

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Office holders who refuse to support reasonable gun controls, who receive money from the NRA and other contributors who refuse to adopt reasonable gun controls should be required to disclose the amounts they receive. Knowing who they are would allow the electorate to identify them and vote against hem them in future elections and identify those who deserve recalls.

George Hanover, La Quinta

One politicians advice to gun violence: home school

Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee had the answer to how he protects his daughter at school in Tennessee: she is home-schooled.

To follow his advice every family in the U.S. should decide who is going to home-school their children.

I hope that will not mean that every American family must have a mom or dad quit working to provide the safe education he espouses.

May be hard to balance the family budget with only one income.

Scott Nevison, Palm Springs

Hopefully MAGA ideology will one day cease to exist

MAGA Republicans believe that MAGA stands for Make America Great Again. Ronald Regan introduced this term and then Donald Trump resurrected it to rile up voters telling them they were cast aside or forgotten by Democrats.

Unfortunately, you cannot convince them that Trumps definition of MAGA means going back to when Black Americans were denied voting rights and women were denied reproductive health care. MAGA Republicans remain convinced that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, even though countless investigations in many states, including Pennsylvania, found no significant evidence of election fraud. Even Bill Barr denied election fraud.

Prime time hosts on FOX News keep feeding MAGA viewers misinformation and outright lies about the 2020 election fraud. Privately, they exchanged text messages expressing concern around the unfounded claims. They helped set the Jan. 6insurrection.

MAGA Republicans refuse to recognize that fellow Americans want gun law reform because guns are the leading cause of childrens deaths.

Corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Even more important, protecting free and fair elections for all Americans and saving our Democracy. MAGA Republicans threaten the very foundation of our republic because they fell hook, line and sinker for the big lie. Hopefully, the awful ideology behind MAGA Republicans will one day cease to exist.

Roxie Bivinetto, Palm Desert

Only a liberal can call Fox News a so-called media outlet

The March 12 letter to the editor from reader John Marksbury about the Fox lawsuit was absurd on many levels. It is clear that Mr. Marksbury is a liberal. Only a liberal can call Fox News a so-called media outlet. Based on viewership data, that so-called media outlet consistently outperforms other media outlets like CNN, MSNBC  no doubt Marksburys favorites. Having demonstrated his ignorance and bias, Mr. Marksbury then goes on to make a personal attack on one of Foxs top opinion journalists  Tucker Carlson. Why Carlsons educational or personal life is a factor here is a mystery, though it demonstrates Marksburys infantile jealousy of Carlson. What does any of that have to do with the Fox lawsuit?

Many on the right believe the election was stolen. The mainstream media is complicit to the extent they have not examined the fraud that has been uncovered. They remain (excluding Fox) a fully supportive subsidiary of the Democratic Party. It is they (CNN, MSNBC, et al) who have committed widespread propaganda. It apparently worked on people like John Marksbury.

But dont take my word for it. Consider the words from a once prominent liberal, Dr. Naomi Wolf, who has only recently issued a full-throated apology to the right, conservatives and MAGA Republicans.

Paul Forrest, La Quinta

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Assault rifle carnage must stop
Matt Damon (left) and Ben Affleck (right) have been friends for 42 years. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, best friends of 42 years, are teaming up for their new film, "Air."

In a recent interview with The Boston Globe, the duo discussed working with people you care about.

Who you spend your time with makes up "a very big part of the quality of your life," Affleck said.

Twenty-six years after their rise to fame following the release of "Good Will Hunting," best friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have teamed up for another film, "Air"  and, apparently, are relishing in every second of the partnership.

In separate conversations with The Boston Globe, Affleck and Damon shared what it's like to work with your best friend of 42 years.

"We're old enough now to look back at 25 years and go, well, who you spend your time with at work turns out to make up a very big part of the quality of your life," Affleck told the outlet.

"If you're really lucky, you love what you do and you love who you work with, and as they say back home"  he said, in a Boston accent, "Ya nevah work anothah day in ya life!"

Affleck and Damon met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when they were 8 and 10 years old, respectively. Since becoming childhood friends in the 1980s, the two have gone on to make several movies together, and at one point even shared a bank account to support each other's careers.

Their upcoming film, "Air," directed by Affleck, tells the story of Michael Jordan's eponymous shoe deal with Nike. In the movie, Affleck plays Nike founder Phil Knight, while Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike scout who helped sign Jordan to the brand.

According to the Globe, Damon said he learned early in his career to never take for granted working with people who you care about and admire.

(L-R) Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Christopher Polk/Getty

"I'm very mindful of when I do get to work with people that I love," Damon said. "I appreciate those moments because they are so hard to come by."

Affleck went on to tell the Globe that in addition to having control over who he works with, where he works has become a priority in his life as well. The actor, 50, is married to Jennifer Lopez and shares three children with his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner.

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"It's both creating time for my family and my children. So I don't want to travel," Affleck said. "I can't go to New Orleans for three months or Austin for three months. I don't want to do that anymore, with half-custody  I feel like I'm losing half the time. Breaks my heart. I can't do it anymore."

"It doesn't matter what it comes against," he continued. "Whatever the other thing is, that's gonna lose. You can fucking keep it."

Read the original article on Insider
Feeling frigid temperatures isnt only for humans; pets feel the cold, too. Thats why its essential to protect your dog from the elements. The best jackets for pets can keep them warm during morning walks in the winter, especially for older pets and those with short hair.

Some pet owners may want to give their pets a little style when out on the town. A jacket also can provide safety for your pet, as bright colors can increase your furry friends visibility when outdoors.

This round-up of the best jackets for your pets will ensure your paw pals have the right outerwear for chilly weather.

Hurtta Extreme Warmer

Hurtta Extreme Warmer

$90.00

Buy Now

Hurtta Extreme Warmer

Photo Credit: Amazon

Hurtta Extreme Warmer are popular jackets for pets and a top pick for keeping dogs warm in cold weather conditions. Made by the Finnish brand Hurtta, the company specializes in high-quality dog gear.

The Extreme Warmer features a waterproof and breathable outer shell, as well as a warm inner lining made of soft fleece. The design covers a dogs entire body, including the chest and belly, providing full coverage and protection from the cold. The jacket also features adjustable straps in addition to a high collar to ensure a comfortable, snug fit.

Additionally, the outwear has reflective strips for improved visibility in low-light conditions, making it a safe choice for early morning or evening walks.

Dog Helios Arctic Blast

Dog Helios Arctic Blast

$55.69

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Dog Helios Arctic Blast

Photo Credit: Amazon

Arctic Blast is the type of dog jacket fitting for extreme weather conditions. Dog Helios delivers high-performance dog gear and this full-body winter coat will protect your fur babies from the elements.

Providing full coverage and protection from the cold, wind and rain, this jacket is ideal for outdoor activities in harsh weather. The jacket features three-layered construction, including a waterproof outer shell, a breathable membrane and a soft fleece lining. Reflective stitching and tubing bring an added layer of safety at night.

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Arctic Blast also features a heating system powered by a rechargeable battery for additional warmth. The unique heating system is easily adjustable with a button located on the jacket. Pet owners can adjust the temperature to their dogs comfort level.

RELATED: 5 of the Best Items To Help You Travel With A Pet

Ruffwear Overcoat Fleece

Ruffwear Overcoat Fleece

$69.95

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Ruffwear Overcoat Fleece

Photo Credit: Amazon

The Overcoat Fleece features a durable, water-resistant outer shell and a warm, cozy fleece lining. The all-purpose vest design also features a leash portal to easily dress over most harnesses.

The reflective trim increases the visibility of pets in low-light conditions. Ruffwears overcoat fleece can easily slip on and off with side-release buckles allowing a secure and comfortable fit.

Its machine-washable material makes cleaning and maintenance easy to manage.

Carhartt Firm Duck Coat

Carhartt Firm Duck Coat

$34.99

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Carhartt Firm Duck Coat

Photo Credit: Amazon

The Dog Chore Coat is made from the same durable, water-repellent material as the human version of this Carhartt classic. Highly rated by more than 1,000 customers, the durable coat for pups also is insulated with a soft Sherpa lining.

Adjustable hook-and-loop closures at the neck and chest ensure a secure and comfortable fit. Firm-hand duck canvas and quilted nylon lining materials add warmth to the design. The Dog Chore Coat also features a corduroy collar for extra comfort along with a range of other practical and functional details. The coats leash opening on the back makes leash attachment easy, and a Carhartt logo patch is on the side for added style.

Carhartt is a popular choice among pet owners who enjoy outdoor activities with their dogs, such as hiking, hunting and camping.

RELATED: Black-owned Pet Hotels for Traveling Pet Parents

Our editors love finding you the best products and offers! If you purchase something by clicking on one of the affiliate links on our website, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
President Biden still hasnt visited East Palestine, Ohio , one month after saying he would visit the town impacted by the toxic chemical spill "at some point."

On March 2, almost a full month after the Feb. 3 train derailment that dumped toxic chemicals in the Ohio town, Biden said he would be heading to East Palestine sometime in the future.

BIDEN SAYS HELL VISIT EAST PALESTINE - BUT WONT SAY WHEN

"As the president said, he will go to East Palestine," a White House official told Fox News Digital Friday. "Today he is in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, a community that has suffered immense loss: 13 lives tragically lost, homes destroyed, businesses leveled.

"Were committed to helping this community recover just as were committed to continuing to support the people of East Palestine, where federal teams at the presidents direction remain on the ground to this day to support response efforts and hold Norfolk Southern accountable.

"The CDC has been going door to door to check in on families and has collected over 1,000 health surveys to date," the official added. "And the Department of Justice announced that it is suing Norfolk Southern to seek damages and hold them accountable."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The official said within "about two hours of Norfolk Southern notifying them of the derailment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) sprang into action and were on the scene in East Palestine."

Ohio EPA and federal EPA contractors collect soil and air samples from the derailment site March 9, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio.

Additionally, the official said that with "the state in charge and the EPA leading the federal response, they quickly got to work holding the rail company accountable, containing the damage and monitoring for environmental impacts.

"President Biden reached out to governors (Mike) DeWine and (Josh) Shapiro soon after the train derailed to offer additional federal assistance, and his team has kept members of Congress and state and local leaders updated on response efforts throughout. The president has directed his team to ensure the states have everything they need for as long as they need it."

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Biden made his pledge to visit East Palestine after mounting pressure to do so after the derailment and toxic chemical spill.

Standing alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after a closed-door meeting with Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday, Biden was asked by reporters whether he will visit Ohio.

"I've spoken with every official in Ohio, Democrat and Republican, on a continuous basis, as in Pennsylvania," the president replied.

He said he "laid out" during his meeting with senators what he thinks "the answers are" to handling the train wreck, adding, "We will be implementing an awful lot to the legislation here."

That came in reference to a bipartisan bill introduced last month by Ohio's two U.S. senators aimed at improving rail safety protocols.

"And I will be out there at some point," Biden said without elaborating on a time frame.

Following the spill, Biden reached out to Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to offer federal assistance if needed.

"The president called me and said, Anything you need. I have not called him back after that conversation," DeWine told reporters in February. "We will not hesitate to do that if were seeing a problem or anything, but Im not seeing it."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed reporting.
Blac Chyna and her kids, King Cairo and Dream. Paras Griffin/Getty Images; @blacchyna/Instagram

Blac Chyna said her kids were unfazed by her recent surgeries on Friday's "Sway in the Morning."

Chyna said her kids simply said "OK" when she told them about her procedures.

She documented her recent physical changes on Instagram, calling them a "life-changing journey."

Blac Chyna, whose birth name is Angela White, revealed that her kids didn't have much of a reaction to her recent breast- and butt-reduction surgeries.

While speaking on Sirius XM's radio show "Sway in the Morning" on Friday, the model, 34, described the conversation she had with her children following her procedures.

"When I came back from my surgery, they're like, 'So, why you laying like that?'" Chyna said. "I'm like, 'Mommy just had surgery.' They're like, 'So, what did you get?' I'm like, 'I got my boobies and my butt smaller.'"

To that, Chyna said her kids just said "OK."

Chyna has two children: King Cairo, 10, who she shares with Tyga; and Dream, 6, who she had with Rob Kardashian.

According to Chyna, her daughter, Dream, was more fascinated by her mom's shorter nails than anything else.

"When Dream saw my nails, she was like, 'Your nails!'" Chyna said. "Because she looks up to me and every time she's like, 'I can't wait 'til I get older so I can get long nails, Mommy.'''

"So, now when she sees my nails, she's like, 'Ooh, you have short nails. I like your nails.' It's more relatable to her and showing her that you don't have to have long nails."

According to a March 13 Instagram video, her breast- and butt-reduction surgeries are just two parts of what Chyna has called her "life-changing journey," which involves other modifications to her physical appearance.

In March, she revealed that she'd had her facial filler removed, saying it was "time for a change." Then, in a video posted to Instagram, the TV personality revealed she'd be removing her tattoos, including one of Baphomet, a deity that's often associated with the occult.

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"I don't want anything negative or demonic on my body anymore," Chyna said in the video.

In addition to her physical changes, Chyna has also chosen to go by her birth name, Angela White.

"Well, it was given to me by birth, but mostly for me it's getting back to myself," Chyna told Forbes earlier this month.

Read the original article on Insider
Black students still make up more than their fair share of disciplinary interactions with campus police, new data from Fresno Unified show.

Trustees voted in June to restore contracts with the Fresno Police Department, providing middle school campuses with Student Resource Officers, or SROs. The contracts for the districts middle schools had lapsed during a tense, pandemic-era debate over the role of law enforcement in schools and amid renewed efforts by some to defund the police in the wake of George Floyds murder.

Fresno police faced new stipulations in these most recent contracts with Fresno Unified, however, including being tasked with more thoroughly tracking their interactions with students. Out of that came a new district data tool where officers log both positive and discipline-related interactions with students, as well as instances when students report safety concerns to them.

The latest batch of this data  which covers the period from August 2022 through mid-March  shows that Black students and students with disabilities comprise a disproportionate amount of disciplinary interactions with campus police.

Specifically, Black students represent only around 8% of the districts over 70,000 students, while they represented roughly 17% of disciplinary interactions. Students with disabilities make up about 11% of the student population but also comprised around 17% of these interactions.

Thats bringing back old concerns for some, including Trustee Veva Islas, whos been critical of certain aspects of the districts contracts with law enforcement and how they affect students.

There still seems to be some inequity with some of our students of color, Islas said of the SRO data during a recent Fresno Unified board workshop on safety.

Thats concerning, and I want to make sure that were interacting in ways that  are mitigating that, she added, that (are) not driven by racism. That we are trying to make the investments that allow all of our students to be successful, and that were not creating these pipelines into prison.

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The data on Black students also mirror the Fresno Police Departments records on student arrests. Black students share of arrests by SROs in the fall 2022 semester decreased overall from pre-pandemic levels but remained disproportionate, according to a February report shared with The Bees Education Lab.

Fresno police officers told the Ed Lab in an interview that officers involvement in disciplinary incidents is often at the request of school staff rather than self-initiated  and that disciplinary interventions are just a small part of what they do on campuses.

The last thing our men and women in the schools want is to take enforcement action, said Capt. Tom Rowe. Now, we have to provide for the safety of the school, and theres certain behaviors that are going to require that. Weapons on campus  you cant really look the other way right now on that one.

They want to serve (as) that positive role model, he added, that bridge between the school, the staff and law enforcement. And I think that gets overlooked.

The data

The SRO data tool, first piloted last March, prompts officers to self-report interactions with Fresno Unified students under one of three categories: a positive interaction, a discipline incident, or a safety concern, based on the officers discretion.

The vast majority of interactions logged in the tool fall under the first category: 2,369 out of 2,823, or roughly 84%. Positive interactions were recorded with students across all races and other subgroups noted in the reports.

There were much fewer safety concerns and disciplinary incidents recorded  202 and 252, respectively.

While Black students made up a disproportionate amount of the disciplinary interactions in particular, other student groups were either proportionate or in some cases under-represented in the data.

For instance, Hispanic students  who represent just over 69% of the student body  made up a proportionate percentage of just under 69% of disciplinary interactions.

White and Asian students, on the other hand, made up a disproportionately low share of the disciplinary interactions. The former makes up about 8.3% of the student body but only about 6% of disciplinary interactions. The latter represents almost 11% of FUSD students but less than 3% of the reported disciplinary interactions.

Other student groups within Fresno Unified were also overrepresented in the SRO data on discipline, including students with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and foster youth.

Student arrest data tracked by the Fresno Police Department tell a similar story of Black students being disproportionately represented.

Black students made up 16.5% of student arrests but only about 8% of students on campuses with an SRO during the fall 2022 semester.

The data are not exclusive to Fresno Unifieds SROs, however, and include Central Unified and Sanger Unified campuses that also have contracts with Fresno PD.

Arrests also cover an array of outcomes with law enforcement: from being referred to peer mediation to being booked into the Fresno County Juvenile Justice Campus.

Fresno officers respond to behaviors not race, police say

When asked about disparities in the data, Fresno police said that everything they do is with the intention of keeping campuses safe.

We actually respond to behaviors or activities, Rowe said. It doesnt matter what ethnic group is involved, and if theyre involved in something that warrants a law enforcement response, were obligated to respond.

Campus police usually arent initiating their involvement in disciplinary actions, officers emphasized, but rather responding to staff needs.

The latest contracts with PD also stipulate scenarios when officers are not to take any enforcement action, said Sgt. Anthony Alvarado.

An example is a mutual fight with no injury. Were not going to automatically hang a case on a kid for that, he said. Thats going to be a school discipline (case) only.

Officers arent always initiating the reported safety concerns, either, but are typically hearing concerns from students.

Thats a positive, Rowe said, that those relationships are in place, and the students are feeling comfortable enough to do that.

Those two categories  discipline incidents and safety concerns  should be accurately reflected in the self-reported data, Alvarado said, while positive interactions may be underreported because of how theyre logged.

Officers arent asking students about their race or disability status at the end of an interaction. Instead, they will either ask a student or administrator for their ID number to upload into the self-reporting system, but that doesnt always happen if it doesnt come up organically.

Fresno trustee calls for more training in schools

Despite the provisions in place to prevent over-disciplining students, concerns with how these interactions may be affecting some of Fresno Unifieds students remain.

Islas also voiced concerns about the vast preponderance of interactions reported between campus police and the districts students with disabilities.

These are students that are displaying or having a lot more stress in their life, that are acting out. Sometimes its beyond their ability to self-regulate, she said.

How are we helping to defuse situations by more professional learning so that these are not just the students that were seeing with high rates of interactions with our SROs?

On the SRO side, PD told the Ed Lab that officers wont necessarily know a student has a disability prior to an interaction.

We dont know how the child is classified, Rowe said, until we have that contact and log it into the system.

At the board workshop, Islas called for more training to help all safety personnel on campus appropriately interact with students with disabilities.

The trustee also cited parallels between trends in the SRO data and the districts suspension and expulsion rates.

An Ed Lab analysis of last years suspension data indicated that Fresno Unified suspended Black students, students with disabilities, and foster and homeless students at an above-average rate in the 2021-22 school year.

Fresno Unifieds suspension rate  as well as the rates at several of Fresno Countys largest districts  also exceeded the state average.

FUSDs suspension rate is currently on track to be higher this year, although thats tentative data, district spokesperson Nikki Henry said in a March 20 email to the Ed Lab.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the State Department said Sunday, calling for the release of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in Russia on Thursday on espionage charges.

Blinken conveyed the United States grave concern over Russias unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist, and called for Gershkovichs immediate release, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement.

The call between Blinken and Lavrov marks a rare communication between high-level U.S. and Russian officials amid tension over Russias war in Ukraine. Gershkovichs detention is the most high-profile arrest of a U.S. citizen since the war began, though WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested days before Russia launched its invasion. She has since been released.

The Wall Street Journal has denied the charges and demanded Gershkovichs release.



Evan is a member of the free press who right up until he was arrested was engaged in newsgathering. Any suggestions otherwise are false, Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a message to staff last week.

Other news organizations, including POLITICO, have also urged his release.

Blinken also called for the release of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges since 2018.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that he had spoken to his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, about the detention of Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Gershkovich was arrested last week in Russia on charges of spying for Washington, Russia's FSB security services claimed Thursday. Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker told "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the charges against Gershkovich are "entirely bogus," but she said hearing that Blinken and Lavrov spoke is "hugely reassuring to us."

"We're hoping that the government will move swiftly to designate Evan as wrongfully detained," Tucker said. "It can take a long time, but we're hoping, we're optimistic it'll move a bit more swiftly in this case. When that happens, it's an official recognition that the charges against Evan are entirely bogus. And once that official recognition comes, things can then move a bit more rapidly."

Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, is seen in an undated photo from his LinkedIn profile. / Credit: Evan Gershkovich/LinkedIn

According to the statement from the Secretary of State's office, Blinken "conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist" and "called for his immediate release."

The FSB security services last said they had "halted the illegal activities of U.S. citizen Evan Gershkovich," saying The Wall Street Journal reporter was "suspected of spying in the interests of the American government."

Gershkovich, 31, was working with press accreditation issued by the Russian foreign ministry. But the statement said he had been detained for gathering information "on an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex."

Tucker wouldn't elaborate on what story Gershkovich was working on, but said he was "doing what he always does he was out reporting."

"He's a very experienced reporter," Tucker said. "He's covered all sorts of stories. He was on a mission over in the East writing about ... he was just doing what he always does. He was news-gathering and talking to his contacts out there. "

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Tucker said they were "hopeful" they will be in contact with Gershkovich in the next week. In the meantime, the paper has pulled their Moscow bureau chief out of Russia.

Wall Street Journal editor says it's "hugely reassuring" Blinken spoke to Russia's top diplomat

Bolton says it's a "big mistake, politically" for Republicans to align with Trump

Bharara says "it's a little bit rich" of former AG Barr to call Bragg "political"
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson during their Thursday night rally. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

CHICAGO  Two months ago, nobody was comparing Brandon Johnson to Barack Obama, as Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers did at a Thursday rally headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Nobody was saying, as the Nation has, that Johnson could be Chicagos most transformative mayor in decades. Nobody really knew who he was.

Everything changed last month with Johnsons second-place finish in the first round of voting in Chicagos mayoral race. National attention turned to the shores of Lake Michigan just in time to recalibrate political compasses ahead of 2024s presidential and congressional races.

He rose to prominence in Chicago very quickly, says Tracy Mayfield, a top political consultant in the city. Like others who spoke to Yahoo News for this article, Mayfield had been impressed by Johnsons rapid ascent from a virtually unknown local politician to a national sensation. There are elements of Brandon Johnson that feel very transformational, she said.

The question is whether or not Johnson has staying power.

The answer should arrive on Tuesday, when he and Paul Vallas, also a Democrat, face off in Chicagos mayoral runoff. Vallas is 69. He is white and moderate. Johnson just turned 46. He is Black and progressive. Both think the other would be a disaster as mayor.

Supporters of Brandon Johnson during his Chicago rally with Bernie Sanders. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A school reformer with a long but disputed record, Vallas has pitched himself as a wonk in an effort to insulate his campaign from attacks that he is a conservative in disguise. Johnson has also tried to reassure voters about his own ideological commitments, less with detailed policy proposals (though his campaign has those) than with expressions of deep attachment to the city where he was born and raised.

The most radical thing we can do as a city is to love the people of Chicago, the ebullient Cook County commissioner said at a celebration of his second-place finish in the first round of voting, in which Mayor Lori Lightfoot  the first Black woman to lead the city  finished a deflating third, becoming the first incumbent mayor since Jane Byrne in 1983 to lose a reelection bid.

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Johnsons problem, though, is that there are many voters in Chicago who emphatically do not want radical things. They want the recent rash of carjackings and shootings to stop, and more to be done about the systemic crime that has plagued many neighborhoods for decades. They want better schools and more affordable housing. They want subway trains that dont require dramatic rescues.

Johnson says he gets all that, vowing that he can be progressive and practical at the same time. The right investment transforms the city of Chicago, he told Yahoo News in an interview. Theres more than enough for everyone.

He envisions a Chicago version of the progressive Green New Deal. He wants to open community schools with arts education and sports. He wants to find housing for Central American migrants arriving on buses from Texas and other border states.

Mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas shake hands before the start of a debate. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP)

His most controversial  and disputed  positions have to do with policing. In 2020, Johnson voiced support for the movement to defund police departments and replace armed officers with social workers. He has since backed off that stance, but Vallas has continued to press the point.

Johnson has deemed the attacks unfair, but he has also refused to adopt the kind of law-and-order messaging that might reassure skittish moderates. And he remains convinced that armed officers are not always best equipped to deal with crises; among his proposals is a Treatment Not Trauma program that would deploy mental health professionals, not just police officers, when responding to emergency calls involving people in the throes of psychic distress.

Im tethered to the interests of working people, Johnson says, invoking his own upbringing in the citys western suburbs. Working people are going to elect one of their own.

Johnson grew up in Elgin, on the western boundary of Chicago. He had nine siblings. Their house had a single bathroom. His father was a pastor, a link that has proved helpful politically. Johnson has won support from influential Black clergy in Chicago, as well as from Martin Luther King III.

I think he has his finger on the pulse of what people need, said Floyd Howard, a contractor and community leader in the South Side neighborhood of Manor Park.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks with a Chicago Police commander during the National Night Out rally against violence in 2019. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters)

On a recent afternoon, Johnson campaigned on Howards block of Calumet Avenue, a coterie of aides and a reporter from a French outlet in tow. As he went from house to house, Johnson chatted warmly with residents, who stood in doors that sported home alarm-company stickers. He spoke fluently about lowering sergeant-to-officer ratios in the Chicago Police Department, and about promoting more officers to the rank of detective to bolster the citys homicide clearance rates, which are especially dismal in Black neighborhoods.

Stilted on the debate stage, Johnson is charismatic and easygoing in person. He lives with his family in Austin, a South Side neighborhood where violence is all too common. He told one Park Manor resident that when his 6-year-old son rides a bike down the street, he worries about stray bullets, not speeding cars.

Crime consistently tops the list of Chicagoans concerns. Those concerns have grown especially acute in the last three years, as the social and economic tumult of the pandemic saw violent crime spike across the country. The increase has been especially pronounced here In 2021, Chicago saw more murders  797  than any year in the last quarter century. Property crime rose sharply in 2022, with the frequency of carjackings and auto thefts emerging as an especially worrisome trend.

Crime has been coming to communities that frankly haven't seen as much violent crime in a long time, says Mayfield. Whiter, wealthier neighborhoods on the citys North Side had long been insulated from problems that South Side residents experienced as a daily reality. That is no longer the case.

Chicago police officers stand as the the body of an officer who was fatally shot is brought to the Cook County medical examiner's office last month. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

It feels very close to home to many people, Mayfield says. Many people know someone who has been carjacked.

This near-universal feeling of public disorder undoubtedly contributed to Lightfoots embarrassing defeat  and to the emergence of Vallas, who focused relentlessly on public safety. There is little transformative about his plan to hire more officers; rather, his main argument seems to be that entrusting the department to a defund proponent would be folly.

Johnson has found plenty of vulnerabilities in the Vallas record, too. He has charged that his opponent is little more than a stalking horse for the national GOP. He has pointed to support for Vallas from Ken Griffin, a hedge funder who is also a top backer of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a hard-right likely presidential contender. Johnson has also flagged a Vallas campaign contribution from a group tied to Betsy DeVos, the Trump-era education secretary and religious education proponent.

It is sometimes easy to forget that both men are Democrats, so thoroughly has each candidate caricatured the other while downplaying his own more controversial positions.

Democrats have been in charge of Chicago for a century. Only they are not the right Democrats, according to Johnson, who says past mayors have been beholden either to the citys notorious Daley family political machine. Or they always looked to the national establishment, like Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obamas former chief of staff. Maybe they were combative loners like Lightfoot, finding few friends on either right or left.

Republicans and Democrats have collaborated to move austerity budgets, Johnson told Yahoo News.

Paul Vallas talks with voters during his campaign at Ann Sather Restaurant in Chicago.(Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Johnson says he will pay for his plans with six new taxes, including those on corporations, airlines and hotels, which he argues would bring $2 billion per year into city coffers and allow him to implement his proposals. Detractors say his plans are unrealistic and unworkable, and that he is unlikely to raise more than $800 million from his proposed new levies.

Chicagos well positioned for a progressive champion, he said. This is also the city that elected Harold Washington.

Tuesdays vote will come exactly 40 years after the 1983 mayoral race in which Washington became Chicagos first Black mayor, which remains a watershed moment in the citys politics. Washington broke with the Daley machine to defeat the younger Richard Daley (that would be Richard M.; his father was Richard J.) and incumbent Byrne, the citys first woman mayor, in the Democratic primary.

Republican candidate Bernie Epton, an effete state legislator with little political skill, was seen as a final bulwark against Washington. His campaign was framed in all-but-explicit racial terms, with one notorious advertisement warning voters: Epton For Mayor. Before Its Too Late. Eptons allies spread the rumor that Washington would appoint the Rev. Jesse Jackson as his police chief, an especially preposterous assertion since Washington disliked Jackson.

Harold Washington campaigning along Chicago's State Street in 1983. (Lee Balgemann/AP)

Washington narrowly prevailed, but the racism he encountered remains an all-too-potent reminder of how quickly racial animus had risen to the surface. In 2023, Johnson has arguably faced similar attacks. Eptons son felt compelled to publish an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune, urging Vallas not to succumb to race-baiting, as his father had.

Pivot to a different message, Jeff Epton wrote. One that unites. That envisions a single city, unified in its pursuit of equity and justice. Hit that message hard, even if it costs you a victory.

Several days later, local police union leader John Catanzara warned that there would be blood on the streets if Johnson were elected. (Vallas, who had been endorsed by the union, condemned the remark.)

Its dangerous, Johnson told Yahoo News, suggesting that he could face an insurrection if he were to win on Tuesday. Theyre turning yet another election into a mockery. This has a lot of reminiscence around January 6. Vallas has given no sign that he would refuse to accept the elections results.

Race relations today are not as calcified as they were in 1983, but it is impossible to wage a campaign in this city once famous for its ethnic fiefdoms without being highly attuned to demographics.

Brandon Johnson waves to supporters in Chicago. (Paul Beaty/AP)

Chicago has roughly equal populations of white, Black and Latino residents. But those broad categories say little about the fissures large and small that Vallas and Johnson must negotiate in the campaigns final days.

Johnson has solid support with white progressives. Endorsements from national figures like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Chicago-bred celebrities like the rapper and activist Common and alt-country band Wilco, have only burnished his credentials in predominantly white, wealthier neighborhoods like Hyde Park, near the University of Chicago campus, and fashionable Lakeview, on the North Side.

White progressives really like Brandon, and theyre very enthusiastic, says Pete Giangreco, an influential political consultant who has worked for Bill Clinton, Obama and other Democrats. Youd walk over glass, Giangreco says. You're knocking doors, you're posting stuff on social media.

Only white progressives were already firmly in Johnsons camp, just as white moderates are thoroughly behind Vallas. There are no undecided whites in this race, Giangreco says.

Polls suggest that Vallas has made considerable inroads with Black and Latino voters, which could be an ominous sign for Johnson. Whereas Washingtons campaign marshaled 70% turnout from the Black electorate in 1983 and consequently reaped 85% of the Black vote, Johnson simply cannot rely on such margins. He is not established enough politically; nor are racial voting blocs anywhere as solid as they used to be. Indeed, Black voters have recently formed the core of the Democratic Partys moderate faction, boosting figures like President Biden and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, both of whom defeated progressives in their respective primaries.

Brandon Johnson is live-streamed as he visits a homeless encampment under an interstate freeway. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

Black voters are on edge about crime, but many of them are unsure about Vallas, who has pledged to hire 1,500 new officers. At the same time, many are also uneasy about Johnson. In areas like Bronzeville, a historically Black middle class community, Lightfoot was the top vote-getter; both Vallas and Johnson are now vying to win over her supporters.

Johnson is a very, very talented politician candidate. He's really good. He's got a very bright future, Giangreco says. But if he loses, it'll be because he coughed up 30% of the Black electorate.

Although policing has been at the forefront of the runoff election, education is not far behind. Johnson taught for four years and later became a Chicago Teachers Union organizer. He remains a member of the union, a powerful force in city politics. Nobody has made the case against Vallas more forcefully than the CTU, which appeared to break its own rules by asking members to pay an extra $8 to fund Johnsons campaign.

The CTU has deep roots in the Black community, but its image was battered by a resistance to reopen schools during the coronavirus pandemic  a resistance that lasted longer in Chicago than in most other major American cities.

Bitterness thus lingers. The teachers were popular, says consultant Giangreco. After COVID, their numbers flipped. Now they're upside down, he says, with a majority holding unfavorable views. He says the trend is especially pronounced among white and Latino households but adds that even among Black voters, where they have their best numbers, you still have a core 20%, 25%, 30% of the community like, You know, Ive kind of had it with these guys.

Brandon Johnson supporters wave signs during a rally. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Vallas is blasting the CTU for dirty tricks in the campaigns closing days, while the police union is warning of an exodus of its police officers if Johnson wins. Johnson has been forced to answer questions about unpaid water and sewage bills, an echo of the controversy over Washingtons unpaid taxes in 1983.

Chicagoans are tired, and many are anxious. Johnson wants to reassure them in Bill Clintons classic I-feel-your-pain-style. If he does not yet have rhetorical skills equal to the former presidents, he has a compelling story of his own.

I know what it takes to live and survive in this city, Johnson says. He understands that the rhetoric of his opponents is meant to discourage voters, to make them uncertain enough to stay home.

Fear is a powerful force in politics, but Brandon Johnson believes it can be overcome.

We have something more powerful, he says. And thats the power of hope. The power of love.
The late 1800s was the age of the railroad. Trains steamed across the hills, valleys, and plains of a growing United States, steadily bringing distant communities closer together. Thousands of miles of track were laid down by thousands of men to build a rail network that brought people and goods from one end of the country to the other. One of the most important figures in Texas railroad development was business titan Jay Gould.

Born Jason Gould in Roxbury, New York, into a farming family in 1836, he grew to hate farming. As a result, his father, John Burr Gould, reportedly left him at a boarding school with 50 cents and a few changes of clothes. Gould, however, was a quick study with an aptitude for math. As a young man, he found work as an accountant and as a surveyor.

Bridges

By 1859, he started investing heavily in railroads. After the Civil War, he concentrated on New York-area railways, earning impressive profits and steadily gaining more influence in the railroad industry. The Civil War had delayed railroad construction in the South, and Gould became determined to expand his holdings in the region, ultimately buildings lines from Missouri to Texas and west to Colorado. He formed the Texas and Pacific Railroad by an agreement with the state legislature in 1871. By 1873, he gained control of the powerful Erie Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad, taking advantage of financial crises and scandals surrounding both companies. In 1879, he took control of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, giving him effective control of one-sixth of the nations rails.

As Gould looked west of the Mississippi River, he quickly moved to crush his rivals. Gould merged his many company interests and built hundreds of miles completing tracks across the region. The St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, in which Gould had heavily invested, had completed a line from St. Louis to the Texas border by this time. As the Texas and Pacific reached the Arkansas state line in 1873, he parceled out the land connected his railway with the Iron Mountain route and formed the city of Texarkana at the junction of the railroads and the state boundaries.

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Gould would buy the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad in 1881 to more fully incorporate his Missouri Pacific network. Fort Worth would become an important terminus for his railroad as he pushed his railroad empire steadily westward. The Missouri Pacific would become a powerful force in locomotive passenger and freight traffic across the Southwest. In fact, MoPac, an acronym for the railroad, is a heavily-traveled road in Austin and was named for the railway. By the 1890s, Goulds companies promised passengers train travel from Chicago, Illinois, to California, through Texas, in just three days.

He would be responsible for the names of several cities across the nation as his railroads rolled through. Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania, was renamed for him. Gould, Ohio, was named after one of his railroad depots in 1881. Paragould, in the northeast corner of Arkansas, was named for Gould and Texas and St. Louis Railroad owner and rival J. W. Paramore when the town was founded at the intersections of their two routes in 1882.

Gould was both admired and hated in his day. He had become incredibly successful in the railroad industry, but his labor policies sparked some of the largest labor strikes in Texas History.

For all of his accomplishments in building railroads, he did not live a long life to enjoy it. Gould died of tuberculosis in New York City in 1892. Though railroads have declined in relative importance since his day, the railroad magnate put Texas and America on the path to the twentieth century.

Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Bridges: Jay Gould laid foundation for Texas railroad, national lines
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's interior minister Suella Braverman said she was convinced Rwanda was a safe country to resettle migrants who had arrived in Britain illegally but she declined to set any deadline for the first deportations to the country.

The British government is hoping to send thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away to the East African country as part of a 120 million pound ($148 million) deal to deter asylum seekers crossing the English Channel from France in small boats.

The plan was announced in April 2022, but the first deportation flight was blocked by an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights. London's High court ruled in December the scheme was legal, but opponents are seeking to appeal that ruling.

Britain last month set out details of a new law barring the entry of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel that will prevent them from claiming asylum and will aim to deport them either back to their homeland or to so-called safe third countries.

Some charities say the proposed law could be impractical and criminalise the efforts of thousands of genuine refugees.

Braverman was asked by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg about a violent protest over rations in a camp in Rwanda in 2018, which Rwandan police said resulted in the deaths of at least five refugees.

Braverman said she was not familiar with that case but was "on strong ground" in saying Rwanda was a safe country, and she added that it was the right solution for Britain's small boats problem.

"We're looking at 2023 and beyond," she said on Sunday. "The High Court - senior expert judges - have looked into the detail of our arrangement with Rwanda and found it to be a safe country and found our arrangements to be lawful."

Braverman, who visited Rwanda last month, would not give a deadline for the first flight to depart.

"We have to be realistic," she told Sky News. "We had a very strong victory in the High Court at the end of last year on Rwanda. We've now introduced legislation. We want to move as quickly as possible to relocate people from the UK to Rwanda."

($1 = 0.8108 pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia for 10 months after being arrested in early 2022, said she has great concern for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was taken into Russian custody last week.

Our hearts are filled with great concern for Evan Gershkovich and his family since Evans detainment in Russia, Griner said in a statement with her wife posted on Instagram Saturday. We must do everything in our power to bring him and all Americans home.

Gershkovich was taken into custody in Russia last week after being accused of spying, which the Journal has denied. The newspaper and President Biden have joined others in urging Moscow to release Gershkovich.

Griners nearly year-long detainment in Russia made international headlines after the WNBA star was arrested at an airport near Moscow on drug charges for allegedly having hashish oil in her luggage. The WNBA, NCAA and Olympic champion was serving a nine-year sentence for the charge before she was released in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia in December.

Since then, Griner has continued to advocate for Americans who are detained abroad. The Griners in their statement also nodded to the release of Jeff Woodke more than six years after his kidnapping in Niger and Paul Rusesabagina, a U.S. legal resident, who was imprisoned in Rwanda for more than two years, applauding the Biden administration.

Gershkovichs detainment in the country has been met with an outpouring of support from news outlets and media organizations that have pressured the Russian government to free the reporter.

Every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all, the Griners said in their statement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WYNNE, Ark.  Residents across a wide swath of the U.S. raced Sunday to assess the destruction from fierce storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast, killing at least 32 people.

The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital and also collapsed the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, stunning people throughout the region with the scope of the damage.

The number of deaths continued to grow Sunday.

While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses, President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Biden earlier declared broad areas of the country major disaster areas, making federal resources and financial aid available for recovery.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas, where at least five people were killed, already had declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods.

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado was responsible for damage to several homes near Bridgeville, Delaware. One person was found dead inside a house heavily damaged by the storm Saturday night, Delaware State Police reported.

It may take days to confirm all the recent tornadoes. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, five in Indiana and four in Illinois.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.

Residents of Wynne, Arkansas, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high schools roof shredded and its windows blown out. At least four people died.

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a bathroom as a tornado passed, praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead. A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they escaped unhurt.

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Chainsaws buzzed, as bulldozers plowed into debris. Utility crews restored power as some neighborhoods began recovery.

Tennessee recorded at least 15 deaths, including nine fatalities in McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the worst week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife just attended.

Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state, Lee said. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

Rachel Milam lived in the basement with her 6-year-old daughter, while her mother and her mothers boyfriend lived upstairs in their home on the outskirts of Waynesboro, Tennessee.

All squeezed into the bathroom of the cinder block basement Friday night as the tornado approached and made whooshing sounds like a washing machine.

As it ripped the roof off, the shower curtain fell, Milam, 26, said Sunday. So Im trying to dig through the shower curtain and see. I saw darkness and then rain started to fall.

Then absolute terror.

And the house  I watched it pick up and move  about six inches and then pick up and it was gone.

I was just thinking its gonna take the tub, like were going to be gone, she said.



A piece of wood fell over them. So did a mirror. We were fine and just thankful that we made it out alive, Milam said.

Milam, who works as a nurse, soon joined other neighbors in digging people out from wrecked homes. One woman had a laceration to her face and other parts of her body and was flown out by a helicopter. Another man was freed from the rubble of his home by rescuers who used chainsaws to slice through the debris.

Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her 2-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming.

She kept asking me, What do I do, daddy? Day said, tearing up. I didnt know what to say.

After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and drove to nearby family.

Elsewhere, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled Sunday to Belvidere to visit the Apollo Theatre, which partially collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert.

Frederick Livingston, Jr., was pulled from the rubble but didnt survive. He had gone to enjoy the concert with his son, Alex.

I couldnt save him, his son told WLS-TV. The father and son were standing side by side when debris began raining down. It happened so fast.

The governor said 48 others were treated in hospitals, with five in critical condition.

Pritzker also planned to visit Crawford County, about 230 miles south of Chicago, where three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado hit around New Hebron.

Weve had emergency crews digging people out of their basements because the house is collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to, Sheriff Bill Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people died in Indianas Sullivan County, about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Several people were rescued overnight, with reports of as many as 12 people injured.




BROCKTON  Police found a 41-year-old man who'd been fatally stabbed in the early morning on March 25 on Belmont Avenue, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a written statement. Brockton police were driving on Belmont Avenue while investigating a robbery when they saw a man lying on the ground who was suffering from "apparent stab wounds," Cruz said.

A Taunton man died in a motorcycle crash on Turnpike Street in Easton on Wednesday evening.

The man who police say was involved in a hit-and-run in Bridgewater on Friday, March 17, that injured a pedestrian was arrested and charged Monday.

West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School students attend a pre-prom gathering at a Pearl Road home in West Bridgewater, prior to heading to the senior prom at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville.

In case you missed it, here are five stories of the top stories from the past week throughout the Brockton area.

Man found stabbed to death on Belmont Avenue in Brockton, DA says

Police found a 41-year-old man who'd been fatally stabbed early morning on March 25 on Belmont Avenue, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a written statement. About 4:39 a.m. Brockton police were driving on Belmont Avenue while investigating a robbery when they saw a man lying on the ground who was suffering from "apparent stab wounds," Cruz said. The man was transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Man found stabbed: Man found stabbed to death on Belmont Avenue in Brockton, DA says

Brockton police and Massachusetts State Police investigate a crime scene next to 44 Belmont Ave. where a man was stabbed to death on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Taunton nonprofit founder accused of fraud killed in Easton motorcycle crash, DA says

A Taunton man is dead after a motorcycle crash on Turnpike Street in Easton on Wednesday evening, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. At around 5:51 p.m., the Easton Police responded to a crash in the area of 479 Turnpike St., where a motorcycle and a Jeep Cherokee had collided, killing the motorcyclist, 39-year-old Clark Grant, of Taunton, Gregg Miliote, spokesperson for the district attorney's office, said. The driver of the Jeep, a 40-year-old Brockton woman, remained on scene after the crash to be interviewed by police.

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Fatal motorcycle accident in Easton: Taunton nonprofit founder accused of fraud killed in Easton motorcycle crash, DA says

Easton Police and Massachusetts State Police are investigating a fatal motor vehicle crash involving a motorcycle at Turnpike and Foundry streets on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Driver arrested in Bridgewater hit-and-run that injured pedestrian, police say

The man who police say was involved in a hit-and-run in Bridgewater on Friday, March 17, that injured a pedestrian was arrested and charged Monday, the Bridgewater Police Department said. Ryan Dinocco, 20, of Abington was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, improper operation of a motor vehicle speeding at a rate greater than reasonable, and a marked lanes violation, according to Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte. The 19-year-old woman who was injured in the crash was transported by ambulance to an area hospital.

Driver arrested in hit-and-run: Driver arrested in Bridgewater hit-and-run that injured pedestrian, police say

Bridgewater Police tweeted on March 18, 2023 that they had identified the owner of this vehicle believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run crash that injured a pedestrian.

'Unusual and concerning': Human remains with no coffin found at Stoughton cemetery

Workers at Dry Pond Cemetery found what they believed to be human remains as they dug a fresh grave. The remains weren't in a coffin, according to a statement from the Norfolk County District Attorney's office. Authorities excavated the remains and took them to the office of the chief medical examiner in Boston. "The origin of the remains, the identity of the person, the cause and manner of that persons death, as well as how the remains became interred at Dry Pond Cemetery are all unknown and under active investigation," the DA's office said, calling the circumstances of the discovery "unusual and concerning."

'Unusual and concerning': 'Unusual and concerning': Human remains with no coffin found at Stoughton cemetery

Dry Pond Cemetery

West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School students show off senior prom attire

Approximately 100 West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School students attended a pre-prom gathering at a home on Pearl Road in West Bridgewewater to take photographs before heading to the senior prom at Lebaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville. Family and friends took photos while students showed off their attire. Mr. West Bridgewater 2023 William DeLuca III even made an appearance.

Students show off senior prom attire: West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School students show off senior prom attire

West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School students attend a pre-prom gathering at a Pearl Road home in West Bridgewater, prior to heading to the senior prom at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville on Friday, March 24, 2023.

Staff writer Kathy Bossa can be reached by email at kbossa@enterprisenews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton-area top 5 stories: Fatal stabbing, motorcycle accident
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday hailed Ukraine for fighting off "the biggest force against humanity of our time", one year after the first bodies were found in the streets of Bucha.

The quiet Kyiv suburb was occupied by Russian troops for more than a month last year and its name has become synonymous with the alleged war crimes carried out by Moscow during the invasion.

Russia has accused Ukraine and its allies of staging atrocities.

The anniversary comes a day after Russia took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council despite outrage from Kyiv and Western nations that have imposed sanctions on Moscow.

"People of Ukraine! You have stopped the biggest force against humanity of our time," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram, accompanied by photos of areas liberated a year ago when Russian troops retreated from around the Ukrainian capital.

"You have stopped a force that despises everything and wants to destroy everything that gives people meaning," Zelensky said.

"We will liberate all our lands," he said.

Russia currently occupies around 18 percent of Ukraine's territory.

Also marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Kyiv region, Ukraine's armed forces chief Valery Zaluzhny wrote: "We will continue to fight for the independence of our nation."

On April 2, 2022, AFP journalists visited Bucha and saw the bodies of 20 men in civilian clothing, including one with his hands tied behind his back, in a heavily destroyed town.

The scenes sent shockwaves around the world, with Kyiv and its Western allies condemning executions of civilians.

Prosecutors in Kyiv say that Russian forces killed some 1,400 civilians around Bucha, including 637 in the town itself, and that they have identified dozens of Russian soldiers responsible.

When he visited Bucha shortly after the discovery of the bodies, Zelensky appeared visibly moved and said Russia had carried out "war crimes" that "will be recognised by the world as genocide".

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Since then almost every foreign leader who has visited Ukraine has also travelled to Bucha to pay their respects.

On Friday -- the first anniversary of Russia's retreat from the Kyiv region -- Zelensky said he hoped that Bucha would become a "symbol of justice".

"We wany every Russian murderer, executioner, terrorist to be held responsible for every crime," he said.

- 'Massive bombardment' -

After Russian troops retreated from the Kyiv region, they also drew back from parts of the northeast and south of the country.

But the front line has remained almost static in recent months, with Russian troops claiming only marginal gains -- mainly around the battleground city of Bakhmut in the east.

The gains have come with steep casualties and Ukraine's defences have held, with help from supplies of Western arms.

The Russian army, supported by the Wagner paramilitary group, has pressed hard to surround Bakhmut -- hoping to claim a battlefield victory after the string of humiliating reversals.

On the ground, the intensity of the fighting has decreased from the start of the year despite intense clashes around Bakhmut.

Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office, on Sunday said Russian forces carried out "a massive bombardment" on the village of Kostyantynivka near Bakhmut, killing six people and injuring eight.

bur/imm
SAN DIEGO (AP)  Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner had an MRI on Monday in Phoenix after feeling fatigue during his first outing of the season and is OK to make his next start, manager Torey Lovullo said.

"Everything is fine, Lovullo said before the Diamondbacks opened a two-game series at San Diego. He just probably overcooked it a little bit in between starts in preparation. It was more over-prepping than anything.

Lovullo said MadBum is scheduled to start on regular rest Friday night at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It's a little bit of fatigue. I think all pitchers go through it at certain points in time, Lovullo said. Really, he works hard for the four days in between his starts. We've got to get him past that point.

The 33-year-old left-hander allowed five runs, four hits and four walks in Arizona's 10-1 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday night. Trayce Thompson hit a grand slam in a five-run first inning, the first of his three home runs in the game.

Bumgarner, a four-time All-Star, is beginning his fourth season with the Diamondbacks. He was 7-15 with a 4.88 ERA in 30 starts last season.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Burkina Faso has been taking a tough line against France since Capt Ibrahim Traore (C) took power last year

Burkina Faso has expelled journalists from two leading French newspapers, in the latest move against France by Burkina Faso's military junta.

Sophie Douce of Le Monde and Agnes Faivre of Liberation arrived in Paris after being given 24 hours to leave.

The expulsions follow the publication of a Liberation investigation into a video which showed children being executed in military barracks.

The authorities described it as manipulation disguised as journalism.

The two newspapers condemned the expulsions as a major setback for press freedom in the former French colony.

Douce said plain-clothed security officers had visited her house on Saturday and said her accreditation was being withdrawn.

Douce's reporting "obviously ended up seeming unbearable" to the military regime that seized power in a coup last September, Le Monde's Director Jerome Fenoglio said in a statement.

Liberation said the investigation by Faivre into children and adolescents allegedly being killed in a military barracks was likely to have displeased the authorities.

"These restrictions on freedom of information are unacceptable and the sign of a power that refuses to allow its actions to be questioned," it said.

The expulsion of the journalists is the latest sign that Capt Ibrahim Traore's regime is cracking down on French media.

It had earlier suspended broadcasts of two state-owed media outlets, France 24 and Radio France International (RFI).

France 24 was suspended last month after the authorities accused it of being a "communications agency" of the militants by broadcasting an interview with the head of al-Qaeda's North Africa wing, Yezid Mebarek, who is also known as Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi.

France 24 described the allegation as defamatory, saying it had never invited the al-Qaeda leader to speak directly on its programmes, and had "simply reported his words in the form of a column, ensuring the necessary distance and context".

In December, RFI was suspended after being accused of broadcasting false reports, which it denied.

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Burkina Faso was once a staunch ally of France, but the military regime has been turning its back on the former colonial power.

Instead, it is seen to be strengthening ties with Russia in a bid to defeat militant Islamists who have wreaked havoc across the region.

In February, French troops pulled out after the regime asked them to leave.
Plastic windows designed by a PhD student are helping transform uninhabitable houses in war-torn parts of Ukraine into liveable homes.

Harry Blakiston Houston created the Insulate Ukraine project to replace bullet and bomb-damaged windows.

According to the United Nations, millions of people in Ukraine live in buildings with insufficient protection.

"We've come up with a solution that makes a real difference," the University of Cambridge student said.

He has paused his biotechnology studies to concentrate on the initiative, which has already installed hundreds of windows across Ukraine.

Mr Blakiston Houston designed it as a simple way to make a difference to those in liberated areas of Ukraine who have been left picking up the pieces following Russian retreats.

"There was an old woman in Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, who had been sleeping in her bathtub for two months because it was the warmest place in her house," he said.

"We were able to get her back to some kind of normality after the windows went in.

"The house was immediately warmer and lighter - she was able to rearrange everything and actually live in her home again.

"That was the start of it - the signal we needed, to go, 'right, OK, we're on to something here'."

The window design uses polyethylene, PVC piping, pipe insulation and duct tape, to create four layers of insulation.

It costs around 12 per square metre of window, and can be built at home in 15 minutes.

The project aims to create hubs across the country that can replace any shattered window within 24 hours, with the work largely being carried out by local people.

Fedor Tikva, 64, of Izyum, eastern Ukraine, told the PA news agency it had been impossible to live in his home after it was damaged by nearby bombing.

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"All windows there were broken, even the frames were partly damaged," he said.

"I am happy now because after the installation of all the windows the house became more cosy, warmer and lighter.

"Before the installation... it was too dark and cold inside."

Mr Blakiston Houston said: "Part of Putin's war is about trying to make people in Ukraine cold and miserable.

"It's about breaking their resolve to actually continue defending themselves.

"We're essentially empowering Ukrainians because we're giving them a way to solve this problem for themselves.

"All we have to do is show them how to build the windows and help them to get hold of the materials."

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
Snailfish from 7500-8200 meters in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. University of Western Australia/ Caladan Oceanic

Scientists photographed a snailfish at 8,336 meters below the ocean, the deepest recording in history.

Researchers spotted the fish in the Izu-Ogasawara trench near Japan, according to a statement.

Previously, the deepest recorded fish was seen at 8,178 meters in the Mariana Trench in 2018.

Scientists photographed a snailfish swimming 8,336 meters below sea level near Japan, making it the deepest recorded fish ever caught on camera, the University of Western Australia said in a statement Monday.

Previously, the deepest recorded fish was spotted 8,178 meters down in the Mariana Trench, according to BBC News.

Scientists dropped an autonomous "lander" camera into the Izu-Ogasawara Trench near Japan and filmed the snailfish that they estimated to be at or "very close to" the maximum depth that any fish can survive, according to BBC.

"If this record is broken, it would only be by minute increments, potentially by just a few meters," Professor Alan Jamieson, a University of Western Australia deep-sea scientist, told the outlet.

These two specimens are the deepest fish ever caught, recovered from a depth of 8022 meter in the Japan Trench, experts said. University of Western Australia/ Caladan Oceanic

It was a juvenile of unknown snailfish species of the genus Pseudoliparis, however, scientists did not capture a specimen to fully identify the species, according the university. Instead, the researchers trapped several fish slightly higher up in the water at 8,022 meters, which were identified as Pseudoliparis belyaevi, and set the record for the deepest fish ever caught.

The mission is part of a multi-year into the deepest fish populations in the world  and the discovery was part of a collaboration between the Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre and a team from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

"We have spent over 15 years researching these deep snailfish; there is so much more to them than simply the depth, but the maximum depth they can survive is truly astonishing," Jamieson, chief scientist of the expedition, said in a statement.

The previous deepest recorded fish in the Mariana Trench was identified as a Mariana snailfish, which had been known to scientists since 2014, Insider reported at the time. Snailfish live in the deepest part of the ocean, known as the hadal zone, where depths reach 6,000 to 11,000 meters and no light penetrates, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

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Snailfish from 7,500-8,200 meters in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. University of Western Australia/ Caladan Oceanic

Jamieson speculated that the fish were able to survive greater depths than those found in the Mariana Trench due to the Izu-Ogasawara's slightly warmer waters, the BBC reported.

"We predicted the deepest fish would be there and we predicted it would be a snailfish," Jamieson said according to the outlet. "I get frustrated when people tell me we know nothing about the deep sea. We do. Things are changing really fast."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A married couple camping at an Indiana state park has been found dead after severe storms battered parts of the state, officials said.

The couple, 53-year-old Brett Kincaid and 47-year-old Wendy Kincaid, were staying at McCormicks Creek State Park  roughly 55 miles southwest of downtown Indianapolis  when dangerous weather arrived in the evening on Friday, March 31, the state Department of Natural Resources said in a news release.

Immediately following the storm and throughout today, responders searched the area attempting to confirm everyone was able to reach safety, the release said. After being notified of two campers being unaccounted for, additional searches of the property were conducted and the bodies of the victims were discovered.

With the discovery of the Kincaids, officials say a total of five people were killed by Fridays storms, news outlets report.

Officials did not say how the couple died, but while many at the campground took cover in park facilities, the Kincaids were found in their camper, officials told the Indianapolis Star.

At least seven tornadoes touched down in Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

The most powerful was an EF-3 with winds up to 155 mph that struck Sullivan County, in western Indiana, at 10:21 p.m., killing three people.

McCormicks Creek State Park remains closed as workers clean up and assess the damage, the park said.

Crews spot arm sticking out from debris of demolished womens shelter, Ohio cops say

See the northern lights sparkle over Washington  thanks to a severe solar storm

8 people trying to cross into US found dead in marsh near Canadian border, cops say
Editors note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech University Libraries. He may be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Todays article is by Dr. David Murrah and is the third article in a year-long series celebrating TTUs centennial. Dr. Murrah authored last weeks article on the Lady Raiders 1993 Championship basketball season, which originally ran on March 4, 2018. The article was incorrectly attributed to Paul Carlson. The editor regrets this mistake.

William Curry Holden thought like an entrepreneur. In the spring of 1920, he was 24 years old and teaching school in Rotan, Texas. But he knew he needed to find a way to live in Austin so that he could attend the University of Texas. His solution: seek a seat in the Texas Legislature.

William Curry Holden

His campaign against two other young West Texans was nothing like todays mean-spirited politics. Instead, he offered the other two  Charles C. Thompson of Colorado City, and R. M. Chitwood of Sweetwater  the opportunity to tour the district with him in his Model T Ford. They all shared meals and gasoline and became good friends, and in time became permanently emblazoned in Texas Tech history.

Holden lost by a narrow margin to Chitwood, and, although his political career was short-lived, in his campaign, he strongly advocated for the establishment of a West Texas A&M. Holden did get to see his dream materialize three years later when Texas Tech was created by the legislature as an outgrowth of the West Texas A&M movement.

And, Holden found another way to get to Austin to get a graduate education, and fortunately for West Texas and Texas Tech, he returned to make a major impact on Tech and the regions history and culture.

William Curry Holden and his wife read by the fireplace in their home.

William Curry Holden was among the very first to research and to write West Texas history. He was one of the first archaeologists to identify important historical sites. And, because of his vision, he played a major role in the founding or development of Texas Techs four major historical and cultural institutions, the Museum of Texas Tech University, the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, the National Ranching Heritage Center, and the Lubbock Lake Historic Landmark.

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Born in Limestone County, Texas in 1896, Curry Holden was two when his family moved to West Texas, where his father struggled in farming near Colorado City and later Rotan. Holden graduated from Rotan High School in 1914, and, after obtaining a teaching certificate from Stamford Junior College, he began his teaching career that would continue for the next 52 years.

While teaching public schools, Holden attended summer school at West Texas Normal at Canyon, and, then, in the fall of 1920, entered the University of Texas, where he completed a four-year program in just three years. In 1923, he became head of the History Department at the new McMurry College in Abilene, and while teaching there, he used his summers to earn two more degrees at the University of Texas, including his PhD in 1928.

Holdens academic success soon attracted the attention of the president of the new Texas Technological College at Lubbock, who hired Holden to teach both history and anthropology beginning in 1929. Id never seen a book on anthropology, Holden later confessed, so I got a book and stayed two jumps ahead of the students.

Holden Hall on the Texas Tech campus.

Holden soon became an internationally known anthropologist. In 1932, he began field studies of the Yaqui Indians of Sonora, Mexico, and subsequently wrote four books on the subject. He also directed archaeological excavations throughout West Texas and New Mexico. His most significant discovery came at his doorstep when he identified the great significance of the Lubbock Lake Site as being utilized by every human culture that has occupied North America over more than twelve thousand years.

As a historian, Holden was among the first to write about West Texas. By the time he was 38, he had written three books, Alkali Trails, Rollie Burns, and The Spur Ranch, which still remain as definitive works in social and ranching history. In all, Holden wrote 12 books.

Holden also had a brilliant career at Texas Tech, serving as head of the combined departments of history, anthropology and sociology, as well as dean of the Graduate School, and was instrumental in the establishment of Techs Ph.D programs in four fields, including history. And, for 36 years, he served as director of the West Texas Museum.

In that position, he achieved almost the impossible; first, he secured funding in the midst of the Great Depression to build a basement headquarters for the museum; in 1950, he raised funds for its completion, a building that became an imposing structure on the circle at Texas Tech. In all likelihood, it became the first building on the Tech campus to have been built because of the vision and energy of one person.

Holden's doctoral dissertation, Alkali Trails, published in 1930.

Interestingly, by the late 1960s, Texas Tech had named dormitories for the two candidates who had run against Holden in his 1920 campaign for the legislature. Charles Thompson, who became a member of the Texas Tech Board of Directors in 1937 and served as its chair from 1944 to 1957, was honored in 1958 when the school named Thompson Hall, for him. Similarly, R. M. Chitwood, who became the schools first business manager in 1924, became the namesake for Chitwood Hall, constructed in 1967.

And so, when in 1972, Texas Tech renovated and enlarged the West Texas Museum building, it was only appropriate that it be named for the third member of that 1920 campaign, William Curry Holden. Today, Holden Hall still stands as a permanent memorial to the tall, lanky kid from Rotan, who died in 1993, and whose tombstone in the Lubbock Cemetery records him as being simply a pretty fair country school teacher  with vision.

What a vision it was.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles William Curry Holden: Founder of West Texas Museum
Carol Vorderman says years of abuse have given her a 'superpower'. (Getty Images)

Carol Vorderman has admitted she has a "superpower" after facing years of torment in her life.

The former Countdown star confessed that she has found herself in a position of power after "being slagged off for 40 years" and as a result finds it easy to deflect any personal criticism aimed at her.

Vorderman, 62, opened up about her past struggles after she was recently praised for her "rebirth" as an "anti-corruption firebrand."

Read more: Carol Vorderman sings 'Happy Birthday' to herself to mark 40 years in TV

Talking to You magazine she said: "When you've had false headlines written about you, helicopters over your house, your kids followed by paparazzi, and every part of your life - my body, my face, my hair, my sweaty armpits, my cellulite - has had abuse flung at it over a very long period of time, one of two things happens - you either go under, which I will never do. Or it gives you a superpower."

Vorderman also stressed that her motives in speaking out aren't political and she is more interested in right or wrong as she "lives without apology."

Vorderman says she lives her life unapologetically. (Getty Images)

She added: "You think, 'Well, you (her critics) haven't got anything more in your bloody locker, have you?' I've got nothing to apologise for so I live without apology. And where I feel a sense of right or wrong - as opposed to right or left - I call it out."

Vorderman made headlines recently when she clashed with Women's Health Minister Maria Caulfield over menopausal workers.

Read more: Carol Vorderman hints at rivalry with Janice Dickinson ahead of all-star I'm A Celeb

The popular TV personality also launched a scathing critique of her former friend Baroness Mone when it was alleged that she had profited from PPE contracts she lobbied for during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vorderman will be hitting screens later this month as part of the all-star I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! line-up.

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Watch: Carol Vorderman denies going to the races with Matt Hancock

She was joined by a string of big-name fellow former contestants and winners of the hit ITV series in South Africa for the special run of episodes which completed filming late last year.

Earlier this week she discussed the show telling Lorraine Kelly: There are a lot of head-to-head trials and things like that. But it is brutal.
A Roman Catholic priest claims his church in Connecticut was the scene of a miracle that saw Eucharistic hosts multiply last month.

The Rev. Joseph Crowley was concluding Mass at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston on March 5 when he announced that the Eucharistic minister saw the hosts inexplicably multiply while he was distributing them to the congregation, according to local Fox 61.

"What happened is our Lord multiplied Himself," Crowley said, according to the outlet.

According to Catholic News Agency, Crowley became emotional when he told parishioners about the alleged miraculous multiplication of the host, which Catholics believe becomes the body of Jesus Christ.

ASBURY REVIVAL BRINGS BEAUTIFUL DISRUPTION AND MULTI-GENERATIONAL COMMUNITY TO POST-COVID WORLD

"One of our Eucharistic ministers was running out of hosts and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium," he said. "God just duplicated himself in the ciborium."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Its really, really cool when God does these things, and its really, really cool when we realize what hes done, and it just happened today," the priest continued. "Very powerful, very awesome, very real, very shocking. But also, it happens, and today it happened."

ITALIAN TEEN WHO CREATED CATALOG OF MIRACLES IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO BECOMING PATRON SAINT OF THE INTERNET

"They were running out of hosts and all of a sudden more hosts were there. So today not only did we have the miracle of the Eucharist, we also had a bigger miracle. Its pretty cool," the priest also said.

Shana Pia, a parishioner at the church, described the reported miracle to Fox 61 as "so beautiful."

The Archdiocese of Hartford is reportedly investigating the reported Eucharistic miracle.

"God has been working so many miracles in our lives lately," Pia said.

The Archdiocese of Hartford is reportedly investigating the reported miracle, which Fox 61 noted is a process that could last as long as two weeks and require forensic analysis. Depending on the investigation's findings, the Vatican may have to be notified.

There have been four approved Eucharistic miracles in the 21st century, according to the Magis Center. Incidents included three consecrated hosts that appeared to bleed and a fourth that reportedly took on the face of Jesus.
Charlotte Latvala

Does spring break still exist?

It must, because my daughter is home from college all week, and unless shes been unexpectedly expelled, that means shes on break.

Her wild and crazy plans include getting her wisdom teeth out and going to a play with her mom. She seems most interested in getting to sleep in every day.

I havent heard a word about friends headed to the beach for a week of sun and craziness.

Neither of my older kids did the traditional spring break beach extravaganza, either. And while they arent the hard-partying lets-have-a-kegger types, it still seems like spring break as we knew it in the 1980s has fallen off the cultural zeitgeist, like veejays and wine coolers.

You google popular spring break destinations and lots of family-friendly places come up. (Do families go on spring break? Who are these people?) Also, Las Vegas. The Bahamas. And yes, some good old Florida stalwarts, like Miami and Daytona Beach.

Which is where my friends and I ended up during spring break of our junior year. 1982, the year of Duran Duran and Thriller and a new talk show host named David Letterman.

I have no recollection of how we made travel plans in the pre-Internet world. Did we even have a map? Or a AAA TripTik? Somehow we scraped our money together for gas and a cheap motel, climbed into my roommates mothers car, and headed south.

Five Ohio college girls in a powder blue sedan, rolling across state lines without a cell phone, GPS, or credit card among us.

The thought of my daughter doing that now? Id go directly into panic mode. Bypass mere motherly concern and a heightened sense of alarm and go full throttle into high adrenaline freaking out.

But, as they say, it was a different time. And in that pre-cable world, Im not sure our mothers were fully aware of what spring break at Daytona Beach entailed.

And to be honest, neither did we.

It was a time of cheap giveaway T-shirts and the Hawaiian Tropic girls and terrible decisions. A time when the legal drinking age in Florida was 19. Airplanes flew along the beach trailing banners touting ridiculous bar specials at ridiculous times of the day.

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No one talked about sex trafficking or date rape or Me Too. AIDS was waiting in the wings, but had not yet made its terrible entrance into mainstream culture.

Thankfully, our trip ended up being more comical than anything, but looking back after 40 years, I can clearly see how many bullets we dodged.

We had two cases of sun poisoning. Lots of hangovers. Some minor drama involving an ex-boyfriend.

A hotel room that ended up accommodating two extra girls, for reasons that remain clouded in the damp recesses of my mind.

Was it fun? Sometimes. Was it an adventure? Definitely. Do we look back on it now and reminisce fondly?

You bet. But not in front of our kids.

Charlotte is a columnist for The Times. You can reach her at charlottelatvala@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Latvala: Spring Break means something different now
I was with my travel agent for only a couple of minutes before getting a detailed itinerary for an upcoming trip to New York City. The schedule not only included suggested activities during a mid-September weekend, such as a stroll through Central Park and a visit to the Empire State Building but also factored in time for flights from Nashville, Tennessee, where I live.

"Can you help me book those flights?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but as an AI language model, I don't have the capability to book flights for you," ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence computer program from OpenAI, responded.

I was using the term "travel agent" loosely.

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That was the first of several roadblocks I hit during an experiment to see whether I could use ChatGPT as a travel agent for a theoretical vacation, compared with a human counterpart. Here's what I learned:

ChatGPT's travel planning abilities are limited, for now

I started by asking ChatGPT about the best time to visit New York. I used to live there, so I could make that call for myself, but I wanted to test its recommendations against my own memories of sweaty summer subway rides and snowy winter strolls.

The program dutifully rattled off a handful of seasonal factors to consider, including weather, crowds and activities. Based on those, I leaned toward spring or fall, when ChatGPT said there would be "mild temperatures, colorful foliage and plenty of outdoor activities."

I chose a free weekend from Sept. 15 through 17  just before the official start of fall  and asked if the program: "Can you help me plan a trip from Nashville to New York City from Sept. 15-17?"

The itinerary it generated was thorough and varied  complete with a recommendation to "catch a Broadway show" and a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge  but its inability to help me book the flights to get there was frustrating.

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However, the program empowered me to book them myself by providing suggestions for third-party booking websites.

OpenAI said last month it would roll out access to various plug-ins to "study their real-world use, impact, and safety and alignment challenges," including from third-party booking sites Expedia and Kayak.

Expedia Group tweeted a video that shows a user searching for flights via ChatGPT and the plug-in, which provides options before sharing a link to book on Expedia, among other features, for instance.

"While we will initially prioritize a small number of developers and ChatGPT Plus users, we plan to roll out larger-scale access over time," OpenAI said in a blog post (I was using the free version of the program).

A screenshot of my conversation with ChatGPT.

When I asked which airline I should choose, ChatGPT listed airlines that fly nonstop between Nashville and New York.

In what felt like a kind of consolation, ChatGPT also volunteered tips. "When choosing an airline, you may want to consider factors such as ticket price, departure and arrival times, airline rewards programs, and any additional fees or charges," the program said. "You may also want to read reviews from other travelers to get an idea of their experiences with each airline."

I had the same issue when I tried booking a hotel through the program, though ChatGPT similarly recommended several hotels, which it said are "conveniently located and offer good value for your money," and sites to book them.

A travel agent had more resources than ChatGPT

Much like I do after thumbing my way through an automated customer service phone menu, after consulting ChatGPT, I found myself wondering what a real person would have to say.

I sent my travel dates to Geoffrey Millstone, owner of Clarksburg Travel Service, along with some parameters: I asked for a nice but reasonable hotel in a convenient location and solicited suggestions for activities during my weekend in the Big Apple.

He sent me an itinerary with specific flights, a room at the Hyatt Grand Central New York hotel  he picked it because it offered a good deal that met my criteria  and pricing info, for a total of just over $1,240.

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He selected an early flight in and a late flight out to "maximize" my time there, and nonstop service to avoid disruptions.

"If the price is close, and I have a nonstop flight, against changing planes with today's situation in flights, I always go for the nonstop," Millstone said.

Many of Millstone's recommendations were also rooted in personal experiences, such as grabbing a corned beef or pastrami sandwich from a local deli in Manhattan  he gets half and half when he goes.

His other suggestions included a hop-on, hop-off bus tour, which he and his wife have used, and a carriage ride through Central Park. The conversation flowed more naturally than with the AI program (believe it or not), and he offered a streamlined way to make bookings as well as passed on a breadth of firsthand New York knowledge that ChatGPT could not have had.

Can I use ChatGPT as a travel agent?

That depends.

If I had been simply looking for advice on what to do and suggested ways to do it, ChatGPT served me well as a kind of consultant while I considered my options. But based on my experience with the current iteration of the free program, a flesh-and-blood adviser can offer a more full-service experience with a travel agent who will not only make recommendations but also book my travel.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ChatGPT vs. a travel agent: Is AI better for trip planning?
Babies born to mothers who had COVID-19 while they were pregnant could be more likely to develop obesity. (Stock image: Getty)

Children born to mothers who had COVID-19 while they were pregnant may be more likely to develop obesity, a new study has suggested.

The research, published in the Endocrine Societys Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, studied around 150 infants born to mothers who had COVID during pregnancy and found they had lower birth weight followed by greater weight gain in the first year of life as compared to around 130 babies whose mothers did not have the virus while pregnant.

These changes have been associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in childhood and beyond, the Endocrine Society said.

Lindsay T. Fourman, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, one of the authors of the study, said: "Our findings suggest that children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 have an altered growth pattern in early life that may increase their risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease over time.

"There is still a lot of research needed to understand the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their children."

Watch: Routine COVID testing for symptomatic care home residents in England to end

The Endocrine Society said more than 100 million COVID cases had been reported in the United States since 2019, and there was still limited information on the long-term health effects of the infection.

It said pregnant women make up 9% of reproductive-aged women with the virus, and millions of babies will be exposed to maternal infection during foetal development over the next five years.

Read more: Police hunt man in connection with car crash that led to pregnant woman losing unborn child

"Our findings emphasise the importance of long-term follow-up of children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 infection, as well as widespread implementation of COVID-19 prevention strategies among pregnant individuals," said co-author Andrea G. Edlow, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital.

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"Larger studies with longer follow-up duration are needed to confirm these associations."

The study, Accelerated Longitudinal Weight Gain Among Infants with In Utero COVID-19 Exposure, was published online, ahead of print, the Endocrine Society said.

The study authors said more research is needed into the effect of COVID-19 on unborn babies. (Stock image: Getty)

In January evidence emerged suggesting that COVID-19 infection might be linked to brain haemorrhages in unborn children.

Scientists from King's College London who examined tissues from foetuses said it was "extremely unusual" for the number of brain haemorrhages detected to have occurred.

Their study suggested that COVID might affect the foetal brain during the earliest stages of gestation, highlighting a need for further research into the potential impact on subsequent neurological development.
The city commission for protecting children's rights in Sloviansk has decided to forcibly evacuate children, and their guardians who refuse to leave will be deprived of their duties.

Source: Olena Sokolova, Head of the Childrens Service of Sloviansk City Military Administration, quoted by Suspilne, [Ukraine's public broadcaster]

Quote: "The mandatory evacuation in Donetsk Oblast was approved by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on 2 August 2022. Guardians are obliged to evacuate with their children outside Donetsk Oblast to safer oblasts of Ukraine.

The guardians and guardianship authorities are responsible for ensuring the child's safety.

We are constantly contacting families, explaining that evacuation is free of charge and that we provide assistance.

In December, we held a commission meeting and addressed the families, gave them a month or two, and then reminded them constantly.

On 27 March, a minor was wounded during the shelling of Sloviansk. Therefore, we are again taking measures in a stricter form."

Details: Sokolova has said that most of the foster families and family-type orphanages have left the city, and currently 23 families remain in the Sloviansk hromada, where 34 orphans and children deprived of parental care are being raised. [Hromada is an administrative unit designating in this case, the city of Sloviansk and its adjacent territories  ed.]

"We are acting solely in accordance with our powers. But we do not want to resort to such measures because most children live with their relatives, such as grandparents or aunts and uncles.

That is why we are again trying to persuade these families to move to a place where the children will be safer," Sokolova adds.

The commission has decided that guardians with minors should leave Donetsk Oblast as soon as possible. If they refuse, they will be deprived of their guardianship or custody, and the children will be forcibly evacuated. The city military administration makes the decision to deprive them of guardianship.

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Consequences of a rocket attack on Slovyansk on March 27

Children and their parents or guardians will be urgently evacuated according to a decision by the commission for the protection of children's rights.

Read also: 464 children killed and another 934 wounded in Ukraine due to Russian armed aggression

If guardians refuse to evacuate their children, they will be deprived of their custody, and the children will be forcibly evacuated.

"The mandatory evacuation was approved in Donetsk Oblast by a resolution of the Ukrainian government on Aug. 2, 2022, Ukraines Suspilne news outlet quoted Sokolova as saying.

Guardians are obliged to evacuate with their children from Donetsk Oblast to safer regions of Ukraine. It is the parents or guardians responsibility to ensure the safety of the child.

Read also: Russia abducted over 19,500 Ukrainian children from occupied territories, Reintegration Ministry says

Russian occupation troops launched an attack on Slovyansk with S-300 missiles on the morning of March 27. Two people were killed and at least 29 were injured in the attack.

Administration and office buildings were damaged, as well as five residential buildings and seven houses.



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 president of the World Bank has told the BBC that he is concerned about some of the loans China has been making to developing economies in Africa.

David Malpass says the terms and conditions need to be "more transparent".

It comes amid worries that countries including Ghana and Zambia are struggling to repay their debts to Beijing.

China says that any such lending is done within international rules.

Developing countries often borrow money from other nations or multilateral bodies to finance sectors that will grow their economies such as infrastructure, education and agriculture.

However steep increases in interest rates in the US and other major economies over the last year are making loan repayments more expensive because lots of that borrowing is done in foreign currencies such as US dollars or euros.

It is a particularly acute problem for developing economies who can struggle to find the extra money that is required as the relative value of their own currency falls.

It is a "double whammy and it means that [economic] growth is going to be slower", says Mr Malpass.

US-China rivalry

Tackling that challenge and its consequences was one of the main reasons for this week's visit by US Vice-President Kamala Harris to three African countries. It is a visit that comes with big commitments of financial support to Tanzania and Ghana.

There is a growing rivalry with China for influence in the continent, whose abundance of natural resources include the metals, such as nickel, crucial for the batteries needed for technology such as electric cars.

Speaking in Ghana's capital, Accra, she said "America will be guided not by what we can do for our African partners, but what we can do with our African partners".

While highlighting a new nickel processing facility in Tanzania Ms Harris said the project would be supplying the US and other markets by 2026 and that it would "help address the climate crisis, build resilient global supply chains, and create new industries and jobs".

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US Vice-President Kamala Harris was warmly welcomed in Ghana's capital, Accra, by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia as she sought to strengthen economic ties

That collaborative approach was praised by Mr Malpass who said the competition between the world's two biggest economies was "maybe healthy for developing countries" as it provided different options.

"What I encourage strongly is that they be transparent in their contracts. That's been one of the problems; if you write a contract and say 'but don't show it to anybody else', that's a minus. So get away from that."

There was also a warning that "for governments in Africa, they shouldn't be offering collateral as an inducement to make a loan, because it locks it up for generations. That's been happening with China."

Beijing has become one of the biggest sources for loans to developing economies in recent years. A new study led by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows that globally China lent $185bn (150bn) in bailouts to 22 countries between 2016 and 2021.

China refutes suggestions that it is exploiting other countries with its financial support.

At a press conference this week Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said China "respects the will of relevant countries, has never forced any party to borrow money, has never forced any country to pay, will not attach any political conditions to loan agreements, and does not seek any political self-interest".

Ghana's Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta travelled to Beijing this month for talks on restructuring its debt repayments. The country also got $3bn from the IMF in December.

Mr Malpass said the problems were not unique to Chinese financing but things were improving.

"If you think of the history of Western lending, sometimes it's not for the full benefit of the people in the countries [being lent to]. Even World Bank loans haven't always been for the best that could have been done in a country."

"So what we're trying to do, and I think everyone should be trying to do, is improve the quality of the lending.

"One of the techniques is to unbundle the loan, meaning if there's an investment project, let's say you're building a train, describe the project and what the cost will be. And then separately, arrange the financing.

"If you bundle them together, it makes it very hard to know, am I getting a good deal on the train or on the financing."

Food and energy concerns

The outgoing World Bank president is also concerned that higher food, fertiliser and energy prices, as a result of the war in Ukraine, are sapping government budgets in poorer countries. While that could deepen the economic challenges they face there is relief that price rises are now starting to ease.

"The immediate crisis is over but one thing that's been left is that countries didn't use enough fertiliser, so their soil is depleted. So the yields are expected to be lower next year than normal."

"So a farmer that was just making ends meet, she didn't get fertiliser, and now her land is not as productive. And so where's the food going to come from for the family and for the community? That's the big immediate problem. What we're trying to do is help countries directly with fertiliser [and] with food."

Many of the world's poorest economies have been hit hard by higher food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine

The World Bank is concerned that these challenges will worsen a first-ever increase in the global extreme poverty rate - people getting by on less than $1.90 per day. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic it rose from 8.4% to 9.3%.

The planet's leading development body hopes that its upcoming showpiece joint Spring Meetings with the IMF in Washington will help it raise more money to tackle its key mission.

"The ambition is there," says Mr Malpass, "but the needs are much bigger than the amount of flows" of money coming in.

You can watch David Malpass' interview in full on Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst on the BBC News Channel at 15:30 on Saturday, BBC iPlayer and on BBC World News on Saturday at 10:30 and 23:30 GMT and Sunday at 05:30 and 16:30 GMT.
Chris Christie. Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC via Getty Images

Chris Christie said the Trump team's "bravado" over the Manhattan indictment is "baloney."

Trump will have to be arraigned and he "can't make that a good day," Christie said on ABC News.

Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office on Tuesday.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the "bravado" displayed by former President Donald Trump after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury is "baloney."

Speaking on a panel on Sunday's "This Week" on ABC News, Christie said he was mostly reserving commentary on the content of the indictment because he wanted to read it first, but then proceeded to offer several minutes of commentary.

A grand jury indicted Trump last week after an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brag into hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.

Christie said Bragg could have used "prosecutorial discretion" not to push the case forward, questioning whether it was a good use of city resources.

"On the other hand, all this bravado from the Trump campaign is baloney. He is going to be charged officially on Tuesday," Christie said. "He's going to have to be mugshotted, fingerprinted and he's going to face a criminal trial in Manhattan, and he's not going to be able to avoid it. You can't make that a good day under any circumstances."

Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office on Tuesday, according to his attorney, Joe Tacopina, who on Sunday said Trump was the "victim" of political prosecution.

Trump's reelection campaign raised more than $4 million within 24 hours of the news of the indictment, which the campaign described as the "Alvin Bragg witch hunt," Insider previously reported.

The former president, who was already the frontrunner among Republicans in the 2024 presidential race, surged ahead in several polls after the indictment. Trump is now ahead of main rival Florida Gov. Ron Desantis by 26 percentage points, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

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While the indictment is not yet public, Trump could face as many as 30 counts related to business fraud, according to a CNN report.

"It does not surprise me there are that many charges because what you're talking about are financial transactions," Christie, a possible presidential contender himself, said on ABC News. "So, the number of charges doesn't really surprise me at all, but the fact that everyone's presuming they know what's in there when we don't, I think some people could be surprised on Tuesday."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday he is reserving judgment about the charges against former President Donald Trump until he actually sees what the charges are.

Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said he wants to read the indictment first before he decides whether the case is fair or partisan, as many of his GOP colleagues claim.

You know, one of the things I found really amazing on both sides of this is that people are willing to comment on the efficacy of an indictment before you've even read it, Christie said Sunday during a panel discussion on ABCs This Week.

Christie, a Trump acolyte-turned-critic and potential 2024 presidential rival, said Sunday that while criticism of Trump's attacks on the judicial system is fair, there are legitimate questions, about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs motives.



You can be incredibly critical of the way Trump treats all of our institutions, the judiciary, being part of it. And he has called for the use of prosecutorial power against people that he's opposed to without knowing at all what the facts are. He should be criticized for that. I've criticized him for it and others have, Christie said.

At the same time, there can be legitimate questions to be raised about Alvin Bragg's conduct and his lack of use of prosecutorial discretion here, said, Christie, who argued that Bragg may not be making the best use of his limited resources.

What I hate about our conversations about this right now, George, is that you have to be in one camp or the other. It's not true, Christie told ABCs George Stephanopoulos.

The charges, Christie noted, could contain some unexpected material. I do think there may be surprises in there for us, he said.
The Cincinnati Police Department is seeking aide from the public after a 31-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday night.

>> TRENDING: 39 arrested, hundreds of contraband confiscated in Columbus police operation

Cincinnati police and fire were dispatched to the 2200 block of Vine Street at around 7:50 p.m. on reports of a shooting, a spokesperson for the police department stated.

When officers and firefighters arrived on scene, they found a man shot and in need of immediate medical attention.

Medics transported the man to University of Cincinnati Medical Center; however, he succumbed to his gunshot wound and died soon after arrival, the spokesperson informed.

Mack Dorsey, 31, was later identified as the victim.

Once the subject died, the Cincinnati Police Departments Homicide Unit took over the investigation, which is currently ongoing, the spokesperson said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 513-352-3542.
Jamie Ulmer

Dr. Flora Sakornsin with patients.

National Minority Health Month is observed in April, an initiative that targets the health needs of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans and other minorities.

The observation is designed to build awareness regarding the unequal burden of preventable death and illness in these groups. Racial and ethnic minority populations have higher rates of poor health than white counterparts in a range of conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma and heart disease.

National Minority Health Month is rooted in the 1915 establishment of National Negro Health Week by Booker T. Washington. In 2002, National Minority Health Month received support from the U.S. Congress. The resolution encouraged all health organizations and Americans to conduct appropriate programs and activities to promote healthfulness in minority and other health disparity communities.

Healthcare Network was founded in 1977 as a nonprofit to tackle the medical issues of migrant farmworkers, the rural poor and citizens in Collier County. As the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Collier County, Healthcare Network welcomes all patients, regardless of insurance or job status, providing the same high-quality care to all.

Community Health Centers like Healthcare Network are not ordinary medical clinics. We are also problem-solvers who reach beyond the exam room to care for the whole person and help address the social determinants of health, such as connecting patients to resources like food and housing that are essential for a persons complete well-being.

Here are just a few ways that Healthcare Network is working to address racial health care disparities in Collier County.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted existing health inequities, with Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native populations in the U.S. experiencing higher rates of hospitalization and death compared to white populations.

Healthcare Network worked with community partners in Immokalee to provide culturally and language-appropriate information about COVID-19 to remote, vulnerable communities, helping to combat challenges faced by underserved communities.

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Racial minorities are more likely to live in primary care shortage areas. Access to primary care is critical because of its role in prevention, chronic disease management and as an overall entry point to the health care system.

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration designates nearly all of Southwest Florida as a Medically Underserved Area, meaning that there are too few primary care providers for the growing population.

Yet community Health Centers like Healthcare Network improve access to high quality primary care for at-risk populations, as well as people with insurance, while decreasing hospitalization rates and use of emergency departments in the states and counties that they serve.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. are less likely to have access to mental health services.

Healthcare Network patients continue to benefit from an integrated behavioral health model, where patients are screened for mental and behavioral health issues during regular primary care appointments. Combining behavioral and mental health in one setting helps reduce the stigma many patients may feel when seeking mental health services.

Black Maternal Health Week is recognized each year from April 11-17. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including variations in accessing quality health care.

Our new maternal-fetal medicine program focuses on women with high-risk or complicated pregnancies, specialty care not always available to low-income mothers. In addition, we offer a wide range of in-office procedures such as management of ectopic pregnancy, the Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) to prevent cervical cancer and vulvar biopsy. These procedures were previously only accessible to our patients at a hospital, where the cost was often prohibitive.

Recognizing that health care needs to be accessible, affordable and comprehensive, our commitment to our community, as Collier County continues to rapidly grow, is to be innovative in the ways we reach at-risk populations.

In addition, it is increasingly important that the community supports nonprofit organizations already in place and working to address health care disparities in Black, indigenous and people of color communities.

Jamie Ulmer is president and CEO of Healthcare Network. He serves on the executive and chair committees for the Florida Association of Community Health Centers and is a member of multiple committees for the National Association of Community Health Centers. For information, visit healthcareswfl.org.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Closing gaps in minority health care helps us all
Attorney Lanny Davis, who represents ex-President Trumps former personal attorney Michael Cohen, warned current Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina against building his whole strategy on personal attacks against Cohen as Trump faces an indictment in New York City.

A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump in relation to a hush money payment made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, to silence her claims of an affair with the former president, which he denies.

Cohen, then Trumps lawyer, admitted to setting up the payment and was sentenced to three years in prison. He testified last month before the Manhattan grand jury and is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution if the case goes to trial.

However, Davis said it would be a mistake for Trumps attorneys to focus too much on attacking his client.

My old friend Joe Tacopina  we were colleagues in the same client matter, and I helped him on his own matter  its a wrong strategy if he thinks hes building his whole strategy on personal attacks on Michael Cohen, Davis said on CNNs State of the Union.

Tacopina appeared ahead of Davis on the CNN Sunday program and called Cohen a pathological, convicted liar, perjurer and someone who is constitutionally incapable of telling the same story the same way twice.

Davis on Sunday said Cohen gave Manhattan prosecutors substantial documentation to back up his testimony, including some concerning an alleged hush money payment to another woman who claims to have had an affair with the former president, which he has also denied.

Michael Cohen submitted a lot of documentation, not only to this group of prosecutors, but to the earlier group. And there are other documents from other people and other testimony from other people, some of it direct, involving conversations with Mr. Trump, concerning the Karen McDougal crime. Remember, there are two crimes here, Davis said.

CNNs Dana Bash later pressed Davis on his mention of McDougal.

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So youre saying that your client, Michael Cohen, also gave documentation, evidence that will show that there was hush money paid in maybe in an illegal way to Karen McDougal, who was a former Playboy model? Bash asked.

The answer is yes, Davis said.

The exact charges in Trumps sealed indictment are still unknown, so it remains unclear what the Manhattan district attorneys case entails, or whether it includes the allegations concerning both Daniels and McDougal.

The former president is expected to appear in court in New York on Tuesday for arraignment. Tacopina on Sunday said he hopes Trumps surrender will be painless and classy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Colin Jost was left temporarily humiliated on Saturday Night Live after falling victim to an evil prank by his co-host Michael Che.

On Saturday (1 April), the US sketch show aired its latest episode, which was hosted by Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson.

As usual, Jost and Che hostedSNLs Weekend Update segment  however, as this was April Fools Day, Che had something planned unbeknownst to the man sat beside him.

While Jost delivered his jokes as normal, he noticed that barely anybody in the audience was laughing. Conversely, when Che made his quips, he received a rapturous reaction from those in the crowd.

Later, Che told Jost: I told them not to laugh at you for April Fools.

Jost, clearly relieved, said: Am I not miked? He then told Che he was convinced that he just sucked.

Through laughter, Jost said: God, youre evil, adding: Thats the meanest thing youve ever done to me. Im covered in sweat.

As the audience  finally  laughed at his reaction, Jost quipped: Dont you even dare!

Colin Jost was convinced he sucked after evil Michael Che prank (YouTube)

Jost was not the only one to find themselves the source of an April Fools Day prank. Recent Oscar winner, who won Best Adapted Screenplay for Women Talking last month, received a letter asking her to return her award as her victory had been a mistake.

Polley shared the note on Twitter, telling her followers that it had, in fact, been sent by her 11-year-old child.

Elsewhere on SNL, host Quinta Brunson, creator and star of Abbott Elementary, called out sitcom Friends for its lack of diversity during her opening monologue.

Meanwhile, James Austin Johnson returned as Donald Trump to skewer the former president days after he was indicted on charges of falsifying business records.
Children from the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site after a mass shooting at their school March 27. (Jonathan Mattise / Associated Press)

After a shooting that killed six people, including three 9-year-old kids, Monday in Nashville, I found myself thinking about how we process the ever-growing list of mass gun murders.

For me, each mass shooting adds to the list of places near and far that Ill forever associate with the day someone, empowered by easy access to plentiful firearms, decided to kill.

I visualize them as pins on a mental map of the communities and locations across the U.S. that has been filling up my whole life. The familiar ones stick with me most: A shopping center I still drive by. A nearby school. A grocery store I went to growing up. These places become inescapable reminders of our leaders' decades-long acceptance of mass death, and the everyday terror of living in a country where your life could be cut short at any time, at any place, for any reason, by someone with a gun. How many of us have these coordinates accumulating in our minds?

Im 38 and over my lifetime the number of mass shootings and their death toll have increased . They went from seeming rare and shocking to frequent and almost expected in a country where these killings occur with frustrating regularity. Theyve become a shameful fact of life in a nation with too many guns, a culture so ruthlessly individualistic that it values access to firearms above the right to live, and politicians  most of them Republicans  whose cruelty and indifference allows this national suicide to carry on, shooting after murderous shooting.

It's terrible that place names such as Newtown, Aurora and Uvalde have become shorthand reminders that one day we may not survive a trip to the store or a restaurant, a day at work or school. I think we all suffer indirect trauma from this landscape of tragedies encircling us.

The first mass shooting I can remember, as a kid who grew up outside Denver, was at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant about 25 miles away, where a fired ex-employee killed four workers with a pistol. I was only 9 years old at the time but saw and heard the coverage of the killings on the news. It was frightening and disturbing that something so horrible could happen at a place I associated with pizza, arcade games and birthday parties.

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Five years later, when I was in ninth grade, a dozen students and a teacher were killed by gunfire at Columbine High School on the other side of the Denver metro area. I can still picture the classroom I was in when we heard the news that kids our age had been slaughtered inside their school. Two years ago, when a gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket in my hometown of Boulder, Colo., that I had been to many times over the years, I could see the aisles and checkout lanes clearly in my mind.

Like many reporters, Ive also covered my share of these shootings, and those get added to the map too. I think of interviewing witnesses outside a Seal Beach hair salon where a man killed eight people in 2011 at a shopping center I still drive by from time to time  and the 2015 San Bernardino attack where a married couple killed 16 people at a work event a few miles from my home. That day I raced to a local hospital as we tried to get a handle on how many were dead and wounded. I still think about it every time I pass by the exit on the 10 Freeway near the shooting site.

The pins on my map just keep multiplying. In 2023, there have already been more than 130 mass shootings, defined as having four or more victims killed or wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive . And thats not counting the more frequent everyday shootings that account for the vast majority of gun deaths. The most common locations are where we spend our daily lives: workplaces, shopping centers, restaurants, schools, places of worship.

The details of the crime, the shooters name and the motive matter so much less than the nation's failure to enact gun safety laws that would save lives.

Id like to imagine a day when the shootings will stop or at least taper off or that I could point to some evidence that theres a limit to the amount of preventable death and suffering that U.S. leaders will tolerate while they stand by and do nothing. But the only certainty is that another massacre will soon add another dot on this disgraceful atlas.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Florida legislature is considering criminalizing the termination of a pregnancy after six weeks. This proposal not only threatens the lives of women in Florida but would rob them of their religious liberty, as well.

Jewish tradition has considered the question of abortion for millennia. As far back as the book of Exodus, our tradition did not see a fetus as having equal status with an extant human being. Throughout the centuries, our sages have consistently taught that the health and safety of the mother is the paramount concern until the moment of childbirth.

At the same time, our tradition also teaches that the question of when does life begin? is not easily answered. Some sages taught that a soul enters the fetus at the moment of birth, others after 40 days, and some even at the moment of conception. Jewish tradition leaves the question of when does life begin open to interpretation, and relies on the conscience of individual Jews to answer that question for themselves.

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Rabbi Dan Levin

Jewish tradition, however, is very clear that if carrying a fetus threatens the health of the mother, then it is our obligation to terminate that pregnancy to save the mothers life. And that threat is not necessarily limited to the physical health of the mother but also concerns her mental health.

Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, the foremost scholar on bio-ethical issues in Israel in the 20th century, wrote that indeed, we may permit an abortion  because of 'a great need' and because of pain and suffering. And it is irrelevant in what way the pain and suffering is expressed, whether it is physical or psychological. Indeed, psychological suffering is in many ways much greater than the suffering of the flesh.

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We need to be clear. State laws that prohibit the right to terminate a pregnancy with no regard to the health and safety of the mother violate Jewish law. A Jewish person who is denied the right to an abortion to preserve her health is kept from what Floridas constitution guarantees as the free exercise of her religious conscience.

More importantly, the moral arguments surrounding a ban on terminating a pregnancy at six weeks establish a particular religious ideology as the law of our state.

The Florida Constitution in Article I, Section 3 - Religious freedom: There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof.

The proposed law criminalizing the termination of a pregnancy after six weeks would be a direct violation of the constitutional rights of Jewish women in Florida.

A woman in our congregation is pregnant with a fetus that has extraordinary genetic deformities. She is 13 weeks along and is deeply grieved  this is a pregnancy she sought and the thought of terminating that pregnancy is extremely painful. But in consultation with her doctor and her rabbi, she decided that she needs to terminate this pregnancy. It is her right to exercise her religious conscience and to make the decision she believes is in her best interests.

For the sake of religious freedom and the health and safety of women, we cannot allow this proposal to become law in Florida.

Rabbi Dan Levin serves as Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth El in Boca Raton.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida abortion restrictions would violate religious rights of Jews
Daniel Rossi-Keen

Over the last several months, a handful of Beaver County leaders have been thinking quite a bit about the importance of having strong institutions in our communities. Together, we have been reflecting on the value of creating a shared culture and shared language to describe our collective experience. And, we have been considering ways that we might convene and encourage a more mature conversation about the future of Beaver County.

Emerging out of these conversations, Penn State-Beaver and RiverWise launched a pilot program this past Wednesday for a community lecture and conversation series called The Current.

This series seeks to connect community concerns and thought leadership in ways that can positively impact the future of the region and aid us in collectively understanding our role as culture makers. More than a mere lecture series, the goal of this initiative is to generate intentional conversations about who Beaver County has been, what we are becoming, and how we fit into the emerging story of human history.

One of the key reasons for creating this initiative is the growing recognition that Beaver County is a community in transition. Changes are happening all around us and new organizations are cropping up all the time. In such a climate, it is all the more important that we are publicly having conversations about the future we desire to inhabit together. Void of such thought leadership, the future will be foisted upon residents of Beaver County in ways that may or may not be to our greatest benefit. And so, it is essential for us to come together with a vision and purpose and make sure that the future of our region emerges with intention and a clear purpose.

At present, The Current is a two-event pilot program. The first event took place this past week and the second will be held on May 17. Both events are hosted by Penn State-Beaver in the Student Union Building Lodge.

This weeks event featured Bill Flanagan, producer and host of Our Regions Business at WPXI-TV. A longstanding leader in Pittsburghs recent history, Flanagan provided an overview of the major economic, social, and cultural forces that have shaped southwestern Pennsylvania over the last century. He also projected what is likely to happen in the near future, and focused squarely on how Beaver County might position itself to gain the greatest advantage in the coming decades.

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As both an organizer and a participant in this weeks gathering, I was reminded that Beaver County has a proud past and a promising future. But, as Flanagan clearly explained, unlocking that potential will require civic leaders who are willing to work together to create a shared vision and make it happen. It never, as Flanagan said, just happens. Instead, Leaders make it happen. It is, for this reason, critically important that we initiate regular and ongoing conversations about where we are and where we want to go as a region. Without such intentionality, the future will be driven by merely economic forces that may or may not have our best interest in mind.

This week, and thanks to Bill Flanagans thoughtful presentation, I was reminded afresh that communities exist to make and grow culture, to bring people together in the public sphere and to engage in ongoing conversations about the places we live and the things we prioritize. Once again, I was prompted to remember that the future of our region hinges on nurturing these kinds of spaces and that void of such intentional dialogue we will quickly become passive observers of our own history.

Coming out of this weeks launch of The Current, I am more energized than ever. I am looking forward to our event in May, followed by a full rollout of the series in the fall.

Though building the future of our region is undoubtedly challenging, it is also exciting and empowering to see such a vision met with passion from the community. I am eager to continue to work alongside Penn State-Beaver on this important project, and I look forward to what residents of the region envision and create out of these admittedly humble beginnings.

Daniel Rossi-Keen, Ph.D., is the co-owner of eQuip Books, a community bookstore in Aliquippa and the executive director of RiverWise, a nonprofit employing sustainable development practices to create a regional identity around the rivers of Beaver County. You can reach Daniel at daniel@getriverwise.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Community Matters: Launching 'The Current'
Police arrested the father of two missing Concord boys after finding them in Missouri on Monday morning, according to the Concord Police Department.

Shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday, the missing brothers, ages 8 and 11, were reportedly taken from a yard on near their grandmothers apartment along Wilshire Avenue.

Police found them with their father, Aaron Eugene Toliver, at a Super 8 hotel near the intersection of Interstate 29 U.S. Hwy 136 in Rock Port, Missouri, at 8:35 a.m. Monday. Toliver is being charged with felony abduction by a parent.

Police initially called it a possible kidnapping and believed he could have been en route to Texas or Florida, where he has family. The United States Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Atchison County Sheriffs Office were all involved in the hunt for Toliver and his sons.

Missouri Child Protective Services was caring for the boys  8-year-old Josiah Brooks and 11-year-old Aaron Toliver  while arranging efforts to reunite them with their grandmother, who cares for them Concord.
The father of two boys reported missing from Concord has been arrested and the brothers were found safe, police confirmed.

Concord police were called for a possible kidnapping to a home on Wilshire Avenue in Concord on Saturday.

Were seeking assistance locating two missing male juveniles. See the media release for more details.



Anyone with information is asked to contact 911 or the Concord Police Department at 704-920-5000. pic.twitter.com/uf82UxzUhF  Concord, NC Police (@ConcordNCPolice) April 2, 2023

Officers then learned Josiah Brooks, 8, and Aaron Toliver, 11, who are brothers, were taken from a neighbors yard where they were playing and put into a white vehicle by a man who is believed to be their father.

The two live with their grandmother on Wilshire Avenue, according to police.

ALSO READ: Teen reported missing in Burke County found safe, deputies say

Police believed their father, Aaron Eugene Toliver, could have been headed to Texas or Florida, where he has family. He was considered a person of interest in the investigation, according to police.

On Monday morning, sources told Channel 9 Toliver had been arrested and the boys were found in Missouri that morning. Police confirmed they were found safe around 8:30 a.m. at a Super 8 hotel in Rock Port. They will be reunited with their grandmother, police added.

Their father will be charged with misdemeanor domestic violence protective order and felony abduction by a parent.

We are extremely pleased with the results of locating these two, said Terry Burgin, U.S. Marshal with the Western District of North Carolina. Those 24 hours are the most critical time. We never know, although parents might be involved. We never know what is of the abductor.

The boys grandmother was ecstatic about the news of their safe return.

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Im just so grateful, said Roseann Toliver, the grandmother. I really am. Im so grateful to God, to the community, to my good neighbor, to my godson, and all of you that have you know, wished us well and been concerned for the safety of little Aaron and. And we call them Joe-Joe Josiah.

Channel 9s Glenn Counts spoke with neighbors Sunday who said they were very worried about the boys and were praying they got home safely.

I believe the boys will be returned, neighbor Loita Cagle said. And anybody that loves the Lord has faith and agrees with us that the Lord is going to return the boys safely. And theyre going to be in good health and good, stable condition.

Cagles grandson said he saw it all happen.

ALSO READ: Sheriff: 13-year-old girl abducted from Texas found alive in NC shed

Ive been with them for a long time, and Im just worried about them, 11-year-old Xayne Cagle said.

He was out playing with the brothers when their father allegedly walked them to his car.

I saw that, Xayne said. When they started driving away, I was like -- I was getting confused because he was driving too fast.

He ran and told his grandmother, who called the police. Since that moment, officers had been looking for the boys.

Im happy he was able to give the color of the car, the type of car it was, Im glad he was attentive, Loita Cagle said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Concord Police Department at 704-920-5000.

(WATCH BELOW: CMPD investigating missing south Charlotte woman)
Jacob Runyan, left, and Chase Cominsky, have pleaded guilty to cheating, a fifth-degree felony, and for unlawful ownership of animals, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Justice was settled on last week in the infamous case of the cheating Ohio walleye fishermen.

Jacob Runyan, of Broadview Heights, a Cleveland suburb, and Chase Cominsky, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, drew social media attention  and local legal intervention  after the Lake Erie fish they weighed during an early fall tournament were found stuffed with lead weights and fish fillets.

A video documenting a confrontation between irate tourney contestants and a speechless Runyan went viral. For a few days, the story went global.

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Social media being fluid and flighty, the buzz quickly blew away like smoke in a Great Lakes gale. Neither fellow anglers nor enforcement officials are prone to forget fraud, however.

And thousands of dollars were at stake.

Runyan and Cominsky already had drawn suspicion because of a spectacular run winning Lake Erie walleye tournaments that garnered hefty prizes. Much of the prize money in such tournaments comes from entry fees, meaning any cheating is done at the direct expense of other competitors.

The operative word is theft.

Both Runyan and Cominsky denied wrongdoing, suggesting instead they were just darn good at what they did. That turned out to be true in an ironic sense until their day of reckoning.

The pair maintained a not guilty stance until minutes before the scheduled start of their trial Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Up against something like 30 witnesses for the prosecution and a damaging video, Runyan, Cominsky and their lawyers elected to cop a plea.

Dropped was a misdemeanor charge of possessing criminal tools and a felony charge of attempted grand theft, even though the pair wouldve raked in $28,000 if theyd gotten away with the weigh-in subterfuge.

The prosecutors office agreed to accept guilty pleas for cheating, a fifth-degree felony, and for unlawful ownership of animals, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

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The plea agreement included a three-year suspension of Runyan's and Cominsky's fishing licenses and the forfeiture of Cominskys boat, valued at $100,000.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife currently holds the boat as evidence, said Kenneth J. Fitz, the divisions executive administrator of law enforcement. He emphasized that a final decision on what will happen to the vessel cant be determined until sentencing, scheduled for May 11, although he conceded itll likely be forfeited.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutors office has recommended six months probation rather than jail time. Successful completion of probation could lead to the anglers having their convictions expunged.

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This plea is the first step in teaching these crooks two basic life lessons, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Michael C. OMalley said in a statement. Thou shall not steal, and crime does not pay.

Not everybody posting comments on public forms agreed the punishment measured up to the crime, and presiding judge Steven Gall retains the option of sentencing Runyan and Cominsky to a year in jail, the Associated Press reported.

Neither Runyan nor his attorney offered comment after the hearing. Cominskys attorney, Kevin Spellacy, told the AP that the plea is Cominsky's first step toward moving on with his life and taking full responsibility.

Whether moving on will include recreational fishing wont be known for at least several years.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Competitive fishers Runyan, Cominsky plead guilty to felony
Jana Cernochova, Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic, said on Sunday, 2 April, that some of the military equipment in storage of the Czech Armed Forces might be transferred to Ukraine as military aid.

Source: European Pravda, citing Cernochova on air on a Czech TV channel

Details: "We still have things in storage that our army will definitely never use," the Czech Defence Minister said.

Cernochova explained that she will meet Karel Rehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, and President Petr Pavel. Cernochova and Rehka will provide Pavel with a list of military equipment that can be sent to Ukraine.

"We will inform the president about our inventory, so that he has a clear understanding of what we can hypothetically send to Ukraine, if Ukraine was interested," she added.

She also stressed that the fact that the Czech Republic was handing over some of its military equipment to Ukraine would not undermine her countrys defence capability.

Background: Czech President Petr Pavel said in late March that his country has done everything it could to help Ukraine with arms supplies, and there are fewer and fewer opportunities for further assistance. He mentioned that he still saw some opportunities in air defence and ammunition.

In February, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the Czech government's military assistance to Ukraine since the start of Russias full-scale invasion had reached CZK 10 billion (EUR 422 million), and the Czech defence industry had sent weapons worth another CZK 30 billion (EUR 1.27 billion).

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Daniil Medvedev won his maiden Miami Open title with victory over Jannik Sinner (Wilfredo Lee/AP) (AP)

Daniil Medvedev claimed his maiden Miami Open title with a comprehensive 7-5 6-3 victory over Italian Jannik Sinner at Hard Rock Stadium.

Sunday marked the Russians fourth trophy and fifth final in as many tournaments after losing to ATP number one-ranked Carlos Alcaraz two weeks ago at Indian Wells.

The win pulled leader Medvedev 600 points ahead of Novak Djokovic in the battle to be crowned year-end ATP number one, and made it 19 titles in 19 different cities for the 27-year-old.

On a hard court? Where have I not [won]? Medvedev said on Amazon Prime when asked where his next victory would be. Clay season coming, so hopefully I can do well there and maybe get my first title on clay, you never know.

A crocodile always feels at ease in Florida. @DaniilMedwed triumphs at the @MiamiOpen and claims his 5th @atptour Masters 1000.



Huge congrats Daniil!  pic.twitter.com/Y3nL9xIbWi  Lacoste (@Lacoste) April 2, 2023

I think Im only going to play the best tournaments like Barcelona, Madrid, so if I managed to get a title there I would be really happy. The thing is that I would like to defend my title, I havent done it yet. I havent done it at any tournament two times, so hopefully I can do it at least once in my career, but in general I always try to do my best and Im really happy to win here today.

Medvedev became the first man since Djokovic in 2020 to reach consecutive ATP Masters 1000 finals when he reached the title contest in Miami, the victory also his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown and first since Toronto in 2021.

Tenth-seed Sinner was the first to break his opponent as he pulled ahead 3-2 in the opening set but Medvedev, seeded fourth, broke back immediately, then again on the hour mark to seal the set.

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He could sense his opponent  who beat Alcaraz in the semi-final  had begun to fade, and the Italian was only able to break the Russians serve once before Medvedev won the ninth game at love to wrap up the second set in a tidy 34 minutes.

Medvedev, who will move up to number four in the ATP rankings on Monday, praised his opponent, adding: Today Jannik was a little bit struggling and I could feel it. On the first set it was tough for me also. It was pretty hard. We had some tough rallies, so I started to feel tough and then I looked at him and thought he might not be feeling better than me.

Thats when I actually felt much better straightaway. I think I was more consistent than he was.
David Mylchreest at the site of the British Normandy Memorial at Gold Beach in 2021 (British Normandy Memorial.org)

Having landed in Normandy on 12 June 1944 (D-Day plus six, in military parlance), 20-year-old 2nd lieutenant David Mylchreest fought through northern France, Belgium and Holland with the British armys 43rd Wessex Infantry Division and liberated the key French town of Vernon, which straddles the river Seine. He believed he and his crew were the first Allied soldiers to cross the river in the initial drive towards Berlin.

Attached to the 4th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry, he took part in some of the fiercest fighting of the Normandy campaign around the towns of Argentan, Caen and Falaise, as well as the weeks-long battle for the strategically-vital Hill 112 and Mont Pincon, both near Caen. His war ended at Elst, Holland, in September 1944 when he was badly wounded by an enemy shell during the bloody Battle of Arnhem, made famous by the book and film A Bridge Too Far.

After months of intensive medical care in England and rehab at Richmond Park, Surrey, and by then promoted to captain, he insisted on going back to the front lines and was on board a Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) in Dover harbour in April 1945, ready to return to the front, when the news came through that the Nazis had surrendered. Like all ships in the harbour, the war-bound MTB turned into a floating party boat, although many years later Mylchreest told the French media: I was quite furious at not being with my men.

Even though he had seen it only during the mud and gore of war, Mylchreest had fallen in love with the Normandy countryside and, in the 1970s, went back to spend the rest of his life there, settling in the small commune of Neaufles-Auvergny in northern France. Unlike some of his comrades, his return was not for the love of any French demoiselle, but for his love of horses.

A horseman and trail hunter since his childhood on his native Isle of Man and in Devon, his first post-war job in England had been as a groom at thoroughbred breeding and stud farms, as well as grooming some of the Queens racehorses for leading trainers including Cecil Boyd-Rochfort at Newmarket; in the 1970s, he returned to settle in Normandy to work on Frances oldest thoroughbred breeding and stud farm, the Haras du Pin, where he rose to become director until his retirement. Still one of the worlds leading breeding and stud farms for racehorses, the Haras du Pin was founded by king Louis XIV before 1715 and developed by his successor Louis XV. It was occupied by the Germans in 1940-41.

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Mylchreest died in hospital in Lisieux, Normandy on 8 March 2023, aged 99, the British Normandy Memorial Trust announced from its headquarters at Ver-sur-Mer on the Normandy coast.

A young Mylchreest in military uniform (Le Reveil Normand)

Having learnt French fluently, but retaining an unmistakeable and quite posh English accent, he became a well-known figure in Normandy, notably for his work to maintain the memory of his fallen comrades, including a British Normandy Memorial Monument at Ver, on what the allies at the time called Gold Beach, and close to where he had first landed at Arromanches-les-Bains in June 1944 as a 20-year-old 2nd Lieutenant.

The French named Mylchreest a Knight of the Legion of Honour in May 2015 and on 6 June 2021, the 77th anniversary of D-Day, he represented the UK at the inauguration of the monument, a dramatic bronze sculpture by David Williams-Ellis showing three British soldiers storming across Gold Beach. At the same time, other Normandy veterans unable to travel attended a parallel memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Captain Mylchreest also represented the Queen in Normandy on the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 2015 and had met her at other memorial services over the years, when, he said, they shared their love of thoroughbreds and horse racing.

Michael David Mylchreest was born on the Isle of Man on 3 February 1924, to a protestant pastor who had served as a British army chaplain in Belgium during the First World War, where his job was to bury dead British soldiers and send letters to their families informing them of their loss.

Young Mylchreests uncle David had been killed in 1916, aged 18, during the Battle of the Somme and hence his parents gave him the middle name David, one which he preferred.

The veteran in Normandy at the site of the memorial (Getty)

When his father moved to England to become a vicar in Buckfastleigh, near Exeter, David boarded at a public school in the latter city. When he was 17, one of his best friends, Nigel, enrolled at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, inspiring David to think of a military career. The Luftwaffe bombings of Exeter in 1940 made up his mind. (David learned later that his friend Nigel was one of more than 1,400 men aboard HMS Hood who died after the Germans sank it during the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941.)

When David was 17, he skipped school and went to the local army recruitment bureau, convinced a Sergeant-Major he was 18 and officer material, and signed up. When he got back to school, he told his headmaster Im in the army now.

Well see about that, his master said, You lied about your age, Im calling your father. He did but Davids father replied: Tell my son congratulations and hung up the phone. The master gave David one hour to get out of the school, which he gladly did. When I arrived at Colchester for my training, I was still wearing my school blazer and we slept on straw in stables. My first day in the army, he told French author, journalist and war historian Clement Horvath in a 2021 interview.

Mylchreest said he had always refused to give interviews to the British media. Assigned to the 43rd Wessex Division, his first job was at Eastbourne, guarding the coast against a potential German invasion. But my ambition was, to [get to] Berlin, he said.

Mylchreest before the memorial ceremony in June 2021 (AFP/Getty)

In the podcast, he spoke about his claustrophobia, which he felt when he was sent down below on a Landing Craft Infantry between Newhaven and Normandy on D-Day plus six. Battling through Normandy, despite German shells and machine gun fire, he preferred to sleep outside his trench. And in later life, he hated getting into lifts in buildings.

As his division progressed through Normandy, he found himself in charge of 200 German prisoners. The British soldiers were good to them, he said. The ordinary German soldier was like us, but the average SS [Schutzstaffel] was despicable.

In the same interview, Horvath asked him: were you ever scared? Funnily enough, I never felt scared [but] I was always worried. How can I avoid killing somebody? I never expected to survive the war. I only hoped I would be killed, not maimed for life.

Talking of the assault on Mont Pincon, the highest peak in the Calvados region of Normandy and occupied by the Germans, he described how he and his men took the hill in the middle of the night because, during the day, every time you moved, you got fired at. But at night, We took it in Indian file. The Germans didnt know we were there. [But] it was an extraordinary battle.

After the battle, in mid-July 1944, I was the last to leave [Mont Pincon] with my batman. He was about 18 or 19 years old. After a German mortar or shell exploded between them, I ran to the left, he ran to the right. When I came to, he had lost both his arms. I didnt have a scratch on me. But he died in my arms. And that was horrible, he told Horvath.

A few weeks later, on 25 August 1944, his division crossed the Seine at Vernon to establish a first beachhead on the eastern bank of the river. They had planned to cross on Ducks (US-built DUKW amphibious vehicles) but the river banks were too steep. So Mylchreest and his men got into inflatable storm boats with engines he described as like lawnmowers.

My sergeant was 22. I was telling him to put a Bren gun here, a mortar bomb there, he told Horvath. And suddenly his head disappeared. Just disappeared. [There was] a sniper overlooking the Seine. I was probably the target since I was the officer. My sergeant just disappeared without a head. Hes buried in the cemetery at Vernon. I visit his grave every year.

The other storm boats didnt start  pfut pfut  but mine started with the first pull Vrrm, vrrm ... so I always claimed I was the first soldier to cross the Seine.

After the war, Mylchreest served with the Royal Sussex Regiment in Trieste, defending Tito against the [Soviets], he said, as well as in Malta, Egypt and the Dutch East Indies. Because of his love of horses, he was assigned to the 6th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, on security duty in Palestine, and later to the 14th/20th Kings Hussars (Cavalry).

In later life, he refused to renew his British passport. Im Manx [from the Isle of Man], Im not British or English. Asked by Horvath about Brexit, he replied that he and his British comrades had fought not just for the King, but for Europe and democracy: Why did they die? Dont talk to me about Brexit, because that makes me ill ... Im disgusted  I have no intention to go back to England. England is kaput.
Pope John Paul II, the third-longest serving pope, passed away on this day in history, April 2, 2005, at the age of 84.

The pope had been in rapidly declining health in the last few days of his life  and made his last public appearance on March 30, 2005.

During that brief appearance, John Paul II appeared at a window and blessed a crowd of pilgrims assembled at St. Peter's Square. He attempted to speak, but was unable to get out words.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, APRIL 1, 1945, US FORCES INVADE OKINAWA, LAST MAJOR BATTLE OF WORLD WAR II

About six hours before his death at 9:37 p.m., Pope John Paul II said, in Polish, "Let me go to the house of the Father," before slipping into a coma, the Vatican said in a report issued in September 2005.

The Holy See Press Office announced the pope's death.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Pope John Paul II died on this day in history, April 2, 2005. His funeral was held at the Vatican on April 8, 2005.

"The Holy Father died this evening at 9:37 p.m. (2:37 p.m. EST) in his private apartment. All the procedures outlined in the apostolic Constitution `Universi Dominici Gregis' that was written by John Paul II on Feb. 22, 1996, have been put in motion," said the announcement.

POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI DEAD AT 95, VATICAN SAYS

About 90 minutes before his death, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow celebrated Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday in Pope John Paul II's bedroom, said Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the then-director of the Holy See Press Office.

During Mass, Pope John Paul II received both the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and Viaticum, said Navarro-Valls.

Viaticum is a term given to the Eucharist when it is given to someone who is in severe danger of death. The term comes from a Latin phrase meaning "traveling provisions."

In this case, the Eucharist would be the sustenance to assist someone spiritually with their journey from life to death, the website Catholic Culture notes.

GREEN BURIAL ALTERNATIVES, HUMAN COMPOSTING GET A HARD NO FROM CATHOLIC BISHOPS

Pope John Paul II's funeral Mass was celebrated on April 8, and he was buried at St. Peter's Basilica.

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During his papacy, Pope John Paul II made over 100 international apostolic journeys, including to the United States. He is pictured above in 1979.

Born as Karol Jozef Wojtya in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, the future pope was the youngest of Karol Wojtya and Emilia Kaczorowska's three children, his official biography on the Vatican website says.

As a child and young adult, John Paul II was heavily involved in theater, even helping to organize a clandestine theater group, said the Vatican.

John Paul II's early life was marked by tragedy. His mother died in 1929, when he was just eight years old, and his brother Edmund died in 1932 at age 26 after contracting scarlet fever while working as a doctor.

MEET THE AMERICAN WHO FIRST ACHIEVED SAINTHOOD, ELIZABETH ANN SETON, MOTHER, EDUCATOR, MIRACLE WORKER

His father, the senior Karol, died suddenly in 1941.

The immense losses weighed heavily on the young John Paul II.

"At 20 I had already lost all the people I loved, and even those I might have loved, like my older sister who, they said, died six years before I was born," Pope John Paul II told the writer Andre Frossard in 1984.

Pope John Paul II had the third-longest papacy of all time, lasting from Oct. 16, 1978, until his death on April 2, 2005.

It was his father's death that sparked John Paul II to think seriously about the priesthood, according to reports.

His plans, however, were impacted by the Nazi's occupation of Poland during World War II, said the Vatican website.

In 1942, while Poland was occupied by the Nazis, John Paul II began studying for the priesthood at a secret underground seminary in Krakow.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, FEB. 11, 1858, OUR LADY OF LOURDES FIRST APPEARS TO ST. BERNADETTE SOUBIROUS

After the war ended, he continued his studies in a more typical manner at the now-legally reopened major seminary of the Archdiocese of Krakow, as well as at the school of theology at the Jagellonian University, notes his biography.

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Krakow on Nov. 1, 1946, and subsequently began doctoral studies in Rome.

Pope John Paul II began to consider entering the priesthood following the death of his father in 1941.

On July 4, 1958, Pope Pius XII appointed the then-Fr. Wojtya (he would later become Pope John Paul II) as auxiliary bishop of Krakow.

A little less than six years later, on Jan. 13, 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed Bishop Wojtya as the new archbishop of Krakow.

Archbishop Wojtya was elevated to the College of Cardinals, becoming Cardinal Wojtya, on June 26, 1967.

INDIANA PRIEST SAYS HE'S CURED OF BRAIN TUMOR AFTER TRIP TO LOURDES: 'THANKS BE TO GOD'

In 1978, Cardinal Wojtya participated in his first conclave, or papal election, which resulted in the election of Cardinal Albino Luciani as Pope John Paul I.

Just 33 days later, John Paul I died  necessitating another conclave. This time, the College of Cardinals elected Wojtya as the new pope on Oct. 16, 1978, the third day of conclave, said his biography.

He was the first non-Italian to be elected pope in 455 years.

Pope John Paul II was a surprise winner of the second conclave of 1978. The formal Karol Wojtya took the papal name "John Paul II."

To honor his predecessor, he took the papal name "John Paul II."

As pope, John Paul II made 104 international apostolic journeys, as well as 146 pastoral visits in Italy, said his biography.

He authored 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, 45 apostolic letters and five books.

PRAYING THE ROSARY: UNDERSTANDING THE PRAYER THAT HELPS CATHOLICS MEDITATE ON JESUS AND MARY

He survived an assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, when a Turkish gunman shot and severely wounded the pontiff in St. Peter's Square.

John Paul II credited the Virgin Mary for saving his life, as he was shot on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

John Paul II forgave Mehmet Ali Agca, his would-be assassin, during a meeting in an Italian prison.

Additionally, he "celebrated 147 beatifications, during which he proclaimed 1,338 blessed and 51 canonizations, for a total of 482 saints," said the Vatican website.

Pope John Paul II was in declining health in his last years, before passing away on April 2, 2005. He stopped making regular appearances at Wednesday audiences in January 2005, although he did make a final public appearance just three days before his death.

One of those saints was St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish mystic who claimed to have visions of Jesus Christ during the 1930s.

During these visions, Christ supposedly referred to himself as the "King of Divine Mercy."

Christ also reportedly gave Kowalska instructions for the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and requested that the first Sunday after Easter be dedicated to mercy, says the website Catholic Online.

John Paul II was devoted to the visions and message of his fellow Pole. When he canonized St. Faustina on April 30, 2000, he declared that the Sunday after Easter each year would be known as the "Divine Mercy Sunday."

At John Paul II's funeral, cries of "Santo subito," or "Sainthood now!" were heard throughout the crowd of mourners.

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The customary five-year waiting period was waived, and Pope Benedict XVI announced that John Paul II's cause for canonization was officially opened on May 13, 2005  the anniversary of his assassination attempt.

John Paul II was beatified on May 1, 2011, by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.

He was then canonized, or officially declared a saint in the Catholic Church, by Pope Francis, along with his predecessor Pope John XIII, on April 27, 2014  Divine Mercy Sunday.
A view of destroyed buildings following the tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas @zharris07 / Reuters

Deadly storms have continued to tear through the Midwest and South for the second weekend in a row, killing at least 21 and injuring dozens more on Friday.

Eight states across the midsection of the US, from Alabama to Wisconsin, reported 57 tornado sightings, according to the National Weather Service. Reports included descriptions of road blockages, dozens of power lines blown down, overturned buses and trailers, and overwhelming damage to businesses and homes.

In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed five fatalities in the state on Saturday morning, with reports of more potential casualties. Three fatalities were confirmed by the Indiana State Police early Saturday, and at least one was confirmed dead in Illinois after a roof collapsed on a crowd of concertgoers. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency announced another fatality in the state a few hours later. By Sunday morning, the number of deaths had risen to at least 27, per the New York Times.

We expect more injuries to come up in the next 24 hours, Sanders said at a Saturday morning press conference. Little Rock, Arkansas, mayor Frank Scott Jr. confirmed that 24 people had been hospitalized as of Friday night, as people continued to share videos of the tornado and wreckage on social media.

Little Rock fire department chief Delphone Hubbard described the devastation in a Friday press conference. Weve responded to overturned vehicles, heavy damage to residential and businesses in the community, along with downed trees, downed power lines, ruptured gas lines, he said . Wynne, Arkansas, mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN that the town had been cut in half by damage from east to west.

Meanwhile, a roof collapsed on a crowd of concertgoers at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one, injuring dozens, and hospitalizing 28, Belvidere fire chief Shawn Schadle confirmed on Friday. Schadle said about 260 people were in the venue at the time of the collapse. Five patients had severe injuries at the time of transportation.

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A performing band, Morbid Angel, posted a notice on Facebook that the show had been canceled, and that the band was sheltering in place. Right now our focus is on making sure everyone in the venue tonight is ok and gets home, the band wrote .

In an email statement, Morbid Angel told BuzzFeed News their thoughts were with those who were still injured and hospitalized. "Our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the individual who tragically lost their life last night in the venue roof collapse due to heavy winds from a Tornado," they wrote. "We truly hope for a fast recovery of all who were injured."

People try to sift through debris from a collapsed roof amid a storm in Belvidere, Illinois, on March 31, 2023, in this screengrab from a social media video. Jessica Bahena Hernandez / Reuters

My administration is closely monitoring the roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere tonight, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted Friday. As we learn more, please follow the guidance of all local authorities.

Over 250,000 homes were left without power across the affected states as of Saturday morning, according to tracking site poweroutage.us, with Indiana and Minnesota experiencing the most outages. Schadle told press that search-and-rescue missions had included pulling residents trapped in elevators and from debris. Its an unstable situation, he said.

This is the second weekend that swaths of the country have seen extreme storms, after tornadoes killed 24 in Mississippi and Alabama last Friday and razed entire towns to the ground. The violent twister's path stretched 100 miles on the ground, and it was described by meteorologists as a rare tornado, given its longevity and strength over a period of time.

Weather disasters are inextricably linked to human-induced climate change. The planet has already warmed 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, according to NASA , and thats making disasters worse. Wildfire seasons are getting longer. Hurricanes are getting wetter and more dangerous . Heat waves are getting hotter, more frequent, and longer-lasting . Heavier rainfall across the US is triggering more inland flooding . And the cost of climate disasters is soaring . Stopping this vicious cycle will require drastically reducing our reliance on climate-polluting fossil fuels.

UPDATE

Apr. 01, 2023, at 20:18 PM

More on this
Senate Democrats were handed a major boost this week when news emerged that Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) will return to the Capitol when the upper chamber wraps up its April recess as they hope to finally get down to brass tacks on their agenda and confirmation plans in the coming weeks.

Fetterman will return to work more than two months after being hospitalized at nearby Walter Reed Military Medical Center with clinical depression, which aides have said he has dealt with for years, but had gotten significantly worse before he checked himself in for treatment.

His absence and that of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been sidelined since she was hospitalized last month with shingles, have created problems for Democrats as they have been forced to operate, at best, with a 49-49 majority.

Even with some Republican absences  most notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been away from the chamber in recent weeks after a fall  Democrats struggled without the pair, particularly at the committee level where they have been unable to move partisan nominees from various panels to votes on the Senate floor.

We hope to be back to full strength right after Easter and to get back down to business, Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told The Hill.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) is seen during a oversight hearing of the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Annabelle Gordon)

For Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the issue has been more acute. The panel was forced to postpone markups for three straight weeks due to Feinsteins absence, leaving a number of nominees in limbo. Democrats hold an 11-10 advantage on the committee.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told The Hill that he expects both Fetterman and Feinstein in the Capitol once lawmakers are back from the two-week recess stretch.

He said their return just makes it easier, noting the absences complicated the path to win the requisite 60 votes to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force.

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When you have absences, it just has a way of upsetting the apple cart sometimes on scheduling issues, Kaine added. So yeah, were very excited to have them back.

Among the nominees whove been delayed are Michael Delaney, who President Biden tapped to fill the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacancy, and Charnelle Bjelkengren, a district court judge nominee for the Eastern District of Washington.

Delaneys confirmation is in trouble over his handling of a sexual assault case at a boarding school in New Hampshire. As for Bjelkengren, she is the target of GOP opposition after she stumbled over some questions during her confirmation hearing.

Also being held up is the nomination of Orelia Merchant for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn and two other nominees for trial court seats in New Jersey.

Feinstein will be needed to advance all of those nominees. Since the February recess, the Senate has confirmed one circuit court nominee and 12 district court judges.

It means that we can have a more predictable schedule on nominations. Right now, its only when the schedule permits, said. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). Well have a better process.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) questions nominee for Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service Daniel Werfel during a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. (Greg Nash)

A spokesperson for the longtime California senator declined to provide an update for when she might resume her work in Washington. Feinstein had initially planned to return by the end of March.

While senators await word on Feinstein, they are plenty excited to have Fetterman coming back into the fold after the struggles of recent months. Senate Democrats rushed to support him amid his time of tumult, and are eager for to see him back in the Capitol complex.

Thats great news, said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). We all respect his courage and in a post-COVID world, theres an awful lot of Americans that have some mental health challenges, so I think hes going to be welcomed back, frankly, by both sides.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.)

Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) at the Senate Intelligence Committee meeting to discuss worldwide threats in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (Annabelle Gordon)

Fettermans office announced his hospitalization for treatment on Feb. 15. Adam Jentleson, Fettermans chief of staff said at the time that the senator has experienced depression off and on throughout his life. However, it had become severe in the weeks before checking into the hospital.

The Pennsylvania Democrat has been closely watched over the past year after he suffered a stroke shortly before the Senate Democratic primary in May. He underwent surgery shortly after his stroke to implant a pacemaker.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) told The Hill on Wednesday that he met Fetterman at Walter Reed on Tuesday and was pleased to see his progress, though Casey noted he was relaying his non-medical opinion.

It was just remarkable how good he looked, how good he sounded. My sense is hell be in better shape than he was even before his stroke. Hes really, really in good shape, Casey said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Demonstrators gathered in Poland on Sunday to defend the reputation of late pope John Paul II, who has been accused of concealing child abuse crimes while he was archbishop of Krakow.

Thousands of people in the staunchly Catholic nation turned out in Warsaw on horseback, wearing historical costumes or draped with the flags of the Vatican and Poland, AFP journalists saw.

The events to honour John Paul II were planned by Catholic organisations with the open support of the governing Law and Justice party (PiS).

"As every honest man defends his children, father and mother, all of Poland defends John Paul II," read one placard carried by demonstrators.

Mariusz Blaszczak, defence minister in the right-wing, populist PiS, which is facing parliamentary elections in a few months' time, attended the rally in support of Poland's famous son, born Karol Wojtyla.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda posted messages on their websites defending the late pontiff.

"What is happening in Poland is a huge scandal," said demonstrator Alicja Fabertynowska. "It's deliberately aimed at destroying his authority," she said of John Paul II, who died on April 2, 2005.

The late pontiff is widely venerated in his homeland, even if the official cult of Saint John Paul II is beginning to show cracks, particularly among youth.

- 'Maxima culpa' -

On Sunday a statue of the late pope was defaced in the central city of Lodz. Its hands were covered in red paint and the monument was daubed with the words "Maxima culpa".

The Latin phrase meaning "most grievous fault" refers to the title of a book by Dutch journalist Ekke Overbeek, recently published in Poland, which alleges the future pope knowingly concealed paedophilia within the Polish Catholic Church when he was archbishop of Krakow.

The book and an investigation aired by private broadcaster TVN have provoked angry debate in Poland, pitting the government and Church against the political left-wing and centre.

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"We pass the test by carrying the truth, which must oppose lies, slander and insults," Morawiecki said on Twitter.

PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski sent a letter to party members saying: "We thank God for this immeasurable gift that the Polish pope was and remains for the Church, for Poland and for the world."

"We stand to defend his honour and his good name."

Kaczynski and Morawiecki were due on Sunday evening to attend a concert organised by state TV in the main square of Wadowice, where Wojtyla was born.

National rail company PKP handed out the late pontiff's favourite cream cakes to passengers on some high-speed trains.

The president, Duda, is scheduled to travel to the Vatican on Monday to kneel before John Paul II's tomb.

- Allegations of cover-up -

Last month, days before "Maxima Culpa" went on sale in Poland, TVN aired an investigation saying Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, as he then was, protected paedophile priests while he was head of the Church in Krakow.

He transferred the priests to other dioceses -- one as far away as Austria -- to ensure no scandal ensued, investigator Michal Gutowski said.

Wojtyla, who was pope for 27 years from 1978, wrote a letter of recommendation for a priest accused of abuse to Vienna Cardinal Franz Koenig, without mentioning the accusations, says Gutowski.

During his investigation, Gutowski says he spoke to victims of paedophile priests, their families and former Church diocese employees.

He cites documents from the former Communist-era SB secret police and rare Church documents to which he managed to get access.

But Gutowski said the Krakow diocese had refused him access to its own documentary archives.

The Polish Church has in the past refused to provide documents to the judiciary or a public commission of enquiry investigating cases of clergy abusing minors.

bur-sw/gil/giv
A Louisiana sheriffs deputy was killed when a suspect broke off negotiations and drove his vehicle straight into the deputys car, according to the Louisiana State Police.

The identity of the Lafourche Parish deputy had not been released as of early afternoon Sunday, April 2.

Investigators say the suspect survived the crash and remains in custody.

It happened around 5 a.m. April 2 on Louisiana Highway 1 near Klienpeter Road in Thibodaux, state police said in a news release. Thibodaux is about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.

The initial investigation revealed an officer with the Houma Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation, state police said.

The suspect fled at a high rate of speed. Police pursued the suspect and, at some point during the pursuit, the suspect stopped. Officers attempted to negotiate with the suspect who sped off and rammed into a Lafourche Parish deputys unit stopped nearby.

The deputy was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, officials said.

The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital with moderate injuries, officials said.

Investigators have not released the name of the suspect or charges. He will be formally charged and booked after release from hospital, state police officials said.

Houma police began chasing the suspect just before 4 a.m. and alerted the Lafourche sheriffs office when he crossed the parish line, officials said.

The suspect had stopped near Lafourche Crossing in Thibodaux and was talking with deputies when he suddenly accelerated and struck the deputys vehicle which was positioned nearby, officials said.

We are all processing and grieving this horrific and tragic death, Sheriff Craig Webre said in a release.

We are with the family providing them with support and prayers at this unbelievably difficult time. We ask for the communitys love, prayers and support as well.

The Louisiana State Police is handling the investigation.

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Driver runs over officer after ramming patrol car during chase, Alabama police say

Suspect dead, deputy shot 3 times when burglary becomes a gunfight, Florida cops say

Florida couple terrorized and shot by mob blocking road for illegal race, cops say
Reuters

Donald Trump supporters crashed a Long Island, New York, book signing event for Ron DeSantis on Saturday afternoon.

The incident follows reports that have continued to surface that the Florida governor has been toying with a 2024 presidential bid to challenge the former president.

After a long parade of cars with Trump flags streamed into the parking lotat a local aviation museumahead of the DeSantis book event, the two sides reportedly clashed face to face.

Go home, DeSantis! one protester yelled at DeSantis backers, a scene captured by local WABC Channel 7 investigative reporter Kristin Thorne.

Pro-Trump caravan arriving at Ron DeSantis book signing event on Long Island pic.twitter.com/363loIktTo  Kristin Thorne (@KristinThorne) April 1, 2023

But that was far from the events only interaction that gained attention online.

During DeSantis evening address inside the venue, the governor was heckled by at least one very vocal Trump supporter.

Trump White House alum and Claremont Institute fellow Paul Ingrassia interrupted the governors speech, urging him to support and endorse Donald Trump for president.

In a subsequent interview with The Daily Beast, Ingrassia accused DeSantis of being in bed with the globalists.

The former National Economic Council staffer further told The Daily Beast that after he shouted at DeSantis, he was escorted out of the venue by security.

I cooperated with them, he added. As for why he chose to say what he said, Ingrassia said he believed he was expressing whats on Trump supporters minds. He said he is not officially involved with the Trump 2024 campaign.

DeSantis is either running a campaign, or hes notand if hes not running a campaign, he should be endorsing Donald Trump, he concluded.

Neocon Ron got rattled! pic.twitter.com/7vVRWo2Qq0  Paul Ingrassia (@PaulIngrassia) April 1, 2023

DeSantis spokeswoman Lindsey Curnutte did not return multiple requests for comment from The Daily Beast.

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DeSantis briefly spoke of the indictment against Trump during his speech, without mentioning the former president by name. Instead, he took aim at the prosecutor overseeing the case against Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

This guy is doing politics. He has an agenda that is not the rule of law, DeSantis said, according to ABC 7.

The spat between the two sides follows reporting by The Daily Beast late last month that detailed how DeSantis book tour has turned into amateur hour, all while the tours top coordinator pulled out of their contract.

Word is they quietly rescheduled some stuff but it definitely feels like hes peeled some back, a GOP consultant who has advised DeSantis told The Daily Beast, as it relates to the book tour. I think the soft launch is having an effect. I think its gone poorly, I hear nothing but they are unhappy.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The nation recently marked National Sunshine Week (which happened to coincide with the birthday of James Madison, the founder of the First Amendment.) But you wouldnt know it from the behavior of officials at the national, state and local levels.

At the national level, we have a strong Freedom of Information Act. But as anyone whos made a FOIA request to a federal agency can tell you, the bureaucrats in federal agencies habitually resist disclosing records, responding to FOIA requests with delays at best and flimsy denials at worst. Lloyd Chapman, president of the American Small Business League, a small business advocacy group which has fought and won dozens of FOIA lawsuits, says agencies either drag their feet or invoke weak excuses to avoid disclosing information about things as basic as the federal budget.

Opinion

And its no better at the state and local levels.

California agencies routinely try to hide what theyre doing and their internal communications by claiming deliberative process and the so-called need to think out loud. But to be able to withhold records, they have to show that the public interest in withholding records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosing the records.

That is seldom the case (one agency lawyer once conceded that claiming deliberative process is the last refuge of the damned), but agencies often invoke flimsy exemptions to hide documents, gambling that the people making Public Records Act requests wont have the time or money to challenge denials in court.

At the local level, officials at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments last fall stonewalled The Sacramento Bees Public Records Act request for records about a sales tax hike proposal which critics said would increase pollution and jeopardize the regions access to state and local funding. SACOG tried to hide records showing its own former lawyer was concerned about the measure. (The measure lost.)

Government officials are often aided in their fight against transparency by public employee unions who often claim government worker privacy when members of the public want to know how much a government worker makes, what their pension is or why they are being disciplined. When a newspaper successfully sued to get records about the names and salaries of California government workers, public employee unions fought all the way to the California Supreme Court in a losing battle against transparency.

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The latest technique public officials have used to try and hide what theyre doing is to communicate about government business on their private phones, often by texting. Again, the California Supreme Court shot them down and ruled in favor of transparency, holding in a 2017 case that if communications sent through personal accounts were categorically excluded from the Public Records Act, government officials could hide their most sensitive, and potentially damning, discussions in such accounts.

That was a strong ruling, but top officials such as former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo  who was on the losing end of that ruling  and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs have tried to ignore and defy it. Both Liccardo and Tubbs habitually texted on their private phones when conducting business, and then didnt turn their texts over when requested via Public Records Act requests.

Meanwhile, other public officials up and down the state also use their private phones to conduct public business and are slow to disclose the records, making it harder to hold them accountable.

The California Supreme Court in a 2007 case famously declared, openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy. But many government officials clearly still havent gotten the message. The California government, at every level, must abide by the First Amendment and the laws that hold them to account.

Karl Olson is a San Francisco lawyer who specializes in Public Records Act and Freedom of Information Act litigation.
Donald Trump has denounced his indictment as an abuse befitting a banana republic, but the move in fact puts the United States in line with fellow advanced democracies that have prosecuted former leaders.

France, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Romania and Croatia are among countries where courts have convicted a former president or prime minister, with charges pursued against former top leaders in a number of other democracies including Germany, Japan and Portugal.

For the United States, there is no precedent in the republic's nearly 250-year history -- Trump is the first president, current or former, to be charged with a crime.

Trump, who has faced a slew of legal accusations, is expected to turn himself in Tuesday in New York over a $130,000 payment allegedly made to an adult film star to buy her silence during his 2016 campaign over an affair.

"There is evidence out there that democracies can be, and are, able to hold former leaders accountable," said Shelley Inglis, a former United Nations expert on democratic governance and rule of law who is now at the University of Dayton.

"It's a teaching moment for the United States, when you haven't had that sort of test, to think about what is the strength of our democratic institutions when they're meeting the biggest challenge -- to hold the most powerful people to account," she said.

She pointed to France -- where two former presidents, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, were convicted of corruption -- as an example where democratic institutions were not weakened but strengthened, despite "inevitable" accusations from partisans that charges are politically motivated.

Israel imprisoned former prime minister Ehud Olmert over fraud and former president Moshe Katsav for rape. Israel's current and longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Recent attempts by his government to weaken the judiciary sparked massive protests.

In South Korea, two successive presidents, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, were jailed for bribery or corruption, although both were pardoned. The United States on Wednesday tapped South Korea to lead a third global Summit for Democracy.

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The most frequent international comparison to Trump has been Italian tycoon and three-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has faced dozens of trials, including over alleged bribery and sex with an underage girl.

The 86-year-old Berlusconi has never spent time behind bars, perhaps giving Trump a bit of hope.

- Why not sooner in US? -

Trump and his Republican allies have raged against the charges led by Alvin Bragg, Manhattan's elected district attorney. The former president's son Eric Trump has described the indictment as "Third World prosecutorial misconduct."

Developing nations, of course, are full of cases in which charges against former leaders have raised widespread doubts. Pakistan has seen street protests over the ouster last year of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has since been hit with charges that include terrorism.

In Brazil, leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was jailed for corruption, although the conviction was overturned and he is again president.

The closest the United States came previously to prosecuting a former president was with Richard Nixon over the 1972 break-in of the office of the rival Democratic Party at the Watergate Hotel in Washington.

Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him, a move deeply controversial at the time that proved more popular in hindsight.

But Nixon paid a price -- uniquely in US history, he was forced to resign as president, after support within his Republican Party deteriorated.

US politics are now more polarized, with most Republicans staunchly defending Trump during his unprecedented two impeachments.

James D. Long, a professor of political science at the University of Washington, said that prosecutors may have pursued Trump in part because he faces so many different allegations, not one single campaign-finance issue.

At the global level, prosecuting former leaders "is not only something that has happened historically, but it's becoming increasingly common," Long said.

Still, Long noted that there have been allegations of wrongdoing by US presidents as far back as the early 19th century, and more recently over Bill Clinton's dalliance with Monica Lewinsky and George W. Bush's Iraq invasion.

"From Trump's perspective, he is probably looking back and saying, why am I the first guy since 1789?" Long said.

"I think Americans are really going to have to confront the fact that our system has looked the other way for a long time -- probably when it shouldn't have."

sct/bbk
Felix and Cinnamon are unusual but inseparable best friends.

An unusual pair of four-legged best friends in North Carolina might just be the heartwarming story of the year.

Felix, a one-year-old bulldog, and Cinnamon, a three-year-old goat, were surrendered to the Wake County Animal Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on March 13 when their owner no longer was able to care for the two best buds. The staff fell in love with the pair immediately and realized there was no way they could separate the two best friends. Luckily, they knew just the folks to provide a forever home for Felix and Cinnamon.

This dynamic duo won the hearts of folks after going viral on social media, and staff at the Wake County Animal Shelter wanted to make sure they stay together and best friends for life. Luckily, Christ and Mariesa Hughes of Mr. Mo Project knew just who to call to write the happy ending to this furry fairy tale. They had worked for almost 10 years with a foster family in North Carolina that had plenty of space for dogs, and the family was more than happy to give Felix and Cinnamon their forever home  together.

We are so blessed to be able to foster Felix and Cinnamon! Jacqui Bankes, the pairs new owners, said in a statement. As their forever foster, we are excited to keep them together and also integrate them with our other goats and dogs, after appropriate testing and quarantine. Thank you to Wake County and Mr. Mo Project for making this possible for us!

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfWakeCountyAnimalCenter/posts/pfbid025rn98amuZCKMjn9GyyXNzBRDDL3E1xz4nFDskC4fQz9BWW4dXCpYpnewBKumUyZ6l expand=1 site_id=25371636]

Im so excited they will be living their dream life in Johnston County with their new family, Shinica Thomas, chair, Wake County Board of Commissioners, said in a statement. The Wake County Animal Center has a fantastic rescue network and they focused on the best solution for this pair after getting custody of them. This was the best outcome we could hope for!

The Hughes and their non-profit have graciously offered to cover the medical expenses for Felix and Cinnamon for the rest of their lives, so this story truly has a happy ending!

Of course, you can help write other happy endings for some four-legged friends as the Wake County Animal Shelter has plenty more dogs and cats just looking for fosters and forever homes.
(Reuters) - Ecuador has authorized the carrying and use of guns by civilians, President Guillermo Lasso said in a televised broadcast, citing rising crime and insecurity in the Andean country.

Lasso, a conservative former banker, has been fighting to tackle rising crime and violence in the streets and in prisons - where hundreds of inmates have been killed - which the government blames on drug trafficking gangs.

The beleaguered president also faces an impeachment process over allegations of embezzlement - accusations he has denied - after Ecuador's top court gave the green light for hearings to go ahead.

"We have a common enemy: petty crime, drug trafficking, and organized crime," Lasso said late on Saturday in a message also posted on Twitter.

To fight rising insecurity, the government will allow civilians to carry and use guns, he added.

"We've modified the decree that allows the possession and carrying of guns. In other words, in general terms ... the possession and carrying of guns for civilian use in personal defense is authorized, in accordance with the requirements of law and regulations," he said.

Civilians will also be allowed to carry and use cans of pepper spray, Lasso said.

The president also declared a state of emergency in the Pacific port city of Guayaquil and the neighboring towns of Duran and Samborondon, as well as the provinces of Santa Elena and Los Rios.

The state of emergency, which began on Sunday, will include a curfew in the affected regions from 1 a.m. until 5 in the morning.

Lasso did not say how long the state of emergency would last.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Cassandra Peterson, famed for her role as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, has said her former home in Los Angeles was haunted and claimed to have seen spectres while living there.

The actor said she warned Brad Pitt about the paranormal activity before he purchased the 1.9-acre property from her 30 years ago, but instead of being scared, he loved it.

Pitt bought the mansion in 1994 for a reported US$1.7m and recently sold it for around US$40m. It comes as a number of Hollywood stars were rushing to sell their multi-million dollar properties before the citys new mansion tax comes into force.

Peterson, 71, said that during her early meetings with Pitt about the mansion, she would warn him about a lot of weird things [that] have been going on there in the house since we moved in.

He was very excited about that, she told People. He thought that was really cool.

The horror hostess detailed the ghostly encounters she and ex-husband Mark Pierson had while living there: Ive seen people walking around upstairs, for example, real people just walking.

One time, [a ghost was] sitting downstairs in front of the fireplace, once walking into my bedroom and back out.

Another time, she claimed she saw a person floating around at the bottom of the pool.

I know it sounds nutty. Im Elvira. I know you expect that from me, right? Peterson joked, adding: I dont have hallucinations, I wasnt high and I cant explain those things.

Cassandra Peterson better know as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, poses next to a mannequin wearing the original dress from Elviras Movie Macabre during the media preview of Juliens Auctions year end event Icons and Idols: Hollywood in Beverly Hills on November 29, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

She and Pierson had a priest come to perform an exorcism on the house, she told the publication.

I had all kinds of things because it was really getting to a point of like, I dont know if I can continue to live here, she continued.

But Pitt was unfazed by her experiences, she said. We were telling Brad all about that and he loved it. I mean, there are not many buyers who that would be a selling point for, but he was like, Oh, thats so awesome. I love that he appreciated the house so much.

The Babylon star and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie raised their six children in the LA mansion, after two years of marriage. They split in 2016, citing irreconcilable differences, and their divorce was finalised in 2019, but they are in ongoing negotiations over custody of their children and division of their financial assets.

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(YouTube)

Peterson described the actor as wonderful and always kind and sweet when they met three times before he bought the house.

People reported on Wednesday (29 March) that Pitt had found a buyer for the estate, which is located in the Los Feliz neighbourhood  just ahead of the 1 April deadline when Los Angeles Measure ULA tax came into place.

The tax requires sellers of properties of more than US$5m and US$10m to pay a four and 5.5 per cent transfer tax respectively, with all funds raised going towards public housing.

Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D also reportedly found a buyer for her 12,565-square-foot home earlier this week. According to TMZ, she closed the sale of the house at US$7.75m, half of the original US$15m price tag.
Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, the composer and piano-playing nun who died this week at the age of 99, had an extraordinary life, which included being a trailblazer for women's equality and walking barefoot for a decade in the isolated mountains of northern Ethiopia.

Listening to one of her works can be disconcerting.

It sometimes feels like being tossed around in a small boat at sea, constantly off balance, with little to hold on to. The time signature appears to shift and the scale drifts in and out of familiarity.

The sound of the pioneering pianist reflected the way her life oscillated between parallel worlds.

She was trained in Western classical music but was equally the product of traditional Orthodox Christian chants and tunes.

Her unique musical voice led one critic, Kate Molleson, to argue that Emahoy should be included alongside more familiar names when considering great 20th Century composers.

As a young person, Emahoy was a free-spirited modern woman but she spent much of her later life as a reclusive.

She became a devout nun who lived a humble life in a monastery in a remote part of her country. But in an earlier time she had moved in the high society of the capital, Addis Ababa, where she performed in the court of the country's last Emperor, Haileselassie I.

Most of her important musical works - recognisable in their complexity and apparent effortlessness - came in the 1960s and 1970s.

This was during a time when her contemporaries in Addis Ababa were blending Western beats with the Ethiopian pentatonic - or five-note - scale to create a unique fusion of sounds and styles that would later be dubbed Ethio-jazz.

The genre is marked by shuffling soul and funky music as well as big-band swing pieces.

But Emahoy's compositions and style were distinct. They were just her and her piano producing an intimate, meditative - and unsettling - melancholy informed by a fascinating life punctuated by the momentous events her country experienced during the last century.

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Emahoy, seen in this undated picture, was once part of Addis Ababa's glamorous high society

She was born in Addis Ababa in December 1923 into a prominent aristocratic family. Her father was a mayor of the historical city of Gondar in the country's north.

Her given name was Yewubdar - Amharic for "the most beautiful one"- a name she used until she was ordained as a nun at the age of 21.

And with her family came privilege and opportunities.

As a child she was sent to Switzerland with her sister - the first Ethiopian girls to have been sent abroad for education. It was in a Swiss boarding school that she first encountered Western classical music and at the age of eight began playing violin and the piano.

In Europe she felt alienated. "Loneliness grew up with me like a childhood friend," she said in a book about her father's life written by her brother, Dawit Gebru.

Music was her consolation.

Upon her return to Ethiopia at the age of 11 she was already an outgoing young girl with an appetite for fashion. But then war and tragedy knocked.

In 1936 Benito Mussolini's Italy invaded Ethiopia. Three members of her family were killed and she was forced into exile on an island in the Mediterranean. The killing of her relatives left a strong impression on her - later she would compose a song, The Ballad of the Spirits, in their memory.

After five years of occupation, the Italians left Ethiopia and Emahoy returned home where she began work at the ministry of foreign affairs - the first female secretary there. And she drove cars - a rarity for a woman - when the majority of Ethiopians used a horse and cart for travel.

She was determined that her gender would not get in the way.

"Even in my teenage [years] I would say: 'What is the difference between boys and girls? They are equal," she told music journalist Molleson for a 2017 BBC documentary about her life.

A few years later she was once again on road.

This time to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to study music under the Polish violinist Alexander Kontorowicz.

She practised nine hours a day but it was the searing heat that she could not handle. As a consequence, she returned to the cooler climes of Addis Ababa with her teacher, who was appointed the head of the Imperial Guard Band.

While she seemed to enjoy the favours of the emperor for whom she played her music, not all in the aristocratic class were impressed. So when she was given the chance to continue her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, she was not permitted to travel - a decision for which her family blame some senior officials.

It changed the trajectory of her life.

Emahoy was heartbroken and sick to the point of being admitted to hospital. Subsequently she took a deep dive into religion. Eventually, she abandoned music - and the city - for a hilltop monastery in a remote part of northern Ethiopia.

She became a nun, shaved her head and stopped wearing shoes.

The death of the monastic community's archbishop and problems with the soles of her feet led her to return to the capital in her 30s after 10 years of isolation, Molleson says.

She resumed playing music. She continued to shun the spotlight but her compositions took off around this time.

After 10 years in a monastery in northern Ethiopia, Emahoy returned to the piano

Her years of solitary musings - and the dramatic episodes of her eventful life - were reflected in her compositions. Titles such as The Homeless Wanderer, Mother's Love and Homesickness hinted at what was on her mind.

"Sadness was always next to me like a friend," Emahoy was quoted as saying in her brother's book.

Ethiopian music commentator Sertse Fresibhat called her early works "deep and thoughtful, [composed] at a young age" that received the adulation they deserved only decades later.

She went on to make recordings in Germany in the 1960s and early 1970s to raise money for homeless charities, but only gained notoriety in the West more recently.

Much like her contemporary Ethio-jazz musicians, she was introduced to the wider audience by French musicologist Francis Falceto. His series of Ethiopiques albums were compilations of archive music from the 1960s and 1970s.

Ethiopiques volume 21 gave Emahoy's music a whole new group of fans

Her collection, released in 2006, gained acclaim and led to her work being used in films and adverts.

But by that time she was living in an Ethiopian Orthodox Church monastery in Jerusalem, Israel.

In 1984, when Ethiopia was in the midst of a civil war and in the grips of a Marxist military regime, she left for the Holy Land and lived the remainder of her life there.

She continued to practise and compose and in her new-found fame welcomed musicologists and critics to discuss her work. She also enlisted Israeli pianist Maya Dunietz to take her manuscripts, and get them published.

In her home country she is often referred as "the Piano Queen".

Her tunes are everywhere - some are played during periods of national mourning, while others provide background for audio books and radio shows.

But it is possible that many are unaware that they are her compositions.

They have a sense of timelessness that will no doubt continue to find ears and an audience thrilled to learn more about her near-100-year life.
Sunak - JACOB KING/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Political correctness must no longer prevent the police from using the ethnicity of suspects to identify grooming gangs, Rishi Sunak will say on Monday.

Asian grooming gangs will no longer be allowed to evade justice because of cultural sensitivities, a government spokesperson said ahead of the unveiling of a package of measures designed to crack down on organised networks of abusers.

The Prime Minister will order police forces to improve the recording and analysis of ethnicity data - including sharing information throughout the country - in an attempt to prevent perpetrators of abuse from falling through the net.

Ministers are understood to be concerned that currently, gangs are not being identified because police are afraid of drawing links between suspects of the same ethnicity for fear of being accused of racism or bigotry.

Police have been required to collect data on the ethnicity of those in child grooming gangs since last April, but the government is concerned that the information is not being used effectively enough to identify patterns and lead investigators to other perpetrators.

Grooming will also be made an aggravated crime as part of the new measures, meaning those found guilty face longer in jail.

Mr Sunak will launch a new Grooming Gangs Taskforce on Monday morning and will visit survivors of abuse in Leeds and Greater Manchester.

He said ahead of the visit: The safety of women and girls is paramount. For too long, political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women. We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs.

It comes after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) warned in October that victims and survivors suggested that professionals feared allegations of racism and that this was prioritised over their safety.

The inquiry found that despite the scandals of grooming gangs in Rotherham and Rochdale, the problem had not been tackled.

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However, on Sunday, Labour accused the government of singling out British Pakistanis and engaging in dog whistle politics.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused Labour councillors of failing to act against child sexual abuse by gangs of British Pakistani men because of fears of being called racist.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, was Director of Public Prosecutions, during a period when grooming gangs escaped justice in Rotherham. He has admitted that the CPS failed grooming victims, and told the Commons eight years ago that he had concerns when he led the service that there was a reluctance to take grooming gangs to court.

Mr Sunak pledged to tackle grooming gangs during last summers Tory leadership contest.

In August he told GB News that he wanted to make sure that all police forces record the ethnicity of those involved.

He also said: I want to create a brand new life sentence for those involved in grooming with very limited options for parole because Im not going to let political correctness stand in the way of tackling this absolutely horrific crime.

The new taskforce will see specialist officers parachuted in to assist police forces with live child sexual exploitation and grooming investigations to bring more criminals to justice.

Led by the police and supported by the National Crime Agency, the taskforce will be made up of officers with extensive experience in undertaking grooming gang investigations.

Data analysts will work alongside the taskforce to identify the types of criminals who carry out these offences, helping police forces across the country catch offenders who might otherwise be missed.

A government spokesman said: This will also include police-recorded ethnicity data to make sure suspects cannot evade justice because of cultural sensitivities.

The analysts will also ensure data is shared across regions. A pilot scheme found that the number of people identified rose from five to 39 using the new techniques.

Legislation will be introduced to make being the leader of or involved in a grooming gang a statutory aggravating factor during sentencing.

On Sunday, Mrs Braverman announced a new mandatory duty for childcare professionals to report when they become aware of concerns relating to child sexual abuse.

She accused teachers, social workers and police officers of turning a blind eye to abuse of young girls in places like Rotherham and Rochdale because they did not want to be labelled bigoted.

We have to be honest about the fact that some of these gangs have been overwhelmingly British Pakistani male, she told BBC1s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

The authorities, whether thats social workers or teachers or police officers when theyve become aware of these problems have turned a blind eye and they have roundly failed to take the requisite action and safeguard these vulnerable girls.

Justice hasnt been done



Home Secretary Suella Braverman says senior politicians in Labour-run areas failed to prevent cases of child sexual abuse because they did not want to call out people along ethnic lines#BBCLauraK https://t.co/Ew6VAOMapy pic.twitter.com/pNN1JLLbLf  BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) April 2, 2023

Asked why she was blaming others when the Conservatives have been in power for 13 years, she said: If we want to get political about it, I didnt want to get political about it, some of these councillors in Labour-run areas over a period of years have absolutely failed to take action because of cultural sensitivities, not wanting to come across as racist, not wanting to call out people along ethnic lines.

When challenged on Sky News that a Home Office report in 2020 found grooming gangs were most commonly white, she said there had been several reports about the predominance of certain ethnic groups, and I say British-Pakistani males, who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values.

Labour criticised Ms Braverman for singling out one ethnicity.

Shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy said: Its true that they do happen across all cultures. When I was working with children and young people there were particular issues with Kurdish and Pakistani gangs in some parts of the country.

There were also huge issues with white men grooming young girls online and there were also problems with boys as well.

I think the problem with what the Home Secretary is trying to do is she is trying to single out one particular profile and one particular group and the risk is, if you do that you miss the fact that there is child abuse going on in plain sight in homes, on the streets and online and we ought to surely be aiming to keep all young people safe from the harm that is created and not just singling out some young people and highlighting those forms of abuse and discrimination.

Labours mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said of Ms Bravermans policy announcement: It does feel very dog whistle if I may say, and it doesnt actually deal with whats happening on the ground.

However, speaking in the Commons in 2015, Sir Keir said: When I was DPP, I was concerned that there was a cultural inhibition against prosecution in some of the sexual grooming cases, and that was most acute in the Rochdale cases.
Europe's oldest chimp who has 19 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren has celebrated turning 58 years of age. (SWNS)

Europes oldest chimp who has 19 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren has celebrated turning 58 with a special meal of her favourite tasty treats.

Coco the chimp arrived at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire as a four-year-old in 1969 to become part of an important breeding programme.

Since then, she has given birth to six children and now has 19 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Coco arrived at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire as a four-year-old in 1969 to become part of an important breeding programme. (SWNS)

One of 14 chimps living at the zoo and 42 years older than the youngest chimp, 16-year-old Tuli, staff say Coco is adored by visitors and staff at the zoo.

To celebrate her special birthday, her keepers plated up the chimp some of her favourite tasty treats.

Chimpanzees are currently endangered in the wild due to hunting for the illegal bushmeat and pet trade.

Read more: Children born to mothers who had COVID while pregnant 'more likely to develop obesity', study finds

Amanda Addison, animal team managers of great apes at Twycross, said she is "proud" of Coco for helping to maintain the species' population.

She said: "Everybody at the zoo absolutely adores Coco, and we are extremely proud of her and everything she has done for her species."

Coco is one of 14 chimps living at the zoo and is 42 years older than the youngest chimp, 16-year-old Tuli. (SWNS)

She added: "Since her arrival in 1969, Coco has been an important ambassador for her species - with six children, 19 grandchildren and three great grandchildren to-date.

"Well be celebrating Cocos 58th birthday throughout the weekend and providing her with some of her favourite tasty treats to enjoy with the rest of the chimpanzee troop to mark the occasion.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will run for president in 2024, he told ABC News on Sunday.

Im going to run for president of the United States, Hutchinson told ABCs Jonathan Karl on This Week. While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville [Arkansas], I want to make it clear to you, Jonathan, I am going to be running.

The Sunday announcement comes months after Hutchinson, who was succeeded by Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, floated the idea during Sunday show appearances and interviews. He told Karl he was compelled to run after touring the U.S. over the last six months and noticing that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.

Hes aware, however, that he lacks the national profile of rivals like former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Its still about retail politics in many of these states, and also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that Ive seen in my lifetime, Hutchinson said. So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism and hope for our future in solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates.

The former governor argued that Trump shouldnt even be in consideration in the first place. Asked by Karl if he thinks Trump should drop out of the race over his pending criminal charges in New York, he responded with a simple: I do.

The office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think thats too much of a sideshow and distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence, Hutchinson said, adding he wouldnt have brought charges against Trump if he was the prosecutor.

He also hurled some criticism toward Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presumed leading candidate for the Republican nomination who hasnt yet announced a run.

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There is some differences of view, absolutely, Hutchinson said, pointing to DeSantis relationships with businesses. The [state] legislature supported him in many instances, but I think we as conservatives need to stop and say, Is this the role of government to tell business what to do?

Hutchinson has tried to differentiate himself from Trumpand some fellow Republicansin various ways during his tenure as governor. He vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and he expressed remorse for having banned mask mandates as the Delta variant took hold in 2021.

Still, Hutchinsons run could face complications. He was roundly criticized for enforcing a trigger law that banned abortions with no exceptions for rape and incest following the Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade, and he told Karl he worried about the cultural direction of our country. However, he wanted to distinguish himself in a way that, while not anti-Trump, could speak to voters who are seeking a non-Trump.

When I say non-Trump, I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters, he told ABC. I want to be able to speak to all of the party and say, This is the leadership that I want to provide, and I think that we need to have border security. I think we need to have a strong America; we need to spend less at the federal level. These are the values that I represent.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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EXCLUSIVE: Joe "Exotic" Maldonado, who launched a 2024 presidential campaign from prison, wishes former President Trump would have "his arraignment in an orange jumpsuit and shackles" after his indictment Thursday.

"Former President Donald Trump now that you have been indicted, welcome to the party," Maldonado wrote on his Instagram. "Trump should have to go to arraignment in an orange jumpsuit and shackles and be humiliated just like the rest (of) us have been, innocent or not."

Maldonado, who is running as a member of the Libertarian Party, was locked up in 2018 after being found guilty of murder-for-hire charges and is fighting to prove his innocence while running in the 2024 presidential race.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the star of Netflix's "Tiger King" said though he respects the former president, Trump "spent 4 years doing nothing to clean up the Justice System, The Prison System or the FBI. So welcome to the party pal"

TIGER KING JOE EXOTIC RUNS FOR PRESIDENT FROM PRISON; LIBERTARIAN PARTY SAYS HE SHOULDN'T BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Joe Exotic from Netflix's "Tiger King" announced last month he would run for president in 2024 from prison.

Trump was indicted Thursday by a New York grand jury after years-long investigations into his alleged role in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal during his presidential campaign.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"I wish he would have to get his arraignment in an orange jumpsuit and shackles just like everyone else that is made to look guilty right off the bat," Maldonado told Fox Digital in a statement.

Insisting he is innocent after being convicted of trying to hire hitmen to kill an animal rights advocate, Maldonado said he is committed to exonerating himself and plans to help "others stuck in this slow system and want to unite this country instead of tearing it apart."

Considering Trump and President Biden are under investigation for improperly storing classified documents, "what the hell's wrong with a guy running from prison?" Maldonado told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview earlier this week.

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The "Tiger King" star took aim at Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who trails Trump in early 2024 polls but has not yet announced a presidential run.

Former President Trump was indicted Thursday.

"Ron DeSantis is dangerous for this country. He's prudent with Disney, he's proved it with the other lawsuits he introduced in Florida. If you don't like his way, he's going to make a law and make it illegal for you. Very dangerous man."

Exotic also said that when it comes to Trump, "he's workable if sometimes he would just keep his mouth shut because he blows so much smoke. I don't believe that the election was stolen, at all. I think people lost it. And if he would have passed the torch and went away a grown man instead of throwing a fit, he probably would be re-elected again.

TRUMP NY GRAND JURY INDICTMENT: FORMER PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO SURRENDER TO DA'S OFFICE NEXT WEEK

"President Biden, he needs to just wake up, him and Vice President Harris, how they want to do justice and prison reform in this country, and he's done nothing.  We have President Putin who is wanted. President Trump is about to be indicted. Hunter Biden and President Biden are under investigation. What the hell is wrong with a guy running from prison?"

The U.S. Constitution only states three requirements for running for president, none of which specifically prevent a candidate from running for the office while in prison.

Joe Exotic launched his 2024 presidential campaign in February.

In 2020, Maldonado was sentenced to 22 years in prison for 17 counts of animal abuse and two counts related to charges that he hired someone to kill activist Carole Baskin. Despite his conviction, the Tiger lover has maintained his innocence.

"I've never abused an animal in my life. I'm not in here for animal abuse. I'm in here for taking an endangered species without a permit," he said.

Maldonado said his conviction is an example of why the country is "so corrupt."

"I ran for office in 2016 and 2018. So this isn't just a publicity stunt. Somebody has to give working-class people in this country a voice. And now that I see it from the inside of how corrupt this system is, I can be that voice," the reality star said.

Maldonado said if he wins, he will pardon himself and every other inmate convicted on similar charges because he "truly believe there's probably close to 30,000 people that are nonviolent offenders that need to go home and go back to their families."

Exotic also responded to Angela McArdle, head of the Libertarian Party, after she told TMZ his presidential bid was "just tigers and glitter."

TIGER KING' JOE EXOTIC: SOMEONE HAS TO ASK QUESTIONS FOR THE PEOPLE WORK THEIR BUTTS OFF IN OUR COUNTRY

"I have a ton of Libertarian supporters who agree with me.  We're never going to get everybody to agree to anything because you can't be a Republican, you can't be a Democrat, you can't be a libertarian and run a country with 330 million different kinds of people. We're going to have to stand in the middle, and we're going to have to say, 'You can do this, and you can do this, but let's just not hurt nobody."

"The Tiger King" said voters should consider him for president "if you agree that we need a change."

"And if you don't, then keep voting for the other people," he said. "They keep this country in turmoil."

Carole Baskin's late husband's whereabouts caused a social media concern.

When asked what qualities he believes make him stand out among the other candidates, Maldonado said he is "not ashamed of who I am, and I'm not ashamed of anything that I've done in my past. And I'm not ashamed of any mistakes I'm going to make in the future. And I'm going to tell you like it is whether you want to hear the truth or not. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, and I'm going to stick up for everyone.

"It's time that the people in this country wake up. You know, we can't shove our religious beliefs that I have down 300 million people's throats. We have people from all over the world live here, and we all have to get along."
Former President Trump is set to appear in court on Tuesday to be arraigned after his indictment last week made him the first U.S. president  current or former  to face criminal charges.

Trump was indicted for his alleged role in organizing hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Now a 2024 presidential candidate, Trump is expected to turn himself in Tuesday morning before the arraignment later that afternoon. The exact charges hell face are still unknown, even to his own lawyers, as the indictment is sealed.

Attorney Joe Tacopina, who represents Trump, said a lot about Tuesday was still unknown, including whether the former president will be perp walked, but he did say he doesnt expect Trump will be handcuffed. Others have suggested Trump will have to be fingerprinted and take a mugshot, but it is unclear if that will be made public.

When it comes to Trumps surrender, Tacopina said he hoped it would be as painless and classy as possible. The Manhattan District Attorneys office had reached out last week to coordinate Trumps appearance ahead of the grand jurys vote to indict.

The future of the case may also crystalize this coming week, including Trumps defense.

All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say not guilty, Tacopina said, though he added his team is looking at a motion to dismiss after it sees the indictment.

We will take the indictment. We will dissect it. The team will look at every, every potential issue that we will be able to challenge and we will challenge, and of course I very much anticipate a motion to dismiss coming because theres no law that fits this, Tacopina said on CNNs State of the Union.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs investigation focused on a $130,000 payment Trumps former personal attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to buy her silence about an alleged affair with the former president, which he denies.

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Cohen, who was jailed for his involvement in the hush money payment to Daniels, has said he expects Trump will go through the process of being fingerprinted and having his mugshot taken when he gets to the court. The indictment is expected to be unsealed during Trumps appearance. Media reports have suggested Trump will face multiple counts based on a number of financial transactions.

James Trusty, another attorney for Trump, said on Fox News Sunday that a lot of people are recognizing the blatant persecution angle thats being pursued here, noting other probes into Trump by a district attorney in Georgia and by the Department of Justice.

Its hard to creep into their minds and figure it out. There is a commonalty here which is they are pushing the envelope legally because they decided to target a man and try to put charges on him rather than actually follow evidence and begin judiciously as prosecutors like your ethics tell you to do, Trusty said.

Trusty said he suspected the indictment would be legally frail.

And in this case, it seems like what were guessing the indictment will look like is it will have legal frailties that will be subjected to a very legitimate motion to dismiss early on, he said.

So my hope is that despite some of the hysterics at the moment, despite some emotionality and frustration, the president certainly deserves to feel that this judge will do the right thing when hes faced with significant legal motions, Trusty added, in response to questions about Trump attacking the judge overseeing the case.

Ahead of Tuesdays scheduled arraignment, which is slated for 2:15 p.m., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is set to take part in a peaceful protest coordinated by the New York Young Republicans Club around noon that day.

Protesting is a constitutional right and I am going to NY on Tuesday to protest this unprecedented abuse of our justice system and election interference, Greene said on her personal Twitter account.

Trump is expected to arrive in New York on Monday to spend the night at Trump Tower before he is to go to court in lower Manhattan the next day. His campaign announced Sunday that he is set to speak from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at 8:15 p.m., after his scheduled appearance in Manhattan earlier that day.

Trump been vocal on his social media about the case, bashing Bragg and condemning the indictment as politically motivated, an accusation thats been echoed by many in his party.

When Trump first floated his potential arrest in the case last month, he called for protests  echoing similar sentiments he made before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol  prompting concerns about possible violence in the streets, but no such demonstrations took place.

Still, ahead of the indictment, steel barricades were put up outside the Manhattan Criminal Court and the Manhattan district attorneys offices.

After the indictment, the New York Police Department ordered every member of its force to report in full uniform Friday as a precautionary measure. The Washington Post reports that Secret Service agents have been involved in preparations for Trumps Tuesday appearance.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ever since petitions were filed to remove three Richland School District officials from office, questions have lingered over the cost to district taxpayers.

And other recall election questions and misinformation have floated around on social media.

A group of voters are trying to oust Richland School Board members Semi Bird, Kari Williams and Audra Byrd over their vote last year to defy Washingtons indoor COVID mask mandate, resulting in the closure of schools for two days.

Heres what weve found out on some of the issues:

What does a recall election cost?

The cost depends on which ballot the issue is on.

It costs less to be on a general election or primary ballot where other issues  such as candidates running for public office or bond and levy measures  share in the cost of the election.

Having to call a special election for just one topic costs much more.

Anti-recallers quickly picked up on a number mentioned in a previous recall election for a special election: $250,000.

But in the case of the Richland School Board, the group organizing the recall is confident that they can collect enough signatures in time to put the issue on the Aug. 1 primary ballot.

That price would likely be $75,000-100,000, the Benton County Elections Department estimates.

If it makes it on the primary ballot, (the recall initiatives) will share the cost with any other districts who have primaries and it is pro-rated to the district based on the number of registered voters, Amanda Hatfield, the Benton County elections manager, told the Tri-City Herald in an email.

Hatfield says its tough to come to a firm estimate on the cost before candidates have filed to run for office this year, which starts May 15. The more candidates, the more the cost is shared.

Some districts may not have any races on the ballot if two or fewer candidates file in any given race. If that happens the two wont face off until the November general election.

If more than two file, the primary election under Washingtons top-two primary system will decide which two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election.

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Arent some board members up for re-election anyway?

Two Richland school board seats are up for election this fall. They are currently held by Kari Williams and Semi Bird, who are two of the three facing recall.

In addition to any recall election expenses, the Richland School District would also have to pay to put those positions on the ballot if a race has more than two candidates.





People opposed to the recall argue it makes more sense to just let voters choose during the regular course of the election process whether to keep Williams and Bird in office.

Recall supporters say voters should have their say on the current allegations against the three board members, and that voters shouldnt wait any longer to choose whether or not they should be ousted.

Board Vice Chairwoman Audra Byrd is not up for re-election until 2025. So, she would remain in office until then unless she is recalled.

Williams and Bird have not officially announced if they will seek re-election, though Bird has said he plans to run for governor.

The cost of a regular election varies depending on the number of people who file for the positions.

During the 2019 August primary, the Richland district was billed just under $39,000 to put the names of seven candidates on the ballot for two seats.

The election bill this year is expected to be higher because costs, particularly county employee salaries and services, have risen, Hatfield said.

Can you take office if youre recalled but then re-elected?

Theres no Washington state laws that bar candidates from taking office if theyre re-elected after also being recalled, said Derrick Nunnally, with the Washington Secretary of States Office.

Successful recalls only affect the current officeholder at that time.

That means if the three board members are recalled in Aug. 1, they would have to leave office by Aug. 15 when the election is certified.

If Williams and Bird are also re-elected in November, they could take office again after the election in certified.

Can a name appear twice on the same ballot?

If both Bird and Williams decided to run for their respective seats again, and there are more than two challengers, their names would appear twice on the primary election ballot  if enough recall signatures are gathered for the same ballot.

There doesnt appear to be any state law barring that from happening in a primary election.

A spokesperson for the state Attorney Generals Office declined to give a legal opinion on the question, but referred to two laws.

State law for the general election says a candidates name shall not appear on a ballot more than once, though there are exceptions, such as precinct committee officers and temporary elected positions.

Also a law requiring candidates who file for office to appear on a primary with more than two candidates doesnt mention restrictions.

Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton, who is the chief local elections official, has previously said it would be allowable in this situation.

How many recall signatures have been collected?

Organizers with the Richland School Board Recall group have not released detailed numbers on their signature gathering efforts.

But lead petitioner Brian Brendel said that theyre well ahead of the pace necessary to meet the 180-day deadline after the Washington State Supreme Court said the allegations were sufficient enough to go to voters.

To make it on the August primary, recall signatures must be collected and certified by May 9.

If they miss that deadline, the recall group says the issue could still make the November ballot if they have the signatures verified three months prior to that election or the first week of August.

Washington state law bars any special elections between the primary election in August and the general election in November.

The recall campaign must collect the signatures of 25% of the number of votes cast in the last election for each school board member on a separate petition for each person.

The campaign aims to collect an additional 10% cushion to account for any errors, such as signatures from people who are not registered voters or signatures of people who do not live in the Richland School District.

To meet that 35% threshold, they will need to collect:
Armenia, EU launch new talks on closer ties after Russian union snafu

Armenia and the European Union launched negotiations Monday on a new agreement to deepen their cooperation, after a previous deal fell apart over the country's decision to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

GALLERY

The Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, smiles on 10/23/2014 at the presidential palace in Yerevan (Armenia).

Brussels (dpa) - "We aim for a comprehensive framework agreement covering political, economic and sectoral cooperation and taking into account Armenias more recent commitments," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement."Our shared common values and strong commitment to democracy, human rights, rule of law will be at the basis of the new agreement," she added, expressing hope that this would lead to new trade and investment opportunities, better cooperation on issues such as energy and more mobility for citizens.Armenia had originally been expected to finalize a deal with the EU on closer political and trade ties in November 2013 following more than three years of negotiations. But the countrys president then announced that Armenia would join the Russian union.The move put the EU in an difficult situation, as officials believe that a country cannot both join the Eurasian union - a trade bloc of several former Soviet nations - and enter a free trade agreement with the 28-country EU.Relations between Moscow and the bloc have soured over the crisis in Ukraine, reaching their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.The new agreement with Armenia "will allow us to turn the page on the uncertainties created back in 2013," Mogherini said."The work done by Armenia and the EU negotiators in the past, during more than three years of hard negotiations, will not be lost," she added. "Our negotiations will work on what was built already.""I hope and Im sure that the new agreement will be negotiated relatively rapidly and will enter into force rather soon," Mogherini said.The name of the agreement will be decided later, once the outcome of the negotiations is clear.
A Ukrainian soldier wanders down a railway past the bodies of dead Russian soldiers on the outskirts of Irpin, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

At the outset of Russias invasion, almost no one in the West expected that Ukraine would be able to offer Russia any kind of serious opposition to its unprovoked aggression.

Much has been written about how leaders, including allies, underestimated the leadership ability of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But beyond miscalculating how a comedian could transform into a Winston Churchill-like figure, military assessments of the Ukrainian army were also way off.

A year into the war, its clear many overestimated the Russian armys will and capability to fight and the Ukrainian armys will to resist an opponent superior in number, equipment and positioning.

What can explain the way the Ukraine war has played out, in contradiction to experts predictions?

We believe that one factor underlying the unexpected performance of each countrys military can be traced to the cultural differences between Russians and Ukrainians. Those differences were cultivated in part through the fairy tales of their childhoods.

One of us, Sophia Moskalenko, is an expert on the psychology of fairy tales. The other, Mia Bloom, studies childrens mobilization into violent extremism  why and how children turn to violence. We know the power of folklore in shaping the worldview of children and, ultimately, of the adults they grow up to be.

Underdog hero vs. magical thinking

Folklore is important for understanding peoples cultural narratives  story lines that describe something unique to the cultures history and its people. They help to define a cultural identity and, in subtle ways, shape future choices. The master narratives that Ukrainian children grow up with  which serve as the dominant cultural script  are radically different from the ones Russian children absorb.

Traditional Ukrainian bedtime stories, such as Kotygoroshko, Kyrylo Kozhumyaka and Ivasyk Telesyk, all portray unassuming characters persevering against insurmountable odds. The character arc takes them through challenges, testing their will and transforming them from vulnerable to triumphant.

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A sculpture in Kyiv of Ukrainian fairy tale character Kotygoroshko defeating the evil dragon. thisisbossie/Flickr, CC BY-SA

These fairy tales follow a well-known narrative arc of the underdog hero  a formula used for decades in bestselling books like Harry Potter and Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars.

In Ukrainian childrens bedtime stories, the main characters often start out as unlikely heroes, but their courage, cleverness and grit help them succeed against the odds.

In contrast, Russian childrens stories often revolve around a central character named Ivan Durak  Ivan the Stupid. Hes the third brother, inferior to his older brothers, one of whom is typically smart, the other average. When the main character is not explicitly called stupid he is portrayed as lazy, lounging in bed all day while his older brothers work hard.

A 1913 illustration from Russian folk tale At the Pikes Behest, also known as Emelyan the Fool. . 

In Russian fairy tales such as By the Pikes Wish, Princess Frog and Sivka Burka, the main character eventually prevails. He doesnt win through his own virtues, though, but through the intervention of a magical being  a fish, a frog, a horse  that does all the hard work while the main character claims credit.

These Russian folk tales seem to suggest that the recipe for success is not to be too smart or work too hard, like the two older brothers, but to sit tight in hope that magic will take care of everything.

Facing the greatest challenge

Most adults dont walk around thinking about the fairy tales they heard as children. However, these early stories, experienced through the magnifying glass of childhood emotions, shape our understanding about the world. They determine the repertoire of our actions, especially in times of crisis.

Fairy tales prepare us to recognize real-life heroes and villains, love and betrayal, good and evil. They guide our actions as we navigate these dichotomies.

The difference in traditional Russian and Ukrainian folklore might in part explain the difference between the Russian and Ukrainian armies performances.

When facing the greatest challenge of their lifetimes, those in the Russian army failed to perform well and demonstrated poor morale. By contrast, Ukrainians rose to the challenge in a spectacular way, transforming themselves through grit and determination from the underdog to the hero who just might succeed against all odds.

[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Mia Bloom, Georgia State University and Sophia Moskalenko, Georgia State University.

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Mia Bloom receives funding from the Minerva Research Initiative and the Office of Naval Research, any opinions, findings, or recommendations expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect the views of the Office of Naval Research, the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. Bloom is also the International Security Fellow at New America.

Sophia Moskalenko receives funding from the Minerva Research Initiative and the Office of Naval Research. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the Office of Naval Research, the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who was released from the hospital last week following treatment for clinical depression, detailed the downward spiral that led to him seeking help for his depression in February.

Its like, you just won the biggest race in the country, Fetterman said to CBS Sunday Morning in his first interview since checking into treatment. And the whole thing about depression is that objectively, you may have won, but depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost. And thats exactly what happened. And that was the start of a downward spiral.

Fetterman, who defeated Mehmet Oz in one of the most closely-watched and high stakes Senate races in 2022, was released from the hospital on Friday and will spend time with his family at home in Pennsylvania while the Senate is on a two week recess. The win over Oz helped Democrats secure a majority in the pivotal upper chamber.

Fetterman said he expects to be back in the Senate when it reconvenes the week of April 17.

Fetterman suffered a stroke during his campaign in May. He ultimately remained in the race and won, but had to rely on communication aids to help him in his recovery.

Fetterman spoke with CBS two days before he left the hospital and he said he was looking forward to returning home for the first time with his depression in remission.

I cant wait til what it really feels like to take it all in and to start making up any lost time, Fetterman said.

Fettermans decision to check himself into the hospital to seek treatment was met with an outpouring of support from both sides of the aisle in Congress and the White House. Fetterman said his message coming out of the hospital is not a political one.

My message right now isnt political, Fetterman said. Im just somebody thats suffering from depression.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sen. John Fetterman said that he feels hopeful for the first time after discharging from a hospital where he spent six weeks receiving treatment for his depression.

The Pennsylvania Democrat checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Feb. 15 for inpatient treatment for clinical depression, after what his neuropsychiatrist described as low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, but no suicidal ideation.

On Friday, Fettermans office said his depression is in remission, and that he is partly treating his illness with medication. The senator, 53, is expected to return to Capitol Hill when the chamber resumes session later this month.

In an interview released Sunday, Fetterman spoke to Jane Pauley on CBS Sunday Morning about his recovery journey for the depression hes battled throughout his life.

I will be going home, he said, adding that it will be the first time ever to be in remission with my depression.  And I cant wait to [see] what it really feels like, to take it all in, and to start making up any lost time.

Pennsylvania Senator @JohnFetterman talks about his "downward spiral" that led to a diagnosis of major depression, how his health scare affected his family, and his reasons for feeling hopeful for the future.https://t.co/LOQNIoxrVapic.twitter.com/YJarDmFbuL  CBS Sunday Morning  (@CBSSunday) April 2, 2023

Fetterman entering recovery comes nearly a year after the then-candidate experienced a stroke, putting his health at the forefront of Pennsylvanias Senate race. The stroke left Fetterman with an auditory processing disorder that his team now says he uses hearing aids and closed captioning for.

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The senator won the election in November, but told Pauley that his depression began growing in the time between the campaign and his swearing in. Fetterman recalled not being able to get out of bed, not eating, losing weight and no longer engaging in things that he loves.

The whole thing about depression is that objectively, you may have won, but depression can absolutely convince you that you actually lost, he said. And thats exactly what happened. And that was the start of a downward spiral.

A third of stroke patients experience clinical depression, which doctors say can be treated with a combination of medication and psychotherapy. Fetterman said that he made the decision to enter treatment on his sons 14th birthday, something the senator expressed guilt about.

It makes me sad, he said while tearing up. You know, the day that I go in was my sons birthday. And I hope that for the rest of his life, his birthday will be joyous, and you dont have to remember that your father was admitted.

Pauley responded with a reframe: This is where your renewal began. His birthday is a day for both of you to celebrate.

Well, thats a good way to look at it. Im looking forward to doing that, Fetterman said, adding that he feels hopeful for the first time and that its a strange feeling for me to have.

The senators transparency around his depression and post-stroke accommodations has helped normalize and destigmatize discussions about disability and mental health.

My message right now isnt political, he said. Im just somebody thats suffering from depression.

If you or someone you know needs help, dial 988 or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also get support via text by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.

Related...
President Biden outside the White House. A legal challenge to a measure limiting pay for Los Angeles hospital executives centers on whether it accurately states the compensation for the U.S. president. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

Should Los Angeles clamp down on how much hospital executives are paid?

That decision could be put to Los Angeles city voters, under a ballot measure supported by a union representing healthcare workers.

But whether that happens may hinge on another question: How much does the president of the United States make?

The California Hospital Assn. has gone to court to stop a ballot measure that would limit the annual compensation for executives at privately owned hospitals and other Los Angeles health facilities, arguing that the proposed measure rests on a statement that is "factually and provably untrue."

The L.A. ballot measure, backed by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, would set the annual limit for healthcare executives at "the total compensation for the President of the United States," which it lists as "currently $450,000." That dollar limit for healthcare executives would include their salaries, bonuses and a range of other benefits and payments, including severance.

The hospital association argued that the president is entitled to other payments and benefits, including travel expenses, discretionary funds and residence in the White House, that bring his annual compensation well over $450,000. As a result, it argued in its lawsuit, the L.A. petition contained "calculated untruths" that misled voters who were asked to sign it.

California law is clear that voters cannot be lied to or misled when presented an initiative petition to sign," said Jan Emerson-Shea, vice president of external affairs for the California Hospital Assn., calling the petition "clearly false.

The hospital association is calling for the courts to block the initiative from being adopted or appearing on the ballot.

Backers of the initiative are fighting the legal challenge, as is the city itself. The lawsuit is "nothing more than a thinly-veiled pre-election attack on the substance of the initiative itself  an action that is strongly disfavored by the courts," attorneys representing its proponents wrote.

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A federal code titled "Compensation of the President" states that the president is paid $400,000 annually and has a $50,000 expense allowance.

But the hospital association cited calculations by a consultant who concluded that the total amount, using the same definition of "covered compensation" that the initiative sets forward for L.A. healthcare executives, exceeds $1.2 million.

That amount includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual payment for former presidents after their terms, since the L.A. measure says that compensation for health executives includes "post-employment arrangements," the consultant wrote. It also relies on a calculation for how much expense accounts and housing that are exempt from taxes would need to be scaled up if they were taxable, as would be the case for hospital executives getting similar benefits in Los Angeles, the consultant said in a legal declaration.

Backers of the ballot measure derided that as a "tortured explanation" and called such arguments "wholly irrelevant red herrings" in a court filing, saying that the definition of compensation in the ballot measure applied to the health care executives, not to the U.S. president.

They also argued that the petition clearly stated that healthcare executives would have their compensation limited to an amount currently set at $450,000.

If the hospital association wants to argue that the U.S. president is actually compensated with more than $450,000 annually, "that is an argument best made to the voters in their efforts to oppose the initiative; it is not a proper basis on which to attempt to shortcut the initiative process," their attorneys wrote.

Backers of the ballot measure have already turned in their petition and signatures to the Los Angeles city clerk's office, which checks whether proposed measures have enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot. If the measure meets that requirement, city council members could also choose to adopt a measure outright instead of sending it to voters.

SEIU-UHW spokesperson Renee Saldana argued that as it stands, pay for hospital executives is "excessive, unnecessary and inconsistent with what should be hospital systems' mission of providing quality and affordable medical care for everyone" and that "paying these executives millions is really indicating the wrong priorities."

Saldana pointed out that hospital groups have pushed to prevent $25-an-hour wage measures for a range of employees at private hospitals from being adopted outright by cities in Los Angeles County, instead arguing they should go to the ballot. An L.A. wage measure championed by SEIU-UHW has been put on hold after hospital groups successfully pushed for a referendum.

If the hospital association believes that such wage measures should instead be decided by voters, "it's an appropriate time that voters also weigh in on the salaries of the highest paid individuals," Saldana said.

The proposed measure would cap executive compensation for a range of top officials, including CEOs, chief financial officers, executive vice presidents and administrators, at privately owned hospitals and their affiliated clinics, skilled nursing facilities and residential facilities for the elderly located in the city of Los Angeles.

Emerson-Shea called the proposal an "abuse of the initiative system" by the union. "This measure will hurt the ability of hospitals to recruit qualified leaders, at a time when hospitals are facing real challenges, with no benefits to consumers or workers," she said in a statement.

A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Finns head to the polls to vote in parliamentary elections. RONI REKOMAA/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

Finland will head to the polls on Sunday to vote in parliamentary elections that could have wide-ranging effects on the Nordic bloc, Europe, and the world.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin is looking to win re-election by keeping her liberal Social Democrats party in power. However, she may have a tough time doing so.

Marin, a 37-year-old who is among the youngest world leaders, remains highly popular in Finland, with the country's Helsingin Sanomat newspaper publishing a December opinion poll that found 64 percent of respondents approved of her premiership. However, while a large portion of Finland sees Marin "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 behavior make her unfit for office," France24 reported.

With this split, the Social Democrats are neck-and-neck with two main competitors  the conservative National Coalition party and the far-right, nationalist Finns party. A final poll cited by The Guardian, with a two percent margin of error, had the National Coalition at 19.8 percent, the Finns at 19.5, and the Social Democrats at 18.7.

Given the margin of error and the closeness of the race, the polls could all be rendered moot once the final votes are counted. However, no matter what party wins, Reuters noted that "the election is likely to be followed by lengthy coalition talks."

Whichever group wins the right to form a government will help lead Finland through its first years as a NATO member, and a victory by the Finns party could see the country go the way of Sweden and Italy in recent years with a move towards far-right sentiments. AFP via Le Monde noted the party "sees an EU exit as its long-term goal."

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(Bloomberg) -- Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was projected to lose in the Nordic countrys close parliamentary elections.

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Running neck-and-neck with opposition center-right National Coalition, the millennial leaders Social Democrats were seen falling to third place, according to a projection of the results by state broadcaster YLE. The prediction attempts to even out the disparities in the speed of counting in smaller municipalities and the big cities.

The projection gave Marins SDP 43 seats, behind both the National Coalition with 48 seats and the far-right Finns Party with 46 seats.

The winner  and the coalition they put together  will shape the trajectory of Finlands public finances, the fate of its ambitious 2035 net zero goal and prospects to offset population aging with immigration into the cold, northernly nation.

Should the pro-business National Coalition of Petteri Orpo finish first, that would mirror the shift in neighboring Sweden where a more inward-looking and fiscally conservative government, led by the Moderate Party, took power from the Social Democrats last year.

We must fix our economy, Orpo told reporters. We are a clear alternative to the left-wing government. People are very worried about the economy.

Marins support stems from her handling of both an unprecedented pandemic and the fallout of Russias war in Ukraine, which led to Finlands bid to join NATO. She has garnered international fame as head of a five-party cabinet led solely by women, with the 37-year-old premiers personal lifestyle drawing in young voters.

Her backing also shows many voters are prepared to shrug off the countrys continued borrowing, after 15 years of budgets in the deficit, as Marins party rejects spending reductions.

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Marin has sought to stay in power with pledges to raise taxes and foster growth  means that the opposition National Coalition say are mutually exclusive. Orpos party campaigned instead on the platform of lower taxes and reduced spending with a goal of balancing the books sooner.

Opposition ultra-nationalist Finns Party of Riikka Purra agrees on fiscal prudence, attracting voters concerned over internal security and immigration, and who think too much fuss is being made of climate change. It also channels the anti-establishment vote.

What those clashing views mean for post-election coalition building is shrouded in mystery, complicating the choice for 4.3 million eligible voters in Finland, where set political blocs dont exist.

As a rule, the party with the most seats in parliament gets the first attempt to form a ruling coalition  and cabinets can even be formed by parties from opposite sides of the political spectrum if they manage to agree on a joint policy program. The talks can kick off after the election of a parliament speaker April 12 and are set to take weeks, if not months.

Among the few red lines disclosed ahead of the vote, many parties refuse to work with the nationalists, with Orpos National Coalition an exception. The Center Party of Finance Minister Annika Saarikko has ruled out extending the current coalition with Marins party for another term.

Finlands upcoming membership in NATO is among the few issues thats widely backed across the political spectrum.

--With assistance from Rob Dawson and Philip Tabuas.

(Updates with projection from YLE from first paragraph)

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HELSINKI (AP)  Finland's main conservative party claimed victory in parliamentary elections Sunday in a tight three-way race that saw right-wing populists take second place, leaving Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party in third, dashing her hopes for reelection.

The center-right National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory with all of the votes counted, coming out on top at 20.8%. They were followed by right-wing populist party The Finns with 20.1%, while the Social Democrats garnered 19.9%.

With the top three parties each getting around 20% of the vote, no party is in position to form a government alone. Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties were vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic countrys parliament.

Based on this result, talks over forming a new government to Finland will be initiated under the leadership of the National Coalition Party, said the party's elated leader Petteri Orpo, as he claimed victory surrounded by supporters gathered in a restaurant in the capital, Helsinki.

Marin, who at age 37 is one of Europes youngest leaders, has received international praise for her vocal support of Ukraine and her prominent role, along with President Sauli Niinisto, in advocating for Finlands successful application to join NATO.

The 53-year-old Orpo, Finland's former finance minister and likely new prime minister, assured that the Nordic country's solidarity with Kyiv would remain strong during his tenure.

First to Ukraine: we stand by you, with you," Orpo told the Associated Press at NCP's victory event. We cannot accept this terrible war. And we will do all that is needed to help Ukraine, Ukrainian people because they fight for us. This is clear.

"And the message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is: go away from Ukraine because you will lose, Orpo said.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, cleared the last hurdles of becoming a NATO member earlier in the week as alliance members Turkey and Hungary signed off the country's membership bid.

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NCP's share of votes translates into 48 seats in the Eduskunta, Finland's Parliament, while The Finns, a nationalist party running largely on an anti-immigration and anti-European Union agenda, is to get 46 seats and Marin's Social Democrats 43 seats respectively.

Observers say the result means a power shift in Finland's political scene as the nation is now likely to get a new center-right government with nationalist tones. The government will replace the center-left Cabinet by Marin, a highly popular prime minister at home and abroad since 2019.

Government formation talks led by the NCP are expected to start in the coming days with goal of putting together a Cabinet enjoying a majority at the Parliament.

I trust the Finnish tradition of negotiating with all parties, and trying to find the best possible majority government for Finland," Orpo told the AP.

And you know what is important for us? Its that we are an active member of the European Union. We build up NATO-Finland, and we fix our economy. We boost our economic growth and create new jobs. These are the crucial, main, important issues we have to write into the government program, he said.

The positions of Marin's party on the Finnish economy emerged as a main campaign theme and were challenged by conservatives, who remain critical of the Social Democrats' economic policies and are unlikely to partner with them.

Orpo had hammered on Finland's growing government debt and the need to make budget cuts throughout the election. NCP is open to cooperation with The Finns as the two parties largely share view on developing Finland's economy though have differences in climate policies and EU issues.

While Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland to seek NATO membership in May 2022, neither the historic decision to abandon the nations non-alignment policy nor the war emerged as major campaign issues as there was a large consensus among the parties on membership.

Finland, which is expected to join NATO in the coming weeks, is a European Union member.

The initial voter turnout in the election was 71.9%, slightly down from the 2019 election.

__

Kostya Manenkov and David Keyton in Helsinki contributed to this report.
A mechanical failure stranded 16 riders on the Tidal Twister roller coaster at SeaWorld San Diego, California firefighters reported.

Firefighters rescued the trapped riders on Friday, March 31, a San Diego Fire Department post to Twitter said.

The initial post said 30 people were rescued, but SeaWorld officials later told new outlets that only 16 required rescue.

The rescue took about an hour after the Tidal Twister ride broke down at 4 p.m., KSWB reported. No one was hurt.

Tidal Twister is a dueling roller coaster with two trains carrying 16 passengers each that reach speeds of 30 mph with high-speed turns and upside-down twists, according to SeaWorld.

SeaWorld employees are working to determine the cause of the problem, KGTV reported.

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A man's personal drama on board a flight as recounted on social media elicited some 4,500 reactions and over 3,000 comments in about seven hours  with an individual describing a "manspreading" situation and a confrontation with a fellow passenger, a situation that yielded little sympathy for him.

Fox News Digital reached out to an etiquette expert for comment on air travel issues such as the one articulated here.

A man describing himself as 26 years old said he was flying alone "on a long flight" of about six hours and was stuck in the "middle seat" on a plane between two women.

"I'm tall and am never comfortable on planes," related the man, who went by the username of "Dr_Chekhov" on Reddit.

REDDIT USER SPARKS HEATED DEBATE ABOUT RUSHING TO LEAVE AIRPLANE UPON LANDING: JUST RUDE

He said, "My knees always dig into the seat in front and it can be quite painful. I usually try to take a walk around the airport before flights to stretch my legs, but neglected to this time."

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He reported that he was flying on Spirit Airlines, "so there was even less legroom than usual."

Fox News Digital reached out to Spirit Airlines for comment.

The man  who said he was positioned in a middle seat aboard a flight  said that shortly after takeoff, he "found his knee inching to the side" and toward another passenger's personal space.

He said that about "half an hour after takeoff, I found my left knee inching to the side for the sweet relief of open space  specifically, the no-man's-land in between seats, level with the shared armrest."

However, the man also said, "I wasn't paying attention to my knee the entire time. I'll concede it's possible that at some point I was occupying space that rightfully belonged to my window seat neighbor."

FLIGHT FRIGHT: FAMILY ASKS PERSON TO SWITCH PLANE SEATS, HE REFUSES  AND BIG TROUBLE ENSUES

He said that for about two hours, "all was well." However, the period of "wellness" didn't last.

He said that "the woman in the window seat called over the flight attendant," and asked the flight staffer something like, "Could you tell him to keep his f---ing leg in his own f---ing seat."

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The man wrote that, in "horror, I understood she was talking about me. I instantly retracted my leg" in "shame," he added.

The man said there was further off-color commentary from the passenger in the window seat  "but she wasn't speaking very clearly, and the flight attendant  didn't seem to understand her."

Eventually, the man related, "the attendant went away."

The man in the middle seat said he "tried again to apologize" to the woman in the window seat  but "again she ignored me," he wrote on social media about an unpleasant situation during a recent airplane trip.

The man described himself as "shocked into silence," but said he then "frantically began to apologize. But she refused to speak to me."

The man said that instead, the woman in the window seat began to "furiously" text on her phone.

Then, the woman on the aisle seat "said she had some extra space on her side I could use, but then promptly went to sleep," the man wrote.

The man on Reddit said he "tried again to apologize" to the woman in the window seat, but "again she ignored me. I went from embarrassed to confused," the man added.

MAN KICKED OFF FLIGHT FOR BEING FATPHOBIC AND RUDE, YET HE HAD NOWHERE TO SIT

"I kept replaying it in my head, wondering why she didn't simply ask me to move my knee instead of calling over the attendant."

The man then said he "started sneaking peeks at her phone."

A man shared with others a recent airline experience, noting that the woman on the window seat "ignored me the whole rest of the flight and I ignored her." He asked people if he was in the wrong for "manspreading on a plane."

In his "defense," he added, "I was baffled by her behavior and wanted answers."

He said the woman had "spent the last three hours of the flight watching TikToks about shaming obese people and texting someone she called Papi. I didn't see all of it, but a significant portion was definitely about me  she wrote, Men really [are] too much sometimes with a laughing emoji."

AIR TRAVEL DRAMA: TALL PASSENGER WHO DIDN'T BUY ADDITIONAL LEGROOM IS CHEWED OUT ON FLIGHT

The man concluded with, "She ignored me the whole rest of the flight and I ignored her."

He also said, "I got a good but painful workout of whatever muscle it is that keeps your knees together."

He asked people if he was in the wrong for "manspreading on a plane."

In an additional comment he posted in response to someone else's comment, the man wrote that he was not "acting agitated. If anything, I acted cold."

Jacqueline Whitmore, a longtime etiquette expert based in Florida, told Fox News Digital that proper airline behavior means that you "keep your arms and legs to yourself."

FLIGHT NIGHTMARES: OVERSTUFFED BAGGAGE BINS, RUDE PASSENGERS AND NOT ENOUGH SPACE

She went on, "The seats may be getting smaller by the day, but that doesnt give you the right to spill over into someone elses space or put your head on another persons shoulder  unless, of course, you know that person well."

Added Whitmore, an author and the founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, "Never put your belongings in someone elses overhead bin or underneath their seat."

Wrote one commenter in reply to the man's described drama, "Stop pinching pennies and pay for an aisle seat or an exit seat. There are options!"

She added further, "If youre in an aisle seat, keep your long legs and sharp elbows out of the aisle. And dont even think about putting your food, drinks or trash on someone elses tray table without their permission."

Regarding the specific situation at hand, she added, "Personally speaking, if I had extra long legs, I would book a premium seat or an aisle seat or an exit row seat at best. Who chooses to sit in a middle seat? No one I know."

She also said, "Dont wait until the last minute if you have special requirements. Also, you can often request a better seat when you get to the gate."

Many on Reddit had big problems with the man's story  with one also telling him to buy a better seat in order to ward off exactly the type of situation he described.

"This is a known, recurring issue," said one individual. "You KNOW you will feel better with more leg space. Stop pinching pennies and pay for an aisle seat or an exit seat. There are options!"

REDDIT USER SLAMS SLOWNESS OF FELLOW AIR PASSENGERS AFTER PLANE LANDS: JUST CLUELESS

The same commenter also said, "By wanting the woman to tell you if she is bothered by your invasion of her space, you make it her responsibility instead of just not doing it."

This commenter went on with emphasis, "Women can feel too vulnerable to confront a tall guy (your own admission) by themselves, especially when they are stuck at the window seat and cannot exit if the guy gets angry. She didnt call the attendant to tell you to move  she called her to have an authority figure to help her make a point."

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Finally, the same commenter had this to say to the man who shared his story: "Then there is the snooping" into the phone of the woman in the window seat.

"Seriously, dude? You thought what?" the person added. "Oh, this woman has already found me intrusive before  lets double down?"

That comment alone got more than 16,000 "upvotes" on the subreddit known as AITA.

Wrote another person, describing herself as "a small woman" and sprinkling her reactions with off-color language, "Keep your  body parts to yourself and don't put me in the position of having to ask for basic personal space."

Added another commenter about the "manspreading" issue, "Tall woman here. Can confirm. I've had men 2-3 inches shorter than me do this to me to mark their territory."
A Florida woman is demanding prison time for her own mother after her two young children died less than a year apart while allegedly in their grandmothers care, one in a hot car death and the other in an accidental drowning.

The grandmother, 65-year-old Tracey Nix, was arrested and charged in November 2022 with aggravated manslaughter and leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle, court records show. The charges are in connection with the Nov. 1, 2022 death of 7-month-old Uriel Schock.

Authorities said Nix left Uriel in her vehicle outside her Wauchula home for several hours after returning from lunch. Nix said she forgot the child was in the car, according to the court documents.

How do you forget a little girl, Uriels father, Drew Schock, said in a tearful interview this week with local station WFTS.

Uriel Nix. (Nix family / GoFundMe)

Nix told authorities that her daughter, Kaila Schock, asked her to watch Uriel while she was at a hair appointment, the documents state. Nix said she went to a friends house that morning and then left to pick up Uriel.

She then drove to a restaurant for lunch with her friends, according to the documents. They left the restaurant around 1:40 p.m.

Security footage showed Nix put her granddaughter in a rear car seat and drive away, authorities said in the documents. Nix said she drove about 10 minutes to her home, parked the car and went inside to talk to her dog and practice the piano.

She told the Hardee County Sheriffs Office that it was not like I was rushing in the house to do anything ... I just forgot, according to the documents.

The court filing says that Nix was waiting for her older grandson to arrive so they could go out to dinner. After 4:30 p.m., she took two cups of tea out to her vehicle for her and her grandson and then drove the vehicle to her backyard. Authorities said Nixs husband was in the backyard and the two talked for about 10 minutes, the documents state.

When the grandson arrived, Nix said all of a sudden it came across her head that Uriel was still in the car, the documents state. Nixs husband immediately pulled the baby out and began CPR while someone called 911.

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Uriel was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriffs office said temperatures that day in Wauchula reached 90 degrees.

An autopsy showed no signs of injuries. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Drew Schock told WFTS that he remembers being in the parking lot outside the hospital trying to grasp what just happened. And that it actually ... just happened twice in our lifetime.

In December 2021, the couples 16-month-old son Ezra died, also while in Nixs care. Court records state that Nix was babysitting the little boy when she fell asleep. The child wandered outside and drowned in a pond near her home. She was not charged in the incident.

Kaila told the news station that she was six months pregnant with Uriel at the time her son died. The couple also has an older child. She said she initially did not trust her mother to watch her children after Ezras death but believed in second chances.

We were anxious, but I loved my mother. And I am a daughter that wanted her mom, she said through tears. When I was told that Ezras death was an accident, some sliver child part of me thought, OK. Good, I get to keep this mom, this grandmother.

Kaila said she knew her mother was taking Uriel to lunch with her friends. Hours later, a sheriffs deputy came to Kailas house and delivered the heartbreaking news.

Two children now who are no longer here, Drew said. Somebody has to answer for that.

She needs to go to prison, Kaila told the news station. As her daughter, it kills me to say it. As their mother, I demand it.

Authorities said Nixs negligence resulted in the death of both children. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A pretrial hearing is set for May 2, court records show.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Many Florida high-school students would have their school start times pushed back under a measure approved Friday by the House.

The bill (HB 733) would prevent middle schools from beginning the instructional day earlier than 8 a.m., while high schools would be barred from starting the school day before 8:30 a.m.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

The changes would have to go into effect by July 2026. About 48 percent of Floridas public high schools start school before 7:30 a.m., according to the Legislatures Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.

Another 19 percent of high schools start between 7:30 a.m. and 7:59 a.m. But some House Democrats on Friday argued that changing start times would be costly and burdensome for school districts.

Read: 5 people hurt, including a child, in Orange County crash, fire officials say

Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando, said the Orange County district would have to spend money to buy additional buses and hire bus drivers to accommodate the change.

This bill mandates some restrictions on my school district that are going to be very costly, Antone said.

Bill sponsor John Temple, R-Wildwood, said the bills 2026 deadline would allow time for districts to prepare for the changes.

Read: 18 children, four adults homeless after fire destroys building at Ocala apartment complex

The reason for three years  we are well aware that change is hard. We are well aware that change takes time. And so were giving that time, and were giving those resources to help with that, Temple said.

A similar Senate bill (SB 1112) needs approval from two committees before it could be considered by the full Senate.

Read: FHP investigating deadly head-on crash involving motorcycle and SUV in Volusia County

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
A Florida man was seen smiling as he was arrested by police Friday for allegedly murdering an autistic teenager.

Geremy Doel Navarro, 20, is accused of murdering Ferron Williams, a 19-year-old with autism on Jan. 27, 2022. The incident happened across the street from a Hardee's restaurant, according to FOX 35.

Navarro is being charged with first-degree murder.

Jeff Walczak, a spokesman for the Ocala Police Department, said at the time, "We know that the young man was on the porch using the WiFi of a local restaurant and that's when a shooter came and shot him from the roadway."

SECOND CHILD DIES UNDER CARE OF FLORIDA GRANDMOTHER, POLICE SAY

A man in Florida was seen smiling while he was arrested on Friday by police for allegedly murdering an autistic teenager.

The teenager ran from the house after he was shot, but collapsed on a sidewalk nearby.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken expressed hope that justice will be brought to Navarro.

GYMANSTICS STUDIO HID CAMERA IN BATHROOM TO RECORD CHILDREN, ADULTS: POLICE

Geremy Doel Navarro, 20, is accused of murdering Ferron Williams, a 19-year-old teenager with autism on Jan. 27, 2022 across the street from a Hardees restaurant, according to FOX 35.

"I want to commend the tireless dedication of our detectives who have worked diligently for the past 14 months to bring closure to the heinous murder of 19-year-old Ferron Williams. Their persistence in this investigation has led to the arrest of Geremy Navarro and I am proud to say that justice will finally be served," Balken said.

19-year-old Ferron Williams.

"I also want to express my deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the victim who have suffered a great loss. We condemn all forms of violence and are committed to ensuring that our community remains safe and secure. We will continue to work diligently to bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice and protect our citizens from harm," he added.
Members of the New College of Florida chapter of United Florida Faculty gathered at the school on Saturday morning to call for academic freedom.

About 85 attendees including New College supporters listened as several Florida professors  some who were New College alumni  voice their concerns over the looming House Bill 999 and its companion, Senate Bill 266.

The legislation would regulate diversity, equity and inclusion during the hiring process at colleges and eliminate inclusion offices and programs. It would also remove any college major or minor that includes race studies, feminist theory, queer theory or ethnic studies, and it would make it easier to hire or fire tenured professors.

More: New College launches athletic department, names director and baseball coach

In case you missed it: New College could lose $29 million in donations after DeSantis' takeover, alum says

UFF represents over 25,000 faculty at all 12 public Florida universities and has lobbied on behalf of professors to stop HB 999.

Andrew Gothard, president of the United Florida Faculty and an English instructor at Florida Atlantic University, kicked off the event on the Sarasota campus of the public liberal arts college in an appearance via Zoom.

New College has been in the news lately as Gov. Ron DeSantis moves to transform the college into a more conservative institution, appointing six new board members, including conservative activist Christopher Rufo, a dean at conservative Hillsdale College and a senior fellow at The Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank.

Goddard emphasized that academic freedom is what formed the core of U.S. higher education. Its the idea that every student and faculty member should have the right to teach, learn, research whatever they want, Goddard said. Theyre not interested in academic freedom, Goddard said of those pushing the bills as well as DeSantis New College appointees. They are not interested fundamentally in freedom at all. They are interested in enforcing one way of viewing the world, one way of understanding historical events, one way of interpreting facts and data, and that is not what higher education is about.

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Five professors with backgrounds in microbiology, African American studies, womens and gender studies and philosophy spoke of the various degrees of difficulty they and their students would face if the legislation is passed.

One of their main concerns is how their current role as educators would change. They each said they pride themselves on informing the next generation and opening their classrooms to a diversity in thought, but with this latest threat, theyre worried that educational opportunities will become stunted.

We are expanding what our students are able to do when they graduate, Eckerd College rhetoric professor Suzan Harrison said. And we are doing so in ways that expand not just knowledge, but our democratic processes. Restricting that free exchange, silencing voices you don't agree with, outlawing subject matter that makes you uncomfortable  those are forms of repression used by authoritarian regimes."

Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression, closed out the event. He argued that colleges are an essential guarantor of democracy  one that taxpayers expect to reflect a plethora of ideas without government censorship.

Young said he believes that House Bill 999 will be passed, but that it doesnt mean professors or students should stop fighting. He implored educators to continue teaching what they were trained to teach without fear.

Maybe I'm a blind optimist, but I don't think this is where higher education in America dies, Young said. I think this  right here right now  today is where the defense of American higher education is born."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida professors seek higher education protection during NCF meeting
Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Florida is reeling after two separate cases in the state allegedly saw children die at the hands of their caregivers, according to authorities.

In St Petersburg, the body of a two-year-old boy was found Friday in an alligators mouth a day after his mother was discovered murdered, prompting his fathers arrest.

Meanwhile, about 80 miles east in Hardee county, a woman is demanding that her mother be imprisoned after she reportedly left her daughter in a hot car, killing the girl.

A year earlier, the girls brother had drowned, reportedly while her grandmother was supposed to be watching him but took a nap instead, according to local reports.

Police investigating the St Petersburg case reported that two-year-old Taylen Mosleys corpse was found in a lake in the jaws of an alligator after a search prompted by the discovery of his mothers body in their apartment earlier in the week.

The search for Taylen Mosley involved dive teams and drones, and eventually culminated in officers spotting an alligator in a lake a few miles from the apartment where his mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, was found dead.

Officers noticed the alligator with an object in its mouth and soon realized that it was Taylen Mosleys body, the Associated Press reported. They quickly fired shots at the alligator and were able to retrieve Taylens body intact, St Petersburg police chief Anthony Holloway said at a press conference, the Associated Press reported.

We are sorry it has had to end this way, Holloway told reporters on Friday.

Authorities have not said anything that would indicate Taylen was alive while in the alligators grasp.

After the discovery of the childs body, authorities said they intended to charge his father, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley, with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the killings of his son and Pashun, the boys mother.

Earlier this week, Jefferys body was found at what Holloway described as a very violent crime scene. She had been stabbed multiple times and Taylen was missing, the chief said.

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The exact details surrounding Taylen Mosleys death and how he ended up at the lake have yet to be released.

In Hardee county, 65-year-old Tracey Nix has been charged with aggravated manslaughter after being accused of leaving her seven-month-old granddaughter, Uriel Schock, unsupervised in a hot car last November. Uriels death happened after her 16-month-old brother Ezra Schock drowned in a pond near her home while Nix allegedly napped.

According to a Hardee county sheriffs office complaint affidavit reviewed by the local news outlet WFTS, Nix told authorities that she just forgot about her granddaughter after she drove back home following a lunch with her friends.

I was [not] rushing in the house to do anything, said Nix, according to the documents. I just forgot.

Only after one of her grandsons arrived did Nix all of a sudden remember that her granddaughter had been abandoned in the hot car all afternoon, WFTS reports. According to the outlet, temperatures had reached 90F that day.

How do you forget a little girl, Uriels father, Drew Schock, asked the outlet.

Uriels death has since been ruled a homicide.

A 2009 Washington Post magazine story found the phenomenon of caregivers leaving their children locked in cars started occurring more frequently in the 1990s, which is when authorities began widely recommending that child seats should go in the back of cars because passenger-side front airbags could kill children.

Experts quoted in the Post article said that parents at the center of such cases came from all economic and educational levels  and that they largely forgot their children in their cars because of stress, lack of sleep or changes to their routines rather than callous negligence or intentional malice. That phenomenon gave rise to suggestions that forgetful people leave a shoe in the back seat when children are riding with them, and some cars now also alert drivers to check the backseat after they park.

But Uriels family said her death is particularly hard to accept because of how her brother died in December 2021 while also reportedly under Nixs supervision.

According to court documents reviewed by NBC, Nix had been babysitting her grandson when she fell asleep. As a result, Ezra stepped outside and died after drowning in a nearby pond. She was not charged in the incident.

Two children now who are no longer here, said the childrens father. Somebody has to answer for that.

Their mother, Kaila Schock, echoed her husbands words, telling WFTS: She needs to go to prison. As her daughter, it kills me to say it. As their mother, I demand it.
A Ukrainian military man checks a machine gun on a tank in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, March 29

Read also: Bakhmut is protecting four near-front cities, says former Aidar commander

"It's pretty obvious. We need four things for a successful counter-offensive: (1) people, (2) equipment for them, including heavy weapons, (3) ammunition such as artillery shells and rockets for multiple launchers, and the last thing is (4) solid ground under the trucks (of tanks)," Dykyi told Radio NV.

On the first point, Ukraine has sufficient personnel right now, Dykyi clarified.

"We don't consider the quality of their training. We are talking only about a huge number of recently mobilized soldiers. They're training right now. The quality of training varies from absolutely zero to very high quality. It depends a lot on the lower and middle commanders, on how they organize it," he added.

Read also: Ukraine cannot launch counter-offensive yet, Zelenskyy says

Some programs have the recruits chasing each other through the training grounds, which greatly increases their chances of survival, but there are others where they just drink alcohol and wait to be sent to the front, Dykyi said.

"These are two poles. An average training of Soviet era times is somewhere in between. Perhaps, most conscripts get this type of training. Anyway, the number of people is sufficient and they are working on quality. Besides the quality of training, the quality of people themselves, thank God, is sufficient. This thing remains one of our advantages: the underlying quality of our people, their basic level of knowledge, the intelligence level of our mobilized soldiers compared with theirs," said Dykyi.

The ammunition shortage should be solved in one to two months, he said.

"There are some fresh initiatives of our Western allies. If you've noticed, the last aid packages were very much about ammunition. There is a chance that in a month, in two months at the most, the second factor will be ready to launch an offensive," Dykyi said.

As for heavy weapons, the counter-offensive would have to be launched with fewer armored vehicles than necessary, which would lead to more personnel losses, Dykyi said.

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Read also: MP Kostenko explains timing of Ukraine's counter-offensive

"And finally, the fourth resource is solid ground under the tracks. I think Reznikov was focused on this when he announced the specific deadlines. Sometime in the second half of April, in May, the ground usually dries out," he added.

Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on March 29 that Ukraine's counter-offensive should begin this year in April or May, and in several directions simultaneously.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday announced that he is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, officially joining Former President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the primary contest.

During an interview on ABCs This Week, Hutchinson told host Jonathan Karl that he was going to run for the 2024 GOP nomination, saying he is convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America.

EXCLUSIVE: Former GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces during an interview with @JonKarl that he will be running for president.



I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts. https://t.co/DmytxAAfAL pic.twitter.com/f2lcIBQeqD  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 2, 2023

I am going to be running. And the reason, as Ive traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country, and Im convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts, the former governor said. I believe I can be that kind of leader for the people of America.

Hutchinson said he will make a formal announcement later this month in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Hutchinson, who worked as a federal prosecutor, also reiterated calls for Trump to drop out of the race now that he has been indicted, saying that the office is more important than any individual person.

For the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think thats too much of a sideshow and distraction, and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process, and there is a presumption of innocence.

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Hutchinson added that while he believes people dont have to step aside from public office if theyre under investigation, however, he noted that if it reaches the point of criminal charges that have to be answered, the office is always more important than a person.

Im not supportive of Donald Trump. I want to provide an alternative, but Im happy if the voters make that decision and choice, Hutchinson said. I dont like the idea of the charges from what Ive seen coming out of New York. But the process has got to work, and weve got to have respect for our criminal justice system, but also for the office of presidency.

Updated at 10:17 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally declared a 2024 presidential campaign on Sunday.

Hutchinson is the third major Republican to announce a campaign and will face off against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump. Several other figures are expected to enter the race but have yet to do so. Entrepeneur Vivek Ramaswamy has also formally entered the GOP primary.

"I have made a decision, and my decision is I'm going to run for president of the United States," Hutchinson told ABC News. "While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville, I want to make it clear to you I am going to be running. And the reason is, I've traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts."

Hutchinson has mulled a potential presidential run for months, receiving support from a new super PAC in February.

SENDING SIGNALS: HUTCHINSON SAYS IOWA TRIPS SHOW HE'S SERIOUS ABOUT POSSIBLE 2024 RUN

Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, is running for president in 2024.

He remains a long-shot candidate in what is expected to become a crowded field, however. While his only announced opponents are Haley and Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce his campaign soon.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also widely expected to announce his campaign and is considered Trump's most credible rival. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may also announce a run.

FIRST ON FOX: NEW MOVES BY SEN. TIM SCOTT SPARK MORE 2024 SPECULATION

Hutchinson served two terms as Arkansas governor before retiring due to term limits. He has since been replaced by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. As he concluded his tenure as governor, Hutchinson made back-to-back trips to Iowa , the state that for a half-century has kicked off the presidential nominating calendar.

"Going to Iowa probably does send some signals that you're serious about looking at 2024," Hutchinson told Fox News in February.

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Hutchinson called the reception he received from Iowans "very welcoming," and said his stops gave him "an opportunity to listen to Iowans and their leaders about the challenges they face and also solutions that theyre looking at."

Former Vice President Mike Pence is widely expected to announce a run for president in 2024.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is considered to be Trump's most credible rival in 2024, despite not having announced a campaign.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison issued a statement in response to Hutchinson's announcement, saying, "After calling Donald Trump the kind of transparent, straight-talking leader America needs, Asa Hutchinson now wants to rewrite history  but his support for Trump and the MAGA agenda speaks for itself. As governor, Hutchinson signed one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, ripped health care away from thousands of Arkansans, and advocated for taking away the ACAs protections for those with preexisting conditions. Hes just another extremist joining the ever-expanding race for the MAGA base."

Hutchinson weighed in on Trump's indictment after it arrived on Thursday, saying the former president should withdraw from the race.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday said he will seek the Republican nomination for president.

Hutchinson told "ABC This Week" that a formal announcement would follow later in April, but "I've made my decision."

"And the reason, as I've traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country, and I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts," Hutchinson said.

He joins former President Donald Trump, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in the race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered one of the better-known potential challengers, has not yet made a formal announcement.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2021. / Credit: JOSHUA ROBERTS / REUTERS

Hutchinson left office in January after serving two terms as governor of Arkansas and was succeeded by former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is also the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Hutchinson, a former congressman, also served as one of the House impeachment managers for President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.

Hutchinson has previously said he opposed a third bid by Trump for the White House, saying in December that it would be the "worst scenario" if Trump received the Republican nomination and faced President Joe Biden in 2024.

He has ramped up that rhetoric in recent weeks amid the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Trump. A grand jury in New York voted last week to indict the former president. The charge or charges have not been disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter told CBS News on Saturday that Trump is being charged with falsifying business records in the first degree, a felony in the state of New York.

Hutchinson said Sunday that the indictment "adds to the unpredictability of it." He called it a "sad day for America that we have a former president that's indicted" and called it a "great distraction."

"And so we've got to press on, and the American people are gonna have to separate what the ideas are for our future, gonna talk about border security and the economy," Hutchinson said. "We have to talk about those. We have to talk about the leadership of America in the world, whenever you have Russia and China taking advantage of any weakness that America shows. So, we can't be sidetracked for a year and a half."

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Trump can still run for president even after being charged, and his campaign said on Saturday that it had raised over $4 million in the 24 hours after he was indicted.

If he were to win the presidency, Hutchinson would be the second Arkansas governor to hold the nation's top office. Clinton served as governor of Arkansas for nearly 12 years before his successful presidential bid in 1992.

Fin Gomez contributed to this report.

Wall Street Journal editor says it's "hugely reassuring" Blinken spoke to Russia's top diplomat

Bolton says it's a "big mistake, politically" for Republicans to align with Trump

Bharara says "it's a little bit rich" of former AG Barr to call Bragg "political"
A former Gwinnett County teacher is facing child sex crime charges after police say he assaulted a student.

RKheim Young, 36, is being held in the Gwinnett County Jail and is charged with two counts of child molestation and improper sexual contact with a child.

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Lawrenceville police say Young was an art teacher at Gerard Preparatory School.

They say the mother of the teen student at the school reported that her daughter told her Young was making inappropriate sexual comments toward her that made her uncomfortable. She said her daughter later told her that Young had touched her private parts over her clothes and made her touch him.

Investigators were later able to confirm the allegations the girl made.

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They say after Young was arrested, he admitted to the allegations.

The school confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that once the allegations were made in late February, Young was placed on unpaid leave. Once he was arrested earlier this month, he was fired.

Gerard Preparatory School is not affiliated with Gwinnett County Public Schools.

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Igor Girkin (Strelkov)

In it, Girkin stressed that Russia was headed for a military defeat.

"Unfortunately, the situation at the front, which the media is varnishing in every possible way, has an extremely negative impact on the situation throughout the country," he said.I'm not afraid to say it, we are heading for a military defeat.

Read also: Mass murderer Girkin threatens top Kremlin propagandist Solovyov

Girkin also added that neither the Russian economy, nor its army, nor its political and military leadership were ready for a war against Ukraine.

"We got into a long, protracted war, for which our economy was not ready," Girkin argued.

Neither the army, nor the political system was ready for it.

Girkin is currently on the international wanted list in the case of the downing of Malaysian Boeing flight MH17 in the skies over Donbas back in2014. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Prince Gregory Potemkin is remembered for creating villages that could be put up along the Dnipro River before Catherine the Great arrived and disassembled once the empress he wished to deceive had moved out of sight. In politics and economics, a Potemkin Village is any construction (literal or figurative) whose sole purpose is to provide an external facade to a country that is faring poorly, making people believe that the country is faring better.

Michael Finkel, M.D.

A notorious Potemkin Village in the Twentieth Century was the Teresienstadt concentration camp, built to show neutral countries how well off the people were. The rationale failed to explain why such people needed to be removed from society.

Florida Governor DeSantis is promoting the Free State of Florida as a paradise among U.S. states. But it takes very little research and critical analysis to realize that what he is promoting is a Potemkin Village type state.

Florida is not free when felons who have paid their debt to society are not allowed to vote, despite an overwhelmingly passed amendment to the state Constitution.

Florida is not free when these former felons are told that they must pay court fees and fines if they want to vote, but there are inadequate records to allow them to assess what these are. This is akin to the Jim Crow ruse requiring African Americans to correctly tell the number of jellybeans in a bottle or the number of bubbles in a bar of soap before they can be registered to vote.

Florida is not free when the representative districts are gerrymandered against the state Constitution for DeSantiss political benefit.

Florida is not free when local municipalities have local powers stripped to permit the will of the gerrymandered state government.

Florida is not free when New College, designated as Floridas honor college, dedicated to educating free thinkers, risk takers and trailblazers for 63 years, is shanghaied to be a publicly supported, ideologically oriented college intended for the conservative educations of DeSantis supporters children at state college rates. The culture that made the school ranked as fifth best public school in the nation, that produced many Fulbright scholars, is replaced by one that promotes a minority ideology.

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Florida is not free when the New College president and board are abruptly fired and replaced by six new board members appointed by DeSantis to carry out the coup against the nature of the school.

Florida is not free when a twice elected state prosecutor is removed for only saying that he would not enforce certain laws that he believes are unconstitutional, when in practice he had done no such thing.

Florida is not free when Disney, a major state employer, is stripped of a 58-year-old status for criticizing a DeSantis policy and put under a new entity with a board that are all DeSantis appointees.

Florida is not free when two student minority groups are demonized, with transgender students denied medical care that is accepted nationwide.

Florida is not free when the state determines which books, videos, and comments can be used to teach Florida students, and when the teachers are threatened with felony convictions for not complying with the edicts.

Florida is not free when nonpartisan local school boards are taken over by DeSantis partisans who put his edicts above the needs of the local students whose proper educations are under their care.

Florida is not free when DeSantis appoints a state surgeon general who is disavowed by mainline medical associations, who then proceeds to discourage COVID vaccinations and mask usage against reliable medical data.

Florida is not free if teenagers entering puberty cannot discuss menarche and menstruation with a licensed adult educator.

There are more Potemkin policies by DeSantis that can be named, and surely more to come. It is up to the voters to stand up to the governors attempts to make the state government autocratic and not democratic.

Michael F. Finkel, M.D., of Naples practiced adult and child neurology for 40 years, including Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic appointments. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, a Fellow of the Florida Society of Neurology, and a retired member of the Child Neurology Society.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Free Florida is a facade
The GMC Hummer EV at General Motors' "Factory Zero" in Detroit. Nic Antaya/Getty Images

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be phased out of future GM electric models.

The company will keep access to the softwares in existing EVs and gas-based cars.

The manufacturer plans to replace CarPlay with its own Google-supported system.

As General Motors works to phase out gas-powered cars completely by 2035, it appears Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are going with them.

The automaker said it plans to get rid of both infotainment systems in its future electric vehicles, beginning with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, Reuters reported. The two softwares allow users to bypass built-in operating systems in their cars, instead using an emulated version of their phones on dashboard screens.

Instead of CarPlay, GM will offer its own Google-based software for drivers, including access to Google maps and Google Assistant. The forthcoming firmware will also feature apps like Audible and Spotify, according to Reuters.

Though GM aims to eliminate the systems in its forthcoming electric vehicles, it will keep them in its gas-powered cars, according to CNN.

GM executives told Reuters the company intends to separate cars from cell phones by phasing out technology like CarPlay.

"We have a lot of new driver assistance features coming that are more tightly coupled with navigation," Mike Hichme, GM's executive director of digital cockpit experience, told Reuters. "We don't want to design these features in a way that are dependent on a person having a cellphone."

Additionally, GM plans to implement a subscription model for services like Google Maps and Google Assistant several years down the line, Reuters reported. Those services will be free for the first eight years of the new infotainment system, according to Reuters.

"We do believe there are subscription revenue opportunities for us," Edward Kummer, GM's chief digital officer, told Reuters.

Read the original article on Business Insider
U.S. Rep. George Santos

U.S. Rep. George Santos has introduced a bill to ban U.S. aid to countries with laws or policies that discriminate against or criminalize people because of their sexual orientation or certain other characteristics.

Santos, a gay Republican who has been caught in numerous lies and accused of crimes since being elected last fall, introduced House Resolution 1736, the Equality and Fiscal Accountability Protection Act of 2023, on March 23. It would require the State Department to assess a countrys human rights record before providing aid, and countries that violate human rights would be ineligible for U.S. aid until they address the issue.

Discrimination against both women and the LGBTQ community is unacceptable, Santos said in a press release. My bill will send a clear message that the United States will not offer federal aid to countries found to be violating the rights of individuals based on sexual orientation. We as a nation have a responsibility to stand up for the human rights of all people, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The full text is not yet available online. The Advocate has asked Santoss staff if it includes gender identity and is awaiting a response.

Santos represents New Yorks Third Congressional District, which encompasses portions of Long Island. He was elected to his first term last year, the first gay Republican to be out from his initial election; others came out while already in office. He has already announced his intent to seek a second term in 2024.

The bill's introduction comes even though Santos was caught lying about his academic and employment records, his religion, and many other things. He claimed that his grandparents fled the Holocaust, that he lost four employees in the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting, and that his mother died as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001  all untrue.

He also has been accused of sexual harassment, ATM fraud, and check fraud. Prosecutors in Brazil recently agreed to a plea deal in a check fraud case stemming from a 2010 incident, CNN reports. He is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
Have you tried Cafe Campesino in Americus, Georgia?

Caroline Eubanks

When browsing your local grocery store, you might see a dozen labels with the names organic and fair trade. But two decades ago, it was just regular or decaf. Long before the shift to consumers caring about where their coffee came from, Americus, Georgias Cafe Campesino was working with collectives of farmers. And it all started with a 1997 Habitat for Humanity volunteer trip to Guatemala and a group from the small Southern town.

Bill Harris met local farmers who highly prized their humble coffee plants. It was then that Bill Harris realized the importance of these small fruits and how little the farmers were valued in the production process.

[He] had the opportunity to meet small-scale coffee farmers in the community where they were living, said Matt Earley, the companys Director of Sales, Marketing, and Community. The impression that it made on him was that small-scale coffee farmers were really, in Guatemala and all over Latin America and the world, were really struggling to stay on their land, and that's something that we're still working and dealing with today.

Despite having no experience in the industry, he purchased as much coffee as he could to bring home and sell to small roasters out of his VW bus. The rusting heap of metal still sits outside the original roaster building as a reminder of the humble beginnings.

What farmers get paid in general for their coffee is very, very low. It doesn't at all reflect their basic expenses, their labor, or the value of their expertise. Bill came back motivated to try to do something to help the farmers that he met, and later other farmers, get into better markets for their coffee, Earley said.

Harris founded Cafe Campesino as a roaster, establishing a direct trading relationship with the farmers like those hed met in Guatemala. From there, he created Cooperative Coffees to work with farmer cooperatives to buy and import green beans, pay them fairly for it, and sell directly to like-minded roasters. This is what made Cooperative the countrys first and only fair trade, organic purchasing cooperative for green coffee beans.

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Just like small farmers there banding together to have better market access and to be able to use their strength in the market to not have to sell to the lowest bidder, but instead work together to find better markets and to give better deals on transportation for their coffee processing, Bill and the other roasters figured out a way that, when they all banded together, once they put their economic power together, they could afford to bring coffee to the United States and they were able to cut out the commercial importers, Earley said.

Even though Harris is no longer involved in daily operations, Cooperative continues to be a large part of the companys ethos, helping farmers get paid fairly and diversify their crops, not to mention buying millions of pounds of coffee every year between all of the roasters.

I believe there's 24 now, small-scale coffee roasters in Canada and the US who are buying from the same farmers, some of whom are in the same places that Bill and the others worked with in the very beginning.

Cafe Campesino

While other coffee companies are based in big cities, Americus remains at the heart of what makes Cafe Campesino unique. The company will soon be moving into the towns historic Greyhound Trailways bus station, becoming the first business to welcome arriving visitors.

Cafe Campesino

There have been so many people in Americus who have, at different times, supported us in different ways, says Earley. Cafe Campesino wouldn't be Cafe Campesino without being in Americus, Earley said.

The next time you sip a steaming hot mug of Cafe Campesino coffee, whether in Americus or at one of the partner shops around the country, you can be sure that there are no more than five steps between the coffee plant and your cup and that both the farmers and employees are paid fairly.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.
In the last 24 hours, Russian attacks were reported in six out of Ukraine's 25 regions, including in Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk oblasts.

According to the regional governors' reports, four civilians were killed, and at least 15 were injured.

Sumy Oblast: In the northern Sumy Oblast, regional military administration reported early on April 2 that two civilians were killed in Russian shelling of Nova Sloboda community that borders Russia.

Kharkiv Oblast: Russian troops killed one civilian and injured another in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. He added that an injured civilian had been hospitalized.

Kherson Oblast: In the southern Kherson Oblast, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that one civilian was killed and two were injured in a Russian attack against the region over the past day.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast: According to the regional administration, seven civilians were injured in Russian missile attacks in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Donetsk Oblast: Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that five civilians were wounded in the eastern Donetsk Oblast: two in the embattled city of Bakhmut and three in Toretsk.

Luhansk Oblast: Russian forces shelled several settlements in eastern Luhansk Oblast. No casualties were reported, the regional government said in a Telegram post.

Read also: Ukraine changes combat bonus system, soldiers warn it might lower morale
Gwinnett County firefighters extinguished two fires in the same hour on Saturday morning.

The first fire, in Buford, started when a lightning strike hit the home.

The residents were inside the home sleeping at the time.

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The second fire was a garage fire.

Smoke alarms alerted the residents to the fire.

Thanks to those smoke alarms, everyone escaped both homes and no one was injured.

Firefighters were able to minimize damage for residents of both homes.

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Sunday, April 2

Silent Movie matinee offers A Buster Keaton Collection: Experience silent films the way they were meant to be seen and heard with this celebration of the centennial year of these classic Buster Keaton films: The Balloonatic, The Love Nest, and Our Hospitality. The Washington Center for Performing Arts house organist Dennis James brings the silent era to life performing on the theaters Andy Crow Wurlitzer Organ. The films will be screened starting at 2 p.m. at the center, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $26 and $21, plus a service fee.

Wednesday, April 5

Welcome to Medicare Zoom presentation: Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) will provide an introduction to options for new Medicare beneficiaries startings at 11 a.m. Wednesday on Zoom. The presentation will cover Parts A and B, Medicare Advantage Plans, Part D Prescription Plans, Medicare supplements and programs available to limited income beneficiaries. Email jrich@southsoundseniors.org to get a link to register, or call and leave a message at Senior Services SHIBA program, 360-586-6181, ext. 134. A registration link will be sent to you. Senior Services for South Sound is the local SHIBA program, sponsored by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Thursday, April 6

Comedy Underground show: Comedy Underground is back to make you laugh. This time it will bring 2018 Seattle International Comedy Competition winner Phillip Kopcynski for a show at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the black box at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Always pulling from life experiences and poorly thought-out opinions, Phillips animated story-telling pulls audiences in for an eccentric good time. He will be joined by Kate Carlson Carlsen, who draws on her 20 years of marriage and life as a stay home mom. She recently competed in the 42nd Annual Seattle Comedy Competition and can be seen in the film Fool Capacity: Comedy in the Time of Covid. The show is recommended for ages 18 and older. Tickets are $36 for reserved seating and $28 for general admission, plus a service fee.

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Friday, April 7

Black Box Jazz features Frank Kohl and John Stowell: Guitarists Kohl and Stowell will perform at 8 p.m. Friday in the Black Box Theater at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Stowell is an internationally recognized guitarist and clinician; Kohl is based in Seattle and performs nationwide from Jazz Clubs in NYC like Smalls and Mezzrows to venues in Seattle like Earshot Jazz Festival and Tulas Jazz Club. Tickets are $39 for reserved seats and $32 for general admission, plus a service fee.

Saturday, April 8

Tumwater Easter Egg Dash: Over 20,000 colorful eggs filled with candy, toys, and prize coupons will be nestled in the large grassy area behind the stadium at Tumwater High School, waiting to be discovered by kids 11 and younger. Bring a basket or bag to carry home all your treasures. Hope City Church will host a Parent Relief Booth, offering coffee and donuts to parents. The Easter Bunny will be in attendance to pose for pictures. The free event begins at 11 a.m. with a dash for those 4 years old and younger, followed by one for those ages 5-7 at 11:20 a.m., and one for those 8-11 at 11:40 a.m. Find more details and volunteer opportunities on the city of Tumwaters website.

Celebrate reopening of East Bay Public Plaza stream: This celebration of reclaimed water will include tours of LOTTs wastewater treatment plant to learn how LOTT produces reclaimed water. Tour begins with a short presentation at 1 p.m. Tour participants must be 10 or older and wear closed toe shoes. Water-themed activities will be available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the WET Science Center, 500 Adams St. NE, Olympia. Admission is free.

Olympia Eagles Club Open House and Membership Drive: The club is holding a free open house from 2 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the club at Fourth Avenue and Plum Street in Olympia. The event will include tours of the building, refreshments, live music starting at 8 p.m., and new-member incentives. Free pool tables are available to all guests during the event. Minors are welcome to attend until 9 p.m. For those 21 and older, there will be a Sip Local event hosted by the Auxiliary in the Grand Ballroom, where five tastings of beer, cider and wine will be offered for $20. Contact Olympia Eagles Aerie 21 at 360-357-3722 for more information.

Queen tribute performance to benefit Theater Artists Olympia: Mercury Rising, the first Olympia-based Queen tribute band, is finally ready to take the stage after their 2020 debut was canceled by the pandemic. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Local comedian Sam Miller will open the show, then the band of seven Thurston County musicians will perform 20 songs. Tickets are $35-$10, with student discounts available. The concert will raise funds for TAO.

Would you like to have your event included in our weekly Whats Happening listing? Email the details to news@theolympian.com at least 10 days before the event.
Igor Girkin (Strelkov), FSB [Federal Security Service of Russia] saboteur and ex-leader of Russian militants in Donetsk, Pavlo Hubarev, a local Donetsk collaborator, propagandist Maxim Kalashnikov and others have announced the creation of the so-called "club of angry patriots" and posted their manifesto.

Source: Girkin's "manifesto" on YouTube

Quote from Girkin: "We are creating a 'club of angry patriots'...

Unfortunately, the situation on the contact line, which the media glosses over in every possible way, has an extremely negative impact on the situation throughout the country.

I'm not afraid to say that we are heading towards military defeat...

We entered a long, protracted war for which our economy was completely unprepared. Our army and political system were not ready for it either."

For reference: At the very beginning of Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, on 21 February 2014, Girkin (who uses the pseudonym Strelkov) arrived in Crimea with a group of armed militants and, by his own admission, they forced local deputies at gunpoint into the hall to vote for a "referendum" on secession from Ukraine.

After the sham "referendum", he left Crimea, but on the night of 12 April, leading a group of over 50 armed militants, he participated in seizing administrative buildings in the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, and on behalf of the "Donbas militia" declared the creation of the "Donetsk People's Republic".

In the spring of 2014, the so-called "people's militia of Donbas" stormed the Donetsk Oblast administration, put a Russian flag on the roof and demanded a referendum on independence.

Donetsk separatist Hubarev was appointed "people's governor".

Kalashnikov is a Russian propagandist and military correspondent.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
MUNCIE, Ind.  This spring marks my 25th anniversary in teaching graduate classes. During that semester, a professor fell ill, and I was made an instructor during my last semester of graduate school. The graduate class was an MBA course in one of my specialties  anti-trust and government regulation  so, for me, teaching the material was pretty straightforward. Still, I was uneasy that I might be missing something in the classroom and as a novice professor.

Michael Hicks

So, starting 25 years ago, Ive been asking business owners and leaders in government, military and not-for-profits what they need from recent graduates. Through the entire time, theyve told me the same five things, and nothing more. I now share those same five answers Ive heard in thousands of conversations over 25 years.

First, employers want graduates who are better writers. They want them to be able to quickly communicate complex ideas, explain all the sides of an issue and make their prose clear and concise. Whether it is a memo or proposal or marketing piece, they want better writers.

Second, employers want new graduates who are more numerate. Not to do the statistical work, most likely, but employers need folks to explain the statistics plainly and clearly. They want people who can interpret numbers, explain the certainty about the data they use and compare them in a way that is easy to understand. They acknowledged that, like writing, this skill was time consuming to learn.

Third, employers want people who can stand up in front of a crowd and explain their work. They want graduates who are poised, confident and can answer tough questions from the audience. They want people who can make an argument, defend a point and convince clients, coworkers and investors.

Fourth, employers want new graduates who can put their business into a more global context. They need people who can listen to the evening news and read the papers and consider how those events impact their business, for good or ill. Business leaders tell me they want graduates who can think about risks and opportunity in the news of the world. They want graduates who can think about how their business fits into the community.

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Fifth, and most importantly, new graduates must be able to competently work with others. At first, this means working in a team, pulling their weight, developing trust and inspiring others. Later, this means becoming a leader, which is accomplished first by example, then by the ability to help the organization and its people overcome challenges, and the ability do difficult things. Employers need people who can take risks and lead with confidence and empathy.

Thats it; thats all Ive ever heard in 25 years of asking. Over this time, Ive taught MBA students at three research universities and graduate finance at the federal governments best graduate school. Ive asked these questions from hundreds, if not thousands, of leaders in business and government, from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to military generals, and everyone in between. No one ever said they needed another class in econometrics, public finance theory, tax law, corporate finance or managerial accounting. These are all important classes that we business college faculty spend a lot of time teaching. Our classes focus on reinforcing the five critical skills, but they were first learned elsewhere.

What business leaders have been telling me for 25 years is that they want graduates with much better liberal arts skills. Thats right, all five of these skills are products of a traditional liberal arts education. They begin early, at home. In fact, all these tasks begin with parents reading to kids, helping them measure flour and butter for cookies, talking with them about world events and modeling what it means to be a servant leader.

These tasks are the focus of K-6 education. This is what teachers ask for of studentsliteracy, numeracy, public speaking, awareness of the world and social competence. In middle school, the focus on content really begins to amplify these lessons. Social studies teaches us broadly about the world around us, and language arts teaches us how to write effectively. At that time, most of us are also exposed to algebra, the fundamental language of mathematics that explains the world.

High school adds a full dimension on top of these. For most students it will include three years of science, four of mathematics, intense composition and courses that pull these disparate disciplines together, like personal finance, world history, and the most integrated courseeconomics. I may be biased on that, but you get my point.

Finally, students who go on to post-secondary education will get at least a third of their coursework in classes that are specifically designed to build these skills. Of course, the students may not know it at the time, but that is where the learning that the employers in my cohort see the most value. All of what Ive written should be pretty obviously true. However, I have a much bigger point.

Every academic program, from kindergarten to a doctoral program, spends an inordinate amount of time trying to develop the five big skills I listed previously. These are the hard skills to teach and learn. Tax law and doctoral econometrics are easy, but knowing what to do with that knowledge is complex and challenging.

Indiana has been in a rush to make our high school and college graduates more employable. In so doing, Im concerned that weve softened graduation requirements and pushed students into vocational classes that too often ignore the fundamentals of learning. The skills employers actually say they need are embodied in English classes, Algebra I and II, statistics, laboratory sciences, world civilization and other courses that are familiar to any reader.

As I tell my last two kids in college, you will need to work for half a century. Whatever technical skills you learn now will be largely obsolete. The real skills you need are advanced literacy and numeracy, public speaking, awareness of the world around you and leadership. Focus on those, and the rest will take care of itself.

This is also the lesson Id like to leave with folks trying to influence curriculum. Short changing fundamentals for career-focused learning just doesnt pay off. Perhaps the best example is that about half of all the money we spend on workforce development is for remediation. Most of that learning is middle school-level mathematics and literacy. It is time to focus on higher standards and fundamentals.

Michael J. Hicks, PhD, is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Hicks: Five skills employers tell me they need
The number of injuries as a result of the explosion at a cafe in central St. Petersburg on April 2 has risen to 30, CNN reported, citing Russian media.

Twenty-four people were taken to medical facilities and six people sought medical help on their own sometime after the incident, Russian state-controlled news agency TASS reported, citing Russias Health Ministry.

Earlier, Russias Interior Ministry said that the cause of the explosion, which also killed Russian propagandist and war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, is under investigation.

The cafe reportedly once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner Group, a notorious Russian private military company which continues to play a key role in Russias war against Ukraine.

A video posted to Telegram showed a large detonation going off on the first floor of a large building in St. Petersburg, where Tatarsky was reportedly hosting an event for followers of his coverage of the war.

According to unconfirmed reports on Telegram channels, the explosive was concealed in a trophy that Tatarsky was given at the event.

Russian outlet Fontanka reported that according to people in attendance, the explosion happened five minutes after a female visitor handed Tatarsky the trophy, thought to contain several hundred grams of explosive material.

Tatarsky, who was born Maksim Fomin in the now-occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine, was one of the most well-known "independent" propaganda correspondents, consistently agitating for the further conquering of Ukrainian territory.

The military blogger's Telegram channel, where he posted news, analysis, video and photo material from the front lines has over half a million followers.

Tatarsky reportedly served time in prison in Ukraine since 2011 but managed to join the Russian armed forces during the beginning of Russia's war in 2014.
The History Museum in Great Falls will host its annual Legacy Brunch and Awards ceremony on Saturday, April 8.

On Saturday, April 8, The History Museum in Great Falls will host its annual Legacy Awards to honor businesses, organizations, and individuals that have helped shape, promote, and preserve the rich history of Cascade County and North Central Montana.

The Legacy Awards presentation is one of The History Museums most important fundraising events of the year and will include both a brunch and a vote by all museum members to select two new officers to serve on The History Museums Board of Directors.

Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on a variety of silent auction items to support the Cascade County Historical Societys and The History Museums preservation work.

The following businesses and individuals will be honored at the 2023 Legacy Awards.

Commercial Business Award: OHaire Motor Inn was the idea of businessmen brothers Bill and Edgar OHaire in the early 1960s. The modern building featured solid concrete construction to reduce energy use, a lounge window to show swimmers in the pool, and even a helicopter pad for easier transport for farmers and businesspeople. Current owner Sandra Thares continues family traditions and has been a community leader for decades with her three dynamic businesses: OHaire Inn, Sip n Dip Lounge and Clark & Lewies Pub and Grille.

100 Years Award: Meadow Gold Dairy can trace its Great Falls history back to 1916 when the dairy products plant was built on the fringe of Great Falls commercial district at 3rd Ave South. Through name changes, periods of growth and modernization many things remain consistent, especially a commitment to quality local products in a historic building in the heart of our community.

Non-Profit Award: YWCA was founded in 1909 and met in the Valeria Library for a time and gave 12 young women official membership cards to start. Two years later they boasted 500 pledged memberships and offered training for typists and cooks, a cafeteria for working women to get a decent meal and a place where women could stay or rest and socialize before returning home. Their services continue to fulfill unique and urgent needs of community members.

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Person of the Year Award: Gene Thayer is The History Museums 2023 Person of the Year. Thayer is recognized for his outsized contributions to making and preserving history in Cascade County. As a former Great Falls mayor, legislator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist he serves as a leader in our community where so many more have benefited from his vision of what Great Falls and Montana can be.

The History Museums Legacy Awards brunch and membership meeting will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, within a recreation of the historic Ozark Club at The History Museum, located at 422 2nd St. South. The Ozark Club was the star of Montana nightlife from the 1930s into the 1960s and earned a reputation as the best place between Chicago and the West for Jazz.

Admission to the Legacy Awards is free and open to the general public; however, museum staff suggest a $10 per person donation to help cover the museums costs. For more information contact The History Museum at 406-452-3462 or by email at info@greatfallshistorymuseum.org

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls History Museum to host 2023 Legacy Awards
The husband charged in the murder of his wife  a former assistant Hood County prosecutor  was found dead in the Hood County Jail on Saturday morning, the Hood County Sheriffs Office announced.

At about 7:00 a.m. Saturday, Hood County Jail staff requested EMS for a medical emergency for an inmate, Jeffrey Bryan McLaughlin, 58.

McLaughlin was being held in the Hood County Jail in connection to the Jan. 1, 2023 murder of his wife, Venisa Maria McLaughlin. Venisa worked for Hood County attorney Matt Mills for six years and left the office on friendly terms, Mills said.

Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds did not release details of the murder of Venisa when Jeffrey McLaughlin was arrested on New Years Day.

Jeffrey McLaughlin was transported by EMS to Lake Granbury Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased. The cause of his death was unknown at the time and has not been released.

Thie death is being investigated by the Texas Rangers.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is hopeful, an emotion surprisingly foreign to a man whos achieved so much.

Its a strange feeling for me to have, he told Jane Pauley on CBS Sunday Morning, his first interview since seeking treatment for clinical depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in mid-February.

The freshman senator spoke to Pauley days before he was discharged from the hospital, where he spent nearly two months undergoing treatment. He admitted to being miserable during pivotal moments, starting with his November Senate win through his January swearing-in ceremony.

I was definitely depressed, he said, describing his mentality in January.

John Fetterman Should Confront Americas Ableism Problem

His depression left him unable to leave his bed or hold an appetite, resulting in weight loss. I had stopped engaging some of themost things that I love in my life, he said. His sudden turn sparked concern among his Democratic colleagues, who pressed him on his lack of eating.

That concern extended to his household. His wife Gisele dove into research on depression, he said, unable to understand how a man with so muchthree kids, a healthy marriage, a prosperous political careercould not find joy in it all.

But depression does not make sense, right? she told Pauley. Its not rational.

Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reedunder the guidance of a doctoron his 14-year-old sons birthday, a fact that both weighs heavily on him and brings a sense of renewed purpose.

My aspiration is to take my son to the restaurant that we were supposed to go during his birthday but couldnt, because I had checked myself in for depression, he said.

Its a drive Fetterman seeks to carry into all aspects of his life now that hes in remission, he said.

I will be going home, he said. And I can't wait to [see] what it really feels like, to take it all in, and to start making up any lost time.

Story continues

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Ignoring Ukrainian courts, UOC-MPs Metropolitan Onufriy held Sunday service at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

The UOC-MP press office published a photo report on Telegram.

As expected, the former Abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (the Monastery of the Caves), Pavlo Lebid, didn't attend the service, after a court sent him to house arrest for two months the day before.



UOC-MP Lavra eviction update

The UOC-MP was supposed to vacate its premises at the Kyiv Cave Monastery on March 29, after its 2013 lease agreement was terminated. The Ukrainian government cancelled the decision of the government of Viktor Yanukovych (the former Ukrainian president who is wanted for high treason) to transfer the monastery to the UOC-MP.

UOC-MP priests did not leave the monastery on March 30 and continue to hold services at the site.

They also refused to admit the Culture Ministry's property transfer commission to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve has filed a police report.

Read also: UOC-MP monks intend to remove everything but relics from Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

UOC-MP leadership, led by Lavra Abbot Petro Lebed (Metropolitan Pavlo), accused Ukrainian authorities and the Ministry of Culture of issuing an "ultimatum." They stated that the eviction notice is illegal.

The UOC-MP has challenged the eviction; however, the court did not allow them to remain in the monastery for the duration of the lawsuit.

While refusing to leave the monastery, the UOC-MP is actively taking everything from the church. A priest said in a comment to the media that they plan to take "everything but the relics" from the Lower Lavra.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

These sheets are like a hug after a long week

People / Amazon

If you've been looking for a comfy and affordable bedding upgrade, consider your search over.

For a limited time, the SouthShore Fine Living Bed Sheets are up to 42 percent off at Amazon, bringing the price down to as little as $38 for a six-piece set. Made from 100 percent double-brushed microfiber, the sheets are lightweight and soft to the touch. They're also fade- and shrink-resistant, meaning the durable sheets will last you for years to come  no matter how many times you wash them.

The six-piece set comes with all the bedding essentials, including four pillowcases, a flat sheet, and a fitted sheet. With a 21-inch-deep pocket, the fitted sheet is a breeze to pull onto your bed, and thanks to the elastic band it won't move overnight. They're also easy to care for as they're machine washable.

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Related: Kate Hudson's Comfy and Colorful Pants Will Persuade You to Play with Prints This Spring

The set is available in sizes twin through California king, as well as split king. Even better, it comes in 24 colors, including plenty of neutrals like blue, cream, and brown, as well as dark hues of black, gray, and purple. Price varies by size and color, but the queen set is slashed to $38 in every color, comingout to a little more than $6 for each piece.

More than 11,200 customers have given the sheets a five-star rating. Shoppers call them "incredibly soft" and "perfectly smooth" in reviews, with one customer saying, "These sheets are like a hug after a long week."

Ideal for spring and summer, the sheets are "lightweight," according to shoppers. One shared, "The top sheet is light and breathable so it doesn't feel like it's weighing down on you." Others call out their "quality construction," with many saying they "wash well." Another review raved, "They have not faded at all and do not look worn in the slightest after 18 months and many washes."

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Ready to refresh your bed for spring? Head to Amazon to snap up the SouthShore Fine Living Bed Sheets while they're still on major sale.

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Buy It! SouthShore Fine Living 6-Piece Bed Sheets in Bone, $37.99 (orig. $64.99); amazon.com

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Read the original article on People.
Alex Jones. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Alex Jones spent bought a cryogenic-freezing chamber that can help with mental disorders, it is claimed

The revelations were made in a new filing in a Texas bankruptcy court.

Jones has been accused of trying to shield his wealth from paying $1.5 billion to Sandy Hook families.

Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and far-right InfoWars host, used his fortune to purchase a $4,000 cryogenic chamber and spent $100,000 on guns, according to a filing in a Texas bankruptcy court, reported on by The Daily Beast.

A cryotherapy chamber exposes the body to freezing dry air for several minutes for various claimed health benefits, including reducing pain and inflammation and helping with mental disorders. The scientific community is divided on the treatment's effectiveness.

He also spent $54,000 on watches and cufflinks and three boats valued at more than $100,000.

Jones and his company filed for bankruptcy protection last year after parents of Sandy Hook victims accused him of profiting off lies about the shooting, which included his claims that it was a hoax staged by actors.

As a result, Jones and his company were hit with two defamation judgments totaling about $1.5 billion.

Since then, Jones has faced accusations of trying to shield his fortune from legal threats.

Jones claimed on his InfoWars show in December that he was "officially out of money, personally," per CBS News.

"It's all going to be filed. It's all going to be public. And you will see that Alex Jones has almost no cash," he said.

Despite evidence of a lavish lifestyle, the Thursday filing might not provide an accurate picture of his fortune.

The new filing comes after a judge ordered Jones to provide more accurate financial information, leading to the discovery of $4.8 million in undisclosed assets, increasing his overall wealth to $14.7 million.

Jones reported earning roughly $38 million from InfoWars in 2021 and 2022. Thursday's filing claims he has just over $200,000 in bank accounts and no stocks or bonds.

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The New York Times he was reported in March that Jones was transferring millions of dollars worth of his assets to friends and family in a move that appeared designed to protect his assets from the considerable Sandy Hook judgment.

The judge presiding over the bankruptcy case of InfoWars' parent company said he was "troubled" on Monday after discovering that Jones had redirected $157,000, initially intended for InfoWars, for personal use.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BEIRUT (AP)  Authorities in Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region said Sunday they have reached a preliminary deal with the central government in Baghdad that will allow oil exports from the northern Kurdish region by way of Turkey to resume.

The central government's Ministry of Oil said in a statement that while a final agreement has not been reached yet, it hopes to reach an agreement to resume oil exports soon.

The ministry statement said that Baghdad is keen to expedite the resumption of exports of the regions oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan."

Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish government, have long been at odds over oil revenues, a dispute that has been exacerbated by the lack of a federal law detailing the sharing of funds from oil and gas exports.

The announcement comes after an arbitration process by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) last sided with Iraq over a long-standing dispute over the independent export of oil by the Kurdish regional government.

Exports via a pipeline that goes through Iraqs Fish Khabur border crossing to Turkeys Ceyhan port will resume this week, according to Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish regional government.

Iraq filed for arbitration against Turkey in 2014 after the Kurdish region began exporting the resource without the consent of Baghdad through the neighboring country. Iraq argued that a 1973 agreement with Turkey requires all oil exports to go through Iraqs state-owned oil marketing company, SOMO.

Iraqi officials announced on March 25 that the arbitration tribunal had ruled in its favor. Turkeys Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said in a statement that the arbitration ruling had thrown out four of Iraqs five claims and upheld one.

In any case, the ruling halted oil exports from the Kurdish region by way of Ceyhan, which previously amounted to about half a million barrels per day. The stoppage, if prolonged, would have been a significant blow both to global oil supplies and to the Kurdish regions budget.

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Already in recent years the Kurdish government has frequently been late in paying public sector salaries, in part due to the ongoing dispute over oil and gas revenues, which has led to the central government withholding budget transfers to Irbil.

Ghafuri said Sunday that after several meetings between officials from Irbil and Baghdad, an initial agreement had been reached allowing exports to resume. The agreement will remain in effect until the long-delayed oil and gas law is passed by the Iraqi Parliament, he said.

Under the deal, oil will be exported jointly by SOMO and the Kurdish regions Ministry of Natural Resources, with the revenues going to a financial account managed by the Kurdish government and monitored by the central government.

The central governments Ministry of Oil said in its statement that technical issues remain to be resolved between Baghdad and Irbil.

The head of the parliamentary Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Committee, Haibet al-Halbousi, said Sunday in a statement that there is a quasi-political consensus to speed up passage of an oil and gas law and that the committee will be meeting with the heads of the various political blocs to reach a consensus. The oil and gas law serves all Iraqis and not a specific party, because oil and mineral investments belong to all the people, Halbousi said.

In a statement on the arbitration decision, Turkeys Energy and Natural Resources Ministry on Tuesday stressed Ankaras support for Iraqs territorial integrity, the political and economic stability of both Iraq and the region and its efforts to support global oil markets.

As always, Turkey is ready to fulfill the requirements of international law and to provide all types of contributions to the permanent settlement between the main parties to the dispute, the statement added.

-

Associated Press writer Andrew Wilks in Istanbul contributed to this report.
By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel authorised on Sunday a national guard sought by far-right security chief Itamar Ben-Gvir to focus on Arab unrest, but held off on giving him direct command after political rivals voiced concern the force could become a sectarian "militia."

The previous government began setting up an auxiliary police force to tackle internal violence following pro-Palestinian protests in mixed Jewish-Arab areas during the Gaza war of May 2021. That government fell before the new force was finalised.

Ben-Gvir, a hardline Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank with past convictions for support for terrorism and incitement against Arabs - who make up 21% of Israel's population - rose in politics partly due to the 2021 unrest.

Having recanted some of his views, he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition with an expanded law-and-order portfolio that he pledged would include a beefed-up national guard for use mainly in crime- and rioting-hit Arab communities.

"It will deal with this exclusively. The police does not deal exclusively with this. It's busy with a thousand and one things," he told Army Radio.

The initiative was jump-started last week, when Netanyahu agreed to bring Ben-Gvir's national guard for cabinet approval after the security minister backed his pause of a judicial overhaul proposal that had triggered nationwide street protests.

But having voted in favour on Sunday, the cabinet said in a statement that the question of whom the national guard would be subordinate to remained open. It appointed a multi-agency panel to submit recommendations on this and other issues in 90 days.

That appeared to be in response to criticism by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that the cabinet decision was made without first establishing the parameters of the national guard.

Israel's police chief, Inspector-General Yaacov Shabtai, has expressed misgivings that the national guard, if not under his own force's control, "could prove most costly and even harm the security of the citizenry," according to the Ynet news site.

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Opposition leader Yair Lapid last week scorned the proposed national guard as "a private militia for a dangerous Tik-Tok clown" - a reference to Ben-Gvir's volubility on social media.

"Why does the State of Israel - which has an army, police, military intelligence, the Shin Bet, Mossad, National Security Council, Prisons Service, riot police, a SWAT team - need another national guard?" tweeted Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh.

Ben-Gvir said he wants control of the national guard because, in his view, it had been neglected by police chiefs. But he told Army Radio he was willing to consider letting them stay in charge "if they're serious and really want it."

The national guard will take months to get off the ground, he said, with an initial intake of 1,850 personnel that could include seconded or reservist police officers and volunteers, from both Arab and Jewish sectors.

(Writing by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Additional reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Holmes and Matthew Lewis)
Two Iran-affiliated fighters have been killed in the latest Israeli air strike on targets in Syria, a war monitor said Sunday, with state news agency SANA reporting five Syrian soldiers wounded.

The strike early Sunday near the western Syrian city of Homs was Israel's third since early Thursday, after the capital Damascus was targeted that morning and early Friday.

During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said "two pro-Iran fighters whose nationalities are so far unknown were killed" in the strikes targeting military positions of Syrian government forces and pro-Iran groups.

- Explosions -

The monitor, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, said explosions rocked Homs and a fire broke out in a research centre.

"An arms depot belonging to Lebanese Hezbollah forces in the military airport of Dabaa, in the southwestern sector of Homs, was destroyed," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that the two fighters had been killed in strikes on the arms depot.

State news agency SANA reported, citing a military source, that "the Israeli enemy carried out an air assault... targeting positions in the city of Homs and its province".

Syria's air defence intercepted several missiles, but five soldiers were wounded and some material damage was reported, SANA said. Abdel Rahman gave the same number of injured soldiers.

In strikes on Friday, Israel launched "several missiles from the occupied Golan Heights" against positions near Damascus, Syrian state media had said.

The Observatory said those strikes targeted a weapons and ammunition depot of the Syrian military and pro-Iran groups.

Sepahnews, the website of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Friday that officer Milad Heidari had been killed.

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On Sunday, the website reported that Meghdad Mahghani, a military adviser wounded in the same strike, had "attained the high rank of martyrdom".

It added that Israel "will pay".

- Drone downed -

Later in the day, Israel shot down a drone that infiltrated its airspace from Syria, Israel's army said.

"Helicopters and fighter jets were deployed following an unidentified aircraft that seems to have crossed from the direction of Syria into Israeli territory," an army statement said.

"The aircraft was downed in an open area," it said. A spokesperson confirmed to AFP it was unmanned.

Later Sunday evening, a car bombing rocked Damascus, SANA said, quoting a police source, when "an explosive device detonated in a civilian car, setting it alight without causing casualties".

The interior ministry said "two people were slightly injured" in the incident that targeted a pick-up truck.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani condemned the latest Israeli attack in Syria, saying Sunday that the "blood of these high-ranking martyrs will not go to waste" and that Tehran "reserves its right to respond... at the appropriate time and place".

Israel conducted several air strikes on Syrian targets in March, according to the Observatory.

While Israel rarely comments on the strikes it carries out on targets in Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to extend its footprint in the war-torn country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking after the strike on Sunday, said: "We are exacting a high price from the regimes that support terrorism, beyond Israel's borders. I suggest that our enemies not err."

Israel has seen weeks of protests against a controversial judicial overhaul now frozen by the government, but Netanyahu said his country's "internal debate will not detract one iota from our determination, strength and ability to act against our enemies on all fronts, wherever and whenever necessary."

On March 22, an Israeli missile strike destroyed a suspected arms depot used by Iran-backed militias at Syria's Aleppo airport, the Observatory said.

The Syrian war escalated into a deadly armed conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists, killed around 500,000 people, and forced about half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes.

But recent months have seen increasing Arab engagement with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which has been politically isolated since Syria's war broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful anti-government protests.

On Saturday, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met in Cairo with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, a first since the war began.

burs/it/aya
On April 3rd, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office will be hosting its annual Police Memorial Service at the VyStar Memorial Arena.

This is to pay tribute to all the officers who have lost their lives during duty.

The event will still happen even if it rains.

In the event of torrential rain, the ceremony will take place inside the Duval Street Room inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

There will be a candlelight vigil.

Citizens and members including family, friends, and colleagues will be there as they respectfully remember Jacksonvilles 64 fallen officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty for this community.

The event begins at 8 p.m.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Read: One person dead after car crash involving a car at a high speed in Century 21 Drive

Read: O ne person dead from a house fire on the Westside

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James W. Pfister

Much opinion today, going on 22 years after 9/11, holds that the American invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, was a mistake. My thesis is that the invasion was rational as self-defense and was based on a good-faith legal argument.

The invasion must be seen in the context of the settlement of the First Iraq War, 9/11 and the United Nations, where the Security Council has authority over nations under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

Regarding the First Iraq War, on Aug. 2, 1990, Iraq invaded the nation of Kuwait. On that same day, the UN Security Council issued Resolution 660, by a vote of 14-0, with Yemen abstaining, demanding Iraq withdraw from Kuwait immediately and unconditionally. When Iraq refused to comply, the Security Council enacted Resolution 678, on Nov. 29, 1990, authorizing the use of force (all necessary means) if Iraq did not comply by the following Jan. 15. The vote was 12-2, including Russia, with Cuba and Yemen opposed and China abstaining, which is not a veto. This seminal resolution was drafted to authorize future use of force by the language of all subsequent relevant resolutions. This language was the hook by which the United States could legalize its use of force in March 2003, since Resolution 1441 (discussed below) was such a subsequent relevant resolution.

Resolution 687, which ended the First Iraq War, required Iraq to submit to UN inspections regarding WMD (weapons of mass destruction), i.e., chemical, biological and nuclear. Under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, Iraq refused to comply with Resolution 687. He was defiant: Several resolutions were passed and 30 statements were made by the president of the Security Council regarding Iraqs violation of its duty to cooperate with UN inspectors. Finally, on Nov. 8, 2002, the Security Council passed Resolution 1441, by a vote of 15-0, with all permanent members on board. It recalled Resolution 678 which authorized member states to use force to implement Resolution 660 and all relevant resolutions subsequent to Resolution 660, and decided that Iraq was in material breach of its obligations. It famously warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violation of its obligations.

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Between Resolutions 678 and 1441 was 9/11. While Resolutions 678 and 1441 provided part of the U.S. legal argument, 9/11 provided the other part: preventive self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The 9/11 attacks were the equivalent of an armed attack, which Article 51 requires. The 9/11 attacks were a surprise, although there had been speculation about terrorist attacks. Nothing had been done. President George W. Bush did not want to make that mistake again. After 9/11, Vice President Dick Cheney had stated that his greatest fear was that a terrorist would set off a WMD in an American city. We were dealing with unknown-unknowns, in Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfelds terms. We had failed in imagination regarding the use of airplanes as missiles. Even a low probability is dangerous when combined with a terrible possible outcome.

We were blind to Saddams WMD and to his relations with terrorists. It was clear that he hated the United States and had defied weapons inspectors. This amounted to a compulsion for self-defense. Notice the concept of necessity in Bushs letter to congressional leaders after the invasion had begun: I have  determined that the use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations.

A self-defensive compulsion plus a good-faith legal argument was, I believe, a rational basis for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Also, the resulting demonstration of military capability contributed to deterrence, underpinned the authority of UN resolutions, and was consistent with the United States' role as the unipolar nation in the world at the time.

In retrospect, it was probably a mistake to take the risk to go back to the Security Council to get an explicit authorization for the use of force against Iraq, since the gravamen of our position was our own self-defense under Article 51 and not a world issue.

James W. Pfister, J.D. University of Toledo, Ph.D. University of Michigan (political science), retired after 46 years in the Political Science Department at Eastern Michigan University. He lives at Devils Lake and can be reached at jpfister@emich.edu.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: James W. Pfister: Iraq 2003: A rational and legal invasion
(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged his Chinese counterpart to quickly release an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. detained in China.

Most Read from Bloomberg

I made a strong request based on our countrys strict position that the Japanese national be released early, Hayashi said at a news conference in Beijing on Sunday after three hours of talks with Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Hayashi said he expressed serious concern during the meeting over Chinas military activities, including ones involving Russia, around Japan as well as a set of disputed islands in the East China Sea. Hayashi declined to comment on the outlook or on what Qin told him in response.

The official Xinhua News Agency didnt mention the detained person in a report about the foreign ministers meeting. Qin encouraged Japan to continue to write a new chapter of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Japan.

Read more: Japan Seeks Release of Drugmakers Worker Detained in China

More than a dozen Japanese nationals have been detained in China since 2015, according to Kyodo News and other Japanese media. Eight people have returned to Japan, seven are still in China facing trial or serving time, while one has died, the Mainichi newspaper reported last month. Five of them have been found guilty by China of endangering national security, the paper said.

NHK and other Japanese media reported over the weekend that the Astellas employee was in his 50s. He had worked for more than 20 years in China and was planning to return at the end of the month, FNN reported. He was detained in March for violating local law, according to the reports.

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in parliament on Monday that his country would continue to call for the early release of the person.

--With assistance from Yuji Okada and Jing Li.

(Updates with Xinhua report on the meeting and with Kishida comments to lawmakers.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
TOKYO (AP)  Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested in a meeting Sunday with his Chinese counterpart the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing and raised strong concern" about China's escalating military activity near Taiwan and around Japan.

Hayashi is on a two-day visit to China, becoming Japans first diplomat to make the trip in more than three years as frictions grow between the countries. He also met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top diplomat Wang Yi later Sunday.

During his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Hayashi demanded an early release of an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, who was detained in Beijing last month over what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as spying allegations. Neither side has offered further details about the man nor the allegations against him.

Hayashi told reporters he raised serious concern about China's increasingly assertive activity in the East and South China seas, and stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

He said he also expressed grave concern about Beijings increased joint military activity with Russia around Japan while Moscow wages war against Ukraine, and urged China to act responsibly for global peace.

Hayashi said he told Qin while there is a possibility of improving cooperation in economic, cultural and people exchanges, the two countries also face many problems and serious concerns" and that Japan-China relations are currently at an extremely important phase.

The two ministers agreed to work together in achieving a constructive and stable relationship as agreed between their leaders in November, Hayashi said.

The sides agreed to improve communication in regional security, and welcomed the establishment of a defense hotline last week and the resumption of defense talks, Hayashi said.

Hayashi said that he and Premier Li shared the importance of their bilateral economic ties, and that it was crucial that Japanese nationals and companies feel safe to operate in China.

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That was the concern raised by representatives of Japanese companies during their meeting Saturday with Hayashi. They also sought transparent, predictable and fair business environment in China, said Yukiko Okano, deputy press secretary for the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Separately, Hayashi told Wang that China's assertive activity in the East China Sea and the recent detention are a stumbling block for promoting economic and people-to-people exchanges."

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 security and economy.

Qin meanwhile warned against Japanese involvement in issues related to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, saying Tokyo should not interfere and "undermine China's sovereignty in any way, according to a statement from Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Using strong language, Qin said the Taiwan issue is at the core of Chinas core interests and concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

Japan does not formally recognize Taiwan, but has strong unofficial ties with the island. It has been making statements of concern about regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and sent several prominent parliamentary delegations to Taipei.

Japan is increasingly worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan because of its proximity to southwestern Japanese islands as well as disputed East China Sea islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, and has bolstered its defenses recent years.

The Japan coast guard said in a statement over the weekend that three Chinese coast guard ships had entered the Japanese-controlled waters around Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu. A Japanese patrol ship repeatedly demanded they leave while protecting two Japanese fishing boats, the coast guard said.

Qin criticized Japan over its new export controls of semi-conductor manufacturing equipment that require companies to get government permission. The U.S. has imposed similar measures and Japan had acknowledged consulting with Washington on its own regulation.

The U.S. once used bullying tactics to brutally suppress Japans semiconductor industry, and now it is repeating the same old tricks against China, Qin said, urging Japan not to be America's pawn. One should not do unto others what one would not have done unto oneself.

Hayashi said the measure is not targeting any specific country. But it was seen as part of a U.S.-led agreement to make sure advanced semi-conductor manufacturing stays out of the reach of the Chinese industry.

The last Japanese foreign minister to visit China was Hayashi's predecessor, Toshimitsu Motegi, in 2019, just before China imposed rigorous pandemic border controls and other measures.

___

Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.

___

Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
By Laurie Chen, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Sakura Murakami

BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met his Chinese counterpart on Sunday and urged Beijing to promptly release a detained Japanese national.

Hayashi's meeting with Qin Gang was the first visit to Beijing for a Japanese foreign minister in over three years, as the two rival Asian powers seek common ground amid rising regional tension.

An employee of Astellas Pharma Inc was detained in China for unknown reasons, a company spokesperson said a week ago. Five Japanese nationals are currently detained in China, two of whom have already been tried and found guilty, according to Japan's foreign ministry.

"I made a protest against the recent detention of a Japanese person in Beijing, and made a strong point of our position on the matter, including the early release of this national," Hayashi told reporters.

Qin responded that China "will handle (the case) according to the law", according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Hayashi said Japan is seeking transparency over the legal process regarding detentions and has asked for China to secure a fair and safe business environment. He did not elaborate on China's reaction.

"This happened when the Chinese government is trying to promote Japanese investment to China, and we see a discrepancy there," deputy press secretary of Japan's Foreign Ministry Yukiko Okano said to reporters on Sunday, adding that this point was raised by Hayashi during his meetings in Beijing.

The Japanese minister also conveyed Tokyo's grave concerns over an increase of China's military activity, including its collaboration with Russia and its maritime presence in the East China Sea, he said.

"We both affirmed the importance of continuing to have a dialogue on issues including national security," Hayashi said.

Hayashi said he spoke to Qin about the "importance of ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan strait". Beijing said Qin warned Japan "not to interfere in the Taiwan issue or undermine China's sovereignty in any form", stressing that Taiwan is "the core of China's core interests".

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"Japan's position has not changed, not with this remark, and not in recent years," Okano said when asked for comment on Beijing's account.

Tension has been rising over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. The democratically elected government in Taipei rejects Beijing's claims and says only its people can decide its future.

Japan also lodged a diplomatic complaint in August after five ballistic missiles launched by the Chinese military fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone, near disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

After Tokyo on Friday announced export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, following the U.S., Qin warned his counterpart "not to play accomplice to an evildoer".

The curbs are aligned with similar measures from the U.S. and the Netherlands, aimed at restricting China's ability to make advanced chips.

Hayashi told reporters the restrictions "are not aimed at any specific country".

Despite their differences, China and Japan agreed to restart trilateral talks with South Korea, Hayashi said, calling the agreement "an important achievement" from his meeting with Qin.

"We agreed to continue communicating closely on various levels, including the foreign ministerial and leadership levels," Hayashi added.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, the first bilateral summit in almost three years.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo, and Laurie Chen in Beijing; Editing by Christopher Cushing and William Mallard)
The Akron community may finally get a deeper understanding of what happened the night police killed Jayland Walker nine months ago.

A state prosecutor this month will present the case to a grand jury made up of Summit County residents who will decide whether to indict any of the eight Akron police officers who shot Walker 46 times.

Police involved in fatal shootings rarely face criminal charges in the U.S. And if the grand jury declines to charge any Akron police officers  determining reasonable officers would have taken the same action facing the same situation  Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he will immediately release a massive trove of information state investigators have gathered since the wee morning hours of June 27 when Walker died.

'Solemn duty:' Ahead of Jayland Walker case, what we know about the grand jury process

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost talking about police accountability in September. He said the state investigation into the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker will answer "all the questions for which answers are available."

The investigative file will likely include hundreds of photos, dozens of video and audio recordings  many never before seen or heard by the public  and thousands of documents, including interviews with police, mobile phone records, social media posts, search warrants and more.

All of it will be posted on the attorney generals website for anyone to see.

Jayland Walker: What we still don't know in the Akron police killing

Yost made an extraordinary shift toward transparency in October 2021, in the aftermath of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Obviously, there was a great deal of unrest and mistrust in some of our communities around Ohio with whether these kinds of cases were being fairly investigated, fairly presented to the grand jurywhether every stone was turned over, Yost said during a recent interview.

Editor column: Why local journalists matter for covering the Jayland Walker case from beginning to end

Under Ohio law, almost all of the material gathered during a State Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) probe into fatal police shootings is public record once cases are closed  either after a grand jury declines to indict, or, if there are charges, after those cases work their way through the court system.

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Yost took the extra step of posting all those records online  giving everyone, not just lawyers and journalists, easy access to the information for the first time.

Someone in the audience videotapes Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett last week during a community conversation about grand juries, use of force and peaceful protesting in the run up to a grand jury deciding this month whether any of the eight Akron police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker last year should face criminal charges.

Akron police had never turned over a police shooting case involving an Akron officer to BCI before Jayland Walker.

Until then, Akron police investigated themselves, sometimes with BCI assisting.

Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett, who was sworn in about 10 months before Walkers death, changed that, drawing the ire of the Akron police union, which said BCI was taking work away from its members.

Since July 2021, Yosts office has uploaded the investigative files of 33 fatal police shootings across the state. The investigative documents racked up almost 18,000 page views by April 2023. People also spent about 338 hours watching videos connected to the cases the attorney general released on YouTube, a Yost spokesman said.

Yost declined to provide any specifics about what is or isnt in the Walker investigative file until it becomes a public record. But he did say this will answer all the questions for which answers are available.

The 33 investigative files Yost has already posted online provide a roadmap to some of what Akron may expect to learn about Walker, the officers who shot him and how BCI investigated police.

Whats the first document I should read when the Jayland Walker investigation is released?

For a birds-eye view of how the case unfolded and what investigators found, click on a link called the prosecutor summary.

Each of the 33 cases the attorney general has posted online so far includes one.

Theyre sometimes more than 100 pages and include only details that investigators determined to be most useful.

The summary begins by naming the specific BCI agents involved in the case and describing what each contributed. Often, theres a dozen or more BCI agents, including lead investigators, crime scene processors, intelligence unit investigators and forensic video analysts. Next, the prosecutor summary lists everything BCI did as its investigation unfolded. It includes interviews with officers (who did and who did not fire their weapons), interviews with family and friends of the person killed, photos of the shooting scene in the immediate aftermath, a list of evidence collected (things like shell cartridge cases, phones, clothing and guns) and a variety of diagrams and photos.

The summary also contains autopsy information (images are blacked out), screen grabs of relevant social media posts and references to relevant video taken by the person shot or his or her family or friends.

In a prosecutor summary for a case in Canton, for example, the summary includes blacked-out images taken from the phone of the wife of James Williams. Canton officer Robert Huber shot and killed Williams just after midnight New Years eve in 2022 as Williams fired a rifle into the air in his backyard.

Family photo of James Williams, 46, who was shot and killed by an Canton police officer while he was celebrating the new year by shooting a rifle into the air in his yard just after midnight Jan. 1, 2022.

In that case, the prosecutor summary included a moment-by-moment timeline of video analysis.

Still shots of Hubers body camera show muzzle flashes behind a fence, for example, and another showing the moment the officer fired his first shot, with the report pointing out a light, opaque cloud from Hubers pistol barrel.

Will the report say whether the officers who shot Jayland Walker broke the law or violated department policies?

The prosecutor summary does not weigh in on whether a shooting was justified or whether it violated department policy.

A young activist holds a sign in front of one of the lions at the Summit County Courthouse during a protest of the police shooting of Jayland Walker organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation on July 9, 2022, in Akron. (Karen Schiely, Akron Beacon Journal)

A prosecutor  in Walkers case, a prosecutor from the Ohio Attorney Generals office  presents evidence from the file to a grand jury, which decides whether officers will face criminal charges.

It will be up to the Akron Police Department to determine whether an officer violated departmental policy in the Walker case and what, if any, discipline officers may face.

An internal police investigation is ongoing, though all eight officers who fired shots at Walker returned to office work last year.

Will the officers who shot Jayland Walker be identified in the investigative file?

No.

Some BCI investigative files contain officer names, others dont.

A spokesman for Yost said the attorney generals office only publicly names officers who have already been identified by their own departments.

Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett, seen here at a community meeting last month, has not released the names of the officers involved in Jayland Walker's shooting. He said the officers would be named if indicted. But if they're not charged, we may never know their identities. The Ohio Attorney General withholds officer names from its reports unless they have already been identified by the police department where they work.

Columbus police, for example, have a policy to release the names of officers involved in fatal shootings within 24-36 hours, so those officers are named in BCI reports.

Akron police have no such policy for releasing names and have withheld the names of the officers involved in Jayland Walkers death.

Mylett also permitted all officers to hide their names on their badges after threats following Walkers death.

Will the report reveal how many shots Akron police fired at Jayland Walker?

The BCI investigation should reveal the total number of shots police fired at Walker, as well as which officers  with their names redacted  fired which shots.

A police officer points a gun at Jayland Walker in a bodycam image shown during a news conference at the Firestone Community Center on July 3 in Akron.

Akron police body camera video already released shows that some of the eight officers who fired at Jayland Walker emptied their clips, while others appeared to stop shooting after only a few shots.

The report will likely include interviews with all of the officers  and many other Akron officers who did not shoot that night  talking about their roles in the chase and why they shot Walker.

A medical examiner's report revealed there were 46 bullet wounds on Walkers body.

Will the report explain why Akron police pulled over Jayland Walker?

Yes.

The investigation, particularly the interview with the Akron officers who initiated the traffic stop, should explain why police tried to stop Jayland Walkers silver Buick on Tallmadge Avenue in North Hill about 12:30 a.m. June 27.

Police said early on it was for an equipment and traffic violation. But police have never released details.

New Franklin police tried to stop the same vehicle the night before for a burnt-out license plate light and broken taillight, but it didnt stop.

The report may also explain what Jayland Walker, who worked as a DoorDash driver, was doing in North Hill when police tried to stop the car.

Will we find out why so many Akron officers fired so many bullets at Jayland Walker?

The investigative file will likely include interviews with all the officers who fired guns at Walker, along with those who did the initial traffic stop and others who had a role in the chase or the aftermath.

Though much of the BCI investigative files are technical  with diagrams of the shooting scene, data from mobile phones, and clues from evidence gathered at the scene  the files often include emotional interviews with officers who recall their thoughts, moment-by-moment, on the day of the shooting, or other police incidents.

This BCI investigation could lay out what police were doing in Akrons North Hill neighborhood the night when police stopped Walker there and what was happening with police across the city before they converged on Walker in Firestone Park.

A protester holds a photo of Jayland Walker on South High Street on Sunday, July 3, 2022, after the city of Akron released body camera footage of Jayland Walker's fatal shooting by Akron police.

It will likely also include each officers explanation for firing a weapon.

The BCI file for the Canton New Years 2022 shooting of James Williams provides an example.

Williams, the BCI investigation showed, was celebrating the New Year by firing a rifle into the air from his yard.

Officer Huber, however, told investigators he didnt know that when he pulled up to Williams house to investigate a rapid series of gunshots.

During a pause in gunfire, Huber called for backup. But when gunfire erupted again, Huber told BCI investigators he ran alone toward it and unexpectedly found himself about 4 feet from Williams, who was mostly hidden behind a privacy fence.

Huber said he could see the top of a mans head, along with part of a rifle barrel and a muzzle flash.

Oh my gosh, This is really, really bad, the officer recalled thinking. Is he shooting at somebody? Is he shooting in the air? What is he shooting at?

The gunfire was so loud, Huber recalled, that he couldnt scream over the sound and never announced that he was police nor that Williams should drop his weapon.

In moments, Huber said he saw the rifle barrel moving in his direction and thought: Ok, this thing is going to rip right through my body armor. Its going to rip through the fence. Its going to rip through me. Theres nothing that Im wearing that is going to stop any of these bullets.

Huber said he remembered aiming his gun at the fence where he thought Williams body would be.

The investigation showed he fired eight shots.

Williams, 46, soon died, probably without knowing a police officer was even at his house, where his wife and children were inside.

A grand jury declined to indict Huber. Canton police also cleared him of violating department policies.

Will the investigation reveal why Jayland Walker ran from police during a traffic stop?

Jayland Walker, of course, can't tell them. But BCI investigators often interview family and friends of the people shot and killed by police as part of their investigations.

Walkers mother and sister have largely avoided the media, so there has been little insight into Walkers views of police or his possible mindset at the time, though its been widely reported he was devastated by the death of his fiancee a month before his own death.

Jayland Walker with his mother, Pamela, right, and sister, Jada.

Walkers fiancee was killed in a traffic accident while traveling with family near Cincinnati.

Family and friends may also be able to answer other questions, like whether there was any significance to a ring Walker left atop an unloaded handgun on the seat of his car. Many have speculated it was Walkers engagement ring, but its never been clear.

Investigators also will likely scour Walkers phone and social media for other clues.

In the Canton case of Williams, for example, BCI learned that Williams posted pictures of weapons he planned to fire on New Years eve on his social media.

Williams was also on a video call with a friend in Indianapolis, showing off his celebratory gunfire in Canton when police shot and killed him.

Its possible Walker, too, could have been communicating with others during the attempted traffic stop and cross-town chase.

Will we find out where Jayland Walker got a gun and whether he fired it during the police chase?

BCI reports often list whether guns involved in an incident were stolen, but provide little other information about the weapons.

Investigators run traces of the weapons through the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

A still image by the Akron Police Department shows the gun they say was in the car of Jayland Walker, along with a ring, during the press conference at the Firestone Community Center July 3, 2022.

Those traces meticulously track a gun from its manufacturer, through a distribution chain and reveal who owned, who sold, and what crimes are possibly connected to a weapon.

But BCI redacts the ATF trace from its public reports, citing federal law. It also redacts law enforcement firearm serial numbers, Social Security numbers, medical records and other information shielded by state or federal law.

The investigation into the Jayland Walker shooting, however, may answer whether Walker fired a shot from his vehicle as he drove on a ramp leading to state Route 8, as police have said.

After Walkers death, Akron police returned to the ramp and recovered a shell casing consistent with the handgun found in Walkers car, Mylett said in the days after the shooting.

A BCI analysis of the casing and the handgun should say whether the gun and casing match.

Technical analysis of photographs, video and sound captured during the chase may also show whether a flash seen in police video was a gunshot from Walkers car.

One mystery that may not be solved is why Walker  who had no criminal record  slipped a ski mask over his face before abandoning his car and running from a gaggle of officers chasing after him in the dark of a summer night.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What to expect from state investigation of Jayland Walker shooting
National Security Advisor John R. Bolton listens as President Donald J. Trump meets with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, July 18th, 2019. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Bolton said if the Manhattan DA flops Trump's case that could be "rocket fuel" for his campaign.

The ex-national security advisor made the comments on CBS' "Face The Nation" on Sunday.

"I'm worried about Alvin Bragg benefiting Donald Trump," Bolton argued.

Former national security advisor John Bolton said that if the Manhattan district attorney squanders Donald Trump's criminal case, it could be "rocket fuel" for the former president's campaign.

"I'm not worried about Alvin Bragg hurting Donald Trump. I'm worried about Alvin Bragg benefiting Donald Trump," Bolton told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, referring to the DA overseeing the ex-president's criminal case.

Trump is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday after a grand jury voted to indict him last week stemming from the DA's investigation into an alleged hush-money payment sent to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

"And this is where I think the outcome of the case is so important," said Bolton, who served as Trump's national security adviser from 2018-2019. "If Trump is acquitted or he gets the case dismissed because it's not legally sufficient or for whatever reason, that will be rocket fuel, because he can say, I told you it was a political prosecution, I told you I was being picked on, and now I've been vindicated."

Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 2, 2023

Following the news of his indictment, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and blamed the Democrats and insinuated that he was being targeted by them.

"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 said in a separate post on Thursday.

The unprecedented indictment cemented Trump as the first former president to be criminally charged. Although announced on Thursday, the indictment remains sealed.

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"If he's convicted, however, at some point before the campaign ends, I think that will have a very different impact on people. You can say it's a sleazy case and it involves sleazy people," Bolton told CBS.

"But if he's convicted of a crime, I think most Americans actually don't want a convicted felon to be their president."

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department and FBI investigators have amassed new evidence indicating possible obstruction by former President Donald Trump in the probe into classified documents found at his Florida estate, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing sources.

FBI agents seized thousands of government records, some marked as highly classified, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August. The investigation is one of two criminal inquiries into the former president being led by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Trump, who was indicted on Thursday in a separate inquiry in New York, has denied any wrongdoing in the cases and describes them as politically motivated.

After his advisers received a subpoena in May demanding the return of the classified records, Trump looked through some of the boxes of government documents in his home out of an apparent desire to keep certain things in his possession, the Post reported, citing people familiar with the investigation.

Investigators also have evidence indicating Trump told others to mislead government officials in early 2022, before the subpoena, when the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration was working to recover documents from Trump's time as president, the Post reported.

The FBI referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement to the Post, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said that the "witch-hunts against President Trump have no basis in facts or law," and accused Special Counsel Smith and the Justice Department of leaking information to manipulate public opinion.

Smith's investigations are among a growing number of legal worries for Trump, who in November launched a campaign seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In addition to the New York probe, Trump faces a Georgia inquiry over whether he tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
A group of problem-solving first and second graders in Kansas are designing homes  and theyre not talking Legos.

The students at Limestone Community School, a small elementary school in Lawrence, are working with architectural experts to combat their citys homeless problem.

A point-in-time count of unsheltered people living in Lawrence one night last year showed 232 without a permanent home, according to the City of Lawrences Housing Initiatives Division.

Limestones students plan to have four homes built with the help of local partners, according to teacher Madeline Herrera. They're aiming to raise $120,000 for building materials, she said.

Students at Limestone Community School in Lawrence, Kan., work on drawing a design for one of the four homes they plan to have built for people in need of housing.

We could potentially start building as soon as late April, should everything fall into place, Herrera told USA TODAY.

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'What if everyone had parents and a home?'

The project-based-learning-focused microschool, which opened last fall and plans to add third and fourth grades next year, teaches kids to solve tangible community issues, according to Herrera.

That could be at the school level, within the city, nationwide or global, but it should be something that they're concerned about, said Herrera, an educator of 11 years who teaches a combined first and second grade class at Limestone.

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They addressed plastic pollution in a previous project. Now, theyre turning their attention to homelessness. After their return from winter break, the simple question of What if? posed by a LeVar Burton book Herrera read to her students helped spark the idea.

One of the students said, what if everyone had parents and a home? and other students started getting really interested in that idea and wanted to explore (it), Herrera said.

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A Limestone Community School student in Lawrence, Kan., uses a ruler and pencil to trace a home design as part of a school project to build four homes in the city to help alleviate homelessness.

She asked her students what they would need to be part of a solution.

We realized how many were homeless in Lawrence, said student Quillan Dutro, 8. In the winter with how many ... are dying because they're homeless, we needed to fix something.

The solution, the kids decided, was to design and build homes for those in need.

We have multiple organizations that have offered us to be able to build on their land, and then they would manage the properties, which is an absolute dream for us, Herrera said.

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Young students learning to dream to scale

Steve Vukelich, vice president of collaborative design company Multistudio, is working with Limestones students to design the homes. There was a bit of a learning curve at first.

We quickly learned the concept of scale is really difficult for first and second graders to grasp; the kids dream really big, Vukelich told USA TODAY.

A blueprint drawing created by a Limestone Community School student in Lawrence, Kan., shows the plan for one of the homes the students hope to have built as early as April.

They had elaborate designs, and we had to find ways to show we (can't) fit 12 rooms on the first floor of a 400-square-foot home, he said.

Several hands-on activities teaching students to tape measure their more than 1,000-square-foot classroom and count floor tiles helped them design more realistic spaces, according to Vukelich.

(They) looked at their own restrooms, kitchen cabinets, and (we) just asked them questions like, Does that seem big enough? Is there enough room to move around the bed? How does this work in your home? Vukelich said.

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The kids narrowed the rooms of each home down to essential spaces: bedrooms, a living area, a kitchen and a bathroom, according to Herrera.

We had to add an upstairs because we only were able to fit four rooms downstairs, said student Lucy Muller, 7, about one of their designs.

A cardboard design from Limestone Community School students in Lawrence, Kan., offers a three-dimensional look at the houses they're aiming to have built in the city.

'They care for their community'

One of the homes theyre designing is likely to be built for one of the schools kindergarten teachers, Sarauniya Pelts.

The first-year teacher and single mother of three is enrolled in the Tenants to Homeowners program run by the Lawrence Community Housing Trust.

When we build our home on the land, (Tenants to Homeowners) will manage it and will find tenants, Herrera said.

Limestone Community School students are designing one of their homes for Sarauniya Pelts, a first-year kindergarten teacher participating in the Tenants to Homeowners program in Lawrence, Kan.

Her students were excited to learn Pelts was on the list for a new home  but disappointed that she faced a yearslong wait despite being approved.

They have several homes, but theyre more for single-people housing, or they have two-bedroom homes that dont fit my family's needs, Pelts told USA TODAY.

Limestones students felt her wait was unfair, Herrera said, so theyre designing one of their homes for Herreras colleague.

Pelts said she cried when she first heard.

It means so much because they want to show they care for their community, and my family was included in that," Pelts said.

More good news to know (and share!)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elementary students design homes to help city's homeless: Good news
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Sunday he was suspending anti-government protests and was ready for talks after an appeal from President William Ruto, though he warned that demonstrations could restart in days.

Thousands have joined three marches over the past two weeks against high living costs and alleged fraud in last year's vote. All have been marred by violence and a fourth rally was scheduled for Monday.

Earlier on Sunday, Ruto asked Odinga to call off the protests that he said had resulted in three deaths and injured more than 400 people, including at least 60 security officers.

Ruto defended his administration's record, and said there could be bipartisan reform to the election commission - one of the opposition's central demands.

Odinga said he saw Ruto's statement as an olive branch and a "positive development".

"We stand down our demonstrations for Monday - that is tomorrow, April 3, 2023," Odinga told a press conference.

The opposition has been pushing for reforms to the electoral commission, including stronger assurances that the president can't pack the body with supporters.

"We agree that a balanced parliamentary process co-chaired by both sides and backed by experts from outside should proceed," Odinga said.

If there was "no meaningful engagement or response" from Ruto, the protests would begin again in one week, Odinga said.

Odinga also said that the opposition would engage the government on the high cost of living, which had galvanized many protesters.

"At times like this, we should go back to subsidies ... so that the cost of living can come down," Odinga said.

Ruto's government has scrapped subsidies on fuel, maize, and electricity.

There have been more than 20 attacks and violations against journalists since the start of the protests, according to the Kenya Media Sector Working Group. State actors were behind a "significant proportion" of the attacks, the Group said.

Ruto said he did not believe journalists were targeted but that some had been caught in the fray.

(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds a welcoming ceremony for the visiting Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2023. Li held talks with Anwar in Beijing on Saturday. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday held talks with visiting Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Beijing.

China and Malaysia have reached a consensus on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, which has drawn a blueprint for the development of bilateral relations in the new era, Li said, urging efforts to take the consensus as guidance to pursue bilateral cooperation of higher quality, increase the well-being of the two countries and their peoples, and contribute to regional and global peace, stability, development and prosperity.

As developing countries and emerging economies, China and Malaysia need to leverage their comparative advantages to advance cooperation in the next stage, said the Chinese premier.

He called for efforts to synergize the two countries' development strategies, promote integrated development, step up cooperation in emerging industries and enhance friendship and mutual trust.

China is ready to work with Malaysia and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to speed up consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and jointly maintain peace and stability of the area, Li said.

"Asia is our common home and win-win cooperation is the only right choice," said the Chinese premier, noting China is ready to work with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to actively advance negotiations on the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA 3.0), jointly implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and continuously promote the building of the East Asia Economic Community.

Li also called on the two countries to unequivocally defend multilateralism, safeguard the common interests of developing countries and emerging economies, and make greater contributions to improving the global governance system.

For his part, Anwar said the new Malaysian government gives priority to developing Malaysia-China relations and firmly upholds the one-China policy.

Malaysia supports China's Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, and is willing to deepen cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative, advance cooperation in automotive, energy, culture and tourism, agriculture and digital economy, and promote personnel exchanges, he said.

Following the talks, Li and Anwar witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents on economy, trade, agriculture and customs. 
Kenyan President William Ruto urged his political rival on Sunday to call off protests against his government as the opposition vowed to take demonstrators to the street for another day.

Three people have died since anti-government protests erupted on March 20 and businesses have been looted, property vandalised, and journalists attacked in unrest that has alarmed Kenya's neighbours and allies.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for protests every Monday and Thursday, accusing Ruto of stealing last year's election and of failing to control the surging cost of living.

On the eve of a fourth day of protests -- dubbed "Mega Monday" by the opposition -- Ruto called for calm and urged Odinga to cancel his planned action.

"I urge my brother Raila Odinga, and the opposition, to call off the demonstrations, and to give this bipartisan approach a chance for us to take the country forward," Ruto said in a nationwide address from State House.

"Meanwhile, I call on all Kenyans to remain peaceful and law-abiding and I assure them that the Government of Kenya will continue with its sacred duty of protecting their lives and their property, including their businesses."

- 'A lot of trouble' -

Kenya's Supreme Court unanimously upheld the results of August's elections that declared Ruto president but Odinga insists the poll was stolen, and released fresh claims this weekend that he says prove he won.

The opposition stalwart has refused to recognise Ruto or his government and on Saturday called on the president to "vacate his office" ahead of Monday's protest.

Ruto said a bipartisan parliamentary committee could explore possible reforms to electoral procedure, and urged his rival to seize this opportunity.

But he ruled out striking an alliance of any kind with his foe.

"Once you compromise accountability and oversight, you are in for a lot of trouble," Ruto said.

"Our position is that we want to engage our brothers and sisters on the other side on issues that are important to the people of Kenya... That way the system of checks and balances remains intact."

Story continues

Kenya is viewed as a beacon of democratic stability in East Africa. The United States and Britain, among other foreign missions, have publicly called for restraint.

The African Union has also appealed for a peaceful end to the chaos that saw riot police firing tear gas and water cannon at protesters, and places of worship, properties, businesses and cars set aflame.

Meanwhile, at least 25 cases of attacks on journalists "at the hands of state and non-state actors" have been reported during the demonstrations, according to the Media Council of Kenya.

The United States said Friday said it was "deeply concerned" by the reports.

np/imm
Dmytro Peskov hinted to the Russians that the war against Ukraine will continue as long as the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is alive, Roman Tsymbaliuk believes

"As Peskov said recently, the war will last for long, and everyone should rally around Russian dictator Putin, Tsymbaliuk said on Radio NV.

Read also: From the Putinist triumph to the war of all against all. Five scenarios for Russias future

Listening to these words, I concluded that while Putin lives, he will stay in power, and the war will go on. Peskov was giving a sort of a hint to Russians."

Tsymbaliuk said, however, that Russian society is "dead" and highly unlikely to take the hint.

Read also: Kremlin already looking for Putin replacement after ICC arrest warrant  HUR

A "hybrid war" in Ukraine is for the long term, and Russians need to rally around Putin, Tsymbaliuk quoted Peskov as saying on March 29.

Peskov avoided answering the question about prospects of a ceasefire in Ukraine and whether the war could end this year. He referred those questions to other experts.

Russia continues to suffer great losses in the war against Ukraine. Around 610 Russian troops were eliminated in Ukraine in the past 24 hours alone.

The total Russian losses in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine exceeded 172,000 soldiers, according to estimates by the Ukrainian militarys General Staff.

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
Lab grown meat ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Meat alternatives seem to be all the rage these days, with plant-based meats rising to the forefront. However, another option is also gaining traction: laboratory-produced meat. Until now, these products have mostly been replacements for conventional meats. Described by Bon Appetit as "beef grown from cow cells and pork grown from pig cells," unlike plant-based meats, lab-grown meats are actually made from the genetic building blocks of animals.

However, with the uptick of this trend, another offshoot of the meat industry has risen: exotic lab-based meats. An Australian company, Vow, recently unveiled a meatball made from a meat-producing gene of woolly mammoth DNA  yes, the same animal that has been extinct for 4,000 years. While this meatball was not edible, and was created only to market the possibilities of sustainable meat, the company is jumping ahead with the exotic trend, and has "already investigated the potential of more than 50 species, including alpaca, buffalo, crocodile, kangaroo, peacocks and different types of fish," The Guardian reports. The fish-cultivated meat is slated to be sold in Singapore later this year.

There is even an entire brand, Primeval Foods, that focuses exclusively on cultivating exotic meats, such as lions, tigers, and zebras," Fast Company reports. Another startup in Europe, Paleo, is similarly looking into alternatives for meat and fish through precision fermentation and lab growth.

However, it seems not everybody is on board with the idea of lab-based meats, especially when it comes to more exotic varieties of animals. The Italian government recently put forth a bill that "would ban laboratory-produced meat and other synthetic foods," BBC News notes, citing an effort to protect the country's longstanding culinary heritage.

What are commentators saying?

The answer might not be so simple, MacKenzie Graham argues for Slate, noting that "even if eating lab-grown meatanimal or otherwiseisn't, strictly speaking, immoral," there are environmental and cultural questions about the practice.

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This brings about the most pressing issue of lab-based exotic meats: are they really necessary? "Do we really want to eat lion or tiger meat, and is it ethically acceptable to do so?" Lifestyle Asia asks, adding that there are conservation issues that could arise because the research on lab-based meats "concerns endangered species such as the tiger."

There are some who do not believe that lab-based meats are a sustainable solution, in reality. Many of these lab-based meat companies "have repeatedly missed product launch deadlines" because the research is simply not up to par, Joe Fassler writes for The Counter. David Humbird, a chemical engineer at UC Berkley, tells The Counter it was "hard to find an angle that wasn't a ludicrous dead end."

However, the founder of Primeval Foods, Yilmaz Bora, seems to feel otherwise, and tells Food Navigator that his company is currently working on recreating "Siberian tiger, leopard, black panther, Bengal tiger, white lion, lion, and zebra" in its labs.

Since no other animal has been domesticated since the agricultural revolution, the "trillion-dollar meat market is 'wide open' for startups who are willing to 'double-down on innovative ideas,'" Bora argues. The head of Primeval additionally tells The National that people eat beef and pork "not because they are the tastiest, healthiest or most nutritious species; they are just the easiest to domesticate. But now we can discover what is beyond domestication through technology."

What is next?

There is already some lab-grown conventional meat on the market internationally. Lab-grown chicken bites from a company called Eat Just were approved in Singapore in 2020, and are currently the only product of its type that can be purchased. Additionally, Shiok Meats has unveiled lab-created shrimp, lobster, and crab prototypes, and "plans to seek regulatory approval to sell its lab-grown shrimp by April 2023," Time reports.

However, even with these rollouts, it is unlikely that people will be eating lab-grown meat on a regular basis for a while, Time adds. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in November 2022 that a cultivated, lab-grown chicken breast made by UPSIDE Foods was safe to eat. The plan is to have it on grocery store shelves by 2028, executives told Reuters.

But it remains to be seen if anyone will be consuming lion or crocodile meat on a regular basis, even if lab-grown meats are finally creeping closer to becoming an everyday reality.

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Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics has urged the U.S.-led NATO alliance not to "overreact" to President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which shares borders with both Latvia  a NATO member  and Ukraine.

"Let's face it, Russian nuclear weapons have already been deployed in Kaliningrad, near our borders, even before [Russia's 2014 invasion of] Crimea started," Rinkevics told CBS News. "I would view this as some kind of bargaining chip. Something to blackmail our societies."

He said he "would not over-dramatize" this move, but called for additional sanctions against Belarus and Russia. Rinkevics said he did not consider Belarus a sovereign state, but rather a "part of a Russian military district."

Putin said over the weekend that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus on fighter jets and Iskander hypersonic missiles, which have a range of around 300 miles.

Edgars Rinkvis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia arrives for the Budapest Nine heads of diplomacy summit in Izrael Poznanski Palace in Lodz, Poland on March 30, 2023. / Credit: Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Rinkevics also expressed hopes for an expanded NATO, when the alliance meets in July. He said he'd like to see 32 members at the summit in Lithuania, alluding to Finland and Sweden's stalled bids to be ratified as the NATO's newest members.

Finland inched a step closer to NATO membership after the Hungarian parliament ratified the country's bid Monday. The other member holding out on backing that bid, Turkey, is expected to ratify Finland soon, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would start the process.

Sweden remains blocked because Turkey refuses to back its bid until disputes between the two nations are resolved. Turkey has accused Sweden of harboring members of Kurdish militant groups that Ankara considers terrorists.

Rinkevics said he hoped the "allies can resolve outstanding issues so Sweden will also be able to participate."

He also said that support for Ukraine, as it continues to hold the Russian invasion at bay, has only grown stronger in his country, and he argued that now is not the time for a peace deal. Peace negotiations would only allow Russia "to regroup, to get stronger, and to resume" its assault, said Rinkevics.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned earlier this week that calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine could be part of a "cynical trap" supported by Russian allies.

As for Russian conscripts trying to avoid being sent to the front lines by seeking refuge in Latvia, Rinkevics said Latvia's door was closed. Latvia and other Baltic states instituted a policy prohibiting fleeing conscripts from entry into the countries because they pose a security risk.

"They are not anti-war people. They are not anti-Putin people. They are not ready to stop the war," he said, "and in that case, we are not ready to accept them."

But there continue to be pathways for civilians to enter Latvia from Russia, Rinkevics noted.

In December, Latvia canceled the license of the exiled Russian television station TV Rain, after deeming the outlet a national security threat. TV Rain came under criticism after its reporters referred to Russian conscripts as "our military," and the network showed a map that portrayed Ukraine's occupied Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia.

Rinkevics called the Russian journalists' remarks "completely unacceptable," but did not comment further regarding the pending TV Rain litigation.

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Law Roach attends the Fashion Trust US Awards in Los Angeles. Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

After announcing his retirement, celebrity stylist Law Roach confirmed a new project with T.J. Maxx.

Speaking to People magazine, Roach said he was looking for work with "more fulfillment."

He said his "soul" has been pointing him "to be a little bit more accessible to the people."

Less than a month after announcing his move away from celebrity styling, Law Roach has confirmed a new partnership with off-price retailer T.J. Maxx.

Roach, 44, announced his departure from styling through a now-deleted Instagram post, writing: "My Cup is empty.. thank you to everyone who've supported me and my career over the years. Every person that trusted me with their image, I'm so grateful for you all."

He added: "If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it's not! The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win  I'm out."

In a statement to Insider, Roach, who is best known for working with Zendaya on her best and most daring red carpet looks, said he was taking a "step away from celebrity styling" to focus on himself. He later clarified that he wasn't "breaking up" with Zendaya as they shared a "real love," and "not the fake industry love."

Since his announcement, Roach has clearly been busy making plans for his next steps  including partnering with T.J.Maxx to curate its first fashion presentation, featuring 15 looks from The Runway, the retailer's premium designer offering.

Zendaya with Law Roach. Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

Speaking to People magazine earlier this week, Roach said that his "soul" had been telling him to make his work "a little bit more accessible to the people. You work so hard and you save your money, and T.J. Maxx has always made it more accessible."

Roach curated the fashion presentation using merchandise from The Runway at T.J.Maxx. Clothing items listed in the section on tjmaxx.com range from $12.99 to $4,199.

"I've always been a Maxxinista," he told the outlet. "I'm proud to say that because before my career blossomed, T.J. Maxx was where I would go to get a piece."

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Roach previously discussed his career and love of fashion in an interview with Insider's Amanda Krause in February.

"Being from the South Side of Chicago and going to church every Sunday, I always look at that as my first fashion show. And I always credit my grandmother as my biggest fashion inspiration. Clothes and fashion were always such important things to her," he said.

"That stuck with me and was always a part of who I was, but you know, I came up when social media wasn't around. The world didn't seem as small as it does now," Roach added.

Later in the interview, he named Zendaya's 2015 Vivienne Westwood Academy Awards look as one of his most meaningful styling moments.

Saturday marked the first time that Roach, who worked with the "Euphoria" actor for years and almost single-handedly transformed her into a style it-girl in Hollywood, was spotted with Zendaya since he announced his departure from celebrity styling in March.

The duo, along with Tom Holland, attended a glamorous gala in Mumbai, India for the opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.



Correction: April 3, 2023  An earlier version of this story misstated Law Roach's involvement in his partnership with T.J.Maxx. He curated a fashion presentation using pieces that are available at The Runway online and in select T.J.Maxx stores.

Read the original article on Insider
Lawyers for Donald Trump and his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, a key witness in the New York indictment against him, foreshadowed on Sunday each side's fight for credibility in any eventual trial.

Trumps lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told CNNs State of the Union that Cohen is a convicted liar who "is constitutionally incapable of telling the same story the same way twice." Tacopina said there is no documentation of Trump falsifying business records, the central charges anticipated in the indictment, which remains under seal.

I know there is no such evidence, Tacopina said. Michael Cohen is a pathological, convicted liar.

Cohens lawyer, Lanny Davis, told CNN Cohen and other witnesses have provided testimony and documentation. Cohen has already been imprisoned in part because he arranged for $280,000 in hush payments before the 2016 election to silence Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who each claimed to have had sex with Trump.

Michael Cohen submitted a lot of documentation, Davis said. There are other documents from other people and other testimony from other people.

Here is where the case stands:

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas.

Trump to surrender Tuesday but details not 'nailed down'

Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury, but the charges havent been unveiled. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday, when he will be booked, have his mug shot taken and offer his initial plea.

Trump is expected to take his private plane Monday from Florida to New York, where he will spend the night at Trump Tower. He is expected to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday. Trump announced Sunday he would give remarks at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday from his estate Mar-a-Lago.

Tacopina, who has been involved in hundreds of criminal cases, said details weren't "nailed down" because the Secret Service will be involved. He said he anticipated authorities would want to get every ounce of publicity out of this they can get, but that he hoped it would be as painless and classy as possible.

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More: Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen: Meet the key players in Manhattan DA's Trump case

All of the Tuesday stuff is very much up in the air except that we will very loudly and proudly say not guilty, Tacopina said. Were not doing anything at the arraignment because that would be showmanship and nothing more because we havent even seen the indictment.

Michael Cohen testifies before grand jury

What does Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina say about the charges?

The charges are expected to be publicly released Tuesday. But legal experts anticipate Trump will be charged with misdemeanors dealing with falsifying business records describing the hush-money payments and perhaps linked to campaign finance violations under the argument they benefited his campaign.

Tacopina denied there are business records describing the payments. He said the payments were personal settlements in civil cases with confidentiality agreements.

And Tacopina argued there was no campaign finance violation Trump used personal funds and would have been vilified for spending campaign funds on the settlements.

Its a completely upside-down world, Tacopina said. Hes damned if he did and damned if he didnt.

FILE - In this Monday, April 16, 2007 file photo, Defense attorney Joseph Tacopina gives his closing arguments in a trial in New Brunswick, N.J.

What does Cohens lawyer Lanny Davis say?

The Justice Department declined to charge Trump when Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations and tax evasion. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., also declined to charge Trump.

Vance declined to discuss his decision, but told NBC's "Meet the Press" prosecutors in the Southern District of New York asked his office to stand down while they investigated. Vance said he was "somewhat surprised" when federal authorities didn't pursue Trump after Cohen pleaded guilty.

But by then Vance said his office was investigating the Trump Organization, which led to two guilty verdicts for parts of the company and the conviction of chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. Vance said he and his office fought for Trump's financial documents through two U.S. Districts, two federal appeals courts and the Supreme Court, which all "found no evidence that politics was motivating our actions.

Cohen has testified under oath at a House hearing about how he arranged the payments at Trumps direction. Prosecutors said in his court records he acted at Trumps direction. And Cohen said he received monthly checks for a year to reimburse him for arranging the payments, some of which were signed by Trump.

The credibility between him and the jury in that courtroom is going to be based on corroborating evidence, Davis said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump, Cohen lawyers argue credibility will be key in criminal case
At least 22 people are dead after a major storm system ripped through several states in the Midwest and the South bringing tornadoes and severe thunderstorms Friday and overnight.

Seven of the deaths are in McNairy County in southwestern Tennessee, according to the states Emergency Management Agency.

We will be surveying damage from likely tornadoes that struck many of our Middle Tennessee counties overnight, including Wayne, Lewis, Marshall, Rutherford, Cannon, and Macon Counties, The National Weather Service field office in Nashville said on Saturday. Due to the widespread damage, it will take us several days to reach all these areas.

The damage includes downed trees, power lines and houses with heavy damage in multiple counties, according to a list of storm reports collected by the agency.

Five of the deaths are in Cross and Pulaski counties in Arkansas, four are in Boone and Crawford counties in Illinois, three are in Sullivan County, Indiana, one in Pontotac County, Mississippi, one in Madison County, Alabama, and one in Tipton County, Tennessee, according to officials.

Wynne, a city in Arkansas northeastern Cross County where four people died, saw widespread damage from the storm system, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a tweet.

Central Arkansas also suffered significant damage Friday, Sanders said, after meteorologists said a tornado touched down in North Little Rock, pummeling buildings and leaving at least three people dead and dozens injured.

Today has been a very hard day for the state of Arkansas, Sanders said at a news conference on Friday. But the goodness of this is that Arkansas and Arkansans are tough and we are resilient, and no matter what comes our way, we will get back up the next day and keep moving.

Arkansas declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard on Friday afternoon. At a news conference Friday, Sanders said 100 guardsmen had been deployed across the state.

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A firefighter checks homes for injured residents in Little Rock, Ark. (Benjamin Krain / Getty Images)

Sanders visited areas affected by tornadoes on Saturday.

A fire station in West Little Rock suffered an unbelievable amount of damage but the real story here isnt the damage that happened but its the heroes that were born out of the tragedy, she tweeted, adding in another tweet that the destruction at Wynne High School was also severe.

A severe weather event across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana brought widespread wind damage with multiple tornadoes, thunderstorms and scattered large hail to the area, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service.

Here is a preliminary look at the severe weather event that took place across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana yesterday.



You can also view our webpage summary here: https://t.co/PuAWk36Xpy #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/THTsX3vKRL  NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) April 1, 2023

State police confirmed three people were killed in Indiana, and a tornado in Boone County, Illinois, specifically the city of Belvidere, killed a 50-year-old man and injured 28 others when the roof of a concert venue collapsed Friday night at the Apollo Theater. Of the 28 people who were taken to the hospital, five had serious injuries, according to Belvidere fire officials.

Belvidere Officials could not speak to any warning given to concert goers, or if any were advised to move to a safe place. The loud concert may have prevented attendees from hearing the tornado sirens that blared in the area Friday night.

Its not confirmed how many tornadoes hit Illinois and Indiana, but the National Weather Service reported many areas with structural damage and potential tornadoes, including Baileyville, Belvidere, Mendota and downtown Batavaia in Illinois and Merillville in Indiana.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed an executive order on Saturday declaring Sullivan and Johnson counties in a state of emergency.

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have perished in this storm and all who are suffering losses because of this incident, Holcomb said in a statement. I will remain in contact with emergency management officials as well as local officials in Sullivan and Johnson counties as we continue to assess the damage, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is actively engaging with FEMA to assess the damages from the incident.

Two teams will survey storm damage across Indiana on Saturday, including in Allen County and White County, according to the National Weather Service field office in Northern Indiana.

A house is damaged by fallen trees during a tornado in Belvidere, Ill. (Erin Hooley / AP)

The severe weather event for northern Illinois and northwest Indiana has come to an end, according to the National Weather Service field office in Chicago.

In Arkansas, weather conditions are expected to be calmer on Saturday across the state.

Much calmer conditions are expected across the state today before another round of rain moves through Sunday into Sunday night, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service field office in Little Rock. Severe weather chances are very low until Tuesday, when our next strong storm system approaches.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Pedigree Limousin cattle grazing on pasture in Cumbria, UK. - Farm Images/Universal Images Group Editorial

We are living through the most startling political realignment in more than 100 years. Never since the advent of modern socialism in the early 20th century has the Left openly advocated making ordinary people poorer, thereby leaving those on the Right to defend the spread of mass prosperity. The debate (if this tendentious chorus of unanimity can be called a debate) on net zero has entirely shifted the ground on which modern political discourse has been based.

This role-reversal is especially clear in the features that were once most characteristic of Left-wing and Right-wing allegiance: it is the radical young who now tend to be most adamant that the freedoms and comforts that come with widespread disposable wealth should be prohibited, while the traditionally conservative older generation is left to fight for what used to be the Left-liberal doctrine that higher income and the independence it brings should be spread as widely as possible. Where organised protest movements in the past have been inspired by the idea that the masses were too poor, now they promote the idea that most ordinary people are too rich.

Such a strange reversal of political poles might just have been a bizarre, rather perverse, fashion if it had been confined to the more extreme, exhibitionistic ends of the divide. But in fact the transformation of the Left into a movement which energetically seeks to make ordinary people poorer, colder, less well fed and less mobile inevitably has ramifications across the entire democratic spectrum. This is because the fundamental tenets of Left-liberal belief  that the state should be responsible for equality, wealth distribution and social welfare  are now universally accepted in advanced democracies.

However strong a countrys commitment to free market economics, the basic social democratic package is thought to be a core of decency which any prospective government must accept if it is to be taken seriously. Western populations are now accustomed to the idea that the life conditions of everyone should be constantly improving  that it is morally wrong for general prosperity, and the personal liberation that it brings, to decline in real terms.

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There is no going back from this. The Left won that argument hands down, just as capitalism won the argument about free markets being the only way to create wealth. The only political discussion that made sense in the wake of those conclusions was how to get the balance right between competitive markets and welfare provision. All electoral contests became a choice between priorities and practical compromises: how much equality of wealth could you guarantee without stifling capitalist competition? How could you eliminate poverty without destroying incentive?

But everyone accepted the underlying assumption that it was desirable for as many people as possible to become progressively better off. Until very recently, there was no respectable voice calling for an end to the spread of prosperity to the developing world, as well as in the advanced nations. Now it is not just the juvenile Left making this extraordinary demand. Politicians of the centre-Right who had adopted pretty much wholesale the doctrine of social justice  which is to say, everybody having an equal chance for economic self-determination and a materially comfortable life  find themselves having to justify penalising ordinary people for heating their homes or for travelling beyond their own neighbourhoods.

The consequences for those populations in the short term are carefully elided with fuzzy rhetoric and unsustainable government subsidy. Somehow a vague dream world is created in which the immediate deprivations become just a transitory stage leading to a utopian paradise in which all these apparently insoluble problems will be resolved. Even if this is feasible  the ultimate carbon-free heaven in which energy is supplied without sin  it is a very long way away.

Nobody is venturing any figures for what the cost  in misery, financial privation, hypothermia, lack of mobility and choice  is going to be to those who will endure the first experimental stages. In truth, most of the radical permanent solutions are in their infancy and many of them involve practices that the Left would once have regarded as unacceptable like the exploitative mining of minerals in developing countries. Finding practical policies for mitigating the effects of climate change is the rational way forward, but that scarcely satisfies the demonic crisis demands which most Western political establishments have embraced.

Of course, the Industrial Revolution will not go down without a fight. The German car industry has shown the way on that front. But reversing two centuries of manufacturing which made the modern world and put an end to the feudal economic structures of Old Europe might prove easier than the eco-Lefts next project. That is to abolish animal farming, which has been a civilising feature of human society for much longer. The devastation that such a ban would create on rural life would rank with the Enclosures Act as a social and economic cataclysm.

In the 18th century many of those earlier displaced farming people  the ones who did not simply perish  could be absorbed into the emerging new industries, thereby creating the proletariat on which Marx founded his revolutionary ideology. What would happen to the new legions of former dairy, sheep and pig farmers? Would they all be expected to find new jobs in the green energy business? Modern social democratic principles would have to be applied, wouldnt they? Government would surely compensate them at yet more cost to the taxpayers, who are already poorer than their parents generation ever expected to be.

I wonder what would happen if, before some future election, a Labour Party leader stood before the country and said, I didnt come into politics to make working people poorer. We will have to find solutions to our problems that do not mean creating more hardship for struggling households. Somehow I cant see Keir Starmer doing that.
AR-15-style rifles are on display at a gun store in Burbank in 2022. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

To the editor: Jackie Calmes discusses AR-15-style weapons. She appears not to know enough about these weapons to make a convincing argument that their ownership, possession and sale by civilians should be illegal.

These guns utilize ammunition consisting of a long, relatively large diameter shell that is designed to hold a large amount of explosive powder, but that has a very narrow neck to hold a long, narrow slug. This slug is therefore blasted out at a very high muzzle velocity of 3,300 feet per second.

The AR-15 is designed to cause a very damaging shock wave that creates an extraordinarily large amount of tissue damage. Because of the projectile's extraordinarily high velocity and relatively heavy weight, it severely injures or kills virtually any person in its path. It can also easily penetrate walls, furniture and even humans and still injure or kill someone behind.

These characteristics make the AR-15 far too dangerous and destructive for home or business defense. Because of the extraordinary tissue damage created, an AR-15 is wholly unsuitable for hunting. It is a weapon of war suitable only for warfare at least a mile away from any civilians.

David Rudich, Phoenix

..

To the editor: The lesson learned from the 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting was that law enforcement must act quickly and decisively when such a shooting occurs.

The police who responded to the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 didn't get that memo. In contrast, Nashville police and The Covenant School's faculty and staff acted heroically, saving lives.

And Republicans in Congress? Stop standing around, checking your phones and sanitizing your hands. Quick and decisive legislative action to ban private ownership of assault weapons will save lives.

Leonard Wapner, Seal Beach

..

To the editor: Disgustingly, I have seen some GOP representatives shamelessly wearing lapel pins shaped like an AR-15 assault weapon.

I suggest that Democratic representatives wear a button with the face, name and age of a child killed by gun violence. These gun-loving lawmakers need an in-your-face reminder of what those guns do to children.

Joyce Chonis, Westchester

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
South African regional civil society organisations protest against Uganda's anti-LGBT bill in Cape Town

Ugandan refugees who fled to Wales because of their sexuality have spoken out about their experiences in their home country.

One Ugandan described Uganda as a "living hell" for them.

The Ugandan Parliament has just passed a new bill cracking down on homosexual activities which includes the prospect of life in prison or the death penalty.

The Welsh government has expressed its shock at the bill.

Homosexual acts were already illegal in Uganda but the new bill introduces many new criminal offences.

If the bill is adopted into law, even identifying as gay will become illegal for the first time.

Friends, family and members of the community would also have a duty to report individuals in same-sex relationships to the authorities.

One man said that, as a proudly gay man, he had no choice but to leave his country.

"They chased me out of the country," he said.

"I used to meet with my boyfriend at my house and in the due course of meeting with him, my neighbours found me in my room with him.

"They wanted to kill us. They started beating us. I had to run away and hide."

He added that the new bill was "interfering with people's lives", adding he could express his sexuality freely in the UK.

"I can't go back to Uganda because I don't want to be deprived of my chance of doing what I want. I'd be in danger. They would kill me."

Asylum seeker Rose - not her real name - ended up in Wales after leaving everything behind in a rush to flee Uganda in October after a colleague "threatened to tell the police and to tell everybody" about her sexuality.

"I left a family. I had a job. I had to leave everything for my sexuality," she said.

"It was horrible. It was fearful. You feel isolated. It's very, very difficult."

Rose explained that there is a lot of "mob justice" in Uganda.

"You fear everybody. I can't even speak properly - it's just too much," she said.

"This bill is going to make things worse."

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The so-called "Anti-Gay" bill will now go to President Yoweri Museveni who can choose to use his veto or sign it into law.

"I request that we're given freedom," said Rose.

"You can't be proud of a place where somebody can be killed because of their sexual identity."

Mark Lewis, head of Cardiff-based charity Hoops and Loops which works with LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers.

"I work with guys where they've seen partners being burned to death with tyres and petrol.

"I've got one guy who saw his boyfriend being killed by 10 men."

He said that they then come into Britain in "fear of being returned and being rejected".

And concern has been heightened by the UK government plan to send some migrants to Rwanda which neighbours Uganda.

"It sent a tidal wave through the group," he said.

On Sunday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman insisted the plan to send some migrants to Rwanda was legal and that the country was safe.

Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, who has written to the Ugandan Anglican Archbishop, Stephen Kaziimba, said: "One of the things I want to avoid is any sense of us in the West telling a country in Africa how to run their lives.

"But I think human rights need to belong to all of us.

"They are inalienable and this breach of a human right is deeply regrettable."

The Archbishop of Wales has urged the Ugandan Anglican Archbishop to persuade lawmakers to think again about the bill

The Welsh government said, through its action plan for Wales and Africa, it was committed to taking "particular action" in Eastern Uganda on gender and equality.

"LGBTQ+ people are suffering and this new bill will inflame abhorrent rhetoric," it said.

"In Wales, we are fully committed to striving for social justice and will go on promoting an open, progressive nation that is committed to the values of inclusivity and equality."

The Home Office said: "No-one should be persecuted because of their sexuality or gender identity and the UK can be rightly proud of its record in providing protection to individuals fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Individuals claiming to be at risk of persecution on the grounds of their sexual orientation are, however, expected to be able to satisfy us that they are, or are perceived to be, of the orientation in question.

"Confirmation of this is normally obtained through their oral testimony at an interview with trained caseworkers."
This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows properties damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)

HOUSTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

According to CNN, more than 50 preliminary tornado reports were recorded on Friday in at least seven U.S. states.

Four people died and dozens more were hurt when a confirmed strong tornado tore through Wynne, the county seat and largest city of Cross County, Arkansas, according to local media outlet Region 8 News.

There was "total destruction throughout the town" and dozens of residents were trapped following the tornado, said Wynne Police Chief Richard Dennis on Friday night.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials.

"Close to 2,600 structures have been impacted," Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. told CNN on Saturday.

At least seven people were killed in McNairy County, which is located in southwest Tennessee, State Governor Bill Lee said in a statement.

A 50-year-old man was killed on the scene when the roof of the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, northern Illinois collapsed on Friday night. Up to 40 others were taken to hospitals, with at least two of them in critical condition, officials said.

Three others were killed following the collapse of a residential structure in Crawford County, southern Illinois, according to Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Kevin Sur.

Also on Friday night, three people died while multiple residences and the volunteer fire department were damaged in Sullivan County, Indiana, State Police Sgt. Matt Ames said.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on Saturday declared disaster emergencies for Sullivan and Johnson counties.

Fatalities were also reported in Alabama and Mississippi, and tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa.

From northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, including Chicago and Milwaukee, tornado watches extend nearly 1,000 miles all the way to Mississippi and Texas, affecting tens of thousands of people on Friday, according to AccuWeather.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center.

There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, said Bunting, adding that "that's a quite active day ... but that's not unprecedented."

Just one week ago, a massive tornado leveled a town in the southern U.S. state of Mississippi, claiming 25 lives. The 26th death was reported in Alabama during the same round of turbulent weather.

The latest "intense supercell thunderstorms" are only expected to become more common in middle and southern U.S. states, as temperatures rise around the world, experts say. 

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows the kitchen of a house damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Tang Yingying/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows a pickup damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows properties damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows properties damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows properties damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows a fire station whose roof was damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 1, 2023 shows properties damaged by a strong tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, the United States. At least 21 people have been killed and more than 130 others injured after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple midwestern and southern U.S. states Friday into early Saturday, authorities said.

One person died and at least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a violent tornado caused severe damage on Friday afternoon, according to Pulaski County officials. (Photo by Yan Sun/Xinhua)
A child throws a puffin off a cliff in Iceland. Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Iceland's remote Westland Islands are home to the world's largest puffin colony.

Every year, puffin chicks get disorientated by light pollution and crash inland rather than flying out to sea.

Locals scour streets to save the pufflings. Once they find them, they document them and throw them off cliffs.

Every year during the late summer, locals on a remote island off the coast of Iceland spend their evenings searching for disorientated puffin chicks  known as pufflings  and throw them off a cliff's edge.

Light pollution can confuse the pufflings, causing them to fly inland instead of out to sea.

Puffins are a national treasure in Iceland, which has the largest colony in the world, but for decades, their numbers have been dwindling.

About 43 miles off the southern coast of Iceland are the Westman Islands, a collection of windswept, volcanic remote islands.

A. view of the inlet gorge of Heimaey Harbor in 2018. Mahaux Charles/AGF/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Sources: NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, New York Times

The largest of these islands is called Heimaey. It covers about five square miles and is the only inhabited island with a population of about 4,400 people.

An aerial view of Town of Heimaey, Iceland, covered in fog. Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

The Westland Islands are known for two things. The first is a violent, unexpected volcanic eruption that occurred in 1973 after the volcano had lain dormant for 7,000 years.

The volcanic eruption on Heimaey Island in 1973. Fred Ihrt/LightRocket/Getty Images

Source: New York Times

The second is its puffin population. The islands are home to the world's largest puffin colony. At certain times of the year, the skies are filled with puffins carrying fish to their chicks.

Puffins in Iceland in 1976. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Puffins are recognizable by their black and white feathers and their clown-like orange beaks. Unlike most seabirds, they have dense bones allowing them to dive 200 feet deep to catch fish.

A puffin is seen with a freshly caught fish in its beak on the cliffs of Heimaey island, Iceland. Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Puffins are Iceland's most common bird, but for the last 20 years, they have struggled to breed, according to Erpur Snaer Hansen, director of ecological research at the South Iceland Nature Center.

A puffin opens its colored beak in the breeding season. Sven-Erik Arndt/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

He told Audubon they had suffered a "breeding failure, basically."

Story continues

Sources: Audubon, New York Times

Breeding pairs have dropped significantly since the 1990s, and for over a decade, there were few newborn chicks. In 2018, the islands' puffin population had fallen from 7 million to an estimated 5.4 million.

A pair of puffins sit at the burrow entrance on a sea cliff top in Iceland. Sven-Erik Arndt/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Audubon

A number of factors are likely responsible, including climate change, overfishing, pollution, and difficulty finding food.

Puffins during feeding time at the 'Puffin Hotel' rescue center at the Sea Life Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary on the island of Heimaey in Iceland. Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

Source: New York Times

Reduced populations of sand eels due to increasingly warm sea temperatures have particularly hurt puffins, forcing them to search further for food for their chicks.

Two puffins look into the grass on a bird cliff of Heimaey Island, Iceland. Mahaux Charles/AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

If puffins can't find enough food, they feed themselves over their pufflings, which means scarcity can be a puffling-killer.

Hansen said the relationship was comparable to that of "the hare and the lynx."

Sources: New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Audubon

It can be hard to believe puffins in Iceland are struggling since they appear plentiful. But because puffins live for 25 years, it takes years to notice falling numbers.

Atlantic puffins on a cliff top in Iceland in 2020. Sven-Erik Arndt/Arterra/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Audubon

Puffins used to be a vital food source and a delicacy for locals and tourists, but hunting restrictions are now in place due to the population's breeding failures.

A portrait of puffin hunter Jakob Erlingsson holding the puffins he caught using a net. Tessa Bunney/Pictures Ltd/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Audubon

In 2021, things appeared to be looking up after the colony produced about 700,000 new chicks, but by the middle of the summer, almost half had died, mostly from starvation.

A dead puffin lying on the grass after being caught using a net by a puffin hunter. Tessa Bunney/ Pictures Ltd/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Audubon

Growing the puffin population isn't helped by the fact they only lay one egg each season. They mate with the same puffin for life and usually go back to the same burrow.

Two puffins on a rock in 2022. Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images

"If you have one failed generation after another after another after another, the population is through, pretty much," Rodrigo A. Martinez, who works with the South Iceland Nature Research Center told NPR.

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Audubon, NPR

For most of the year, puffins live out on the freezing waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. They live alone, bobbing in the water, diving deep for food.

A puffin looks out to the ocean while perched on a cliff's edge in Iceland. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Iceland Magazine

In late spring, millions of puffins return to breed in the cliffs of these islands.

Hundreds of puffins nesting in Iceland in 2003. Tina Stallard/Getty Images

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Iceland Magazine

After the puffling hatches, the parents raise it for about 40 days. Then the parents return to the ocean, leaving their puffling to fend for itself.

A close-up shot of a puffin opening its beak. Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Sources: NPR, Iceland Magazine

When the puffling gets hungry, it will leave the burrow and fly out over the ocean in search of food.

A puffin looks out over the sea. Pictures Ltd/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: NPR, Iceland Magazine

But pufflings  who use moonlight for guidance  often get disorientated by artificial lights from town and fly inland instead. This is where puffin tossing comes in.

A puffin is thrown off a cliff in Iceland. Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, NPR

Toward the end of summer, locals assigned to "puffling patrol" search the streets at night for chicks that have lost their way.

A child holds a puffin that didnt manage to fly in the right direction out to sea. Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

They're often found under cars, in bins, or in piles of fishing nets and ropes down at the harbor.

Sources: Audubon, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine

It's vital that they help the pufflings by tossing them off the edge of a cliff. When they launch off cliffs, the birds use the sea winds and distance below as a makeshift runway, but if they crash into the town, their wings aren't strong enough to get them airborne again.

A puffin flaps its wings. Mayall/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Without any human help, they are left to fend for themselves and are unable to escape predators or find food.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

According to one 86-year-old resident named Svavar Steingrimsson, these patrols have been going on since the beginning of the 20th century when the island first got electricity.

Lights illuminate houses on the island of Heimaey, Iceland. Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

The patrols are famous in Iceland, even if they aren't as successful as they used to be.

A group of local children search for lost puffins on Heimaey island, Iceland. Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

About 25 years ago, you could save 100 pufflings every night, according to local Valur Mar Valmundsson. Now, you're lucky to find that many over the whole season.

A puffin is thrown into the air in Iceland. Tessa Bunney/Corbis News/Getty Images

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

Once the puffling's data has been recorded, it's taken to the top of cliffs and thrown off the edge.

Children throwing puffins off a cliff in Iceland. Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

People could let them fly away in their own time, but Kyana Powers told NPR most people like to actually throw them off.

Source: NPR

And despite how crude it looks, puffling tossing really is for their own good.

A child throws a puffin off a cliff in Iceland. Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Source: NPR

Read the original article on Insider
Darius Slay is staying with the Eagles after signing a 2-year, $42 million contract extension, but the Pro Bowl cornerback almost followed Dennard Wilson to the AFC North.

During a recent episode of his Big Play Slay Podcast on The Volume network, the veteran cornerback says he was initially released and ultimately re-signed by Philadelphia.

According to Over the Caps potential transaction chart, the Eagles could have easily created $12 million in salary cap space by restructuring Slays deal.

With a Post June 1 release, Philadelphia would have created $17.5 million in cap space and $8.6 million in a dead salary cap.

Had the Eagles cut Slay immediately, they would have gained $3 million in cap space while gaining $22.4 million in dead cap space.

Slay provided the behind-the-scenes negotiation process and revealed that he landed a similar offer from the Ravens that nearly convinced him to move to Baltimore.

More Eagles News and Notes!

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Story originally appeared on Eagles Wire
Its been nearly three years since the remains of Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon JJ Vallow were discovered by police in eastern Idaho. Now, their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, is expected to stand trial in connection with their deaths.

Over the next several weeks, new details about the case will emerge at the Ada County Courthouse, as the jury deliberates on the murder charges against Lori Vallow Daybell.

She, her husband, Chad Daybell, and her brother Alex Cox  who died in December 2019  have been accused of killing or conspiring to kill Tylee, JJ and Tammy Daybell, Chads former wife. Lori Vallow Daybell is also accused of conspiring to kill her former husband, Charles Vallow, in Arizona.

Heres what we know about the Idaho case. The trial is scheduled to begin Monday.

Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, is accused of several felonies in connection to the killings of her children: 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon JJ Vallow.

Why is Lori Vallow Daybell standing trial alone?

Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, is accused of several felonies in connection with the killings of her children, 16-year-old Tylee and 7-year-old JJ. Lori Vallow Daybell could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Chad Daybell was initially expected to be tried alongside his wife, but 7th District Judge Steven Boyce severed the cases in early March because of new DNA evidence, according to East Idaho News. Chad Daybells attorney said he would need additional time to test the new hair sample. The Daybells pleaded not guilty to their respective felony charges in April.

What happened?

In December 2019, the Rexburg Police Department announced the disappearance of Lori Vallow Daybells children, Tylee and JJ. The kids were last seen in September 2019.

Rexburg police in a news release said officers attempted to locate JJ in November after the boys extended family was concerned they hadnt heard from him since September. Police then learned that Tylee had also been missing since September.

In the news release, police also said the disappearance of Tylee and JJ was connected to the suspicious death of Tammy Daybell. Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow Daybell two weeks after Tammy Daybell was killed.

Story continues

By Dec. 31, 2019, the Rexburg Police Department issued an updated news release that said Lori Vallow Daybell had completely refused to assist in the investigation, and that the children were not with either of the Daybells.

Its astonishing that rather than work with law enforcement to help us locate her own children, Lori Vallow (Daybell) has chosen instead to leave the state with her new husband, the police department said.

Lori Vallow Daybell was ordered to bring JJ and Tylee to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or to Rexburg police by Jan. 30, 2020. She missed that deadline.

Lori Vallow Daybell, who was in Hawaii, was arrested and charged with two felonies related to the desertion of a child and three misdemeanors by the Kauai Police Department. East Idaho News reported the Daybells had been in Hawaii for roughly a month and were staying in a multi-million-dollar gated community.

What charges are the Daybells facing?

The initial charges were eventually dropped, and Lori Vallow Daybell was later charged with murder.

Lori Vallow Daybell was extradited to Idaho and housed at the Madison County Jail on a $1 million bond. Chad Daybell wasnt charged until June 2020, when police located JJ and Tylees bodies in his backyard in Salem, Idaho. He was charged with four felonies: two counts of conspiracy to destroy, alter or conceal evidence and two counts of destruction, altercation or concealment of evidence.

This photo includes Tylee Ryan, 17, JJ Vallow, 7, and their uncle Alex Cox in Yellowstone National Park. It was one of the last times the children were seen.

By May 24, 2021, the Daybells were indicted by a Fremont County grand jury on the following charges:

Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow Daybell and Alex Cox were charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder  of Tylee, JJ and Tammy Daybell  and two counts of conspiracy to commit grand theft by deception; Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell were charged with the first-degree murders of Tylee and JJ; and Chad Daybell was charged with the first-degree murder of Tammy Daybell.

Lori Vallow Daybell was also charged with felony grand theft for allegedly continuing to collect Social Security benefits on behalf of her children, according to the indictment. Chad Daybell was charged with two felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly increasing Tammy Daybells life insurance policies.

Lori Vallow Daybell stands between defense attorneys Jim Archibald, left, and John Thomas.

When does the trial start?

The trial is expected to begin at 8 a.m. Monday at the Ada County Courthouse. It could take up to 10 weeks to get through the jury trial.

The trial is open to the public, though there is limited seating. Those planning to view the trial in person either in Ada County or through a live stream in Madison County will need to register online.

The Idaho Statesman will have a reporter at the Ada County Courthouse providing live, daily updates at idahostatesman.com. You can also follow criminal justice and breaking news reporter Alex Brizee on Twitter at @alex_brizee.
CNN analyst and New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman argued Friday that cameras in the courtroom could play a pretty vital role for Americans in former President Donald Trumps arraignment and trial.

Habermans comment comes as several media organizations  including The Associated Press, NBC News and The New York Times  have asked for cameras to be allowed in the courtroom following a Manhattan grand jurys indictment of Trump on Thursday. An arraignment is set for Tuesday.

New York is one of two states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that excluded cameras from the court entirely, according to a 2022 report from New York nonpartisan group The Fund for Modern Courts.

Haberman told CNNs Kaitlan Collins that theres a compelling public interest argument to make in regard to allowing cameras in the courtroom during Trumps arraignment and trial.

One of the things we saw over and over  both with Michael Cohen, in terms of Trump, and then other people in the White House  people have a habit of taping Donald Trump, Haberman said.

And they have a habit of taping Donald Trump because he spins his own reality and will contradict whatever people say about him. A camera would be pretty vital in terms of people understanding what happened and not being told that something is fake news.

H/T Mediaite

Related...
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in 2022. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Media outlets asked Judge Juan Merchan to allow cameras inside the court during Trump's arraignment.

The New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, and NBC News were among those making the request

The outlets also asked the judge to unseal the indictment, citing "overwhelming public interest."

A coalition of major media organizations called for cameras to be allowed in the courtroom during former president Donald Trump's arraignment in New York City this week.

"The gravity of this proceeding  unprecedented and historic arraignment of a former U.S. president  and, consequently the need for the broadest possible public access, cannot be overstated," the group said in a petition, according to NBC News.

The group includes NBC News, the New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, The Washington Post, and others.

A grand jury voted to indict Trump last week after an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office into hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The media organization's sent their request to Judge Juan Merchan, who will be presiding over Trump's criminal case. The group also asked Merchan in a separate petition to unseal the indictment "without delay," citing "overwhelming public interest."

"Indeed, any delay only allows speculation about the content of the indictment to proliferate," a law firm representing the outlets stated, according to NBC News.

The indictment makes Trump the first former US president to be charged with a crime. He is expected to be arraigned at the Manhattan court on Tuesday. Trump has called the investigation and indictment "an act of blatant Election Interference."

During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," speaking with host Dana Bash, Joe Tacopina, an attorney for Trump, argued that his client is being "politically persecuted."

"Make no mistake about that, Dana," Tacopina said. "He is lashing out because he's the victim."

Read the original article on Insider
A major storm system that started moving through the South and the Midwest starting Friday has killed at least 30 people, according to officials.

President Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday that he has been in touch with officials in affected states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Delaware, and that he had directed his administration "to help with immediate needs and long-term rebuilding."

"While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses," Biden said in the statement. "Theres nothing we can do to heal the hole left in the hearts of far too many families who lost loved ones this weekend, but we will be there every step of the way as they rebuild and recover."

Thirteen of the deaths are in Tennessee, where an EF-2 tornado struck Wayne and Lewis counties on Friday night, later also hitting McNairy and Hardin counties, according to the National Weather Service field office in Nashville.

Our damage survey team found preliminary EF-2 damage from a long track #tornado that moved across Wayne & Lewis Counties on Friday night. This same tornado also struck McNairy & Hardin Counties, and the final path length/width/rating will be determined in the next few days #tnwx pic.twitter.com/yvKk1nx6Vb  NWS Nashville (@NWSNashville) April 2, 2023

Nine of the deaths were in buildings that were destroyed down to their foundations in McNairy County, according to McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck.

A tornado crossed the entire county and stayed on the ground for over 30 miles causing "every kind of damage imaginable," Buck told NBC News.

Story continues

People clean up after the devastating tornadoes in Little Rock, Ark., on April 1, 2023. (Peter Zay / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Two children and one adult were found dead in Memphis on Sunday after officers responded to South Edgeware Road after reports of trees having fallen on several homes, the city's police department reported.

A woman in Madison County in northern Alabama was also killed when a tornado hit the Tennessee and Alabama border, according to Tyler Berryhill, the county's coroner.

Survey teams will continue assessing likely tornado damage in Marshall, Rutherford, Cannon and Macon counties, the National Weather Service field office in Nashville said in a tweet.

The survey teams have returned from looking at the path of the tornado that moved through Pulaski and Lonoke counties Friday afternoon. It must be emphasized this is preliminary data, and will likely be updated as the storm survey is still ongoing. #arwx pic.twitter.com/uSQv0KOna7  NWS Little Rock (@NWSLittleRock) April 2, 2023

In Arkansas, five people are dead in Cross and Pulaski counties, where an EF-3 tornado made landfall, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service field office in Little Rock.

The tornado pummeled between 2,100 to 2,600 structures and sent around 50 residents to hospitals with injuries, according to Little Rock officials.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' request for a Major Disaster Declaration from President Joe Biden was approved on Sunday.

"Its clear that the damage caused by Fridays tornadoes is significant and widespread," Sanders said in a statement. "I will continue to work with our first responders, law enforcement, volunteers, and state and local leaders to help Arkansans recover. Arkansas stands strong. I know we will come back from this."

A firefighter helps with search and rescue operations after a tornado in Sullivan, Ind., on April 1, 2023. (Jeremy Hogan / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via AP)

Five people are also dead in Owen and Sullivan counties in Indiana, according to officials. A couple, identified as Brett Kincaid, 53, and Wendy Kincaid, 47, were found dead in the campground at McCormicks Creek State Park following the severe storms in Owen County.

At least three tornadoes were confirmed to have hit the state by the National Weather Service field office in Northern Indiana, one of which was an EF-2 tornado in Allen County.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order on Saturday declaring Sullivan and Johnson counties in a state of emergency.

Here is a preliminary summary of the Davis Junction-Belvidere tornado on Friday March 31, 2023. This EF-1 tornado across portions of Ogle, Winnebago, and Boone counties and resulted in 1 fatality and 40 injuries in Belvidere due to the roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre. #ILwx pic.twitter.com/dTrHM18SQU  NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) April 1, 2023

At least 12 tornadoes were confirmed in Illinois by the National Weather Service field office in Chicago, including an EF-1 tornado that hit Boone County, killing a 50-year-old man and injuring 48 others when the roof collapsed during a concert at the Apollo Theatre.

A damaged home in Little Rock, Ark., on April 1, 2023. (Peter Zay / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Five of those injured at the concert remain in critical condition, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a news conference on Sunday.

Pritzker said the concert goers were told to seek shelter but events unfolded really quickly. A disaster proclamation was signed for the county, he added.

A total of four people were reported dead in Illinois, including in Crawford County, where three died in a residential structural collapse, according to officials.

In Delaware, a tornado is suspected to have struck Sussex County on Saturday evening, killing one person, according to Chip Guy, the county's communications director.

An EF-1 tornado was also reported to have moved through Marion and Winston counties in Alabama, according to a preliminary rating from the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

One person was reported dead and four others were injured in Pontotoc County in Mississippi as a result of severe weather, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.

"Statewide there are reports of homes damaged, trees down, and power outages due to high winds," the agency said. "Initial damage assessments are underway."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A shooting in Seattle, Washington, Saturday evening killed an adult and left a child wounded, according to police.

Seattle Police responded to a shooting at the intersection of Broadway and East Pine Street in Capitol Hill at around 5:18 p.m. local time.

When officers arrived at the 1500 block of Harvard Avenue, they discovered a man, 23, and a boy, 9, both had suffered a gunshot wound, police said in a press release.

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A shooting in Seattle, Washington, Saturday evening killed an adult and left a child injured, according to police.

Officers provided first aid until the Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived and took over.

The adult and child were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The man died at the hospital and the child is in stable condition. The child is the adult victim's nephew.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The child was sitting in the front passenger seat of his uncles vehicle when the shooting happened.

SEATTLE TO GIVE PAID SICK LEAVE TO GIG WORKERS UNDER FIRST-IN-THE-NATION LAW

A 35-year-old male suspect was taken into custody for the shooting, according to police. A gun was recovered at the scene.

The suspect will be booked into the King County Jail.
A Texas man whose truck was stolen used an Apple AirTag to track down the missing vehicle and shoot the man suspected of taking it, according to San Antonio police.

Andrew John Herrera, 44, died of a gunshot wound to the head on Wednesday. The Bexar County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, KSAT reports.

Police believe that when Herrera was confronted by the owner of the truck at a shopping centre in southeast San Antonio, the late 44-year-old may have pulled out a firearm.

Officials have not named the alleged gunman, and are still investigating whether the individual in the truck had a weapon.

Police found bullet casings and two cars with windows shot out at the scene of the confrontation.

"If you are to get your vehicle stolen, please do not take matters into your own hands like this," Officer Nick Soliz said at a press briefing earlier this week. "Its never safe, as you can see by this incident."

San Antonio police got notice of the stolen truck around 1pm on Wednesday, but the shooting occured before police could arrive.

The owner of the vehicle allegedly used an Apple AirTag, a quarter-sized, Bluetooth-enabled tracking device often attached to keys or bags, to trace the vehicle to a shopping centre near the 3200 block of Southeast Military Drive.

Apple condemned the use of its technology for violence in a statement to Fox News.

"AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another persons property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products, the company said. Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag. Its why the Find My network is built with privacy in mind, uses end-to-end encryption, and why we innovated with the first-ever proactive system to alert you of unwanted tracking. We hope this starts an industry trend for others to also provide these sorts of proactive warnings in their products.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Sunday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg must "remove all doubt" in the American judicial process after a grand jury voted Thursday to indict former President Trump following the DAs years-long investigation.

During an appearance on CNNs "State of the Union," Manchin argued that the indictment risks further dividing Americans and battering their trust in the justice system.

"It's a very sad time for America to go through what we're going through now," he said. "People are being divided, and they think that justice might be biased. We have to make sure that we wait to see what comes out next week, and I hope they do their job. And Ive said this, no one's above the law, but no one should be targeted by the law, especially through the political process. So we'll just wait and see next week. I hope they are very thorough."

CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Manchin to clarify whether he thinks Trump, who is the current front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential race, is being targeted by Bragg for political reasons.

Sen. Joe Manchin speaks during a conference in Houston, Texas, on March 10, 2023.

WHAT HAPPENS IF TRUMP IS ELECTED PRESIDENT WHILE UNDER INDICTMENT? THIS IS UNCHARTED TERRITORY

"Is that what you think is going on here? That he is a political target?" she asked.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"No, I'm saying you have to remove all doubt," Manchin replied. "You have to remove all doubt. You have to make sure you cross every t and dot every i, as they say. But you know that no person, the president, myself or anybody else in Congress, no matter what your status is, in the United States of America, you're not above the law. And on the other hand, no person should be targeted by the law either. So let's make sure that's cleared up, and let's see where it goes."

There's a "segment of society who believes that maybe it's biased, that the system doesn't work for all," Manchin said during a subsequent appearance on NBC News "Meet the Press."

"We must come together. The American people want us to do our job," he continued. "Let's wait until what comes out next week. Let's see the direction this goes. But the bottom line is its a very sad time in America. You have geopolitical unrest around the world. Just think of the people who don't wish our society or our form of democracy to work, whether it be China, Russia or whoever. They're looking and saying, Oh my goodness, let's just sit back and kind of watch this melee unfold. Well, I want to show them that as Americans, we can work together."

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New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg had been investigating former President Donald Trump for alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump raked in more than $5 million in donations in the 48 hours after he was indicted on Thursday. The exact charges of the indictment are still under seal, but Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said Thursday evening Trump could face more than 30 counts next week when hes arraigned.

The charges relate to Trumps role in sending alleged hush payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in an effort to prevent her from speaking out about their relationship.

The former president is expected to travel from his home in Mar-a-Lago to New York City on Monday before spending his final night before his arraignment in Trump Tower.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 election campaign rally in Waco, Texas, March 25, 2023.

The Secret Service will be attending him as New York authorities book the president, take his fingerprints and photograph him on Tuesday.

Fox News Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said on Sunday that the indictment of former President Trump marked a very sad day for America, adding he prays that prosecutors did a thorough job in their investigation of the former president.

Its just a very, very sad day for America, very sad day, Manchin said on Fox News Sunday. Especially when people are maybe believing that the rule of law or justice is not working the way its supposed to and its biased. We cant have that.

The indictment of Trump in the investigation into alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election was announced late last week after days of anticipation. Republicans have been quick to frame the Manhattan district attorneys investigation as a political persecution of a former president, who is running again for the White House. Democrats, meanwhile, have said the indictment is proof that everyone in the U.S. is subject to the law.

Manchin in his remarks on Sunday fell somewhere in the middle.

No ones above the law, Manchin said. But no one should be targeted by the law. So lets wait and see what comes out next week.

Trump is expected to appear in court in Manhattan by Tuesday, and Manchin said he prays the district attorneys office conducted a thorough investigation.

I pray that whatever comes out, that they have done a thorough examination, theyve done a thorough job as far as showing the rule of law does work for all of us, Manchin said. Well just have to wait and see on that.

Manchin also evoked former President Lincoln in saying that Americans should not be further divided.

Abraham Lincoln said a house divided cannot stand. And we cannot divide our country, Manchin said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BUENOS AIRES, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. "Taiwan card" strategy is doomed to failure as it contravenes the historical trend and only seeks to maintain Washington's global hegemony, Argentine academic Sebastian Schulz has said.

"Washington has less capacity to force the countries of our region to align themselves with Taiwan," the researcher at the Center for Chinese Studies of the National University of La Plata told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Relations with Taiwan were sustained by U.S. pressure and that pressure is diminishing as a result of Washington's own crisis of hegemony, but also due to the increase in the relative power of emerging and developing countries," he said.

Talking about the recent decision by Honduras to sever so-called "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan, the researcher said "the Latin American and Caribbean region has greater autonomy and sovereignty over its international policies. That is why Honduras' decision is clearly in tune with the times."

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the countries of the Global South see in China a responsible major country, he added.

Schulz stressed that the United States applies a double standard in recognizing the one-China policy, and at the same time constantly encourages separatist positions in Taiwan, providing arms to Taiwan.

"Clearly, Taiwan's resident population is the least of U.S. concerns. What Washington seeks with its maneuvers is to maintain its supremacy in the international order and sustain its hegemony by creating tension and destabilization," the expert said.

The expert said that Honduras' decision to recognize the one-China principle "is undoubtedly a transcendental decision in 2023."

"It also expresses a historical trend and a continuity of the (same) decision made by other neighboring countries in the region," he said, referring to Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, among others.

Schulz said Tegucigalpa's decision will surely bring benefits, not only for Honduras, but also for the international system, since a large part of the Global South will generate more stability at the world level.

"There is a process that seeks a more multilateral, multipolar international order, where principles such as non-interference in the internal affairs of states, sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected," he said. 
Marion City Council has approved another $20,300 that will be used to pay for ongoing work related to the city's 2021 financial audit. Council voted to approve the additional funding during its meeting on March 27.

The City of Marion hired Veritas Solutions Group LLC in November 2022 to conduct a forensic audit to determine the source of large discrepancies in bank reconciliation amount for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, Auditor Miranda Meginness said. The total amount of the contract approved by city council during a meeting held Nov. 14, 2022, was $55,540.

Meginness said Veritas Solutions Group LLC informed her recently that it would cost an additional $35,000 to complete the forensic audit, based on information provided to the firm by New World, which provides the software the city uses to track its finances. There was still $14,700 remaining from the original appropriation for the project, which meant that city council had to approve $20,300.

The difference in the amount of bank and book balances was about $315,000, Meginness said. She said the discrepancies date back to the administration of former Auditor Robert Landon and were discovered as her staff reviewed bank reconciliations from 2020 and 2021.

Meginness has said that information and data gleaned from the forensic audit being conducted by Veritas Solutions Group LLC is valuable in helping Charles Harris and Associates, the firm that is working on the 2021 financial audit for the city.

The 2021 audit was supposed to have been completed and filed by Sept. 30, 2022, but representatives from Charles Harris and Associates told Meginness that they had discovered "significantly higher differences in the book to bank balance" and wasn't "comfortable moving forward without confirmation of fund balances," which led to delays in completing the audit.

Meginness told city council last Monday that Veritas Solutions Group representatives said they hoped to have the forensic audit completed by March 31. With that completed, it's hoped that Charles Harris and Associates can then finally complete the 2021 financial audit for the city.

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Then it's on to the 2022 financial audit, which will be conducted by the firm of Clark Schaefer Hackett Business Advisors. The city has hired that company to perform the city's financial audits for fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. The estimated cost for services for the 2022 and 2023 audits is $25,000 while the cost estimate for services related to the 2024 audit is $26,000.

Clark Schaefer Hackett Business Advisors has 11 locations in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Mumbai, India, according to its website. It is on the Ohio Auditor of State's list of approved firms to perform financial audits for local municipalities.

The City of Marion was forced to hire a private accounting firm last year rather than have the Ohio Auditor of State's Local Government Services conduct the audit after the state auditor declined to take on the task citing a lack of personnel.

Marion City Council committees will meet beginning at 6:30 p.m. Monday, at City Hall.

The next regular city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 10. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

For information about Marion City Council or to view meeting agendas and minutes, go to the City of Marion website www.marionohio.us.

The audio from Marion City Council regular meetings and committee meetings can accessed on the City of Marion Ohio YouTube channel.

Marion City Hall will be closed on Friday, April 6 in observance of Good Friday and the Easter holiday. City Hall will reopen to the public on Monday, April 10.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Council approves an extra $20,300 for forensic auditing services
met police

A masked gang is breaking into homes across London and spraying the occupants with a corrosive liquid, the Metropolitan Police has warned.

The four men have targeted five properties in Brent Cross, Southall, Greenford and Harrow in just 46 hours in the past week.

Victims of the violent break-ins, aged between 20 and 70, have received hospital treatment after having the unidentified chemical thrown at them.

The suspects were described as being dressed in dark clothing and wearing balaclavas and gloves.

They are believed to have fled in a dark-coloured vehicle, detectives said.

The spate of burglaries began on Wednesday, March 29, following reports of an incident at a home in Highfield Avenue, Brent Cross.

Corrosive liquid

It was reported that four men had forced entry to the property before threatening a resident with a knife. An unknown substance was also thrown towards a woman in her 40s.

Less than half an hour later police were alerted to another incident in Flamsted Avenue, Harrow. On that occasion, four men forced entry into an address and stole a quantity of jewellery but there were no reports of any injuries.

The following day, police were called to reports of another aggravated burglary at a house in Lady Margaret Road, Southall.

Officers attended and were told four men had broken into the property armed with a knife and a screwdriver. They sprayed a corrosive liquid into the face of a man who was at the address and stole a safe containing cash and jewellery.

The man, aged in his 70s, was taken to hospital with facial injuries which were later assessed to be not life-threatening or life-changing.

The fourth incident happened in Harrowdene Road, Harrow Friday, 31 March. Again, four males forced entry to a house and threatened the occupant with a liquid.

Be vigilant but not alarmed

The final incident happened 25 minutes later on Greenford Road after a group of men entered a house and sprayed the three female residents - one in her 60s and two in their 20s - with a corrosive substance.

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Detective Sergeant Huss Ahmed, North West Command Unit, said: Local people have been rightly concerned following a number of incidents that have been reported online and on social media. We of course share that concern.

We can confirm we are treating five incidents across Harrow and Ealing as linked.

We are advising local people to be vigilant but not alarmed - stay alert to your surroundings at night, keep doors locked and windows closed, and monitor any doorbell and security camera systems to check on any suspicious activity.
Icon Sportswire - Getty Images

Max Verstappen won today's Formula 1 Grand Prix of Australia, but it was an afterthought in a disastrous race defined by crashes and the sport's uneven responses to them.

Verstappen started from pole, but he fell to third on the opening lap after exceptional starts from both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Russell sailed past Verstappen into turn 1 as Charles Leclerc spun into the gravel, while Hamilton waited patiently to strike a few corners later. Leclerc would end up stuck in the gravel, leading to a quick safety car and a restart that did not impact Russell and Hamilton's leads on Verstappen.

Then Alex Albon crashed from what would have been a strong sixth for Williams, bringing out a safety car. With the Red Bull clearly faster in an open track but both of their cars able to hold the lead over Verstappen in the opening laps, Mercedes decided to split their strategies by pitting just Russell from the lead and leaving Hamilton out with Verstappen.

A lap into the safety car procedure, F1 officials upgraded the stoppage to a red flag. That meant another standing restart and fresh tires for everyone, effectively making the pit stop during the earlier safety car nothing more than a direct positional penalty. Hamilton held the lead on the ensuing restart, but Verstappen sailed past with DRS when it activated just two laps later and never looked back.

Those top two would finish in that position, but another Hamilton vs. Verstappen race was far from the main story of a day ruled by chaos. That continued when George Russell's car caught fire from fourth on lap 18, leading to a virtual safety car. The real mess started much later, when Kevin Magnussen came to a stop on track with just 3 tires on lap 54 of 58. Once again, Formula 1 threw a safety car, let drivers go through the pit cycle, and then waited to escalate to another red flag and a third standing start.

Once again, the timing of the red flag harshly penalized pitting under the safety car. It led to a bigger issue, too: that extra lap under safety car ended up deciding most of the race, as it meant the restart procedure would begin on lap 56 rather than 55. Normally, such a thing would not matter, but it would matter if there were another red flag within a lap of the restart.

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And, of course, there was. Hamilton and Verstappen got away from the start clean, but turn 1 saw multiple multi-car crashes that would eventually take out both Alpines, leave Fernando Alonso spinning after contact with Carlos Sainz Jr, and briefly give Lance Stroll third before he blew the next corner. Another red flag came out immediately. The race was mathematically over by any sense of the word, but officials waited a very long time for clean-up as they discussed how the disastrous third restart would be officiated and how the race would end.

Although unclear rules meant that many options were apparently in play, they ultimately decided to default to precedent from a previous standing start at Silverstone and score the restart as if it had never happened because cars never crossed the end of sector 1. The race was resumed under safety car to finish just one lap, as a full restart procedure would require that warm-up lap and then a second lap of actual racing and there were not enough laps left in the race. Finishing results were determined by the order on the restart, minus the cars that had crashed out on the restart that was not scored. To make matters all the more confusing, Carlos Sainz Jr. was also handed a five second time penalty for his contact with Alonso that did not count. It demoted him from fourth to twelfth. Additionally, photos taken by fans before the red flag start show that Max Verstappen was well outside of the lead grid spot before the start; that has gone unmentioned by officials and will apparently not lead to a race-altering penalty.

Verstappen, Hamilton, and Alonso made an all-world champion podium. Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez completed the top five, despite both going off track and deep into the gravel during the abandoned restart. Lando Norris, Nico Hulkenberg, Oscar Piastri, Zhou Guanyu, and Yuki Tsunoda completed the points-paying positions. With Leclerc retiring on the opening lap and Sainz penalized out of fourth, Ferrari failed to score a point on the weekend.

Formula 1 has nearly the entire month of April off before returning at Baku on April 30th.

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A 76-year-old McCalla man died in a Saturday afternoon wreck on Interstate 20/59 in Tuscaloosa County.

State troopers said Jonathan Tarvin was killed around 5:05 p.m. when the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado he was driving left the road and struck a parked tractor-trailer.

Tarvin was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers said the 2021 Freightliner tractor-trailer was occupied by 40-year-old Justin R. Taylor of San Antonio, Texas.

The crash occurred about 2 miles south of Fosters.

No further information was made available. Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement's Highway Patrol Division are investigating the crash.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Two-vehicle crash on Interstate 20/59 kills 76-year-old McCalla man
An expected meeting between Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen this week in California is a careful exercise in standing up to Beijings threats while holding back from triggering a war in the Pacific.

For Tsai, a Los Angeles run-in with Washingtons most powerful California representative, is a convenient and strategic cover story to defend against provoking a particularly dangerous military response from China.

Still, McCarthy is unlikely to use a California meeting in place of traveling to Taiwan personally.

Earlier this month, the Speaker told reporters that meeting the Taiwanese president in America has nothing to do with my travel, if I would go to Taiwan or not.

China cant tell me where or when to go, and none of that discussion ever happened. If the president happens to be in America, then Im going to meet with her, he said.

McCarthy has entered the Speakership having established a reputation as a savvy electoral strategist; now he is moving to make his mark on foreign policy, with an eye on China.

One of his first moves as Speaker was creating a House select committee on China, a panel that he said he tried to create with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2020 before Democrats backed out.

It is viewed as one of Congresss best opportunities to find bipartisan agreement, with Taiwan being a major focus.

McCarthy said at the House GOPs annual issues retreat earlier this month that it is of the upmost importance that China does not think to go capture Taiwan, and expressed concern about Chinese President Xis recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen arrives at a hotel, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Transiting through the US

The Speaker is expected to welcome Tsai this week in Los Angeles, in cautiously orchestrated travel where the Taiwanese president is transiting through the U.S. to Taiwan on the way back from official engagements in Central America.

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Tsai reportedly met with the Democratic House Minority Leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), while she was transiting through New York.

We know its a ruse, but its enough of a face saver for the Chinese to say, yeah, were gonna rattle the sabers, but its not a red line for us, Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at Hudson Institute, said about the meetings between Tsai and lawmakers.

Beijing has warned of counter measures and consequences if Tsai meets with U.S. officials, in particular McCarthy, and could carry out military maneuvers around the island to intimidate and scare the people of Taiwan  moves that experts view as somewhat restrained provocations.

Beijing has said it will respond in some fashion, but it remains to be seen how extreme its reaction will be, said Patricia Kim, fellow at the Brookings Institutions Foreign Policy Center for East Asia Policy Studies.

She added that China has tied its own hands in lashing out at Taiwan, given that President Xi Jinping is trying to portray himself as a global peacemaker  offering to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and recently breaking through tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

A harsh military reaction to President Tsais visit to the United States would essentially undermine Beijings efforts to paint itself as a peace advocate and the United States as the instigator of trouble, she said.

How would China react to McCarthy in Taiwan?

Chinas reaction to Pelosis visit to Taiwan in August 2022 established, in a sense, one standard for how Beijing reacts to what it views as unacceptable interference by Washington in its affairs.

This included cutting off specific diplomatic cooperations with the U.S. and carrying out large-scale military exercises in six locations off Taiwans coast, complete with missile test launches over the island. And these types of military provocations from Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) have only increased in frequency since Pelosis visit.

A visit by McCarthy to the island would likely trigger a similar, if not more intense response from the PLA, but the benefits  for both the U.S. and Taiwan  likely outweigh the risks.

Taiwan is a resilient society that believes in the power of democracy, but we cannot solve 21st century challenges or push back against authoritarianism alone, Tsai said as part of remarks Thursday to the Hudson Institute in New York, where she was honored with a Global Leadership Award.

We will continue to work with the United States and other like-minded democracies to demonstrate that democracy can deliver and that Taiwan is committed to safeguarding our way of life.

Protesters opposed to Taiwanese independence gather at a hotel where Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is expected to arrive in New York, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A Taiwan trip for McCarthy, something he last year expressed interest in doing as Speaker, is also viewed as an important responsibility, given he is beginning his term as opposed to Pelosi closing out her tenure. Traveling to the island can be a significant signal of bipartisan solidarity while also allowing the Republican leader to gain insight into Taiwans political future as it heads to elections in January, Cronin said.

My recommendation to the Speaker would be to try to get in before the election season is really serious in September, he said, adding that McCarthy would get a chance to meet with potential presidential candidates and assess their views on Taiwans foreign policy, its relations with the U.S. and how it sees the future of relations with China.

Taiwan approaches an election

There are debates in Taiwan about the way forward in how Taipei interacts with Beijing.

While a key pillar of Chinas ambitions is overtaking Taiwan, Beijing balances subsuming the island with economic, diplomatic and political coercion even as it builds up and prepares its military for a takeover.

While Tsai is at the end of her second, four-year term as president, her party, the DPP, is likely to put forth a candidate that shares her view of Taiwan operating on the global stage from a position of strength.

The [Peoples Republic of Chinas] escalation of tension is evident, but Taiwans response has been measured and composed, demonstrating to the world that we are the responsible cross-strait stakeholder, she said Thursday. The Taiwanese people want peace, not conflict, and history tells us that the best way to avoid war is through building strength.

But the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, is signaling closer ties with Beijing.

Taiwans former president and KMT party member, Ma Ying-jeou, traveled to Shanghai ahead of Tsais departure for the U.S.

Mas nearly two-week trip through China is being described as private travel for the former politician but is loaded with political significance.

Cronin said that Tsai, in remarks in New York, said, China wants victory without a fight.

They just want to intimidate and coerce or in this case, try to persuade and seduce, probably the KMT more than the DPP, he said.

Emily Brooks contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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Jacob Currence, 41, made years of extra payments through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

He contacted his servicer, MOHELA, in August to get refunded on those payments, but hasn't had any luck.

He said he's spent hours on the phone only to receive different information from customer service each time.

Jacob Currence has spent nearly two decades working in public service  and he's paid off his student loans far longer than needed to qualify for debt relief.

He never thought getting his money back would be so hard.

Currence, 41, took on about $13,000 in student loans for his Bachelor's degree in 2005, and he had nearly paid it all off by the time he took on another $15,000 in loans in 2018 for his Master's degree. Since his undergraduate education, Currence said he went right into public service work as a teacher for health and physical education, and he decided that pursuing an advanced degree in administration would allow him to make a bigger impact. He now works as an assistant principal.

Given his career in public service, Currence wanted to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after ten years of qualifying payments. In October 2021, President Joe Biden's Education Department announced a one-year waiver that allowed public servants to qualify for relief even if their payments were not previously eligible for the program due to the types of loans they held. Currence jumped at the opportunity to consolidate his loans into federal direct loans under student-loan company MOHELA to qualify for debt relief.

That's when things started getting complicated. Currence said a MOHELA customer service representative advised him to ask for a refund on the payments he made during the student-loan payment pause, which began in March 2020. They told him he could then consolidate his loans to get his remaining balance wiped out under PSLF, he said.

Story continues

"They called it slam dunk," Currence said. "Slam dunk. They said this is an easy one, it'll wipe out all the rest of your loans once you've consolidated this, so I said okay, great. Let's do it."

Since that phone call with the representative in August, Currence said he has spent hours on hold with MOHELA, he has emailed Missouri's attorney general, where the company is based, and he filed a complaint with Federal Student Aid and the Better Business Bureau. He's made no progress getting a refund on his overpayments to PSLF. At this point, he said, it's not about the money. He simply wants MOHELA to follow through with what they advised him nearly seven months ago.

"They have completely led me down the wrong path through this whole process," Currence said. "I'm a principal at a high school. I get it when people call in and they're complaining, and the best thing you can do is say 'I'm sorry,' because I've been given a billion sorrys at this point. That's all I get out of MOHELA. 'We're so sorry this has happened. We're so sorry. This is not right. We're so sorry.' I'm like, I understand that that's the best you can do at this point. But again, that's not enough."

MOHELA did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

'It's unbelievable the number of phone calls I've made and the different answers I've received'

Keith Williams can attest to Currence's experience. Williams, 47, also told Insider that he was hoping to take advantage of the PSLF waiver before it expired on October 31. He said he made about 20 years worth of payments on his $83,000 balance, and he attempted to contact MOHELA to start the process of getting refunded. It hasn't been easy.

"Their customer service, like how they're handling people and how this is all occurring, is a disaster for people and is it needs to be fixed," Williams said.

According to Federal Student Aid's website, borrowers who made over 120 qualifying payments and met the employment certification guidelines to PSLF are entitled to a refund. "It may take longer to get your refund, depending on processing times in other parts of the government," the guidance states. "Payments made to a prior servicer may take more time to process."

After Biden announced up to $20,000 in student-debt relief in August, Federal Student Aid reiterated that borrowers who made payments during the payment pause could get a refund by contacting their student-loan servicer. The process was estimated to take six to 12 weeks, and borrowers with a balance below $10,000 would get refunded automatically.

On top of the broad debt relief, the Education Department has been working to implement the PSLF reforms and changes to targeted repayment plans, leaving borrowers with questions on where they stand. But Congress failing to increase funding for Federal Student Aid has left the department and servicers with limited resources to answer borrowers questions in a timely manner.

"It's unbelievable the number of phone calls I've made and the different answers I've received to everything," Currence said. "It's almost mind blowing, and to be completely honest, I understand they bit off way more than they can chew. They don't have the proper number of people to be able to service all of this."

Both Currence and Williams believe they've done just about all they can do to try to get answers on where they stand with their payments and refund status  and they're even considering taking legal action should the stagnancy persist.

"I have too many problems on my plate to deal with that issue," Williams said. "But if they don't tell me what the hell's going on, I think that's the the only thing I'm going to be able to do."

The Education Department is making slow progress

When Insider previously asked the Education Department for comment on whether it oversees the refund process, it pointed to guidance posted on Federal Student Aid's website that outlined the general process to request a refund.

With PSLF, reforms are underway  albeit slowly. Since it announced the limited time waiver for PSLF in October 2021, the Education Department said it has approved 453,000 borrowers for debt relief. Other borrowers who submitted their applications prior to the October 31 expiration will continue to have their forms processed.

Additionally, the department announced permanent PSLF reforms last year. They included simplifying criteria to qualify for the program, along with a one-time account adjustment to give borrowers one more shot to ensure their payments are up to date even if they missed the waiver deadline. The implementation of that adjustment was recently pushed back to 2024.

All of this comes as millions of borrowers are waiting to see if the Supreme Court will uphold Biden's broad student-debt relief plan. But for Currence, he's not even relying on that relief going through. He just wants the payments he has made for nearly two decades to be accounted for.

"I don't really see this Biden relief making it through the Supreme Court," Currence said. "If it does, fantastic, but at this point, I just want MOHELA to fix what they've messed up."

Are you facing challenges getting a refund on your student-loan payments? Is there anything you would like to share about your student debt? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@insider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Wayne Couzens, who murdered Sarah Everard, could still receive a police pension, it has emerged. (Alamy)

Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens could still receive his pension, it has been reported.

The former Metropolitan Police officer, found guilty of murdering the 33-year-old, could be in line for a 7,000-a-year police pension, the BBC said.

Couzens, 50, was handed a whole-life sentence in September 2021 for the kidnap, rape and murder of Ms Everard, 33, in March of that year.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has already successfully applied to have Couzens stripped of his Metropolitan Police pension.

Officers lose their pension if convicted of an offence that damages trust in the police.

Watch: Met Police 'truly sorry' for not arresting Wayne Couzens before Sarah Everard murder

However, Khan believes Couzens qualifies for pension payments from his previous job  he worked for seven years for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) from 2011 to 2018 before he joined the Met.

The CNC is a special force that guards nuclear facilities and is overseen by the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

As a result, Khan has written to energy secretary Grant Shapps asking that the government intervenes to prevent Couzens from accessing his pension.

In his letter, Khan says the CNC portion of the pension "sits outside the normal police pension regulations".

In the letter, which the BBC has seen, Khan writes: "I seek your assurance that you will take all possible steps to ensure that Couzens is stripped of his pension.

"This is what the public would rightly expect."

Read more: Posters mock Metropolitan Police after damning Casey report

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for Wayne Couzens to be stripped of all of his pensions. (Alamy)

He said home secretary Suella Braverman has already issued a certificate of forfeiture for Couzens' Metropolitan Police pension.

A spokesperson for the London mayor told the BBC: "It would be totally unacceptable if Couzens remains entitled to a single penny of his pension.

"It would be very difficult for his victims and the wider public to comprehend."

Shapps agreed that Couzens should not receive any money, according to the BBC, saying his "horrendous crime shocked the nation".

Story continues

A court artist sketch of Wayne Couzens appearing via video link from HMP Frankland last month. (PA)

Shapps said he supported a CNC recommendation that Couzens be stripped of his pension and is seeking an urgent update from the pensions administrator.

Last month, Couzens was sentenced to 19 months for a series of flashing incidents, the last of which took place just days before he kidnapped Ms Everard.

Couzens was supposed to be on duty and working from home when he exposed himself to a female cyclist in a country lane in Kent in November 2020.

He went on to expose himself to female attendants at a McDonalds drive-through in Swanley, Kent, twice in February 2021  the last incident days before he kidnapped Ms Everard in south London.

A review published by Baroness Louise Casey last month found that the Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, and concluded there may be more officers like Couzens within its ranks.

Watch: Casey report says Met Police may have more officers like Wayne Couzens
One person was hospitalized after a chemical accident at a Meijer Distribution Center in Tipp City.

Tipp City police and fire crews, Troy Fire Department and Miami County Hazardous Materials Response Team were called to 4200 South County Road 25A, where the Meijer Distribution Center sits, at around 6:20 a.m., Miami County Dispatch told News Center 7.

When crews arrived on scene they were told that an employee in the creamery building of the warehouse was cleaning when they had accidentally mixed an acid and a base creating a chemical reaction, according to Tipp City Chief of Emergency Services Cameron Haller.

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Haller explained that the cleaning system works by a base going through a line, which is then rinsed and then followed by an acid. For an unknown reason the rinse did not go through the line, so the acid and base were mixed creating a non-habitable environment.

Haller described the incident as unintentional.

The employee had inhalation injuries and was taken to the hospital, Haller said. He is in stable condition.

Troy fire crews helped evacuate the building out of precaution.

>> 3 hospitalized after chemical spill creates toxic chlorine gas at Meijer Distribution Center

Fire and hazmat crews, along with Meijers safety team worked to ventilate the impacted room and flush all lines.

Hazmat teams went into the room to make sure the room is free of harmful chemicals before letting employees back in.

The chemical reaction was isolated to the creamery and there is no hazard to the public or other parts of the building, according to Haller.

Last month, crews responded to a hazmat incident at this distribution center when a toilet bowel cleaner leaked followed by a bleach-based cleaner creating chlorine gas. Three people were injured.

We are working to learn the condition of the employee injured and what caused the cleaning equipment to malfunction.

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Crews were on scene for around four hours.

We will update this story as we learn more.








The dishwasher is broken. Who are you going to call? Whether you are the tenant or the guest, the landlord or the property manager, managing and maintaining a leased or short-term rental property isnt easy.

Yari Carrizo and Daniel Detoni are on a mission to reimagine property management.

With their technology startup, Tennts, the founders aim to help landlords optimize the potential of their properties and improve the rental experience for tenants. Their platform connects all the stakeholders of a property to make reporting maintenance issues, scheduling repairs or cleaning services, and sending or receiving rental payments as seamless as possible.

With the explosion of interest in short-term rentals, one of the features of the platform is that it is easy for the property owner to switch between short- and long-term leasing, use dynamic pricing, advertise, and track their performance in real time.

On March 24, Carrizo, co-founder and chief operating officer, represented Tennts at the annual Miami Herald Pitch Competition and won top honors in the contests Florida International University track.

We are a proptech startup that has a vision to automate buildings, help residents and landlords communicate effectively, and create a trustful ecosystem in every place someone calls home, Carrizo said, in an interview after the competitions pitchathon and awards ceremony held at FIUs business school.

Seema Pissaris, FIU business professor and a pitch competition judge, said she was really impressed by Yaris clear understanding of the property managers problems and how the features of the [Tennts] app were designed specifically to address these.

I also liked Tennts vision to work seamlessly with home rental sites such as Airbnb for the property management industry, Pissaris said.

Entrepreneurial journey

These startup founders have experienced property management from the ground floor.

Carrizo, an FIU alum who was born in Panama but grew up in South Florida, started managing a handful of properties as a young mother of twins, who was looking for a career change from corporate communications. She enjoyed it and continued adding to her portfolio of properties. A couple of years later, she joined forces with Detoni, who had a background in technology and business consulting.

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We saw the creation of Airbnb and how it was disrupting the market, allowing landlords to take control of their property and use it for their benefit. We saw a big opportunity, she said.

The entrepreneurs opened a brokerage for their property management business in 2014, and over the years it became clear to them they needed to automate their processes, for instance, to schedule the cleaners or make sure they were advertising in the right channels, Carrizo said. In 2019, they participated in a startup accelerator program in New York.

But then we all know what happened in 2020, she said.

The pandemic, of course, shut their property management business for a while, but they kept thinking about their bigger vision of an all-in-one technology platform and used that down time to refocus and restructure. In 2020, Carrizo and Detoni rebranded and founded Tennts, with smart living technology that streamlines the rental process and enhances the tenant experience by connecting properties with various solutions.

We also have an internal communication system that connects to the building managers, the landlord and the residents so everybody is able to know whats going on inside the unit in real-time, said Carrizo, noting siloed communication was one of the problems they saw in the property management industry.

Growth strategy

Over the next two years, Tennts founders built a core team of eight employees and advisors. In 2022, they received a grant through the Miami Downtown Development Authoritys incentives program. In total, the company has raised about $500,000, including money from Starta Ventures in New York and Miami angel investor Giorgio Prestipino, who was an early property management customer of the founders and was inspired to invest in their bigger vision. Tennts, part of an emerging property technology sector in Miami, also recently contracted with an 1,800-unit customer.

Tennts will make money with four business models: subscriptions, freemium, pay-per-use, and marketplace. Detoni explained that with their subscriptions, users can choose to subscribe to services and features on a monthly or annual basis, such as cleaning and laundry services. Their freemium option allows customers to access a basic version of the software for free, but they can opt to pay for a premium version.

Users can also pay-per-use for services they request, and with the marketplace options users buy and sell services, with Tennts taking a percentage of each transaction.

The Tennts team has a minimum viable product ready to launch in the next couple of months, and beta testers are using the platform. Carrizo said. The platform already has supported about $500,000 in transactions. The startup is raising a $5 million seed round of financing, with a goal of acquiring two large property management firms.

We have an ambitious plan to grow exponentially in the next three years, said Detoni, the CEO. Over the next six months, our primary focus will be to successfully close our seed round, grow our B2C users via local guerrilla marketing, and develop an enhanced set of essential features to onboard an initial 200 new accounts from a total of over 1,800 accounts that will be added in the next three years through our new B2B large landlord partnership.

Tennts 18-month, go-to-market strategy involves implementing various strategies to attract more real estate agents to the platform, as well as acquiring property management companies and forming strategic partnerships to expand reach, Detoni said. After that, the plan is to expand further in the U.S. and in international markets.

YARI CARRIZOS ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS: Believe in yourself, believe in your vision, theres always an opportunity out there for a person who doesnt quit. Winners dont quit and quitters dont win. Thats what my dad used to say. Just keep going, network, put yourself out there, be passionate about what youre creating, and celebrate your small wins along the way.
Ukraines military has pushed the Russian troops back from "several positions" in the direction of Donetsk, according to Colonel Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military defending the south of Donetsk Oblast.

The Ukrainian forces "are now busy equipping these positions for defensive combat operations," Dmytrashkivskyi said on the national television, as quoted by Liga.

He added that Russian forces attacked the industrial town of Avdiivka, located just five kilometers north of Russian-occupied Donetsk, some 30 times over the last day  mostly with infantry, supported by only two tanks.

The small town has recently faced an uptick in assaults as Russian forces attempt to advance in the area.

However, Russia failed to achieve its goal of seizing the whole region of Donbas, comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, by March 31, the Institute of the Study of War noted in its latest update.

Avdiivka has been a target of Russian attacks since 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine.

With Russian forces making recent gains on the flanks of Avdiivka, Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi acknowledged on March 20 that the city could become a second Bakhmut.

The city is being wiped off the face of the earth, said Vitalii Barabash, head of the Avdiivka military administration.

Read also: Surviving Avdiivka. Russia intensifies assault on city deemed a second Bakhmut
TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud agreed in a phone call on Sunday to meet in the coming days.

The Iranian foreign minister expressed satisfaction with the "positive trend" of the bilateral relation, highlighting Tehran's determination to promote its good-neighborliness policy, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

The Saudi foreign minister, for his part, stressed the necessity of constant contact and meetings between the two countries' officials, describing the ongoing trend of measures by Tehran and Riyadh as "positive and satisfactory."

The foreign ministers also discussed the latest condition of the agreement signed between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing on March 10 on the normalization of diplomatic relations and reopening of the embassies and missions within two months.

This was the third phone conversation between the two top diplomats in the past weeks following the signing of the agreement, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website.

The ministry, however, did not specify the date and venue of the upcoming meeting.

In another phone conversation in late March, the two foreign ministers had exchanged views on holding their bilateral meeting in the fasting month of Ramadhan, which will end in late April.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric. 
Taylen Mosley and Pashun Jeffery St. Petersburg Police Department, GoFundMe / Via gofundme.com

The remains of a 2-year-old who had been missing since his mother was killed in their home were discovered Friday inside the mouth of an alligator, St. Petersburg police said.

Thomas Mosley, the father of Taylen Mosley, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the 2-year-olds death and the death of the boys mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery.

According to an arrest affidavit, Jeffery's family visited her home for Thomas Mosley's birthday party Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking at a press conference early Friday morning, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said that the mother and son were last seen alive that Wednesday around 5:20 p.m., and later that night around 8:30, neighbors heard a loud noise coming from the area of their apartment. Police were not called at that time.

The next day, family members asked police to check on Jeffery when they hadnt heard from her. Officers found her dead in a very violent homicide scene in her apartment with multiple stab wounds, Holloway said, and Taylen Mosley was missing. According to the warrant, police found "in excess of 100 wounds" on Jefferys body. An Amber Alert was issued Thursday afternoon for Taylen as investigators searched the area.

According to the affidavit, during their investigation, police found a bottle of cleaning solution with bloody fingerprints on it that matched Thomas Mosleys underneath the bed in Jefferys home. A bloody shoe print with the Gucci logo was also found in the bathroom where Jefferys body was discovered.

On Friday, investigators were searching near Dell Holmes Park, about 13 miles from the mothers home, when they spotted an alligator in Lake Maggiore with something in its mouth. Police shot the alligator, forcing it to drop the boys body and killing it. They then retrieved the body and confirmed Taylen Mosley's identity. His body was taken to the medical examiners office to determine his cause of death.

Thomas Mosley via St. Petersburg Police Department St. Petersburg Police Dept.

Thomas Mosley was named a person of interest after he checked himself into a local hospital Wednesday night, Holloway said. He had been at his mothers house, about 10 blocks away from where his sons body was found, police said.

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He was admitted with cuts on his hands and arms. According to the affidavit, his wounds were consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack. Holloway said that the father did not speak to investigators at the hospital and requested a lawyer.

According to WESH, Thomas was appointed a public defender and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. He is now being held without bond in Pinellas County Jail.

Jeffery and Taylen Mosleys family initially organized a fundraiser to help find the boy, which has now been dedicated to funeral expenses for both of them.

According to the GoFundMe page, Jeffery was a dedicated single mother who graduated from high school while Taylen was a baby, and she would try to spend any moment possible with him. The family described Taylen as a sweet and happy toddler who loved his mother.

During the day, Taylen would grab anyones phone and pretend to call his mom. To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing. We will remember their love and will keep them in our hearts, the GoFundMe page said.

Speaking at a press conference Friday, Theo Brickhouse-Sails, Jefferys great-aunt, said that Jeffery and her son had recently moved to the apartment where she was found dead.

This was her first month to have lived here, and very happy to have a better place than what she had before, Brickhouse-Sails said. And for a 20-year-old, she was doing well. She wanted more out of life.

More on this
Footage of a man attacking two women in Iran with yoghurt  seemingly for not covering their hair in public  has gone viral.

In the video, the two women are approached in a shop by the man. After talking to them briefly, he takes a tub of yoghurt from a nearby shelf and throws it over their heads in anger.

Moment man attacks women with yoghurt for not covering hair (Screengrab)

The man is then removed from the shop by the shopkeeper, with an arrest warrant for all three individuals subsequently issued.

Now, the two women have been arrested, with the Iranian judiciary confirming that the pair were detained for failing to cover their hair in public. The man has also been arrested for disturbing the public order.

The official law dictates that women and girls as young as seven must wear a hijab, placing approximately 40 million under constant surveillance since its introduction after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The morality police  as Amnesty International term it  sees state agents patrol the streets in vehicles. These agents have the power to stop women and girls seen without a headscarf, often inspecting their clothing, the length of their trousers and how many strands of hair they have on show.

Under these strict veiling laws, punishment can include arrest, a prison sentence, flogging or a fine.

In recent years, a movement protesting these laws has been growing in Iran. In large cities, many walk the streets without their hair covered.

Protest against the Islamic regime of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini (REUTERS)

In September 2022, protests broke out across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was taken into police custody. Ms Amini was detained in the countrys capital, Tehran, by officers enforcing the veiling laws for an alleged inappropriate hijab.

A coroner later found that Ms Amini died from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia.

Authorities previously claimed that Ms Amini suffered a heart attack after being taken to a station to be educated, but her family deny that she had any heart problems and say police should be held responsible for her death.
Moscow Patriarchates Metropolitan Pavlo gets electronic tag in courtroom

Metropolitan Pavlo will be under house arrest for the next two months. A courtroom video published by Radio Liberty on April 1 showed the former Lavra abbot being fitted with an electronic monitoring tag.

Read also: SBU summons UOC-MP Metropolitan Pavlo on suspicion of fueling interreligious hostility

Pavlo claimed that he was medically unfit to wear an electronic bracelet and that he wanted to call his doctors for confirmation.

I have diabetes," Pavlo told the police officer. He then relented, saying Please, put it on. On your head be it, and the bracelet was placed on his leg.

The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv hearing on April 1 to decide Pavlos pre-trial custody was briefly interrupted when the former abbot complained of feeling unwell, but the court approved his subpoena and resumed at 6.30 p.m.

The court rejected a prosecution request to ban Pavlo from using social media to communicate with believers.

Read also: SBU releases intercepts of Lavra abbot Metropolitan Pavlo parroting Kremlin propaganda

Ukraines SBU security service notified Metropolitan Pavlo on April 1 that he was suspected under two articles  incitement to religious hatred (Part 1 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code) and justification and denial of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine (Part 1 of Article 436-2).

The SBU also published recordings of Pavlos conversations, which is part of the evidence against him. His house was searched and he was summoned for questioning.

During the court hearing, Pavlo stated that this was a "political case" and he "has never been on the side of aggression."

Metropolitan Pavlo was charged amid the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchates failure to vacate the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra  despite the termination of its lease agreement on March 29.

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 incident in Khmelnytskyi

Video shows a soldier, Artur Ananiev, who volunteered to go to the front as part of the 19th Infantry Battalion since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.

According to Burlyk, the soldier entered the UOC-MP church to ask the congrecation the question "how many more people have to die before you stop going to Moscow Patriarchate (churches)?"

The footage shows that the clergy began to force the soldier out of the church.

He suffered a concussion and a head injury.

Read also: Platoon commander indicted for beating conscript in Zhytomyr Oblast

Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene of the conflict and detained the soldier under Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses  disorderly conduct, said Burlyk.

Vsim.ua journalists contacted the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Patrol Police Department for comment.

Spokeswoman Viktoria Tymoshchuk told the publication that at 10:20 a.m.at the Holy Intercession Cathedral of the UOC during a service, a 26-year-old man started a conflict with a priest.

"During the prayer liturgy, the man threw a book of the Gospel from the table to the floor and started a verbal conflict with the priest who was reading the prayer liturgy," law enforcement said.

Witnesses called the police. Currently, the issue of bringing the citizen to administrative responsibility under Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is being decided.

Read also: Hotel security guard in Germany assaults Ukrainian soldier for wearing his uniform

The National Police Department of Khmelnytskyi Oblast added that investigators also opened criminal proceedings against the priest under Part 2 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine  hooliganism  over the beating of a serviceman, which was recorded on video.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate responded to the incident, stating that "after the calls of a local council member, a man dressed in military uniform staged a provocation during the divine liturgy."

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"The man attacked a clergyman of the Intercession Cathedral, disrupted the service, and poured water on and damaged the holy Gospel in the presence of more than 100 parishioners," the UOC-MP press service said.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A motorcyclist was killed early Sunday in a crash near New Smyrna Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to troopers, a 53-year-old motorcyclist from Heathrow was traveling south on State Road 415 when the Harley-Davidson he was riding crossed over into the northbound lane and crashed head-on with a Honda CRV.

The accident occurred on State 415 south of Quail Ridge Road at 12:01 a.m., troopers said.

Georgia man hits biker, leaves scene: Two injured in New Smyrna Beach motorcycle crash

The motorcyclist died at the scene of the crash.

The driver of the Honda CRV, a 43-year-old woman from Port Orange, was airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach where she was listed in stable condition, troopers said.

FHP said the crash is under investigation.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Heathrow biker killed near New Smyrna Beach
Heres a roundup of the latest retail and restaurant activity around Whatcom County:

Music school opens

The BHam School of Music opened on Sunday, March 26, and offers music classes for students of all ages from infants to adults for all kinds of instruments. The school offers group orchestras and classes, as well as private lessons. Those who are interested in attending classes can contact the school for more information by filling out a form on their website, or by emailing bhamsofm@gmail.com or calling 360-399-6692. The BHam School of Music is at 2630 Meridian St. in Bellingham.

Farmers market reopens for season

The Bellingham Farmers Market reopened for its spring and summer season on Saturday, April 1.

Visitors can expect fresh local produce, flowers, coffee, pastries, hot sauce, tea, kettle corn, waffles, shave ice, art, woodworking and more from vendors.

The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday in April through the third week of December at the Depot Market Square at 1100 Railroad Ave. in Bellingham. Dogs are not allowed at the markets.

Italian restaurant celebrates anniversary

Mambo Italiano Cafe is celebrating its 22nd anniversary since the restaurant opened in March 2001. The Italian restaurant is known for its pasta, and was voted the second-best pasta in Whatcom County according to a reader poll by The Bellingham Herald.

Mambo Italian Cafe is open from noon to 9 p.m. daily and is at 1303 12th St. in Bellingham.

Credit union rated highly in WA

WECU has been named the healthiest credit union in Washington State by both Glatt Consulting and S&P Global Market Intelligence, and ranked 19th out of over 4,800 credit unions in the entire country, according to a news release from Keith Mader, WECU program manager of public relations and content. WECU has over 149,000 members in Washington state according to Mader.

Spring sandwich showdown

Sustainable Connections is having its Spring Sandwich Showdown, where you can vote for your favorite sandwich across Whatcom and Skagit County, enter to win prizes and find recipes for local sandwiches. Voting is open now and includes 18 sandwiches from restaurants such as Avenue Bread, Aslan Brewing, Bantam and Calico Cupboard.
Paxton Chew, 70, president of the Lung Kung Tin Yee Assn,, has his tie adjusted by Hui-Hua Kwan, 73, as other dancers look on during a break from rehearsal inside the club's headquarters in Chinatown, Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

In a building with a green-tiled roof on Hill Street, most of the old men and women shuffling mah-jongg tiles and sipping jasmine tea shared a surname  Lee.

They were not blood relations, but the name, which means plum in Chinese, as well as their origins in China's Guangdong, or Canton, province, bound them like siblings.

This was the scene at the Lee club, established in 1935 and known in English as the Lee On Dong Benevolent Assn., on an afternoon late last year.

Whether occupying prominent real estate in a central plaza, like Hop Sing Tong, or tucked upstairs in an alley with no English sign, clubs based on common hometowns, last names or other affiliations are scattered throughout Los Angeles Chinatown.

From left, Bill Fong, 88; Suey Lee, 85; Rose Wong, 71 and Aileen Lee play mah-jongg while visiting the Lee On Dong Benevolent Assn. building on Hill Street in Los Angeles. Suey Lee's wife, Faytom Lee, 85, stands to watch their match. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

As the neighborhood gentrifies and Chinese residents grow older and fewer, the clubs  called "tong," "gungso" or "wui" in Cantonese  remain a vital social glue.

In the 19th century, violent wars between tongs drew extensive news coverage. Six years ago, a former Wah Ching gang leader was stabbed to death inside Hop Sing Tong.

Despite their infamous history, the clubs nowadays are mostly hangouts for retirees who gather to read Chinese newspapers, chat, play mah-jongg or enjoy a meal together. Many of the clubs continue to provide the mutual aid that was a necessity back when Chinese immigrants were excluded from mainstream society, helping members in need of a loan or funeral expenses.

The Lee club has more than 400 members. But they, like those at other Chinatown clubs, worry about the future. Their children and grandchildren, who stop by Lunar New Year parties and other celebrations, see no need to join the roster.

"The perception is they don't need social or economic help. They're assimilated," said Ernest Lee, 72, a retired aerospace engineer who sat at a table with three friends  all with the last name Lee. "It's like a puzzle  how do you recruit them so our mission stays alive?"

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From left, Ernest Lee, Chuck Lee, Stephen Lee (foreground), Derek Ma and Allen Lee gather at the Lee On Dong Benevolent Assn., which houses the Lee Credit Union in Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The men, who all live in the San Gabriel Valley, spoke about the Lee club's early days. Chinese immigrants, many from Toishan in Guangdong province, relied on the club and others like it to find rooms for rent, people to trust, seed money to open laundromats and restaurants.

Facing racism and speaking little English, they often had to take odd jobs at low wages, the Lees said of early club members.

The Lee On Dong Assn.  On Dong refers to respect for deceased people  was located on Alameda Street until the city's old Chinatown was demolished to make way for Union Station.

Later, a new Chinatown sprung up around Hill and Broadway. In 1959, the club moved into its two-story home on Hill Street after raising more than $66,000 to buy the land.

Derek Ma, left, and Thomas T. Lo inside the temple that draws a steady stream of worshipers to the Kong Chow Benevolent Assn. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

"Basically, the associations, they helped us grow up," said Allen Lee, 83, a retired oil engineer. "They not only brought people together for support  they kept traditional culture alive while members could learn about U.S. culture."

The other two Lees at the table had also found success in their careers. Steven Lee, 77, a former club president, is a retired entrepreneur who started a plastic bag company. Chuck Lee, 72,the current president, was a chief mechanic at a Hertz rental car operation.

Ernest, Allen, Steven and Chuck Lee, who were all born in China, like to show visitors photos of celebrations where hundreds of Lees from all over the country mingle. They have friends and relatives who have gotten small business loans through the Lee club and other associations.

One perk of the Los Angeles Lee club is a credit union offering car loans of $40,000 to $50,000. The association also includes a women's group and offers singing lessons.

Steven Lee wants younger Chinese Americans to realize that the club is for them too.

"You need money  you qualify and you can depend on us," he said. "We don't want them to think that all the elders do is play mah-jongg and smoke, because they will say they don't know how to play, and they don't smoke."

The 27 clubs in Chinatown are part of an umbrella organization called the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn., or CCBA, which is housed in a landmark building on Broadway with a traditional curved Chinese roof.

Members of the Lung Kong Ming Yee Tin Lion Dance Club perform during a weekend practice. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Other clubs organized around common last names include the Eng Family Benevolent Assn., the Southern California Yee Family Assn. and the Los Angeles Soo Yuen Fraternal Assn., which includes the Louie, Fong and Kwong surnames.

The Ning Kui Kong Wue and Hoy Sun Ning Yung associations are among those uniting people from common hometowns in Guangdong province.

Like Hop Sing Tong, Bing Kong Tong dates from Chinatown's earliest days in the late 19th century and has a broad membership not based on surname or place of origin.

Similar groups have sprung up in other cities with large Chinese populations, including San Francisco, Seattle and New York.

In Los Angeles, the CCBA has long been a connection point between the clubs and mainstream society.

Some considered it the Chinese community's City Hall, because "no one at the main City Hall wanted to be with us," said Daisy Ma, chief government and community relations officer at the Chinatown Services Center whose husband, Derek Ma, is a past CCBA president.

Choi Kwan, 83, center, a member of the Lung Kung Tin Yee's dance team, practices with fellow members. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Until well into the 20th century, Chinese and other people of color were often shut out of purchasing property in certain neighborhoods.

"In effect, we were not just a City Hall, but also a courthouse, a labor department, an escrow office, a jack of all trades," Daisy Ma said of the CCBA, where she serves as English secretary.

In the early days, because Chinese were not allowed to be buried with whites, the CCBA set up its own Chinese cemetery along 3rd Street in East L.A., where it still offers plots for sale.

Now, the Chinatown clubs also offer plots at Rose Hills Mortuary in Whittier and Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood.

Derek Ma, now 70 and the CCBA's senior advisor, came to L.A. from Hong Kong in his late teens, juggling jobs as a garment contractor, a general contractor and restaurant owner. The associations helped him by expanding his business network. In turn, he dedicated "years of giving back."

Just over three decades ago, he was elected the youngest president in the CCBA's history at age 39.

But that was an exception  today, he said, the average member is around 60 years old.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when some club buildings were shut down, the CCBA rounded up members to distribute masks and hand sanitizer to senior citizens in Chinatown.

President and board director Thomas T. Lo points to an art piece created by the brother of one of China's emperors, adorning the wall at the Kong Chow Benevolent Assn. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Amid a rise in anti-Asian hate, CCBA leaders hosted a meet-and-greet in Chinatown with the Los Angeles Police Department captain in charge of the area, asking for more foot patrols and bystander prevention training.

"Our elderly need to know what to do when you're being bullied or when you see someone attacked," Derek Ma said. "The mission of the CCBA has always been the same from its start  we keep people safe."

On the second floor of a Chinese-style building on Broadway, Thomas Lo opened a side door to reveal the scent of incense wafting in a worship room filled with gleaming Buddhas, gold-painted rosewood pedestals and an altar brimming with joss sticks.

The Kong Chow Benevolent Assn., which counts people from Guangdong's Xinhui and Heshan districts as members, is the only club in Chinatown with its own temple, Lo said.

Formed in 1889, Kong Chow awards scholarships from its education endowment. On occasional Tuesdays, members gather for karaoke, choir practice and dinner.

"We offer so much to people through the generations. You come to share your burdens and solve problems," said Lo, 70. "To keep it going, we need to educate the youth on their roots so that they will learn about the greater community and its purpose."

At the Lung Kung Tin Yee Assn., members include Danny Kwan, father of Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan, and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), the first Chinese American woman elected to the U.S. Congress.

Chu recalls attending association dinners with her mother, May Chu, who had struggled with isolation and loneliness as an immigrant working at a garment factory and then a cannery. Chu's father put in long hours at a Chinese restaurant in Watts.

Portraits of past presidents of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

"I would sit there, seeing it as a great source of fun and camaraderie for my mom. At the start, I didn't understand the significance of the group," said Chu, 69. "I know now it's the thread running through many of our lives, lifting the existence of Chinese Americans."

When Chu ran for the Garvey school board in 1985, CCBA members spread the word to friends and family about her platform, signed up as volunteers and distributed fliers. They also opened their wallets, continuing to contribute as she ascended to the Monterey Park City Council, the State Assembly, the State Board of Equalization and then Congress.

The Lung Kung Tin Yee Assn., which includes the Lew, Quan, Cheong and Chew surnames, has joined forces with a lion dance group that has many younger members.

At practices at the association's headquarters on Broadway, performers whirl around with colorful bamboo lion heads crafted in China and imported for nearly $1,000 each.

"We love our culture, and we want to focus on a beautiful aspect of the culture. Otherwise, they just come with their parents to our holiday celebration once a year," said Paxton Chew, 70, a realtor who is the association's president.

Patricia Chu of El Monte is one of the lion dance group's roughly 30 active members. She said she likes the exercise and the energy.

"We've been dancing together for so long, it's like having one big family," said Chu, 30, a content acquisitions manager for a Chinese media company. "It's something very valuable."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The head of a Florida assisted living center was violently killed in his home, and investigators remain at a loss for a motive, the Marion County Sheriffs Office said.

Details of how 59-year-old Timothy Floyd Smith died have not been released, but it was a brutal attack, officials said in a news release.

His body was discovered shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday, March 25, at a home in the Ocala area.

Deputies responded to a home in Citrus Park to conduct a well-being check on Smith, who did not show up for work on Friday, the sheriffs office said.

When deputies made entry to the residence, they located Smith, who was deceased and who appeared to have suffered a violent attack prior to his death.

Timothy Floyd Smith was executive director of Brookdale Chambrel Pinecastle Assisted Living and Memory Care Community in Ocala, his obituary reports.

Smith is executive director of Brookdale Chambrel Pinecastle, an assisted living community in Ocala, a role he has held eight years, his obituary reports. Smith was also a community activist who worked with the Ocala Walk to End Alzheimers, the Marion County Continuity of Care, and the Annual Festival of Trees, the obituary reports.

He was last seen leaving the assisted living center around 4 p.m. Thursday, March 23, officials said.

Investigators are seeking tips from the community on sightings of Smith in the days leading up to his death, including descriptions of persons with whom he may have been associating.

Its possible someone acquainted with Smith knows of a possible motive behind the killing, officials said.

My detectives have been working around the clock to investigate this brutal murder and what we have learned so far now leads us to believe that it was committed by somebody who the victim knew, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in the release.

Somebody out there knows something. No piece of evidence or bit of information is insignificant. If you know something that may help advance this investigation, please pick up the phone and call us.

Ocala is about 80 miles northwest of Orlando.

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Guest Opinion. Education has always been sacred to the Cherokee people. Investing in education was one of the first and highest priorities for Cherokee Nation after the Trail of Tears. Despite the extreme hardships of that time, we quickly established schools in our new land. Within a few years, we had built the first primary schools and institutes of higher education on our reservation.

Our strong commitment to education continues today. Each year, we make substantial donations to school districts in and near our reservation, including a record $7.8 million this year, from tribal car tag revenue. We provide thousands of scholarships to Cherokee students pursuing higher education, and we invest millions in other forms of education like Career Tech and job training.

Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.

We do this because, like many Native American nations and people, educating our children is one of our highest values. When Native students complete an educational milestone, like graduating from high school or college, their families often want to celebrate and honor that achievement with a special symbol.

Every year American Indian high school students across Oklahoma, including many Cherokees, are gifted traditional regalia to be worn at graduation ceremonies. Tribal regalia, including items like eagle feathers, jewelry, beaded caps, stoles, moccasins or other symbols, are protected expressions of our cultural and religious beliefs.

For example, an eagle feather symbolizes trust, honor, strength, wisdom, power and freedom. It is a deeply revered object, especially when gifted to mark a significant personal achievement. This can be for leadership or academic accomplishment, as a sign of maturity, and to signify an important educational journey.

These traditions are safeguarded under the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act. Most schools understand and respect the cultural and legal rights of Native students. Unfortunately, we still see incidents of schools in Oklahoma refusing to allow them.

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Cherokee Nation firmly stands behind the rights of Native American students to wear tribal regalia and items of religious or cultural significance during graduation ceremonies. Public schools in Oklahoma must create a safe and inclusive environment where Native American students can freely express their cultural identity without fear of discrimination or punishment. We are proud of our youth, and Cherokees must have the spiritual freedom to show who they are at this important point in their lives.

Cherokee Nation is committed to vigorously defending the rights of Cherokee students, and we call upon all public schools in Oklahoma to clearly state that tribal regalia is allowed for Native American students during graduation ceremonies.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.

In this, we stand united with other tribes in Oklahoma. The Inter-Tribal Council, representing the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole Nations, passed a resolution calling on public school districts to protect students right to wear regalia or other culturally significant items during graduation ceremonies.

Receiving an eagle feather or other tribal regalia for a graduation ceremony can be as significant as earning the diploma itself. These practices honor the graduate and their family, community and tribe. We appreciate the work by our public school districts to ensure that these events are conducted in a safe and respectful manner.

Chuck Hoskin, Jr. is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Newcastle avenged their League Cup final loss against Manchester United as Joe Willock and Callum Wilson clinched a 2-0 win that lifted the Magpies into third place in the Premier League on Sunday.

Eddie Howe's side were beaten 2-0 by United at Wembley five weeks ago in their first major final for 24 years.

But Newcastle might swap silverware for a lucrative Champions League berth and second half goals from Willock and Wilson at a raucous St James' Park moved them closer to that ambition.

Newcastle's third successive league win -- and their first against United since 2019 -- took them above their fourth placed opponents on goal difference.

They sit one point ahead of fifth placed Tottenham, who visit Everton on Monday, as the race hots up to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top four finish.

It is 46 years since Newcastle last finished above United, but the Magpies, fuelled by Howe's astute management and the financial backing of their Saudi owners, now have a rare chance to emulate that feat.

"We were frustrated not to lead at half-time, but I felt if we performed the same way it would come. Thankfully it did," Howe said.

"If you're playing well that's the most important thing. That gives us a great chance of achieving a special season. If we can maintain our position I'll be very happy."

United are without a win in their last three league games, thrashed 7-0 at Liverpool and then held to a goalless draw by lowly Southampton before this setback on Tyneside.

United's first major trophy in six years was supposed to be the start of a new golden era, but instead they have failed to score in three successive league matches for the first time since February 2020.

It was a dispiriting start to a busy run of nine fixtures in April as Erik ten Hag's men look to nail down a top four finish, while aiming to advance to the Europa League semi-finals and FA Cup final.

"I hate to say it but they were better today, especially their determination, passion and desire. They wanted to win more so they won," Ten Hag said.

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"It wasn't good enough. We allowed them too many chances. You have to be hungry and give everything every game.

"We have to deal with the setback and learn a lesson. I believe we'll bounce back."

Newcastle's pressure was finally rewarded in the 65th minute when Bruno Guimaraes clipped a cross to the far post and Allan Saint-Maximin headed back towards Willock, who nodded home from virtually on the goalline.

Wilson put the result beyond doubt after 88 minutes with a clinical close-range header from Kieran Trippier's free-kick.

- West Ham boost -

In Sunday's other game, West Ham scrambled out of the relegation zone as Nayef Aguerd's first goal for the club sealed a crucial 1-0 victory against fellow strugglers Southampton.

David Moyes' side kicked off at the London Stadium languishing second bottom of the table, with Southampton in last place.

But Morocco defender Aguerd's maiden goal since signing from French club Rennes last year lifted the Hammers up to 14th.

West Ham are just one point above the relegation zone, but they have a little breathing space thanks to their first win in three league games.

On the day Leicester sacked Brendan Rodgers after their slump into the bottom three, Hammers boss Moyes must have breathed a sigh of relief when the final whistle blew on a result that may have saved his job.

Southampton remain bottom of the table and sit three points from safety after their winless run reached four games.

Aguerd eased West Ham's mounting anxiety in the 25th minute as the Morocco defender rose to power a header past Gavin Bazunu from Thilo Kehrer's free-kick.

"We have played better than that and not won this season, but today was all about the result," Moyes said.

"I have to get results. There's no protection to stop me losing my job."

smg/kjm
TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran said its naval forces on Sunday detected an unauthorized entry by a U.S. Navy "spy plane" into the country's airspace and warned off the aircraft, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

After receiving the Iranian naval forces' warning, the U.S. Navy's EP-3E aircraft, flying above the Sea of Oman, left the country's airspace and returned to international air routes, Tasnim quoted the public relations department of the Iranian Army's Navy as saying.

There was no immediate comment from the United States.

The Lockheed EP-3 is an electronic signals reconnaissance variant of the P-3 Orion, operated by the U.S. Navy. 
Washington  A member of the White Lives Matter Ohio branch is accused of attacking a church with Molotov cocktails in anticipation of drag shows the religious community planned to host, the Justice Department announced Friday.

According to charging documents, Aimenn Penny  who investigators say is a part of the pro-Nazi and anti-gay group  admitted to using vodka and beer bottles and gasoline to target the Community Church of Chesterfield outside of Toledo.

Ohio man Aimenn Penny, shown in military tactical gear, admitted targeting a church over drag shows it planned to host. / Credit: Government exhibit

On the morning of March 25, prosecutors allege Church leaders found scorch marks on an exterior sign and the front door of their building and a broken sign on the property. Church representatives told investigators that before the alleged attack, "they received hate mail and messages containing non-specific threats of protest and violence against the drag events."

The criminal complaint unsealed Friday revealed this was not Penny's first time targeting drag events. According to prosecutors, on March 11, he attended a drag queen story hour "to distribute propaganda flyers representing White Lives Matter, Ohio's anti-drag queen views," and was wearing, "military style gear including camouflage pants, a tactical vest, and jacket with a patch showing a firearm."

At that same event, according to the government, members of the White Lives Matter group "showed up at the event carrying swastika flags and shouting racial and anti-gay slurs and 'Heil Hitler.'"

In October of last year, the complaint alleges Penny told local police that African Americans were "the problem" and he looked forward to "the civil war coming between races."

Investigators say they were able to geolocate Penny's phone to the church property on March 25, in the early morning.

Church sign allegedly destroyed by Ohio man. / Credit: Government exhibit

During an FBI interview, charging documents contend the defendant told investigators he was responsible for the attack at the Chesterfield church and he was "trying to protect children and stop the drag show event."

"Penny stated that night he became more and more angry after watching internet videos of news feeds and drag shows in France and decided to attack the church," according to court documents. "[He] stated that he would have felt better if the Molotov cocktails were more effective and burned the entire church to the ground."

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An attorney for Penny could not be immediately identified.

News of Penny's targeting of the Church comes days after investigators announced a Wisconsin man had been arrested for allegedly firebombing a Wisconsin government building, prompted by his pro-abortion access views.

According to the FBI, on Mother's Day 2022, Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury attacked the building with a mason jar, lighter, and liquid accelerant that started an active fire.

"If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either," was allegedly written outside the building in graffiti.

This month, according to the Justice Department, the defendant bought a one-way ticket from Boston, Massachusetts to Guatemala, but was arrested at the airport before his scheduled departure.

Roychowdhury remains detained and will be transported from Boston to Wisconsin to face charges.

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An iguana is seen as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continues its efforts to try and control the invasive species on March 13, 2018 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images/Joe Raedle

In a rare attack, an iguana bit a child for her cake in Costa Rica.

Five months later, a strange cyst began to grow on the site the girl was bitten.

Scientists found that the girl was infected with a rare bacteria, possibly the first from an iguana bite.

A girl's rare infection could have been linked to an encounter with an iguana that had a craving for cake, scientists suspect.

CNN reported that a scientific presentation on the unidentified 3-year-old girl's case will be given at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases this month.

Last March, the unnamed girl was on vacation with her parents in Costa Rica. Her parents gave her a cake as she hung out by the water. A wild iguana ran up to her, bit her finger and stole her cake.

"It was trying to mark its territory or something like that," Dr Jordan Kit Mah, a medical microbiologist at Stanford University told the Guardian.

Iguanas are typically harmless and herbivores, but this one appears to have developed a liking for sweets, CNN reported.

Her parents noticed that the bite was superficial but still took her to a local clinic, which disinfected the wound and gave her antibiotics. The wound healed, but five months later, they noticed a bump in the same spot.

While the girl said the bump did not hurt, it had grown to the size of a coin, and was a reddish-bluish color, the Guardian reported. The family took the child to the doctor.

At first, the parents hadn't thought the iguana bite had anything to do with it. Doctors suspected it might be a cyst but as it continued to grow, the parents realized the bump was in the same spot as the iguana bite, CNN reported.

The bump continued to grow and began causing mild pain, which sent the girl to an orthopedist. She has a biopsy which revealed a rare infection.

The little girl had developed Mycobacterium marinum, which typically causes tuberculosis-like illness in fish but rarely infects humans. Humans usually get this infection if they have open wounds and come into contact with contaminated water. Mah told CNN that he believes this is the first time a human has gotten this infection from an iguana bite.

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"There is we know a lot about animal bites and bacteria, infections, following, let's say, dogs or cats, but there really isn't much for lizards, let alone iguana," he said. "I don't think people should be afraid, but doctors should be aware of the possibility."

He told the Guardian that he's not surprised it took this long for the girl to develop symptoms since the bacteria is very slow to grow and has a long incubation period.

The infection doesn't respond well to typical antibiotics but the little girl was put on rifampin, an antimicrobial, and clarithromycin, an antibiotic and according to Mah, is improving.

"Typically, with these infections, because they take a very long time to grow and they're a little bit more fastidious, you need to treat them for a longer period of time, sometimes several months," Mah told CNN. "So she's doing better. I wouldn't say 100%, but she's doing a lot better than she was initially."

Read the original article on Insider
Three people were injured when gunfire erupted in the parking lot of an east Charlotte restaurant late Saturday night, authorities say.

The shooting happened just before midnight in the parking lot of the Copan restaurant on North Sharon Amity Road. The suspect shot one victim, resulting in a graze wound, and physically assaulted two others, according to police.

All of the victims were transported to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, MEDIC said.

Police say they took the suspect into custody and recovered a firearm.
Alan Shaw, president and CEO, Norfolk Southern Corporation, center, testifies during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, March 22, 2023. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times)

Norfolk Southern once had so few accidents and injuries that it won the rail industrys prestigious E.H. Harriman safety award for 23 years in a row until it was retired in 2012. But in the past decade, the company has gone from an industry leader to a laggard.

The rate at which its trains are involved in accidents and its workers are injured on the job has soared, putting it at or near the bottom on those safety measures among the countrys four largest freight railroads. Employees, former workers and some rail experts blame decisions by executives to cut thousands of jobs and put pressure on employees to speed up deliveries in a drive to bolster profits.

Lance Johnston is among the critics. Johnston was a Norfolk Southern engineer, or train driver, in the St. Louis area for more than 25 years until he was fired after a dispute in 2021 with his manager about problems with a trains brakes.

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That July, he said, he started a shift at the A.O. Smith rail yard in Granite City, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, and found that his locomotive had defective brakes. After notifying a supervisor of the problem, Johnston said, he was told to use the locomotive, even though the defect was in violation of Norfolk Southern regulations and could, he said, make it hard to control the train and even lead to a derailment.

When the equipments defective, the equipments defective, he said in an interview last week. You stop what youre doing, and you fix it.

Norfolk Southerns operations have been under federal scrutiny since one of its trains carrying hazardous substances derailed in February in East Palestine, Ohio. Johnston said he believed that the operations had really begun deteriorating about four years ago, around the time the company said it would adopt efficiency measures known in the industry as precision scheduled railroading. He said the cutbacks meant there were not enough people to repair and maintain trains.

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Since 2012, the size of Norfolk Southerns workforce has dropped 39%, a bigger decline than at any of the other three large U.S. freight rail companies  BNSF, CSX and Union Pacific. Meanwhile, Norfolk Southerns accident rate, which measures the number of accidents against the miles a companys trains have traveled, soared 80%, the largest increase by far among the four railroads, though Union Pacifics rate has been consistently higher. Rail accidents include derailments, collisions and fires.

Norfolk Southerns injury rate for employees on duty has also risen, and over the past 10 years it has been, on average, significantly worse than those recorded by the other three large U.S. railroads. The injury rate did improve last year, and is better than the rates at other railroads, including Canadian companies that operate trains in the United States.

Its my goal to work with our new operations leadership team, union leadership and our front-line employees to further strengthen Norfolk Southerns safety culture and make it the best in the industry, CEO Alan H. Shaw said in a statement.

He added that Norfolk Southerns derailments last year were its fewest in 20 years and that its injury rate was the lowest in 10 years. A representative for the railroad said its accident rate had gone up in part because its trains now traveled fewer miles.

Johnston said the safety concern he had raised was particularly important because the trains he had typically worked on traveled through residential areas in the St. Louis area. (The train that derailed in East Palestine started at a neighboring rail yard in Illinois.)

Johnston was fired soon after the dispute and has filed a whistleblower complaint with the Labor Departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration claiming that he was fired for raising a safety issue.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on Johnstons OSHA case and his account of being fired. In a letter to OSHA, a lawyer representing the company said it had fired Johnston for unbecoming conduct based on an insubordinate, threatening and profane outburst toward his supervisor.

Since 2018, Norfolk Southern workers and former employees have filed 267 whistleblower complaints with OSHA, the most of any of the large freight railroads. The agency, which enforces whistleblower protection laws, including those in the rail industry, opened an investigation into 239 of the complaints.

In the same period, CSX had 204 complaints, followed by 198 from workers at Union Pacific and 138 at BNSF.

Norfolk Southerns safety practices and culture are the subject of a special investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. In opening the review, the board cited the East Palestine derailment and other recent incidents in which three workers were killed. The board is aiming to determine if theres something more systemic going on at the company that caused those and other accidents, said Jennifer Homendy, the boards chair.

The Federal Railroad Administration, the top rail regulator, is also investigating the company. Congress has held hearings, and lawmakers have introduced bipartisan bills that would impose tougher safety standards on all railroads, especially those that carry hazardous substances. And the Justice Department said Friday that it had sued the railroad, asking it to pay cleanup costs and additional penalties for the East Palestine derailment.

Rail experts said Norfolk Southerns turn toward demanding more of fewer workers and pushing them to work faster was part of an industry trend. Under pressure from hedge funds and other investors, the largest freight railroads have aggressively sought to run their operations more efficiently over the past decade.

Precision scheduled railroading generally involves sticking to a strict operating schedule; cutting staff and assets like train cars, locomotives and rail yards; and running fewer but longer trains. Canadian National pioneered it in the late 1990s under its CEO, E. Hunter Harrison, who later took his hyper-efficient approach to Canadian Pacific and CSX.

In 2018 and 2019, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced plans to incorporate at least some of the principles advanced by Harrison, who died in 2017.

Those changes have been a boon to railroad investors and executives. Norfolk Southerns profits have soared, and over the past five years it has paid shareholders nearly $18 billion through stock buybacks and dividends. On Friday, Norfolk Southern said Shaws pay more than doubled last year to $9.8 million. In his statement, he said his pay and that of other executives would now be based partly on safety metrics.

But the industrys efficiency drive has so angered railroad workers that they nearly walked off the job last fall, threatening to imperil the U.S. economy. That strike was averted after Congress and President Joe Biden imposed a contract that many workers found sorely lacking because it did not guarantee them paid time off for illness or medical appointments.

Its profit over everything, not just safety, Mark Wallace, a top official with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said in reference to the entire rail industry. Its profit over customer service. Its profit over employee satisfaction.

Bill Tucker, a lawyer in Birmingham, Alabama, has been representing freight workers in cases against employers for 45 years. Norfolk Southern is the worst offender among the large railroads, he said.

One suit that Tucker filed in federal court in 2021 on behalf of two Norfolk Southern workers, Shane Fowler and Kelvin Taylor, asserts that a manager threatened to discipline the men after they reported safety issues that violated the Federal Railroad Administrations defect and safety rules.

In the lawsuit, the two men said their manager had demanded that they remove the bad order tags, which are used to flag defective cars, from two cars. The complaint states that Fowler and Taylor reported their manager to the Norfolk Southern Ethics and Compliance hotline for safety violations. Soon after, the workers were themselves charged with safety violations, which they said they hadnt committed.

Fowler and Taylor, who still work at the company, said through Tucker that they had no comment. Morale on the railroads in general, and at Norfolk Southern in particular, is abysmal, the lawyer said. Its just awful.

Laws that govern the railways push employees with grievances to use internal company hearings, limiting their ability to take disputes to court. As a result, critics of the industry say, railroad companies find it easier than other businesses to dismiss employees and their complaints.

Some workers said that despite such problems they liked rail work. Johnston, the fired train engineer, wants to reclaim his job.

On the day of the dispute in 2021, he operated the locomotive with defective brakes until a federal regulator, doing inspections in the yard, noticed the problem and said the engine had to be taken out of service until repairs were done.

Later that day, having been told that the brakes were fixed, Johnston discovered that one was still defective, he said. He got into an argument with his supervisor and used his cellphone to take a photograph of the defect, which can be a violation of Norfolk Southern rules.

I expected to be punished, Johnston said, but I didnt expect to be terminated.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
North Florida School of Special Education (NFSSE) is hosting its annual Berry Good Farms Weekend Festival with Honorary Chair Susan DuBow.

This two-day event located at the schools Delores Barr Weaver Therapeutic Equestrian Center will include live music, food, drinks and farm festivities.

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Dinner on the Farm, Sunday, 4:30 to 7:30 pm will feature an alfresco dinner created by the schools Berry Good Farms culinary team along with Black Sheep Restaurant Group.

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About North Florida School of Special Education (NFSSE):

The mission of North Florida School of Special Education is to discover and foster each students unique abilities, revealing their highest potential within an engaged community.

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To achieve this, staff and parents work together to develop individual education plans (IEP) that addresses the specific education, therapeutic, vocational training, independent living, and social and emotional wellness goals for the 218 students with Autism, Down syndrome, and other intellectual and developmental differences (IDD).

The school serves an additional 85 postgraduates with ongoing job training, placement, and social support.

Read: Jacksonville girl gifted magic wheelchair through muscular dystrophy association





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SEOUL, South Korea  North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.

The Norths continuation of missile tests showed its determination not to back down despite the U.S.-South Korea exercises, which are the biggest of their kind in years. But many experts say the tests are also part of North Koreas bigger objective to expand its weapons arsenal, win global recognition as a nuclear state and get international sanctions lifted.

US, South Korea hold drills as North sub test-fires missiles

The missile launched from the Norths northwestern Tongchangri area flew across the country before it landed in the waters off its east coast, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. They said the missile traveled a distance of about 800 kilometers (500 miles), a range that suggests the weapon could target South Korea.

The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. discussed the launch on the phone and strongly condemned it as a provocation that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. They agreed to strengthen their coordination to issue a firm international response to the Norths action, according to Seouls Foreign Ministry.

South Koreas military said it will thoroughly proceed with the rest of the joint drills with the U.S. and maintain a readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation by North Korea. As part of the drills, the U.S. on Sunday flew long-range B-1B bombers for joint training with South Korean warplanes, according to South Koreas Defense Ministry.

North Korea is highly sensitive to the deployment of B-1Bs, which are capable of carrying a huge conventional weapons payload. It responded to the February flights of B-1Bs by test-launching missiles that demonstrated potential ranges to strike some air bases in South Korea.

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U.S. Army soldiers wait to board their CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, Sunday, March 19, 2023. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino said the missile landed outside Japans exclusive economic zone and there were no reports of damage to vessels or aircraft. He said the missile likely showed an irregular trajectory, a possible reference to North Koreas highly maneuverable, nuclear-capable KN-23 missile that was modeled on Russias Iskander missile.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the latest launch doesnt pose an immediate threat to the U.S. territory or its allies. But it said the Norths recent launches highlight the destabilizing impact of its unlawful weapons programs and that the U.S. security commitment to South Korea and Japan remains ironclad.

The launch was the Norths third round of weapons tests since the U.S. and South Korean militaries began their joint military drills last Monday. The drills, which include computer simulations and field exercises, are to continue until Thursday. The field exercises are the biggest of their kind since 2018.

The weapons North Korea recently tested include its longest-range Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland. The Norths state media quoted leader Kim Jong Un as saying the ICBM launch was meant to strike fear into the enemies.

Thursdays launch, the Norths first ICBM firing in a month, drew strong protests from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington. It was carried out just hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol flew to Tokyo for a closely watched summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

During the summit, Yoon and Kishida agreed to resume their defense dialogue and further strengthen security cooperation with the United States to counter North Korea and address other challenges.

Ties between Seoul and Tokyo suffered a major setback in recent years due to issues stemming from Japans 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

But North Koreas record run of missile tests last year  it launched more than 70 missiles in 2022 alone  pushed Seoul and Tokyo to seek stronger trilateral security partnerships involving Washington, which also wants to reinforce its alliances in Asia to better deal with Chinas rise and North Korean nuclear threats.

North Korea has missiles that place Japan within striking distance. Last October, North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan, forcing communities there to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.

After Sundays launch, Kishida ordered a prompt response, including working closely with South Korea and the U.S., according to Ino, the Japanese vice defense minister.

A day before the start of the drills, North Korea also fired cruise missiles from a submarine. The Norths state media said the submarine-launched missile was a demonstration of its resolve to respond with overwhelming powerful force to the intensifying military maneuvers by the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces.

According to South Korean media reports, the U.S. and South Korea plan more training involving a U.S. aircraft carrier later this month after their current exercises end. This suggests animosities on the Korean Peninsula could last a few more weeks as North Korea would also likely respond to those drills with weapons tests.

Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Section 28 changed my life: Patrick Pope (left) and David Rhodes, as they appear in the Centre for Ageing Better campaign (Alexander Caminada)

When Patrick, a 73-year-old gay man from Manchester, worked as a teacher in a Catholic school in the late Eighties, he was confronted daily by the homophobia of the era. We were sent videos to try and educate pupils about Aids, he remembers. I witnessed our head of PSHE opening up the package containing [the tapes] and throwing it in the bin in disgust. We dont have people like this in our school, she said. We dont have gay people.

For many young queer people, such an attitude might be unthinkable, but for the majority of older LGBT+ people, prejudice, fear and hostility was part and parcel of everyday life. New legislation, greater awareness and improved representation mean things have moved on  albeit slowly  since the dark days of the 20th century. While this doesnt mean we can rest on our laurels  rampant transphobia in almost all areas of life remains a critical rallying point for those invested in queer liberation, and theres no disputing the continued existence of misogyny and racism  we also cant deny that LGBT+ rights have come a long way in the past 40 years.

Patrick is one of four LGBT+ people I spoke with about their experiences as gay veterans. As well as reflecting on the past, we discussed the challenges that still exist for queer people, both young and old. A dearth of positive representation of older LGBT+ people has led to everyone involved in this story participating in the Centre for Ageing Betters image library, a collection of more than 1,500 positive and realistic images of people aged 50 and above. Free and accessible to all, the image bank has now been nominated for a prestigious Charity Award.

David, 59, is a reverend and activist from Manchester and the chair of Oldham Pride. I was always told on the gay scene that once youre past 24, youre over the hill, he tells me. That was thanks to things like Boyz magazine, with all their body-beautiful images. Such pressure to conform to restrictive bodily standards, or accepted appearances, still has resonance across the LGBT+ community. Venerating slimness or policing whether, how and when a person wears make-up can contribute to a lack of acceptance that many people in the community still struggle with. Discriminatory attitudes  both in and outside of the LGBT+ umbrella  also augment poorer mental health outcomes for LGBT+ people; a 2018 Stonewall report found that half of LGBT people polled had experienced depression in the previous year.

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In the Eighties, such discrimination was enshrined in law, however. Section 28, the government act passed in 1988 that prohibited local authorities and schools from promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality, had a profound impact on Patrick. Hed been married to a woman for 15 years before coming out at the age of 40, leading his wife to refuse to talk about it and [give] me three days to tell my children and leave. Then, once he was seen out with his boyfriend, he was outed at work. I was interrogated by the headteacher, the parish priest and the full board of governors, and they made me redundant, he says. They got me out on economic budgeting grounds, but I knew the real reason. Section 28 changed my life.

Liz, from Manchester, was just 13 when her mother discovered she was a lesbian  and promptly took her to a psychiatrist. Crazy, says the now 61-year-old. She denies it, but thats kind of what we put up with. Lizs partner, 67-year-old Jo, also had a difficult time coming to terms with her sexuality as a young person. I think I spent all my teenage years until I was 18 in total denial, she says. I was so relieved when I found out that it was normal to have a passion for girls, to have a crush. It was a very lonely, isolated time, with some terrible attitudes. It took a lot of bravery to come out. This was compounded in the early Eighties, too, upon the advent of Aids. I was going to have children with my gay friend in Leicestershire and he died of Aids, Liz remembers. At that period, I went to so many funerals  I lost so many male gay friends.

I dont know where the years have gone. In my head, Im still 33 rather than 73

Same-sex relations between men may have been decriminalised in 1967 for those aged 21 and above (there was no equivalent law for women), but public perceptions of LGBT+ people were at rock bottom. Equal rights were a foreign concept. It wasnt until 1992 that the World Health Organisation declassified same-sex attraction as a mental illness and, incredibly, consensual same-sex relations between men was only permitted for those aged 16 and above from the year 2000 (this was previously set at 18). That was also the same year that the ban on LGBT people serving in the army was lifted. For older LGBT+ people, such experiences shaped their lives.

When it comes to the evolution of queer rights, David is reflective. LGBT people are sometimes still seen as mad, bad and sad, he says. The church often has a big hand in that in terms of condemning people. So Im trying to set the record straight. He is thankful for the activists who have fought for equality. Im grateful to the predecessors whove had the courage to stick out their necks and been ostracised and even imprisoned because of who they are. People like [human rights campaigner] Peter Tatchell and [Stonewall founder and LGBT+ activist] Michael Cashman have been role models for me in terms of speaking truth to power and confronting injustice, not just in this country, but also overseas.

Patrick agrees. I would not have been able to lead the life Ive led if it were not for those who came before, he says. I think its important that younger people understand that the freedom they have today is because of LGBT+ people who put their lives on the line.

I went to so many funerals  I lost so many male gay friends: Jo (left) and Liz (Alexander Caminada)

For Jo, the introduction of equalities legislation designed to protect LGBT+ people has been paramount. She cites early equal opportunities policies developed at Manchester City Council, where she used to work, along with hate crime legislation and the 2010 Equality Act. I used to think it wasnt worth anything because its the establishment and all that, but having those legal protections is actually really important, she says. In the Seventies, Manchesters chief of police, James Anderson, said that gay men had it coming to them and that people with Aids were in a cesspit of their making. Weve gone from being condemned to hell by the most senior police officer in the district to the police developing a concept of hate crime. Once upon a time, you would never, ever go to the police about anything that revealed your sexuality, whereas we feel more supported now. I know the police are in a lot of trouble for not getting it right at the moment, but I dont want to underestimate the ways that [hate crime legislation] has made us feel safer.

In terms of the current status of LGBT+ rights, Patrick and David both feel that there is still work to be done. The pendulum always swings backwards and forwards; we can never be complacent, even in the UK, says David. For Patrick, transphobia is a major concern. I think the recent murder of Brianna Ghey has brought home to a lot of younger people that there is still a fight to be had, he says. He adds that a trans friend of his was set on by three teenagers coming home on the bus last week. For what? he despairs. Were not at the end of the road yet. He calls on all members of the LGBT+ community to be as inclusive and tolerant as possible.

When I came out as a teenager, my mum would say to me, Youll grow up to be an old, lonely man. But the opposite is true

Societal intolerance extends to every aspect of a persons life  and for older LGBT+ people in a community that often valorises youth, ageism can be rife. Additional and specific challenges faced by this group tend to be amplified for ethnic minority LGBT+ people, those with a disability, refugees or people within other marginalised groups. During our conversations, several issues came up with regularity: a lack of specialist services for LGBTQ+ communities, concerns about housing and older life care, and fears about having to go back in the closet at vulnerable points in their lives.

Liz remembers looking after her dads cousin, a gay man, after he went into residential care later in life. Every time I visited, the photograph of his partner of 40 years had been put away in a drawer, she recalls. I used to get it back out. Contending with discriminatory attitudes is a very real concern for older LGBT+ people thinking about their later years. I refuse to go into a place where I have to go back in the closet, Patrick says. If I end up having to access care, I want it to be in a place where staff are supportive, theyve been educated, and people can be themselves.

And when it comes to their status as elder gays, all are united in their enthusiasm for later life. Its ironic, David says. Some of the young people I know have got little energy, and yet some of the older people I know they might be 70 [or] 80 but they feel like theyre 25 inside. Their energy and enthusiasm for life is really endearing and stimulating.

Reverend and activist David Austin (Alexander Caminada)

Patrick adds that he has become more accepting and understanding of differences as hes gotten older. I dont know where the years have gone, he says. In my head, Im still 33 rather than 73. And thats partly because Im active. Ive got a positive attitude to life. And thankfully, Ive got reasonably good health.

The experience of growing up during a hostile period for LGBT+ people gives Liz and Jo an insight into the challenges facing young people today, they say. Were here for you, says Liz. Were mother hens. We will adopt you if you need it, even in your thirties! She says that it is imperative to accept people for whoever they are, whatever they are, adding: Were still evolving as well. Were not stuck-in-our ways old farts.

Age is just a number, says David. When I came out as a teenager, my mum would say to me, Oh, nobody will ever like you. Youll grow up to be an old, lonely man. But the opposite is true. Ive got so many friends. And the older I get, the more attention I get  in all sorts of ways! I just love it. Embrace life and learn from other peoples experiences.
At least one person was killed when a tornado struck Delaware Saturday evening, officials said, part of a massive storm system which had already produced several deadly tornadoes in the Midwest and South on Friday before taking aim at the Northeast. Tens of thousands of customers were also without power.

The weather-related fatality occurred when a suspected tornado caused a structure to collapse near the Delaware town of Greenwood, the Sussex County government reported. Sussex County also posted cell phone video of a funnel cloud moving through the area at about 6 p.m. local time.

Greenwood is located about 25 miles south of Dover.

Bethany DeBussy, a town manager for nearby Bridgeville, Delaware, told CBS News in an email that there were multiple reports of vehicle accidents and entrapments, downed power lines and gas leaks. DeBussy could not confirm if there were any injuries.

Storm damage in Bridgeville, Delaware, after a suspected tornado hit the area. April 1, 2023. / Credit: Ineishia Corbett

The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch Saturday evening for parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, including New York City.

In total, at least 26 deaths have been blamed on the massive storm system, which caused multiple tornadoes in the Midwest and South on Friday before turning its attention to the Northeast on Saturday. The deaths were reported across eight states, according to the latest numbers compiled Saturday by CBS News, including Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana, Alabama, Ohio and Mississippi.

During a heavy metal concert Friday night, a theater roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing a 50-year-old man and injuring about 40 others.

Earlier in the day Friday, President Biden toured the damage from a tornado last week which left at least 21 people dead in Mississippi.

As of Saturday night, more than 201,000 customers in Pennsylvania were without power, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us. More than 109,000 were without power in Ohio, along with another 94,000 in Virginia, 51,000 in West Virginia and 46,000 in North Carolina.

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The Secretary and the Border | Sunday on 60 Minutes

Fire and Ice | Sunday on 60 Minutes

Saturday Sessions: Brian Dunne performs "Bad Luck"
A pro-Putin military blogger was killed and 30 others injured in an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported.

Vladlen Tatarsky died as he was leading a discussion at the cafe on the bank of the Neva River in the historic heart of the city. Some reports said a bomb was embedded in a bust of the blogger that was given to him as a gift.

Russias Interfax news agency reported that a St Petersburg woman, Darya Tryopova, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the bombing. It said that she had been previously detained for taking part in anti-war rallies.

Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Born in the Donbas, Ukraines industrial heartland, Tatarsky worked as a coal miner before starting a furniture business. When he ran into financial difficulties, he robbed a bank and was sentenced to prison. He fled from custody after a Russia-backed separatist rebellion engulfed the Donbas in 2014, weeks after Moscows annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Then he joined separatist rebels and fought on the front line before turning to blogging. Tatarsky was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

A well-known Russian military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky is reported to have been killed in a St Petersburg explosion (Reuters)

He was among hundreds of attendees at a lavish Kremlin ceremony last September to proclaim Russia's annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine, a move that most countries at the UN condemned as illegal.

We'll defeat everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll rob everyone we need to. Everything will be as we like it, he was shown saying in a video clip on that occasion.

A St Petersburg website said the explosion on Sunday took place at a cafe that had at one time belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private army that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine. There was no indication who was behind the blast.

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If Tatarsky was deliberately targeted, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a high-profile figure associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russian investigators and police officers stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia (AP)

Russia's Federal Security Service accused Ukraine's secret services last August of killing Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow that President Vladimir Putin called evil.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the part of Ukraine's Donetsk province that is occupied by Russia, suggested publicly that Ukraine was to blame.

He was killed vilely. Terrorists cannot do otherwise. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime. It needs to be destroyed, there's no other way to stop it, he said. Ukraine denied involvement.

Retired Air Vice Marshall Sean Bell told Sky News there is not enough detail to suggest who was behind the incident, but feels it would be unlikely the Ukrainian government was involved.

Following the blast, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter that the spiders are eating each other in a jar, suggesting Russia is facing a troubled time because of its invasion.

Russia's war bloggers, an assortment of military correspondents and freelance commentators with army backgrounds, have enjoyed broad freedom from the Kremlin to publish hard-hitting views on the war, now in its 14th month. Mr Putin even made one of them a member of his human rights council last year.

He was in the hottest spots of the special military operation and he always came out alive. But the war found him in a Petersburg cafe, said Semyon Pegov, who blogs under the name War Gonzo.

Alexander Khodakovsky, a leading pro-Moscow figure in eastern Ukraine, wrote: Max, if you were a nobody, you'd have died of 'vodka and headcolds'. But you were dangerous to them, you did your business like no one else could. We will pray for you, brother.

It comes as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US secretary of state Antony Blinken it was unacceptable for Washington to politicise the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained and accused of spying in Russia.

Russian Emergency Situations Ministry stand at the side of an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia (AP)

Mr Blinken called for the immediate release of the US journalist during the telephone call with Mr Lavrov on Sunday, the US State Department said.

Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The secretary called for his immediate release, US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement that did not mention Mr Gershkovich by name.
At the March 14 Ottawa Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Cosby stated: My role is to carefully consider all financial decisions. ... I have to question the grant process as part of my fiduciary responsibility to make sure were committing funds to the right resources. Lets dissect this statement.

So what does fiduciary responsibility even mean? According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, A fiduciary is someone who manages money or property for someone else. When you are named a fiduciary, you are required by law to manage the person's money and property for their benefit, not yours.

Put another way, a fiduciary duty or responsibility, means that our county commissioners, who took an oath of office, are responsible for acting and doing things to benefit us, the residents of Ottawa County, not themselves, their own personal agendas or the agenda of the small minority of Ottawa County voters who elected them.

So, how have the Ottawa Impact (OI) Commissioners been doing in their fiduciary responsibilities?

On Jan. 3, in a premeditated move, the OI commissioners:

Fired our experienced county administrator: Severance cost to the county: $210,000-plus. Hired nonresident John Gibbs, a crony, as county administrator though he had no experience as a county administrator. Cost: $210,000 per year with a three-year contract (longer than commissioners' term of office). Fired prior legal counsel. Awarded a no-bid contract to Kallman Legal Group, of Lansing (crony of Joe Moss business partner), at a fee of $225/hour for a minimum of 1,248 hours this year, then fee increases to $240/hour next year. Kallman is set to earn at least $580,320 over the course of the contract and likely more, given the higher fee schedule next year and as the lawsuits trigged by the OI commissioners are litigated. (Michigan Radio, Jan. 10). Attempted to displace our county public health officer, who was duly appointed by the prior Board of Commissioners, with a fellow who only has private sector experience in health and safety compliance. (Position not posted, no other candidates interviewed as he is a crony of OI board members). That move is now under litigation. Disbanded the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, incurring severance costs and negating the gains made by the DEI. Changed the county slogan, requiring a change of letterhead on county documents, cost of which has not yet been announced.

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Clearly, the OI commissioners violated their fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Ottawa County on the day they were sworn into office.

And they just keep racking up the bills. It turns out, Mr. Gibbs needs more assistance than our previous administrator at a cost to the taxpayers of an extra $37,500. Now, they have their new legal firm embroiled in two legal disputes on behalf of the county at our expense.

Then there is the issue of refusing to accept approved grants, in particular a grant to fund desperately needed mental health professionals. For unclear reasons, Commissioner Cosby held up the implementation of an already approved grant for mental health professionals for nearly two months. This grant was fully funded at 100% by CCBHC and Medicaid, at no expense to the citizens of our county.

The purpose of the grant was to hire more mental health workers to support our already understaffed Ottawa County mental health department, to expand access for those with autism, substance use disorders and mental illness. This grant can ONLY be used for activities for which the grant was awarded. So, the commissioners statement, I have to question the grant process as part of my fiduciary responsibility to make sure were committing funds to the right resources, is nonsense. If even one person had an adverse outcome because the commissioners held up implementation of this grant, it would be a tragedy.

In regard to oversight of the use of these grants, these standards are set by the grant funder, who will require the Department of Mental Health to monitor and report outcomes. So, requiring other Ottawa County staff to do the same task, as proposed by Ms. Cosby and Mr. Gibbs, is duplicitous and a waste of resources and money. (Not fiduciarily responsible.)

If you object to our new board members fiscal imprudence, cronyism or feel you have been harmed by their actions call, write or email your commissioner or attend a meeting of interest. Their contact emails and meeting schedule is available at miottawa.org.

 Jane MacPherson, MD, is a resident of Holland.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: Is Ottawa Impact actually fiducially responsible?
Russia stops disposing of weapons-grade plutonium, suspending US deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday suspended a deal with the United States to dispose of excess supplies of weapons-grade plutonium, citing a large deterioration in bilateral ties.

GALLERY

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) visits the Przewalskis horse re-introduction centre at the Orenburg Nature Reserve, Russia, 03 October 2016.

Moscow/Washington (dpa) - Russia will not proceed with the programme amid recent "threats to strategic stability as a result of unfriendly US actions towards Russia," Putin said in his order, posted on the governments legal information website.The White House called Russias decision to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement "disappointing."The agreement had shown the US and Russia had made non-proliferation a priority."The United States is interested in limiting proliferation and trying to reduce the risk associated with potential nuclear terrorism," spokesman Josh Earnest said.Putin also accused the United States of failing to fulfill its half of the deal. The pact was agreed in 2000 to dispose of dozens of tons of plutonium, enough for thousands of nuclear weapons.Earnest however stressed the US has upheld the agreement since it took effect in 2011 and "would like to see the Russians continue to do the same thing."Meanwhile, Putin submitted a bill to parliament to set preconditions for the programme to be resumed, including a reduction of US military infrastructure in certain NATO states, as well as the removal of US sanctions against Russia.Relations between the US and Russia have deteriorated amid Russian involvement in Syria as well as Ukraine, and the State Department on Monday broke off diplomatic engagement with Russia on Syria amid a spiral of escalating violence."Weve obviously been quite disappointed about a range of Russian decisions however both inside of Syria but also in Ukraine. And unfortunately the announcement about the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement is more in line with those kinds of decisions that have only deepened Russias isolation in the international community," Earnest said.
Over 50 tornadoes ripped through several states in the South and Midwest, claiming the lives of at least 26 people.

Governor Bill Lee (R., Tenn.), noting the close proximity of the latest tragedy to the mass shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday, called this the worst week of his tenure.

Its terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state, Lee said. But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.

Four people were killed in neighboring Wynne, Ark., a small community of less than 10,000 residents 50 miles west of Memphis. One local resident, Ashley Macmillan, described huddling around her husband, children, and dogs in a bathroom praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.

We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm, Macmillan told the Associated Press.

Mayor Jennifer Hobbs said that the town was basically cut in half by damage from east to west, in an interview with CNN.

Governors in Indiana and Illinois have declared states of emergency to help with rescue and relief efforts.

I have signed an executive order declaring a disaster emergency for Sullivan and Johnson counties because of severe weather that moved through the state overnight Friday into Saturday, Eric Holcomb, the Republican governor of Indiana, tweeted on Saturday afternoon.

I will remain in contact with emergency management officials as well as local officials in Sullivan and Johnson counties as we continue to assess the damage, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is actively engaging with FEMA to assess the damages from the incident.  Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) April 1, 2023

Governor J.B. Pritzker (D., Ill.) issued a similar statement expediting support to five counties hard hit by the devastation.

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I've issued a disaster proclamation to support Boone, Crawford, DuPage, Marion, and Sangamon Counties  allowing the State of Illinois to provide residents the full scale of support needed for recovery. We'll spare nothing to assist those impacted by yesterday's severe weather. pic.twitter.com/YfCM4KHk4p  Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) April 1, 2023

The National Weather Service has detected over 80 tornadoes since March 31.

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PARIS (Reuters) - Paris will ban electric scooters from September 1, the French capital's mayor said, after the public voted to remove them from the streets, however e-scooter operators said on Monday they hoped to stop the plan.

The e-scooter ban won 89% of the votes according to the city hall Twitter account in what was billed as a rare "public consultation" that prompted long queues at ballot boxes around the city. However turnout in the referendum was low at 7.46% of registered voters.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo said she would respect the vote.

"From September 1, there will be no more electric scooters for rent in Paris," she told a news conference late on Sunday.

Scooter operators pointed to the low voter turnout and said they hoped Hidalgo would seek a compromise.

"We remain hopeful that we can continue to work with Mayor Hidalgo to adopt sensible regulations instead of a ban on e-scooters, and avoid a step backward for Paris," a spokesperson for Lime said on Monday.

A spokesman for Dott said the referendum was "heavily impacted by very restrictive voting methods" which led to an extremely low turnout heavily skewed towards older age groups.

French Transport Minister Clement Beaune, seen as a possible contender for the mayor's post in 2026, said on BFM television the vote was "a massive democratic flop".

Electric scooters accessed through smartphone apps have operated in Paris since 2018, but following complaints about their anarchic deployment, Paris in 2020 cut the number of operators to three.

It gave them a three-year contract, required that scooters' speeds be capped at 20 km/hour and imposed designated scooter parking areas, similar to restrictions being imposed in other cities worldwide. The current contracts run until September.

Operators had offered further regulations, including checking users were over 18, fixing licence plates so police could identify traffic offenders and limiting to one passenger.

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In 2021, 24 people died in scooter-related accidents in France, including one in Paris. Last year, Paris registered 459 accidents with e-scooters and similar vehicles, including three fatal ones.

"In my work, we see a lot of road accidents caused by scooters, so we really see the negative effects," general physician Audrey Cordier, 38, told Reuters after voting against the scooters.

Some voters said they would prefer tighter regulations than an outright ban.

"I don't want scooters to do whatever they want on pavements, but banning them is not the priority," Pierre Waeckerle, 35, said.

(Reporting by Michel Rose, Clotaire Achi and Geert De Clercq; Editing by Josie Kao and Sonali Paul)
Paul O'Grady with actress and best friend Amanda Mealing. (Alamy)

Paul O'Grady's best friend Amanda Mealing has revealed plans for a double funeral for the star are underway as she discussed his dying wish.

The former Casualty star explained how she felt "numb" when she got a text telling her O'Grady had passed away as she rushed to comfort his husband Andre Portasio in the early hours of Wednesday (29 March) morning.

Mealing, 55, had been friends with O'Grady for 35 years and affectionately called him "Savage" in reference to his Lily Savage drag queen alter-ego.

Read more: Paul O'Grady tribute fund sees Battersea Dogs Home inundated with over 100k in donations

Speaking to the Mirror she admitted that O'Grady had made it clear to her he wanted people to have a "good time" at his funeral and that he would "hate it if everyone was mawkish and morose."

Tearful Mealing described the moment she found out O'Grady, 67, had passed away and how she rushed to his farmhouse in Adlington, Kent, at 1 am.

She said: Andre sent me a text at 1 am. I woke up to it. I was just numb. I just couldnt comprehend what the text had said. I just couldnt understand it. As soon as I got myself together I went down to the house.

Over the last few days, weve started conversations crying and end up laughing with tears just remembering ridiculous stories! Whatever happens, Pauls funeral will be a celebration of his life and it will be full of laughter."

Read more: Paul O'Grady died in bed beside husband

The actress then gave further details on plans for his send-off as she revealed that two funerals could be on the cards to ensure everyone gets a chance to say goodbye.

She added: There may be two funerals. A small private one and a big one in a very grand place for those outside the family. I would think itll be in London.

Watch: Paul O'Grady dies aged 67 after glittering showbiz career

Then everyone can come to that and it gives people a chance to fly in. There are ongoing conversations. Weve also been asking: Can we do something in Liverpool? because obviously they very much feel hes their baby. Its so difficult.

Meanwhile, a tribute fund set up by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in honour of O'Grady has had an incredible 174,557 in donations at the time of writing following an overwhelming outpouring of love and generosity from members of the public who were devastated at the news of his death.
A man was killed early Sunday when struck by a vehicle on Mitchell Road near East Whitmore Avenue, the Ceres Police Department reported.

At about 12:30 a.m., officers along with Modesto Fire Department and American Medical Response crews were dispatched to the 2700 block of Mitchell after several callers reported a collision involving a pedestrian.

Lifesaving measures were unsuccessful and the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, the Ceres Police Department said in a news release.

CPD spokesman Sgt. Dirk Nieuwenhuis said the driver cooperated with the investigation and there is no indication it involved DUI.

No information on the circumstances of the collision was immediately available. Neither was any identifying information on the person killed, other than him being an adult male.

Traffic investigators urge anyone who witnessed the collision or has information on to contact Officer Ortiz at 209-538-5678.
One person is dead following a shooting Saturday night at a Kansas City residence, according to police.

Officers responded at 8 p.m. to the 1800 block of Cambridge Avenue, where they found a crime scene associated with a shooting, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said in a news release.

The victim was driven by private vehicle to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead, police said.

People at the scene told officers that the shooting happened inside a home.

Police have identified a preliminary person of interest, but that person is not in custody. Detectives will look to get in touch with that person as their investigation continues.

The killing was the 40th homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There had been 36 homicides at this time last year.

Police urge anyone with information to contact the homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
A Northeastern University female student suffered life-threatening injuries after falling out the 2nd story window of a Boston building Saturday night.

Officers responded to the two-story building on Judge Street in Mission Hill at approximately 6:58 p.m.

The incident prompted a large response from both Boston Police and Northeastern police.

Boston police say this appears to be a tragic accident, and no foul play is suspected.

Northeastern University communications representatives released the following statement:

We can confirm that a Northeastern student was involved in what appears to be a tragic accident Saturday evening. We are awaiting confirmation from the hospital on the students current condition. Because this incident is the subject of a police investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.

Boston 25 News has reached out to Boston EMS regarding the victims current condition.

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
How petty and pointless of California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to punish the only member of his party in the assembly who voted against Gov. Gavin Newsoms plan to hold oil companies accountable for gas prices based on greed.

Pointless, that is, unless the goal was to show that even token dissent will not be tolerated, and that the authoritarian impulse is contagious.

Rendon removed Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, a family doctor and the daughter of Indian immigrants, from the Assembly Business and Professions Committee after she voted against creating a watchdog group at the California Energy Commission. The new group will collect data intended to improve transparency and keep companies from price gouging.

The law itself seems like a fine idea: Its supposed to make oil companies provide information that consumers deserve. It could set a profit cap and impose a penalty against those who exceed it. Id vote for that.

But Bains was voting her district: She is the only Democratic Assembly member representing Kern County in Californias biggest oil-producing region.

Opinion

Would Rendon prefer that she march in lockstep, even if it meant losing her seat to a Republican?

The bill passed easily, so why was a public disemboweling necessary?

Dont Democrats believe that tolerance of dissent is a strength and that imposing uniformity is counterproductive?

Its also unfortunate and unseemly that Newsoms chief of staff felt the need to pile on.

Stand alone if you must, but always stand for the truth, Bains tweeted. As the lone Democrat to oppose the new gas tax, I will never throw my constituents under the bus. I will continue to fight for lower gas prices and a stronger Kern County.

Dana Williamson, Newsoms chief of staff, responded with snark: Alone and confused you shall likely remain.

What happened to Democrats being the party that can handle diverse views?
Recent Oscar winner Sarah Polley has revealed her huge shock on Saturday morning at receiving a letter saying she had won her award in error, and she needed to mail it back to the Academy.

The Canadian filmmaker, who won best adapted screenplay for Women Talking last month, was told:

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We say this to you with the deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake.

The letter asked her to mail it back to California, saying she could keep the award for one more week so she could enjoy its presence in her home, before it went to the rightful winner All Quiet on the Western Front.

The letter stated that organisers had realised their error on the night, but were keen to avoid another La La Land/Moonlight blunder in front of the cameras.

And then Polley discovered that the letter had not come from the Academy, but from her 11-year-old child, in an extremely effective April Fools prank.

As Polley said in the letter she shared on Twitter yesterday, her child swung long this year

My eleven-year-old swung low for April Fools Day this year. #AprilFoolsDay pic.twitter.com/WvJxMIRBfL  @realSarahPolley (she/her) (@realsarahpolley) April 1, 2023

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WEST HILLS, CA - APRIL 1, 2023 - Police investigate the scene of a shooting in a West Hills shopping parking lot that left one person dead and many others wounded at 6751 Fallbrook Avenue in West Hills on April 1, 2023. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

A 34-year-old Woodland Hills man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following a shooting in a West Hills parking lot that left one person dead and three wounded.

Mark Connole was arrested after fleeing the site of the shooting, which happened around 3:45 p.m. at a parking lot in the Fallbrook Center, Los Angeles Police officials said. One person died at the scene, while the three others were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Connole reportedly fled in a red Honda, and a short pursuit followed after the driver failed to stop, LAPD said. Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said Connole managed to switch vehicles during the pursuit. The driver of the second vehicle, a woman, eventually pulled over and Connole was arrested, Hamilton said. His bail has been set at $2 million.

Police are still investigating the shooting, including the relationship between Connole and the victims, LAPD public information officer Jeff Lee said on Sunday. The police have not yet identified the person killed.

LAPD detectives are asking anyone who took video of the shooting to contact the department.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Two people are facing charges for stealing a vehicle, fentanyl possession, and shoplifting.

On Thursday, March 30, Dartmouth detectives conducted a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles query on a Honda Pilot. During this investigation, detectives learned that the vehicle had been stolen out of Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Detectives saw the vehicle turn into the Walgreens on State Road and parked, the occupants of the vehicle then entered the store, according to police.

When the occupants left the store, police arrested Melvin Ward, 48, of Dorchester, and Jessica Fernandes, 34, of Fall River.

Police located fentanyl on both Ward and Fernandes and stolen property from Walgreens was also located on WARD.

Ward is being charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, possession of a Class A drug, a subsequent offense for possession of a Class A drug shoplifting, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and four outstanding warrants.

Fernandes was charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, possession of a Class A drug, and one (1) outstanding warrant.

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

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CAIRO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Sunday with visiting Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi in Cairo, where they discussed ways of further promoting bilateral relations, said the Egyptian presidency.

During the meeting, the Egyptian president highlighted "the distinguished Egyptian-Iraqi relations and Egypt's keenness to further promote cooperation between the two countries in all fields," said Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy in a statement.

Sisi also hailed the current momentum of the relations between Egypt and Iraq, whether at the bilateral level or through the tripartite cooperation mechanism with Jordan.

For his part, the Iraqi parliament speaker highlighted Baghdad's close bilateral relations with Cairo.

"He also praised Egypt's role in restoring stability in Iraq and contributions to consolidate security, stability and development in the region and strengthen Arab unity," said the statement. 
Further harden our schools

How many more dead children and teachers will it take for this country to wake up and realize we have some serious mental health issues? (March 30, 2A, Teacher killed in Nashville school shooting was TCU alumna)

Politicians have armed protection. The president has the Secret Service. Celebrities have private security. How much more blood on our hands will we tolerate before our precious children receive protection as well?

We need metal detectors and armed guards at school entrances.

Guns are only part of the problem. When evil lurks in the heart of man, it will find a person with a weapon to express that evil.

We need to pressure our legislators to act immediately to make our schools safe.

- Angela Benvenuto, Arlington

Time to make a difference, NRA

Gun proponents say that the only way to stop a bad guy or gal with a gun is a good guy or gal with a gun. So, why dont National Rifle Association members volunteer to provide security at every school in America? It would be a lot more meaningful than their typical thoughts and prayers.

- Bob Craig, Fort Worth

Whats there to lose now?

Despite increased physical security measures, school shootings occur almost monthly and happen outside secure areas of schools. Kids continue taking drugs and overdosing, including on fentanyl.

Has the time arrived to direct our attention and funding to the true sources of these issues? Is it time to place monitors and security cameras in homes instead of schools? Rather than providing naloxone kits to first responders, should they be distributed to the public like COVID-19 tests were? (March 30, 10A, Drug overdose antidote Narcan goes over-the-counter)

Is it time to stop trying to legislate moral conduct while tying up money and court dockets? Should free, unrestricted access to prophylactics and medical abortion pills become the law?

Could a new approach produce results that are more dismal than what we see daily?

- Bob Schultz, Haslet

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We saw Jan. 6 ourselves

I watched the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt as it happened. The Capitol had been closed to the public before the mob attack. The brief portions of video Fox News Tucker Carlson cherry-picked to falsely portray the riot as peaceful dont represent reality. (March 19, 4C, Letters)

Fox reporters and personalities have been shown to support Donald Trump and his cronies with constant lies. Dominion Voting Systems caught them at it.

- David Pebernat, The Woodlands

Help the above-average

People are concerned that vouchers will empty public schools? (March 20, 1A, School vouchers on table, despite unfavorable data)

How many children coming out of public schools could pass the test to enter most private schools?

Do you think private schools tolerate badly behaving children?

Shouldnt poor children with above-average intelligence who are hardworking and respectful have opportunities for a better education? I think they should.

- Walter Welborn, Fort Worth

Dont divert school money





Diverting thousands of dollars to school vouchers will not strengthen Texas public schools.

Our schools are already struggling with underfunding. Who believes Texas will adequately fund two separate school systems?

Fewer public dollars means less money for innovative public programs. Success with school vouchers has not been demonstrated in states implementing them.

Who will benefit from this bill? The politicians banning discussions about gender and sexual orientation included in the bill? Families already paying for private schools? It wont be taxpayers who want a quality education for every Texas child.

- Loveta Eastes, Fort Worth

Whats so radical about it?





Republicans are trying to pass bills that would give parents rights in their childrens education  imagine that! Republicans want to ban school library books that are pornographic. Is that what you want your child reading? Bills would also disallow gender treatments for youths, bar biological boys from girls restrooms and keep boys from competing in girls sports. (March 15, 1A, Texas Senate panel mulls bill on transgender athletes)

But dont worry, the radical Democrats and the Biden administration will never let this pass. The indoctrination of children is all they care about.

- Sandra Lewis, Joshua
By Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm.

Thousands of people waved palm and olive branches as Francis was driven into St. Peter's Square sitting in the back of a white, open-topped vehicle before the start of the Mass, which lasted two hours.

"I thank you for your participation and also for your prayers, which intensified during these past days. Thank you," he said at the end of the service in an apparent reference to his recent illness, drawing loud applause from the crowd.

The pope, 86, was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, but recovered quickly following an infusion of antibiotics and returned to his Vatican residence on Saturday.

Looking to allay concerns about his health, the Vatican has said he will take part in a full array of Easter events this week, the busiest period in the Roman Catholic Church calendar, starting with the open-air Palm Sunday service.

The pontiff, wearing red vestments, spoke with a quiet, but clear voice as he addressed a crowd estimated by police to be 60,000-strong. For most of the service he remained seated, but he stood at the end for a final blessing.

In his homily he called on people not to ignore those experiencing great suffering and solitude.

"Today their numbers are legion. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers, prisoners are disowned; people written off as problems," he said.

Speaking at the end of the Mass, the pope, as he often does, recalled "the battered people of Ukraine", and urged the faithful to pray for an end to the war.

WAVING TO THE CROWD

Francis, who marked the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March, has suffered a number of ailments in recent years, including severe knee pain, which means he uses a cane and often a wheelchair in his public appearances.

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His difficulties with mobility have limited his participation at some events, and as happened last year, a senior cardinal celebrated the actual Mass on Sunday.

At the end of the ceremony, the pope was driven slowly around the square for around 10 minutes. He waved and smiled at the well-wishers and appeared in good spirits.

"We are very happy to see him and considering what has happened over the past few days, we think he looks quite well," said Antonio Donatelli, a tourist from southern Italy.

Palm Sunday marks the day that the Bible says Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds, the week before Christian believe he rose from the dead following his execution on the Cross.

On Holy Thursday, Francis will celebrate Mass in a prison for juveniles in Rome, but it was not yet clear if he would participate in the traditional Good Friday Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession around Rome's ancient Colosseum.

However, the pope, head of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, will preside over the Mass on Easter Sunday, the most important day on the Christian liturgical calendar, where he is expected to read his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message.

(Additional reporting by Jaime Lopez and Roberto Mignucci; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Frances Kerry)
Pope Francis will preside over mass in St Peter's Square Sunday as he kicks off events leading to Easter, just a day after leaving hospital following a bout of bronchitis.

The 86-year-old's admittance to hospital on Wednesday with breathing difficulties sparked concerns he may not be well enough to attend a series of rites in what is the most important week in the Christian calendar.

But as a smiling Francis left Rome's Gemelli hospital Saturday after a three-night stay, he told well-wishers he would be presiding over a Palm Sunday ceremony, which will be followed by the Angelus prayer.

Though his voice was weak at times, when asked how he was feeling the pope quipped twice "I am still alive!"

Palm Sunday marks the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Easter Sunday on April 12 celebrates his resurrection from the dead.

The head of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics has suffered from increasing health issues over the past few years, including knee problems which have forced him to use a wheelchair and walking stick.

During both the Palm Sunday and Easter masses, Francis is expected to remain seated while a cardinal conducts the ceremony at the altar.

The Vatican said this was an arrangement adopted prior to the pope's latest illness, as he is no longer able to stand for long periods.

Francis felt unwell Wednesday following a general audience in St Peter's Square, but his condition improved after he was given antibiotics.

The hospitalisation was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli.

His increasing health issues over the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life.

Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church earlier this month.

He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.

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He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down were his health to fail him -- but said last month that, for now, he has no plans to quit.

Francis' previous stay at Gemelli in July 2021 lasted 10 days. He was admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine, that required surgery.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

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Vladlen Tatarsky speaks during a party in front of a projected image of himself, before an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia. (AP)

KYIV  An infamous pro-Russian combatant turned propagandist, known by the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in a St. Petersburg cafe on Sunday, in an explosion that injured at least 25 others, according to the Russian government.

Footage captured on a cellphone just before the explosion showed Tatarsky examining a statuette of a miner. Tatarsky was himself formerly a miner, and his Ukrainian hometown is in a region known for its coal mining and heavy industry. What a beautiful guy, Tatarsky said, while examining the statue, before joking, Im much prettier!

Moments later, the explosives hidden inside the bust detonated, killing Tatarsky instantly.

Attendees who survived the blast claimed Tatarsky was presented with the statue by a woman. Five minutes after the statue was handed to Tatarsky, an explosion tore through the cafe. Russian media reported that 26-year-old St. Petersburg resident Darya Trepova, who had previously been arrested for participation in antiwar rallies in February 2022, was detained as a suspect in the attack.

Outside the cafe in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. (AP)

Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, is from Makiivka, a city in eastern Ukraine that was previously under the control of the Soviet Union. In 2014, he was in prison as a convicted bank robber, but he managed to escape as Russian-backed forces seized the region. He joined the military of the Luhansk Peoples Republic, a Moscow puppet government set up in Eastern Ukraine, before later becoming an influential military blogger, amassing nearly 560,000 followers on Telegram. Despite his blogging career, Tatarsky was often pictured armed, in full combat dress, and wearing Russian military identification during his frequent forays into Ukraine.

Tatarsky was best known outside of Russia for his extreme rhetoric, calling Ukrainians brain-damaged Russians, urging increased attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and celebrating the massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha. We'll conquer everyone, we'll kill everyone, we'll loot whoever we need to," Tatarsky said in a recording after attending a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October of last year.

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On Sunday, Tatarsky was addressing an ultranationalist trolling group referred to as Cyberfront Z in a cafe known as Street Food Bar No. 1, situated in the Vasileostrovsky district in St. Petersburg. Both the venue and the Cyberfront Z group are connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch who supplies Moscow with mercenaries for its wars.

Cyberfront Z was established in February 2022, with Prigozhin admitting to journalists earlier this year that he had held a meeting with a group of patriotic bloggers and offered them all possible help in order to push pro-Russian propaganda on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Prigozhin claimed the group refused financial assistance but took him up on his offer of basing themselves in office space owned by the catering magnate turned warlord.

Russian forces take security measures at the explosion site. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Street Food Bar No. 1, where the group held its regular meetings, was also previously owned by Prigozhin. In a Telegram post published last month, Tatarsky can be seen standing in front of a black pickup truck emblazoned with the black-and-red logo of the Reverse Side of the Medal Telegram channel, run by figures linked to the Wagner mercenary group. On March 28, Tatarsky accompanied Prigozhin on a visit to Wagners positions in Bakhmut, the focal point of the current Russian offensive effort in eastern Ukraine.

Some observers speculated that the blast could have been the result of the rift between the Wagner mercenaries and the Russian defense ministry. Tatarsky was a vociferous critic of the Russian military leaderships management of the war. In January he called for a military tribunal for Russias top generals  whom he described as untrained idiots  after a Ukrainian artillery strike killed hundreds of Russian troops.

On Russian state television, the pro-Kremlin commentator Dmitry Kiselyov called the bombing a brutal act of terror, adding, without evidence, that the style and target obviously points to the Ukro-Nazis, a pejorative reference to the Ukrainian government. Another Russian military blogger, rattled by the loss of one of their own, called for strikes on decisionmaking centers in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian government itself denied responsibility. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggested that the blast was the result of infighting in the Russian elite.

Spiders are eating each other in a jar, Podolyak said.
A U.S. citizen with several addresses listed in South Florida in the early 2000s will spend 20 years behind bars for supporting ISIS and dragging his family along to Syria.

Emraan Ali, 55, was sentenced last week in Miami federal court after pleading guilty to conspiring to provide material support to the infamous terrorist group. After serving his time, Ali will be monitored through 20 years of supervised release.

In 2020, Ali and his son Jihad Ali, 21, were the last U.S. nationals facing charges stemming from fighting for or supporting ISIS. They, along with dozens of others, were captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

READ MORE: Father and son are U.S. citizens. Feds say they went to Syria and fought for ISIS.

Under the guise of a vacation, he took his wife, stepchild and five children in 2015 from their Trinidad and Tobago home to Brazil, Turkey and, ultimately, Syria. Ali and his family moved from the U.S. to his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago a few years before.

Ali, however, planned his journey to join the terrorist faction by setting up a financial system in the Caribbean country so that he could collect his money in Syria, according to court records. He also packed $15,000 in cash and melted down gold.

When he arrived in Turkey, Ali arranged a van ride to the Turkey-Syria border. The family had to run across the border to enter the war-ravaged country. Once in ISIS territory, the terrorist group registered Ali and his family, according to court records. The registration records kept by ISIS helped U.S. officials prove Alis involvement with the insurgents.

Nicknamed Abu-Jihad al-Trinidad al-Amriki and Abu Jihad TNT, Ali was also enrolled in ISIS religious and military training with other English speakers, through which he learned how to use assault rifles and machine guns, according to court records. His son Jihad, then 15, also went through the same training.

Alis stint as an ISIS fighter quickly ended after he was medically discharged; though that didnt stop him from aiding the radical group.

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From 2015 to 2019, Ali contributed to ISIS economy as a construction worker helping create homes for members and later as a merchant selling livestock, cars, weapons and phones, according to court records. He even offered money remitting services to other Trinidadian ISIS fighters in Syria.

Ali, as Syrian rebel forces conquered ISIS strongholds, was finally cornered in March 2019 and had to surrender to Syrian Democratic Forces, according to court records. Until the last minute, Ali tried to fight his fate, urging other Trinidadian ISIS members to refuse to surrender in the hopes that they would allow them to relocate  and avoid jail time.

The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the international case. In February, Alis son Jihad appealed his conviction but a judge upheld his five-year sentence and subsequent three years of supervised release.
President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor, and President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor, look over attendees prior to the 193rd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in yjr Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 2, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

As disciples of Jesus Christ, Latter-day Saints should make the choice to be peacemakers and promote dignified dialogue in todays contention-soaked world, President Russell M. Nelson said Sunday morning at the churchs 193rd Annual General Conference.

Today is Palm Sunday, President Nelson said. We are preparing to commemorate the most transcendent event ever recorded on earth, which is the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the best ways we can honor the Savior is to become a peacemaker.

President Nelson is known for repeated calls for civility and building bridges of understanding, and his Sunday morning talk underscored that emphasis of his five-year administration as president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Contention is a choice, he said. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.

President Nelson also said Latter-day Saints and others can change the world one interaction at a time.

How? By modeling how to manage honest differences of opinion with mutual respect and dignified dialogue, he said, adding, Let us as a people become a true light on the hill  a light that cannot be hid. Let us show that there is a respectful way to resolve complex issues and an enlightened way to work out disagreements.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Ryan Sun, Deseret News

Other speakers urged church members to be one together in Christ and allow Christ to provide relief from all their burdens. Palm Sunday and Easter imagery was omnipresent in the morning sessions seven talks.

President Russell M. Nelson

President Nelson said civic dialogue now is full of vulgarity, insults and venomous contention in a polarized era. He declared, contention is evil and drives away the Spirit.

I am greatly concerned that so many people seem to believe that it is completely acceptable to condemn, malign and vilify anyone who does not agree with them.

But, he said, anger, hostility and contention persuade and build no one and never lead to inspired solutions.

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The pure love of Christ is the answer to the contention that ails us today.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others  especially when we have differences of opinion. One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.

The Saviors message is clear: His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade and inspire  no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.

He noted that church leaders and members sometimes see contentious behavior among members. He noted that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles do not see all things the same way, but they strive to model dignified dialogue.

My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way.

If a couple in your ward gets divorced, or a young missionary returns home early, or a teenager doubts his testimony, they do not need your judgment. They need to experience the pure love of Jesus Christ reflected in your words and actions.

Now is the time to lay aside bitterness. Now is the time to cease insisting that it is your way or no way. Now is the time to stop doing things that make others walk on eggshells for fear of upsetting you. Now is the time to bury your weapons of war.

Related

President Nelson said peacemakers are defined by charity.

Church leaders returned again to a major theme of Saturdays conference sessions, the idea of the gift of Gods peace, and called on Christs followers to be united in him, set aside contention and embrace and embody his teachings about love, unity and charity.

Palm Sunday and Easter were repeated themes during the session, beginning with President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, who conducted the meeting.

We recognize that today is Palm Sunday, which marks the week leading up to Easter Sunday, he said. Were grateful to begin this sacred Easter season with each of you and pray that our hearts will be turned to our Savior Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world.

Elder Ulisses Soares, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Soares described the imagery of Christ triumphantly entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, when his jubilant disciples spread out their garments and palm leaves along his path and praised God for sending their king.

May we today, on this Palm Sunday, spread out our robes of love and palm leaves of charity, walking in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace as we prepare to celebrate this coming Sunday the miracle of the empty tomb, Elder Soares said.

Followers of the Prince of Peace should endorse that peace, he said.

As his followers, we are his peculiar people, called to proclaim his virtues, promoters of the peace so generously offered through him and his atoning sacrifice.

This peace is a gift promised to all who turn their hearts to the Savior and live righteously; such peace gives us the strength to enjoy mortal life and enables us to endure the painful trials of our journey.

Another important aspect to emphasize, and one that has direct implications on our discipleship and how we promote the peace of the Savior, is the manner in which we treat each other.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Like President Nelson, Elders Christofferson and Soares decried the contentious communications in the world, including on social media.

Elder Soares said:

One of the most evident signs that we are drawing closer to the Savior and becoming more like him is the loving, patient and kind way with which we treat our fellow beings, whatever the circumstances.

I invite you to consider ways we can transform ourselves into uplifting and supportive people, people who have an understanding and forgiving heart, people who look for the best in others, always remembering that (i)f there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Elder Christofferson said the key to unity in an extremely contentious world is to bond as one in Christ.

He said:

Unity does not require sameness, but it does require harmony.

We are too diverse, and at times too discordant to be able to come together as one on any other basis or under any other name. Only in Jesus Christ can we truly become one.

By putting on Christ, it becomes possible either to resolve or to lay aside differences, disagreements and disputes.

It is only in and through our individual loyalty to Jesus Christ that we can hope to be one  one within, one at home, one in the church, eventually one in Zion, and above all, one with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.

President Camille N. Johnson, Relief Society general president

Relief in the risen Christ of Easter is the removal or lightening of things that are painful, troubling or burdensome  or the strength to endure it, President Johnson said.

(Relief) refers to a person who takes the place of another. It is the legal correction of a wrong. The Anglo-French word comes from Old French, the word relever, or to raise up, and from the Latin relevare, or raise again.

I testify that Jesus Christ is relief. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we may be relieved of the burden and consequences of sin and be succored in our infirmities.

She said that people carry three types of burdens  those they cause themselves by sin, those caused by others and those caused by living in a fallen world. Covenant keepers are blessed with the Saviors relief from all three, she said.

Brothers and sisters, I cant go at it alone, and I dont need to, and I wont. Choosing to be bound to my Savior, Jesus Christ, through the covenants I have made with God, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Our covenantal blessing is to partner with Jesus Christ in providing relief, both temporal and spiritual, to all of Gods children. We are a conduit through which he provides relief.

Elder Neil L. Andersen, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Believers should intentionally fill their minds with the power of Jesus Christ, Elder Andersen said.

Filling ones mind with his power means thoughts of him are always present. By focusing attention on him, everything is viewed through love for him and less important distractions fade.

My prayer at this Easter season is that we will more consciously shape, strengthen and secure this preeminent thought of Jesus Christ in the chambers of our soul, allowing it to eagerly flow into our mind, guiding us in what we think and do, and continually bringing the sweet joy of the Saviors love.

As your mind has caught hold firmly and forever upon this thought, and as you focus your life more fully on the Savior, I promise you that you will feel his hope, his peace and his love.

Additional speakers

Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita, a General Authority Seventy, said preparation for receiving a patriarchal blessing will help church members increase their faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

A patriarchal blessing is not going to map out your life or answer all your questions.  A patriarchal blessing is eternal, and if you live worthy, promises that are not fulfilled in this life will be granted in the next.

Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy, said that each temple dedication expands the power of Jesus Christ in the world.

What do we hear in the gospel which we have received? Truly a voice of gladness!

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles watched the conference from home for a second straight day. He and his wife, Sister Patricia Holland, tested positive for COVID-19.

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performed

The choir performed Glory to God on High, My Redeemer Lives, Secret Prayer, Guide Us, O Thou Great Redeemer, This is the Christ and I Believe in Christ.

The opening prayer was said by Elder James R. Rasband, a General Authority Seventy. The closing prayer was given by Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, a General Authority Seventy from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Russian President Vladimir Putins latest round of nuclear saber rattling has drawn concern and condemnation from the West, but his promise to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus may do more to expose the Kremlins weakness than shift the dynamics of the war in Ukraine.

Putins announcement that he would deploy the weapons on the territory of Moscows trusted neighbor and ally  which comes as Russias military is struggling to claim any new successes on the battlefield  was decried as dangerous and irresponsible by NATO, while Kyiv said it threatened the international security system as a whole.

But the move is most likely just the latest attempt to use nuclear threats to intimidate Ukraines allies, military analysts said, and it may not just widen the ever-growing chasm between Moscow and the West but potentially test Russias growing friendship with China.

Putin made the announcement in an interview that aired Saturday night on Russian state TV, where he said storing the countrys tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus  which borders three NATO members, as well as both Russia and Ukraine  did not violate nuclear nonproliferation agreements and would, in fact, mirror Washingtons stationing its nuclear weapons in Europe for decades.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch ally whom Putin propped up after violent protests nearly toppled Europes last dictator in 2020, had long requested the move, Putin added.

Lukashenko himself took nearly a week to respond, saying in an address to the nation Friday that he had intensified talks with Putin on the return of nuclear weapons to Belarus to safeguard his country, which he said was under threat of invasion from the West.

Belarus, which does not possess its own nuclear weapons after it transferred the stock it inherited from the Soviet era to Russia in the 1990s, is not officially a party to the war in Ukraine, although Moscow used its territory to launch the full-scale invasion last year.

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But promising to station his tactical nuclear weapons there will not give Putin any real advantage on the battlefield in Ukraine, said Andrey Baklitskiy, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, based in Geneva.

This move would not give Russia any capability it did not have before, Baklitskiy said. Nuclear weapons have only played a political and informational role in the war up to now, so every side will use this decision as a talking point.

Russia will claim it is supporting an ally, accuse the West of hypocrisy over NATO nuclear sharing and put some pressure on the West, Baklitskiy added, while Ukraine and NATO will condemn Russias nuclear saber rattling and try to shore up international support to put pressure on Moscow.

Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, at close to 6,000 warheads, according to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists, a Washington-based nonprofit policy research and advocacy organization.

Putin has repeatedly vowed that he will not hesitate to unleash this arsenal should Russias security or existence be threatened, and he has ramped up those threats at times in the face of major setbacks.

Given the lack of any breakthroughs in Russias current ground offensive, its nuclear arsenal remains one of the few aspects of its military power that still commands a measure of respect in the West, said Christopher Tuck, an expert in conflict and security at Kings College London.

Putins latest nuclear rhetoric replicates an existing Russian pattern of resorting to vague nuclear policy announcements to divert attention from difficulties in other areas, Tuck said.

The likely intent is to manipulate Western fears of nuclear escalation and, through this, to try and contribute to a process of the wearing out of Western support for Ukraine, he said.

Putins decision on Belarus is an admission that he is afraid of losing, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted last Sunday. All he can do is scare with tactics.

So far, Washington and its allies have been critical but measured in their responses to Putins comments.

Both the National Security Council and the State Department said in separate statements that the U.S. had not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Joe Biden called Putins plans worrisome.

And while NATO criticized Putins remarks, it echoed Washington in saying it has not seen any changes in Russias nuclear posture that would lead it to adjust its own.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called Putins intentions a threat to European security and said the E.U. stands ready to respond with further sanctions.

The Wests reaction will not change Putins plans, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

Russia, Belarus joint military drill continue (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The threats come amid broader nuclear tensions with the collapse of the last remaining arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia.

The U.S. said Tuesday it will withhold some nuclear data from Russia in response to Moscows decision not to provide data required under the New START Treaty. Putin unilaterally suspended Russias involvement in the treaty in February.

Russia and China have criticized the U.S., Britain and Australia for agreeing to a deal on nuclear-powered submarines, but experts said Putins Belarus move could also open a rift in the burgeoning alliance.

The Belarus announcement could also raise eyebrows in Beijing after Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, visited Moscow last week in a show of support for the increasingly isolated Kremlin, said William Alberque, the director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Putin and Xi said in a joint statement that all nuclear powers must not station nuclear weapons outside their national territories and must withdraw all nuclear weapons stationed abroad.

Asked about Putins comments about Belarus on Monday, Chinas Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, reiterated Beijings stance, calling for a political settlement in Ukraine and avoiding a nuclear crisis.

Alberque said that if Xi was not consulted on Putins announcement, however, it could make him rethink the basis for cooperating with Russia in the future.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has sent a telegram to Alexandr Lukashenko on the "Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus", in which he praised "effective cooperation between the countries despite the unprecedented pressure of sanctions".

Source: The telegram, cited by Kremlin-aligned news outlet RIA Novosti

Quote: "We have effectively coordinated our efforts in the international arena, in the military and security spheres, and successfully implemented programmes aimed at strengthening financial, economic and nanotechnological sovereignty despite the unprecedented pressure of sanctions from the outside."

Details: Putin has allegedly wished Belarusians "happiness and prosperity".

The dictators are expected to meet this week.

Text of the telegram We have effectively coordinated our efforts in the international arena, in the military and security spheres, and successfully implemented programmes aimed at strengthening financial, economic and nanotechnological sovereignty despite the unprecedented pressure of sanctions from the outside. I am convinced that further building up the whole range of allied ties is in the best interests of our brotherly peoples. I sincerely wish you strong health and success. I wish happiness and prosperity to all the Belarusian citizens. Regards, Vladimir Putin

For reference: Belarus is playing an active role in the war against Ukraine.

Missiles and drones are being launched from its territory; Russian forces used Belarusian territory as a springboard at the beginning of the war, and the occupiers are still training and being treated there.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned at their coronation ceremony on 6 May, which is expected to be a grand occasion.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The coronation will reflect the monarchs role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry, the palace added.

It is understood that the King will opt for a more modern choice of clothing for the ceremony. Instead of the traditional silk stockings and breeches worn in coronations past, it has been reported that the monarch will be crowned in his military uniform.

Therefore, it is expected that Camillas coronation dress will also be more modern compared to previous versions, which tend to include ornate designs and lavish materials.

The last time Britain saw a coronation dress was during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs crowning ceremony in 1953.

She wore a silk satin gown with short sleeves and a full skirt, featuring elaborate embroidery and alternating lines of gold bugle beads, diamantes and pearls. It was designed by Norman Hartness, who merged two of eight designs he presented to the Queen to create her gown.

Heres everything we know about what Camilla will wear to the coronation this spring...

Who will design the dress?

In February, it was revealed that Camilla had chosen her friend Bruce Oldfield to design her coronation dress.

The British couturier works frequently with the royal family to dress them and was the favourite designer of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Bruce Oldfield is greeted by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall during the Bruce Oldfield Fashion Show at Lancaster House in support of the National Osteoporosis Society on November 15, 2017 (Getty Images)

The design of the coronation gown has been decided in collaboration with Camilla, but will remain a secret until the day of the ceremony.

A source told The Telegraph: Camilla has a very close friendship with Bruce spanning many years. In so many ways, it is the natural and obvious choice.

Camilla trusts Bruce because he has really delivered on dresses for so many important occasions recently for her.

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The Queen Consort wore an all-white gown embellished with white beads and diamantes by Oldfield when she attended the 2016 State Opening of Parliament, during which she was still the Duchess of Cornwall.

She also wore an Oldfield design to the premiere of the 2021 James Bond film, No Time to Die, which was a blue sequinned gown.

Will Camilla wear a robe?

Traditionally, monarchs and their consorts have worn dramatic gowns for their coronation events.

(PA)

The Coronation Robes are quite extravagant, usually made of silk, velvet and lace, and trimmed or lined with ermine.

The late Prince Philip wore a red velvet coronation robe during the Queens ceremony, which had an ermine trim and shrug over his shoulders.

But whether the King and Queen Consort will wear the traditional robes remains in question, as it has been suggested that Charles wishes for a more modern ceremony.

What crown will Camilla wear?

It was announced in February that the Queen Consort will wear Queen Marys crown for the coronation  but it will not feature the controversial Koh-i-noor crown nor its replica.

Buckingham Palace said that Camilla will be the first consort to reuse a crown at a coronation instead of commissioning a new one since the 18th century. The last consort who did the same was Queen Caroline, the consort of King George II.

(Getty/Buckingham Palace)

The Crown Jeweller is carrying out minor changes and additions to the crown, which will be reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds. These were part of the late Queens personal jewellery collection.

You can learn why the Koh-i-noor diamond is so controversial here.

What jewellery will Camilla wear?

Camilla will likely wear a ceremonial ring, known as the Queen Consorts ring, to symbolise being wedded to the people.

Charles will have a special ring placed on his fourth finger to symbolise this as well. The Queen Consorts ring was made in 1831 for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV.

It was last used for the Queen Mothers coronation with her husband, King George VI, in 1937.
Quinta Brunson took aim at Friends over its lack of diversity while hosting SNL.

The Emmy Award-winning Abbott Elementary creator, who also stars in the sitcom, was the latest star to present the US sketch show.

During her opening monologue on Saturday (1 April), Brunson addressed the success of her series, which is focused on a group of teachers at a poorly funded predominantly Black school in Philadelphia.

I wanted to be on SNL back in the day but the audition process seemed long  so instead, I just created my own TV show, made sure it became really popular, won a bunch of Emmys and then got asked to host, she quipped, adding: So much easier, so much easier.

Bunson then described Abbott Elementary by comparing it to 1990s sitcom Friends, stating: Its a network sitcom like, say, Friends. Except, instead of being about a group of friends, its about a group of teachers. Instead of New York, its in Philadelphia and instead of not having Black people, it does.

The crowd cheered Brunsons comment as the multi-talented star playfully smiled.

Friends has come under fire in recent years for only featuring non-white actors in significantly smaller roles.

Co-creator Marta Kauffman acknowleged the criticism in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, saying: It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalised systemic racism.

As a consequence, Kauffman donated $4m (3.2m) to fund an endowed chair for the African and African American studies department at the university she went to, Brandeis.

Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe in the series, seemingly defended Kaufman and her co-creator David Crane, telling The Daily Beast: Well, I feel like it was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis and wrote about their lives after college. They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of colour.

Earlier this week, Rachel star Jennifer Aniston said there is a whole generation of kids who now find Friends offensive.

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Quinta Brunson playfully calls out Friends lack of diversity on SNL (YouTube)

Elsewhere on SNL, James Austin Johnson returned as Donald Trump to skewer the former president days after he was indicted on charges of falsifying business records.

Meanwhile, Colin Jost fell victim to an evil prank pulled by his Weekend Update co-host Michael Che, which Jost branded the meanest thing Che has ever done.
JAKARTA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were wounded as an oil refinery owned by Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina exploded in Riau province on Saturday night, Inspector General Muhammad Iqbal, the provincial police chief, said on Sunday morning.

The incident occurred in Dumai town before midnight, and seven of the wounded people were still treated at a hospital while two others had returned home, the police chief said.

Iqbal said that the fire had been extinguished, and the situation was under control. 
VATICAN CITY (AP)  Bundled in a long, white coat and battling a hoarse voice, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter's Square before tens of thousands of faithful on Palm Sunday, a day after he left a Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis.

The sun broke through the clouds during the Mass, one of the longest services on the Church's calendar, as Francis, red vestments placed over his coat, sat in a chair under a canopy erected in the square.

He took his place there after standing and clutching a braided palm branch in a popemobile that drove at the tail end of a long, solemn procession of cardinals, other prelates and rank-and-file Catholics. Participants carried palm fronds or olive tree branches.

Francis, 86, received antibiotics administered intravenously during his three-day stay. He last previous appearance in St. Peter's Square saw him conduct his his regular Wednesday public audience. He was taken to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic that same day after feeling ill.

His voice sounded strong as he opened the Mass, but quickly turned strained. Despite the hoarseness, Francis read a 15-minute-long homily, occasionally adding off-the-cuff remarks for emphasis or gesturing with a hand.

The homily focused on moments when people feel extreme pain, love that fails, or is rejected or betrayed.'' Francis cited children who are rejected or aborted, as well as broken marriages, "forms of social exclusion, injustice and oppression, (and) the solitude of sickness."

Deviating from his prepared speech, Francis spoke about a homeless German man who recently died, alone, abandoned, under the colonnade circling St. Peter's Square, where homeless persons often sleep.

"I, too, need Jesus to caress me and be near to me,'' Francis said.

Concern over abandonment threaded through his homily. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers; prisoners are disowned, people written off as problems, Francis said.

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The pope also referred to young people who feel a great emptiness inside without anyone really listening to their cry of pain, and who find no other path but that of suicide.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday.

At the end of Mass, Francis greeted the Romans, tourists and pilgrims who had flocked to the square, noting that many in the crowd of 60,000 had come from afar.

I thank you for your participation and prayers, that in the last days you intensified,'' the pontiff said, a reference to the many wishes he received for a quick recovery during his hospitalization. Thanks!"

Francis appearance on Sunday opened a heavy schedule of Holy Week appointments, including a Holy Thursday Mass at a juvenile prison in Rome. Holy Week culminates on April 9 with Easter Sunday Mass, which recalls the Christian belief in Jesus resurrection.

Francis said Holy Week will see more intense prayer for the "martyred Ukrainian people.'' In a reference Russia's war in Ukraine, he noted that the olive branches Catholics wave on Palm Sunday are symbols of Jesus' peace.

Then, the cardinals greeted Francis greeted one by one, some shaking his hand or chatting briefly with him as he sat in the wheelchair he uses to cope with a chronic knee problem. At least one prelate gave him a kiss on each cheek.

Finally, Francis went back aboard the open-topped popemobile to loop around and through the square, as he smiled and waved to the faithful, many of whom held aloft national flags. At one point during the nearly 20-minute jaunt over the cobblestones, he was driven down a stretch of the boulevard lined with cafes and souvenir shops that leads to St. Peter's Square.
Sandhill Crane, Horicon Marsh.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act is back. Only time will tell if the fifth time is the charm.

The proposed legislation, which would provide $1.4 billion annually to states and tribes to help non-game and at risk wildlife, was reintroduced last week in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) with Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina).

The concept for RAWA emerged from a 2016 Blue Ribbon Panel and has been introduced in four previous sessions of Congress. Last year it was passed by the House but failed to get approval in the Senate.

As with the previous version, the bill introduced last week would dedicate $1.3 billion annually to state fish and wildlife agencies to implement their science-based wildlife action plans and an additional $97.5 million for tribal fish and wildlife managers.

This edition is also claiming bipartisan support. And once again it is strongly endorsed by conservation organizations. RAWA is supported by more than 60 tribes and 1,500 organizations representing state fish and wildlife agencies, sportsmen and women, conservation groups, industry associations and businesses, according to data provided by co-sponsor Heinrich.

Jennifer Morris, CEO of The Nature Conservancy, said more than one-third of America's fish and wildlife species are at risk of extinction, part of a global biodiversity decline threatening humans and nature alike.

"This crisis demands immediate and substantial investment in strategies proven to slow, stop, and reverse this decline," Morris said in a statement.

The Recovering America's Wildlfie Act would be the "shot in the arm" state and tribal wildlife agencies need to restore America's biodiversity, according to Morris.

A golden-winged warbler fitted with a Motus transmitter is held prior to release near Rhinelander. The transmitter is the small black device and thin antennae on the bird's back.

The bill would divide the funding among states according to a formula that includes human population, geographical size and number of wildlife species at risk.

Wisconsin would receive about $18 million annually according to a recent RAWA projection.

Mark LaBarbera, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, is hopeful the 2023 version of the bill will get passed.

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This is the most important wildlife conservation legislation in half a century," LaBarbera said. Leading conservation groups in the Wisconsin Coaltion for Recovering America's Wildlife Act applaud this commonsense, cost-effective approach that not only helps at risk wildlife but also benefits habitat used by game species. This historic bill will create local jobs, help wildlife and local communities, and improve the quality of life in Wisconsin.

The House is expected to introduce its version of the bill in the near future.

One large hurdle remains, however: funding. The Senate bill, as with the four previous failed versions, does not include a "pay-for" or other funding mechanism.

The financial aspects of the proposal will no doubt receive additional attention in the coming months. It's possible a solution will emerge through bipartisan cooperation.

Morris of The Nature Conservancy said the support for the bill in the last Congress was "overwhelming."

"Reintroducing (it) so soon is not only a sign that momentum has not let up but also how important it is to save Americas biodiversity," Morris said. "In this period of divided government, this is an opportunity for lawmakers to find common ground and build on the remarkable, bipartisan progress Congress has made in recent years on conservation. We urge lawmakers to quickly pass this bill to accelerate the work we need to save Americas wildlife.

International Crane Foundation looking for help with this year's Midwest Crane Count

The International Crane Foundation is seeking volunteers to help with the 2023 Midwest Crane Count. The event will be held April 15 in Wisconsin and six other states.

Crane counters will travel to birding locations from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. to look for and record sandhill and whooping cranes.

The 2023 survey is expected to take place in more than 150 counties in Wisconsin and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. The event had 1,840 volunteer counters in 2022, including 1,181 in Wisconsin, and tallied 15,332 sandhill and 64 whooping cranes across the region.

Data collected are posted on the foundations website and help its scientists monitor crane population trends and areas where cranes are colonizing, said Jodi Legge, ICF director of external affairs. In addition, she said it's a powerful tool for creating awareness about cranes and their wetland habitats.

Each crane count site will have a county coordinator who will assign a site and provide instructions on how to participate and report the data. To participate, visit cranecount.org to find contact information for local coordinators as well as links to download data sheets and other information.

If your county is not currently involved in the program and you are interested in becoming a county coordinator, contact the ICF at (608) 356-9462.

For more information on ICF visit savingcranes.org.

Boundary Waters recognized for its quietude

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota has been named a Wilderness Quiet Park due to its lack of human noise.

The distinction was announced last week by the Los Angeles-based group Quiet Parks International. The BWCAW is only the second park - Glacier National Park was the first - with the designation.

The award recognizes the BWCAW's pristine soundscape and lack of man-made noise intrusions, a rare feat even in the United States' most remote Wilderness Areas, the group said in a statement.

Over the last two years volunteers collected and analyzed soundscape and noise pollution data in and around the BWCAW. The findings met the group's criteria for a Wilderness Quiet Park award.

Other than air traffic, the wilderness designation of the northern Minnesota public property - where no motors or mechanized equipment is allowed - preserves its noise-free soundscapes crucial for healthy ecosystems and human enjoyment, the group said.

"The BWCAW has a dependable noise-free interval of 15 minutes or more, which is a remarkable achievement, Matt Mikkelsen, executive director of Wilderness Quiet Parks, said in a statement. We hope this award encourages other wilderness areas to prioritize natural quiet and inspires people to experience the beauty of the BWCAW soundscape."

About 165,000 people visit the 1 million-acre BWCAW annually, mostly via canoes or other paddle craft in summer or on skis and snowshoes in winter, according to U.S. Forest Service data.

Visit quietparks.org for more information on Quiet Parks International and fs.usda.gov for details on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

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: Recovering America's Wildlife Act reintroduced in Senate
We have entered the spring season of holy days for Muslims, Jews, Christians, and those who practice earth religions.

Apart from any religious practice, the awakening of the earth to new life after the barrenness of winter stirs the human spirit. It comes as no surprise that people of many religious and spiritual understandings find meaning in this glorious time of year.

Ramadan fasting

On March 23, Muslims began the holy month of Ramadan, the month when Muslims believe the first verses of the Quran, their holy scripture, were revealed to the blessed Prophet, Muhammad. Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn until dusk during this holy month.

I read about a Hindu who works in a healthcare setting in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and fasts annually with his friends and colleagues during Ramadan. He started as a show of solidarity with his Muslim friends. He says he continues the observance as it brings people together irrespective of their caste, creed or color and offers peace and positivity to the lives of people. He finds it is an exercise that helps control his mind and fight cravings, transforming him into a new and better person by the end of Ramadan.

A Christian healthcare colleague in UAE, who also observes Ramadan annually in respect of her Muslim coworkers says, It boosts your mental strengths and clears your thoughts. I feel it kind of detoxifies our minds and brings positivity in life.

Muslim friends Nasir and Nabila break the fast with the McKibbens after sunset.

The predawn meal to start the daily fast during Ramadan is called suhoor, while the breaking of ones fast after sunset is called iftar. During the hours between these two meals, Muslims do not eat or drink, not even water. They do feed the spirit with prescribed prayers, scripture readings, self-examination, acts of charity, and communal meals at nightfall.

Ramadan is a sacred and comforting time for many of the 1.9 billion Muslims around the world whose primary goal is to get closer to God spiritually. Ramadan is not punitive, but rather an opportunity to become ones best self and, from my experience with the Afghani refugees in our community who observe the fast, it is mostly a joyous time.

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Ari and his father, Rabbi Schneur Oirechman, grate the bitter herb horseradish for the Seder.

Passover Seder

Passover, which falls on April 5 and 6, overlaps Ramadan this year. It also overlaps our grandson Rowens spring break, which he is spending with us. Rowen is Jewish and we will be observing the Passover Seder with him at Temple Israel.

The seder ritual, which was designed after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple to substitute for the offering of the Passover sacrifice, is believed to be about 2,000-years old. It recounts the series of events of the Exodus from Egypt, which according to retired Rabbi Barry Marks, shapes the religious consciousness and identity of Judaism more than any other holy day.

While the ritual is ancient, and the actual deliverance even more so, the lessons it teaches resonate with our human condition today. Freedom is to be cherished and protected, and we want to be mindful that we can be shackled both physically and spiritually. That justice, freedom, and human dignity can prevail over oppression and exploitation, as the story of the Exodus tells, gives us hope for our own lives and for our own troubled time in history.

During the Passover seder, we will be reminded of the importance of empathy as we recall what our ancestors suffered and consider those who suffer in our midst today. The commandment to love the stranger and to refrain from oppressing him or her, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt as repeated in Hebrew scripture, will be spoken and taken to heart.

My Jewish grandson has only recently become interested in his religious heritage and I am eager to be a part of this meal with him. I feel grateful to our Jewish community in Tallahassee for welcoming all to the table for this deeply meaningful observance.

Rev. Mike Fordham leads an Easter sunrise service at Killearn United Methodist Church Sunday, April 4, 2021.

Christian Holy Week

Both Ramadan and Passover share the calendar with the Christian Holy Week, which begins on April 2, Palm Sunday, and extends through Holy or Silent Saturday on April 8.

Recently, I attended a screening of a Kramer Brothers film on prison reform titled, The First Step. Hosted at FAMU School of Pharmacy, there was an excellent panel discussion after the screening including panelist, Neil Volz, whose organization, The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, was recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Volz made a statement that I have heard several times of late. He said, Whether or not you believe in the divinity of Jesus, you cant deny his humanity. I do not think this statement is meant to diminish Jesus, but to affirm a common ground regarding this one who taught forgiveness and encouraged the care of prisoners.

If ever a week in Jesus life reflected his undeniable humanity, it is the week that Christians call Holy Week.

From Sunday of Holy Week when Jesus experienced the palm-waving adulation of the crowd as he entered Jerusalem, through Good Friday when those cries of Hosanna had become calls for his crucifixion, Jesus experienced anger at the temple on Monday, sadness as he looked over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives on Tuesday, a day of rest and probable Passover preparation on Wednesday, and an intimate meal with his closest of friends on Maundy Thursday. The shocking unknowing and painful grief of the Saturday following his brutal crucifixion on Friday, close Holy Week in silence.

Christians around the world journey closely with Jesus during the highs and lows of Holy Week, reflecting on the meaning of his life and death. While anticipating the most joyous of Christian Holy Days, Easter, when the power of resurrection and new beginnings is affirmed, the discipline is to walk with Jesus through the uncertainty and agony.

Springtime is a holy season for many people of varying religious faiths and for those who see, in the earths renewal, the possibilities for self-renewal.

During this holy season may we all find ways to honor the spiritual paths of others as we draw strength and hope from our own particular journey during this gorgeous time of year. I pray we honor each other and encourage those whose lives feel dark even amidst creations springtime beauty.

The Rev. Candace McKibben

The Rev. Candace McKibben is an ordained minister and pastor of Tallahassee Fellowship.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Spring rebirth aligns with holy season of Ramadan, Passover, Easter
It all started with the windows at Alvin Mitchells rental house, which he said were cemented shut.

Mitchell said his brother, concerned, called the city of Wichita to inspect the Planeview duplex.

Im his little brother, Mitchell said. Hes going to look out for me.

In late July of last year, a city inspector came out to look at the house. The inspector listed a multitude of code violations the landlord needed to fix by the end of August: the windows, doors, walls, ceilings and floors all needed to be repaired or replaced.

The city returned in October and left more notes. The kitchen floor was sinking. The back door threshold needed repair. The kitchen and living room ceiling needed to be fixed. The landlord would have another month to do so.

About 10 days after the city issued the October notice, Mitchell received a notice that his landlord, Socvansneha Danh, wanted to terminate his month-to-month lease, a step toward eviction.

Hell evict you as soon as the city comes, Mitchell said of Danh.

In Kansas, it is illegal for landlords to evict because their tenant has complained to a government agency that enforces building or housing codes. But in Sedgwick County, which handles one-third of evictions in the state, some government officials say they often see it happen.

Danh maintains that the notice he placed on Mitchells door was not in retaliation for calling the city. He said he tried numerous times to fix the damages in the house, but that Mitchell wouldnt let the repairman in or was absent when the repairman came. He added that to make the repairs, he needed Mitchell to move his furniture but Mitchell did not.

I tried working with him for countless months, but it was just not working out as he always comes with excuses for the repairman to not come in, Danh wrote in an email to KMUW. In the end, I gave him the 30 day notice because I needed him to move out so I can fix the property. I told him that he can move back when Im done with the repairs too.

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Retaliatory evictions are illegal, but some say common

Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson said the city doesnt keep data on retaliatory evictions. But he hears about it frequently enough that whenever constituents complain to him about code violations in their homes, he warns them about complaining to the city.

I tell them that by us showing up to inspect and or writing up the property owner, you risk a potential retaliation, because its true, Johnson said.

He said hes seen landlords bring up past lease violations, like late rent payments, to legally evict a tenant who complains to the city.

If theres anything in that agreed lease that has been violated at some point, but that landlord let it go, they can bring that back up to evict you, Johnson said. And its happened.

Steve Minson, a Kansas Legal Services attorney who represents tenants in eviction proceedings, said its typically up to the tenant or their lawyer to raise the issue of retaliation in court. And most tenants, he said, dont have lawyers.

Chris Labrum is the director of Sedgwick Countys Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department. He said his department sees circumstances where both landlords and tenants retaliate against each other, but tenants tend to be at more of a disadvantage.

The tenants are upset, theyre nervous, theyre worried, they dont want to get in trouble, Labrum said.

Labrum encourages tenants to abide by their lease and document maintenance requests to landlords or property managers in writing. If they suspect there is a building code violation, he advised them to report it to his department.

If theyre valid violations, then we have some ability to help protect them from reprisal, Labrum said.

Kevin Kimmell, vice president of the Association of Kansas Landlords, has been a landlord for 50 years. He said hes never heard of anyone in his association or immediate company that has participated in a retaliatory eviction.

An apartment turnover can cost between $1,000 to $4,000, so Kimmell said landlords prevent vacancies to their best of their abilities.

My acquaintances would not participate in that because if there was an issue and the people were good renters, they would fix the problem, Kimmell said. No thinking person is going to run off good tenants just because they wont fix the water heater.

A Planeview native moves out

Mitchell said he was current on rent, despite significant flaws with the house. Walking through the duplex in December, he pointed them out.

His shower had a sheet of wood on its outer wall, which appeared to be rotting from water. The kitchen floor felt like it was sinking. Mitchell placed boards against walls around the house in an attempt to keep rats from coming through.

Mitchell, 61, said he was born and raised in Planeview. He said he makes a living by scrapping, hauling metal and cleaning out homes.

Trying to stay afloat, you know what Im saying? Mitchell said. ... I want to come home and be able to open something without it already being open by a rat.

He pointed out how rats had gotten into his noodles. The home, for which Mitchell paid about $375 a month in rent, is appraised at $29,100.

Fortunately for Mitchell, he was connected with Minson, a lawyer at Kansas Legal Services. Minson said month-to-month tenants like Mitchell are particularly vulnerable for retaliation.

The landlord can always wait a few months and then terminate the lease and say I didnt do this because you called the city, I did it because I want a new tenant in there, Minson said.

But Minson said Mitchell had a defensible case that the 30-day notice was retaliatory. Instead of going to court, Minson was able to work out a settlement with Danh. Mitchell got paid around $1,000 to leave his house in Planeview and find a new one.

It was enough for me, Mitchell said.

Mitchells former next-door neighbor, Chauncey Kemp, is the president of Planeviews neighborhood association. Kemp said Mitchell moved into the Planeview home over a decade ago, around the same time Kemp moved in.

I hate to see him go, Kemp said. He is reliable, hes helpful, just all around good guy.

District court records from October, November and December of 2022 show that an eviction case was never filed in court against Mitchell, despite the notice on his door.

More than seven months after the city first inspected the Planeview house, its still listed as an open case on the Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Departments complaint portal. The city has extended compliance for the landlord five times since last July.

Tenants facing retaliation should seek legal assistance, Minson said. Those who cannot afford a lawyer can call Kansas Legal Services or attend their free weekly self-help center.

This story was originally published by KMUW as part of the Wichita Journalism Collaborative, a partnership of 10 media organizations, including The Wichita Eagle.
Guns kill

Children lost in shooting were feisty, a shining light, (sacbee.com, March 29)

Why do gun advocates, who appear to value assault rifles more than people, continue leaning on the same platitudes (the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, and guns dont kill people, people kill people) after children are massacred at schools?

Guns do kill people; especially when an assault rifle is shredding our children apart. We live in a gun-violent country, but that can be changed. We are losing our ability to have safe schools because the National Rifle Association funnels big bucks to greedy lawmakers who keep blocking any sane attempts at amelioration. But we can counter their efforts to maintain the status quo by voting them out of office after looking at their gun-related track records.

Alvin Vopata

Antelope

Moral bankruptcy

The MAGA GOP congressional caucus rushed to the rescue of victims of yet another mass shooting, (sacbee.com, March 28)

Jack Ohmans cartoon reminds us that the horrific gun violence plaguing our country has a source: Republican legislators, like Kevin Kiley, who have refused to consider common sense gun reform.

Ive written to Kiley, citing polls that show Americans, including gun owners, overwhelmingly support stronger legislation on gun reform. Ive cited a list of mass shootings in our country as well as recent data showing that gun violence is now the leading cause of death of American children. But I know that he will share his thoughts and prayers, quote the Second Amendment, pocket gun lobby donations and do nothing.

The entire feckless, morally bankrupt Republican Party is complicit in the daily occurrence of gun violence throughout our country.

Barbara Smith

Auburn

Opinion

Lowest of the low

As Jimmy Carter lives his final days, we wonder if he and the country were cheated | Opinion, (sacbee.com, March 27)

Two articles in The Bee highlight the depths that Republicans will stoop to stay in power. Gaming the system is in the playbook, and skirting laws is obviously sanctioned by the right-wing.

Story continues

Jimmy Carter deserves a national apology for how the Republicans gamed the Iran hostage situation. And Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, laundering money through her PACs is another story about Republican corruption.

SCOTUS is stacked with ultra-right-wing activists because Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell gamed the system. Meanwhile, gun money flows to Congressional Republicans, leading us to do nothing about assault weapons that kill our children. Education is now ground zero for Republican sabotage, with phony culture wars about wokeism, book bans and parental rights to dictate what others can learn.

Theresa Ann Lown

Sacramento

Vandalism

Sacramento firefighters vandalized the inside of a water tower. It cost taxpayers $65,000. (sacbee.com, March 28)

It is disgusting that firefighters damaged the East Sacramento water tower in what appears to be a right-of-passage prank. As city employees making six-figures, one would expect better judgment and commonsense. Even more bothersome is that this vandalism was done under the direction and encouragement of two fire captains.

All of these men should be disciplined and forced to pay the damages. If this is the climate that exists in the citys fire department, we should all be concerned. A two-day suspension is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately, I have no expectation that anything will come of this.

Sharon Scott

Sacramento

Support for pastor

Project Veritas video prompts Placer County death threats, (sacbee.com, March 28)

This is a statement of unconditional support for Pastor Casey Martinez-Tinnin. I was dismayed to find out that The Landing Spot, Pastor Casey and the Loomis Basin Congregational Church were targeted by anti-LGBTQIA+ community members.

As a clergy member, I am offended by the illegal recording of Pastor Casey and of the highly edited recording taken out of context. The names and trust of good people have been used duplicitously, and the sanctuary of Pastor Caseys church was violated.

I stand with Pastor Casey in having The Landing Spot available to LGBTQIA+ youth. These youth need to know that life gets better once they are no longer bullied, excluded and stigmatized. God made them this way and God loves them.

Chaplain Rabbi Susan Conforti

President, PFLAG Greater Placer County

Common decency

California girl saved pet goat, search warrant followed, (sacbee.com, March 29)

This callous and repulsive official behavior is jaw dropping. Shasta County Fair and law enforcement officials conspired to kill a childs beloved pet goat. This vile deed was not done for reasons of fair payment, but, according to Shasta Fair Executive Melanie Silva, making an exception  will only teach our youth they do not have to abide by the rules.

Someone needs to teach Shasta officials a little humility and compassion. Absolute blind allegiance to rules teaches a disregard for common decency and fosters indifference to animal cruelty.

Bob Steele

Roseville
HOUSTON (AP)  Luis Robert Jr. and Yoan Moncada homered, Mike Clevinger threw five shutout innings and the Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros 6-3 on Sunday.

Robert hit a solo home run in the fifth and made a spectacular sliding catch on the left-center warning track in the ninth to rob Kyle Tucker of extra bases. Moncada hit a two-run homer in the ninth as Chicago gained a four-game split of the opening series.

I know we left some runners on base, but we also got some big hits, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. We played some really good defense. Roberts catch was really an unbelievable catch.  We talked about it earlier today, (Roberts) one swing away from locking in, but he can beat you in so many ways, and today he showed it.

Down 6-1, Houston closed it in the ninth on RBI singles by Jose Abreu and David Hensley off Reynaldo Lopez. Grifol came onto the field attempting to make a mound visit, but umpires conferenced and he was turned back because Chicago had reached its limit.

Grifol said pitching coach Ethan Katz thought they had one more mound visit, but the first-year manager added umpires handled the situation well.

Astros manager Dusty Baker spoke with umpire Bill Miller. Baker said he was told teams get an extra mound visit in the ninth inning, but thats only if the team is out of mound visits entering the inning.

In our minds, they were out of visits and should have taken the pitcher out of the game, Baker said. Youd have to ask them their interpretation of the rules.

Lopez stepped off the rubber with Chas McCormick at the plate and a 1-2 count and was charged a balk for a third disengagement in violation of this years new rules. Lopez threw a ball, then retired McCormick on an infield pop with his 37th pitch  seven more than he threw in any outing last year.

Clevinger (1-0) allowed three hits and struck out eight but walked three and hit two batters. The right-hander, who signed a $12 million, one-year deal, was 7-7 with a 4.33 ERA in 23 appearances last season with San Diego.

Story continues

Clevinger said he felt like he was back with the way his slider and fastball were moving. I felt good, Clevinger said. I thought that was a good start. I felt alive. I felt really good body wise and healthy.

Chicago left the bases loaded in the second and sixth, stranded runners on second and third in the fourth and went 5 for 19 with runners in scoring position with 12 left on base.

Luis Garcia (0-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. The Astros were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners.

They threatened all game today like they did in the first game, Baker said. They had a lot of runners on base. We got out of trouble a few times. It was just an ugly game.

Andrew Vaughn had an RBI single in the sixth and scored on Oscar Colas double for a 3-0 lead.

McCormick scored on Gregory Santos wild pitch in the bottom half, but Tim Anderson had an RBI double in the eighth, Moncada homered off Seth Martinez in the ninth for a five-run margin.

ANOTHER AWARDS CEREMONY

For a third straight day, the Astros handed out awards prior to a game. Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Framber Valdez received 2022 first team All-MLB awards, while Ryan Pressly and Tucker received second team honors.

TRAINERS ROOM

Astros: OF Michael Brantley went back to Florida on Sunday to continue his rehabilitation following surgery on his right shoulder last year. Baker said he hoped to have Brantley back by the end of the month or sooner, adding that Brantley would likely go on a rehab assignment before he returns to the Astros.  RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (muscle strain in right arm) threw again on flat ground.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Michael Kopech, who went 5-9 with a 3.54 ERA in 25 starts in 2022, will start Chicagos home opener on Monday against San Francisco.

Astros: RHP Hunter Brown, who went 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA in seven appearances, including two starts last season, will start Monday in the first of a three-game series against Detroit.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
By Nia Williams

(Reuters) - As Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta prepares for an election next month, its combative Premier Danielle Smith is facing a series of controversies and resignations that could undermine support for her ruling United Conservative Party (UCP), political analysts say.

In the space of a week, a leaked recording of a phone call between Smith and a Calgary pastor facing pandemic-related charges has raised questions about the premier's judgment, two senior members of Smith's cabinet said they would not be running for re-election in May and a UCP candidate resigned after accusing teachers of exposing kids to pornography.

Polls show Alberta's election, scheduled to take place no later than May 29, will be a tight two-way race between the UCP and left-leaning New Democratic Party, led by Rachel Notley.

The series of events, of which Smith's phone call with controversial street pastor Artur Pawlowski is the most serious, may damage her standing among moderate conservatives and undecided voters in key election battlegrounds like Alberta's corporate oil capital Calgary, said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University.

"I think it will make a difference (to voters), it's going to keep coming up," Bratt said of the recording. "It's going to be reluctant conservatives in Calgary who are concerned about the judgment and trustworthiness of Premier Smith and this adds to questions about that."

Pawlowski is facing charges related to COVID-19 protests in Canada last year, which included a weeks-long blockade of the Coutts border crossing in southern Alberta. A verdict is expected in early May.

In the 11-minute phone call released on Wednesday by the NDP, Smith expressed sympathy with Pawlowski's situation and said she would ask justice department officials about the case again. Critics including the NDP say it is inappropriate for the premier to discuss individual cases in the justice system with officials.

Story continues

Smith denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, the premier said she had her staff work with the Ministry of Justice to determine if anything could be done to grant amnesty for people charged with non-violent, non-firearms COVID-related charges, and followed their advice when they recommended dropping the matter.

Smith became UCP leader and premier last October, replacing Jason Kenney, by appealing to grassroots UCP members in the traditionally conservative province. But some political analysts have said the UCP's rightward shift risks alienating more moderate voters.

Last week's controversies come just days after two senior Alberta government minister, Finance Minister Travis Toews and Environment Minister Sonya Savage, said they would not seek re-election.

Their departures will deplete the strength of Smith's cabinet should she win in May. Savage's retirement from front-line politics may also hamper collaboration between the Alberta and federal governments over climate policies.

"I think it's a loss for Alberta and I think it's a loss for Canada, she was a very effective minister," federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told reporters on Thursday.

(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
The launch of a Russian cruise missile

There is one enemy warship deployed in the Sea of Azov and up to seven Russian ships in the Mediterranean Sea, including three Kalibr carriers with a total salvo of 20 missiles.

Read also: Russias missile terror has failed, Ukraines intel says

Six vessels with Russian interests passed through the Kerch Strait in the past 24 hours, the Navy said.

"Russia continues to violate the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) by disabling automatic identification systems(AIS) on civilian vessels in the Sea of Azov," the Ukrainian military said.

Read also: Air Force reveals Russias new tactics in missile, drone attacks against Ukraine

Earlier on April 2, Odesa Military District spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk said that three Russian missile carriers were on combat duty in the Black Sea, with a total salvo of 20 Kalibr missiles.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) states that the Russian winter offensive has failed to achieve the Kremlins goals of seizing all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Source: ISW report from 1 April 2023

Details: The ISW reported that "Russian, Ukrainian, and Western sources observed on April 1 that the Russian winter offensive has failed to achieve the Kremlins goals of seizing the Donetsk and Luhansk oblast administrative borders by March 31".

The ISW added that the "Russian milbloggers fretted that Russian forces must finish their offensive operations in Bakhmut and Avdiivka to prepare for the Ukrainian counteroffensives they expect" between 16 April and 9 May.

Milbloggers were disappointed that there have been no decisive battles throughout the winter and "observed that Russia will not be capable of continuing a large-scale offensive operation if it is unable to secure Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the coming weeks."

The ISW had long considered the Russian winter offensive unlikely to be successful, given the "persistent failures of the Russian command to comprehend the time and space relationships involved in such a campaign."

The Institute also deemed that Russia would lack the combat power for "more than one major offensive operation in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts", and considered that "ongoing recruitment campaigns in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories may indicate that Russia is preparing for reserve shortages."

Growing Russian speculation about changes in Russian military command likely indicates, according to the Institutes report, that Russia may soon reshuffle its senior military command due to the failed winter offensive.

Key ISW Takeaways as of 1 April:

Russian, Ukrainian, and Western sources note the Kremlins goals of seizing all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by 31 March have not been achieved.

Growing Russian speculation indicates Russia may soon reshuffle its senior military command after the failed winter offensive.

Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks along the Svatove-Kreminna line.

Russian forces made no confirmed gains in or around Bakhmut and continued offensive operations along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City frontline.

Russian forces continued to build defences in occupied southern Ukraine.

Russia began its semi-annual conscription on 1 April, the largest call-up since 2016.

Russian occupation officials continue to deport Ukrainian children to Russia under rest-and-rehabilitation schemes.

Some Russian nationalist figures criticised Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for failing to pursue efforts on behalf of a Union State between Russia and Belarus since the mid-1990s.

Background: UK Defence Intelligence reported that the Russian military command's plans to expand the territories under its control in Donbas during the winter offensive failed.

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus' borders with NATO neighbors, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said Sunday amid simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Boris Gryzlov's comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent statement about plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russia's neighbor and ally. The announcement marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine.

Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The two neighbors have an agreement envisioning close economic, political and military ties. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.

Gryzlov, speaking in remarks broadcast late Sunday by Belarusian state television, said the Russian nuclear weapons will be moved up close to the Western border of our union state but did not give any precise location.

It will expand our defense capability, and it will be done regardless of all the noise in Europe and the United States, he said in a reference to Western criticism of Putin's decision.

Belarus shares a 1,250-kilometer (778-mile) border with NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Tactical nuclear weapons, which are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield, have a relatively short range and a much lower yield compared with nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles that are capable of obliterating whole cities.

The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe.

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that some of Russia's strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russias tactical nuclear arsenal.
KABUL, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Unknown men detonated a hand grenade in Afghanistan's capital on Sunday evening but caused no loss of life and property damage, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

"Unknown persons threw a hand grenade on a road in Khair Khana area of Police District 11 at 06:20 p.m. local time today but fortunately caused no casualties," Zadran said on his Twitter account.

Without providing more details, the official noted that an investigation had been initiated into the incident.

Kabul has been the scene of increasing security incidents over the past couple of months. A blast on a road next to the foreign ministry a couple of weeks ago for which the rival Daesh or Islamic State outfit claimed responsibility left at least four dead and several injured including three security personnel. 
(Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday that the U.S. was behind the pressure that Ukrainian authorities have been exerting on the Russian-aligned wing of the Orthodox Church in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which Kyiv says has ties with Russia, defied an eviction order last week from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery in the capital. On Saturday, a top Ukrainian cleric from the church was sentenced to house arrest.

"It's no secret that the (President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy regime is not independent in its anti-clerical policy. The Orthodox schism, hitting this sphere of life, is a goal that has been long proclaimed in Washington," the ministry said in a statement, without providing evidence.

"The capture of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by Kyiv's current authorities is an illegitimate act from a legal point of view and immoral from a spiritual point of view."

(Reporting by Nick Starkov, Lidia Kelly and Ron Popeski; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Josie Kao)
Russian tactical nuclear weapons, which Russia is expected to deploy in Belarus, will be deployed to its westernmost borders.

Source: Interfax, citing Boris Grizlov, Russias Ambassador to Belarus, on air on STV, a Belarusian TV channel

Quote from Grizlov: "[The nuclear weapons] will be deployed to the western borders of our Allied State and will enhance our security capabilities. This will be done despite the outcry in Europe and the US."

Details: According to Grizlov, the parity of global nuclear weapons deployment is as important as ever.

"If we are talking about the US deploying their nuclear weapons in European countries  Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Turkiye  then we have to take measures that will enhance the security of our Allied State," Grizlov said.

He added that "Russia and Belarus are Allied States, and legally so, in contrast to the territory of the countries where the US is deploying its nuclear weapons."

The Russian Ambassador reiterated that a Belarusian storage facility where the Russian nuclear weapons will be deployed has to be ready by 1 July.

Background:

On 25 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and Minsk agreed that Russia will deploy its nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.

On 31 March, Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed President of the Republic of Belarus, said in an address before the Belarusian parliament that Russia might deploy its nuclear weapons in Belarus.

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.

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Russian military

"Obvious and unbelievable  that the Russian occupier self-documented his own crimes, assisting international courts," Sobolevsky reported.

Read also: About 15,000 paintings looted Kherson museums by Russian invasion forces

He quoted the Russian document: "On April 1, 2023, the Ministry of Culture in Kherson Oblast and the director of the Central Museum of Tavrida in Simferopol, Andriy Malyhin, signed an agreement on the storage of previously evacuated paintings of Kherson Regional Local History Museum."

Evacuation refers to the looting of cultural treasures while the invaders were fleeing from Kherson Oblast in November 2022, Sobolevsky added.

Read also: Russians looting of museums in Ukraine may be biggest art heist since World War II, writes NYT

Russia completely looted Kherson museums, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak has said previously.

Russian occupying authorities brought dozens of people to the Kherson Regional Art Museum in order to take out all the equipment and artwork between Oct. 31 and Nov. 4.

The loot was carried out on trucks and school buses. The paintings were not packed properly, but wrapped in rags, witnesses said.

Russian soldiers, bizarrely, are also known to have aided the theft of a raccoon from Kherson zoo, along with several other animals.

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Russian invaders attacked Kherson Oblast 60 times over the past 24 hours, killing a civilian, as Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, reported.

Source: Prokudin on Telegram

Quote from Prokudin: "The enemy carried out 60 attacks over the past 24 hours, firing 290 shells. Kherson Oblast was under fire from Russian aircraft, Grad [BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers] and artillery.

The enemy has shelled the city of Kherson six times. 26 shells have hit the citys residential areas, including private and apartment buildings."

Details: The authorities report civilian casualties, in particular, one person has been killed and two others have been injured.

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Russian troops hit a milk truck in one of the settlements of the Nova Sloboda hromada [an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories] with mortars, killing two people.

Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration (OMA)

Details: The authorities reported that a milk truck driver and a freight forwarder have been killed.

The authorities are asking people to stay in shelters during the attacks.

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Russian security forces have detained Darya Trepova, a resident of St Petersburg, on suspicion of murdering propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky.

Source: Russian media outlet Interfax, citing an informed source; Fontanka

Details: Darya Trepova, born in 1997, has been detained on suspicion of Tatarsky's murder and taken to the investigator, the agencys source said.

According to the source, the investigation has reason to believe that Trepova brought a box containing a bust of Tatarsky that had been rigged with an explosive device to a cafe [where an event was taking place].

This information has not yet been officially confirmed.

Earlier, Fontanka reported that security forces were looking for a young woman named Darya. "She is already known to the police, as they have detained her at rallies," the media outlet reported.

Fontanka also posted photographs provided by one of the meetings attendees that show the young woman who is believed to have given the statuette to Tatarsky.

"The young woman presented him with a bust and was going to her seat, but Vladlen stopped her and asked her to sit next to him. She said she was too shy, but went [to do so]. The second photo shows the moment when she sits down not far from Vladlen," said an eyewitness.

Ksenia Sobchak's Telegram channel Krovavaya Barynya (Bloody Lady) reported that Darya Trepova was previously detained at an anti-war rally on 24 February. There was a hearing under the standard article on demonstrations - Art. 20.2.2 part 1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences.

Background: Vladlen Tatarsky, a Russian "war correspondent" (military blogger), was killed in an explosion on Sunday in a cafe in central St Petersburg that formerly belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group Private Military Company. 25 people were injured.

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A Russian military blogger was reportedly killed in an explosion at a cafe in St. Petersburg as Russias war on Ukraine continues.

Vladlen Tatarsky, a popular war blogger whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was killed in the explosion that wounded 16 others, according to a report from the Russian state news agency TASS. Reuters reported that 25 were wounded.

A Russian law enforcement spokesman told TASS that an explosive device of about a soap bar size was hidden in a figurine that was presented to Tatarsky, who was determined to be the target of the attack.

If the blast was an assassination, it would be the second high-profile killing of a prominent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putins war on Ukraine. The U.S. has said it believes Ukrainian officials authorized a car bomb attack in August that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist.

Russias Investigative Committee said on Telegram it is now investigating the death as a murder.

CNN reports the explosion occurred amid an event hosted by a pro-war Telegram group, Cyber Front Z.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak suggested Ukraine was not behind the latest attack, writing on Twitter that domestic terrorism was emerging within Russia.

Spiders are eating each other in a jar. Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time, Podolyak wrote.

Russias war on Ukraine has now entered its 14th month, and casualty counts continue to mount amid Moscows strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets.

Russian forces are still pounding away at Ukrainian lines across the eastern front, but the intensity of the assault, which just weeks ago had put immense pressure on Kyiv, appears to be dying out.

A U.N. report released last month determined both Russia and Ukraine had committed war crimes during the conflict  and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russians are restricting the movement of Ukrainian citizens who have not received passports from the Russian Federation in Kherson Oblast.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00 on 2 April

Details: General Staff reports that the Russian occupiers continue looting in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

In particular, the occupiers are transporting illegally cut logs in the southern direction in the city of Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

In addition, the Russians are actively checking the mobile phones of residents and searching the homes of Ukrainian citizens without being authorised after the Ukrainian forces performed a successful attack on one of the Russian targets in the settlement of Kozachi Laheri in Kherson Oblast.

The Russian occupiers continue the forced passportization of the population of the temporarily occupied territory in Kherson Oblast.

According to the General Staff, invaders are restricting the movement of Ukrainian citizens who have not received passports of the Russian Federation at checkpoints in the settlements of Henichesk and Strilkove.

During the searches, Ukrainian citizens are notified that those who have not received Russian passports will be banned from entering and leaving after crossing the checkpoint for the fourth time.

"In addition, the Russian occupying so-called 'authority', aiming to seize the real estate of Ukrainian citizens, is actively forging documents on the ownership of residential premises and recreation centres, by falsifying sales and deeds of gift," the report states.

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Ukrainian Air Force ace pilots Major Vadim 'Karaya'Voroshylov and Colonel Volodymyr Logachov - Paul Grover/The Telegraph

Russia is setting sophisticated traps to ambush Ukrainian fighter jets, one of Kyiv's top pilots has revealed.

Major Vadym Voroshylov has told how every day it is becoming harder to keep the Russians at bay using outdated Soviet aircraft as he pleaded for the West to send F-16 fighter jets.

Major Voroshylov, who in a rare break from the front line met with The Telegraph, warned: The Russians change tactics all the time, so the war isnt stable. They make traps. They will send up a Russian jet alone, tricking the Ukrainian pilot into thinking there is only one jet. Then, two or three more will appear either side of it, effectively swarming the Ukrainian aircraft.

As Ukrainian pilots continue to fly Soviet-era MiG-29s, he stressed they can do no more than hold the battlefield. Wiping out the Russians, who fly the Sukhoi Su-35s modern air superiority fighter jets and Su-34 bombers, has proved difficult.

Right now, we can only hold the enemy but with F-16s we could control the airfield, as well as the seas and the ground to protect infantry, he said. We need more modern aircrafts to be better than the enemy.

Ukraine has appealed to obtain the US-made F-16s, of which there are over 3,000 operating worldwide, before. The combat-proven, multi-role aircraft, has been upgraded and enhanced over the years, including some with fifth-generation technologies such as advanced radar.

However, Joe Biden recently said he did not want to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters for now, which prompted Volodymyr Zelensky to urge Rishi Sunak to give Ukraine RAF Typhoons.

In February, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Defence to investigate which of Britain's planes could be given to Ukraine, although Mr Sunak cautioned that it could take three years to train a pilot.

This time frame is something Major Voroshylov and his colleague Colonel Volodymyr Lohachov, chief of the aviation department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, dispute.

Story continues

Less than six months are required to train on such a jet, Col Lohachov said.

As long as we continue to wait we will lose more pilots. We had a list of the most advanced pilots who could be trained on F-16s and unfortunately, some of them have already been killed in action.

In recent weeks, Eastern European Nato member states have begun transferring old Soviet fighter jets for the first time, with a promise from the West that newer models will be provided to backfill.

Slovenia and Poland have both sent MiGs from their ageing stock, but some are only useful for spare parts. Despite a lack of promises over more advanced Western fighter jets, the Ukrainian pilots remain optimistic.

Intensive English lessons

Most advanced pilots and engineers are already undergoing intensive English lessons so that they can understand their instructors if the time ever comes to be trained on western jets. This is despite hints from London that Ukraine would not receive any British fighter jets until after the war.

This is not something Col Lohachov wants to entertain. To be effective in the air, jets should have modern radars and air-to-air missiles, he explained.

The radars on Russian jets are about four times better than what we have and they can see much further. As well, the Russian missiles are significantly more capable than our Soviet ones. It is getting more dangerous. Sometimes we cant even see that the Russians have launched missiles, which is very dangerous for pilots.

Major Vadim Voroshylov sends a message to the Russians - Paul Grover/The Telegraph

He explained how Russia has the capability to launch an attack from 200km away from the front line, whereas Ukraine has to be much closer to the enemy in order to shoot, which is far more dangerous.

The pilots message is stark: Getting F-16s would help us survive and keep more people alive.

At just 29-years-old Major Voroshylov, who goes by the callname Karaya, has become the most famous fighter jet pilot in Ukraine. In part, it is due to his huge following on social media but also after he was celebrated by President Zelensky following an incident while out on patrol which forced him to eject from his jet which he directed into a field to crash safely.

He was flying in the evening when the Russians launched a number of drones. In order to get a better radar look at the drones, he flew closer and after taking out two of them, the second explosion destroyed his windshield, forcing him to eject.

For Major Voroshylov, this is a prime example of why Ukrainians need better aircraft.

If we want to strike Russian jets we have to get much closer to the front line and fly at a low distance, which is very dangerous, he said. The Russians have 40 air bases and over 700 aircrafts and helicopters altogether and they are more modern than our jets.

We are working on the question to get Western jets because what we currently have is not enough to be effective on the battlefield.

Asked if getting Western fighter jets will mean the end of this war, the pilots are practical. No one can say that, Major Voroshylov said. But it will help.
Russian occupiers in Mariupol

He said a sweeping document and cell phone check is underway in the city, which is in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, on the coast of the Sea of Azov.

"This is how the cleansing is going on in Mariupol," the message reads.

Yesterday, along Metalurhiv Avenue. At each intersection there are two cars from the Russian military. Every 200 meters along the street there is a patrol of eight occupiers (a mix of military and police).

Read also: Russia deploys Buk air defense system in civilian area of Mariupol  video

According to him, a large number of police patrols were brought in from the city of Donetsk, which has been under Russian military occupation since 2014.

Andriushchenko added that the Russians are conducting a full check of documents and phones, and are selectively searching apartments.

"Indeed, from district to district," Andriushchenko said.

From block to block. Every day for almost a week.

An explosion occurred in Mariupol on the morning of March 27.

Read also: Russian police platoon commander dies after car blown up in occupied Kherson Oblast

Later, the Kremlin's TASS news agency reported that an assassination attempt was made on the so-called head of the "police" Mikhail Moskvin in Mariupol. The car allegedly exploded when he was only a few meters away from it, injuring the Russian-installed official.

Moskvin is responsible for the operation of filtration camps in the occupied port city, which the Russians use to hunt down pro-Ukrainian people, and arrange for the deportation of others to Russia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
MOGADISHU, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) marked a year of service in Somalia on Saturday with a renewed commitment to strengthening cooperation and building partnerships to enhance peace and stability in the country.

Mohammed El-Amine Souef, special representative of the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission for Somalia and head of ATMIS, said an overview of the situation in the ATMIS Areas of Responsibility in the past year shows a decrease in al-Shabab activities with the security situation remaining relatively calm across the country.

"However, we cannot afford to lower our guard since the Khawarij (al-Shabab) remain the greatest threat to Somalia's peace and stability," Souef told a media briefing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday evening.

The AU jointly with the Somali government reconfigured the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) into ATMIS. Following the reconfiguration, ATMIS became operational on April 1, 2022, effectively replacing AMISOM, and will work to prepare the Somali security forces to take over responsibility for security in the country by 2024.

Souef said the transition, which requires the transfer of security responsibility to Somali security forces, is already underway.

He said ATMIS has executed its mandate over the last year with the support of international partners whom he said deserve special recognition for the contribution and support that they continue offering the Mission.

"In this regard, I would like to reaffirm ATMIS's support to the federal government and the good people of Somalia that we stand in solidarity with the communities facing the hardships of droughts and floods, and those displaced by wars," Souef said.

He also paid tribute to the troop- and police-contributing countries whose men and women have paid the ultimate price in pursuit of peace in Somalia.

Out of cowardice, al-Shabab extremists have resorted to asymmetrical warfare targeting civilians and security forces, he said, but noting that the ongoing military offensive by ATMIS forces and the Somali National Army will prevail, and the terrorists will soon have nowhere to hide.

"We urge all peace-loving Somalis to continue working closely with the security forces to help the country achieve long-term peace and security," Souef said. 
A picture taken on July 24, 2021 shows journalist Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter for The Wall Street Journal newspaper who has been detained in Russia for espionage. DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

An American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on Thursday.

Gershkovich is being held on charges of espionage for his reporting about the invasion of Ukraine.

He is the first American reporter detained by Russia for spying since the Cold War.

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested Thursday in Russia on espionage charges, is the first American journalist to be detained and accused of spying by the country since the Cold War.

Gershkovich, a New York-born journalist based in Moscow, was detained in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural mountains. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) accused him of "trying to obtain secret information" according to a statement published in the state-sponsored media outlet RIA Novosti, saying Gershkovich was acting "on the instructions of the United States."

Though the US has not officially designated Gershkovich as unlawfully detained, the Biden administration has issued a statement condemning Russia's arrest of the reporter and The Guardian reported White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the espionage charges "ridiculous" and "unacceptable."

The Wall Street Journal has not been in contact with Gershkovich since his arrest, but the outlet vehemently denies that he was doing anything other than reporting while in Russia. On Saturday, NBC reported that Gershkovich had been investigating the private military company called the Wagner Group and a tank factory in Yekaterinburg.

"The Wall Street Journal demands the immediate release of our colleague, Evan Gershkovich, a distinguished journalist who was arrested while reporting in Russia," the news outlet said in a Saturday statement, which was emailed to Insider. "We know what's going on in the world because of the fearless reporting of journalists like Evan. Evan's case is a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world. No reporter should ever be detained for simply doing their job."

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The last time an American journalist was arrested on spying charges in Russia was in 1986, when Nicholas D. Daniloff a reporter for US News and World Report newspaper and magazine, was accused by the Soviet Union's KGB agency of espionage, five years before the end of the Cold War.

Daniloff spent weeks in a Russian prison while the Reagan administration negotiated his release, CNN reported.

"In my case, the FBI had arrested a Soviet in New York for espionage, and the Russians then arrested me," Daniloff told CNN, adding that the negotiation that eventually secured his release also included a "solution for the guy who was arrested in New York."

The White House has not indicated whether negotiations have begun to secure Gershkovich's release, but a Thursday statement from the Biden administration indicated officials are "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," Jean-Pierre said in the statement. "We also condemn the Russian government's continued targeting and repression of journalists and freedom of the press."

The Biden administration recently negotiated the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who had been sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for possession of hash oil, in exchange for a notorious Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Other Americans, including the former Marine Paul Whelan jailed since 2018, remain in Russian custody.

Emma Tucker, editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Friday that US State Department officials are working with the outlet to find a way to get Gershkovich released from Russian custody.

"We're very optimistic that the US government will designate him  they're moving quickly towards designating him as unlawfully detained," Tucker told Cooper. "When that happens, that's an official recognition that the charges against him are bogus. And then after that things, we hope, could move a bit more swiftly."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Humeyra Pamuk, Arshad Mohammed and Mark Trevelyan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who Russia accuses of spying, in a call on Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said Washington should not politicize the case.

Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday it had arrested Gershkovich, accusing him of gathering information about a Russian defence company that was a state secret.

The Wall Street Journal has denied Gershkovich was spying. The White House has called the espionage charge, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years, "ridiculous."

"Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist. The Secretary called for his immediate release," the U.S. State Department said in a statement that did not mention Gershkovich by name.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the statement did refer to Gershkovich. Under U.S. law, the State Department is generally barred from speaking about a U.S. citizen unless he or she has signed a privacy waiver.

Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov told Blinken it was unacceptable for Washington to politicize the case, adding that Gershkovich's fate would be determined by a court. He reiterated Russia's assertion, for which it has not presented any evidence, that the journalist was "caught red-handed" last week.

"Blinken's attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, taken in accordance with the law and international obligations of the Russian Federation," the Russian foreign ministry said.

"It was emphasized that it is unacceptable for officials in Washington and the Western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political coloring," the ministry added, saying Blinken initiated the conversation.

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Direct conversations between Blinken and Lavrov have been rare since Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. The two spoke face-to-face for the first time since the invasion on the sidelines of a wider March 2 meeting in New Delhi.

Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker decried Gershkovich's arrest and the Russian accusations about the reporter but said she was reassured Blinken and Lavrov spoke.

"It's a complete outrage that he was arrested like this ... what the Russian authorities are saying is utter nonsense," she told CBS' "Face the Nation" program.

At a closed hearing on Thursday, Gershkovich was placed in pre-trial detention until May 29 at Moscow's Lefortovo prison.

Many Western and some Russian analysts suggested the arrest was a move by Moscow to secure a bargaining chip with Washington, four months after a high-profile prisoner swap where it traded U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner for convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Griner has urged the Biden administration to use "every tool possible" to free Gershkovich.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed in Washington and by Mark Trevelyan in London; Additional Reporting by Dan Burns in New York; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Frances Kerry and Lisa Shumaker)
By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Maya Gebeily

RIYADH/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans said, a move that would formally end Syria's regional isolation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said.

The Saudi government's communication office and the foreign ministries of both countries did not respond to requests for comments.

Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the Arab League secretary general, said the organisation is not privy to every move on the bilateral level between Arab countries.

"We are not supposed to be informed in advance about the assumed visit," he added.

Assad's attendance at an Arab League summit would mark the most significant development in his rehabilitation within the Arab world since 2011, when Syria was suspended from the organisation. Assad had been boycotted by many Western and Arab states over his brutal crackdown on protests - violence that led to a protracted civil war.

Syria's return to the 22-member body would be mostly symbolic but it reflects a change in the regional approach towards the Syrian conflict. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the war, which drew in numerous foreign powers, and splintered the country.

Last month sources told Reuters Riyadh and Damascus had reached an agreement to reopen their embassies after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The Saudi foreign ministry did not confirm an agreement was reached but said it was in talks with the Syrian foreign ministry to resume consular services.

One of the three sources said discussions have been ongoing for more than a year over a list of demands from Saudi Arabia for the Syrian government to meet as a condition to mend ties, including close cooperation on border security and drug trafficking.

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Initial discussions for a visit by Prince Faisal to Damascus or by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Riyadh were postponed because of the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria in February, one of the sources said.

Arab League heavyweight Egypt has also resumed contacts with Assad. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on Saturday during the first official visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Cairo in over a decade.

An Egyptian security source told Reuters the visit was aimed at putting in place steps for Syria's return to the Arab League through Egyptian and Saudi mediation.

Some countries, including the United States and Qatar, have opposed the normalisation of ties with Assad, citing his government's brutality during the conflict and the need to see progress towards a political solution in Syria.

Contacts between Saudi and Syrian officials gathered momentum following a landmark agreement in March between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Assad's main backer, to re-establish ties.

The rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran is part of major regional realignment, amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel.

Israeli forces carried out air strikes on outposts in Syria's Homs province in a raid early on Sunday, Syria's defence ministry said, while Western intelligence sources said a series of air bases in central Syria where Iranian personnel are based were hit in the bombings.

(Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Dubai and Aidan Lewis in Cairo; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Matthew Kellers parents gifted him one of his first guitars when he was a kid. Last month they watched him perform on the big stage.

Keller, 23, goes by K. Williams as an artist. Its a twist on his middle and last name.

Last month he performed at South by Southwest (SXSW), a week-long festival in Austin, Texas. Every year they bring in a variety of creators who showcase their work at downtown Austin venues. Keller blends his hip hop influences into alternative and pop punk, according to his description on the SXSW schedule online.

Keller wrote his first song as a sophomore in high school.

He showed interest in music from a very young age, his father, Mike Keller, told the Gateway.

In elementary school Matt saved up his allowance and bought his first guitar from Target, Mike Keller said.

A few years later, his parents upgraded Kellers guitar and put him into music lessons in Gig Harbor.

Matthew Keller, known as K. Williams, grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington. He performed for his first large crowd March 19 at the Austin, Texas, South by Southwest festival.

During his senior year at Peninsula High School, Keller began thinking of a musical career. He went on to study music business at the Los Angeles College of Music.

Pablo Mathiason was one of his professors.

In class Matt was super quiet and paid a lot of attention, Mathiason told the Gateway. As I got to know him more, we were always laughing and messing with each other.

At the end of the course, Mathiason knew Keller was making his own music and asked to hear the one song he had out.

Shortly after he taught Keller, Mathiason became the general manager at The Noise Company, an independent music label based in Austin.

Mathiason was at the label for about two years before he reached out to Keller, hoping hed sign onto the label and theyd reconnect.

What he showed me wasnt great, but I heard a lot of talent and potential in Matt as an artist, Mathiason said. I thought, if he just had some guidance, he could be great.

Keller signed with The Noise Co. in 2022. Familiarity with Mathiason played into his decision, Keller said.

Mathiason connected Keller with a producer in California, Mike Green, to help Keller make another song.

Story continues

It was amazing to watch them work together, Mathiason said. You have to find the right person to work with. Its like putting a couple together. Making music can be very intimate.

They were the perfect fit, Mathiason said.

This was Kellers first time recording in a professional studio.

The first song Keller and Green made together was Delete me. Its become one of Kellers most streamed songs.

Keller and Green have now made five songs together.

Keller records most of his music at home, he said.

Its just me, my computer, a microphone and a guitar, Keller said. Its simple, but thats why I like it.

Being with a label helps distribute the songs and provide marketing opportunities a new artist might not have the resources for, Keller said.

Keller had only performed for a crowd once. In high school, he put on a small show for family and friends at Real Arts Tacoma.

It was my first little taste of like, something, nothing too official, Keller said.

The next time he was on stage was for his 20-minute set at SXSW.

Matthew Keller, known as K. Williams, performed for his first large crowd, March 17 at the Austin, Texas, South by Southwest festival.

Keller at SXSW

This year SXSW was March 10-19.

They shut down a section of downtown, Keller said. Performers and creators fill downtown venues putting on different shows all week.

The festival doesnt just showcase music, but also tech, film, education, and culture, according to its website.

Keller performed Friday, March 17, at The Mohawk.

Matthew Keller, known as K. Williams, at The Mohawk in Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest festival.

Its a beautiful venue and locals say its a flagship spot, Keller said.

The Noise Co. got all eight of its artists spots at SXSW. The Austin connection helped make that possible, Mathiason said.

Walking onto stage Keller felt nauseous, nervous and excited all at once.

I just really wanted to get up there and let people have a good time with me, Keller said.

Keller had full creative control over his 20-minute set.

He chose a variety of his popular songs and some that might be streamed less but are his favorites to play, he said.

Dead to Me is Kellers favorite to perform.

Its so fun and full of energy, Keller said. I love how it all flows together.

He came off like hed been performing for the last 10 years, Mathiason said. The excitement, energy and confidence was all there. He won fans over that night.

Kellers family was in the crowd as well.

Matthew Keller, known as K. Williams, performed for his first large crowd, March 17 at the Austin, Texas, South by Southwest festival.

His father had never heard of SXSW before.

I had to let my fingers do the work and Google what it was when Matt told me hed be performing, Mike Keller said.

The festival was bigger than he expected, Mike Keller said. He described the fans and atmosphere as vibrant.

It was fun to watch him up there, doing what he loves with so much passion, Mike Keller said.

In high school Keller experimented in the genre of rock.

Flow-wise it didnt seem like me, Keller said.

Now he identifies with the alternative music genre.

Alternative is kind of what you make it, Keller said. It definitely has rock and punk elements, especially at its roots. But alternative now is a wide variety of rock, pop punk, and hip hop all blended into each other.

Keller said he looks up to artist Kid Cudi for his talent and also his openness to talk about mental health.

Keller wishes more artists addressed mental health and hopes his platform can reach anyone struggling.

Ive gotten a few messages from people saying that they love what I did and they put my song on when theyre having a bad day, Keller said.

Mathiason said Keller is a wordsmith.

He has such a great command of the language and how to use symbolic imagery with his lyrics, Mathiason said.

Keller lives in Tacoma now and hopes to perform at local venues next.

Noise Co. hopes to get him booked in Tacoma, Seattle and Portland.
A Florida school bus driver is accused of molesting one of his passengers, after surveillance video showed him touching and kissing one of her breasts through her clothing, according to the Collier County Sheriffs Office.

The driver was identified as 57-year-old Tomas Andres Cabrera, officials said in an April 1 news release.

The victim told a school district employee Thursday (March 30) that her bus driver, Cabrera, touched and kissed her left breast over her clothing, the sheriffs office said.

Detectives, in coordination with our Youth Relations Bureau and the School District, obtained a copy of the surveillance footage from the school bus. Detectives said the footage shows Cabrera clearly and intentionally touching and kissing the victims left breast over her clothing.

Details of the victims age and her school were not released.

Cabrera was arrested March 31 at his home in Naples and is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 12 by someone 18 or older, jail records show.

The investigation is ongoing, officials said.

The Naples-based Collier County Public Schools has just under 50,000 students enrolled in 63 schools, according to Collierschools.com. Investigators did identify the schools affiliated with Cabreras bus route.

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The cost of living in Seattle is going up, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the fall, Seattle voters will be asked to consider a new housing levy, announced Mayor Bruce Harrell in a news release on Thursday.

The $970 million housing levy would be Seattles largest ever.

Mayor Harrell said he knows times have changed when it comes to living expenses.

In addition to supporting the development of over 3,000 units of new affordable housing throughout the city, the Mayors Housing Levy proposal would make first-of-its-kind investments to stabilize wages for workers who provide critical services to the lowest-income residents with the greatest supportive service needs, said the news release. The proposal would also do more than any prior levy to support the operations and maintenance necessary to keep City-funded affordable housing running safely and sustainably in the long term.

If passed, the levy would charge property owners 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For a house valued at $800,000, that would cost about $360 a year.

Over seven years, more than $700 million would go towards developing subsidized rental housing. $51 million would go to homeownership programs, and $30 million would go to rental assistance.

The first council meeting to discuss the proposal is scheduled for Wednesday.

This Housing Levy renewal package is an investment in the health and resilience of our entire community, said Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Chair of the Council Select Committee on the Housing Levy. Its an investment in the workers who lay the foundation for these homes, the providers of critical housing support services for our most vulnerable neighbors, the community organizations that transform these new homes into community and cultural hubs, as well as the families, seniors, and individuals who find stability and sanctuary in these new places to live. This levy will make our whole city stronger.

Affordable housing is the foundation for individual and community health, safety, and resilience, said Maiko Winkler-Chin, Director of the Office of Housing. For nearly four decades, thanks to Seattle voters, the Housing Levy has enabled the Office of Housing and its partners to consistently deliver affordable housing options throughout the city, but we know there is much more to be done. We need to grow our affordable housing investments to meet the growing needs of our community, and the Mayors proposal will help us do that.




Another group of Ukrainian artillery crews, who mastered the 155-mm AS-90 self-propelled howitzers, has completed training in the UK.

Source: UK Defence Ministry on Twitter

Details: The UK Defence Ministry posted a video of the training of Ukrainian artillery crews with self-propelled howitzers.

Quote: "The programme is part of the UKs enduring commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia."

 The second group of Ukrainian artillery recruits have come to the end of their training on the formidable AS90 155mm self-propelled gun.



 The programme is part of the UKs enduring commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/oPRlpYerO1  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) April 2, 2023

The AS-90 is a flexible, highly accurate, modern artillery system that provides armoured protection to its crew while allowing it to engage targets at long range.

Background:

Training with the AS-90 takes place at a specialised facility under the control of the Royal School of Artillery and is being carried out by 1,000 officers and soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery.

On 15 January, the UK confirmed plans to send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and about 30 155-mm AS-90 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.

A group of Ukrainian military personnel arrived in the United Kingdom for training with AS-90 self-propelled howitzers in early February.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Selena Gomez and her sister Gracie were among the thousands of Swifties in attendance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday night (April 1). The two were spotted in the crowd for Swifts second night at the venue on the Eras Tour, dressed to support Gomezs longtime friend.

Gomez channeled Folklore with her hair pulled back and a white, flowing dress with cardigan, while her sister wore a purple gown reminiscent of Swifts Speak Now era.

More from Billboard

Fans at the concert captured Gomez having the time of her life singing and dancing along to Lover standout Cruel Summer, which Swift debuted live on this tour.

Swifts Eras Tour has a three-night run at AT&T Stadium this weekend. On night one, she swapped in three new songs in her set list: The 1, Sad Beautiful Tragic and Ours. Read Billboards full review of the March 31 concert here.

Get a glimpse at Selena and Gracies Swift-inspired outfits in the clips shared by concertgoers below, and check out a full list of celebs whove stopped by the Eras Tour so far.

Selena and her sister are spotted at the show tonight! #TSTheErasTour #ArlingtonTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/7L7h7caVeF  Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) April 2, 2023

Taylena is alive and well pic.twitter.com/DHLQmBTkPR  Erin (@sgbible) April 2, 2023

I really love how selena has always been so proud and supportive towards taylor like my heart cant handle this  pic.twitter.com/SzpR6HSGmj  Lea (@taylenarare) April 2, 2023

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Click here to read the full article.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders of displaying "wild" hypocrisy after the pair entered into a heated debate on the Senate floor Wednesday.

During a Senate HELP Committee hearing questioning Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Mullin called out Sanders for criticizing Schultz and pointed to the self-described democratic socialist's own multi-million dollar net worth.

"If you can be a millionaire, why cant Mr. Schultz and other CEOs be millionaires and be honest too?" Mullin asked Sanders during the hearing.

"That's a lie," the independent responded.

GOP SENATOR SNAPS AT UNION BOSS DURING HEATED HEARING: SHUT YOUR MOUTH

Mullin claimed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has a net worth of about $8 million.

After the back and forth debate Wednesday, Mullin called out Sanders again and claimed he "demonizes people."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Hes demonizing all CEOs for being millionaires. He talks about equality. And heres a guy that has been nothing but in public office," Mullin told Jimmy Falia on Fox Across America Thursday. "He draws a pension from being a mayor, a lifelong pension, to the point to where when he passes away, his wifes able to get the full pension too, every month. Hes been in office up here for 27, 28 years. And since that time, hes been able to accumulate a wealth of over $8 million."

BILL MAHER QUIZZES BERNIE SANDERS ON WOKE EQUITY LANGUAGE, SENATOR UNSURE OF DEFINITION: LEFT DUMBSTRUCK

"And his wifes a social worker, a professional social worker. So the last time I checked, both of them have done nothing but made money off of taxpayers, which is perfectly okay But his hypocrisy runs wild. And he demonizes people," the senator continued.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., initially called out Sanders on Wednesday.

Mullin said that Sanders was being hypocritical for grilling the CEO of Starbucks.

Mullin went on to say that when Sanders "was asked about being a millionaire, he goes, well, if you want to be a millionaire, quote, write a bestseller, and you can become a millionaire. And I was like, so why are CEOs that are millionaires corrupt, that creates jobs, that hires the union members that youre so pro towards? Why are they corrupt and yet a bestseller thats a millionaire thats never created a job in his life isnt? Explain that to me"
Jon Sperberg sits for a portrait at his home on Dec. 1, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.

TUCSON  As the sun set over the city on an ordinary Thursday in December, Jon Sperberg shuffled out his apartment door. His destination was a white metal chair at the end of the open air corridor, looking east toward the Rincon Mountains.

The chair wasnt far, perhaps 4 yards. But for Sperberg, sapped of energy and under siege from acid reflux, the walk was arduous. Terminal stomach cancer had robbed him of easy movement, of a gastrointestinal tract that could handle the vagaries of digestion, and of time.

He sat down with effort, the sharp angles of his body discernible even under thick black sweatpants and a hoodie. A cluster of silver hoops pierced his left earlobe. From behind wire-rimmed glasses, his watery blue eyes cast an intense and wary gaze.

There were good days and bad days, Sperberg said. This particular Thursday was the latter.

Still, he was looking ahead. A schedule clash loomed Monday: a doctor's appointment at the same time as his allocated slot for a phone interview to get on Social Security disability.

Under the microscope: Arizona faces 'reckoning' in death row cases after ignoring high court precedent

"They timed it just right," Sperberg said wryly. He had come up with a plan: put his doctor on the line.

"Hey, this is what you should need for your red tape," he would tell the interviewer. "You have the medical man right here talking to you."

He hoped it would work.

"Any advantage I can get to things that are going to help me out," he said. "Because I've got three months left. Three or four months left."

And in those months, he had something he wanted to do.

Sperberg wanted to get his absolute discharge, an order that would end his parole.

He had been under the supervision of the Arizona Department of Corrections for the last 29 years, serving out a sentence for first-degree murder.

Now 49, Sperberg had been out on parole for two years, four months and three days. He wanted to formally complete his sentence before he died.

Story continues

"I'm not going to be seeing anything else," he said. "I just want to be free."

The murder in Casa Grande

Sperberg was imprisoned for his role in the murder of a man named Walter Weise, who was killed at 1:10 a.m. on Feb. 6, 1994, behind a strip mall in Casa Grande.

"That night was just a horrible, horrible mistake," Sperberg said. "On all of our parts."

He was the oldest of a group of six  three young adults and three teenagers  who were out in the central Arizona city that night. As Sperberg tells it, the gathering was a recruiting effort for a new gang, and he was one of the leaders.

Jon Sperberg sits for a portrait at his home on Dec. 1, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.

There was partying, cruising around, petty theft, a lot of stupid stuff, as he remembered it.

And then someone suggested they go "bum rolling," an ugly phrase for robbing and assaulting homeless people. It wasn't his idea, Sperberg said.

They went to the strip mall knowing transients camped there, and came across Weise, who was, according to a news report at the time, 32 years old. A few brief words flew back and forth.

And then one of the six, a man named Jamie Young, fired two shots at Weise, killing him.

"That's when we all split up," Sperberg said, "and we all got busted."

He fell silent as he contemplated how he felt about his actions that night.

"Pain," he said eventually, his voice so faint it was difficult to hear him. "I hate myself for that night. Thinking maybe I could have done something different. Said something different."

He was charged with first-degree murder that occurred during the commission of a robbery under the felony murder rule. Put simply, the rule means that if someone dies during the commission of certain felonies, anyone who participated in the felony can be charged with murder, regardless of whether they killed or intended to kill the person.

He initially planned to fight the charge, but said he didn't want to put his grandparents through the stress of a trial. He also faced the death penalty if convicted.

In March 1995, he took a plea deal, life with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

His story? 'It's like John Wick'

"My story?" Sperberg said. There was a slight slur to his voice, which he attributed to his advanced disease. "It's like John Wick."

He paused, letting the comparison sink in.

In the eponymous film series, Wick  portrayed by Keanu Reeves  is a retired hitman grieving the loss of his wife, who gifted him a puppy as a means of healing right before she died. When attackers steal his car and kill the dog, Wick is drawn back into the underworld, with astoundingly bloody results.

So what do they have in common?

Jon Sperberg sits for a portrait at his home on Dec. 1, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.

"I've been fighting all my life," Sperberg said. "I've got to fight every single day and level. I get out of prison, I've got all kinds of fights there."

He gestured down at his body. "I get this now. It is one thing after another."

"And I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to cry about myself," he added, careful to head any sympathy off at the pass.

Until that irreparable moment behind the strip mall, Sperberg's life had been characterized by rejection and abuse.

Originally from El Paso, Sperberg was abandoned by his birth mother as a 6-month-old, and as a child and teenager bounced between foster homes, institutions  Sperberg said he spent time in juvenile prison, but letters from relatives tendered to the court in 1995 described the same stints as psychiatric care  and the care of his father, who went on to marry twice more.

He became a ward of the state of Michigan in his late teens, and struggled to establish a stable life as a young adult, describing himself as a "nomad." He wound up in Casa Grande because his mom had some family there, he said.

Then it was prison, for just shy of 26 and a half years.

I hate myself for that night. Thinking maybe I could have done something different. Said something different. Jon Sperberg

He did his time at the state prison in Florence, occasionally moving between units.

"There was always a war in there every single day of some nature," Sperberg said. He tried to stay out of it, but didn't always succeed. His disciplinary record lists 19 infractions; the most recent, a major citation for fighting, was in 2007.

"Didn't care for most of the people in there," he said. "I've never been much for caring for most people."

He passed the time by training in welding, carpentry and building maintenance. He read anything in the library that caught his interest. And he observed people.

"I can read them like books," he said. "It's another thing you learn in there."

Life after prison

Jon Sperberg sits for a portrait at his home on Dec. 1, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.

Sperberg was released on parole in July 2020. After so long inside, he had a complicated relationship with freedom.

"There is nothing easy about coming out that door every day," he said, nodding at his apartment. "I would much rather spend my time in there."

Inside were his two cats, a tabby called Boo and a tuxedo minx called Charles Emerson Winchester III, after the "M*A*S*H" character, Charlie, for short.

"They're my world," Sperberg said.

Humans were harder. When he first came out of prison, Sperberg felt like people were afraid of him, that they saw him as an alien, as the "gum at the bottom of the shoe."

Even if people were friendly, Sperberg said, he often felt out of place. He described one experience where a man he knew invited him out to a topless bar.

"It drove me nuts," he said. "I felt completely isolated."

His parole conditions meant he had to disclose his murder conviction to certain people at certain times. "Then other people hear, and " he trailed off.

He had to figure out a way to square his past with the fact other people often could not look past it.

After a murder sentence, trying to make amends

As he reintegrated into society, he spoke regularly to Tansha Harrell, the director of social work at the Arizona Justice Project.

Harrell spends her days helping people exiting prison build a life on the outside, people who need to find housing, secure a job, reconnect with loved ones, find health insurance and mental health support. She works with people who were wrongfully convicted as well as those who committed the crimes they were incarcerated for.

Sperberg, she said, was not someone she had to worry about.

Harrell described him as a parole success story, someone who came out of prison with skills in welding and construction that helped him hold down a job and a place to live.

"My conversations were him just catching me up on the little nuances of his job, or he had gone on a date and was telling me how that had gone or, you know, just talking about his cats," she said.

He would let her know about any housing or job opportunities he came across, wanting other people in his position to find stability, Harrell said.

And he would ask about her day, how things were going at work or with her family. "And, you know, not everyone does that," she said.

Most people Harrell works with have been incarcerated for a long time. She described Sperberg's 26.5 years as "pretty standard".

Her work is, on a practical level, about recidivism rates. It's also about convincing people, her clients and the rest of society alike, of one message: "There is room for all of us in this world."

"I am not a judge, I'm not a jury. They've paid their debt," she said. "My job is to help them successfully re-enter society and to help them to thrive. My job is to get them to understand that they are deserving of a second chance."

She paused as she thought about what it means to try to restart life after prison with a conviction as profound and destructive as first-degree murder next to your name.

Reviewing the problem: Reformers applaud Hobbs' plans for an oversight commission for troubled Arizona prisons

"Not being a convicted murderer myself, I don't know that I can truly answer that," she said. "I think that for each individual it would be different. The most obvious thing that I've noticed is remorse."

"You can never bring a person back, so you can't fix it. But how do I atone for that? How do I honor someone's memory? How do I try and make amends for the things I've done?"

Harrell sees her clients grappling with those questions.

"It's not that they get out of prison and they're just like, 'Oh, okay, you know, I did my time and that was then and this is now'," she said. "It's never like that."

"From what I can see, it never leaves them."

In July 2022, Sperberg hit two years on parole, making him eligible to apply for absolute discharge.

His second chance was going well.

Then came the diagnosis.

'No words for it'

It was peaceful outside Sperberg's apartment, on the second-floor corner of a squat complex painted entirely in shades of mint green. In the center of the units, a small pool was surrounded by cactuses and gravel.

Residents came and went, some of them checking in on Sperberg as he sat by the second-floor railing.

"Hanging in there?" called up a woman, one of his downstairs neighbors.

"Yes ma'am," Sperberg replied.

"Need anything?"

"No, I'm good for right now."

She promised to check in on him in a few days.

As the sun dipped under the horizon, the sky over the Rincons turned a faint pink.

"I like it out here," Sperberg said, as he cast an eye over the evening glow. It was a good place, he added with a grin, to smoke joints with his neighbors.

"They just found out who I really am," he said. "People don't take enough time in this world to find out who somebody else is anymore."

Prison sell: Most prisoners in Arizona work for pennies. But there's an elite workforce that's paid more

"You know, a lot of things get overlooked, because a lot of people just don't want to look."

He took a long drag from a cannabis oil vape, explaining that it helped with his pain. He could feel his body fading more with every day.

"There's no real words for it," he said. "It just hits you. You have stage four cancer. You have three or four months left to live. And that's all you get."

"I'm just gonna ride the train," he said. "You know, forget it. Just ride the train."

He wanted to talk about his childhood, how he felt failed by his parents and shaped by the abuse he had suffered.

He wanted to talk about Jamie Young, the man who shot Walter Weise, who is still in prison, and who Sperberg thinks deserves a second chance too.

He wanted to talk about getting his absolute discharge.

And then he was too tired to keep talking.

One last project

Sperberg died the following Monday. He thought he had a few months more, but his time was up.

He didn't make it to his medical appointment, never found out if his plan to get the doctor talking directly with social security would work.

He was still on parole.

And there was one other project he wasn't able to see through.

Harrell said Sperberg had promised to make her and Lindsay Herf, the executive director at the Arizona Justice Project, custom rocking chairs.

"He talked about that for a long time," she told The Republic. "And he was just so sorry that he was not able to do that."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jon Sperberg served time for murder, but his second chance never came
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The two-day Fifth Oceania Chinese Teachers' Conference 2023 is held in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, during the weekend.

The conference featured dedicated speeches and multiple workshops. Over a hundred Chinese language teachers from New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific Islands countries participated in the conference either in person or through online live streaming.

Participating Chinese language educators shared their experiences and insights into Chinese language education through these sessions and explored the new environment, demands, and pedagogy of overseas Chinese education, especially in terms of multi-faceted Chinese education and the adoption of artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT in the post-pandemic era.

Laura Deng, chairperson of the New Zealand Chinese Language Teachers Association, said this conference is the first on-site conference of its kind in the post-pandemic times.

"In the past decade, there has been a growing interest in the Chinese language and culture. As Chinese language teachers, we have an important role to play in nurturing this interest and helping our students to develop the language skills and cultural understanding they need to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world," said Deng.

Zhou Xuelin, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Auckland, believed that school teachers had demonstrated incredible abilities and intelligence to make extraordinary achievements in Chinese language education.

"At the 2022 National Chinese Bridge Speech Competition, local kiwi students from secondary schools across the country sing Chinese songs and dance Chinese dances. They perform 'cross talks' in Chinese and tell Chinese stories using bamboo clappers," Zhou said.

He noted that the first English-language book on Chinese cinema was authored by a New Zealander who speaks perfect Chinese, and nearly every New Zealand ambassador to China is fluent in Mandarin.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong encouraged Chinese language teachers in New Zealand and Oceania to take their students to China to experience Chinese history and culture, meet the hospitable people, deepen exchanges on the latest developments and trends in Chinese education, and cultivate more "Rewi Alley" of the new times and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between China, New Zealand and the rest of the world.

Stephanie Mortimore, project manager and facilitator from the Tui Tuia Learning Circle at the University of Auckland, an organization that undertakes the support of foreign language learning, teacher education, and professional development work from the New Zealand Ministry of Education, said that the organization would continue to support Chinese language teachers and teaching activities.

She also hoped to see Chinese language teachers provide their feedback on the New Zealand curriculum refresh of language next year. 
Russian missiles hit a densely populated area of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka on Sunday, killing six people, police said.

There was a large crater in a yard and windows were shattered from ground to top floors in two 14-storey tower blocks, while nearby private houses had smashed roofs, AFP journalists saw.

Donetsk regional police said that Russia fired S-300 and Uragan missiles in a "massive attack" involving six strikes just after 10 am local time (0700 GMT).

Kostyantynivka is around 27km (17 miles) from the city of Bakhmut, where the war's heaviest fighting is continuing.

Prosecutors said three women and three men aged from late 40s to mid-60s were killed, while eight more were injured.

The blast hit "16 apartment buildings, 8 private residences, a kindergarten, an administrative building, three cars and a gas pipeline", police said.

Liliya, a 19-year-old psychology student, stood outside her severely damaged high-rise block.

Broken glass rained down from windows as she spoke.

"I found out about this on the news. And when I was told about it and I saw that it was my area, I was just shocked," Liliya said.

"I'm very very lucky that I wasn't home at that moment," she added, after deciding to stay with her boyfriend.

"Everything is bombed out. And I think it's like that in every flat in fact. Because it was such an impact that it was very hard for anything to stay unbroken."

Nina, a pensioner, was looking at the damage to her ground-floor flat in a Soviet-era block. She was also not home when the missile struck.

"The internal doors and the front door were blown in. An internal partition wall has broken. There's not a single window left," she said.

"So many people have suffered.

"It's horrifying. What are those bastards doing? It's just a nightmare."

Soldiers were examining the scene afterwards as well an armed man in civilian clothes.

Watching, holding a shopping bag, Sergiy, 61, said "the shock wave came all the way to us, about a kilometre away".

"When will (Russian President Vladimir) Putin kick the bucket?" he asked, adding expletives.

am/ea
Russia's Wagner paramilitary group on Monday claimed it had captured the city hall in Ukraine's eastern town of Bakhmut, giving it "legal" control, but Kyiv said its forces still held the town.

The battle for Bakhmut has raged for months with Wagner supporting Russian troops and Ukraine warning the fall of the town would lead to the loss of huge swathes of its territory.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin posted a video on his Telegram channel showing him holding a Russian flag, which he said his forces would plant on Bakhmut's city hall.

"This is the Wagner private military company, these are the guys who took Bakhmut. In a legal sense, it's ours, Prigozhin said.

Ukrainian military leaders said on Monday after Prigozhin's video was released that enemy troops had tried to take control of the town, but their forces had "repelled more than 20 enemy attacks".

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier on Sunday praised Ukrainian troops' defence of the city, much of which now lies in ruins.

"I am grateful to our warriors who are fighting near Avdiivka, Maryinka, near Bakhmut... Especially Bakhmut! It's especially hot there today!" Zelensky said on Telegram.

In Kostyantynivka, a town about 27 kilometres (17 miles) from Bakhmut, a "massive attack" of Russian missiles left three men and three women dead and eleven wounded Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said.

The attack targeted residential areas where "ordinary civilians" were living, Zelensky said.

There was a large crater in a yard and windows were shattered from ground to top floors in two 14-storey tower blocks, while private homes nearby had smashed roofs, AFP journalists saw.

Liliya, a 19-year-old psychology student, stood outside her severely damaged high-rise block.

"Everything is bombed out. And I think it's like that in every flat, in fact. Because it was such an impact that it was very hard for anything to stay unbroken."

- Blogger killed -

Earlier on Sunday, a leading Russian military blogger and fervent defender of the military offensive in Ukraine was killed by a bomb attack at a cafe in St Petersburg, investigators said.

Story continues

Vladlen Tatarsky was reportedly killed after receiving a gift rigged with an explosive device at an event organised by Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself on social media as "Russia's information troops".

The explosion occurred at "Street Food Bar No. 1", located along the Neva river not far from the historic city centre, with the interior ministry saying police had been called to the scene at 6:13 pm (1513 GMT).

Officers cordoned off the street outside the building with around 20 police cars, alongside six ambulances as well as fire trucks, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Around two dozen other people were injured.

Russia's foreign ministry paid tribute to Tatarsky on Sunday, saying he was among "defenders of the truth" and lashing out at Western governments for failing to react to the attack.

"Russian journalists constantly feel the threat of reprisals from the Kyiv regime," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

- Western 'hype' -

Moscow condemned on Sunday the Western "hype" around the arrest of US journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges, dismissing Washington's latest call for his release.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told his US counterpart Antony Blinken that Gershkovich had been "trying to receive secret information" when he was arrested this week.

Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, is believed to be the first foreign journalist held for spying in post-Soviet Russia, and his arrest is expected to escalate the Kremlin's confrontation with the West.

His arrest on March 30 has drawn outrage from the West and is being seen as a serious escalation of Moscow's sweeping crackdown on the media.

"The timing of the arrest looks like a calculated provocation to embarrass the US and intimidate the foreign press still working in Russia," the Wall Street Journal's board of opinion editors said.

The White House has condemned the allegations as "ridiculous" and has warned Americans currently in Russia to leave for their own safety.

Several other US citizens are in jail in Russia, including Paul Whelan, a former Marine, who was arrested in 2018 and handed a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that he denies.

US officials have refused to be drawn on the possibility that Gershkovich's arrest could be Moscow's latest effort to engineer a prisoner swap.

"This is not a new tactic for Mr Putin and for Russian officials to detain foreigners and in particular Americans," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There have been several such high-profile exchanges between Moscow and Washington over the past year.

In December, Moscow freed US basketball star Brittney Griner -- arrested for bringing cannabis oil into the country -- in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

bur/bds/ea/js/mca/qan
Russians shelled Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast

The Russians shelled the city center in the morning, damaging high-rise residential buildings and private homes.

Initially, three people were reported dead and six wounded.

Later, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak confirmed that Russias invading forces had killed six Kostiantynivka residents. Another eight people received shrapnel wounds and are being treated.

The town was hit with two missiles from the Russian S-300 air defense system, and four volleys from Uragan multiple rocket launchers, Yermak said.

Read also: Russian forces attack civilian facilities in frontline areas from north to south Ukraine

In total, 16 apartment buildings, eight private homes, a kindergarten, the Kostiantynivka State Tax Inspectorate building, gas pipes, and three cars were damaged.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A special grand jury will convene Monday for the first time in Summit County history.

The grand jury's task will be to decide if the eight Akron officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker last June may have broken any laws.

If at least seven of the nine jurors say "yes," the officers will be indicted.

The grand jurys decision will be watched nationwide, with protests expected that many fear could be more extreme than those that followed Walkers shooting death last summer.

Its a pretty solemn duty, said Susan Baker Ross, the presiding judge in Summit County Common Pleas Court whose duties include overseeing the grand jury.

Judge Susan Baker Ross speaks to the Beacon Journal about the grand jury process at the Summit County Courthouse, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Akron, Ohio.

The Ohio Attorney Generals Office, instead of the county prosecutor, will present the case to the grand jury.

Jayland Walker: What the state investigation of fatal Akron police shooting may reveal

Editor column: Why local journalists matter for covering the Jayland Walker case from beginning to end

Walker, 25, was shot on the night of June 27 more than 40 times by eight Akron police officers after a car and foot chase. He was unarmed, but police said he fired a shot from his car, and that a handgun was found in the vehicle.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), an arm of the attorney generals office, investigated Walkers shooting.

Grand jury: Akron preparing for grand jury in Jayland Walker's death to be seated April 10

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost requested that Summit County Common Pleas Court convene a special grand jury to consider the case.

Judge Susan Baker Ross makes her way into the grand jury room at the Summit County Courthouse, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Akron, Ohio.

Akron leaders have been having meetings with churches and civic organizations to share information with the community in advance of the grand jurys decision.

Jayland Walker: Akron police chief fields questions on Jayland Walker case in tense community meeting

Paula Jones, an Akron resident who attended one of the recent events, said the information was helpful.

I think it was pretty evident in the room a lot of people did not know the process of the grand jury, she said.

Story continues

Heres a look at how this special grand jury process will work, what grand juries do and what is expected to happen after the grand jury. Sources include Beacon Journal interviews, the city of Akron, Summit County Common Pleas Court, the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and the American Civil Libertys Union.

What's the difference between a regular grand jury and a special grand jury?

The special grand jury will consider only one case and will meet for a limited time to consider it.

How long will the special grand jury meet?

The special grand jury will meet for up to two weeks. Grand jurors in Summit County normally serve for two months.

How will the grand jurors be chosen?

Jurors will be chosen randomly from registered voters in Summit County.

How many people will be on the special grand jury?

A pool of 250 potential jurors were drawn. This is expected to be whittled down to about 100 who will appear on April 10. From this, 18 will be chosen, with nine being alternates.

What types of crimes do grand juries consider?

Grand juries consider felonies or serious crimes.

Are grand jury proceedings open to the public?

No, they are done in private. The only people present are the jurors, the prosecutor, witnesses and a court reporter. Alternate jurors are present while the grand jury is meeting and may be called on to replace jurors who are unable to perform their duties or are disqualified. When deliberations begin, only the nine grand jurors are present.

What happens during the proceedings?

The prosecutor presents evidence by making statements, showing physical evidence and soliciting testimony from witnesses. The prosecutor and grand jurors may ask questions.

Why is the process secret?

This is to protect the person accused from having his or her reputation sullied until they are charged with an offense. It also protects witnesses from being identified and potentially intimidated and helps ensure that the person who may be indicted doesnt flee.

Jurors take an oath at the beginning of their service in which they pledge to keep their deliberations secret.

Grand Juror Oath by Stephanie Lawrence on Scribd

Where will the special grand jury meet?

Because the regular grand jury may still be meeting, the special grand jury will meet elsewhere in the Summit County Courthouse. Access to this area will be restricted.

A courthouse employee makes their way into the grand jury room at the Summit County Courthouse, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Akron, Ohio.

Who will present information to the special grand jury?

Two assistant attorney generals will present information.

What are the reasons grand jurors may be excused?

Jurors may be excused if they are older than 75, have a medical condition that would make it difficult for them to serve, have a financial hardship, have a pre-planned, out-of-town trip, or are a caregiver for a young child or elderly person.

The special grand jury will be treated the same as regular grand juries in terms of excusals and other processes.

What is the standard for a grand jury to consider?

The grand jury must decide if there is probable cause that a crime was committed. This is lower than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard in a trial.

What happens after the grand jury has heard all the evidence?

The jurors then decide whether there is enough information to indict a person on one or more charges.

How many grand jurors are required to vote for an indictment?

At least seven out of nine.

Folders mark the spots of jurors in the grand jury room at the Summit County Courthouse, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Akron, Ohio.

What happens if this threshold isnt met? What is a 'no bill?'

The grand jury then returns a no bill, which means the person isnt indicted. This doesnt prohibit the prosecutor from seeking an indictment from another grand jury, such as in a case if additional evidence is discovered.

Does the grand jury determine guilt, innocence or punishment?

No, these are determined after an indictment in court.

More: Summit County grand juror shares her experiences; insights come as state task force studies grand jury process

What is expected to happen after the special grand jury has concluded?

The Akron Police Department will do an internal investigation to determine if the officers violated any internal policies and procedures.

Community members have requested that the Department of Justice and FBI investigate the shooting.

Walkers family may file a civil lawsuit against the city and officers.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj. Beacon Journal reporter Alan Ashworth contributed to this report.

Grand jury terms:

Defendant: The person accused of a crime.

Prosecutor: The person who represents the state.

Indict: To charge with a criminal offense, which starts court proceedings against the defendant.

True bill: The grand jury determines there is enough evidence to charge.

No true bill or no bill: The grand jury decides there isnt enough evidence to charge.

Probable cause: A grand jury decides if there is sufficient evidence for a person to be indicted.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jayland Walker police shooting grand jury to meet Monday. What to know
Channel 11s Rick Earle has learned that former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto was involved in an altercation at a Shadyside bar Saturday night.

An employee of the bar told Pittsburgh police a group came in and started to insult Peduto, according to an incident report filed by police.

Peduto told police he pushed a man who was in his face, calling him names, to get him away.

Thats when he was pushed and hit his head on the floor, according to the report. A man who was allegedly on top of Peduto was thrown out of the bar. The parties were separated and continued to argue in the street, according to police.

Pittsburgh Public Safety told Channel 11 that two males were involved in an altercation at Cappys Cafe. Neither party wanted to pursue charges and both refused medical attention.

Public Safety said both people were advised to consult a local magistrate if they wanted to pursue anything further regarding the altercation.

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By David Latona

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz launched her bid to become the country's first woman prime minister on Sunday at a packed event in Madrid, where the absence of two government ministers signalled a deepening rift among the progressive left.

Before more than 3,000 supporters, Diaz announced her candidacy for the upcoming general elections slated to take place at the end of the year, in which the incumbent leftist coalition government seeks to win another four-year term.

"Today, I am humbly taking a step forward. Today, I want to become our country's first female prime minister," Diaz told the crowd to a standing ovation. "Because the Spain of women is unstoppable, there's no going back."

The rally featured Diaz allies ranging from her own Communist Party to environmental, LGBT and feminist activists, as well as the mayors of Barcelona and Valencia, Spain's second and third-largest cities, respectively.

But strikingly absent was the leadership of Podemos, a party formed in 2014 with a platform similar to the messaging of Diaz's new Sumar ("Unite") initiative.

INTERNAL ELECTIONS

Neither Podemos' secretary general, Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra, nor Equality Minister Irene Montero made an appearance, after last-minute bargaining over the format of Sumar's internal primary elections ended in a stalemate.

Podemos has called for "open primaries" so voters can decide the makeup of the list of Sumar's candidates for parliament and wants Diaz to commit to them in writing.

Diaz, however, has so far refused this condition, arguing for the need for multilateral negotiations with the other parties that make up her coalition.

It is still unclear whether Podemos will join Sumar or compete against it for left-of-centre voters.

Local and regional elections scheduled for May 28 could serve as a bellwether to measure Podemos' electoral appeal, influencing future decisions on striking a campaign deal with Sumar or running a separate bid.

Story continues

Although she has yet to release a detailed platform, Diaz outlined the broad outline of her manifesto, including a new "bill of rights" and a democratic, economic and social "contract" for the next decade.

She also touted her ministry's accomplishments, such as raising the minimum wage and a pro-union labour law reform.

Diaz, 51, hails from the northwestern region of Galicia and is the daughter and niece of prominent communist leaders. According to a recent poll by the state-owned Centre for Sociological Studies, she is the Spanish politician with the highest approval rating, averaging a score of 4.89 out of 10.

In 2019, she was anointed by former Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias as his successor upon his resignation from the cabinet, though the two have since fallen out.

Iglesias, who still holds considerable sway over Podemos' base as a prominent media commentator, has repeatedly criticised Diaz for what he describes as her cosiness with the rival Socialist Party and failure to position herself on issues such as sending weapons to Ukraine.

"I don't owe anyone anything," was Diaz's response.

(Reporting by David Latona; Additional reporting by Elena Rodriguez; Editing by David Holmes)
Vandalism to Spectrums network left some Kansas City area residents in the dark Saturday morning, according to a company spokesperson.

The company suffered outages around 6:30 a.m. across the metro area due to an incident of vandalism, the spokesperson said in a statement.

Our crews responded quickly to begin restoration of service shortly after the issue began, the spokesperson said.

Any damage to the lines transmitting electricity can have a large impact on customers throughout the area. Each line contains hundreds of strands of fibers that must be individually repaired in order to restore service, the spokesperson said.

Within a few hours, the outages were resolved for most of the customers affected, the spokesperson said.

The company told Kansas City police about the incident, and detectives were made aware of the case.
A prominent Russian military blogger was killed Sunday and 25 others injured in an explosion at a cafe in Russia's second-largest city of Saint Petersburg, the interior ministry said.

"One person was killed in the incident. He was military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky," the ministry said on Telegram.

Investigators later said they had confirmed "an unidentified explosive device exploded in a cafe in central St Petersburg", and had opened a murder inquiry.

The health ministry said that a total of 25 people were injured in the blast, 24 of whom were taken to hospital.

Six of the injured were said to be in serious condition.

The explosion occurred at "Street Food Bar No. 1", located along the Neva river not far from the historic city centre, with the interior ministry saying police had been called to the scene at 6:13 pm (1513 GMT).

Officers cordoned off the street outside the building with around 20 police cars, alongside six ambulances as well as fire trucks, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The TASS news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying the blast was "caused by an improvised explosive device hidden inside a statue given to Tatarsky as a gift".

The Ria Novosti agency, quoting a source close to the inquiry, said "a girl" had supposedly dropped off a package with a "figurine" inside intended for the blogger.

"She gave it to him... and all of a sudden there was an explosion," Alissa Smotrova, a woman who was at the cafe, told AFP.

"There was blood and pieces of glass..."

Another source told Ria Novosti that Tatarsky "knew" the suspected deliverer of the package, and that they had crossed paths at other "events", without giving further details.

- Terrorism? -

Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, has more than 500,000 followers on Telegram and is in favour of Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

He made his name early in the operation by publishing videos analysing the military situation on the ground and offering advice for mobilised troops, according to TASS.

Story continues

A group called Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself on social media as "Russia's information troops", said it had hired out the cafe for the evening.

A local media outlet, Fontanka, said there were at least 100 people at the event.

"There was a terrorist attack. We took certain security measures but unfortunately they were not enough," the group said on Telegram.

"Condolences to everyone who knew the excellent war correspondent and our friend Vladlen Tatarsky," it said.

The 40-year-old Tatarsky came from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia claims to have annexed and which is currently mostly held by Russian troops.

Reacting to the attack, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said on Twitter the "question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time".

In August 2022, Russia's FSB security services accused Ukraine of being behind a car bombing outside Moscow that killed the daughter of hard-line Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin -- charges denied by Kyiv.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said bloggers like Tatarsky "are defenders of the truth", and lashed out at Western governments for not reacting quickly to the bombing.

A failure to comment "despite their concerns for the welfare of journalists and the free press speaks for itself", she said, an apparent reference to widespread condemnation of the arrest of US reporter Evan Gershkovich.

bur/js/pvh
This story has been updated

The second autopsy of Stephen Smith, a Hampton County teenager who was mysteriously found dead on Sandy Run Road in 2015, was quietly completed this weekend after years of speculation that he was not killed in a hit-and-run accident, as was officially ruled.

Stephen Smiths mother, Sandy Smith, has contested the cause of her sons death for years. On March 9, Sandy Smith created a GoFundMe page to pay for an independent exhumation, autopsy and investigation to potentially shed new light on Stephens death, which the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has been investigating anew since June 2021. SLED Chief Mark Keel confirmed March 21 the death is now a suspected murder.

Smiths body was exhumed on March 31 and returned to its grave by April 2.

I cannot thank SLED enough for making Sandys dream of exhuming Stephen and having a second autopsy be done become a reality, and her pleas regarding Stephen for the last eight years to finally be heard, Eric Bland, a lawyer representing the family, said in a Sunday tweet. The state of South Carolina spent a significant amount of money this past weekend, ensuring a smooth and orderly exhumation.

Bland and Sandy Smith have since announced a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of any responsible party in Stephen Smiths death. The reward is funded through money collected from Sandy Smiths GoFundMe page for the exhumation, which has collected just under $120,000  far exceeding its original $15,000 goal.

FITSNews tweeted a photo on April 1 showing Smiths headstone had been moved and his grave excavated. Bland rebuked the photo in his own tweet, writing that hed asked the media all day to respect the Smith familys privacy this weekend as the exhumation took place.

Earlier in the day, Bland tweeted, To the media. We are receiving a number of requests from different media this weekend to provide comment on a number of topics. Out of respect for the Smith family, we will make no further comment this weekend on any of these matters and will be glad to discuss them with you next week.

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On March 29, spokeswoman Whitney McDuff told The Island Packet the exhumation would not take place until later next week, but that the effort was being expedited.

The headstone of Stephen Smith as seen on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County, S.C. Stephens death, initially ruled a hit and run, has now been ruled a suspected murder by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Stephens mother Sandy Smith raised money to have her sons remains exhumed on March 31 for an independent exhumation, autopsy and investigation.

Authorities disagreed on cause of death

SLEDs renewed interest in Smiths case emerged from unspecified evidence gathered during its investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaughs killings. Former Hampton County attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of slaying his wife and son on March 3, after a six-week trial.

No evidence linking Smiths death to the Murdaugh family has been shared publicly, despite swirling rumors and several mentions of the family in the state highway patrols investigative notes. Buster Murdaugh, Alex Murdaughs surviving son, released a statement on March 20 denying any involvement in Smiths death. Buster Murdaugh was a high school classmate of Smiths.

SLED, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, former Hampton County Coroner Ernie Washington and Hampton County Sheriffs deputies were all convinced Smith was murdered. In one report, Washington wrote Smith had a head wound consistent with being shot and had a defensive wound on his hand, a type of injury common in murder victims trying to protect themselves from a killer.

Confusion crept into the case when Medical University of South Carolina pathologist Dr. Erin Prisnell said Smith was killed after being struck in the head by a cars side mirror. When highway patrol investigator Todd Proctor asked Prisnell about her conclusions, he said Prisnell offered no evidence to support her findings other than the fact Smith was found in the road.

No glass or other car debris was ever found near Smiths body or elsewhere in the road, according to one of Prisnells reports, but a bullet was never recovered either.
Photo taken on Oct. 6, 2020 shows the construction site of the Belgrade-South Adriatic highway, also called the E763, in Serbian. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)

BELGRADE, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A highway section linking New Belgrade to Surcin of Serbia was opened for traffic on Saturday.

The section, a part of the E-763 highway, is around 8-kilometer long and has three lanes in each direction, a five-meter dividing strip, two-meter-wide pedestrian paths, and bicycle lanes.

The construction of the section began in March 2021 and was conducted by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

The project, worth about 70.5 million U.S. dollars, is of high priority for Serbia as it will enable a fast connection between Belgrade and the E-763 highway and create a short link between Belgrade and the Adriatic Sea.

A highway is seen in downtown Belgrade, Serbia on April 12, 2020. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua)

Attending the opening ceremony in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia is heading into new infrastructural investments thanks to good financial results this year and low public debt.

"This year, we expect to sign large contracts, thanks to slightly better results... This is the success of Serbia, but also of all our citizens," Vucic said.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, several ministers, the mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Sapic, and the Chinese ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo also attended the ceremony.

"We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Chinese and Serbian engineers and workers who worked on this section of the road. We are glad that our Serbian friends will feel the benefits of the road every day," said Chen. 
Jan Vogelzang

Jan Vogelzang was an entrepreneur at heart, but he needed a push.

He was born in 1876 in the province of Overijssel, in the Netherlands. His family took the surname Vogelzang, or bird song. Eighty years before Jan was born, after Napoleon had conquered the Netherlands, he issued a decree that everyone needed a last name. Unfortunately, my ancestors took the surname from the peat.

But Jans father wasn't an ornithologist, or someone who studies birds  he was a boer or farmer. Jan, in contrast, preferred to be a houtbewerker, or woodworker.

When he was 30 years old, Jan prepared to marry Klaashje (Clara) Niehaus, or new house. Clara had been born in the province of Drenthe, the daughter of a builder. But Jan didn't intend to work for his father-in-law. Jan and Clara planned to emigrate to America for their honeymoon.

To save money, Jan decided to let Clara manage his money, his wisest business decision. Before the wedding, they put off buying clothes, having heard the quality of goods was better in America. But Claras parents rejected their austerity and honeymoon plans.

First, they wanted Jan and Clara to stay in the Netherlands. When her brother announced he would throw them a lavish wedding party, Claras father insisted Jan buy a new overcoat and silk top hat. Clara changed her mind about leaving the country; she convinced Jan to stay by telling him that leaving his mother for America would break her heart.

Claras brother found Jan a job at a carpentry shop owned by a Mr. Van Houten. He also found Jan and Clara an apartment. But after a year, in winter, the building trades went into a recession, leaving Jan without work. It was then the young couple decided to leave for America, after all. Their plan was to first live with relatives in Olive Center, a village north of Holland, before getting their own place.

In February 1907, having said their tearful goodbyes, they boarded a Holland-American liner, a steamship, in Rotterdam. On board were emigrants from Poland and Russia, as well as emigrants from the Netherlands. Some, like the Vogelzangs, were heading to Holland.

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Steve VanderVeen

In the English Channel, they experienced their first storm. It was as if the bottom had fallen out of the sea and the boat was drifting without any balance, according to Jans account. The result was that a mass of people [were] laying in heaps on top of one another. ... The sailors simply had to toss this mass of humanity from one place to another in order to clean the deck.

In what would've taken one or two months 50 years earlier, the passengers sighted the Statue of Liberty in only 12 days.

Before landing in New York, an American doctor came aboard the ship to examine the passengers. Since there were so many passengers and so little time, the examination was brief. At dusk, the ship arrived in New York. The next morning, the passengers disembarked at 5 a.m.

It was then the Vogelzangs saw skyscrapers for the first time. The next day, they boarded an overcrowded smaller ship for Ellis Island. After passing through customs, they boarded a train. Their first stop was Buffalo; the second stop was Detroit. In Detroit, they waited four hours for the next train, which took them to Grand Rapids.

They arrived in Grand Rapids early on Sunday morning. From Grand Rapids, they rode the Interurban to Holland.

Surprisingly, the station manager in Holland didn't know Dutch and the Vogelzangs didn't know English. Finally, when Jan gave him a slip of paper with an address, the manager understood and tried to contact their relatives by phone in Olive Center.

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When he did finally reach someone, the person on the other end told him Jans relatives weren't available because they'd gone to church. The station manager flagged two men who were passing by who knew both Dutch and English, and they directed Jan and Clara to a house nearby.

In that house lived the Oosterbaan family. Members of the Central Avenue Christian Reformed Church, they believed their calling was to provide hospitality to immigrants.

The next morning, the Volgezangs relatives arrived on a horse-drawn wagon.

 Community Columnist Steve VanderVeen is a resident of Holland. Contact him through start-upacademeinc.com. He'll be presenting at Herrick District Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 11.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland History: How the Vogelzangs first arrived in Holland
Indiana Department of Natural Resources reported Saturday night that the bodies of two people were found in the McCormick's Creek State Park campground.

DNR reported the victims were Brett Kincaid, 53, and Wendy Kincaid, 47, of Rossville, Indiana.

Emergency management officials were out late Friday and through the day Saturday after a swath of storms, some with suspected tornadoes, tore through Indiana on Friday night and early Saturday.

'I was terrified': Survivors in Owen, Monroe recount living through Friday storm

The campground near Spencer was one of the hardest hit areas. Owen County Sheriff's Department, several Owen County fire departments, Owen County Emergency Services and Indiana Conservation Officers scoured the park two times for potentially injured campers spending the night at various camp sites.

People located in the park on Friday were evacuated with the help of Spencer-Owen County School Corp. buses and ambulances. The people evacuated from the park were shuttled to Canyon Inn.

A severe storm struck McCormick's Creek State Park where people were camping Friday night.

Cris Lundsford with Owen County Emergency Management Services said trees had to be cut down to allow access to the campgrounds to remove trees that had fallen over the roadway through the park.

Lundsford said people sleeping in tents and RVs heard the outdoor warning siren on Friday and took shelter in a cement block bathhouse, potentially saving their lives. First responders reported only one person with minor injuries Saturday.

NWS surveys: At least 7 tornadoes hit Indiana, National Weather Service says. Here's where.

Second search of McCormick's Creek State Park

More than 20 emergency personnel returned early Saturday to McCormick's Creek State Park to do a more extensive search for people, according to Jack White with Owen County EMS.

"We have a daylight search crew searching the state park that was just devastated," White said Saturday morning, adding he and others didn't feel comfortable not going back after the search on Friday night, done in the dark.

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White said much of the campground area was "flattened."

Other areas of Owen County had trees down and many residents lost electricity. White said about half the town of Spencer remained without electricity as of about 9 a.m. Saturday.

Portion of Monroe County damaged by storm as well

Just across the county line in northwest Monroe County, emergency personnel were assessing damage along County Line Road and Wolf Mountain Road on Friday night and Saturday. Justin Baker with Monroe County Emergency Management Agency said a temporary shelter and resource center has been set up in the former Stinesville elementary school. He said five families were displaced.

Sarah Nicholson uses a chainsaw to cut up downed trees as Aaron Combs gathers limbs along N County Line Road E near Stinesville on Saturday, April 1, 2023 after a large storm damaged the area the night before.

The shelter and resource center will remain open as long as it is needed, White said, adding some of the families may find shelter with friends or family but will still be able to come to the elementary school for food, water or other necessities.

Anyone in Monroe County who had damage due to Friday's storms or information about the storms is asked to call 211 to report it. White said emergency officials will be doing damage assessments in the next few days.

While much of the debris left behind after the storms has been cleared, Baker said personnel will be working hard into next week to clear roads. He stressed people need to be on the lookout for downed trees and power lines, turn around if they find them across the road and then report it.

A destroyed structure along West Wolf Mountain Road near Stinesville on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

"There are so many trees down and with the winds today, there are more trees that went down today," he said Saturday.

Baker encouraged anyone without power to report it to their electric provider, adding that Duke Energy and South Central Indiana REMC were out working to restore power.

PHOTOS: Martinsville begins clean up after powerful storms sweep through city

Lawrence County also reported downed trees after Friday's storms, while Morgan County reported downed trees and power lines, which included loss of power in Martinsville. High winds also caused severe damage to buildings in Martinsville.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Two die after storms flatten McCormick's Creek State Park
Stormy Daniels at an adult entertainment fair in Berlin on October 18, 2018. Markus Schreiber/AP

Donald Trump's grand jury indictment likely concerns a hush-money payment made to Stormy Daniels.

Daniels told The Times of London that she heard the news while riding her horse named, Redemption.

She said she used some of the $130,000 to purchase a horse trailer.

Stormy Daniels heard the news about former President Donald Trump's indictment, which stemmed from an investigation into a $130,000 payment that was made to the adult film actress in 2016, while riding a horse named Redemption.

"There's something really ironic and hilarious that I got the news about the indictment while I was sitting on a horse named Redemption," Daniels told The Times of London.

According to the publication, Daniels, who is also an equestrian, said she used part of the $130,000 payment to purchase a horse trailer.

The Manhattan district attorney's office has been investigating Trump's business and personal finances for nearly five years after Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted on August 2018 that he arranged hush-money payments for two women, including Daniels. When Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court, he alleged that Trump directed the payment.

That investigation culminated on Thursday after it was reported that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump.

The exact criminal charges are not yet known, but sources told CNN that Trump faces more than 30 counts including low-level felony charges.

The news of Trump's indictment came as "a shock" to Daniels, according to The Times. "There was no warning," she said.

Recently, Daniels has taken to social media to clap back at Trump supporters. When the indictment was reported, Daniels said she saw "Team Stormy" merch purchases skyrocket.

She also began to receive violent threats across "all social media platforms, and email, and phone," hours after the indictment was reported, according to The Times.

"The number and the intensity is the same as it was the first time around, but this time it's straight-up violent," she told The Times. "The first time it was 'gold digger,' 'slut,' 'whore,' 'liar,' whatever. And this time it's 'I'm gonna murder you.' They're way more violent and graphic."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Protesters march across the Ringling Bridge in opposition to recent Florida legislation, including bills against abortion and gay rights. Women's Voices of SW Florida organized the march, in April 2022, which was followed by a rally in Five Points Park.

Of gay son, I could not love him more

It is appalling to read continuously negative comments about those identified as gay.

My 60-year-old son is gay. He has a bachelors degree from Tulane, a CPA license from the state of Louisiana and CLM (Certified Legal Manager) certification from the Association of Legal Administrators. He is also a past president of the New Orleans Association of Legal Administrators.

He is the chief financial officer of a large and prestigious law firm in New Orleans.

More: Gay School Board member walks out of meeting during attack

More: How to send a letter to the editor

As a teenager, his mothers death at 40 and the challenge of being unable to freely embrace his identity led him to alcoholism and drug abuse. He eventually went to Alcoholics Anonymous and has been drug- and alcohol-free for years.

He and his partner of many years lead an exemplary life in an upscale section of New Orleans, and his partner is the neighborhood's homeowners association president.

I would accept my sons character and morals over virtually any politician (and especially Gov. Ron DeSantis), most Christians and all people of intolerance  and I could not love him more.

A gay person is who you are, not what you become. A true Christian finds reasons to love, not reasons to hate.

Richard H. Wolf, Venice

The holiest of weeks for Christians

Palm Sunday, April 2, marks the beginning of Holy Week for about 2.3 billion Christians around the world. This commemorates the day Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of hosanna from people waving palm branches.

Ironically, a few days later, he would be carrying his own cross along the Via Dolorosa to Golgatha, where the Romans would crucify him.

This day became known as Good Friday, not because there was anything good about such suffering, but because the Christian Bible states that it was Gods plan for a sinful world.

The body of Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb and sealed with a large stone. And yet, on the third day the tomb was empty.

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As the prophets predicted in Old Testament Scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead and returned to his father.

Jesus taught his followers that no man can come to the father except through me. For two millennia, the cornerstone of Christian belief is that if you confess that Jesus is the son of God and you turn from your sin and ask him to enter your heart, you will have eternal life in Heaven.

This good news is the reason that Easter Sunday is now celebrated as the holiest day in Christianity.

Janet Kerley, Bradenton

Letters connected writer to world

Im writing to let you know that one of your letter writers, Susan Ward-Steinman, died in January. I know hundreds of people send letters to the Herald-Tribune, but my guess is you will recognize my mothers name since the paper published more than 65 of her letters.

In my view, she consistently presented a well-reasoned, liberal viewpoint on political and social matters, cutting through political double-talk to speak to core issues, identify hypocrisy and apply common sense  often with a good sense of humor.

Over the 20 or so years that she contributed to the letters section, she received threatening phone calls and hate mail, neither of which bothered her. If anything, she was gratified that her letters were being read by the public and considered important enough to warrant threats and hate.

For my part, Id like to thank the Herald-Tribune for publishing so many of her letters. Her last years became increasingly circumscribed by COVID and profound hearing loss, so having her letters published was one of the very few ways she was able to feel valued and connected to the world.

Jenna S. Ward, Savannah, Georgia

Small businesses depend on digital tools

Across the state and nation, small businesses have noted the importance of digital tools like social media and e-commerce sites in their business models. In fact, 80% of small businesses reportedly use digital advertising to maintain their business models.

It remains more important than ever for our state leaders to support small businesses, not threaten their access to the tools they need.

Yet thats what Senate Bill 262/House Bill 1547 could do.

It could prevent small businesses from using these critical tools to expand their reach to customers and limit their ability to promote themselves.

If you are a small business with a limited budget that can only afford to advertise online using free or low-cost tools, bills that remove the opportunity for small businesses to succeed arent good economic policy.

Access to digital tools matters, and I hope our state leaders continue to support the small businesses that make our communities vibrant and unique.

George McGuire, co-owner, Glass Crafters Stained Glass, Sarasota

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Father proud of successful gay son, prolific letter writer to the end
A man has been injured after being hit by police gunfire in North Linden on Sunday.

According to Columbus police, officials received a call Sunday morning from a person who claimed that an individual inside a residence on the 2900 block of Azelda Street had a firearm and wanted to "shoot it out with the police."

The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Rodriguez Fitzgerald, had multiple violent felony warrants, including domestic violence and felonious assault, which prompted SWAT to respond. The team was serving the warrant when the man stepped out of the residence with a firearm and started firing shots at officers present at the scene, according to police.

At least one officer returned fire, striking Fitzgerald, who was then rushed to a nearby hospital. He was in critical condition but has since been upgraded to stable condition and is expected to survive his injuries.

Fitzgerald will be charged with felonious assault against a police officer, police said.

No officers or other individuals were injured during the shooting.

Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 Vice President Brian Toth said in reaction to the incident that crime is rampant and the city is broken.

"Columbus has fallen," he said. "People just don't care anymore. And I feel that they don't respect law and order. They don't respect one another."

The area in North Linden was blocked off as Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation handles the investigation, as with all Columbus police shootings in which someone is injured or killed.

tmoorman@dispatch.com

@taijuannichole

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Officer shoots, injures man with warrants in North Linden
By Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber

GENEVA (Reuters) - Switzerland's Federal Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS Group, the office of the attorney general said on Sunday.

The prosecutor, based in the Swiss capital Bern, is looking into potential breaches of the country's criminal law by government officials, regulators and executives at the two banks, which agreed on an emergency merger last month to avoid a meltdown in the country's financial system.

There were "numerous aspects of events around Credit Suisse" that warranted investigation and which needed to be analysed to "identify any criminal offences that could fall within the competence of the [prosecutor]", it said in a statement.

"The Office of the Attorney General wants to proactively fulfil its mandate and responsibility to contribute to a clean Swiss financial centre and has set up a monitoring system so that it can take action immediately on any issues that fall within its area of responsibility," it added.

It gave no indication of any specific aspects of the merger agreement it might look into or how long the investigation might last.

Both UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

OUT OF THE ORDINARY

"It's astonishing that the prosecutor would comment," said Mark Pieth, professor emeritus of the University of Basel, where he has taught criminal law and criminology. But the rescue "is so out of the ordinary that they had to say something."

Pieth said the prosecutor could be probing breaches of secrecy provisions by officials, or the trading on inside information, adding that the wiping out of some bondholders as planned under the deal is also problematic.

In the deal announced on March 19 and orchestrated by the Swiss government, the central bank and market regulator, UBS would acquire rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion). The bank is trying to close the deal by as soon as the end of April, sources have told Reuters.

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The Swiss public and politicians have voiced concerns about the level of state support, with nearly 260 billion Swiss francs in liquidity and guarantees offered by the government and Swiss National Bank.

A poll of Swiss economists found that nearly half think the takeover of Credit Suisse was not the best solution, and warned that the situation had dented Switzerland's reputation as a banking centre.

The takeover, which was also designed to help secure financial stability globally during a period of turmoil, has sparked concern among critics about the size of the merged bank, with $1.6 trillion in assets and more than 120,000 staff worldwide.

Up to 30% of staff could lose their jobs due to the takeover, according to an unnamed senior UBS manager quoted in Swiss media.

($1 = 0.9148 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Geneva and Elisa Martinuzzi in London; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes)
UBS merged with Credit Suisse in a deal brokered by regulators in March. NurPhoto

Swiss prosecutors have launched a probe into the UBS takeover of rival Credit Suisse.

Switzerland's Federal Prosecutor is looking into possible breaches of criminal law.

The takeover has proved highly unpopular in Switzerland, with a majority wanting UBS split up.

Swiss prosecutors have launched a probe into the takeover of Credit Suisse by its arch rival UBS as scrutiny of the highly controversial acquisition intensified, according to a report.

Switzerland's Federal Prosecutor told the Financial Times it was looking into potential breaches of Swiss criminal law by government officials, regulators and executives at the banks.

UBS bought Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion last month in an emergency rescue deal brokered by regulators following a loss of confidence in the lender that began when its biggest investor, the Saudi National Bank, said it wouldn't put more funds in.

"The Federal Prosecutor's office wants to proactively fulfil its mission and responsibility to contribute to a clean Swiss financial centre and has set up monitoring in order to take immediate action in any situation that falls within its field of activity," the authority told the FT.

The group said there were "numerous aspects of events around Credit Suisse" that required investigation to "identify any crimes."

UBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Combining the two banks has created a huge institution with a balance sheet of $5.5 trillion, or about twice the entire Swiss economy.

That has caused political unrest in Switzerland, which is now heavily exposed to a financial institution that hasn't yet convinced markets that its Credit Suisse arm is now secure.

More than half of Swiss voters oppose the takeover, according to a GFS poll reported by Bloomberg. More were in favor of a temporary takeover of the troubled Credit Suisse, while a majority now prefer the bank to be broken up, per the FT.

The Swiss parliament released a statement last week announcing special joint sessions to investigate the takeover.

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"The main question is whether the actions of the federal authorities were lawful, appropriate and effective," the group said.

The bank is reportedly planning to lay off up to 30% of its workforce following its takeover of Credit Suisse that would equal tens of thousands of job losses, SonntagsZeitung first reported.

Credit Suisse and UBS are both due to hold annual meetings for shareholders this week.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The City of Tacoma is considering changes to its Rental Housing Code and is asking for feedback from renters, property managers and landlords.

The changes would update the code, which provides protections for tenants and specific guidance to landlords who own or operate residential rental property in Tacoma. The Rental Housing Code also includes a provision for relocation assistance to low-income tenants who are displaced under certain circumstances.

The City Council passed the code in late 2018. It was updated in October 2021 to include just-cause eviction standards, to prohibit illegal rental agreement provisions and to prohibit landlords from requiring tenants to provide more than a 20-day termination of tenancy.

The proposed changes are for rent increases, shared housing standards, late fee standards, restriction of evictions without a rental business license and screening criteria.

Rent increases proposals

Under the proposed changes, property managers would need to give a 60-day notice for a 6 percent or less increase in rent, a 90-day notice for a 6-10% increase in rent, and a 180- to 220-day notice for an increase of 10% more.

Landlords would not be able to charge for those notices to be served.

Landlords would be required to provide options to tenants who cant afford the rental increase and need to vacate a unit.

Landlords also would need to waive the requirement for a tenant to serve a proper 20-day written notice to vacate, or the tenant would not be penalized if the tenant vacates based on rent increase.

Shared housing standards

The proposed changes include requirements for the master lease holder to provide contact information for sublet tenants and the property owner at time at tenancy.

It would also require separate leases when renting to four or more tenants.

The lease would need to state the legal number of occupants and habitable spaces in the unit.

Housing providers would be required to serve any notices that could lead to eviction to all sublet tenants at the time the master lease holder is served. Housing providers would be prohibited from starting an eviction if they could not show that notices were served to all sublet tenants.

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Late fee standards

The potential policy would require housing providers to take steps to recover late fees during tenancy by serving monthly or quarterly notices.

It would prohibit housing providers who do not address late fees during tenancy from reporting the tenant to a prospective housing provider at the end of tenancy.

The late fees that could be charged by a housing provider could be limited. The late fee could be capped at $75 as outlined in the Washington State Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, or to 3% to 5% of the monthly rental amount.

Restriction on evictions

The change would require a housing provider to provide its rental business license during a show-cause hearing. A show-cause hearing allows the tenant to contest the eviction. Property owners are required to register every rental property in Tacoma when they are licensing and certify that each property meets the requirement of state law.

The policy aims to ensure those operating a rental business in the city limits are complying with the citys policies, which requires all rentals to have a rental business license, according to the citys website.

Screening criteria

The city is also considering policy requirements for limits on the rent-to-income ratio of three times the monthly rent and limits on rent-to-income ratio on tenants who are on fixed income, which would include Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability or retirement benefits.

The proposed policy changes would restrict housing providers from requiring a Social Security number to apply for housing and restrict housing providers from having a blanket criminal-history policy.

The policy aims to help those who are more likely to become homeless if they are not able to secure affordable healthy housing, according to the citys website.





City of Tacoma survey on changes

The citys Equity and Human Rights office is conducting a survey for tenants, landlords and property managers in Tacoma to provide feedback on the proposed changes. The survey is at surveymonkey.com/r/COTRental23.





The survey asks tenants about late fees, business license requirements to operate rental property and screenings. It also asks if the 60-day notice period to raise rents should be greater and if the notice period increase should be based on the rent increase.
By Sofia Menchu

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen completed a three-day trip to Guatemala on Sunday where she offered more cooperation with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei's government, one of Taiwan's few allies in the world.

Tsai's tour, which will take her to Belize on Sunday afternoon, comes a week after Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing.

China and Taiwan have tussled for influence in Latin America since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, with Beijing considering Taiwan part of Chinese territory, a position Taipei strongly rejects. China refuses to allow other countries to maintain diplomatic relations with both at the same time.

While visiting Guatemala, Tsai signed a $4 million agreement to modernize rural areas and promised to promote and increase cooperation between the two countries.

"From now on, Taiwan and Guatemala will continue to show solidarity to each other, deepening cooperation in all possible areas based on firm objectives, solidarity and mutual benefit," Tsai said during a tour of a hospital built with Taiwanese help.

Before arriving in Guatemala - one of the 13 countries that Taiwan has diplomatic relations with - Tsai made a controversial stopover in New York, angering China, which has repeatedly warned U.S. officials not to meet Tsai.

Chinese influence in Latin America has increased in recent years, with Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica abandoning Taipei in favor of Beijing.

Guatemala's president thanked Tsai for visiting the Central American country.

"This visit in which we strengthened our ties of friendship will stay in our hearts," Giammattei said.

Guatemala's stance of maintaining relations with Taiwan is a way of currying favor with the U.S. at a time when relations with Washington have been strained, former Guatemalan Foreign Minister Edgar Gutierrez told Reuters on Sunday.

Guatemala's government is trying to rebuild bridges with certain U.S institutions by "offering Guatemala as a migrant deposit, moving its embassy to Jerusalem, supporting Ukraine ... extraditing more than 100 drug traffickers in 2022 and remaining an ally of Taiwan," Gutierrez said.

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Diego Ore and Oliver Griffin; Editing by Josie Kao)
GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Saturday toured a hospital built with support from Taipei, reaffirming their close diplomatic ties as the self-governing island seeks to strengthen relations with its remaining allies in Central America.

It was the final day of Tsais three-day visit to Guatemala and came shortly after Honduras announced it would break ties with Taiwan and switch its support to China, joining Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Belize - the next stop on Tsai's trip - is the only other Central American country to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Giammattei once again thanked Taiwans leader for her governments economic support and said Guatemalas friendship with Taiwan was unchangeable.

Sundays visit came a day after the leaders toured the Guatemalan archaeological site of Tikal, one of the most important urban centers of the Mayan civilization.

The hospital in Chimaltengo department built with a donation from Taiwan will serve patients from four departments in Guatemala and cost an estimated $22 million to build. It opened in February.

Tsai said she was pleased with the construction of the hospital, which, according to her, will be able to provide better medical care and service.

Construction of the hospital has brought controversy. Two weeks ago, the attorney general announced an investigation into allegations of a $10 million fraud in the purchase of equipment for the hospital. Prosecutors allege former vice minister of health, Gerardo Hernandez, authorized the purchase of used equipment and material. A company and the director of the hospital were allegedly in on the scheme.

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.

Taiwan now has 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.
A man votes during Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2, 2023.

Bulgarians went to polls on Sunday to vote in the country's early parliamentary elections, Bulgaria's fifth parliamentary elections in two years.

Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to elect 240 lawmakers from 14 political parties and seven coalitions, according to official data. (Xinhua/Lin Hao)

SOFIA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarians went to polls on Sunday to vote in the country's early parliamentary elections, Bulgaria's fifth parliamentary elections in two years.

Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to elect 240 lawmakers from 14 political parties and seven coalitions, according to official data.

More than 11,800 polling stations opened across the country at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and are due to close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), the Central Election Commission of Bulgaria said.

Meanwhile, 737 ballot boxes are available for Bulgarians living abroad to cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said.

According to the country's legislation, parties and coalitions need to gain at least 4 percent of the votes to enter the National Assembly, the country's parliament.

Exit polls will be announced immediately after stations closed in Bulgaria, and official results are expected on Thursday.

The previous elections were held on Oct. 2 last year but the legislature was dissolved after the parliamentary parties failed to form a ruling majority.

The National Assembly is Bulgaria's legislative body. It also elects the government by a simple majority, and has a four-year term -- except in certain circumstances such as when it is unable to elect a government. 

Bulgarian President Rumen Georgiev Radev votes during the country's early parliamentary elections at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2, 2023.

Bulgarians went to polls on Sunday to vote in the country's early parliamentary elections, Bulgaria's fifth parliamentary elections in two years.

Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to elect 240 lawmakers from 14 political parties and seven coalitions, according to official data. (Xinhua/Lin Hao)

People wait to vote during Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 2, 2023.

Bulgarians went to polls on Sunday to vote in the country's early parliamentary elections, Bulgaria's fifth parliamentary elections in two years.

Nearly 6.6 million voters are eligible to elect 240 lawmakers from 14 political parties and seven coalitions, according to official data. (Xinhua/Lin Hao)
The Taliban has shut down a women-run radio station in Afghanistan  the only one in the country  for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan.

Moezuddin Ahmadi, the director for Information and Culture in northeastern province of Badakhshan, said the station, "Sadai Banowan," was shuttered for breaching the "laws and regulations of the Islamic Emirate."

"If this radio station accepts the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and gives a guarantee that it will not repeat such a thing again, we will allow it to operate again," Ahmadi said.

Sadai Banowan, which means "women's voice" in Dari, was started 10 years ago. It has eight staff, six of them female.

CYPRUS RELOCATES 76 AFGHAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS TO FRANCE

Station head Najia Sorosh denied any wrongdoing and called the closure a conspiracy. The Taliban "told us that you have broadcast music. We have not broadcast any kind of music," she said.

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Sorosh said at 11:40 a.m. on Thursday representatives from the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Vice and Virtue Directorate arrived at the station and shut it down. She said station staff have contacted Vice and Virtue but officials there said they do not have any additional information about the closing.

Newly recruited personnel joining Taliban security forces demonstrate their skills during their graduation ceremony in Herat on Feb. 9, 2023.

Many journalists lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops. Media outlets closed over lack of funds or because staff left the country, according to the Afghan Independent Journalists Association.

The Taliban, meanwhile, have barred women from most forms of employment and education beyond the sixth grade, including university. There is no official ban on music. But during their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban barred most television, radio and newspapers in the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Container ship

The UKs accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a historic achievement for the Government and a triumph for the International Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch. The deal grants British businesses privileged access to a rapidly-growing market, as part of a bloc that is likely to play an increasingly significant role in combating Chinas efforts to dominate the Asia-Pacific. At last, we are beginning to see the practical benefits of Brexit.

Not according to those still unreconciled to Britains exit from the EU, however. They pounced on government forecasts that showed that joining the CPTPP will only boost the UK economy by 0.08 per cent to declare the deal essentially worthless. Shamefully, this was even the headline of the BBCs report on the agreement.

Aside from the geopolitical myopia of swathes of the Remainer elite, a large part of the problem is the nature of official forecasting. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that, according to bodies such as the Office for Budget Responsibility, the only possible way to grow the economy is to admit even more immigrants or rejoin the EU. They have been criticised for assuming that some obviously pro-prosperity measures  such as cutting taxes on businesses and entrepreneurs  have a negligible impact on economic growth.

It is little wonder, then, that such predictions are so frequently wrong. When it comes to the CPTPP, it is likely that government forecasts have been skewed by an overreliance on the gravity model of trade, in which geographic proximity is seen as having a preeminent influence on trade volumes between countries. Little matter that, increasingly, trade is less about physical goods and more about intangible services. It is obvious that the CPTPP is a bloc with extraordinary upside potential.

It is welcome that senior politicians have begun to criticise how these forecasts are put together, as well as the excessive reliance that some ministers put on them. The economics establishment does not have oracular powers. Nor is its work meant to be anything more than a guide to policy-making: as in the case of the CPTPP, politicians have to make their own judgments about the benefits of particular decisions. But it is clear that reforming the broken architecture of official forecasting can no longer be put off. Technocratic groupthink is holding Britain back.
Tesla released its Q1 production and delivery figures Sunday. Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Tesla published its Q1 production and deliveries data Sunday, reporting a record number of deliveries.

A series of price cuts initiated by the company in January seem to have increased demand for the EVs.

Investors will get a better picture of how the cuts affected the company's finances during an earnings call later this month.

Tesla reported a record number of vehicle deliveries for the first quarter of 2023, up about 36% from the first quarter of 2022, as the company pushed to increase sales with a series of price cuts this year.

The electric vehicle manufacturer reported production of about 440,000 vehicles, and just under 423,000 vehicle deliveries, the closest figure to sales that Tesla reports, in the first quarter.

Its Q1 earnings report is scheduled for later this month.

The sales increase may be partially attributed to the price war Tesla ignited earlier this year as it slashed prices of its Model 3 and Model Y by up to 20% in January. The less expensive Model 3 and Y are Tesla's most popular vehicles by a wide margin, as the two accounted for about 97% of the Q1 deliveries.

Analysts told Insider's George Glover and Beatrice Nolan in March that the cuts appeared to be working, as demand for the less expensive Teslas rose following the January cuts. However, whether the increase in demand offset the drop in prices, remains to be seen.

The latest numbers for the company led by Eon Musk indicate a roughly 4% increase from Q4 deliveries, when Tesla reported just over 405,000, and an increase of about 36% from the first quarter in 2022, when it reported about 310,000 deliveries.

The car maker fell short of analyst expectations from FactSet  an average of 432,000 deliveries reported Friday  cited in the Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

Tesla's stock has climbed back throughout the first quarter after falling about 65% over the course of 2022, and has risen from an early January low just over $100 to about $207 at the closing bell Friday.

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The earnings report will come amid a series of investigations by federal regulators into crashes potentially caused by the company's driving assistance software, as well as reports of faulty seat belts and steering wheels. Some of the company's electric semi trucks, which are not included in the production and deliveries figures, were recalled last month over parking brake issues.

The Treasury Department also recently released new regulations for electric vehicle tax credits, which are set to go into effect later this month. They could impact the demand and affordability for Teslas and other electric vehicles as certain models become ineligible for $7,500 tax credits.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Since a group of pro-life plaintiffs first challenged the Food and Drug Administrations approval of mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in chemical or medication abortions, the reporting on the case has been predictable.

Most of the news coverage of the legal threat to the long-approved abortion pill have focused only on the conservative credentials of the federal judge in Amarillo overseeing the case.

Very few have tried to explain the nature of the legal challenge, its merits and the health implications for women across the United States  which are significant.

Perhaps thats because to our modern political sensibilities abortion is easiest to explain as a morality play.

But the current case, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, doesnt fit this narrative.

It doesnt contemplate the typical existential questions abortion raises or even ponder the ethics of its practice.

It is instead, an infinitely complex, deeply technical squabble over administrative law, and  as the plaintiffs take painstaking care to describe  the FDAs decision to effectively ignore its own regulations for purely political reasons, much to the detriment of women.

The 100-plus-page complaint, brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, four other pro-life medical organizations and four individual doctors (represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom), details a more than 20-year history of what the plaintiffs contend is the FDAs failure to protect women and girls from abortion drugs that some studies have shown can be dangerous.

This failure begins, they assert, with the FDAs initial approval of mifepristone in 2000. The FDA did it by way of an accelerated drug approval authority, called subpart H. That regulatory authority is reserved for drugs that treat serious or life-threatening illnesses and provide a meaningful therapeutic benefit to patients over existing treatment.

Its a very specific authority and rarely used.

Indeed, as the court noted during oral argument, before mifepristone was approved in 2000, the FDA had completed only 37 accelerated approvals.

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Most of those treatments were for HIV. Several were for cancer. There was even one for leprosy.

How exactly the FDA determined that pregnancy  a natural physiological state experienced by many women  qualified as such an illness is a question worth asking.

The answer, though, is probably no more complicated than political pressure. After taking office in 1993, President Bill Clinton made approving the abortion pill a particular priority.

The FDA, of course, obliged, approving the drug conditionally in 1996 and fully in September 2000, when it became available for doctors to prescribe under certain conditions.

But as the complaint describes, in addition to the FDAs misuse of subpart H, the drugs approval violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because the agency did not study the drugs safety under the labeled conditions. For example, it did not require an ultrasound to accurately date the pregnancy and rule out the possibility of ectopic pregnancy, even though ultrasounds were used in the studies upon which the FDAs approval relied.

FDA PETITION FOR REVIEW

These regulatory violations did not go unnoticed, and in 2002, several medical organizations (including some of the plaintiffs) filed a citizen petition asking the FDA to remove its approval of mifepristone. They cited multiple studies that found a high rate of severe complications from the drugs use, much higher than surgical abortion. They included excessive bleeding and incomplete abortion that endangered women and forced many to seek emergency medical care.

The agency responded by sitting on the petition for almost 14 years, finally rejecting it in 2016. At the same time, the FDA made major changes to the established safeguards for mifepristones use.

This included changes to the dosage and route of administration for the chemical abortion drugs; a reduction in the number of required in-person office visits from three to one; and an expansion of who could prescribe and administer chemical abortion drugs beyond medical doctors.

The FDA also extended the gestational age for which the drug could be prescribed from seven to 10 weeks, even though studies showed that the chance of complications increased along with the duration of the pregnancy.

In perhaps one of the most worrying decisions by the FDA yet, it eliminated the requirement that medical providers report adverse events  with the exception of death.

This all but ensured that complications and emergencies from mifepristones use would remain unknown to its prescribers and potential users. It also failed to satisfy the rigorous scientific standard to which the FDA is held by the public and the law.

But the horse had long ago left the stable, so, as the plaintiffs contend, the FDA continued to exceed its authority, approving the generic drug in 2019 without requiring any new clinical investigations or studies.

In 2021, the agency allowed the drugs to be prescribed via telemedicine (eliminating even the one-visit requirement) and delivered by mail, opening up the FDA to violating another federal law, the century-old Comstock Act.

While those changes were initially made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration (perhaps in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision reverting abortion law to the states) quickly made them permanent.

Later that year, the FDA rejected a second citizen petition from the plaintiffs which had sought to restore and strengthen the pre-2016 drug regimen, leaving the plaintiffs few remedies other than to file suit.

A TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE

While the facts of the case would leave anyone breathless with their complexity, you need not be a pro-life ideologue to find the merits compelling.

Yet most observers choose instead to focus on the low-hanging fruit  the conservative judge who will decide mifepristones fate.

Matthew J. Kacsmaryk judiciary.senate.gov/

As is frequently noted, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk most recently worked at the First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based organization focused on defending religious freedom (including, contrary to popular belief, the religious freedoms of non-Christians). He has the perhaps unfortunate distinction of being an appointee of President Donald Trump.

His affiliation with a Texas crisis pregnancy and adoption organization, motivated by his own sisters experience with unplanned pregnancy and adoption, is also frequently mentioned.

Seldom is it noted that Kacsmaryks robust legal experience also includes a stint in private practice (where he defended pharmaceutical companies, among other clients), and five years as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorneys Office in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Indeed, during his tenure at the Justice Department, Kacsmaryk earned accolades from none other than Attorney General Eric Holder, the Obama lieutenant who presented Kacsmaryk a 2013 award for national security work.

During this time, Senior Judge Terry R. Means of the Northern District of Texas came to appreciate Kacsmaryks careful writing and meticulous legal reasoning.

I suspect that many who criticize him for his rulings havent actually read his opinions, Means said. One may legitimately disagree with his findings of fact and even his conclusions on the law, but I do not believe that they can honestly say that they are unfounded, unreasonable, frivolous, or arbitrary.

Kacsmaryks ruling, which is expected any day, could range from ordering the FDA to take mifepristone off the market (at least while the case is further litigated), to compelling the agency to begin an administrative process called withdrawal. That means the FDA, of its own accord, would remove from the market the drug on the basis that it is not shown to be safe under the conditions used, prescribed, recommended or suggested in the labeling.

He could also reject the plaintiffs claims. Expect the ruling, like the case itself, to be complex.

There has been widespread criticism that the plaintiffs in this case went judge-shopping, a common practice of attorneys across the ideological spectrum.

As Josh Blackman, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, explained to the Texas Tribune, lawyers have a duty to file a case in a district that best serves [their] client.

Still, there isnt any reason for the defendants  or the plaintiffs  to believe that Kacsmaryks personal beliefs or professional past will have any bearing on his decision in this, or any, case.

Judge Kacsmaryk is not an ideologue, Means said. Nor does he know in advance of his consideration of a case how he wants to decide it.

We have good reason to believe that. In the case of the long-approved abortion pill, for all of its 20-year, mind-numbing complexity, the facts speak for themselves.

The real question is, are people listening?
US District Judge Robert Pitman

By Alaa Elassar, Taylor Romine and Andy Rose

(CNN) -- A federal judge in Texas ruled that at least 12 books removed from public libraries by Llano County officials, many because of their LGBTQ and racial content, must be placed back onto shelves within 24 hours, according to an order filed Thursday.

Seven residents sued county officials in April 2022, claiming their First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when books deemed inappropriate by some people in the community and Republican lawmakers were removed from public libraries or access was restricted.

The lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio claimed county officials removed books from the shelves of the three-branch public library system "because they disagree with the ideas within them" and terminated access to thousands of digital books because they could not ban two specific titles.

Books ordered to return to shelves include "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson, "They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti and "Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen" by Jazz Jennings.

The library system also is required to reflect these books as available in their catalog and cannot remove any books for any reason while the case is ongoing, US District Judge Robert Pitman said in his order.

"Although libraries are afforded great discretion for their selection and acquisition decisions, the First Amendment prohibits the removal of books from libraries based on either viewpoint or content discrimination," Pitman said.

The fight to protect access to books comes amid a book banning boom, with an alarming increase in attempts to censor books in K-12 schools, universities and public libraries. Many of these efforts seek to pull books with LGBTQ characters or themes and are part of a broader, conservative-led movement to chisel away at the rights and status of LGBTQ Americans.

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Many of the book bans have also been aimed at authors of color exploring history, racism or their own experiences in America.

"This is a ringing victory for democracy," said Ellen Leonida, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the Texas case. "The government cannot tell citizens what they can or can't read. Our nation was founded on the free exchange of ideas, and banning books you disagree with is a direct attack on our most basic liberties."

It wasn't immediately clear whether Llano County officials have complied with the judge's order.

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, county commissioners Jerry Don Moss, Peter Jones, Mike Sandoval, and Linda Raschke; library system director Amber Milum and four members of the Llano County library board, Bonnie Wallace, Rochelle Wells, Rhonda Schneider, and Gay Baskin, are named as co-defendants in the case. They did not respond to CNN requests for comment.

The defendants argued the books were removed as part of a regular "weeding" process following the library's existing policies, but Pitman said there was clear influence from outside sources.

"Whether or not the books in fact qualified for 'weeding' under the library's existing policies, there is no real question that the targeted review was directly prompted by complaints from patrons and county officials over the contents of these titles," the judge wrote in his order.

"And, notably, there is no evidence that any of the books were slated to be reviewed for weeding prior to the receipt of these complaints; to the contrary, many other books eligible for weeding based on the same factors appear to have remained on the shelves for many years," he said.

Complaints from community groups targeted multiple books they labeled as "pornographic filth" because they promoted "acceptance of LGBTQ views," according to the order. These books were removed from the libraries, according to the order, as well as other books listed as "pornographic" that were about " 'critical race theory' and related racial themes."

In one email from community member Bonnie Wallace, who was later elected to the library board, she suggested "all the pastors to get involved in this. Perhaps they can organize a weekly prayer vigil on this specific issue. ... May God protect our children from this FILTH."

County commissioners also voted to dissolve the library board and replace it with a new "Library Advisory Board" that appointed multiple Llano County residents, including Wallace, who advocated for the book removals, the order said.

The new board required all new books to "be presented to and approved" by them before purchase, and staff librarians were banned from attending the new board's meetings, according to the order.

Book bans aim to 'suppress the voices' of LGBTQ and communities of color

Dozens of books have been pulled from shelves in Texas, new policies expanding oversight of books are being drafted or already passed in multiple states, a Florida school district halted library purchases and a teacher resigned in Oklahoma over the censorship of books in classroom libraries.

In 2022, the number of attempts to censor library books reached an unparalleled record high since the American Library Association (ALA) began documenting data about book censorship over 20 years ago, ALA said in a March press release.

ALA cataloged 1,269 attempts in 2022; nearly double the number of challenges in 2021.

"A book challenge is a demand to remove a book from a library's collection so that no one else can read it," Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, said in a statement. "Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation's conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color."

Schools are among those where book bans have been especially targeted. In 2022, Texas led the country with the most book bans -- 713 -- affecting 16 school districts, followed by Pennsylvania and Florida with 456 and 204 bans, respectively, according to an analysis by PEN America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization.

"Each attempt to ban a book by one of these groups represents a direct attack on every person's constitutionally protected right to freely choose what books to read and what ideas to explore," Caldwell-Stone said. "The choice of what to read must be left to the reader or, in the case of children, to parents. That choice does not belong to self-appointed book police."

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Police in San Antonio, Texas said a man killed another man who allegedly stole his truck after tracking the thief with an Apple AirTag.

The San Antonio Police Department said the incident happened on Wednesday on the city's southeast side at a shopping center, according to KHOU. The truck's owner used an Apple AirTag tracking device to see where the truck was located.

Officials said that they received a stolen vehicle report around 1 p.m. on Wednesday out of a home in north San Antonio.

Police said that the truck's owner used the AirTag to track the vehicle nearly 20 miles from where it was stolen.

TEXAS WOMAN FINDS APPLE AIRTAG TAPED UNDER CAR USED TO TRACK HER

Someone holds an Apple AirTag in San Francisco, March 14, 2022.

The alleged thief wasn't aware that the vehicle was being tracked, officials said.

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Authorities found several bullet casings and two cars with their windows shot out.

ARE YOU BEING STALKED? A SIMPLE SOFTWARE UPDATE CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE

Apple Air tags are a good way to keep track of loved ones that have memory issues.

Officials are determining if the suspect will be charged in the fatal shooting.

Officer Nick Soliz said that people shouldn't take matters into their own hands if their car is stolen.

A boxed AirTag on display at the Apple Store George Street on April 30, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Apple's latest accessory, the AirTag is a small device that helps people keep track of belongings, using Apple's Find My network to locate lost items like keys, wallet, or a bag.

"If you are to get your vehicle stolen, please do not take matters into your own hands like this," Soliz said. "It's never safe as you can see by this incident."

A spokesperson for Apple has previously pointed Fox News Digital to a recent update and stated that it works with law enforcement to track down AirTags used for criminal purposes.

"AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another persons property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products. Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag. Its why the Find My network is built with privacy in mind, uses end-to-end encryption, and why we innovated with the first-ever proactive system to alert you of unwanted tracking. We hope this starts an industry trend for others to also provide these sorts of proactive warnings in their products," the spokesperson said.
Thousands rallied in Kosovo's capital Pristina on Sunday protesting the upcoming trial against former president Hashim Thaci a day before he appears in an international war crimes court in The Hague.

Thaci -- a former leader in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) -- resigned from the presidency in late 2020 after he was indicted by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) court.

Along with three other defendants, Thaci stands accused of an array of crimes including murder, torture and persecution during the 1998-1999 independence war with Serbia.

The European Union-funded KSC is charged with investigating war crimes allegedly committed by former KLA guerrillas during the bloody insurgency between ethnic Albanian fighters and Serb forces.

Ahead of the trial, thousands flocked to the "March for Justice" in support of Thaci, where demonstrators waved KLA flags and held signs that read: "Justice not politics" and "Our history cannot be rewritten".

The rally was organised by the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which was founded by Thaci and other guerilla leaders after the war.

"We are with them forever .... and have no doubt that they will return as victors as they once came as liberators because they are living heroes," PDK leader Memli Krasniqi told the crowd.

The KSC is largely despised by Kosovar Albanians, who believe the court is tarnishing the legacy of the veterans that fought for Kosovo's independence at great cost.

The charges against Thaci and the others are rooted in the alleged kidnapping and disappearance of at least 100 civilians, mostly Serbs and Roma, along with ethnic Albanian political opponents, according to a 2010 Council of Europe report.

Following the war, Thaci went on to dominate the young nation's political scene for years, which included stints as president and prime minister.

In 2008, Thaci's popularity soared after he helped oversee Kosovo's independence declaration from Serbia.

Serbia along with its powerful allies China and Russia have never recognised Kosovos independence declaration.

ih/ljv/ds/ea
Three British men have been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, UK non-profit group the Presidium Network said on Saturday.

The group said on Twitter it had been "working closely with two of the families".

"We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families," the UK's foreign ministry added in a statement.

Scott Richards of the Presidium Network told Sky News: "We believe they are in good health and being well treated.

"We have no reason to believe they've been subject to any negative treatment such as torture and we're told that they are as good as can be expected in such circumstances."

There had been "no meaningful contact" between authorities and the two men Presidium is assisting, he added.

These two men are believed to have been held by the Taliban since January.

It is not known how long the third man has been held for.

- 'Misunderstanding' -

Media reports named the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, an unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge.

Presidium on Twitter urged the Taliban to be "considerate of what we believe is a misunderstanding and release these men".

Last year the Taliban freed a veteran television cameraman and four other British nationals it had held for six months.

Peter Jouvenal was one of a "number" of Britons that the government in London said had been held by the hardline Islamists.

Britain's foreign ministry said the five "had no role in the UK government's work in Afghanistan and travelled to Afghanistan against the UK government's travel advice."

"This was a mistake," it added.

At the time, Afghanistan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Britons of "carrying out activities against the country's laws and traditions of the people of Afghanistan".

"After consecutive meetings between the IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and Britain the said persons were released... and handed over to their home country," he said.

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"They promised to abide by the laws of Afghanistan, its traditions and culture of the people and not to violate them again," he added.

The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and has since sparked global outrage with its policies in particular towards women and girls.

har/lcm
The first time my grandson, William, died on the battlefield came as a shock, despite the fact that it was predictable. After all, the Union Federals had been instructed by officials to lose to the Confederates on that scorching afternoon in Fresno seven years ago. Of the half-dozen Living History Days staged by the American Civil War Association every year but the last three, each side was routinely slated for victory in two of the weekends four battles. Now it was the Rebels turn to win.

Still, the sight of ones son being felled by a make-believe ball of lead drew an audible gasp and swelling of tears to my daughter-in-law Amys eyes  along with a torrent of empathy for all the mothers who had lost their sons (and daughters) in that horrific war to preserve our Union.

A Confederate soldier fires on a Union line during a Civil War reenactment in Knights Ferry, Calif. east of Modesto the weekend of March 25 and 26, 2023. Richard B. Raef/Working Ranch Photography

I myself suffered an ignoble death on Kearney Parks imaginary battlefield two years later. It was one of those rare occasions when three generations from one family were on the field at the same time, including my grandson and my son  who enacted a much-celebrated demise while sprinting gallantly, if crazedly, toward enemy lines  as well as yours truly. In my case, a volley from an advancing Confederate company knocked me down, and while I writhed in pain and screamed perhaps too dramatically from my simulated leg wound, a Rebel cavalryman galloped over, reared on his stallion 10 yards away and shot me dead with his Colt revolver. The handful of spectators on my side of the park loved it.

As a matter of historical fact, most Civil War deaths were not such clean kills. The soldiers who fell in battle were more often merely wounded, eventually bleeding to death or dying from infection or disease back at their respective field hospitals. After my own staged battlefield execution, I was required to lie motionless for the 15 minutes remaining in that afternoons re-enactment. Had any of the spectators seen me close up, they mightve noticed tears trickling down the sides of my face. For I, like my daughter-in-law, was deeply moved  more so than any history textbook could convey  by the fate of the untold thousands of close family members who fell during our Civil War  and who continued to fall in all too many wars since then.

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Fast forward to last weekend. My twin granddaughters and I had departed the tent-lined camp where my wife, Nancy, was helping to provide Company G of the 20th Maine with a hearty pre-battle meal. The three of us went on to spend an hour hiking along the Tuolumne River near Knights Ferry, east of Modesto, exploring grassy hills overlooking it, and generally enjoying both the sunshine and the riot of springtime purple, pink and gold now festooning the countryside. Suddenly a blast from a distant cannon announced the mustering of troops for Sundays final engagement. We promptly cut short our trek, rushing back alongside the barbed-wire fence near the hilltop to join an army of onlookers likewise mustering on the sloping grass expanse above a cordoned-off battlefield.

My son, Matthew, the company bugler that weekend, was dutifully sounding the call to arms. And then, to the booms and billowing smoke of opposing cannon and a lone Union mortar  the concussions of which literally reverberated inside our chests  the two armies warily approached each other. While a few Confederates skirmished from the Devils Den-like rocks near Knights Ferrys famous covered bridge, others found depressions in the field from which to snipe, and still more soldiers advanced in the seemingly idiotic straight-line formations where a single volley might bring down a dozen men all at once.

Even as I watched from a safe distance  like the picnic-basket spectators who came out from Washington, D.C., to witness the unforeseen slaughter that was Bull Run  I couldnt help thinking about the wider civil war that is now dividing the shining light on the hill our country presumes to be. Stoked by irresponsible politicians who are clearly ignorant of their own history, a shocking number of us imagine that somehow dividing ourselves into red and blue states is as charming an idea as North versus South. Or that banning books which expose the truth of Americas legacy of slavery and our ongoing struggles with racism and immigration is the way to preserve our nations greatness. Or that allowing citizens to own automatic rifles with 50-round clips is our God-given right, based on a reading of an amendment drafted when guns were muzzle-loaded one bullet at a time and could deliver no more than two or three rounds per minute in the hands of the most proficient Revolutionary War recruit, not to mention Civil War soldier.

Unidentified men role-playing Confederate snipers reload during a Civil War reenactment in Knights Ferry, Calif. the weekend of March 25 and 26, 2023. Richard B. Raef/Working Ranch Photography

Though I was able to successfully hide them from my two granddaughters while we gawked at the hour-long Knights Ferry re-enactment, I once again felt tears of remembrance seeping from my eyes: Tears for Americas sons and daughters dying on the battleground of todays uncivil discourse; tears for our descent into competing tribes based on ever-hardening political positions and trumped-up culture war conflicts; tears for the ongoing, senseless slaughter not only on our cities streets, but incredibly, in our childrens classrooms.

Tears, finally, for the ruptured world we parents and grandparents will inevitably leave for future generations if we dont teach them  by our example, and by the grace of our better angels  how to bridge our differences and come together, united once again by the promise of peace and prosperity and justice for all.

Book author Mark Haskett was the founding director of InnerFaith Resources in Modesto and a member of the Stanislaus County Interfaith Council.
Spring break week is here, and millions of people will be hitting the road or catching a flight to travel to their favorite destinations to catch some sunshine, warm temperatures and sandy beaches.

And while weather conditions appear to be favorable so far this week, some popular spring break destinations could see some rain or thunderstorms.

Here is the weather forecast for eight of the most popular spring break destinations.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

There are many destinations in Florida for people to travel to for spring break, but weve taken some of the most popular to break down the forecast.

The weather in Fort Lauderdale for the rest of the week is looking warm with high temperatures around 85 degrees through Saturday. On Sunday, the temperature is expected to rise to about 88 degrees, but theres a chance for some thunderstorms.

If youre lucky enough to extend your spring break until Monday, you can expect a high temperature of around 81 degrees with rain.

BEACHGOERS BEWARE: THESE ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS BEACHES IN AMERICA

Headed up the Florida Panhandle, youll enter an excellent spot for spring break travelers  Destin.

The forecast in Destin on Friday will include mostly cloudy conditions with a high temperature of around 78 degrees. Thunderstorms are possible on Saturday, and temperatures should fall into the lower 70s.

Sunday and Monday will see colder temperatures with highs in the mid- to upper 60s with cloudy conditions, with likely showers on Monday.

BUCKLE UP: HERE ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS ROADS IN AMERICA

Along Floridas east coast, youll find Daytona Beach  an extremely popular place for people to escape when they need a break from colder temperatures and snow up north.

Friday will have high temperatures in the lower to mid-80s with partly cloudy conditions. On Saturday, the temperature will rise to about 85 degrees, but it will be mostly cloudy.

Sunday and Monday will be much cooler with highs in the lower to mid-70s with rain.

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HOW TO SURVIVE RIP CURRENTS

Another popular Florida Panhandle spring break hotspot is Panama City Beach.

The end of the week will see high temperatures of around 81 degrees with a mix of clouds and sun. Saturday will see chances of rain and a high temperature of around 74 degrees.

Sunday and Monday appear to be cloudy with temperatures in the mid- to upper 60s.

RED TIDE TRACKER: FLORIDA BEACHES FACE RED TIDE THREAT AS TRAVELERS HEAD SOUTH IN SEARCH OF SUNSHINE

The weather for spring break week in South Padre Island, Texas, is looking a bit cooler than other popular spring break locations.

Thunderstorms are possible Friday and Saturday in South Padre Island, and temperatures will reach near 70 degrees. Sunday will be cloudy, and thunderstorms are possible again on Monday with a high temperature of around 74 degrees.

STAY SHARK SMART: WHAT TO KNOW WHEN YOU HEAD INTO THE WATER

You wont have too many issues weather-wise if youre enjoying spring break in the Bahamas.

In Freeport, temperatures will stay in the lower 80s for the next several days with partly cloudy conditions.

Showers are possible on Monday and Tuesday.

SCIENTISTS ASK BEACHGOERS TO HELP KEEP TRACK OF SHARKS

There are also several locations in Mexico that are admired by spring break travelers.

First up is the ever-popular Cancun.

Are you looking for warm weather? Youll be excited to know that temperatures are expected to remain in the mid-80s right through the weekend.

Are you trying to find sunshine? Dont worry! Sunny to partly cloudy conditions are expected.

Dont forget the sunscreen when youre headed outside.

NOAA AIMS TO KEEP BEACHGOERS SAFE WITH NEW LIFE-SAVING RIP CURRENT FORECAST MODEL

Tulum, Mexico, is also becoming very popular with spring break travelers.

And if you were lucky enough to head there this year, youve been enjoying plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures.

The warm temperatures and sunshine will remain for the next several days, and temperatures should remain in the mid- to upper 80s through at least Monday.
HOUSTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed on the scene and three others wounded at a bar shooting on Saturday night in Oklahoma City, the capital city of midwestern U.S. state Oklahoma, authorities said.

Police responded to the shooting at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon around 9 p.m. local time (0200 GMT Sunday), according to local media.

The wounded were hospitalized, with one in critical condition and the other two having non-life-threatening injuries, the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

A suspect has been reportedly in custody.

An investigation is underway. No more details are available so far. 
As we head into the week, let's take a look at the news from this past week.

A development corporation planning the creation of a total of 87 new units of new mixed-income housing is moving forward with its plans for the former Dunbar School and three other properties. Daniel Cruz Jr., the companys senior vice president says rents will start around $550 to $560 and can go up to as much as $2,000 for a three-bedroom to create opportunity for as wide a range of potential applicants as they can.

UMass Dartmouth is reviewing its role in an alleged sexual-misconduct cover-up involving a campus cop. They have hired a firm headed by a former Boston police commissioner to review a report claiming the university covered up allegations a former campus police officer sexually assaulted and harassed a student in 2010. The report found that, "The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and its police department have demonstrated a total lack of cooperation in this investigation."

Keep up with high school sports with scores, game highlights, and player of the week voting at https://www.southcoasttoday.com/sports.

Here are the most-read stories of the week on https://www.southcoasttoday.com:

New Bedford firefighters search for unaccounted resident who lived in apartment building complex on Acushnet Avenue which caught fire yesterday.

A massive fire at a rooming house at 1305 Acushnet Ave. in New Bedford on Tuesday claimed the life of two residents: Manuel Moreira, 59 and Wayne Bourdon, 63, according to according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III's office. Five residents were hospitalized. On Friday, officials announced the cause of the deadly fire.

Fatal Fire: A second victim recovered in New Bedford house fire: DA names one victim

Foss Offshore Wind has released a rendering of the New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal.

The New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal on the waterfront under construction since last July will open this summer if all goes according to plan.

The new berthing facilities for a range of vessels including crew transfer vessels, service operation vessels and Foss Offshore Wind tug boats and barges are designed to support the offshore wind industry.

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Formerly an Eversource Energy/Sprague Oil property, the terminal is the first Foss Offshore Wind project to come to fruition as part of a multi-decade strategy to service the growing industry on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Offshore wind industry: Foss Marine Terminal expected to open on New Bedford's waterfront this summer

Furniture from New Bedford's Flip This Dollhouse were featured in Taylor Swift's "The Eras" concert.

From a dollhouse cameo in HBOs The Gilded Age to staging miniature murder scenes in an ABC docu-series, furniture from Flip This Dollhouse is getting lots of national attention. Not one of the dollhouses is featured in Taylor Swifts The Eras Tour.

I had to do my own research to figure out who it was at first, said Nathaniel Ellis, owner of the dollhouse shop in Kilburn Mill. And when I realized who it could be, I was numb.

Ellis suspicions were confirmed when he saw photos featuring his furniture appear during the Bad Blood segment of Swifts concert.

Doll houses: Taylor Swift's new tour has a New Bedford connection. Here's how.

The Orpheum Theater in New Bedford, circa the 1950s.

Named one of the state's 'most endangered' buildings by Preservation Massachusetts, a statewide historic preservation group, the New Bedford Orpheum Theatre first opened its doors the same day the Titanic met its tragic end.

Since 1912, the once-grandeur theatre has sat at 1005 South Water Street. The now neglected and dilapidated structure, that had its final curtain close in 1958, has remained untouched for decades.

Sitting as an eyesore on Route 18, previous attempts to restore the theatre by numerous advocacy groups have been unable to secure costly funding. This piece of history is now back on the market.

New Bedford relic could be yours: The Orpheum Theatre is for sale.

Dr. June Saba-Maguire, assistant superintendent of Brockton Public Schools

Assistant Superintendent of Brockton Public Schools Dr. June Saba-Maguire has accepted the position of Dartmouth superintendent, pending contract negotiations, Dartmouth school officials report, after the School Committee voted unanimously Monday night to offer her the job.

Recently, Saba-Maguire has also been a finalist in superintendent searches for Hudson, Dedham and Bedford school districts.

Here's the scoop: Brockton's Saba-Maguire has accepted Dartmouth superintendent job pending negotiations.

All of these stories can be found in their entirety at SouthCoastToday.com.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Top stories this week are fire victims, UMass investigation, housing
Tornadoes and other severe storms have claimed the lives of at least 26 Americans across the U.S. heartland this weekend.

Arkansas suffered devastating storms and a tornado on Saturday, while Alabama, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee also faced a severe battering.

The partial collapse of a residential building and the roof collapse of a theater, both in Illinois, accounted for four of the weekend's confirmed deaths. Meanwhile, storms killed five in Arkansas on Friday and Saturday.

Two more deaths occurred when storm systems hit Alabama and Mississippi, while Tennessee alone suffered seven deaths. Three more people were killed when the storms hit Indiana.

ONE DEAD, DOZENS INJURED IN THEATRE ROOF COLLAPSE IN ILLINOIS

Homes damaged by a tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tornados damaged hundreds of homes and killed at least 26 people across the U.S. this weekend.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders surveyed the storm damage across her state along with other state officials.

Tornadoes in Arkansas left residents scrambling to clean up and recover from debris and collapsed homes.

Even Delaware was not spared, with the state suffering one death after the storm caused a residential structure to collapse.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

MIDWEST, SOUTH BRACE FOR MASSIVE STORMS, POSSIBLE MISSISSIPPI-STYLE TORNADO REPEAT

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders visited the affected areas of her state this weekend, helping to direct relief efforts.

"Im in constant communication with AR State Police and @AR_Emergencies who are working with local law enforcement to assist anyone injured. Praying for all those who were and remain in the path of this storm. Arkansans must continue to stay weather aware as storms are continuing to move through," Sanders tweeted.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also addressed the severe weather in a statement on Twitter, formally announcing his state's sole fatality.

Storms devastated Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend, leaving multiple people dead.

Building collapses killed several people across the country as severe storm systems and tornadoes swept through the Midwest.

As of Saturday, tens of thousands of customers in the Midwest were without power. Outage tracker PowerOutage. The U.S. showed more than 680,000 out in Indiana, nearly 52,000 out in Arkansas and more than 34,000 out in Illinois.

Fox News' Adam Sabes and Julia Musto contributed to this report.
At least 25 cars derailed from a train in Montana on Sunday, spilling their contents onto the ground and into a nearby body of water.

First responders say there is no threat to the public, but there has yet to be confirmation about what the affected containers were carrying. Montana Rail Link, which owns the railroad, is aware of the situation, but the company that owns the train has yet to be identified, according to NBC Montana.

The Sanders County Sheriff's Office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

There have not been any reported injuries from the crash.

WASHINGTON TRAIN KNOCKED OFF TRACKS BY SAFETY DEVICE, 3K GALLONS OF DIESEL FUEL SPILLED

TRAIN THAT DERAILED IN ALABAMA LACKED ALIGNMENT CONTROL COUPLERS: FEDS

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The Montana crash comes less than a week after 70-car train hauling hazardous materials derailed in North Dakota.

In that incident, a Canadian Pacific train derailed around 11:15 p.m. roughly a mile southeast of Wyndmere in Richland County, the company said in a statement. No injuries were reported. Officials said 31 of the 70 cars derailed, some carrying hazardous materials, and crews identified a leak of liquid asphalt. No fires were caused by the derailment.

The U.S. has kept a closer eye on train derailments in 2023 after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling toxic contents that caused widespread fears of pollution.

The cleanup was expected to last between seven and 10 days, local reports said. So far, six days have passed.

Sunday's derailment is only the latest example of a new focus on train derailments in the U.S. The issue was thrust into Americans' minds earlier this year when a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling toxic chemicals.

Officials chose to dispose of the chemicals with a controlled burn, causing a massive plume of smoke and requiring the nearby area to be temporarily evacuated.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Norfolk Southern officials have vowed to "make it right" for residents of East Palestine and have committed to ensuring the area is clean.
An attorney for Donald Trump said he hopes that the former presidents upcoming arraignment on charges related to hush money payments made to a porn star is as painless and classy as possible.

I anticipate them trying to get every ounce of publicity out of this that they can get, attorney Joe Tacopina said of New York prosecutors in an interview Sunday with CNNs State of the Union.

Trump is scheduled to appear in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday where he will learn of the charges that a grand jury has approved against him. Though those charges have not been publicly unsealed, theyre said to include multiple charges of falsifying business records and at least one felony offense, the Associated Press reported citing two people familiar with the matter.

Attorney Joe Tacopina, seen in 2017, said that he anticipates that New York prosecutors will try

Attorney Joe Tacopina, seen in 2017, said that he anticipates that New York prosecutors will try "to get every ounce of publicity out of Trumps arrest on Tuesday.

Tacopina, in an interview with ABC News This Week, said that though he hasnt seen the charges, he doesnt believe the case against Trump will survive a challenge of law in a courtroom.

We do all know that it has to do with a confidential settlement agreement, a completely legal confidential settlement agreement with Stormy Daniels, he said of a $130,000 payment that was made to the porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign. Michael Cohen and her attorney signed that together. Donald Trump did not, Tacopina said.

Cohen, Trumps former attorney and fixer, later pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payment.

If youre an American and youre concerned about rule of law, there should be no scenario where you want this to happen.



Trump attorney Joe Tacopina tells @GStephanopoulos that the case wouldn't have been brought if Trump wasnt running for reelection. https://t.co/Gk43TheOAbpic.twitter.com/5i8AssDhvK  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 2, 2023

Tacopina said Trumps legal team wont immediately move to dismiss the case when he is arraigned on Tuesday. Theyll instead review the charges and then determine their next move.

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As for what people could see on Tuesday, Tacopina said he doesnt know whether Trump will have a mugshot taken or if, while in custody, he will be led out in public by authorities, in whats called a perp walk.

What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that its, at the end of the day, a typical arrangement where we stand before the judge, we say, not guilty, we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery and we move forward and get out of there, he told ABC News.

Cohen, who recently testified in the hush money case, said he personally expects total mayhem during the arraignment on Tuesday.

This is his worst fear: being mugshotted, fingerprinted, being referred to as a felon, Cohen said of Trump in an interview Sunday with CBS News Sunday Morning. Hes petrified.

Cohen last week also said that he hopes Trumps arrest is classy so that the country isnt made into the laughingstock of the world.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a once staunch ally of Trump, also said that he doesnt believe that the charges can be spun towards Trumps benefit.

All this bravado from the Trump camp is baloney, the former prosecutor told ABC News This Week in a separate interview.

Hes going to have to be mugshotted, fingerprinted, and hes going to face a criminal trial in Manhattan. Hes not gonna be able to avoid it. You cant make that a good day, he said.

Related...
Donald Trump is planning to deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago during prime time on Tuesday night, just hours after he is arraigned in Manhattan following his criminal indictment.

The former president will speak at 8.15pm from his Palm Beach estate in Florida after returning from New York, where he is scheduled to appear in front of a judge at 2.15pm to answer to the criminal charges brought against him.

A grand jury of 23 New Yorkers voted to indict Mr Trump on Thursday, shortly before the end of the court wrapped up business for the day, taking many  including Mr Trump and his team  by surprise.

Mr Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN after the indictment became public.

Full details will likely only become public at the arraignment unless the charges are revealed earlier by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The former president is understood to be planning to fly to New York on Monday and will stay at his penthouse at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

He will then present himself at the New York County Criminal Court in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday morning for processing  including fingerprinting and potentially a mug shot.

After lunch, he will appear before Judge Juan Merchan and will plead not guilty according to his lawyer Joe Tacopina.

As soon as court proceedings have concluded, Mr Trump will head back to LaGuardia Airport in Queens  where he is expected to fly in and out of on his private jet  and return to Florida.

Security will be extremely tight around New Yorks courts that day, which are based around Centre Street, a short distance from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. A heavy police presence is planned and some roads will be blocked off.

Mr Trump has spent much of the time since the indictment, sequestered away at Mar-a-Lago angrily posting tirade after tirade against the indictment, Mr Bragg and Judge Merchan, as well as the radical left while complaining he cannot get a fair trial in New York.

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His remarks on Tuesday will likely reflect his earlier posts.

During an appearance on ABCs This Week on Sunday morning, Mr Tacopina told George Stephanopoulos that the charges against the former president are politically motivated, and a direct result of his 2024 White House ambitions.

He argued that someone without public prominence would not be facing the same criminal charges and that all Americans should be outraged by the indictment.

The Trump legal team is reportedly going to request the trial be moved out of deep blue Democrat Manhattan to more conservative Staten Island across New York Harbour which Mr Trump won in 2020 with 57 per cent of the vote.
Barricades have been set up outside the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney in anticipation of Donald Trump's indictment

Former US president Donald Trump is "gearing up for a battle" ahead of his scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer has said.

Mr Trump is expected to fly to New York City from his Mar-a-Lago home on Monday to face charges related to hush money payments made to a porn star.

He then plans to return to Florida following his court hearing, where he will address his supporters.

Mr Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing.

His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, promised that any charges against the former president will be fought vigorously.

"He's someone who's going to be ready for this fight," Mr Tacopina told ABC's This Week programme on Sunday.

"We're ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him."

Media reports have said that Mr Trump will be facing more than 30 charges related to business fraud over a $130,000 (105,000) pay-out to Stormy Daniels in 2016 that was made in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.

Sources familiar with the case have told US media that the former president is being charged with falsifying business records in the first degree - a felony under US law.

Details of the charges, including what they are and how many, remain under seal. Mr Tacopina has said that he himself has not yet seen the charges.

Mr Trump has been reportedly meeting with his advisors and legal team to plan his defence ahead of his flight to New York on Monday.

Law enforcement officials have told BBC's US partner, CBS News, that the former president will be escorted by members of the US Secret Service on his way to New York.

He is expected to hand himself over to authorities on Tuesday, with a hearing due to take place at 14:15 (19:15 BST) in Manhattan.

Judge Juan Merchan will preside over Mr Trump's criminal arraignment.

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The Manhattan courthouse will be closed in the afternoon for the hearing, his lawyer said. The former president will not be handcuffed, but Mr Tacopina added that other details of the arraignment are still a mystery.

"This is unprecedented I just don't know what to expect to see," he said.

"What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it's... a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say 'not guilty,' we set schedules to file motions and whatnot... and we move forward and get out there," he said.

Law enforcement officials - including the FBI , New York City court officers and Secret Service - have been preparing for Tuesday.

The New York Police Department has also reportedly intensified security measures in anticipation of any protests around the city.

Supporters of Donald Trump have gathered outside Mar-a-Lago over the weekend ahead of his indictment

A rally for Mr Trump with Republican House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has been scheduled for noon on Tuesday in New York, calling for supporters to join in "peaceful protest" against the indictment.

Later on Tuesday, Mr Trump is scheduled to return to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after his hearing, where he has said he will make an address at 20:15 EST.

Around a dozen of his supporters had gathered outside Mr Trump's Florida home over the weekend, waving "Trump 2024" flags and banners at passing motorists, many of whom honked their horns in support - but also disagreement.

They were outnumbered at the site by journalists, photographers and camera crews waiting for Mr Trump's departure to New York.

"We're just here to let him know we have his back," one woman told the BBC. "Just like he's always had ours... he'll go up to New York and beat this very soon."

Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, has accused the Manhattan district attorney of "political prosecution".

He is the first US president - sitting or former - to be charged with a criminal felony.

Other Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have spoken out in support of him and have also accused the district attorney of weaponising the criminal justice system to influence the outcome of next year's presidential election.

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.

With reporting from Bernd Debusmann in Florida.

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Attorney Joe Tacopina, who represents former President Trump, said on Sunday that he anticipates a motion to dismiss still not-yet-known charges in an indictment voted on by a Manhattan grand jury last week in a hush money case.

Tacopina said the legal team has yet to see the indictment, which remains under seal but would dissect to determine how to move forward.

We will take the indictment. We will dissect it. The team will look at every, every potential issue that we will be able to challenge and we will challenge, and of course I very much anticipate a motion to dismiss coming because theres no law that fits this, Tacopina said on CNNs State of the Union.

Tacopina said he doesnt even know really what brings us here and argued Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has taken a a misdemeanor and tried, cobbled together, to make it a felony.

Trump was indicted last week for his alleged role in organizing hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Hes now the first U.S. president  current or former  to face criminal charges.

Braggs office said Thursday that theyd reached out to Trump to coordinate his surrender, and the former president is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. Tacopina on Sunday said he hopes the process will be painless and classy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A lawyer for ex-President Donald Trump previewed on Sunday what is likely to be his clients main argument going into his criminal trial in Manhattan: That the charges against him are politically motivated, and were a direct result of his White House ambitions.

Joe Tacopina made the assertion during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week, arguing that an American without public prominence would not be facing the same criminal charges. Mr Trump is reported by multiple news outlets to be facing 34 criminal counts related to his former attorneys hush payment to a porn star on his behalf in 2016, days before the presidential election.

If he was not running for reelection, theres no way this would have been brought, said Mr Tacopina.

If youre an American and youre concerned about rule of law, there should be no scenario where you want this to happen.



Trump attorney Joe Tacopina tells @GStephanopoulos that the case wouldn't have been brought if Trump wasnt running for reelection. https://t.co/Gk43TheOAb pic.twitter.com/5i8AssDhvK  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 2, 2023

Mr Tacopina further went on to argue that Americans of all political stripes should be outraged by the indictment. He asserted that experienced federal prosecutors had looked at the case (despite the indictment not yet being public) and believed it to not hold water.

Many legal experts not tied to the case firmly disagree with that assertion, however.

More follows...
Joe Tacopina on CNN with host Dana Bash. CNN

Tacopina said Trump has a "right to have an issue with everything" since he's being "politically persecuted."

Tacopina, however, said he has no reason to believe the Manhattan judge will be biased against the former president.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan, who Trump claims "HATES" him, has beefed up security at the courthouse.

Joe Tacopina, an attorney for Donald Trump, said the former president has a "right to have an issue with everything" after Trump claimed a judge involved in his Manhattan criminal case was biased against him.

Tacopina echoed Trump's claims that a grand jury indictment handed down last week in Manhattan was a form of political persecution, but he stopped short of saying that he would request a different judge.

"Had he not been running for the presidency, he would not have been indicted," Tacopina said of Trump on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "We are going to take the indictment, evaluate all our legal options, and pursue every one most vigorously."

A grand jury indicted Trump last week after an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office into hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The details of that indictment remain sealed.

On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Judge Juan Manuel Merchan  who will preside over the hearings in Manhattan  has it out for him. Merchan also presided over the trial of the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, last year. Without evidence, Trump claimed Merchan "strong armed" Weisselberg, who eventually pled guilty to financial crimes last August.

In the exchange on CNN on Sunday, Tacopina appeared to be trying to walk a fine line between supporting his client and staying in good standing with Merchan ahead of Trump's arraignment, which is expected on Tuesday.

"You know, I have no issue with this judge whatsoever. He has a very good reputation," Tacopina told CNN host Dana Bash.

Story continues

"Well, your client does," Bash shot back.

"My client has a right to have an issue with everything. He's been politically persecuted. Make no mistake about that, Dana," Tacopina replied. "He is lashing out because he's the victim."

When Bash repeated her question about Trump's claims that Merchan is biased against him, Tacopina said: "I have no reason to believe this judge is biased. I have not been before him on this matter."

Security at the Manhattan Criminal Court has been tight since the Trump indictment on Thursday. Merchan's personal security has also been beefed up, Insider previously reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump's lawyers on Sunday lambasted the former president's historic indictment as "political persecution" ahead of his court appearance next week.

Trump himself plans to make public remarks on Tuesday from Florida, he said in a statement Sunday.

The ex-leader, 76, is due to be arraigned at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday afternoon -- the first time a president or former president faces criminal charges.

He has denounced the legal proceedings as a "witch hunt" and assailed the judge assigned to hear it.

The indictment is still under seal, and the circumstances of Trump's appearance in New York remain unclear.

On Sunday, his attorney Joe Tacopina bluntly dismissed the anticipated charges -- related to a hush-money payment to an adult film star in 2016 -- as "some twilight zone sort of scenario" in an "upside down world."

"This is a case of political persecution," he said on CNN.

Tacopina also blasted likely key witness Michael Cohen, the former Trump lawyer who was jailed on related charges and turned against his former boss, as "a pathological, convicted liar."

- 'Legal frailties' -

Tacopina did say that he does not expect to move for an immediate dismissal, saying the Trump team has yet to be able to study the exact charges.

But another Trump attorney, James Trusty, told "Fox News Sunday" that based on "what we're guessing the indictment will look like, it will have legal frailties that will be subjected to a legitimate motion to dismiss early on."

As to the proceedings in Manhattan, where police and law enforcement agencies are gearing up for protests and counter-protests, little is yet known, though Trump is expected to be fingerprinted and photographed, as is standard procedure.

"I honestly don't know how this is going to go -- hopefully, smoothly as possible," Tacopina said. He added that he expected to learn more on Monday.

The Trump lawyer said he did not expect his client to be forced to do a "perp walk" -- walking, handcuffed, before news cameras -- noting that the former president will be under Secret Service protection.

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"Hopefully, this will be as painless and classy as possible," he said.

Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, pushed back against Tacopina's remarks, saying on CNN that his client had provided "substantial documentation" to support the expected charges involving porn actress Stormy Daniels.

And he pointed out that similar charges might involve model and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, who has drawn less attention.

"Remember, there are two crimes here," he said.

In the meantime, Trump's former attorney general Bill Barr said Sunday that he would advise Trump against eventually taking the stand in his own defense.

"I think it's a particularly bad idea for Trump, because he lacks all self-control," he told a Fox interviewer.

bbk/sw
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 2)  The summer heat did not stop fans of entries to the inaugural Summer Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) from coming out to support their idols, as they lined up along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City for the Parade of Stars on Palm Sunday.

Eight colorful and themed floats started off from Villa Beatriz and headed to the Quezon Memorial Circle, with the films stars and directors giving away festival passes and souvenirs along the way.

"Panoorin natin ang mga pelikula sa ating mga sinehan," said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Romando Artes. "Kung ano ang init ng panahon, sana ganun din ang init ng inyong pagtanggap at pagsuporta dito sa walong pelikulang kalahok sa kauna-unahang Summer Metro Manila Film Festival."

[Translation: Let's watch the films in theatersMay your support for the eight films participating in the first Summer MMFF match the summer heat.]

LIST: The 8 official entries of the 1st Summer MMFF

"Let's support Filipino films para manumbalik ang sigla ng Philippine cinema dito sa ating bayan," said Mayor Joy Belmonte, who expressed her gratitude to the MMDA for choosing Quezon City as the venue to kick off the first Summer MMFF.

[Translation: Let's support Filipino films to rekindle the vigor in Philippine cinema.]

The casts and directors of the entries also showed their love to the fans, saying they were excited about the renewed interest in watching Filipino films in movie houses.

"Maraming salamat dahil lumabas kayo at sinamahan niyo kami kahit sobrang init," said actor Carlos Aquino, who stars in the drama film "Love You Long Time."

[Translation: Thank you for coming out even with the hot weather.]

In a video played during the event's livestream, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. invited Filipinos to watch the "good mix of entries" and support local artists and filmmakers.

"Iniimbitahan ko kayong lahat, kahit anong henerasyon ka man, Boomer, Millennial, Gen Z...Kung masaya ang industriya, masaya ako, masaya ang Pilipino," Marcos said.

[Translation: I'm inviting everyone regardless if you are a Boomer, Millennial, or Gen Z. If the industry is happy, I'm also happy, and the Filipinos as well.]

"This reflects a healthy and thriving economy and it signifies that we are really getting back together stronger and united," he added.

Meanwhile, Artes said the MMDA is currently coordinating with other agencies to investigate possible cases of piracy after seeing suspicious Facebook posts.
Lawyers for Donald Trump have considered trying to move his criminal case from deep-blue Manhattan to the more conservative New York borough of Staten Island, according to a new report.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Mr Trump last week on charges related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The money was paid in an effort to prevent Ms Daniels from publicly revealing an affair she claims she had with the president years ago. Mr Trump has long denied the allegations.

Bloomberg reported that Mr Trumps legal team is weighing the change in venue but would likely wait to see the charges against the former president when the indictment is unsealed on Tuesday. Mr Trump is scheduled to be arraigned at 2.15pm on Tuesday at Manhattan criminal court, where he is expected to face more than 30 charges including at least one felony.

Mr Trump won Staten Island with 57 per cent of the vote in the 2020 election. Staten Island has traditionally been a more conservative borough of New York City.

Relocating the case may not be feasible, however.

The only reason he would try to move venue to Staten Island is that he thinks  based on voter registration  that thats a friendlier potential jury pool for him. Thats not going to fly, former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers told Bloomberg.

Since his indictment, Mr Trump has railed against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and has dismissed any investigations into him as political witch hunts.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump, the first former US president to be indicted, will plead not guilty when he appears in a Manhattan state court Tuesday to face criminal charges, his defense lawyer said.

Most Read from Bloomberg

We will very loudly and proudly say not guilty, Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina said on an appearance Sunday on CNNs State of the Union.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg convened the grand jury in January to investigate Trumps role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The panel on Thursday voted to indict Trump but the charges remain under seal.

Tacopina said he believes Trump faces several misdemeanor charges and signaled a defense the former president is likely to launch, including assailing Braggs authority to bring state charges tied to a federal election. He said the payments were previously investigated by the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department which he said concluded there were no violations.

Somehow, a state prosecutor has taken a a misdemeanor and tried to cobble together and make it a felony by alleging a violation of federal campaign violations which the FEC said didnt exist, he said.

The team will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge, and we will challenge, Tacopina said the defense very much anticipates a motion to dismiss because theres no law that fits this.

He said, however, he would not seek an immediate dismissal at the arraignment on Tuesday because that would be showmanship and nothing more.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the payments in 2018. The Justice Department had a standing policy that a sitting president couldnt be charged.

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Tacopina defended Trumps trashing of New York state judge Juan Merchan, who will preside over the case. While Trump claimed Merchan HATES ME on his Truth Social platform, Tacopina said there are no plans to seek Merchans removal from the case.

My client has a right to have an issue with everything, he said. Hes been politically persecuted.

Trump will deliver remarks on Tuesday evening after returning to his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, according to a statement from his campaign.

Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Cohen said on CNN Sunday that his client and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker both provided the Manhattan grand jury with evidence about hush-money payments made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal before the 2016 election.

American Media Inc. the parent company and publisher, allegedly bought McDougals story after she claimed to have had a past affair with Trump. Pecker testified before the grand jury twice, and was spotted leaving the courthouse Monday.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Donald Trump has reportedly raised over $5 million in the first 48 hours since that announcement that he would be indicted by Manhattans district attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump officials have confirmed that contributions have been flowing heavily into the former presidents re-election war chest, with over a quarter of funds coming from first-time donors.

Theres a whole new group of Trump supporters who are angered by what they see as this political persecution, Jason Miller, a senior campaign adviser for Donald Trump, told Mike Allen of Axios.

The former president has embraced the notoriety that has come from the indictment, touting the legal charges he faces as an act of political assassination.

PRESIDENT TRUMP RAISES OVER $4 MILLION IN 24 HOURS AFTER INDICTMENT IN ALVIN BRAGG WITCH HUNT, a campaign email on Friday boasted.

Since the indictment was first publicized on Thursday, the Trump campaign has reportedly run several Facebook advertisements seeking to garner political donations.

The Radical Left  the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country  have INDICTED me in a disgusting witch hunt, one such advertisement read. Another promised contributors donating more than $49 their very own I Stand with President Trump T-shirt for FREE.

Trump campaign says it raised over $4 million since indictment news pic.twitter.com/sp0Tqf78M3  Will Steakin (@wsteaks) March 31, 2023

Trumps legal team has also publicly contemplated relocating the trial to another part of New York City where the former president will possibly face a more sympathetic hearing.

Trumps legal team is considering asking to move his criminal case from Manhattan to the more conservative New York borough of Staten Island out of concern that he wont be able to get a fair trial, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

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Still, the rhetoric coming from the Trump campaign remains adamant that the entire affair is without any legal basis.

The Manhattan DAs crusade against President Donald J. Trump is nothing more than political persecution and, just like with every other hoax that President Trump has been targeted with, there is no crime whatsoever, except for election interference by radical Democrats through weaponization of our justice system against President Trump and his supporters, Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, told Axios.

Trump is expected to leave his Florida residence of Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach bound for Manhattan on Monday where he will appear in court the following day for his arraignment.

Campaign officials further confirmed that over 16,000 volunteers have signed up

More from National Review
Former President Trump still maintains a strong lead in a hypothetical Republican primary poll over his other current and potential Republican challengers following his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.

A Yahoo News-YouGov poll taken after the grand jury approved the indictment against Trump found the former president holding a 31-point lead over his next closest potential GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 52 percent of the vote. DeSantis came in second with 21 percent, followed by former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley with 5 percent and former Vice President Mike Pence with 3 percent.

The rest of the current and possible candidates included in the poll received 2 percent or less, while 11 percent said they were not sure.

In a head-to-head matchup, Trump leads DeSantis by 26 points, 57 percent to 31 percent, while 12 percent said they were not sure.

The polls were taken among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

Yahoo reported that Trump significantly widened his lead over DeSantis from the poll that it conducted less than two weeks ago, when the former president only led DeSantis by 8 points in a head-to-head matchup. DeSantis led Trump by 4 points in the February poll that Yahoo and YouGov conducted.

The most recent poll found 54 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents would prefer Trump to be the Republican nominee in 2024, while only a third said they would prefer someone else. That number is three points higher than the 51 percent who said they preferred Trump in the last poll.

But the poll found results are more split or leaning against Trump when respondents beyond the Republican electorate are included.

On how people feel about Trumps indictment, 39 percent of adults said they are enthusiastic or satisfied with it, while 37 percent said they are dissatisfied or angry. Respondents were also split on the motivation behind the indictment against Trump, with 43 percent saying they believe political bias is the primary motivation and 42 percent saying a genuine desire to hold Trump accountable is the motivation.

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But a plurality of respondents said they believe Trump did falsify business records to conceal a hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with 45 percent saying so. Only 26 percent said he did not, while 29 percent said they were not sure.

In a hypothetical rematch with President Biden, Trump trails Biden by 2 points among registered voters, 45 percent for Biden to 43 percent for Trump.

The poll was conducted from March 30 -31 among 1,089 U.S. adults. The margin of error was 3.3 points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former lawyer for Donald Trump who once said he would do anything to protect the former U.S. president is now poised to serve as a key witness in the criminal trial of his longtime boss.

Michael Cohen, who became a top executive at Trump's real estate company and then his personal lawyer, testified twice before the Manhattan grand jury that voted on Thursday to indict Trump following an investigation into a hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Cohen has said that Trump directed him to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep her from speaking about a sexual encounter she has said she had with Trump in 2006, meaning he will likely be a prominent witness if the case goes to trial.

Trump, who has launched a bid to regain the presidency in 2024, has denied having had such an encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and said he did not direct Cohen. Trump has called Cohen a "serial liar" and "convicted felon."

After it was disclosed on Thursday that Trump was indicted, the former president said he was "completely innocent" and called the case "political persecution and election interference." The specific charges have not yet been made public.

Cohen's potential role as a star witness against Trump marks the culmination of his 15-year arc from being the businessman-turned-politician's loyal "fixer" to an outspoken antagonist.

"I will do anything to protect Mr. Trump," Cohen told Fox News in 2017.

Cohen's stance had changed dramatically by 2019, when he testified before a U.S. congressional committee and said, "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat."

'DONALD'S ARCH-NEMESIS'

On Friday, after Trump's indictment, Cohen said his goal in cooperating with authorities was to "speak truth to power."

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"I decided that I was not going to allow history to remember me as the villain to his story," Cohen told Reuters in an interview. "If speaking truth to power makes me Donald's arch-nemesis, so be it."

Cohen was hired as the Trump Organization's executive vice president and special counsel in 2007. Before that, the Long Island native and son of a Holocaust survivor worked as a malpractice lawyer and owned a fleet of yellow taxis.

Cohen said in the interview he was hired after he had orchestrated the ouster of the board of directors of a condominium in which he owned an apartment, a board that was trying to remove Trump's name from the building's exterior.

Cohen later advised Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and, as his personal lawyer, remained close to Trump once he became president, though he did not have an official job at the White House.

In 2018, after the hush money payment to Daniels came to light, Cohen initially said he paid with his own money and that neither the Trump campaign nor the Trump Organization reimbursed him.

He later pleaded guilty to a federal campaign finance law violation for paying Daniels, and then testified in Congress that Trump told him to make the payment. He said he was reimbursed in installments, and displayed a copy of a $35,000 check from Trump's personal bank account.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for making unlawfully excessive campaign contributions and other crimes, including cheating on his personal taxes and lying under oath to Congress about when the Trump Organization stopped working on a proposed building project in Russia. Cohen served more than a year before being released.

Relying on Cohen's testimony presents risks for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, given the disbarred lawyer's history of false statements and shifting accounts of the payment to Daniels. That could provide fertile ground for Trump's defense lawyers during cross-examination at trial.

Cohen, who is married and has two children, has said he has taken responsibility for his wrongdoing. He has also said that much of his criminal conduct - including the lie to Congress and the Daniels payment - arose out of his blind loyalty to Trump.

On Friday, Cohen told Reuters he expected Trump and his allies to attack him.

"It's all part of the playbook," Cohen said.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Noeleen Walder)
Ahead of former President Donald Trump's upcoming arraignment on criminal charges, his ex-counsel and "fixer" Michael Cohen said in an interview that while the case is connected to a payment he made to an adult film star, he feels the charge or charges are about holding the former president "accountable."

"I've never said that it was about me. This is not what so many people want to make it look like," Cohen told CBS News' Robert Costa in an interview that aired on "Face the Nation." "'Oh, it's Michael Cohen's vengeance against Donald Trump.' That's not what this is about. This is solely about accountability. I should not be held accountable for Donald Trump's dirty deeds."

"Let him be held accountable," Cohen said. "Let those in his orbit that are truly accountable, like [former U.S. Attorney General] Bill Barr, right, who he used to weaponize the Justice Department against his critics. Let them be held accountable because it saves and it preserves democracy."

Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury last week, becoming the first former president in U.S. history to be criminally charged. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating alleged falsified business records connected to a payment  a $130,000 wire transfer to adult film star Stormy Daniels  that Cohen arranged in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump. The charge or charges have not been revealed, although a source familiar with the investigation told CBS News on Saturday that there will be a felony charge.

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. / Credit: CBS News

Trump has denied having any sexual encounter with Daniels as well as any wrongdoing in the case.

His attorney general, Bill Barr, criticized the indictment on Friday at an event sponsored by the National Review magazine, calling it the "archetypical abuse of the prosecutorial function to engage in a political hit job."

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to eight federal charges of tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations related to payments to Daniels and one other person, allegedly through the Trump Organization where he served at the time as a vice president. The former attorney testified that Trump had directed him to make the payments and later accused Trump of the same in greater detail in his 2020 memoir "Disloyal."

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Bragg's office confirmed the indictment on Thursday and said then that it had contacted Trump's attorney to arrange his surrender. Bragg's office said in a statement on Thursday that more information about when the document could be unsealed would come "when the arraignment date is selected." One of Trump's attorneys, Joseph Tacopina, told CBS News via text the following day that his legal team expected Trump to surrender to authorities "likely Tuesday."

Two of Trump's attorneys, Tacopina and Susan Necheles, said in a statement that the former president "did not commit any crime" and would "vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court."

Preet Bharara, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was fired by Trump and has since criticized his administration, chose not to prosecute Daniels' case at the federal level when it initially came across his desk. Neither did the office of the previous Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance. Bharara, who knows Bragg personally, said on "Face the Nation" Sunday that exactly why the current District Attorney's office chose to move ahead with the Trump indictment will be unclear until the charge or charges against him are revealed in full.

Preet Bharara on

"We don't know. I know the man pretty well, Alvin Bragg ... I don't know what the charges are. We've been speculating about them. Maybe there's new evidence," Bharara said.

Noting the possibility that the charges allegedly pertaining to falsified business records could also include campaign finance violations, which some have questioned on the grounds that campaign financing could be considered personal expenses, Bharara said, "I believe, based on the Alvin Bragg that I know ... that he has sound legal ground to bring this one."

Trump is expected to arrive in New York City on Monday night and appear in court in Manhattan the following day. Attorneys have been told that the arraignment itself is set for 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.

CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman said that after Trump turns himself in, he will be in custody of the New York Police Department and the Secret Service, but he will be "processed like any other defendant" after he is criminally charged, meaning he will have his mugshot taken and will be fingerprinted.

Trump arrives in New York ahead of expected Tuesday arraignment

Oil prices soar after OPEC+ announces output cut

Trump boards flight for New York to face indictment
More than 150 years before former President Donald Trump was indicted, a sitting president, Ulysses S. Grant, was in trouble with the law.

Grant was an apparent speed demon with his horse and buggy. He was stopped by police in Washington for speeding several times, Cathy Lanier, chief of D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department told WTOP in 2012. Grant was taken into custody after he was caught racing his buggy on M Street.

"They ended up letting him pay a fine and walk back to the White House," Lanier told WTOP.

The officer who stopped Grant in 1872 was William H. West, a former enslaved person and Civil War veteran, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. West was one of two Black police officers to work for the police department in Washington at the time.

The officer spotted Grant speeding twice. The first time, West gave Grant a warning and sent him on his way. But West saw the president speeding again the very next day.

"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," West said, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Grant was released on a $20 bond, now equivalent to around $430, after his arrest.

West continued his work as a police officer until his retirement in 1901. West and the arrest were featured in the Washington Evening Star on Sept. 27, 1908, seven years before his death.

"The General's Love for Horses and His Pleasure in Driving Were the Cause of His Trouble," the article notes about Grant.

Trump arrives in New York ahead of expected Tuesday arraignment

Oil prices soar after OPEC+ announces output cut

Trump boards flight for New York to face indictment
The internet went out for tens of thousands of customers after two people allegedly cut fiber optic lines in Connecticut, police said Sunday.

Officers in Norwalk arrested Jillian Nicole Persons, 30, and Austin Keith Geddings, 26, on Saturday in connection with the March 24 outage.

Police responded to a report of damaged Optimum cable lines on Broad Street in Norwalk on the morning of March 24, officials said. Optimum workers told officers more than 2,000 fiber optic lines had been cut.

Police identified a vehicle tied to the suspects, who are both from Asheville, North Carolina, and issued arrest warrants for Persons and Geddings, authorities said. Detectives spotted Person while conducting surveillance in Bridgeport on Saturday. They arrested her without incident. Police found and arrested Geddings a short time later in a wooded area in Stratford.

Bail was set at $200,000 for both suspects, officials said. Persons was charged with conspiracy to commit larceny, among other charges. Police charged Geddings with similar offenses.

Officials have not shared a motive for the alleged crime. The pair set to return to court on April 11.

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Kevin Cornwell, 53, from Middlesbrough, is employed by a charity as a paramedic

Two of the British men being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan have spoken to their families, a humanitarian group representing them has said.

The Presidium Network said Kevin Cornwell, 53, and another unnamed man were able to speak "freely" and that the calls had brought "great relief".

A third man, named as Miles Routledge, 23, but not being represented by the group, is also being held.

The government has said it is "in negotiations" over the men.

Presidium, a UK-based non-profit organisation that supports people in crisis, said the two men were able to speak for "one minute to one minute and a half" and described the call as a sign of "tremendous progress in the situation".

Referring specifically to Mr Cornwell, it said: "The relief Kevin's family expressed after hearing his voice for the first time in three months, not knowing if he was well, brought a great sense of peace and gave them hope that this situation will be resolved soon."

Mr Cornwell, a paramedic from Middlesbrough who works for a charity, and the unnamed man were detained on 11 January.

Scott Richards of Presidium said previously that there were "no official charges as such" but that the detention was understood to be over a weapon that had been in a safe in Mr Cornwell's room.

He said the weapon was being stored with a licence issued by the Afghan interior ministry but that the license was missing.

"We have taken several statements from witnesses who have seen the licence and affirm its existence," he said.

"It is perfectly possible that during the search the licence was separated from the weapon and, as such, why we refer to this scenario as a probable misunderstanding."

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the government was "in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld".

"Anyone travelling to dangerous parts of the world should take the utmost caution. If they are going to do that they should always act on the advice of the Foreign Office travel advice," she said.

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"If there are risks to people's safety, if they're a British citizen abroad, then the UK government is going to do whatever it takes to ensure that they're safe."

Miles Routledge has 150,000 followers on Twitter and a further 59,000 subscribers on YouTube

The third man, Mr Routledge, from Birmingham, is a former Loughborough University student known for travelling to dangerous countries and posting about it on social media.

In August 2021, he was evacuated from Afghanistan by the British armed forces in the month that the Taliban swept back into power in the country. He said at the time he was "exhausted but relieved" and thankful to those who had helped get him out.

He chose to travel to Afghanistan because he enjoys "dark" and "extreme" tourism, he said.

He has not posted on his YouTube channel or his Twitter account for more than a month.
The Dayton Post Office on East Fifth Street will be holding a job fair every Friday this month.

>>RELATED: I-TEAM: Postal police union head talks lawsuit over patrols

It will take place at the 1100 block of East Fifth Street to fill immediate openings for city carrier assistants, according to a US Postal Service spokesperson.

The first one is April 7.

The starting salary will over $19 an hour and applicants must be available to work weekends and holidays.

They also need to have an acceptable driving record.

More details about the job and how to apply can be found at this website.




This photo taken on Nov. 4, 2022 shows an evening view of the Lujiazui area in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) China is not the enemy of the West. With mutual respect and understanding, the interests of China and the West can "converge on key issues, to the benefit of the whole world," Laurent Michelon, a French entrepreneur who has been living in China for 25 years, told Xinhua in a recent interview. by Xinhua writers Yang Jun and Zhou Haojin BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- There is a growing expectation among the Western population to hear something positive about China, "at least more factual," a business insider has observed. China is in the crosshairs of certain Western countries, which are openly waging "a multidimensional war" to contain its economic and political development, Laurent Michelon, a French entrepreneur who has been living in China for 25 years, told Xinhua in a recent interview. "I perceive in a growing part of the Western public a doubt about the information reported about China in the Western media, because everything is so negative about such a diverse country, populated by 1.4 billion people, with 5,000 years of history and which has become the second largest economy in the world," he said. Author of the book "Understand the China-West relations (2022)" (Comprendre la relation Chine-Occident), Michelon's analysis of China is vastly different from mainstream perceptions in the West, but closer to the reality of the Chinese society. In his book, he delved into a question often asked by his European and American friends: "why I live so long in a country about which they can only read negative news." This aerial photo taken on Feb. 21, 2023 shows the full Internet of Things container terminal of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin.(Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo) Western media usually present an "apocalyptic portrait" of China. The Western political and media elites, which are closely linked to the economic elites, are playing a perverse role in smearing China, while investing increasingly in the country, he said, citing the latest figures which indicated growing European Union investments in China, as well as trade between China and the United States. In contrast with the mainstream Western media that systematically demonize China, Michelon has been pushing for a less caricatured, less ideological and more fact-based vision of China. During his recent multiple interviews with French media, Michelon pointed out the many errors of analysis by Western media about China, which is pummeled repeatedly by negative propaganda. These biased reports, he said, involved a handful of industry moguls in such fields as arms, finance, pharmaceuticals and energy. Michelon believed that such a journalistic bias is due to the blindness of Western media, whose reports about China are based on assumptions, but not facts, research, or investigations. Aerial photo taken on Jan. 30, 2022 shows a relocation site for poverty alleviation in Kaili, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) This is because the reporting of whatever positive about China's development is systematically refused by editors in attempts to block the Western public from the reality of China's progress, he added. In his book, the author explains that behind the defamation of China by Western elites lies the promotion of a so-called "rules-based order" imposed on the whole world, which is "a set of vague rules outside of international law," seeking to hold back multipolarity. Despite all the disinformation, "in Europe, many people know that they have been lied to" on many issues, including COVID-19, Ukraine, and "logically on China as well," he noted. Michelon praised such China-proposed initiatives as the Belt and Road Initiative, for their role in promoting inclusive development, saying that China has "a true joint development approach, and not the predatory approach that is presented in the international media." China is not the enemy of the West. With mutual respect and understanding, the interests of China and the West can "converge on key issues, to the benefit of the whole world," the business insider added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippine, April 2)  In a bid to develop world-class Filipino seafarers, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday vowed to provide solutions to issues facing the Philippine maritime industry.

Gagawin natin ang lahat upang mabigyan natin ng solusyon ang mga isyung kinakaharap ng ating maritime industry, upang patuloy tayong mag-develop ng mga world-class at magagaling na seafarers para sa buong mundo, he said.

[Translation: We will do everything we can to provide solutions to the issues facing our maritime industry, so that we can continue to develop world-class and skilled seafarers for the whole world.]

On Friday, the European Commission (EC) had decided to continue recognizing certificates for Filipino seafarers, citing that the country has made serious efforts to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers (STCW).

READ: PH welcomes EU decision on Filipino seafarers, vows to work on areas for improvement

Around 50,000 Filipino seafarers were at risk of losing their jobs if the country had failed to secure a favorable decision from the EC, the president said.

Following the commissions decision, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Toots Ople said the number of Filipino seafarers is now expected to increase not only in the EU but throughout the world, adding that the decision was a vote of confidence for the Philippines.

According to the DMW, the number of deployed Filipino seafarers in 2022 stood at 490,000, a more than 80% increase from the 270,000 seafarers deployed in 2020.

Meanwhile, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said the agency is committed to address the remaining areas identified by EC that require further improvement.

The six deficiencies of the country that were pointed out by the EU are: monitoring and training assessment, course design, training facility and simulators, on board training, and issuing of certificates.

The EU also said it intends to provide the Philippines with technical assistance to further improve its education, training and certification system for seafarers in the coming months.

CNN Philippines Correspondent Tristan Nodalo contributed to this report.
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton

Day in and day out, I continue to hear from constituents across southern Michigan who cannot afford to fill up their tanks or pay their home heating bills. Families across the nation are struggling due to high energy costs and are being forced to decide whether to pay for groceries or fill up their gas tank each week. On the day that President Joe Biden was sworn into office, the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide was $2.39. Today, the national average is $3.42, over a dollar more than when President Biden took office.

Over the course of the past two years, President Biden has waged a war on American energy, contributing to skyrocketing gas and utility costs. Since his first day in office, President Biden has pursued an anti-energy agenda by canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, suspending new oil and gas leases on federal land and water, and imposing restrictions and fees on oil and natural gas production. When energy prices began to rise drastically due to these failed policies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Biden decided to beg our foreign adversaries for energy supplies and drain our strategic reserves instead of unleashing clean energy production here at home.

House Republicans made a promise in our Commitment to America that we would work to lower gas and utility costs for hardworking Americans and promote energy independence. Fulfilling this promise, House Republicans have passed House Resolution 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which will provide American families with much-needed relief from President Bidens war on American energy. H.R. 1 will cut bureaucratic red tape and increase energy production here at home so we can lower energy costs and stop depending on hostile foreign countries for both energy resources and critical minerals that are needed to build everything from cars to communications equipment.

This cornerstone legislation will unleash American energy production by reforming the permitting process for essential energy infrastructure, increasing domestic production and processing of resources to secure Americas critical minerals supply, and repealing policies advanced by the Biden administration that jeopardize Americas energy independence. Among its many provisions, H.R. 1 would prohibit the president from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing, eliminate restrictions on the import and export of oil and natural gas, repeal royalties and fee increases imposed on energy production that raise energy prices, and require the resumption of leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands and water.

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Included in H.R. 1 is the text of my bill, Protecting International Pipelines for Energy Security (PIPES) Act. The PIPES Act will uphold American energy security by prohibiting sole executive authority from revoking permits pertaining to construction and operation of cross-border energy infrastructure facilities. Through the passage of this legislation, we will prevent executive overreach from shutting down safe and essential pipelines, like Line 5 in Michigan, without congressional approval. Line 5 transports the majority of Michigans propane needs that hundreds of thousands of people in the state use to heat their homes. If we close this essential pipeline, nearly 34,000 jobs could be lost across the Midwest and it could result in a $20.8 billion loss in economic activity.

Together, these important actions will help us reverse course from the failed policies of the Biden administration and promote American energy independence. This legislation unleashes the full power of American energy and mineral production by eliminating burdensome permitting requirements, creating jobs and fostering innovation. The United States can produce energy cleaner than anywhere else in the world and it is our responsibility to do it. H.R. 1 includes the permitting reforms necessary to strengthen our supply chain by mining and producing the critical minerals we need for renewable energy projects and future technologies. Without these necessary actions, we will continue to be reliant on hostile foreign adversaries like China and subject to the all-too-familiar volatility we have experienced since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Energy security is national security. H.R. 1 will provide stability by ensuring that the United States has the proper policies in place to secure its supply chains, become a producer of clean and reliable energy, and make life more affordable for Michiganders and citizens across the country. H.R. 1 is a necessary step to achieving American energy dominance and will help the United States prosper as a global leader.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. He represents Michigan's 5th Congressional District, which includes Lenawee and Monroe counties.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tim Walberg: House Republicans flipping U.S. energy switch back on


While Russia has suffered up to 200,000 casualties since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only a few have been due to non-combat causes, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on April 2.

The ministry said the deaths linked to alcohol consumption, poor weapon handing drills, road traffic accidents, and climatic injuries such as hypothermia are the leading non-combat casualties amongst Russian deployed forces.

Russian commanders likely identify pervasive alcohol abuse as particularly detrimental to combat effectiveness, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its latest intelligence update.

However, the update shows heavy drinking has been seen as a tacitly accepted part of military life, even in combat operations.

UK Defense Ministry daily intelligence update, April 2, 2022. (Courtesy)

Russia had lost 174,550 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year, according to Ukraines General Staff.

Read also: Ukraine changes combat bonus system, soldiers warn it might lower morale
Britain's interior minister Suella Braverman on Sunday said the UK government was "in negotiations" after three British men were detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Media reports have identified the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, the unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge.

Scott Richards, co-founder of the non-profit group the Presidium Network, told AFP his organisation was representing the families of two of the three detainees.

There had been "interactions" on Sunday with the men who were in "good condition, as best as one can be in a state of detention".

"They're ostensibly charged on what we believe to be related to an accusation of an illegal firearm, although that firearm was stored in a safe alongside its licence, so we believe the situation is largely a misunderstanding," he added.

The two men are believed to have been held by the Taliban since January.

It is not known how long the third man has been held for.

"The government is in negotiations and working hard to ensure people's safety is upheld," Braverman told Sky News earlier.

"We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families," the UK's foreign ministry added in a statement.

- Global outrage -

Richards said he hoped that the situation could be quickly resolved in a transparent way that would give the international aid community confidence.

"In a nation that is relying on foreign aid workers due to a variety of reasons, we need to ensure that it's safe for these people to operate," he said.

The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and has since sparked global outrage with its policies in particular towards women and girls.

Last year the Taliban freed a veteran television cameraman and four other British nationals it had held for six months.

Peter Jouvenal was one of a "number" of Britons that the government in London said had been held by the hardline Islamists.

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Britain's foreign ministry said the five "had no role in the UK government's work in Afghanistan and travelled to Afghanistan against the UK government's travel advice."

"This was a mistake," it added.

At the time, Afghanistan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Britons of "carrying out activities against the country's laws and traditions of the people of Afghanistan".

"They promised to abide by the laws of Afghanistan, its traditions and culture of the people and not to violate them again," he said.

har/giv
Key developments on April 1-2:

ISW: Russias goal to seize Donbas by the end of March fails

Russian missile attack kills 6 civilians in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast

High-profile Russian propagandist killed in explosion in St Petersburg cafe

General Staff: Russia has lost 174,550 troops in Ukraine since the start of full-scale invasion

UK Defense Ministry: Second group of Ukrainian soldiers completes training on AS-90 howitzers

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted in their update on April 1 that Russias goal to seize Donbas by the end of March has failed.

Capturing Donbas, Ukraines eastern region, composed of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, has been Russias key goal, and the main focus of its military efforts.

The Chief of Russias General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced on Dec. 22 last year that Russian forces would mainly focus their efforts on capturing the entirety of the Donetsk Oblast.

In late January, Russia began its winter offensive, focusing on taking hold of the cities of the Donbas region, with Bakhmut becoming the main hotspot.

Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that (Gerasimov's) project has failed, the UK Ministry of Defense wrote in its intelligence update on April 1.

Ukrainian officials chipped in on Russias inability to capture the Donetsk Oblast.

Colonel Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military defending the south of Donetsk Oblast said on Ukrainian national television on April 2 that the country's military has pushed the Russian troops back from several positions in the direction of Donetsk.

Dmytrashkivskyi added that Ukrainian forces are now busy equipping these positions for defensive combat operations.

At the same time, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar stressed that the situation in Bakhmut remains tense.

The enemy is trying to engage not only the Wagner mercenary group, but also professional airborne units, she said.

Maliar noted that excessively high losses of personnel dont stop Russia. Decisions are made emotionally.

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According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia lost more than 4,000 troops in the week from March 27 to April 2.

Ukraines True History

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Kremlin propagandist killed in explosion in St Petersburg cafe

Russian high-profile propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky was killed on April 2 in an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg, as reported by Russian media. The explosion reportedly left 25 people injured.

The cafe, which reportedly once belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the notorious Russian mercenary company the Wagner Group, was allegedly hosting an event for Tatarskys coverage of the war.

According to unconfirmed reports, the explosion happened just five minutes after a female visitor handed Tatarsky a trophy, which is now thought to have contained the explosive.

NATO countries to send total of 160 tanks to Ukraine



German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Die Welt on April 1 that NATO countries plan on sending two battalions of German Leopard-2 battle tanks and four battalions of Leopard-1 tanks to Ukraine.

The 160 tanks, however, account for roughly half the 300 tanks requested by Ukraine.

Poland, together with the allies, would send two battalions of Leopard-2 tanks, or a total of 60 tanks, according to Pistorious.

Four battalions of 100 Leopard-1 tanks could be delivered by the end of the year, he said.

Der Spiegel reported on March 27 that 18 Leopard-2 tanks had arrived in Ukraine.

Russia's attacks

The General Staff of Ukraine reported in its evening update on April 2 that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces carried out five missile and 22 air strikes, as well as 42 attacks from multiple rocket launchers.

The most devastating attack of the weekend took place in Kostiantynivka, a city only 13 kilometers west of Bakhmut. Early in the morning of April 2, Russian forces attacked Kostiantynivka with missiles.

Six civilians were killed and 11 injured, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskys evening address on April 2.

A day earlier, Russians shelled the southern Kherson Oblast and the city of Kherson, killing one civilian and leaving four injured.

According to the General Staff, Russia continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensives in Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Mariinka, which remain the epicenter of hostilities.

Read also: Ukraine changes combat bonus system, soldiers warn it might lower morale
Ukraines Defence Ministry has called for trust in military personnel defending Bakhmut and stressed that the citys defenders are taking military expediency into consideration when making decisions about their actions.

Source: Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, on Facebook

Quote: "The situation in Bakhmut remains very difficult. The enemy is making attempts to deploy not only Wagner Group fighters, but also professional air assault units. The enemy is not deterred by exorbitant personnel losses. Their decision-making is guided by emotions.

Our defenders have to halt the enemys advance in these circumstances.

But our every military decision and our every step is carefully considered. The command of the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group is working in the combat zone and is fully aware of the circumstances on the ground.

They are responding to the current situation with great competence, and by taking into consideration all circumstances, goals, and the principle of military expediency. We trust our military."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
By Nick Starkov and Ronald Popeski

KYIV (Reuters) - Fighting around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut remained "particularly hot", President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, giving no indication the city had finally fallen to Russia as claimed by the founder of the Wagner mercenary force.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said his troops, involved in a months-long effort to encircle and capture the bombed-out city, had raised a Russian flag on its administrative building.

"From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken. The enemy is concentrated in the western parts," Prigozhin said in video posted on his press service's Telegram account on Sunday.

But there was no indication from Ukrainian officials that Bakhmut, a town of 70,000 before the Russian invasion launched over a year ago, had fallen into Russian hands.

Prigozhin has previously made claims that were premature.

Ukraine's military said in a Monday update Bakhmut and several other towns including Avdiivka were at the "epicentre of hostilities".

"The enemy continues its assault on the city of Bakhmut. However, our defenders courageously hold the city," the military said.

Zelenskiy, in his Sunday night video address, thanked soldiers fighting in Avdiivka, Maryinka, and Bakhmut.

"Especially Bakhmut. It is especially hot there," he said.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar had earlier described the Bakhmut situation as "tense". Ukrainian forces were defending their positions and Russian forces were paying scant attention to losses as they attacked, Maliar said.

Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.

CLASHES IN CITY CENTRE

Ukrainian military commanders have said their own counteroffensive - backed by newly delivered Western tanks and other hardware - is not far off, but have stressed the importance of holding Bakhmut in the meantime.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said fighting had engulfed the centre of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces had repelled 25 enemy attacks, but Russian forces had captured the AZOM metal plant.

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"The enemy is attacking the city centre from the north, the east and the south and is trying to take the city under its full control," Zhdanov, who has close ties to the Ukrainian military, said in a video on YouTube.

In Russia, a well-known military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed by a bomb in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation into the blast, which wounded 32 people.

It was not immediately known who was behind the killing. Wagner's Prigozhin said he would "not blame the Kyiv regime" for it but another leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said "domestic terrorism" was breaking out in Russia.

NUCLEAR THREAT

Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year in what it calls a "special military operation", claiming Kyiv's ties to the West were a security threat. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides have been killed. Russia has destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of people to flight. It claims to have annexed nearly a fifth of Ukraine.

Kyiv and the West call the war an unprovoked assault to subdue an independent country.

In warnings to the West against arming Ukraine, Russian officials increasingly play up the risks of nuclear weapons being used in the war, and last month said they will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus.

Russia will move those nuclear weapons close to the western borders of Belarus, Russia's envoy to Minsk said on Sunday, placing them at NATO's threshold in a deployment likely to escalate Moscow's standoff with the West.

The weapons "will increase the possibilities to ensure security", Russian ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov, told Belarusian state television.

"This will be done despite the noise in Europe and the United States."

Russia's arrest of a U.S. journalist is another major diplomatic focus.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a call on with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said Washington should not politicise the case.

Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday it had arrested Gershkovich, accusing him of gathering information about a Russian defence company that was a state secret.

"Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist," the U.S. State Department said in a statement that did not mention Gershkovich by name.

Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov told Blinken that Gershkovich's fate would be determined by a court. He reiterated Russia's assertion, for which it has not presented any evidence, that the journalist was "caught red-handed" last week.

The Wall Street Journal has denied Gershkovich was spying. The White House has called the espionage charge, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years, "ridiculous".

(Reporting by Nick Starkov and Ron Popeski; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly, Mark Trevelyan and Felix Light; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Stephen Coates and Robert Birsel)
Oleksii Makeiev

The SPD members' initiative is "pure cynicism towards the numerous victims of Russian aggression" that aimed to " cover up the crimes of Russia and, accordingly, the responsibility of the Russian regime," said the ambassador.

Read also: West to insist on peace talks if Ukraine doesn't win back occupied territory by autumn, claims Bild

Makeiev said that the only possible peace appeal should sound like this: "Mr. Putin, immediately withdraw your troops from the whole of Ukraines territory!

Peter Brandt, son of former Chancellor Willy Brandt, is the initiator of the appeal, titled "Make Peace!" that declares the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible by any means.

Read also: How to get Putin to stop the war and what's wrong with Scholz, explains ex-ambassador Andriy Melnyk  NV interview

Reiner Hoffmann, former German Trade Union Confederation chairman, and Michael Muller, a German Bundestag member, were among the supporters of the appeal.

Ukraines stated war aim is the liberation of all of its territory from Russian occupation, including the Crimean Peninsula and the parts of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast that Russia invaded and occupied in 2014.

The Ukrainian governments aim is supported by a large majority of Ukrainians  over 80%, according to recent polls. Public support for the liberation of the whole of Ukraine grew after the discovery that the Russian army had committed atrocities against civilians in the parts of Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts that they had occupied but which have since been liberated.

Germany and the Netherlands earlier pledged their support to Ukraine, including the supply of military equipment and compliance with anti-Russian sanctions.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A video has been circulating on social media in which a Ukrainian woman talks to a man who says he is currently in Chechnya.

A young boy sitting next to the man says "Slava Ukraini!" (Glory to Ukraine!) in the beginning of the call.

When the woman asks the man where he is, he responds saying he does not understand Ukrainian.

screenshot from the video

The young boy then translated the question into Russian for him, making the woman realise that the child understands Ukrainian and is likely to be from Ukraine.

When the woman tries to find out where the boy is from, he looks into the camera, frightened, and fails to say anything.

The man later says that the child is from Kyiv.

Other male voices heard in the background are laughing loudly and saying that they will "take Kyiv".

At first, information appeared on social media stating that the boy was Ivan Malinovskyi, 8, who disappeared in Kherson Oblast in October 2022.

Later, Magnolia Child Search Service denied that the boy in the video was Ivan Malinovskyi.

   .   ,           25  2022 . pic.twitter.com/FqnU0uAq2B  Mar:A (@24Kava2022) April 1, 2023

"We have carefully checked the available information and contacted Ivans mother, who continues to search for him. She confirmed that the boy in the video was not her son, not Ivan Malynovskyi," the search service said.

The Znaity Svoikh (Find Your People) project, another search service, told Ukrainska Pravda that the boys relatives recognised him in the video.

They were given information about the video by the police. Ukrainska Pravda asked the police to confirm this.

Ukrainska Pravda also asked Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, about the details of the case but has yet to receive a response.

An earlier report stated that around 400 forcibly deported Ukrainian children have been handed over to Russian families.



Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Zelenskyy on Saturday sharply criticized Russia's monthlong chairmanship of the UN Security Council.

"It is hard to imagine something evident that proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions," he said.

Zelenskyy has called for reforms that would bar Russia's ability to take the helm of the council.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday sharply criticized Russia's chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council as "absurd and destructive" and said that the development highlighted "the complete bankruptcy of international institutions."

Russia is a permanent member of the council, composed of 15 total members; they each assume the council's presidency on a rotating schedule for a month at a time. Zelenskyy decried the move as Russia is slated to preside over an upcoming council meeting Monday for the first time since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"Unfortunately, we ... have news that is obviously absurd and destructive," Zelenskyy said during an address on Saturday. "Today, the terrorist state began to chair the UN Security Council."

"Yesterday, the Russian army killed another Ukrainian child  a five-month-old boy named Danylo. And at the same time, Russia chairs the UN Security Council. It is hard to imagine something evident that proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions," he continued.

The council is responsible for sustaining international peace and security, and Russia helming the body as its leaders in Moscow continue to launch aggressive attacks on Ukraine is a source of frustration for Zelenskyy's government.

As a permanent member, Russia has veto power on council resolutions. The other four permanent members include the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and France, who also wield veto power on the council.

Zelenskyy last year called on the council to either take decisive action for peace after Russia's invasion of Ukraine or "dissolve yourselves altogether."

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"Are you ready to close the United Nations? Do you think that the time for international law is gone?" he asked at the time. "We are dealing with a state that is turning the veto of the United Nations Security Council into the right to die."

Russia presiding over the council comes after the International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes. Putin has been accused by the court of abducting Ukrainian children and sending them to Russia.

Zelenskyy on Saturday pressed for reforms on the council that would block Russia from having an ability to lead the body.

"There is no such form of terror that has not yet been committed by Russia," he said. "And there will be no such reason that will stop the reform of global institutions, in particular, the UN Security Council. The reform that is clearly overdue  so that a terrorist state and any other state that wants to be a terrorist cannot disrupt the peace."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrainian energy workers

"All consumption restrictions that were introduced on Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Kharkiv oblasts due to the damage to power facilities caused by a Russian mass missile attack on March 9 have been lifted. We're grateful to our Lithuanian colleagues for providing help," the message reads.

There are no current limitations to power consumption in Ukraine, Ukrenergo added.



Russia conducted a mass missile attack on Ukraine using variety of missiles and Iranian-made suicide Shahed drones in the early hours of March 9. A series of explosions were heard throughout Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv.

In the same barrage, a Russian missile killed five people after hitting a residential neighborhood in Zolochiv, Lviv Oblast.

Read also: Air Force reveals Russias new tactics in missile, drone attacks against Ukraine

Russia started a campaign of mass missile attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in early October last year, with the aim of depriving Ukrainians of heat, power and water supplies during winter.

Over the course of more than a dozen mass missile attacks, at some points up to 50% of Ukraines energy system sustained damage, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Throughout the winter, large parts of the country experienced regular scheduled emergency blackouts, which were imposed to make up for the shortfall in generating capacity and to stabilize the electricity grid.

However, by March there were signs that Russias campaign against infrastructure in Ukraine was petering out, with fewer missiles used in each attack, and the attacks coming successively less frequent.

Military experts speculate that Russia has already heavily depleted its stocks of high-precision missiles, and now has to wait until it can build more missiles before launching another mass attack.

Read also: Russias missile terror has failed, Ukraines intel says

Russia also appears to be relying more on attacks with its Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones, which it now launches in regular nighttime attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other parts of the country.

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However, since Russias campaign of missile attack began, Ukraine has obtained modern air defense systems from its military allies, and the number of both cruise missiles and flying bomb drones that it is able to shoot down has increase dramatically.

In the last drone attack, on March 31, Ukraine shot down nine out of 10 drones launched at the country by Russia.

In the attack before that, on March 28, Ukraine shot down 14 out of 15 of the Iranian kamikaze 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
(CNN)  One person was killed and 28 others were injured after a full roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, on Friday evening following devastating storms and tornadoes that ripped through the South and Midwest, officials said.

Approximately 260 people, including guests, performers and staff, were inside the venue for a heavy metal rock concert at the time of the collapse, according to the event coordinator.

Belvidere is in northern Illinois, approximately 14 miles outside the city of Rockford. Despite severe weather in the region, there were no reports of an "actual tornado" hitting the area, Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle said.

In southern Illinois, three other people died in Crawford County after a residential structural collapse during Friday's severe weather, according to Kevin Sur, a spokesperson for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The deaths confirmed in Illinois bring the overall death toll from Friday's severe weather outbreak to 21 fatalities across six states.

At the Apollo Theatre, 28 people were transported by ambulance to nearby hospitals, Schadle said. Five had severe injuries; 18 had moderate injuries; and five had minor injuries. "Obviously there were probably other patients transported by personal vehicle," he added.

During their initial response, crews coming into the building assisted in getting people out from under the debris. Crews established a triage center and relocation point for victims.

"It was a large response not only from all the public safety agencies, police, fire, as well as the bystanders to rescue those that were initially injured," Schadle said.

A primary search of the theater has been completed, the chief said. "Right now, the MABAS 8 TRT rescue team is still operating behind us. They're performing the secondary searches. They're also looking into the stabilization of the building," Schadle said.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he is "closely monitoring" the situation. "I've been in touch with officials for updates and to direct any available resources we can," he said in a tweet Friday night. "As we learn more, please follow the guidance of all local authorities."

Morbid Angel, one of the metal bands scheduled to perform at the event, issued a statement on Facebook canceling the concert and urging fans to "seek shelter and stay safe."

"We are currently sheltering in place, and want to extend our support and hope that everyone at the show tonight is safe. Right now our focus is on making sure everyone in the venue tonight is ok and gets home," the band said.

A flyer for the event shows other bands set to perform on Friday evening were Revocation, Skeletal Remains and Crypta.

An investigation into the collapse is ongoing. Schadle said no first responders were injured and so far everyone has been accounted for.

"The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is working closely with our local and county public safety partners and Emergency Managers to assess the widespread damages across the state including here at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere in Boone County, and at Robinson in Crawford County," the agency's director, Alicia Tate-Nadeau, said in a statement. "We continue to assessing other damages in many counties across Illinois."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "1 dead, at least 28 injured after roof collapses at the Apollo Theatre in Illinois following dangerous storms."
The head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine Matilda Bogner, who announced the execution of 25 Russian prisoners of war

UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine head Matilda Bogner said during a March 24 press conference, that "we are deeply concerned about the summary execution of up to 25 Russian POWs and persons hors de combat by Ukrainian armed forces which we have documented."

Read also: Half a year since atrocity in Olenivka, still no international outcry  Ukrainian human rights Ombudsman

There is nothing in the report to substantiate these words, Zolkin said, noting that the report says Ukraine is investigating some of the cases.

The UN mission interviewed Russian POWs while in detention centers in Ukraine; they only had access to Ukrainian POWs after their release from detention, as Russia does not allow the UN mission on its territory, he added.

When the UN mission says that they are not allowed to see our prisoners of war, I have one question: how many times has the UN mission at expressed concern, at least, let alone deep concern, that they are not allowed to see our POWs? I can't find anything like that," Zolkin said.

Read also: Ukrainian ombudsman shows Russian POW detention conditions

There was some information in the UN report about the conditions of detention of Ukrainian POWs in Russia. However, it was gained indirectly as Russia, unlike Ukraine, doesn't give the mission access to official internment sites.

"In relation to the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, we are also deeply concerned by the summary execution of 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war shortly after being captured by Russian armed forces. The Wagner Group military and security contractors perpetrated 11 of these executions," Bogner said.

"Conditions for many Ukrainian prisoners of war were shocking," Bogner said, and added that the mission documented five cases of Ukrainian POW who died in custody due to a lack of medical attention.

The UN mission findings confirmed mass Russian war crimes in Ukraine, the violation of human rights, and the flouting of international humanitarian law, said Ukrainian Ombudsperson Dmytro Lubinets.

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Read also: ICRC did not visit captive Ukrainian POWs in Russia, ombudsman says

On the other hand, Ukraine adheres to the Geneva Conventions, international law, and is open to cooperation with international organizations, the ombudsperson said.

"I'm surprised that during repeated personal meetings with the head of the mission, Matilda Bogner, and the UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, they have never raised the issue of the treatment of Russian POWs. Moreover, I would like to hear indisputable facts and arguments on which the mission based its findings about alleged violations by the Ukrainian side," Lubinets said.

He called on the UN and the international community to put pressure on the aggressor country and demand access to Ukrainian POW detention sites.

Read also: UN mission records 133 victims of sexual violence in Ukraine since Russian invasion

"It is Russia that has criminally invaded our land, killed and abducted Ukrainians, and is still blocking access to our POWs. It conceals the scale of inhuman treatment and torture," the Ombudsman said.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have held their first phone call since July 2022.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Details: The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Blinken and Lavrov discussed the illegal detention in Russia of Evan Gershkovich, a journalist from The Wall Street Journal, whom Russia accused of espionage.

According to the statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov told Blinken that the media has "inflated" the story, and that Gershkovich has allegedly been "caught red-handed trying to obtain classified information by collecting data constituting a state secret under the guise of his status as a journalist."

"Several issues of importance to both countries have also been discussed during the conversation," the statement read, without clarifying what those issues were.

Updated at 18:06: US Department of State confirmed that Blinken held a phone call with Lavrov and reported that Blinken called on the Kremlin to immediately release Gershkovich and another illegally detained US citizen, Paul Whelan.

"The Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work," the US State Department statement reads.

Blinken and Lavrovs previous phone call in July 2022 also concerned the release of US citizens illegally detained in Russia. The two also spoke briefly on the margins of the G20 meeting in New Delhi in March 2023.

Background: The information about the detention of The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich surfaced on the morning of 30 March. Russias FSB security service claimed that Gershkovich was "acting on US instructions" to "collect information classified as a state secret about the activities of a Russian defence enterprise".

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A district court in Moscow remanded Gershkovich in custody until 29 May.

The Wall Street Journal denied Russias allegations that Gershkovich was involved in espionage and demanded that the journalist be released.



Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A prominent Russian military blogger was killed in an explosion Sunday at a St. Petersburg cafe that wounded more than two dozen people and drew accusations of Kyiv complicity from the Kremlin.

The Interior Ministry and Russian media said war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by an explosive device brought in by a patron. City police and emergency services rescued dozens of patrons after the blast. A video posted to Telegram showed an explosion on the first floor of a large building in St. Petersburg.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russian journalists are constantly experiencing threats from the Kyiv regime and its backers and are the subject of a witch hunt in Western media.

"He was dangerous for them, but boldly went to the end fulfilling his duty," she said.

According to the Russian media outlet Fontanka, the cafe belongs to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the controversial Russian mercenary company Wagner Group. The cafe had promoted Tatarsky as a "famous blogger and war correspondent" who was speaking on how to report from global hotspots.

Tatarsky has routinely justified Russia's attack on Ukraine, once saying Russia "will defeat everyone, kill everyone, rob everyone who needs it." Russian media said a woman presented him with a box containing a statuette that apparently exploded.

The reports made no mention of any claim of responsibility, and an investigation was underway.

Numerous explosions have occurred in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine more than 13 months ago. Ukraine authorities have sometimes hinted at involvement but generally do not claim responsibility.

LATEST NEWS: Finland to join NATO on Tuesday; arrest made in blast that killed Russian blogger: Ukraine live updates

A picture taken on July 27, 2021, shows journalist Evan Gershkovich.

Developments:

The Wagner Group, Russias most high-profile mercenary company, is equal in size to the militaries of Hungary or Slovakia, Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Eastern Military Command, said Sunday. Hungary's military includes an estimated 40,000 troops.

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Russian forces launched five missiles, 22 airstrikes and more than 42 shelling attacks Sunday, the Ukrainian military reported.

Blinken urges Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday urged his Russian counterpart to immediately release two Americans, including a Wall Street Journal reporter detained last week on espionage charges.

Blinken expressed "grave concern" to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the Kremlins detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich, according to a State Department statement. Blinken also made the request for Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate-security executive imprisoned in Russia since December 2018.

The U.S. government, the Americans' families and their employers have described the charges as baseless.

Lavrov chastises West for giving arrest 'political overtones'

Lavrov on Sunday dismissed Blinken's requests, saying they were a matter for the Russian courts to decide. Lavrov also chastised Washington officials and Western mass media, accusing them of attempting to "stir up hysteria with an obvious aim of giving a political overtone" to the Gershkovich case.

"Lavrov stressed that Gershkovich had been detained red-handed when he was receiving secret data and was collecting data constituting a state secret acting under the guise of a journalists status," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russia's Federal Security Service detained Gershkovich, 31, in the eastern city of Yekaterinburg on Thursday. A Russian court ordered him held until May 29 pending an investigation. If convicted, he could face 20 years in a Russian prison.

'Thanks brotha': Gershkovich texted before disappearing

The fact that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to his counterpart today is hugely reassuring to us, Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said Sunday on CBS News. We know the U.S. government is taking this very seriously, right up to the top."

The last time Wall Street Journal staff heard from Gershkovich was Wednesday, just before 4 p.m., when he had arrived at a steakhouse in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, the media outlet says. It was the second trip to the Ural mountains in a month for the Russia correspondent.

Shortly before lunch, a colleague wrote him a text: Hey buddy, good luck today.

Thanks brotha, Gershkovich replied. A Russian social media post a short time later reported that security agents had taken into custody a diner from a Yekaterinburg steakhouse with his hood up.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine Russia war updates: US urges Moscow to release Americans
Raffaele Mincione, right, has been accused of defrauding the Vatican by inflating the value of property sold in London - David M. Benett/Getty Images Europe

A British financier at the centre of the Vaticans trial of the century has launched a legal bid to clear his name.

Lawyers for Raffaele Mincione have claimed that the Vaticans chief prosecutor may have perverted the course of justice because of the misleading allegations levelled against him in British courts.

The allegations form a central part of the Vaticans trial of the century and relate to a property deal where the Vatican invested 124m in a former Harrods warehouse in Chelsea that was earmarked for development into luxury apartments.

The Vatican claims Mr Mincione defrauded it by inflating the price when his companies sold the property in 2018. Prosecutors have charged Mr Mincione and ten others with offences including fraud, embezzlement and abuse of office. All ten, which include Angelo Becci, the former right-hand man to Pope Francis, deny wrongdoing.

However, Mr Mincione maintains he did not do anything wrong and that the property valuation by independent experts was appropriate. He claims that the Vatican has never disclosed evidence to show it lost money nor of his alleged wrongdoing.

As a result, Mr Mincione has brought a civil action in the UK courts as a counterblast to the publicity and to protect his reputation after suffering prejudice as a result of the allegations.

Now the Court of Appeal has ruled that the Vatican should face trial in the English courts for the first time in its history over the allegations that it has levelled against Mr Mincione.

In the latest move, Mr Minciones lawyers have written to the Vaticans chief prosecutor Alessandro Diddi, accusing him of factual misstatements and omissions in the UK proceedings.

In the letter, Nick Vamos, the former head of special crime and head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said these statements may mean Mr Diddi may have committed the offence of perverting the course of justice.

Partygate lawyer

Mr Vamos, who appeared as part of the legal team supporting Boris Johnson at his recent committee appearance over the partygate affair, asked Mr Diddi, a former mafia defence lawyer, for a meeting in order to understand your position as to what occurred, and why.

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Mr Vamos copied his letter to various agencies including the CPS, the Home Office and the National Crime Agency.

In the letter, he challenged claims that the funds for investment came from St Peters Pence, charitable Catholic donations intended for the needy, rather than Credit Suisse.

You claimed that the funds for the investment by the Vatican came from Peters Pence, when in fact you knew that they were provided by Credit Suisse and you therefore wrongly characterised the deal as a misuse of charitable funds, wrote Mr Vamos.

You claimed that the Vatican was the subscriber, when in fact the subscriber was Credit Suisse and you therefore wrongly characterised the investment.

This raises a number of potential issues as a matter of English law the factual misstatements and omissions in your evidence raises the question of whether you committed the offence of perverting the course of justice contrary to English common law.

The Vatican has been contacted for comment.

Previously, a Vatican spokesman has commented: The legitimacy of the investigations and the correspondence of the Vatican judiciary system to the principles of fair trial has been recognised by various foreign courts.
More than 40 people have been arrested in Venezuela in an anti-corruption drive sweep of state oil company PDVSA and other related government bodies, the prosecutor's office said Saturday.

The crackdown began on March 17 following a communique issued by the anti-corruption police, who called for the prosecution of officials who "could be involved in serious acts of corruption and embezzlement."

So far, the country's powerful oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, has resigned over the graft probe, while the anti-corruption drive has targeted officials in PDVSA as well as other public entities.

The prosecutor's office has so far arrested "42 subjects linked to various corruption schemes that have sought to embezzle... the national economy," Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Twitter.

The most recent high-profile arrest was Pedro Maldonado, president of state-owned Corporacion Venezolana Guayana, as well as officials from metals firm SIDOR.

The officials were charged with appropriating public funds, money laundering, influence-peddling and treaon, the prosecutor said during a March 25 conference.

Judicial sources told AFP that Maldonado, who was formerly director of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), was part of a corruption scheme led by former legislator Hugbel Roa.

Roa -- who was arrested in this month's crackdown -- was for years an important leader of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

El Aissami, who is under US sanctions, is also part of the ruling party and had previously served as Venezuela's vice president, as well as minister of the interior and industry.

So far, the amount embezzled has not been disclosed, but press reports place it at least $3 billion.

mbj/cjc/dhc/mtp
Sunday's presidential run-off in Montenegro will pit an establishment incumbent against a rising political star.

On one side is Milo Djukanovic, who has dominated Montenegro's political scene for more than three decades, and on the other is pro-European political upstart Jakov Milatovic.

Here is a brief rundown on the two candidates.

- Djukanovic, the veteran -

Considered the father of the Montenegrin nation by some and accused of being a corrupt autocrat by his detractors, Djukanovic has been a key figure in the tiny Balkan country for more than 30 years.

The 61-year-old was installed at the helm of the former Yugoslav republic in 1991 by former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic when he was just 29.

But as Serbia increasingly became an international pariah, Djukanovic pivoted West, broke ties with Belgrade and helped oversee Montenegro's independence in 2006.

In the years since, he launched the country's move to begin the process of joining the European Union, and led it to join the NATO alliance in 2017.

But even as he embraced the West, Djukanovic paved the way for Chinese economic influence, while Montenegro remained an attractive destination for Russian oligarchs and dissidents alike.

Over the decades, Djukanovic has ruled as prime minister seven times and served as president twice, as he accumulated vast influence over the country's private sector.

But in recent years, Djukanovic's allure has begun to fade.

During the last parliamentary elections in 2020, his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) lost its majority in the legislature for the first time. Its recent performance in municipal polls has also been lacklustre.

Djukanovic's critics have long accused him of ruling by division.

But he has presented his time at the country's helm as a period of stability, serving as a fierce defender of the Montenegrin nation against Serbian interlopers, pro-Russian elements and the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Allegations of corruption have also marred his career, including accusations he played a role in a cigarette-smuggling ring between Montenegro and Italy in a case that was eventually dropped.

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Djukanovic has repeatedly denied fostering any links to organised crime or stashing money abroad in hidden accounts.

"No one, not even the most malicious, will be able to find anything that I have done to the detriment of the state and the law," he said recently.

- Milatovic, the challenger -

Milatovic made headlines as minister of economic development in the first non-DPS-ruled government, formed after the 2020 parliamentary elections.

The 36-year-old father-of-three gained popularity with a controversial economic programme that, among other things, doubled the minimum wage.

To his admirers, Milatovic represents "the face of change and hope" looking to shake up the establishment, while his opponents see him as a populist with links to Serbian and Russian parties.

In 2022, he helped co-found the Europe Now party that scored well in the last municipal elections, including in the capital Podgorica.

An economist by training, Milatovic has extensive international experience, including stints in the United States and across Europe.

Before entering politics, he worked at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

As a minister, he earned a reputation for his skills as a technocrat, while his rivals fired off accusations that he was impatient and arrogant.

Like his opponent, he is pro-European and supported Montenegro's independence and its bid to join the EU.

But even though he has cheered a European future, Milatovic has also advocated for closer ties with neighbouring Serbia.

str-ev/ds/fb/mca
VCA Animal Hospitals opened its first urgent care facility in Colorado on Feb. 15, at 4900 S. College Ave., Suite 110, in south Fort Collins, offering care for cases that are concerning but not critical.

Think about it like your own health care when you're too sick to wait for an appointment with your primary care doctor but not sick enough to go to the emergency department. The urgent care facility offers pets and owners another option when seeking care for issues that are not life-threatening but should be addressed quickly.

"Colorado is such a pet-friendly state and we do a great job of taking care of our pets," said Dr. Kizzy English, medical director of VCA Urgent Care. But veterinary medicine is seeing an increase in demand for care driven by a combination of staffing shortages and the pandemic-era boost in pet adoptions.

Fort Collins has numerous vet clinics and a handful of emergency hospitals due in part to the presence of Colorado State University's well-respected veterinary program. "We're lucky to have so many, but in veterinary medicine there's a gap between emergency care and general practice care," English said.

Creating the urgent care was born out of that gap, English said. "We could relieve a lot of pressure on the emergency hospitals and help general practitioners" who are often booked out for weeks.

There's no triage at the urgent care clinic and there are no appointments, but there's an online waiting list where you can sign up and get a text when you should be on your way with your pet.

"If you feel your pet needs to be assessed by a veterinary professional immediately, then the emergency hospital is the place for you," English said. If you can wait until later in the day or the next day, "urgent care might be a good place."

The practice is open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For information, visit vcahospitals.com/urgent-care.fort-collins or call 970-204-7601.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: New veterinary urgent care center opens in south Fort Collins
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Georgia on Thursday to highlight the Biden-Harris Administrations effort to build a cleaner economy.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

On Apr. 6, Harris will travel to Dalton and tour the Qcells plant, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Biden-Harris Administration plans to discuss ways to create clean energy and good-paying jobs.

The AJC reports, that Qcells will spend nearly $2.5 billion to build a new plant in Cartersville while expanding the capacity of the current facility in Dalton.

By 2024, the expansion is expected to bring 2,500 jobs to the state when the new production capacity is brought online.

TRENDING STORIES:

In Feb., Harris made a visit to Atlanta as she discussed the Biden Administrations investments and plans to combat climate change.

During that visit, the vice president stopped at Georgia Tech as part of a two-day trip to discuss the United States economy.

Last week, Harris conducted a weeklong trip to Africa to help deepen U.S. relationships amid global competition over the continents future.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Virgil Van Dijk admits Liverpool need to do some soul-searching (Nick Potts/PA) (PA Wire)

Virgil van Dijk expects a few home truths to be delivered in the Liverpool dressing room ahead of Tuesdays clash with Chelsea.

The Reds turned in a disappointing second-half performance as they slumped to a 4-1 Premier League defeat at champions Manchester City on Saturday.

It was their latest frustrating result in what has been an inconsistent campaign, but they have little time to dwell before they travel to Stamford Bridge.

Defender Van Dijk said: Were going to have a meeting together, but the turnaround is quite quick with Chelsea on Tuesday, so its a big day.

If youre losing the way we lost, then definitely there will be some hard talking. Thats really normal. Were grown men.

Saturdays result left Liverpool trailing champions City by 22 points in the table and was yet another blow to their hopes of salvaging a top-four place from their underwhelming season.

Jurgen Klopps men took City to the wire last year, and threatened to win a quadruple, but their drop-off since has been sobering.

A 7-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Manchester United last month hinted at a late-season surge, but they have now lost all three matches since.

It was tough afternoon, definitely, said a glum-looking Van Dijk at the Etihad Stadium. Were very frustrated. Thats the feeling.

Were trying, were trying, but this was frustrating. I think the first half was quite even, obviously a fantastic goal by Mo (Salah) but they scored a good goal as well.

In the second half (going down) 2-1 was a big blow.

The Merseysiders have a tough week ahead with the trip to Chelsea followed by a home clash with Arsenal next weekend.

Van Dijk admits he is not even thinking that far ahead, let alone working out the implications for the top-four race.

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The Dutchman said: Well see game by game. First lets recover and then regroup tomorrow and then well focus on Chelsea.

It has been a tough few weeks for Van Dijk after some strong criticism in his homeland from Dutch greats Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit for his Netherlands displays.

I just keep going, focus on my performances and try to be as good as I can, he said.
A suspect is in police custody after a Virginia shopping center shooting on Sunday injured one person, police say.

The victim was shot at Dulles Town Center in Sterling, Va. on Sunday afternoon. The status of the victim is unknown.

A spokesperson for the Loudon County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital that authorities believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two men.

"We do not consider it an active situation. We have apprehended the shooter, he is in custodya male. The victim of the gunshot is at a local hospital," spokesperson Tom Julia said.

SHOOTOUT IN LOS ANGELES TRADER JOE'S PARKING LOT AFTER DRUG DEAL GOES AWRY; 1 DEAD, 3 WOUNDED

A spokesperson for the Loudon County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital that authorities believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two men.

"We have closed the mall out of abundance of precaution and are completing the search of the area," Julia added.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

He initially said law enforcement was setting up a command center at the scene.

One suspect was apprehended, but authorities were working on Sunday afternoon to determine if other shooters were involved.

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LAUNCH PETITION AGAINST HOSTING YOUNGKIN AS COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

Authorities were working on Sunday afternoon to determine if other shooters were involved.

Photos from the scene shared on social media showed a large law enforcement presence outside a Dick's Sporting Goods store.

Journalist John Crump had tweeted that a second shooter remained on the loose in the mall, and police were following a "trail of blood."

There is no additional information about the shooting at this time.
(CNN)  At least 21 people died after devastating storms and violent tornadoes scraped the South and Midwest Friday into early Saturday and millions more people were threatened by more severe weather Saturday afternoon.

Among the victims were four people who were killed in structural collapses in Illinois. Three of the fatalities followed the collapse of a residential structure in Crawford County, said Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Kevin Sur, while the fourth person died after the roof collapsed at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere.

More than 50 preliminary tornado reports were recorded Friday in at least seven states, including in Arkansas, where storms killed five people -- four in the small city of Wynne and another person in North Little Rock, local officials said.

Three people were killed in Indiana by a storm Friday night that damaged homes and a volunteer fire department near Sullivan, a city about a 95-mile drive southwest of Indianapolis, State Police Sgt. Matt Ames said.

In Madison County, Alabama, one person died and five were injured overnight, officials said during a news conference Saturday morning.

In Pontotoc County, Mississippi, one person died and four others were injured, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Allen Strickland, the McNairy County, Tennessee, director of emergency management, also confirmed there were seven deaths in the county, which is located in southern Tennessee between Nashville and Memphis.

At least 50 people were sent to hospitals in Arkansas' Pulaski County, where a tornado roared through the Little Rock area Friday, county spokesperson Madeline Roberts said. Five others were hospitalized after a tornado touched down Friday in Covington, Tennessee, according to a spokesperson for Baptist Memorial Health Care. Roads were left impassable.

'It just came out of nowhere'

In Little Rock, "close to 2,600 structures have been impacted," Mayor Frank Scott Jr. told CNN on Saturday.

At last 2,100 residents in the pathway of the tornado were affected, he said. Neighborhoods and commercial businesses were flattened, while vehicles flew across the air, the mayor described.

"It's by the grace of God nobody in Little Rock was killed," Scott said, adding the storm passed through the city at a time many people had not yet returned home from work, which was fortunate timing. "Many people were not at their homes. If they were, it would have been a massacre."

At least a dozen tornadoes were reported in Arkansas, including in the Little Rock area.

More than 34,000 people in the state were still without power Saturday afternoon, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.

William Williams, who told CNN affiliate KATV he's an employee at a Kroger supermarket in Little Rock, said he's "thankful to be alive" after a tornado rolled near the area while he was working Friday afternoon. He took shelter inside the store and went outside afterward to see people injured, including a woman he said had a severe leg injury.

"Everything happened in like five seconds. It came -- boom," Williams told KATV. "You could hear a lot of commotion and stuff. ... I go outside, and it is crazy. People had blood all over their faces. ... I'm just thankful that I'm alive."

About 100 miles east of Little Rock, the city of Wynne was "basically cut in half by damage from east to west," Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN Friday evening.

Some houses in Wynne -- home to about 8,000 residents -- were completely crushed into piles of wood while others had their roofs ripped off, exposing the interiors of homes littered with storm debris, drone footage provided to CNN by Ray Sharp show. Many trees toppled, making what appears to be residential roads impassable and damaging structures.

Friday's severe storms came a week after severe weather walloped the Southeast and killed at least 26 people. An overnight tornado, which makes people most prone to extensive damages, leveled much of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where estimated maximum winds of 170 mph roared.

Theater roof crumbles amid storms

More than 200 people were inside the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere in northern Illinois for an event when its roof collapsed Friday night, leaving one person dead and dozens injured, the city fire chief said. The collapse came as a line of storms packing 50 mph winds and dumping hail moved through the area, according to officials and the National Weather Service. It wasn't immediately clear whether the storm caused the theater's roof to crumble.

Twenty-eight people were taken to hospitals because of the collapse, Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle said.

Meanwhile in Indiana, the storm ripped through Sullivan County, trapping a local official's wife inside their home until their son rescued her.

Jim Pirtle, the emergency management director for the county, told CNN his house and many others were destroyed Friday night.

"I called (my wife) 45 minutes before it hit. I told her, 'Robin, you need to go somewhere.' We don't have a basement," Pirtle said. "I was on the phone with her and she was crying, 'Jim, I love you' and it started tearing the house apart.

"We got hit bad," Pirtle said speaking by phone from Florida, adding he was working with emergency officials remotely.

"I'm not sure about fatalities yet," he added. "We still got people missing."

Houses in Sullivan, a city home to about 4,000 residents, multiple houses were severely damaged due to the storm, Mayor Clint Lamb said.

"We need all citizens to stay safe and stay put," Lamb said in a Facebook post overnight. "First responders need clear streets so they can tend to affected areas. Please pray for the Sullivan families and public safety personnel."

Howard, Johnson and Sullivan counties have been hit hard by storms, according to meteorologist Andrew White with the Indianapolis Office of the National Weather Service.

However, the damage in Howard County was minor and reported no injuries, according to emergency management director Janice Hart.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Saturday declared a disaster emergency for Sullivan and Johnson counties, and said Indiana officials were working with FEMA to assess damages.

More than 50 million under severe weather alerts

More than 50 million people are under threat for severe weather Saturday evening.

There are severe thunderstorm watches in effect for parts of the Southeast, including southern Alabama, parts of the Florida Panhandle, and south Georgia until 8 p.m. ET.

Severe thunderstorm watches are also in effect for in parts of the Northeast, including much of Pennsylvania and parts of New York until 8 p.m. ET.

Severe storms are bringing damaging winds into the evening, which could affect some of the big Northeast cities, including Philadelphia, New York, and Boston in the evening.

On Friday, large hail proved to be dangerous when it bombarded northern Illinois, cracking and denting cars' windshields, according to a Facebook post from the Fulton County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency.

About 78 miles southeast of there, several businesses were "basically destroyed," Sheriff Jack Campbell told CNN, and up to 40 homes were damaged around Sherman, less than 10 miles north of Springfield.

More than 490,000 customers were without power across Pennsylvania and Ohio Saturday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us.

This story was first published on CNN.com. "At least 21 killed and dozens others are hospitalized as tornadoes and dangerous storms tear through the South and Midwest"
If passed into law, can Education Saving Accounts and tax credit vouchers withstand a constitutional challenge? Thats a question rolling around the Statehouse.

The concern, at this point, is speculation since these two school-choice bills have yet to go to Gov. Kelly for her signature or veto.

The ESA bill currently creates a fund for families to use taxpayer dollars for private and homeschooling expenses. In its first year, the program would be available to public school students testing at the lowest grade level or receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Eventually families of four making $180,000 per year or more would be eligible.

The tax credit bill enlarges the current tax credit scholarship fund. Fully implemented, it would give about $5,000 per qualifying student per year to attend any accredited  or unaccredited  private school, or use for other educational expenses.

Donors to the scholarship fund could apply for a 70% tax credit. Currently the fund is limited to low income, low performing students, but this years bill would expand incrementally to include almost all student applicants regardless of parents income, including students who always have attended a private school or been homeschooled.

Currently 11 states allow various types of ESAs, and 20 states allow tax credit scholarships.

Do ESAs that directly fund private schools with public tax dollars and scholarships that indirectly reduce education funds through tax credits violate the Kansas Constitution?

Tax Credit scholarships may more easily withstand legal challenges because they are funded by donations. The loss to the state comes from fewer tax dollars collected due to the refundable tax credits.

ESAs are directly funded from tax dollars budgeted for education.

Both bills siphon public funds from public schools.

Here are reasons for concern: First, the Kansas Constitution creates a single system of common schools.

Article 6: (1) The legislature shall provide for a state board of education which shall have general supervision of public schools, educational institutions and all the educational interests of the state.

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The proposed bills create two separate systems  one governed by the state Board of Education and a new system, governed by the Kansas treasurer, to administer the scholarships and ESAs.

Second, Article 6: 2 (a) states, The state board of education shall perform such other duties as may be provided by law.

Currently there are no laws that direct the state Board of Education to oversee schools other than public schools. Moreover, proponents of the bills advocate a main value is that funds would go to schools governed by the state treasurer, and not the Board of Education.

Third, the Kansas Constitution is clear. Article 6: 6 (c) No religious sect or sects shall control any part of the public educational funds.

In a recent U. S. Supreme Court ruling in Carson v. Makin, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that states arent required to fund private schools at all  but if they do, religious schools cant be excluded.

In January, an Ohio lawsuit challenging the states voucher program moved forward to Franklin County court. More than 100 school districts signed onto the lawsuit advocating a secure and single system of common schools.

Who among us would want another long, costly constitutional confrontation over Kansas schools? Nevertheless, this battle may be ongoing well into the future.

Sharon Hartin Iorio is dean emerita of the Wichita State University College of Education.
The Wall Street Journal slammed the detainment of its reporter in Russia as a vicious affront to a free press and reiterated its call for him to be immediately released.

The Journal said in a statement on Saturday that Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on Thursday on charges of espionage in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, is a distinguished journalist.

We know whats going on in the world because of the fearless reporting of journalists like Evan. Evans case is a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world, the Journal said. No reporter should ever be detained for simply doing their job.

The Russian Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, accused Gershkovich of trying to obtain classified information, acting on orders from the United States to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.

The Journal and the U.S. government have denied the allegations and called for Gershkovich to be released.

In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlins continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Gershkovich reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charges, but he could face up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted. Russias criminal justice system has been internationally criticized as unfair, with a more than 99 percent conviction rate.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has claimed that Gershkovich used his journalism credentials to take actions that have nothing to do with journalism.

Gershkovich is the first U.S. reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986, during the Cold War.

His detainment comes as the Russian war against Ukraine has continued for more than a year. Russia has criticized the U.S. and other Western countries for providing support to Ukraine during the war.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. embassy in Moscow is trying to gain consulate access to Gershkovich.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Were two former Tennessee governors, we both served eight years, one of us is a Democrat, the other a Republican. We have different views on various issues, and were friends.

For the past year, weve done a podcast together. The animating principle of our conversations with guests grew out of the words of former Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker: Always remember that the other fellow might be right.

Our mission in this unusual collaboration is to show that Senator Bakers memorable insight can become a powerful tool to solve tough problems by creating respect for the other person and for different ways of looking at the world.

Former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, left, answers a question during a discussion on bipartisanship at Vanderbilt University Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. At right is former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Hopeless disagreement has become reductive

Our state is in a dark place right now. Weve been horrified and appalled by the murder of six people  three of them elementary school children  in a Christian school in Nashville on Monday.

As we all struggle with the aftermath of this tragedy, the openness and respect in political dialogue the two of us have been trying to promote has been, for this issue, quickly submerged in a swamp of intransigence and impasse. A tragedy that has brought out the better angels of our nature has also brought out some of the worst.

The murderer was heavily armed with multiple assault rifles and that has naturally been a focus of discussion.

Democrats take it as an article of faith that an assault weapon ban is the only sane response. Republicans believe deeply in the importance of preserving the right of people to possess firearms. It becomes quickly clear that there is hopeless disagreement on strategies surrounding assault rifles. And so were reduced to offering our thoughts and prayers, but nothing else, to victims and their families.

Can Americans talk about guns?: These students showed how to do it.

Nashville shooting leaves 3 more kids dead: Don't you tell me it's too soon to talk guns.

Small steps go a long way

Weve both come to deeply respect the wisdom and common sense that Senator Baker embodied. One thing he often told people was that whenever you have two sides that are hopelessly divided, the trick is to find something, even a little thing, that you can agree on, and then build from there.

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Former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, right, answers a question during a discussion on bipartisanship at Vanderbilt University Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. At left is former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Perhaps we could begin by simply agreeing that we do have a problem. There is no other developed nation in the world that has anywhere near the mass shootings we do. The assault rifle issues are at an impossible impasse, but if we disengage there for now and turn our attention instead to smaller steps, doable and still useful, there are possibilities.

We could start with red flag laws  a way to identify people with potentially dangerous mental health issues and a legal process to remove their access to firearms. That might have been effective in the shooting we just had; the shooter was under treatment for mental health issues and yet still obtained and possessed multiple guns.

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Another small step might be making gun owners take more legal responsibility for securing their weapons. Anyone, conservative or liberal, who believes in the value of personal responsibility should be able to agree that it is irresponsible to possess a dangerous weapon and not reasonably secure it from misuse by others.

Want fewer shootings?: Pass tougher gun laws. Our research shows lax laws fuel violence.

Gun violence is a problem: How many more students and teachers must die before lawmakers act?

Lets talk less and work together more

Steps like these seem possible, but still require careful negotiation between competing worldviews. One thing Senator Baker often emphasized was that the most important thing in any negotiation was to strip the emotion away and deal with facts.

Bill Haslam, 49th Governor of Tennessee

That argues for a factual, dispassionate look at, say, the last 10 years of mass shootings. What weapons were used, how were they obtained? Armed with that, one can look for the lowest-hanging fruit: of the many things we might do, what has the best combination of ease of getting done and effectiveness?

What has the second? The third? Were too smart a people to let posturing and rhetoric substitute for facts.

'They're begging us to do something': Nashville lawmaker calls for gun reform as hundreds protest after Covenant shooting

'We're not going to fix it': Why lawmakers see no chance of major gun law changes after Nashville

Its obvious that Democrats and Republicans need better ways of working together. Both of us have always found that the best way to get people to work together isnt to talk about working together, but to do it. Start with some easier problems and solve them together. Then, when weve done that successfully, well be ready to graduate to harder ones.

Phil Bredesen, 48th Governor of Tennessee

Our first hope is of course that out of this tragedy will come ways to better protect our children and schools. But we have a second hope as well  that if we handle it wisely and show some successes, our response could become an inflection point where America starts to relearn how to talk with one another and solve problems.

Gov. Bill Haslam was the 49th Governor of Tennessee and former mayor of Knoxville. Gov. Phil Bredesen was the 48th Governor of Tennessee and former mayor of Nashville.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: After Nashville shooting, gun laws, reform are possible. Here's how.
Bellingham Public Library will be adding a staff member to its information and security desk, in an effort to provide service on both floors of its downtown location.

At its meeting Monday, March 27, the City Council unanimously approved an extra $147,000 annually to hire one employee at 35 hours a week and add hours for the three other part-time security and information attendants.

A two-person security team is a much better fit for our two-story building, said Rebecca Judd, library director, in an interview with The Bellingham Herald.

A decision to expand the service desk was made before the incident Sunday, March 26, when a man swinging a hatchet was escorted out of the building and received a one-year trespassing notice.

Unfortunately, incidents like the one on Sunday happen in our public place, Judd said.

(But) its a free and open space. Thats the beauty and complexity of our space, she said.

The librarys downtown location, at 210 Central Ave., holds its main collection of books, video and audio recordings on the main floor, along with meeting rooms, public computers, a newspaper and magazine section, and an area to sit and read.

Downstairs features an activity and lecture room, the childrens collection and a childrens activity space.

Security and information attendants are not armed and are trained in basic first aid, Judd said,

They greet library patrons and are trained to provide information and directions, connect people in need with local resources and can contact local crisis response teams, firefighters or police when necessary, she said.

During the pandemic lockdown, they handed out thousands of curbside bags, Judd said.

Bellingham Public Library consistently ranks among the highest circulation per capita and is among the most-visited libraries in Washington state and the nation, she said.

It has almost 60,000 active cardholders and circulates more than 1.6 million items annually,
TikTok is the most popular app in the United States. 150 million Americans  almost half the population  use it every month. The app offers an endless, scrolling wonderland of humor, music, dancing, tips, opinion and information  short videos posted by fellow TikTok fans, and all delivered to you according to your interests. And for about five million businesses, TikTok is also a marketing tool.

Baedri Nichole, of Columbus, Ohio, uses TikTok to market her bakery business. / Credit: TikTok

Baedri Nichole, founder of a bakery in Columbus, Ohio, said of TikTok, "It's taught me how to do e-commerce, how to get into shipping. and more than anything, I also use it to find my next customer. Prior to getting on TikTok, we were struggling even to turn a profit."

And now? "We've seen at least a 300% increase in profit," she said.

So, if Americans love TikTok so much, why has Congress proposed so many bills that could ban the app?

And why, during a Congressional hearing last month, did TikTok's CEO Shou Chew face comments like this one from Rep. Kathryn Cammack (R-Fla.): "You damn well know that you cannot protect the data and security of this committee, or the 150 million users of your app"?

TikTok banned on U.S. government devices, and the U.S. is not alone. Here's where the app is restricted.Biden admin mulling nationwide TikTok ban if Chinese parent company doesn't divestDemocrats come around on TikTok ban, reflecting willingness to challenge ChinaStudy: Half of Americans support a U.S. ban on TikTok, but many still unsureAs Congress eyes a TikTok ban, what could happen to the social media platform?

Congress has four primary concerns about TikTok. First, that TikTok collects data about you; second, that kids get addicted to spending time on TikTok; and third, that people can find misinformation and violence. Of course, all of this is also true about Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

So, what's the difference? Chinese influence. "TikTok has a parent company named ByteDance, and ByteDance is a Chinese company that has to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party," said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).

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Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said, "All social media is not necessarily great for kids, but that is a fundamental distinction in terms of dealing with the TikTok issue."

Krishnamoorthi and Gallagher are co-sponsors of one of the "Ban TikTok" bills. And their biggest worry is control of information. Gallagher said, "The thing that most concerns me, however, is the ability to control what storylines Americans see, or don't see, and ultimately influence our elections, which could be catastrophic in the future."

However, Milton Mueller, a professor of cybersecurity and public policy at Georgia Tech, studied the theory that TikTok's algorithms attempt to influence ideology. He said, "There's absolutely no indication that this is in some way manipulated or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. We just found that to be a complete fabrication. You can find information about Uyghur repression, you can find information that ridicules Xi Jinping. It's all there."

In the heat of the battle, both TikTok execs and Congress members sometimes stretch the truth. Take, for example, the business of data collection. At the Congressional hearing on TikTok, Rep. Cathy Rodgers (R-Wash.) said, "TikTok collects nearly every data point imaginable."

Shou Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok (seated bottom right) is grilled about the security of the social media platform by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2023. / Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mueller disputes this: "There have been three technical studies done of this. They basically all say it is exactly what they tell you it is in their privacy statement."

Like every social-media app, TikTok collects data like your phone model, its internet IP address, and your time zone. Unlike other apps, TikTok does not know your name or your GPS location. It knows only your general area, like what town you're in.

So, where does this all leave us? Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi's bill, called the Anti-Social CCP Act (HR 1081), intends to force the issue. "It would basically allow for two outcomes in this case," said Gallagher. "One would be a ban of the app altogether; or it would allow for a sale to an American company."

Pogue asked, "Hasn't somebody in your immediate circle said, 'Guys, banning TikTok will be a political disaster'?"

"Well, I would say allowing this to continue would be a geopolitical disaster," Gallagher replied. "And that, to me, is far more important than angering some teenagers."

So, sell TikTok, or ban it? Selling it might be impossible  though worth a lot, the Chinese Communist Party may object to a sale. As for banning TikTok, Mueller said, "There's probably a 90% chance that that would be ruled unconstitutional [because of] the First Amendment. You're banning an information source, you're banning a publication. I have to emphasize this: if you ban TikTok, it's not the Chinese Government that would be silenced; it's the 150 million American users of the app. Those are the ones whose free speech rights would be violated by a ban."

But TikTok is proposing a third option. CEO Shou Chew mentioned it frequently in his testimony: "Project Texas" is a proposal to move TikTok's entire operation to the U.S., to put all of its data, and even those top-secret algorithms, under the supervision of Oracle, an American company. "The bottom line is this: American data stored on American soil by an American company overseen by American personnel," said Shou. "This eliminates the concern that some of you have shared with me that TikTok user data can be subject to Chinese law."

Congress isn't sold. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), said to Shou, "I still believe that the Beijing Communist government will still control and have the ability to influence what you do."

'American data stored on American soil:' TikTok CEO grilled in front of CongressTikTok hearing "could not have gone any worse" for app, FCC commissioner says ("CBS Mornings")

Mueller believes that attacking TikTok is an easy way for politicians to look tough on China: "TikTok is a symbolic way for these people to attack even the most innocent forms of interaction between the Chinese digital economy and the U.S. digital economy."

As for Baedri Nichole, she's become a "Save TikTok" activist. TikTok even flew her and 25 other fans to Washington, to join a rally against the ban.

TikTok creators worried ban would impact business

Nichole has some advice for Congress: "After the Congressional hearing, it was very clear that you may not have done all of your due diligence that you owe us as your constituents. You really need to get on the app and have a better understanding of the decisions being made, and how it's going to affect the greater good of the people."



For more info:

TikTokByteDanceRep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.)Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.)"TikTok and U.S. National Security" by Dr. Milton L Mueller and Dr Karim Farhat, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Public Policy (Internet Governance Project)Chef Baedri Nichole on TikTokCoco's Confectionary Kitchen, Columbus, Ohio



Story produced by Amy Wall. Editor: Chad Cardin.

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Bucks, Celtics and Suns favored as NBA Playoffs tip off

Montana lawmakers pass bill to ban TikTok statewide
Wichita police are investigating after a woman was shot in the face Saturday night, police spokesman Chad Ditch said in a news release.

The incident was reported around 7:05 p.m. in the 200 block of S. Minneapolis. Officers found a 72-year-old woman who had suffered a gunshot wound to her face, Ditch said.

The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, Ditch added.

The woman was in the home with her 11-year-old great-nephew, who showed her a gun. The gun went off and struck the woman in the face, according to Ditch.

Police think the shooting was an accident, Ditch said in an email.

Officers found the gun at the home and later determined it had been reported stolen, the release said.

The great-nephew left the home and was later found by officers at his house in the 1800 block of E. English. He was taken into custody, Ditch said.
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus. Vijat Mohindra/NBC via Getty Images

A teacher is worried for her job after protesting a policy that kept her class from singing "Rainbowland."

Miley Cyrus' foundation responded to the "inspiring" first-grade class, telling them to "keep being YOU."

The district superintendent noted the school gained "significant attention" amid media coverage of the situation.

When first-grade teacher Melissa Tempel recently took to Twitter to vent about how the wave of anti-LGBTQ policies across the country took root in her Wisconsin community and affected her pupils, she'd already had enough.

"I just can't not say anything anymore," Tempel, a first-grade teacher at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha, Wisconsin, told Insider. "And if I have to lose my job, then at least I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I stuck up for kids."

Tempel's class, for instance, was not allowed to sing "Rainbowland"  a song by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus about accepting each other  at a recent concert after school leadership decided, citing a district policy, the song could be too controversial.

Tempel's experience highlights the frustration many educators across the country have also expressed as the classroom and school boards have become a battleground for divisive political issues, and parents, administrators, and lawmakers often find themselves at loggerheads on educating the nation's children.

The controversy at Heyer made headlines, and now "Rainbowland" has seen a noticeable uptick in online streaming charts, even earning a response from Cyrus' nonprofit, the Happy Hippie Foundation.

"To the inspiring first-grade students at Heyer Elementary, keep being YOU. 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," Cyrus' foundation said in a recent tweet.

But, Tempel worries about her job safety after speaking up. She also worries about the long-term effect these kinds of policies will have on the well-being of her students.

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"They didn't say anything last week," Tempel told Insider of her school administrators. "I'm sure they're going to try to do something."

The policies 'have not made one child feel better or safer'

In a statement released by the School District of Waukesha on Friday, superintendent Jim Sebert and school board president Kelly Piacsek said Heyer Elementary School had gained "significant attention" amid media coverage of a situation that "should have been handled at the school level."

"Steps are being taken to ensure that this matter is addressed in accordance with applicable Board of Education policies," they added, which Tempel said could be a threat of disciplinary action against her, though she has yet to receive any specific communications.

Sebert and Piacsek added in the statement that they did not "insert themselves into the song selection at the school" or "ban, block or bar any pieces of music." In previous statements, Sebert said Heyer's school principal and another administrator "determined that the song could be deemed controversial" and asked the music teacher to "look for a different song."

"The decision was made after careful consideration of the appropriateness in the school environment of the subject matter addressed by the song's lyrics, especially in light of the age and maturity level of the students," Sebert and Piacsek said in Friday's statement.

Students return to school in the district on April 3 following spring break. In a statement to Insider, the district leadership reiterated their earlier remarks: "Our policies and practices are intended to ensure our focus is on our core purpose of student learning in a welcoming and age-appropriate environment."

Tempel, who told Insider she is frustrated by the "ambiguity" of what is "considered controversial content and what isn't," maintains the administrators did not give a specific reason as to why the song was deemed controversial.

"It's just hard because the policy, nobody quite knows how to implement it. And so it's being done in a different way, depending on who's looking at it or what the situation is," Tempel told Insider. "The words of this song are not controversial at all."

Tempel told Insider she's worked in the school district for five years, during which time it has become less "tolerable" as increasingly anti-LGBTQ policies have been implemented by the school board.

In January, the board unanimously approved a contentious resolution that teachers cannot use a child's preferred name or pronouns without explicit parental consent, and students must use bathroom facilities "according to their biological sex" unless they request an exception with parental approval.

The resolution, seen by Insider, says the district "celebrates the diversity of our Waukesha community and expects that students feel safe and welcome in the school environment."

"We're not allowed to talk about this stuff at school, and as a teacher, I feel like my job is to make sure everybody feels welcome and respected and accepted for who they are," Tempel said. "Just like the song, it's really frustrating to hear that I'm not allowed to express those ideas."

Parents  some of whom emailed administrators with their frustration over "Rainbowland" and similar songs being prohibited  echoed Tempel's thoughts.

Stacey Harrison, a parent with a child at a different school in the district, wrote a response to Sebert and Piacsek's statement in an email he shared with Insider.

"The cynical, blatantly political, and  most importantly  unnecessary policies you have put in place over the past few years regarding student expression and directly responsible for this situation. And you know it," Harrison wrote, telling administrators that recent policies "have not made one child feel better or safer about attending our fine Waukesha schools."

Read the original article on Insider
Brittney Griner walks hand and hand with her wife, Cherelle Watson, after a game at on Aug. 10, 2020 in Palmetto, Florida. Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

WNBA star Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle, have called for the return of Evan Gershkovich.

Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, on espionage charges.

"We must do everything in our power to bring him and all Americans home," the Griner family said.

WNBA star Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle, spoke out about the detainment of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Saturday, calling on President Joe Biden to use "every tool possible" to ensure his release.

"Our hearts are filled with great concern for Evan Gershkovich and his family since Evan's detainment in Russia," the duo said in a statement. "We must do everything in our power to bring him and all Americans home."

Brittney Griner spent 10 months in detention on drug charges before Russia released her in a prisoner swap for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been held in a US prison for 10 years.

Following Brittney Griner's release in December, Cherelle said that the couple would "remain committed to the work of getting every American home."

They are now raising the alarm about Gershkovich's case.

Last week, Russian officials announced that they arrested Gershkovich, who had been reporting on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russian authorities accused the journalist of espionage.

Gershkovich is the first American journalist who Russia has detained for spying allegations since the Cold War. The Wall Street Journal denied the claims made against Gershkovich and The White House denounced his arrest, calling it "unacceptable."

Evan Gershkovich in a file photo supplied by The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been in touch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday to push for the release of Gershkovich, as well as Paul Whelan an ex-Marine who has been jailed in Russia since 2018. He was also accused of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

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"Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States' grave concern over Russia's unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist," Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told the outlet. "Secretary Blinken further urged the Kremlin to immediately release wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work."

In their statement, the Griner family said "every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all."

"That is why we call on all our supporters to both celebrate the wins and encourage the administration to continue to use every tool possible to bring Evan and all wrongfully detained Americans home," they said in the joint statement.

Read the original article on Insider
A woman has revealed some of the tone-deaf things that people who come from money have asked her while she was in school, as part of a viral TikTok trend.

Jess, @spottieottiejess, started off by reflecting on her freshman year at her university in a video posted to TikTok last week. She noted that her family had a low income when she applied to school, so she got a full ride scholarship to a top university

She went on to explain some of the crazy s*** that people said to her, including how she was told that she had so much work experience for a freshman and that shed been working forever. After sarcastically expressing her gratitude over this comment, she shared another experience where her peers asked her to join them at a fancy restaurant in Boston, and she told them she couldnt afford it.

However, she said that they didnt understand her remark, as she recalled that her peers responded to it by making a claim about her body.

They literally looked me up and down and said, Girl you can totally afford it, youre so skinny, she explained. They thought I meant the calories, that I couldnt afford the calories. They didnt think I was talking about money.

Jess then recalled how one of her family members was bitter about her scholarship and told her that she was very privileged. She also said that this relative claimed that the real oppressed people were the upper middle class.

She noted that while she currently has a nice apartment, now that shes finished school, she still felt like people didnt realise how truly traumatising it was to live in poverty. More specifically, she said that she gained 50 pounds her freshman year because of a binge eating disorder, since she wasnt used to having access to food in a dining hall.

In her video, Jess reflected on how she cried everyday during her freshman year because she didnt have health insurance. She also noted how she differed from her roomate, who she said wore Gucci flip flops when using the communal showers.

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When you do have money, you dont think about it. When you dont have money, it literally affects every aspect of your life and will traumatise you forever, she said.

She continued to point out her previous choice of words, like finna, and how someone accused her of appropriating the way that people speak. After explaining that she grew up poor in Atlanta, she said that she spent the next year and half changing the way she spoke, because she didnt want to be seen as insensitive.

She then recalled how a friend complained to her about a job where she worked for her father, after doing an interview with his company. Jess pointed out why this complaint wasnt appropriate, considering the job she had at the time.

She got the job and complained every single week about how she had to work six hours, and it really pissed her off that her dad wasnt giving her more time off, Jess continued. And I was sitting there, like working 56 hoursat a gas station. I just couldnt be friends with wealthy people.

The TikTok user then said she felt embarrassed about going to a university with people who used different types of words and vocabulary than she did. She also recalled her first day at business school, where students said that their parents worked as biomedical engineers or successful real estate agents.

When it was her turn to say what her parents did, Jess said that her mother worked at a grocery store, to which her peers awkwardly responded with, Oh, very cool. She went on to confess how her finances throughout her childhood constantly broke [her] down at her university.

I was in survival mode for four years, she said. I dont remember any of my college education, which is very sad, because of poverty. And yet people are going to tell me that Im the one thats privileged because I didnt have to pay anything for school.

She recalled that while her peers talked about going on vacation during winter breaks, she said that she was working during that time. Jess also claimed that while people have called her a gold-digger for now wanting to mary someone whos wealthy, this is ultimately a choice that ties back to her childhood.

I grew up in extreme poverty, she said. And I made it. So yeah, excuse me for wanting to have better for me and my kids. Cause I grew up in a house where there was no food.

She said that when she described her childhood as ghetto, because her father was a drug dealer and in a gang, someone told her that she couldnt use that word. However, she herself when using the term and discussing her family.

As noted by Merriam Webster, the word ghetto has been used to describe a part of city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.

In her video, Jess noted that when her peers sarcastically welcome her to adulthood, she noted that she would prefer that it over her childhood. I was literally fending for myself at 16, she explained. This is actually pretty nice, I would never relive my childhood, ever.

She then noted that during Covid, her school gave her and some other students money to help them survive. And while she said those students felt bad about taking that money from people who really needed it, Jess utilmtely felt like they were the ones who needed it.

Jess concluded her video by acknowledging what shes learned from going to school with people who had more money than her.

I had to realise that I didnt have enough money that I thought I did, when I truly realised what wealth was, she said. If youre poor in university, take all those f***ing resources, yall. Take all of it. Ride them. Youre the one that theyre talking about when they say they need to give it to people that need it.

The Independent has contacted Jess for comment.
A woman looks up and prays at the Memorial held at The Covenant School after the shooting. Johnnie Izquierdo for The Washington Post via Getty Images

The shooter blasted through the glass doors of the Covenant School with an assault rifle and stepped past the broken glass. Dressed in military camo and armed with three guns, Audrey Hale, 28, began hunting the hallways for little boys and girls, swinging the semiautomatic rifle in a circle like a soldier searching for the enemy. Like nearly all mass shooters, Hale  who apparently identified as transgender  was declaring war on a world that had been indifferent to the killer's suffering. To inflict maximum casualties, the shooter chose assault-style weapons, which rapidly fire high-velocity bullets that inflict horrific wounds. Over the past decade, nearly 60 percent of the deadliest mass shootings have been carried out with assault rifles. Not only do they run up the body count like a video game, AR-15s fulfill a mass shooter's vengeful fantasies of war in a way a simple handgun does not.

Last year, when dozens of cops arrived at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, their fear of a gunman's assault rifle kept them from entering the classroom where he was methodically executing 19 children and two teachers. "AR. He has a battle rifle," one cop told another. Too much "firepower," another later explained. In Nashville, two heroic cops confronted and killed the shooter  too late to save two 9-year-old girls, a 9-year-old boy, and three adult staff members who lay dead of grievous bullet wounds. Their secondary cause of death was our country's fetishization of deadly weapons, which will not yield to commonsense regulation no matter how many schoolchildren or adults are slaughtered. Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, who represents parts of Nashville, sent out a Christmas card photo in 2021 in which he, his wife, and two children proudly brandished their assault rifles next to their festive tree. In response to this week's carnage, Ogles said he would send the victims' shattered families the empty consolation of his "thoughts and prayers." Only in America.

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This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.

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(CNN)  Former President Donald Trump's indictment by a New York grand jury has thrust the nation into uncharted political, legal and historical waters, and raised a slew of questions about how the criminal case will unfold.

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.

Though the indictment -- which has been filed under seal -- has yet to be unveiled, Trump and his allies have already torn into District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the grand jury's decision, blasting it as "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

Here's what we know about Trump's indictment so far.

What's the indictment for?

Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in the indictment, CNN has reported. It remains under seal.

The former president is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan criminal court next Tuesday, but the timing of the appearance remains fluid.

The investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office began when Trump was still in the White House and relates to a $130,000 payment made by Trump's then-personal attorney Michael Cohen to Daniels in late October 2016, days before the presidential election, to silence her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair.

Which charges are possibly at play?

A target in the probe has been the payment made to Daniels and the Trump Organization's reimbursement to Cohen.

According to court filings when Cohen faced federal criminal charges, 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 company noted the reimbursements as a legal expense in its internal books. Trump has denied knowledge of the payment.

Hush money payments aren't illegal. Ahead of the indictment, prosecutors were weighing whether to charge Trump with falsifying the business records of the Trump Organization for how it reflected the reimbursement of the payment to Cohen, who said he advanced the money to Daniels. Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor in New York.

Prosecutors were also weighing whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records in the first degree for allegedly falsifying a record with the intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal another crime, which in this case could be a violation of campaign finance laws. That is a Class E felony and carries a sentence of a minimum of one year and as much as four years. To prove the case, prosecutors would need to show Trump intended to commit a crime.

The People of the State of New York against Donald J. Trump

The judge overseeing the case against Trump signed off on an order Thursday granting Bragg's request to publicly disclose the sealed grand jury indictment.

Atop the order is the case name: The People of the State of New York against Donald J. Trump.

Judge Juan Merchan wrote in the order that the disclosure would be "in the public interest and an appropriate exercise of this Court's discretion," according to the document.

How did Trump respond?

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.

The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the matter and continued his attacks on Bragg and other Democrats following news of the indictment.

"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," the former president said in a statement Thursday. "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 advisers and allies have expressed concern about the former president potentially being tried in Manhattan, pointing to the borough's predominately Democratic-voting population as a reason he will not get a fair trial.

"There is no way he gets a fair jury," one adviser said. "What are they going to say -- have you ever heard of Donald Trump? Have you been living under a rock?"

However, Trump's attorneys are not currently considering asking for a change of venue and do not plan to make many decisions until they see the indictment.

What comes next for Trump?

The former president had first been asked to surrender Friday in New York, his lawyer said, but his defense said more time was needed and he's expected in court on Tuesday.

As for the former president's initial court appearance, it'll look, in some ways, like that of any other defendant, and in others, look very different.

First appearances are usually public proceedings. If an arrest of a defendant is not needed, arrangements are made with them or their lawyers for a voluntary surrender to law enforcement. With their first appearance in court, defendants are usually booked and finger-printed. And if a first appearance is also an arraignment, a plea is expected to be entered.

Trump will have to go through certain processes that any other defendant must go through when a charge has been brought against him. But Trump's status as a former president who is currently running for the White House again will undoubtedly inject additional security and practical concerns around the next steps in his case.

Is this a unique situation?

Yes. This is the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.

That alone makes it historic. But Trump is currently a few months into his third White House bid, and his criminal case jolts the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase, as the former president has vowed to keep running in the face of criminal charges.

What does this mean for him politically?

That's one of many big questions here. So far, a number of congressional Republicans have 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."

And as part of the response to the indictment, Trump and his team will be rolling out surrogates to hit Democrats, the investigation and Bragg across various forms of media as they work to shape the public narrative, according to sources close to Trump.

Can Trump still run for president even though he's been indicted?

Yes.

This story has been updated with additional information.

This story was first published on CNN.com. "Donald Trump has been indicted following an investigation into a hush money payment scheme. Heres what we know"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is blasting Russias leadership of the United Nations (UN) Security Council as obviously absurd and destructive.

Russia assumed the chair of the Security Council last week, as member states take turns at the head of the body each month. Russias assumption of the position prompted Zelensky to call out the global bodys move to allow a terrorist state to lead the influential council.

Today, the terrorist state began to chair the UN Security Council, Zelensky said in an address on Saturday. It is hard to imagine something evident that proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions.

There are 15 member states of the council, which is meant to help secure global stability and peace, with just five spots held permanently by the U.S., France, U.K., China and Russia. All five of those countries have veto power on the council.

Russia leadership of the council comes as its war in Ukraine is well into its second year. The fighting has racked up steep military costs for both countries.

It has also wreaked havoc on the civilian population in Ukraine, including actions that have led the U.N. to conclude last month that the Russian military has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict. The U.N. cited the indiscriminate bombing and attacks of civilian populations, civilian executions and the deportation of Ukrainian children from the country.

It also follows the International Criminal Courts move to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last month for suspected war crimes, pointing to the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Zelensky on Saturday seemed to call for reforms of the Security Council that would bar Russia from being able to head the council.

There is no such form of terror that has not yet been committed by Russia, Zelensky said.

And there will be no such reason that will stop the reform of global institutions, in particular, the U.N. Security Council. The reform that is clearly overdue  so that a terrorist state and any other state that wants to be a terrorist cannot disrupt the peace.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Welcome Home sign with American flags hung front and center Saturday in the American Legion Post 16 on Greenview Drive in Lynchburg as a crowd of more than 100 people, including many veterans, celebrated 50 years since the return of 591 American prisoners of war held by North Vietnam forces.

Veterans who served in combat in Vietnam and Korea shared their stories for nearly an hour, each giving a brief glimpse of their service. David N. Harker, a Lynchburg native born the year World War II ended, spoke of his service and experiences as a prisoner of war for 1,884 days while serving in the Vietnam War.

Harker, a 1964 graduate of Brookville High School who left college at Virginia Tech to enlist in the U.S. Army in June 1967, thanked all veterans in attendance at Saturdays commemoration event.

To defend the Constitution of the United States of America, that was our duty  not to win the war, Harker told the crowd. That was lost by other people, by policy, by strategyyou have nothing to be ashamed of. You served with honor and dignity.

Harker spoke of basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, going to fight in South Vietnam and his capture on Jan. 8, 1968. He said he was sent out with a group to look for a helicopter crew that had been shot down and spoke of being overtaken by enemy forces that outnumbered them 15 to 1.

During that hellish ordeal, Harker said the Bible verse To live is Christ and to die is gain came to his mind, comforting him.

My faith sustained me through that time, Harker said of being held prisoner. God gave me so many good people, Christians and non-Christians that I was prisoner of with, and Ill tell you this: we all pulled together.

Harker recalled walking the Ho Chi Min trail as prisoner in 1971 and the pressure the enemy put on them. We learned not only to survive pulling together but how to fight them mentally and resist them the best we could, he said.

On March 5, 1973, Harker was released at Gia Lam Airport in Hanoi, North Vietnam, as part of Operation Homecoming. He was briefly hospitalized at Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania where he received an honorable discharge from the Army later that summer.

He described his return to the U.S. by stating a quote he said he gave Time Magazine, where everybodys heart is full of gold the size of the Empire State building.

Lynchburg Mayor Stephanie Reed attended the ceremony and spoke of her husband, a retired Air Force colonel who served 25 years, and her grandfather, a 100-year-old veteran of World War II who taught her at an early age about his military service.

They were always selfless stories, Reed said. It was the service of his brothers  it was their bravery he would brag on.

Reed said her grandfather told her of young farm boys like himself who were called into service, became warriors and were given a heros welcome, adding her sadness that so many who fought in Vietnam werent given the same respect as those World War II veterans and demonized because of politics.

They deserved better, Reed said. As mayor of Lynchburg, I will always stand up for our veterans.

Reed said she knows what it feels like to stand on a driveway and say goodbye to a spouse deployed to the Middle East, not knowing if he would come back. She said she appreciates everyone in the room too humble to call themselves the heroes they are.

She read a proclamation declaring Saturday as Virginia Vietnam Veterans of America Day in Lynchburg and encouraged all citizens who value peace, freedom and democracy to recognize the courageous contributions of veterans.

Jack McNanus, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and president of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), a nonprofit organization, attended the ceremony and spoke of the importance of treating veterans with respect.

We will not ever rest and allow what happened to us to happen again, McNanus said. We are committed to making sure that veterans that followed us get the dignity and respect that was denied us.

Harker said Vietnam-era veterans at Saturdays event are part of his generation who heeded the words of President John F. Kennedy in his 1961 Inaugural Address: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

And thats how we grew up, Harker said.
MISSOURI VALLEY  On April 1, 158 years ago, the steamboat Bertrand hit a snag and foundered just north of Omaha. While no lives were lost, most of the cargo was, due to an unfortunate sinking of another steamship two days later north of the Bertrands demise.

The Bertrand went down and cargo was expected to be rescued, until a second ship went down two days later. A rescue party went to retrieve the cargo off that ship but when they returned to the Bertrand, the Missouri had taken it under its mud.

It would be a little more than 100 years, in 1968, when a couple of Omaha men, through research involving old maps, newspaper articles and old records, found the vessel. Apparently, the ship was supposed to be carrying a fortune in mercury, which was to be used in gold mining at its destination in Montana.

Jesse Pursell and Sam Corbino were given permission to excavate the ship, looking for the rumored 500 lead carboys containing the mercury. As it was, only nine were found, certainly not the financial reward they had hoped for.

On this anniversary of the Bertrands sinking, the DeSoto National Wildlife hosted living history presentations, with living history re-enactors and a special presentation by historian Russ Gifford of Western Iowa Techs Institute for Lifelong Learning.

Giffords talk on Steamboats of Missouri was both entertaining and enlightening. Thankfully, people going west dont have to rely on riverboats to travel these days.

The boats were, for the most part, reliable, but snags, sandbars and explosions could wreck a trip and scuttle cargo worth thousands.

Gifford said the Missouri was not that deep and the only reliable travel really couldnt take place except during the spring when the water was high.

The steamboat used on the Missouri was about 150 feet long, he said. As opposed to the 300-foot boats used on the Mississippi. The Missouri didnt allow much when it came the size of the boats due to the shallowness and width of the river.

Boiler explosions were a hazard to life and limb, Gifford said. The cause was using the Missouris water.

What do we call the Missouri? he asked the crowd. And the crowd shouted, Old Muddy!

Using the river water for the boilers led to disaster, as the mud would foul the boiler, Gifford said. It wasnt until the invention of mud boilers, that that ruinous aspect was taken out of river shipping and travel.

Gifford explained how the steamboats kept operating under the most trying situations: Cholera epidemics, sniping by Native Americans, snags, sandbars and fellow travelers. However, people were bound and determined to go West and steamboats were preferable, as Gifford said, to walking to Oregon beside a Conestoga wagon. Indeed.
The Sidney City Council is taking steps to remove the citys mayor from the day-to-day management of the Fremont County community.

The council is looking to formally appoint a city manager, a role that has defaulted to Mayor Ken Brown, who is accused of being disrespectful toward city staff, including attempting to intimidate a staff member into copying confidential records.

A special meeting of the council on Wednesday, March 22, outlined concerns about a code of conduct violation by the mayor and a discussion to appoint a city manager instead.

Council member Don Benedict asked Brown, who took office last year, to step down as acting city manager. He cited confrontation with city staff members.

We have to make sure our city employees can be productive and feel safe in their working environment, Benedict said.

Council member Justin Shirley said he felt there was a pattern of disrespectful behavior by Brown as acting city manager, resulting in one employee no longer wanting to come to work.

A statement in the council record describes an incident on Monday, March 20, in which Brown allegedly attempted to obtain copies of employee personnel records, which the Iowa League of Cities advised the city should not be copied for distribution or storage outside the citys offices.

Brown allegedly yelled at an employee for disobeying his instruction to make copies to be retained outside of City Hall, screaming through a door that she kept locked out of concern for her safety. He later sent an email thanking her for standing up to me and obeying the law, but not apologizing for his conduct.

The council record also notes that the incident followed a staff meeting on Friday, March 17, discussing the tense work environment created by the mayors new policies, including sending excessive emails  70 in one week  and allegations of micromanagement by Brown.

At the March 22 meeting, Brown agreed to ask council member Anne Travis, the citys mayor pro tem, to fill in as city manager until the issues brought forward could be resolved.

The city manager position was created in 2010 but became vacant in 2016, Travis said. In a mayor-council form of government, under Iowa Code, the council may set certain powers and duties for a city manager, but otherwise the role falls to the mayor.

Before making an appointment, though, council members spent considerable time at a Monday, March 27, workshop discussing the job description, duties, criteria and skills for a future city manager, following the suggestion of City Attorney Bri Sorenson.

Council members reviewed job descriptions from managers at other cities, and Benedict asked them to highlight portions they thought could be included for Sidneys role.

City Clerk Elease Cowles indicated to the council she would be willing to take on the city manager position, as she already performs many of the day-to-day duties. Benedict said the city could create a combined clerk and manager position, which Brown noted would require a change in ordinance to establish.

The council plans to adopt a job description and set criteria, skills and experience requirements at its April 10 meeting. After that, council member Fabian Bell asked that Sorensen draft an ordinance based on the completed job description.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has loaned Burkina Faso $80.7 million to help the West African country surf the impact of the global food crisis.

Food insecurity in Burkina Faso has increased significantly owing to deteriorating security conditions, which led to the displacement of about 2 million people; unfavorable climate events; supply-chain disruptions following the COVID-19 pandemic; Russias war in Ukraine; and increasing prices for food and agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and seed. As a result, about 16 percent of the population is in acute food insecurity conditions, IMF said in a statement.

The disbursement, accounting for 50 per cent of Burkina Fasos IMF quota, comes under the Food Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).

Burkina Faso is largely dependent on its agriculture sector but the country, dogged by several years of terrorism-caused insecurity, is facing an acute food shortage, leaving thousands in food crisis.

In February, the African country also signed 10 agreements for financing six projects with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of $184 million.

Three projects will help develop corn, soy, poultry and fish value chains to strengthen food and nutrition security and address gender inequalities as well as support farmers to increase food production.

Three other projects target the integrated development of maize, soybean, poultry and fish value chains and resilience (PIMSAR), the emergency project to strengthen agricultural production in Burkina Faso.
Moroccos Royal Navy coastguard, patrolling the southern waters, rescued, on Saturday, around 151 illegal migrants who were boarding a wooden boat.

The migrants were about to drown off the city of Dakhla.

The migrants, mostly sub-Saharans, were handed to the gendarmerie in the same city.
The U. S. vice president Kamala Harris ended on Saturday her weeklong Africa trip that led her to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia.

If the influence of other foreign powers loomed over her trip, she tried to deepen and reframe U.S. relationships with the continent, highlighting major steps in that direction.

My visit has convinced me more than ever, that we must all around the globe appreciate and understand the importance of investing in African ingenuity and creativity. The type I have seen during the course of this trip, she said on Saturday upon leaving Zambia.

In my meetings with the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania, and here in Zambia, we have launched new initiatives to strengthen our business ties. We have also advanced our work to support democracy and good governance on the continent, which will invariably create greater stability, predictability, the type that businesses require and need to invest, she added.

In each of these engagements. It has been clear there was a strong desire from leaders on this continent, from young entrepreneurs on this continent to increase investments on this continent.

If Harris acknowledged some places on the continent lead the world in digital solutions, she laid out an agenda for partnerships in digital solutions as she pointed to discrepancies across Africa. She stressed the need to take up the challenges to close these gaps and committed to take action because, she said solutions are within sight and within reach.

During her visit to Tanzania, Harris praised the countrys first female leader as a champion of democracy. Since coming to power in 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been rolling back the authoritarian policies of her late predecessor John Magufuli.

Madame President, under your leadership Tanzania has taken important and meaningful steps and President Joe Biden and I applaud you, said Harris who later also met with young Tanzanian entrepreneurs, creatives, and innovators at an event facilitated by the startup and talent incubator, SNDBX, in Dar es Salaam to discuss ways to enhance their products, secure investment, and partner with US companies.

Harris visit is the latest in a string of visits to Africa by high profile U.S officials.

The United States have ramped up efforts to reengage with African countries after last years US-Africa summit. President Joe Biden said he intends to visit this year as well.
Morocco commemorated, Saturday, 10th day of the holy month of Ramadan 1444 H, the 64th anniversary of the passing away of the Liberator of the Nation, late King Mohammed V.

On this occasion, King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, Prince Moulay Rachid, Prince Moulay Ahmed and Prince Moulay Ismail, visited the grave of the late sovereign, his grandfather.

The late monarch died of heart failure on February 26, 1961, corresponding to Ramadan 10, 1380 AH, only a few years after the accession of the Kingdom to independence at the price of a relentless struggle which allowed to free the homeland from the yoke of colonialism.

The late King is remembered for his role in regaining Moroccos independence from French and Spanish colonialism.

The late king became Sultan in 1927 and kept the title until 1953, when French authorities forced him and his family into exile, to Corsica and later to Madagascar, due to the growing hope of independence he instilled among the Moroccan people.

The strong bond King Mohammed V built with his people led to popular unrest after his exile, with Moroccans demanding an immediate return of their Sultan. The Moroccan independence movement itself is known as the Revolution of the King and the People.

The late King came back from exile on November 16, 1955, after Moroccan nationalists upscaled their resistance acts, demanding their rulers return.

Soon after his return, the late king began negotiating with France and Spain to secure Moroccos independence, which yielded results one year later, in 1956.

King Mohammed V holds a special place in Moroccans hearts. His struggle for independence symbolizes Moroccos attachment to its sovereignty and resilience to foreign pressure.
Rewrites of city, county comprehensive plans on agenda

Marvin Planning Consultants, authors of North Plattes most recent and upcoming housing studies, would update both the city and Lincoln County comprehensive plans under a contract on Tuesdays City Council agenda.

The contract, part of the evenings 12-item consent agenda, would pay David City planner Keith Marvins firm $103,930 for the first thorough updates to the city comprehensive plan since 2012.

Lincoln County, which shares Planning Administrator Judy Clarks services with the city, would be charged $77,250 for a rewrite of its own 2012 comprehensive plan. Marvins contract doesnt appear on Mondays County Board agenda.

Tuesdays consent agenda items will be decided with a single vote unless a council member asks for separate votes on one or more items.

Comprehensive plans form the foundation of both city and county zoning regulations and lay out a citys or countys forecasts of where and how their service areas will grow and develop.

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development no longer considers comprehensive plans valid after five years without continued updates, Clark said in a council memorandum.

In addition to updating both entities plans, Marvin would prepare a Safe Streets 4 All Action Plan to allow the city to seek federal funds for transportation improvements. North Platte has received a federal grant to enable that study, Clark said.

Marvin envisions two town hall meetings apiece for the city and county while preparing updates of both comprehensive plans. Focus group meetings with key local interest groups also are planned, according to his firms proposed contract.

In other regular or consent agenda business, the council will:

Hold second-round debate on an ordinance to require

people or businesses seeking extension of electrical lines to share the costs in some cases. The Contribution in Aid of Construction ordinance won 7-0 initial approval March 21.

Hold public hearings and first-round debate on ordinances to make technical changes to North Plattes residential zoning regulations; rezone lands on West Koubek Road from F-1 floodway to A-1 transitional agriculture; and amend the citys land-use map and consolidate zoning for the FedEx Freight site at 2620 S. Willow St. as B-2 highway commercial. All three measures won Planning Commission endorsement last Tuesday.

Decide whether to ratify Mayor Brandon Kellihers reappointment of Dr. Richard Raska and first-time appointment of Briar Bergner to the citys Library Advisory Board. Both appear on the consent agenda.

Approve several contracts, also on the consent agenda, to by new or used vehicles for the electric, water, wastewater and engineering departments.

- Todd Von Kampen
The process of establishing Lincoln Countys one- and six-year road plan requires a lot of research, County Highway Superintendent Jason Schultz says.

The proposed plan will be presented at 10 a.m. Monday during the regular County Board meeting at the Lincoln County Courthouse. Schultz said state statute requires the county to establish a short-term and a long-term list of projects.

The plan has been compiled with input from Brian Glos, assistant highway superintendent, and a number of the countys road construction supervisors, Schultz said.

The one-year is everything you compile from the six-year, and then you prioritize and say, OK, now the one-year are the things that we are going to get done right away, Schultz said.

The list for the one-year plan contains 13 projects, some large and some small. At the top is the historic Sutherland North River Bridge, also known as the Sutherland State Aid Bridge, which has been a priority since 1986. The current narrow bridge, located just over four miles north of Sutherland, was one of 17 multiple-span concrete arch bridges built under Nebraskas state-aid program in the 1910s and 1920s.

The county has basically been at the mercy of the state, which has moved the project up and down its priority list since 1986.

The Sutherland North River Bridge has, of course, been on our list for many, many years, Schultz said. Weve done a lot of work on that front over the past year, so I think that is going to be coming to fruition here.

He said the county has been getting movement from the state on the project and he has been working with the Army Corp of Engineers on getting everything in place to put it out to bid. Schultz said the bid should go out sometime in the fall and the project would be started in late 2023 or early 2024.

The plan is to replace the bridge with a new concrete structure over the North Platte River on North Prairie Trace Road. Schultz said most of that $6.8 million project will be paid for by the state.

A big portion of that is going to be through one of their previous bridge programs, Schultz said. OFallon is the same way. We look for those opportunities because then we can get some of these things done and off of our list as quick as possible without using (a lot of) Lincoln County taxpayer dollars.

Schultz said the OFallon project has been on the countys list for a couple of years.

Were actually getting ready to start that one this week and that will be done here shortly, Schultz said. Its replacing a deficient bridge with some culverts on the canal.

The old wooden bridge on Wells Road also will be replaced with a culvert.

A few overlay projects are on the list as well, Schultz said. The Garfield Table Road project will go out for bid in the next couple of months, along with West Antelope Road.

One problem during the pandemic was asphalt supplies, which drove the price up. However, Schultz said that has changed and is improving.

The prices are not as high as we were projecting them to be last year at this time, Schultz said. Thats a good thing so we can get a little more done this year than what were thinking. I dont think it will be an issue as far as supply.

The commissioners will vote to approve the proposed plan with recommended changes after the public hearing.

The list of projects on the counties one-year plan:

Sutherland North River Bridge, $6.8 million

OFallon Bridge, $80,000

Wells Road Bridge, $20,000

Garfield Table, east of Highway 83, $1.35 million

West Antelope Road, $300,000

Paxton Ditch Bridge replacement, $20,000

Johnson Road North, $75,000

North Maxwell Road, overlay, $1.65 million

South Somerset Road, culverts, drainage improvements, stabilization and gravel surface, $300,000

North Maxwell Road culverts, $60,000

Power Road, drainage, stabilization, gravel surface, $35,000

West State Farm Road, drainage improvements, $20,000

Garfield Table Road east of Highway 83, 2 miles of overlay, $350,000.

The six-year road plan has 19 projects listed for future consideration.
(CNN)  A prominent activist for girls' education in Afghanistan was arrested by the Taliban on Monday, according to an official, the latest step in its repressive clampdown on the rights of Afghan women.

Matiullah Wesa, 30, is well known for his activism and is the founder of PenPath1, a non-governmental group that travels to the most remote areas in Afghanistan to set up mobile classrooms.

Since the hardline Islamist group's takeover of the country in August 2021, the Taliban has stripped away freedoms hard won by women who have fought tirelessly over the past two decades.

Some of its most striking restrictions have been around education, with girls barred from returning to secondary schools and universities, depriving an entire generation of academic opportunities.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Wesa was arrested in the capital Kabul on Monday and called on the Taliban to clarify his whereabouts.

"UNAMA calls on the de facto authorities to clarify his whereabouts, the reasons for his arrest and to ensure his access to legal representation and contact with family," UNAMA tweeted.

Wesa has long advocated for girls education in Afghanistan, especially in rural areas, and his Twitter account is full of posts calling for schools to reopen to girls and women.

"Men, women, elderly, young, everyone from every corner of the country are asking for the Islamic rights to education for their daughters," Wesa said in his last tweet before his arrest.

Two of Wesa's brothers were also arrested, Attaullah Wesa said in a video posted on Twitter. Attaullah Wesa is another of Wesa's brothers.

"Samiullah and Wali Muhammad were also arrested," he said. "They took them and tied their hands."

Attaullah Wesa, who is now in hiding, said the Taliban insulted their children, mother, and the whole family and took away their phones.

"We are the people of the Pen. We have been working on this for 15 years and still, we do not back down from this even if they kill us," Ataullah Wesa said. "We want a future for this Afghanistan nation that is equipped with education, this nation has a right over us."

Abdul Haq Hammad, a spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Information and Culture, claimed he wasn't aware of Wesa's case.

"I don't know Matiullah Wesa and I don't know about his case, but if actions are suspicious government has the right to ask such people for explanation," he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

"And if arrest of an individual provokes such wide reaction, it shows a wide conspiracy was prevented."

'Arresting champions of education'

On Monday, Former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai said he was "saddened" by the arrest and called on the Taliban to release Wesa "as soon as possible."

"In different provinces of Afghanistan, they have made a lot of efforts for the education of the children of the country and have provided valuable services," Karzai said in a statement posted to social media.

Following his arrest, Wesa's supporters demanded his release online using the hashtags #releasematiullahwesa and #releasematiullahwesaSoon.

Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pakistani activist, called for his release, saying Wesa's NGO provided "mobile schools and libraries to Afghan girls and boys."

"While banning girls from school, the Taliban are also arresting champions of education....The Taliban must release him and all those imprisoned for educating children," Yousafzai said on Twitter.

Yousafzai gained international recognition for her activism against the Taliban's efforts to stop girls from attending school.

When she was 15, she was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban but manage to survive the assassination attempt.

Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, called Wesa "an incredible champion of girls' education" whose only crime "is his decades old peaceful campaign for the right of girls' education."

Earlier this month, young Afghan women gathered outside Kabul University to protest the Taliban's ban on female education as their male peers returned to school for a new academic year.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, told the UN in March the Taliban's ban on female education "may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity."

Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Mahbouba Seraj, Afghan women's rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, said it was "unbelievable" the Taliban would arrest Wesa who was not "doing anything wrong."

Seraj said the time had come for engagement with the Taliban on some level.

"I know it sounds absolutely horrendous...We really don't have any other option," she said. "I really don't know how long the country can go on like this. How long we can go on the way we are, how long the girls can be in Afghanistan and their homes locked up and not being able to do their education, that is not the right way to go."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Taliban arrests prominent girls' education activist as repressive clampdown continues."
Enjoy the mini-spring Sunday, because winter has more in store.

The National Weather Service Saturday added North Platte and Lincoln County to a winter storm watch expected to go into effect Tuesday morning and last through Wednesday morning.

Further to the north a brutal winter could continue, with as much as 19 inches of snow possible in already hard-hit Cherry County, and as much as 7 inches across the rest of the Sandhills with high winds and blizzard conditions.

The NWSs Lee Bird office said in its forecast that Lincoln County can expect up to three inches of snow Tuesday.

The most potent part of the storm, though, could be the wind. Blowing snow causing hazardous traveling conditions and poor visibility is possible, as is drifting snow, the forecast said.

Winds are expected to gust up to 40 mph Tuesday night into Wednesday with sustained winds about 25 mph throughout Tuesday, overnight into Wednesday. Winds will still be at a sustained 10 mph Wednesday night with gusts up to 20 mph in the North Platte area.

High temperatures are expected to be in the low 60s on Sunday and low 50s on Monday for North Platte before dipping into the mid-30s on Tuesday and Wednesday. The low Tuesday into Wednesday is forecast to be hovering around zero.

Thursday sees a high in the low 40s with winds about 15 mph. Friday should see a high in the 50s with lows Saturday morning in the teens.

Cherry County, which has seen three major snow falls this winter, could get hit again. The forecast is calling for 6 to 19 inches of snow on a band from Gordon in Sheridan County to Valentine.

The rest of the Sandhills from Big Springs to Ainsworth and west to Hyannis could see 2 to 7 inches of snow with 55 mph gusts causing blizzard conditions.

West of Ainsworth  Spencer, Butte, ONeill and Atkinson  could see 1 to 6 inches.

Regionally, the storm is expected to affect the Black Hills in South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming.

Hot Springs and Pine Ridge could see 12 inches or more of snow with 55 mph gusts in another region hit hard by the January storm.

Rapid City and the northern Black Hills could also see a foot of snow or more, the NWSs Rapid City office said.
Its been a long time coming, but the East Alabama Civic Chorale will finally be able to perform the show that was originally planned for the spring of 2020.

Dale Peterson, musical director of the East Alabama Civic Chorale, said that he chose the music for the program after the 2019 Christmas concert and the choir was beginning to rehearse when the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.

The pandemic ultimately prevented the choir from performing until December of 2022.

This years spring concert will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the sanctuary of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Opelika with a theme of music on music, featuring songs about the transforming power of music. The concert is free to the public, but donations to the choir will be accepted.

One of the interesting things is, for example, one of the pieces talks about a dream, or as the composer calls it a nightmare, where there was no music, no choir sang, no bands played and of course thats exactly what happened during the pandemic, Peterson said.

The music is just very sad and despairing, and then it goes to a section that says, Awake! Awake! Let music never die in me, and the final big sound is the choir singing these words of proclamation, Let music live, he continued.

This song as well as the others that talk about the power of music resonated with the members of the choir, especially during the years they were not able to practice singing together or perform in front of others.

It was just wonderful to finally get together and sing these songs that talk about the power of music because everyone has gone through a couple of years when there was no live music, Peterson said.

The 55 members of the choir come from all over East Alabama to share their passion for singing. They range in age from college students to senior adults.

The spring program will include selections from The Sound of Music as well as pieces written by Peterson, one thats called Your Love is My Song.

Peterson said another piece that is very special to him is called The Living Song, which was commissioned by Auburn First Baptist Church in 1998 when he was celebrating his 25th year as music director there.

It talks about in the kind of difficult times of life, and we all have those, that if we listen theres still a song in the background, he said.

The choir has also invited guest artist Ina Petkova-Apostolova, a cellist, to perform at the concert. Petkova-Apostolova is a native of Bulgaria who received her Bachelor and Master degrees from the Vienna Conservatory in Austria.

She has done additional study at the Concervatoire a rayonnement in Paris, at Haute Ecole de Musique in Switzerland and finished her studies at Columbus State Universitys Schwob School of Music.

Petkova-Apostolova has also won several prizes on the national and international level, has performed as a soloist with the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna and has appeared on stages in Bulgaria, Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland, France, Canada and the United States, according to a release.

Peterson describes her as an extremely talented, world-class cellist.

She will play the cello on four pieces as well as a solo performance of the famous piece by Bach, The Prelude to the Cello Suite.

Peterson said he contacted Petkova-Apostolova about booking her to perform at the 2020 spring concert, which was unfortunately canceled. After much anticipation, she will finally be able to perform at the 2023 spring concert.

Composers included in this program are: Handel, Daniel Gawthrop, Joseph Martin, Craig Courtney, Dale Peterson and Greq Gilpin. Liza Weisbrod is the pianist for the Chorale and Brad White serves as assistant conductor.

Peterson expects members of the audience to hum along to the familiar songs from The Sound of Music and enjoy the other songs they may be hearing for the first time.

I also think it will cause both musician and non-musician to think about how music affects us, he said. So I think it will be enjoyable, but I also think an inspiring concert. All of us probably listen and are affected by music much more than we realize.
As the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam nears completion, following years of delays and conflict over water security, Ethiopia is optimistic about what this means for the countrys energy sector. However, other countries, such as Egypt, are concerned about the effects the dam will have on its water supply. With no agreement over the management of the dam having been reached, the project could have a dramatic effect on the regions energy and water security.

Ethiopias Office of National Coordination announced this month that its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has reached 90 percent completion. This follows years of delays due to complaints about the project from other countries situated on the Nile. The $4.2 billion GERD was announced in 2011, during Egypts social uprising. Construction first began 12 years ago but it is only over the last three years that progress has been made on the project.

GERD is seen as key to Ethiopias development and the supply of power to its population of over 110 million. And in February 2022, Ethiopia began producing its first electricity from the mega-dam, from one of the 13 turbines. GERD is expected to make Ethiopia a major power exporter in the region, producing an anticipated 6,500 MW. According to Ethiopias media, it is expected to be the largest hydroelectric power generator in Africa and the worlds seventh-largest dam. The structure stands at 145 metres, with a total reservoir capacity of 74 billion cubic metres. The filling of the reservoir first commenced in 2020, reaching its goal of 4.9 billion cubic metres, with a further 13.5 billion cubic metres added in 2021.

But Egypt is concerned about what the project means for its water supply. The two countries have been in discussions for years over how the dam will be managed to ensure that it does not restrict the Niles water supply to other countries with no solid resolution. Egypt relies on the Nile for 90 percent of its fresh water and has long shaped its identity around its situation on the Nile.

Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, has criticised Ethiopia for failing to cooperate effectively at the regional level on decisions about the dam. Sewilam suggested that Ethiopia is disregarding the needs of neighbouring countries, and emphasised the economic, social, and environmental dangers of unilateral moves on common river basins.

Meanwhile, Sudan, another downstream country, hopes the project will be to its benefit, reducing annual flooding in the region. However, it shares Egypts concerns about the water supply and worries GERD could be detrimental to its own dams unless a clear agreement is reached with Ethiopia.

The Nile Basin River flows through 11 countries, with the Blue Nile and White Nile merging in Sudan and then moving through Egypt to reach the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt was provided with 55.5 billion cubic metres of water annually under a 1959 deal, with Sudan getting 18.5 billion cubic metres. However, Ethiopia does not recognise this agreement, which provides no allocations to other countries in the basin.

Egypt and Sudan are concerned about the management of GERD and believe that filling and replenishing the dam too quickly could restrict how much water it would release downstream if there was a multi-year drought. The Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated at the latest session of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers that GERD could pose a great danger to Egypt, which suffers from unique water scarcity as the driest country in the world. Shoukry went on to ask Egypts allies to force Ethiopia to abandon its unilateral, non-cooperative practice, and to show the necessary political will to adopt any of the compromise solutions that were proposed at the negotiating table, and that proved to fully achieve Ethiopias economic interests without prejudice to the destinies of the peoples of the downstream countries.

The main problem is that both Egypt and Ethiopia view the use of the Niles waters as a matter of existential necessity and an existential threat. Egypt relies on the Nile for its water supply and economic stability, meanwhile, Ethiopia believes the dam will provide clean energy for its growing population and spur economic development. With climate change threatening the worlds water supply, as well as causing international powers to push for a green transition, the two countries are at an impasse.

Over the years, the countries involved have sought external input on the project to help protect their water and energy security. Egypt raised the GERD conflict in the UN Security Council in 2020. And some Arab nations are supporting Egypts position, suggesting that the dam poses a threat to the Arab water supply. Meanwhile, some African powers view the development as supporting Africas green transition, with the potential to transform the regions power supply.

With such longstanding historical ties with the Nile and the ongoing reliance on its waters for water and energy security, it will be no easy feat for Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan to reach an agreement on the management of GERD. There will likely be sacrifices and compromises required as the dam comes into operation. However, a deal must be struck between the Nile countries to ensure the maintenance of regional security in the face of climate change.

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After almost a two-month delay, on February 23, Kazakhstani company KazTransOil finally began exporting oil to Germany, sending the first shipment of 20,000 tons of Kazakhstani oil (Biz Media, February 27). In enabling this supply, Kazakhstan reached an agreement with Russian energy company Transneft to use the Druzhba pipeline to export oil via Russia and Belarus to Adamowo-Zastawa in Poland. From there, it will head to Germanys PCK Refinery in Schwedt, which supplies oil products to Berlin and most of eastern Germany (Neftegaz.ru, January 11).

Ever since Astana and Berlin reached a deal on oil exports in December 2022, the most gripping question has been whether Kazakhstan will play a larger role in the European energy market. Adding fuel to this conversation, earlier this year, Kazakhstani Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov stated that the country will eventually increase the volume sent to Germany to almost 7 million tons of oil per year (Kursiv Media, January 11). An additional key consideration has been whether Russia will allow the use of its pipeline infrastructure to bail out what it considers to be an unfriendly country in Germany.

Germany turned to Kazakhstan as a substitute for mostly practical reasons, after efforts to orient the German energy market away from Russia. The option to import crude oil from Kazakhstan via the Druzhba pipeline emerged as the most convenient and cheapest alternative. The shareholders of the refinery in Schwedt were among the first to propose to buy crude oil in Kazakhstan in their appeal to the German authorities presented in July 2022 (Radio Azattyq, December 10, 2022). The crude oil from Kazakhstan is of practically similar composition (Urals grade) to what Germany was importing before, which allows the refinery in Schwedt to avoid any costly adjustments. Additionally, the oil exports will arrive using already established pipeline infrastructure, saving the German authorities from dealing with additional logistical hurdles and higher costs related to importing via the Rostock and Gdansk ports.

According to the deal, Kazakhstani state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGas agreed to send 1.2 million tons of crude oil in 2023, with 300,000 tons expected to arrive in Germany by the end of the first fiscal quarter. The first shipment was expected in January, after the Russian Ministry of Energy formally approved the exports via the Druzhba pipeline on January 13 (Vestnik Kavkaza, January 13). However, the Kazakhstani side kept delaying the delivery until late February, giving way to various speculations about the future of the deal. Official explanations for the delay, which included small technical barriers and the ongoing tender process, were unconvincing and vague (Tengrinews.kz, February 17). Thus, with only a couple days left until the end of the first fiscal quarter, the modest amount of 20,000 tons exported instead of the projected 300,000 has cast doubt on the hopes that Kazakhstan could effectively rescue Germany and the rest of Europe in an energy crunch.

The most obvious suspect for the delay and possible future blocking of Kazakhstani oil exports is Russia. These speculations are justified given that oil exports from Kazakhstan to Europe via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which runs through Russia, were stopped on several occasions in 2022each time under a bizarre pretext, including unspecified damages caused by unprecedented sea storms and floating World War II mines (Inosmi.ru, August 25, 2022).

Even so, Moscow has a number of reasons to back this deal. First, the country will receive transit fees from Kazakhstan for using the Druzhba pipeline. At the moment, it is hard to overestimate the importance of cash revenue for the Kremlin, due to the ongoing war against Ukraine and the decreased cash revenues from energy exports. Second, Russia will retain some leverage over Germany by keeping it hooked on oil imports arriving via a Russian-controlled pipeline. Thus, while the oil itself will arrive from Kazakhstan, Germany will remain dependent on Russia at some level for supporting the exports. Third, keeping the Druzhba pipeline operational leaves the door open for renewed oil exports from Russia in the future (Vestnik Kavkaza, January 21).

Perhaps the most banal reason behind the delays and modest export amount is the fact that Kazakhstan simply may not have enough oil supplies available for export to Germany. In 2022, the country produced 84.2 million tons of oil. The production forecast for 2023 is estimated at 90.5 million tons. Oil exports are also expected to increase in 2023 by 6.7 million tons from 64.3 million in 2022 up to 71 million tons. Almost all of this oil is already under contract, meaning Kazakhstan cannot redirect it without financial penalties. Most likely, this growth in production and exports will be achieved via increased production at the Tengiz oil field, operated by the private company Tengizchevroil, which uses the CPC for its exports. And KazMunayGas has no authority over Tengizchevroil to redirect its contracted oil exports. Thus, the Kazakhstani expert community seems adamant that the country does not have additional free volumes of oil for deliveries to Germany; it must be understood that neither KazMunayGas nor private companies have them (Kursiv Media, January 11).

In the absence of available oil supplies, either swapping or blending operations seem to be underway. It is likely that KazMunayGas is completing swaps with Moscow by purchasing Russian oil for the refineries in Kazakhstan to which it is obliged to supply crude oil. Alternatively, Kazakhstan may be blending its oil with Russian oil, creating a mixture of 51 to 49 percent, respectively, which legally qualifies the end product as oil from Kazakhstan. Either way, the 1.2 million tons expected to arrive in Germany via the Druzhba pipeline is less than 10 percent of the 11 million tons required to sustain the full operations of the Schwedt refinery (Kursiv Media, January 11).

The war in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have created a unique opportunity for Kazakhstan to fill the void left by Russia in playing a larger role in the European energy market. The deal to send oil to Germany is Kazakhstans first step toward fulfilling this potential. However, its dependence on Russia for export routes stands in the way of Astanas ambitions. Additionally, tied to this challenge is the need to increase production volumes, which requires time and long-term guarantees from buyers. Kazakhstan can certainly play a key role in the European energy market but only if it can significantly increase its production volumes and ensure Russia remains on its best behavior as a partner and transit country. Yet, these are two rather big ifs to overcome.

By the Jamestown Foundation

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Russia and China are continuing to deepen their ties in spite of the Wests efforts to curb Russian energy dominance. Instead of encouraging a move away from Russian oil and natural gas, the U.S. and European sanctions have instead provided a cheap energy supply for the Asian market, for countries that are open to maintaining their relations with Russia, such as China and India.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a three-day state visit to Moscow, following successful discussions over the strengthening of the relationship between the two states. China and Russia have been gradually deepening their defence and trade ties over the last decade, and the recent introduction of sanctions on Russian energy from the West is now presenting China with an opportunity to boost trade relations with the superpower.

Analysts are now suggesting that it may not be only trade that is improved, with the potential for Russia and China to boost their geopolitical, economic, and military connections. The two powers have often agreed on geopolitical goals, such as putting restrictions on NATOs military power and encouraging a more multi-polar world. In addition, neither state has tried to hide its distrust of the West, having worked hard to establish their own allegiances and supply chains with non-Western countries.

Alicja Bachulska, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, stated If you look at the trajectory of China-Russia relations within the last decade, bilateral ties between the two countries have really developed tremendously. Bachulska added Its basically about certain strategic interests, that are very close to both Beijing and Moscow at this point For both Russia and China, the main interest is to weaken the U.S.-led international order, thats their primary goal, long term and short term.

The possibility of strengthening Russias relationship with China is important to Putin who has burned bridges with many of the worlds other leading powers. The meeting comes following news that the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes against Ukraine during the conflict. While China has avoided stating its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has not condemned it either, leaving the door open for its relationship with Putin.

In January and February, Russia raced ahead of Saudi Arabia as Chinas biggest crude supplier. China has been eager to buy Russian oil at discounted prices, with its imports rising by 23.8 percent year over year to a total of 1.94 million bpd. And now Russia hopes to increase its gas exports to China, a topic that was discussed by the two country leaders in a week China referred to as a journey of friendship. Russia, until recently the worlds biggest exporter of gas, has seen its exports fall dramatically over the last year, since its conflict with Ukraine. This is largely due to sanctions imposed by several countries around the globe. It now hopes to boost its gas shipments to China, but this would require the construction of new pipelines going east. Meanwhile, Xi emphasised his support for the deepening of energy ties between China and Russia, so long as it maintains international energy security and supply chains. While Russia has faced extensive sanctions from the West, China has not been able to avoid western restrictions either. Since the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. imposed new export controls on microelectronics to China, as well as adding 110 new Chinese enterprises to its partial exports sanctions list.The U.S. has long considered Russia and China as the key strategic adversaries, and the worsening of its relationships with each state has driven the U.S. to strengthen its regional energy security and establish new supply chains with allied countries. This action has driven China to look for ways to improve its relationship with Russia, as well as foster new partnerships across Asia.

Related: EV Slump Forces Chinas Top Lithium Producers To Set Price Floor

China continues to rely heavily on several countries worldwide for the import of its raw materials, as well as continuing to depend on foreign export markets to drive its economic growth. However, Xi has introduced several policies to encourage economic diversification and ensure stability. He has stimulated domestic consumption to help drive down dependence on foreign exports and hopes to boost the trade of raw materials with Moscow to reduce its reliance on other powers. And this plan appears to be working, with trade between the two states increasing by a third in 2022 to $190 billion.

As well as the potential benefits of deepening its ties with Russia, China could benefit from seeing the situation between the West and Russia play out. Partnering with Russia will allow Xi to understand how Putin responds to heavy Western sanctions and allow him to study its survival experience. Chinas contribution to Russias economy could also help keep Western attention focused on Russia rather than itself, as an adversary.

As China and Russia deepen their geopolitical and economic ties, the rest of the world  particularly the West  is feeling increasingly threatened by the new power bloc. Working together, the two states could build strong supply chains and provide one another with the energy and other resources needed to ensure economic growth, even without the help of the West. Whether this improved relationship between China and Russia will change the U.S. and Europes approach to sanctions on the two powers is still unknown, but the race to diversify Western energy sources and supply chains suggests that the region is preparing itself for whatever may come.

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Borsheims

Sunil Luthra Chief Operating Officer

Borsheims has promoted Sunil Luthra to Chief Operating Officer. In his new role, Luthra will oversee and lead the operational teams at Borsheims including Information Technology, Security, Customer Service, Gift Wrap, Shipping, Facilities and the jeweler's in-house Repair Shop.

Formerly the Vice President of Technology and Security, Luthra is an officer of the company and a member of the executive leadership team. He joined Borsheims in 2010 as the Director of Information Technology and introduced new strategies that drove innovation, efficiency, automation and higher data security standards for Borsheims.

Luthra has a successful history of leading strategic projects and teams for the company's clients and employees. He implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that streamlined inventory management, data analysis, product fulfillment and financial operations for the business. And he worked to digitally transform Borsheims' external communication processes to meet changing market demands and bring additional value to the customer experience.

Borsheims President and CEO Karen Goracke praised Luthra's contributions, stating "As COO, Sunil's enthusiasm and commitment to success will bring a new perspective to our operational areas. His vision and strategy for technology and operations will further align us for future efficiencies and growth."

Luthra is the co-founder and co-chairman of the Adaptive Jewelry Users Group. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Luthra was born in New Delhi, India and currently resides in Omaha with his wife and three children.
Tenaska Marketing Ventures Announces Executive Leadership Promotions, Retirement

Tenaska Marketing Ventures (TMV), the natural gas marketing affiliate of Omaha-based energy company Tenaska, is pleased to announce the promotions of four key executives to further enhance TMV's customer-centric culture and reputation as a top marketer in the natural gas industry. This new leadership structure will report to Mark Whitt, President of TMV, and is aligned with the retirement of Lori Bruck, Chief Marketing Officer, effective March 31.

Effective April 1, 2023, William (Bill) Geis and Kristen Gould will both become Executive Vice Presidents of Origination, North America, overseeing the company's strong Origination activities across North America and Chris Forsman and Matthew Millard will both be promoted to Executive Vice President of Trading, overseeing Trading activities for Tenaska's gas marketing companies.

Lori Bruck joined TMV in 2000 and has held several key leadership roles within TMV over the course of her successful 23-year career with the company. Her vision, leadership and commitment to customer service were instrumental in expanding TMV's Origination activities and the Origination team, growing the company's vast network of storage and transportation assets. Bruck has more than 30 years of experience in the natural gas industry.

Bill Geis joined Tenaska in 1994 and has served in a variety of roles and departments over his 29 years with the company. In his previous position within TMV, Geis headed a team of Originators who focused on customers in the Midcontinent, Texas, and Gulf Coast regions of the U.S, including LNG export customers. As Executive Vice President of Origination, North America, Geis will lead the Origination team responsible for the entire U.S. footprint to the East of the Rockies and will oversee TMV's Customer Solutions & Strategy team.

Kristen Gould joined the company in 2000 and has held various Trading and Origination leadership roles over the course of her more than 20 years at TMV. Gould was instrumental in building TMV's customer base in Canada and experienced team in Calgary and Vancouver. As Executive Vice President of Origination, North America, Gould will lead the Origination team responsible for all of Canada and the Western U.S. footprint to drive momentum in those regions.

Chris Forsman joined the company in 2001 and has held various leadership roles overseeing Marketing and Trading activities for the Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast and eastern seaboard, including a diverse portfolio of transportation and storage assets. As Executive Vice President of Trading, Forsman will have responsibility over the Trading activities for the upper Midwest, Western U.S., and all Western Canada.

Matt Millard joined the company in 2008 and has held various leadership roles overseeing Marketing and Trading activities for the Midwest, Western U.S. and West Canada, including a diverse portfolio of transportation and storage assets. As Executive Vice President of Trading, Millard will have responsibility over the Trading activities for the Mid-Continent, Texas, Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard areas.
Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance have awarded Jaffery Insurance & Financial Services a 2023 Make More Happen Award for its volunteerism with Avas Army, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding life-saving pediatric Leukemia research.

The award includes an initial donation of $5,000 for Avas Army, which can be doubled to $10,000 just by having community supporters vote online.

Jaffery Insurance & Financial Services and Avas Armys Agent Giving story will be highlighted on the official Make More Happen microsite at agentgiving.com/jaffery-insurance where supporters can vote to help the team reach their donation goal. If the featured story receives a mix of at least 500 votes and comments, the $5,000 donation will be raised to $10,000.

Nebraska ranks in the top 25% highest pediatric cancer incidence rates in the U.S. but ranks sixth in mortality rates and every four days a Nebraska child will be diagnosed with cancer. The funds will be used to continue Avas Armys fight to fundraise and advocate for pediatric Leukemia research.

Supporting Avas Army since January 2021, the agency has participated in many of the organizations fundraising events.
Last fall, Dr. Maryanne Stevens, president of the College of St. Mary, was named the 2022 Woman of the Year at the inaugural Inspire: Celebrating Womens Leadership Awards luncheon. She told over 600 attendees, its the college and working here that has inspired me.

Dr. Stevens and the other remarkable women who were honored are wonderful examples of inspired leadership.

The Inspire program was developed to celebrate these extraordinary leaders. And we couldnt be more excited to do it again. But we cant do it without your help.

Im excited to share that nominations are now open for all award categories. Wed love to hear from you about the women you see making an impact on our community, along with young women preparing for leadership roles. Go to Inspire-Omaha.com to nominate the women who Inspire.

In 2022, over 400 nominations were received. We know this year is going to top that exponentially.

We also couldnt do it without our presenting sponsor, Union Bank and Trust. From the inception of Inspire nearly a decade ago, Union Bank and Trust has supported the program every step of the way.

Its so special when hundreds of women are nominated and all are celebrated in some way, shape or form for their unique life journeys yet similar traits that have lifted them up as successful leaders and role models, said Carol Ash, vice president of marketing at Union Bank and Trust. Our team has been honored to support this wonderful and growing community that lifts womens achievements throughout Nebraska and gives so many people reasons to truly be inspired.

The Inspire 2022 category award winners were:

Excellence in Business (large): Carmen Tapio, owner and CEO of North End Teleservices

Excellence in Business (small-medium): Tricia Riggins, managing partner at RG & Associates

Excellence in Education: Abby Fehr, principal of Rose Hill Elementary

Excellence in Public Service: Gina Tomes, family life director at Bethlehem House

Community Volunteer: Dr. Anne Hubbard, CEO and president of Claire M. Hubbard Foundation

Excellence in Healthcare: Dr. Kristine McVea, chief medical officer and physician of OneWorld Community Health Center

Inspire $5000 Scholarship provided by North End Teleservices: Valentina Arriola, Little Sister in the BBBSM program

Visionary Award: Ashley Kuhn, president of Blair Freeman Group

Young Leaders Award: Alajia McKizia, freelance artist and curator

Presented by Union Bank & Trust, the 2023 Inspire Womens Leadership Awards luncheon will be held on Nov. 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the CHI Health Center Omaha. For sponsorship information or details about participating in this event, contact Cheri Dickmeyer at 402-444-1264 or cheri.dickmeyer@owh.com.

I look forward to seeing you at this years lunch when we honor a new group of inspiring women.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
(CNN)  The US Army has identified the nine soldiers who were killed in a nighttime training accident on Wednesday evening, when two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed in a field near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

An Army news release identified the soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division who were killed in the incident as Warrant Officer 1 Jeffrey Barnes, 33; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27; Staff Sgt. Joshua Gore, 25; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23.

"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), said in a statement on 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."

The medical evacuation helicopters were conducting a routine training mission when they crashed at approximately 10:00 pm local time in an open field across from a residential area. All nine of the service members aboard the two aircraft were killed in the accident.

Lt. Col. Anthony Hoefler, a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, told CNN that earlier reports that a total of four helicopters were taking part in the training exercise were incorrect.

He said in a statement Saturday that "there were only two aircraft involved in the training flight at the time of the accident. There were other aircraft in the airspace conducting different training flights at the time of the accident, which is why multiple aircraft were able to respond quickly to the accident site."

It's still unclear what caused the crash; a team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, is currently on-site and investigating the incident, the Army said Friday.

The nine soldiers who were killed came from all different backgrounds. Barnes, an aeromedical evacuation pilot, enlisted in the Army from Florida in 2010, going on to deploy to Afghanistan with the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, according to service records provided by the Army. Bolanos, a UH-60 helicopter repairer and air crew member born in the Philippines, enlisted out of Texas in 2019 and in 2020 served for nine months in Germany as part of Atlantic Resolve. A native Texan, Esparza enlisted out of Missouri in 2010 and had served as an instructor pilot for the brigade since October 2021.

Gayo, also born in the Philippines, joined the Army in 2019 out of California. Gore joined the Army in 2015, and had served as a flight paramedic for the brigade since May 2022. Healy had been serving as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the brigade since 2022, after having joined the Army in 2010. Mitchell enlisted in 2014, and was also serving as a flight paramedic for the brigade.

Smith, from Florida, joined the Army in 2012; he served as an instructor pilot in the brigade and had deployed to Afghanistan twice, in addition to a nine-month rotation in Germany in support of Atlantic Resolve. Solinas, a flight paramedic, joined the service in 2018.

Wednesday's accident was the deadliest aviation training incident since 2015 when 11 service members were killed when a Black Hawk crashed off the coast of Florida.

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to clarify the number of Black Hawk helicopters involved in the fatal training exercise in Kentucky based on a Saturday statement from the 101st Airborne Division.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "US Army identifies nine soldiers killed in Black Hawk training accident."
WYNNE, Ark.  Storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes killed at least 21 people across the South and Midwest, tearing a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage's scope.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees, and lay waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The dead included seven in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, four in Illinois, and three in nearby Sullivan, Indiana.

Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where the mayor said more than 2,000 buildings were in a tornado's path.

Stunned residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school's roof shredded and its windows blown out.

Debris and memories of regular life lay scattered inside the damaged shells of homes and strewn on lawns: clothing, insulation, roofing paper, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.

"I'm sad that my town has been hit so hard," said Heidi Jenkins, a salon owner. "Our school is gone, my church is gone. I'm sad for all the people who lost their homes."

Recovery was underway, with workers using chain saws to cut fallen trees and bulldozers moving material from shattered structures.

At least seven people died in Tennessee's McNairy County, east of Memphis along the Mississippi border, said David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville.

"The majority of the damage has been done to homes and residential areas," Leckner said, adding that though it appeared all people were accounted for, crews were going door to door to be sure.

In Belvidere, Illinois, some of the 260 people attending a heavy metal concert at the Apollo Theatre pulled a 50-year-old man from the rubble after part of the roof collapsed; he was dead when emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 other people were injured, including two with life-threatening injuries.

"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," concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV.

Crews worked Saturday to clean up around the Apollo, with forklifts pulling away loosely hanging bricks. Business owners picked up shards of glass and covered shattered windows.

Down the street from the Apollo stood a mural with an oversized black-and-white photograph of schoolchildren battling strong winds and rain after an especially violent tornado ravaged the rural town on April 21, 1967, killing 24.

In Crawford County, Illinois, three people were killed and eight others injured after a tornado hit around New Hebron, said Bill Burke, the county board chair.

That's not far from where three people were killed in Indiana's Sullivan County, about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said at a news conference that an area south of the county seat of about 4,000 "is essentially unrecognizable right now" and that several people were rescued from rubble overnight. There were reports of as many as 12 people injured, he said, and search-and-rescue teams combed damaged areas.

"Quite frankly, I'm really, really shocked there isn't more as far as human issues," he said, adding that recovery "is going to be a very long process."

In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, authorities said. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott said that 2,100 homes and businesses were in the tornado's path, but that no assessment had been done on how many were damaged.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was a high-end EF3 twister with wind speeds up to 165 mph and a path as long as 25 miles.

A suspected tornado killed a woman in northern Alabama's Madison County, said county official Mac McCutcheon. In northern Mississippi's Pontotoc County, officials confirmed one death and four injuries.

The storms struck just hours after President Joe Biden visited the Mississippi community of Rolling Fork, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of town.

Tornadoes also caused damage in eastern Iowa, and broke windows on cars and buildings northeast of Peoria, Illinois.

It could take days to determine the exact number of tornadoes, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the Storm Prediction Center. There were also hundreds of reports of large hail and damaging winds, he said.

"That's a quite active day," he said. "But that's not unprecedented."

Hundreds of thousands lost power because of the sprawling storm system that also brought wildfires to the southern Plains and blizzard conditions to the Upper Midwest, and left in its wake high winds. A threat of tornadoes and hail remained for the Northeast, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New York.

More than 530,000 homes and businesses in the affected area lacked power at midday Saturday, over 200,000 of them in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.
CHICAGO  The voting precinct could have been any one of hundreds throughout Chicago, except that these voters in the first round of the mayoral election were all wearing the same beige smocks. And the security at this polling place wasn't intended to keep disrupters and campaigners out, but the voters in.

When first-time voter Tykarri Skillon finished studying the list of nine candidates, looking for those who shared his priorities on jobs and affordable housing, he marked his ballot and then was escorted with other voters back to their cells in the Cook County Jail. "It feels good to have a voice," he said after casting his ballot during early voting.

The 25-year-old, awaiting trial on a weapons charge, is part of a group not always mentioned in discussions about voting disenfranchisement. People serving sentences for felony convictions lose their right to vote. Detainees awaiting trial or serving misdemeanor sentences do retain that right, but face barriers to exercising it in many parts of the United States.

The Cook County Jail, with more than 5,500 inmates and detainees, is one of several lockups where voting rights advocates worked with local election and jail officials to offer voting for those held there. The list includes jails in Denver; Harris County, Texas; Los Angeles County; and the District of Columbia.

The most recent survey from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, released last December, showed that 451,400 of the 636,300 people held in jails across the country had not been convicted and thus should retain their right to vote.

Voting rights for pretrial detainees and inmates serving sentences for misdemeanors were upheld in a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1974, in a case from New York, O'Brien v. Skinner.

Despite that ruling, voting rights advocates say a "de facto disenfranchisement" exists because of mistakes over eligibility and the difficulties that detainees and prisoners face in registering or voting.

In a 2020 report, the Prison Policy Initiative focused on three main reasons: registration is difficult due to issues such as mail-in ballot deadlines and voter ID laws; detention does not meet the criteria for absentee voting in some jurisdictions; and the churn of the jail populations.

At least one state, Tennessee, had a bill introduced this year to address one of the barriers. Being in jail as a pretrial detainee is not one of the reasons considered valid for granting a mail ballot request, said Democratic state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, the bill's sponsor. Yabro, who recently announced he was running for mayor of Nashville, wants that changed.

In Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, about 75% of the nearly 10,000 people held in jail are pretrial. The sheriff's department established a polling place there in 2019, working with the county elections office, and allowed voting during the past two election cycles. Before that, detainees voted only by mail.

The move started in 2017 with the Houston Justice Coalition and an initiative known as Project Orange that helped register thousands of detainees and taught them how to navigate the mail ballot process, Nadia Hakim, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Elections Administration, said in an email.

However, someone booked after the mail ballot deadline would not be able to request a mail ballot, Hakim said. With the in-jail polling place, all detainees can vote, as well as members of the staff and public because machines are available in secure and public spaces. In last November's election, 528 people checked in to vote there, including detainees, employees and members of the public, she said.

In California, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Capt. Roel Garcia said staff members let pretrial detainees know they can register, vote and hold voter registration drives. Garcia said the department works with groups such as the League of Women Voters to get information to the detainees about candidates and issues on the ballot.

The department and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk teamed up on a pilot program since 2020 that allows voting in two jails. There are plans to expand it to all eight county jails in 2024.

Registrar Dean Logan said as many as 11,700 people could be eligible at a given time when the voting goes countywide and it could serve as a model for other counties.

A 2019 state law required jails to take steps to enable voting by detainees who have not been convicted. Smaller jails aren't required to have polling stations but must arrange for absentee ballots.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said the jail helps organize classes to instruct inmates and detainees on everything from the electoral process to the rationale behind judicial elections. Detainees are able to tune in to televised candidate debates.

"Their election IQ is off the charts," Dart said. "Participation level, turnout  is higher than it is outside."

The sheriff's office said about 1,500 inmates and detainees  roughly 27% of the jail's population  voted during the first round of the Chicago mayoral election.

The Chicago Board of Elections brought in several voting booths this year along with a large ballot-collection machine and put them in a section of the jail called "the chapel," normally used for religious services and small concerts.

With just a few guards, half a dozen board of elections staff managed the jail polling stations, first helping with registration.

Major civil rights moments in every state Major civil rights moments in every state Alabama: Rosa Parks takes a stand Alaska: A night at the movies transforms a culture Arizona: Arizonans refuse to show their papers Arkansas: Little Rock 9 go to school California: Immigrant farmworkers stand up Colorado: A cultural rainbow gets results Connecticut: Women get some privacy Delaware: A road to Brown v. Board is paved Florida: A sea change starts in a swimming pool Georgia: A King is born Hawaii: The struggle for Native rights continues Idaho: Idaho beats the country to the punch Illinois: Chicago takes on Northern racism Indiana: A state desegregates early Iowa: Iowa advances in 1868 Kansas: Plessy v. Ferguson meets its end Kentucky: Breonna Taylor becomes a martyr for the movement Louisiana: A little girl brings a burden to school Maine: Original Mainers get whats theirs Maryland: A suspicious death spotlights police violence Massachusetts: Integration arrives by bus Michigan: A white jury delivers justice Minnesota: A final breath triggers a revolution Mississippi: A boys murder galvanizes a movement Missouri: Ferguson erupts Montana: A woman goes to Washington Nebraska: A victim becomes an activist Nevada: A holiday validates a struggle New Hampshire: MLK gets his due New Mexico: Early Latino lawmakers blaze a trail New York: A community pushes back at Stonewall North Carolina: The volatile busing strategy is born North Dakota: The Sioux take a stand for water Ohio: A child dies in Cleveland Oklahoma: A child gets a burger Oregon: Portland protests ignite Pennsylvania: A pool party proves progress can be fleeting South Dakota: A government reconsiders holiday honors Tennessee: Integration begins in Clinton Texas: Juneteenth becomes official Utah: LDS church turns a page Vermont: Young Vermonters channel their outrage Virginia: Loving wins in Virginia Washington: Diversity finds a voice in Seattle West Virginia: A woman breaks barriers Wisconsin: Milwaukee risesand struggles Wyoming: Women get a vote and a voice
A Tecumseh, Nebraska, woman charged with felony motor vehicle homicide has asked a Johnson County judge to reduce her $250,000 bail.

Chelsy Kress, 36, is accused of causing the death of Logan Ascheman, 22, of Tecumseh on March 16. She is also charged with failure to stop and render aid as well as being in possession of a controlled substance, both felonies.

Kress must pay 10% of the bail amount, $25,000, to be released from jail. The judge has not ruled on whether the bail amount will be reduced.

Deputies from the Johnson County Sheriffs Office responded to a call from Kress about 2:30 a.m. on March 17. According to an affidavit, Kress called the sheriffs office to say that she believed she hit someone with her vehicle.

A deputy went to the area of First Street and the railroad tracks in Tecumseh and located Ascheman, who was deceased. The deputy then went to Kress home and found damage to her vehicle consistent with striking a pedestrian.

Investigators allege that surveillance video shows Kress traveling northbound on First Street about 10 p.m. on March 16. Kress, they claim, struck Ascheman with her vehicle and left the area without stopping to render aid.

Kress then returned home and did not contact law enforcement for four and a half hours after the incident, authorities say.
Theres a new bandleader at Offutt-based U.S. Strategic Command.

Same tune, new tone.

During congressional testimony last month, StratCom chief Gen. Anthony Cotton urged legislators to keep on track with the modernization of the aging U.S. nuclear triad as a counter to growing threats from Russia, China and North Korea.

Cottons message was similar to that of his predecessor in the StratCom command suite, Adm. Charles Richard. But while Richards rhetoric about the threats facing the U.S. grew more apocalyptic as he neared retirement last December, Cotton is taking a less aggressive approach.

He was very shrewd in the way he interacted with the senators, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, an arms-control group. He wasnt creating any enemies. He didnt come out landing hard on a particular path.

Cotton called the massive U.S. upgrade that includes development of new ICBMs, ballistic-missile submarines, strategic stealth bombers, and gravity bombs a once in every-other-generation event that will ensure we have capable forces into the 2080s, in a statement delivered March 8 and 9 to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

Later, during his testimony, Cotton labeled Russias invasion of Ukraine an attempt to undermine the rules-based international order ... by conventional forces backed with nuclear saber-rattling.

Chinas rapid nuclear expansion  including the current construction of hundreds of missile silos in its remote western desert  gives them an alarming number of offensive options that can negatively shape the environment before and during a crisis or conflict, Cotton testified, and is wholly inconsistent with the long-professed policy of minimal deterrence.

And North Korea, he added, continues to be a rogue actor and poses a threat to the United States and our allies.

Because of these threats, Cotton said, the modernization programs that we have today ... we have lost all margin and we must ensure that those programs are fully funded and executed.

In his three years at the helm of StratCom, Richard pulled no punches with his blunt warnings about the threats from Asia. Kristensen called him a gung-ho hard-liner.

He made waves in a speech to the Naval Submarine League in which he described the Ukraine war as only a prelude to the big one  a prolonged conflict with China, according to the defense website The War Zone.

As I assess our level of deterrence against China, the ship is slowly sinking, Richard said. As these curves keep going, it isnt going to matter how good our (operating plan) is or how good our commanders are, or how good our horses are  were not going to have enough of them.

The War Zone described Richards comments as absolutely some of the most dire we have heard from a top U.S. official in regard to the threat posed by Chinas growing military might.

Richards advice sometimes put him at odds with his own commander-in-chief. Last year he counseled Congress to move ahead with building a new submarine-launched nuclear cruise missile (called SLCM-N), a program initiated during the Trump administration but one that President Joe Biden planned to cancel. It is still on the drawing board, and Congress so far has preserved funding.

Christopher Yeaw, a nuclear deterrence analyst with the University of Nebraskas National Strategic Research Institute who was an author of the Trump administrations 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, said a weapon with the low-yield capabilities of the SLCM-N is needed because of Russias large edge in tactical nuclear weapons, and Chinas rapid gains.

Yeaw called them demonstrably dangerous rivals who wouldnt hesitate to exploit a gap in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

If you dont have an option to respond to a nuclear (threat) with a nuclear option, it looks to the adversary like youre unwilling to respond to nuclear strikes, Yeaw said.

Kristensen believes the U.S. doesnt really need an expensive weapon it has lived without for 30 years and would take years to build. He said the U.S. still has a low-yield air-launched cruise missile in its arsenal as well as effective non-nuclear weapons that are less likely to escalate a future conflict.

He said Russia and China have more shorter-range, lower-yield weapons because of their need to hit targets that are closer to their own frontiers  in places like Italy and Great Britain for Russia, and Japan and South Korea for China. In contrast, almost every potential target for a U.S. strike requires long-range missiles.

Theres a fixation on the weapon system. Its not the weapon, its communicating your intentions, Kristensen said. We have to be careful we dont try to mirror our thinking on our adversary.

In his congressional testimony, Cotton offered reassurances about StratComs current capabilities while deferring questions about individual weapons systems to a closed, classified hearing.

He didnt specifically back the SLCM-N, but he did cite the need for a low-yield, non-ballistic, non-generating weapon system  which, stripping away the jargon, matches the sub-launched cruise missile.

Under questioning by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, he acknowledged that SLCM-N would address our adversarys perceived advantage of limited use.

Last year, Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, also a Republican, brokered a bipartisan deal to continue funding for the program. In the March 9 hearing, she urged Cotton to use the unfunded priorities list to seek whatever is needed to counter new threats.

Many of the assumptions baked into fiscal year 2024 budget were made in 2021, she said. The geopolitical environment has significantly changed over the last two years.

Fischer asked Cotton about the need for the B83 nuclear gravity bomb, a 1.2-megaton monster from the Cold War. It packs three times the atomic punch of any other weapon in the U.S. arsenal and is about 80 times as powerful as the bomb that obliterated part of Hiroshima, Japan, near the end of World War II.

Though not designed as a bunker-buster, the B83s main purpose in StratComs modern war plans is to destroy underground command and control facilities, like the ones thought to be beneath Kosvinsky and Yamantau mountains in Russia. The Pentagon calls them hard and deeply buried targets, or HDBTs.

At one time, the U.S. kept 660 of the B83s in its arsenal, but now there are only about 50. They are scheduled for retirement in the late 2020s, and no replacement is yet planned. They will require a costly life-extension program if they are to remain ready for use.

In his testimony, Cotton told Fischer the Pentagon is nearing completion of a study on how to contend with HDBTs.

Whether conventional or nuclear, were going to have a strategy to figure out how to do that, Cotton said. Right now, the B83 is still part of my arsenal.

With Chinas military expanding and the U.S. and Russia in conflict over Ukraine, Yeaw doubts the wisdom of scrapping the bomb now.

In keeping the B83, the U.S. demonstrates commitment, he said. Is this really the right time for the U.S. to step back? That impression would embolden our adversaries.

Cotton advised Congress in a letter earlier this year that China had passed the United States in its number of ICBM launchers, causing alarm on the armed services committees. The U.S. has 450, including 82 in western Nebraska.

StratCom has projected that China will field 1,500 warheads by 2035. That number that is still far lower than the U.S. or Russia, which have inventories of more than 5,000 weapons.

Still, Kristensen counseled against panic over the Chinese buildup. He noted in a blog post theres no evidence that all of the silos seen on satellite imagery actually contain missiles  or that any missiles contain multiple warheads, as StratComs projections have assumed.

Kristensen said that projection depends on a lot of worst-case assumptions. And he said past Defense Department predictions regarding our adversaries nuclear strength have often proved to be inflated.

We have no way of knowing if the Chinese are going to churn out warheads at that steady rate, Kristensen said. To get to 1,500, you have to assume a worst-case scenario.

Photos: Offutt Air Force Base through the years
The campaign train of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, roared into Katsina, yesterday, to a rousing reception as thousands of supporters thronged the Dikko Stadium, venue of his rally in the state.

With a pledge to reverse what he described as policies of underdevelopment of the ruling All Progressive Party (APC), Atiku urged security agencies not to allow themselves to be used by anti-democratic forces to scuttle the will of the people during the forthcoming general election.

I urge the police, military, civil defence corps and other security agencies to resist any attempt by any political party to draw them into partisan politics.

Your mandate is to provide security for the electorate and ensure peaceful elections.

You must not interfere in the process, you must conduct yourselves professionally during the elections, Atiku said, just as he told the youths and prospective voters to make sure that your votes are counted at the polling unit level so that nobody will change the figures.

As you are aware, the APC government has failed in its promises on poverty eradication, provision of job opportunities but, when I am elected, I promise to fix all these issues and return Nigeria to the path of sustainable development, Atiku said.

Also addressing the rally, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, alleged there is a plot by the APC adminstration to rig the results of the polls.

He explained that the recent redeployment of police commissioners, across the country was designed to enact that plot.

According to Secondus, the mass turnout at the Katsina rally was indication that the people, have already started celebrating the victory of the next president of Nigeria.

There is no doubt that the people are clamouring to vote Atiku Abubakar for president because he is the only one who can return security to the land.

And, for the PDP National Secretary, Senator Umar Tsauri, who is from Katsina, he told his kinsmen of their mission to the state.

We are here to present Atiku Abubakar to the people of Katsina state. You know that there is hunger in the land and your children no longer go to school.

The only person who can drive away hunger and poverty in the land is Atiku Abubakar.

If you vote PDP, we shall go back to where we were before the APC government came and dragged us backwards.

The Atiku campaign train had earlier visited the emirs of Daura and Katsina.
A former Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro says those protesting & kicking against the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29 should not turn the country into a banana republic.

Obanikoro, also a former Ambassador to Ghana made the remark while speaking with journalists on the sideline of the 9th Ramadan Lecture of Anwar-Ul Islam College, Agege Old Students Association on Saturday in Lagos.

The lecture was titled, Islamic Perspective of a Good Governance: Any Lesson for Nigeria? He said: They are daydreaming. There is no perfect election anywhere in the world. For anyone that is not satisfied, what is next is to go through the judiciary.

If you feel aggrieved, go to the court. We cannot turn Nigeria into a banana republic. Our system is not perfect; it is a work in progress.

We have to continue to work at it until we get to a situation that all of us will be comfortable with.
According to a report by Premium Times, the trial of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal and five others before Justice Jude Okeke of Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) High Court Maitama has been adjourned to September 18, 2019.

Mr Lawal along with his younger brother, Hamidu Lawal, Suleiman Abubakar and Apeh Monday are facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside two companies, Rholavision Engineering (fifth defendant) and Josmon Technologies (sixth defendant) on amended 10-count charge, bordering on fraud, diversion of funds and criminal conspiracy to the tune of over N500 million.

One of the charges reads: That you Engineer Babachir David Lawal, while being the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and a director of Rholavision Engineering Ltd on or about the 22nd August 2016 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, did knowingly hold indirectly private interest in the contract awarded to Josmon Technological Ltd but executed by Rholavision Engineering Ltd for the removal of invasive plant species and simplified irrigation to the tune of N258,132,735.99 (Two Hundred and Fifty Eight Million, One hundred and Thirty Two Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty Five Naira) only, by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) though the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 12 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

At the Thursday, July 4, 2019, resumed trial, the first prosecution witness, Hamza Buwai, a civil servant with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, who was the Head of Finance, Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) concluded his testimony .

Mr Buwai told the court that there was yet another grass cutting project, which started in 2016, covering 250km, which involved irrigation on motorised boat in Yobe State, along the river.

This contract, the witness said, was for N258 million, awarded to Josmon Technologies (the sixth defendant), with Rholavision (the fifth defendant) as the consultant.

Mr Buwai further disclosed that after N225 million has been paid on the contract and with about 75 per cent of the work done, the first evaluation certificate was issued by Rholavision, adding that, When the documents of procurement came to me for request for payment to the contractors for the sum ofN225million through the Permanent Secretary, Special Service Office in the office of the SGF, the approval was given and payment was made to Josmon Technologies and on completion of the project, a final evaluation certificate was given by Rholavision the consultant for payment in favour of Josmon Technologies.

Mr Buwai further revealed that for the payment of the remaining 25 per cent, two vouchers were issued in favour of Josmon Technologies with one capturing the sum of N182.95 million and inclusive of N10.2million for withholding tax and N10.2 million for value added tax, while the other voucher captured the sum of N49.37 million with N2.7 million for withholding tax and another N2.7 for value added tax.

He told the court that in the preceding project, the payment of N12.9 million was raised by Rholavision to Josmon Technologies in its second evaluation and that it was paid excluding contingency. He informed the court that before the payment was made, the total contract sum was for N272 million, while the first evaluation cost was N225 million, including withholding tax and value added tax of five per cent each.

Mr Buwai explained that the reason for the difference in the evaluation sums was due to the contingency sum of about N35 million in the project. He said that was why a payment of N12.9million was made, observing that the cost of two motorised boats was removed because the sixth defendant, Josmon Technologies indicated the use of some of our vehicles and we removed the difference of payment for motorised boats.

He added that a balance of 50 per cent to Rholavision was paid for consultancy.

The witness further informed the court that he raised the request for approval of payment through the permanent secretary and got the approval for the N12.9million paid to Josmon Technologies and N3.5million for Rholavision and that the payments were made through the GIFMIS platform.

Justice Okeke adjourned the matter to September 18 and September 24, 2019 for continuation of trial.
Zamfara State Governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle has ordered all school principals and feeding officers in the state to henceforth eat the food they serve students or face dismissal.

Mawalle gave the order after after meeting secondary students eating substandard food contrary to the agreement with the principals and feeding officers in the state.

The governor, who was not happy with the quality of food he met in the two schools he visited, directed that Henceforth, the principals and the feeding officers throughout the state must eat the same food they cook for their students or be dismissed.

The visibly angry governor made it compulsory for the officials to eat together with the students amidst cheers from the visibly elated students.

You must henceforth eat your food with your students and I will keep you on watch so that those who violate the order would be dismissed Matawalle directed.

He personally supervised the compulsory eating of the sudstandard food by Principal and staff of Goverment Science Secondary School Gusau and Government Girls Secondary School Gusau.

The Governor expressed his dismay with the type of food provided to the students, in spite of huge amount of money being spent by the government on the program.

Matawalle warned that henceforth, his administration would deal decisively with such negative attitude by those entrusted with the responsibility.

He noted that the state government has been providing all necessary food items for the students and must therefore be delivered to them appropriately or face the wrath of his administration. This directive, Governor Matawalle said, applies across the state.




George Akume bows to greet Regina Daniels

Nigerians have lambasted a former governor of Benue state, George Akume and currently the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs for bowing his head to greet 20 year-old Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels.

The incident happened after the former governor met with Regina Daniels husband, Ned Okonkwo at an event.

Since the photo appeared online, Nigerians have been calling the ex-governor many names for bowing to a little girl. Some wondered what must have made such a respected former governor and senator of a state to bow for Regina Daniels.

Many believe Regina Daniels is the one that should have bowed to the former governor and senator because of her age.

See reactions below:
BLOOMINGTON  A 39-year-old woman has died after a Sunday morning crash in downtown Bloomington.

The Bloomington Police Department responded at 7:19 a.m. to a crash involving two SUVs at the intersection of Washington and East streets, according to a BPD news release issued later that morning.

A Pantagraph reporter on the scene observed that one of the vehicles was overturned.

The occupants from the vehicles were transported to local hospitals with injuries, BPD said. One passenger, a 39-year-old female, was pronounced deceased on the scene by the McLean County Coroner's Office.

A one-block radius around the scene was blocked off as crews worked the scene. The roads reopened after 11 a.m.

The crash remains under investigation by BPD and the coroner's office. Anyone with information should contact BPD at 309-820-8888.

Close Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Hartwig monitors his radio as fire crews fight a house fire at 1015 N. Evans St. on Friday, Feb. 25. Bloomington firefighter/paramedic Matthew Meyle checks over all the equipment on one of the department's paramedic rescue vehicles Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighters go through their equipment at the start of a shift, Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighter Ben Stalets assembles the insulation in his gear, Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighter/paramedic Matthew Meyle vacuums the carpet in the bunk area, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighter Buck Roux prepares his gear at the start of a shift, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. A Bloomington firefighter checks on food supplies in the department's kitchen, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. A Bloomington firefighter's gear sits stacked on the ready in advance of a call, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Photos: A look inside the Bloomington Fire Department Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Hartwig monitors his radio as fire crews fight a house fire at 1015 N. Evans St. on Friday, Feb. 25. Bloomington firefighter/paramedic Matthew Meyle checks over all the equipment on one of the department's paramedic rescue vehicles Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighters go through their equipment at the start of a shift, Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighter Ben Stalets assembles the insulation in his gear, Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighter/paramedic Matthew Meyle vacuums the carpet in the bunk area, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. Bloomington firefighter Buck Roux prepares his gear at the start of a shift, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. A Bloomington firefighter checks on food supplies in the department's kitchen, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington. A Bloomington firefighter's gear sits stacked on the ready in advance of a call, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the main fire station in downtown Bloomington.
BLOOMINGTON  A 27-year-old man is being held without bond after police said he strangled a woman and possessed meth Saturday in Bloomington.

An arrest affidavit sent to The Pantagraph by the McLean County State's Attorney's Office said officers were called early Saturday morning to a domestic battery report at a residence in Bloomington.

Documents said Demorian L. Washington, of Bloomington, began arguing with the victim after she picked him up from downtown and drove to the residence. The reports said a friend of Washington pulled up in another vehicle, and Washington chased the victim around the friend's car.

Arrest records said Washington slammed the woman to the ground and squeezed his hands around her neck. The report said the friend then pulled Washington off of the victim.

Police said they took Washington to the McLean County Jail, where they found a bag in his sock containing a substance that field tested positive for meth.

Washington is charged with aggravated domestic battery involving strangulation (Class 2 felony), unlawful possession of less than 5 grams of meth (Class 4 felony), and domestic battery (Class A misdemeanor).

A judge ordered Washington to be held without bond, pending a domestic violence risk assessment. His bond amount will be reviewed by the court in an April 7 hearing.

The judge also ordered him to have no contact with the victim or the residence. Washington's arraignment hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. April 21.
Six candidates  three incumbents and three challengers  are making their case for a spot on the Normal Town Council in Tuesday's election.

Running for three seats up for election are incumbents Kathleen Lorenz, Stan Nord and Karyn Smith, and challengers Andy Byars, Karl Sila and Marc Tiritilli.

Below, the candidates respond in their own words to questions about infrastructure needs, plans for the area known as Uptown South and the long-planned pedestrian underpass at Uptown Station and cannabis dispensaries.

Note: Byars and Smith chose to be interviewed by phone, while the other candidates submitted written responses.

Andy Byars

What are your thoughts on the Uptown South plan and the underpass development?

I'm excited for the Uptown South plan. I think the long-term investment in uptown has been successful. We created a really valuable asset for our community, have a really great community space and economic engine as well. So broadly speaking, I'm really excited for these projects to come to fruition. Obviously, we have to work on the details of working with local developers on exactly what's going to happen on the other side of the tracks, but by and large I'm excited for it.

What are your thoughts on a new cannabis dispensary in Normal?

The High Haven project was a very unique situation where you have a kind of a long-term traffic issue in that area, but I think the town felt, and I agree with that decision, (traffic) needs to be addressed before adding more development or industry to that area. I also think that decision, personally, should be an exception to the rule, which is that we have a zoning code that allows for cannabis dispensaries. Philosophically, I don't view them all that differently from a liquor store. If it meets all the standards of the town, generally speaking, we should approve it and allow it to operate.

What are your thoughts on town infrastructure and conditions of roads?

I think that due to to all the economic growth we've seen in Bloomington-Normal in recent years, it's offered an opportunity to really ramp up and beef up road improvement. We saw that with the budget that was just passed a few weeks back, that the resurfacing budget actually doubled, and I attribute that to us being a growing community with more people, more jobs, business, more revenue. So by and large, I'm excited for the opportunity to increase our investment in our infrastructure and I attribute that to economic growth, which is one of the important reasons why we need to keep growing so we can continue to have new revenue coming in to provide service to people.

Kathleen Lorenz

What are your thoughts on the Uptown South plan and the underpass development?

I will be an advocate for the development of the 8 acres adjacent to the existing Uptown footprint. Early design sessions envision a mix of residential, green space, some commercial (some have envisioned a small grocery), and of course more parking! I have participated in these early visioning sessions primarily as an observer, but I have also been an advocate to correct some of the problem areas of the north sides design, namely no space for Amtrak drop off/pick up, and improving safe passage for field trip participants visiting the Childrens Discovery Museum.

What are your thoughts on a new cannabis dispensary in Normal?

Given that this is an evolving industry, and our ordinance governing where cannabis businesses can locate  which was first written shortly after the state passed legislation legalizing recreational cannabis  needs to be updated to better align with the evolving state licensing guidelines and public sentiment. We need to do a lot of listening  to our residents and to the prospective business owners.

What are your thoughts on town infrastructure and conditions of roads?

Our sewer, water and stormwater infrastructure investment is $6 million to $10 million annually, and we have over 150 projects programmed in the next five years. The enterprise funds for water and sewer infrastructure are in good financial shape. We also continue to anticipate growth needs to be shovel ready with the underground infrastructure. Road maintenance will always be an issue, given our climate, that we must prioritize. I was pleased to vote for over $56 million in transportation projects for roads, sidewalks and bridges, including nearly $4 million programmed over the next two years to overhaul the roads and alleys in Savannah Green neighborhood.

Stan Nord

What are your thoughts on the Uptown South plan and the underpass development?

Uptown has many vacancies, and town-owned properties are rented well under market rates. Some are rented for as low as $1 per year. This shows that the market is not ready for more of the same. Uptown South was proposed as making a political statement by banning natural gas within it. I dont believe taxpayer dollars should be used to make a political statement on either side.

The underpass is a luxury amenity which has ballooned to the point that town staff refuse to provide current cost estimates. I fear it will cost local taxpayers multiples more than promised.

What are your thoughts on a new cannabis dispensary in Normal?

Cannabis dispensaries are legal within the state of Illinois and Normal. The Town has determined that dispensaries must have a special use permit to operate. As with other special use permits, a dispensary must identify a location that fits within the guidelines and will not be a detriment to the surrounding area.

What are your thoughts on town infrastructure and conditions of roads?

The roads outside of Uptown need more attention. Refilling the same potholes year after year is a temporary fix. The water mains in some areas have aged to the point that some residents intermittently receive brown water. Increased flushing of old water mains has minimized the symptoms, but the pipes continue to degrade, and they need replaced. Overall, I believe that for the past few decades, the priority focus has been to spend on wants and legacy projects. I would like to see a pause in the want spending and catchup on the decades of deferred maintenance of needed infrastructure.

Karl Sila

What are your thoughts on the Uptown South plan and the underpass development?

The underpass is a $30 million boondoggle to save people on an exercise trail 50 extra feet and provide town workers a picnic area and scenery. It ignores the real public safety problem many citizens have voiced: emergency vehicles being blocked when a train is stopped. The town needs to listen rather than blindly (or deafly?) pushing their flawed vision.

The way to determine if Uptown South is viable is to issue revenue bonds, not taxpayer bonds. If investors feel the project is worthwhile, they'll pay to support it rather than leave taxpayers holding the bill for tens of millions again.

What are your thoughts on a new cannabis dispensary in Normal?

Marijuana sales should be approached cautiously, not unlike when Normal first allowed alcohol sales. I expect a similar outcome  most of the naysayers' predictions will prove exaggerations and things will move forward from there. Or perhaps I'm wrong, in which case a slow, cautious approach will limit any negative impacts.

What are your thoughts on town infrastructure and conditions of roads?

Townspeople have complained for years about the deterioration of our roads, but the town instead put money towards pet projects and then paid a consultant to find (gasp) we have declining roads! And even now they're only spending enough to maintain our current level, so they have enough money for their underpass/park and other pet projects.

Likewise with some residents' brown drinking water and basement sewage backups.

We need a council with the compassion to respond to problems and concerns of citizens, not ignore them until political pressure makes them into problems and concerns of council members directly.

Karyn Smith

What are your thoughts on the Uptown South plan and the underpass development?

That's still just in the concept stage, so nothing is set in stone at this point, but it's an idea of when someone wants to develop in that area, these would be the restrictions as far as layout and sizing and preference. So it remains to be seen how it evolves as we get commercial developers looking at this and saying, "Oh yes, I want to be a part of that."

What are your thoughts on a new cannabis dispensary in Normal?

I do understand the concerns of residents about dispensaries because legalizing cannabis is new to Illinois and in Normal. Culturally, it has been slow to get away from what we in the South had called "blue laws" ... I get it that culturally Normal is more conservative on certain matters. However, we have crafted our ordinance to address these dispensaries, but please understand that we did this at a time when the state was limiting the number of licenses and so that was uppermost in our mind as we thought about it ... I think we have to recognize that there's a broader parameter that Normal is dealing with now and that alone will cause us to, I believe, go back and have a broader discussion about what our expectations (are). Having said all that, it has to be understood that the people seeking licenses now are operating under the current ordinance, and that is what we will have to use as our guidance when these come before council.

What are your thoughts on town infrastructure and conditions of roads?

I'm proud of the proactive approach that Normal takes in a lot of its efforts ... During my term on council, the water systems asked for funding for this model that they would create to replicate the water system and evaluate possible pressure points and make decisions about maintenance based on the information that that model could provide. Now with the road, we have the PACER system that quantifies the status of the roads and provides guidance on where our dollars would be most effective. So I think Normal's approach to infrastructure and road maintenance and core services of water and sewer is very sound. And I want to point out, we had doubled what we're spending on road services, but bear in mind, in the words of Erma Bombeck, "It's like stringing beads without a knot on the end." No matter how good of a job you do, we're always going to be battling winters here in Illinois and we have a limited timeframe in which to make repairs.

Marc Tiritilli

What are your thoughts on the Uptown South plan and the underpass development?

I do not support the current plan for Uptown South. It calls for tearing down and replacing a perfectly viable facility at huge expense. It promotes a large anchor building with no defined purpose. It is extravagant and wasteful. The plan invests tens of millions of dollars into government buildings that will not generate any tax revenue or significant economic activity. I support some aspects of the plan for community greenspaces and additional housing, but there are much better ways for this to be accomplished. The underpass is misguided and accomplishes little. Locating it on Linden would provide more benefits.

What are your thoughts on a new cannabis dispensary in Normal?

I am not opposed to a new cannabis dispensary in Normal. I believe the current council has done a poor job in managing the approval process. They have refused a license to people who have met the standards that the council had previously created. The recent applicants were a minority-owned business that would have been an asset to our town. This duplicity of action confuses the business community and makes our council look amateurish. The council needs to honor the rules it set up, or create a clearer set of guidelines. It then needs the integrity to follow those standards.

What are your thoughts on town infrastructure and conditions of roads?

The current administration dismisses the problem. Poor roads in Normal give the entire community a bad look. Prospective developers do not know where our boundaries end, so the reputation of the whole area suffers. College Avenue is an excruciating example where a local nuisance is also a highly visible gateway to the community, and the unfortunate backdrop to one of our most prestigious business partners. More coordination needs to happen with the City of Bloomington and the county to plan projects in ways that can minimize costs, downtime and redundancy. We can do a much better job in this area.

Photos: Scenes from Election Day in Bloomington-Normal
CHICAGO  As another election approaches, the Illinois Republican Party and its allies are facing a conundrum  urging followers to cast ballots by mail while trying not to alienate followers of former President Donald Trump, who continues to insist that mail-in votes are automatically corrupt.

Although most elections on Tuesday are officially nonpartisan, Republicans and allied groups are actively backing candidates in municipal, school and library board and other races.

The state GOP is pushing the use of mail-in ballots at the same time it is promoting election integrity training featuring a 2020 election denier. But the partys chairman has acknowledged the GOP faces an uphill battle if it doesnt jump in on voting by mail, even as the party hedges its language to appease the GOP core where Trump continues to hold strong sway.

For decades, Democrats have made absentee voting, and more recently, no-excuse voting by mail, a large part of their get-out-the-vote repertoire with great success. Republicans, even before Trump became a powerful force in GOP politics, preferred in-person voting, usually on the traditional election day.

Mail-in voting has increased steadily in Illinois, jumping from about 9% of the total ballots cast in 2018 to one-third of the ballots in the pandemic 2020 general election, according to the State Board of Elections. In last Novembers midterm, balloting by mail represented more than 19% of the total ballots cast.

Three years ago, the Cook County Republican Party, represented by a legal group founded by and associated with the right-leaning Illinois Policy Institute, went to federal court in an unsuccessful attempt to block expanded early-voting measures enacted by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers during the pandemic.

That law, which automatically sent vote-by-mail applications for the 2020 general election to residents who voted in previous elections, was a partisan voting scheme that will open the door to voter fraud and designed to directly disenfranchise voters disfavored by Pritzker, to dilute the votes of those disfavored by Pritzker, and to violate the secrecy of voting in Illinois, the Cook County GOP and its lawyers alleged in the lawsuit.

Now, vote-by-mail is backed by the state GOP as a necessary addition to boost Republican turnout and the Illinois Policy Institute has engaged in a campaign to encourage its use.

That comes as Trump  an announced 2024 presidential candidate who now stands indicted by a New York grand jury investigating payments of hush money to an adult film star  continues to disparage mail-in voting while repeating his false contention that the 2020 election was stolen from him because of election fraud.

Mail-in ballots are automatically corrupt, Trump said late last month in a conversation with Sean Hannity on Fox News that aired only days before the indictment was announced. If you have mail-in ballots, youre going to have very dishonest elections.

Acknowledging the divergent views within his own party, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy told members in a March 10 email that voting by mail was the elephant in the room before imploring them to use it to cast their ballots.

Democrats utilize vote by mail at a much higher rate than Republicans. Democrats have won many close elections on the strength of their vote by mail programs. Quite simply, Republicans will have an uphill battle in every election moving forward if we do not start utilizing vote by mail to our advantage, Tracy said.

With Illinois now authorizing voters to permanently receive vote-by-mail ballots, rather than having to apply with each election, Tracy said failure of Republicans to take advantage of it will disproportionately impact the results of our municipal elections, especially our local school boards.

We are acutely aware of problems with the vote-by-mail process. However, the harsh reality is that until we have the numbers in the legislature to change it, we have to play to win under the existing rules and we must increase Republican voter turnout by greater use of vote by mail, he said.

Tracy said there are genuine concerns about mail-in ballots to undermine fair and honest elections, but didnt elaborate. At the same time, he made the stark acknowledgment that there is relatively little increased risk of fraudulent abuse of your ballot when you vote by mail as opposed to voting in person.

The Illinois Policy Institute, whose allied Liberty Justice Center sought to block the pandemic-driven expansion of vote-by-mail in 2020, has sent permanent mail-in ballot applications to voters, and followed up with text messages to check if they were received. The drive is part of the institutes effort to back its favored local candidates, which followed a recruitment campaign for school boards.

The institute has gone so far as to promote a website debunking myths about voting by mail, including one that was a theme of the unsuccessful federal lawsuit:

MYTH: Encouraging more convenient voting options such as voting by mail is a plot from the political left. FALSE: Many Republican-dominated states have expanded the use of vote-at-home options, including Utah, a decidedly red state, which has become the fourth full vote-at-home state.

Individual Republicans have also sought to make the transition from espousing Trumps viewpoint to embracing vote-by-mail.

Jeanne Ives, a conservative former GOP state lawmaker from Wheaton who lost bids for governor and Congress, sent out an email to supporters of her bid for a U.S. House seat in April 2020 that contended Democrats were using COVID-19 as an excuse to expand vote-by-mail to advance their radical agenda and warned we cannot compromise the integrity of our elections.

But by July 1, Ives appeared in a video on social media standing in front of a post office to offer instructions to supporters on how to get and cast a mail ballot.

As Tracy, the head of the Illinois GOP, encourages mail-in voting in his weekly Chairmans Memo email to followers, he also is promoting a May 20 Statewide Election Integrity Summit in Orland Park that includes Carol Davis, a supporter of Trumps false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, as a featured speaker.

Davis, chair of the Illinois Conservative Union, has contended that vote-by-mail ballots are susceptible to fraud and are part of a Democratic plot to do away with in-person voting.

Despite the mixed Republican messaging, the top GOP leaders in the legislature have backed vote-by-mail.

House GOP leader Tony McCombie of Savanna acknowledged Republicans were behind and we shouldve been embracing this for quite some time.

Theres some fearmongering out there, of course, but, you know, Im not going to play along with those games, she said.

Senate GOP leader John Curran said, There are competing messages. But weve been clear and consistent here in Illinois. (Under) the laws of this state, we encourage the use of mail-in ballots.

Voting by mail, Curran said, is a way to encourage more people to vote and give people greater opportunity to vote. We want everyone voting. So, all in all, its a good thing.

Photos: Tornado collapses northern Illinois theater roof
BELVIDERE  A tornado on a 28-mile rampage with wind gusts from 90-100 mph tore through Belvidere Friday night, officials confirmed Saturday evening.

The EF-1 twister left a 50-year-old man dead and 40 other adults injured at the Apollo Theatre, Dan Zaccard, director of Boone County emergency management, told the Tribune.

The weather service did their survey and found the tornado had a 28-mile track that started in Ogle County and ended in North Boone County, Zaccard said. Belvidere is located in central Boone County.

Zaccard said an EF-1 is characterized by wind speeds of between 90 and 100 mph.

Two of the injured remained in a life-threatening condition, according to Zaccard, director of Boone County emergency management agency. Theyre in bad shape.

Some of the 40 injured have already gone home but those still hospitalized mostly suffered head trauma and soft tissue injuries, Zaccard said.

The name of the dead man was still not known and Zaccard said no children were among the wounded.

Zaccard said tornado sirens began activating at 7:24 p.m., about 18 minutes before the twister hit. We dont know if they could hear them and we dont know if they heeded the warnings.

Earlier Saturday, the Belvidere Fire Department along with several surrounding first responders flooded the scene of the Apollo Theatre, 104 N. State St., following a call of a collapse.

A man lost his life, response was in minutes, Mayor Clinton Morris said. We always hope for the best and the best wouldve been no fatalities.

Morris said the tragedy could have been worse, but thanked all of the first responders who arrived to help. He said many of the concertgoers stayed and picked up debris trapping the injured until help arrived.

The building dates back to 1921 and was historic in Belvidere. So far, officials said the building has been condemned because of the collapse, but were waiting on structural engineers to make the final determination. Officials said the owner of the building was devastated to learn of the deceased man and the injured.

Even as a cold wind hit, the Belvidere community continued to gather near the theater in the afternoon as authorities worked to clean up the debris. Some mourned not only the death from the tragedy but also an area in the city that will no longer ever be the same, said Randy Watson, a lifelong resident of Belvidere.

When he was a child Watson would go inside the theater to watch movies for just one buck, he recalled. It was about 20 years ago when the place changed and more recently it had been used mostly by the Latino community in the area to host weddings and other parties, he said.

The architecture of the theater and other buildings nearby make an important part of the culture of Belvidere, Watson added. I hope it can be fixed, he said as he stared at the remains. But more than anything, I feel for the families that have been affected. Im sure we will all step in to help in any way we can.

Mary Kurth and her granddaughter walked over to the wreckage and stood there for a few minutes. Kurth lives just three blocks away and Friday night, after learning of the accident, she walked over to the scene because it felt surreal.

In the more than 20 years of living in the town, nothing nearly as tragic has happened, she said. It looks like a war zone, Kurth said. Its not going to be easy to cope with something like this.

Kurth and her 23-year-old granddaughter, Felicia Klassen said they did not know anyone at the concert, but they have been praying for their well-being.

Twenty-eight ambulances responded to the scene, and the other injured people got themselves to the hospital. Some of the ambulances made multiple trips, officials said.

Another building across from the Apollo Theatre also sustained structural damage and was facing being condemned.

Photos: Tornado collapses northern Illinois theater roof
Answer: No, its not Lucca Grill. Instead, its Grand Cafe, originally on Center Street, then Main and Locust, and these days in the Jewel-Osco shopping center at 2205 E. Oakland Ave. It also is one of the very first Chinese restaurants in Illinois and is so old, the very first workers at another downtown location were said to have lunched there, drawing up plans for their own company. That company, now almost 101 years old, became known as State Farm.
The establishment of a sugar factory under the government's One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) initiative at Fawoman in the Banda District of the Bono Region has begun.



The facility, which is expected to begin full production by the end of 2024 is being done through an equity agreement between the Bui Sugar Limited, a Chinese company, and the Bui Power Authority (BPA).



Under the initiative, BPA has provided a total of 13,000 acres of land to the Bui Sugar Limited for the cultivation of sugarcane plantation to feed the factory when it begins operation.



So far, 250 acres out of the 1,200 acres of land which have been cleared, have been cultivated with sugarcane by the investor.



When the entire 13,000 or 6,000 hectares of land provided under the collaboration is cultivated and the factory starts full operation, it is expected to produce a total of 60,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar annually for local consumption and for export.



These came to light when the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BPA, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, visited the facility to see how it is progressing.



Construction



Shedding light on the operations of the Bui Sugar Limited, the Managing Director of the company, Wan Wei Hua, explained that the actual construction of the factory block would begin in June, this year.



"The construction of factory and installation of equipment is expected to last for one-and-a-half years before the commencement of production," he said.



He explained that currently, the company's focus was on the provision of adequate raw materials and preparations for the construction of the factory block.



Mr Hua said 500 local people had already been employed for the cultivation of the sugarcane plantation for now, adding that about 1000 more people would be added by the time that the factory will start production.



Agreement



For his part, Mr Dzamesi explained that BPA entered into an agreement with Bui Sugar Limited in March 2022 since the Act that established the authority empowered it to enter into such agreements.



He said it was expected that the facility would provide about 1,500 direct employment and more than 5,000 indirect employment when it was in full operation.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Some police officers attached to the Axim District Police in the Western Region have been humiliated by suspected illegal miners, commonly called Galamseyers.



The Galamseyers humiliated the policemen they accused of collecting bribes from them and attempted to arrest one of them.



The policemen numbering about four were captured in a viral video from a suspected galamsey site where they had gone to demand for money but the exercise backfired with an embarrassing outcome.



The suspected galamsey boys subjected them to humiliation with the policemen going on their knees.



Per the video sighted by DGN Online, the aggrieved youth who outnumbered the police personnel who came in a blue police vehicle in a bush, expressed anger over the constant harassment by the officers albeit insatiable demand for bribes.



One of the angry galamsey boys wearing a military camouflage was seen in the video attempting to manhandle an officer by trying to seize his weapon.



The angry civilian questioned why the officers were trying to extort money from them after they had settled their demands earlier.



The viral video gives insight of the familiarity between the police officers and the aggrieved youth who were using motorbike in the bush.



The police officers appeared to have been stopped by these civilians, who seemed to wield so much power and influence.



At a point, one of the hapless police officers started appealing to their conscience by using their relationship as a bargaining chip for them to compromise.



The uniform of one of the police officers was seized and there was also an attempt to seize an assault rifle; that was when a policeman had to kneel before them pleading profusely.



Painfully, several people on social media have reacted to the video by stating their frustration about a police officer bowing and paying the utmost respect to civilians who they were supposed to arrest for their illegal activities.



The video has since caused a stir on social media.



Meanwhile, Ghana Police Service is yet to react to the unfortunate incident.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Kwesi Pratt has come hard on the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris over her utterances during her visit to Ghana.



Addressing the press at Jubilee House, Kamala Harris declared the US support for the homosexual community.



Standing alongside Ghana's President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Mrs. Harris said she felt very strongly about supporting the development of LGBTQ+ rights in Africa.



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.



On Wednesday, she also announced a $1 billion initiative to improve women's economic empowerment in Africa.



"Improving the economic status of women and girls is not only a matter of human rights, justice and equity, it is also a strategic imperative that reduces poverty and promotes sustainable economic growth," she emphasized.



But Mr. Pratt has blasted the United States over their position on Africa and how they seem to be imposing their rights on African countries.



"If you knew democracy, would racism be so rampant in your country? If you knew democracy, would you have gone to Iraq to kill one million people? You supported Apartheid. You showed the way for Nelson Mandela to be arrested. Are you the ones to teach us democracy?", he questioned.



Mr. Pratt said these on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Criminologist and sociologist Stanislav Vysotsky of the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater told us in 2018 that anti-fascist activists have been using the tactics of doxxing for decades  early campaigns would march to a white supremacist's house and distribute flyers to his neighbors  but that something is getting lost in these recent crowdsourcing efforts.

"When anti-fascist groups engage in these kinds of doxxing processes," Vysotsky said of distributing flyers at someone's house, "they take great pains to verify. There are multiple pieces of verification. With crowdsourcing, sometimes you don't get level of verification."

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On social media, the level of verification can be one person mentioning, "I think I went to high school with that guy," or "He looks like this other pic of a white supremacist that I found on a wiki." In several cases, those claims turned out to be wrong and were quickly corrected by others.

Vysotsky says that's actually one of the potential benefits of crowdsourcing, that the sheer numbers of people investigating could result in accurate information surfacing much faster than if a handful of people are searching around blindly. The downside being that if enough people jump on the wrong information, innocent people get harassed almost instantaneously by the mob, and sometimes that false information lingers because nothing ever really goes away on the internet.

It's not as easy to ID someone as you might think. Studies have shown that 10 to 30 percent of the time people get it wrong when asked to determine whether two photos are of the same person.

Some critics say that publishing anyone's personal information online for the express purpose of harassment is bad, even if that person spouts hate speech. But Vysotsky who studies social movements, says the tactics that activists use are themselves neutral. They're simply tools that can be used for bad or good, depending on which side you stand.

"Anti-fascists would say that doxxing in the service of preventing bias crimes, violence, potentially forms of terrorism, is a tool being used for good," says Vysotsky, who studies anti-fascist movements. "Doxxing in the service of power, sexism, racism, of intimidating people working for progressive change, that's a fascist tool."

As expected, both neo-Nazis and anti-fascists complain when doxxing is used against them, and celebrate when it's deployed against their enemies. Vyotsky says that "outing" people via doxxing increases the "cost of participation" in a protest march.

"If you're looking for work, if you having to move, you don't have time to be organizing, you don't have time to be participating in the movement. It makes you start to ask, is this worth it?" he says.

Now That's Cool This online test allows you to check out your facial recognition skills.

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Originally Published: Aug 17, 2017